[printed for private circulation.] six letters from the colonies. by r. c. seaton. hull: wildridge & co. mdccclxxxvi. preface. i was absent from england eleven months, from november, , to october, . the first three of these letters are reprinted, with slight alterations, from the _eastern morning news_. the last three were written after my return to england. as i have not cared to keep up the fiction of having written them from australia, they may contain some references to events subsequent to my return. it is often objected, and truly enough, that travellers, who spend only so short a time as i have in fresh countries, are not justified in expressing deliberate opinions about them; but this does not apply where a writer gives his impressions as such, and not as matured opinions, or where he expresses the opinions of other people who, by long residence or otherwise in a particular country, have had every opportunity of forming them. i think it will not be found that i have offended in this particular. london, october, . contents. page i.--voyage of the hampshire ii.--melbourne iii.--victoria iv.--south australia v.--tasmania vi.--auckland and sydney i. the voyage of the hampshire. a voyage to australia has in these days become so ordinary an affair that it may seem to require an apology to attempt to describe one, but a voyage in a sailing ship is so different from that in a steamer that it may interest some people. it is, as a rule, only those who go abroad for their health who prefer a sailing ship, on account of the great length of the voyage, in allusion to which steam people call sailing ships "wind jammers," while the sailors retort on steamers by dubbing them "iron tanks" and "old coffins." there is no doubt that the picturesqueness of a sea voyage is quite destroyed by a steamer. there are no, or very few, regular sailors on board; so much of the work is now done by steam. there are no "chanties" or sailors' songs, which help the work to go easily. in a steamer there is no interest in noting the course--they go straight on, and the distance covered does not vary, or only slightly, from day to day. the movement of a sailing ship through the water at knots per hour is quite exhilarating; the ship hurries on by "leaps and bounds." contrast with this the labouring plunges of a screw-steamer at the same rate. in short, romance is perishing from the sea with the universal invasion of steam. could the poet have thus written of the pirate-- "o'er the glad waters of the deep blue sea, our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free," if the pirate was master of a steamer? i think not. however, i do not deny that a steamer has many and great advantages over a ship. the chief advantage, and the only one to which i need allude, is the prosaic but not unimportant one of better food, and this with many people would decide in favour of a steamer. perhaps we were exceptionally unfortunate in this respect. the hampshire is a barque of , tons, and belonging to captain hosack, of liverpool. she is most commodious; the cabins are much larger than is usual in a vessel of this size. mine was not a large one, but it measured ft. by ft. in. there is, too, a poop deck ft. long, which is scarcely ever touched, even by a heavy sea. when people are constantly in each other's society for so long they gradually throw off many of the artificial restraints of society, and exhibit themselves as they would in their own homes. the result is curious. a constant process of natural selection goes on, by which like seeks like, and the estimation in which a particular person is held by his fellow-passengers is often very different at the close of the voyage from what it was at the beginning. taking all things into consideration, however, i think the saloon passengers on the hampshire must be considered to have borne the ordeal very well. we were in number--rather too many for comfort--all (with two exceptions) young men, going out to the colonies for various reasons--some for health, some for business. the two exceptions were a canon of the church of england and his wife, and another gentleman who was travelling with his nephew. the canoness was the only lady on board, the result of which probably was that, though the civilising influence imparted by the presence of ladies was lost, yet many jealousies, that might have been thereby occasioned, were avoided. the hampshire left the east india dock early on thursday morning, the th november, commanded by captain john mathias. she was towed as far as beachy head, but laid up at deal during the night. at st. alban's head we parted with the pilot. on the monday we left the lizard behind. the next ten days were the most unpleasant of the whole voyage. we were tossed about in the bay of biscay, making scarcely any progress. one day we even made miles leeway. it was, perhaps, well that this happened so early on, as all seasickness was thus comfortably got over. since that time the weather may be shortly dismissed. captain mathias, the officers, and crew all declare they have never had so fine a voyage to australia. for days and days the sea was only slightly ruffled, and hardly any motion could be felt. of course, one result has been that we had a long passage. we were exactly days from dock to dock, or days from the lizard to cape otway. the longest run in the hours was in the southern ocean-- knots. during the latter part of the voyage we usually made over . during the week ending february th the distance covered was , knots; that ending february nd only knots, the wind having fallen light; the following week, however, it was , knots. about th december madeira was passed about miles on our left-hand. on the th we passed san antonio, the most westerly of the cape verde islands, at a distance of about miles. the line was crossed on the th january, about - p.m. all through the tropics the heat was not so great as i had anticipated. it was never more than degs. in the shade and degs. in the sun. the temperature remained about the same night and day. the sea was about degs. cooler than the air. the daily routine was about somewhat as follows:--about six the hose was used for cleaning the deck, and then such of the passengers as chose came on deck and submitted themselves to it--others meantime pumping for them. those who had the hose thereby acquired a right to porridge, which was distributed about a quarter to seven, but, when the weather was colder, even the porridge was not sufficient attraction to keep up the number of "hosees." breakfast was at - , lunch at , dinner at . the captain, chief officer, and doctor occupied the chief seats at the tables. they changed their seats from time to time to prevent jealousy, as the captain's company was much in request. indeed, any inconveniences we had to put up with were so much alleviated by the kindness and consideration of captain mathias, that he will ever be gratefully remembered by the passengers on this voyage. the address of thanks to him at the end of the voyage was no mere lip-service, but the genuine expression of our sincerest thanks. on all occasions he managed to combine the courtesy of a gentleman with the frankness of a sailor. after passing the equator we had to sail very much to the west, to catch the south-east trades, and were within miles of the coast of brazil. on the th day out the meridian of greenwich was crossed in lat. degs. south. "the meridian of the cape of good hope," says the captain's log, "was crossed on the th day out, in lat. - / degs. south, and the longitude was run down in the parallel of degs. south. light winds stuck to the barque persistently, and as an illustration of the tedious weather, it may be mentioned that not a topgallant sail was taken in from biscay to st. paul's, and the average running in crossing the southern ocean was only miles per day." the last land sighted was the island of trinidad--an uninhabited rock--in lat. ° ' south, long. ° ' west. this was on the th january and for seven "solid" weeks from then we were out of sight of land. this time was redeemed from monotony by tournaments of chess and whist, which filled up the evenings. there were frequent small quarrels, with reconciliations more or less sincere, which also afforded distraction. after one the captain let off a rocket, also one of holmes's patent "flare-ups." this is a contrivance for saving life during the dark. it consists of a box filled with potassium, which is pierced at both ends and thrown into the sea fastened to a life-buoy. in contact with the water the metal ignites, and for about half-an-hour sheds a radiance for a long way. it is visible for miles off. if a man falls overboard he knows then where to look out for the life-buoy. the canon was an adept at shorthand, and a class was formed on board of of the saloon passengers, who prosecuted it most vigorously, and really made much progress. an examination was held at the end of the course of lessons, and prizes awarded. several entertainments--musical and dramatic--were given, nearly all of which proved successful, the very causes of failure on land being often at sea the cause of success. the prompter was, i remember, on one occasion much more audible than the actor. another time the stage (the main deck) was flooded with sea water, which increased rather than diminished with every roll. a chorus of youths and maidens endeavouring to sing and keep their balance is amusing if not æsthetic. everything, in fact, suffers a "sea change," if not into something "rich and strange," often into something expensive. the first time a passenger ventures on the forecastle or up the rigging--the peculiar realms of the sailor--jack chalks him, which means that he must pay his footing, by sending a bottle of whisky for'ard. it is seldom that a stranger long escapes "spotting" under these circumstances. as a curiosity i may mention that one passenger paid s. for a few things being washed; this was at the moderate price of d. each article, no matter whether it was a collar or a shirt. i should strongly advise anyone going a long voyage to take a spirit lamp, as it is often difficult to get hot water unless the thirst of the cook is constantly allayed. deck shoes are very convenient, more especially in the tropics, where one leads a lotus-eating existence. this is the most delightful part of the voyage in my opinion, though some prefer the more bracing air of the southern ocean. without being malicious, however, it is difficult not to fancy that the pleasure of finding midsummer weather in january is heightened by the contrast with london fogs and frost, which we know those at home are suffering from. the greatest resource of all is reading, and some of us get through a good deal of it, but it is too tempting, and often interferes with taking regular exercise, which, though irksome, is almost essential to good health at sea. christmas day seemed strange enough. the orthodox fare--turkey and plum-pudding--were on the table, but ice would have been an agreeable addition. the toasts drunk were "the queen," "the captain," and "absent friends." the next day, as we had then been a month at sea, the sailors "buried the dead horse." as they receive a month's wages in advance, they do not begin to earn anything until they have been a month at sea. during this period they are said to be "working off the dead horse." a barrel covered with matting formed the body, and appendages for the requisite number of legs and the tail were put on. the animal was then dragged round the deck to the accompaniment of a melancholy song--the refrain of which is "poor old horse." the horse is next put up for sale, and on the present occasion was knocked down to one of the saloon passengers for s. the money was not really paid, but a collection was made which came to more than the sum bid. next, amid the lamentations of the sailors and the glare of blue lights, the animal was hoisted up to the main-yard with a sailor on its back, who, dexterously disengaging himself, let the beast fall with a dull thud into the water. the sea was so calm that some apprehension was expressed lest the carcass should be seen the next morning not far to leeward, but this anti-climax was averted. we have all read of the coming on board of neptune at the time of crossing the line, but on our voyage no notice was taken of it, the reason being, as was supposed, that the sailors were dissatisfied with the result of the sale of the dead horse. well, though it might have been amusing, it was doubtless more their loss than ours, because when the thing is analysed, all sailors' doings fundamentally resolve themselves into an appeal for subscriptions from good-natured passengers. about th january we crossed the sun, which for a short time was vertical at noon. peter schlemihl could then have walked about without detection, for no one had a shadow. on our journey we met several ships and steamers, and as the captain never missed an opportunity of signalling, the course of our voyage was known from various quarters. first, the number of the hampshire, jnbv, is displayed by the flags, each flag representing a letter. a complete code of arbitrary signals is in use, by which almost any intelligence can be interchanged. we then told the port we sailed from, london, and our destination, melbourne. from one barque, the county of anglesea, on her way from cardiff to rangoon, which we fell in with early on the voyage, the captain came on board the hampshire to lunch, and afterwards several of our passengers returned the visit. one of them brought back a small cur, which made the fourth dog on board--rather too many, as they were always in the way. their number was soon reduced per cent. one day what was known as the "sailor's dog" mysteriously disappeared. some thought it had been thrown overboard, but it probably fell over accidentally, as the dog was universally held to be the least objectionable. another, the strange dog, had to be poisoned. on the th january we met a german ship bound for barbadoes from buenos ayres. here an opportunity for sending letters was gratefully embraced. the captain promised to hand them over to the british consul at barbadoes. one day, during a calm, the boats were lowered, and several of us rowed about to look at the hampshire from a little distance, while some bathed in a tropical sea. there was no danger of sharks, which keep away when several bathe together, or even one, if he splashes about enough. the boatswain caught a turtle, from which we had some capital soup. turtles are very tenacious of life. a knife was thrust into its throat, and its jugular vein severed, but if it had not been cut up soon after it would have lived many hours. indeed, the heart alone kept beating long after it was severed from the body. i must say we were badly treated by the "monsters of the deep." they never came out when wanted. we all expected to catch a shark some day, but only once was one even seen, and then it was some distance off, with its knife-like fin just showing above the water. it was sunday, too, when no fishing was allowed--a fact of which he was evidently aware. these fellows are proverbially stupid, and will go at a bait again and again, even though they must know it to be a lure. only once, too, did we catch an albatross, _the_ bird of the southern ocean. that was by a line baited with a small piece of pork. this was fastened to a round ring of iron, in which the hooked beak of the bird caught, and so it was dragged on board. the captain knocked it on the head, and it was then cut up. it measured feet across the wings, but many are larger than this. the beak was about inches long, curved, and of great power. sailors have no "ancient mariner" sentiment as to killing the albatross--in fact, it would be misplaced. the captain told us of a case he knew of where a man had fallen overboard, when the albatrosses swooped down upon him, and pecked out his eyes and brains. the sailors begged the captain to shoot him and so end his sufferings. the quills of the albatross make excellent pipe stems, and the skin of the webbed feet is used for tobacco pouches. but the chief thing about the bird is, of course, the snowy down on the breast, of which ladies' muffs are made. the zoological society in regent's park offer a reward of £ for a live albatross or black cockatoo, but it has never been earned, though the attempt to carry them to england has often been made, for the albatross cannot live through the tropics. during the last fortnight of the voyage the weather became very cold for the latitude we were in. the point reached furthest south was ° ' which is about the same as the north of spain, but the thermometer was degrees all day. it is, however, well known that for various reasons the same latitude is much colder south of the equator. on the night of monday, the nd of march, a beautiful lunar rainbow, extending right across the sky, was seen. this is not a common sight. by this time the benefits of the voyage were visible in the faces of all the passengers. if it had not been for some shortcomings in the provisions there would have been no drawback. cape otway was sighted on the morning of saturday, the th march. at - p.m. we were off port philip roads, and here the pilot came on board. he brought papers, and the first news we read was that of subscriptions for a statue to general gordon, of whose death we were thus informed; the second news was the despatch of troops from sydney to the soudan, of which everybody was then talking. at - p.m. the hampshire was anchored off williamstown, but could not come alongside sandridge pier, till monday morning. it was rather hard getting up on a saturday night, as all were anxious to see their letters. many of us went to melbourne on the sunday, but in most cases returned to the ship to sleep, as the luggage could not be landed till monday. on that day a general dispersion took place, and many who will probably never see each other again will have their voyage on the hampshire to look back upon with pleasure. ii. melbourne. when i arrived in melbourne early in march, everybody was enthusiastic in praise of the new south wales government, who had just despatched their contingent to the soudan. gradually this feeling subsided, and it was afterwards said to be doubtful whether the victorian government would renew their offer later on. the truth is the victorians are _plus royalistes que le roi_. indeed i cannot help thinking they would feel much less respect for the "british constitution" if they had a nearer view of some of the proceedings at westminster. but they are human and can scarcely submit with patience to the repeated snubs they have had from the home government. the inconceivable bungling about new guinea especially rankles in their breasts. no one is now so unpopular here as mr. gladstone and lord derby. moreover, as a late minister in south australia said to me--why should we send out our tradesmen, our artisans, our clerks, as volunteers, while you send out regular soldiers? we deplete the colony for what is in reality only a handful of men, while it means much to us. if we wish to assist the mother country we can do it better by taking care of our own defences, and by subscribing money, if necessary, to send to england. but this view, of course, leaves out of sight the immense moral effect which has, in fact, been produced by this display of attachment to the mother country. such things will do more to bring about imperial federation than any number of articles in newspapers and reviews discussing the merits of various schemes. if the true spirit is there--the desire for federation--it will put itself into practice in some form or other. the preliminary step is federation among the colonies. this is at present much hindered by their mutual jealousies. "the proper way," said to me a prominent statesman here who has been twice a minister of the crown, "is for england to take the initiative. let her send out some leading man who would not be regarded as the representative of a party--such as lord dufferin--and let him make proposals to the various colonies in which they might acquiesce, without one seeming to lead the others." anyhow here, "as at home" (as england is always called), there is a widespread notion that federation in some form is a necessity for the future, if england is to continue to hold her own by the side of such immense states as russia and the united states. providence seems now to be on the side of the "big nations." i am confident that even now, people in england fail to realise the importance of these homes beyond the sea. they enjoy a lovely climate, have boundless capacities for expansion, and are inhabited by englishmen who differ from ourselves only in the fact that they live at a distance. with the present means of communication, melbourne is now as near to london as the north of scotland was to the south of england less than a century ago. people look, perhaps, at the present population of victoria, which is rather under a million; and then, observing that it is about the same as that of liverpool and manchester together, they infer that it is of no greater importance. there could not be a greater mistake. it is a commonplace to say that their importance is in the future, yet even commonplaces sometimes need repeating. there is no reason why, within the memory of men now living, this colony should not be as populous as england is now. at lunch, some few weeks ago--i remember it was at dr. bromby's, the much-respected late head master of the church of england grammar school--a clergyman narrated some of his experiences while travelling in england a few years back:--"i was at the house of a yorkshire squire, who was speaking of australia, and said 'ah! we used to have a few australian sovereigns here, but now we see very few.' i requested those present to examine the sovereigns they had about them. if you find an 'm' under the queen's head, it was coined at melbourne; if an 's,' at sydney. singularly enough nearly all the sovereigns they produced had the 'm' or the 's.' i was satisfied. it was a dangerous _coup_, but perfectly successful, and gave the company a much greater idea of the importance of australia than anything i could say." in rapidity and at the same time solidity, of growth there is no city of modern days, i believe, to be placed beside melbourne. fifty years ago it did not exist. now with the suburbs the population is , , and in such a liberal manner have the streets and roads been laid out, that on the present area there is at least room for a million. since melbourne has had municipal institutions. in , victoria was separated from new south wales, with melbourne for the seat of government. such rapid increase has been equalled only in america, but there is nothing american about melbourne. many years ago there did come here a few americans of "advanced ideas," among others the notorious george francis train, who bequeathed his "damages" against the british government-- , , dols. for his arrest in cork harbour--to the irish republic. the legacy and the legatee have proved equally unsubstantial. but these men have now died out, or become respectable citizens. the colonials may be said to resemble the americans only in one point, in their aptitude for business. some people have come out here in the expectation of "taking in" the guileless colonist, but the biter has been bit. i have heard of one manufacturer of pills who soon found out his mistake. in fact, in face of the nonsense that is sometimes talked to encourage those who fail in england to come here to make their fortunes, it seems to me they are far more likely to lose what money they have. as a rule the same qualities of mind and character that bring a man success in england will make him successful here, and for certain people it is better to stay in england. the class that really suffer in melbourne is that comprising the man of good education, who has perhaps taken his degree at one of our universities, but who has not any fitness for any particular calling. numbers of this class are, i am told, in poverty, if not actual want. there is here not the same demand for "culture." there is no outlet for purely literary capacities. the life that is led here, and which will be led for some time yet, is a somewhat hard and fast life, and it is most difficult even for one who desires ease to find it in this feverish atmosphere. the country has scarcely yet settled down. among the population there is little beauty of face or grace of movement. the first settlers were, as a rule, rough people who had to make their living, and little time to think of anything beyond, but we are indebted to them, for they are everywhere the necessary pioneers of civilisation--the mass whose dead bodies form a bridge for their more fortunate successors. then the gold discoveries brought out a lower class. however, the second generation is a great improvement on the first, and, no doubt, the usual rule of amelioration of type will make itself felt in due course. in what i have just been saying i speak in the most general manner. there are many exceptions, of course, and brilliant ones. now to return to melbourne itself. the streets are very broad, usually ft., and long and straight. one i know of is yards broad. some are planted with trees, while in the streets where there are shops, verandahs are almost universal along the pavement. the gutters are very wide--sometimes feet or feet, which is necessary to carry off the large amount of water coming down when it rains. at such times the mud is almost impassable. melbourne proper is situated in the centre, and stands to the rest of the city somewhat as the city of london does to the various vestries. in melbourne, however, each of the suburbs-- in number--has a mayor, corporation, and town clerk of its own. any municipality with a revenue of £ , or above, is styled a "city." there is, however, no body here like the metropolitan board of works, consequently no united system of drainage and other works in which the whole community is interested. this is a great defect, and the want of some central authority is much felt. each municipality manages its own district only. i remember, on landing the first time at sandridge pier, some of us drove from there into melbourne. someone complaining of the badness of the road to the driver, "yes," he said pathetically, "they spend all the money in drainage." in public buildings melbourne can compare well with any other city of its size. the public library, the law courts, the town hall, the post office, the exhibition building, are all architectural ornaments. in the streets there is a want of regularity in the size of the houses, which will be corrected in the course of time, and which is incidental to all new cities where people cannot at first afford to erect lofty structures. most of the city is on the north side of the yarra, which winds very much and empties itself into hobson's bay, about six miles from melbourne. the intercolonial and local steamers start from wharves on the river, and passengers by them have, therefore, to endure the bad smells which always prevail. the thames is bad enough sometimes, but the yarra can only be compared to the clyde at glasgow. a large piece of the river will be cut off by a canal now in course of construction. hobson's bay is the north-eastern part of port philip harbour, a noble expanse of water of square miles, with a narrow entrance at the "heads." there are sharks in it, so that bathing is carried on in parts that are fenced off. there used to be a reward offered by the government for every shark-skin above ft. long. there is a tale of an old loafer round the harbour called "paddy lynch," who having caught a shark of ft. in., stretched its skin the required inch. he is now commonly accosted by the question "who stretched the shark?" the public library is probably one of the largest and completest of its kind to be found anywhere. it now contains about , volumes, and is rapidly increasing. a new wing is being built to make more room. the trustees have acted with a view to acquiring books of real worth, and no book is selected unless it has made its reputation. consequently the amount of fiction is small. george eliot's novels have only just been admitted. the library is not supported by a local rate, but by the government. the same is the case with all the public libraries throughout the country. however small a township is, you will probably find a public library and a mechanics' institution. in the same building with the library are the picture gallery and the museum. in the former are miss thompson's "quatre bras," long's "esther," and "a question of propriety," the latter bought off the easel, besides other good paintings. in the vestibule are plaster casts of some of the aboringines, labelled, "martha, aged ;" "thames, aged ;" and so on. they are all remarkably ugly, but vary in degree, some being actually repulsive. there are now only a few hundred natives in the whole of victoria, and they are miserable creatures, not to be compared, for instance, with those in the north-west, where in some places the average height of the natives is ft. the library is open daily (except sunday) from a.m. to p.m. some time ago the trustees did open the library and picture gallery on the sunday, but after five sundays parliament sat, and the sabbatarians then immediately passed a vote prohibiting it, although the measure had been very popular. in fact, nothing is open on sundays. public-houses are shut, except to that remarkable animal--the _bonâ fide_ traveller. a few weeks ago there was a deputation to the premier, urging him to stop all sunday trains. this was supported by some ministers who are themselves in the habit of using trains on sunday, but they did not find the time ripe for such a change. i had an interesting conversation with the learned and accomplished town clerk of melbourne (mr. fitzgibbon) upon the condition of the legal profession here. the two branches, barristers and solicitors, are not amalgamated, but the tendency, as in england, is in that direction. indeed, in the last session of parliament a bill to amalgamate them, after passing the legislative assembly, was only lost by one vote in the upper house. still, even in places where a fusion has taken place, as in tasmania, i found that, in fact, they are kept distinct, that is to say one man will devote himself to speaking in court, another to office-work. barristers here have a distinct grievance against the inns of court at home. here an english barrister can be at once called to the victorian bar merely by being introduced, whereas in england a victorian barrister has to keep terms and pass an examination. formerly he was in no better position than any other student, but by the exertions of mr. webb, q.c., of melbourne, the time of probation has been reduced from three years to one year for colonial barristers, and the examination has, i believe, been diminished also. there is a chief justice (at present absent on leave) and four puisne judges. lately a paper controversy has been raging between one of the judges and the bishop. the judge wrote a pamphlet, entitled "religion without superstition"--a crude _réchauffé_ of the usual sceptical arguments which have been propounded a thousand times before and infinitely better expressed. the bishop has not found it difficult to reply, but at best this contest between two dignitaries is an unseemly spectacle. meanwhile the newspapers sarcastically ask how it is that the judges, who are said to be so overworked, have time for such amusements. religious feeling runs high in melbourne. the presbyterian assembly has recently deposed mr. strong, the minister of the scotch church, on account of the breadth of his doctrines. mr. strong has been publicly invited by the unitarian minister to join their communion. in the state schools there is no religious instruction except at extra times, and by express desire. this is due to the action of the catholics, who naturally object to their children being taught the bible by protestants. about melbourne there is nothing provincial, and, although in point of size far inferior to london or paris it is almost as cosmopolitan. at night, bourke-street is as crowded as the strand or regent-street. the chief hotels are menzies's, scott's, the oriental, and the grand. the two first are at the business end of the town, the west end, and they charge about s. per day. the oriental is at the east end of collins-street, exactly opposite the melbourne club. the charge there is s. per day, and at present it is extremely well managed by the proprietor in person. the only objection is that it is much frequented by betting-men, whose shop talk is, i think, more wearisome and less instructive than that of any other persons. the adelaide jockey club have just been holding their annual meeting at melbourne on account of an attempt by the south australian legislature to abolish betting! on the whole the prices of things in melbourne may be said to be about the same as in london. some things are much dearer, and not so good, as for instance, cloth clothes, boots and shoes. again, house-rent is excessive. i can give two examples--one, a cottage of one story and four rooms, which lets for s. d. per week; another, what is called a seven-roomed house, but it really has only four rooms, the other three being merely of the size of dressing-rooms; this is in not at all a fashionable part, and the rent was lately £ . it has now been raised to £ . every house, however, has a bath-room, and the old houses in which there is no bath have to be fitted with that convenience before they can be let. on the other hand, food, especially meat, is much cheaper, but the meat is not so good as at home, at least in my opinion, but i can scarcely expect this opinion to be accepted without objection. a fish called "garfish" is about the best fish here. it is something like a whiting, but has more taste. another fish called "trevalli" is not particularly good. there is no sole or turbot or salmon. the colonial wine is, upon the whole, very good and wholesome, and is much drunk. at geelong lately the heroic measure of destroying the vines has been taken to prevent the spread of phylloxera. there are several good clubs in melbourne--the principal are the australian at the west end of the town, and the melbourne at the east end of collins-street. on the introduction of a member (approved by the committee), strangers are admitted as honorary members for a month: then for the second month they pay £ , or £ for six months; but strangers cannot be taken in casually by a member as is the case in many london clubs. most of the clubs have bedrooms attached, which are much used by travellers in the colonies. they are, therefore, not merely more comfortable, but usually cheaper than hotels, because meals are paid for as taken, while at nearly all hotels the american system of so much a day prevails. one day i accompanied a friend to the university to be present at the "annual commencement," when the degrees are conferred. the "commencement" here occurs about the middle of the term. with us at cambridge it is at the end. the ceremony took place in the "wilson hall," which is used as a senate house, and for other public functions in connection with the university. the ceremony itself was almost identical with that at one of our universities, and it was similarly interrupted by noisy undergraduates, whose humour consisted in rendering the proceedings inaudible without contributing anything amusing of their own. one lady who took a degree was much cheered. the bishop of melbourne (dr. moorhouse) is the chancellor, and delivered an address to the "fractious children," and he then called on the governor of the colony, who with lady loch was present, for a speech on the subject then foremost in every one's mind--"our defences." this seemed rather strange at a peaceful academical performance, but the governor acquitted himself in a truly diplomatic style, by telling us nothing we did not know before. on another day i was shown over part of the university by a young gentleman who had taken his degree in law on the previous occasion. there are at present two colleges--trinity and ormond--at each of which about undergraduates are in residence, while there are about the same number at each non-resident. the bulk of the students, however, are unattached. there are altogether, and their number is annually increasing. there is no university discipline outside of the colleges, and in them the students take their meals together. the sitting-rooms are separate from the bedrooms, and more resemble studies at a public school than rooms at a university, being usually shared between two and furnished by the college. there are no fellowships at the university. at sydney university on the other hand four fellowships of £ a year each have been recently given to the university for the encouragement of scientific research--a munificent gift which should lead to much. to strangers, the climate of melbourne is trying at first. suddenly, in the summer the wind will turn to the north, and in a short time the thermometer registers degs. in the shade. the heat and dust are then almost insupportable. the dust rises like a cloud obscuring even the opposite side of the street. then the wind will as suddenly veer to the south. in an hour the temperature falls or degs., and the air is cleared by a "southerly buster." in the winter the north wind is a cold wind. in spite of the climate, the botanical gardens are an admirable specimen of what may be effected by the skill of man. these gardens are on the south side of the river yarra. on a hill in the centre of them is built the government house. there are seen many varieties of trees and plants all carefully labelled. the fern tree bower is very ingenious. you see here the elk or staghorn fern, which grows as a parasite on the palm or the petosperum of new zealand. the grass is kept beautifully fresh and green, and is a favourite resort. i have no further room to continue this letter, but, in my next, hope to say something of the government and the aspect of politics in victoria. iii. victoria. the government of victoria is nearly a pure democracy. both houses are elected by the people, the legislative council as well as the legislative assembly. to vote for the former a slight property qualification is necessary, viz., £ freehold, or £ leasehold. the assembly is practically elected by universal manhood suffrage, the only restriction being that a voter must have resided twelve months in the colony prior to the st january or st july in any year. of course, there is a smouldering agitation for female suffrage, but it has not yet attained the dimensions of the similar agitation in england. it is to me unintelligible how it is that so many people can be enthusiastic about the prospects of democracy. as sir james stephen says, "we may be drifting down the stream, but that is no reason we should sing hallelujah." there is no magic in the word. it is simply a form of government, just as monarchy or aristocracy are forms of government. nor is it a new form of government. it has been tried over and over again, more than years ago, nor has it ever been a particularly successful or a long-continued form. people often talk as if liberty were more attainable under a democracy than under any other government. now, putting aside the question whether liberty is good or bad--for it is entirely a question of time, place, and circumstance--the opinion is unfounded, because the tyranny of a majority is just as galling, and usually less intelligent, than other tyrannies. it has rather cynically been said that governments are of two kinds--bamboo and bamboozle. a democracy combines these two kinds. when political power is so minutely divided as it is among the voters of england, say, it is not worth having; and power, as a rule, resides in the hands of demagogues, instead of the hands of statesmen. in victoria, there is government by party, but there are no real lines of demarcation between them, and it is now merely a struggle for office between the ins and outs. each party must be prepared with a programme to interest the masses, and to be able to go to the electors with a list of measures to be passed. if a measure is bad, the government may be turned out. but the ministers are saddled with no responsibility in consequence. they simply wait their turn till the other side makes a mistake. this course has led to legislation which unduly interferes with liberty. there is now before parliament a new licensing bill, the principle of which is local option. it is also intended to put down barmaids. those who at present exist are to be allowed to remain, in number, but no fresh ones are to come forward. the publicans are ranged on one side, some religious bodies on the other. each side interpret facts in their own way. but every one knows that the fate of the bill will depend on the strength of the parties in the house, and not on argument. again, the eight hours movement many years ago became law in victoria. on the st of april in each year its anniversary is celebrated with a procession and flags and banners. this year the governor took part in it, which was thought to be rather undignified on his part. it is a socialistic measure, which reduces the good workman to the level of the ordinary one. all members of the assembly receive £ a year. hence there are many professed politicians whose chief object appears to be to keep their seat. lately there was an attempt in the house to vote a pension to a member whose circumstances had been reduced, but the proposal was defeated. perhaps the time is not quite ripe for that yet. the present ministry is the result of a coalition between mr. service and mr. berry. the former was at one time a schoolmaster up the country, but by his talents and energy has raised himself to the position of premier. mr. berry is a well-known radical politician. it is about six years ago since, in one day, he dismissed the greater number of the civil servants in consequence of a disagreement between the two houses. most of them had to be quickly restored to their places, but public confidence was so much shaken by this arbitrary act that a large amount of capital was transferred to new south wales--five or six millions, i believe--and even yet the country has not recovered from the shock. this period is known as the berry-blight. the present ministry seems likely to continue in power so long as they can provide sufficient sensational legislation. in victoria the railways all now belong to the state, and are well managed, but to stations beyond the suburban lines return tickets are not issued except on saturdays, and except to such places as have a competing steam service, such as warrnambool or belfast. the speed is not high, and to our notions there are very few trains, but probably enough for the present traffic. whenever the inhabitants of any particular district think they would like a railway, they get their representative to vote for it, and if he can persuade a sufficient number of other representatives to vote for it, the railway is made. for some time past the people of the small town of buninyong thought they would like a line from ballarat, from which it is distant seven miles. as it is not really required, in consequence of a good service of public conveyances between the two places, they did not succeed for some time. at length, during the last session, their representative managed to get others to vote for it, and the line is now to be made. each of these may in their turn require the vote of the member for buninyong on some similar occasion. but the actual management of the railways and of the civil service has been put beyond the reach of political influence by the appointment of railway and civil service commissioners, who are permanent officials. when a line is to be made the railway commissioners go over the ground and fix the spots for stations &c. every porter has to pass on examination before he can be appointed. there are only first and second classes. on the suburban lines the first class are about as good as our second. as a fact, a number of second class carriages sent out from england are here used as first, the words "second class" being ingeniously concealed by a narrow strip of wood. members of parliament have a free pass over all lines. in victoria the gauge is ft. in. in new south wales it is the same as ours, viz., ft. - / in. consequently travellers between melbourne and sydney have to change trains at the border. in victoria there is intense opposition to free trade. the people would rather make bad boots and shoes for themselves than import cheap and good ones from england. of course i use free trade in the sense of the opposite of protection of native industries. advocates of protection appear to me to confound the end with the means, as if manufacturers existed for their own sake and not in order to produce. i have seen the commercial competition between various countries compared with a horse race. just as some horses are handicapped, so customs duties must be levied on the productions of certain countries to give the others a fair chance! the comparison would be relevant if the object of a handicap were that the best horse should win, but the race itself is the object. bastiat has reduced this view of commerce to an absurdity in his famous petition. it is a petition supposed to be presented by the dealers in oil, tallow, lamps, &c., in paris, who request that all shutters, windows, and other apertures for light may be closed against the sun, which spoils their business by shining so brightly during the day. if wheat rained from heaven some people would tax it to protect the farmers. but free trade may be made an object of worship in itself, and can then do nothing but harm. it may be made a rule of life, not merely a rule of trade. the satisfaction of material needs is most necessary, and lies at the bottom of civilization, but it is not therefore the most important, and it is quite conceivable that the moral advantages to be derived by a community through reliance on their own energies, may more than compensate for the higher price of particular articles. it has been found not to be good for the human race to have things made too pleasant. the west indian negroes, "who toil not, neither do they spin," but pick the fruits of the earth ready to their hands, are not the most exalted specimens of mankind. it may be a good thing for a man _not_ to have things too cheaply, if owing to this he is stirred up to work, and can get money enough to live. free traders argue that free trade will prevent war, by making evident the inconveniences thereby occasioned to commerce, yet history has never shown that such considerations have been of much weight when strong national feelings are aroused. nor is it, in my opinion, a desirable thing that they should have a decisive effect. with this class of arguments free traders are powerless to deal. the absence of caste is a noticeable feature in australian life. any man, whatever his original position, can rise to the highest offices, and, as a matter of fact, the ministers are frequently tradesmen. none the worse for that, of course; but it was amusingly illustrated in the assembly the other day, when one of the members--a "chartered libertine," in regard to speech, and they do speak very plainly--boasted that he was a member of a club to which none of the ministers could belong. "they are decent people," he said, "but not professional men, and the membership is limited to them." domestic servants are particularly independent as a class, and many people do without them altogether rather than submit to pay very high wages for little work. an ordinary cook will receive about £ a week. they rarely say "sir," but usually plain "mister," which is to most people not a pleasant way of being addressed. they seem to take a pride in addressing their employer (i must not say master or mistress) by their surname, as mr. or mrs. so-and-so, as often as possible. what emerson calls the "fury of expectoration" is very rife throughout the colonies. if a floor or carpet is particularly clean the temptation to spit upon it is too great to be resisted. in the court-house at adelaide is a special notice requesting people not to spit on the floor. i suppose this habit is connected with smoking, and smoking with drinking. all day long the hotel bars are besieged by crowds of men demanding "nobblers," like flies round a pot of honey, and i have heard that a hotel proprietor does not care to see his customers go beyond the bar, as so large a proportion of his profit is derived from it. in a debate in the assembly, on the new licensing bill, one orator referred contemptuously to "miserable tea drinkers." "we do not want," he said, "to be chinafied; the more men drink the better they are." he would find many outside the house of the same opinion. _per contra_ it was urged that total abstinence produced strength because "samson was a teetotaller!" considering the comparatively small size of victoria, it is much more thickly populated than any other colony. its population is very nearly a million, on an area about as large as great britain, giving about persons to the square mile. the chief towns after melbourne are ballarat, east and west, with a population of , , and sandhurst, with , . next comes geelong, which, with its suburbs, has , . for purposes of representation, the country is divided into provinces, from each of which three members are returned to the legislative council. it is divided into electoral districts, which return members to the legislative assembly. the country is also divided into counties, but what purpose this division serves i have not been able to ascertain. i have made two visits into the country, one to the neighbourhood of ballarat to the north-west of melbourne, the other into gipp's land, which is to the east. i went to gipp's land to pay a visit to a gentleman well known to the racing world, who has a large estate in the neighbourhood of sale. victorians are nothing if not fond of sport. we have a good many races at home, but i think they are exceeded in number by those in victoria. my host had been engaged in horse-racing more than forty years, and in these circles he is much respected; because he always, as they say, runs his horses to win, and the high character he has thus deservedly acquired has done much to raise the morality of the turf in australia. he told me that he was the second squatter in gipp's land. when he first went there in , it took him eighteen days to return to melbourne through the bush. for six days they had provisions, but for the rest of the time they subsisted on native bears--_i.e._, sloths. now he owns about , acres of the best part of gipp's land. gipp's land is a large district about twice the size of wales, which begins at a place called bunyip, about fifty miles to the east of melbourne. the train to sale, the capital--there are two a day--takes about six hours, and the distance is miles. as there are no engineering difficulties, the line did not cost more than £ a mile. in many places the gradients are very steep to avoid cuttings. by leaving melbourne at - a.m. sale is reached about , and a very tedious and dusty journey it is. near bunyip we pass the borders of an enormous swamp of , acres, called koo-wee-rup, which is about to be drained, and will then form rich agricultural land. the ride soon becomes monotonous, by reason of the interminable gum trees. they look very peculiar, being all dead, and stripped of their leaves and bark, and in the moonlight show perfectly white. most of them have been "ringed" near the bottom to kill them, but others have been killed by caterpillars. they stand so for a long time. at length they either fall or are burnt in a bush fire. the flames get inside the tree, run through it, and come out at the top, as if from a tall chimney. there are none of great height along the line, but some trees near lilydale, about miles north-east of melbourne, are supposed to be the highest in the world, and are above feet in height. in several places are seen groups of tree ferns some feet high, which form a pleasant oasis. gipp's land did not look its best at the time of my visit. there had been a drought, more or less, for three years, and everything was dried up. the cattle appeared parched, with hard dry skins. since then, however, there has been a good deal of rain. sale itself is an uninteresting town of , inhabitants, with streets at right angles, and the usual public library and mechanics' institute. it also has an artesian well, which is not usual. although it was late in the autumn the heat in the middle of the day was great. in the afternoon it is tempered by a steady sea breeze. the nights are cool. along the roads are posts of about four feet high, painted red and white. these are to mark the road in case of a flood, which is not uncommon. from the verandah of my friend's house could be seen a vast extent of rolling upland, dotted pretty thickly with dead gum trees. fifty years ago it was a dense forest. what may it be fifty years hence, with the increase of population? on the morning after my arrival i was taken a drive over part of the "cattle run." it is only a small run compared to some. the cattle, nearly all bullocks, have about , acres to wander over. everywhere the want of water was apparent. i also saw the stables, where were several racehorses, but the best were in the stables at flemington, near melbourne. at the end of the week were the sale races, but i was unable to stay for them, having already made arrangements for a trip to tasmania. about six weeks later i went to stay with some friends in the neighbourhood of ballarat, between that town and buninyong. i have previously referred to ballarat as the next largest town to melbourne. by rail it is miles from melbourne, though not more than in a direct line. at present the rail goes round by geelong. between geelong and ballarat the line is double, and admirably constructed, at a cost of £ , per mile. it is as well made as any line in england, and the carriages run as smoothly. my friend's house is called "moramana," a native name, signifying, i am told, "picking up sticks." buninyong and ballarat are both native names. it is a matter for discussion whether ararat, a town some distance to the n.w. of ballarat, is a native name, too, or whether it has any connection with the ark. i paid a visit to buninyong, and two visits to ballarat. buninyong is properly the name of the mountain there, an extinct volcano, which forms a prominent object in the landscape. the small town takes the same name. it is remarkable chiefly for the fertility of the land in the immediate neighbourhood. it is older than ballarat, which previous to the discovery of the gold there in did not exist. there are gold mines, too, at buninyong, both alluvial and quartz, but chiefly the latter. the salvation army flourishes at buninyong as well as at most places in the colonies. i have since read in a paper that general booth has given out that the salvation army is likely to become the state church of victoria, and that parliament will make it an annual grant of £ , ; or, if not, that mr. service will probably do so himself! ballarat is a busy town, and here victorian energy is seen to its best advantage. it is, too, the centre of a large and fertile agricultural district. gold mining is not now what it once was there. on all sides are the ruins of abandoned "claims," which give a most desolate appearance to the immediate neighbourhood. there is now more gold found at sandhurst, further north. during the gold fever of , and before there was a line from geelong, as much as £ per ton was paid for carriage from that town. the distance is about miles, and the transit occupied ten days for heavy goods. "until last year," said my friend, "there was a man walking the streets of ballarat who was known by no other name than jimmy. he would never beg and never lie down twice in the same spot to sleep if others got to know of it. people gave him food at the door, or, if not, he went to the asylum for it. i used to see him taking a zig-zag path about the same time each day. when spoken to he would never reply. he had been in this condition since thirty years ago. then he was a prosperous digger, but some others drugged him, and took away all his money. the drug spared his life, but took away his brains; and so he wandered about, always looking for something, he did not know what." there must be many similar tales of violence perpetrated during that wild time. ballarat contains the widest street in the colonies--one of the widest in the world--viz., sturt-street, which is three chains wide, but its width is rather concealed by a line of trees in the middle. there are some fair buildings in it too. lake wendouree, formerly a swamp, now forms a pleasant resort for the people of ballarat for boating, and being only four feet in depth, there is no danger of drowning. the drive round it too, of about five miles, is pretty. of course ballarat cannot do without an art gallery, but to that much praise cannot be given. some of the pictures by local artists may be interesting as specimens, but the prices attached to them are purely imaginative. to commemorate the duke of edinburgh's visit a public hall was to be built, to which honour both east and west ballarat--which are separate municipalities--laid claim. the difficulty was solved by building the hall over a small creek which separates the two towns, so that each has one end. as ballarat is , feet above melbourne, the temperature is much lower-- degrees on an average. when i was there in may the weather was decidedly cold. in winter snow is frequent, while in melbourne it is the rarest thing. from ballarat i went to adelaide, but that must be the subject of another letter. iv. south australia. it is some months since i last wrote about australia, but it is a question whether something is not gained by a delay in putting together notes of travel. if much is lost in vividness and particularity, yet the whole and its parts are thrown into better proportion, slight incidents that at first seemed of much interest, are relegated to a more humble position, and really salient points have a better chance of receiving their due share of attention. on the th may, i went to adelaide from melbourne by the steamer adelaide, and, among the fine steamers of the southern hemisphere, there is none better appointed than this, in respect of food, ventilation, and general comfort. like many others, it is fitted with the electric light. the captain is a well-known character. some time before, he had been to blame in a collision with another steamer on the river yarra. the marine board at melbourne suspended his certificate for six months, but his employers, i was told, held him in such esteem that during that time he went on his own ship as purser, until he could resume command. i was confined in the cabin with a gentleman, who kindly informed me, beforehand, that he undertook this voyage in order to be seasick, on account of his health, and so he kept me in a continual state of expectation, like one who, in the night, every moment expects a cock to crow. at the end of the voyage he expressed his regret that he had not been ill, which i could scarcely share. the journey, by sea, takes about hours; that is, from port philip heads (the entrance to melbourne harbour) to port adelaide, and the steamers run twice a-week from each end. soon there will be direct railway communication between melbourne and adelaide, but at present the land journey takes three days, and is much more expensive, as a good deal of it has to be done by coaching. the large mail steamers from europe of the p. & o. and orient lines stop for a few hours off glenelg (about seven miles from adelaide), to land the mails and cargo; but the intercolonial and other steamers come up, by a long detour, to port adelaide, which is also about seven miles from the city; but here they come alongside the wharf. some of the other colonies have been utilized as penal settlements, or rather begun as such. south australia was founded consciously and deliberately in . no convict is allowed to land, and a tax of £ is imposed on every chinese. the site of adelaide was chosen for that of the capital. from port adelaide to adelaide the rail runs through a level tract, and the city itself is placed in the centre of a plain, bounded by hills on the north and east at about six miles distance. south australia appears to be named on the _lucus a non lucendo_ principle, because, as a fact, almost the whole of south australia is to the north of victoria; and, since , it stretches right across the continent to the north coast of australia, which is far away into the tropics. indeed, this northern territory seems to be tacked on to south australia, because it is not yet of sufficient importance to have a government of its own, and it is difficult to know what to do with it. it is separated by an enormous tract of country, and has nothing in common with south australia proper. the bishop told me he supposed he should have to make a visitation through it. if in time this district of the north becomes more populous, it is probable it will set up for itself, just as there have long been agitations for separating northern queensland from the southern portion, and the riverina from new south wales, on the ground that their particular interests are not sufficiently represented at brisbane and sydney respectively. the population of the whole of south australia is now about , , that of adelaide and its suburbs being about , . adelaide is not only by far the largest town, but almost the only town of any size. the city is laid out with a regularity that is almost painful. it stands on a square mile of ground. at each side is a terrace, called respectively north, south, east, and west terrace. there are squares laid out at regular intervals. as is usual in australian towns, the streets are all at right angles, and generally of the same length and width. the adelaide people claim to have the finest street in the colonies, the finest post office, and the best hotel. king william street is two chains wide--the widest streets in melbourne are - / chains--is a mile long, and contains the principal public buildings, the town hall, post office, courts of justice, &c. the post office is a handsome building, with a lofty tower, from which various signs are displayed notifying the arrival and departure of mails. at night the electric light from the top can be seen from a great distance. from king william street start the various lines of tramway in every direction from the city. they run out to the various suburbs--magill, burnside, kensington, norwood, stepney, &c., some of which names sound very familiar. the tramcars are as universally used as in glasgow, and nowhere have i seen a better service than in adelaide. it is a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, to ride outside a tramcar in the bright atmosphere, to some suburb, and return after a ramble in the country. from beyond the north terrace is a capital view over the city. perhaps the best is from the house of mr. way, the chief justice. his villa, at which i had the pleasure of visiting him, is one of the most complete i have seen. nothing is omitted that the arts of civilization can supply. his library contains the choicest modern works. his garden is delicious with cool grottos and fountains. in his aviaries is a collection of the rare birds of the country, all of which he knows. in a separate cage are two fine eagles. among the flowers i noticed the "sturt desert pea," just then in blossom, the loveliest wild flower of australia. i have seen houses larger and finer, no doubt, and better collections of particular objects, but never any place so perfect of its kind. some lines from the "palace of art" involuntarily occurred to me, but to no man does the moral of tennyson's poem less apply than to the chief justice, for he is one of the most sympathetic and kind-hearted of men. i had intended staying at the adelaide club, and was provided with an introduction, but found on arrival that all the bedrooms were occupied. besides, visitors are liable to give up their bedrooms to members, and as at this time some races were going on, and the rooms consequently likely to continue occupied, it was better at once to put up at a hotel. this was the "york," which was a comfortable house, and not particularly dear. it is a favourite with visitors by the mail steamers, who often run up from glenelg for the few hours the steamer calls there. like all the other australian colonies (except western australia) south australia has a constitutional government, established in , consisting of two houses of parliament and the governor. for the lower house, which has members, there is manhood suffrage. they are not paid as in victoria, but a bill for paying them narrowly escaped passing last session, and will probably be carried soon. while i was there there happened to be an election to the legislative council, the upper house, the members of which retire in rotation. the election address of one candidate is the shortest i have ever seen. it was this: "gentlemen,--my services are at your disposal as a candidate for re-election to the legislative council." evidently his constituents were not troubled with burning questions. the position of a governor in the colonies is not altogether an enviable one. he has a high official and social position, but little real power, because, practically, he has to consent to any bill passed by the two houses. any one can go to a governor's reception, and their entertainments are necessarily extremely catholic in their nature. it is matter of common remark that people are seen there who are not seen anywhere else. a governor's salary is not at all large for his position, and besides general entertaining, he is expected to entertain anyone of the least distinction who may happen to arrive. adelaide is usually the first calling place for visitors to australia, and so the governor of south australia is peculiarly liable to these calls upon his purse. every law passed by the colony has to be ratified at home, so we have a free people at home governing a free people abroad, which is an anomaly, and is daily seen more and more to be so. south australia exports wool, wheat, and copper, but the price of copper has fallen more than per cent.; wheat is also very cheap, and has to compete with wheat from india; and in south australia farming operations are too often conducted by mere "earth scratchers," who have no knowledge of agriculture. in , considerable emigration to victoria took place in consequence of the discovery of gold in that colony. there was and is great depression of trade in south australia, and we have recently heard of the failure of the "commercial bank of south australia," but for all that the amount of the deposits in the south australian savings bank is greater than in any other in proportion to the population. it is nearly £ per head. it is true some of this is the result of compulsory savings under the provisions of the "destitute act." after a few days at the hotel, i went to stay with a young relative of mine in the northern suburb, where, with one exception, i remained the rest of my time. his wife kept no servant, not so much on account of the expense as because, as she said, "they are more bother than they're worth," and indeed this is a universal complaint in the colonies. i slept in a small room, and the last night but one observed in a corner of the ceiling, above the bed, what seemed to be a large spider. on mentioning this the next morning, i learnt that it was a tarantula, and was of use in catching insects. "oh, but," i said, "doesn't it come down at night?" "oh, no," said my friend, "it never comes below _this_," marking a spot about a yard above my head. this was not very reassuring, as there appeared nothing to prevent the animal from transgressing the prescribed limit, should it feel so disposed. it never troubled me however, but i was afterwards told that it had once come down too far and been killed. such animals are unpleasant, and at times dangerous, but they may be expected in countries where the heat is as great as it is in adelaide, which is considered to be one of the hottest places in the globe inhabited by man. one evening we went to hear the bishop preach in the cathedral. it is a very unpretending edifice, and in fact is only half built. it is all choir and no nave. in consequence of the great number of women who attend the services, or of the politeness of the men, or both, the bishop has been obliged to set apart seats for men to protect them against the encroachment of what mr. swinburne calls the "stronger sex." another evening we went to see a native dance or "corrobboree" as it is called. there are not many natives now left in south australia, and what there are have become very degraded. the law forbids the sale to them of intoxicating liquors. spirits not merely make them drunk, but drive them mad. as a sort of compensation they come down to adelaide at stated times for blankets, which are distributed to them by the government. on these occasions they are accustomed to exhibit themselves in their native antics and dances for a little gain. at this time was expected a large muster, and in order to accommodate as many visitors as possible, the adelaide cricket club had induced the natives to hold their corrobboree on the cricket ground, of course themselves looking for a large money return. certainly their anticipations must have been more than fulfilled, for there was a crowd at the entrance resembling that outside a london theatre on boxing night. instead of , people, the number expected, there were nearer , . seats in the grand stand were s., outside the ring was d., but soon all distinction of place was lost. presently about natives, hideously decorated, and stained with red to represent gashes on the head and breast, filed into the enclosure in a long line. small bonfires were lighted at intervals, and on these the performers leapt, one exactly following the steps of another. then they imitated the bounds of the kangaroo when pursued, but of dancing, or even posturing, in our sense of the word, there was none. meantime the "lubras" (native women) seated on the ground in one mass, kept up a monotonous chant, varying their cadences with the beat of tom-toms. the night was dark, and the figures were indistinctly seen. soon the vast crowd becoming impatient, burst through the barriers, and scattered the burning brands. a great scene of confusion ensued, and the performance came abruptly to an end. one of the blacks remarked, not without reason, "me tink dis white fellows' corrobboree." it is a painful thing to see a race so degenerate as to be willing to show themselves for money before their supplanters, and to see the former "lords of the soil" begging a copper from the passer-by. one cannot but desire that their extinction in these parts, which is certain, may be also speedy. i cannot easily imagine two more pitiable objects than those i afterwards saw at albany in western australia: a native man and woman begging, standing with their shrunken limbs in rags that barely covered them. the cricket ground is in the "reserve," a part between the north terrace and the northern suburb, which belongs to the community and cannot be built on. it is separated from the north terrace by the river torrens. like many australian rivers, the torrens starts up in various places and does not seem to have either a beginning or an ending. it might be compared to the "sullen mole that runneth underneath," between letherhead and dorking; but these australian rivers, when they do appear, are inclined to stagnate. the municipality of adelaide, however, have wisely dammed up the river, and converted it into a lake of about one and a half miles long, thus improving an eyesore into an ornament. it is spanned by a handsome bridge. near the north terrace, too, are the botanical gardens, one of the best in australia. the zoological gardens are close by, where there is a black cockatoo and a white peacock. as i said before, adelaide is the only town of any size. there are others, however. one day i went with my friend by train to the small town of gawler, which is about miles to the north. the train takes about one and a half hours. there we were met by a gentleman with a trap, who took us to see an ostrich farm about four miles from gawler. it belongs to a company at adelaide and we had an order from head quarters to be shown over it. ostriches have been imported into south australia from the cape of good hope, and thrive here well enough. at length, seeing the risk of a sharp competition in ostrich feathers, the cape authorities have laid an embargo of £ on every ostrich exported, but this is locking the stable door when the horse has escaped, for there are now in south australia quite sufficient birds to keep up the breed. the farm manager was a dry old scotchman of much humour, and had made himself accustomed to their ways. the farm was about acres in extent, and at this time there were about ostriches upon it, a number having recently been sent away north to port augusta, where is another farm belonging to the same company. some of the birds had committed suicide on their way to the sea. they will run up against palings or wire, get their long necks entangled, and sometimes cut their throats in trying to extricate themselves. i noticed one that had his throat bandaged up on this account. the birds are kept in paddocks, three or four together, or more, if young and tame, but some are very savage. we drove through all the paddocks, but the manager kept a sharp look-out, lest any should "bounce" at us. an ostrich, in attacking, kicks forward with his legs, which give tremendous blows, and then, when he has kicked down his enemy, he will probably sit upon him, and his weight is about two hundredweight. an ostrich, therefore, cannot be considered a generous foe. the old manager had been a good deal knocked about by them himself. on one occasion a bird had kicked him twice, broken a rib or two, and got him up fast against the palings. however, he managed to seize hold of the bird's neck, and calling to some men on the other side, he handed the neck to them over the palings, to hold while he made his escape--which his ingenuity certainly deserved. i asked him what he did when they ran away. "well," he said, "i sit down and wait till they stop; you can't catch them." the male takes turn with the female in sitting on the eggs, and when an ostrich has young ones she is very dangerous to approach. a good breeding couple are worth £ . the feathers are not taken off at any particular time of the year, but as they are ready, nor is cruelty exercised in taking them. i saw several ovens which had been used for hatching the eggs, but now they have enough birds to let them be hatched naturally, which is the safer way. an ostrich at close quarters is certainly an unpleasant looking beast; his neck, moving rapidly in all directions, surmounted by a small head, with bright wicked-looking eyes, reminds one of a snake. he has a fancy for anything bright, and will make for a button on your coat if it happens to gleam. i asked the age of ostriches, but could obtain no information. they look wiry enough to live for ever. on our return to gawler we called on the way to see an orange farm. the oranges were being picked. the trees, laden with fruit, seemed to have repaid the labour of the cultivator. oranges require a great deal of water. this grove was in a sheltered valley, and water was supplied by a pump worked by wind. the man with us said you could not tell exactly what sort of oranges would come, because the same tree sometimes bears different kinds. whether this is the case i do not know. paramatta, near sydney, is the chief place for oranges in australia, but these of gawler seemed to be as good as any we could desire, to judge from the taste. at gawler we had tea at a friend's house. he said amongst other things--all interesting, but which i have forgotten--that he always gave tramps a meal (which seems to be the custom) and usually offered them work, but that none would work for less than _s._ _d._ a day. they preferred to do nothing. the gawler museum was close by. it contains native clubs, tom-toms, skins of fishes, and a valuable book of engravings from hogarth. the last two or three days of my visit to south australia i spent with an old friend, who has been about six years a professor at the university. he lived about miles to the east of adelaide, beyond the mount lofty range, and the scenery by rail thither, across the mountains, is very striking. his comfortable house is about a mile from the station, and here he spends his leisure time with his family, in sensible pursuits. the university of adelaide is yet in its early youth, and only quite lately have any buildings been erected for it, but the professorships are well endowed, and the number of students annually increases. from adelaide i returned by steamer to melbourne, and from there in a few days i went to tasmania. on my subsequent return to england i spent a day at adelaide, but then was in the company of friends the whole time. v. tasmania. the island of tasmania is about miles direct south of victoria. up to its name was van diemen's land. then it was officially changed to tasmania, a name which is more euphonious and at the same time more correct, for the island was discovered by the dutch navigator, tasman, who called it after his father-in-law, van diemen. the change of name does not seem at once to have been appreciated in england, for it is related of the first bishop of tasmania, bishop nixon that, having occasion to call at the foreign office, he left his card "f. r. tasmania," and received a reply addressed to f. r. tasmania, esq.! this reminds one of the duke of newcastle, who, when prime minister, expressed his astonishment that cape breton was an island, and hurried off to tell the king. tasmania may be reached direct from england by the steamers of the shaw savill and albion line, which call at hobart on their way to new zealand once a month. the steamers of the new zealand shipping co. also call occasionally at hobart for coal, but they are not to be relied on for stopping. tasmania is however usually reached from melbourne. bass's straits, the sea between victoria and tasmania is usually stormy, and many passengers who have never been seasick all the way from england have succumbed to bass's straits. what is more remarkable however, is that some for whom bass's straits have had no terrors, have been seasick on the narrow-gauge line from launceston to hobart! there are two ways of going from melbourne to hobart, one by steamer to launceston at the north of the island, and miles up the river tamar, which takes about hours, and thence by express train to hobart which takes - / hours, the other by steamer all the way. there are two lines of steamers, the tasmanian s.s. co., and the union s.s. co., of new zealand, which calls at hobart on the way to new zealand. the steamers of the latter company are built by messrs. denny, of dumbarton, and are fine, comfortable, and swift. to travel by one of them is in my opinion far the pleasantest way of reaching hobart from melbourne. others to whom the shortest sea passage is preferable, will naturally go by launceston, and will have a beautiful ride through the country, though they may be shaken to pieces. tasmania is about half the size of england, but its population is only , . there are only two towns of any size--hobart in the south and launceston in the north. a great deal of the interior is marshy, and there are lakes of some considerable size, which in the winter are sometimes frozen. the north-west coast is very barren and sparsely inhabited. the doctors and clergy in these parts have often long journeys to make through the bush. in climate, tasmania is preferable to australia. the temperature is much more equable, and therefore not so trying to weak constitutions. formerly, many anglo-indians visited the north-west coast; but this has not been so much the case latterly. numbers of tourists come from australia during the summer months. compared to the larger island, tasmania is well watered, and the rainfall is very much greater. the climate has often been compared to that of england, without its damps and fogs, but the lightness and clearness of the atmosphere rather resemble that of the south of france or italy, and supply that gentle exhilaration to the spirits which can be so seldom known in england. mount wellington, which rises , feet above hobart, is often covered with a wreath of mist, and in the winter with snow. many english fruits and trees have been introduced, and flourish well. the sweet briar was brought in some years ago, and now in many parts the hedges are of nothing else. the native foliage is, however, the same as that of australia. everywhere the eucalyptus predominates, and in tasmania grows to a great height. some of the finest trees may be seen in driving from hobart along the huon road. up to within the last five and thirty years, the history of tasmania was that of a penal settlement. much has been written of the convict life, which it is not necessary to repeat here. i have often heard that marcus clarke's powerful but repulsive tale, "his natural life" is strictly true, even in its most horrible details. to the evils inherent in the system, others seem to have been deliberately added by the authorities. the convicts were employed as servants, and it was even permitted to a free woman to marry a convict, and then if he displeased her, she might have him punished. the buildings of the settlement at port arthur are still standing, but are fast falling into ruin. on the ceiling of the chapel there are yet to be seen marks of blood from the floggings there inflicted. the old doors and bolts of cells are used by the people in their own houses. it was of frequent occurrence that convicts effected an escape, but they were usually compelled, through hunger, to give themselves up. in cases where several escaped, they became bushrangers, and rendered travelling in the interior unsafe, for, their lives being already forfeited, they had no motive to abstain from pillage and murder. it appears that one at least of the governors of the convict establishments, took a malicious pleasure in taunting those under his care. at length he fell a victim to his own conduct. it may be a question whether it would not have been better to hang a man at once than to transport him to van dieman's land; but there can be no question whatever that to class one who had been guilty of some petty theft, with the abandoned wretches that convicts speedily become, is a deed of which the wickedness can hardly be exaggerated. the system, too, had a bad effect upon the free inhabitants. while the convicts were no better than slaves, in the masters were engendered some of the autocratic habits of slave-owners. if a convict gave the slightest offence to his master or mistress, nothing was easier than to send him with a note to the nearest magistrate, requesting that the bearer might receive fifty lashes. the spirit of caste would soon be manifested. the free white population would despise the convicts, or children of convicts--perhaps also the poor free whites. these distinctions have long ceased, but the feelings associated with them are not so easily eradicated. even now the descendants of convicts are sometimes secretly looked down upon, and a great many have, on that account, left the island. much public work has been done by convict labour. if a road is particularly well made, it is a sure remark that it was made by the "government stroke," but as a monument of human industry, slave labour does not impress the mind like free labour. one does not contemplate the pyramids of egypt with the same satisfaction as st. peter's or st. paul's. an account of the present aborigines of tasmania may be given with the same brevity as that of the snakes in ireland--there are none. the last was an old woman who died about ten years ago. they were gradually reduced in numbers, partly by the invaders, partly by natural causes, and at last the remnant was deported to one of the neighbouring islands. in there were only left. in the museum at hobart are portraits of a good many, with unpronounceable names. by the australians, tasmania is sometimes called "sleepy hollow," and certainly, compared with their neighbours across the water, the tasmanians do appear to be deficient in energy. the revenue of the country is, indeed, increasing, though slowly. there are now only about , acres under cultivation. a great many sheep are imported from victoria. the principal manufacture is jam, but the customs duties of victoria put difficulties in the way of a large export. lately, the tin mines of mount bischoff, in the n.w., have been exceedingly productive, but there is an immense amount of mineral wealth in tasmania not yet tapped. with the exception of newfoundland, it is, i believe, the only colony not represented at the present colonial and indian exhibition, and this must be matter of regret to all wellwishers of the island, because it is certainly not due to want of materials for exhibition. there might be shown the varieties of the gum tree, the beautiful tree-ferns, the pretty shells which are made into necklaces, the skin of the black opossum, of which the finest opossum rugs are made (the black opossum has, however, become very rare, and brown skins are sometimes dyed black). there is, too, the tasmanian devil, a small but formidable animal, something like a badger, and the ornithorhynchus, or duck-billed platypus, which figures on some of the postage stamps. this want of energy is a fact, however it may be accounted for. probably the emigration to australia of some of the convict families, as above mentioned, has withdrawn some useful members of society. again, in , the discovery of gold in victoria attracted the most adventurous spirits from the other colonies, and from tasmania among the rest. it is true that much of the dangerous and criminal element in the population may thus have been removed, but, at the same time, the young blood went with it, and, as pericles said, to take the young away from a city is like taking the spring out of the year, and now many of the young men go to australia or elsewhere to seek their fortunes, a fact which may be considered as much an effect of the present stagnation as a cause of it. throughout the island generally the usual proportion of the sexes is maintained, but in hobart the female sex appears to have a decided preponderance. tasmania, and especially hobart, has had a reputation for the beauty of the women; anthony trollope and other writers mention it. many men from melbourne have brought their wives from across the straits. i am bound to say that my own observation scarcely bore out this tradition, but one must be very insensible not to admire the fresh and clear complexions both of women and men; they have the same complexions as we see in england, than which there cannot be higher commendation. although the total population of tasmania is so small, the machinery of government is large. there is a governor, a legislative council of members, and a legislative assembly of members. both houses are elective, though not with the same suffrage; but as even the lower house is not elected by manhood suffrage, the constitution is not so democratic as that of victoria. during my visit the chief political question was the defence of the island against possible russian attack. the artillery were daily practising at kangaroo point, which commands the entrance to hobart. the present acting chief justice had been premier and attorney general for five years previously, and had brought the finances into a satisfactory state. each minister has a salary of £ . the high court of justice consists of a chief justice and a puisne judge. the result of this is that there is virtually no appeal from the decision of a single judge; because, if even on appeal the court should be divided, the previous judgment must necessarily be confirmed. the only appeal, therefore, is to the judicial committee of the privy council, a proceeding which would probably be attended with too much expense to be ever resorted to. the two branches of the legal profession--barristers and solicitors--are amalgamated, but in practice they are usually kept distinct. a jury consists of seven, of whom a majority of five can give a verdict. education is well endowed in tasmania. there is as yet no university, though attempts have been made to found one, but the council of education confers the degree of associate of arts, and every year two scholarships, called the "tasmanian scholarships," of the value of £ per annum, each for four years, to be held at any british university, are awarded if the candidates pass satisfactorily the required examination. this is indeed a splendid scholarship. there are various other scholarships for boys and girls under the age of , and others for those under , so that it is possible for a boy to rise "from the gutter to the university." the recent success of girls has brought forward the question whether they too should not be allowed to compete for the tasmanian scholarship. newspapers may be sent post free to great britain or the other colonies, to promote, i presume, knowledge of the country. the telephone is much more in use than in england, and is frequently used in place of the telegraph. the cost of it is only £ per annum. nor in railway communication is tasmania behind. i mean that there are enough railways to keep up with the requirements of the country, but new lines are being made, and they of course will create fresh requirements. the principal line is that connecting launceston with hobart. it belongs to a private company, but the government guaranteed per cent. on the cost of construction up to £ , . that sum was not sufficient, and subsequently £ , and £ , had to be borrowed to complete the line. the present income is about £ , --a large amount for the small population at each end and on the way. therefore when the chairman at the recent meeting of shareholders in london anticipated an income of £ , , he was rather in the clouds. the line is miles in length, and has a gauge of ft. in. it passes through some beautiful scenery, especially towards the hobart end, and the numerous bends of the line give travellers an excellent opportunity for seeing the country. to one not used to it, however, the jolting is most unpleasant, and the pace kept up round the curves is too great for safety. indeed, there have lately been some fatal accidents on that very account. among the stations are jerusalem and jericho, before which the line skirts the lake of tiberias. not far off is bagdad--which also has its caliph. there is one express train a day each way, which keeps up an average speed of miles per hour. launceston has about , inhabitants, and is a more business-like town than hobart. otherwise it is not particularly interesting. hobart, which up to was called hobart town, has a most enchanting situation. the scenery is of that ideal nature which, especially when the afternoon sun gleams on the water and the hills, reminds the spectator (if it is not contradictory to say so) of the "light that never was on sea or land." hobart lies about seven miles from the sea, which here runs up into the land like a norwegian fiord, and at the mouth of the river derwent. it is built upon sloping ground, between the river and mount wellington, a huge mass that dwarfs every other object. each side of this fiord are green hills, from any one of which are charming views of sea and land. the town much resembles an english country town. the streets are narrower than those of australian towns, and though mostly at right angles are not so painfully regular. they are mostly named after past governors, as macquarie street, davey street, collins street, franklin square, etc. over the town hall a flag flies, with the proud motto "_sic fortis hobartia crevit_," and the arms of the city, supported by a kangaroo and an emu. under this same roof is the public library, containing about , volumes. the chief english periodicals are taken here. i remember reading here froude's "carlyle in london," which is a biography worthy to stand beside boswell. it is a real biography, not a mere jumble of undigested letters and diary thrown before the public, which is too much the modern notion of writing somebody's life. hobart has none of the cosmopolitanism of melbourne. its habits are essentially provincial--what the germans call _kleinstädtisch_. there is a small theatre at hobart, to which companies sometimes come from melbourne. i saw the "ticket-of-leave man" here. the audience, which almost entirely consisted of the pit, were still in that primitive stage of criticism in which the villain (who was a good actor) was hooted, and the honest man (an indifferent actor) vehemently applauded. i remember asking the way to the theatre of a bearded individual, who turned out to be an officer of the salvation army. "ah, sir!" he said, "we don't believe in theatres, we're booked for heaven"--a most comfortable conviction to carry through this life, whatever may be the ultimate issue. lying as it does in the midst of such beautiful scenery, hobart is a good centre from which to make excursions. a favourite place for picnics is brown's river, about miles away, the road following the water edge along "sandy bay." an antipodean picnic is nothing without tea. in fact the tea-pot is the centre round which everything revolves. the first thing to be done is to collect wood for a fire. the "billy" is then filled with water and set to boil. meantime those not connected with these preliminaries wander through the woods or along the shore. at a picnic to brown's river i saw the famous cherries with the stones growing outside. it certainly is a kind of fruit with the stone outside, but bears no resemblance whatever to the cherry. near brown's river is the blow hole. this is an opening at the bottom of a rock, through which at certain states of the tide the water rushes, i presume, with much noise and violence, but when i saw it all was quiet. for a two days excursion from hobart, none can be better than to take the coach along the huon road to victoria, at the head of the huon river, sleep there, and the next morning take the steamer from victoria down the small river, along the d'entrecasteaux channel between the island of bruni and the mainland, and so back to hobart. i had arranged for this trip with a friend, and had gone so far as to consult the "captain of the pinafore," (the tiny craft above alluded to), as to the time of starting from victoria, for she does not start every day, but an accident at the last moment prevented us. subsequently, however, i had in a drive a good opportunity of seeing the best of the scenery along the huon road. along the huon river i am told there are hermits. at any rate there is one man who has not been seen for nine years. he brings any fruit he has to sell to a certain spot and lights a fire. this is seen, and in exchange for his commodities food is left for him. another beautiful trip from hobart is a journey of miles up the river derwent to new norfolk. the steamer takes about three hours. about halfway the river is crossed by the main line railway at bridgewater, and up to this point is of a considerable width. on the north the river skirts the wooded sides of mount direction, on the south mount wellington almost fills up the landscape. after passing bridgewater the river much narrows, and further on the woods descend to the water's edge in some places, reminding the traveller of the dart between dartmouth and totnes. just before reaching new norfolk a huge rock, called from its shape the pulpit rock, quite overhangs the river. a branch line from bridgewater to new norfolk was being made along the north side, close to the water's edge, and now the pulpit rock has been removed, for though a picturesque object it looked dangerous, and everything must, of course, give way to railways. on landing at the wharf at new norfolk, a boy came forward and offered to drive me to the well-known salmon ponds, where, for a good many years, attempts have been made to rear salmon from ova brought from england, but it is doubtful whether they have met with success. small fish have certainly been raised, but the question is whether they are salmon, and it is said none have attained a size sufficiently large to solve the enigma. the distance is only a few miles, and the drive is pretty, but ten shillings was too much for the pleasure of a solitary journey, for there was no one else likely to be a passenger in the winter time. new norfolk lies pleasantly situated in a valley on the south side of the derwent. the soil is favourable for hops, which have been introduced from england, and grow well here. i have been told that the freight of hops from tasmania to england is less than the carriage from some parts of kent to london; but as the carriage, say from maidstone to london, is about one and sixpence per pocket, they could be carried at such a rate from tasmania only as a back freight, and when the owner wants anything to fill up. for the night i put up at the "bush," the favourite and principal inn, but now i was the only guest. after dark i started out to see the little township, but as the moon was only in its first quarter, and there was no artificial light, not much could be made out then. launceston and hobart are the only towns that have gas, and while the moon is shining, or is due to shine, even that is not lighted--a piece of economy that may be excused where gas is about ten shillings per thousand. the next day i returned by land to hobart, travelling to bridgewater by a top-heavy coach, which at every turn sent my heart into my mouth, but it was skilfully driven. tasmania cannot be said to have progressed much of late years, yet it does make progress, and is not now receding as it was when sir c. dilke visited it about years ago. i do not know that any land is now allowed to go out of cultivation as was then the case. it has not been entirely its own fault either. the protective duties of victoria have much checked the exportation of fruit and jam. the question of protection _versus_ free trade is a permanent subject of controversy in the colonies. at the present moment the premier of victoria is a free trader, while the chief secretary is an ardent protectionist. if this difference of opinion exists in the most advanced and populous colony, what certainty of policy can be looked for in the others? the best solution would probably be an intercolonial zollverein, towards which events seem to be tending. whether eventually it will include great britain is a part of the wider question of federation. that tasmania is a country with many resources--especially mineral wealth--as yet undeveloped, is a conclusion at which most people will arrive, even after a short visit to the colony; but, how soon and in what way this development will take place depends, of course, upon the character of the inhabitants, and this character will, no doubt, improve as the remembrances of the convict life, which has so blighted this beautiful island, gradually recede into the dim distance of the past. vi. auckland and sydney. i do not know that i have any right to say anything about new zealand, seeing that i was only three days upon the north island. i had indeed intended to have paid a proper visit. i had intended seeing the famous pink and white terraces (now alas! destroyed), and the rest of the lake district; and at various places i had a good many introductions from friends. but the force of circumstances--sometimes said to be another name for weakness of will--intervened, and my fine schemes ended ingloriously in a flying visit to auckland, on a business matter. i have before alluded to the excellent steamers of the union s.s. co., of new zealand. this company appears to have a monopoly of the trade between australia and new zealand, and if their steamers continue as they now are there is not much reason to fear competition. they start from melbourne, call at hobart, run across to the south of the island of new zealand, then, calling at the principal ports along the whole length of the east coast of the two islands till they reach auckland, they steam straight across to sydney. the same journey is made back again from sydney to melbourne. the route is sometimes varied, but this is the usual course. the names of their steamers are from lakes in new zealand, tarawera, wairarapa, te anau, &c., while the steamers of the new zealand shipping co. are named from mountains, as tongariro, aorangi, rimutaka, &c. on the day that i had arranged to leave hobart by the union line for new zealand, it happened that one of the new zealand co.'s steamers called in for coal, and as this steamer--a fine vessel of , tons--was going direct to auckland it suited me much better. she had come round the cape, thus avoiding the heat of the suez canal. this is a monthly service direct to new zealand. the shaw savill and albion line also has a monthly service, so that every fortnight there is a steamer direct from england arriving in new zealand. the sea was smooth, and consequently the passage was quick. on the morning of the third day we passed the snares rocks, to the south of stewart's island. on the fifth, the snowy sides of the kaikoura mountains were glittering in the morning sun as we passed a few miles from shore, and about o'clock on the morning of the eighth day, we were alongside the wharf in the spacious harbour of auckland. close by, my eye was caught by the "ohau," a small steamer, which, as it happened, i had seen launched about nine months previously at dumbarton--little expecting to see it again. it is doubtful whether new zealand belongs geographically to australia or to the pacific islands. it is said that some shocks of earthquake in new zealand have been felt in tasmania. on the other hand there is above a thousand miles of rough sea between australia and new zealand, with no connecting islands between, and nature presents quite a different aspect in the two countries. the gum tree is the principal tree on the australian continent, the kauri pine in new zealand. in the latter country there are no kangaroos, no emus, no snakes, in fact very few indigenous animals. the bones of a gigantic bird, the moa, are to be found, but the bird itself has long been extinct. every variety of climate and scenery may be found in new zealand. the winter of the south island is as rigorous as that of england, while the north island nearly reaches the tropics. in the north island are the famous hot lakes; in the south the very lofty range of mountains known as the southern alps, which attains a height of , feet in mount cook. the scenery on the south-west coast, from milford sound downwards, where the sea runs up many miles into the land, and the steamer passes through narrow straits between perpendicular walls of rock, has often been compared to that of the wilder fiords of norway. it is little more than forty years since new zealand was colonized by europeans, but already shoals of books have been written about it. the maoris, as is well known, are not the original inhabitants. their traditions relate--and they are confirmed by independent investigations--that they came about years ago from the south sea islands, and drove out or exterminated the natives. as a fact the maoris are immeasurably superior to the australian natives. captain cook, in describing his landing in , says, "one of the natives raised his spear, as if to dart it at the boat; the coxswain fired, and shot him dead,"--a melancholy omen of the future relations between the natives and the strangers. the maori wars have cost us many lives, but, of course, have always had the same ending. the natives have gradually been straitened in room, and their numbers have steadily declined. it is true that the census of shows a rather larger number of natives ( , odd) than in , but in the latter year it was probably not so accurately made, and there is little doubt that they are now rapidly diminishing. they are nearly all in the north island, in the neighbourhood of the hot lake district. the portion specially alloted to them is called the king country, and no european may enter this without permission. thus they have prevented the ascent of mount tongariro, which is _tapu_, or sacred. they are now much better treated than formerly, and send four members to parliament. in their language there is no _s_ or _f_, vowels are very numerous, and every word ends with a vowel. the sound of the words, therefore, is easy and flowing, and the native names are far more euphonious than those of australia. there is already a good deal of literature about the maoris, their habits and customs and religious ideas. no doubt they are of the widely-spread malay race, which has over-run the south pacific. the religious notions of the most different races in a certain stage of civilization much resemble one another. we know, for instance, that the greeks of homer's time (whatever that was) besides worshipping the gods of olympus, identified every ruin, mountain, or cape with some superhuman person--whether demon, or hero, or nymph. so we read (in wakefield's adventures in new zealand) that the chief heu-heu appeals to his ancestor the great mountain tongariro, "i am the heu-heu, and rule over you all just as my ancestor, tongariro, the mountain of snow, stands above all this land." heu-heu refused permission to anyone to ascend the mountain, on the ground that it was his _tipuna_ or ancestor,--"he constantly identified himself with the mountain, and called it his sacred ancestor." the mountains in new zealand are accounted by the natives male and female. tarawera and taranaki, two male mountains, once quarrelled about the affections of a small volcanic female mountain in the neighbourhood. a great deal about the transactions between the new zealand government and the natives may be learnt from the recent interesting libel action of _bryce_ v. _rusden_, in which the former, who has been native minister in the government, recovered £ damages against the defendant, the author of a history of new zealand. up to the islands were divided into nine provinces, each of which had a separate council, subject to the central government at wellington, but in that year the provincial councils were abolished, and the government is now like that of the australian colonies, with a governor and two houses of parliament. the members of the lower house are paid. in "greater britain," sir charles dilke, making a contrast between new zealand and australia, suggests that new zealand is aristocratic and australia democratic. to me they appeared equally democratic. the payment of members is an advanced step even in a democracy. auckland is by far the largest town in the north island, with its suburbs, now containing nearly , inhabitants. up to it was also the seat of government, but that was then moved to wellington as being a more central town. there is much rivalry between auckland and dunedin, the largest town in the south island. dunedin is the capital of the pro-provincial district of otago, which is chiefly inhabited by scotch, or people of scotch descent. the scotch have the great merit of sticking to their friends. if there is anything to be done or gained, a scotchman naturally gets the preference. i heard an amusing illustration of this on the way to new zealand. at one of the ports in otago a steamer required new boilers, and tenders were asked for. one was much lower than the others, and was accepted. the name of the contractor appeared to be macpherson, but when sent for he turned out to be a chinaman. he had been shrewd enough to see that he had no chance of getting the work in his own name. the total population of new zealand is a little over , , and the public debt is about £ , , . this seems to show that taxation must be high. a good deal of this large amount has, it is true, been expended on railways, which all belong to the state, and therefore the burden, though heavy, is not quite so heavy as it appears at first sight. a friend at auckland told me that new zealand is a paradise for working-men and for men with capital, who can safely lend it at a high rate of interest. it is probably, too, a capital place for domestic servants, who everywhere in the colonies seem to have pretty much their own way. i have also heard that dentists are much in request. a lady, living near auckland, had to drive twelve miles, and then put her name down in a book three weeks beforehand, to see the dentist! but for people who want to find something to do, and have no money and no manual skill, the prospect is not so smiling. for instance, i should not imagine that teaching is a lucrative pursuit--private teaching that is to say, for in public teaching the supply is in excess of the demand, and, no doubt, rightly so, in a young community. new zealand annually spends on education £ , , or £ per head of the population, a higher proportion than is spent by any other country. formerly there was the university of otago and the university of new zealand, but the former has now ceased to have the power of conferring degrees, and has been virtually amalgamated with the university of new zealand. this university has affiliated colleges at auckland, wellington, christchurch, and dunedin, though the latter is still styled the university of otago. each of these colleges has a staff of highly-paid professors, with not much to do as yet in the strict line of business, to judge by the number of students. but of course the taste for advanced education has to be created before it can be much in request. the salaries are large enough to tempt over some of the best men from england, but a professor is expected to come out as a public man much more here than at home. he is expected to deliver a course of lectures in public, to entertain socially, and to interest himself in local affairs. at auckland they boasted that on their school board they had a senior classic and a senior wrangler. auckland is, as i said, the only town i actually visited in new zealand. of the town itself there is not much to be said. it is not particularly interesting, and the climate is rather relaxing; when it rains the roads are almost impassable with mud. but its situation is most charming from its beauty, and most advantageous for trade. the harbour of auckland is thought by some to rival that of sydney for beauty and commodiousness. from the summit of mount eden, an extinct volcano, with a perfectly formed crater (its extinction, however, does not appear so certain, after the recent experience of mount tarawera, which was thought to be equally extinct), an extensive view of auckland and the two seas is to be obtained. for at this point the north island is so narrow, that manukau harbour on the west side comes close up to auckland, and at one point the distance across is only a mile and a half. there has been a project mooted to cut through the narrow isthmus, and thus lessen the journey to sydney by about miles, but all the harbours of new zealand lie towards the pacific, not towards australia, and there is a formidable bar at the entrance to manukau harbour, so that after all the expense would probably be too great. auckland is on the direct track for steamers from san francisco to sydney, and up to last year there was a regular service of three steamers, once a month--i forget the name of the line. many went by this route, as the fare from sydney to london this way is only £ , including the rail across america, but there were many complaints of the inferiority of the steamers. that line has now ceased, but the union line of new zealand now run their steamers along the same route, and, i believe, have a subsidy from new zealand and new south wales for the mail service to america. it was by one of the steamers of the former line, the "zealandia," that i left auckland for sydney on the th june. the voyage took five days over a calm sea, and was quite without incident. we were, however, enlivened by the presence of mr. dion boucicault, the well-known playwright and actor, with his company, who were on their way to fulfil engagements in melbourne and sydney, after some years stay in america; we had many amusing, but highly-coloured anecdotes. among them one alone, told by an actor who died sadly and suddenly at melbourne a few weeks later, now remains in my memory. some time previously he had been acting at ottawa, and the play was richard iii. he was richmond, and in reply to his speech the duke of norfolk says, "your words are fire, my lord, and warm our men." on this occasion the army consisted of one man, one woman (dressed as a soldier) and a boy, and the very conscientious duke replied, "your words are fire, my lord, and warm our _man_." i tell it as it was told me, but my friend must have made some mistake. these words do not occur in shakespeare's richard iii. (though they may in the acting version) and at any rate there is no conversation between richmond and the duke of norfolk. on arrival at sydney i made no stay, but returned to melbourne the next day by steamer. however, i paid my visit of five weeks to sydney a short time afterwards. this time i left melbourne by the very fine steamer buninyong, of tons, belonging to howard, smith & co., i believe the largest of the inter-colonial steamers. after passing wilson's promontory, the extreme south point of victoria, and indeed of australia, the coast is in sight the whole way. after about hours we entered sydney heads. it was then twilight, and quite dark before we came alongside the wharf. the entrance to the heads at sydney is about a mile wide, but is scarcely seen before it is entered. the cliffs on each side are several hundred feet high. the projecting points of the cliff on the north side, when seen at a certain angle, made a good imitation of the duke of wellington's profile. a fast steamer from melbourne takes about hours, but then fast steamers are sometimes dangerous; most people have read of the terrible wrecks of the cahors and the lyeemoon, within a few months of each other, the two fastest steamers of the australian steam navigation co.; the latter wreck caused the loss of lives. both were the result of steering too close inland, to save an hour or two. to suspend or cancel a captain's certificate, or even to prosecute him, is a small consolation for such things as these. moreover, when there is time to use the boats, they are too often found to be unseaworthy. the steamers themselves are inspected by the marine board, and certificates granted for months, but the boats, though included in the certificate, are not separately examined. being exposed to the hot sun day after day, they become very dry, and consequently leak when wanted for use. if the captain was bound to keep the boats seaworthy as distinct from the ship, he would be more careful to have them tested now and then. mr. wm. smith, of sydney, has recently invented a life-boat, which, it has been proved, cannot be upset. he has offered it freely to the government, but owing to differences with some officials of the marine board, it has never received a fair trial at their hands. the recent loss of life at sea will not have been entirely useless, if it directs public attention to his most valuable invention. the harbour of sydney has been often described, and i will not attempt to do so, especially as all descriptions of scenery are unsatisfactory. they seldom convey any definite impression, and a good photograph is better than any number of them. however, it disputes with that of rio janeiro, the name of the "finest harbour in the world"--whatever that may mean exactly. in shape it somewhat resembles a huge octopus, the innumerable creeks and inlets branching out like so many feelers, yet there can scarcely be said to be a centre from which they radiate. numberless steamers ply all day to various points, mostly starting from the "circular quay," the principal wharf of the city. small steamers rush in everywhere up the smallest rivers, and have to be of the lightest draught. in the summer many of the rivers are dry. the captain of one, not to be outbid by his rival, advertised to start "the next heavy dew." i spent many of my days in sydney in exploring the harbour, by the aid of steamers, but to see it adequately would require many weeks. watson's bay is near the south head. close by is the "gap," where the city of dunbar was wrecked on the th august, . the anniversary of the day is kept. the captain, steering straight for the entrance as he thought, ran upon the rocks. there was only one survivor, who was thrown upon a ledge of rock, and was not found for two days. the ship was full of colonists returning home, and the calamity threw nearly all sydney into mourning. there is now a lighthouse near at hand, with a magnificent electric light, which can be seen thirty miles away. at manly beach, near the north head, is a fine sandy tract; it is a favourite bathing-place, and round about are many pretty villas. a young clergyman, recently come from england as _locum tenens_ to an absent vicar, was then at manly beach with his wife. i had known him in england, so we made up a picnic to drive northward from manly about miles, to a place called pitwater. a charming drive it was. now and then glimpses of the sea on the right hand were seen. for several miles the road was bordered with the lovely wild flowers which grow in profusion near sydney, so much so that in september the ladies of manly get up a wild-flower show. the varieties of the wattle are especially beautiful. pitwater consisted of one house, to which the road had been made but a few months previously. it was at the edge of an inlet from the sea, which here comes in some distance, but it looked like an inland lake, so still and solemn were the surroundings. my friend had the reputation of being one of the best, if not the best, preachers in sydney. he occupied one of the largest churches and kept it full. his matter was excellent, but his reputation he owed chiefly to his admirable elocution, in which art he had taken lessons in london. if only more clergymen would have the sense to do the same! it is very well to say that, as religion is so all-important a subject, any sermon should compel attention. perhaps that should be so, but men are mortal, and sermons are not listened to any more than any other utterances if they are tedious and badly delivered. the area of new south wales is over , square miles, or half as large again as that of france. its population is a little under a million. sydney, with , , is the only large town; there is not another above , . there is little agriculture and no manufactures to speak of. at newcastle, about miles north of sydney, coal is found in abundance, and from there most of australia is supplied, but much of it is of a dirty and smoky kind, more fit for steamers than for domestic use. coal has now been found in gippsland, in victoria, and it is a question of carriage to bring it into use at melbourne. the new south wales coal is about s. a ton in melbourne. the pastoral interest (sheep farming) is the principal, almost the only interest in new south wales, therefore when one drought follows another the whole colony is of course depressed. at these times the public offices in sydney are besieged by crowds of men out of work, and the government will employ as many as possible, sometimes uselessly. this is a dangerous thing, for men speedily acquire the notion that if they do nothing for themselves the government is bound to provide for them. but a man out of work in sydney or melbourne is a different animal from the same man in england. if offered s. d. a day for stone breaking he will object that it blisters his hands. he wants not merely work, but work that he happens to like, and any politician who will provide him with work of this kind will be sure of his vote at the next election. it is difficult to get at the truth about the state of the labour market in new south wales. the newspaper accounts are most conflicting. one writer asserts that any man with honesty and determination can make his living at any time; another speaks of the numbers of skilled artisans who cannot get employment. but if some of these latter have the fastidious tastes above mentioned, it will be seen that the destitution is to a certain extent artificial. but reasoning on these subjects speedily merges in the ocean of free trade _v._ protection, upon which i will not further touch. sydney is the oldest town in the colonies, having been founded in . it has quite the air of an old established place--the abode of men for generations. the principal streets run east and west the whole length of the town down to the harbour, a distance of nearly four miles. in the centre is hyde park, a prettily laid-out piece of acres, but the most beautiful spot is the botanical gardens, which slope down to the water's edge. especial pains have been taken to render them an admirable specimen of horticulture. nearly every tree and shrub that will grow in this climate is here to be found. near them is the "national gallery," where may be seen many paintings that a few years ago graced the walls of burlington house. the chief attraction during my visit was a copy of miss thompson's, "roll call," said to be by the artist herself. £ was to be given for it on proof of its authenticity, but it did not require the eye of a connoisseur to judge that such proof was not likely to be forthcoming, and so it proved. it is evidently an inferior copy by another hand. the principal residential street is macquarie street, which faces the public gardens. six years ago an exhibition was held in these gardens. the building was mysteriously burned down, no doubt by incendiarism, but it was never found out, though it was jokingly said it was the act of some inhabitant of macquarie street, for the building quite obstructed their view. i have before said that rents in melbourne are very high. in sydney they are much higher. the small house in which i boarded in macquarie street was rented at £ s. a week, and the landlord refused to make any repairs whatever, because, as he said, and truly enough, he could any day get £ a week. in a london suburb the rent would be about £ a year. of course it was in the best situation in sydney. in the outskirts of the town there was much land speculation. land is sold at so much a foot, _i.e._ a strip of a foot in breadth, and about feet in length. there is in sydney a complete system of steam tramways, which run to the distance of six or seven miles out of the town. accidents to pedestrians are not uncommon. vehicles are hardly seen in the streets where the trams run. one line goes out as far as botany. i walked from there along the famous bay which was so nearly having sydney built upon its shore. it lies about seven miles north of sydney, and is almost as quiet as when captain phillip landed a hundred years ago. in new south wales there are two houses of parliament and a governor, as usual. the lower house is elected by universal suffrage, but the legislative council is nominated by the governor. the late governor was certainly not popular, in spite of what the guide books say. whether rightly or wrongly, there was a widespread impression that, being a comparatively poor man he had been sent out, like a roman proconsul, to increase his private means. it is certain that a governor of new south wales cannot adequately discharge his numerous functions on less than his official salary of £ per annum, and any appearance of parsimony is naturally resented. it is not exactly the most suitable post for an elderly diplomatist accustomed to the pomps and inanities of european courts. the attorney general of new south wales, mr. (now, i think, sir william) dalley, is by many people considered the foremost statesman in australia. it was he, who, during the illness of the then premier, despatched the contingent to the soudan. he is, undoubtedly, a remarkable speaker, and has recently been created a privy councillor--the only colonial statesman hitherto raised to that dignity. the church of england flourishes in sydney. there is the cathedral of st. andrew, and many other churches. the bishop (who is the metropolitan of australia), dr. barry, the late well-known principal of king's college, has done much by his broadness of view and liberality of sentiment to lessen local religious differences. the roman catholics have been building an enormous cathedral, not yet finished. they, too, are a numerous body. the memory of the late archbishop vaughan, who died here in harness, is perfectly idolized by them. the university of sydney has an imposing building, on a site overlooking the city, with a large hall and spacious lecture rooms. the late professor of classics was dr. badham, the renowned greek scholar. the affiliated colleges are denominational, st. paul's, church of england; st. john's, roman catholic; and st. andrew's, presbyterian. there is, of course, a public library in sydney, but it cannot for a moment compete with that of melbourne, and, from a casual inspection, it did not appear to me that the books were well selected. there is also a public lending library. in sydney there are a good many chinese. some of them are doctors. one chinese doctor professes to make a diagnosis of any disease by mere inspection, and will then prescribe medicine to effect a cure in a week, a month, or a year, according to the patient's wish, the less the time the higher the price of the specific. i have heard that in china people pay their doctors as long as they are in good health, but when ill require their services for nothing. this appears a plan worth trying elsewhere. unfortunately i did not have an opportunity of seeing more of new south wales than sydney and its immediate neighbourhood. one of the favourite excursions from sydney, is to go by rail to mount victoria, about miles, to pass over the celebrated "zig-zag," a specimen of engineering skill, where the train climbs the mountain side, and at one point is so many hundred feet exactly above a point it passed some time before. to judge by a photograph it must resemble the line over the brenner pass in the tyrol, where, near the station of gossensass, there is a similar zig-zag. some large stalactite caverns, called the "fish river caves," are well worth a visit. hitherto they have been nearly inaccessible to the ordinary tourist, but lately the government has appointed a man to reside there, and the road has been made more practicable. from sydney i returned by rail to melbourne. the distance is nearly miles, and the train takes hours including stoppages, so that a very good speed is maintained all the way. at the frontier, which is reached about a.m., the traveller must change trains, as the gauge is wider in victoria than on the new south wales lines. after entering victoria, the line passes through what is called the "kelly country," where the famous bushrangers, kelly and his associates, committed their outrages some years ago. in a very short time sydney will be connected by rail with brisbane, and there will then be a continuous line from adelaide through melbourne and sydney to brisbane, a distance of not less than , miles. this will no doubt much increase the importance of adelaide, because many people will be glad to land from a steamer as soon as possible. a few days after arrival at melbourne, i returned by p. and o. steamer to england, and as i am not prepared to inflict on any one an account of so hackneyed a voyage, i finish at this point. in ancient times colonists were sent out by phoenicians or greeks (the roman colonies were for military and political purposes) among people who to them were barbarians (which, after all, only means people speaking a foreign tongue) but who might be only a little inferior to themselves in civilization. a greek colony, for instance, settled among the egyptians, by whom the greeks themselves were accounted barbarians. the colonists to america from england two and a half centuries ago, had to contend with somewhat similar difficulties as the first colonists of australia, but they had not so many modern appliances. the australian colonies are particularly interesting, because they exhibit people of an ancient civilization and fixed customs thrown into contact with the elemental conditions of life. they had to start at the very beginning, and that, too, with an overplus of criminal population. their success hitherto is a testimony to the inherent vitality and tenacity of the english race, and to sneer at them as if they were children, or to patronize them, is not merely bad taste, but shows an utter ignorance of the facts. in many things they have begun where we left off. they have had the advantage of our experience, and in many things we may profitably learn from them. for instance, when we hear much airy talk of the nationalization of the land in england and other equally fundamental questions for a country to have to consider, it would be well to study the problem in australia, where the greatest landlord is the state. amid the conflict of forces which make up the struggle of life, it is not much use talking about rights and duties until the actual forces at work are taken into calculation. not at all that might makes right, as carlyle is often misrepresented to have said (of which he pathetically complains), but right that in the long run makes might; and the best social results are obtained by looking from this point of view at the many difficulties of our present existence. m. harland & son, printers, phoenix works, manor street, hull. transcriber's notes: ) morrumbidgee/murrumbidgee each used on several occasions and left as in the original. 'morrumbidgee' is the aboriginal name for the murrumbidgee. ) used on numerous occasions, civilisation/civilization; civilised/civilized; civilising/civilizing; uncivilised/uncivilized: left as in the original. ) same with variations of colonisation/colonization, and a few other "z" words that should be "s" words in their english form. * * * * * the englishman's library. xxvi. australia, its history and present condition; containing an account both of the bush and of the colonies, with their respective inhabitants. by the rev. w. pridden, m.a. vicar of broxted, essex. "_truth_, in her native calmness and becoming moderation, shall be the object of our homage and pursuit; and we will aim at the attainment of knowledge for the improvement of our reason, and not for the gratification of a passion for disputing."--_address of the bp of australia in to the church of england book society._ london: james burns, , portman street, portman square. . london: printed by r. clay, bread street hill. * * * * * [illustration: map of australia] preface. a few words by way of preface are requisite, in order that the objects of the present work may be stated to the reader, and that he may also be made acquainted with the sources whence the information here communicated is derived, and from consulting which he may still further inform himself concerning australia. the aim of the writer of the following pages has been,--while furnishing a description of some of the most flourishing and interesting settlements belonging to the british crown, which, at the same time, exhibit in contrast to each other the two extremes of savage and civilised life;--to call the attention of his countrymen, both at home and in the colonies, to the evils which have arisen from the absence of moral restraint and religious instruction in colonies of civilised and (nominally) christian men. and although it must in many ways be a disadvantage that the person professing to describe a particular country should have gained all his knowledge of it from the report of others, without ever having himself set foot upon its shores; yet, in one respect at least, this may operate advantageously. he is less likely to have party prejudices or private interests to serve in his account of the land to which he is a total stranger. in consequence, probably, of his being an indifferent and impartial observer, not one of our australian colonies wears in his eye the appearance of a perfect paradise; but then, on the other hand, there is not one of those fine settlements which prejudice urges him to condemn, as though it were barren and dreary as the great sahara itself. and the same circumstance--his never having breathed the close unwholesome air of colonial party-politics--will render it less likely that his judgment respecting persons and disputed opinions should be unduly biassed. there will be more probability of his judging upon right _principles_, and although his facts may (in some instances, unavoidably) be less minutely accurate than an inhabitant of the country would have given, yet they may be less coloured and less partially stated. instead of giving his own observations as an eye-witness, fraught with his own particular views, he can calmly weigh the opposite statements of men of different opinions, and between the two he is more likely to arrive at the truth. with regard to the present work, however impartial the author has endeavoured to be, however free he may be from colonial passions and interests, he does not wish to deceive the reader by professing a total freedom from all prejudice. if this were desirable, it is impossible; it is a qualification which no writer, or reader either, possesses. but thus much may be stated, that all his prejudices are in favour of those institutions with which it has pleased god to bless his native land. in a volume that is intended to form part of a series called "the englishman's library," it may be permitted, surely, to acknowledge a strong and influencing attachment to the sovereign, the church, and the constitution of england. the object and principles of the present volume being thus plainly set forth, it remains only to mention some of the sources whence the information contained in it is derived. to the travels of captain grey on the western coast of new holland, and to those of major mitchell in the interior, the first portion of this work is deeply indebted, and every person interested in the state of the natives, or fond of perusing travels in a wild and unknown region, may be referred to these four volumes,[ ] where they will find that the extracts here given are but a specimen of the stores of amusement and information which they contain. captain sturt's "expeditions" and mr. oxley's "journal" are both interesting works, but they point rather to the progress of discovery in new holland than to the actual state of our local knowledge of it. dr. lang's two volumes upon new south wales are full of information from one who has lived there many years, and his faults are sufficiently obvious for any intelligent reader to guard against. mr. montgomery martin's little book is a very useful compendium, and those that desire to know more particulars concerning the origin of the first english colony in new holland may be referred to collins's account of it. various interesting particulars respecting the religious state of the colonies in australia have been derived from the correspondence in the possession of the society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts, free access to which was allowed through the kind introduction of the rev. c. b. dalton. many other sources of information have been consulted, among which the reports of the parliamentary committee upon transportation, in and ; and that of the committee upon south australia, in , must not be left unnoticed. neither may the work of judge burton upon religion and education in new south wales be passed over in silence; for, whatever imperfections may be found in his book,[ ] the facts there set forth are valuable, and, for the most part, incontrovertible, and the principles it exhibits are excellent. from the works just mentioned the reader may, should he feel inclined, verify for himself the facts stated in the ensuing pages, or pursue his inquiries further. in the meantime, he cannot do better than join the author of the little book which he holds in his hand, in an humble and earnest prayer to almighty god, that, in this and in every other instance, whatever may be the feebleness and imperfection of human efforts, all things may be made to work together for good towards promoting the glory of god, the extension of christ's kingdom, and the salvation of mankind. [ ] published, all of them, by t. and w. boone, london, to whom it is only just to acknowledge their kindness in permitting the use that has been made of these two publications in the first portion of the present work. [ ] see dr. ullathorne's reply to burton, especially at p. , where it appears that the judge was not quite impartial in one of his statements. dr. ullathorne himself has, in his pages, contrived to crowd in at least twice as many misrepresentations as burton's pages contain. but that is no excuse. the romish church may need, or seem to need, such support. the cause defended by judge burton needs it not. #contents.# introduction. [page .] subject of the work--discovery and situation of new holland--its interior little known--blue mountains--conjectures respecting the interior--van diemen's land, or tasmania. chapter i. [page .] the bush described--remains of it near sydney--north-western coast of new holland--sandy columns and fragments--recollections of home--gouty stem tree--green ants--fine volcanic district--cure for cold--travelling in the rainy season--rich sequestered valleys-- plains near the lachlan--falls of the apsley--beauties of nature enjoyed by explorers--aid afforded by religion--trials of travellers in the bush--thirst--a christian's consolations--plains of kolaina, or deceit--bernier island--frederic smith--a commander's cares--dried streams--return from a journey in the bush--outsettlers--islands on the australian coast--kangaroo island--coral reefs and islets. chapter ii. [page .] forbidding aspect of coast no argument against inland beauty and fertility--river darling--the murray--other rivers of new holland-- contrasts in australia--the lachlan, regent's lake, &c.--sturt's descent down the murray--his return--woods--difficulties and dangers of bush travelling--wellington valley--australia felix--conclusion. chapter iii. [page .] comparative advantages of europeans over savages--degraded condition of natives of new holland--total absence of clothing--love of ornaments--peculiar rites--ceremony of knocking out a tooth--hardships of savage life--revengeful spirit--effect of native songs in exciting anger--cruelty--courage--indifference to accounts of civilized life-- contempt of its ways--treatment of women--family names, and crests-- language--music. chapter iv. [page .] means of subsistence--a whale feast--hunting the kangaroo--australian cookery--fish--seal catching--turtles--finding opossums--birds-- pursuit of the emu or cassowary--disgusting food of the natives-- vegetables--_by-yu_ nuts--evils of european settlements in cutting off the native supply of food--native property in land--inhabitants of van diemen's land--a word of advice to christian colonists. chapter v. [page .] first shyness of natives natural--their perplexity between european customs and their own--health and longevity--old age--funereal rites--belief in sorcery--the _boyl-yas_--various modes of interment--tombs--riches of a native--bodily excellences--secrecy-- quickness of sight, &c.--kaiber and the watch--the _warran_ ground-- various superstitions--mischief of bad example, for which the british nation is responsible--the church, the right instrument, and the only one that will be found successful, for civilising the australian tribes, if they are ever to be civilised. chapter vi. [page .] bennillong--barangaroo's funeral--the spitting tribe--mulligo's death-- the corrobory--peerat and his wives--woga's captivity--ballooderry and the convicts--native hospitality and philosophy--the widow and her child--miago. chapter vii. [page .] infancy of new south wales an interesting subject to englishmen--arrival, in , of the sirius, and the supply at botany bay--settlement commenced in the harbour of port jackson--character of the convicts--influence of religion--particulars respecting the chaplain-- his peculiar situation and efforts--a gold mine pretended to be found-- supply of food precarious--farming--failure of provisions--erection of a flag-staff at the entrance of port jackson--activity of governor phillip--emigration to norfolk island--loss of the sirius-- departure of the supply for batavia--arrivals from england--cruel treatment of convicts on board--paramatta founded--arrival of the second fleet--state of agriculture--the chaplain's bounty abused-- attendance at divine service--a church built--its subsequent fate-- scarcity of provisions, and great mortality--profligacy of convicts-- harvest of --departure of governor phillip--major grose's government--captain paterson's--various occurrences--drunkenness--love of money--spirit of gambling. chapter viii. [page .] arrival of governor hunter--his efforts for reformation--advancement of the colony towards supplying its own wants--wild cattle found--coal discovered--governor's regulations--incendiarism--natives troublesome--difficulties in governing new south wales--crimes common--laxity of public opinion--the gaols at sydney and paramatta purposely set on fire--departure of governor hunter--captain king succeeds him--norfolk island abandoned--sketch of norfolk island--settlement of van diemen's land--free settlers--philip schoeffer--the presbyterian settlers at portland head--resignation of governor king--captain bligh his successor--great flood of the hawkesbury--unpopularity of the governor--seizure of his person--rebellion--usurpation--arrival of a new governor, colonel macquarie--improvements in his time--road-making--passage across the blue mountains--public buildings--patronage of emancipists--discoveries in the interior, and extension of the colony--continued neglect of the spiritual need of the colonists--governor macquarie's departure--his own statement of the progress of the settlement under his administration. chapter ix. [page .] subject stated--day-dreams of colonization--local divisions of new south wales--its counties--cumberland--camden--illawarra and the cow pastures--argyle--bathurst--northumberland--coal pits--hunter's river--remaining counties--sydney--port jackson--buildings, &c. of sydney--commerce--public press--paramatta--windsor--liverpool-- conclusion. chapter x. [page .] description of van diemen's land--its local divisions--its general character and aspect--hobart town--launceston--other australian colonies--port phillip--south australia--adelaide--western australia-- its towns--north australia. chapter xi. [page .] climate of australia--drought--agriculture--flocks and herds--government of the colonies--discontent--means of national improvement--bishopric of australia--tribute of thanks justly due to the whig government-- effects of a bishop being resident in new south wales--educational provision made by george the fourth--dr. lang's account of it--judge burton's--church and school corporation, established in ; suspended in ; dissolved in --causes of this change of policy-- conclusion. chapter xii. [page .] inhabitants of australian colonies--what seed has been there sown-- elements of society in the penal colonies--convicts--system of assignment--public gangs--mr. potter macqueen's establishment--norfolk island and its horrors--these have been mitigated of late years--means of reforming convicts--prevalence of vice among them--the class of convicts called _specials_ described. chapter xiii. [page .] emancipists--their general character--their conduct in the jurors' box no argument in favour of bestowing upon them a representative government--free population--ancient nobility of botany bay--prevailing taste in new south wales and van diemen's land--love of gain--land sharks--squatters--overlanders. chapter xiv. [page .] importance of religion--the lord's day--habits of duly observing it nearly lost among many of the inhabitants of our australian colonies--opposition to improvement--religious strife prevails where religious union is needed--sir r. bourke's novel system of religious establishments--its practical working--efforts of the church coldly seconded or else opposed, by government--petty persecutions--similar opposition to national religious education as to national church-- blunders respecting the irish system of education in --attempt in to banish the creed and catechism from protestant schools having government support--schools of a higher rank in new south wales--king's school, paramatta--sydney college--the australian college--the normal institution--proposed college at liverpool--other schools--population of new south wales in --emigration--conclusion. #illustrations.# page map of australia _frontispiece_ reduced map of van diemen's land travellers in the bush explorers finding the bed of a dried-up river opossum hunting natives of the murray islands in boats sydney in its infancy--view from the south north view of sydney hobart town cape pillar, near the entrance of the derwent, van diemen's land conveying cattle over the murray, near lake alexandria * * * * * [illustration: van diemen's land.] introduction. the vast tract of country which it is the object of the present volume to describe in its leading features, both moral and natural, may be said to consist of two islands, besides many small islets and coral reefs, which lie scattered around the coasts of these principal divisions. the larger island of the two, which from its size may well deserve the appellation of a continent, is called new holland, or australia; and is supposed to be not less than three-fourths of the extent of the whole of europe. the smaller island, so well known by the names of van diemen's land, or tasmania, (from those of the discoverer, tasman, and the dutch governor of batavia, van diemen) is not to be compared in size to the other, being about equal in magnitude to ireland, and, like that island, abounding in fine and excellent harbours. although, strictly speaking, the name of australia is confined to the former of these two islands, yet it may be understood to include the smaller island also; and under this name it is proposed to make the reader familiar with the chief objects of curiosity in the natural world, and likewise with the state of human society, whether savage or civilised, in the two islands of new holland and van diemen's land, so far as both of these have been hitherto known and explored. it is by no means certain what nation may justly lay claim to the honour of the discovery of new holland, the coasts of which were probably seen by the spaniards, quiros or torres, in , and are by some supposed to have been known to the spanish and portuguese yet earlier than this date, but were not regularly discovered until the dutch, between the years and , explored a considerable portion of the northern and western shores of that vast island, to which they gave the name of their own country, holland. to the spaniards this land was known by the names of terra australis incognita, (the unknown southern land,) or australia del espiritu santo, (the southern land of the holy spirit,) the meaning of which last name does not exactly appear, unless it arose from the discovery of quiros having been made a little before whitsuntide. since that time the coasts of this immense island, extending, it is said, to no less than miles, have been gradually explored, although they still remain in some parts very imperfectly known. indeed, it was only in the year that van diemen's land was discovered to be an island separated from new holland, of which before that time it had been thought to form a large projection or promontory. new holland is situated in the vast ocean extending to the south and east of the spice islands, and it lies about even with the lower part of the continent of africa, only at an immense distance due east of it. its extreme points of latitude are degrees and ½ degrees s., and of longitude degrees and degrees minutes e. from greenwich, so that it includes in its huge extent climates both tropical and temperate, but none that are decidedly cold. it must be remembered, indeed, that the countries south of the equator become colder at the same latitude than those that extend towards the north; but, nevertheless, the nearest point towards the south pole, degrees, nearly answering to the situation of naples in the northern hemisphere, cannot be otherwise than a mild and warm climate. the shape of new holland is very irregular, its coast being much broken and indented by various great bays and smaller inlets; but it has been estimated to have a _width_ from e. to w. of miles, and a breadth from n. to s. of , containing altogether not less than three millions of square miles. of course, it is impossible, in so large an extent of country, that the interior parts of it should have been explored during the few years in which any portion of it has been occupied by europeans. accordingly, almost all the inland tracts are still a vast blank, respecting which very little is known, and that little is far from inviting. indeed many hindrances oppose themselves to the perfect discovery of these inland regions, besides those common obstacles, to encounter and overcome which every traveller who desires to explore new, wild, and savage countries, must have fully made up his mind. first among the peculiar difficulties which have opposed the australian explorer is the height and ruggedness of that chain of mountains, called, in the colony of new south wales, the blue mountains, which form a mighty barrier of more or less elevation along most parts of the eastern coast of new holland, sometimes approaching as nearly as miles to the sea, and at other places falling back to a distance of or nearly miles. these mountains are not so very high, the loftiest points appearing to exceed but little the height of snowdon in wales, or ben nevis in scotland; but their rugged and barren nature, and the great width to which they frequently extend, render it no very easy matter to cross them at all. indeed, although the settlement of new south wales was founded in , it was not before that a route was discovered across those vast ranges which shut in the colony to the west. frequently had the passage over the blue mountains been attempted before, but never with any success; and the farthest point which had been reached, called caley's repulse, was a spot that almost seemed to forbid man's footsteps to advance beyond it. nothing was to be seen there in every direction but immense masses of weather-beaten sandstone-rock, towering over each other in all the sublimity of desolation; while a deep chasm, intersecting a lofty ridge covered with blasted trees, seemed to cut off every hope of farther progress. but all these difficulties have now long since been got over, and stage-coaches are able to run across what were a few years ago deemed impassable hills. yet, when this dreary barrier of barren mountains has been crossed, another peculiar hindrance presents itself to the exploring traveller. in many parts of the interior of new holland, which have been visited, the scarcity of water is such that the most distressing privations have been endured, and the most disagreeable substitutes employed. and yet, strange to say, the very same country, which sometimes affords so few springs, and of which the streams become dried up into chains of dirty pools, and at last into dry ravines and valleys, is, occasionally, subject to extreme floods from the overflowing of its rivers, and then offers a new obstacle to the traveller's progress in the shape of extensive and impassable marshes! to these difficulties must be added the usual trials of adventurous explorers, the dangers and perplexities of a journey through pathless forests, the want of game of any kind in the barren sandstone districts, the perils sometimes threatened by a visit from the native inhabitants, and, altogether, we shall have reason rather to feel surprise at what has been done in the way of inland discovery in new holland, than to wonder that so much remains yet undone. in consequence of the interior portions of the country remaining still unknown, fancy has been busy in forming notions respecting them, and one favourite supposition has been that there exists somewhere in the central part of new holland an immense lake or inland sea; but of this no proof whatever can be produced, so that it can only be said that _it may be so_. certainly, unless some such means of communication by water, or some very large navigable river, should exist, it is hardly possible to imagine how the extensive tracts of inland country can ever become civilized or inhabited by europeans. and of that portion which has been visited a considerable extent of country appears to be shut out by the natural barrenness of its soil and sandstone-rocks from any prospect of ever supplying food to the colonies of civilized man. so that, while the whole of new holland is an interesting country from its natural peculiarities, and even the desolate portion of it adds, by its very desolation, a deep interest to the adventures of those persons who have had the courage to attempt to explore it; yet the chief prospects of australia's future importance seem to be confined to its line of coast,--no narrow limits in an island so extensive. hence the colonies now flourishing on the eastern, southern, and western shores of new holland, especially on the first, will form a chief object of attention in the present work; although, as will be seen by its contents, the "bush," or wild country, and its savage inhabitants, will be by no means overlooked. respecting van diemen's land much need not be here said, although, however small in comparative extent, its population was in above half of that of the whole colony of new south wales. it is, therefore, and always will be, an important island, though, from its mountainous character and confined limits, it cannot, of course, be expected to keep pace with the increasing population of the sister colony. van diemen's land was discovered in , by the dutchman, tasman, who first sailed round its southern point, and ascertained that the great southern land, or australia, did not extend, as it had been supposed, to the south pole. the island was apparently overlooked, until, in , a colony was founded there by the english, and it was taken possession of in the name of his britannic majesty. since that time, with the exception of those early hardships to which all colonies seem liable, it has been flourishing and increasing. to many englishmen its colder climate, (which is yet sufficiently mild,) and its supposed resemblance in appearance and productions to their native land, have appeared preferable to all the advantages which the larger island possesses. van diemen's land is divided from new holland on the north by bass's straits, its extreme points of latitude are ° ', and ° ' s., and of longitude ° ', and ° ' e. its shape is irregular, being much broken by various inlets, but its greatest extent from n. to s. is reckoned to be about miles, and from e. to w. miles, containing a surface of about , square miles. the native inhabitants of this smaller island have entirely disappeared before the superior weapons and powers of _civilised_ man. [illustration: travellers in the bush.] chapter i. the bush, on or near the coast. all that country, which remains in a state of nature uncultivated and uninclosed, is known among the inhabitants of the australian colonies by the expressive name of _the bush_.[ ] it includes land and scenery of every description, and, likewise, no small variety of climate, as may be supposed from the great extent of the island of new holland. accordingly, without indulging in surmises concerning the yet unknown parts, it may be safely said, respecting those which have been more or less frequently visited and accurately explored, that the extremes of rural beauty and savage wildness of scenery,--smiling plains and barren deserts, snowy mountains and marshy fens, crowded forests and bare rocks, green pastures and sandy flats,--every possible variety, in short, of country and of aspect may be found in that boundless region which is all included under the general appellation of _the bush_. to enter into a particular or regular description of this is clearly no less impossible than it would be tedious and unprofitable. and yet there are many descriptions of different portions of it given by eye-witnesses, many circumstances and natural curiosities belonging to it, and related to us upon the best authority, which are likely to please and interest the reader, who can see and adore god everywhere, and is capable of taking delight in tracing out and following the footsteps of almighty wisdom and power, even in the wilderness and among the mountain-tops. it is proposed, therefore, to select a few of the pictures which have been drawn by the bold explorers of the bush, so as to give a general idea of the character, the scenery, the dangers, and the privations of that portion of the australian islands. and, having first become familiar and acquainted with these, we shall be better able to set a just value, when we turn to the state of the colonies and their inhabitants, upon that moral courage, that british perseverance and daring, which have, within the memory of man, changed so many square miles of bush into fertile and enclosed farms; which have raised a regular supply of food for many thousands of human beings out of what, sixty years ago, was, comparatively speaking, a silent and uninhabited waste. when the troops and convicts, who formed the first colony in new south wales, landed at port jackson, the inlet on which the town of sydney is now situated, "every man stepped from the boat literally into a wood. parties of people were everywhere heard and seen variously employed; some in clearing ground for the different encampments; others in pitching tents, or bringing up such stores as were more immediately wanted; and the spot, which had so lately been the abode of silence and tranquillity, was now changed to that of noise, clamour, and confusion."[ ] [ ] it is supposed that the word "sin," applied to the wilderness mentioned in exodus xvi. , and also to the mountain of "sinai," has the same meaning, so that the appellation of "bush" is no new term. [ ] collins' "account of the colony of new south wales," p. . and still, even near to the capital town of the colony, there are portions of wild country left pretty much in their natural and original state. of one of these spots, in the direction of petersham, the following lively description from the pen of a gentleman only recently arrived in the colony, may be acceptable. "to the right lies a large and open glen, covered with cattle and enclosed with _bush_, (so we call the forest,) consisting of brushwood and gigantic trees; and, above the trees, the broad sea of botany bay, and the two headlands, solander and banks, with a white stone church and steeple, st. peter's new town, conveying an assurance that there are englishmen of the right sort not far from us. and now we plunge into the thicket, with scarcely a track to guide our steps. i have by this time made acquaintance with the principal giants of the grove. some are standing, some are felled; the unmolested monarchs stand full feet high, and heave their white and spectral limbs in all directions; the fallen monsters, crushed with their overthrow, startle you with their strange appearances; whilst underfoot a wild variety of new plants arrest your attention. the bush-shrubs are exquisitely beautiful. anon a charred and blackened trunk stops your path: if you are in spirits, you jump over all; if you are coming home serious, weary, and warm, you plod your way round. well,--in twenty minutes' time you reach a solitary hut,--the first stage of the walk: you pass the fence, the path becomes narrow,--the bush thickens round you,--it winds, it rises, it descends: all on a sudden it opens with a bit of cleared ground full twenty yards in extent, and a felled tree in the midst. here let us pause, and, kneeling on the turf, uncovered, pour forth the voice of health, of cheerfulness, and gratitude to him who guides and guards us on our way. and now, onward again. the land falls suddenly, and we cross a brook, which a child may stride, but whose waters are a blessing both to man and beast. and now we rise again; the country is cleared; there is a flock of sheep, and a man looking after them; to the left, a farmhouse, offices, &c.; before us the spire of st. james's, sydney, perhaps three miles distant, the metropolitan church of the new empire, and, a little to the right, the rival building of the roman church. beneath us lies sydney, the base-born mother of this new world, covering a large extent of ground, and, at the extreme point of land, the signal station, with the flags displayed, betokening the arrival of a ship from england. till now we have met with no living creature, but here, perhaps, the chaise with sydney tradesman and his wife, the single horseman, and a straggler or two on foot, begin to appear." the general appearance of the coast of new holland is said to be very barren and forbidding, much more so than the shores of van diemen's land are; and it thus often happens that strangers are agreeably disappointed by finding extreme richness and fertility in many parts of a country, which at their first landing afforded no such promises of excellence. one of the most dreary and most curious descriptions of country is to be met with on the north-western shores of new holland, quite on the opposite coast to that where the principal english colony is situated. the daring explorer of this north-western coast, captain grey, has given a fearful account of his dangers and adventures among the barren sandstone hills of this district. its appearance, upon his landing at hanover bay, was that of a line of lofty cliffs, occasionally broken by sandy beaches; on the summits of these cliffs, and behind the beaches, rose rocky sandstone hills, very thinly wooded. upon landing, the shore was found to be exceedingly steep and broken; indeed the hills are stated to have looked like the _ruins of hills_, being composed of huge blocks of red sandstone, confusedly piled together in loose disorder, and so overgrown with various creeping plants, that the holes between them were completely hidden, and into these one or other of the party was continually slipping and falling. the trees were so small and so scantily covered with leaves that they gave no shelter from the heat of the sun, which was reflected by the soil with intense force, so that it was really painful to touch, or even to stand upon, the bare sandstone. excessive thirst soon began to be felt, and the party, unprepared for this, had only two pints of water with them, a portion of which they were forced to give to their dogs; all three of these, however, died of exhaustion. after a vain search of some hours, at length the welcome cry of "water!" was heard from one of the party; but, alas! upon scrambling down the deep and difficult ravine where the water ran, it was found to be quite salty, and they were compelled to get up again as well as they could, unrefreshed and disheartened. after following the course of the deep valley upwards about half a mile, they looked down and saw some birds ascending from the thick woods growing below, and, knowing these white cockatoos to be a sure sign of water very near, the weary party again descended, and found a pool of brackish water, which, in their situation, appeared to afford the most delicious draughts, although they shortly afterwards paid the penalty of yet more intolerable thirst, arising from making too free with a beverage of such quality. the nature of the country near hanover bay, where the party belonging to captain grey was exploring, is most remarkable. the summits of the ranges of sandstone hills were generally a level sort of table-land, but this level was frequently broken and sometimes nearly covered with lofty detached pillars of rock, forming the most curious shapes in their various grouping. in one place they looked like the aisle of a church unroofed, in another there stood, upon a huge base, what appeared to be the legs of an ancient statue, from which the body had been knocked away; and fancy might make out many more such resemblances. some of these time-worn sandy columns were covered with sweet-smelling creepers, and their bases were hidden by various plants growing thickly around them. the tops of all were nearly on a level, and the height of those that were measured was upwards of forty feet. the cause of this singular appearance of the country was at length discovered by the noise of water running under the present surface, in the hollows of the sandstone, and gradually carrying away the soil upon which the top surface rests. formerly, no doubt, the level of the whole country was even with the tops of the broken pillars, and much higher; and hereafter what is now at the surface will give way beneath the wasting of the streams that flow below, and no traces of its present height will be left, except in those places where the power of the water is less felt, which will rear up their lofty heads, and bear witness by their presence of the ruin that will have taken place. in wandering through a country of this description, how natural does the following little remark of captain grey appear! a plant was observed here, which, in appearance and smell, exactly resembled the jasmine of england; and it would be difficult to give an idea of the feeling of pleasure derived from the sight of this simple emblem of home. but, while the least plant or tree that could remind them of home was gladly welcomed, there were many new and remarkable objects to engage the attention of the travellers. among these the large green ants, and the gouty stem tree may be particularly noticed. the ants are, it would seem, confined to the sandstone country, and are very troublesome. the gouty stem tree is so named from the resemblance borne by its immense trunk to the limb of a gouty person. it is an unsightly but very useful tree, producing an agreeable and nourishing fruit, as well as a gum and bark that may be prepared for food. upon some of these trees were found the first rude efforts of savages to gain the art of writing, being a number of marks, supposed to denote the quantity of fruit gathered from the tree each year, all but the last row being constantly scratched out, thus: [illustration] but, miserable as the general appearance of that part of the north-western coast of new holland undoubtedly is, yet are there many rich and lovely spots to be found in its neighbourhood; and, further inland, vast tracts of fertile country appear to want only civilised and christian men for their inhabitants. what is wanting in the ensuing picture but civilisation and religion, in order to make it as perfect as any earthly abode can be? "from the summit of the hills on which we stood," (says captain grey) "an almost precipitous descent led into a fertile plain below; and, from this part, away to the southward, for thirty to forty miles, stretched a low, luxuriant country, broken by conical peaks and rounded hills, which were richly clothed with grass to their very summits. the plains and hills were both thinly wooded, and curving lines of shady trees marked out the courses of numerous streams." this beautiful prospect was over a volcanic district, and with the sandstone which they were just leaving, they were bidding farewell to barrenness and desolation. it was near this beautiful spot, and in a country no less rich and delightful, that the party of adventurers was overtaken by the violent rains, which occur in those hot climates, and which struck the men with so great chill, that they were driven to make trial of an odd way of getting warm. some of them got into a stream, the waters of which were comparatively warm, and thus saved themselves from the painful feeling arising from the very cold rain falling on the pores of the skin, which had previously been opened by continued perspiration. the rains appear during the wet season to fall very heavily and constantly in north-western australia, and though a good supply of these is an advantage to an occupied country, well provided with roads, it is a great cause of trouble to first explorers who have to find a ford over every stream, and a passage across every swamp, and who often run the risk of getting into a perfectly impassable region. of this sort, alike differing from the barren sandstone and the volcanic fertile country, was a third track through which captain grey endeavoured to pass. a vast extent of land lying low and level near the banks of the river glenelg,[ ] and well fitted, if properly drained, for the abundant growth of useful and valuable produce, was found, during the rainy season, to be in the state of a foul marsh, overgrown with vegetation, choking up the fresh water so as to cause a flood ankle-deep; and this marshy ground, being divided by deep muddy ditches, and occasionally overflown by the river, offered, as may be supposed, no small hindrances to the progress of the travellers. in some places it was quite impossible, from the thickly-timbered character of its banks, to approach the main stream; in others they appeared to be almost entirely surrounded by sluggish waters, of which they knew neither the depth nor the nature of their banks. elsewhere, unable to cross some deep stream, the explorers were driven miles out of their way, and sometimes even in their tents, the water stood to the depth of two or three inches. on one occasion, when the party was almost surrounded by swamps, their loaded ponies sank nearly up to the shoulders in a bog, whichever way they attempted to move, and from this spot they had two miles to travel before they could reach the nearest rising ground. the river glenelg was at this time overflowing its banks, and, to the natural alarm of men wandering in its rich valley, drift-wood, reeds, grass, &c. were seen lodged in the trees above their heads, fifteen feet beyond the present level of the water, affording a proof of what floods in that country _had been_, and, of course, _might be_ again. however, this very soil in so warm a climate, only about sixteen degrees south of the equator, would be admirably fitted for the cultivation of rice, which needs abundance of moisture. but little do the peaceful inhabitants of a cultivated country, well drained, and provided with bridges and good roads, think of the risk and hardships undergone by the first explorers of a new land, however great its capabilities, and whatever may be its natural advantages. [ ] this river must not be confounded with another of the same name in south australia. but it was not in the plain country alone, that captain grey found spots of great richness and fertility, as the following description of the happy vallies frequently found among the mountain-ranges may testify: one may be chosen as a specimen of many. at its northern end it was about four miles wide, being bounded on all sides by rocky, wooded ranges, with dark gullies from which numerous petty streams run down into the main one in the centre. the valley gradually grows narrow towards the south, and is bounded by steep cliffs betwixt which the waters find an outlet. sometimes a valley of this kind, most beautiful, most productive, will contain from four to five thousand acres of nearly level land, shut out from the rest of the world by the boundary of hills that enclose it. how great a contrast to these lovely vallies does the description, given by another traveller in a different district, present! nothing, according to mr. oxley's account, can be more monotonous and wearying, than the dull, unvarying aspect of the level and desolate region through which the lachlan winds its sluggish course. one tree, one soil, one water, and one description of bird, fish, or animal, prevails alike for ten miles, and for a hundred. and, if we turn from this to a third picture of desolation mingled with sublimity, the contrast appears yet more heightened. among the hills behind port macquarrie on the eastern coast, mr. oxley came suddenly upon the spot where a river, (the apsley,) leaves the gently-rising and fine country through which it had been passing, and falls into a deep glen. at this spot the country seems cleft in twain, and divided to its very foundation, a ledge of rocks separates the waters, which, falling over a perpendicular rock, feet in height, form a grand cascade. at a distance of yards, and an elevation of as many feet, the travellers were wetted with the spray. after winding through the cleft rocks about yards, the river again falls, in one single sheet, upwards of feet, and continues, in a succession of smaller falls, about a quarter of a mile lower, where the cliffs are of a perpendicular height, on each side exceeding , feet; the width of the edges being about yards. from thence it descends, as before described, until all sight of it is lost from the vast elevation of the rocky hills, which it divides and runs through. the different points of this deep glen, seem as if they would fit into the opposite openings forming the smaller glens on either side.[ ] [ ] see oxley's journal, p. . amid scenery like that which has now been described, varying from grandeur to tameness, from fertility to barrenness, from extreme beauty to extreme ugliness, but always possessing, at least, the recommendation of being _new_, the wanderers in the bush are delighted to range. there is a charm to enterprising spirits in the freedom, the stillness, and even in the dangers and privations, of these vast wilds, which, to such spirits, scenes of a more civilised character can never possess. if it be true,--and who has never felt it to be so?--that "god made the country and man made the town," much more distinctly is god's power visible in the lonely wastes of australia, much more deeply do men feel, while passing through those regions, that it is his hand that has planted the wilderness with trees, and peopled the desert with living things. under these impressions men learn to delight in exploring the bush, and when they meet, as they often do, with sweet spots, on which nature has secretly lavished her choicest gifts, most thoroughly do they enjoy, most devotedly do they admire, their beauty. in travelling some miles to the northward of perth, a town on the swan river, captain grey fell in with a charming scene, which he thus describes: "our" station, "this night, had a beauty about it, which would have made any one, possessed with the least enthusiasm, fall in love with a bush life. we were sitting on a gently-rising ground, which sloped away gradually to a picturesque lake, surrounded by wooded hills,--while the moon shone so brightly on the lake, that the distance was perfectly clear, and we could distinctly see the large flocks of wild fowl, as they passed over our heads, and then splashed into the water, darkening and agitating its silvery surface; in front of us blazed a cheerful fire, round which were the dark forms of the natives, busily engaged in roasting ducks for us; the foreground was covered with graceful grass-trees, and, at the moment we commenced supper, i made the natives set fire to the dried tops of two of these, and by the light of these splendid chandeliers, which threw a red glare over the whole forest in our vicinity, we ate our evening meal; then, closing round the fire, rolled ourselves up in our blankets, and laid down to sleep." the very same feeling of religion, which heightens the pleasures and gives a keener relish to the enjoyments of life in these lonely places, can also afford comfort, and hope, and encouragement under those perils and privations which first explorers must undergo. religion is the sun that brightens our summer hours, and gives us, even through the darkest and most stormy day, light, and confidence, and certainty. and when a small body of men are left alone, as it were, in the wilderness with their god, whatever occurs to them, whether of a pleasing or of a trying character, is likely to lift up their souls to their maker, in whom "they live and move, and have their being." when the patient traveller, of whose adventures in western australia so much mention has been made, had waited weather-bound on a lonely coast, never before trodden by the foot of civilised man, until eight days had been consumed in watching to no purpose the winds and the waves,--when, at a distance of thousands of miles from their native country, and many hundreds of miles from the nearest english colony, he and his little party were wasting strength and provisions in a desert spot; from which their only means of escaping was in one frail boat, which the fury of the sea forbade them to think of launching upon the deep,--when the men, under these circumstances, were becoming more and more gloomy and petulant, where was it that the commander sought and found consolation? it was in religion. and the witness of one who has successfully gone through trials of this kind, is well deserving of the utmost attention. "i feel assured," says captain grey, in his account of this trial of patience, "that, but for the support i derived from prayer, and frequent perusal and meditation of the scriptures, i should never have been able to have borne myself in such a manner as to have maintained discipline and confidence amongst the rest of the party; nor in all my sufferings did i ever lose the consolation derived from a firm reliance upon the goodness of providence. it is only those who go forth into perils and dangers, amidst which human foresight and strength can but little avail, and who find themselves, day after day, protected by an unseen influence, and ever and again snatched from the very jaws of destruction, by a power which is not of this world, who can at all estimate the knowledge of one's own weakness and littleness, and the firm reliance and trust upon the goodness of the creator, which the human breast is capable of feeling. like all other lessons which are of great and lasting benefit to man, this one must be learned amid much sorrowing and woe; but, having learned it, it is but the sweeter from the pain and toil which are undergone in the acquisition." the mention of these trials to which travellers in the bush are peculiarly liable, brings naturally to mind that worst of all privations, a want of water, to which they are so frequently exposed. the effects of extreme thirst are stated to have been shown, not merely in weakness and want, in a parched and burning mouth, but likewise in a partial loss of the senses of seeing and hearing. indeed, the powers of the whole frame are affected, and, upon moving, after a short interval of rest, the blood rushes up into the head with a fearful and painful violence. a party of men reduced to this condition have very little strength, either of mind or body, left them, and it is stated, that, in cases of extreme privation, the worst characters have always least control over their appetites.[ ] imagine men marching through a barren and sandy country, a thirsty land where no water is, at the rate of about two miles in an hour and a quarter, when, suddenly, they come upon the edge of a dried-up swamp, and behold the footmark of a native, imprinted on the sand,--the first beginning of hope, a sign of animal life, which of course implies the means of supporting it. many more footsteps are soon seen, and some wells of the natives are next discovered, but alas! all appear dry. kaiber, a native companion of the party, suddenly starts up from a bed of reeds, where he has been burying his head in a hole of _soft mud_, with which he had completely swelled himself out, and of which he had helped himself to pretty well half the supply. it is so thick that it needs straining through a handkerchief, yet so welcome, after three days and two nights of burning thirst, under a fierce sun, that each man throws himself down beside the hole, exclaiming "thank god!" and then greedily swallows a few mouthfulls of the liquid mud, declaring it to be the most delicious water, with a peculiar flavour, better than any that had ever before been tasted by him. upon scraping the mud quite out of the hole, water begins slowly to trickle in again.[ ] as might be expected, game abounds here, driven by the general dryness of the country to these springs. but the trembling hand of a man worn down by fatigue and thirst is not equal to wield a gun, or direct its fire to any purpose; so it seems as if thirst were escaped for a time, in order that hunger might occupy its place. at length, however, the native kills a cockatoo, which had been wounded by a shot; and this bird, with a spoonful of flour to each man, and a tolerable abundance of liquid mud, becomes the means of saving the lives of the party. [ ] see mitchell's three expeditions in australia, vol. i. p. . [ ] an expedient used by the natives in torres strait, on the northern coast of australia, for getting water, may here be noticed, both for its simplicity and cleverness. "long slips of bark are tied round the smooth stems of a tree called the _pandanus_, and the loose ends are led into the shells of a huge sort of cockle, which are placed beneath. by these slips the rain which runs down the branches and stem of the tree is conducted into the shells, each of which will contain two or three pints; thus, forty or fifty placed under different trees will supply a good number of men."--flinders' _voyage to terra australis_, vol. ii. p. . a different plan for improving the water that is hot and muddy, is thus detailed by major mitchell. to obtain a cool and clean draught the blacks scratched a hole in the soft sand beside the pool, thus making a filter, in which the water rose cooled, but muddy. some tufts of long grass were then thrown in, through which they sucked the cooler water, purified from the sand or gravel. i was glad to follow their example, and found the sweet fragrance of the grass an agreeable addition to the luxury of drinking. such is the picture, taken from life, of some of the privations undergone, during dry seasons, in certain portions of the bush, and we must, at the risk of being tedious, repeat again the witness of a military man, of one who has seen much of the world, respecting the best source of comfort and support under these distressing trials. at such times, upon halting, when the others of the party would lie wearily down, and brood over their melancholy state, captain grey would keep his journal, (a most useful repository of facts,) and this duty being done, he would open a small new testament, his companion through all his wanderings, from which book he drank in such deep draughts of comfort, that his spirits were always good. and on another occasion, he shared the last remaining portion of provision with his native servant; after which he actually felt glad that it was gone, and that he no longer had to struggle with the pangs of hunger, and put off eating it to a future hour. having completed this last morsel, he occupied himself a little with his journal, then read a few chapters in the new testament, and, after fulfilling these duties, he felt himself as contented and cheerful as ever he had been in the most fortunate moments of his life. as in life, those objects which we have not, but of which we think we stand in need, are ever present to our fancy, so in these thirsty soils the mere appearance of that water, of which the reality would be so grateful, is frequently known to mock the sight of man. a remarkable specimen of this was seen at the plains of kolaina (deceit), in north-western australia. from a sand hill, not very far from the coast, was seen a splendid view of a noble lake, dotted about with many beautiful islands. the water had a glassy and fairy-like appearance, and it was an imposing feeling to sit down alone on the lofty eminence, and survey the great lake on which no european eye had ever before rested, and which was cut off from the sea by a narrow and lofty ridge of sandy hills. it was proposed at once to launch the boats upon this water, but a little closer survey was thought prudent, and then it proved that the lake was not so near as it had seemed to be, and that there were extensive plains of mud and sand lying between it and the rising ground. it appeared to be about a mile distant, and all were still certain that it was water they saw, for the shadows of the low hills near it, as well as those of the trees upon them, could be distinctly traced on the unruffled surface.[ ] as they advanced, the water retreated, and at last surrounded them. the party now saw that they were deceived by _mirage_,[ ] or vapour, which changed the sandy mud of the plains they were crossing into the resemblance, at a distance, of a noble piece of water. in reading the history of mankind, how often may we apply this disappointment to moral objects! how very frequently do the mistaken eyes of mortals eagerly gaze upon the _mirage_ raised by falsehood, as though they were beholding the living waters of truth itself! what appearance, indeed, does the whole world present to one who rests upon the everlasting hill of the gospel,--the rock upon which christ's church has been built,--except it be that of one vast plain of kolaina, or deceit? it was no long time after the explorers of the north-western coast of new holland had been mocked by the _mirage_ or vapour which has just been spoken of, that they had a fearful lesson of the vain and shadowy nature of human hopes and expectations. when they had first arrived off the coast, on that expedition, they had chosen an island, named bernier island, upon which to bury, for the sake of safety, their stores and provisions, so that they might return to them whenever it should be necessary. bernier island is a barren spot, formed of limestone, shells, and sand, and without a single tree or blade of grass upon it, but only wretched, scrubby bushes, amidst which the light sand and shells are drifted by the winds. such was the remote spot, surrounded by the ocean's waves, yet not very far from the main shore, upon which it was resolved to conceal their store of necessaries, secure, as it was supposed, from every enemy. in little more than three weeks, during which the adventurers had gone through many perils, and much stormy weather, they returned again, not without some difficulty, to their stores. but on approaching bernier island with their boat they scarcely knew it again, so vast a difference had the recent storms made in its outward appearance, so fearful were the pranks which the hurricane had played upon a land which was, in fact, nothing but loose sand, heaped upon a bed of limestone. the place where their stores had been securely left was gone, the remains of the flour-casks, salt provisions, &c. were scattered about in various directions; and the whole spot so entirely altered that it could hardly be ascertained, except by the fragments that were seen near it. how to get back again to swan river, the nearest british settlement, without provisions, without water, without strength, was indeed a perplexing inquiry, and to answer this the leader of the party, having left his companions for a while, set himself seriously to work. sitting down upon a rock on the shore, he felt the gale blowing fiercely in his face, and the spray of the breakers dashing over him; nothing could be more gloomy and dreary. inland, no objects were to be seen but a mere bed of rock covered with drifting sand, on which were growing stunted, scrubby bushes; and former experience taught him, that no fresh water was to be found in the island. several plans of escape, all apparently alike hopeless, offered themselves to his mind, and, more fully to compose himself, he took forth his constant companion in the wilderness, and read a few chapters of holy writ. contentment and resignation were thus in some degree gained, and he soon joined the rest of the party, having resolved upon that plan, which god's providence and mercy finally enabled him to carry out, without losing, from a party of twelve, constantly exposed during a very long journey to most dreadful toils, hunger, and thirst, more than one man only, who died at no great distance from the english colony. that one person was a youth of eighteen years of age, who had come out from england, led solely by an enterprising spirit, and not with any view of settling. on the return of the party under captain grey towards swan river, they were so sadly pinched by want of provisions, and by thirst, that five of them were obliged to start with their leader, in order to reach the british colony by forced marches, and frederick smith, the youthful adventurer, was one of those that remained behind. after undergoing extreme trials, which from his age he was less able to bear than the others, he, at last, became quite worn out, and sat down, one evening, on a bank, declaring that he could go no further. he was behind the rest of the party, and the man who was with him went and told his companions that he thought smith was dying. the next morning that man went back for him; but, being himself very weak, he did not go far enough, at all events he did not find him. probably, the poor sufferer had crawled a little out of the track, for, afterwards, when a party was sent from swan river in search of him, they traced, with the help of a native, his footsteps up a bare sand hill to the height of twelve or fourteen feet, and there, turning about to the left, they found the object of their search stretched lifeless upon his back, in the midst of a thick bush, where he seemed to have laid down to sleep, being half wrapped up in his blanket.[ ] all his little articles of baggage were very near him, and, from the posture in which he was found, it appeared that the immediate cause of his death was a rush of blood to the head, which would occasion no great suffering in his last moments. a grave was scraped in the sand by the searching party, and frederic smith was buried in the wilderness wherein he had died, and which he had been among the first to explore, about seventy-six miles northward of the swan river. the grave was made smooth, and a piece of wood found upon the neighbouring beach was placed at its head, and then the solitary spot was forsaken for ever by the mourning companions of the departed youth, who left "heaven's fresh gales, and the ocean's wave, alternate to sigh o'er the wanderer's grave."[ ] [ ] "the most singular quality of this vapour or _mirage_, as it is termed, is its power of reflection; objects are seen as from the surface of a lake, and their figure is sometimes changed into the most fantastic shapes."--crichton's _arabia_, vol. i. p. . [ ] see two other curious accounts of the effects of _mirage_ and refraction in sturt's expeditions in australia, vol. ii. pp. and . [ ] the artless description of this sad discovery, given by one of the natives who accompanied the party, may be not unworthy of the reader's notice. "away we go, away, away, along the shore away, away, away, a long distance we go. i see mr. smith's footsteps ascending a sand-hill, onwards i go regarding his footsteps. i see mr. smith dead. we commence digging the earth. two _sleeps_ had he been dead; greatly did i weep, and much i grieved. in his blanket folding him, we scraped away the earth. we scrape earth into the grave, we scrape the earth into the grave, a little wood we place in it. much earth we heap upon it--much earth we throw up. no dogs can dig there, so much earth we throw up. the sun had just inclined to the westward as we laid him in the ground."--grey's _travels in western australia_, vol. ii. p. . [ ] see a like melancholy history of the death of mr. cunningham, in mitchell's three expeditions, vol. i. p. , _et seq._ how thrilling must have been the recollections of his fellow-travellers in the wilderness at the simple incident thus related: "in the bed of the river, where i went this evening to enjoy the sight of the famished cattle drinking, i came accidentally on an old footstep of mr. cunningham in the clay, now baked hard by the sun. four months had elapsed, and up to this time the clay bore the last records of our late fellow-traveller." it was only six weeks before this untimely end of the young explorer, that he had set out, full of hope, on the long journey by the coast, which the party made on their return, and had been a leading character in such beautiful pictures of life in the australian wilderness as this which is given by his friend captain grey. "we soon found ourselves at the foot of a lofty cascade, down which a little water was slowly dropping; and, on climbing to its summit, it appeared to be so well fitted for a halting-place for the night, that i determined to remain there. the men made themselves comfortable near the water-holes, and mr. smith and myself crept into a little cave, which occasionally served as a resting-place for the natives, the remains of whose fires were scattered about. a wild woodland and rocky scenery was around us; and when the moon rose and shed her pale light over all, i sat with mr. smith on the edge of the waterfall, gazing by turns into the dim woody abyss below, and at the red fires and picturesque groups of the men, than which fancy could scarcely imagine a wilder scene." it is no uncommon mistake, with persons who ought to know better, to magnify the toils and hardships endured by the body, while those labours and anxieties that the mind undergoes are disregarded and forgotten. every man engaged in an exploring party in the bush, for instance, has his severe trials to go through, but their trials are not to be compared to those of the commander of the party. how often when the rest are sleeping must he be watchful? how frequently, while others are gay, must he feel thoughtful! these remarks may easily be applied to the following description of the coast near shark's bay, in the n. w. of the island of new holland. there was great beauty in the scenery, both the sky and the water had that peculiar brilliancy about them to be seen only in fine weather, and in a very warm climate. to the west lay a boundless extent of sea, to the eastward was a low shore fringed with trees, not only down to the water's edge, but forming little green knots of foliage in the ocean itself; behind these trees were low wooded hills, and in front of them were numbers of pelicans and water-fowl. there was only about three feet depth of clear transparent water, through which were seen many beautiful and large shells, and various strange-looking fish, at some of which last one or other of captain grey's men would sometimes make an attack, while loud peals of laughter would rise from the rest, when the pursuer, too anxious to gain his object, would miss his stroke at the fish, or, stumbling, roll headlong in the water. the fineness of the day, the novelty of the scenery, and the rapid way they were making, made the poor fellows forget past dangers, as well as those they had yet to undergo. but this was more than their commander was able to do. "my own meditations," adds captain grey, "were of a more melancholy character, for i feared that the days of some of the light-hearted group were already numbered, and would soon be brought to a close. amid such scenes and thoughts we were swept along, while this unknown coast, which so many had anxiously yet vainly wished to see, passed before our eyes like a dream, and ere many more years have hurried by, it is possible that the recollection of this day may be as such to me." among the wonders of nature to be met with in the australian bush, the large rivers occasionally dried up to their very lowest depth by the extreme drought, are very remarkable. few natural objects can equal in beauty and utility a river in its proper state,-- "though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull; strong without rage, without o'erflowing full;" but few can exceed in terror and destruction a large river in time of flood; while nothing, surely, can surpass in horror and desolation the same object when its stream is wasted, its waters disappeared, its usefulness and beauty alike gone. this spectacle is, fortunately, but rarely seen, except in australia, and even there only after very dry seasons. one river seen in this state consisted of several channels or beds, divided from each other by long strips of land, which in times of flood become islands; the main channel was about yards in breadth, and the height of its bank was about fifteen feet. after the exploring party had passed the highest point in the channel to which the tide flowed from the sea, this huge river bed was perfectly dry, and looked the most mournful, deserted spot imaginable. occasionally water-holes were found eighteen or twenty feet in depth, and it is from these alone that travellers have been enabled to satisfy their thirst in crossing over the unexplored parts of the bush, where no water could elsewhere be obtained. still, notwithstanding the extreme drought by which they were surrounded, the strangers could see by the remaining drift wood, which had been washed high up into the neighbouring trees, what rapid and overpowering currents sometimes swept along the now dry channel. on another occasion the same singular object is powerfully described, and the feelings of men, who had long been in need of water, at beholding a sight like this can scarcely be imagined. beneath them lay the dry bed of a large river, its depth at this point being between forty and fifty feet, and its breadth upwards of yards; it was at times subject to terrible floods, for along its banks lay the trunks of immense trees, giants of the forest, which had been formerly washed down from the interior of the country; yet nothing now met their craving eyes but a vast sandy channel, which scorched their eyeballs, as the rays of the sun were reflected back from its white, glistening bed. above and below this spot, however, large pools of water were found, and even here, when a hole of a few inches depth was scraped in the dry channel, it soon became filled with water which oozed into it from the sand. at another stream, which the same exploring party afterwards fell in with, they were less successful, and found all the pools entirely dry. the sun was intensely hot, and the poor men grew faint for want of water, while it heightened their sufferings, that they stood upon the brink of a river, or wandered along its banks with eager, piercing eyes, and an air of watchfulness peculiar to those who seek for that on which their lives depend. one while they explored a shallow, stony part of the bed, which was parched up and blackened by the fiery sun: their steps were slow and listless, and it was plainly to be seen how faint, weak, and weary they were; the next minute another pool would be seen ahead, the depth of which the eye could not at a distance reach; now they hurried on towards it with a dreadful look of eager anxiety--the pool was reached--the bottom seen; but, alas! no water: then they paused, and looked one at the other with an air of utter despair. the order to march from this distressing spot was unwillingly and slowly obeyed. so fondly does the human soul cling to the very faintest semblance of hope, that the adventurers would rather have wandered up and down these barren and arid banks, in vain search after water, than tear themselves away by one bold effort from the deceitful expectations held out to them by the empty channel. it was on his return from a journey attended by perils and privations like these, that captain grey relates the following simple occurrence, which may help to make men value more highly, or rather prize more justly, the many little comforts they may possess: the captain had left some of his men behind, and was hastening with all speed to the settlement of perth, in western australia, in order to get assistance and necessaries for them. starting an hour and a half before daylight, he reached the hut of williams, the farthest settler, north of perth, in time to find the wife and another woman at breakfast. he had known mrs. williams, and, forgetting how strangely want and suffering had changed his appearance for the worse, he expected her to remember him again. but he was mistaken for a crazy malay, nicknamed magic, who used to visit the houses of the out-settlers. hurt at his reception, "i am not magic," exclaimed he. "well then, my good man, who are you?" inquired they, laughing. "one who is almost starved," was his solemn reply. "will you take this, then?" said the hostess, handing him a cup of tea she was raising to her lips. "with all my heart and soul, and god reward you for it," was the answer; and he swallowed the delicious draught. who can fail of being reminded, upon reading this anecdote, of those gracious and beautiful words of his redeemer--"whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to christ, verily i say unto you, he shall not lose his reward"? (mark ix. .) the mention of the out-settler's hut, in which captain grey met with this small, but most acceptable, kindness, may serve to remind us of an object, which, although not, strictly speaking, belonging to the bush, is, nevertheless, very frequently seen in that part of the wild country which is most visited,--the portions of it which are adjoining to the british settlements. in these parts of the bush the small hut of the humble out-settler may often be espied; and, while we speak of the toils and privations frequently undergone by this class of people at first, we must not forget that they are thus opening to themselves a way to future wealth and comfort. nor, be it recollected, is the condition of an out-settler in the australian bush any more a fair average specimen of that of the inhabitants of the colonies than the owner of a mud-hovel raised on some english heath would be of the inhabitants of the parish in which he happens to dwell. one strong difference may be seen in the two cases. in england the cottager must, in all likelihood, live and die a cottager, as his fathers have done before him, and his children will after him; whereas, in the australian colonies, with prudence and the divine blessing, (without which a man can do well nowhere) the humble out-settler may gradually, yet rapidly, grow up into the wealthy and substantial farmer and landowner. bearing in mind these facts, the following sketch of the premises of an out-settler on the river williams, at the back of the swan river settlement, in western australia, may be at once instructive, and not unsuitable to the subject of this chapter. the house was made of a few upright poles, to which, at the top, cross poles were fastened, and a covering of rude thatch tied upon the whole. it was open at both ends, and exposed to the wind, which, as the situation was high, was very unpleasant. here, however, were the elements of future riches, a very large flock of sheep, in fair condition, also a well-supplied stock-yard, and cattle in beautiful order; while upwards of twenty dogs, for hunting the kangaroo, completed the establishment. the settlers were four in number, and, except four soldiers quartered about sixteen miles from them, there were no other europeans within fifty miles of the spot. all stores and necessaries were sent from a distance of miles, through a country without roads, and exposed to the power of the native inhabitants. in this but might be seen a lively picture of the trials occasionally endured by _first settlers_; they had no flour, tea, sugar, meat, or any provision whatever, except their live stock and the milk of their cattle, their sole dependence for any other article of food being the kangaroo dogs, and the only thing their visitors were able to do to better their situation was to leave them some shot. all other circumstances were on the same scale with them, and one, supposing them to have been faithful members of the church of their native land, must have been the most grievous privation of all:-- "the sound of the church-going bell those valleys and rocks never heard; never sighed at the sound of a knell, nor smiled when a sabbath appear'd." they had but one old clasp knife; there was but one small bed, for one person, the others sleeping on the ground every night, with little or no covering; they had no soap to wash themselves or their clothes, yet they submitted cheerfully to all these privations, considering them to be necessary consequences of their situation. two of these out-settlers were gentlemen, not only by birth, but also in thought and manner; nor can it be doubted that they were really happier than many an idle young man to be seen lounging about in england, a burden to himself and to his friends. idleness and vice have often in england been the means of levelling with the dust the lordly mansion, whilst industry, in the wilds of australia, can rear a comfortable dwelling on the very spot where once stood the hut of the out-settler. scattered round the shores of new holland at various distances are many small islands and rocks, the prevailing appearance of which is that of extreme barrenness. on many of these it would seem that no human beings had ever set their feet before the europeans, and especially the english, explored those coasts. in several parts the natives were without any means of conveyance across even a narrow arm of the sea, and thus the brute creation were left in a long and undisturbed possession of many of the isles which lie near the main land. in the more barren and miserable of these the bird called the _sooty petrel_, and the seal, are the principal animals to be found, whilst in those that are somewhat more fruitful, kangaroos, also, and emus are to be found; the smaller breed of kangaroos being usually met with in the smaller islands, and the larger species on the main land or in islands of a greater extent. the following short account, by captain flinders, may serve as a specimen of the lesser isles: great flocks of petrels had been noticed coming in from the sea to the island, and early next morning, a boat was sent from the ship to collect a quantity of them for food, and to kill seals, but the birds were already moving off, and no more than four seals, of the hair kind, were procured. upon the men going on shore, the island was found to be a rock of granite, but this was covered with a crust of limestone or chalk, in some places fifty feet thick. the soil at the top was little better than sand, but was overspread with shrubs, mostly of one kind, a whitish velvet-like plant, amongst which the petrels, who make their nests underground, had burrowed everywhere, and, from the extreme heat of the sun, the reflection of it from the sand, and frequently being sunk half way up the leg in these holes, the sailors, little used to difficulties in land-travelling, were scarcely able to reach the highest hill near the middle of the island. it was in the neighbourhood of scattered sandy spots of this description that the sailors of captain flinders would often endeavour successfully to improve their ordinary fare by catching a few fish. on one occasion they were very much hindered by three monstrous sharks, in whose presence no other fish dared to appear. after some attempts, and with much difficulty, they took one of these creatures, and got it on board the ship. in length it was no more than twelve feet three inches, but the body measured eight feet round. among the vast quantity of things contained in the stomach was a tolerably large seal, bitten in two, and swallowed with half of the spear sticking in it, with which it had probably been killed by the natives. the stench of this ravenous monster was great, even before it was dead; and, when the stomach was opened, it became intolerable. quite contrary, in many respects, to these sandy islands, and yet but little superior to them in fruitfulness, are some of those which were visited by the same enterprising voyager on the eastern coast of australia. their shores were very low, so much so, that frequently a landing is impossible, and generally very difficult, on account of the mud; and often a vast quantity of mangrove trees are found growing in the swamps that surround the shores, and choking the soil with a rank vegetation. on one of these islands when a landing had been effected without a very great deal of trouble, and a rising ground was reached, the sides of this little eminence were found to be so steep, and were so thickly covered with trees and shrubs, bound together and interlaced with strong plants, resembling vines in their growth, that all attempts to reach the top of the hill were without success. it appeared to be almost easier to have climbed up the trees, and have scrambled from one to another upon the vines, than to have threaded a way through the perplexing net-work formed by these plants, beneath which all was darkness and uncertainty. there are, however, some few islands, which promise to become, at a future time, inhabited and cultivated spots, being neither so entirely naked, nor yet so choked up by a poor and hungry vegetation concealing a thin soil, as those already described. of these more smiling spots the large island, off the western coast, called kangaroo island, may serve for a specimen. a thick wood covered almost all that part of the island which was seen from the ship by captain flinders, but the trees that were alive were not so large as those lying on the ground, nor as the dead trees still standing upright. those upon the ground were so abundant, that, in ascending the higher land, a considerable part of the walk was upon them. no inhabitants were seen in the island, but yet it seemed, from the appearance of the trees, as though, at the distance of some years, the woods had been destroyed by fire. the soil, so far as it was seen, was thought very good, and the trees bore witness of this by their size and growth; yet so frequently do travellers, like doctors, disagree, that another explorer, captain sturt, pronounces this spot to be not by any means fertile. the quantity of kangaroos found here was remarkable enough to give a name to the island; and so entirely were these harmless animals strangers to the power of man, that they suffered themselves to be approached and killed without any efforts to escape. captain flinders, on the first day of landing, killed ten, and the rest of his party made up the number to thirty-one taken on board in the course of the day, the least weighing and the largest lbs. the whole ship's company were employed that afternoon in skinning and cleaning the kangaroos, and a delightful feast they afforded to men who for four months had scarcely tasted any fresh provisions. never, perhaps, had the dominion held here by these creatures been before disturbed; the seals, indeed, shared it with the kangaroos on the shores, but they seemed to dwell peacefully together, each animal occasionally wandering into the haunts of the other, so that a gun fired at a kangaroo upon the beach would sometimes bring forth two or three bellowing seals from underneath bushes a good deal further from the water-side. the seal, indeed, was the most knowing creature of the two, for its actions bespoke that it distinguished the sailors from kangaroos, whereas the latter not uncommonly appeared to mistake them for seals. indeed it is curious to trace the total absence of all knowledge of man in these distant isles of australia. in another island a white eagle was seen making a motion to pounce down upon the british sailors, whom it evidently took for kangaroos, never, probably, having seen an upright animal, (except that, when moving upon its hind legs,) and naturally, therefore, mistaking the men for its usual prey. in another part of kangaroo island, which was afterwards visited, a large piece of water was discovered at the head of a bay, and in this water an immense number of pelicans were seen; upon some small islets were found many young birds yet unable to fly, and upon the surrounding beach a great number of old ones were seen, while the bones and skeletons of many lay scattered about. so that it appeared to be at once the breeding-place and death-bed of these birds, who, in the hidden bosom of a quiet lake, in an uninhabited island, had long continued to extend their race, generation after generation retiring to the same spot where they were first brought to light, and there ending their days in tranquillity. in this part of the island kangaroos were less plentiful than in the other, but the soil appeared equally promising, and in all likelihood, before many years have flown by, trees, seals, kangaroos, and pelicans will all be forced to give up their old domains, and be destroyed before the pressing wants and daring spirit of the british emigrant. one important hindrance is noticed by flinders,--the scarcity of water,--but the presence of so many animals shows that there is an abundance somewhere, though he could find but a scanty supply in one single spot. in kangaroo island only one accident occurred which showed any disposition or power on the part of its old inhabitants to wage war with the intruders. one of the sailors having attacked a large seal without proper caution, was so severely bitten in the leg, that he was not merely laid up in consequence of this hurt, but was obliged to be discharged, three months afterwards, when the ship was refitted at sydney. in addition to the numerous barren rocks and the few tolerably large wooded islands, which encircle the shores of australia, there is a third description of isles or rocks, which must not be passed over altogether without notice. the substance called _coral_ is well known in europe, but with us the name connects itself with very different objects from those to which it is related in australia. _here_ female ornaments and toys for infants are almost the only objects to be seen that are formed of coral; _there_ it forms the most stupendous rocks or reefs, which serve frequently for a foundation to islands of no mean size; indeed, in one part of the north-eastern coast of australia, the coral reefs are known to extend not less than miles in a straight line, without a single opening of any magnitude occurring in them. among these, surrounded by dangers, did captain flinders sail, during fourteen days, for more than miles before he could escape into less perilous seas. upon landing on one of these reefs, when the water was clear, the view underneath, from the edge of the rocks, was extremely beautiful. quite a new creation, but still not unlike the old, was offered to the view. there appeared wheat-sheaves, mushrooms, stags' horns, cabbage-leaves, and a variety of other forms, glowing under water with brilliant tints, of every shade betwixt green, purple, brown, and white; equalling in beauty and surpassing in grandeur the most favourite flower-bed of the curious florist. these appearances were, in fact, different sorts of _coral_, and fungus, growing, as it were, out of the solid rock, and each had its own peculiar form and shade of colouring, but yet the spectators, who knew their ship to be hemmed in by rocks of this material, while considering the richness of the scene, could not long forget with what power of destruction it was gifted. the cause of these coral rocks and islands, which are slowly, but certainly, increasing, is a very small marine insect, by which the substance called coral is formed. these work under water, generation after generation contributing its share in the construction of what, in the course of ages, becomes a solid rock, exalting its head above the face of the surrounding waters, and rising sometimes from the depth of fathoms, and perhaps even more. to be constantly covered with water seems necessary to these minute animals, for they do not work, except in holes upon the reef, beyond low-water-mark; but the coral and other broken remains thrown up by the sea lodge upon the rock and form a solid mass with it, as high as the common tides reach. the new bank is not long left unvisited by sea-birds; salt-plants take root upon it, and a kind of soil begins to be formed; a cocoa-nut,[ ] or the seed of some other tree, is thrown on shore; land-birds visit it, and deposit the seeds of fresh shrubs or trees; every high tide, and still more every gale, adds something to the bank; the form of an island is by degrees assumed; and, last of all, comes man to take possession. [ ] "a cluster of these trees would be an excellent beacon to warn mariners of their danger when near a coral reef, and at all events their fruit would afford some wholesome nourishment to the ship-wrecked seamen. the navigator who should distribute , cocoa-nuts amongst the numerous sand banks of the great ocean and indian sea, would be entitled to the gratitude of all maritime nations, and of every friend of humanity."--flinders' _voyage to terra australis_, vol. ii. p. . [illustration: explorers finding the bed of a dried up river.] chapter ii. the bush in the interior. it needs only a single glance at the map of new holland to see that, like most other countries, and even more than most others, the coasts are well known, while the interior parts are comparatively undiscovered, and, to a great extent, totally so. and, although a much more minute description of the shores of this immense island might easily be given, although we might accompany flinders or king in their navigation of its intricate seas, and survey of its long line of coast, yet this part of the subject must necessarily be passed over without detaining us any further. a very considerable portion of the sea-coast of new holland is not much unlike that in the gulph of carpentaria, in the north part of the island, where, when captain flinders had reached the highest spot he could find in leagues of coast,--this loftiest hill did not much exceed the height of the ship's masthead! and where the shores are not of this exceedingly level character, they are usually sterile, sandy, and broken, so as to offer rather an uninviting aspect to the stranger. it is obvious that, in either case, whether the coast be flat or barren, there may be many beautiful and lovely districts within a day's journey inland; and nothing is more absurd than to take exception against the whole of a country merely because its borders and boundaries are forbidding. in the case of new holland, it is true, the same sort of barrenness extends itself very much into the interior of the land; but, if we pursue the patient footsteps and daring discoveries of those few europeans who have penetrated far into its inland parts, we shall find many interesting scenes described, and much both of the sublime and beautiful in nature brought before us. one of the principal scenes on which have been displayed the perseverance and courage of the explorers of the interior is the banks of the river darling. this stream, which has its source on the western side of the long range of mountains running parallel with the coast, and called in the colony the blue mountains, carries off the drainage of an immense extent of country, to the westward and north-westward of new south wales. in fact, except in the southern parts of that colony, where the lachlan and murrumbidgee carry off the waters which do not fall eastwards to the coast, all the streams that rise upon or beyond the blue mountains, and take a westerly direction, finally meet together in the basin of the darling.[ ] it might be imagined that a river into which is carried the drainage of so extensive a district would be always well supplied with water, and so it would be in other countries, but the streams of new holland are altogether different from those in other parts of the world. comparatively, indeed, the darling does assert its superiority over most of the other water-courses of that country; for, at a season when their channels were, in general, absolutely without water, or dwindled down into mere chains of muddy ponds, the darling still continued to wind its slow current, carrying a supply of excellent water through the heart of a desert district. along the weary plains by which its course is bounded, it proceeds for not less than miles,[ ] without receiving, so far as is known, a single tributary stream; and, from its waters being occasionally salt, it is supposed to owe its support, in its reduced state during very dry seasons, chiefly to natural springs. its bed is, on an average, about sixty feet below the common surface of the country. there are no traces of water-courses on the level plains, and it would appear that, whatever moisture descends from the higher grounds, which (where there are any at all,) are seldom less than twelve miles from the darling, must be taken up by the clayey soil, so as scarcely to find its way down to the river, except it be by springs. the average breadth of the stream at the surface, when low, is about fifty yards, but oftener less than this, and seldom more. the fall of the country through which it passes, in that part of its course through the interior, which was first explored by major mitchell, is very trifling; and it is the opinion of that officer, that the swiftness of its course never exceeds one mile per hour, but that it is in general much less. at the time of the major's expedition, the water actually flowing, as seen at one or two shallow places, did not exceed in quantity that which would be necessary to turn a mill. but, with all this scantiness of supply during the dry season then prevailing,[ ] the marks of tremendous inundations were plain upon the surface of the country, frequently extending two miles back from the ordinary channel of the waters. and everywhere the banks of the river displayed the effect of floods in parallel lines, marking on the smooth sloping earth the various heights to which the waters had at different periods arisen. the surface of the plains nearest the river is unlike any part of the earth's face that the travellers had elsewhere seen. it was clear of vegetation, like a fallow-field, but less level, and quite full of holes, big enough to receive the whole leg, and sometimes the body, of the unfortunate persons who might slip into them. galloping or trotting in such a country was out of the question, and as the surface of this dry and cracked soil was soft and loose, it was very fatiguing for draught. six of the bullocks accompanying the expedition never returned from the darling. yet, how much preferable was the country, even in this state, to that in which a flood would have placed it; for, had rainy weather, or any overflowing of the river, happened, travelling upon the banks of the darling would have become absolutely impossible. [ ] although the basin of this river extends so far towards the east, on its westerly bank, that is, _towards the interior_, a desert country stretches itself to an unknown distance, from which it does not appear to receive any increase of its waters at all deserving of notice. from two hills, seventy miles apart, extensive views were gained of this western desert, in which no smoke was seen, indicating the presence of natives, nor even any appearance of trees; the whole country being covered with a thick bush or scrub. for the four winter months spent by mitchell near the darling, neither rain nor yet dew fell, and the winds from the west and north-west, hot and parching, seemed to blow over a region in which no humidity remained. [ ] so in major mitchell's work, vol. i. p. ; but the same author is quoted (more correctly it would seem from the map), by montgomery martin, as stating that "the darling does not, in a course of _three_ hundred miles, receive a single river."--see martin's _new south wales_, p. . [ ] by _dry season_, or _wet season_, in australia, we are not to understand, as in england, a _dry_ or _wet summer_, but a series of _dry_ or _wet years_. at the very bottom of some of the dried-up lakes were found sapling trees of ten years' growth, which had evidently been killed by the return of the waters to their long-forsaken bed. but the river darling itself, though it appears as a principal and independent stream during so long a course, is, we have little reason to doubt, no more than an important tributary to the chief of australian rivers, the murray. this last channel collects eventually all the waters flowing in a westward direction upon the eastern side of new holland, between the latitudes of ° s. and ° s. the darling, the lachlan, and the murrumbidgee, without mentioning streams of minor importance, all find their way southwards into the basin of the murray, which is really a noble river, and does not seem subject to the same deplorable impoverishment, which most of the others suffer in very dry seasons. it was very earnestly anticipated that the mouth of a stream like this would probably form a good harbour, and thus afford a reasonable prospect of its hereafter becoming a busy navigable river, the means of furnishing inland communication to a considerable distance. this is, of all things, what new holland appears most to want, but the want is not (as we shall shortly find) adequately supplied by the entrance to the murray. a like failure occurs at the entrance of other australian rivers, as in the instance of a much smaller but very beautiful stream, the glenelg, which falls into a shallow basin within the sandy hills of the southern coast, the outlet being between two rocky heads, but choked up with the sands of the beach. we cannot, while we read of the scanty means of inland navigation, with which it has pleased divine providence to favour an island so enormous as new holland, but feel thankful for the abundant advantages of this kind which our own native islands possess; but at the same time there is no reason to despair, even yet, of a navigable river being discovered in new holland;[ ] or, at the worst, the modern invention of rail-roads may supersede, in a great measure, the need of other communication. [ ] "i have myself no doubt that a large navigable river will yet be discovered, communicating with the interior of australia."--m. martin's _new south wales_, p. . it would be impossible to compress into a moderate compass the various interesting particulars, which have been related of the rivers of new holland and their neighbouring districts; but for this and much other pleasing information the reader may be referred, once for all, to the works of those travellers, whose names have been already so frequently mentioned. it is a curious fact that almost every stream of the least consequence in new holland, appears to have its peculiar features, and a character and scenery of its own, which continue throughout its course, so that it could often be recognised by travellers coming upon it a second time, and at a different part of its career towards the sea. the beautifully-timbered plains, or the limestone cliffs of the noble murray--the naked plains that bound on either side the strip of forest-trees of huge dimensions, by which the lachlan is bordered,--the constantly full stream, the water-worn and lightly-timbered banks, the clear open space between the river and its distant margin of reeds, which mark the character of the murrumbidgee,--the low grassy banks or limestone rocks, the cascades and caverns, the beautiful festoons of creeping plants, the curious form of the duck-billed platypus,[ ] which are to be found on the glenelg; the sandstone wastes of the wollondilly, the grassy surface of the pretty yarrayne,[ ] with its trees on its brink instead of on its bank; the peculiar grandeur of the tremendous ravine, , feet in depth, down which the shoalhaven flows; these and many more remarkable features of scenery in the australian rivers, would afford abundance of materials for description either in poetry or prose. but we can now notice only one more peculiarity which most of these streams exhibit; they have, at a greater or less distance from their proper channels, secondary banks, beyond which floods rarely or never are known to extend. in no part of the habitable world is the force of contrast more to be observed than in australia. a very able scientific writer[ ] has ingeniously represented three persons travelling in certain directions across great britain, and finishing their journeys with three totally different impressions of the soil, country, and inhabitants; one having passed through a rocky and mining district, the second through a coal country peopled by manufacturers, and a third having crossed a chalky region devoted entirely to agriculture. an observation of this kind is even still more true of new holland. and, consequently, when, instead of _pursuing_ the course of certain similar lines of country, the traveller _crosses_ these, the changes that take place in the appearance and productions of the various districts are exceedingly striking and follow sometimes in very rapid succession. a few examples of these contrasts, which arise in australia from the nature of the seasons, as well as from that of the soil or climate, may here be noticed. how great a change did the exploring party under major mitchell experience, when, after tracing for forty-nine days the dry bed of the lachlan, they suddenly saw a magnificent stream of clear and running water before them, and came upon the murrumbidgee. its banks, unlike those of the former channel, were clothed with excellent grass; a pleasing sight for the cattle--and it was no slight satisfaction to their possessors to see the jaded animals, after thirsting so long among the muddy holes of the lachlan, drinking at this full and flowing stream. and yet, so different are the series of seasons, at intervals, that, down the very river of which mitchell speaks in as a deep, dry ravine, containing only a scanty chain of small ponds, the boats of its first explorer, mr. oxley, had, in , floated during a space of fifteen days, until they had reached a country almost entirely flooded, and the river seemed completely to lose itself among the shallow waters! during the winter of , the whale-boats were drawn by the exploring party , miles over land,[ ] without finding a river, where they could be used; whereas, in and , mr. oxley had twice retired by nearly the same routes, and in the same season of the year, from supposed inland seas![ ] so that, in fact, we rise from the perusal of two accounts of travellers of credit, both exploring the very same country, with the impression, from one statement, that there exists an endless succession of swamps, or an immense shallow, inland lake; where, from the other, we are taught to believe, there is nothing but a sandy desert to be found, or dry and cracked plains of clay, baked hard by the heat of the sun. [ ] this remarkable animal, called also the ornithorynchus, is peculiar to australia, it has the body of a beast combined with the mouth and feet of a duck, is to be seen frequently on the banks of the glenelg, and that unusually near the coast. [ ] water is proverbially "unstable," but what occurred to major mitchell's party on the yarrayne, may serve for a specimen of the peculiar uncertainty of the waters of australia. in the evening a bridge across that stream had been completed, and everything was prepared for crossing it, but in the morning of the following day no bridge was to be seen, the river having risen so much during the night, although no rain had fallen, that the bridge was four feet under water, and at noon the water had risen fourteen feet,--a change that could only be accounted for by the supposed melting of the snow near the sources of the stream. [ ] see professor buckland's bridgewater treatise, vol. i. introduction, pp. , . [ ] see mitchell's three expeditions in australia, vol. ii. p. . [ ] see oxley's journal, pp. , . changes of this sort in the seasons, affecting so powerfully the appearance of whole districts, cannot but have a proportionable effect on particular spots. regent's lake, the "noble lake," as its first discoverer, oxley, called it, was, when mitchell visited it, for the most part, a plain covered with luxuriant grass;[ ] some good water, it is true, lodged on the most eastern extremity, but nowhere to a greater depth than a foot. there ducks and swans, in vast numbers, had taken refuge, and pelicans stood high upon their legs above the remains of regent's lake. on its northern margin, and within the former boundary of the lake, stood dead trees of a full-grown size, which had been apparently killed by too much water, plainly showing to what long periods the extremes of drought and moisture have extended, and may again extend, in this singular country. and some of the changes in scenery, within a short distance, and frequently arising from the same causes, the presence or absence of water, are very remarkable. in major mitchell's journal, at the date of april th, may be found the following observations: "we had passed through valleys, on first descending from the mountains, where the yellow oat-grass resembled a ripe crop of grain. but this resemblance to the emblem of plenty, made the desolation of these hopeless solitudes only the more apparent, abandoned, as they then were, alike by man, beast, and bird. no living thing remained in these valleys, for water, that element so essential to life, was a want too obvious in the dismal silence, (for not an insect hummed,) and the yellow hues of withering vegetation." on the next page of the journal, under the events of the following day, what a contrast appears:--"the evening was beautiful; the new grass springing in places where it had been burnt, presented a shining verdure in the rays of the descending sun; the songs of the birds accorded here with other joyous sounds, the very air seemed alive with the music of animated nature, so different was the scene in this well-watered valley, from that of the parched and silent region from which we had just descended. the natives, whom we met here, were fine-looking men, enjoying contentment and happiness, within the precincts of their native woods." they were very civil, and presented a burning stick to the strangers, at the moment when they saw that they wanted fire, in a manner expressive of welcome and of a wish to assist them. at a distance were the native fires, and the squalling of children might be heard, until at night the beautiful moon came forth, and the soft notes of a flute belonging to one of the englishmen fell agreeably on the ear, while the eye was gratified by the moonbeams, as they gleamed from the trees, amid the curling smoke of the temporary encampment. the cattle were refreshing themselves in green pastures. it was saturday night, and next day the party was to rest. how sweet a spot to repose from their toils and sufferings, and to lift up their hearts towards the mercy-seat of him,-- "who, in the busy crowded town, regards each suppliant's cry;-- who, whether nature smile or frown, man's wants can still supply." [ ] another lake, called walljeers, at no very great distance from this, was found, with its whole expanse of about four miles in circumference, entirely covered with a sweet and fragrant plant, somewhat like clover, and eaten by the natives. exactly resembling new-made hay in the perfume which it gives out even when in the freshest state of verdure, it was indeed "sweet to sense and lovely to the eye" in the heart of a desert country. one of the greatest victories over natural difficulties that was ever gained by british courage and perseverance, was the exploring of the course of the morrumbidgee and murray rivers by captain sturt and his party, in the year ; and since their route was through a new country, and their descent from the high lands south-westward of sydney, to the southern coast of new holland was an amazing enterprise to project, much more to accomplish, an abridged account of it may not be unacceptable to the reader. and when it is remembered that the sight of the gallant officer commanding this expedition, was sacrificed almost entirely to "the effect of exposure and anxiety of mind in the prosecution of geographical researches,"[ ] this fact may add to the interest which we feel in his adventures. the murrumbidgee is a river which runs westerly from the district called yass plains, situated very nearly at the south-western extremity of new south wales. it was for the purpose of exploring the course of this fine stream, that captain sturt was sent out at the latter end of , and he had reached by land-conveyance a swampy region exactly resembling those marshes in which the lachlan and macquarie rivers had been supposed by mr. oxley to lose themselves. to proceed further by land was impossible, and, since they had brought with them a whale-boat, which had been drawn by oxen for many a weary mile, it was resolved to launch this on the river, a smaller boat was built in seven days only, and both boats being laden with necessaries, and manned with six hands, arrangements were made for forming a depôt, and the rest of the party were sent back; and when the explorers thus parted company in the marshy plains of the morrumbidgee, it appeared doubtful even to themselves whether they were ever likely to meet again in this world. of the country, whither the stream would carry the little crew of adventurers, literally nothing was known. there might be a vast inland sea,--and then how could they hope with their frail barks to navigate it in safety for the very first time? or, even if they did so, how were they to force their way back again to the remote dwelling-places of civilised man? the river might gradually waste itself among the morasses; and then, with their boats become useless for want of depth of water, how were they to walk across those endless levels of soft mud? or, supposing that to be practicable, how were their provisions to be conveyed, or whence, then, except from their boats, could they hope for a supply? questions of this nature must have offered themselves to the minds of the daring spirits, who accompanied captain sturt; nor can due justice be rendered to their courage without a careful consideration of the dangers which they deliberately braved. [ ] see sturt's expeditions in australia, vol. i. dedication, p. . two oars only were used in the whale-boat, to the stern of which the skiff was fastened by a rope; but the progress of the party down the river was rapid. having passed, in the midst of the marshes, the mouth of a considerable stream (supposed to be the lachlan, here emptying its waters out from the midst of those swamps wherein it appeared to mr. oxley to be lost,) on the second day of their journey the voyagers met with an accident that had nearly compelled them to return. the skiff struck upon a sunken log, and, immediately filling, went down in about twelve feet of water. damage was done to some of the provisions, and many tools were thrown overboard, though these were afterwards regained by means of diving and great labour, and the skiff was got up again. in the very same night a robbery was committed by the natives; and a frying-pan, three cutlasses, and five tomahawks, with the pea of the steelyards--altogether no small loss in the australian desert--were carried off. the country in this part is "a waving expanse of reeds, and as flat as possible," and the river, instead of increasing in its downward course, seemed rather to be diminishing. after some days, however, the party had passed through this flooded region, and reached a boundless flat, with no object for the eye to rest upon, beyond the dark and gloomy woods by which it was occupied. several rapids occurred in the river; and, during great part of two days the channel was so narrow and so much blocked up with huge trees, that, in spite of every effort, the adventurers were expecting their boat every moment to strike. for two hours in the afternoon of the second of these days of anxiety, the little vessels were hurried rapidly along the winding reaches of the morrumbidgee, until suddenly they found themselves borne upon the bosom of a broad and noble river, in comparison with which that which they had just quitted bore the appearance of an insignificant opening! the width of the large stream thus discovered was about feet, and its depth from to feet, whilst its banks, although averaging feet in height, were evidently subject to floods. the breadth of rich soil between its outer and inner banks was very inconsiderable, and the upper levels were poor and sandy. as the party descended, the adjoining country became somewhat higher and a little undulating, and natives were seen, while the murray (for such was the name given to their new discovery) improved upon them every mile they proceeded. four natives of a tribe with which they had met followed them, as guides, for some distance, and, after having nearly lost their largest boat upon a rock in the midst of a rapid, the british travellers continued their onward course, and a sail was hoisted for the first time, in order to save, as much as was possible, the strength of the men. the country in this part of their voyage was again very low, and they fell in with a large body of savages, with whom they were on the point of being forced, in self-defence, to have a deadly encounter, when suddenly the four natives who had accompanied them appeared running at full speed, and, through their assistance, though not without some difficulty, bloodshed was prevented. very shortly after this adventure, when the men had just pushed their boat off from a shoal, upon which it had struck, they noticed a new and considerable stream coming from the north, and uniting its waters with those of the murray. upon landing on the right bank of the newly-discovered stream, the natives came swimming over from motives of curiosity; and there were not less than of these, belonging to some of the most ferocious tribes in australia, surrounding eight englishmen--captain sturt, his friend m'leay, and the crew--which last had been preserved by an almost miraculous intervention of providence in their favour. the boat was afterwards pulled a few miles up the recently-discovered river, which is reasonably supposed to have been the darling, from whose banks, some hundreds of miles higher up, captain sturt had twice been forced to retire in a former expedition. its sides were sloping and grassy, and overhung by magnificent trees; in breadth it was about yards, and in depth rather more than twelve feet, and the men pleased themselves by exclaiming, upon entering it, that they had got into an english river. a net extending right across the stream at length checked their progress; for they were unwilling to disappoint the numbers who were expecting their food that day from this source. so the men rested on their oars in the midst of the smooth current of the darling, the union-jack was hoisted, and, giving way to their feelings, all stood up in the boat, and gave three distinct cheers. "the eye of every native along the banks had been fixed upon that noble flag, at all times a beautiful object," says captain sturt, "and to them a novel one, as it waved over us in the heart of a desert. they had, until that moment, been particularly loquacious, but the sight of that flag and the sound of our voices hushed the tumult; and while they were still lost in astonishment, the boat's head was speedily turned, the sail was sheeted home, both wind and current were in our favour, and we vanished from them with a rapidity that surprised even ourselves, and which precluded every hope of the most adventurous among them to keep up with us."[ ] [ ] sturt's expeditions in australia, vol. ii. pp. , . cheered with the gratification of national feeling thus powerfully described, the patient crew returned to their toils in descending the murray, whose banks continued unchanged for some distance; but its channel was much encumbered with timber, some very large sand-banks were seen, and several rapids were passed. the skiff being found more troublesome than useful, was broken up and burned. on one occasion, during a friendly interview with some of the savages, some clay was piled up, as a means of inquiring whether there were any hills near; and two or three of the blacks, catching the meaning, pointed to the n. w., in which direction two lofty ranges were seen from the top of a tree, and were supposed to be not less than miles distant, but the country through which the murray passed still continued low. the heat was excessive and the weather very dry, while the banks of the river appeared to be thickly peopled for australia, and the british strangers contrived to keep upon good terms with the natives. after having passed one solitary cliff of some height, they met with stormy weather for a few days, and several tributary streams of some size were perceived mingling their waters with those of the murray, the left bank of which became extremely lofty, and, though formed almost wholly of clay and sand, it bore the appearance of columns or battlements, the sand having been washed away in many places, while the clay was left hollowed out more like the work of art than of nature. after a continued descent of days, the party, who were pleased with the noble character of the river upon which they were, though disappointed at the poverty of the country through which it passed, began to grow somewhat weary; but upon inquiries being made of the natives no tidings could be gained respecting their approach towards the sea. the navigation of every natural stream is rendered tedious, though beautiful, by its devious course, but, "what with its regular turns, and its extensive sweeps, the murray covers treble the ground, at a moderate computation, that it would occupy in a direct course." the current became weaker, and the channel deeper, as they proceeded down the stream, and the cliffs of clay and sand were succeeded by others of a very curious formation, being composed of shells closely compacted together, but having the softer parts so worn away, that the whole cliff bore in many places the appearance of human skulls piled one upon the other. at first, this remarkable formation did not rise more than a foot above the water, but within ten miles from this spot it exceeded feet in height, the country in the vicinity became undulating, and the river itself was confined in a glen whose extreme breadth did not exceed half a mile. an old man, a native, was met with hereabouts, who appeared by his signs to indicate that the explorers were at no great distance from some remarkable change. the old man pointed to the n. w., and then placed his hand on the side of his head, in token, it was supposed, of their sleeping to the n. w. of the spot where they were. he then pointed due south, describing by his action, the roaring of the sea, and the height of the waves. a line of cliffs, from two to three hundred feet in height, flanked the river upon alternate sides, but the rest of the country was level, and the soil upon the table-land at the top of the cliffs very poor and sterile. the next change of scenery brought them to cliffs of a higher description, which continued on both sides of the river, though not always close to it. the stream lost its sandy bed and its current together, and became deep, still, and turbid, with a muddy bottom; and the appearance of the water lashing against the base of the cliffs reminded the anxious voyagers of the sea. the scenery became in many places beautiful, and the river was never less than yards in breadth. some sea-gulls were seen flying over the boat, and being hailed as the messengers of good tidings, they were not permitted to be shot. the adverse wind and the short, heavy waves rendered the labour at the oar very laborious, but the hope of speedily gaining some noble inlet--a harbour worthy to form the mouth of a stream like the murray--encouraged the crew to pull on manfully, and to disregard fatigue. the salt meat was all spoiled, and had been given to the dogs; fish no one would eat, and of wild fowl there was none to be seen; so that the provisions of the party consisted of little else but flour. and already, though hitherto they had been performing the easiest part of their task, having had the stream in their favour, it was evident that the men were much reduced, besides which they were complaining of sore eyes. these circumstances all combined to increase the natural anxiety felt by the little band of adventurers to reach the termination of the murray; and as its valley opened to two, three, and four miles of breadth, while the width of the river increased to the third of a mile, the expectations of the men toiling at the oar became proportionably excited. the cliffs ceased, and gave place to undulating hills; no pleasure-ground could have been more tastefully laid out than the country to the right, and the various groups of trees, disposed upon the sides of the elevations that bounded the western side of the valley, were most ornamental. on the opposite side, the country was less inviting, and the hills were bleak and bare. at length a clear horizon appeared to the south, the direction in which the river was flowing; captain sturt landed to survey the country, and beneath him was the great object of his search, the termination of one of australia's longest and largest streams. immediately below him was a beautiful lake, of very large extent, and greatly agitated by the wind. ranges of hills were observed to the westward, stretching from north to south, and distant forty miles. between these hills and the place where the traveller stood, the western bank of the murray was continued in the form of a beautiful promontory projecting into the lake, and between this point and the base of the ranges the vast sheet of water before him extended in the shape of a bay. the scene was altogether a very fine one; but disappointment was a prevailing feeling in the mind of the explorer, for it was most likely that there would be no practicable communication for large ships between the lake and the ocean, and thus a check was put upon the hopes that had been entertained of having at length discovered a large and navigable river leading into the interior of new holland. the lake, called lake alexandrina, which was fifty miles long and forty broad,[ ] was crossed with the assistance of a favourable wind; its waters were found to be generally very shallow, and the long, narrow, and winding channel by which it communicates with the ocean was found, as it had been feared, almost impracticable even for the smallest vessels. this channel unites itself with the sea on the south-western coast of new holland, at the bottom of a bay named encounter bay, one boundary of which is cape jervis, by which it is separated from st. vincent's gulph,--the very part of the coast where a ship was to be despatched by the governor of new south wales to afford the party assistance, in case of their being successful in penetrating to the sea-shore. flour and tea were the only articles remaining of their store of provisions, and neither of these were in sufficient quantities to last them to the place where they expected to find fresh supplies inland. but the first view of encounter bay convinced them that no vessel could ever venture into it at a season when the s. w. winds prevailed, and to the deep bight which it formed upon the coast (at the bottom of which they then were), it was hopeless to expect any vessel to approach so nearly as to be seen by them. to remain there was out of the question; to cross the ranges towards the gulph of st. vincent, when the men had no strength to walk, and the natives were numerous and not peaceably disposed, was equally impossible. the passage from the lake to the ocean was not without interruption, from the shallowness of the sandy channel, otherwise captain sturt, in his little boat, would have coasted round to port jackson, or steered for launceston, in van dieman's land; and this he declares he would rather have done, could he have foreseen future difficulties, than follow the course which he did. having walked across to the entrance of the channel, and found it quite impracticable and useless, he resolved to return along the same route by which he had come, only with these important additional difficulties to encounter,--diminished strength, exhausted stores, and an adverse current. the provisions were found sufficient only for the same number of days upon their return as they had occupied in descending the river, and speed was no less desirable in order to avoid encounters with the natives than for the purpose of escaping the miseries of want; into which, however, it was felt, a single untoward accident might in an instant plunge them. with feelings of this description the party left lake alexandrina and re-entered the channel of the murray. [ ] the dimensions given in captain sturt's map. the south-australian almanac states it to be sixty miles long, and varying in width from ten to forty miles. it will be needless to follow the explorers through all the particulars of their journey upwards to the depôt on the morrumbidgee. the boat struck, the natives were troublesome, the rapids difficult to get over; but the worst of all their toils and trials were their daily labours and unsatisfied wants. one circumstance ought, in justice to the character of the men, to be noticed. they positively refused to touch six pounds of sugar that were still remaining in the cask, declaring that, if divided, it would benefit nobody, whereas it would last during some time for the use of captain sturt and mr. m'leay, who were less able to submit to privations than they were. after having continued for no less than fifty-five days upon the waters of the murray, it was with great joy that they quitted this stream, and turned their boat into the gloomy and narrow channel of the morrumbidgee. having suffered much privation, anxiety, and labour, and not without one or two unpleasant encounters with the natives, at length the party reached their depôt, but they found it deserted! during seventy-seven days they could not have pulled, according to captain sturt's calculation, less than miles; and now, worn out by fatigue and want, they were compelled to proceed yet further, and to endure, for some time longer, the most severe privations to which man can be exposed. but, under the guidance of divine providence, the lives of all were preserved, and now the reward of their deeds of heroism is willingly bestowed upon them. among the boldest exploits ever performed by man, the descent of captain sturt and his companions down the murray, and their return to the same spot again, may deserve to be justly ranked.[ ] nor, however disappointing the result of their examination of the mouth of the murray may have been, was their daring adventure without its useful consequences. the lake alexandrina is said to be navigable across for vessels drawing six feet of water, and the entrance to the sea, though rather difficult in heavy weather, is safe in moderate weather for vessels of the same size. the murray itself is navigable for steam-vessels for many hundred miles, and probably it will not be very long before these modern inventions are introduced upon its waters. [ ] for the account of this voyage, see sturt's expeditions in australia, vol. ii. pp. - . whoever has seen any recent map of new holland must have been struck with the curious appearance of a vast semicircle of water, called lake torrens, near the southern coast, and extending many miles inland from the head of spencer's gulph. a range of hills, named flinders' range, runs to a considerable distance inland, taking its rise near the head of the gulph just mentioned, and lake torrens nearly surrounds the whole of the low country extending from this mountainous ridge. this immense lake is supposed to resemble in shape a horse-shoe, and to extend for full miles, whilst its apparent breadth is from to . the greater part of the vast area contained in its bed is certainly dry on the surface, and consists of a mixture of sand and mud, of so soft and yielding a character as to render perfectly unavailing all attempts either to cross it, or to reach the edge of the water, which appears to exist at a distance of some miles from the outer margin. once only was mr. eyre, the enterprising discoverer of this singular lake, able to taste of its waters, and then he found them as salt as the sea. the low, miserable, desert country in the neighbourhood, and lake torrens itself, act as a kind of barrier against the progress of inland discovery at the back of the colony of south australia, since it is impossible to penetrate very far into the interior, without making a great circle either to the east or to the west. the portion of the bed of the lake which is exposed is thickly coated with particles of salt; there are few trees or shrubs of any kind to be found near, nor are grass and fresh water by any means abundant. altogether, the neighbourhood of lake torrens would seem a very miserable region, and forms a strong contrast to the smiling and cultivated district of which it forms the back country.[ ] [ ] these particulars are taken from the south-australian almanac for , pp. - . although australia, in its natural and uncultivated state, abounds in trees, like most other wild countries, nevertheless, there are vast and extensive tracts where the plains are entirely bare, or covered only with a low, thick, and often prickly, bush, or else are what is termed "open forest," that is, are dotted about with fine trees, dispersed in various groups, and resembling the scenery of an english park. the greatest peculiarity of the native forests appears to be, that the whole of their trees and shrubs are evergreen,[ ] although european trees will flourish in the land of the south without acquiring this peculiarity, or losing their deciduous character. but it is rather a subject of complaint against the woods of new holland, that they have very little picturesque effect in them, which may be partly owing to the poverty of the foliage of the prevailing tree, the _eucalyptus_, (commonly called the _iron-bark_, or _blue gum_, according to its species,) which seldom has anything ornamental to landscape, either in the trunk or branches. these sombre trees are, however, very useful for timber, and they grow to an astonishing height, often rearing up their lofty heads to feet or upwards. the woods, in general, are very brittle, partly, it may be, owing to the number of acacias which are to be found among them; and no experienced bushman likes to sleep under trees, especially during high winds. we must by no means form our ideas of the appearance of an australian forest from that of the neat and trim woods of our own country, where every single branch or bough, and much more every tree, bears a certain value. except that portion which is required for fuel or materials by an extremely scattered population in a very mild climate, there is nothing carried off from the forests, and, were it not for the frequent and destructive fires which the natives kindle in many parts, no check worth mentioning would be placed upon the natural increase and decay of the woods of new holland. the consequence of this is, that trees are to be seen there in every stage of growth or ruin; and, occasionally, in very thickly-planted spots, the surface of the ground is not a little encumbered by the fallen branches and trunks of the ancient ornaments of the forest. nor is it by the hand of time alone that these marks of destruction are scattered about in the vast woodlands; the breath of a tremendous storm will occasionally accomplish, perhaps, as much in a few hours as natural decay would in many years.[ ] altogether, the forests of australia may be said to be in a purely natural state, and thus do they offer to the eye of the inquiring traveller many objects less pleasing, it may be, but nevertheless more sublime and solemn, than those with which the woods of more cultivated countries commonly abound. [ ] see wentworth's australasia, vol. i. p. . [ ] see account of the effects of a storm at mount macedon, (mitchell's "three expeditions," vol. ii. p. .) to travel without any beaten track through a country clothed, in many parts, very thickly, by forests like those just described, is in itself no easy undertaking, and the operation of hewing a way for a mile or two through the surrounding woods, during the very heat of the day, and sometimes after a long march, is very trying. but when the exposure to burning thirst, and to the uncertain disposition of the native inhabitants is added, the patient endurance of successful explorers is still more strongly displayed. nor, although it be only a minor annoyance, must the pain and inconvenience felt by wanderers in the bush from the prickly grass, which is found abundantly in the sandy districts, be forgotten. in those barren sands, where no grass grows, there are frequently tufts of a prickly bush, which tortures the horses, and tears to pieces the clothes of the men about their ankles, if they are walking. this bush, called the prickly grass, and a dwarf tree, the _eucalyptus dumosa_, grows only where the soil appears too barren and loose for anything else; indeed, were it not for these, the sand would probably drift away, and cover the vegetation of neighbouring spots less barren and miserable. against this evil, nature seems to have provided by the presence of two plants so singularly fitted for a soil of this description. the root of the _eucalyptus dumosa_ resembles that of a large tree; but it has no trunk, and only a few branches rise above the ground, forming an open kind of bush, often so low that a man on horseback may look over it for miles. this dwarf tree, and the prickly grass together, occupy the ground, and seem intended to bind down the sands of australia. the size of the roots prevents the bush from growing very close together, and the stems being without leaves, except at the top, this kind of _eucalyptus_ is almost proof against the running fires of the bush. the prickly grass resembles, at a distance, in colour and form, an overgrown lavender plant, but the blades of it, consisting of sharp spikes, occasion most cruel annoyance both to men and horses. another inconvenience and danger to which exploring parties are liable, are those fires in the bush already alluded to; which, whether caused by accident, or designedly by the natives, are not uncommon events.[ ] "the country seemed all on fire around us."--"all the country beyond the river was in flames; one spark might have set the whole country on our side in a blaze, and then no food would remain for the cattle, not to mention the danger to our stores and ammunition." "fires prevailed extensively at great distances in the interior, and the sultry air seemed heated by the general conflagration;" these expressions convey rather alarming ideas of the dangers to which travellers are exposed in the bush, and from which it is not always easy to make good an escape. [ ] on one occasion the progress of the fire was _against the wind_. see this stated and explained by major mitchell, "three expeditions," vol. i. p. . it may have been observed, possibly, in what has been related of the country and scenery of new holland in its natural state, that the descriptions of very beautiful or fertile spots have been comparatively few. now, although it is true that a very large portion of the known surface of that island is occupied by the sandstone rock, which is in its very nature utterly barren, nevertheless, it is by no means to be supposed that there is any scarcity of most rich and beautiful land--some of it fit for immediate occupation--to be found in most parts of australia. in attempting to draw a picture of a distant and remarkable region, we are almost sure to mark and bring distinctly out its most peculiar and striking features; the scenes resembling those of our own quiet and happy land are passed over as tame and familiar, while the dreariness of the desert, the horrors of a "barren and dry land where no water is,"--the boundless plains, or the bare mountain-tops, the lonely shore or the rocky isle--scenes like these, are commonly dwelt upon and described. in short, the very spots which are least enticing, _in reality_, for the colonist to settle in, are often most agreeable, _in description_, for the stranger to read of. but, since the reader must not be left with the erroneous and unpleasant impression that the country of which we have been treating is, for the most part, a mere wilderness, if not a desert, we may select two recently-discovered districts of it to serve for a favourable specimen of the beauty and fertility of many others, which cannot now be noticed. the following description of wellington valley (now recently included in the limits of the colony,) is from the pen of its first discoverer, mr. oxley, and other travellers bear witness that it is not overcharged: "a mile and a half brought us into the valley which we had seen on our first descending into the glen: imagination cannot fancy anything more beautifully picturesque than the scene which burst upon us. the breadth of the valley, to the base of the opposite gently-rising hills, was between three and four miles, studded with fine trees, upon a soil which for richness can nowhere be exceeded; its extent, north and south, we could not see: to the west, it was bounded by the lofty rocky ranges by which we had entered it; these were covered to the summit with cypresses and acacias in full bloom, and a few trees in bright green foliage gave additional beauty to the scene. in the centre of this charming valley ran a strong and beautiful stream, its bright, transparent waters dashing over a gravelly bottom, intermingled with large stones, forming at short intervals considerable pools, in which the rays of the sun were reflected with a brilliancy equal to that of the most polished mirror. the banks were low and grassy, with a margin of gravel and pebble-stones; there were marks of flood to the height of about twelve feet, when the river would still be confined within its secondary banks, and not overflow the rich lands that bordered it. its usual width is feet; in times of flood it would be from to feet."[ ] [ ] see oxley's journals, pp. - . in australia felix, as it has been called by its discoverer, major mitchell, which is a much larger district than that just described, almost every earthly delight and advantage would likewise seem to have combined to make it a perfect dwelling-place for man. the temperate and mild climate; the neighbourhood of the sea; the variety and fertility of its surface; the ranges of lofty and picturesque mountains by which it is backed; the number of rivers, small and large, by which it is watered; the comparatively open nature of the country, yet not without an ample supply of timber close at hand; all these and other advantages unite in rendering australia felix one of the most desirable spots upon the face of the globe. and the beauties and blessings of a spot like this, must have stood forth in bold contrast with the dreary, lifeless plains of the darling, or lachlan, which the discoverers of australia felix had so long been engaged in exploring. one of the first harbingers of the better country, to which the travellers were drawing near, was a very curious height, called pyramid hill, which is formed of granite, and, being a triangular pyramid, standing quite alone, closely resembles the monuments of ancient egypt. it rises feet above the surrounding plain; its point consists of a single block of granite, and the view over the neighbouring country was exceedingly beautiful. the scene was different from anything the travellers had elsewhere witnessed. "a land so inviting, and still without inhabitants![ ] as i stood," continues the explorer, warming with the thoughts of his discovery, "the first european intruder on the sublime solitude of these verdant plains, as yet untouched by flocks or herds, i felt conscious of being the harbinger of mighty changes; and that our steps would soon be followed by the men and animals for which it seemed to have been prepared." twelve days afterwards, the whole of which had been spent in traversing a district rich and lovely in the extreme, the first view of a noble range of mountains (the grampians) was obtained; they rose in the south to a stupendous height, and presented as bold and picturesque an outline as ever painter imagined.[ ] and, during a journey of many days, the same rich and sublime scenery still appeared, mingled together in beautiful and endless variety. every day the party of travellers passed over land which, for natural fertility and beauty, could scarcely be surpassed; over streams of unfailing abundance, and plains covered with the richest pasturage. stately trees and majestic mountains adorned the ever-varying landscape, the most southern region of all australia, and the best. on the river glenelg, which was discovered about a month after they had left pyramid hill, the land appeared everywhere alike good, alike beautiful; whether on the finely-varied hills, or in the equally romantic vales, which opened in endless succession on both banks of the river. further on in this lovely district, the british explorers came upon fresh scenes of surpassing sweetness. a small party of them were out upon an excursion, when they perceived before them a ridge in the blue distance--rather an unusual object in that close country. they soon after quitted the wood through which they had been passing, and found that they were on a kind of table-land, approaching a deep ravine coming from their right, which terminated on a very fine-looking open country below, watered by a winding river. they descended by a bold projection to the bottom of the ravine, and found there a foaming little river, hurrying downwards over rocks. after fording this stream, they ascended a very steep but grassy mountain-side, and, on reaching a brow of high land, a noble prospect appeared; a river winding among meadows that were fully a mile broad, and green as an emerald. above them rose swelling hills of fantastic shapes, but all smooth and thickly covered with rich verdure. behind these were higher hills, all having grass on their sides, and trees on their summits, and extending east and west throughout the landscaper as far as could be seen. after riding about two miles along an entirely open, grassy ridge, the party again found the glenelg, flowing eastward towards an apparently much lower country. the river was making for the coast, (turning southward some miles below the hill on which they stood,) through a country far surpassing in beauty and richness any part hitherto discovered. [ ] not quite so; they soon fell in with a few of the scattered wanderers of the bush. [ ] see the interesting account of major mitchell's ascent to mount william, the highest point of these hills.--mitchell's _three expeditions_, vol. ii. pp. - . what, in fact, is there wanting to the charming and extensive region just described, or what to hundreds of other fruitful and lovely districts under the power of the british crown, except _civilised inhabitants_, and the establishment of _a branch of christ's "one catholic and apostolic church_?" the population is ready, nay, even redundant, in england; nor are the means deficient in a land abounding beyond all others in wealthy capitalists. but the will, the wisdom, the understanding heart, the united counsels, are, it is to be feared, and are likely still to be, wanting with us. may that god who maketh men to be of one mind in a house or nation, so dispose events, that in due time the valleys and hills of australia felix may be dotted with churches, and filled with faithful members of christ! then will it become a _happy_ land indeed. then may its inhabitants feel a lively interest, both in the _social_ and _religious_ welfare of their country; and each one may join, from the distant shores of the once unknown southern land, in the holy aspirations of the royal prophet: "for my brethren and companions' sakes i will wish thee prosperity. yea, because of the house of the lord our god, i will seek to do thee good."[ ] [ ] psalm cxxii. , . chapter iii. natives of the bush. in most instances in which a country is taken possession of, and its original inhabitants are removed, enslaved, or exterminated, the party thus violently seizing upon the rights of others is considered the superior and more civilized nation of the two. the very means by which this advantage is gained are, usually, boldness, and worldly talent, without which a conquest or successful invasion is impossible; and these, when prosperous, are qualities which awaken very powerfully the admiration and attention of men. so that, while earthly prosperity and excellence are combining to cast a splendour around the actions of the successful nation, adversity and inferiority do usually join in blackening the cloud which hangs over the character of that which is unfortunate. it is not for us to defend these judgments of the world, as though they were, in any case, altogether righteous judgments, but this we may safely affirm, in the particular instance of australia, that, upon the whole, it is a gain to the cause of truth and virtue for christian england to possess those wilds, which lately were occupied by miserable natives; and, while we own that it is wrong to do evil that good may come, yet may we, likewise, confess with thankfulness the divine mercy and wisdom which have so often brought good out of the evil committed by our countrymen in these distant lands. it must be confessed, too, that, whatever may be the amount of iniquity wantonly committed among the natives of the other portions of the globe, for which europe is responsible, still, the europeans, upon the whole, stand higher than the inhabitants of the remaining portions, and, of course, in proportion, very much higher than the most degraded and least-improved race of savages, the australian natives. true, indeed, these despised australians may, hereafter, rise up in judgment against europeans to condemn them; and when that which has been given to each race of men shall be again required of them, those that have received the most may frequently be found to have profited the least by the gifts of divine providence. still, without pretending to pass judgment upon any, whether nations or individual persons,--without affecting, either, to close our eyes against the miserable vices by which the christian name has been disgraced, and our country's glory sullied, among distant and barbarous nations, we may with safety speak of the inhabitants of those heathen lands in terms that are suitable to their degraded state. in describing their darkened and almost brutal condition, we are but describing things as they really exist;[ ] it changes not the actual fact to prove that, in many more respects than would at first sight appear, the behaviour of men of our own _enlightened_ nation is scarcely less darkened or less brutal than theirs. nay, the australian savage, in his natural state, may be a far higher and nobler character than the british convict sometimes is in his degraded state; and, nevertheless, it may be correct to class the nation of the former among barbarians, and that of the latter among civilized people. but in forming our judgment respecting the real character of the natives of the bush we must beware lest we try them by our own standard,--a standard by which it is unjust to measure them, since they have never known it, nor ever had the means of reaching it.[ ] every wise man will make all possible allowance for the effect of many generations of ignorance and degradation upon the human soul, and when this has been fairly done, the truly wise man, the humble christian, whilst he reads of the deplorable condition to which the human soul may be reduced, (as it is shown in the instance before us,) will feel disposed to ask himself, "who made thee to differ from others? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" [ ] one crime, in which the inhabitants of the neighbouring islands of new zealand notoriously indulge, has been charged also upon the people of new holland; but, since no mention of their _cannibalism_ is made by those british travellers who have seen most of the habits of the natives, it is hoped that the charge is an unfounded one. see, however, m. martin's new south wales, pp. - , and the instance of _gome boak_, in collins' history of new south wales, p. ; and sturt's expeditions in australia, vol. ii. p. . [ ] nay, our fellow-countrymen in the australian colonies, can, by no means, endure a strict trial, even by their own rule of right. take, for instance, the following very common case:--the kangaroo disappears from cattle-runs, and is also killed by stockmen, merely for the sake of the skin; but no mercy is shown to the natives who may help themselves to a bullock or a sheep. they do not, it is true, breed and feed the kangaroos as our people rear and fatten cattle, but, at least, the wild animals are bred and fed upon their land, and consequently belong to them. the native population of australia is very peculiar in many respects, not exactly resembling any other known race of human beings in the world. they are more nearly akin to the africans than to any others, and they have, accordingly, been sometimes called _the eastern negroes_, having the same thick lips, high cheek-bones, sunken eyes, and legs without calves, which distinguish the native of africa; but, with the exception of van diemen's land, and the adjoining coasts, the woolly hair of the negro is not to be found among them, nor is the nose usually so flat, or the forehead so low. they are seldom very tall, but generally well made; and their bodily activity is most surprising; nor is their courage at all to be despised. the australian native has always been pointed out as being the lowest specimen of human nature, and, since, in every scale of degrees, one must be lowest, this is probably correct enough; yet we are by no means to give too hasty credit to the accounts of their condition, which have been given by those whose interest it may have been to represent them in as unfavourable a light as possible, or whose opportunities of judging have been few and scanty, compared with their hasty willingness to pass judgment upon them. men, more or less busily engaged in killing and taking possession, are not likely to make a very favourable report of those poor creatures into whose inheritance they have come; mere self-defence would tempt them to try to lessen the greatness of their crimes, by asserting the victims of these to be scarcely deserving of a better fate, and, in the present instance, the actual condition of the native population would be very favourable to excuses of this kind. or, even without this evil intention of excusing wrong by slandering those that suffer it, many men, with but few means of understanding their character, may have spoken decidedly respecting the australian natives, and that, too, in language even harsher than their degraded state would justify. disgusting and horrid many of their habits and customs undoubtedly are, yet they appear even more so at first sight, and to one only imperfectly acquainted with them; especially when (which often happens) not the slightest allowance is made for the peculiar situation of the savage, but he is taken at once from the midst of his naked barbarity, and tried by the rules of refinement and civilization. recently, indeed, public attention and pity have been more turned towards the unhappy race of natives, and many traits have been discovered in their character which would not dishonour more enlightened nations. the degraded position of those who are in the midst of the white population affords no just criterion of their merits. their quickness of apprehension is often surprising, and nothing, however new and strange, seems to puzzle or astonish them; so that they follow closely the advice of the ancient poet: "wonder at nought:--the only rule i know to make man happy, and to keep him so." "they are never awkward," says major mitchell, who was well qualified to speak from experience; "on the contrary, in manners, and general intelligence, they appear superior to any class of white rustics that i have seen. their powers of mimicry seem extraordinary, and their shrewdness shines even through the medium of imperfect language, and renders them, in general, very agreeable companions." we may, therefore, if our inquiry be accompanied by humility and justice, be able to form a fair and impartial opinion respecting these people; and the result of an inquiry of this sort must be, in every well-regulated soul, not merely a feeling of thankfulness (still less of self-sufficiency,) that we are far removed from the savage state, but, likewise, a sense of shame, that, with many of our fellow-countrymen, their superior advantages have been productive of little or no fruit. one very remarkable distinction of the natives of the bush is, the entire absence of clothing, unless the cloak, made of opossum-skin, worn by some tribes, can deserve to be thought an exception. their climate being, generally speaking, a dry one, and exposure to the air, even at night, being much less hurtful than in most other countries, this habit of going without clothing, after the fashion of a brute beast, is by no means so dangerous in australia as it would be elsewhere. but, while they can dispense with _clothes_, like most other savages, they are extremely fond of _ornaments_,--at least, of what they esteem to be such: these are teeth of kangaroos, or men, jaw-bones of a fish, feathers, tails of dogs, pieces of wood, &c., fastened on different parts of the head, by a sort of gum; while scars, and marks of various kinds, are made upon the breast, arms, and back; or, upon certain occasions, as going to war, or mourning for a friend, the body is streaked over with white and yellow paint, according to the taste of the party concerned. in two very distant parts of australia, namely, the gulf of carpentaria, and the eastern coast of st. vincent's gulf, the natives practise the rite of circumcision--a remarkable agreement, when we consider that they are about miles apart, and have no means of communication with each other. it is no uncommon custom, either, for the natives to pierce their noses, and to place a bone or reed through the opening, which is reckoned a great ornament. but there is another custom, almost peculiar to australia, which, from its singularity, may deserve to be noticed at some length. among many of the native tribes,[ ] it is usual for the males to have a front tooth, or sometimes _two_, struck out at the time of their arriving at manhood, and this ceremony is performed in a most solemn and impressive manner. the following account of it, from the pen of an eye-witness, may be not unacceptable to the reader: lieutenant collins, the historian of the infant colony of new south wales, was present during the whole of this curious operation, and thus describes the accompanying ceremonies practised by the natives of that part of australia:--for seven days previous to the commencement of the solemnity, the people continued to assemble, and the evenings were spent in dancing, for which they adorned themselves in their best manner, namely, by painting themselves white, and especially by drawing white circles round their eyes. when the field was prepared, and the youths who were to be enrolled among men were all placed together upon one side of it, the business began with a loud shout, and a clattering of shields and spears, from the armed party, whose office it was to seize the patients about to undergo the extraordinary operation. this was done one by one, until the whole number, fifteen, were brought forward, and placed in the midst of the armed body of men; then each youth was made to sit down, holding his head downwards, with his hands clasped, and his legs crossed under him, in which painful posture it was said they were to remain all night, without looking up or taking any refreshment whatever.[ ] the carrahdis, or persons who were to perform the operation, now began some of their strange mummeries. each one of these, in his turn, appeared to suffer most extreme agony, and put himself into every posture that pain could occasion, until, at length, a bone was brought forward, which was intended to be used in the ensuing ceremony; and the poor youths were led to believe that the more pain these carrahdis suffered in obtaining the bone, the less would be theirs in losing a tooth. the following day began with the ceremony of the fifteen operators running round upon their hands and feet, in imitation of the dogs of that country, and throwing upon the boys, as they passed, sand and dirt with their hands and feet. the youths were perfectly still and silent, and it was understood that this ceremony gave them power over the dog, and endowed them with whatever good qualities that animal might possess. [ ] speaking of a tribe which he found upon the banks of the darling, mitchell says, "the men retained all their front teeth, and had no scarifications on their bodies, two most unfashionable peculiarities among the aborigines." (mitchell's _three expeditions_, vol. i. p. .) the same intelligent traveller accounts for the custom of knocking out the teeth, by supposing it a typical sacrifice, probably derived from early sacrificial rites. the cutting off the last joint of the little finger of females, (he adds,) seems a custom of the same kind. it is a curious observation, that the more ferocious among the natives on the darling were those tribes that had _not_ lost their front teeth.--vol. ii. p. , and vol. i. p. . [ ] this was not the fact, however, for lieut. collins found them in a different place, when he went to the spot early in the next morning. the next part that was performed, was the offering of a sham kangaroo, made of grass, to the fifteen lads, who were still seated as before. one man brought the kangaroo, and a second carried some brushwood, besides having one or two flowering shrubs stuck through his nose, and both seemed to stagger under the weight of their burdens. stalking and limping, they at last reached the feet of the youthful hunters, and placed before them the prize of the chase, after which they went away, as though entirely wearied out. by this rite was given the power of killing the kangaroo, and the brushwood, most likely, was meant to represent its common haunt. in about an hour's space, the chief actors returned from a valley to which they had retired, bringing with them long tails of grass, which were fitted to the girdle. by the help of this addition, they imitated a herd of kangaroos, one man beating time to them with a club on a shield, and two others, armed, followed them and affected to steal unnoticed upon them to spear them. as soon as these pretended kangaroos had passed the objects of their visit, they instantly got rid of their artificial tails, each man caught up a lad, and, placing him upon his shoulders, carried him off in triumph to the last scene of this strange exhibition. after walking a short distance, the men put down their burdens, placing them in a cluster, each boy with his head upon his breast, and his hands clasped together. in a few minutes, after a greater degree of mystery and preparation than had been before observed, the youthful band was brought forward to a place where a number of human beings were seen lying with their faces to the ground, as if they were dead, and in front of these was a man seated on a stump of a tree, bearing another man upon his shoulders, both having their arms extended, while two men, in a like attitude, were seen also behind the group of prostrate figures. these first two men made most hideous faces for a few minutes, and then the lads were led over the bodies lying on the ground, which moved and writhed, as though in great agony; after which the same strange grimaces were repeated by the two men who were placed on the further side of the apparently dead bodies. all the information that could be gained of the meaning of this, was, that it would make them brave men; that they would see well and fight well. then followed a sort of martial exercise with spear and shield, in the presence of the future warriors, to signify to them what was to be one great business of their lives--the use of the spear; and, when this was finished, the preparations for striking out the tooth commenced. the first subject of this barbarous operation was chosen, and seated upon the shoulders of a native, who himself sat down upon the grass; and then the bone was produced, which had cost so much apparent pain to procure the evening before, and which was made very sharp and fine at one end, for the purpose of lancing the gum. but for some such precaution, it would have been impossible to have knocked out the tooth, without breaking the jaw-bone. a stick was then cut with much ceremony out of some hard wood, and when the gum of the patient was properly prepared, the smallest end of the stick was applied to the top of the tooth, while the operator stood ready with a large stone, as though about to drive the tooth down the throat of the youth. here a certain attention to the number three, which had been before shown, was again noticed, for no stroke was actually made, until three attempts to hit the stick had taken place; and, notwithstanding repeated blows, so firmly was the tooth of the first boy fixed in his gum, that it was full ten minutes before it was forced out. the sufferer was then removed, his gum was closed, and he was dressed out in a new style, with a girdle, in which was stuck a wooden sword, and with a bandage round his head, while his left hand was placed over his mouth, and he was not allowed to speak, nor, during that day, to eat. in this manner were all the others treated, except one only, who could not endure the pain of more than one blow with the stone, and, breaking away from his tormentors, he managed to make his escape. during the whole operation a hideous noise was kept up around the patients, with whom, generally, it seemed to be a point of honour to endure this pain without a single murmur. having once gone through this strange ceremony, they were henceforth admitted into the company and privileges of the class of men. and as the commencement of manhood in this way, requires no small exercise of courage and endurance of pain, so the remainder of the life of an australian savage is usually abundant in trials calling for the like qualities, and demanding both bravery and patience. whatever may be the particular evils of civilized society, and however some wild imaginations may be tempted by these to regard with regret or envy the enjoyments of savage life, after all it must be confessed, these enjoyments are, at best, very scanty and very uncertain, whilst the miseries attendant upon such a state are of a nature continually to try the patience and weary the spirit of him who has to endure them. without dwelling just at present upon the natural wants and sufferings to which savage men are perpetually exposed in the wilderness of australia, it is deplorable to think of how many evils these thinly-scattered tribes are the cause to each other; enormous and sad is the amount of suffering, which, even in those lonely and unfrequented regions, human beings are constantly bringing upon their brethren or neighbours. war, which seems almost a necessary evil, an unavoidable scourge to man's fallen race, in all ages and in every country, wears its most deadly aspect, and shows its fiercest spirit among the petty tribes, and in the personal encounters of savages like those of whom we are treating. various causes of misunderstanding will, of course, arise among them from time to time, and every trifling quarrel is continued and inflamed by their amazing and persevering efforts to revenge themselves, which appears to be with them considered a matter of duty. the shedding of blood is always followed by punishment, and only those who are _jee-dyte_, or unconnected with the family of the guilty person, can consider themselves in safety from this evil spirit of revenge. little children of seven or eight years old, if, while playing, they hear that some murder has taken place, can in a moment tell whether or not they are _jee-dyte_, and even at this tender age, take their measures accordingly. an example of this unsparing visitation of offences occurred not long after the settlement of new south wales had commenced. a native had been murdered, and his widow, being obliged to revenge his death, chanced to meet with a little girl distantly related to the murderer, upon whom she instantly poured forth her fury, beating her cruelly about the head with a club and pointed stone, until at length she caused the child's death. when this was mentioned before the other natives, they appeared to look upon it as a right and necessary act, nor was the woman punished by the child's relatives, possibly because it was looked upon as a just requital. when a native has received any injury, whether real or fancied, he is very apt to work himself up into a tremendous passion, and for this purpose certain war-songs, especially if they are chanted by women, seem amazingly powerful. indeed, it is stated, on good authority, that four or five mischievously-inclined old women can soon stir up forty or fifty men to any deed of blood, by means of their chants, which are accompanied by tears and groans, until the men are excited into a perfect state of frenzy. the men also have their war-songs, which they sing as they walk rapidly backwards and forwards, quivering their spears, in order to work themselves up into a passion. the following very common one may serve for a specimen, both of the manner and matter of this rude, yet, to them, soul-stirring poetry:-- yu-do dauna, spear his forehead, nan-do dauna, spear his breast, myeree dauna, spear his liver, goor-doo dauna, spear his heart, boon-gal-la dauna, spear his loins, gonog-o dauna, spear his shoulder, dow-al dauna, spear his thigh, nar-ra dauna, spear his ribs, &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. and thus it is that a native, when he feels afraid, sings himself into courage, or, if he is already in a bold mood, he heaps fuel upon the flame of his anger, and adds strength to his fury. the deadly feeling of hatred and revenge extends itself to their public, as well as to their private, quarrels, and sometimes shows itself in a very fierce and unexpected manner. in the valley of the wollombi, between sydney and hunter's river, some years ago, three boys of a certain tribe had been persuaded to reside in the families of three of the british settlers there. these were marked out for vengeance by the natives belonging to a tribe in a state of warfare with them, about of whom travelled between and miles during one night--a thing almost unheard of among the natives--and reached the neighbourhood of the settlers on the wollombi very early on the ensuing morning. two or three of them were sent to each of the houses to entice the boys out, but these, it appeared, somewhat suspected the intentions of their enemies. however, they were at length persuaded to join the native dance, when suddenly a circle was formed round them, and they were speedily beaten to death with _waddies_ or clubs. immediately after which deed, the troop of natives returned back again to their own neighbourhood. a european happened to pass by, just as the boys were dying, but being alone and unarmed, his interference might have been dangerous to himself, without proving of any the slightest advantage to the unfortunate sufferers. another instance of that cowardly cruelty, which will take every possible advantage of a helpless age and sex occurred many years before this, when the colony of new south wales was quite in its infancy. the father and mother of a little native girl, aged about seven years, had belonged to a party by whom many robberies had been committed on the banks of the river hawkesbury, but an armed troop of europeans was sent in pursuit of these robbers, and when a meeting took place, the child's parents were among those that fell, while she accompanied the victorious party to the british settlement. here she behaved herself with propriety, being a well-disposed child, she was a favourite at government-house, where she resided under the protection of the governor. this circumstance, and the fact of her belonging to a different tribe from their own, awakened the jealousy of some of the natives, who belonged to the neighbourhood of sydney, and she was consequently put to death in the most cruel manner. her body was found in the woods, speared in several places, and with both the arms cut off. the murderers of the poor child escaped. but, while we justly condemn and pity the cruel and cowardly acts of this description, which, unhappily, too often figure among the deeds of the natives of the australian bush, we are by no means to suppose them wanting in all feeling of kindness and humanity, still less would it be correct to consider them deficient in true courage. every allowance ought to be made for the disadvantages of savage life, for the complete ignorance of these people, for the difficulty which they frequently have in procuring necessary food, and for the consequent cheapness in which life is held among them; and when these and other like arguments are duly weighed, we may learn not to abominate less the crimes of savages, but to pity more the unhappy beings who commit them. indeed, if we go somewhat further, we may take shame to ourselves and to all civilized nations, in many of whose practices a counterpart may be found for the worst sins of the uncultivated, uncivilized heathens. within the last few years many crimes have been recorded in our newspapers, which, though committed in those large english towns, by some conceived to be centres of civilization, refinement, and enlightenment, might rival in horror and atrocity the very darkest deeds of savages. many proofs that the disposition of the native australians is naturally brave and courageous (however cowardly some of their barbarities may appear,) could easily be brought forward; but none can be a stronger proof of this than the coolness and self-possession which they have so frequently exhibited upon meeting with europeans, and encountering their fire-arms for the first time. an example of this occurred in western australia, when captain grey's party were on their return home towards the british settlement of perth. they were winding their way along on the summit of a limestone hill not very far from the coast, which formed a terrace about half a mile in width, with rich grass and beautiful clumps of trees to adorn it; and while, on the side towards the land, another terrace arose exactly like it, on the opposite side they overlooked a bay surrounded by verdant and extensive flats. their enjoyment of the lovely scenery of this spot was soon disturbed by the appearance of a large body of the natives on the high ground to the east of them; and, although these strangers boldly advanced to within yards of them, all endeavours to bring about an amicable meeting proved in vain, for the savages shouted to their companions, and these again to others yet more remote, until the calls were lost in the distance, while fresh parties of natives came trooping in from all directions. the question was, how to get rid of these people without bloodshed; and when an attempt to move quietly forward had been disappointed, by the australians hastening on to occupy a thick piece of bush, through which the english party must pass, at last, captain grey, advancing towards them with his gun cocked and pointed, drove them a little before him, after which, to complete their dispersion, he intended to fire over their heads. but, to his mortification and their delight, the gun missed fire, upon which the natives, taking fresh courage, turned round to make faces at him and to imitate the snapping of the gun. the second barrel was then fired over their heads, at which they were alarmed, and made a rapid retreat, halting, however, upon a rising ground about yards off, and preparing in earnest for action, when they perceived that they had suffered no loss. but since they had thus learned to despise the weapons of european warfare, prompt action was needful to prevent fatal consequences on both sides. the captain, accordingly, took his rifle from the man who was carrying it, and directing it at a heap of closely-matted dead bushes, about two or three yards from the main body of the enemy, he drove the ball right through it; the dry rotten boughs crackled and flew in all directions, and the poor savages, confounded at this new and unfair mode of fighting, hastily dispersed, without any loss of life having been sustained by either party.[ ] [ ] a less serious but even more effectual method of dispersing the natives, when they became troublesome, and would not quit the settlers' camp at night, is mentioned by mitchell. at a given signal, one of the englishmen suddenly sallied forth wearing a gilt mask, and holding in his hand a blue light with which he fired a rocket. two men concealed bellowed hideously through speaking-trumpets, while all the others shouted and discharged their fire-arms into the air. the man in the mask marched solemnly towards the astonished natives, who were seen through the gloom but for an instant, as they made their escape and disappeared for ever.--mitchell's _expeditions_, vol. ii. p. . on another occasion, not long after this encounter, and in the same neighbourhood, the party of english explorers fell in with a native carrying his spear and a handful of fish; he was lost in thought, and they were close to him before he saw them, but, when he did so, he took no notice of them. without even quickening his pace, he continued in his own course, which crossed their path, and, as he evidently wished to avoid all communication, the men were ordered to take no notice of him, and so they passed one another. he must have been a very brave fellow, observes the captain, to act thus coolly, when an array so strange to him met his eye. in like manner, when major mitchell was riding upon the banks of the gwydir, he fell in with a tall native, covered with pipe-clay, who, although he could never have seen a horse before, nevertheless, put himself in a posture of defiance, and did not retreat, until the traveller galloped at him to prevent his attack. in a different part of new holland, on the eastern coast, when flinders was exploring pumice-stone river, near moreton bay, he was by no means successful in striking the natives with awe and astonishment. a hawk having presented itself to view, he thought this afforded a good opportunity of showing his new friends, the inhabitants of the bush, a specimen of the effect and certainty of his fire-arms. he made them understand what he intended, and they were so far alarmed as to seem to be on the point of running into the woods, but a plan of detaining them was discovered, for the seamen placed themselves in front of the savages, forming a kind of defence; in which situation they anxiously watched the british officer, while he fired at the bird. what must have been his feelings at the moment!--the hawk, uninjured, flew away![ ] [ ] on a similar occasion, near the darling, where the inhabitants are remarkable for their thievish habits, when a crow was shot, in order to scare them by its sudden death, the only result was, that, before the bird had reached the ground, one of them rushed forward at the top of his speed to seize it!--see mitchell's _expeditions_, vol. i. p. . it is, certainly, no easy task to awaken in the soul of the completely savage man any great interest or concern in the ways and habits of civilized life. the fallen nature, of which all mankind are common partakers, renders it, unfortunately, easy to copy what is evil; and, accordingly, the drunkenness, the deceitfulness, and general licentiousness of depraved europeans find many admirers and imitators among the simple children of the australian wilderness; but when anything good, or decent, or even merely useful, is to be taught them, then do they appear dull and inapt scholars indeed. living, as they do, in a peculiar world, as it were, of their own, they feel little or no pleasure at hearing of what is going on elsewhere, and it has been observed by one who had mixed very much with their various tribes, and had gained considerable knowledge of their language, that, while they cared not for stories respecting man in his civilized state, anything at all bearing upon savage life was eagerly listened to and well received. once, having described to them some circumstances respecting england and its inhabitants, the traveller took occasion, from the mention of the length of days there in summer, to speak of those lands near the north pole, where, in summer, the sun never sets, while it never rises for some weeks during the winter. the natives agreed that this must be another sun, and not the one seen by them; but, when the conversation turned upon the people of those northern regions, and the small laplander, clothed in skins of the seal, instead of the kangaroo, was described to them, they were exceedingly delighted; and this picture of half-savage life, so different from their own, threw quite into the shade all the other stories they had heard. it is, indeed, really laughable to find with what cool contempt some of these natives, who have never had any intercourse with europeans, treat our comforts, our tastes, and pursuits. we may contemn and pity them, but they seem to have very much the same feelings for us. we are horrified at the greediness with which they devour grubs, and many of them are shocked at our oyster-eating propensities! a remarkable instance of this occurred to captain flinders in , when he was exploring the eastern coast of new holland, and surveying two-fold bay. while measuring a base line upon the beach, the english sailors heard the screams of three native women, who took up their children and ran off in great alarm. soon after this a man made his appearance, armed only with a _waddie_, or wooden scimetar, but approaching them apparently with careless confidence. the explorers made much of him, and gave him some biscuit; in return for which he presented them with a piece of gristly fat, probably of whale. this was tasted by captain flinders, but he was forced to watch for an opportunity of getting rid of it while the eyes of the donor were not upon him. but the savage himself was, curiously enough, doing precisely the same thing with the biscuit, the taste of which was, perhaps, no more agreeable to him than that of the whale to the englishman. the commencement of the trigonometrical operations necessary for surveying the bay was beheld by the australian with indifference, if not with contempt; and he quitted the strangers, apparently satisfied that from people who could thus seriously occupy themselves there was no great danger to be feared. but, whatever may be urged respecting the variety of tastes and the want of a settled and uniform standard of appeal respecting them; however it may be argued the rich and luscious fat of a noble whale may intrinsically surpass the lean and mouldy flavour of dry sea-biscuit; nevertheless, in many other matters of greater importance, it must be confessed that the manners and habits of the natives of the bush are extremely wretched and evil. and the christian european, while he dares not _despise_ them, cannot do otherwise than _pity_ them. the fact has been already noticed, that these miserable children of nature scarcely ever wear anything deserving of the name of clothing; and, in many parts of new holland, their huts, usually constructed by the women, and composed of little better materials than bark, or wood, and boughs,[ ] reeds, or clay, scarcely merit the title of human habitations. but it is not so much in their outward state, as in their moral and social habits, that this race of men are most pitiable and degraded. one subject which has been frequently observed to mark the difference not so much between civilized and uncivilized men, as that between christians and heathens, must especially be noticed. cruel as is _the treatment of women_ in many other parts of the globe, the inhabitants of australia seem to go beyond all other barbarians in this respect. from the best and wisest people of christian europe down to the vilest and most degraded tribes of heathen australia, a regular scale might be formed of the general mode of behaviour to the weaker sex among these various nations; and, mostly, it would be found that the general superiority or inferiority of each nation is not untruly indicated by the kindness or cruelty with which their females are usually treated. [ ] see nehemiah viii. , . from their earliest infancy the female children are engaged or betrothed to a future husband, and in case of his death, they belong to his heir. but this arrangement is frequently prevented by the horrid practice, common among these barbarians, of stealing their wives, and taking them away by main force. indeed, it seems a rule for the women to follow the conquering party, as a matter of course; so that on the return of an expedition into the interior of new holland, the friendly and neighbouring natives, being informed that some of the distant and hostile people had been shot, only observed, "stupid white fellows! why did you not bring away the gins?" polygamy is not uncommonly practised; and an old man, especially, among other privileges, may have as many _gins_, or wives, as he can keep, or maintain. indeed, the maintenance of a wife is not expensive, since they are expected to work; and all the most laborious tasks, including that of supplying a great part of the necessary food for the family, are performed by them.[ ] hence, they are watched with very jealous care, being valuable possessions; but, in spite of all precautions, they are frequently carried off, and that in the most inhuman manner. the _lover_ steals upon the encampment by night, and, discovering where the object of his affection is, he frequently beats her on the head till she becomes senseless, and then drags her off through the bushes, as a tiger would its prey![ ] this, of course, is an undertaking attended with considerable danger; for if the intruder is caught, he will be speared through the leg, or even killed, by the angry husband or relatives. thus many quarrels arise, in which brothers or friends are generally ready enough to bear a part. but--unlike the courteous and christian customs of our own country--the poor female, whether innocent or guilty, it matters not, has no one to take her part; the established rule with regard to women among these brutal creatures being, "if i beat your mother, then you beat mine; if i beat your wife, then you beat mine," &c. &c. the consequence of these ferocious habits is evident enough in the appearance of most of the young women, who have any good looks or personal comeliness to boast of. the number of violent blows upon the head, or of rude wounds inflicted by the spear, form so many miserable trophies of victories dearly won by these australian beauties, and the early life of one of these unhappy beings is generally a continued series of captivities to different masters, of wanderings in strange families, of rapid flights, of bad treatment from other females, amongst whom she is brought a stranger by her captor; and rarely is a form of unusual grace and elegance seen, but it is marked and scarred by the furrows of old wounds; while many females thus wander several hundreds of miles from the home of their infancy, without any corresponding ties of affection being formed to recompense them for those so rudely torn asunder. as may be well imagined, a marriage thus roughly commenced is not very smooth in its continuance; and the most cruel punishments--violent beating, throwing spears or burning brands, &c.--are frequently inflicted upon the weaker party, without any sufficient provocation having been given. it is evident, that treatment of this kind, together with the immensely long journeys which they are compelled to take, always accompanying their husbands on every excursion, must be very injurious to the constitution and healthiness of the weaker sex. and to these trials must be added the constant carrying of those children that are yet unable to travel, the perpetual search for food, and preparation of it when it is obtained, besides many other laborious offices performed by the women, all which being reckoned up together, will form a life of toil and misery, which we may hope is endured by no other human beings beside the females of australia. nor is such treatment without its ill effect upon the tempers and dispositions of the female sex. the ferocity of the women, when it is excited, exceeds that of the men; they deal dreadful blows at one another with their long sticks, and, if ever the husband is about to spear in the leg, or beat, one of his wives, the others are certain to set on her, and treat her with great inhumanity. [ ] the men frequently indulge a great degree of indolence at the expense of the women, who are compelled to sit in their canoe, exposed to the fervour of a mid-day sun, hour after hour, chanting their little song, and inviting the fish beneath them to take their bait; for without a sufficient quantity to make a meal for their tyrants, who are lying asleep at their ease, they would meet but a rude reception on their landing.--collins' _account of colony of new south wales_, p. . [ ] playing at "stealing a wife" is a common game with the australian children. one custom, which to europeans seems extremely remarkable, is that of the family name of the _mother_, and not of the _father_, becoming the surname of the children of either sex. and another, connected with this, forbids a man from marrying with a woman of his own family name. each family has for its crest or sign, or _kobong_, as they call it, some animal or vegetable; and a certain mysterious connexion is supposed to exist between a family and its _kobong_; so that a member of the family will never kill an animal of the same species with his _kobong_, should he find it asleep; indeed, he always kills it reluctantly, and never without affording it a chance of escape.[ ] this arises from the family belief that some one individual of the species is their nearest friend, to kill whom would be a great crime, and is to be carefully avoided. and, in like manner, a native having a vegetable for a _kobong_ may not gather it under certain circumstances, and at a particular period of the year. it is said that they occasionally exchange surnames with their friends, a custom which is supposed to have prevailed among the jews; and they have another practice resembling the same people, which is, that when a husband dies, his brother takes the wife.[ ] among beings who hold life so cheaply, it cannot be a matter of surprise that the destruction of infants should be occasionally practised, more especially in cases where the child is born with any natural deformity: nor is it an excuse for these barbarians that the polished nations of ancient greece and italy habitually committed the like atrocities, or even greater,--considering it in their own choice to rear up their offspring or not, exactly as it suited their convenience. in fact, we may learn from this and many other instances, that it is not _civilisation_ alone, but yet more than that, _christianity_, by which the difference between the european and the australian is produced:-- "in vain are arts pursued, or taste refin'd, unless religion purifies the mind." [ ] these facts may account for the statement mentioned by collins, of a native throwing himself in the way of a man who was about to shoot a crow, whence it was supposed that the bird was an object of worship, which notion is, however, contradicted by the common practice of eating crows, of which birds the natives are very fond.--see collins' _account of the colony of new south wales_, p. . two young natives, to whom mr. oxley had given a tomahawk, discovered the _broad arrow_, with which it was marked on both sides, and which exactly resembles the print made by the foot of an emu. probably the youths thought it a _kobong_, for they frequently pointed to it and to the emu skins which the party had with them.--see oxley's _journal_, p. . [ ] the command in deut. xxv. only extended to the case of eldest sons dying without children. respecting the languages spoken in different parts of new holland, it is doubtful whether they have all a common root or not, but the opinion of captain grey, who was not unqualified to judge, is in favour of their kindred origin. in so vast an extent of country, among wandering tribes, that hold little or no communication with each other, great differences in language were to be expected, and are found to exist. if three men from the east, the west, and the north of england meet together, they occasionally puzzle one another by their various dialects; what, then, must be expected by way of variety in a country between two and three thousand miles across, without much communication, and totally differing, at its extreme points, in climate and in animal and vegetable productions? for new objects new names were, of necessity, invented; but the resemblance between words signifying objects common everywhere, as, for instance, the parts of the human body, is said to be remarkable. the australian languages are stated to be soft and melodious in their sound, and their songs, though rude and wild, have amazing power over the feelings of the soul. _noise_ would appear to have great charms in savage ears, and, sometimes, from the high key in which our english songs are occasionally pitched, it would seem to have charms also for "ears polite." but an elegant and refined european song would only be laughed at and mimicked by the musical blacks, some few of whom are not, however, quite insensible to the sweets of civilised melody. warrup, a native servant, was once present when "god save the queen" was sung in chorus, and it so affected him, that he burst into tears. he certainly could not have understood the words, much less could he have entered into the noble and loyal spirit, of our national anthem: it must, therefore, have been the music, and, perhaps, the excitement prevailing around him, which affected him. [illustration: opossum hunting.] chapter iv. means of subsistence in the bush. one of the most important occupations of every man in this present state of things, is the pursuit of food and necessary sustenance for himself and those belonging to him. but this occupation, being in some respects more difficult, or at least, more uncertain and engrossing, stands more forward in savage life, and appears more important than ever; while, at the same time, the contrast upon this subject between the rude child of nature and the civilized inhabitants of the earth, becomes even stronger than usual. in glancing over the condition of the native of the bush in australia, with respect to his supply of needful support, and his means of obtaining it, several truths are to be borne in remembrance, obvious indeed when pointed out, and yet not unlikely to escape a casual observer. first, the vast extent of country, compared with the thin and scattered population it maintains; next, the very different sort of food required by a savage and a european; and lastly, the various kinds of food which are used by the inhabitants of the wilderness--are all matters which must be recollected, if we would form a fair judgment upon the subject, and do justice to the humble, and apparently scanty, bill of fare which nature has provided for those that dwell among her wildest scenes and in her most secret, recesses. in these spots it is but rarely, of course, from the mere absence of sufficient provisions, that any large body of natives can assemble together; but, occasionally, a feast is prepared for a considerable number, either when some particular article of food abounds at a certain place and is in full season, or, especially, when a whale (a fish very common on the coasts of new holland) is thrown ashore. in the latter case, it is impossible for us entirely to enter into the feelings of the savage, for we have never, unexpectedly, had so large a quantity of what is considered the greatest delicacy placed at once before us. hence, when the australian finds a whale thrown ashore in his own district, his heart warms and opens with kind feelings of hospitality; he longs to see all his friends about him, and large fires are immediately kindled to announce the fortunate and joyful event. notice of the feast having been thus given, and a due invitation forwarded, he rubs himself all over with the blubber, and his favourite wives are served in the same manner, after which, he begins to cut his way into the flesh of the whale, the grain of which is about the firmness of a goose-quill; of this he chooses the nicest morsels, and either broils them on the fire, or cooks them by cutting them into small pieces, and spitting them on a pointed stick. other natives, attracted by the flaming signal of revelry, soon assemble in gay companies from all quarters: by night they dance and sing, and by day they eat and sleep, and the feast continues unchecked until they at last fairly eat their way into the whale, and may be seen climbing in and about the carcase choosing their favourite pieces. the fish, in a few days, becomes more disagreeable than ever, but still they will not leave it, until they have been completely gorged with it,--out of temper from indigestion, and therefore engaged in frequent quarrels. and, even when they are, at length, obliged to quit the feast, they carry off with them as much as they can stagger under, to eat upon the way, and to take as a rarity to their distant friends. such is a true picture of a native australian feast, and the polished sons and daughters of europe will turn away from it with feelings of unmingled disgust. but, with how many of these is life itself a perpetual series of feasting, less gross and disgusting indeed, but not less really sensual than this! how many inhabitants of civilised countries live continually as though the saying, "let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die" were the whole sum and substance of practical wisdom! yet if it were so, who would be more happy, who more blessed in his situation, than the savage devouring, day after day, the food his heart delights in? but a whale-feast is an event of no ordinary kind in the life of an inhabitant of the bush, and, if we would know how the common sustenance of life is procured by him, we must follow him through a variety of scenes and pursuits, of which, by no means the least important or interesting, is the chase of the kangaroo.[ ] this singular and harmless creature is now so well known to europeans, from specimens that have been brought over and placed in our public collections of animals, and also from numberless pictures, that it would be waste of time to stop to describe it. in truth, being one of the productions peculiar to australia, it may be said, from the figures of it to be seen upon the back of every book relating to that country, to have become almost the _kobong_ or crest of that southern region. in many portions of new holland, particularly where the country is wooded and the soil tolerably fertile, kangaroos are very abundant; but so great havoc is made among these defenceless creatures by their various enemies, especially by man, that their numbers appear to be upon the decrease.[ ] [ ] the wild dog is also an object of chase, and its puppies are considered great dainties; but they are sometimes saved, in order to bring them up in a tame state, in which case they are taken by one of the elder females of the family, and actually reared up by her in all respects like one of her own children! [ ] it is a saying among the natives, "where white man sit down, kangaroo go away." a day's hunting is often the cause of no small excitement, even in england, among men who care nothing for the object of their chase, and are certain of a good dinner at the end of their day's sport; but we may suppose this to be a matter of more serious interest to the australian, who depends upon his skill and patience in hunting for his daily food. his whole manner and appearance, accordingly, are changed on these occasions; his eyes brighten up, his motion becomes quick though silent, and every token of his eagerness and anxiety is discoverable in his behaviour. earth, water, trees, sky, are all in turn the subjects of his keenest search, and his whole soul appears to be engaged in his two senses of sight and hearing. his wives, and even his children, become perfectly silent, until, perhaps, a suppressed whistle is given by one of the women, denoting that she sees a kangaroo near her husband, after which all is again quiet, and an unpractised stranger might ride within a few yards of the group, and not perceive a living thing. the devoted animal, meanwhile, after listening two or three times without being able to perceive any further cause of alarm, returns to its food or other occupation in complete security, while the watchful savage poises his spear, and lifts up his arm ready for throwing it, and then advances slowly and with stealth towards his prey, no part moving but his legs. whenever the kangaroo looks round, its enemy stands still in the same position he is in when it first raises its head, until the animal, again assured of safety, gives a skip or two, and goes on feeding: again the native advances, and the same scene occurs, until the whizzing spear penetrates the unfortunate creature, upon which the whole wood rings with sudden shouts; women and children all join in the chase, and, at last, the kangaroo, weakened from loss of blood and encumbered by the spear, places its back against a tree, and appears to attack its pursuer with the fury of despair. though naturally a timid animal, it will, when it is hard pressed for life, make a bold stand; and, if hunted by europeans, will sometimes wait for the dogs and tear them with its hind claws, or squeeze them with its fore arms, until the blood gushes out of the hound's nostrils; and sometimes the poor creature will take to the water, and drown every dog that comes near it.[ ] but by the natives the poor beast is generally soon dispatched with spears thrown from a distance, and its body is carried off by its conqueror and his wives to some convenient resting-place where they may enjoy their meal. [ ] martin's new south wales, p. . there is likewise another mode of hunting the same animal, in which many persons join together, and which, though more lively and noisy, is not so characteristical as the first. a herd of kangaroos are surprised either in a thick bushy place, to which they have retired during the heat of the day, or else in an open plain. in the first case, they are encircled by a party, each native giving a low whistle, as he takes up his place, and when the blockade is finished, the bushes are set on fire, and the frightened animals fly from the flames towards the open plains; but no sooner do they approach the outskirts of the wood, than the bushes are fired in the direction in which they are running, while they are driven back by loud calls and tremendous cries, which increase their terror, and they run wildly about, until, at length, maddened by fear, they make a rush through their enemies, who allow but few of them to escape. when the kangaroos are surrounded upon a plain, the point generally chosen is an open bottom encircled by wood; each native has his place given him by some of the elder ones, and all possible means that art, or experience, or the nature of the ground, can furnish, are employed to ensure success in approaching as nearly as may be towards the animals without disturbing them. thus the circle narrows round the unwary herd, till at last one of them becomes alarmed, and bounds away; but its flight is speedily stopped by a savage with fearful yells; and before the first moments of terror and surprise have passed by, the armed natives come running upon them from every side, brandishing their spears, and raising loud cries; nor does the slaughter, thus commenced, commonly finish before the greater number of them have fallen. these public hunts are conducted under certain rules; for example, the supposed owner of the land must be present, and must have invited the party, or a deadly fight between human beings is pretty sure to take place. the first spear that strikes a kangaroo settles whose property the dead animal is to be; however slight the wound, and even though inflicted by a boy only, this rule holds good; and if the creature killed is one which the boy may not yet lawfully eat,[ ] then his right passes on to his father, or nearest male relative. the cries of the hunters are said to be very beautiful and expressive, and they vary at different periods of the chase, being readily understood and answered by all, so that they can thus explain their meaning to one another at a very great distance. [ ] see page . but, since the kangaroo is one of the principal articles of food in the wilds of new holland, there are yet other modes of taking it, which are commonly practised. sometimes they use the ordinary methods of catching it in nets or pitfalls. occasionally, also, in a dry district, where many animals assemble together from a great distance to drink at some solitary piece of water, the huntsman builds for himself a rude place of shelter, in which for hours he remains concealed and motionless, until the thirsty animals approach in sufficient numbers. then kangaroos, cockatoos, pigeons, &c. are attacked and destroyed without mercy, and the patience of the hunter is commonly richly rewarded by the booty he obtains. but the mode of tracking a kangaroo until it is wearied out, is the one which, beyond all others, commands the admiration of the australians, for it calls forth the exercise of every quality most highly prized among savages, skill in following traces, endurance of hunger and thirst, unwearied bodily exertion, and lasting perseverance. to perform this task the hunter starts upon the track of the kangaroo, which he follows until he catches sight of the animal, as it flies timidly before him; again he pursues the track, and again the object of his pursuit bounds away from him; and this is repeated until nightfall, when the pursuer lights his fire and sleeps upon the track. with the first light of day the hunt is renewed, and, towards the close of the second day, or in the course of the third, the kangaroo, wearied and exhausted by the chase, will allow the hunter to approach near enough to spear it. none but a skilful hunter, in the pride of youth and strength can perform this feat, and one who has frequently practised it always enjoys great fame amongst his companions. when the kangaroo has been obtained in some one or other of these various methods, the first operation is to take off the skin of the tail, the sinews of which are carefully preserved to sew cloaks or bags, or to make spears. the next thing to be thought of is the cooking of the flesh; and two modes of doing this are common. one of these is to make an oven by digging a hole in the sand, and lighting a fire in it; when the sand is well heated, and a large heap of ashes is collected, the hole is scraped out, and the kangaroo is placed in it, skin and all; it is then covered over with ashes, and a slow fire is kept up above it; when baked enough, it is taken out and laid upon its back, the intestines are then removed, and the whole of the gravy is left in the body of the animal, which is carefully taken out of the skin, and then cut up and eaten. travellers in the bush speak very highly of the delicious flavour of the meat thus curiously cooked. the other mode of dressing is merely to broil different portions of the kangaroo upon the fire, and it may be noticed that certain parts, as the blood, the entrails, and the marrow, are reckoned great dainties. of these the young men are forbidden to partake. of the blood a sort of long sausage is made, and this is afterwards eaten by the person of most consequence in the company. another abundant source of food is supplied to the native population of new holland at certain seasons, in particular situations, by the various sorts of fish which abound on its coasts, and in its bays and inlets. from this, most probably, arises the fact observed by captain flinders, that the borders of bays, and entrances of rivers, are in new holland always most thickly peopled. and collins mentions a sort of fancied superiority, which these people pretend to, above those that dwell in the more inland parts. "the natives of the coast," he says, "when speaking of those in the interior, constantly expressed themselves with contempt and marks of disapprobation." so very similar are the airs and vanity of a savage, to those in which civilised man indulges. the three most common modes of catching fish are, by spearing them, taking them by means of a weir constructed across places which are left nearly dry at low water, or after a flood, and enclosing them in a net, prepared by the women out of grassy fibres, and one of their greatest efforts of ingenuity.[ ] nothing very remarkable is to be noticed in these modes of fishing, except it be the speed with which they run along the shore, and the certainty with which they aim their spears at the inhabitants of the shallow bays and open lakes. as surely as the natives disappear under the surface of the water, so surely will they reappear with a fish writhing upon the point of their short spears; and even under water their aim is always correct. one traveller, sturt, is of opinion that they seldom eat the finny tribes when they can get anything else, but this idea seems scarcely to agree with the report of others. at all events, whether from choice or not, a large proportion of their subsistence is derived from the waters. with regard to the cookery of their fish, the australian barbarians are said to have a most admirable method of dressing them, not unworthy of being copied by other nations. if the fish are not simply broiled upon the fire, they are laid in a piece of paper bark, which is wrapt round them, as paper is folded round a cutlet; strings of grass are then wound tightly about the bark and fish, which is slowly baked in heated sand, covered with hot ashes; when it is sufficiently cooked, the bark is opened, and answers the purpose of a dish; it is, of course, full of juice and gravy, not a drop of which has escaped. the flavour of many sorts of fish thus dressed is said to be delicious, and sometimes pieces of kangaroo and other meats are cooked in the same manner. [ ] "among the few specimens of art manufactured by the primitive inhabitants of these wilds, none come so near our own as the net, which, even in its quality, as well as in the mode of knotting, can scarcely be distinguished from those made in europe."--mitchell's _three expeditions_, vol. ii. p. . the seal is exceedingly abundant on many parts of the australian coast, and is also useful to the natives for purposes of food, while the pursuit of this creature is an exciting sport for the inhabitants of the southern and western shores of new holland. the animal must be surprised upon the beach, or in the surf, or among the rocks that lie at no great distance from the shore; and the natives delight in the pursuit, clambering about the wild crags that encircle their own land; sometimes leaping from one rock to another, spearing the fish that lie in the quiet pools between, in the next moment dashing into the surf to fight with a seal or turn a turtle; these are to them agreeable and joyous occupations. and when we remember that their steps are followed by a wife and children, as dear to them, probably, as ours are to us, who are witnesses of their skill and activity; and who, when the game is killed, will help to light the fire with which it is to be cooked, and to drag it to the resting-place, where the father romps with his little ones until the meal is made ready; when we recollect, likewise, that all this takes place in a climate so mild and genial, that a house is not necessary, we shall feel less surprise at the difficulty of persuading an inhabitant of the bush to fall into european customs, and submit to the trammels of civilised life. the turtle, must by no means be forgotten, in an account of the different articles of provision upon which an australian has to depend for his supply. these useful creatures are to be found chiefly on the coast in the warmer portions of new holland, and are in high season about december and january, the height of summer in australia. the green turtles are surprised upon the beach when they come to lay their eggs; but the fresh-water turtle is found (as its name implies,) in fresh lakes and ponds, at the season when these are most dried up, and their margin is overgrown with reeds and rushes. among these the natives wade with stealthy pace, so quietly indeed, that they even creep upon wild fowl and spear them. the turtles swim lazily along the surface of the water, biting and smelling the various aquatic plants they meet with, but as soon as they are alarmed, they sink to the bottom instantly. the pursuer puts out his foot, (the toes of which he uses to seize anything, almost as we use our fingers,) and gropes about with it among the weeds at the bottom of the water until he feels the turtle; and then, holding it to the ground, he plunges his hands and arms in and seizes his prey. in this manner two or three men have been known to take fourteen turtles in a very short time; but these are small, weighing from one to two or three pounds each. the fresh-water turtle is cooked, after the australian fashion, by being baked, shell and all, in hot ashes; and when it is sufficiently dressed, the bottom shell is removed with ease, and the whole animal remains in the upper shell, which serves for a dish. they are generally very fat and delicious, so that the new hollanders are extremely fond of them, and the turtle season, being an important part of the year, is looked forward to with pleasure. the green turtles, which are a much larger animal, found only by the sea-side, are taken when crawling on the beach. if they by accident get upon their backs, they are unable to right themselves, and perish miserably, so that nothing more is necessary to secure them, than to place them in that posture, and they may be taken away and devoured at leisure. among wellesley islands, at the bottom of the gulph of carpentaria, in the north of new holland, captain flinders obtained in one day, in this manner, no less than forty-six turtles, the least of them weighing lbs, and the average being about lbs; besides which, many that were not wanted, because there was no room to stow them away, were turned again, and suffered to make their escape. opossum hunting offers another means of supplying food to the australians, and as these quadrupeds usually dwell in the hollows of decayed trees, and ascend the trees when they are at all alarmed, the mode of pursuing them is of a new and different character. the first thing to be done is to ascertain that the opossum has really concealed itself somewhere in the tree. to discover this the holes made by the nails of the animal in the bark as it climbed up, are sufficient; only, one of these footmarks having a little sand in it is anxiously sought for, and if this sand sticks together, when the hunter blows gently upon it, it is a proof, since it is not dry enough yet to blow away, that the opossum has gone up into the tree that very morning. the dextrous savage then pulls out his hatchet,[ ] a rude _stone hatchet_--unless he has been fortunate enough to get a better one from some european, and cuts a notch in the bark of the tree sufficiently large and deep to receive the ball of his great toe. the first notch being thus made, about four feet from the ground, he places the toe of his right foot in it, throws his right arm round the tree, and with his left hand sticks the point of the handle of his hatchet into the bark, as high up as he can reach, and thus forms a stay to drag himself up with. this first step being made good, he cuts another for his left foot, and so on, always clinging with the left hand and cutting with the right, resting the whole weight of the body upon the toe of either foot, until the hole is reached where the opossum lies hidden, which is then compelled by smoke, or by being poked out, to quit its hiding place; when the conqueror, catching hold of his victim's tail, dashes it down on the ground, and quietly descends after it. as the bite of the opossum is very painful and severe, due care is taken, in laying hold of it, to keep clear of all danger from its teeth. occasionally trees of feet in height have been observed, which had been _notched_ by the natives up to at least eighty feet! and the old notches are never again used, but new ones are cut every time. strange to tell, this very difficult operation of following the opossum is not uncommonly performed by moonlight, some persons moving onwards to detect the animal feeding, while others follow, creeping after them with fire-sticks; and it is curious to watch the dark body of the savage, climbing the tree, contrasted with the pale moonlight. the australians are fond of these expeditions, the end of which is the same as of the others conducted in broad daylight--the poor opossum is reached, and knocked down with a stick, or shaken off the branch to which he had fled as a last retreat. [ ] "their only cutting implements are made of stone, sometimes of jasper, fastened between a cleft stick with a hard gum."--martin's _new south wales_, p. . "the use of the 'mogo,' or stone-hatchet, distinguishes the barbarous from the 'civil' black fellows, who all use iron tomahawks."--mitchell's _three expeditions in eastern australia_, vol. i. p. . birds form a considerable article of food in the wilds of new holland, and there are many various sorts of them, as well as many different modes of killing and ensnaring them, which it would be tedious to dwell upon; but the emu, or cassowary, is too important and remarkable to be passed over. this bird is very large, and its covering resembles hair more than feathers; it is not able to fly, but it can run more swiftly than the fleetest dogs, and its kick is violent enough to break a man's leg: it is however easily tamed. the instinctive dread which these animals in their wild state have of man is very remarkable. it was observed by major mitchell, on various occasions during his journeys, that the first appearance of large quadrupeds--bullocks and horses, did not scare the emu or kangaroo; but that, on the contrary, when they would have fled from the first approach of their enemy man, advancing singly, they would allow him to draw near when mounted, and even to dismount, fire from behind a horse, and load again, without attempting to run off. in hunting the emu, it matters not how much noise is made, for the natives say that bird is quite deaf, although its sight is keen in proportion. the kangaroo must be pursued as silently as possible. emus are killed in the same manner as kangaroos, but they are more prized by the natives, and the death of one of these birds awakens a greater excitement in the spectators; shout succeeds shout, and the distant sojourners take up the cry, until it is sometimes reechoed for miles; yet the feast which follows is very exclusive, the flesh of the emu, which, except in one part which tastes like beef, is very oily, being thought by far too delicious to be made a common article of food. young men and unprivileged persons are forbidden to touch it, on pain of severe penalties, which are strictly enforced. the emus are generally found, like the kangaroos, in tolerably fertile spots, and like them, also, are fast disappearing from the neighbourhood of the haunts of europeans. the destruction of cockatoos with the weapon, or throwing stick, called a _kiley_,[ ] the hunting and snaring of different sorts of wild fowl, afford ample room for a display of that cunning, skill, and amazing patience, which distinguish the character of uncivilized man. one curious way of catching birds in australia is certainly original, if it be but correctly reported. it is said that a native will, in the heat of the sun, lay down as if asleep, holding a bit of fish in his hand; the bird seeing the bait, seizes on the fish, and the native then catches it! but enough has now been stated respecting the various ways in which game is taken in the bush. and although, perhaps, enough has been said concerning australian cookery, yet the mode in which they cook the birds in that country, similar indeed to the methods already mentioned, may briefly be noted. when the natives wish to dress a bird very nicely, the entrails are taken out and cooked separately, (being considered a great delicacy,) after the example of the admirers of woodcocks in england. a triangle is then formed round the bird by three red hot pieces of stick, against which ashes are placed, hot coals are also stuffed into the inside of the bird, and it is thus quickly cooked, and kept full of gravy. in the opinion of captain grey, wild fowl dressed in this manner, on a clean piece of bark, was as good a dish as he had ever eaten. [ ] the kiley, or boomerang, is a thin curved missile, which can be thrown by a skilful hand so as to rise upon the air, and its crooked course may be, nevertheless, under control. it is about two feet four inches in length, and nine and a half ounces in weight. one side, the uppermost in throwing, is slightly convex, the lower side is flat. it is amazing to witness the feats a native will perform with this weapon, sometimes hurling it to astonishing heights and distances, from which, however, it returns to fall beside him; and sometimes allowing it to fall upon the earth, but so as to rebound, and leap, perhaps, over a tree, or strike some object behind. but there are many other kinds of food which custom, and perhaps necessity, have rendered palatable to the people of new holland, but which we can regard only with disgust and aversion. among these it may be scarcely just to reckon _frogs_, since they are an article of food in one of the most polished nations of europe, and those who have tasted them properly dressed have usually no fault to find with their flavour. the season in australia for catching frogs and fresh-water shell-fish, is when the swamps are nearly dried up by the heat; these animals then bury themselves in holes in the mud, and the native women, with their long sticks, and taper arms, which they plunge up to the shoulder in the slime, manage to drag them out. in summer a whole troop of females may be seen paddling about in a swamp, slapping themselves to kill the mosquitoes and sandflies, and every now and then plunging their arms down into the mud, and dragging forth their prey. sometimes one of these women may be seen with ten or twelve pounds' weight of frogs in her bag. frogs are cooked on a slow fire of wood-ashes, and being held in one hand by the hind legs, a dexterous pinch with the finger and thumb of the other at once removes the lower portion of the intestines, and the remainder of the little animal is then taken at a mouthful. muscles are also abundant in the rivers, and in the north-western parts of new holland they form a principal article of food; but in the south-western districts the inhabitants will not touch them, for there is a tradition that some persons long ago ate them and died by means of sorcerers, who considered that fish to be their peculiar property. grubs are a favourite food with some of the australian natives, and, in order to procure them, they are at the pains of breaking off the top of the trees frequented by these grubs, since, until its top is dead, the trees do not afford a proper abode for them. grubs are eaten either raw, or else roasted in much the same manner as the fish are. but taste is proverbially a subject concerning which there is no accounting by reason, as we must confess when we find _snakes_, _lizards_, _rats_, _mice_, and _weasels_ among australian dainties. the smaller quadrupeds are not skinned before they are cooked, but are dressed with the skin, the fur being only singed off; and hunger renders these not only palatable but digestible. salt is rarely or never used by the natives, until they have been taught its use by europeans; and even then they do not relish it at first, any more than other sauces or condiments; indeed, it is quite laughable to see their grimaces the first time that they taste _mustard_ upon a piece of meat. among vegetable productions there are many roots, which are eaten by the natives. it is commonly the office of the women to dig for roots, for which purpose they carry a long pointed stick to loosen the earth, and that is afterwards scooped up by the fingers of the left hand. their withered arms and hands, covered with earth by digging and scraping after food, resemble, as they advance in years, the limbs and claws of a quadruped more than those of a human being. in stiff soils, this operation of digging can only be performed when the earth is moist, but in loose sandy soils it may be always done, and, on this account, the visits of the natives to different spots are regulated by the season of the year; as, for example, the roots that grow in the clay are not in season, because not to be got at, in the parching and dry months of summer. no plant bearing seeds is allowed to be dug up after it has flowered, and the natives are very careful in observing this rule. a considerable portion of the time of the women and children is occupied in getting up the various eatable roots, which are either roasted, or else devoured in a raw state; some resembling onions and others potatoes in their flavour. one root, called the _mene_, has rather an acid taste, and when eaten alone, it is said to disorder the bowels; but the natives in the southern parts pound it between two stones, and sprinkle over it a few pinches of a kind of _earth_, which forms, together with the bruised root, a sort of paste, that is thought exceedingly good, and quite free from all injurious properties. a kind of paste, which is sometimes baked into a cake, is also formed of many other roots. all these grow wild, and are used exactly in their natural state, unless burning the leaves of one plant in dry seasons to improve the root, or similar trifling pains respecting their growth, can deserve the name of cultivation. the fungus is also greedily devoured by the unfastidious natives of australia, and a kind of gum, resembling what is in england called _gum-tragacanth_, is very abundant and popular among them. one traveller, captain sturt, who was among the first to notice the use of this peculiar food, imagined that it was eaten only from dire necessity. indeed, it is an amusing proof of the occasional errors into which hasty impressions will lead intelligent men, that he pities as "unfortunate creatures reduced to the last extremity" those who were, in reality, regaling themselves upon a favourite luxury. during summer the acacias, growing in swampy plains, are positively loaded with this gum, and the natives assemble in great numbers to feast upon it. on such occasions a sort of fair is held among those that frequent these yearly meetings, and fun, frolic, and quarrelling of every description prevail, as in similar meetings of our own countrymen. the pulp of the nut of a species of palm is called _by-yu_, and it is a curious fact, that, although in its natural state this is a rank poison, the natives have, nevertheless, a method of depriving it of its mischievous qualities, and it becomes an agreeable and nourishing article of food. europeans, ignorant of the mode of preparing this nut, are sure to pay for their rashness, if they venture to eat it in its unprepared state. the women collect these nuts from the palms in the month of march, (the beginning of autumn,) and leave them to soak for several days in some shallow pool; after the _by-yu_ has been sufficiently soaked, they dig, in a dry sandy place, holes about one foot across and nearly two feet in depth: these holes are lined with rushes, and filled with nuts, over which last a little sand is sprinkled, and then all is covered nicely up with the tops of the grass-tree. and thus, in about a fortnight, the pulp which encloses the nut becomes quite dry, and it is then fit for use: but if eaten before, it produces the bad effects already mentioned. the pulp is eaten both raw and roasted; in the latter state, the taste is said to be equal to that of a chestnut; but this process has no effect whatever upon the kernels, which act still as a strong emetic and purgative. this subject of the sources whence the australians derive their daily food from god, who, whether in the north or the south, in the east or the west, is still found "opening his hand," and "filling all things living with plenteousness," might easily be extended even yet more; for in so vast a tract of country as new holland, the varieties of animal and vegetable food, and the different modes of obtaining it, must evidently be very numerous. enough, however, has been stated to enable the reader to judge respecting the means of subsistence possessed by the inhabitants of the bush; and it will be easily seen that this mode of living appears, at the first view, more precarious and less laborious than it really is. it is not so precarious a life as it seems to be, because the articles needful for support, of one kind or another, are perpetually at hand to those who can find them and use them, whilst europeans, or even natives from a distant part, are often, for want of this power, in danger of starving in the midst of plenty.[ ] at the same time, the savage, free from servile toil and daily labour though he may appear to be, does in truth earn his living quite as laboriously as others do; nor is he, of all men, the most exempt from the general curse which sin has brought down upon us: "in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." enough, likewise, has been stated respecting the supplies provided in the wilderness for its inhabitants to qualify us to perceive how very serious an injury is inflicted upon the original people of a district in australia, when europeans _sit down_, as they term it, (i.e. _settle_,) upon their lands. we might imagine (however utopian may be the fancy) a body of able agriculturists settling in a country but poorly cultivated, and while they occupied a portion of the land belonging to the first inhabitants, rendering what remained to these more valuable by proper cultivation, than the whole had originally been. but nothing of the kind is possible with people accustomed from their infancy to habits of life and means of subsistence like those of the australians. occupy their land, and the wild animals must be destroyed or driven away; the wild plants and roots ploughed up or burnt; or, at all events, the wild owners of that land must (however rightful, however ancient, their claim of possession) be warned off from their own soil, and, as trespassers, made liable to punishment according to law,--to european law. [ ] for instance, the natives on the river bogan used the new tomahawks, given them by major mitchell, in getting wild honey--a food very commonly eaten in australia--from the hollow branches of the trees. it seemed as though, in the proper season, they could find it almost everywhere. "to such inexpert clowns as they probably thought us," continues the major, "the honey and the bees were inaccessible, and indeed, invisible, save only when the natives cut the former out, and brought it to us in little sheets of bark; thus displaying a degree of ingenuity and skill in supplying wants, which we, with all our science, could not hope to attain." they caught a bee, and stuck to it, with gum or resin, some light down of a swan or owl: thus laden, the bee would make for its nest in some lofty tree, and betray its store of sweets.--mitchell's _three expeditions_, vol. i. p. . we are not to suppose from the wandering character of the life usually led by them, that these human beings have no notion of property in land. on the contrary, it is an opinion held by men best able to judge, and supported by sufficient proof, that, not only have the various tribes their fixed boundaries of hunting-ground, which they cannot cross without the risk of a quarrel with their neighbours, but that even individual persons possess property of this nature, which is handed down, according to certain laws, from father to son. a curious example of this strictness about property, exceeding even the ideas of europeans upon the subject, was found upon the banks of the river darling, where different tribes occupy different portions of the stream whence all equally derive the chief part of their subsistence. one of these tribes desired major mitchell's men to pour out the water which they had taken, as if it had belonged to them, and at the same time they dug a hole in the ground to receive it, when poured out. nay, so strongly are the river chiefs possessed with a notion of the water being their own, that they have been seen, on receiving a tomahawk, to point to the stream, signifying that the strangers were at liberty to take water from it. indeed, the main difference between the property of the native and that of the colonist, consists in the very dissimilar uses to which the parties apply their possessions. the one holds his lands for a cattle-run or a farm, the other employs his in feeding kangaroos or in growing wild roots. but both agree in punishing intruders, both profess alike to esteem the rights of property to be sacred; and yet how questionable, how opposite to these professions must the conduct of europeans seem, when they fix themselves upon certain spots, without taking any notice of the vested rights of the former inhabitants, and then threaten, or even shoot them, if they are found lingering among their old haunts, upon their own estates! or, if no open violence is offered, "the sheep and cattle," to borrow the words of a kind-hearted traveller, "fill the green pastures, where the kangaroo was accustomed to range until the stranger came from distant lands, and claimed the soil." the first inhabitants, unless they remove beyond the limits of the colony, are hemmed in by the power of the white population, and deprived of the liberty of wandering at will through their native wilds, and compelled to seek shelter in close thickets and rocky fastnesses; where, however, if they can find a home, they have great difficulty in finding a subsistence, for their chief support, the kangaroo, is either destroyed or banished. in , when the french discoverer, monsieur marion, was exploring van dieman's land, he found the coast well inhabited, as the fires by day and night bore witness, and on anchoring in frederic hendrick's bay, about thirty men assembled upon the shore. and now, only seventy years later, what has become of the grandchildren and descendants of those unfortunate natives? let the reply to this inquiry be made in the very words given in evidence before a committee of the house of commons, in .[ ]--"_there is not a native in van dieman's land._ the last portion that was secured was sent to a small island called gun carriage island, where they are maintained at the expense of government, and i believe some attempts at civilisation have been made.--there has been a lingering desire to come back again; but they have no means of getting back; the island is some distance from van dieman's land; they are pining away and dying very fast.--i believe more than one half of them have died, not from any positive disease, but from a disease which we know in medicine under the name of _home-sickness_, a disease which is very common to some europeans, particularly the swiss soldiers and the swiss peasantry: they are known to die from a disease of the stomach, which comes on entirely from a desire to return to their country." [ ] see evidence of j. barnes, esq., in minutes of evidence taken before the select committee on transportation, quest. - , pp. , . it may be difficult for the christian moralist to condemn altogether the system of colonisation which has been practised; it cannot be denied that the occupation of these vast and favoured regions by civilised and christian nations is, in itself, a highly desirable object; yet the man of right principles will surely hesitate before he approves, for the sake of the good that is to follow, of the evil which has been done. in this instance, as in many other evils to be seen under the sun, it is more easy to perceive the mischief, than to point out the means of avoiding or of remedying it. but, at least, it may be said, let those who now hold the beautiful and frequently fertile lands, which once belonged to the poor and helpless native, beware of having their hearts lifted up with pride,--of forgetting themselves or their god. past evils are not to be prevented, but future events are still in their power. the warning and reasoning of the great apostle of the gentiles, (rom. xi. - ,) although upon quite another subject, are still not without application here. nor should the british colonist ever forget, while he surveys the fruitful fields which he may now call his own, the emphatic words of st. paul: "if god spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee." [illustration: natives of the murray islands in boats.] chapter v. manners and habits of the natives. the shyness which the savages of australia frequently exhibit in their first intercourse with europeans is not at all surprising; indeed, it is rather remarkable how soon they get over this feeling, if they are not interfered with, and no unpleasant occurrences take place. as captain flinders has very justly observed, "were we living in a state of nature, frequently at war with our neighbours, and ignorant of the existence of any other nation, on the first arrival of strangers, so different in complexion and appearance to ourselves, having power to transport themselves over, and even living upon an element which to us was impassable,[ ] the first sensation would probably be terror, and the first movement flight." we should watch these extraordinary people from our retreats, and if we found ourselves sought out or pursued by them, their designs would be suspected; otherwise, upon seeing them quietly engaged in their own occupations, curiosity would get the better of fear, and, after observing them more closely, we should ourselves seek to open a communication. this is precisely what takes place with the native tribes in new holland, when the discoverers conduct themselves prudently, and no particular cause of offence or dislike occurs. but where all appears equally strange and suspicious to them, it cannot be wondered if they often mistake the meaning of european customs and actions. for example, when major mitchell was desirous of taking the portrait of a native in eastern australia, the terror and suspicion of the poor creature, at being required to stand steadily before the artist were such, that, notwithstanding the power of disguising fear, so remarkable in the savage race, the stout heart of cambo was overcome, and beat visibly; the perspiration streamed from his breast, and he was about to sink to the ground, when he at length suddenly darted away; but he speedily returned, bearing in one hand his club, and in the other his _boomerang_ or _kiley_, with which he seemed to gain just fortitude enough to be able to stand on his legs until the sketch was finished. [ ] this remark, which is here applied to the people on the south coast of new holland, does not hold good of all the natives of that vast island. on the authority of the same able navigator, flinders, we learn that, in the northern part of the country, about torres strait, some of the tribes are very skilful in managing their long canoes. see an interesting account of the natives of the murray islands, in flinders' voyage, vol. ii. pp. - . to the observer of human nature it is, indeed, a curious spectacle to watch the several contrary feelings and impulses by which the australian savage is actuated in his intercourse with the more civilised portions of our race. attachment, very strong attachment to his own customs, and wild roving mode of life,--admiration of the evident superiority, the luxury, abundance and comfort, enjoyed by europeans,--doubt and alarm respecting the final issue of the changes which he sees taking place before his eyes,--an increasing taste for many of the useful or agreeable articles which are to be procured only from the hands of the strangers,--these and other similar feelings alternately sway the mind, and prompt the actions, of the native of the bush in australia, so as to give an appearance of inconsistency, not merely to the varying conduct of different persons, but frequently to the behaviour of the very same person at different times. sometimes the perplexed savage decidedly prefers his piece of whale to all the luxuries of english fare;[ ] at another time he despises the common food of the bush--kangaroo flesh, or fish,--and presuming upon his usefulness as a guide, nothing but _wheaten flour_, at the rate of two pounds and a half a day, will satisfy his desires.[ ] one day, fired with a wish to emulate his betters, the black man assumes the costume of an european, likes to be close-shaved, wears a white neck-cloth, and means to become entirely "a white fellow." another day, wearied with the heat and thraldom of dress, and tempted by the cool appearance, or stung by the severe taunts of his brethren in the bush, off he flings his encumbrances and civilisation, and gladly returns to a state of nature again. [ ] see p. . [ ] see mitchell's three expeditions, vol. i. p. . the barber's art appears, in several cases, to have caught the attention of these savages. the following ridiculous account of an operation of this kind, performed upon some natives of the country a little southward of port jackson, is given by flinders. "a new employment arose up on our hands. we had clipped the hair and beards of the two botany bay natives, at red point; and they were showing themselves to the others, and persuading them to follow their example. while, therefore, the powder was drying, i began with a large pair of scissors to execute my new office upon the eldest of four or five chins presented to me; and as great nicety was not required, the shearing of a dozen of them did not occupy me long. some of the more timid were alarmed at a formidable instrument coming so near to their noses, and would scarcely be persuaded by their shaven friends to allow the operation to be finished. but when their chins were held up a second time, their fear of the instrument, the wild stare of their eyes, and the smile which they _forced_, formed a compound upon the rough savage countenance, not unworthy the pencil of a hogarth. i was almost tempted to try what effect a little snip would produce, but our situation was too critical to admit of such experiments."[ ] [ ] flinders' voyage, vol. i. introd. pp. , . it has been repeatedly stated, upon good authority, that the health of the natives of the bush has suffered greatly, and that their lives have been frequently shortened, by the habits and indulgences which they have learned from their more civilized neighbours. in their original state, although beyond question the average duration of life was considerably below that of european nations, yet an advanced age was not uncommonly attained among them. numbers die during the period of infancy, for none except very strong children can possibly undergo the hardships, the privations, and the perpetual travelling, which most of the infants born in the bush must brave and endure. besides which, there is the chance of a violent death in some of the frequent quarrels which arise and include in their consequences all the relatives of the contending parties. but, due allowance having been made for these causes by which the average duration of life in those wild regions is shortened, it does not appear that their inhabitants are a particularly short-lived race, although by some persons this has been thought to be the case. it is impossible exactly to ascertain the age of the australian savages, who have no mode of keeping account of this themselves; but from instances of youths, their father, grandfather, and great uncle being alive, and in the enjoyment of tolerably good health, or from similar cases, it may be safely concluded that they frequently reach, or even pass beyond, the boundary term of life, three score years and ten. to one horrible mode of departing from life, which is strangely common in more polished nations, these barbarians are, happily, strangers. captain grey says, "i believe they have no idea that such a thing as a man's putting an end to his own life could ever occur; whenever i have questioned them on this point, they have invariably laughed at me, and treated my question as a joke." the period of old age must be as happy as any other time in the life of a savage, if not more so, since aged men are always treated with much respect, and rarely take an active part in any fray. they are allowed to marry young wives, and to watch them as jealously, and treat them as cruelly, as they please; and they appear to suffer less from weakness and disease than the aged amongst us usually endure. the old, too, are privileged to eat certain kinds of meat forbidden to the young. thus piper, a native, who accompanied major mitchell, would not eat the flesh of emu, even when food was scarce; but when he had undergone the ceremony of being rubbed over with the fat of that bird by an old man, he had thenceforth no objection to it. the threatened penalty was, that young men, after eating it, would be afflicted with sores all over the body; but the fact is, that it is too rich and oily for the old men to allow any but themselves to partake of it. so that, upon the whole, in new holland, as in most other uncivilised countries, old age is a period of much dignity, and of considerable enjoyment of life. but, whatever may be the troubles, or whatever the enjoyments, of old age, they are, in their very nature, even above our other troubles or enjoyments, brief and transitory. the aged warrior of australia can plead no exemption from the common lot of mortality, and death draws a veil over the chequered existence,--the faults and follies, the talents and virtues, of every child of adam. the various customs and superstitions, connected with the death and burial of their friends, are very numerous among the tribes of australia, and some of them are curious and peculiar. it would be impossible to give a full account of them, but a few of the most remarkable may be selected. throughout all the funeral solemnities of savage and heathen nations the same distinguishing mark is to be observed,--they are the vain devices, the miserable inventions of men who sorrow for their departed friends as those that have no hope. nothing, it is asserted, can awake in the breast more melancholy feelings than the funeral chants of the australians. they are sung by a whole chorus of females of all ages, and the effect produced upon the bystanders by this wild music surpasses belief. the following is a chant, which has been heard upon several such occasions, and which, simple though it be, fully expresses the feelings of a benighted heathen mourning over the grave of a friend whom he has lost (as he thinks) for ever:-- _the young women sing_ my young brother, } _the old women_ my young son, } again, in future shall i never see. my young brother, } my young son, } again, in future shall i never see. but previously to our entering upon the subject of the funeral rites practised in new holland, it will be necessary to notice the superstitions respecting sorcerers, which in that country are so intimately connected with the very idea of death. when an individual life is taken away by open violence, then, as we have seen, it is avenged upon the supposed murderer, or his relatives. but when death occurs from accidental or natural causes, it is usually attributed to the influence of sorcery, and not unfrequently is it revenged upon some connexion of the parties believed to have practised that art. so that, generally speaking, the death of one human being involves that of another, which is no small check to population. in truth, it would almost seem that the natives have no idea of death occurring, except by violence or sorcery;[ ] and these strange notions must not be dealt with too severely, in a country like england, where (within the last years, and in no uncivilised state of society) persons have been burnt for witchcraft; and in which, even in the present day, every vile imposture and godless pretence of supernatural power is sure of finding eager listeners and astonished admirers. the _boyl-yas_, or native sorcerers, are objects of mysterious dread, and are thought to have the power of becoming invisible to all eyes but those of their brethren in the same evil craft. as our northern witches were supposed to have the power of riding upon a broom-stick, so these southern sorcerers are said to be able to transport themselves at pleasure through the air. if they have a dislike to any one they can kill him, it is said, by stealing on him at night and consuming his flesh, into which they enter like pieces of quartz-stone, and the pain they occasion is always felt. another sorcerer, however, can draw them out, and the pieces of stone pretended to be thus obtained are kept as great curiosities. perhaps the clearest ideas of the imaginary powers of these sorcerers, and of the dread in which they are held, will be found from the following account, obtained from a native with the utmost difficulty, (for the subject is never willingly mentioned,) and reported _verbatim_ by captain grey. [ ] "the natives do not allow that there is such a thing as a death from natural causes; they believe that were it not for murderers, or the malignity of sorcerers, they might live for ever."--grey's _travels in western australia_, vol. ii. p. . "'the _boyl-yas_,' said the trembling kaiber, 'are natives who have the power of _boyl-ya_; they sit down to the northward, the eastward, and southward; the _boyl-yas_ are very bad, they walk away there' (pointing to the east). 'i shall be very ill presently. the _boyl-yas_ eat up a great many natives,--they eat them up as fire would; you and i will be very ill directly. the _boyl-yas_ have ears: by and by they will be greatly enraged. i'll tell you no more.' "'the _boyl-yas_ move stealthily,--you sleep and they steal on you,--very stealthily the _boyl-yas_ move. these _boyl-yas_ are dreadfully revengeful; by and by we shall be very ill. i'll not talk about them. they come moving along in the sky,--cannot you let them alone? i've already a terrible headache; by and by you and i will be two dead men.' "'the natives cannot see them. the _boyl-yas_ do not bite, they feed stealthily; they do not eat the bones, but consume the flesh. just give me what you intend to give, and i'll walk off.' what secrets can the human breast contain, when tempted by thy charms, curst love of gain! "'the _boyl-yas_ sit at the graves of natives in great numbers. if natives are ill, the _boyl-yas_ charm, charm, charm, charm, and charm, and, by and by, the natives recover.'" nothing further could be learned from this terrified and unwilling witness. the custom spoken of in the last part of his evidence, that of sitting at the graves of the dead, is found in nearly all the known portions of australia, and the object of this practice is to discover by what person the death of the deceased individual has been caused, which is supposed to be declared by dreams or visions. a similar custom among the jews is reproved by the prophet isaiah, chap. lxv. , . once, when major mitchell had been harassed, and two of his party killed by the hostile natives, he reached a spot of security, where, while admiring the calm repose of the wild landscape, and the beauteous beams of the setting sun, he was anticipating a night free from disturbance. he was alone, waiting the arrival of his party, but his reveries were dissipated in the most soothing manner, by the soft sounds of a female voice, singing in a very different tone from that generally prevailing among the australians. it sounded like the song of despair, and, indeed, it was the strain of a female mourning over some deceased relative; nor could the loud "hurra" of the men, when they came up, angry at the recent pillage and murder of some of the party, put to flight the melancholy songstress of the woods. on these occasions it is usual for the relatives of the deceased to continue their lamentations, appearing insensible of what people may be doing around them. the rude verses, given below, and forming the substance of a chant, sung by an old woman to incite the men to avenge the death of a young person, may serve at once for a specimen of the poetry and superstition of the australian wilderness:-- "the blear-eyed sorcerers of the north their vile enchantments sung and wove, and in the night they sallied forth, a fearful, man-devouring drove. "feasting on our own lov'd one with sanguinary jaws and tongue, the wretches sat, and gnaw'd, and kept devouring, while their victim slept. yho, yang, yho yang, yang yho. "yes, unconsciously he rested in a slumber too profound; while vile boyl-yas sat and feasted on the victim they had bound in sleep:--mooligo, dear young brother, where shall we find the like of thee? favourite of thy tender mother, we again shall never see mooligo, our dear young brother. yho, yang yho, ho, ho. "men, who ever bold have been, are your long spears sharpened well? fix anew the quartz-stone keen, let each shaft upon them tell. poise your _meer-ros_, long and sure, let the _kileys_ whiz and whirl strangely through the air so pure; heavy _dow-uks_ at them hurl; shout the yell they dread to hear. let the young men leap on high, to avoid the quivering spear; light of limb and quick of eye, who sees well has nought to fear. let them shift, and let them leap, while the quick spear whistling flies, woe to him who cannot leap! woe to him who has bad eyes!" when an old woman has commenced a chant of this kind, she will continue it until she becomes positively exhausted; and upon her ceasing, another takes up the song. the effect some of them have upon the assembled men is very great; indeed, it is said that these addresses of the old women are the cause of most of the disturbances which take place. thus, even amid the forests of new holland, the _influence of woman_ will, in one way or another, make itself felt. the ceremonies observed at the funeral of a native vary, as might be expected, in so great a space, but they are wild and impressive in every part of new holland. according to collins, the natives of the colony called new south wales were in the habit of burning the bodies of those who had passed the middle age of life, but burial seems the more universal method of disposing of their dead among the australians. some very curious drawings and figures cut in the rock were discovered by captain grey, in north-western australia, but whether these were burying-places does not appear. for the account of these works of rude art, which is extremely interesting, but too long to transcribe, the reader is referred to the delightful work of the traveller just mentioned. the shrieks and piercing cries uttered by the women over their dead relatives, are said to be truly fearful, and agreeably to the ancient custom of idolatrous eastern nations mentioned in kings xviii. , and in jer. xlviii. ,[ ] they tear and lacerate themselves most frightfully, occasionally cutting off portions of their beards, and, having singed them, throwing them upon the dead body. with respect to their tombs, these are of various sorts in different districts. in the gulph of carpentaria, on the northern coast, flinders found several skeletons of natives, standing upright in the hollow trunks of trees; the skulls and bones, being smeared or painted partly red and partly white, made a very strange appearance. on the banks of the river darling, in the interior of eastern australia, major mitchell fell in with a tribe, which had evidently suffered greatly from small-pox,[ ] or some similar disease, and in the same neighbourhood he met with some remarkable mounds or tombs, supposed to cover the remains of that portion of the tribe which had been swept off by the same disease that had left its marks upon the survivors. on a small hill, overlooking the river, were three large tombs, of an oval shape, and about twelve feet across in the longest diameter. each stood in the centre of an artificial hollow, the mound in the middle being about five feet high; and on each of them were piled numerous withered branches and limbs of trees, forming no unsuitable emblems of mortality. there were no trees on this hill, save one quite dead, which seemed to point with its hoary arms, like a spectre, to the tombs. a melancholy waste, where a level country and boundless woods extended beyond the reach of vision, was in perfect harmony with the dreary foreground of the scene. [ ] see deut. xiv. , where the very spot is mentioned,--"between the eyes,"--which is always torn and scratched by the australian female mourners. [ ] this disease made dreadful ravages among the natives about the same time as the colony in new south wales was settled. "the recollection of this scourge will long survive in the traditionary songs of these simple people. the consternation which it excited is yet as fresh in their minds, as if it had been an occurrence of but yesterday, although the generation that witnessed its horrors has almost passed away. the moment one of them was seized with it, was the signal for abandoning him to his fate. brothers deserted their brothers, husbands their wives, wives their husbands, children their parents, and parents their children; and in some of the caves of the coast, heaps of decayed bones still indicate the spots where these ignorant and helpless children of nature were left to expire, not so much, probably, from the virulence of the disease itself, as from the want of sustenance."--wentworth's _australia_, vol. i. p. . third edition. see also collins' _new south wales_, p. . indeed, to those who have been from infancy accustomed to the quiet consecrated burying places of our own land,--spots which, in rural districts, are usually retired, yet not quite removed from the reach of "the busy hum of men;" to those who have always looked upon a christian temple, "whose taper spire points, finger-like, to heaven," as the almost necessary accompaniment of a burial-place, the appearance of the native tombs in the desolate wilds of a savage and uncultivated country, must be dreary in the extreme. scenes of this character must appear to the eye of a christian almost emblematical of the spiritual blank--the absence of any sure and certain hope--in the midst of which the natives, whose remains are there reposing, must have lived and died. how striking is captain grey's description of another tomb, which was found in a totally different part of new holland, near the western coast, and at no great distance from the swan river settlement! the scenery, not, indeed, in the immediate vicinity, but very near to the newly-made grave, is thus described. even at mid-day, the forest wore a sombre aspect, and a stillness and solitude reigned throughout it that were very striking. occasionally, a timid kangaroo might be seen stealing off in the distance, or a kangaroo-rat might dart out from a tuft beneath your feet, but these were rare circumstances. the most usual disturbers of these wooded solitudes were the black cockatoos; "but i have never, in any part of the world," adds the enterprising traveller, "seen so great a want of animal life as in these mountains." it was not far from this lonely district, in a country nearly resembling it, only less wooded and more broken into deep valleys, that a recent grave was found, carefully constructed, with a hut built over it, to protect the now senseless slumberer beneath from the rains of winter. all that friendship could do to render his future state happy had been done. his throwing-stick was stuck in the ground at his head; his broken spears rested against the entrance of the hut; the grave was thickly strewed with _wilgey_, or red earth; and three trees in front of the hut, chopped with a variety of notches and uncouth figures, bore testimony that his death had been bloodily avenged. the native kaiber, who acted as guide to the travellers, gazed upon this scene with concern and uneasiness. being asked why the spears were broken, the trees notched, and the red earth strewed upon the grave, his reply was, "neither you nor i know: our people have always done so, and we do so now,"--quite as good a reason as many who think themselves far more enlightened are able to give for their actions. when a proposal was made to stop for the night at this solitary spot, poor kaiber resisted it; "i cannot rest here," said he, "for there are many spirits in this place."[ ] [ ] see, however, a more pleasing picture of a native burying-place, in mitchell's three expeditions, vol. i. p. . when mr. montgomery martin was in australia, he obtained with some difficulty the dead body of an old woman, who had long been known about sydney. hearing of her death and burial in the forest, about twenty-five miles from his residence, he went thither, and aided by some stock-keepers, found the grave,--a slightly elevated and nearly circular mound. the body was buried six feet deep, wrapped in several sheets of bark, the inner one being of a fine silvery texture. several things which the deceased possessed in life, together with her favourite dog, were buried with her,--all apparently for use in another world. the skull of this poor creature was full of indentations, as if a tin vessel had been struck by a hammer; light might be seen through these hollows, which had been caused by blows of _whaddies_ (hard sticks) when she was young, and some bold youths among the natives courted her after this strange fashion. it seemed scarcely possible that marks so extraordinary could have been made in the human skull without fracturing it.[ ] [ ] martin's new south wales, p. . in a society of men so simple and so little advanced in refinement or civilisation as the inhabitants of new holland, it is evident that their wants must be few and easily satisfied, their stock of earthly riches very small and humble. indeed, these people nearly always carry the whole of their worldly property about with them, and the australian hunter is thus equipped: round his middle is wound a belt spun from the fur of the opossum, in which are stuck his hatchet, his _kiley_ or _boomerang_, and a short heavy stick to throw at the smaller animals. in his hand he carries his throwing-stick, and several spears, headed in two or three different manners, so that they are equally suitable to war or the chase. in the southern parts, a warm kangaroo-skin cloak, thrown over his shoulders, completes the hunter's outfit; but this is seldom or never seen northwards of ° south latitude. these, however, are not quite all the riches of the barbarian, a portion of which is carried by his wife, or wives, as the case may be; and each of these has a long thick stick, with its point hardened in the fire, a child or two fixed upon their shoulders, and in their bags, in which also they keep sundry other articles, reckoned valuable and important for the comfort of savage life. for example; a flat stone to pound roots with, and earth to mix with the pounded roots;[ ] quartz, for making spears and knives; stones, for hatchets; gum, for making and mending weapons and tools; kangaroo sinews for thread, and the shin-bones of the same animal for needles;--these and many similar articles, together with whatever roots, &c. they may have collected during the day, form the total of the burden of a female australian; and this, together with the husband's goods, forms the sum and substance of the wealth of an inhabitant of the southern land. in wellesley's islands, on the north coast of new holland, the catalogue of a native's riches appears somewhat different, from his maritime position.[ ] a raft, made of several straight branches of mangrove lashed together, broader at one end than at the other;--a bunch of grass at the broad end where the man sits to paddle,--a short net to catch turtle, or probably a young shark,--and their spears and paddles seem to form the whole earthly riches of these rude fishermen.[ ] but one essential thing must not be overlooked in the enumeration of a native's possessions. fire, of procuring which they have not very easy means, is usually carried about with them; and the women commonly have the charge of the lighted stick, in addition to their other cares. [ ] see p. . [ ] "in many places a log of wood, or a wide slip of bark, tied at either end, and stuffed with clay, is the only mode invented for crossing a river or arm of the sea, while in other parts a large tree, roughly hollowed by fire, forms the canoe."--m. martin's _new south wales_, p. . [ ] flinders' voyage, vol. ii. p. . it is no very easy matter for civilized man to realise the perfectly free and unencumbered way in which these natives roam from place to place, accordingly as seasons or provisions may serve, constantly carrying with them a home wherever they go; and (what is far more difficult in civilised society) leaving no cares of home behind them in the spot from which they may have recently removed. certainly there must be something very delightful in this wild sort of life to every one, who has from his early infancy been accustomed to its pleasure and inured to its hardships, neither of which are by any means to be measured by the standard of the cold and changeable climate of england. the grand objects of the savage, in almost every part of the globe, are to baffle his human enemies, and to assert his dominion over the lower races of animals. for these purposes, the activity, secrecy, acuteness, and sagacity of man in an uncivilised state are almost incredible; nor could we have supposed, were not the truth shown in numberless instances, that the senses of human beings were capable of so great perfection, their bodies and limbs of such exertion and agility, as they gain by continual practice and early training in the forests of america or australia. in these bodily excellencies, the inhabitants of the last-named continent might safely challenge the whole world to surpass them. the natives once approached major mitchell's camp by night; and though nine fire-sticks were seen in motion, no noise was heard. at length when the lights had approached within yards, every one suddenly disappeared; the bearers preserving, all the while, the most perfect silence. it was then thought advisable to scare these noiseless visitors away, and a rocket was sent up, at which signal the english party rushed forward with a shout; and this had the desired effect. it is said that the natives regard, as an important matter, the falling of a star, which would account for their alarm at the rocket. on another occasion, when an english exploring party had discovered a few traces of natives near their place of encampment, an active search after them immediately took place; and it appeared that they had crept up within about one hundred yards of the camp, after which they had been disturbed, and had made off. their mode of approach was by a stream of water, so as to conceal their trail; after which they had turned out of the stream up its right bank, and had carefully trod in one another's footmarks, so as to conceal their number, although traces of six or seven different men could be perceived as far as the spot where they had been disturbed. from this point these children of the bush had disappeared, as it were, by magic: not a twig was broken, not a stone was turned, nor could it be observed that the heavy drops of rain had been shaken from a single blade of grass. all efforts to hit upon the direction in which they had fled were to no purpose, except to put the explorers more constantly on the watch against beings who were often near them when they least dreamed of their presence. human wisdom would enforce this lesson from such circumstances; but how often does heavenly wisdom lift up its voice to us in vain, teaching us by what is passing around us to be upon our watch constantly over our own conduct, since we are never very far from the almighty presence of god himself! to the quick-sighted natives, the surface of the earth is, in fact, as legible as a newspaper, so accustomed are they to read in any traces left upon it the events of the day.[ ] for once, major mitchell informs us, he was able to hide so that these people could not find; but then his buried treasure was only a collection of specimens of stones and minerals, of the use of which they could know nothing, and concerning which they were little likely to have any suspicions. the notes written by the traveller, and concealed in trees, seldom escaped notice;[ ] nor did provisions, nor, in short, any article which they could either use or suspect pass unobserved. [ ] see a most remarkable instance of this in m. martin's new south wales, pp. - . [ ] latterly, however, experience suggested to him what seems to have been a successful mode of concealment. see mitchell's three expeditions, vol. ii. p. . in western australia, captain grey, having galloped after some wild cattle which he had met in his journey, found, upon wishing to ascertain the hour, that his watch had fallen from his pocket during the chase. he waited until the rest of his party came up, and then requested kaiber, their native guide, to walk back and find the watch. this, kaiber assured the traveller, was utterly impossible, nor could his assertion be gainsaid; nevertheless, the watch was too valuable to be given up without an effort for its recovery. "well, kaiber," said the captain, "your people had told me you could see tracks well, but i find they are mistaken; you have but one eye,--something is the matter with the other," (this was really the case)--"no young woman will have you, for if you cannot follow my tracks, and find a watch, how can you kill game for her?" this speech had the desired effect, and the promise of a shilling heightened his diligence, so they went back together in search of the lost article. the ground that had been passed over was badly suited for the purpose of tracking, and the scrub was thick; nevertheless, to his delight and surprise, the captain had his watch restored to his pocket in less than half an hour. even in the simple arts and rude habits of the people of new holland there are different degrees of advancement and progress to be observed. on the west coast, a few degrees to the north of the british settlement at swan river, a great difference was noticed by captain grey in the arrangements of the native population. the country near the hutt river is exceedingly beautiful and fertile, and it supports a very numerous population, comparatively with other districts. the exploring party found a native path or road, wider, more used, and altogether better than any before seen in that region. along the side of this path were seen frequent wells, some of them ten or twelve feet in depth, which were made in a superior manner. across the dry bed of a stream they then came upon a light fruitful soil, which served the inhabitants as a _warran_ ground. _warran_ is a sort of _yam_ like the sweet potato, and its root is a favourite article of food with some of the native tribes. for three miles and a half the travellers passed over a fertile tract of land full of the holes made by the natives in digging this root; indeed, so thick were they, that it was not easy to walk, and this tract extended east and west, as far as they could see. the district must have been inhabited a great many years, for more had been done in it to secure a provision from the ground by hard manual labour than it would have appeared to be in the power of uncivilised man to accomplish. it can be no subject of surprise that the various tribes of australia, living in a wild country, and blessed with no clear nor adequate ideas of their maker, should be exceedingly superstitious, as well as ignorant and simple. the strange aversion felt by some of them to a sort of muscle or oyster, found in fresh water, has already been mentioned; and the horror of the native population at the supposed effects of sorcery has also been detailed. kaiber, captain grey's guide, was bidden to gather a few of these muscles to make a meal for the party of hungry travellers in the bush, but at first he would not move, declaring that if he touched these shell-fish, the _boyl-yas_ would be the death of him. unable to bring any instance of mischief arising from them, he shrewdly answered, that this was because nobody had been "wooden-headed" enough to meddle with them, and that he intended to have nothing whatever to do with them. at last, with much difficulty he was prevailed to go, but whilst occupied in his task, he was heard most bitterly deploring his fate. it was his courage and strong sinews, he said, that had hitherto kept him from dying either of hunger or thirst, but what would these avail him against the power of sorcery? however, the muscles were brought, and kaiber's master made his meal upon them, but no persuasions could prevail upon him to partake of them. the same evening, the half-starved, half-clothed party of travellers were overtaken by a tremendous storm, which put out their fires, and they continued during the night in a most pitiable state from exposure to the cold and weather. all these misfortunes were set down by the sagacious native to the account of the muscles, nor was it till his master threatened him with a good beating, that kaiber left off chattering to himself, while his mouth moved with the effect of the extreme cold:-- "oh, wherefore did he eat the muscles? now the _boyl-yas_ storms and thunder make; oh, wherefore would he eat the muscles?" among the superstitions of australia, that feeling of awe which revolts from mentioning even the name of a deceased person is very remarkable; and the custom of silence upon this subject is so strictly enforced, that it renders inquiry respecting the family or ancestors of a native extremely difficult.[ ] the only circumstance enabling the inquirer to overcome this hindrance is the fact, that, the longer a person has been dead, the less unwilling do they appear to name him. thus did captain grey obtain some curious information respecting their pedigrees and family customs; for he began with endeavouring to discover only the oldest names on record, and then, as opportunity served, he would contrive to fill up the blanks, sometimes, when they were assembled round their fires at night, encouraging little disputes among them concerning their forefathers, by means of which he was able to gain much of the information he wanted. [ ] it is even said, that persons bearing the same name with the deceased take other names, in order to avoid the necessity of pronouncing it at all. _see_ collins' _acc. of col. of n. s. wales_, p. . one very singular notion prevailing among the native population of australia, and proving that the belief in a spiritual world and in a future state, is not quite extinct even among them, is the idea which they entertain of white people being the souls of departed blacks. this supposition may serve to explain the reason of the disagreeable process complained of by sturt, who says, that every new tribe examined them, pulling them about, measuring the hands and feet of the strangers with their own, counting their fingers, feeling their faces, and besmearing them all over with dirt and grease. a more powerful feeling than curiosity even may have prompted this conduct, and they may have sought, impelled by superstition, to recognise in the foreigners their own kindred. but however that may have been, most travellers in australia mention the peculiar idea alluded to. captain grey was once vehemently attacked by the caresses of an old, ugly, and dirty black woman, who recognised him as her son's ghost, and was obliged to endure them. his real mother, the captain says, could scarcely have expressed more delight at his return, while his sable-coloured brothers and sister paid their respects to him, when the vehemence of a mother's affection had somewhat subsided. he was convinced that the old woman really believed him to be her son, whose first thought, upon his return to earth, had been to revisit his old mother, and bring her a present! the natives believe that the _night-mare_--a subject likely enough to give birth to superstition--is caused by some evil spirit, in order to get rid of which they jump up, seize a lighted brand from the fire, and, after whirling it round the head with a variety of imprecations, they throw the stick away in the direction where they suppose the evil spirit to be. they say the demon wants a light, and that when he gets it, he will go away. however, besides supplying this his need, they likewise take the precautions of changing their position, and of getting as near as they can into the middle of the group of their companions who are sleeping round the fire. if obliged to move away from the fire after dark, either to get water or for any other purpose, they carry a light with them, and set fire to dry bushes as they go along. a profound respect, almost amounting to veneration, is paid in many districts of australia to shining stones or pieces of crystal, which they call "_teyl_." these are carried in the girdles of men, especially of the sorcerers or _corad-jes_, and no woman is allowed to see the contents of the round balls made of woollen cord from the fur of the opossum in which these crystals are enclosed. they are employed as charms in sickness, and are sometimes sent from tribe to tribe for hundreds of miles on the sea-coast or in the interior. one of these stones, which was examined by an englishman, to whom it was shown privately by a black, was of a substance like quartz, about the size of a pigeon's egg, and transparent, like white sugar-candy. the small particles of crystal which crumble off are swallowed in order to prevent illness. many other instances of the like superstitious folly might very easily be gathered from the writings of those who have had the best opportunities of becoming acquainted with the manners of the australian tribes. the following is from the pen of the rev. g. king, a missionary of the society for propagating the gospel, who speaks thus of the natives near fremantle, in western australia: "the native children are intelligent and apt to learn, but the advanced men are so far removed from civilisation, and so thoroughly confirmed in roving habits, that all the exertions made in their behalf have found them totally inaccessible; but we have no reason to conclude that they have not a vague idea of a future state. they are exceedingly superstitious; they never venture out of their huts from sunset till sunrise, for fear of encountering goblins and evil spirits. when any of their tribe dies they say, 'he'll soon jump up, white man, and come back again in big ship;' and when a stranger arrives, they examine his countenance minutely, to trace the lineaments of some deceased friend; and when they think they have discovered him they sometimes request him to expose his breast, that they may see where the spear entered which caused the life to fly away so long."[ ] altogether, experience bears witness, in their case, of the same fact which is to be perceived in other parts of the globe, namely, that where there is little religion, there is often a great deal of superstition, and that those who do not "believe the truth," almost always fall into the snares of falsehood, so as to "believe a lie." [ ] s. p. g. report, , p. . with all the disadvantages of having two races of men (one of which is thought inferior to the other) occupying the same territory; with the evils, likewise, unavoidably arising from the ease with which what is _bad_ in europeans may be learned and copied, and the difficulty of understanding or imitating what is _good_ in us, the natives are placed in a very peculiar and unhappy situation. their intercourse with the white men has hitherto, certainly, been productive of more injury, both moral and temporal, than benefit to them. into the sad and disgusting details, affording a proof of this truth, which may be found in the evidence before the committees of the house of commons upon the subject of transportation it will neither be suitable nor possible to enter. the fact is, indeed, acknowledged by men of all parties and opinions, while, by all right-minded men, it is deeply deplored. drunkenness and its attendant vices prevail to a fearful extent among the europeans in new holland, the lower orders especially; and what sins are more enticing than these to the ignorant, sensual savage? tobacco and spirits, which the poor natives call "_tumbledown_," are articles in constant request; and to purchase these of europeans, the blacks will give almost anything they possess, even their wives.[ ] thus, a regular traffic in what is evil is carried on, and almost all that the heathen people of australia learn from the so-called christians with whom they associate, is to practise, with tenfold aggravation, sins which god abhors, and will not allow to go unpunished. like children that have been always brought up in a family of foul-tongued transgressors, the very first words of english which the natives learn are words of wickedness and blasphemy; the only introduction to the name of their god and saviour is in order that they may insult that holy name, and blaspheme the divine majesty. and these lessons are taught them, let us remember, by men calling themselves, and perhaps even thinking themselves, civilised, enlightened, and christian persons;--by men, certainly, belonging to a nation, which justly lays claim to these honourable epithets! but enough has been stated on this painful subject to fill every thoughtful mind with humiliation and fear, when it contemplates the "much" that "has been given" to civilised nations, and recalls the fixed rule of truth and justice, that so much the "more" will be required of them. nor is this a matter concerning the british inhabitants of the colonies alone, and with which the nation at large has little or no concern. for if we inquire, who corrupt the natives? the answer is, our vile and worthless population, the very scum of mankind, whom we have cast out as evil from the bosom of their native land. but a further question naturally offers itself. who were, in many instances, the passive, if not the active, corrupters of these very corrupters themselves? who have neglected to provide means for their christian instruction, and so let them grow up to be worse than heathens, until they could be endured no longer in the land? what nation had within a single century more than doubled its population without having built or endowed a score of new churches? to whose neglect is it, partly, though not entirely, owing, that when heathens meet, in far distant countries, with our lower classes, or when their homes are visited in our great towns and cities, the very heathens are sometimes forced to yield the palm to them in wickedness and in sin? such questions very nearly concern every englishman, and they are, even now, only beginning to command the attention they deserve. high and low, rich and poor, clergy and laity, we are all alike implicated in those evils, which have arisen from national neglect and forgetfulness of god, and which are not unlikely to lead to national confusion and ruin. but we are still, thank god, blessed with a pure and apostolical church in our native country, and this is a mighty instrument for good, if we will but support it, and render it as efficient as it ought to be. the children of our little sea-girt isle may almost be called the salt of the earth, so extensively is our naval and our moral power spread. if we can bring those children up in the right way, as dutiful children of god and faithful members of the church of england, then, indeed, the blessings resulting from our efforts may make themselves felt in the very ends of the earth--in the solitary wilds of new holland. but otherwise, if we continue to neglect our own people, and disgrace our profession of christianity by encouraging tacitly the growth of heathenism around us, then we may judge by the moral and social evils which have already resulted from this course what the final consequences are likely to be. "if the salt have lost its savour wherewith shall it be salted: it is therefore good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men." (matt. v. .) [ ] the half-caste children are generally put to death by the black husband, under the idea, it is said, that if permitted to grow up, they would be wiser than the people among whom they would live. these helpless innocents are destroyed, as though they were no better than a cat or dog: one farm servant of mr. mudie was in a great rage at the birth of a small infant of this description, and without any ceremony, only exclaiming, "narang fellow," which means, "small fellow," he took it up at once, and dashed it against the wall, as you would any animal. see evidence before transport. com. , p. . with savages resembling those that dwell in the australian forests, having no means of religious instruction among themselves, the only hope of producing an improvement in their moral and social character, must arise from their intercourse with christian people. but it must be repeated, unhappily, the great majority of _christian_ people (especially in that country and among those classes where the native is most likely to have intercourse) are by no means adorning by their lives the faith and doctrine of that master whose name they bear. hence arises the deplorable condition of the natives, who are brought into contact chiefly with the lowest and worst of the europeans, and who, beside many other hindrances, have the great stumbling-block of bad examples, and evil lives, constantly before them in their intercourse with the christians. and, as though that were not enough, as though fresh obstacles to the conversion of these nations to god's truth were needed and required, our holy religion is presented to them, not as it came from the hands of its founder and his apostles, inculcating "one lord, one faith, and one baptism," but such as man's weakness and wickedness delight in representing it,--a strange jumble of various "denominations." and this unworthy course has been followed by government itself. without any pleas arising from _conscience_, or the principle of _toleration_ to excuse this, the british government, in what little they have done for converting to christianity some of the natives, have afforded their help to bodies of christians bearing different names. nor can it be said that the church of england and ireland was without any zealous ministers ready to undertake this most difficult task, trusting in god's strength for help to accomplish it, at least in some degree. it is the confession of dr. lang himself, who is no friend to the church of england, that the only two missions[ ] to the natives existing in were, as all ought to be, episcopalian; but one of these was stated, on the best authority, in to be "not in an encouraging state,"[ ] although a third mission, to belong to the presbyterians, was about to be commenced _under the auspices of government_, among the natives in another station. it is fearlessly asserted that _all_ missions to the heathen supported by government ought to be subject to episcopal control; and the reasons for this may be briefly added. first, there is no tenderness of conscience, nor claim to toleration, which can stand in the way of an english government spreading among its native subjects the doctrine and discipline of the english church; supposing these willing to become christians at all, they cannot have a prior claim upon us to be brought up as _dissenters_ from the church. secondly, since the scotch discipline, though it prevails over a very small part of our population, is yet established by law in one portion of the island, it may put in (as it has done) its claim for help from government; but, without entering into argument respecting this, might we not safely put it to every wise and rightly judging presbyterian, whether it is not better to waive this claim of theirs, than to perplex the progress of christianity, by offering to the heathen australians, at the same time, and by the same temporal authority, the bible, which speaks of _one_ church, and the choice between _two_ churches? and lastly, whatever unhappy scruples and divisions among christians have arisen respecting episcopacy, surely, if men had a truly christian spirit within them, they would quietly consent to the instruction of the natives being placed in the hands of a church which they cannot deny to be scriptural, and of a ministry, which for years from christ's birth no sect of men ever thought of denying to be the only apostolical ministry. it is indeed a strange spectacle which our christianity must offer to the eyes of those that are really desirous of becoming converts. either we "bite and devour one another," or else we quietly set aside our lord's commands and prayers for our union, and contentedly agree to divide ourselves into as many parties, sects, or denominations, as we please; and having done so, we go and inoculate our heathen converts with our own love of separation. st. paul was shocked at hearing of divisions in the church of corinth, but enlightened statesmen of the nineteenth century appear to be shocked at the idea of allowing christianity to be offered to the heathens without its unhappy divisions! what, it may be asked with all reverence, would have been the success of the apostles in evangelizing the gentile world, if the gospel of christ had been offered to the heathens of that age, under the same disadvantages with which men of the present age prefer to clog and impede their missionary efforts? can we wonder, under these circumstances, at the slow progress of the gospel? is it not rather wonderful that it should make any progress at all? if the world is reluctant to believe in christ's mission, would not his own words, (john xvii. ,) suggest to us our miserable divisions as a chief cause of this? [ ] against one of these missions dr. lang gives a sneer, and it may be a deserved one, though certainly expressed in unbecoming language; but the attentive reader of dr. lang's amusing work on new south wales will soon learn not to place too much stress upon _all_ he says. see lang's new south wales, vol. ii. chap. , p. . [ ] see bishop of australia's letter in s. p. g. report for , p. . chapter vi. sketches of native character. bennillong.--the first native who could be persuaded to live upon friendly terms of confidence with the british settlers in new south wales was called bennillong, and it was after no very long period, (within two years after the commencement of the colony,) that this intercourse with them began in the following manner:--in the spring of the second year the bodies of many of the natives were found in a lifeless or dying state upon different parts of the coast near sydney, in consequence of the small-pox, which had been raging among them; and some of these having been brought up to the settlement, from motives of pity, the disease was taken by a native who had been captured shortly before, in hopes of opening through him a means of communication with the others. the intended interpreter died, but the governor, captain philip, still retained in his care two native children, whose lives had been saved from the small-pox, and succeeded, within a few months, in securing two other natives, both of them well known to the children, through whom they were assured of perfect safety. however, instead of remaining until they could become familiar with the english manners and language, so as to carry on an intercourse between the colonists and their own countrymen, these natives both made their escape, one of them very soon after he had been taken; the other, bennillong, in about six months afterwards, when he had been treated with every kindness and indulgence, and had grown somewhat accustomed to the society of the english settlers. bennillong made his escape in may , and in the september following he saw some of the colonists, by whom he sent a present to the governor, namely, a piece of the whale which was then lying on the beach, and around which the natives were assembled at a feast. wishing to see him again, the governor went immediately to the spot, where he found a number of natives, and both bennillong, and the other one, cole-be, who had first escaped. all went on amicably at first, and some wearing apparel, belonging to the men in the boat, was given to the savages, while bennillong obtained a promise from his excellency that more should be brought in two days, and likewise some hatchets. the governor and his friends were retiring by degrees to their boat, having imprudently allowed the natives very nearly to surround them, when bennillong, after presenting several of his friends by name, pointed out one, whom captain philip stepped forward to meet, holding out both his hands to him. the savage, not understanding this civility, and possibly thinking that he was going to seize him, threw his spear, and wounded the governor rather badly, but not mortally. several other spears were thrown, and one musket fired, but no injury was done on either side. a few days after the accident bennillong came with his wife and some companions very near to the settlement, and an interview between these and the british officers took place, in which it was agreed that the governor, as soon as he was able, should visit the same spot; bennillong, meanwhile, assuring them that the man who had inflicted the wound had been severely beaten. on the tenth day his excellency was so far recovered as to go to the place of the whale feast, together with several officers, all armed. bennillong here repeated his assurances to the governor in person, that the offending party had been well beaten by him and cole-be, and added that his throwing the spear was entirely the effect of his fears, and arose from an impulse of self-preservation. the day before this visit nearly fish had been taken by the colonists, and between and of these, weighing on an average about lbs. each, were sent to bennillong and his party on the north shore of port jackson. after this, tolerably friendly feelings continued, with some few interruptions, between the two nations, and bennillong himself became very much attached to the governor, insomuch that he and another native resolved to accompany captain philip to england, when, towards the close of , that excellent officer resigned his appointment, and embarked on board of the atlantic transport-ship. the two australians, fully bent upon the voyage, which they knew would be a very distant one, withstood resolutely, at the moment of their departure, the united distress of their wives and the dismal lamentations of their friends. no more was heard respecting these absentees until march , when a message was brought from them in england, requesting that their wives might be told to expect them in the course of that year, since, though well, they had not so completely lost their love of liberty and of their native country, to prefer london, with its pleasures and abundance, to the woods of new south wales. it was not, however, until august, , that bennillong reached his native shores, having become accustomed to the manners of civilized life, by his long sojourn among the english people. he declared to his old acquaintance, with an air and tone that seemed to expect compliance, that he should no longer suffer them to fight and cut each other's throats, but should introduce peace among them, and make them love one another. when they visited him at government house, he wished they would contrive to be somewhat more cleanly in their persons and less coarse in their manners; and he was quite offended at his sister, who came in such haste to see him, that she positively forgot to bring anything else upon her back, except a little nephew! bennillong had been an attentive observer of manners, which he was not unsuccessful in copying; his dress was an object of no small concern to him, and every one was of opinion that he had cast off all love for savage life. upon his arrival, bennillong made inquiries after his wife,[ ] but having heard no very good account of her conduct, he at length tempted her by some rose-coloured clothes and a gipsy bonnet to leave her new lover and return to her former husband. bennillong's presents, however pretty, were of very little practical use, and he was soon afterwards missing, having gone into the bush to give his rival a good beating with _fists_ after the english method. however, all his valour was lost upon his wife, who deserted him,--an event which did not appear to give him great uneasiness, nor was it much to be wondered at, since she had been stolen by him. his absence from the governor's house became now frequent, and when he went out, his clothes were usually left behind him, although he carefully resumed them on his return before he made his visit to the governor. [ ] like most of his countrymen, bennillong had two wives, but one of them, barangaroo, had died, as it appears, before his departure for england. see page . within a year of his arrival from england this poor creature had a quarrel with his bosom-friend cole-be, whose wife he had coveted, and from whom he received some severe wounds, together with the cutting inquiry, "whether he meant that kind of conduct to be a specimen of english manners?" thus bennillong by degrees returned again to all the habits of savage life,--habits rendered rather worse than better by the experience he had gained respecting those of civilized men. he could not, however, keep on terms with his countrymen, and in he was obliged to call in the help of the governor's soldiers to protect him from his own people. in the following year he was accused of having been the cause of a woman's death, who had dreamed, when dying, that he had killed her; and by some it was said, that he actually had wounded her, so that it was demanded of him that he should undergo the ordeal of having some spears thrown at him. although he denied the charge, yet it was not thought unlikely to be true, for he was now become so fond of drinking that he lost no opportunity of being intoxicated, and in that state was savage and violent enough to be capable of any mischief. on these occasions he amused himself with annoying and insulting all his acquaintance, who were afraid to punish him lest they should offend his white friends. but, however, his interest with the latter was fast declining, for in an affray between the natives, bennillong chose to throw a spear among the soldiers, who interfered to prevent further mischief; and one of these was dreadfully wounded by him. he was, notwithstanding, set at liberty, but being offended at the blame his behaviour had brought down upon him he would sometimes walk about armed, and declare that he did so for the purpose of spearing the governor whenever he might see him! after repeated affrays and quarrels with his wife's lover and other natives, bennillong, who had almost entirely quitted the comforts and quiet of civilized life, was dangerously wounded twice within two or three months. and although no more is related concerning him, and it is true that he had recently recovered of several very severe wounds, yet the probability is, that this weak and violent savage was not long afterwards cut off in the midst of life by an untimely and cruel death. _barangaroo's funeral._--when barangaroo daringha, bennillong's elder wife, who was above fifty at the time of her death, was to have the funeral rites performed over her body, it was resolved by her husband that she should be burned, and the governor, the judge-advocate, and the surgeon of the colony were invited to the ceremony, besides whom there were present bennillong's relatives and a few others, mostly females. the spot for the pile was prepared by digging out the ground with a stick, to the depth of a few inches, and in this a heap of wood was raised to the height of about three feet, the ends and sides being formed of dry pieces, and the middle of it consisting of small twigs and branches, broken off for the purpose, and thrown together. some grass was then spread over the pile, and the corpse covered with an old blanket was placed upon it, with the head towards the north. a basket with sundry articles belonging to the deceased was placed by her side, and some large logs being laid over the body by bennillong, the pile was lighted by one of the party, and was quickly all in a flame. bennillong himself pointed out to his friends that the fire had reached the corpse, and the spot was left long before the pile was consumed, while the husband seemed more cheerful than had been expected, and spoke about finding a nurse among the white women for his infant and motherless child, dil-boong.[ ] the next day he invited the same party of europeans to see him rake the ashes together, and none of his own people were present at this ceremony. he went before his companions in a sort of solemn silence, speaking to no one until he had paid the last duties to barangaroo. in his hand was the spear, with which he meant to punish the _car-rah-dy_, or conjurer, for whom he had sent to attend her in her illness, but who either could not or would not obey the summons; and with the end of this spear he collected the funereal ashes into a heap. over these he made, with a piece of bark, which served for a spade, a small mound of earth, on each side of which was placed a log of wood, and on the top the bark with which he had constructed it. all was done with the utmost care and neatness, and he seemed pleased, when, in reply to his inquiries, he was told by his friends that it was "good." his behaviour throughout was solemn and manly, and he was perfectly silent during the whole of the ceremony, from which nothing was suffered to withdraw his attention. nor did he seem desirous to get quickly through it, but paid these last rites of affection with a care that did honour to his feelings towards one, for whom, notwithstanding his barbarism, he appeared to feel a sincere and strong attachment. when his melancholy task was ended, he stood for a few moments, with his hands folded over his bosom, and his eye fixed upon his labours, in the attitude of a man in profound thought. what were his thoughts then it is impossible certainly to declare, but they may have been more nearly akin to those of the mere civilized worldling than we might at first imagine. death brings all men to an equality, and throws down every distinction but one. that distinction, indeed, so far from overthrowing, death renders more marked and conspicuous than before, clearly making manifest the difference between the believer and the unbeliever, "between him that serveth god, and him that serveth him not." [ ] on a similar occasion, cole-be placed the living child in the grave with its mother, and having laid the child down, he threw upon it a large stone, after which the grave was instantly filled up by the other natives. upon remonstrating with cole-be, he, so far from thinking it inhuman, justified this extraordinary act by saying, that, as no woman could be found to nurse the child, it must have died a worse death than that to which he put it.--collins' _account of the colony of new south wales_, p. . _the spitting tribe._--this was the name given by major mitchell to one of the most troublesome and ferocious of the native tribes, the place of whose habitation is on the lonely banks of the darling, in the interior of eastern australia. when these disagreeable people were first met with, the man who was taking care of the sheep belonging to the exploring party held out a green bough; but the savage, who had before pointed a spear at the englishman, replied to his emblem of peace by taking a bough, spitting upon it, and then thrusting it into the fire. upon major mitchell hastening to the spot, similar expressions of ill will were manifested, evidently with the purpose of telling the strangers that they must go back. the native and a boy who was with him then threw up dust at their enemies, in a clever way, _with their toes_. their feelings of hostility and defiance were too plainly expressed to be mistaken. every effort at conciliation was useless, until, at length, the enraged native of the bush retired slowly along the river bank, singing a war-song as he went, and showing by his actions that he was going for his tribe. this happened in the morning; and during the afternoon of the same day, a party of the tribe made their appearance, holding out boughs indeed, but with a very different ceremonial from what had hitherto been observed.[ ] their violent and expressive gestures evidently were intended to drive back the intruders; and as these last could not but feel that they were not upon their own ground, they used every endeavour to conciliate the opposing party. the blacksmith belonging to the expedition was at work with his bellows and anvil near the river bank, and his labours seemed to awaken very much the curiosity of the natives, who, however, still refused to sit down, and continued to wave their branches in the faces of the white people, and to spit at them repeatedly, all which conduct was patiently endured in the hope of establishing afterwards a more agreeable and friendly intercourse. as a peace-offering, a tomahawk was presented to the leader, who, guessing immediately its use, turned round to a log, and chopped it. two other stout fellows then rudely demanded the british officer's pistols from his belt, whereupon he drew one, and, curious to see the effect, fired it at a tree. immediately, as though they had previously suspected the intruders to be evil demons, and had at length a clear proof of it, they repeated their actions of defiance with tenfold fury, accompanying these with demoniac looks, hideous shouts, and a war-song,--crouching, jumping, spitting, springing with the spear, and throwing dust at them, as they slowly retired. in short, their hideous crouching postures, measured gestures, and low jumps, to the tune of a wild song, with the fiendish glare of their countenances, at times all black, but now all eyes and teeth, seemed a fitter spectacle for pandemonium than for the light of the bounteous sun. thus they retired, dancing in a circle, and leaving the strangers in expectation of their return, and perhaps an attack in the morning. whatever was the cause of their hostility, any further attempt to quiet them appeared out of the question, and it was too likely that ere long the english party would be forced to prove their superiority by arms.[ ] [ ] the custom of holding out green boughs, which is usually a sign of friendship among the australians and other savage tribes, formed part of the ceremony of suppliants among the ancient greeks. see potter's antiquities of greece, b. ii. c. . [ ] the difference in disposition between tribes not very remote from each other was often striking. only three days' journey behind, the travellers had left natives as kind and civil as any whom they had seen, and hitherto all the people on the darling had met them with the branch of peace. these troublesome visitors did not, however, make their appearance again before the following afternoon, when their curiosity and desire to get more presents brought them forth from their hiding-places in the woods. by degrees, they seemed to gain a little more confidence; but signs of defiance were still made; and as their fears diminished, their love of pilfering appeared to increase. the blacksmith was at work this day also; and they moved towards him, commencing at the same time a kind of chant, and slowly waving their green boughs. there was evidently some superstition in the ceremony, and one of the parties concerned in it was a _coradje_, or priest, who occasionally turned his back upon the europeans, and touched his eye-brows, nose, and breast; then pointing his arm to the sky, and with his hand afterwards laid upon his breast, pouring forth a most solemn chant. the blacksmith, with whose honest occupation all this formed a strange contrast, had been ordered not to laugh nor stop working, which orders he obeyed as long as it was practicable. but, gradually, the black visitors gathered round the forge, and began to pilfer whatever they could lay hand or foot upon, until the persecuted smith could no longer proceed with his work. the best part of this scene was, that they did not mind being observed by any one, except the blacksmith, supposing that they were robbing him only. his patience, however, being severely tried, he was at last tempted to give one of them a push, when a scene of chanting, spitting, and throwing dust commenced on the part of the thief, who was a stout fellow and carried a spear, which he seemed inclined to use. one or two articles were lost in spite of all efforts, but the explorers were glad to feel at peace with these people upon any terms, and both parties separated that night in a tolerably civil way. on the following day, the travellers began to move onwards, but they did not leave behind (as they had hoped) their troublesome neighbours. the natives rushed forth from the woods in greater numbers than ever, _being painted white_, and many of them carrying spears, and shouting. a horse belonging to one of the party was so startled at this, that he galloped away, and was with some little difficulty recovered. the threats and defiance of the savages were again repeated; and when the party of explorers began to proceed onwards, the whole of the woods appeared to be in flames. various annoyances and hindrances were experienced from these disagreeable inhabitants of the bush, during the next ten or twelve days; after which an event happened, which, though sad and unfortunate in itself, was yet calculated to fill the minds of these impudent savages with some respect and awe for the power of the europeans. joseph jones,--the man who attended the flock of sheep, which accompanied major mitchell's party in their wanderings in the interior of new holland,--had been sent for some water; and the tea-kettle he carried with him was the sole cause of the quarrel that ensued. as he was getting up the river bank with the water, another man being stationed (as usual) at the top to protect him with his pistol, one of the natives, with others in his company, met him half way up, and with a smile took hold of the pot which he was carrying, together with the kettle. this was done under pretence of helping jones, but, on reaching the top of the bank, the savage, in the same jocose way, held it fast, until a woman said something to him; and then, letting the pot go, he seized the kettle with his left hand, and at the same time struck jones senseless to the ground by a violent blow on the forehead, inflicted with a club which he held in his right. on seeing this the other man, who was stationed by way of protection, fired, and wounded the savage, who swam across the river, and made off as well as he could; but the rest of the tribe were now advancing. the englishman fired twice at them, and the second time, unfortunately, he shot the woman already mentioned, who, with her child fastened to her back, slid down the bank, and lay, apparently dying, in the water. at this moment three other englishmen arrived, who had been sent off from the camp when the noise of fire-arms was heard, and one man among the natives was shot in the breast, but little more mischief was done, for the tribe speedily dispersed, having dragged away the dead body of the woman; while joseph jones returned, wounded and bleeding, to the camp of the explorers. when night arrived, "a death-like silence," says major mitchell, "prevailed along the banks of the river; no far-heard voices of natives at their fires broke, as before, the stillness of the night, while a painful sympathy for the child bereft of its parent, and anticipations of the probable consequences to us, cast a melancholy gloom over the scene. the waning moon at length arose, and i was anxiously occupied with the observations, which were most important at this point of my journey, when a mournful song, strongly expressive of the wailing of women, came from beyond the darling, on the fitful breeze which still blew from the north-west." the feelings of a brave but humane british officer, surrounded by difficulties, with very few except convicts under his command, annoyed by natives, yet anxious not to injure them, and just about to turn back from the journey of discovery which he had hitherto successfully pursued; the feelings of major mitchell under the circumstances so touchingly described by him can scarcely be imagined. the thoughts of a veteran who had served his country during many long years of war and strife, must have wandered back to past scenes and by-gone days, while he stood in that solitary wilderness; and when the wild shrill cry of savage grief came floating upon his ears, he must have felt most deeply those strange sensations which we experience "when, musing o'er companions gone, we doubly feel ourselves alone." these savages of the darling have the power of doing with their toes many things most surprising to men who wear shoes, and have never been accustomed from infancy to climb trees after the australian fashion. with their toes they gather the fresh-water muscles from the muddy bottoms of rivers or lakes, and these are one of their principal articles of food in the neighbourhood of the darling. in the attempts of the spitting tribe to steal from the english party, their feet were much employed, and they would tread softly on any article, seize it with the toes, pass it up the back, or between the arm and side, and so conceal it in the arm-pit, or between the beard and throat. the hoary old priest of the spitting tribe, while intent upon tricks of this kind, chanted an extraordinary hymn to some deity or devil; the act was evidently superstitious and connected with no good principle. arrangements were probably being made, and some of these strange ceremonies observed by them, for the purpose of destroying the strangers, _intruders_ they might be called. "and no man," observes major mitchell, "can witness the quickness and intelligence of the aborigines, as displayed in their instant comprehension of our numerous appliances, without feelings of sympathy. they cannot be so obtuse, as not to anticipate in the advance of such a powerful race as ours, the extirpation of their own, in a country which barely affords to them the means of subsistence." yet, melancholy though the reflection may appear, it is but too true, that scarcely any hope of improving and civilizing these barbarous people can be at present reasonably indulged. what a picture does the same humane traveller already quoted draw of the tribes about the lower part of the darling, of whose character the spitting tribe may serve for a specimen. "it seldom happened," he says, "that i was particularly engaged with a map, a drawing, or a calculation, but i was interrupted by them or respecting them. our gifts seemed only to awaken on their part a desire to destroy us, and to take all we had. while sitting in the dust with them, according to their custom, often have they examined my cap, evidently with no other view than to ascertain whether it would resist the blow of a _waddy_, or short stick. then they would feel the thickness of my dress, and whisper together, their eyes occasionally glancing at their spears and clubs. the expression of their countenances was sometimes so hideous, that, after such interviews, i have found comfort in contemplating the honest faces of the horses and sheep; and even in the scowl of 'the patient ox,' i have imagined an expression of dignity, when he may have pricked up his ears, and turned his horns towards these wild specimens of the 'lords of the creation.' travellers in australian deserts will find that such savages cannot remain at rest when near, but are ever anxious to strip them by all means in their power of every thing. it was not until we proceeded as conquerors, that we knew any thing like tranquillity on the darling; and i am now of opinion, that to discourage at once the approach of such natives, would tend more to the safety of an exploring party than presenting them with gifts." _mulligo's death._--the following curious account of the death of a certain native of western australia is given by captain grey. mulligo, for such was the name of the unfortunate man, had severely hurt his spine by a fall from a tree, and having lost the use of his lower limbs, he gradually wasted away, until, in about two months' time, he became a perfect skeleton, and was evidently dying. soon after day-break, captain grey came to the hut of mulligo, and found him alive indeed, but breathing so slightly that it was scarcely to be perceived. his head rested on his aged mother's knees, who leaned over him in tears, while other women were seated around, their heads all verging to a common centre, over the wasted frame of the dying man; they were crying bitterly, and scratching their cheeks, foreheads, and noses, with their nails, until the blood trickled slowly from the wounds. the men, meanwhile, were preparing their spears for the fight, which was expected to take place respecting the two wives of mulligo, the title of his heir being disputed. other native females soon began to arrive in small parties, each one carrying her long stick in her hand, and each party marching slowly after the eldest woman belonging to it. when they came within about thirty or forty yards of the hut of the dying man, they raised the most piteous cries, and hurrying their pace, moved rapidly to the place where the other women were seated, recalling to the mind of one acquainted with the bible, that custom alluded to by jeremiah (chap. ix. , ). as they came up to the bark hut, many of them struck it violently with their sticks, producing by the blow a dull hollow sound, and then, after joining the assembled circle, chanting mournfully the usual songs on these occasions. then, suddenly, one of the women in a frenzy would start up, and standing in front of the hut, while she waved her stick violently in the air, would chant forth curses against the sorcerers, who, as she believed, had been the cause of mulligo's sufferings. it was strange to watch the effect of these wild chants upon the savage countenances of the men; one while they sat in mournful silence; again they grasped firmly and quivered their spears; and by and by a general "ee-ee," pronounced in their throat, with the lips closed, burst forth in token of approbation at some affecting part of the speech. time wore on; each withered beldame by turns addressed the party, while the poor creature, whose dying moments were thus disturbed, was gradually sinking. at last he ceased to live, and at that moment an old woman started up, and with grief and rage, poured forth her curses upon the _boyl-yas_, and tore the hut in which mulligo had been lying to pieces, saying, "this is now no good." her proceedings excited the feelings of the men, and at last moon-dee, the most violent of them, was on the point of spearing one of the wives of the deceased, but he was withheld by some of the women. the cause of moon-dee's anger was afterwards thus explained. about two or three months before this time, a cloak belonging to mulligo's brother had been stolen, and, it was supposed, given to one of the sorcerers, who gained thereby some mysterious power over either of the two brothers, which he had exercised on mulligo, when he caused him to fall and injure his back. another sorcerer was called in, who applied fire to the injured part, but without any success; and since the poor fellow was daily wasting away, it was imagined that the unfriendly sorcerers came every night to feast upon the invalid during his hours of sleep. but moon-dee chose to fancy that if his wife had been more watchful, the _boyl-yas_ might have been detected, and therefore he intended to spear her in the leg, in order to punish her supposed neglect. this outrage was, however, prevented; and the two trembling partners of the deceased, neither of whom was above fifteen years old, fled into perth, to find among europeans a refuge from the violence of their own countrymen. after vowing vengeance against a great many of the sorcerers, though they had no proof whatever against any of these in particular, the men followed the widows to perth, to see that no one stole them away; and a few only were left with the women to superintend the funeral. in about an hour's time, the body was removed to a distance of nearly half a mile from the spot where the death had taken place, and the women were still leaning over it, uttering the words, _yang, yang, yang_, and occasionally chanting a few sentences. the grave was then dug, as usual, due east and west, with no better instruments than sticks and hands; but afterwards, when many europeans had assembled at the spot, to the great annoyance of the natives, these last occasionally employed a spade, although, from the extreme narrowness of the grave, it was no easy matter to make use of this implement. during the digging an insect had been thrown up, whose motions were watched with the deepest interest, and since the animal crawled off in the direction of guildford, this was thought an additional proof of the guilt of the sorcerers of that place, who had before been suspected, because the cloak had been stolen by a man living near this settlement. when the grave was completed, they set fire to some dried leaves and twigs which they threw in, and old weeban, the friendly sorcerer, knelt at the foot of the grave, with his back to the east, and his head bowed down to the earth in a posture of the deepest attention; his office being a very important one, namely, to discover in what direction the hostile _boyl-yas_ would take their flight, when drawn out of the earth by the heat. the fire roared for some time in the grave; and the hollow sound of the flames arising from the narrow opening evidently aroused the superstitious fears of the bystanders, until the old conjuror signified by his actions that the authors of the mischief were gone off in the direction of guildford. the relatives of the deceased appeared satisfied at knowing upon whom to avenge the foul witchcraft, and at being assured of the cause of their friend's death. the body of mulligo was then taken from the females, his mother having, for the last time, fervently kissed its cold lips; and the corpse was lowered into the grave, and placed upon a bed of leaves, which had been laid there directly the fire was extinguished; the face being, according to custom, turned towards the east. the women continued their mournful songs, and the grave was filled up with small green boughs and earth, until the tomb was completed, presenting the appearance, owing to the heaps placed at the head and foot, of three graves nearly alike in size and form, lying in a due east and west direction. on the same evening, the old mother was found sitting at the place where her son's remains were interred, and crying bitterly. she had caught the _boyl-yas_, she said, in the very act of sitting round mulligo's grave, for the purpose of preying upon his miserable body, and she pointed out their tracks at the spot from which they sprung into the air, in the direction of guildford, but european eyes were not keen enough to detect these mysterious traces of mischief. _the corrobory._--the natives have a dance, called corrobory, of a very original character, and almost universally prevalent on the shores of australia. the dance always takes place at night; and not only in this respect, but likewise in the preparation and excitement occasioned by it, a resemblance may be traced between the _corrobory_ and the dances of more civilized nations. the curious evolutions and figures performed in these assemblies of savages, are regulated by time beaten upon stretched skins or drums,--the only musical instrument that is commonly seen among them; and while the light of blazing boughs is thrown upon the scene of festivity, the rude music is accompanied by a song. darkness seems essential to the effect of the whole; and the painted figures coming forward from the obscurity of the background, while the singers and beaters of time are invisible, have a highly theatrical effect. each dance appears most tastefully progressive; the movement being first slow, and introduced by two persons, displaying graceful motions, both of arms and legs; others, one by one, join in, each gradually warming into the truly savage attitude of the "_corrobory_" jump; the legs then stride to the utmost, the head is turned over one shoulder, the eyes glare, and are fixed with savage energy all in one direction; the arms also are raised, and inclined towards the head, the hands usually grasping some warlike weapons. the jump now keeps time with each beat; the dancers at every movement taking six inches to one side, all being in a connected line, led by the first, which line, however, is sometimes _doubled_ or _tripled_, according to numbers; and thus great effect is added; for when the front line jumps to the left, the second jumps to the right; the third to the left again, and so on, until the action gains due intensity, when all suddenly stop at the same moment. the excitement which this dance produces in the savage is very remarkable. however listless the individual may be, lying perhaps, as usual, half asleep, set him to this, and he is fired with sudden energy, every nerve is strung to such a degree, that he is hardly to be known as the same person, while the _corrobory_ continues. _peerat and his wives._--a garden belonging to a soldier at king george's sound had been robbed by the natives of nearly a hundred weight of potatoes. this was the first act of theft that had been committed during the five months of governor grey's residence there, although there had often been as many as two hundred natives in the settlement, who had no means of subsistence beyond the natural productions of the country, and what little they derived from being occasionally employed by the colonists. and even in this theft of the potatoes, they had purposely left the large roots, and had taken away only the smaller ones, in the hope that by so doing they would lessen the crime. however, the governor resolved to act promptly and vigorously upon this first offence, and to avoid the common fault of europeans, in confounding the guilty and the innocent together. by the help of an intelligent native, the tracks of three persons were found in the garden that had been robbed, and the footsteps were pronounced to be those of peerat's two wives, and his son dal-bean. these had all walked off into the bush, meaning, probably, to avoid suspicion, and to wait till the affair had passed quietly over. the governor determined to pursue them, but this required great secrecy, for australians are no easy creatures to catch hold of; and it was not meant to adopt the popular system of shooting them when they ran away. accompanied by four natives only, the governor pressed forward, following peerat's tracks for about nine miles in a direction where the bush had been set on fire by the natives, until he met with some of these, who were solemnly informed of the theft and of the names of the criminals, whom he had come to take prisoners; if these were given up, it was promised that they should undergo only the regular punishment for petty robbery; otherwise, the usual allowance of flour, which was issued to all the natives every two months, was to be stopped; and it was threatened that a party of soldiers should be brought out to fire upon peerat and his party wherever they might be found. these threats, uttered in a very decided tone, gave occasion to a consultation among the natives, by whom it was unanimously agreed:-- imprimis. that stealing potatoes was a very heinous offence, more particularly in women. secondly. that women were notorious thieves, and altogether worse characters than men. thirdly. that beating women was an every day occurrence. fourthly. that losing flour was a great bore; and, fifthly. upon these considerations, peerat, his wives, and son, were to be given up. these resolutions having been passed, the whole assembly came to the governor to inquire whether he told the truth, when he said that he was not personally angry with peerat's family, and that they should not be killed; and being satisfied upon this point, they all proceeded together in search of the offending parties. peerat waited quietly to receive them, indeed, he was not aware of the cause of his being honoured by a visit from the governor; when, however, he heard of this, he abused his wives, and promised to thrash them soundly, but absolutely refused to give either them or his son up as prisoners. the first man who might lay a finger upon him was threatened with a spear through the heart, and the governor was obliged to proclaim the sacredness of his own person, and to cock both barrels of his gun, with an assurance that he would shoot poor peerat in case of resistance. all savage strife is noisy in the extreme; even the strife of _civilized_ men in their _public meetings_ and _vestries_ is often tolerably boisterous,--and a great deal of running and leaping about, and quivering of spears accompanies the former kind of altercation. while things were in this confusion the governor went alone to peerat's fire, and seized his little boy, dal-bean, but could see nothing of the wives, who were, most likely, busy digging roots for the family. the boy was told that if he moved he would be shot, a threat which kept him very quiet; but peerat soon found out what had happened, and came running after them. these natives are always greatly attached to their children, and strong proofs of this were now given by the father, who first declared that the boy had been with him, and that it was the mother only that had stolen, producing about a dozen witnesses to prove this to be the truth. however, the reply to this was by asking the question, how came the child's footmarks in the garden? it was answered that peerat's second wife had, indeed, been there, and that she was just the size of the boy; but that plea would not hold good, since her footsteps had been observed likewise. the father now urged the tender years of the lad, and that he was under the influence of his mother; and then fairly wept upon his child's neck, who was calling upon his parent and the other natives by name to save him. the governor's own feelings and those of his followers urged him to let the little fellow go, but he wisely resolved to act with determination, and held fast by the prisoner. spears were now given to peerat--a sign of his quarrel being espoused by those who gave them, and that he was expected to use them; and, matters having taken a serious turn, the governor hastened away with his prisoner and two of his native companions, but not before he had explained to the others the advantage of an impartial inquiry and proper punishment of offenders, in preference to their being exposed to the indiscriminating fire of europeans. peerat was then threatened with a shot if he did not take himself off, and bring his wives into the settlement to be punished; and the matter ended, for the present, in the lodgment of the youthful dal-bean safe in the british gaol. in a day or two afterwards, during which no tidings had been heard of peerat and his wives, the little dal-bean made an attempt to break out of his place of confinement, by taking up a loose stone from the floor, with which he had battered a hole in the door. this, however, he stoutly denied, asserting that, whilst he was asleep, sorcerers from the north, having a spite against him, had entered through some air-holes in the wall and done this; and, on his persisting in the story, he was told that, in future, he would be well whipped for neglect, if he did not give the alarm when these strange visitors came. meanwhile, the governor was half inclined to whip him for telling a story, but he satisfied himself with giving him a lecture upon the crime of lying, to which the cunning little rogue replied, by arguing upon the general usefulness and prevalence of that vice in the world, entirely setting aside its evil nature and sinfulness. the very same day peerat made his appearance with a very pitiful tale. he had two wives, and to govern them both was no easy task, but, although they had been soundly beaten, they could not be induced to come into the settlement, until he had threatened to spear them. this threat had, at last, succeeded, and in recompense for his sufferings from the loss of his son, and from the obstinacy and bad temper of his wives, he begged to be allowed to beat the latter himself. they were ordered to the spot where the robbery was committed, and there the native women soon appeared, dreadfully cut and mangled from the beating they had already received. one was a nice looking girl, about fourteen, but an incorrigible thief. peerat was going to hit her a tremendous blow upon the head, which must have laid it open. she stood with her back to her husband, trembling and crying bitterly. the governor caught peerat's arm, picked up a little switch from the ground, and told him to beat her on the shoulders with that, instead of with his _meero_. two slight blows, or rather taps, were given her, in order to know where it was that the governor meant her to be struck, but the poor girl cried so bitterly from fear, that she was pardoned, and so likewise was the other woman, who had already been severely beaten, and had at that moment a little child sitting upon her shoulder, and crying piteously at the sight of its mother's tears. before the crowd dispersed a lecture was given them, and they were warned not to presume upon the governor's clemency in the present instance. in the afternoon, the governor, attended by peerat, his wives, and a crowd of natives, walked up to the gaol to release little dal-bean. the father and the governor alone entered the prison, and when the gaoler was told to hand peerat the whip, the latter took it, and said, "yes, yes, i will strike him; let not another beat him." the door of the cell was then opened, and the little boy was led out: his father ran up to him, caught him in his arms, and began kissing him; having done this, he told him he was going to beat him. the little fellow did not answer a word, but standing as firm and erect as possible, presented his back to him. the father gave him one blow, and it was ended--justice was satisfied. the criminals had surrendered to salutary laws, of which they had but a vague and undefined knowledge; it was their first offence; the nature of the laws they had broken was explained to them; they were warned to be careful in their future conduct, and they were set free. little dal-bean, directly they got outside the gaol, walked up to the governor, took his hand, and squeezed it; then turning to his mother, he just looked at her; she cried, but did not dare to kiss him, or to show any other mark of emotion. the whole party then moved off, after showering many thanks upon the governor, and saying, "what a good fellow, what a good fellow," or, to give a literal translation, "one good man, one good man!" _woga's captivity._--in caledon bay, upon the northern coast of new holland, the natives had behaved very well to the party under captain flinders, which had landed on their shores, until one of those who had been most kindly treated ran away with an axe, and from the thickness of the forest could not be overtaken. it was indeed here, as in other parts of australia, no easy matter to hinder the people from stealing whatever came within their reach; and in order to check this, two men were seized by command of captain flinders, and after a little time one of these was set free, upon his promising by signs to restore the axe, and being made to understand that the other would be kept as a pledge of this engagement being fulfilled. much confusion was noticed among the natives, and preparations were made for firing upon them in case of necessity, but after one of the prisoners had been released, they appeared to have less anxiety, and still no axe was forthcoming. the prisoner, a youth of about fourteen, whose name was woga, was taken in a boat to a place much frequented by the savages, many of whom were seen behind the bushes, endeavouring to entice a native who accompanied the expedition on shore, no doubt intending to seize him by way of retaliation. the restoration of the axe was demanded, and the prisoner seemed to use all his powers to enforce it, but the constant answer was that the thief, ye-han-ge-ree, had been beaten and was gone away; and since no axe was likely to be brought, woga was carried on board the ship, after a great deal of crying, entreating, threatening, and struggling on his part. he there ate heartily, laughed, sometimes cried, and noticed every thing; frequently expressing admiration at what he saw, and especially at the sheep, hogs, and cats. the next morning he was taken ashore, and attempted to make a spring out of the boat, so that it was needful to bind him, notwithstanding his struggles; but after a while he became quiet, and enjoyed his meal of rice and fish, although he was made fast to a tree. a sort of attack was then made by the other natives upon a party of gentlemen who had landed to botanize, and who had been almost surrounded by the savages; but, however, a couple of shots dispersed their enemies, and two of the australians were supposed to have been wounded. since the prisoner was thus a cause of mischief to his fellow-countrymen, and his being carried off would be an act of injustice, as well as injurious to future visitors of that coast, at length captain flinders, who would otherwise willingly have taken woga with him, resolved to release him. on that day, the third of his captivity, woga appeared to be a little melancholy in his bondage, but upon the whole had not fared amiss, having been eating the greater part of the morning and afternoon. he begged hard to be released; promising, with tears in his eyes, to bring back the axe; and after having received some clothing and presents he was suffered to depart. as far as two hundred yards he walked away leisurely; but then, looking first behind him, took to his heels with all his might, leaving his british friends very reasonably doubtful of the fulfilment of his pathetic promises! _bal-loo-der-ry and the convicts._--in , when the town of paramatta, about fifteen miles from sydney, was first settled, the natives soon began to bring in their fish and barter it for bread or salted meat; and this proving a great convenience to the settlers, the traffic was very much encouraged by them. there were, however, some among the convicts so unthinking or so depraved, as wantonly to destroy a canoe belonging to a fine young man, a native, who had left it at a little distance from the settlement, as he thought, out of the way of observation, while he went with some fish he had to sell. his rage at finding his canoe destroyed was very great: he threatened to take his revenge, and in his own way, upon all white people. three of the offenders, however, having been seen and described, were taken and punished, and so were the remainder of them not very long afterwards. the instant effect of this outrage was, that the natives discontinued the bringing up of fish; and bal-loo-der-ry, whose canoe had been destroyed, although he had been taught to believe[ ] that one of the six convicts had been hanged for the offence, meeting a few days afterwards with an european who had strayed to some distance from paramatta, he wounded him in two places with a spear. this act of bal-loo-der-ry was followed by the governor's strictly forbidding him to appear again in any of the settlements; and the other natives, his friends, being alarmed, paramatta was seldom visited by any of them, and all commerce with them was (for the time) at an end. however, in about two months afterwards, before the person wounded by him had recovered, bal-loo-der-ry ventured into the town with some of his friends, and one or two armed parties were sent to seize him. a spear having been thrown, it was said, by him, two muskets were fired, by which one of his companions was wounded in the leg, but bal-loo-der-ry was not taken. on the following day it was ordered that he was to be seized whenever an opportunity should offer, and that any native attempting to throw a spear in his defence, (since they well knew why he was denounced,) was, if possible, to be prevented from escaping. those who knew this savage regretted that it had been necessary to treat him thus harshly, for among his countrymen they had never seen a finer young man. we cannot finish this melancholy history with a more true reflection than that of lieutenant collins: "how much greater claim to the appellation of _savages_ had the wretches (the convicts) who were the cause of this, than the natives who were termed so!" [ ] such are the words of lieutenant collins, from whose account of new south wales the narrative is taken. when will christians learn, in their intercourse with heathens and savages, to abstain from such falsehood and deceitful dealing? _native hospitality and philosophy._--after a most distressing journey in western australia, captain grey and his party fell in with a number of natives, at no great distance from the settlement of perth. so great had been the trials of the explorers that a disinclination to move pervaded the whole party, and their courageous leader had felt much the same desire to sink into the sleep of death, that one feels to take a second slumber in the morning after great fatigue. however they had aroused themselves, and had managed to walk about eight miles at the slow rate of a mile and a quarter an hour, when they came suddenly upon the tracks of the natives. kaiber, their guide, announced that they were wild natives; and, after a second survey, he declared that they had "great bush fury" on them, _i.e._ were subject to wild untutored rage. it was proposed, however, to fire a gun as a signal, for since the distance from perth was thought to be very trifling, it was hoped that these natives would understand its meaning. kaiber threatened to run away, but the coward was, in fact, afraid to move five yards from the party, so, sitting down on his haunches under cover, he kept muttering to himself various terms of australian scorn,--"the swan--the big-head--the stone forehead!"--while the captain advanced towards the strangers, who no sooner heard the gun, and saw him approaching, than they came running to him. presently, kaiber accosted one of them by name, and at the sound of this name, imbat, the strongest feeling was awakened; it was well known to the travellers, and they knew that their lives were safe, and the end of their journey at hand. captain grey was in good favour with most of the natives of those parts, to whom he had frequently made presents of _flour_, and hence his common appellation among them was "wokeley brudder," or oakley's brother, that being the name of a _baker_ residing in perth. the women were soon called up, bark-baskets of frogs opened for the exhausted travellers, _by-yu_ nuts roasted, and, for a special delicacy, the captain obtained a small fresh-water tortoise. he was bidden to sleep while imbat cooked, and though the delay which the willing native's skill in cookery occasioned was a little trying to the patience of hungry men, yet it was not very long before they were all regaling on the welcome feast. in reply to the questions of the englishmen, the natives all told them that they would see perth the next morning, "while the sun was still small;" and upon finding that there was a kangaroo hunter with a hut, and a supply of provisions only seven miles off, imbat and the captain went thither together, to prepare for the comfortable reception of the rest of the party. however, they found the hut deserted, its owner having returned to perth. a fire was lighted, notwithstanding, and the englishman laid down to rest his weary limbs, while the australian again began to cook, and in his chattering mood to philosophize also. "what for do you, who have plenty to eat, and much money, walk so far away in the bush?" was his first inquiry. the captain, fatigued and rather out of humour, made no reply. "you are thin," continued the philosopher, "your shanks are long, your belly is small,--you had plenty to eat at home, why did you not stop there?" "imbat, you comprehend nothing,--you know nothing," was the traveller's brief reply. "i know nothing!" answered the wise man of the woods, "i know how to keep myself fat; the young women look at me and say, imbat is very handsome, he is fat;--they will look at you and say, he not good,--long legs;--what do you know? where is your fat? what for do you know so much, if you can't keep fat? i know how to stay at home, and not walk too far in the bush: where is your fat?" "you know how to talk, long tongue," answered the captain;--"and i know how to make you fat!" rejoined imbat, forgetting his anger, and bursting into a roar of laughter, as he began stuffing his guest with frogs, _by-yu_ nuts, &c. the rest of the party arrived just before nightfall, and, searching the hut, they found a paper of tea, and an old tin pot, in which they prepared the welcome beverage, after which, having had a good supper, they all laid down to sleep; and in the silence of the night, fervent thanks went up from that lonely hut in the wilderness to the maker of all things, whose merciful guidance had again brought them so near "the haven where they would be." _the widow and her child._--during the journey of major mitchell's party, exploring the course of the river lachlan down to its junction with the murray, they had to cross several branches of the former stream, which gave them some trouble from the steepness of their banks, until they at length reached the main channel of the lachlan, which stream, together with all its tributaries, was at that time perfectly dry. the welcome news was then heard that some ponds of water were near, but at the same time it was reported that natives were there; so the party approached cautiously, and having found two pools encamped beside them. the black people had all fled, except one child, about seven or eight years old, quite blind, who sat near a fire, and a poor little girl still younger, who, notwithstanding the strange appearance of the new visitors, and the terror exhibited in the flight of her own people, still lingered about the bushes, and at length took her seat beside the blind boy. a large supply of the _balyan_ root lay near them, and a dog so lean that he was scarcely able to stand, drew his feeble body close up beside the two children, as though desirous of defending them. afterwards an old man came up to the fire, and he directed the travellers to some of the water-holes in their proposed route, but could not be prevailed upon to become their guide. however, he persuaded a widow, with the little girl just mentioned, who might be about four years old, to accompany the party and act as guide. the strangers soon began to learn the value of their new guide, turàndurey; for within a fortnight they met with a number of the natives, approaching in a silent and submissive manner, each having a green bough twined round his waist or in his hand; and a parley was opened with them by means of the widow, as she was sitting on the opposite bank of a river to that on which they made their appearance. some form or ceremony, it seems, always prevents the male natives, when strangers to each other, from speaking at first sight; no such restraint, however, is placed upon their wives or _gins_, as they are called. these, with the privilege of their sex, are ever ready to speak; and the strangers as readily replied to turàndurey; so conversation was thus held across the river. this female guide, who had before scarcely ventured to look up, now stood boldly forward to address the strange tribe; and when her countenance was lighted up, displaying fine teeth, and great earnestness of manner, it was gratifying to the travellers to see what spirit their guide possessed. being invited to swim over the stream, the children of the woods complied but on condition that the wild animals (the sheep and horses) should be driven away,--a stipulation at which the widow and other natives in the british party laughed heartily; nor was their laughter stopped when they watched the awkward attempts of these heroes to show off before the females, while they were unable entirely to conceal their fears of the silly sheep! it was no very long time afterwards that an unfortunate accident happened to the little native child, ballandella, who fell from a cart, and one of the wheels passing over, broke her thigh. on riding up to the spot, major mitchell found the widow, her mother, in great distress, lying in the dust, with her head under the limb of her unfortunate child. the doctor was ordered to set it immediately; but, from its being broken very near the socket, it was found difficult to bandage the limb so as to keep the bone in its place. every possible care was taken of the child, and she bore the pain with admirable patience, though only four years old; while she gave a curious proof of her good sense at so early an age, by calling for "majy" (the major), as soon as she had met with the accident. little ballandella did very well, and was, after about two months' time, fast recovering from her misfortune, when the widow, having been travelling all that time, and being now far distant from her own country, felt inclined to return; and was prepared to make nothing of swimming the broad waters of the murray, the largest known river in new holland, pushing the child before her floating upon a piece of bark, nor of any other difficulties which might oppose her in her journey homewards. no objections were offered to the woman's departure, who appeared extremely attached to her daughter, and half afraid of being deprived of her. indeed, it was a tempting opportunity of trying an experiment of the effect of education upon one of that race; for the little savage, who at first would prefer a snake or lizard to a piece of bread, had become so far civilised at length, as to prefer bread; and it began to cry bitterly on leaving its european friends. however, its absence from them was not to be a long one; for, on the third day, the widow returned again, carrying her child on her back, after the australian fashion. she had seen, she stated, another tribe on the opposite side of the river, and they had inquired very angrily, who made the fires upon her side; after which, receiving no reply, (for she was afraid and had hid herself,) they danced a _corrobory_ in a furious style, during which she and the child crept away, and had passed two nights without fire and in the rain.[ ] the mother and her daughter received a kindly welcome, and were as well treated as before, notwithstanding the petty jealousy of some other natives, who, it was thought, had persuaded turàndurey to go, hoping thus to get a greater share of food for themselves. after this, the widow and ballandella continued with the exploring party during almost the whole of the remainder of their expedition, making themselves serviceable in various ways. sometimes they would give notice of the approach of the major, upon his return from an excursion, long before he had reached the camp; their quick ears seemed sensible of the sound of horses' feet at an astonishing distance, for so only could it be accounted for that the widow and her infant daughter, seated at the fire, were always the first to give notice of the major's approach. sometimes turàndurey would employ herself in a less serious, though not less useful manner; for on such exploring expeditions the amusement of the men is a matter of the first importance. she would exercise her skill in mimicry or imitation, powers which the natives of new holland possess to an amazing degree; and she thus occasionally amused the men by acting the part of their leader, taking angles, drawing from nature, and copying other occupations in which major mitchell was frequently engaged. [ ] this generally appears to be rather a suspicious act;--to dance a _corrobory_ is "a proposal these savage tribes often make, and which the traveller who knows them well will think it better to discourage."--mitchell's _three expeditions_, vol. ii. p. . on the return of the expedition, it was found needful, from a scarcity of provisions, to divide into two parties, one of which was to proceed, under the leader, by forced marches home to sydney, while the other was to remain behind until necessary supplies should be forwarded. the widow was among the party to be left; but on the morning of separation she was marked with white round the eyes,--the australian token of mourning,--and the face of ballandella was whitened also. this poor woman, who had cheerfully carried the child upon her back, when it was offered that both might be carried in the carts, and was as careful and affectionate as any mother could be, had at length determined to entrust to the major the care of her daughter. he was pleased with this proof of confidence, and less unwilling to take the charge from the knowledge of the wretched state of slavery to which the native females are doomed. besides, the poor child had suffered considerably by the accident that befel her while with the party of englishmen, and she seemed to prefer their mode of living so much, that her mother at length despaired of being ever able to instruct her thoroughly in the mysteries of killing and eating snakes, lizards, rats, and similar food. the widow had been long enough with europeans to learn how much more her sex was respected by civilised men than by savages; and it was with feelings of this nature, probably, that she entrusted her child to them, under the immediate care, however, of a native woman, the wife of piper, the guide who had accompanied them through all the journey. a match was subsequently made between turàndurey and king joey, one of the native chiefs, by which the good woman gained a handsome and comfortable settlement for an australian. the child ballandella was a welcome stranger to the major's own children, among whom she remained, conforming most willingly to the habits of domestic life, and showing a very promising aptness of understanding, until she was transferred, at the removal of the family to england, to the care of a friend; and the last mention made of ballandella is, that she was able to read as well as any white child of the same age. _miago._--this last sketch of native character may serve to place in a striking, yet fair light, the perplexing situation of the half-civilised blacks, the strong inducements for them to relapse into barbarism again, and, consequently, the difficulty that stands in the way of their being thoroughly reclaimed. it is impossible to do this better than in the very words of captain grey.[ ] "the officers of the _beagle_ took away with them a native of the name of miago, who remained absent with them for several months. i saw him on the north-west coast, on board the _beagle_, apparently perfectly civilised; he waited at the gun-room mess, was temperate, (never tasting spirits,) attentive, cheerful, and remarkably clean in his person. the next time i saw him was at swan river, where he had been left on the return of the _beagle_. he was then again a savage, almost naked, painted all over, and had been concerned in several murders. several persons here told me,--'you see the taste for a savage life was strong in him, and he took to the bush again directly.' let us pause for a moment and consider. [ ] grey's western australia, vol. ii. p. . "miago, when he was landed, had amongst the white people none who would be truly friends of his;--they would give him scraps from their table, but the very outcasts of the whites would not have treated him as an equal,--they had no sympathy with him,--he could not have married a white woman,--he had no certain means of subsistence open to him,--he never could have been either a husband or a father, if he had lived apart from his own people;--where, amongst the whites, was he to find one who would have filled for him the place of his black mother, whom he is much attached to? what white man would have been his brother? what white woman his sister? he had two courses left open to him,--he could either have renounced all natural ties, and have led a hopeless, joyless life among the whites, ever a servant, ever an inferior being; or he could renounce civilisation, and return to the friends of his childhood, and to the habits of his youth. he chose the latter course, and i think that i should have done the same." [illustration: sydney in its infancy--view from the south.] chapter vii. first years of the colony of new south wales. one of the greatest efforts to which the industry and powers of man can be directed is to change a lonely uncultivated wilderness into an enclosed and fruitful country,--to occupy with civilised human beings and comfortable dwellings those wilds which have hitherto been nearly deserted, or at best but scantily and occasionally inhabited by savage barbarians. the colonisation of new south wales by the english has been one of the most successful of these efforts; and certainly never before did the change effected by industry so rapidly make itself visible in the face of the new country. but, although the settlement of this colony may now be most certainly pronounced to have been a very successful experiment, it was by no means without hazard, and disappointment, and suffering, to those who were first engaged in it. indeed it would appear to be the lot of infant colonies to cope with difficulties known only to first settlers in uncultivated lands; and while the enterprising colonist has to endure and struggle against these early trials, his children or grandchildren, or often the stranger who has made a favourable bargain of his property, are the persons who reap the reward of his toils. it must assuredly be a subject of interest to every inquiring mind to trace the feeble beginnings of an infant colony, accompanying it through all its variations of hope and despondency, of good or ill success, until it is at length conducted to a state of greatness and prosperity quite unexampled, when the shortness of its duration is considered. and since that colony is our own, since britain is, for several reasons, unusually concerned, both morally and politically, in the welfare of new south wales, it cannot but be useful as well as interesting to inquire somewhat concerning the past history, previously to our entering upon the present state, of that settlement. in the year , captain cooke, in his first voyage, had touched upon the eastern coast of new holland, at a bay which, from the number of curious flowers that were there found growing wild, received the name of botany bay. about sixteen years afterwards, when the american war had closed up the great outlet by which the mother country had been accustomed to get rid of the worst of its population, it was resolved to form a colony for this purpose elsewhere. the coast of africa was thought of, but wisely abandoned; and at length botany bay was the spot selected by the english government, which despatched, in , the _sirius_ and the _supply_, with six transports and three store-ships, having on board men and women, convicts, besides marines, with their officers, some of their wives, and the necessary crews for working the ships. provisions for two years were taken out, tools, agricultural implements, and other articles deemed necessary were also furnished, and the little fleet was placed under the command of captain phillip, the future governor of the intended colony. some live stock was obtained at the cape of good hope, and plants and seeds likely to be useful were procured likewise at that place, (then under the dutch government,) and at rio janeiro. in eight months and a week the voyage was, with the divine blessing, completed; and after having sailed leagues, and touched at both the american and african continents, they came to an anchor on january th, , within a few days' sail of the antipodes of their native country, having had, upon the whole, a very healthy and prosperous voyage. botany bay did not offer much that was promising for a settlement, since it was mostly surrounded by very poor land, and water was scarce.[ ] the governor, accordingly, went in person to examine the two neighbouring harbours of port jackson and broken bay, and upon drawing near to the entrance of the former the coast looked as unpromising as elsewhere, and the natives on shore continued shouting, "warra, warra,"--go away, go away. captain cooke, passing by the heads of port jackson, thought there might be found shelter within for a boat but captain phillip was agreeably surprised at finding there one of the finest harbours in the world; and since the goodness of the soil and the supply of water appeared to be sufficient, it was resolved to fix the new settlement in one of the coves of this large and beautiful inlet. the spot chosen was near a run of fresh water, which stole silently through a very thick wood, the stillness of which was then for the first time interrupted by the rude sound of the labourer's axe; and fifty years afterwards so great a change had taken place here, that the lowest price of crown land was then , _l._ an acre, and in eligible situations sometimes a great deal more.[ ] [ ] it happened that the two french ships of discovery under the unfortunate la perouse came into the harbour of botany bay just as the english were finally quitting it. the french stayed there nearly two months, and after they left that harbour they were never again seen by any europeans, both vessels having been lost. [ ] see lang's new south wales, vol. i. p. . the royal commission appointing the governor was read, together with the letters patent establishing courts of justice; and the behaviour of the convicts soon rendered it needful to act upon these, for, within a month of their landing, three of them were tried, found guilty, and severely punished. the ground was begun to be gradually cleared, a sort of farm was prepared to receive the live stock, and a garden for the plants and seeds; and, in obedience to the orders of the government at home, the _supply_, commanded by lieutenant king, was sent to norfolk island, some few days' sail to the northeast of port jackson, for the purpose of forming a colony there in which the flax of new zealand might be cultivated. with respect to the first progress of the colony at sydney, it was very slow, in consequence both of the idleness and ignorance of the great majority of the colonists, to say nothing of their wickedness. in spite of all the efforts of the governor to prevent it, misunderstanding soon began to arise between the convicts and the natives, and it seemed impossible in an infant colony to put a sufficient check upon some of the unruly spirits belonging to the former class, while, at the same time, the thievish temper of the natives began very early to show itself, and to provoke injuries from men possessed of fire-arms. it must be owned, however, that proper regard was not always paid to the rights of the poor savages; and even so late as in the year , a person charged with shooting at a native and wounding him, was tried simply for an assault; whilst another, who had committed a similar offence against a european was tried on the same day for his life![ ] in the beginning of may, not four months after the arrival of the british ships at port jackson, and at a time when death and disease were making sad havoc among the settlers, it was found needful to cut short the life of one very juvenile offender by the hand of justice. james bennett, a youth of only seventeen years of age, was executed for burglary, and died confessing that the love of idleness and bad connexions had been his ruin. soon after this, three convicts were killed, and a fourth dangerously wounded, by the natives; and upon inquiry it was found that two of them had robbed these people of a canoe, an act of injustice which was, no doubt, the cause of their death. the celebration of king george iii.'s birthday, on june the th, gave an opportunity to the evil-disposed to commit several robberies, and two of these afterwards suffered death for their offences, while another, who had gone into the woods, was proclaimed an outlaw. for want of any overseers or police, except those taken from their own class, the convicts were getting beyond all discipline; and so utterly reckless and improvident were some of them, that they would consume their weekly allowance of provisions by the end of the third or fourth day, and trust for their supply during the rest of the week to the chance of being able to steal from others that were more provident.[ ] one of these degraded creatures is stated to have made up his week's allowance of flour (eight pounds) into cakes, which having devoured at one meal, he was soon after taken up, speechless and senseless, and died the following day. among a population like that of which we are treating, while crimes were lamentably common, conviction was comparatively rare. there was so much tenderness to each other's guilt, such an acquaintance with vice and the different degrees of it, that, unless detected in the fact, it was next to impossible to bring an offence home to the transgressors. and with respect to their intercourse with the natives, though the convicts who suffered from them generally contrived to make out themselves to be in the right; yet, even upon their own showing, every accident that happened was occasioned by a breach of positive orders repeatedly given. in new south wales, no less than in every other country, obedience to lawful authority was proved to be the safest and best way, after all; nor could that way be forsaken with impunity. [ ] see barrington's history of new south wales, p. . see, too, another instance at p. . [ ] this conduct was so common, that, when provisions became scarce, the supply was issued _twice_ in the week, on wednesdays and saturdays. amid the mass of moral corruption, which the british ships had thus imported into the coasts of new holland, the only hope of infusing health and purity was from religion. but, unhappily, the age in which that expedition left the english shores, was certainly not a religious age; if there was less _hypocrisy_ then than there now is, certainly there was less _real piety_. in the great towns of the mother country, population and wealth were allowed to make rapid strides, without a single thought being entertained of applying a portion of the increasing wealth of the nation to the spiritual instruction of its increasing population. if there was no room for the poorer classes of society at the parish church, it was thought they might go to the meeting-house; and if there was no room for them there, they might stay at home on the lord's day and be idle; it was doing no worse than many of their betters, in a worldly sense, were constantly in the habit of doing.[ ] while notions and practices of this nature prevailed at home, it was not to be expected that any very extraordinary attention would be paid to the religious instruction of the convicts and other settlers in new south wales. yet since, even then, it would have been thought shocking to have left a large gaol, with prisoners in it, altogether destitute of the offices of religion, so it could not have been expected that the same number of convicts would ever have been cast forth as evil from their native land, and their souls left to perish on the other side of the globe, without a single chance, humanly speaking, of receiving those blessings of forgiveness and grace, which christ died to procure for all men. but, whatever might have been thought before hand, or whatever may have been the immediate cause of such neglect, it positively appears, that, "when the fleet was on the point of sailing, in the year , no clergyman had been thought of," nor was it without a strong appeal to those in authority from one whose conduct in this instance is worthy of all praise, wilberforce, aided by the interest of bishop porteus with sir joseph banks, that the rev. william johnson was appointed chaplain.[ ] from whatever cause this oversight may have arisen, whether it was intentional, or (what is more likely) merely the consequence of forgetfulness and carelessness, it speaks pretty plainly for the religious indifference of the government. however, the colony was, happily, not permitted to be founded without any one present to administer the sacraments and ordinances, and enforce the duties of our holy religion among the first settlers and convicts.[ ] by divine providence, acting through the instrumentality of man, the british nation was spared the sin and shame, which it had well nigh incurred, of casting forth from its own shores a vile mass of uncleanness and corruption, and forgetting at the same time to place amongst it the smallest portion of that good leaven by which alone its evil might be corrected. accordingly, one chaplain[ ] was sent out to officiate among about souls, who were at first dispersed in eleven ships, and more than two-thirds of them were in a state of extreme spiritual need, inasmuch as they had been guilty of gross and flagrant offences. and thus, thanks to the zeal and good feeling which had gained a victory over the supineness of government, the discharge of religious duties on the sunday was never omitted at sydney, divine service being performed in the open air whenever the state of the weather would permit. all seems to have been done by the chaplain which could be effected under circumstances of great discouragement.[ ] when our blessed redeemer sent forth his disciples, he sent them by two and two, and how encouraging, in the midst of an evil world, is the conversation or counsel of a christian friend that is dearer than a brother! but the chaplain of new south wales had no such assistance to fall back upon; he was left alone and single-handed--yet not alone, for christ is ever with his authorised ministers, to fight against the mighty power of evils by which he was surrounded. he visited the sick and the convicts, going from settlement to settlement, and from hut to hut; travelling to the more distant stations, that were afterwards formed, as far as he could reach, and assembling as many as he could for divine service. with what success these efforts were attended we shall be better able to judge hereafter; but one truth must be borne in mind, which is, that, in the very nature of things, evil will make itself more prominent and noticed in the world than good; so that, whilst it may almost appear from the history of the colony, as though there was not one godly man left in it, we shall do well to remember that there may have been, nevertheless, many a one who was profited by the ministry of christ's church among them, many a naaman who had been taught to forsake the evil thing which he once delighted in worshipping, many a knee which had not bowed to baal, and many a mouth which had not kissed his image.[ ] [ ] the blame of these lax and unworthy notions must not fall on the laity alone; many of the clergy in those days deserve to have a full share of it; but while we see and lament the faults of that generation, we must not forget to look after those of our own, and to correct them. [ ] see judge burton on religion and education in new south wales, p. . [ ] certainly some of the means employed for the moral improvement of the convicts were very strange ones. for example, we are told, on one occasion, that some of them were "ordered to _work every sunday_ on the highway as a punishment!" see barrington's history of new south wales, p. . see likewise, p. . [ ] in , a chaplain came out with the new south wales corps; and in , mr. marsden, a second chaplain, arrived in the colony. if any person is desirous of seeing how easily the faults and failings of individuals may be turned into arguments against a church, he has only to refer to ullathorne's reply to burton, chap i. "the dark age." [ ] see the authorities quoted by burton on religion and education in new south wales, p. . according to this author, the chaplain's name was _johnston_, not _johnson_, as collins spells it. [ ] see kings v. and kings xix. . see likewise, in proof of the good conduct of some convicts, collins' account of new south wales, p. . however, it cannot be denied that the greater number of the settlers of every description were but little disposed to listen to the words of eternal truth, although they were ready enough to listen to any falsehood which promised well for their worldly interests. thus, before the first year of the colony had expired, it was pretended and believed that a _gold mine_ had been discovered. the specimens of this which the impostor produced, were manufactured out of a guinea and a brass buckle; and his object in deceiving was, that he might get clothes and other articles in exchange for his promised gold dust, from the people belonging to the store ships. but his cheat was soon discovered, and all that his gold dust finally procured him, was a severe flogging, and before the end of the year he was executed for another offence. yet it would not be far from the truth to state, that the british had indeed discovered a gold mine in sydney, by working which with industry, ability, and perseverance, enormous riches have been obtained. when the story of the mine was invented, the land around port jackson was unproductive, and the hills wild or barren, but in little more than fifty years from that time the imports into the port of sydney amounted in to £ , , , while the amount of goods exported from the same place during that year was valued at £ , , .[ ] where was there ever a gold mine that was known to make a return so profitable as this to those that worked it? [ ] see the australian and new zealand magazine, no. , p. . the great object, and generally the most difficult to be obtained, in forming altogether a new colony, is to make it begin to produce a sufficiency to supply its own necessary wants. but, although this object was kept steadily in view from the very first in new south wales, yet were there many hindrances to be overcome, and much suffering to be endured, before it was finally gained. the land near the new settlement is none of the best for farming operations, and persons at all acquainted with agriculture appear to have been very scarce among the settlers and convicts; besides which, the prevailing idleness was so great, that it seemed almost impossible to make the men exert themselves; and, perhaps, nothing less than the want and privations, which they subsequently endured, could have had this effect. a regular supply of provisions had constantly been issued from the government stores, and the convicts, with that short-sighted imprudence by which the vicious are generally distinguished, had never given themselves the trouble of looking forwards to the necessity of raising a supply of food for themselves. meanwhile, although farming operations were going on but slowly, and not very successfully, the stores were being lessened at a rapid rate, not only by the ordinary issue of provisions, but likewise by rats and pilferers. six soldiers, and an accomplice who turned king's evidence, were discovered, after eight months of impunity, by means of a key which was left by one of them in the lock, upon his being disturbed by the patrol; and these men, having betrayed their trust as sentinels, and carried on a regular system of plunder for the purpose of indulging themselves in vice and drunkenness, were all executed. in april the _sirius_ returned, bringing the first cargo of provisions received by the colony, which was, however, only equal to four months' supply at full rations. but full rations were not to continue much longer in the infant settlement. in november, , very nearly two years after the arrival of the colonists, it was found needful to reduce the allowance to two-thirds of every sort of provisions, spirits alone excepted. no alteration was made in the allowance of the women, who were already upon two-thirds of the full ratio of a man; and it was eagerly and confidently expected that, after having waited so long, it would be but a short period more before an ample supply of all that was necessary would be received from the mother country. in november, which is one of the summer months of the australian calendar, the little harvest of the colony was got in. at rose hill, (or paramatta, as it is now called,) where the best land had been found, upwards of two hundred bushels of wheat, about thirty-five bushels of barley, besides a small quantity of oats and indian corn, were harvested; and the whole of this produce was intended to be kept for seed. at sydney, the spot of cleared ground called the governor's farm had produced about twenty-five bushels of barley. but the evil spirit of thieving was still as rife as ever among the convicts, and the young crops of wheat were the objects of plunder (especially after the reduction of the allowance,) notwithstanding the immense importance of preserving seed sufficient to crop a larger breadth of land for the following year. in the very beginning of the provisions brought from england wholly failed, having just about lasted during the two years for which they had been calculated; and the colonists then became totally dependent upon the slender stock brought for them by the _sirius_ from the cape of good hope. great anxiety began to be felt for an arrival from england, and a flagstaff[ ] was erected on the south head of the entrance to the harbour of port jackson, so that a signal might be there made upon the first appearance of the expected vessel. in hope of this welcome event the eyes of the colonists were often directed thither, and often must their hearts have grown sick from the tedious delay of the hope in which they indulged. certainly, it is a remarkable instance of the hard-heartedness and corruption of man's nature, that, even under these circumstances, with the horrors of famine daily in view, left alone on a remote and desolate coast, and, as it appeared, forsaken by the rest of the world, they did not profit by the lessons thus forcibly brought before them, nor listen with any good effect to the warnings taught them by sorrow and trouble, those great and awakening preachers of righteousness. [ ] the signal-colours were stolen within a year afterwards by some of the natives, who divided them among the canoes, and used them as coverings. during the anxious interval that succeeded, everything that was possible to be done for the public advantage was done by the governor. occasionally, a fair supply of fish had been brought in, and accordingly a boat was employed to fish three times in the week, and the whole quantity that was taken was issued out in addition to the rations, which were equally distributed to every person, no distinction being made in favour of the governor himself, who, when he had a party at government house, always requested his guests to bring their bread with them, for there was none to spare;--in february, , there were not four months' provisions in the colony, even at half allowance. these circumstances required thoughtful and vigorous measures to be promptly taken, and since norfolk island was a more fertile spot, and much better supplied with provisions at that time, it was resolved to send some of the convicts thither, unless the expected supplies from england should arrive before march d, the day fixed for their departure. male and female convicts, with children, were thus sent away, and the colony wore quite a deserted appearance. every effort was made to prevent the destruction of live stock, which was very rapidly taking place, and towards the end of march a yet further reduction was necessary in the allowances, which were then to be given out daily; an alteration at the same time was made in the hours of public labour, and the afternoons of each day were given up to the people to work for themselves in their own gardens. the fish that was caught was also issued out as part of the allowance, but at a more liberal rate,--ten pounds of fish being deemed equal to two and a half pounds of pork. in the midst of this necessity it is gratifying to find that the witness of the church, though, as usual, too little heeded, was yet not silent; "attention to religious duties," _i.e._ to divine worship on sundays, "was never omitted, and service was performed on good friday."[ ] [ ] according to captain tench, who is quoted by the roman catholic, dr. ullathorne, "divine service was performed at sydney only one sunday in the month," and "the rev. mr. johnson was the best farmer in the country." what truth there may be in these insinuations, or in the charge against judge burton of enlarging upon a romish priest's being a convict, while he disguises the same truth when it applied to an english clergyman, must be left to others better acquainted with the facts to determine. see ullathorne's reply to burton, p. . but the early settlers of new south wales were taught by sad experience the truth of that common saying that bids us to "welcome the sorrow that comes alone." it had been arranged that the _sirius_ should return immediately from norfolk island, and then should sail direct for china to procure a supply of provisions immediately. but providence never permitted the _sirius_ again to float upon the quiet waters of sydney cove. the vessel was lost upon a reef at norfolk island, after having landed most of those on board, and the others escaped with their lives, but the ship was totally destroyed. disgraceful to relate, it was set on fire by two convicts who had been allowed to go on board on the second day after the wreck, in the hope of saving the live hogs, but these men got drunk with the liquor they found, and set the ship on fire in two places, nor was it without great difficulty that they were themselves rescued. this sorrowful intelligence was brought by the _supply_,--the only remaining hope of procuring relief for the wants of the colony. after various precautionary measures had been taken, the _supply_ was despatched to batavia, under orders to procure, not only a quantity of provisions, but also to hire a vessel, which should accompany the english ship on its return, and should bring to new south wales a second cargo of necessaries. meanwhile, the allowances were yet further reduced, and the governor, having reserved bushels of wheat for seed, gave up lbs. weight of flour, which was his own private property, for the public use; besides which, the expedients of fishing and shooting wild animals were tried, but with no great success. crime appeared rather to increase than to diminish with the increase of temptation and opportunities; and at this awful period of trial for the whole population, it was judged necessary to execute one criminal. a female convict was at this time robbed of her week's provisions, and she was left to subsist upon the bounty of others, since it was impossible to replace them from the public store; and if it was a cruel offence of _one_ to rob the poor woman, it reflected credit upon _many_, that, under such circumstances, she was preserved from starvation. at length, after six months of indescribable anxiety and privation, the expected signal was made, and a boat was sent off (in very rough weather) to direct the ship how to get safely into the harbour. it was the transport-ship, the _lady juliana_, which had been no less than ten months upon the voyage, and which brought news of the almost total destruction of another ship, the _guardian_, which had been sent out previously, and well supplied with every thing necessary for a rising colony. _the lady juliana_ brought very little addition to the supplies, compared with the additional number of consumers, above female convicts, which she had with her; these had been sent upon the reckoning of the _guardian's_ stores arriving beforehand; and if this had been permitted, probably the colony would never more have experienced want. it was unfortunate, at a time when a cargo of any thing but of convicts would have been serviceable, that scarcely any thing else should arrive. before the end of june, however, another ship laden with provisions arrived, after having very narrowly escaped a wreck off the heads at the entrance of port jackson; and upon the welcome arrival of this supply the immediate scarcity ceased. three other vessels shortly followed, and things were thus for a time restored to their former course; but repeated trials, arising from want of provisions, were afterwards, at intervals, the lot of the colony. in , on the very day when the doors of the provision-store were closed, and the convicts had received their last allowance which remained, the signal for a sail was made; and it was the third day before the two vessels then in sight could be got into the harbour, but their arrival brought comparative abundance to the starving population of , people, who were beginning seriously to reckon up how far their live stock would go towards the supply of their necessities. several other similar seasons of famine have been recorded, and it is curious and instructive to look back upon the day of small things in a country abundant as new south wales at present is in the necessaries, comforts, and even luxuries, of life. the state of health in which many of the convicts reached their place of exile, and the numbers of them which never reached it at all, were deplorable facts, proving too truly that men may be found capable of doing any thing for the hope of profit. a certain sum per head was paid by the government for each convict, and thus the dead became more profitable to the contractors than the living were; for the expenses of the former were less, while the stipulated payments were the same in both cases. out of three ships convicts died on the voyage,[ ] and when they had landed, there were no less than persons in the hospital. neglect like this of the miserable creatures who had broken their country's laws, most justly awakens our feelings of indignation; and these are righteous feelings, but let them not be confined to the _bodily_ neglect to which, in a comparatively few instances at first, the convicts were exposed. let us recollect, with sorrow rather than indignation, how many thousands of these unhappy creatures have, down to the present time, been left to perish, in a spiritual sense, and that, likewise, from motives of profit, for fear of the outcry of want of economy being excited in a wealthy nation, if sufficient means of spiritual instruction were provided for our banished fellow-countrymen! [ ] things are now, happily, better ordered. "there are frequent instances of vessels arriving from england without having had a single death during the voyage" to sydney.--lang's _new south wales_, vol. i. p. . soon after the arrival of the three transports, those of the convicts that were in tolerable health were settled at rose hill, and the town now called paramatta was laid out; and the commencement of a system of free settlers was provided for, although the retired soldiers, those parties for whom it was originally intended, were not usually very persevering or successful in their attempts at farming. in september, , governor phillip received that wound of which mention has been made elsewhere;[ ] and this season the dry weather was so excessive, that the gardens and fields of corn were parched up for want of moisture. five convicts left paramatta in a boat, and got out of the harbour without being discovered, having provisions for a week with them, and purposing to steer for otaheite![ ] a search was made for them, but in vain, and beyond doubt they must have perished miserably. at various times, the convicts, especially some of the irish, set off to the northwards, meaning to travel by the interior of new holland _overland to china_; and many were either starved to death or else killed by the natives, while pursuing this vain hope of escape from thraldom. [ ] see "bennillong," in chap. vi. p. . [ ] another instance of like folly is mentioned by collins, account of new south wales, p. . the next event of importance to the infant colony was the arrival, towards the close of , of what is called the _second_ fleet, consisting of no less than ten ships, and having on board upwards of , convicts, with provisions and other necessaries. these ships came dropping into the harbour at short intervals after each other, and their arrival, together with the needful preparations for the additional numbers brought by them, gave an air of bustle and life to the little town of sydney. various public works and buildings had been carried on, especially some tanks were cut in the rocks to serve as reservoirs in dry seasons, and at paramatta between forty and fifty fresh acres were expected to be got ready for indian corn this year. by his majesty's ship _gorgon_, certain needful instruments and powers for carrying on the government of the colony were sent, and amongst others the public seal of new south wales. two or three of the vessels which had arrived from england, were employed, after discharging their cargoes, in the whale-fishery, and not altogether without success; so early did british enterprise turn itself to that occupation, which has latterly become most profitable in those regions. during this year, the governor for the first time exercised a power which had only recently been given him, and several convicts were, on account of their good behaviour, released from their state of bondage, on condition of their not returning to england before the term of their sentences had expired. various allotments of land were also given to those whose terms had already expired, and who signified their willingness to become settlers in this new country. at the close of the year , nearly four years from the first landing of the british in port jackson, the public live stock consisted of one aged stallion, one mare, two young stallions, two colts, sixteen cows, two calves, one ram, fifty ewes, six lambs, one boar, fourteen sows, and twenty-two pigs. the cultivated ground at paramatta amounted to three hundred acres in maize, forty-four in wheat, six in barley, one in oats, four in vines, eighty-six in garden-ground, and seventeen in cultivation by the soldiers of the new south wales corps. thus humble were the beginnings, even after some time, of that wealth in flocks and herds for which our australian colonies are now so justly celebrated. very little, meanwhile, is recorded of the chaplain, mr. johnson, or his doings, but that little is to his credit. he was, it appears, in the habit of relieving from his own private bounty the convicts who were most in need; and some of them spread abroad a report that this was done from funds raised by subscription in the mother country; and upon the strength of this notion, in the spirit which the poorer classes in england too often exhibit, they chose to claim relief as though it were their _just right_. this false notion was publicly contradicted, and mr. johnson thought it necessary that the convicts should know that it was to his bounty alone that they were indebted for these gifts, and that, consequently, the partakers of them were to be of his own selection. another instance of the kindness of mr. johnson, and of the evil return it met with, has also been recorded, and though it occurred some years afterwards, in , it may be noticed here. it happened that among the convicts there was found one who had been this gentleman's schoolfellow, and the chaplain, feeling compassion for his fallen condition, had taken him into his service, and treated him with the utmost confidence and indulgence. soon afterwards, it was rumoured that this man had taken an impression of the key of the store-room in clay, from which he had procured another key to fit the lock. mr. johnson scarcely credited the story, but at length he consented that a constable should be concealed in the house on a sunday, when all the family, except this person, would be engaged in divine service. the plan succeeded too well. supposing that all was secure, the ungrateful wretch applied his key to the door of the store-room, and began to plunder it of all the articles he chose to take, until the constable, leaving his hiding-place, put an end to the robbery by making the thief his prisoner. the attention of mr. johnson to his ministerial and public duties appears to have continued in a quiet and regular way, but its fruits were by no means so manifest as could have been wished. in he complained to the authorities of the want of attendance at divine service, which, it must be observed, was generally performed in the open air, exposed alike to the wind and rain, or burning sun; and then it was ordered that a certain portion of provisions should be taken off from the allowance of each person who might absent himself from prayers without giving a reasonable excuse. and thus, we may suppose, a better congregation was secured; but, alas! from what a motive were they induced to draw near their god. and how many are there, it is to be feared, in our country parishes in england, whose great inducement to attend their church is the fact that the clergyman generally has certain gifts to distribute: how common a fault, in short, has it been in all ages and in all countries for men to seek christ from no higher motive than that they may "eat of the loaves and be filled!"[ ] in proof of the single voice that was raised in the wilderness of new south wales being not altogether an empty and ineffectual sound, we are told that in , when the female convicts who arrived by the _lady juliana_ attended divine service for the first time, mr. johnson, with much propriety, in his discourse, touched upon their situation so forcibly as to draw tears from many of them, who were not yet hardened enough to be altogether insensible to truth. another instance of very praiseworthy zeal was afforded by the voluntary visit of the chaplain of new south wales in to norfolk island, which small colony had never yet been favoured even with the temporary presence of a minister of the church of christ. [ ] religion, of course, concerns all equally, only the guilty and the wretched seem to be the last persons who can afford to reject its consolations, even in this world. however, the conduct of those in authority was pretty much on a par with that of the convicts, and it was only when one of the earlier governors was told of but five or six persons attending divine service, that "he determined to go to church himself, and stated that he expected his example would be followed by the people." see burton on education and religion in new south wales, p. . but a yet better proof of the chaplain's earnestness was given, after the colony had been settled for six years, in his building a church,--the first that was raised in new holland for the purposes of christian worship. even now, we often may hear and lament the ignorance which chooses to reckon the _clergy_ as the _church_, and which looks upon the efforts recently made in favour of church extension, as lying quite beyond the province of the laity; and this deplorable ignorance was much more common in mr. johnson's days.[ ] accordingly, to the disgrace of the colony and of the government at home, no church was raised during six years, and when at last that object was accomplished, it was by the private purse and the single efforts of an individual,--the chaplain of the colony. the building was in a very humble style, made of wood and thatched, and it is said to have cost mr. johnson only _l._; but all this merely serves to show how easily the good work might have been before done, how inexcusable it was to leave its accomplishment to one individual. a few months before this necessary work was undertaken the colony had been visited by two spanish ships, and it is possible that an observation made by the romish priest belonging to one of these ships may have had some effect towards raising the first church built at sydney. at the time when the spanish ships were in the harbour, the english chaplain performed divine service wherever he could find a shady spot; and the spanish priest observing that, during so many years no church had been built, lifted up his eyes with astonishment, declaring (truly), that, had the place been settled by his nation, a house of god would have been erected before any house for man. how disgraceful to the english nation, how injurious to our reformed church, that an observation like this, coming from the lips of one who belonged to a corrupt and idolatrous church, should be so true, so incapable of contradiction! however, if the remark had any effect in exciting the efforts of the protestant chaplain, and in thus supplying at length a want so palpable as that of a house of god in the colony, it was by no means uttered in vain; and supposing it to be so, this is not a solitary instance of our church and her members having been aroused into activity by the taunts and attacks of those that are opposed to her. [ ] it would appear almost as though some men _will_ not see that churches are not built for clergymen to preach in, and live (or starve) upon the pew-rents, but for laymen to hear god's word and join in his solemn worship. upon the opening of the humble building, which had thus tardily been raised for the purposes of divine worship, and to consecrate which according to the beautiful forms of our english church there was no bishop in the colony, the chaplain preached a suitable sermon, we are informed; but, if it may be judged from the scanty record that is preserved of it, this discourse partook of the cold and worldly spirit of the age in which it was delivered. mr. johnson began well with impressing upon his hearers the necessity of holiness in every place, and then lamented the urgency of public works having prevented the erection of a church sooner. as though a building for the public worship of almighty god were not the most urgent of all public works in every christian community! he next went on to declare, that his _only_ motive in coming forward in the business was that of establishing a place sheltered from bad weather, and from the summer-heats, where public worship might be performed. the uncertainty of a place where they might attend had prevented many from coming, but he hoped that now the attendance would be regular.[ ] surely, the worthy chaplain might have had and avowed a higher motive for building a house of god, than that of keeping men from the wind, and the rain, and the sun; and, undoubtedly, as the inconvenience of the former system was no good excuse for absence from divine service, so neither could the comparative convenience of the new arrangement be at all a proper motive for attendance upon it. [ ] see collins' account of new south wales, pp. - . however, many allowances are to be made for mr. johnson, and it becomes us, while we condemn the faults, to spare the persons, of the men of that and of other past generations; especially when we look at our own age, and see, notwithstanding the improvement that has unquestionably taken place, how many conspicuous faults there are prevailing among us, which those of future generations will justly pity and condemn. it may be well, before the subject of the church raised by mr. johnson is finally quitted, to acquaint the reader with its fate. in , after having stood only five years, it was discovered one evening to be on fire, and, all efforts to save it proving useless, from the combustible nature of the materials, it was consumed in an hour. "this was a great loss," observes the historian of the colony, "for during the working days of the week the building was used as a school, in which from to children were educated, under the immediate inspection of mr. johnson. as this building stood alone, and no person was suffered to remain in it after the school hours, there was not a doubt but the atrocious act was the effect of design, and in consequence of an order enforcing attendance on divine service." the governor, however, with praiseworthy zeal, would not suffer a single sunday to be lost, but ordered a new store-house, which was just finished, to be fitted up for a church. one brief observation may here be added. how powerful a witness do the enemies of christ's church, and of our english branch of it, bear to the usefulness and effect of its doctrine, even in its most helpless and lowest condition, by the ceaseless and unscrupulous pains which they take in trying to silence its testimony! no apology is necessary for detaining the reader so long upon these little details, since if the religious state and progress of an infant colony be not an interesting feature in its history, what can we hope to find in it that is deserving of the attention of a thoughtful and well-regulated mind? but we return now to the temporal affairs of new south wales. the year , which began with reduced rations of provisions, was a time of great suffering and scarcity in the colony, nor was it until the latter part of the year that any relief for the wants of the settlers arrived. meanwhile the mortality that took place was very alarming, and notwithstanding the sickness that prevailed, there was no abatement in wickedness and crime. at one time during this year no less than fifty-three persons were missing, many of whom never returned, having perished, no doubt, miserably in the woods, while seeking for a new settlement, or endeavouring to find their way to china! an execution for theft took place in january, and the unhappy man declared that hunger had tempted him to commit the crime for which he suffered. many instances of profligacy among the convicts occurred, but one stands forth distinguished by especial wickedness. a woman had been trusted to carry to the bakehouse the allowance of flour belonging to two others; and after having run in debt for flour taken up on their account, she mixed a quantity of pounded stone, in the proportion of two-thirds of grit to one of flour, with the meal belonging to the other women.[ ] fortunately, the deceit was found out before the flour was mixed with other meal at the bakehouse, and the culprit was sentenced to wear an iron collar for six months. in april, a convict was killed by a blow from the limb of a tree, which fell on his head as he passed under it, and fractured his skull. he died on the spot, having earned from those who knew him the character of being so great a reprobate, that he was scarcely ever known to speak without an oath, or without calling on his maker to witness the truth of the lie he was about to utter. are these poor creatures, if may be again asked, to be cast out from their own country, and left (as they too often have been,) to their own evil devices and to satan's temptations, without involving the nation that has thus treated them in a load of guilt too fearful to contemplate? [ ] a similar scheme was to have been practised by some irish convict women, who were to have taken their part in a proposed mutiny on board the _marquis cornwallis_ during the passage out, by mixing pulverized glass with the flour of which the seamen made their puddings! see collins, p. . towards the end of the year the harvest was gathered in from the acres of cleared ground, which were sown in the preceding seed-time. the produce was tolerably good, and since no less than acres of land had already been granted to settlers, it was hoped that before very long the colony might cease to be almost entirely dependent for its support upon the precarious supply which it received from ships. the colonists then learned by sad experience what many englishmen in the present day seem unwilling to believe, that _it is one of the worst evils to be dependent upon other countries for daily bread_. in december, the governor, captain phillip, left the colony from ill health, having acted with much prudence and vigour during his administration, and leaving behind him a respectable character; he returned to england, where his services were rewarded by a pension of _l._ a-year, and he retired to bath, at which city he died. his activity in exploring the neighbouring country and discovering its capabilities, his courage and firmness on many very trying occasions, his steady opposition to every proposal of abandoning the settlement, together with his general character, sufficiently entitle his memory to regard and respect from those who are now living in new south wales, and reaping in comparative ease the fruit of that harvest which it cost him and others great pains and many trials to sow. before the first governor of new south wales left that country, he had the satisfaction of seeing its prospects of a future sufficiency of provisions very greatly improved; and a work of charity, the hospital at paramatta, was completed in the month before that in which he sailed. with the year began a new government, for as no successor had been appointed at home to captain phillip, the chief power now came, according to what had been previously provided, into the hands of major grose, of the new south wales corps, who assumed the style of lieutenant-governor. during nearly three years things continued in this state; only major grose left the settlement, and was succeeded by captain paterson; nor was it until that a regular successor to the first governor arrived in the colony. in this period many things occurred which were, no doubt, of the highest interest to the settlers at the time, but few events which deserve our particular notice now. a fire, which destroyed a house worth _l._, and thirty bushels of new wheat;--the alternate scarcity and comparative abundance of provisions;--the arrival or departure of ships from the harbour;--the commission of the first murder in the colony, and other sad accounts of human depravity and its punishment;--the gradual improvement and extension of the colony;--the first sale by auction of a farm of twenty-five acres for the sum of _l._:--these and similar subjects occupy the history of new south wales, not merely during the three years that elapsed between governor phillip's departure and the arrival of his successor, but also during the long period of gradual but increasing improvement which followed the last event. yet, while the improvement of the little colony was evidently steady and increasing, when its affairs are regarded in a temporal point of view, in morals its progress appeared to be directly contrary; and, painful though it be to dwell upon the sins and follies of men, whose bodies have long since passed away to their parent dust, and their souls returned to god who gave them, nevertheless, there are many wholesome lessons of instruction and humiliation to be gathered from the history of human depravity in new south wales. one of the crying sins of the mother country,--a sin now very much confined to the lower classes of society, but fifty years ago equally common among all classes,--is that of _drunkenness_; and it could scarcely be expected that the outcast daughter in australia would be less blamable in this respect than the mother from which she sprang.[ ] accordingly, we find that as soon as it was possible to procure spirits, at however great a sacrifice, they were obtained, and intoxication was indulged in,--if such brutality deserves the name of indulgence,--to an awful extent. whether all that a writer very intimately acquainted with new south wales urges against the officers of the new south wales corps be true or not, so far as their dealings in spirituous liquors are concerned, there can be no question that these mischievous articles became almost entirely the current coin of the settlement, and were the source of worldly gain to a few, while they proved the moral ruin of almost all, in the colony. but, without giving entire credit to all the assertions of dr. lang, who deals very much in hasty notions and exaggerated opinions,[ ] we may sorrowfully acknowledge that, if the convicts in new south wales gave way in a horrible manner to drunkenness and its attendant sins, the upper classes, in general, either set them a bad example, or made a plunder of them by pandering to their favourite vice. the passion for liquor, it is stated by collins,[ ] operated like a mania, there being nothing which the people would not risk to obtain it: and while spirits were to be had, those who did any extra labour refused to be paid in money, or in any other article than spirits, which were then so scarce as to be sold at six shillings a bottle. so eagerly were fermented liquors sought after, and so little was the value of money in a place where neither the comforts nor luxuries of life could be bought, that the purchaser has been often known, in the early days of the colony, to name himself a price for the article he wanted, fixing it as high again as would otherwise have been required of him. when the few boat-builders and shipwrights in the colony had leisure, they employed themselves in building boats for those that would pay them their price, namely, five or six gallons of spirits. it could be no matter of surprise that boats made by workmen so paid should be badly put together, and scarcely seaworthy. [ ] whatever may be the improvement of the middling and upper classes, _nationally speaking_ the passion for strong liquor continues to bear sway in the british islands to a deplorable extent. lord ashley has stated in the house of commons during the present session, , that there is good authority for estimating our annual consumption of spirituous liquors at twenty-five millions sterling! compare the _gross_ amount of the revenues of the english church, about four millions, and those of the _poor_ kirk of scotland, the _plundered_ church of ireland, and the "voluntary" efforts of the hundred and one sects of dissenters, together with those of the romish church:--and what is the result? probably, nearly three times as much is spent in these islands upon spirituous liquors as the whole cost of religious instruction of every kind amounts to! [ ] dr. lang's opinion here is, however, confirmed by judge burton; see p. of his work on education and religion in new south wales. [ ] account of colony of new south wales, p. . but, however commonly the standard of value might be measured by spirituous liquors, yet it is evident that these, being themselves procurable for money, could not altogether supersede the desire of money itself. hence arose those numerous acts of theft and depredation, that improvident thirst after present gain, that total disregard of future consequences by which many of the first inhabitants of the colony were disgraced and ruined. the contagion of evil example forced its way into government house, and the steward of governor hunter became an awful instance of the mischief of bad society. against this he had been often cautioned by his master, but to no purpose, until at length he was discovered abusing the unlimited confidence which had been placed in him, and making use of the governor's name in a most iniquitous manner. at this discovery the wretched victim of evil communication retired to a shrubbery in his master's garden, and shot himself through the head. from the love of money, which no mean authority has pronounced to be "the root of all evil,"[ ] arose likewise that spirit of gambling, which ended in murder on one occasion before the settlement had existed more than six years; and which on many occasions was the manifest cause of misery and ruin to those in whom this evil spirit had taken up its abode. to such excess was the pursuit of gambling carried among the convicts, that some had been known, after losing provisions, money, and all their spare clothing, to have staked and lost the very clothes on their wretched backs, standing in the midst of their associates as degraded, and as careless of their degradation, as the natives of the country which these gamblers disgraced. money was their principal object, for with money they could purchase spirits, or whatever else their passions made them covet, or the colony could furnish. these unhappy men have been seen to play at their favourite games for six, eight, and ten dollars each game; and those who were not expert at these, instead of pence, tossed up for dollars![ ] [ ] tim. vi. . [ ] collins' account of new south wales, pp. , . chapter viii. further progress of the colony to . the month of august, , was marked in the annals of new south wales by the arrival of the second governor of the colony, captain hunter, who continued five years in power, and returned to england in the year , after having seen the colony over which he was placed prospering and thriving enough in worldly matters, though in other more important points it continued poor and naked indeed. it was a great object with the new governor to check and restrain that love of liquor, which he saw working so much mischief among his people; and several private stills were found and destroyed, to the great regret of their owners, who made twice as large a profit from the spirit distilled by them out of wheat, as they would have been able to have gained, had they sold their grain for the purpose of making bread. so common was the abuse of paying wages in liquor,[ ] that it was pretended that the produce of these stills was only to be paid away in labour, whereas it was sold for a means of intoxication to any person who would bring ready money for it. at the commencement of harvest, in the november immediately following the arrival of governor hunter, a regulation was made by that gentleman, which showed that the infant colony was now making rapid strides towards that point of advancement and independence, from which ignorant and designing men are at present labouring to thrust down the mother country. new south wales was, in , just beginning to supply its inhabitants with corn, and governor hunter wisely thought that the increasing abundance of the produce would now bear some little decrease in the high prices hitherto paid for new grain at the public store. england, in , is able to supply its inhabitants with food, (except in scarce years, when corn is let in at prices varying with the degree of scarcity,) and many englishmen unwisely think that this advantage and independence may be safely bartered away--for what?--for _very low prices_, and, their constant companions, _very low wages_, and _very great and universal distress_![ ] [ ] the crops of the first settlers were paid for by the government in spirits, but captain hunter endeavoured to put an end to this practice, for it was not possible that a farmer who should be idle enough to throw away the labour of twelve months, for the purchase of a few gallons of injurious liquors, could expect to thrive, or enjoy those comforts which sobriety and industry can alone procure. [ ] it may not be out of place to quote in support of this opinion the sensible words of an australian writer. "i confess i like to hear of high wages, and of good prices of provisions--of the productions of the country,--for where they prevail for any length of time, the country must be prosperous. paradoxical as it may seem, it is no less true, that the poorest country is always that where provisions are sold at the cheapest rate. to the same purpose is the testimony of sir g. gipps, the present governor of new south wales, appointed by lord melbourne in , who says:--'the total amount of the grain' (imported) 'even at these prices, amounted to the fearful sum of , _l._; but that, it must be remembered, was only the prime cost in the countries where the wheat was grown, and to that must be added the charges for freight, insurance, and commission, probably as much more, so that in two years the colony would expend upwards of half a million of money for foreign bread. _the distress of the colony was owing to these immense importations._"--see speech of governor gipps in council. australian and new zealand magazine, no. iii. p. . see also ross's _van diemen's land almanac and annual_, , p. . another addition to the means, which the country was beginning to possess of maintaining its inhabitants, was made by the regular, though far from rapid, increase of live stock, which, in spite of all obstacles, and notwithstanding great carelessness and ignorance on the part of many of those that kept it, continued to thrive and multiply.[ ] but, besides the cattle to be seen upon the various farms and allotments in the settlement, a considerable herd of wild cattle were found, soon after governor hunter's arrival, on the banks of the nepean river, about thirty miles from sydney, in a district still bearing the name of the cow pastures. these animals were clearly ascertained to have sprung from a few tame cattle which had strayed away from the colony at its first foundation; and the governor, pleased at this discovery, himself paid a visit to the cow pastures, where he found a very fine herd, upwards of forty in number, grazing in a pleasant and rich pasturage. the whole number of them was upwards of sixty, but the governor's party were attacked by a furious bull, which, in self-defence, they were obliged to kill. the country where these animals were seen was remarkably pleasant to the eye; every where was thick and luxuriant grass growing; the trees were thinly scattered, and free from underwood, except in particular spots; in several beautiful flats large ponds were found, covered with ducks and black swans, the margins of which were fringed with beautiful shrubs, and the ground rose from these levels into hills of easy ascent. the advantages of having an increasing number of wild cattle within so short a distance of the settlement were obvious enough, and the government resolved to protect them to the utmost of its power. accordingly, it was ordered that no part of the fertile tract of which these animals were in possession should be granted out to settlers; and at length the herds became too numerous even for the , acres, which the district was supposed to contain. but, in and the two following years, so severe a drought prevailed, that vast numbers of them died; and afterwards the government consented to grant away the land, and the remainder of the herds betook themselves to the mountainous ranges beyond. [ ] about the time of captain hunter's taking the reins of government a cow was sold for _l._, a horse cost _l._, and a cape sheep _l._ _s._ other prices were in proportion; fresh meat was very scarce, and the various attempts to import live stock had been far from successful. still a _beginning_ had been made, and it is astonishing how rapidly rural wealth began to multiply in new south wales, after the difficulties of the first eight or ten years had been overcome. captain hunter was rather fond of exploring the unknown country which extended behind, or to the northward or southward of, the narrow limits of the british colony: and during his administration its boundaries were considerably enlarged, and some valuable discoveries were made. one of the most important of these was a discovery which served to prove the claim of the colony to be called new south wales, from its resemblance to the country whence its name was taken, in one production at least. in , some persons returned from fishing in a bay considerably to the northward of port jackson, and brought with them several large pieces of _coal_, which they said that they had found at some little distance from the beach, lying in quantities on the surface of the ground. this was the first knowledge obtained by the settlers of the value of the productions of the coast at the mouth of the river hunter, and at the place where coals were found so abundantly there now exists a township, furnishing the whole colony with a supply of that useful article, besides having a large trade in lime, which is made from the oyster-shells that are found there in immense quantities. the appropriate name of this township is newcastle. many needful and praiseworthy regulations were made by captain hunter, who endeavoured to enforce attendance on divine service, and the proper observance of the sunday; and who took great pains also to discover and punish those encroachments upon the public stores which had been continually made. the convicts whose time of punishment had expired, but who were unable to get a passage to england, were frequently more troublesome and ill-disposed, being less under authority than the others were. these emancipists, as they were called, would occasionally indeed withdraw from receiving the ration allowed by government; but then it was only in the hope of avoiding labour, and living by pillage. or else these men, together with others not less ill-disposed than themselves, would play every possible trick to obtain their allowance from the public stores, when they were not entitled, or to get more than their allowances, when they had a certain claim. to put a check upon such practices, the governor, in , had a general muster of all descriptions of people in every part of the colony at the same hour, so that it would be no longer possible, as on former occasions, for one person to manage to answer to his name in two different places, and to draw provisions from both stores. very shortly after this general muster, the governor made a journey to the banks of the river hawkesbury, where there is some of the richest land in the colony, but on his return, he had the mortification of seeing a stack of wheat belonging to government burnt, containing bushels, and it was not certain whether this fire was accidental, since the destruction thus caused made room for as many bushels as were destroyed, which must be purchased from the settlers who had wheat to sell. in reading of these atrocious acts--for if _this_ fire was not intentional, _others_ undoubtedly were--the inhabitants of england must not plume themselves upon their superiority to the outcasts of their country in new south wales. unhappily, the word _incendiarism_ has become familiar to english ears, and, ever since the evil spirits of agitation and rebellion have been dallied with, they have made their deeds of darkness visible, from time to time, by the awful midnight fires which they have kindled in the land. but it was not only in checking the outrages of the british inhabitants of new south wales, that the governor was actively employed; the natives were also exceedingly troublesome, especially at the valuable farms on the hawkesbury. vigorous efforts were made to prevent that disorder, and disregard of private property, which seemed so prevailing; and certainly governor hunter appears to have been an active and energetic, but, as might be expected in a colony like that over which he was placed, not altogether a _popular_ ruler. the vices of the lower classes were, in too many instances, found profitable, more or less directly, to those who are termed the upper classes in the settlement; and since both classes became to a fearful degree sensual and covetous, the evil was doubly aggravated by example and contagion. and when we consider, that, at that time, the population of the colony might almost have been divided into those who _drank_ rum, and those who _sold_ it;[ ] when we recollect the covetousness of all classes, the hardened wickedness of many of the convicts, the idleness of the settlers or soldiers, the peculiar character of the natives, and the infant state of the british colony, it must be confessed, that the requisites of every good governor,--a wise head, a stout heart, and a steady hand,--were preeminently needful in the governor of new south wales. [ ] promissory notes were given, payable in rum instead of money.--judge burton _on education and religion in new south wales_, p. , note. the list of crimes, which were continually occurring during the five years of captain hunter's being governor, was a fearful and appalling one; nor can we wonder at the wish expressed by the historian of the early days of the colony, that future annalists may find a pleasanter field to travel in, without having their steps beset every moment with murderers, robbers, and incendiaries. twice during governor hunter's administration was a public gaol purposely destroyed by fire; once the gaol at sydney suffered, although there were twenty prisoners confined there, who being mostly in irons were with difficulty saved; and the second time, the paramatta gaol was destroyed, and one of the prisoners was scorched to death. several of the settlers declined to pay anything towards the building of a new gaol, and it was not long a matter of doubt which article would be most likely to bear a productive tax; so a duty of one shilling per gallon was imposed upon spirits, sixpence on wine, and threepence upon porter or strong beer, to be applied to the above purpose. building gaols is, beyond question, a necessary thing, especially in a colony chiefly formed of convicts: and perhaps a tax upon intoxicating liquors is no bad mode of procuring the means of erecting them, for thus the sober and industrious are not heavily taxed to provide for the support and punishment of the profligate and wicked. nevertheless, if christ's religion be true, there is a surer and better way of checking crime, than by trusting to gaols and police alone; but, unhappily, this more excellent way of reforming the morals of mankind, has, in modern times, found little favour with the great ones of the world.[ ] certainly the power of the gospel and church of christ had no scope allowed it for its blessed effects, when to a population, consisting in of souls, and constantly on the increase, besides being scattered over an immense tract of country, _one clergyman only_ was allowed during seven years to wage, single-handed and alone, the war against evil. there were, indeed, many irish roman catholics among the convicts, and one of these, named harrold, was a romish priest, but his character was too little to be trusted for him to be of any great spiritual advantage even to those of his own communion. [ ] thus writes the bishop of australia in .--"neither can i comprehend or approve the policy which thus leaves multitudes without moral or religious guidance, under every inducement to commit acts of violence and rapine, which are not only the sources of infinite misery to the unhappy perpetrators, and to their wretched victims, but _actually bring_ upon the government itself ten times the pecuniary charge which would be incurred by the erection of as many churches, and providing for the support of as many clergymen, as the necessities of every such district require." in the year , governor hunter left the settlement for england, and was succeeded in his office by captain king, who had been lieutenant-governor of norfolk island, and had conducted with great care and success the establishment of that smaller colony. however, norfolk island was abandoned altogether during the government of captain king and his successor; and it is said this step was taken in compliance with the advice of the former gentleman. it was a saying attributed to him, that "he could not make farmers of pickpockets;"[ ] and whatever truth there might be in this maxim, certainly it appears that the progress of agriculture was unfavourable, and that the colony continued still subject to seasons of scarcity, approaching to famine, and obliged to put up with coarse loaves, which were feelingly called _scrubbing brushes_;[ ] and was always in a state of dependence upon foreign supplies for daily bread. but if there were no _corn laws_, there was abundance of discontent and misery in the colony of new south wales; and during the time of captain king's government, a rebellion broke out among the convicts, who had been induced by some of their number, rebels from ireland, to _strike for their liberty_. the revolt was soon crushed by the military, but not without the loss of life to some of the unhappy men who had been partakers in it. [ ] "more labour would have been performed by one hundred free people from any part of england or scotland, than had at any time been derived from three hundred of these (convicts), with all the attention that could be paid to them."--collins' _account of the colony of new south wales_, p. . [ ] barrington's _history of new south wales_, p. . the six years during which captain king held the office of governor of new south wales, under the crown of great britain and ireland, were rendered remarkable, as has been already stated, by the partial abandonment of the colony of norfolk island; and, it may be added, yet more remarkable by the commencement of another settlement, the first ever attempted in van diemen's land. norfolk island, which is situated about miles from the eastern shore of new holland, was settled almost immediately after the first foundations of sydney had been laid; and although but a speck in the ocean, and without any safe or convenient landing-place, the first-named colony was altogether more flourishing in its early days than the other. the natural fertility of the land, the abundance of food supplied by the birds of providence,[ ] the number of free settlers, and the wise arrangements of lieutenant-governor king, may all be recollected among the reasons of the superior prosperity of norfolk island. however, its career of prosperity was doomed to be but a very short one. partly upon the plea of its having no convenient harbour, and partly because of its very limited extent, it was decided by the home government that it should be abandoned, and this decision was acted upon in and , when the free settlers were compelled to leave the island, which remained unoccupied for about twenty years, and at the end of this time it was made a penal settlement for the punishment of refractory convicts, which it still continues to be,--one of the finest spots upon earth degraded into the abode of the vilest of human beings,--the scum of the outcast population of a great and civilized nation. and, to heighten the horror of the contrast between things natural and things spiritual in norfolk island, there was not, until recently, a single minister of christ's church resident within its bounds; so that where nature's sun was shining most beauteously, and nature's sights and sounds were most lovely and enchanting, there the outcast souls[ ] of a rich and _christian_ population were left to perish, without being able to catch a ray of the sun of righteousness, without a chance (so to speak) of hearing the sound of the gospel of christ: they might there listen in their lonely wretchedness to the rise and fall of the tide of that ocean by which their little island is surrounded, but they were shut out for ever, it would seem, from the voice of the great multitude of the faithful, "as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, hallelujah, for the lord god omnipotent reigneth!" [ ] at a time of great distress, when additional inhabitants had just made good their landing at norfolk island, whilst the ships and provisions sent with them from port jackson were almost entirely lost, these birds of providence, as they were justly called, furnished a supply for the necessities of the people. mount pitt, the highest ground in the island, was observed to be crowded with these birds during the night, for in the day-time they go out to sea in search of food. they burrow in the ground, and the hill was as full of holes as a rabbit-warren; in size they were not bigger than pigeons, but they looked much larger in their feathers. their eggs were well tasted enough, and though the birds themselves had a fishy flavour, hunger made them acceptable. they were easily taken, for when small fires were kindled to attract their notice, they would drop down faster than the people could seize them. for two months together, it is said, that not less than from two to three thousand of these birds were taken every night, so that it was with reason that the starving population of norfolk island called them birds of providence. [ ] a peculiar language prevailed in this horrid place. it is said that a bad man was called a good man, and that one who was ready to perform his duty was generally called a bad man; and so, in other respects, language was adapted to the complete subversion of the human heart there existing. see ullathorne's _evidence before the committee on transportation_, , no. , p. . the relinquishment of the settlement at norfolk island, under governor king's administration, after the money that had been spent upon it, and the success which was attending that expenditure, might well appear to be a hasty and imprudent act; but, undoubtedly, in its consequences it turned out beneficial to great britain. instead of norfolk island, another much larger, and far more important spot, which might otherwise have been occupied by foreigners, was colonized by british subjects; and van diemen's land, from the extent of its present wealth and population, besides its nearer resemblance than other australian colonies to the climate of the mother country, may justly be esteemed one of the most valuable possessions of the british crown. the history of the foundation of this new colony may here be shortly detailed. it was resolved that a fresh settlement, which might be free from the objections brought against norfolk island, should be formed; and, in , port phillip, an extensive harbour on the southern coast of new holland, was the spot chosen for this purpose. but colonel collins, who had the command of the party of colonists, found the eastern side of port phillip very little suited to his object; and without examining its western side, which has been lately very rapidly and successfully settled, the colonel sailed at once along the western coast of van diemen's land, took possession of that extensive island in the name of his britannic majesty, and, after various surveys, decided upon the spot where hobart town now stands, for his headquarters. the little settlement then consisted only of a few gentlemen holding official situations, fifty marines, and four hundred prisoners. the place selected for headquarters was well chosen, being upon the derwent, a beautiful and navigable river, and having a good supply of water. in the same year, , another settlement was formed on the opposite, or northern, side of van diemen's land; it was situated at the mouth of the river tamar, near george town, and was called york town, but it was afterwards abandoned. the usual trials to which newly-planted colonies are exposed, fell also to the lot of that settled by colonel collins in van diemen's land; but its struggles into life were by no means so intense, or so prolonged, as those of its sister colony. at one time when a disappointment occurred in the usual supplies, the hind-quarters of kangaroos were received into his majesty's store, at sixpence per pound, and it is said that in six months no less than , lbs. of this meat were there tendered. after some years of occasional scarcity, during which, once, even kangaroo flesh was sold at one shilling and sixpence the pound, and sea-weed, or any other eatable vegetable, was equally dear, the colony began to take root and to increase, still continuing, however, its original character of a penal settlement--a place of punishment for the convicted felons of new south wales. cattle and live stock rapidly increased, land became more and more cultivated, houses were built, farms enclosed, free emigrants began to arrive, hobart town became a place of some trade and importance, and at last, in , or thereabouts, _only seventeen years_ after the first establishment of the colony, st. david's church, at hobart town, was, we read, "completed and opened."[ ] what attention was paid to the spiritual welfare of the poor creatures in this new penal colony during the long interval that elapsed before the occurrence of that great event, it seems hard to say; but, judging from what we have already seen, we may be quite certain of this, that _no less care_ was taken of them, than had formerly been bestowed upon those of a similar character in norfolk island. [ ] see montgomery martin's new south wales and van diemen's land, p. . while captain king held the government of new south wales, a subject began to attract the notice of the colonial authorities, which afterwards proved to be one of the highest importance, both to the settlement and likewise to the mother country, namely, the introduction and increase of free settlers. according to dr. lang, the first free settlers who emigrated to new south wales arrived there during governor hunter's administration, which began in august, ; but by other writers it is stated that five settlers and their families arrived by the _bellona_, in january , so that these may justly be considered the first free emigrants that removed from europe to australia.[ ] the conditions under which they engaged to settle were, that their passage out should be provided by government, that an assortment of tools and implements should be furnished them, that they should be supplied for two years with provisions, that their lands should be granted free of expense, and that convicts should be assigned for their service, and provided with provisions for two years, and clothing for one. besides these few emigrants, many of the soldiers and officers, and some of the released convicts, had grants of land given to them; but, generally speaking, their agricultural efforts were not very successful, and _military men_ seemed as little capable of becoming good farmers as _pickpockets_ were. yet, as if to show what _might_ have been done by prudence and thrift, in many cases, a few instances of proper carefulness and attendant success are recorded; and one man, to whom, in common with many others, governor phillip had given an ewe for breeding, in , having withstood all temptations to part with this treasure, found himself, in , possessed of a flock of sheep, and in a fair way of becoming a man of property. [ ] compare lang's history of new south wales, vol. i. p. , and collins' account of new south wales, p. and . see also barrington's history of new south wales, p. . but there was an individual, whose name and history are upon record, to whom the claim of a yet earlier settlement, as a free person, must be assigned. his history is instructive, and may be worth repeating, since it is, probably, a specimen of what afterwards occurred in a vast number of instances. philip schoeffer was a german, who had been sent out with the first fleet that ever sailed to new south wales, in the capacity of an agriculturist, and chiefly with a view to the cultivation of tobacco (to supersede that of virginia,) in the proposed settlement. his first grant of land was one hundred and forty acres; but, unhappily, he fell into habits of intemperance, and got rid of it all. afterwards, he obtained another grant of fifty acres, in what now forms a very valuable situation in the town of sydney; but this he was induced to give up to the colonial government for public purposes, about the year , receiving in return twenty gallons of rum, which were then worth _l._ and a grant of the same extent with his former one, but situated at pitt water, one of the inlets of broken bay--a large harbour to the northward of port jackson. schoeffer then married a wife, a scotch woman and a convict, and settled on his farm at pitt water, where he lived many years; but old age, poverty, and intemperance induced him to sell it by piecemeal, and he died at last in the benevolent asylum or colonial poor-house. this short history may serve to show upon what mere accidents the foundation of wealth frequently depends, and especially in a new country; for, if the german could only have kept his farm of fifty acres in sydney for about thirty years longer, he or his successors might actually have sold it for , _l._! after the landing of the few free settlers already mentioned, which took place while captain hunter was governor, the next arrival deserving of notice appears to have been about a dozen families of scotch presbyterians, who established themselves under similar conditions with the first emigrants, and whose place of abode was near portland head, on the banks of the hawkesbury. these men seem to have been a quiet and orderly, as well as a prudent, set of people; and their industry was rewarded by success. the zeal and devotion which were exhibited by them in religious matters were also very praiseworthy, and not less so because, according to captain bligh, it was the only case of the kind he had ever heard of, during his government of the colony. a building for public worship was erected by them,[ ] at a cost of upwards of _l._, and altogether the conduct of these scotch emigrants reflected credit upon the country and religious body to which they belonged. but, while we award to these persons the praise which is their due, we are by no means entitled to place to the account of their being presbyterians the good order and right feeling which they exhibited. scotchmen are proverbially more fond of colonization than englishmen, and hence it naturally occurred that almost the first respectable settlers were scotch farmers; but there is no reason to question,--nay, experience has since proved,--that englishmen of similar character, and placed in the like circumstances, can conduct themselves not less piously and properly, and will not yield to the disciples of john calvin or john knox in their reverence and devotion for a more apostolical church than that of scotland. however, it must be owned with sorrow that these instances of religious feeling and zeal were by no means common among the first settlers; nor is this a subject of surprise, when we recollect that, even now, australia is frequently looked upon as a last refuge for those who can do well nowhere else; and if it be thought so now, much more must this impression have prevailed in the days of its earlier settlers. but, from whatever class, or with whatever failings, they might come, a few fresh settlers continued from year to year to find their way to the shores of new holland; and, in due time, the tide of emigration was destined to set full into that quarter, carrying with it a portion of the population and wealth of the mother country, together with all its luxuries, its arts, its vices, and its virtues. [ ] "the first religious edifice that was ever reared in the great terra australis, by _voluntary_ and _private_ exertion." see lang's narrative of the settlement of the scots' church in new south wales, p. . the doctor, in his presbyterian zeal, had forgotten mr. johnson's church. in august, , captain king resigned his office, and was succeeded in the government of new south wales by captain bligh, also of the royal navy. his name is well known from the history of the mutiny of the crew in the ship _bounty_, which he had formerly commanded; and he was not less unfortunate on shore, in the art of governing his fellow-creatures. with many good qualities and excellent intentions, his manner of ruling men was not either happy or successful. but before we proceed to the great event in colonial history, which brought to a sudden termination the reign of governor bligh, it will be well to notice a remarkable occurrence which happened soon after he came into power. the banks of the river hawkesbury have already been stated to be distinguished for their fertility; and at this time they formed the chief source from which the supply of wheat for the colony was drawn. many acres of land had been cleared there, and the whole district, with smiling farms scattered about upon the rising banks of the beautiful stream, offered one of the most pleasing scenes in the whole settlement. but, within the first year of the government of captain bligh, the farmers on the hawkesbury, and indeed the whole colony, were doomed to undergo a severe trial.[ ] in march , the river had been known to rise suddenly to the enormous height of fifty feet, and the destruction of property which had been then occasioned was very great.[ ] but now, without any considerable rains having fallen upon the eastern side of the blue mountains, between that range and the sea, the river rose, in one place at least, to the enormous height of ninety-three feet, so that buildings, stock, or corn, which were not secured upon rising ground equal in height to that of an ordinary church-tower, must have been overwhelmed and borne away by the flood. it is said that a settler, whose house stood on an eminence at a beautiful bend of the hawkesbury, saw no less than thirty stacks of wheat at one time floating down the stream during a flood, some of them being covered with pigs and poultry, who had thus vainly sought safety from the rising of the waters. the consequences of this unexpected disaster were very calamitous, and before the ensuing harvest could be begun, wheat and indian corn attained an equal value, and were sold at _l._ _s._ or _l._ _s._ per bushel. even eleven years afterwards, when a similar overflow, though not equal to "_the great flood_," occurred, prices were raised enormously, and but for an importation of wheat from van diemen's land, they would have been very little short of those in the year . governor bligh appears to have done all that a governor could do to lessen the distress that prevailed, by ordering a number of the cattle belonging to government to be slaughtered and divided among the sufferers, and by encouraging, to the utmost extent of his power, the cultivation of a large breadth of land in wheat for the ensuing season. by these means, under divine providence, the colony again became able to supply itself with daily bread; a capability of which, like many other blessings, nations scarcely know the value and importance, until they are deprived, or deprive themselves of it.[ ] [ ] one of the vain attempts of the present age is that of entirely preventing the various fluctuations to which, from accidents, bad seasons, &c., the price of bread is subject. it did appear as though a certain average of moderate prices was established in england; but, recently, the system has been again altered, and time must show how it works. certainly the changes in the value of corn in new south wales have formerly been violent enough, supposing the following statement to be correct: "i have nine years been a landholder in this colony, and seven years have cultivated my own farm. in this time i have twice given wheat to my pigs, because i did not know what else to do with it; twice i have known wheat selling at fifteen shillings per bushel, and once at twenty shillings!"--atkinson _on the encouragement of distilling and brewing in new south wales_, p. , ed. . [ ] it is said that the natives foresaw the approach of this calamity, and advised the colonists of it, but their warning was not regarded.--_see barrington's history of new south wales_, p. . [ ] for the particulars here related of the floods of the river hawkesbury, see lang's new south wales, vol. i. pp. - ; and also wentworth's australasia, vol. i. p. and - . the latter writer speaks of wheat and maize being sold at _l._ or _l._ per bushel, but that seems to be a mistake. from whatever cause it might arise,--whether from his opposition to the practice of all the chief persons in the colony making a profit by the sale of spirits,[ ]--or from his dislike of the new south wales corps,--or from his own harsh and tyrannical conduct,--whether, in short, we listen to governor bligh's admirers or enemies, thus much is certain: he was excessively unpopular with a large and powerful party of men in the settlement. without entering into the particulars of the extraordinary treatment to which his majesty's representative in that distant colony was subjected, it may be sufficient to state that, in consequence of the imprisonment of mr. macarthur, an old officer, and a rich and influential settler, great disturbance was excited, which ended in the seizure of the governor's person, and in the occupation of his office and authority by major johnston, the commanding officer of the new south wales corps, who assumed the authority of lieutenant-governor in january, , and issued some proclamations ordering various changes among those in authority. in one of these proclamations a day of thanksgiving is appointed to be kept for the recent transactions; and in the same precious document the rev. henry fulton is suspended from discharging his duty as chaplain to the colony,[ ] because, whatever may have been the faults of his former life,[ ] like most other clergymen of the church of england, on most other occasions, he had at this time stood fast to his loyalty. [ ] still later the following evidence was given upon a trial: "the governor, _clergy_, officers, civil and military, all ranks and descriptions of people bartered spirits when i left sydney,--in may, ." what a handle do such practices give to those that love to "despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities."--_jude_ . [ ] here is an example of the need of a bishop in every colony of any size or importance. what right or power had a usurping military officer to suspend from clerical duties _one_ of the _two_ or _three_ clergymen who were then in the settlement, and that without any crime alleged, any trial, or proof of his misdemeanour? would not a bishop, to stand between the mighty major and the poor chaplain on this occasion, have been a guardian of "civil and religious liberty?" [ ] respecting these, see the assertions in ullathorne's reply to burton, page . the confusion resulting from the seizure of the governor was lamentable indeed in a colony at the best of times so difficult to be managed. all public meetings were forbidden by the party in power, and our old friends, the presbyterians at portland head, whose loyalty to the governor on this occasion was very creditable, had well nigh got into trouble from their meeting together on "the sabbath" for public worship. the object of the intruders was to get rid of captain bligh as well as they could, and accordingly he was sent off to england in command of the _porpoise_, but he remained from march to december, , off the coast of van diemen's land, daily expecting despatches from the home government, until at last, on december th, his intended successor, colonel macquarie, arrived at sydney. this last gentleman was ordered to reinstate captain bligh in the government of the colony for the period of twenty-four hours after his own arrival; but in consequence of bligh's absence from sydney, this was not done. however, major johnston was sent home under strict arrest, and, after various delays, he was tried for mutiny, by a court-martial, in may , and found guilty, but was only sentenced to be cashiered, the court considering the peculiar circumstances of the case sufficient to excuse him from a more severe punishment. captain bligh was, upon his return to england, immediately promoted to the rank of rear-admiral, and employed in active service; while the new south wales corps, which had certainly been long enough in the colony from which it drew its name, was ordered home, and the d regiment sent out to supply its place. the first acts of the new governor, colonel macquarie, were to declare the king's displeasure at the late mutinous proceedings, and to render null and void all the acts of the usurping party, most of whose measures were, however, ratified, their bills upon the treasury honoured, and their grants of land confirmed. the continuance of governor macquarie in power for no less than twelve years, during which peace and tranquillity, undisturbed by any very severe trials, prevailed throughout the settlement, offers but very few of those events which make a figure in the history of the past:-- "famine and plague, the earthquake and the storm, man's angry passions, war's terrific form, the tyrant's threatenings, and the people's rage, these are the crowded woes of history's page." during the period of which we are now treating, vast improvements and extensive discoveries were made in new south wales; and in all these, or similar, arts of peace the governor delighted to bear an active and leading part. availing himself of the means at his disposal, and of the abundance of convict-labour, he made, it is said, no less than miles of good roads during his administration; and, when the nature of the country along which many of these were carried is taken into account, this exploit alone reflects no small credit upon governor macquarie. in the year the colony was enabled, by the courage and perseverance of three gentlemen, to burst those bonds by which it had hitherto been hemmed in within the limits of a narrow strip of land running along the sea-coast. in that year a passage across the blue mountains, hitherto thought insuperable, was at length made good; and the hungry sheep and cattle which had been suffering from the prevailing drought in the settlement, were speedily driven over the hills to enjoy the less withered pastures and green plains of the western country. no sooner was this district thus opened than the governor commenced making a road over the mountains, and in this he succeeded after no very long delay, so that a good communication was formed between sydney and bathurst plains, a distance of more than miles, about of which cross an extent of country the most rugged, mountainous, and barren, that can be imagined. in public buildings governor macquarie showed no less activity than in road-making, although his efforts in the former line have not met with unmingled and universal approbation. certainly, the means by which, what was then called, "the rum hospital" was built were, if they are correctly reported by dr. lang, disgraceful and mischievous in the highest degree.[ ] however, the improvements that were made in the rising towns, especially in the capital, of the colony, may well demand our admiration, even though, as usual in estimating the deeds of fallen man, we must allow that much evil might have been avoided, and that a large proportion of moral mischief was mingled with the improvements. [ ] see lang's new south wales, vol. i. pp. , . the great and distinguishing feature, after all, of colonel macquarie's government appears to have been the studious, and not always judicious, patronage extended by him to the emancipated convicts, whom he generally considered in preference to the free settlers. in consequence of this, the last-named class were thrown into the background, a kind of check was given to emigration, and, what was worst of all, two parties were set on foot within the settlement, altogether opposed to each other;--the _exclusionists_, who were free settlers, refused to associate at all with those that had ever been convicts; and the _emancipists_ considered that a convict, after his time of punishment had expired, was just as good as any other man. it was absurd, indeed, although no more than usually happens, to see men of the _humblest_, if not of the _lowest_, classes in the mother country, suddenly aspiring to become _exclusive_ and _grand_ in the colony. and, on the other hand, it was a pretty sure sign that the convicts, though emancipated from their shackles, were not well rid of their vice or impudence, when they laid claim, even with the aid of a governor's encouragement, and often of great wealth not very scrupulously acquired, to the highest society and most important offices in the settlement. undoubtedly, one great object in a penal colony should be that of gradually purifying the population from all disgraceful or vicious associations; but the hasty attempts of a governor to elevate a class like that of the emancipated convicts were sure to end rather in their depression. time, and a succeeding generation, would have done quietly what colonel macquarie, with all his power, was unable to accomplish. if a governor cannot make pickpockets become good _farmers_, still less likely is he to succeed in endeavouring to make good _magistrates_ of them; but a few years, under judicious management, might easily produce from among their children admirable specimens of both. and nothing can be a greater hindrance to this desirable result than hasty and ill-timed, though well-intended, attempts to force out of their proper sphere those persons, who, if they are really possessed of any sense, would, of all men, desire to keep within it. in reckoning up the principal occurrences during the twelve years in which colonel macquarie ruled the colony, the vast additions which were made to our knowledge of the country are by no means to be overlooked. bathurst plains and the pass to them through the blue mountains were, as we have already seen, discovered; the district of argyle to the south-westward was also made known. two rivers, named after the governor, who was (it is reported) fond of such compliments, the lachlan and the macquarie, were traced westward of the blue mountains, until they were supposed to lose themselves in endless and impassable swamps. northwards, the river hastings, and a large extent of country suitable for flocks and herds, called liverpool plains, were discovered. besides which, three penal settlements for the punishment of unruly convicts were formed, one at emu plains, another at newcastle, near the mouth of the river hunter, and a third at port macquarie, at the mouth of the hastings. but the mention of new penal settlements, in which the punishment and removal of gross offenders were the only objects, while the reformation and salvation of those poor men were never thought of, forcibly recalls us to a subject of which we have for some time lost sight, and which must be once more noticed before the history of the rise and early progress of the colony of new south wales is completed. where was the church all this time? what was the church of england doing in the now flourishing settlement of australia? how far did the state follow at once both its duty and its interest, and employ in the work of reformation in this land of criminals those heavenly instruments, the bible and the church? the reply to all these inquiries is briefly made, but the national sin and shame involved in that short reply it might need volumes to unfold. in , at the end of macquarie's government, there was scattered about in the colony a population of , , of whom , were convicts, and among these were found ministering _seven_ clergymen of the church of england, with no bishop of that church to "set things in order"[ ] nearer than the antipodes,--the very opposite side of the habitable globe! nor, if we look (as unhappily now in every english colony we must look,) beyond the pale of the english church, shall we find either romish superstition or dissenting zeal working any of their usual wonders. though the number of romanists from ireland was very great in the colony, yet they had, in , only _one_ priest residing among them; the presbyterians at portland head had a catechist only, and with respect to the other "denominations" little or nothing is recorded:--the _establishment_ had taken as yet so poor a hold of the soil of new south wales, that the _voluntary system_, which seems often to need its support, as ivy needs the support of a tree, had scarcely been transplanted thither. one observation, before we quit for the present this painful subject, forces itself upon the mind. how utterly unlike are the ways of an all-perfect god from the ways of imperfect fallen men! the king of kings desireth not the death of any sinner, and has wrought miracles upon miracles of mercy to provide for his salvation; whereas man regardeth not the spiritual life of his brethren, earthly monarchs and nations care chiefly about the removal of the offenders out of their sight, and, so long as this is effected, they trouble not themselves about the future lot of those outcasts; money is more willingly parted with for "penal settlements" than for religious instruction, and, although the earthly wants of the criminals are attended to, here humanity stops short;--if their _bodies_ are not cast out to starve and to perish _their souls are_. and who cannot read in holy scripture the just doom of those that have acted, or are acting, thus? "the wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will i require at thine hand."[ ] [ ] see titus i. . [ ] ezekiel iii. . having now brought down the history of the colony of new south wales to a period when it might be said to be firmly established and flourishing, both party feeling and needless details may best be avoided by stopping here, yet it will not form an unsuitable conclusion to this chapter to borrow general macquarie's account of his own doings, although this may be somewhat tinctured with that vanity, which is said to have been his greatest weakness:--"i found the colony," he states, in a report to earl bathurst, "barely emerging from infantile imbecility, and suffering from various privations and disabilities; the country impenetrable beyond miles from sydney; agriculture in a yet languishing state; commerce in its early dawn; revenue unknown; threatened with famine; distracted by faction; the public buildings in a state of dilapidation, and mouldering to decay; the few roads and bridges formerly constructed rendered almost impassable; the population in general depressed by poverty; no public credit nor private confidence; the morals of the great mass of the population in the lowest state of debasement, and religious worship almost totally neglected.[ ] such was the state of new south wales when i took charge of its administration on the st of january, . i left it in february last, reaping incalculable advantages from my extensive and important discoveries in all directions, including the supposed insurmountable barrier called the blue mountains, to the westward of which are situated the fertile plains of bathurst; and _in all respects_ [?] enjoying a state of private comfort and public prosperity, which i trust will at least equal the expectations of his majesty's government. on my taking the command of the colony in the year , the amount of port duties collected did not exceed _l._ per annum, and there were only _l._ or _l._ of a balance in the treasurer's hands; but now (in ,) duties are collected at port jackson to the amount of from , _l._ to , _l._ per annum. in addition to this annual colonial revenue, there are port duties, collected at hobart town and george town in van diemen's land, to the amount of between _l._ and , _l._ per annum."[ ] [ ] how could public religious worship be attended to, when, in the year after governor macquarie's arrival, , a widely-scattered population of , souls, mostly convicts, were left in the charge of _four_ clergymen? and in what respect were things improved at the time of that governor's departure in , when, to a similarly situated population of , souls there were _seven_ clergymen assigned: and the romish church had _one_ priest for new south wales and van diemen's land, while the presbyterians at portland head had their lay-catechist?--see burton _on education and religion in new south wales_, pp. , , , . we may add, by way of illustrating the regard paid to religious worship, even in governor macquarie's time, that oxley's first expedition into the interior was permitted to set out from bathurst on a sunday! see his _journal_, p. . sunday, indeed, seems to have been a favourite starting-day with mr. oxley. see p. . [ ] see governor macquarie's report to earl bathurst, in lang's new south wales, vol. i. _appendix_, no. , p. . [illustration: north view of sydney.] chapter ix. description of the colony of new south wales. the next objects that demand our notice in australia are the british colonies, and their present inhabitants. we have already given our attention to the bush and its wild inhabitants, and the lengthened yet rapid process by which a lonely bay was converted, within the space of little more than forty years, into the flourishing capital of a rising country, has been fully traced. it now remains for the reader to be made acquainted with the natural features, civil divisions, and present state of the british australian colonies,--especially of the oldest and most important of them, called new south wales. were we not already informed of the sad reality of things, we might be tempted to indulge in the daydreams of an explorer, and to join in the bright and hopeful visions of a most pleasing writer, respecting the blessings to arise out of a change of any district from wild bush to civilized colony. but dreams of this nature are little better than vanity, and so our explorer himself tells us at the end of his narrative:--"whilst i stretched my weary length," says captain grey, "along, under the pleasant shade, i saw in fancy busy crowds throng the scenes i was then amongst. i pictured to myself the bleating sheep and lowing herds wandering over these fertile hills; and i chose the very spot on which my house should stand, surrounded with as fine an amphitheatre of verdant land as the eye of man had ever gazed on. the view was backed by the victoria range, whilst seaward you looked out through a romantic glen upon the great indian ocean. i knew that within four or five years civilization would have followed my tracks, and that rude nature and the savage would no longer reign supreme over so fine a territory. mr. smith entered eagerly into my thoughts and views; together we built these castles in the air, trusting we should see happy results spring from our present sufferings and labours,--but within a few weeks from this day he died in the wilds he was exploring."[ ] so little are the brilliant hopes inspired by discovery to be depended upon, nor less uncertain are the expectations which the colonization of a district awakens in our hearts. we cannot but look for good results, yet frequently are we doomed to disappointment. [ ] see grey's travels in western australia, vol. ii. pp. , . for the particulars of mr. smith's death, see page . however, the assurance of the superintendence of divine providence may check all misgivings; and under this wholesome persuasion we may proceed to consider the present condition of that country, which has been recently settled and civilized on the eastern coast of new holland, and which is known by the name of new south wales. it is manifestly impossible, in describing a territory like this, continually increasing and enlarging itself, whilst at the same time much of the country already within its bounds is barren and almost unknown, to maintain that accuracy which we are accustomed to find in descriptions of the counties or districts of our own well-defined and cultivated island. yet, in new south wales, as in great britain, the territory is divided into counties, and occasionally into parishes; and it may serve to give the reader a general idea of the whole country, if each of these former divisions is briefly noticed. the county called cumberland is the most populous and important, although by no means the most fertile, in the whole province. it contains the capital, sydney, and the thriving towns of paramatta, liverpool, windsor, richmond, &c.; so that in population it far exceeds all the others. it is described as an undulating plain, extending from north to south about fifty-three miles, and in breadth from the sea to the base of the blue mountains, upwards of forty miles. the coast is generally bold and rocky, and to the distance of a few miles inland the soil is a poor sandstone, and the country looks bleak and barren; further from the sea its appearance improves, an undulating country extends itself to the width of about ten miles, and this district, where it has been left in its natural state, has the appearance of a noble forest, but, although partially cultivated, the soil still continues poor, for it rests upon a foundation of sandstone. beyond this, the soil becomes better, the trees are less numerous, the herbage more luxuriant, the scenery beautifully varied, the hills are generally more fertile than the valleys, and the farms and cultivated spots are very numerous. in the valleys of the hawkesbury and nepean rivers, the richness of the soil is very great, and the plains are extensive. one great evil, the scarcity of good water, has been very much felt in this country, but it is expected that by boring, the deficiency may be supplied. the coast of cumberland is broken and indented by many creeks or inlets, the most remarkable of which is the noble harbour of port jackson. the county of cumberland is said to contain about , acres, of which not more than one-third is fit for cultivation, and all the good land in it has been long since granted away. unfortunately, that part of the country which is most fertile and preferable, is the very part where scarcely any natural springs are to be found, for, although these are abundant on the coast, and in the sandstone country, beyond that line they are rarely met with; and, since the tides flow to a considerable distance up all the rivers, the water of these is in many parts of the district brackish and unfit for use; besides which, in the summer-time, the smaller streams become dry, or dwindle down into mere chains of ponds, barely sufficient to supply the wants of the cattle. the next county to the southward of cumberland is named camden, which continues the line of coast, extending itself about sixty-six miles in length, and being in breadth, towards the interior, about fifty-five miles. this is a more mountainous district than cumberland, and abounds in lofty timber, but, nevertheless, there are several large tracts of great fertility contained within its limits. the district called illawarra, or the five islands, and that of the cow pastures, are the most remarkable; and being both of them rural districts, they may be briefly described here. illawarra is a very peculiar spot: it is situated immediately between the sea and a range of high hills, so steep that they are almost impassable, while on the remaining side, upon which neither of these two boundaries enclose it, illawarra is bounded by the shoal haven river. the district thus separated by nature from the adjoining country, extends about eighteen miles along the coast, and is said to comprise , acres of most beautiful scenery and very fertile soil. the greater part of illawarra is heavily timbered, and it is said to be not well fitted for the rearing of sheep; but for the plough its deep vegetable soil is admirably suited, and whenever the land begins to feel the effect of repeated cropping, there are means of enriching it at hand in the large heaps of decayed shells to be found upon the sea-shore, which would furnish an excellent manure. the communication between this fertile spot, and the nearest market of any consequence, sydney, is carried on almost entirely by water; and the shoal haven river being navigable for vessels of eighty or ninety tons to the distance of twenty miles up the country, affords the ready means of conveying produce to the capital from many parts of illawarra. besides this navigable river, the southern boundary of the district, there are many smaller streams which issue from the mountains to the north and west, so that the country is well watered, besides which advantage it is said to have a larger share of rain than many other parts of the colony, and to be sheltered from the blighting winds which occasionally have proved destructive to the crops elsewhere. the mountain range by which illawarra is shut in, partakes of the general fertility of the neighbourhood below, and it is supposed, from its eastern aspect, and mild climate, to offer spots favourable for the cultivation of the vine. the timber of the district is very profitable, when felled, and highly ornamental where it is left standing. indeed, the immense fern-trees, shooting up their rough stems, like large oars, to the height of fifteen or twenty feet, and then suddenly putting forth leaves in every direction, four or five feet in length, and exactly like the leaf of the common fern,--the different kinds of palms rising to the height of seventy or one hundred feet, and then forming large canopies of leaves; the cedars, the undergrowth of wild vines, creeping plants and shrubs, in rich abundance; all combine to remind the visitor of a tropical climate, of a more _northern_, or as englishmen would naturally say, more _southern_, climate than that of illawarra. respecting the cow pastures, the rural district, which, next to illawarra, is most deserving of notice in the county of camden, little further need be added to what has been already stated in another place. instead of _cow pastures_, however, nearly the whole of the , acres of good land, which form this district, have now become _sheep farms_; and the soil appears to be very suitable to the growth and perfection of the last-named animal. towards the southern and eastern parts of the cow pastures are numerous streams, which retain water even in dry weather, and which communicate with the nepean river. there do not appear to be any towns deserving of mention in the county of camden, and its population is small and rural: it is crossed in every direction by steep ridges of hills, which almost always tower upwards like the roof of a house, and where the country is mountainous, meet so close as to leave only a narrow ravine betwixt them. the adjoining county, which may be next noticed, is that of argyle, an inland district, not having any front whatever towards the ocean, and lying to the south-westward of the county last described. argyle is about sixty miles in length, with an average breadth of thirty miles; it is a lofty and broken region, and abounds in small rivulets and ponds, containing water during the whole of the year. it is also well furnished with timber, although there are places where the trees are scattered sparingly, and likewise plains of considerable extent, entirely bare of trees. of this description are goulburn's plains, which consist of open downs, affording good pasturage for sheep, and extending twenty miles southward from the township to which they owe their name, their breadth being about ten. there are some remarkable lakes in this county, or near its borders, the two largest of which are called lake george and lake bathurst. some of the old natives say that they can remember when these lakes did not exist; and dead trees are found in the bed of lake george, the whole of which was, in october , dried up, and like a grassy meadow.[ ] [ ] see major mitchell's three expeditions, vol. ii. p. . bathurst is another inland county, lying nearly due west of cumberland, but not adjoining it, which may deserve to be briefly described. in looking over a map of the colony of new south wales, it appears strange that counties, like this, comparatively remote both from the capital and from the sea, should be more known and flourishing than others lying betwixt them and these important objects. but when we reflect upon the nature of the country, and remember that the intervening counties are in a great measure occupied by the blue mountains, with their tremendous ravines and dreary sandstone wastes, all wonder will cease at finding the green pastures and smiling country beyond the mountains occupied, while the rugged tract is suffered to remain for the most part in its natural state, and instead of becoming populous itself, is employed only as a channel of communication between the consuming population on the coast and the producing population of the more fertile interior. bathurst is in length seventy-two miles, and in breadth sixty-eight, in shape somewhat approaching to an irregular square. no part of this district was explored before . it is, in general, a kind of broken table-land, in some places forming extensive and bare downs, as, for instance, bathurst plains, containing , acres. occasional open downs of this kind, and not unlike the south downs in england, extend along the banks of the macquarie for upwards of one hundred miles. bathurst is reckoned one of the most flourishing and desirable situations in the whole colony, and the view of these plains from the high land to the eastward upon the road from sydney is very interesting. the prospect of an extensive district naturally destitute of timber is rare in australia, and therefore it surprises and pleases the eye of the traveller. bathurst plains form, however, by no means a dead level, but consist rather of a series of gentle elevations, with intervening flats of moderate extent; the surrounding forest is rather thin, and patches of it extend irregularly to some distance in the plains, like points of land projecting into a lake. the green pastures and naturally clear state of this district, formed the first inducements to settlers to occupy a spot, which is now distant from sydney by the road miles, about fifty of which cross the wildest and most barren mountains imaginable, and which then had no road at all leading to it, except a difficult mountain-pass only recently discovered; consequently, the district was portioned out chiefly in large grants to persons whose means enabled them to cope with the difficulties of approaching the new settlement; and the society at bathurst plains is esteemed very good; possibly it may be all the better for its distance from the capital. but the best proof of the goodness of the society in this neighbourhood is the attention which the inhabitants are stated to pay to their religious duties, and the harmony in which they live with one another.[ ] the situation of bathurst plains is an exceedingly high one, being more than feet above the level of the sea; and this elevation, rendering the climate much cooler,[ ] produces the same vegetable productions in the parallel latitude of sydney with those that are to be found in van diemen's land, ten degrees farther to the south. bathurst is said to be a very healthy climate; wonders are told of the climate of new south wales generally, and yet we are informed that "the cheeks of the children beyond the mountains have a rosy tint, which is seldom observable in the lowlands of the colony." however, notwithstanding all that may be said, disease and death can find out their victims even in bathurst plains. "guilt's fatal doom in vain would mortals fly, and they that breathe the purest air must die." [ ] see lang's new south wales, vol. ii. p. . [ ] the difference of temperature in twelve hours' journey is stated to be upwards of twenty degrees.--oxley's _journal of his first expedition_, p. . the county of northumberland is one of the most important and valuable in the colony; it is upon the sea-coast, and adjoins cumberland, being bounded on the south by the river hawkesbury, and on the north by the hunter. its length is about miles, and its breadth about : whilst its general appearance is undulating, with high table lands dispersed among the hills, and it is well watered by many streams and rivulets. within this county are two great sources of worldly wealth,--the coal-mines near one of its principal towns, newcastle, and the rich productive farms in the valley of the hunter. the last-named river is navigable for small craft for fifty miles above newcastle, which is a thriving little port, and boats may ascend two of its three principal branches for about and miles, but the navigation is liable to be interrupted by sudden and tremendous floods.[ ] [ ] this account of the navigation of hunter's river is taken from martin's new south wales, p. . dr. lang, vol. ii. p. , gives a somewhat different account of it. coal is to be found in several parts of new south wales, but it is most abundant in the country to the south of hunter's river, which forms part of the county of northumberland. even at some distance from the shore, the black lines of coal may be seen in the cliffs upon the coast, and the coal-pits in this neighbourhood are worked with comparatively little trouble. the australian agricultural company have obtained a grant of these from government: and, as a specimen of the demand for coals some years ago, it may be stated, that, in , there were sold at the pit's mouth , tons for , _l._, being at about the rate of nine shillings per ton. since that time the consumption has been very rapidly increasing, and steam navigation has now become common in the colony;[ ] so that, besides the manufactories of sydney, and the supply of private families, there is an additional demand for fuel created by the steam-boats plying constantly along that remote coast, which only a century ago no european had yet beheld. it is also reported that iron is to be found in new south wales, at no great distance from the coal which is so necessary to smelt it; and, if this be true, with these two principal causes of the wealth of the mother country concealed within its bosom, it is quite possible that, in the course of time, the colony may rival, or outstrip, england itself in worldly prosperity. [ ] it was introduced in . but, however valuable these elements may be, the riches of a country are based upon more important pursuits than mining or manufactures, and in those fundamental sources of wealth,--in agriculture and its kindred occupations,--the county of northumberland stands foremost in new south wales. not even the rich valleys of the hawkesbury and nepean rivers can excel in fruitfulness or in cultivation that of hunter's river. wheat and maize are among the chief productions of this fine agricultural district, of which maitland is the principal town. potatoes, tobacco, cheese, and butter are also forwarded to sydney for sale from this highly favoured spot. were it not for the fearful floods to which, in common with many other rivers in the colony, hunter's river is liable, altogether this valley, and the _arms_, or branch valleys, which lead into it, might well be esteemed among the finest situations in the world; and now that this liability is well known, and may be provided against, the objections arising on this score are greatly diminished. still, a flood rising suddenly forty or sixty feet, and pouring with headlong fury down the peaceful cultivated valleys, is a just object of dread, and a tremendous visitation. we cannot leave the subject of this rich and beautiful district, abounding in inhabitants and rural wealth, without borrowing the words of the bishop of australia in describing its recent increase in those means of grace and hopes of glory, which are, after all, the only true riches. in , when this neighbourhood was visited, "there was but one clergyman in the entire tract of country, extending from the mouth of the hunter to its source, and the great and growing population on its banks would have appeared, (if we could have forgotten the ability of god to raise up children to himself, and to provide them with spiritual food even from the stones of the desert,) to be abandoned to inevitable destitution, both they and their children. but it has pleased the almighty to cause the prospect to brighten, and now (in ) there will be seven clergymen dispensing the pure ordinances and inculcating the salutary principles of the church."[ ] [ ] bishop of australia's letter to the society for the propagation of the gospel, dated september th, . it would be at once wasting time and presuming upon the reader's patience to attempt to describe particularly the remaining counties of new south wales, which are yet but imperfectly known and partially colonized. it will be sufficient to notice the names of the others, which, together with those described above, amount to nineteen in number. besides cumberland, camden, argyle, bathurst, and northumberland, the counties of cook, westmoreland, roxburgh, wellington, phillip, bligh, brisbane, hunter, gloucester, georgiana, king's county, murray, durham, and st. vincent's, may deserve to be mentioned by name, but nothing especially worthy of notice suggests itself respecting them. we may turn, therefore, from the rural districts, and take a rapid view of the principal towns of new south wales. among these the capital, sydney, claims the first place, not less as a matter of right than of courtesy. by a happy concurrence of events, the very first settlement made upon the eastern coast of new holland was formed upon one of its most eligible spots; and accordingly that town, which ranks first in point of time, is likely always to rank first in population, in size, in commerce, and in wealth. the harbour alone would offer advantages enough to secure considerable importance to a town erected upon its shores, and before sydney itself is more minutely described, we may borrow the account of port jackson, which has been given by one well acquainted with its scenery, and himself by birth an australian.[ ] it is navigable for fifteen miles from its entrance, that is, seven miles beyond sydney; and in every part there is good anchorage and complete shelter from all winds. its entrance is three quarters of a mile in width, and afterwards expands into a spacious basin, fifteen miles long, and in some places three broad, with depth of water sufficient for vessels of the largest size. the harbour is said to have coves, and there is room within it for all the shipping in the world. the views from its shores are varied and beautiful. looking towards the sea, the eye catches at a single glance the numerous bays and islets between the town and the headlands at the entrance of the harbour, while the bold hills by which it is bounded end abruptly on the coast. to the north a long chain of lofty rugged cliffs mark the bearing of the shore in that direction, and turning southwards, the spectator beholds, seven or eight miles distant, the spacious harbour of botany bay, beyond which a high bluff range of hills extends along to the south in the direction towards illawarra. westward one vast forest is to be seen, varied only by occasional openings which cultivation and the axe have made on the tops of some of the highest hills. beyond the numberless undulations of this wooded country the blue mountains are espied, towering behind the whole background of the scene, and forming a stately boundary to the prospect. this description of the scenery of port jackson applies to a particular spot very near to sydney, but the views are similar in general character, though infinitely varied in detail, at other places in the neighbourhood; and nearer to the entrance of the harbour a new and still grander object breaks upon the sight:-- "where the mighty pacific with soft-swelling waves a thousand bright regions eternally laves." [ ] see wentworth's australasia, vol. i. pp. - . upon this beautiful and convenient piece of water, which has been just described, is the capital of the principal british colony in australia situated. it is chiefly built upon two hilly necks of land, enclosing between them a small inlet, named sydney cove. the western of these two projections divides sydney cove from another called cockle bay, in both of which the water is deep enough to allow the approach of the largest ships to the very sides of the rocks. on this western neck, (which is occupied with houses down to the water's edge, besides many others which extend into the country behind,) the town forms a little peninsula, being surrounded with water everywhere, except where it adjoins the mainland. on the eastern neck of land the increase of the town has been stopped by the government-house, and its adjoining domains, which occupy the whole of what is called bennillong's point. with the exception of the portion of the shore thus enclosed, the water-side is occupied by wharfs, warehouses, ship-yards, mills, and all the other buildings which mark a naval and commercial town. behind these marts of industry and wealth, the houses rise one above the other, and, by their situation on the slope of the hill, force themselves conspicuously into notice. indeed, the town covers a considerable extent of ground, although land for building is so valuable, that the intervening spaces, formerly used as gardens and pleasure-grounds, will soon disappear and be covered with houses. the public buildings of sydney are said to be neither numerous nor elegant, and certainly no great beauty of architecture can be reasonably expected in a town so recently built, and under such circumstances, as sydney. nevertheless many of the buildings are very large; and mr. wentworth says something (though not much) in their favour, when he states that they would not disgrace the great metropolis of england itself. in one melancholy feature, sydney too nearly resembles london, namely, in the immense number of its public houses, of which, according to mr. montgomery martin, there were about two hundred in the whole town. the population in was , souls. of these, , were returned as belonging to the church of england; , to the romish church, while the rest were returned as presbyterians, dissenters, jews, mahometans, and pagans. sydney is divided into four parishes: st. philip, st. james, st. andrew, and st. lawrence; in the two first of which churches have long existed, and in st. james's church the cathedral service is daily used, with weekly communion; and there is a choir, organ, &c.[ ] in the two last named parishes no churches have existed until very recently, but through the indefatigable exertions of bishop broughton, which have been not unworthily seconded by the rev. w. horatio walsh, and the rev. w. west simpson, congregations have been assembled together, which will, it may be hoped, continue to attend the divine service of the church of england, long after more suitable buildings than those originally used,--_a brewhouse and a threshing-floor_,--shall have been provided for their accommodation. in st. lawrence's parish a regular church was begun in , and is probably completed before this time; and, to the credit of sydney, it may be stated, that no less than _l._ were collected from those present at the meeting in which the erection of the church was resolved upon. in st. andrew's it is proposed to raise the cathedral church of the diocese of australia; and, therefore, it must necessarily be longer before the building can be completed; but the importance of this undertaking cannot be more clearly shown than by the recent statement of bishop broughton, whence it would appear that of inhabitants in st. andrew's parish, belong to the church of their fathers or of their native home--the scriptural and apostolical church of england. but more of these, and similar matters elsewhere. it was a wise and useful arrangement of our forefathers, by which our parishes were made at once ecclesiastical and civil divisions; and since this practice has in some measure been followed out in our colonies, the reader will excuse the brief observations thus suggested by the mention of the civil division of sydney into four parishes. one more remark, and that a painful one, may be added. the expenses of the police establishment, _in the town of sydney alone_, cost the government, in the year , the sum of , _l._, whereas the cost of the ecclesiastical establishment of the church of england, in the same town, (including the stipend of the bishop,) amounted only to , _l._ during that year.[ ] supposing (what is most likely) that the former sum is by no means _too much_, how far _too little_ must the latter be! [ ] there are several other parishes in the _suburbs_ of sydney. a third new church is likewise mentioned, among those in progress at sydney, in the bishop of australia's charge, delivered in . see appendix a, p. . [ ] compare p. of judge burton's work on education and religion in new south wales, with appendix no. of the same work. it may be noticed, that the sum mentioned applies only to stipends and allowances of the clergy, and does not include sums voted for building purposes. sydney has a very good market, which is tolerably well supplied with the necessaries of life; but many of these, as for example, eggs, butter, apples, &c., are very dear at present, compared with the prices usual in the mother country; while tea, coffee, sugar, &c. are cheap in proportion. the most expensive article of living in sydney is house-rent, which appears to be enormously high, so that _l._ a year is considered only a moderate charge for an unfurnished house, with ordinary conveniences; and out of the salary allowed by government to the bishop of australia, upwards of one-seventh part is expended in rent alone. the shops in the capital of new south wales are said to be very good, and the articles well and tastefully arranged; but the social condition of the colony naturally tends to make the persons who keep them very different, and a much less respectable class, speaking generally, than the tradespeople of the mother country. the noble harbour of port jackson, and the position of the capital of the colony, unite in affording every possible encouragement to trade; and the following account given by the sydney herald, last year ( ) is about the most recent statement that has been received of the present condition of that commerce, which is altering and increasing every year. the shipping of sydney now amounts to vessels of the aggregate burden of , tons, of which are steamers, of an aggregate burden of tons. this statement may give some idea of the rapidity with which the ports of the southern world are rising into an almost european importance.[ ] since the year several large banks have been established, and, from the high rate of interest which money has always borne in the colony, it is not surprising that some of these concerns have been very profitable. it is only to be hoped that the spirit of speculation may not be carried out, till it ends, as it too frequently does in the mother country, in fraud and dishonesty. [ ] see the morning herald, july , . there is a well-managed post-office in sydney, and a twopenny post, with delivery twice a day, in the town itself. there is, likewise, a savings' bank,[ ] a mechanics' institute, several large schools or colleges; and, in short, so far as is possible, the usages and institutions of england, whether good or bad, are, in most instances, transferred and copied with amazing accuracy by the inhabitants of new south wales. "nothing surprises a stranger in an english colony more than the pertinacity with which our ways, manners, and dress are spread in these outlandish spots. all smells of home."[ ] accordingly, in complete agreement with the manners of the mother country, though not in harmony with that word of truth which commands christians "with one mind and one mouth to glorify god," (rom. xv. ,) the capital of new south wales is adorned with several buildings for various parties in the _christian world_, as it is called, to meet in public worship. there is a large and handsome roman catholic chapel, "a scotch church, built after the _neat and pleasing style_ (?) adopted by the disciples of john knox; and the methodist chapel, an humble and lowly structure;" and, therefore, according to mr. montgomery martin's opinion, from whom this account is borrowed, all the better fitted to lead men to admire, love, and worship their creator. how different are these modern notions from those of king david, who, although he was blessed with quite as exalted ideas of god's omnipresence as most men have, nevertheless deemed it wrong for himself to "dwell in a house of cedar," while "the ark of god dwelt within curtains," even the costly and beautifully-wrought curtains of the tabernacle. and among the imitations of the customs and habits of home, the love of newspapers, and the number of these published, deserve a passing notice. the state of the public press in england, especially with regard to its sunday publications, is grievous and lamentable enough to justify the assertion, that printing is a bane as well as a blessing to our native country. and as for those persons who are weak enough to talk as though newspapers were the great or sole means of diffusing _truth_ and _knowledge_ among the people, they are not less mistaken than others would be, who might affirm that newspapers were the chief or only means of spreading _lies_ and _ignorance_ among them. but if so much evil is mingled with the good produced by the public press in great britain, how must the case stand with the same mighty agent of benefit or mischief in a colony like that of new south wales? to this question let dr. lang,--himself a newspaper editor in sydney for many years, a man of what are called "liberal principles," and a presbyterian teacher,--furnish a reply. his words are stronger than another person, a stranger to the colony, would like to use, or could be justified in using; and if exceptions against his authority be made in certain quarters, care must be taken by them not to quote that same authority too implicitly on other subjects. dr. lang, in the following passage, speaks disparagingly of one of the great idols of his party; their favourite toast has always been, "the liberty of the press; it is like the air we breathe, if we have it not, we die,"--although it is true they have occasionally forgotten that other parties want "air to breathe," as much as themselves. bearing these things in mind, we may listen with a smile to the character which dr. lang gives of the colonial press in new south wales:--"it has, with only few exceptions, been an instrument of evil instead of good; while, in many instances, it has been a mere receptacle and propagator of downright blackguardism." accordingly, it is reckoned, (too justly, we may fear,) among the _sources of colonial demoralization_ in the very paragraph from which the above statement is borrowed. [ ] this is flourishing, for the deposits are stated in recent accounts from sydney to have increased, between june , , and the same date in , from , _l._ to , _l._, and the number of accounts opened was much greater than in former years. [ ] extract from a private letter. the next town to be noticed is paramatta, which is situated in the same county with sydney, and, indeed, is only eighteen miles by water, and fifteen by land, from the capital; a circumstance that will, most likely, prevent it from ever reaching that size and consequence to which at a greater distance it might have attained. paramatta is built along a small fresh-water stream, which falls into the harbour of port jackson, at the very head of which the town is seated. for the last few miles the harbour is navigable only for boats of twelve or fifteen tons burthen. the town consists chiefly of one long street, and being backed by a ridge of hills, it has a pleasing appearance, especially from the sydney road, where it breaks suddenly upon the view. the population of paramatta is , souls, and the neighbouring country is tolerably well cleared and inhabited. in this place is the country residence of the governor, and here also is the station of one of the three regiments upon duty in the colony. besides these distinctions, paramatta has been chosen to be the site of several establishments of no small utility and interest in new south wales. on the banks of the river is the female orphan school, where the little friendless daughters of the colony are trained up to be members of christ's holy catholic church, and servants of him who is "the father of the fatherless, and the god of the widow, even god in his holy habitation." here, likewise, is another establishment of a very different character, but if less successful in its results, not less beneficial in its intentions. the paramatta factory, or rather penitentiary, is known throughout the settlement, and has been the object of much abuse from portions of the colonial press. its objects are, first, to afford a home and place of refuge to those female convicts that are not yet assigned to masters, or are out of service; and, secondly, to provide an asylum for those who have misconducted themselves, and to give them leisure for reflection and repentance. at paramatta, likewise, is the noble institution called the king's school, which may, with judicious care, prove an invaluable blessing to the rising generation of the colony. there are also in this town barracks, and a hospital; an old gaol, and a new one lately erected, and intended to serve for the whole county of cumberland, with the exception of the town of sydney. besides these public buildings, there is a roman catholic chapel and a wesleyan meeting-house; and two presbyterian congregations assemble themselves in paramatta; nor in this enumeration must the convent lately commenced by a few "sisters of charity" be forgotten. the romanists are rather numerous in this town, and very active. in a private letter received from the neighbourhood of paramatta, after stating the hold possessed by the english church upon the affections of the people, the writer observes, "from the pretensions of the dissenters i cannot affect any the slightest uneasiness. our danger is from rome. i know not what to anticipate in that quarter. their exertions here are gigantic, and really do them credit." why should not the efforts of our purer and more scriptural church be equally strenuous? on the south side of the river is st. john's church, which is quite removed from the principal increase of the population, that having taken place chiefly on the opposite bank. the rev. samuel marsden, who was chaplain in new south wales for more than forty years, bequeathed _l._ and gave a piece of land to promote the erection of a second church here; but for one reason or another, no progress had been made towards this desirable end, and in a letter dated january , bishop broughton stated his resolution to commence the good work, even with the scanty resources at his disposal, hoping that the sight of a building in progress would awaken the liberality, and stir up the hearts of those that were able to contribute. windsor is the next town in the colony of new south wales, which appears to be deserving of a particular notice. it is in the county of cumberland, and stands upon a hill rising about feet above the level of the hawkesbury, upon the banks of which river it is built, and is thus placed beyond the reach of its occasional destructive floods. the town is situated on a point of land lying between the hawkesbury and a stream called south creek, running on the other side; and so numerous are the windings of the former river, that although not more than thirty-five miles in a straight line from the sea, the distance by the hawkesbury is miles. the destructive propensity of the colonists to root up and destroy all trees, whether in the way of agriculture or not, would appear to have worked wonders in this neighbourhood, for among other advantages detailed in an advertisement of property to be sold there, it is stated that fire-wood is so scarce, as to ensure considerable profit from the sale of the wood on the estate. windsor is twenty miles from paramatta, and thirty-six from sydney, and the country around it is very rich and beautiful. in some places the cliffs that overhang the hawkesbury are not less than feet in height; and the picturesque scenery, the numerous vessels and boats upon the stream, which is here navigable for ships of more than tons, the views of the fertile country in the neighbourhood, with its abundant crops of wheat and indian corn, the boundary of the western horizon, formed by the blue mountains, the base of which is about twenty miles distant: all these natural beauties combine to render windsor a very agreeable spot. its population is about , and it has the usual public buildings, a gaol, barracks, hospital, &c.; there is also a church dedicated to st. matthew, which until lately was served together with the chapel at richmond, a little town about five miles distant, by the same clergyman. there are also roman catholic, presbyterian, and wesleyan places of worship. the town of liverpool, situated, like those already mentioned, in the county of cumberland, still remains to be noticed. it is about twenty miles from sydney, and is built upon the banks of george's river, a small navigable stream which empties itself into botany bay, the bleak and unsheltered inlet upon which the proposed colony under captain phillip was to have been settled. liverpool is centrally situated, but the soil around it is poor, and the population not very large; but since it is the intended seat of the proposed college, founded by mr. moore, it will probably hereafter become a place of some consequence. there is nothing particularly to be remarked respecting the buildings of liverpool at present, with the exception of the male orphan asylum, which is a very good institution, the boys being not only educated there, but likewise brought up to different trades, and general habits of industry. the number of the orphan children in this school in , was .[ ] [ ] see burton on education and religion in new south wales, p. . beyond the limits of the county of cumberland there are very few towns which are large enough to merit particular attention, and of these the situations of the two most important and conspicuous, namely bathurst and newcastle, have already been mentioned. instead, therefore, of wearying the reader with an attempt minutely to describe the small towns of new south wales, it will be better to proceed without delay to a description of the other british colonies in australia. [illustration: hobart town.] chapter x. tasmania, and the other australian settlements. van diemen's land, or tasmania, the next important colony, is, as we have before stated, a separate island of considerable size, nearly all the eastern side of which is now inhabited by the english. it was divided into two counties only, which are called cornwall and buckinghamshire, but these being inconveniently large, a fresh division into eleven counties, all of them borrowing the names of some in england or wales, has since taken place.[ ] but without concerning ourselves about these smaller divisions, which it would be impossible to describe exactly and distinctly, it may suffice to state, that the two chief towns in the island are at its opposite extremities, hobart town being at the south, and launceston at the north, and both of these are sea-ports; so that the colony seems naturally to divide itself into two provinces, each of which has one of these towns for its capital, but which are both, nevertheless, similar in their appearance, character, and productions. [ ] according to mr. montgomery martin, (van diemen's land, p. ,) cornwall and buckinghamshire continue to be its only counties, and it is subdivided into nine police districts; but dr. ross's almanac for contains, at p. , the governor's proclamation for the division mentioned above; whilst a third division of the island into the counties of argyle and launceston is followed in the report of the society for the propagation of the gospel, for . the above may serve for a specimen of the obscurity and confusion upon these trifling matters, respecting which accuracy seems almost unattainable. van diemen's land is a more mountainous, and yet, it would seem, a more fruitful country than new south wales. it is, according to the testimony of all who have visited it, a most beautiful and pleasing land; the mountains are tolerably high, but do not run much in ranges, and the views among them are continually broken and cheered by delightful valleys and fertile plains. among these hills, limestone is very commonly discovered, and is now in considerable use; it is supposed, likewise, that coals, and iron ore, will be found abundantly in van diemen's land, but these resources of the colony have not yet been much explored. in the cultivated parts of the country the soil varies greatly; in some places it is a rich black mould, in others, sand or flint is mingled; but its general fertility is proved by the excellent crops which, year after year, it produces. the coast of van diemen's land abounds in bays and fine harbours; nor is this island at all deficient in rivers and streams, imparting life to the landscape, and fruitfulness to the soil. the derwent, upon the banks of which stands hobart town, is a very fine river, without rocks or sand banks, and always safely navigable for ships of considerable size. both sides of this river abound in beautiful and romantic scenery, and although the soil is less productive than in some other parts of the colony, yet the neighbourhood of the capital, and the advantage of water-carriage, combine to make amends for this inferiority. the tamar falls into the sea in bass's strait, quite on the opposite side of the island to the mouth of the derwent; and as hobart town adorns the latter river, so the tamar is enlivened by the trade and commerce of the port of launceston. the navigation of this river for large vessels is not easy, in consequence of a bar and other hindrances. the tamar is formed by the union of two smaller streams, named the north esk, and south esk, and at launceston, the distance from the sea is about forty miles. towards its mouth, the land adjoining this stream is barren and sandy, but within a few miles this kind of soil is succeeded by rich level marshes, and beautiful slopes of moderately wooded and rich pasture country rising up behind these. the other rivers of van diemen's land are either, like the huon, situated in the uncolonized parts, or, like the shannon, the jordan, and the clyde, inconsiderable streams, so as not to merit a more particular description. many of the tasmanian rivers take their rise in lakes, which are usually found in high situations in the central parts of the island, and abound with water-fowl. hobart town, the capital of a very beautiful and lovely island, may boast of a situation of suitable loveliness and beauty. behind it, on the west, stand some gently rising hills, well wooded, beyond which towers mount wellington, feet in height, and having its summit, during more than half the year, covered with snow, but yet seldom obscured with clouds, because of the pureness and clearness of the air. on the other side of the town, to the eastward, is to be seen the noble derwent, which here better deserves to be called an arm of the sea than a river, extending with its winding banks, forming beautiful bays and lakes, or projecting into picturesque points, whilst its waters are enlivened by the boats and shipping of the adjacent port. the water here is salt, and the bay on which hobart town stands affords one of the best anchorages in the world for vessels, in whatever number or of whatever burden they may be. indeed it is said that the derwent surpasses even port jackson, or at least it is doubtful which of the two deserves a preference.[ ] the capital of tasmania is built upon gently rising ground, and though within the present century its site was mere bush-land, it has now some good streets, with large and handsome shops and houses. according to mr. montgomery martin, the average rental of these was _l._ each, but then we must not lose sight of the high value which houses bear in australia. however, at that calculation, the annual value of rent in hobart town in the year , when there were houses, would be , _l._[ ] the public buildings are said to be, some of them, handsome and commodious. court-house, barracks, hospital, orphan-schools, jails, and government house, rank among the principal buildings of hobart town; and in many respects it appears to resemble a provincial sea-port in the mother country. it has some excellent inns, good wharfs and warehouses, and public banks, besides a few considerable manufacturing establishments. a small stream runs nearly through the centre of the town, which, besides turning some mills, affords at certain seasons a good supply of water. but the town is chiefly supplied by means of pipes, which convey water to private houses and likewise to the public pumps, and occasionally, it would appear, some scarcity of this needful article prevails.[ ] the church of st. david's, in the capital of van diemen's land, is a large building, and so it ought to be, since it was until lately the only church for a population (including the suburbs) of , souls.[ ] besides the church, sundry other buildings rear up their heads, here as elsewhere; and if any thing could justify separation and divisions among those for whom their divine master prayed "that they might be one," if in any case it were "lawful to do evil that good may come," then dissent of every kind might find its excuse in a place like hobart town, where so many thousand souls, the majority of them in a very unhealthy state, have been formerly left in the charge of one pastor. but instead of praying the lord of the vineyard for more labourers, and endeavouring themselves to furnish the means of supplying these, men have rushed, self-sent, or sent only by others having no more authority than themselves, into the field of pastoral labour. and while we lament the confusion that has ensued, while we rejoice in whatever good may have resulted from unauthorized preachers, we members of the church of england are compelled by truth to acknowledge, that, if other men have been led astray by their eagerness and ignorance, we have been not less culpably misled by our slothfulness and apathy. accordingly the marks of our needless divisions are every where manifest; and like the noxious weeds which sometimes hang about the roots of a noble tree, so are these transplanted together with our best institutions into our colonies. in the chief town of tasmania are to be found separate places of worship for roman catholics, presbyterians, wesleyans, and independents. [ ] see wentworth's australasia, vol. i. p. . [ ] see mr. m. martin's van diemen's land, p. . [ ] the following specimen of the evil art of stirring up the discontent of those that are suffering under the dispensations of providence, is taken from an old newspaper, published in hobart town in . it may be stated, that in the very same paper we are informed that the drought had recently been so great that scarcely a cabbage, or any other vegetable but potato, was to be obtained in the town. of course water was scarce, and precautions had been taken by the governor to preserve some at a place whence the shipping were supplied; but this careful conduct of their ruler is thus held up to the abhorrence of the people. "why," it is asked, "do not the people drink the ditchwater and be poisoned quietly; it is quite enough that their betters should enjoy such a luxury as pure water." and how often in england do we see this sort of trash printed by those _dealers in knowledge_, the newspaper-writers, who sometimes argue as though all the credit of prosperous occurrences belonged to the _people_ of a country, and all the disgrace and responsibility of misfortunes and trials were to be put off upon its _rulers_! how often are we reminded of the israelites murmuring against moses on account of the miseries of that wilderness in which their own sins condemned them to wander! [ ] from a letter dated march , , and written by the late lamented archdeacon hutchins, it would appear that two new churches, st. giles's and trinity, are likely to be erected in hobart town. see report of the society for the propagation of the gospel, for , p. . with respect to launceston, which continues still to be the principal town on the northern side of van diemen's land, there is not much to be related. it stands at the junction of the north and south esk, and consequently at the head of the navigation of the tamar, which is formed by these two streams. the town is pleasantly situated at the foot of a hill upon a small plain of about acres of land. there are a few good houses in launceston, but its improvement has not kept pace with that of hobart town; nor is it ever likely to increase very greatly, since a government establishment has been formed at george town, a place about thirty miles lower down, and consequently much nearer to port dalrymple at the entrance of the tamar, and more convenient in its access for large ships. george town is well situated for every purpose of trade, but for agriculture it offers no advantages, the soil in the neighbourhood being very poor, and accordingly most of the settlers prefer remaining at launceston. the population of the latter place may be nearly , but no return of this has been met with apart from the population of the district to which the town gives its name. launceston has a chaplain and a church, of which no particular account is given. there is also a presbyterian teacher resident in the town. at longford, near launceston, may be found an example of "patient continuance in well-doing," which deserves to be recorded for the encouragement of others. about the year the first clergyman stationed there, the rev. r. p. davis, began with a congregation of five, which appeared for some time stationary. a church had been built which it was thought would never be filled; but in eight years afterwards, the walls could not contain those who were anxious to hear the word of god in them. the grain of mustard-seed had literally grown into a spreading tree; the congregation had multiplied a hundredfold, and a large church was about to be built, to which the inhabitants had contributed _l._[ ] other small places might be mentioned, as elizabeth town, perth, brighton, &c., which are very pleasant and thriving little settlements; and the penal settlements of port macquarie and on tasman's peninsula might be described. port arthur, one of these, is on the last-named peninsula, a sterile spot of about , acres, surrounded by sea, except where a narrow neck of land connects it with the main island; and this isthmus is guarded, night and day, by soldiers, and by a line of fierce dogs. nothing particularly deserving of further notice presents itself, and therefore we may conclude our brief sketch of van diemen's land, wishing it and all the other british colonies in australia a progress no less rapid in religion and morals, than their recent progress in commerce, agriculture, riches, and luxuries has been. what condition of a country can be more truly deplorable than that which in holy scripture is so powerfully set forth, when the boast, "i am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing," is heard proceeding from a land which in the sight of god is "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked?"[ ] [ ] bishop of australia's letter to the society for the propagation of the gospel, dated may , . [ ] see rev. iii. . the australian colonies may be said to form a family group of british origin; and although the two elder sisters are undoubtedly the most advanced and interesting, yet some of the younger branches of the same family may justly deserve to be noticed. we may begin with the very recent colony called port phillip, which lies between new south wales and van diemen's land, and which, as we have already seen, had well nigh taken the place of the latter country in the honours of early colonization. the country in the neighbourhood of the inlet named port phillip is in many parts exceedingly rich and fine; the scenery is varied by hills, woods, and water; and besides much excellent pasture and sheep walks, there are thousands of acres ready for the plough, and capable of growing any european grain. the situation of the principal town here, called melbourne, is on the yarra yarra river, just where its stream flows over a fall and mingles with the salt water from port phillip, from the head of which bay melbourne is distant about six miles by the course of the river, but across the land not more than one and a half. the vessels generally lie at hobson's bay, distant by land four or five miles, by water ten or twelve. there is a bar at the entrance of the river which prevents large ships from coming up close to melbourne. the town appears to be rapidly increasing; the commerce of port phillip is yearly extending; its central position, the goodness of much of the surrounding soil, and the fact of its being less encumbered than is usually the case with wood, all these circumstances unite in rendering this outpost, as we may term it, of new south wales, an important and interesting spot. respecting its prospects of religious improvement and pastoral care, it is gratifying to be able to quote the following statement from a letter of the bishop of australia, of whose unwieldy diocese port phillip forms a part. "at melbourne the zeal of the inhabitants has led them to undertake the erection of a church, the estimated cost of which is nearly _l._ although the certain and rapid increase of the town be such as will, at no distant period, call for a church of that importance, i greatly fear that resources may be wanting for its immediate erection." meanwhile the bishop expresses his anxiety that temporary accommodation, at the least, should be provided for the great numbers collected at melbourne, who are desirous of attending the church. "it is evident," continues he, "that within a short interval there will be in the colony few stations, with the exception, perhaps, of sydney itself, which will demand more assiduous care and attention on behalf of its spiritual interests, than the town whose streets extend over a spot where, not more than three years ago, the yarra yarra flowed through an almost uninterrupted solitude."[ ] the population of melbourne is stated in a recent periodical to be , while that of the whole settlement of port phillip is , . by the same authority the numbers of the members of the church of england in this english colony are said to be ; that of the presbyterians, ; of the wesleyan methodists, ; of other dissenters, ; of roman catholics, ; of jews, ; mahommedans and pagans, . the mention of jews, who are to be met with in almost all these remote colonies of the southern ocean, can scarcely fail to recall to mind god's threatenings to his chosen people (see deut. xxviii. ). we shall conclude this notice of port phillip with mentioning two important items in the estimates of its expenditure for :--police and jails, , _l._ _s._; clergy and schools, _l._;[ ] and, as a commentary upon these disproportionate estimates, which are by no means peculiar to port phillip, the words of sir george arthur may be added:--"penitentiaries, treadwheels, flogging, chain-gangs, and penal settlements," says the late governor of tasmania, "will all prove ineffectual either to prevent or to punish crime, _without religious and moral instruction_." [ ] see bishop of australia's letter, dated june , in the report of the society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts, for , pp. - . [ ] for the particulars here stated see the australian and new zealand magazine, no. , p. , and no. , pp. , . the next of the infant colonies of great britain in new holland, which offers itself to our attention, as the eye ranges over the map of that huge island, is the very recently formed settlement of southern australia. this is situated upon the southern coast likewise, and consists of a large block of country, the inland parts of which have not yet been explored, forming three sides of a square, with the fourth side broken and jagged by the inclination and indentations of the coast, which are here very considerable. the area of south australia thus marked out is supposed to be about , square miles, containing upwards of , , of acres; that is to say, it is double the size of the three british kingdoms, and not much less than that of france.[ ] the mode of colonizing this extensive tract of country is proposed to be upon different principles from those elsewhere followed in australia. no transported convicts are ever to be sent there. no free grants of land are to be made, but land can become private property by purchase alone, and the whole of the purchase-money is proposed to be spent in the encouragement of emigration. the emigrants to be conveyed by means of this fund, without expense to the colony, were to be of both sexes in equal numbers, and the preference is to be given to young married persons not having children. the prospect of having a representative assembly was held out to the colony, but the population was to exceed , before it could be lawful for the crown to grant this. [ ] see report of committee on south australia, p. . evidence of t. f. elliot, esq. answer . from the same source, the report of this parliamentary committee in , much of the information respecting southern australia is derived. to attempt to state accurately what the soil and capabilities of so vast an extent of country may be, would evidently be to attempt an impossibility. of that small part of it which is already occupied, much is barren, hilly land, especially upon the coast. nevertheless, it would appear that south australia has, so far as we can at present judge, its full proportion of good and available soil, both for the purposes of farming and for pasture.[ ] the situation of that part of the colony, where the principal settlements have been commenced, is very well chosen, for it lies upon the gulf of st. vincent, a very deep inlet of the sea, and is well backed with a range of hills to the eastward, beyond which the country yet unexplored extends to the banks of the river murray; so that, in fact, the murray and the gulf of st. vincent, form natural boundaries to those settlements which are already begun, and within these limits it is said that there are the means of supporting comfortably from one hundred to two hundred thousand inhabitants. this statement agrees with captain sturt's report of the existence of several millions of acres of very beautiful and fertile land in the same district. the climate of south australia is healthy, though very warm;[ ] and the usual disorders of australia, complaints of the eye and relaxation of the bowels, were the ailments least uncommon among the new settlers. in march , the population of the colony was estimated at about , , and the amount of land under tillage about acres. but since that time there has been a considerable increase in both items. the quantity of provisions in proportion to the inhabitants was considerably greater than in england. a small commerce is springing up, and slate, which abounds in south australia, and oil, the produce of the adjacent seas, together with wool from the flocks fed upon the neighbouring hills, begin to form materials of traffic.[ ] [ ] in these matters it is impossible to get at truth. each man judges upon certain data, but though the conclusion of each may be correct, yet because the data were partial and imperfect, so likewise will the conclusions be. mr. mann, who was examined by the committee upon south australia, gives it as his opinion that about four-fifths of the land in that colony were bad. however, he had never been more than three weeks in it nor above fourteen miles from its chief town, so his judgment was formed principally upon hearsay. others, probably, have gone into the contrary extreme of praising the soil too highly, and truth may, as usual, lie between the two extremes. [ ] it is noticed as a matter of surprise, that on august th, , mount lofty, a hill feet in height, was covered with snow, and that the small river, called the torrens, had been partly frozen. [ ] during the first six months of , seventy vessels, comprising a burden of , tons, arrived at port adelaide. see australian and new zealand magazine, no. , p. . the capital of the province of south australia bears the honoured name of adelaide, and is placed upon the eastern side of the gulf of st. vincent. the country around it is hilly and well timbered, but not too thickly encumbered with wood, and the soil is generally good, with abundance of water. the british settlers removed to this spot from kangaroo island, which is at the entrance of gulf st. vincent, but which they found less desirable for a colony from the difficulty and expense of clearing away the timber there. adelaide is supposed to be well and centrally placed for the capital of a province, and it now has a good port,[ ] to which vessels of four or five hundred tons may come and discharge their cargoes. [ ] here again reports differ. see mr. t. driver's evidence before the committee on south australia, p. , answer, , and _following ones_. the town stands on gently rising banks, between which flows a pretty stream, named the torrens, and commands a view of an extensive plain, reaching down to the sea, over which the fresh breezes generally blow from the south-west. behind adelaide is a fine wooded country, and six miles distant is a range of hills, with the wooded summit of mount lofty forming their highest point. the population of the capital of south australia and its immediate neighbourhood, is supposed to be about eight thousand. the town has not yet many buildings or establishments of any importance, but there is a hospital, and also a savings' bank, in which last, during six months of , the deposits had increased from _l._ _s._ _d._ to _l._ _s._ _d._ it had _four_ newspapers and _one_ colonial chaplain in , and the estimates for that year contained the following items:--police, _l._ _s._ _d._; jail, _l._ _s._; colonial chaplain, _l._ but we must do the colony of south australia the justice to state that this is not the whole sum which is there spent on religious instruction. the voluntary system, as it is called, has been brought into action there, and hitherto, it would appear, successfully enough, so far as pounds, shillings, and pence are concerned, if it be true that in four years,--the four first years of the colony,--upwards of , _l._ had been voluntarily contributed for religious and educational purposes, and "the clergy," (as all teachers are now denominated,) supported at an annual charge of _l._ but, of course, the voluntary principle, as its name implies, is a little apt to be _wilful_; and, accordingly, in adelaide alone, with a population of eight thousand souls, it is stated that there are ten or twelve public "places of worship," and a corresponding number of "zealous, highly-educated, and efficient clergymen." every settler apportions his mite to paul, to apollos or to cephas, according as it seems right in his own eyes; and occasionally it may happen, when any little offence is taken, that the popular saying is actually realized, and peter is robbed that paul may be paid. and to some persons, who cannot, one would think, have read their bible with much attention, this system appears actually to be the very height of perfection. the following brief quotation from a letter of the congregational teacher at adelaide is said to be "most satisfactory:"-- "_religion._--the whole circle of denominations is filled up with their appropriate pastors, churches, and places of worship. adelaide is well supplied. the country is not altogether neglected; but, as it fills up, will be better attended to. i do not think the religious prospects bad. truth and piety, i expect, will flourish in south australia. the clergy of the churches of england and scotland are evangelical; the wesleyans have been very active and useful. of us, you read in the report of the colonial missionary society. the other bodies are also making their way."[ ] would this report of religion in south australia be "most satisfactory" to that apostle, who teaches that "there is _one_ body, and _one_ spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling?" [ ] see "south australia in ," p. , published by hailes, london. still let us not judge harshly of the infant colony, nor reproach it for a leprosy, with which it has been inoculated by the mother country. while we hail with gladness the good spirit which has been shown in raising so much money for religious objects in the very infancy of the settlement, let us hope, that the "places of worship" may diminish in number, while the churches increase, and that the country districts may have a larger share of assistance than they can now receive out of what remains of _l._ a year, after adelaide and its _ten_ or _twelve clergymen_ have been supplied.[ ] undoubtedly, in this province of australia there is much zeal and good feeling awakened, and the efforts of the south australian church building society are deserving of every success. to the members of this society it must be indeed a cause of thankfulness and joy, that they can call to mind during the lapse of only four years, the quick succession of an open spot, a tent, a reed hut, a wooden shed, and lastly, a church capable of holding six hundred persons, being respectively used for places of divine worship. and now, not only do they see one church finished, but two others are, ere this time, no doubt completed.[ ] [ ] for the facts here noticed, see the australian and new zealand magazine, no. . p. . [ ] see report of the society for the propagation of the gospel for , p. . the british colony in the great southern land to which the attention of the reader may next be directed, is that of western australia; or, as it was called in its earlier days, during its first struggles into existence, the swan river settlement. this is situated upon the coast of new holland, opposite to the colony of new south wales, lying in nearly the same latitude, but thirty-four or thirty-six degrees of longitude to the west of it. the first discovery of this spot was made by a dutchman, vlaming, in , who named the stream black swan river, from the black swans, which were then seen for the first time by europeans, and two of which were taken alive to batavia.[ ] the banks of the swan river were first colonized in , and the mode in which this was effected is peculiar and different from the usual course. a few gentlemen of large property undertook to found the colony, at little or no expense to the mother country, receiving immense grants of land in return for the expenses incurred by them in this attempt; which grants, however, were to revert to government, unless they were cultivated and improved under certain conditions and in a given time. great difficulties and many privations were endured by the first settlers, but these appear to have been overcome, and so soon as the stream of emigration shall have set steadily into western australia, (which is, perhaps, all things considered, the most desirable of our australasian colonies for a respectable englishman to fix himself in,) there can be little doubt that its progress will be not less rapid than that of the sister settlements. along the sea coast, the country is hilly and barren; nor is it much better in the immediate neighbourhood of the principal settlements, perth and fremantle; but beyond these there is plenty of good grass country, and near the inland town of guildford, the arable land in the valley of the swan river is surpassingly rich and productive, so that it has been known to bear eleven successive crops of wheat in as many years, without any manure, and the last year's crop averaging twenty-five bushels to the acre. in some parts this good land approaches more nearly to the coast; but still a large proportion of the soil is poor and sandy, although even of this a great deal is capable of cultivation, and is thought to be especially fitted for the growth of the vine.[ ] the climate is exceedingly healthy and delightful; indeed, it is even superior to other parts of australia, and rain is more abundant here than elsewhere. plenty of fish is likewise to be found in the neighbouring bays and inlets, which are very numerous; and the whales are so plentiful, only a few hours' sail from the shore, that oil is a principal article of export, but the americans are allowed to occupy this fishery almost entirely, and it is stated that from two to three hundred of their ships have been engaged in the whale fishery off this coast during a single year. the population of western australia is small, not being computed at more than souls in the beginning of the year . the number of acres cultivated in were, according to the returns of the local agricultural society, in wheat, and in every kind of culture. this settlement is, more than others, in want of that article of which england especially needs to be relieved--population; and if a man is frugal, sober, and industrious, if he will bear in mind that "on no part of the face of the globe will the earth yield her increase, but as it is moistened by sweat from man's brow,"[ ] western australia is, possibly, the best and most agreeable country where he can find a happy home. although this large district is yet so thinly peopled, it is, nevertheless, in a state of colonization and civilization surpassing what might have been fairly expected. and the absence of convicts, though it renders labour scarce and expensive, brings with it counterbalancing advantages, and prevents the double danger of immediate taint to society from the unhappy criminals, and of future schism arising between the emancipated convicts, or their children, and the free settlers. [ ] see flinders' voyage, introduction, vol. i. p. . [ ] there is a vine in the government garden (at perth) which, planted as a cutting, sent out shoots ½ feet long in the second year, and yielded more than cwt. of grapes. another, belonging to mr. c. brown of the same place, had a stem, which, in only five years' growth, was ½ feet in circumference. see "a short account of the settlement in swan river," p. , published by cross, holborn, . [ ] see "a short account of the settlement of swan river," p. . fremantle is at the mouth of the swan river, and contains some tolerable houses, with a jetty and various other conveniences for trade, especially for the whale fishery; from the ships engaged in which pursuit, (chiefly american vessels,) a great portion of its commerce is derived. one cause of its trade and population not having increased more rapidly may be the bar across the mouth of the swan river, having only a depth of six feet at low water, and preventing the approach of ships of large burden. the soil around is sandy, and produces little or no grass; but when well cultivated, it yields excellent vegetables. two miles from fremantle, up the river, there is a ferry across to perth, the seat of government and capital of the colony, which is well situated, the river extending into a broad sheet, named melville waters, in front of the town. here is good brick-earth and garden-ground, and near the town there are some tolerable farms. but at guildford, seven miles further up the river, commences the rich corn-land of the colony, and the town itself contains six or seven hundred inhabitants. york is forty-eight miles eastward of guildford; and king george's sound, on the coast, where there is another settlement, is about one hundred and fifty miles from york. there are several other little stations scattered about in various directions, especially upon the coast. in there were five clergymen in western australia, and on the st of january, , the foundation stone of a church at perth to contain persons was laid by the governor; its estimated cost was _l._ there are churches also at guildford, at the middle swan, the upper swan, and at york, and a new church erecting at albany, near king george's sound. some humble little churches have also been built of mud, and thatched with rushes, in this colony. and although, where it can be done, we think that noble churches are most becoming to the service of the king of kings, yet we doubt not, in the cases where these lowly buildings are unavoidable, that since "the chariots of god are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels," so these ministering spirits are sent forth into the wilderness to minister unto them that are heirs of salvation: we confidently trust that "the lord is among them," even "as in the holy place of sinai." wesleyan meeting-houses are to be found at perth and fremantle. the governor and executive council were authorized to "grant aid towards ministers' stipends, and towards buildings, _without any distinction of sect_."[ ] this precious system, which would make no "distinction of sect," between the doctrine of the beloved apostle st. john, and that of the nicolaitans, "which god hates,"[ ] is almost a dead letter in western australia, owing to the scattered state of the population, and the great majority of them being members of the church of england. the duty of government to _tolerate_ separatists, (while they continue obedient to the laws of the country,) is now denied by no one; and toleration, one might have supposed, would have been all that those who dislike a state church would have accepted; but the duty of government to _encourage_ and _foster_ separation in places where it does not at present exist, is inculcated neither by reason, policy, nor scripture; neither can dissenters consistently accept of aid from the state in australia, and exclaim against it in england. [ ] see australian and new zealand magazine, no. , p. . [ ] see rev. ii. . one more commencement of colonization in the island of new holland must be mentioned in order to complete the circle. an attempt to form a settlement on the northern coast was made as early as , at melville island, rather more than five degrees to the west of the gulph of carpentaria; but this establishment was moved in to raffles bay, an adjacent inlet of the main land. the new station was in its turn abandoned in the year , and a fresh settlement, at the distance of a few miles, was planted at port essington, by sir gordon bremer, who sailed thither with his majesty's ships _alligator_ and _britomarte_, in . the colony is still quite in an infant state. no clergyman accompanied the expedition, although the commander was desirous of securing the blessings of church communion for his little settlement.[ ] in the immediate neighbourhood some native christians (australians) were found, who had many years ago been converted by the dutch; they had churches, and appeared to behave well. upon application to the bishop of australia, _l._ was obtained towards a church at port essington, and his endeavours to get a chaplain appointed there were promised. it may be observed that port essington is situated miles, in a direct line, from hobart town, and both places were until very recently within the same diocese, that of australia! in like manner, when the five clergymen stationed in western australia had memorialized the bishop to visit them, that he might consecrate their churches, confirm their children, and "set in order things that were wanting," one great obstacle to his compliance was the necessity of having his life insured in the interim, for western australia, though within his diocese, was not within the limits of his policy of life assurance! [ ] thus, as recently as the year , two ships were sent from _christian_ england to found a colony; having on board upwards of souls, but unprovided with any minister of religion! how strange a method, _if we really believe god's word_, of gaining a blessing from heaven, either for ourselves or our colonies! [illustration: cape pillar near the entrance of river derwent, van dieman's land.] chapter xi. general observations upon the australian colonies. having now rapidly surveyed the various british settlements in australia, taking them separately, a few observations may be added respecting their general condition. and, first, of the _climate_ of these countries, it must have evidently appeared from what has been already stated that this is extremely healthy and beautiful. every one who has been in australia appears to be surprised at the spring and elasticity which the climate imparts to the human frame; and although it does not seem that the average of life is at all more prolonged there than in england, still it would really seem, that the enjoyment of life was greater. such declarations as these.--"to say we are all well is really nothing;" "the full enjoyment of health is quite a marvel;" occur in the letters of those who are settled in the great southern land; and the descriptions with which we meet in books of its exhilarating climate, completely justify and bear out the pleasing accounts of it given us by its inhabitants. in so vast a territory, and in so many different situations as the british colonies now occupy, there must needs be great variety of climate; and the warmth of sydney and its neighbourhood forms a strong contrast to the cool bracing air of bathurst, which is only miles distant; the heat of the new settlements at moreton bay, which is nearly tropical, is strongly opposed to the english climate, beautifully softened and free from damp, which is enjoyed in van diemen's land. in australia, it has been remarked, every thing regarding climate is the opposite of england; for example, the north is the hot wind, and the south the cool; the westerly the most unhealthy, and the east the most salubrious; it is summer with the colonists when it is winter at home, and their midnight coincides with our noonday. near the coast, the sea breezes, which set in daily from the great expanse of waters, are very refreshing; whilst in the interior, except in van diemen's land, or in very high situations, the hot winds are extremely disagreeable. especially in the colony of new south wales, during the summer season, the westerly wind, which blows probably over immense deserts of sandstone, or over miles of country set on fire by the natives, is scarcely endurable at certain times, but feels like the heated air at the mouth of a furnace, and is then far from wholesome or pleasant. however, this blast of hot wind is said never to endure very long, and it is less oppressive than the same heat would be elsewhere, because in new holland the air is dry, and in other countries, india for instance, when the heat is exactly the same, it is felt much more intensely from the quantity of moisture with which the burning atmosphere is surcharged. still we may form an idea of the occasional violence of the heat in the interior of new holland, from captain sturt's account of his expedition across the parched-up marshes of the macquarie river, where the sugar which his men carried in their canisters was melted, and all their dogs destroyed. the scourge of australia is _drought_; and when a native of the british islands has lived a few years in that part of the world, he begins to understand and feel better than he ever before did, the frequent allusions in the holy scriptures to water as an emblem and sign of the greatest blessings. the englishman in australia soon learns what is meant by the blessings of christ's kingdom being compared to "rivers of water in a dry place," or to "the shadow of a great rock in a weary land,"[ ] when that rock promises a spring of living water, a comfort which in new holland is occasionally found upon the bare top of a mountain, where no other supply is to be had within thirty miles round.[ ] and the thankfulness of the inhabitants of our own green islands may be awakened, the undue expectations of the english emigrant may be checked, by reading complaints like the following, which are, at intervals, only too well founded in many parts of the australian colonies. "we have now for upwards of four months been watching with anxious interest the progress of every cloudy sky; but, overcast as the heavens most usually are towards evening, the clouds have appeared to consist more of smoky exhalations than moist vapours; and even when at times they have seemed to break darkly over us, their liquid contents have apparently evaporated in the middle air. the various arrivals in our port (port macquarie) have brought us accounts of genial showers and refreshing dews, which have visited the neighbouring districts; and even the silence of our own parched coast has been broken by the sound of distant thunderstorms, exhausting themselves on the eastern waves while the sun has been setting in scorching splendour upon the horizon of our western hills. since the th of june last to the present date, october th, there have been but thirteen days with rain, and then the showers were but trifling. in consequence, the surface of the ground, in large tracts of the district, is so parched and withered, that all minor vegetation has nearly ceased, and the wheat-crops that were sown in june, are, we fear, doomed to perish."[ ] [ ] see isaiah xxxii. . the following proverbial saying in india may serve to show how natural such comparisons are in the mouths of the inhabitants of hot climates: "ah, that benevolent man, he has long been my shelter from the wind; he is a river to the dry country." see roberts' oriental illustrations of scripture, _ad. loc._ p. . how different an idea do the words "shelter from the _wind_" convey to the inhabitant of england's bleak shores, and asia's parching deserts! [ ] see an interesting passage in major mitchell's three expeditions, vol. ii. p. . see likewise oxley's first journal, p. . [ ] see australian and new zealand magazine, no. iv. p. . how expressive, after reading descriptions like this, do those complaints of one of the inspired writers appear: "the seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. how do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. o lord, to thee will i cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. the beasts of the field cry also unto thee, for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness." (joel i. - .) most of the productions of the soil which are to be found in the mother country are raised likewise in the australian settlements. the wheat-harvest commences in new south wales in the middle of november, and is generally over by christmas, so that to this festive season a fresh cause of rejoicing is added, and men are called upon to be thankful at once for the greatest temporal and spiritual blessings; the same time of year supplies them with the meat that perisheth, and reminds them of the coming down from heaven of him who is the bread of life. but, besides the ordinary produce of our english fields, many productions of the soil are raised in australia which will not grow in the northern climate of britain. the fruits of italy and spain, the tobacco of virginia, and the indian corn of the southern states of america, are all produced in the australian colonies. and one fruit may be particularly noticed, which is in england justly reckoned a delicacy, but which in new south wales is so abundant, that the very swine are feasted upon it: _peaches_ are to be had in full perfection for full four months in the year, the later varieties regularly succeeding to those that are earlier. this fruit grows everywhere, it matters not whether the soil be rich or poor; and if a peach-stone is planted it will in three years afterwards bear an abundant crop of fruit. so plentifully do they grow, that they are commonly used to fatten hogs, for which purpose they answer very well, after having been laid in heaps, and allowed to ferment a little; cider also of a pleasant and wholesome quality is made from the same fruit. the chief wealth of australia consists in its flocks and herds, and nothing in the progress of our settlements there is more astonishing than the rapidity with which these primitive riches have increased. sixty years ago there was not a single sheep in the vast island of new holland; and now, from a few narrow strips of land upon some of its coasts, millions of pounds of wool are annually exported to england. the fine climate of australia is especially suited for sheep, and it would appear to have an improving effect upon the quality of that animal's fleece, which nowhere reaches greater perfection than in new south wales. cattle also thrive and increase very much in the australian settlements, and animals of all kinds in new south wales are exceedingly dainty: if shut up in a field of good grass they will starve themselves with fretting rather than eat it, they are so anxious to get out upon the sweet natural pastures. although it is to be hoped and expected that, under judicious management, these colonies will always be able to supply their inhabitants with bread, still it is confessed on all sides that pastoral riches form their natural source of wealth, and that it is to these chiefly, together with their mineral productions and commerce, that they must look for a foundation of permanent and continued worldly prosperity. the form of government is the same in all the british australasian colonies, and while the governor's authority is supreme, by virtue of his being the representative of the british crown, his power is restrained by an executive council and by a legislative council. the former body, whose office is to assist the governor in carrying the laws into execution, is composed of the colonial secretary and treasurer, the bishop and lieutenant-governor, (if the last-named office is not abolished,) under the presidency of the governor himself. the legislative council consists of the same persons, with the addition of the chief justice, the attorney-general, the chief officer of the customs, the auditor-general, and seven private gentlemen of the colony, who are appointed by the crown for life, and for whom, in case of death or removal, the governor may choose a substitute, until the queen's pleasure be known. the office of this legislative council is, as its name implies, that of making laws, in which, however, at least two-thirds of the members must agree, and which must not be contrary to the charter, or letters patent, or orders in council, or laws of england. the proposal of new laws always belongs to the governor, who must, however, give eight clear days' notice in the public papers, stating the general objects of the intended enactments; nor can this rule be dispensed with, except in cases of very great emergency. such is briefly the outline of the constitution at present established in the australian settlements, and under this form of government they have, most of them, already run a race of prosperity, which, allowing for the recent dates of their foundation, can scarcely be matched in the annals of any nation. nevertheless, the present form of government is a very great subject of discontent among many of the colonists, and the _want_ of a representative house of assembly in new south wales and van diemen's land appears to give as little satisfaction to many persons _there_, as the _presence_ of such an assembly does _here_ in england.[ ] it may easily be imagined what a fine subject for oratory is thus furnished among a mass of people, who, whatever elements of good may exist among them, may, generally speaking, be too truly said to have derived their birth and education from criminals and outcasts. in the midst of a people thus constituted, a press "unshackled by stamps, paper-excise, advertisement duty, or censorship," is doing its daily or weekly work of _enlightening_ the minds of the people respecting their _grievances_; and where, as in van diemen's land, there is said to be a newspaper for every free persons,[ ] the people must indeed bask in the sunshine of political illumination. "the press," it is asserted on good authority respecting van diemen's land, and it is not less true of new south wales, "the press, with few exceptions, finds ample support in holding up to derision the authorities of the land, and even in the invasion of the sanctity of domestic privacy."[ ] the result, however, of this state of things is that, actually, in the colonies of australia the grievances appear worse, the "wrongs" more galling, and the "rights" less regarded, than even in england itself; and judging from the crabbed tone of discontent prevailing in most of the colonial newspapers, the people who live in a land almost free from taxes, and quite exempt from tithes and poor-rates, can without much difficulty conjure up complaints of taxation and oppression not less piercing than those which are to be heard in a kingdom where taxgatherers, tithe-proctors, and aristocrats, still exist. perhaps, there is nothing more calculated to make an englishman tolerably satisfied with the state of things in his own country than the occasional perusal of the newspapers of lands so "highly favoured" in the way of "taxation" or "liberal institutions," as the australian colonies and the united states of america. the christian patriot looks down with pity upon the strife of tongues and the turmoil of party-spirit which satan contrives to raise in almost every country under the sun; and while the believer can always bless god's providence for many good things, he expects not perfection in the institutions of mortal men; it is true that "worldly reformers, while they chafe and curse, themselves and others change from bad to worse; while christian souls for blessings past can praise, and mend their own and others' future ways." [ ] a glance over the two ponderous volumes of the evidence before the transportation committee in and will satisfy every unprejudiced person that our penal colonies are not yet ripe for a representative government. it is curious enough to compare the fearful picture of these settlements drawn by one section of the so-called liberal party, which wages war against transportation, with the more pleasing and flattering description of their social condition which is given by that other section of the same party which claims for the colonists "constitutional rights." [ ] see mr. montgomery martin's new south wales, p. . [ ] see report of transportation committee in , p. . the great instruments by which the christian statesman will aim at reforming mankind, and making them happy, while at the same time he will be gaining the highest of all glory to himself, both in time and eternity, are christian instruction and religious education. a corrupted press and incessant agitation are instruments suitable enough to accomplish the works of darkness for which they are usually employed; nor are churches and schools less fit means of success in the better and more honourable task of bringing a nation to righteousness, respectability, and contentment. a short account of the establishment of the bishopric of australia, and a statement of the means of religious and sound education in that part of the world, will not be out of place here; and if, as before, we are driven to speak of the neglect of "the powers that be" upon these essential points, it is hoped that, since this is done unwillingly,--more in shame and sorrow than in anger and party-spirit,--it will not be done with a feeling at all contrary to the divine precept: "thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people."[ ] [ ] acts xxiii. . "it is evident unto all men diligently reading holy scripture and ancient authors, that from the apostles' time there have been these orders of ministers in christ's church,--bishops, priests, and deacons;"[ ] and the church of england has never yet made bold to dispense with what the church of christ did for years, without a single exception, deem it necessary everywhere to retain. never _in theory_, indeed, has our church made bold to work without the three orders of an apostolical ministry, but, alas! frequently has she done this in practice, and in no instance more openly or less successfully than in australia. for upwards of thirty years, no superintendent at all was placed over the clergy and laity of our communion in new south wales, and when a step was taken, it was not made in the right direction; an archdeacon was appointed, who, whatever might be his civil authority, was, respecting spiritual authority, exactly upon a level with his other brethren in the ministry; nor could he assume more than this without assuming to himself that to which he was not entitled,--the office of a bishop in the church. under these strange and irregular circumstances was the infant church, brought from the british isles and planted in the wilderness of australia, allowed to continue for about twelve years. the witness of a layman concerning this state of things may be here repeated: "i myself then saw a church without a bishop, and i trust in god i may never see it again."[ ] in , the rev. t. h. scott was appointed archdeacon of new south wales, and there were then eight chaplains in the colony, which covered a vast expanse of country, and contained, in , (three years earlier,) , souls, of whom , were convicts. thus was new south wales provided with "a very liberal ecclesiastical establishment," according to the liberal views of one of its leading historians;[ ] and as its population increased, so, in some degree, if not in an equal proportion, did the number of its clergy, so that, in september, , the number of souls in the colony was , ,[ ] (of whom , were convicts, and , roman catholics,) and the number of clergymen was fifteen, besides the archdeacon and four catechists. archdeacon scott was succeeded, in , by the rev. w. g. broughton, whose zeal and activity reflect honour alike upon himself and upon the discernment of the noble patron, the duke of wellington, who, it is believed, first recommended him to that office. after enduring labour, and toil, and anxiety, such as those only know who have to bear the heat and burden of the day in the lord's vineyard, at length the archdeacon was made, by permission of the english government under lord melbourne, in , bishop of australia; and the foundation of an apostolical and scriptural church in the great southern land was at length duly laid, by the consecration of that prelate, at lambeth, on february th, . the old stipend assigned to the archdeacon was to be continued without any increase to the bishop of australia; and since _l._ a-year was undoubtedly a very ample provision for the former, it was thought that it might be found sufficient for the latter; and so it would be, if the british government were willing to provide properly for the spiritual wants of the new diocese, and thus preserve the provision made for the bishop from being almost entirely swallowed up in endeavouring to satisfy the spiritual need of his people. this observation, however, justice compels us to make before we quit the present subject, namely, that, whatever opinion may be entertained of the dispositions of the british government, during the ten years following the passing of the reform bill, towards the english church, for one fact every member of that church must feel deeply indebted to them. during the time of lord grey's and lord melbourne's holding office, no less than _six_ new bishoprics were erected in the british colonies, and the first impulse was encouraged of that good spirit which has since sent forth into foreign parts five bishops in one day to "preach the word, to be instant in season, out of season, to reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine."[ ] [ ] see the preface to the form of ordaining and consecrating bishops, priests, and deacons, in the book of common prayer. [ ] the subjection of new south wales to the bishopric of calcutta was a mere absurdity; it might just as well have been under canterbury at once. [ ] see wentworth's australasia, vol. i. p. . [ ] elsewhere stated to be , . perfect accuracy in these matters appears almost unattainable. [ ] see st. paul's charge to timothy, the first bishop of ephesus, tim. iv. . among the five new sees thus recently established, the pressing necessities of australia have not been overlooked; and tasmania, or van diemen's land, an island equal in size to ireland, has been thought to claim justly a separate bishop for itself. the capital of this island is not less than miles distant from sydney, the seat of the bishopric of australia; and with a population of , , rapidly increasing, a large majority of whom are churchmen, its claims to have a bishop of its own are undeniable. and to these just claims the british government have listened so far as to devote the _l._ per annum formerly assigned to an archdeacon of van diemen's land towards the endowment of a bishop there, in addition to which sum _l._ have been set apart from the colonial bishoprics fund, and the remainder of what is necessary to provide the occupant of the new see with a decent maintenance is now being raised among those that feel interested in that particular colony, or in the general good work whereof this endowment forms only a part. nor is it the intention of the promoters of this noble design of founding in our australian and other colonies the complete framework of a christian church to stop short here. south australia, a province even more thoroughly separated from sydney than tasmania is, has appeared well deserving of the attention of those that have the direction of this important work; and the zeal of some of the landed proprietors of the colony has already prepared the way for the establishment of a bishopric in south australia. the following extract is from the letter of a layman residing in the last-mentioned colony:--"at present, we are pronounced to be in a diocese, whilst the head of that diocese is living nearly miles away, and has never been here, and, in all probability never will be." one person has offered to build, at his own cost, with the tenth part of his property in australia, a church at adelaide, to endow the see with land to the amount of _l._ per annum, and to furnish plans, &c. for a bishop's residence; other gifts of land have likewise been contributed to the amount of _l._ per annum more. a grant of _l._ has been obtained from the colonial bishoprics fund, and it is hoped that, by the efforts of the friends of sound religion, an endowment of _l._ per annum may speedily be completed for the intended bishopric.[ ] and since the experience of the past forms a stable foundation of hope for the future, we may form a judgment of what _will be done_, under the divine blessing, in tasmania and south australia, by what _has been done_ in the diocese of australia. in the charge of the bishop of the last-named see, delivered by him to his clergy in , it is stated, that, before , the date of his consecration, there were in the colony of new south wales nine churches, eight chapels, or school-houses used as such, and five parsonage-houses; whereas, in , _nine_ new churches had been completed, _four_ had been opened by licence, _fifteen_ more were in course of erection; and twelve new parsonages had been completed, while eight others were also in progress![ ] so great a stimulus, during only five years, had the presence of the full and effective staff of an apostolical ministry added to the growth and increase of the church in one single colony! [ ] see the report of the fund for providing additional colonial bishoprics, dated june th, . should the particulars stated above induce any person to desire to lend a helping hand to so good, so glorious a work, any donations for that purpose, small or large, will be thankfully received at the office of the committee, , pall mall, london; and a post-office order supplies a sure and easy means of conveyance for sums not exceeding five pounds. [ ] see report of the society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts, for . the history of education in the colony of new south wales is an important and deeply interesting subject;--indeed, in what country is it not so?--but the struggles and disappointments of the friends of sound religious education,--of that education which an englishman may be thankful to be permitted to call national,--have been very severe and trying. to borrow the language of an able statesman and eloquent writer, "not contented with excluding religion from the province of government, the spirit of the age struggles with not less zeal to introduce, as its substitute, education; that is to say, the cultivation of the intellect of the natural man instead of the heart and affections of the spiritual man--the abiding in the life of adam, instead of passing into the life of christ."[ ] this is precisely what has taken place in australia. only two years after the foundations of the colony had been laid, george iii. was pleased to provide for the church and for schools, by ordering the governor to allot in every township acres of land for the maintenance of a minister, and acres for the support of a schoolmaster. this provision continued to be assigned, and in many cases the portion of allotted glebe became of considerable value; but, in , a yet more extensive and promising support was afforded by the british government to the cause of religious instruction in new south wales. the nature of this assistance may be detailed first in the words of a violent and not very sensible or consistent enemy of the church of england, and then the reader may turn to the account given by one of its ablest and best friends. "i was utterly astounded," says dr. lang, "in common with most of the colonists, at the promulgation of a royal charter appointing a church and school corporation for the religious instruction, and for the general education of the youth of the colony, _on the principles of the church of england, exclusively_, and allotting a seventh of the whole territory, for that purpose, to the episcopalian clergy, with free access, in the meantime, to the colonial treasury-chest. it will scarcely be believed that so wanton an insult as this precious document implied, could have been offered to the common sense of a whole community, even by the late tory administration; or that men could have been found in the nineteenth century to perpetrate so gross an outrage on the best feelings of a numerous body of reputable men." during the ensuing four or five years, we are told by the same authority that it was completely in the power of the archdeacon and clergy "to have formed a noble institution for the general education of the youth of australia with the very crumbs that fell from their corporation-table."[ ] they might, "if they had only been possessed of the smallest modicum of common sense, have secured the exclusive predominance of episcopacy in the management of the education of the whole colony, _for all time coming_." and yet, adds the sagacious scotchman, in the very next paragraph, "the yoke must have proved intolerable in the end, and would sooner or later have been violently broken asunder during some general burst of public indignation." after a grievous misrepresentation of the expenses incurred by the church and school corporation,[ ] and a sneer at the want of education which is said to prevail among its members,[ ] dr. lang contrives at last to land himself, if not his readers, at the desired conclusion, namely, that "ignorance is the mother of devotion" to colonial episcopacy! [ ] gladstone's "the state in its relations with the church," chap. viii. p. . [ ] lang's new south wales, vol. ii. p. , &c. see also, at - , a series of similar statements. a good specimen of dr. lang's veracity occurs at p. , where the church and school corporation is said to have consisted chiefly of _clergymen_, whereas the majority were _laymen_. see burton on religion and education in new south wales, p. , and appendix, no. . [ ] they are accused of spending , _l._ a-year of public money, under pretence of providing for religious instruction and education, while nothing was really done; whereas, out of this sum, nearly , _l._ were already appropriated for the existing ecclesiastical establishment; and, during the continuance of the corporation, the schools increased from to , and the number of children educated in them from , to , . see burton on religion and education in new south wales, pp. and . [ ] see the book just quoted for a list of the members of the church and school corporation, p. . whatever might be the education of these gentlemen, it is evident that better educated men were not very likely to be found in the colony than the great law officers of the crown, the members of the legislative council, and the nine senior chaplains. but it is time to turn away from the pitiable spectacle of a man calling himself a minister of god's word, but far better qualified for his other occupation, that of editing a party newspaper in a penal colony, and taking our leave of dr. lang with feelings of regret that he has not made a better use of those talents which have been given him: let us turn to the statement given by judge burton, of the church and school corporation in new south wales. it is correct that one-seventh part in extent and value of the land in new south wales, was intended to be set apart for the supply of religious instruction and education to the whole colony. it is true, likewise, that the english government, in , entrusted this endowment for these good purposes entirely to the church of england; and to what other body could a thoroughly english government have entrusted it? what course could be more suitable to the principles of the english constitution? or who in those days suspected the very dissenters, who in england regard the help of the state as an abomination, of being anxious themselves to partake freely of that help in australia? however, the arrangements were completed, and the charter of the church and school corporation was signed in ; and at the same time the burden of defraying the regular expenses of the existing clergy and schools, was immediately transferred from the parliamentary grants and the colonial revenue to the newly formed corporation. but, whatever might have been the future value of the endowment thus bestowed upon the australian church, its immediate produce was little or nothing; the reserves are stated to have not been fairly portioned out, many of them were allotted in inconvenient or distant situations and unprofitable soils; private interest was allowed to take the first place in the division of land, and persons who would have scorned to defraud men, were happy to be allowed to rob god of his rights and the poor of the means of having the gospel preached to them. nor, even although these hindrances had not arisen, would there have been any sufficient income arising during the first years from the property of the corporation, unless they had sold this with utter recklessness of the means of securing a future permanent endowment. that portion of their lands which was most improved, was either judiciously sold, or else let; and other parts of it were gradually being brought under cultivation, and improved in value; but meanwhile the increasing yearly expenses of the ecclesiastical establishment were to be met. for this purpose, some money was borrowed on debentures, and an advance was made to the corporation from the colonial treasury; and thus, during three years, were the exertions of the corporation crippled and restrained. when they were beginning to get somewhat clear of these first difficulties, when their estates were becoming profitable, and their flocks and herds increasing, they were directed to suspend any further proceedings, no more lands were granted them, and they were informed that their charter was to be revoked. this notification was made in , though the revocation did not actually take place till . in reply to the inquiry, why the church and school corporation in new south wales should have been thus suddenly dissolved, and that, too, at the very time when its means were beginning to be available for the fulfilment of the intentions of its foundation, no other answer can be found besides that suggested by judge burton. it was done, no doubt, by way of yielding to the clamour of the secret and open enemies of the church of england; and the very opposition of infidels, romanists, and dissenters, combined, in jarring harmony, together, bears a strong witness of the value of the object of attack. the sop that was thus thrown to the greedy demon of religious strife, was by no means successful in satisfying or appeasing him; like most other similar concessions, it served only to whet the appetite for more; and it is to god's undeserved mercies, not to her own efforts, or to the wisdom of her rulers, that england herself owes the preservation at that time of her national church. and now that the church and school corporation in australia has been abolished these ten years, what are the results; who is the better for its destruction? if this establishment had been permitted to remain, "certainly, at this day its funds would have been sufficient to relieve the government altogether of the charge of maintaining the clergy and schools of the colony."[ ] the estimated expenses of "church establishments," and "school establishments," for new south wales in , were respectively, , _l._ _s._, and , _l._ _s._,[ ] so that by this time the saving to government, arising from the continuance of the corporation, would have amounted to no trifling annual sum. but, what is of far more importance, and what was foreseen by the enemies of the church of england when they compassed the ruin of the corporation, the means of "lengthening its cords and strengthening its stakes," would have been placed within the power of the australian church. and since, under every disadvantage, during the short time in which the charter continued to be in force, "the churches were increased in number and better provided, the schools were considerably more than doubled in number, and their effectiveness increased, while their expenses were lessened,"[ ] what might have been expected from the same instrument in a longer period of time, and after the first difficulties had been overcome? however, for wise and good purposes, no doubt, it was not permitted that the experiment should be tried; and while we regret that the church in australia is not more efficient and better supported than it is, we may yet feel thankful that, by the grace of god, it is as it is. [ ] see burton on religion and education in new south wales, p. . [ ] see australian and new zealand magazine, no. i. p. . the sums mentioned above include all the expense of grants to other bodies of christians besides churchmen, but the greater portion of the money is expended upon the great majority of the population who are members of the church of england. [ ] see burton, p. . it affords a sad proof of the continued enmity of the world against christ, to turn from the noisy outcries of the children of mammon about economy and ecclesiastical expenses, and to fix our eyes upon the plain matter of fact. when it was confidently asserted, by the highest colonial authority, that the wants of the australian church were fairly supplied, the bishop, in , mentioned by name no less than fifteen places where clergymen were immediately needed. and it is no uncommon occurrence, as in the church at mudgee, (quite in the wilderness,) for a consecration to take place, the church to be filled, the inhabitants around delighted, their children baptized, and then the building is closed for an indefinite period, until some clergyman be found to officiate! some persons may hold that to _save money_ is better than to _save souls_, but let not these men aspire to the name of christians. but, in spite of such enemies, whether endowed or not, whether supported or spurned by the state authorities, the church is likely to prove a blessing and a safeguard to our australian colonies. the absence of endowment, the want of worldly means of extension, these are losses not to the church, but to the state. and while each individual member is bound to spare of his abundance, or even of his poverty, for a work so good and holy as that of propagating the gospel in foreign parts, especially in our colonies;[ ] while every lawful effort is to be made to do what we can to resist the progress of evil, we may be satisfied to wait quietly the result. nor, among other acts of christian charity, will a faithful member of christ's visible church ever forget to pray for those unhappy men whose extraordinary professions of religion are too often found to end in fruits like these,--in opposing all extension of what they deny not to be, in the main, a scriptural church, in straining at the smallest particle of endowment, or public assistance for religious objects at home, whilst abroad they can swallow a whole camel's load of public money or church plunder, when it serves their occasion! may god, in his wisdom, overrule the mischief, and in his mercy forgive the evils of which men of this description have recently been the occasion, both in england and in its colonies! [ ] the following striking testimony in favour of the _system_ of the society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts comes from a quarter by no means unduly biassed in its favour. "how have thousands and tens of thousands been raised in scotland, for the last forty years, to fit out and to maintain beyond seas whomsoever the dissenting ministers of london chose to ordain as missionaries to the heathen? god forbid, that i should ever whisper a syllable against missions to the heathen! but i have seen too many missionaries, not to have seen more than i choose to mention, whom men possessed of the least discernment would never have presumed to send forth on such an errand! _the colonies, however, were the first field to be occupied; and if that field had been properly occupied, it would have afforded much assistance to missions to the heathen._"--lang's _new south wales_, vol. ii. p. . if any reader of this passage should feel disposed in his heart to help in a good work, which greatly needs his assistance, let him take at once his humble mite, or his large offering, as the case may be, to the clergyman of his parish, or to the office, , pall mall, london, for the use of the society for the propagation of the gospel. chapter xii. convict population. whatever may be the natural charms or advantages of any region, these are nothing without inhabitants; and however abundantly the means of riches, the comforts, luxuries, or necessaries of life may be scattered around, these are comparatively lost without man to enjoy and to use them. the garden of eden itself was not perfected until beings were placed in it capable of admiring its beauties and rejoicing in its blessings. and in every country, especially in a civilised country, when we have gone through the length and breadth of the land, examining its natural features and speculating upon its capabilities and future destiny, there is still left a most interesting and important subject of consideration, nor can our knowledge of any region be reckoned complete, until we are acquainted with the present condition of its inhabitants. in the preceding pages it has been found impossible, indeed, to avoid frequently touching upon a topic, which is so closely interwoven with the whole subject; but there still remains abundance of miscellaneous information concerning the present state of the inhabitants of the australian colonies to be detailed, without which, indeed, the task we have undertaken would be left altogether incomplete. though intellectual man is the principal object in god's creation upon earth, yet it is not the mere "march of intellect," but it is the advancement of truth and righteousness,--the gradual outpouring of that knowledge of god which shall cover the earth as the waters cover the seas,--that can cause "the desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose." the recollection, therefore, of the sort of men with whom great britain has partly peopled the lonely shores of australia,--the remembrance that these men, too morally diseased to be allowed to remain among ourselves, have been cast forth to die, with little or no thought about bringing them to the great physician of souls to be made whole,--these reflections have before been offered, and must here be repeated again. we read with pleasure and interest of benevolent travellers, anxious to benefit the countries which they are exploring, scattering around them in favourable spots the seeds of useful plants and noble trees, in the hope that these may hereafter prove beneficial to generations yet unborn. and in like manner may the mother country be said to scatter abroad in her colonies the seeds not only of good, but of evil also. many admirable institutions, not a few excellent individuals and christian families, have been planted in australian lands; a branch of christ's church has been placed there, and has taken firm hold of the soil, and numberless other promises of future excellence may be traced by the thankful and inquiring mind. but then, on the contrary, we must not lose sight of the tares that are so abundantly springing up together with the wheat; it is impossible to deny that rank and poisonous weeds have there been scattered along with the good seed, nay, instead of it. what might have been the present state of australia, if all, or almost all, its free inhabitants had been faithful christians, steadfast "in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers?" how great an effect might the "salt," thus placed in those remote parts of the earth, have had in rescuing from corruption that mass of uncleanness, which has been removed thither from our own shores! now, alas! nowhere more than in some of the australian settlements "are the works of the flesh manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like."[ ] [ ] gal. v. - . one cause, unquestionably, of the peculiar prevalence of many of these evil works is the strange elements of which society in australia is composed. in its lowest rank is found the unhappy criminal, whose liberty has been forfeited, and who is, for a time at least, reduced to a state of servitude in punishment of his offences. next to this last-named class come the _emancipists_, as they are called, who have once been in bondage, but by working out their time, or by good conduct, have become free; these and their descendants constitute a distinct and very wealthy class in new south wales and van diemen's land. the third and highest class is formed of men who have settled as free persons in the colonies, and of their descendants; and between this last class and the two first a considerable distinction is kept up, from which, (it has already been noticed,) miserable dissensions, jealousies, and heartburnings, have frequently arisen. to an impartial person, beholding these petty discords from the contrary side of the globe, it is pretty plain that both classes are in fault. it is well known that the system of assigning convicts to various masters has been practised ever since the colony at port jackson was first established, and thus the expense of maintaining so many thousands of people has been thrown upon the settlers, who were amply repaid by the value of their labour; by means of which, likewise, the land was brought into cultivation, and the produce of the soil increased. one great argument against the system of transportation, as a punishment, is drawn from this practice of assignment, which, it is asserted, makes the penalty "as uncertain as the diversity of temper, character, and occupation amongst human beings can render it." certain rules and conditions were laid down for the treatment of convict servants, and if these behave themselves well, they are allowed "a ticket of leave," extending over a certain district, within which the holder of the ticket becomes, in fact, a free person; subject, however, to the loss of this privilege in case of his committing any offence. after a certain number of years, the holder of the ticket of leave is allowed to receive a "conditional pardon," which extends only to the limits of the colony, but is no longer liable to be withdrawn at the will of government. the "absolute pardon," of course, extends everywhere, and restores the party receiving it to all the rights and privileges of a british subject.[ ] the custom of assigning male convicts has, however, been discontinued lately in the elder colony, although women are still assigned to the settlers by government, or at least were so until very recently. but besides the employment of the convicts by private persons, a vast number of these are constantly engaged in public works, and to the facility of obtaining labour thus afforded does new south wales owe some of its greatest improvements, especially in roads, bridges, public buildings, and the like undertakings. it is scarcely to be supposed that employment of this kind, when the men must necessarily work in gangs, is so favourable for their moral improvement and reformation as residence in a private family and occupation in rural pursuits is generally likely to prove; though the contrary notion is supported in the recent report of the transportation committee, since, in the former case, they are under stricter discipline. however, it has always been customary to make the public works a sort of punishment, and private service a reward for convicts; and those that have been returned from the latter with complaints, are usually put upon the roads for at least six months; so that, if this system really stands in the way of the improvement of offenders, it keeps those that conduct themselves well from the beginning quite clear of the bad example of less hopeful characters. it is a sad truth, however, in australia, as it often is found to be in england, that "the most skilful mechanics are generally the worst behaved and most drunken," and, consequently, most liable to punishment in the public gangs. [ ] see mr. montgomery martin's new south wales for further particulars on this subject, pp. - . by way of introducing the reader to the kind of life led by those unhappy beings who labour in australia at the public roads, and to give him also some idea of the spiritual work which the ministers of christ's church in a penal colony may be called upon to perform, the following sketch from a private letter will be not unacceptable:--"in a few minutes i am at the stockade where more than men are immediately mustered; the [roman] 'catholics'[ ] are sent back to their boxes, the 'protestants' assemble under a shed, open on two sides, and filled with a few coarse boards for tables and forms, where the men get their meals. their boxes are wooden buildings of uniform structure, in which the prisoners are locked up from _sundown_ to sunrise. the roof is shingled, the sides are weather-board, the door in the middle is secured by a padlock, and above the door is a grating to admit the light and air, a similar grating being placed exactly opposite to it. the internal arrangements are simple in the extreme, where you see a gangway in the middle, and two tiers of hard planks or dressers for the men to lie upon; their bedding being, i believe, only a blanket. as there is no division to form separate bed-places, the four-and-twenty or thirty men who share these boxes lie like the pigs, and make the best of it they can. when a prisoner has served his time in irons, he is removed to a probationary gang; that which i am describing is an ironed gang. these men are dressed in a motley suit of grey and yellow alternately, each seam being of a different colour; and the irons being secured to each ancle, and, for the relief of the wearer, made fast from the legs to the waist. the whole stockade is sometimes enclosed with high palings, and sometimes open. the service of the church is performed under the shed where the men assemble for meals. the men behave well or ill as the sergeant in charge takes an interest in it or not. here the sergeant and a dozen young soldiers are constant at prayers. the responses are given by all that can read, our blessed societies having furnished bibles and prayer-books for all. every change of position is attended with the clank of chains, which at first harrows your soul: but time does wonders, you know; you forget the irons after a while. a full service and a sermon. you hear an application or two from prisoners about their worldly matters,--chiefly from the craftiest, oldest hands; wish them good morning, and away. [ ] "catholic," a most honoured term in ancient times, has in modern days been very unfortunate. even now the romanists misuse it for "papistical," the dissenters occasionally use it to signify "latitudinarian," and the members of the church of england are either afraid to use it at all, or else are perpetually harping upon it, as though it were a mere party-word. "it is now half-past ten: there lies the hot and dusty road before you, without shelter of any kind, and the sun pours down his fiery beams; no cloud, no intermission. if a breeze blows, it may be hotter than from the mouth of a furnace. well, courage; step out, it is five miles to the other stockade. a flock of sheep,--the dog baying, the driver blaspheming; a dray or two of hay; a few carts loaded with oranges. up the hill, down the hill, and so on, till, a little after twelve, you arrive at the other stockade. this is a probationary gang, that is to say, it is composed of those against whom complaints have been made by their respective masters, and who are not assignable to other individuals for six months. in this gang are six-and-twenty persons, of whom two are [roman] 'catholics.' no motley dress, but all in dark grey; no irons. a corporal and one private for a guard, and both of them exemplary at prayers. here i have the afternoon service. generally about this time the wind is up; and here, in a state of perspiration, the breeze gives me a thorough chilling under the open shed; and often clouds of dust come rushing through upon us, as bad as the worst days in march along one of the great roads in england. but the service is attended in a gratifying manner, insomuch that it would shame many home congregations. the corporal here teaches the poor fellows who require it to _read and write_, so that even here we find instances of christian charity, without sinister or vain motives, which may well stimulate us and provoke our exertions." from this picture of the condition of some of those convicts that are undergoing punishment, we may turn to the more pleasing view, which a gentleman of large property in australia, mr. potter macqueen, has drawn of the condition of his own assigned servants. of course, much of the chance of the servant's improvement must depend, humanly speaking, upon the sort of master into whose hands he is thrown, and mr. macqueen would appear to have behaved kindly and judiciously to those entrusted to his care. occasionally a severe example of punishment was made, and extra labour or stoppage of indulgences, as milk, tea, sugar, or tobacco, were found effectual correction for most faults, whilst additional industry was rewarded by fresh indulgences. of some deserving men mr. macqueen had even brought over the wives and families at his own expense. and what, in this world, could be a greater instance of the luxury of doing good than to behold the family and partner of one who has, though a convict, conducted himself well, restored once more to their long-lost parent and husband, and settled in his new country as pledges of his future continuance in well-doing? marriage, altogether, was encouraged on the estate of the gentleman already mentioned, as a means of recalling the convicts from bad habits, and urging them to industry and good behaviour; and this wise course has been generally rewarded by witnessing their happiness, and receiving their gratitude. during five years of residence in australia about two hundred convicts and ticket-of-leave men passed through mr. macqueen's establishment, and the following account is interesting, since it serves to show what _may be done_, even with a convict population:-- free, or enjoying their ticket, married and thoroughly reclaimed ditto, ditto, single men free from expiration of sentence, but worthless returned home to england after becoming free well-conducted men, as yet under sentence indifferent, not trustworthy depraved characters, irreclaimable sent to iron gangs and penal settlements escaped died given up at request of government returned to government hospital from ill health ____ ____ to encourage reformation, and check that spirit of idleness which is the mother of mischief, alike in convicts and free people, it is strongly recommended to allow the well-disposed men to profit by their own industry. it is forbidden to pay money to prisoners, at least before they obtain their ticket, but they may be rewarded by tea, sugar, tobacco, cape wine, extra clothing, &c. mr. macqueen had one scotchman, who, under this system, actually sheared sheep in the day, being allowed at the rate of _s._ _d._ per score upon all above , which is the quantity fixed by the government rule for a man to do in a single day. and in the same establishment, acting upon like inducements, might be seen sawyers and fencers working by moonlight; and others making tin vessels for utensils, bows for bullocks, &c., in their huts at night. from this method of management a very great degree of comfort arises, of which mr. macqueen gives the following instance in a convict's feast, which he once witnessed. at christmas, , one of his assigned servants, (who had a narrow escape from capital conviction at home,) requested leave to draw the amount of some extra labour from the stores, since he wished to give an entertainment to a few of his colleagues, all of whom were named and were well conducted men. the party making this application had been industrious and well-behaved, being besides very cleanly in his hut, and attentive to his garden and poultry, so the request was granted, and his master had the curiosity to observe the style of the festival. the supper consisted of good soup, a dish of fine mullet out of the adjoining river, two large fowls, a piece of bacon, roast beef, a couple of wild ducks and a plum-pudding, accompanied by cauliflower, french beans, and various productions of his garden, together with the delicious water-melon of the country; they had a reasonable quantity of cape wine with their meal, and closed their evening with punch and smoking.[ ] [ ] see a pamphlet entitled "australia as she is and as she may be," by t. potter macqueen, esq., published by cross, holborn, pp. - . but the picture of the peculiar class by which a penal colony is distinguished from all others will not be complete without a darker shade of colouring than those upon which we have been gazing. it is a painful feeling to contemplate the past condition of one portion of the convict population, but it is a wholesome exercise of the mind, and has already produced an improvement in that wretched state. besides, it surely is only fitting that a great, a free, and enlightened nation should know what is the ultimate fate of a part of its outcast population; nor need englishmen shrink from hearing the _history_, whilst england herself shrinks not from inflicting the _reality_ of those horrors which have defiled the beautiful shores of norfolk island.[ ] in judge burton visited this spot, the penal settlement of a penal settlement, for the purpose of trying prisoners, who had very nearly succeeded in overpowering and murdering the military, after which they intended to make their escape. eight years before this time, norfolk island had been first made a penal settlement; and never during all that period had its wretched inhabitants received any such reproof, consolation, or instruction as the church gives to its members. the picture presented before the mind of the judge was an appalling one, and he can speak of norfolk island only in general terms, as being "a cage full of unclean birds, full of crimes against god and man, murders and blasphemies, and all uncleanness." we know well what bad men are in england. take some of the worst of these, let them be sent to new south wales, and then let some of the very worst of these worst men be again removed to another spot, where they may herd together, and where there are no pains taken about their moral or religious improvement, where, literally speaking, no man careth for their souls:--such was norfolk island. and what right had england to cast these souls, as it were, beyond the reach of salvation? where was the vaunted christian feeling of our proud nation when she delivered these poor creatures over to the hands of satan, in the hope that her worldly peace, and comfort, and property might be no longer disturbed by their crimes? had she ordered her fleet to put these men ashore on some desolate island to starve and to die, the whole world would have rung with her cruelty. but now, when it is merely their souls that are left to starve, when it is only the means of eternal life that they are defrauded of, how few notice it, nay, how few have ever heard of the sin in which the whole nation is thus involved! [ ] it is right to state here that the cause of a supply of religious instruction having been so long delayed in norfolk island is said, by a roman catholic writer, to have been the impossibility of finding a clergyman to undertake the charge. see ullathorne's reply to burton, pp. , . supposing this account to be correct then, undoubtedly, the english church must share the blame of neglecting norfolk island along with the government, and it is not the wish of the writer of these pages to deny the applicability of the prophet's confession to ourselves: "o god, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee." (dan. ix. .) still, even according to dr. ullathorne, the penal settlement was established six years before its religious instruction was thought of by the government. one of the prisoners tried in was a man of singular ability and great presence of mind, and by him norfolk island was represented to be a "hell upon earth;" and so it was as far as the company of evil spirits glorying in evil deeds could make it. "let a man's heart," he added, "be what it will, when he comes here, his man's heart is taken from him, and there is given to him the heart of a beast." another said, "it was no mercy to send us to this place; i do not ask life, i do not want to be spared, on condition of remaining here; life is not worth having on such terms." another unhappy being was sentenced to die, and began passionately to exclaim and entreat that he might not die without confession. "oh, your honour," he said, "as you hope to be saved yourself, do not let me die without seeing my priest. i have been a very wicked man indeed, i have committed many other crimes for which i ought to die, but do not send me out of the world without seeing my priest!" this poor man was a roman catholic; he seems not to have known that he might go at once to his heavenly father with a heartfelt acknowledgment of his faults, and so he obtained a rude figure of the cross, and in miserable agony pronounced before that, as he embraced it, his brief exclamations for mercy. others mentioned in moving terms the hopelessness of their lot, and another of them spoke also of what rendered the state they were in one of utter despair; and the statement which he made was perfectly true: he said, addressing the judge, "what is done, your honour, to make us better? once a week we are drawn up in the square opposite the military barrack, and the military are drawn up in front of us with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets, and a young officer then comes to the fence, and reads part of the prayers, and that takes, may be, about a quarter of an hour, and _that is all the religion that we see_."[ ] [ ] burton on education and religion in new south wales, p. . urged by appeals like these, which no heart could well resist, judge burton reprieved the convicted prisoners, until the whole case should be laid before the government, and at least religious consolation and assistance might be obtained for those who were to suffer capital punishment. eleven of the prisoners were afterwards executed, but not without having been visited by ministers of religion, who were sent for that express purpose from sydney. the kind and christian judge exerted himself in behalf of the outcast population of norfolk island, "that modern gomorrah," as it has been called; and, as usual, improvement in bodily comforts or morals was much more willingly undertaken by those in authority than spiritual reformation. his advice respecting the propriety of diminishing the number of prisoners confined together was speedily attended to. his efforts to procure religious reproof, instruction, and consolation were not so soon successful; they were, however, nobly continued, and at length both protestant and roman catholic chaplains were appointed to the island. but this great object was not gained without _giving offence_. strange that any party could take offence at efforts of this description, and stranger still that men professing a general regard for religion, and avowedly possessed of consciences exquisitely tender, and of charity unbounded, should, notwithstanding, object to the conscientious and charitable efforts in the cause of religion of which we have just been speaking! however, these impotent struggles have signally failed, and now there are clergy both of the english and roman church in norfolk island, while the moral condition of the prisoners there is stated to have improved greatly. in the rev. mr. sharpe was removed thither, at his own request, from pitt town in new south wales, and his labours and ministrations are said to have been useful and effectual. but even here, in this effort to save some of christ's lost sheep, the unhappy circumstances of our penal colonies were manifested. when mr. sharpe was removed to norfolk island, a larger and more important sphere of usefulness, his little parish on the hawkesbury, was for a time left without a pastor. and this distressing trial is frequently occurring; when illness, or death, or removal, deprives a parish of its spiritual shepherd, for a time at least his place is liable to be left vacant, and his people likely to become as sheep going astray. it appears likewise, from the report of the society for the propagation of the gospel, that an assistant-chaplain for norfolk island was appointed in . there have been two clergymen of the church of rome in the island ever since , an arrangement which was alleged to be necessary, in order that the chaplain himself might not be deprived of private confession and absolution.[ ] there was no church in the island a few years ago, but a room in one settlement and a barn in the other were the places where divine service was regularly attended. besides the morning and evening prayers on sunday, divine service takes place five times during the week, twice in the gaol, twice in the hospital, and once a week for those men who are exempt from work, their sentences having expired. there may, as has been stated, be much hypocrisy in norfolk island,[ ] but surely the spirit which was offended at efforts that have wrought even these changes in a spot of extreme moral and religious desolation, may, without breach of charity, be pronounced to have been an unclean and evil spirit. can this language be justly deemed too strong, when the facts already stated are borne in mind; when, (to sum up the whole case in a single example,) it is remembered that in one year, , the colonial government of new south wales paid , _l._ _s._ _d._ for its police establishment and gaols, while the very utmost that was spent in providing religious instruction for _all the prisoners_ within the limits of the colony amounted, during the same period, to less than _l._?[ ] [ ] the reason given by the roman catholic, dr. ullathorne, is that the two priests divide the salary, and receive together no more than the one chaplain.--ullathorne's _reply to burton_, p. . the reader must bear in mind the different scale of expenses required by a person who _must_ be single, and that of a person who may be, and generally is, a married man. [ ] see committee on transportation, , pp. , . [ ] see burton on education and religion in new south wales, pp. - . the actual sum there stated is either _l._ or _l._, according as certain expenses connected with the establishment are included or not. it is stated on good authority,--that of sir george arthur, who was formerly governor of van diemen's land,--that not more than _two_ convicts in every _hundred_ quit the colony and return to england.[ ] the expense and difficulty of procuring a passage home operates as a sufficient check to prevent this being frequently obtained; nor, supposing that the english people would act in a kind and christian spirit towards the most deserving men of this class, would either they or the nation be losers. if the wives and families of the most meritorious men could be brought out to them at the public cost, what reasonable cause of regret would an emancipated convict feel for his home,--the scene of his crimes and of his disgrace,--in the mother country? and with respect to the great objection,--the _cost_ of such a system,--what would that be compared with the advantage which the rapid increase of an english population in australia is sure to bring, by creating fresh demands for our goods and manufactures? if ours were a wise and understanding nation, if we would spend a portion of our riches in promoting the morals, the comfort, and the religious instruction of our outcast population, we might, in numberless instances, turn the very dregs of our people into means of increasing our prosperity; we might frequently render those that are now the mere refuse of the earth, happy, contented, loyal subjects; and the blessings of them that were ready to perish spiritually would be continually resounding from the far distant shores of australia upon that divine mercy which would have all men to be saved, and upon that nation which would thus have offered itself to be a willing agent and instrument for the furtherance of this gracious design. [ ] "i think the longer the sentence, the better will be the conduct of the individual," because his only chance of obtaining any degree of liberty is from good conduct. see evidence of j. macarthur, esq., before the committee on transportation in . no. - , p. . dr. ullathorne expresses a contrary opinion. in the present condition of new south wales and van diemen's land, with so large a proportion of their population in bondage, and such slender means of moral improvement and religious instruction provided for them by the mother country, it would be unreasonable to hope that the convict population can be otherwise than very bad. there may be many exceptions; and at the end of all things here below, it may be found that some of those poor outcasts, and some of the men who have cast them forth to perish, and now despise them, may fill, respectively, the places of the publican and pharisee in our lord's parable; the convict may leave the throne of judgment justified rather than his master; the poor repentant criminal may be pardoned, while the proud one,--the self-sufficiency of the nation, by which he was transported, and left without further care,--may be condemned. still, however, the general character of the convicts is undoubtedly bad; and the various modes of deceit and dishonesty practised upon their masters, the love of gambling, of strong liquors, and of every kind of licentiousness prevailing in the penal colonies, would fill a volume of equal size and interest with that which is said to be a favourite book in new south wales,--the newgate calendar. those that are curious upon these subjects may be referred to the thick volume in blue cover, which contains an account of the labours of the committee upon transportation, ; but when the evidence therein contained is read, it must be with some grains of allowance; the avowed object of sir w. molesworth's motion for the committee, was enmity against the whole system of transportation; and a large majority of those that sat in the committee were, it is believed, of his opinion; at all events, they belonged to his party in politics. so that, before justice can be done to the real state of the convicts, we want to have evidence of an opposite tendency, like that of mr. potter macqueen, already quoted; and before the question, whether transportation is a desirable mode of punishing, or a likely means of reforming criminals, can be fairly decided, inquiry must be made, not respecting what _has been done_, but respecting what _might have been done_, or _may even yet be done_, in our penal colonies. before the subject of the convict population is dismissed, it may be well to notice those called _specials_; that is, men of education, and of a somewhat higher rank in life than the generality of exiles in new south wales. these were formerly treated with great consideration; for, after having passed a short period of probation, they were employed as clerks to auctioneers or attornies; nay, the instruction of youth was too often, in default of better teachers, committed into their hands. nor was this all. in former times, persons of this description have been very much connected with the public press; and the enlightened people of new south wales have sometimes, it may be feared, been blindly led by an unprincipled convict, when they imagined that they were wisely judging for themselves. the reformation of these _specials_ is said to be more hopeless than that of other prisoners; and very commonly they are confirmed drunkards. strange materials these from which to form instructors for youth, trustworthy agents of private property, or leaders of public opinion! however, by the progress of emigration, the influence of these men is now superseded; besides which, they have been gradually removed from the government offices, and those that now arrive are employed in hard labour. [illustration: conveying cattle over the murray, near lake alexandria.] chapter xiii. emancipists and free population. respecting the next class of which the population consists in our penal colonies,--that of emancipists, or persons formerly in bondage as convicts, they appear to be pretty nearly what might be expected of a body of men under such circumstances. although there are many honourable exceptions to the general rule, yet it would seem to be a general rule that roguery and industry are usually connected among them; and that where an emancipist is less inclined to be dishonest, he is more inclined to be idle and improvident; while it often occurs that both faults are found together in one person. of course, it would be vain to hope that _all_ convicts, or even the majority, perhaps, should become completely reformed; but it is sickening to the heart that has any christian feeling, to find descriptions like the following, given by one amply qualified to judge, of the deplorable moral and social state of many of those unhappy men after their time of service has expired. "the newly-arrived convict" (mr. macarthur states) "sees examples immediately before him of men, formerly in the same condition with himself, wallowing in licentiousness, and possessed of wealth, amassed generally by dishonest means, which they continue, in many instances, still to augment, by keeping grog-shops and gambling-houses, by receiving stolen goods, and by other nefarious practices. this is the general conduct of the class of emancipated convicts who acquire property, as well as of some unprincipled adventurers in the class of free emigrants. there are, however, among the emancipated convicts of property exceptions from this prevalent depravity; rare, indeed, and on that account the more honourable."[ ] and numberless, in the earlier history of new south wales, are the evil consequences which are recorded to have arisen from the necessity which then existed of employing either convicts, or else men recently emancipated, in places of the highest trust and importance. one striking example may suffice; and it is believed that no injustice is done to the class of men now alluded to, when it is stated that the guilty parties were persons belonging to that body. soon after the departure of governor hunter, in , it was discovered that the clerks who were admitted to the registers of the terms of the transportation of the convicts, had altered the sentences of nearly prisoners, on receiving from each a sum equal in value to ten or twelve pounds.[ ] of these examples the early history of the colony is full; but, in later years, it may be hoped, that time, and public opinion, and the tide of emigration, have combined to render the conduct of persons belonging to this class less generally objectionable than it formerly was. the greater portion of the shop-keepers, and what may be called the middling classes in sydney, were emancipists; and their wealth and influence were so great, that, during the years , , and , one-fourth of the jurors who served in the civil and criminal courts belonged to that body. these persons are often very little educated; and young men possessed of from _l._ to _l._ a-year in stock, can sometimes neither read nor write. cock-fighting, driving, and badger-baiting, are pursuits that occupy youths of this class very frequently; and a showy, tawdry style of dress, engages the attention of the young women. certainly, it is not of materials of this kind, that the english constitution would have juries composed; and it is not surprising that so large a proportion of jurors, who have themselves once stood at the bar of justice, should be the means of carrying undue partiality for the guilty into the jurors' box, and also of keeping out of that responsible station all those who can in any way escape its duties.[ ] respectable men will not, if they can avoid it, sit in the same box with men who go in with their minds entirely made up to acquit the guilty, whatever may be the tenor of the evidence to which they have just been listening, whatever the sacredness of the oath they have recently taken. if practical experience is of any real value, then it may safely be pronounced that men, who are scarcely fit to enjoy the privilege of sitting upon juries, are certainly at present unprepared for the introduction of a representative form of legislation and government. the civil juries of new south wales have held the scales of justice uncommonly even, for they have managed to acquit about per cent. of the persons tried; whereas in great britain, and even in ireland, the acquittals are per cent., and the convictions per cent. a strange, but not unaccountable difference, which, so long as it may continue, will furnish a strong argument of the unfitness of the colony for a representative assembly. men that have not the principle to put good laws into execution, are very ill qualified to make good laws, or to elect good legislators. and when, to suit party purposes, a clamour is raised about the injustice of denying fresh "constitutional rights" to our fellow-subjects in australia, we may quietly dispose of this (hitherto absurd and mischievous) claim by referring the very parties raising it to the accounts published, under the sanction chiefly of men of their own opinions, respecting the use made of those rights with which the inhabitants of the penal colonies are already invested. when the evils of the system of transportation are to be exposed, the truth may be told respecting the state of the australian juries;[ ] but why should it not be still declared,--why should not truth _always_ be told,--even at the hazard of checking "liberal principles," and delaying representative houses of assembly for the australian colonies, until the time when they may know how to use them, so that these may prove a benefit instead of an evil to them? [ ] evidence of j. macarthur, esq., before the committee on transportation, in , no. - , p. . the richest man in the colony, an emancipist, was said, in , to be worth , _l._ or , _l._ a year. for an account of the shameless roguery, and drunken folly, by means of which so vast an income was amassed, see report of transp. com. , p. and . [ ] barrington's history of new south wales, p. . [ ] for the mode in which the law admitting emancipists into the jurors' box was passed, see lang's new south wales, vol. i. p. - . "two absent members of the legislative council were known to be opposed to it. of those present, the governor (bourke) and five others were in favour of it, while six were against it. the governor gave a second and casting vote." [ ] see report of transportation committee, , p. . "a large proportion of the persons who have appeared and served," as jurors, "are publicans," to whose houses prosecutors, parties on bail, or witnesses, resort, for the purpose of drinking, while in attendance upon the court. once, when a jury was locked up all night, much foul and disgusting language was used; and to gain a release from this association, the disputed point was yielded; "no greater punishment can be inflicted upon a respectable person than to be shut up with such people for a few hours, or for the night." see burton's letter, appendix to transportation committee's report, , p. - . dr. lang's book on new south wales abounds in wretched puns, but one rather favourable specimen may be given, when, in allusion to the englishman's right of being tried by his peers, the doctor styles the jurors above described "_the colonial peerage!_" respecting the last and highest class of society in our penal colonies, the _free population_, no great deal need be said in particular, since, except from peculiar circumstances, they are pretty much the same in character with the bulk of the population in any other country. but their peculiar circumstances must, in fairness to the class last mentioned, be briefly noticed. undoubtedly, without any disrespect to emigrants, it may be laid down as an acknowledged fact, that hitherto this class, though it has comprised many excellent, clever, and good men, has not usually been composed of the flower of the english nation. supposing that things are now altered for the better, time was--and that not many years ago--when "every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented," was apt to swell the tide of emigration to our british colonies in australia. upon arriving there they found a regular system of _caste_ established; and since as members of the _free_ population they were at once exalted to the highest places, this was a system which in most cases flattered the pride of the settlers. possibly many of the faults of the emancipist class might be traced to the treatment they have received at the hands of the free, and these faults react again as causes and excuses for keeping them at still greater distance than ever. and however natural, however necessary, a distinction of ranks is and must be in every society of men, yet nothing can be more unnatural or mischievous than a system of dividing men into _castes_. unhappily, this division, the fruitful source of all kinds of evil feeling, has to a great extent prevailed in our penal colonies; and nothing, it may be boldly asserted, except religion will ever root it out. attempt to continue the exclusive privilege of _caste_ to the free population, and you sow the seeds of a servile rebellion. open your hands to give concessions and privileges to the emancipists, and you scatter good seed upon the stony rock, you vainly endeavour to satisfy the daughters of the horse-leech. but infuse a christian feeling into all classes, get them to meet in the same church, to kneel at the same table, to partake in the same spiritual blessings, and then you may hope that all, whether free or emancipists, will feel themselves to be members of one another, portions of the same body, held in union of heart and soul by means of the same head; "for by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be jews or gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit."[ ] [ ] cor. xii. . after all that has been stated respecting the three great classes into which society in australia is divided, it need scarcely be added that the taste displayed by many of the inhabitants of the metropolis of new south wales is none of the purest or best. gay equipages, dashing horses, tandems, and racers, are among the favourite exhibitions of the wealth of the emancipist. for music or paintings but little taste prevails in sydney, and for books, except those of a very low and worthless character, there is no great demand. a fine house, a fine carriage, fine horses, plenty of spirits to drink, appear to be thought the chief goods of human life; and among persons in every class, the acquisition of money is the one great object. indeed this last passion, the love of gain, can scarcely be mentioned among the perverted habits by which the australian colonies are infested, since it seems scarcely possible that the worship of mammon can be practised more openly or carried much further than it is in the mother country. yet the temptations to prefer gain to every thing else are unusually strong in these settlements. professions have been abandoned because they are laborious and unprofitable, while clergymen, medical gentlemen, soldiers, government officers, in short, all classes of men, have made haste to get rich by holding land and stock. an estate, which originally cost little or nothing, grows yearly in value, without a penny being spent upon it; stock speedily increases at very small cost, for there is abundance of pasture for it; and when the settler finds these means of gaining wealth opened to him, he is too apt to devote all his thoughts and energies to this one object. "i have known," says captain grey, "an honourable member of council, and leading magistrate in a colony, take out a retail licence, and add to his already vast wealth from the profits of a gin-shop."[ ] [ ] grey's travels in western australia, vol. ii. pp. - . the evil spirit of covetousness assumes to itself various shapes and appearances according to varying circumstances; and among the characters which it calls into life in australia, that of a _land shark_ is one of the most remarkable and hateful. when an emigrant arrives at sydney, he is able, perhaps after considerable delay, to give notice to government of his wish to purchase some desirable spot of land, which is then selected to be put up to auction; and when it has been duly surveyed, the sale at last takes place. but to the poor emigrant's astonishment and disappointment the land, which he has chosen so as not to interfere with other property, which is unoccupied, and entirely useless both in a public and private sense,--is bid for, and finally knocked down to another at an unreasonable price.[ ] this other person is a "land shark," who has gained, perchance, a fortune by regularly attending sales and buying up land that is known to be desired by another. the "shark," true to his name, wishes either to get his opposition bought off by a bribe, or else hopes to sell his bargain at a profit from the unwillingness of his victim to lose any more time or money in gaining a settlement, with the risk of meeting, after all, with a second disappointment. in case of the "shark's" scheme proving unsuccessful, there is only the small trifle required as earnest of the purchase to be paid; of course he never completes the engagement, and in due time, in a year possibly, the land is declared forfeited to the crown again. such is the occupation of a "land shark," and it would be well if these and similar pests of society were confined, like their namesakes of the ocean, to the more sultry latitudes, but unfortunately they are not altogether without their antitypes and imitators in great britain. [ ] the system of starting from a certain fixed sum per acre, named "the upset price," and selling land at whatever it will fetch beyond this, is established in most of the australian colonies. the fund thus produced is spent in encouraging emigration and providing labourers. there is another character, which, if not peculiar to australia, is called into being only in those colonies where a large extent of land in its natural state remains unappropriated to any individuals. the _squatters_, as they are called, are men who occupy with their cattle, or their habitations, those spots on the confines of a colony or estate, which have not as yet become any person's private property. by the natural increase of their flocks and herds, many of these squatters have enriched themselves; and having been allowed to enjoy the advantages of as much pasture as they wanted in the bush, without paying any rent for it to the government, they have removed elsewhere when the spot was sold, and have not unfrequently gained enough to purchase that or some other property. thus the loneliness, the privations, and the perils of a pastoral life in the bush, have often gained at length their recompense, and the squatter has been converted into a respectable settler. but this is too bright a picture to form an average specimen of the class which we are describing. unfortunately, many of these squatters have been persons originally of depraved and lawless habits, and they have made their residence at the very outskirts of civilization a means of carrying on all manner of mischief. or sometimes they choose spots of waste land near a high road, where the drays halt to get water for the night, and there the squatters knock up what is called "a hut." in such places stolen goods are easily disposed of, spirits and tobacco are procured in return for these at "the sly grog shops," as they are called; and in short they combine the evils of a gypsy encampment and a lonely beer-shop in england, only from the scattered population, the absence of influential inhabitants, and the deplorably bad characters of the men keeping them, these spirit shops are worse places than would be tolerated in this country. it is stated that almost all the men by whom these resorts of iniquity are kept, are either ticket-of-leave men or emancipists. it is no easy thing to suppress these people, for the squatters, like the black natives, can find a home wherever they betake themselves. and it must be owned, that considerable good has resulted in many instances from these forerunners of civilization having penetrated into a district, and learned some of its peculiarities and capabilities before a settlement in it has been regularly formed. indeed, it would have been unjust to have been severe with the poor squatter, and his two or three sheep and cattle, when it had long been the practice of the most wealthy landowners in the colony, to send their stock-man with their hundreds of heads of cattle into the bush, to find support exactly in the same way, and without paying anything to government. the rich proprietors have a great aversion to the class of squatters, and not unreasonably, yet they are thus, many of them, squatters themselves, only on a much larger scale; nor are they more inclined, in many instances, to pay rent for their privileges than their more humble brethren. it would appear to be the fairest and best way of dealing with these various descriptions of squatters, to endeavour to cut up, root and branch, the "sly grog shops," and road-side gentry, while the owner of one sheep, or he that possesses , , should be equally compelled to pay a trifle to government, in proportion to the number of his stock grazing in the bush, and should likewise have his location registered. some regulations of this kind are, it is believed, proposed, if they have not by this time been brought into operation; and thus we may hope, that whatever benefits the system of _squatting_ may have produced, either as an outlet for restless spirits, or as a means of extending colonization, may still be retained, while the numerous evils that have sprung up along with it may be checked or got rid of. respecting one thing connected with this subject,--the religious knowledge and spiritual condition of these inhabitants of the wilderness and their children, the christian inquirer cannot but feel anxious. the result of christian anxiety upon this matter cannot be better stated than in the words of one deeply interested about it, and well qualified to weigh the subject with all its bearings. after expressing his thanks to that divine providence, which had enabled him, quite alone, to travel through many miles of country almost without cultivation or visible dwellings, the bishop of australia finishes his account of his visitation westward, in the year , with the following reflections:--"it would be impossible for any one, without personal observation, to comprehend from mere description what a field for future labour is now opening in these as yet uncultivated, unpeopled tracts which i am continually traversing. but the time is not far distant when many portions of them will be thronged with multitudes; and in what manner those multitudes are to be provided with means of instruction sufficient to retain them in the christian faith, i am not able to foresee; as yet, no such provision is made or promised. but when, in passing through these scenes, reflections such as these have crowded upon me, and i am unable to return a satisfactory answer to the question, 'how shall this be accomplished?' i can find no better resource than to silence myself with '_deus providebit_;'[ ] my trust shall be in the tender mercy of god for ever and ever." [ ] jehovah jireh, that is, "the lord will see or provide." see translation in margin of gen. xxii. . among the beings which, although not natives of the bush, appear to be peculiar to the wilds of australia, the class of men called overlanders must not be omitted. their occupation is to convey stock from market to market, and from one colony to another. they require, of course, a certain capital to commence business with, and the courage and skill that are needful in these enterprises must be very great, so that many of the overlanders are said to be really men of a superior class. the love of a roving life, the excitement of overcoming dangers both from natural causes and from the fierce attacks of the natives, and the romantic and novel situations in which they are frequently placed, all combine to render some men exceedingly fond of this occupation, which has also another strong recommendation, that it is often very profitable. the magnitude of the adventures thus undertaken would scarcely be credited, and often a whole fortune is risked in the shape of cattle driven across the wilderness. one very important route pursued by the overlanders recently has been in the same direction with captain sturt's daring voyage, namely, from new south wales to south australia by the course of the murray. an instance is mentioned by captain grey of an overlander who arrived at adelaide in march from illawarra, and his stock at the end of his journey is reckoned up, and found at a moderate computation to be worth no less than , _l._[ ] and during fifteen months, including the whole of and part of , there were brought by the overlanders from new south wales into south australia , head of horned cattle, horses, and , sheep, the value of the whole of which amounted to about , _l._ importations of stock immediately add a value to land, for what is the use of pasture without animals to feed upon it? and indeed so large an introduction of those primitive riches, flocks and herds, is almost sure to give a spur to industry, and to assist the increasing prosperity of a rising colony. under the influence of this cause it is related that land in western australia, which was bought for _l._ an acre in december, , was sold for _l._ an acre in february, . and in other colonies where overland communication takes place, instead of the cattle being brought by sea, as in western australia, the effect is yet more astonishing. there is much that is noble to admire in the character of the overlanders, and their efforts have been productive of great advantage to our recent colonies; indeed, it is perhaps in a great measure to their exertions that the very rapid progress of port phillip and south australia may be ascribed. but there appears to be a certain wildness about their character, which, while it fits them admirably for the pursuit which they have chosen, renders them restless and uneasy in more quiet and domestic spheres. the love of gain, too, is rather more of a ruling passion with them than it ought to be, but that is a fault by no means peculiar to the overlanders. yet it affords a curious comparison and a fresh proof of our nature being a fallen one, when we come quietly to contrast the pains taken, the toils endured, and the risks encountered, in order to supply a colony with "the meat that perisheth," against the indifference, feebleness, and apathy, which are exhibited about the spiritual necessities of its inhabitants. erect the standard of worldly profit, and thousands will flock to it, unscared by danger, unwearied by labour. but, meanwhile, how slow is the banner of the church in being unfurled, how few rally around it, when it is displayed; in short, how much wiser in their generation are the children of this world than the children of light! [ ] see grey's travels in western australia, vol. ii. p. . chapter xiv. state of religion and education in australia. the religious state of the inhabitants of the australian colonies, especially of the two oldest and most populous settlements, has been so frequently the subject of allusion in this work, that the reader must already have become acquainted with its general aspect. nevertheless, there are many interesting particulars which have not yet been detailed; and no subject, surely, can concern more nearly the _mother country_ than the religious condition of her children and offspring. upon the mere surface of things, judging from appearances only, the religious habits of england would seem perhaps to be transferred to the australian colonies no less perfectly than its social customs; but, although the resemblance to our spiritual pride and spiritual ignorance, our needless divisions and contempt of lawful authority, is perfect enough, except when it occasionally degenerates into caricature, yet, in points more deserving of imitation, the likeness between the mother country and her daughters is not always so striking. probably it would be difficult to sum up the matter better than in the words of bishop broughton, who says, "my own opportunities of observation have been very numerous, and i do not hesitate to say, that, in either colony, surrounded, it cannot be dissembled, by much that is base and disgusting, there is, nevertheless, an extensive, and in point of actual influence, a preponderating proportion of integrity and worth, which, if suitably encouraged and supported now, there may hereafter spring up a wise and understanding people to occupy this land."[ ] [ ] letter of the bishop of australia to the society for the propagation of the gospel, dated may , . the way in which the lord's day is observed in new south wales, or van diemen's land, may serve for an index of the general amount of religious feeling among many of its inhabitants. sunday desecration,--despising the day of rest which the lord has appointed, is notoriously one of the first steps which a man is tempted to take in that downward course of sin which leads him to the penal colonies; and accordingly, it must be expected that a large quantity of the old leaven should remain working in the convict population. and especially was this to be anticipated, when so little pains were taken to teach them better things, for the absence of religious instruction immediately furnishes an excuse for disregard of the day of rest, and renders that neglect which was before inexcusable, in some measure unavoidable. according to dr. lang, religion is but seldom taken into account by the majority of the colonists in their dealings with their convict-servants. in at least as many as four cases out of five, he says, that no attention to the day is paid, but frequently it is spent in weighing out rations, settling accounts, or paying and receiving visits; while the men, whom it is contrary to law to set to work on a sunday, are often allowed to cultivate ground for themselves, upon the plea that, if they were not so occupied, they would be doing worse. in the opinion of judge burton, the want of occupation on the sunday was a cause of many robberies being committed, and some of the worst crimes that had been brought under his notice had taken place upon that day. mr. barnes says, speaking of the men at the penal settlement of macquarie harbour, "i believe more crime or wickedness was committed on sunday, when they were ringing the bell for church-service, than on any other day of the week." these opinions are confirmed and strengthened by men of various parties, and different plans have been proposed. that of increasing the number of churches and of the clergy is obviously one of the most likely to succeed, but its success must, in the nature of things, not be very speedy. it was stated by one witness before the committee upon transportation, that, when the means of public worship have been provided, the convicts should be regularly mustered and taken to church, which, he thinks, would have a good effect; but what is really wanted is that they should _come_ to church, and not merely be _taken_ thither. one member of the committee inquired whether all the present churches were filled, and the witness replied that they were not; but this is rather a proof of the need of additional religious instruction than an argument against furnishing it. if among so many souls the few existing places of divine worship are not all fully occupied, is not this a proof of the desolate state of the lord's vineyard in that country? is not this a sufficient reason for earnestly endeavouring to increase the number of the labourers in the vineyard? the heathenism of a considerable portion of a population nominally christian, manifestly tends to thin the congregations even of existing churches. but the want of church extension, and the dearth of ministers, tends to produce and increase this heathenism, and therefore it indirectly tends to diminish the numbers of the present attendants upon divine service. and what a mockery, in some instances, has the so-called divine service hitherto been! the director-general of roads in van diemen's land, some years ago, chose to place catechists and clergy under a ban, though there was no great risk of his gangs being much troubled by them, when they had so many other duties to fulfil. and what was the system which this wise manager of roads chose to substitute for the teaching of christ's ministers? at every road-station, daily, morning and evening, readings of the sacred scriptures were established, and "devotional exercises" were added on the sabbath. well, but who officiated? let archdeacon hutchins reply in the very words used by him, when the matter was brought before the notice of the government in . "these readings of the scriptures were performed generally, if not always, by _some of the very worst of the convicts themselves_, selected, no doubt, for the purpose, not on account of their wickedness, but of their abilities. they are the best readers, or the cleverest fellows; and therefore, amongst rogues, generally the greatest. these are men by whom, as far as the director is concerned, the seed of religious knowledge is scattered among the road parties. how far there may be a rational hope of the divine blessing accompanying such endeavours, i leave to be declared by any one possessed of common sense and some little acquaintance with scripture."[ ] even jeroboam, the son of nebat, who made israel to sin, only "made priests of the _lowest_ of the people;" he did not, that we read of, appoint the _vilest_ characters he could find to that office. [ ] see speech of the bishop of tasmania at leeds, nov. , , p. . the greater part of the settlers in new south wales and tasmania have been derived from those classes, who, in england, except in the rural districts, have, until recently, been well nigh shut out from their parish churches; and, in many instances, their mode of life here was little likely to lead them to a regular attendance upon the public worship of god, even where there was room for them. but nothing more surely produces distaste and carelessness in this matter than the total absence of all regularity respecting it. the truly religious soul, indeed, when banished by circumstances from the temple of the lord, is always inquiring with the royal psalmist, "when shall i come to appear before the presence of god?" but the careless man, the worldly-minded man, indeed the greater part of mankind, it is to be feared, feel no longing desires of this kind. the further they are removed from the courts of the lord's house, the less they think about its blessings, the less concern they take about religion; so that when an opportunity is offered them of joining in public worship, it actually is viewed as a trouble instead of a privilege, and no small pains are taken to escape from it. for example, it is stated by mr. mudie, that when a clergyman had been able to attend, and divine service was about to commence, upon his estate, he noticed but few of the convicts there, the rest declining to come, upon the plea of their being roman catholics. but this trick was of no avail, for their master, being satisfied that they merely wanted to escape attendance, and to employ the opportunity thus afforded them of prowling about and thieving, insisted upon all these romanists coming up and sitting outside the building in which the others were assembled. the next time the clergyman came, they were all protestants. but in what a wretched state of depravity must men be who can thus deliberately tell a lie, in order to avoid joining in the worship of the lord their maker! to provide for the spiritual wants of our penal colonies would be, under the most favourable circumstances, no easy matter; and in the actual condition of affairs, it is a most difficult and discouraging task. for not only are the ordinary obstacles arising from man's fallen nature to be surmounted, but the effect of unusually evil influence and bad example is to be counteracted in a convict population. and far from opposing this mischievous spirit by "endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace," professing believers are nowhere more at variance than in australia; so that the work of turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just is perpetually being disturbed by strife and jealousies among those who ought to be one, even as christ and the father are one. there, as it has been well observed, "the church stands upon her own merits, her own divine right; there all the attested grievances of the dissenters, secular and political, are removed; no tithes, no church-rates, no exclusive state support." and yet there, it may be added, the fierce contentious spirit which rages in england is unchanged in character, and the way of the church is just as evil spoken of in new south wales as in the mother country. the only grievance the dissenters can complain of now in australia is that assistance is afforded to the church to a larger amount than they would like. but this is grievance enough for them to raise an outcry about. and hence arise fresh hindrances to the progress of true religion in these settlements. there are other spirits besides the unclean spirits of infidelity and iniquity which the church has here to contend against. the language of a very zealous and active clergyman of australia is this:--"give us clergy and churches, and i will ensure congregations and a vast spread of the gospel in the church of christ by means of the church of england."[ ] but, so pitiable is the effect of religious strife, that rather than allow the necessary means to be given for this purpose, many would be content to leave things in their present miserable state; and although, as in the mother country, the majority of the population belong to the church of england, yet the minority, in all its little sections, unite in grudging every effort that is permitted, every single pound that is spent, by the government in aid of the church. there is no communion that can pretend to lay claim to the religious instruction of the people; it would be too absurd to propose that the english nation should entrust the religious training of a colony, like that of new south wales,[ ] containing upwards of , persons belonging to the national church, into the hands of the presbyterians, with their , souls, or into those of the methodists and other dissenters, with their , souls, or even to the romanists, with their , souls! and accordingly, since it was hopeless to get this important and responsible office exclusively for themselves, all parties really would seem to have conspired together to keep it, at all events, from falling into the possession of that body to which it of right belongs,--the national church of england and ireland,--a church which the presbyterians do not generally deny to be scriptural, and which the romanists, by their peculiar hostility, proclaim to be, in the best and oldest meaning of the word, essentially protestant. under feelings of this description, the roman catholics, and their "presbyterian brethren," (as they can condescend to call them when it answers their purpose,)[ ] have been acting in australia for some years past; and, aided by the potent force of agitation upon a government which "cared for none of these things," except how it might "please the people," they have been successful. spurning the very name of toleration, and despairing of exclusive establishments for their own communion, they have succeeded in giving birth to a system of joint-establishment for three communions of christians, and encouragement and assistance for as many more as the government may see fit to patronise. in , the system which now continues in operation was commenced by sir r. bourke, then governor of new south wales, who, in proposing this plan, expressed a confident hope, (which has never yet been fulfilled,) that thus people of different persuasions "would be united together in one _bond of peace_." it is pitiable to see a fellow-creature, and him, too, a man in authority, borrowing an expression from a passage of holy scripture, (eph. iv. ,) while he is at the very time forgetting the duty there enforced. the eye that glances upon the words "bond of peace," must be very careless or very wilful, if those other words, "unity of spirit," or the words below, in the following verses of the same chapter, altogether escape its notice. the principal features of the new system are these. it affords assistance in money towards building a church or chapel, and a dwelling-house for the minister, in all cases where not less than _l._ have been raised by private subscriptions. it provides a stipend for the support of _ministers of religion_, upon certain conditions, at the rate of _l._ per annum, where there is a population, of adult persons, (including convicts,) who shall subscribe a declaration stating their desire to attend his place of worship, and shall be living within a reasonable distance of the same. if adults in similar circumstances sign the declaration, a stipend of _l._ is granted; and if persons sign it, the stipend is _l._--the highest amount ever granted towards the support of any one officiating teacher of religion. in places where there are less than adults ready to subscribe, or where there is no church or chapel yet erected, the governor may contribute a stipend not exceeding _l._ per annum, but in the latter case _l._ must be promised also from private sources. a certain proportion of free sittings, (one-fourth, according to lang, at least one-sixth part, according to burton,) is to be reserved in each building. such are the principal points of the system, and, according to the governor's regulations, the assistance thus offered is limited chiefly to the church of england, the church of rome, and the scottish kirk, which "three grand divisions of christians"[ ] are thus made, in fact, the three established communions of new south wales. [ ] letter of rev. w. h. walsh to s. p. g., dated october th, . [ ] in van diemen's land, in , it was stated that sixteen out of every twenty-three persons, nearly two-thirds, belonged to the church of england. bishop of australia's letter to s. p. g., dated august , . [ ] see the memorial of the (roman) catholic inhabitants of new south wales to lord normanby. burton on education and religion. appendix, p. . [ ] sir richard bourke's letter to the right hon. e. g. stanley, september th, . sir richard, in his haste or his ignorance, has overlooked the greek church. undoubtedly good has resulted from the enactment of this law in , for before that there were scarcely any means open of obtaining help towards religious instruction, whereas certain means are open now, and have been very much used. yet because some good has resulted in this way, the evil spirit and wretched tendency of the measure must not be overlooked. all the good that has resulted might have been obtained without any of its accompanying evil, if a perfect toleration had been established, the national church properly endowed, and a sufficient supply of roman catholic priests or presbyterian teachers for the convict population of those persuasions liberally supported by government, as in the gaols in ireland. in this case, the poor convict, who is not permitted to possess money, would have had the consolations of religion, however imperfect, offered to him in his own way, while the free settler would have had the doors of the national church opened to him, or the liberty, in case of his dissenting from that, of providing for himself a separate conventicle. where would have been the hardship of this arrangement? or why should the _voluntary system_, which is, in the northern hemisphere, so highly extolled by many irish romanists and not a few presbyterians, in the southern, be thought a punishment and degradation? thus, "not only has equal protection,--for god forbid that we should ever repine at equal protection,--but equal encouragement been given by government to every description of religious faith, and every denomination of professing christians, in some of the most important dependencies of the british crown."[ ] is not this, it may be asked, the very course which a mild and tolerant _heathen_ government would pursue? and is the same policy, which would probably be followed by heathen rulers, either right or expedient in rulers professing themselves to be christians? [ ] bishop of exeter's charge in . certainly, whatever other arrangements might have been adopted, those that have been made are faulty in principle; and this is true, although it be confessed that some good has arisen from them, since through them an increased supply of religious teaching has been afforded to the colonists, however reluctantly wrung from the government in behalf of the church of england. the faultiness of principle in these arrangements is thus stated by the present bishop of australia, a man well fitted to the responsible station which he fills in christ's church. "by the government plan of aid," he observes, "encouragement is given to the lax and dangerous opinion, that there is in religion nothing that is either certain or true. the government virtually admits that there is no divinely-instituted form of church-membership, or of doctrine, otherwise that one would in preference receive its support. the consequence is that the most awful truths of christianity, which have been acknowledged and preserved in the church from the beginning, are now frequently spoken of as merely sectarian opinions, to which no peculiar respect is due."[ ] the roman catholics hailed this measure with delight, for what to them can be a greater triumph or a more gratifying spectacle than to behold a great protestant nation, inquiring, as pilate did, "what is truth?" the presbyterians, likewise, and protestant dissenters, were not behind their brethren of rome (though there were fewer voices to join the shout) in greeting so exquisitely liberal a measure, which is actually founded upon some of their favourite notions respecting the harmlessness of divisions, the total invisibility of the church, and the hatefulness of "a dominant episcopacy." the rejoicings which were to be heard in quarters apparently so opposite boded no good from the measure to the church of england; and, certainly, from the strange way in which this law has been carried into operation, so far as that communion is concerned, the government are not to be thanked for any favourable results that have followed. through the activity of the members of our church, both at home and in australia, an increased supply of churches and of clergy has indeed been obtained; but this has, in most instances, literally been wrung from the ruling powers; while the only boon that was freely given,--a most valuable boon, it is willingly acknowledged,--was the appointment of a bishop instead of an archdeacon. however, the value of the boon thus obtained was lessened by the disregard shown by government to the wants of the church in australia. the bishop returned from england, after his consecration in , _alone, without being accompanied by a single clergyman_, because, while roman catholic priests and presbyterian teachers were still eligible to receive, and did receive, the aid of government, the church of england was to remain as it was, notwithstanding its pressing wants and increasing numbers. all allowances towards the expense of the passage, or residence, or means of support for any additional clergymen, were refused. during five years, from to , the number of chaplains continued to be the same, except in , when there were only fifteen instead of sixteen in the estimates; and this was not because no increase was needful,--for when an outfit of _l._, and a yearly salary of _l._ were generously furnished to twenty clergymen by the society for the propagation of the gospel, in consequence of the extreme necessity of the case, every one of these were instantly employed. a subscription, amounting to , _l._ was at this time raised in england in behalf of the church in australia, and when the government perceived that public opinion was awakened in its favour, and that they had succeeded in giving their friends and supporters a tolerably good start, they at length agreed, with the tact peculiar to them, to place the church of england (at least nominally) upon the same footing with the two other "grand divisions of christians." [ ] bishop of australia's letter to the society for the propagation of the gospel, august , . now, therefore, the same assistance in outfit, and the same amount of salary proportioned to the numbers of the congregation, are awarded, according to the act, to the teachers of each of these three divisions. and thus, as sir r. bourke informs lord glenelg, in , ministers of the church of england have been forthcoming to "answer (in many instances) the calls of congregations of their communion;" while, as a matter of course, where no call is heard, no answer is attempted to be given. how very opposite is this modern idea of _the sheep calling the shepherd to them_, from that pattern set before us by the good shepherd, who "came to seek and to save that which was lost!" but still, though nominally upon an equality with the others, it is distressing to find how hard a measure has been dealt to the church in new south wales; how studiously every petty advantage that could be taken has been taken of it by a government calling itself liberal and impartial. a few instances of this shall be given, which may serve to show how our brethren in the colonies have been treated, and how we should ourselves be treated, if dissent and romanism could get the upper-hand in our native country; for then, at the very best, the clergy would be placed, as they now are in australia, "in a state of dependence upon two unstable supports;--the will of government, and the disposition of the people."[ ] at present, the latter is favourable enough in australia; but the good-will of the government towards the church has been indeed strangely shown within the last few years. when the other communions and persuasions in the colony had nearly, if not altogether, provided themselves with the number of ministers that the law would allow them, while the wants of the church remained, to a great extent, unsupplied, advantage was taken of an expression in a letter of the governor, sir george gipps,[ ] and a limitation was imposed upon the government assistance by lord normanby, which operated exclusively to the hurt of the church of england. in a like spirit it was that the governor of new south wales refused to consider as private contributions for schools either sums granted by the societies in england, or by their diocesan committee in new south wales; although, in both instances, the money was raised entirely by private subscription. the inconvenience, delay, and disappointment which this one arbitrary rule occasioned were astonishing; and to those who took delight in balking the efforts and thwarting the good works of our church, it must have been very gratifying. so, too, must the refusal, in , of a piece of land for a site of a church and parsonage in the wild district on the banks of the morrumbidgee, containing , souls, dispersed about over a very extensive range of country. [ ] see bishop of australia's charge in , p. . [ ] on november th, , sir g. gipps wrote to lord glenelg, stating that "he was happy to say there was no want in the colony of clergy of _any denomination_!" it was only in december that the bishop of australia had requested eighteen or nineteen _presbyters of the church of england_ for as many places as had actually complied with the government rules, and not more than half the number had, in the interim, been supplied. another example of similar conduct has occurred since the change of ministry at home, which would, it might have been hoped, have infused a better feeling into the colonial authorities. at the end of , the bishop proposed to erect, in certain spots, small wooden churches, as the only means of obtaining churches at all; trusting, that after these had stood forty or fifty years, they might be replaced by buildings of a higher and more lasting character. the average cost of these humble little buildings was to be from _l._ to _l._; and they were intended for very poor districts; but since the outlay did not amount to _l._, the government would give nothing, and no effort was made to introduce a modification of the law (supposing that to have been needful) in order to meet such cases. instances to the same effect might easily be multiplied. in new south wales land is comparatively cheap, and a horse is an indispensable necessary for a clergyman; but no part of the government grant is allowed to be spent in purchasing more than an acre for the site of a church, and half an acre for a house and garden. "to extend the latter allowance to any quantity of land from which an income might be derived, would increase the emoluments of the minister, at the public expense, beyond what the act contemplates;" so the bishop of australia was assured by official authority in . but enough of these miserable instances of state-peddling in ecclesiastical establishments. "there is no semblance," to use mr. gladstone's words, "in any part of these arrangements, of a true and sound conception of the conscientious functions of government in matters of religion."[ ] may we venture to hope that the present ministry, of which the writer of the above is a distinguished member, may exhibit in their conduct and arrangements, both in the colonies and at home, a more sound and true conception of their duty than was ever shown by their predecessors? such hopes, undoubtedly, are entertained by a portion of the british public, not unimportant either in numbers or in moral and political influence. nevertheless, the zealously attached members of the church of england need not to be reminded of a truth which is frequently brought before them in the circle of its daily service. they know that "it is better to trust in the lord than to put any confidence in princes." they are sure that, if theirs is a living branch of christ's holy catholic church, many a weapon will be formed against it, but yet "no weapon that is formed against it shall prosper." [ ] gladstone's state in its relations with the church, chap. vii. p. . it would be wearying to the reader to attempt to enter into the same details respecting schools as have been stated with regard to churches. the fate of the church and school corporation has elsewhere been related.[ ] suffice it to say, then, that the same spirit of hostility or indifference has been equally exhibited in both cases; indeed, it would be strange if the bitter enemies, and feeble or false friends of that system of religious instruction which is carried on among the adult population by our national church, were not alike vigorous in their opposition, or impotent in their friendship, to the system of religious training among the infant population which is wrought out by our national schools. however, in mentioning the subject of schools, the unsuccessful attempt of the government, in , to saddle the colony of new south wales with schools conducted upon the modern irish system, must not be left unnoticed. on this occasion, it may be observed, the presbyterian, independent, baptist, and wesleyan "denominations of christians," were actually forced to leave, for a while, their liberal friends and allies of the church of rome, and to seek the assistance, and rejoice in the strength of the "exclusive" and "dominant" church of england. it is really curious to observe these various sects seeking out the bishop of australia, and requesting him to preside at their meeting in opposition to the proposed measure; and since, although he disagreed with them in a matter not then at issue, namely, the need of creeds and catechisms in imparting religious instruction, nevertheless, as he agreed entirely with them in the matter which was at issue,--the propriety and necessity of using the holy scriptures in religious teaching,--he complied with their request, presided at their meeting, and signed their petition. he also presented a petition from himself on the same subject; for the government had so contrived to shuffle between the archdeacon and the bishop, that dr. broughton, who had very recently been consecrated, could, just at the time when the education scheme was to have passed, claim a seat in the legislative council in neither capacity. it so happened, that by an official neglect at the colonial-office in london, no patent, including the bishop as a member, had been forwarded to new south wales; so when he reached sydney, he found himself excluded from his seat in the council during the whole time in which this matter was under discussion there. the plan appeared to be successful; , _l._ was devoted towards establishing the new scheme, and an honoured name, that of "national schools," was pilfered, and bestowed upon those that were projected in sydney. but, in this instance, high principle and popular feeling were united against the irish scheme; and as it began with a blunder at the colonial-office, so it proved to be little better than a blunder throughout. the schools proposed were never established; and since that time the roman catholics have made a different sort of attempt to gain educational power, by obtaining separate sums for their own schools, and swamping the members of the church of england, under the honourable but much abused appellation of protestants, in the general quagmire of heresy and schism. however, this second effort, which was made with the sanction of the government, was defeated chiefly (under providence) by the zeal and ability of the bishop; and whoever is desirous of seeing a noble specimen of clear reasoning and manly eloquence, will be gratified and improved by reading the bishop of australia's speech upon the occasion of this scheme having been proposed by sir george gipps in the legislative council. certainly, when we consider how admirably bishop broughton demolished sir george gipps's scheme, we must own that the tact was very acute,--or at least the _mistake_ rather _suspicious_,--which shut him out of the legislative council when governor bourke's plan was in agitation. [ ] see the latter part of chapter xi. besides the schools assisted by government for the education of the lower orders, there are, of course, many private schools in the australian colonies; and it is believed that these important establishments are no longer so commonly under the direction of men that have been convicts as they formerly were. undoubtedly, one who has been transported _may_, perchance, turn out afterwards to be a good instructor of youth, but what christian parent would willingly risk his child's religious and moral progress upon a chance, a possibility, of this kind? the king's school at paramatta is an excellent establishment, founded and conducted upon the principles of the church of england. sydney college is another well-conducted school, but its principles are more open to objection. "it is to be believed," as has been remarked, "that a desire to gain the support of men of all religious principles, led to the sydney college being founded on none;" and it was scarcely possible to fall into a greater error than that of passing almost unnoticed the one thing needful. it is true, that prayers are used daily in this school, and there seems, from judge burton's account of it, to be much that is good and praiseworthy in its management and details. but a school where the children of protestants, roman catholics, and jews, meet together, must be, at best, an odd jumble; and the religious tendency of such an education must be very questionable. the australian college is said by dr. lang, its founder, to be the most promising establishment in new south wales, being more likely to resemble in course of time a small university or college in europe than the others are. it is chiefly in the hands of the presbyterians, and appears to be a thriving and well-conducted school of general learning. religious instruction is not neglected, but all this department of education is arranged in a vague and general way, so as to avoid as much as possible disputed points; and if parents or guardians object to children receiving this kind of instruction at all, these pupils are allowed to withdraw at the times when it is given. if no essential points of christianity had ever been brought into dispute, it might have been wise to avoid those unessential points that had been; or if religion were a matter of indifference or secondary consequence, then it might be well to provide for pupils withdrawing beyond the reach of its voice. but since neither of these suppositions are true, the system of the australian college cannot be recommended. it may be very _liberal_. it is not very _wise_. but it is hard to say when we have reached the extremity of any opinions. the plan of the australian college is far too narrow and confined for some choice spirits of new south wales; and accordingly the normal institution, as it is pompously designated, has been formed by a seceder from the first-named establishment. it is said to be tolerably flourishing, and no wonder, for it offers a very fair _secular_ education, and this is sufficient for the children of this world,--unhappily, no insignificant or small class either in new south wales or elsewhere. but the christian reader will be satisfied of the sandy foundation on which the normal institution is raised, when he glances over the following extracts from its original prospectus. the pupils are to be afforded "every facility and abundant materials for forming opinions of their own,"--young children, instead of being brought to christ, are to be allowed (if they can) to find their way to him. the prospectus says, "till the mind has formed religious opinions of its own, grounded on a wide range of religious knowledge, the profession of religion is meaningless, if not incalculably pernicious." our lord's words are, "except ye be converted and become as little children, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." but it is vain to quote the words of scripture to men who will make professions like this: "to inculcate any given set of religious tenets, or to teach any given set of religious text-books, would be to lend my labours to a party whilst i profess to labour for mankind." as though, forsooth, we could ever labour more advantageously for mankind than when we try to persuade them, from their very tenderest years, to believe in the bible and to belong to the church of god! it is the expressed opinion of the highest authority in the church of australia, that new south wales, which is certainly the farthest advanced of all our colonies there, is not yet ripe for the establishment of a regular college, resembling our ancient and venerated english universities. but this most important object has not been lost sight of; and while a grammar-school has recently been opened in st. james's parish in sydney, and another is projected at newcastle, both of which are intended to form a nursery for the future college, the means of providing this last are beginning to accumulate. mr. thomas moore, of liverpool, in new south wales, who died in , has left the site of his house in liverpool, with ground adjoining, together with acres of land, in trust towards the establishment of a college in immediate and exclusive connexion with the church of england and ireland. this bequest, in itself insufficient for the proposed purpose, will yet serve for a foundation to begin upon; , _l._ were voted in january, , by the society for promoting christian knowledge to advance the same good object, and it is expected that the fund will increase and gather strength before the time shall have arrived when it will be thought advisable to commence the college. a new school, attached to the church of england, is also about to be begun in van diemen's land. it is to be called archdeacon hutchins's school, being intended by its promoters for a lasting and useful memorial of their respect for the late lamented archdeacon of van diemen's land. in the last published account of this undertaking, it is stated that about _l._ was subscribed for this purpose, but at least , _l._ will be wanted. our noble society for promoting christian knowledge, ever active in advancing the glorious purpose for which it was formed, has contributed _l._ towards this school, which is to be built at hobart town. and it may be observed, that henceforth van diemen's land will demand even more spiritual care and assistance than the elder colony; for by recent arrangements, the transportation of criminals to new south wales has altogether ceased, and van diemen's land is now the only colony to which convicts are conveyed.[ ] [ ] for the particulars here stated, see the report of the society for promoting christian knowledge, for , pp. - . a census of the population of new south wales was taken on the d of march, in the year , and the general result of this is here added for the satisfaction of the reader. in the whole colony, including its various dependencies, but exclusive of van diemen's land,[ ] the total of inhabitants was , , of which number , were females, and , males, being as nearly as possible two to one in favour of the latter. the number of houses, mostly built of wood, was , , nearly in the proportion of eight inhabitants to each house. the return of the various religious persuasions was as follows:--church of england, , , forming a clear majority upon the whole population. scotch kirk, , , forming about a tenth of the whole amount of the inhabitants of new south wales. members of the church of rome, , , being rather more than one-fourth of the population. protestant dissenters, including wesleyans, , , making about one-twenty-sixth of the whole. jews, , mahometans and pagans, . of the inhabitants of new south wales in , , were returned as free, while , were in bondage.[ ] in , there was about one and three-quarters free to one bond, while in , there were four free to one bond, the proportion of free to the whole population having gained sixteen per cent. in the five years. henceforth, from the natural increase by births, from the influx of emigrants, and the stoppage of transportation, the advance will be much more rapid. the population of sydney was, in , no less than , souls; of these, , were returned as members of the church of england; , belonged to the romish church; , were members of the scotch kirk; , were protestant dissenters; were jews; and mahometans and pagans. it will be seen, that in the population of the metropolis of the colony, the proportions of the various religious opinions are not very materially different from those in the whole of new south wales, except that the number of roman catholics and dissenters are greater, as they usually are in large towns, and that in sydney the romanists have increased, whilst in the colony generally they have diminished since the last census. [ ] "it has been found impossible to state accurately the present population of tasmania. no information could be obtained at the well-known colonial publisher's (cross's) in holborn." [ ] these numbers are copied from a sydney newspaper, but from some difference in the elements of calculation, possibly from not including the population of norfolk island, they do not quite tally with those given above. a few words may not be out of place, in a work descriptive of the australian colonies, upon the subject of emigration, but so much has been written upon this matter, that a very few words may suffice to give the opinions of those who are practically acquainted with the subject. undoubtedly, active, industrious, and prudent persons, are likely to prosper in australia to a degree which is impossible, and scarcely credible, in great britain. no doubt, providence has in these, and in our other colonies, given england a means of letting its surplus population escape in a way that shall not be merely safe, but even profitable, to the mother country, as well as to the emigrants themselves. the average consumption of english manufactures by the australian colonists, has recently been stated to amount to ten guineas a-head, while that of the inhabitants of the european countries is only two shillings.[ ] and what true-born englishman would refuse to rejoice in the increased demand thus likely to be opened for our manufactures, and in the increased prosperity of our fellow-subjects on the other side of the globe, who are thus enabled to supply their own wants, by purchasing english goods? the objections which we hear occasionally urged against emigration amount, with one important exception, to little or nothing. the distance and long voyage, the risk of not succeeding, the impossibility now of pig-drivers and convicts becoming masters of many thousands a-year,[ ] the paramount necessity of patient industry and prudent forecast in australia, no less than in the rest of the world,--all these circumstances offer no reasonable hindrance to the emigrant's attempt, either to better his condition, or else to get that daily bread which in england he finds difficult to be obtained. and, whatever obstacles of this kind may at first deter him, the careful settler will soon find himself victorious over these, and more comfortably situated, in a worldly sense, than he ever before was. [ ] see the speech of mr. c. buller in the house of commons, on thursday, april th, , upon the subject of colonization. [ ] see evidence before committee on transportation in , p. . _in a worldly sense_, it is said, because, unhappily, there is one great objection to all emigration, belonging to it of necessity, which, in the english colonies, and not least so in australia, has been fearfully increased and needlessly aggravated. the want of religious instruction in newly-peopled countries, and among a widely-scattered and pastoral population, must needs be grievous, even under the most favourable circumstances. and if these countries are used as penal settlements, the want is likely to be still more deplorable. but the evil is inflamed to the utmost degree, when, as in australia during the earlier years of its colonial history, little provision of any kind is made for the spiritual need of the people, or when, as in the same country in later years, "a system is pursued which would seem to indicate an utter indifference on the part of those who dispense the national treasure, whether truth or falsehood shall characterise the religious creeds of any of the colonists."[ ] and thus, while the sum total of religious provision is very insufficient, that little is divided in a kind of scramble among various parties, so that irish roman catholics, who cry up the voluntary system at home, are tempted to glory in being one of "the three established communions" in new south wales; and scotch presbyterians, who profess extreme ardour for the american system of "leaving every religious denomination to support its own ministers," find in australia assistance from government (or even from a clergyman of the church of england)[ ] very convenient, and "a' vera weel," as the cannie scots say. with so much irreligion, so small and so miserably divided a power to oppose it, as we behold in australia, the great question with every one proposing to emigrate is, whether he can take that step without probable spiritual loss; and at this price he would find all worldly gain too dearly bought. there are many places in our colonies, it is true, where a person may use (or, if he pleases, neglect) the means of grace, exactly as at home; and against these spots the objection now urged would not at all weigh. but before any one removes himself into the wilderness, or far away from any place of worship, except the chapel of the roman catholic or the meeting of the separatist, he should be well rooted and grounded in the faith of his fathers. and supposing him to be so, what real patriot could wish a man of this kind to emigrate! how ill can england spare out of any rank of life such persons as these! before emigration can become as general and respectable as it ought to be, _religion_ must be made its groundwork; and religion, to be successful in doing the work of christ in the hearts of men, must not consist in that modern jumble of denominations, which pretends to the name, but must teach its doctrines by means of the ministrations of the "church of the living god," which is the pillar and ground of the truth. when this foundation has been laid, then can the conscientious churchman zealously promote emigration, and not before. and if it should never be laid, still, whatever may be his fears for weak brethren, or his value for more steadfast fellow-members of christ, influencing him to avoid the responsibility of advising them to quit the home of their fathers, the faithful churchman will be under no alarm whatever, respecting the stability of the branch planted by his mother-church in australia. nor yet will he grudge all other denominations (unless they be blasphemous or immoral,) the most complete toleration. nay, were it not for the mischief that would arise to christianity and to the souls of men, they might be welcome to all the support and patronage of the state; and if they obtain it all, even then we fear them not; indeed it is our duty to pity them, to love them, to pray for them as brethren. whatever may be the fate either of australia or england, the lot of christ's church--that visible church of his which was founded upon the first preaching of peter both to the jews and to the gentiles--is fixed and determined:--it is firmly built upon a rock, and "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 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as though their insignificance entitled them only to neglect. but the weakness of childhood is passing away: the infant is fast growing into the possession and the consciousness of strength, whilst the parent is obliged to acknowledge the increasing usefulness of her offspring. the long-existing and fundamental errors of government, under which the colonies have hitherto groaned in helpless subjection, will soon become generally known and understood -- and then they will be remedied. in the remarks which will be found scattered through this work on the subject of colonial government, it must be observed, that the system only is assailed, and not individuals. that it is the system and not the men who are in fault, is sufficiently proved by the fact that the most illustrious statesmen and the brightest talents of the age, have ever failed to distinguish themselves by good works, whilst directing the fortunes of the colonies. lord john russell, lord stanley, mr. gladstone -- all of them high-minded, scrupulous, and patriotic statesmen -- all of them men of brilliant genius, extensive knowledge, and profound thought -- have all of them been but slightly appreciated as colonial rulers. their principal success has been in perpetuating a noxious system. they have all of them conscientiously believed their first duty to be, in the words of lord stanley, to keep the colonies dependent upon the mother country; and occupied with this belief, they have legislated for the mother country and not for the colonies. vain, selfish, fear-inspired policy! that keeps the colonies down in the dust at the feet of the parent state, and yet is of no value or advantage to her. to make her colonies useful to england, they must be cherished in their infancy, and carefully encouraged to put forth all the strength of their secret energies. it is not whilst held in leading-strings that they can be useful, or aught but burthensome: rear them kindly to maturity, and allow them the free exercise of their vast natural strength, and they would be to the parent country her truest and most valuable friends. the colonies of the empire are the only lasting and inalienable markets for its produce; and the first aim of the political economist should be to develop to their utmost extent the vast resources possessed by great britain in these her own peculiar fields of national wealth. but the policy displayed throughout the history of her colonial possessions, has ever been the reverse of this. it was that grasping and ungenerous policy that called forth a washington, and cost her an empire. it is that same miserable and low-born policy that still recoils upon herself, depriving her of vast increase of wealth and power in order to keep the chain upon her hapless children, those ambitious titans whom she trembles to unbind. and yet poor old england considers herself an excellent parent, and moans and murmurs over the ingratitude of her troublesome offspring! like many other parents, she means to do well and act kindly, but unhappily the principles on which she proceeds are radically wrong. hence, on the one side, heart-burning, irritation, and resentment; on the other, disappointment, revulsion, and alarm. is she too deeply prejudiced, or too old in error, to attempt a new system of policy? in what single respect has she ever proved herself a good parent to any of her colonies? whilst supplying them with government officers, she has fettered them with unwholesome laws; whilst giving them a trifling preference over foreign states in their commerce, she has laid her grasp upon their soil; whilst allowing them to legislate in a small degree for themselves, she has reserved the prerogative of annulling all enactments that interfere with her own selfish or mistaken views; whilst permitting their inhabitants to live under a lightened pressure of taxation, she has debarred them from wealth, rank, honours, rewards, hopes -- all those incentives to action that lead men forward to glory, and stamp nations with greatness. what has she done for her colonies -- this careful and beneficent parent? she has permitted them to exist, but bound them down in serf-like dependence; and so she keeps them -- feeble, helpless, and hopeless. she grants them the sanction of her flag, and the privilege of boasting of her baneful protection. years -- ages have gone by, and her policy has been the same -- darkening the heart and crushing the energies of man in climes where nature sparkles with hope and teems with plenty. time, however, too powerful for statesmen, continues his silent but steady advance in the great work of amelioration. the condition of the colonies must be elevated to that of the counties of england. absolute rule must cease to prevail in them. men must be allowed to win there, as at home, honours and rank. time, the grand minister of correction -- time the avenger, already has his foot on the threshold of the colonial office. ----------------- contents. chapter. . -- colonists. . -- st. jago. . -- the mutiny. . -- the prison-island. . -- first adventures. . -- perth. -- colonial juries. . -- boating up the river. . -- farms on the river. . -- the moral thermometer of colonies. . -- country life. . -- persecutions. . -- michael blake, the irish settler. . -- wild cattle hunting. . -- woodman's point. . -- how the laws of england affect the natives. . -- remarks on the physical organization of the natives. . -- sketches of life among the natives. . -- the model kingdom. . -- trials of a governor. . -- mr. sails, my groom. -- over the hills. -- a sheep station. . -- extracts from the log of a hut-keeper. . -- pelican shooting. -- gales. -- wrestling with death. . -- the desert of australia. -- cause of the hot winds. -- geology. . -- colonial government. . -- one of the errors of government. -- adventures of the "bramble". . -- scientific discoveries. -- kangaroo hunting. -- emus. -- lost in the bush. . -- the comet. -- vital statistics. -- meteorology. . -- the botany of the colony. . -- misfortunes of the colony. . -- resources of the colony: -- horses for india. -- wine. -- dried fruits. -- cotton. -- coal. -- wool. -- corn. -- whale- oil. -- a whale hunt. -- cured fish. -- ship timber. . -- rise and fall of a settlement. -- the sequel to captain grey's discoveries. -- a word at parting. (plates. kangaroo hunting (frontispiece). the bivouac. spearing kangaroo. death of the kangaroo. emu hunt (woodcut).) the bushman; or, life in a new country. chapter . colonists. the spirit of adventure is the most animating impulse in the human breast. man naturally detests inaction; he thirsts after change and novelty, and the prospect of excitement makes him prefer even danger to continued repose. the love of adventure! how strongly it urges forward the young! the young, who are ever discontented with the present, and sigh for opportunities of action which they know not where to seek. old men mourn over the folly and recklessness of the young, who, in the fresh and balmy spring-time of life, recoil from the confinement of the desk or the study, and long for active occupation, in which all their beating energies may find employment. subjection is the consequence of civilized life; and self-sacrifice is necessary in those who are born to toil, before they may partake of its enjoyments. but though the young are conscious that this is so, they repine not the less; they feel that the freshness and verdure of life must first die away; that the promised recompense will probably come too late to the exhausted frame; that the blessings which would now be received with prostrate gratitude will cease to be felt as boons; and that although the wishes and wants of the heart will take new directions in the progress of years, the consciousness that the spring-time of life -- that peculiar season of happiness which can never be known again -- has been consumed in futile desires and aspirations, in vain hopes and bitter experiences, must ever remain deepening the gloom of memory. anxious to possess immediate independence, young men, full of adventurous spirit, proceed in search of new fields of labour, where they may reap at once the enjoyments of domestic life, whilst they industriously work out the curse that hangs over the sons of adam. they who thus become emigrants from the ardent spirit of adventure, and from a desire to experience a simpler and less artificial manner of living than that which has become the essential characteristic of european civilization, form a large and useful body of colonists. these men, notwithstanding the pity which will be bestowed upon them by those whose limited experience of life leads to the belief that happiness or contentment can only be found in the atmosphere of england, are entitled to some consideration and respect. to have dared to deviate from the beaten track which was before them in the outset of life; to have perceived at so vast a distance advantages which others, if they had seen, would have shrunk from aiming at; to have persevered in their resolution, notwithstanding the expostulations of age, the regrets of friendship, and the sighs of affection -- all this betokens originality and strength of character. does it also betoken indifference to the wishes of others? perhaps it does; and it marks one of the broadest and least amiable features in the character of a colonist. the next class of emigrants are those who depart from their native shores with reluctance and tears. children of misfortune and sorrow, they would yet remain to weep on the bosom from which they have drawn no sustenance. but the strong blasts of necessity drive them from the homes which even grief has not rendered less dear. their future has never yet responded to the voice of hope, and now, worn and broken in spirit, imagination paints nothing cheering in another land. they go solely because they may not remain -- because they know not where else to look for a resting place; and necessity, with her iron whip, drives them forth to some distant colony. but there is still a third class, the most numerous perhaps of all, that helps to compose the population of a colony. this is made up of young men who are the wasterels of the world; who have never done, and never will do themselves any good, and are a curse instead of a benefit to others. these are they who think themselves fine, jovial, spirited fellows, who disdain to work, and bear themselves as if life were merely a game which ought to be played out amid coarse laughter and wild riot. these go to a colony because their relatives will not support them in idleness at home. they feel no despair at the circumstance, for their pockets have been refilled, though (they are assured) for the last time; and they rejoice at the prospect of spending their capital far from the observation of intrusive guardians. disgusted at authority which has never proved sufficient to restrain or improve them, they become enamoured with the idea of absolute license, and are far too high-spirited to entertain any apprehensions of future poverty. these gallant-minded and truly enviable fellows betake themselves, on their arrival, to the zealous cultivation of field-sports instead of field produce. they leave with disdain the exercise of the useful arts to low-bred and beggarly-minded people, who have not spirit enough for anything better; whilst they themselves enthusiastically strive to realize again those glorious times,-- "when wild in woods the noble savage ran." in the intervals of relaxation from these fatigues, when they return to a town life, they endeavour to prove the activity of their energies and the benevolence of their characters, by getting up balls and pic-nics, solely to promote the happiness of the ladies. but notwithstanding this appearance of devotion to the fair sex, their best affections are never withdrawn from the companion of their hearts -- the brandy flask. they evince their generous hospitality by hailing every one who passes their door, with "how are you, old fellow? come in, and take a nip." somehow or other they are always liked, even by those who pity and despise them. the women only laugh at their irregularities -- they are such "good-hearted creatures!" and so they go easily and rapidly down that sloping path which leads to ruin and despair. what is their end? many of them literally kill themselves by drinking; and those who get through the seasoning, which is the fatal period, are either compelled to become labourers in the fields for any one who will provide them with food; or else succeed in exciting the compassion of their friends at home, by their dismal accounts of the impossibility of earning a livelihood in a ruined and worthless colony; and having thus obtained money enough to enable them to return to england, they hasten to throw themselves and their sorrows into the arms of their sympathizing relatives. nothing can be more absurd than to imagine that a fortune may be made in a colony by those who have neither in them nor about them any of the elements or qualities by which fortunes are gained at home. there are, unfortunately, few sources of wealth peculiar to a colony. the only advantage which the emigrant may reasonably calculate upon enjoying, is the diminution of competition. in england the crowd is so dense that men smother one another. it is only by opening up the same channels of wealth under more favourable circumstances, that the emigrant has any right to calculate upon success. without a profession, without any legitimate calling in which his early years have been properly instructed; without any knowledge or any habits of business, a man has no better prospect of making a fortune in a colony than at home. none, however, so circumstanced, entertains this belief; on the contrary, he enters upon his new career without any misgivings, and with the courage and enthusiasm of a newly enlisted recruit. alas! the disappointment which so soon and so inevitably succeeds, brings a crowd of vices and miseries in its train. chapter . st. jago. the reader may naturally expect to be informed of the reasons that have induced me thus to seek his acquaintance. in one word -- i am a colonist. in england, a great deal is said every day about colonies and colonists, but very little is known about them. a great deal is projected; but whatever is done, is unfortunately to their prejudice. secretaries of state know much more about the distant settlements of great britain than the inhabitants themselves; and, consequently, the latter are seldom able to appreciate the ordinances which (for their own good) they are compelled to submit to. my own experience is chiefly confined to one of the most insignificant of our colonies, -- insignificant in point of population, but extremely important as to its geographical position, and its prospects of future greatness, -- but the same principle of government applies to all the british settlements. a few years ago, i was the victim of medical skill; and being sentenced to death in my own country by three eminent physicians, was comparatively happy in having that sentence commuted to banishment. a wealthy man would have gone to naples, to malta, or to madeira; but a poor one has no resource save in a colony, unless he will condescend to live upon others, rather than support himself by his own exertions. the climate of western australia was recommended; and i may be grateful for the alternative allowed me. as i shall have occasion hereafter to allude to them incidentally, i may mention that my two brothers accompanied me on this distant voyage. the elder, a disciple of aesculapius, was not only anxious to gratify his fraternal solicitude and his professional tastes by watching my case, but was desirous of realizing the pleasures of rural life in australia. my younger brother (whose pursuits entitle him to be called meliboeus) was a youth not eighteen, originally designed for the church, and intended to cut a figure at oxford; but modestly conceiving that the figure he was likely to cut would not tend to the advancement of his worldly interests, and moreover, having no admiration for virgil beyond the bucolics, he fitted himself out with a lowland plaid and a set of pandaean pipes, and solemnly dedicated himself to the duties of a shepherd. thus it was that we were all embarked in the same boat; or rather, we found ourselves in the month of april, , on board of a certain ill-appointed barque bound for western australia. we had with us a couple of servants, four rams with curling horns -- a purchase from the late lord western; a noble blood-hound, the gift of a noble lord famous for the breed; a real old english mastiff-bitch, from the stock at lyme park; and a handsome spaniel cocker. besides this collection of quadrupeds, we had a vast assortment of useless lumber, which had cost us many hundred pounds. being most darkly ignorant of every thing relating to the country to which we were going, but having a notion that it was very much of the same character with that so long inhabited by robinson crusoe, we had prudently provided ourselves with all the necessaries and even non-necessaries of life in such a region. our tool chests would have suited an army of pioneers; several distinguished ironmongers of the city of london had cleared their warehouses in our favour of all the rubbish which had lain on hand during the last quarter of a century; we had hinges, bolts, screws, door-latches, staples, nails of all dimensions -- from the tenpenny, downwards -- and every other requisite to have completely built a modern village of reasonable extent. we had tents, macintosh bags, swimming-belts, several sets of sauce-pans in graduated scale, (we had here a distant eye to kangaroo and cockatoo stews,) cleavers, meat-saws, iron skewers, and a general apparatus of kitchen utensils that would have satisfied the desires of monsieur soyer himself. then we had double and single-barrelled guns, rifles, pistols, six barrels of pigou and wilkes' gunpowder; an immense assortment of shot, and two hundred weight of lead for bullets. besides the several articles already enumerated, we had provided ourselves with eighteen months' provisions, in pork and flour, calculating that by the time this quantity was consumed, we should have raised enough to support our establishment out of the soil by the sweat of our brows. and thus from sheer ignorance of colonial life, we had laid out a considerable portion of our capital in the purchase of useless articles, and of things which might have been procured more cheaply in the colony itself. nor were we the only green-horns that have gone out as colonists: on the contrary, nine-tenths of those who emigrate, do so in perfect ignorance of the country they are about to visit and the life they are destined to lead. the fact is, englishmen, as a body know nothing and care nothing about colonies. my own was merely the national ignorance. an englishman's idea of a colony (he classes them altogether) is, that it is some miserable place -- the black-hole of the british empire -- where no one would live if he were allowed a choice; and where the exiled spirits of the nation are incessantly sighing for a glimpse of the white cliffs of albion, and a taste of the old familiar green-and-yellow fog of the capital of the world. experience alone can convince him that there are in other regions of the world climes as delightful, suns as beneficent, and creditors as confiding, as those of old england. the voyage, of course, was tedious enough; but some portion of it was spent very pleasantly in calculating the annual profits which our flocks were likely to produce. the four noble rams, with their curly horns, grew daily more valuable in our estimation. by the sailors, no doubt, they were rated no higher than the miserable tenants of the long-boat, that formed part of the cuddy provisions. but with us it was very different. as we looked, every bright and balmy morning, into the pen which they occupied, we were enabled to picture more vividly those arcadian prospects which seemed now brought almost within reach. in these grave and respectable animals we recognised the patriarchs of a vast and invaluable progeny; and it was impossible to help feeling a kind of veneration for the sires of that fleecy multitude which was to prove the means of justifying our modest expectations of happiness and wealth. our dogs also afforded us the most pleasing subjects for speculation. with the blood-hound we were to track the footsteps of the midnight marauder, who should invade the sanctity of our fold. the spaniel was to aid in procuring a supply of game for the table; and i bestowed so much pains upon his education during the voyage, that before we landed he was perfectly au fait in the article of "down-charge!" and used to flush the cat in the steward's pantry with the greatest certainty and satisfaction. jezebel, the mastiff-birch, was expected to assist in guarding our castle, -- an honourable duty which her courage and fidelity amply warranted us in confiding to her. of the former quality, i shall mention an instance that occurred during the voyage. we had one day caught a shark, twelve feet long; and no sooner was he hauled on deck than jezebel, wild with fury, rushed through the circle of eager sailors and spectators, and flew directly at the nose of the struggling monster. it was with difficulty that she was dragged away by the admiring seamen, who were compelled to admit that there was a creature on board more reckless and daring than themselves. we were now approaching the cape verd islands. i daresay it has been frequently mentioned, that there is in these latitudes a vast bed of loose sea-weed, floating about, which has existed there from time immemorial, and which is only found in this one spot of the ocean; as though it were here compelled to remain under the influence of some magic spell. some navigators are of opinion that it grows on the rocks at the bottom of the sea, beneath the surface on which it floats. others maintain that it has been drifted across the atlantic, having issued from the gulf of mexico. here, however, it is doomed to drift about hopelessly, for ever lost in the wilderness of waters; on the surface of which it now vegetates, affording shelter to small crabs, and many curious kinds of fishes. one of the latter which we caught, about an inch in length, had a spike on his back, and four legs, with which he crawled about the sea-weed. we approached the island of st. jago, sailing unconsciously close to a sunken rock, on which (as we afterwards learnt) the "charlotte" had struck about six weeks before whilst under full sail, and had gone down in a few minutes, barely allowing time for the crew to escape in their boat. notwithstanding we had been five weeks at sea when we dropped anchor in porto praya roads, the appearance of the land was by no means inviting to the eyes. a high and extremely barren hill, or large heap of dry earth, with a good many stones about it, seemed to compose the island. close to us was the town, a collection of white houses that looked very dazzling in the summer sun. beside, and running behind it, was a greenish valley, containing a clump of cocoa-nut trees. this was the spot we longed to visit; so, getting into the captain's boat, we approached the shore, where a number of nearly naked negroes rushing into the sea (there being no pier or jetty) presented their slimy backs at the gun-wale, and carried us in triumph to the beach. the town boasted of one hotel, in the only sitting-room of which we found some portuguese officers smoking pipes as dirty as themselves, and drinking a beverage which had much the appearance of rum and water. there was no one who could speak a word of english; but at length a french waiter appeared, who seemed ravished with delight at the jargon with which we feebly reminded him of his own lively language "when at home." having ordered dinner, we wandered off in search of the coca-nut valley, and purchased bananas for the first time in our lives, and oranges, the finest in the world. those who have been long at sea know how pleasant it is to walk once more upon the land. it is one of the brightest of the everlasting flowers in the garland of memory. we walked along the sea-beach, as people so circumstanced must ever do, full of gladsome fancies. there was delight for us in the varied shells at our feet; in the curious skeletons of small fishes, untimely deceased; in the fantastic forms of the drifted sea-weed; in the gentle ripple of the companionable waves by our side. and little fig, the spaniel, was no less pleased then ourselves. he ran before us rejoicing in his fleetness; and he ran back again in a moment to tell us how glad he was. then as a wave more incursive than its predecessor unexpectedly wetted his feet, he would droop his tail and run faster with alarm, until the sight of some bush or bough, left high and dry by the last tide, awakened his nervous suspicions, and dreading an ambuscade, he would stop suddenly and bark at the dreadful object, until we arrived at his side, when, wagging his tail and looking slyly up with his joyous eyes, he would scamper away again as though he would have us believe he had been all the time only in fun. what profound satisfaction is there in the freedom of land after so long a confinement! the sunshine that makes joyous every object around us finds its way into the deeps of the heart. and now we determined to bathe. so we crossed over a jutting rock, on the other side of which was a beautiful and secluded little bay, so sheltered that the waves scarcely rippled as they came to kiss the shell-covered beach. here we soon unrobed; and i was the first to rush at full speed into the inviting waters. before i got up to my middle, however, i saw something before me that looked like a dark rock just below the surface. i made towards it, intending to get upon it, and dive off on the other side; but lo! as i approached, it stirred; then it darted like a flash of lightning towards one side of the bay, whilst i, after standing motionless for a moment, retreated with the utmost expedition. it was a ground-shark, of which there are numbers on that coast. we lost no time in putting on our clothes again, and returned in rather a fluttered state to the inn. chapter . the mutiny. we remained a week at st. jago, the captain being busily engaged in taking in water, and quarrelling with his crew. one day, at the instigation of our friend, the french waiter, we made a trip of seven miles into the interior of the island, to visit a beautiful valley called trinidad. mounted on donkeys, and attended by two ragged, copper-coloured youths, we proceeded in gallant style up the main street, and, leaving the town, crossed the valley beyond it, and emerged into the open country. it was a rough, stony, and hilly road, through a barren waste, where there scarcely appeared a stray blade of grass for the goats which rambled over it in anxious search of herbage. at length, after a wearisome ride of several hours, we descended suddenly into the most fertile and luxuriant valley i ever beheld, and which seemed to extend a distance of some miles. a mountain brook flowed down the midst, on the banks of which numerous scattered and picturesque cottages appeared. on either side the ground was covered with the green carpet of nature in the spring of the year. everywhere, except in this smiling valley, we saw nothing but the aridity of summer, and the desolation caused by a scorching tropical sun. but here -- how very different! how sudden, how magical was the change! every species of vegetable grew here in finest luxuriance. melons of every variety, pine-apples, sweet potatoes, plantains, and bananas, with their broad and drooping leaves of freshest green and rich purple flower, and ripe yellow fruit. orange-trees, cocoa-nut trees, limes -- the fig, the vine, the citron, the pomegranate, and numerous others, grateful to the weary sight, and bearing precious stores amid their branches, combined to give the appearance of wealth and plenty to this happy valley. it was not, however, destined to be entered by us without a fierce combat for precedence between two of our steeds. the animal whom it was the evil lot of meliboeus to bestride, suddenly threw back its ears, and darted madly upon the doctor's quadruped, which, on its side, manifested no reluctance to the fight. dreadful was the scene; the furious donkeys nearing and striking with their fore-feet, and biting each other about the head and neck without the smallest feeling of compunction or remorse; the two guides shrieking and swearing in portuguese at the donkeys and each other, and striking right and left with their long staves, perfectly indifferent as to whom they hit; the unhappy riders, furious with fright and chagrin, shouting in english to the belligerents of both classes to "keep off!" the screams of two women, who were carrying water in the neighbourhood, enhanced by the barking of a terrified cur, that ran blindly hither and thither with its tail between its legs, in a state of frantic excitement -- altogether produced a tableau of the most spirited description. peace was at length restored, and we all dismounted from our saddles with fully as much satisfaction as we had experienced when vaulting into them. there is little more to say about the valley of trinidad. the cottagers who supply the town of porto praya with fruits and vegetables are extremely poor, and very uncleanly and untidy in their houses and habits. we had intended to spend the night with them, but the appearance of the accommodations determined us to return to our inn, in spite of the friendly and disinterested advice of our guides. st. jago abounds with soldiers and priests; the former of whom are chiefly convicts from lisbon, condemned to serve here in the ranks. the day for sailing arrived, and we were all on board and ready. our barque was a temperance ship; that is, she belonged to owners who refused to allow their sailors the old measure of a wine-glass of rum in the morning, and another in the afternoon, but liberally substituted an extra pint of water instead. there is always one thing remarkable about these temperance ships, that when they arrive in harbour, their crews, excited to madness by long abstinence from their favourite liquor, and suffering in consequence all the excruciating torments of thirst, run into violent excesses the moment they get on shore. st. jago is famous for a kind of liquid fire, called aguadente, which is smuggled on board ship in the shape of pumpkins and watermelons. these are sold to the sailors for shirts and clothing; there being nothing so eagerly sought for by the inhabitants of st. jago as linen and calico. our crew, being thoroughly disgusted with their captain, as indeed they had some reason to be, and their valour being wondrously excited by their passionate fondness for water-melons, came to a stern resolution of spending the remainder of their lives on this agreeable island; at any rate, they determined to sail no farther in our company. the captain was ashore, settling his accounts and receiving his papers; the chief-mate had given orders to loose the fore-topsail and weigh anchor; and we were all in the cuddy, quietly sipping our wine, when we heard three cheers and a violent scuffling on deck. in a few moments down rushed the mate in a state of delirious excitement, vociferating that the men were in open mutiny, and calling upon us, in the name of the queen, to assist the officers of the ship in bringing them to order. starting up at the call of our sovereign, we rushed to our cabins in a state of nervous bewilderment, and loading our pistols in a manner that ensured their not going off, we valiantly hurried on deck in the rear of the exasperated officer. on reaching the raised quarter-deck of the vessel, we found the crew clustered together near the mainmast, armed with hand-spikes, boat-oars, crow-bars, and a miscellaneous assortment of other weapons, and listening to an harangue which the carpenter was in the act of delivering to them. they were all intoxicated; but the carpenter, a ferocious, determined villain, was the least so. at one of the quarter-deck gangways stood the captain's lady, a lean and wizened hecate, as famous for her love of rum as any of the crew, but more openly rejoicing in the no less objectionable spirit of ultra-methodism. screaming at the top of her voice, whilst her unshawled and dusky shoulders, as well as the soiled ribands of her dirty cap, were gently fanned by the sea-breeze, she commanded the men to return to their duty, in a volume of vociferation that seemed perfectly inexhaustible. fearing that the quarter-deck would be carried by storm, we divided our party, consisting of the two mates, three passengers with their servants, and mungo the black servant, into two divisions, each occupying one of the gang-ways. in a few moments the carpenter ceased his oration; the men cheered and danced about the deck, brandishing their weapons, and urging one another to "come on." then with a rush, or rather a stagger, they assailed our position, hoping to carry it in an instant by storm. the mate shouted to us to fire, and pick out three or four of the most desperate; but perceiving the intoxicated state of the men we refused to shed blood, except in the last extremity of self-defence; and determined to maintain our post, if possible, by means of our pistol-butts, or our fists alone. in the general melee which ensued, the captain's lady, who fought in the van, and looked like a lean helen macgregor, or the mythological ate, was captured by the assailants, and dragged to the deck below. then it was that combining our forces, and inspired with all the ardour which is naturally excited by the appearance of beauty in distress, we made a desperate sally, and after a fearful skirmish, succeeded in rescuing the lady, and replacing her on the quarter-deck, with the loss only of her cap and gown, and a few handfuls of hair. after this exploit, both parties seemed inclined to pause and take breath, and in the interval we made an harangue to the sailors, expressive of our regret that they should act in so disgraceful a manner. the gallant (or rather ungallant) fellows replied that they were determined to be no longer commanded by a she-captain, as they called the lady, and therefore would sail no farther in such company. i really believe that most of them had no serious intention whatever in their proceedings, but the officers of the ship were firmly convinced that the carpenter and one or two others had resolved to get possession of the vessel, dispose of the passengers and mates somehow or other, and then slip the cable, and wreck and sell the ship and cargo on the coast of south america. whilst the truce lasted, the second mate had been busily engaged making signals of distress, by repeatedly hoisting and lowering the ensign reversed, from the mizen-peak. this was soon observed from the deck of a small portuguese schooner of war, which lay at anchor about half a mile from us, having arrived a few hours previously, bringing the bishop of some-where-or-other on a visitation to the island. the attention of the officer of the watch had been previously attracted towards us by the noise we had made, and the violent scuffle which he had been observing through his glass. no sooner, therefore, was the flag reversed, than a boat was lowered from the quarter-davits, filled with marines, and pulled towards our vessel with the utmost rapidity. the mutineers, whose attention was directed entirely to the quarter-deck, did not perceive this manoeuvre, which, however, was evident enough to us, who exerted ourselves to the utmost to prolong the parley until our allies should arrive. the carpenter now decided upon renewing the assault, having laid aside his handspike and armed himself with an axe; but just at this moment the man-of-war's boat ran alongside, and several files of marines, with fixed bayonets, clambering on to the deck, effected a speedy change in the aspect of affairs. perceiving at once how matters stood, the officer in command, without asking a single question, ordered a charge against the astonished sailors, who, after a short resistance, and a few violent blows given and received, were captured and disarmed. there was a boy among the party called shiny bill, some fifteen years of age, who managed to escape to the fore-shrouds, and giving the marine who pursued him a violent kick in the face, succeeded in reaching the fore-top, where he coiled himself up like a ball. two or three marines, exasperated by the scuffle, and by several smart raps on the head which they had received, hastened up the shrouds after the fugitive, who, however, ascended to the fore-top-mast cross-trees, whither his enemies, after some hesitation, pursued. finding this post also untenable, he proceeded to swarm up the fore-top-gallant-mast shrouds, and at last seated himself on the royal yard, where he calmly awaited the approach of the enemy. these, however, feeling that the position was too strong to be successfully assailed by marines, deliberately commenced their retreat, and arrived on deck, whilst their officer was hailing the immovable bill in portuguese, and swearing he would shoot him unless he instantly descended. disdaining, however, to pay the least attention to these threats, shiny william continued to occupy his post with the greatest tranquillity; and the officer, giving up the attempt in despair, proceeded to inquire from us in portuguese-french the history of this outbreak. the scene concluded with the removal of the mutineers in one of the ship's boats to the man-of-war, where, in a few moments, several dozen lashes were administered to every man in detail, and the whole party were then sent on shore, and committed to a dungeon darker and dirtier than the worst among them had ever before been acquainted with. but before all this was done, and when the boats had pulled about a hundred yards from the vessel, shiny bill began to descend from his post. he slipped down unobserved by any one, and the first notice we had of his intentions was from perceiving him run across the deck to the starboard bow, whence he threw himself, without hesitation, into the sea, and began to swim lustily after his captive friends. our shouts -- for, remembering the abundance of sharks, we were very much alarmed for the poor fellow -- attracted the attention of the officer in the boat, to whom we pointed out the figure of bill, who seemed as eager now to make a voluntary surrender, and share the fate of his comrades, as he had previously been opposed to a violent seizure. the swimmer was soon picked up, and, to our regret, received in due season the same number of stripes as fell to the lot of his friends captured in battle. the prisoners remained several days in their dungeon, where they were hospitably regaled with bread and water by the portuguese government; and at the end of this period (so unworthy did they prove of the handsome treatment they received) the british spirit was humbled within them, and they entreated with tears to be allowed to return to their duty. the mates, however, refused to sail in the same vessel with the carpenter, and it was accordingly settled that he should remain in custody until the arrival of a british man-of-war, and then be returned to his country, passage free. chapter . the prison-island. it was nearly the end of august when we approached the conclusion of our voyage. the wind was fair, the sun shone brightly, and every heart was gay with the hope of once more being upon land. we drew nigh to the island of rottnest, about sixteen miles from the mouth of the river swan, and anchored to the north of it, waiting for a pilot from fremantle. and there we had the first view of our future home. beyond that low line of sand-hills, which stretched away north and south, far as the eye could reach, we were to begin life again, and earn for ourselves a fortune and an honourable name. no friendly voice would welcome us on landing, but numberless sharpers, eager to prey upon the inexperienced griffin, and take advantage of his unavoidable ignorance and confiding innocence. there was nothing very cheering in the prospect; but supported by the confidence and ambition of youth, we experienced no feelings of dismay. in order to wile away the time, we landed on the island, and, passing through a thick wood of cypresses, came to a goodly-sized and comfortable-looking dwelling-house, with numerous out-buildings about it, all built of marine lime-stone. as the particulars which i then learned respecting this island were afterwards confirmed by experience and more extended information, i may as well enter upon its history at once. the gentleman who was then governor of western australia, was mr. john hutt, a man of enlightened mind, firm, sagacious, and benevolent. from the first, he adopted an admirable policy with regard to the native inhabitants. exhibiting on all occasions a friendly interest in their welfare, he yet maintained a strict authority over them, which they soon learned to respect and fear. the aborigines were easily brought to feel that their surest protection lay in the government; that every act of violence committed upon them by individual settlers was sure to be avenged by the whites themselves; and that, as certainly, any aggression on the part of the natives would call down the utmost severity of punishment upon the offenders. by this firm administration of equal justice the aboriginal population, instead of being, as formerly, a hostile, treacherous, and troublesome race, had become harmless, docile, and in some degree useful to the settlers. but it was not the policy of mr. hutt merely to punish the natives for offences committed against the whites; he was anxious to substitute the milder spirit of the british law in lieu of their own barbarous code; and to make them feel, in process of time, that it was for their own interest to appeal for protection on all occasions to the dominant power of government, rather than trust to their own courage and spears. this was no easy task, and could only be accomplished by firmness, discrimination, and patience; but in the course of a few years, considerable progress had been made in subduing the prejudices and the barbarous customs of the aborigines. although it had been declared by royal proclamation that the native inhabitants were in every respect subjects of the british throne, and as such entitled to equal privileges with ourselves, and to be judged on all occasions by the common and statute laws, it proved to be no easy matter to carry into practice these views of the home government. people in england, who derive their knowledge of savages from the orations delivered at exeter hall, are apt to conceive that nothing more is requisite than to ensure them protection from imaginary oppression, and a regular supply of spiritual comforts. they do not consider that whilst they insist upon these unfortunate creatures being treated exactly as british subjects, they are placing a yoke on their own necks too heavy for them to bear in their present condition. primitive and simple laws are necessary to a primitive state of society; and the cumbrous machinery of civilized life is entirely unsuited to those who in their daily habits and their intellectual endowments are little superior to the beasts that perish. by declaring the savages to be in every respect british subjects, it becomes illegal to treat them otherwise than such. if a settler surprise a native in the act of stealing a pound of flour, he of course delivers him over to a constable, by whom he is conveyed before the nearest magistrate. now this magistrate, who is an old settler, and well acquainted with the habits of the natives, is also a man of humanity; and if he were allowed to exercise a judicious discretion, would order the culprit to be well flogged and dismissed to his expectant family. but thanks to her majesty's well-meaning secretaries of state for the colonies, who have all successively judged alike on this point, it is declared most unadvisable to allow a local magistrate the smallest modicum of discretion. he has only one course to pursue, and that is, to commit the offender for trial at the next quarter sessions, to be held in the capital of the colony. accordingly the poor native, who would rather have been flayed alive than sent into confinement for two months previous to trial, whilst his wives are left to their own resources, is heavily ironed, lest he should escape, and marched down some sixty or seventy miles to fremantle gaol, where the denizen of the forest has to endure those horrors of confinement which only the untamed and hitherto unfettered savage can possibly know. among savages, the 'lex talionis' -- the law of retaliation -- is the law of nature and of right; to abstain from avenging the death of a relative would be considered, by the tribe of the deceased, an act of unpardonable neglect. their own customs, which are to them as laws, point out the mode of vengeance. the nearest relative of the deceased must spear his slayer. nothing is more common among these people than to steal one another's wives; and this propensity affords a prolific source of bloodshed. they have also a general law, which is never deviated from, and which requires that whenever a member of a tribe dies, whether from violence or otherwise, a life must be taken from some other tribe. this practice may have originated in a desire to preserve the balance of power; or from a belief, which is very general among them, that a man never dies a natural death. if he die of some disorder, and not of a spear-wound, they say he is "quibble gidgied," or speared by some person a long distance off. the native doctor, or wise man of the tribe, frequently pretends to know who has caused the death of the deceased; and the supposed murderer is of course pursued and murdered in turn. this custom necessarily induces a constant state of warfare. now it is very right that all these barbarous and unchristian practices should be put an end to; but, whilst endeavouring to suppress them, we ought to remember that they are part and parcel of the long-established laws of this rude people, and that it is not possible all at once to make them forego their ancient institutions and customs. the settlers would gladly see punished all acts of violence committed among the natives in their neighbourhood. were they permitted to inflict such punishments as are best suited to the limited ideas and moral thraldom of the aborigines, these, without cruelty or injustice, might gradually be brought within the pale of civilization; but when the law declares it to be inevitable that every british subject who is tried and found guilty of having speared his enemy shall be hanged without benefit of clergy, the colonists out of sheer humanity and pity for the ignorance of the culprit, refrain from bringing him to trial and punishment -- a proceeding which, by the way, would cost the colony some fifteen or twenty pounds -- and thus he goes on in his errors, unreproved by the wisdom or the piety of the whites. sometimes, however, it happens that the officers who exercise the calling of protectors of the aborigines, anxious to prove that their post is no sinecure, make a point of hunting up an occasional law-breaker, who, being brought to trial, is usually found guilty upon his own evidence -- the unfortunate culprit, conscious of no guilt in having followed the customs of his ancestors, generally making a candid statement of his offence. the sentence decreed by the english law is then passed upon him, and he would, of course, be duly subjected to the penalty which justice is supposed to demand, did not the compassionate governor, in the exercise of the highest privilege of the crown, think proper to step in and commute the sentence to perpetual imprisonment. as it would have entailed a serious expense upon the colony to have had to maintain these prisoners in a gaol in the capital, his excellency determined to establish a penal settlement at rottnest; and this he accordingly accomplished, with very good effect. at the time we visited the island, there were about twenty native prisoners in charge of a superintendent and a few soldiers. the prisoners were employed in cultivating a sufficient quantity of ground to produce their own food. it was they also who had built the superintendent's residence; and whenever there was nothing else to do, they were exercised in carrying stone to the top of a high hill, on which a lighthouse was proposed to be built. the governor has certainly shown very good judgment in the formation of this penal establishment. it is the dread of the natives throughout the colony; and those prisoners who are released inspire among their fellows the greatest horror and dismay by their tales of the hardships they have suffered. no punishment can be more dreadful to these savages -- the most indolent race in the world -- than being compelled to work; and as their idleness brings them occasionally in contact with the superintendent's lash, their recollections and accounts of rottnest are of the most fearful description. certain, however, it is, that nothing has tended so much to keep the aborigines in good order as the establishment of this place of punishment. it is maintained at very little expense to the colony, as the prisoners grow their own vegetables, and might easily be made to produce flour enough for their own consumption. it was a clear, beautiful, sparkling day, and there was a sense of enjoyment attached to the green foliage, the waving crops, and the gently heaving sea, that threw over this new world of ours a charm which filled our hearts with gladness. having returned to our ship, we saw the pilot-boat rapidly approaching. as it came alongside, and we were hailed by the steersman, we felt a sensation of wonder at hearing ourselves addressed in english and by englishmen, so far, so very far from the shores of england. with this feeling, too, was mingled something like pity; we could not help looking upon these poor boatmen, in their neat costume of blue woollen shirts, canvass trousers, and straw hats, as fellow-countrymen who had been long exiled from their native land, and who must now regard us with eyes of interest and affection, as having only recently left its shores. no sooner was the pilot on board than the anchor was weighed, the sails were set, and we began to beat up into the anchorage off fremantle. night closed upon us ere we reached the spot proposed, and we passed the interval in walking the deck and noting the stars come forth upon their watch. the only signs of life and of human habitation were in the few twinkling lights of the town of fremantle: all beside, on the whole length of the coast, seemed to be a desert of sand, the back-ground of which was occupied with the dark outline of an illimitable forest. it was into this vast solitude that we were destined to penetrate. it was a picture full of sombre beauty, and it filled us with solemn thoughts. the next morning we were up at daybreak. certainly it was a beautiful sight, to watch the sun rise without a cloud from out of the depths of that dark forest, rapidly dispersing the cold gray gloom, and giving life, as it seemed, to the sparkling waves, which just before had been unconsciously heaved by some internal power, and suffered to fall back helplessly into their graves. how differently now they looked, dancing joyously forward towards the shore! and the sun, that seems to bring happiness to inanimate things, brought hope and confidence back to the hearts of those who watched him rise. flights of sea-birds of the cormorant tribe, but generally known as shags, were directing their course landward from the rocky islands on which they had roosted during the night. what long files they form! -- the solitary leader winging his rapid and undeviating way just above the level of the waves, whilst his followers, keeping their regular distances, blindly pursue the course he takes. see! he enters the mouth of the river; some distant object to his practised eye betokens danger, and though still maintaining his onward course, he inclines upwards into the air, and the whole line, as though actuated by the same impulse, follow his flight. and now they descend again within a few feet of the river's surface, and now are lost behind projecting rocks. all day long they fish in the retired bays and sheltered nooks of the river, happy in the midst of plenty. the river swan issues forth into the sea over a bar of rocks, affording only a dangerous passage for boats, or vessels drawing from four to five feet water. upon the left bank of the river is the town of fremantle. the most prominent object from the sea is a circular building of white limestone, placed on the summit of a black rock at the mouth of the swan. this building is the gaol. on the other side of the roadstead, about ten or twelve miles distant from the main, is a chain of islands, of which rottnest is the most northern. then come some large rocks, called the stragglers, leaving a passage out from the roadstead by the south of rottnest; after these is carnac, an island abounding with rabbits and mutton-birds; and still farther south is garden island. fremantle, the principal port of the colony, is unfortunately situated, as vessels of any burthen are obliged to anchor at a considerable distance from the shore. lower down the coast is a fine harbour, called mangles bay, containing a splendid anchorage, and it is much to be lamented that this was not originally fixed upon as the site for the capital of the colony. the first impression which the visitor to this settlement receives is not favourable. the whole country between fremantle and perth, a distance of ten miles, is composed of granitic sand, with which is mixed a small proportion of vegetable mould. this unfavourable description of soil is covered with a coarse scrub, and an immense forest of banksia trees, red gums, and several varieties of the eucalyptus. the banksia is a paltry tree, about the size of an apple-tree in an english or french orchard, perfectly useless as timber, but affording an inexhaustible supply of firewood. besides the trees i have mentioned, there is the xanthorea, or grass-tree, a plant which cannot be intelligibly described to those who have never seen it. the stem consists of a tough pithy substance, round which the leaves are formed. these, long and tapering like the rush, are four-sided, and extremely brittle; the base from which they shoot is broad and flat, about the size of a thumb-nail, and very resinous in substance. as the leaves decay annually, others are put forth above the bases of the old ones, which are thus pressed down by the new shoots, and a fresh circle is added every year to the growing plant. thousands of acres are covered with this singular vegetable production; and the traveller at his night bivouac is always sure of a glorious fire from the resinous stem of the grass-tree, and a comfortable bed from its leaves. we landed in a little bay on the southern bank of the river. the houses appeared to be generally two-storied, and were built of hard marine limestone. notwithstanding the sandy character of the soil, the gardens produced vegetables of every variety, and no part of the world could boast of finer potatoes or cabbages. anxious to begin the primitive life of a settler as speedily as possible, we consulted a merchant to whom we had brought letters of introduction as to the best mode of proceeding. he advised us to fix our head-quarters for a time near to fremantle, and thence traverse the colony until we should decide upon a permanent place of abode. in the meantime we dined and slept at francisco's hotel, where we were served with french dishes in first-rate style, and drank good luck to ourselves in excellent claret. in the early days of the colony, sir james stirling, the first governor, had fixed upon fremantle as the seat of government; and the settlers had begun to build themselves country-houses and elegant villa residences upon the banks of the river. these, however, were not completed before it was determined to fix the capital at perth, some dozen miles up the river, where the soil was rather better, and where a communication with the proposed farms in the interior would be more readily kept up. the government officers had now to abandon their half-built stone villas, and construct new habitations of wood, as there was no stone to be found in the neighbourhood of perth, and brick clay had not then been discovered. it was in one of these abandoned houses (called the cantonment), situate on the banks of the swan, about half a mile from fremantle, that, by the advice of our friend, we resolved to take up our quarters. the building was enclosed on three sides by a rough stone wall, and by a wooden fence, forming a paddock of about three quarters of an acre in extent. it comprised one large room, of some forty feet by eighteen, which had a roof of thatch in tolerable repair. the north side, protected by a verandah, had a door and two windows, in which a few panes of glass remained, and looked upon the broad river, from which it was separated by a bank of some twenty feet in descent, covered with a variety of shrubs, just then bursting into flower. a few scattered red-gum trees, of the size of a well-grown ash, gave a park-like appearance to our paddock, of which we immediately felt extremely proud, and had no doubt of being very comfortable in our new domain. besides the large room i have mentioned, there were two others at the back of it, which, unfortunately, were in rather a dilapidated condition; and below these apartments (which were built on the slope of a hill) were two more, which we immediately allotted to the dogs and sheep. this side of the building was enclosed by a wall, which formed a small court-yard. here was an oven, which only wanted a little repair to be made ready for immediate use. for several days we were occupied in superintending the landing of our stores, and housing them in a building which we rented in the town at no trifling sum per week. a light dog-cart, which i had brought out, being unpacked, proved extremely useful in conveying to our intended residence such articles as we were likely to be in immediate want of. the two men had already taken up their abode there, together with the rams and dogs; and at last, leaving our comfortable quarters at the hotel with something like regret and a feeling of doubt and bewilderment, we all three marched in state, with our double-barrels on our shoulders, to take possession of our rural habitation. chapter . first adventures. we had providently dined before we took possession; and now, at sunset, we stood on the bank before our house, looking down upon the placid river. the blood-hound was chained to one of the posts of the verandah; jezebel, the noble mastiff-bitch, lay basking before the door, perfectly contented with her situation and prospects; and little fig was busily hunting among the shrubs, and barking at the small birds which he disturbed as they were preparing to roost. one of the men was sitting on an upturned box beside the fire, waiting for the gently-humming kettle to boil; whilst the other was chipping wood outside the house, and from time to time carrying the logs into the room, and piling them upon the hearth. as we looked around we felt that we had now indeed commenced a new life. for some months, at any rate, we were to do without those comforts and luxuries which englishmen at home, of every rank above the entirely destitute, deem so essential to bodily ease and happiness. we were to sleep on the floor, to cook our own victuals, and make our own beds. this was to be our mode of acquiring a settlement in this land of promise. still there was an air of independence about it, and we felt a confidence in our own energies and resources that made the novelty of our position rather agreeable than otherwise. there was something exhilarating in the fresh sea-breeze; there was something very pleasing in the gay appearance of the shrubs that surrounded us -- in the broad expanse of the river, with its occasional sail, and its numerous birds passing rapidly over it on their way to the islands where they roosted, or soaring leisurely to and fro, with constant eyes piercing its depths, and then suddenly darting downwards like streams of light into the flood, and emerging instantly afterwards with their finny prey. the opposite bank of the river displayed a sandy country covered with dark scrub; and beyond this was the sea, with a view of rottnest and the straggler rocks. a few white cottages relieved the sombre and death-like appearance of that opposite shore. unpromising as was the aspect of the country, it yet afforded sufficient verdure to support in good condition a large herd of cattle, which supplied fremantle with milk and food. here, then, the reader may behold us for the first time in our character of settlers. he may behold three individuals in light shooting coats and cloth caps, standing upon the bank before their picturesque and half-ruinous house, their dogs at their side, and their gaze fixed upon the river that rolled beneath them. the same thoughts probably occupied them all: they were now left in a land which looked much like a desert, with heaven for their aid, and no other resources than a small capital, and their own energies and truth. the great game of life was now to begin in earnest, and the question was, how it should be played with success? individual activity and exertion were absolutely necessary to ensure good fortune; and warmly impressed with the consciousness of this, we turned with one impulse in search of employment. aesculapius began to prepare their supper for the dogs, and meliboeus looked after his sheep, which were grazing in the paddock in front of the dwelling. as for myself, with the ardent mind of a young settler, i seized upon the axe, and began to chop firewood -- an exercise, by the way, which i almost immediately renounced. and now for supper! our most necessary articles were buried somewhere beneath the heaps of rubbish with which we had filled the store-room at fremantle. our plates, cups and saucers, etc., were in a crate which was not to be unpacked until we had removed our property and abode to the inland station which we designed for our permanent residence. there were, however, at hand for present use eight or nine pewter plates, and a goodly sized pannikin a-piece. in one corner of the room was a bag of flour, in another a bag of sugar, in a third a barrel of pork, and on the table, composed of a plank upon two empty casks, were a couple of loaves which simon had purchased in the town, and a large tea-pot which he had fortunately discovered in the same cask with the pannikins. the kettle fizzed upon the fire, impatient to be poured out; the company began to draw round the hospitable board, seating themselves upon their bedding, or upon empty packing-cases; and, in a word, tea time had arrived. hannibal, as we called the younger of our attendants, from his valiant disposition, had filled one of the pewter plates with brown sugar from the bag; the doctor made the tea, and we wanted nothing but spoons to make our equipage complete. however, every man had his pocket-knife, and so we fell to work. butter being at that time half-a-crown a pound, simon (our head man) had prudently refrained from buying any; and as he had forgotten to boil a piece of the salt pork, we had to sup upon dry bread, which we did without repining, determined, however, to manage better on the morrow. in the meantime we were nearly driven desperate by most violent attacks upon our legs, committed by myriads of fleas. they were so plentiful that we could see them crawling upon the floor; the dogs almost howled with anguish, and the most sedate among us could not refrain from bitter and deep execrations. we had none of us ever before experienced such torment; and really feared that in the course of the night we should be eaten up entirely. these creatures are hatched in the sand, and during the rains of winter they take refuge in empty houses; but they infest every place throughout the country, during all seasons, more or less, and are only kept down by constant sweeping from becoming a most tremendous and overwhelming plague, before which every created being, not indigenous to the soil, would soon disappear, or be reduced to a bundle of polished bones. the natives themselves never sleep twice under the same wigwam. after tea, the sheep and dogs being carefully disposed of for the night, we turned out before the house, and comforted ourselves with cigars; and having whiled away as much time as possible, we spread out our mattresses on the floor, and in a state of desperation attempted to find rest. we escaped with our lives, and were thankful in the morning for so much mercy vouchsafed to us, but we could not conscientiously return thanks for a night's refreshing rest. at the first dawn of day we rolled up our beds, lighted the fire, swept out the room, let the dogs loose, and drove the rams to pasture on the margin of the river. after breakfast, which was but a sorry meal, we determined to make our first attempt at baking. simon, a man of dauntless resolution, undertook the task, using a piece of stale bread as leaven. it was a serious business, and we all helped or looked on; but the result, notwithstanding the multitude of councillors, was a lamentable failure. better success, fortunately, attended the labours of hannibal, who boiled a piece of salt pork with the greatest skill. mutton at this period, , was selling at sixteen-pence per pound (it is now two-pence), and we therefore resolved to depend upon our guns for fresh meat. we had brought with us a fishing-net, which we determined to put in requisition the following day. the most prominent idea in the imagination of a settler on his first arrival at an australian colony, is on the subject of the natives. whilst in england he was, like the rest of his generous-minded countrymen, sensibly alive to the wrongs of these unhappy beings -- wrongs which, originating in a great measure in the eloquence of exeter hall, have awakened the sympathies of a humane and unselfish people throughout the length and breadth of the kingdom. full of these noble and ennobling sentiments, the emigrant approaches the scene of british-colonial cruelty; but no sooner does he land, than a considerable change takes place in his feelings. he begins to think that he is about to place his valuable person and property in the very midst of a nation of savages, who are entirely unrestrained by any moral or human laws, or any religious scruples, from taking the most disagreeable liberties with these precious things. the refined and amiable philanthropist gradually sinks into the coarse-minded and selfish settler, who is determined to protect himself, his family, and effects, by every means in his power -- even at the risk of outraging the amiable feelings of his brother philanthropists at home. in western australia, the natives generally are in very good order; they behave peaceably towards the settlers, eat their flour, and in return occasionally herd or hunt up their cattle, and keep their larders supplied with kangaroo. it is very rarely -- i have never indeed heard of a single well-authenticated instance -- that any amount of benefits, or the most unvarying kindness, can awaken the smallest spark of gratitude in the breasts of these degraded savages. those who derive their chief support from the flour and broken meat daily bestowed upon them by the farm settlers, would send a spear through their benefactors with as little remorse as through the breast of a stranger. the fear of punishment alone has any influence over them; and although in this colony they are never treated with anything like cruelty or oppression, it is absolutely necessary to personal safety to maintain a firm and prompt authority over them. when we first arrived, we were philanthropists, in the usual sense of that term, and thought a good deal about the moral and general destitution of this unfortunate people; but when we first encountered on the road a party of coffee-coloured savages, with spears in their hands, and loose kangaroo-skin cloaks (their only garments) on their shoulders, accompanied by their women similarly clad, and each carrying in a bag at her back her black-haired offspring, with a face as filthy as its mother's -- we by no means felt inclined to step forward and embrace them as brethren. i question, indeed, whether the most ardent philanthropist in the world would not have hesitated before he even held forth his hand to creatures whose heads and countenances were darkened over with a compound of grease and red clay, whose persons had never been submitted to ablution from the hour of their birth, and whose approach was always heralded by a perfume that would stagger the most enthusiastic lover of his species. but it was not merely disgust that kept us at arm's length. we must confess we were somewhat appalled at this first view of savage life, as we looked upon the sharp-pointed spears, wild eyes, and well-polished teeth of our new acquaintance. although, in truth, they were perfectly harmless in their intentions, we could not help feeling a little nervous as they drew nigh, and saluted us with shrill cries and exclamations, and childish bursts of wild laughter. their principal question was, whether we were "cabra-man?" or seamen, as we afterwards discovered their meaning to be. after a good deal of screaming and laughing, they passed on their way, leaving us much relieved by their absence. they seemed to be, and experience has proved to us that they are, the most light-hearted, careless, and happy people in the world. subsisting upon the wild roots of the earth, opossums, lizards, snakes, kangaroos, or anything else that is eatable which happens to fall in their way, they obtain an easy livelihood, and never trouble themselves with thoughts of the morrow. they build a new house for themselves every evening; that is, each family, erects a slight shelter of sticks covered over with bark, or the tops of the xanthorea, that just keeps off the wind; and with a small fire at their feet, the master of the family, his wife, or wives, and children, lie huddled together like a cluster of snakes -- happier than the tenants of downy beds. far happier, certainly, than we had lately been in ours. we had, however, devised a new plan for the next night. having each of us a hammock, we suspended them from the rafters; and thus, after the first difficulty and danger of getting into bed was overcome, we lay beyond the reach of our formidable enemies, and contrived to sleep soundly and comfortably. the next morning we breakfasted early. my brothers resolved to try the effect of the fishing-net, and i myself arranged a shooting excursion with a lad, whose parents rented a house situated about a quarter of a mile from our own. we were to go to some lakes a few miles distant, which abounded with wild ducks and other water-fowl. preceded by fig, and more soberly accompanied by jezebel, we set out upon our expedition. it was the close of the australian winter, and the temperature was that of a bright, clear day in england at the end of september. the air was mild, but elastic and dry; the peppermint and wattle-trees were gay with white and yellow blossoms; an infinite variety of flowering shrubs gave to the country the appearance of english grounds about a goodly mansion; whilst the earth was carpeted with the liveliest flowers. it was impossible to help being in good spirits. we passed up a valley of white gum-trees, which somewhat resemble the ash, but are of a much lighter hue. they belong to the eucalyptus species. i shot several beautiful parroquets, the plumage of which was chiefly green; the heads were black, and some of the pinion feathers yellow. the country presented very little appearance of grass, though abounding with green scrub; and frequently we passed over denuded hills of limestone-rock, from which we beheld the sea on one side, and on the other the vast forest of banksias and eucalypti, that overspreads the entire country. the river winding among this mass of foliage, relieved the eye. after a walk of two hours we approached the lakes of which we were in search, situated in a flat country, and their margins covered with tall sedges, it was difficult to obtain a view of the water. now, then, we prepared for action. behind those tall sedges was probably a brood of water-fowl, either sleeping in the heat of the day, or carefully feeding in the full security of desert solitude. "fig! you villain! what are you about? are you going to rush into the water, and ruin me by your senseless conduct? i have got you now, and here you must please to remain quiet. no, you rascal! you need not look up to me with such a beseeching countenance, whilst you tremble with impatience, eager to have a share in the sport. you must wait till you hear my gun. i am now shooting for my dinner, and perhaps for yours also, if you will condescend to eat duck, and i dare not allow you the pleasure of putting up the game. you understand all this well enough, and therefore please to be silent; -- or, observe! i'll murder you." leaving the boy with the dogs, i began to steal towards the lake, when i heard his muttered exclamation, and turning round, saw him crouching to the earth and pointing to the sky. imitating his caution, i looked in the direction he pointed out, and beheld three large birds leisurely making towards the spot we occupied. they were larger than geese, black, with white wings, and sailed heavily along, whilst i lay breathlessly awaiting their approach. the dogs were held down by the boy, and we all seemed equally to feel the awfulness of the moment. the birds came slowly towards us, and then slanted away to the right; and then wheeling round and round, they alighted upon the lake. creeping to the sedges, i pushed cautiously through, up to the ankles in mud and water. how those provoking reeds, three feet higher than my head, rustled as i gently put them aside! and now i could see plainly across a lake of several acres in extent. there on the opposite side, were three black swans sailing about, and occasionally burying their long necks in the still waters. with gaze riveted upon that exciting spectacle, i over-looked a myriad of ducks that were reposing within a few yards of me, and which, having discovered the lurking danger, began to rise en masse from the lake. never before had i seen such a multitude. struck with amazement, i stood idly gaping as they rose before me; and after sweeping round the lake, with a few quacks of alarm, whirled over the trees and disappeared. the swans seemed for a moment to catch the general apprehension, and one of them actually rose out of the water, but after skimming along the surface for a few yards, he sank down again, and his companions swam to rejoin him. gently retreating, i got back upon the dry land, and motioning the boy to remain quiet, hastened round the lake to its opposite bank. more cautiously than before i entered the grove of sedges, and soon beheld two of the swans busily fishing at some distance from the shore. what had become of the third? there he is, close to the border of the lake, and only about fifty yards from my position! my first shot at a swan! -- now then -- present! fire! -- bang! what a splutter! the shots pepper the water around him. he tries to rise, he cannot! his wing is broken! hurrah! hurrah! "here jonathan! toby! what's your name? here! bring the dogs -- i've hit him -- i've done for him! "fig, fig! -- o! here you are; good little dog -- good little fellow! now then, in with you! there he is!" with a cry of delight, little fig dashed through the reeds. the water rushed down his open throat and half-choked him; but he did not care. shaking the water out of his nose as he swam, he whimpered with pleasure, and hurried after the swan which was now slowly making towards the middle of the lake. its companions had left it to its fate. we stood in the water watching the chase. jezebel, excited out of all propriety, though she could see nothing of what was going on, gallopped up and down the bank, with her tail stiff out, tumbling over the broken boughs which lay there, and uttering every now and then deep barks that awoke the astonished echoes of the woods. sometimes she would make a plunge into the water, splashing us all over, and then she quickly scrambled out again, her ardour considerably cooled. "well done, fig! good little dog! at him again! never mind that rap on the head from his wing." away swam the swan, and fig after him, incessantly barking. had not the noble bird been grievously wounded he would have defied the utmost exertions of the little spaniel, but as it was, he could only get for a moment out of the reach of his pursuer by a violent effort, which only left him more exhausted. and now they approached the shore; and the swan, hard pressed, turns round and aims a blow with its bill at the dog. this fig managed to elude, and in return made a snap at his enemy's wing, and obtained a mouthful of feathers; but in revenge he received on his nose a rap from the strong pinion of the bird that made him turn tail and fairly yelp with anguish. "never mind, brave fig! good dog! at him again! bravo -- bravo! good little fellow!" there he is, once more upon him. and now, master fig, taught a lesson by the smart blows he had received, endeavours to assail only the wounded wing of the swan. it was a very fierce combat, but the swan would probably have had the best of it had not loss of blood rendered him faint and weak. he still fought bravely, but now whenever he missed his adversary, his bill would remain a moment in the water, as though he had scarcely strength to raise his head; and as he grew momentarily weaker and weaker, so fig waxed more daring and energetic in his assaults; until at length he fairly seized his exhausted foe by the neck, and notwithstanding his struggles, and the violent flapping of his long unwounded wing, began to draw him towards the shore. we hurried to meet and help him. jezebel was the first that dashed breast-high into the water; and seizing a pinion in her strong jaws, she soon drew both the swan and fig, who would have died rather than let go, through the yielding sedges to the land. the swan was soon dead; and fig lay panting on the sand, with his moth open, and looking up to his master as he wagged his tail, clearly implying, "did not i do it well, master?" "yes, my little dog, you did it nobly. and now you shall have some of this bread, of simon's own baking, which i cannot eat myself; and jonathan and i will finish this flask of brandy and water." and now we set out on our return home, anxious to display our trophy to envious eyes. as we approached the cantonment, i discharged my unloaded barrel at a bird like a thrush in appearance, called a wattle-bird, from having two little wattles which project from either side of its head. the salute was answered by a similar discharge from the cantonment, and soon afterwards meliboeus came running to meet us, preceded by the blood-hound at full gallop. the dogs greeted one another with much apparent satisfaction. little fig was evidently anxious to inform his big friend of all that he had done, but nero was much too dignified and important to attend to him, and bestowed all his notice upon jezebel. the fishermen had succeeded in catching a dozen mullet, which were all ready for cooking; and the frying-pan being soon put in requisition, we were speedily placed at table. being still without legitimate knives and forks, the absence of the latter article was supplied by small forked-sticks, cut from a neighbouring peppermint tree. those who did not like cold water alone were allowed grog; and the entertainment, consisting of fish and boiled pork (which a few months before we should have considered an utter abomination), being seasoned with hunger, went off with tolerable satisfaction. the following day we had the swan skinned and roasted, but it certainly was not nearly so good as a michaelmas goose. nevertheless, it was a change from boiled pork, and we endeavoured to think it a luxury. simon had been more successful in his latter efforts at baking, and, on the whole, things assumed a more comfortable aspect. chapter . perth -- colonial juries. so soon as we were well settled in our new abode, we began to think of pushing our researches a little farther into the country. we thought it high time that we visited the capital, and paid our respects to the governor. about a mile and a half from our location, the fremantle and perth road crosses the river (which is there about four hundred yards wide) by a ferry. john-of-the-ferry, the lessee of the tolls, the charon of the passage, is a pole by birth, who escaped with difficulty out of the hands of the russians; and having the fortune to find an english master, after a series of adventures entered into the employment of an emigrant, and settled in western australia. he had now become not only the lessee of the ferry, but a dealer in various small articles, and at the time to which i refer, was the owner of several timor ponies. singular enough for a horse-dealer and a colonist, john had the reputation of being an honest man, and his customers always treated him with the utmost confidence. having learnt his good character, we repaired to his neat, white-washed cottage on the banks of the river to inspect his stud; and soon effected a purchase of two of his ponies. these animals, about thirteen hands high, proved to belong to the swiftest and hardiest race of ponies in the world. they required no care or grooming; blessed with excellent appetites, they picked up their food wherever they could find any, and came night and morning to the door to receive their rations of barley, oat-meal, bread-crusts, or any thing that could be spared them. the colony had been supplied with several cargoes of these ponies from timor, and they proved extremely useful so long as there was a scarcity of horses; but afterwards they became a nuisance, and tended greatly to keep back improvements in the breed of horses. pony-stallions suffered to roam at large, became at length such an evil, that special acts of council were passed against them; and as these did not prove of sufficient efficacy, the animals were sometimes hunted like wild cattle, and shot with rifles. it was some amusement to us to break in our small quadrupeds to draw my light cart; we had brought out tandem-harness; and in a short time we got up a very fair team. but, alas! there was no pleasure in driving in that neighbourhood -- the road being only a track of deep sand. one bright and tempting morning the doctor and myself mounted our steeds, and leaving our affairs at the castle in the faithful charge of meliboeus, wended our way towards the capital of the colony. the river at the ferry has a picturesque appearance, precipitous rocks forming its sides, and two bays, a mile apart, terminating the view on either hand, where the river winds round projecting head-lands. the old road to perth was truly a miserable one, being at least six inches deep in sand the whole way. it was scarcely possible to see more than fifty yards ahead of you, so thickly grew the banksia trees. after crossing the ferry, we lost sight of the river for several miles, and then diverged from the dismal road by a path which we had been directed by the ferryman to look out for, and which brought us to a sandy beach at the bottom of a beautiful bay, called freshwater bay. from this point to the opposite side was a stretch of several miles, and the broad and winding river, or rather estuary, with its forest banks, presented a beautiful appearance. we now ascended from the shore to the high land above. the forest through which we passed resembled a wild english park; below was the broad expanse of melville water, enlivened by the white sails of several boats on their way from perth to fremantle. farther on, the mouth of the canning river opened upon us; and now we could see, deep below the high and dark hill-side on which we travelled, the narrow entrance from melville water into perth water. at length we obtained a full view of the picturesquely situated town of perth. it stands on the right bank of a broad and crescent-shaped reach of the river swan, in an extremely well-chosen locality. the streets are broad; and those houses which are placed nearest to the river, possess, perhaps, the most luxuriant gardens in the world. every kind of fruit known in the finest climates is here produced in perfection. grapes and figs are in profuse abundance; melons and peaches are no less plentiful, and bananas and plantains seem to rejoice in the climate as their own. the town has a never-failing supply of fresh water from a chain of swamps at the back, and the wells fed by them are never dry. many of the houses are well built -- brick having long since superseded the original structure of wood -- and possess all the usual comforts of english residences. in the principal street, most of the houses stand alone, each proprietor having a garden, or paddock of three quarters of an acre in extent, about his dwelling. the great misfortune of the town is, that the upper portion of it is built upon sand, which is many feet deep. the streets, not being yet paved, are all but impassable; but happily, each possesses a good foot-path of clay, and it is to be hoped that the cart-ways will ere long be similarly improved. sydney was originally in the state that perth presents now; but there the natural unfavourableness of the soil has been entirely overcome. increasing wealth and population will ere long do as much for us. it is not until we reach guildford, eight miles farther inland than perth, that the stratum of sand ceases, and a cold and marly clay succeeds, which reaches to the foot of the darling range of hills, and extends many miles down the coast. the banks of the swan river, as well as of the canning and most other rivers of the colony, contain many miles of rich alluvial soil, capable of growing wheat sufficient for the support of a large population. many of these flats have produced crops of wheat for sixteen years successively, without the aid of any kind of manure. it must, however, be owned, that a very slovenly system of farming has been generally pursued throughout the colony; and, in fact, is commonly observable in all colonies. the settlers are not only apt to rely too much upon the natural productiveness of the soil, but they are in general men whose attention has only lately been turned to agriculture, and who are almost entirely ignorant of practical farming in its most important details. the agricultural society of western australia has for some years exerted itself to improve this state of things, and has in some measure succeeded. it must be observed that with the exception of the rich flats of the swan and canning rivers, the vast extent of country between the coast and the darling hills is a miserable region, scarcely more valuable for the purposes of cultivation than the deserts of africa, except where occasional swamps appear like oases, and tempt the hardy settler to found a location. as all the worst land of the colony lies unfortunately near the coast, those who visit only the port and capital usually leave the country with a very unfavourable and a very erroneous impression of its real character. it is not until the granite range of the darling hills is passed over, that the principal pastoral and agricultural districts are found. there are the farm settlements, the flocks, and herds of the colony. from the victoria plains north of toodyay, for hundreds of miles to the southward, comprising the fertile districts of northam, york, beverley, the dale and the hotham, is found a surface of stiff soil, covered over with straggling herbage, and many varieties of trees and shrubs. but i am travelling too fast: i must pause for the present at perth. circumstances determined me to take up my residence there, instead of accompanying the rest of my party into the interior, as i had originally intended. i liked the appearance and situation of the town; and i liked the people generally. and here i may state, with many kindly feelings, that never was a more united or cordial society than that of the town of perth, with its civil and military officers, and its handful of merchants. no political or religious differences have hitherto disturbed its harmony; nor have there yet been introduced many of those distinctions which may be necessary and unavoidable in large communities, but which, though generally to be met with in all societies, are not only lamentable but highly ridiculous in small out-of-the-way colonies. such divisions, however, must be apprehended even here in progress of time, and the period will come when we shall look back with regret to those days when we were all friends and associates together, and when each sympathized with the fortunes of his neighbour. the kindly feeling which thus held society together, was ever manifested at the death of one of its members. then not only the immediate connexions of the deceased attended his funeral, but every member of his circle, and many also of the lower classes. it has more than once happened that a young man has fallen a victim to his rashness and nautical inexperience, and met with an untimely fate whilst sailing on melville water. i myself twice narrowly escaped such a calamity, as perhaps i may hereafter narrate. every boat belonging to the place is immediately engaged in search of the body, and many of the boatmen freely sacrifice their time and day's wages in the pursuit. and when at length the object of that melancholy search is discovered, and the day of the funeral has arrived, the friends, companions, neighbours, and fellow-townsmen of the deceased assemble at the door of his late residence, to pay the last testimonies of sympathy and regret for him who has, in that distant colony, no nearer relative to weep at his grave. it is a long procession that follows the corpse to its home, passing with solemn pace through the else deserted streets, and emerging into the wild forest which seems almost to engulph the town; and then pursuing the silent and solitary path for a mile until, on the summit of a hill, surrounded by dark ever-green foliage, appears the lonesome burial-ground. ah! how little thought the tenant of that insensible body, late so full of life and vigour, that here he should so soon be laid, far from the tombs of his family, far from the home of his parents, to which his thoughts had so constantly recurred! i do not think any one ever witnessed the interment in that solitary place of one whom perhaps he knew but slightly when living, without feeling in himself a sensation of loneliness, as though a cold gust from the open grave had blown over him. it is then we think most of england and home -- and of those who though living are dead to us. but these are only transient emotions; they are idle and unavailing, so away with them! i shall now proceed to give an account of my first appearance before a colonial public. some of the crew of our vessel, exasperated by the conduct of the captain, who refused to allow them any liberty on shore after their long voyage, and encouraged and even led on by the chief mate, had broken into the store-room, and consumed a quantity of spirits and other stores. now as we had been most shabbily treated by the miserly and ruffian captain, and as the stores thus stolen had been paid for by the passengers, and withheld from them upon the voyage (stolen, in fact, by the captain himself), we were delighted with the robbery, and extremely sorry to hear that the chief mate had been committed to prison for trial as the principal offender. in fact, the captain thought proper to wink at the conduct of the others, as he could not afford to part with any more of his crew. the general quarter sessions drew nigh, and the day before they commenced i received a kind of petition from the prisoner, entreating me to aid him at this pinch, as he had not a friend in that part of the world, and would inevitably be ruined for what he considered rather a meritorious action -- taking vengeance on the stinginess of the captain. though i did not see exactly of what benefit i could be to him, i repaired to the court-house on the day of trial. it was crowded with people, as such places always are when prisoners are to be tried; and as i had met at dinner most of the magistrates on the bench, i did not much like the idea of making my first public appearance before them as a friend of the gentleman in the dock, who had improperly appropriated the goods of his employer. the amiable desire, however, of paying off old scores due to the captain, annihilated every other feeling; and when the prisoner, on being asked whether he was guilty or not guilty of the felony laid to his charge, instead of answering, cast his imploring eyes upon me, as though i knew more of the business than himself, i could not refrain from advancing towards the table occupied by the counsel and solicitors, and asking permission of the bench to give my valuable assistance to the prisoner. this being graciously accorded, the mate, with a most doleful countenance, and a very unassured voice, made answer to the plain interrogative of the clerk of arraigns -- "not guilty, my lord." whilst the prosecutor was being examined by the advocate general, i conned over the indictment with a meditative countenance, but without being able to see my way in the least. the captain, scowling atrociously at me and my persecuted friend, gave his evidence with the bitterest animosity. he proved his losses, and the facts of the store-room door having been broken open, and the prisoner and most of the sailors being found drunk by him on his repairing one evening to the vessel. it now became my turn to ask questions, as prisoner's counsel. your ship, captain w., is commonly called a temperance ship, is it not? captain (after a ferocious stare). i should think you knew that. p. counsel. and being a temperance ship, you do not allow the men, at any time, any other liquor than water? captain. no. p. counsel. in temperance ships, i suppose it sometimes happens that the men contrive to buy liquor for themselves? captain (looking like a bull about to charge a matadore). boo! p. counsel. do you remember the day we were off madeira? captain stares and snorts. p. counsel. do you remember on that day several of the sailors being remarkably light-headed -- reeling about the deck? captain (roaring, and striking the table with his hand). yes! p. counsel. was this the effect of a 'coup de soleil', do you think? captain. no! p. counsel. very well. do you remember, whilst we were on the line, the second-mate being in your cabin helping mrs. w. to stow away some things in the lazarette, and both being found afterwards extremely unwell, and obliged to be taken to bed? chairman (interfering). i think the witness need not answer that question. advocate general. i should have made the same objection, sir, but -- (aside) i was laughing too much. p. counsel. very well, sir. i will not press it if it be disagreeable. do you remember at st. jago the whole of the crew being every day notoriously drunk -- from eating water-melons? captain (recovering from an apoplectic fit). ah-h! p. counsel. do you remember, when off the cape, the sail-maker and several others being unable to do their duty, and being pronounced by the doctor to be in a state of liquor? captain. yes. p. counsel. then, as it appears that on board of a temperance ship, men do occasionally (and in your vessel very often) get drunk, might not the prisoner at the time of his alleged offence have been drinking other liquor than that which formed part of your stores? chairman (the captain being too full of rage to articulate). the jury will be able to draw their own inference as to that. captain. it was he, gentlemen; it was this -- gentleman (forsooth -- ha! ha!) who gave the men money on landing in order to make them drunk. p. counsel. thank you for that evidence. the intelligent gentlemen in the box will perceive that it was at my expense that the unfortunate prisoner got drunk, and not at the captain's. the prosecutor was now permitted to retire, which he did growling like a bear, amid the jeers of the populace, who always sympathize with misfortune when it appears impersonated in the dock. the jury were also evidently in high glee, and cast most friendly looks at the prisoner, and the 'fidus achates' who stood up for him so stoutly. the next witness was the sail-maker, who reluctantly owned himself to have aided the prisoner in drinking some brandy which had come from the ship's stores. p. counsel. but, sails, you do not mean to say that the prisoner told you he had himself taken it from the ship's stores? witness. oh no, sir, certainly not. p. counsel. in fact, of your own knowledge, you do not know where the liquor came from? witness. no, sir; oh, no, sir! here the advocate-general administered such a lecture to the witness, who was considerably more than half-drunk at the time, that he entirely lost his wits and memory, and answered so completely at random, that the jury begged he might not be asked any more questions. advocate general. it is of no importance. i shall call no more witnesses, as i hold in my hand the prisoner's own confession, made before the committing magistrate, who was yourself, mr. chairman. this was a knock-down blow to me, and made the jury look extremely blank. they gazed on one another in despair. the document was duly proved, and the case for the prosecution closed. the chairman asked if i wished to address the jury, but i declined, and observed that the prisoner must explain for himself what he meant by this extraordinary confession. every thing seemed dead against the prisoner, who hung his head and looked remarkably simple. i read over the paper, which stated that he, the prisoner, with several others, on a certain day took a quantity of the captain's brandy, and got drunk thereupon. a ray of hope beamed upon me. i started up, and the jury instinctively began to brighten; they had given up the prisoner as lost, and now they were ready to catch at a straw. i addressed the unfortunate "you state here, that you took the captain's brandy with certain of the sailors. do you mean by that, you 'partook' of the brandy which other sailors were drinking?" prisoner (balbutiant). i -- i -- ye -- ye -- p. counsel. what do you really mean, sir, by this written document? do you mean to say that you yourself took this brandy, or that you partook of it with others? prisoner. yes, sir, -- that i partook of it. p. counsel. then, gentlemen of the jury, this document does not convict the unfortunate man at the bar; and what appears like an admission of guilt is only to be attributed to his imperfect mode of expressing himself. he admits that he partook of certain brandy stated to be the captain's, which the captain, himself, however, would lead you to suppose had been provided by me. the witness who has been examined throws no further light upon the matter; and though the prisoner himself has admitted that he partook of liquor which he believed belonged to the captain, that admission does not convict him under the present indictment, which charges him with having "feloniously taken and carried away," etc. the jury were evidently delighted with this construction; and the people in the gallery and body of the court could scarcely be restrained from giving three cheers. the chairman recapitulated the evidence, and left the matter in the hands of the jury, who jostled one another out of the box, and retired to "consider their verdict." as they passed through the ante-room to the apartment in which they usually held their solemn deliberations, they caught up a bucket of water which the bailiff of the court generally kept at hand for thirsty counsel or magistrates; and as soon as they had decently secluded themselves, and indulged in a genial fit of merriment, the foreman produced a bottle of brandy from his pocket, and seizing the pannikin which floated in the bucket, poured forth a good libation, and drank "towards all present." each juryman in turn then drank the health of the foreman. after that, they all drank the prisoner's health; and as one of the number afterwards assured me, they would have conscientiously toasted the prisoner's counsel, but the liquor unfortunately failed. the foreman then said, "come, my lads, there's no more left, so we may as well go back again." so they jostled one another out of the room, and with composed countenances returned to the court, where they were ostentatiously conducted to their box by the sheriff's officer amid loud cries of "silence in the court! silence there!" their names having been called over, the clerk of arraigns asked the usual question, "have you considered your verdict, gentlemen?" "not guilty!" interrupted the foreman, as if he feared lest the prisoner should be convicted in spite of the jury. "how say you," continued the clerk, "is the prisoner at the bar guilty or not guilty?" "not guilty!" cried the whole jury to a man; and amid thunders of acclamations the prisoner was released from the dock, and turned out of court, where he was seized upon by a multitude of sympathizers, and carried in triumph to the next public-house. there he spent the ensuing four-and-twenty hours, the hero of the day. in this slight sketch i am conscious that i have only been able to convey to the reader a very faint idea of a colonial jury. chapter . boating up the river. whilst i was making acquaintances at perth, my brothers, mounted on our timor steeds, were making a tour of inspection beyond the darling hills. they fixed at length upon a farm at york, with about three thousand acres belonging to it, and having a good farm-house, with excellent barn and out-buildings attached. this evinced a more comfortable and luxurious state of things than they had anticipated, and they returned in high spirits to head-quarters. it now became necessary to consider how the various goods and utensils were to be conveyed to the new settlement, which was seventy miles distant from fremantle. we sold most of our flour and pork at a fair profit, and left by far the greater part of the other articles which we had brought out with us to be sold by a commission agent, as opportunity offered. from various causes, but chiefly from our own ignorance in selecting our goods in london, we lost a considerable sum upon the things we had brought out. emigrants, unless they are men of great experience, should bring all their capital to a colony in bills or specie, and not attempt to increase their property by speculating in goods. on their arrival, they will most probably find the markets already glutted, and they will be compelled either to sell at a sacrifice, or leave their effects in the hands of an agent, who will charge enormously for warehouse-rent and other expenses, and will take especial care that the unfortunate emigrant is not the party who profits most by the sale of his goods. we had brought out with us an old artillery waggon; and all hands now set to work to put it together, which was accomplished after a good deal of difficulty. we also purchased three pair of bullocks, which were at that date very dear. one pair -- magnificent animals certainly -- cost fifty guineas, and the other animals twenty pounds a-piece. now, however, the best working bullocks may be obtained for about fifteen pounds a pair. as the road so far as guildford was excessively heavy, we resolved to convey most of our goods by water to a spot a few miles beyond that town, where a friendly settler had placed at our disposal a wooden building, consisting of a single room, situated on the banks of the river, and used occasionally by himself as a store-house for his own goods on their transit to his dwelling. the same friend lent us his own whale-boat; and by determining to convey our effects ourselves we avoided a very heavy expense. the cost of conveying necessaries from the coast to the farm settlements in the interior, has been one of the chief drawbacks to the colony. the boatmen made fortunes, whilst the farmers were nearly ruined by their charges, and those of the storekeepers in the towns. for fifteen years, at least, the latter have grumbled with violent indignation unless their goods have realised from two to five hundred per cent profit. resolved, therefore, to be our own boatmen, we moored our vessel at a little wooden jetty below our house, and began to pack up such articles as were designed to compose the first cargo. i remember well the pleasure with which we stood upon that wooden jetty one summer's evening, looking upon the boat in which we were to perform our first voyage up the river, as she lightly floated before us, scarcely giving a strain upon the rope which held her to one of the posts at the end of the pier. fig and jezebel, always intimate friends, were hunting for bandicoots -- animals less than a kangaroo-rat -- which abounded in the bank below our dwelling. upon this bank, hannibal was to be seen cleaning the tandem harness, suspended from the bough of a tree, and occasionally casting an eye in the direction of the sheep, for whose safety he was responsible. by the river side, our bullocks were busily engaged picking the scanty herbage. the sea-breeze blowing steadily up the river cooled the air, and seemed to bear health and spirits on its wings. the only sound that met the ear was a rushing noise, which every now and then rose from the water along the shore. it was caused by myriads of little fish rushing into shoal water to escape from some pressing foe. there are some minds that draw pleasure from things which in no degree affect others; to such, this was one of those seasons of tranquil happiness that leave no regrets behind. the consciousness of independence -- the pleasant nature of our duties -- the cheerful aspect of all around -- the flattering whispers of hope, though false as usual -- all helped to form for the mental eye a picture which it loved to look upon. and now we were busied in loading our boat. what pride we felt! no shame at being seen performing manual labour; but pride, and pleasure, and exultation. we had always been fond of boating, and now that it was about to be an useful employment, it seemed additionally agreeable. and what a noble scene for this our first adventurous voyage, upon that broad river or rather arm of the sea! we had found out the secret of human happiness, long hidden from us -- business had become our pleasure. i was to be the captain, and my youngest brother and simon composed the crew. the boat was not loaded until late in the afternoon, and our departure was therefore postponed until the sea-breeze should set in on the following day. still, we could not resist the delight of making an experimental trip, and so the sprit-sail and jib were set, and we shoved off into the tide-way. a whale-boat goes very fast before the wind, but will not beat, nor will she go about well without using an oar; she is not, therefore the craft best adapted for nautical evolutions, but we were too happy to find much fault with her on that occasion; and so we sailed several times across the river and back again in the very height of enjoyment. then suddenly luffing up in the middle of the stream, the anchor was let go, and the sail brailed up, in order that we might have the pleasure of sitting still in the very midst of the waters, and rest, as it were, in the plenitude of our satisfaction; and when the anchor dragged a few yards over the sand before it held, and then suddenly brought up the boat with a jerk, it seemed the climax of our pleasure. this, the sagacious reader, in the depth of his gravity, will consider extremely boyish. but should we not rejoice and be thankful whenever we find among the many simple pleasures of our boyhood, a single one which retains the power of gladdening our maturer years? alas! one after another they die down, and are no more to be revived. we are apt to fancy that when the pleasures of youth have lost their sweetness, and are no longer desired, it is an evidence of our increasing wisdom. but it proves only that our tastes, grown more vitiated, have taken new directions. we have only changed our follies -- and for the worse.* [footnote] *"'tis sweet to think we grow more wise when radcliffe's page we cease to prize, and turn to malthus, and to hervey, for tombs, or cradles topsy-turvy; 'tis sweet to flatter one's dear self, and altered feelings vaunt, when pelf is passion, poetry, romance; -- and all our faith's in three per cents." r. r. madden the breeze! the breeze! the glorious sea-breeze comes stealing swiftly over the bar; it crosses the first bay. like a dark shadow it moves along the face of the river, and now it has reached our landing-place and gone swiftly forwards, bringing pleasure and thankfulness on its path. now, my men, jump in! hand me the grog and provision basket -- and now loose the sails, and shove off. there, we are fairly under weigh, and little fig whimpers his adieu to jezebel and nero, who for some minutes accompany the course of the boat along the shore; and then finding we are really going, remain fixed with astonishment, gazing upon their departing friend. soon, how soon, vanishes from their breasts every feeling of regret! before we have turned the first headland we perceive them playfully biting each other about the ears and neck: and now nero scampers off under the trees in the direction of the house, and jezebel (type of her sex!) hurries after him. the breeze came rattling up the river, and the boat flew merrily before it. we had occasionally sailed to perth in the passage-boats, and therefore knew something of the channel. sand-spits frequently run far out into the river, and those who think only of steering a straight course, are very sure of running aground several times during the voyage. the distance from fremantle to perth, by water, is about twelve miles, and it is about as many more from perth to guildford. after passing the ferry-reach, the river appeared about a quarter of a mile broad, having abrupt rocky banks on either side; far a-head was the wooded bottom of freshwater bay. instead of coasting round this bay, we passed through a channel cut across the spit into melville water. here is a beautiful site for a house: a sloping lawn, covered with fine peppermint trees, which in form resemble the weeping willow, and a great variety of flowering shrubs, down to the water's edge. the view from the house (lately the seat of alfred waylen, esq.) is exceedingly pleasing; on one hand is the fine sheet of melville water, seven miles in extent, and three or four in breadth, surrounded by thick woods; in front is the graceful curve of freshwater bay; and on the opposite side of the house from melville water, the river sweeps abruptly round through the deep and broad channel i have already mentioned towards the ferry-reach. we passed up melville water, and in about an hour and a quarter after starting came abreast of the town of perth, which we left about three-quarters of a mile on our larboard side, and continued our passage up perth water. we had now a difficult channel to pass through, where the river is extremely shoal; and in our inexperience we soon got the boat aground. jumping into the water, we succeeded in shoving her again into the channel, and passed by a small island called harrison's island. it was here that a french exploring party took refuge after they had come so far up the river in spite of many alarms. these men were some of the crew of captain perron, who was engaged in a survey of this part of the coast of australia, for the french government. during the night they were thrown into a state of agitation and alarm by hearing incessant noises in the thick woods on the main land, that were thought by some to be the bellowing of wild bulls; by many the howling of wolves; and by others the cries of savages. after a night spent in momentary expectation of attack and massacre, the frenchmen got into their boats and hastened down the river again with the utmost expedition, and scarcely thought themselves quite safe until they were once more on board their ship. this account of the french navigators was uppermost in the minds of the english settlers on their first arrival, and contributed greatly to the dread they felt at wandering a few yards from the settlement. in those days, an orderly scarcely durst take a message from the governor to the surveyor general's tent, within sight, unless accompanied by a couple of his fellows, with their muskets ready for action. the borders of the river were in many parts, especially on the present town site of perth, so entangled with thick brushwood, that enemies might be lying in swarms, close at hand, without the least fear of detection. when sir james stirling and his party first passed up the river in boats, they had the accounts of the french sailors fully in mind, and were very cautious how they landed. they passed the night in a state of preparation, if not of alarm, and were kept in constant vigilance by the same fearful noises. the woods were now supposed to be filled with wild beasts, and it was not until some time had elapsed that people became convinced that the dreadful sounds which assailed their ears at night proceeded from myriads of frogs. these little creatures swarm in the samphire marshes near the river, and possess voices far surpassing anything known in their species in europe. i was once looking out for ducks or coots in a thicket of bulrushes higher than my head, when i was startled by hearing a loud "bomb!" at no great distance from me. having no idea what kind of wild beast had made its lair in that dense thicket, i got ready to fire both barrels on the first appearance of danger. again the same awful noise! it must be the snorting of a bison, or vast buffalo, seeking shelter from the sun -- or it may proceed from some kind of water-dragon, i thought. i looked in every direction, but could see no living creature; and at last was about to retreat in the quietest manner possible, when i espied a little frog perched on the top of a reed, about a yard from my nose, and apparently looking full in my face, whilst, ever and anon he inflated his cheeks, and uttered the fearful sounds i had heard. but besides the dread of wild beasts, the colonists were long in the greatest apprehension of losing themselves in the vast wilderness of forest by which they were on every side enclosed. the country being extremely level, up to the darling range of hills, which is seen trending north and south about twelve or fourteen miles at the back of perth, a man once in the woods has no object but the sun by which to direct his course. every now and then he comes upon an impassable swamp, which throws him out of his track, and causes him infinite difficulty before he can get round it, and then he begins to doubt of his true direction. this is certainly, an awkward predicament; and nothing is so easy as for inexperienced bushmen to lose their way. when once a man begins to doubt whether he is right, he loses all confidence in himself; he wanders first in one direction and then in another, in the hope of finding something to guide him; and fears lest every step should take him farther into the labyrinth of the forest-wilderness. i have myself been several times lost for a short period, and know how very unpleasant is the sensation. a common soldier, sent on a message from perth to fremantle, happened to get off the track. becoming alarmed, he tried to recover it, but as it had made a bend, he walked as far as he thought its position ought to be, without success, and then fancied he must have mistaken the direction. he therefore diverged at right angles, and after walking a short time, recollected that he must now be going in the wrong direction, as he had left the path originally on his left hand. accordingly he turned back again, and walked so far without perceiving any signs of the track that he now fancied he must be going parallel with it. had he gone on a few yards father, all would have been right, but now he really took a parallel course, and after walking for some time longer, he again turned back, and walked in another direction. now this man had the sea on one side of him, and the river on the other, at most not more than four miles apart; yet the dread of having walked back into the wilderness behind perth overpowered his faculties, and he walked for hours in a circle of about half a mile in diameter. he might have considered that the darling hills were behind perth, and must have brought him up, but reason does not always act freely at these times. at length, completely exhausted, he sat down at the foot of a tree, where he remained all night, expecting death from starvation, from the natives, or some unknown wild beasts. the next day he walked again as long as his strength would allow, but before night sank down in the extremity of despair. it was not until the third day of his misfortunes that he was tracked up by a party sent in search of him, and guided by friendly natives, who followed his many devious steps with unerring eyes. another man, similarly lost in the interior, after vainly trying to recover the road, determined to make for the coast, which he knew lay to the west. he was also confident that the sun regularly set in that quarter, and therefore, he boldly determined to trust himself to the guidance of the sun, making sure, that if he followed it far enough, it must lead him to the coast at last. accordingly, he marched after the sun till night-fall and then went cheerfully to sleep, having supped upon some bread and pork, which he carried with him. the next morning, at sunrise, he started off in the direction of his guide, perfectly unconscious that he was now retracing his steps, and journeying eastward. all day, however, he continued to follow the sun, and when it set, wondered that he had not yet reached the sea. at night, he finished his bread and pork, and the next morning set off again on his long and tedious journey; still, at night, there was no appearance of the ocean, and he fired off his gun at a black cockatoo, which he killed with his only charge of shot. upon this bird he lived for the next two days, and for two more he subsisted upon roots. he had now given up all hopes of discovering the sea, and had lain down to die, when he was found by his master and a party of natives, who had come in search of him. it appeared that he was found upon almost the very spot on which he had first lost himself. when once a man begins to believe that he is lost in the wilderness, he feels as helpless as one who is blind-folded at the game of blindman's buff, and who has been twirled round so often, that he has no idea whereabouts the door or the fire-place is situated. those who are used to the bush steer their course with almost unerring precision by the sun, and a few known objects, but there are numbers who never acquire this power. the natives appear to know by instinct the direction of every spot they wish to reach; and many white men seem to possess the same faculty. but i have almost forgotten that we are all this time sailing up the rive in our whale-boat. it was a very beautiful sail, and we repeatedly passed cheerful-looking farm-houses on either bank -- sometimes goodly mansions with park-like enclosures about them. in the afternoon we dined upon cold wild-duck; and as each man sipped his grog in his pannikin, we felt so exceedingly cheerful, that simon and meliboeus favoured the public with "away with melancholy!" and divers other agreeable ditties. the wind however died away, and evening set in as we passed guildford. the banks of the river had now risen into steep cliffs, which threw a deep gloom over our course. we had furled the sails, and taken to the oars, and as we blindly poked our way, we began to think this kind of work was not quite so agreeable as it had at first appeared. nothing was now to be seen but the outlines of the steep sides of the river on which occasional houses were visible, the light streaming through the windows, and making us fancy how comfortable every thing must be within, and how pleasant it would be to be sitting at supper in a cheerful room, instead of toiling at our oars with blistered hands, and without the prospect of a good bed at the end of the voyage. romance was gone; the sad reality of life remained. still we pulled along, steering by turns, and doubting and wondering every hundred yards whether we had not gone past the place we sought. sometimes we paused on our oars to debate the question, but still we continued to push on; till at length we found ourselves close abreast of the wooden building we were so anxiously looking out for, and experienced a sensation of surprise as well as of delight. the boat was soon safely moored, and the door of the building unlocked; and by the light of a wax taper, which we had brought on purpose, we found ourselves in a large empty room, without any fire-place. a heap of dead wood was soon collected at the entrance; and a glorious fire lighted up the small enclosure which surrounded the building, and sufficiently illuminated a considerable portion of the room itself. the kettle being put on, we soon had tea ready, and managed to get through our rations of bread and pork, not forgetting to give little fig his supper, who sat very seriously before the fire, wondering what it all meant. cigars, and brandy and water, having been duly administered before bed-time, we next proceeded to litter down coats and cloaks; and having made ourselves as comfortable as circumstances would admit of, stretched ourselves on the floor, with a few sighs and thoughts of home, and slept until day-break. the first thing we did next morning was to unload the boat; and then having breakfasted, and secured the door on our effects, we started on our homeward trip, and had the satisfaction of pulling the whole distance to perth, where we were obliged to sleep the next night, as it was impossible for us to get down melville water in the teeth of a strong sea-breeze. when we had to start again with another load of goods, our hearts were much heavier than on the first excursion. chapter . farms on the river. first impressions endure the longest, and are recalled with most pleasure. further acquaintance does not always give us a truer idea of the value of the object, as familiarity frequently makes us overlook as insignificant that which is constantly before us. it is not the object that is proved to be really less valuable as we become better acquainted with it, but our own views which change with our position. my first impressions on visiting the various farms, or rather gentlemen's residences, on the banks of the swan, were extremely agreeable. i thought nothing could be more delightful than to live at one of those picturesque and lovely spots. if the romance of that first feeling be now faded from my heart, it is not because i have discovered that all which i then saw was an illusion, but because a more sober state of mind -- that state into which the mind settles as the excitement of sudden change and unwonted novelty subsides -- teaches that happiness is not local, and that it is no more likely to be found in the finest country residence than in the main street of a town. at the first view we are apt to imagine that people who live in one of these pleasant retreats must needs be happier than ourselves, who possess nothing but a miserable shilling. this is the delusion; and when with increasing knowledge, we recover from this, we cease to envy and to covet. my first ride up the swan was a most delightful one. no park in england could be more beautiful than the grounds around some of the dwellings. the ride through the scattered village of guildford, with a view of the rich and extensive flats of woodbridge, the property of sir james stirling, and the frequent bends of the river, is a very agreeable one. the whole country of the middle and upper swan resembles a vast english park. we passed the pretty country church of the middle swan, with its modest parsonage beside it, and then proceeded through wooded ravines along a pleasant drive to one of the most hospitable mansions in the colony. extensive stables, barns and out-buildings occupied the back of the premises. as it was now too late in the evening to see much of the surrounding scenery, we entered the house of samuel moore, esq., and sat down to an excellent dinner. in the evening we had music -- pianos are as common in western australia as in england. at night i occupied a sofa in the parlour. the excitement and novelty of my present situation -- so many thousands of leagues removed from the spot on which, only a few months before, i had deemed i was to spend my life -- kept me wakeful; and about one o'clock i arose, and opening the french window, stepped out into the verandah. how solemn was the scene before me, faintly lighted by the moon! in front of the house was a pretty sloping garden, and below this stretched a broad clearing, now waving with corn, amidst which rose up a number of scattered, lofty, dead trees, which had been purposely killed by ringing the bark. how mournful they looked in that gloomy light! the river bounded this clearing, and beyond the river stretched its high bank, covered with forest trees, the advanced lines, as it were, of the vast wilderness which lay behind. from out the depths of those woods rose the occasional shrieks of an owl, or other night bird, and at intervals the long dismal howl of a wild dog -- the only carnivorous animal indigenous in that country. the air was balmy, but there was something in the mournful aspect of the scene that weighed upon the spirits, and made one feel inexpressibly lonely in the midst of that boundless wilderness of forest. time soon takes off the edge of novelty, and long ago i have learned to feel perfectly at ease and cheerful, whilst lying in the midst of much deeper solitude, with no companions but my horse grazing near me, and the fire at my feet. there is no country in the world so safe for the traveller as western australia. the next day we went over the farm of our host. his best land was on the flats at the river side, but his upland, by judicious cultivation, is made productive and valuable. a carriage-drive extends through the grounds and affords beautiful prospects of the river, and of the estates through which it runs; and on the other side, of the darling hills. the hedge-rows on this property are planted with olive, almond, and peach trees -- an admirable policy, which ought to be adopted throughout australia. in a few years -- for the olive bears fruit much sooner here than in the south of europe -- a valuable traffic in olive-oil may be expected from this colony. the ingenious gentleman who owns this property (which is, in point of soil, one of the worst farms on the swan) continues annually to add to its value by his persevering system of improvement. he has had a steam-engine constructed on his own premises, and under his personal superintendence; and he grinds his own flour as well as that of his neighbours. the neighbouring estate of w. l. brockman, esq., is a more valuable property, and equally attractive in possessing a well-cultivated farm, a beautiful situation, a comfortable residence, and an amiable family. with similar energy and savoir faire, all the beautiful farms on this river might be made most enviable residences. whilst on the subject of farming, i may mention a reaping-machine which has been introduced into this colony from south australia, where it was invented. it is only adapted to a very dry climate, but there it is most valuable. a pair of horses push a machine before them, which consists of a threshing-machine and a set of revolving combs, some six feet wide. these combs, in their revolutions, catch up the wheat, and tear off the ears from the stalks, throwing them back into the threshing-machine. a field of wheat is thus reaped and threshed as fast as the horses can walk over it. the straw is afterwards mown. the roads are hard and good in this neighbourhood, and some of the settlers keep their open carriages. i doubt whether i have conveyed to the reader a just idea of some of the pleasantest spots which are to be met with in this colony; but i would not have him (full of romantic thoughts and agricultural purposes) rush hastily into the mart and sell his substance in order to lead a life of tranquil retirement in this distant eden. it requires a good deal of philosophy to make a contented settler. most colonists leave england full of virtuous resolutions -- with bosoms glowing with the ardent love of nature; and fully persuaded that they need nothing to make them happy but a small farm, beautifully situated, with its cottage ornee, and its spreading vines, and a noble fig-tree, beneath which they are to sit in the cool of the evening, with their little ones around them. all this they may really possess; and for some time they are in raptures at the novel feeling of being men of landed interest. this is always the first ambition of a colonist -- to have some property which he may lawfully call his own. and, indeed, the human heart never expands with more satisfactory pride than in the breast of him whose territorial possessions have hitherto been confined to a few flower-pots in his parlour-window, but who now stands firmly beneath a lofty gum-tree, and looking round him, murmurs "this is mine!" it is, indeed, a very pleasant sensation, but, unfortunately, it is very short-lived. men do not come out to a colony to spend an income, but to make a living. when once their capital is laid out in the acquisition of a farm, and in the necessary purchase of stock, they have to raise money out of it to pay their labourers' wages, and find their households with tea, sugar, clothing, and "sundries." many things may be grown upon your farm, but not everything. at first, the settler is satisfied with finding that he can sell sufficient produce to enable him to pay his way, provided he practise the utmost economy, and exhibit a reasonable degree of good management. but soon there are extra expenses to be liquidated; a long illness in his family brings him in debt to the doctor; or his neighbour has injured him, and he has, thereupon, further injured himself by going to law and avenging the wrong. he now becomes discontented, and thinks he is as badly off as he was before he left england; or, perhaps he may have sustained no losses, and is just able to live on his property without getting into debt; he forgets, however, the principles on which he came out to settle; he begins to complain that he is not making money. it is true he leads an easier life than he did in england; he is not striving and struggling for existence as he was there, but he is making no money. his wife asks him daily, in the pleasantest connubial key, why he brought them all from england, to bury them there, and see nobody from morn till night? what, she urges, is to become of their children? will jonadab, their first-born, be a gentleman like his maternal ancestors? -- but how, indeed should he, with the pursuits of a cow-boy and the hands of a scavenger? it is very well for one who cares nothing for genteel society, and whose bearish manners, in fact, unfit him for it, to lead such a life; but is she to endure this for ever, and see her daughters married to men who wear long beards and blucher boots? these incessant attacks at length overthrow the ennobling philosophy of the colonist. he knows not where to procure more than he already possesses, or he would gladly return to the country of his fore-fathers; but alas! he sees no prospect of gaining even a bare livelihood there. without knowing, then, how or where to improve his condition, he deplores the penury of his lot, and sighs for wealth which he has no prospect of ever obtaining. my own opinion has ever been that colonists, with few exceptions, must always be poor men. they may possess large estates and numerous herds; but the more numerous these herds, the less is their marketable value: for population and demand can never increase in equal ratio with the supply. a man, therefore, who possesses the elements of wealth, may still be poor in the article of money. nor will his estates produce him more income than his herds; for in most cases the only rent which his tenants can afford to pay is in kind. 'the only real wealth to a colony is the incessant influx of immigration, combining capital and labour.' there are some of us, happily, who still retain the ancient philosophy. we have not thought of pecuniary wealth, and are content to live easily, with those moderate blessings which attach to a beneficent climate and a simple mode of life. so very little is required which money can buy, that men seem to be annoyed at the fact, and insist upon creating new wants. a great deal of discontent and repining generally prevails in a colony. people who have lived miserably in england, who have long doubtfully hovered between suicide and highway robbery, determine at length to adopt the still more melancholy alternative of emigration. after bequeathing a few tender sighs to the country which they have hitherto regarded rather as a step-mother than a parent; and having pathetically solicited the sympathy of those who more readily bestow upon them a few pounds than a few tears, in the pious hope of never seeing them more, our emigrants betake themselves to the favoured land of their adoption, in the full and confident belief that they have nothing now to do, but live "like gentlemen," though without the means, or any other qualifications of that class. their faith is of that affecting and unlimited description, as to lead them to suppose that he who beneficently feeds the ravens will not neglect the rooks or the drones. in a very short time, however, they find that they are no better off in the new than they were in the old country. the gum-trees do not produce bread, nor the banksias shoulders of mutton; and, consequently, their hopes have been miserably disappointed, and they loudly proclaim their wants and sorrows in the streets. there are unfortunately in all colonies -- those 'refugia peccatorum' -- many emigrants of this class, idle and worthless, who have never done well, and never will succeed in any part of the world. a colonial life is not for these men, and we recommend them to pass on to some other region as quickly as possible. chapter . the moral thermometer of colonies. in the chief town of every colony, there is always agreeable society to be found among the resident government officers, and the other principal inhabitants. many estimable individuals are to be met with in all communities; in that in which i have myself resided for some years, there are many for whom i entertain the highest regard. i hope, therefore, it will not be considered that, in the remarks which i am about to make, i am actuated by any ill or invidious feeling, or at all allude to individuals. since i have undertaken the task of drawing sketches of colonial life, i must not endeavour to conceal any portion of the truth, nor tacitly allow erroneous conclusions to be drawn from my remarks. i have already observed that a good and kindly feeling towards one another prevails in this colony among the settlers generally. but i must qualify this remark by adding -- in all cases in which individual interests are not concerned. there is less perhaps of the 'spirit of dealing' in this colony than in any other of the british empire. ours is not a mercantile community, and the farm-settlers generally are young men of good birth and gentlemanly spirit. still, even here, beyond all question, exists the same odious tendency (though less apparent) which prevails more or less in all colonies, to advance self-interest on every possible occasion, without being deterred by any scruples whatsoever. when men become emigrants, they leave behind them their relations, friends, connexions, and all their old associations, and appear upon a new theatre of action, where they have no feelings to consult beyond their own personal wishes and interests. they find themselves suddenly emancipated from all those restraints which formerly acted with a salutary influence upon their natural inclinations; and having no one near them whose opinion they regard, or whom they care to conciliate, they fall rapidly into the belief that they have no one to live for but themselves, and, consequently, make self the sole guide of all their actions, and sole god of their idolatry. this spirit of 'yankeeism' is the prevailing spirit of colonies. it is the natural consequence of the isolated state in which men feel themselves to exist, when they have no longer those less selfish motives of action that influenced and regulated their conduct under other circumstances. the eye of a parent no longer watches over them with approbation or anxiety; and what has a still more powerful influence upon their conduct, they are now beyond the observation of that circle of friends, relations, and acquaintance, to which they had been known from childhood; which had constituted their world, and the censure or approbation of which determined their state of self-reproach or self-satisfaction. few men may be trusted far who can say, "i am not known here," for these are always the people who care least what they do. good and well-meaning persons will exclaim, "colonists can have very little sense of religion, if they allow themselves to act at a distance differently from what they would do at home." those who have more than a theoretical acquaintance with mankind, and who are used to look upon them in their undisguised selfishness, know well that their sense of religion is greatly dependent upon the circumstances in which men find themselves placed. we are not speaking of what such and such people would do and feel, but of what is really done and felt by thousands. besides, i have already premised that it is not every colonist who acts on these principles, but that such is the general tendency to act in a colony. we can now understand the origin of that intense selfishness in the american character, which has never yet been cast aside, and which, in fact, is perpetuated by a republican form of government. the high and nice sense of honour, the chivalrous generosity, the frank acknowledgment of superiority, and the ready devotion of self to the interests of others at the call of duty, constituted the brightest ornaments of the feudal system, and still glitter (though with feebler lustre) among the fragments of that system throughout civilized europe. the spirit of trade, which has shattered feudalism, has impaired the brightness of that principle which was the soul of feudalism. nor has religion yet succeeded in supplying the loss. religion, which is the bond between man and his god, has less influence in regulating his dealings with his fellows than honour, which is the bond between man and man.* [footnote] *in making this observation, i refer to the general conduct of the world; and am far from intending to say, that honour ought to have more influence with mankind than religion. the truly religious, a small but sacred band, "do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with god." and when the principle of honour loses its purity, you may be sure that the principle of religion is already decayed or dead. now the principle of honour being (so to speak) of human origin, depends greatly for existence upon the opinions of men; and when we are emancipated from all great regard for those opinions, it almost inevitably follows that our sense of honour becomes much impaired; and having no longer any fear of censure, we no longer have any feeling of shame. in a colony, then, is most apparent the accursed spirit of trade -- that insidious spirit which undermines the truth of the heart, which destroys its most generous impulses, and sneers at every manifestation of disinterestedness. the first object of a colonist is that of a petty shopkeeper, -- to grasp at every thing which is likely to benefit himself, without regard to justice, religion, or honour. his own interest is the only guide of his actions, and becomes the very soul of his existence. he came out to make a fortune, if possible, and he thinks himself justified in using every means to this end. do not suppose that he is a downright villain who would commit highway robbery. he would be greatly shocked at such an imputation, for his conscience is still too timid for so flagrant a crime. he merely follows the golden maxim of 'caveat emptor', and, like the petty shopkeeper, thinks he is justified in cheating those who are too stupid to look after their own interests, and too ignorant or too feeble to enforce their just dues. when that nice sense of honour which rules the conduct of the high-minded gentleman, and makes him scorn to take advantage of the ignorance or the necessities of another, ceases to influence, the accursed spirit becomes dominant, and men look with suspicion on all around them. it has become the pride and the boast of colonists, as of horse-dealers, that they are sharp fellows; that they have cut their eye-teeth, and are remarkably wide-awake. these honourable distinctions are acknowledged by the simple-minded with alarm. they feel like men involved among a mob, and instinctively button up their pockets. the moral thermometer in a colony is lamentably low. we do not, however, look upon this state of things as irremediable, and without hope; on the contrary, we doubt not but the better spirit will in time resume its pre-eminence, and colonists will be respected for their elevated sentiments and high sense of honour, rather than for their acuteness in driving a bargain. this evil, which is the natural consequence of their present condition as isolated atoms, unconnected together by those bonds of mutual respect which confine men in older countries, will cease as society becomes re-organized, and men feel themselves occupying in a colony the same position, as regards obligations and duties, that they would have filled in the parent state. as they settle themselves more firmly in their places, they will come to feel that respect which ever attaches to the character of home; and conscious that example is necessary from men who occupy prominent positions, a higher tone will insensibly be assumed, and the better spirit again be diffused throughout all the ramifications of society. but to this end, it is most essential that every aid should be given that government has the power to bestow. religious instruction, and that good example which, we may assume, is ever afforded to society by the english clergy, are the principal instruments to be sought. in western australia there are at this time only six clergymen, who are scattered over a country many hundred miles in extent. many districts are, unavoidably, entirely without the exhortations and offices of a minister. at king george's sound, an important post, no clergyman is seen from one year to another. human beings are born, married, and buried, without a minister to baptize, to teach, to bless, or to give consolation in their extremity. there is no bishop to consecrate, to watch over, or to reprove.* [footnote] *by the munificence of miss burdett coutts, a bishopric has been recently founded in south australia; and the western colony is for the present to be included in the same diocese. but when it is remembered that there is no over-land communication between the colonies, and the route by sea occupies about ten days, it must be evident that this provision is very inadequate to our wants. this is a state of things that must be remedied, or moral improvements cannot be expected. the roman church has been more thoughtful of her children in this colony, there being now settled here a bishop, and about a dozen priests of that persuasion -- reason the more for the active interference of a protestant government to protect the spiritual welfare of the protestant community. the next most important object is the education of the youth of the colony. so soon as ever government can afford the grant of a few hundreds a year, free-schools ought to be established in various districts. such is usually the scarcity of money in a colony, that parents cannot afford to bestow even the commonest education upon their children. of course, i allude only to the general condition of society; there are individuals who educate their families in a judicious and sufficient manner; but the great prevailing want is not the less felt and deplored. boys, the sons of men who have themselves been well educated, are early made to supply the place of labourers and servants. hardy and manly in appearance, they are naturally rough and uncouth in manner, and unhappily possess no mental stores beyond those early principles of gain which have grown with their growth. in their anxiety that their sons should do well in the world, the parent's first object is to impress upon them the necessity of making the most of every thing. their early powers are exercised in selling stores, sheep, cattle, or other produce, and they are applauded in proportion to the hard bargain which they have driven. if a man, threatened with law proceedings, is compelled to sell his whole crop of potatoes at a ruinous loss, our keen and knowing youngster glories in the opportunity of making a bargain by which he shall profit to the amount of a hundred per cent., though the seller return to his agitated family writhing with despair. the malleable intellect of our youth is annealed by the demon of gain upon the anvil of self-interest. national education is one of the first objects of a paternal government. the course of study ought ever to be adapted to the circumstances and position of the scholars. in the first years of a colony, the human mind peculiarly exhibits a downward tendency. few men prove themselves in their new condition of life superior or equal to the character which they had formerly borne, as pious, learned, or humane. the circumstances which formerly so eminently conduced to the maintenance of piety, the cultivation of intellect, and the exercise of benevolence, no longer exist. solitary and selfish from position, men of naturally generous temper and good disposition, feel their hearts contract and shrivel within them. surrounded by a sordid and selfish crew, they find no objects for sympathy, no inducements for the increase or the preservation of knowledge, no animating impulse to lead them forward in a good cause. struggling for a time in the net which is around them, they at length fall from the edge, down into the seething cauldron, and become fused among the mass. 'the tendency of colonization is to deteriorate.' the first object of government should therefore be to arrest this impulse, and remedy the evil so far as may be accomplished. if the original settlers degenerate in their moral condition, their children sink still lower. when parents cease to feel the influence of those high and pure principles in which they were themselves brought up, they naturally forget to inculcate them in the minds of their offspring. what, then, are the guides that direct these in their progress through life? what can they be but self-interest, relieved perhaps occasionally by a few touches of good-nature? the young women inevitably grow up mere creatures of impulse. where are those high qualities which are necessary to give them their proper influence over the minds and actions of the other sex? where is that powerful sense of the duties of their calling and position, that is necessary to create confidence in the breast of the lover or the husband? where are those unswerving principles which alone can keep them, through trial and temptation, in the right way? woman, alas! has lost her power, when she ceases to inspire veneration and command respect. it is the interest of every colony, and the duty of every government, to raise the moral character and condition of the people. the necessity of this must be forcibly present in the minds of those to whom the duties of legislation are intrusted; and as the most obvious means of improvement lie in the judicious instruction of the young generation, the attention of government must soon be directed to this grand object. chapter . country life. it is most undeniably true, "that there is no place like england," for men who are in "easy circumstances," and who therefore think no more of direct or indirect taxation, and of those multitudinous burthens which highly-civilized life imposes, than a besom-maker's ass does of the load under which it daily journeys. but how many thousands are there (children of sad parents -- toil and sorrow) who find their utmost efforts scarcely sufficient to keep them out of the debtor's prison! continual gloom fills the chambers of their hearts; the sun bestows its cheering rays in vain; and all the gay and beautiful influences of the bright world of nature fail to inspirit him whose every energy is directed to the task of raising his family beyond the threatening grasp of want. in his few moments of relaxation, when those whom he loves -- for whom he is toiling unto death -- hang around him with gentle fondness; in those sweet moments, when love unutterable beams through the glistening eye, and tender solicitude watches the care-worn face, seeking to win one happy smile -- even then, he dare not give himself up to joy. the thought is never absent from him that life perhaps is ebbing fast; the very labours to which his only hope of income is attached, are gradually wearing him down to the grave; and when he is no more, what shall be the lot of those whose beaming faces smile so sweetly? what struggles, what miseries are in store for the beloved wife, and those young and innocent daughters whose hearts are full of him! no! he dare not give himself up to joy; he smiles in answer to their endearments -- but it is rather a shadow than a sunbeam that passes across his countenance. how many thousands are there in england so circumstanced, who curse the artificial state of society in which they are compelled to live! in their profession or trade they are bound to keep up a certain degree of appearance, or they are shunned by those whom it is their chief interest to conciliate. the great bug-bear ever present in the mind of an englishman, is the dread of not being thought sufficiently "respectable." professional men and tradesmen depend for their subsistence upon appearances. to be flashy is as bad as to be shabby; the great object is to appear substantial. if you are rich, you have less temptation to be dishonest, and may consequently be trusted. every man, therefore, who depends upon the opinion of others, is compelled to assume the appearance of being comfortably circumstanced in order to inspire confidence. character is the life-blood of englishmen, but character alone will seldom extricate a man from the slough of poverty. in our highly artificial state of society, something more powerful than character alone is required to place a man in the road to fortune -- call it as you please, tact or humbug. this necessity for keeping up appearances in order to move in that rank of life which his business requires him to occupy, is the heaviest tax imposed upon the income of an englishman. how often does it draw from him all his profits, leaving him to lament how little he is enabled to lay by annually for his children! many times, without doubt, he wishes he durst retire to a cottage too small to admit the visits of the heartless acquaintance who form his "fashionable" world. does their society afford him or his family any real happiness? is it not rather the cause of many heart-burnings to him and to them? how much happier he feels he should be, had he never looked abroad for happiness, but sought it only around his own hearth! to see his daughters elegantly attired, would gratify him extremely, were it not for the unwelcome reminiscences of expense. but would they look less lovely to his eyes, or be less dear to his heart, when moving about him in the useful performance of domestic duties, clad in homely garments, and thinking more of him and home than of visiting and display? how economically, and how happily too, might he live, were his own house his world, and his wife and children the only beings for whose opinion he cared! but alas! these are the persons whose opinion is of least importance in his pursuit of fortune. he must do as the world does if he would secure its smiles, and is compelled to think less of happiness than of gain. is such a man happier, leading such a life, than he would be as a colonist? here -- ever blessed be the recollection! -- there is no necessity for sacrificing peace of mind to appearance. the man whose conduct proves him to be of gentlemanly mould, is everywhere treated as an equal; and though his occupation and mode of living be ever so humble, he loses nothing in the consideration of his fellow-colonists. the half-pay officer, or gentleman farmer, who occasionally drives his own cart, or sows the seed which he has purchased in the market, is not thought less qualified to act as a magistrate, nor is less respected by the great and small in his neighbourhood. his cares are all directed towards obtaining substantial comforts for his family, and not towards making a display in the eyes of the little world around him. conscious that he is respected only for his character as an upright man, and that as every one knows he is not wealthy, it would be ridiculous to affect the appearance of wealth, he wears the coarsest garments with more pleasure than the finest coat, and draws all his happiness from domestic sources. his sons and daughters equally indifferent to show -- though the latter, at least, are always neatly dressed -- are busied with their different duties, all tending to promote the general comfort. happy family! -- how pleasantly the evenings pass in your society! gladly would i ride many miles to spend such pleasant hours, and witness happiness so unpretending and real. how cheerful looks that large room, with its glorious fire of jarra-wood and black-boys, (for it is the winter season,) and how lightly those young girls move about, arranging the tea-table, and preparing for the evening meal! the kind-hearted mother, relieved of all duties but that of superintendence, sits by the fire chatting cheerfully with the guest, whose eyes, nevertheless, wander round the room after a certain light and dancing shape; the host, a man of eld, but stalwart in appearance, full of hospitality and noble courtesy, appears in his easy slippers and an old and well-worn coat, which formerly had seen service in london ball-rooms. he discourses not only of the crops and colonial politics, but of literature, and the last news from england; for like many other colonists he receives the english papers, and patronizes the 'quarterly review'. on the sofa lie the latest numbers of 'punch' and 'the illustrated london news' -- some four months old, of course -- for the ladies like fun and pictures, whilst their father laboriously wades through a three months' accumulation of the 'times'. with what alacrity the old gentleman rises up and welcomes a traveller, who has unexpectedly arrived, and has just stabled his horse, and seen him fed before he made his appearance in the parlour! there is no beating about the bush for a bed, or an invitation to supper. of the latter he is certain, and indifferent about the former; for having slept the last night under a tree, he feels sure of making himself comfortable on the sofa, or on the hearth-rug before the fire. and then the girls, who have no affectation or nonsense about them, crowd round the new-arrived, and ply him with questions about their young friends in other parts of the colony, and whether he was at the last ball at government house, and what was most worn on that occasion -- until the good man, laughing, breaks through the circle, declaring he will answer no more questions till he has had his supper, and, it may be, a glass of whisky-toddy screeching hot. during the evening the girls sing, and happily they sing well; and they take most pleasure in those songs which papa likes best to hear. and the poor bachelor-guest, who looks on, feels his heart melting within him, and reviles himself for the destitution in which he lives at home. suddenly, perhaps, horses at a gallop are heard to enter the yard; and soon afterwards two young fellows, fresh from the capital, come dashing into the room, full of spirits, and vowing they have gallopped over on purpose to ascertain whether the ladies were still living. here is authority of undoubted value for everything relating to the ball at government house; and the merits and appearance of every person who attended it are soon brought under discussion. this naturally inspires the young people with a desire to dance; so the table is pushed aside, and papa being squeezed nearly into the fire, mamma takes her place at the piano, and bursts off with the annen polka. it may seem strange to you, dear reader, who have an idea that colonists are merely wild beasts, that such things should be. but so it is; and though people may dance the cellarius with more gravity in the saloons of st. james's, i question whether dancing be half the fun there that our light-hearted colonists seem to think it. there are no strangers in small colonies -- it is always a family party dancing together; and consequently, people are as merry as if it were christmas-time all the year round. your fashionable people may pity them; but god help them, poor things! in their dark and degraded state they seem to enjoy themselves so much, that i should not like them to be put out of conceit with themselves, or made to repudiate whatever gives them innocent pleasure. nor are they entirely insensible to the good opinion of great people; for when they learnt that the polka was thought vulgar at buckingham palace, they had serious intentions of denying it admittance into the ball-rooms of perth; and i sincerely believe it would speedily have pined away and died, like a maiden under the breath of slander, but for a confidently entertained hope that her majesty would never hear of the offences of the people of perth -- and people will do all kinds of things when they can do them secretly. so the polka continues to be danced in western australia; and the courage of the dancers has been much revived of late by hearing that it is still greatly in vogue at home, notwithstanding the august censures said to have been passed upon it. a country life might always be a happy one, were people possessed of the smallest competence, and of properly regulated minds. there is as much unhappiness, or at least discontent, in colonies as elsewhere; but discontented colonists are the greatest fools in the world, because they have themselves created the evils, and the remedies are generally in their own power. the grand object of man's search is happiness, which he strives to obtain by a thousand various ways. wealth he covets, because he fondly believes that it contains the prize he seeks; but if happiness may be found without wealth, of what value are riches? money is not so indispensable a necessary in a colony. very little indeed suffices to enable a proprietor on the banks of the swan, the avon, or the brunswick, to bring up his family in comfort, and to perform all the rights of a generous hospitality. the discontent which is so often felt in colonies arises from two causes: first, it is the natural feeling of those who emigrate late in life; who, although unsuccessful at home, have ever been fondly attached to home associations, to the friends and connexions with whom they have been bound up during many years, and to the national belief that a man can never be truly happy out of england. in addition to this, the emigrant of mature years has been so long accustomed to feel himself living in the very centre of intelligence, he has so long been accustomed to watch the progress of political action at home and on the continent, and to drink the fresh draughts of scientific discovery at the fountain-head, that now, when far removed from the busy and exciting scenes of the ever-moving panorama of european life, he feels lost in the wilderness -- a fragment of drift-wood washed ashore and left far behind by the fast-progressing waves of knowledge and action. the second cause of discontent is found in the non-acquisition of money. every one goes out to a colony with the full conviction that he shall make a fortune in a few years, and then return to england and become a man of landed interest. a man has to conquer his first disappointments before he can become a happy settler; he has to form new and more just ideas of his actual position. generally, it is necessary that he should return to england once more before he can entirely appreciate the advantages open to him in a colony. he then fully perceives how much more difficult it is to obtain a bare subsistence in the old country. he finds that with the utmost economy he cannot supply the numerous wants of his family, and he longs for his old australian dwelling again, and the easy, independent life which he was accustomed to lead, when his children used to run about in brown holland, and his wife looked becoming in printed cotton, and thought no beverage so good as the wine which she had assisted to make. chapter . persecutions. scepticism is the offspring of ignorance. there are many people still living who doubt the existence of dragons; who go so far as to assert that such creatures never did exist upon the face of this earth, and never did torment and destroy the inhabitants thereof, and persecute forlorn maidens. they scoff at the records which have descended to our times, as fabulous legends, composed by idle monks; who were accustomed to write fictitious histories during the dark ages. they deny to historical ballads that authority which mr. macaulay attaches to them; and yet the principal fact in the biography of andromeda (even before the times of the monks) may have been true; and the poor people of wantley may really have been harassed by the celebrated dragon of that ilk. we speak seriously. geologists have ascertained beyond a doubt that winged monsters of the size described in ancient legends did really inhabit this earth at some period or other. happily they no longer exist of the same dimensions as formerly; like the descendants of anak, they have become 'fined down', as it were, in the course of ages, until their proportions no longer awaken personal fear, nor do their exploits engage the attention of historians. sometimes, however, the ancient ferocity, the propensity for devastation, still breaks forth, even in the diminutive descendants of this formidable race, and persecuted man feels himself driven to the brink of despair. soon after i had settled at perth, in a small house, with three quarters of an acre of ground about it, i began to think of improving my little territory. i thought it was a duty i owed to society to set a good example, by bringing my property into a high state of cultivation. i intended to "make the barren desert smile" -- to embower my dwelling in the midst of blossoming peas, and aspiring kidney beans, -- to draw around me, as it were, a little luxuriant eden, which should be the admiration of a sunday public, as they stood riveted at the palings, unable to pass by without a lengthened survey; whilst the envied possessor, stooping behind his magnificent cabbages, would listen to their unstudied bursts of rapture with justifiable pride. glowing with horticultural fervour, i rose early in the morning, and dug up the soil with stern resolution, toiling with a patagonian pick-axe at the great roots which ran in every direction, until i thought myself a perfect pattern of a settler. my man also exerted himself with equal energy and more steady endurance; and in process of time a considerable portion of ground was got ready for seed. in order that nothing might be wanting to insure the most unlimited success, i purchased a quantity of manure, and had it drawn upon the ground. then it was that the evil genius who (like the wicked enchanter that always kept his eye upon don quixote,) hath ever dogged my steps, made his baleful presence manifest by the most rampant hostility. the day on which the manure arrived, i went out in my pleasure-boat upon melville water, accompanied by my man hannibal, to manage the head-sheets. on our return, at dusk, we found the manure scattered all over the premises, as if it had been kicked about by a party of dancing demons. the traces of talons were clearly discernible on the ground. i knew not what to make of it. i thought a dragon must have been rampaging about the premises. well! the next day the man scratched the manure together again as well as he could, and we sowed a quantity of seed -- peas, beans, and divers succulent vegetables. the following morning hannibal rose late, having overslept himself, as he alleged. i was awakened by his sudden appearance at my bed-side, but no sooner sat up than i fell back again, appalled by the ghastliness of his visage. "the d---ls," said he, "have been again, and have scrat up the earth far and wide; and (he added using a strong expression,) i'll be dashed if there's a seed left!" alas! "'twas but owre true." the ground so neatly raked the evening before, which i had returned again and again to look at with fond pride, until it was obscured by darkness, was now torn up and defaced throughout its length and breadth. "well!" i exclaimed, as soon as i could speak, "there are dragons in the world." i could now enter into the feelings of the poor husbandman of the dark ages, when he got up in the morning, and found a dragon finishing the last of his highly-prized dairy cows. if i could only catch him at it! i felt immediately a fit of blood-thirstiness creep over me. i could have destroyed a dozen dragons with pleasure, might i only come within reach of them. calmly, however, i ordered hannibal to sow the seeds again, and keep better watch and ward in future. it now became a serious question how my property was to be protected. am i to be subject to these incursions without defence? is there no safeguard in this country for a man's possessions? i finished breakfast hastily, and went to consult the chief magistrate. to my question as to how i ought to guard my garden and vegetables from the attacks of the insidious enemy, he replied by referring me to the wm. iv. no. , a local act, by which people whose property is trespassed upon, are allowed the privilege of impounding the trespassers. impound a dragon! i thanked the worthy magistrate, "but," said i, "the creatures that destroy my substance have wings, and are not to be caught by men who have none." "the law," replied his worship, "is decisive on the subject; you must follow the law, whether you be able to follow the offender or not." "but," said i again, "if the law gives me no protection -- and merely to authorize me to impound a creature with wings, is a mockery unworthy of the dignity of the law -- i may surely protect myself? i will have a file of men on guard, and fire on any creature that infringes upon the vested rights which i possess in my property. i will defend myself," said i, growing warm under the oppressive weight of the law, "and maintain my vested rights." "no man," replied the worshipful justice, "as you know very well, has a right to defend himself, except with the weapons of the law. you will only get into scrapes if you fight with any other weapons." finding that i was kicking against the pricks, i made my bow, and went home again in a very ireful mood. hannibal had resown the beds, and was at work upon others. on seeing me, he stepped up to a fine nuytsia floribunda, which ornaments my grounds, and taking up a double-barrelled gun that was leaning against it, gave a few significant slaps upon the breach, and smiling complacently, winked his eye. i turned away and entered the house, filled with a kind of grim satisfaction, as thoughts of vengeance flitted through my brain. too much disturbed to sit still, i paced up and down the room, listening eagerly for sounds which should announce the hour of slaughter and revenge. the milk of human kindness had curdled in my breast; i felt that i could sympathize with the restless anxiety of charles ix on the memorable eve of st. bartholomew. but the butchery of unarmed huguenots was a different affair altogether from a war of extermination against invading dragons. i looked out of the windows every moment to see what hannibal was about; but there he continued hoeing, and weeding, and raking, and looking as calm and amiable as the duke when he awaited the proper moment to attack the french. suddenly he paused; i watched him quietly drop his rake, and retire backwards behind a bush, where he remained crouching down, with the double-barrelled gun in his hands. unable to remain quiet any longer, i opened the window, and cried in a fierce whisper, "kill! kill!" with his hand he motioned me to be quiet, so i withdrew and paced about the room with feverish anxiety. the discharge of both barrels made me drop into a chair. murder had been committed! vengeance was satisfied, and remorse arrived as usual. remorse, the ill-favoured offspring of fear! "you will get yourself into scrapes," said the chief magistrate, "if you use any other weapon than the law." i reasoned with conscience; i repeated the argument that i had a right to defend my property when the law failed to afford me protection. dragons, said i, are 'ferae naturae'; the people of perth, it would seem, are in the habit of keeping them as pets, and thus they come to be considered private property. but then, let the people of perth destroy their own substance, and not mine. if they do not choose to have gardens of their own, they have no right to prevent the growth of my radishes. because they do not like sack, shall we have no more cakes and ale? because they can exist without cauliflowers, must i renounce all hopes of having hyssop in my pottage? what! am i to rise up early in the morning and sow the seeds of carefulness and labour, merely for the sustenance of other people's harpies? to whom am i to look for redress, when i know not to whom the ruthless creatures belong? -- creatures that wander far and wide in search of food; that gain their precarious subsistence by plunder and rapine; and are intensely hostile to the labours and improvements of civilization. no wonder the poet looked upon them as hell-born, and called them a pest and a curse to society: -- "------nec saevior ulla pestis et ira deuim stygiis sese extulit undis." i had made these reflections, and received a good deal of comfort from them, when hannibal appeared at the door with a pallid countenance. "two of them, sir, are done for; one's a big un -- eight pounds, if he weighs an 'unce. he's a handsome feller, that un; black feathers, and spurs to his heels six inches long. they'll make a houtcry about him, i expect." "what have you done with the carcases?" "dragged 'em behind the bushes. 'tan't legal to lift the bodies." "go on with your work, hannibal, and don't appear at all fluttered or discomposed. look as if nothing had happened. if any one calls, i am not at home." an outcry was raised about the death of the dragon. he was the favourite of a young lady who was a pet of her papa's -- (next to dragons, children are the most horrid nuisances). -- an accursed dog (the d---l take all dogs! say i,) had found the body, and dragged it into the street, where it was recognised by the girl. the papa, furious at the sight of the favourite's tears, roamed and raged about the town in search of witnesses. men of belial are always to be found, especially in a colony, and hannibal was openly accused of the murder. the whole town was in a state of excitement. people seemed to think that a blow had been struck at the very roots of civil and religious liberty; and as every one had his favourite dragon, every one felt alarmed for its safety so long as hannibal remained unpunished. the ladies were especially bitter in their remarks and innuendoes. i was told by 'friends', that more than one lady had observed, that an old bachelor like myself cared nothing about dragons, and therefore it was just like my selfishness to seek to deprive them of their innocent pleasures and amusements. no one would listen to my plea of self-defence; no one regarded my losses; i was not looked upon as a sufferer; and instead of sympathy received only abuse. a summons being issued against hannibal, he appeared before the tribunal of two of her majesty's justices of the peace, accused of a grave misdemeanour. as every one knew that i was the instigator of the offence, i magnanimously avowed the fact, and was requested to stand in the place of hannibal. in vain, however, did i use every argument to justify the deed. the chief magistrate reminded me that i had been fully advised to proceed only according to law, under the act, wm. iv. no. , amended (!!) by wm. iv. no. ; by either of which i was fully authorized to seize and impound all trespassers -- a limit and license that included dragons. my defence was allowed to be a sensible and rational one; but the law was opposed to it, and their worships were bound by oath to prefer the law to common sense. (i doubted myself whether dragons came within the law, but the justices decided that they were poundable animals.) this being the case, i was under the necessity of paying the sum of ten shillings damages, and as many more for costs and expenses incurred by the bailiff, in travelling up and down his bailiwick in search of the body of john hannibal muckthorne (whose body was all the time sitting quietly in my kitchen) -- rather than go to fremantle gaol for a month, and help to draw stones about the streets in a large cart. i need scarcely add, that i returned home a wiser and sadder man. "hannibal," said i, "the spirit of the age in this colony is opposed to territorial and to social improvement. my grounds must still remain a barren waste. instead of embowering myself in fertility, as i had intended; instead of creating new beauties which should transfuse fresh charms into the minds of the peripatetics of perth; i must continue to live in a desert, and shall doubtless soon subside into an ascetic recluse. hannibal! turn the horses into the garden, and let them trample over the beds." thus have i reluctantly shown the reader that the dark ages still cast their shadows over the city of perth; -- the dawn of a high state of civilization is still wanting there, where man continues defenceless from the ravages of noxious monsters peculiar to an early and uncivilized era.* [footnote] *the laws which colonists make for themselves are often as absurd as any that the imperial parliament thinks proper to enact for them. to this day, the only legal remedy (except an action and a shilling damages) against the winged and long-clawed nuisances that destroy the hopes and break the heart of the horticulturist, is to impound them. chapter . michael blake, the irish settler.* [footnote] *a dry and humorous old man, who i cannot help suspecting coins a good many of his anecdotes, gave me this account of one of the early settlers, just as i record it. the fact of blake's coming to this colony, solely because he had heard there was an estate in it called skibbereen, (after the place of his nativity,) struck me as being something truly irish and original. the man's whole history is given almost in the words of my informant, who professed to have received it pure from the fountain-head. michael blake was a native of skibbereen, a well-known barony in the "ould country." his parents lived in a hut, "quite handy" to the road, in the midst of a bit of turf-ground where they managed to rear their annual crops of potatoes and their sprouts of children with as little trouble to themselves as possible. michael, as he said himself, was the youngest of four, but there were five younger than he. as soon as he could walk, his mother clothed him in an old coat of his father's, the tails of which swept the ground far behind him, as he trotted over the cabin-floor with a stick in his hand to wallop his favourite companion, the long-legged and long-snouted sow, as she lay dreaming in the door-way. his father was an upright man, and dealt equal justice among his children, whom he 'lathered' daily with the strictest impartiality. this was all the education they had any reason to expect, as the priest was always in a hurry when he called at their door, and had not time to dismount from his pony, from whose back he bestowed his blessing upon the tattered crowd of children as they pressed around, and gazed upon his reverence with their wild grey eyes and open mouths. and their parents could not be expected to give any other education than they had themselves received. michael grew up, therefore, as might be expected, a hungry, dirty-faced, unbreeched, long-coated urchin. although his parents had done no more for him than to usher him into a life of mud and misery, nature had been more compassionate. she had bestowed upon him a restless imagination, apparently for the purpose of removing him from this scene of trouble as quickly as possible. it led him, at an early age, to explore the passes of a neighbouring bog, where he fell into a deep hole filled with water, and was just on the point of escaping from the cares of the world, when his eldest brother unfortunately came by, and fished him out. their father seized the opportunity, and lathered them both. michael next travelled in a northerly direction, and reached the high-road with another brother, who was sent out to beg. here they both sat upon a stone and cried for their breakfast, until a brilliant idea occurred to michael, which dried his tears. he made a dirt-pie, and presented it to his brother; and they both passed their time very pleasantly, until an english carriage appeared coming along the road. little pat ran forward, begging and praying their honours to give him a halfpenny for the love of the virgin, as he had been carefully instructed to do by his dear mother, whilst his father took measures to impress the lesson upon his mind and person. michael, on his part, made a vigorous effort to cross over to the other side, crying lustily, "please sir, a halfpenny!" but his mother, in order to give him a good appearance in front, had buttoned the old coat wrong side before, and poor mike, in his haste and hurry, happening to put one of his little feet into the remains of a pocket, unhappily tripped himself up, and rolled before the horses' feet. the post-boy cleverly turned them aside as quickly as possible, but nothing could prevent the hind-wheel of the carriage from grazing one of michael's shins, and making him squall out in the most dreadful manner. a young lady and gentleman descended from the carriage, and showed the greatest compassion for the sufferer, whom they caused to be carried by a servant to his father's hovel, whither they accompanied him, and soon relieved the anxieties of his parents by a present of five golden guineas. some years elapsed, and things went on in the old way with the blake family. mike had sprouted out into a fine gossoon of a boy, and exercised his errant disposition by running after the gentlemen when they went out shooting, and helping the keepers to carry the game. one day, a gentleman who was shooting in the neighbourhood called at his father's cabin, and asked for the little boy whom he had run over in his carriage some seven years before. mr. blake, senior, after blessing his honour for his goodness, and wishing him long life and every earthly happiness called to the young spalpeen to get out of that; and why was he not for coming when the gentleman was spaking to him? mr. blake hinted to his visitors that he should correct the manners of the youth at an early opportunity, and in the meantime mike slyly approached with a gun that he was carrying for the keeper in his hands, and received the compliments of the gentleman on his good looks. the end of it was that the gentleman, who was an officer, took mike into his service; and in process of time, when he joined his regiment, michael became his constant attendant. dying, however, unexpectedly, as most people do, the worthy mr. blake, junior, was left to his own resources; and finding nothing better to do, he accepted a shilling from a friendly serjeant, and entered her majesty's service as a full private. in process of time he married a wife -- a real jewel, from that "gem of the sea" so dear to poor old england -- and accompanied his regiment to van dieman's land, en route to india. he was well known and liked by the officers, having a peculiar talent for blarney; and nothing pleased him so much as a little conversation with a superior. the regiment remained seven years in van dieman's land, and then passed on to its destination, leaving a number of men, who had received their discharge, to become settlers in the colony. among these was mr. michael blake, who soon established himself on a block of land, and became a prosperous colonist. but times grew bad, ere he could retire with a fortune. his wife formed undesirable acquaintances, and michael endeavoured to reclaim her by wholesome correction; but, unhappily, he bestowed so much attention upon her amendment that he entirely neglected himself, and before he was aware that he was falling into error, had become an habitual drunkard. everything now went wrong. mike, hating himself, began to hate everything about him; he hated the colony; he hated the magistrates, who now and then imposed a penalty upon him; he hated the laws, and discovered the difference between law and justice, without being able to find any traces of the latter. his fences fell into decay; his pigs and cattle committed trespasses, and the neighbours made him pay damages. it was the fault of the law, or rather of the lawyers, whom he condemned to the flames with dreadful imprecations. unable to pay the storekeeper for sugar and tea, judgment was given against him, and his last surviving cow was seized by the sheriff. he had the satisfaction of beating the officer nearly to death; but the cow was sold notwithstanding, and he took a month's exercise on the treadmill, whilst his wife spent the time with her friend the excise-officer, and drank to his better health and general improvement. on being released, he complained to the governor, and presented petitions to the legislative council against the unjust judges who ruled the land, and crushed the hearts out of the people. soon, however, softer feelings came over him; thoughts returned of home, so long forgotten in days of prosperity. he wondered whether his parents were alive, whom, forty years ago, he had left in the barony of skibbereen, and had not heard of since. he thought of the home of his boyhood; of the antiquated cabin in which, at the will of his father, he had so often "eaten stick;" of the long-legged and long-snouted sow, that used to grunt uneasily in her dreams before the fire; of the potatoes and salt for breakfast and dinner, of which he never got enough; of the puddle before the door, in which he used to love to dabble -- all these visions of the past came back upon him now in the time of his sorrows, and filled him with a craving for the scenes of his youth. every one in trouble goes to the governor, who has consequently plenty of morning-callers. a few words of sympathy from his excellency are very consoling, and serve the afflicted for a topic of conversation for some time to come. "his excellency, the last time i saw him, desired me to write to my friends." "his excellency particularly wishes me to make it up with smith, or i'd never have forgiven him for seizing my cow." "his excellency swears that he can't spare me from the colony, or nothing should make me stay another day in it," etc. etc. mike presented himself at the government-offices, and after waiting a couple of hours, caught sight of the governor as he was passing out through the ante-room. "god bless your honour, it's bould i am to be stopping your honour and excellency this way, and you going out too with the business of the nation upon your honour's shoulders." "what do you want, my good friend, what do you want?" "it's your honour and excellency that's the good friend to me and the poor, and many's the prayer that's offered up night and morning for your excellency, by them that blesses the good god and the virgin for having sent your honour to reign over us." -- "what is it, mike, what is it? i'm in a hurry." "and is it me that's hindering your honour? sure and i'll walk wid ye to the world's end and talk all the same. och, and it's the bad times that have come upon us all entirely -- and the ould settlers feels it the most, as is likely. faith and we'd all die off, out and out, if it wasn't for your excellency thinking of us, and schaming to do us the good turn, when the council (bad luck to 'em!) raises the duties." "my horse is waiting; i really cannot stay." "arrah, and it's a fine baste that same, and the two of you looks well together, with the white cockatoo feathers, and the sword all gould and diamonds." here his excellency showed signs of mounting his horse, so mike hastened to whisper confidentially, "governor, dear, my heart's broken entirely for the ould country, and the poor father and mother that's looking out for me night and morning these forty years, to give me their blessing; and the woman at home, the crathur, kills me day-by-day with her going on; and i'd like to see ould ireland once before i die, and skibbereen, which your honour knows is the finest place under god almighty's blessed canopy, and i can't die in pace till i see it -- 'deed i can't, governor dear; and ther's a man-of-war, no less than the shannon herself, going to sail for the indies, where i'd get passed on by colonel maxwell (god bless him for the rale gintleman!) only, governor dear, spake the good word for me to captain widdicombe, and i'll be took to calcutty free for nothing; and it's not a tinpenny-piece that i have in the world, the blessed virgin pity me!" -- here his excellency, being mounted on horseback, felt himself in more independent circumstances, and told mike that he must not think of leaving the colony without his wife, as it would be most improper conduct (the government would have to support her), and that he himself had no interest with captain widdicombe -- his excellency's charger, being of an impatient temper, allowed no further time for parley, but cantered off with his rider, leaving mike rather at fault. the more numerous the difficulties that appeared in the way of mike's return to skibbereen, the more yearning became his desire to lay his bones there. every day he appeared at the government-offices, and waylaid the colonial-secretary, or the attorney-general, or some other of the officials, entreating them to obtain a free passage for an old soldier, whose only desire on earth was to die among the bogs of skibbereen. he talked incessantly of that beautiful spot, and swore that he loved it better than the garden of eden. he pined after skibbereen as the melancholy pelican pines for his desert home; but hope gradually seemed to leave him -- all other friends had long since abandoned him, and he had fallen helplessly into the power of his arch-enemy the rum-bottle, when a fellow-countryman arrived at hobart town from western australia. mr. denis maguire listened patiently to mike's pathetic lamentation over the lost skibbereen, and then calmly replied, "och, but it's little that i'd disthract myself for a place like that in the ould country; sure isn't there skibbereen near the swan river, belonging to mr. o'driscoll, and isn't it a beautifuller place entirely than any other skibbereen in the world?" "what!" interrupted mike, "is there skibbereen at the swan river, and is it mr. o'driscoll that's living there? arrah! say that again, my darling, if you plaze." maguire repeated the statement; on which mike, starting up, began to dance an irish hornpipe; and then, stopping short of a sudden swore that he was the happiest boy alive, and thanked the blessed saints for all their goodness to him. the next day he managed to sell all the remains of his property, and made a bargain with the owner of a small coasting-vessel to convey him and his wife (whom he was compelled to take with him) to swan river, where he arrived in due course of time, and managed to locate himself at skibbereen, where he built a hut, cultivated several acres of land, and became quite a reformed character. although his landlord, mr. o'driscoll, was his countryman, mike managed to blarney him so that he did just what he liked, and never paid any rent either in cash or in kind. his yearning desire had been to live at skibbereen, and now that he had attained his object he was (wonderful to say) contented and happy. he frequently came to perth for the sake of a little chat with the storekeepers and the gentry, and as he was sure to blarney some one into giving him a dinner, he always returned home light of heart and unimpaired in pocket. but alas! poor mike was not destined to die in peace at skibbereen. a large party of the natives had suddenly attacked the abode of a neighbouring settler, and put the owner to death. michael blake and two of his friends, without waiting for other assistance, hastened to the rescue, imperfectly armed. they were overpowered in an instant. blake and one of his companions fell pierced with many spears, whilst the other, being on horseback, escaped, carrying with him four spears fixed in his body. years afterwards, one of the natives who had assisted at the slaughter coolly related the particulars of the death of michael blake. when he was lying on the ground, said this man, he turned round, and supporting himself on his arm, entreated for mercy in the most moving terms. the savages stood round him, looking on, and listening patiently to his address. "did you show him mercy?" asked my informant. "no!" replied the savage, with calm indifference. "what did you do?" "we cut his tongue out." "wretch! what for?" "he wongee (chattered) too much." poor mike! his blarney could not save him; it had often before done him good service, but the savages valued it not. chapter . wild cattle hunting. having received intelligence that a numerous herd of wild cattle had lately been seen grazing upon some extensive plains a day's journey south of perth, i got up a party with the intention of hunting them. our preparations were made the day before starting on the expedition. a bullock-cart was loaded with fire-arms, kegs of brandy, various kinds of provisions, and cloaks and blankets. a couple of natives had been engaged to act as guides, and these, with their wives and families, spent the greater part of the day lounging about my premises, idly inspecting the arrangements, and sleeping in the sunshine, lazy as the pigs, which they surpassed in filth. in the afternoon, taking with them a supply of flour, they commenced their journey, intending to sleep upon the road, and leave us to overtake them on the following day. at day-break the next morning we were in our saddles, the bullock-cart having started during the night. the party consisted of three, who were all clad in blue hunting-shirts, and had polished horns hanging at their backs, filled with eau-de-vie, wine and water, or the simple fluid, according to the taste of the wearer. as we passed down the silent street at that early hour, one of the party, an officer, agreeably dispelled the slumbers of the peaceful inhabitants by a most able performance upon a key-bugle; the others gave vent to the exuberance of their spirits by loud "tally-ho's!" and cries of "hark away!" and other encouraging expressions addressed to imaginary dogs. then we gave our able steeds the head, and dashed along with all those happy and exulting thoughts which bubble in the breast of youth hurrying to the chase. is there any moment in life so dear to memory as those we have passed on horseback, in the fine air of morning, when we hurried along towards the haunt of cunning reynard, and expected every instant to see him break cover? less exciting by far is hunting in australia, but still it is hunting, and we are on horseback, and eager as ever for a gallop. passing over two well-built wooden bridges, connected by a causeway, we crossed the river, and took the road for the canning. thick woods of banksia, wattle, and eucalypti, closed in the view on every side; but occasionally we ascended a gentle slope, and then looking back we could see a beautiful picture before us. in the still air and misty light of the morning, perth water lay clear and tranquil amidst the vast forest by which it is surrounded. the heights of mount eliza looked down into the glittering mirror. on the right bank were the white houses of the capital; far to the left we caught glimpses of melville water. except the occasional flights of wild ducks, and the dark gusts which from time to time swept along the waters, heralding the rising land-wind, all was still and breathless. one could not help asking oneself how long this scene had existed as we now beheld it? was it designed for thousands of years to be viewed only by savages, mindless as the birds or fishes that frequented its waters? had it always existed thus, or been growing during centuries under the hand of nature, until it should be adapted to the habitation of civilized man? and was that period now arrived, or were we premature in seizing upon our inheritance before it was thoroughly prepared for our reception? many times have we asked ourselves this last question. this singular country appears to represent the ancient character of the earth in one of the earlier stages of formation. it represents that epoch when animal life was first developed in the lowest order of quadrupeds. there are a few small exceptions, but it may be laid down as a general rule, that all the animals indigenous to this country are marsupial -- from the kangaroo, the largest down to the little field-mouse. the animals not indigenous are man, the wild cattle, and the wild dogs. many speculations have been hazarded as to the origin of the first: to me it appears there can be little doubt that the first tribes found their way hither from the eastern islands, having proceeded originally from india. the language of the natives bears more traces of the hindu than of any other. this, i believe, is the opinion of the rev. j. mitchell, m.a., of the middle swan, whose long residence in india, and intimate acquaintance with some of the languages of that country, give weight to his conjectures. many of the words used by the natives of both countries are identical in sound, and express the same meaning. i have also noticed that the coolies of india and the natives of this colony manage to understand one another much sooner than is the case between the latter and the whites. the wild cattle have long existed in the interior, as appears from their remains. both they and the wild dog have probably descended from animals cast ashore by shipwreck. the indigenous tribes are those of the kangaroo, the opossum, and the lizard. it is curious to observe how the distinguishing features of the first are manifested in a great variety of animals, of all sizes from the kangaroo downwards -- the long hind, and short fore legs, the three toes on the former, the rat-like-head, the warm pouch, betokening the immature parturition. the opossums also are marsupial. all these animals seem to belong to an early age of the geological world. many of the plants speak the same language -- especially the zamia. the rocks, too, of this portion of new holland are all primary, except the limestone and sandstone near the coast. is this country, then, a portion of the world that has remained in the same state for thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of years; or is it of comparatively recent formation, exhibiting that condition which at one period belonged to the whole surface of the earth? the latter, of course, must be the case; and if so, we cannot help thinking that further changes must take place in its geological character before it shall be permanently occupied by civilized man. at present, however, it must be admitted there is no sign of volcanic action going on to effect these changes. our conjectures are purely speculative, and will probably meet with no sympathy from the reader, but we throw them out because the subject is full of wonder and mystery; and those who have brought personal observation to bear upon it, best know it to be so. as we wander through the lacustrine valleys which abound here; valleys once the beds of rivers, but now broad swamps choked up with lofty reeds -- we feel as though we were in the land and the age of the saurians. the whole country swarms with lizards, some of which, to the northward, grow to the size of five feet; but the most common are the 'iguana', or 'guana', a creature some ten or twelve inches long, with a flat head, very wide mouth, and only the stump of a tail. they are perfectly harmless, and subsist upon frogs and insects. one variety of this species, found in the district of king george's sound, was brought to my notice by my brother. it is usually found in a tuft of grass, where it lies completely hidden except its tongue, which is thrust upwards, and bears an exact resemblance to the petal of a flower, crimson and pink. flies seem to delight in resting upon this deceptive flower, which being covered with an adhesive mucous substance, takes them prisoner, and proves their destruction. we have now had a long canter, which has brought us to the neighbourhood of the canning river. the country hereabouts resembles a wild english park. the trees are all of the eucalypti species, large and dispersed; the surface of the ground is level, affording a view of the darling hills, which appear to be close at hand. crossing the river by a rustic bridge, we ascended the opposite bank, whilst our trumpeter blew a charge that was intended to announce our approach at a farm-house close at hand. as we rode up to the door, the proprietor, attended by three stalwart sons, hastened to greet us. he was a gentleman who had passed a good portion of his life on the continent, but having a large family to bring up had resolved to seek his fortune in the southern hemisphere. breakfast was already set out for us in a large room which served as the baronial hall of the mansion; whilst our horses, partaking of the prodigal hospitality of the farmer colonist, were tethered in various parts of a fine field of clover. breakfast is a famous meal after an early morning ride, and people have then not only good appetites but good spirits. half-a-dozen kangaroo-dogs, attracted by the clatter of knives and the tempting savour that arose from the large dish of sheep's fry, crowded round the open door, whilst they seemed to feel keenly the selfishness of those who appropriated the whole of the feast to themselves. every now and then arose a howl of anguish from the group, as one of the young men would arrive with fresh supplies of coffee or fried bacon, and kicked a clear passage for himself into the room. one only of the canine race was allowed to approach the table -- the venerable tip, who having formerly, in times of scarcity, earned his master five pounds a-week by catching kangaroos for the market of fremantle, was now entitled to sit at his right hand, where a few morsels were occasionally bestowed upon him, which he received with becoming gravity and decorum. breakfast finished, we saddled our horses and proceeded on our way, accompanied by one of the sons of our host. we pushed along towards the foot of the hills, over a sandy country covered with scrub, and trees of various magnitudes. the birds that we saw were chiefly fly-catchers and parroquets; and occasionally the wild turkey, or bustard sailing along in the distance, made us sigh for a nearer acquaintance. after a cheerful ride of several hours, having the hills on our left hand, we crossed a few small plains; and understanding from our guide, tom h-----, that we were now at our destination, we began to look about us for our bullock-cart, whose track we had noticed from time to time as we came along. our "cooeys" were answered by voices not far distant; and following the sound, we soon came within view of a column of smoke curling lightly above the trees; and on arriving at the spot whence it arose, we found our man, assisted by the natives, busily engaged in erecting a kind of hut, or rather skreen of boughs, for our night quarters. the bullocks were feeding quietly at a short distance; the cart was conveniently placed for being unpacked; and a group of three native women and their children, squatted round a fire of their own, about a hundred yards from ours, and busily occupied in baking flour-dampers, signalled our approach by shrill cries of welcome without rising from their places. [sketch of "the bivouac."] our horses were soon relieved of their saddles, and each man leading his own steed by the long tether-rope which had been carefully coiled round its neck, took it to a neighbouring pool to drink, and then proceeded in search of the best pasture. our animals having been attended to, our next thought was of ourselves; and every one took his bundle of blankets and cloaks out of the cart, and unrolled it beneath the sloping skreen of boughs, and prepared his bed according to his particular taste or experience; testing the accommodation from time to time by flinging himself upon his couch, and ascertaining the different vents by which the wind would be likely to prove annoying during the night. these were next stopped up by handfuls of xanthorea leaves, or by strips of bark from the paper-tree. the lodging being pronounced perfect, and the sun being level with the horizon, we hastened the preparation for our meal; and hampers and boxes soon gave forth their stores of cold fowls, tongues, hams, and meat-pies. sausages are excellent things in bush-campaigns; and as every man toasts his own on the point of a long stick, a high degree of nervous excitement is felt by each, lest he should lose his savoury morsel in the fire. the kettle soon boiled, and as we ate our tea-dinner, the sun went down, and night quickly swallowed up the short twilight, leaving us to depend entirely on our fire, which presented a goodly pile that shot forth cheerful flames, making the scenery around us bright with light. the ground for the space of many yards glittered beneath the flickering rays; the bowls of the tall trees seemed whiter than usual; even the brown cheeks of the natives looked less dark, as they chattered and laughed over their supper. cold grog, or hot brandy-and-water, was leisurely sipped by those who lay on their couches in the full tranquillity of after-dinner ease; and as digestion proceeded, songs and catches awakened the echoes of the woods. tired at last, we sank to sleep, having first, however, visited our horses and changed their tether. during the night i woke up. all around were fast asleep in different postures; some rolling about uneasily in their dreams; others still as the dead. i heaped fresh logs upon the fire, which blazed forth anew. the natives were all huddled under their wigwams, which are about the size and shape of an open umbrella resting on its edge. the night was dark throughout the forest, and overhead; the little circle of light within which i stood, seemed like a magician's ring, sacred and safe from evil spirits that filled the air around. it was as the speck of time amid the ocean of eternity -- as hope, bright and solitary in the midst of unfathomable darkness. there i felt safe and secure -- but without -- who might tell what spirits roamed abroad, melancholy and malignant? peering into that dark boundary of forest, the eye vainly endeavoured to pierce the gloom. fancy peopled its confines with flitting shapes, and beheld a grinning hobgoblin in the grotesque stump of many a half-burnt tree, on which the light momentarily flickered. the ear listened eagerly for sounds in the distant solitude; and one almost expected to hear shrieks of laughter or of terror borne upon the night-wind from the recesses of the hills. evil spirits seem peculiarly the companions of heathen savages. a wild, desert, and desolate region, traversed only in the day-time, and rarely even then, by straggling barbarians whose hearts have never known a single gentle emotion, seems naturally to be the haunt of the spirits of evil. chingi, the terror of our natives, is often seen by them, as they lie cowering under their kangaroo skins, and huddled together in the extremity of fear, stalking giant-like and gloomy along the summits of the hills, whilst the moon shrinks timidly behind her curtain of clouds. on that night, however, there was no moon, and chingi was not visible to me, nor did any sound break in upon the silence of the forest, save that of our horses eating their food, and giving an occasional snort as the sand affected their nostrils. anxious to behold any spirits that might please to be visible, i walked to the spot occupied by my quadruped, with the intention of changing his quarters; but finding him comfortably stretched in repose, i left him to dream of his own distant manger and two quarterns of oats, and returned to my couch. the appearance of the bivouac, to one viewing it from the surrounding darkness, was very picturesque. every object was lighted up by the cheerful blaze -- the cart with its packages in or about it, the sleepers in their blue or red woollen shirts, under the sloping roof, their guns leaning against the uprights, their shot-belts and pouches hanging in front -- the kangaroo-dogs lying round the fire, and as near to it as possible -- the surrounding trees and shrubs glittering with a silvery light, their evergreen foliage rustling at the breath of the soft land-breeze -- altogether formed a striking and peculiar scene. next morning we were up before the sun, and having breakfasted, proceeded on horseback in search of the herd of wild cattle, which we knew, from the reports of natives, to be somewhere in the neighbourhood. we rode down an extensive plain, covered plentifully with grass, and presenting numerous clumps of trees, which afforded shelter to bronze-winged pigeons and immense flights of white cockatoos. the latter screamed fearfully as we drew nigh, but did not remain long enough to allow us the chance of a shot. many tracks of the cattle were visible, traversing these plains in every direction; but on reaching a small pool, we found such recent traces as led us to believe the animals could not be far distant. remaining stationary for a few moments, we allowed the two natives who accompanied us to ascertain the direction in which the herd had wandered, and their signs soon led us to follow in profound silence. the natives walked rapidly ahead; the tracks were very apparent, and we were all in high glee, and growing extremely excited. the sun shone brightly, but as it was in the month of may, the air was mild and pleasant, without being hot. after proceeding along the plains for several miles we came to a thick jungle, through which the cattle had formed a path. the interior presented a rocky area of considerable extent. fragments of rock lay jostled together, among which trees and shrubs appeared, and here and there an open space afforded room for the herbage which had tempted the cattle into this rough scene. in parts where grass refused to grow, beautiful purple flowers raised their heads in clusters -- and ever in the most rugged and barren spots the gayest flowers are found to bloom. how grateful do we feel to nature for bestowing such charms upon the wild desert! cheering our spirits with a sense of the beautiful, that else would droop and despond as we journeyed through the lone and dreary waste. although we sometimes proceeded over a surface of bare rock, and at others over large and loose stones, where no foot-print was visible to the eye of a white man, the natives never failed to discover the traces which they sought with unerring sagacity. after a ride of nearly two hours we observed one of the natives making signs to us to halt. "there they are!" passed in eager whispers from one to the other. before us was a belt of wood, through which we could perceive about a dozen cattle grazing on a broad plain. already they had a suspicion of danger, and began to look around them. one of the natives, with my double-barrelled gun loaded with heavy ball was creeping toward them through the grass upon his hands and knees, whilst we cautiously drew up at the side of the wood. the herd consisted of a huge mouse-coloured bull, with an enormous hunch on his shoulders, and about a dozen cows, with a few calves. the bull came slowly towards us, muttering low bellows, and shaking his fierce head and ponderous neck, on which grew a short, black mane. from some unexplained cause or other the native fired his gun before the animal was within range, and the bull, being a beast of discretion, stopped short, as though extremely surprised, and after a little hesitation, turned round and rejoined his female friends. the whole herd then began to trot off at a slow pace across the plain, which was thereabout a mile broad. we were now all eagerness for the pursuit; and tom h-----, the most experienced of the party, calling on us to follow him, dashed off at right angles from the herd, and outside the belt of wood, in the belief that he would be able to head the animals by a little manoeuvring; but at the instant he started the old bull turned short on his course, and made across the plain in a new direction. i happened to be the last of our party, and was the only one who perceived this new disposition of the enemy. anxious to be the first in the melee, i allowed my friends to gallop off, and dashed myself through the wood directly in pursuit of the herd. thinking there was no time to lose, i waited not for my gun, but resolved to trust to the pistols in my holsters. the cattle, who had begun their retreat at a steady trot, increased their speed as they saw me gallopping up to them. i was afraid of their crossing the plain, and escaping in the thick forest beyond, and so pushed my good horse to his utmost speed. he seemed to be as much excited as myself, and in a few minutes i headed the herd, and tried to turn them back; but they would not deviate from their course, and would have rushed through a regiment of foot, had it been in their way: i therefore avoided the old bull, who came charging along at the head of the phalanx, and found myself in the midst of the herd. it was a moment of delightful excitement; some skill was required to avoid the hurtling forest of horns, but i turned round and gallopped with the mass; and having perfect confidence in my horse and horsemanship, i felt that i could pick out any of the animals i pleased. my gun, however, was wanting to bring the huge bull to his bearings. he looked so enormous as i gallopped alongside of him, that i despaired of making any impression with a pistol, and resolved to limit my ambition to the slaughter of one of the cows. we were now across the plain, the bull had entered the forest, and the others were in the act of doing the same, when i rode against the outside cow, in the hope of turning her away from the thick cover, and keeping her in the open plain. she would not, however, turn aside, and i fired my first pistol at her eye, and though i only grazed her cheek, succeeded in separating her from her companions, and turning her up the long plain. at this moment four kangaroo-dogs, (a cross between a greyhound and a blood-hound, bold, powerful, and swift,) that had followed me in the chase, but had only gallopped alongside of the cattle, finding me seriously engaged with one of the number, made a simultaneous dash at the unfortunate cow, and endeavoured to impede her career by barking, and biting at her nostrils, dew-lap, and flanks. it was a fine sight to see these four noble hounds chasing away on either side of the animal, whilst she, every now and then, stooped low her head and made a dash at them, without pausing in her career. away she went at a slapping pace, keeping me on the gallop. fearful of hurting the dogs, i refrained from firing for some time, but at length got a chance, and aimed a ball behind her shoulders, but it struck her ribs, and penetrated no deeper than the skin. loading as i rode along, i delivered another ball with better success, and she began to abate her speed. the rest of the party now came up, cheering and hallooing, but the game had dashed into a swamp in which the reeds and shrubs were high enough to conceal horses and huntsmen; nevertheless, we pushed through, and found her on the bank of a muddy pool, where she stood at bay, whilst the dogs barked cautiously before her. she was covered with sweat, blood, and dirt, and perfectly furious; and the moment we approached she made a rush, trampling over several of the dogs; and darting madly against the nearest horseman, caught his charger on the flank, and steed and rider rolled together on the ground. the furious assailant stumbled over her prostrate foes, and was saluted with a discharge of fire-arms, which, however, did not prevent her from rushing against me in return for a ball in the shoulder, but i eluded the assault, and the animal fell exhausted to the ground. all this may sound savage enough to those who read in cold blood, but it was very exciting at the time; and man, when a hunter, becomes for the moment ruthless and blood-thirsty. this was a very severe chase; the animal had run full five miles over a rough country at such a pace as to cover our horses with foam, and they now stood thoroughly blown, and shaking in every limb. we returned to our home after a short rest, taking the tail with us as a trophy. a party was despatched in the evening with the cart, and a large portion of the carcase was brought in and skilfully salted by the experienced hand of tom h. this evening passed away as pleasantly as the last, and as we were all rather fatigued, we retired early, and slept until awakened by the sun. a native arrived early in the morning with the intelligence that a herd of wild cattle was now grazing in a ravine of the hills about four miles distant. as we could not well follow them on horseback in that locality, we started off on foot armed with our rifles. the morning as usual was brilliant, but not too warm, and we walked along in high spirits. we had not proceeded far through the woods when one of the natives, who was in advance, stopped short on a sudden, and we all instinctively did the same. stealing back to us, he took my rifle out of my hands without any ceremony, and telling us to remain perfectly still, crept slowly forward, stooping nearly to the ground. we now perceived a small plain about two hundred yards a-head of us, on which were six wild turkeys leisurely feeding and walking about. the native had dived among the scrub, and we lost all signs of him. it soon, however, became evident that the turkeys suspected danger; they erected their tall brown and grey necks, and looked about them like alarmed sentinels. "they're off!" cried we -- but just as they were preparing to run, which they do with great rapidity, one of them was seen to flutter his wings and tumble over, whilst the crack of the rifle proclaimed the triumph of migo. we rushed through the brush-wood, elated as schoolboys who have shot their first throstle with a horse-pistol, and found the bustard flapping out its last breath in the hands of the native, whose dark visage gleamed with triumphant pride. resuming our march, we passed over the side of a hill covered with inferior jarra trees, and soon entered the ravine in which we expected to find the cattle. they were not visible; so we crossed the valley, and passed up the other side for about half-a-mile, when we entered another valley, some distance up which we perceived a herd of cattle quietly grazing, or lying ruminating in the confidence of perfect security. we endeavoured to creep towards them as quietly as possible, but their senses of smelling and hearing were so acute that they became acquainted with their danger too soon for us, and trotted gently up the valley before we could reach them. we now dispersed in the hope of heading them. attaching myself to migo, who considered my rifle the most likely to prove successful, as he had killed the bustard with it, we walked for half an hour across the hill-side without seeing anything of our game. a rifle-shot and a loud shout prepared us for something, and in another minute we heard the crashing of branches and the tread of feet, and soon beheld half-a-dozen cows and two or three calves making their way up the hill at a short distance from us. "what for you no get behind tree?" said the native in an angry whisper, and giving me a push that prevented my staring idly any longer, and sent me into a proper position. "oh! why will they go in that direction? why will they not come within range? i will give everything i have on earth for one good point-blank shot!" and sure enough a bouncing bull-calf, turning aside from a thick clump of trees, came within about a hundred yards of me apparently wild with fright, and not knowing which way to run. just as he was turning off again, i fired, and he fell upon his knees, struck in the shoulder. migo was upon him in an instant, and felled him to the earth with a blow of his stone-hammer. i shouted the paean of victory, and was answered by a loud "cooey" from the valley and the voice of my friend mr. b. calling out, "i have killed a splendid cow and dispersed the herd. the bull and several cows are gone down the valley towards the plains." all the party, with the exception of tom n., were soon assembled round the body of b.'s cow, which was black and fine-limbed. she was evidently in milk, and there was little doubt that the calf slain by me had belonged to her. every one now asked what had become of tom, whose assistance was absolutely necessary in cutting up the carcases. b. had heard his rifle down the valley, and we now began to "cooey" for him. in a few moments we heard a faint "cooey" in reply, and started in that direction. after walking for about ten minutes towards the opening of the valley we heard distinctly, and at no great distance, the bellowing of a bull. proceeding cautiously, with our rifles all ready, we soon arrived at the spot, and there beheld a huge bull tearing up the ground with his feet and horns, and bellowing in the most savage manner. a shout of joy directed our attention among the boughs of a low banksia tree, where our unfortunate friend tom sat painfully perched, only just out of reach of danger. the animal below every now and then fell upon his knees, crushing and smashing something which we had great difficulty in recognising as poor tom's rifle. "he is badly wounded," cried tom, "pitch into him, and don't be afraid!" without waiting for this exhortation, we let fly a volley, which brought the animal down upon his knees; and after a few staggering efforts to run at us, he sank to rise no more; whilst his first assailant, tom, slipped down from his perch, and limped towards the remains of his rifle, execrating the dying bull in a furious manner, and even venting his wrath in a kick. as tom wore a red shirt that only reached to his hips, he had no chance of concealing an enormous rent in his nether garment, through which protruded the remains of a shirt, which at the best of times was probably far from presenting the appearance of virgin purity, but now was stained with blood. as people in tom's plight, when not seriously hurt, are usually more laughed at than pitied, the chagrin of our friend enhanced the interest with which we listened to his story. knowing that there was no escape for the herd of cattle up the valleys, as they terminated in steep rocks, and that therefore they would either cross over the side of the hill, or return down the first valley towards the plains, tom hung back, leaving the rest of the party to head them. after some time had elapsed, he distinguished the bull and several cows trotting along the hill-side; and hastening to meet them, he posted himself behind a tree, close to which he saw they would soon pass. anxious, however, to get a view of the game, he stepped out from his ambush just as the bull had approached within fifty yards. each saw the other at the same moment. the bull stopped short, and tom felt rather queer. he did not like to fire at the vast head of the animal, lest the ball should glance off without effect. the bull, instead of turning aside, began to bellow and tear up the ground with his hoofs. the cows stood still, and stared at tom, who began to think the state of his affairs looked gloomy; but he knew that his best policy was to remain stock-still; so he looked at the bull and the cows, and the bull and the cows looked at tom. at length the bull had sufficiently nerved his resolution, and began to advance, tearing up the ground and bellowing as he came on. tom took aim between the shoulder-blade and the neck, and fired; the enemy staggered, and roared with fury, rushing like a whirlwind upon tom, who took to his heels, and began dodging round the trees. but the bull was in earnest; and savage with rage as a thousand lions, he tore round the trees more quickly even than tom, carrying his head close to the ground, and his tail straight out behind, whilst his eyes, tom said, glared with such fury, that our poor friend's heart froze up within him. luckily he espied a banksia tree which seemed easy to ascend; but just as he reached it the bull was upon him. the bull roared, and tom, roaring almost as loudly, made a spring at the tree but slipped down again just upon the horns of the animal. the next hoist, however, rent his garments, and lacerated a portion of his person which he had always considered especially sacred; but as the thrust heaved him upwards at the same time, and gave a fresh impulse to his agility, he succeeded in scrambling upon a bough that kept him just out of danger. no one may describe the pangs of despair by which he was assailed when he beheld the utter destruction of his only rifle. he threw his cap in the face of the bull, but he only lost his cap as well as his rifle by this rash and inconsiderate action, which was the highest proof he could have given of the extremity of his distress. poor tom! he had often been made a butt of, but had never been so butted before. the cup went merrily round that evening, and many and jovial were the songs that were sung, and witty and pleasant were the jokes that passed freely at the expense of the unfortunate 'tauricide', who, bereft of his rifle, and dilapidated in reputation and pantaloons, was heartily glad to be able to hide his sorrows in sleep. chapter . woodman's point* [footnote] *this is a more sentimental story than that of michael blake, but i owe them both to the same authority. there is a pleasant ride along the shore from fremantle to a little bay about seven miles distant, one side of which, covered with lofty trees, runs far into the sea, and is called woodman's point. the sea in this part appears to be only a few miles broad; garden-island forming the opposite shore, the southern extremity of which seems almost to join cape perron, and thus presents the appearance of a vast bay. not long ago, the blackened remains of a small house, or hovel, were to be seen on the verge of the wood, facing towards cape perron. around it might be distinguished the traces of a garden of considerable extent; a few stunted vines still continued annually to put forth the appearance of verdure, which served only to tempt the appetite of the stray cattle that wandered down to this solitary spot. a large bed of geraniums had extended itself across the path which used to lead to the door of the house; and their varied and beautiful flowers, rejoicing in this congenial climate, gave additional melancholy to the scene. it was evident those plants had been reared, and tended, and prized for their beauty; they had once been carefully cultured, pruned, and watered -- now they were left to bloom or to die, as accident permitted. near to this bed of geraniums, but apart and solitary, untouched even by weeds, of which there were only few in that sandy soil, grew an english rose-tree. its long, unpruned boughs straggled wildly on the ground. it looked the picture of desolation and despair. a few imperfect flowers occasionally peeped forth, but knew only a short and precarious existence, for the shrub being no longer sheltered behind the house, was now exposed to the daily violence of the sea-breeze. this widowed rose, deprived of the hand which had tended it so carefully, and of the heart which its beauty had gladdened, seemed now in its careless desolation awaiting the hour when it should die. it really looked, with its drooping boughs, its torn blossoms, and its brown leaves, rustling and sighing to the breeze, like a sentient being mourning without hope. those who have never lived in exile from their native land, can have no idea of the feelings with which a lonely colonist, long separated from all the associations of home, would regard a solitary plant which so peculiarly calls up home memories. pardon us, good reader, this appearance of sentiment; you who will read these lines in old england -- that land which we must ever think of with pardonable emotion -- will evince but little sympathy with us, who necessarily feel some fond regard for the mother from whom we are parted, and are naturally drawn towards the inanimate things by which we are reminded of her. there is in this colony of western australia a single daisy root; and never was the most costly hot-house plant in england so highly prized as this humble little exile. the fortunate possessor pays it far more attention than he bestows upon any of the gorgeous flowers that bloom about it; and those who visit his garden of rare plants find nothing there that fills them with so profound a feeling of interest as the meek and lowly flower which recalls to their memories the pleasant pastures of old england. but to return to the ruins of woodman's point. this plot of land, now so neglected and forlorn, was once the blooming garden of a very singular old man, who owed his support to the vegetables which it produced, and to the fish that he caught from the little cobble which danced at anchor in the bay, whenever the weather permitted the fisherman to exercise his art. no one knew his history, but his conversation and deportment told you that he was of gentle birth, and had been well educated. his manners were particularly amiable and retiring, and every one who visited the solitary old man came away impressed with a melancholy interest in his fate. he always welcomed a visitor with gentle pleasure, and seemed glad of the opportunity of showing his crops of vegetables and the flowers in which he delighted. the rose-tree never failed to arrest his steps for a moment. he had brought it himself from england as a cutting, and there was evidently some history attached to it; but he never shared his confidence with any one; and the history of the rose-tree, like his own, was never revealed. there was only one point on which he betrayed any feeling of pride -- and that was his name. no one else would perhaps have been so proud of it, but he himself ever seemed to regard it with veneration. he called himself anthony elisha simson; and never failed to make you observe that his patronymic was spelt without a "p". nothing irritated him so much as to receive a note addressed, "a. e. simpson, esq." the simsons, he would assure you, were an old family in the northern counties of england, and traced back their genealogy to the conquest; whereas the simpsons were of quite a different, and doubtless inferior origin. nothing more than this did he ever relate concerning his family or his personal history. he arrived in the colony a few years after its foundation, without any other effects than what were contained in a portmanteau and carpet-bag, and with only a few sovereigns in his purse. without associating himself with any one, he early fixed upon the spot where he afterwards built his house, and established his permanent abode. here he began to make his garden, and did not disdain to earn a few shillings occasionally by cutting fire-wood for a man who supplied fremantle with that necessary article. it was this occupation that caused the settlers, who knew nothing more of him, to give him the title of "the woodman" -- a name which soon attached to the locality. after he had been some time in the colony, mr. simson began to express great impatience for the arrival of letters from england. whenever a vessel arrived at the port, he would put on his old shooting-coat, and walk along the shore to fremantle, where, after having inquired in vain at the post-office, he would purchase a pound of tea, and then return home again. years went by. every time that a vessel arrived, poor simson would hurry to fremantle. he would watch, with eyes of ill-repressed eagerness, the mail carried to the post-office in boxes and large sacks. surely amid that multitude of letters there must be one for him! patiently would he wait for hours at the window, whilst the post-master and his assistants sorted the letters; and when he had received the usual answer to his inquiry, he would return to his abode with down-cast looks. as time passed on he grew more fretful and impatient. receiving no intelligence from england, he seemed to be anxious to return thither. he would drop expressions which led his visitors (generally government officers who called upon him in their rides) to believe he would depart from the colony were he rich enough to pay his passage, or were he not restrained by some other powerful motive. his mind ran altogether upon the old country, and it was with reluctance that he planted the vegetables and cured the fish which were essential to his support. for many hours during the day he used to be seen standing fixed as a sentinel on the low rock which formed the extremity of the ridge called after himself -- the woodman's point -- and looking homewards. doubtless, thought was busy within him -- the thought of all he had left or acted there. none had written to him; none remembered or perhaps wished to remember him. but home was in his heart, even whilst he felt there was no longer a home for him. a restless anxiety preyed upon his mind, and he grew thin and feeble; but still whenever a sail was seen coming round the north end of rottnest, and approaching the port, he would seize his staff, and set out upon his long journey to fremantle to inquire if there were, at last, a letter awaiting him. may we imagine the growing despair in the heart of this poor old exile, as life seemed ebbing away, and yet there came no news, no hope to him from home? frequently he wrote himself, but always to the same address -- that of a broker, it was supposed, in throgmorton-street. but no answer was ever returned. had he no children -- no friends? naturally weak-minded, he had now grown almost imbecile; but his manners were still so gentle, and every thing about him seemed to betoken so amiable and so resigned a spirit, that those who visited him could scarcely part again without tears. as he grew more feeble in body, he became more anxious to receive a letter from home; he expected that every one who approached his dwelling was the bearer of the intelligence so long hoped for in vain; and he would hasten to greet him at the gate with eager looks and flushed cheeks -- again only to be disappointed. at length it was with difficulty that he tottered to the point, to look for a vessel which might bring him news. although no ship had arrived since he last sent to the post-office, he would urge his visitor, though with hesitating earnestness, to be so good as to call there on his return, and ascertain if by chance a letter were not awaiting him. he said he felt that his hour was approaching, but he could not bear to think of setting out on that long journey without having once heard from home. sometimes he muttered, as it were to himself, that treachery had been practised against him, and he would go and expose it; but he never allowed himself to indulge long in this strain. sometimes he would try to raise money enough by drawing bills to pay his passage, but no one would advance anything upon them. daily he became more feeble, and men began to talk of sending him a nurse. the last visitor who beheld him alive, found him seated in the chair which he had himself constructed, and appearing less depressed than usual. he said he expected soon to receive news from home, and smiled with child-like glee. his friend helped him to walk as far as the rose-tree, which was then putting forth its buds. "promise," said the old man, laying his trembling hand upon the other's arm, "promise that when i am gone you will come and see them in full blow? promise! you will make me happy." the next day they sent a lad from fremantle to attend upon him. the boy found him seated in his chair. he was dead. a mound of earth at the foot of a mahogany-tree, still marks the spot where he was buried. those 'friends' at home who neglected or repulsed him when living, may by chance meet with this record from the hand of a stranger -- but it will not move them; nor need it now. chapter . how the laws of england affect the natives. the native population of our colony are said to be a much more peaceable and harmless race than those of any other part of australia. in the early days of the settlement they caused a good deal of trouble, and were very destructive to the pigs and sheep of the colonists; but a little well-timed severity, and a steadily pursued system of government, soon reduced them into well-conducted subjects of the british crown. there appears, however, to be little hope of civilizing them, and teaching them european arts and habits. those of mature age, though indolent, and seldom inclined to be useful in the smallest degree, are peaceful in their habits; and when in want of a little flour will exert themselves to earn it, by carrying letters, shooting wild ducks with a gun lent to them, driving home cattle, or any other easy pursuit; but they appear to be incapable of elevation above their original condition. considerable pains have been bestowed (especially by the wesleyans) upon the native children, many of whom are educated in schools at perth, fremantle, and other places, in the hope of making them eventually useful servants to the settlers. most of these, however, betake themselves to the bush, and resume their hereditary pursuits, just at the age when it is hoped they will become useful. very frequently they die at that age of mesenteric disorders; and very few indeed become permanently civilized in their habits. nothing could be more anomalous and perplexing than the position of the aborigines as british subjects. our brave and conscientious britons, whilst taking possession of their territory, have been most careful and anxious to make it universally known, that australia is not a conquered country; and successive secretaries of state, who write to their governors in a tone like that in which men of sour tempers address their maladroit domestics, have repeatedly commanded that it must never be forgotten "that our possession of this territory is based on a right of occupancy." a "right of occupancy!" amiable sophistry! why not say boldly at once, the right of power? we have seized upon the country, and shot down the inhabitants, until the survivors have found it expedient to submit to our rule. we have acted exactly as julius caesar did when he took possession of britain. but caesar was not so hypocritical as to pretend any moral right to possession. on what grounds can we possibly claim a right to the occupancy of the land? we are told, because civilized people are justified in extending themselves over uncivilized countries. according to this doctrine, were there a nation in the world superior to ourselves in the arts of life, and of a different religious faith, it would be equally entitled (had it the physical power) to the possession of old england under the "right of occupancy;" for the sole purpose of our moral and social improvement, and to make us participants in the supposed truths of a new creed. we have a right to our australian possessions; but it is the right of conquest, and we hold them with the grasp of power. unless we proceed on this foundation, our conduct towards the native population can be considered only as a monstrous absurdity. however secretaries of state may choose to phrase the matter, we can have no other right of occupancy. we resolve to found a colony in a country, the inhabitants of which are not strong enough to prevent our so doing, though they evince their repugnance by a thousand acts of hostility. we build houses and cultivate the soil, and for our own protection we find it necessary to declare the native population subject to our laws. this would be an easy and simple matter were it the case of conquerors dictating to the conquered; but our secretaries of state, exhibiting an interesting display of conscientiousness and timidity, shrink from the responsibility of having sanctioned a conquest over a nation of miserable savages, protected by the oracles at exeter hall, and reject with sharp cries of anger the scurrilous imputation. instead, therefore, of being in possession by right of arms, we modestly appropriate the land to ourselves, whilst making the most civil assurances that we take not this liberty as conquerors, but merely in order to gratify a praiseworthy desire of occupying the country. we then declare ourselves seised in fee by right of occupancy. but now comes the difficulty. what right have we to impose laws upon people whom we profess not to have conquered, and who have never annexed themselves or their country to the british empire by any written or even verbal treaty? and if this people and country be not subject to our rule by conquest, and have never consented or desired (but the contrary) to accept of our code of laws, and to submit themselves to our authority, are they really within the jurisdiction of the laws of england -- 'especially for offences committed inter se?' such is the anomalous position in which the native inhabitants are placed through the tender consciences of our rulers at home. a member of a tribe has been speared by one of another tribe, who happens to be patronized by a farm-settler, and is occasionally useful in hunting-up stray cattle. the friends of the dead man proceed to punish the assassin according to their own hereditary laws; they surprise him suddenly, and spear him. the farmer writes an account of the fact to the protector of natives at perth; and this energetic individual, rising hastily from dinner, calls for his horse, and endowing himself with a blue woollen shirt, and a pair of dragoon spurs, with a blanket tied round his waist, fearlessly commits himself to the forest, and repairs to the scene of slaughter. he learns from the mouth of the farm-settler, that the facts are really what he had been already apprised of by letter; and then, having left word that the offender may be caught as soon as possible, and forwarded to fremantle gaol, he hastens back again to his anxious family; and the next morning delivers a suitable report to his excellency the governor of all that he has performed. in course of time the native is apprehended -- betrayed by a friend for a pound of flour -- and brought to the bar of justice. his natural defence would be that he certainly slew an enemy, as he is accused of having done, but then it was a meritorious and necessary act; he glories in it; his own laws required that he should slay the murderer of his relative; and his own laws, therefore, accuse him not. what are english customs, prejudices, or laws to him? he is not a british subject, for he is not the inhabitant of a conquered country (as english governors tell him), nor has he, or any of his tribe or complexion, consented or wished to be placed under the protection of our laws. why, then, should he be violently dragged from the arms of his 'wilgied' squaws, and his little pot-bellied piccaninnies, and required to plead for his life in the midst of a large room filled with frowning white faces? much obliged is he to the judge, who kindly tells him, through the interpreter, that he is not bound to convict himself, and need not acknowledge anything that may operate to his disadvantage in the minds of the jury. the unfortunate savage disregards the friendly caution, and heeds it not; he maintains, stoutly, that he 'gidgied' womera through the back, because womera had 'gidgied' domera through the belly. he enters into minute details to the gentlemen of the jury of the manner in which these slaughters were effected, and describes the extent and direction of the wounds, and every other interesting particular that occurs to him. the gentlemen of the jury, after duly considering the case, return (of necessity) a verdict of "wilful murder," and the judge pronounces sentence of death -- which is afterwards commuted by the governor to transportation for life to the isle of rottnest. now if our laws had been imposed upon this people as a conquered nation, or if they had annexed themselves and their country to our rule and empire by anything like a treaty, all these proceedings would be right and proper. but as it is, we are two nations occupying the same land, and we have no more right to try them by our laws for offences committed 'inter se', than they have to seize and spear an englishman, according to their law, because he has laid himself open to an action of 'crim. con.' at the suit of his next-door neighbour. look at the question in another point of view. is jurisdiction a necessary incident of sovereignty? do a people become subject to our laws by the very act of planting the british standard on the top of a hill? if so, they have been subject to them from the days of captain cook; and the despatches of her majesty's secretaries of state, declaring that the natives should be considered amenable to our laws for all offences which they might commit among themselves, were very useless compositions. we claim the sovereignty, yet we disclaim having obtained it by conquest; we acknowledge that it was not by treaty; we should be very sorry to allow that it was by fraud; and how, in the name of wonder, then, can we defend our claim? secretaries of state have discovered the means, and tell us that her majesty's claim to possession and sovereignty is "based on a right of occupancy." jurisdiction, however, is not the necessary incident of territorial sovereignty, unless that sovereignty were acquired by conquest or treaty. we question, indeed, whether it is the necessary consequence even of conquest -- the laws of the conqueror must first be expressly imposed. the old saxon laws prevailed among the people of england after the conquest, until the norman forms were expressly introduced. it is well known in colonies, that the laws propounded in certain despatches are more powerful, and more regarded and reverenced, than any others, human or divine. a kind of moral gun-cotton, they drive through the most stupendous difficulties, and rend rocks that appeared to be insuperable barriers in the eyes of common sense or common justice. judges are compelled to yield to their authority, and do violence to their own consciences whilst they help to lay the healing unction to those of their lawgivers. the most convenient and the most sensible proceeding, on the part of our rulers at home, would be to consider this country in the light of a recent conquest. instead of declaring, as now, that the natives are to be treated in every way as british subjects -- thus making them amenable to the english law in all its complexity, whilst their own laws and habits are so entirely opposite in character -- it would be better to pass a few simple ordinances, in the nature of military law, which would be intelligible to the natives themselves, and which would avoid the difficulty of applying the cumbrous machinery of our criminal code to the government of savages who can never be made to comprehend its valuable properties. it is most essential that the natives who commit offences against the persons or property of the whites should be brought to punishment. at the same time it is most difficult to establish the guilt of the party accused, according to the strict rules of legal evidence. the only witnesses, probably, were natives, who understand not the nature of an oath, and who lie like the prince of darkness whenever they have wit enough to perceive it is their interest to do so. in general, the only chance of obtaining a legal conviction is through the confession of the prisoner; and as it is most desirable that he should be convicted, when there is no moral doubt of his guilt, as his acquittal would be looked upon as a triumph by his fellows, and make them more daring in their opposition to the law, very little delicacy is used in obtaining that confession. were the prisoner defended by counsel, who did his duty to his client, without regard to the interests of the public, the guilty person would escape in almost every instance. as it is, the law is outraged, and a trial by jury made an occasion of mockery and gross absurdity, in order to obtain a conviction which is necessary to the welfare of the white population. nothing would be more easy than to legislate for the proper government of the aborigines; but you must begin 'de novo', and throw aside with scorn the morbid sentimentality that refuses to look upon those as a conquered people, whom, nevertheless, it subjects to the heavy thraldom of laws which they are not yet fitted to endure. chapter . remarks on the physical organization of the natives. the native inhabitants of western australia are only superior in the scale of human beings to the bosjemans of southern africa. their intellectual capacity appears to be very small, and their physical structure is extremely feeble. in some respects the australian peculiarly assimilates to two of the five varieties of the human race. in the form of his face and the texture of his hair he resembles the malay; in the narrow forehead, the prominent cheek-bones, and the knees turned in, he approaches towards the ethiopian.* there is a remarkable difference between the jaws and teeth of the australian and those of any other existing race. the incisores are thick and round, not, as usual, flattened into edges, but resembling truncated cones; the cuspidati are not pointed, but broad and flat on the masticating surface, like the neighbouring bicuspides. this may be attributable to mechanical attrition, depending on the nature of the food which the teeth are employed in masticating. the upper does not overlap the under jaw, but the teeth meet at their surfaces. this peculiarity of teeth has been noticed by blumenbach as a characteristic of the egyptian mummy; but he thinks the nature of the food not sufficient to account for it, and imagines it to depend on a natural variety. he observes, that "although it seemed most easy to account for this appearance by attributing it to the nature of the food used by the egyptians, yet the generality of its occurrence in egyptian mummies, and its absence in other races, are remarkable; and it affords some probability that the peculiarity depends upon a natural variety."** a constant uniformity in the structure and arrangement of the teeth is an important particular in the identification of species; and if any human race were found to deviate materially in its dentition from the rest of mankind, the fact would give rise to a strong suspicion of a real specific diversity. i have examined the teeth of infants and children, and found them in every respect similar to those of europeans of similar ages. moreover, the process of degradation may be traced in natives of different ages up to the teeth worn to the level of the gums in the old man. i therefore consider it the effect of attrition; but it becomes an interesting question to determine what may be the nature of the food which produced the same character in the ancient egyptian and the modern australian. did the fathers of science live on barks and roots, like the wretched australian? although attrition may cause this singular appearance of the teeth, the real question is, why does the lower jaw so perfectly and exactly meet its fellow? and is this confined to these two examples? [footnote] *the observations in this chapter were contributed by henry landor, esq., colonial surgeon on the gold coast, who resided five years among the natives of western australia, and is intimately acquainted with all their habits and peculiarities. [footnote] **in a former chapter ( .) i have expressed an opinion that the natives are descended from the old inhabitants of india, which i think is exceedingly probable. it is interesting to remember, that the ancient egyptians are supposed to have originally come from the same country. there is no fixed law determining invariably the human stature, although there is a standard, as in other animals, from which deviations are not very considerable in either direction. some varieties exceed, others fall short of, the ordinary stature in a small degree. the source of these deviations is in the breed; they are quite independent of external influences. in all the five human varieties, some nations are conspicuous for height and strength, others for lower stature and inferior muscular power; but in no case is the peculiarity confined to any particular temperature, climate, or mode of life. the australians, in general, are of a moderate stature, with slender limbs, thin arms, and long taper fingers. although in general stature there is nothing to distinguish one variety of man from another, yet in the comparative length of the different parts of the human frame there are striking differences. in the highest and most intellectual variety (the caucasian) the arm (os humeri) exceeds the fore-arm in length by two or three inches -- in none less than two inches. in monkeys the fore-arm and arm are of the same length, and in some monkeys the fore-arm is the longer. in the negro, the 'ulna', the longest bone of the fore-arm, is nearly of the same length as the 'os humeri', the latter being from one to two inches longer. in a negro in the lunatic asylum of liverpool (says mr. white) the ulna was twelve and a half inches, and the humerus only thirteen and a half. in the australian, the ulna in some i have measured was ten and a half, nine, ten, eleven and a half; the humerus was in those individuals respectively eleven and a half, ten and a half, eleven and a half, twelve and a half. thus, in none of the measurements did the humerus exceed the ulna two inches, which in the caucasian variety is the lowest number. in all the black races the arm is longer in proportion to the stature than in the white. the length of the leg of the australian averages thirty-six inches; in one man it was only thirty-three and a half, and the tibia of that man measured sixteen and a half, leaving only seventeen to the femur -- a very remarkable disproportion. thus in the proportion of their limbs, the australian ranks far below the european; nay, even below the negro, and approaches far nearer to the simiae than any of the other races of mankind. perron, in his voyage, made an estimate of the average strength of the arms and loins of the australian, and of some french and english; this is the result in french measures: -- arms. loins. kilogrammes. myriagrammes. australian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . natives of timor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . french . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . english . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . thus in whatever manner the capacity of the race is tested, its inferiority is strikingly exhibited. we shall find, when examining the skull, that the coronal suture falls on the temporal instead of the sphenoid bone, which is one of the strongest marks of the simiae, and does not occur in other human skulls. i have no desire to place the australian lower in the scale of intelligence than he is fairly entitled to rank, but i cannot shut my eyes to facts; and if his organization is in conformity with his inferiority, there he must rank, in spite of the wishes of his warmest friends. at the same time i agree with the most enthusiastic philanthropist that no attempt should be left untried to amend his condition, and bestow upon him the blessings which providence has lavished upon us; but i cannot help fearing the result will be disappointment. a fair comparative experiment says mr. lawrence, has been made of the white and dark races of north america; and no trial in natural philosophy has had a more unequivocal result. the native races have not advanced a single step in years; neither example nor persuasion has induced them, except in very small numbers and in few instances, to exchange the precarious supply of hunting, and fishing for agriculture and the arts of settled life. the colour of the skin is chocolate, and resembles the malay, although perhaps a little darker. the colour of the skin is, of course, greatly dependent upon the nature of the climate and the constant exposure of the surface of the body to the sun; the parts under the arms are of a brighter colour than those more exposed. we find in human races, as in vegetation, that every successive level alters its character; thus indicating that the state of the temperature of high regions assimilates to high latitudes. if, therefore, complexions depend upon climate and external conditions, we should expect to find them varying in reference to elevation of surface; and if they should be actually found to undergo such variations, this will be a strong argument in favour of the supposition that these external characters do in fact depend upon local conditions. the swiss in the high mountains above the plains of lombardy have sandy or brown hair. what a contrast presents itself to the traveller in the milanese, where the peasants have black hair and almost oriental features! the basques, of the tracts approaching the pyrenees, says colonel napier, are a strikingly different people from the inhabitants of the low parts around, whether spaniards or biscayans. they are finely made, tall men, with aquiline noses, fair complexions, light eyes, and flaxen hair; instead of the swarthy complexion, black hair, and dark eyes of the castilian. and in africa what striking differences of complexion exist between the negro of the plains and of the mountains, even whilst the osteology is the same, therefore i pass over the hair and skin of the australian as parts too much subjected to the influence of climate to afford means of legitimate deduction. it is the general opinion that these natives are not a long-lived race. the poverty of their food may account for this, together with the want of shelter from the vicissitudes of the climate. the care taken by civilized man to preserve health is, by increasing susceptibility, the indirect cause of disease; the more rigid is the observance of regimen, the more pernicious will be the slightest aberration from it; but a total disregard of all the comforts of regular food, and efficient shelter, the habit of cramming the stomach when food is plentiful, and of enduring long abstinence when it cannot be procured, has a far more baneful effect upon the human constitution than all the excesses of the white man. as man recedes from one hastener of destruction, he inevitably approaches another: "gross riot treasures up a wealthy fund of plagues, but more immedicable ills attend the lean extreme." i have observed that the natives mix the gum of certain trees with the bark, and masticate both together. this is attributed to the difficulty of masticating the gum alone; but i am persuaded that it has another cause also, and that it arises from that experience of the necessity of an additional stimulus to the digestive organ which has taught the esquimaux and ottomacs to add sawdust or clay to their train-oil. it arises from the fact that (paradoxical as it may appear) an animal may be starved by giving it continually too simple and too nutritious food; aliment in such a state of condensation does not impart the necessary stimulus, which requires to be partly mechanical and partly chemical, and to be exerted at once on the irritability of the capillaries of the stomach to promote its secretions, and on the muscular fibres to promote its contractions. i shall now point out the difference between the australian skull and those of some other races, without giving a description of skulls in general, which would unnecessarily lengthen these observations. "of all the peculiarities in the form of the bony fabric, those of the skull are the most striking and distinguishing. it is in the head that we find the varieties most strongly characteristic of the different races. the characters of the countenance, and the shape of the features depend chiefly on the conformation of the bones of the head." the australian skull belongs to that variety called the prognathous, or narrow elongated variety; yet it is not so striking an example of this variety as the negro skull. if the skull be held in the hand so that the observer look upon the vertex, the first point he remarks is the extreme narrowness of the frontal bone, and a slight bulging where the parietal and occipital bones unite. he also sees distinctly through the zygomatic arches on both sides, which in the european skull is impossible, as the lateral portions of the frontal bone are more developed. the summit of the head rises in a longitudinal ridge in the direction of the sagittal suture; so that from the sagittal suture to that portion of the cranium where the diameter is greatest the head slopes like the roof of a house. the forehead is generally flat; the upper jaw rather prominent; the frontal sinuses large; the occipital bone is flat, and there is a remarkable receding of the bone from the posterior insertion of the 'occipitofrontalis' muscle to the 'foramen magnum'. it is a peculiar character of the australian skull to have a very singular depression at the junction of the nasal bones with the nasal processes of the frontal bone. this may be seen in an engraving in dr. pritchard's work. i have before described the teeth, and mentioned the remarkable junction of the temporal and parietal bones at the coronal suture, and consequently the complete separation of the sphenoid from the parietal, which in european skulls meet for the space of nearly half an inch. professor owen has observed this conformation in six out of seven skulls of young chimpanzees, and professor mayo has also noticed it in the skulls he has examined. but although this is a peculiarity found in this race alone, it is not constant. i have a skull in which the sphenoid touches the parietal on one side, whilst on the other they are separated a sixth of an inch; and in the engraving, before referred to, the bones are slightly separated, but by no means to the extent that they are in european skulls. the super and infra orbital foramina are very large, and the orbits are broad, with the orbital ridge sharp and prominent. all the foramina for the transmission of the sensiferous nerves are large, the auditory particularly so; while the foramen, through which the carotid artery enters the skull, is small. the mastoid processes are large, which might be expected, as their hearing is acute. the styloid process is small; in monkeys it is wanting. the position of the 'foramen magnum', as in all savage tribes, is more behind the middle transverse diameter than in europeans; but this arises in a great measure, though not entirely, from the prominence of the alveolar processes of the upper jaw. owing to constant exposure to all seasons, the skulls of savages are of greater density, and weigh heavier than those of europeans: -- avoirdupois. lb. oz. skull of a greek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . / " negro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " mulatto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " chinese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . / " gipsy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " australian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . / upon an examination of the foregoing points of diversity, it is unquestionable that the australian skull is inferior in development to the european, and the capacity of the cranium of much less. chapter . sketches of life among the natives. the natives have very few traditions, and most of those which they relate resemble the disconnected phantasies of a dream rather than the record of a series of facts. they have some indistinct ideas about chingi, the evil spirit, but no notion whatever of a supreme god. when first the english arrived, many of the aborigines considered them to be the spirits of their deceased relatives; and some of them fancied they could trace the features of former friends in the lineaments of individuals among the whites. one of these natives, still living, has more than once told me that his late uncle is now a certain eloquent and popular member of the legislative council. the nephew and resuscitated uncle occasionally meet, when the former never fails to claim the relationship, which the latter good-humouredly acknowledges; and the relatives separate with mutual expressions of politeness and good-will. one of their most remarkable and most intelligible traditions was recorded some time ago in the 'perth inquirer', by mr. armstrong, interpreter to the natives. it is as follows: -- "the natives assert that they have been told from age to age, that when man first began to exist, there were two beings, male and female, named wal-lyne-up (the father) and doronop (the mother); that they had a son called biu-dir-woor, who received a deadly wound, which they carefully endeavoured to heal, but without success; whereupon it was declared by wal-lyne-up, that all who came after him should also die in like manner. could the wound have been healed in this case, being the first, the natives think death would have had no power over them. the place where the scene occurred, and where bin-dir-woor was buried, the natives imagine to have been on the southern plains, between clarence and the murray; and the instrument used is said to have been a spear thrown by some unknown being, and directed by some supernatural power. the tradition goes on to state that bin-dir-woor, the son, although deprived of life and buried in his grave, did not remain there, but arose and went to the west; to the unknown land of spirits across the sea. the parents followed after their son, but (as the natives suppose) were unable to prevail upon him to return, and they have remained with him ever since." the following is one of their fables: -- the kangaroo was originally blind, and could only walk or crawl. the frog seeing it so much at the mercy of its enemies, took compassion on it, and anointed the sightless eyeballs of the kangaroo with its saliva, and told it to hop as he did. the kangaroo did so, and is now become the most difficult animal in the world to catch. besides chingi, the evil spirit who haunts the woods, there is another in the shape of an immense serpent, called waugul, that inhabits solitary pools. snakes that frequent both water and land, of great size -- twenty feet long, according to some authorities -- have been occasionally seen, and give a colour to this belief of the natives. one day, whilst bivouacking at a lonely and romantic spot, in a valley of rocks, situated some forty miles north of perth, called the 'dooda-mya', or the abode of dogs, i desired a native to lead my horse to a pool, and let him drink. the man, however, declined with terror, refusing to go near the pool, which was inhabited by the waugul. i therefore had to take my horse myself to the spot, whilst the native stood aloof, fully expecting that the waugul would seize him by the nose and pull him under water. the natives are polygamists. each male is entitled to all the females who are related to him in a certain degree. a newly-born child is therefore the betrothed spouse of a man who may be thirty years of age, and who claims her from her parents so soon as she is marriageable -- when she is twelve years old, or earlier. some men have, consequently, four or six wives of various ages, whilst others have none at all. the latter are therefore continually engaged in stealing the wives of other people. this causes incessant wars among the tribes. when the legitimate husband recovers his wife, he does not restore her to the full enjoyment of domestic happiness, until he has punished her for eloping. this he does by thrusting a spear through the fleshy part of her leg or thigh. the natives are very good-natured to one another; sharing their provisions and kangaroo-skin cloaks without grudging. the head of a family takes the half-baked duck, opossum, or wild-dog, from the fire, and after tearing it in pieces with his teeth, throws the fragments into the sand for his wives and children to pick up. they are very fond of rice and sugar; and bake dampers from flour, making them on a corner of their cloaks. fish and other things are frequently baked in the bark of the paper-tree. the following observations have been sent to me by my youngest brother: "every tribe possesses a certain tract of country which is called after the name of the tribe -- as moenaing budja -- the moenai-men's ground. they are not always very particular about trespassing on their neighbour's territory. many of the colonists say that each tribe has its chief or king; but among all whom i have seen, i never could discover that they paid any particular respect to one individual, though they appear to reverence old age; and i have frequently seen a party of young men, alternately carrying an old grey-headed patriarch during their excursions from one encampment to another. "they have no religion whatever, but they believe in some kind of an evil spirit. i have often tried to discover, but could never clearly understand, whether they believe in only one all-powerful evil spirit, or whether it is merely the spirits of their departed friends that they fear; or, (as i am inclined to believe) they fear both; and for these reasons: -- wherever there is a large encampment of natives, each family has its own private fire and hut, but you will always perceive another fire about one hundred yards from the camp, which apparently belongs to no one; but which the old hags take care shall never go out during the night; for they will frequently get up and replenish that fire, when they are too lazy to fetch fuel for their own. they call that chingi's fire; and they believe if he comes in the night he will sit quietly by his own fire and leave them undisturbed. that they likewise believe in the reappearance of departed spirits, may be easily proved by the manner and the formalities with which they bury their dead. in the first place they cut off the hair and beard; they then break his finger-joints and tie the thumb and fore-finger of the right hand together; so that if he rise again, he may not have the power to use a spear and revenge himself. they then break his spears, throwing-stick, and all his other implements of war, and throw them into the grave, over which they build a hut; and a fire is kept lighted for a certain length of time. it is likewise customary for his wife or nearest relation, if at any future period they should happen to pass near the grave, to repair the hut, rekindle the fire, and utter a long rigmarole to the departed, to induce him to lie still, and not come back and torment them. nothing will induce a stranger to go near a new grave, or to mention the name of the departed for a long time after his death. they always speak of him as so-and-so's brother, or father. if the deceased be the father of a family, it is the duty of his eldest son, or nearest relation, to avenge his death by killing one of the next, or any other tribe; and this often leads to furious battles or cold-blooded murders; for they are by no means particular whether it be man, woman, or child who is the victim; and it is generally the poor women who suffer on these occasions; the men being too cowardly, unless under the influence of very strong passion, to attack those of equal strength with themselves. the women do all the work, such as building huts, carrying water, digging up roots, and procuring grubs out of the wattle and grass-trees. i have seen a poor unfortunate woman marching twenty miles a-day, with (at least) a hundred pounds'-weight on her back, including the child and all their effects; whilst the husband has been too lazy to carry even his cloak. a hunting excursion with a large party of natives is capital sport. they choose, if possible, a valley, at one end of which they station ten or twenty of the most expert spearmen; with whom, if you want any fun, you must station yourself, taking care to remain concealed. all the juveniles of the party then start off, and make a circuit of many miles in extent, shouting and hallooing the whole time. they form a semicircle, and drive all the kangaroos before them down the valley, to the spot where the old hunters are placed. then comes the tug of war, the crashing of bushes, the flying of spears, and the thump, thump of the kangaroos, as they come tearing along, sometimes in hundreds, from the old grey grandfather of six feet high, to the little picanniny of twelve inches, who has tumbled out of his mother's pouch; and numbers fall victims to the ruthless arms of the hunters. the evening terminates with a grand feast and a corrobery." [etching opposite p. "spearing kangaroos"] each tribe has its doctor, or wise man, who is supposed to have supernatural powers of healing wounds, and is the oracle of the tribe. one of these fellows described to me the mode of his initiation. he said his father, himself a wise man, took him one night to the edge of a steep hill, where he left him lying wrapped in his kangaroo-skin cloak. he was very much frightened, but durst not stir. during the night chingi came and tried to throw him down the hill, and to strangle him, but did not succeed. chingi was like something very black. he afterwards came again, and told him a great many secrets; and thus is was that my informant became a doctor and a wise man. i think i have heard of people obtaining the power of second sight in the isle of skye by lying on a rock all night, wrapped in a bull's hide, and receiving a visit from the devil. the similarity between these initiatory processes struck me forcibly. chapter . the model-kingdom. a well-governed colony is the model of a great kingdom. as in the case of other models, every part of the machinery by which it is moved is placed at once before the eye of the spectator. in a great empire, the springs of action are concealed; the public behold only the results, and can scarcely guess how those results were brought about. in a colony, every one stands so close to the little machine of government, that he can readily discern how it is made to work, and therefore takes a more lively interest in the working of it. the model has its representative of a sovereign; its ministers, who comprise the executive council with the colonial secretary as premier; its parliament, the legislative assembly; its bishop of london, who is represented by the colonial chaplain, the dignitary of the church in those parts. in the legislative assembly there are the government party, consisting of the colonial secretary and the attorney general, who prove their loyalty and devotion by adhering to his excellency the governor on every division, and (according to general belief) would rather vote against their own measures than against the representative of their queen. then there is the popular party, consisting of the popular member, who speaks at random on either side of the debate, but invariably votes against the government, in order to maintain inviolate the integrity of his principles. we have also the judge, or lord chancellor, the great law officer of the crown, who sits silently watching the progress of a bill, as it steals gently forward towards the close of the second reading; and then suddenly pounces upon it, to the consternation of his excellency, and the delight of the popular member, and tears it in pieces with his sharp legal teeth, whilst he shows that it is in its scope and tendency contrary to the law of england in that case provided, and is besides impossible to be carried out in the present circumstances of the colony. the model nation has its national debt of one thousand pounds, due to the commissariat chest; and this burthen of the state costs his excellency many a sleepless night, spent in vain conjectures as to the best mode of relieving the financial embarrassments. it is pleasant to learn from the model, how government patronage is disposed of in the parent country. kindly motives, however, which never appear in the arrangements of the latter, are always conspicuous in a colony. a public work is sometimes created for the sole purpose of saving an unfortunate mechanic from the horrors of idleness; and a debt due to the state is occasionally discharged by three months' washing of a privy councillor's shirts. then we have the exact fac-simile of a royal court, with its levees and drawing-rooms, where his excellency displays the utmost extent of his affability, and his lady of her queenly airs. there may be seen, in all its original freshness and vigour, the smiling hatred of rival ladies, followed by their respective trains of admirers; whilst the full-blown dames of members of council elbow their way, with all the charming confidence of rank, towards the vicinity of her who is the cynosure of all eyes. the early levees of the first governor of western australia were held in a dry swamp, near the centre of the present town of perth. his excellency, graciously bowing beneath the shade of a banksia tree, received with affability those who were introduced to him, as they stumbled into his presence over tangled brushwood, and with difficulty avoided the only humiliation that is scorned by english courtiers -- that of the person. ladies, in struggling through the thorny brake, had sometimes to labour under the double embarrassment of a ragged reputation and dress. to appear before the presence, under such circumstances, with a smiling countenance, proved the triumph of feminine art, and of course excited general admiration. but this was in the early days of the settlement. we have now a handsome government-house, where ladies who attend drawing-rooms incur no danger of any kind. from the financial difficulties of a small colony you may form some idea of the troubles of the chancellor of the exchequer at home. and yet there is less financial talent required to raise five hundred thousand pounds in england than five hundred in an impoverished colony. in the former country only a few voices, comparatively, are raised in expostulation; and no one cares about them, if mr. hume could be gagged, and the other patriots in the commons. but in a colony! threaten to raise the price of sugar by the imposition of another half-penny per pound, and the whole land will be heaved as though by an earthquake. not only will the newspapers pour forth a terrific storm of denunciations against a treacherous government, but every individual of the public will take up the matter as a personal injury, and roar out his protest against so monstrous a political crime. those who called most loudly for the erection of a necessary bridge, will be most indignant when asked next year to contribute towards its cost. the governor of a colony should not only be a good financier, but if he would avoid the bitter pangs of repentance, must possess great firmness in resisting the innumerable calls upon the government purse. his excellency may lay his account to being daily vituperated for not consenting to the construction of this or that national work, but he will be still more taken to task when the melancholy duty of paying for it becomes imperative, and is found to be unavoidable. it is the general belief, that in a colony we are altogether out of the world; but it has always appeared to me, that within the narrow confines of one of those epitomes of a kingdom we may see more of the world than when standing on the outer edge of society in england. a man thinks himself in the midst of the world in great britain, because he reads the newspapers and knows what is passing and being enacted around him. but the same newspapers are read with equal diligence in a colony, and the same knowledge is acquired there, though some three months later. to read the newspapers, and to hang, close as a burr, upon the skirts of society, is not to be in the world. the world is, in truth, the heart of man; and he knows most of the world who knows most of his species. and where, alas! may this knowledge, so painful and so humiliating, be better acquired than in a colony? there we have the human heart laid open before us without veil or disguise: there we see it in all its coarseness, its selfishness, its brutality. how many fine natures, cultivated, delicate, and generous, have gone forth from their native land, full of high resolves, only to perish in the mephitic atmosphere of a colony! there we find whatever there is of good and bad in human nature brought immediately before our eyes. it is a school of moral anatomy, in which we study subjects whose outer covering has been removed, and where the inner machinery (fearful to see!) is left exposed. a knowledge of the world! if we gain it not in a colony, it must ever remain a sealed book to us. we shall leave but a bad impression on the mind of the reader in concluding this short chapter with these sombre observations; but we would not leave him without hope. time will remedy all this. some moral evils correct themselves; as the water of the nile becomes pure again after it has gone putrid. chapter . trials of a governor. except the waiter at a commercial inn, no man has so much upon his hands, or so many faults to answer for, as the governor of a colony. if public affairs go wrong, every voice is raised, requiring him immediately to rectify them; and as every one has a particular plan of his own, the governor is expected instantly to adopt them all. nor has he public calamities only to answer for; the private misfortunes of individuals are, without hesitation, laid at his door. he is expected to do something, and not a little, for all who are in trouble; he has to devise expedients for those whose own wits are at fault: it is among his duties to console, to cheer, to advise, to redress, to remedy; and, above all, to enrich. as men set up a block of wood in a field to become a rubbing-post for asses; as bachelors take to themselves wives, and elderly spinsters individuals of the feline race, in order to have something on which to vent their occasional ill-humours, so is a governor set up in a colony, that the settlers may have a proper object or mark set apart, on which they may satisfactorily discharge their wrongs, sorrows, wants, troubles, distractions, follies, and unreasonable expectations. a governor is the safety-valve of a colony; withdraw this legitimate object of abuse, and the whole community would be at loggerheads. a state of anarchy would be the immediate consequence, and broil and blood-shed would prevail throughout the land. sometimes a governor forgets the purpose for which he was sent out from home, and placed on high in a colony, as a rubbing-post; he sometimes lapses into the error of fancying himself a colonial solon, and strives to distinguish his reign by the enactment of laws, which only increase the natural irritability of the settlers, and cause him to be more rubbed against than ever. on these occasions he is not always entitled to much sympathy; but when private parties come crowding round him to have the consequence of their follies averted, or merely in a state of discontented irritation, to have their backs scratched, his poor excellency is much to be compassionated. almost every morning a long-eared crowd assembles around the government-offices, where the rubbing-post is set up, and one after another they are admitted to find what relief they may from this cheap luxury. it is pleasant to observe that they almost all come out again with smiling countenances. for a moment, the sense of pain or discontent has been alleviated by the gentle application. sometimes an honest farmer has ridden fifty miles in order to have the pleasure of complaining to his excellency of the mal-administration of the post-office department, evidenced by the non-delivery of a letter, which, after a vast deal of investigation and inquiry, turns out never to have been posted. sometimes a man comes for advice as to the propriety of going to law with his neighbour about a bull which had taken the liberty to eat some of his turnips. one man wishes to have his excellency's opinion upon a disease which has lately broken out among his pigs; another has mysteriously carried a piece of iron-stone in his pocket for a hundred miles, and claims the reward for the discovery of a coal-mine; a third has a plan to propose for fertilizing the sand-plains around perth, by manuring them with sperm oil. some are desirous that their sons should be made government clerks, and insist upon their right to all vacant appointments on the plea of being "old settlers." others have suggestions to make the neglect of which would prove ruinous to the colony: general misery is only to be averted by the repeal of the duty on tobacco: no more ships need be expected (this is after a gale and wreck,) unless a break-water be constructed, which may be done for ninety-five thousand pounds, and there was a surplus revenue last year over the expenditure of thirteen shillings and sixpence, the local government being also indebted to the commissariat chest in the sum of nine hundred pounds odd. some complain of roads and bridges being in a defective state, and wonder why two thousand pounds extra per annum are not laid out upon them; these are succeeded by a deputation from the inhabitants of rockingham, requesting, as a matter of right, that half that sum may be applied in ornamenting their principal square with a botanical garden. then the governor has to attend to complaints against public officers. the commissioner of the civil court has proved himself to be an unjust judge by deciding for the defendant contrary to the truth, as proved by the plaintiff; or the commissioner of the court of requests has received a bribe of three-and-fourpence, and refused to listen to the complainant's story. the magistrates have granted a spirit license to a notorious character, and denied one to the applicant, an unimpeachable householder. the post-master general has embezzled a letter, or the colonial secretary has neglected to reply to one. all these things, and a thousand others, the governor is expected to listen to, inquire about, remedy, or profit by. one day, i remember, i went myself to complain of the absurdity of an act of council which i thought might be advantageously amended by the aid of a little light which had lately dawned upon me. among those who haunted the ante-room, waiting for admittance to the rubbing-post was a tall irish woman, who had seen better days, but was now reduced to much distress, and was besides not altogether right in her intellects. she was in the frequent habit of attending there, for the purpose of complaining against the advocate general, who never paid her proper attention when she went to lay her grievances before him. this woman was the terror of the government officers. she never allowed her victim to escape when once she had begun her story; -- in vain might he try to edge away towards the door -- if he were not to be retained by the fascination of her voice, she would seize him by the coat with a grasp of iron, and a fly might as well try to escape from a pot-bellied spider. whenever she appeared, no public officer was ever to be found. a general epidemic seemed to have fallen upon the offices, and exterminated all the inhabitants. the colonial secretary would rush out to luncheon, deaf as an adder to the cries of female distress that rang in the troubled air behind him. the advocate general, hearing the well-known voice inquiring for him in no friendly key, would hurry away through an opposite door, and dive into the woods adjoining government-house, and there gnaw his nails, in perturbation of spirit until he thought the evil was overpast. his excellency himself would sooner have seen the asiatic cholera walk into the room than miss maria martin, and invariably turned paler then his writing-paper, and shuddered with a sudden ague. she had so many wrongs to complain of, which no human power could redress, and she required so much to be done for her, and insisted upon having reiterated promises to that effect, that no wonder she excited the utmost terror in the minds of all whom she approached. she was, moreover, a huge, brawny, fierce-looking creature, and though upwards of fifty years of age, had the strength of an irish porter. she was reported on one occasion to have taken a gentleman of high reputation, and unimpeachable morals, by the collar of his coat, and pinned him up against the wall, until he had promised to speak for her to the governor; and when he subsequently accused her of this violence, she retorted by saying that it was in self-defence, as he had attempted improper liberties. the fear of such an unscrupulous and cruel accusation made government officers, especially the married ones, extremely shy of granting a tete-a-tete conversation to miss martin; and as no one was, of course, more correct in his conduct than his excellency the governor, no wonder that he should feel extremely nervous whenever he was surprised into an interview with this interesting spinster. when i found her in the ante-room i naturally recoiled, and tried to back out again, smiling blandly all the time, as one does when a violent-looking dog comes up, and begins sniffing about your legs. miss martin, however, was used to these manoeuvres, and suddenly getting between me and the door, intercepted my retreat, and insisted on telling me, for the twentieth time, how villanously the advocate general had deceived her. escape was impossible; i groaned and sweated with anguish, but listen i must, and had to suffer martyrdom for an hour, when the governor's door opened, and he himself looked out. on seeing the gorgon he tried to withdraw, but she pounded like a tigress through the door-way, and slamming the door after her, secured an audience with his excellency, which she took care should not be a short one. i could remain no longer, and therefore owe the rest of the story to public report. after an hour's tete-a-tete, his excellency's voice grew more imperative. the clerks, highly interested, conceived that he was insisting upon her withdrawing. it is supposed that he could not possibly escape himself, as she of course cut off all communication with either the door or the bell-rope. the lady's voice also waxed higher; at length it rose into a storm. nothing more was heard of the poor governor beyond a faint, moaning sound; whether he was deprecating the tempest, or being actually strangled, became a matter of grave speculation. some asserted that they heard his kicks upon the floor, others could only hear convulsive sobs; then all fancied they could distinguish the sounds of a struggle. the officials debated whether it would be proper or indelicate to look in upon the interview; but it became so evident that a scuffle was going on, that the private secretary's anxiety overcame all other considerations. the door was opened just as his excellency, escaping from the grasp of the mad woman, had made a vault at the railing which ran across the farther end of the council room (to keep back the public on certain days), in hopes of effecting his escape by the door beyond. nothing could have been better conceived than this design; but unhappily the lady had caught hold of his coat-tail to arrest his flight, and therefore instead of vaulting clear over the rails, as he had anticipated, his excellency was drawn back in his leap, and found himself seated astride upon the barrier, with a desperate woman tugging at his tail, and trying to pull him back into the arena. nothing, we believe, has ever exceeded the ludicrous misery displayed in his excellency's visage on finding himself in this perilous situation. but seeing the private secretary and a mob of clerks, with their pens in their hands, hastening to his rescue, he made a desperate effort, and cast himself off on the other side; and finally succeeded in rushing out of the room, having only one tail hanging to his coat, with which he escaped into an adjoining apartment, and was received into the arms of the surveyor general in a state of extreme exhaustion. such are some of the troubles and afflictions incident to the unenviable office of governor of a colony. those innocent country gentlemen who have expended the better part of their property on contested elections, and now weary heaven and her majesty's principal secretaries of state for colonial appointments, little know what they invoke upon themselves. in my opinion sancho panza had a sinecure, compared with theirs, in his governorship of the island of barrataria.* [footnote] *our love of the ludicrous frequently makes us delighted to find even the most estimable characters in a ridiculous position. the above anecdote is perhaps exaggerated, but it is here recorded as a moral warning to those who yearn like sancho panza for a government, and not from a desire to cast ridicule upon one who was universally respected and esteemed, for the quiet decorum of his life, his high principles, his strict impartiality, and the conscientious discharge of all the duties of his office. chapter . mr. sails, my groom. -- over the hills. -- a sheep station. soon after i was settled in my residence at perth i purchased a couple of young mares unbroke, recently imported from the cape of good hope. they were the offspring of an arab horse and cape mare, and one of them, a chestnut, was almost the handsomest creature i ever beheld. they cost me thirty guineas each; but since that period the value of horses is greatly diminished. i was very much pleased with this purchase, which recalled the memories of boyhood and a long-tailed pony, whenever i found myself feeding or grooming my stud -- which i often thought proper to do, as my establishment, though at that time numerous, did not comprise a well-educated groom. besides my own man, i had two runaway sailors from the ship in which we had come out, quartered upon me. they expressed so flattering a regard for me, as the only person whom they knew in this part of the world, and were so ready to dig the garden and plant potatoes, or do any other little matter to make themselves useful, that i had not the heart to refuse them a nook in the kitchen, or a share of our daily meals. i now called their services into activity by making them assist at the breaking in of my mares; and whilst i held the lunging-rein, mr. sails would exert himself till he became as black as a sweep with dust and perspiration, by running round and round in the rear of the animal, urging her forward with loud cries and objurgations, accompanied with furious crackings of his whip. these sailors never did anything quietly. if told to give the horses some hay, they would both start up from their stools by the kitchen fire, as if in a state of frantic excitement; thrust their pipes into the leathern belt which held up their trousers, and jostling each other through the doorway like a brace of young dogs, tear round the house to the stable, or rather shed, as though possessed by a legion of devils. then, unable to use a fork, they would seize as much hay as they could clasp in their arms, and littering it all about the premises, rush to the stalls, where they suddenly grew exceedingly cautious; for in fact, they felt much greater dread of these horses than they would have done of a ground shark. then it was all, "soh! my little feller! soh! my pretty little lass! -- avast there -- (in a low tone) you lubber, or i'll rope's end you -- none of that!" this was whenever the mare, pleased at the sight of the hay, looked round and whinnied. unless i superintended the operation myself, the hay would be thrown under the horse's feet, whilst the men took to their heels at the same moment, and then turned round to see whether the animals could reach their fodder. if they could, these worthy grooms would come cheerfully to me and tell me that the horses were eating their allowance; but if not, they filled their pipes, and took a turn out of the way, trusting the hay would all be trampled into the litter before i happened to see it. whenever i was present, i made them get upon the manger and put the hay into the rack, (i never could teach them to use a fork,) but it was with fear and trembling that they did this. one day, sails was standing on the manger, with the hay in his arms, when the mare, trying to get a mouthful, happened to rub her nose against the hinder portion of his person. sails roared aloud, and let the hay fall upon the mare's head and neck. "what's the matter, man?" said i. "by gad, sir," cried sails, looking round with a face of terror, and scrambling down, "he's tuk a bite out of my starn!" after the horses had been well lunged it became necessary to mount them. in vain, however, i tried to persuade sails or his comrade dick to get upon their backs. i therefore mounted first myself, and after a deal of plunging and knocking about was dismounted again, with the mare, who had thrown herself down, actually kneeling upon my body. all this time, sails stood helplessly looking on open-mouthed, holding the lunging-rein in his hands; and i had to call to him to "pull her off" before he made any attempt to give assistance. this accident effectually prevented my gallant grooms from trusting themselves on horseback; but they proved more useful in breaking in the animals to draw the light cart. one would ride whilst the other drove, and their nautical phrases, and seaman-like style of steering the craft, as they called it, excited the admiration of the neighbourhood. but they never could bring themselves to like the employment of tending horses; and finding that i insisted upon their making themselves useful in this way, they at last gave me up, and volunteered as part of the crew of a vessel about to sail for sincapore. long after this period i drove the dog-cart over the hills to york races. my brother had come down to perth, and we went together, taking with us our friend the amiable and talented editor of one of the perth journals. attaching another horse to an outrigger, we drove unicorn, or a team of three. it was a splendid october morning, (the commencement of summer,) and we rattled over the long and handsome wooden bridges that cross the two streams of the swan, at a spanking pace, whilst the worthy editor, exulting in his temporary emancipation from office, made the wooded banks of the river ring again with the joyous notes of his key-bugle. half an hour carried us over five miles of road, and brought us to mangonah, the beautifully situated dwelling of r. w. nash, esq., barrister at law, the most active-minded and public-spirited man in the colony. after a short delay, to laugh at one of our friend's last coined and most facetious anecdotes, and also to visit his botanical garden, we rattled off again to guildford; a scattered hamlet that was made acquainted with our approach by loud strains from the editor's bugle. here, however, we paused not, but proceeded along a hard and good road towards green mount, the first hill which we had to ascend. green mount, six miles from guildford, is famous for a desperate skirmish which took place some years ago between a large body of natives and messrs. bland and souper, at the head of a party escorting provisions from perth to the infant settlement at york. whilst slowly ascending the hill, a thick flight of spears fell among the party, wounding several of them. no enemy was visible, and the greatest consternation prevailed among the men, who hastened to shelter themselves under the carts. this induced the natives to rush out of their ambush, when they were received with a shower of balls; and at length driven back, after losing a good many men. mr. souper had several spears sticking in his body, and others of the english were severely wounded, but none mortally. the natives are very tenacious of life, and so are all the birds and animals indigenous to the country. the natives often have spears thrust completely through their bodies, and without any serious injury, receive wounds that would prove mortal to the whites. a vagabond who had speared one of those noble rams of ours, of whom honourable mention has been already made, was shot by our shepherd whilst in the act of decamping with the carcase. the ball passed completely through his lungs, and would have made an end of any white man; but the native recovered in the course of a few days, and walked a hundred miles heavily ironed, to take his trial for sheep-stealing at the quarter sessions. from guildford to the foot of green mount, the country presents a vast plain of cold clayey soil, unfit for cultivation, and though covered with scrub, affording very little useful herbage. on ascending the hill, we come upon what is generally called the iron-stone range, which extends nearly to york, a distance of forty miles. these extensive hills (about fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea) are composed almost entirely of granite rocks, with occasional tracts of quartz; and the surface is generally strewn over with a hard loose rubble. although the sides and summits of the hills present scarcely any appearance of soil, vast forests of large jarra trees, and other varieties of the eucalyptus, extend in every direction; and flowers the most beautiful relieve the sombre appearance of the ground. some few of the valleys afford a few acres of alluvial soil; and in the first of these, called mahogany creek, six miles from green mount, we found a comfortable way-side house, with good out-buildings, and other accommodations; and here we halted to lunch, and bait our horses. many other individuals, bent upon the same journey as ourselves, were lounging and smoking before the house, or partaking of the refreshments. most were travelling on horseback; some in gigs, and some in light spring-carts. a famous round of cold beef, with bottled ale and porter, proved extremely agreeable after our drive. in the afternoon we proceeded fifteen miles farther, to the half-way house, where on my first arrival in the colony i had been initiated into the art of cooking a saddle of kangaroo, and serving it up with mint-sauce. the road, through a dense forest of evergreen trees, is excessively dreary, and the quarters for the night were never very satisfactory; but the traveller might always look forward to a comfortable sitting-room, kangaroo steaks and pork, with plenty of fresh eggs and good bread. since that time the house has been given up by the energetic landlord; and the local government is partly responsible for the loss of this accommodation, in consequence of having insisted upon a heavy license being annually taken out. in good times, when the farm-settlers of the york and northam districts brought their wool and other produce down this road to the capital, they invariably spent a merry evening at the half-way house; but since money has become scarcer in the colony, they have been compelled to avoid this place of entertainment, and kindle instead a fire by the road-side, where they spend their evenings in solitary meditation, to the advantage doubtless of their minds and purses. in the morning, full of philosophical thoughts and fried rashers of pork, they calmly yoke their bullocks to the wain, unafflicted by those pangs which were often the only acknowledgment rendered to the hospitality of mr. smith -- pangs of mental remorse and a bilious stomach. and yet the worthy host never suffered a guest whom he respected to depart without administering to him what he called "a doctor" -- of which, about five o'clock in the morning, the poor man usually felt himself much in need; and at that hour, as aurora entered at the window, would mine host (equally rosy-cheeked) enter by the door, and deliver his matutinal salutation. this "doctor," a character universally esteemed by travellers in those parts, was a tumbler of milk fresh from the cow, tinctured with brandy. the glory had not departed from the half-way house at the period to which i refer; and as we drove up to the door, amid the liveliest strains of the editorial bugle, our jovial host welcomed us with his heartiest greeting. this spot is truly an oasis in the desert, affording a few acres of tolerable land, and some excellent garden-ground which, in the season, produces abundance of grapes, peaches, apples, figs, and various kinds of vegetables. a deep brook runs at the bottom of the garden which is very well watered; and on its margin, in the midst of a green plot, protected by palings from rude encroachment, is the quiet grave of one of mr. smith's children. how different looks the solitary grave of the desert from the crowded churchyards of england! how much more home it comes to the heart! across the brook is a large barley-field, and down the valley are several other inclosures; all around, beyond these, is the dark, melancholy, illimitable forest. at one end of the house, which is of goodly size, stands a huge erection of wood, resembling a gallows, from which are suspended the bodies of three kangaroos. not far from this, a group of natives -- men, women, and children -- are squatted round a small fire, eating baked opossums, and chattering, and uttering shrill screams of laughter, with all their might. half a dozen large kangaroo dogs are hanging about this group with wistful eyes, but evidently without any expectations of obtaining a morsel. the house, being filled with people on their way to the races, resounded all the evening with jokes and merriment; and when the well-disposed retired to bed, and flattered themselves they were just sinking into repose, a mob of their evil-minded friends, headed by an irish barrister and the usually sedate crown solicitor, beat down the door, and pulled them forth again. then were the four walls of the room (which contained four beds) made witnesses to a scene exhibiting all the horrors of war. dreadful was the conflict: bolsters and carpet-bags were wielded with fierce animosity; pillows and rolled-up blankets flew about the room like cannon-shot; and long was the contest doubtful, until the despair of the besieged at length overcame the impetuosity of the assailants, and succeeded in driving them from the apartment. the half-way house was often so crowded that some of the guests had to sleep upon the dining-table, the sofas, and the floor. at early dawn it was usually cleared of its visitors, who would push on to breakfast at mahogany creek; or if going to york, at st. roman's well, distant some fifteen miles. it was here that we breakfasted, sitting upon the grass, whilst with our camp-kettle we boiled our chocolate, and enjoyed our morning meal exceedingly. york is a scattered hamlet of good farm-houses. the country is highly interesting. a lofty hill, or mountain, called mount bakewell, confines the view on one side, and below it is the river avon, a broad stream in winter, but in summer consisting only of deep pools in various parts of its course. the neighbourhood is beautifully wooded, and has the appearance of a park. in the centre of the hamlet a modest-looking, white-washed church "rears its meek fane." nothing could be more peaceful and serene than the whole aspect of the place. at my brother's farm, comprising , acres, the property of r. h. bland, esq., protector of natives, we found a hearty reception, and a very pleasant dwelling-house. for several days it was filled with young men who had come from various parts of the colony to attend the races. these gentlemen were most of them young men of good family, and well educated, who having only a small patrimony, and having been brought up to no trade or profession, had come out to a colony in the hope of acquiring landed estates, and of founding in this part of the world a family of their own. in the meantime they had to drive their teams, shear their sheep, thresh their corn, and exhibit their skill in husbandry; whilst their houses were as ill arranged and uncomfortable as could be expected from the superintendence of bachelors who thought more of their stables than of the appearance of their rooms. they care more about good horses than good cooks, and in most cases prefer doing without kitchen stuff rather than be troubled with a garden. freedom of discourse and ease of manner characterize the social meetings of our bachelor aristocracy "over the hills." dinner is only to be obtained by dint of incessant shouting to the slave (frequently an indian coolie) who presides in the detached kitchen, and brings in the viands as fast as he "dishes up." the roast mutton gradually cools upon the table while mooto is deliberately forking the potatoes out of the pot, and muttering curses against his master, who stands at the parlour-door, swearing he will wring his ears off if he does not despatch. in order to moderate the anguish of stomach experienced by the guests, the host endeavours to fill up the time by sending the sherry round. the dinner is at length placed upon the table, and mooto scuffles out of the room whilst his master is busy carving, lest he should be compelled to wait, an occupation less agreeable than that to which he returns, and which engages most of his time -- sitting on an upturned box before the fire, and smoking his pipe. here, piously thanking vishnu and brama for such good tobacco, he puffs away, heedless of the shouts of his suzerain, who has just discovered there are only eight plates for twelve people. one of the guests volunteers a foray into mooto's territory, chiefly for the sake of relieving his own feelings by making that worthy acquainted with the opinion he entertains of him, and returns to his seat with cold plates and a tranquillized mind. when the villain lacquey has smoked his pipe, he brings in the cheese, and clears away. no unnecessary feelings of delicacy restrain the guests from reviling him seriatim as he removes the platters; and he retires to his own den and the enjoyment of a pound of boiled rice with undisturbed equanimity, leaving the others to boil the kettle and concoct egg-flip, which, together with wine, brandy, cigars, and pipes, enables the party to get through the afternoon. some remain at the table, drinking out of wine-glasses, tumblers, or pannikins (every vessel which the house contains being put in requisition), and talking loudly about their horses, or making bets for the next day's races; others having thrown off their coats, and flung their persons upon a sofa, with their feet on a window-sill, puff away in meditative silence, only joining occasionally in the conversation; whilst two or three walk up and down the verandah, in solemn consultation as to the best mode of hedging, having unhappily backed a colt for the margaux cup that turns out to be a dunghill. i trust my good friends over the hills will not think i am making an ungrateful return for much hospitality by this rough and imperfect sketch. heaven knows they are a worthy, kind-hearted, hospitable set of good fellows as ever drew a cork or made egg-flip; but i must say some of the bachelor establishments are rather in a rude and primitive state at present. those houses which are fortunate enough to possess a presiding genius in the gentle and attractive form of woman are very differently ordered. english neatness and english comforts pervade the establishment, and the manners and customs of well-regulated society are never forgotten. it is a pleasant sight in the evening to watch the cattle driven into the stock-yard by the native boy, who has been with them all day in the bush. some of the old cows go steadily enough in the right direction, but others, and especially the young heifers, are continually bunting one another, and trying to push their next neighbours into the ditch. several, tempted by a pleasant field of barley, have leapt over a broken rail, and are eating and trampling down all before them. but soon they are perceived by the dusky herdsman, who incontinently shrieks like one possessed by demons, and rushing after the stray kine with a bough hastily picked up, chases and belabours them up and down the field (the gate of which he has never thought of opening), until he has done as much mischief as possible to the crop. somebody then opens the gate for him, and the cattle are at length secured in the yard. next arrives a flock of two thousand sheep, driven by white shepherds. on coming to the entrance of the fold-yard, they stop and hesitate, refusing to enter. all is uncertainty and confusion, the rearmost urged forward by the shout of the men and the barking of the dogs, who run from side to side, thrusting their noses into the soft white fleeces, press into the mass; great is the scuffle, the rush, and the pattering of feet over the loose pebbles of the yard. at length, a hardy and determined ram in the vanguard gives a leap of ten feet through the open gateway, and the others hustle through after him, every one leaping as he had done, and all congratulating themselves on having thus cleverly eluded the designs of some unseen enemy. i do not intend to give an account of the races, though they afforded more amusement probably than is common at epsom or ascot. every one knew everybody and everybody's horse; and as the horses were generally ridden by gentlemen, there was no doubt of fair play. there was an accident, as usual, in the hurdle-race; but not being fatal, it did not interrupt the sports. large groups of the natives, sitting on the ground, or standing leaning on their spears, gave increased effect to the picturesque scenery. some clumps of forest-trees still occupied the centre of the course, and through these you caught glimpses of coloured jackets and jockey-caps as they flashed by. the green side of mount bakewell was spotted with sheep, and above them frowned a forest of dark trees. a loaf of bread stuck upon a spear was a mark and a prize for native dexterity. the dusky savages forming a line in front, and clustering eagerly upon one another behind, took their turns to throw at the coveted target; and every time that a spear left the womera, or throwing-stick, and missed the mark, a shrill yell burst simultaneously from the mass, relieving the excitement which had been pent up in every breast. but when a successful spear struck down the loaf, trebly wild and shrill was the yell that rent the air. the york and northam districts afford a vast quantity of land suitable for all kinds of grain. the sheep and cattle runs are excellent, but they are now fully stocked, and new settlers must direct their steps to the southward, the dale and hotham districts affording scope and verge enough for many a flock and herd. our own sheep were generally kept at a squatting station on the hotham, some sixty or seventy miles south of york. thither, after the races, we drove to inspect the flock. there was no road, and only an endless succession of trees, and of gently rising and falling country. how my brother and his men used to manage to hit upon the site of the location is more than i can conjecture. people accustomed to the bush seem to acquire, like the natives, the faculty of knowing exactly the direction, position, and distance of the spot they want to reach. on the way, we fell in with one of those extraordinary nests constructed by that singular bird called by the natives the now. mr. gould's description of a similar bird in new south wales, the brush turkey 'talegalla lathami' does not exactly tally with that which we should give of the now. his description is as follows: -- "for some weeks previous to laying its eggs, the brush turkey collects together an immense mass of vegetable matter, varying from two to four cart-loads, with which it forms a pyramidal heap; in this heap it plants its eggs about eighteen inches deep, and from nine to twelve inches apart. the eggs are always placed with the large ends upwards, being carefully covered, and are then left to hatch by the heat engendered by the decomposition of the surrounding matter. the heaps are formed by the labours of several pairs of birds. the eggs are white, about three inches and three quarters long by two and a half in diameter, and have an excellent flavour." of this bird, professor owen observes, "on comparing the osteology of the 'talegalla' with that of other birds, it exhibits all the essential modifications which characterize the gallinaceous tribe; and among the rasores, it most nearly resembles the genera penelope and crax." the now of western australia does not build its nest of vegetable substances, but collects together an immense heap of earth, sand, and small stones, into the form of a broad cone, four or five feet high in the centre, and about ten feet across. directly in the centre it either leaves or subsequently hollows out a hole large enough to admit itself, into which it descends and deposits its eggs. the powerful summer sun heats the earth sufficiently to hatch the eggs, and the young birds come forth active and able to provide for themselves. not the least astonishing part to me is, how they manage to scramble out of that deep hole. the natives declare that the hen frequently visits the nest, and watches the progress of incubation, and then when the young ones are hatched, they get upon her back, and she scrambles out with her family about her. this bird is about the size of a pheasant, has long legs, and a very deep breast-bone. it runs fast. each nest is supposed to be built by a single bird, but it is believed that other birds may occupy them in succeeding seasons. in the afternoon of the second day after leaving york, we descended into a broad valley, abounding with grass and scattered gum-trees. a large flock of sheep were being driven towards the bottom of the valley, where we could discern signs of human habitation. on arriving, we found a hut built of piles or stakes interwoven with boughs, before the door of which was a fire with a large pot upon it, from which a powerful steam arose that was evidently very grateful to a group of natives seated around. two families seemed to compose this group, consisting of a couple of men, four women, and five or six children of various ages. as we drew nigh, the whole party, without rising, uttered a wild scream of welcome, accompanied by that loud laughter which always seems to escape so readily from this light-hearted and empty-headed people. on descending from the vehicle, and looking in at the hut door, we perceived lying in his shirt-sleeves on a couch composed of grass-tree tops covered with blankets and a rug made of opossum skins, the illustrious meliboeus himself, with a short black pipe in his mouth, and a handsome edition of "lalla rookh" in his hand. perceiving us, he jumped up, and expressing his loud surprise, welcomed us to this rustic castle of indolence. when a large flock of sheep is sent into the bush, and a squatting station is formed, the shepherds take the sheep out to pasture every morning, and bring them home at night, whilst one of the party always remains at the station to protect the provisions from being stolen by the natives. this person is called the hut-keeper. his duty is to boil the pork, or kangaroo flesh, and provide supper, etc., for the shepherds on their return at night. meliboeus, who superintended this station, undertook the duties of cooking and guarding the hut whenever he did not feel disposed to go out kangaroo-hunting, or shooting wild turkeys or cockatoos. in all things, sports or labours, the natives were his daily assistants, and in return for their services were rewarded with the fore-quarters of the kangaroos killed, and occasionally with a pound or two of flour. there were some noble dogs at the station, descendants of jezebel and nero; and my brother had a young kangaroo, which hopped in and out with the utmost confidence, coming up to any one who happened to be eating, and insisting upon having pieces of bread given to it. full of fun and spirits, it would sport about as playfully as a kitten; and it was very amusing to see how it would tease the dogs, pulling them about with its sharp claws, and trying to roll them over on the ground. the dogs, who were in the daily habit of killing kangaroos, never attempted to bite minny, who sometimes teased them so heartily, that they would put their tails between their legs and fairly run away. the great enemies of the sheep in the australian colonies are the wild-dogs. at york, and in the other settled districts, they are very troublesome, and require the shepherd to keep a constant lookout. we were therefore much surprised to learn that although wild dogs abounded near this squatting station, they never attempted to touch our flocks. a sheep was to them a new animal; they had yet to learn the value of mutton. a cowardly race, they are easily intimidated, and as they have not the art of jumping or clambering over a fence, a low sheep-fold will keep them out, provided they cannot force their way under the palings or hurdles. they cannot bark, and utter only a melancholy howl. the bitch generally litters in a hollow tree, and produces four or five puppies at a birth. the production of wool -- the careful acquisition of a good flock of well-bred sheep, and the attainment of the highest degree of perfection in preparing the fleeces for the english market -- appears to us to be the proper ambition of an emigrant to the australian colonies. when ill-health compelled my steps hither, it was the intention of myself and brothers to invest our capital entirely in sheep; and retiring into the bush for some six or seven years, gradually accumulate a large flock, the produce of which would soon have afforded a handsome income. it has never, however, appeared to be the object of either the home government or the local government of any colony (though unquestionably the interest of both) to encourage emigration. settlers have invariably every possible difficulty thrown in their way. on arriving in this colony, we found to our astonishment that squatting was illegal, and that we would not be allowed, as we had designed to carry our goods into the interior and form a station upon government land. no license could at that time be obtained, and if we bought the smallest section allowed to be sold, which was acres, for as many pounds, it was ten to one but we should soon find the district in which it was situated insufficient for the run of a large flock, and should have to change our quarters again. the consequence was, that we were compelled to abandon our project: my brothers took a farm at a high rent, and wasted their capital upon objects that could never bring in a good return; whilst i (infelix!), instead of listening to the gentle bleatings of sheep, and ministering to the early comforts of innocent lambs, have been compelled to hearken to the angry altercations of plaintiff and defendant, and decide upon the amount of damages due to injured innocence when the pot had insulted the kettle. now, however, limited licenses are granted to persons wishing to go as squatters upon government land; and even before these were issued, we were obliged to send our sheep upon crown lands, and form a station, for want of room in the settled districts. sheep flocks constitute doubtlessly one of the most profitable investments for the employment of capital, notwithstanding the many obstacles and discouragements still thrown by both governments in the way of the wool-grower. they yield a very large return to those who attend to them in person, and who confine their attention entirely to that pursuit, growing only corn enough for their own consumption. chapter . extracts from the log of a hut-keeper. may th. -- felt rather lonely to-day, in the midst of this endless solitude. sat before the hut-door thinking of zimmerman and his reflections. also thought of brasenose, oxford, and my narrow escape from euclid and greek plays. davus sum, non oedipus. set to work, and cooked a kangaroo stew for the three shepherds. june th. -- we have removed the sheep from the dale to the avon. we go wandering about with our flocks and baggage like the israelites of old, from one patch of good grass to another. i wonder how long it will be before we make our fortunes? th. -- k. arrived from york with a supply of flour, pork, tea and sugar. brings no news from england, or anywhere else. where the deuce are all the ships gone to, that we get no letters? moved the station to corbeding. th. -- k. returned to york with his bullock-cart. no chance of my being relieved at present. went out by myself kangarooing. the pup, hector, out of jezebel, will make a splendid dog. first kangaroo fought like a devil; hector, fearing nothing, dashed at him, and got a severe wound in the throat; but returned to the charge, after looking on for a few moments. crossed an immense grassy plain, eight or nine miles wide, without a tree upon it. had to carry a kangaroo more than five miles on my back. wished it at hanover, and twice abandoned it, but returned for it again, being so much in want of fresh meat. th. -- spent the day in dreary solitude in the hut. all my books have been read, re-read, and re-re-read. july st. -- went out with the dogs, and caught three kangaroos. passed over some splendid country -- wish it were peopled with white humans. how pleasant to have been able to call at a cottage, and get a draught of home-brewed! on the contrary, could not find even a pond, or a pint of water, and was nearly worried to death by sand-flies. d. -- some scabby sheep having got among our flock, have played the deuce with it. the scab has regularly broke out. i had rather it were the plague or asiatic cholera, and cleared them all off (my own sheep are fortunately at york). dressing lambs all morning -- beastly work. in the afternoon went out with the sheep, and left james to mind the hut. sand-flies infernal. d, sunday. -- stayed in the hut all day. smoked sheep-tobacco,* all my turkish being finished. felt pious, and wrote a short sermon, choosing the text at random -- jeremiah ii. : "and i brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof." read it at night to the shepherds. james said it was "slap-up." [footnote] *coarse pig-tail, used as a decoction for dressing the diseased sheep. th. -- went out kangarooing. killed an immense fellow: when standing on his hind legs fighting with me and the dogs, he was a foot higher than myself. he ran at me, and nearly gave me a desperate dig with his claw, which tore my only good hunting-shirt miserably. smashed his skull for it. th and th. -- dressing sheep all day. out [band of] york natives, whom we have hitherto kept with us, are all gone home again, leaving me and my three men, with only two guns, among a suspicious and treacherous tribe that cannot understand a word we say to them. wish my brothers would come and look after their own sheep. it would do e.'s health more good than sitting in court, hearing a set of fools jabber. sand-flies eat us alive here, and the mosquitoes polish our bones. th. -- muston and myself dressed fifty sheep to-day. john out with part of the flock. th. -- heavy rain last night. cannot go on dressing. did nothing all day. th. -- stayed in the hut doing nothing. th, sunday. -- ditto. th. -- tired of doing nothing. dressed sheep most of the day. muston out kangarooing; caught three. th. -- cooking. made a "sea-pie," which was generally admired. august st. -- the doctor arrived from york, driving tandem in e.'s trap. he has brought me a parcel of books just come from england. blessings on my dear sister for remembering me. i thought myself forgotten by all the world. sisters (heaven for ever bless them!) are the only people that never forget. news from home! how many thoughts come flooding upon me! d. -- last night, i confess, i cried myself to sleep, like a great big baby. i am very comfortable and contented so long as i receive no letter from home; and yet i am such a fool as to wish for them; and when they come i am made miserable for a week afterwards. somehow, they make me feel my loneliness more. i feel deserted, forgotten by all but one. she says she is constantly wishing for me in her rides. they seem to enjoy themselves more at home than they used to do, now that we are gone -- always picknicking, boating, or forming riding parties. "fairy" continues the favourite -- i always thought she was a good hack. "light-foot," whom i lamed hunting, was obliged to be sold. it seems to be a sore subject with the governor. i wonder how juno has turned out; she was a splendid-looking whelp. i wish they'd enter more into particulars when they write. it's ridiculous my asking questions, as it will be more than a year before answers can arrive. they ought to write about every thing. i cannot bear to think to-day of anything but home. d. -- the doctor gone back to york -- sulky about the sheep being so bad. why does he not send us more tobacco and turpentine? says we smoke it all. the doctor is an ----. promises to send k. next week with mercurial ointment; it is therefore useless to waste any more tobacco on the sheep -- the stock is low enough as it is. th. -- lay all day on my couch, reading "rose d'albret." wish i had her here. one wants somebody to sympathize with so desperately in the bush. th. -- ditto, ditto. th. -- reading punch all morning. in the afternoon made a damper, baked it, and eat it in company with the others. "pit a cake, pat a cake, baker's man!" etc. th. -- dressing sheep all day with mercurial ointment. wish this job was over. dreadful work bending one's back all day, and rooting amongst the wool for the diseased places. th. -- went out with the dogs, and killed two kangaroos. it rained tremendously all the time, and i wish the kangaroos at the ----. the natives happened to be hunting in a large party, driving the game before them; and as i stood in the midst of a large plain which they had surrounded on three sides, multitudes of kangaroos -- i believe i might say thousands -- of all sizes, came rushing past me. the dogs were quite bewildered, and remained at my side aghast; and it was several minutes before they recovered themselves enough to give chase. the natives took no notice of me. in the evening fifty of them came about the hut. we took care to show our guns, and i shot a green parrot, sixty yards off, just to show them what we could do. they were quite peaceable, and danced a corrobery at night. th. -- i dressed twenty-five sheep this morning myself. in the afternoon william came from york with six hundred more sheep (mine among them), which were found to be scabby. more work! this is really too bad, thrusting all this cursed business upon me. he had been four days coming, and had not lost a single sheep. st. -- went out kangarooing, quite disgusted. wandered a long distance, and had to carry a large buck several miles. could scarcely find my way back, but at length got home (!!) quite knocked up, and more and more disgusted with human nature and every thing. d. -- the doctor is enjoying himself at york, and e. lives on the fat of the land at perth, whilst i have never tasted anything but salt pork and kangaroo for many months, and have nothing to drink but tea. i have almost forgotten the taste of a potato. we have nothing here but kangaroo and pork, and unleavened bread, called damper. i wish i could exchange our bill of fare occasionally with that french fellow who complained of having "toujours perdrix." he would be the loser, i take it. i could eat even perdrix aux choux -- a villanous dish formerly -- but we have no more cabbages than partridges to thank god for. i have long been obliged to leave off saying "grace after meat;" it really became an impious mockery, and was also impolitic and uneconomical, as my stomach used to turn against it. i consulted john this morning about killing a sheep, as none of them seemed inclined to die naturally. john caught at the idea with great quickness. he really is an intelligent fellow; and both he and the other poor devils are so patient and unrepining, that the doctor is little better than a beast not to order them some mutton occasionally. i consider it absolutely necessary for their health. we fixed upon one of e.'s sheep, as it looked the fattest; and he being the richest, and never coming himself to look at his flock, will not care about a few sheep more or less. i'd kill one of my own, but they are such a seedy lot. no one is answerable for the murder of this sheep but myself, as i hereby confess that i killed it with my own hand, and afterwards held a coroner's inquest on the body, directing a verdict of "visitation of providence" to be recorded in the accounts relating to the flock. we had the liver for supper. excellent! never tasted anything half so good. d. -- dined on sheep's head and trotters. (tea to drink, toujours.) th. -- saddle of mutton. th. -- leg. th. -- shoulder. th. -- leg. th. -- shoulder. th. -- finished the sheep, and polished the bones. [the rest of the journal runs on much in the same way. this specimen will probably be enough for the reader.] chapter . pelican shooting. -- gales. -- wrestling with death. the large estuary of the swan affords ample scope for boating or sailing in small pleasure-yachts. perth water, on the northern bank of which the capital is built, extends from two to three miles in length, and about the same distance in its broadest part, its form being that of a half moon. it is connected with melville water by an opening of a quarter of a mile across. melville water is some six miles long, and from three to four broad; a splendid bay, called freshwater bay, developes itself at the western extremity of this fine sheet of water; and the river, or estuary, here makes a turn at right angles, and pursues its course towards the sea between high precipitous rocks of marine limestone, which are from six to seven hundred yards apart. my pleasure-boat has enabled me to pass many agreeable hours upon this estuary. at first, especially, it was exceedingly pleasant to make expeditions for the purpose of exploring the different bays and inlets, which abounded with ducks, swans, and pelicans. my youngest brother and myself would frequently rise at a good hour, and having supplied our little vessel with a stock of provisions, and a few bottles of ale or other drinkables, hoist the sails, and bear away upon a cruise. the warm dry air, tempered by the sea-breeze, made boating exceedingly pleasant; and as we often touched at gardens situated at the mouth of the canning, or on the shores of melville water, and procured a basket of grapes, or peaches and melons, we managed to lunch luxuriously, having first cast anchor and bathed. many readers must have felt the excitement experienced by young sportsmen when they have the luck to fall in with some bird or animal not previously known to them. every one remembers the delight with which, when a boy, he shot his first wood-pigeon, or lay in ambush behind a hedge for an old crow. when first we beheld a group of huge tall birds, standing lazily in the sunshine upon a sand-spit which ran far into melville water, we could scarcely believe our eyes that these were really live pelicans; and it was not only with intense interest, but with feelings of self-reproach, that we drew nigh with hostile intentions to birds which in the days of our boyhood, when visiting mr. wombwell's menagerie, had filled us with awe and reverence, as creatures that were wont to evince the depth of parental devotion by feeding their young with their own blood. our first overt act of hostility against the pelicans was unsuccessful. the sea-breeze was blowing strong, and we had to beat out against it close-hauled; just as we made the last board, and were bearing down upon the enemy, the huge, heavy birds, awakening from the siesta "with a start," raised their heads and looked about them. then the foremost began to flap his long wings, and lift himself on tip-toe, whilst the others followed his example; and soon they were all heavily skimming along the surface of the water, trying to launch themselves fairly into the upward air; and having at length succeeded, they rose higher and higher in wide gyrations. the leader seemed resolved to hide himself in the distant blue of the cloudless heavens; and upward -- up, up, up -- they continued to mount, going round, and round, and round, in lessening circles -- whilst the spectator gazed in wonder at the slowly diminishing specks, that were almost lost in ether; and at length, moving slowly towards the east -- the unknown, mysterious wilderness -- they altogether faded away. we have heard of eagles soaring into the sun, but i doubt whether even they could soar much higher, or look much grander, than the noble pelican of the desert. the sheets were eased off, the long boom of the graceful sliding-gunter (a kind of latteen) sail, stretched far over the gun-wale of the boat, which slipped along easily and rapidly through the water, the rolling waves heaving up her stern, and sending her forward with a gentle impulse. we were opening the broad mouth of the canning, when meliboeus pointed out two other pelicans fishing in-shore on the lee-bow. gently we edged away towards them; meliboeus standing before the mast with his double-barrel ready, and motioning to me how to steer, as the main-sail hid the birds from my view. they perceived us, and began to swim along shore at a rapid rate; the water was shoaling fast, and we greatly feared they would escape, but still we held on. the majestic birds rose slowly from the water, one following the other, and made towards the canning. "i'll let fly at them" cried meliboeus, in an intense whisper, "luff up! -- hard-a-lee!" the helm was jammed down, and the sheet hauled in; the boat luffed into the wind, and became stationary, only bobbing upon the waves, whilst her sails shivered and rattled in the breeze. meliboeus fired -- and the hindmost bird declined gradually towards the water; its long wings became fixed and motionless at their widest stretch, and slowly it sank down upon its heaving death-bed. loud shouted the sportsman; and momentary envy filled the heart of him who steered. away goes the boat before the freshening breeze, and soon it dashes past the body of the pelican, which is seized by the ready meliboeus, and with great difficulty hauled on board. a shot had penetrated to its brain and killed it instantaneously. the wind up the canning was nearly abeam, and we dashed through the deep and narrow passage called hell's gates, and held on till we came to the foot of a steep and rounded hill, mount henry. the river here turns at right angles, sweeping round the base of the hill, and leaving a broad and deep bay called bull's creek, to the southward. this is a famous spot for ducks and swans, and many a pleasant bivouac have i formed near it, waiting for early morn when the birds are busy feeding. as we rounded mount henry, we observed a large slate-coloured bird lazily flying across the river ahead of us. the canning is here about four hundred yards broad, widening occasionally to a quarter of a mile. the wind was now right aft, and we soon came upon the line of the bird, which appeared to be a crested crane. the boom was topped-up in a moment, the jib-sheet let fly, and the boat's nose ran crashing through the sedges which in this part fringed the bank. the crane had alighted on the very summit of a straight and lofty tree, and there she sat, unconscious of the danger at hand. too much excited to care for any obstacles, and with eyes ever fixed upon the game, i tore my way through brambles, thickets, water and mud, until with no little difficulty i arrived at ground free from underwood. the bird was still sitting patiently on her lofty perch, and my heart beat anxiously with hope that i should be able to creep within shot. what a moment of interest! it is still vivid in the memory, with all its doubts and fears and wildly-beating hopes. the crane seemed preparing to fly. death! i felt nearly distracted with apprehension. the interest and excitement became intense. i crept from tree to tree, and whenever i thought i was observed, stood motionless. my eye-balls became dry and hard with incessant gazing. i feared to wink lest she should be gone. she extended her wings! i bounded forward. she was just off, and barely within reach, as i fired; a single number two shot struck her pinion, and down she tumbled to the ground with a glorious wallop. a loud shout from meliboeus, who had sat in the boat scarcely daring to breathe, proclaimed the presence of a witness to my triumph. since then i have shot cranes without emotion or much feeling of interest. boating, as an amusement, ought only to be followed during the summer months, from the st of october to the st of april. in the winter season there are extremely violent gales of wind from the north-west, that sometimes last for three days together. their arrival is generally foretold by the rapid falling of the barometer; and at perth it is almost always preceded by the rising of the estuary. a singular storm visited the district of australind in the night of the th june, . it crossed the leschenault estuary, and entered the forest, making a lane through the trees from three to four hundred yards wide. in this lane, which extended for many miles, nothing was left standing but the stumps of trees; whilst the trees on either wide of the land stood up like a wall and were perfectly uninjured. the storm in its course, which was in a direct line from n.w. to s.e. levelled the trees in the valleys as well as those on the hills. its effects were not like those of a whirlwind, when trees appear twisted round, and scattered in every direction; in this lane the young healthy trees, which were generally broken off about two or three yards from the ground, all lay in the same direction. twice have i nearly paid dearly for my rashness in boating. my boat was once capsized in a moment in a squall, and hannibal and myself were soused in the water before we knew what had happened. i caught hold of the bilge of the boat, and nearly drowned myself with laughing at the son of amilcar, who was splashing about shrieking with terror, and swallowing quarts of salt-water, as his open mouth popped every moment under a wave. in vain i called to him to come to me, and lay hold of the boat; he could neither see nor hear, and would have soon joined his illustrious namesake in the elysian fields, had i not managed to throw the bight of a rope round his neck, and towed him within reach, when i held him up by the collar of his jacket (ducking him under water occasionally to make him cease from howling) until we were rescued by a fishing-boat. one day, the th april, , feeling disposed to take my book on the water and enjoy the calm air, i embarked by myself -- a most unusual occurrence, as i scarcely ever went out alone. what little wind there was blew down the estuary, but only gently ruffled the waters; and my boat glided noiselessly before it. a couple of hours took me to the farther extremity of melville water, and here it fell calm. i now began to feel uncomfortable, for the air was close, and dark clouds appeared rising in the north-west. the wind began to blow in gusts; a sudden puff, curling the waters, would strike the boat and make her heel over until her gunwale kissed the wave, as with a sudden start she rushed forward under the impulse of the blast. i was now making homeward. the heavens became black with angry clouds; the wind first sighed and moaned like a reluctant spirit driven forth to fulfil its task of evil, feeling something of remorse at crimes foreshadowed and inevitable; and then working itself into fury, as though it would stifle thought, and crush out the germ of pity, the wind in its might and rage rushed roaring over the waters, making the foam fly before it, and tearing up the face of the estuary into rugged lines of wild tumultuous waves. the little bark vainly strove to keep her head to the storm, which bore her down until the water poured over the gunwale. it was about six o'clock in the evening, and darkness, hurried on prematurely by the tempest, spread suddenly around. the waves, as if trying to leap beyond the reach of some internal agony, rolled high above my head, as the "fair maid of perth" sank hopelessly in the deep channel, with rocking mast and shivering sails. but not yet submerged, she rose again, and fronted the storm, struggling desperately to reach the northern shore, which was not far distant. but the skies grew blacker still; the storm became a hurricane; the wind roared so loud that no voice of human agony or despair might be heard above its tremendous fury; the waves grew higher and mightier, and became rushing hills of water, overwhelming, irresistible. to me, quailing in my frail bark, in all the consciousness of helplessness and ruin, it seemed as though the winds and the waves were really sentient beings combining to overwhelm me, and increasing their efforts the more i struggled. this is no fiction that i am relating, but a reality that happened to myself, and which it would be impossible to exaggerate. never shall i forget the last tremendous wave that came down upon me, impelled by a maddening gust which whirled tearing along through the wild air, and scooping its deep passage through the waters. in vain was the jib-sheet let fly; in vain did i luff into the wind. i could not quit the helm, and therefore was unable to lower the sail which in that hurricane could not have been got in easily, and in the meantime the boat, breaking off from the wind, would have been swamped. i was so near the shore that i hoped still to reach it, the wind being abeam, in the course of a few minutes. but nothing could withstand the last wave and blast. the boat lurched, and broke off. hurled on her beam-ends, the boom was in the water; the waves rushed over the side; she struggled bravely, and tried to right herself; but after staggering forwards a few seconds, the weight of the in-rushing water bore her down, and she slowly fell over on her side. the sensation was by no means pleasant. i felt her going, without being able to prevent it. i glanced around for aid or hope; but there was neither. i could see nothing but waves, and hear nothing but the roaring blast. the shore was close to me, but the high waves, and the darkness of the hurricane, prevented my discerning even the tops of the trees. as the boat capsized, i kicked off my shoes and threw off my coat and waistcoat, and seizing the main-sheet, let myself down in the water, trying to find bottom, but there was none within reach. i struck out towards the shore, but the ablest swimmer that ever swam could have made no progress against that sea, and i could scarcely swim at all. i scrambled back to the boat, which now lay on her side, level with the surface. on getting upon her, you may conceive -- but no! you cannot -- the horror of the moment, as i felt her gradually go down -- sink, sinking beneath me. all now seemed over. my time had arrived; my last moment was come. i collected my thoughts, and prepared for it. i did not feel so much terror as i should have anticipated in such a scene. death seemed inevitable, and i nerved myself, and prayed. all the past did not press upon me at this moment, in this death- struggle, as some readers may imagine. i thought not of my sins, nor of my friends, nor of time misspent and work left undone -- my whole mind was absorbed in the sense of death and futurity. the glances, rather than the thoughts which shot across my soul, seemed like revealings of immortality. my sensations were mixed of horror and hope; the change from the old to the new life seemed beginning within me. it might have been excess of terror, but i did not feel terrified. i felt that all was over, and there was no room for the anguish that arises from doubt. all struggling was vain, and though in tumult and horror, i yet felt resigned. the world of time was past, and new being was at hand. such is the memory which i must ever bear of the hour when (yet vigorous and full of life) i was held in the arms of death. the boat went down. the waves rushed over me; the enemy held me by the throat, and seemed to press me into the opening grave. even as the light faded from my eyes, and the spirit waited for that quick, sharp touch of the dart which should free it from the bonds of mortal life, i perceived the stem of the boat rising slowly out of the waves, whilst the stern was borne down by my weight. instinctively i swam forward, and got upon another part of the boat. down it went again; and as the water dashed against my face, i saw the stern now rising up, whilst the stem plunged down into the depths below. i scrambled amidships; the sea and the wind struck her, and she rolled heavily over, righting herself for a moment, with her mast and sail erect; but soon she lay on her larboard side, deep in the water. i had been washed off her, but clung to the main-sheet, and so got back again. i now held on to the side with one hand, whilst i managed to strip off all my clothes except my shirt and flannel waistcoat, first taking my knife out of my pocket. with this i tried to cut away the stays which held the mast in its place, hoping that it would then fall out, and relieve the boat of the sails which weighed her down so low in the water. most fortunately i had not sand-ballast, in tarred bags, as most of our pleasure-boats had, but water-ballast in breakers, which now proved no additional burthen to the boat. it was also fortunate that she was built partly of deal, and had only her lower streaks of jarra wood, which does not float. the blade of the knife, which was only a pen-knife, soon broke, and i was obliged to give up the attempt to remove the sails. still the hurricane blew on, wild and terrible as ever; the spray washed over me like rain; the waves dashed me repeatedly from the boat, which was whirled and tossed about in a strange manner; sometimes rolling completely over, sometimes going down head, and sometimes stern foremost, i had to scramble from part to part, and exercise a good deal of agility in saving myself from being struck by the gunwale, or by the boom and sail, as they rose from the water and fell back again. and now i could see but small prospect of being eventually saved. the only chance was that the boat would drift, in the course of time, across the estuary, here nearly four miles broad. then i tried, and for a long time vainly, to ascertain whether she drifted at all. the anchor, with about five-and-twenty feet of cable, had doubtless fallen out, and the boat was probably stationary. night had set in, and it was too dark to distinguish even the shore with its forest of trees. these gales sometimes continue three days, and i knew it would be impossible to exist many hours immersed in water. i dreaded lest i should become benumbed and unable to hold on to the boat. in order to keep up circulation as much as possible, i shouted aloud, and rubbed my breast and thighs with my disengaged hand. some dark object was on the water near me. it moved; it came quickly towards me. i could just discern that it was a whale-boat containing several men. it had no sails or oars, yet it flew before the blast. i shouted and screamed as it went by, not twenty yards from me; and the men turned their heads and waved their arms, and doubtless answered, but the gale roared with unabated fury, the waves intercepted them from my sight, and i could not hear their voices.* [footnote] *these men were about a mile and a half astern of me, when the hurricane began, and tried to pull in shore; but just as they thought to have reached it, one of their oars broke, and being now helpless, they were obliged to scud before the wind. by good fortune they were carried up the canning, where they remained all night. the moon had now risen, and the clouds were partially dispersed, so that i could at length distinguish the woods on the weather-shore; and i could see the weary waste of waters over which i must drift before i could possibly be saved. sometimes the wind blew with lessened violence, and i could sit upon the submerged bilge of the boat, and consider my state and prospects. after long observation, i felt assured that the boat did really drift, but it was very slowly; and i feared that as we approached the other shore, her anchor must inevitably bring her up in twenty-five feet water, and that nothing could save me from perishing of cold. it never occurred to me during this memorable night, that when i set sail in the afternoon i had shortened the cable to about five feet in length, in order the more easily to trip the anchor. this was one of the circumstances, providentially ordered, that tended to save my life. some miles down the estuary i could distinguish a light in the house at point walter, high placed on a steep bank; there two of my friends were at that moment carousing, whilst i was being buffetted by waves and tempest, and fearing that the saturated sails and heavy wood at length would sink the unfortunate boat to the bottom. i yet could scarcely hope to escape; my mind was still made up to die, and i tranquilly awaited the event. the moon had now made half of her journey across the heavens; the wind had moderated, and i redoubled my exertions to keep off the cold by shouting and rubbing myself. my flannel-shirt was another instrument of safety to me. it felt warm to my body though the waves poured continually over it. the outline of the forest on the lee side of the estuary was now distinguishable, and hope would have been rife within me but for the expectation of finding myself anchored fast at a fatal distance from the shore. every thing appeared so indistinct in the gloom of the night, that i could not guess how far i was from land; and it was with surprise, as well as delight and gratitude, that i felt the boat bump against the sand. oh that first bump, which told me of safety and deliverance after five hours of incessant peril! shall i ever forget the thrill of delight which it gave me? i could scarcely credit my senses, and put down my benumbed feet with doubt; but they rested on the sand -- real, hard, blessed terra firma! and without delay i waded through the water to the beach. the wind had now fallen, and it began to rain. i was on the edge of a thick wilderness of forest, without any house within reach -- the nearest was some miles distant, and to reach it in the dark, and without shoes, through swamps and thickets was almost impossible. the canning river was about half-a-mile from me, and on the farther side of it was a settler's house; but though i might reach the bank of the river, i could not hope to make myself heard half a mile off, amid the howling of the dying storm, and by people fast asleep. there was nothing for it, therefore, but to make myself as comfortable as possible, and remain where i was until morning. fortunately, i recollected having seen the ruins of a goat-shed not far distant, when i had landed on this spot with my gun two or three months before. with some difficulty, and some pain to my feet from thorns, i discovered this relic of a hovel. part of the roof was yet entire, and sheltered me from the wind. the door was lying inside, and this i made my bed. then, having wrung out my shirt and flannel-waistcoat, and returned thanks to the almighty for preserving a life not, perhaps, sufficiently prized by the owner, i lay down completely exhausted and fell asleep. awaking at daylight, i started off through the woods, stiff and hoarse with cold, but light of heart; and having reached the canning, succeeded at last in making myself heard by the farmer opposite, who took me across in his boat, breakfasted me, and lent me his clothes, and finally conveyed me to perth, where i found my friends preparing to go in search of my body. chapter . the desert of australia. -- cause of the hot winds. -- geology. i intend in this chapter* to give an explanation of the cause of the hot-winds of australia; to throw out a suggestion on the most likely mode of prosecuting discovery towards the interior; and to conclude with a slight sketch of the geology of the colony. before doing this i shall give a brief account of a journey made by myself and mr. maxwell lefroy in search of the inland sea so often talked of, and which a native promised to show to us; so large, he said, that when he stood on one shore he could not see the other. although this sea turned out to be a pure fiction, the journey was not entirely useless, nor altogether uninteresting. as this sea was probably not more than miles distant from york, according to the reckoning of the native, who said it was "ten sleeps off," i judged that one month's provision would be sufficient. [footnote] *this chapter i owe to mr. henry landor. accordingly, mr. lefroy and myself started on the expedition, on horseback, taking with us a native boy, and a pack-horse loaded with flour, tea, and sugar, and other necessaries. it will be sufficient to state that we pursued a south-east course, crossing the hotham, the williams, and the arthur rivers, and traversing an indifferent country, but in many places fit for sheep-grazing, before we came to the lake, or sea, of which we were in search. when we arrived at it, we were disappointed to find it not more than six miles long, although the natives, with their usual amount of exaggeration, had increased it to an illimitable ocean. before descending from the high land to the plain in which the lakes are situated, we caught a distant glimpse of what appeared to be a grand and broad river, pursuing a winding course through a magnificently wooded valley, with its clear bright waters dwindling in the distance to a silvery thread. a nearer examination, however, dispelled the illusion, and the beautiful river turned out to be nothing more than a chain of shallow lakes, situated in a woody valley; and only in very wet seasons flowing from one to another. we determined to follow the chain of lakes eastward, so long as our provisions should last, or as long as our horses could find food for themselves. we proceeded east for six days, passing numberless lakes, and observing that the chain divided, one branch of lakes running north-east, and the other due east. we followed the latter until we came to a lake called dambeling, by far the largest we had seen, being about fifteen miles long by seven or eight wide, with a good sheep country on its northern bank, and a river, which we called the lefroy, falling into its eastern end. the river was about thirty yards wide, with a clayey bed, and large fresh-water pools, and flowed from the east, through the worst country we had seen, it being an apparently endless desert, and level to the horizon. we went one day's journey into this inhospitable country, but the want of food for our horses, and our own unprepared state, prevented us from penetrating farther. on our return, we went for two or three days north, on the outskirts of the desert, before we turned westward on our way back to york. the only land we crossed in this expedition was situated on the head of the hotham and williams. the area of this country is undoubtedly very great, but its average character is below the york district, although it is well adapted for sheep-grazing. but the most interesting feature is the barren and desolate country to the east of lake dambeling, doubtless a continuation of the same sterile country seen by mr. roe, the surveyor-general, east of york many years previously; and probably from mr. eyre's observation, extending quite down to the southern coast. we had no means of ascertaining the width of this dreary country, but we did not think it could be impassably wide because the river lefroy appeared to come across it. this river, in a geographical point of view, may be important, as the character of its bed, without trees, more water-worn than the other rivers of the colony, its size, and the direction from which it comes, render it exceedingly interesting to determine how it is supplied. the sandy nature of the country on its banks, and for many miles east, and the flatness of the country, preclude the idea that it receives its supply of water from the immediately surrounding district. it must either be supplied by a country of a far better character to the eastward, or it is the outlet of another and larger lake far in the interior. from the natives we could learn nothing but that there were no kangaroos, no opossums, and no water to the east; but as their knowledge never extends miles, and they would tell any lie to avoid going where they had no inclination to go, their opinions are worthless. it might be worth the while of the colony to send forth another expedition to determine the boundaries of this desolate country, as it is not improbable that a practicable rout might be discovered to south australia by means of the river and lakes. the outlet of the lakes is into the river beaufort, and possibly also into the gordon. there is no doubt that in exceedingly wet seasons the whole valley is one continuous stream, when all the lakes would be united and present a truly magnificent appearance; but as the area of evaporation is so large, and the banks of many of the lakes are high, the quantity of rain must be enormous before the valley becomes filled with a running river. lake barbering, where the valley divides, has a steep shore, with three distinct marks of former water-levels. all the lakes have two or more shores, showing either a decrease of rain or an elevation of the land itself, probably both. between the present and ancient shores there is a belt of swamp-oaks and tea-trees, which show that some length of time has elapsed since the water left its old levels. the water to fill these large reservoirs must come down the river lefroy, as the neighbouring country is too sandy to supply it in sufficient quantities. no question in geography has presented a wider field for conjecture than the much-debated one of the nature of the interior of australia. is it desert, or water, or pasture? inhabited, or destitute alike of animal and vegetable life? the explorations of captain sturt, and the journey of mr. eyre, would incline us to believe that the country is one vast sterile waste; but the journey of the latter is worth nothing as an attempt to expose the nature of the interior, since he never left the coast. it certainly shows how much suffering the human frame can endure; and whilst, as illustrative of australian geography, it is valueless, it is highly creditable to the energies of the traveller. the expedition of captain sturt has shown that to the north of south australia the country is chiefly desert, totally incapable of supporting animal life: while the geological specimens of that traveller prove that the rich mineral strata of south australia extend far beyond the pastoral boundaries of the colony. a reference to the journey of mr. lefroy and myself, from york to the south-east, will show that there exists a low level country running far beyond our farthest eastern point, which may afford abundance of water and pasture for any future expedition proceeding in that direction. an expedition starting from these lakes in the beginning of winter, so as to take advantage of the first supplies of water, might advance far enough into the interior to discover at least the possibility of proceeding before the succeeding summer would render it impossible to return; for the lakes alone would not be sufficient to ensure a supply of good drinkable water during the summer, as they generally become quite salt long before summer is over. it would be necessary to find a good deep water-hole for the party to remain at during the dry season, and from which they could push out small lateral expeditions as a sort of foundation for the next season's main advance. expeditions in australia require great circumspection. it is not the most rapid traveller who will get the farthest, but the most prudent and cautious. i consider it quite possible to get across the island, either to south australia or to port essington. most probably it would be easier to get to the latter than the former. from observations made on the rains and winds in western australia, and careful inquiries on the same subjects when i was in south australia, and on a comparison of the two, i am inclined to believe that the climates of the two colonies assimilate. a wet winter in one is a wet winter in the other. both receive their rains when the wind blows from the north-west to south-west. thus the rains from south australia pass from the indian ocean over western australia, and the whole island, to south australia. the hot wind of western australia blows from the north-east; and, in fact, the hot wind of both colonies comes from the same portion of the great island. that which is the hot wind in summer in western australia is the cold wind in winter; and the same in south australia. the reason is obvious. it is evident, from the fact that south australia receives its rain from the indian ocean, that there are no mountains in the interior of sufficient elevation to intercept the clouds; that there are no mountains in the interior, is shown also by the absence of rivers emptying themselves into the ocean. from the observation of mr. lefroy and myself, we were led to suppose that the interior consisted for the most part of immense clay plains; the lower portion of these plains being hollowed into the large shallow lakes we meet with in our journey. where the country is a little more elevated the plains are sand instead of clay. in winter these plains are covered with water, as the drifted leaves on the bushes testify; and the marks of water on the surface are very evident. now, when the winter winds pass over these immense masses of water, the great evaporation renders them intensely cold; and they arrive in the colony laden, (if i may so unphilosophically express it,) with cold, caused by rapid evaporation. in summer these very plains are equally the cause of the hot wind; for when the rains cease, and the sun acquires his summer power, the water is quickly evaporated, the clay becomes baked, and the heat is reflected from the hard heated surface quite sufficiently to raise a thermometer to degrees in the shade. the wind is now driven towards the colony laden with heat from the cracked, baked, clay-plains in the interior; and thus it is, that at different seasons the same country produces such opposite effects. but although the general state of the interior is barren and unproductive, as i imagine, i do not suppose that it is entirely so. i believe there are many cases of good pasture land in the midst of this sterile country; fertile spots, small when compared with the vast area of indifferent country around them, but large in themselves. and these pastoral oases are more cultivated than the worthless land amid which they are placed. in these patches of good land there are always water-holes to be found, and water-courses well marked, conducting the surplus waters to the lakes in the clay plains. that there are such fertile spots in the australian deserts is certain, for i have seen many of them myself, and they are mentioned also by the south australian travellers. the similarity in most respects of vegetation in western australia and in south australia, and the identity of many plants, proves also a country of good quality lying between the two colonies; by which such plants were conveyed from one country to the other. thus, the so called white-gum is the same tree in both colonies; the mungat, or raspberry-jam tree, is common to both; and also to the plains of new england, in new south wales, where (i understand) it acquires a larger size than in western australia. the manch is another tree also common to the two colonies; so is the black-wattle. the grasses are many of them alike. but this similarity is not confined only to the vegetable kingdom. the birds and animals are many of them also alike. the white and the black cockatoo are common to the three colonies, as are many kinds of the smaller parrots, the kangaroo, and the kangaroo-rat, the numbat, the opossum, the native cat, and many others. and this is not only true of animals of great locomotion, or birds of long flight, as the pigeon or cockatoo, but equally so of the opossum, the quail, and the wild-turkey. the quail and the turkey are birds chiefly found in grassy lands, and neither fly to any great distance: at least the quail never does; the turkey will when much disturbed, but not otherwise. also the water animals, as the tortoise, are to be found in both colonies; but not the platypus, which is confined to the country east of the great river murrumbidgee and its tributary the darling. the natives are also alike in feature and habits, evidently the same race, with language similar in character, in both countries, with similar weapons and methods of procuring food; having also similar customs and laws. now, i infer from these facts, that the population, animal as well as vegetable, proceeded from one country to the other; and that many forms of vegetation in the two colonies possess no greater difference, than the difference of soil and latitude may account for; and that it may therefore be possible for men to find a route from one country to the other, by carefully noting and following the lay of the water-courses, the direction of the oases, and the nature of the geology of the country; for that no impenetrable desert exists between the countries, is evident from the passage of vegetables and animals from the one to the other. what will be the benefit, some one may ask, when such a route is discovered? why, independent of the knowledge gained to geography, there will be the great practical good of opening the boundless pastures of western australia to the flocks of the already overstocked lands of the other colonies. to western australia the gain would be great; and to south australia it would be equally advantageous, as it would maintain the value of stock there, which will rapidly fall when no more land can be found fit for occupation. even with all the rapid increase of population which the great mineral abundance of that colony will continue to create, sheep will multiply faster than the population, until they become of the same low value as in new south wales, where, if there be no run sold with them, they are not worth more than the value of the wool on their backs. it is therefore most desirable that attempts should be made to find a stock route from the western to the eastern coasts. intra-tropical australia is more abundantly supplied with rivers, and of a larger magnitude, than any out of the tropics, the murray alone excepted; and doubtless a journey across the island within the tropic would present fewer difficulties than one direct from perth to sydney, or adelaide; but, excepting for the advancement of geographical knowledge, there is no object to be gained by such a journey. the best way is along the valley of the lakes, guided as the party proceeds, by the nature of the country. i earnestly hope that an expedition will be sent to make some effort to penetrate the great extent of an unknown country, lying east of western australia, as it is an object well worth the attention of the government, or of the geographical society. the geology of western australia is not very interesting, as the country is entirely of primary formation to the east of the darling range of hills: the granite every where crowning the summit of the hills, and the immense plains consisting entirely of granitic sand, or of hard clay containing nodules of primary rocks. this formation, which does not in western australia consist of the stratified primary series, as in south australia, cannot be expected to yield the abundant mineral riches that the strata of south australia exhibit. probably gold may be met with, and copper and lead may be found in the koikunenup range, which is not entirely a granitic range, but is, i believe, capped with clay slate. the level country lying between the darling hills and the sea is of a much more recent formation; but has not been sufficiently examined to determine its age precisely, though i imagine it will be found to belong to the pliocene tertiary formations. certainly it contains many shells of species now living in the neighbouring ocean; and the limestone ridge running parallel with and close to the coast, and which in the colony is falsely called magnesian limestone, contains a great proportion of modern shells. the country lying between the hills and the sea contains many beds of lignite; one of which, at nornalup, on the south coast, is more than two feet thick, and shows itself on the face of the cliff on the north shore of the estuary. following the line of coast in any part of australia, the geologist cannot fail to be much struck by the evident marks of a gradual elevation of the land; he will every where see the marks of the sea on the cliffs, at a considerable height above its present level. at cape chatham, on the south coast, these sea-marks are visible feet above the present level of the ocean; and can be seen on the face of the rocks, in the hills at some distance from the coast. on my journey to nornalup, i discovered a lake containing shells in abundance, which appeared to me, and were also considered by the late dr. hinds (surgeon, royal navy) a skilful conchologist, to be a littoral species, common to the shores of various parts of the globe. these shells, of no interest in themselves, become excessively interesting as evidence of a connexion once existing between this lake and the ocean, from which it is now at least forty miles distant. this lake is not more than feet above the present level of the ocean, and entirely separated from any other lake or river. how, therefore, could these marine shell-fish be living in a salt lake, unless they had continued to exist there from the period when it was a portion of the ocean itself? that many generations of them had lived and died in this spot, was quite certain, from the abundance of dead shells on the shores of this very interesting lake. nor is the evidence of elevation confined to the coast; all the lakes seen by mr. lefroy and myself have ancient shores much higher than the present waters ever reach. the same evidence of elevation is to be seen in the harbour of sydney, and in spencer's gulf, in south australia. at the head of the latter the shingle and rolled-stones clearly show that the gulf has formerly run much farther inland: probably to lake torrens, the superfluous waters of which are now discharged into the head of the gulf. the whole plain of the murrumbidgee has been, at not a very distant date, beneath the ocean; as the madrepores, and other fossils in the limestone cliffs of the river testify. earthquakes have been felt in south australia since its settlement. a very intelligent gentleman there told me that he had noted eleven since his arrival; quite perceptible enough to leave no doubt as to their character. probably the country was elevated at each shock, in a slight degree; and perhaps before the volcano of mount gambier became extinct the elevatory movements were more rapid. be that as it may, i am quite convinced that they are going on at this moment; and it would be well to make marks on the cliffs in various parts of the coast, at the present sea-level, in order to determine, after the lapse of years, the rate of elevation. chapter . colonial government. we have already observed that a vast deal of discontent prevails in colonies. with all the natural advantages of a fruitful soil and a heavenly climate, colonists are always dissatisfied with their position; because, in a pecuniary point of view, they are always poor. and why are they so? the answer is a startling one. the excess of their abundance is the first cause of their poverty; the instability of their government, the second. they possess more than they can dispose of, and are borne down by the weight of their possessions. place the markets of england and the labour of ireland within their reach, and they would become millionaires were they to cease to be colonists; but so long as they continue to be colonists, governed by a power altogether distinct from that which rules over englishmen in their native land, they will continue to be helpless, oppressed, and poverty-stricken. they alone, among british subjects, are living under an absolute monarchy; the caprices of which render property insecure and of uncertain value; neutralizing industry, paralyzing enterprise, and crushing with fatal authority the energies and the spirits of the people. in the absolute recklessness of colonial rule, no sooner does private enterprise raise its head, and throw out the first feelers on the way to wealth, than a watchful government steps forward, and careful only to secure gain to itself, crushes out (in the first feebleness of existence,) the germ of vitality. in all new countries in which the sources of wealth are imperfectly developed, the expense of applying the means necessary to their development is so enormous, as to leave but small profit to the speculator. labour is always dear in new countries, where there is so large an outlet afforded to the labourer to escape from the toils of servitude, and become himself an occupant or an owner of the soil. all that he gains by the exchange is an ideal independence; which is, unhappily, but too attractive to the uneasy spirit of modern improvement. the prosperity of a colony is the aggregate of individual wealth. the prosperous advance of the colonist, is, therefore, the first duty of a superintending government. but the first aim of that watchful guardian is ever to wring from the settler as much as may be extracted by pressure. the lowest demand for land, which would be dear at half-a-crown an acre, is eight times that amount. no sooner does the settler, by his science or industry, discover some lucrative opening, than government steps in with its restrictions, its taxes and duties, and at once cuts down the budding promise. if the design be to bring to light the mineral wealth of the country, royalties are immediately imposed; and no chance of profit is left to the speculator when the rents are raised according to the probabilities of success. it is the same with all other speculations; no one will embark, even in a timber-trade, when he knows that he is placing his capital at the mercy of a grasping and short-sighted government. how much more lucrative, and how much more statesman-like would it prove, were our rulers to display as much good policy as the peasants of norfolk, who do not pluck their geese until they be well feathered! colonists, like cabbages, should be allowed to acquire the necessary strength, and attain the proper dimensions, before they be seriously operated upon. you might then cut and nick them with reasonable hope of their sprouting forth anew. but the worst evil of an absolute government arises from the destruction in the minds of the people of all faith and confidence in its truth and honour. one secretary of state countermands the edicts of his predecessor; and as the executive government of a colony is composed of the paid servants of the crown, and is merely the machine of the secretary for the time being, the ordinances which it promulgates are distinguished by only one uniform feature -- the announcement of broken promises and betrayed faith. the inhabitants of colonies, disappointed and deceived, have no trust in their rulers, and dare not invest their capital in enterprises which may be ruined in a moment by an arbitrary edict. at one period, for instance, they may have been induced, upon the faith of the government, to purchase remission tickets, which entitle the owner to a certain quantity of land wherever he may choose to select it. a succeeding government confines this right of selection within certain narrow limits; whilst another decides that the holder shall be allowed to purchase with these tickets only land that is entirely valueless. at one period men are encouraged to attempt the production of colonial spirits; but no sooner is a large amount of capital expended, than it is made illegal to distil. some parties are permitted to purchase land at a distance from the capital: and after years of toil and expense are deprived of all protection from the government, and allowed no compensation for its withdrawal. but it were vain to attempt to enumerate the acts of broken faith on the part of an absolute government, from whose decree there is no appeal, and from whose oppression no redress. the moral evil to colonies is crushing and fatal. the best informed among english statesmen know nothing of colonies: but their hardihood in legislating for them is, unhappily, equal to their ignorance. it was only last year ( ) that the bill for the government of western australia was (according to newspaper report) opposed in the house of lords by a noble duke, on the ground, as his grace alleged in an animated and interesting speech, of the wretchedly immoral state of the colony, arising from the system of transportation, which so deluged the country with convicts that it was now a perfect hell upon earth! a noble lord, then under-secretary for the colonies, apologised, with the best grace he could assume, for this lamentable state of things, and assured the noble duke that the government was quite aware of the evil, and was turning its attention to a remedy for it. had any one of the noble lords present known anything at all about the subject of the debate, he might in a few words have relieved the anxiety of the government, by informing it that western australia is not, and never has been, a penal settlement -- that convicts are not sent thither for punishment; that even a single bush-ranger has never been known within the territory; and that, in the words of an adelaide journal, "it is as free from stain as any of the rural districts of england." another australian colony (that of port phillip) calls for the attention of government more imperatively, perhaps, than any other of these settlements. at present an appendage to sydney, but situated at a most inconvenient distance from that capital, it is compelled to remit thither between fifty and one hundred thousand pounds annually for rates, taxes, and duties, not a tithe of which ever finds its way back again. it is deprived of roads, bridges, and all public works of importance, solely because it is friendless at home, voiceless and unrepresented. might englishmen be made to feel that interest in colonies which in general they are ever ready to accord to the unfortunate, they would glow with indignation at the wrongs, the injustice, and the oppression under which the inhabitants of distant settlements bend in silence. "if you don't keep your colonies in a state of dependence," are the memorable words of lord stanley, in may, , "of what use are they?" such has ever been the narrow-minded and unstatesman-like policy of the british government. and yet even the infant colonies of the empire, though fettered, cramped, and swathed like the young progeny of the esquimaux, are useful still to the mother country. they afford the best market for her produce; and when freed from the pressure of their bonds, like plants released from the torturing confinement of their earthenware prison, and allowed to extend their roots abroad in the free soil of nature, they will display new strength and viridity, and bring forth fruit in increased abundance. her majesty's present secretary of state for the colonies (earl grey) entered upon his office with truly liberal and right-minded views, which, we trust, will be carried out into operation wherever found necessary and practicable. "there can be no doubt," said his lordship in the house of lords, shortly before taking office, "that in our colonial empire we have the advantage of possessing warm friends and allies in all quarters of the world, who, commanding great natural resources, are united in heart and soul to defend our trade and our interests, and to take part with us in all contests against our enemies. we have garrisons of the cheapest kind in every quarter of the universe. on the other hand, the colonies have this inestimable advantage -- they have the glory and security to be derived from an intimate connexion with the greatest, the most civilized, and the most powerful nation on the face of the earth. they have the glory -- and they feel it to be a glory -- of calling themselves british subjects, and feeling that in defence of their interests and best rights, the power and might of this country are ready at any moment to be called forth and exercised in their behalf. this is a substantial advantage of the most important kind to the colonies; and they are fully sensible of it. and if with this we pursue a liberal policy, and extend to them the dearest privilege of englishmen -- the privilege of self-government, and do not vexatiously intermeddle with their internal affairs; in short, if we pursue a liberal policy towards them, both commercially and politically, we shall bind them to us with chains which no power on earth may break, and the connexion between the parent state and those great dependencies may continue until they far exceed us in population." these are generous sentiments and profound truths, and they have shed the bright beams of hope over that vast colonial empire to which they refer. in legislating for colonies, let it not be forgotten that one of the chief drawbacks to their prosperity is the want of confidence in the stability and permanency of existing regulations. there can be no success, and there can be no safety, whilst those regulations and laws are liable to the influence of peculiar views or individual caprice. it is the people themselves, for whose government the laws are intended, who should be allowed to impose, to modify, or to expunge them. the predominating evil in colonies is the want of confidence and faith in the government. chapter . one of the errors of government -- adventure of the bramble. it has ever been considered one of the first principles of good government, that a frequent and ready communication and intercourse should be maintained between the ruling power and the possessions subject to its authority. the first act of roman sway was ever to lay down good lines of road through the conquered country; and nothing has tended so much to maintain the authority of the united states over the red indians of america, as the formation of roads through the wilderness. the rulers of great britain entertain the opinion that when they have once seized upon a distant country, and thrown into it a handful of troops and a few of their importunate friends, with the title of government officers, they have done all that is required of them. they wait with resignation for any account that may be brought of the progress of the new colony, by some wandering merchant-vessel. despatches, frequently dated twelve months previously, during which time they have been making the tour of all the oceans at present known upon the globe, are brought to downing street; and are then thrown aside, or at least are never attended to, probably because they are too old to be deemed interesting. no matter how pressing and immediate the wants of the colony, chance alone affords the opportunity of making their necessities known at home. letters and despatches accumulate in the post-office; no vessel arrives bringing intelligence from england, or offering to take away a mail: the colonial secretary, having exhausted every official resource in the way of mental occupation, looks out at the window, and meditates upon quail-shooting. his excellency the governor, questions the possibility of adding another despatch to the hundred and fifty already composed in illustration of the art of making despatches, as soyer makes soup, out of nothing; and oppressed by the subject, becomes dormant in his chair of state; the clerks in the neighbouring offices no longer exhibit the uplifted countenance which, as justly observed by sallust, distinguishes man from all other creatures; nothing is to be seen of them but masses of hair in wild profusion, and right hands extended on the table, still mechanically grasping steel-pens, whilst every face lies flattened upon a paper-case, and sleep and silence, broken only by sighs and snores, reign throughout the building. universal stagnation prevails among government people; and merchants and store-keepers appear to be much in the same condition. the only person in office who is kept in a constant state of fever, is the unhappy post-master-general, who is hourly called upon to state when he is going to make up a mail for england. in vain he apologises for the non-arrival of ships; there is something radically wrong in his department, for which he is expected to answer; and dark denunciations are muttered in his ear, until worn out with anxiety and nervousness, he loses his appetite, and gradually withers away, like grass in the oven. and when at length a vessel arrives accidentally from van diemen's land, or perhaps from america, the master at first demurs about taking a mail, under the idea that it may convey letters giving information of the state of markets that he desires should be known only to himself and his employers; but finally consents; and then, having received the mail on board, carries it about with him from port to port, until at the conclusion of a long voyage, having occasion to empty his vessel in order to smoke out the rats, he discovers the forgotten boxes, and conscientiously sends them ashore. but if it be vexatious and inconvenient to have only this uncertain means of despatching our letters to england, how much more annoying is it to have no regular and stated time for receiving them from home! what could be more painful than to have to wait twelve months before you can receive an answer to an inquiry; and what more destructive to the interests of commerce? how many fluctuations are there in the state of the markets during those twelve months! it is one of the greatest of evils to have no regular post-office communication between the mother country and her colonies, and the interests of trade in both greatly suffer by it. much has been said lately of establishing steam communication with sydney. a committee of sydney merchants has been appointed in london to consider the subject, and the restless and indefatigable lieut. waghorn has written a pamphlet showing how it may be done, provided the government will contribute , pounds per annum towards the project. he proposes that a branch line of steamers shall be established, to proceed from sincapore by the north of new holland, touching at port essington, and through torres straits to sydney, and probably on to van dieman's land. but why follow such a route as this, through the most dangerous channel in the world, where even steamers would have to lie-to at night (as the lieutenant admits), and where light-houses would have to be erected and kept up at an extravagant cost? why take such a route, which presents not a single place to call at, except port essington, a miserable spot, intended only as a kind of refuge for shipwrecked mariners, possessing no commercial or agricultural inhabitants, and only enjoying the advantages and the society of a governor, a handful of soldiers, and three white women? why insist upon expending so much public money, and encountering so many dangers, without conferring a single additional benefit upon the australian colonies, when the route by the south of new holland is so obvious, so practicable, and so superior? the projectors talk of making port essington a depot for coal; but why not make this depot in western australia? during the summer months, from st october to st april, the steamers might touch at fremantle; and during the winter months, at port gladstone, fifteen miles to the southward, affording a sheltered harbour where ships may ride securely within one hundred yards of the shore. coal mines will probably soon be at work in the colony, vast beds of that mineral having been discovered, thus offering every inducement to steam-vessels to touch here. nor could anything be more advantageous, considering the great interests that england now has at stake in these seas, than to form a general depot in this colony, where her majesty's steamers and ships-of-war might refit on occasion. as there is no other spot in all new holland, van dieman's land, or new zealand, where first-rate ship-timber may be obtained, and where iron, coal, and copper, are also procurable in abundance, this colony offers advantages for the formation of a government dock-yard and depot (at port gladstone), that must be acknowledged by every unprejudiced person. objections may be raised to doubling cape lewin during the winter season; but let the steamers stand well out to sea, and there would be no difficulty. the time lost would not exceed that spent in lying-to in torres straits during the night. our colonial schooner, the champion, goes round cape lewin at all seasons. we would propose that the mail steamers, instead of branching off from sincapore, as proposed by lieut. waghorn, should depart from point de galle, ceylon, make direct for swan river, there take in coal, and pass on to adelaide, south australia, and thence to van dieman's land, where they might put the melbourne and sydney mails on board of the steamer already plying between van dieman's land and those places. by this route the sydney people would receive their letters quite as soon as though their interests alone had been consulted, according to the desire of the disinterested committee before alluded to; whilst van dieman's land would gain a few days, and south australia and western australia would be allowed to share in the general advantage, from which they would otherwise be entirely excluded. but the government and the public would also be gainers by the route which we suggest. it would be much cheaper to them, because it would be much more profitable to the company that carried it out. the colony of south australia is now a populous country, and becomes more so every year; but the steam company would carry no passengers and no goods for south australia (perhaps not even for van dieman's land), if the route to sydney were to be by port essington and torres straits. the two colonies of south and western australia deriving no benefit from such a course, could give no support to the company. government hitherto has resisted the efforts of the sydney merchants, and refused to sanction the proposal of mr. waghorn, but chiefly upon the ground of expense. and there is no doubt that ministers would be guilty of a gross misdemeanour, were they to consent to apply , pounds per annum of the public money in furtherance of a scheme designed for the exclusive benefit of a single colony. it is the duty of government to see that any sum which may be granted shall be so applied as to confer the most extensive benefit upon all the australian colonies. that measures ought to be immediately taken to ensure a regular communication between the home country and every one of her colonies is a matter of no doubt to us. the want of this has long appeared to be one of the grand errors of colonial legislation. let us hope that the day is not far distant when this crying evil shall be remedied. now that steam navigation has come so generally into use, there is no valid reason why it should not be made the means of uniting together, as it were, the different outposts of the empire, drawing them more closely towards their parent country as to a common centre. it is full time that a greater appearance of sympathy were exhibited at home for those distant settlements which have now become the principal markets for british produce, and which, therefore, deserve something more at the hand of government than what they have so long been accustomed to find -- alternate periods of tyranny and neglect. by far the greater portion of english merchant-ships are engaged in trading to the colonies; our manufactures there find their principal mart; our surplus population is there cheaply provided with maintenance and a home. these are the grounds on which the colonies lay claim to the fostering care of the mother country, and we trust the days are at hand that will see it afforded. the first step must be to ensure a regular and frequent intercourse between the countries, without which there can be no real protection; without which there is no sufficient encouragement given to trade; and the parent state can therefore reap but little advantage, comparatively, from a colony whose powers are only imperfectly developed. since the above remarks were written, accounts have reached england of the arrival at fremantle of her majesty's surveying vessel bramble, commander lieutenant yule, after passing some time in torres straits and on the coast of new guinea. mr. yule having kindly placed the notes of his voyage at the disposal of a friend in the colony, they were partially published in one of the local journals in the month of january last. the portion relating to torres straits is instructive. the bramble sailed from port jackson about the end of december , in company with the castlereagh tender, lieut. aird, commander. touching at moreton bay, mr. yule visited his old acquaintance, captain wickham, r.n., late in command of h.m.s. beagle, and now a settler on the brisbane. in the words of the journal referred to, "the bramble proceeded slowly to the northward, being much delayed by the bad sailing of the tender." the voyage presents nothing worthy of notice, until the arrival of the ships in torres straits, when it is impossible to help being struck with the commentary which mr. yule unconsciously affords upon the "perfect safety" of that passage, now so much vaunted by the advocates of the northern route. while the bramble and castlereagh were lying off sir charles hardy's islands, the latter being deficient in ballast, mr. aird was despatched with the boats to look for the "wreck" of the maid of athens and the "wreck" of the martha ridgway, with the view of procuring some; and having failed in discovering the former, and therefore in procuring a sufficient supply, he was again sent to the "wreck" of the sir archibald campbell for the same purpose. so much for torres straits! mr. yule strongly recommends cairncross island as the best station for obtaining wood and water for vessels navigating the straits, there being abundance of both easily procurable, and even large timber, if required. on this island they shot four megapodii, and observed many of their nests, some of which mr. yule describes as being twelve feet high, and upwards of fifty feet in circumference. on friday, the th april they made the coast of new guinea, which presented a low and thickly-wooded coast-line, backed by mountains of magnificent height and beauty; the country being apparently very rich, with many villages, embowered in cocoa-nut trees, scattered along the shore. while coasting along, in search of a convenient place to land, they encountered a native vessel of most extraordinary size and character, which we will allow mr. yule to describe in his own words: -- "at daybreak, as the sun was rising, i was very much struck with the grandeur of some very distant mountains in a south-eastern direction -- one in particular, the outline of whose summit was only visible above the intervening clouds; immense ranges of mountains were also distinctly visible this side of it, extending in a n.w. and s.e. direction. it is seldom the rising sun has disclosed to my sight so splendid a view as then presented itself; but in a few minutes, when the sun's disk appeared, the beautiful scene vanished, leaving only inferior cloud-topped mountains visible, together with the rich and undulating foreground. we shortly afterwards saw the strange sail seen last night. although she was much nearer, she proved more unaccountable than before. as there was not sufficient wind to enable us to weigh, i resolved to send mr. pollard in the second gig to take a nearer view of this extraordinary vessel. i watched the boat until mr. pollard must have gone nearly five miles from us, when the boat's sails appeared a mere speck when close to the wonderful stranger. on this officer's return, he informed me he had approached within bow-shot of the vessel, which proved to be a gigantic double canoe, which he conceives must have measured fifty or sixty feet long, kept apart and together by a platform from fifteen to twenty feet broad, which extended nearly the whole length of the canoes, the after-end being square with the sterns of the boats; six or eight feet of this was left clear for the three steersmen, who guided the vessel with three long paddles over the stern. with the exception of this part of the platform, the whole was covered by a strong, well-built house, made of cane, the roof being flat, and about five or six feet above the platform. this roof answered the purpose of an upper deck, affording the crew the means of conveniently walking on it. this extraordinary craft was propelled by two large mat sails, each spread between two bamboo masts, the heels of which were fixed in the same step, the mastheads being spread (athwartships) from twenty to thirty feet asunder, the sail being triangular between these bamboo masts, which were supported by diagonal shores fore and aft on either side; besides these two large sails, the canoe had numerous smaller (square) ones suspended from the principal masts; there was also a small square sail forward. the whole of the spars and rigging was ornamented with a sort of flags and streamers. mr. pollard thinks that he saw about forty or fifty people on the roof, several of whom were in the act of stringing their bows; except this precaution on the part of the strangers, there was no demonstration of hostility. after taking a good view of this most extraordinary canoe, mr. pollard returned; and she ultimately was wafted out of sight. whence she came, or where bound, still remains to me a problem. "at noon i obtained the latitude, which was degrees minutes s.; longitude, by chronometer, degrees minutes e. "in the afternoon the castlereagh was visited by two small canoes, with eight men, who had come off from a village we discovered abreast of us. the natives brought off a few cocoa-nuts and some bows and arrows, which they readily bartered for such trifles as were given in exchange." the lofty mountain which so much excited mr. yule's admiration, was named by him mount victoria, and between it and the shore were several ranges of inferior altitude, which gave him "every reason to believe that the lower regions were well watered and fertile." having fixed upon a favourable spot for commencing his triangulation behind a promontory which served to conceal them from the view of a native village which they saw at no great distance, mr. yule went ashore in the first gig with five seamen and one marine, accompanied by mr. sweetman, in the second gig, with three seamen and two marines, all well armed, and proceeded to hoist the union jack and take possession of the place in the name of her majesty queen victoria. having successfully performed this duty, and obtained the observations he required, mr. yule thought it high time to return on board; but the surf had in the meantime increased so heavily, that in the attempt the second gig was swamped, and every thing in her, including the arms, lost, except the quintant and chronometer, the boat herself being with difficulty saved by being towed outside the surf by the other gig. the rest of the adventure we shall give in mr. yule's own words: -- "at this time i observed the castlereagh about two miles beyond cape possession, under sail; i therefore made signs to mr. wright, in the first gig, to tow the second gig towards the castlereagh, which i concluded would attract mr. aird's attention. in this i was not mistaken, as the castlereagh was immediately anchored about a mile and a half off, and her boats sent to the relief of ours. in the interim i determined that every thing which was washed on shore should be collected together, after which we all huddled close under a bush near the beech, whence we could see our boats and be hid from the view of the natives as much as possible. the castlereagh's boats having at length closed with the bramble's, the second gig was soon baled out, when all four boats pulled up abreast of us outside of the surf, which had continued to increase; the castlereagh at the same time weighed, which i confess alarmed me much, as i knew very few persons could be left on board after she had dispatched two boats' crews; i therefore concluded we were discovered by the natives beyond cape possession. i was in a few moments confirmed in my fears by seeing mr. andrews prepare to push his boat through the surf. i waved him back, when he energetically pointed towards cape possession. i fully understood his signs (that natives were coming), but still waved him off, as i knew his gallant attempt to relieve us would fail, and that he and his boat's crew would be added to those already in distress on shore; he, however, pushed through the surf, when, as i expected, this boat was upset, and all his arms, ammunition, etc. lost. at the same moment we observed crowds of natives coming round the point of cape possession, armed with spears, clubs, and stone axes. our arms and ammunition had been all lost or destroyed; our situation was therefore most defenceless, and, i may say, our retreat hopeless; those boats at the back being unable to afford us the least relief. i then thought it best to show no signs of fear or mistrust, but to make friends with the natives, and amuse them, until the next tide should enable a boat to back through the surf. in the interim, mr. andrews, with his four men, and assisted by some others, made three attempts to launch his boat, which failed, and she was ultimately dashed in pieces against the rocks. i advanced alone with playful gestures, waving a branch of green leaves, in token of peace. one man pointed a spear at me, but the others stared at me with more wonder depicted on their countenances than ferocity. i then offered them some bits of tobacco, which they would not approach near enough to take from my hands. this shyness, unfortunately, did not continue long; for when the main body came up, amounting to eighty or ninety men, armed, they became troublesome, and laid their hands on everything they could get hold of that was lying on the beach. to these robberies i attempted to put a stop, and made them some presents instead; but the savages must have known our helpless condition, and became every moment more daring and rapacious; and, to add to our tribulation, we observed two large canoes, each containing thirty or forty men, come round possession point, and heave to between the castlereagh and the boats, as if with the intention of cutting off the latter. the castlereagh could not unfortunately take advantage of her guns by firing grape or canister, as we were completely intermixed with the natives. at this critical stage of our anxiety, the second gig, at all hazards, was veered through the surf, and, to our great joy, four or five men were drawn off in safety. a second attempt was made, and succeeded. then came the awful moment for us who waited for the last trip; for only a few moments before, i baulked a native when taking a deliberate aim at one of our last men who embarked. the natives now, seeing our numbers decrease, laid hands on us in the most violent manner. my quintant was first wrested from my coxswain, who in a tone of grief made me known the circumstance. i immediately turned round and exclaimed 'oh! don't part with that'; but it was too late; and when i endeavoured to recover it, i found a club wielded over my head. in making my escape from this wretch i was secured by four others, who first took the government micronometer, which was slung round my neck. i then endeavoured to struggle out of their clutches, and escape with the pocket chronometer and note-book, but these, as well as every article of clothing i had about my body, were stripped off; when the second gig was opportunely again backed in, and in this forlorn state mr. pollard, the two marines, and i, waded off, and were dragged into the boat. we then went on board the castlereagh, which was at anchor about a mile from the shore; the canoes slowly made off to the north-westward, after we had embarked. the boats having been hoisted up and secured, we got the anchor up and proceeded out to the bramble, and anchored close to her at h. m. p.m. i immediately afterwards returned to the bramble, truly thankful for our having escaped with our lives. the loss of instruments grieved me exceedingly, particularly as the nature of the coast rendered it next to impossible to effect a safe landing to attempt their recovery. from the account i heard of the ferocity of the natives where the fly had been surveying last year on this coast, i confess i fully expected death would be my fate in a few minutes, and thought of the similar position poor captain skying was in when murdered at cape roso. if we had been possessed of six or eight muskets and plenty of ammunition, i think the natives might easily have been checked, but being defenceless, my only hope was to dissemble my fears and amuse them, to give us time until we could effect our escape. these people varied in complexion from black to a light copper colour; they appeared well made and active; all of them were ornamented, but some much more so than others; their ear-rings were made of rings of tortoiseshell, a number of them being fastened together, and suspended to the lower parts of the ears, in which are holes stretched so large as to admit a man's thumb being passed through them; the cartilage dividing the nostrils is perforated in like manner." this adventure of our old friends of the bramble appears to me sufficiently interesting to excuse my having wandered through torres straits in order to record it. chapter . scientific discoveries. -- kangaroo hunting. -- emus. -- lost in the bush. there can be no doubt as to the truth of the axiom that "facts are stubborn things." right or wrong, they seem to persist in a resolution to force conviction upon a man however reluctant he may be. sturdy facts are never wanting in support of erroneous views; and more false conclusions are drawn from them than from the subtlest arguments of the sophist. when your theory is once confirmed by a fact, the question is considered decided, and no further argument is admissible. i had two theories not long ago, the pursuit and investigation of which gave me a good deal of pleasure; they were built upon facts, and therefore they were indisputable. my first theory was upon the amount of evaporation at perth during the summer months. the excessive dryness of the atmosphere proved that the evaporation at the end of the rainy, or winter season, must be very great indeed. my friend, mr. h., had an hygrometer, which he kept in a small room adjoining that in which he usually sat; and this hygrometer afforded the ground-work for our theories. it proved most satisfactorily that the evaporation exceeded every thing of the kind known in any other part of the globe. it was clear that our atmosphere was drier than that of a brick-kiln when burning its best. but the great beauty and novelty of the theory was, that the evaporation was greater at night than in the day time. this certainly puzzled us a good deal at first; but when once you are sure of your facts, it is astonishing how soon you come to mould your theory so as to make it perfectly agree with them, and manage to reconcile yourself to the most startling contradictions. after satisfying himself of the truth of the fact -- that the evaporation was really greater by night than by day -- mr. h. proceeded to prove philosophically that nothing could be more reasonable than such a circumstance. from all that i could make out of his arguments, which were extremely logical and ingenious, it seemed clear that as every thing in this country is diametrically opposite to every thing in the old country, it was perfectly consistent with the regulations of nature in australia, that evaporation should be greater at night than during the day time. moreover, he placed great reliance upon the attraction of the moon. for my part, seeing that facts were on his side, i embraced his views with ardour; and went about as an apostle, proclaiming the new tidings far and wide. it was one of those astonishing truths in science that come suddenly and unexpectedly upon mankind -- like those connected with electricity -- that take the reason captive, and are beyond the reach of human investigation. men usually appeared incredulous when the theory was first broached to them; but when convinced of the fact, as proved indisputably by the hygrometer, they were compelled to acknowledge the truth, and forthwith looked upon it as a matter of course. as the weather grew warmer -- when the thermometer stood daily at about degrees in a cool room -- the nocturnal evaporation increased. at length it grew to such a pitch, that the tube of the hygrometer containing the water was exhausted in a couple of nights. notwithstanding the astonishment of mr. h., he was enraptured at the triumphant confirmation of his theory. he devoted every moment he could spare from public duties, to the compilation of a learned and voluminous treatise upon the subject. he looked upon himself as destined to be considered one of the master-philosophers of the age, the promulgator of a new and wondrous theory, based not only upon sound argument, but upon long observation and indisputable facts. when any one ventured to raise a doubt, he would smile with that ineffable sweetness which distinguishes a man conscious of his superior knowledge and sources of information. i, his enthusiastic adherent, picked up the crumbs of instruction that fell from his table; and dealt forth mysterious hints of the scientific errors about to be corrected by the observations and treatises of mr. h., who was now generally known to have forwarded an account of his discoveries to some of the learned societies of london; and the english papers were perused with avidity, in the hope of finding that due honour had been paid to his merits. as he walked along the streets he was looked upon with additional reverence. he had raised the renown of western australia, and was now considered to be at once its decus et tutamen. the idlers who congregated in small knots about luncheon-time at the corners of the streets, began to talk of a statue in the market-place. suddenly, however, the philosopher secluded himself from the vulgar gaze. the public wondered, and then became alarmed. the philosopher had taken to his bed. after some days i was admitted to his presence, and found him greatly enfeebled for want of rest. it was evident there was something that weighed upon his mind. after many ineffectual efforts, many sighs and some blushes, he faltered forth a confession that he feared our theory, (he seemed now, for the first time, kindly solicitous to share the merit of the discovery,) of evaporation being greater at night than in the day-time, was not well founded. an electric shock, shivering the funny-bones of both elbows, could not have startled me more. what did he mean? he continued, that one night whilst engaged upon a new hygrometrical treatise, he had sat up till a very late hour; the door of the room which contained the instrument was open, and the light from his lamp fell directly upon it. absorbed in profound speculations, his eye occasionally rested upon the little instrument which stood upon a table. there it was -- the pillar of his fame. it seemed to dilate in dimensions until it rivalled the column in the place vendome, and on the top of it was a figure, less sturdy than that of napoleon. suddenly his vision was broken, and his thoughts were recalled from the future to the present, by seeing a living object move along the table, and quietly approach the foot of his column. appalled and paralyzed, he sat immovable whilst he beheld an actual mouse, unrestrained by any scientific considerations, place its profane snout in the bowl of the hygrometer, and drink deliberately until its thirst was satisfied. it then retired, and other mice soon came trotting along the table and did the same. mr. h. is a man of great self-control. he did not tear his remaining locks, or commit any other rash act, but with all the calmness of despair he set fire to the unfinished treatise, and saw it consumed; then he retired to bed, a desolate individual, and rose not again for several days. my next theory was entirely my own. i claimed all the merit of it, and felt the utmost pangs of jealousy when any one ventured to assert that he had long ago suspected it. built upon a solid foundation of facts, i maintained an opinion entirely at variance with that of professor owen and certain parisian professors, and satisfied myself, at least, that the young of the kangaroo, and of other marsupial animals, is produced, not in the usual way, but from the teat of the dam. and although this theory is, and must be erroneous, i can even yet scarcely bring myself to believe it so -- with such fidelity do we cling to error. there are many men in the colony who have been for years in the constant, almost daily, habit of killing kangaroos, and they have consequently had opportunities of observing the young ones in every stage of development. females have been killed with young ones hanging to the nipple, about half an inch long -- the form not fully developed, a mere foetus, presenting no appearance of active vitality. the nipple to which it is attached is not merely placed in the mouth of the foetus, but extends into its stomach, where it serves the purposes of the umbilical cord in other animals, whilst the lips grow round it, so that it cannot be removed without rupturing the skin. a little older, and it becomes evidently possessed of vitality -- a quickened foetus. the pouch of the doe is closed up until the birth of the young one; and gradually enlarges to accommodate the inhabitant. there are other marsupial animals, of the size of rabbits, that are found with eight or ten young ones, or rather small foetuses, similarly attached to the nipples of the parent. now i could not conceive how creatures with long sharp claws, though provided with flexible wrists or joints, should be able to take up the newly produced little lump of inanimate flesh, and thrust a long, soft, yielding nipple down into the depths of the stomach. i collected a number of facts to prove the contrary -- but the question is now considered to be set at rest by the observations of french naturalists, and therefore i have quietly strangled my theory, but am still occasionally haunted by its ghost. i may mention here that male kangaroos are sometimes found provided with pouches; but these, i conceive, are lusus naturae. this allusion to kangaroos (being good for nothing else) may serve as an introduction to a hunting excursion. a party of us started from perth, equipped in the manner already described in the chapter upon wild cattle. we rode to the canning to breakfast, at the house of the ----s, where we found the table ready spread with coffee, grilled fowls, eggs, ham, etc. the room was a good one, having french windows, looking out upon park-like scenery, among which the canning river pursued its lazy course. there was also a piano belonging to the sister of our hosts, then absent on a visit. one of her brothers informed us that he had availed himself of her absence to abstract sundry of the wires from the piano in order to make bell-wires, which he thought was turning the piano to good account. after breakfast we loaded our bullock-cart with our goods, and left it in charge of a servant whom we appointed to meet us at a certain spot where we were to bivouac for the night. the only disagreeable part of travelling in australia is the scarcity of water, except at the end of winter, when all the gullies are filled. unless, therefore, the ground be well known, it is always advisable to take a native, who can inform you where the pools or springs are situated. four of us set out, well mounted, and attended by a native on foot, and five kangaroo dogs. these dogs are descended from a cross between a bloodhound and a greyhound, and combine strength, fleetness, scent, and sight. as it was the middle of winter (late in june) the air was cool and pleasant, and the sun bright and joyous, as he always is here. we were all in high spirits, anticipating excellent sport, as the country to which we were going abounds with game of great variety -- kangaroos, emus, quail, and turkeys, or bustards. a rough coarse scrub, interspersed with small quantities of grass, overspread the sandy soil. the only animal we saw for some time was an opossum, which the native discovered in a tree and climbed up for. i examined its pouch, but there was no young one within it. at length we caught a glimpse of a kangaroo hopping along at a distance, and we galloped off in full chase, but he was too far ahead for the dogs to make anything of it; so we lost him. disconcerted and vexed we drew together again after a short run, but had scarcely done so before we emerged upon an open prairie, where on our right we beheld three kangaroos hopping away at a gentle pace. the kangaroo uses only his hind legs in running. the leg presses the ground from the hock to the toes, and its strong sinews enable the animal to bound forward with immense leaps; the heavy tail vibrating behind keeps him steady. four of the dogs rushed after the game, followed by all the horsemen, at full gallop, hallooing and shouting vociferously. a more animated sight could scarcely be conceived; three graceful kangaroos bounding away in a line, with four large greyhounds laying well after them, and the hunters chiveying along, and dashing through brushwood and thickets like whirlwinds. the kangaroos, however, fairly beat us; they gained a thick wood, dashed through it and into a swamp beyond, and there we lost sight of them. we all returned to the side of the wood, and waited for the dogs, who came back with hanging heads and drooping tail, completely blown. all returned but one -- the oldest and most sagacious of them. he had not gone with the four which followed the heels of the kangaroos, but had made a short cut to the left, so that he was in the wood almost as soon as the kangaroos, whilst the other dogs were still a long way behind. we waited patiently for old tip (of whom honourable mention has been made before); his master, tom h., asserting confidently that he had killed. at length as we were standing talking together, we suddenly perceived tip among us. his master examined his mouth, and declared he had killed; then saying, "show, tip, show!" the dog turned round, and trotted off before us; and going into the swamp took us to the spot where the kangaroo lay dead. it is not all kangaroo dogs that can be taught to show game, and those that do so are therefore highly prized. it is a very pleasing sight to observe how proud a dog is of this accomplishment. he will come quietly back to his master, and oftentimes lay himself down as if he were afraid the other dogs should suspect he had got something to tell, and would run off in search of it. and when his master gives the signal, he deliberately proceeds to lead the way, snarling at the other dogs whenever they run before him, and seem likely to arrive first at the spot. sometimes he tries to deceive them by going in a wrong direction, and when the others have started off, full of eagerness, as if they themselves (the senseless fools!) were inviting people to follow, and were anxious to show them the game, the old dog will rapidly turn aside, evidently laughing in his sleeve, and dash forward to the spot where he left the carcase. there you will find him standing over it; and as you ride up he will give a faint wag of his tail, as though he were glad that you are pleased with him, and yet he cannot help feeling that he is not properly rewarded. his gaunt ribs and melancholy eye speak of his hungry stomach; he seems to remember that he receives from his rough master more kicks than caresses, but still he does his duty, and will do so to the last; and denies himself even a mouthful of the prey, which but for him, would lie undiscovered in the thicket. i used to know an old show-dog who displayed so much thought and sagacity, that i never was in his company without feeling for him a certain degree of respect. whenever struck by brutes of lower order than himself, he did not howl or display his teeth, but slunk aside with a look of deep sorrow and reproach. in the evening we bivouacked near a small pool of water, where the cart joined us, according to previous arrangement. the horses were tethered out and fed; a good fire was kindled, and with kangaroo steaks, cold fowls and ham, and brandy and water, we managed to make a tolerable supper. a fence against the wind was constructed of upright sticks, and leaves of the black-boy (xanthorea, or grass-tree) resembling rushes, only brittle; and with a good fire at our feet we were exceedingly warm and comfortable. the wild dogs uttered their doleful, wailing cries around our camp during the night, and caused our own frequently to sally forth and give them chase. we had kangaroo curry for breakfast next morning; and having fed our horses, and sounded to saddle, set out again in pursuit of game. proceeding across some plains, interspersed with swamps and thickets, we soon perceived a herd of about a dozen kangaroos feeding and hopping about. keeping a covert in line before us, we tried to get near them, but they soon made off, bounding away like a herd of deer, which they much resemble at a distance. the dogs started after them at full speed; and with loud halloos and bounding hearts the horsemen spurred their steeds, and scoured along the plain. there are, unfortunately, no fences in this country, but there are a thousand worse obstructions -- fallen trees, thick clumps of black-boys extending right across the plain, and therefore not to be avoided; woods through which the game dashes at speed, and where you must follow at the risk of striking head or limbs against the trunks or branches of trees, or else you will be thrown out. then of course you don't like to be last, and you don't like to allow the gallant captain, who is spurring at your side, the opportunity of bragging at mess that he alone kept near the dogs, which you know he would be delighted to do. so, determined to ride against the captain at any rate, you keep your horse and yourself well together, and flinch at nothing; dashing through thickets, tearing over rough ground, steering between trees, ducking your head under boughs, and twitching up first one leg and then the other to save them from being smashed against black-boys or banksias. you clear the wood, and emerge again upon a plain; the kangaroos are bounding along, some three hundred yards in advance, the dogs lying well up to them; and now the latter have fixed upon one of the herd, whom they pursue with resolute fierceness. the others escape into friendly thickets, but the doomed one, an old buck, some six feet in height when resting on his haunches, still holds out, though his enemies are fast gaining upon him. at length, finding escape impossible, he makes for a broad mahogany tree, where he suddenly comes to bay. the dogs hesitate to rush in upon him, his eye gleams with such deadly ferocity, whilst he sits erect upon his haunches, ready to dart the long claw of his hind leg into the first assailant who comes within reach. a kangaroo in this position is no despicable enemy. he has great power in his limbs; and if he happens to strike a dog with his claw, he inflicts a grievous wound, and sometimes tears out his entrails, and kills him on the spot. he rushes at men with the same fury, and tries to clasp them with his fore-paws whilst he strikes at them with his hind-legs. i rode up to the animal in question, dismounted, and struck him a rap on the head with a broken bough, as he rushed towards me with a fierce hissing noise. as he staggered at the blow, the dogs darted upon him and quickly despatched him. we had several other good runs before luncheon, and then baited our horses, and allowed them to rest for two or three hours. whilst riding towards our bivouac in the afternoon, a native who was walking at my side, and who had accompanied us all day, stopped suddenly, and, pointing with his finger, said, "emu!" about a mile distant across the prairie were two of those large birds quietly feeding. the dogs were immediately called together, fresh vigour seemed to animate the whole party, and we proceeded to give chase in high spirits. emus are sometimes shot with the rifle, but the usual mode of obtaining them is by hunting them with kangaroo dogs. if you happen to come near enough to them without raising alarm, they may frequently be detained, and even attracted almost up to your stirrup by whistling. i have known this to be repeatedly tried with success. when you begin to whistle, the emu lifts up its head and listens with attention; soon, delighted with the sound, he walks leisurely in the direction from which it comes; then, perceiving a human being, he pauses, seems irresolute, and finally walks round and round you in circles gradually lessening, until he approaches within a few yards. if his confidence be not repaid with a bullet, he will, after gratifying his curiosity by a good stare, quietly walk away through his native woods. emus are frequently speared by the natives, who, by taking care to stand stock-still the moment the creature lifts up its head, manage to approach within a few yards of them while feeding. though the savage may have his hand raised in the act of throwing the spear, he remains fixed in that attitude whilst the emu takes a survey of him. perceiving only an object without motion, the bird takes him for a tree, and continues to graze, falling a victim, like other innocent things, to a misplaced confidence in its own security. [illustration opposite p is "death of the kangaroo"] [illustration on p is untitled - dog chasing emu] the emus ran fast, and gave us a long chase; but at length the headmost dog caught hold of the extended flapper of one of the birds, and arrested its progress; the others, coming up, soon pulled him to the ground, and by the time we reached the spot he was dead. the feathers from the tail were distributed among the party, and placed in our caps; and the legs being cut off, the rest of the bird was abandoned. the legs alone afford any meat, which is by no means a delicacy, and resembles coarse beef. whilst the process of cutting up was going on, my attention was attracted to the movements of old tip, who had stolen away from the party, and was now, ventre a terre, scouring along the edge of a belt of trees about a quarter of a mile from us. his master in vain tried to recall him, and i set off to see what he was about. following him through the wood, i perceived him at the other side in hot pursuit of half-a-dozen kangaroos, that were bounding away some hundred yards ahead of him. it was in vain to attempt to recall him, so i foolishly followed the chase, though it was leading far away from the direction i wanted to take. old tip held on unflaggingly, as though this were his first run that day; and for nearly two miles we dashed along through woods and across prairies, until i began to wish myself back with my friends. at length we lost the game in a vast swamp, covered with thick underwood, in which my horse floundered for some time in a fearful manner. thinking it worse to return than to push through, we struggled on, in momentary danger of sinking for ever, and after great exertions got upon solid ground again. when dismounted, to rest the horse, who panted and trembled with the efforts he had made, i called for tip till the woods rang again, but all in vain. at last i saw a single kangaroo, a fresh one of immense size, break cover, with tip about forty yards in his rear. in the ardour of the chase, all prudential considerations were given to the winds; and cheering on the gallant hound, i followed the game more determinedly than ever. and what a race that villain kangaroo led us! -- through thickets where my hunting-shirt was torn into strips, my arms and legs covered with bruises, and my face lacerated with boughs that were not to be avoided. the villain doubled like a hare, and led us in such various directions, that i fancied we must have turned upon our steps and gone past the spot where i had parted from my friends. unless a man be very well accustomed to the bush, he is certain to lose himself in a few minutes. one clump of trees is so like another -- the thick swamps, the open plains, all bear such a general resemblance to one another, that you feel quite confounded whilst trying to recollect whether you have really seen them before, and can form some tolerable guess as to your position. the kangaroo was now approaching the foot of the long, even, uninteresting range of the darling hills; his pace was slow, he made his leaps with difficulty, and would soon have been caught, had not poor tip been equally dead beat. it was evident the old dog could scarcely drag himself along, but still he refused to give in. my horse, exhausted with floundering in the swamp, was completely knocked up; and for some time i had only been able to push him along at a jog-trot. still i was no more willing to give up the chase than old tip. it seemed to have become a point of honour that i should not desert the hound; and moreover, feeling myself completely lost, i did not like to part from my companion; and, above all, it would never do to let the kangaroo escape after all the trouble he had given us. so we all three continued to work along as best we could. at last my poor horse happened to set his foot in an empty water-hole, and too weak to recover himself, came down on his shoulder and side with great violence. i threw myself off as he fell, but could not save my foot from being crushed beneath the saddle, and so both horse and man lay extended on the ground. i could just see the hound and kangaroo still struggling onward, and almost close together. the horse made no attempt to rise, and i tried in vain to extricate my foot; at length i managed to flog him up, and then raised myself with difficulty. i had not suffered much damage, though bruised, and in some pain, but my poor horse had sprained his shoulder, and was completely hors de combat. on looking about for the chase, i fancied i could perceive the dog lying on a little rising ground, a few hundred yards distant; and leaving the horse, i hopped after the game. on arriving at the spot, i found the kangaroo and the dog lying side by side, both alive, but completely exhausted; the one unable to do any injury, and the other to get away. securing the dog with my handkerchief, i sat down, waiting till he should be able to walk. in a few minutes the kangaroo lifted up his head, and looked about him; the dog sat up, panting as though his heart would burst, and took no notice of the other. the kangaroo, scrambling to its feet, hopped away a few yards, and then stood still again. "go along, old fellow!" said i, "you have done us abundance of mischief, but it would be criminal to kill you when i cannot carry home even your tail -- so farewell!" off he jumped, and was soon lost to view, leaving us alone -- three miserable cripples, far from any shelter, and (so far as i was concerned) not knowing at all how to rejoin our friends. tip being now able to limp on three legs, and myself upon one, we returned to the unhappy steed, who remained where i had left him, hanging down his head, and looking the image of woe. in vain i tried to determine the direction i ought to take; trees and swamps were on all sides of me, and i could not decide whether my friends were now on my right-hand or my left. i remembered that our place of rendezvous appeared to be nearly opposite an opening in the hills, some six or eight miles distant; but there were openings in the hills on each side of me, and which was the one to be sought i could not determine. i therefore resolved to retrace the foot-marks of my horse, if possible; and set out leading the animal, having tip limping at my side, and every now and then looking up as though he felt for the ill plight in which we all appeared. it soon became evident that the horse must be left behind; and therefore removing his saddle and bridle, i placed them at the foot of a tree, and gave him his liberty.* [footnote] *six months afterwards he was caught among the horses of a settler on the serpentine, perfectly sound and in excellent condition. after going some distance, i came within view of an extensive swamp, which i fancied formed part of that i had so much difficulty in crossing. turning to the right, i followed its course for some time, hoping to get round it, but it seemed to extend towards the hills, cutting off all farther progress. the sun was now about to set, and getting desperate, i plunged into the thicket, and tried to push through the swamp. there was no water, but the immense quantities of bind-weed, and other thickly-growing plants, quite defied every attempt, and i was obliged to turn back again. tip and myself had now to retrace our steps. it was getting dusk, and the state of affairs looked uncomfortable. again we tried in vain to cross the swamp, which soon afterwards receded farther from the hills, and left a broad plain before us, which we traversed in the course of half an hour. my foot seemed to get better with exercise, but night had now set in, and it was useless to attempt making farther progress, when we could not distinguish an object thirty feet in advance. i now found myself stumbling up a rising ground covered with trees; and here i lay down, with tip at my side, to wait as patiently as possible for morning. the dog, i imagine, had found some water in the swamp, as he did not now seem to be suffering from thirst as i was myself. he was soon asleep, and i envied him, for hours elapsed before i could find repose. the land-wind, sweeping down from the hill-side, moaned through the trees; the rising moon shed her sickly and distorting light upon the bushes around; and bruised and stiff, hungry, thirsty, and uncomfortable, i felt by no means delighted with my quarters. a fire would have been agreeable, but there were no means of procuring one. sleep at last befriended me, and i did not wake until the sun began to shed his first rays upon the tops of the trees. on rising i found myself exceedingly stiff, and by no means in good condition for walking, but there was no choice; and when tip had got upon his legs, and given himself a good stretch and yawn, and licked my hand, as much as to say he had no intention of leaving me in the lurch, we started on our doubtful journey. in vain i tried to encourage the dog to lead the way; he would not stir from my side. only once he darted after a kangaroo-rat, and caught it before it had gone twenty yards. this afforded a breakfast which i envied him. i now pushed on towards the coast, but was continually intercepted by thick swamps impossible to penetrate, and turned from the right direction. i looked about for water, and found some at length in a muddy hole. it was most refreshing, and revived my spirits, which had begun to flag considerably. mid-day was long past, and i was still rambling over plains of coarse grass, penetrating into woods, and struggling through swamps; worn almost to death with fatigue and hunger, and the pain of my ankle, now greatly swollen, i sat down at last at the foot of a mahogany-tree in order to gain a little rest. i knew that the hills were behind me, and the sea must be somewhere before me, but as to my precise locality, and the distance of the nearest settler's house, i was quite at a loss. in vain i tried to satisfy myself as to whether i was much to the south of the bivouac. i was growing dizzy with hunger and weariness, and no longer felt any wonder at the confusion of mind which seizes upon those who are lost in the wilderness. during the day, i had repeatedly cooeyed as loudly as i could, in the faint hope of attracting the attention of my friends; but no voice responded. it was now nearly five o'clock in the evening, and i had the prospect before me of spending another night in solitude, and felt some misgivings as to whether it would not be the last of my existence. i tried to struggle on a little farther, as it was possible that i might be close to some farm on the serpentine; but it was difficult to move along. tip seemed to be getting tired of this slow progress; he grew fidgety, and i fancied he had formed the base resolution of leaving me to myself. suddenly he started off upon our traces, and i was alone without a friend. in a few minutes i heard behind me a distant shout, and immediately afterwards a loud cooey met my ear. oh how thankfully i heard it, and answered it as loudly as i could! and then, having returned grateful acknowledgments to the almighty for this seasonable relief, i began to walk towards the sounds, which were repeated from minute to minute. not long afterwards i perceived a party of natives, followed by men on horseback, emerging from the trees. the latter galloped towards me, waving their hats, and shouting with friendly joy. it is due to tip to state that he reached me first, and gave his congratulations with warm sincerity. my friends had started at day-break with the natives, who had tracked my footsteps without once losing the trail. they had found the horse grazing near the place where i had left him, but he was too lame to be removed; the natives had fully accounted for every trace; they perceived that the dog and kangaroo had lain side by side, and that the latter had recovered first, and got away. they found and brought with them the saddle and bridle, and followed my steps to the swamp, through which they saw i had not been able to penetrate. and so they tracked me during the whole of the day, whilst i was only going farther and farther from my friends. i had wandered much more to the south than i expected; and now, mounting a horse, we all rode to a house on the serpentine, where we were hospitably entertained, and where i continued until able to return to perth. chapter . the comet. -- vital statistics. -- meteorology. one evening in march, , whilst standing at my gate enjoying the pleasant balmy air and the conversation of a friend, our attention was attracted to a luminous appearance in the sky immediately above the horizon. we fancied that a large ship must be on fire not a great distance from the coast. the next evening, happening to leave the house at an early hour, my eye was immediately caught by a grant novelty in the heavens. a magnificent comet extended itself over an entire fifth of the firmament. its tail reached to the belt of orion, whilst its nucleus, a ball of fire resembling a star of the fourth magnitude, was scarcely a degree above the horizon. it looked like a fiery messenger rushing headlong down from the very presence of god, bound with dread tidings for some distant world. beautiful, yet terrible messenger, it seemed to leave its long, fiery trace behind it in its passage through the heavens. the soul of the spectator was filled with the sense of its beauty, whilst admiration was sublimed into awe. speaking to us strange and wonderful things of the hidden holy of holies which it seemed to have left, it passed on its headlong journey of billions and trillions of miles with the glad speed of a love-inspired emanation from the most high. it left us to wonder at its transient visit, and to wish in vain for its return.* [footnote] *this comet, having exactly the appearance i have described, was visible nearly a week, gradually disappearing in the northern heavens. whether it had or not any effect upon the season, i cannot say, but the ensuing six months were the most unhealthy period ever known in the colony. the natives, who were greatly alarmed by the sudden appearance of the comet, declared that it would cause many people to be mendik and die -- so universal is the belief in the portentous and malign influence of these phenomena. in general, as i have before observed, the climate is most salubrious. "the comparative statement of deaths to the population" proves the vast superiority of western australia in this respect, not only over great britain, but over neighbouring colonies. i refer to the able, interesting, and carefully-prepared reports of g. f. stone, esq. the colonial registrar-general of births, marriages, and deaths. taking his data from the parliamentary reports of , he deduces the following: comparative statement of deaths to the population. western australia . . . . . . . . . . death in / van dieman's land . . . . . . . . . . " / cape of good hope . . . . . . . . . . " / england . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " / mauritius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " / the opinions of medical men, published in different reports, a few of which happen now to lie before me, may prove interesting to some readers, and i therefore extract them briefly: -- j. m. johnson, esq. m.d. surgeon of h.m.s. sulphur: -- "during the three years that h.m.s. sulphur was employed on that station (western australia) not a single death, and very few important cases of disease occurred, notwithstanding the very great exposure of her men. when exploring the country for several days, and sometimes weeks, they have been exposed to the sun; fatigued in the evening after a day's excursion, slept in the open air, (and that repeatedly in wet weather,) and suffered no inconvenience. i have no hesitation in stating that such a life in any other climate would have been productive of the most serious sickness." william milligen, esq. m.d. surgeon th dragoons: -- "i have met with several individuals here, who, on leaving england, were great sufferers from dyspepsia, and diseases of the digestive organs, who have recovered their health in a wonderful degree since their arrival. children thrive remarkably well; and i may add that every description of live stock, although collected from different countries -- england, india, america, africa, etc. -- find here a congenial temperature." joseph harris, esq. acting government surgeon: -- "nothing can be more delightful than the climate generally; and its invigorating influences on the human constitution, especially those of europeans, render it more fit for invalids than any other in the world. several persons arrived in the colony suffering from pulmonary and bronchial affections, asthma, phthisis, haemoptysis, or spitting of blood, hopeless of recovery in england, are now perfectly restored, or living in comparative health -- measles and small-pox are unknown." w. h. sholl, esq. government surgeon, pro tempore: -- "from pulmonary complaints we are happily free; and even when these have gone to some length in other countries, removal to this climate has been of the highest possible benefit. children are exempt from the diseases common to them in england; -- small-pox, measles, scarlet-fever, and hooping-cough, are unknown here." w. p. dineley, esq. surgeon of fremantle gaol: -- "we have almost a cloudless sky, a clear dry atmosphere, and a climate unsurpassed by any in the world." dr. ferguson, of australind: -- "we have no fevers or epidemics here." by the registrar-general's report for , it appears that the births in western australia are about to / , which is a very high rate. those readers who are fond of statistics will be pleased to learn the following rather curious fact: -- in the year , males were in respect to females, as about five to three, but during the following seven years, females increased per cent. more than males; and the continued preponderance of female births promises speedily to adjust the balance of the sexes. the registrar-general in his report for , makes the following interesting observations: -- "supposing the whole population of the colony were now grown up and unmarried, out of every males, as many as could find wives. "supposing the total population under twelve were now of age, and wished to marry; out of every males could find wives. "supposing the total population of perth were now grown up, and unmarried, out of every males could find wives. "but supposing the population of perth under twelve were grown up, and wished to marry, out of females, only could find husbands." the temperature of the atmosphere is exceedingly dry, and therefore the heat is not oppressive, though the thermometer may stand at a high degree. a rainy day in february or march is an extremely rare occurrence at perth, though not unusual at australind, a hundred miles southward. in the hottest weather, farm-labourers work all day in the open air, and feel no more inconvenience than reapers do in england. this is owing to the dryness and elasticity of the atmosphere. i have no recorded observations of a late date, but the following table is extracted from the journal of an obliging friend, robert dale, esq., who, when a lieutenant in the d regiment, was stationed some years in the colony. the thermometer was kept in a cool house at perth, from march, to june . months. a b c d e f remarks. march . . . . . . . . . . . . . april . . . . . . . . . . . / . . may . . . . . . . . . . . . / . . . .fine weather at commence- ment of this month. june . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .five days not accounted for. july . . . . . . . . . . . / . . august . . . . . . . . . . . . . .seven days not accounted for. september . . . . . . . . . . . . . ditto ditto. october . . . . . . . . . . . . . .one day not accounted for november . . . . . . . . . / . . december . . - . . . . . / . . the thermometer was lower than what is marked in the minimum column. january . . - . . . . . . . february . . . . . . . . . march . . - . . . . . . . april . . . . . - . . . . . . . . may . . . . . . . . . . . . . . at this season frequently a heavy dew during the night. june . . . . . . . . . . . . . a - no. of fine days. b - no. of rainy days. c - no. of showers d - maximum height of thermometer e - medium height of thermometer f - minimum height of thermometer chapter . the botany of the colony. baron hugel, dr. lindley, and sir william hooker, have published lists of western australian shrubs and plants, but the most complete and elaborate work on the botany of western australia is the series of nineteen letters published in the "inquirer," by mr. drummond, of hawthornden, in the colony, and from them we shall compile the present chapter; but, interesting as they are in their fullest and most minute details to botanists, it is possible that they may be too descriptive and extend too much into detail for general readers, and we shall therefore abstain from giving a catalogue of the various indigenous plants, and confine our remarks to the more useful ones.* the first to which mr. drummond alludes is the blackboy, of which there are several varieties. the glaucus-leaved york blackboy is, however, the most important, and grows thirty feet in height without a branch. it is considered by the settlers the best material for thatch, and the young and tender leaves are found to be an agreeable vegetable, and also fodder for horses, goats, sheep, and cattle. the natives are particularly fond of the blackboy, whilst its sound old flower-stalks furnish them with the means of obtaining a light by friction. the native yam, of the class dioeceae, is stated by mr. drummond to be the finest esculent vegetable the colony produces. the fungi, or mushrooms, are also palatable to the aborigines; one species belonging to this order, and named the boletus, is remarkable for possessing the properties of german tinder, when well dried, and for emitting a radiant light in its natural state. [footnote] *this brief compilation is the work of alexander andrews, esq. there are seventy species of grasses. the genus stripa has several varieties, of which the seeds are injurious to sheep, penetrating into the wool, and sometimes into the carcase and causing death. by adopting the precaution of shearing before the seeds are ripe, this mischief is however obviated. another description is distinguished as elegantissima, from its beautiful appearance, and is used as a decoration, and for ornamenting rooms. the bulrush of scripture is found here, and is used by coopers to stanch their work. a large jointed rush has also been found of great service, and introduced in the walls of houses to advantage, and some varieties of the restiaceae are useful in thatch work; and in his sixth letter, mr. drummond mentions the buttack as very useful in tyings. a climbing species of the thysanotus, near the moore river, is much used by the natives as food. the madge and the guardine are roots from which the natives extract nutritious food; the pigs are also fond of them, and besides these there are other white roots used as food by the natives. the oak-leaved chenopodium is supposed to contain essential oil; it was formerly used by the settlers as a vegetable, and is proved to contain carbonate of soda, so that, as mr. drummond suggests, "it would be worth inquiry at what price we could afford barilla as an export." the erythraea australis is, we are informed, a good substitute, and is used as such, for hops; and one species of tobacco is indigenous to the colony. the sow-thistle of swan river was, in the early days of the settlement, used as a vegetable, but is now eaten only by the domestic animals, by whom it is much relished. as a salad, it is said to be scarcely inferior to endive. the helicrysum, a biennial of the vasse district, is a grateful fodder for horses, and the morna nitida for goats, sheep, and cattle, as are also several species of picris and other shrubs. there is also a native celery, which forms a poor substitute for that of europe; two varieties of this species are mentioned -- the conna, of which the roots are eaten by the natives after being peeled, and the kukire, the foot of which resembles the carrot in appearance, with the smell and colour of the parsnip. the wild carrot is also an excellent vegetable, and from its root rich wine has been extracted. the order eryngo has a species of which the roots when candied have great restorative powers. of the hederoma latifolia, dr. lindley remarks, that its half-ripe fruits, if sent to europe, would give several original and valuable scents to the perfumer. of the sea-weeds, one particular species, supposed to be the fucus amylaeceus, thrown in great quantities upon the coast, is mentioned as forming when boiled, sweetened, and spiced, a nutritious and beautiful jelly of a fine rose colour; and as it appears that it may be dried without injury and preserved for years, it would be of value as an export. the catalogue of indigenous fruits is not very extensive, but one species, belonging to the order epacrideae, is reported to bear very palatable berries. the vasse apple, of the size of a peach, is stated when boiled with sugar to be an agreeable sweet-meat. another fruit, of the species mesembryanthemum, is of a less pleasing flavour; but one of the same species, resembling the english gooseberry, is said to be delicious. mr. drummond also records the discovery, southward of the vasse, of a nondescript shrub of about five feet in height, and bearing fruit as large as a middle-sized plum, of a fine purple colour, covered with a rich bloom, and having a stone similar to the plum. it is reported to have a pleasing taste. this completes the list of fruits, which mr. drummond acknowledges to be imperfect, as the cultivation of the vine, olive, currant, and other imported fruits has withdrawn the attention of the settlers from the native productions; and we shall now pass to the smaller classes of the eucalyptus tribe. the doatta is a species of this class, and the bark of its root is much relished by the natives, having a sweet and pleasing taste, as is also the trunk of the red-gum; and its leaves, washed in water, form an agreeable beverage. they also collect a description of manna from the leaves of the york gum, which yields a considerable quantity of saccharine matter. the common green wattle of the genus of acacia is found plentifully on the alluvial flats of the swan, and the bark is much used for tanning; and the gum-wattle of the same order produces so great a quantity of gum as to demand the attention of exporters. another shrub of this order is found in the vasse district, and produces galls similar to those of the oak, which might also be collected for exportation. the gum of some of these species is used by the natives as food, and the seeds, when ground, give them a tolerable substitute for flour. instead of entering more at large into dry botanical details, i will transfer to these pages a letter from my respected friend, mr. james drummond, the botanist already alluded to, which perhaps will prove more acceptable to the general reader. this letter was published at the time in the local journals. "dear sir, -- i send you a few extracts from a journal of observations which i made in a journey to the north, in company with mr. gilbert, the ornithologist.* my sons had heard from the natives that a considerable river and lakes of fresh water were to be found about two days' journey to the north of their station on the moore river; and in company with captain scully, the government resident of this district, they determined to explore the country in that direction. mr. phillips and some other gentlemen who were to be of the party, as well as mr. gilbert and myself, arrived at the station too late; i shall therefore principally confine my observations to mr. gilbert's transactions and my own. [footnote] * mr. gilbert, an enthusiastic naturalist, and an amiable and highly respectable man, was treacherously murdered by natives to the north-east of new holland, whilst engaged upon a scientific expedition. "we left hawthornden on the d august, and slept at the residence of captain scully, who had set out some days before to join the exploring party. on the d we proceeded on our journey to the north, and in about five or six miles we examined some remarkable masses of granite rocks a little to the right of the road which is formed by our carts and horses passing to and from the moore river. mr. gilbert found a small but curious fresh-water shell in some pools of rain-water on the rocks, and i found two plants which i had not seen before. in about eleven or twelve miles from captain scully's we reached a permanent spring called yoolgan, where there is excellent grass, and where we stopped to dine and feed our horses. soon after leaving yoolgan, we met with mr. phillips and mr. john mackie returning; they had arrived at our station a day too late for the party; we therefore knew that our hurrying on to join them was useless. in ten or twelve miles from yoolgan we reached yeinart, a tea-tree swamp, where there is grass and water to be had throughout the year. the night threatened to rain, but we arrived too late to do much in the house-making way; fortunately, the rain kept off until daylight, when we soon covered our house with tea-tree bark, and determined to stop for the day, which i consider the best way, as no collections can be made when it is raining, and provisions and everything get spoiled. it cleared up about ten o'clock, and we went to visit a brushwood swamp, where my son johnston had shot several specimens of a beautiful species of kangaroo with a dark-coloured fur, overtopped with silvery hairs, called marnine by the natives: we saw plenty of tracks of the animals, but could not see a single specimen. on the top of a hill to the north of the swamp i succeeded in finding two very distinct species of dryandra, new to me. i also found a fine species of eucalyptus in flower, which is distinguished from the matilgarring of the natives, the eucalyptus macrocarpus of sir w. t. hooker, by having lengthened recurved flower-stalks; the flowers are rose-coloured. "on the th we proceeded on our journey. i observed two new species of acacia near yeinart. we mistook our road, and made our old station at badgee-badgee, where we stopped to dine and feed our horses. i also found some curious aquatic plants in the pools of water among the rocks at badgee-badgee. after dinner we succeeded with difficulty in tracing our road to our present station on the mouran pool, the cart tracks being nearly obliterated by the trampling of the sheep. on arriving, we found that the exploring party had returned, and that captain scully and my son james had left, on their return, about half an hour before our arrival. the mutilated specimens of plants brought home by the party, and the accounts of some which were left behind, determined me to visit the new river myself, after botanizing a day in the vicinity of the station, where i found a fine glaucus-leaved anadenia, and mr. gilbert got specimens of the blue kangaroo, and several small new quadrupeds -- one of them apparently a true rat, almost as large and mischievous as the norway rat. having got two natives, one of whom (cabbinger) had been with the party to the north, we started on the th, and slept at a spring called boorbarna. on the way i found a species of the common poison which i had not seen before, and a beautiful conospermum, with pannicles of blue flowers varying to white. i was informed, by my son johnston, that a plant like horehound, but with scarlet flowers, in tubes about an inch long, grew on the top of a stony hill to the north of the spring; i went and found the plant, which belongs to scrophularinae; i also found a manglesia, allied to tridentifera, but having the leaves more divided; i also found a beautiful blue climbing plant, a species of pronaya, on the top of the same hill. on the th, soon after setting out on our journey, i found two splendid species of everlasting flower, of which my son johnston had been the original discoverer; one, with golden-yellow flowers varying to white, has the flowers in heads different from anything of the sort i have seen before, and will, i think, form a new genus of compositae; and the other with pink flowers, growing two feet high, something like lawrencella rosea, or rhodanthe manglesii, but if possible finer than either. in nine or ten miles to the north of boorbarna, we crossed a curious tract of country, covered with what i considered a variety of quartz, which breaks with a conchoidal fracture, but it has very much the appearance of flint; in many places the pieces were large, with sharp angles; my sons complained that it injured their horses' feet, but by alighting, and leading our horses over the worse parts, i did not perceive any bad effects from it. this tract of country produces some interesting plants; a splendid calathamnus, with leaves nine inches long, and showy scarlet flowers, was found by my youngest son, and i got plenty of specimens. "with regard to a new banksia, allied to aquifolia, which he found here, i was not so fortunate, and he brought home no specimens. after crossing several miles of this quartz formation, we came upon an extensive flat of strong clay, covered with eucalyptus, and some curious species of acacia; we crossed a considerable river, or brook, running strong to the west, and about two miles, after crossing this brook, we made the river we were in quest of at a place called murarino by the natives. near the river i found a splendid plant, which had been first observed by my son johnston; he took it for a lasiopetalum, but i expect it will prove to be a species of solanum; it grows two or three feet high, with large purple flowers, with calyxes like brown velvet; the leaves are irregularly shaped, acuminate, about two inches long, and an inch and a half wide at their broadest parts; the stems are prickly, and all the leaves covered with a down as in lasiopetalum. i am uncertain about the genus, not having seen the seed-vessels, but whatever that may be, it is of our finest australian plants. "we stopped to dine on the river, and in about four miles farther to the north, we reached two fresh-water lakes called dalarn and maradine. ducks of various sorts were here in thousands, and the water-hens, or gallinules, which visited the settlements on the swan some years ago, were plentiful. mr. gilbert shot three or four at a shot. i found a fine baechia, which had been first found by my son james, and a curious new plant belonging to compositae, but not yet in flower. the appearance of the country about these lakes, of which there are several besides those i have named, and the plants which grow about them, which are generally met with at no great distance from the sea, seem to prove that the lakes are at no great distance from it, and that the darling range does not extend so far to the north. no hills of any description appeared to the west; from the top of a hill to the east, two remarkable hills appeared, apparently about thirty miles to the north; one of them was observed by my son to have a remarkable peaked top, and they supposed they might be mount heathcote and wizard peak. we saw, as we came along, a high hill, which the natives called wangan catta; they said it was three days' walk to it; it lay due east of our course. "on the th, we returned on our track for about seven miles, until we reached the first running river we met on our journey to the north. our guides agreed to take us back by a different route, and to take us to a hill where a curious species of kangaroo called damar by them, would be met with. my son johnston has shot several of these animals about a day's walk to the east of our station on the moore river. we therefore ascended this river in a course s.e. by e., and soon after we were upon its banks, we came upon a grassy country; three or four miles up we stopped to dine and feed the horses, at a place called nugadrine; several pairs of beautiful falcons, the falco nypolencus of gould, were flying over us, and mr. gilbert succeeded in shooting one of them. after dinner, we proceeded in the same direction for nine or ten miles; we soon crossed the tracks of captain scully and my sons on their return; they had gone up the main or northern branch of the river, and had found but little grass while they followed its banks; but they had passed over a great deal of grassy land in crossing the country from it to the moore river. "we travelled for ten or eleven miles through a splendid grassy country, and met with a large tribe of natives, several of whom had never seen white men before; they were very friendly, and offered us some of their favourite root, the wyrang, which grows abundantly among these grassy hills. they made so much noise, that we wished to get some distance from them to sleep, but they all followed us and encamped near, many of the single men sleeping by our fire. in the morning of the th i went to the top of a hill, near our bivouac, while mr. gilbert was superintending the preparations for breakfast, and clipping the beards of some of our new friends. after breakfast, we started direct for our station on the moore river; the natives who were with us as guides considering our stock of flour insufficient to proceed any farther in the direction of the hill where they expected to find the damars. for almost the whole of this day we travelled over the most splendid grassy country i have ever seen in australia; the hill-sides, as far as we could see in every direction, were covered with beautiful grass, and of a golden colour, from the flowers of the beautiful yellow everlasting flower which i have described in a former part of this letter, which is only to be found in the richest soil. after reaching our station, i was a day or two employed in drying my specimens of plants. my son johnston pointed out a most beautiful new dryandra, which he had discovered on the top of a hill near the mouran-pool; i have named the species dryandra floribunda, from its numerous blossoms, which almost hide the leaves; it grows twelve or fifteen feet high, and in such abundance, that the side of the hill on which it grows actually appears of a golden colour for several miles. i consider it the most beautiful species of the genus yet known for cultivation. "i am, sir, "your obedient servant, "james drummond. "p.s. -- our course generally by compass from hawthornden to these lakes has been several points to the west of north. the natives informed us, when at the lakes, that they could reach the sea-coast long before sunset. "hawthornden farm, toodyay valley." chapter . misfortunes of the colony. many causes have unhappily united to keep western australia from rising into notice and importance with that rapidity which has marked the career of the other australian colonies. the misfortunes of the first settlers, attributable in a great measure to flagrant mismanagement, deterred intending emigrants from tempting the like fate. the man who had the largest grant in the colony allotted to him -- a monster grant of , acres -- made so ill an use of the means at his command, that nothing but misery and misfortune has ever attended his steps. the funds with which he was intrusted might have been applied with the happiest effect, both for the advancement of the colony and of his own personal fortunes. the people whom he brought out, chiefly mechanics and labourers, to the number of four hundred or upwards, were sufficient to have formed a settlement of their own. by an unhappy fatality, the early settlers were landed on a part of the coast the most unfavourable in the world for their purposes. the whole country around them was a mere limestone rock. here, however, the town-site of clarence was fixed upon, but scarcely a yard of land was to be found that afforded space for a garden. no attempt was made to sow grain, or plant potatoes, to provide for the wants of the following year. the people lived upon the provisions they had brought out with them. the four hundred workmen being left by their principal without direction or employment, soon consumed in riotous living the abundant stores left at their disposal, and too soon found that destitution is the inevitable consequence of idleness and folly. many perished miserably of want and sickness, and many others effected their escape to van dieman's land, where they gave a melancholy account of the wretchedness of those who were unable to flee from the scene of their errors. the active intelligence, and unremitting exertions of the governor, sir james stirling, at length ameliorated the condition of the unfortunate settlers. he removed the seat of government to perth, and explored the neighbouring country in every direction in the hope of finding tracts of land sufficient for the support of the people under his charge. the flats of the swan river afforded all the facilities he required; but the settlers were greatly intimidated by the treacherous attacks of the natives, and were very reluctant to separate from the main body. in consequence of these fears, many consumed their capital in their present support, instead of applying it in the formation of farms, and laying the ground-work of future prosperity. provisions being all imported, were sold at high rates, and the hesitating colonists became unavoidably subservient to the cupidity of the traders. in addition to these misfortunes, no man liked to lay out his money in building a house upon land which might not eventually be allotted to him. he lived therefore, with his wife, children, and servants, miserably under a tent, until the surveyor-general should be able to point out to him the land which had fallen to his share, in the general lottery of the government. in many cases this was not done for one or two years after the formation of the colony, in consequence of the lamentably inefficient force placed at the disposal of the able and indefatigable surveyor-general; and even then, the boundaries of the different allotments were not permanently defined. this state of incertitude had the most fatal effect, not only upon the fortunes, but upon the moral condition of the settlers. those who had come out resolutely bent upon cultivating their own land, and supporting themselves and families by their manual labour, refused to make the necessary exertions upon property which might eventually belong to others for whom they had no desire to toil. waiting, therefore, in their tents on the shore, until the government should determine their respective locations, they passed the time in idleness, or in drinking and riotous living; and when at length they obtained their letters of allocation, they found themselves without money or any means of subsistence, except by hiring out their manual labour to others more prudent, or more fortunate. other accidental circumstances have combined to retard the progress of the colony. from ignorance of the seasons, many lost their crops, and were obliged consequently to expend the last remains of their capital in procuring necessary supplies. from the same cause, vessels which brought emigrants to the colony were not secured during the winter season in the safest anchorages, and being exposed to the fury of the north-west gales, were in too many instances, driven ashore and completely wrecked. again, too, there has always existed a strong desire on the part of western australia to connect herself with india, conscious that there are great facilities of communication between the countries, from favourable trade-winds, and that her own climate is perhaps better suited to invalids than even that of the cape. this desire has been met by several influential gentleman of calcutta, and on two occasions, vessels were freighted and despatched from that city to the colony, in the hope of establishing a mutually advantageous connexion, and on both occasions the vessels were lost on the voyage. at length a small establishment was effected near australind, by the agents of mr. w. h. prinsep, for the purpose of breeding horses for the indian market; and we most sincerely hope success will ultimately attend the enterprising effort. indian officers have occasionally visited the colony; but they have naturally received unfavourable impressions, from being unable to find those accommodations and luxuries to which they had been accustomed. the settlers will not build houses and lay out their money on the mere speculation of gaining advantage by the visits of indian officers, but if once there appeared a reasonable prospect of early remuneration, every convenience would be provided, and every comfort ensured to visitors. living is now extremely cheap, and there is a profusion of vegetables and fruits of every kind. there are plenty of good horses and pleasure-boats, and there are the amusements of fishing, and hunting the kangaroo and emu. the misconduct of some, and the misfortunes of others of the early settlers, tended to bring about calamities which were echoed throughout great britain, and for many years had the effect of turning the stream of emigration away from these shores. other causes have also contributed to this end. the government plan of giving grants of land to emigrants, proportioned to the capital which they introduced into the colony, was good to a certain extent, but the object was perverted, and the boon abused. in almost all instances, men received a much greater quantity of land than they were justly entitled to. every article of provisions, furniture, and household effects, and even wearing apparel, were taken into account. the valuations were made by friends and neighbours, who accommodated one another, and rated the property of the applicant at a most astounding price. the consequence has been, that large grants of land have fallen into the hands of those who have never lived upon them, or spent anything upon their improvement, beyond a fictitious amount which they were required to specify to the government before they could obtain possession of their deeds of grant. these original grantees have clung to their lands with desperate tenacity, in the hope that some day their value will be more than nominal. the idea that all the best portions of the colony are in the hands of a few great unimproving proprietors, has been one reason why emigrants have turned away from it. but the provision, which has so long been an evil to the colony, may now be looked upon, thanks to the narrow-minded policy of the home government, as an advantage. these original grants, which have proved so little beneficial to the owner, and so highly detrimental to the community, are now far more easily obtainable by the emigrant than the surrounding crown-lands. the policy of the government has entirely changed with regard to the disposal of waste lands in the australian colonies; instead of giving them away with a lavish hand, it has for some years been the practice to throw every obstacle in the way of intending purchasers. they are now valued at one pound per acre, though it is well known, even at the colonial office, that five acres of australian land are requisite to maintain a single sheep; and as the average value of sheep in all these colonies is six or seven shillings, it scarcely requires the head of a secretary of state to calculate that every one who buys land for the purpose of feeding his flocks upon it, must be content to purchase it at an irreparable loss of capital. in consequence of this wise regulation, no purchase of crown-lands are now made in any of the australian colonies, except of town allotments, which have a factitious value, altogether irrespective of the qualities of the soil. it is now that the holders of large grants find purchasers, as they are extremely willing to sell at a much lower rate than the crown. in western australia alone, however, are these grants to be found; and here excellent land may be purchased at three shillings an acre. thus the careless profusion of one government, and the false policy and unhappy cupidity of another, have proved the means of placing this colony in a better position in some respects than any other. western australia has been unfortunate also in having had no powerful company to support her cause in england. the neighbouring colony of south australia, with a much less extensive territory, and without any natural superiority in the quality of the soil, was immediately puffed into notice by the exertions of her friends at home. but whilst the settlers at adelaide and their patrons in london, proclaimed to the world the advantages of the new colony, they scrupled not to draw comparisons between it and the western settlement, that were neither flattering nor just to the latter. not content with elevating their own idol with paeans and thanksgiving, before the gaze of a bedinned public, they persisted in shouting out their scorn and contempt at the pretensions of their unhappy neighbour. the public, with its usual discernment, gave implicit credence to both fables. western australia had met its contumelious detractors with silence; and the false statements were therefore looked upon as admitted and undeniable. but notwithstanding the injurious misrepresentations of enemies, and her own injurious silence, this colony has been quietly and steadily progressing, until she has laid for herself a foundation that no envious calumny can shake. the last blow she has received was from the failure of the settlement at australind; a subject that i intend to treat of in a separate chapter. so many misfortunes and untoward accidents have combined to prejudice the emigrating portion of the british public against western australia, that no voice is ever raised in her behalf, and scarcely any literary journal condescends to acknowledge her existence. and yet, notwithstanding the veil of darkness that conceals her from northern eyes, there is perhaps no spot in the world that contains so eminently within itself the elements of prosperity and happiness. a climate more genial, more divine than that of italy, robs poverty of its bleakness and its bitterness. absolute want is never felt, and those who possess but little, find how little is sufficient in a climate so productive and so beneficent. the purity and elasticity of the atmosphere induce a continual flow of good spirits. to all the fruits of italy in most abundant profusion, are added the productions of the east. the regularity of the seasons is so certain, that the husbandman always reckons with confidence upon his crops. no droughts interfere, as in the other colonies, to ruin his hopes. the vintages, annually increasing and improving, are equally free from disappointment. it must not, however, be denied that there are many natural disadvantages which can never be overcome without a much larger population. in the first place, the only good harbour on the western coast has only just been discovered -- june -- and is at least thirty-five miles distant from perth, the capital. then, secondly, all the superior land of the colony is situated about sixty miles back from the capital, and the farmers therefore have a considerable distance to convey their produce to the port; and part of that distance the roads are extremely bad. there is another objection to the colony in the opinion of intending emigrants, which arises from a small plant, or shrub, of the order leguminosae, a deadly poison to sheep and cattle. this plant grows over the colony in patches, but is now so well known, that accidents very seldom occur from it, shepherds being careful not to allow their flocks to feed in its vicinity. it is however to be observed, that neither sheep nor cattle will feed upon this plant unless they be very hungry, and other food be wanting. it is very seldom indeed that cattle, which are sometimes left to roam at large over the country, are found to have perished from pasturing upon it. this plant has no injurious effect upon horses; but these animals have in several instances been poisoned by eating the leaves of a small plant described as resembling the ranunculus, which grows in small quantities in the southern portion of the colony. a gentleman once informed me that he was riding up from australind on a favourite and very fine horse, which he allowed to feed, during several hours of rest, on a spot where this plant unfortunately grew. on mounting to resume his journey, the horse seemed full of spirit; but he had not proceeded a mile before it stumbled, and was with difficulty kept from falling. a little farther on, after proceeding with evident difficulty, it fell, to rise no more, and died in a few hours of violent inflammation of the kidneys. however alarming these drawbacks may seem to people at a distance, they are only lightly considered in the colony. fatalities are very rare among the flocks and herds, and many diseases which prevail in new south wales are entirely unknown among us. chapter . the resources of the colony: -- horses for india -- wine -- dried fruits -- cotton -- coal -- wool -- corn -- whale-oil -- a whale- hunt -- cured fish -- ship timber. the geographical position of western australia makes it one of the most desirable colonies of the british empire. the french would be delighted to possess so advantageous a station in that part of the world, whence they could sally forth and grievously annoy our shipping-trade. vessels bound for china and the eastern islands pass within a few days' sail of the colony. for my part, i confess i should feel by no means sorry were we to fall into the hands of the french for a few years, as they would not hesitate to make such lasting improvements as would materially add to the importance of the settlement. it requires that government should be made to feel the value of this colony as a naval station before it will rise into anything like consequence. the anchorage of cockburn sound, lying between garden island and the main land, presents a splendid harbour, where hundreds of ships of war might lie throughout all weathers in perfect safety. enemy's cruisers passing along the coast cannot come within garden island from the south, and they would scarcely venture without a pilot from the north, except with a great deal of deliberation and caution, so that small vessels might readily slip away and avoid the danger; and numbers of ships might lie so close under garden island, that they never would be perceived by men-of-war reconnoitring the coast. there is no other colony in australia so admirably situated with respect to other countries. the cape of good hope is four or five weeks sail distant; ceylon about twenty days; calcutta, sincapore, and batavia are all within easy reach. in exporting live-stock, this is of vast importance; and in time of war a central position like this would afford an admirable place for vessels to repair to in order to refit. with the finest timber in the world for naval purposes in unlimited profusion; with a soil teeming with various metals; with harbours and dock-yards almost ready made by the hand of nature, all things requisite for the wants of shipping may be obtained whenever a government shall see fit to resort to them. it must doubtless surprise many that more has not been done in a colony possessing such natural advantages. the reason is, that the prejudices which have so long prevailed against this settlement have retarded the progress of immigration, and the small number of inhabitants has ever precluded the possibility of any great effort being made by the colony itself. public opinion in england must turn in its favour before it can rise from obscurity into importance; but public opinion is never in favour of the poor and deserted. time, however, will eventually develope those resources, which at present lie dormant for want of capital and opportunity. the proximity of this colony to india peculiarly marks it as the most advantageous spot for the breeding of horses for that market. from van dieman's land or new south wales, ships are generally about eight weeks in reaching an indian port, and must proceed either by the north of new holland, through the dangerous navigation of torres straits, or by the south and west, round cape lewin. either route presents a long and rough passage, highly detrimental to stock, and of course increasing the cost of the horses exported. the voyage from fremantle may be performed in half the time, and the animals will therefore arrive at their destination in much finer order, and with much less loss. it is well known that none of these colonies afford better or more extensive pasture-ground for horses and cattle than ours. nothing is wanted but capital and population to produce a thriving traffic in horse-flesh between this settlement and india. there is every reason to believe that western australia will one day become a great wine country. its vineyards are becoming more numerous and extensive every year, and the wine produced in them is of a quality to lead us to believe that when the art of preparing it is better understood, it will be found of very superior quality. it will, however, be a new kind of wine; and therefore, before it will be prized in europe, prejudices in favour of older wines have to be overcome. soil and climate combined, give to different wines their peculiar flavour. the vines which in madeira produce the wine of that name, when brought to another country, even in a corresponding latitude, and planted in soil that chemically approaches as closely as possible to that which they have left, will produce a wine materially different from that called madeira. so with the vines of xeres and oporto; of teneriffe or constantia. different countries produce wines peculiar to themselves; and the wine of western australia will be found to be entirely sui generis. all that i have tasted, though made from the poorest of grapes, the common sweet-water, have one peculiarity; a good draught, instead of affecting the head or flushing the face, causes a most delightful glow to pervade the stomach; and it is of so comforting a nature, that the labourers in harvest prefer the home-made colonial wine to any other beverage. every farm-settler is now adding a vineyard to his estate. the olive is also being extensively cultivated. in a few years' time, dried fruits will be exported in large quantities; but we almost fear that the colonists are giving too much of their attention to the cultivation of grapes and other fruits. in addition to exports, on a large scale, of wool, horses, timber, and metals, these articles of commerce are not undeserving of attention, but they should not be brought so prominently forward as to form the principal feature in the trade of the colony. wine and fruit countries are always poor countries; let us think of substantials first, and of wine and fruit only by way of dessert. cotton is a plant that grows extremely well in this colony, and might be cultivated on a large scale, and doubtless with great success. mr. hutt, the late governor, whose constant anxiety to promote the interests of the settlers in every way must long endear him to their memories, always appeared extremely sanguine as to the practicability of making this a great cotton country. but western australia contains, perhaps, greater internal wealth than that which appears on the surface. she abounds in iron, which must some day come into the indian market; and as the metal lies close to the surface, it may be obtained without much expenditure of capital. there is no doubt, also, that she is equally rich in copper and platina, but capital is wanting at present to enable the settlers to work the mines. soon, however, companies will be formed, and operations will be carried on rivalling those of south australia. extensive fields of excellent coal have lately been discovered, and will prove the source of vast wealth to the colony. steam-vessels in the indian ocean will be supplied with coal from western australia; and the depots at sincapore, point-de-galle, and perhaps at aden, will afford a constant market for this valuable commodity. the staple export of the colony is, of course, at present wool. our flocks, unfortunately, increase in a much greater ratio than the inhabitants, and thus the scarcity of labour becomes severely felt. a large flock becomes an evil, and men are burdened and impoverished by the very sources of wealth. the expense of maintaining becomes greater than the returns. the emigrants who are most sure of improving their condition in a colony, are those men who begin as shepherds, and having established a good character for themselves, undertake the care of a flock upon shares; that is, they receive a certain proportion -- a third, and sometimes even a half -- of the annual increase and wool, delivering the remainder to the owner at the seaport, ready packed for shipping. these men, of course, soon acquire a flock of their own, and then abandon the original employer to his old embarrassment, leaving him, (a resident probably in the capital, and already a prey to multitudinous distractions,) to find out a new shepherd on still more exorbitant terms. as large grants of land may be obtained by tenants for merely nominal rents, or in consideration of their erecting stock-yards or farm-buildings in the course of a term of years, there is every inducement to men of this class to become settlers. the houses in some districts are built of clay, or prepared earth, rammed down between boards, and thus forming solid walls of twelve or eighteen inches in thickness, that harden in a short time almost to the consistency of stone. the windows and doorways are cut out of the walls. these edifices are built at a very cheap rate; and when laths or battens are fixed inside of them, may be covered with plaister, and either whitewashed or painted. besides the extensive sheep-runs of the colony, there is an unlimited extent of excellent corn-land. the crops in the northam, toodyay, and york districts -- though inferior to those of the midland counties of england, for want of manure, and a more careful system of husbandry -- are extremely fine; and there is land enough, if cultivated, to supply the whole of the southern hemisphere with grain. the sea on the western coast of new holland still abounds with whales, although the americans for many years made it one of their principal stations, and have consequently driven many of the animals away. the whale is a very suspicious and timid creature, and when it has been once chased it seldom returns to the same locality. the americans tell us that geographe bay, about twenty years ago, abounded with whales at certain seasons. many of them came there apparently to die, and the shore was covered with their carcases and bones. about the month of june, the whales proceed along the coast, going northward; and then visit the various bays and inlets as they pass, in pursuit of the shoals of small fish that precede them in their migration. they generally return towards the south about six weeks afterwards, and at these times the whale-fishery is eagerly pursued both by the americans and the colonists. bay-whaling is followed with various success at fremantle, bunbury, the vasse, augusta, and king george's sound. at these times swarms of sharks of enormous dimensions infest the coast. at the vasse, they were so numerous in , that the men in the boats became quite cowed by their audacity. were a whale killed in the evening, two-thirds of it would be eaten before morning by the sharks. the monsters (sometimes thirty feet in length) would follow the whale-boats, and strike against them with their snouts and fins; until the men were so intimidated that they even refused to go in pursuit of a whale which otherwise they might easily have captured. mr. robert viveash, one of the principals at this station, told me, among other anecdotes, that one day, standing on the deck of a small schooner, watching the evolutions of an enormous shark, he saw it seize the rudder with its teeth in a kind of frenzy, or else in mere sport, and shake it so violently that the tiller, striking against some heavy object on deck, was actually broken in two pieces. it is a well-authenticated fact, that some years ago a shark, playing round a whaling vessel of upwards of tons, whilst lying at anchor during a calm, got entangled in the buoy-rope of the anchor, and in its efforts to free itself actually tripped the anchor. the people on board, perceiving something extraordinary had happened, hove up the anchor, and brought the struggling shark to the surface. having thrown a rope over its head and secured it by a running bowline knot under the pectoral fins, the fish was boused up to the fore-yard; and its length was so great, that when its nose touched the yard, its tail was still lashing the water. there is something highly exciting in the chase of the whale. i have watched the proceedings for hours from arthur's head, the high rock between fremantle and the sea. a man stationed here on the look out, perceives a whale spouting about six miles off, between the main-land and the opposite islands. he immediately hoists a flag, and makes signals indicating the direction. the crews of six whale-boats, which have been lying ready on the beach, with their lines carefully coiled in a tub, and harpoon and lances all at hand, assemble like magic. the boats are launched, and pulling rapidly out of the bay, each with its own particular flag flying at the bows; the steersman leans forward, and gives additional force to the stroke-oar by the assistance of his weight and strength; the men pull strongly and well-together; the boats dance over the flashing waves, and silence and determination reign among the crews. the object is to meet the whale, and come down upon him in front; none but a lubber or a knave would cross his wake; for his eyes are so placed that he can see laterally and behind better than straight before him, and the moment he detects a boat in pursuit he begins to run. the lubber crosses his wake, because he has not steered so as to be able to avoid doing so; the knave, because either out of spite to his employer, or because he is bribed by an adverse company, is desirous that the fish should be lost. if the boats are a long distance astern when the whale begins to run, pursuit is useless, and the men return, hoping for better luck another time. the boats come round arthur's head almost together. the men, knowing that many hours of severe toil are probably before them, pull steadily, but not so as to exhaust themselves at the outset. at length one boat creeps out from the rest; the others gradually drop into line, and the distance between each widens perceptibly. the last boat, a heavy sailer, is half-a-mile astern of the first. from the boats, your eye wanders to the spot where the whale was last seen to blow. for some time you can discern nothing, and fancy he must be gone off to sea again. at last a thin white column of vapour is perceptible; the animal is carelessly sporting about, unconscious of danger. the first boat draws rapidly down upon him; it approaches nearer and nearer. the fish has disappeared, but his enemies seem to know the direction in which he is going, and are ready awaiting him when he returns to the surface. you now perceive him blowing close to the first boat, the steersman of which draws in the steer-oar and runs forward, whilst the men have all peaked their oars, and remain quiet in their seats. the steersman has seized the harpoon to which the long line of coiled rope is attached; in a moment he has plunged it into the animal's side. starting at the stroke, away it darts; the line flies out of the tub over the bow of the boat; the men begin to pull, in order to ease the shock when the line is all run out; and now away they go, the whale drawing the boat after him at such speed that the water flies off from the bows in broad flakes. after running upwards of a mile, the fish dives down to the bottom; there he remains some minutes, until compelled to return to the surface for breath. his reappearance is heralded by a column of water spouted from his nostrils. two of the boats are able to approach near enough to allow lances to be thrown at him, which, penetrating through the blubber, pierce his vitals, and cause him to run again as swiftly as before. again he sinks, and again appears on the surface; the column which he now spouts forth is tinged with red. the boats again approach, the more lances are driven into his sides, but he is not yet subdued; he breaks away from the assassins, and tries once more to escape; but, alas! his strength and his life-blood are fast ebbing away; his breath begins to fail, and he cannot remain long beneath the surface. he comes up suddenly in the very midst of the boats, and, as he rolls from side to side, he strikes one of them with his fin, staving it in and making it a wreck upon the water. the drowning men are picked up by their companions, and the whale is again pursued. he is now in the death-flurry, spinning round and round, and lashing the sea into foam with his broad tail. he is still; and now the boats venture to come close up to the carcase, and fixing grapnels in it, with tow-lines attached, they form in a line, and commence towing their conquest to the shore, singing as they row, their measured paeans of victory. when the blubber is cut off and tryed out, it produces from three to ten tons of oil. besides whales, there are immense quantities of fish upon this coast. the best kind are called tailors, and have a good deal of the mackerel flavour; and snappers, which somewhat resemble cod-fish. the mullets and whitings are better than those on the english coast, but every other fish is much inferior in flavour to those known in england. we have nothing to equal salmon, turbot, soles, cod, or mackerel; nevertheless, a snapper of twenty pounds weight is a very eatable fish. they are caught in great quantities, salted and exported to the mauritius, where they are acknowledged to be superior to the fish imported from the cape of good hope. snapper-fishing is not bad sport, as they bite freely. they go in immense shoals, and it is not an uncommon thing to catch twenty-hundred weight at a single haul. when h.m.s. challenger was lying in cockburn sound, some of the men with a very large seine-net, caught two thousand fish at a single haul -- averaging five pounds a-piece. this is almost incredible, but it is related on good authority. the fresh-water rivers have no fish but a small craw-fish, that buries itself in the ground when the bed of the stream is dry; and a flat-headed, tapering fish called a cobbler. this is about twelve inches long, and has a sharp, serrated bone an inch in length on each side of its head, that lies flat and perfectly concealed until an enemy approaches. this bone is hollow, like an adder's tooth, and contains a virulent poison, which is injected into the wound, and causes intense pain for several hours. men are frequently stung by these wretches, whilst wading through the water. there are several valuable kinds of wood in this colony, which do not exist in south australia or new south wales. we may mention the sandalwood, which now finds a market in ceylon, where it fetches about pounds per ton; but if it were sent direct to china, (its ultimate destination,) it would obtain probably pounds per ton. sandal-wood is burnt in large quantities in china, as a kind of incense. there is another highly-fragrant wood peculiar to this colony, called by the settlers raspberry jam, from its resembling that sweet-meat in its scent. a small quantity sent to tonbridge-wells, was worked up into boxes, and highly approved of by the cabinet-makers, who gave it the name of violet wood. one of the most beautiful trees in the colony is called the peppermint-tree; its leaves, which are very abundant, resemble those of the willow, and, on being rubbed, smell strongly of peppermint. it bears a small yellow flower. these is much reason to believe that this is of the same species as the tree which yields the valuable cajeput oil, and it is highly desirable that an endeavour should be made to distil this oil from the leaves. many of the vegetable productions of western australia appear to correspond with those of java and others of the eastern islands, modified by the difference of climate. the timber adapted to ship-building purposes, extends in vast quantities down the line of coast, and is of three kinds, all varieties of the eucalyptus. the tooart in the districts of bunbury and the vasse, and the blue-gum which abounds at augusta and nornalup, are woods of large size, and remarkably hard and close-grained in texture. it is well adapted for keel-pieces, stern-posts, capstan-heads, and heavy beams: and its fibres are so closely matted and interwoven together, that it is scarcely possible to split it. it grows in lengths of from to feet, and measures from to inches in diameter. but the wood most highly prized and most easily attainable is the jarra, which grows upon the entire range of the darling hills, distant from sixteen to twenty miles from the coast, and extends over a country averaging at least twenty miles in breadth. it was for a long time erroneously called mahogany by the settlers, as it takes an excellent polish, and is extremely useful for cabinet purposes. a small quantity recently sent to england for the purpose of being worked up with furniture, has been thus reported upon: -- "we have just inspected about two tons of wood brought to this town (leeds) under the name of swan river mahogany. some of the wood is firm and close in texture, with a very great abundance of cross mottle; -- in fact, it is quite crowded with figure. the colour is something like old jamaica mahogany, and it bears a strong resemblance in some of its figures to the wood so celebrated by messrs. collard as ocean wood. we are quite firm in our opinion, that it is not mahogany, and do not know why it should be nicknamed. why not call it by its proper name? -- for it has sufficiently strong claims to maintain its own independence. "j. kendell and co. "cabinet manufacturers, leeds." mr. bond, of the firm of gillows and co., cabinet manufacturers, and oxford-street, london, to whom a small quantity was submitted, has also made an equally favourable report. messrs. chaloner and fleming, of liverpool, whose firm is one of the most extensive importers of timber in the empire, have reported that they "consider the specimens submitted to them to be of rich figure, and very fine quality, although the colour is rather dark. it is quite as fine in texture as the best spanish mahogany, and takes the polish remarkably well." it is not, however, as cabinet wood that the jarra is so highly valuable. it has been found to be some of the best ship-timber in the world. it is so extremely durable, that when it is cut in a healthy state, it is never found to rot, even though it be buried in the ground for years. for seventeen years it has been constantly used in the colony for a variety of purposes. as it resists the white-ant, an insect that destroys oak and every other kind of wood, and is never subject to the dry-rot, it is invaluable for building purposes. boats constructed of it, which have been in the water during the whole of this period, and entirely unprotected by paint, are still as sound as they were when first launched. it resists the sea-worm; and our colonial vessels, when hove down for repairs or survey at sincapore, launceston, or other ports, have always excited the admiration of the surveyors, and have been pronounced not to require to be coppered. this wood is long in the grain, but very close and tough, and not only makes very good planking, but excellent beams, keel-pieces, and many other portions of a ship. growing without a branch to the height of from fifty to one hundred feet, and from eighteen inches to three feet and upwards in diameter, it excites the admiration of all practical men; and as its properties have been so long tested, and are so generally admitted in the southern hemisphere, it is matter of no less surprise than regret that it should be still unknown in the english markets. strong prejudice, and the interest of parties connected with the timber-trade in other countries, have served to keep the inexhaustible forests of western australia in the obscurity which has hung over them from primeval times. besides this, although the jarra wood exists not in other parts of australia, and is confined to the western coast alone, timber has been imported to england from new south wales, and is very little prized there. timber-merchants, therefore, who confound all the australian colonies together, as most other people in england do, are willing to believe that the jarra of western australia is the same as the stringy-bark of new south wales, and therefore worth little or nothing for ship-building purposes. the experience of seventeen years has proved the contrary. not only have the valuable qualities of the jarra been tested in vessels built in the colony, and employed in trading to the neighbouring ports; but men-of-war and merchant ships have been frequently repaired with it, and the wood so employed has always been highly esteemed when subsequently inspected abroad. in the autumn of , the halifax packet, a barque of tons, having parted from her anchor in a gale, and drifted ashore, underwent repairs at fremantle, to the extent of about eleven hundred pounds. on being surveyed at the port of london on her return home, the new timber, which had never been previously recognized at lloyd's, though many efforts have been made to obtain that sanction, was allowed to remain in the ship as being perfectly serviceable. the following memorandum was addressed by the surveyor of lloyd's to a. andrews, esq., a gentleman interested in the welfare of the colony: "the wood used in the repairs of the halifax packet at swan river, appears to answer the purpose very well. it is not found necessary to remove any part thereof. "from the samples which i have seen of swan river timber, i am of opinion that it will form a very desirable and serviceable wood in ship-building; but this must be regarded as my private opinion, the society of lloyd's register, to which i belong, not having as yet assigned any character to it in their rules. (signed) "p. courtney, lloyd's surveyor. "lloyd's, th february, ." this extraordinary timber grows to a size that would appear incredible to readers in england. it is perhaps only manageable and remunerative from to feet; but in the southern districts of the colony -- especially to the back of nornalup and wilson's inlet -- it is found growing to and feet in height, before the first branch appears. my brother and his servant, when exploring in that district, took refuge once from a storm in the hollow of an old jarra tree, which not only sheltered themselves but their horses; and the interior actually measured in diameter three times the length of the largest horse, an animal sixteen hands high and very long backed. this may appear an astounding assertion, but the following is not less so. the same parties found a jarra tree which had fallen completely across a broad and deep river (called the deep river) running between high precipitous banks, thus forming a natural bridge, along which a bullock cart might have passed! timber of such large dimensions is perfectly useless; but there are, of course, trees of every size, growing in boundless profusion. as indian teak and african oak are now scarcely obtainable, we look upon our colony as a store-house for the british navy; and though we have hitherto vainly battled against prejudice and private interest to make this timber known to our rulers, the day will arrive when the wants of the naval service will compel men in authority to acknowledge the value of wood, which is most highly prized by all who have had the opportunity of testing its qualities. it is due to the lords commissioners of the admiralty to state, that on two occasions they have promised to receive a quantity of this timber, provided it were delivered at one of the royal dockyards, and to allow a fair price for it. but unfortunately, there is so great a scarcity of labour and of capital in the colony, that the settlers have shrunk from the outlay necessary to perform what would be, after all, only an experiment. it cannot be supposed, that timber which has been tested in every way for seventeen years, and is known throughout australia to be indisputably first-rate for ship-building purposes, should be condemned at home as unserviceable. but the colonists know how many prejudices and interested feelings environ the admiralty; and in general shrink from the experiment. chapter . rise and fall of a settlement. -- the sequel to captain grey's discoveries. -- a word at parting. his excellency the governor having kindly invited me to be his companion on a journey which he proposed to make to the new settlement of australind, about a hundred miles south of perth, i set about making the necessary preparations. i borrowed a pair of saddle-bags, and having stuffed my traps into one side of them, loaded the other with a cold roast fowl, a boiled tongue, a pound of sausages, a loaf of bread, a flask of brandy, and sundry small packages of tea, sugar, cigars, etc. when i looked at the result of my labours, the swollen sides of the leathern receptacle, i enjoyed a noble feeling of independence; as though i were now prepared to ramble through the world, and stood in no need of friendly welcome, or the doubtful hospitality of an inn. having breakfasted at five o'clock on a december morning (the middle of summer), and equipped myself in a broad-brimmed straw-hat and light shooting jacket, i mounted my steed, and sallied forth from my gate, followed by the sympathizing grins of hannibal. his excellency, true to the hour, was mounting his horse at the door of government house -- and as the appearance of the whole turn-out was rather unlike anything usually seen in hyde park, or even connected with the morning drives of his excellency the viceroy of ireland, i may as well describe it. the representative of our gracious sovereign was habited in his bush costume -- a white hat, bare of beaver, having a green veil twisted round it, a light shooting coat and plaid trousers, shoes, and jean gaiters. his illustrious person was seated on a pair of broad saddle-bags, which went flap, flap against the sides of his charger, as he jogged steadily along at the usual travelling pace. on the pummel of his saddle was strapped a roll of blankets for the night bivouac, and to one of the straps was attached a tin-pannikin, which bumped incessantly against his horse's mane. round the animal's neck was coiled a long tether-rope, which every now and then kept coming undone, and the caravan had to halt whilst it was being readjusted. behind us rode his excellency's man, no longer the smug gentleman in a black suit, with a visage as prim as his neck-cloth, but blazing in a red woollen shirt, and grinning incessantly with amazement at his own metamorphosis. strapped to his waist by a broad belt of leather, was a large tin-kettle, for the purpose of making his excellency's tea in the evening. huge saddle-bags contained provisions, knives and forks, plates, and everything necessary for travelling in the bush in a style of princely magnificence. no scheik or emir among the arabs wanders about the desert half so sumptuously provided. i could not help laughing (in my sleeve, of course,) at the figure produced by the tout ensemble of john mounted on his ewe-necked and pot-bellied steed. in excellent spirits we jogged along to the canning, and then eleven miles farther, to a muddy pool called boregarup, where we baited the horses, and lunched on one of his excellency's cold meat-pies. the water in the pool was not very tempting, but we ladled a little out in our pannikins, and mixing it with brandy, managed to drink it. the want of water makes travelling in the bush during summer a serious business. frequently you find a well, on which your thoughts and hopes have been fixed for the last twenty miles, completely dried up; and you have to endure thirst as well as you can for some hours longer. sometimes by scraping the bottom of the well, and digging down with your pannikin, you come to a little moisture, and after waiting an hour, succeed in obtaining about half-a-pint of yellow fluid, compounded of mud and water. this you strain through as many pocket-handkerchiefs as you can command, and are at last enabled to moisten your baked lips. on these occasions the traveller cares less about himself than his horse, and often have we served the latter out of our pannikin from holes into which he could not get his nose, whilst denying ourselves more than a little sip. after lying an hour on our blankets in the hot shade, smoking a cigar, and waging incessant war with myriads of mosquitoes and sand-flies, we decided that it was impossible to continue any longer so unequal a conflict; and saddling our horses in haste, we beat a quick retreat, and felt much cooler and more comfortable whilst in motion. in the course of the afternoon we passed through a vast dry swamp many miles long. the reeds on each side of the track frequently reached to our heads, and prevented our seeing any thing else on either side of us; and when we did get a glimpse over the rushes level with our eyes, we could behold nothing but an immense plain of waving green, like a huge field of unripe wheat, edged in the distance by the stern outline of the ever-sombre forest of eucalyptus trees. this swamp is a terrible place to pass through in winter. it is nevertheless one of the royal post-roads of the colony; and the bearer of her majesty's mail from pinjarra to perth, is frequently obliged to swim for his life, with the letter-bag towing astern, like a jolly-boat behind a newcastle collier. after emerging from the swamp, we passed through an extensive plain, covered with coarse scrub and thinly-scattered grass, and lined with forest trees and clumps of black-boys. when about half-way down it, we came upon a herd of wild cattle grazing at some two hundred yards' distance from the path. they seemed very much astonished at the appearance of three such picturesque individuals; and after gazing for a few moments, lost in wonder, they tossed up their heads, and trotted along-side of us, keeping their original distance. having kept us company for about half-a-mile, they relieved us of their society, (which was not very agreeable, as we had no firearms) by coming to a halt, and allowing us to proceed in peace, whilst they contented themselves with brandishing their horns and tails, and butting against one another in play. that night we slept at the dandalup, hospitably entertained by f. corbet singleton, esq., m.c., the owner of a fine estate of twelve thousand acres, a good deal of it alluvial soil. were the population such as it ought to be in this fine country; and the markets proportioned to the capabilities of the soil, nothing would be more agreeable than to live on a beautiful property like this, cultivating your corn lands and multiplying your flocks and herds. but as it is, unfortunately, a man is soon overdone with his own wealth. he has more corn than he can find a market for; more cattle than he can sell; and he is obliged to allow his land to run waste, and his herds to run wild, rather than be at the expense of farming on a great scale without adequate remuneration. let me advise emigrants to these colonies to turn their attention chiefly to the breeding of sheep and horses, which are saleable things in foreign markets. the growers of wool, and the breeders of horses for india will make their estates profitable; but large herds of cattle will produce nothing to the owner in a thinly-populated country. the next day, after inspecting the farm, we proceeded with our host to mandurah, crossing an estuary a quarter of a mile broad, but so shallow that the water did not reach above our saddle-flaps. and now (having parted from singleton) we had to swim our horses across the mouth of the murray river. after a little delay, a boat was found; with a couple of men to row it across, and removing the saddles and other things from the horses' backs, we prepared for the passage. his excellency's arab mare was destined to make the experimental trip, and the governor, with many injunctions and misgivings, committed the end of the tether-rope to the hand of his servant, who belayed it to the stern of the boat, where he seated himself, to act as occasion should require. the boatman rowed till the tether-rope was out at full stretch; his excellency coaxed and entreated the mare to enter the water, and "shoo-ed!" and "shaa-ed!" and called her a stupid creature, whilst i cracked my whip and jumped about, and rattled my hat, and made as much noise as people usually do on such occasions. the mare, on her part, reared up, and flung herself back, and plunged about, and showed so strong a determination not to go down the broken bank, that we feared we should never get her into the river. at last, however, we managed to back her into the water, when she was dragged instantly out of her depth and obliged to swim. the men pulled so fast that she could not keep up with them, and giving up the attempt, floated quietly on her side, to the great horror of her master, who thought he never should bestride her again, until he was relieved by seeing her start to her feet in shallow water, and scramble up the bank, dripping like a veritable hippopotamus. the other horses behaved better; and when we had ourselves crossed and remounted, we rode by the side of the river, or rather estuary, a distance of ten miles, till we came to a picturesque little spot called mocha weir -- a high bank, a clump of trees, a brawling brook, (unusual sight in this country,) and a patch of excellent grass. here we resolved to halt for the night. each rider attended to his own horse, which, however, did not get much grooming, and then we prepared for the great business of life, and kindled a fire, filled the kettle with limpid water, drew out our various stocks of provisions, and arranged the dinner-table on the grass, and made every thing look exceedingly comfortable and inviting. then we made tea, and invited each other to eat, and did eat without invitation; and joked and laughed, and felt considerably more happy and sociable than if vice-royalty had been real-royalty, and the green canopy of the trees were the banqueting-hall at windsor castle. the man munched his victuals at a small private bivouac of his own, within easy call, as he had to jump up every now and then, and bring the kettle, or wash the plates for the second and third courses. when the things were removed, we lighted cigars, and pleasantly discoursed, recumbent before the fire. our beds were already made of black-boy tops, and, therefore we had nothing to do but await the hour of rest. the sun had disappeared, and darkness, closing around us, drew nigher and more nigh every moment, swallowing up object after object in its stealthy advance, and seeming about to overwhelm us in its mysterious obscurity. but john heaped logs of dry wood upon the fire, and nobly we resisted all the powers of darkness. in the midst of that black solitude, our little circle of light maintained its independence, nor yielded to the invasion which had swallowed up all around it. here was our camp of refuge, and here we felt snug, and secure, and at home; whilst all without our magic circle was comfortless and desolate. sometimes the active-minded john would dive, without apparent dismay, into the black and hostile-looking regions of night, which seemed to close upon him as though for ever; and when we had resignedly given him up, a prey to the evil spirits that prowled around, he would reappear with startling suddenness, issuing forth into the light like some red demon of the woods, and bearing a huge log upon his shoulder -- the spoils of his "foray-sack" -- which he would fling down upon the fire, making it blaze up with sudden fierceness, and extending the circle of light for a few moments to a greater distance around, so as to give us a transient glimpse of things which were soon swallowed up again in darkness -- like glimpses of the dead in dreams. i must hurry on to australind, merely mentioning that we passed two lakes not far from each other, one of which was fresh, and the other salt -- salt as the dead sea. it is usual in this perverse country (though not so in this instance) to find a salt lake surrounded with good, and a fresh-water lake with bad land. here it was bad altogether. the country, however, improved greatly as we drew towards australind; and about ten miles from that place, we came upon a fine flock of sheep that seemed to be doing extremely well. we now passed along the banks of the leschenault estuary, on which australind is situated; and soon we discovered three figures approaching on horseback. these proved to be m. waller clifton, esq., the chief commissioner of the western australian company, to whom the whole district belongs, attended by a brace of his surveyors as aides-de-camp -- one mounted on a very tall horse, and the other on a very small pony. the chief commissioner himself bestrode a meek-looking cart-horse, which, on perceiving us in the distance, he urged into an exhilarating trot. his excellency, seeing these demonstrations of an imposing reception, hastily drew forth his black silk neck-cloth from his pocket, and re-enveloped his throat therewith, which, during the heat of the day, he had allowed to be carelessly exposed. gathering himself up in his saddle, and assuming the gravity proper to the representative of his sovereign, he awaited with as much dignity as his state of perspiration would allow, the approach of the chief of australind. as for myself, i plucked up my shirt-collar, and tried to look as spicy as possible. the first greetings over, the two chieftains rode into the town side by side, as amicably as napoleon and alexander of russia; whilst i fell to the share of the aides, and related the most recent news of perth, and the last bon mots of richard nash, for their entertainment; receiving in return an account of the arrival of male and female emigrants at the settlement the day before. we were entertained, as every guest invariably is, right hospitably by mr. clifton and his amiable family. australind was then (december ) a promising new town. it was alive with well-dressed young men and women, who were promenading under the large forest trees which still occupied the intended squares and most of the streets. they had only landed from the vessel which had brought them some twenty-four hours before, and they were evidently variously affected by all they saw. some appeared to be struck with the strange circumstance of trees growing in the streets; some looked aghast at the wooden houses and canvass tents; one thought everything looked exceedingly green; another fancied that a town built upon sand could not possibly endure long. and he was right: for the town has long since been deserted, except by half a dozen families; and the newly arrived settlers are dispersed over the colony. this has not been the fault of the chief commissioner, nor is it owing to any inferiority in the soil, but to causes which i intend briefly to explain, as there are many people in england who are, or were, interested in the fortunes of this promising young settlement. the western australian company's grant of land at australind comprises , acres, among which there is a large quantity of excellent pasture and arable land. it is well watered, and generally well adapted for the site of a new settlement. the flats of the brunswick and collic rivers would supply the whole colony, if thoroughly peopled, with grain; and there is abundance of feed for sheep and cattle, even to the summits of the hills. a great portion of this grant has been purchased by the company from colonel lautour, who, however, could not furnish a good title to it. having never performed the necessary improvements which would entitle him to a deed of grant in fee-simple from the crown, his right of possession became forfeit; and in april, , governor hutt, though much interested in the success of the company, of which his brother, the member for gateshead, was chairman, thought himself obliged, in the conscientious discharge of his duty, to resume the estate for the crown. this proved to be a most fatal proceeding. the company's title to colonel lautour's grant had been confirmed by the home-government in november , but owing to the non-existence of regular post-office communication (that grand and inexcusable error, which allows the british empire to be composed of a mass of unconnected settlements, dependent upon chance for intelligence and aid from the mother country), the news did not reach the colony until may or june following. accounts of the resumption of the grant by the governor reached england, and not only perplexed the company, but greatly disquieted the minds of the numerous individuals to whom they had sold land, to the value of nearly , pounds. at this very time, too, unhappily, arrived captain grey in england, on his return from the expedition to the north-western side of new holland, of which he has since published a clever and popular narrative. captain grey took an early opportunity of giving a somewhat lamentable account of the company's land at leschenault, or australind, and a very glowing description of a district, many miles to the north of perth, between gantheaume bay and the arrowsmith river, which he had passed through on his disastrous return. he also expatiated, in most precise terms, upon a splendid harbour which he called port grey, and of which he made an elaborate sketch; and on the th of october, , addressed to lord john russell "a detailed description of that portion of the western coast of australia which lies between gantheaume bay and the river arrowsmith, as it would be found useful in enabling persons, intending to occupy that tract of country, to arrive at correct conclusions regarding its capabilities." in the map of his route, published by arrowsmith, port grey is laid down as a spacious, well-sheltered harbour, with a convenient point of land extending a couple of miles out to sea from its northern extremity, and having a useful reef of rocks projecting, most happily, to the same distance, affording altogether a secure shelter for shipping in seven fathoms' water. the directors of the western australian company, alarmed at the account related of australind, perplexed by the proceedings of the local government, and captivated by the description of port grey, with its splendid districts of "rich flats," and "fertile downs," determined to change the site of their settlement. captain grey describes two "flat-topped ranges," in the neighbourhood of this port, lying about twenty miles apart; and in his diary of "sunday, april , ," he says: "the country between these two ranges was an open grassy valley thinly wooded; and it appeared to be one of the most extensively fertile portions of country which i had yet seen in australia. after travelling for another mile over the sandy downs, we reached another romantic glen-like valley, bounded to the north and south by steep limestone cliffs; we descended these cliffs, and at their base found as in the last valley we had crossed, extensive flats, through which wound a water-course. all the hills i could see in the vicinity consisted of limestone, and for the whole distance i could see to the eastward (about seven or eight miles) the country appeared to be of the most fertile and picturesque character; the hills were slightly wooded with large timber, and the valleys were nearly bare of trees and covered with grass. on ascending the limestone hills to the south of the valley, we found ourselves once more in open sandy downs; after travelling three miles across these in a s. by e. direction, we again came to a valley of the same character as the one above described; it ran from the same direction; to the eastward we saw a fertile valley. * * * we halted for some time immediately at the foot of mount fairfax. "we continued our route in the evening over the sandy downs, which, at the distance of half a mile from the sea, terminated in cliffs. * * * after travelling three miles, we halted for the night. "monday th. the first three miles of our route lay over sandy downs, when we found ourselves in grassy, wooded plains, lying between the flat-topped range, and some dunes which bordered a bay," etc. it is well known that people in the latter stages of starvation have constantly visions before their eyes of sumptuous entertainments, rich meats, and delicious wines. captain grey, who was then walking for his life, at a barclay pace, with a very empty stomach, was probably labouring under a similar hallucination with respect to the country over which he passed; beholding flowery meads and fertile vales in districts which we fear would prove little attractive to a settler. he beheld fine flowing rivers and sheltered bays, which have since altogether disappeared, like the scenes beheld on misty mornings by sicilian mariners. his account of the country determined the western australian company to change the site of their intended settlement. calling together the purchasers of land at australind, the directors offered to return them the amount of their respective purchases, or allow them to take up new allotments in the very superior district of port grey. almost all chose to reclaim their cash, and declined further speculation. the company now, towards the close of , sent out mr. clifton, their "chief commissioner," with directions to remove the whole of their establishment then settled at australind, to the new settlement of port grey. on arriving at australind, mr. clifton was agreeably surprised to find the country much superior to what he had expected, after hearing captain grey's account of it. so differently do the same objects appear to different eyes! and perhaps captain grey had only viewed the sandy banks of the inlet, without having passed into the interior, and seen the flats of the brunswick, etc. there is a very great deal more of worthless than of good land at australind, which is the case throughout the whole of new holland, in the very best districts. the general character throughout all the settled parts of the island, or continent, is bad, with scattered patches of good. the chief commissioner, however, prepared to carry out his instructions, though with much regret, as he doubted greatly whether the proposed alteration would prove for the better. these preparations were put a stop to by a communication from his excellency the governor, informing him that the government schooner had recently returned from a survey of the coast and district of the so-called port grey, and that no sufficient harbour could be discovered along the coast; whilst the country in every direction appeared barren and incapable of cultivation. mr. clifton therefore remained at australind with his party, and used every effort and exerted every energy to found a flourishing colony. but unfortunately, the change of site to port grey, and then the return to australind, and the various conflicting accounts promulgated by the company themselves, now lauding and now condemning the two places in turn, operated so unfavourably upon the public mind that no more sales of land could be effected. it became, therefore, inexpedient to maintain the expensive establishment of commissioners, secretaries, and surveyors at australind, who were accordingly conge'd without much ceremony; and the western australian company, like the "unsubstantial pageant," or port grey itself, "melted into air, thin air," leaving "not a rack behind." yet not exactly so, for it has left behind, like some stranded wreck by the receding tide, a most worthy and high-minded family who deserved a brighter fate. such has been the lamentable result of captain grey's discoveries in western australia; for whether there be or not a good tract of land in the neighbourhood of champion bay, captain grey's denunciation of australind, and his strongly urged advice to the company to change the site of their settlement, have undoubtedly been the chief causes of their failure. three expeditions have been sent to the scene of this australian fata morgana, in the hope of beholding it again, but like the door of the fairy palace in the rock, it is visible only to prince ahmed; and unless the governor of new zealand will himself found a colony there, it is most likely ever to remain desert and valueless. the first expedition was that in the government schooner, in , already alluded to; the second was made in , by h.m.s. beagle, captain stokes, accompanied by the chief commissioner, mr. clifton. a careful survey was made of the coast as far north as the spot were captain grey was wrecked, and began his march southward, but nothing was discovered at all resembling the description given of port grey. the only bay in which a ship could lie, and that with very doubtful security, was champion bay; but unfortunately the country in every direction from this spot is most barren and miserable. captain grey travelled close along the coast-line, according to his journal, but those who have gone in search of his "fertile valleys" have penetrated some distance into the interior, without discovering anything but scrub and desert. captain stokes, in his published "letter to the surveyor general of western australia," detailing his proceedings, mentions having "now seen and examined an extent of country little short of forty miles, nearly the whole of which deserved the character of sterility." in another place, he related the discovery of "the only piece of grass of a useful nature seen in this route; it was, however, quite parched, and occupied a space of three or four acres." not being able to find any tolerable shelter along the coast besides champion bay, he concludes that it must be the spot designated as port grey; and after exploring the country behind it, with the effect just stated, he sailed away one morning towards the north-west and meeting with a "favourable westerly wind," by afternoon was carried "past the bight south of point moore, sufficiently near to see that its shores were fronted with many sunken rocks." this also led to the conclusion that "champion bay is the port captain grey speaks of in his journal, placed in arrowsmith's chart twelve miles south of its true position." since the date of captain stokes's survey, captain grey has himself virtually admitted champion bay to be the locality visited by him. in a letter to that officer dated, "government house, adelaide, january , ," and published in the south australian journals, captain grey observes, "i have attentively read your letter to the hon. the surveyor-general of western australia; and have also considered the observations made by you to me, relative to the error you suppose i have fallen into in mistaking the wizard peak of captain king for the hill named by him mount fairfax, and i find i have certainly fallen into this error -- a by no means unlikely one, considering the very similar character of the singular group of hills called moresby's flat-topped range, and the circumstances under which i was journeying." the hill, therefore, at whose foot captain grey halted on the afternoon of april , , was not mount fairfax, but the wizard peak, or some other hill "to the north of mount fairfax." from thence the "sandy downs," (mentioned in the extract from his journal that i have given above) over which he passed in the evening continued to within "half a mile of the sea," where "they terminated in cliffs." to have seen all this he must have been walking at no very great distance from the shore during that day's marsh. his object was to reach perth as quickly as possible; and he steered in the most direct course -- "south by east." we know, therefore, exactly the line of country traversed by captain grey -- the "singular group called moresby's flat-topped range" being unmistakeable. in december, , h. m. colonial schooner, champion, under the command of lieutenant helpman, r.n., accompanied by mr. j. harrison, civil engineer, etc., was again despatched by governor hutt to make further observations in the neighbourhood of gantheaume bay. lieutenant helpman says in his report, "i coasted close in from champion bay, collecting angles and soundings until in latitude degrees ' ", s. the low ridges of sand along the shore induced me to land, being then (as i concluded from the latitude given by captain grey) in the immediate vicinity of the estuary." this estuary is described by captain grey in his diary of the fifth april, who states that "for one mile we continued along the rich flats which bordered the estuary" ... "we ascended the limestone range, and got a view of the country to the eastward and found it still grassy, and exactly the same character as far as we could see. for the next five miles we continued along the top of the limestone range, the estuary still occupying the valley which lay to the west of us." ... "at the end of a mile in a south by east direction, we found ourselves on the banks of a river, the hutt, from forty to fifty yards wide, which was running strong, and was brackish at its mouth," etc. such was the appearance of the estuary and of the hutt river in the eyes of captain grey. lieutenant helpman continues his report as follows: -- "on reaching the summit of the highest coast hill i found myself abreast of the centre of the inlet, which was void of water, but presented the appearance of a continuous sheet of salt as far as the eye could reach. passing over the coast ridges, i came down, in about half a mile, to the edge of the estuary, and followed it in a southerly direction for about two miles, when i ascended another hill, from which i could clearly see the south end of it, which was covered with the same description of incrustration of salt. "a gorge at the south-east corner of the estuary is probably where the hutt river discharges itself during the rainy season, but there was no appearance of water in any part of the flat, which was about two miles wide between the hills and the south-east shore of the inlet. "observing that the north extremity of the estuary, as seen from the hill just referred to, presented some slight appearance of water, i was induced to examine it, and found the sand ridges on the coast extremely low, nearly destitute of herbage, but giving the idea of having had water passing over them. this i judged to be the case, from a few blades of very coarse grass which were laid flat on the ground, as if from the effects of running water. "from the highest point of these ridges, notwithstanding the smoke from the numerous native fires, the whole north end of the inlet was plainly seen to be covered with salty incrustations, similar to those previously referred to. "i conceive the point of land near which these latter observations were made, and where i landed the second time, to be shoal point of the chart; but, except that it is very low, i see no cause for its name, as the water was deep close to it, and having only a few rocks close off its extreme west point, within a quarter of a mile of the shore. "following close in from shoal point, the coast is perfectly clear of dangers; but i observed no opening in the hills indicative of a river, nor could i discover any bay or place of shelter for shipping to resort to. "red point, which is the western entrance of gantheaume bay, is a very bold headland of considerable elevation, it is circular, and about four miles in extent. i landed at the east end of the red sand cliffs, taking a specimen of the rock. "the land to the northward from this promontory is of a white sandy appearance, having ridges of sand hills along the coast of moderate altitude. "the low state of the barometer, and the strong northerly winds, induced me to keep the vessel at a considerable offing. during the day the breezes were very fresh, and had it not been for the whale-boat with which i was furnished, i should not have been able to have effected a landing on any part of the coast which came under my observation. under these circumstances, i was compelled most reluctantly to abandon the idea of spending much time in examining the interior. "the very dry state of the hutt at this season seems to indicate that but little water flows into it at any time; and i am disposed to fancy, that the lagoon, or estuary, owes its formation to the breaking in of the sea over the low sand hills during the tempestuous gales of the winter months, more especially towards the north end of the inlet, where the sand ridges are lower than in any other part of the coast in that vicinity." thus the luxuriant country of captain grey, like the water-pools seen in the mirage of the desert, when approached, vanishes from the view of the traveller. it is to be observed, that captain stokes and lieutenant helpman surveyed these districts in the early part of the summer season -- november and december -- when they were more likely to appear fertile than on the th and th april, quite at the end of that season, and just before the commencement of the winter rains. since the above passages were written, i have read an account in the perth journals of january, , of the discovery of coal by the messrs. gregory, about forty miles east of champion bay. these gentlemen relate, that in journeying towards the coast, they passed through a tract of country capable of being settled. this may possibly be captain grey's luxuriant district; and yet the district which he describes was close upon the coast. it is also stated, that there is now ascertained to be a corner of champion bay in which small vessels may find a safe anchorage; and this is conjectured to be that port grey whose existence has been so long denied. but, although a few miles of country may be found in this neighbourhood capable of supporting a limited number of flocks and herds, it is certain that there is no such district here as would suffice for the purposes of a colony of the magnitude contemplated by the western australian company. the advice, therefore, given them to change the site of the operations from australind, or leschenault, to champion bay, or port grey, was the most pernicious that could have been bestowed. but it may certainly be doubted whether the principles on which the settlement of australind was founded were in themselves of a sound and permanent nature. they were those propounded originally by mr. edward gibbon wakefield, and applied with extraordinary success to the formation and to the circumstances of the colony of south australia. the most prominent features which they present are, -- the concentration of population, and the high price of land. the land in the immediate neighbourhood of adelaide is very fine, and capable of supporting a dense population; it was therefore perhaps, good policy to divide it into eight-acre sections, valued at one pound per acre, which supported a body of agriculturalists, who found a ready and near market for their productions in the rapidly rising town. but there are few theories that will bear universal application; and the mistake made in the case of australind was, in expecting to obtain the same result from principles which were to be applied under very different circumstances. the land adjoining the town-site of australind is generally very indifferent, though the flats of the brunswick and collie rivers afford perhaps some thousand acres of excellent land, but still not sufficient to maintain a large and dense population. the company's property was divided into farms of acres, and these were valued at pounds each to the emigrants, who drew lots for the choice of site. when the settlers arrived and took possession of their respective grants, they soon discovered that if they all produced wheat, there would certainly be plenty of food in the settlement, but very little sale for it; whereas, if they intended to become sheep-farmers, and produce wool for the english market, one hundred acres of land would not suffice in that country for the keep of fifty sheep. the sections of one hundred acres were, therefore, far too small for the wants of the settler, who found that, although he might probably be able to supply his table with vegetables, he had but small prospect of ever applying his capers to boiled mutton, or initiating his family into the mysteries of beef a la mode. disgusted with the narrowness of his prospects, and recoiling from the idea of a vegetable diet, the sturdy settler quickly abandoned the limited sections of australind, and wandered away in search of a grant of some three or four thousand acres, on which he might reasonably hope to pasture a flock of sheep that would return him good interest for the capital invested. the western australian company gave far too much for their land in the first instance, and were therefore compelled to set a much higher value upon it than it would bear. the ministers of the crown, who have adopted the principles of mr. gibbon wakefield, require one pound per acre for waste lands; and the company, though they purchased their property from private individuals at a somewhat lower rate, expected to sell it again at the same price. there is very little land (in proportion to the vast extent of poor and of entirely worthless land) throughout the length and breadth of all new holland, that is worth twenty shillings an acre. in the more densely populated parts, arable land is worth that sum, and often much more; but in the pastoral districts, three shillings an acre is in truth a high price. it has long been acknowledged in new south wales, as well as in other parts of australia, that it takes from three to five acres to support a single sheep throughout the year. an ewe-sheep is worth about nine shillings; and if you have to buy three and a half acres of land, at three shillings, to keep her upon, the amount of capital you invest will be nineteen shillings and sixpence. the profits on the wool of this sheep, after paying all expenses of keep, shearing, freight, commission, etc., will be barely two-pence, or about one per cent upon the capital invested. but then you have her lamb? true, but you must buy an additional quantity of land to keep it upon. still there is a gain upon the increase; and in process of time the annual profits amount up to ten and even twenty per cent. but suppose the three and a half acres of land, instead of shillings and pence had cost pounds shillings and pence, it would then be perfectly absurd to think of investing money in sheep. the course pursued by the home government, in fixing the uniform extravagant price of twenty shillings an acre upon the pastoral lands of australia, is probably more the result of ignorance of their real value than of a desire to check or prevent emigration to that country. it is an ignorance, however, that refuses to be enlightened, and has therefore all the guilt of deliberate injury. the monstrous demand of twenty shillings an acre for crown-lands, has not only had the effect of deterring capitalists from embarking in so hopeless a speculation, but has grievously wronged the existing land-owners, by raising the price of labour. when land was sold at five shillings an acre, a fund was accumulated in the hand of the local government that served to pay for the introduction of labouring emigrants. that fund has ceased to exist in new south wales and in western australia. the value of labour has therefore risen, whilst the value of agricultural produce, by the increase of the supply beyond the demand, has grievously diminished. the advocates of the wakefield system triumphantly inform us that there never can be a labour-fund in any colony in which private individuals are able to sell land at a cheaper rate than the government. they point to south australia, and bid us note how different is the state of things there, where land universally is worth a pound an acre or more. but to us it appears, that the character of the soil is much the same throughout these countries -- if anything, being superior in western australia, where there are no droughts, and where the wool produced, though the worst got up, from the want of labour, is stated by the london brokers to be pre-eminent in quality -- that colony would most naturally be sought by the emigrant in which the price of land is the most reasonable. it is not the high price of land that has caused the prosperity of south australia. every one who is well informed on the subject, is perfectly aware, that in and , before the discovery of copper-mines, south australia was universally in a state of bankruptcy. never was a country so thoroughly smitten with ruin. almost all the original settlers sank in the general prostration of the settlement, and never again held up their heads. the inhabitants slunk away from the colony in numbers; and property even in adelaide was almost worthless. the holders of the eighty-acre sections produced far more of the necessaries of life than the non-producing population required; and the neighbouring colonies were deluged with the farm-produce of the bankrupt agriculturalists of south australia. this model colony afforded itself the most signal refutation of the truth of the wakefield theories; and the whole world would have been compelled to acknowledge the falsehood, but for the opportune discovery of the mineral wealth of the colony. it is to its mines that south australia owes its good fortune, its population, and its riches, and not to any secret of political economy bestowed upon it by adventurous theorists. according to the opinion of these philosophers, new south wales and western australia can never again by any possibility possess a labour-fund, because the private owners of large grants of land, which they obtained for nominal sums, can always afford to undersell the crown. so long as the crown refuses to sell for less than a pound an acre, this will certainly be the case; but the day will doubtless come when our rulers will condescend to enquire into the necessities of those over whose fortunes they preside; and will adopt a policy suited to the actual circumstances of the case, and not vainly endeavour to apply, universally, abstract opinions which have long been proved to be, in almost all parts of australia, totally useless and inapplicable. the only way to raise a labour-fund in these colonies is, by offering crown-lands to the emigrant at the lowest market price. the crown could always afford to undersell the private land-speculator, and might establish a permanent fund for the introduction of labour, by selling land at a low rate, and reserving a rent-charge, in the shape of a land-tax -- of one half-penny per acre. thus, every grant of five thousand acres would pay an annual tax to government of pounds shillings and pence; and would, therefore, in a very few years, accumulate a fund sufficient to supply itself with a labouring population. when it is remembered how very small was the original cost to the owners of most of the lands in western australia, there will not appear much hardship in imposing this tax upon all the private property of the colony, as well as upon lands to be hereafter sold by the crown. this course of legislation would infuse new vitality into the colony; and at the end of the short period of five years, the tax might be suspended as regards all lands purchased by individuals prior to the passing of the act, but continued for ever upon lands purchased under the act, and in contemplation of having to bear such a rent-charge. this is the only way by which emigration can be insured to the colonies of new south wales and western australia; and the time will sooner or later arrive when this suggestion will be adopted, though it may not be acknowledged. her majesty's present secretary of state for the colonies is the first really liberal minister we have had; and to him the distant and struggling settlements of australia look with reviving hope. the objects most eagerly sought by those colonies are -- a new system of government, with less of colonial-office interference; a regular post-office communication with england; and a total reform in the existing regulations for the sale of crown-lands, without which, in countries purely pastoral and agricultural, there can never again be formed a fund for the introduction of labour. in the hope of making colonial subjects more familiar to the general reader, and more popular than they are at present, i have perhaps given to this little work a character so trifling as to make it appear unworthy of the attention of political philosophers; and yet, inasmuch as it points out some of the wants of a large body of british subjects, whose fortunes lie entirely at the mercy of distant rulers, who have but little sympathy with a condition of which they possess but a most imperfect knowledge -- it is a work (inadequate though it be) not altogether undeserving of the consideration even of statesmen. note to chapter . i am happy that this work will become the medium of informing the colonists of western australia of one of the most promising events that has ever happened to that country. the ship-timber of the colony, a trial cargo of which arrived in england this month (october, ), has just been admitted into the royal navy. a highly favourable report has been made upon it by the government surveyors, and it is pronounced admirably adapted for kelsons, stern-posts, great beams for steam-frigates, and other heavy work. if a company be formed, on good principles, and under proper management, a timber trade for the supply of the navy will be found most lucrative. the principal portion of the labour should be performed by chinamen, to be obtained from sincapore. for this great boon, the colonists are indebted to lord auckland, the first lord of the admiralty, for his ready acquiescence in agreeing to receive the timber, by way of experiment; to mr. g. h. ward, the secretary, for the kind attention he has paid to every request made to him on the subject, notwithstanding that he has been sufficiently pestered to have wearied the patience of the most amiable of mankind; and, above all, to our late governor, mr. hutt, and his brother, the honourable member for gateshead, who have been indefatigable in their exertions to promote the weal of the colony. the end. peeps at many lands australia [illustration: the nomad of the australian interior] [illustration: kangaroo hunting. page .] peeps at many lands australia by frank fox with twelve full-page illustrations in colour by percy f. s. spence, etc. london adam and charles black contents chapter i page australia, its beginning chapter ii australia of to-day chapter iii the natives chapter iv the animals and birds chapter v the australian bush chapter vi the australian child list of illustrations kangaroo-hunting _frontispiece_ facing page snowy mountains near the site of the federal capital viii the barrier of the blue mountains the garden streets of adelaide collins street, melbourne the town hall, sydney australian natives in captain cook's time the australian forest at night--"mooning" opossums a sheep drover a hut in the bush surf-bathing--shooting the breakers australian children riding to school the nomad of the australian interior _on the cover_ _sketch-map of australia on pages vi and vii._ [illustration: map of australia] [illustration: kookaburras. _page_ .] [illustration: snowy mountains near the site of the federal capital. page .] australia chapter i its beginning a "sleeping beauty" land--the coming of the english--early explorations--the resourceful australian. the fairy-story of the sleeping beauty might have been thought out by someone having australia in his mind. she was the sleeping beauty among the lands of the earth--a great continent, delicately beautiful in her natural features, wonderfully rich in wealth of soil and of mine, left for many, many centuries hidden away from the life of civilization, finally to be wakened to happiness by the courage and daring of english sailors, who, though not princes nor even knights in title, were as noble and as bold as any hero of a fairy-tale. how australia came to be in her curious isolated position in the very beginning is not quite clear. the story of some of the continents is told in their rocks almost as clearly as though written in books. but australia is very, very old as a continent--much older than europe or america or asia--and its story is a little blurred and uncertain partly for that reason. look at the map and see its shape--something like that of a pancake with a big bite out of the north-eastern corner. in the very old days australia was joined to those islands on the north--the east indies--and through them to asia; but it was countless ages ago, for the animals and the plants of australia have not the least resemblance to those of asia. they represent a class quite distinct in themselves. that proves that for a very long time there has been no land connection between australia and asia; if there had been, the types of flower and of beasts would be more nearly kindred. there would be tigers and elephants in australia and emus in asia, and the kangaroo and other marsupials would probably have disappeared. the marsupial, it may be explained, is one of the mammalian order, which carries its young about in a pouch for a long time after they are born. with such parental devotion, the marsupials would have little chance of surviving in any country where there were carnivorous animals to hunt them down; but australia, with the exception of a very few dingoes, had no such animals, so the marsupials survived there whilst vanishing from all other parts of the earth. when australia was sundered from asia, probably by some great volcanic outburst (the east indies are to this day much subject to terrible earthquakes and volcanic outbreaks, and not so many years ago a whole island was destroyed in the straits of sunda), the new continent probably was in the shape somewhat of a ring, with very high mountains facing the sea, and, where now is the great central plain, a lake or inland sea. as time wore on, the great mountains were ground down by the action of the snow and the rain and the wind. the soil which was thus made was in part carried towards the centre of the ring, and in time the sea or lake vanished, and australia took its present form of a great flat plain, through which flow sluggish rivers--a plain surrounded by a tableland and a chain of coastal mountains. the natives and the animals and plants of australia, when it first became a continent, were very much the same, in all likelihood, as now. thus separated in some sudden and dramatic way, australia was quite forgotten by the rest of the world. in asia, near by, the chinese built up a curious civilization, and discovered, among other things, the use of the mariner's compass, but they do not seem to have ever attempted to sail south to what is now known as australasia. the japanese, borrowing culture from the chinese, framed their beautiful and romantic social system, and, having a brave and enterprising spirit, became seafarers, and are known to have reached as far as the hawaiian islands, more than halfway across the pacific ocean to america; but they did not come to australia. the indian empire rose to magnificent greatness; the empires of babylon, of nineveh, of persia, came and went. the greeks, and the romans later, penetrated to hindustan. the christian era came, and later the opening up of trade with the east indies and with china. but still australia slept, in her out-of-the-way corner, apart from the great streams of human traffic, a rich and beautiful land waiting for her fairy prince to waken her to greatness. there had been, though, some vague rumours of a great island in the southern seas. a writer of chios (greece) years before the christian era mentions that there existed an island of immense extent beyond the seas washing europe, asia, and africa. it is thought that greek soldiers who had accompanied alexander the great to india had brought rumours from the indians of this new land. but if the indians knew of australia, there is no trace of their having visited the continent. marco polo, the venetian traveller, who explored the east indies, speaks of a java major as well as a java minor, and in that he may refer to australia; but he made no attempt to reach the land. some old maps fill up the ocean from the east indies to the south pole with a vague continent called terra australis; but plainly they were only guessing, and did not have any real knowledge. in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries spanish and portuguese sailors pushed on bravely with the work of exploring the east indies, and some of their maps of the period give indications of a knowledge of the existence of the australian continent. but the definite discovery did not come until , when de quiros and de torres, spanish admirals, sailed to the east indies and heard of the southern continent. they sailed in search of it, but only succeeded in touching at some of the outlying islands. one of the new hebrides de quiros called "terra australis del espiritu santo" (the southern land of the holy ghost), fancying the island to be australia. that gave the name "australia," which is all that survives to remind us of spanish exploration. in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries dutch sailors set to work to search for the new southern land, and in , , and undoubtedly touched on points of australia. in tasman--from whom tasmania, a southern island of australia, gets its name--made important discoveries as to the southern coast. he called the island first van diemen's land, after maria van diemen, the girl whom he loved; but this name was afterwards changed. maria island, off the coast of tasmania, still, however, keeps fresh the memory of the dutch sailor's sweetheart. but none of these nations was destined to be the fairy prince to waken australia out of her long sleep. that privilege was kept for the british race; we cannot but think happily, for no spanish or dutch colony has ever reached to the greatness and the happiness of an australia, a canada, or a south africa. it is in the british blood, it seems, to colonize happily. the gardeners of the british race know how to "plant out" successfully. they shelter and protect the young trees in their far-away countries through the perils of infancy, and then let them grow up in healthy and vigorous independence. this wise method is borrowed from family life. if a child is either too much coddled, or too much kept under in its young days, it will rarely grow to the best and most vigorous manhood or womanhood. british colonies grow into healthy nations just as british schoolboys grow into healthy men, because they are, at an early stage, taught to be self-reliant. it was not until that australia was in any way explored by the english captain, william dampier. his reports on the new land were not very flattering. he spoke of its dry, sandy soil, and its want of water. this sleeping beauty had a way of pretending to be ugly to the new-comer. from to captain cook carried on the first thorough british exploration of australia, and took possession of it and new zealand for the british crown. in , just a century after its first exploration by a british seaman, australia was actually occupied by great britain, "the first fleet" founding a settlement on the shores of port jackson, by the side of a little creek called the tank stream. that was the beginning of sydney, at present one of the greatest cities of the british empire. a great continent had been thus entered. the sleeping beauty was aroused from the slumber of centuries. but very much had yet to be done before she could "marry the prince and then live happily ever afterwards." the story of how that was done, and how australia was explored and settled, is one of the most heroic of our british annals. true, no wild animals or warlike tribes had to be faced; but vast distances of land which of itself produced little or no food for man, the long waterless stretches, the savage ruggedness of the mountains, set up obstacles far more awesome because more strange. man had to contend, not with wild animals, whose teeth and claws he might evade, nor with wild men whose weapons he could overmatch with his own, but with nature in what seemed always a hostile and unrelenting mood. it almost seemed that nature, unwilling to give up to civilization the last of the lonely lands of the earth, made a conscious effort to beat back the advance of exploration and civilization. on the little coastal settlement famine was soon felt. the colonists did not understand how to get crops from the soil. they attempted to follow the times and the manners of england; but here they were in the antipodes, where everything was exactly opposite to english conditions. there were no natural grain-crops; there were practically no food-animals good to eat. the kangaroo and wallaby provide nowadays a delicious soup (made from the tails of the animals), but the flesh of their bodies is tough and dark and rank. even so it was in very limited supply. the early settlers ate kangaroo flesh gladly, but they were not able to get enough of it to keep them in meat. communication with england, whence all food had to come, was in those days of sailing-ships slow and uncertain. at different times the first settlement was in actual danger of perishing from starvation and of being abandoned in despair at ever making anything useful of a land which seemed unable to produce even food for white inhabitants. fortunately, those thoughts of despair were not allowed to rule. the dogged british spirit saved the position. the conquest of nature in australia was perseveringly carried through, and great britain has the reward to-day in the existence of an all-british continent having nearly , , of population, who are the richest producers in the world from the soil. [illustration: the barrier of the blue mountains. pages & .] after the early settlers had learned with much painful effort that the coast around sydney would produce some little grain and fruit and grass for cattle, there was still another halt in the progress of the continent. west of sydney, about forty miles from the coast, stretched the blue mountains, and these it was found impossible to cross. no passes existed. though not very lofty, the mountains were savagely wild. the explorer, following a ridge or a line of valley with patience for many miles, would come suddenly on a vast chasm; a cliff-face falling absolutely perpendicularly , feet or so would declare "no road here." nowadays, when the blue mountains have been conquered, and they are traversed by roads and railways, tourists from all parts of the world find great joy in looking upon these wonderful gorges; but in the days of the explorers they were the cause of many disappointments--indeed, of many tragedies. men escaping from the prisons (australia was first used as a reformatory by great britain) would attempt to cross the blue mountains on their way, as they thought, to china and freedom, always to perish miserably in the wild gorges. finally, the blue mountains were conquered by the explorers blaxland, lawson, and wentworth. two roads were cut across them, one from sydney, one from windsor, about thirty miles north from sydney. the passing of the blue mountains opened up to australia the great tableland, on which the chief mineral discoveries were to be made, and the vast interior plains, which were to produce merino wool of such quality as no other land can equal. from that onwards exploration was steadily pushed on. sometimes the explorers went out into the wilderness with horses, sometimes with camels; other tracts of land were explored by boat expeditions, following the track of one of the slow rivers. the perils always were of thirst and hunger. very rarely did the blacks give any serious trouble. but many explorers perished from privation, such as burke and wills (who led out a great expedition from melbourne, which was designed to cross the continent from north to south) and dr. leichhardt. even now there is some danger in penetrating to some of the wilder parts of the interior of australia without a skilful guide, who knows where water can be found, and deaths from thirst in the bush are not infrequent. one device has saved many lives. the wildest and loneliest part of the continent is traversed by a telegraph line, which brings the european cable-messages from port darwin, on the north coast, to adelaide, in the south. men lost in the bush near to that line make for its route and cut the wire. that causes an interruption on the line; a line-repairer is sent out from the nearest repairing-station, and finds the lost man camped near the break. sometimes he is too late, and finds him dead. in the west, around the great goldfields, where water is very scarce, white explorers have sometimes adopted a way to get help which is far more objectionable. the natives in those regions are very reluctant to show the locality of the waterholes. the supply is scanty, and they have learned to regard the white man as wasteful and inconsiderate in regard to water. but a white explorer or traveller has been known to catch a native, and, filling his mouth with salt, to expose him to the heat of the sun until the tortures of thirst forced him to lead the white party to a native well. but these are rare dark spots on the picture. the records of australian exploration, as a whole, are bright with heroism. the early pioneer in australia--called a "squatter" because he squatted on the land where he chose--enjoyed a picturesque life. taking all his household goods with him, driving his flocks and herds before him, he moved out into the wilderness looking for a place to settle or "squat." it was the experience of the "swiss family robinson" made real. the little community, with its waggons and tents, its horses, oxen, sheep, dogs, perhaps also with a few poultry in one of the waggons, would have to live for many months an absolutely self-contained life. the family and its servants would provide wheelwrights, blacksmiths, carpenters, veterinary surgeons, cattle-herds, milkers, shearers, cooks, bridge-builders, and the like. the children brought up under those conditions won not only fine healthy frames, but an alertness of mind, a wideness of resource which made them, and their children after them, fine nation-builders. i am tempted, in illustration of this, to quote from a larger work of mine, "australia," an instance of my own observation of the "resourceful australian": "without touch of cap, or sign of servility, the swagman came up. "'gotter a job, boss?' "'no chance; but you can go round and get rations.' "'i wanter job pretty bad. times have been hard. perhaps you recollect me--jim stone. you had me once working on the paroo.' "it was a blazing hot day in central queensland on one of the big cattle stations out from the railway line, a station which had not yet reached the dignity of fencing. the boss remembered that jim stone "was a good sort," and that it was forty miles to the next chance of a job. and there was always something to be done on a station. "'all right, stone. i think i can put you on to something for a month or two.' "'thanks. start now?' "'look. i have got a few men on digging tanks, about thirty miles out. it's north-north-east. you can pick up their camp?' "'yes.' "'well, i want you to take a bullock-dray out, with stores, and bring back anything they want sent back.' "'yes. where are the bullocks?' "'i haven't got a team broken in. but there's old scarlet-eye and two others broken in. you'll pick them up along that little creek there, six miles out'; he pointed indefinitely into the heat haze on the plain, where there seemed to be some trees on the horizon. 'collar them, and then you'll find the milkers' herd right back of the homestead, only a few miles. punch out seven of the biggest and make up your team.' "'yes. where's ther dray?' "'behind the blacksmith's shed there. by the way, there are no yokes, but you'll find some bar-iron and some timber at the blacksmith's shed. knock out some yokes. i think there's one chain. you can make up another with some fencing wire.' "'right-oh.' "and this australian casual worker (at s. a week and rations) went his way cheerfully. he had to find some odd bullocks six miles out, in the flat, grey, illimitable plain; then find the herd of milkers somewhere else in that vague vastness, and break seven of them to harness; fix up a dray and make cattle yokes; and then go out into the depths to find a camp thirty miles out, without a fence or a track, and hardly a tree, to guide him. "he did it all, because to him it was quite ordinary. the freshly-broken-in cattle had to be kept in the yokes for a week, night and day, else they would have cleared out. that was the only real hardship, in his opinion, and the cattle had to suffer that. he was content to be surveyor, waggon-builder, blacksmith, subduer of beasts, man of infinite pluck, resource, and energy, for s. a week and rations! and he was a typical sample of the 'back-country australian.'" in the australian bush most children can milk a cow, ride a horse, or harness him into a cart, snare or shoot game, kill a snake, find their way through the trackless forest by the sun or the stars, and cook a meal. in the cities, too, they are, though less skilled in such things, used to do far more for themselves than the average european child. after the squatters in australia came the gold-diggers. gold was discovered in victoria and in new south wales. at first, strangely enough, an effort was made to prevent the fact being known that gold was to be found in australia. some of the rulers of the colony feared that the gold would ruin and not help the country. and certainly in the very early days of the gold-digging rushes, much harm was done to the settled industries of the land through everybody rushing away to the diggings. farms were abandoned, workshops deserted, the sailors left their ships, the shepherds their sheep, the shop-keepers their shops--all with the gold fever. but that early madness soon passed away, and australia got the benefit of the gold discoverers in a great increase of population. most of those who came to dig gold remained to dig potatoes and other more certain wealth out of the land. do you remember the tale of the ancient wise man whose two sons were lazy fellows? he could not get them by any means to work in the vineyard. as long as his own hands could toil he tended the vineyard, and maintained his idle sons. but on his death-bed he feared for their future. so he made them the victims of a pious fraud. "there is a great sum in gold buried in the vineyard," he told them with his dying breath. "but i cannot tell you where. you must find that for yourselves." tempted by the promise of quick fortune, the idle sons dug everywhere in the vineyard to find the buried treasure. they never came across any actual gold, but the good effect of their digging was such that the vineyard prospered wonderfully and they grew rich from its fine crops. so it was, in a way, with australia. the gold discoverers did much good by attracting people to the country in search of gold who, though they found no gold, developed the other resources of a great country. when the yields from the alluvial goldfields decreased there was a great demand from the out-of-work diggers and others for land for farming, and the agricultural era began in australia. since then the growth of the country has been sound, and, if a little slow, sure. it has been slow because the ideal of the people has always been a sound and a general well-being rather than a too-quick growth. "slow and steady" is a good motto for a nation as well as an individual. chapter ii australia of to-day the diggings--the government at melbourne--the sheep-runs--the rabbits--the delights of sydney. if, by good luck, you were to have a trip to australia now, you would find, probably, the sea voyage, which takes up five weeks as a rule, a little irksome. but fancy that over, and imagine yourself safely into australia of to-day. fremantle will be the first place of call. it is the port of perth, which is the capital of west australia. that great state occupies nearly a quarter of the continent; but its population is as yet the least important of the continental states, and not very much ahead of the little island of tasmania. still, west australia is advancing very quickly. on the north it has great pearl fisheries; inland it has goldfields, which take second rank in the world's list, and it is fast developing its agricultural and pastoral riches. very soon it will be possible to leave the steamer at fremantle and go by train right across the continent to the eastern cities. now you must travel by steamer to port adelaide, for adelaide, the capital of south australia. it is a charming city, surrounded by vineyards, orange orchards, and almond and olive groves. in the season you may get for a penny all the grapes that you could possibly eat, and oranges and other fruit are just as cheap. adelaide has the reputation of being a very "good" city. it was founded largely by high-minded colonists from britain, whose main idea was to seek in the new world a place where poverty and its evils would not exist. to a very large extent they succeeded. there are no slums in adelaide and no starving children. everywhere is an air of quiet comfort. [illustration: the garden streets of adelaide. page .] from adelaide you may take the train to complete your trip, the end of which is, say, brisbane. leaving adelaide, you climb in the train the pretty mount lofty mountains and then sweep down on to the plains and cross the murray river near its mouth. the murray is the greatest of australian rivers. it rises in the australian alps, and gathers on its way to the sea the murrumbidgee and the darling tributaries. there is a curious floating life on these rivers. nomad men follow along their banks, making a living by fishing and doing odd jobs on the stations they pass. they are called "whalers," and follow the life, mainly, i think, because of a gipsy instinct for roving, since it is not either a comfortable or profitable existence. on the rivers, too, are all sorts of curious little colonies, living in barges, and floating down from town to town. you may find thus floating, little theatres, cinematograph shows, and even circuses. the fisheries of these rivers are somewhat important, the chief fish caught being the murray cod. it grows sometimes to a vast size, to the size almost of a shark; but when the cod is so big its flesh is always rank and uneatable by europeans. fishing for a cod is not an occupation calling for very much industry. the fisherman baits his line, ties it to a stake fixed on the river bank, and on the stake hangs a bell. then the fisherman gets under the shadow of a gum-tree and enjoys a quiet life, reading or just lazing. if a cod takes the bait the bell will ring, and he will go and collect his fish, which obligingly catches itself, and does not need any play to bring it to land. a cruel practice is followed to keep these fish fresh until a boat or train to the city markets is due: a line is passed through the cod's lip, and it is tethered to a stake in the water near the bank. thus it can swim about and keep alive for some time; but the cruelty is great, and efforts are now being made to stop this tethering of codfish. these australian inland rivers are slow and sluggish, and fish, such as trout, accustomed to clear running waters, will not live in them. but in the smaller mountain streams, which feed the big inland rivers, trout thrive, and as they have been introduced from england and america they provide good sport to anglers. the plain-country through which the big rivers flow is very flat, and is therefore liable to great floods. australia has the reputation of being a very dry country; as a matter of fact, the rainfall over one-third of its area is greater than that of england. in most places the rainfall is, however, badly distributed. after long spells of very dry weather there will come fierce storms, during which the rain sometimes falls at the rate of an inch an hour. this fact, and the curious physical formation of the continent, about which you already know, makes it very liable to floods. great floods of the past have been at brisbane, the capital of queensland, destroying a section of the city; at bourke (n.s.w.), and at gundagai (n.s.w.). in the latter a town was destroyed and many lives lost. another flood on the hunter river (n.s.w.) was marked by the drowning of the speaker of the local parliament. but great loss of human life is rare; sacrifice of stock is sometimes, however, enormous. cattle fare better than sheep, for they will make some wise effort to reach a point of safety, whilst sheep will, as likely as not, huddle together in a hollow, not having the sense even to seek the little elevations which are called "hills," though only raised a few feet above the general level. i recall well a flood in the narrabri (n.s.w.) district some seventeen years ago, and its moving perils. the hillocks on which cattle, sheep, and in some cases human beings, had taken refuge were crowded, too, with kangaroos, emus, brolgas (a kind of crane), koalas (known as the native bear), rabbits, and snakes. mutual hostilities were for a time suspended by the common danger, though the snakes and the rabbits were rarely given the advantages of the truce if there were human beings present. an incident of that flood was that the little township of terry-hie-hie (these aboriginal names are strange!) was almost wiped out by starvation. beleaguered by the waters, it was cut off from all communication with the railway and with food-supplies. when the waters fell, the mud left on these black-soil plains was just as formidable a barrier. attempt after attempt to send flour through by horse and bullock teams failed. it was impossible for thirty horses to get through with one ton of flour! the siege was only raised when the population of the little town was on the very verge of starvation. after crossing the murray the train passes through what is known as "the desert"--a stretch of country covered with mallee scrub (the mallee is a kind of small gum-tree); but nowadays they are finding out that this mallee scrub is not hopeless country at all. the scrub is beaten down by having great rollers drawn over it by horses; that in time kills it. then the roots are dug up for firewood, and the land is sown with wheat. quite good crops are now being got from the mallee when the rains are favourable, but in dry seasons the wheat scorches off, and the farmer's labour is wasted. it is proposed now to carry irrigation channels through this and similar country. when that is done there will be no more talk of desert in most parts of australia. it will be conquered for the use of man just as the american alkali desert is being conquered. leaving the mallee, the train comes in time to ballarat, which used to be the great centre of the gold-mining industry. round here gold was discovered in great lumps lying on the ground or just below the roots of the grass. people rushed from all parts of the world to pick up fortunes when this was heard of. the road from melbourne was covered with waggons, with horsemen, with diggers on foot. most of them knew nothing at all about digging, and also lacked the knowledge of how to get along comfortably under "camping-out" conditions, when every man has to be his own cook, his own washer-up, his own laundryman, as well as his own mining labourer. but the best of the men learned quickly how to look after themselves, to pitch a tent, to cook a meal, to drive a shaft, and to do without food for long spells when on the search for new goldfields. thus they became resourceful and adventurous, and were of great value afterwards in the community. there is nowadays rather a tendency in civilized countries to bring children up too softly, to guard them too much against the little roughnesses of life. such experiences as those of the australian goldfields show how good it is for men to be taught how to look after themselves under primitive conditions. life on the australian goldfields, though wild, was not unruly. there was never any lynch law, never any "free shooting," as on the american goldfields. public order was generally respected, though there were at first no police. the miners, however, kept up vigilance committees, the main purpose of which was to check thefts. anyone proved guilty of theft, or even seriously suspected of pilfering, was simply ordered out of the camp. the chinese were very early in getting to know of the goldfields in australia, and rushed there in great numbers. they were not welcomed, and there was an exception to the general rule of good order in the anti-chinese riots on the goldfields. the result of these was that chinese were prevented by the government from coming into the country, except in very small numbers, and on payment of a heavy poll-tax. when this was done the excitement calmed down, and the chinese already in the country were treated fairly enough. they mostly settled down to growing vegetables or doing laundry-work, though a few still work as miners. the objection that the australians have to the chinamen and to other coloured races is that they do not wish to have in the country any people with whom the white race cannot intermarry, and they wish all people in australia to be equal in the eyes of the law and in social consideration. as you travel through australia, you will probably learn to recognize the wisdom of this, and you will get to like the australian social idea, which is to carry right through all relations of life the same discipline as governs a good school, giving respect to those who are most worthy of it, by conduct and by capacity, and not by riches or birth. we have stayed long enough at ballarat. let us move on to melbourne--"marvellous melbourne," as its citizens like to hear it called. melbourne is built on the shores of the yarra, where it empties into hudson bay, and its sea suburbs stretch along the beautiful sandy shores of that bay. few european or american children can enjoy such sea beaches as are scattered all over the australian coast. they are beautiful white or creamy stretches of firm sand, curving round bays, sometimes just a mile in length, sometimes of huge extent, as the ninety miles beach in victoria. the water on the australian coast is usually of a brilliant blue, and it breaks into white foam as it rolls on to the shelving sand. around carram, aspendale, mentone and brighton, near melbourne; at narrabeen, manly, cronulla, coogee, near sydney; and at a hundred other places on the australian coast, are beautiful beaches. you may see on holidays hundreds of thousands of people--men, women, and children--surf-bathing or paddling on the sands. it is quite safe fun, too, if you take care not to go out too far and so get caught in the undertow. sharks are common on the australian coast, but they will not venture into the broken water of surf beaches. but you must not bathe, except in enclosed baths in the harbours, or you run a serious risk of providing a meal for a voracious shark. sharks are quite the most dangerous foes of man in australia. there have been some heroic incidents arising from attacks by sharks on human beings. an instance: on a new south wales beach two brothers were bathing, and they had gone outside of the broken surf water. one was attacked by a shark. the other went to his rescue, and actually beat the great fish off, though he lost his arm in doing so. as a rule, however, the shark kills with one bite, attacking the trunk of its victim, which it can sever in two with one great snap of its jaws. children on the australian coast are very fond of the water. they learn to swim almost as soon as they can walk. through exposure to the sun whilst bathing their skin gets a coppery colour, and except for their anglo-saxon eyes you would imagine many australian youngsters to be arabs. the beaches of melbourne are not its only attractions. the city itself is a very handsome one, and its great parks are planted with fine english trees. you will see as good oaks and elms and beeches in fitzroy gardens, melbourne, as in any of the parks of old england. melbourne, too, at present, is the political capital of australia, and here meet the australian parliament. every young citizen of the empire should know something of the commonwealth of australia and its political institutions, because, as the idea of empire grows, it is recognized that all people of british race, whether australians, canadians, new zealanders, or south africans, or residents of the mother country, should know the whole empire. [illustration: collins street, melbourne. page .] after australia began to prosper it was found that the continent was too big to be governed by one parliament in sydney, so it split up into states, each with a constitution and government of its own. these states were new south wales, victoria, queensland, south australia, west australia, and tasmania. it was soon seen that a mistake had been made in splitting up altogether. the states were like children of one family, all engaged as partners in one business, who, growing up, decided to set up housekeeping each for himself, but neglected to arrange for some means by which they could meet together now and again and decide on matters which were of common interest to all of them. the separated states of australia were, all alike, interested in making australia great and prosperous, and keeping her safe; but in their hurry to set up independent housekeeping they forgot to provide for the safeguarding of that common interest. so soon as this was recognized, patriotic men set themselves to put things right, and the result was a federation of the states, which is called the commonwealth of australia. the different states are left to manage for themselves their local affairs, but the big australian affairs are managed by the commonwealth parliament, which at present meets in melbourne, but one day will meet in a new federal capital to be built somewhere out in the bush--that is to say, the wild, empty country. some people sneer at the idea of a "bush capital," but i think, and perhaps you will think with me, that there is something very pleasant and very promising of profit in the idea of the country's rulers meeting somewhere in the pure air of a quiet little city surrounded by the great australian forest. and as things are now, the population of australia is too much centralized in the big cities, and it will be a good thing to have another centre of population. in this railway trip across the continent you are being introduced to all the main features of australian life, so that you will have some solid knowledge of the conditions of the country, and can, later on, in chapters which will follow, learn of the bush, the natives, the birds and beasts and flowers, the games of australia. leaving melbourne, a fast and luxurious train takes you through the farming districts of victoria, past many smiling towns, growing rich from the industry of men who graze cattle, grow wheat and oats and barley, make butter, or pasture sheep. at albany the train crosses to murray again, this time near to its source, and new south wales is entered. for many, many miles now the train will run through flat, grassed country, on which great flocks of sheep graze. this is the riverina district, the most notable sheep land in the world. from here, and from similar plains running all along the western and northern borders of new south wales, comes the fine merino wool, which is necessary for first-class cloth-making. the story of merino wool is one of the romances of modern industry. before the days of australia, spain was looked upon as the only country in the world which could produce fine wool. spain was not willing that british looms should have any advantage of her production, and the british woollen manufacturing industry, confined to the use of coarser staples, languished. now australia, and australia practically alone, produces the fine wool of the world. australia merino wool is finer, more elastic, longer in staple, than any wool ever dreamed of a century ago, and its use alone makes possible some of the very fine cloths of to-day. this merino wool is purely a product of australian cleverness in sheep-breeding. the sheep imported have been improved upon again and again, quality and quantity of coat being both considered, until to-day the australian sheep is the greatest triumph of modern science as applied to the culture of animals, more wonderful and more useful than the thoroughbred race-horse. it is only on the hot plains that the merino sheep flourishes to perfection. if he is brought to cold hill-country in australia his coat at once begins to coarsen, and his wool is therefore not so good. as you pass the sheep-runs in the train you will probably notice that they are divided into paddocks by fine-mesh wire-netting. that is to keep the rabbits out. the rabbit is accounted rather a desirable little creature in great britain. a rabbit-warren on an estate is a source of good sport and good food, and the complaint is sometimes of too few rabbits rather than too many. a boy may keep rabbits as pets with some enjoyment and some profit. in australia rabbits were first introduced by an emigrant from england, who wished to give to his farm a home-like air. they spread over the country with such marvellous rapidity as to become soon a serious nuisance, then a national danger. millions of pounds have been spent in different parts of australia fighting the rabbit plague; millions more will yet have to be spent, for though the rabbits are now being kept in check, constant vigilance is needed to see that they do not get the upper hand again. the rabbit in australia increases its numbers very quickly: the doe will have up to eighty or ninety young in a year. there is no natural check to this; no winter spell of bitter cold to kill off the young and feeble. the only limit to the rabbit life is the food-supply, and that does not fail until the pasturage intended for the sheep is eaten bare. not only is the grass eaten, but also the roots of the grass, and the rabbit is a further nuisance because sheep dislike to eat grass at which bunny has been nibbling. the campaign against the rabbit in australia has had all the excitement and much of the misery of a great war. the march inland of the rabbit was like that of a devastating army. smiling prosperity was turned into black ruin. where there had been green pastures and bleating sheep there was a bare and dusty plain and starving stock. at first wholesale poisoning was tried as a remedy for the rabbit plague. it inflicted a check, but had the evil of killing off many of the native birds and animals. there was an idea once of trying to spread a disease among the rabbits, so as to kill them off quickly, but that was abandoned. now the method is to enclose the pasture-lands within wire-netting, which is rabbit-proof, and within this enclosure to destroy all logs and the like which provide shelters for the rabbits, to dig up all their burrows, and to hunt down the rabbit with dogs. the best of the lands are being thus quite cleared of rabbits. the worst lands are for the present left to bunny, who has become a source of income, being trapped and his carcase sent frozen to england, and his fur utilized for hat-felt. but be sure that if you bring to australia your rabbit pets with you from england they will be destroyed before you land, and you may reckon on having to face serious trouble with the law for trying to bring them into the country. whilst you have been hearing all this about the rabbit the train has climbed up from the plains to the blue mountains and is rushing down the coast slope towards sydney, the capital of new south wales, the chief commercial city of australia, and one of the great ports of the empire. sydney is, i do really think, the pleasantest place in the world for a child to live in, though two hot, muggy months of the year are to be avoided for health's sake. on the blue mountains, as you crossed in the train, you will have seen wild "gullies," as they are called in australia--ravines in the hills which rise abruptly all around, sometimes in wild cliffs and sometimes in steep wooded slopes. these gullies interlace with one another, one leading into another, and stretching out little arms in all directions. turn into one and try to follow it up, and you never know where it will end. well, once upon a time there was a particularly wild one of these gully systems on the coast hills where sydney now is. something sunk the level of the land suddenly, and the gullies were depressed below sea-level. the pacific ocean heard of this, broke a way through a great cliff-gate, and that made sydney harbour. entering sydney by sea, you come, as the ocean does, through a narrow gate between two lovely cliffs. turn sharply to the left, and you are in a maze of blue waters, fringed with steep hills. on these hills is built sydney. you may follow the harbour in all directions, up iron cove a couple of miles to leichhardt suburb; along the parramatta river (which is not a river at all, but one of the long arms of the ocean-filled gully system) ten miles to the orange orchard country; along the lane cove, through wooded hills, to another orchard tract; or, going in another direction, you may travel for scores of miles along what is called middle harbour, and then have north harbour still to explore. in spite of the nearness of the big city, and the presence here and there of lovely suburbs on the waterside, the area of sydney harbour is so vast, its windings are so amazing, that you can get in a boat to the wildest and most lovely scenery in an hour or two. the rocky shores abound in caves, where you can camp out in dryness and comfort. the bush at every season of the year flaunts wildflowers. there are fish to be had everywhere; in many places oysters; in some places rabbits, hares, and wallabies to be hunted. does it not sound like a children's paradise--all this within reach of a vast city? but let us tear ourselves away from sydney, and go on to brisbane, passing on the way through kurringai chase, one of the great national parks of new south wales; along the fertile hawkesbury and hunter valleys, which grow indian corn and lucerne, and oranges and melons, and men who are mostly over six feet high; up the new england mountains, through a country which owes its name to the fact that the high elevation gives it a climate somewhat like that of england; then into queensland along the rich darling down studded with wheat-farms, dairy-farms, and cattle-ranches; and finally to brisbane, a prospering semi-tropical town which is the capital of the northern state of queensland. at brisbane you will be able to buy fine pineapples for a penny each, and that alone should endear it to your heart. thus you will have seen a good deal of the australia of to-day. you might have followed other routes. coming via canada, you would reach brisbane first. taking a "british india" boat you would have come down the north coast of queensland and seen something of its wonderful tropical vegetation, its sugar-fields, banana and coffee plantations, and the meat works which ship abroad the products of the great cattle stations. [illustration: the town hall sydney. page .] this tropical part of australia really calls for a long book of its own. but as it is hardly the australia of to-day, though it may be the australia of the future, we must hurry through its great forests and its rich plains. there are wild buffalo to be found on these plains, and in the rivers that flow through them crocodiles lurk. the crocodile is a very cunning creature. it rests near the surface of the water like a half-submerged log waiting for a horse or an ox or a man to come into the water. then a rush and a meal. if, instead of coming along the north, you had travelled via south africa you might have landed first at hobart and seen the charms of dear little tasmania, a land of apple-orchards and hop-gardens, looking like the best parts of kent. but you have been introduced to a good deal of australia and heard much of its industries and its history. it is time now to talk of savages, and birds, and beasts, and games, and the like. chapter iii the natives a dwindling race; their curious weapons--the papuan tree-dwellers--the cunning witch-doctors. the natives of australia were always few in number. the conditions of the country secured that australia, kept from civilization for so long, is yet the one land of the world which, whilst capable of great production with the aid of man's skill, is in its natural state hopelessly sterile. australia produced no grain of any sort naturally; neither wheat, oats, barley nor maize. it produced practically no edible fruit, excepting a few berries, and one or two nuts, the outer rind of which was eatable. there were no useful roots such as the potato, the turnip, or the yam, or the taro. the native animals were few and just barely eatable, the kangaroo, the koala (or native bear) being the principal ones. in birds alone was the country well supplied, and they were more beautiful of plumage than useful as food. even the fisheries were infrequent, for the coast line, as you will see from the map, is unbroken by any great bays, and there is thus less sea frontage to australia than to any other of the continents, and the rivers are few in number. where the land inhabited by savages is poor in food-supply their number is, as a rule, small and their condition poor. it is not good for a people to have too easy times; that deprives them of the incentive to work. but also it is not good for people who are backward in civilization to be kept to a land which treats them too harshly; for then they never get a fair chance to progress in the scale of civilization. the people of the tropics and the people near the poles lagged behind in the race for exactly opposite but equally powerful reasons. the one found things too easy, the other found things too hard. it was in the land between, the temperate zone, where, with proper industry, man could prosper, that great civilizations grew up. the australian native had not much to complain of in regard to his climate. it was neither tropical nor polar. but the unique natural conditions of his country made it as little fruitful to an uncivilized inhabitant as was lapland. when captain cook landed at botany bay probably there were not , natives in all australia. and if the white man had not come, there probably would never have been any progress among the blacks. as they were then they had been for countless centuries, and in all likelihood would have remained for countless centuries more. they had never, like the chinese, the hindus, the peruvians, the mexicans, evolved a civilization of their own. there was not the slightest sign that they would be able to do so in the future. if there was ever a country on earth which the white man had a right to take on the ground that the black man could never put it to good use, it was australia. allowing that, it is a pity to have to record that the early treatment of the poor natives of australia was bad. the first settlers to australia had learned most of the lessons of civilization, but they had not learned the wisdom and justice of treating the people they were supplanting fairly. the officials were, as a rule, kind enough; but some classes of the new population were of a bad type, and these, coming into contact with the natives, were guilty of cruelties which led to reprisals and then to further cruelties, and finally to a complete destruction of the black people in some districts. in tasmania, for instance, where the blacks were of a fine robust type, convicts in the early days, escaping to the bush, by their cruelties inflamed the natives to hatred of the white disturbers, and outrages were frequent. the state of affairs got to be so bad that the government formed the idea of capturing all the natives of tasmania and putting them on a special reserve on tasman peninsula. that was to be the black man's part of the country, where no white people would be allowed. the help of the settlers was enlisted, and a great cordon was formed around the whole island, as if it were to be beaten for game. the cordon gradually closed in on tasman peninsula after some weeks of "beating" the forests. it was found, then, that one aboriginal woman had been captured, and that was all. such a result might have been foreseen. tasmania is about as large as scotland. its natural features are just as wild. the cordon did not embrace , settlers. the idea of their being able to drive before them a whole native race familiar with the bush was absurd. after that the old conditions ruled in tasmania. blacks and whites were in constant conflict, and the black race quickly perished. to-day there is not a single member of that race alive, truganini, its last representative, having died about a quarter of a century ago. on the mainland of australia many blacks still survive; indeed, in a few districts of the north, they have as yet barely come into contact with the white race. a happier system in dealing with them prevails. the government are resolute that the blacks shall be treated kindly, and aboriginal reserves have been formed in all the states. one hears still of acts of cruelty in the back-blocks (as the far interior of australia is called), but, so far as the government can, it punishes the offenders. in several of the states there is an official known as the protector of the aborigines, and he has very wide powers to shield these poor blacks from the wickedness of others, and from their own weakness. in the northern states now, the chief enemies of the blacks are asiatics from the pearl-shelling fleets, who land in secret and supply the blacks with opium and drink. when the commonwealth navy, now being constructed, is in commission, part of its duty will be to patrol the northern coast and prevent asiatics landing there to victimize the blacks. the official statistics of the commonwealth reported, in regard to the aborigines, in the year : "in queensland, south australia, and western australia, on the other hand, there are considerable numbers of natives still in the 'savage' state, numerical information concerning whom is of a most unreliable nature, and can be regarded as little more than the result of mere guessing. ethnologically interesting as is this remarkable and rapidly disappearing race, practically all that has been done to increase our knowledge of them, their laws, habits, customs, and language, has been the result of more or less spasmodic and intermittent effort on the part of enthusiasts either in private life or the public service. strange to say, an enumeration of them has never been seriously undertaken in connection with any state census, though a record of the numbers who were in the employ of whites, or living in contiguity to the settlements of whites, has usually been made. as stated above, various guesses at the number of aboriginal natives at present in australia have been made, and the general opinion appears to be that , may be taken as a rough approximation to the total. it is proposed to make an attempt to enumerate the aboriginal population of australia in connection with the first commonwealth census to be taken in ." a very primitive savage was the australian aboriginal. he had no architecture, but in cold or wet weather built little break-winds, called mia-mias. he had no weapons of steel or any other metal. his spears were tipped with the teeth of fish, the bones of animals, and with roughly sharpened flints. he had no idea of the use of the bow and arrow, but had a curious throwing-stick, which, working on the principle of a sling, would cast a missile a great distance. these were his weapons--rough spears, throwing-sticks, and clubs called nullahs, or waddys. (i am not sure that these latter are original native words. the blacks had a way of picking up white men's slang and adding it to their very limited vocabulary; thus the evil spirit is known among them as the "debbil-debbil.") another weapon the aboriginal had, the boomerang, a curiously curved missile stick which, if it missed the object at which it was aimed, would curve back in the air and return to the feet of the thrower; thus the black did not lose his weapon. the boomerang shows an extraordinary knowledge of the effects of curves on the flight of an object; it is peculiar to the australian natives, and proves that they had skill and cunning in some respects, though generally low in the scale of human races. the australian aboriginals were divided into tribes, and these tribes, when food supplies were good, amused themselves with tribal warfare. from what can be gathered, their battles were not very serious affairs. there was more yelling and dancing and posing than bloodshed. the braves of a tribe would get ready for battle by painting themselves with red, yellow, and white clay in fantastic patterns. they would then hold war-dances in the presence of the enemy; that, and the exchange of dreadful threats, would often conclude a campaign. but sometimes the forces would actually come to blows, spears would be thrown, clubs used. the wounds made by the spears would be dreadfully jagged, for about half a yard of the end of the spear was toothed with bones or fishes' teeth. but the black fellows' flesh healed wonderfully. a wound that would kill any european the black would plaster over with mud, and in a week or so be all right. duels between individuals were not uncommon among the natives, and even women sometimes settled their differences in this way. a common method of duelling was the exchange of blows from a nullah. one party would stand quietly whilst his antagonist hit him on the head with a club; then the other, in turn, would have a hit, and this would be continued until one party dropped. it was a test of endurance rather than of fighting power. the women of the aboriginals were known as gins, or lubras, the children as picaninnies--this last, of course, not an aboriginal name. the women were not treated very well by their lords: they had to do all the carrying when on the march. at mealtimes they would sit in a row behind the men. the game--a kangaroo, for instance--would be roughly roasted at the camp fire with its fur still on. the men would devour the best portions and throw the rest over their shoulders to the waiting women. fish was a staple article of diet for the australian natives. wherever there were good fishing-places on the coast or good oyster-beds powerful tribes were camped, and on the inland rivers are still found weirs constructed by the natives to trap fish. so far as can be ascertained, the australian native was rarely if ever a cannibal. his neighbours in the pacific ocean were generally cannibals. perhaps the scanty population of the australian continent was responsible for the absence of cannibalism; perhaps some ethical sense in the breasts of the natives, who seem to have always been, on the whole, good-natured and little prone to cruelty. [illustration: the australian natives in captain cook's time. page .] the religious ideas of these natives were very primitive. they believed strongly in evil spirits, and had various ceremonial dances and practices of witchcraft to ward off the influence of these. but they had little or no conception of a good spirit. their idea of future happiness was, after they had come into contact with the whites: "fall down black fellow, jump up white fellow." such an idea of heaven was, of course, an acquired one. what was their original notion on the subject is not at all clear. the red indians of america had a very definite idea of a future happy state. the aboriginals of australia do not seem to have been able to brighten their poor lives with such a hope. various books have been written about the folklore of the australian aboriginals, but most of the stories told as coming from the blacks seem to me to have a curious resemblance to the stories of white folk. a legend about the future state, for instance, is just bunyan's "pilgrim's progress" put crudely to fit in with australian conditions. i may be quite wrong in this, but i think that most of the folk-stories coming from the natives are just their attempts to imitate white-man stories, and not original ideas of their own. the conditions or life in australia for the aboriginal were so harsh, the struggle for existence was so keen, that he had not much time to cultivate ideas. life to him was centred around the camp-fire, the baked 'possum, and a few crude tribal ceremonies. usually the australian black is altogether spoilt by civilization. he learns to wear clothes, but he does not learn that clothes need to be changed and washed occasionally, and are not intended for use by day and night. he has an insane veneration for the tall silk hat which is the badge of modern gentility, and, given an old silk hat, he will never allow it off his head. he quickly learns to smoke and to drink, and, when he comes into contact with the chinese, to eat opium. he cannot be broken into any steady habits of industry, but where by wise kindness the black fellow has been kept from the vices of civilization he is a most engaging savage. tall, thin, muscular, with fine black beard and hair and a curiously wide and impressive forehead, he is not at all unhandsome. he is capable of great devotion to a white master, and is very plucky by daylight, though his courage usually goes with the fall of night. he takes to a horse naturally, and some of the finest riders in australia are black fellows. an attempt is now being made to christianize the australian blacks. it seems to prosper if the blacks can be kept away from the debasing influence of bad whites. they have no serious vices of their own, very little to unlearn, and are docile enough. in some cases black children educated at the mission schools are turning out very well. but, on the other hand, there are many instances of these children conforming to the habits of civilization for some years and then suddenly feeling "the call of the wild," and running away into the bush to join some nomad tribe. it is not possible to be optimistic about the future of the australian blacks. the race seems doomed to perish. something can be done to prolong their life, to make it more pleasant; but they will never be a people, never take any share in the development of the continent which was once their own. a quite different type of native comes under the rule of the australian commonwealth--the papuan. though papua, or new guinea, as it was once called, is only a few miles from the north coast of australia, its race is distinct, belonging to the polynesian or kanaka type, and resembling the natives of fiji and tahiti. papua is quite a tropical country, producing bananas, yams, taro, sago, and cocoa-nuts. the natives, therefore, have always had plenty of food, and they reached a higher stage of civilization than the australian aborigines. but their food came too easily to allow them to go very far forward. "civilization is impossible where the banana grows," some observer has remarked. he meant that since the banana gave food without any culture or call on human energy, the people in banana-growing countries would be lazy, and would not have the stimulus to improve themselves that is necessary for progress. to get a good type of man he must have the need to work. the papuan, having no need of industry, amused himself with head-hunting as a national sport. tribes would invade one another's districts and fight savage battles. the victors would eat the bodies of the vanquished, and carry home their heads as trophies. a chief measured his greatness by the number of skulls he had to adorn his house. since the british came to papua head-hunting and cannibalism have been forbidden. but all efforts to instil into the minds of the papuan a liking for work have so far failed. so the condition of the natives is not very happy. they have lost the only form of exercise they cared for, and sloth, together with contact with the white man, has brought to them new and deadly diseases. several missionary bodies are working to convert the papuan to christianity, and with some success. the papuan builds houses and temples. his tree-dwellings are very curious. they are built on platforms at the top of lofty palm-trees. probably the papuan first designed the tree-dwelling as a refuge from possible enemies. having climbed up to his house with the aid of a rope ladder and drawn the ladder up after him, he was fairly safe from molestation, for the long, smooth, branchless trunks of the palm-trees do not make them easy to scale. in time the papuan learned the advantages of the tree-dwelling in marshy ground, and you will find whole villages on the coast built of trees. herodotus states of the ancient egyptians that in some parts they slept on top of high towers to avoid mosquitoes and the malaria that they brought. the papuan seems to have arrived at the same idea. sorcery is a great evil among the papuans. in every village almost, some crafty man pretends to be a witch and to have the power to destroy those who are his enemies. this is a constant thorn in the side of the government official and the missionary. the poor papuan goes all his days beset by the powers of darkness. the sorcerer, the "pourri-pourri" man, can blast him and his pigs, crops, family (that is the papuan order of valuation) at will. the sorcerer is generally an old man. he does not, as a rule, deck himself in any special garb, or go through public incantations, as do most savage medicine-men. but he hints and threatens, and lets inference take its course, till eventually he becomes a recognized power, feared and obeyed by all. extortion, false swearing, quarrels and murders, and all manner of iniquity, follow in his train. no native but fears him, however complete the training and education of civilization. for the papuan never thinks of death, plague, pestilence or famine as arising from natural causes. every little misfortune (much more every great one) is credited to a "pourri-pourri" or magic. the papuan, when he comes "under the evil eye" of the witch-doctor, will wilt away and die, though, apparently, he has nothing at all the matter with him; and since europeans are apt to suffer from malarial fever in papua, the witch-doctors are prompt to put this down to their efforts, and so persuade the natives that they have power even over europeans. a gentleman who was a resident magistrate in papua tells an amusing tale of how one witch-doctor was very properly served. "a village constable of my acquaintance, wearied with the attentions of a magician of great local repute, who had worked much harm with his friends and relations, tied him up with rattan ropes, and sank him in feet of water against the morning. he argued, as he explained at his trial for murder, 'if this man is the genuine article, well and good, no harm done. if he is not--well, it's a good riddance!' on repairing to the spot next morning, and pulling up his night-line, he found that the magician had failed to 'make his magic good,' and was quite dead. the constable's punishment was twelve months' hard labour. it was a fair thing to let him off easily, as in killing a witch-doctor he had really done the community a service." the future of the papuan is more hopeful than that of the australian aboriginal, and he may be preserved in something near to his natural state if means can be found to make him work. chapter iv the animals and birds the kangaroo--the koala--the bulldog ant--some quaint and delightful birds--the kookaburra--cunning crows and cockatoo. australia has most curious animals, birds, and flowers. this is due to the fact that it is such an old, old place, and has been cut off so long from the rest of the world. the types of animals that lived in europe long before rome was built, before the days, indeed, of the egyptian civilization, animals of which we find traces in the fossils of very remote periods--those are the types living in australia to-day. they belong to the same epoch as the mammoth and the great flying lizards and other creatures of whom you may learn something in museums. indeed, australia, as regards its fauna, may be considered as a museum, with the animals of old times alive instead of in skeleton form. the kangaroo is always taken as a type of australian animal life. when an australian cricket team succeeds in vanquishing in a test match an english one (which happens now and again), the comic papers may be always expected to print a picture of a lion looking sad and sorry, and a kangaroo proudly elate. the kangaroo, like practically all australian animals, is a marsupial, carrying its young about in a pouch after their birth until they reach maturity. the kangaroo's forelegs are very small; its hindlegs and its tail are immensely powerful, and these it uses for progression, rushing with huge hops over the country. there are very many animals which may be grouped as kangaroos, from the tiny kangaroo rat, about the size of an english water-rat, to the huge red kangaroo, which is over six feet high and about the weight of a sucking calf. the kangaroo is harmless and inoffensive as a rule, but it can inflict a dangerous kick with its hindlegs, and when pursued by dogs or men and cornered, the "old man" kangaroo will sometimes fight for its life. its method is to take a stand in a water-hole or with its back to a tree, standing on its hindlegs and balanced on its tail. when a dog approaches it is seized in the kangaroo's forearms and held under water or torn to pieces. occasionally men's lives have been lost through approaching incautiously an old man kangaroo. the kangaroo's method of self-defence has been turned to amusing account by circus-proprietors. the "boxing kangaroo" was at one time quite a common feature at circuses and music-halls. a tame kangaroo would have its forefeet fitted with boxing-gloves. then when lightly punched by its trainer, it would, quite naturally, imitate the movements of the boxer, fending off blows and hitting out with its forelegs. one boxing kangaroo i had a bout with was quite a clever pugilist. it was very difficult to hit the animal, and its return blows were hard and well directed. the different sorts of kangaroo you may like to know. there is the kangaroo rat, very small; the "flying kangaroo," a rare animal of the squirrel species, but marsupial, which lives in trees; the wallaby, the wallaroo, the paddy-melon (medium varieties of kangaroo); the grey and the red kangaroo, the last the biggest and finest of the species. the kangaroo, as i have said, is not of much use for meat. its flesh is very dark and rank, something like that of a horse. however, chopped up into a fine sausage-meat, with half its weight of fat bacon, kangaroo flesh is just eatable. the tail makes a very rich soup. the skin of the kangaroo provides a soft and pliant leather which is excellent for shoes. kangaroo furs are also of value for rugs and overcoats. [illustration: the australian forest at night "mooning" opossums. pages & .] of tree-inhabiting animals the chief in australia is the 'possum (which is not really an opossum, but is somewhat like that american rodent, and so got its name), and the koala, or native bear. why this little animal was called a "bear" it is hard to say, for it is not in the least like a bear. it is about the size of a very large and fat cat, is covered with a very thick, soft fur, and its face is shaped rather like that of an owl, with big saucer-eyes. the koala is the quaintest little creature imaginable. it is quite harmless, and only asks to be let alone and allowed to browse on gum-leaves. its flesh is uneatable except by an aboriginal or a victim to famine. its fur is difficult to manipulate, as it will not lie flat, so the koala should have been left in peace. but its confiding and somewhat stupid nature, and the senseless desire of small boys and "children of larger growth" to kill something wild just for the sake of killing, has led to the koala being almost exterminated in many places. now it is protected by the law, and may get back in time to its old numbers. i hope so. there is no more amusing or pretty sight than that of a mother koala climbing sedately along a gum-tree limb, its young ones riding on it pick-a-back, their claws dug firmly into its soft fur. the 'possum is much hunted for its fur. the small black 'possum found in tasmania and in the mountainous districts is the most valuable, its fur being very close and fine. dealers in skins will sometimes dye the grey 'possum's skin black and trade it off as tasmanian 'possum. it is a trick to beware of when buying furs. bush lads catch the 'possum with snares. finding a tree, the scratched bark of which tells that a 'possum family lives upstairs in one of its hollows, they fix a noose to the tree. the 'possum, coming down at night to feed or to drink, is caught in the noose. another way of getting 'possum skins is to shoot the little creatures on moonlight nights. (the 'possum is nocturnal in its habits, and sleeps during the day.) when there is a good moon the 'possums may be seen as they sit on the boughs of the gum-trees, and brought down with a shot-gun. besides its human enemies, the 'possum has the 'goanna (of which more later) to contend with. the 'goanna--a most loathsome-looking lizard--can climb trees, and is very fond of raiding the 'possum's home when the young are there. between the men who want its coat and the 'goannas who want its young the 'possum is fast being exterminated. two other characteristic australian animals you should know about. the wombat is like a very large pig; it lives underground, burrowing vast distances. the wombat is a great nuisance in districts where there are irrigation canals; its burrows weaken the banks of the water-channels, and cause collapses. the dugong is a sea mammal found on the north coast of australia. it is said to be responsible for the idea of the mermaid. rising out of the water, the dugong's figure has some resemblance to that of a woman. then there is the bunyip--or, rather, there isn't the bunyip, so far as we know as yet. the bunyip is the legendary animal of australia. it is supposed to be of great size--as big as a bullock--and of terrible ferocity. the bunyip is represented as living in lakes and marshes, but it has never been seen by any trustworthy observer. the blacks believe profoundly in the bunyip, and white children, when very young, are scared with bunyip tales. there may have been once an animal answering to its description in australia; if so, it does not seem to have survived. in tasmania, however, are found, though very rarely, two savage and carnivorous marsupials called the tasmanian tiger and the tasmanian devil. the tiger is almost as large as the female bengal tiger, and has a few little stripes near its tail, from which fact it gets its name. the tasmanian tiger will create fearful havoc if it gets among sheep, killing for the sheer lust of killing. at one time a price of £ was put on the head of the tasmanian tiger. as settlement progressed it became rarer and rarer, and i have not heard of one having been seen for some years. the tasmanian devil is a marsupial somewhat akin to the wild cat, and of about the same size. it is very ferocious, and has been known to attack man, springing on him from a tree branch. the tasmanian devil is likewise becoming very rare. the existence of these two animals in tasmania and not in australia shows that that island has been a very long time separated from the mainland. australia is very well provided with serpents--rather too well provided--and the bush child has to be careful in regard to putting his hand into rabbit burrows or walking barefoot, as there are several varieties of venomous snake. but the snakes are not at all the great danger that some imagine. you might live all your life in australia and never see one; but in a few country parts it has been found necessary to enclose the homesteads on the stations with snake-proof wire-fencing, so as to make some place of safety in which young children may play. the most venomous of australian snakes are the death-adder, fortunately a very sluggish variety; the tiger-snake, a most fierce serpent, which, unlike other snakes, will actually turn and pursue a man if it is wounded or angered; the black snake, a handsome creature with a vivid scarlet belly; and the whip-snake, a long, thin reptile, which may be easily mistaken for a bit of stick, and is sometimes picked up by children. but no australian snake is as deadly as the indian jungle snakes, and it is said that the bite of no australian snake can cause death if the bite has been given through any cloth. so the only real danger is in walking through the bush barefooted, or putting the hand into holes where snakes may be lurking. some of the non-venomous snakes of australia are very handsome, the green tree-snake and the carpet-snake (a species of python) for examples. the carpet-snake is occasionally kept in the house or in the barn to destroy mice and other small vermin. lizards in great variety are found in australia, the chief being one incorrectly called an iguana, which colloquial slang has changed to 'goanna. the 'goanna is an altogether repulsive creature. it feasts on carrion, on the eggs of birds, on birds themselves, on the young of any creature. growing to a great size--i have seen one feet long and as thick in the body as a small dog--the 'goanna looks very dangerous, and it will bite a man when cornered. though not venomous in the strict sense of the word, the 'goanna's bite generally causes a festering wound on account of the loathsome habits of the creature. the jew-lizard and the devil-lizard are two other horrid-looking denizens of the australian forest, but in their cases an evil character does not match an evil face, for they are quite harmless. spiders are common, but there is, so far as i know, only one dangerous one--a little black spider with a red spot on its back. large spiders, called (incorrectly) tarantulas, credited by some with being poisonous, come into the houses. but they are really not in any way dangerous. i knew a man who used to keep tarantulas under his mosquito-nets so that they might devour any stray mosquitoes that got in. the example is hardly worth following. the australian tarantula, though innocent of poison, is a horrible object, and would, i think, give you a bad fright if it flopped on to your face. australia is rich in ants. there is one specially vicious ant called the bulldog ant, because of its pluck. try to kill the bulldog ant with a stick, and it will face you and try to bite back until the very last gasp, never thinking of running away. the bulldog ant has a liking for the careless picnicker, whom she--the male ant, like the male bee, is not a worker--bites with a fierce energy that suggests to the victim that his flesh is being torn with red-hot pincers. i have heard it said that but for the fact that australia is so large an island, a great proportion of its population would by this time have been lost through bounding into the surrounding sea when bitten by bulldog ants. it is wise when out for a picnic in australia to camp in some spot away from ant-beds, for the ant, being such an industrious creature, seems to take a malicious delight in spoiling the day for pleasure-seekers. in one respect, the ant, unwillingly enough, contributes to the pleasure and amusement of the australian people. in the dry country it would not be possible to keep grass lawns for tennis. but an excellent substitute has been found in the earth taken from ant-beds. this earth, which has been ground fine by the industrious little insects, makes a beautifully firm tennis-court. it is not possible to leave the ant without mention of the termite, or white ant, which is very common and very mischievous in most parts of australia. a colony of termites keeps its headquarters underground, and from these headquarters it sends out foraging expeditions to eat up all the wood in the neighbourhood. if you build a house in australia, you must be very careful indeed that there is no possibility of the termites being able to get to its timbers. otherwise the joists will be eaten, the floors eaten, even the furniture eaten, and one day everything that is made of wood in the house will collapse. all the mischief, too, will have been concealed until the last moment. a wooden beam will look to be quite sound when really its whole heart has been eaten out by the termites. nowadays the whole area on which a house is to be raised is covered with cement or with asphalt, and care taken that no timber joists are allowed to touch the earth and thus give entry to the termites. fortunately, these destructive insects cannot burrow through brick or stone. in the northern territory there are everywhere gigantic mounds raised by these termites, long, narrow, high, and always pointing due north and south. you can tell infallibly the points of the compass from the mounds of this white ant, which has been called the "meridian termite." australia has a wild bee of her own (of course, too, there are european bees introduced by apiarists, distilling splendid honey from the wild flowers of the continent). the aborigines had an ingenious way of finding the nests of the wild bee. they would catch a bee, preferably at some water-hole where the bees went to drink, and fix to its body a little bit of white down. the bee would be then released, and would fly straight for home, and the keen-eyed black would be able to follow its flight and discover the whereabouts of its hive--generally in the hollow of a tree. the australian black, having found a hive, would kill the bees with smoke and then devour the whole nest, bees, honeycomb, and honey. australian birds are very numerous and very beautiful. the famous bird-of-paradise is found in several varieties in papua and other islands along australia's northern coast. the bird-of-paradise was threatened with extinction on account of the demand for its plumes for women's hats. so the australian government has recently passed legislation to protect this most beautiful of all birds, which on the tiniest of bodies carries such wonderful cascades of plumage, silver white in some cases, golden brown in others. [illustration: a sheep drover. page .] some very beautiful parrots flash through the australian forest. it would not be possible to tell of all of them. the smallest, which is known as the grass parrakeet, or "the love-bird," is about the size of a sparrow. i notice it in england carried around by gipsies and trained to pick out a card which "tells you your fortune." from that tiny little green bird the range of parrots runs up to huge fowl with feathers of all the colours of the rainbow. there are two fine cockatoos also in australia--the white with a yellow crest, and the black, which has a beautiful red lining to its sable wings. a flock of black cockatoos in flight gives an impression of a sunset cloud, its under surface shot with crimson. cockatoos can be very destructive to crops, especially to maize, so the farmers have declared war upon them. the birds seem to be able to hold their own pretty well in this campaign, for they are of wonderful cunning. when a crowd of cockatoos has designs on a farmer's maize-patch, the leader seems to prospect the place thoroughly; he acts as though he were a general, providing a safe bivouac for an army; he sets sentinels on high trees commanding a view of all points of danger. then the flock of cockatoos settles on the maize and gorges as fast as it can. if the farmer or his son tries to approach with a gun, a sentinel cockatoo gives warning and the whole flock clears out to a place of safety. as soon as the danger is over they come back to the feast. even more cunning is the australian crow. it is a bird of prey and perhaps the best-hated bird in the world. an australian bushman will travel a whole day to kill a crow. for he has, at the time when the sheep were lambing, or when, owing to drought, they were weak, seen the horrible cruelties of the crow. this evil bird will attack weak sheep and young lambs, tearing out their eyes and leaving them to perish miserably. there have even been terrible cases where men lost in the bush and perishing of thirst have been attacked by crows and have been found still alive, but with their eyes gone. it is no wonder that there is a deadly feud between man and crow. but the crow is so cunning as to be able to overmatch man's superior strength. a crow knows when a man is carrying a gun, and will keep out of range then; if a man is without a gun the crow will let him approach quite near. one can never catch many crows in the same district with the same device; they seem to learn to avoid what is dangerous. very rarely can they be poisoned, no matter how carefully the bait is prepared. bushmen tell all sorts of stories of the cunning of the crow. one is that of a man who suffered severely from a crow's depredations on his chickens. he prepared a poisoned bait and noticed the bird take it, but not devour it; that crow carefully took the poisoned tit-bit and put it in front of the man's favourite dog, which ate it, and was with difficulty saved from death! another story is that of a man who thought to get within reach of a crow by taking out a gun, lying down under a tree, and pretending to be dead. true enough, the crow came up and hopped around, as if waiting for the man to move, and so to see if he were really dead. after awhile, the crow, to make quite sure, perched on a branch above the man's head and dropped a piece of twig on to his face! it was at this stage that the man decided to be alive, and, taking up his gun, shot the crow. there may be some exaggeration in the bushmen's tales of the crow's cunning, but there is quite enough of ascertained fact to show that the bird is as devilish in its ingenuity as in its cruelty. in most parts of australia there is a reward paid for every dead crow brought into the police offices. still, in spite of constant warfare, the bird holds its own, and very rarely indeed is its nest discovered--a signal proof of its precautions against the enmity of man. to turn to a more pleasant type of feathered animal. on the whole, the most distinctly australian bird is the kookaburra, or "laughing jackass." (a picture of two kookaburras faces page of this volume. they were drawn for me by a very clever australian black-and-white artist, mr. norman lindsay.) the kookaburra is about the size of an owl, of a mottled grey colour. its sly, mocking eye prepares you for its note, which is like a laugh, partly sardonic, partly rollicking. the kookaburra seems to find much grim fun in this world, and is always disturbing the bush quiet with its curious "laughter." so near in sound to a harsh human laugh is the kookaburra's call that there is no difficulty in persuading new chums that the bird is deliberately mocking them. the kookaburra has the reputation of killing snakes; it certainly is destructive to small vermin, so its life is held sacred in the bush. and very well our kookaburra knows the fact. as he sits on a fence and watches you go past with a gun, he will now and again break out into his discordant "laugh" right in your face. the australian magpie, a black-and-white bird of the crow family, is also "protected," as it feeds mainly on grubs and insects, which are nuisances to the farmer. the magpie has a very clear, well-sustained note, and to hear a group of them singing together in the early morning suggests a fine choir of boys' voices. they will tell you in australia that the young magpie is taught by its parents to "sing in tune" in these bird choirs, and is knocked off the fence at choir practice if it makes a mistake. you may believe this if you wish to. i don't. but it certainly is a fact that a group of magpies will sing together very sweetly and harmoniously. one could not exhaust the list of australian birds in even a big book. but a few more call for mention. there is the emu, like an ostrich, but with coarse wiry hair. the emu does damage on the sheep-runs by breaking down the wire fences. (some say the emu likes fencing wire as an article of diet; but that is an exaggeration founded on the fact that, like all great birds, it can and does eat nails, pebbles, and other hard substances, which lodge in its gizzard and help it to digest its food.) on account of its mischievous habit of breaking fences the emu is hunted down, and is now fast dwindling. in tasmania it is altogether extinct. another danger to its existence is that it lays a very handsome egg of a dark green colour. these eggs are sought out for ornaments, and the emu's nest, built in the grass of the plain (for the emu cannot fly nor climb trees), is robbed wherever found. the brush turkey of australia is strange in that it does not take its family duties at all seriously. the bird does not hatch out its eggs by sitting on them, but builds a mound of decaying vegetation over the eggs, and leaves them to come out with the sun's heat. the brolga, or native companion, is a handsome australian bird of the crane family. it is of a pretty grey colour, with red bill and red legs. the brolga has a taste for dancing; flocks of this bird may be seen solemnly going through quadrilles and lancers--of their own invention--on the plains. another strange australian bird is called the bower-bird, because when a bower-bird wishes to go courting he builds in the bush a little pavilion, and adorns it with all the gay, bright objects he can--bits of rag or metal, feathers from other birds, coloured stones and flowers. in this he sets himself to dancing until some lady bower-bird is attracted, and they set up housekeeping together. the bower-bird is credited with being responsible for the discovery of a couple of goldfields, the birds having picked up nuggets for their bowers, these, discovered by prospectors, telling that gold was near. if the bower-bird wishes for wedding chimes to grace his picturesque mating, another bird will be able to gratify the wish--the bell-bird which haunts quiet, cool glens, and has a note like a bell, and yet more like the note of one of those strange hallowed gongs you hear from the groves of eastern temples. often riding through the wild australian bush you hear the chimes of distant bells, hear and wonder until you learn that the bell-bird makes the clear, sweet music. one more note about australian nature life. in the summer the woods are full of locusts (cicadæ), which jar the air with their harsh note. the locust season is always a busy one for the doctors. the australian small boy loves to get a locust to carry in his pocket, and he has learned, by a little squeezing, to induce the unhappy insect to "strike up," to the amusing interruption of school or home hours. now, to get a locust it is necessary to climb a tree, and australian trees are hard to climb and easy to fall out of. so there are many broken limbs during the locust season. they represent a quite proper penalty for a cruel and unpleasant habit. chapter v the australian bush an introduction to an australian home--off to a picnic--the wattle, the gum, the waratah--the joys of the forest. the australian child wakens very often to the fact that "to-day is a holiday." the people of the sunny southern continent work very hard indeed, but they know that "all work and no play makes jack a dull boy"; and jill a dull girl too. so they have very frequent holidays--far more frequent than in great britain. the australian child, rising on a holiday morning, and finding it fine and bright--very rarely is he disappointed in the weather of his sunny climate--gives a whoop of joy as he remembers that he is going on a picnic into the forest, or the "bush," as it is called invariably in australia. the whoop is, perhaps, more joyful than it is musical. the australian youngster is not trained, as a rule, to have the nice soft voice of the english child. besides, the dry, invigorating climate gives his throat a strength which simply must find expression in loud noise. let us follow the australian child on his picnic and see something of the australian bush, also of an australian home. suppose him starting from wahroonga, a pretty suburb about ten miles from sydney, the biggest city of australia. jim lives there with his brothers and sisters and parents in a little villa of about nine rooms, and four deep shady verandas, one for each side of the house. on these verandas in summer the family will spend most of the time. meals will be served there, reading, writing, sewing done there; in many households the family will also sleep there, the little couches being protected by nets to keep off mosquitoes which may be hovering about in thousands. and in the morning, as the sun peeps through the bare beautiful trunks of the white gums, the magpies will begin to carol and the kookaburras to laugh, and the family will wake to a freshness which is divine. around the house are lawns, of coarser grass than that of england, but still looking smooth and green, and many flower-beds in which all the flowers of earth seem to bloom. there are roses in endless variety--jim's mother boasts that she has sixty-five different sorts--and some of them are blooming all the year round, so mild is the climate. phlox, verbenas, bouvardias, pelargoniums, geraniums, grow side by side with such tropical plants as gardenias, tuberoses, hibisci, jacarandas, magnolias. in season there are daffodils, and snowdrops, and narcissi, and dahlias, and chrysanthemums. recall all the flowers of england; add to them the flowers of southern italy and many from india, from mexico, from china, from the pacific islands, and you have an idea of the fine garden jim enjoys. [illustration: a hut in the bush. page .] beyond the garden is a tennis-court, and around its high wire fences are trained grape-vines of different kinds, muscatels and black amber and shiraz, and lady's-fingers, which yield splendidly without any shelter or artificial heat. on the other side of the house is a little orchard, not much more than an acre, where, all in the open air, grow melons, oranges, lemons, persimmons (or japanese plums), apples, pears, peaches, apricots, custard-apples (a curious tropical fruit, which is soft inside and tastes like a sweet custard), guavas (from which delicious jelly is made), and also strawberries and raspberries. the far corner is taken up with a paddock, for the horses are not kept in a stable, night or day, except occasionally when a very wet, cold night comes. that is the surrounding of jim's home. inside the house there is to-day a great deal of bustle. everybody is working--all the members of the family as well as the two maid-servants, for in australia it is the rule to do things for yourself and not to rely too much on the labour of servants (who are hard to get and to keep). even baby pretends to help, and has to be allowed to carry about a "billy" to give her the idea that she is useful. this "billy" is a tin pot in which, later on, water will be boiled over a little fire in the forest, and tea made. food is packed up--perhaps cold meats, perhaps chops or steaks which will be grilled in the bush-fire. always there are salads, cold fruit pies, home-made cakes, fruit; possibly wine for the elders. but tea is never forgotten. it would not be a picnic without tea. now a drag is driven around to the front gate by the one man-servant of the house, who has harnessed up the horses and put food for them in the drag. some neighbours arrive; a picnic may be made up of just the members of one family, but usually there is a mingling of families, and that adds to the fun. the fathers of the families, as like as not, ride saddle-horses and do not join the others in the drag; some of the elder children, too, boys and girls, may ride their ponies, for in australia it is common for children to have ponies. the party starts with much laughter, with inquiries as to the safety of the "billy" and the whereabouts of the matches. it is a sad thing to go out in the bush for a picnic and find at the last moment that no one has any matches with which to light a fire. the black fellows can start a flare by rubbing two sticks together, but the white man has not mastered that art. the picnic makes its way along a bush road four or five miles through pretty orchard country, given up mostly to growing peaches, grapes, and oranges, the cultivated patches in their bright colours showing in vivid contrast against the quiet grey-green of the gum-trees. it is spring, and all the peach-trees are dressed in gay pink bloom, and belts of this colour stretch into the forest for miles around. the road leaves the cultivated area. the ground becomes rocky and sterile. the gum-trees still grow sturdily, but there is no grass beneath; instead a wild confusion of wiry heather-like brush, bearing all sorts of curious flowers, white, pink, purple, blue, deep brown. one flower called the flannel-daisy is like a great star, and its petals seem to be cut of the softest white flannel. the boronia and the native rose compel attention by their piercing, aromatic perfume, which is strangely refreshing. the exhaling breath of the gum-trees, too, is keen and exhilarating. now the path dips into a little hollow. what is that sudden blaze of glowing yellow? it is a little clump of wattle-trees, about as big as apple-trees, covered all over with soft flossy blossom of the brightest yellow. i like to imagine that the wattle is just prisoned sunlight; that one early morning the sun's rays came stealing over the hill to kiss the wattle-trees while they seemed to sleep; but the trees were really quite wide-awake, and stretched out their pretty arms and caught the sunbeams and would never let them go; and now through the winter the wattles hide the sun rays away in their roots, cuddling them softly; but in spring they let them come out on the branches and play wild games in the breeze, but will never let them escape. past the little wattle grove there is a hill covered with the white gums. the young bark of these trees is of a pinky white, like the arms of a baby-girl. as the season advances and the sun beats more and more fiercely on the trees, the bark deepens in colour into red and brown, and deep brown-pink. after that the bark dies (in australia most of the trees shed their bark and not their leaves), and as it dies strips off and shows the new fair white bark underneath. our party has now come to a gully (ravine) which carries a little fresh-water creek (stream) to an arm of the sea near by. this is the camping-place. a nice soft bit of meadow will be found in the shade of the hillside. the fresh-water stream will give water for the "billy" tea and for the horses to drink. down below a dear little beach, not more than yards long, but of the softest sand, will allow the youngsters to paddle their feet, but they must not go in to swim, for fear of sharks. the beach has on each side a rocky, steeply-shelving shore, and on the rocks will be found any number of fine sweet oysters. jim and his mate tom have brought oyster-knives, and are soon down on the shore, and in a very short while bring, ready-opened, some dozens of oysters for their mothers and fathers. the girls of the party are quite able to forage oysters for themselves. some of them do so; others wander up the sides of the gully and collect wildflowers for the table, which will not be a table at all, but just a cloth spread over the grass. they come back with the news that they have seen waratahs growing. that is exciting enough to take attention away even from the oysters, for the waratah, the handsomest wildflower of the world, is becoming rare around the cities. all the party follow the girl guides over a slope into another gully. there has been a bush-fire in this gully. all the undergrowth has been burned away, and the trunks of the trees badly charred, but the trees have not been killed. the gum has a very thick bark, purposely made to resist fire. this bark gets scorched in a bush-fire, but unless the fire is a very fierce one indeed, the tree is not vitally hurt. around the blackened tree-trunks tongues of fire seem to be still licking. at a height of about six feet from the ground, those scarlet heart-shapes are surely flames? no, they are the waratahs, which love to grow where there have been bush-fires. the waratah is of a brilliant red colour, growing single and stately on a high stalk. its shape is of a heart; its size about that of a pear. the waratah is not at all a dainty, fragile flower, but a solid mass of bloom like the vegetable cauliflower; indeed, if you imagine a cauliflower of a vivid red colour, about the size of a pear and the shape of a heart, growing on a stalk six feet high, you will have some idea of the waratah. two of the flowers are picked--tim's father will not allow more--and they are brought to help the decoration of the picnic meal. carried thus over the shoulder of an eager, flushed child, the waratah suggests another idea: it represents exactly the thyrsus of the bacchanals of ancient legends. the picnickers find that their appetites have gained zest from the sweet salty oysters. they are ready for lunch. a fire is started, with great precaution that it does not spread; meat is roasted on spits (perhaps, too, some fish got from the sea near by); and a hearty, jolly meal is eaten. perhaps it would be better to say devoured, for at a picnic there is no nice etiquette of eating, and you may use your fingers quite without shame as long as you are not "disgusting." the nearest sister to jim will tell him promptly if he became "disgusting," but i can't tell you all the rules. it isn't "disgusting" to hold a chop in your fingers as you eat it, or to stir your tea with a nice clean stick from a gum tree. but it is "disgusting" to put your fingers on what anyone else will have to eat, or to cut at the loaf of bread with a soiled knife. i hope that you will get from this some idea of australian picnic etiquette. but you really cannot get any real idea of picnic fun until you have taken your picnic meal out in the australian bush; no description can do justice to that fun. the picnic habit is not one for children only. the jim whom we have followed will be still eager for a picnic when he is the father of a big jim of his own; that is, if he is the right kind of a human being and keeps the australian spirit. after the midday meal, all sorts of games until the lengthening shadows tell that homeward time comes near. then the "billy" is boiled again and tea made, the horses harnessed up and the picnickers turn back towards civilization. the setting sun starts a beautiful game of shine and shadow in among the trees of the gum forest; the aromatic exhalations from the trees give the evening air a hint of balm and spice; the people driving or riding grow a little pensive, for the spell of the australian forest, "tender, intimate, spiritual," is upon them. but it is a pensiveness of pure, quiet joy, of those who have come near to nature and enjoyed the peace of her holy places. * * * * * i took you from near sydney to see the australian forest and to learn something of its trees and flowers, because that part i know best, and its beauties are the typical beauties of the bush. almost anywhere else in the continent where settlement is, something of the same can be enjoyed. a hobart picnic-party would turn its face towards mount wellington, and after passing over the foothills devoted to orchards, scale the great gum-forested mountain, and thus have added to the delights of the woods the beautiful landscape which the height affords. from melbourne a party would take train to fern-tree gully and picnic among the giant eucalyptus there, or, without going so far afield, would make for one of the beautiful hobson's bay beaches. farther north than sydney, a note of tropical exuberance comes into the forest. you may see a gully filled with cedars in sweet wealth of lavender-coloured blossom; or with flame trees, great giants covered all over with a curious flowerlike red coral. but everywhere in australia, the hot north and cool south, on the bleak mountains and the sunny coasts, will be found the gum-tree. it is the national tree of this curious continent, the oldest and the youngest of the countries of the earth. some find the gum-tree "dull," because it has no flaring, flaunting brightness. but it is not dull to those who have eyes to see. its spiritual lightness of form, its quiet artistry of colour, weave a spell around those who have any imagination. australians abroad, who _are_ australians (there are some people who, though they have lived in australia--perhaps have been born there--are too coarse in fibre to be ever really australians), always welcome with gladness the sight of a gum-tree; and australians in london sometimes gather in some friend's house for a burning of gum-leaves. in a brazier the aromatic leaves are kindled, the thin, blue smoke curls up (gum-leaf smoke is somehow different to any other sort of smoke), and the australians think tenderly of their far-away home. [illustration: surf bathing shooting the breakers. pages & .] one may meet gum-trees in many parts of the world nowadays--in africa, in america, in italy and other parts of europe; for the gum-tree has the quality of healing marshy soil and banishing malaria from the air. they are, therefore, much planted for health's sake, and the wandering australian meets often his national tree. a very potent medicine called eucalyptus oil is brewed from gum-leaves, and a favourite australian "house-wives'" remedy for rheumatism is a bed stuffed with gum-leaves. so the gum-tree is useful as well as beautiful. chapter vi the australian child his school and his games--"bobbies and bushrangers"--riding to school. australia is the child among civilized nations, and her life throughout is a good deal like that of a child in some regards--more gay and free, less weighed down with conventions and thoughts of rules than the life of an older community. so australia is a very happy place for children. there is not so much of the "clean pinny" in life--and what wholesome child ever really enjoyed the clean pinny and the tidied hair part of life? but don't run away with the idea that the australians, either adults or children, are a dirty people. that would be just the opposite to the truth. australians are passionately fond of the bath. in the poorest home there is always a bath-room, which is used daily by every member of the family. on the sea-coast swimming is the great sport, though it is dangerous to swim in the harbours because of sharks, and protected baths are provided where you may swim in safety; still children have to be carefully watched to prevent them from going in for a swim in unsafe places. the love of the water is greater than the fear of the sharks. the little australian is not dirty, but he has a child's love of being untidy, and he can generally gratify it in his country, where conditions are so free and easy. i am sorry to say that the australian child is rather inclined to be a little too "free and easy" in his manners. the climate makes him grow up more quickly than in great britain. he is more precocious both mentally and physically. at a very early age, he (or she) is entrusted with some share of responsibility. that is quite natural in a new country where pioneering work is being done. you will see children of ten and twelve and fourteen years of age taking quite a part in life, entrusted with some little tasks, and carrying them through in grown-up fashion. the effect of all this is that in their relations with their parents australian children are not so obedient and respectful as they might be. this does not work for any great harm while the child is young. up to fifteen or sixteen the son or daughter is perhaps more helpful and more companionable because of the somewhat relaxed discipline. certainly the child has learned more how to use its own judgment. after that age, however, the fact of a loose parental discipline may come to be an evil. but there is, after all, no need to croak about the australian child, who grows up to be a good average sort of woman or man as a general rule. it is very difficult indeed for a child in australia to avoid school. education is compulsory, the government providing an elaborate system to see that every child gets at least the rudiments of education; even in the far back-blocks, where settlement is much scattered, it is necessary and possible to go to school. the state will carry the children to school on its railways free. if there is no railway it will send a 'bus round to collect children in scattered localities. failing that, in the case of families which are quite isolated, and which are poor, the state will try to persuade the parents to keep a governess or tutor, and will help to pay the cost of this. the effect of all this effort is that in australia almost every child can read and write. going to school in the bush parts of australia is sometimes great fun. often the children will have the use of one of the horses, and on this two, or three, or even four children will mount and ride off. when the family number more than four, the case calls for a buggy of some sort; and a child of ten or twelve will be quite safely entrusted with the harnessing of the horse and driving it to school. in the school itself, a great effort is made to have the lessons as interesting as possible. nature-study is taught, and the children learn to observe the facts about the life in the bush. there is a very charming writer about australian children, ethel turner, who in one of her stories gives a picture of a little bush school in one of the most dreary places in australia--a little township out on the hot plains. i quote a little of it to show the sort of spirit which animates the school-teachers of australia: "a new teacher had been appointed to the half-time school, which was all the government could manage for so unimportant and dreary a place. his name was eagar, and his friends said that he suited the sound of it. alert of eye, energetic in movement, it may be safely said that in his own person was stored up more motive power than was owned conjointly by the two hundred odd souls who comprised the population of ninety mile. "there was room in ninety mile for an eager person. in fact, a dozen such would have sufficed long since to have carried it clean off its feet, and to have deposited it in some more likely position. but everyone touched in any way with the fire of life had long since departed from the place, and gone to set their homesteads and stackyards, their shops or other businesses elsewhere. so there were only a few limpets, who clung tenaciously to their spot, assured that all other spots on the globe were already occupied; and a few absolutely resigned persons. there is no clog on the wheel of progress that may be so absolutely depended upon to fulfil its purpose as resignation. "it was to this manner of a village that eagar came. in a month he had established a cricket club; in two months a football club. the establishment of neither was attended with any great difficulty. in three months he had turned his own box of books into a free circulating library, and many of his leisure hours went in trying to induce the boys to borrow from him, and in seeing to it that, having borrowed, they actually read the books chosen. "but his success with this was doubtful. the boys regarded 'westward ho!' as a home-lesson, while the 'three musketeers' set fire to none of them. even 'treasure island' left most of them cold; though eagar, reading it aloud, had tried to persuade himself that little rattray had breathed a trifle quicker as the blind man's stick came tap tapping along the road. the sea was nothing but a name to the whole number of scholars (eighteen of them, boys and girls all told). not one of them had pierced past the township that lay ninety miles away to the right of them; indeed, half the number had never journeyed beyond moonee, where the coach finished its journey. "eagar got up collections--moths, butterflies, birds' eggs; he tried to describe museums, picture-galleries, and such, to his pupils. at that time he had no greater wish on earth than to have just enough money to take the whole school to sydney for a week, and see what a suddenly widened horizon would do for them all. had his salary come at that time in one solid cheque for the whole year, there is no knowing to what heights of recklessness he would have mounted, but the monthly driblets keep the temptation far off. "one morning he had a brilliant notion. in another week or two the yearly 'sweep' fever for far-distant races would attack the place, and the poorest would find enough to take a part at least in a ticket. "he seized a piece of paper, and instituted what he called 'eagar's consultation.' he explained that he was out to collect sixty shillings. sixty shillings, he explained, would pay the fare-coach and train--to sydney of one schoolboy, give him money in his pocket to see all the sights, and bring him back the richer for life for the experience, and leaven for the whole loaf of them. "'which schoolboy?' said ninety mile doubtfully, expecting to be met with 'top boy.' and never having been 'top boy' itself at any time of its life, it had but a distrustful admiration for the same. "'we must draw lots,' said eagar. "upon which ninety mile, being attracted by the sporting element in the affair, slowly subscribed its shilling a-piece, and the happy lot fell to rattray. "he was a sober, freckled little fellow of ten, who walked five miles into ninety mile every morning, and five miles back again at night all the six months of the year during which government held the cup of learning there for small drinkers to sip." i need not quote further about young rattray's trip to sydney and to the great ocean which bush children, seeing for the first time, often think is just a big dam built up by some great squatter to hold water for his sheep. that extract shows the bush school at its very hardest in the hot back-country. of course, not one twentieth of the population lives in such places. i must give you a little of a description of a day in a bush school in gippsland, by e. s. emerson, to correct any impression that all australia, or even much of it, is like ninety mile: "a rough red stave in a god-writ song was the narrow, water-worn bush track, and the birds knew the song and gloried in it, and the trees gave forth an accompaniment under the unseen hands of the wind until all the hillside was a living melody. child voices joined in, and presently from a bend in the track, 'three ha'pence for tuppence, three ha'pence for tuppence,' came a lumbering old horse, urged into an unwonted canter. three kiddies bestrode the ancient, and as they swung along they sang snatches of kipling's 'recessional,' to an old hymn-tune that lingers in the memory of us all. as they drew near to me the foremost urchin suddenly reined up. the result was disastrous, for the ancient 'propped,' and the other two were emptied out on the track. from the dust they called their brother many names that are not to be found in school books; but he, laughing, had slid down and was cutting a twig from a neighbouring tree. 'a case-moth! a case-moth!' he cried. the fallen ones scrambled to their feet. 'what sort, teddy? what sort?' they asked eagerly. "but teddy had caught sight of me. "'well, what will you do with that?' i asked. "'take it to school, sir; teacher tells us all about them at school.' the answer was spoken naturally and without any trace of shyness. "'did you learn that hymn you were singing at school, too?' "''tain't a hymn, sir. it's the "recessional"!' this, proudly, from the youngest. "but they had learned it at school, and when i had given them a leg-up and stood watching them urge the ancient down the hillside, i made up my mind that i would visit the school where the teacher told the scholars all about case-moths and taught them to sing the 'recessional'; and a morning or two later i did. [illustration: australian children riding to school. page .] "the school stands on the skirt of a thinly-clad gippsland township, and is attended by from forty to fifty children. fronting it is a garden--a sloping half-acre set out into beds, many of which are reserved for native flowering plants and trees. school is not 'in' yet, and a few early comers are at work on the beds, which are dry and dusty from a long, hot spell. little tots of six and seven years stroll up and watch the workers, or romp about on grass plots in close proximity. presently the master's voice is heard. 'fall in!' there is a gathering up of bags, a hasty shuffling of feet, the usual hurry-scurry of laggards, and in a few moments two motionless lines stand at attention. 'good-morning, girls! good-morning, boys!' says the master. a chorused 'good-morning, mr. morgan!' returns his salutation, and then the work of the day begins. "but do the scholars look upon it as work? something over thirty years ago herbert spencer wrote: 'she was at school, where her memory was crammed with words and names and dates, and her reflective faculties scarcely in the slightest degree exercised.' in those days, as many old state-school boys well remember, to learn was, indeed, to work, and when fitting occasion offered, we 'wagged it' conscientiously, even though we did have to 'touch our toes' for it when we returned. but under our modern educational system the teacher can make the school work practically a labour of love. "the morning being bright, the children are put through some simple exercises and encouraged to take a few 'deep breathings.' then the lines are formed again. 'left turn! quick march!' and the scholars file into the schoolhouse." but we need not follow the school in its day's work, except to say that the ideal always is to make the work alive and interesting. naturally, australian children get to like school. in the cities the schools are very good. all the state schools are absolutely free, and even books are provided. a smart child can win bursaries, and go from the primary school to the high school, and then on to the university, and win to a profession without his education costing his parents anything at all. when i was a boy the state of tasmania used to send every year two tasmanian scholars to oxford university, giving them enough to pay for a course there. that has since been stopped, but many australians come to british universities now--mostly to oxford and edinburgh--with money provided by their parents. there are, however, excellent universities in the chief cities of australia, and there is no actual need to leave the commonwealth to complete one's education. in the bush, and indeed almost everywhere--for there is no city life which has not a touch of the bush life--australian children grow to be very hardy and very stoical. they can endure great hardship and great pain. i remember hearing of a boy in the maitland (n.s.w.) district whose horse stumbled in a rabbit-hole and fell with him. the boy's thigh was broken and the horse was prostrate on top of him, and did not seem to wish to move. the boy stretched out his hand and got a stick, with which he beat the horse until it rose, keeping the while a hold of the reins. then, with his broken thigh, that boy mounted the horse (which was not much hurt), rode home, and read a book whilst waiting for the doctor to come and set his limb. another boy i knew in australia was bitten by a snake on the finger; with his blunt pocket-knife he cut the finger off and walked home. he suffered no ill effects from the snake-poison. endurance of hardship and pain is taught by the life of the australian bush. it is no place for the cowardly or for the tender. you must learn to face and to subdue nature. the games of the australian child are just the british games, changed a little to meet local conditions. a very favourite game is that of "bushrangers and bobbies" ("bobbies" meaning policemen). in this the boys imitate as nearly as they can the old hunting down of the bushrangers by the mounted police. the bushranger made a good deal of exciting history in australia. generally he was a scoundrel of the lowest type, an escaped murderer who took to the bush to escape hanging, and lived by robbery and violence. but a few--a very few--were rather of the type of the english robin hood or the scotch rob roy, living a lawless life, but not being needlessly cruel. it is those few who have given basis to the tradition of the australian bushranger as a noble and chivalrous fellow who only robbed the rich (who, people argue, could well afford to be robbed), and who atoned for that by all sorts of kindness to the poor. many books have been written on this tradition, glorifying the bushranger. but the plain fact is that most of the bushrangers were infamous wretches for whom hanging was a quite inadequate punishment. the bushranger, as a rule, was an escaped convict or a criminal fleeing from justice. sometimes he acted singly, sometimes he had a gang of followers. a cave in some out-of-the-way spot, good horses and guns, were his necessary equipment. the site of the cave was important. it needed to be near a coaching-road, so that the bushranger's headquarters should be near to his place of business, which was to stick-up mail-coaches and rob them of gold, valuables, weapons, and ammunition. it also needed to be in a position commanding a good view, and with more than one point of entrance. two bushrangers' caves i remember well, one near to armidale, on the great northern high-road. it was at the top of a lofty hill, commanding a wide view of the country. there was no outward sign of a cave even to the close observer. a great granite hill seemed to be crowned with just loose boulders. but in between those boulders was a winding passage which gave entrance to a big cave with a little fresh-water stream. a man and his horse could take shelter there. another famous bushranger's cave was near medlow, on the blue mountains (n.s.w.), in a position to command the great western road, along which the gold from lambing flat and sofala had to go to sydney. this was quite a perfect cave for its purpose. climbing down a mountain gully, you came to its end, apparently, in a stream of water gushing from out a wall of rock. but behind that rock was a narrow passage leading to a cave which opened out into a little valley with another stream, and some good grass-land. to this valley the only means of access was the secret passage through the cave, which allowed a man and his horse to pass through. a gang of bushrangers kept this eyrie for many years undiscovered. the latest big gang of bushrangers were the kelly brothers, who infested victoria. ned kelly was famous because he wore a suit of armour sufficiently strong to resist the rifle bullet of that day. the kellys were finally driven to cover in a little country hotel in victoria. they held the place against a siege by the police until the police set fire to it. some of the gang perished in the flames. others, including ned kelly himself, broke out and were shot or captured. he was hanged in melbourne gaol. but this is getting far away from the australian children's games. it is a curious fact that when the australian children assemble to play "bushrangers and bobbies," everybody wants to be a bushranger, and the guardian of the law is looked upon as quite an inferior character. lots decide, however, the cast. the bushrangers sally forth and stick up an imaginary coach, or rob an imaginary country bank. the "bobbies" go in pursuit, and there is a desperate mock battle, which allows of much yelling and running about, and generally causes great joy. "camping out" is another characteristic amusement of the australian child. in his school holidays, parties go out, sometimes for weeks at a time, sailing around the reaches of the sea inlets, or, inland, following the course of some river, and hunting kangaroos and other game as they go. generally adults accompany these parties, but when an australian boy has reached the age of fifteen or sixteen he is credited with being able to look after himself, and is trusted to sail a boat and to carry a firearm. i can remember once on the way down to national park (n.s.w.) for the field artillery camp, at one of the suburban stations there broke into the carriage reserved for officers, with a cheerful impudence that defied censure, a little band of boys. they had not a shoe among them, nor had anyone a whole suit of clothes. but they carried proudly fishing tackle and some rags of canvas which would help, with boughs, to build a rough shelter hut. the remainder of the train being full, they invaded the officers' carriage and made themselves comfortable. they were out for a few days' "camp" in the national park. for about ten shillings they would hire a rowing-boat for three days. railway fares would be sixpence or ninepence per head. a good deal of their food they would catch with fishing lines; bread, jam, a little bacon, and, of course, the "billy" and its tea were brought with them. this was the great yearly festival, planned probably for many weeks beforehand, calling for much thought for its accomplishment, showing the sturdy spirit which is characteristic of the young australian. all the usual british games are played in australia: tops, hoops, marbles among the younger children; cricket, football, lawn-tennis among their elders. the climate is especially suited for cricket, as it is warm and bright and sunny for so long a term of the year. on a holiday in the parks around the australian cities may be seen many hundreds of cricket matches. all the schools have their teams. most of the shops and factories keep up teams among the employees. these teams play in competitions with all the earnestness of big cricket. as the players grow better they join the electorate clubs. in every big parliamentary division there is an electorate club, made up of residents in that electorate. the club may put into the field as many as four teams in a day--its senior team and three junior teams. so there is an enormous amount of play--real serious match play--every saturday afternoon and public holiday. australia thus trains some of the finest cricketers of the world. for some years now ( ) the australian eleven has held the championship of the world. the australian child of the poorer classes usually leaves school at fourteen. the children of the richer may stay at school and the university until nineteen or twenty. usually they launch out into life by then. australia is a young country, and its conditions call for young work. * * * * * that finishes this "peep at australia." i have tried to give the young readers some little indication of what features of australian life will most interest them. the picture is of a land which appeals very strongly to the adventurous type of the anglo-celtic race. i have never yet met a british man or boy who was of the right manly type who did not love australian life after a little experience. the great distances, the cheery hospitality, the sunny climate, the sense of social freedom, the generous return which nature gives to the man who offers her honest service--all these appeal and make up the sum of that strong attraction australia has to her own children and to colonists from the motherland. the end billing and sons, ltd., printers, guildford list of volumes in the peeps at many lands and cities series each containing full-page illustrations in colour belgium ireland burma italy canada jamaica ceylon japan china korea corsica morocco denmark new zealand edinburgh norway egypt paris england portugal finland russia france scotland germany siam greece south africa holland south seas holy land spain iceland switzerland india a larger volume in the same style the world containing full-page illustrations in colour published by adam and charles black soho square, london. w. agents america the macmillan company & fifth avenue, new york australasia oxford university press flinders lane, melbourne canada the macmillan company of canada ltd. st. martin's house, bond street, toronto india macmillan & company, ltd. macmillan building, bombay bow bazaar street, calcutta narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of australia. performed between the years and . by captain phillip p. king, r.n., f.r.s., f.l.s., and member of the royal asiatic society of london. with an appendix, containing various subjects relating to hydrography and natural history. in two volumes, illustrated by plates, charts, and wood-cuts. volume . preface. the rapidly-increasing importance to which the english colonies in australia have now arrived, rendering every subject connected with that extensive continent of the greatest interest, whether in respect to its geography, or the extraordinary assemblage of its animal and vegetable productions, has induced me to publish such parts of my journal as may be useful to accompany the atlas of the charts of the coast recently published by the board of admiralty. one of the results of this voyage has been the occupation of port cockburn, between melville and bathurst islands on the north coast, and the formation of an establishment there which cannot fail to be productive of the greatest benefit to our mercantile communications with the eastern archipelago, as well as to increase the influence and power of the mother country in the south pacific and indian oceans; and in contemplating this new extension of her possessions*, i cannot avoid recalling to mind a curious and prophetic remark of burton, who, in alluding to the discoveries of the spanish navigator ferdinando de quiros (anno ), says: "i would know whether that hungry spaniard's discovery of terra australis incognita, or magellanica, be as true as that of mercurius britannicus, or his of utopia, or his of lucinia. and yet, in likelihood, it may be so; for without all question, it being extended from the tropick of capricorn to the circle antarctick, and lying as it doth in the temperate zone, cannot chuse but yeeld in time some flourishing kingdoms to succeeding ages, as america did unto the spaniards."** burton's anatomy of melancholy, part section number . (*footnote. the distance between melville island and hobart town in van diemen's land, the former being the most northern, and the latter the most southern, establishment under the government of new south wales, is more than miles, and comprises an extent of coast nearly equal to that of the british possessions in india!) (**footnote. since the land that quiros discovered and called terra del espiritu santo was, at the time burton wrote, considered to be the eastern coast of new holland, i am justified in the use i have made of the above curious passage.) since the return of the expedition, my time has been occupied in arranging the narrative, and divesting it of such parts as were neither calculated to amuse the general reader, nor to give information to the navigator; but this has been so much impeded by the more important employment of constructing the charts of the survey, as to defer until the present season the publication of the events of a voyage that was completed nearly three years ago. in addition to the hydrographical notices in the appendix, i have ventured to insert descriptive catalogues of the few subjects of natural history that were collected during the voyage; these were supplied by some friends, to whom i have in another part of the work endeavoured, inadequately no doubt, to express my sense of the obligation: but since that part has been printed, my friend mr. brown has submitted some specimens of the rocks of the western side of the gulf of carpentaria, that were collected by him on the investigator's voyage, to the inspection of doctor fitton, by which means that gentleman's valuable communication in the appendix has been most materially improved. i have, therefore, taken the present opportunity of acknowledging the readiness with which this additional information has been supplied, and of offering mr. brown my best thanks. it now only remains for me to add, that the views with which these volumes are illustrated were engraved by mr. finden from my own sketches on the spot: the charts, which are reductions of those in the admiralty atlas, were engraved by mr. walker; and the three plates of natural history by mr. curtis, from drawings made from the specimens by himself, by henry c. field, esquire, and by miss m. field; to each of whom i take this opportunity of returning my best thanks, and also of bearing testimony to the correctness with which the respective subjects have been represented. london, march th, . to the right honourable the earl bathurst, k.g., his majesty's principal secretary of state for the colonies, and the right honourable the lord viscount melville, k.t., first lord of the admiralty, the following narrative of the survey of the intertropical coasts of australia, performed under their lordships' joint directions and flattering countenance, is, by permission, inscribed with the greatest respect, by their most grateful servant, phillip parker king. contents. volume . introduction. chapter . intended mode of proceeding, and departure from port jackson. visit twofold bay. natives seen. passage through bass strait and along the south coast to king george the third's sound. transactions there. voyage to the north-west cape, and survey of the coast between the north-west cape and depuch island, including the examinations of exmouth gulf, curlew river, and dampier's archipelago. loss of anchors, and interview with the natives. remarks upon dampier's account of rosemary island, and of the island upon which he landed. chapter . examination of rowley's shoals, and passage to the north coast. survey of goulburn islands, mountnorris and raffles bays. meet a malay fleet, and communicate with one of the proas. explore port essington. attacked by natives in knocker's bay. anchor in popham bay. visit from the malays. examination of van diemen's gulf, including sir george hope's islands and alligator rivers. survey of the northern shore of melville island, and apsley strait. interview with the natives of luxmore head. procure wood at port hurd. natives. clarence strait. leave the coast, and arrival at timor. chapter . transactions at coepang. procure water and refreshments. description of the town and productions of the island. account of the trepang fishery on the coast of new holland. departure from timor, and return to the north-west coast. montebello islands, and barrow island. leave the coast. ship's company attacked with dysentery. death of one of the crew. bass strait, and arrival at port jackson. review of the proceedings of the voyage. chapter . visit to van diemen's land, and examination of the entrance of macquarie harbour. anchor in pine cove and cut wood. description of the trees growing there. return to the entrance, and water at outer bay. interview with the natives, and vocabulary of their language. arrive at hobart town, and return to port jackson. chapter . departure from port jackson, and commence a running survey of the east coast. examinations of port macquarie and the river hastings in company with the lady nelson, colonial brig, and assisted by lieutenant oxley, r.n., the surveyor-general of the colony. leave port macquarie. the lady nelson returns with the surveyor-general to port jackson. enter the barrier-reefs at break-sea spit. discover rodd's bay. visit the percy islands. pass through whitsunday passage, and anchor in cleveland bay. wood and water there. continue the examination of the east coast towards endeavour river; anchoring progressively at rockingham bay, fitzroy island, snapper island, and weary bay. interview with the natives at rockingham bay, and loss of a boat off cape tribulation. arrival off endeavour river. chapter . transactions at endeavour river, and intercourse with the natives. examine the river. geognostical remarks. leave endeavour river, and resume the examination of the coast. anchor among howick's group, and under flinders' group. explore princess charlotte's bay, and the islands and reefs as far as cape york, anchoring in the way on various parts of the coast. the cutter nearly wrecked at escape river. loss of anchor under turtle island. pass round cape york and through torres strait, by the investigator's route. chapter . cross the gulf of carpentaria, and resume the survey of the north coast at wessel's islands. castlereagh bay. crocodile islands. discovery and examination of liverpool river. natives. arrive at goulburn island. complete wood and water. attacked by the natives from the cliffs. leave goulburn island, and pass round cape van diemen. resume the survey of the coast at vernon's islands in clarence strait. paterson bay. peron island. anson bay. mr. roe examines port keats. prevented from examining a deep opening round point pearce. discovery of cambridge gulf. lacrosse island. natives. examination of the gulf. death of one of the crew. leave cambridge gulf. trace the coast to cape londonderry. chapter . examination of the coast between cape londonderry and cape voltaire, containing the surveys of sir graham moore's islands, eclipse islands, vansittart bay, admiralty gulf, and port warrender. encounter with the natives of vansittart bay. leave the coast at cassini island for coepang. obliged to bear up for savu. anchor at zeeba bay, and interview with the rajah. some account of the inhabitants. disappointed in not finding water. leave zeeba bay, and beat back against the monsoon to coepang. complete wood and water, and procure refreshments. return to port jackson. pass the latitude assigned to the tryal rocks. arrival in sydney cove. chapter . equipment for the third voyage. leave port jackson. loss of bowsprit, and return. observations upon the present state of the colony, as regarding the effect of floods upon the river hawkesbury. re-equipment and final departure. visit port bowen. cutter thrown upon a sandbank. interview with the natives, and description of the country about cape clinton. leave port bowen. pass through the northumberland, and round the cumberland islands. anchor at endeavour river. summary of observations taken there. visit from the natives. vocabulary of their language. observations thereon in comparing it with captain cook's account. mr. cunningham visits mount cook. leave endeavour river, and visit lizard island. cape flinders and pelican island. entangled in the reefs. haggerston's island, sunday island, and cairncross island. cutter springs a leak. pass round cape york. endeavour strait. anchor under booby island. remarks upon the inner and outer routes through torres strait. chapter . cross the gulf of carpentaria, and anchor at goulburn's south island. affair with the natives. resume the survey of the coast at cassini island. survey of montagu sound, york sound, and prince frederic's harbour. hunter's and roe's rivers, port nelson, coronation islands. transactions at careening bay. repair the cutter's bottom. general geognostical and botanical observations. natives' huts. brunswick bay. prince regent's river. leave the coast in a leaky state. tryal rocks, cloates island. pass round the west and south coasts. bass strait. escape from shipwreck. botany bay. arrival at port jackson. list of plates. volume . view in raffles bay, with croker's island in the distance. from a sketch by p.p. king. published in may by john murray, london. woodcut : native of dampier's archipelago on his log. chart of the intertropical and west coasts of australia. as surveyed in the years to by phillip p. king, r.n. view of south-west bay. goulburn island. watering party attacked by natives. from a sketch by p.p. king. published in may by john murray, london. view of inner harbour, port essington. from spear point. from a sketch by p.p. king. published in may by john murray, london. interview with the natives of st. asaph's bay, melville island. from a sketch by p.p. king. published in may by john murray, london. view of the entrance of port macquarie. from a sketch by p.p. king. published in may by john murray, london. view up the river hastings. at its junction with king's river. from a sketch by p.p. king. published in may by john murray, london. woodcut : natives of rockingham bay in their canoe. woodcut : natives of endeavour river in a canoe, fishing. woodcut : manner in which the natives of the east coast strike turtle. view of mount cockburn at the bottom of cambridge gulf. taken from the gut. from a sketch by p.p. king. published in may by john murray, london. view of the encampment in careening bay. where the mermaid was repaired. from a sketch by p.p. king. published in may by john murray, london. woodcut : huts of the natives at careening bay. introduction. preliminary remarks upon the discovery of the terra australis incognita. instructions for the execution of the voyage. passage to new south wales. purchase and equipment of the mermaid. nearly three centuries* have now elapsed since our first knowledge of the great south land, the terra australis incognita of ancient geographers; and, until within the last century, comparatively little had been done towards making a minute exploration of its coasts: during the seventeenth century several voyages were made by different dutch navigators, from whom we have the first-recorded description of its shores; but from the jealous disposition of their east india company, under whose orders these voyages were performed, the accounts of them were so concealed, and consequently lost or destroyed, that few particulars of a detailed nature have been handed down.** (*footnote. the late rear-admiral burney, in his history of discoveries in the south sea, volume page , describes a chart, dated , drawn by rotz, in which a coast is continued to the th degree of south latitude; and immediately below the th degree, there is the name of coste des herbaiges, answering by an extraordinary coincidence both in climate and in name to botany bay.). (**footnote. in the voyages of gautier schouten, published at amsterdam in , duodecimo volume page et seq., there is the following curious account of the wreck of a ship on the coast of new holland: "il me semble que je ne dois pas omettre ici une histoire, de la certitude de laquelle on n'eut pas lieu de douter. des-que la nouvelle fut venue a batavia [anno ], que le vaisseau le dragon, qui venoit de hollande aux indes, avoit fait naufrage sur les cotes d'une terre australe inconnue, on y envoia la flute la bouee a la veille, pour ramener ceux des gens de l'equipage qui auroient pu se sauver, et les efets qui auroient ete conservez. "la flute etant conduite par ceux qui etoient echapez du naufrage dans la chaloupe, et venus a batavia en aporter la nouvelle, se rendit au parage ou le dragon avoit peri, et alla mouiller l'ancre dans l'endroit qui parut le plus propre pour son dessein. aussi tot la chaloupe fut armee pour aller chercher ceux qui s'etoient sauvez le long du rivage. elle s'aprocha d'abord du bris, pardessus lequel les vagues passoient; puis elle nagea vers le lieu ou l'on avoit dresse des tentes, quand la chaloupe du vaisseau peri partit, pour ceux qu'elle n'avoit pu recevoir, et qui devoient attendre la qu'on vint les y prendre. "l'equipage etant descendu a terre, trouva les tentes brisees en pieces, et l'on ne decouvrit pas un seul homme dans tout le pais. la surprise ne fut pas mediocre. on regarda partout si l'on ne verroit point de traces qui marquassent qu'on eut construit quelque petit batiment: mais il n'y avoit ni tarriere, ni hache, ni couteaux, ni cloux, etc. il n'y avoit ni ecrit ni indication par ou l'on put conjecturer ce qu'etoient devenus les gens qu'on avoit la laissez. "la chaloupe etant retournee a bord, et aiant annonce cette nouvelle, il fut resolu que l'on iroit chercher plus avant dans les terres, et le long du rivage. pour cet efet on se divisa en plusieurs troupes, et l'on ne reussit pas mieux que la premiere fois. on eut beau crier, apeller, tirer des coups de mousquet, tout fut inutile, et je n'ai pas seu qu'on ait jamais apris ce qu'etoient devenus ces gens-la. "on retourna donc au bris, dont on ne put rien tirer, les lames aiant emporte les bordages, les ecoutilles, et fracasse tout le vaisseau, tant la mer brise fort en ces parages. ainsi l'on jugea que le plus expedient etoit de s'en retourner, puis-qu'on n'avoit rien a pretendre, et qu'on avoit a craindre les vents forcez et les tempetes, qui selon les aparences auroient aussi fait perir la flute. dans ce dessein on alla faire de l'eau. ceux qui furent a une petite riviere qu'on avoit vue, au-lieu de se hater, se promenerent, et coururent en divers endroits. "cependant il s'eleva une si terrible tempete, que la flute fut contrainte de se mettre au large, ou elle atendit encore quelque tems. mais comme la chaloupe ne revenoit point, on jugea qu'elle avoit peri; si-bien qu'on reprit la route de batavia, ou l'on fit le raport de ce qui s'etoit passe. "quand l'orage eut cesse, l'equipage de la chaloupe se rembarqua pour retourner a bord. 'mais il ne trouva plus la flute, ni sur la cote, ni au large. la tristesse ne fut pas moindre que l'etonnement, et l'on ne seut quel parti prendre. enfin il fallut retourner a terre, pour n'etre pas englouti par les flots. mais on n'avoit point de vivres, et l'on ne voioit rien dans tout le pais qui put servir de nouriture. les montagnes n'etoient que des rochers; les valees etoient de vrais deserts; les plaines n'etoient que des sables. le rivage etoit aussi borde de roches, contre lesquelles la mer brisoit avec d'efroiables mugissemens. "ceux qui etoient la demeurez se trouvoient au nombre de treize hommes, qui furent bientot fatiguez, afoiblis et attenuez. la faim les pressoit, le froid et l'humidite les faisoient soufrir, et ils se regardoient comme condamnez a la mort. il n'y avoit rien a esperer du bris; les vagues avoient tout fait rouler ca et la dans la mer. enfin a force de courir et de chercher quelque chose qu'ils pussent manger, ils apercurent entre les rochers qui etoient le long du rivage, de gros limacons, et de plus petits, qui y venoient de la mer, et dont le gout, qui etoit passable, parut excellent a des gens affamez. mais n'aiant point de feu pour les faire cuire, l'usage continuel qu'ils en firent, commenca de les incommoder, et ils sentirent bien que ce foible remede ne les empecheroit pas de mourir dans peu de tems. "enfin ne voiant de toutes parts qu'une mort certaine, ils prirent la resolution de s'exposer a la merci des flots, dans l'esperance que s'il ne se presentoit rien de plus favorable pour eux sur la mer que sur la terre, au moins la mort qu'ils y trouveroient, seroit plus promte, et les delivreroit plutot de leurs miseres. cependant ils se flatoient encore de l'esperance de pouvoir aborder en quelque autre pais, ou il y auroit des choses propres pour la nourriture des hommes. "ainsi chacun travailla selon ses forces a calfater la chaloupe, a faire provision de limacons, a remplir des futailles d'eau. apres cela l'on mit le batiment a la mer, et l'on quitta ce lieu, ou l'on n'avoit vu que des deserts arides et des feux folets, et ou il n'y avoit ni betes ni gens. on perdit bientot de vue ce pais sterile, le second pilote de la flute etant parmi cette troupe desolee, et la guidant par le cours du soleil, de la lune et des etoiles. "cependant ils avoient trois a quatre cents lieues de chemin a faire, pour terrir a la cote septentrionale de la grande java. on peut assez s'imaginer a quelles soufrances ils furent exposez dans un tel batiment, pendent une telle route, et avec si-peu de vivres, et si-mauvais. par le beau tems ils voguoient encore passablement; mais quand la mer etoit grosse, les lames les couvroient et passoient par-dessus leurs tetes, et la chaloupe etoit toujours sur le point de se voir submergee. "mais la plus cruelle avanture fut que les limacons se corrompirent, et il n'y eut plus moien d'en manger, si-bien que pour tout aliment il ne resta que de l'eau. la nuit il faisoit un froid insuportable, et le jour on etoit brule des ardeurs du soleil. toute esperance de salut sembloit etre retranchee, et les fatigues, aussi-bien que le manque de nourriture, avoient entierement epuise les forces de ces infortunes, lors-qu'un matin ils decouvrirent les montagnes meridionales de la grande java." this ship was probably wrecked in the neighbourhood of dampier's archipelago, near which there is also an account of the loss of a ship called the vianen.) the first circumstantial account that we have is that of dampier; who, in his celebrated buccaneering voyage in the year , visited that part of the north-west coast, to which the name of cygnet bay has been attached: of this place he gives a faithful and correct account, particularly with respect to its productions, and the savage and degraded state of its inhabitants: the same navigator afterwards (in ) visited the west and north-west coasts in his majesty's ship roebuck, in the description of which he has not only been very minute and particular, but, as far as we could judge, exceedingly correct. within the last fifty years the labours of cook, vancouver, bligh, d'entrecasteaux, flinders, and baudin have gradually thrown a considerable light upon this extraordinary continent, for such it may be called. of these and other voyages that were made during the th and th centuries to various parts of its coasts, an account is given by the late captain flinders, in his introduction to the investigator's voyage; in which, and in that able and valuable work of the late rear-admiral burney, a chronological account of discoveries in the south sea and pacific ocean, the history of its progressive discovery is amply detailed. it was intended that the whole line of the australian coast should have been examined and surveyed by captain flinders; but the disgraceful and unwarrantable detention of this officer at the mauritius by the french governor, general decaen, prevented the completion of this project. captain flinders had, however, previously succeeded in making a most minute and elaborate survey of the whole extent of the south coast, between cape leeuwin and bass strait; of the east coast, from cape howe to the northumberland islands; of the passage through torres strait; and of the shores of the gulf of carpentaria. the french expedition, under commodore baudin, had in the mean time visited some few parts of the west coast, and skirted the islands which front the north-west coast, without landing upon, and indeed scarcely seeing, any part of the mainland. the whole of the north, the north-west, and the western shores remained, therefore, to be explored; and in the year , among the numerous voyages of survey and discovery upon which a part of the navy of great britain was so honourably and so usefully employed, these coasts of australia were not forgotten. an expedition for the purpose of completing the survey of its north and north-west coast was planned, under the joint direction of the lords commissioners of the admiralty, and the secretary of state for the colonies, to the command of which i had the honour of being appointed. the arrangements for providing me with a vessel and crew were made by the latter department; and the governor of new south wales was instructed to give up to my use any vessel in the colonial marine establishment that should be deemed capable of performing the service; or, in the event of there being none fit for the purpose, to purchase any suitable one that might be offered for sale. for my guidance i received the following instructions from the admiralty and the colonial department:-- admiralty office, th february, . sir, my lords commissioners of the admiralty being informed of the arrangements of earl bathurst, his majesty's principal secretary of state for the colonial department, for employing you in a survey of the unexplored parts of the coast of new south wales, have commanded me to express their concurrence therein, and to convey to you the following instructions, to which you are to conform yourself, in addition to those which you may receive from the secretary of state. the arrangements for providing you with a proper vessel and crew, and other necessaries for the prosecution of the service having been made by the colonial department, my lords have no directions to give you on these subjects, but to recommend you in the conduct and discipline of the vessel which may be intrusted to your care, to conform, as far as may be practicable, to the established usages of the navy, and to the regulations for preserving health, cleanliness, and good order, which have been established in his majesty's ships when employed in voyages of discovery. in order to assist you in the care and use of the timekeepers and instruments with which their lordships have directed the hydrographer of this department to furnish you, and to follow your orders in all other particulars relating to the service, my lords have directed messrs. frederick bedwell and john septimus roe, two young gentlemen, who have been recommended to them as peculiarly fitted to be of use to you, and for whose appointment you have expressed your wishes, to accompany you and to be under your command. the principal object of your mission is to examine the hitherto unexplored coasts of new south wales, from arnhem bay, near the western entrance of the gulf of carpentaria, westward and southward as far as the north-west cape; including the opening, or deep bay called van diemen's bay, and the cluster of islands called rosemary islands, and the inlets behind them, which should be most minutely examined; and, indeed, all gulfs and openings should be the objects of particular attention; as the chief motive for your survey is to discover whether there be any river on that part of the coast likely to lead to an interior navigation into this great continent. it is for several reasons most desirable that you should arrive on this coast, and commence your survey as early as possible, and you will therefore, when the vessel shall be ready, lose no time in proceeding to the unexplored coasts; but you are at liberty to commence your survey at whichever side you may judge proper, giving a preference to that which you think you may be able soonest to reach; but in case you think that indifferent, my lords would wish you to commence by the neighbourhood of the rosemary islands. either on your way out, or on returning, you should examine the coast between cape leeuwin and the cape gosselin, in m. de freycinet's chart; and generally you will observe, that it is very desirable that you should visit those ranges of coast which the french navigators have either not seen at all, or at too great a distance to ascertain and lay down accurately. you will provide yourself at port jackson with the seeds of such vegetables as it may be considered most useful to propagate on the coasts you may visit, and you will take measures for sowing or planting them in the fittest situations, with a view not only to their preservation, but to their being within the observation and reach of succeeding navigators. you will take care to make duplicate copies of all your notes, surveys, and drawings; and you are to take every possible opportunity of transmitting one copy to earl bathurst, and the other to me for their lordship's information; but you need not send duplicates by the same conveyance. and you will feel the necessity of writing by every opportunity to acquaint both departments of your progress. you will remain on this service till you shall have examined all parts of the coast which have not been laid down by captain flinders, m. de freycinet, or preceding navigators, or until you shall receive further orders. i am, sir, your very humble servant, (signed) j.w. croker. to lieutenant p.p. king. ... downing-street, th of february, . sir, as his majesty's government has selected you for the command of an expedition which is to be fitted out in new south wales, for the purpose of exploring the yet undiscovered coast of new holland, and for completing, if possible, the circumnavigation of that continent; you will proceed with all practicable expedition to port jackson, and you will, on your arrival, deliver to governor macquarie the accompanying despatches, which state the object which you have in view, and the means by which it is to be accomplished. the governor will place at your disposal any colonial vessel which you may consider best calculated for the voyage, and you will concert with him as to the equipment of such vessel, and avail yourself of his knowledge of the several persons in the colony, in order to select a crew on whom reliance can be placed for steadiness and subordination. besides the persons necessary for the navigation of the vessel, you will receive on board mr. a. cunningham, a botanist, now in new south wales, who has received the orders of sir joseph banks to attend you; and you will engage any other person, if there be such in the colony, who possesses a competent knowledge of mineralogy or natural history. it is on every account most desirable that the expedition should proceed from port jackson as early as possible; you will therefore make every exertion in your power to accelerate your departure from thence, and your arrival at the point specified in your admiralty instructions. the lords commissioners of the admiralty having given you detailed instructions relative to the naval objects of the expedition, i have only to direct your observation to the several points referred to in the enclosed memorandum, as those upon which it is desirable to procure information. you will exercise your own discretion as to landing on the several parts of the coast which you may explore; but on all occasions of landing, you will give every facility to the botanist, and the other scientific persons on board to pursue their inquiries; and you will afford them such assistance in the pursuit as they may require. if the place selected for landing be in any way remarkable in itself, or important from being at the mouth of a river, or a harbour, you will take care to leave some evidence which cannot be mistaken of your having landed, either by erecting a flagstaff, or sowing some seeds, or by resorting to any other means which may at the time present themselves. you will not fail regularly to keep a journal of your proceedings, and to note down your observations, as they from time to time occur, transmitting home by every opportunity intelligence of the progress which you have made, and of the leading events which may have befallen you. i have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, (signed) bathurst. to lieutenant p.p. king, r.n. memorandum. the following will be among the most important subjects, on which it will be more immediately your province, assisted by your officers, to endeavour to obtain information on any occasion which may offer. the general nature of the climate, as to heat, cold, moisture, winds, rains, periodical seasons; the temperature regularly registered from fahrenheit's thermometer, as observed at two or three periods of the day. the direction of the mountains, their names, general appearance as to shape; whether detached or continuous in ranges. the animals, whether birds, beasts, or fishes; insects, reptiles, etc., distinguishing those that are wild from those which are domesticated. the vegetables, and particularly those that are applicable to any useful purposes, whether in medicine, dyeing, carpentry, etc.; any scented or ornamental woods, adapted for cabinet work and household furniture, and more particularly such woods as may appear to be useful in ship-building; hard woods for tree-nails, block-sheaves, etc., of all which it would be desirable to procure small specimens labelled and numbered, so that an easy reference may be made to them in the journal, to ascertain the quantities in which they are found; the facility or otherwise of floating them down to a convenient place for shipment, etc. minerals, any of the precious metals, or stones; how used, or valued by the natives. the description and characteristic difference of the several tribes or people on the coast. the occupation and means of subsistence, whether chiefly, or to what extent by fishing, hunting, feeding sheep or other animals, by agriculture or by commerce. the principal objects of their several pursuits, as mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. a circumstantial account of such articles growing on the sea-coast, if any, as might be advantageously imported into great britain, and those that would be required by the natives in exchange for them. the state of the arts, or manufactures, and their comparative perfection in different tribes. a vocabulary of the language spoken by every tribe with which you may meet, using in the compilation of each the same english words. ... on the day that my appointment was dated, i received an order for a passage in the ship dick, a transport, hired to convey the th regiment to new south wales; and on the th of february, twelve days after my appointment, left gravesend; but from a tedious detention in the downs, and a succession of foul winds, did not finally leave cork, where the troops embarked, until the rd of april. on the th of may, the dick anchored in the harbour of rio de janeiro, and remained for a fortnight, to procure refreshments for the troops, and complete her water. hence to new south wales the voyage was performed, without the occurrence of any incident worth recording. the heads of port jackson were seen at daylight on the st of september; but being to leeward of the port, the ship did not anchor in sydney cove until the rd, after a passage from cork of twenty-two weeks, including the fortnight that was passed at rio. the same evening i waited upon his excellency governor macquarie at parramatta, and delivered to him his letters and the despatches which acquainted him with the particulars of my mission; upon which his excellency, after expressing himself anxious to give every assistance in his power in forwarding the service i had to perform, informed me that there were only two vessels belonging to the colony that could suit my purpose: one of one hundred tons that had been lately launched, and the other a brig of seventy tons, the lady nelson, that was built at deptford in the year , and sent out to the colony, expressly for the purpose of surveying the coast; she had, however, for the last ten years, been used as a coal-vessel, and was then hauled upon the slips, undergoing a repair. upon examining the two vessels, i found that the former, although of convenient burden, not only drew too much water, but was in every other way unsuitable for my purpose; and the latter required much repair before she could be sent to sea, but as there was no other vessel at port jackson, either for sale or hire, no choice was left but to prepare the lady nelson as quickly as possible; and, as it was found absolutely necessary to give her a new keel, stern-post, and cut-water, besides new decks, with many new beams, there was no probability of completing her for at least four months. fortunately, however, this arrangement was shortly afterwards rendered unnecessary by the arrival from india, of the mermaid, a cutter of tons burden, built of teak, and not quite twelve months old: her length was feet; breadth of beam feet inches; and did not, when deep-laden, draw more than feet; her bottom was rather sharper than was convenient for the purpose of taking the ground; but, as i could not expect to find every advantage combined in one vessel that was necessary for the purpose of surveying, the latter objection was of necessity overruled; and being in every other respect superior to the lady nelson, and requiring no repairs, she was eventually purchased for the sum of pounds sterling, and immediately appropriated to my use. a schooner would have been much more convenient; but, as there was no opportunity of making such an alteration, it could not be effected. my statement of the arrangements that were requisite for our accommodation was approved of by the governor, who gave the necessary orders to the engineer, a captain of the forty-sixth regiment; and the deputy commissary general was instructed to attend to all my demands, and to supply the requisite quantities of provisions and stores; but, notwithstanding every wish on the part of his excellency to forward our outfit and complete the vessel for sea without delay, it was not until the st of december that the alterations were finished. had we met with as much opposition and inattention from the commissariat department as from the engineer, the vessel would not have been ready for sea for six months; it is, however, a duty i owe to deputy commissary general allan, to acknowledge the readiness with which that officer's department attended to my wants. the following is a list of the officers and men who formed the crew of the mermaid:-- commander: lieutenant phillip parker king. master's mates, : mr. frederick bedwell. mr. john septimus roe. botanical collector: mr. allan cunningham. seamen, . boys, . total, . in addition to this establishment, i accepted the proffered services of boongaree, a port jackson native, who had formerly accompanied captain flinders in the investigator, and also on a previous occasion in the norfolk schooner. this man is well known in the colony as the chief of the broken bay tribe; he was about forty-five years of age, of a sharp, intelligent, and unassuming disposition, and promised to be of much service to us in our intercourse with the natives: this addition made our number amount to nineteen, for which we carried provisions for nine months, and twelve weeks' water. ... voyages for the survey of the intertropical coasts of australia. chapter . intended mode of proceeding, and departure from port jackson. visit twofold bay. natives seen. passage through bass strait and along the south coast to king george the third's sound. transactions there. voyage to the north-west cape, and survey of the coast between the north-west cape and depuch island, including the examinations of exmouth gulf, curlew river, and dampier's archipelago. loss of anchors, and interview with the natives. remarks upon dampier's account of rosemary island, and of the island upon which he landed. . december . at the time that the mermaid was ready to commence her voyage, it was the season when the westerly monsoon blows over that part of the sea which separates the islands of timor and new guinea from australia; it was therefore necessary, in order to benefit by the direction of the wind, to commence the survey of the coast at its western extremity, the north-west cape: but, to do this, the passage was to be made, by taking the western route, as it is called; that is, by passing either through bass strait, or round van diemen's land, and steering up the west coast. in doing this, the vessel would, doubtless, have to encounter much bad weather; and, on her arrival might, probably, be more fit to return than to commence the survey of a dangerous and an unknown coast. the passage to the northward, through torres strait, would have been, on all accounts, the most advisable route, had the season been more advanced; and, indeed, it would have been even better to wait until march for that purpose; but this would be a loss of time in which much might be effected, were we only fortunate enough to make the western passage without accident: under all these circumstances, i was induced to prefer the route of bass strait, rather than remain idle, after the vessel was completed. before we left port jackson, his excellency the governor was made acquainted with my intended mode of proceeding; that, having passed bass strait to king george the third's sound, i should there complete my water and fuel: then, by steering up the west coast, to commence my survey at the north-west cape, and examine the coast easterly until the westerly monsoon should begin to decline; upon which i proposed to leave the land, and proceed as far to the eastward as the remainder of the monsoon would allow; when i might examine the coast back with the easterly monsoon as long as my stock of water lasted; and lastly, if i could not get a supply upon the coast, to go to timor, by which time my provisions would, probably, be so reduced as to oblige my returning to port jackson to prepare for a second voyage. december . having made our final arrangements, we left port jackson on the nd of december, with a fresh northerly breeze, which continued until the evening of the th, when we were abreast of cape howe. after this a heavy gale of wind from south-west obliged us to run into twofold bay for shelter, and to repair some trifling damage which we had already sustained. twofold bay was discovered by mr. bass in ; and, although it is for the most part too open and exposed to easterly winds for large ships, yet it has a cove on its northern side, in which small vessels find secure anchorage and a convenient place for stopping at, if bound to the southward; and hence its name of snug cove. it is completely land-locked, and it also conveniently affords both wood and water, and is neither difficult to enter nor to leave. december . when passing red point, which is on the south side of the bay, several natives were seen upon it; one of them came to the verge of the rocks that overhang the extremity of the point, and made violent gestures, but, whether they were those of friendship or hostility, could not be ascertained. boongaree answered him in the port jackson language, but they were equally unintelligible to each other. the native had a spear in one hand, and either a throwing stick, or a club, in the other; both of which, with his legs widely extended, he flourished most furiously over his head. this man was quite naked, but a woman near him wore a kangaroo's skin over her shoulders. several small parties of natives were seen in the other parts of the bay, but they appeared more anxious to avoid than to court a communication with us. on anchoring in snug cove, i went on shore with mr. roe and mr. cunningham: boongaree also accompanied us, clothed in a new dress, which was provided for him, of which he was not a little proud, and for some time kept it very clean. wood was abundant and near at hand, and the water, which is in a morass at the back of the beach, although shallow, and covered with a species of azolla, was both good and plentiful. the soil of the hills, contiguous to snug cove, is very good, and covered with luxuriant grass. the country appeared to be thickly wooded, but near the water the trees, which were principally species of the eucalyptus and the casuarina, were small and stunted. in our strolls during the day along the beach, and over the surrounding hills, we did not encounter any inhabitants, although recent signs of them were visible at every step; several beaten paths were observed leading to the morass from different directions, on the banks of which were many shells (haliotis gigantea, linn.) used by the natives for drinking-vessels. in the evening, after hauling the seine on the beach without success, we were upon the point of embarking, when we discovered, at about seventy or eighty yards up the hill, the heads of three or four natives peeping above the long grass, evidently watching our movements, and probably awaiting our departure to allow them to go to the morass for water. wishing very much to communicate with these people, we walked towards them, but they suddenly rose and scampered up the hill among the trees, which were so thick as soon to conceal them from our view. boongaree called to them in vain; and it was not until they had reached some distance that they answered his call in loud shrill voices. after some time spent in a parley, in which boongaree was spokesman on our part, sometimes in his own language, and at others in broken english, which he always resorted to when his own failed in being understood, they withdrew altogether, and we neither heard nor saw anything more of them. december . the next morning, the wind being easterly, we left the bay. on passing red point, twenty or thirty natives came to the extreme point of the cliff, shouting and hallooing and making violent gestures; a large group of women and children appeared in the background, timidly concealing themselves behind the trees and bushes; another party was quietly seated round small fires on the rocks near the sea-beach, apparently engaged in cooking their fish; and at a little distance from the last group, two canoes were hauled upon the rocks. the breeze being fresh from the north-north-east, we made rapid progress; and at three o'clock p.m., rounded cape howe, with every prospect of passing through bass strait before the wind should again veer to the westward. in passing cape howe, we observed large fires burning on the hills, made by the natives for the double purpose of burning off the dry grass and of hunting the kangaroos, which are thus forced to fly from the woods, and thereby fall an easy prey to their pursuers. december . the next day at noon, kent's group, in the eastern entrance of bass strait, was seen; but, at one o'clock, the wind shifted suddenly and blew a gale from south-west, with heavy rain: after beating against it until the following day, we bore up and ran under the lee of great island, intending to pass round van diemen's land: at five o'clock, we passed close to the babel islands, on which were heaped incredible numbers of sea-birds of various descriptions, each species huddled together in flocks separate from the other. on another part of the island many seals were seen, by the growl of which, and the discordant screams of the birds, a strange confused noise was made, not ill adapted to the name the island bears. december . by the following day, we had made some progress along the eastern side of van diemen's land, but in the evening, the wind shifted to south-east, and induced us to try the strait once more. in passing the low north-easternmost point of the land, called by the french, cape naturaliste, we had nearly run ashore from the darkness of the night, and the little elevation of the land. our sounding in seven fathoms was the first indication of danger; and, on listening attentively, the noise of the surf upon the beach was distinctly heard. december . the next morning we passed through banks strait, and entered bass strait. . january . but the wind was so light and baffling, that we made no progress until the nd of january; when, with a freshening breeze from the eastward, we moved rapidly on our way, and flattered ourselves with the hope of clearing the strait before night. in this hope we were not deceived; but before it was effected, we had very nearly suffered from the careless look-out of the man at the masthead. at four o'clock we were near three hummock island, and steered so as to pass close to its northern point, in order that we might obtain a correct latitude for sights for the chronometers. being within half a mile of it, rocks were suddenly seen outside and so close to us, that it was then too late either to haul up or bear away; the rocks to windward and the land to leeward preventing us: nothing was therefore left to us but to proceed and take the chance of finding sufficient depth of water between the point and the rocks; providentially there proved to be a passage of one-eighth of a mile wide, and the cutter passed safely through. these islands were examined by commodore baudin, and an elaborate survey made of them by his officers; but this danger is not noticed on their plan of the group. the rocks bear north degrees west (by compass) from the northernmost point of the island, and north degrees east (by compass) from the northernmost hummock. i do not think they extend far from the shore. at sunset, we were in the meridian of albatross island, and by midnight cleared the strait, when we steered a course for king george the third's sound. upon examining our bread, we found that a considerable quantity was spoiled from damp and leaks, which necessarily obliged us to go at once upon a reduced allowance of that article. january . from a succession of westerly winds, the vessel was driven so near to the archipelago of the recherche, that we were induced to bear up for the anchorage in goose island bay; but as we steered round douglas's isles, the wind veered back to the south-east, and we might have proceeded: we were, however, so near the anchorage, that i determined upon occupying it for the night; and steering in between middle island and goose island, the anchor was dropped off the first sandy beach to the eastward of the highest hill, at the north-west end of the former. in the evening i landed with the botanist and mr. roe, but we found little that was worthy of our attention. the basis of the island is granitic, and covered with a shallow soil, formed of decayed vegetable matter, mixed with sand, which nourishes the stunted vegetation that thickly clothes the surface, particularly on the north-eastern, which is its most sheltered side. no animals were observed, excepting some small quadrupeds, which were momentarily seen by mr. roe, and, from his description, were kangaroo-rats. on goose island, the bird from which it takes its name appeared to be abundant; but there was too much surf to permit our landing upon it, and we were not so much in want of fresh provisions as to induce our risking any damage to the boats: we found the bones of a whale which had been thrown up on the beach where we landed. january . the wind in the night veered to north-east by east, to which quarter the anchorage is much exposed; towards morning it blew fresh, but the anchor held well. at dawn of day, ( th) we got underweigh and steered through the islands; at noon, we were abreast of termination island, the latitude of which we found to be degrees minutes. our friendly wind died away at midnight, and was succeeded by a short gale from the westward. january . on the th, at daylight, we were close to bald island, and in the afternoon took up an anchorage in king george the third's sound, between seal island and the first sandy beach, at the distance of half a mile to the eastward of a flat rock in seven fathoms, sand and weeds. in the evening we landed on seal island, which we had much difficulty in effecting on account of the surf. several seals were upon it, one of which we killed; and some penguins were also taken. on the summit of the island or rock, for it scarcely deserves the former appellation, the skeleton of a goat's head was found, and near it were the remains of a glass case bottle; both of which, we afterwards learnt, were left on the island by lieutenant forster, r.n., who put into this harbour in , on his passage from port jackson to europe, in the emu, hired transport. we searched in vain for the bottle which captain flinders left there, containing an account of the investigator's visit; my intention, in looking for this document, was not of course to remove it, but to ascertain its existence, and to add a few lines to the memorandum it contained. iguanas, geese, penguins, gulls, and seals of the hairy species, were the sole inhabitants of this rock. after leaving seal island, we landed on the sandy beach abreast of the anchorage; in doing this the boat filled, and the instruments were so wetted, that they were left on the beach to dry during our absence. our ascent, from the hill being steep, and composed of a very loose drift sand, was difficult and fatiguing; but the beautiful flowers and plants, with which the surface of the hill was strewed, repaid us for our toil. these being all new to mr. cunningham fully occupied his attention, whilst i remained upon the summit, from whence a good view was obtained of the eclipse isles, and vancouver's breakers, both of which are well laid down by captain flinders, whose correctness i had already many occasions to admire. an abundance of shells of the helix tribe (helix bulimus) was found on the top and sides of the hill; and a calcareous substance was observed protruding from the ground in every part, as noticed both by vancouver and flinders;* the former also found it on the bare sandy summit of bald head, and supposed it to be coral, a circumstance from which he inferred that the level of the ocean must have sunk. similar substances have since been discovered by dr. clarke abel, near simon's town, at the cape of good hope, and are described by him to be vegetables impregnated with carbonate of lime; but from the specimens we obtained, it would appear that it is neither coral, nor a petrified vegetable substance, but merely sand agglutinated by calcareous matter**. (*footnote. vancouver volume page . flinders volume page .) (**footnote. vide appendix, c.) january . the next morning we got under weigh, and stood over to the entrance of oyster harbour, off which we anchored to examine the bar; after satisfying myself on this head, and choosing a spot within the entrance to anchor at, we got under-sail, and in crossing the bar had not less than thirteen feet and a half, being nearly about the time of high water; but between the heads of the harbour it deepened to five, seven, and eight fathoms. our anchorage was about twenty-five yards from the eastern shore, and not more than fifty yards within the narrowest part of the entrance; it was convenient for our purposes, as the wood was abundantly procured close to our water-holes, which were dug at the edge of the sand, within thirty yards of the vessel; so that the people employed in these occupations could be protected against the natives by the proximity of the cutter, without preventing the necessary repairs to the rigging being carried on at the same time by the remainder of the crew on board. january to . during our stay in oyster harbour many parts of the neighbourhood were visited by us; and on one occasion, mr. roe walked round its shores; in doing which he got into great danger. upon leaving the vessel, his intention was only to go to a projecting head on the western side, for the purpose of taking a sketch; but being tempted to extend his walk, he had half traversed the shore of the harbour before he thought of returning. he had already waded over the river that falls into the north-west corner of the port, which was not more than four feet deep; and to avoid crossing it again, he preferred returning to the tent, by making the circuit of the harbour: but after proceeding some distance further, he unexpectedly met with another river, deeper and wider than that which he had previously passed; this proved to be the riviere de francois of captain baudin; it falls into oyster harbour at its north-east corner, about two miles to the eastward of the western river. in attempting to ford this, finding the water deeper than he expected, he was obliged to swim about two hundred yards; and, from being burdened with his clothes, narrowly escaped with his life. fortunately he met with no further impediment to his return, and reached the tent much fatigued. we afterwards made an excursion up this river, but from the greater part of the day being spent in searching for the entrance, which is both shoal and intricate, we did not succeed in reaching farther than four miles from its mouth. at the part where we left off our examination, it was about sixty yards wide, and from ten to twelve feet deep; bounded on either side by gently rising and well wooded hills; but the soil was neither rich nor deep. the shoals of the river, which at the entrance were very extensive, were covered with large flights of water-fowl; among which curlews and teals were abundant. oyster harbour is plentifully stocked with fish, but we were not successful with the hook, on account of the immense number of sharks that were constantly playing about the vessel. a few fish were taken with the seine, which we hauled on the eastern side of the small central island. at this place captain vancouver planted and stocked a garden with vegetables, no vestige of which now remained. boongaree speared a great many fish with his fiz-gig; one that he struck with the boat-hook on the shoals at the entrance of the eastern river weighed twenty-two pounds and a half, and was three feet and a half long. the mouths of all the creeks and inlets were planted with weirs, which the natives had constructed for the purpose of catching fish. mr. roe, on his excursion round the harbour, counted eleven of these weirs on the flats and shoals between the two rivers, one of which was a hundred yards long, and projected forty yards, in a crescent-shape, towards the sea; they were formed by stones placed so close to each other as to prevent the escape, as the tide ebbed, of such fish as had passed over at high water. this expedient is adopted in many parts of the continent; it was observed by lieutenant oxley, r.n., the surveyor-general of new south wales, in his journey on the banks of the lachlan river: the same was also seen by me on several parts of the north-west coast; and, from its being used on the south-east, south-west, and north-west coasts, it may be concluded to be the practice throughout the country. while waiting for an opportunity of leaving this harbour, mr. roe assisted me in making a survey of the entrance, in the hope of finding it more available for large ships; but in vain; for ships drawing more than twelve feet water cannot pass the bar. the rise and fall of the tide is not only very inconsiderable, but also very irregular; under some circumstances we found that it rose three feet, but this was very unusual. our gentlemen made several excursions into the country in various directions, in the hope of meeting with natives, but not the least vestige of their immediate presence was found; they were not however far from us, for the smokes of their fires were seen every evening; probably the fear of punishment kept them away, as they had formerly made rather a mischievous attack upon some of the emu's crew. no marks were left of the ship elligood's garden, which captain flinders found at the entrance of oyster harbour;* but a lapse of sixteen years will in this country create a complete revolution in vegetation; which is here so luxuriant and rapid that whole woods may have been burnt down by the natives, and grown again within that space of time; and it may be thus that the elligood's garden is now possessed by the less useful but more beautiful plants and shrubs of the country. (*footnote. flinders terra australis volume page .) excepting the sea-fowl, which consisted of geese, wild ducks, teals, curlews, divers, sea-pies, gulls, and terns, very few birds were seen, and those chiefly of the parrot and cockatoo tribe; a species of the latter was noticed of a rich black plumage, and very like the black cockatoo of new south wales. kangaroos from their traces must be numerous, but only a very few were noticed; the only reptile that was found was a black snake, which mr. cunningham saw for a moment as it glided past him. this gentleman made a large collection of seeds and dried specimens from the vast variety of beautiful plants and flowers with which nature has so lavishly clothed the hills and plains of this interesting country. a small spot of ground near the tent was dug up and enclosed with a fence, in which mr. cunningham sowed many culinary seeds and peach-stones; and on the stump of a tree, which had been felled by our wooding party, the name of the vessel with the date of our visit was inscribed; but when we visited oyster harbour three years and a half afterwards, no signs remained of the garden, and the inscription was scarcely perceptible, from the stump of the tree having been nearly destroyed by fire. a little without the east entrance of the harbour, we saw one of those prodigious large nests which captain flinders observed near point possession; it was built on the summit of an almost inaccessible rock, exposed to the south-west winds; it measured four feet in diameter at the top, and nearly seven feet at the base: it appeared to have been deserted for some time, as the branches and sea-weed, with which it was made, were strewed about the rock. captain flinders thought it probable that the inhabitant was an eagle; but on our subsequent visit to king george's sound in , we saw the same nest occupied by a hawk of a moderate size. on the st january we were ready to leave the port; but the weather was so unfavourable that we remained until the following day. in the evening a boat was sent to seal island to deposit a bottle, in which was enclosed a memorandum informing future navigators of our visit, and intentions with respect to our further proceedings. when the boat returned she brought two seals, which had been killed on the island for the sake of their skins, to be used for the purpose of refitting the rigging. . february . the next day (february st) the cutter was warped out of oyster harbour; and, as the wind was from the eastward, we profited by it: after beating out of the sound we steered along the coast, and at eight o'clock were abreast of west cape howe. on rounding cape leeuwin, our crew were attacked with a bowel complaint, and symptoms of dysentery; the want of a surgeon to our establishment was most anxiously felt, from the fear that, by an unskilful or improper use of medicines, i might increase, instead of lessen the progress of complaints, which from the fatigues of such a service, in so warm a climate and in the unhealthy season, threatened to be frequent and severe. one or two of the people had complained of this disorder before we left oyster harbour, but it was not until we had sailed, that it assumed any serious appearance. after two days it happily began to subside, or i should of necessity have been obliged to resort to some place for relief, for we had, at one time, only four seamen to keep watch. february . this sickness prevented our examining any part of the west coast, as we passed it; our course was therefore held at a distance from the shore, and on the th the land to the southward of the north-west cape was descried at daylight. its outline was so level as to appear like a thick fog on the horizon; but, as the sun rose, we were undeceived. at seven miles from the shore we found no soundings with fathoms; but at eight o'clock, being three miles nearer, we had fathoms, sand, coral, and shells. the bottom then gradually shoaled to fathoms; upon which we steered along the outer edge of a line of breakers that fronted the shore, and after rounding a projection of the reef, steered to the east-north-east, towards the extreme of the land. the coast is here tolerably elevated, and may be seen at the distance of six or seven leagues; it is composed of a red-coloured, sandy-looking rock, which is very scantily sprinkled with small shrubs, and appears to be extremely arid and sterile. the shore is fronted with rocks that extend for three or four miles into the sea; on the extremity of which the surf breaks with a continued foam. to the north the land suddenly terminates with rather a steep slope, but a low sandy plain extends to the east-north-east for three miles further, the extremity of which is the north-west cape. the fall of the high-land was called vlaming head, after the navigator who first discovered this part. after obtaining the meridional observation, we rounded the cape, and steered between it and a patch of breakers which lie at the distance of a mile and a half from the shore: we were no sooner under the lee of the land, than the air, before of a pleasant and a moderate temperature, became so heated as to produce a scorching sensation; and to raise the mercury in the thermometer from to degrees. we were also assailed by an incredible number of flies and other insects, among which was a beautiful species of libellula. the sea swarmed with turtles, sea-snakes, and fish of various sorts; and the dolphin was eminently conspicuous for its speed, and the varied beauty of its colours. from the cape, the low sandy land trended to the south-south-east for a mile and a half, and then with the same character to south-south-west / west, in which direction it was lost in distance; and in the north east, was a low rocky island. the wind fell after passing round the cape, and was so light during the afternoon that we made no progress, and were obliged to anchor at about three or four miles to the eastward of the cape. at nine o'clock the wind freshened with the flood-tide, which raised a heavy swell in which the cutter rode very uneasily. february . and, in the morning, when we attempted to weigh the anchor, the cable parted, having been cut by rocks. owing to the bad construction of the buoy, it did not watch; and, as the tide quickly swept us from the place, we had no chance left of recovering the anchor. as the sun rose the wind gradually fell; and, at noon, we were no farther advanced than a mile and a half to the southward of the north east trend of the cape. here the coast is low and sandy, and is of shoal approach. a small clump of mangrove-trees on the beach was the first sign of vegetation that we had seen; and, from the absence of verdure hereabout, is a conspicuous object. the thermometer stood at degrees. the ebb tide then commenced and drifted us out near our last night's anchoring ground, and the evening was spent, without success, in searching for our lost anchor. at sunset a fresh breeze set in from the south-west, and fearing a repetition of our loss, we continued under sail during the night, which was past with great anxiety; and not without reason. february . for when the day broke, we found ourselves within one mile of the reef off the south-west end of the island in the north east (which proved to be captain baudin's muiron island), and drifting towards it so rapidly, that in less than half an hour the vessel would have been thrown upon the rocks. standing to the eastward we discovered the three sandy islets--h, i, and k; and at noon, we were near two other sandy islets, y, and z, which appeared to be the north-westernmost of a group of low, sandy, or rocky islets, extending to the south-east, beyond the limits of our masthead view. the islets, y and z, are of circular shape, and not more than a quarter of a mile in diameter; they are so low as not to be visible from our deck at a greater distance than seven miles. their summits are crowned with a slight shrubby vegetation, the bright verdure of which, separated from the dark blue colour of the sea by their glittering sandy beaches, formed a pleasing contrast to the dull, monotonous appearance of the mainland. these islets are in fact only the dry parts of a shoal, on which the sand has accumulated, and formed a soil to receive and nourish the seeds of plants, which have either been drifted on shore by the tide, or been brought by birds from the continent. at sunset we anchored under the land, but soon afterwards the wind blew so fresh, that the fluke of our anchor broke, and we were obliged to drop another; which was the last we possessed, besides a small stream anchor that was too light to use, excepting in a calm. february . the next morning being fine, and favourable for another search after our lost anchor (the recovery of which from our last night's misfortune had become of very great consequence) we bore up along the shore, and soon arrived at the spot; but after some time spent in the search, without success, we were at last obliged to relinquish the attempt, and gave up all hope of ever finding it. february . we then returned into the gulf to prosecute its examination, but as usual, the wind fell, and the only progress we made was by the assistance of the flood-tide, which ran until sunset; a fresh breeze then sprung up, and the night was passed under sail. at daylight the following morning the cutter was about four miles from the western shore, but the day was so calm that very little progress was made. the thermometer indicated a temperature of degrees, which, from the absence of the sea-breeze, and from our not having an awning to protect us from the sun's rays, was almost insufferable; and although our crew were happily in good health, yet my fears were momentarily alive lest any should be taken ill. a land-wind at night enabled us to make some progress, and before dark we had reached twenty-five miles into the opening without seeing anything like its termination; the western side still trended in a southerly direction, losing itself in distance, and bore the appearance of being an island. february . by the next day we descried some hills of peaked shape to the southward, which was the only indication we had of the termination of the gulf: to the eastward the islands were very numerous and low; but to the south-east the land was so continuous as to impress us with the idea of its being the continent. we steered towards it to satisfy our doubts but the water shoaled and prevented our approaching it near enough to ascertain the fact. the gulf was here so much narrower, and the bottom so uneven and rocky, that an anchorage was now of material importance, but our poverty in anchors made me fearful of risking our last upon a bottom of the least questionable nature. before dark however we were fortunate in finding a bay on the western shore, in which the anchor was dropped in three fathoms muddy bottom, at one mile from the shore. the discovery of this anchorage proved so welcome to our fatigued crew, that the place was not unaptly named the bay of rest. we remained here three days, in which time i was enabled to lay down my plan of the gulf, and give some little respite to the people who had been up both night and day, and most laboriously occupied, since we rounded the north-west cape. as soon as the vessel was secured mr. bedwell landed on the eastern shore of the bay, and found it to be of bold approach, but lined with coral rocks, and covered with dead shells, among which a buccinum of immense size was noticed. the soil, if such it can be called, is composed of a red quartzose sand; but on the hills it contained also a small portion of earth, which gave it a strong resemblance to brick-dust. the country is slightly sprinkled with a stunted vegetation, and bore a most desert-like appearance; and on the shore we noticed a few mangrove bushes. the sea was abundantly stocked with fish and turtle, though it did not appear to be the season for the latter to lay their eggs. an immense shark was hooked, but it broke the hook and escaped: its length was about twelve feet, of an ashy-gray colour, spotted all over with darker marks; the belly was white, and the nose short; it was altogether different from any we had before seen. the impression of what appeared to have been an emu's foot was noticed upon the sand, there is reason, however, to think we may have been deceived; we never afterwards saw one of those birds on the north coast. the country was covered with immense ant-hills; one that mr. cunningham measured was eight feet high, and nearly twenty-six in circumference; but on breaking it up, he found it to be deserted by its constructors: an iguana, which was hunted by that gentleman, took refuge in one of these hills, which proved a safe asylum, for, although he broke a great part down, it escaped. february . during the following day, mr. bedwell examined the bottom of the bay, where he found a narrow opening, communicating with an inner basin of small extent, containing from two to five feet water, well stocked with fish: during the afternoon mr. roe walked over the sand-ridges behind the beach, and provided me with an outline, and the particular features of a part of the coast. the country at the back of the bay was in flames during our stay, which proved, if a proof were required, that this arid and barren extremity of australia is not destitute of inhabitants; and although we saw none, it is probable that they were not ignorant of our presence, but from timidity intentionally avoided us. the heat was very great; on board, the thermometer did not stand higher than degrees, whilst on shore it rose to degrees, and when exposed to the sun to degrees. february . on the morning of the th we resumed the examination of the inlet, but having proceeded only six miles farther, there was every appearance either of its termination, or of its communicating with the sea. the channel had become narrow and shoal, and as i was not prepared for so critical a navigation, the further examination was given up, and we bore up to coast along the eastern shore; but, from the shoalness of the water, we were obliged to sail at so great a distance that its continuity was by no means distinctly traced. the inlet was named exmouth gulf, in compliment to the noble and gallant viscount. february . having by night reached a clear space, the cutter was kept under sail; and the next morning vlaming head and muiron island were seen, as well as the islets y and z, and the others to the south-east. the course was then directed to the eastward, and having reached within four miles of the coast, the depth of water was only two and a half fathoms. at noon, we passed between two other islets; and, during the afternoon, steered along the coast parallel to it, and within a range of low sandy islets, of similar character with y and z, and the other islets in their vicinity. a low, sandy projection of the coast was named after edward hawke locker, esquire. twelve miles to the eastward of cape locker the shore is lined with mangroves, among which a small opening, like a rivulet, was observed. on attempting to approach it, we were prevented by a reef of rocks that stretched across its entrance; but we succeeded in finding an anchorage about three miles to the eastward of the inlet, in two and a half fathoms at about a quarter of a mile from the shore. february . the following morning, we ascended it in a boat for four miles. on our way to the entrance, which was between the reef and the shore, we had some difficulty, even with the boat, in finding a channel; but when we were within the heads, we found a regular depth of from ten to twelve feet, the banks on either side were, for two miles, impenetrably lined with mangrove bushes, which bore the marks of having been torn down by freshes or inundations. beyond this the banks were low and sandy, but the channel of the river was of mud. at high water we landed to examine the country, and ascended a sand-hillock, the only elevation we could find, to procure a view around; it was so low that our prospect was very limited, yet still it was sufficient to satisfy us of the aridity and poverty of the soil: the country bore the appearance of having been under water, which seemed to be occasioned by high tides, for there were large patches of salt incrustations, which could only have been caused by an inundation of sea-water. two or three stunted bushes of a species of eucalyptus were the only trees seen, excepting the mangroves. the soil is composed of a mixture of red quartzose sand, mud, and clay, in which the first bore the greatest proportion. on no part of the coast did we find the heat so intense and oppressive as in this river; the thermometer stood at degrees, and the ground was so heated that we were obliged to beat a bush down to stand upon, whilst we were taking the bearings of some of the islets in the offing. some natives and a dog had very recently been crossing the little creeks that fell into the river, for the impressions of their feet were observed below the high-water mark; the mouths of the creeks were planted with weirs, similar to those in the river at oyster harbour. the river appeared to abound in fish, but the only sort that was caught was what the sailors called cat-fish; they were of a nauseous taste. pelicans and curlews were very numerous, particularly the latter, in consequence of which the inlet was called curlew river; but the most numerous and annoying of the inhabitants of this part were the flies, from their constantly creeping into the eyes, nostrils, and mouth, particularly during our meals; and it required some little trouble to partake of our repast without also conveying with it several of these troublesome insects. on our return to the cutter, our party very imprudently bathed, which occasioned, to some of them, two or three days' indisposition, and it was fortunate that they did not suffer from a coup de soleil. this indiscretion was, however, never afterwards permitted. during the absence of the boat, mr. bedwell landed abreast the anchorage, and walked a mile inland to one of the salt marshes. on his way, he passed several ant-hills of the same description as those seen by us at the bay of rest. the coast is here protected from inroads of the sea by a barrier of sand dunes, from ten to twenty feet high, on which were growing a variety of plants, particularly a species of convolvulus, which, from the great size and length of its stem, being an inch in diameter and extending along the beach for more than thirty yards, is very conspicuous. behind these dunes the country is flat, and in most parts below the level of the sea; so that when the tides rise high enough to pass over the breaks in the dunes, the country is inundated, when, by the intense heat of the sun, the water is very speedily evaporated, and a salt incrustation, to a great extent, is formed upon the plains. at the distance of four or five miles from the beach, a small range of rocky hills, apparently destitute of vegetation, formed a boundary to the view. the shore is lined by a barrier of sharp rocks, covered with species of ostrea and nerita, but although these were the only living testaceous animals that were found, the beach was covered with a multitude of dead and imperfect shells of various species. in the evening, after our return from the river, the weather clouded, but afterwards cleared up with a change of wind from the south-east, which, from its heat, and from the listless sensations it caused, resembled the hot land-wind of port jackson: this seems to afford additional ground for the hypothesis that the interior of this immense island is occupied by vast sandy deserts. february . on leaving this anchorage it was low water, when the depth was only six inches more than the vessel's draught; but the bottom being of mud, it deepened inch by inch, until we reached four, five, and six fathoms; and upon this depth we sailed the whole day, passing through a cluster, or rather range of sandy islets. in the evening we anchored under one of larger size than usual, about four miles from the mainland, the shores of which had been traced during the day, without losing sight of any part of it; it was still low, and bounded either by dunes of sand, or an impervious forest of mangroves, beyond which no part of the interior could be seen. february . the following day was spent in examining a bight, but we were prevented from penetrating to the bottom by the shoalness of the water. we were, however, near enough to see large sheets of water over the mangrove belt that lined the shore, in which many openings were observed that communicated with it. beyond the lakes was a range of rocky hills, that bounded our masthead view. the bight is fronted by a crowded range of sandy islets, from which we did not extricate ourselves until the next day. having passed out between two sandy islets, our course was held to the northward, outside of a range of islets, and parallel to the mainland; which was soon afterwards lost to view by trending to the eastward. at one o'clock we passed round a larger and a more elevated island, as well as of a more rocky character than those to the southward; and then steered to the eastward, towards the next projecting point of the main, named after my friend richard preston, esquire, on our way to which we left a small island about one mile to the northward of our track. in the evening, we steered close round cape preston, but were disappointed in an attempt to find anchorage near it, from the rocky state of the bottom, so that the night was passed under sail, which, considering the number of low islets scattered about, was running a dangerous risk, and this was increased by encountering a severe squall of wind from the south-east, which blew so insufferably hot that the thermometer stood at degrees, having been at degrees all the previous day. february . the next morning it was calm and sultry; at ten o'clock we anchored near a small sandy isle in the centre of the bay, until the sea-breeze set in, which was taken immediate advantage of; and after weighing the course was directed towards a steep rocky head, forming the south-west point of an island, subsequently called enderby island, after a very old and valued friend. on our way we had to pass round a sandy islet and a rocky reef of considerable extent; after which we anchored off a sandy beach to the eastward of rocky head. soon after anchoring the sky became black and clouded over the land to the south-east, and assumed a very threatening appearance; heavy, dense clouds, in which streams of vivid forked lightning momentarily appeared, were rolling rapidly towards us, and made us fear a repetition of last night's storm; the stream-anchor, the only resource we had, was therefore dropped; and, with the topmast struck, we awaited the bursting of the storm with much anxiety, and just cause of alarm for the safety of the vessel: the clouds continued to roll towards us, but just as the storm was on the point of bursting, the clouds suddenly dispersed and in half an hour the night turned out as fine as it had threatened to be the reverse. february . the next morning i landed with mr. roe, and climbed the summit of rocky head before the sun rose; in the ascent we crossed several deep ravines which, together with the hills, were thickly covered with a wiry grass (spinifex) growing over and amongst heaps of rocks that were piled up in all directions as if it had been done purposely; the greater part of the surface of the island being covered with these stones, we had a considerable difficulty in advancing, and it was not without some labour that we arrived at the summit of the hill. here the view was very extensive; the coast to the eastward of cape preston trends inward and forms a bay, the shores of which are very low. the land on which we were appeared to be the south-westernmost island of a considerable archipelago; and the land to the eastward was observed to be rocky and high, in comparison to the low sandy country we had been lately passing. from dampier's description of rosemary island i was, at first, induced to think that we had landed upon the identical island he visited; but this error was soon discovered. an island to the northward, on which are three hummocks, was soon recognised as captain baudin's ile romarin, it therefore bears the name of rosemary island in my chart, and i have no doubt of its being that under which captain dampier anchored, but not the one upon which he landed. to the eastward of enderby island, a strait of nearly two miles wide separates it from lewis island; and between enderby and rosemary islands is goodwyn island. the shores of the bay were plentiful in shell-fish, particularly oysters; and beche de mer* were also abundant in the crevices of the rocks; but there were no traces of this part of the coast having been visited by the malays, who annually visit it to the eastward, for the purpose of taking that animal. the tracks of natives and their fireplaces were everywhere visible and around the latter the bones of kangaroos and fishes were strewed. (*footnote. trepang, a species of holothuria (priapulus sp., lam. iii. ), an animal collected by the malays for the chinese market. vide flinders terra australis volume pages and .) on the north side of rocky head, in a ravine, under the shade of a ficus, eight or ten gallons of water were found and brought on board; and near it on a spot of tolerable soil mr. cunningham sowed some peach-stones. february . at daylight we left this anchorage, and proceeded to penetrate to the eastward towards a deep bight or strait; the wind was, however, so light, that we were compelled to anchor until the sea-breeze set in, when the vessel was again under sail, and proceeded onwards. as we advanced, three natives were seen in the water, apparently wading from an island in the centre of the strait towards lewis island: the course was immediately altered to intercept them, but as we approached, it was discovered that each native was seated on a log of wood, which he propelled through the water by paddling with his hands. having hove to close by them, they became much alarmed, and cried out in loud tones which were increased when our boat was lowered and despatched after them; but it was not without the greatest difficulty that mr. bedwell succeeded in bringing one on board. on the boat's coming up with the nearest indian, he left his log and, diving under the boat's bottom, swam astern; this he did whenever the boat approached him, and it was four or five minutes before he was caught, which was at last effected by seizing him by the hair, in the act of diving, and dragging him into the boat, against which he resisted stoutly, and, even when taken, it required two men to hold him to prevent his escape. during the interval of heaving to and bringing him on board, the cutter was anchored near the central island, where a tribe of natives were collected, consisting of about forty persons, of whom the greater number were women and children; the whole party appeared to be overcome with grief, particularly the women, who most loudly and vehemently expressed their sorrow by cries, and rolling on the ground, and covering their bodies with the sand. when our captive arrived alongside the vessel and saw boongaree, he became somewhat pacified, and suffered himself to be lifted on board; he was then ornamented with beads and a red cap; and upon our applauding his appearance, a smile momentarily played on his countenance, but it was soon replaced by a vacant stare. he took very little notice of anything until he saw the fire, and this appeared to occupy his attention very much. biscuit was given to him, which, as soon as he tasted, he spat out, but some sugared water being offered to him, he drank the whole; and upon sugar being placed before him, in a saucer, he was at a loss how to use it, until one of the boys fed him with his fingers, and when the saucer was emptied, he showed his taste for this food by licking it with his tongue. he was then taken to the side of the vessel from which his companions were visible, when he immediately exclaimed, with much earnestness, and in a loud voice, "coma negra," and repeated the words several times. after he had been on board for half an hour, during which time he had been greatly caressed, in order to induce him to give a favourable account of us to his companions, he was taken half way towards the shore in our boat, and then launched upon his log, to which was lashed an axe, and around his neck a bag was suspended containing biscuits, and a little of everything that he appeared to fancy or be amused with during his short captivity. as soon as he perceived himself clear of the boat he paddled away, and in a short time reached the shore and joined his terrified companions; who, upon his approaching them, ordered him to stand at a distance until he had thrown away his red cap, the bag, and the axe, and had answered several questions which they were apparently putting to him. all this time they had their spears poised and pointed towards him, and stood huddled together in the greatest alarm; the women were kept away, but their curiosity was so much excited that, although they were more terrified than the men, they were seen peeping over the bushes and rocks which concealed them, and attentively watching what was going on. our friend stood in the position of, and as motionless as, a soldier at drill, and answered all their interrogatories and inquiries without making the least movement. he was soon allowed to approach nearer, and then the whole party cautiously advanced, with their spears still poised, and surrounded him. his body was then carefully examined; and upon the women and children being allowed to approach, they seated themselves in a ring and placed him in the middle, when he told his story, which occupied about half an hour. upon its being finished, they all got up, and, after shouting and hallooing to us, they went to the opposite side of the island, leaving our presents upon the beach, after having carefully examined them. before sunset mr. roe and mr. cunningham pulled towards the island in the jolly-boat: on its approach the natives came down and appeared anxious for the crew to land; but the shore was too rocky to admit of doing so with security, and after making the natives a few presents, to obtain which they waded up to their arms in the water, the party returned. the natives were much amused with boongaree's appearance, and frequently addressed him, but his answering them in a strange language surprised them very much; on his taking off his shirt they shouted loudly, and were delighted; but on the return of the boat on board without our party's landing, they were evidently much disappointed. our late captive was noticed in the background, but did not approach the boat: he was, for an australian, a well made man, and was at least six feet in height. his hair was long and curly, and in it was stuck a short sharp-pointed stick; he wore his beard long, no teeth were wanting in his jaws, and there was no appearance of the septum narium having been pierced: at every three inches between the upper part of the chest and navel his body was scarified in horizontal stripes, the cicatrice of which was at least an inch in diameter, and protruded half an inch from the body. he could not have been more than twenty-two or three years of age; and as for the other characteristics of spare limbs, long arms and large head, he was a perfect facsimile of the inhabitants of the eastern coast. during the night their fires were seen on the island, and some were also noticed on the mainland to the southward. february . early the next morning the natives came down to the beach, and called out loudly to us; but the glare of the sun, rising immediately over them, prevented our distinguishing their movements. after this they disappeared, and when we visited the island in the afternoon, we found that they had left it: their shouting to us in the morning was therefore to inform us of their departure, and was probably intended to convey to us their farewell. upon landing at the island, we directed our steps to their huts, which were of most miserable construction, being nothing more than a bush stuck in the ground, and forming only a very indifferent shade. here we found the presents, which had been given to our late captive, deposited carefully on the ground; but the bag, instead of having been opened at the mouth, was torn asunder near the seam at the bottom; a fishing line that had been given to him was also left behind, which surprised us the more because the native had one of his own making attached to his log, and therefore must have known its use. it appears that the only vehicle by which these savages transport their families and chattels across the water is a log of wood; that which we had brought alongside with our captive friend was made of the stem of a mangrove tree; but as it was not long enough for the purpose, two or three short logs were neatly and even curiously joined together end to end, and so formed one piece that was sufficient to carry and buoyant enough to support the weight of two people. the end is rudely ornamented, and is attached to the extremity by the same contrivance as the joints of the main stem, only that the two are not brought close together. the joint is contrived by driving three pegs into the end of the log, and by bending them, they are made to enter opposite holes in the part that is to be joined on; and as the pegs cross and bend against each other, they form a sort of elastic connexion, which strongly retains the two together. when it is used, they sit astride and move it along by paddling with their hands, keeping their feet upon the end of the log, by which they probably guide its course. such are the shifts to which the absence of larger timber has reduced these simple savages: they show that man is naturally a navigating animal; and this floating log, which may be called a marine-velocipede, is, i should suppose, the extreme case of the poverty of savage boat-building all round the world. the island is composed of a rocky basis, covered by a thin layer of sandy soil. on the summit of the bluff east end of the island was observed one of those immense nests that were seen at king george the third's sound, the base of which measured seven feet in diameter. whilst examining the nest, some natives were descried on an adjoining island, and as our principal object was to communicate with these people, we immediately re-embarked and sailed towards it. on approaching the island, we overtook two natives on their logs, who, on perceiving that we were pulling towards them, became frightened, and made violent gestures as if imploring us to go away. four or five unarmed natives were standing on the shore of the island, and watched our proceedings; and, upon our sheering off and pulling away from the natives upon the logs towards a sandy beach, the party on the shore walked a few steps towards it also, and invited us by signs to go ashore. upon the boat's touching the beach, i landed, and taking boongaree with me divested of his clothes, walked towards the natives, who were standing together, a little in the rear of one, who was probably their chief. the whole party were trembling with fear, and appeared quite palsied as we approached and took the chief by the hand. a little coaxing, and the investiture of a red cap upon the chief's head, gradually repossessed them of their senses, and we were soon gabbling each in our own language, and therefore mutually unintelligible. in a short time i obtained permission, which was asked for and granted by signs, for the rest of our party to approach. the chief who had been attired as above-mentioned was thought by mr. cunningham to be one of those who waded into the water to receive the presents from him the preceding evening: he was very inquisitive about our clothes, and expressed the greatest astonishment at everything he noticed about us. he ridiculed our repugnance to partake of a piece of the raw gut of a turtle which he offered to us, and to expose our folly, ate a piece, which he appeared to think a dainty, although it was quite fetid from putrefaction. our attempts to collect a vocabulary of their language were quite unsuccessful. an axe, some chisels, and other tools were given to them, but they expressed no pleasure in receiving the presents, or astonishment at their effect. on our making signs for water, they all simultaneously pointed to an island bearing north-east from the one on which we were. we now prepared to embark, and walked towards the boat accompanied by these friendly savages, hand in hand; but as they drew nigh, a water-spaniel belonging to me leapt out of the boat and began to bark, which alarmed them so much that some of them ran off, and kept aloof until we began to play with and caress the dog; and when they recovered their fright, they were highly amused with his swimming after some pieces of wood that were thrown into the water. boongaree was of course the object of their greatest attention: the fashion in which his body was scarred was the subject of particular remark; and when he pointed at the sea, to show them whence he came, they set up a shout of admiration and surprise. we now took leave of these friendly indians, and went through the ceremony of shaking each other by the hand, a mode of taking leave they appeared perfectly to understand. no women made their appearance, but there was every reason to believe that they were close at hand, for several natives were seen from the cutter concealed close to us, armed with spears ready to repel any attack we might have made, and to defend the women and children of their tribe. the boat was then steered towards the island to which the natives had directed us; but as we pulled along its shore in search of a landing-place, a party of twenty or thirty indians were observed descending the rocky hills towards the beach, with an evident intention of preventing our going ashore; and upon our pulling into a small bight, where there was some appearance of a stream of water, they threatened us with spears and stones; at the same time loudly vociferating and pointing to us to retire. much unintelligible parley now ensued, during which we endeavoured to convince them that we only wanted fresh water, and had no intention of molesting them; but although they appeared perfectly to understand our meaning, they were determined upon resisting our attempt to land. a stone thrown at us by one of the foremost, who stood half up to his middle in the water, was an earnest of their hostile intentions if we persisted, and they were on the point of assaulting us with a shower of spears, when we pulled out and returned on board, leaving the indians masters of the field. there was no mischievous feeling in their conduct towards us, for we were in their power, and had they been inclined, they might have speared the whole of our party before a musket could have been fired by us. their object seemed to be merely to get rid of us, and in this they completely and very fairly succeeded, for our party was not numerous enough to force a landing without resorting to means which would have entirely destroyed the friendly intercourse we had just held with the last tribe, and for which we were perhaps solely indebted to the opportune capture that we made upon our arrival. in consequence of the communication that we had with these natives, the group between lewis island and the main was called the intercourse islands. february . early the next morning, we left the anchorage, and took up a fresh station off the north-east end of the island from which we were repulsed. on our passing the north side of it, we saw no marks of fresh water; if there be any, it must be from rain-water collected and preserved in the holes of the rock. as we passed the east point, two natives were observed crossing over to the main upon their logs, and this was the last we saw of them. hence the strait takes a northerly direction, and was named mermaid's strait, after our little vessel which had thus first sailed through it. mr. roe, in the afternoon, examined an opening in the land to the eastward of our anchorage; but found it to be overrun with mangroves, and entirely destitute of fresh water. . march . the next day we steered through the strait. three openings were observed on the eastern side, which appeared to be straits separating as many islands; the northernmost was called gidley island. to the north of lewis island is malus island, the north east end of which is formed by a high bluff point, named courtenay head; whose summit, from its elevation and position, appeared to offer so good an opportunity of obtaining a bird's-eye view of a great part of the archipelago, that the cutter was anchored in a bay under its west side; and as soon as the vessel was secured, we landed and climbed the head, and were repaid for the trouble by a very extensive view, and a useful set of bearings of the islands and rocks in its vicinity. malus island is of the same formation as enderby island, and is clothed with the same kinds of plants. the ravines are deep, and the sides of the hills are covered with the same stone, of which a pile was erected on the summit of the head to mark the spot where the circumferentor was placed. some turtle tracks were seen upon the beach; and when we returned to the vessel mr. bedwell landed to watch for their coming on shore, but none appeared, and since we found no eggs, it is probable that the young had already taken to the water. march . the next morning we sailed, and attempted to steer round the western side of malus island; but were prevented from passing between it and rosemary island by the shoalness of the water. there is, however, every reason to believe that in mid-channel the water is deep enough for any purpose; but as our persisting would have answered no end, we steered across mermaid's strait, and by sunset were abreast of cape bruguieres, so named by captain baudin, round which the land trended to east by south, forming the south side of a shoal strait, separating gidley island from captain baudin's legendre island: the latter is a narrow, long, rocky island, lying east-south-east and west-north-west, and is of a lower character than the islands to the southward of it. we anchored under the north-west end of this island. march . but the ground was so uneven and rocky that we considered ourselves fortunate in recovering the anchor the next morning without breaking it; for during the night the anchor dragged and hooked a rock; on weighing it, however, the rock proved to be rotten and broke away. the strait between legendre and gidley islands is full of shoals, which at daylight being dry, were covered with immense flights of pelicans and other water-fowl. during the day and following night we were becalmed off the north side of legendre island. march . the next day we passed round its south-east end, and, at sunset, anchored in a deep bay. off the south-east end of legendre island the sea is very full of reefs and dry rocks, but between hauy and delambre islands there is a safe channel of nine and ten fathoms deep. the bay in which we had anchored was called, at mr. roe's request, nickol's bay; it is open only to the north-east, and affords safe shelter, with good holding-ground. at the bottom of the bay, on both sides of a projecting point of land, on which three round-backed hills were conspicuous, the coast falls back, and forms two bights, the western of which is backed by very low land, lined with mangroves; and may probably contain a small rivulet: the other is smaller, but the land behind it is higher than in the western bay, which of the two appears to be of the most importance; but as the tide did not flow at a greater rate than a quarter of a knot, very little was attached to any opening that may exist there. at this anchorage we experienced another squall, similar to that off cape preston, but not so severe; the sand was blown over us from the shore, although we were at least two miles distant from it. march . the next morning we steered to the eastward, along the land, and soon after noon passed round captain baudin's bezout island; a projecting point within it was named in compliment to my friend aylmer bourke lambert, esquire; behind which a range of hills extends to the south-south-east for five or six leagues, and then trends to the eastward, toward a group of islands named by the french forestier's archipelago, the principal of which is depuch island. near this we anchored in five fathoms sandy ground. our course from cape lambert was parallel with the beach, and although we were not more than from three to five miles from it, yet it was so low that it could not be seen from the deck; and even from the masthead it was but very indistinctly traced; nor indeed is it quite certain that what we did see was really the shore of the mainland. march . the vessel rode out the night rather uneasily on account of the wind blowing a fresh breeze from the south-east, which freshened up when the sun rose with such strength from the same direction that we were prevented from landing upon depuch island. we passed the group at one mile off; it consists of six islands, all of which, with the exception of depuch island, are small and of a low sandy character. hence the coast trended to the north-east by east, but it was soon lost to view, for the wind would not permit our making better than a north-east course. before noon we passed within a quarter of a mile of a part of the geographe's bank, which was nearly dry; it lies twenty-two miles north-east from depuch island. upon comparing my chart with captain dampier's description of the rosemary islands, there appears to be little doubt but that m. de freycinet is justified in his conjectures, that the islands, called by them romarin and malus, are those seen by that navigator. my conclusion results from his description of the place he landed at, for he says: "we were now on the inner side of the island, on whose outside is the bluff point: we rode a league from the land, and i presently went on shore, and carried shovels to dig for water, but found none. there grew here two or three sorts of shrubs, one just like rosemary, and, therefore, i call this rosemary island. it grew here in great plenty, but had no smell...in the sea, we saw some green turtle, a pretty many sharks, and abundance of water-snakes, of several sorts and sizes. the stones were all of a rusty colour and ponderous."* (*footnote. dampier octavo volume page .) the rosemary plants were found by us on enderby island, and bore a strong resemblance to the figure of one given by dampier, which he thus describes: conyza novae hollandiae angustis rorismarini foliis: this plant, found at enderby island, may naturally be supposed to grow upon the other islands, since they are all similar in character. enderby island he certainly did not visit, but i take malus island to be that on which he landed, and the bluff, which he describes as the east end of the island, is no other than our courtenay head, for it is the only land of that character hereabouts, and is visible from the deck of a large ship, at the distance of seven leagues. in the bearing that dampier saw it, namely, south-east, our rosemary island would appear to be joined to malus island, and hence his opinion that it was "an island five or six leagues in length, and one in breadth." in one of his draughts (number ), he gives a view of the head, bearing east-south-east, six leagues; and this bearing and distance, applied to our courtenay head, will cross the latitude of degrees minutes, which is that noted in the draught; and in the next draught (number ), when the head bears south-east by south, two black rocks are inserted, bearing south-east by east, and a point of land east: the black rocks readily answer to the two flat rocks of my chart, and the land about gidley island will bear east. no light can be thrown upon the subject from his drawings of the headlands, since they are too minute to be compared with nature. that the montebello islands are not the rosemary islands is evident, from their being low, having no bluff head, and from their not being visible so far as dampier saw those he described. no other land can answer as to latitude but rosemary, malus, legendre, or gidley islands; but, on the two latter, there is no decided bluff, and when bearing south-east by south, no land could be seen bearing east. the rocks of malus island, on which we landed, are "of a rusty colour, and ponderous,"* and the bluff, as i have before remarked, very conspicuously forms the east end of the island. (*footnote. vide appendix c.) dampier remarks that rosemary island is two hundred and thirty-two miles east of the meridian of shark's bay; this, applied to the longitude of that place, will make it in degrees minutes, which is only minutes east of my courtenay head. this group was named by the french dampier's archipelago, and as there is ample proof of its being the place which that navigator visited, the name has been admitted by us; but we have also extended it to the islands forming the east side of mermaid's strait, which are laid down by the french as a part of the mainland. chapter . examination of rowley's shoals, and passage to the north coast. survey of goulburn islands, mountnorris and raffles bays. meet a malay fleet, and communicate with one of the proas. explore port essington. attacked by natives in knocker's bay. anchor in popham bay. visit from the malays. examination of van diemen's gulf, including sir george hope's islands and alligator rivers. survey of the northern shore of melville island, and apsley strait. interview with the natives of luxmore head. procure wood at port hurd. natives. clarence strait. leave the coast, and arrival at timor. . march . the south-east wind, which set in on the morning that we left our anchorage off depuch island, continued to blow with thick misty weather, and made us conjecture that the westerly monsoon was nearly expended; we, therefore, steered off the coast with the intention of proceeding to the eastward towards cape arnhem, after ascertaining the position of a shoal that was seen by captain rowley, in h.m.s. imperieuse, in , and of two others that are described by captain horsburgh to be in its vicinity. they are situated according to the above authorities as follows, namely: imperieuse shoal (south end): latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes. shoal seen by the ship good hope (north end): latitude degrees / minutes, longitude degrees minutes. shoal seen by captain clerke (north part): latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes. the last is described by its discoverer, to be miles north / degrees east (magnetic) from the north part of rosemary island, which would assign to that island a situation in degrees minutes latitude, and degrees minutes longitude; but on this parallel there is no land to the westward of degrees minutes. the shoal, according to captain horsburgh's account, is miles north, degrees east (true) from trimouille island, the north-easternmost of the montebello group, which must be the one taken by captain clerke for rosemary island. march to . after leaving the land, the weather was very dull and damp for six days, during which the wind being light and baffling prevented any progress. fortunately we were free from sickness, otherwise the heavy rains that fell would have caused a considerable inconvenience to the crew, by confining them to the same small cabin with the sick. happily, however, i heard of no complaints. march . and on the th at noon, the weather began to clear up with a freshening breeze from the south-east, and soon veered to a steady wind from south-south-west. march . we then steered east to make the shoal, and at sunset the next evening it was seen about three miles off, when we sounded with fathoms of line without getting bottom. march . during the night we stood off to the westward, and early in the morning made the shoal again: at noon, it was close to us, at which time our latitude was by observation degrees minutes seconds, from which i deduce the situation of the north end of the shoal to be in: latitude degrees minutes seconds: longitude degrees minutes seconds: the longitude being ascertained by chronometers from depuch island, corrected afterwards for our arrival at the north coast. on rounding the north end of the shoal, soundings were ineffectually tried for, with fathoms: soon afterwards, we bore up on an eastern course, and in the evening saw another extensive shoal; within two miles of the south end of which we sounded with fathoms of line without reaching the bottom. the south end of the second shoal, is in: latitude degrees minutes seconds: longitude degrees minutes seconds: it stretches in a north-west direction for seven or eight miles, and to the eastward the breakers extended beyond the masthead horizon; its limit, therefore, in the latter direction, remained undetermined. march . the next morning a third shoal was discovered, the south-east end of which, is in: latitude degrees minutes: longitude degrees minutes. these dangerous reefs were named rowley's shoals, in compliment to the discoverer of the westernmost (the imperieuse), the situation of which is assigned by me to be minutes seconds to the eastward of captain rowley's account: the middle shoal, seen by us last evening, is certainly the one that captain clerke saw; but the third or north-easternmost, distinguished by the mermaid's name, seems to be a new discovery. on the north end of the imperieuse shoal rocks were distinguishable, and some were also seen near its centre above the level of the sea: all other parts were under water. on the middlemost shoal no rocks were uncovered; but on the south-east end of the mermaid's shoal several were observed. these reefs are of a coral formation, and are very dangerous to approach at night, from their vicinity being unfathomable to the depth of fathoms; still, however, the surf that constantly breaks upon them may be heard at a great distance, and will generally be sufficient to warn the navigator of his danger. march . on the rd we passed the meridian of cape van diemen, in latitude degrees minutes. the same evening some land was indistinctly seen bearing south. march . the ensuing daylight discovered to us several islands in the south-south-east, having previously shoaled our soundings from to fathoms; and during the morning we steered through them. the group contains several low coral-formed islands; the north-easternmost of which proved to be the new year's island of lieutenant mccluer of the bombay marine; they are covered with a shrubby vegetation, and are severally surrounded by a coral reef: the principal of them were named oxley's, mccluer's, and lawson's islands, and a larger and higher island in the south-south-west was named in compliment to my friend captain charles grant, c.b., of the royal navy, under whose auspices i entered the naval service. we steered on to the east-south-east through the first part of the night, with every prospect of reaching cape arnhem, where our examination of the coast westwardly was to commence. march . but at midnight the wind changed to the eastward, and at daylight ( th), the land was visible from south to south-west. at ten o'clock we fetched in close to a low sandy point, and then bore up to the westward along the coast, which appeared, as it afterwards proved to be, a part of the main. the low point which commenced our survey was called point braithwaite, and one mile north-west from it is point hall: the shore then trends five miles to the westward to point cuthbert, from which a shoal communication extends towards a rock on which the sea broke: we passed within the rock, carrying two and a quarter fathoms; and then hauled in for a point of land, called after my friend captain g.h. guion, r.n.; but not succeeding in finding anchorage under it, we bore away along the shore, and at night anchored off point turner. between points guion and turner is a deep but rocky bay, at the bottom of which is an appearance of an opening lined with mangroves: to the westward of point turner is another bay, which circumstances did not then allow of our examining. from our anchorage the land was traced as far as north-west, and appeared to be an island separated from the main by a strait. march . the next day we passed through it, and anchored in a bay on the south-west side of the island, at about half a mile from the beach. the strait was named macquarie strait, after the late major-general lachlan macquarie, who administered the government of new south wales for a period of nearly twelve years. as the shores of the bay, in which we had anchored, appeared likely to afford both wood and water, of which articles we were much in want, i was induced to take advantage of the opportunity, and immediately made preparation to commence these occupations. in the evening a pit was dug for water, which oozed so fast into it, that we did not anticipate any difficulty on that head, and the wood was both plentiful and convenient to the beach. it was now about the termination of the rainy season, and everything bore the most luxuriant appearance; the grass, which covered the face of the island, was more than six feet high, and completely concealed us from each other as we walked to the summit of the hill, the sides of which were very thickly wooded. upon the edge of the beach, the pandanus, the hibiscus, and a variety of other tropical trees and shrubs were growing, and the sand was variegated with the long-stemmed convolvulus in full flower. the trees upon the hills were principally a small-sized eucalyptus, which we cut for firewood, but the stem was generally found to be unsound, and totally useless for any purpose excepting for fuel. among the flowers that were strewed about the island was a superb shrubby grevillea, with scarlet flowers. the casuarina grew also near the sandy beach but it seemed to prefer the exposed parts near the extremities of the sandy projections of the land where no other tree would grow. the wood of this tree appeared to be of a closer grain, and of a darker colour than the species that is usually found upon the north coast. the only edible fruit that we found was a small black grape: it bore a very inferior resemblance to the common sweet-water grape, but the leaf and habit are altogether different. the centre of the bay is formed by a sandy beach; it is terminated by cliffs of about forty feet in height, the upper stratum of which appeared to be an indurated clay of a very red colour, occasioned by the ferruginous nature of the rocks and soil; the lower part is a stratum of the whitest pipe-clay, the upper limit of which, from the surface having been washed clean by the late rains, was so defined and produced so striking a contrast in point of colour as to give the whole a most remarkable appearance. at the distance of ten miles behind the beach of the mainland, which is very low, there is a continued ridge of rocky hills which was named wellington range, and behind them is the tor, a remarkable rock that stands alone. the range is about twenty-five miles in extent, and its summit has a very irregular outline; it is visible for eight or nine leagues. march . the morning after our arrival a baseline was measured upon the beach for the survey of the bay, and whilst we were thus employed our people found and brought to me several traces of malays, who, as we are informed by captain flinders, make annual visits to this part of the coast in large fleets, to fish for beche de mer. among the relics were old broken joints of bamboo, which the malays use to carry their water in, some worn out cordage and a coconut, which had perhaps been left behind by accident. the traces appeared to be of so recent a date, that we conjectured the fleet was but a short distance to the eastward of the islands, and as the easterly monsoon had commenced, we were naturally in daily expectation of being overtaken by them. our operations, therefore, were hurried, since we could not tell what might be the result of encountering them, as we were totally incapable of defending ourselves, should they be mischievously inclined. a look-out was therefore kept for their approach, and our people were held as much as possible within sight, so that we might be prepared to weigh and leave the place as soon as they should make their appearance. the hole which had been dug for water was half full, but it was so brackish as to be quite unfit for use. upon further search a small pond was found by mr. cunningham in a hollow, at the back of the beach; but in the course of the day a run of water was discovered by boongaree, at the north end of the beach, oozing out from the base of the pipe-clay cliffs, which proved upon examination to yield better water than the former, besides being very much more convenient to obtain. our wooding-party commenced operations the day after we arrived, and, on their returning on board at night, imprudently left their tools on shore. march . the next day, whilst the people were at dinner, boongaree, whose eyes were constantly directed to the shore, espied five natives among the grass, which was so high as nearly to conceal them, walking towards our wooding-place; and, as they proceeded, it was perceived that they had stolen one of our station-flags, four of which had been erected on the beach to mark the baseline. on reaching the place where our people had been employed, three of the natives began to throw down a pile of wood that had been heaped up ready to embark, whilst the fourth crept on his hands and knees towards the other station-flags, and succeeded in carrying off two more before he was observed; but as he was on the point of taking the fourth he was detected, and two muskets were fired at him, upon which he fled into the woods, followed by his companions, carrying with them all our wooding tools. during the morning a canoe, containing six or seven natives, had been seen on the opposite shore under point ross; but it had disappeared, and had probably brought the party over who had just robbed us. mr. bedwell suggested the idea of their having landed round the south point of the bay, where, if so, their canoe would be found. he was accordingly despatched to bring it away as a reprisal for our stolen flags and tools, and upon his pulling round the point he saw several natives standing by the canoe, which was hauled up on the beach. on the boat pulling in, one of the natives poised a spear, but he retreated with his companions into the wood the moment that our party landed, without throwing it. the canoe was then launched and brought on board. it appeared to have originally belonged to the malays, for it was made from a log of teak; it was seventeen feet long and two feet broad, and had probably been either captured or stolen by these natives. during mr. bedwell's absence i landed, to observe some distances between the sun and moon, and this task was completed without interruption; the thieves were seen all the afternoon standing among the trees, watching our movements; and upon our making an excursion in the evening towards the north end of the bay, they were observed to follow us armed with spears, but they did not show themselves, since they probably perceived we were prepared to receive them. before dark the canoe was hoisted up to the stern, and our other boats were secured under it; notwithstanding which the natives swam off, and, when everything was quiet, cut the whale boat's moorings, without being detected, and swam away with her in tow; it was, however, discovered in time, and the boat recovered before the tide had drifted her out of sight. march . early the next morning the cutter was removed nearer to the watering-place that boongaree had found, and in doing this we were watched by ten or twelve natives, who were standing as they thought concealed among the trees. this afforded us so good an opportunity of expressing our anger at their attempt to steal our boat, and of showing them that we were not malays, that we fired a shot from a six-pounder carronade over their heads, the report of which for a moment scared them; but their alarm was only momentary, for they soon afterwards recovered from their fright and continued to watch us as before. as soon as the vessel was secured, our watering party commenced their operations, and had been employed for half an hour without interruption, when the natives suddenly appeared on the brink of the cliff that overhung the beach, and threw several large stones at our people, which slightly wounded three of them, before the muskets could be fired, upon which the indians retreated into the woods. the attack having been observed from the vessel, the jolly-boat was dispatched to the shore with assistance, and with orders to mr. bedwell to keep the whale-boat moored at about fifteen or twenty yards from the beach with muskets ready to fire, so that with this protection the watering-party were enabled to continue their task without molestation. in the course of the day the natives collected again behind the trees, and were at one time advancing towards the cliffs, but being seen from the cutter a shot was fired over their heads, which deterred them from coming forward. this hostile conduct of the natives induced me to give up our intention of wooding at this island; since the indians might easily advance under cover of the thick underwood, and throw their spears before we could be aware of their approach. as soon, therefore, as our watering was completed, i determined upon procuring our fuel from an island to the northward, which, during our visit, we had seen from the north-west point of the bay, and which, together with the one we were at, were called goulburn islands, in compliment to the then under-secretary of state for the colonies. . april to . during our stay, sims' island, named at the request of mr. cunningham after dr. sims, the eminent conductor of the botanical magazine, was twice visited. it is situated in front of south-west bay, is about two miles and a half in circumference, and formed of a large and coarse granular quartzose sandstone, large rounded masses of which cover the surface at its northern end, the summit of which was named sansom's head. sims' island furnished a very large addition to mr. cunningham's collection, and among the flowers which it produced was a very beautiful sweet-scented asclepias. no snakes nor reptiles of any description were seen, but birds of various sorts were abundant, particularly the white cockatoo. of the sea-fowl, a species of tern was the most numerous. an alligator, about fifteen feet long, swam about the vessel for some time, which made us afterwards rather cautious of walking through the high grass; but excepting a dog that followed the natives, no quadrupeds were seen. off the north point of the bay, at the distance of a furlong, and separated from it by a channel of from twelve to fifteen feet deep, are two rocks of the same formation as those on sims' island; on the largest was deposited a bottle containing a record on parchment of our visit. on this rock all our observations were taken, excepting a few at the south end of the sandy beach, before the natives showed themselves: the longitude of bottle rock was subsequently determined to be degrees minutes seconds.* (*footnote. vide appendix a section x.) april . we left south-west bay on the th, and the following morning anchored in a bay on the west side of north island, and on the th we commenced cutting our wood from a group of casuarinas that grew close to the beach. in the afternoon, when our party returned on board to dinner, some natives were perceived examining our wooding-place, but our late experience had taught us the precaution of bringing our tools away, to prevent any further occasion of quarrel. they did not stop long but walked on, as if they had some other object; at about forty yards farther they halted again, and concealing themselves as they thought behind a bank, they watched us for half an hour; after which they walked away and disappeared among the trees. april . on our revisiting the shore, we traced their steps through the grass, and came up with a shallow well containing fresh water, which they had evidently taken the opportunity of our absence to drink at. upon further search we found their encampment; it consisted of three or four dwellings of a very different description from any that we had before, or have since seen: they were of a conical shape, not more than three feet high, and not larger than would conveniently contain one person; they were built of sticks, stuck in the ground, and being united at the top, supported a roof of bark, which was again covered with sand, so that the hut looked more like a sand-hillock than the abode of a human creature: the opening was at one side, and about eighteen inches in diameter; but even this could be reduced when they were inside, by heaping the sand up before it. in one of the huts were found several strips of bamboo, and some fishing-nets, rudely made of the fibres of the bark of trees. mr. cunningham took the advantage of a good spot of soil in the vicinity of our wooding-place to sow every sort of seed that we possessed, namely, peach, apricot, loquat (a chinese fruit), lemon, seventeen sorts of culinary seeds, tobacco, roses, and a variety of other european plants; and in addition to these, the coconut was planted, which we had found upon the beach of south-west bay, but it is very doubtful whether any have succeeded, on account of the custom that the natives have when the grass is dry, of setting fire to it, so that there is little doubt but that all the annual plants have been destroyed. the bay was called mullet bay, in consequence of the immense shoals of that fish which were seen near the shores, and of which boongaree speared several with his fiz-gig. the trepang were found about the rocks on the beach in great numbers, as they were also on the south island. april . on the th we left mullet bay, and made an unsuccessful attempt to beat round the north end of the island, and to return by steering through the strait that separates the northern from the southern island: we were, however, prevented by the freshness of the wind, and the strength of the current. april . on the th, we bore up with the intention of returning to south-west bay. on approaching it, however, we were surprised with the sight of the malay fleet steering through macquarie strait, towards two of their proas that had already anchored in a sandy bay on the south-west side of sims' island. it was therefore determined that we should proceed as far to the westward before nightfall as we could, and as the bay to the south-east of sims' island had not been sufficiently seen by us, we steered off so as to reconnoitre the proas, and improve the survey at the same time. as soon as we had reached the island, all the vessels but one had anchored, and their crews were busily engaged in passing to and from the shore in small canoes, apparently watering. we passed by at a small distance with our colours flying, which was answered by each hoisting a dutch jack; but one of the proas, which was thought to be the rajah's vessel, bore a blue flag in addition. some stragglers on the rocks who appeared to take no part in the labours of the rest, and who were probably the chiefs, waved repeatedly to us to stop; but as their acquaintance could render us no service, i declined their invitations. our presence did not appear to have excited any particular bustle amongst them, but every precaution was taken on our part to repel any attack. the proas, which were fifteen in number, appeared to be of twenty-five to forty tons burden, and the fleet contained altogether at least three hundred men. the evening was too far advanced to make any particular examination of the sinuosities of the bay; but, after passing sims' island, our course was sufficiently near the coast to perceive the general outline of the beach as far as point brogden, off which we were at sunset. to the eastward of point brogden, which is more elevated than other parts, the coast assumes a cliffy character, and trends to the north-west towards de courcy head, which we reached before dark. april . during the night we were under weigh, and at daylight were near grant's island, which we had seen on the th of last month: we then steered for the land, and reached de courcy head by eight o'clock, and were on the point of hauling round cape cockburn, to explore a bay that trended in on its western side, when the malay fleet which we passed the preceding evening were seen standing towards us. not liking to enter it until they had passed by, we made a trip off shore, but to our great mortification, no sooner had they reached the cape, than they hauled in to the bay, and anchoring there, prevented, for the present, our visiting it; we had no wish, in our defenceless state, to form a better acquaintance with so suspicious a crew. as the land to the westward of cape cockburn trended deeply in to the south-west, and formed a deep bay, we steered on to examine it, whilst the malays occupied the anchorage in what we afterwards called malay bay; then passing through a strait separating point annesley from valentia island, we entered mountnorris bay, and after coasting for some distance, until the bottom of the bay was visible, we anchored near the eastern shore, and passed the night. the coast from valentia island to our anchorage is principally formed by sandy beaches, the continuity of which is broken by projecting rocky heads, one of which is point coombe. valentia island is low and thickly wooded, and partakes of the monotonous appearance of the mainland, which is equally covered with low, small, and apparently-stunted trees. april . at day-dawn the malays were observed making a move, and as each proa got under sail, it steered towards us. the anchor was, therefore, immediately weighed, and we prepared to receive them as formidably as our means allowed. their number was now increased to twenty-one vessels, by their having hoisted out six large canoes; but as they approached there was no appearance of any hostile intention, since some of them steered across the bay, and only a few continued to direct their course towards us. one of the canoes came near with the intention of visiting us, but not liking too intimate an acquaintance with them, we pointed to our carronade, and beckoned to them to go away, which they immediately did. one of the proas soon afterwards passed by with dutch colours displayed, to which its crew repeatedly pointed, at the same time hailing us in an unintelligible jargon, of which macassar and trepang were the only words that were distinguished. they also pointed to the north-west, but whether this was intended to convey to us the direction of the place whence they came, or the course they were about to steer, was not very evident. in a short time the fleet had passed by, and as we were under weigh we returned to the examination of malay bay, in which nothing worthy of note was found. it affords good anchorage during the easterly monsoon on a muddy bottom in from four to five fathoms, but its shores are low and its beaches rocky, and so uninteresting, that we returned to our previous anchorage in mountnorris bay. april . the next day we landed on copeland island and from its summit obtained extensive bearings for the survey of the bay. the island is surrounded by a coral bank; its north side is formed by a perpendicular argillaceous cliff of a bright yellow colour, and is a conspicuous object to vessels entering the bay. behind the cliff to the south the land gradually declines and runs off to a low point; the whole surface of the island is covered with trees, among which a beautiful hatchet-shape-leafed acacia in full bloom was very conspicuous. the other trees were principally of the eucalyptus family; but they were all of small size. on the west side of the island was a dry gully, and a convenient landing-place, near to which a bottle was deposited, containing a parchment record of our visit, and of the names bestowed upon the bays and islands hereabout. three natives were observed walking along the sandy beach, at the bottom of the bay; but they passed on without taking the least notice of our presence. we left the anchorage on the th, and crossed the bottom of the bay within copeland island: then steering up the west side we passed a large opening, trending to the north-west. here we were detained for some time, by grounding upon a sandbank. but by keeping the sails full, the vessel dragged over it, and we resumed our course to the northward, along the west side of mountnorris bay; and, at sunset, anchored between it and darch's island, which protected us from both the wind and swell, during a very squally night. darch's island, so named after my esteemed friend, thomas darch, esquire, of the admiralty, is, like valentia island, very thickly wooded. its eastern side is a continued bluff cliffy shore, but the north and south ends are low, and terminate with a shoal; which, off the former, is of rocks; and near its extremity is a single mangrove bush, which was seen and set from copeland island's summit. april . the next morning, at daylight, we passed round the north extremity of the island, which was named cape croker, in compliment to the first secretary of the admiralty; and anchored on the north side of a bight round the cape, which was subsequently named palm bay. in the afternoon we landed, and ascending the hill or bank behind the beach, obtained a view of the coast of the bay: a distant wooded point, called, from its unusual elevation, high point, bounded our view to the south; but to the south-west some patches of land were indistinctly visible. tracks of natives were seen in many places, and the marks of footsteps on the beach had been very recently impressed. on the bank a circular spot of ground, of fifteen yards in diameter, was cleared away, and had very lately been occupied by a tribe of natives. the island is thickly wooded with a dwarf species of eucalyptus, but here and there the fan palm and pandanus grew in groups, and with the acacia, served to vary the otherwise monotonous appearance of the country. the soil, although it was shallow and poor, was covered with grass, and a great variety of shrubs and plants in flower, which fully occupied mr. cunningham's attention. as we proceeded through the trees, a group of lofty palms attracted our notice, and were at first supposed to be coconut trees that had been planted by the malays; but on examining them closer, they proved to be the areca, the tree that produces the betel-nut and the toddy, a liquor which the malays and the inhabitants of all the eastern islands use. some of these palms were from thirty to forty feet high, and the stem of one of them was bruised and deeply indented by a blunt instrument. having spent several hours on shore, without finding anything very interesting or at all useful to us, we returned on board, when we found that we had been watched by three natives, who had walked along the beach, but on coming near us, had concealed themselves among the trees, from which they had, probably, observed all our movements whilst we were on shore. they were perhaps deterred from approaching us from our numbers, and from the muskets which each of us carried; for our experience of the disposition of the natives at goulburn island had taught us prudence, and no boat was, after that affair, permitted to leave the vessel without taking a musket for each man. it was, however, fortunate for us that we were not often obliged to resort to them for a defence, for the greater number of the twelve that we possessed were useless, notwithstanding they were the best that could be procured at port jackson when the vessel was equipped. the rocks on the beach and the stones which are scattered about the surface of the ground are all of a ferruginous nature, and appear from their colour and weight to contain a large portion of iron; but the needle of the compass was in no way affected by being placed near them. the soil is also highly coloured by the oxide of iron, and it is this that gives the cliffs of this part of the coast, particularly the upper portion of them, the red appearance that they almost universally possess. april . the next day we went to high point, which was found to be the east head of a moderate-sized port, affording good anchorage and perfect security during either monsoon. a sufficient inducement to bring the cutter thus far presented itself; and as it was near sunset, our remarks were merely confined to bearings from the point. april . on preparing to weigh the next morning, four malay proas were observed steering across the bay out of an opening which trends round the south head of palm bay, and which proved to be a strait communicating with mountnorris bay. it was named after my friend james bowen, esquire, one of the commissioners of the navy. as soon as the proas had reached a sufficient distance to leeward, we got under sail; and on rounding the south point of the bay, and opening the strait, the remaining proas of the fleet that we had previously seen, were observed at anchor close to a sandy beach on the north shore, and their canoes to the number of twenty were fishing on the opposite side of the strait. the latter, on observing us, hoisted their sails, and returned to their proas; but as it was not considered prudent to examine the port until they had passed by, its exploration was deferred, and we returned to our anchorage in palm bay. we had not, however, to wait long, for the proas left bowen's strait the next morning, and crossed the bay to the westward. our anchor was weighed immediately, and we steered towards their sternmost vessel, in order to communicate with her, and to show her a letter with which we had been kindly provided by sir thomas stamford raffles, written in the malay language, and explanatory of our occupation. on running alongside the proa, the letter was displayed, but they appeared frightened and unwilling to bring to, and repeatedly pointed towards the headmost proa in which their rajah sailed. since our object could not be effected without communicating with their rajah, and as another opportunity might offer at some future time of communicating with these people, it was abandoned for the present; and we steered into the bay, and anchored within a small island at the entrance, in time to observe the sun's meridional altitude. the evening was spent in pulling round the bay, the shores of which are low, and so overrun with mangroves, that landing was in most parts impracticable; but a small break in them being observed under a cliff, we put ashore to examine the country. here we found two streams of fresh water, one of which ran over the beach with some force; but they appeared to be only the drainings of the country, and to be merely of temporary duration. the soil was here very good, but the trees and underwood were so thick that we did not venture far from the boat. a native's basket was found, and the usual signs of their having lately been hereabouts. we also landed on a projecting point, at the bottom of the bay, to obtain bearings; and a second time under a remarkable cliffy point on the west side, from the summit of which another set of bearings were obtained, which completed the survey of the port; and we named it raffles bay, in compliment to sir stamford. at night, the seine was hauled under high point, and procured us a good mess of fish. april . we left raffles' bay on the th in the morning, and ran along the western shore to the north-west point which we passed round; and, steering between it and a low sandy island, entered a bay, at the bottom of which was an opening, but we were prevented from entering it by shoal water. the next point to the westward is point smith, and at the distance of a mile from it, is a ledge of rocks on which the sea constantly breaks. we passed close round the reef, and hauled into a very considerable opening about six or seven miles wide, and at least five or six leagues deep. at the bottom of this inlet was some higher land than usual, and among it two flat-topped hills were very conspicuous. the eastern shore of the port, for such it proved to be, is formed by a succession of rocky points, between which were ranges of red cliffs, much higher than any we had yet seen, and, if possible, more thickly wooded. as the day was far spent, we anchored on the east side under one of the cliffs, and during the night, the dismal howling of native dogs was heard close to the vessel, a noise that was very frequently heard by us whenever we anchored, and passed a calm night near the shore. april . the next morning, before we got under weigh, we landed at the mouth of a small salt-water inlet, which trended in among the mangroves: having climbed a hill, we had a distinct view of the bottom of the port, which, at the distance of eight miles higher up, closed to a narrow opening, and then widened to a spacious inner harbour. the country is here thickly, and in some parts almost impenetrably, clothed with eucalyptus, acacia, pandanus, fan palms, and various other trees; whilst the beaches are in some parts studded, and in others thickly lined with mangroves. the soil is chiefly of a gray sandy earth, and in some parts might be called even rich; there were, however, very few places that could bear so favourable a character. the climate seems here to favour vegetation so much that the quality of the soil appears to be of minor importance, for everything thrives and looks verdant. having returned on board we got under weigh, and steered for the narrow opening at the bottom of the port. on reaching it, the water deepened, but we were obliged to anchor, and sound the channel, before we succeeded in entering the inner harbour, which we found to be a spacious sheet of water, divided into two bays by a projecting cliffy point, which from its situation was called middle head. there we remained at anchor until the rd, during which time the shores of the inner harbour were examined, and visits made to various parts of it. the shores of the inner harbour are thickly wooded to the beach, which is fronted by mudflats, that at low water are dry for a considerable distance. on the western point of entrance, we found the remains of a wrecked canoe, and upon further search mr. bedwell discovered a spear which was altogether different from any that we had before seen; it was headed with a sharp pointed splinter of quartz, about four inches long, and an inch and a half broad; the shaft was of the mangrove-tree, seven feet eight inches long, and appeared, from a small hole at the end, to have been propelled by a throwing-stick; the stone head was fastened on by a ligature of plaited grass, covered by a mass of gum: it was the most formidable weapon of the sort we had ever yet seen. april . at the bottom of the western basin one of our people found the skeleton of a human body; and the skull and some of the bones were brought on board, but they were too imperfect to be worth preserving. the traces of natives were found every where, but they did not show themselves. in one of our excursions a tree was observed that had been cut down by some sharp instrument, and we had afterwards reason to believe that the natives were possessed of iron tools, which they might have obtained from the malays. a curious mound, constructed entirely of shells, rudely heaped together, measuring thirty feet in diameter, and fourteen feet in height, was also noticed near the beach, and was supposed to be a burying-place of the indians. april . upon leaving the inner harbour we anchored in knocker's bay, on the west side of the port, which received the name of essington, a tribute of my respect for the memory of my lamented friend, the late vice-admiral sir william essington, k.c.b.: and in the afternoon we set off to examine an opening in the mangroves at the bottom of the bay. after pulling through its various winding channels for about a mile, where it was scarcely broad enough for the boat to pass, its further investigation was given up, and we commenced our return, but the mangroves were so thick, and formed so impervious a net-work, that we had great difficulty in effecting it. when about halfway towards the mouth, we found the boat impeded by the roots of a mangrove bush; and whilst the boat's crew were busily employed in clearing the rudder, we were suddenly startled by the shout of a party of indians, who were concealed from our view by a projecting bush, not more than eight or ten yards from us: our situation was rather alarming, from the boat being so entangled, and the river not being broad enough for the oars to be used. no sooner had the natives uttered the shout, than they leaped into the water armed with spears and clubs; but the moment they made their appearance round the tree, two muskets loaded with ball, and a fowling-piece with small shot, were fired over their heads, which had the desired effect, for they gave up their premeditated attack, and quickly disappeared among the bushes on the opposite side, where they remained screaming and vociferating loudly in angry threatening voices, whilst we were clearing the boat from the bushes that obstructed our progress. having at last effected this, we proceeded on our way down the rivulet, and at the same time the natives were observed through the bushes to hasten towards a low part, which we were obliged to pass before we could reach the bay. but as we were aware of their intention we were prepared for the event, and as was expected, we were assailed by a shower of spears and stones from the natives, who were concealed behind the mangroves. happily, however, we received no damage, although the spears and stones fell about us very thickly, and several of the former struck the boat. a volley of musketry was fired into the mangroves, but we could not ascertain whether any of the balls took effect, since we could not see our assailants. a wound from one of their stone-headed weapons, from our want of surgical knowledge, must in such a climate have proved fatal, and we considered our escape truly providential. as soon as we were out of the reach of their spears, which they continued to throw until it was of no use, we hoisted the sail, and steered round the shores of the bay. we had not proceeded far before their canoe was observed secured to the beach by a small rope, which offered so good an opportunity of punishing these savages for their treacherous attack, that we landed and brought it away; and upon examining its contents, we found not only their clubs, but also a large quantity of bivalve shellfish, (arca scapha?*) so that we had not only deprived them of their boat, but of their supper, and three very formidable clubs. this must have been a very serious loss to such simple savages, but one that they richly deserved. the canoe was nearly new, it measured eighteen feet in length, and two in breadth, and would easily carry eight persons; the sides were supported by two poles fastened to the gunwhale by strips of a climbing plant (flagellaria indica), that grows abundantly hereabouts, and with which also the ends of the canoe were neatly, and even tastefully joined; the poles were spanned together on either side by rope constructed of strips of bark. the canoe was made of one sheet of bark, but in the bottom, within it, short pieces were placed cross-ways, in order to preserve its shape, and increase its strength. the description of a canoe seen by captain flinders at blue mud bay, in the gulf of carpentaria, differs very little from the above.** (*footnote. lamarck tome part page . chemn. conch. page . t. f. .) (**footnote. flinders terra australis volume page .) whilst we were bringing away the canoe the natives, who had followed us along the shore, were heard close by among the trees, loudly vociferating, in which the ward ca-no-a was thought to be frequently used. april . the next morning we sailed out of knocker's* bay, and anchored a little within point smith, preparatory to our resuming our examination of the coast. the heat was now by no means oppressive, for although the thermometer ranged between and degrees, yet its effect was lessened by the constancy of the breeze, which tended materially to preserve the health of the crew, who were happily all quite well. after anchoring, a squall that had been gathering all the afternoon burst overhead, and was accompanied by heavy rain and strong gusts of wind, during which a canoe that had been previously observed near the beach drifted past the cutter; it was sent for and brought alongside, but the next morning before we got under weigh, it was taken on shore, and hauled up on the beach out of the reach of the water, and in it were deposited several iron tools, to show the natives that our intentions were friendly. during our examination of port essington, we found no fresh water, but our search for it did not extend beyond the precincts of the sea-beach, since we were not in want of that article, having so lately completed our stock at goulburn island; but from the number of natives seen by us, and the frequency of their traces, which were encountered at every step we took, there must be fresh water; and had we dug holes, we should doubtless have succeeded in finding some, particularly in the vicinity of the cliffs. wood is abundant and convenient for embarking, but the trees are generally small: the waters are well stocked with fish. as a harbour, port essington is equal, if not superior, to any i ever saw; and from its proximity to the moluccas and new guinea, and its being in the direct line of communication between port jackson and india, as well as from its commanding situation with respect to the passage through torres strait, it must, at no very distant period, become a place of great trade, and of very considerable importance. april . early the following morning we sailed out of port essington, and passing round its western head, which was named out of respect to my friend admiral vashon, we hauled into a bay where a malay encampment was observed upon the beach, with several proas at anchor close to it; but, as the place offered us no inducement to delay, we steered round the next head, and hauled into another bay, apparently about four miles deep and two broad. the coast here appeared to take a decided turn to the southward, and, as some land was observed on the western horizon, we rightly concluded that we had reached the entrance of the great bay of van diemen, the examination of which formed a prominent feature in my instructions. the bay was named popham bay, and the extremity of the land in sight received the appellation of cape don; the former after the late rear-admiral sir home popham, k.c.b., and the latter in compliment to lieutenant-general sir george don, k.c.b., the lieutenant-governor of the fortress of gibraltar. the two flat-topped hills, seen from port essington, were also observed over the bottom of the bay, and being conspicuous objects, were named mounts bedwell and roe, after the two midshipmen who accompanied me. as we steered into the bay another division of the malay fleet was perceived at anchor on the eastern shore, close to an encampment: the number of the proas were four; and as we considered ourselves a match for this number, we determined upon remaining the night, and therefore anchored about two miles without them, with our ensign hoisted at the masthead over a large white flag, which was answered by each proa instantly displaying dutch colours. soon afterwards a canoe came from the proas, but it required some persuasion to entice them alongside; when they did come, we showed them sir stamford raffles' letter, which they could not read, but on our showing them our rough chart they instantly comprehended our employment, and without further hesitation, two of them came on board. the canoe was fitted for fishing; it was paddled by a man and five boys, and was steered by a younger man, who, from his dress and authority, appeared to be of some consequence amongst them. during their visit their curiosity was much excited by everything they saw; and, having drank pretty freely of our port wine, they talked incessantly. they remained with us three hours, during the greater part of which their canoe was absent catching fish. one of our visitors was very communicative, and by means of signs and a few words of the malay language, which we understood, he explained that their rajah's proa was armed with two small guns, and carried a compass. on looking at our binnacle, they pointed to the north-west rhumb, and made us easily understand that it was the course they always steered on their return to macassar. upon mentioning the natives of the coast and showing them the stone-headed spear that we had found, they evinced their dislike to them very plainly, they called them maregas, marega being, as we afterwards found, their appellation for this part of the coast. it was now growing late, and as the canoe had not returned, they hailed their companions several times, but not being answered, they asked for a musket, and fired it in the direction of their boat; this had the desired effect, and it very shortly came alongside, but the crew had not been successful, for they had caught only two small fishes which were presented to us: they then took leave, repeatedly assuring us that the next morning they would pay us another visit. april . but, without waiting for the honour they intended us, we got under weigh early and left them to comment as they pleased upon our disappointing them of the gunpowder, which, to get rid of them, we had promised to give them the next morning. being under sail, we steered to the west-south-west, until the land opened round cape don in an east-northerly direction for eight miles, and then the coast trended to the south-eastward under mounts bedwell and roe, where the land was lost to view. to the westward the land was observed trending in a north and south direction, and bore the appearance of being an island. the ebb now commenced setting out, and although we were going three knots through the water, we made no progress over the ground. seven miles west by south from cape don we sounded in fifty fathoms on a bottom of branch-coral, and four miles more to the westward we had but nineteen fathoms. when the flood commenced, it was too dark to profit by it. april . and no progress was made until the next morning, when, having a fresh breeze, we reached an anchorage in a bay on the north side, and close under the base of mount bedwell. on our way we steered through strong tide-ripplings in which, at times, notwithstanding the strength of the breeze, the cutter was quite ungovernable. off the bay is a low mangrove island which i had the pleasure to name after the reverend james w. burford, of stratford, essex, and the bay in which we had anchored was called after w. aiton, esquire, of the royal gardens at kew. the bottom of aiton bay is shoal and apparently terminates in an inlet or creek; at low water the tide left a considerable space dry that appeared to extend from shore to shore. our distance from the beach was so short that the howlings of dogs were distinctly heard, and other noises were distinguished which some of us thought were made by natives, but they were more probably the screams of birds. april . at daylight the next morning we steered round the land, and passing under the base of mount roe, we entered a strait that separates it from greenhill island; which is remarkable for having its north-west end terminated by a conspicuous bluff. the coast now took an easterly direction as far as the eye could reach, with a channel of from three to eight miles broad between it and a range of islands (which were named in compliment to the late vice-admiral sir george hope, k.c.b., then holding a seat in the board of admiralty). at noon the tide began to ebb, when we anchored near the land at about six miles east of mount roe. the thermometer now ranged between and degrees, but the heat was by no means oppressive. april . by the next day at noon we had penetrated four leagues within sir george hope's islands, when the water became so shoal that we could not approach an opening that was seen in the land to the south-eastward; after trying in several directions, the cutter was anchored, and mr. roe was sent to sound in a south direction in search of a passage out; but, as it appeared to be shoal and some parts were already dry, it was decided that we should return by the way we came; since our object was not so much to lay down the extent of the banks and directions of the channels, as to find rivers, and trace the coastline. the opening to the south-east of our anchorage certainly appeared to be sufficiently interesting to examine, but we had formed very sanguine expectations of discovering something of much greater importance at the bottom of the bay, and we were naturally anxious to reach it as soon as possible. on constructing the chart of this part of the coast, it appeared that the land to the eastward of this anchorage is an isthmus four or five miles in breadth, separating the body of water from the bottom of mountnorris bay. the peninsula thus formed was honoured by the appellation of cobourg, after his royal highness prince leopold. during the day large smokes were observed on the south horizon, without any appearance of land near them. . may . on our way out we anchored under one of sir george hope's islands, which, on the occasion of our landing upon it the next morning ( st may), was called may-day island: it is about two miles long, and nearly the same distance across; its formation appears to have been originally of sand that has accumulated upon a rocky basis, and has gradually grown into an island; it is thickly covered with a forest of dwarf trees and impenetrable brushwood. some recent impressions of a human foot on the sand below high-water mark were seen, and several old fireplaces, and one or two of more recent date were observed, around which were strewed the remains of shell-fish repasts; the natives, however, did not make their appearance. when returning on board we endeavoured to pass out between may-day and greenhill islands, but a bar of sand that appeared to stretch across obstructed our progress: the weather being fine and the sea very smooth, we endeavoured to force her over, but as we did not succeed, we anchored for the night near our former position, to the eastward of mount roe. may . the next day we passed out between the mount and greenhill island, and at night anchored on the south side of may-day island, at eight miles distance from it. may . the following day we made some progress to the south-east, and by the afternoon obtained a glimpse of some land bearing between south degrees west and south degrees east. may . and at sunset the next evening the lowland was traced as far to the southward as south-south-east, upon which several detached hills were seen which probably may have some connexion with wellington range. may . the next day the cutter was anchored within a mile and a half of the south point of a considerable opening, which the boats were prepared to examine. may . and at daybreak we commenced its exploration, but the greater part of the tide was expended before we reached the entrance, which is fronted by a bank of mud on which there was not more than twelve feet water; the depth, however, increased after we entered the river to four and five fathoms; and as we proceeded up we found the channel to be seven and eight fathoms deep. the banks on either side were very low; they were composed of a soft mud, and so thickly lined with mangroves as to prevent our landing until we had pulled up for seven or eight miles. at ten o'clock the flood ceased and the ebb, setting with considerable strength, prevented our proceeding higher up: here we landed, and after spending some time in taking bearings and examining the country, we returned to the cutter, which we reached early in the afternoon. the banks where we landed were about two hundred yards apart, but were so low and without a hillock to ascend or a tree to climb to enable us to obtain a view of the country, that we could form but a very slight opinion of the place. a sugar-loaf-shaped hill, which was also visible from the anchorage, bore south degrees east; at the distance of a league was a rocky hill that bore north / degrees east; and, five or six leagues off, was a range of hills extending from east by south to south degrees east. in all other directions the eye wandered over a dreary, low, and uninterruptedly flat country; which in most parts is covered with an arundinaceous grass. the mangrove bushes on the banks of the river, which was quite salt, were crowded with the nests of an egret, in which the young birds were nearly fledged. hawks, wild ducks, pelicans, and pigeons, were also abundant, and an immense flight of white cockatoos hovered over the mangroves, and quite disturbed the air with their hideous screamings. a small black water-bird, about the size of a pigeon, with a white neck and a black ring round it, was observed, but not near enough to enable us to ascertain its species. on our course up and down the river we encountered several very large alligators, and some were noticed sleeping on the mud. this was the first time we had seen these animals, excepting that at goulburn island, and, as they appeared to be very numerous and large, it was not thought safe to stop all night up the river, which we must have done had we remained for the next flood-tide. no inhabitants were seen, but the fires that were burning in all directions proved that they could not be far off. may . the next morning we were underweigh and steering along the coast to the westward towards a low but extensive island; and, as we approached, we found that it fronted a very considerable opening in the land, extending into the interior under the eastern base of mount hooper. the channel between the island and the main appearing clear, we did not hesitate to pass through, and within half a mile of the island, where the channel was evidently the deepest, we sounded in eight and nine fathoms. as soon as we entered the opening it assumed a similar appearance to that of the river we examined yesterday, but it was very much more considerable and excited very sanguine hopes in our minds. besides the low island above-mentioned there is another of smaller size between it and the west point of entrance; so that there are three entrances. the islands were called barron and field islands, after my friend, then presiding as judge of the supreme court of new south wales. as we proceeded, the depth continued to be so even, and to shoal so gradually, that we ran up it for six miles, when, as it was near noon, we anchored and landed on the eastern bank, to observe the sun's meridional altitude; but, from the muddy state of the banks, we had great difficulty in reaching the shore. on returning to the vessel, we sailed further up, and, at high water anchored near the end of the first reach, and made preparations for its further investigation. the tide then began to ebb at the rate of three miles per hour, and continued with nearly that velocity during the whole tide. during the evening our preparations were completed. may . and, at daybreak the next morning, i set off with mr. roe and mr. cunningham for my companions: when we left the cutter the flood was just making, so that we had the advantage of the whole of the tide, which lasted until noon, when we landed, and observed the latitude to be degrees minutes seconds. our situation was within three miles of a hill bearing south / degrees west, the bearing of which having previously been taken from the cutter's present anchorage, enabled me to decide with tolerable accuracy upon the station we had reached. this river, as far as we had examined it, a distance of thirty-six miles, differed from the other only in being of larger size. at the place where the latitude was observed, it was about one hundred and fifty yards wide. from the anchorage the channel deepened from five to eight fathoms, and this depth continued tolerably even and regular for nine miles. it then began to decrease; and, at the furthest part we reached the depth at high water was two and a half fathoms. the banks, which were in most parts thickly lined with mangroves, and in no part more than three feet above high-water mark, are formed of soft mud, which rendered landing, except at high water, impossible. the country on all sides presented a low level plain, the monotony of which was occasionally relieved by a few wooded hills, and some groups of trees, among which the palm-tree was conspicuous, and tended in a trifling degree to improve the view, which, to say the best of it, was unvaried and heavy. the low land, at least that part over which the fires had not passed, was covered with a thickly matted broom-grass; and, where it was burnt off, the soil was observed to be composed of a hard and stiff clay, the surface of which bore the appearance of having been frequently inundated, either by high tides, or, more probably, by freshes in the rainy season. we saw very few birds, and those were chiefly cockatoos; but alligators were as numerous as in the other river, whence the name of alligator rivers were bestowed upon them. the water where we landed was fresh enough to be nearly drinkable, and probably would be quite sweet at half ebb. may . the ebb-tide did not serve to carry us on board, and the boat's crew were so fatigued by having been pulling all day, that we were obliged to drop the grapnel within seven miles of the cutter to await the turn of tide, so that it was not until midnight that we reached the vessel much exhausted. may . the next day we left our anchorage, and took up a station within field island, intending, if possible, to go through the passage between barron and field islands. at low water the banks dried for a considerable extent. may . but as there was every appearance of the existence of a narrow passage between the islands, we ran through the next morning at high water; and, in passing the narrows, had over-falls between three and fifteen fathoms: as soon as we reached a favourable bottom, we anchored in four fathoms in order to await the uncovering of the shoals at low water, so that we might see our way on, and construct the chart of this entrance with more correctness. field island is low and thickly wooded, and is surrounded by a rocky shoal which dries at low water, and extends to a considerable distance off its north-west end. the smoke of a fire having been seen on the island when we passed, it was presumed to have been at that time occupied by natives. another opening was observed to the westward of the river we last examined. and as it bore a similar appearance, the name of alligator rivers was extended to it. may . the next morning we resumed our course to the westward; and, after coasting along a low shore, anchored at night in the south-west corner of the gulf, in three and a half fathoms; the land, from being so low, was scarcely distinct, but it appeared to be sandy. may . the next day we passed a considerable opening, or, as it was thought to be, a bight; for many patches of land were observed on the horizon: the wind blew so fresh from the eastward that i did not venture to run into it, but steered towards some land to the northward that formed the northern boundary of the opening, and which proved to be that which had been seen by us from popham bay; and as it afterwards proved to be an island, it was called after the title of the noble viscount, now first lord of the admiralty. the gulf which we have now explored is that which was discovered by three dutch vessels that sailed from timor in , and to which they gave the name of the great bay of van diemen. they entered it but did not reach its bottom, having been very likely prevented by the strong tides which in the entrance of dundas strait are altogether uncommon. from the nature of the alligator rivers there is no doubt but that there are others of a similar character that empty themselves into the gulf between the easternmost alligator river and sir george hope's islands, although they are, probably, of smaller size and of less importance. at midnight the cutter, drifted by the tide, passed close to the easternmost point of melville island near to which two bright fires were burning. may . the next morning at eight o'clock we were within two miles of cape fleeming, the north-easternmost extremity of the island; and, bearing up along the north coast of melville island, passed close to point jahleel. on a sandy beach to the westward of the last point two natives were walking, but they passed on without noticing our presence. eight miles to the south-west of point jahleel is brenton bay, which we had nearly passed before it was observed: the vessel was brought to the wind. may . but it was the next morning before we succeeded in fetching into the opening. it terminates in an inlet which probably runs some little distance into the interior of the island. it is about five miles deep, but the depth is so trifling that we were prevented from running into it far enough to obtain shelter from the wind. in the evening we anchored in a picturesque bay which, although open to the north, offers a tolerable shelter during the easterly monsoon: the beach is sandy, but is probably shoal and of rocky approach. the country appeared verdant, and the hills are thickly wooded; at the bottom of the bay a shoal opening trends in between two hills, over which, in the evening, seven natives were observed to cross in a canoe. this was called lethbridge bay. on the western side of the bay is a range of cliff like the pipe-clay cliff of goulburn island, the upper half being red, and the lower half white; and four miles off the west point of the bay are two patches of rocks on which the sea breaks; these were called the madford shoals. may . twenty-five miles west from lethbridge bay is a projecting point from which the coast takes a north-westerly direction. in passing a breaker that lies off the point our cook fell overboard, but the boat was quickly lowered and picked him up; for some time his life was despaired of, but a little attention, and the warmth of the sun's heat, at last restored him. on each side of the point which is formed behind karslake island is a bay; and at the bottom of each there appeared to be a shoal opening. the coast is here higher than usual, and is thickly wooded; but the coastline to the northward is formed of high cliffs without much wood, and of a remarkable white colour. may . the next morning we passed round cape van diemen; and in the evening anchored off a tabular-shaped hill that formed the south end of a sandy bay. it was dark when we anchored. may . the next morning we found that we had anchored in the mouth of a very considerable river-like opening, the size of which inspired us with the flattering hope of having made an important discovery, for as yet we had no idea of the insularity of melville island. the table-shaped hill near our anchorage was named luxmore head, and the bay to the north was called st. asaph's, in compliment to the right reverend the lord bishop of that diocese. the day being sunday our intention was, after taking bearings from the summit of luxmore head, to delay our further proceeding until the next morning, but the circumstance that occurred kept us so much on the alert that it was anything but a day of rest. having landed at the foot of the hill we ascended its summit, but found it so thickly wooded as to deprive us of the view we had anticipated; but, as there were some openings in the trees through which a few distant objects could be distinguished, we made preparations to take their bearings, and while the boat's crew were landing the theodolite, our party were amusing themselves on the top of the hill. suddenly however, but fortunately before we had dispersed, we were surprised by natives, who, coming forward armed with spears, obliged us very speedily to retreat to the boat; and in the sauve qui peut sort of way in which we ran down the hill, at which we have frequently since laughed very heartily, our theodolite stand and mr. cunningham's insect-net were left behind, which they instantly seized upon. i had fired my fowling-piece at an iguana just before the appearance of the natives, so that we were without any means of defence; but, having reached the boat without accident, where we had our muskets ready, a parley was commenced for the purpose of recovering our losses. after exchanging a silk-handkerchief for a dead bird, which they threw into the water for us to pick up, we made signs that we wanted fresh water, upon which they directed us to go round the point, and upon our pulling in that direction, they followed us, skipping from rock to rock with surprising dexterity and speed. as soon as we reached the sandy beach on the north side of luxmore head, they stopped and invited us to land, which we should have done, had it not been that the noises they made soon collected a large body of natives who came running from all directions to their assistance; and in a short time there were twenty-eight or thirty natives assembled. after a short parley with them in which they repeatedly asked for axes by imitating the action of chopping, we went on board, intimating to them our intention of returning with some, which we would give to them upon the restoration of the stand, which they immediately understood and assented to. the natives had three dogs with them. on our return to the beach the natives had again assembled, and shouted loudly as we approached. besides the whale boat, in which mr. bedwell was stationed with an armed party ready to fire if any hostility commenced, we had our jolly-boat, in which i led the way with two men, and carried with me two tomahawks and some chisels. on pulling near the beach the whole party came down and waded into the water towards us; and, in exchange for a few chisels and files, gave us two baskets, one containing fresh water and the other was full of the fruit of the sago-palm, which grows here in great abundance. the basket containing the water was conveyed to us by letting it float on the sea, for their timidity would not let them approach us near enough to place it in our hands; but that containing the fruit, not being buoyant enough to swim, did not permit of this method, so that, after much difficulty, an old man was persuaded to deliver it. this was done in the most cautious manner, and as soon as he was sufficiently near the boat he dropped or rather threw the basket into my hand and immediately retreated to his companions, who applauded his feat by a loud shout of approbation. in exchange for this i offered him a tomahawk, but his fears would not allow him to come near the boat to receive it. finding nothing could induce the old man to approach us a second time, i threw it towards him, and upon his catching it the whole tribe began to shout and laugh in the most extravagant way. as soon as they were quiet we made signs for the theodolite stand, which, for a long while, they would not understand; at one time they pretended to think by our pointing towards it, that we meant some spears that were lying near a tree, which they immediately removed: the stand was then taken up by one of their women, and upon our pointing to her, they feigned to think that she was the object of our wishes, and immediately left a female standing up to her middle in the water and retired to some distance to await our proceedings. on pulling towards the woman, who, by the way, could not have been selected by them either for her youth or beauty, she frequently repeated the words "ven aca, ven aca," accompanied with an invitation to land; but, as we approached, she retired towards the shore; when suddenly two natives, who had slowly walked towards us, sprang into the water and made towards the boat with surprising celerity, jumping at each step entirely out of the sea, although it was so deep as to reach their thighs. their intention was evidently to seize the remaining tomahawk which i had been endeavouring to exchange for the stand, and the foremost had reached within two or three yards of the boat when i found it necessary, in order to prevent his approach, to threaten to strike him with a wooden club, which had the desired effect. at this moment one of the natives took up the stand, and upon our pointing at him, they appeared to comprehend our object; a consultation was held over the stand which was minutely examined; but, as it was mounted with brass and, perhaps on that account, appeared to them more valuable than a tomahawk, they declined giving it up, and gradually dispersed; or rather pretended so to do, for a party of armed natives was observed to conceal themselves under some mangrove bushes near the beach, whilst two canoes were plying about near at hand to entice our approach; the stratagem, however, did not succeed, and we lay off upon our oars for some time without making any movement. soon afterwards the natives, finding that we had no intention of following them, left their canoes, and performed a dance in the water, which very conspicuously displayed their great muscular power: the dance consisted chiefly of the performers leaping two or three times successively out of the sea, and then violently moving their legs so as to agitate the water into a foam for some distance around them, all the time shouting loudly and laughing immoderately; then they would run through the water for eight or ten yards and perform again; and this was repeated over and over as long as the dance lasted. we were all thoroughly disgusted with them, and felt a degree of distrust that could not be conquered. the men were more muscular and better formed than any we had before seen; they were daubed over with a yellow pigment, which was the colour of the neighbouring cliff; their hair was long and curly, and appeared to be clotted with a whitish paint. during the time of our parley the natives had their spears close at hand, for those who were in the water had them floating near them, and those who were on the beach had them either buried in the sand, or carried them between their toes, in order to deceive us and to appear unarmed; and in this they succeeded, until one of them was detected, when we were pulling towards the woman, by his stooping down and picking up his spear. finding that we had no chance of recovering our loss, we returned on board, when the natives also withdrew from the beach, and did not afterwards show themselves. may . the next morning we weighed with the flood and worked up the opening against the wind for sixteen or seventeen miles, when the tide turned, and we anchored in eleven fathoms. in most parts the banks were inaccessible, being nearly overrun with mangroves; but the low appearance of the country within and the mischievous disposition of the natives made me less anxious to examine into the thick woods that surrounded us on all sides. wherever a clear space presented itself, the sago palm was seen mixed with the fan palm, the pandanus and other trees, among which the eucalyptus as usual appeared to be the most abundant. may . at eight o'clock the next morning we were again underweigh; and, with the flood-tide in our favour, made rapid progress. the opening had, however, become so much contracted, that it was found prudent to have a boat hoisted out, with the kedge and a hawser ready if the vessel should get on shore. after proceeding two miles further, it took a more easterly course, and as we advanced the general direction of the reaches were east and south. our speculations ran high with regard to what it might be, and the probability of its being a large river appeared to our sanguine minds so certain that we never once fancied it could be otherwise; when suddenly the open sea appeared, and, demonstrating it to be merely a strait, at once dispelled our hopes. upon reaching between the two heads which form the south entrance of this strait, the tide turned, and, beginning to run so swiftly back that we were prevented from getting out, obliged us very reluctantly to return to an anchorage within, which was not easily found, as the bottom was rocky and thickly studded with shoals. the anchor was at last dropped at three miles within the entrance near an open cliffy bank, on which there were two canoes hauled up, but no sign of their owners. the night was squally, and the tide ran at the rate of nearly four knots. may . at low water the next morning the shoals were exposed, and showed us the dangers we had unknowingly encountered in passing over them when they were covered. the passages between them were found to be so intricate that, after sounding them for some time, we gave up all idea of passing out by the south entrance. may . and, returning by the way we came, the next day anchored near our former position in st. asaph bay. the strait was named apsley; and the land on the western side which had thus been proved to be insulated was named in compliment to the right honourable earl bathurst, his majesty's principal secretary of state for the colonies. may . the day following we coasted the north-west side of bathurst island; and at sunset anchored off a point from which a reef projects for a considerable distance into the sea. may . the next day we anchored off an opening at the bottom of an extensive bay, in three and a half fathoms. it happened to be high water when we anchored; and, although we were three miles from the shore, the tide of ebb reduced the depth so much that there was reason to apprehend the cutter's being left dry at low water; the depth was, however, ten feet and a half, which was only eighteen inches more than the cutter's draught. may . the opening off which we had anchored was formed between two low, sandy points, and trended in to the south-east; on the land at the back was a long round-backed hill, which, when viewed from the northward, had a flat-topped appearance. may . having sounded the space between the anchorage and the shore, it was found that we were on the outer edge of a bar, within which the water deepened to five fathoms, and in the entrance there was as much as eleven and twelve fathoms; we therefore weighed the anchor, and, the wind blowing out, worked up towards the opening, which, as the tide was flowing, it did not take long to effect. on passing the bar, we had not less water than eleven feet (low water soundings), after which the depth gradually increased. an anchorage was taken up in the evening within the entrance. may . and the next day, after an attempt to reach further up, in which we only succeeded to the distance of a mile, the examination was completed by our boat. it was found to run in, gradually narrowing and decreasing in depth for eight miles, and to terminate in two salt-water creeks. the banks on both sides were impenetrably lined with mangroves, which effectually defied our attempts to land. several creeks, communicating with the low inundated land behind the mangroves, joined the main stream at intervals on both sides; but they were not interesting enough in their appearance to detain us. we returned to the cutter at night. may . and the next day shifted our berth to an anchorage close to the shore on the north side of the entrance, for the purpose of wooding, where the trees were so convenient and close at hand that we completed our stock before dark. during the evening, whilst we were occupied at the wooding-place, a party of natives were observed running towards us along the beach on the south side without the port, apparently returning from a hunting excursion, for the woods on the south side of the bay had been on fire for the last two days. as they approached they retired behind the beach among the trees, and, upon their reaching the opposite side of the entrance, crept upon their hands and knees behind the bushes, where they remained, as they thought, concealed until the evening. a little before dark they were observed to creep out and range themselves upon the beach, as if meditating upon their plans for the night, but by this time it was so dark that we could not see what they afterwards did; in order to deter them from approaching us, a musket was fired over their heads, and if this had the desired effect, it was a happy circumstance for them, for an immense shark was caught in the middle of the night, which, from the extraordinary capacity of its mouth and maw, could have swallowed one of them with the greatest ease. on opening the animal, we fully expected to discover the limbs of some of the natives, who we assured ourselves had crossed over to our side the water; but we only found a crab that had been so recently swallowed that some of our people made no hesitation in eating it for their supper. the night passed without our being disturbed by or hearing anything of the natives. may . but, at daylight, on looking at the place where they had been concealed during the last evening, a canoe, which had been observed hauled up among the bushes, was missing, and we concluded that they were close to us; this proved to be the case, for no sooner had we cleared the point, than the natives sallied forth from the thicket, and, running up to their middles in the water to within thirty yards of the vessel, set up a loud shout which startled us not a little; for, busied as we were in securing the anchor and making sail, our attention at the moment was otherwise directed; and the first intimation that we had of their vicinity was from the noise they made, which was accompanied by violent gestures and pressing invitations for our return; but we continued on our way, and disregarded all their solicitations. they were evidently very much disappointed, since they expected to get some axes from us, for they made the same signs as the luxmore head natives had done by repeatedly imitating the action of chopping. on the south shore there were some women and children under the protection of two natives, whose voices were also loudly raised for our recall. the natives on our side were unarmed, but two bundles of spears were detected, propped up against a tree, close at hand. after some time they waded back to the shore, and slowly walked towards our wooding-place, where they, of course, found a chisel that had purposely been left for them upon the stump of a tree which had been felled by our wooding-party. as soon as we crossed the bar we anchored, in order to obtain some lunar distances to fix the longitude of the port, as well as to bring up and complete the chart of this part of the coast. during the day, the natives remained at our wooding-place, and set the bushes on fire, the smoke of which enveloped the horizon and the neighbouring coast. the names of port hurd and mount hurd were given to the harbour and the round-backed hill, after the late captain thomas hurd of the royal navy, the hydrographer of the admiralty; the outer bay was called gordon bay. may . we left gordon bay the next morning, and passed round its low south-west extremity, which proved to be captain baudin's cape helvetius. from this point the coast trends to the southward to cape fourcroy. in this interval the shore is formed by cliffs of a very dark red colour, and, half way between, is a projecting sandhill of remarkable appearance. may and . during this and the following day we made very little progress. on the th at daylight we had a southerly wind; by eight o'clock we saw the land in patches to the northward, and some low islands bearing east. the land to the north was a part of the south side of melville island. the wind being fresh from the eastward we attempted to beat to windward, with the intention of anchoring near the islands, but the bottom was too rocky to admit of it. we then endeavoured to pass between them and melville island, but the ground was also so rocky and irregular that we desisted; and after an unsuccessful attempt to reach the southern pass, we steered off to the westward. this group was called vernon's islands. they are situated in mid-channel of the strait that separates melville island from the main, which was named in honour of his royal highness the duke of clarence. the group consists of four low islands; they are each surrounded by a belt of mangroves, and are probably connected by reefs to the south shore. may . the next morning after a stormy night we steered to the northward, and made the south entrance of apsley strait, which was recognised by the peculiar shape of buchanan's islets lying off it, one of which has a flat-topped summit. the time had now arrived for our leaving the coast: our provisions were drawing to an end, and we had only a sufficiency of bread to carry us back to port jackson, although we had been all the voyage upon a reduced allowance: our water had also failed, and several casks which we had calculated upon being full were found to be so bad that the water was perfectly useless: these casks were made at sydney, and proved, like our bread casks, to have been made from the staves of salt-provision casks: besides this defalcation, several puncheons were found empty, and it was therefore doubly necessary that we should resort to timor, without any more delay. we therefore bore up, and at four o'clock the coast was lost sight of from: latitude: degrees minutes seconds. longitude: degrees minutes seconds. from this, having ran four miles and a half on a north-west course, we passed over a small coral bank in thirteen fathoms; at eight o'clock, we were in forty-two fathoms sandy mud. . june . but between midnight and four a.m., we passed over another coral bank, on which the least water was eighteen fathoms. june . on the nd june, two small birds were caught; they proved to be the java swallow (hirundo esculenta), the nest of which is esteemed as a great delicacy, and is an article of trade between the malays and chinese. large quantities of pumice-stone were also seen floating on the water; on one piece was found a sea centipede (amphinome sp.), about four inches long, covered with fine bristly hair; it was feeding upon two barnacles (lepas anatifera) which had attached themselves to the stone. june . this morning the high land of timor was seen from north-north-west to north-west / west; and at sunset the highest part bore north degrees west, leagues off. june . at daybreak the th we were off the south-west point of the island, and at nine o'clock entered the strait of samow; but, from light winds, we did not get through it until after noon: at half past two o'clock we anchored off the dutch settlement of coepang, at one-third of a mile from fort concordia, the flag-staff of which bore south-south-east, in four fathoms and a quarter brown sand and mud. chapter . transactions at coepang. procure water and refreshments. description of the town and productions of the island. account of the trepang fishery on the coast of new holland. departure from timor, and return to the north-west coast. montebello islands, and barrow island. leave the coast. ship's company attacked with dysentery. death of one of the crew. bass strait, and arrival at port jackson. review of the proceedings of the voyage. . june . as soon as we anchored, i waited upon mr. hazaart, the dutch resident, who received me politely, and proffered his personal assistance in expediting the objects which we had in view. a house was offered for my use, but as i purposed to make my visit as short as possible, it was declined. june to . the first object was to commence our watering, but the operation was tedious, and attended with much delay, since it was necessary to send the casks above the second bridge which crosses the river at the upper end of the town at about half a mile from the entrance; when we had first to wait for low tide, before the water was fresh enough to be used; and then for half flood, before the boat could get out of the river to go on board with her load. one turn, therefore, was as much as could be made during the day, for it was requisite to use this precaution in filling our casks, in order to ensure their contents being untainted by the salt water. our fuel had been completed at port hurd or we could have procured an abundance at a convenient place about two miles to the westward of the fort. our next object was to procure fresh provisions; but, as there was some difficulty in obtaining a constant supply, mr. hazaart kindly presented the ship's company with two karabows (young buffaloes) and a sufficiency of vegetables to last until our own stock was provided; but in procuring it we found much difficulty for want of money, and should not have been able to have furnished ourselves with it had not mr. hazaart, at his own personal inconvenience, given me money for a private bill, with which the ship's provisions were purchased. a small mountain sheep weighing from twelve to twenty pounds cost five shillings: pigs, according to their size, from five to ten shillings each: a karabow, weighing two hundred pounds, was charged twenty shillings; and fowls were from four-pence to five-pence each. of vegetables we found an abundance, particularly of pumpions and cabbages, in the market; but, as it was not the season for fruit, we only procured some shaddocks, a few bad oranges, and some indifferent limes. at the chinese shops we procured rice, sugar-candy and coffee, but all these articles were dear, and of very inferior quality: this supply was, however, very acceptable to us; and, had we not afterwards discovered that everything could have been procured at half the price, we should have been well satisfied with our bargains. a fleet of malay proas were lying at anchor in the bay, and two small trading vessels were in the river, one of which was undergoing a repair that was very creditable to the shipwrights of this place. the only exports that the island produces are bees-wax, honey and sandal-wood; these are purchased and exported by the chinese merchants, who are plentifully distributed over the town, and form the greater proportion of its population.* its imports are very trifling, for the batavian government annually supplies the establishment of coepang with all its wants. the port-charges of twenty dollars for every one hundred tons burden are so exorbitant that no merchant vessels that have not some particular object in view, will visit this place; so that it has very little communication with other parts, excepting through the chinese traders, who are constantly in motion. in fact it is, to use the resident's own words in describing it to me, "a poor place," and it seems to be the policy of the dutch government to keep it so, for no vessel is allowed to trade with coepang without having first visited either batavia or amboyna, for the purpose of procuring permission. (*footnote. m. arago, in his account of captain de freycinet's late voyage round the world, estimates the inhabitants of coepang at , of which are slaves, and chinese.) the town is situated principally on the east bank of the river; which, rising in the mountains, runs through a torrent-worn course until it reaches the valley in which the town is built; here the tide meets it, and at low water its bed is nearly dry: it communicates with the sea by a shoal bar immediately under a rocky eminence on which the fort of concordia is constructed. this fort, from its favourable situation, protects the harbour and outer anchorage, as well as commands the town. from the anchorage, coepang presents a very picturesque and lively appearance. the houses, a few of which are built of stone, are roofed either with red tiles or thatch, and are shaded from the heat of the sun by thick groves of trees; among which the breadfruit-tree, the jaca, and a species of hibiscus, were observed. the principal street, as is common in most dutch towns, is shaded by an avenue of trees, which forms an agreeable walk, and is a great ornament to the place: at the upper end of this street is the company's garden, but its ruinous state shows that it has long since ceased to be cultivated for the purpose for which it was originally intended. from the crowds of people in the streets a stranger would imagine it to be a place of great trade, but the only employments of the inhabitants seem to be those of fishing, making straw hats and carrying water; the last occupation is principally performed by the women, who convey it in vessels made of the broad part of the leaf of the fan palm, each containing from two to three gallons. at the door of every house was seen either a man or a woman plaiting straw hats, but this might only have been occasioned by our great demand for them, for we purchased all that could be made whilst we remained. the detail of the coasts of the island, particularly of its south-eastern side, on which there are many indentations and bays, is very little known; the natives are reported generally to be favourably inclined to europeans, but it would be dangerous for an unarmed vessel to place too much reliance upon the faith of a timorean, whose thirst for powder might induce him to commit any mischievous act to obtain it. the mountaineers are described to be a warlike race of men, but since the cession of the island to the dutch by the king of ternate, to whom it appears to have originally belonged, they are distributed under the sovereignty of different rajahs, to whom they pay implicit obedience; and are, in fact, little better than mere slaves. on all parts of the coast good wholesome water may be procured, excepting at sesally on the north coast where it is said to be of a noxious quality, occasioned by a tree or plant that grows on its tanks, and taints the stream. whatever suspicion there may be attached to the truth of this story, there is no doubt of its being far from wholesome; for it is avoided as poisonous by the people who reside near it. i was curious to discover whether it was occasioned by its flowing near one of the far-famed poison trees (upas antiar) of java, but my informant could not satisfy my inquiry. the island is very mountainous, and some of its summits, as captain flinders observes, may probably rival the peak of teneriffe. the country slopes off towards the sea, and appears to be fertile and populous. the recesses of the mountains and the rivulets that derive their sources from them are said to be rich in gold and silver, and they are also reported to yield copper and iron; it is, however, with great difficulty that gold is procured, on account of a superstitious feeling on the part of the mountaineers, who think it necessary to sacrifice a human life for every bottle of gold dust that is collected; and this barbarous custom, we were informed, is rigidly enforced by the chiefs, who, of course, take good care that the lot does not fall upon their own heads. gold is however sometimes found in the bed of the river near coepang, particularly after occasional freshes from the mountains, and during the rainy season; but it is detected in so small a quantity as hardly to repay the searchers for their trouble. some years since, during the early possession of this part of the island by the dutch, sixty soldiers were sent into the country to search for gold, but they were all killed by the mountaineers and since then no further attempt has been made; indeed it would take a very considerable force to effect it, on account of the warlike character of these people. their defensive mode of warfare is to distribute themselves in all directions among the trees and rocks, from which, by their numbers and unerring aim, they might easily destroy a much larger force than the dutch could afford to send against them from any of their possessions in the east. the policy of the dutch government appears to be that of keeping the world in ignorance of the importance and of the riches of timor; their object is, in fact, to retain possession of it at as little expense as possible, merely to prevent any other country from occupying it. much jealousy exists between them and the portuguese settlement of diely, on the northern side about fifty leagues from coepang; and our friend mr. hazaart was, at the time of our visit, in correspondence with the government of batavia to explain some political interference, on his part, with that settlement. the establishment at coepang consists of the resident, his secretary, and forty javanese soldiers; besides which it possesses a militia consisting of men who bring their own provisions and arms to the field; and by this force the whole of the south-western part of the island, containing a population of perhaps , people, is kept in subjection. to solve this riddle, for such it must naturally appear to be, it should be explained that the dutch have been accustomed to act in the character of mediator between the several rajahs; and whilst the resident settles the disputes, he takes care at the same time to keep up the balance of power amongst these petty kings, who are constantly encroaching upon the territories of each other, by calling to his aid and uniting the forces of the other rajahs; through which policy he protects the oppressed, and maintains his own power. a formidable chief, louis, had, however, lately become very troublesome, and was not so easily kept in subjection. a short time previous to our arrival, he had been making some inroads upon his neighbour, and mr. hazaart was collecting a force to oppose and drive him back. whilst we were at coepang several rajahs had arrived from the country to tender their services in marching against the usurper whom the resident, in his description of him to me, designated by the name of bonaparte. for this protection on the part of the dutch, every rajah pays an annual tribute, according to the extent of his territories; the net amount of which, exceeding the sum of , rix dollars, very nearly if not quite defrays the expenses of the establishment. captain dampier visited this place in when he commanded the roebuck; and at first found great difficulty in obtaining refreshments. he has given a very good and correct description of the island; and his account offers much valuable information even as to its present state.* since that period it has certainly advanced a few paces in civilization; but in other respects as to its natural and artificial productions it is perfectly conformable to that account. (*footnote. dampier volume pages to .) coepang is also known by its hospitable reception of lieutenant (the late admiral) bligh, after the mutiny of the bounty's crew; and in it was visited by captain flinders and commodore baudin: each of these navigators have spoken warmly of the hospitality they experienced, and i should be doing an injustice to mr. hazaart if i omitted a due acknowledgment of his kind attention to our wants, and of the prompt assistance he afforded us in our operations. the presence of a fleet of malay proas in the roads has been before mentioned; it had just returned from an unsuccessful voyage on the south coast of timor in search of trepang. dramah, the principal rajah of this fleet, gave me the following information respecting the coast of new holland, which he had frequently visited in the command of a fleet that annually frequents its shores. the coast is called by them marega, and has been known to them for many years. a fleet to the number of * proas annually leaves macassar for this fishery; it sails in january during the westerly monsoon, and coasts from island to island, until it reaches the north-east end of timor, when it steers south-east and south-south-east, which courses carry them to the coast of new holland; the body of the fleet then steers eastward, leaving here and there a division of fifteen or sixteen proas, under the command of an inferior rajah, who leads the fleet, and is always implicitly obeyed. his proa is the only vessel that is provided with a compass; it also has one or two swivels or small guns, and is perhaps armed with muskets. their provisions chiefly consist of rice and coconuts; and their water, which during the westerly monsoon is easily replenished on all parts of the coast, is carried in joints of bamboo. (*footnote. this number is perhaps very much exaggerated.) the method of curing the trepang is thus described by captain flinders: "they get the trepang by diving, in from three to eight fathoms water; and where it is abundant, a man will bring up eight or ten at a time. the mode of preserving it is this: the animal is split down on one side, boiled, and pressed with a weight of stones; then stretched open by slips of bamboo, dried in the sun, and afterwards in smoke, when it is fit to be put away in bags, but requires frequent exposure to the sun. a thousand trepang make a picol, of about dutch pounds; and picols are a cargo for a proa. it is carried to timor and sold to the chinese, who meet them there; and when all the proas are assembled, the fleet returns to macassar. by timor, seemed to be meant timor-laoet; for when i inquired concerning the english, dutch, and portuguese there, pobasso (the rajah in command) knew nothing of them: he had heard of coepang, a dutch settlement, but said it was upon another island. "there are two kinds of trepang. the black, called baatoo, is sold to the chinese for forty dollars the picol; the white, or gray, called koro, is worth no more than twenty. the baatoo seems to be what we found upon the coral reefs near the northumberland islands; and were a colony established in broad sound or shoalwater bay it might perhaps derive considerable advantage from the trepang. in the gulf of carpentaria we did not observe any other than the gray slug."* (*footnote. flinders volume page .) after having fished along the coast to the eastward until the westerly monsoon breaks up, they return, and by the last day of may each detached fleet leaves the coast without waiting to collect into one body. on their return they steer north-west, which brings them to some part of timor, from whence they easily retrace their steps to macassar, where the chinese traders meet them and purchase their cargoes. at this time ( ) the value of the trepang was from forty to fifty dollars a picol;* so that if each vessel returns with picols of trepang, her cargo will be worth dollars. besides trepang, they trade in sharks' fins and birds' nests, the latter being worth about dollars the picol. (*footnote. the value of the trepang in was much less; the price had fallen to twenty-five dollars the picol.) dramah informed me that there are several rivers upon the coast, but that in procuring water from them they are generally attacked by the maregas, whom they describe as treacherous and hostile, and by whom they are frequently defeated; for the indians attack them only when they are unprepared. their small canoes are frequently stolen from them, which accounts for the one we captured from the natives of goulburn island. a perpetual warfare exists between them, so that it would be a difficult matter for us to procure a friendly communication with a people who cannot, of course, discriminate between us and the malays. i regretted to hear this, for our force was so small that i feared we should, in our future visits to the coast, be frequently attacked, and perhaps be under the necessity of convincing them of the destructive power of our weapons, which they must first experience before they can dread their fatal effects. during our stay at coepang the thermometer ranged between and degrees. the latitude of the flag-staff was observed by several observations to be degrees minutes seconds. no observations were taken for the longitude, on account of my being confined to my bed with an attack of ague, the effects of which remained upon me for some time afterwards; but the result of those made by captain flinders and commodore baudin were so satisfactory that i had no hesitation in taking the mean of the two, degrees minutes seconds, for the correction of my chronometers, and for the purpose of comparing with the longitudes i had assigned to several parts of the coast that we had just left. before we sailed from coepang the departure of a vessel for batavia furnished me with the opportunity of acquainting the lords commissioners of the admiralty of my progress; and the letter fortunately arrived in time to contradict a report that had reached england of our "having been wrecked on the south coast at cape northumberland, and that all hands had perished." this report could never be satisfactorily traced to its author, but it was supposed to have been spread by the man who commanded the mermaid before she was purchased by the government, in revenge for his having lost his employment. on the th we completed everything, and embarked our stock. june . and the next morning at daylight we left the bay, and, passing round the islands of samow and rottee, steered south-west by south (which was as close to the wind as we could steer to make a direct course) across the sea, which might, with some degree of propriety, be called the great australian strait; but this course was too westerly to admit of our reaching the coast so far to the westward as was wished. june . on the th we passed over a coral bank with twenty-six fathoms in latitude degrees minutes and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the thermometer now ranged no higher than / degrees and obliged us to resume our warmer clothing. june . at eight o'clock the next morning land was seen bearing south-west by west, and proved to be that laid down by captain baudin, to the southward of the montebello islands; one of which, trimouille island, was also visible in the north-west. we bore up at noon, intending to pass round the south end of the land, seen in west-south-west; but after running about five miles further the land proved to be an island, and was called after john barrow, esquire, one of the secretaries of the admiralty. we were prevented from steering round it by a very extensive shoal that stretches off its south end towards a low sandy islet, which proved to be one that had been seen by us last february. several attempts were made to find a channel through the reef, but without success; and at sunset we anchored to the north-west of the islet, from which several islands were recognised by us, particularly a large one to the westward of cape preston. as this part of the coast had been previously seen by us, we did not delay any longer. june . but the following morning steered to the northward. june . the next day we passed round trimouille island and left the coast. off the north-west end of trimouille island is a considerable reef. hermite island was not seen, but a small lump on the horizon, to the south of the former, was probably lowendal island. as we did not see the western side of barrow's island, that coast is laid down from m. de freycinet's chart; the land, although low, is considerably higher than the usual elevation of the neighbouring islands, but it appeared to be equally arid and sterile. trimouille island appears scarcely better than a cluster of dry rocks. off these islands we had much calm weather, during which we were surrounded by myriads of fish, of which sharks, and small whales, called by the whalers fin-backs, were the most conspicuous. the smaller kinds consisted of bonetas, barracoutas, porpoises, and flying fish. a voracious dolphin was harpooned, in the maw of which was a barracouta in a half-digested state, and in the throat a flying fish, bitten in half, waiting its turn to be swallowed; for its tail had not disappeared out of the dolphin's mouth. june to . for a few days we had light south-westerly winds, but they soon gave place to the south-east trade, which carried us quickly to the south-west. the situation assigned by the dutch sloop to the tryal rocks was passed, without our noticing any indication of their existence. june . on the th we crossed the tropic of capricorn, between the th and th degree of east longitude; the south-east trade then died away, and was succeeded by light baffling winds, between south-west and south, and from that to east, attended with very cloudy damp weather, and frequent squalls of heavy rain. this unwholesome state of the air increased the number of our sick, for soon after leaving timor the crew were attacked by dysentery brought on by change of diet; and at one time the disease wore a very alarming appearance. . july . having reached with difficulty the latitude of degrees minutes and longitude degrees minutes, a breeze freshened up, and gradually veered from south-south-east to east, and east-north-east. july to . between the th and th (on which day we passed the meridian of cape leeuwin) we had variable winds between north-east and north-west: on the th the wind blew a heavy gale, in which our jolly-boat was washed away, and obliging us to bear up to the south-east prevented our seeing the land about cape chatham, as had been intended. july to . between this and king's island we had strong gales from the westward, veering, at times, between north and south, with thick and sometimes rainy weather. during the southerly winds the air was very cold, and lowered the mercury to and degrees; but when the wind veered to the north it rose to degrees, and gave us considerable relief. on the rd soundings were struck off king's island july . and the next morning we entered bass strait by passing round the south end of the island. here george speed, one of our seamen, breathed his last; his death was occasioned by an excessive indulgence in the vegetables and fruits obtained at timor, and he had been sick ever since we left that place; first with dysentery, and then with an intestinal inflammation. the weather was so bad when we passed through the south entrance to the strait that we could make no very particular observation upon reid's rocks, but they appear to be correctly placed by captain flinders. july . we did not get through the strait until the th. in passing the pyramid it was found to be placed five miles too much to the northward in captain flinders' chart. the weather was now thick with heavy rain, and the wind blowing a gale from west-south-west. i became very anxious to arrive at port jackson; for we had but five men who could keep watch. the damp weather had attended us with little intermission since our passing cape leeuwin, and our people had been constantly wet with the continued breaking over of the sea: indeed the decks had only been twice dry, and that even for a few hours, since we left that meridian. july . on the th, by sunset, we were abreast of cape howe. july . and on the th, at noon, the lighthouse on the south head of the port was joyfully descried. at eight o'clock in the evening we entered the heads, and anchored in sydney cove at midnight, after an absence of thirty-one weeks and three days. upon reviewing the proceedings of the voyage, the result of which bore but a small proportion to what we had yet to do, i saw, with no little satisfaction, that i had been enabled to set at rest the two particular points of my instructions, namely, the opening behind rosemary island, and the examination of the great bay of van diemen. upon rounding the north-west cape, we had been unfortunate in losing our anchors, which very much crippled our proceedings, and prevented our prosecuting the examination of the coast in so detailed a manner as we otherwise might have done; for we possessed no resource to avail ourselves of, if we had been so unfortunate as to get on shore. a series of fine weather, however, on the first part, and a sheltered coast with good anchorage on the latter part of the voyage, enabled us to carry on the survey without accident; and nearly as much has been effected with one anchor as could have been done had we possessed the whole. it prevented, however, our examining the bottom of exmouth gulf, and our landing upon depuch island. the latter was a great disappointment to us, on account of the following description which m. peron gives of the island, in his historical account of baudin's voyage, from the report of m. ronsard, who visited it. "au seul aspect de cette ile, on pouvoit deja pressentir qu'elle etoit d'une nature differente de toutes celles que nous avions vues jusqu'a ce jour. en effet, les terres en etoient plus hautes, les formes plus prononcees: a mesure qu'on put s'en rapprocher, la difference devint plus sensible encore. au lieu de ces cotes uniformement prolongees, qui n'offroient aucune pointe, aucun piton, aucune eminence, on voyait se dessiner sur cette ile des roches aigues, solitaires, qui, comme autant d'aiguilles, sembloient s'elancer de la surface du sol. toute l'ile etoit volcanique; des prismes de basalte, le plus ordinairement pentaedres, entasses les uns sur les autres, reposant le plus souvent sur leurs angles, en constituoient la masse entiere. la s'elevoient comme des murs de pierre de taille; ailleurs, se presentoient des especes de paves basaltiques, analogues a ceux de la fameuse chaussee des geans. dans quelques endroits on observoit des excavations plus ou moins profondes; les eaux des parties voisines s'y etoient reunies, et formoient des especes de fontaines, dans chacune desquelles nos gens trouverent une tres-petite quantite d'excellente eau ferrugineuse. dans ces lieux plus humides, la vegetation etoit plus active; on y remarquoit de beaux arbustes et quelques arbres plus gros, qui constituoient de petits bosquets tres-agreables; le reste de l'ile, avec une disposition differente, offroit un coup d'oeil bien different aussi: parmi ces monceaux de laves entassees sans ordre, regne une sterilite generale; et la couleur noire de ces roches volcaniques ajoutoit encore a l'aspect triste et monotone de cette petite ile. la marche y est difficile, a cause des prismes de basalte qui, couches horizontalement sur le sol, presentent leurs aretes aigues en saillantes et dehors." m. peron then quotes m. depuch's (the mineralogist to the expedition) report: "la couleur de ce basalte est d'un gris tirant sur le bleu; sa contexture est tres-serree, son grain fin et d'apparence petro-silicieuse; de petites lames brillantes et irregulierement situees sont disseminees dans toute la masse; il ne fait aucune effervescence avec les acides, et n'affecte pas sensiblement le barreau aimante; sa partie exterieure a eprouve une espece d'alteration produite par les molecules ferrugineuses: cette decomposition n'atteint pas ordinairement au dela de ou millemetres de profondeur." m. peron then continues m. ronsard's report: "m. ronsard croit devoir penser, d'apres la conformation generale et la couleur de la partie du continent voisine, qu'elle est d'une nature semblable et volcanique. c'eut ete, sans doute un objet d'autant plus important a verifier, que, jusqu'alors, nous n'avions rien pu voir de volcanique sur la nouvelle hollande, et que depuis lors encore, nous n'y avons jamais trouve aucun produit de ce genre; mais notre commandant, sans s'inquieter d'une phenomene qui se rattache cependant d'une maniere essentielle a la geographie de cette portion de la nouvelle hollande, donna l'ordre de poursuivre notre route." (*footnote. peron voyage de decouvertes aux terres australes volume page .) the rise of the tide was found by the french officer who landed upon it to be at least twenty-five feet, which fact of itself was sufficient to have induced us to examine into the cause of so unusual a circumstance; for the greatest rise that we had hitherto found was not more than eight or nine feet. the hills at the back of this group of islands, which commodore baudin called l'archipel forestier, recede from the coast in the shape of an amphitheatre, which made me suppose that the coast trended in and formed a deep bay; but this still remains to be ascertained, and we quitted the place with much regret: for it unquestionably presented a far more interesting feature than any part that we had previously seen. on our passage to the north coast we saw the imperieuse and clerke's shoals, and also discovered a third, the mermaid's. on the north coast we found some deep bays and excellent ports, and at the bottom of the great bay of van diemen we discovered several rivers, one of which we ascended for forty miles. the thickly-wooded shores of the north coast bore a striking contrast to the sandy desert-looking tract of coast we had previously seen, and inspired us with the hope of finding, at a future time, a still greater improvement in the country between the two extremes. mr. cunningham made a very valuable and extensive collection of dried plants and seeds; but, from the small size of our vessel, and the constant occupation of myself and the two midshipmen who accompanied me, we had neither space nor time to form any other collection of natural history than a few insects, and some specimens of the geology of those parts where we had landed. chapter . visit to van diemen's land, and examination of the entrance of macquarie harbour. anchor in pine cove and cut wood. description of the trees growing there. return to the entrance, and water at outer bay. interview with the natives, and vocabulary of their language. arrive at hobart town, and return to port jackson. . december. the construction of the charts of the preceding voyage, together with the equipment of the vessel, fully occupied me until the month of december; when, having some time to spare before we could leave port jackson on our second voyage to the north coast, in consequence of its being the time when the westerly monsoon prevails, i acquainted his excellency the governor of my intention of surveying the entrance of macquarie harbour, which had lately been discovered on the western coast of van diemen's land. to make my visit there as useful as possible to the colony, a passage was offered to mr. justice field, the judge of the supreme court, who was at that time about to proceed to hobart town to hold his court; and as it was probable that his business would terminate about the time of our return, it was arranged that the mermaid should also convey him back. december . we left sydney cove on the th december. december . but did not clear the heads of the port until eight o'clock on the following morning, when we sailed with a fresh wind from the north-east. red point was passed soon after noon, at the back of which some of the lately settled farms in the five island district were plainly distinguished. the hills here recede from the coast, and form an amphitheatre of rich grazing land, on which is the lake alowrie and tom thumb's lagoon of captain flinders. off red point, so named by captain cook (but which by the natives is called illawarra), are five small rocky islands. this group gives a name to the district, which has proved a valuable acquisition to the colony. about ten miles to the southward of red point the hills again approach the coast; which then becomes steep and thickly wooded, until near to shoal haven; when they again fall back, and form another large tract of low country, which as yet is little known. december . on the th after sunset we passed cape howe and crossed the entrance of bass strait with a heavy gale from the south-west. . january . at daylight on the st of january schouten island, on the east coast of van diemen's land, was seen; before dark cape pillar made its appearance. january . and at two o'clock the next afternoon the mermaid was anchored off hobart town. on our arrival i learnt that a part of my object had been already accomplished by a mr. florance, who had just returned from a partial survey of macquarie harbour; but upon examining his chart i found it to be merely a delineation of its coastline; without noticing the depth of water or any of the numerous shoals which crowd the entrance of this extraordinary harbour. january . as the most essential part therefore remained still to be performed, we left hobart town on the th of january, and passed through d'entrecasteaux channel; which is by the colonists at the derwent improperly called the storm bay passage. by eight p.m. we were abreast of the south cape, when the wind veered round to the north-west, and compelled us to stand to the southward. january . at daylight on the th we were abreast of the range of hills, one of which captain flinders had named mount dewitt; and our course was held parallel to the shore with a fresh breeze from south-south-east and fine weather. soon after noon we passed point hibbs; and at four o'clock hauled round the point of land which forms the western head of the outer road of macquarie harbour, which i named cape sorell, in compliment to the lieutenant-governor of van diemen's land. between this cape and point hibbs the coast is very rocky, and ought not to be approached. off the cape, at the distance of a quarter of a mile, is a detached rock on which the sea continually breaks. it was dark before we reached an anchorage off the bar of the harbour; having had to work against a strong south-south-east wind blowing directly out. the anchorage was rather exposed to the north-west; but as the weather had a settled appearance i was reconciled to remain for the night, which turned out fine. january . at daylight the bar was sounded, and a buoy placed on its deepest part to indicate the channel; on which, at that time of tide (about half-flood) there was nine feet water: this was sufficient to allow us to pass it; but in order to prevent delay, i caused the cutter to be lightened as much as possible; and having reduced her draught to seven feet and a half by emptying the water-casks, she was warped over the bar to an anchorage between it and the entrance. as the cutter passed the shoalest part she struck twice, but so lightly as to occasion neither damage nor delay. january to . an anchorage was taken up in outer bay in order to sound the bar whilst the weather was so favourable for the purpose, which employed us until the th, when a westerly wind enabled us to enter the harbour; but, from baffling winds and the ebbing tide, and the width of the entrance being only seventy yards, we found a considerable difficulty in effecting it. the anchor was dropped as soon as the cutter was inside, and she was afterwards warped to a more convenient situation out of the strength of the tide. here we remained during the evening, in order to obtain bearings from two contiguous stations on the hills. near one of them we found lying on the rocks a bundle of garments, which, upon examination, were found to be of colonial manufacture; they bore no marks of ever having been worn, and as i afterwards found had been given by mr. florance to the natives; who, disliking the confinement of clothes, had abandoned them as useless. the next day we were employed in moving the vessel up the harbour to mount wellington and in the examination of channel bay. in doing this a brig passed us on her way out; she proved to be the sophia of hobart town, commanded by mr. kelly, the original discoverer of the place. he had just procured a load of pine logs from pine cove at the north-east corner of the harbour, and was now homeward bound. in the afternoon we anchored off round head and mr. kelly came on board to assist me in buoying and examining the channel, which bears his name in my plan, and in which the deepest water in one part is but eight feet. in order that the cutter might pass through this, for it was the only one that communicated with the harbour, we were obliged to buoy it, since the breadth was not more than thirty-five yards, and only six inches deeper than the cutter's draught of water. january to . while our people were at dinner, a party of natives came to the verge of round head, and remained for some time calling to us. as soon as we had dined, we landed, with the intention of communicating with them; they had however left the place, and we returned on board without seeing them: the following day, when i was away with the boat sounding the channels towards betsey's island, they came down again, but seeing no boat near the vessel they walked round to the sophia, which was still at anchor near mount wellington: we afterwards found that they had been induced to go on board the brig, and were much pleased with their visit, and gratified with the presents which mr. kelly gave them. on the st with a breeze from the north-west we got under weigh and passed through kelly's channel; but at eleven o'clock the wind fell, and we were obliged to anchor upon the edge of the bank off river point; we had not, however, to wait long, for the breeze freshened up again, and we arrived at pine cove in time to land and examine the place before sunset. january to . on our way to the shore in our boat we disturbed two flights of black swans who flew away at our approach. having landed at the bottom of the cove where the sophia had obtained her cargo, we found the huon pine-trees, interspersed with many others of different species, growing in great profusion, within three yards of the edge of the water, upon a soil of decomposed vegetable matter, which in many parts was so soft that we often suddenly sank ankle-deep, and occasionally up to the knees in it: this swampy nature of the soil is to be attributed to the crowded state of the trees; for they grow so close to each other as to prevent the rays of the sun from penetrating to the soil. the ground is also strewed with fallen trees, the stems of which are covered with a thick coat of moss, in which seedlings of all the varieties of trees and plants that grow here were springing up in the prostrate stem of perhaps their parent tree; and it was not rare to see large huon pines of three feet in diameter rooted in this manner on the trunk of a sound tree of even larger dimensions that had, perhaps, been lying on the ground for centuries; while others were observed, in appearance sound, and in shape perfect, and also covered with moss, which, upon being trod upon, fell in and crumbled away. the fructification of this tree, so called from the river, which was named after captain huon kermadie, who commanded l'esperance under the order of admiral d'entrecasteaux, never having been seen, its detection was matter of much curiosity to mr. cunningham, who diligently examined every tree that had been felled. it was, however, with some difficulty that he succeeded in finding the flower, which was so minute as almost to require a magnifying lens to observe it; it is a coniferous tree and was supposed by mr. cunningham to be allied to dacrydium. several saplings of this wood were cut for studding-sail booms and oars, as also of the podocarpos aspleniifolia, labillardiere; this latter tree is known to the colonists by the name of adventure bay pine, and grows on bruny island in storm bay; but it is there very inferior in size to those of pine cove. the carpodontos lucida, or australian snowdrop, of which labillardiere has given a figure in his account of admiral d'entrecasteaux's voyage, was in full flower, and had a most beautiful appearance. the following is a list of the several species of trees that grow in this cove, for which i am indebted to mr. cunningham: column : natural orders, jussieu. column : linn. sex. syst. column : name used by colonists. column : ordinary dimensions. height in feet. column : ordinary dimensions. diameter at the base. coniferae : dacrydium sp.? : huon pine : to : feet to feet. coniferae : podocarpos aspleniifolia, labillardiere : adventure bay yew, or pine : to : to inches. cunoniaceae : weinmannia, sp. : native beech : to : to inches. amentaceae : fagus : native birch : : to inches. proteaceae : cenarrhenes nitida. labillardiere : stinking native laurel : to : inches. hypericineae : carpodontos lucida. labillardiere : snowdrop tree : to : to inches. mimoseae : acacia melanoxylon. brown. : blackhearted wattle, or native ash : : to inches. atherospermeae : atherosperma moschata. labillardiere : sassafras : to : to inches. diosmeae : zieria arborescens : rue tree : to : to inches. escalloneae brown. : anopteros glandulosa. labillardiere : rose bay : to : to inches. annonaceae : tasmania australis. brown. : spice bark, or tasman's bark : to : to inches. january to . on the th, having nearly expended our time and having ascertained the forms of the shoals and completed the soundings of the channels in the entrance of this truly remarkable harbour, we left pine cove on our return: having a favourable wind we ran through kelly's channel and anchored in outer bay, between entrance island and the bar, in order to complete our water at the stream that runs over the beach, and to obtain some sights on the island for the rates of the chronometers. on anchoring, several natives were seen on the beach calling to us, but the wind was too fresh to allow of our communicating with them that day. january . but early the next morning, our boat being sent on shore with our empty baricas and some casks for water, our party was amicably received by a tribe of natives, consisting of six men and four old women; they came forward unarmed, but as we afterwards found, their spears were concealed close at hand. some presents were distributed amongst them, of which the most valuable, in their estimation, were empty wine-bottles, which they called moke, this word was however used by them for water also, so that it was doubtful whether the word meant the article itself or the vessel that contained it. our familiarity increased so rapidly that by the time that we had dug two wells to receive the water which was flowing over the beach, they had become very inquisitive, and made no hesitation in searching our pockets, and asking for everything they saw. one of the men, upon being detected in the act of pilfering a piece of white paper from mr. cunningham's specimen box, immediately dropped it, and drew back, much alarmed for fear of punishment, and also ashamed of having been discovered; but after a few angry looks from us, the paper was given to him, and peace was soon restored. our dog, being a subject of much alarm, was fastened to the stern of our boat; a circumstance which prevented their curiosity from extending itself in that direction, and thus our arms were kept in convenient readiness without their knowledge. as soon as our boats were loaded and we had embarked the natives retired to a bush; behind which we observed the heads of several children and young women. as many as sixteen were counted; so that this tribe, or family, might be composed of from twenty-five to thirty persons, of which we only saw six who were grown men. they were stouter and better proportioned than the natives of new south wales; and, unlike them, their hair was woolly: the only covering in use amongst them was a kangaroo-skin, which they wore as a cloak over their shoulders. on the return of the boat after breakfast, they did not make their appearance, and it turned out that they had crossed over to the sea-side in search of shellfish; but on the boats going in the afternoon for a third turn of water, two natives whom we had seen in the morning came towards us: one of them submitted his head to the effects of mr. cunningham's scissors, which had, much to their gratification and delight, clipped the hair and beard of one of our morning visitors: a slight prick on the nose was not ill-naturedly taken by him, and excited a laugh from his companion. during the day the following specimen of their language was obtained by mr. cunningham:-- arm : yir'-ra-wig. nose : me-oun. fingers : war'-ra-nook. eyes : nam'-mur-ruck. elbow : nam-me-rick. ear : goun-reek. hair of the head : pipe, or bi-pipe. beard : ru-ing. nipple : ner-ri-nook. knee : none. toes : pe-une. teeth : kouk. tongue : mim. neck : treek, or lan-gar-ree. navel : wy-lune. fire : lope. a gull (or a bird) : tir-ru-rar. toe-nails : wan-dit. stone : jal-lop, or lone. kangaroo : rag-u-ar. kangaroo-skin : lan-num-mock. water, or a vessel to carry it in : moke. yes : wa-ak. come here, or come back : ar-gar. names of plants. banksia australis : tan-gan. archistroche lineare : ta-bel-lak, or le-vi-lack. corrrea rufa : nirr. mesembryanthemum aequilaterale : nu-ick. acacia sophora : gur-we-er. melaleuca : rone. a tree : pill-i-a ere-wig. january . early the next morning we sailed over the bar, though not without grounding, for the wind being from the westward we were obliged to make several tacks, by which we necessarily approached the edge of the banks; this accident however did not detain us and by one o'clock we passed round cape sorell. january . on the th at eight a.m. the mewstone was passed and the wind being fresh from south-west we rounded the south-east cape at nine o'clock, and at sunset we were off cape frederick hendrick, which is the northern head of adventure bay: between this and quoin, or sloping island, we stood off and on during the night. at daylight we entered the derwent river and anchored off hobart town at seven o'clock in the morning. . february . here we remained until the th of february on which day the judge embarked and we left the place on our return to port jackson. february . on the th at dusk we passed botany bay, and it was dark when we were abreast of port jackson; but, being sufficiently acquainted with the place, and favoured by the wind, we did not hesitate to enter; and anchored off sydney cove at nine o'clock in the evening. chapter . departure from port jackson, and commence a running survey of the east coast. examinations of port macquarie and the river hastings in company with the lady nelson, colonial brig, and assisted by lieutenant oxley, r.n., the surveyor-general of the colony. leave port macquarie. the lady nelson returns with the surveyor-general to port jackson. enter the barrier-reefs at break-sea spit. discover rodd's bay. visit the percy islands. pass through whitsunday passage, and anchor in cleveland bay. wood and water there. continue the examination of the east coast towards endeavour river; anchoring progressively at rockingham bay, fitzroy island, snapper island, and weary bay. interview with the natives at rockingham bay, and loss of a boat off cape tribulation. arrival off endeavour river. . february to may . between the period of my return from the derwent and the second week of march we were prevented from making any preparation for our second voyage to the north coast by an unusual continuance of the heavy rains incident to that season; which caused three floods on the hawkesbury and nepean rivers and did considerable damage to the ripening crops. this unfavourable weather so retarded our equipment that it was the middle of april before we were ready for sea; after which time we experienced further detention from not being able to complete our crew. may . but at length we sailed from port jackson on the th of may. as it was my intention to take the northerly passage through torres strait, i proposed, in my way up the east coast, to examine port macquarie; and, in order that his excellency the governor might be informed of the result of our proceedings as soon as possible, lieutenant oxley, r.n., the surveyor-general of the colony, accompanied me in the lady nelson, colonial brig. may . by noon the following day the church of king's town,* in port hunter, was seen. between cape hawke and the brothers we passed wallis, harrington's, and farquhar's lakes: and, on the north side of the northernmost brother, we saw the entrance of camden haven; which, although deeper than the lakes, is only accessible for very small vessels. (*footnote. now more generally known by the name of newcastle.) may . the next morning we anchored off port macquarie; and whilst the lady nelson was beating up to an anchorage lieutenant oxley accompanied me in the whale-boat to examine the entrance. in pulling in we got among the sand rollers on the north side, on which the sea broke so heavy as at one time to endanger the boat's upsetting; but fortunately we escaped with only the loss of an oar; after contending for some time against the tide, which was ebbing with great strength, we landed on the south side; when we were met by five natives, who had been watching us all the morning, and had not been backward in their invitations and entreaties for us to land. at first they kept aloof until approached by lieutenant oxley, whom they soon recognised: after a short interview in which they appeared to place the greatest confidence in all our movements, we ascended the hill to observe the channel over the bar; the water of which was so clear that the deepest part was easily seen. as this was the principal object we did not delay longer on shore than was necessary, and upon our return sounded the depth of water upon the bar and in the channel, the particulars of which are detailed upon the plan of the harbour. may . the next morning the two vessels were warped into the port; and by eleven o'clock were anchored within a few yards of the south shore, and secured to trees near the beach, close to a fresh-water stream which ran into the sea. may . the following day we pulled three or four miles up the river; on the way up two natives were seen in a canoe but on our approach they landed to avoid us and quickly disappeared. the boat was kept in mid-stream and we passed by without taking any notice of them. half a mile further on we put ashore on the south bank and took bearings to fix the position of our station and the direction of the next reach upwards, which appeared to be about three miles long and half a mile broad. we then returned to the cutter. may . and on the th lieutenant oxley and mr. roe accompanied me in one of our boats upon the examination of the river. after reaching our former station on the south bank we proceeded up the long reach towards black-man point, on which a tribe of natives were collected: the river is here divided into two streams; we followed that which trended to the westward as it appeared to be the most considerable. at the end of the next reach the river is again divided into two branches, and as the southernmost was found upon trial to be the shoalest, the other was followed. on our left was a small contracted arm, which probably communicates with the lagoon on rawdon island; here we landed to examine the trees which so thickly and beautifully cover both banks: several sorts of large growth were noticed, among which was a tree of the trichillieae, natural order jussieu (trichillia glandulosa), which the colonists have flattered with the name of rosewood, and a ficus of gigantic growth, both of which are very abundant. we landed at point elizabeth and walked a mile back through a fine open country, well timbered and richly clothed with luxuriant grass and apparently much frequented by kangaroos. from the edge of the bank mount cairncross, a remarkable round-topped hill which is conspicuously seen from the coast over the entrance of the port,* appeared over the next reach, and formed a rich picturesque back-ground for the view. (*footnote. see illustration: view of the entrance of port macquarie.) after refreshing ourselves, we re-embarked, and passed on our right a shoal inlet, in which we saw a native's weir, for the purpose of taking fish; it was formed by sticks stuck in the mud, and so close as to prevent the retreat of such as were inside: three miles above this we landed on an open grassy spot on the south bank, and pitched our tent for the night. about half an hour before we landed we heard the voices of natives in the woods; who, after we passed by, embarked in two canoes and followed us for some distance, but the near approach of night obliged us to look out for a convenient spot to encamp upon; so that the natives, finding they were unattended to, soon gave up their pursuit. in the morning, before we embarked, our barica was filled at a water-hole close at hand; on walking about a quarter of a mile back, we came to the borders of a large circular plain, about one mile in diameter, covered with reeds and other indications of its being a morass or lagoon. we then pursued our way up the river; it soon trended sharply round to the south-east and joined the main stream which we had unknowingly left the preceding evening. there we had to unload and drag the boat over a fall; but, as the ascent was not more than ten or twelve inches, no difficulty was experienced in effecting it. whilst thus employed, we were visited by ten natives, some of whom, by being painted and ornamented in a remarkable manner, were recognised as those who followed us last evening: their timidity was at first very great, but our conduct gave them confidence, and they very soon came to the boat, and assisted in launching her into deeper water, for which service they were presented with fishing hooks and lines, which they gladly received. everything we said or did was repeated by them with the most exact imitation; and indeed they appeared to think they could not please us better than by mimicking every motion that we made. some biscuit was given them which they pretended to eat, but on our looking aside were observed to spit it out. they wished much to take us to their huts; but, the day being much advanced without our having made any progress, we were obliged to decline their invitation; and as soon as the boat was reloaded we took leave of these friendly indians, whose voices we heard until a turn of the river hid their persons from our view. about two miles higher, at king's river,* lieutenant oxley landed and recognised his former tracks which were now much overgrown and nearly effaced; the marks of the axe were, however, sufficiently evident for us to follow them for half a mile along the banks of the river, when we re-embarked, and continued our course upwards. (*footnote. see illustration: view of the river hastings at its junction with king's river.) the river now became much narrower, not being more than seventy or eighty yards wide; four miles higher up we landed and joined mr. cunningham, who was botanizing in the lady nelson's boat: this gentleman had overtaken us about an hour before and passed on to look for a convenient place to encamp for the night; but for want of a better situation, was obliged to land in a brush, the banks of which were so thickly lined with trees and climbing plants that we should have passed it if the station had not been indicated to us by his boat made fast to the landing place. some rain fell during the night, but this inconvenience was trifling compared to the discordant screams of a bird which had roosted over our fires, and which the people called the cat-bird. the trichillia and the ficus, before noticed, are abundant on these banks, and are all intricately connected with each other by climbing plants which grow to an incredible size, and hang down in rich clusters from the summit to the root of the tree, tending considerably to beautify the richness of the scene. the woods included every tree of the soil and climate, excepting a white and straight stemmed eucalyptus, which is common at hunter's river, and there called the flooded gum; it is used and reckoned valuable for spars, but the few specimens that i have seen of it have been very brittle and bad. some of these trees were observed by us to be from fifty to sixty feet high, perfectly straight, and without a fork for forty feet. may . the next morning our boats in company proceeded for two miles farther up; in this space we crossed four falls, the last of which, running with great rapidity, occasioned some difficulty and trouble in passing over it: a little above this fall our exploration terminated, and we stopped to examine the timber. several cedar-trees (cedrelea toona), of large growth, were observed; one of which, being measured, was found to be ten feet in diameter at the base. the upper part of the river is studded with islets covered with the casuarina paludosa which is abundant in the swamps and low grounds at port jackson, where the colonists call it the swamp oak. the river appeared to be subject to inundations, for marks of floods were visible in all parts, and some considerably beyond the banks. on our return we landed at a high rocky head on the north bank, from which a tract of open country appeared to recede. from hence brown's bluff bore south degrees west. this bluff is a remarkable hill, and is distinctly seen from the coast: its position was fixed by mr. oxley on his last journey, who passing within a few miles, rode to its summit to gain a view of the country, which he described as very extensive and beautiful, and as having abundantly repaid him for his labour. as we had before passed through the loudon branch, we now followed the main stream, and on our way landed on the south bank, upon a piece of open forest land, abundantly clothed with luxuriant grass and moderate-sized timber. the water here began to taste brackish, but it was quite fresh about a quarter of a mile higher up, above a spit of rocks which nearly crosses the channel, leaving a passage of ten feet water, over which there is a trifling fall. about three-quarters of a mile lower down we landed on the north bank, on rawdon island, on the edge of the swamp seen near our tent in the loudon branch. we also landed at black-man point, and had an interview with twenty-five natives; amongst whom we recognised several that had visited us at the anchorage, and who appeared delighted and happy at meeting us again: after spending half an hour with them we re-embarked, and arrived on board by sunset. between this and the th our time was busily spent in laying down and making further observations upon the soundings of the port and bar. may . on the st at highwater, having completed our object, we left the harbour; and in steering over the bar found eleven feet water at about thirty-five yards from the sunken rocks. the lady nelson, in following, kept more over towards the north side of the channel and, being near the edge of the sand rollers, had but nine feet. on reaching the offing lieutenant oxley embarked in the lady nelson to return to port jackson, and soon afterwards the two vessels parted company. in consequence of the report made by lieutenant oxley to the governor upon the result of the expedition, an establishment has been since formed at this harbour; which at present is used only as a penal settlement: hitherto no settlers have been permitted to take their grants at port macquarie; but when this is allowed it will, from the superiority of its climate and the great extent of fine country in the interior, become a very important and valuable dependency of the colony of new south wales. the natural productions of this place are, in a great measure, similar to those of the neighbourhood of port jackson; but many plants were found which are not known in the colony; and as these grow in all parts within the tropic, the climate of port macquarie may naturally be suspected to be favourable to the cotton-plant and the sugar-cane, neither of which have yet been cultivated to the southward: among these plants, we found the pandanus pedunculatus, which mr. brown found in the gulf of carpentaria, and many other parts within the tropic, in captain flinders' voyage. the face of the hill on the south side of the entrance possesses some good soil; and at the time of our visit* was covered with a profusion of herbage, and studded with groups of banksia, which the colonists call the honeysuckle; the wood of which is useful in ship-building on account of the crooked growth of its stem. (*footnote. it is on this hill that the penal settlement of port macquarie is now built, the situation having been selected at the recommendation of lieutenant oxley. it was settled by captain allman of the th regiment in the early part of the year .) the banks of the river on both sides were thickly wooded; in most parts the country is open and grassy and is profusely timbered with the varieties of eucalyptus that are common at port jackson. there is however a great extent of brushland in which the soil is exceedingly rich, and in which the trees grow to a large size; these, being covered with parasitical plants and creepers of gigantic size, render the forest almost impervious: it is in these brushes that the rosewood and cedar-trees grow, and also the fig-tree before alluded to; this last tree is of immense size and is remarkable for having its roots protruding from the base of the stem, like huge buttresses, to the distance of several yards. the natives are numerous, but they appear to depend more upon hunting than the sea for their subsistence. this i judged from the very inferior state of their canoes which are very much less ingeniously formed than even the frail ones of the port jackson natives; being merely sheets of bark with the ends slightly gathered up to form a shallow concavity, in which they stand and propel them by means of poles. their huts are more substantially constructed and more useful as dwellings than any to the southward, and will contain eight or ten persons; while those to the southward are seldom large enough to hold three; they are arched over and form a dome with the opening on the land side; so that they are screened from the cold sea-winds, which, unless they blow in the character of the sea-breeze, are generally accompanied by rain. kangaroos are very numerous, and from their traces appeared of large size; but we saw neither emus nor native dogs. as a port this place will never be the resort of vessels of larger burthen than tons, there not being more than ten feet water on the bar; which on account of the swell will not admit vessels of a greater draught than nine feet: this is a great drawback upon its prosperity; but the small coasting vessels from sydney will be sufficiently large for the purposes of conveying produce to port jackson. it cannot long remain as a penal establishment for its utility in that respect is already lost, since the convicts find their way back to the colony as soon as an opportunity offers of escaping; and then, for fear of detection, remain concealed in its outskirts, and are necessarily driven to plunder and rob for subsistence. a very great advantage attending the settling of this part is its free communication with the interior, and with that vast space of fine country situated between lieutenant oxley's track on the parallel of degrees, and bathurst. this region has lately ( ) been travelled over by my indefatigable friend mr. cunningham and found to possess a large portion of excellent soil and rich pasturage; it contains altogether at least twelve millions of acres in which it would be difficult to discover a bad tract of country of any extent; but as one-fourth part is the general calculation in the colony for waste land, nine millions of the richest country will be left for future colonization: many years however must elapse before it can be occupied. the description of the interior of new south wales is so foreign to my object, and so irrelevant to the subject before me that i must entreat the indulgence of my reader for this digression; and return to the mermaid, already described as having left the port and parted company with the lady nelson, conveying my friend lieutenant oxley to port jackson, and leaving us to resume our voyage. as soon as we had obtained an offing the wind freshened up to a strong breeze from the westward, attended with squally and unfavourable weather; but we were enabled to make some useful observations upon the coastline as far as the next point to the southward of smoky cape; when night obliged us to steer more off shore. the country behind the beach was lined with natives' fires which were kindled as we passed to attract our notice. to the southward of smoky cape the land is very low and probably occupied by large lagoons. may . the next evening mount warning was seen from the deck although we were at least seventy-eight miles from it. may . on the rd at noon our latitude was degrees minutes seconds, when the mount bore south degrees west (magnetic). at sunset the wind died away; and, from the land in the vicinity of the mountain indicating every appearance of the existence of either a large sheet of water or an opening of consequence, i was induced to remain two days to examine the beach more narrowly; but, after beating about with a strong south-easterly current which prevented my tracing the beach to the northward of the mount, and having only seen an inconsiderable opening that communicates by a shoal channel with a small lagoon at the back of the beach, i gave up the search; still without satisfying myself of the non-existence of an inlet, which, if there be one, probably communicates with the sea nearer to point danger.* (*footnote. lieutenant oxley has since ( ) discovered this to be the case, for he found a stream emptying itself into the sea, by a bar harbour close to point danger. lieutenant oxley called it the tweed.) mount warning is the summit of a range of hills which is either distinct from others near it or separated from them by deep ravines. it is very high and may be seen twenty-eight leagues from a ship's deck. west-north-west from it is a much higher range but, having a more regular outline than the mount, is not of so conspicuous a character. several detached ranges of hills lie between mount warning and the beach; they are thickly covered with timber, amongst which was a pine, supposed to be the same that captain flinders found growing on entrance island in port bowen, which is / degrees more to the northward.* mount warning is on the same parallel as norfolk island, where the araucaria excelsa grows in remarkable luxuriance and beauty and attains a very large size; if this be the same tree, it is of very stunted growth.** (*footnote. flinders volume page .) (**footnote. lieutenant oxley, in his late expedition to moreton bay ( ), found reason to doubt whether the pine that he found in the brisbane river was the araucaria excelsa of norfolk island.) the country in the vicinity of mount warning appears to be productive and wooded; for although the hills are steep and rather precipitous, yet their verdant and agreeable appearance augurs favourably for the fertility of the valleys between them. may . light winds retarded our progress along the coast until the evening of the th, when the wind freshened up from the westward, and by the following sunset we were abreast of cape moreton. may . the following morning part of the sandy peninsula was in sight. may . but we did not pass round breaksea spit until the next day. we then steered across hervey's bay towards bustard bay and passed a small island that was discovered by the ship lady elliot in and that had not yet a place upon the chart of this part of the coast. (*footnote. see appendix a part .) may . the next day at noon we were off bustard bay and passed half a mile without the dry rock which lies off its north end. the course was now directed for gatcombe head of port curtis, whither it had become necessary to proceed, to repair some little damage that we had met with during the preceding night; as we proceeded a shoal opening presented itself round the north head of bustard bay, probably communicating with the inundated lands at the back: here the coast is lined with rocky hills, on which we saw no timber but what was stunted. the trending in of the land round the next point led us to the discovery of a considerable inlet which had escaped captain flinders' observation. on hauling round the point and steering towards what had at first the appearance of being the principal opening, another presented itself to the eastward, divided from the first by a projecting point (middle head); which appeared to be well furnished with grass and trees, and was as picturesque as it was prominent. as this latter opening appeared to be more considerable than that which trends round the west side of middle head and had at first occupied our attention, we proceeded to examine it; and without difficulty found the channel, with good and well-sheltered anchorage within the entrance. in working in, the cutter took the ground on the south side of the port, but was got off again without suffering any damage. may . in the morning we landed and ascended a hill on the west side of the bay, whence we had an extensive prospect; but it did not impress us with any better opinion of the utility or merits of the bay than that it would afford shelter to moderate-sized vessels. it is a large sheet of water, full of shoals, and probably communicates with the sea by a small opening near the point next to the northward of bustard bay; the dry rock off which was distinctly seen over the land. there was also an appearance of its communicating with the swamps at the head of bustard bay; but in that direction the trees prevented my ascertaining it with certainty: the opening to the westward of middle head appeared to trend to the south-west through a low marsh; and to the southward and south-eastward the face of the country is irregular and mountainous. the hills which surround the bay are rocky; and although they are not deficient in wood and grass the soil is very shallow; and the trees, principally of eucalyptus, are of stunted growth. . june . thick and rainy weather prevented our leaving this port, which was named rodd's bay, until the st of june. at four o'clock in the afternoon we hauled round cape capricorn and at dark anchored on the bank between that projection and cape keppel. june . the next morning we resumed our course to the northward and passed inside of hummock island and between keppel's great island and the first lump. as we passed port bowen we were near enough to the shore to observe the anchorage under entrance island. in the evening we anchored about one mile from the pine islets in the mouth of the opening round island head, in four and three quarters fathoms, fine sand. june . at daylight the next morning we were steering a course for the percy islands; on our way to which we passed three or four miles to the eastward of the rd northumberland island, which is a steep rock crowned with pine-trees. at eleven o'clock we were half a mile from a low rock that has not hitherto been noticed in the charts: it lies five miles north degrees east from the rd island; and being very low is dangerous for vessels passing near it in the night; but with the rd island in sight it may be easily avoided. steering on we passed inside the rock that lies off the west end of the percy island, number ; and anchored in its westernmost sandy bay, to the westward of the small pine islet, at about a quarter of a mile from the shore, in two and a half fathoms. the bank being very steep, the anchorage was not considered secure; but as the wind blew off the land and the weather was fine i was reconciled to remain. upon examining the beach it was found that our water might be very conveniently completed at a stream which ran over its east end. i therefore determined upon taking this opportunity of filling our casks, as well as of repairing our small whale-boat; whilst the sailmaker was employed in altering a tent, and a part of our crew in cutting wood. the birthday of our late venerable and good king was passed at this island. june . and the following morning ( th), our tasks being completed, we left the bay. this island having been already described by captain flinders, little is left for me to say. the hills are intersected by numerous gullies and are consequently supplied with streams: but the most convenient watering-place for ships is the one we used, except during a northerly or a westerly wind, when the practicability of landing on any part of the north side of this island is very questionable; for the task was difficult even with the wind blowing off the shore. tracks of natives, but not of recent date, were noticed. in our walks over the hills we saw abundance of quails but no animals were observed; very few sea-birds frequented the beaches perhaps on account of the contiguity of the barrier reefs, upon which they can much more plentifully procure their food. on the hills, which are very rocky, the grass grew luxuriantly, although the soil is shallow and poor; but in the gullies mr. cunningham found some good loamy ground, in which he sowed a few peach-stones, which would doubtless thrive, were it not for the fires of the natives. we saw very few pine-trees that exceeded forty feet in height, and the cones were not yet formed. mr. cunningham remarked a great similarity between the botanical productions of this part and of the north coast, although there is a difference in latitude of ten degrees. after weighing, the wind, which was at south-west, gradually died away. during the evening we passed beverly group (the five island cluster of captain flinders) and at sunset anchored in sixteen fathoms fine sand and shells, near double isle. june . the whole of the next day and night was spent in endeavouring to approach the main, but we made very little progress. during the day natives' fires were burning on many of the islands and the coast of the main was enveloped in smoke. june . at daylight on the th the cutter was about eight miles east by south from point slade, with a projecting bluff cape in sight, which proved to be captain cook's cape hilsborough. the country in the vicinity and particularly to the southward of the cape is rocky and mountainous; but the lower grounds are verdant and well clothed with timber; and, judging from the numerous fires along the coast, it must be very populous; the islands near it are rocky and very barren, but many of them being wooded with pine-tree have a picturesque appearance. in the evening, having passed round the cape, we anchored in repulse bay, at about three miles from the shore, which is here low and fronted by a chain of low islands, apparently connected by reefs. water was seen over the low land at the bottom of the bight in the south-west side of the bay, and is probably a lagoon. june . the next morning we steered to the north-west to look at the head of repulse bay; the bottom of which appears to be correctly described by captain cook as being bounded by low land. i obtained a view of it from the summit of one of the islands, named in my chart the repulse isles, off which we anchored in the afternoon. these islets are furnished with a very poor and shallow soil. on the sides of the hills we noticed a species of xanthorrhoea, remarkable for its stunted growth and for the curly habit of its leaves. pumice-stone was found at the foot of the hills, washed up, perhaps, by the tide; and on the beach was a european ashen oar. under the projecting rocks several firing and sleeping places were observed which had been recently occupied by the natives. june . the following morning we sailed and steered for whitsunday passage; a little before noon, i landed with mr. roe and mr. cunningham in a small bight round the north side of cape conway, for a meridional observation and bearings. this cape is formed by steep rocky hills, rising to the height of nearly feet above the sea; the sides of which were so steep and so impenetrably covered by a thick underwood that we could not accomplish its ascent; we were therefore obliged to confine our observations to the beach. tracks of natives were observed, and either a wrecked or a worn-out canoe, made of bark, was lying near the ruins of two or three bark huts. excellent water, supplied by a stream from the hills, was found just within the beach, which is very steep and affords easy landing. in moderate weather a ship may water here with great facility. when we returned on board, the cutter was becalmed nearly abreast of pentecost island, and was rapidly drifting in a direction towards the west shore, on which course we soon shoaled the water from twenty-eight to ten fathoms. the vessel being quite ungovernable, the boat was sent ahead to tow her round, which we had scarcely time to do, before she was carried by the tide over a bank of hard sand on which the least water was three fathoms; fortunately for us it was nearly high water, or we should have been left dry: its western edge was so steep that we were very quickly in deep water again. we anchored at sunset in the centre of a tide eddy under pine head, in sixteen fathoms sand and shells: the night was passed without accident. june . the next morning we landed on the island of which pine head is the south-easternmost extremity and from its summit obtained an extensive set of bearings. the island possesses the same rocky character with the rest of this group; but the soil, although shallow, nourished some luxuriant grass which reached up to our middle and concealed the rocks that are plentifully strewed over the ground. the trees are low and stunted, but the steep slope of the head is covered with pines and forms one of the most remarkable features of whitsunday passage. whilst we were on shore mr. bedwell shortened in the cable preparatory to weighing; but on doing it the anchor tripped, and it was with difficulty that the cutter was kept clear of the rocks, close to which she was drifted by the eddies. on arriving on board, we steered to the northward through whitsunday passage and afterwards stood towards captain cook's cape gloucester, the extremity of which turned out to be an island (gloucester island) of five miles long: it is separated from the real cape by a strait, a mile and a half wide. june . on passing round gloucester island we saw holborne island which captain cook discovered and named. we then hauled into edgecumbe bay, but as the night was advancing had not time to explore its shores. we therefore passed round middle island, which had escaped captain cook's observation, and steered to the north-west, parallel with the shore of the main, which appeared to be very low. june . the next morning we were steering towards mount upstart, and at noon passed within two miles of its extremity. behind the mount, which rises with remarkable abruptness from the low land in its rear, are two prominent hills; the highest of which, mount abbott, has a peaked summit; the irregular and mountainous appearance of the range upon which this mount stands, and a very evident break in the hills on its western side, would lead one to suspect the existence of a river, of which the bay on the western side of the mount may be the mouth. there is also a bay on the eastern side of mount upstart, which also has a river-like appearance. in fact, it is not at all certain whether mount upstart may not be an island, and the bay behind it the mouth of a considerable stream. the variation observed by captain cook off mount upstart was degrees east; but by an azimuth observed by me close to the cape, it was found not more than degrees minutes east. the result of captain cook's observation must therefore be attributed to some other cause than, as he supposed, to a magnetical power in the hills of this promontory. june . at daylight of the th we passed within four miles of the extremity of cape bowling-green, which, although it is very low and sandy, is not destitute of wood or verdure; between cape bowling-green and the back mountainous ranges, a distance of nearly thirty miles, the country appears to rise gradually, and gave us reason to regret that the nature of my instructions did not warrant our making a more particular examination of this part of the coast, for it appears to offer a much greater degree of interest and importance than any part of the southward without the tropic. indeed, this bay appeared to be equally promising in its appearance with those near mount upstart; and the peculiar feature of cape bowling-green, jutting out into the sea between them, considerably increases the probability of there being more than one or two rivers of importance hereabouts. the barren range, which has almost uninterruptedly continued from the back of cape palmerston, a distance of miles, here ceases or retires, and leaves a gap of ten or twelve miles wide of low land; to the north-west of which, mount eliot, a hill of considerable height, rises rather abruptly; and, as the shores of the bay were not distinctly traced, there is fair reason for presuming that there is a river at its bottom. june . the next morning we steered round cape cleveland and passed close to some straggling rocks on a reef that extends for four miles to the eastward of it. cape cleveland is the extremity of a mountainous projection, and like mount upstart rises abruptly from low land, by which it is separated from the lofty range of mount eliot. the wooded and uneven character of the land on its west side indicated so great a likelihood of our finding fresh water that i was induced to despatch mr. bedwell to the shore to ascertain whether a delay might be made profitable by completing our hold with wood and water. his return bringing a favourable report, the cutter was anchored in three fathoms, at about one mile from the extremity of the cape, bearing north / degrees east. june to . wooding and watering parties immediately commenced operations, which occupied them that and the following day. june . on the afternoon of the second day, i landed with mr. cunningham and mr. roe to ascend one of the hills that overlooks the bay. after two hours' climbing over huge rounded masses of granite, and penetrating through thick bushes of underwood, we arrived only at a summit considerably beneath the one we wished to reach; but as it was too late in the day to proceed further we halted; and i took a set of angles and made some memorandums for the sketch of the bay. a remarkable observation was here made upon the magnetic influence of this land; the variation was observed to be degrees minutes west, but on removing the compass eight yards off, it only gave degrees minutes east. this in some degree corresponds with captain cook's record of the irregularity of his compass when he passed near this part of the coast, in consequence of which he called the peaked island to the westward of the cape, magnetical island: this irregularity, however, was not noticed by me in my observations near the same spot; and the difference observed by him may very probably have been occasioned by the ship's local attraction, which in those days was unknown. the view obtained from this station was neither so useful nor so extensive as i had expected: the coast for six miles back is low and occupied by a large body of water; beyond which is a range of flat-topped and precipitous rocky hills that appear to be inaccessible, and to form almost an impenetrable barrier between the sea-coast and the interior. from the hazy state of the atmosphere the palm islands were not visible: sunset being near at hand we were obliged to hasten our descent, which, by following the course of a torrent-worn gully, proved to be much shorter and easier than, from our rugged and difficult ascent, we were led to apprehend. at the bottom of the hill the small stream that was trickling down the gully, by which we descended, joined another of larger size running over the beach into the sea, at about a quarter of a mile to the southward of that from which we watered. at the junction of these streams we discovered a native path winding among the high grass, which speedily brought us to our boat. june . we remained at the anchorage the following day in order to obtain some lunar distances; and in the evening mr. bedwell sounded across the bay towards the south end of magnetical island, and also the channel between that island and the main. the soundings therefore laid down are from his report, from which it appears that there is a good and clear passage through, and excellent anchorage upon a muddy bottom all over the bay. no natives were seen during our visit, but the remains of nine huts were counted in different parts of the bay, near the edge of the beach. the inhabitants were not however far off, for the tracks of human feet as well as those of a dog were noticed very recently imprinted on the gravelly bed of the fresh-water stream; and we were probably watched by them in all our proceedings. near the extremity of the cape some bamboo was picked up, and also a fresh green coconut that appeared to have been lately tapped for the milk. heaps of pumice-stone were also noticed upon the beach; not any of this production, however, had been met with floating. hitherto, no coconut trees have been found on this continent; although so great a portion of it is within the tropic and its north-east coast so near to islands on which this fruit is abundant. captain cook imagined that the husk of one, which his second lieutenant, mr. gore, picked up at endeavour river, and which was covered with barnacles, came from the terra del espiritu santo of quiros;* but, from the prevailing winds, it would appear more likely to have been drifted from new caledonia, which island at that time was unknown to him; the fresh appearance of the coconut seen by us renders, however, even this conclusion doubtful; captain flinders also found one as far to the south as shoal-water bay.** (*footnote. hawkesworth volume page .) (**footnote. flinders volume page .) several kangaroos were started by our wooding party but none were taken. in the gullies mr. cunningham reaped an excellent harvest, both of seeds and plants. here as well as at every other place that we had landed upon within the tropic, the air is crowded with a species of butterfly, a great many of which were taken. it is doubtless the same species as that which captain cook remarks as so plentiful in thirsty sound; he says, "we found also an incredible number of butterflies, so that for the space of three or four acres, the air was so crowded with them, that millions were to be seen in every direction, at the same time, that every branch and twig were covered with others that were not upon the wing."* the numbers seen by us were indeed incredible; the stem of every grass-tree (xanthorrhoea) which plant grows abundantly upon the hills, was covered with them, and on their taking wing the air appeared, as it were, in perfect motion. (*footnote. hawkesworth volume page .) it is a new species, and is described by my friend mr. w.s. macleay, in the appendix, under the name of euploea hamata. june . on the th we left the bay and passed round the north end of magnetical island. several natives were seen on a sandy beach at the north end, where deep gullies indicated the presence of fresh water. our course was then directed across halifax bay towards the palm islands, passing inside a small rocky islet marked i, on the chart, and another of larger size, k. in a south by east direction from these islands is an opening in the land round which the sea was observed to trend; it was supposed to communicate with the water seen from the heights of cape cleveland over the land at the bottom of the bay; and it is probable, from the mist which this morning occupied a considerable space of the low land fronting the hills, that a large body of water exists there. calms and light airs detained us until two o'clock, when a fresh breeze sprung up from the eastward, to which we made sail, but the glare of the sun, shining in the direction of our course, obliged our hauling up to avoid the risk of running thus dark with excess of bright upon any rocks or shoals that might be in our way; and as the low coastline of this part of the bar was distinctly traced, we steered towards the island marked , near which the cutter was anchored, at eight o'clock, in eleven fathoms' mud. june . at eight o'clock the following morning we got under sail, but delayed by light winds we were, at noon, within half a league of the island, . as there was no immediate appearance of a breeze i landed on a steep beach, at the north-west end of the island, whence the latitude was observed to be degrees minutes seconds, and from which i obtained a useful set of bearings. near our landing-place were some natives' huts and two canoes; the former appeared to have been recently occupied, and were very snug habitations. they were of a circular shape, and very ingeniously constructed by twigs stuck in the ground and arched over, the ends being artfully entwined so as to give support to each other; the whole was covered with a thatch of dried grass and reeds; they were not larger than two people could conveniently occupy. in one of the huts, which was of a more elliptical shape and of larger dimensions than the other, was a bunch of hair that had been recently clipped from either the head or beard. this proves that these operations are not done solely by fire, as captain cook supposed,* but by means of a sharp-edged shell, which must be both tedious and painful to endure; and we have often witnessed the delight shown by the natives at the speedy effect a pair of scissors has produced upon the beard or hair. the canoes were not longer than eight feet and would not safely carry more than two people; the ends were stitched together by strips of the stem of the flagellaria indica. (*footnote. hawkesworth volume page .) few palm-trees were seen, but at the large islands, according to captain cook's account,* they are probably abundant. a considerable quantity of pumice-stone was found, as is usual in every place that we have landed at within the tropic, heaped up above the highwater mark. during the afternoon we had little wind; in the evening we passed a mile and a half to the eastward of a low and dangerous reef which escaped captain cook's observation; the only part of it that was visible above the water were two low rocks, but as the tide ebbed the craggy heads of several smaller ones gradually uncovered, and at low water it is probably quite dry; we passed it in ten fathoms. it is not probable that its extent is greater than what is exposed at low water, but from its steepness it is very dangerous. (*footnote. hawkesworth volume page .) at sunset we anchored about four miles to the eastward of the position assigned to a reef, on which the ship lady elliot struck, in ; but saw nothing of it. june . at daybreak we resumed our voyage and steered for cape sandwich after passing inside the palm island group. we were now approaching point hillock, which is a point of land projecting for two miles into the sea, with a small hillock at its extremity; from which captain cook named it; the land rises precipitously behind it to the height of about two thousand feet and forms a mass of bare rocky hills of a singularly grand and imposing appearance. it rises nearly perpendicularly from the lower wooded hills at its base and is as abrupt on its land side as on that which faces the sea. the summit extends from north to south for seven miles and forms a narrow craggy ridge on which are several remarkable peaks. it was called mount hinchinbrook and is visible from the deck for eighteen leagues. an opening was observed to trend round the rear of the mount, and probably separates it from the mainland. we passed half a mile outside the low rock off cape sandwich, within a group of low rocky isles (brooke's islands) and then steered towards a peaked hill, which was soon afterwards found to be on the island laid down by captain cook in rockingham bay, it now received the name of goold island. we then entered rockingham bay and anchored at two miles off goold island. on passing cape sandwich in the afternoon we observed several natives walking on the shore; and, upon our anchoring, a party was also seen collected round their huts, on the sandy beach at the west end of goold island; and near them were seven canoes hauled up above the tide mark; they had kindled a fire to attract our attention, but the day was too far advanced to allow communicating with them that evening. june . at daylight the following morning i was much surprised by being told that five canoes were paddling off to the cutter, four of which only held each one native, but the fifth being rather larger contained two. on approaching the cutter they laid off until invited to come alongside; when they approached without the least alarm or hesitation, and made signs for something to eat; some biscuit was given to them which they ate and, unlike all other australian savages, appeared to relish its taste. some little persuasion was necessary to induce them to venture on board; but as soon as one mounted the ladder the others followed. their astonishment was considerably excited at everything that they saw, particularly at our poultry and live stock. fishing hooks and lines were gladly received by them; and in return they gave us their baskets and turtle pegs; they remained with us for half an hour; upon leaving the vessel they pointed out their huts and invited us by signs to return their visit. as soon as they had left us mr. bedwell and mr. cunningham went to the islet off the west end of goold island, and on their way met two other canoes, containing three men, coming to the cutter from another part of the bay; after a short communication with our party they paid us the intended visit, and were soon induced to come on board, where they remained for half an hour without betraying the least fear or anxiety for their safety: before they took their leave we had clothed them with some damaged slops; and in order to give each something, the feet of a pair of worsted stockings were cut off to make socks for one, whilst the legs were placed on another's arms; a leathern cap was given to each of them, and thus accoutred, and making a most ridiculous appearance, they left us, highly delighted with themselves and with the reception they had met with. as soon as they reached a little distance they began to divest themselves of their attire, and we had much amusement in witnessing the difficulty under which the wearer of a shirt laboured to get it off. their canoes were not more than five feet long, and generally too small for two people; two small strips of bark, five or six inches square, serves the double purpose of paddling and for baling the water out, which they are constantly obliged to do to prevent their canoe from sinking; in shoal water the paddles are superseded by a pole, by which this fragile bark is propelled. we endeavoured to persuade them to bring off some spears to barter, for they had no weapon of any description with them, but they evidently would not understand our meaning. in the evening our gentlemen proceeded to return these visits, at the spot which was pointed out by our morning guests: on landing they were met by the natives and conducted to their huts, where they saw the whole of the male part of this tribe, which consisted of fifteen, of whom two were old and decrepit, and one of these was reduced to a perfect skeleton by ulcerated sores on his legs that had eaten away the flesh and left large portions of the bone bare; and this miserable object was wasting away without any application or covering to his sores. no teeth were deficient in their jaws; all had the septum narium perforated, but without wearing any appendage in it. the only ornament they appeared to possess was a bracelet of plaited hair, worn round the upper arm. an open wicker basket, neatly and even tastefully made of strips of the flagellaria indica, was obtained from one of them by mr. roe, in which they carry their food and fishing lines; besides which each native has his gourd, the fruit of the cucurbita lagenaria, which grows plentifully on all parts of the beach, and furnishes a very useful vessel to these simple savages for the purpose of carrying water. at the north-east end of the sandy beach a fine stream was noticed, from which water might with facility be obtained. near this stream mr. cunningham observed several of their ovens, similar to those used by the natives of taheite. a circular hole is dug, at the bottom of which is placed a layer of flat stones, on which, after they have been heated by fire, the meat is placed; this is covered by another layer of stones, and over them they make a fire which very soon cooks their repast. in short, the natives of this bay seem to be much more ingenious and to understand better what is useful than the generality of their countrymen.* (*footnote. lieutenant jeffreys, of the kangaroo, armed transport, on his passage to ceylon in communicated with these natives; they came on board his vessel and conducted themselves in an amicable manner towards him.) june . the next morning we left rockingham bay; and steering to the northward passed within the three easternmost of the family islands, as the endeavour did, and landed on the north-easternmost of the group, where the latitude was found to be degrees minutes seconds. this island, like the rest, is of small extent, and is surrounded by huge detached rounded blocks of granite, over which it was not easy to pass. it rises to a peaked summit of a moderate height, but the face of the hill is so thickly covered with underwood and climbing plants as to render it perfectly inaccessible. dunk island, a little to the northward, is larger and higher, and is remarkable for its double-peaked summit. no natives were seen in passing these islands, but the smoke of their fires, as usual, lined the coast, which here began to assume a more improved and favourable appearance: the shore is diversified by projecting wooded hills and intervening sandy bays; and, at the back, the hills are very high and separated from each other by deep valleys, where there must be abundance of water and probably good soil. in the evening the anchor was dropped to the eastward of the two southernmost islands of a group which was named after my friend edward barnard, esquire. we were followed all the afternoon by a large hump-backed whale, a fish which appears to be numerous on all parts of this coast within the reefs. the wind blew so fresh during the night that having only the stream anchor down it had imperceptibly dragged through the mud for nearly a mile to the north-west. june . at daylight we got under sail but the weather had clouded in and bore a very unsettled appearance. after steering outside the easternmost island of barnard's group we passed double point; two miles north of which a small opening was seen trending in to the south-west. between double point and frankland islands captain cook did not see the coast, having passed it during the night; we therefore traced it with some care, but found nothing worth particular notice, being a continuity of sandy bays formed by projecting heads, in some of which natives were observed walking. at hours minutes a.m. we passed point cooper. the summit of the back hills (which were named by mr. cunningham's desire after john bellenden ker, esquire) now began to be enveloped in clouds, and the wind to increase; and no meridional altitude was obtained, from the unfortunate state of the weather. at one o'clock we passed between frankland's largest island and a group of four smaller ones which are connected together by a surrounding rocky reef. at four o'clock we anchored in a bay on the north-west side of fitzroy island, at four miles from the shore, in eleven and a half fathoms' mud, where we found complete shelter from the wind which now blew a fresh gale from south-east. june . the weather continued so unfavourable all the following day that we remained at the anchorage, and made our stay profitable by filling our water-casks from a hollow at the back of the beach, which is composed entirely of coral that has been washed up by the surf. the coral was of various kinds, but a beautiful specimen of porites clavaria was obtained by one of our people who dived for it in two fathoms' water, within a few yards of the shore. in many parts the coral had been consolidated into large masses of solid rock. tracks of natives were seen in many parts of the island; and their beaten paths were noticed leading from the beach to all parts of it; but it did not appear that it was inhabited during our visit. this delay gave mr. cunningham a good opportunity of increasing his botanical collection. among the various trees which grow upon this island he found a nutmeg tree (myristica cimicifera), two species of olive (olea paniculata and notoloea punctata), and three palms, namely the corypha australis or large fan palm, the seaforthia elegans, and another, remarkable for its prickly leaves. we also found and procured seeds of sophora tomentosa, and a plant of the natural order scitamineae, hellenia coerulea, brown: two parasitical plants of orchideae were found growing upon the bark of trees in the shady place near our watering-place; one was dendrobium caniculatum, brown; the other was also subsequently found at cape grafton and is not yet described; it has oblong, three-nerved, thick and leathery leaves; we saw no quadrupeds and but very few birds. june . on the th we left fitzroy island and, steering round cape grafton, hauled in towards the centre of trinity bay. to the west of cape grafton an opening was observed in the beach that bore every appearance of being the mouth of a rivulet, from the broken and irregular form of the hills behind it. at noon our latitude was degrees minutes seconds, and three small islands were in sight ahead, which we passed to seaward of. they are laid down by captain cook as one island, whereas they are distinctly three, but all connected by a reef which was covered when we passed. at hours minutes p.m. we anchored under snapper island (so called by lieutenant jeffreys), but found the anchorage more open than had been expected. snapper island is high and covered with a thick impenetrable mass of underwood, but no fresh water was found. the ashes of a fireplace, strewed around with broken shells, was the only trace seen of natives. the beach, like that of fitzroy island, is composed of dead coral and is fronted by rocks. june . we left this anchorage the next morning with a fresh breeze of wind from south-east; as we steered round cape tribulation the sea ran so heavy that our boat, which was towed astern, filled and overset, and in a moment went to pieces. the wind had now increased to a gale, and the weather threatened so much that we were induced to take advantage of a bight to the northward of the cape, in which we anchored at three quarters of a mile from the mouth of a rivulet, the entrance of which was blocked up by a ridge of rocks on which the water rippled; we were here tolerably well sheltered by high land from the wind, and the water was quite smooth. june . on the following day, the weather continued so unfavourable that we remained at the anchorage, and mr. bedwell was sent to examine the opening, which was called blomfield's rivulet. on his return he reported the bar to be too shoal to admit an entrance to vessels of greater draught than four feet, but that having passed it, the inlet runs up a considerable distance, with soundings from three to four fathoms. near the entrance upon the bank of the inlet several huts were noticed, and near them mr. bedwell found a canoe; which, being hollowed out of the trunk of a tree, was of very different construction to any we had before seen; its length was twenty-one feet, but its greatest breadth in the bilge did not exceed fifteen inches, whilst at the gunwale the opening was only from six to eight and a half inches wide; an outrigger, projecting about two feet, was neatly attached to one side, which prevented its liability to overset, and at each end was a projection, from fifteen to twenty inches long, on which the natives carry their fire, or sit; nothing was found in the canoe but two paddles and a long pole. the bay on which we had anchored was called, at first, shelter bay; but it was afterwards changed to weary bay in consequence of captain cook's having given that name to the coast in this vicinity. the weather was so thick and unsettled during the afternoon, that we did not leave this anchorage until nine o'clock the next morning. june . when it was found necessary that we should take advantage of the first safe anchorage, where we might remain during the continuance of the bad weather, as well as repair our losses and erect the boat that we had on board in frame, to replace the one we had lately lost; as endeavour river would afford us the necessary convenience and shelter it was determined that we should visit it, and as its distance from weary bay did not exceed ten leagues, there was every reason to expect that we should reach it early enough to enter before dark. at half past ten o'clock we passed between the hope islands and the reef, a. the course was then directed for the hills on the south side of the entrance of endeavour river, the highest of which, a conspicuous peaked hill, received the name of mount cook, in memorial of our celebrated navigator, who suffered so much distress and anxiety at this place. the bay south of it was that which he first examined for shelter after his ship had been got off the rocks, but it was found to be shoal and unfit for his purpose.* it was then that endeavour river was discovered; and there, as is well known, the ship was repaired sufficiently to enable her to proceed to batavia. (*footnote. hawkesworth volume page .) we arrived off the south head of endeavour river early in the afternoon, and anchored close to it in three fathoms, with the outer point bearing south-east. the wind was too fresh to examine the bar until the evening, and it was then too late to enter. june . but early the next morning the cutter was warped in, in doing which she grounded on the north side of the bar in eight feet. as the water was quite smooth, this little delay occasioned no damage, and by twelve o'clock she was secured to the shore, within ten feet of a steep beach on the south side of the entrance; in all probability the very same spot that captain cook landed his stores upon forty-nine years ago. chapter . transactions at endeavour river, and intercourse with the natives. examine the river. geognostical remarks. leave endeavour river, and resume the examination of the coast. anchor among howick's group, and under flinders' group. explore princess charlotte's bay, and the islands and reefs as far as cape york, anchoring in the way on various parts of the coast. the cutter nearly wrecked at escape river. loss of anchor under turtle island. pass round cape york and through torres strait, by the investigator's route. . june . as soon as the vessel was secured, the boat's frame was landed, and three of our people commenced its erection. previously however to this, the precaution was taken of burning the grass, to avoid a repetition of the revengeful and mischievous trick which the natives formerly played captain cook; for in a fit of rage, at not being allowed to take away some turtles that were lying on the ships' deck, they set fire to the grass to windward of the tents, by which many stores and sails were consumed.* (*footnote. hawkesworth volume page .) the moment that a few embers from our fireplace were scattered under the roots, the grass was in a blaze, and the flames rushed along with frightful rapidity and destructive effect. having thus very soon cleared sufficient space for our purpose, a sail was suspended between two trees, to shelter the people from the sun at their work upon the boat, the keel of which was laid the same evening. in the afternoon we discovered two streamlets near the tent, from which we obtained our water, and wood was cut close to the beach. near the watering-place were some natives' bark-huts and gourds; and two or three baskets, made of the leaf of the cabbage palm, were hanging on the branches of the surrounding bushes. the owners of these implements were not seen, but it was evident they were near at hand, from the recent appearance of their traces; the bones of the kangaroo and scales of fish were strewed about their fireplaces, and close by were ovens similar to those of goold island. june . the following day mr. cunningham, being in search of plants, fell in with a party of natives consisting of ten or twelve men; two of them carried each a bundle of spears and a throwing-stick: mr. cunningham endeavoured to persuade the three foremost to approach, but they were alarmed at a dog that was with him; seeing this he sent away the only man who accompanied him with the animal, and at last enticed them to draw near. one of them was an elderly man on whose cheek was a recently-healed spear-wound; after some little communication they were easily induced to follow him towards our tent, but the moment they saw the cutter's mast through the trees they stopped, and could not be prevailed upon to advance a step nearer; and, after devoting some time in watching us from the hills, walked away. upon mr. cunningham's making his appearance with the strangers, i went towards him, to prevail upon them to visit our encampment, but they seemed more anxious that we should follow them, intimating by signs that they would give us something to eat; neither party, however, appearing inclined to yield to the other's invitation, they soon went away. june . but the next day twelve natives boldly visited our watering party, and followed them to the tent, where they remained some time watching our movements with great attention. they repeatedly made signs for hatchets, but evinced great aversion to a clasp-knife, although its use was shown to them. mr. bedwell obtained a shield from one of them, of a crescented shape, and painted with black stripes; it was made from the wood of the erythrina indica or coral tree, which grows abundantly near the anchorage. this interview lasted two hours, at the end of which we parted mutually satisfied with each other. mr. cunningham saw a kangaroo in one of his walks, but on mentioning the name of the animal, accompanied by a gesture descriptive of its leap, the natives did not appear to understand what was meant, although it was from these very people that captain cook obtained the name;* it was therefore thought to be possible, that in the space of time elapsed since his visit, this word might have become obsolete. (*footnote. hawkesworth volume page .) . july . the next day no natives came near us, perhaps by reason of the rainy weather. july . but on the nd whilst our people were at the watering-place washing their clothes, they were visited by twelve natives, some of whom were strangers: one of them, an elderly man, who had his son with him, a little boy of eight or nine years of age, appeared very morose and captious: everything was done by our people to amuse and keep them in good humour; but upon one of the sailors attempting to comb the head of the youngster, the old gentleman became so violently enraged that mr. bedwell found it necessary to send away the offender, in order to conciliate them, for the whole party had armed themselves with stones. peace was thus restored, excepting with the individual before-mentioned, who still continued to be very angry and sulky. when the people left off washing to go on board to dinner they took their clothes with them, much against the wish of the natives who made signs that they should be left and intrusted to their care; this was however prudently and cautiously refused, for the natives had become very inquisitive, and wished to possess themselves of everything they saw: they then followed our party to the tent and amused themselves about us during dinner. they appeared to be particularly struck with the progress that we had made upon the boat, which had by this time assumed its shape. some of them wanted to go on board, but not liking their appearance and fearful of a rupture by being obliged to refuse them many things that were about the decks, and which they would certainly ask for, i desired mr. bedwell to divert them from their wish. after dinner our people returned to resume their washing; and, taking their tubs and clothes, walked towards the watering-place, which was about three hundred yards off. soon afterwards the natives took their leave, intimating by signs that they were going to eat; but upon passing by our people at their washing-tubs they stopped, and endeavoured to persuade one of the sailors, whose fair complexion led them to imagine that he was of the softer sex, to undress; the man complied with their request so far as to take off his shirt, but upon their requiring still further exposure, he declined it rather unceremoniously, and dressing himself again returned to his occupation. this opposition to their wishes incensed them so much that they could not help showing it; they then wanted to take some of the clothes away by force, and upon being prevented, their conduct evinced strong signs of an impending rupture; and as two of the natives, one of whom had been on the most friendly terms with us, had armed themselves with spears, which had previously been concealed in the mangrove bushes close at hand, one of our people was immediately despatched to the tent for a musket. the spears were then divided amongst the natives who fixed them in their throwing-sticks ready to throw. they then peremptorily insisted that our people should retire, and leave their clothes behind them, but this being again refused, they became highly enraged, and running off to a little distance made a stand, and threw a spear which passed between three of our people, and broke in the ground: seeing that it had not taken effect, another spear was thrown which also fell harmless. at this moment the muskets arrived, and were fired over their heads, upon which they started off at full speed, and were quickly out of sight. the report of the muskets soon brought us to the spot, and being informed of the circumstance, i became alarmed for mr. cunningham's safety, who was alone on an excursion; but as his route was known, mr. bedwell and mr. roe set off with six men to protect his return; in this they were fortunately successful, having met him about two miles off, just as he was about to take a path that would have led him among the natives; who, had they seen him, would certainly have revenged themselves for their previous defeat and disappointment. they met him in the morning as he was going out, and as they knew the direction in which he went they would certainly have way-laid him. nothing more was heard of the indians during the day, but this rupture made us more watchful. a sentry was appointed on shore to protect the carpenters, and at night four of our people slept close at hand: during the day a masthead watch was kept to prevent surprise, for the grass about us was so high that they might have approached unperceived and wounded some of our people before we could have been aware of their presence. our work however proceeded without molestation, and the only inconvenience experienced was the confinement of mr. cunningham to the vicinity of the tent. july to . we saw no natives until sunday the th when two, whose faces were not familiar to us, came down to the end of the dry sand opposite the cutter and beckoned for us: they had paddled across from the mangroves at the back of the port to the low sandy point that forms the west end of the long north sandy beach, behind which they had left their canoe. mr. bedwell was sent to them in our largest boat, but on his approaching them, and being within ten yards of the beach, they started and ran off with considerable speed towards their canoe. when about half way to it they stopped, and, upon looking back and observing that they were not pursued, beckoned again. upon seeing this manoeuvre, it was suspected that they might have a strong party concealed at the back of the point, to which they were anxious to decoy our people; the boat was therefore called alongside and armed and again sent after them. by this time they had embarked in their canoe and were paddling with all their strength towards the mangroves on the opposite shore, pursued by our boat until it was stopped by the shoals in the river; the natives, however, easily shoved their canoe over it with poles and soon arrived at the opposite bank, where they were met by several other natives, all of whom immediately retired into the mangrove bushes which concealed them from our view. this manoeuvre was evidently intended to decoy us into their power, and served to increase our caution. soon afterwards their fires were seen about a mile behind the mangroves and in the evening the canoe was observed to pass up the river with the same two natives in it. july . on the th we landed at the long north sandy point, and measured a base line of chains from the point to the end of the beach, where it is terminated by a rocky head that forms the base of a steep hill; this we climbed, and from its summit obtained a very extensive view of the reefs near the coast; but as the weather was too hazy to allow of our making any observation upon distant objects, very few of the reefs in the offing were distinctly seen. on the beach we passed the wreck of a canoe, large enough to carry seven or eight persons; it measured nineteen feet in length, and twenty-two inches in the bilge, and appeared, like that of blomfield's rivulet, to be made of the trunk of the erythrina indica, hollowed out either by fire or by some blunt tool. a piece of teak-wood, one side of which bore the marks of green paint, was found washed up on the beach; it had probably dropped or been thrown overboard from some ship passing by; several coconuts which had been evidently washed on shore were also lying above the tides' mark. july . the next day our boat was completed and painted. during our stay at this harbour the weather was such as would have prevented our moving, even had we no occupation to detain us; for since our arrival the wind had blown little less than a constant gale from the south-east, accompanied with thick rainy weather. this day however appearing finer, i ascended the hill over the tent; but, on reaching the summit, thick weather set in, and deprived me of a sight of the reefs in the offing for which i had principally taken the walk. in our descent our dog started a kangaroo, but it made its escape before we approached near enough to shoot it. at night, owing to the strength of the tides, the stern anchor came home, and the cutter swung across the tide. july . this compelled me to haul out to the bower anchor, and the next morning the cutter was moored in the stream. in the afternoon we again ascended the hills over the anchorage and had a more favourable opportunity of seeing the reefs in the offing, several of which were set. july . the following morning mr. roe and mr. cunningham examined the river as far as the boat could penetrate. from mr. roe's report the country was low and of unpromising appearance. the river took its course by a very tortuous channel through a low country: for two or three miles from the entrance its banks are overrun with dense forests of mangroves; but beyond this they are superseded by red earthy cliffs, on which was growing abundance of the hibiscus tiliaceus. further back the country is open and grassy, upon which a stunted eucalyptus is common; here mr. cunningham found two species of grevillea, and the sago palm (cycas media) which also grows near the mouth of the river, above which the seaforthia elegans occasionally raised its towering head, and with its picturesque foliage served to vary and enrich the scene. mr. cunningham, in return for the plants he collected, sowed peach and apricot stones in many parts near the banks. the river is generally very shallow, but at nine miles from the mouth the water is fresh. at the place where the party turned back the width was not more than six yards. on their return they examined another arm on the north side, which proving inconsiderable, and the evening being far advanced, they did not delay to examine it. july . on the th our boat was launched and preparations were made for leaving the place which has afforded us so good an opportunity of repairing our defects. the basis of the country in the vicinity of this river is evidently granitic; and, from the abrupt and primitive appearance of the land about cape tribulation and to the north of weary bay, there is every reason to suppose that granite is also the principal feature of those mountains; but the rocks that lie loosely scattered about the beaches and surface of the hills on the south side of the entrance are of quartzose substance; and this likewise is the character of the hills at the east end of the long northern beach, where the rocks are coated with a quartzose crust, that in its crumbled state forms a very unproductive soil. the hills on the south side of the port recede from the banks of the river and form an amphitheatre of low grassy land, and some tolerable soil upon the surface of which, in many parts, we found large blocks of granite heaped one upon another. near the tent we found coal; but the presence of this mineral in a primitive country, at an immense distance from any part where a coal formation is known to exist, would puzzle the geologist, were i not to explain all i know upon the subject. upon referring to the late sir joseph banks's copy of the endeavour's log (in the possession of my friend mr. brown) i found the following remark, under date of st and nd june, . "employed getting our coals on shore." this is also confirmed in the account of the voyage;* and, when it is taken into consideration that we found it on no other part than the very spot that captain cook's coals must, from our local knowledge of the place, have been landed, the difficulty ceases; and there remains no doubt but that it is a relic of that navigator's voyage, which must have been lying undisturbed for nearly half a century. (*footnote. hawkesworth volume page .) among the varieties of seeds which were collected at this river were the following: grevillea gibbosa; a species of leea; a cassia; a species of dalea, remarkable for its simple foliage; two species of melaleuca, one bearing a white, the other a crimson flower; an acacia; two species of the natural order convolvolaceae, namely, ipomoea sp. and ipomoea gracilis; and a species of the natural order leguminosae allied to galega; erythrina indica or the coral-tree; several species of eucalyptus; a xanthorrhoea; and a great number of other curious plants which will appear whenever the catalogue of mr. cunningham's extensive botanical collection is published. july . on the th at daybreak it was intended that we should leave the river, but the weather being very thick and foggy with no wind, we were compelled to remain. during the morning two natives, whom we afterwards recognised to be the same that came down to the dry sands last sunday, were perceived walking from the north end of the long sandy beach towards the point; and as they passed abreast of us they frequently hailed. soon after they had disappeared round the point they were seen to paddle in a canoe towards the mangroves on the opposite shore; they were armed with spears, and were perhaps returning from a hunting excursion. soon after this they were again perceived paddling along the edge of the mangroves, apparently engaged in spearing fish with a fiz-gig; which the striker used in a similar way to that of the natives of port jackson; but from the leisurely manner in which they proceeded it was evidently their intention to approach us under pretence of fishing. they were soon lost sight of by the intervention of the land of the south-east corner of the port, but in half an hour re-appeared behind the point which was about fifty yards off. as soon as they found themselves perceived they uttered some unintelligible words, and made signs of friendship by patting their breasts; upon which mr. roe went in the jolly-boat, and endeavoured to bring them alongside by keeping their canoe close to his boat and gently pulling towards the vessel; but upon their evincing symptoms of fear as they drew nigh he released them, and beckoned them to follow, which they did for some few seconds; but then gradually edging off, increased their distance from us; after this mr. roe came on board and by our entirely disregarding their presence and paying no attention to their movements, the natives assumed confidence and landed to examine the place where our boat had been constructed, which they did with great minuteness; upon this some biscuits were thrown to them from the vessel, which they picked up and pretended to eat. finding that we were not inclined to take any further notice of them, they soon afterwards re-embarked, and, paddling over to the opposite shore, disappeared round the sandy point. early the next morning we succeeded in getting out of the port, but not without difficulty on account of the baffling winds which blew in eddies round the hill. after clearing the bar, the weather began to re-assume its threatening appearance, but tired of the delay of waiting for fine weather we determined to proceed, and steered for cape bedford. july . having reached this the course was directed for cape flattery, on our way to which we steered between the three isles group and a low island. on passing round cape flattery our course was directed to point lookout, and within the turtle island group, but to seaward of the islands, q. shortly afterwards the islands of howick's group were seen to seaward on our bow, and other low isles ahead; and beyond these was noble island. upon reaching howick's group, a favourable place offering under the lee of the southernmost island, number , we hauled in and anchored in the strait or channel that separates it from number . the island, number , being low, protected us only from the swell, and as the wind blew fresh from the south-east during the night, with a cross tide, the cutter rode very uneasily. july . at four o'clock the next morning the cutter was found to have drifted at least half a mile to leeward, but whether during the first or middle part of the night it was not easy to discover; had the island number been a quarter of a mile nearer, we should have had little chance of escaping shipwreck, for the night was very dark, and her distance did not exceed that when she was brought up by veering cable. as it was we were so near to the rocks that in making preparations to weigh, we had every reason to expect at least the loss of our anchor. we succeeded, however, in heaving short, and hoisting the sails without starting it; but it soon after tripped, and the cutter at the same time casting the wrong way, i was on the point of ordering the cable to be cut from the bows, when the wind so favoured us as to enable the cutter to weather the reef; all sail was instantly made and happily we succeeded both in clearing the reef, which we passed at the distance of a cables' length, and saving our anchor, which was quickly hove up and secured. after escaping this danger our course was directed to pass outside of noble island, in our way to which four small wooded isles were left inshore of our track, and named, at mr. roe's request, after captain sir christopher cole, k.c.b. between this group and noble island two dry sands were observed. cape bowen, so named by lieutenant jeffreys, is a remarkable projection in the hills, but not on the coast, for it rather forms a bay. to the northward of it the hills fall back with some appearance of a rivulet, but the sandy beach was traced from the masthead, and the opening, if any, was suspected to be a stream communicating with ninian bay. to the eastward of our course, abreast of point barrow, is a shoal, s, about three miles long, whose rocks showed their heads above the water; beyond this the weather was too hazy to observe anything. point barrow is eleven miles to the northward of cape bowen, and is a narrow promontory forming the south head of a deep bay which i intended to anchor in and examine; for it bore the name of port ninian in lieutenant jeffrey's chart; but on entering it our soundings rapidly decreased to three and a half fathoms long before point barrow sheltered us from the wind. after steering over to the north side and ascertaining that the shoal water extended across the bay we stood out again, and resumed a course along the most rugged and most stony land i ever saw; the stones are all of rounded form and heaped up in a most extraordinary and confused manner, as if it were effected by some extraordinary convulsion of nature. might they not have been of diluvian origin? this promontory was named by lieutenant jeffreys, cape melville. at half past one o'clock we passed between the straggling rocks which lie off the cape and pipon island; and as we hauled round cape melville into bathurst bay the soundings suddenly decreased upon the edge of a bank, and our endeavours to find anchorage here were unsuccessful; we therefore stood across the bay towards cape flinders which is the extremity of a group of islands of high and rugged character forming the western head of bathurst bay. on approaching the cape we saw with surprise the wreck of a vessel thrown upon the rocks, with her masts and yards lying around her in the greatest confusion; her hull was divided; the stem and forecastle deck were lying in one place, and her stern frame with part of her quarterdeck in another. at some distance from her there were some things like two boats hauled up on the beach, but not the least sign of her crew. as it was too late in the evening to examine any further we passed on, and, rounding the cape, anchored on its west side under a flat-topped hill, in ten fathoms and a half, sandy mud. july . the next morning mr. bedwell and mr. cunningham accompanied me to examine the wreck. on pulling round the cape we found it impossible to land near her on account of the surf which, from the freshness of the wind blowing directly upon the place where she was thrown up, was breaking heavily; we therefore landed on the opposite side of the bay and walked round to examine the boats; but on reaching the place we found they were canoes of the natives, of similar construction to that seen on the beach at endeavour river. in one of them was the apparatus for striking turtles which has been noticed by captain cook.* woodcut is descriptive of the instrument and of the manner in which it is used. (*footnote. hawkesworth coll. volume page .) on the branch of a tree near at hand were three turtles' heads; and since they had been placed there the young branches had expanded, causing us to wonder at first how the heads could have passed over them. these remains of a turtle feast did not assimilate with our ideas of the character of the aborigines of this country, and it was then thought much more probable to be a relic of the crew of the wrecked vessel; we have, however, since frequently noticed the same thing, which could only have been left by the natives. after examining the canoes we proceeded round the bay towards the wreck; in our way to it we passed over a long coral flat which had been left dry by the ebbing tide. on arriving at the wreck a melancholy scene presented itself. it would appear that she was thrown upon the rocks before she went to pieces; the upper part of her stern and hull as far forward as her mizen chains were entire and lying on the stern frame: about yards off was her stem with part of her forecastle deck, and some of her bow timbers; these were the only connected parts remaining; the rest of her timbers, decks, masts, and yards were lying in a confused heap between them. by creeping under her stern, upon which her name was painted, she was found to be the frederick, which ship we remembered to have sailed from port jackson during the early part of last year; search was made for any articles that might be useful to the survivors but nothing was found: the only part belonging to a boat that was noticed was a rudder, from which great hopes were entertained that the crew were enabled, by means of their boats, to escape from this inhospitable coast and effect an arrival at some habitable port. timor appeared to us to be the only probable place, but we were there last june and nothing had then been heard of them. that the crew had been upon the island was certain, for oars and spars were found erected in the fissures of the rocks at the projections of the cape, evidently placed there by the crew to attract the attention of vessels passing. the mizen mast and main topmast had been cut away, and there were a few marks of the axe upon her mainmast. the natives appeared to have taken notice of the ironwork, for some spike nails were found about their fireplaces; these traces, however, were not very recent, nor was it probable that any natives were upon the island at the time of our visit. the hills about cape flinders and the low shores of the bay in which we found the wreck furnished mr. cunningham with a large collection of plants and seeds, and among them was a species of melaleuca, not hitherto known, and which mr. cunningham has described under the name of melaleuca foliosa; he also found a mimusops, and a grevillea (grevillea gibbosa) remarkable for its ligneous spherical capsules: and on the sandy shore at the south end of the bay we found and procured a large quantity of the bulbous roots of a crinum (angustifolium?). july . in a bay to the southward of the cutter's anchorage some mud oysters were found, which were not ill flavoured. shellfish was abundant on the flats in wreck bay but we were unsuccessful with the hook and line, although surrounded by fish of various descriptions. july . on the th, as soon as day dawned, we left this anchorage. at sunset we anchored at the bottom of princess charlotte's bay, in three fathoms, from which the low shore was visible as far as west; an opening among the back hills in the south-east probably affords a fresh stream, but as no break was observed on the beach we did not examine it further. about four miles from the anchorage was a small opening in the mangroves, but of too little importance to take any notice of. july . at daylight the next morning we were under sail and steering up the west side of the bay. the coast trends to the northward and continuing low and wooded is fronted by a sandy beach; several shoals and a range of low wooded islands, which were called claremont isles, now began to show themselves as we proceeded, and at sunset we anchored for the night under the island marked . july . the following day we passed onward, leaving several low wooded isles to seaward, and steered obliquely towards the coast, which still possessed the same low and wooded appearance as yesterday. cape sidmouth now came in sight, and as we approached it the shoals became much more numerous and dangerous, from being composed either of sand or of a brown-coloured rock. in the offing they are all of coral, the limits of which, from their colour, are so defined that you sail in perfect security; but near cape sidmouth the shoals are not visible until close by, and we were twice very nearly thrown upon them. as we advanced we left several low woody isles to seaward of our track; and at sunset anchored under a larger island than is usual hereabout, which, as it will always be a stopping place for vessels bound up the coast, was named night island. july . at nine o'clock the following morning, after a rainy disagreeable night, we proceeded and steered parallel with the shore. at half past eleven o'clock we were abreast and inshore of sherrard's islets. steering onwards we passed within a low sandy island covered with bushes, and to seaward of a bare rock which lies a mile and a half south of cape direction; round this projection the land trends to the westward and forms a deep bay with cape weymouth, which lieutenant jeffreys has named lloyd's bay. upon rounding cape weymouth, the land was observed to trend deeply in to the westward; and, as the bay appeared to offer shelter, i was tempted to haul round bligh's restoration island for the purpose of anchoring; but in this we were prevented by the rocky quality of the bottom. on our way to forbes' islands, which i wished to visit, our course was intercepted by the reef which extended in a north-west and south-east direction; we steered along its western side, at a quarter of a mile from it, until five o'clock, when we hauled round its north end and again steered for forbes' islands; but at sunset, being again impeded by a shoal that crossed our course, we anchored under its lee in fifteen fathoms mud, at about three or four hundred yards off its edge. july . the next morning was so thick and unfavourable that we delayed getting under weigh until after eight o'clock, when, without its wearing a more improved appearance, we steered to the north-west towards the mainland. at ten o'clock, we passed between piper's islets and then steering north passed at about three-quarters of a mile to the eastward of a small rocky shoal on which were two small trees. this particular is recorded as it may be interesting at some future time to watch the progress of this islet, which is now in an infant state; it was named on the occasion young island. a high lump in the north-north-east was named haggerston's island; and to the northward is a group of isles off cape grenville, which was named in compliment to sir everard home, bart. in steering round the group, we came upon captain cook's track, but left it again by bearing away to the westward towards a bay on the north side of cape grenville. upon reaching within sunday island, so named by captain bligh, soundings were struck in seven fathoms, but in three heaves they decreased to two fathoms hard sand, although our distance from the shore was at least three miles. we then bore away to the northward and anchored in five fathoms and a half, at a mile from sunday island, which bore between north degrees and degrees east (magnetic). the bay i called margaret bay; its shores are low and composed of a remarkable white sand. july to . we were detained at this anchorage from thick and squally weather for two days. on the nd the gentlemen visited sunday island. the island is composed of a heap of rocks covered with a thickly-matted underwood, and surrounded by a coral reef; it is about a mile and a half in circumference and rather higher than the islands in its vicinity. it had been visited by the natives some time since, but there were no traces of turtle, nor anything to induce our gentlemen to repeat their visit. july . early on the morning of the th we left margaret bay; and steering to the northward passed close round the western side of the bird isles of captain cook. eight or ten natives were standing on the sandy point of the north-easternmost islet, attentively engaged in watching us as we passed by; and near them were two canoes hauled up on the beach. the canoes appeared to be of similar construction to that seen at endeavour river; but certainly were not more than sixteen or eighteen feet in length. the late admiral bligh, in his account of the bounty's voyage, has described one that he saw and measured at sunday island, the place we had just left; it was thirty-three feet long and would hold twenty men; but from his account it must have been of bark, for he says, "the canoe was made of three pieces, the bottom entire, to which the sides were sewed in the common way."* the largest canoe that we have seen did not measure more than eighteen feet in length. (*footnote. bligh's voyage to the south seas page .) after leaving this group we experienced a considerable swell from the south-east which would indicate this part of the coast to be less occupied by reefs than it is more to the southward; particularly between cape grenville and cape tribulation where the outer or barrier reefs are nearer to the coast than in any other part. our course was held outside of two groups of islets one of which was called hannibal's, and the other mcarthur's group. at eleven o'clock a larger islet was passed by; at half past twelve o'clock we were abreast of captain cook's orfordness, and of captain bligh's pudding-pan hill; continuing our course parallel to the coast we passed half a mile inside of cairncross island which is about half a mile in length; it has a reef extending for more than a mile off its south point, under which a vessel might securely anchor. at hours minutes p.m. bligh's turtle island was seen, for which we steered; but, attracted by the flattering appearance of an opening in newcastle bay, we hauled in to examine it. as we stood towards it the soundings were very regular until we were within the projecting points of the coast, when the quality of the bottom changed from mud to sand; and with this the depth began to decrease. the opening trended deeply in to the north-west and bore the character of a river with a good port at its embouchure; the heads of which were rocky and apparently bold, but the light colour of the water between them indicated that its entrance was shoal, and would prove both intricate and dangerous to pass. sooner however than was expected the water shoaled to three fathoms; and before it was possible to avoid it the vessel struck: the helm was put up, but she continued to beat on a hard sandy bottom as her head paid off. some time elapsed, for it was blowing strong, before the main sheet could be hauled in to gybe the sail; during which the cutter was running along the shoal or bar in ten feet water, which was not sufficient to float her; for she struck the ground violently every time that the swell passed by. upon the main boom being got over, and the vessel's heel touching the ground at the same instant, her head flew up in the wind, and she was very nearly thrown back upon the bank. this was, however, fortunately prevented: in a few seconds she reached deeper water and we providentially escaped a danger which had so nearly proved fatal to the vessel and our lives; for had the cutter remained a-ground on the bank during the night the sea was so heavy that there would not have been the least vestige of her the following morning. to commemorate this occurrence, i have distinguished the opening with the name of escape river. having reached an offing we bore up for turtle island, intending to pass within it and anchor under its lee; but the appearance of the inner channel being suspicious, the plan was altered and we passed outside. as soon as we were to the northward of it we hauled in, but were prevented from anchoring under its lee by a reef that extended for a considerable distance off its north side. we were now rather critically placed for the evening was closing in with every appearance of bad weather, and we were obliged to anchor in a very exposed situation without any protection either from the wind or sea. during the night the former blew hard from the south-east with thick rainy weather; and, with tide, raised a short deep swell, that caused the cutter to ride very uneasily at her anchor. july . at four o'clock in the morning the ring of the anchor broke and we drifted a cable's length to leeward before another could be dropped. at daylight the wind blew so hard as to prevent our picking up the broken anchor and we proceeded towards mount adolphus, passing half a mile to the eastward of albany islands that lie off the south-east end of cape york. as the soundings between mount adolphus and the investigator's track to the north of wednesday and hammond's islands had not been previously laid down by captain flinders, i determined on passing out that way; and after clearing the channel between mount adolphus and cape york, steered for the north-east end of wednesday island, leaving the rock, a, a quarter of a mile to the eastward of our course. off the extremity of cape york is an island of conical shape separated from it by a very narrow rocky channel. the land to the westward of this projection trends slightly in and forms a sandy bay fronted by a reef and some rocky islets. the hills at the back of cape york are moderately high and rugged, and only covered with a slight vegetation. mount adolphus is high and flat topped and there was some appearance of a good anchorage in a bight under its north-west side, where also the side of the hill appeared to be thickly wooded, and worth a visit, but the lateness of the hour did not permit the delay. in passing near the rocky islet which lies off the south-east end of wednesday island we narrowly escaped striking upon some rocks, two of which were seen about fifty yards off under our lee bow, on which the sea broke heavily. as we passed round the north side of wednesday island, six natives were observed running along the beach, waving their arms and hallooing to us: previous to their appearance a large fire had been kindled by them in the woods over the beach, evidently with a view to attract our attention, but in vain, for we were too much occupied for the safety of the vessel to attend to them. in passing the rock off the north end of hammond's island the tide was observed to be rushing past it, with great rapidity to the westward. at half past one o'clock we hauled up towards the south end of good's island, intending to anchor there for the night, that we might have the whole of the next day to leave the strait. about half a mile from the shore the anchor was let go in seven fathoms gravelly bottom, but in checking the cable the arm of the anchor broke. the strain in bringing up was not so violent as to have caused the accident, had the anchor been properly made; but to its ill shape, and being badly wrought, our misfortune is to be attributed. it was made at port jackson. on another occasion it might have caused the loss of the vessel; but fortunately a few hours' daylight and a clear run before us enabled us to proceed, and before sunset we passed booby island. a remarkable coincidence of our losses upon the two voyages has now occurred: last year at the north-west cape we lost two anchors just as we were commencing the survey, and now, on rounding the north-east cape to commence our examination of the north coast, we have encountered a similar loss, leaving us, in both instances, only one bower anchor to carry on the survey. booby island is a mere rock, the retreat of boobies (pelecanus fiber, linn.) and turtles of the hawks-bill species. some slight vegetation was perceived upon it but it was so entirely covered with the excrement of birds that it had the appearance of being white-washed. the number of these birds was almost incredible, and they hovered over and about us as we passed, as if to drive us from their haunt. the loss of two anchors prevented our trusting the third while smarting under our misfortune, or we should have anchored under booby island to have obtained some sights for the time-keepers, as well as to have furnished the crew with a fresh meal of turtle. eleven weeks had now elapsed since leaving port jackson; during which time i had been able to lay down the different projections of the coast and our track within the barrier reefs between the percy islands and cape york; besides having surveyed port macquarie, examined rodd's bay, and constructed our boat at endeavour river. until we passed cape grafton the weather was generally fine and favourable for our purpose; but between that cape and torres strait it had been thick and cloudy with frequent rain; which not only increased the danger of the navigation, but also considerably retarded our progress; and, from the continual dampness of the cabins below, which, from the small size of the vessel and our not possessing the advantage of a stove to dry them, it was impossible to prevent, occasioned much sickness; but fortunately it was checked by our reaching a more salubrious climate. the attention i was obliged to pay to the invalids took up a great deal of my time which ought to have been otherwise and more advantageously employed in the object of the voyage. sailors, of all other people, are the most incautious and careless in contracting illness; but when attacked there are none that require more attendance and nursing; besides, they were unwilling in the first instance to trust to my ignorance, until increasing sickness obliged them, and then my fear was that although i might be of service and check the disorder, their complaint was possibly not understood by me, and that eventually, instead of curing, i might destroy my patient. and to these fears my mind was so constantly alive that on some occasions i thought of little else. captain cook thus describes the method by which the natives of endeavour river catch turtle: "for striking turtle they have a peg of wood, which is about a foot long, and very well bearded; this fits into a socket, at the end of a staff of light wood, about as thick as a man's wrist, and about seven or eight feet long: to the staff is tied one end of a loose line about three or four fathoms long, the other end of which is fastened to the peg. to strike the turtle, the peg is fixed into the socket, and when it has entered his body, and is retained there by the barb, the staff flies off and serves for a float to trace their victim in the water; it assists also to tire him, till they can overtake him with their canoes and haul him on shore. one of these pegs, as i have mentioned already, we found in the body of a turtle, which had healed up over it. their lines are from the thickness of a half-inch rope to the fineness of a hair, and are made of some vegetable substance, but what in particular we had no opportunity to learn." hawkesworth's coll. volume page . the above method differs only from that used by the natives of rockingham bay and cape flinders; in that the float is another piece of light buoyant wood--the staff being retained in his hand when the turtle is struck. the reader will here recognize, in this instrument, a striking resemblance to the oonak and katteelik, the weapons which captain parry describes the esquimaux to use in spearing the seal and whale. (parry's second voyage of discovery pages and .) chapter . cross the gulf of carpentaria, and resume the survey of the north coast at wessel's islands. castlereagh bay. crocodile islands. discovery and examination of liverpool river. natives. arrive at goulburn island. complete wood and water. attacked by the natives from the cliffs. leave goulburn island, and pass round cape van diemen. resume the survey of the coast at vernon's islands in clarence strait. paterson bay. peron island. anson bay. mr. roe examines port keats. prevented from examining a deep opening round point pearce. discovery of cambridge gulf. lacrosse island. natives. examination of the gulf. death of one of the crew. leave cambridge gulf. trace the coast to cape londonderry. . july . on our voyage from torres strait to the western head of the gulf of carpentaria, which is cape arnhem, no incident occurred of sufficient interest to be worth recording; but no sooner had we passed torres strait than a very sensible difference was perceived in the temperature: the thermometer was observed to range between and degrees, which was about degrees higher than it did on the south side of the strait; this change produced a drier air and finer weather and soon restored our invalids to perfect health. july . soon after daylight on the th wessel's islands, which had been seen the preceding evening, were descried bearing from west-north-west to south-west by west; and shortly afterwards lower land was observed more to the northward, towards the extremity of which we steered. the eastern side of wessel's islands presents a level aspect; only a few shrubby trees appear at intervals to break the uniformity of its gently undulating outline. the point, which is named cape wessel, is the extremity of the northernmost island of the group and is separated from that to the southward of it by a narrow and apparently a rocky strait. on approaching within a mile and a half of the cape we passed through a strong rippling tide without having soundings with fifteen fathoms. six natives were seen sitting on the verge of the cliffs that overhang the cape, watching us as we passed; and farther on two more were observed walking on the beach. on the west side of the cape is a small sandy bay in which there appeared to be good anchorage. in passing this bay we fell into another strong tide race, in which the sea curled and foamed about us as if we were in the midst of breakers; but, as before, no bottom was found with fifteen fathoms. the water was very thick, from the mud being stirred up by the violence of the tide, which must have been setting at the rate of three miles and a half per hour; for we were going nearly five knots by the log, and yet made scarcely any way: we were therefore obliged to steer more off, to get out of the influence of the tide, which proved to be the ebb setting to the north-east. by a meridional observation at noon the latitude of the cape was found to be degrees / minutes, which is minutes more northerly than the land which bounded captain flinders' view when he passed by in the cumberland. the breadth of these islands is very inconsiderable; for as we sailed down their western coast the cliffs on their opposite sides were occasionally discerned; and at one part half a mile appeared to be the greatest breadth. the low and sandy character of the western sides of these islands differs much from that of the opposite shore, where the coastline is formed by steep rocky cliffs whose bases are washed by the sea. the night was passed at anchor. july . and the next morning the cutter was, with the assistance of the flood tide, making quick progress to the southward. at noon we were abreast of the opening through which captain flinders passed; it was called cumberland strait, after his little vessel. at one o'clock some islands came in sight to the westward of our course (south-west / south) between which and the range of wessel's islands i intended to pass; but after standing on for some distance through the channel against a strong tide setting at the rate of three miles and a half per hour, it was perceived that the opening formed a communication with arnhem bay. being convinced of the fact we tacked and passed round the northernmost extremity of the western range of islands, for doing which we had nearly paid dear; a strong rippling was perceived to extend for three miles off the point; but as it appeared to be occasioned by the tide setting round it we stood on with the intention of going through them. near their edge soundings were suddenly obtained with nine fathoms and successive casts decreased the depth to six, five, and three and three-quarters fathoms; the helm was put a-lee to return but the wind at the same moment dying away, the vessel became ungovernable, and was drifted over the spit; fortunately however we found sufficient depth to prevent striking. as soon as the danger was passed the water deepened to nine, and in a few heaves we found no bottom with thirteen fathoms; the night was passed at anchor. july . and the next morning we resumed our course to the southward in a parallel direction with the coast; at noon our observation proved that the rocky islets round which we passed last evening were those off captain flinders' point dale. there was however an error of ten miles in the latitude, which was so unusual an occurrence in the charts of that navigator that for some time i doubted the justice of my suspicions; but on referring to the account of his voyage it appeared that no meridional observation was obtained by him for the latitude near this channel; and also that the weather when he passed through was thick and cloudy. this error therefore, when he was unassisted by an observation for his latitude in a place where the tide sets at the rate of three or four knots, did not appear at all improbable; and as my conjectures by comparing our respective plans were soon afterwards confirmed, we hauled in for the extremity of the land in sight. the strait to the eastward of point dale i have named after my friend robert brown, esquire, the profound botanist of that voyage. in the evening we anchored about three miles from a low rocky island; beyond which is an opening like a rivulet, but it was so inconsiderable in appearance that i was not induced to examine it farther. july . the next evening we anchored at the bottom of a bay and inside of a group of islands which appear to be the crocodils eylandts of the old charts. the bay was called after the late viscount castlereagh, then secretary of state for the foreign department. two or three small openings that were noticed at the bottom of the bay are probably the embouchures of as many rivulets. this part of the country is low and of uninteresting aspect; dwarf timber appears to pervade the summits of the land near the coast, and of so level an outline that it bears a strong resemblance to a clipped hedge. july . at daylight we were enveloped in a dense fog which nearly concealed the land; but on weighing two conspicuous points were set, by which i was enabled to connect my survey. soon afterwards the fog spread so thickly over us that the land was entirely concealed; and as the water was shoal we were obliged to anchor until the fog cleared off, when we again got under weigh and ascertained the form of the south-west corner of the bay; it is of very shoal approach: our anchorage at night was not more than four miles and a half to the north-east of that of the evening before. . august . the next day we attempted to steer to sea between the islands but our course was interrupted by a reef which connected the islets on either side of us; being thus embayed, we were obliged to anchor, but as the wind was light no danger was anticipated. mr. roe was sent in a boat to sound about our anchorage: on his return he reported the water to be of tolerably even depth, excepting to the southward where there was a spit, on which the least water was four and three quarters fathoms, beyond which it deepened again. as the night advanced, the wind freshened from the south-east and rendered our situation extremely unsafe. when the tide made against the wind the swell rose and caused our only remaining anchor to drag; more cable was instantly veered; but as the vessel did not bring up and we were drifting towards the reef no alternative was left but to weigh and keep under sail; which, during a long and dark night, and near so extensive a reef, was running great risk. our loss of anchors was now much felt for no sooner were we under sail than the wind died away; and from the heavy swell the cutter was so ungovernable that the vessel twice missed stays in endeavouring to tack in shoal water; fortunately the water deepened again on standing on, or nothing could have prevented our going on shore. after plying to windward for an hour the weather tide ceased; when the disadvantage of a lee tide was counterbalanced by smoother water and a steadier breeze. we passed a very anxious night, but without encountering any accident. august . with daybreak the breeze freshened; and at noon we were near the small easternmost islet of the group. the afternoon was passed in steering round the northern side of the island; but before sunset we had to alter the course twice for shoal water, being at one time within half a mile of a reef that was nearly dry. during this night the cutter was kept under weigh. august . and at daylight was considerably to the westward of our reckoning from the effect of a current. the land to the westward of the crocodile islands trends deeply in, forming a bay in which two low wooded islands were noticed. as we steered into it the water shoaled; and as there was nothing to induce our persevering we steered round the next point of land, and anchored at sunset to leeward of a shoal projecting in a north-west direction from the point. the coast falls back round this point and forms an unsheltered bay seven or eight miles deep. august . the following morning our course was held parallel with the shores of the bay towards a point of land which afterwards proved to be the eastern head of a deep opening. to the northward of this point was an island and farther on to seaward a dry sandbank. as we approached the point we were obliged to haul off for there was evidently a shoal communication between it and the island, and every appearance of its being connected with the sandbank in the offing. the dark colour of the water on the other side of this line of communication induced me to stand round the sandbank; when, as was expected, we entered a deep channel leading towards the most distant parts of the bight, which afterwards turned out to be the mouth of a river. the sandbank was called haul-round islet and the island entrance island. in passing between the latter and a reef on the western side of the channel, about half or three-quarters of a mile from the shore, we had fourteen fathoms mud; after which it gradually decreased in depth; having reached the mouth of the river we anchored in three fathoms about four miles within entrance island. the remainder of the day, which was far advanced, was spent in making preparations for our examination of the river; at low water the tide had fallen ten feet and the cutter took the ground; but as it was on soft mud it was of little consequence. august . the following morning as soon as the ebb tide ceased i left the cutter in a boat, accompanied by messrs. bedwell and cunningham, and proceeded up the river. the banks on either side were, for ten or twelve miles, so thickly and impenetrably lined with very large mangroves as to defy all attempts of landing; above this these trees were less abundant and the banks were occasionally clear from fifty to two hundred yards in extent; however the view thus obtained did not impress us with any flattering idea of the country at the back. on passing the second open bank we observed a canoe hauled up on the shore, and at a little distance farther we saw another; these were the first indications we had observed of the presence of natives, excepting the large fires that were burning a little way in from the banks. at the next open bank on the eastern side we put ashore to give the boat's crew an opportunity of getting their dinner, and as we landed i discharged my fowling-piece at some birds; upon ascending the bank we found that the report of the gun had alarmed four natives, two of whom were females with children on their backs; they were retreating in haste towards a smoke, the fire of which was concealed from us by high grass: as soon as they reached the fire they stopped and began to call out in loud shrill tones, when they were soon surrounded by twenty-five natives who immediately commenced hallooing and shouting to us in a menacing way; after some consultation two of them advanced armed with spears; upon which i ordered a musket to be brought from the boat, which was concealed from their view by the bank of the river; seeing this the indians stopped and retreated to their party, who immediately set up a yell of loud and angry cries accompanied with the most furious gesticulations. as the tide was still flowing and i was not very anxious to communicate with these people, from whose neighbours at goulburn island we had already experienced much treachery, and who, if inclined to be quarrelsome, might, from the small breadth of the river, considerably annoy and impede our farther progress, we re-embarked and proceeded up the river under the momentary expectation of either seeing or hearing them at every bend and open bank; we were not, however, molested; and at sunset, as we had reached a considerable distance from their encampment, and had not seen any alligators, we landed to pass the night upon the shore, and soon pitched our tent. we had, however, no sooner refreshed and composed ourselves to rest than we were alarmed by a loud shout, and upon listening attentively it was again heard. it was now our firm opinion that we had landed in the vicinity of another tribe, who upon seeing our fire had alarmed their companions. the muskets were therefore placed in readiness and a watch set to give our party warning if they approached. in the middle of the night the noise was again heard, but upon being repeated several times it was discovered that we had been deceived by the screams of a bird whose note exactly resembled the human cry. our fears of being attacked by the natives being now dispelled, our party composed themselves again to rest, but without obtaining any sleep in consequence of the immense swarms of mosquitoes, which buzzing about in incredible numbers were not to be kept from stinging us by any measures we could devise. the tent was very soon deserted and many other places were tried in vain; the only method at all successful, by which some respite was obtained, was by lying upon the ground within two feet of the blaze of the fire; the heat and smoke of which, with the danger of our clothes catching fire, were insignificant inconveniences compared with the mosquitoes' stings; and those only who placed themselves in this situation obtained a few hours' sleep. august . at daylight, begrimed with dirt and smoke, we re-embarked, and pulled five miles further up the river, when its further examination was given up; at this place its breadth was about twenty yards, and being high water the greatest depth was twelve feet; at low water the channel must be nearly dry. we did not reach the cutter until six o'clock in the evening, much exhausted for want of rest, and from exposure to a powerful sun, and a hot land wind that prevailed all day. this river, which i have named the liverpool, runs up from a well-formed port about forty miles, taking in its way a very serpentine course; its breadth at entrance island is about four miles; ten miles from the mouth its width is about half a mile, after which it very gradually decreases; at about fourteen miles from our anchorage the water is fresh at half tide but at low water it might probably be obtained four or five miles lower down. the bottom is muddy as are also the banks; and in consequence the latter are only accessible at high tide, at which time they are seldom more than two or three feet above the water's edge. the country within is very level, and appeared during the wet season to be occasionally inundated: the soil where we landed is a sour stiff clay on which grew an arundinaceous grass. at one place where the bank was about fifteen feet high and formed of red clay mr. cunningham landed, and collected a variety of interesting plants. the open banks of the river were covered with salicorniae and other common chenopodeae; and, in the midst of the usual assemblage of rhizophoreae, the avicennia tomentosa, linn. was observed of remarkable growth, being in many parts from fifty to sixty feet high, three feet in diameter at the base, and of a straight tapering poplar shape. fish was plentiful and on the muddy banks, as the water fell, we saw myriads of small amphibious fishes skipping about: they are probably of the same kind as those seen by captain cook at thirsty sound and by captain flinders at keppel bay,* on the east coast. captain cook describes the species he saw to be a small fish, about the size of a minnow, furnished with two very strong breast fins, by the assistance of which it leaped away upon being approached, as nimbly as a frog. the fish i have just noticed appeared to be of a very similar description, excepting that it did not seem to avoid the water as that of thirsty sound; for captain cook says in a subsequent paragraph that it preferred the land to water; for it frequently leaped out of the sea, and pursued its way upon dry ground, and chose rather to leap from stone to stone than pass through the puddles of water in its way.** (*footnote. flinders terra australis volume page .) (**footnote. hawkesworth volume page .) the egret that we had seen last voyage in the alligator river was also seen here; and white cockatoos were in large flights, but hawks were unusually rare. the bird, called by the colonists at port jackson the native companion (ardea antigone, linn.) was seen where the natives were. as we returned several alligators swam past the boat; but they were neither so large nor so numerous as those of the alligator rivers; the largest not being more than twelve or thirteen feet long. upon seeing these monsters we congratulated ourselves on our escape, for had we known of their existence in this river before we passed the night on its bank, the danger of being surprised by the natives and the stings of the mosquitoes would have dwindled into insignificance in comparison with the presence of such voracious animals. on our return down the river a snake was seen about five feet long, of a light red colour, but it escaped by gliding into the long matted grass. august . on the th we left the river and proceeded to the westward; round point hawkesbury the land falls back extending first in a south-west, and then in a west-north-west direction, until it was lost to our view behind a point, which we afterwards discovered to be the point braithwaite of our last voyage, the land of which had the appearance of being an island. the bay thus formed was called junction bay; it was not examined, but, from the direction of its trend, did not appear likely to afford much interest, and could lead to no opening of importance. august . at eight o'clock the next morning we were near goulburn island, steering through macquarie strait; and at eleven o'clock we anchored in south-west bay, near our former watering-place. as soon as the vessel was secured i went on shore to examine whether water could be obtained. in this object we were successful; and a basin was dug to receive the water that drained through the cliffs; but, from the advanced state of the dry season, it did not flow in half the quantity that it did last year. the vegetation appeared to have suffered much from drought and the grass, which at our last visit was long and luxuriant, was now either parched up by the sun or destroyed by the natives' fires, which at this time were burning on the low land in front of wellington range. in the evening i went to bottle rock, but found our bottle had been removed; the rocks were covered with the eggs of terns, of which the boat's crew collected eight dozen. on our return to the cutter a turtle was noticed swimming towards the sandy beach at the north end of the bay, which induced me to send a boat's crew on shore to watch its landing, but in this they were unsuccessful. at their return at night they reported having seen the recent marks of natives and of a dog on the beach. august . the following morning mr. bedwell went with a watering party to the shore; the tide had however reached the hole, and spoilt what had been collected during the night: after cleaning the hole again he visited our last year's wooding-place where he found some remains of our cuttings; but the greater part had been burnt. on his return to the watering-place the well was full, and the party commenced their occupation: they had however scarcely been twenty minutes employed before a shower of large stones was thrown down upon them by a party of natives who suddenly appeared on the verge of the cliff; but as suddenly retreated upon a volley of muskets being fired over their heads from our boat, which we had previously taken the precaution of mooring off the shore as we had done last year. after this our people continued their work without being further molested although many other attacks were premeditated by the natives during the day, they having once or twice approached near the verge of the cliffs; but their courage forsook them before they were sufficiently near to throw either spears or stones with effect. a flag was always hoisted on board whenever they were observed advancing, which prepared our people on the beach to give them a reception. this signal was certainly noticed by the natives, for they always stopped short the moment it was displayed. the run of water was so trifling that we could not procure more than from sixty to one hundred gallons per day, for while the high tides lasted the well in the morning was always found full of salt water. this inconvenience did not occur last year because it was not found necessary to dig a hole, the stream being of itself sufficiently abundant for our purpose. august to . the delay however was not lost, inasmuch as it gave an opportunity of finding new rates for the watches, as well as of obtaining a set of lunar observations for the longitude. on the th mr. bedwell went to sims' island for turtle but no recent tracks were observed, excepting the remains of one that had a week before furnished a repast to the natives. near to this place were found disinterred some of the bones of a human body that had been buried in a grave close by, not longer than two or three months since. the footsteps of the followers of the body to the grave were still visible in the sand, but other steps appeared to have been more recently impressed; which must have been those of the natives, who had dug the body up either from a motive of curiosity or revenge. i cannot account for the absence of many of the bones of the skeleton unless the natives are cannibals, of which we have hitherto neither had proofs nor entertained the least suspicion; dogs or birds may certainly have carried them off, or the natives themselves may have removed them as trophies or as evidences of their discovery to their companions on the main. from the quantity of bamboo which was found scattered about the spot there was every reason to conclude it was the grave of a malay; and according to the time of the malay fleet's passing these islands last year, they would at this time have quitted it about three months, which will nearly agree with the appearance of the bones and the grave. on returning on board our party brought a great quantity of the bulbous roots of a crinum which grows abundantly among the rocks on sims' island. august . on the th our wood and water were embarked; the former having been obtained from the verge of the cliff immediately over the watering-place and thrown over, was readily conveyed to the boats. when our party first mounted the cliffs a throwing stick, a broken spear, and some stones were found that had evidently been left by the natives in their hasty retreat when the muskets were fired: the spear was made of the mangrove tree, hardened and made straight by exposing it to fire; and the throwing stick, of hard wood, probably either of eucalyptus or casuarina; the latter weapon was only two feet in length, and not near so large or long as that used by the natives of endeavour river. after the first day the natives did not make their appearance; the smoke of their fires was however observed over the south point of the island, about two miles off; but notwithstanding the undisturbed manner in which our occupations advanced, it was found necessary to keep an armed party always ready, for there was no doubt that we were narrowly watched and the first unguarded moment would have been taken advantage of by them for our annoyance, if not to our loss. this precaution prevented my improving my last year's survey of the main coast; and as there did not exist any good reason to attach much importance to the sinuosities of the coast hereabout we did not remain at this anchorage after our wooding and watering were completed, from an anxiety to reach those parts which we had not yet seen, and where we might expect a better chance of finding something of greater interest. mr. cunningham was confined to the vessel during our stay by a serious attack of jaundice brought on by the fatiguing examination of liverpool river. the weather during our stay was throughout fine. a breeze usually sprung up at daylight from south-east; and by noon veered to and blew fresh from east, sometimes reaching north-east, from which quarter it was generally strongest; as sunset approached the wind usually died away, and before dark it was quite calm and continued so until the morning. the temperature was much lower than we expected to find it, the thermometer ranging only between and degrees; so that during the day, while the sea breeze lasted, the heat was not at all oppressive. august . we left south-west bay on the th at daybreak; but from light airs made so little progress that it was not until the following afternoon that we passed between mccluer's and new year's islands; between the latter and oxley's island we passed over two coral banks, separated from each other by a deep channel. on the easternmost bank were nine fathoms, but on the other we found overfalls between five and seven fathoms. a native's fire that was burning on oxley's island served to fix the position of this last bank. august . the next morning we were off cape croker and at noon were passing port essington; the projecting heads of which, at the distance of four or five leagues, have the appearance of being two small islands, for the land at the back and on either side is too low to be seen. between port essington and cape van diemen we steered so as to see several parts of the coast of melville island in order to compare their relative meridional distances with those of last year's survey. august . the latter projection, which is the western limit of the north coast, came in sight on the evening of the nd when its longitude was found to be degrees minutes seconds, which is minute seconds to the westward of last year's observation; the mean therefore may be considered as its true longitude, which is degrees minutes seconds. at sunset we were eleven miles from the cape, bearing south / degrees west. august . and the next morning it was seen in the south-south-east. after rounding it a course was steered down the western side of bathurst island. august . but it took us until the th before we passed cape fourcroy. august . on the following evening we made the land on the south side of clarence strait in the vicinity of vernon's islands: this was the last land seen by us on leaving the coast in may, . between goulburn island and this part we had a succession of light baffling winds, with sultry, damp, and hazy weather, which proved very unfavourable for our sick, the number of whom was increasing. mr. bedwell was confined to his bed with a serious attack of dysentery, occasioned by exposure to the sun whilst superintending the shore parties at goulburn island; and the greater part of the crew were affected with ophthalmia, probably occasioned by the excessive glare and reflection of the sun's rays from the calm glassy surface of the sea. august . at daylight on the th we found ourselves near the land to the south-west of vernon's islands, which also were in sight. to the south was a deep opening trending to the south-east of a river-like appearance; but, as it did not seem to be of sufficient importance to detain us, we passed on to the westward. the land hereabouts is low and thickly wooded to the brink of the deep red-coloured cliffs that form the projecting heads of the coast; the wood near the sea had not the appearance of being of large growth; but the abundance and the verdure of the trees gave this part a pleasing and picturesque character. at the bottom of the opening was a remarkable flat-topped hill under which the waters of the inlet appeared to flow in a south-east direction. the entrance may possibly form a convenient port, for there was no appearance of shoal water near it. the land which forms its westernmost head appeared at first like an island, but was afterwards presumed to be a projecting head, separating the opening from a deep bight which was called paterson bay; at the bottom of the bay is another opening or inlet that may have some communication with the first. the western side of paterson bay is formed by very low land off which many patches of dry rocks were seen to extend; beyond this the coast appeared to be low and sandy. august . light and adverse winds and calms, with a constant easterly current, detained us in the vicinity of paterson bay until the following sunset; when, in order to preserve the little progress made, we anchored near the reefs on the western side of the bay. during the preceding day, sixteen or twenty natives were noticed upon the sandy beach that fronts the red cliffs on the eastern side of the bay, engaged in fishing, or perhaps in watching our movements; and this evening the smokes of their fires were observed among the trees near the same spot. august . the next day we made but little progress along the coast to the south-west which is so low as not to be visible from the cutter's deck, at a greater distance than six miles; this rendered the examination of it very inconvenient and even dangerous, as the rocks and reefs which lined the coast extended in some parts beyond that distance. the land appeared to be barren and arid, and were it not for a few bushes or mangrove trees, scattered about the beach, it might be called a complete desert. . september . westerly winds and calms continued without intermission until the st of september; during which the thermometer ranged between and degrees. on this day a breeze from the north-east enabled us to make progress to the southward; and after examining an indenture of the coast we anchored at night off a point of land, which, from the circumstance of a very large fire burning upon it, was called point blaze. the land still continued low; but more wooded and less sandy than that we had seen within the last two days. september . the next morning we resumed our course along the coast. to the south-west a sandy hillock was observed, which proved to be on captain baudin's peron island. this was the first opportunity that had occurred by which i could compare my longitude with that of captain baudin; and as the peak of peron island is one of his fixed points, and is placed by him in degrees minutes seconds, i find that my chart is in this part minutes seconds to the eastward. in order to set at rest the question of the insularity of this land we passed within it, but not without difficulty, from the numerous shoals that are scattered over the channel. a smoke was seen upon the smaller island among the trees for a few minutes, but no people made their appearance as we passed by. the natives of this part of the coast were seen probably by tasman; for in mr. dalrymple's papua the following paragraph is found: "in latitude degrees minutes and longitude degrees minutes seconds east (probably / degrees east of greenwich, and answering to this part) the people are bad and wicked, shooting at the dutch with arrows without provocation, when they were coming on shore. it is here very populous." on arriving abreast of the peaked hill above-mentioned, a considerable shoal, connected with the mainland, appeared to separate us from it; in crossing it we had three fathoms, and as soon as we passed over it the water deepened instantly to thirteen fathoms. we then bore up and steered through the channel between the islands and the main, which was both narrow and deep towards channel point; close to which we had sixteen fathoms, and then hauled up round peron's south island. the land from channel point trends to the south-south-east, and forms a tolerably deep bight of low, sandy land, terminated by cliff head, a high rocky projection well furnished with trees. in this bay there is probably an opening, but it is small and lined with mangroves. after passing channel point the depth rapidly decreased, and as we crossed a shoal which runs off from the south-east end of peron's south island and extends deeply into the bay, we carried from two and three-quarters to three and a half fathoms. on clearing it we steered south-south-west, and after dark anchored in five fathoms, mud, cliff head bearing south degrees east (magnetic.) the bay between the two projections received the name of anson bay, after the noble family of that name. during the night we had a remarkable copious fall of dew. september . the next day at eleven o'clock we were off cape ford: from this cape the coast trends in a south degrees west direction for five miles to a low projecting point, near the extremity of which a clump of trees, remarkable for their rounded form and singular appearance, was conspicuous: hence it extends south / degrees west to a distant point; the intervening coast being of moderate height and thickly wooded to the brink of a range of dark red cliffs, two miles in length, rising immediately from the beach; upon which eight natives and a child were observed watching our movements. our course was held parallel with the shore at about three miles distance. at sunset we tacked off for the night; and the south extreme at dark bore south by west / west. the sea hereabout abounds with fish of various sorts, upon which several sharks were feeding most rapaciously. from midnight to daybreak the weather was fine with scarcely a breath of wind; afterwards a light land breeze set in; which at noon was succeeded by the usual sea breeze from the west. september . at noon the next day our latitude was degrees minutes seconds south. at five o'clock we passed a point (cape dombey) off which there is a reef of rocks of circular shape, and of small extent: to the southward of it the coast forms a bay, lined with mangroves, in which there is a small opening; but the breeze was then too fresh to allow of our venturing into it to examine it more closely. at eight o'clock we anchored off a projecting point which appeared to form the eastern head of a deep opening: this projection, on account of a remarkable tree standing above the bushes near to its extremity, was called tree point. at this anchorage the tide rose eighteen feet and ran nearly at the rate of two miles per hour. september . the next morning at daybreak, when the land became visible, captain baudin's cape dombey was recognised, bearing south degrees east. between capes ford and dombey the coast is higher than usual and thickly wooded to the verge of the cliffs, which preserve the same deep red colour with those more to the northward; under them a sandy beach uninterruptedly lines the coast. the bottom, at from three to five miles distance, is rather irregular, and varies in its depth between seven and a half and ten fathoms. an opening in the land is laid down near cape dombey in the french charts, before which are placed the barthelemy islands, which certainly do not exist, and it was not until after the haze of the day cleared up that two detached quadrilateral shaped hills were seen over the low land; and as these at a distance would assume exactly the figure and appearance of islands they must have been the cause of the mistake; i have therefore called them (by altering the nomenclature as little as possible) the barthelemy hills. at nine o'clock, having weighed at daylight, we reached within three miles of tree point; when the ebb tide commenced and obliged our anchoring to wait the turn of tide, in order to examine an opening that trended deeply in to the southward. accordingly when the flood made we got under weigh, and entered the opening without encountering any difficulties or being impeded by shoals. the deepest channel is about two-thirds over on the eastern side, in which we sounded on a muddy bottom in between nine and five fathoms; after having passed the narrowest part we hauled over to the western shore, in the hope of finding anchorage out of the strength of the tide, but it was with great difficulty, and not until darkness compelled us, that we let go the anchor, upon what appeared to be a hard stony bottom, in five fathoms. the tide then turned to the ebb and commenced running out so rapidly that we were under apprehensions of the vessel being left dry. september to . but at low water which took place at hour minutes a.m., although the tide had fallen twenty-two feet, it left nine feet, which depth was just sufficient to float the vessel. upon stirring up the bottom with an oar, it was found to be of stiff clay, plentifully sprinkled with small iron-stone gravel; it proved however to be of much better quality than had been suspected, and the anchorage was retained during our stay. as the bottom of this port had a river-like appearance, mr. roe prepared to examine it, and set out at daylight accompanied by mr. cunningham: they did not return until the following day. from his report it appears that the shores are overrun with mangroves (rhizophoreae) and that the whole of the back lands are inundated at high water, which accounts for the very strong tides we experienced. the bottom of the port, which at mr. roe's desire was named in compliment to vice admiral sir richard g. keats, g.c.b., is divided into two saltwater arms, extending towards the foot of a range of thickly-wooded hills, which were seen from the anchorage over the low mangrove shore, and which, from their description, are probably connected with the barthelemy hills. their summit was named mount goodwin. our party put ashore at the only accessible landing place they found and walked a mile inland. the country was extremely low and sterile, and the soil composed of a tenacious clay in which small iron-stone gravel is thickly mixed; it appeared to be of the same nature as the bottom on which we were anchored; and to have been lately covered with grass, recently burnt; and here and there, among other plants, mr. cunningham found a stunted eucalyptus (eudesmia?) about six feet high. the usual traces of natives were noticed; especially in one part where the mark of a foot had been impressed since the last high water. large fires were burning three or four miles off but no human beings were seen. as our gentlemen proceeded up the river a large flight of bats flew over the boat. very few birds were observed but a cry like that of the ardea antigone was heard; mr. roe killed a small snake about two feet long. upon this excursion no fresh water was found except a few small drainings; but in this we were not disappointed for the character of the country did not favour the idea or inspire us with any hopes of finding a stream of sufficient consequence to be rendered useful for our purpose. during the absence of the boat several necessary things were done on board the ship which it was not possible to effect under weigh. on opening some of the dry casks their contents were found to have suffered much from weevil and rats: the latter had also made great havoc on our spare sails; and, what was of greater importance and made me very anxious for the consequences, they had gnawed holes in almost every water-cask that remained full; so that we were not certain for a moment of our stock of that article, of which we had no chance of procuring a supply on this dreary coast. september . the following morning we weighed and stood out of port keats. on attempting to steer close round cape hay we were obliged to desist and to pass round a reef that extended from it in a north / west direction to the distance of four leagues. at sunset no land was in sight. september . but at eight o'clock the next morning ( th) the north end of the above reef bore east-south-east and the land about cape hay south-south-east. the barthelemy hills were also seen from the masthead, and reported as islands; this mistake of ours therefore tends still more to excuse the error of the french charts. during the day we had light winds and the coast was but indistinctly seen. the sea was covered with a brown scum which captain cook's sailors called sea saw-dust, from its resemblance to that substance.* very few fish were noticed, but they were generally more numerous nearer to the shore. (*footnote. hawkesworth volume page . peron voyage de decouvertes aux terres australes volume chapter .) september . at midnight the land was seen from north-east to south-east and at daylight it was visible between point pearce, bearing south-south-east, and a point five or six miles south of cape hay which bore north-east by east. the coast is sandy; behind it there appeared a good deal of small stunted timber, and beyond this the range of mount goodwin was visible. round point pearce the land trends in a south / degrees east direction and forms a very deep indenture: on approaching this point we observed an extensive dry reef and breakers projecting from it to a considerable distance. no land was seen to the southward of south-east, but the hazy state of the weather prevented our seeing far, especially land which is so low as to be scarcely distinguishable beyond the distance of three or four leagues. as we approached point pearce the soundings were very irregular and generally upon a rocky bottom. we passed many ripplings occasioned by the tide setting round the point and meeting the other tide from the southward. as these eddies were driving us towards the shore we steered off south-west. at six o'clock p.m. point pearce bore north degrees east eleven miles, and in a line with the hills about mount goodwin. between this time and noon the soundings were between nine and thirty-two fathoms, upon a rocky bottom. at sunset we were in fourteen fathoms, and during the night continued sounding on a rocky bottom between ten and fourteen fathoms. september . at daylight of the th no land was in sight, we therefore stood to the southward to make it but were obliged to tack off without seeing any, as we shoaled rather suddenly to five fathoms. we then stood to the north-east, close to a fresh land wind from the east-south-east, which brought with it a very unpleasant warmth. as we approached point pearce, the land of which, at nine o'clock, came in sight, the water deepened to fifteen and eighteen fathoms. at half-past ten o'clock we were within three miles of the point; when the wind died away, and from the ebbing tide we very soon lost what we had gained during the morning; for there was no anchoring ground fit to trust our only remaining anchor upon. at noon we were about ten miles south-west from point pearce. the wind then springing up from the south, sail was set, but the tide being adverse, very little better than a north-east course was made good. soon after sunset, being three or four miles to the south-south-west of point pearce, we tacked to the southward with the intention of steering on to make what progress we could during the night. the attempt was hazardous, as we were strangers to the part; but if some little risk was not run we had no chance of penetrating. from fifteen fathoms we deepened to twenty-one, but as quickly shoaled again to fifteen, and then suddenly to seven fathoms, hard sand. the cutter was then put about and we steered off north-west for six miles and passed through several ripplings, occasioned by the tide flowing with rapidity over a rocky and irregular bottom. after running the above distance we again hauled to the wind, but had hardly trimmed sails before we again suddenly shoaled from sixteen to seven fathoms. this was too dangerous to persist in, and i gave up the attempt of venturing forward during the night. september . the next morning the land was visible about point pearce, bearing north-north-east. the colour of the water here is of a dirty yellow; it was imagined at first to be caused by the tide stirring up the mud; but on examination we found that it arose entirely from the reflection of the bottom, which is a brown and yellow speckled sand. although this change of the bottom was favourable to the importance of the opening before us, yet it rendered our difficulties greater, and increased the dangers, from its offering less secure anchorage, and being so much more studded with shoals, than the even muddy bottom that we had just left. at daylight the breeze was strong from east-south-east: at seven o'clock, having fetched in with the land on the north side, we tacked and stood across to the opposite shore. the land in the bight was visible in patches as far as south-east, and the loom of it as far as south-west: three smokes, one bearing south, another south-south-west, and another south-west, proved the contiguity of the main; which is so low that when we were very near it was scarcely distinguishable on account of the haze and smoke with which it was enveloped. at hours minutes we were about a mile and a half from a reef which was dry for more than a mile in extent, and nearer to us was a patch of breakers: in standing towards these shoals our soundings had been regular between nine and ten fathoms; but at this time they unexpectedly shoaled at one cast, from eight to three fathoms: the course was altered in time to prevent the cutter's striking. we were now obliged to steer off, and after running six miles to the north-west by west we steered west to observe the latitude which was found to be degrees minutes seconds south. the land was now visible as far as south-west by west; five minutes after noon the soundings decreased from ten to four and three-quarters fathoms; and within fifty yards of us the water was rippling upon the edge of a shoal which extends to the north-west and is probably dry at low water; we were then obliged to steer to the north-west along the edge of this bank. at about four miles further on we were again upon the bank in four fathoms, and once more fortunately escaped getting on shore; an accident which must have been fatal. to avoid this we hauled up north-east and soon got into clear water; but fearing to encounter more of these overfalls we steered north-east for three miles, five miles north-north-west, and one and a quarter north-west, upon which courses our soundings were between twelve and fifteen fathoms; the bottom being generally hard sand mixed with coral and stones and often with rocks. we then steered west for four miles, and supposing we had cleared the shoal, hauled in south-south-west until dark; by which time we had run seven miles. although the evening was clear the horizon over the land was so covered with the smoke of the natives' fires that it could not be discovered, nor any anchorage found: we therefore hauled off for the night and from our vicinity to this dangerous shoal passed it very anxiously, but happily without any unpleasant occurrence. i now gave up all idea of examining the opening round point pearce which appeared of so interesting a character. the danger of remaining under weigh (for our only anchor could not be trusted with safety on so bad a bottom) was too great to run any longer risk, and we left the place with a much stronger impression of its value and importance than we entertained after the examination of an opening that was discovered by us a few days afterwards. september . at daylight the land about point pearce (a sugarloaf hill on the goodwin range) bore nearly due east. at eight a.m., having stood to the south-south-west for thirteen miles, the water changed colour; the depth however still continued to be regular in twelve fathoms and we steered on; soon afterwards it shoaled to seven and five fathoms, upon which the helm was put up; but before the vessel's head was got round we were in three fathoms with the swell of the sea breaking so heavily around us that our escape for the fourth time on this shoal was quite providential. after getting into clear water we ran along the edge of the coloured water, sounding in fourteen fathoms hard sand, mixed with shells and stones; at noon we hauled round its north-west extremity and steered for the land, which was soon afterwards visible from south to south-west, the latter bearing being that of a remarkable hill, of quadrilateral shape, answering in position to captain baudin's lacrosse island. at two o'clock our soundings, for the first time since leaving port keats, were on a muddy bottom; at sunset we were within six miles of a small rocky island of half a mile in extent, surrounded by an extensive reef, which was partially dry; the land between south-east and west by south appeared to be a very low sandy coast, and the back lands to the south-east are wooded and level. nearer to lacrosse island the coast is not only more irregular in its outline but of a more mountainous character: on each side of the nearest part of the coast, which was eight miles off and bore south, the shores fall back and form two bays; the land was however so enveloped by the smoke of the natives' fires that the greater part was very indistinctly seen and therefore very imperfectly described. after dark a light breeze sprang up from the south-west, and we stood off shore; but not being able to find an anchorage we continued under weigh during the night. september . the next morning the land was not in sight: as we stood towards the shore it was soon afterwards discerned, and at noon we were very near to our last night's position but were prevented from steering towards lacrosse island by a considerable shoal which extended to the north-west and crossed our course: we anchored near it at sunset in ten fathoms. the land this day was more visible towards the south-east and observed to join the low land at the back of the reefs that we passed on the th. a remarkable echo was heard in the evening: whilst the cook was chopping his wood every blow was echoed round the bight, although we were eight miles from the shore. after leaving port keats we met with large quantities of a very beautiful species of medusa, it appeared to be the medusa panopyra, figured in peron's atlas, (plate figure ). it is from this animal that the french have named their banc des meduses. no turtle or snakes had for some time been seen and very few sharks; but other fish were numerous. september . very little progress was made the next day; several attempts were made to stand toward lacrosse island; but we were obliged to give it up as the bank still crossed our course. in the evening we again anchored near the edge of the bank and during the night the breeze blew fresh but the anchor held well. september . at daylight another ineffectual attempt was made to cross the bank. at two o'clock we passed several detached banks on which were seven and eight fathoms; and soon afterwards rounded the north-west end of the large bank, at a quarter of a mile distance in four fathoms; after which the water deepened to twelve and thirteen fathoms but still the bottom was of hard sand. from the colour of the sea it appeared that we were in a deep channel, extending towards lacrosse island: from light winds our progress was so slow that sunset overtook us before we had formed any plan for anchoring; our soundings were between twenty-two and eighteen fathoms hard sandy bottom: the tide was ebbing. the idea of standing out for anchorage after having toiled for the last three days against foul winds and other obstacles was particularly revolting; and increasing darkness found me quite at a loss what course to pursue; for lacrosse island appeared so rocky that i despaired of finding anchorage near it: having however two days before seen a white beach off its south-east end (which subsequently proved to be composed of stones whitened by the effect of the weather) we stood towards it as a last resource; and on our way thither we passed over a muddy bottom upon which the anchor was dropped in eight fathoms, at about two miles from the north-west end of the island. this day as usual many medusae were seen; and also a snake, three feet long; its back was black, the belly yellow, and the tail striped black and white. september . in the morning we landed upon the island at a place which had the appearance of containing fresh water; and after examining several torrent-worn gullies for it without success we ascended a hill to look round for some more probable place; but as the same arid appearance seemed to pervade every part within our view we re-embarked, and shortly landed upon a bluff point at the north-west end of the island; from which a considerable reef of rocks projects into the sea. whilst i was employed in taking a set of bearings from this station the boat's crew amused themselves in wandering about the rocks in search of shells; and upon our again embarking they informed me that they had seen some natives on the beach of a sandy bay round the point; but that they had retired without having been noticed. the information proved correct; for on pulling round the point we espied four natives seated on the sand, watching the progress of a fire they had just kindled; which was rapidly spreading through and consuming the dry and parched up grass that grew scantily upon the face of the island. as soon as we were observed three of them got up and stood for some moments motionless with alarm; but upon my calling to them and waving my hat the whole party, seizing their spears, ran off, and in a few seconds disappeared in the hollow behind the beach. on the sand were marks of turtles, which gave me hopes of obtaining some for the ship's company who had not enjoyed a fresh meal, excepting the flesh of three porpoises, since leaving port jackson. as our object was to pull round the island we did not stop here; but at a few minutes before noon, being near a projecting point a little further on, we landed and observed the sun's supplementary altitude which made the latitude degrees minutes seconds south. we afterwards landed further on in a small sandy bay where we found more turtle-tracks and the remains of a nest that had been plundered by the natives; who, from the recent impressions of their feet on the sand, had in the morning crossed the beach. the sand was so heated that it was painful to stand upon without constantly relieving our feet; and that the natives we had just seen should sit and bask upon it in this state would have appeared incredible to us had we not witnessed the fact. upon leaving the bay, the natives, whose number had increased to nine, were observed upon the hills that overhang the beach, watching our proceedings; and as we pulled away they slowly moved toward the place we had just left. as soon as we arrived on board we got underweigh and steered round the bluff point on the west side of the island; and at half past five o'clock anchored at about half a mile from the shore of the bay on which we had lately landed. from this station we had an opportunity of observing the features of the coast: lacrosse island is situated in the entrance of a deep opening trending to the south-south-west towards some steep rugged hills. the character of the country is here entirely changed: irregular ranges of detached rocky hills of sandstone formation, very slightly clothed with small shrubs and rising abruptly from extensive plains of low level land seem to have superseded the low wooded coast that almost uninterruptedly prevails between this and cape wessel; a distance of more than six hundred miles. the present change, although more dreary and less inviting, was hailed by us with pleasure; for the broken appearance of the hills inspired us with the hope of finding some fresh stream from which we might complete our water, and thereby prevent our premeditated visit to timor, whither it would soon be time to resort. the fires which had been lighted in the course of the day by the natives had rapidly spread over the summit of the hills, and at night the whole island was illuminated and presented a most grand and imposing appearance. after dusk mr. roe went with a party on shore in order to take turtle and at eight o'clock returned with one of the hawk's-bill species (testudo imbricata?) the meat of which weighed seventy-one pounds; about fifty eggs were also procured. september . the boat was sent again at four o'clock in the morning, as it was then high water, but returned at daylight without success. lacrosse island, so named by commodore baudin, is about nine miles in circumference and about six hundred feet high; it is of a rugged character and intersected by numerous deep ravines and gullies; which, in the wet season, doubtless contain water. the seaward or northern face of the island is formed of a fine-grained sandstone, dipping in strata, with a slight inclination to the south-east: large blocks of the same stone were also found scattered over the hills. the soil with which it is but slightly covered is little better than a thin layer of sandy earth; but notwithstanding its sterile quality it produces a variety of small plants, among which a shrubby acacia* was predominant and sufficiently abundant to tint the sides of the hills where it grew with the sea-green colour of its foliage. at last quarter ebb we got underweigh and proceeded to examine the opening by steering south-south-west towards the deepest part; at twenty-three miles from lacrosse island the gulf is divided by adolphus island into two arms; one of which trended to the south-south-east and the other to the south-south-west.** (*footnote. this plant is described in mr. cunningham's journal as acacia leucophoea.) (**footnote. for the farther description of cambridge gulf see the appendix a part .) as the western arm appeared to be of most importance we entered it and, with a strong flood tide, proceeded with great rapidity; as sunset approached we began to look for an anchorage, but found much difficulty on account of the strength of the tides, the great depth of water, and, as i at first thought, the unfavourable quality of the bottom: at last the anchor was dropped close to the south-west shore of adolphus island in the entrance of another arm which appeared to trend to the south-east under mount connexion. the noise made by the chain cable in running through the hawse-hole put to flight a prodigious number of bats that were roosting in the mangrove bushes; and which, flying over and about the cutter's mast, quite darkened the air with their numbers. september . as i purposed remaining two days at this anchorage to examine the country we landed the next morning under view hill, a high steep point on the south shore abreast of the anchorage; and, having climbed the summit by a rugged and fatiguing ascent, our labour was amply repaid by a very extensive view of the surrounding country and by obtaining bearings of lacrosse island and shakspeare hill; which served to fix the position of view hill. the south end of adolphus island, of which i had a commanding view, is a low, flat salt-swamp surrounded by mangrove bushes. to the south-eastward of shakspeare hill but quite detached from it is a range of hills extending in unconnected patches toward mount connexion. the principal stream of the gulf, which is the west arm, runs under the base of view hill; three and a half miles farther on it opens into an extensive basin at the bottom of which is some high land; here the basin is contracted in its size, and trends to the westward round a mangrove point, where it was lost to view. mr. cunningham had also made an excursion upon adolphus island; he had walked over the salt-swamp towards the hills, which, from his description, are precisely of the same character as view hill; the rock formation is principally of sandstone, blocks of which (the largest not exceeding three feet in diameter) are profusely scattered over the sandy soil and are sometimes found covered with a crust of quartz: but notwithstanding the aridity and apparent barrenness of the soil, many plants were recovering from the destructive effects of recent fires and springing up in great luxuriance. in our ascent we passed through several deep gullies which bore the marks of having once yielded abundance of water but were now quite dried up. september . the next day mr. cunningham accompanied me on an excursion round adolphus island, taking from the anchorage an easterly direction; and passing to the north of the two mangrove islands. on the eastern side of adolphus island we landed on one of two rocky islets, and took some bearings from its summit. it is composed of loose blocks of decomposed sandstone. on the summit we observed a large hawk's nest but it was deserted by its constructor. the only plants that were found upon this rock were a prickly capparis and a leafless ficus, the latter bearing clusters of small, whitish, globular fruit: these plants, with a small hibiscus, were the chief productions of the rock; and have probably been produced from seeds deposited there by birds. on leaving these rocks i hoped to have reached in time some part of the north-east shore of adolphus island where i could observe the sun's meridional altitude on the sea horizon; but we were detained in the arm by strong ripplings and a fresh sea-breeze until it was too late. upon approaching the northernmost point of the island, which is low and covered with mangroves, we were obliged to pull round a bank that extends for some distance off it: as soon as this was effected the flood-tide commenced; we then landed under adolphus island just within the narrow entrance of the western arm; and whilst the people dined i was engaged in taking bearings and mr. cunningham ranged about in search of plants. everything wore the same arid appearance as those parts before visited; but the stems of some trees, of a larger growth than any we had yet seen on the hills, were found washed up on the beach. at five p.m. we returned on board; having made the circuit of adolphus island, a distance of twenty-five miles; without seeing the least vestige of man or animal or any appearance of fresh water. september . the wind and tide were unfavourable the next day for quitting our anchorage until the afternoon: in the morning mr. roe sounded and examined the south arm; and as he found the passage to be quite clear we weighed at slack water with the intention of proceeding through it and anchoring in the basin; but the strength of the wind obliged us to anchor under view hill and detained us the whole of the following day which was unsuccessfully spent in examining the gullies in search of fresh water: a hole was dug in one of the most favourable spots we could find; and at the depth of three or four feet the earth gradually became so moist as to flatter us with the hope that our labours would be rewarded by success: at three feet deeper water began to ooze through; but, upon tasting it, it turned out to be quite salt. another place higher up was tried with the same result upon which further search was abandoned as useless. in the evening we ascended a hill near the anchorage; whence a favourable view was obtained for the construction of my chart. the space behind the beach to the foot of the hill is occupied by a level plain that has evidently been formed by the deposition of alluvial soil; over which, in many places, the last night's high tide had passed; but those parts which it had not reached were covered with a thin layer of salt which at a distance exactly resembled hoar-frost. upon it was observed the track of a dog that had evidently been running towards the saltwater pits to quench its thirst; and this, i fear, is only a proof of the total absence of fresh water, which, indeed, the desolate and burnt up appearance of everything around was sufficient of itself to bespeak. the country at the bottom of the gulf appeared to be of a rugged and mountainous character: the hills were observed in detached ranges to rise abruptly from a low level plain extending to the shore, the edge of which was lined as far as we could see by a belt of mangrove bushes. these plains were covered with salt incrustations over which were scattered the stems and branches of trees that had evidently been washed down from the hills and deposited there by inundations to which this country appears to be frequently subject. the trees appeared to be of so much larger size than any we have seen growing near the coast that we reasonably concluded the interior to be of a much more productive character than the country in the vicinity of the sea. our means were however too confined to satisfy ourselves of this interesting fact. september . the following morning, the weather being more favourable, we left the bay and, with the remainder of the flood tide, beat through the narrows; in which, at one cast, we had no bottom at forty-five fathoms. as soon as we passed this strait we entered the basin and a little before high water anchored in eight fathoms on its west side, where at noon, by a meridional observation to the south, the latitude was found to be degrees minutes seconds south. after this we landed in the vicinity of our station; but, finding the country as barren and dreary as before, the evening was spent in sounding between the cutter and the western shore. september . the next morning we reached the farther end of the basin and anchored under a remarkable range of hills; which, from their appearance, were called the bastion hills; the latitude of this station is degrees minutes seconds south. the gulf, which had now assumed the character of a river, trended to the south-west, and at the distance of three or four miles disappeared among some high land in that direction. in the evening (since we had lately seen no appearance of sharks) the people were allowed to bathe; but they had no sooner finished, and everyone on board, than an alligator swam past the vessel. the appearance of this animal revived some hopes of our yet finding fresh water and also that the gulf would terminate in a river; the breadth here is about a mile and a half and the rise of the tide about twenty-one feet: the ebb set at the rate of three knots per hour and the water was very muddy; but at low tide, upon being tasted, it still retained its saltness. september . at daylight the next morning we were again under weigh; but, the wind being directly adverse, were obliged to make several tacks: as we proceeded the opening was found to get more contracted and to wind through a very narrow strait between high precipitous hills; and as, on approaching it, the passage appeared too narrow to be attempted with safety, we anchored at about two miles from it near the low west bank; and after breakfast mr. cunningham accompanied me in the whale-boat to continue its further exploration. the wind was blowing a fresh gale from the south-west directly out of the gut and impeded us a good deal; but the tide was running with such strength that we were not long before we passed through. this passage is about two miles and a half long, bounded on either side by rocky barren hills rising abruptly from the water. the channel is deep for our boat's lead-line of twenty fathoms did not reach the bottom. at the south end of the gut the land opened out into another basin which, like the former, is surrounded by low land overrun with mangroves and studded with several islets, occasionally covered by the tide. the course of the river still trended to the south-west, in which direction we continued to pull but found some difficulty from its being very shoal; for in the fair way across there was not more water than eighteen feet at three-quarters' flood. at eleven o'clock, having crossed the basin, we landed on an islet which, like the rest, had been covered by the last high tide. the river had now contracted to the width of one hundred to one hundred and fifty yards and trended by a winding course to the south and south-east, but the water was still as salt as ever although we were at least sixty miles from the sea. as there was now no probability of our extending the examination of this river for any useful purpose we stopped at high water and landed on the bank to examine the country whilst the people dined. we were about two or three miles from the base of a most remarkable quadrangular-shaped mass of hills rising abruptly from an extensive flat plain covered with salt: the sides sloped down with a very steep descent to the base and the top of the range was circumvented with cliffs which, protruding at intervals, so perfectly resembled the bastions and ramparts of a formidable fortress that it wanted only the display of a standard to render the illusion complete. it was named mount cockburn in compliment to vice-admiral sir george cockburn, g.c.b., one of the lord commissioners of the admiralty. the accompanying drawing of this remarkable range of hills was taken from the west point of the south entrance of the gut. all around us bore the most desolate appearance. the grass, which was quite dry, wanted but a spark and a breeze to set the whole country in flames. the soil on which it grows, which is about two feet above the high watermark, is a stiff clay; covered with a slight incrustation of salt on which the tracks of native dogs were noticed; several smokes were observed at a distance but no natives were seen. the tide had now began to ebb; and as there was no inducement to detain us for the next day to examine it farther we set off on our return; and on our way landed for bearings on the small islet in the middle of the inner basin. we also went on shore in two places on the west bank within the gut; at the first we found the marks of an encampment of a tribe of natives: eight or nine spots of circular form were cleared away amongst the grass and in the centre of each were the ashes of a small fire, close to which we noticed some large flattened stones with a smaller one lying upon them, which the natives probably use for the purpose of bruising or grinding the seeds of plants and breaking shellfish. the impressions of dogs' feet were observed about the fireplaces, as well as the recent tracks of kangaroos. the only animal that we saw during our excursion was a small kangaroo-rat; it was skipping about the rocks near the sea. a ravine, of appearance the most favourable for our search for water, was selected from a great many as most likely to afford it; and we landed for that purpose; but we met with our usual bad success; torrents had once poured down it, the effects of which alone were left. recent traces of kangaroos were again seen here: these animals can require but little drink unless the dew that is nightly deposited is sufficient for the purpose of quenching their thirst, for we did not see a drop of fresh water in any part we landed at. we reached the vessel a short time before sunset and terminated the examination of this gulf, which at one time bore so flattering an appearance as to leave little doubt of our being able to complete our water, and that even with facility. i felt so much disappointed that two or three small openings, which probably served but to drain the vast plains of inundated country that environ the hills on the shores of this gulf, were passed by unheeded; among which was the extensive branch that trended to the south-east under mount connexion; this opening appeared to possess a similar character with that we had just been employed in exploring. september to . on the th we got under weigh to return; but, having to work against a contrary breeze, made no farther progress than the anchorage occupied on the rd. the smokes of many fires were seen during the day; but in this country where everything is so parched and dry a fire will lie dormant a considerable time, and as the breeze springs up the flames will kindle and run along in the direction of the wind for many miles. september . the next day at half-past twelve o'clock when the ebb tide began to make, the wind freshened up from south-east and soon carried us into the narrows: it then veered round to the eastward, and after half an hour's calm a strong sea-breeze set in against us; but the tide being in our favour we made quick progress until half an hour before the time of low water, when we anchored under the north-west end of adolphus island. i have this day to record the death of one of the crew, william nicholls, who, for some time past, and particularly during the last three days, had been suffering from a dropsical complaint; his death was occasioned by suffocation, having very imprudently laid down with his head to leeward while we were under sail: this poor fellow had been for nearly three months on our sick list; he was a native of norfolk island, and, when in health, had been one of my most useful and attentive men. september . he was interred the next morning on shore; in memorial whereof the north-west point of the island was named after him. soon after noon the ebb tide made, and we worked out against a strong northerly breeze, which gave us a good opportunity of ascertaining the soundings and breadth of the channel. the tide however did not serve to carry us out of the gulf, and at low water we dropped the anchor near a bank on the western side in six fathoms, sandy bottom, out of the influence of the tide; which in the mid-channel was observed to run with great strength. after sunset the clouds began to collect in the south-east and threatened the approach of bad weather; but in our situation the anchor, although we had but one, was our best security. september . at two o'clock in the morning heavy clouds rose in the east-south-east and the wind freshened from that direction; it however soon after veered back to south-east and enabled us to weigh. the weather was cloudy and dark, but as the plan of the gulf had been already roughly formed, and our soundings laid down, i was sufficiently aware of the course we had to steer. the only event to be dreaded was that, in getting under weigh, the cutter might cast with her head inshore, when we should certainly have been thrown upon the bank; our fears however upon this point were happily groundless, and our course being unimpeded, we made quick way towards lacrosse island, which was passed at daylight. having now cleared this extraordinary inlet which was named cambridge gulf in honour of his royal highness the viceroy of hanover, we bore up along shore to the westward, sufficiently near to it to have perceived any opening that might exist, and to make such remarks as were necessary for its delineation. at sunset we were off cape st. lambert of the french and their mount casuarina was also seen. m. de freycinet's description of the hill is very correct, but at the distance which we were it was only visible when it bore between south and west-south-west; for the land in that bearing intervened and concealed it. large fires were burning three or four miles inland. september . at sunset we hauled off shore for the night; and the next morning saw mount casuarina again bearing south; its latitude was found to be degrees minutes seconds, and its longitude degrees minutes seconds east of greenwich, which is minutes seconds to the westward of the situation that the french have assigned to it. hence the shore takes a north-westerly trend. at noon we were two miles and a half from cape rulhieres when our latitude was degrees minutes seconds; at seven miles in a north degrees west direction from the cape, which is a stony point, is captain baudin's lesueur island, a low flat sandy island. we passed between it and the main, and had soundings with fifteen fathoms. in passing a projection of land which appeared to be an island and off which is a considerable reef, the bottom shoaled to eight fathoms but as quickly deepened again to no bottom with fifteen fathoms. this probable island may perhaps be the second lesueur island, which is laid down upon the french chart; but i have doubts of it; for i do not think it could be distinguished as an island at the distance captain baudin was from the shore. the land now extended towards a point which was called cape londonderry, whence it took a westerly direction. on arriving up with the reef which extends off cape londonderry we hauled off to the northward and passed the ensuing night under easy sail, during which our soundings were between forty and forty-six fathoms. a very large natives' fire was burning about two or three miles inland, but the indians did not show themselves. last night our people caught a porpoise, which helped to diminish the bad effect of salt provisions. we were now very weak-handed; three men, besides mr. bedwell who was still an invalid, being ill, considerably reduced our strength; insomuch that being underweigh night and day, with only one spare man on the watch to relieve the masthead look-out, the lead, and the helm, there was great reason to fear the fatigue would very much increase the number of complaints. since leaving port jackson we had never been free from sickness, but it was confined principally to two or three individuals who were not able to endure the very great heat. upon the whole we thought ourselves very fortunate that, considering the frequency of illness on board and the violence of the diseases by which some of our people had been attacked, particularly in the cases of mr. bedwell and mr. cunningham, we had only lost one man; and this from a complaint which even medical assistance might not, perhaps, have cured; and by an accident which could not have been prevented, for our people were at the moment so busily employed in working the vessel through a dangerous navigation that the unfortunate man's situation was not known until the vital spark was nearly extinct, and too far gone for any human means to save his life. the thermometer now ranged between and degrees in the shade; and the fast approach of the sun (the declination of which was degrees south) was daily felt. chapter . examination of the coast between cape londonderry and cape voltaire, containing the surveys of sir graham moore's islands, eclipse islands, vansittart bay, admiralty gulf, and port warrender. encounter with the natives of vansittart bay. leave the coast at cassini island for coepang. obliged to bear up for savu. anchor at zeeba bay, and interview with the rajah. some account of the inhabitants. disappointed in not finding water. leave zeeba bay, and beat back against the monsoon to coepang. complete wood and water, and procure refreshments. return to port jackson. pass the latitude assigned to the tryal rocks. arrival in sydney cove. . october . we had now reached a part of the coast which, excepting a few of the islands that front it, the french expedition did not see: we should therefore have commenced its examination with more pleasure had we been in a state better fitted for the purpose; for we were rapidly consuming our stock of water without any prospect of finding a supply at this season; and this, added to the loss of our anchors, considerably lessened the satisfaction we should otherwise have felt in viewing the prospect before us. after a calm and sultry morning a breeze from the north-east carried us towards the land, the situation of which was pointed out by the smoke of natives' fires. a little before three o'clock it was seen from the deck and as we stood towards it we narrowly escaped striking on a part of the shoal that extends off cape londonderry: our course was then directed towards some broken land in the south-west which proved to be a group of islands with a considerable sinuosity in the coast behind them; the eastern head of the bay was called cape talbot after the then lord lieutenant of ireland. between this and cape londonderry the coast is very low and defended by an extensive reef, which in many parts was dry. during the night we stood off shore. october . and at daylight were eight miles from the islands. at nine o'clock, being calm, we anchored to the north of the group, which was named sir graham moore's, in compliment to the gallant admiral then holding a seat at the admiralty board. the principal island is more elevated than the rest and has a flat tabular summit: it bore from the anchorage south degrees east three miles and a half. the sea-breeze set in from north-west with the change of tide; as soon as the sun's meridional altitude was observed we got under sail and steered to the west-south-west; but were soon after obliged to alter the course to avoid a shoal on which the sea was breaking within fifty yards of us. after passing this danger we found ourselves in a deep channel the seaward limit of which was formed by an extensive reef connected with jones' island. at sunset we anchored within one mile and a half of the shore in five fathoms and a half, soft sandy mud, off the entrance of a considerable bight or bay; which appeared to be so nearly blocked up by a reef of dry rocks that it was doubtful whether we should be able to penetrate without going round the eclipse islands; these islands were so named in consequence of an eclipse of the moon that took place in the evening; and the flat-topped mount which is conspicuous on the principal island of the group was named eclipse hill. october . the next morning was passed in examining the reefs to the southward; we first landed on the south-east end of long island, where a set of bearings and a tolerable view up the bay were obtained. long island is of a rugged character and formed principally of large water-worn masses of quartzose sandstone superincumbent upon a basis of the same rock. the spaces between them were occupied by a variety of plants, the examination of which fully employed mr. cunningham: natives' traces and fireplaces, and the remains of a turtle-feast were observed; but there were no signs of the islands having been very recently visited by the indians: we afterwards landed upon some dry rocks that lie in the mid-channel, and whilst i was occupied in taking bearings the boat's crew fished, but with little success on account of the rapidity of the tide. october . after this we found and examined a tolerably wide and deep channel on the eastern side of the middle rocks; through which, as it appeared to be free from danger, the cutter was worked the next morning, and afterwards anchored near the western side of the bay; where the verdant appearance of the grass and trees that clothed the sides of the hills induced me to land for the purpose of searching for water; we were, however, disappointed: large streams of water had evidently very lately poured down the gullies; but there was not the least vestige of any remaining. on the beach of one of the sandy bays the traces of natives were more numerous than usual; for we counted as many as forty small fireplaces arranged in a straight line along the beach; near to each were lying the stones on which the indians had evidently been bruising seeds, particularly of the fruit of a new species of sterculia, the husks of which were strewed about: near the fireplaces were the remains of two huts; one of them was thrown down, but the other was perfect enough to give us an idea of its form and for us to recognise its resemblance to some we had seen on the east coast. a curious implement was found on the shore, the use of which we could not at all conjecture, unless it had belonged to the malays; it was fifteen feet long and five inches in diameter, and composed of three saplings firmly and closely united and covered with grass secured to it by rope twisted of strips of bark; it might have been a fender for the purpose of hanging between the malay proas when moored together, to prevent their being injured by their sides coming in contact. the shores and hills were thickly scattered over with large masses of a dark red-coloured sandstone covered with a crust of quartz; the latter substance was not however found in a crystallized state. everything bore the most parched and arid appearance; the country was certainly seen by us at the most disadvantageous season; but although the hills are thickly wooded the dwarf and stunted habit of the trees is a proof, if we had required it, of the shallow and unproductive quality of the soil. the smoke of three or four large fires were noticed on the opposite side of the bay, the flames of which blazed up as the seabreeze set in. recent and numerous tracks of the kangaroo were observed in all directions. fish were abundant, but none were caught. before returning on board we visited two other places in the bay to make further search for water, but with no better success; and we began to despair of finding any upon the coast. october . we weighed the next day with the sea-breeze, and anchored in the south-east corner of the bay: in the evening we landed on a projecting point close to the anchorage and ascended its summit, which was so thickly covered with climbing plants that it was called vine head. from this station an extensive view was obtained of the bottom of the bay; and as it was nearly low water the time was favourable for my purpose. near the anchorage was a small mangrove opening, the entrance of which was blocked up by a dry mud bank. when we landed we found a piece of wood upon the beach with a nail-hole in it: it had probably been part of a malay proa; for a fleet of such visitors, consisting of twenty-six vessels on the trepang fishery, was seen in this neighbourhood by the french in ;* and, according to their report, annually visit this part of the coast. (*footnote. freycinet terres australes page .) this day was spent in examining the shores of the bottom of the bay. we first pulled up the arm to the eastward of vine head which trends in for one mile, and then examined the bay on its western side, which was found to be both shoal and rocky. we next rowed inside of jar island whose peaked summit forms a very good mark for the channel between the middle and long rocks. in pulling towards the west side of the bay, at the back of jar island, a native was perceived running along the rocky shore towards the point we were steering for; round which, as we passed it yesterday, there appeared to be a deep cave or inlet. as we pulled along the shore we were amused in watching how nimbly the indian leaped from rock to rock: he was alone and unarmed. at one time we pulled close to the shore and endeavoured to entice him to approach us, but he stood looking at us from the summit of a rocky eminence close to the beach, without attending to our invitations; and, upon our repeating them and resting on our oars, he retreated towards the smoke of a fire that was burning behind the mangroves on the south shore at the bottom of the inlet into which we were pulling; on approaching it we found that the native had already arrived and given the alarm to a family of indians, consisting of three men, two women, and four children, who had been cooking their repast. as soon as our approach was discovered the women took their baskets and moveables and hurried away with the children, whilst the men seized their spears to protect their retreat; but as our object was not to alarm these poor savages, we pulled over to the opposite shore, which was about sixty yards across, and landed: mr. cunningham and i then ascended a steep hill that rose immediately from the shore, the summit of which promised to afford us a prospect of the surrounding land. the view however from this eminence, although extensive, did not answer my expectation: a low country of an arid and barren appearance extended to the southward; the northern part of the land on which we were appeared to be that described by the french as bougainville island, but it was now clearly and distinctly ascertained to be a peninsula: our view to the north-west was intercepted by higher hills than those we were upon. after taking all the bearings that the confined prospect permitted, without having very materially improved my knowledge of the surrounding country, i began to think of returning to the boat, and on looking towards the natives perceived that they had left the tree and were standing about fifty yards farther back, attentively engaged in consultation and in watching our movements: besides their spears they carried short pieces of wood like throwing sticks, and one of them also held in his hand a shield. after some deliberation they moved quickly forward towards the foot of the hill on which we were, evidently with an intention of intercepting our return to the boat, but when we began to descend the hill they stopped and slowly retired to their former station; had they persevered they would have easily cut off our retreat, and as we had forgotten the precaution of arming ourselves the consequence might have been serious. this movement of the natives made us suspicious of no very friendly intentions on their part and hurried our return to the boat; but, the descent being steep and strewed with rocks which were concealed by grass higher than our middles, we did not reach the bottom of the hill without several bruises. upon re-embarking we perceived that the natives had again ascended the tree to watch our movements; but when they saw the boat pulling across the stream towards them they leaped down and retired among the trees. after repeated calls which had not the effect of inducing them to approach, we rowed out of the cove, and, on passing a projecting point that was less wooded than other parts, mr. cunningham expressed a wish to collect some specimens of the plants that were growing upon it. whilst meditating upon the propriety of landing so near to the natives, whose conduct we had already some reason to suspect, a dog which we had before seen with them came from behind a bush near the water's edge and walked up to its knees in the water towards us; the boat was backed in and we endeavoured to entice it within our reach by throwing some food; but the animal, upon discovering that we were strangers, became shy, and after smelling about ran back towards a bush about fifty yards off; from which the natives, who had all the time been concealed behind it, rushed out and with loud shouts ran towards us: upon reaching the water's edge they threw several stones, one of which nearly struck the boat; they then prepared their spears, when it was found necessary to deter them by firing a musket over their heads; the noise of which had the desired effect; for, struck with a sudden panic at the report which echoed through the trees, they turned and fled; and as they scampered off two more balls were fired over them, which, if possible, increased the rapidity of their flight until the trees concealed them from our view; after this we neither heard nor saw anything more of them. this circumstance gave the name of encounter cove to the inlet. on our return we called at jar island and walked over it, but with difficulty, on account of the confused heaps of rugged stones that were strewed over its rocky surface. the spinifex that grew in the interstices of the rocks was also no inconsiderable hindrance to our movements. behind the beach was a large basin full of salt water that, in the wet season, would doubtless furnish fresh, since it appeared to have been formed by the runs from the rocks, the upper surfaces of which were hollowed out by the effect of the rain: these holes or cisterns are probably full of water in the wet season. on the beach we found a broken earthen pot which decidedly proved the fact of the malays visiting this part of the coast and explained the mischievous disposition of the natives. before we returned to the cutter we landed on some rocks in the bay, at the back of jar island, to fish, but having very little success we did not delay, and by sunset reached the vessel. october . on the th we left the anchorage under vine head, and by the aid of a breeze from the north-west worked out of the western entrance of the bay, which appeared to be quite free from danger of every sort. at sunset we anchored in the outer part of the entrance in nine fathoms and a half, muddy bottom. on the west side of the peninsula we passed three bays, from one to two miles deep and one mile broad; in each of these inlets there appeared to be good anchorage. the bay was named vansittart after the late chancellor of the exchequer. october . at daylight ( th) we weighed and stood out to the north-west between troughton island and cape bougainville. round the latter projection the land trends so deeply in to the southward that it was lost to view; but two flat-topped islands were seen in the south-south-west, which afterwards proved to be some of captain baudin's institute isles; we were now obliged to steer down the western side of the cape, for our further progress to the westward was stopped by a considerable reef extending north and south parallel with the land of cape bougainville. during the afternoon we had the wind and tide against us so that we made no progress. some bights in the coast were approached with the intention of anchoring in them but the water was so deep and the ground so unfavourable for it that the stream anchor was eventually dropped in the offing in twenty-two fathoms: where during the night the tide set with unusual velocity and ran at the rate of one knot and three-quarters per hour. october . in the morning a view from the masthead enabled me to see a confused mass of rocks and islets in the south-west. at eight o'clock the flood tide commenced and the anchor being weighed, we steered towards the bottom of the gulf; on our way to which the positions of several small rocks and islets, which form a part of this archipelago, were fixed. at noon our latitude was degrees minutes seconds, when the hill, which we ascended over encounter cove in vansittart bay, was seen bearing south / degrees east. the land to the southward was still far distant but with a fresh sea breeze we made rapid progress towards it and by four o'clock entered an extensive port at the bottom of the gulf and anchored in a bay on its western shore, land-locked, in four fathoms and three-quarters, mud. in finding this anchorage we considered ourselves fortunate for the freshness of the breeze in so dangerous a situation made me feel uneasy for our only anchor, which we must have dropped at night, however exposed our situation might have been: by midnight the breeze fell and we had a dead calm. october . the next day we landed on the west head of the bay, crystal head, where the meridional altitude of the sun was observed and sights for the chronometers taken; in the evening we ascended its summit and by a bearing of the land of cape bougainville the survey was connected with vansittart bay. in the morning a young kangaroo was started by mr. cunningham but made its escape; the traces of these animals were very numerous on the sides of the hills; several birds new to us were seen, and we also found about the bushes the tail-feathers of the cuculus phasianus (index orn. sup. page ). the summit of crystal head is of flat tabular form; and the sides, which are both steep and rugged, are covered with stunted trees and high grass, now quite dry: the geology of this part is principally of siliceous sandstone; and on the beach we found large detached water-worn masses of the same rock, incrusted with quartz and epidote in a crystallized state. (*footnote. the centropus phasianus tem. anal. plate . polophilus phasianus shaw's gen. zool. volume page plate . zool. misc. plate . pheasant cuckow gen. syn. sup. page .) no natives were seen; but, from the large fires that were burning, a numerous party was probably collected at the bottom of the port. october . on the th we got under weigh and anchored again at a few miles further up the port, near a small rocky island where the latitude was observed to be degrees minutes seconds. in the afternoon mr. roe and mr. cunningham accompanied me in the whale-boat to examine the bottom of the port; which was found to terminate in two inlets winding under either side of a bold prominent range of steep rocky hills, thickly clothed with stunted trees. we pulled up the south-eastern arm; and having proceeded as far as prudence allowed, for from not calculating upon being absent long we had brought no provisions, we returned on board with the intention of examining it further on the following day. in rowing back, a kangaroo was seen skipping over the hills; and an alligator was lying asleep on the beach, but it rushed into the water as we passed the spot. october . the next day mr. roe, accompanied by mr. cunningham, explored both arms; and from his report the plan is made: but as they are merely salt-water inlets, they are of little importance. during the absence of the boat the state of our provisions and water was examined, on both of which, as we had anticipated, the rats had made considerable havoc; two of the casks were quite empty from holes gnawed by these animals to get at the water; and several were so short of their contents that we had but a fortnight's allowance left: this discovery induced me to determine on taking the first opportunity that should offer of leaving the coast and resorting to timor; for, besides our want of water, several of the crew were attacked by scurvy, so that it was also necessary to visit it to procure some fresh provisions for them. port warrender, which name was bestowed upon this fine harbour, is of considerable extent; the land is very rugged and rocky; but although the soil is shallow the hills on the western side are thickly covered with grass and trees; which grew so luxuriantly in the gullies and bore so verdant an appearance that fresh hopes were revived of finding water; we were however very soon convinced of its being entirely destitute of it. on the eastern side of the port the land is much broken and fronted by several islands which were named after sir john osborn, one of the lords of the admiralty; among them is a conspicuous steep rocky head, like mount cockburn in cambridge gulf; it appeared to be perfectly inaccessible. october . at daylight ( th) we left the port; we had very little wind during the day and by sunset had only reached an anchorage off point pickering, so named after a late much-respected friend. a bay trends to the westward of point pickering, which was called walmsley bay; it probably affords good anchorage. october . during the night we had lightning from the north-west, and the next day the wind was so light that we did not make much progress; an anchorage was occupied during the ensuing night to the eastward of point biggs, half a mile to the northward of a small rocky island in ten fathoms and a half, muddy bottom. every succeeding day the weather was getting more and more unfavourable for our purpose; which increased my anxiety to escape from this labyrinth of islands and shoals; for we had evidently no time to spare in order to leave the coast before the rainy season should commence. the whole of this gulf is admirably formed for the trepang fishery and the animal is extremely abundant among the reefs. both fish and turtle are plentiful, the latter are of very large size; none however were taken to determine its species. we have seen very few inhabitants on this part of the coast but at this season they are doubtless divided into small detached parties for the greater facility of procuring sustenance, and of making their reservoirs of water, wherever they may be, last longer. october . the next day, after an ineffectual attempt to pass out through the islands in the vicinity of cape voltaire, we anchored about midway between three of high flat-topped form; and at night the boat was despatched to the easternmost island, to watch for turtle, but it returned without having seen any. during the night the wind blew a moderate breeze from south-west with dark cloudy weather. october . at daylight we weighed, but from light baffling winds it was some time before we cleared the islands. the tide however swept us out and drifted us half a mile to windward of a small peaked island which must be the pascal island of the french: this islet is of small size but remarkable for its conical shape and having, as it were, its apex cut off. it is surrounded by a rocky shoal of small extent. the wind had now veered to west-north-west and obliged our passing to the eastward of cassini island (of captain baudin); and, from the immense numbers of turtle-tracks that were seen upon its beach, we would gladly have anchored near it, had a convenient place offered; but the bottom was so deep that we could not with safety drop our anchor. the plan given by m. de freycinet of this archipelago is so defective that many of his islands could not be recognised; but those which were made out preserve his names. cassini island is sufficiently well placed by him, and was a useful point for the sake of comparing our longitudes. in the space between cape bougainville and cape voltaire, which was named the admiralty gulf, we have given positions to at least forty islands or islets. having now emerged from the archipelago of islands which front this part of the north-west coast we seized the opportunity of taking leave of it for the present and directed our course for timor. at hours minutes p.m., when the centre of cassini island bore south degrees minutes west, distance minutes seconds by survey, sights for the chronometers made the centre of the island in degrees minutes seconds, which is minutes seconds to the eastward of the longitude assigned to its centre in m. de freycinet's chart. october . on the th in the evening after a succession of damp weather with squalls of thunder, lightning, and rain, and variable baffling winds, a fresh breeze set in from east-south-east. october . at six o'clock the next morning it settled in the south-east with heavy rain, thunder, and lightning, and afterwards the weather cleared up. as soon as day dawned, sail was made to the north-west and before noon we hauled up north-north-west to allow for a westerly current; at two p.m. the weather clouded in and was followed by squalls of wind and rain from the north-east, which, after passing over us, returned again from the westward with more rain but less wind. october . at daylight ( nd) we saw the island of rottee, but instead of being, according to our account, to windward of it, we were very little to the eastward of its south-west end; having been set forty-three miles to the westward since yesterday noon. during the day, as the wind was at south-east, we endeavoured to pass round its windward side, but the current was setting with such strength to the westward that, finding we had lost ground during the night, we bore up the next morning for the island of savu, a proceeding which, if we should succeed in procuring refreshments and fresh water there, would be more advantageous than going to timor: for in the first place there was less chance of incurring sickness among the crew; and secondly we should be farther advanced on our voyage back. captain cook, on his visit to savu in , found a dutch resident there; and i recollected having been assured by mr. hazaart, the resident at timor, that the people were well-disposed towards the english: captain horsburgh also mentions in his description of savu that the dutch have residents on all these islands; and, as a corroboration of these accounts, i had been informed by the master of a merchant schooner at port jackson, who had lately been among these islands, that abundance of good water could be procured there. opposed to this last report, captain cook says, "we were upon the coast at the latter end of the dry season (september), when there had been no rain for seven months, and we were told, that when the dry season continues so long, there is no running stream of fresh water upon the whole island, but only small springs, which are at a considerable distance from the sea side:"* this conflicting account was discouraging; but as we had lately had much rain it was hoped that there would be a sufficiency in the springs for our use. (*footnote. hawkesworth coll. volume page .) october . having fully weighed all these circumstances we bore up for savu, and at four p.m. on the th anchored in zeba bay, on the north-west side of the island. the bank on which the anchor was dropped was so steep that, although the anchor was in twelve fathoms, the vessel was, at the length of forty fathoms of cable, in twenty-two fathoms. as we were bringing up, two muskets were fired from the shore, and a white flag, or rather a rag, was suspended to a pole, around which a group of people had collected. this flag gave us no very favourable idea of the respectability of the place, and the meaning of the muskets we could not divine, nor indeed ever did discover, unless it was that we had anchored on bad ground: the boat was then hoisted out and i went on shore, accompanied by messrs. bedwell and cunningham, to where the flag was displayed. on approaching the shore three people came down to direct us to the proper landing place; for in all other parts of the beach a heavy surf was breaking. we were then conducted to a hut in the rear of the flagstaff, where we found from fifteen to twenty persons assembled; two of whom appeared, by their dress and from the respect paid to them by the rest, to be chiefs. to these i addressed myself and inquired for the dutch resident, but soon found there was none, and that one of those to whom we were speaking was the rajah himself. i afterwards found he was the identical amadima of whom interesting mention is made by peron in his historical account of captain baudin's expedition.* (*footnote. peron tome pages , , , and .) my inquiries were made partly by signs and partly by a few terms in the malay language that we had collected from captain cook,* and from labillardiere's account of d'entrecasteaux's voyage. aer (water) was among the foremost of our inquiries, to which we added the terms for pigs, sheep, fowls, and coconuts, (vavee, doomba, mannu, and nieu). everything but water was plentiful and could be supplied by paying for them in rupees or bartering them for gunpowder. on repeating the question for water, their constant reply was, trada aer! trada aer! (no water, no water). no misunderstanding could have taken place, for on our inquiry, thinking it was for present use, they brought us some to drink. they afterwards conducted us to a shallow well or spring in which there were about ten or fifteen gallons; and this was all there was near the sea. (*footnote. hawkesworth coll. volume page .) amadima, on our landing, sent a horseman to the town with a message, who soon after returned with a paper which was shown to us; but, the substance being in dutch, we could not understand its purport; the sum of seventy-four rix-dollars was, however, sufficiently plain to show that money was wanted, and this conjecture was afterwards strengthened by a petition whispered in my ear by amadina himself for sato rupee (one rupee); but, not having provided myself with any, i could not satisfy his wants. gunpowder was in great request among them and we were given to understand that we might obtain everything we required, excepting water, for money or for gunpowder. trada aer was so often repeated that we re-embarked quite disappointed. on our way to the boat we were accompanied by the whole mob, which had now increased to forty or fifty people: all the men were armed with cresses, and two amongst them had swords and spears; but there was no appearance of hostility or of any unfriendly disposition towards us. when they saw our empty barica in the boat they intimated by signs that we might fill it, and mr. bedwell and mr. cunningham accordingly accompanied one of our people to the well to take advantage of their offer; for a few gallons of water were now of great importance to us. we then took a friendly leave of these islanders under the full expectation on their part of our returning in the morning with rupees and powder to barter with their commodities; whereas i had quite determined to leave the bay the moment that the day dawned. the two following modes of proceeding were now only left to us; namely, either to beat back to coepang which bore east by north miles, or to bear up and pass through the straits of lombock or allas, and go to madura or sourabaya for water, of which, on a reduced allowance, we had enough on board for fifteen days. to do the first would probably take a week or ten days, even if favoured by the wind. at coepang we could procure everything we wanted; and the only arguments against such a measure were the probable length of the voyage, and when there, the chance of being delayed until the adverse monsoon should set in against us, by which our return to port jackson would be perhaps prevented. to undertake the second would, from our being weakly manned, subject us to danger from the malay piratical proas in passing the straits; but as the latter mode of proceeding could be resorted to in the event of our failing in the other, our united opinion was that, of the two plans, the better was to go to timor. upon this decision all hands were immediately set to work to fill our empty water-casks with salt water and to get all the weighty things off the deck into the hold, in order to give the vessel more stability. october . this was completed by night and at break of day we left the anchorage with a fresh breeze from east-south-east. considering the short time we were on shore it would be the greatest presumption for me to say anything respecting savu, when so good an account is already before the public in captain cook's voyage.* every circumstance that we could compare with it is still correct, except that the women appear to have lost the decency he describes them to possess; for there were several whom curiosity and the novelty of our arrival had brought down to see us, naked to the hips, which alone supported a petticoat or wrapper of blue cotton stuff that exposed their knees. (*footnote. hawkesworth coll. volume page et seq.) the beach was lined with the areca, or fan-palm tree, from which the well-known liquor called toddy is procured. during our conference with these people they were all busily employed in eating the fruit spike of the piper betle,* which they first thickly covered with shell-lime; after chewing it for some time, they spit it out into the hand of the attendant slave who completes the exhaustion of this luxurious morceau by conveying it to his own mouth. (*footnote. persoon, in his description of areca catechu, makes the following observation: e fructu ab extima pellicula libero, simul cum foliis piperis betle, addito pauxillo calcis ex ostreis, fit masticatorium, quod indiani continue volvunt in ore, ut malus anhelitus corrigatur, et dentes ac stomachus roborentur. persoon, syn. plant. pars. .) they have a small-sized breed of horses at savu, similar to that of rottee; and pigs, sheep, and poultry appeared to be very plentiful. no observations were taken during our stay in zeba bay. the tides were scarcely perceptible and their rise and fall uncertain from the steep bank on which we had anchored. after quitting the bay we made every possible progress towards timor; and as long as we kept between the islands of savu and rottee we found no perceptible current against us, although the wind was constantly from the south-east. october . on the th the contents of one of our remaining casks of water was found to be so bad that it could not be used for any purpose; upon examination it turned out that the cask had been constructed at port jackson of the staves of old salt-provision barrels. this loss, amounting to two days' water, we could but ill spare: two or three gallons were collected from the rain which fell during the evening; and this trifling supply, although it had a tarry taste, was acceptable in our present circumstances. the next morning was calm. a small coasting proa was seen to the northward but soon afterwards lost sight of, steering towards timor. october . at daylight ( th) land was seen bearing east / north; at noon our latitude was nine degrees minutes seconds; and by the morning and evening sights for the chronometers a current had set us to the north degrees west at nearly one mile and a quarter per hour. the wind, hanging between south-east and south-south-east, prevented our tacking to the southward to get out of the current, which, on our first experiencing it, was thought to have been occasioned by a set through the strait of rottee; it was however afterwards found that we were on the southern edge of the current that sets to the westward, down the north coast of timor, and that between rottee and savu the current is of trifling consequence. october . the next morning land was again indistinctly seen bearing east degrees south. at ten a.m. it was clearly visible, as well as a peaked hill which bore east / north. we were now in a current setting rapidly to the westward and soon lost a great portion of the ground that we had been so long toiling to gain. in the evening the wind veering to east-south-east enabled us to steer to the southward and to get out of the influence of the current. october to . from this to the st we had made little progress to the eastward; but in the afternoon a breeze set in from west-south-west and brightened our prospects: our water being now nearly expended, no time was to be lost, and we steered for the strait of rottee in order to pass through that of samow; but the wind was so light that, not being sufficiently advanced before dark, we bore up, and passed round the west side of pulo samow with a breeze from south-east which continued during the night... . november . and by daylight had carried us near the north-west end of the island; at nine a.m. the sea breeze set in from south-west and west, and gradually increasing, we happily succeeded in arriving off the town of coepang where we moored at one-fifth of a mile from the flagstaff of fort concordia, bearing south / degrees east. mr. roe went on shore soon after anchoring to wait upon the resident, and to inform him of the purport of our visit: he found that our former friend mr. hazaart was at batavia, and that his place was temporarily supplied by mr. halewyn; from whom we experienced such assistance and attention as enabled us to complete our wood and water and to obtain refreshments for the crew by the eighth day. november to . the refreshments consisted of sheep, coconuts, limes, bananas, mangoes, and the jaca fruit. the sheep weighed from twelve to sixteen pounds and were charged at about seven shillings and seven pence each. limes were very scarce, and oranges, pompions, and other vegetables which were most wanted, were not to be procured at this season. honey was very plentiful and good and was preferred by our people to the gulah, of which we got large quantities last year. the weather during the first three or four days of our stay was fine but afterwards damp and showery with a succession of land winds, which affected us all with colds; so that we lost no time in leaving the bay the moment that our wants were supplied, which was at sunset on the ninth. from the secretary to the government we obtained information that captain de freycinet of the french corvette l'uranie had visited coepang in october last, and remained there fifteen days. l'uranie was fitting out at toulon when we left england in for a voyage round the world, and was expected on her way to touch upon the western coasts of new holland; but it appeared that the only place which captain de freycinet visited was shark's bay on the western coast; he remained there a short time for the purpose of swinging his pendulum, and of completing the astronomical observations that had been previously made during commodore baudin's voyage. we also heard that the master and four of the crew of the ship frederick, the wreck of which we had seen at cape flinders, had arrived at coepang in a ship that was in company with her at the time of the accident; but what became of the frederick's longboat, which left the wreck with twenty-three of the crew, in company with the master's boat, in which were only four or five people, never afterwards transpired. november . after leaving coepang the wind, which freshened up from the east by north, continued steady until the following day, when we were at noon in degrees minutes seconds south, the summit of savu bearing north degrees west. the wind then fell and veered to south-south-east, but towards evening freshened from south-east and south-east by south. november . by eight o'clock we steered a south-west course, and passed the islands of savu and benjoar; the breeze then freshening veered round to the eastward and brought on heavy rain with much thunder and lightning. november to . after passing the meridian of sandelwood island, the wind varied between north and south by way of east, often suddenly changing eight or ten, and sometimes thirteen points of the compass at once. november . on the th we were at noon in latitude degrees minutes seconds and longitude degrees minutes when the wind changed to west-north-west and cleared up the weather: it then gradually veered round by south-west and south-south-west to the south-east trade. november . at noon on the st we had reached the latitude assigned to the tryal rocks by the dutch sloop, namely, degrees minutes seconds; our longitude was degrees minutes seconds. other accounts place these rocks in degrees minutes; we therefore stood on with caution, for the wind and the currents to the north-west were too strong for us to lie to with safety for the night. november . at two a.m. being in latitude degrees minutes seconds and longitude degrees minutes seconds we sounded without success with ninety fathoms of line, and at four o'clock, having ran seven miles on a south-west by south course, had no bottom with ninety-five fathoms: at noon our latitude was degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes, when no bottom was reached with eighty fathoms. the wind continued with little variation between south-east by south and south-east by east until we reached the latitude of / degrees and degrees minutes east; here we had light southerly winds for two days after which the south-east winds carried us as far as degrees south and degrees minutes east; between this and degrees south we had variable light airs from east-south-east to south-south-west. afterwards alternate northerly and southerly winds, with fine weather and top-gallant breezes, carried us as far as latitude degrees and longitude / degrees. from this we ran along the south coast of new holland, with strong gales between south-south-west and west; but on approaching bass strait the winds hung to the southward, and veering afterwards to south-east we were driven to the northward. . december . on the th december at eight p.m. we made the land between cape northumberland and cape buffon. december . but from light baffling winds had advanced no farther by noon ( th) than four or five miles south-south-west of lady julia percy's isle. this island is incorrectly laid down in captain flinders' chart, owing to the very unfavourable weather which he experienced in passing this part of the coast; we found it to lie east degrees south (true) seventeen miles and a half from lawrence island: a second island has a place in captain flinders' chart, but we saw nothing of it. the coast also lies farther back in proportion to the error of the island's position. . january . at four o'clock p.m. nd january we entered bass strait by the channel on the north side of king's island. january . after passing through the strait we experienced so much bad weather and contrary gales of wind that we did not arrive at port jackson until the morning of the th, having been absent thirty-five weeks and four days. the result of our proceedings during this voyage has been the survey of miles of the northern coast, in addition to the that were previously examined. besides which we had made a running survey of that portion of the intertropical part of the east coast that is situated between the percy isles and torres strait; a distance of miles; the detailed survey of which had never before been made, for captain cook merely examined it in a cursory manner as he passed up the coast. the opportunity, therefore, was not lost of making such observations on our voyage as enabled me to present to the public a route towards torres strait infinitely preferable on every account to the dangerous navigation without the reefs, which has hitherto been chiefly used. as it was not intended that i should make the survey of this extensive tract of coast i did not feel myself authorized to examine in any very detailed way the bottom of every bay or opening that presented itself; but merely confined myself to laying down the vessel's track and the positions of various reefs that were strewed on either side of it; and also to fixing the situations of the head-lands. in doing this enough has been effected to serve as the precursor of a more particular examination of the coast, the appearance of which, from its general fertile and mountainous character, made me regret the necessity of passing so hastily over it. chapter . equipment for the third voyage. leave port jackson. loss of bowsprit, and return. observations upon the present state of the colony, as regarding the effect of floods upon the river hawkesbury. re-equipment and final departure. visit port bowen. cutter thrown upon a sandbank. interview with the natives, and description of the country about cape clinton. leave port bowen. pass through the northumberland, and round the cumberland islands. anchor at endeavour river. summary of observations taken there. visit from the natives. vocabulary of their language. observations thereon in comparing it with captain cook's account. mr. cunningham visits mount cook. leave endeavour river, and visit lizard island. cape flinders and pelican island. entangled in the reefs. haggerston's island, sunday island, and cairncross island. cutter springs a leak. pass round cape york. endeavour strait. anchor under booby island. remarks upon the inner and outer routes through torres strait. . june . in preparing our little vessel for a third voyage, it became requisite to give her a considerable repair; and among many other things there was an absolute necessity for her being fresh coppered; but from the pretended scarcity of copper sheathing in the colony and other circumstances that opposed the measure, we found more than a common difficulty in effecting it. the cutter was careened at a place appointed for the purpose on the east side of sydney cove; and whilst undergoing her repair the crew lived on board a hulk hired for the occasion. this offered so favourable an opportunity for destroying the rats and cockroaches with which she was completely overrun, a measure that, from the experience of our last voyage, was considered absolutely necessary for our comfort as well as for our personal safety, that, as soon as the operation of coppering and caulking was finished, she was secured alongside of the hulk, and there immersed in the water for several days, by which process we hoped effectually to destroy them. upon the vessel being raised and the water pumped out, i was rejoiced to find that the measure appeared to have had the desired effect; but, before we left port jackson, she was again infested by rats, and we had not been long at sea before the cockroaches also made their appearance in great numbers. in sinking the cutter it seemed, in respect to the insects, that we had only succeeded in destroying the living stock, and that the eggs, which were plentifully deposited in the recesses and cracks of the timbers and sides, proved so impervious to the sea-water, that no sooner had we reached the warmer climate, than they were hatched, and the vessel was quickly repossessed by them; but it was many months before we were so annoyed by their numbers as had been the case during the last voyage. our crew, after they had returned the stores and fitted the standing rigging, were paid their wages; when, with only two exceptions, they were at their own wish discharged, and it was some time before a new crew was collected. whilst we were repairing the defects, h.m. store-ship dromedary arrived from england and brought us a selection of stores, for the want of which we should otherwise have been detained many months. by this ship orders were received from the admiralty to rig the cutter with rope manufactured from the new zealand hemp (phormium tenax) but there was a considerable difficulty in procuring enough even for a boom-sheet. this specimen was prepared by a rope-maker of the colony, and the result of the trial has fully justified the good opinion previously formed of its valuable qualities. in my communication to the admiralty in june, from timor, i had mentioned the necessity of a medical man being attached to the vessel; and upon my last return i found one had arrived with an appointment to the mermaid; but, to my great mortification, he was unable to join, from being afflicted with mental derangement which continued so long and so severely that i was under the necessity of sending him back to england. we had now every prospect of encountering a third voyage without the assistance of a surgeon. hitherto we had been fortunate in not having materially suffered from the want of so valuable an officer; but it was scarcely probable we could expect to continue upon such a service much longer without severe sickness. as any assistance therefore was preferable to none, i accepted the proffered services of a young man who was strongly recommended by his excellency the governor, and he was on the point of joining me, when a surgeon of the navy, mr. james hunter, who had just arrived in charge of a convict ship, volunteered his services which were gladly accepted, and he was immediately attached to the mermaid's establishment. the accession of a surgeon to our small party relieved me of a greater weight of anxiety than i can describe; and when it is considered that mr. hunter left an employment of a much more lucrative nature to join an arduous service in a vessel whose only cabin was scarcely large enough to contain our mess-table, and which afforded neither comfort nor convenience of any description, i may be allowed here to acknowledge my thanks for the sacrifice he made. after all our defects were repaired, and we were otherwise quite ready for sea, we were detained nearly a month before our crew was completed. june . and it was not until the th of june that we left port jackson. for a day or two previous to our departure the weather had been very unsettled; and when we sailed, there was every appearance of an approaching gale of wind: we had however been detained so long in collecting a crew that i was glad to sail the moment we were ready: besides i hoped to get to the northward before the threatening storm commenced. unfortunately however we had no sooner put to sea than it set in; and by the time we were abreast of smoky cape the wind, after flying about, fixed itself in the eastern board, and blew extremely hard with thick weather and heavy rain. june to . the gale lasted with little intermission during the th and st; and at four o'clock the next morning we had the misfortune to lose our bowsprit by the vessel's plunging into a head sea. we had however made a sufficient offing to enable us to keep away two points, so that, by rigging the wreck of the bowsprit, which was barely long enough to spread the storm jib, we contrived to steer a course we had every reason to think would carry her clear of port stevens. we continued to run to the southward until the afternoon, when, supposing we had passed that port, we bore away to the south-west. at midnight the gale fell, and the wind changed to the westward. june . at daylight land was seen to windward, which, from the distance we had ran, was supposed to be about port stevens; but we found ourselves at noon by a meridional observation, off jervis bay; so that the current during the gale had set us one hundred and fifty miles to the southward, and for the last twenty-four hours at the rate of nearly three knots per hour. june . owing to this we did not arrive at port jackson until the following day at noon; and it was sunset before the cutter anchored in the cove. it appeared on our arrival that the weather had been even worse on the land than we had experienced it at sea. the nepean and hawkesbury rivers had been flooded, by which the growing crops had been considerably injured, but happily the colony has long ceased to suffer from these once much-dreaded inundations: a great portion of upland country out of the reach of the waters is now cultivated, from which the government stores are principally supplied with grain. individuals who, from obstinacy, persist in the cultivation of the low banks of the hawkesbury, alone suffer from these destructive floods, which have been known to rise in a few hours to the height of eighty feet above the usual level of the river's bed. the evil, however, deposits its own atonement; and the succeeding crop, if it escapes a flood, repays the settlers for their previous loss: this it is that emboldens them to persist in their ill-advised temerity. at no very distant period a time will arrive when these very lands, the cultivation of which has caused so much distress to the colony and ruin to individuals, will, by being laid down in grass for the purposes of depasturing cattle, become a considerable source of wealth to their possessors. there has been no general want of grain in the colony since the year , although there have been several floods upon the hawkesbury and the other rivers that fall into it, which have greatly distressed the farmers of that district. one of the arguments, therefore, with which the enemies of colonizing in new south wales have hitherto armed themselves, in order to induce emigrants to give the preference to van diemen's land, falls to the ground. we were fortunate in finding in the naval yard, a spar of the new zealand cowrie pine (dammara) large enough for our bowsprit. . july . and on the th of july, having had our damages repaired, we resumed our voyage under more favourable omens, for we sailed with a fair wind and fine weather. july . on the th july we were off moreton bay, and in the afternoon communicated with a whaler which heaved in sight off the cape (moreton). my object was to learn whether she had heard any tidings of a boat belonging to the echo whaler, which ship had been lately wrecked on the cato's bank: one of her boats, with part of her crew, arrived at sydney a few days before we sailed; but another boat, in which the master and the remainder of her people embarked, had not been heard of; and i entertained hopes that this vessel had picked them up, but, on the master's coming on board, i found that he was quite ignorant of her loss. it so happened that both ships belonged to the same owner, messrs. bennetts of london; and we had the satisfaction of afterwards hearing that the information we had thus afforded proved useful; for the vessel subsequently succeeded in finding the boat, and preserving the lives of the crew. after giving our visitor some information respecting the coast and the reef off cape moreton, which he claimed as his discovery, but which, much to his surprise, we showed him already laid down on captain flinders' chart of , he returned to his ship, and we resumed our course to the northward. july . at nine o'clock the next evening, having passed indian head in the morning, we rounded breaksea spit, and at midnight brought to the wind in order to make lady elliot's island. july . but, finding at daylight that a current had drifted us past it, we steered on, and at ten o'clock discovered a group of low woody islets. they were named bunker's isles. it has been since ascertained that they abound with turtle and beche de mer, the latter of which, if not both, will at some future time become of considerable importance to the coasting trade of new south wales. july . on the th we anchored on the south side of port bowen, in the entrance of the inlet that extends to the southward within the projection of cape clinton; but in doing this we were unfortunate enough to get aground, and receive very serious damage. after passing the cape and hauling round its inner trend towards the sandy bay, we had to beat to windward to reach the anchorage, and, in the act of tacking on the western side of the inlet, the tide swept us upon a sandbank, over which, as the wind was blowing obliquely upon it, the cutter continued to drive until the sails were taken in and an anchor laid out astern to check her; but before we could extricate her from the dangerous situation in which she was placed, it was found necessary to lay out another bower-anchor, for there was a rolling swell upon the bank, and every time it left her she struck very hard upon the ground. happily the tide was flowing, and as soon as the vessel floated she was warped into a secure birth within the heads of the inlet. during the time that the cutter had been on the bank, which was two hours and a half, she was continually striking; and at one time we heard a loud crash which gave us reason to fear that some serious damage had happened. at first it was thought either that the pintles of the rudder were broken or that the stern-post was rent; but upon examination both appeared to have escaped; and as no leak was observed during the night i indulged the hope that the noise was not occasioned by any accident that would inconvenience us, or oblige our premature return to port jackson. that this hope proved to be fallacious will soon appear; and, had the extent of the damage received been discovered before we left this anchorage, i should not have ventured further up the coast, but have immediately returned to port jackson. had the tide been falling when the vessel struck, instead of the reverse, our situation must have been attended with more serious damage, if not our total loss; and therefore, comforted by an ideal security, we consoled ourselves under our comparatively good fortune. july . the next day was spent in watering, getting provisions to hand in the hold, and refitting some temporary damage to the rigging. mr. hunter and mr. cunningham ranged about the vicinity of the shore whilst mr. roe, with a boat's crew, was employed in filling our empty water-casks from a gully at the back of the beach. soon after the watering-party commenced their work some shrill voices were heard near them among the trees: in a short time two natives made their appearance and were easily persuaded to approach. they were unarmed, and communicated with confidence, and apparently were disposed to be friendly; one of them gave mr. roe a fishing-line spun and twisted of strips of bark, to the end of which was attached a hook made from a turtle-shell. our gentlemen revisited the shore in the afternoon but without seeing the natives. in wandering about they discovered some stumps of trees close to the beach that bore marks of having been felled with a sharp instrument; and near some huts they found several strips of canvas lying on the ground, from which it would appear that the place had recently been visited by europeans. july . i landed the next morning with a theodolite in order to obtain some bearings from the summit of the hill over the beach, but my intention was frustrated by a visit from the natives, five of whom made their appearance upon the hills as the boat arrived at the shore. the party consisted of three men and two boys: one of the men carried a spear, another had a boomerang* of a smaller size but otherwise similar to that which the port jackson natives use; and the boys each carried a short branch of a tree in their hands: they met us halfway and allowed us to approach with our muskets, a circumstance which dispelled all suspicion of any unfriendly feeling towards us; nor do i think any did exist when we first met. (*footnote. the boomerang is a very formidable weapon; it is a short, curved piece of heavy wood, and is propelled through the air by the hand in so skilful a manner that the thrower alone knows where it will fall. it is generally thrown against the wind and takes a rapid rotary motion. it is used by the natives with success in killing the kangaroo, and is, i believe, more a hunting than a warlike weapon. the size varies from eighteen to thirty inches in length, and from two to three inches broad. the shape is that of an obtuse angle rather than a crescent: one in my possession is twenty-six inches long, its greatest breadth two inches and a half, thickness half an inch, and the angle formed from the centre is degrees. boomerang is the port jackson term for this weapon, and may be retained for want of a more descriptive name. there is a drawing of it by m. lesueur in plate figure of peron's atlas; it is there described by the name of sabre a ricochet. this plate may, by the way, be referred to for drawings of the greater number of the weapons used by the port jackson natives, all of which, excepting the identical boomerang, are very well delineated. m. lesueur has however failed in his sabre a ricochet.) in order to divert them and obtain as much information as we could whilst the boat's crew were filling the water-casks, we seated ourselves on the grass and commenced a conversation that was perfectly unintelligible to each other, accompanied with the most ridiculous gestures, a species of buffoonery that is always acceptable to the natives of this part of the world, and on more than one occasion has been particularly useful to us. an attempt was made to procure a vocabulary of their language, but without success, for we were soon obliged from their impatience to give it up. not so easily, however, were they diverted from their object, for every article of our dress, and everything we carried, they asked for with the greatest importunity; our refusal disappointed them so much that they could not avoid showing the hostile feelings they had evidently begun to entertain towards us. seeing this, i took an opportunity of convincing them of our power, and after some difficulty persuaded the native that carried the spear to throw it at a paper-mark placed against a bush at the distance of twelve yards. he launched it twice, but, much to his mortification, without striking the object. mr. hunter then fired and perforated the paper with shot, which increased the shame that the native and his companions evidently felt upon the occasion: mr. hunter then killed a small bird that was skipping about the branches of an overhanging tree; upon the bird being given to them, they impatiently and angrily examined it all over, and particularly scrutinized the wound that caused its death. we now found that the proved superiority of our weapons, instead of quieting them, only served to inflame their anger the more; and we were evidently on the point of an open rupture. one of them seized the theodolite-stand, which i carried in my hand, and i was obliged to use force to retain it. they then made signs to mr. hunter to send his gun to the boat; this was of course refused, upon which one of them seized it, and it was only by wrenching it from his grasp that mr. hunter repossessed himself of it. many little toys were now given to them, on receiving which their countenances relaxed into a smile; and peace would perhaps have been restored, had we not unfortunately presented them with a looking-glass, in which they were, for the first time, witnesses of their hideous countenances, which were rendered still more savage from the ill-humour they were in. they now became openly angry; and in very unequivocal terms ordered us away. fortunately the indian that carried the spear was the least ill-tempered of the party, or we should not perhaps have retreated without being under the necessity of firing in self-defence. we retired however without any farther rupture and left them seated on the bank, whence they continued to watch our movements until the boat was loaded and we left the shore. they then came down to the beach and searched about for whatever things we might accidentally have left behind; and after examining with great attention some marks that, for amusement, some of our party had scratched upon the sand, they separated. the old man and the two boys embarked in a canoe and paddled round the point towards the cape, in which direction also the other two natives bent their steps. the tall, slender form of the port jackson natives and their other peculiarities of long curly hair, large heads, and spare limbs are equally developed in the inhabitants of this part. the bodies of these people are however considerably more scarified than their countrymen to the southward, and their teeth are perfect. one of our visitors had a fillet of plaited grass, whitened by pigment, bound round his head, and this was the only ornament worn by them. the spear was of very rude form and seemed to be a branch of the mangrove-tree, made straight by the effect of fire: it did not appear that they used the throwing-stick. the soil of the hills of cape clinton is of good quality but the country at the back of the port appears to be chiefly marshy land. mr. hunter sowed orange and lemon seeds in various places in the neighbourhood of the cape; the climate of this part is so well adapted for those trees that, if it were possible to protect them from the fires of the natives, they would soon grow up, and prove a valuable refreshment to voyagers. captain flinders describes the soil at the northern part of the port to be "either sandy or stony, and unfit for cultivation."* the country around mount westall is also formed of a shallow soil, but the low lands are covered with grass and trees, and the ravines and sides of the hills are covered with stunted pine-trees which were thought to be the araucaria excelsa. (*footnote. flinders volume page .) the country between port bowen and shoalwater bay is low and overrun with mangroves; but captain flinders* speaks more favourably of the land about the latter bay, particularly in the vicinity of his pine mount, where he describes the soil as being fit for cultivation. at upper head in broad sound the country appears to be still better;** in addition to which the great rise of tides might be of considerable importance to that place, should a settlement there ever be contemplated. (*footnote. flinders volume page .) (**footnote. idem volume page .) having obtained sights on the beach at cape clinton for the time-keepers we sailed out of this port by the same track that we entered; and held our course to the northward towards the northumberland islands. at midnight we were abreast of the percy islands. july . at noon the next day we passed to the westward of the islet, marked kl, and thence steered between the three rocks and k , and, before sunset, were near l , the island on which captain flinders landed. july . the night was passed under sail and at daylight, when we resumed our course towards the cumberland islands, linne peak and shaw's peak, and the land about capes hillsborough and conway were seen. at noon we were off pentecost island. hence we steered to the northward within a string of rocky islets. on passing this part, some natives came down to a point, and kindled a fire to attract our attention. at four o'clock in the evening we rounded the north extreme of the cumberland islands; and by sunset obtained a set of bearings to connect the present survey with that of last year. a lofty peak on the main, distinctly visible from all parts, particularly from repulse bay, was named after the late jonas dryander, esquire; it was ascertained to be feet high. the cumberland islands are all high and rocky and are covered on their windward or south-east sides with stunted timber and pine-trees; but the leeward sides, being sheltered from the wind, are generally well clothed with grass and timber. the pine-trees on these islands do not appear to be of large dimensions but several vessels have cut spars upon the islands near the south end of whitsunday passage, large enough for topmasts and bowsprits for vessels of tons burthen. it is not probable that larger spars can be obtained: they are very tough, but full of knots; and, when carried away by the wind, break short without splintering. july . we passed capes gloucester and upstart during the night and early part of the next morning. between the latter cape and the low projection of cape bowling-green, we experienced an in-draught of three-quarters of a knot per hour. this also occurred last year; and it should be guarded against by ships passing by: for the land about the latter cape is so low that it cannot be seen at night. from the period of our entering among the northumberland islands, the weather, although fine, had been more than usually hazy; the wind during the day blew moderately from south by east and south, and veered towards night to south-east by east and east-south-east; but when we passed cape cleveland it blew a fresh breeze, and was so very hazy that we could not take advantage of our vicinity to the coast by verifying or improving any part of our former survey, except the outer or seaward side of the palm island group, near which we passed in the evening. july . the next morning we were off the southernmost barnard's island, and as the coast between double point and fitzroy island had not been satisfactorily laid down on the previous examination of this part, we steered near the shore in order to improve it; but the land was much overcast and the summits of bellenden ker's range were so enveloped in clouds that very little improvement was effected. a breeze, however, in the evening from south-east dispersed the vapours that had collected during the day on the sea horizon. in passing outside of fitzroy island, a sandbank situated nine miles east / south from the island was noticed, and other banks were reported from the masthead; but on my going up i saw nothing more than a bright appearance on the horizon, which is however an indication of their existence that seldom failed in being correct, whenever an opportunity offered of proving it. bearing up between cape grafton and green island we steered north-west / north, by compass to make the low isles in trinity bay. the weather was thick and misty with showers of rain; but, as a sight of these islands was of consequence in crossing this bay, we continued to steer for them, and at midnight they were seen. this enabled us to direct the course with more confidence towards cape tribulation over captain cook's track. july . at daylight we were off the cape and soon passed to the eastward of the hope islands; between which and endeavour river we had an opportunity of laying down the reefs in the offing, particularly that on which the endeavour struck, and which so nearly proved fatal to her enterprising commander and his companions. as it was our intention to visit endeavour river to complete our former observations for the determination of its longitude, we hauled in for the land and upon reaching the entrance, with which i was sufficiently acquainted, steered over the bar on which the least water was ten feet, and secured the cutter to the beach on the same spot occupied at our last visit. being anxious to see what change had taken place during an absence of twelve months, our steps were naturally first directed to the spot where our boat had been built; the remains of our encampment were still visible, and the carpenter's bench was exactly in the same state as it had been left: the mermaid's name, which had been carved on a tree, was also legible; but in a short time would have been defaced by the young bark which had already nearly covered it. upon visiting our former watering place we were mortified to find that it was quite dried up; and this may probably account for the absence of natives, for there was not a single vestige of their presence on this side of the port; but as large fires were burning at the back of the north shore it was presumed they were in that direction. on setting fire to the grass to clear a space for our tent, it was quickly burnt to the ground, and the flames continued to ravage and extend over the hills until midnight. july . the following day we erected tents and commenced some repairs to the jolly-boat, which was hauled up in the usual place; the other two boats were sent to the north end of the long sandy beach on the opposite side to examine the state of the rivulet which we had noticed there last year. on their return they reported it to be still running with a plentiful stream; and although it was rather inconvenient, from the beach being exposed to the swell and surf, yet our boats made daily trips to it without any ill consequences, notwithstanding one of them was once swamped in loading; it did not however sustain any injury. another stream of water was subsequently found on the south side, a little without the entrance of the harbour, but too brackish for the purposes of drinking; it was therefore merely used during our stay for the common purposes of washing and cooking. whilst our people were thus employed i was assisted by mr. roe at the observatory. as the particulars of our observations for this and the preceding years are inserted in the appendix it will be sufficient here merely to record the position of the observatory; it was situated on the south shore opposite the low sandy north point; and was found to be in: latitude: degrees minutes seconds. longitude: degrees minutes seconds. variation of the compass: degrees / minutes east. dip of the south end of the needle: degrees. high water at full and change: at eight o'clock. july . on the th mr. bedwell went to captain cook's turtle reef but he was unsuccessful in his search for that animal; neither did he find any shells different from what we had previously seen; only a few clams (chama gigas) were brought away, besides a small fish of the shark tribe (squalus ocellatus, linn.). at high water the reef was overflowed excepting at its north-west end where a patch of sand not larger than the boat was left dry. at low tide the key, or the ridge of rocks heaped up round the edge of the reef, was left dry and formed a barricade for the interior, which is occupied by a shallow lake of circular shape in which many small fish and some sharks were seen swimming about. it was from this reef that captain cook, during the repair of his ship, procured turtle for her crew; and, this being the same season, we were disappointed in not obtaining any. on the return of the boat she was placed in some danger from the number of whales, of the fin-back species, that were sporting about the surface of the water and occasionally leaping out of it and lashing the sea with their enormous fins. july . on the th, having hitherto carried on our occupation without seeing or hearing anything of the natives, whilst i was busily employed with mr. roe in observing the sun's meridional altitude, i happened on looking round to espy five natives standing about forty or fifty yards off among the high grass watching our movements. as soon as they perceived we had discovered them they began to repeat the word itchew (friend) and to pat their breasts, thereby intimating that their visit had no hostile motive. as the sun was rapidly approaching its meridian i called mr. bedwell from on board to amuse them until our observations were completed. the only weapons they appeared to carry were throwing-sticks, which we easily obtained in exchange for some grains of indian corn. a few words were obtained by mr. cunningham which served to confirm many we had possessed ourselves of last year; and which, being afterwards compared with the vocabulary of the new south wales language given by captain cook, proves that he obtained it at endeavour river. and here it is not a little curious to remark that, of the only two words which materially differ in the two accounts, one of them is the name of the kangaroo. this word was repeatedly used to them last year, as well as this, accompanied by an imitation of the leap of the animal, which they readily understood; but on repeating the word kangaroo they always corrected us by saying "men-u-ah." this animal has therefore been distinguished by a name which chance alone gave it; and not, as has always been supposed, from the term applied to it by the natives of the part where captain cook first saw it. the resemblance of the words in the following vocabulary proves that the language of these people has not changed since captain cook's visit; and that in the term for kangaroo he has been mistaken. column : english word. column : word according to our vocabulary. column : word according to captain cook. kangaroo : men-u-ah : kangaroo. canoe : mar-a-gan : maragan. eye : ca-ree, or me-ell : meul. nose : e-mer-da, or po-te-er : bon-joo. ear : mil-kah : melea. teeth : mol-ear. knee : bon-go : pongo. toes : eb-e-rah. navel : tool-po-ra : tool poor. a quail : kah-kee or mool-lar. friend : it-chew. pigment : wo-parr. feathers : te-err. hair of the head : mor-re-ah : morye. beard : wol-lah : wallar. nipples : coy-o-ber-rah : cayo. fingers : mun-gal-bah. elbow : ye-er-we. huts : ye-er-kah. go along, go away, or go on : tattee or tah-tee. among the presents made to them were some beads which they appeared to consider of little value; but what pleased them most was a bird that mr. hunter shot previous to their appearance. their visit did not last longer than a quarter of an hour during which they were very pressing for us to accompany them; finding us however unwilling to trust ourselves in their power, for from our experience of their mischievous behaviour last year we had good reason to be suspicious of their intentions, they went away, but after walking a short distance, one of them returned, and stooping, picked up something with which he immediately slunk off, evidently with the hope of having escaped our notice: but in this he was disappointed; for mr. hunter and mr. cunningham followed him and ascertained that he had returned to carry away his spear which had been concealed close at hand during their communication with our party; and by the limping gait of the rest it was probable that they all carried spears between their toes; a practice that has been frequently observed among the natives in many parts of new south wales, when they wish to conceal their being armed; and which generally indicates a mischievous intention. shortly after their departure the country towards the back of the harbour was perceived to have been set on fire by them; as the wind was fresh the flames spread about in all directions; and in the evening our people being allowed to range about for amusement, increased the conflagration by setting fire to the surrounding grass; so that the whole surface was in a blaze. july . the next day, whilst busily employed at the tent in calculating some lunar distances, we were suddenly alarmed by the rapid approach of the flames; but having previously taken the precaution of burning the grass off round the tent, their advance was received with unconcern: the rapidity and fierceness however with which they approached made me fear that the sparks might set fire to the tent, upon which the instruments were moved to the water's edge and the tent pulled down; but, had not the grass been previously cleared away, we could not have saved any article, from the rapidity with which the flames spread through that which had been left standing and which was not more than ten yards from the tent. . august . three days after the visit from the natives, mr. bedwell and mr. hunter proceeded to examine among the mangroves at the back of the harbour for a communication with some fresh water ponds which we had discovered the day before; but they returned in the afternoon without success. they had penetrated up two or three openings in the mangroves; in one of which was found a canoe, similar to that described by woodcut : it was hollowed out of the trunk of the erythrina and was furnished with an outrigger. a turtle-peg was found in it, which mr. hunter brought away; it measured seventeen inches in length and was in other respects similar to that used by the natives of rockingham bay. (see woodcut .) on the mud and close to the canoe the gentlemen noticed the impression of a human foot, that must have been made since the previous high tide. they also saw an alligator but it was not more than eight feet in length. mr. cunningham returned in the evening from a walk to the summit of mount cook, much fatigued from the difficulty he experienced in the ascent: he brought with him however a collection of specimens and seeds, which fully repaid him for the toil of his excursion. he also rendered his expedition useful to me by taking the bearings of some reefs in the offing and by furnishing a sketch of the bay on the south side of the mountain, and of the rivulet which falls into it. this did not appear to him to be deep enough for a vessel larger than a boat. it was this bay that captain cook first examined for a place to repair his ship after his escape from the reef; but he found it much too inconvenient and exposed for his purpose; and it was after this that endeavour river was discovered. on one of mr. cunningham's explorations he found several cabbage palms (seaforthia elegans, brown); but they were too distant from the tents to induce me to send for any for the ship's company. besides this he also found a species of yam (caladium macrorhizum, cunn. manuscripts) the roots of which would have furnished an excellent substitute for vegetables for us, had the plants been found in abundance and convenient for gathering. during our stay at this harbour our gentlemen visited every part of the country within five or six miles from the tents. the soil, although covered with grass, was generally remarked to be shallow and of inferior quality; as was sufficiently indicated by the small size of the trees. the distance to which we had penetrated was by no means sufficient to give a fair idea of the nature of the country in the interior; which from its hilly appearance might be expected to possess both a rich soil and a better pasturage than the parts we had seen; but for the latter, the neighbourhood of the entrance of endeavour river was by no means insignificant. the small number of our crew prevented my sending away a party to examine the interior with any certainty of protection either to the travellers or to those left in charge of the vessel; and this circumstance, on several occasions, precluded us from forming any correct idea of the productions of the places we visited, which we probably might have been partially enabled to do by a walk of two or three miles from the sea. some kangaroos were seen by us during our visit; and mr. hunter shot a few birds: among the latter was a specimen of the psittacus haematodus, or blue-mountain parrot of port jackson; and a crane-like bird, similar to the ardea antigone, was seen at a distance. some of our gentlemen observed the impression of a bird's foot, resembling that of an emu; it was nine inches broad: very few insects were found here. we saw no more of the natives after their visit on the th but the smokes of their fires were frequently observed in the interior. mr. cunningham found some traces of their having eaten the fruit of the pandanus, of which he says, "pandanus pedunculatus, brown, forms ornamental clumps on these arid downs, and, being now heavily laden with its compound fruit, afforded me an ample supply of seeds in a well-ripened state. these tempting orange-coloured fruits had induced the natives to gather a quantity for the sake of the little pulp about their base, and i observed that, in order to enjoy themselves without trouble, they had lately kindled their fires immediately beneath some of the trees laden with fruit, which with some shellfish had afforded them a good repast." cunningham manuscripts. the weather during our visit has been oftener clouded and hazy than clear: the wind veered between south-south-east and east-south-east, and was generally fresh and accompanied with squalls. the thermometer ranged on board in the shade between and degrees fahrenheit, and the heat was by no means oppressive. having sufficiently attained our object in visiting this place, and having also taken the opportunity of completing our wood and water and repairing our boat, we prepared to sail. august . and on the th at seven o'clock in the morning weighed anchor and made for the bar; but the wind was so baffling and unsteady that we had great difficulty in passing over it. our course was then directed round cape bedford towards lizard island. on our way we noticed several shoals. off the south-west end of the island we saw a great many whales: soon after three o'clock we anchored in a sandy bay on its south-west side. august . the wind during the night and the following day blew so fresh as to prevent our proceeding; the delay was therefore taken advantage of by our gentlemen to land and examine the island. it may be recollected that it was from the summit of lizard island that captain cook discovered the openings in the reefs through which he passed and got to sea; little thinking that, by so doing, he was incurring a greater risk than by remaining within the reefs and steering along the coast. some of our people walked round the island where they found a whaler's ton butt cast upon the beach: it had probably belonged to the echo. near the cask were lying several coconuts, one of which was quite sound and perfect. the beach was strewed with pumice-stone heaped up above the high-water mark. the basis of the island is a coarse-grained granite. a shallow soil on the sides of the hills, the surface of which was thickly strewed with stones and large masses of rock, nourished a slight clothing of grass and other herbage. the summit of the island forms a peak, and is perhaps about a thousand feet high; the island is thinly wooded with small trees which scarcely deserve the appellation of timber. no natives were seen but it was evident they had lately been upon the island from the recent appearances of their fireplaces and the perfect state of a hut, which was a more comfortable habitation than we have usually found: it was arched over in the usual way, by twigs bent in the form of a dome; and was neatly thatched with dry grass. no turtle marks were noticed on the beach so that i should think this was not the season for laying their eggs. august . we were detained at this anchorage from the unfavourable state of the weather until the th, on which day we sailed and steered for howick group on a direct and unimpeded course. the channel appeared equally free on either side of the group; but as it was a material object, on account of the unfavourable state of the weather, to make sure of reaching the anchorage under cape flinders, we did not attempt to pass round the northern side but steered through the strait between and , and then over our former track round cape melville. at six o'clock we anchored under cape flinders. between point barrow and cape melville i had an opportunity of improving my chart with respect to the reefs in the offing, and of observing the outer limit of the barrier reefs which were distinguished by the heavy breakers that lined the horizon. on rounding cape melville, the remarkable feature of which has been previously described above, a pine-like tree was noticed growing on the summit of the ridge: mr. cunningham thought it was the araucaria excelsa; if his conjecture was right this tree occupies a space of miles of coast, between degrees minutes and degrees minutes. it might however have been a callitris. on passing round cape flinders the remains of the frederick's wreck were still seen scattered over the rocks but appeared much reduced in quantity. august . upon visiting it the next morning we observed evident proofs that some ship had lately been there and taken away several of her principal spars; and that a great portion of the smaller planks had been destroyed by the natives' fires. we took the opportunity of collecting some iron-work and teak planks, which afterwards proved more serviceable than we at the time anticipated. mr. cunningham and mr. hunter walked about the island but did not meet the natives. the traces both of men and dogs were so recent as to make us conjecture they were at no great distance; but from our subsequent knowledge of the inhabitants of these islands there is no doubt but that they would have shown themselves had they known of our visit. mr. cunningham also ascended a remarkably rugged-looking hill at the south point of the bay on the east side of the island, which, from its appearance, received several appropriate names from our people, such as mount dreary and mount horrid. mr. cunningham calls it rugged mount, and says, "it is thinly covered with a small variety of plants similar to those of cape cleveland. this mount is a pile of rugged rocks, towered up to a considerable elevation above the sea which washes its base: the stones of the summit being of angular or conical forms (apparently basaltic) whilst the general mass on the slopes or declivities are deeply excavated, furnishing spacious retreats to the natives. i entered one of the caverns (the walls of which were of a decomposing sandstone) having a window formed in it by the falling down of a portion of the side rock. the cave was a large natural chamber, capacious enough to hold conveniently a large tribe of natives; who, from the numerous fireplaces, broken turtle staffs, and other relics, had not very long since dwelt there. i also found numerous fragments of quartzose rocks lying about and pieces of a kind of marble, of a brown colour, were abundant in the cavities, as well as upon the face of the mount." (cunningham manuscripts.) august . upon leaving cape flinders we crossed princess charlotte's bay and steered at half to three-quarters of a mile within the reefs: soon after noon it fell calm and we anchored under the lee of pelican island, and landed upon it to examine an appearance of turtle marks on the sand; they were however found to be of an old date. this island, which does not measure more than two-thirds of a mile in circumference, is surrounded by a considerable reef and is remarkable for two clumps of trees upon it, that, standing separately, give the appearance at a distance of its being two distinct islets. it is, like all the islets near it, little better than a sandy key. while i was employed in levelling the theodolite the gentlemen directed their steps to a flight of pelicans that was seen collected upon the beach; at their approach the old birds took wing and left their unfledged young, to the number of eighteen or twenty, waddling about the sand, all of which were killed and skinned before we embarked for the sake of their white down. on the islet three very neatly-constructed natives' huts were observed, that, from their appearance and the very recent state of the fish-bones and turtle-shells scattered about, had been lately occupied. the reef is of circular shape; the surface is formed principally of a rotten, crumbling coral rock and was destitute of shells or any animal production except the beche de mer: of which the black sort (batoo) appeared the most abundant. among the bearings obtained from this station was that of the highest summit of flinders' group, which bore south degrees minutes east (magnetic) and, as a connecting bearing, was of considerable importance to the survey. august . the day was too far advanced to make further progress with any advantage; we, therefore, remained until the following morning when we steered north-north-west, but were soon impeded by a very extensive reef, m, that crossed our course, trending to the north-east. wishing to ascertain its extent to seaward, as well as to pass round its windward side, we steered along its south-eastern edge; and after proceeding for some time, first in a north-east, then a north, and afterwards in a north-north-west direction, found ourselves running through a narrow channel formed by another considerable reef, l, to the eastward, and lying in a parallel direction with m: the breadth of this pass, or channel, varied between one and two miles. at nine o'clock, having run about ten miles, a break appeared in the innermost reef, m, through which we made an attempt to pass. as we approached it our soundings quickly decreased, yet still we hoped to effect our object; but suddenly shoaling the water to five fathoms, and at the next heave to ten feet and a half, with the coral rocks almost grazing the vessel's bottom, the helm was put down; fortunately she stayed and we escaped the danger. there was every appearance of a termination of the reef a few miles further to the north-east, but the glare of the sun was so deceptious that i preferred returning by the way we came; and having a leading fresh wind, we were by noon steering between the south-west end of the reef m and the woody islands and of claremont isles. between this and cape sidmouth several reefs were seen to seaward that we had not noticed last year. in passing the cape we kept nearer to the sandy islet than before, and had not less water than seven fathoms. august . the next morning, having passed the night under night island, we resumed our course and steered round cape direction, with the intention of passing to windward of the long reef, f; but being prevented by its extending too much to the eastward to allow of our weathering it we bore up, and, passing to the eastward of piper's islands and of reef l, anchored under haggerston's island. august . as i did not intend running farther than sunday island for my next anchorage we did not weigh the following day until we had visited the island and obtained a meridional altitude for its latitude and sights for the time-keeper. it is about a mile and a half in circumference and forms a high rock of steep ascent; its windward side is clothed with a stunted brush, but the lee or north-west side is tolerably well wooded, and is fronted by a sandy beach, on which the traces of natives' fireplaces, scattered with fish-bones and turtle shells, were found in all directions. a considerable coral-reef extends to the northward, having some dry sandy keys at its north extremity. an extensive view of the neighbouring reefs and islands was obtained from the summit, particularly of the reefs n and o, and of the deep-water channel between them. august . our next anchorage was under sunday island, and on the th we proceeded outside the bird isles and between two coral reefs, v and w, that appeared last year to be connected. several reefs were also noticed to seaward that had escaped our observation last year, but they are all of small extent, and on the greater number there is a dry bank of sand which on some is bare, whilst others are covered with bushes and small trees. as the day was too far advanced to permit us to pass round cape york before night we anchored in the afternoon under cairncross island and spent the evening on shore. this island is low and wooded like the other and is not more than a mile in circumference. it is thickly covered with bushes and trees, among which mr. cunningham found a great many plants that interested him, particularly the bulbous roots of a species of pancratium, and some large specimens of mimusops kauki in fruit, besides which he observed a remarkable tree which he has described in his journal by the name of gueltarda octandra. "it is a strong luxuriant tree, having a stem six feet diameter, whose base is much like the spurred bulb of a tropical fig." (cunningham manuscripts.) the island is situated at the north-west end of the reef which is two miles and a half long and one mile broad, and composed like that of pelican island, of dead coral hardened by the weather and cemented by its own calcareous deposit into masses of compact rocks which, being heaped up by the surf, form a key that probably the high-tide scarcely ever covers. the interior is occupied by a shoal lagoon in which, although not more than two feet deep, our people saw a great variety of fish, and among them a shark five feet long, which, notwithstanding there was scarcely sufficient water for it to float in, contrived to escape. a few shells of the voluta ethiopica and some clams (chama gigas) were found, but neither sort was plentiful. the natives, as appeared from their traces, occasionally visit the island: our people found some deserted turtles' nests, and mr. cunningham saw a pigeon that appeared to be new; it was of large size and of black and white plumage: besides this no other bird was seen. we now began for the first time to feel the effects of our accident at port bowen, for the tide, setting against the wind, caused a short swell, in which the cutter strained so much that she made two inches and a half of water per hour. august . at noon the next day we rounded cape york; and, as we had last year taken the route to the northward of wednesday island, we now steered round the south side of prince of wales islands through endeavour strait. august . and passing the night under one of the possession islands, number , the next day reached booby island off which we anchored. on our course to the westward of cape cornwall and across the line of shoals that extend from it to wallis isles we had not less water than four fathoms. in the afternoon we landed on booby island and at night procured turtles, and about a thousand eggs. on the summit of the island, or rather the rock, several piles of stones were observed that had been heaped up by the crews of the various ships passing by, as relics of their visit: among other notices of a similar nature we found a board indicating the safe passage through the strait of the ship sea-flower, which our logbook informed us left port jackson on the st of last may; and from the memorandum on the board we found that she took the outer passage, entered torres strait at murray's island, and arrived off booby island, after a voyage of twenty-two days. a good opportunity was here offered, by comparing our voyage with that of the sea-flower, of proving the superiority of the inshore route: the mermaid left port jackson on the th july, and passed booby island on the th august, which is an interval of thirty-five days; from this fifteen must be deducted for the delays occasioned by the survey; namely, at port bowen two days, at endeavour river nine days, at lizard island, cape flinders, haggerston's island, and the possession islands, one day each; this leaves twenty days for our passage, being two days shorter than the sea-flower's. this comparison therefore is in favour of the inshore route. but it is not only superior to the passage without the reefs, from its being shorter, there are also other advantages: the principal of which are that the weather is more generally fine; the sea is always perfectly smooth; and wood or water may be procured upon various parts of the coast: with only common attention there is no risk; and however laboriously the day may be spent the night is passed without disturbing the crew; for safe and good anchorage may be taken up every night under the lee of an islet or a reef, which in the event of bad weather may be retained as long as is requisite or convenient. no time is lost by the delay, for the anchor may be dropped in the ship's immediate track; and if the cargo consists of live animals such as horses, cattle, or sheep, grass may be obtained for them from the islands near the anchorage. in the outer passage the sea is strewed with numerous reefs, many yet unknown,* which render the navigation at night extremely dangerous; and if, on approaching the part where it is intended to enter the reefs, the weather should be thick, and the sun too clouded at noon to procure an observation for the latitude, the navigator is placed in a very anxious and a very unenviable situation; for the currents are so strong that the position of the ship is by no means sufficiently known to risk running to leeward to make the reefs. the ensuing night must therefore in all probability be passed in the greatest uncertainty and in the vicinity of extensive coral reefs. (*footnote. when this sheet was in the press an account was published in one of the daily newspapers (morning herald rd of march ) recording the discovery of some low coral islands and reefs by the ship avon, september , , in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east.) chapter . cross the gulf of carpentaria, and anchor at goulburn's south island. affair with the natives. resume the survey of the coast at cassini island. survey of montagu sound, york sound, and prince frederic's harbour. hunter's and roe's rivers, port nelson, coronation islands. transactions at careening bay. repair the cutter's bottom. general geognostical and botanical observations. natives' huts. brunswick bay. prince regent's river. leave the coast in a leaky state. tryal rocks, cloates island. pass round the west and south coasts. bass strait. escape from shipwreck. botany bay. arrival at port jackson. . august . we did not leave our anchorage off booby island until the next morning, in order that we might obtain sights for the watches, and have the advantage of daylight for passing over the position assigned to a shoal, said to have been seen by the ship aurora. after weighing we steered west-south-west for sixty miles without seeing any signs of it; and on this course our soundings very gradually increased to thirty fathoms. august to . on our passage across the gulf of carpentaria we had very fine weather but the horizon was enveloped in haze. the south-east monsoon was steady but very light; and the wind during the day veered occasionally to north-east, which might here be called a sea-breeze. august . on the th we passed cape wessel. hence we steered for goulburn islands. august . and on the afternoon of the st anchored in south west bay, off the watering-place, which was running very slowly; a hole was dug to receive the drainings. august . and the next morning we commenced operations, but, from the small supply of water, our progress was very slow. the natives had not made their appearance, but knowing whom we had to deal with, every precaution was taken to prevent surprise: an armed party was stationed to protect the remainder of our people who were cutting down the trees which grew immediately over the watering-place on the brink of the cliff; and the officers and men were severally cautioned against straying away from the shore party without taking the precaution of carrying arms. mr. hunter and mr. cunningham ranged about the island near our wooding party; the former gentleman shot for us several birds, among which was a white cockatoo that differed from the species that is common at port jackson in being smaller and having a very small white crest or top-knot without any yellow feathers in it: its mandibles and feet were white but the feathers on the under part of the wings had the usual yellow tinge. mr. cunningham was successfully employed in adding to his collections, but the dry season was so far advanced and the country so parched up that everything bespoke the last season as having been unusually dry. august . on the following day, when our people resumed their occupation, they were again cautioned not to trust to the apparent absence of the natives. in the afternoon mr. roe walked along the beach with his gun in quest of birds: on his way he met mr. hunter returning from a walk in which he had encountered no recent signs of the indians. this information emboldened mr. roe to wander farther than was prudent, and in the mean time mr. hunter returned to our party in order to go on board; he had however scarcely reached our station when the report of a musket and mr. roe's distant shouting were heard. the people immediately seized their arms and hastened to his relief and by this prompt conduct probably saved his life. it appeared that, after parting from mr. hunter, he left the beach and pursued his walk among the trees; he had not proceeded more than fifty yards when he fired at a bird: he was cautious enough to reload before he moved from the spot in search of his game, but this was scarcely done before a boomerang* whizzed past his head, and struck a tree close by with great force. upon looking round towards the verge of the cliff, which was about twenty yards off, he saw several natives; who upon finding they were discovered set up a loud and savage yell, and threw another boomerang and several spears at him, all of which providentially missed. emboldened by their numbers and by his apparent defenceless situation, they were following up the attack by a nearer approach, when he fired amongst them, and for a moment stopped their advance. mr. roe's next care was to reload, but to his extreme mortification and dismay he found his cartouch box had turned round in the belt and every cartridge had dropped out: being thus deprived of his ammunition, and having no other resource left but to make his escape, he turned round and ran towards the beach; at the same time shouting loudly to apprize our people of his danger. he was now pursued by three of the natives, whilst the rest ran along the cliff to cut off his retreat. (*footnote. see note above.) on his reaching the edge of the water, he found the sand so soft that at every step his feet sunk three or four inches, which so distressed him and impeded his progress that he must soon have fallen overpowered with fatigue had not the sudden appearance of our people, at the same time that it inspired him with fresh hopes of escape, arrested the progress of the natives, who, after throwing two or three spears without effect, stopped and gave him time to join our party, quite spent with the extraordinary effort he had made to save his life. whilst this event occurred i was employed on board in constructing my rough chart, but upon mr. roe's being seen from the deck in the act of running along the beach pursued by the indians, i hastened on shore, determined if possible to punish them for such unprovoked hostility. upon landing, mr. hunter, mr. roe, and one of the men joined me in pursuit of the natives; but from our comparatively slow movements and our ignorance of the country, we returned after an hour without having seen any signs of them; in the evening before our people left off work we made another circuitous walk, but with the same bad success. the natives had taken the alarm and nothing more was seen of them during the remainder of our stay, excepting the smokes of their fires which appeared over the trees at the back of the island. previous to this attack upon mr. roe the natives had probably been following mr. hunter; and were doubtless deterred from attacking him by witnessing the destructive effects of his gun among a flight of cockatoos, five or six of which he brought away, and left as many more hopping about the grass wounded and making the woods re-echo with their screams. when mr. hunter parted from mr. roe the natives remained to watch the latter gentleman; and no sooner had he discharged his gun, which they found was of no use until it was reloaded, than they commenced their attack; and from the known dexterity of the natives of this country in throwing the spear it was not a little surprising that they missed him so repeatedly. before we embarked for the night i walked with mr. roe to the place where he was attacked, in order to look for the spears that had been thrown at him and for the cartridges he had lost; but as neither were found, we were revengeful enough to hope that the natives would burn their fingers with the powder, an event not at all unlikely to occur, from their ignorance of the dangerous effect of placing the cartridges near the fire, which they would be sure to do. during our visit we were fortunate in having very fine weather; and although it was very hazy we did not experience that excessive heat which, from the advanced state of the season, had been expected. the thermometer ranged between and degrees; but the regularity and strength of the sea-breezes tended materially to keep the air cool and pleasant. august . on the th the gentlemen visited sims' island, where they found a considerable quantity of fresh water in holes that had apparently been dug for the purpose by the malays. among the insects which they brought back with them was a very fine species of cimex; it was found in great numbers upon the foliage of hibiscus tiliaceus. in the evening we left the bay. august . and the next morning passed to the northward of new year's island in order to avoid the calm weather which was experienced at the same season last year. off the entrance of van diemen's gulf (dundas strait) we passed through large quantities of sea sawdust, some of which was put into a bottle; and when the process of putrefaction had taken place the substance sunk to the bottom and coloured the water with a crimson tinge. . september . after passing the meridian of cape van diemen our course was directed towards captain baudin's banc des holothuries near cape bougainville; but being impeded by calms and light winds did not reach it until the rd of september, when we passed between its south-east extremity and troughton island. before dark we passed over the north extremity of the long reef to the westward of cape bougainville. september . the following day at noon we were near condillac island, after which a sea-breeze from the westward enabled us to pass cape voltaire, at which point our last year's survey terminated. when we were within the cape we found an ebb-tide setting out of a bight, which trended deeply in to the southward and appeared to be studded with rocky islands. this adverse tide continued to run all the evening and prevented our reaching the bottom; so that at sunset we dropped the anchor a few miles to the south of cape voltaire. to the westward of this position we counted twenty-three islands, the northernmost of which were supposed to be the montalivet isles of baudin. the whole have an uninteresting and rocky appearance but are not altogether destitute of vegetation: a greenish tinge upon the nearest islet saved them from being condemned as absolutely sterile. september . the next morning a boat visited the outer north-easternmost islet, named in the chart water island, which was found to be as rocky in reality as it was in appearance. it is formed of a hard granular quartzose sandstone, of a bluish-gray colour; the basis is disposed in horizontal strata but the surface is covered with large amorphous rocks of the same character that have evidently been detached and heaped together by some convulsion of nature: over these a shallow soil is sprinkled, which nourishes our old acquaintance spinifex, and a variety of plants of which mr. cunningham collected more than twenty distinct known genera. the exposed surfaces of the rocks are coloured by the oxide of iron, which is so generally the case upon the northern and north-western coasts that the name of red coast might with some degree of propriety be applied to a great portion of this continent. mr. hunter found a large quantity of bulbous-rooted plants; they proved to be a liliaceous plant of the same species as those which we had before found upon sims' island, the islands of flinders' group on the eastern coast, and at percy island. a meridional altitude of the sun was obtained on the north side of the island; and before we embarked the boat's crew found fresh water enough to fill our barica: this was so unusual a discovery that the island was complimented with a name which will serve rather to record the fact than to distinguish it as a place where so important an article of refreshment may be procured with certainty. in the rainy season a large quantity may always be obtained from cisterns, or holes, which were observed naturally formed upon the surface of the rocks. the marks of a turtle were noticed upon the beach; and near them was the impression of a native's foot as well as the broken shells of some turtles' eggs which had very recently been eaten. this discovery set the boat's crew on the search for other nests but they were unsuccessful. an extensive view of the surrounding islands was obtained from its summit, as well as a set of bearings for the survey of this sound, which was named at mr. hunter's request after robert montagu, esquire, admiral of the white. a sea-breeze set in before we left the island: upon arriving on board we got underweigh and at four o'clock anchored near the bottom of the bay (swift's bay) in the entrance of a strait separating kater's island from the main. in the evening we landed upon the south-east end of kater's island and found it to be in character, both geologically and botanically, very similar to water island; excepting that there was more vegetation upon it in the shape of shrubs and trees. the surface of the ground was covered by spinifex, which rendered our walking both difficult and painful; this plant diffuses a strong aromatic odour, which quality it possesses, as it were, to counterbalance the annoying effects of its prickly foliage. september . the next day mr. bedwell examined a small inlet at the bottom of the bay. it proved to be merely a salt-water creek bounded by rocks and mangroves. traces of natives were observed; and he brought on board with him the remains of a fish-pot, nine feet long, made of strips of flagellaria indica, but so imperfect and disfigured that we could not readily convince ourselves either of its particular construction or use. in the evening we found a few gallons of water in a hollow near the beach upon the south shore of the strait. during mr. bedwell's absence a hot land-wind from south-east sprung up and raised the temperature to degrees. the peculiar verdure of the vegetation in all parts hereabout was a proof that this part of the country had suffered less from drought than the coast to the eastward. the traces of a small species of kangaroo were found in every part but our appearance had frightened them away. the food of this animal appeared to be principally the seeds and leaves of an acacia which they reach easily from the rocks. mr. cunningham, who was as usual most indefatigable in adding to his collection, observed one of the large nests that have been so frequently before described. it was six feet in diameter, formed principally of sticks, among which was found a piece of bamboo about five feet long, that had evidently been cut at its extremities by a sharp-edged tool, probably by the malays. whatever the inhabitant of this nest might have been it was doubtless a bird of considerable size and power to have transported a stick of such a length. september . the next morning after mr. roe had sounded the strait that separates kater's island from the main we got underweigh and passed through it; and then rounding a high island named after dr. w.h. wollaston, we steered to the westward through a group of islets which were too numerous to be correctly placed in a running survey. to the westward of wollaston island is a deep bay which, from the broken appearance of the coast at the back, there is some reason to think may prove the embouchure of a small rivulet; but as it was not of sufficient importance to cause delay it was passed with the appellation of mudge bay. in the evening we anchored off an island named on account of the peculiar shape of a rock near the beach capstan island; and as it wanted yet an hour to sunset we landed and ascended the summit which, from its very rugged ascent, was no easy task. a view however from this elevated station, and an amplitude of the setting sun, repaid me for my trouble; and mr. cunningham increased his collection by the addition of some interesting plants and a few papers of seeds. the distance that the french expedition kept from this part of the coast, of which m. de freycinet so often and so justly complains, prevented it from ascertaining the detail of its shores: in fact very few parts of it were seen at all. commodore baudin's cape chateaurenaud must be some low island which we did not see, unless it was the outermost of our prudhoe islands. montagu sound is bounded on the west by an island of considerable size which was named in compliment to john thomas bigge, esquire, his majesty's late commissioner of inquiry into the state of the colony of new south wales. bigge island is separated from the main by a strait named after the reverend thomas hobbes scott, now archdeacon of new south wales, formerly secretary to the above commission. september . the next morning we steered through scott's strait but not without running much risk on account of the muddy state of the water, and from the rocky nature of its channel. it was however passed without accident; but as the tide prevented our doubling cape pond the anchor was dropped, and the evening spent on shore upon a rocky island that fronts the cape, from the summit of which an extensive set of bearings was taken. the land was observed to trend in very deeply to the southward of cape pond and the western horizon was bounded by a range of islands on which were two hills of sugarloaf form. this island, like capstan island, is a heap of sandstone rocks, clothed with the usual quantity of spinifex and small shrubs. a path of the natives was observed winding among the grass and on the beach were the marks of feet. the tide fell whilst we were on shore twenty-two feet. september . the next morning we steered round cape pond and entered the opening; but, the wind being contrary, we did not reach farther than anderdon's islands, where the night was passed. september . the next day we took advantage of the flood-tide and before high water anchored where the depth at low water was three fathoms. the tide subsequently rose twenty-eight feet. we were now at the bottom of a very extensive harbour bounded by bold and irregular ranges of precipitous rocky hills, particularly on its eastern side, where three or four peaks were noticed, among which were manning peak and mount anderdon. under these hills was the mouth of a large opening; and to the eastward of the anchorage we observed another of greater size but not so interesting in its appearance as the former. the country hereabout, although equally rocky and rugged, is more wooded than that to the north-east; and from the number of fires that were burning there is reason to suppose it is more populous. we therefore prepared to examine the two openings in view, with sanguine expectations of finding something to repay us for the numerous disappointments we had already encountered. september . and the next morning mr. hunter accompanied me to explore the opening under manning peak whilst mr. roe and mr. cunningham embarked in another boat to examine the river that falls into the bottom of the bay. after landing at the entrance of the opening we proceeded up a considerable reach, bounded on either side by precipitous rocks, in some parts from two to three hundred feet in height. this reach extends four miles; and being from five to seven fathoms deep, and more than half a mile wide, forms an excellent port: half way up on the north side is a wide inlet; probably the embouchure of a mountain stream, for it appeared to wind under the base of manning peak. we landed in many parts on search of fresh water but were on all occasions unsuccessful. at the end of this reach the river, for such it now appeared to be, gradually narrowed and wound with a more serpentine course under the base of the hills which still continued to be rugged and steep; but the banks were now thickly lined by mangroves, whereas in the first or sea reach they are formed principally of large rounded masses of rock that had been detached from the summits of the overhanging hills by the effect of the cascades, some of which must have fallen from a height of feet without interruption in their descent. during the rainy season it would be dangerous to expose a vessel to the strength of the freshes in this river. at the distance of six miles from the end of the first reach we arrived at the termination of the river where its width was not more than twenty-five yards. here its bed was blocked up by large water-worn masses of sandstone and, as the boat could not proceed farther, we landed to await the turn of the tide. about a mile below this part we had unexpectedly found a spring of fresh water bubbling up among the mangroves and yielding a very considerable quantity: whilst we were examining it the tide was nearly up so that we had only time to fill our barica and kettle before the salt water flowed over and mixed with it. during our detention here we ascended the hills over the landing-place to examine the country; but on reaching the top after a rugged and difficult walk, higher hills obstructed our view in every direction. the bed of the river appeared to continue for some distance through a deep gully formed by precipitous hills. in the wet season this is doubtless a very considerable stream; and then perhaps the water is fresh as low as the upper part of the first reach. at this time the holes in the rocks were filled with fresh water but the tide flowed up as far as it was navigable for our boat. the trees on the tops and sides of the hills had lately been burned: in the shady parts however near the water, the shore was lined with several plants which had escaped destruction; among them was a species of nutmeg (myristica insipida, brown), a tree of twenty-five feet high (maba laurina, brown), and on the top of the hills and shelving places halfway down were observed several coniferous trees that resembled the callitris ventenat, or australian cypress, which grows in the interior of the colony at port jackson: they were at this season in fruit. a steep peaked hill near our landing-place was named donkin's hill after the inventor of the preserved meats; upon a canister of which our party dined. this invention is now so generally known that its merits do not require to be recorded here; we had lately used a case that was preserved in which was equally good with some that had been packed up in . this was the first time it had been employed upon our boat excursions and the result fully answered every expectation, as it prevented that excessive and distressing thirst from which, in all other previous expeditions, we had suffered very much. on our return we landed at the spring. the tide had covered it; but upon searching another was found farther back among the mangroves, supplying at the rate of two to three gallons a minute; a discovery so valuable that the river was thought worthy of a name and it was called after my companion mr. hunter, who shared my pleasure in the gratification of finding what we had hitherto thought, at this season, totally wanting near the coast. no signs of natives were observed, unless the country, having been lately fired, might indicate their having been in these parts; but, from the very rugged nature of the hills, it is not probable they frequent the neighbourhood of the river. kangaroos' tracks were seen and a small opossum observed skipping about the rocks. on our return down the river we landed on several parts where the depth of the gullies and the verdure of the trees indicated a probability of our finding fresh water, but in vain; not a drop was obtained. on returning we were left by the ebbing tide upon a bank of mud; being however near low water, we had only to exercise our patience for two hours. we reached the vessel by eleven o'clock at night. mr. roe did not return until sunset of the following day from his examination of the river which falls into the bottom of the port. when he left the cutter he pulled to a hill at the entrance of the river, which had been pointed out to him as probably affording an easy ascent and from which he would obtain a commanding view of the country to guide his proceedings. from this elevation the country around appeared to be very stony and barren, although he fancied there was some approach towards improvement; the banks of the river were low and lined with mangroves and intersected by many small saltwater inlets extending through the low country to the foot of the back hills; at low water the shore is fronted by a bank of mud, ten or twelve yards wide, and so soft as to prevent landing. whilst he was employed at the summit of the hill in taking bearings, twelve natives with two dogs made their appearance on the opposite shore which was separated from the hill on which mr. roe landed by a soft mud flat. the natives attempted to cross to him, shouting loudly as they advanced, but when halfway over they desisted and slowly returned. when mr. roe descended he perceived several fresh prints of the human foot on the mud, from which he supposed that there were already some natives upon the island. there were several large fires burning in various directions and one was kindled by the natives on the opposite bank.* (*footnote. the natives of this part were seen by tasman, according to the following note of burgomaster witsen, as published in mr. dalrymple's papua. "in degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes (about degrees east) the people are savage, and go naked: none can understand them.") a snake about seven feet long was the only animal our party saw, but the dung of the kangaroo was as usual plentifully spread in all directions. from this station, which was seven miles from the mouth, they followed the course of the river, first on an easterly direction for ten miles, and then it took a sudden turn to the southward and trended alternately south by east and south by west for fifteen miles; at this part the river was upwards of seventy yards wide; the banks were lined with mangroves but the rocks rose precipitously behind them to the height of three hundred feet. here our party landed to pass the night, and before dark mr. roe and his companion mr. cunningham with one of the boat's crew climbed the ridge over their heads but encountered much difficulty before they reached the summit, from which they could discover nothing but ridges beyond ridges of rocky wooded hills, precisely similar to what they were upon. one higher than the rest was discerned about ten miles off to the eastward. no signs of human beings were noticed. the top of the hill was strewed about with ant-hills constructed of dry dusty sand, and this was the only substance that could be called soil; but notwithstanding all this sterility there were trees of the eucalyptus family growing from twenty to forty feet high; and one was measured whose diameter was as much as eighteen inches. the rocks are of sandstone, in nearly horizontal strata, coated with a crust of crystallized quartz and coloured by a ferruginous oxide. on their return to the tent they made preparations to pass the night; and as it was prudent, if possible, to keep the boat afloat, one of the men was stationed in her for that purpose; but, overpowered by fatigue, he fell asleep and the boat in a short time was left dry upon the mud; the party on shore were continually disturbed during the night by what was thought to be the rushing of alligators into the water beneath them, but the noise was probably occasioned by stones and lumps of mud falling into it as the tide ebbed; a splash, however, that they heard on the opposite side was very likely an alligator, for they had seen one swimming as they pulled up the river. on hearing this mr. roe became very much alarmed on account of the boat-keeper, but no pains to apprize him of his danger had any effect: the only reply that could be got from him was, "damn the alligators," and the next moment he was asleep again; fortunately for him no alligator came near enough to make him repent his foolhardy insensibility. the width of the stream at low water, which was quite salt, was not more than twenty-five feet. when the flood commenced it came in so rapidly that the water rose five feet in ten minutes: altogether it rose twenty-four feet; but driftwood and dead branches of trees were noticed among the rocks at least fourteen feet above the ordinary high-water mark, indicating, at other seasons, the frequency of strong freshes or floods. one of the pieces of driftwood had been cut by a sharp instrument. mr. roe further says, "from the appearance of the country and the steep hills, generally about three hundred feet high, among which this river winds, there can be little doubt of its being, during the rainy season, a considerable fresh-water stream; and as i consider the length of its various windings to be twenty-six or twenty-seven miles, there is every prospect of its being navigable for our boat for at least half that distance farther. fish were plentiful, but principally of that sort which the sailors call cat fish; of these several were caught. small birds were numerous, together with white cockatoos, cuckoos, some birds with very hoarse discordant notes, and one whose note resembled the beating of a blacksmith's hammer upon an anvil. at daybreak they all exerted themselves in full chorus, and i should then have proceeded farther, but the tide was half out, and a soft mud-bank forty feet broad fronting the shore cut off our communication with the boat." as soon as the ebb-tide began to make mr. roe embarked on his return; and during his passage down saw as many as twelve alligators. two were fired at but the balls glanced off their tough coats of mail without hurting or scarcely frightening them. a small trickling of water was noticed among the rocks, which they found to be fresh but in too small a quantity to be of any use. the boat was six hours and a half pulling down although for the first five hours the tide was favourable. the river was named after the rector of newbury, the reverend father of my zealous and diligent assistant mr. roe. it appears to be a very considerable stream and, as mr. roe justly observes, in the rainy season or at any other time of the year than during the months of september and october, which terminate the dry season, will doubtless afford a large quantity of fresh water. the opportunity that offered in hunter's river of filling our water-casks was not to be lost. september . and the day after the boat returned from the examination of roe's river the cutter was moved to an anchorage about half way up the first or sea reach of hunter's river. september . and the next morning before daylight the boats were despatched; but owing to the darkness of the morning and the ebb-tide having left the shores dry and almost inaccessible, from the quantity of mud that lined them, they did not reach the spring until late in the day. in the mean time, however, they contrived to wade through the mud to the shore; and then explored the bed of the river for half a mile beyond where our previous examination terminated. in this space they passed several pools of fresh water which, in some parts, was running over a pebbly bottom; but the supply was so trifling as to be not sufficient to alter the taste of the seawater. our gentlemen described the country to be as destitute of soil as we had found it lower down; and so rugged as to be scarcely passable. the ravine is formed by precipitous rocks of sandstone rising perpendicularly on both sides to the height of two hundred feet, here and there lightly sprinkled with a few shrubs which had lately been burnt. some of our party thought they saw both an emu and a black swan amongst the bushes on the banks of the river. in some parts of the north coast we have certainly noticed marks on the sand like the impressions of an emu's foot, but as we have never seen the bird it is probable that we have mistaken them for the traces of the ardea antigone. black swans we have never seen at all within the tropic and it is equally likely that in this instance we may have also been deceived by the appearance of a bird of similar size and plumage. on the return of the boat two alligators swam past it. september . after completing our water we left the river; but owing to light winds did not succeed in getting out of the harbour until the following morning. its examination had been performed as narrowly as time and circumstances admitted: it is of considerable size and in most parts offers good and secure anchorage; with abundance of wood for fuel and perhaps always water of good quality. its western side was very indistinctly seen; and it was thought probable from appearances that, in the space between cape pond and anderdon islands, there are perhaps two or three small mountain streams. the harbour was called prince frederic's, and the sound that fronts it york sound, in honour of his royal highness the duke of york. september . after passing point hardy we entered a fine harbour bounded on the west by a group of islands, and on the east by the projection of land that forms the western side of prince frederic's harbour. the flood-tide was not sufficient to carry us to the bottom so that we anchored off the east end of the southernmost island of the group; which on the occasion of the anniversary of the late king's coronation was subsequently called the coronation islands. the harbour was called port nelson, and a high rocky hill that was distinguished over the land to the southward received the name of mount trafalgar. notwithstanding we had constantly experienced since the period of our leaving the east coast both fine weather and smooth water, yet the leaky state of the vessel had been gradually increasing; leading me to fear that the injury received at port bowen had been much more serious than we had then contemplated. having the advantage of smooth water and a fair wind during our passage up the east coast, the damage had not shown itself until we reached cairncross island: after this it was occasionally observed, but with more or less effect according to the strength and the direction of the wind and the state of the sea. at the anchorage off booby island, being exposed to a swell, she made four inches of water in an hour; but during the examination of montagu sound and the harbour we last left it did not show at all: upon leaving hunter's river and working against a fresh sea-breeze, the leak gained more than three inches in the hour; and in passing round cape torrens, the vessel being pressed down in the water from the freshness of the sea-breeze, it gained as much as nine inches in one hour and twenty minutes. from the alarming increase of the leak it became absolutely necessary to ascertain the full extent of the damage, in order that we might, if possible, repair it, so as not to prevent the further prosecution of the voyage, or at least to ensure our return to port jackson. we were fortunately upon a part of the coast where the tides had a sufficient rise and fall to enable us to lay her on shore without difficulty; but the beaches in york sound and prince frederic's harbour were all too steep for the purpose. september . the spring tides were now at hand; and, it being on this account very important that it should be done as speedily as possible, i left the cutter the following morning in search of a convenient place, in which i was fortunately very soon successful; for at the bottom of the port in which we had anchored we landed on the sandy beach of a bay which, to my inexpressible satisfaction, was found in every way suitable for the object we had in view. deferring therefore any further examination for a more convenient opportunity, i hastened on board and in the course of the morning anchored the cutter close to the beach. it has been already stated that the construction of the mermaid was rather sharp, so that it was necessary to land everything before it would be safe to lay her on the ground: her masts were therefore struck and the sails, being sent on shore, were suspended to trees and converted into tents for the preservation of our provisions and stores and for habitations for the officers and crew. our anchorage was four hundred yards distant from the beach; which, since the vessel took the ground at low water, was as near as we could prudently approach it but sufficiently close to protect our property from the natives until everything was landed. none had as yet appeared, but, the country having been lately fired, and the impression of a man's foot having been noticed on the sand when we landed in the morning, gave evident proofs that they were not far off. on the beach were the remains of several huts; but they did not appear to have been recently occupied: in order however to avoid surprise or loss, the stores and provisions that had been landed in the evening were placed at a distance from the grass and trees and covered over with a sail: near this pile our four-pounder was planted, loaded with musket balls, ready to be fired at a moment's warning. having thus taken all possible precaution our people returned on board to pass the night. my anxiety however prevented my retiring to bed so early and i continued watching our property in the momentary expectation of something occurring. the moon was fortunately at her full and shone sufficiently bright to enable me to distinguish any moving object near the tent. at eight o'clock a light was suddenly observed on the summit of the hill that rises over the beach; but after being stationary for ten minutes it disappeared: at first it was thought to be a native's fire; and afterwards it was suspected to be occasioned by an insect. at midnight, as the light had not again been seen, i retired to rest, leaving a watch on the deck to give alarm should anything occur; but in less than an hour was disturbed by the cry, "the tent's on fire!" on reaching the deck i found the alarm had not been made without reason, for a flame was actually blazing close to them. at the first appearance of the flames two muskets were fired in the direction of them and our people were immediately landed. on reaching the tent everything was secure and quiet but the fire was still burning at about twenty yards behind it. having cautiously approached it we found our fears had been groundless and that they were occasioned by no less innocent an enemy than a half-consumed log of wood, in the heart of which a fire had been lying dormant for some days, having been lighted by the fires which had lately passed over the country; it had been fanned into a flame by the land-breeze which sprung up at midnight. the light seen in the early part of the night originated, most likely, from a similar cause; so that we returned to the vessel without further apprehension. september . the following day all our wet and dry provisions, our wood and guns were landed; and the greater number of the crew slept on shore. a discovery of great importance was this day made which enabled us to carry on our operations with much greater facility and comfort; this was our finding near the tents some deep holes containing a great abundance of excellent water; so that by emptying our water-casks we avoided the trouble and delay of hoisting them out: our operations were in consequence so much expedited that the next morning at high tide the vessel was warped and secured as far up the beach as the water would allow, preparatory to her taking the ground, which event we awaited with considerable anxiety. when the tide left her dry we proceeded to examine her bottom, and having stripped the copper off the stern-post, the full extent of the injury she had sustained was detected and found to be greater even than our fears had anticipated. september to . the after-part of the keel was rent for two feet in an horizontal direction and its connexion with the stern-post and garboard streak so much weakened that, at the first impression, there was every reason to fear we could not remedy the defects sufficiently to ensure even an immediate return to port jackson; but when the full extent of our means were considered it was thought not only possible to repair the injury, but to do it so effectually as to permit our completing the voyage according to our original intention. as it now appeared certain that some considerable time must elapse before we could reload the cutter, she was secured at the next tide in a situation nearer the high-water mark. at low water a deep hole was dug under her bottom, to enable the carpenter to work with his auger; and this operation was necessarily renewed every tide, since the hole was always found filled up after the high water. an armourer's forge and tools were now much wanted but the deficiency of an anvil was supplied by the substitution of a pig of ballast; and some chain plates that we had fortunately taken from the frederick's wreck, and some bar-iron which was brought out from england by the dromedary, enabled us to place our vessel in a state of security which we were by no means in before. in order to connect the keel and stern-post, both of which were almost separated from the frame of the vessel, two bolts, each twenty-four inches long, were driven up obliquely through the keel and two of the same size horizontally through the stern-post into the dead wood; besides which they were also united by a stout iron brace which was fitted under the keel and up each side of the stern-post; by which method the injury appeared to be so well repaired that we had no fears for our safety if the weather should be but moderately fine. september . these repairs were completed by the th but, just as we were congratulating ourselves upon having performed them, a fresh defect was discovered which threatened more alarming consequences even than the other: upon stripping off some sheets of copper, the spike nails which fastened the planks were found to be decaying; and many were so entirely decomposed by oxidation that a straw was easily thrust through the vacant holes. as we had not nails enough to replace the copper, for that was now our only security, we could not venture to remove more than a few sheets from those parts which appeared to be the most suspicious, under all of which we found the nails so defective that we had reason to fear we might start some planks before we reached port jackson, the consequence of which would unquestionably be fatal to the vessel and our lives. all that we could do to remedy the defect was to caulk the water-ways and counter, and to nail an additional streak of copper a foot higher than before. this further temporary repair was finished by the th. . october . but we were detained until the th of october before the tide rose high enough to float the cutter. during the time that the carpenter was thus occupied all the crew were employed either in assisting him or in cutting wood and filling water; so that i had no opportunity either of visiting the surrounding islands or of examining the country in the vicinity of the bay: but when the repairs were completed and the people were more at leisure i made an excursion as far as bat island, off cape brewster. from the summit of this island a set of bearings was obtained, particularly of the islands to the northward and westward. the ascent, on account of its steep and rugged nature, was very difficult and even dangerous, for the stones were so loose and decomposed that no solid footing could be found. the top of the rock is covered with a thick brush of acacia leucophoea (of lacrosse island) many trees of which were obliged to be cut down or cleared away before the various objects could be seen from the theodolite. mr. cunningham collected here specimens of eighteen different sorts of plants. bat island is a mass of sandstone superincumbent upon a quartzose basis and intersected by nearly vertical veins of white quartz, the surface of which was in a crystallized state. the floor of the cavern was covered with heaps of water-worn fragments of quartzose rock, containing copper pyrites, in some of which the cavities were covered by a deposit of greenish calcedony. the sides of the cavern had a stalagmitical appearance but the recess was so dark that we could not ascertain either its formation or extent; it did not however appear to be more than twelve or fourteen yards deep. on first entering it we were nearly overpowered by a strong sulphureous smell which was soon accounted for by the flight of an incredible number of small bats which were roosting in the bottom of the cave and had been disturbed by our approach. we attempted to grope our way to the bottom, but, not having a light, were soon obliged to give up its further examination. the island is connected to the cape by a narrow ridge of rocks which the spring-tides may probably cover. the main corresponds with the island in character and general conformation, being extremely barren and rocky, and of the same description of sandstone, the strata of which appear nearly horizontal; the greatest deviation from that position not being more than an inclination of degrees to the south-east. upon our return we landed at caper point near the bottom of the bay; where, on taking some bearings, a considerable local magnetic attraction was detected, for the needle of the theodolite was nearly eight degrees in error. whilst i was thus employed mr. cunningham, who was my companion upon this excursion, ranged about among the shrubs in the vicinity and was fortunate in finding the fruit of a tree that was first seen by us at cambridge gulf, and had for some time puzzled us from its immense size and peculiar appearance. it proved to be a tree of the natural order capparides, and was thought to be a capparis; the gouty habit of the stem, which was soft and spongy, gave it an appearance of disease: but as all the specimens, from the youngest plant to the full-grown tree, possessed the same deformed appearance, it was evidently the peculiarity of its habit. the stem of the largest of these trees measured twenty-nine feet in girth whilst its height did not exceed twenty-five feet. "it was at this time in the earliest stages of foliation, the extremities of the naked branches appearing green; and one bud that was opened exhibited the character of folium quinatum."* one of these trees has been introduced in the view of the encampment at careening bay. it bore some resemblance to the adansonia figured in the account of captain tuckey's expedition to the congo. (*footnote. cunningham manuscripts.) the only quadruped that was seen upon this excursion was a small opossum which appeared to be the same animal that the colonists at port jackson call the native cat: its colour was light red with small white spots. the principal object of my investigation was to find an opening in the bottom of the bay communicating with a large sheet of water that we had seen from the hills to the southward; but as we were not successful in finding any it was supposed that its communication with the sea must be to the westward of cape brewster. mr. hunter and mr. cunningham had previously made an excursion in that direction to the summit of a hill, named by the latter gentleman after thomas andrew knight, esquire, the president of the horticultural society. from this elevation they had a good view of the water which appeared to be either a strait or an inlet of considerable size; it was subsequently called rothsay water. the country between it and our encampment was very rocky and rugged; but although almost destitute of soil it was sprinkled with some dwarf timber of various descriptions; and, had it not been for the late fires, there would have been a good share of grass. the fires were still burning; and while we were employed upon the vessel the little grass that had before escaped the flames was consumed before our eyes, which greatly increased the oppressive heat we were experiencing. the thermometer during the day, exposed to a current of air and shaded from the sun, generally indicated a temperature of between and degrees; and on one occasion although it was exposed to a fresh sea-breeze the mercury stood at degrees at noon: at night however we were usually relieved by its falling to degrees; and at two o'clock in the morning it generally stood at degrees. the maximum and minimum temperature during fourteen days was degrees and / degrees. the daily range of the thermometer was as much as degrees, while the mercury on board did not rise or fall more than or degrees. this great difference is to be attributed to the cooling power of the dew which was precipitated most copiously every night upon the surface of the earth; whilst the water, not being so easily affected by this nightly radiation, took so much longer to cool. in the daytime the reverse took place; for the earth being much more heated by the action of the sun's rays than the water, the temperature on shore was much greater than on the sea. we had no thermometer with us that could measure the heat of the sand upon which our tents were erected. mr. hunter placed his pocket-thermometer in it but the mercury reaching the top of the tube, which was graduated to degrees, he was obliged to withdraw it to preserve the instrument from being damaged. on one occasion we had a hot land-wind from the south-east that veered round as the day advanced to north-east, during which the thermometer stood at degrees; generally however we had a fresh sea-breeze from the north-west, with clear and fine weather; but towards the latter part of our visit we had some very cloudy dull days and a few showers of rain: this change hurried my departure; and we considered ourselves fortunate in embarking our provisions and bread without getting them wetted. on the th, after two ineffectual attempts to heave the cutter off the ground, she floated. october . and by the th, everything being embarked, we made preparations to quit this place which had afforded us the means of repairing our damage and stopping for the present the progress of an injury which had been every day assuming a more serious aspect. the country in the vicinity of the bay which, from the use we made of it, was called careening bay, is only slightly covered with a poor, stony soil; but notwithstanding this drawback the hills are well wooded and vegetation so abundant that, had it not been for the conflagration which has lately spoiled the trees of their leaves, the country would have appeared pleasing and verdant. the following is a list of some of the trees indigenous to the shores and neighbourhood of careening bay, for which i am indebted to mr. cunningham:-- column : natural order name. column : linnaean system name. column : english name. column : quality of the wood. column : height of tree in feet. column : diameter of tree in inches. leguminosae : bauhinia microphylla. cunn. manuscripts : mountain ebony : hard, coarse grain, wet, black-heart : to : to . mimoseae : inga, sp. : acacia-podded inga : unknown : to : to . sterculiaceae : sterculia, sp. : variegated-flowered sterculia : soft and spongy : to : to . oleinae : chionanthus axillaris. brown : axillary-flowering fringe tree : unknown : to : . oleinae : olea paniculata. brown : panicled-flowering olive : unknown : to : to . rhamneae : zizyphus, sp. : australian jujube : close grain, wood white : to : to . proteaceae : hakea arborescens. brown : tree hakea : like eucalyptus, hard and heavy : : to . ebenaceae : maba laurina. brown : laurel-leaved date-plum : soft, white wood, sap yellow : to : to . malvaceae : hibiscus tiliaceus. l. : lime tree-leaved hibiscus : brown wood, moderately hard : to : to . santalaceae : exocarpus latifolia. brown : tropical native cherry : hard, white wood, bark green : to : to . myrtaceae : eucalyptus, sp. : small-flowering gum : moderately hard, but useless for mechanical purposes : to : . myrtaceae : eucalyptus, sp. : large-fruited gum : moderately hard, but useless for mechanical purposes : to : . verbenaceae : vitex. sp. allied to glabrata. brown : - : unknown : to : . capparides : capparis sp. (?) : gouty-stemmed capparis : soft, spongy, and full of sap : : feet. cycadeae : cycas media. brown : australian cycas, or sago palm : fibrous and coarse, similar to palm : to : to . sapoteae : mimusops parvifolia. brown : small-leaved zapadilla : close grain : to : to . meliaceae : carapa, sp. closely related to molluccensis. lam. : maritime carapa : soft and brittle (a mangrove) : : . "from the summit of the ridge," says mr. cunningham, "immediately above careening bay, the country continues in a series of barren, stony hills of ordinary elevation, divided by small valleys equally sterile and rugged; clothed, nevertheless, with small trees of a stunted growth, and of species common to the bay of our encampment; nor was there remarked the least change in the habit or state of fructification of the several plants, throughout the whole space of an estimated distance of six miles south of the tents. "the summits of the hills are, for the most part, very rocky and bare of soil; and that of the valleys, or lower lands, appeared very shallow, of a reddish colour, and of a very poor, hungry nature. the rocks, with which the ground is very generally covered, are of the same sort of sandstone as is found upon the hills above the encampment; but among them we observed a good deal of quartz, remarkable for its purity, of which some specimens were observed in a crystallized state." "in the season that succeeds that of the rains, the hills are covered with a lofty, reedy grass, whose dead stalks now form a matted stubble among the trees, as was remarked on some patches of the lower lands that had escaped the conflagrations, which at this period are extending their ravages far and wide. several well-worn watercourses, long since dry, were crossed in the route, and, having the descent to the westward, show at what point their waters, during the rainy season, make their exit. "no quadrupeds were seen upon this excursion, and only the usual indications of kangaroos: a few birds were observed on the wing, chiefly, however, of the pigeon kind." we saw no kangaroos or opossums of any kind during our visit; but if we may judge from the number of snakes at so advanced a period of the dry season when they are generally in a dormant state, reptiles are very numerous. mr. cunningham found a very curious species of lizard, remarkable for having a thin, membranaceous appendage attached to the back of its head and round the neck and falling over its shoulders in folds as low as the fore arm. it was sent by mr. cunningham to the college of surgeons where it is now preserved. small lizards, centipedes, and scorpions were numerous about our encampment; and the trees and bushes about the tents were infested by myriads of hornets and other insects, particularly mosquitoes and small sandflies which annoyed us very much in the evenings. besides the huts on the beach which were merely strips of bark bent over to form a shelter from the sun, there were others on the top of the hill over the tents of a larger and more substantial construction; no two however were built after the same fashion. one of them was thus erected: two walls of stones, piled one upon the other to the height of three feet, formed the two ends; and saplings were laid across to support a covering of bark or dried grass: the front, which faced the east, was not closed; but the back, which slanted from the roof to the ground, appeared to have been covered with bark like the roof. the other huts were made somewhat of a similar construction, as they are represented in woodcut , but all differed in shape: it did not appear that they had been very recently inhabited for the greater part of the thatch was burnt. the natives did not make their appearance during our stay; and although an interview with them would have afforded us both amusement and information yet their absence was perhaps more desirable since all our provisions and stores were on shore; and their intimacy would probably have produced a quarrel which, for our own sakes as well as for the safety of future visitors, was best avoided. the fireplaces near them were strewed with the nuts of the sago palm, the fruit of which appears to be generally eaten by the natives of the north and north-west coasts. october . on the th we left careening bay; and passing out between cape brewster and the coronation islands entered a spacious sound which was called brunswick bay in honour of that illustrious house. from cape brewster the land extended for six miles to cape wellington round which there appeared to be a communication with the water seen over the hills of careening bay. in front of the bay a cluster of islands extends from the north end of the coronation islands to the westward and south-westward and approaches the mainland; which, to the westward of cape wellington, was only seen in detached portions. october . the next day, having passed the previous night at anchor off cape brewster, it was calm until noon: the sea-breeze then set in and carried us quickly round cape wellington into a considerable opening, trending to the southward and bearing a river-like appearance. having the wind and tide in our favour we stood on and continued to run up until high-water; when, as no anchorage had been found, we were obliged to proceed against the tide. at seven miles from the entrance we passed rothsay water, a considerable opening on the east side, and opposite to it was another which was called munster water; in front of it were several rocky islands covered with grass and trees. we continued to steel up the main stream and passed a point whence the direction of the river changed to south-east; and after running five miles farther entered an extensive sheet of water, st. george's basin, in which were the two large islands of st. andrew and st. patrick. the evening was now drawing near and we hauled round strong-tide point into a strait separating st. andrew's island from the main; here we were at last successful in finding an anchorage out of the strength of the tide which, in the narrower parts of the river, was setting at the rate of four and a half and five knots. october to . the further examination of the opening was continued by our boats; and whilst mr. roe explored the northern and eastern shores of the basin i was occupied in examining the river which falls into it at its south-east end. mount trafalgar is a conspicuous object on the north-eastern side of the basin; and another hill close to it being equally remarkable was called mount waterloo. these two hills rise precipitously from the plain; and being capped by a wall-like battlement bear a strong resemblance to steep head in port warrender. upon leaving the cutter we crossed st. george's basin which appeared to receive several streams on the south side and landed on a small wooded islet for bearings; from which the summits of mounts waterloo and trafalgar bore in a line. about two miles farther on the banks of the river again contracted and trended to the south-east on so direct a course that, from the distant land being hidden by the horizon, the river bore the appearance of being a strait. we were now twenty-two miles from the sea and as there was every appearance of this proving a considerable stream it was honoured by the title of prince regent. while i was employed upon the island with the theodolite mr. hunter, my companion, shot seven or eight brace of birds: they were of two kinds; one a species of oyster-catcher and the other a sandpiper. the island is of small extent and is connected to the land by a shoal communication; it is rocky and thickly wooded; the trees were chiefly acacias. the marks of considerable floods were noticed upon its shores; and the wrecks of very large trees were thrown up ten or twelve feet above the high-water mark. we re-embarked at a quarter to twelve o'clock and pulled fourteen miles farther up the river when a slight turn hid the island on which we had landed from our view; from the width of a mile and a half at the entrance it had decreased to about two-thirds of a mile and still continued gradually to get narrower: its banks throughout are bounded by steep rocky hills rising to the height of two or three hundred feet which, in some parts, were nearly overhanging the water; several mangrove-inlets communicated with the river on either side but they were all salt-water creeks. the rocks on the hills are formed of a close-grained siliceous sandstone; and the ground is covered with loose masses of the same rock, with spinifex growing between them; this plant is of itself sufficient to indicate the poverty of the soil. as we passed a small round islet an alligator which had been basking in the sun alarmed at our approach, rushed into the water, and, as we came near the spot, rose to reconnoitre us, but instantly sunk again. the sea-breeze being unimpeded by the intervention of land blew so strong that, when the flood ceased, we were enabled to proceed for some time against the ebb-tide. it also prevented our suffering from the heat which would otherwise have been very oppressive for the thermometer stood all day at and degrees. at the distance of about seventeen miles from the basin we were surprised by hearing the noise of a fall of water; but distrusting our ears we were not convinced of the fact, until an opening in the mangroves exposed to our view a cascade of water of one hundred and sixty feet in breadth, falling from a considerable height. as the breeze still enabled us to make way against the tide we did not stay to examine it; and therefore deferred our visit until our return. three miles farther up we put ashore to rest and refresh the boat's crew; and whilst i was occupied at the beach mr. hunter ascended the hill to examine the country but found only a continuation of the same rocky hills and sterile desert. the character of the river had assumed nearly the same appearance as hunter and roe's rivers in prince frederic's harbour, excepting that the hills were less precipitous and rather more wooded. about two miles beyond our station the width began to decrease and the stream to take a more winding course: the banks were also lower and the mangroves appeared to increase in quantity; but unlike the other rivers the bottom was of sand and there was scarcely any mud, excepting on the banks where the mangroves grew. several places were observed upon the hills where the trees and grass had been burnt by fire, but otherwise there was no sign of the banks of the river ever being frequented by natives. by the time we had refreshed ourselves it was getting late and we set out on our return; the tide had now ebbed considerably and exposed several banks which, having been covered, had before escaped our observation; we grounded on several as we proceeded, which detained us so long that it was dark when we passed the cascade, and by the time we reached the island on which we had seen the alligator in the morning, the tide had commenced to flow. here we determined upon remaining until the ebb; and after satisfying ourselves that there were no alligators upon it landed, and kindled a fire upon the dry summit of the island under a large log of wood that had been washed down the river and deposited there by the freshes. whilst our refreshment was preparing we searched about for alligators, but not finding any and being quite overpowered by the fatigues of the day, we composed ourselves to rest; during which, although the alligators did not trouble us, we were greatly incommoded by sandflies and mosquitoes; but neither our fear of the former, nor the annoyance of the latter, prevented our sleeping as soundly as we should have done on a more safe and luxurious couch. mr. hunter also, who for some time after the rest had fallen asleep walked about in order to keep on the alert, very soon followed our example and we happily passed the night without accident. at three o'clock the tide began to ebb and the boat-keeper awakened us to re-embark on our return. on looking about we were surprised to find that the tide had reached within three feet of our fireplace and must have risen at least thirty feet since we landed. the air was now so cold from a copious fall of dew that we were obliged to resort to our blankets and cloaks for warmth; but with the sun the mercury rose from to and degrees; and the morning being quite calm became excessively sultry. on reaching the cutter we found that mr. roe had returned the preceding evening from having examined the north-east shore of the basin and traced two openings that trend for a short distance in on either side of the mounts. on his return he pulled round the south side of st. andrew's island and landed at its south-west end where he made a fire which spread rapidly through the dried grass and set the surface of the island in a blaze. it continued to burn for several days afterwards. during our absence the shore of the bay of anchorage had also been examined and several pools of water were discovered, from which we filled our empty casks. mr. cunningham ascended the hills which rose nearly perpendicularly for at least feet; they were thickly clothed with trees and plants from which he obtained a large addition to his collection. in wandering about through the spinifex upon the cliffs he saw four small kangaroos; and near the waterholes one of the crew saw a fifth, of a gray colour and of a larger size than usual. our people were now all laid up with sores upon their feet and legs from cuts and bruises received in scrambling over the rocks; and several were affected by ophthalmia. besides this the rainy season was approaching; it commenced last year about the th of october, and as the weather was now close and sultry and daily getting more unfavourable, the change was evidently at hand. october . we therefore determined upon quitting the coast as soon as possible; and as there was nothing to detain us here any longer we weighed the following afternoon as soon as the tide commenced to ebb. our distance from the mouth was sixteen miles and the breeze blew directly against us but, as the tide was running out with great strength, we succeeded in reaching an anchorage in brunswick bay before dark; not however without incurring considerable danger in passing through strong tide ripplings when abreast of rothsay water; which caused me to suspect that it communicated with prince frederic's harbour. in beating out of the river the cutter leaked a good deal, which showed that our late repair at careening bay had not placed us without the pale of danger: and i now began to fear that the leak had been occasioned more from the defect of her fastenings than from the accident that happened to her keel; so that we were in every respect as badly off as before the cutter was careened. this made me decide upon instantly returning to port jackson; but it was with great regret that i found it necessary to resolve so; for the land to the westward appeared so indented as to render the necessity of our departure at this moment particularly vexatious. october . the next day therefore we passed out to sea to the westward of baudin's keraudren island. the wind, upon leaving the coast, being west-south-west and west-north-west, carried us as far to the north as degrees minutes before we met with southerly winds; after which they gradually veered to the south-east trade. october . on the th at midnight we were upon the parallel of degrees minutes, on which the tryal rocks have been said to exist; in order therefore to be on the safe side we tacked to the northward for four hours and then passed back again until daylight when we resumed our course. october . at ten o'clock a.m. we were in the latitude assigned to these rocks by the brig greyhound, the master of which vessel, on his arrival at port jackson from china last year, published an account in the sydney gazette of his having seen them at a distance. had he been certain of the fact he would not have hesitated to approach sufficiently near them to have made all on board sensible of their existence; but it appears that the greater part, if not the whole, of the crew were so obstinate that they either would not, or could not, see them. were the tracks of every vessel that has passed over this part laid down, i think there would remain very little belief of their existence; in my own opinion i am convinced that there is no danger of the sort between the coast of new holland and the meridian of degrees east longitude. the dutch account records this danger to be forty miles in extent from east to west and fifteen miles in breadth; and the danish account describes it to extend for twenty-four miles from north-east to south-west. was there a danger of so considerable an extent in existence in the direct track of outward-bound china-ships, it is hardly possible to conceive it could be passed without having been repeatedly seen. the existence of cloates island also, of which there are so many undeniable and particular descriptions, has been for a long time questioned by navigators; i think however there is no doubt that it does exist but that it is no other than the mainland to the southward of the north west cape. the descriptions of this island by captain nash of the ship house of austria, as well as that of the haeslingfield in , and subsequently by captain pelly, accord exactly with the appearance of this promontory; nor is the longitude much in error when we consider the strength of the currents which set to the north-west, during the easterly monsoon, in the space between new holland and java. captain nash places cloates island degrees minutes east of java head, and the haeslingfield degrees minutes; the mean of the two accounts is degrees minutes; the true difference of the meridians of java head and the north west cape is degrees minutes, a difference only of degree minutes. may not the tryal rocks also be some of the low islands that skirt the coast? the account of them by the dutch sloop in places them in latitude degrees minutes and eighty leagues from the coast of new holland; but, unless it is bedout island (a sandy islet seen by captain baudin, in longitude degrees minutes) there is no part of the coast that can at all accord with the description in respect to latitude. the rocks seen by the fredensberg castle in are certainly the montebello isles, which answer the dane's description exactly; for they are very low and rocky and abound in reefs, one of which extends a long distance to the north-west from trimouille island. there remains no doubt in my mind but that barrow's island and trimouille island, and the numerous reefs around them, are the identical tryal rocks which have been the theme and dread of every voyager to the eastern islands for the two last centuries.* captain flinders** spent some days in an ineffectual search for them and has, i think, decidedly proved their non-existence between the parallels of / and degrees, and the meridians of / and / degrees. the above islands accord exactly as to latitude; and the only argument against the probability of this supposition is their longitude; but during the month of july the current sets with great strength to the westward and might occasion considerable errors in ships' reckonings, which, in former days, were so imperfectly kept that no dependence can be placed upon them. (*footnote. the tryal rocks obtained their name from the english ship tryal, said to have been lost upon them in (vide horsburg's indian directory volume page ). this danger having been once laid down will, perhaps, never be erased from the chart, although it is generally believed not to exist. it has been placed in various positions according to the account which the compiler gives most credence to. in arrowsmith's large chart of the south sea it is laid down in degrees minutes south and / degrees east.) (**footnote. flinders volume pages to .) . november . the following afternoon the man at the masthead reported breakers in the west-north-west, and when i went to examine from thence i was for some time equally deceived: the helm was put up and we bore down towards them but, as we approached, they vanished and we found we had been deceived by the reflection of the sun's rays upon the water.* after being sufficiently assured of our mistake, the course was resumed. (*footnote. the deceptious appearances that are frequently observed at sea, such as the reflection of the sun, ripplings occasioned by the meeting of two opposite currents, whales asleep upon the surface of the water, shoals of fish, fog-banks, and the extraordinary effect of mirage, than which, as an optical illusion, nothing is more deceiving, have doubtless given birth to many of these non-existing shoals and islands. were charts to be published (one does exist in manuscript, in the hydrographical office at the admiralty) with all the islands and dangers laid down that have been reported by good and respectable authorities, the navigator would be in a constant fever of anxiety and alarm for the safety of his vessel. the charts of the present day teem with examples of this sort and many islands and reefs are laid down which have not been seen since their first discovery, and which perhaps never existed at all, unless, like sabrina island, they were thrown up by a submarine volcano, and disappeared immediately afterwards.) november . and by the following noon we had passed the parallel of the southernmost limit assigned to these redoubtable rocks. when we were on the starboard tack two nights before, the cutter leaked so much that we were upwards of an hour pumping out the water that had collected in three hours. on the nd of november we crossed the tropic of capricorn in / degrees east. november . and on the th in latitude degrees the trade-wind ceased: the winds were however variable between south and south-east until we reached the latitude of / degrees and longitude degrees minutes; when the wind veered by north-east to north-west and west-north-west and we made rapid progress to the south-east. between the parallels of and degrees, we had the wind always to the westward of north by east and south by west, with the current uniformly setting to the northward, sometimes at the rate of three-quarters of a mile per hour; to the south-west of cape leeuwin it affected us more than one knot: scarcely any easterly current was observed. november . on the th at eight p.m. we sounded in forty-eight fathoms. november . and at one o'clock the following morning saw the black pyramid and soon after entered bass strait by the passage on the south side of king's island. after running into the latitude of sea elephant bay on the east side of king's island, in an unsuccessful search after some rocks laid down in the french charts but not noticed in those of captain flinders, we bore up; and at eleven p.m. passed sir roger curtis island. november . and the next day cleared the strait. . december . on the nd we were off mount dromedary; and the wind blew strong from the east, the weather assuming a threatening appearance. december . the next day we passed the heads of jervis bay at the distance of three or four leagues, and the course was altered to north and north by west parallel to the coast. at noon an indifferent observation for the latitude and a sight of the land, which for a few minutes was visible through the squalls, showed that our situation was very much nearer to the shore than we had expected, a circumstance that was attributed to a current setting into the bight to the northward of jervis bay. the wind from the eastward was light and baffling and this, added to the critical situation we were in, made me very anxious to obtain an offing before night for there was every appearance of a gale from the eastward. after two or three squalls a breeze sprung up from the east-south-east with heavy rain, and a north-north-east course was steered, which should have taken us wide of the coast: having run thirty-seven miles on that course we steered north by east four miles and then north / west that we might not be more than twenty miles from the shore in the morning and sufficiently near to see the lighthouse on the south head of port jackson; but, from an unusual westerly current, we found ourselves, very nearly to our destruction, considerably out of our reckoning. december . at hours minutes a.m., by the glare of a flash of lightning, the land was suddenly discovered close under our lee: we hauled to the wind immediately but the breeze at the same moment fell, and the swell being heavy, the cutter made but little progress. sail was made as quickly as possible and as the cutter headed north-north-east there was every likelihood of her clearing the land; but a quarter of an hour afterwards, by the light of another flash, it was again seen close to us, stretching from right ahead to our lee-quarter and so near that the breakers were distinctly seen gleaming through the darkness of the night. a third flash of lightning confirmed our fears as to the dangerous situation we were in; and as there was not room to veer the helm was immediately put a-lee; but, as was feared, the cutter refused stays. we were now obliged to veer as a last resource, and the sails being manoeuvred so as to perform this operation as quickly as possible, we fortunately succeeded in the attempt and the cutter's head was brought to the wind upon the other tack without her striking the rocks: we were now obliged to steer as close to the wind as possible in order to weather the reef on which the sea was breaking, within five yards to leeward of the vessel: our escape appeared to be next to impossible: the night was of a pitchy darkness and we were only aware of our situation from time to time as the lightning flashed: the interval therefore between the flashes, which were so vivid as to illumine the horizon round, was of a most awful and appalling nature, and the momentary succession of our hopes and fears which crowded rapidly upon each other, may be better imagined than described. we were evidently passing the line of breakers very quickly; but our escape appeared to be only possible through the interposition of a divine providence, for, by the glare of a vivid stream of forked lightning, the extremity of the reef was seen within ten yards from our lee bow; and the wave which floated the vessel the next moment broke upon the rocks with a surf as high as the vessel's masthead: at this dreadful moment the swell left the cutter, and she struck upon a rock with such force that the rudder was nearly lifted out of the gudgeons: fortunately we had a brave man and a good seaman at the helm, for instantly recovering the tiller, by a blow from which he had been knocked down when the vessel struck, he obeyed my orders with such attention and alacrity that the sails were kept full; so that by her not losing way, she cleared the rock before the succeeding wave flowed from under her, and the next moment a flash of lightning showed to our almost unbelieving eyes that we had passed the extremity of the rocks and were in safety! this sudden deliverance from the brink of destruction was quite unexpected by all on board our little vessel and drew from us a spontaneous acknowledgement of gratitude to the only source from whence our providential escape could be attributed. it was now doubtful whether we could clear the point under our lee which we first saw, but as the next flash of lightning showed that we were between the heads of botany bay, and that the point on which we had nearly been wrecked was, according to captain hunter's plan, cape banks, its northern head, we bore up and in half an hour were safe at anchor. daylight now broke and with it the weather began to get worse, so that we were obliged to remain at this anchorage, which was on the south side of the bay near point sutherland, until the next morning; when we got under sail and anchored near the opposite shore, under the guard-house, from which the soldiers supplied us with some refreshments. december . on the th his excellency the governor was informed of our arrival and of our intention to go round to port jackson as soon as the weather cleared up; but we were detained by it until the th; when with some difficulty we cleared the entrance of the bay; at noon the anchor was once more dropped in sydney cove, after an absence of twenty-five weeks and three days. end of volume . project gutenberg etext of survey of the intertropical coasts of australia by p.p. king volume . narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of australia. performed between the years and . by captain phillip p. king, r.n., f.r.s., f.l.s., and member of the royal asiatic society of london. with an appendix, containing various subjects relating to hydrography and natural history. in two volumes, illustrated by plates, charts, and wood-cuts. volume . london: john murray, albemarle street. contents. volume . chapter . survey upon the mermaid. purchase another vessel. new establishment. departure on the fourth voyage, accompanied by a merchant-ship bound through torres strait. discovery of an addition to the crew. pass round breaksea spit, and steer up the east coast. transactions at percy island. enormous sting-rays. pine-trees serviceable for masts. joined by a merchant brig. anchor under cape grafton, hope islands, and lizard island. natives at lizard island. cape flinders. visit the frederick's wreck. surprised by natives. mr. cunningham's description of the drawings of the natives in a cavern on clack's island. anchor in margaret bay, and under cairncross island. accident, and loss of anchors. pass through torres strait, and visit goulburn island. affair with the natives. the dick parts company. chapter . passage from cape van diemen to careening bay. not finding water, visit prince regent's river, and procure it from the cascade. farther examination of the river. amphibious mud-fish. anchor in halfway bay, and explore munster water and hanover bay in a boat. visit hanover bay, and procure water and fish. interview with natives. the surgeon speared. retaliate upon them, and capture their rafts and weapons. description of their implements. port george the fourth. islands to the westward. red island of captain heywood. strong tides. camden bay. buccaneer's archipelago. cygnet bay. dangerous situation of the brig. high and rapid tides. cape leveque. examination of the coast to cape latouche treville. remarkable effect of mirage. leave the coast for mauritius. voyage thither. arrival at port louis. refit. some account of the island. chapter . departure from port louis. voyage to the south-west coast of new holland. anchor in king george the third's sound. occurrences there. visited by the natives. our intercourse with them. descriptions of their weapons and other implements. vocabulary of their language. meteorological and other observations. edible plants. testaceous productions. chapter . leave king george the third's sound, and commence the survey of the west coast at rottnest island. another remarkable effect of mirage. anchor under, and land upon rottnest island. break an anchor. examine the coast to the northward. cape leschenault. lancelin island. jurien bay. houtman's abrolhos. moresby's flat-topped range. red point. anchor in dirk hartog's road, at the entrance of shark's bay. occurrences there. examination of the coast to the north-west cape. barrow island. heavy gale off the montebello isles. rowley's shoals. cape leveque. dangerous situation of the brig among the islands of buccaneer's archipelago. examination and description of cygnet bay. lose an anchor, and leave the coast. adele island. return to port jackson. chapter . the bathurst sails for england. remarks upon some errors in the hydrography of the south coast of van diemen's land. king george the third's sound. passage to the cape of good hope. cross the atlantic, and arrive at plymouth sound. observations upon the voyages, and conclusion. appendix a. section . of the winds and currents, and description of the ports, islands, and coast between port jackson and breaksea spit. section . description of the winds and weather, and of the ports, islands, and coast between breaksea spit and cape york. section . description of the winds and weather, and of the ports and coast between wessel's islands and clarence strait. section . of the nature of the winds and the description of the coast between clarence strait and the north-west cape. section . of the winds and weather, and description of the western coast between the north-west cape and cape leeuwin. section . of the winds and weather upon the south coast. directions for king george the third's sound, and hydrographical remarks relating to bass strait. section . description of the shoals and reefs in the neighbourhood of the coasts of australia. section . directions for the passage within the reefs through torres strait. section . dip of the magnetic needle. section . upon the geographical positions of the fixed points of the survey. appendix b. containing a list and description of the subjects of natural history collected during captain king's survey of the intertropical and western coasts of australia. appendix c. geology. appendix d. language of the natives. list of plates. volume . entrance of oyster harbour, king george the third's sound. interview with the natives. from a sketch by p.p. king. published in may by john murray, london. woodcut : natives of hanover bay on a raft. view of the cascade in prince regent's river. from a sketch by p.p. king. published in may by john murray, london. weapons etc. of the natives of hanover bay. . stone spear head (full size.) from a drawing by f. chantrey, esquire, f.r.s. . section of a stone spear head (full size.) from a drawing by f. chantrey, esquire, f.r.s. . spear armed with the stone head. . throwing-stick. . hatchet. published in may by john murray, london. woodcut : raft of the natives of hanover bay. woodcut : weapons and implements of the natives of king george the third's sound: meara or throwing-stick. woodcut : weapons and implements of the natives of king george the third's sound: method of propulsion of spear by a meara or throwing-stick. woodcut : weapons and implements of the natives of king george the third's sound: kaoit or hammer. woodcut : weapons and implements of the natives of king george the third's sound: taap or knife. chart of port cockburn at melville island. plan of port cockburn, between bathurst and melville islands. from a survey made by lieutenant j.s. roe in october . view of fort dundas, taken from garden point. plan of king's cove. sketch : islands off admiralty gulf, looking southward from the north-east end of cassini island. left to right: corneille, fenelon, descartes, and pascal islands, hills on cape voltaire, condillac island, and east end of cassini island (peron's atlas, plate , figure ) and the outline of the iles forbin (peron's atlas, plate , figure ). sketch : islands off admiralty gulf, looking southward from the north-east end of cassini island. left to right: peak upon cape voltaire and condillac island, bearing south, two miles distant. several drawings of captain king. sketch : two conspicuous hills north-east of prince-regent's river. left to right: mount trafalgar and mount waterloo. map of the chains of islands on the north-west coast of carpentaria: in english miles. a. castlereagh bay. b. point dale. c. arnhem bay. d. melville bay. e. cape arnhem. f. caledon bay. , etc. wessel's islands. , etc. the english company's islands. . red cliffs. . mallison's island. . cape newbold. . cape wilberforce. . bromby's islands. sketch : cliff of considerable height, in which the beds, though inaccessible at the top, may be examined with ease and security, where they come down to the shore. sketch : hammer for collecting geological specimens. sketch : small hammer for trimming geological specimens. sketch : small stone-cutter's chisel. plates at the end of the volume, referred to in the appendix. table a. chlamydosaurus kingii. the plate was engraved by mr. curtis, from an exceedingly correct drawing made by henry c. field, esquire. fel. coll. surg. published by john murray, albemarle street, march, . table b. carpophagus banksiae. megamerus kingii. phasma tiaratum. drawn by miss m.l. field. j. curtis sculp. published by john murray, albemarle street, march, . table c. kingia australis. curtis, id et sculp. published by john murray, albemarle street. ... voyages for the survey of the intertropical coasts of australia. chapter . survey upon the mermaid. purchase another vessel. new establishment. departure on the fourth voyage, accompanied by a merchant-ship bound through torres strait. discovery of an addition to the crew. pass round breaksea spit, and steer up the east coast. transactions at percy island. enormous sting-rays. pine-trees serviceable for masts. joined by a merchant brig. anchor under cape grafton, hope islands, and lizard island. natives at lizard island. cape flinders. visit the frederick's wreck. surprised by natives. mr. cunningham's description of the drawings of the natives in a cavern on clack's island. anchor in margaret bay, and under cairncross island. accident, and loss of anchors. pass through torres strait, and visit goulburn island. affair with the natives. the dick parts company. . december . as soon as the opportunity offered after our arrival, the cutter was laid on shore upon the beach of sydney cove, and surveyed by the master and the carpenter of h.m. store-ship dromedary, which ship was preparing for her return to england with a cargo of new zealand spars. upon stripping the copper off the bottom, the tide flowed into her, and proved that to the copper sheathing alone we were indebted for our safe return. the iron spikes that fastened her were entirely decayed, and a considerable repair was recommended by the surveying officers. upon my communicating the result of their report to his excellency, governor macquarie, he agreed with me in thinking that, as her repairs would take up so much time, it would be better to purchase another vessel, and as a brig was then in the harbour, that appeared to be every way suited for my purpose, she was examined by my order by mr. mart, the dromedary's carpenter, who reported so favourably of her, that, by the governor's permission, she was purchased and fitted for the voyage. she was built of teak, of one hundred and seventy tons burden, and had lately received a very considerable repair at calcutta; so that, excepting a few trifling defects and alterations, she was quite fit for sea. her name was altered at the suggestion of governor macquarie to that of the bathurst. by this change we gained a great addition to our comforts; and, besides increasing the number of our crew, were much better off in regard to boats; for we now possessed a long-boat, large enough to carry out and weigh an anchor, or save the crew if any accident should happen to the vessel; a resource which we did not possess in the mermaid. a further addition was made to our party by the appointment of mr. perceval baskerville, one of the dromedary's midshipman; but mr. hunter the surgeon, who had volunteered his services in the mermaid during the last voyage, was superseded by mr. a. montgomery, who had lately arrived in charge of a convict ship. our establishment now consisted of the following officers and men: lieutenant and commander: phillip parker king. surgeon: andrew montgomery. master's mates (assistant surveyors): frederick bedwell. john s. roe. midshipman: perceval baskerville. botanical collector: allan cunningham. steward. boatswain's mate. carpenter's mate. sail maker. cook. seamen: . boys: . total: . . may . after experiencing many tedious and unexpected delays in equipping the bathurst, notwithstanding our wants were few, and the greater part of our repairs were effected by our own people, we were not completed for sea until the th of may, when we sailed from port jackson upon our fourth and last voyage to the north coast, accompanied by the merchant-ship dick (the same vessel in which we had originally embarked from england): she was bound to batavia, and being ready for sailing at the time of our departure, requested permission to accompany us through torres strait, which, since it would rather prove an assistance to us than cause any delay in our proceedings, was acceded to on my part with much satisfaction. in the mean time the mermaid, our late vessel, had been thoroughly repaired, fresh fastened with copper spikes, and fitted out; and, before we sailed, had been sent to sea to carry the first establishment to port macquarie, on which service she had been wrecked. she was, however, afterwards got off the rocks and repaired, and is now a very serviceable vessel in the colony. boongaree, the native who had formerly accompanied us, volunteered his services whilst the vessel was preparing for the voyage, which i gladly accepted; but when the day of departure drew nigh, he kept aloof; and the morning that we sailed, his place was filled by another volunteer, bundell; who proved not only to be a more active seaman, but was of much greater service to us, than his countryman boongaree had been. this addition made our number thirty-three. may . three days after we left the port, a discovery was made of another addition to the number of the crew. upon opening the hold, which had been locked ever since the day before we sailed, a young girl, not more than fourteen years of age, was found concealed among the casks, where she had secreted herself in order to accompany the boatswain to sea: upon being brought on deck, she was in a most pitiable plight, for her dress and appearance were so filthy, from four days' close confinement in a dark hold, and from having been dreadfully seasick the whole time, that her acquaintances, of which she had many on board, could scarcely recognise her. upon being interrogated, she declared she had, unknown to all on board, concealed herself in the hold the day before the vessel sailed; and that her swain knew nothing of the step she had taken. as it was now inconvenient to return to put her on shore, and as the man consented to share his ration with her, she was allowed to remain; but in a very short time heartily repented of her imprudence, and would gladly have been re-landed, had it been possible. . june . between the th and the th of june we had a series of gales of wind, which enabled us to prove the capabilities of our new ship; and it was very satisfactory to find that she was weatherly, tight, and dry, three very essential qualities for a surveying vessel. june . on the afternoon of the th we passed round the north end of breaksea spit, and crossed hervey's bay; in the night, when the brig ought to have been many miles from the shore, we found ourselves unexpectedly close to some land; but it was not until the day broke that we knew the full extent of the danger we had encountered: the land we had seen proved to be the round head of bustard bay, which, as the wind was blowing directly upon it, we were fortunate in having room to clear. the dick was apprized by us of the danger in time, and succeeded in clearing the land by tacking to the southward. june . at noon we were passing the small woody isle that was seen by captain flinders, and farther on we discovered two other isles of a similar character: they were seen from the masthead to the north-east; and a fourth was seen by the dick. after this we had a few days of fine weather, which, as dysentery had already made its appearance amongst us, was most welcome, and tended materially to check the progress of so alarming a complaint. june . on the th we entered among the northumberland islands. june . but, from light northerly winds, did not reach an anchorage under percy island, number , until the morning of the th. our situation was between the pine islets and the basin, in ten fathoms, near a run of water, which fell from the rocks into the sea at about a quarter of a mile to the northward of the sandy beach: from this stream we filled our casks. water was also found in many other parts, but all the runs appeared to be of temporary duration. june . this island, like number , which we visited in , appears to be principally of quartzose formation. the soil is sandy, and affords but little nourishment to the stunted trees with which it is furnished. in the more barren and rocky parts the pine was abundant, but not growing to any great size: the dick's people cut down and embarked several logs; on examination they were thought to be useless; but, from subsequent experience, they proved to be far from deserving such contempt, for during the voyage we made two pole-top gallant-masts of it; which, although very full of knots, were as tough as any spar i ever saw; and carried a press of sail longer than would be trusted on many masts. these trees are very abundant on the cumberland and northumberland islands, but do not attain any large size; being seldom higher than fifty or sixty feet, or of a greater diameter than from twelve to eighteen inches. among the variety of birds, several black cockatoos and the pheasant cuckoo were seen. the beaches were frequented by gulls, terns, and oyster-catchers; and an egret was noticed of a slate-coloured plumage, with a small ruff upon its head. the seine was hauled upon the beach; but the only fish caught were two very large sting-rays; one of which measured twelve feet across: as it was too unwieldy to take on board, we had no means of weighing it; but the liver nearly filled a small pork barrel.* it is very probable that our bad success may be attributed to the presence of these fish, for on board the dick several snappers were caught with the hook and line. (*footnote. captain cook describes some fish, probably of the same species, found at botany bay, weighing each three hundred and thirty-six pounds (hawkesworth volume page ); from which circumstance, as it is not generally known, the name of sting-ray bay was given to that harbour; it is so-called in the charts of the endeavour's voyage, in the hydrographical office at the admiralty, as well as in sir joseph banks' copy of the endeavour's journal, and in dr. solander's manuscript journal, both of which are in the possession of my friend robert brown, esquire. the name by which it is now known appears to have been given subsequently, on account of the variety and beauty of its botanical productions.) in the evening the wind set in from south by east, with rain, and cloudy, thick weather: in striking the royal masts, a serious defect was discovered in our fore-top-mast; the upper part being found rotten for twelve feet below the head; and the top-gallant-mast was also found to be sprung in the wake of the cap. june . so that we were compelled to remain all the next day at the anchorage to shift them. this detention was very vexatious, for we were not only losing a fair wind, but lying in a very exposed situation. during the preceding night a brig anchored half a mile to the southward of us: she proved to be the san antonio; she left port jackson four days after us, and was bound on a trading speculation to the moluccas and singapore. in the forenoon i visited the master, mr. hemmans, and offered him my guidance up the coast, if he would wait until we had shifted our defective masts; but he declined it as he was anxious to get on without delay; and, having captain flinders' charts, intended to run "day and night through the reefs;" he told me that he had anchored here with the intention of watering and cutting some pine spars, but that not finding the latter worth the trouble, he was then getting underweigh to proceed. when i went away, he accompanied me to look over my plan of the passage; after which he returned to his vessel, which soon afterwards steered past us on her way to the northward. mr. hemmans told me that he had anchored under keppel islands, where he had a friendly communication with the natives, who used nets, which he thought were of european construction; but from his description, they are similar to what have been before seen on the coast, and are constructed by the natives themselves. june . at eight o'clock the next morning we got underweigh; but the dick in weighing her anchor found both flukes broken off. june . the next day, we rounded the north extremity of the cumberland islands. june . and at four o'clock a.m. the th, were abreast of cape gloucester. thick cloudy weather with rain and a fresh breeze from the southward, variable between south-south-east and south-south-west, now set in, and was unfavourable for our seeing the coast as we passed it: cape bowling green was not seen, but the gradual decrease of soundings from eighteen to fourteen fathoms, and the subsequent increase of depth, indicated our having passed this low and dangerous projection. june . at daylight of the th, we passed outside the palm islands at the distance of five miles. the weather continued so thick and rainy, that mount hinchinbrook was quite concealed from our view; but a partial glimpse of the land enabled me to distinguish point hillock, and afterwards to see cape sandwich, goold island, and the group of the family isles. june . in passing the largest frankland island, the san antonio was seen lying at anchor near it, with her fore topsail loose, firing guns: seeing this, we hauled to the wind, and made sail to beat up towards her, under the idea of her being in distress; but as we approached, we observed a boat alongside, and her top-gallant yards across, which were proofs that she was not in such immediate danger, as to require our beating up, with the risk of losing some of our spars, for the dick had already sprung her jib-boom; we, therefore, hove the vessels to, and soon afterwards the san antonio joined and passed under our stern, when mr. hemmans informed me that the guns he had fired were intended as signals to his boat, and that they were not meant for us. he had been aground, he said, on a reef near the palm islands, but had received no damage: light, however, as he pretended to make of this accident, it was a sufficient lesson for him, and we soon found he had profited by it, for instead of preceding us, he quietly fell into our wake, a station which he never afterwards left, until all danger was over, and we had passed through torres strait. i had now determined upon taking up an anchorage round cape grafton during the continuance of the bad weather, and for that purpose steered through the strait that separates the cape from fitzroy island; and anchored in six fathoms mud, at about half a mile from its northern extremity. it is little remarkable that the day on which we anchored should be the anniversary of the discovery of the bay; for captain cook anchored here on the eve of trinity sunday, fifty-one years before, and named the bay between capes grafton and tribulation, in reverence of the following day. in passing between cape grafton and fitzroy island, eight or ten natives were observed seated on the rocks at the south end of the beach: one of them waved his spear to us as we passed, but the distance was too great to take any notice of him. in the afternoon we landed upon the small island in the bay, and found it to be separated from the mainland by a very shoal channel, through which our boat had some difficulty in passing; the island is small, and formed of loose fragments of granite, over which the decomposed vegetable matter had formed a soil, which, although shallow, was sufficient to nourish some luxuriant grass (panicum) and a robust species of eucalyptus: among these large flights of cockatoos and parroquets were hovering, but they were very shy, and did not allow us to approach them: a small dove, common to other parts of the coast, was killed. a native was seen walking along a sandy beach behind the island, but proceeded without noticing our boat, which was at that time passing. june . the following day the weather was so clear that, in the early part of the morning, we distinctly saw the summit of the land at the back of cape tribulation, bearing north degrees west (magnetic); it must have been fifty-five or sixty miles off; the fall of the land towards the extremity of the cape was also seen, bearing north degrees minutes west fifty-six miles. in the afternoon i went on shore near the north extremity of the cape, to procure some bearings; after which we strolled about, and found a temporary stream of water falling into the sea. in walking past a grove of pandanus trees, which grew near the water, we disturbed a prodigious quantity of bronze-winged butterflies, reminding us, in point of number, of the euploea hamata, at cape cleveland in . it proved to be a variety of the urania orontes (godart) of amboyna and the other indian islands. mr. cunningham took advantage of the dick's boat going to the bottom of the bay, to cut grass: near their landing-place he found some natives' huts; some of which were of more substantial construction than usual, and were thatched with palm leaves: inside of one he found a fishing rod, and a line, five or six fathoms long, furnished with a hook made from a shell, like the hooks of the south sea islanders: he also found a small basket, made from the leaf of a palm-tree, lying near the remains of their fireplaces, which were strewed with broken exuviae of their shell-fish repasts. a canoe twelve feet long, similar to the one described at blomfield's rivulet (volume ) was also seen; and, like it, was not more than nine inches wide at the bilge. a small kangaroo was seen by mr. cunningham feeding upon the grass, but fled the moment that it saw him approaching. nothing more was seen of the natives, nor were any heard, or suspected of being near us; had there been any number the party would have been placed in an awkward situation, for upon landing, they all incautiously, and very imprudently, separated, to amuse themselves as they were inclined, without regarding the situation of the boat, which was soon left dry by the ebbing tide; and it was eight o'clock at night before they succeeded in launching her. immediately after its return, for which we had been waiting four hours, we got underweigh, and were only just in time to save the breeze, which carried us out into the offing: after a short calm, the wind gradually freshened from south-south-west, and we steered on under easy sail towards cape tribulation. june . on passing the cape two reefs were seen to seaward, which had previously escaped our notice. in the afternoon we anchored in ten fathoms, at about half a mile from the north-west end of the reef that stretches for two miles to the northward of the south-westernmost hope island; and, as it was low water and the reef uncovered, we walked across it. it is formed principally of coral, on the surface of which we found the gray trepang; a small chama gigas, a cypraea, a pretty azure-coloured species of asteria, and a few bivalve shells. the few birds that frequented the reef were very shy, and flew away at our approach: they were principally pelicans and terns. june . after weighing the next morning, we steered north / west, a course farther to seaward than we had previously taken, in order to see the reefs more distinctly, and to prove the width and extent of this part of the channel; but the sun was shining in the direction of our course, and the shadows of the clouds upon the water were at times so deceptious that, whilst they often caused appearances of reefs where none existed, they concealed others that, for the same reason, were not seen until we were close to them. having now the charge of two merchant-vessels, it was necessary to proceed with caution, and therefore we steered nearly over our last year's track, but notwithstanding, we now discovered several new reefs, and informed ourselves of the extent and shape of others which had escaped our previous observation. as we were rounding the two islands that lie close to the south side of lizard island, a native was seen in a canoe, paddling towards another who was sitting on the rocks watching our movements; and, as we hauled round the south point of the bay, two others were observed walking towards the beach; upon seeing us they stopped short and retreated up the hill; but, after we anchored and sent a boat on shore, which was accompanied by one from the dick, they advanced, and without much hesitation, came forward and communicated with our party. they carried spears with them, and each of our gentlemen had their fowling-pieces: the appearance of bundell, who on these occasions always took his clothes off, perhaps gave them greater confidence. after some vociferous and unintelligible parley, one of our gentlemen, in order to give them further cause for the surprise which they had already manifested to a great extent, unadvisedly fired his fowling-piece; upon which, as might be expected, they became distrustful and frightened, and, fixing their spears in their throwing sticks, walked backwards at a quick pace, and withdrew altogether towards the hills. lizard island, and the direction isles to the south-westward, are of very different character to the other islands which front this coast, being high, rising to peaks, and of granitic formation. captain cook, in his description of lizard island, mentions it as being a good place to refresh at, on account of its supplying both wood and water; but, at the same time we were there, the latter was not found, although the rain had been lately falling in great quantity; with the former, however, it is well supplied. this island, from its connection with captain cook's misfortunes during his perilous navigation within the reefs, will always be an interesting feature in the history of the discovery and examination of this coast, and deserves a more appropriate appellation. june . leaving lizard island the following morning, we directed our course for cape flinders, over our last year's track. upon passing port ninian, the sea was observed to break heavily upon the barrier reefs, which in this part approach nearer to the mainland than at any other. as we doubled cape melville, the wind, as usual, freshened up to a strong breeze, and carried us rapidly across bathurst bay: to the westward of the cape several natives were observed walking upon the beach. in passing round cape flinders, there appeared to be a considerable diminution in the remains of the frederick's wreck. no vestige was left of her stern or forecastle, both of which were before so very conspicuous. at half-past five o'clock we anchored with our companions near the usual place. june . the following morning, at daybreak, a party of men went to the wreck to collect the spars and planks that had escaped the mischievous fires of the natives; and at five o'clock i joined them with the master of the dick and mr. roe, ordering mr. bedwell to relieve the shore party with some fresh hands at eight o'clock. when the time arrived, supposing that the relief-party had nearly reached the shore, i sent the people over the hill, in order to be ready when the boat arrived to go on board; and in the meantime amused myself in wandering about the reef near the wreck, where mr. roe was also employed. mr. harrison (the master of the dick) was at the further end of the beach with his fowling piece, with two of his boat's crew picking up shells: when suddenly they were surprised by hearing a loud shout, and seeing several spears strike the rocks about them: upon looking round, mr. harrison found that a party of natives were advancing upon him with their spears poised; upon which he presented his gun at the foremost, but, from his having waded about in the water, the powder had got damp and would not go off. immediately that i heard the shout of the natives, and saw mr. harrison retreating from the indians, who were in close pursuit, i hastened to his assistance, and came up in time to prevent them from doing any mischief; and, by occasionally levelling my gun, kept them at bay whilst we retreated towards the wreck, from which we were about half a mile distant. by this time mr. roe, who had also heard the noise, joined; but, as he had not a gun, the only assistance he brought was an addition to our number. among the four foremost of the natives was a mischievous boy, who, being emboldened by our not firing, and showing an anxiety to get away from them, fixed his spear and aimed it at me; upon which i fired my gun, but, as it was only loaded with small shot, it had no effect at the distance he was from me; the noise, however, arrested their pursuit for a moment; and by the time they recovered their surprise, i had reloaded with ball, but to my great mortification, upon presenting the gun to deter the boy from throwing his spear again, it missed fire: the weapon, which at first was aimed at me, was then thrown at one of the dick's men, and, piercing his hat, which he was carrying at his breast, fortunately, full of shells, only slightly wounded one of his fingers. the man, who to all appearance was dangerously wounded, for the spear stuck in the hat and hung suspended in the air, drew it out, and, throwing it on the ground with the greatest composure, continued to retreat. the natives then finding we were not intimidated or hurt by the spears, began to make friendly gestures, which we, of course, returned, but still continued to walk away with our faces turned towards them. we were now only four in number (for i had despatched one of the dick's people to recall our boat, and to order the crew over to our assistance) and being without any means, or show of defence, it required much caution and management on our part to prevent their throwing any more spears; for they were now within a few yards of us: their ferocity, however, began to diminish, as their attention was taken by our clothes and a silk handkerchief which mr. roe held out to them: they were about ten in number, of whom five or six were armed with spears. our only safety now was in letting them approach, and amusing them by a display of our silk handkerchiefs and other parts of our dress, and making all the grimaces and monkey-like gestures we could think of. among the natives was a young woman, whom they repeatedly offered to us by using the most significant signs; which she also endeavoured to strengthen by appropriate gestures on her part; but our inclinations were not consonant with the opportunity so pressingly, but so suspiciously, offered. after our declining this honour, they occasionally laid their hands upon our clothes to detain us, but it did not require much force to make them quit their hold. one of the men having seized my gun, i drew it out of his hand rather roughly; but, accompanied at the same moment with the friendly gesture of patting his breast, the recovery was happily effected without exciting his anger. in this manner, and with great fatigue, we continued our retreat across the reef, and reached the wreck without any signs of our people coming to our assistance; when the natives found we intended to walk round the point, they divided, and gave their spears to a party that went over the hills, as it were, to cut us off; but in this intention, if they entertained it, they were disappointed, for our boat was there, and the crew all embarked, ready to shove off, little expecting ever to see us again. the idea of being thus easily deserted by our people was for a moment mortifying, but i ordered some of the crew on shore, and by our numbers kept the natives amused on the beach, while mr. harrison shoved off in his gig to give the alarm, and to order some muskets to be sent for our protection: by the time, however, that mr. bedwell arrived, we had succeeded in making friends with the natives; who, upon perceiving that we had now in our turn the superiority, began to draw away, and appeared to be as anxious to get rid of us as we had been, half an hour before, to escape from them; but we accompanied them halfway across the reef, watching an opportunity to seize the boy who had wounded the dick's man, whom i intended to keep a prisoner while we were here, and then to dismiss him with presents, to show that we were not inimical to them, although angry at being so treacherously attacked. my intention, however, was probably suspected, for they avoided our approaching sufficiently near them to effect my purpose with the certainty of success, i therefore called our people away to resume their work at the wreck, and, after leaving orders with mr. bedwell not to fire but in self-defence, and if an opportunity offered, to seize the boy, went on board with the party to breakfast. i had not, however, left the shore long before hostilities again commenced, and several shots were mischievously fired at the natives by some of the dick's and san antonio's people, who, being advanced, had very improperly endeavoured to cut off three of them, upon which one of the natives poised his spear with a threat of throwing it, when several muskets were fired at these miserable wretches, who, fortunately for them, got clear off; although one of them by his limping appeared to have been struck in the leg. after this we saw nothing more of them for the day. mr. bedwell was employed with his party at the wreck, whilst mr. cunningham traversed the hills in the vicinity, for it was not safe to trust himself at any distance from our people, since the natives would not have failed, had they met with an opportunity, to punish us for our broken faith. june . the following day, on the return of our people from the wreck, they reported that the natives had shown themselves on the opposite side of the bay; i therefore went to the shore with mr. harrison, to endeavour to make peace, but saw no signs of them, excepting a smoke on the next island, to which they had probably retired. on the following day they were again seen, and fired upon by the boat's crew of the dick. all these events gave me much concern, not only because the natives may be induced to attack and take revenge upon strangers who may subsequently pass this way, but also because they must have imbibed a very poor idea of the effect of our arms, when so many muskets were fired without doing them any mischief: and, but for the sake of humanity, i could almost have wished that one had been killed. the day after we arrived here, a boat from the san antonio conveyed mr. montgomery and mr. cunningham to clack's island. the reef abounded with shells, of which they brought back a large collection, but not in any great variety; an indifferent cypraea was the most common; but there were also some volutae and other shells, besides trepang and asteriae, in abundance. mr. cunningham observed a singularly curious cavern upon the rock, of which he gave me a description in the following account of the island: "the south and south-eastern extremes of clack's island presented a steep, rocky bluff, thinly covered with small trees. i ascended the steep head, which rose to an elevation of a hundred and eighty feet above the sea. i found simply the plants of the main, namely, mimusops parvifolia, br.; hoya nivea, cunningham manuscript; acacia plectocarpa, cunningham manuscript; chionanthus axillaris, br.; notelaea punctata, br.; some alyxiae, and the small orange-fruited ficus, which grew in the thickets, and, by insinuating its roots in the interstices of the rocks, clothed a great portion of the inaccessible front of the island. "the remarkable structure of the geological feature of this islet led me to examine the south-east part, which was the most exposed to the weather, and where the disposition of the strata was of course more plainly developed. the base is a coarse, granular, siliceous sandstone, in which large pebbles of quartz and jasper are embedded: this stratum continues for sixteen to twenty feet above the water: for the next ten feet there is a horizontal stratum of black schistose rock, which was of so soft a consistence, that the weather had excavated several tiers of galleries; upon the roof and sides of which some curious drawings were observed, which deserve to be particularly described: they were executed upon a ground of red ochre (rubbed on the black schistus) and were delineated by dots of a white argillaceous earth, which had been worked up into a paste. they represented tolerable figures of sharks, porpoises, turtles, lizards (of which i saw several small ones among the rocks) trepang, star-fish, clubs, canoes, water-gourds, and some quadrupeds, which were probably intended to represent kangaroos and dogs. the figures, besides being outlined by the dots, were decorated all over with the same pigment in dotted transverse belts. tracing a gallery round to windward, it brought me to a commodious cave, or recess, overhung by a portion of the schistus, sufficiently large to shelter twenty natives, whose recent fireplaces appeared on the projecting area of the cave. "many turtles' heads were placed on the shelfs or niches of the excavation, amply demonstrative of the luxurious and profuse mode of life these outcasts of society had, at a period rather recently, followed. the roof and sides of this snug retreat were also entirely covered with the uncouth figures i have already described. "as this is the first specimen of australian taste in the fine arts that we have detected in these voyages, it became me to make a particular observation thereon: captain flinders had discovered figures on chasm island, in the gulf of carpentaria, formed with a burnt stick; but this performance, exceeding a hundred and fifty figures, which must have occupied much time, appears at least to be one step nearer refinement than those simply executed with a piece of charred wood. immediately above this schistose stratum is a superincumbent mass of sandstone, which appeared to form the upper stratum of the island." (cunningham manuscript.)* (*footnote. similar representations were found by mr. white, carved on stone in the neighbourhood of port jackson. white's journal quarto page .) june . having procured all the spars and planks from the wreck that could be useful to us, we made preparations to sail, and at daylight, the th, got underweigh with my two companions, and resumed our course to the northward, over that of last year, excepting that we steered inside of pelican island, and to leeward of island . we passed several large sting-rays asleep on the surface of the sea, which our people ineffectually endeavoured to harpoon. on the former island large flights of pelicans were seen, and upon the sandbank, to the southward of it, there was a flock of two or three hundred young birds. the breeze not being sufficient to carry us to night island before dark, the anchor was dropped in eleven fathoms muddy bottom, two miles to the eastward of island . the dick and san antonio anchored close to us. during the night we had a fresh breeze from south-east by east, and, not having any island or reef to shelter us from the swell, we were obliged to drop a second anchor to retain our position. the san antonio drove for some distance, but the dick rode through the night without driving, although she had but forty fathoms of cable out. june . on weighing the next morning, we made sail to the north by west, but, from the compass-box not being quite straight in the binnacle, we made a north by west / west course, which was not discovered until we had nearly paid dear for our neglect; for we passed close to a rock which i intended to have gone at least a mile to windward of. it was seen just in time to put the helm a-lee, or we should have run upon it. the weather was now so thick that we could not see a mile around us; we were therefore obliged to follow our former courses, to avoid the risk of running over a strange track in such unfavourable weather. at sunset we anchored under the lee of piper's islets. june . the next day we anchored under sunday island in margaret bay, at about half a mile from the sandy beach, on its north-west side. here we were detained by bad weather until the th. june . when, with some slight appearance of improvement, and tired of losing so much time, we weighed and proceeded on our course. after passing the bird isles, thick weather again set in, with constant rain, and a strong breeze from south-east. upon reaching cairncross island, under which it was my intention to anchor, the sails were reduced; and, as we were in the act of letting go the anchor, mr. roe, who was at the masthead holding thoughtlessly by the fore-topmast staysail-halyards, whilst the sail was being hauled down, was precipitated from a height of fifty feet, and fell senseless on the deck. we were now close to the reef; and, in the hurry and confusion attending the accident, and the dick at the same time luffing up under our stern, the anchor was dropped, without my ascertaining the quality of the bottom, which was afterwards found to be of a very questionable nature. the dick, having dropped her anchor within forty yards of us, was lying so close as to prevent our veering more cable than sixty fathoms, but as we appeared to ride tolerably easy with a sheer to starboard, while the dick rode on the opposite sheer, we remained as we were: to prevent accident, the yards were braced so that we should cast clear of the dick if we parted, a precaution which was most happily taken. as soon as the distressing accident that had occurred was known on board the dick, dr. armstrong, a surgeon of the navy and a passenger in that ship, hastened on board to assist mr. montgomery in dressing mr. roe's hurt, which i found, to my inexpressible satisfaction, was not so grievous as might have been expected: his fall was, most providentially, broken twice; first by the spritsail brace, and secondly by some planks from the frederick's wreck, which had fortunately been placed across the forecastle bulwark over the cat-heads: his head struck the edge of the plank and broke his fall, but it cut a very deep wound over the right temple. this unfortunate event threatened to deprive me of his very valuable assistance for some time, a loss i could but very ill spare, particularly when upon the point of returning to the examination of so intricate a coast as that part where we last left off. at six o'clock in the evening the flood-tide began to set to leeward, and as night approached the appearance of the weather became very threatening, accompanied by a descent of the mercury; this gave me a very unfavourable idea of our situation: the wind was blowing clear of the reef, and raised a heavy sea; and the dick was so close to us that we dared not veer cable, for fear of getting on board of her, which must have happened if either ship should break her sheer. at half-past ten o'clock, during a very heavy squall, the cable parted, but from the precaution above-mentioned, the brig happily drifted with her head to starboard, and passed clear both of the dick and san antonio; the chain-cabled anchor was then dropped, and veered to ninety fathoms, which brought her up in fifteen fathoms, mud; in which birth she appeared to ride much easier than before. i was now very anxious about the lost anchor; and, having expressed a wish to inform mr. harrison of our situation, and to request him to recover our anchor in the morning if the weather would permit, mr. bedwell volunteered to go on board her; which, although a service of danger, was, if possible to be effected, absolutely necessary. the boat was lowered, and they shoved off, but as the crew were unable to pull it ahead, i called her on board again, which was most fortunate; for shortly afterwards the chain-cable parted also, and the brig drove with her head towards the shore. . july . we had now the prospect of being obliged to keep under sail during the remainder of the night. an attempt was made to veer, in order that, by laying to with her head off shore, we might have time to recover the cable, without endangering the security of the vessel; but, from the weight of the chain at the bow, this manoeuvre could not be effected; fearing, therefore, to drift any more to the westward, in which direction we were making rapid way, i was under the necessity of slipping the chain, by which we lost one hundred fathoms of cable, which we could but badly spare: being now freed from the impediment, the brig's head was placed off shore; and after making sail, we fired several muskets and showed lights, as signals to the dick, who, it afterwards appeared, kept a light up for our guidance; but the weather was so squally and thick, with almost constant rain, that it was not seen by us. it was half-past twelve o'clock when we made sail to the north-east by east, deepening from fourteen to sixteen fathoms, and when the hillocky summit of cairncross island bore south by west, beyond which bearing we did not know how far we could proceed with safety; we tacked to the south-south-west, and proceeded in that direction until the island bore south, when we were in fourteen fathoms. having thus ascertained the depth of this space, which was about three miles in extent, it was occupied during the remainder of the night; which, being very dark and squally, was passed by us in the greatest anxiety. at day-dawn we were joined by our companions, and, as it was not possible from the state of the weather to regain the anchors we had lost, made sail towards turtle island, on our way to which we passed escape river: both of these places reminded us of former perils, but the recollection of our providential preservation on those occasions, as well as on many others during our former voyages, increased the grateful feelings which we now felt for our safety and protection during the last night, the anxieties and circumstances of which can never be obliterated from our minds. our course was directed entirely by the chart i had previously formed; for the weather was so thick that for the greater part of the way no land could be seen to guide us: by noon we had passed between cape york and mount adolphus, and in a short time rounded the north end of wednesday island, and were steering between it and the north-west reef. after passing the rock off hammond's island, we steered west by south / south, but were obliged to haul up south-west by west to pass to the southward of a small shoal, some part of which was uncovered (the time of tide being nearly low water, spring tide): this shoal lies in a north degrees west direction, from the low rocky ledge off the north end of good's island, and is distant from it about a mile and a half. the dick being a little to leeward of our track, had four fathoms; but the least we had was five and three-quarters. this reef is not noticed in captain flinders' chart: at high water, or even at half ebb, it is very dangerous, from its lying in the direct track; but, by hauling over to the south shore, may be easily avoided. at four o'clock we passed booby island, and steered west by south across the gulf of carpentaria. july . between booby island and cape wessel, which we passed in sight of on the rd, we had thick gloomy weather, with the wind between south and east-south-east; and, after rounding the cape had some heavy rain, in which the mercury, having previously fallen to . , rose to . inches. lightning from the east and west accompanied the rain, but the wind was steady, and did not freshen or lull during the showers. july . on the th, at daylight, goulburn islands were seen, and at nine o'clock we passed through the strait that divides them; our track being half a mile more to the northward than that of last year, we had more regular soundings. as soon as we anchored in south-west bay, i sent on shore to examine our former watering-place, but found that the stream had failed. the parched up appearance of the island showed that the last had been an unusually dry season; every place that, even in the month of august, six weeks later, had before yielded large quantities, as well as the lagoon behind the beach, which, from the nature of the plants growing in it, was conjectured to be a never-failing supply, was now dried up. july to . the next morning the brig's boat went over to sims island with mr. cunningham, and there found a small quantity of water, sufficient, according to mr. hemmans' report, for all our wants. the next morning ( th) he moved the san antonio over to the island, and anchoring her off the sandy beach, landed his people to dig holes. in the afternoon he sent me a specimen of what had been collected; but it was so brackish that i gave up all idea of shipping any: he had improvidently dug large holes, into which all the water good and bad had drained, and thereby the good was spoiled. the following morning he sent another specimen, which, notwithstanding it was considerably better, was still too bad to tempt me to embark any. during the san antonio's stay at sims island, our gentleman paid it a visit: its vegetation appeared to have suffered as much from want of rain as goulburn island. "the venerable tournefortia (tournefortia argentea. lin.) however, appeared as an exception: this tree, which grows on the centre of the beach, where it is remarkably conspicuous, appeared to have resisted the dry state of the season; it was in full leaf, and covered with a profusion of flowers, which attracted a variety of insects, particularly of the genera apis, vespa, and sphex; and among them a beautiful green-coloured chrysis." (cunningham manuscripts.) during the two last days, our people were employed cutting wood; no natives had made their appearance, although recent tracks on the sand showed they were not far off; but on the evening of the th, the surgeon, accompanied by dr. armstrong of the dick, landed in that vessel's gig, and, whilst amusing themselves among the trees, and the boat's crew incautiously wandering away from the boat, the natives came down, and would have carried off all the boat's furniture, and everything in her, had they not been disturbed by the return of one of the sailors with a musket. they succeeded however, in making a prize of a new boat-cloak, and the boat-hook, and one of them had nearly succeeded in carrying off an oar, but upon being fired at, dropped his booty and scampered off. this trifling loss was deservedly sustained by our gentlemen, for they were well aware how suddenly the natives have always appeared, and how mischievously they had on those occasions conducted themselves: they were also cautioned, when they went on shore to be upon their guard, and it was fortunate for them that nothing more serious occurred. july . at daylight, the th, the san antonio rejoined us from sims island, and at eleven o'clock we left the bay, and passed to the eastward of new year's island: the dick and ourselves then steered to the westward along the coast, while the san antonio steered a north-west course, and parted company. july . the following day, being in sight of the land of cape van diemen, and having sent our letters on board the dick for conveyance to england, we parted company by an interchange of three cheers; and it was not without a considerable degree of regret that we took this leave of our friends; for it is but due to mr. harrison to say that we received very great assistance from him on several occasions: he offered us his stream anchor to replace in some degree our loss, although he had himself only one left; it was, however, much too small for our purpose. by this opportunity i wrote to the secretary of the admiralty, and the under secretary of state for the colonies, and communicating to them a brief account of our voyage up the east coast, acquainted them of my intention of employing the fine-weather months of july and august upon the north-west coast, and then of going to mauritius, to replace our anchors and cable, previous to our examination of the west coast. chapter . passage from cape van diemen to careening bay. not finding water, visit prince regent's river, and procure it from the cascade. farther examination of the river. amphibious mud-fish. anchor in halfway bay, and explore munster water and hanover bay in a boat. visit hanover bay, and procure water and fish. interview with natives. the surgeon speared. retaliate upon them, and capture their rafts and weapons. description of their implements. port george the fourth. islands to the westward. red island of captain heywood. strong tides. camden bay. buccaneer's archipelago. cygnet bay. dangerous situation of the brig. high and rapid tides. cape leveque. examination of the coast to cape latouche treville. remarkable effect of mirage. leave the coast for mauritius. voyage thither. arrival at port louis. refit. some account of the island. . july . our course was held to the south-west towards cape londonderry; on which, with a fresh south-east wind, we proceeded with rapidity. july . on the morning of the th, eclipse hill and sir graham moore's islands were seen, and in the afternoon we passed troughton island; at sunset, point hillock bore south thirteen miles, whence we steered to the west-north-west and north-west, and rounded the north end of the long reef, to the westward of cape bougainville. july . the next morning, at daylight, cassini island was seen bearing south by west; here we were detained for two days by light baffling winds and calms. july . during the night of the th, the wind was light from the westward, and we stood off and on to the north of cassini island. july . at half-past one o'clock a.m., having sounded in thirty-three fathoms, we shoaled suddenly to fourteen, when the vessel's head was put to the southward, but the breeze was so very light, that she had hardly steerage way: by the light of the moon a line of breakers was seen two miles off, under our lee: we had now shoaled to nine fathoms on a rocky bottom, but its great irregularity prevented our dropping the anchor until the last minute, since it would have been to the certain loss of the only one we had. in order, therefore, to save it, if possible, the boat was lowered, and sent to sound between the vessel and the breakers. finding we made no progress off the reef by standing to the southward, we tacked; and, a light breeze springing up from the westward, we drew off the bank on a north-west course, and in the space of a mile and a half deepened the water gradually to thirty fathoms. july . the next morning, at a quarter past eight o'clock, the breakers were again seen; they were found to be minutes seconds west of troughton island. the wind was too light to allow of our approaching, we therefore tacked off to the westward, and soon lost sight of them; at noon we were in latitude degrees minutes seconds. the breakers from the masthead, bearing south-east, distant eight or nine miles. during the ensuing night, having a fresh breeze, we stood first to the westward, and afterwards to the south-east. july . at seven o'clock the next morning no land was in sight, but breakers were seen extending from south by west to south-west by south, about five miles off; and two miles beyond them was another line of breakers, bearing from south-south-west to south-west by west. as we steered obliquely towards them, they were noticed to extend still farther to the eastward, but apparently in detached patches; our soundings, as we stood on, shoaled to fifteen fathoms; and we were shortly within half a mile of an appearance of shoal-water, in thirteen fathoms on a rocky bottom. the wind now began to lessen; and, for fear of being becalmed, i was anxious to get an offing. by our observations, we found the breakers this morning were connected with those passed yesterday, and are a part of baudin's holothurie banks. the french charts of this part are very vague and incorrect; for our situation at noon upon their plan (with respect to the position of cassini island) was in the centre of their reefs. at noon we were in degrees minutes south, when a freshening breeze from south-east enabled us to make progress to the southward. at two o'clock some of the montalivet islands were seen; and before three o'clock, an island was seen bearing south, which proved, as we stood towards it, to be the northernmost of a group lying off the north-west end of bigge's island; they were seen last year from cape pond, and also from the summit of the hills over careening bay. july to . at daylight ( th) having laid to all night, this group was about six leagues off, bearing from south / to degrees east, but a continuation of calms and light winds detained us in sight of them until the st. this group consists of eight or nine islands, and appears to be those called by the french the maret isles; they are from one quarter to a mile and a half in extent, and are rocky and flat-topped; the shores are composed of steep, rocky cliffs. they are fronted on the west side by a rocky reef extending in a north-north-east and south-south-west direction. during the calm weather, in the vicinity of this group, we had seen many fish and sea-snakes; one of the latter was shot and preserved; its length was four feet four inches; the head very small; it had neither fins nor gills, and respired like land-snakes; on each scale was a rough ridge: it did not appear to be venomous. a shark was also taken, eleven feet long; and many curious specimens of crustacea and medusa were obtained by the towing-net. some of the latter were so diaphanous as to be perfectly invisible when immersed in the water. among the former were a species of phyllosoma, and the alima hyalina of leach.* (*footnote. cancer vitreus. banks and solander manuscripts. lin. gmel. tome page . astacus vitreus. fabr. syst. ent. page n. .) at daylight we were about four leagues to the west-north-west of captain baudin's colbert island; at the back of which were seen some patches of the coronation islands. the night was passed at anchor off the northernmost coronation island. july . and the following afternoon we anchored at about half a mile from the sandy beach of careening bay. as soon as the vessel was secured, we visited the shore, and recognised the site of our last year's encampment, which had suffered no alteration, except what had been occasioned by a rapid vegetation: a sterculia, the stem of which had served as one of the props of our mess-tent, and to which we had nailed a sheet of copper with an inscription, was considerably grown; and the gum had oozed out in such profusion where the nails had pierced the bark that it had forced one corner of the copper off. the large gouty-stemmed tree on which the mermaid's name had been carved in deep indented characters remained without any alteration, and seemed likely to bear the marks of our visit longer than any other memento we had left. the sensations experienced at revisiting a place which had so seasonably afforded us a friendly shelter and such unlooked-for convenience for our purposes, can only be estimated by those who have experienced them; and it is only to strangers to such feelings that it will appear ridiculous to say, that even the nail to which our thermometer had been suspended, was the subject of pleasurable recognition. we then bent our steps to the water-gully, but, to our mortification, it was quite dried up, and exhibited no vestige of its having contained any for some time. from the more luxuriant and verdant appearance of the trees and grass than the country hereabout assumed last year, when the water was abundant, we had felt assured of finding it and therefore our disappointment was the greater. july . after another unsuccessful search in the bight, to the eastward of careening bay, in which we fruitlessly examined a gully that mr. cunningham informed me had last year produced a considerable stream, we gave up all hopes of success here, and directed our attention to the cascade of prince regent's river; which we entered the next afternoon, with the wind and tide in our favour, and at sunset reached an anchorage at the bottom of st. george's basin, a mile and a half to the northward of the islet that lies off the inner entrance of the river, in seven fathoms muddy sand. july . the following morning at half-past four o'clock mr. montgomery accompanied me in the whale-boat to visit the cascade; we reached it at nine o'clock and found the water, to our inexpressible satisfaction, falling abundantly. while the boat's crew rested and filled their baricas, i ascended the rocks over which the water was falling and was surprised to find its height had been so underrated when we passed by it last year: it was then thought to be about forty feet, but i now found it could not be less than one hundred and fifty. the rock, a fine-grained siliceous sandstone, is disposed in horizontal strata, from six to twelve feet thick, each of which projects about three feet from that above it, and forms a continuity of steps to the summit, which we found some difficulty in climbing; but where the distance between the ledges was great we assisted our ascent by tufts of grass firmly rooted in the luxuriant moss that grew abundantly about the water-courses. on reaching the summit, i found that the fall was supplied from a stream winding through rugged chasms and thickly-matted clusters of plants and trees, among which the pandanus bore a conspicuous appearance and gave a picturesque richness to the place. while admiring the wildness of the scene, mr. montgomery joined me; we did not however succeed in following the stream for more than a hundred yards, for at that distance its windings were so confused among rocks and spinifex that we could not trace its source. after collecting for mr. cunningham, who was confined on board by sickness, a few specimens of those plants which, to me, appeared the most novel, we commenced our descent, and reached the bottom in safety; by which time the tide was ebbing so rapidly that we set off immediately on our return with a view of arriving on board by low-water, in order that no time might be lost in sending the boats up with our empty water-casks. during our absence mr. roe, who was fast recovering from the effects of his fall, had obtained the sun's meridional altitude upon the islet at the entrance of the river, which gave degrees minutes seconds for its latitude, differing from the plan of last year by only fifteen seconds. july . the following day the boats were despatched up the river, but as the ebb-tide ran until after four o'clock it was late at night before they reached the cascade, having experienced some delay by running upon the sandbanks, which, above alligator island, are very numerous and form a narrow winding channel of not more than twelve feet deep; these banks are dry at low-water, and are composed of a yellow quartzose sand. at midnight, as soon as the launch and cutter were loaded, for it did not take more than half an hour to fill the casks, i despatched them to the vessel with orders to return the following night for another load, and in the meantime i purposed continuing the examination of the river, of which we knew nothing beyond a few miles above the cascade. july . we were, however, unable to set out until half flood the next morning, on account of the shoalness of the channel. for ten miles we found little or no variation either in its character or course: its windings were only just sufficient to intercept a clear view; for so direct was its course, that from this part the high round hill near the entrance was seen midway between the hills that form the banks of the river. proceeding a little way farther, we were suddenly whirled into a rapid amongst large stones, in the midst of which, as the stream was running at the rate of five or six knots, the grapnel was instantly dropped, which had the effect of reversing the boat's head. after this the grapnel was weighed, and by very great exertions we extricated ourselves from the rapid, and then landed at a hundred yards below the fall, on the east bank, where the mangroves were so thick that it was with difficulty we penetrated through them: having succeeded, we walked to the bank near the rapid, and found that it was occasioned by the tide falling over a barrier of rocks, which probably at low-water confines the fresh water above this place; a few minutes afterwards it was high-water, and the tide suddenly ceased to run; when the water became quite smooth and motionless. a fresh-water rivulet, at that time the mere drainings of what occasionally is a torrent, joined the main river, just above the rapid, by a trickling stream; and made us the more desirous of extending our knowledge of this extraordinary river: we therefore re-embarked, and, passing the rapid, pulled up the river against the tide for a mile farther, where it was suddenly terminated by a beautiful fresh-water rivulet, whose clear, transparent stream was so great a contrast to the thick, muddied water we had so long been pulling through that it was a most gratifying sight, and amply repaid us for all our fatigue and exertions. the fresh water was separated from the salt tide by a gentle fall over rounded stones; but as the boat was unable to pass over them, we had only time to fill our water-vessels, in order to be certain of returning over the first rapid, before the strength of the stream rendered it dangerous to pass. the bed of the river at this second fall appeared to be about two hundred and fifty yards in breadth: its farther course was lost sight of by a sharp turn, first to the north-east, and then to the south-east, between high and rocky hills. large groves of pandanus and hibiscus and a variety of other plants were growing in great luxuriance upon the banks, but unhappily the sterile and rocky appearance of the country was some alloy to the satisfaction we felt at the first sight of the fresh water; as we did not, however, expect to find a good country, the pleasure was not much diminished, and we set off on our return, perfectly satisfied with the success of our labours: we were at this time about fifty miles from the sea. the ebb-tide had fallen for an hour when we passed the first falls, but there was no appearance of that violence which we witnessed in the morning; probably because the stream had not reached its strength. an alligator was seen on our return, swimming within two yards of the boat, and a musket, charged with a ball and buck-shot, was uselessly fired at it. the appearance of these animals in the water is very deceptious; they lie quite motionless, and resemble a branch of a tree floating with the tide; the snout, the eye, and some of the ridges of the back and tail being the only parts that are seen. the animal that we fired at was noticed for some time, but considered to be only a dead branch, although we were looking out for alligators, and approached within six yards of it before we found out our mistake: the length of this animal was from twelve to fifteen feet; i do not think that we have ever seen one more than twenty feet long. we reached the cascade by four o'clock and remained there until our boats arrived for a second cargo of water, which was at midnight; as soon as the casks were filled, we set off on our return, but did not reach the brig until eight o'clock in the morning. july . the fatigue and exposure which attended our watering at this place were so great that i was obliged to give up the idea of completing it now. we had obtained, by the two trips, enough to last until the end of october, which, with the chance of finding more upon other parts of the coast, was sufficient for our intended mode of proceeding. the boats were therefore hoisted in, and preparations made to leave the anchorage. the river appears to abound with fish, particularly with mullet; and porpoises were observed as high as the first falls, a distance of fifty miles from the sea. a curious species of mud-fish (chironectes sp. cuvier) was noticed, of amphibious nature, and something similar to what we have frequently before seen; these were, however, much larger, being about nine inches long. at low water the mud-banks near the cascade that were exposed by the falling tide were covered with these fish, sporting about, and running at each other with open mouths; but as we approached, they so instantaneously buried themselves in the soft mud that their disappearance seemed the effect of magic: upon our retiring and attentively watching the spot, these curious animals would re-appear as suddenly as they had before vanished. we fired at several, but so sudden were their motions that they generally escaped; two or three only were procured, which appeared from their lying on the mud in an inactive state to have been asleep; they are furnished with very strong pectoral and ventral fins with which and with the anal fin, when required, they make a hole, into which they drop. when sporting on the mud, the pectoral fins are used like legs, upon which they move very quickly; but nothing can exceed the instantaneous movement by which they disappear. those that were shot were taken on board, but on account of the extreme heat of the weather they had become so putrefied as to be totally unfit for preservation. july . the next day, the th, was spent in examining some bights in the narrow part of the channel near gap island, so named from a remarkable division in its centre, through which the high-tide flows, and gives it the appearance of being two islands. it was on this occasion that we explored halfway bay, where we were fortunate in finding good anchorage, and in which we also discovered a strait, that on a subsequent examination was found to communicate with munster water, and to insulate the land that forms the north-west shore of the bay: this island was called after the late right honourable charles greville, whose name has also been given to a family of plants (grevillea) that bears a prominent rank in the botany of this country. the strait, in which the tide was running at the rate of six or seven knots, was not more than one hundred and fifty yards wide; but in one part it was contracted to a much narrower compass, by a bed of rocks that nearly extended across the strait, and which must originally have communicated with the opposite shore. we landed under the flat-topped hill, at the south end of greville island, among the mangroves which skirt the shore, and walked a few hundred yards round the point, to examine the course of the strait; but the way was so rugged, and we had so little time to spare, that we soon re-embarked and returned into halfway bay. the geological character of the island is a red-coloured, coarse-granular, siliceous sandstone, disposed in horizontal strata, and intersected by veins of crystallised quartz. the surface is covered by a shallow, reddish-coloured soil, producing a variety of shrubs and plants. after this we crossed the river, and examined the two bays opposite to gap island, but found them so shoal and overrun with mangroves that no landing could be effected in any part. in both bays there is anchorage between the heads; but all the inner part is very shoal, and perhaps at low water there is not more than nine feet water within the heads. in the mid-stream of the river the bottom is deep, and is formed entirely of shells over which, on account of its being very narrow, the tide runs with great strength; and from the irregularity of the bottom forms numerous eddies and whirlpools, in which a boat is quite unmanageable. during our absence, mr. bedwell examined our former watering-place, at the back of st. andrew's island, and on his return landed upon the sandy beach of a bay on the south-west side of the basin, but was unsuccessful in his search for water at both places. the sea breeze freshened towards sunset, and fanned up the fires that had been burning for the last three days in several places upon the low land, and on the sides of the hills to the westward of mount trafalgar; before night they had all joined, and, spreading over the tops of the hills for a space of three miles, produced a singularly grand and magnificent effect. . august . at half past five o'clock the next morning we were under sail but, the breeze being light, had only time to reach the anchorage under greville island in halfway bay, before the tide turned against us. it was purposed to remain only during the flood; but, on examination, the place was found to be so well adapted for the purpose of procuring some lunar distances with the sun, to correspond with those taken last year at careening bay, that we determined upon seizing the opportunity; and as wood was abundant on the island and growing close to the shores, a party was formed to complete our holds with fuel, whilst mr. roe assisted me in taking observations upon a convenient station on the north point of the bay within lammas island, a small rocky islet covered with shrubs, and separated from the easternmost point of greville island by a very shoal and rocky channel. during these occupations we examined munster water: on our way to it we landed on the reef off the east end of the midway isles, which was found to be more extensive than had been suspected, and to embrace the group of small rocks, which at high-water only just show their summits above the water; at high-tide there is at least fifteen feet water over it, but being low-water when we landed, the reef was dry. upon it we found several varieties of coral, particularly explanaria mesenterina, lam.; caryophylla fastigata, lam.; and porites subdigitata, lam.: the only shell that we observed upon the reef was a delphinula laciniata, lam. (turbo delphinus, linn.). after obtaining bearings from its extremity, as also from the summit of the outer dry rock, we landed upon a small verdant-looking grassy mound, the northernmost islet of the group; but we found the verdure of its appearance was caused only by the abundance of the spinifex, through which we had, as usual, much difficulty in travelling. after procuring some bearings from its summit we re-embarked and pulled up munster water, supposing that it was connected with the strait at the back of greville island; but as the tide then flowing was running in a contrary direction to what was expected from the hypothesis we had formed, we began to suspect some other communication with the sea, and in this we were not deceived; for a narrow but a very deep strait opened suddenly to our view, at the bottom of the water, through which some of the islands in the offing were recognised. in pulling through we had kept close to the south shore, that we might not miss the communication with hanover bay, but notwithstanding all our care we passed by without noticing it, on account of the deceptious appearance of the land; indeed the strait which we discovered leading to sea was not seen until we were within two hundred yards of it, and would also have escaped our observation had not the channel been so direct that the sea horizon was exposed to our view. at the bottom of this arm are two deep bays which were partially but sufficiently examined. in most parts of munster water there is good anchorage amongst several small rocky islands, on one of which we landed, and climbed its summit, but saw nothing to repay us for the trouble or the danger of the ascent: the surface was composed entirely of loose blocks of sandstone, which, when trod upon, would crumble away or roll down the nearly perpendicular face of the rock; and it was only by grasping the branches of the acacias and other trees that were firmly rooted in the interstices of the less-decomposed rocks that we were saved from being precipitated with them. on our return we passed through the channel on the west side of the midway isles which we found to be very deep and the stream very strong. august . the next day we pulled through the strait that insulates greville island, and found that it communicated with munster water at a part where we had yesterday concluded it likely to exist, and had in consequence steered towards it; but as we proceeded the probability became less and less, and we gave up the search when we were within three hundred yards of being actually in it. we then pulled up munster water and afterwards through the strait to sea; and, landing on some dry rocks on a reef which projects off the west head of the strait, found that we were at the entrance of the bight, which was last year named hanover bay: after taking a set of bearings, we re-embarked and proceeded to the bottom of the bay which terminated in a shoal basin. on our return we entered an opening in the rocky cliff which bore the appearance of being the outlet of a torrent stream; being low-water, there was not in many parts sufficient depth to float the boat; but after pulling up for half a mile, a muddy channel was found, which, at the end of another half mile, was terminated by a bed of rocks over which the tide flows at high-water. the ravine is formed by steep precipitous rocks which are at least two hundred and fifty feet high; it appeared to extend to a considerable distance, and as the farther progress of the boat was prevented by the stones and want of water, bundell and two of the boat's crew were despatched to examine a place farther on, where, from the green appearance of the trees, it was thought not unlikely that there might be a fresh stream. in this they were not disappointed, for after much delay and trouble, from the difficulty of passing over the rocks, they returned with two baricas full of fresh water, which they found in holes of considerable size. in pulling up the river, an alligator was seen crawling slowly over the mud banks, but took to the water before we came near it and did not afterwards reappear. many kangaroo-rats and small kangaroos were seen skipping about the rocks, but they were very shy, and fled the moment they saw us. hanover bay thus proving to afford good anchorage and an opportunity of increasing our stock of water, as well as presenting a sandy beach on which we could haul the seine, it was determined that we should visit it as soon as the brig could be moved out of prince regent's river. on our return, which was over the same ground as we had passed in the morning, we landed near two or three gullies on the inner side of the island, which forms the eastern boundary of munster water, but were unsuccessful in all our searches after fresh water. august . at daylight on the th we got underweigh to a light air of wind from the southward, to leave prince regent's river; but notwithstanding the vessel was under all sail she was very nearly thrown upon lammas island by the tide, which was setting with great strength through the shoal passage between it and sight point: as we passed without it we were not more than five yards from the rocks. the wind then fell to a dead calm and the brig was perfectly immovable in the water; but, drifted by the tide and whirled round by the eddies, we were fast approaching the body of the largest midway island, with a very great uncertainty on which side of it the tide would drift us: when we were about three hundred yards from the island the direction of the stream changed and carried us round its south-east side, at about two hundred yards from the shore, but close to the low rocks off its east end, on which we landed two days since. we were under great anxiety for fear of being driven over the reef, on which there could not have been sufficient water to have floated us; but our fears of that danger were soon over for the tide swept us rapidly round it. at this moment a light air sprang up which lasted only five minutes, but it was sufficient to carry us past the junction of the rothsay and munster waters with the main stream. the vessel was at times unmanageable from the violent whirlpools through which we passed, and was more than once whirled completely round upon her keel; but our former experience of a similar event prepared us to expect it, and the yards were as quickly braced round. having passed all the dangers, the ebb-tide very soon carried us out of the river into hanover bay. in passing the easternmost of the outer isles, the shrill voices of natives were heard calling to us, and bundell returned their shout, but it was some time before we could discern them on account of the very rugged nature of the island: at last three indians were observed standing upon the rocks near the summit of the island but, as the tide was running out with great strength, we were soon out of hearing. soon after one o'clock the brig was anchored at about half a mile off the sandy beach in hanover bay, in eight fathoms (half flood) muddy bottom. the boats were immediately hoisted out and sent up the river, but the tide was ebbing and the difficulty of filling the casks so great that, after great labour, we only procured a puncheon of water. the launch was moored without the rocky bed of the river, while the jolly-boat conveyed the baricas to her as they were filled, but even the latter could not get within three hundred yards of the water, so that the people had to carry the baricas over the rugged bed of the river for that distance, which made the work laborious and slow; still however it was much less distressing than the fatigue of watering from the cascade in prince regent's river. at night a successful haul of the seine supplied our people with abundance of fish, among which were mullets weighing from three to five pounds; cavallos, whitings, silver fish, breams, and two species of guard-fish. august . while our people were employed the next morning in washing the decks, they heard at a distance the voices of natives; at eight o'clock they were again heard and at ten o'clock they were close by; shortly afterwards three, of whom one was a woman, were seen standing on the rocks waving their arms. being curious to communicate with the inhabitants of this part of the coast, since we had not seen any between this and vansittart bay, a party consisting of the surgeon, mr. bedwell, mr. baskerville, and myself, went on shore to the place where the natives were seated waiting for us. bundell, who generally accompanied us on these occasions divested of his clothes, stood up in the bow of the boat, and, as we approached the shore, made signs of friendship, which the natives returned, and appeared quite unconcerned at our approach. on landing we climbed the rocks on which the two men were standing, when we found that the woman had walked away: upon our approach they retired a few paces and evidently eyed us in a distrustful manner; but, as they had dropped their spears, and repeated the sign of peace that we had made to them, we did not hesitate to walk towards them unarmed, desiring the boat's crew to be prepared with the muskets, if called. when we joined them they had their spears poised ready to throw, but on our presenting them with some of the fish that we had caught the preceding evening they dropped their spears and immediately returned us something in exchange; one gave a belt, made of opossum fur, to bundell; and the other, the tallest of the two, gave me a club that he carried in his hand, a short stick about eighteen inches long, pointed at both ends. this exchange of presents appeared to establish a mutual confidence between us, and, to strengthen it, i presented my friend with a clasped knife, after showing him its use, the possession of which appeared to give him great pleasure. by this time mr. montgomery and mr. bedwell joined us; the latter gentleman was unarmed, but the former had a pistol concealed under his coat and carried a fish which he held out for them to take; but, as they would not approach us nearer than two or three yards, he threw it towards them, when the shortest native picked it up. upon this accession to our numbers they began to talk to each other, and at the same time picked up their spears; but as the latter appeared only to be a cautionary movement we did not anticipate their mischievous intentions. i then, with a view to amuse them, made signs to my friend for the knife, which he put into my hands without showing the least reluctance, upon which he was again instructed how to open and shut it; but as this, instead of pacifying, only served to increase their anger, the knife was thrown at his feet, which he instantly picked up, and then both retired a few paces in a very suspicious manner. we were at this time about three or four yards from the natives, who were talking to each other in a most animated way, and evidently intent upon some object; and, as it appeared probable that, if we remained any longer, a rupture would ensue, it was proposed that our party should retire to the boat, under the idea that they would follow us down; no sooner, however, had we waved to them our farewell, and turned our backs to descend the rocks, than they unexpectedly, and in the most treacherous manner, threw their spears; one of which, striking a rock, broke and fell harmless to the ground, but the other, which was thrown by the tallest man, wounded mr. montgomery in the back; the natives then, without waiting to throw their second spears, made off, closely pursued by bundell, who had armed himself with the broken spear; but they were out of sight in a moment, and, by the time that the muskets were brought to our assistance, were doubtless out of gun-shot. a pursuit was, however, commenced, but our progress was so much impeded by the rugged and rocky nature of the ground and by the abundance and intricate growth of the shrubs and trees that we very soon desisted, and returned to the boat, to which mr. montgomery had been in the meantime carried, complaining of great weakness from loss of blood. upon examining mr. montgomery's wound, which unfortunately was in such a part of his body that he could not himself inspect it, it appeared that the spear had penetrated about three inches; and, from the quantity of extravasated blood, great fears were entertained that he had received a very serious internal injury. the wound, from which he was suffering very great pain, was dressed according to his instructions, but it was several days before he considered himself out of danger. august . the next morning at eleven o'clock a native was seen on a float, or catamaran, paddling round the west point of the strait, and another man, a woman, and a child, were observed on the rocks, who, in less than a quarter of an hour, came down to the spot where we met them yesterday, and began to wave and call to us. an opportunity now offered of punishing these wretches for their treacherous conduct, and of disappointing them in their present plans, for they were evidently intent upon some mischief. mr. bedwell was therefore despatched to secure their catamaran, which was hauled up on a sandy beach near the outer point, whilst another boat was sent towards the natives: when the latter arrived near the shore, they were sitting on the rock and inviting us to land; but it was necessary to convince them that we were not so defenceless as they imagined, and, as soon as we were sufficiently near, several muskets were fired over their heads: one of them fell down behind a rock, but the other made off. the native who had fallen was wounded in the shoulder, and was recognised to be the man that speared mr. montgomery; he made several attempts to get away, but every time his head appeared above the rock which concealed him from us, a pistol or a musket was fired to prevent his escape; at last, however, he sprang up, and, leaping upon the rock with a violent effort, was instantaneously out of sight. as soon as he was gone we pulled round to the sandy bay where the natives had landed and overtook mr. bedwell, who was passing by the place. upon the beach we found two catamarans, or floats, on each of which a large bundle of spears was tied with ligatures of bark; and on searching about the grass we soon found and secured all their riches, consisting of water-baskets, tomahawks, spears, throwing-sticks, fire-sticks, fishing-lines, and thirty-six spears; some of the latter were of large size, and very roughly made, and one was headed with a piece of stone curiously pointed and worked. this last spear is propelled by a throwing-stick, which was also found lying by it. after launching the catamarans and securing everything found upon them, they were towed round by the boats to where we had fired upon the natives, whilst a party walked over land to examine the place. on the way several spears were discovered placed ready for use on their retreat to the beach, where, from the quantity collected, they evidently intended to make a stand; supposing no doubt from our appearance yesterday that we were defenceless, and would therefore fall an easy prey. on reaching the rock, behind which the native fell, it was found covered with blood; and bundell, who probably did the deed, said the wound was on his shoulder. we traced their retreat by the blood for half a mile to the border of a mangrove inlet, which they had evidently crossed, for the marks of their feet were perceived imprinted in the mud. we then gave up the pursuit, and went on board. upon examining the baskets, among other things a piece of iron hoop was found fixed in a wooden handle, which it seemed they had used for the purpose of digging up roots. this hoop must have been left by us last year at careening bay. but what chiefly attracted our attention was a small bundle of bark, tied up with more than usual care; upon opening it we found it contained several spear-heads, most ingeniously and curiously made of stone; they were about six inches in length, and were terminated by a very sharp point; both edges were serrated in a most surprising way; the serratures were evidently made by a sharp stroke with some instrument, but it was effected without leaving the least mark of the blow: the stone was covered with red pigment, and appeared to be a flinty slate. these spear-heads were ready for fixing, and the careful manner in which they were preserved plainly showed their value, for each was separated by strips of bark, and the sharp edges protected by a covering of fur. a wound with such a spear must be mortal; and it was very fortunate for mr. montgomery that his was not inflicted with one of these truly formidable weapons. their hatchets were also made of the same stone, the edges of which are ground so sharp that a few blows serve to chop off the branch of a tree. the catamarans consisted of five mangrove stems lashed together to a frame of smaller wood, as in woodcut : they are bouyant enough to carry two natives, besides their spears and baskets. a representation of this mode of conveyance is also given in woodcut . these natives were more robust-looking men than any we had before seen; the tallest must have been at least six feet two inches high; their bodies were scarred all over; their teeth perfect, and they were quite naked. the shorter native had his hair collected into a knob at the top of his head, which gave him a ferocious appearance. the punishment they so justly received will make them respect in future the formidable nature of our arms. at night we hauled the seine, and procured about four dozen fish, principally mullet. an armed party was stationed above the beach to prevent any attack from the natives, but they did not show themselves. august . on the following day we again heard them shouting and hallooing but it was some time before we could observe their situation; at last five were discovered by the aid of a telescope, seated on the summit of a hill behind the beach, occupied in making spears; at a little distance were two others, one of whom was distinguished to be the native that had escaped unwounded; the other, a stranger, was chopping a branch off a tree, which he was seen to trim and scrape into a rough spear. during the time they were thus employed, they frequently hallooed to us; no notice was however taken of their cries, although the temptation was very great of firing a shot over their heads to show them that they were still within our reach. as soon as they had finished their work and had made about a dozen spears, they all got up and walked away. after they disappeared behind the hill it was thought not unlikely that they would attack our people at the watering-place; the party were therefore sent away in the afternoon well armed, but the natives did not make their appearance, and the boats returned at sunset without having been disturbed. the tide was so trifling and the difficulty of loading the boat so great that only ninety gallons of water were procured; and as we were not likely to make quicker progress unless we waited for the spring-tides, we gave up all idea of completing our water, and made preparations to leave the bay. august . on the following day ( th) as there was no wind all the morning, i sent for another turn of water but only obtained enough for one day's issue; for the tide did not rise more than four feet. in the meantime i visited the extreme point on the west side of the bay, and examined in my way some openings in the land that, from their appearance, promised to afford water: as it was low tide i could not enter them, for they were blocked up by banks of sand and rocks; but on my return the tide was higher, and i pulled about one mile up the northernmost inlet, where i was again stopped by the shoalness of the water. all these places must afford abundance of fresh water during the rainy season, and perhaps are seldom without; and, as this was a year of unusual drought, it is not improbable that the river in which we watered generally afforded a very considerable stream; if so, from its proximity to the anchorage, the bay is of great importance, and is an excellent place for refreshment: turtle might be procured at the islands in its vicinity, and abundance of very fine fish at the sandy beach: the anchorage is safe in all parts, being protected from the sea by the islands in the offing, which front the bay. there is also abundance of wood that may be cut close to the waterside. ships detained during the westerly monsoon, as far to leeward as the meridian of degrees, would find an advantage in putting into hanover bay, and remaining there until the wind should veer round: by which they would avoid the necessity of beating to windward, over such dangerous ground as extends between this part to timor; and, by being to the southward, out of the strength of the westerly winds, at the latter end of february and beginning of march, when southerly and south-east winds prevail on the coast, they might much earlier effect their passage to the westward. the beach of hanover bay is situated in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and minutes seconds west of our observatory at careening bay, which makes its longitude degrees minutes seconds east of greenwich. august . the next morning ( th) we left hanover bay and steered out at the distance of a mile and a half from the western shore. after passing round the western head, we entered a deep opening, and, running into it for some distance between a rocky shore on either side, came into an extensive basin, in the centre of which was a high island which we saw at a distance last year, and then called the lump, from its shape. as a set of bearings from this island was desirable, the vessel was anchored abreast of it at about a mile and a half from the shore; having landed upon it in time to observe the sun's meridional altitude in the artificial horizon, we ascended its summit and obtained the desired bearings; we also discovered freycinet's island on the horizon, bearing north degrees minutes west; this island was distinguished easily by its form, which is that of an inverted basin. a large island lies in the centre of the entrance of the port, by which two channels are formed; the westernmost has several patches of rocks in it, but the eastern one, which we used, appeared to be clear and free from danger, excepting a rocky shelf projecting from the eastern shore for not more than three quarters of a mile. in the afternoon we examined the former, and from a summit at the south-west end of the island in the entrance obtained another set of bearings. afterwards we sounded its channel, and found a deep passage, but too narrow and intricate to be preferred to the eastern channel. whilst one boat was thus employed, mr. baskerville went to examine an opening at the bottom of the port, which he reported to be a strait, trending round to the south-west for six miles, beyond which his view was intercepted by the next projecting point. the strait, which he called after captain r.h. rogers, r.n., is sprinkled with many islands and dry reefs of great extent. august . on the th i was occupied in laying down the plan of this place, which, on account of the day, was honoured with the name of our most gracious king, port george the fourth. august . the next day we sailed out by the eastern channel, but having to beat against the wind, made no further progress than an anchorage off point adieu, which was the last land seen by us in the mermaid; it is the north end of the land that forms the west side of port george the fourth, which was afterwards called augustus island: to the westward of the point there appeared to be many islands and much broken land. i sent mr. roe to point adieu to get some bearings from the summit of the hill, and in the meantime mr. baskerville sounded the channel between the point and the islands; which he found to be deep and clear; mr. roe's report, however, of the appearance of the inner part among the islands was not so favourable, for it is studded over with numerous extensive reefs, which, being low water, were exposed to view. mr. roe saw a tolerably broad separation between two islands to the south-west, but more to the westward the islands were so numerous that very little information as to their shape or number could be obtained. august . at daylight the following morning we weighed, and with a moderate land-breeze from south-east, steered to the north-west, and passed round the islands. very far to the northward on the sea horizon we saw a sandbank, surrounded with heavy breakers; and more to the westward was an island, which was at first supposed to be one of the champagny isles of captain baudin, but which i afterwards satisfied myself was captain heywood's red island: it is rocky and of small extent and apparently quite barren. we were soon afterwards abreast of a strait leading between some rocky islands to the southward; which, as it appeared to be free from danger, we purposed to steer through. the brig entered it at noon, when it was high-water, and as she advanced and reached the narrow part, the ebb-tide was setting so strong against us that, although we were sailing five knots by the log, we were losing ground; we continued however to persevere for three hours and a half, and had run nearly twenty miles by the log without gaining an inch; the breeze then died away, and not being able to stem the tide, we steered back for anchorage, but it was dark and late before a favourable bottom was found so that we lost all the progress that we had gained since noon. august . the next morning, after taking angles from the sun's rising amplitude, we got underweigh and stood towards the strait to make another attempt to pass through it. the view that was obtained yesterday evening from the masthead before we put about to look for anchorage, induced us to suppose that many reefs existed in the neighbourhood of its south entrance, for one of very extensive size was observed dry, lying off the south-west end of the island that bounds the west side of the strait. the north end of that island also appeared to be fronted by many shoals, which either embrace red island and extend to the northward, or else the channels are narrow and deep. the flowing tide, now in our favour, carried us quickly forward: as we passed on we heard the voices of natives and soon afterwards perceived two standing on a hill; our course was, however, so rapid that we were soon out of sight of them; their fires were seen yesterday but then they did not make their appearance. the flood-tide, running to the south-west through the strait, meeting the ebb flowing north-east into the deep bay to the south-east, formed many strong ripplings, which to a stranger would have been a frightful vortex to have entered, and although we had lately been accustomed to such appearances, yet we did not encounter them without some fear. after clearing them we sounded on a muddy bottom; upon which, as the weather was so thick and hazy as to conceal the land from our view, we anchored in seventeen fathoms muddy sand, at six miles from the strait. in the afternoon the weather cleared a little, but it was still too thick for us to be underweigh, so that we remained all the evening, which was profitably spent in bringing up the chart; a little before sunset the weather cleared and afforded a good view of the land, which to the south-east is composed principally of islands, but so numerous that the mainland could not be distinguished beyond them; a point, afterwards called point hall, round which the land trended to the southward, bore from the anchorage south degrees east. the direction of the tides, the flood setting south-south-east, and the ebb north-north-west and north-west, induced me to suppose that the opening to the eastward of the bay we were at anchor in, which was called camden, in compliment to the noble marquess, was not only connected with rogers strait, but was also the outlet of another considerable river or bay. at the anchorage the flood did not run at a greater rate than a mile and a half an hour, but it ebbed two miles, and fell thirty-seven feet, which is the greatest rise and fall we had yet found; it is probable, from the intricate nature of the coast, that these high tides are common to all this neighbourhood. august . at five o'clock on the morning of the th after a fine night the wind sprung up from the east-south-east and blew fresh; but misty weather immediately after sunrise enveloped us, and clouded our view. the breeze was too fresh for us to continue at anchor, we therefore got underweigh, and made sail by the wind; but upon standing across the channel and finding that the flood-tide set to the south-west, we bore away, and, passing round point hall, steered to the southward towards some low islands that were just visible through the haze, and which, being disposed in a group, were named after mr. andrew montgomery, the surgeon of the bathurst. at noon our latitude observed to the south was degrees minutes seconds. the land was visible from the deck as far as south degrees west, but from the masthead at one o'clock it was seen as far as south degrees west, and a long low island, the westernmost of montgomery isles, bore from south-west by west to south-west by south. the group besides this contained six other isles, which are all low and rocky and crowned with bushes: as we approached them the water shoaled to ten fathoms rocky ground; which on being reduced to the depth of low water, would not be more than five and perhaps only four fathoms. between point hall and these islands the ground was also rocky, and, as the group appeared to be connected by reefs, we steered off to pass round them; the wind, however, changing to the westward, detained us all the evening near them. the land to the southward trended deeply in and appeared to be much broken in its character and very uninviting to us who had only one anchor to depend upon. this bight was named, at mr. montgomery's request, in compliment to the late captain sir george collier, bart., k.c.b., r.n. during the greater part of the night the wind was light, and by the bearings of a fire on the land we were making but little drift. august . at sunrise we were near two low islands, bearing south degrees minutes west, and south degrees west, from which very extensive reefs were seen extending between the bearings of south and south-west by west. they were called cockells isles. we passed round their north end over a bottom of hard sand, mixed with shells, stones, and coral; in doing which we found an irregular depth, but as the water did not shoal to less than twelve fathoms our course was not altered. soon after the sun appeared above the horizon the distant land was again enveloped in mist. at eight o'clock we ventured to steer more southerly, but continued to sound over a rocky bottom until ten o'clock, when the islands bore south-east; we then steered south-west through a muddy channel with the flood tide in our favour, towards some land that, as the mist partially cleared off, became visible as far as south-west / west; some islands were also seen bearing south-south-east; and at noon, being in latitude degrees minutes seconds, we found ourselves off a bay, the east head of which was formed by several islands. the land at the back appeared to be of tolerable height but its outline was so level, that it did not present any prominent feature sufficiently defined to take a bearing of more than once; its coast appeared to be fronted by several rocky islands and to be very much intersected to the westward; either by straits or considerable openings. the continued hazy state of the weather prevented our ascertaining the particular feature of the country; it seemed to be rocky and very bare of vegetation; but they were some parts, particularly on one of the islands to the eastward at the entrance of collier's bay, where a few good-sized trees were growing over a sandy beach. the ebb tide after noon was against us, and the wind being light, we were making no progress. as sunset approached, we began to look for anchorage; but the suspicious nature of the bottom and the great depth of the water prevented our being successful until some time after dark; the anchor was at last dropped in twenty-eight fathoms, on a bottom of sandy mud, with the ebb-tide setting to the north-west, at the rate nearly of two knots. several whales of that species called by whalers fin-backs were playing about us all day, and during the morning two or three were seen near the vessel lashing the water with their enormous fins and tails, and leaping at intervals out of the sea, which foamed around them for a considerable distance. after anchoring the wind was variable and light from the western quarter but during the night there was a heavy swell. the flood-tide, which commenced at nine o'clock, when the depth was twenty-eight fathoms, gradually ran stronger until midnight, when its rate was two miles per hour: high-water took place at hours minutes a.m., or at twelve minutes before the moon passed her meridian; the rise being thirty-six feet. august . we were underweigh before six o'clock the next morning, and after steering by the wind for a short time towards the southward (on which course the tide being against us we were making no progress) bore up with the intention of hauling round the point to leeward for anchorage, whence we might examine the place by the means of our boats, and wait for more favourable weather; but upon reaching within half a mile of the point we found that a shoal communication extended across to a string of islands projecting several miles to sea in a west-north-west direction: in mid channel the sea was breaking, and from the colour of the water it is more than probable that a reef of rocks stretches the whole distance across the strait; but this appearance, from the experience we afterwards had of the navigation of this part, might have been produced by tide ripplings, occasioned by the rapidity of the stream, and by its being contracted in its passage through so narrow a pass; it was however too doubtful and dangerous to attempt without having some resource to fly to in the event of accident. being thus disappointed, we were under the necessity of steering round the above-mentioned range of islands, and at nine o'clock were two miles north-east by east from the small island , when our latitude by observation was degrees minutes seconds; the depth being thirty-seven fathoms, and the bottom of coral mixed with sand, mud, and shells. to the westward and in a parallel direction with this line of islands was another range, towards which we steered; at sunset we hauled to the wind for the night, off the northernmost island which afterwards proved to be the caffarelli island of captain baudin. between these two ranges of islands we only obtained one cast of the lead which gave us thirty-three fathoms on a coral bottom. upon referring to the french charts of this part of the coast it appeared that we were in the vicinity of a reef (brue reef) under which the french ships had anchored; and, as the night was passed under sail, we were not a little anxious, fearing lest there might be others in its neighbourhood. august . at daybreak caffarelli island bore south-south-east; and shortly afterwards we had the satisfaction of seeing brue reef; it appeared to be partly dry but of small extent. we passed within half a mile of the dry rock that lies a mile and a half from the west end of caffarelli island and afterwards endeavoured to steer between the range of islands, of which caffarelli is the northernmost, and a group of rocky isles, marked ; but finding we could not succeed from the scanty direction of the wind, then blowing a fresh breeze from south-east, we bore up round the west side of the latter and then steered by the wind towards a group of which the island is the principal. on approaching there appeared to be a channel round its south-end; but afterwards observing the sea breaking in the direction of our course, we tacked off to pass round the west extremity of the group, towards two small low islands, and , that were seen in the distance bearing about south degrees west. the tide, having been before in our favour, was now against us, and, setting with great strength, drove us near the rocks that front the islands to the northward of island ; the wind was however sufficiently strong to enable us to clear the dangerous situation we found ourselves in, but soon afterwards it fell to a light air and we were carried by the tide rapidly towards the low rocky extremity of the islets, which we were nearly thrown upon, when a breeze suddenly sprung up again from the south-east and enabled us to clear this impending danger. we were now drifting to the south by east through a wide channel, sounding in between fifty and sixty fathoms, rocky bottom. had the evening been less advanced and the wind favourable, we could have run through, and taken our chance of finding either anchorage or an open sea; and although this would certainly have been hazarding a great risk, yet it was of very little consequence in what part of the archipelago we spent the night, as the spots which we might consider to be the most dangerous might possibly be the least so. we had however no choice; we were perfectly at the mercy of the tide, and had only to await patiently its ebbing to drift us out as it carried us in. by our calculations high-water should have taken place at a quarter past four o'clock; every minute therefore after that time was passed by us most anxiously. every now and then we were in the midst of the most violent ripplings and whirlpools, which sometimes whirled the vessel round and round, to the danger of our masts. five o'clock at last arrived and the tide-eddies ceased, but the stream continued to run until a quarter of an hour afterwards, when at last the brig began to drift out slowly. to add now to the dilemma and the danger we were in a breeze sprung up against us: had it continued calm we should have been drifted back through the deepest part of the channel, over the same ground that the flood had carried us in: we however made sail and beat out, and before dark had made considerable progress; we then lost sight of the land until eleven o'clock when some was seen to the eastward: at half-past eleven we had a dead calm; and, to increase our anxiety, the tide had begun to flow and to drift us towards the land, which was then ascertained to be the group , on whose shores the sea was distinctly heard to break. as midnight approached the noise became still more and more plain; but the moon at that time rose and showed that our position was very much more favourable than we had conjectured; for, by bearings of caffarelli island and the body of group, i found we were at least two or three miles from the shore of the latter. august . a few minutes after midnight we were relieved from our fears by the sudden springing up of a fresh breeze from south-west, and in a moment found ourselves comparatively out of danger. at daylight we were eight miles to the north-east of caffarelli island; whence we steered to the south-west by west and south-south-west. brue reef was seen as we passed by it. at noon our latitude was degrees minutes second, cape leveque bearing south. from noon until one o'clock we were steering south-south-west, but made no progress, on account of an adverse tide which occasionally formed such strong eddies and ripplings that we were several times obliged to steer off to get without their influence. the land of cape leveque is low, and presents a sandy beach lined by a rocky reef, extending off the shore for a mile, on many parts of which the sea was breaking heavily: the land was clothed with a small brush wood, but altogether the coast presented a very unproductive appearance, and reminded us of the triste and arid character of the north-west cape. on laying down upon the chart the plan of this part, i found cape leveque to be the point which dampier anchored under when on his buccaneering voyage in the cygnet in . he says: "we fell in with the land of new holland in degrees minutes, we ran in close by it, and finding no convenient anchoring, because it lies open to the north-west, we ran along shore to the eastward, steering north-east by east, for so the land lies. we steered thus about two leagues, and then came to a point of land, from whence the land trends east and southerly for ten or twelve leagues; but how, afterwards, i know not. about three leagues to the eastward of this point there is a pretty deep bay with abundance of islands in it, and a very good place to anchor in or to hale ashore. about a league to the eastward of that point we anchored in twenty-nine fathom, good hard sand and clean ground." he then proceeds to say: "this part of it (the coast) that we saw is all low, even land, with sandy banks against the sea, only the points are rocky, and so are some of the islands in the bay."* (*footnote. dampier volume page .) from this description i have little hesitation in settling cape leveque to be the point he passed round. in commemoration, therefore, of his visit, the name of buccaneer's archipelago was given to the cluster of isles that fronts cygnet bay, which was so-called after the name of the ship in which he sailed. the point within cape leveque was named point swan after the captain of the ship; and to a remarkable lump in the centre of the archipelago the name of dampier's monument was assigned. during the last four days we have laid down upwards of eighty islands upon the chart, and from the appearance of the land it is not improbable but that there may be as many more behind them. had we even recognised the bay above alluded to by dampier before we passed round cape leveque, we could not have anchored in it for the wind was blowing strong from the northward, and a heavy swell was rolling, which would have placed us in rather a dangerous situation, besides its being exposed to easterly winds, which for the last two or three days had blown very strong. during the time we had been among these islands, we had not met with a single spot that we could have anchored upon without the almost certain loss of our anchor; and the weather had been so very thick and hazy that only the land in the vicinity of the vessel's situation could be at all distinguished; and these disadvantages, added to the great strength of the wind and the rapidity of the tides, had materially prevented us from making ourselves better acquainted with the place. it is remarkable that as soon as we passed round the champagny isles, hazy weather commenced, and continued without intermission until we were to the westward of cape leveque. the french complain of the same thing; and they were so deceived by it that, in their first voyage, they laid down adele island as a part of the main, when it is only a sandy island about two or three miles long. no natives were seen on any of the islands but there were many large smokes on the horizon at the back of cygnet bay. we were now beginning to feel the effects of this fatiguing duty. one-fourth of the people who kept watch were ill with bilious or feverish attacks, and we had never been altogether free from sickness since our arrival upon the coast. mr. montgomery's wound was, however, happily quite healed, and mr. roe had also returned to his duty; but mr. cunningham, who had been confined to the vessel since the day we arrived in careening bay, was still upon the sick list. our passage up the east coast, the fatigues of watering and wooding at prince regent's river, and our constant harassing employment during the examination of the coast between hanover bay and cape leveque, had produced their bad effects upon the constitutions of our people. every means were taken to prevent sickness: preserved meats were issued two days in the week in lieu of salt provisions; and this diet, with the usual proportions of lemon-juice and sugar, proved so good an anti-scorbutic that, with a few trifling exceptions, no case of scurvy occurred. our dry provisions had suffered much from rats and cockroaches; but this was not the only way these vermin annoyed us, for, on opening a keg of musket ball cartridges, we found, out of rounds, more than half the number quite destroyed, and the remainder so injured as to be quite useless. august . the following day we made very little progress, from light winds in the morning and a dead calm the whole of the evening. at sunset we anchored at about four miles from the shore, in seventeen fathoms sandy ground. during the afternoon we were surrounded by an immense number of whales, leaping out of the water and thrashing the sea with their fins; the noise of which, from the calmness and perfect stillness of the air, was as loud as the report of a volley of musketry. some remorae were also swimming about the vessel the whole day, and a snake about four feet long, of a yellowish brown colour, rose up alongside, but instantly dived upon seeing the vessel. august . high-water took place the next morning at twenty-six minutes after six o'clock, at which time we got underweigh with a moderate land-breeze from south-south-east, and steered to the southward along the shore. at noon we were in latitude degrees minutes seconds, cape borda bearing south / degrees east. soon after noon the sea-breeze sprung up from the northward and, veering to north-west, carried us to the southward along the coast which is low and sandy. at three o'clock we were abreast of a point which was conjectured to be the land laid down by the french as emeriau island; the name has therefore been retained, with the alteration only of point for island. to the eastward of cape borda the coast falls back and forms a bay, the bottom of which was visible from our masthead and appeared to be composed of sand-downs. from point emeriau the coast trends to the south-west, and preserves the same sandy character. at five o'clock lacepede islands, which were seen by captain baudin, were in sight to the westward; and at sunset we anchored in eight fathoms, at about three leagues within them. these islands are three in number, and appear to be solely inhabited by boobies and other sea-fowl: they are low and sandy and all slightly crowned with a few shrubby bushes; the reef that encompasses them seemed to be of great extent. august . the next day we were steering along the shore, and passed a sandy projection which was named cape baskerville, after one of the midshipman of the bathurst. to the southward of cape baskerville the coast trends in, and forms carnot bay; it then takes a southerly direction. it is here that tasman landed, according to the following extract from dalrymple's papua: "in hollandia nova, in degrees minutes south (longitude degrees, or degrees east) tasman found a naked, black people, with curly hair, malicious and cruel; using for arms, bows and arrows, hazeygaeys and kalawaeys. they once came to the number of fifty, double armed, dividing themselves into two parties, intending to have surprised the dutch, who had landed twenty-five men; but the firing of guns frightened them so, that they fled. their proas are made of the bark of trees; their coast is dangerous; there are few vegetables; the people use no houses." at noon our latitude was degrees minutes seconds. at four o'clock we were abreast of captain baudin's point coulomb, which m. de freycinet describes to be the projection at which the red cliffs commence. the interior is here higher than to the northward, and gradually rises, at the distance of eight miles from the shore, to wooded hills, and bears a more pleasing and verdant appearance than we have seen for some time past; but the coast still retains the same sandy and uninviting character. during the afternoon we had but a light sea-breeze from the westward; and at sunset the anchor was dropped in thirteen fathoms fine soft sand, at about six miles from the shore. large flocks of boobies flew over the vessel at sunset, directing their course towards the reefs of lacepede islands, and in the direction of the whale bank, which, according to the french chart of this part, lies in the offing to the westward. as no island was noticed by us in the position assigned to captain baudin's carnot island, the bay to the southward of cape baskerville has received that name. the smokes of fires have been noticed at intervals of every four or five miles along the shore, from which it may be inferred that this part of the coast is very populous. captain dampier saw forty indians together, on one of the rocky islands to the eastward of cape leveque, and, in his quaint style, gives the subjoined interesting account of them: "the inhabitants of this country are the miserablest people in the world. the hodmadods of monomatapa, though a nasty people, yet for wealth are gentlemen to these; who have no houses, and skin garments, sheep, poultry, and fruits of the earth, ostrich eggs, etc., as the hodmadods have: and setting aside their human shape, they differ but little from brutes. they are tall, straight-bodied, and thin, with small, long limbs. they have great heads, round foreheads, and great brows. their eye-lids are always half closed, to keep the flies out of their eyes; they being so troublesome here, that no fanning will keep them from coming to one's face; and without the assistance of both hands to keep them off, they will creep into one's nostrils, and mouth too, if the lips are not shut very close; so that from their infancy, being thus annoyed with these insects, they do never open their eyes as other people; and therefore they cannot see far, unless they hold up their heads, as if they were looking at somewhat over them. "they have great bottle-noses, pretty full lips, and wide mouths. the two fore-teeth of their upper jaw are wanting in all of them, men and women, old and young; whether they draw them out, i know not: neither have they any beards. they are long-visaged, and of a very unpleasant aspect, having no one graceful feature in their faces. their hair is black, short and curled, like that of the negroes; and not long and lank like the common indians. the colour of their skins, both of their faces and the rest of their body, is coal-black, like that of the negroes of guinea.* (*footnote. the natives of hanover bay, with whom we communicated, were not deprived of their front teeth, and wore their beards long; they also differed from the above description in having their hair long and curly. dampier may have been deceived in this respect, and from the use that they make of their hair, by twisting it up into a substitute for thread, they had probably cut it off close, which would give them the appearance of having woolly hair like the negro.) "they have no sort of clothes, but a piece of the rind of a tree tied like a girdle about their waists, and a handful of long grass, or three or four small green boughs full of leaves, thrust under their girdle, to cover their nakedness. "they have no houses, but lie in the open air without any covering; the earth being their bed, and the heaven their canopy. whether they cohabit one man to one woman, or promiscuously, i know not; but they do live in companies, twenty or thirty men, women, and children together. their only food is a small sort of fish, which they get by making weirs of stone across little coves or branches of the sea; every tide bringing in the small fish, the there leaving them for a prey to these people, who constantly attend there to search for them at low water. this small fry i take to be the top of their fishery: they have no instruments to catch great fish, should they come; and such seldom stay to be left behind at low water: nor could we catch any fish with our hooks and lines all the while we lay there. in other places at low water they seek for cockles, mussels, and periwinkles. of these shell-fish there are fewer still; so that their chief dependence is upon what the sea leaves in their wares; which, be it much or little, they gather up, and march to the places of their abode. there the old people that are not able to stir abroad by reason of their age, and the tender infants, wait their return; and what providence has bestowed on them, they presently broil on the coals, and eat it in common. sometimes they get as many fish as makes them a plentiful banquet; and at other times they scarce get every one a taste; but be it little or much that they get, every one has his part, as well the young and tender, the old and feeble, who are not able to go abroad, as the strong and lusty. when they have eaten they lie down till the next low water, and then all that are able march out, be it night or day, rain or shine, 'tis all one; they must attend the weirs, or else they must fast; for the earth affords them no food at all. there is neither herb, root, pulse, nor any sort of grain for them to eat, that we saw; nor any sort of bird or beast that they can catch, having no instruments wherewithal to do so. "i did not perceive that they did worship anything. these poor creatures have a sort of weapon to defend their weir, or fight with their enemies, if they have any that will interfere with their poor fishery. they did at first endeavour with their weapons to frighten us, who, lying ashore, deterred them from one of their fishing-places. some of them had wooden swords, others had a sort of lances. the sword is a piece of wood shaped somewhat like a cutlass.* the lance is a long straight pole, sharp at one end, and hardened afterwards by heat. i saw no iron, nor any sort of metal; therefore it is probable they use stone hatchets, as some indians in america do, described in chapter . (*footnote. probably a boomerang. see volume .) "how they get their fire i know not; but probably as indians do, out of wood. i have seen the indians of bon-airy do it, and have myself tried the experiment. they take a flat piece of wood that is pretty soft, and make a small dent in one side of it, then they take another hard, round stick, about the bigness of one's little finger, and sharpened at one end like a pencil, they put that sharp end in the hole or dent of the flat soft piece, and then rubbing or twirling the hard piece between the palm of their hands, they drill the soft piece till it smokes, and at last takes fire. "these people speak somewhat through the throat; but we could not understand one word that they said. we anchored, as i said before, january the th, and seeing men walking on the shore, we presently sent a canoe to get some acquaintance with them; for we were in hopes to get some provision among them. but the inhabitants, seeing our boat coming, run away and hid themselves. we searched afterwards three days in hopes to find their houses, but found none; yet we saw many places where they had made fires. at last, being out of hopes to find their habitations, we searched no farther; but left a great many toys ashore, in such places where we thought they would come. in all our search we found no water, but old wells on the sandy bays. "at last we went over to the islands, and there we found a great many of the natives; i do believe there were forty on one island, men, women, and children. the men on our first coming ashore, threatened us with their lances and swords; but they were frightened by firing one gun, which we fired purposely to scare them. the island was so small that they could not hide themselves; but they were much disordered at our landing, especially the women and children; for we went directly to their camp. the lustiest of the women snatching up their infants ran away howling, and the little children run after squeaking and bawling; but the men stood still. some of the women, and such people as could not go from us, lay still by a fire, making a doleful noise, as if we had been coming to devour them: but when they saw we did not intend to harm them, they were pretty quiet, and the rest that fled from us at our first coming, returned again. this their place of dwelling was only a fire, with a few boughs before it, set up on the side the winds was of. "after we had been here a little while, the men began to be familiar, and we clothed some of them, designing to have some service of them for it; for we found some wells of water here, and intended to carry two or three barrels of it aboard. but it being somewhat troublesome to carry to the canoes, we thought to have made these men to have carried it for us, and therefore we gave them some old clothes; to one an old pair of breeches, to another a ragged shirt, to the third a jacket that was scarce worth owning; which yet would have been very acceptable at some places where we had been, and so we thought they might have been with these people. we put them on them, thinking that this finery would have brought them to work heartily for us; and our water being filled in small long barrels, about six gallons in each, which were made purposely to carry water in, we brought these our new servants to the wells, and put a barrel on each of their shoulders for them to carry to the canoe. but all the signs we could make were to no purpose, for they stood like statues, without motion, but grinned like so many monkeys, staring one upon another; for these poor creatures seem not accustomed to carry burdens; and i believe that one of our ship-boys of ten years old would carry as much as one of them. so we were forced to carry our water ourselves, and they very fairly put the clothes off again, and laid them down, as if clothes were only to work in. i did not perceive that they had any great liking to them at first, neither did they seem to admire anything that we had. "at another time our canoe being among these islands seeking for game, espied a drove of these men swimming from one island to another; for they have no boats, canoes, or bark-logs. they took four of them, and brought them aboard; two of them were middle-aged, the other two were young men about eighteen or twenty years old. to these we gave boiled rice, and with it turtle and manatee boiled. they did greedily devour what we gave them, but took no notice of the ship, or any thing in it, and when they were set on land again, they ran away as fast as they could. at our first coming, before we were acquainted with them, or they with us, a company of them who lived on the main, came just against our ship, and standing on a pretty high bank, threatened us with their swords and lances, by shaking them at us: at last the captain ordered the drum to be beaten, which was done of a sudden with much vigour, purposely to scare the poor creatures. they hearing the noise, ran away as fast as they could drive; and when they ran away in haste, they would cry gurry, gurry, speaking deep in the throat. those inhabitants also that live on the main would always run away from us; yet we took several of them. for, as i have already observed, they had such bad eyes, that they could not see us till we came close to them. we did always give them victuals, and let them go again, but the islanders, after our first time of being among them, did not stir for us."* (*footnote. dampier volume page et seq.) at this anchorage we perceived very little rise and fall of tide, and the flood and ebb both set to the northward, this was also the case at our anchorage within the lacepede islands. at four o'clock the next morning a strong south-easterly breeze sprang up, and moderated again before we weighed; but no sooner were we under sail than it freshened again, and, at half-past five o'clock, blew so strong as to oblige our double reefing the topsails, which had not been done for many weeks before. at noon the wind fell, and was very calm, at which time our latitude observed was degrees minutes seconds. the highest part of the land bore north / degrees east, south of which a sandy point, supposed to be captain baudin's cape boileau, bore south degrees east; and a smoke, a little to the northward of the masthead extreme, bearing south degrees east must be upon the land in the neighbourhood of cape latreille. soon after noon the breeze veered round by south to west-south-west, and enabled us to make some progress; at sunset we again anchored in thirteen fathoms, soft sand, at six miles from a sandy projection of the main, which we afterwards found to be the land called by captain baudin, gantheaume island; the name has therefore been given to the point, for there was no appearance of its being insulated. it bears a truly desolate appearance, being nothing but ridges of bare white sand, scantily crowned with a few shrubby bushes. behind point gantheaume the land appeared to be formed by downs of very white sand; and between this point and cape boileau is a bay, which at first, from the direction of the flood stream at the anchorage, was conjectured to be an inlet; but as the tide afterwards set to the northward and north-east, it was concluded to be occasioned by the stream sweeping round the shores of the bay: according to the depth alongside there was a rise of ten feet; after high-water the ebb set between north / west and north-north-east, at the rate of a quarter to three quarters of a knot. during the whole day the horizon was occupied by haze, and produced a very remarkable effect upon the land, which was so raised above the horizon by refraction that many distant objects became visible that could not otherwise have been seen. this mirage had been frequently observed by us on various parts of the coast, but never produced so extraordinary an effect as on the present occasion. the coastline appeared to be formed of high chalky cliffs, crowned by a narrow band of woody hillocks; and the land of cape villaret was so elevated as to be distinctly seen at the distance of forty miles, whereas two days afterwards, the weather being clear, it was not visible above the horizon for more than five leagues. this state of the atmosphere caused a rapid evaporation during the day, and as the evening approached a very copious dew commenced falling, which by sunset was precipitated like a shower of rain. the next morning the land was again enveloped in haze, but at seven o'clock it cleared off a little, and the coast was observed to trend round point gantheaume to the south-east, but as we had last evening seen it as far to the westward as south-west by south, we steered in the latter direction under the idea of there being no opening to the southward of the point, since the flood-tide flowed from it instead of towards it, as it naturally would have done had there been any inlet of consequence thereabout. as usual, we had been surrounded by whales, and large flights of boobies; one of the latter lighted upon the deck this afternoon, and was easily taken; it seemed to be the same bird (pelecanus fiber) that frequents the reefs upon the north and north-eastern coasts. between sunrise and midday our progress was much retarded by light south-easterly winds. at noon we were in degrees minutes seconds south: after which the sea-breeze set in from south-south-west and south-west, and we steered to the southward. the land was now visible considerably to the southward of point gantheaume, but of a very low and sandy character; and as we proceeded it came in sight to the south-south-west. at sunset we anchored about five or six miles to the north of captain baudin's cape villaret; the extreme, which was in sight a little without it, was doubtless his cape latouche-treville. from cape villaret the land trended to the east-north-east, and was seen very nearly to join the shore at the back of point gantheaume. the dew was precipitated as copiously this evening as the last, and the sun set in a very dense bank; but the night was throughout fine. we now began to experience a more considerable set of tide than we had found since rounding cape leveque, for the rate was as much as a knot and a half; but as the tides were neaped it only rose nine feet. at an anchorage near this spot, in the year , captain dampier remarks that the tide rose and fell five fathoms, and ran so strong that his nun-buoy would not watch: but the french expedition, at an anchorage a little to the southward, found the flood-tide to set south-south-east and to rise only nine feet, the moon being then three days past her full. all these particulars have been mentioned, since it is from the nature of the tides that captain dampier formed his hypothesis of the existence of either a strait or an opening between this and the rosemary islands; but from our experience it would appear more probable that these great tides are occasioned by the numerous inlets that intersect the coast between this and cape voltaire; a further examination, however, can only prove the real cause. august . at daylight ( th) we weighed with a light breeze from south-west, but soon afterwards falling calm, and the tide drifting us to the south-east the anchor was again dropped: ten minutes afterwards a land breeze from east-south-east sprung up, to which we again weighed, but no sooner were we under sail than we were enveloped in a thick mist that blew off the land, where it had been collecting for the last two days. at eleven o'clock the fog cleared away to seaward, but the land was screened from our view until noon, when a sea breeze from west gradually dispersed the fog, and the hillocky summit of cape latouche-treville was seen, bearing south degrees west. at half-past twelve two rocky lumps on the land to the westward of cape villaret were seen, and very soon afterwards the hill on the cape made its appearance. between capes villaret and latouche-treville is a bay formed by very low sandy land, slightly clothed with a stunted vegetation. the wind was now unfavourable for our approaching the land, and after standing off to sea and then towards the shore we anchored in thirteen fathoms coarse sand. at this anchorage we found a still greater difference in the tides than was experienced the night preceding; the flood set south-east by east and east-south-east; and the ebb from north-north-east round to west-north-west; the rise was sixteen feet and a half, from which it would appear probable that there must be some reason for so great an indraught of water into the bight between cape villaret and point gantheaume, which i have named roebuck bay, after the ship that captain dampier commanded when he visited this part of the coast. as the wind now blew constantly from the south-west, or from some southern direction, and caused our progress to be very slow and tedious; and as the shore for some distance to the southward of cape latouche-treville had been partly seen by the french, i resolved upon leaving the coast. our water was also nearly expended, and our provisions, generally, were in a very bad state; besides which the want of a second anchor was so much felt that we dared not venture into any difficulty where the appearance of the place invited a particular investigation, on account of the exposed nature of the coast, and the strength of the tides, which were now near the springs: upon every consideration, therefore, it was not deemed prudent to rely any longer upon the good fortune that had hitherto so often attended us in our difficulties. august . accordingly after weighing, we steered off by the wind, and directed our course for mauritius. . september . on the nd september at daylight after a passage of twenty-five days we saw roderigues, five or six leagues to the northward. in the evening a fresh gale sprung up from the southward and we experienced very bad weather: at noon of the th by our calculation we were seventy-three miles due east from the north end of mauritius and, having the day before experienced a westerly current of one mile per hour, we brought to at sunset for the night, from the fear of getting too near the shore. september . at daylight the following morning, being by the reckoning only thirty-four miles to the eastward of the north end of the island, we bore up for it; but the land, being enveloped in clouds, was not seen until noon; we then found ourselves off the south-east end, instead of the north point; having been set to the southward since yesterday noon at the rate of three quarters of a mile an hour: in consequence of which we determined upon going round the south side, and bore up for that purpose; upon approaching the land we found another current setting us to the north. september . the next morning at nine o'clock we passed round the morne brabant, the south-west point of the island, but it was four o'clock before we reached our anchorage (at a cable's length within the flag beacon at the entrance of port louis) in fifteen fathoms mud; we were then visited by the health officer, and afterwards by a boat from h.m. ship menai, which was at anchor in the port. september . but as it was too late that evening to enter the brig was not moved until the following morning, when she was warped in and moored head and stern within the harbour. my wants were immediately made known to captain moresby, c.b. (of h.m. ship menai) who directed the necessary repairs to be performed by the carpenters of his ship; those articles which could not be supplied from the menai's stores were advertised for in the mauritius gazette, when the most reasonable tenders were accepted. as many of the carpenters and caulkers of the menai as could be spared from their other occupations were daily employed upon our repairs; but from her being put into quarantine and other unforeseen delays they were not completed for nearly a month: our sails were repaired by the menai's sailmakers; and, as all our running rigging was condemned and we had very little spare rope on board, her rope-makers made sufficient for our wants. the greater part of our bread, being found in a damaged state from leaks, was surveyed and condemned. captain flinders' account of mauritius appears to have been drawn up with much correctness and judgment, and is, even at the present day, so descriptive of the island as to be considered, both by the english and french residents of port louis, as the best that has yet been given to the world. many alterations and considerable improvements have however taken place since his departure, and among the latter the improved system of the culture of the sugar cane, and the introduction of modern machinery into their mills, may be particularly mentioned. these have been effected entirely by the political changes that have, since captain flinders' captivity, taken place in the government of the island; and by the example and exertions of the english, who possess very large plantations, and indeed may be considered now as the principal proprietors of the land. (*footnote. it afforded me very great pleasure to hear the high terms in which my late friend and predecessor captain flinders was spoken of by the inhabitants of this island, and their general regret at his infamous detention. his friend m. pitot had lately died, but i met many french gentlemen who were acquainted with him. general decaen, the governor, was so much disliked by the inhabitants that captain flinders gained many friends at his expense who would not otherwise have troubled themselves about him; and this circumstance probably went far towards increasing the severity of the treatment he so unjustly received. an anecdote of him was related to me by a resident of port louis, which, as it redounds to his honour, i cannot lose the gratification of recording. when captain flinders was at the house of madame d'arifat in the district of plains wilhelms, in which he was latterly permitted to reside upon his parole, an opportunity of escaping from the island was offered to him by the commander of a ship bound to india: it was urged to him by his friends that, from the tyrannical treatment he had received and the unjustifiable detention he was enduring, no parole to such a man as general decaen ought to be thought binding or prevent him from regaining his liberty and embracing any opportunity of returning to his friends and country. the escape was well planned, and no chance of discovery likely to happen: the ship sailed from port louis, and at night, bringing to on the leeward side of the island abreast of captain flinders' residence, sent a boat to the appointed spot which was six miles only from madame d'arifat's house; but after waiting until near daylight without the captain making his appearance the boat returned to the vessel, which was obliged to pursue her voyage to prevent suspicion. it is almost needless to add that captain flinders did not think it consistent with his feelings to take advantage of the opportunity, nor to effect his escape from imprisonment by a conduct so disgraceful to the character of a british officer and to the honourable profession to which he belonged.) for some years past coffee has entirely failed upon the island and cotton is seldom seen growing. the principal attention of the habitans appeared to be given to the cultivation of the sugar cane and maize, both of which had begun to produce an abundant return to the planters; the manihot is also generally cultivated: but the dreadful effects of the hurricanes to which this island is exposed render property of so precarious and doubtful a tenure that nothing is secure until the season for these destructive visitations is over; they last from the beginning of december to the end of april and generally occur about the full of the moon, being invariably preceded by an unsteady motion of the mercury in the barometer. they are not always so violent as to be termed hurricanes: the last experienced before our visit was merely a coup de vent, by which very little damage was sustained.* (*footnote. in the month of january, this unfortunate island was again visited and laid waste by a tremendous hurricane that did very considerable damage, and has in a great measure destroyed the prosperous state which the island was beginning to arrive at from the previous long absence of this dreadful visitation.) the town of port louis which is at the north-west, or leeward, side of the island, is built at the extremity of an amphitheatre of low land, backed in by a high and precipitous range, upon which peter botte and the pouce are conspicuous features. the streets are laid out at rightangles, the principal of which lead from the chaussee to the champ de mars, a plot of grassy land about half a mile square that intervenes between the town and the hills. this is the promenade, the drive, the racecourse, and, in fact, the principal resort for the inhabitants. it is skirted by houses and gardens and is a valuable acquisition to the town. the chaussee and other streets are well furnished with useful shops of which those of the tinman, the druggist, and the conservateur et patissier, are the most numerous. the houses, generally of wood, are irregularly built, and far from being elegant in their appearance; those however that have been lately constructed by our countrymen have already given the place an appearance of solidity that it could not boast of before, and several substantial stone dwellings and stones have lately been erected. the roads for seven or eight miles out of the town, leading to pamplemousses, to plains wilhelms and to moca districts, are very good and are kept in repair partly by malabar convicts from india; but travelling beyond that distance is performed in palanquins which four bearers will carry, at a steady pace, at the rate of six miles per hour. at the time of our visit there were few fruits ripe; but when we were about to sail the mango of delicious flavour began to be common; besides which there were coconuts, guavas, papaws, grapes, the letchy (or let-chis, a chinese fruit) and some indifferent pineapples. the ship's company were supplied daily with fresh beef and vegetables. the latter were procured in abundance at the bazaar and were exceedingly fine, particularly carrots and cabbages of an unusually large size and fine flavour. bullocks are imported into the island from madagascar, in which trade there are two vessels constantly engaged during the fine season. horses are very scarce; they are imported from the cape of good hope and fetch a high price: a cargo of a hundred and seventy-seven mules arrived from buenos ayres while we were at port louis, which, on being sold by auction, averaged each one hundred and eighty dollars. to encourage the importation of these useful animals a premium of five dollars is offered by the government for every mule that is brought alive to the island. the circulating medium was principally of paper but bore a very great depreciation; the premium upon bills of exchange upon europe, at the time of our departure, was as much as to per cent, and upon silver coin there was a depreciation of per cent. on the voyage to this place three charts of the north-west coast were reduced and copied by mr. roe and were forwarded to the admiralty by h.m. sloop cygnet, together with a brief account of our voyage from the time that we parted company with the dick, off cape van diemen. no observations were taken at this place excepting for ascertaining the rates of the chronometers, and for the variation and dip of the magnetic needle: the former being degrees minutes west, and the latter degrees minutes second. the situation of the observatory has been long since fixed by the abbe de la caille in degrees minutes south latitude, and degrees minutes east longitude. i cannot conclude this very brief account of our visit to mauritius without expressing my acknowledgments for the civilities and hospitality we received from our countrymen at port louis, particularly from his excellency sir robert t. farquhar, bart., who so long and ably presided as governor of the island; and for the valuable assistance rendered me in our re-equipment by captain fairfax moresby, c.b., of h.m. ship menai, for which the expedition i had the honour to command is under more than a common professional obligation. chapter . departure from port louis. voyage to the south-west coast of new holland. anchor in king george the third's sound. occurrences there. visited by the natives. our intercourse with them. descriptions of their weapons and other implements. vocabulary of their language. meteorological and other observations. edible plants. testaceous productions. . november . on the th november we were ready for sea. november . but, from various delays, did not quit the port until the th. at midnight we passed round the morne brabant, and the next evening at sunset saw the high land of bourbon: for the first two days we had south-east winds and upon reaching the parallel of degrees, the winds became light and baffling with calms. november . but as we advanced more to the southward they gradually veered to east and north-east, and afterwards to north-west, with very fine weather. november . we did not get out of the influence of these variable winds until the th when we were at noon in latitude degrees minutes and longitude degrees minutes; after which we encountered westerly winds and rough weather. on the whole we had a very quick passage to the coast of new holland; and for the last week were expedited by a strong westerly gale without encountering any accident or the occurrence of any circumstance worth recording. . december . on the rd december at daylight the land about cape chatham was in sight, and a course was directed to the eastward for king george's sound; where it was my intention to complete our wood and water previous to commencing the examination of the west coast. at four o'clock in the afternoon we hauled round bald head and, entering the sound, soon afterwards anchored at one mile from the entrance of princess royal harbour. december . having at our former visit re-fitted at oyster harbour, i wished on this occasion to try princess royal harbour; but as i was both unacquainted with its entrance, as well as its convenience for our purposes, excepting from captain flinders' account, i hoisted the boat out early the next morning, to make the necessary examination before the sea-breeze commenced. whilst the boat was preparing a distant shouting was heard, and upon our looking attentively towards the entrance several indians were seen sitting on the rocks on the north head hallooing and waving to us, but no further notice than a return of their call was taken until after breakfast, when we pulled towards them in the whale-boat. as we drew near the shore they came down to receive us and appeared from their gestures to invite our landing; but in this they were disappointed, for, after a little vociferation and gesture on both sides, we pulled into the harbour, whilst they walked along the beach abreast the boat. as the motions of every one of them were attentively watched it was evident that they were not armed; each wore a kangaroo-skin cloak over his left shoulder that covered the back and breast but left the right arm exposed. upon reaching the spot which captain flinders occupied in the investigator i found that the brig could not anchor near enough to the shore to carry on our different operations without being impeded by the natives, even though they should be amicably disposed. our plan was therefore altered and, as the anchorage formerly occupied by the mermaid in the entrance of oyster harbour would be on all accounts more convenient for our purposes, i determined upon going thither. by this time the natives had reached that part of the beach where the boat was lying, and were wading through the water towards us; but as we had no wish at present to communicate with them, for fear that, by refusing anything we had in the boat, for which their importunity would perhaps be very great, a quarrel might be occasioned, we pulled off into deeper water where we remained for five minutes parleying with them, during which they plainly expressed their disappointment and mortification at our want of confidence. upon making signs for fresh water, which they instantly understood, they called out to us "badoo, badoo," and pointed to a part of the bay where captain flinders has marked a rivulet. badoo, in the port jackson language, means water; it was thought probable that they must have obtained it from some late visitors; and in this opinion we were confirmed, for the word kangaroo was also familiar to them.* (*footnote. the san antonio, merchant brig, the vessel that joined our company during our passage up the east coast, visited this port in december and communicated with the natives; it is therefore probable that the above words were obtained from that vessel's crew.) upon our return towards the entrance the natives walked upon the beach abreast the boat, and kept with her until we pulled out of the entrance, when they resumed their former station upon the rocks and we returned on board. upon reaching the brig, the anchor was weighed, and with a fresh sea-breeze from south-east we soon reached oyster harbour, but in crossing the bar the vessel took the ground in eleven and a half feet water, and it was some time before we succeeded in heaving her over, and reaching the anchorage we had occupied at our last visit. whilst warping in, the natives, who had followed the vessel along the sandy beach that separates the two harbours, were amusing themselves near us in striking fish with a single barbed spear, in which sport they appeared to be tolerably successful. as soon as we passed the bar three other natives made their appearance on the east side, who, upon the boat going to that shore to lay out the kedges, took their seats in it as unceremoniously as a passenger would in a ferry-boat; and upon its returning to the brig, came on board, and remained with us all the afternoon, much amused with everything they saw, and totally free from timidity or distrust. each of our visitors was covered with a mantle of kangaroo-skin, but these were laid aside upon their being clothed with other garments, with the novelty of which they appeared greatly diverted. the natives on the opposite shore seeing that their companions were admitted, were loudly vociferous in their request to be sent for also; but unfortunately for them it was the lee shore, so that no boat went near them; and as we did not wish to be impeded by having so many on the deck at one time, their request was not acceded to and by degrees they separated and retired in different directions. as soon as the brig was secured two of our visitors went ashore, evidently charged with some message from the other native, but as he voluntarily remained on board nothing hostile was suspected; we therefore landed and dug a hole three feet deep among the grass about two yards above the highest tide-mark, for water; but it was found to be so highly coloured and muddy as it flowed in, that other holes were dug in the sand nearer the edge of the tide-mark, where it was also produced, and proved to be of a much better taste, as well as clearer, from being filtered through the sand. on examining the place of our former encampment, it was so much altered from the rapid growth of vegetation that we could scarcely recognise its situation. the stem of the casuarina on which the mermaid's name and the date of our visit had been carved was almost destroyed by fire; and the inscription in consequence so nearly obliterated that the figures , and two or three letters alone remained visible. there was not the least trace of our garden, for the space which it formerly occupied was covered by three or four feet of additional soil, formed of sand and decayed vegetable matter and clothed with a thicket of fine plants in full flower, that would be much prized in any other place than where they were. the initials of the names of some of our people were still very perfect upon the stem of a large banksia grandis which, from being covered with its superb flowers, bore a magnificent and striking appearance. after an absence of an hour our two friends returned, when it appeared that they had been at their toilet, for their noses and faces had evidently been fresh smeared over with red ochre, which they pointed out to us as a great ornament; affording another proof that vanity is inherent in human nature and not merely the consequence of civilisation. they had however put off the garments with which we had clothed them and resumed their mantles. each brought a lighted fire-stick in his hand, intending, as we supposed, to make a fire, and to pass the night near the vessel, in order to watch our intentions and movements. on returning on board we desired the native who had remained behind to go ashore to his companions, but it was with great reluctance that he was persuaded to leave us. whilst on board, our people had fed him plentifully with biscuit, yams, pudding, tea, and grog, of which he ate and drank as if he was half famished, and after being crammed with this strange mixture and very patiently submitting his beard to the operation of shaving, he was clothed with a shirt and a pair of trousers, and christened jack, by which name he was afterwards always called, and to which he readily answered. as soon as he reached the shore, his companions came to meet him to hear an account of what had transpired during their absence, as well as to examine his new habiliments which, as may be conceived, had effected a very considerable alteration in his appearance, and at the same time that the change created much admiration on the part of his companions, it raised him very considerably in his own estimation. it was however a substitution that did not improve his appearance; in fact he cut but a sorry figure in our eyes, in his chequered shirt and tarry trousers, when standing amongst his companions, with their long beards and kangaroo-skin mantles thrown carelessly over their shoulders. upon being accosted by his companions jack was either sullen with them or angry with us for sending him on shore, for without deigning to reply to their questions he separated himself from them, and after watching us in silence for some time, walked quietly and slowly away, followed at a distance by his friends who were lost in wonder at what could have happened to their sulky companion. the grog that he had been drinking had probably taken effect upon his head and, although the quantity was very trifling, he might have been a little stupefied. december . at daylight the following morning the natives had again collected on both sides, and upon the jolly-boat's landing the people to examine the wells jack, having quite recovered his good humour, got into the boat and came on board. the natives on the opposite side were vociferous to visit us, and were holding long conversations with jack, who explained everything to them in a song, to which they would frequently exclaim in full chorus the words "cai, cai, cai, cai, caigh" which they always repeated when anything was shown that excited their surprise. finding we had no intention of sending a boat for them they amused themselves in fishing. two of them were watching a small seal that, having been left by the tide on the bank, was endeavouring to waddle towards the deep water; at last one of the natives, fixing his spear in its throwing-stick, advanced very cautiously and, when within ten or twelve yards, lanced it, and pierced the animal through the neck, when the other instantly ran up and stuck his spear into it also, and then beating it about the head with a small hammer very soon despatched it. this event collected the whole tribe to the spot, who assisted in landing their prize and washing the sand off the body; they then carried the animal to their fire at the edge of the grass and began to devour it even before it was dead. curiosity induced mr. cunningham and myself to view this barbarous feast and we landed about ten minutes after it had commenced. the moment the boat touched the sand the natives, springing up and throwing their spears away into the bushes, ran down towards us; and before we could land had all seated themselves in the boat ready to go on board, but they were obliged to wait whilst we landed to witness their savage feast. on going to the place we found an old man seated over the remains of the carcass, two-thirds of which had already disappeared; he was holding a long strip of the raw flesh in his left hand, and tearing it off the body with a sort of knife; a boy was also feasting with him and both were too intent upon their breakfast to notice us or to be the least disconcerted at our looking on. we however were very soon satisfied and walked away perfectly disgusted with the sight of so horrible a repast, and the intolerable stench occasioned by the effluvia that arose from the dying animal, combined with that of the bodies of the natives who had daubed themselves from head to foot with a pigment made of a red ochreous earth mixed up with seal-oil. we then conveyed the natives, who had been waiting with great patience in the boat for our return, to the vessel, and permitted them to go on board. whilst they remained with us mr. baskerville took a man from each mess to the oyster-bank; here he was joined by an indian carrying some spears and a throwing-stick, but on mr. baskerville's calling for a musket that was in the boat (to the use of which they were not strangers) he laid aside his spears, which probably were only carried for the purpose of striking fish, and assisted our people in collecting the oysters. as soon as they had procured a sufficient quantity they returned on board when, as it was breakfast time, our visitors were sent onshore, highly pleased with their reception and with the biscuit and pudding which the people had given them to eat. they were very attentive to the mixture of a pudding, and a few small dumplings were made and given to them, which they put on the bars of the fireplace but, being too impatient to wait until they were baked, ate them in a doughy state with much relish. three new faces appeared on the east side, who were brought on board after breakfast, and permitted to remain until dinner-time: one of them, an old man, was very attentive to the sailmaker's cutting out a boat's sail, and at his request was presented with all the strips that were of no use. when it was completed a small piece of canvas was missing, upon which the old man, being suspected of having secreted it, was slightly examined, but nothing was found upon him; after this, while the people were looking about the deck, the old rogue assisted in the search and appeared quite anxious to find it; he however very soon walked away towards another part of the deck and interested himself in other things. this conduct appeared so suspicious that i sent the sailmaker to examine the old man more closely, when the lost piece was found concealed under his left arm, which was covered by the cloak he wore of kangaroo-skin. this circumstance afforded me a good opportunity of showing them our displeasure at so flagrant a breach of the confidence we had reposed in them; i therefore went up to him and, assuming as ferocious a look as i could, shook him violently by the shoulders. at first he laughed but afterwards, when he found i was in earnest, became much alarmed: upon which his two companions, who were both boys, wanted to go onshore; this however was not permitted until i had made peace with the old man, and put them all in good humour by feeding them heartily upon biscuit. the two boys were soon satisfied; but the old man appeared ashamed and conscious of his guilt; and although he was frequently afterwards with us, yet he always hung down his head and sneaked into the background. during the day the people were employed about the rigging, and in the evening before sunset the natives were again admitted on board for half an hour. in the afternoon mr. montgomery went to green island and shot a few parrakeets and waterbirds, some of which he gave to the natives after explaining how they had been killed, which of course produced great applause. december . the next day was employed in wooding and watering, in which the natives, particularly our friend jack, assisted. we had this day twenty-one natives about us and among them were five strangers. they were not permitted to come on board until four o'clock in the afternoon, excepting jack, who was privileged to come and go as he liked, which, since it did not appear to create any jealousy among his companions, enabled us to detain him as a hostage for mr. cunningham's safety, who was busily engaged in adding to his collections from the country in the vicinity of the vessel. in the evening jack climbed the rigging as high as the top masthead, much to the amusement of his companions but to the mortification of bundell who had never taken courage to mount so high. the waterholes yielded about a ton of water a day; but a stream was found in the sandy bay to the eastward of the entrance, running over the beach, which we used when the holes were emptied of their contents; the latter were however preferred, since our people worked at them under an immediate protection from the vessel's deck. near the stream we found some felled trees and the staves of a cask.* (*footnote. at this place the san antonio merchant brig wooded and watered in .) december to . our watering continued to proceed without molestation from the natives; the number of whom had increased to twenty-nine, besides some whom we had before seen that were now absent. during the afternoon of the th the wind freshened from south-west and blew so strong as to cause a considerable swell where we were lying; but towards sunset the breeze moderated and the natives were again admitted on board; there were, however, only eleven, for the rest, having worn out their patience, had walked away. they were now quite tractable and never persisted in doing anything against our wishes. the words "by and by" were so often used by us in answer to their cau-wah, or "come here," that their meaning was perfectly understood and always satisfied the natives, since we made it a strict rule never to disappoint them of anything that was promised, an attention to which is of the utmost importance in communicating with savages. every evening that they visited us they received something, but as a biscuit was the most valuable present that could be made, each native was always presented with one upon his leaving the vessel; during the day they were busily occupied in manufacturing spears, knives, and hammers, for the evening's barter; and when they came in the morning they generally brought a large collection, which their wives had probably made in their absence. december . on the th we had completed our holds with wood and water and prepared to leave the harbour. in the morning there was thirteen feet water at the buoy which had been moored on the deepest part of the bar, the depth of which, during the two preceding days, had been frequently sounded. in the evening we were visited by twenty-four natives among whom was our friend jack. when they found us preparing to go away they expressed great sorrow at our departure, particularly jack, who was more than usually entertaining but kept, as he always did, at a distance from his companions and treated them with the greatest disdain. when the time came to send them on shore he endeavoured to avoid accompanying them and as usual was the last to go into the boat; instead however of following them, he went into a boat on the opposite side of the brig that was preparing to go for a load of water, evidently expecting to be allowed to return in her. this friendly indian had become a great favourite with us all and was allowed to visit us whenever he chose and to do as he pleased; he always wore the shirt that had been given to him on the first day and endeavoured to imitate everything that our people were employed upon; particularly the carpenter and the sailmaker at their work: he was the only native who did not manufacture spears for barter, for he was evidently convinced of the superiority of our weapons and laughed heartily whenever a bad and carelessly-made spear was offered to us for sale: for the natives, finding we took everything, were not very particular in the form or manufacturer of the articles they brought to us. he was certainly the most intelligent native of the whole tribe and if we had remained longer would have afforded us much information of this part of the country; for we were becoming more and more intelligible to each other every day: he frequently accompanied mr. cunningham in his walks and not only assisted him in carrying his plants but occasionally added to the specimens he was collecting. december . the next morning ( th) the anchors were weighed and the warps laid out, but from various delays we did not reach a birth sufficiently near the bar to make sail from, until the water had fallen too much to allow our passing it: the brig was therefore moored in the stream of the tide. at eight o'clock the natives came down as usual and were much disappointed in finding the brig moved from her former place. after the vessel was secured the launch and jolly-boat were sent to the watering-place in the outer bay, where the eastern party were assembled with a bundle of spears, throwing-sticks, and knives, for barter. upon the return of the boats our friend jack came on board and appeared altogether so attached to us that some thoughts were entertained of taking him on our voyage up the west coast if he was inclined to go. as he did not want for intelligence there was not much difficulty in making him understand by signs that he might go with us, to which he appeared to assent without the least hesitation, but that it might be satisfactorily ascertained whether he really wished to go it was intimated to him that he should tell his companions of this new arrangement. mr. bedwell accordingly took him on shore, and purchased all the spears the natives had brought down, that, in case they should feel angry at his leaving them, they might have no weapons to do any mischief with. when jack landed he instantly informed his companions of his intended departure and pointed to the sea, to show whither he was going, but his friends received the intelligence with the most careless indifference, their attention being entirely engrossed with the barter that was going on. after the spears were purchased mr. bedwell got into the boat followed by jack, who seated himself in his place with apparent satisfaction. while mr. bedwell was purchasing the spears and other weapons jack brought him a throwing-stick that he had previously concealed behind a bush and sold it to him for a biscuit; but after he had embarked and the boat was leaving the shore he threw it among his companions, thereby affording us a most satisfactory proof of the sincerity of his intentions. about an hour after he had returned and i had determined upon taking him, the breeze freshened and raised a short swell which, causing a slight motion, affected our friend's head so much that he came to me and, touching his tongue and pointing to the shore, intimated his wish to speak to the natives. he was therefore immediately landed and mr. baskerville, after purchasing some spears and waiting a few minutes, prepared to return on board: upon getting into the boat he looked at our volunteer but jack, having had a taste of sea-sickness, shook his head and hung back; he was therefore left on shore. upon the boat's leaving the beach the natives dispersed for the night but jack, as usual, was perceived to separate himself from his companions and to walk away without exchanging a word with them. december . the weather at daylight the next morning ( st) was too unsettled and the breeze too strong from the westward to think of moving from the anchorage. jack and another native were down on the rocks at an early hour, hallooing and waving to us, and at eight o'clock some natives appeared on the opposite shore with spears and knives to barter, but we had no communication with them. during our visit we have obtained from these people about one hundred spears, thirty throwing-sticks, forty hammers, one hundred and fifty knives, and a few hand-clubs, the value of each being at from half to one-eighth of a biscuit. we saw no fizgig, shield, nor boomerang; it is probable that they may have such weapons but did not produce them from a dislike at parting with them; but the knives, spears, and hammers which did not require much labour to manufacture were always ready for barter, particularly the first, but the greater part were, like peter pindar's razors, only made for sale. altogether we saw about forty natives of whom ten were boys: they were in most respects similar to their neighbours, having the same long curly hair and slight figure; they did not appear to be a navigating tribe, for we saw no canoes, nor did we observe any trees in the woods with the bark stripped, of which material they are usually made; and, from the timid manner they approached the water, it is more than probable that they are not much accustomed even to swimming. captain flinders is mistaken in stating that the natives of this place do not use the throwing-stick; but it is probable they did not produce those instruments to him, for fear of being deprived of them, for it required much persuasion on our part to prevail upon them to let us have any; they were much more ingeniously formed than others that we had previously seen, and different also, in having a small sharp-edged shell, or piece of quartz, fixed in a gummy knob at the handle, for the purpose of scraping the points of the spears: the shaft is broad, smooth and flat. some of these throwing-sticks, or mearas, were three inches broad and two feet six inches long. see woodcut . the spears are very slender, and are made from a species of leptospermum that grows abundantly in swampy places; they are from nine to ten feet long and barbed with a piece of hard wood, fastened on by a ligature of bark gummed over; we saw none that were not barbed, or had not a hole at the end to receive the hooked point of the meara. woodcut shows the method by which this weapon is propelled. the hammer, or kaoit, appears to be used only for the purpose of breaking open shellfish, and killing seals and other animals by striking them on the head; for it has no sharpened edge to be used as a chopping or cutting instrument; the handle is from twelve to fifteen inches long, having one end scraped to a sharp point, and on each side at the other end two pieces of hard stone fixed and cemented by a mass of gum, which, when dry, is almost as hard as the stone itself; the hammer is about one pound weight. see woodcut . the knife, or taap, is perhaps the rudest instrument of the sort that ever was made; the handle is about twelve inches long, scraped to a point like the hammer, and has, at the other end, three or four splinters of sharp-edged quartz stuck on in a row with gum, thus forming a sort of ragged instrument. see woodcut . it is thus used: after they have put within their teeth a sufficient mouthful of seal's flesh, the remainder is held in their left hand, and, with the taap in the other, they saw through, and separate the flesh.* every native carries one or more of these knives in his belt besides the hammer which is also an indispensable instrument with them. (*footnote. a very good idea may be obtained of the manner in which these taaps are used, by referring to captain lyon's drawing of the esquimaux sledges at page of parry's second voyage: the natives of king george's sound however hold the knife underhanded, and cut upwards.) we did not perceive that these people acknowledged any chief or superior among them; the two parties that collected daily on the opposite sides of the harbour evidently belonged to the same tribe for they occasionally mixed with each other. their habitations were probably scattered about in different parts for when the natives went away for the night they separated into several groups, not more than three or four going together, and these generally returned in company the next morning by the same path which they had taken when they left us: they also arrived at different times and some evidently came from a distance greater than others, for they were later in arriving and always took their leave at an earlier hour. with the exception of one or two petty thefts besides the one above-mentioned of which serious notice was taken, and an attempt to steal a hat from one of the boys when he was by himself on the oyster bank, our communication with these people was carried on in the most friendly manner. mr. cunningham was, to their knowledge, on shore every day attended only by his servant, but none, excepting jack, followed him after they had ascertained the intention of his walk, and observed the care that he took to avoid going near their habitations, for which they evinced a great dislike; one of their encampments was about a mile and a half off but, curious as we naturally were to witness their mode of living and to see the females and children of their tribe, we never succeeded in persuading them to allow us to gratify our curiosity. on one occasion it was necessary to lay a kedge anchor out in the direction of their dwelling-place, and upon the boat's crew landing and carrying it along the beach, the natives followed and intimated by signs that we should not go that way; as soon however as the anchor was fixed and they understood our intention, they assisted the people in carrying the hawser to make fast to it. they were well-acquainted with the effects of a musket, although not the least alarmed at having one fired off near them. everything they saw excited their admiration, particularly the carpenter's tools and our clothes; but what appeared to surprise them above all other things was the effect produced upon the flesh by a burning-glass, and of its causing the explosion of a train of gunpowder. they perfectly understood that it was from the sun that the fire was produced, for on one occasion when jack requested me to show it to two or three strangers whom he had brought to visit us i explained to him that it could not be done while the sun was clouded; he then waited patiently for five minutes until the sunshine reappeared, when he instantly reminded me of the removal of the obstacle. he was a good deal surprised at my collecting the rays of the sun upon my own hand, supposing that i was callous to the pain, from which he had himself before shrunk; but as i held the glass within the focus distance, no painful sensation was produced; after which he presented me his own arm, and allowed me to burn it as long as i chose to hold the glass, without flinching in the least, which, with greater reason, equally astonished us in our turn. they were all furnished, as has been before mentioned, with a cloak of kangaroo-skin, which is always taken off and spread under them when they lie down. their hair was dressed in different ways; sometimes it was clotted with red pigment and seal oil, clubbed up behind, and bound round with a fillet of opossum-fur, spun into a long string, in which parrot-feathers, escalop shells, and other ornaments being fixed in different fanciful ways, gave the wearer a warlike appearance. their faces and sometimes their whole bodies were daubed over with a mixture of seal oil and red pigment that caused a most disgusting effluvia; but the only colouring matter that our friend jack used, after his acquaintance with us, was the carpenter's chalk, which he thought particularly ornamental. bracelets of dog-tails or kangaroo-skin were commonly worn and one had several escalop shells hanging about him, the noise of which, as they jingled together, he probably thought musical. the noodle-bul or belt in which they carry their hammer and knife is manufactured from the fur of the opossum spun into a small yarn like worsted; it is tightly bound at least three or four hundred times round the stomach; very few however possessed this ornament; and it is not improbable that the natives who had their hair clubbed, those that wore belts, and the one who was ornamented with shells, held some particular offices in the tribe, which it would be difficult for strangers to discover. during our communication with these people the following vocabulary of their language was obtained, of which some of the words are compared with those recorded by captain flinders: these last are inserted in the third column. column : english word. column : native word. column : native word recorded by captain flinders. a goose : caangan. a dog : tiara. to eat biscuit : yamungamari (doubtful). a seal : baallot. the sun : djaat : djaat. water : badoo (this is a port jackson word, and has been probably obtained from other visitors). beard : nyanuck. cheek : nyaluck. mouth : tatah. teeth : orlock : yeaal. tongue : darlin, or thalib. arm : wormuck. nails : pera (strong accent on the r.) finger : mai, plural maih. toe : kea, plural kean. finger nails : peramaih. toe nails : perakean. nipple : beep : bpep. belly : cobbull, or kopul : kobul. posteriors : wallakah : wallakah. kangaroo : beango. a frog : toke. spear-throwing-stick : meara. hammer : kaoit. eye : meal. navel : beil. shoulder : kadyaran. shall i go on board? : bokenyenna. elbow : gnoyong. scars on the body : naamburn. firewood : gogorr. a spear : namberr, or pegero. a knife : taap. rope (on board) : nearbango. wood (plank) : yandari. lips : tar : urluck. throat : wurt. thighs : dtoual : dtoual. knee : wonat : wonat. leg : maat : maat. foot : jaan, or bangul : jaan. ear : duong : duong. nose : tarmul : moil. head : maka : kaat. a porpoise : nordock. woman : paydgero, or coman (doubtful). hair of the head : kaat : kaat jou. come here : bulloco. shoulder : djadan. musket : puelar (doubtful). gum : perin. tomorrow : manioc (doubtful.) surprise or admiration : caicaicaicaicaigh. the last word lengthened out with the breath. a hawk : barlerot. a shark, or shark's tail : margit. belt worn round the stomach : noodlebul. back : goong. a particular fish : wallar, or wallat. names of the natives. yallapool (a little boy). ureeton, wytumba : boys. marinbibba. coolbun. nakinna. malka. uderra. kynoora. hanbarrah. bawarrang. monga. flooreena. coolyarong. mogril (a young man).* (*footnote. the above names were obtained at a subsequent visit on our return to england the following year.) the winds during our stay performed two or three revolutions of the compass but they partook chiefly of the character of sea and land-breezes: during the night and early part of the morning the wind was usually light from the northward and at ten o'clock, gradually dying away, was succeeded by a wind from the sea, generally from south-west or south-east; this sea-breeze occasionally blew fresh until four o'clock in the evening when it would gradually diminish with the setting sun to a light air. the barometrical column ranged between . and . inches; a fall of the mercury preceded a westerly wind, and a rise predicted it from the south-east: when it stood at thirty inches we had sea-breezes from south with fine weather. the easterly winds were dry; westerly ones the reverse. the moisture of the atmosphere, for want of a better hygrometer, was ascertained with tolerable precision by the state of a small piece of sea-weed, the weight of which varied according to the dryness or moisture of the atmosphere between one and three scruples. i found it on all occasions extremely sensible, and very often to predict a change of wind much sooner than the barometer. fahrenheit's thermometer ranged between and degrees, but the usual extremes were between and degrees. . january . during the day of the st of january the depth of the bar was frequently sounded but as there was not more than ten feet and a half water upon it we were necessarily detained at the anchorage. january . on the following morning also at four o'clock the depth was the same; but at ten o'clock the water rose suddenly eighteen inches, upon which the anchors were lifted and the brig warped over the bar to an anchorage in three and a half fathoms off the outer watering-place, to await a favourable opportunity of going over to seal island; near which it was intended to anchor in order to refit the rigging and otherwise prepare the vessel for our voyage up the west coast. in the afternoon we procured a load of water and permitted the natives, thirteen of whom were assembled, to pay us another visit. on their coming on board it was noticed that many of them belonged to the tribe that lived on the opposite shore, but how they had crossed over was not satisfactorily ascertained. their wonder on this their last visit was much raised by our firing off a nine-pounder loaded with shot, the splash of which in the water caused the greatest astonishment, and one of them was extremely vehement and noisy in explaining it to his companions. upon repeating this exhibition they paid particular attention to the operation of loading the gun, and expressed the greatest surprise at the weight of the ball, upon which, after they had all severally examined it, they held a long and wordy argument as to what it possibly could be. at the splash of the ball, for which they were all looking out, they expressed their delight by shouting in full chorus the words cai, cai, cai, cai, caigh. after this they were sent on shore. january . at daybreak the next morning an opportunity offered to cross the sound, and by eight o'clock the brig was anchored under seal island; upon which we commenced the repair of the rigging, and in the course of the day shifted the main topmast. we had left the anchorage on the other side of the sound too early for our friends the natives, who had promised last evening to bring us a hawk's nest that was built upon a rock near the watering-place; at ten o'clock a very large fire was perceived close to the nest; it was no doubt kindled by them, and meant to show that they were not inattentive to their promise. january . the following day some natives were seen about a mile off upon the beach but did not come near the vessel. mr. cunningham botanised upon the summit of bald head. of this excursion he gave me the following account: "upon reaching the summit of the ridge, and clearing a rocky gully which intersected our track, we instantly entered an elevated valley of pure white sand, bounded on either side by ridges forty feet high, that were in themselves totally bare, excepting on the tops, where a thin clothing of shrubs was remarked; the whole surface reflected a heat scarcely supportable, and the air was so stagnant as scarcely to be respired, although we were at a considerable elevation, and in the vicinity of a constant current of pure atmospheric air on the ridge. after traversing the whole length of this sandy vale, which is one-third of a mile in extent, in our route towards bald head, with scarcely a plant to attract our attention, we perceived at its extremity some remarkably fine specimens of candollea cuneiformis, labil., which had, in spite of the poverty and looseness of the drifting sand, risen to large spreading trees, sixteen feet high, of robust growth and habit; they were at this time covered with flowers and ripe fruit; but so painful was it to the eyes and senses to remain for a moment stationary in this heated valley, that whilst i gathered a quantity of the seeds of this truly rich plant, my servant was obliged to hurry away to a cooler air on the ridge, which we had again nearly reached; and but for this fine plant, and the no less conspicuous blue-flowered scaevola nitida, br. the whole scene would have deeply impressed us with all the horrors that such extremes of aridity are naturally calculated to excite. "upon again reaching the ridge, whose moderated temperature required our care to avoid suffering from the sudden transition, we came to the granite, on whose bare surface i found a prostrate specimen of baeckea, remarkable for the regularity of its decussate leaves, which i have designated in my list as baeckea saxicola. continuing to the extremity of the ridge, i was much surprised to find we had already attained the highest point of the range, and to observe another expanse, or extensive cavity, of bare white sand below us, to the south-east, the termination of which we afterwards found to be the bald head, of captain vancouver. this part is of remarkable appearance from seaward, having on either side of its bare sandy summit a contrasting brushy vegetation: from the sea however a very small part only of its extensive surface of sand can be perceived, the greater part being only observable from the commanding hillocks we had with much exertion arrived at. a calcareous rock (affording evidently a very considerable portion of pure lime) was seen in a decomposing state piercing the sandy surface of all parts of the ridge about bald head which, however, is itself a pure granite; the dense low brushy wood in its vicinity is chiefly composed of the delicate baeckea."* (*footnote. cunningham manuscripts.) in the evening we visited seal island, and killed five seals for the sake of their skins, which were serviceable for the rigging; the boat's crew also found some penguins (aptenodytes minor) and a nest of iguanas. the bottle deposited here at our last visit in was found suspended where it had been left and brought on board, when another memorandum was enclosed in it, containing a notification of our present visit, of the friendly and communicative disposition of the natives, and a copy of the vocabulary of their language. january . on the th in the afternoon on our return to the vessel, after visiting the shore and landing upon the flat rock, which is merely a bare mass of granite, of about thirty yards in diameter, some natives were heard calling to us, and upon our pulling to the part whence the sound came, we found two men and a boy. after some time they were discovered to be three of our oyster-harbour friends, and therefore we made no hesitation of communicating with them, and of taking them on board, where they were regaled upon the flesh of the seals we had killed at the island. notwithstanding the friendly disposition of the inhabitants of this sound, i felt it necessary to act very cautiously in our communication with them, in order to avoid any misunderstanding. and that this might not even be accidentally done, i requested mr. cunningham to confine his walks to the vicinity of the vessel, and particularly to avoid any route that would take him towards their encampment. he was therefore prevented from visiting many parts near which he had promised himself much amusement and information in botanizing, particularly the neighbourhood of bayonet head, and the distant parts of oyster harbour. at our former visit to this place he had searched in vain for that curious little plant cephalotus follicularis, br.,* but on this occasion he was more fortunate, for he found it in the greatest profusion in the vicinity of the stream that empties itself over the beach of the outer bay where we watered. of this he says: "the plants of cephalotus were all in a very weak state, and none in any stage of fructification: the ascidia, or pitchers, which are inserted on strong foot-stalks, and intermixed about the root with the leaves, all contained a quantity of discoloured water, and, in some, the drowned bodies of ants and other small insects. whether this fluid can be considered a secretion of the plant, as appears really to be the fact with reference to the nepenthes, or pitcher-plant of india,** deposited by it through its vessels into the pitchers; or even a secretion of the ascidia themselves; or whether it is not simply rainwater lodged in these reservoirs, as a provision from which the plant might derive support in seasons of protracted drought, when those marshy lands (in which this vegetable is alone to be found) are partially dried of the moisture that is indispensable to its existence, may perhaps be presumed by the following observations. the opercula, shaped like some species of oyster, or escalop-shells, i found in some pitchers to be very closely shut upon their orifices, although their cavities, upon examination, contained but very little water, and the state of the weather was exceedingly cloudy, and at intervals showery; if, therefore, the appendages are really cisterns, to receive an elemental fluid for the nourishment of the plant in times of drought, it is natural to suppose that this circumstance would operate upon the ramified vessels of the lids, so as to draw them up, and allow the rain to replenish the pitchers. mr. brown also, who had an opportunity in of examining plants fully grown, supposes it probable that the vertical or horizontal positions in which the opercula were remarked, are determined by the state of the atmosphere, at the same time that he thinks it possible that the fluid may be a secretion of the plant. the several dead insects that were observed within the vases of cephalotus were very possibly deposited there by an insect of prey, since i detected a slender-bodied fly (ichneumon) within a closed pitcher, having evidently forced its passage under the lid to the interior, where an abundant store of putrescent insects were collected. whilst, therefore, these pitchers are answering the double purpose, of being a reservoir to retain a fluid, however produced, for the nourishment of the plant in the exigency of a dry season, as also a repository of food for rapacious insects, as in sarracenia, or the american pitcher-plant; it is also probable that the air, disengaged by these drowned ants, may be important and beneficial to the life of the australian plant, as sir james e. smith has suggested, in respect to the last-mentioned genus, wild in the swamp of georgia and carolina. (*footnote. flinders volume page and brown's general remarks in flinders volume page et seq.) (**footnote. smith's introduction to botany page .) "i spent much time in a fruitless search for flowering specimens of cephalotus; all the plants were very small and weak, and showed no disposition to produce flowers at the season, and none had more than three or four ascidia."* (*footnote. cunningham manuscripts.) the only edible plants that mr. cunningham found were a creeping parsley (apium prostratum, labil.) and a species of orach (atriplex halimus, brown) the latter was used by us every day, boiled with salt provisions, and proved a tolerable substitute for spinach or greens. during our visit we caught but very few fish, and only a few oysters were obtained, on account of the banks being seldom uncovered, and the presence of the natives which prevented my trusting the people out of my sight for fear of a quarrel. shellfish of other sorts were obtained at mistaken island in abundance, of which the most common were a patella and an haliotis; the inhabitant of the former made a coarse, although a savoury dish. there were also varieties of the following genera: namely, lepas, chiton, cardium, pinna, nerita, two or three species of ostrea, a small mytilus, and a small buccinum of great beauty; that covered the rocks and at low water might be collected in abundance. chapter . leave king george the third's sound, and commence the survey of the west coast at rottnest island. another remarkable effect of mirage. anchor under, and land upon rottnest island. break an anchor. examine the coast to the northward. cape leschenault. lancelin island. jurien bay. houtman's abrolhos. moresby's flat-topped range. red point. anchor in dirk hartog's road, at the entrance of shark's bay. occurrences there. examination of the coast to the north-west cape. barrow island. heavy gale off the montebello isles. rowley's shoals. cape leveque. dangerous situation of the brig among the islands of buccaneer's archipelago. examination and description of cygnet bay. lose an anchor, and leave the coast. adele island. return to port jackson. . january . we sailed from king george's sound on the th. january . but from south-westerly winds, were no further advanced by the th than the meridian of cape chatham. after which, entering a current setting at one mile an hour to the westward, the brig made considerable progress. january . at daylight, th, cape leeuwin came in sight from the masthead, and at eight o'clock was seen from the deck at the distance of ten leagues, bearing north degrees east by compass. at this, the south-westernmost extremity of new holland, captain flinders commenced his examination of the south coast, but saw no part to the northward. the french expedition under captain baudin were upon this part at two different periods of their voyage, and it appears from an examination of their tracks that the coast between capes leeuwin and peron, the latter of which is about five leagues to the southward of the entrance of swan river, has been sufficiently examined by them. they landed in several parts of geographe bay which affords a shelter from southerly winds but is so exposed to those between north and west-north-west that the french ships ran great danger of being shipwrecked during a gale from that quarter. the coast is sandy, and from m. peron's description, barren and unprofitable. with the exception of the recif du naturaliste which lies about five leagues to the north of the cape of that name there seems to be no danger in the vicinity of the bay. the small inlet of port leschenault is only the embouchure of a salt-marsh; it is scarcely attainable even by boats; for there appears to be only three feet water on the bar, and over and within it not more than fifteen feet. the french found no fresh water in any part of geographe bay. from port leschenault to cape peron the coast is low and sandy but inland it is of a moderate height and appears to be furnished with a slight vegetation. the french ships sailed along this coast at the distance of four or five miles from the beach, and the report made by them is sufficiently in detail for all the purposes of navigation. upon these considerations it was not deemed necessary that we should examine this part again, and therefore sailed at a distance from the land to ensure a quicker passage to cape peron, in order to explore the bay behind the isles of louis napoleon. swan river and rottnest island had been already carefully examined by the french; but from the latter island to the north-west cape, with the exception of shark's bay, they saw very little of the coast, and have given its outline principally from van keulen.* (*footnote. freycinet page .) at noon on the th our latitude was degrees minutes seconds, and a large bare, sandy patch upon the land, the tache blanche remarquable of captain baudin, bore north degrees east (magnetic). at six o'clock in the evening we passed cape naturaliste, having experienced a strong current setting north degrees west, at nearly two miles per hour; hence we steered to the northward, but it was dark when we passed near the position assigned to the recif naturaliste: after steering on for three hours longer we edged in for the land and at ten o'clock hauled to the wind for the night. january . the next day at noon we were in latitude degrees minutes seconds, having the land about cape peron in sight from the masthead, bearing east by south / south; but during the day the wind was so light that we had not approached it within four leagues by sunset. at this time the coast was visible as far as cape bouvard between which and cape peron it is low and sandy, but the hills appeared to be tolerably well wooded, and of a moderate height. buache island was visible as well as the small rocky islet between it and cape peron. the former is low and sandy, and its outline of hummocky shape; and to the eastward was some distant land trending towards the assigned entrance of swan river. to the northward of buache island a small lump was seen on the horizon, which perhaps might have been berthollet island, but it was very indistinct. the sun set in a dense bank and the moment it disappeared a very copious dew began to fall. january . the next morning at daylight the land to the southward of cape peron was ten miles off, but at half-past nine o'clock we were between capes peron and bouvard, and about five miles from the shore, which from the former extended in a north-east by north direction, still low and sandy. at noon the latitude was observed to be degrees minutes seconds, but by the land it was only degrees minutes seconds, a difference of minutes seconds. this error was occasioned by the haze which concealed the true horizon, and caused an appearance of land all round us, on which rocks, sandy beaches, and trees were so plainly formed that the officer of the watch actually reported two islands on the western horizon. this was the most remarkable instance of mirage that we ever witnessed; the haze had only commenced a few minutes before noon, whilst the observation for the latitude was in the act of being taken; and immediately after i was employed upon the chart for half an hour, puzzling myself in attempting to reconcile the observed latitude with the bearings of the land. this curious phenomenon was also witnessed by the french in geographe bay. during the time this magical appearance continued, we had very light airs from the southward: the barometrical column fell to . inches, but the hygrometer indicated an extraordinary dryness of the air. at sunset the haze cleared away, when rottnest island was seen, bearing between north degrees and degrees east (magnetic); a breeze then freshened from west-south-west but gradually veered round to the southward; and at nine o'clock was very light from south-east. january . during the night we made short tacks. at four o'clock in the morning ( th) the latitude by the moon's meridional altitude was degrees minutes seconds, and soon afterwards rottnest was in sight in the north-north-east. at six o'clock the sky was clouded, and the weather threatened to be bad; the mercury fell to . inches, upon which all sail was made off the land, as appearances indicated a westerly gale: but after an interval of two hours, during which we had a fresh breeze from north-west by west, the weather cleared up and we steered towards rottnest island. january . the next morning the brig was anchored off the north-east end of the island in thirteen fathoms gravelly sand; and in the afternoon i went on shore in a bay on the east or leeward side, where we found the water smooth and the landing more practicable than upon the north side where a tremendous surf was rolling in upon the beach. we disturbed a great many seals but only killed three; and were much disappointed in finding that these animals were not of the fur species, as in m. de freycinet's account of the island they are said to be; they were evidently the same description as those noticed at king george's sound. the traces of a small kangaroo were everywhere abundant but the animals were not seen. we walked to the easternmost of the lakes which the french named etangs duvaildaily and which m. de freycinet remarks as being surrounded by an extensive beach, composed entirely of bivalve shells, a species of cardium: the quantity was indeed extraordinary. the banks were frequented by gulls and sandpipers, of which many were shot. the water was found to be perfectly salt and from the circumstance of its rising and falling with the tide it must have some communication with the sea. the rocks of the island are principally calcareous and in a very advanced state of decomposition. the beaches were covered with dead shells of the genera buccinum, bulla, murex, trochus, and haliotis; but we found none with the living animal in them. of the feathered tribe a hawk and a pigeon were the only land-birds seen; but boobies, terns, and sandpipers were very numerous about the shores. mr. cunningham was fully employed during the short time that we were on shore, and excepting the pleasing interest created in our minds by landing on an island which has been so seldom before seen, and which from vlaming's account bears a prominent place in the history of this part of the coast, he was the only one of the party that derived any advantage from our visit. of the productions of this island he makes the following brief remarks: "it is surprising that an island, situated at so short a distance from the south-west coast, should bear so small a feature of the characteristic vegetation of king george's sound as not to furnish a plant of its several genera of proteaceae or mimoseae, and but a solitary plant of leguminosae. it would therefore seem that these families are confined to the shores of the main, particularly about king george's sound, where we have just left them in the greatest luxuriance and profusion. among the botanical productions of this island there is no plant of so striking a feature as the callitris, a tree of about twenty-five feet high, with a short stem of three feet in diameter; it much resembles the pinus cedrus, or cedar of lebanon, in its robust horizontal growth; it is found abundantly over the island, and within a few yards of the sea-beach. the island is formed by a succession of small hills and intervening valleys; and although the soil is very poor, being principally a mixture of quartzose sand and a large proportion of marine exuviae, yet this tree grows to a considerable size, but covering the surface of the island, gives it a monotonous appearance which is however occasionally relieved by a spreading undescribed species of melaleuca (allied to melaleuca armillaris, smith) and the more elegant pittosporum, an arborescent species, also undescribed. in fact, these three trees constitute the timber of the island. the ground is in some parts profusely clothed with spinifex hirsutus, labil., in which i detected a new species of xerotes, a round bushy plant growing in large bodies. "no fresh water has ever been discovered upon this island: indeed the loose filtering nature of the soil is not tenacious enough to retain that element at the surface. the woods are abundantly stocked with a small species of kangaroo of which we saw only the traces; nor did we see the animal, on account of whose numbers and resemblance to a rat the island received its name from vlaming in . m. peron says that it forms a new genus, and of a very remarkable character.* rottnest island does not appear ever to have been inhabited or even visited by the natives from the main; probably on account of the stormy nature of the weather, and the prevalence of westerly winds, which would be quite sufficient to deter them from venturing to sea in such fragile vessels as they possess."** (*footnote. peron volume page .) (**footnote. cunningham manuscripts.) january . on our return to the brig, we passed over a clear sandy bottom that would have afforded better anchorage than where we had brought up; for the vessel was not only exposed to a considerable swell but the ground was so foul that in weighing the anchor the following morning one of the flukes hooked a rock and broke off, besides which the cable was much rubbed. as swan river had been very minutely examined in baudin's voyage by mm. heirisson and baily, the former an enseigne de vaisseau, the latter a mineralogist, an account of which is fully detailed in de freycinet's and peron's respective accounts of that voyage,* without their finding anything of sufficient importance to induce me to risk leaving the brig at anchor off rottnest island for so long a time as it would necessarily take to add to the knowledge of it that we already possess, i did not think it advisable to delay for such a purpose, and therefore as soon as we were underweigh steered for the mainland and continued to run northerly along the shore at the distance of six miles from it. at noon our latitude was degrees minutes seconds. the coast is formed by sandy hillocks, or dunes, of from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet high, here and there sprinkled with shrubs, but in many parts quite bare: behind this frontier a second range of hills was occasionally seen on which the trees appeared to be of moderate size: the shore is rocky for two miles off and in many parts the sea broke. at half-past three o'clock we were abreast of a low, sandy projection, supposed to be captain baudin's cape leschenault. the appearance of the coast to the northward on this cape differed from what we passed in the morning, in that the coast hillocks are more bare of vegetation; there appeared to be several ridges behind the coast dunes, but they were all equally unproductive of vegetation. lancelin island was not distinctly made out but the two small rocky lumps on the bare sandhills that m. de freycinet mentions, were seen and thought to be very remarkable. at seven o'clock, having reached in my plan the latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, we hauled off shore for the night. january . and at six o'clock a.m. stood towards the land again. at half-past ten o'clock we were so near to it as to see the beach: at noon the latitude was observed to be degrees minutes seconds, its longitude being degrees minutes seconds, at which time we were on the parallel of the two rocky lumps seen the last evening. hence we steered north on a parallel direction with the coast and ran forty-five miles, passing the different projections of the beach at the distance of four or five miles, and sounding in between nineteen and twenty-five fathoms. at four o'clock we were abreast of a bare sandy point which appeared to be the north head of jurien bay, in which two rocky islets were seen, fronted by reefs, on which the sea in many parts was breaking violently. to the southward of the point the coast hills are rather high and principally formed of very white sand, bearing a strong resemblance, from the absence of vegetables, to hills covered with snow. here and there however a few shrubs partially concealed the sand, and gave a variety to the scene which was dismally triste. the country to the northward bears a different character; the shore is very low and sandy and continues so for some distance in the interior towards the base of a range of tolerably-elevated hills, on which the french have placed three remarkable pitons, but these, perhaps from our being too close in shore, we did not discover. (*footnote. see de freycinet page et seq and peron volume page et seq.) this range extends in a north by west and south by east direction, and appears to be rocky. in the middle ground some trees were noticed and vegetation appeared to be more abundant than in the space between the bare sandy point and cape leschenault. in jurien bay towards its south part near the shore is a small hillock, on which some trees of a moderate size were seen; they are thus noticed because the existence of trees hereabout is so rare as to be deserving of record. no native fires were seen between this part and rottnest island, nor was there any other indication of the coast being inhabited; it is however likely to be as populous as any other part, for the hills in the interior, which we occasionally got a glimpse of, seemed to be wooded, and would therefore furnish subsistence to natives from hunting, even if the seashore failed in supplying them with fish. between the bare sandy point and island point there is a deep bay, the shores of which are fronted by a reef partly dry, extending from the shore two miles. at seven o'clock we were about a mile and a half from a reef that nearly crossed our course; and as it was time to haul off for the night we shortened sail and brought to the wind, then blowing a strong squally breeze from south; but notwithstanding this succession of bad weather, the mercury in the barometer had ranged steadily between . and . inches. january . at daybreak we steered in for the land but ran twenty-two miles before it was seen. at nine o'clock it bore between north-east and south-east, and at a quarter after nine heavy breakers were seen in the south-east at the distance of five miles. the weather was now fine and the wind south-south-east, but still blew strong; the horizon was so enveloped by haze that the land, although not more than seven miles from our track, was very indistinctly seen: it seemed to be formed of sandhills, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet high, slightly studded with a scrubby vegetation; in the interior we perceived a range of hills of tabular form which are probably very high. at ten o'clock we passed another patch of breakers at the distance of about a mile and a half; but these appeared to have no connexion with those seen at nine o'clock. our soundings were between fifteen and seventeen fathoms, and our distance from the beach from six to seven miles. at noon the wind veered back to south-south-west and blew hard: we were at this time in degrees minutes second south and by chronometers in degrees minutes seconds east; by which we found that a current had set us during the last twenty-four hours to the north-north-west at one mile per hour. at half-past twelve o'clock more breakers were seen bearing north-west / north, when we hauled off west-north-west in order to ascertain the distance between the land and the abrolhos bank which, in van keulen's chart, is placed abreast of this part of the coast. at half-past four o'clock the masthead man was cautioned to look out for breakers and in less than half an hour afterwards he reported some bearing north-west by north. on going to the masthead i saw them distinctly for they were not more than four miles off, and on looking round the horizon towards the westward, distinctly saw the island of frederick houtman's abrolhos, which for some time the masthead man persisted was only the shadow of the clouds; but a small hummock being soon afterwards descried upon the summit of the largest, confirmed my conjectures. the group appeared to consist of three islands, all low and of small size. beyond and around them the sea was smooth and to the southward another patch of breakers was observed. preparations were now made to tack off, but i had scarcely reached the deck when the lookout man reported rocks under our lee bow, upon which the helm was immediately put up; and when the vessel's head was round upon the opposite tack the following bearings were taken: island of the abrolhos: eight miles off, between west and south degrees west. breakers: four miles off, north-north-west north. another patch: seven miles off, south-west. and the small rock patch, half a mile off, west. this last i did not see myself but two men perceived it distinctly from the masthead, and it is from their accounts that i am induced to give it a place upon the chart. the position of the vessel when we saw the breakers was in latitude degrees minutes and in longitude degrees minutes, and from the short interval between our obtaining sights for the chronometer and the meridional observation at noon, the position may be considered to be tolerably correct. after taking the bearings and before sail was made we sounded in twenty-five fathoms, fine shelly sand; but as we stood to the eastward the water gradually deepened to twenty-nine and thirty fathoms. january . the next morning at daylight the land was out of sight but at five o'clock was distinguished, forming a range of flat-topped land, probably about one thousand feet high. at the northern end of the range were four or five hills standing apart from each other, of which, in the view we then had of them, the northernmost was flat-topped, and the others peaked; at the south end of the range were three other distinct hills, the centre being peaked and the other two flat-topped. near the centre of the main range was another summit that was remarkable for its form. this range was seen by captain hamelin of the naturaliste, and is thus noticed by m. de freycinet in his account of the voyage. "entre les paralleles de degres et degres minutes, la terre est tres haute; on y remarque deux montagnes bien reconnoisables par leur forme qui approche de celle de la grange, sur la cote de saint-domingue, ou de la montagne de la table au cap de bonne-esperance; une autre ressemble un peu au pouce, de l'ile-de-france. la terre est aride, bordee de falaises rougeatres; on y voit peu de sable comparativement aux terres plus au sud."* (*footnote. de freycinet page .) we sought in vain for the resemblance to the pouce, but as all the hills were flat-topped of course they were similar to the table land of the cape of good hope, but probably inferior to it in point of height. this range i called after captain moresby, r.n. c.b., in grateful recognition of the prompt assistance rendered by him to the wants and repairs of our vessel, during her late visit to mauritius. the summit in the centre was called mount fairfax; the group of hills at the north end were named menai hills, and the three at the south end of the range were distinguished by the name of wizard hills; mount fairfax is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds. the shore in front of these hills is sandy and there was an appearance of two openings in the beach that were probably the outlets of mountain-streams. the country also appeared much better wooded than in other parts, and as large smokes were seen in the valleys the place most likely at the time of our passing frequented by natives. hence the coast trends to the north-west by north towards a patch of bare sand, which is remarkable because the coast is not so sandy as it is more to the south. at ten o'clock a very thick haze spread over the land and so enveloped it that nothing could be distinguished. at noon, the brig being in degrees minutes seconds south, and degrees minutes seconds east, the haze partially cleared away and showed that the coast had changed its character, being now steep, and in some parts cliffy, but still occasionally studded with spots of bare sand. in the interior a rocky, flat-topped hill was seen; it is probably the mount naturaliste of the french. the coast trends here in a north by west direction. the passage or channel between the abrolhos bank and the coast has been distinguished by the name of vlaming's ship, the geelvink, since she was the first vessel that passed them (anno ). captain hamelin in the naturaliste also passed within them, imagining that he perceived them to the eastward, but what he saw must have been the summit of moresby's flat-topped range.* (*footnote. so m. de freycinet also thinks, for he says: "quelques personnes n'osent assurer que nous ayons vu les abrolhos; d'autres, et je suis de ce nombre, peusent que ce que nous avons pris pour ce groupe d'iles est une portion du continent." freycinet page .) the soundings of the coast upon our track between rottnest island and the abrolhos have been gradually of a gravelly nature, mixed sometimes with shelly sand, and were generally coarser as we approached the shore. in some parts, particularly near cape naturaliste and rottnest island, the bottom appeared to be a bed of small water-worn quartzose pebbles not larger than a pin's head. off moresby's flat-topped range the bottom is of a soft dark-gray-coloured sand of a very fine quality that would afford good anchorage was it not for the constant swell that pervades this stormy coast; the water was however much smoother than in other parts, which might have been occasioned either by the abrolhos bank's breaking the sea, or from the temporary cessation of the wind, for it was comparatively light to what it had been since our leaving rottnest island. a large patch of bare sand terminates the sandy shores of this coast in latitude degrees minutes. a steep cliff then commences and extends for eight miles to the red point of vlaming; behind which is a bight, called by the french gantheaume bay; in the south part of which there appeared a small opening. this bay did not seem to be so well calculated for taking shelter in from southerly gales, as van keulen's chart indicates; since it is exposed to winds from south-west by south, from which quarter it must frequently blow. the country appeared very rocky; the slight vegetation covering its surface gave it a greenish hue, but no trees were seen near the shore which is fronted by a sandy beach; the depth of the bight is probably five or six miles. the cliffs of red point partake of a reddish tinge and appear to be disposed nearly in horizontal strata. in the centre and about halfway between the base and summit of the cliffs is a remarkable block of stone, of very white colour, that at a distance appeared to be either a fort or house: some black marks on its face took our attention and resembled characters of a very large size, as if they had been painted for the purpose of attracting the attention of vessels passing by; but a closer examination with the telescope prove them to be only the shadows of the projecting parts of the surface. at half-past seven o'clock we hauled off for the night and, standing off and on, sounded in between thirty-three and thirty-five fathoms. january . at daylight the next morning the land bore from east to east-south-east but the morning and forenoon were so hazy that it was very indistinctly seen; at noon a partial clearing away of the haze exposed to our view a long range of high and precipitous cliffs, the base of which was washed by the sea, breaking upon it with a tremendous roar, and heard distinctly by us. the wind falling in the afternoon induced me to stand off shore, when we soon lost sight of the land. at noon we were in latitude degrees minutes seconds. at one o'clock the depth was forty-five fathoms fine gray sand. no land was seen during the rest of the day; for although the sky was beautifully clear and serene, the atmosphere for fifteen degrees above the horizon was enveloped in a thick hazy mist that caused an extraordinary dampness in the air, and from the unfavourable state of the weather we did not attempt to make it again. january . the next morning we saw that part of dirk hartog's island which lies in degrees minutes, and when we had reached within four miles of the shore steered to the northward parallel to the beach, but the haze was still so great as to render the land very indistinct. we saw enough of it however to be convinced of its perfect sterility. the coast is lined with a barrier of rocks on which the sea was breaking high with a roar that was heard on board although our distance from the shore was at least three miles. the warmth of the weather now began rapidly to increase; the thermometer at noon ranged as high as degrees. at one o'clock cape inscription, the north-westernmost point of dirk hartog's island, was distinguished and the sea-breeze veered as far as south-west by west, which was two points more westerly than we had hitherto had it. at two o'clock the brig passed round the cape and, as there was an appearance of good shelter in the bay to the eastward of it, we hauled in and at half-past three o'clock anchored in twelve fathoms fine gravelly soft sand; the west point of dirk hartog's island (cape inscription) bearing north degrees west, and the low sandy point that forms its north-east end south degrees west, at a mile and a half from the shore. as we hauled round the cape and were passing under the lee of the land the breeze became so suddenly heated, by its blowing over the arid and parched surface of the coast, that my seaweed hygrometer, which had been quite damp since we left rottnest island, was in ten minutes so dried as to be covered with crystals of salt; and in this state it continued during our stay. upon rounding the cape two posts were descried upon its summit, which we conjectured to be those on which the french had affixed a record of their visit, as well as the more ancient one of the dutch navigators, dirk hartog and vlaming; for they were very conspicuously placed and appeared to be in good preservation. we had not anchored five minutes before the vessel was surrounded by sharks, which at once impressed us with the propriety of dampier's nomenclature. one that was caught measured eleven feet in length but the greater number were not more than three or four feet long. they were very voracious and scared away large quantities of fish, of which, however, our people during the evening caught a good supply. january . the following morning we landed at the cape and with eager steps ascended the rocky face of the hill to examine the interesting memorials that were affixed to the post; but found to our great mortification that they had been removed; the only vestige that remained was the nails by which they had been secured. one of the posts was about two feet high and evidently made of the wood of the callitris, that grows upon rottnest island; it appeared to have been broken down; the other was still erect and seemed to have been either the heel of a ship's royal-mast or part of a studding-sail boom; upon one side of it a flag had been fastened by nails. a careful search was made all round but, as no signs of the dutch plate or of the more recent french inscription were seen, it was conjectured that they had been removed by the natives; but since our return to england i have learnt that they are preserved in the museum of the institute at paris, where they had been deposited by m. de freycinet upon his return from his late voyage round the world. after this disappointment we returned to the sea-beach, whilst mr. cunningham botanised along the summit of the ridge; and before he rejoined us we had been fortunate enough to find two very fine turtles, and a large quantity of turtle-eggs. the animals had been left by the tide in holes of the rocks, from which we had some difficulty in extricating them. during our absence from the vessel our people had been very successful with the hook and line, having caught about five or six dozen snappers, besides some of the genus tetradon. this seasonable supply and the probability of our procuring more turtles from the beach induced me to remain here a few days to perform some trifling repairs that could not be effected at sea. we were also prevented from moving, from the unfavourable state of the weather; for it was blowing a gale of wind all the time we remained; but as our people were living upon fresh food the time was not considered as lost. january . the next morning fifty turtles were turned, but as we could not convey them all on board forty were left on shore upon their backs for the night: upon landing the next morning they were all found dead, having killed themselves by their exertions to escape, and from their exposure to the heat of the sun which was so great during the day that i did not send any of the people on shore. we found, however, no difficulty in procuring more, some of which weighed four hundredweight. the shore of this bay is fronted by a rocky reef covered with shell-fish, of which the principal sorts were species of trochus, chama, conus, voluta, cypraea, buccinum, ostrea, mytilus, and patella; among the latter was the large one of king george's sound. upon the beaches to windward of the cape we found varieties of sponge and coral; and beche de mer were observed in the crevices of the rocks but were neither large nor plentiful. mr. cunningham saw two land snakes, one of which was about four feet in length; the colour of its back was black and the belly yellow; the only quadruped seen was a small opossum. a seal of the hair species, like those of rottnest island, was seen on the rocks, probably of the same description that dampier found in the maw of the shark;* and also what was found by the french on faure island, which m. peron supposed to be an herbivorous animal and described as a dugong.** (*footnote. dampier volume page .) (**footnote. peron volume page et seq and de freycinet page .) january . on the th mr. roe visited the cape to fix on the post a memorial of our visit; an inscription was carved upon a small piece of wood in the back of which was deposited another memorandum written upon vellum; the wood was of the size of the sheave-hole of the larger post, into which it was fixed, and near it mr. roe piled up a heap of stones. after this was accomplished the party walked for some distance along the beach to the south-west of the cape, where they found the remains of two or three whales that had been lately wrecked; a small piece of putrefied flesh was also seen, about two or three feet long, one side of which was covered with red hair, it was however too far gone to ascertain to what animal it belonged. on examining into the state of our dry provisions it was mortifying to find that the rats and cockroaches had destroyed an incredible quantity, particularly of our biscuit and flour. in one of the casks of the latter more than two-thirds of its contents was deficient. the biscuit was completely drilled through and the greater part would not have been thought fit to eat if we had possessed any of a better quality; i still however hoped to have a sufficiency on board to complete the survey of the north-west coast before our return to port jackson, which i now found would of necessity be at least four or five weeks before the time i had fixed upon when we left the mauritius. as it would take up a great portion of the time we had now left to make a more extensive examination of shark's bay than what the french have already performed, and would entirely prevent my going upon the north-west coast again; it was determined that we should not delay here, but pass on and resume our examination of the coast at cape cuvier, the northern head of the bay. the only part of shark's bay that seems to be at all interesting, and to require further examination, is the eastern side of the bay immediately opposite to the islands of dorre and bernier; but from the very intricate and shoal nature of its approach it is very doubtful whether even a sight of the land in that direction could be procured. the rocks of dirk hartog's island are of a very remarkable formation, consisting of a congeries of quartzose sand, united in small circular kernels by a calcareous cement in which some shells were found embedded. the geological character of this rock is more fully treated upon in the appendix by my friend dr. fitton. "upon the summit of the cliffs there are a few low shrubs, at this time much parched up, but among them mr. cunningham found a tolerably rich harvest. in his collection were the following plants, which were originally brought to europe by dampier; namely, trichinium incanum, br.; diplolaena dampieri, desf.; solanum, a thorny ferruginous species without fructification (solanum dampieri ?) dampiera incana, br.; and a cordate melaleuca, figured by dampier*: a beautiful loranthus (teretifolius, cunningham) grew on the branches of an undescribed acacia (acacia ligulata, cunningham manuscript):"..."many were the wrecks of most interesting plants, and especially those of soft herbaceous duration, which had some time since fallen a sacrifice to the apparent long-protracted drought of the season; but it was impossible, amidst the sad languor of vegetation, not to admire the luxuriant and healthy habit of an undescribed species of pittosporum (oleifolium, cunningham manuscript) which formed a small robust tree, ten feet high, laden with ripe fruit. we could perceive no traces either of remains of fires, or otherwise of natives, in the whole length of our walk along the edge of the cliffs or the plains, but we saw two snakes of very distinct kinds, each exceeding five feet in length; the one black with a yellow belly, the other green and black, but they quickly escaped into holes, leaving a serpentine impression of their bodies upon the sand. these marks were seen and remarked near the edge of all the holes, which were very numerous upon the surface of the island, before i discovered that they were the tracks of reptiles, from which it may be inferred that these animals are very abundant. the only bird seen was a solitary species of loxia, but upon a steep ledge of rocks i observed one of those nests of which frequent mention has been already made: i examined and found it built upon the pinnacle of some large rocks, very strongly constructed of long sticks; it was about five feet high and exceeded four feet in diameter, with a very slight cavity above; and seemed to have been very recently inhabited. the rocks that formed its base were ornamented with a prostrate capparis, or calyptranthus (calyptranthus orbicularis, cunningham manuscript) which afforded me good flowering specimens. in my walk i started a small black kangaroo: it was feeding upon the seeds of a small acacia and, upon perceiving my approach, fled across the down without reaching a single bush or rock large enough to conceal itself as far as the eye could discern it, so bare and destitute of vegetation are these arid, sandy plains."* the heat of the weather was so great as not to allow of any communication with the shore, excepting between daybreak and eight o'clock. mr. cunningham's visits were therefore necessarily much confined: this precaution i found it absolutely requisite to take to prevent the people from being exposed to the very great heat of the sun, which on shore must have been at least twenty degrees more powerful than on board, where the thermometer ranged between / degrees at midnight, and and degrees at noon. the barometer ranged between . and . inches, and stood highest when the wind was to the eastward of south, with which winds the horizon was much clearer, and the air consequently drier than when the wind blew from the sea. (*footnote. cunningham manuscript.) as an anchorage during the summer months dirk hartog's road has everything to recommend it, excepting the total absence of fresh water which, according to the french, was not found in any part of shark's bay; the anchorage is secure and the bottom clear of rocks. there is also an abundance of fish and turtle, and of the latter a ship might embark forty or fifty every day, for they are very sluggish and make no effort to escape, perhaps from knowing the impossibility of their scrambling over the rocky barrier that fronts the shore, and dries at half ebb. of fish we caught only two kinds; the snapper, a species of sparus, called by the french the rouge bossu, and a tetradon which our people could not be persuaded to eat, although the french lived chiefly upon it. there are some species of this genus that are poisonous but many are of delicious flavour: it is described by m. lacepede in a paper in the annal. du museum d'histoire naturelle (tome page ) as le tetrodon argente (tetrodon argenteus). january . on the th we sailed and passed outside of dorre and bernier's islands; nothing was seen of the reef that lies in mid-channel on the south side of dorre island: a rippling was noticed by mr. roe in an east by south direction from the masthead at twenty minutes before one o'clock but, if the position assigned to it by the french is correct, we had passed it long before that time. at six o'clock kok's island, the small rocky islet that lies off the north end of bernier's island, bore north degrees east, distant seven miles. january . the following morning at daylight the land was seen in the north-east and at half-past eight o'clock we resumed our course and passed cape cuvier, a reddish-coloured rocky bluff that presents a precipitous face to the sea. the coast thence takes a north by east direction; it is low and sandy and fronted by a sandy beach, occasionally interrupted by projecting rocky points; those parts where patches of bare sand were noticed are marked upon the chart. at one o'clock we were near a low sandy projection round which the coast extends to the east-north-east and forms a shallow bay. this projection was called after sir robert townsend farquhar, bart., the late governor of the mauritius. farther on, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, is a projection which, at mr. cunningham's request, was called after mr. william anderson of the apothecaries' garden at chelsea. the coast to the northward of point anderson is higher than to the southward and falls back to the north-east, but was very imperfectly seen on account of the thick haze that enveloped it. at a quarter before seven o'clock we hauled to the wind for the night with a fresh gale from the southward. january . the next morning was cloudy and the horizon tolerably clear; but towards noon a light haze began to spread, which by sunset was so thick as entirely to conceal the land. the mercury fell as low as . inches and, although the thermometer was at degrees and the sun powerful, yet the atmosphere was so charged with moisture that the decks and everything out of the immediate influence of the sun were quite damp. this extraordinary and constant humidity appeared only to occupy the atmosphere for the sky was always beautifully clear and serene. during the night the gale blew strong from the southward with a high topping sea from the south-west; and being occupied in shifting the main topsail which had split during the night, we stood off until three o'clock before we tacked towards the shore. january . at eight o'clock being in latitude degrees minutes seconds, the land was visible from north-east to south degrees east at the distance of five or six leagues: by its outline which, from the glare of the sun was the only part at all discernible, it seemed to be of moderate height, very level, and offering no particular mark that could be set with any chance of recognition to obtain a cross bearing. as there is every reason to believe that this part of the coast is what was taken by former navigators for cloates island,* i have named the southernmost point of the high land point cloates. (*footnote. see volume .) at noon we were in latitude degrees minutes seconds, having experienced a current of twenty-three miles to the north since yesterday at noon. the northern extreme, vlaming's head, bore north-east by east / east and the south extreme south degrees west; and in the bearing of between south degrees to degrees east the land is higher than in other parts and declines very gradually towards the extreme. as the brig approached the land breakers were seen to extend the whole length of the shore, which is fronted by a sandy beach: the land is of moderate height but the summit is rather more rugged than that to the southward where the outline is perfectly level. at half-past three o'clock vlaming head bore south six miles and three quarters off: at four o'clock the latitude, by the moon's meridional altitude, was found to be degrees minutes seconds, at which time sights were taken for the chronometer, which made the longitude of the head degrees minutes seconds: the situation assigned to it on our first voyage was degrees minute seconds; the mean of the two, degrees minutes seconds, may therefore be considered its true situation. from the above observation for the latitude of the north-west cape agreeing nearly with those of our former voyage, i was induced to think that there might be some land more to the northward that the french saw and took for the cape; for they have placed it in degrees minutes seconds south, which is nearly minutes too northerly. captain horsburgh, in the supplement to his directory, notices some islands seen by the san antonio in , called piddington's islands, that are said to lie in the latitude of degrees minutes, but after steering seventeen miles to the north-east from the above situation, without seeing anything like land, there remained no doubt in my mind that the french must have been deceived and that piddington's islands are some of the low, sandy islets to the eastward of muiron island. january . having steered through the night on a north-east course, barrow's island came in sight the next morning, when it was about five leagues off; at eight o'clock it bore between south east and north degrees east. from noon to three p.m. we had calm, dull, and cloudy weather; and although the thermometer did not range higher than degrees, the heat was extremely oppressive, and occasioned the death of three of our turtles. at three o'clock a breeze springing up from the westward enabled us to steer to the northward round the montebello islands, in doing which we saw nothing of hermite island, which the french have laid down as the westernmost island of that group. there is certainly no land to the westward of trimouille island; and the error can only be accounted for by captain baudin's having seen the latter at two different periods; indeed this conjecture is in some measure proved, since there is a considerable reef running off the north-west end of that island, which in the french chart is attached to hermite island; this reef might not have been seen by him at his first visit, and when he made the land again and observed the reef he must have concluded it to have been a second island. after steering a north course until seven o'clock and deepening the water to sixty-five fathoms, we gradually hauled round the north end of the montebello isles; and at eleven p.m. steered east; but at two o'clock, having decreased the depth from seventy-two to forty-one fathoms, we steered off to the northward until daylight, and then to the east-south-east, in order to anchor in the mermaid's strait to the eastward of malus island, to take some stones on board as ballast, for the brig was so very light and leewardly that it would have been running a great risk to approach the land, as she then was. but in this we were disappointed, for after an interval of close sultry weather, and a severe thunderstorm, a gale of wind set in from the south-west, during which the barometer fell as low as . inches. the gale then veered gradually round to the north-west, and obliged us to make sail off the coast, and by the time it moderated we were so far to leeward of dampier's archipelago that i was constrained to alter my plan and give up the idea of taking ballast on board. i therefore determined upon making rowley's shoals, for the purpose of fixing their position with greater correctness, and examining the extent of the bight round cape leveque, which we were obliged to leave unexplored during the earlier part of this voyage. . february . the first of these objects was effected on the th; on which day we passed round the south end of the imperieuse (the westernmost) shoal; which we now found to extend nearly four miles more to the southward than had been suspected in , at which period we steered round its north end. a large patch of dry rocks was also seen on the north-east end of the reef about ten miles from the vessel's track, and mr. roe, from the masthead, thought that the east side of the shoal did not appear to be so steep as the western side. from noon we steered east to make the shoal seen by the good hope, but having sailed in that direction as far as latitude degrees minutes seconds and longitude degrees minutes seconds, without seeing any signs of it for ten miles on either side of our course, we hauled to the wind for the night and sounded in one hundred and forty-five fathoms speckled sand and broken shells. february . at seven o'clock the following morning we were steering east when broken water was reported bearing from east to east-south-east, but it turned out to be a rippling which we passed through. these ripplings have been frequently noticed in the vicinity of the reefs, but we have been very little affected by the tides by which they must be occasioned. at noon we were by observation in degrees minutes seconds and longitude degrees minutes seconds, when we sounded in one hundred and twenty fathoms, speckled sand mixed with broken shells and stones; and at twenty miles farther to the eastward sounded again on the same depth. february . at eight o'clock the next morning, having steered through the night north-east by east, we were in ninety fathoms, sand, broken shells, and large stones. february . on the morning of the th the land was seen in the south-east and soon afterwards the brig passed round cape leveque at the distance of a mile and a half. on our way towards point swan we saw from the masthead a line of strong tide-ripplings, extending from the point in a north-west by west direction; within which we at first attempted to pass but, finding that they were connected to the point, hauled up to steer through them where they seemed to be the least dangerous. as we approached the noise was terrific and, although we were not more than two minutes amongst the breakers, yet the shocks of the sea were so violent as to make me fear for the safety of our masts. a smaller vessel would perhaps have been swamped; for although the sea was in other parts quite smooth and the wind light, yet the water broke over the bows and strained the brig considerably. we then steered between point swan and two rocky islands lying five miles from the shore over a space which, at our last visit, appeared to be occupied by an extensive reef, but we were then probably deceived by tide-ripplings. it was my intention to have brought up under the lee of the point, where dampier describes his having anchored in twenty-nine fathoms clear sandy ground; but upon rounding the projection, the wind suddenly fell and, after a light squall from south-west we had a dead calm; the depth was thirty fathoms coral bottom and therefore not safe to anchor upon; this was unfortunate for the sudden defection of the wind prevented our hauling into the bay out of the tide, which was evidently running with considerable rapidity and drifting us, without our having the means of preventing it, towards a cluster of small rocks and islands through which we could not discover any outlet, and which were so crowded that in the dangerous predicament in which we found ourselves placed they bore a truly awful and terrific appearance. at this time i was at my usual post, the masthead, directing the steerage of the vessel; but as the brig was drifting forward by a rapid sluice of tide towards some low rocks, about a quarter of a mile off, that were not more than two feet above the water's edge, and upon which it appeared almost inevitable that we must strike, i descended to the deck, under the certain conviction that we could not escape the dangers that were strewed across our path unless a breeze should spring up, of which there was not the slightest appearance or probability. happily however the stream of the tide swept us past the rocks without accident and, after carrying us about half a mile farther, changed its direction to south-east and drifted us towards a narrow strait separating two rocky islands, in the centre of which was a large insulated rock that seemed to divide the stream. the boat was now hoisted out and sent ahead to tow, but we could not succeed in getting the vessel's head round. as she approached the strait the channel became much narrower, and several islands were passed at not more than thirty yards from her course. the voices of natives were now heard and soon afterwards some were seen on either side of the strait, hallooing and waving their arms; we were so near to one party that they might have thrown their spears on board; they had a dog with them which mr. cunningham remarked to be black. by this time we were flying past the shore with such velocity that it made us quite giddy; and our situation was too awful to give us time to observe the motions of the indians; for we were entering the narrowest part of the strait, and the next moment were close to the rock which it appeared to be almost impossible to avoid; and it was more than probable that the stream it divided would carry us broadside upon it, when the consequences would have been truly dreadful; the current, or sluice, was setting past the rock at the rate of eight or nine knots, and the water being confined by its intervention fell at least six or seven feet; at the moment, however, when we were upon the point of being dashed to pieces, a sudden breeze providentially sprung up and, filling our sails, impelled the vessel forward for three or four yards: this was enough, but only just sufficient, for the rudder was not more than six yards from the rock. no sooner had we passed this frightful danger than the breeze fell again and was succeeded by a dead calm; the tide however continued to carry us on with a gradually decreasing strength until one o'clock, when we felt very little effect from it. from the spot we had now reached the coast from cape leveque appeared to trend to the southward but was not visible beyond the bearing of south-west; there was however some land more to the southward that had the appearance of being an island; it was afterwards found to be a projection, forming the east head of a bay, and was subsequently called after my friend mr. cunningham, to whose indefatigable zeal the scientific world is considerably indebted for the very extensive and valuable botanical collection that has been formed upon this voyage. we had a dead calm until high-water during which, as the brig continued to drive with the tide to the southward in from twenty to twenty-four fathoms, over a rocky bottom, i was undetermined what course to pursue in order to preserve the situation which we had so unexpectedly reached, and to prevent the ebb-tide from carrying us back through the strait: the bare idea of this impending danger reconciled me to determine upon sacrificing an anchor, for, from the nature of the bottom, it seemed next to impossible that we could recover it, if once dropped. just, however, as the tide was beginning to turn, a breeze sprang up from the westward and at once put an end to our fears and anxieties; all sail was made towards point cunningham beyond which no land was visible; but the tide being adverse and the evening near at hand, we anchored in the bight to the north-west of the point which bore south / degrees east seven miles and a half. february . the next day i remained at the anchorage and despatched mr. roe to examine the coast round point cunningham; mr. baskerville in the meantime sounded about the bay between the brig and the western shore and found very good anchorage in all parts: at about one mile to the westward of our situation the bottom was of mud, and the depth nine and ten fathoms: the land appeared a good deal broken, like islands, but from the vessel the coast seemed to be formed by a continuity of deep bays that may perhaps afford good anchorage. on one of the sandy beaches at the back of the bay near park hillock, so-called from its green appearance and being studded with trees, eight or ten natives were observed walking along the beach close to the low water mark, probably in search of shell-fish; some of them were children, and perhaps the others were women, except two or three who carried spears; a dog was trotting along the beach behind them. after dark, according to a preconcerted plan, port fires were burnt every half hour for mr. roe's guidance, and before midnight the boat came alongside. mr. roe informed me that there was good anchorage round the point; and where he landed at point cunningham there was plenty of fresh water; but he saw nothing like land to the south-east; the coast trended from point cunningham to the south, and was of low wooded sandy land. the heat was excessive; the thermometer at noon, out of the influence of the sun, stood at degrees, and when they landed at point cunningham mr. roe thought the heat was increased at least degrees. at this place he obtained an indifferent meridian altitude which placed it in degrees minutes seconds south. in the meantime mr. cunningham, who had accompanied him, botanised with success. the traces of natives, dogs, turtle-bones, and broken shells, were found strewed about; and several fireplaces were noticed that had very recently been used; a fresh-water stream was running down the rocks into the sea, and at the back of the beach was a hollow, full of sweet water. near the fireplaces mr. roe picked up some stones that had been chipped probably in the manufacture of their hatchets. the soil was of a red-coloured earth of a very sandy nature; and the rocks were two sorts of sandstone, one of a deep red colour, the other whitish, and harder. after leaving point cunningham they pulled round the rocks, which extended for some distance off the point, and then entered a bay, all over which they found good anchorage; a low distant point formed the south extreme, but it was too late to reach it and at high-water they landed at a bright red, cliffy point. at half-past five o'clock they re-embarked on their return and, although the tide was in their favour, were six hours before they reached the vessel; from which mr. roe calculated the distance to be nearly twenty miles, and by the survey subsequently made it was found to be seventeen. february . we did not leave this anchorage until the th and then had some difficulty in doing it, on account of the shoalness of the water upon the sandbank that fronts the bay; indeed we were obliged to anchor until the tide rose high enough to permit our crossing it. at two o'clock we again got underweigh and crossed the bank, when the wind falling calm we anchored with point cunningham bearing south degrees east three and a half miles. february . the following morning i sent mr. roe to the point to take some bearings; the boat left the brig at half-past three o'clock but did not succeed in reaching the land before the sun rose; at which time the horizon, from being clearer, would have presented a more distinct view of distant objects. the group of islands to the eastward was observed to extend no farther to the southward than the bearing of north degrees east, and beyond this was an open, boundless sea. the station whence this bearing was taken was on the north-west trend of the point. on their first landing mr. roe and mr. baskerville, with one of the boat's crew, ascended the summit and, whilst employed in looking round, heard the voices of natives among the trees about thirty yards off; but as they could not see them they very properly descended, and carried on their operations in the vicinity of the boat; they were onshore for two or three hours afterwards, but the natives did not make their appearance. the foot-marks of men and boys were evident on the sand below the high-water mark, and the remains of fireplaces, and where the natives had been manufacturing spears, were of recent date. the gentlemen brought off a few shells and some insects, among which was a beautiful sphynx; besides which one of the boat's crew caught a species of vampyrus, apparently similar to the flying fox of port jackson. of shells there was not a great variety; a chama (tridacna gigas, lam.) a pinna, and the trochus (caerulescens) of dirk hartog's island; but at one of the fireplaces they found a very large voluta that seemed to have served the purpose of a water-vessel; it was fifteen inches long and ten inches in diameter. the shores appear to abound with shellfish, although dampier thought that shells hereabouts were scarce. we could easily have completed our water at this point, but from the place appearing to be populous and, as the vessel could not be anchored sufficiently near the shore to have protected the boat's crews, it was feared that our work might be impeded by the natives. the boat returned at ten o'clock while we were getting underweigh; but the wind being at south-east it was one o'clock before we weathered point cunningham, when the tide was urging us forward rapidly. in steering round the point we found ourselves passing through some light coloured water and, before we could extricate the brig, were in three and a half fathoms; the anchor was immediately dropped underfoot and, with the assistance of the sails, which were kept full, the vessel was retained whilst the whale-boat was veered astern, and ascertained that the shoalest part had been already passed; therefore the anchor was again weighed, and eventually dropped in the bay to the south of point cunningham in fourteen fathoms and three quarters, fine speckled sand and stones. in the direction of north degrees west and at a mile and a half from the anchorage was a remarkable flat-topped hill which was called at mr. cunningham's wish, carlisle head, and the bay in which we anchored, goodenough bay, in compliment to the right reverend the lord bishop of carlisle. at this part mr. cunningham found a new species of velleia (of the natural order goodenoviae). we were now suffering much from the extreme heat and closeness of the weather; the thermometer ranged night and day between and degrees, and when the breeze was light or the weather calm the air was insufferably hot and close, and affected us all very much, but happily without any very serious consequences. in the evening four natives armed with spears were seen sitting in the shade upon the sandy beach under carlisle head, attentively watching us; but upon being joined by three others, who came towards them from point cunningham, got up and walked away. we have yet to learn how far these people may be confided in, for we were not at a very great distance from hanover bay where we so nearly paid dear for trusting ourselves amongst them unarmed. february . we remained at the anchorage in goodenough bay until the following morning, when we weighed to a very light breeze from south-east, the only direction from which we experienced any wind; the breeze generally blew strong at night, whilst during the day it was light, or nearly calm; so that during the night we were very insecurely placed if the anchorage was at all suspicious, and in the day were either delayed very much or entirely prevented from weighing. thus it was with us on this day; soon after we weighed it fell calm and the tide, drifting us rapidly to the southward over rocky ground, carried us close to a reef of dry rocks to the northward of foul point without our being able to avoid it. at a little before five o'clock the flood-tide was nearly expended and obliged us to drop the chain-cabled anchor at the distance of three miles from foul point, upon a bottom of rotten yellow-coloured rock that crumbled away upon being touched, but from the noise that the chain made in dragging over the ground there was reason to apprehend it was very rocky; and consequently great fears were entertained for the safety of our anchor. our situation was in the outer part of a bay, the southern head of which bore south degrees east, and which, from the loss and perplexity we met with in it, was afterwards called disaster bay, and its south extreme, off which is a small rocky island, was named repulse point. during the afternoon we had another instance of mirage which proved useful so far that it indicated to us the trend of the land to the south-eastward, in which direction nothing had previously been seen; it appeared to be very low and level, and similar to the character of the coast on the southward of cape leveque. at sunset when the haze cleared off and the appearance of the land gradually sank below the horizon we were instantly relieved from the oppressive heat we had experienced during the day, for the thermometer had indicated a temperature of degrees and, when exposed to the influence of the sun, rose to degrees. three natives were noticed as we passed along the shore; they were walking upon a sandy beach abreast of us but very soon disappeared among the trees and bushes which here grow close down to the waterside; they were armed with spears and appeared to be watching our movements; for they moved along in the direction of our course and did not afterwards make their appearance during the evening. february . the next morning whilst the ebb-tide lasted we had a light breeze but, at noon, as the weather was calm and the brig could not be got underweigh, either with safety or utility, the boats were despatched in different directions to improve our knowledge of the place. at low water a considerable sandbank was exposed to our view, that had not previously been seen; it fronts the bay and is dry at low tide for some extent, it is also shoal some distance to the northward, as our boat had only four feet in passing over it. in the afternoon, as there was every appearance of fine weather and no likelihood of a breeze, mr. baskerville and mr. cunningham set off in a boat to visit repulse point, in order to make what observations they could upon the further trend of the land; but no sooner had they left the vessel than a breeze sprung up and freshened to a gale in which our cable parted; and as there was no chance of dropping another anchor with a prospect of recovering it, we were obliged to return to our former anchorage in goodenough bay; but, owing to the tide being contrary, the brig did not reach it until nearly sunset. our alarm and anxieties were now raised to a great pitch for the safety of mr. baskerville and his companions: signals of recall had been hoisted and several guns fired before the cable parted, but the boat was too far off to notice either: as soon as it was dark signal guns were fired and port fires burnt every ten minutes to guide its return. happily these signals at last had the desired effect, for at ten o'clock the boat came alongside. mr. baskerville had failed in reaching repulse point but obtained some useful information as to the trend of the land round the point, which still appeared to extend to the southward; they had not been able to land, but had encountered much danger from the small size of the boat, which shipped a great deal of water, so that by the time it arrived they were completely drenched with the spray of the sea. they had only observed our signals for a few minutes before their arrival; for the flashes of the guns and the lights of the port-fires were so confused with lightning and the fires of the natives on the shore that they could not be distinguished from each other. soon after they arrived on board heavy rain commenced, and fell during the greater part of the night. february . the ensuing day the weather was still squally and unsettled. in the afternoon the launch and another boat were sent in search of our lost anchor but returned at night without success; for the tide was so strong that the buoy did not watch. the next morning it was again intended to resume the search, but the weather clouded in and threatened to be so bad that all further attempts were abandoned. this succession of bad weather, and our having only one anchor left, made me feel the necessity of leaving this part, and giving up for the present the examination of this interesting place; and as we wanted both wood and water, which we had found no opportunity of obtaining here on account of the tempestuous state of the weather, it was purposed we should go to port george the fourth, which place would afford both security for the vessel and facility for procuring these articles. this delay might also be made serviceable by employing a part of the crew at the same time in the boats in examining the islands in rogers strait, and tracing the continuation of the mainland behind the islands that form the south-east coast of camden bay, of which we knew nothing. after doing this i hoped to be able to continue the examination of the deep bay behind montgomery's islands, and connect that part with the gulf or strait behind the buccaneer's archipelago in which we now were; but our loss of anchors made all this very dangerous and, indeed, nothing could be done without very fine weather, of which there was at present unfortunately no appearance. but a greater and more serious hindrance was that our provisions were very much reduced in quantity, and that we had not more than enough to last, upon a full allowance, for the voyage to port jackson; the hope however of procuring more information of this part of the coast was so inviting that i did not despair of effecting something in a fortnight worth the delay. we had dry provisions and water on board for about ten weeks, so that with fine weather we could have retarded our departure for ten or twelve days without much risk. february . our quitting this place being determined upon we did not lose any time; but from various delays of calm weather and adverse tides could not succeed in getting out to sea until the th. it was impossible to go out by the dangerous channel through which we entered; but as sunday strait, through which the brig had been drifted before we went to mauritius, appeared free from danger, we directed our course to it. february . and, after being underweigh all the night near its inner entrance, during which we had once nearly struck on a reef of rocks, found ourselves at daylight drifting through it with a rapid ebb-tide without a breath of wind. the tide however lasted long enough to carry us out, and when the flood commenced, which would have drifted us back again, a fresh breeze sprang up from the westward and very soon carried us clear of the influence of the tide. with respect to the opening we had now left there were many conflicting opinions among us, but i have every reason to think that the land from cape leveque to point gantheaume is an island and that there is also a communication between cygnet and collier's bays, behind the islands of the archipelago, where it is also probable there is an opening trending to the south-east. the great rise and fall of the tides in the neighbourhood of point gantheaume gives a plausibility to this opinion; and the only thing that i know against it is the trifling depth of the water between that point and cape villaret. this however may be caused by the numerous banks and channels existing there, and which, of themselves alone, are indicative of the opening being something more than a mere bay. as sunset approached the eastern horizon was as usual in commotion; heavy dense clouds were collected, from which we had thunder and lightning. at seven o'clock the appearance was more threatening and, as a squall was evidently approaching, the sails were taken in and preparation made to meet it: soon after eight o'clock it passed rapidly over and brought a strong gust of wind, before which we were obliged to scud. after blowing most tempestuously for an hour the wind moderated, and the night passed without any repetition of it; we had however run five miles to leeward: had we been obliged to do this last night when underway in cygnet bay, or been drifted back this evening by the ebb-tide, we should have been very dangerously placed, from being surrounded by islands and blinded by the darkness of the night. whilst this squall lasted the barometer was in no way affected, but the thermometer fell two degrees, having stood all the afternoon at / degrees. february . during the remainder of the night we stood off and on and experienced a current setting in the direction of north degrees west one mile per hour. at eight o'clock the next morning ( th) adele island was seen; and in the afternoon we passed at a mile and a half from the western side of the reef which surrounds it. this island is low and sandy and covered with small bushes; it is about two or three miles in length; a dry sand extends for five miles from its south end, and as far as one mile from its north-west point; but the covered part of the reef is more extensive, and appeared rocky. at the distance of three miles and a half, in a north-west direction from its north end, are two dry sandbanks which are probably covered at high-water. light-coloured water extended for three miles to the westward and for fourteen miles to the north-west; but the water is probably deep enough over it for any vessel to pass: we steered over the tail within the coloured water, but had no bottom with forty-five fathoms. in many parts near the island the rocks must be very little below the surface of the water, for the sea occasionally broke upon them. we then steered to the east and east-north-east and at night made short trips on either tack. the weather was extremely sultry during the afternoon, the thermometer being at degrees, and when exposed to the sun the mercury rose to degrees. towards sunset large flights of boobies, terns, and other sea-birds passed by, flying towards the islands. one or two stopped to notice us and flew round the brig several times. february . the night was fine with light south-west winds; but we had lightning in the north-east, from which quarter at daylight the weather clouded in; and, from the increasing dampness of the atmosphere, indicated rain. at noon we were in degrees minutes seconds south and minutes second east of the anchorage in cygnet bay. the wind was from the southward with dull cloudy weather. large flights of birds were about the vessel, preying upon small fish swimming among the seaweed, of which we passed a great quantity. as the evening approached the weather clouded in and threatened us with another squall from the eastward. the thermometer stood at degrees, and the barometer at . inches: half an hour before sunset the clouds, which had collected in the eastern horizon, began to thicken and approach us with loud thunder and vivid lightning: all the sails, except the topsails which were lowered, were furled just in time to avoid any bad effects from the squall, which commenced with a strong gust from east-south-east and east; it lasted about an hour, during the latter part of which we had very heavy rain. at eight o'clock the wind fell to a calm and was afterwards baffling and light from north to east and south-east. february . at daylight ( th) the morning was dull and cloudy: a bank of heavy threatening clouds, rising from the eastward, induced my steering to the westward to await the issue of this weather, so unfavourable for our doing any good upon the coast, as well as increasing the danger of navigating among reefs and islands where the tides were so strong. the next morning at daylight we had a squall with rain and wind from the eastward after which a fresh breeze set in from the same quarter: as this weather appeared likely to last i very unwillingly determined upon leaving the coast and returning immediately to port jackson. february to . from the st until the th we had moderate winds between north and south-east which gradually drew us out of the influence of the damp, unwholesome weather we so lately experienced. our course was held to the northward of rowley's shoals which, upon passing, we found a strong current setting towards them at the rate of one mile an hour. this indraught increases the danger of navigating near this part but i do not recollect having experienced any when we passed them in june, . the current, therefore, that we felt, may be only of temporary duration, and probably caused by the variable state of the wind. . february to march . between the th of february and the rd of march we had light and variable winds from all directions but, being more frequent from the eastward than from any other point of the compass, i became reconciled to the step i had taken of leaving the coast, since it would not have been possible to have reached port george the fourth to effect any good. the thermometer now ranged between and degrees and the weather was consequently extremely oppressive and sultry. march to . on the rd at noon we were in latitude degrees minutes seconds and longitude degrees minutes seconds when a breeze sprang up from the south-east and carried us within the influence of the trade, which blew steadily between south-south-east and south by east and advanced us on our passage but carried us considerably to the westward. on this course we were accompanied by immense shoals of albicores (scomber thynnus, linn.) but they were of small size; very few measured more than twenty inches in length, and the average weight about ten pounds: the meat was very good and tender and as a great number of the fish were caught, proved a grateful relief to our salt diet. the atmosphere was very damp and before the vessel entered the trade we had lightning every night, but it ceased the moment that we were within its limits. tropic and other oceanic birds, some of a dark brown colour, hovered about us and were our daily companions, particularly the latter which preyed upon the small fish that were pursued by the albicores. march to . from the th to the th the trade ceased and the interval was supplied by a northerly wind, veering round to west, which enabled us to make up for the ground we had lost by its having been so much from the southward. after this we had variable breezes between south and east-south-east but the current, which before had been setting us to the north-west, now set to the north-east; this change was probably occasioned by the south-westerly swell. on the th we were in degrees minutes south, and degrees minute east. some tropic birds were seen this morning but as yet neither albatrosses nor pintadoes had made their appearance. during the short cessation of the trade the atmosphere was very dry until the south-easterly winds returned, when it became more humid; but as we approached the southern limit of this south-east wind, which may be considered to bear more of the character of a periodical wind than the trade, the atmosphere became altogether drier; it carried us as far as degrees minutes south and degrees minutes west before it veered to the northward of east when, after a calm, we had north-easterly winds and fine weather of which we made good use. the first albatross was seen in / degrees south and was flying about the brig at the same time with a tropic bird, which is a remarkable occurrence, for i never saw the latter bird before so far without the tropic; but here was one nearly five hundred miles to the southward of it, and at least three hundred leagues from the nearest land; an albatross (diomedea exulans, linn.) was shot, but did not measure more than nine feet nine inches across the tips of the wings. february . on the th of february we examined our water and found the casks so much damaged by rats that instead of having thirteen tons we had only nine on board, but as this was thought to be sufficient for our voyage the daily issue was not reduced. march . on the th of march however it was found necessary to make a considerable reduction in the allowance. april . on the th of april the north-west end of van diemen's land came in sight but it was not until the th that we entered bass strait by the passage between king's and hunter's islands. off cape howe we boarded a trading brig belonging to port jackson bound to van diemen's land, from which we obtained pleasing and satisfactory news of our friends at sydney, as also the gratifying intelligence of the promotion of myself to the rank of commander, and of messrs. bedwell and roe to that of lieutenant. the promotion of the latter gentleman was under circumstances of the most flattering nature, and here not only offers a most satisfactory proof of the approbation bestowed by the lords commissioners of the admiralty upon my zealous assistant, but precludes me from the otherwise pleasing task of giving my humble testimonial of his conduct and merits. between cape howe and port jackson we experienced much bad weather, which delayed our arrival so long that we had expended all our bread and were reduced to a very small proportion of water: april . we however succeeded in effecting our arrival at sydney by the th, after an absence of days. chapter . the bathurst sails for england. remarks upon some errors in the hydrography of the south coast of van diemen's land. king george the third's sound. passage to the cape of good hope. cross the atlantic, and arrive at plymouth sound. observations upon the voyages, and conclusion. . april to september . upon an examination of the brig's defects after our arrival at port jackson her stern and cut-water were found so defective as to require a considerable repair; but from the difficulty of procuring seasoned wood, so long a time elapsed before it was effected that we were not ready for sea until the beginning of september, when other delays of minor importance detained us until the th. at port jackson i found orders from the lords commissioners of the admiralty to return to england in the bathurst when the survey should be completed; but as we were in want of many things that the colony could not furnish, and as we should be detained until the month of february before the monsoon would allow of our going upon the coast; it was deemed most advantageous for the public service to return without making another voyage. accordingly on the th september we sailed from sydney with the intention of proceeding to the north through torres strait, and calling at the mauritius on our way; but no sooner had we put to sea than a hard gale set in from the north which induced me to bear up and either to go round van diemen's land to the westward, if the wind should favour such a proceeding, or, by doubling the south end of new zealand to make the eastern passage round cape horn. . october . having reached the south-east end of van diemen's land on the th of october, and a fresh north-easterly wind setting in at the same time, i determined upon adopting the first plan; and therefore proceeded round the south side of the island, in doing which i had the opportunity of verifying some observations formerly taken by which it appeared that the coast between storm bay and the south-west cape was very erroneously laid down both by captain flinders and the french expeditions under d'entrecasteaux and baudin. on my voyage to macquarie harbour in i found so many errors in the bearings that were taken as induced me to suspect an original error, and on this occasion a very considerable one was detected. when captain flinders passed round van diemen's land in the norfolk he obtained a meridional supplementary altitude of the sun to the south, his vessel being under the land, which made the south-west cape in degrees minutes south; but finding the next day that his instrument was minutes seconds in error to the north he assigned to the cape a position of degrees minutes. in the introduction to his voyage* he makes some remarks in a note upon the positions assigned to it by captains cook and furneaux; the latter officer placed it in degrees minutes, in which i also found it to be by its transient bearing from the south cape. by a series of bearings carried along the coast its position is thirty-three miles west degrees south true, from the south cape. (*footnote. flinders volume introduction page .) all parts of the coast in this interval are proportionally in error as to latitude but tolerably well placed in reference to the coast. the subjoined are the positions now assigned to the following places, namely: column : name of place. column : latitude. column : longitude according to captain flinders' survey. south cape : degrees minutes : degrees minutes. mewstone : degrees minutes : degrees / minutes. south-west cape : degrees minutes : degrees minutes. the south-east cape of bruny island, tasman's head, is also placed too much to the southward in captain flinders' chart as well as in that of baudin. from the mermaid it was set in a line with the south-east cape on the bearing of north degrees east (the vessel's head being to the eastward); and on this occasion (the brig's head being to the westward) it bore, when in the same line, north degrees east. the variation in the latter case was degrees east, but in the former no more than degrees was allowed, and captain flinders found even degrees sufficient. i passed outside the mewstone and took its bearing as it came on with the points of the land between the south-west and the south-east capes, by which i satisfied myself beyond a doubt of the correctness of my observations and of the error into which captain flinders had fallen, and which must either be attributed to the imperfection of his instrument or to his reading off the altitude minutes in error; and as there is just that difference between it and the position assigned by captain furneaux, which is also confirmed by my observation, the probability is in favour of the last conjecture. after leaving the coast of van diemen's land we had much damp, unwholesome weather, and a succession of heavy westerly gales, in which the brig was occasionally much pressed. . november - . and it was not until the th of november that we made bald island, which is to the eastward of king george's sound. we were now much in need of a place to caulk the bends, as well as to repair some temporary damage to the rigging and complete our wood and water. i therefore seized the opportunity of our being near the sound and, steering into it, anchored off the sandy bay within seal island and immediately commenced operations. we were however much delayed by hard westerly gales, which not only prevented the carpenter's caulking, but also delayed our watering, since the boat could not pull to the shore; but as the anchorage was well sheltered we suffered no further inconvenience than the delay. a few days after our arrival we were surprised by the appearance of a strange vessel beating into the sound; she proved to be an american schooner on a sealing voyage and was coming in for the purpose of careening and cleaning the vessel's bottom in oyster harbour. the natives also made their appearance and some of them being our old friends, immediately recognised us. as there was no wood convenient to our anchorage i moved the vessel to the entrance of princess royal harbour, near the northern head of which, at the south end of the long sandy beach, the trees were growing in abundance close to the beach: it was at this place also that captain flinders obtained his wood; and excepting the entrance of oyster harbour it is the most convenient place in the whole sound. whilst at this last anchorage we were visited by the natives, many of them strangers; they were accompanied by our old friend coolbun, the native that, upon our former visit, was so noisy in explaining to his companions the effect of the shot that was fired. on one occasion, when they were on board, an immense shark was hooked, but broke the hook and escaped, which was a great disappointment to them, for they evidently anticipated a luxurious meal. after this they went on shore, when the breeze blew so fresh as to make some seasick, very much to the amusement of those who did not suffer, particularly one of the older men. on this occasion the names of several of the natives were obtained, which have been inserted with a few additional words at the end of the list obtained from them during our former visit.* our friend jack did not make his appearance, nor did the natives at all seem to understand for whom we were enquiring. (*footnote. see above.) as soon as our wood was completed the brig was moved to an anchorage off the watering bay which proved a more convenient place than under seal island, as it was better sheltered and nearer to the watering-place. after riding out a heavy gale from the westward at single anchor without any accident and as soon as our water was completed, we again anchored for a day under seal island, but were obliged to make two attempts before we succeeded in getting out to sea. whilst at the anchorage off princess royal harbour i went to oyster harbour to procure flowering specimens of a tree which had hitherto been a subject of much curiosity to botanists: at our former visits the season was too far advanced; and mr. brown was equally unfortunate. the plant resembles xanthorrhoea, both in its trunk and leaves, but bears its flower in a very different manner; for, instead of throwing out one long flower scape, it produces eighteen or twenty short stalks, each terminated by an oval head of flowers. i recollected having seen a large grove of these trees growing at a short distance from the outer beach on the east side of the entrance of the harbour; and on going there found the decayed flowers and seeds sufficiently perfect to throw a considerable light upon this singular plant;* several were procured and brought to england. a drawing of this tree is given in the view of king george's sound in captain flinders' account of the investigator's voyage.** in the list of the plants collected by me upon this occasion was a splendid species of anigosanthus, which proved to be quite new, and had escaped the observation both of mr. brown and of mr. cunningham. living plants of various genera were also procured: among which were several of the remarkable cephalotus follicularis (brown) which however alone survived the voyage, and are now growing in the royal gardens at kew. (*footnote. more perfect specimens were afterwards collected by mr. baxter, and sent, through mr. henchman his employer, to my friend mr. brown, the original discoverer of the tree in captain flinders' voyage, and the author of the paper in the appendix at the end of the volume relating to it.) (**footnote. flinders volume page .) december to february , . having effected our departure from king george's sound we proceeded on our way towards simon's bay at the cape of good hope, which we reached on the th january after a passage of forty-six days without encountering a gale of wind or the occurrence of any event worth recording. february to april . we left simon's bay on the th of february and, after touching at st. helena and ascension, crossed the line in degrees minutes west; and on the th of april made the island of flores, one of the azores. on the same morning we fell in with two french men of war, a frigate and a corvette, who bore down but, upon showing our colours, hauled their wind and resumed their course without communicating with us. between this and the channel we were delayed by a succession of northerly winds. the lizard lights were made in the night of the nd of april and the following day we anchored in plymouth sound; after an absence of more than six years. it may not be considered irrelevant here to make a few brief observations upon what has been effected by these voyages, and what yet remains to be done upon the northern coasts of australia. beginning with the north-eastern coast, i have been enabled to lay down a very safe and convenient track for vessels bound through torres strait, and to delineate the coastline between cape hillsborough, in degrees minutes south, and cape york, the north extremity of new south wales; a distance of six hundred and ninety miles. as my instructions did not authorise my delaying to examine any part of this coast i could not penetrate into the many numerous and extensive openings that presented themselves in this space; particularly in the neighbourhoods of cape gloucester, upstart, and cleveland; where the intersected and broken appearances of the hills at the back are matters of interesting enquiry and research. my instructions at first confined me between cape arnhem and the north-west cape, but were subsequently extended to the western coast. the examination of the northern and part of the north-western coasts, from wessel islands to port george the fourth, a distance of seven hundred and ninety miles, has been carefully made and, with a few exceptions, every opening has been explored. those parts in this interval that yet require examination are some inlets on the south side of clarence strait, and one of more considerable size to the eastward of cambridge gulf, trending in to the south-east: otherways, the coast comprised within these limits has been sufficiently examined for all the purposes of navigation. the coast also between the north-west cape and depuch island, containing two hundred and twenty miles, has also been sufficiently explored; but between the latter island and port george the fourth, a distance of five hundred and ten miles, it yet remains almost unknown. the land that is laid down is nothing more than an archipelago of islands fronting the mainland, the situation of which is quite uncertain. our examinations of these islands were carried on as far as cape villaret, but between that and depuch island the coast has only been seen by the french, who merely occasionally saw small detached portions of it. at present however this is conjecture; but the space is of considerable extent and, if there is an opening into the interior of new holland, it is in the vicinity of this part. off the buccaneer's archipelago the tides are strong and rise to the height of thirty-six feet. whatever may exist behind these islands, which we were prevented by our poverty in anchors and other circumstances from exploring, there are certainly some openings of importance; and it is not at all improbable that there may be a communication at this part with the interior for a considerable distance from the coast. the examination of the western coast was performed during an almost continued gale of wind, so that we had no opportunity of making any very careful observation upon its shores. there can however be very little more worth knowing of them, as i apprehend the difficulty of landing is too great ever to expect to gain much information; for it is only in shark's bay that a vessel can anchor with safety. with respect to the subjects of natural history that have been procured upon the voyage, it is much to be lamented that the small size of the vessel and our constant professional duties prevented my extending them. of quadrupeds we saw but few. birds were very numerous but the operation of skinning and preserving them would have taken up more time than could be afforded. a few insects, some shells, and a small series of specimens of the geology of the parts we landed at were among the only things obtained, excepting the extensive and valuable collection of plants formed by mr. cunningham which are now in the possession of mr. aiton, of the royal gardens at kew; for which establishment it would seem that they were solely procured. it was in fact the only department of natural history in which any pains were taken and for which every assistance was rendered. a small herbarium was however collected by me, containing nearly five hundred species: they are in the possession of my respected friend aylmer b. lambert, esquire, whose scientific attainments in the field of botany are well and widely known. it is to be hoped however that the few subjects offered to the scientific world in the appendix, through the kindness of my friends, will not be thought uninteresting or unimportant; and that they will serve to show how very desirable it is to increase the comparatively slender knowledge that we possess of this extensive country, which in this respect might still with propriety retain its ancient name of terra australis incognita. whilst this sheet was going through the press accounts were received at the admiralty from captain j.g. bremer, c.b. of h.m. ship tamar who was despatched by the government in the early part of last year ( ) to take possession of arnhem's land, upon the north coast of the continent, and to form an establishment upon the most eligible spot that could be found for a mercantile depot. of the proceedings of this expedition the following particulars have been communicated to me by lieutenant j.s. roe, my former companion and assistant, who was appointed lieutenant of the tamar upon her being destined for that service; and which, as the sequel of the voyage i have been describing, cannot be deemed irrelevant or uninteresting, since the place fixed upon by captain bremer was discovered during the early part of the said voyage.* (*footnote. see volume .) the tamar arrived at port jackson on the th of july, ; when every facility was rendered by the colonial government to further the object in view. the expedition sailed thence in less than a month with a detachment of the rd regiment and forty-five convicts, in addition to the party of royal marines that had been embarked before the tamar left england. the establishment was placed under the command of captain barlow of the rd regiment. a merchant ship, the countess of harcourt, was taken up to convey the stores and provisions, and the lady nelson, colonial brig, was also placed at the disposal of the commandant. lieutenant roe, in describing this voyage to me, writes: "we had a very favourable passage to the northward, and in less than three weeks cleared torres strait by the route you recommended to captain bremer, without encountering any accident. we nevertheless saw several shoals that, in our former voyages in the mermaid and bathurst, were not noticed; by reason of the greater altitude of the tamar's masthead affording a much more extensive view on either side of our course." the particulars of these discoveries of lieutenant roe are given in the appendix, under the description of the north-east coast, in the order in which they occur. having cleared torres strait the tamar anchored in port essington. lieutenant roe then says, "having brought the ship to anchor off table point in port essington, all the boats were hoisted out and the marines landed, when, an union-jack being fixed upon a conspicuous tree near the extremity of the point, formal possession was taken of the north coast of australia, between the meridians of and degrees east of greenwich. the marines fired three volleys, and the tamar a royal salute, upon the occasion. "our first object being to find water, parties were despatched in various directions for that purpose; but after traversing many miles of country, and coasting a great deal of the port, only one place was discovered (the low sandy east point of entrance to inner harbour) where any was to be procured, and it was then only obtained by digging deep holes in the sand. a large malay encampment had recently removed from this spot, leaving their fireplaces and temporary couches, and large piles of firewood to season, in readiness for their next visit. no natives were seen, not even at our old place in knockers bay. the adjoining country was found to be very good forest land, well timbered, but parched with drought, which was by no means in favour of our views. having buried a sealed bottle upon the sandy point, containing an account of our proceedings, we named it point record,* and sailed at the expiration of two days for apsley strait. (*footnote. point record is the low sandy point on the left of the picture in the view of port essington, volume .) "light winds retarded our arrival off cape van diemen until the th, and it was not before the th that we brought up close to luxmoore head, in st. asaph bay. possession was here taken in a similar manner and with the same forms as at port essington, and we commenced a strict search for water in every direction in the neighbourhood of the head, which appeared so desirable and commanding a position, that it was with great reluctance we eventually gave up all idea of settling there, on not finding fresh water in its neighbourhood. "at the expiration of five or six days a small river and plenty of water was discovered on melville island abreast of harris island; and an eligible situation for the intended new settlement being discovered near it, the ships were removed thither on the nd of october, and parties landed to commence immediate operations with the axe and saw. the projection of land fixed upon for the site of a town, was named after the commandant (captain barlow). the cove in which the ships were at anchor was named king's cove by captain bremer, after yourself, as the original discoverer of the strait; and that part of apsley strait, between luxmoore head and harris island,* received the name of port cockburn, in honour of vice admiral sir george cockburn, g.c.b., one of the lords of the admiralty. (*footnote. harris island was named by me after my friend john harris, esquire, formerly surgeon of the nd regiment, who has served so long and so faithfully in various offices under the government of new south wales.) "all disposable hands being employed on shore in clearing point barlow of wood and other impediments, we were speedily enabled to commence the erection of a fort, seventy-five yards in length by fifty wide; to be built of the trunks of the felled trees, and to be surrounded by a ditch ten feet wide and deep. on the memorable st of october, our quarter-deck guns were landed and mounted, the colours were hoisted for the first time, and the work was named fort dundas, under a royal salute from itself. "from this time the place began to assume the appearance of a fortified village; quarters were constructed within the walls of the fort for the accommodation of the officers belonging to the establishment, and about thirty huts of various kinds were erected, and thatched with rushes for the soldiers and convicts. a deep well was sunk near the fort; a good substantial wharf ran out into the water; and, as soon as a commissariat storehouse was finished, all the provisions were landed from the countess of harcourt and secured there. "the soil in the neighbourhood of the settlement being exceedingly good, gardens were cleared and laid out, and soon produced all kinds of vegetables. in our stock we were rather unfortunate, for of six sheep that were landed for the purpose of breeding, five died, supposed from the effect produced by eating some pernicious herb in the woods: pigs, ducks, and fowls seemed however in a fair way of doing well, and had increased considerably since they were landed; but great inconvenience was experienced for want of some horses or draught oxen, which would not only have materially expedited the work in hand, but would have spared the men much laborious fatigue and exposure to the effects of a vertical sun: all difficulties and obstacles were however met and overcome with the greatest zeal and perseverance, and the works proceeded with such spirit and alacrity, that we were enabled to sail for bombay on the th of november, without exposing the new settlement either to the jealousy of the malays, or the mischievous attack of the natives. no traces of the former people were observed at this place, nor any of the trepang that would be their sole inducement for visiting it. not one native made his appearance before the early part of november when, as if by signal, a party of about eighteen on each shore communicated with us on the same day and were very friendly, although exceedingly suspicious and timid. they would not venture within the line of the outer hut and always came armed, but laid aside their spears and clubs whenever friendly signs were made. on the second day of their visit i was greatly astonished to see amongst them a young man of about twenty years of age, not darker in colour than a chinese but with perfect malay features and like all the rest entirely naked: he had daubed himself all over with soot and grease, to appear like the others, but the difference was plainly perceptible. on perceiving that he was the object of our conversation, a certain archness and lively expression came over his countenance, which a native australian would have strained his features in vain to have produced. the natives appeared to be very fond of him. it seems probable that he must have been kidnapped when very young, or found while astray in the woods.* (*footnote. at our visit to this place in and during our communication with the natives a boy of the above description was noticed among them; he was brought down upon the shoulders of one of the indians, in which position he is represented in the view. see volume .) "these indians made repeated signs for hatchets, which they called paaco-paaco, and although they had stolen two or three on their first appearance, it was considered desirable to gain their goodwill by giving them more, and three were accordingly presented to individuals among them who appeared to be in authority. they were of course much pleased, but the next day several axes, knives, and sickles were taken by force from men employed outside the settlement, upon which they were made to understand that until these articles were restored no more would be given. this arrangement being persevered in by us, they determined upon seizing these implements on every occasion that presented itself; so that it was found necessary to protect our working parties in the woods by a guard; the result of which was that the natives threw their spears whenever resistance was offered, and the guard was obliged to fire upon the aggressors. "open acts of hostility having now been committed, and the natives increasing daily in numbers to upwards of one hundred round the settlement, a good lookout was kept upon them; but not sufficiently to prevent about sixty of them surprising five of the marines in a swamp cutting rushes, and throwing their spears amongst them: their salute was immediately returned, and they disappeared without any damage having been done on either side; at the same minute however reports of musketry were heard at our watering-place and garden and proved to be in repelling an attack that about forty natives had made upon our jolly-boat watering and two men cutting grass. one of the natives was shot dead at ten yards' distance while in the act of throwing his spear; and our people thought that several others were wounded as they disappeared making most strange noises, and have not been near us since. one of the spears thrown upon the last occasion had sixteen barbs to it but, in general, they were merely scraped to a sharp point without even one barb, and were not thrown with anything like precision or good aim, which accounts for none of their weapons having taken effect, although discharged at our people at the distance only of a few yards." soon after this the tamar left fort dundas for the india station and despatched the countess of harcourt upon her ulterior destination. the settlement was left in a very forward state and consisted altogether of one hundred and twenty-six individuals of whom there were or women and forty-five convicts; the remainder were composed of detachments of the rd regiment (the buffs) and of the marines, the latter under the command of lieutenant williamson. the lady nelson was left with commandant barlow. such is the state of the settlement of fort dundas, which at some future time must become a place of considerable consequence in the eastern world. the soil and climate of melville and bathurst islands are capable of growing all the valuable productions of the east, particularly spices, and many other equally important articles of trade: it is conveniently placed for the protection of ships passing to our indian possessions from port jackson, and admirably situated for the purposes of mercantile speculation. such, then, are the first fruits of the voyages i have had the honour to direct. much, however, of the coast yet remains to be examined; and although, for the general purposes of navigation, it has been quite sufficiently explored, yet there are many spaces upon the chart left blank that would be highly interesting to examine and really important to know. we have but a slight knowledge also of the natural history of the continent; slight however as it is, no country has ever produced a more extraordinary assemblage of indigenous productions; no country has proved richer than australia in every branch of natural history; and it has besides, this advantage, that as the greater part is yet entirely unknown, so much the more does it excite the interest of the geographer and naturalist. the examination of its vast interior can only be performed by degrees: want of navigable rivers will naturally impede such a task, but all these difficulties will be gradually overcome by the indefatigable zeal of our countrymen, of whose researches in all parts of the world the present times teem with such numerous examples. appendix a. previously to entering into the detail of the following coast-directions, in which it has been attempted, for the sake of a more easy reference, to collect all the nautical information under one general head, it may be proper to premise that captain flinders, in the account of his voyage,* has given two very useful chapters upon the winds and weather that may be experienced upon the various coasts of this continent; as well as information respecting its general navigation and particular sailing-directions for the outer passage from port jackson through torres strait, by entering the reefs at murray island. from these chapters captain horsburgh has arranged, in his valuable work on the hydrography etc. of the indian ocean, a set of sailing-directions and other nautical information** that will be found useful for the navigation of the southern and eastern coasts of this continent. (*footnote. volume book chapter and volume book chapter .) (**footnote. horsburgh's indian directory volume pages and .) appendix a. section . of the winds and currents, and description of the ports, islands, and coast between port jackson and breaksea spit. east coast. the south-east trade cannot be said to blow home upon that part of the coast of new south wales, which lies between breaksea spit and port jackson, except during the summer months when winds from that quarter prevail and often blow very hard; they are then accompanied by heavy rains and very thick weather: generally however from october to april they assume the character of a sea-breeze and, excepting during their suspension by south-easterly or westerly gales, are very regular. in the month of december strong south-easterly gales are not uncommon; and in february and march they are very frequent. in the month of december hot winds from the north-west will sometimes last for two or three days, and are almost always suddenly terminated by a gust of wind from the southward. the most prevailing winds, during all seasons, are from the south, and are probably oftener from the eastward of that point than from the westward. the current always sets to the southward, and has been found by us on several occasions to set the strongest during a south-east gale. the general course of the current is in the direction of the coast, but this is not constant; for, between port stevens and to the southward of port jackson, it sometimes sets in towards it. in a gale from the south-east in the month of december , it must have been setting as much to the westward as south-west. this should be attended to, particularly in south-easterly gales, and an offing preserved to provide against the wind's veering to east-south-east and east by south, which is often the case; and then the current, setting upon the weather-bow, will place the vessel, in a dark night, in considerable danger. the rate of the current is generally about one mile per hour, but it sometimes though rarely runs at the rate of nearly three knots. to the eastward in the space between new south wales and new caledonia the current sets to the north-west, which carries a great body of water into the bight between the former and new guinea; but as torres strait offers but a very inconsiderable outlet the stream is turned, and sets to the southward until it gradually joins the easterly current which, from the prevalence of westerly winds, is constantly running between van diemen's land and cape horn. the tides in this interval are of little consequence and in few places rise higher than six feet at the springs, excepting where they are affected by local circumstances. there are but few places of shelter upon the east coast between port jackson and breaksea spit: captain flinders points out broken bay, port hunter for small craft, port stephens, shoal bay for vessels not exceeding fifty tons, and glass house (moreton) bay. there are however other anchorages that might be resorted to in the event of being thrown upon a lee shore, which are equally good with port hunter, shoal bay, and glass house bay. there is an anchorage behind black head to the north of point stevens which lieutenant oxley discovered to be an island; port macquarie also affords shelter for small vessels; and on the north side of smoky cape there is good shelter from southerly or south-easterly winds: but the whole of these, excepting broken bay, are only attainable by small vessels. a large ship must keep an offing; and as the coast is not at all indented the wind must blow very hard, and the ship sail very badly, to be placed in danger. wide bay however is a very good port, and affords a safe and secure shelter; the anchorage being protected by a reef which fronts it. port jackson. the lighthouse, or macquarie tower, is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude minutes . seconds east of sir thomas brisbane's observatory at sydney, or degrees minutes seconds east of greenwich. it is a revolving light and may be seen at the distance of ten leagues. the inner south head bears from it north degrees west* and is distant about two thousand five hundred yards. the north head bears from the inner south head north degrees east by compass, about two thousand four hundred and forty yards; and the narrowest part of the entrance, which is between the inner north and south heads, is a little more than eight hundred yards, so that there is abundance of room to work in should the wind blow out of the port. on arriving off the lighthouse, steer in between the north and south heads until you are past the line of bearing of the outer north, and the inner south heads: then haul round the latter, but avoid a reef of rocks that extends for two hundred yards off the point, and steer for middle head, a projecting cliff at the bottom of the bay, until the harbour opens round the inner south head; you may then pass on either side of the sow and pigs; but the eastern channel, although the narrowest, is perhaps the best; but this, in a great measure, depends upon the direction of the wind. the eastern channel is the deepest. the sow and pigs, or middle ground, is the only danger in port jackson: it is a bank of sand and rocks, of about eight hundred yards in length, by about three hundred and fifty in breadth: its length being in the direction of the harbour; a very small portion of it is dry, and consists of a few rocks, upon which the sea almost always breaks; they are situated upon the outer end of the shoal, and are in the line of bearing of the outer north and the inner south heads. the south-western tail of the bank is chiefly of sand, with rocks scattered about it; but, on the greater portion of it, there is twelve feet water; it gradually deepens to three and a quarter fathoms, which is beyond the rocky limits of the shoal. to sail through the western channel, which is from one-third to half a mile wide, steer towards george's head, a high rocky head, about three quarters of a mile above middle head, keeping it in sight upon the larboard bow, and the sea horizon open between the points of entrance, until you are within the line of bearing between a small sandy beach on the western shore and green point; the latter is a grassy mound, the south head of camp cove. then steer for george's head, and gradually round it: when you have passed the line of bearing between it and green point, and opened the sandy beach of watson's bay, steer boldly up the harbour. in rounding point bradley, there is a rocky shelf that runs off the point for perhaps one hundred yards. pass on either side of pinch-gut island, and, in hauling into sydney cove, avoid a rocky reef that extends off point bennelong for rather more than two hundred yards into the sea. to sail through the eastern channel, or to the eastward of the sow and pigs, haul round the inner south head until the summit of the inner north head is in a line with the inner trend of the former, bearing by compass north / degrees east; then steer south-south-west until you have passed green point, when the course may be directed at pleasure up the harbour. in turning to windward, go no nearer to the sow and pigs than three and a quarter fathoms, unless your vessel is small; nor within two hundred yards of the shore, for although it is bold in most parts close to, yet there are some few straggling rocks off the south point of watson's bay, and also some round shark's island. there is good anchorage in all parts of the harbour, when within middle and the south heads. there is also anchorage in north harbour, but not to be recommended, for the swell sometimes rolls into the mouth of the harbour; no swell can, however, affect the anchorage between middle head and the sow and pigs. sydney cove is nearly half a mile deep, and four hundred yards wide, and will contain more than twenty ships swinging at their moorings. the shores are bold to, and, excepting the rocky shoals that extend off point bennelong and point dawes, ships may approach very near. on the eastern side of the cove is a convenient place for heaving down: it belongs to the government, but merchant ships may use it, by paying a small sum according to the length of time it is engaged. wood and water are easily obtained from the north shore of the port; the former may be cut close to the beach; the latter is collected in tanks, and, excepting during a very dry season, is always abundant. the tide rises occasionally at the springs as much as eight feet, but six feet is the general rise; it is high water at sydney cove at half past eight o'clock, but at the heads, it precedes this time by a quarter of an hour. the variation of the magnetic needle observed on shore by lieutenant roe: at sydney cove in , to be degrees minutes east, at garden island degrees minutes east, at camp cove degrees minutes east. as all navigators are, or ought to be, supplied with captain horsburgh's indian directory, it has not been thought necessary to descant further upon the nature of the winds and currents of the east coast; since this subject has been so fully treated upon, in the above valuable book, in the section that commences at page . captain horsburgh has also described the entrance of botany bay at page , and of broken bay, at page . according to lieutenant jeffreys, r.n., who commanded the hired armed transport kangaroo, the latter harbour has a bar stretching across from the south to the north head, on which there is not less than five fathoms water. port hunter is situated fifty-nine miles north degrees east (true) from the entrance of port jackson. there is a lighthouse at its southern entrance, and pilots are established who come off to vessels that arrive. the entrance is round the nobby (latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees / minutes) an insulated rock: and the passage is indicated by keeping two lights, that are placed at a distance from each other at the wharf, in a line: the anchorage is about two hundred yards from the wharf in three fathoms. the shoals on the west side are dangerous, and several vessels have been wrecked upon them in going in. the above information is from a plan drawn by lieutenant jeffreys, in the hydrographical office at the admiralty: it was drawn in the year ; since which a portion of the labour of the convicts has been employed in building a breakwater, or pier, from the south entrance to the nobby rock, which will tend to direct the stream of tide through the channel, and also protect it from the surf and swell, which, during a south-east gale, must render the harbour of dangerous access. the town was formerly called king's town, but it has since been changed to that of newcastle, and the appellation of the coal river has partly superseded the more legitimate name of port hunter. port stephens is easy to enter, but not to sail from, unless the wind is fair, on account of the shoals that are near its entrance. point stephens is in latitude degrees / minutes, longitude degrees minutes seconds. black head is an island, behind which there is very good anchorage; the head is in latitude degrees minutes seconds. between black head, and the hills called the brothers, are wallis' lake, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, harrington's lake, in degrees minutes, and farquhar's lake, in latitude degrees minutes; they were discovered by lieutenant oxley on his return from his land journey in ; they have all shoal entrances, and are merely the outlets of extensive lagoons, which receive the streams from the hills, and occupy a considerable space between the coast and the mountains. in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and at the distance of two miles and a quarter from the shore, is a dangerous reef, on which the sea constantly breaks; it was named by lieutenant oxley, who discovered it, the mermaid's reef; it is about a quarter of a mile in extent, and bears south degrees east from the south brother; a small detached portion of the reef is separated from the principal rock, within which there appeared to be a narrow navigable channel. a quarter of a mile without the latter we found sixteen fathoms water. round the point under the north brother hill, is camden haven, the particulars respecting its entrance (in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees) are not yet known, but it is supposed to be very shoal. port macquarie is the embouchure or the river hastings; its entrance is about two miles and two-thirds to the north-north-west of tacking point. it is a bar harbour, and, like port hunter, is of dangerous access, on account of the banks of sand that project from the low north sandy point of entrance, on which the sea breaks and forms sand rollers; these however serve to indicate the edge of the channel, which is about ninety yards wide. the south shore extends in a north-north-west direction from tacking point to green mound (a remarkable conical shaped hillock) whence the south shore of the entrance trends in nearly a west direction to the narrow entrance opposite pelican point. between green mound and the next projection the bar stretches across towards the sand rollers, and is about one hundred and twenty yards in extent. the deepest channel over it is within thirty yards of two sunken rocks, the outermost of which bears from green mound north degrees west (true) or north degrees west, nine hundred yards. when green mound point and the next point to the southward of it are in a line, you are within a few yards of the shoalest part of the bar. after passing the bar, there are from two to four fathoms water. since the examination of this harbour, a penal settlement has been formed, and a pilot appointed to conduct vessels in and out. off the entrance is a high rocky islet, the nobby, within which the channel is shoal and dangerous to pass. there is good anchorage in four, five, or six fathoms, about half a mile outside of the bar, on a bank of sand, which gradually deepens for three miles to fourteen fathoms, upon any part of which a vessel may anchor to await high water. latitude of its entrance degrees minutes seconds south. longitude degrees minutes seconds east. variation of the compass degrees minutes seconds east. high water at full and change hours minutes. tide rises four to five feet. the south-east trend of smoky cape is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds. trial bay, so named by lieutenant oxley, who anchored in it on a second expedition to examine port macquarie previous to its being settled, is a convenient roadstead during southerly winds: it is situated on the north side of smoky cape, and affords an anchorage in three fathoms, protected from the sea as far as north-east by east. fresh water may be procured from a stream that runs over the beach. four miles to the north of smoky cape is an inlet having a bar harbour, on which there is but eight feet water. shoal bay is the next harbour to the northward: the following description of it is from captain flinders (flinders' terra australis, introduction, cxcv.) "on the south side of the entrance, which is the deepest, there is ten feet at low water; and within side the depth is from two to four fathoms, in a channel near the south shore: the rest of the bar is mostly occupied by shoals, over which boats can scarcely pass when the tide is out. high water appeared to take place about seven hours after the moon's passage; at which time a ship not drawing more than fourteen feet might venture in, if severely pressed. shoal bay is difficult to be found except by its latitude, which is degrees / minutes, but there is on the low land about four leagues to the southward, a small hill somewhat peaked, which may serve as a mark to vessels coming from that direction." cape byron, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds. mount warning is in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes. the tweed is a river communicating with the sea by a bar, on which there is twelve feet water, it is situated about a mile and a half to the north of a small island off point danger, which lies in latitude degrees minutes. in latitude degrees there is a communication with the inlet at the south side of moreton bay, insulating the land whose north extremity is point lookout. the entrance of this inlet is shoal and only passable for boats. moreton bay.* in addition to the account of this bay by captain flinders,** lieutenant oxley has lately discovered the brisbane, a very fine fresh water river that falls into it in degrees minutes latitude, abreast of the strait between moreton island and point lookout. (*footnote. this bay was originally called glass house bay, in allusion to the name given by captain cook to three remarkable glass house-looking hills near pumice-stone river; but as captain cook bestowed the name of moreton bay upon the strait to the south of moreton island, that name has a prior claim, and is now generally adopted. a penal settlement has lately been formed at red cliff point, which is situated a little to the north of the embouchure of the brisbane river.) (*footnote. flinders introduction cxcvi.) wide bay, the entrance of which is in latitude degrees minutes, was examined by mr. edwardson, the master of one of the government colonial vessels; he found it to be a good port, having in its entrance a channel of not less than three fathoms deep; and to communicate with hervey's bay, thus making an island of the great sandy peninsula. indian head is in latitude degrees minute, and longitude degrees minutes. ... appendix a. section . description of the winds and weather, and of the ports, islands, and coast between breaksea spit and cape york. north-east coast. the south-east trade is occasionally suspended near the shore by north-easterly winds during the months of june, july, and august, the only season that i have any experience of the winds and weather upon the north-east coast; the weather is generally thick and cloudy, and often accompanied with showers of rain, particularly during the two first months. 	in the neighbourhood of breaksea spit in may, , we experienced a fresh gale from the westward, after which it veered to south-east with thick rainy weather: and in the neighbourhood of cape capricorn, in june, , we had a fresh gale from the north-east. among the northumberland islands, we have experienced westerly winds, but they blew in light breezes with fine weather. even as far as cape grafton the wind cannot be said to be steady. to the north of this point, however, the winds are always constant from the southward, and seldom or ever veer to the westward of south, or to the eastward of south-east by east; they generally are from south-south-east: fresh winds cause the weather to be hazy, and sometimes bring rain, which renders the navigation among the reefs in some degree dangerous. in my last voyage up the coast, on approaching cape york, the weather was so thick that we could not see more than a quarter of a mile ahead; we, however, ran from reef to reef, and always saw them in sufficient time to alter the course if we were in error. in such a navigation cloudy dull weather is, however, rather an advantage than otherwise, because the reefs, from the absence of the glare of the sun, are more distinctly seen, particularly in the afternoon, when the sun is to the westward. later in the season (august ) we had more settled weather, for the wind seldom veered to the southward of south-south-east, or eastward of east-south-east; and this weather accompanied us from breaksea spit, through torres strait. the best time for passing up this coast is in april and the beginning of may, or between the middle of august and latter end of october; in the months of june and july, the passage is not apparently so safe, on account of the changeable weather that may be encountered, which to a stranger would create much anxiety, although no real danger. strict attention to these directions and confidence in the chart, with a cautious lookout will, however, neutralize all the dangers that thick weather may produce in this navigation. the tides and currents in this part are not of much consequence. the rise of tide is trifling, the flood-tide sets to the north-west, but at a very slow rate. in the neighbourhood of the reefs, the stream sometimes sets at the rate of a knot or in some cases at two knots, but for a small distance it is scarcely perceptible. there appeared rather to be a gentle drain of current to the north-west. hervey's bay and bustard bay have been already described by captains cook and flinders. we did not enter either, so that i have nothing to offer in addition to the valuable information of those navigators (hawkesworth volume page and ; and flinders introduction cci. and volume page et seq.) lady elliot's island is a low islet, covered with shrubs and trees, and surrounded by a coral reef, which extends for three-quarters of a mile from its north-east end; the island is not more than three-quarters of a mile long, and about a quarter of a mile broad; it is dangerous to approach at night, from being very low. it is situated thirty miles north degrees west (magnetic) from the extremity of breaksea spit (as laid down in captain flinders' chart); its latitude is degrees minutes, and its longitude degrees minutes seconds. bunker's group consists of three islets; they are low and wooded like lady elliot's island, and lie south-east and north-west from each other; the south-easternmost (or st) has a coral reef projecting for two miles and a half to the north-east: four miles and a half to the north-west of the north-westernmost (or rd islet) is a large shoal, which, from the heavy breakers upon it, is probably a part of the barrier or outer reefs. the centre island (or nd) of the group is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. off the south-west end of the nd island is a small detached islet connected to it by a reef; and off the north-east end of the rd island is another islet, also connected by a coral reef. the spaces between these islands, which are more than a league wide, are quite free from danger: we passed within a quarter of a mile of the south end of the reef off the rd island, without getting bottom with ten fathoms. rodd's bay, a small harbour on the west side of the point to the northward of bustard bay, offers a good shelter for vessels of one hundred and fifty tons burden. the channel lies between two sandbanks, which communicate with either shore. in hauling round the point, steer for middle head, a projecting rocky point covered with trees, keeping the centre of it in the bearing of about south (magnetic); you will then carry first five, then six and seven fathoms: when you are abreast of the north low sandy point, you have passed the sandbank on the eastern side, the extremity of which bears from the point west / north about one mile: then haul in east by south, and anchor at about one-third of a mile from the low sandy point bearing north. in hauling round this point, you must not shoalen your water, on the south side, to less than four fathoms, as the sandbank projects for a mile and a quarter from middle head. in the centre of the channel, between sandy point and middle head, and at about one third of a mile from the former, you will have seven, eight, and nine fathoms water, until it bears north by east when it shoals to five fathoms. the situation of the extremity of the low sandy point upon captain flinders' chart (east coast sheet ) is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. high water takes place at eight hours and a half after the moon's transit. in standing into rodd's bay, the water does not shoalen until you are in a line with the north points of facing island and bustard bay. there is a run of fresh water in the bay to the eastward of the low sandy point, but it was not thought to be a durable stream. wood may be cut close to the beach, and embarked without impediment. port bowen. captain flinders, in his account of this port, has merely confined himself to the anchorage under entrance island (latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes seconds) which is, at best, but an exposed roadstead. the channel in, on the north side of the island, is free from danger, but, on the south side, between it and cape clinton, there is an extensive shoal on which the sea breaks heavily: it was not ascertained whether it is connected with the bank off the south end of the island, but there is every probability of it. the inlet round cape clinton affords good anchorage: but in the mid-channel the depth is as much as eighteen fathoms; the sands on the western side of the inlet are steep to, and should be avoided, for the tide sweeps upon them. the best anchorage is in the sandy bay round the inner trend of the cape (latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes) where both wood and water are convenient. in steering in from sea, haul round the cape, and pass about half to three-quarters of a mile to the north of the high round island, in seven fathoms, avoiding the sandbanks on either side. in passing the inner trend of the cape, the water will shoal to three and three-quarter fathoms, but do not approach too near the point. when you have opened the inlet, steer in, and, having passed the inner cape, haul in to a sandy bay on the eastern side, where you may anchor in eight or nine fathoms at pleasure. the centre of the shoal in the middle of the port bears north / east by compass, from the high round island, and north by west / west when in a line with entrance island. high water appears to take place half an hour later than at entrance island, or about hours minutes after the moon's southing (the moon's age being thirteen days). the tide did not rise more than six feet, but it wanted three days to the springs. captain flinders supposes the spring tides to rise not less than fifteen feet. the variation of the compass was degrees minutes east, off cape clinton, but at entrance island, according to captain flinders, it was degrees minutes east. northumberland islands. in the direction of north degrees east (magnetic) and five miles and a half from the rd island, is a low rock which, at high water, is very little above the surface of the sea; it is very dangerous because it is in the direct track of vessels steering towards the percy isles. it escaped the observation of captain flinders. in the direction of south degrees west (magnetic) and ten miles from the west end of percy island number , are some rocks, but i am not aware whether they are covered: they were seen by lieutenant jefferies in . another patch of dry rocks was seen by me from the summit of a hill at the west end of percy island number , whence they bore south degrees west (magnetic) and were supposed to be distant about eight or nine miles. the variation of the compass here is between and degrees east. the percy isles have also been described by captain flinders; the bay at the west end of number is of very steep approach and not safe to anchor in, excepting during a south-east wind: the anchorage at number , inside the pine islets, is bad, since the bottom is rocky; the ground is, however, clearer more to the southward; on the whole this anchorage is not insecure, since there is a safe passage out either on the north or south sides of the pine islets. wood may be procured with facility, and water also, unless the streams fail in the dry season. captain flinders was at these islands at the latter end of september, and found it abundant. the flood-tide comes from the north-east; at the anchorage in the channel, between the pine islets and number , the flood sets to the south, and the ebb to the north; the maximum rate was one and a quarter knot. high water occurred at the latter place two hours and a half before the moon's passage; but on the following day did not precede it more than one hour and a half. captain flinders mentions high water taking place on shore at eight hours after the moon's passage. (vide flinders volume page .) the tide rose twelve feet when the moon was thirteen days old. the north-west end of number is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds; south-west end of number is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes. in passing shoal point, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds, captain cook's ship got into shoal water, and at one time had as little as three fathoms (hawkesworth volume page ); and the merchant ship lady elliot, in the year , met with a sandbank extending from the island off the point in a north-east direction for ten miles, on one part of which she found only nine feet water. the mermaid passed the point at the distance of three miles, and, when the island bore south degrees west, distant two miles and a half, had four and three-quarter fathoms, which was the least water that was found, but, being then high water, five or six feet, if not more, may be deducted, to reduce it to the proper low water sounding. there was no appearance of shoaler water near us, and it is probable that captain cook's and the lady elliot's tracks were farther off shore. the variation of the compass, six miles east of point slade, was degrees minutes east. cape hillsborough is a projection terminating in a bluff point in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds: being high land, it may be seen seven or eight leagues off. the variation here is degrees minutes east. the cumberland isles extend between the parallels of and degrees minutes, and consist generally of elevated, rocky islands; they are all abundantly wooded, particularly with pines, which grow to a larger size than at the percy isles. we did not land upon any of them; they appeared to be of bold approach, and not dangerous to navigate amongst; they are from six to eight hundred feet high, and some of the peaks on the northern island are much higher. k l (latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds) is about three-quarters of a mile in diameter; it is of peaked shape; at three-quarters of a mile off its south-east end there is a dry rocky lump. k (latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes seconds) is nearly a mile and a quarter in diameter, and has a considerable reef stretching for more than a mile and a half off both its north-west and south-east ends; on the latter is a small rocky islet. k (in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes seconds) is of hummocky shape; it has also a reef off its south-east and north-west ends, stretching off at least a mile. on the south-east reef is a dry rocky islet. three rocks, in latitude degrees / minutes, are small islets of moderate height. all these islands are surrounded by deep water. the variation here is about / degrees east. k , in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and k / , in latitude degrees minutes, and the two sandy islets to the westward of them, were seen only at a distance. l, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, l , in latitude degrees minutes seconds, containing two islands, l , in latitude degrees minutes l seconds, and l , in latitude degrees minutes seconds, are also high, but we were not nearer to them than six or seven miles; l , in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds, is the island on which captain flinders landed, and describes in volume page ; he says, "this little island is of triangular shape, and each side of it is a mile long; it is surrounded by a coral reef. the time of high water took place one hour before the moon's passage, as it had done among the barrier reefs; from ten to fifteen feet seemed to be the rise by the shore, and the flood came from the northward." the variation near l is degrees minutes east. m is a high, bluff island, the peaked summit of which, in latitude degrees minutes seconds and longitude degrees minutes seconds, is eight hundred and seventy-four feet high: there are several islets off its south-east end, and one off its north-west end. sir james smith's group consists of ten or twelve distinct islands, and perhaps as many more, for we were not within twelve miles of them. on the principal island is linne peak, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds; it is seven or eight hundred feet high. shaw's peak, in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes seconds, is on a larger island than any to the southward; it is sixteen hundred and one feet high. the group consists of several islands; it is separated from the next to the northward by a channel five miles wide. in the centre is pentecost island, a remarkable rock, rising abruptly out of the sea to the height of eleven hundred and forty feet. its latitude is degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the northern group of the cumberland islands are high, and appear to be better furnished with wood, and more fertile than the southern groups, particularly on their western sides. the principal peak, in latitude degrees minutes seconds and longitude degrees minutes, is fifteen hundred and eighty-four feet high, and is situated on the largest island, which is ten miles long, and from three to nine broad: it has several bays on either side, and off its south-eastern end are four small islands: beyond them is a range of rocky islets. the northernmost island of this range is the extremity of the cumberland islands, as well as the north-eastern limit of whitsunday passage; it forms a high, bluff point, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, and is of bold approach: on the western side of the island are some low islets. repulse bay is a deep bight: its shores are low, but the hills rise to a great height. the extremity of the bay was not distinctly traced, but it is probable, upon examining it, that a fresh-water rivulet may be found; and there may be a communication with edgecumbe bay. the repulse isles are of small size; they are surrounded by rocks, which do not extend more than a quarter of a mile from them. the summit of the largest island is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. variation degrees minutes east. between capes conway and hillsborough the flood-tide comes from the north-eastward, but is very irregular in the direction of the stream. at an anchorage off the island near the latter cape the tide rose twelve feet, but close to the repulse isles, the rise was eighteen feet. at the former place, the moon being full, high water took place at about three-quarters past ten o'clock; by an observation the next day at the latter, it was a quarter of an hour later: the maximum rate was about one and a half knot. whitsunday passage, formed by the northern group of the cumberland islands, is from three to six miles wide, and, with the exception of a small patch or rocks within a quarter of a mile from cape conway, and a sandbank (that is probably dry, or nearly so at low water) off round head, is free from danger. the shores appear to be bold to, and the depth, in the fairway, varies between twenty and thirty fathoms; the shoal off round head stretches in a north-north-west direction, but its extent was not ascertained. in steering through the strait, particularly during the flood-tide, this shoal should be avoided by keeping well over to the east shore; for the tide there sets across the strait; it is about a mile and a half from round head, in which space the water is ten and fourteen fathoms deep. between round head (in latitude degrees minutes seconds) and cape conway is a bay, where there appeared to be good anchorage out of the strength of the tides; and to the north of round head is another bay, the bottom of which is an isthmus of about a mile wide, separating it from an inlet to the westward of cape conway. this bay very probably affords good anchorage out of the strength of the tides. cape conway, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes, is the western limit of the south entrance of whitsunday passage; it is a steep point, sloping off to the eastward: immediately on its north side is a small shingly beach, a few yards behind which there is a hollow, containing a large quantity of fresh water. at a short quarter of a mile from the point is a rocky shoal of small size, between which and the shore there is deep water. pine head, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, is the south-east extremity of a small island that is separated from the main by a passage of about a mile wide, but we did not ascertain whether it is navigable. the head is a high, bluff point, clothed with pine-trees: near it the tide runs in strong eddies, and for that reason it ought not to be approached nearer than half a mile; it appeared to be bold to. there is a sandy bay on its south west side affording a good landing-place; the island is clothed with grass, and thickly wooded: we found no water. the variation was degrees minutes east. port molle, so named by lieutenant jeffreys, appeared to trend in for four or five miles: and, probably, to afford a convenient port, as it is well sheltered from the wind, and is protected from the north-east by a group of small islands, thickly wooded. hence the land trends to the north-west towards cape gloucester; the shore was very indistinctly seen, but seemed to be very much indented, and to possess several bays, if not rivers; for the land at the back is very high, and must give rise to several mountain, if not navigable, streams. mount dryander, whose summit is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, forms a small peak, and is visible from repulse bay, as well as from the northern extremity of the cumberland islands: it is four thousand five hundred and sixty-six feet high; and the hills around it are at least from seven hundred to a thousand feet in height. the greater part of the water that collects from these hills probably empties itself into repulse and edgecumbe bays, or it may be distributed in lagoons upon the low land that separates them. at the back of point slade there is a high mountainous range extending without interruption to the westward of mount upstart. in latitude degrees / minutes, and longitude degrees / minutes is a high-rounded summit, which is visible at the distance of twenty leagues: between this range, which is at the distance of from five to seven leagues from the sea, and the coast, are several ridges gradually lowering in altitude as they approach the shore. in the neighbourhood of repulse bay, this mountainous range recedes, and has a considerable track of low land at its base, which is possibly a rich country: from the height of the hills, it must be well watered. cape gloucester. the point of land that captain cook took originally for the cape, is an island of about five miles long and two broad, separated from the true cape gloucester by a strait, a mile and a half wide. the island is called gloucester island; its summit at the north end is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds: it is eighteen hundred and seventy-four feet high, and its summit is a ridge of peaks: its shores are rocky and steep; and, although the sides of the hills are wooded, yet it has a sombre and heavy appearance, and, at least, does not look fertile. the cape, in latitude degrees minute seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, is the extremity of the mountainous range that extends off mount dryander. the variation observed off the island was degrees minutes east. edgecumbe bay is a deep indentation of the land, the shores of which are very low: its extent was not ascertained, but, by the bearings of some land at the bottom, it is seventeen miles deep; and its greatest breadth, at the mouth, is about fourteen miles. it affords excellent shelter; and between middle island (a small rocky islet of a mile and half in extent) and gloucester island there is good anchorage in seven fathoms muddy bottom, with protection from all winds. we did not examine the bay farther than passing round middle island in six, seven, and eight fathoms, mud. the western side is formed by low islands, that appeared to be swampy, but our distance was too great to form the most distant opinion of them: if the main is not swampy, it must be a rich and interesting country. holborne island is a rocky island, visible about seven or eight leagues, and has three small islets near it: it is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. cape upstart is the extremity of mount upstart, which is so high as to be visible for more than twenty leagues in clear weather: it rises abruptly from a low projection, and forms a long ridge of mountainous land; the north-east end of the summit is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. this point separates two deep bays, both of which were of very inviting appearance, on account of the high and broken character of the gullies on either side of mount abbott, and it was almost evident that they both terminate in a river. the hills of mount upstart are of primitive form, and were judged to be composed of granite. the variation observed off the point was degrees minutes east. cape bowling-green is very low, and projects for a considerable distance into the sea: its north-east extremity is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes east; the mountainous ranges are at least thirty miles in the rear, and, were it not for mounts upstart and eliot, both of which are very visible, and serve as an excellent guide, this part of the coast would be very dangerous to approach, particularly in the night, when these marks cannot be seen, when great attention must be paid to the lead. a ship passing this projection should not come into shoaler water than eleven fathoms; and, in directing a course from abreast of mount upstart, should be steered sufficiently to the northward to provide against the current which sets into the bay on the western side of the mount. on approaching the cape, if the soundings indicate a less depth than eleven fathoms, the vessel should be hauled more off, because she is then either a parallel with or to the southward of the cape. cape cleveland (latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds) like mount upstart, rises abruptly from a projection of low land, separating cleveland bay from a deep sinuosity that extends under the base of mount eliot, a high range with a rounded hill and a peak, the latter being at the south extremity of its summit. mount eliot may probably be seen at the distance of twenty-five leagues, if not farther; between it and the hills of cape cleveland the land is low, and is probably much intersected by water. a reef extends from the extremity of cape cleveland for four miles to the eastward, but not at all to the northward, so that, with the point bearing to the southward of west / south a ship is safe: there is a breaker near the extremity of the reef, at about three miles from the point; to avoid which, keep the south end of magnetical island well open of the north extremity of the cape. the peaked summit of mount eliot is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. cleveland bay affords good anchorage in all parts, in four, five, and six fathoms; a considerable flat extends for a mile from the shore on the western side of the cape, and is left dry at half ebb; it fronts a sandy beach that commences at a mile and a half to the south of the cape, and extends to the southward for nearly two miles; over this beach, two or three streams of fresh water communicate with the sea; they take their rise from the hills, and probably are seldom dry. the most convenient watering-place is near the centre of the beach, a little to the northward of the highest hills. wood for fuel is plentiful, and grows close to the beach, and may be embarked with facility; the best place is at the north end of the sandy beach, since the boat can be brought nearer to the shore to protect the wooding party. halifax bay extends from cape cleveland to point hillock; it has several islands in it, and is fronted by the palm islands, the summit of which is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds: this group consists of nineteen islands, one only of which is of large size, being eight miles long and three wide; it probably affords all the conveniences of a sheltered anchorage, and a good supply of wood and water. in latitude degrees minutes, nine miles from the shore, and six miles within the island number , is a coral reef, that shows at low water: it appeared to be about two miles long; between it and number is a wide channel with nine fathoms. the lady elliot, merchant ship, in , struck upon a reef in degrees minutes, about four miles from the shore; of which we saw nothing; we anchored within four miles of its position, but, at daylight, when we got underweigh, it might have been covered by the tide. in degrees minutes and degrees minutes is a reef, on which the san antonio, merchant brig, struck: its position was not correctly ascertained, as the accident happened in the night. point hillock is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes; it is a low point projecting to the eastward, under mount hinchinbrook. cape sandwich is the north-east extremity of the sandy land that stretches to the northward from the base of mount hinchinbrook, which is so high as to be visible for eighteen leagues: the mount is topped with a craggy summit, seven miles in length from north to south. there is a reef that extends for nearly a mile and a half off the cape, having a rocky islet at its extremity. the cape is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the peak at the north end of mount hinchinbrook is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees . brooke's islands lie four miles north from cape sandwich; they consist of three rocky islets, besides some of smaller size; the whole are surrounded by a coral reef. from cape sandwich the land extends, low and sandy, in a north-west direction for five miles to a point, which is terminated by a hill. between this and goold island there appears to be a navigable strait leading into rockingham bay. goold island, the summit of which, formed by a conical hill covered with wood, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes, is about two miles long: the south-west point of the island is a long strip of low land, with a sandy beach; at the eastern end of which there is a run of water; and fuel may be cut close to the shore. high water takes place at full and change at three quarters past ten. rockingham bay appears to be a spacious harbour. at the bottom there was an appearance of an opening that may probably communicate with an inlet on the south side of point hillock, and insulate the land of mount hinchinbrook. there is good anchorage in the bay in four and five fathoms mud, near goold island. the natives are very friendly here, and will come off and visit the ship. family isles consist of seven small rocky islets, covered with a stunted vegetation. dunk island is remarkable for having two peaks on its summit; the south-east summit is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the variation observed in the offing to the north-east was degrees minutes east. barnard isles form a group of small rocky islands extending in a straggling direction for six miles to the south of double point. three miles to the south of the southernmost island, but nearer to the shore, is a reef of rocks which dry at low water. from double point (latitude of its summit degrees minutes seconds) to cape grafton, the coast is formed by a succession of sandy bays and projecting rocky points. in latitude degrees minutes, in the centre of a sandy bay, is a small opening like a rivulet; and, on the south side of point cooper is another; but neither appeared to be navigable for boats. abreast of frankland's islands, and near the south end of a sandy bay of six miles in extent, there is another opening like a river, that, from the appearance of the land behind, which is low and of a verdant character, may be of considerable size. the high mountains to the southward, bellenden ker's range, must give rise to a considerable stream; and it appears very probable that this may be one of the outlets, but the most considerable is, perhaps, that which falls into trinity bay round cape grafton. frankland's islands consist of several low islets one of which is detached and of higher character than the others, which are very low, and connected by a reef. the largest island may be seen five or six leagues off; it is in latitude degrees minutes seconds. the land between this and cape grafton is high, and towards the north has several remarkable peaks. the land of cape grafton may be readily known, when seen from the southward, by appearing like three lofty islands; the outermost is fitzroy island, but the others are hills upon the main. the easternmost of the latter, cape grafton, is conspicuous for having two small peaks, like notches, on the west extremity of its summit; it is joined to the westernmost by low land, which also separates the latter from the other hills behind it; and, as this low land is not seen at a distance, the hills assume the appearance of islands. there is good anchorage in the strait between cape grafton and fitzroy island, but, with a northerly wind, the better anchorage would be on the south side of the cape. the former is exposed to all winds between north-west and north-east. in the former case the anchor may be dropped in nine fathoms, at a quarter to half a mile from the beach of the island. the north extremity of cape grafton is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds; the south-east extreme is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds. fitzroy island affords both wood and water; it has a peaked summit. it affords anchorage in the bay on its western side, off a coral beach; the south-west end of which is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. nine miles to the eastward of fitzroy island is a small bare sandy island; and, at about seven miles north-east by east from it, there was an appearance of extensive shoals. variation degrees minutes east. on the west side of cape grafton is a bay, in the centre of which is an island. the bottom is very shoal, but good anchorage may be had with the cape bearing south-east between cape grafton and snapper island, the centre of which is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, is trinity bay; the shores of which were not very distinctly seen. at the south side, and about seven miles within the cape there is an opening that appeared to be extensive, and the mouth of a considerable stream, trending in between high ranges of land, in a direction towards bellenden ker's range. in latitude degrees / minutes, and longitude degrees minutes is a group consisting of three coral islands; which, being very low, are dangerous to pass in the night. the offing is said to be strewed with extensive reefs; we saw none beyond green island: those that are laid down on the chart are from lieutenant jeffrey's account.* (*footnote. much shoal water was seen to the northward of green island from the tamar's masthead. roe manuscript.) snapper island lies off the point which forms the northern limit of trinity bay; it is small, and does not supply any water.* (*footnote. ten or eleven miles south degrees east from snapper island is the north-west end of a shoal, extending to the south degrees east for sixteen or seventeen miles; the tamar anchored under it. roe manuscript.) the land behind cape tribulation may be seen at a greater distance than twenty leagues. it is here that the outer part of the barrier reefs approach the coast, and there is reason to believe that, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds, they are not more than twenty miles from it. the cape has a hillock at its extremity, and a small rocky islet close to the shore that renders it conspicuous: it is fourteen miles beyond snapper island. the shore appears to be bold to: at three miles off we had sixteen fathoms. ten miles further to the northward is blomfield's rivulet in weary bay: it is blocked up by a rocky bar, having only four feet water over it; the anchorage off it is too much exposed to be safe. the river runs up for four or five miles, having soundings within it from three to four fathoms, its entrance is in degrees minutes seconds. the coast then extends to the north to endeavour river, and forms a few inconsiderable sinuosities; it is backed by high land, particularly abreast of the hope islands. these islands open of each other in a north degrees east direction, and appear to be connected by a shoal; it is however very likely that a narrow passage may exist between them, but certainly not safe to sail through. here the number of the coral reefs begin to increase, and great attention must be paid in navigating amongst them; but, with a careful look out from the masthead, and a quick leadsman in the chains, no danger need be apprehended. between reef a and the shoal off the south-west hope island there is a passage two miles wide, with twelve fathoms: a is about half a mile in diameter, with a few rocks above water; its centre is in degrees minutes seconds, two miles from the shore, and three miles north degrees west from the south west hope. b is about a mile and a quarter long, and has a dry rock at its north end, the latitude of which is degrees minutes seconds: it is divided from endeavour reef by a channel of nearly a mile wide, and fifteen fathoms deep: abreast of the south end of b, on the western edge of endeavour reef, there is a dry rock, in latitude degrees minutes seconds. endeavour reef is nine miles long; it lies in a north-west direction; the north end, in degrees minutes south, bears due from the north-east hope. c is covered, and not quite half a mile in length; its latitude is degrees minutes: it lies four miles from the shore. d is rather larger, and has some dry rocks on its north end, in latitude degrees minutes seconds. between c and d and the shore the passage is from three to four miles wide, and in mid-channel the depth is seven and eight fathoms. on the south side of point monkhouse there is a bay having a small opening at the bottom, but not deep enough for ships: it was this bay that captain cook first examined in search of a place to repair his ship. on steering along the shore between point monkhouse and the entrance of endeavour river, the bottom is of sand and of irregular depth. a spit of sand was passed over with only two and a half fathoms on it when the summit of mount cook bore south degrees west (magnetic) and the outer extreme of point monkhouse south degrees west (magnetic). one mile off shore the shoal soundings continued with two and a half fathoms until it bore south degrees west (magnetic) when the depth was three, and three and a half fathoms. endeavour river. the entrance of this river, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds,* forms a very good port for small vessels; and, in a case of distress, might be useful for large ships, as it proved to our celebrated navigator captain cook, who, it is well known, repaired his ship there after having laid twenty-three hours upon a coral reef. (*footnote. the situation of the observatory at endeavour river was found by lunar distances, taken during my visits to that place in and , as follows: latitude by meridional altitudes of the sun, taken in the artificial horizon, being the mean of twenty-seven observations: degrees minutes seconds. longitude by twenty-five set of distances (sun west of first quarter of the moon) containing one hundred and seventeen sights, with the sextant: degrees minutes seconds. longitude by thirty set of distances (sun east of first quarter of the moon) containing one hundred and fifty sights, with the sextant: degrees minutes seconds. mean, of fifty-five sets: degrees minutes seconds.) the entrance is formed on the south side by a steep hill, covered with trees growing to the edge of its rocky shore. the north side of the entrance is a low sandy beach of two miles and a quarter in length: at its north end a range of hills rises abruptly, and extends for six or seven miles, when it again suddenly terminates, and is separated from the rocky projection of cape bedford by a low plain of sand. the entrance of endeavour river is defended by a bar, on which, at high water, there is about fourteen feet; but, at low water, not more than ten feet: the channel over the bar is close to the south side, for the sandbank extends from the low sandy north shore to within one hundred and forty yards of the south shore, and at three quarters ebb (spring tides) is dry. in steering in for the mouth, upon bringing point monkhouse in a line with point a (the north point of the bay under mount cook) you will be in three fathoms; steer in until the south extremity of the low north sandy point is opened of the trend round point c, when you may haul a little more in, and when point d (which is a point where the mangroves commence) bears south degrees west (magnetic) steer directly for it; this will carry you over the deepest part or the bar, which stretches off from point c in a north degrees west (magnetic) direction; another mark is to keep the trend beyond d just in sight, but not open, or you will be too near the spit: the best way is, having opened it, haul in a little to the southward, and shut it in again: you may pass within ten yards of point d; and the best anchorage is just within it; the vessel may be secured head and stern to trees on the beach, with bow and stern anchors to steady her. no vessel of a greater draught than twelve feet should enter the harbour; and this vessel may even moor in four fathoms within her own length of the shore, with the outer trend just shut in by the mangrove point a. the watering-place is a stream that empties itself into the port through the mangroves, about two hundred yards to the south: and if this should fail, there is a good stream at the north end of the long north sandy beach. the latter, although very high coloured, is of wholesome quality; but in bad weather is inconvenient to be procured on account of the surf. water for common purposes of cooking may be had on a sandy beach a little without the entrance, but it is of a mineral quality, and of brackish taste. it is high water at full and change at eight o'clock, and the tide rises from five to ten feet. the variation of the observatory was degrees minutes east. cape bedford (latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds) is high, and forms a steep slope to the sea: it appeared to be bold to.* between it and cape flattery is a bay backed by low land, about five miles deep; but it is exposed to the wind, unless there is anchorage under the north-west end of cape bedford. (*footnote. shoal water extends for nearly a mile round cape bedford. roe manuscript.) cape flattery is eighteen miles north of cape bedford: its extremity is high and rocky, and forms two distinct hills. the summit of the cape is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds.* (*footnote. there are some dangerous shoals to the eastward of point lookout, and to the northward of cape flattery, about two miles apart from each other, situated in what was considered to be the fair channel. roe manuscript.) eleven miles beyond the cape, in a north degrees west direction, is point lookout, forming a peaked hill at the extremity of a low sandy projection, whence the land trends west by north / north for twelve leagues to cape bowen. e, a reef nearly three miles long and one broad: its north end is twelve miles nearly due east from the entrance of endeavour river, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds. turtle reef was visited by mr. bedwell, it is covered at high water, excepting a small spot of sand, about the size of the boat, at its north end in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes seconds: its interior is occupied, like most others, by a shoal lagoon; it is entirely of coral, and has abundance of shellfish; it was here that captain cook procured turtle during his stay at endeavour river, from the entrance of which it bears north degrees east, and is distant eleven miles; its south end is separated from e by a channel of a mile wide. three isles, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, is a group of low coral islets covered with shrubs, and encircled by a reef, that is not quite two miles in diameter. two miles and three quarters to the north-west is a low wooded island, about a mile long, also surrounded by a reef; and four miles to the southward of it is a rocky islet. reef f is about four or five miles east-south-east from three isles; it appeared to be about three miles long: its western extreme is in latitude degrees minutes, and in longitude degrees minutes. two isles are also low and wooded, and surrounded by a reef: the largest islet is in latitude degrees minute seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. reef g appeared to be about a mile broad and two miles and a half long: its south end is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds. reef h is an extensive reef, having high breakers on its outer edge: it is more than four miles long, and separated from the north end of g by a channel a mile wide. reef i has several detached reefs about it, on the northernmost are two rocky islands, and to the southward, on a detached shoal, there is a bare sandy islet that is perhaps occasionally covered by the tide: its south-westernmost extremity and the summit of lizard island are in the line of bearing of north degrees west (magnetic) its latitude is degrees minutes seconds. reef k, in latitude degrees minutes, has a dry sand upon it: its sub-marine extent was not ascertained. reef l; the position of this reef is rather uncertain, near its western side is a dry key in latitude degrees minutes seconds. m is probably unconnected with the shoal off the south end of eagle island. in captain cook's rough chart there is twelve fathoms marked between two shoals which must mean the above. eagle island is low and wooded, and situated at the north end of a considerable shoal; its latitude is degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. direction islands are two high rocky islands, so called by captain cook to direct ships to the opening in the reefs, through which he passed out to sea; they are high and of conical shape, and might be seen more than five or six leagues off was it not for the hazy weather that always exists in the neighbourhood of the reefs; the northernmost is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds: the southernmost is in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes seconds. lizard island, about three miles long, is remarkable for its peaked summit, the latitude of which is degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes: on its south side is an extensive reef encompassing three islets, of which two are high and rocky: the best anchorage is on its western side under the summit; with the high northernmost of the direction islands in sight over the low land, bearing about south-east by compass: the depth is six and seven fathoms sandy bottom. the variation here is degrees minutes east. turtle group is four miles to the north of point lookout; the islets are encircled by a horse-shoe shaped coral reef, and consist of six islands, all low and bushy. these islands are not laid down with sufficient accuracy as to their relative positions. n is a low wooded island about eleven miles west from lizard island; no reef was seen to project from it; it is in the meridian of the observatory of endeavour river; and in latitude degrees minutes. o is a small coral reef; it lies a mile and a half north degrees west from the north end of n. p is a coral reef, about a mile in extent, separated from o by a channel of a mile wide. q, a reef, on which are two low wooded isles, apparently connected with a shoal extending from point lookout along the shore to the west-north-west; the isles are seven miles north degrees west from point lookout. coles islands consist of four small bushy islets from a quarter to half a mile in extent; they are from four to six miles north-east from point murdoch. this group appeared to be merely the several dry parts of the shoal that extends from point lookout to noble island; between them and the latter island, are two patches of dry sandy keys, but it is probable that they may be covered by the tide. the continuation of the shoal between the islands and point lookout was not clearly ascertained. at point murdoch, which has a peaked hill at its extremity, the hills again approach the coast; at cape bowen they project into the sea, and separate two bays, in each of which there is possibly a rivulet; that to the eastward of the cape trends in and forms a deep bight. on the western side of the hills of cape bowen there is a track of low land, separating them from another rocky range. the summit of the hill at point murdoch is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. howick's group consists of ten or eleven islands, of which number , remarkable for a hillock at its south-east end, is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds; it is nearly three miles long; the rest are all less than half a mile in extent, excepting the westernmost, number , which is nearly a mile and a half in diameter. the passage between and is safe, and has seven and eight fathoms: the north-west side of is of rocky approach, but the opposite side of the strait is bold to; the anchorage is tolerably good. the mermaid drove, but it was not considered to be caused by the nature of the bottom, which is of soft sand, and free from rocks. the channel between and appeared to be very rocky, and shoal: between and the reef r there is probably a clear channel of about a mile wide: the north-east end of has a reef which extends off it for half a mile. (*footnote. many shoals, partly dry, occupy the space to the northward and eastward of howick's group. roe manuscript.) all the islands are low and wooded, and surrounded by a coral reef of small extent. has a small islet off its west end. , , and did not appear to have any reefs projecting from them. is probably two islands, with a reef extending for half a mile on its western side. is of larger size than the generality of the low islands hereabout, number excepted: its centre is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. the position of number was not correctly ascertained. the peak of cape bowen is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. noble island is a rock, having a sandy, or a coral beach at its north-west end; although small it is very conspicuous; and, when first seen from the southward, has the appearance of a rock with a double rounded top. the reefs s, t, and u are unconnected; the north end of s, lying six miles and a half due east from point barrow, was dry for a considerable extent; t, one mile to the north, was covered; but there is a dry sandy key on u, bearing from point barrow, north degrees east, six miles: some rocks showed themselves above the water off its south end. v and w may possibly be connected; the former was noticed to extend for three miles, and the latter for nearly ten miles; there was, however, a space of three miles between them, where a channel may possibly exist. the channels between t and u, and between v and w, appeared to be clear and deep. the reefs x, y, and z, are probably parts of the barrier reefs, for the sea was breaking very heavily upon their outer edge; there were, however, considerable spaces where no breakers appeared, some of which, being three or four miles wide, may possibly be as many outlets to sea. ninian bay is a bight to the west of point barrow;* it is about three miles deep, and has a small opening at the bottom; in crossing it we had not more water than four fathoms, and within our course it appeared to be very shoal: there is doubtless a channel leading to the opening; but, to the name of harbour or port, it has not the slightest pretension: it was named port ninian by lieutenant jeffreys: off the north end of point barrow are two rocky islands. (*footnote. off point barrow, the shoals lie from half to one mile nearer the shore, than they are laid down; and one mile and three quarters north degrees east from the point are two small patches of coral, under water; they bear north-east and south-west from each other and are probably one tenth of a mile apart. roe manuscript.) between ninian bay and cape melville the coast is high and rocky, but appeared to be fronted by a reef, which in some places extends for a mile and a half from the shore; in this interval there are two or three sandy beaches, but i doubt the practicability of landing upon them in a boat. the summit and sides of the hills that form the promontory, of which cape melville is the extreme, are of most remarkable appearance, being covered with heaps of rounded stones of very large size (volume .) cape melville, sloping off into the sea to the north, terminates this remarkable promontory in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds: the coast trends round it to the south-south-west and south-west, and forms bathurst bay, which is nine miles and a half deep, and thirteen wide, the western side being formed by flinders' group. a reef extends for more than two miles off cape melville in a north west by north direction, on which some rounded stones, similar to those upon the land, are heaped up above the sea: there is also one of these heaps at the extremity of the reef, outside, and within a quarter of a mile of which we had fourteen fathoms water: there are two other similar heaps within the outer pile, and between them there are possibly clear passages, but they should not be attempted without great caution. it was remarked that the breeze always freshened on passing round this cape. pipon islands, two small islets, of which the easternmost is the largest, are in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds; they are surrounded by a reef, lying two miles and a half from the cape; between them and the reef that extends from the cape, there is a safe and deep passage of more than a mile wide. the south-east side of bathurst bay is shoal. at the bottom are two openings, with some projecting land between them, at the extremity of which there is a peak; these openings are doubtless rivulets of considerable size, and take their rise from the high land at the back of cape bowen. flinders' group forms the west head of bathurst bay; they are high and rocky, and consist of four islands, two of which are three miles long. the peak of the largest island, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, is visible from a distance of twelve or thirteen leagues; and the higher parts of the islands may be seen generally at seven or eight leagues. on the eastern side of the northernmost island there is a bay fronted by a coral reef, but it is too exposed to the prevailing winds to be safe. it is here that the frederick (merchant ship) was wrecked in . cape flinders, in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes seconds, is the north extremity of the island; it may be passed close to with twelve fathoms: the best anchorage is under the flat-topped hill, at a quarter of a mile from the shore, in ten fathoms mud. the variation is degrees minutes east. it is high water at full and change at a quarter past nine. in the offing is a low wooded island of more than a mile in diameter. clack's island is a high rock, situated at the south-east end of reef b, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, and, being a bare black rock, with no apparent vegetation, is a conspicuous object: there is another rock on its north-east end. (see above.) the reef is of circular shape, and three miles in diameter. the shoal marked a was not seen by us. h.m. sloop satellite struck upon it in june, , on her passage to india. the following marks for it were obligingly communicated to me by captain m.j. currie, of h.m. sloop satellite, who sent a boat to examine it upon her second voyage the following year: "in crossing the northern part of bathurst bay, and nearly in mid-channel, between cape flinders and the low wooded island, there is a small patch of sunken rocks, lying north and south, not more than a cable's length in extent, the least water being one fathom. the satellite grounded on them in two fathoms, in june, . i sent a boat to examine this shoal in making the same passage in august, , and found it to be under the following bearings (by compass): namely, cape flinders, south-west by west / west; the high peak on the south-east part of flinders' group, south / west; the highest of clack's islands, north-west / west, and cape melville east / south. it is a dangerous shoal in running for cape flinders, but may be easily avoided by steering near the low wooded island, to the north-east of the cape, or by keeping the shore of flinders' group on board, which is perhaps preferable. the variation is degrees minutes east."* (*footnote. the shoal is in a line with, and half way between, the flat-topped hill on the north island of flinders' group, and the centre of the low wooded island, and is nearly joined to some shoal-water that extends for two miles from the latter island. roe manuscript.) princess charlotte's bay is an extensive bight in the coast, twenty-two miles deep, and thirty-one broad; its shores are low, and at the bottom in latitude degrees minutes there is a mangrove opening. jane's table land, in latitude degrees minutes seconds and longitude degrees minutes seconds, is a remarkable flat-topped hill at the bottom of the bay, rising abruptly from the surrounding low land: it is about five miles from the coast; its summit, by the angle it subtended, is about a mile in length. excepting this hill, no other high land was seen at the bottom of the bay. on the western side the land rises to a moderate height, and forms a bank of about ten miles in extent, but this was not visible for more than three or four leagues. to the north of this no part of the interior can be seen until in latitude degrees minutes, when the south end of a ridge of hills commences at about seven miles behind the beach, which it gradually approaches until it reaches the coast in degrees minutes, and is terminated by a round hill; the coast then extends with a low sandy beach for eleven miles to cape sidmouth. c is a covered reef of coral, extending north-east by east and south-west by west for seventeen miles: its south-west end bears north degrees west, twelve miles and a half, from cape flinders. d, e, and f, are three coral banks, having dry sandy keys on each; they are of circular shape, and from a mile to a third of a mile in diameter: d is the largest, and bears nearly due-west from cape flinders, from which it is distant twelve miles and a half. g and h are two coral reefs; but it was not ascertained whether they are connected to each other or not: they may also be joined to c, and indeed this supposition is very likely to be correct, for we found the water quite smooth, and little or no set of tide on passing them. on the southwest extremity of g, in latitude degrees minute seconds, longitude degrees minutes, there is a dry sandy key, as there is also upon h, but on the latter there are also rocks, and the sand is dry for four or five miles along its north-west side: the south-west end of h is in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes. i is a circular coral reef, of a mile and a quarter in diameter, and has a dry sandy key at its north-west end; it is two miles north-north-west from the south-west end of h. k is a small reef with a sandy key upon it, four miles to the east of pelican island. pelican island is on the north-west side of a reef of more than a mile and a half long: it is very small, but remarkable for having two clumps of trees, which at a distance give it the appearance of being two small islets: it is low, and, like the other islands of its character, may be seen at ten miles from the deck: its latitude is degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes. (see volume .) l is a long narrow coral reef, extending in a north-north-east direction: it is thirteen miles in extent, but generally not more than one-third of a mile wide: its greatest width is not more than a mile and a half: its south-west end is five miles and three-quarters north from pelican island. m is an extensive coral reef, extending for fifteen miles in north east by north direction, parallel with l, from which it is separated by a channel of from one to two miles wide. at its south-west end, where there is an extensive dry sandy key, and some dry rocks, it is two miles wide: but towards its northern end it tapers away to the breadth of a quarter of a mile. the south trend of its south-west end lies seven miles north degrees west from pelican island, and four miles from island of claremont isles. n is another extensive reef, which may possibly be connected with m. at its westernmost end, about four miles north by east / east from the west end of m., is a dry sand of small extent. it was considered probable that there was a safe passage between the reefs l and m. we steered so far as to see the termination of the latter, upon which the sea was breaking, which afforded a proof of its not being connected with the former, which also the dark colour of the water sufficiently indicated. the mermaid was nearly lost in attempting to cross the latter reef. (volume .) claremont isles consist of five small islets, numbered from to ; they are of coral formation, and are covered with small brushwood; they are from six to seven miles apart, excepting and , which are separated by a channel only a mile and a half wide: off the east and south-east end of , a coral reef extends for a mile and a half to the eastward, having two dry rocks on its north-east end. column : claremont isle. column : latitude in degrees, minutes, seconds. column : longitude in degrees, minutes, seconds. number : : . number : : . number : : . number : : . reef o extends in an east and west direction for a mile and a half, and at a mile farther there is another reef, that may be connected to it; o has a dry sand near its western extremity, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. islet , in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes seconds, is a very small, low, woody islet, with a reef extending for three-quarters of a mile off its north and south ends. a reef lies two miles and one-third north / degrees west from islet , and south degrees east from the summit of cape sidmouth; this reef is not more than a quarter of a mile in extent, and has a rock in its centre, that is uncovered at half tide; it is a brown looking shoal, and therefore of dangerous approach. off round hill there is a sandbank covered by the sea; it lies about two miles from the shore, and about east-north-east from round hill summit. q is a small, brown, rocky shoal, that is not visible until close to it; it bears south degrees east, four miles from the extremity of cape sidmouth. cape sidmouth is rather an elevated point, having higher land behind it; and at about nine miles in the interior, to the west-north-west, there is a rounded summit: at the extremity of the cape there are two remarkable lumps on the land, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes. the cape is fronted by several rocky shoals, and ought not to be approached within four miles. r is a sandbank, on which we had two and a half fathoms; but from the nature of the other neighbouring reefs, s and t, it is perhaps rocky also, and may be connected with them. it lies four miles and a quarter north degrees east from cape sidmouth, and west / north from islet . / and are two bare sandy islets, situated at the north ends of reefs extending in a north-north-west direction; the reef off the islet / is four miles and a half in length, and that off is two miles and a half long: / is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds; , in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. and are two low, woody islets of about a mile and a quarter in diameter. some shoal marks on the water were observed opposite these islands, but their existence was not ascertained. both the islets are surrounded by coral reefs, of small extent. night island, its north end in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, is a low woody island, two miles long, but not more than half a mile wide; it is surrounded by a coral reef, that does not extend more than a quarter of a mile from its northern end. on the south side, and within it, the space seemed to be much occupied by reefs, but they were not distinctly made out, on account of the thickness of the weather. there was also the appearance of a covered shoal, bearing north degrees east from the north end of the island, distant four miles.* (*footnote. observed many shoals to the north-west of night island; one bore east-north-east, two miles and a half from its north point; we saw much shoal water to seaward. roe manuscript.) u and w are two reefs; the former, which was dry when we passed, lies six miles north degrees west from the north end of night island; there is also a small rock detached from it, which is not visible until close to it. v is a covered coral reef, of about a mile and a quarter in extent; its centre is in degrees minute latitude. sherrard's islets are low and bushy, and surrounded by a rocky shoal extending for a mile to the south-east; the south-westernmost is in degrees minutes seconds latitude, and degrees minutes seconds longitude. is a low wooded islet, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, on a reef of small extent; abreast of it is a rocky islet, lying about a mile and a half south from cape direction; off its east end is a smaller rock. the coast between cape sidmouth and cape direction is rather high, and the shore is formed by a sandy beach. ten miles north-west from the former cape is an opening in the hills; the high land then continues to the northward to cape direction, which has a peak near its extremity, close off which are two small rocks, but the depth at a mile and a half off is thirteen fathoms. the peak is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds.* (*footnote. shoal water extends for about six miles round the north side of cape direction. roe manuscript.) x; the position of this reef was not precisely ascertained; it appeared to be about two miles to the north-north-west of the extremity of the cape. y and z are two covered reefs, of not more than a mile in extent; they are separated from each other by a channel a mile wide; y is four miles and a half north degrees east from cape direction. a and b are also covered reefs; the former is a mile and a quarter in length; the latter extends for two miles in an east direction, and is a mile broad: a bears nearly east, nine miles, from a peaked hill on the shore, and is five miles to the south of cape weymouth. lloyd's bay was not examined; it appeared to have a considerable opening at its south-west end, where the land was very low; the hilly country to the south of cape direction also ceases, and there is a considerable space of low land between them and the south end of cape weymouth range. cape weymouth is an elevated point, sloping off from a high summit; its extreme is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. restoration island, off the cape, is high, and of conical shape; about a mile east-south-east from it is a small rocky islet. the coast then extends towards bolt head, and forms several sinuosities, one of which is weymouth bay of captain cook; the shores of the bay were not well examined.* (*footnote. there is a dry sand four or five miles north-west from cape weymouth. roe manuscript.) fair cape, so named by lieutenant bligh, is a projection of high land, in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes seconds: it has a reef off it according to lieutenant jeffrey's account, but its situation does not appear to have been correctly ascertained: we did not see it. bolt head is the north-west end of the high land at the south end of temple bay. it is here that the high land terminates; the coast to the northward being very low and sandy; with the exception of cape grenville, which is the rocky projection that forms the north extremity of temple bay. a little to the south of the cape is indian bay of lieutenant bligh. the latitude of cape grenville's east trend is degrees minutes seconds, its longitude degrees minutes. c is a coral reef, with a dry sandy key at its northern end, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds; it is about two miles long. d, a small oval-shaped reef in the channel between c and e: it is covered, and has perhaps twelve feet water over it. e is an extensive coral reef, fourteen miles long, commencing in latitude degrees / minutes, and extending to degrees minutes; and in longitude degrees minutes: it is entirely covered, except a few dry rocks at its north-west end: the south-eastern extremity of the reef is perhaps three or four miles wide, but its eastern termination was not clearly distinguished. f is a small reef, about three miles south-west from quoin island, which is a small wedge-shaped rock: it is in the neighbourhood of this reef that the merchant ship, morning star, was lost. quoin island is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. g is a coral reef, ten miles long, and from one to two broad; having a dry rock upon it (in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds) about three miles from its north end. forbes' islands are high and rocky, but appeared to be clothed with vegetation; the group occupies a space of about two miles. the summit of forbes' island is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. h, a coral reef, with some dry rocks near its north end, is about one mile long, and separated from i by a narrow pass. the south end of h bears from the summit of forbes' island west / south seven miles. i and k, coral reefs, lying north-west, having a very narrow channel between them; the former is covered, but the latter has a dry sandy key at its north-west end, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. piper's islets are four low bushy islets upon two circular reefs, with a passage separating them of a quarter of a mile wide; the reefs have each two islets upon them, and a dry rocky key round their western edge: the centre of the narrowest part of the channel between them is twelve and a half fathoms deep, but abreast the south end of the south-easternmost shoal there is ten and a half fathoms. l, a circular coral reef, a mile and a half in diameter, with a dry rock at its east end, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes. young island, a small islet on a coral reef of about half a mile in extent, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes. (see volume .) m, a coral reef, about two and a half miles long, having a dry rock at its north end; it bears south degrees west, three miles from the summit of haggerston's island. n, an extensive, irregular-shaped, coral reef, seven miles long, and from one to four broad; it is separated from o by a narrow tortuous channel, but not safe to pass through: both n and o are covered. there is a safe passage between these reefs and haggerston's island, of a mile and a half wide; but there is a small reef detached from the north-west end of n, which should be avoided, although there is probably sufficient depth of water over it for any ship: it was seen from the summit of the island, from whence another coral patch was observed at about one mile to the westward, of which we saw no signs. p is a small reef, of about a mile and a quarter in extent; it was seen from the summit of haggerston's island, as was also another reef, seven miles south by east from it: the positions of these reefs are doubtful. haggerston's island is high and rocky; the summit is in latitude degrees minute seconds, and longitude degrees minutes; it is situated at the south-south-west extremity of a coral reef, of nearly two miles in length; its northern side is furnished with some trees and a sandy beach. at the north end of the reef are two dry patches of sand and rocks. it is separated from the islands of sir everard home's group by a channel nearly three miles wide, quite free from danger; but in passing through it, the tide or current sets to the north-north-west, round the reef off haggerston's island. (see volume .) sir everard home's group consists of six islands: the two south-westernmost are rocky, and one of them has two peaks upon it, which, from the southward, have the appearance of being upon the extremity of cape grenville: the south-easternmost has a hillock, or clump of trees, at its south-east extremity, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes. the outer part of this group is bold to, and the islands may be approached, but the space within them appeared to be rocky: there is a passage between the group and cape grenville. the merchant ship lady elliot in passing through it, found overfalls with eighteen fathoms. round cape grenville is margaret bay, fronted by sunday island, elevated and rocky, but not so high as haggerston's island, with good anchorage under its lee. q is a covered reef of about a mile in extent, in latitude degrees minutes, five or six miles to the east-north-east of sir everard home's group. sir charles hardy's islands are high and rocky, and may be seen five or six leagues off; the summit is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. r is a covered reef; and s, a reef, with a dry sandy key upon it. cockburn isles are rocky, and may be seen four leagues off.* (*footnote. there is a dry sand bearing south-west by west / west, two miles and a half from the southernmost cockburn island, and there are many shoals of great extent to the northward of the group. roe manuscript.) t and u are two reefs that were seen at a distance, and appeared to be detached from each other. bird isles (the lagoon islands of lieutenant bligh) consist of three low bushy islets encompassed by a reef: the islands are at the outer verge of the reef, and may be passed within a quarter of a mile; the north-east island is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. mcarthur's isles consist of four low bushy islets, of which two are very small; they are encompassed by a reef of more than three miles long, and are separated from the bird isles by a channel three miles and a half wide. hannibal's isles are three in number, low and covered with bushes, the easternmost is near the extremity of the reef encircling the whole, and is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds.* (*footnote. there is a dry sand at one mile and three-quarters, and another at two miles and a half north-north-west from north hannibal island.) v and w; these shoals are separated by a safe channel of a mile and a quarter wide; v is circular, and has a dry sand at its north-west edge, and a rocky key at its south-west end; the channel between it and hannibal's islands is two miles and a half wide: w is nearly four miles long, and is entirely covered; the course between them is west, but, by hauling close round the east end of v, a west by north / north course will carry a vessel a quarter of a mile to leeward of the west end of w; the north-west extreme of w is three miles and a quarter south degrees west from islet . the islets and are contained in a triangular-shaped reef, of about a mile and three quarters in extent; they are covered with low trees. islet is in latitude degrees minutes seconds. number is a sandy islet crowned with bushes at the north-west end of a coral reef of about a mile and a half in length. between the two latter reefs there appeared to be a channel of a mile wide in the direction of about north-west. , , and , are sandy islets covered with bushes, on small detached reefs, with, apparently, a passage between each: is in latitude degrees minutes seconds. , a small bushy island,* is separated from cairncross island by a channel two miles wide. the latter is a small woody island, situated at the north-west end of a coral reef, more than two miles long and one broad; the north-west point of the reef runs off with a sharp point for about a quarter of a mile from the islet. there is good anchorage under it, but the depth is fifteen fathoms, and the sea is rather heavy at times with the tide setting against the wind; the latitude of its centre is degrees minutes seconds, and its longitude degrees minutes seconds. (see volume and above.) (*footnote. a rocky reef extends for two miles to the southward of islet . roe manuscript.) , , and , are low, woody islets: is five miles to the eastward of cairncross island; and are to the northward of . is also low and woody, but its position was not clearly ascertained. orfordness is a sandy projection of the coast under pudding-pan hill (of bligh) the shape of which, being flat-topped, is very remarkable: the hill is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the country between cape grenville and cape york is low and sandy, with but few sinuosities in its coast line: it is exposed to the trade wind, which often blows with great strength, from south-east and south-east by east. escape river, in degrees / minutes, is an opening in the land of one mile in breadth, trending in for two or three miles, when it turns to the north, and is concealed from the view; the land on the north side of the entrance is probably an island, for an opening was observed in newcastle bay, trending to the south, which may communicate with the river. the entrance is defended by a bar, on which the mermaid was nearly lost. (volume .) the deepest channel may probably be near the south head, which is rocky. the banks on the south side are wooded, and present an inviting aspect. newcastle bay is nine miles in extent by six deep; its shores are low, and apparently of a sandy character; at the bottom there is a considerable opening bearing west / north eight miles and a half from turtle island. off the south head of the bay is turtle island, a small rocky islet on the east side of an extensive reef, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds; it is separated by a channel three miles wide from reef x, which has a dry sand at its north end, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes, it has also some dry rocks and a mangrove bush on the inner part of its south end. four miles to the north of x are two shoals y and z, both of which are covered; y is two miles and a half long, and three miles and a quarter; neither of them appeared to be a mile in width; the north-west end of z, when in a line with mount adolphus, bears north degrees west. off the north head of newcastle bay, which forms the south-east trend of the land of cape york, is a group of high rocky islands, albany isles; and immediately off the point is a reef, which extends for about a mile; half a mile without its edge, we had ten fathoms. the islets , , and , were only seen at a distance. the brothers, so called in lieutenant bligh's chart, are two high rocks upon a reef. albany isles contain six islands, of which one only is of large size; the easternmost has a small peak, and a reef extends for less than a quarter of a mile from it; the peak is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. york isles is a group about seven miles from the mainland; the principal island, which is not more than two miles long, has a very conspicuous flat-topped hill upon it, mount adolphus,* in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. off the south-east end of this island are two rocky islets, the southernmost of which is more than a mile distant; the northern group of the york isles are laid down from captain flinders. (*footnote. there is a bay on the west side or mount adolphus, but it appeared shoal. roe manuscript.) cape york, the northernmost land of new south wales, has a conical hill half a mile within its extremity, the situation of which is in degrees minutes seconds south, and degrees minutes seconds east of greenwich. there is also an island close to the point with a conical hill upon it, which has perhaps been hitherto taken for the cape; from which it is separated by a shoal strait half a mile wide; the latitude of the summit is degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. from this island a considerable shoal extends to the westward for six miles towards a peaked hill on the extremity of a point. in the centre of this shoal are some dry rocks. at the distance of nearly five miles from the above island is the rocky islet a, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds; it is of small size, and surrounded by deep water; and, being easily seen from the strait between cape york and the york isles, serves to direct the course. possession isles consist of nine or ten islets, of which and only are of large size, and neither of these are two miles long; they are also higher than the others. number is a small conical hill; is hummocky; , , and , are very small; makes with a hollow in its centre, like the seat of a saddle. the passage between and the small islets and is the best; there is six and seven fathoms water; but in passing this, it must be recollected that the tide sets towards the islands on the northern side. endeavour strait is on the south side of prince of wales' islands: a shoal extends from cape cornwall (latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds) to the westward, and is probably connected with a strip of sand that stretches from wallis' isles to shoal cape. we crossed it with the cape bearing about east, when the least depth was four fathoms; but on many parts there are not more than three fathoms. variation degrees minutes west. prince of wales islands are much intersected by straits and openings, that are very little known; there was an appearance of a good port, a little to the south-west of horned hill (latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes) which may probably communicate with wolf's bay; the strait to the south of wednesday island also offers a good port in the eastern entrance of some rocky islands and without them is the rock b, with some sunken dangers near it. wednesday island; its north end, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes, may be approached close, but a considerable shoal stretches off its western side, the greater part of which is dry. off hammond's island is a high, conspicuous rock, bearing west / south, and five miles and three-quarters from the north end of wednesday island. captain flinders passed through the strait separating wednesday island from hammond's islands, and had four, five, and six fathoms. abreast of the strait separating good's island from the latter is the reef c, on which are several dry rocks, but abreast of it, and one mile and one quarter from it, is the reef d,* which is generally covered; the latter bears south degrees west three miles and a quarter from the rock off hammond's island, and about north degrees west two and a quarter miles from the opening between good and hammond's island; the marks for avoiding it are given in the sailing directions. (*footnote. d consists of three small detached patches, that extend farther off than is at first observed. there is also a narrow strip of rocks extending for a short distance off the north-east end of the reef off hammond's island. roe manuscript.) abreast of wednesday, hammond, and good's islands, is the north-west reef, an extensive coral bank, many parts of which are dry; it is ten or eleven miles long; the channel between it and the islands is from one mile and three-quarters to two miles and a quarter wide. booby island (latitude of its centre degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes seconds) is a small rocky islet of scarcely a third of a mile in diameter; its south-west end has a shoal projecting from it for half a mile, but its other sides are bold to. in a north degrees east direction from it, at the distance of two miles and three-quarters, is a sandbank with three fathoms; it was discovered by the ships claudine and mary, on their passage through torres strait, when it was named larpent's bank.* (*footnote. it is near the west end of a shoal of five miles in length, extending in an east and west direction, a few feet only below the surface of the water. roe manuscript.) ... appendix a. section . description of the winds and weather, and of the ports and coast between wessel's islands and clarence strait. in the sea that separates the land of new guinea and the islands of timor laut and arroo from the north coast of australia, the winds are periodical, and are called the east and west monsoons, for such is their direction in the mid-sea. near the coast of new holland the regularity of these winds is partly suspended by the rarefied state of the atmosphere; this produces land and sea-breezes, but the former are principally from the quarter from which the winds are blowing in the mid sea. the usual course of the winds near the coast in the months of april, may, and june, is as follows: after a calm night, the land-wind springs up at daylight from south or south-south-east; it then usually freshens, but, as the sun gets higher, and the land becomes heated, gradually decreases. at noon the sea-wind rushes in towards the land, and generally blows fresh from east; at sunset it veers to the north-east, and falls calm, which lasts the whole night, so that if a ship, making a course, does not keep at a moderate distance from the land, she is subject to delay; she would not, however, probably have so fresh a breeze in the day time. later in the season of the easterly monsoon, in august, september, and october, calms are frequent, and the heat is sultry and oppressive; this weather sometimes lasts for a fortnight or three weeks at a time. the easterly monsoon commences about the st of april, with squally, rainy weather, but, in a week or ten days, settles to fine weather and steady winds in the offing, and regular land and sea breezes, as above described, near the coast. it ceases about the latter end of november or early part of december; the westerly monsoon may then be expected to blow strong, and perhaps with regularity. this is the rainy season, and is doubtless an unwholesome time; captain flinders' crew experienced much sickness in his examination of the gulf of carpentaria during this monsoon, but, when upon the western side of the gulf, he thought that the fine weather then experienced might be occasioned by the monsoon's blowing over the land. in january and february the monsoon is at its strength, but declines towards the end of the latter month, and in march becomes variable, with dark, cloudy, and unsettled weather; the wind is then generally from the south-west, but not at all regular. the current sets with the wind, and seldom exceeds a knot or a knot and a half per hour; between capes wessel and van diemen it is not stronger, and its course in the easterly monsoon, when only we had any experience of it, was west: the strength is probably increased or diminished by the state of the wind. the tides are of trifling consequence; the flood comes from the eastward, but rarely rises more than ten feet, or runs so much as a mile and a half per hour. high water takes place at full and change at liverpool river, and goulburn island at six o'clock, at the entrance of the alligator rivers in van diemen's gulf, at hours minutes, and at the south end of apsley strait at hours minutes.* the flood-tide comes from the eastward, excepting when its course is altered by local circumstances; the rise is not more than eleven feet at the springs. (*footnote. in st. asaph's bay, lieutenant roe found high-water take place at full and change at hours minutes; and in king's cove at hours minutes; at the latter place it rose fourteen feet.) the variation of the compass in this interval is scarcely affected by the ship's local attraction. off cape wessel it is between and degrees east; at liverpool river about / degrees east, at goulburn islands degrees east, and off cape van diemen, not more than / degrees east. the dip of the south end of the needle at goulburn island was degrees / minutes. when the survey of the gulf of carpentaria was completed by captain flinders, his vessel proved to be so unfit for continuing the examination of the north coast, that it was found necessary to return to port jackson; and as he left it at the strait that separates point dale from wessel's islands, which is called in my chart brown's strait, he saw no part of the coast to the westward of that point, nor did he even see cape wessel, the extremity of the range of wessel's islands, which terminate in latitude degrees / minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the group consists of four islands, besides some of smaller size to the southward of the northernmost, and also a few on the eastern side of brown's strait; one of which is cunningham's island, of captain flinders. cumberland strait is in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes. point dale, unless it is upon an island, appears to be the east extremity of the north coast; its latitude is degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes: there are several rocky islands of small size, lying off, encompassed by a reef, which extends for eight miles north-north-east / east from the point. in brown's strait the tide sets at the rate of three and a half and four miles per hour; the flood runs to the southward through the strait. to the westward of point dale the coast extends for about sixty miles to the south-west to castlereagh bay; in which space there are several openings in the beach, that are probably small rivers: one, ten miles to the south-west, may be a strait insulating point dale, and communicating with arnhem bay. castlereagh bay is forty miles wide, by about eighteen deep; it is fronted by a group of straggling islands of low coral formation, crowned with small trees and bushes: the centre of the northernmost islet is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds. to the eastward of cape stewart, the western head of the bay, the coast is very much indented, and probably contains several openings or rivulets, particularly two at the bottom of the bay. the beach is generally sandy, with rocky points, and the shore is wooded to the beach; the interior was in no part visible over the coast hills, which are very low and level. from the extremity of cape stewart, which is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes, a reef extends to the west by north / north for eight miles and a half; having, at a mile within the extremity, a low sandy key, with a small dry rock half a mile to the eastward. every other part of the reef is covered. to the westward of cape stewart is a sandy bay nearly eleven leagues in extent, but not more than seven deep; near its western end there is a small break in the beach, but it did not appear to be of any consequence. the extreme point of this bight is the eastern head of liverpool river, whose entrance is to the westward of haul-round islet; which, as well as entrance island, is connected to the above point by a shoal. haul-round islet is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes; entrance island is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the entrance is from one and a quarter to two miles wide. the reef extends for half a mile from haul-round islet, close without which the water is deep, the least depth in the entrance is five and three-quarter fathoms; and, in some parts there are thirteen and fourteen fathoms: at seven miles within haul-round islet, the depth decreases to four fathoms, and then gradually shoals to three; after which it varies in the channel of the river to between nine and twelve feet at low water. a bar crosses the river at the low mangrove island, over which there is not more than three feet at low water; but, as the tide rises more than eight feet at the springs, vessels drawing ten or eleven feet may proceed up the river. the stream runs in a very tortuous course for upwards of forty miles, but as our examination was unassisted by bearings or observations, it is laid down from an eye sketch. point braithwaite, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, is twenty miles to the westward of haul-round islet; to the southward of it is junction bay, which was not examined. for the next thirty miles the coast is very much indented, and has some deep bays on either side of point barclay, as also one to the eastward of point turner, at the bottom of which an opening, a mile in width, is probably a river. here also the feature of the coast is altered, being low and level to the eastward as far as point dale, without a hill or rising ground in the interior to relieve its monotonous appearance. at this place, however, a range of rocky hills, wellington range, commences, of about twenty miles in extent: five miles behind it is the tor (latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds) a solitary pyramidal rock; and seven miles and a quarter west by south, from the latter is a peak-topped hill. the two latter are apparently unconnected with the range, on which there are four remarkable ridges, of which the two westernmost are the most remarkable. goulburn islands consist of two islands, each being about twenty miles in circumference; they are separated from each other by a rocky strait three miles wide, which in most parts is deep enough for a ship of any size to pass through; the latitude of the centre of this strait is degrees minutes. macquarie strait separates the southernmost from the main, and is nearly two miles across: the depth in mid-channel being eighteen fathoms: the latitude of retaliation point, which is on the northern side of the strait, is in degrees minutes. south west bay affords good anchorage in five and six fathoms at a mile from the shore, and vessels may anchor at a quarter of a mile off the beach in three fathoms muddy bottom. at the north end of the bay are the bottle rocks separated from the point by a channel two and a quarter fathoms deep. the bottle rock was one of our fixed points, and is placed in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the bay affords a convenient place for wooding and watering; the latter may be had during the early months of the dry season (as late as august) from a drain at the base of the pipe clay cliffs at the north end of the bay. there are also some holes on sims island that contain water for a much later period. the holes have been made by the malays for the purpose of collecting it. mullet bay is on the west side of the north island, affording good anchorage in the easterly monsoon in six and seven fathoms mud, at a mile from the shore. the flood-tide here sets to the eastward, and it is high water at full and change in the strait at six o'clock; the rise of the tide is not more than five or six feet. the north-east point of north goulburn island is in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes. from macquarie strait the land trends to the westward, and north-westward to de courcy head, and forms but few sinuosities. point brogden, in latitude degrees minutes, the only projection in this space, is remarkable for being higher than usual, and for having a range of cliffs to the southward of the point; with a solitary tree near its extremity, hence the land is rocky towards de courcy head, which is a cliffy projection in latitude degrees minutes seconds; thence the shore continues rocky to cape cockburn, a low rocky point, with a conspicuous tree at its extremity. the point is wooded to within a short distance of the sea, as is generally the case with the shores of this coast. cape cockburn is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. mountnorris bay extends between cape cockburn and cape croker, it is twenty-eight miles wide, and twenty-three deep. it contains several islands, and is also fronted by a group, of which new year's island, the latitude of whose centre is degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, is the outermost; the others are named oxley, lawson, mccluer, grant, templer, and cowlard. they are straggling, and have wide and apparently deep channels between them. between new year's and mccluer's islands, the channel is nearly eight miles wide and eighteen and nineteen fathoms deep. a reef extends off the north-west end of the latter island for nearly three miles, and the ground is rocky and shoal for some distance off the north-east end of oxley's island. grant's island is higher than the others, which are merely small woody islets, the centre is in degrees minutes. at the north-east end of mountnorris bay is malay bay which is four miles wide and six deep; it affords good anchorage in four and five fathoms in the centre: as it offered no other inducement, we did not land upon any part of it. between valentia island and point annesley, the channel is more than a mile wide and four fathoms deep. valentia island has a reef off its north point, and another off its south-east point, each about a mile in extent. copeland island is small and wedge-shaped, its summit is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes; four miles and a quarter west-north-west from it is a covered sandbank having nine feet water near its edge; it was not quite certain whether it was joined to the land or not, from which it is distant two miles and a half. on the western side of the bay there is a strait two miles wide separating croker's island from the main; it is ten or eleven miles in length, and is navigable since the malay fleet were observed to pass through it. croker's island is twenty-one miles and a quarter from north to south, and from two to five broad, its northern extremity is in degrees minutes seconds latitude, and degrees minutes seconds longitude; about three-quarters of a mile within it there is a remarkable rocky knob: its south extreme is in degrees / minutes. palm bay, on its western side, is an excellent anchorage in the easterly monsoon; it is four miles and a half wide, and nearly three deep. the shore is rocky for a mile off, and the south point has a rocky shoal projecting to the west-north-west for a mile and a quarter. darch's island is separated from croker's island by a navigable strait two miles wide; near the reef at the north-east end we had six fathoms, but in mid-channel the depth was as much as eleven fathoms. a considerable reef projects off the east end for more than a mile. the island is about two miles and three-quarters long, and is thickly wooded; its north point is in latitude degrees minutes seconds. raffles bay forms a good port during any season; it is seven miles deep, and from two to three broad: beyond high point the depth is not more than three fathoms and a half. the anchorage is however quite safe. the bay to the eastward of point smith, which has a reef extending from it for nearly a mile, has a shoal opening at its bottom of very little importance. at the north-east end of the bay, separated from the point by a channel a mile wide, and more than five fathoms deep, is a small sandy island, with a reef extending for a mile off its north end. port essington, the outer heads of which, vashon head and point smith, are seven miles apart, is an extensive port, thirteen miles and a quarter deep, and from five to three wide; independent of its inner harbour, which, with a navigable entrance of a mile wide, is five miles deep and four wide. the port is not only capacious, but has very few shoals or dangers in it. on the western side, off island point, there are some rocks, and also a reef projects for a mile off the bluff point that forms the east head of knocker's bay. the western side of the entrance to inner harbour, is also rocky and shoal for two-thirds across, but near the opposite point* the depth is thirteen fathoms. (*footnote. this is point record of captain bremer, see above.) on the eastern side of the port there is no danger beyond a quarter of a mile from the shore, excepting a reef of rocks, some of which are dry; this danger, when in a line with a remarkable cliff two miles and a quarter to the south of table point, bears east-south-east / east; close without them the depth is five fathoms. the inner harbour is divided into two basins which extend in for two miles on either side of middle head, a cliffy projection, surrounded by a rocky shore for a quarter of a mile off. the anchorage between the entrance and middle head is in five and six fathoms mud, and in the centre of the western basin the depth is five fathoms mud. the shores are higher than usual, and are varied by sandy beaches and cliffs, some of white and others of a red colour. the western side of the port was not visited, and our tracks and examinations were made principally on the opposite shore. at the bottom of knocker's bay is a shoal mangrove opening, of no importance. see volume . point smith is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. vashon head has a considerable shoal projecting from it, and extending into the bay to the westward which was called trepang bay. this bay has an opening at the bottom, that appeared to be shoal. a small sandy island lies at the distance of a mile and three-quarters from the shore; the reef projects into the sea for nearly a mile farther, and apparently extends to the south-west to the north head of popham bay, which has a small opening at the bottom, but of shoal approach; good anchorage may be had in popham bay in five and six fathoms, a little within the heads, and as they bear north and south-south-west, it is well sheltered in the easterly monsoon. hence to cape don is three miles and a half. the latter cape is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. van diemen's gulf is seventy miles deep, and more than forty broad. it has two outlets to sea; the one to the northward, dundas strait, is sixteen miles wide and very deep; the other, clarence strait, is seventeen miles wide, and communicates with the sea round the south sides of melville and bathurst islands: it is probably not so safe as dundas' strait, on account of vernon's isles, which lie in mid channel, near its western end. the north eastern side of van diemen's gulf washes the south side of coburg peninsula. it has several bays, and, to the eastward of mounts bedwell and roe, the shore is fronted by sir george hope's islands, forming a channel or port within them twenty miles deep and from three to six broad; the entrance to it is round the north end of greenhill island, which is separated from the land of the peninsula, by a strait a mile and a half wide: the depth in mid-channel, for the shore on either side for half a mile is shoal and rocky, is eighteen fathoms, and within it the bottom is six, seven, and eight fathoms deep, and principally of mud. this strait is in latitude degrees minutes. the eastern side has several openings in it, but the shores are very low, and of shoal approach. at its south-east end are the two (and probably three) alligator rivers; the westernmost (or centre) is fronted by field island, the centre of which is in degrees minutes latitude, and degrees minutes seconds longitude. these rivers have been described in the narrative. see volume . the bottom of the gulf is very low, and forms two bights, separated by a point that projects for seven or eight miles. in the neighbourhood of the rivers the country is sprinkled with wooded hills, that extend in a straggling chain towards wellington range, of which they might be considered a part: but between the rivers and clarence strait the country is low and flat, and only protected from inroads of the sea by a barrier of sandhills, beyond which not a vestige of the interior could be seen. clarence strait separates bathurst and melville islands from the mainland: it is seventy-five miles long, and from seventeen to thirty-five wide. the narrowest part is at about its centre, between cape gambier and cape eldon, and in this space is a group of four low rocky islands, covered with mangroves (vernon's islands) from which considerable reefs extend towards either shore. the best channel is probably on the northern side, near cape gambier, which is in latitude degrees minutes seconds; and there also appeared to be a wide and safe channel on the south side; but the neighbourhood of vernon's islands is rocky. the flood-tide sets to the eastward into the gulf. melville island is of considerable size, and forms the western side of van diemen's gulf; its greatest length from cape van diemen to cape keith being seventy-two miles, and its greatest breadth thirty-eight miles; its circumference is two hundred miles. we did not land on any part of it, excepting in the entrance of apsley strait, at luxmoore head (latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes) from which we were driven by the natives. it appeared fertile and more elevated than the coast to the eastward, and to possess several good harbours, particularly apsley strait, besides several bays on its north coast; and from the appearance of the land on its east side, and the extent and abrupt shape of the hills, it is probable that there may be a port there also. brenton bay is the mouth of a small inlet, which may probably prove to be a fresh-water stream; and the bottom of lethbridge bay appeared likely to yield one also. the hills and coast are wooded to the brink of the cliffs and sandy beaches that vary the northern shores of melville island. the most unproductive part appeared to be the narrow strip that extends towards cape van diemen. on either side of the point, near karslake island, is a bay, and at the bottom of each there is an opening in the land, like those of brenton and lethbridge bays. the western trend of cape van diemen is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the coast to the south-east of the cape is formed by a range of cliffs, extending uninterruptedly for seven miles, of a most remarkable white appearance, whiter even than the usual colour of the pipe-clay cliffs to the eastward. cape van diemen is a low sandy point, with a shoal spit projecting from it for four miles, within half a mile of the extremity of which we had no bottom with ten fathoms: from this a very considerable shoal (mermaid's shoal) extends to the westward and south-westward for seventeen miles; and, curving round to piper's head, forms the northern limit of the entrance to apsley strait: its western edge is rather steep; we coasted along it, and had overfalls between ten and four fathoms near its edge. it is not only possible, but very likely, that there are channels through it, but the most direct channel is round its south side, across the bar, on which there is (at low water) five fathoms. to sail into apsley strait by this channel, if coming from the westward, steer in on the parallel of degrees minutes, until the northern part of bathurst island is seen: when the western trend of the island bears south, you will be abreast of the west extremity of the shoal off cape van diemen. steering on, you will see piper's head, a cliffy point, forming the north entrance to the strait, which must be kept upon the bearing of east by north, until the low, sandy, south point of the strait's entrance* is in a line with the summit of luxmoore head, a remarkable flat-topped hill on the eastern side of the strait, bearing south degrees east. then steer east by south, keeping the lead going, and hauling to the north if the soundings are less than seven fathoms, until the strait is opened bearing south-east by south, when you may haul in for luxmoore head, and anchor at will. (*footnote. point brace of captain bremer.) the narrowest part of the strait is where the low, sandy extremity, point brace, bears south degrees east; the channel then is from seventeen to eighteen fathoms deep, and shoals suddenly on its south, but gradually on its north side: it is about a mile and a half wide. apsley strait is forty miles long, and from one to three broad; the widest part being at the north end: the southern end, for five or six miles from the outlet, is very rocky; the south entrance is in latitude degrees minutes; the flood sets to the southward, and the ebb, from van diemen's gulf out of clarence strait, runs through the strait to the north, which must cause many shoals off the south entrance; the depth is generally from ten to thirteen fathoms, but is very irregular towards the south end; at low water many parts are dry, which leave the channels very intricate. we passed over it at high water without knowing our danger, for the stream of the tide carried us through the deepest part of the channel. bathurst island is from thirty to thirty-three miles in extent, having a circumference of a hundred and twenty miles. gordon bay, on its western side, affords a good shelter in the easterly monsoon; it is ten miles wide, and six deep, and terminated by port hurd, the entrance to which is fronted by a bar, having twelve or fourteen feet on it at low water. near the south-western head of the bay two projecting cliffy points (twin cliffs) terminate a sandy bay, from which wood and, probably, water may be obtained. port hurd, at the bottom of gordon bay, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, is a mere salt-water inlet, running up in a south-east direction for eight miles; it then separates into two creeks that wind under each side of a wooded hill; the entrance is three-quarters of a mile wide, and formed by two low points. at the back of the port are some wooded hills; one of them, mount hurd, kept in the opening between the two points of entrance, is the mark for the deepest part of the bar. when within the entrance the port opens, and forms a basin two miles and a quarter broad, after which it narrows and runs up at from half to a quarter of a mile wide, with a channel four and five fathoms deep. the country here is thickly wooded, but very low, excepting a few ranges of hills that may rise to the height of two hundred feet. the south side of bathurst island has no sinuosities. near cape fourcroy the coast is formed by sandhills: but, for the next fifteen miles, it is low and backed by wooded hills. ... appendix a. section . of the nature of the winds and the description of the coast between clarence strait and the north-west cape. north-west coast. the nature of the winds upon the north-west coast, that is, between cape van diemen and the north-west cape, differs very materially from the regularity of the monsoons in the sea that divides it from timor and the islands to the northward; excepting in the narrower part between cape londonderry and the sahul bank, where, from the contracted nature of the sea, more regular winds may be expected. the easterly monsoon commences about the beginning of april, and in the months of may and june blows with great strength, and will be found more regular close to the projecting parts of the coast, but they then rather assume the character of a sea-breeze, for the nights are generally calm. after the month of june the winds to the westward of cape londonderry are very irregular, and generally blow from the southward or south-west; they are however more constant to the westward of buccaneer's archipelago, where the seabreezes blow principally from the north-west along the land. at intervals, during the east monsoon, the wind blows strong from south-east, but only for a short time, perhaps only for a few hours. ships may creep along the coast of new holland to the eastward during the easterly monsoon, when they could not make any progress in the mid sea, without being much delayed by calms. towards the north-west cape, neither the monsoon nor the south east trade are much experienced, the wind being generally from the south-west or north-west. during the strength of the westerly monsoon, that is, in the months of december and january, the wind is regular between west-north-west and west-south-west, and, in the neighbourhood of the north-west cape, sometimes blows hard; but even in these tropical regions, when the weather is very bad, the change is predicted by the barometer, which otherwise is scarcely affected. in february, near the coast of new holland, the monsoon is less constant, and the wind often blows off the land, so that a ship could make her westing, when, if more to the northward, it would be impossible for her to gain any ground. at the latter end of february the westerly winds die away, and are succeeded by light, baffling, easterly winds, with damp, unwholesome weather, and attended occasionally by heavy squalls of wind and rain. if a ship is detained late in the easterly monsoon, and wishes to get to the westward, she will find the wind more regular and strong from the eastward in the neighbourhood of timor, where the easterly monsoon lasts until the first or second week in november: in the months of september and october, to the southward of the parallel of degrees, the winds are almost constant from south-west. the currents are stronger according to the regularity and strength of the wind, and generally set at the rate of one or one knot and a half. the tides in this part of the coast are noticed in the description of the places where they were observed. high water at full and change takes place at: the anchorage off vansittart bay at hours minutes. in montagu sound at hours minutes. in careening bay at hours minutes. in prince regent's river at hours minutes. the rise of the tide, to the westward of cape van diemen, and particularly to the westward of cape bougainville, appeared gradually to increase: the greatest that we experienced was in the vicinity of buccaneer's archipelago; and at the anchorage in camden bay the tide rose thirty-seven feet; occasioned probably by the intersected nature of the coast. the variation in this interval is almost too trifling to be noticed for the purposes of common navigation. between capes londonderry and van diemen it varies between / and degree east. between the former and careening bay it was between and / degrees east; at careening bay the mean of the observations gave / of a degree west; but to the westward of that, as far as cape villaret, the results of the observations varied between degree east and degree west. near the north-west cape, and to the eastward of it as far as depuch island, it is about two degrees westerly. on the south-side of clarence strait the land is low, like the coast to the eastward. paterson bay appeared to be the mouth of a river, but it was not examined. the opening to the eastward of the projecting point that forms the eastern side of paterson bay, seemed to be a good port; and to have an inlet at its bottom trending to the south-east. cape grose, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes, is the western head of paterson bay: it is fronted by reefs that extend for a considerable distance into the sea; their extremity is nearly nine miles north from the cape. hence the coast extends low and sandy to point blaze, to the northward of which there is a bay: to the south the shore is wooded, and trends for eighteen miles to the north entrance of anson bay, which is formed by peron islands; these are low and sandy; at the extremity of the northern island, there is a sandy peak in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minute seconds: the south end is overrun with mangroves, and it appeared very doubtful whether a channel existed between it and the smaller island, which is entirely surrounded by mangroves. this entrance to the bay is very intricate, and useless, since that to the south of the islands is so much better. anson's bay affords good anchorage, and probably has a small rivulet at the bottom. cape ford, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds, has a reef projecting for three miles from it: hence the coast trends round to the southward for thirty miles to a bay, which also has a small opening at the bottom; five miles inland there is a range of hills, on which two, of flat-topped summits, are conspicuous; and, at a distance, assume the appearance of islands. they are the barthelemy hills. a few miles to the westward is port keats. tree point, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes, the eastern head of the port, is surrounded by a reef, which extends from it for more than three miles. the west side has also a reef, but of much more considerable size, stretching to the northward of cape hay for fifteen miles; near its extremity there is a patch of dry rocks, occupying an extent of two miles. the channel within the heads is from two to four miles wide, and has anchorage in it between six and seven fathoms, mud. the port gradually contracts as it approaches the narrow mouth of the inlet to a mile and a half; it then trends to the south for six miles, where it is divided into two arms, that run up for six or seven miles more to the foot of a range of wooded hills, one of which is mount goodwin. the western side of the inlet is occupied by a bank of clay, that dries at low water. at about three miles within the narrow entrance on the western side, there is an inlet, and above this the anchorage is good, the bottom being of clay, in which is mixed a small ironstone pebble: between the inlet and the narrows, the bottom is deep and rocky. between cape hay, in latitude degrees minute seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, and point pearce, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds, the coast is still low, and was only seen at a distance. off the latter point there is a reef which does not extend to a greater distance than a mile and a half. to the south of point pearce there is a very extensive opening, which bad weather and other circumstances did not allow of being examined. it is nearly thirty miles wide, and the depth across between eight fathoms and twenty. the south shore is lined by a considerable reef extending for seven miles from the beach. the land was very indistinctly seen at the back, but, in one part, there was a space of more than eighteen miles, in which nothing was visible. the strength of the tide, the bottom being sandy instead of mud, as in other parts of the neighbourhood, and the rocky overfalls on either side of the entrance bespeak this opening to be of considerable size and importance. the shore to cape domett was very indistinctly seen. it occupies an extent of forty-five miles, and is fronted by extensive reefs, which project for twenty-three miles; the north extremity of the shoal water is twenty-six miles, nearly due west from cape pearce. it terminates with a narrow point, and then trends in to the south-west towards the coast. the medusa bank fronts the entrance of cambridge gulf; it projects from the coast, near cape domett, to the north-west for seventeen miles, and terminates with a narrow spit, thirteen miles north from lacrosse island, in latitude degrees / minutes. both these banks are of sand, and their edges are very steep to. they are covered with large quantities of mollusca, which are also abundant in the sea in their vicinity. cambridge gulf extends from lacrosse island in a south-south-westerly direction for sixty-four miles. the entrance, between cape domett and cape dussejour, is twelve miles wide; but lacrosse island, under which there is good anchorage for vessels going in or out of the gulf, divides the entrance into two channels. the western entrance is about two miles and a half wide, and is deepest near the island: but, at a mile from the shore, we had no bottom with fourteen and seventeen fathoms. the reefs project from cape dussejour for nearly three miles. on the eastern side of lacrosse island, within half a mile of the point, we had seven fathoms, and there was every appearance of the channel being deep in the neighbourhood of cape domett. shakspeare hill, the situation of which is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes, is a conspicuous object on this promontory: it is high and rocky, and, at a distance, has the appearance of being insulated, like lacrosse island. having entered the gulf, it trends to the south-south-west for twenty-three miles to adolphus island, where it is divided into two arms, of which the westernmost is the principal. at ten miles from lacrosse island, the channel is narrowed by shoals to a width of five miles, the shores being twelve miles apart. the land on the western side of the gulf is high and rocky; but the opposite shore is very low, and apparently marshy. the bottom is of sand, as are the banks on either side, and affords good anchorage: the tide stream runs with great strength in mid-channel, but is easily avoided by anchoring upon the weather shore near the edge of the bank. the channels on either side of adolphus island are called the east and west arms. the east arm is from one to two miles and a half wide, and four or five fathoms deep. at ten miles it is joined by an arm that washes the south side of adolphus island, and the united streams trend together in a south-east direction, under the foot of mount connexion, for a considerable distance. this inlet was not examined. the west arm extends down the west side of adolphus island for seven miles; it is then divided by a projecting point under view hill; and, whilst one runs to the eastward and unites with the east arm, the other continues to trend to the southward, and then opens out to an extensive basin eleven miles in length, and from four to six in breadth; and, at seven miles, gradually contracts as it winds under the base of the bastion hills: before, however, you arrive at the basin, the stream is divided by several islands and rocky islets, that narrow the channel in some parts to the width of half a mile, in which the depth is very great, and the tide runs with great strength. at the entrance of the basin the high rocky character of the west shore is superseded by low mangrove banks, with here and there a detached hill rising from a plain of low marshy land, that, at the time of our visit, was covered with a salt incrustation, occasioned by the evaporation of the sea, which, apparently, had lately flooded the low lands to a great extent: some of these plains are seven and eight miles in diameter. the hills rise abruptly; those we examined are of sandstone formation. the basin is very shoal, but there is a narrow channel in the centre, with from five to nine fathoms water. the shore, opposite the bastion hills, is low, and the gulf trends gradually round to the south-west for five miles, when it is contracted into a narrow communication, called the gut, leading to an interior shoal basin, strewed with low marshy islands, which the tide covers. this basin terminates to the southward in a narrow stream, winding under the base of mount cockburn; and there also appeared to be several others falling into the basin more to the westward. the water was salt at the extremity of our exploration. the gut leading to it is two miles long, and not so much as a quarter of a mile wide: in some parts we had nineteen fathoms, but in others it was deeper; it runs through a chasm in the hills, which rise abruptly, and occasionally recede and form bights, in which, in the wet season, the rains form some very considerable mountain torrents. no fresh water was seen in any part of the gulf; but as it was near the end of the dry season when we were there, it might probably be found in a more advanced season in every part of the western side, where the land is high and the gullies numerous: there is, however, no durable freshwater stream without the gut. an alligator was observed swimming about, but very few fish were noticed. the coast extends from cape dussejour to cape londonderry, a distance of ninety-five miles, without an opening, and with but few sinuosities of any consequence. the coast is chiefly rocky, with here and there a few sandy beaches: but the shore generally is open and exposed: there are many parts, however, where a boat might land; particularly behind buckle head, and a little farther on at reveley island: at the latter place there is a gully in the hills, at the back of the bay, which may probably produce fresh water: this bay is near captain baudin's mount casuarina, a flat-topped hill, that is conspicuous from the sea. the mount is only visible between the bearings of south and west-south-west, and may be seen at the distance of seven or eight leagues. it is situated at six miles from the shore, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the coast is here but slightly wooded, and sufficiently elevated to conceal the interior; no part of which, excepting mount casuarina, could be seen. it is fronted by rocks, but they do not appear to extend more than two miles from the shore. at cape rulhieres, the coast trends more westerly. to the westward of this cape are two sandy bays, in which boats might effect a landing; but they are open and exposed to the northward. to the eastward of it there are some reefs which project for more than two miles from the shore; and, at the west head of the westernmost of the bays, is an island with a reef extending for nearly three miles from it: behind the island is another bay, that appeared to be fronted by the above reef. in the offing, and at the distance of six miles from the shore, is lesueur island; it is about two miles in circumference, and surrounded by a coral reef, that extends for one mile and a half from its north-east end. at this part the coast is more verdant in appearance than to the eastward of cape rulhieres, particularly for ten miles to the south-east of cape londonderry; in which space there are several sandy bays, with the shores wooded to the brink of the beach: at about five miles from the cape is a small boat harbour, at the back of which a gully in the hills appeared promising for the search for fresh water, more particularly on account of the verdant appearance of the trees near it. cape londonderry is a low rocky point; it is easily recognised by the reef that extends from it, and the trend of the land, which takes from it a westerly direction; there are also two small sandy islets, stewart's islets, at a little more than two miles from it, encompassed by the reef. the cape is in degrees minutes south, and degrees minutes seconds east. the land then extends to the westward for nearly eleven miles, to cape talbot; it is fronted by the reef that commences at cape londonderry, and projects from the shore for nearly five miles, but to the eastward of the cape a ship may approach it within two miles. to the south of cape talbot the land trends in and forms a bay twelve miles deep, and wide, that was not examined. it is fronted by sir graham moore's islands, one of which is eight miles long, and low, excepting at the east end, where there is a flat-topped hill; there is also another remarkable summit on a smaller island, to the north of the principal island. at twenty miles west-south-west from cape talbot is the east entrance of vansittart bay; it is formed between mary island and the easternmost of the eclipse isles (long island) but this space, which is nearly three miles wide, is much occupied by rocks, so that it is contracted to the width of little more than half a mile. the channel to this is between two extensive reefs, the innermost of which commences at eight miles to the westward of cape talbot, and extends along sir graham moore's islands to mary island. the outer reef commences at about twelve miles from the cape, and extends to the westward, embracing jones' island (in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes) and the eclipse isles. the passage is from three and a half to five miles wide, and is deep and free from danger. the bottom is rocky until within five miles of the eclipse islands, when good anchorage may be obtained in five and six fathoms, upon a muddy bottom. the entrance is between middle rock, and a patch of dry rocks to the eastward of long rocks, the distance across being about half a mile. in entering the bay by this channel, steer so as to pass round middle rock, and upon bringing the peaked summit of jar island, at the bottom of the port, between it and long rocks, bearing south / degrees west, steer directly for jar island, until you are abreast of middle rock, when you may haul close round it, with fourteen and sixteen fathoms: when you have passed the long rocks, a course may be directed at pleasure into the bay. there is also a deep passage to the westward of middle rock; but it is too narrow to be safe. the tide sets through the channels with great strength; with the flood-tide there is no danger, as the stream will carry a vessel through the deepest part; with the ebb-tide, however, it should not be attempted. the western entrance to vansittart bay is between the land of cape bougainville and the eclipse islands: it is three miles and a half wide, and quite free from danger. the approach to it, between troughton island (latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes) and the reefs in the offing, is six miles wide, and probably quite safe. we did not ascertain the existence of a channel on the east side of the island, but it appeared to be free from danger, and, if so, would be the best approach. eclipse hill, being higher than the land near it, and conspicuous from its flat tabular shape, is a good mark for the port; it is in latitude degrees minutes seconds and longitude degrees minutes seconds. vansittart bay is eighteen miles deep, and from five to ten broad; it offers excellent anchorage. the eastern shore is rocky, and should not be approached nearer than a mile; but the western shore is steep to, and may be passed very close: on this side the port there are many coves and bays fit for any purposes. the most secure anchorage is in the centre of the bay, where there is from seven to nine fathoms, mud, and the sea-breeze has free access: but, if a more sheltered place is required, such may be found at the south-east corner of the bottom of the bay in six and seven fathoms, mud. high water at full and change takes place in the eastern entrance, at a quarter past nine o'clock; the tide rises about six feet. jar island is surrounded by rocks, but to the eastward of it the channel is twelve fathoms deep. its summit is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds. the western side of vansittart bay is formed by a peninsula, the extremity of which is cape bougainville; the northern part of this land is fronted by a reef, that extends round it for three miles from the shore, but the western side appeared to be of bold approach. the reef commences at cape bougainville, and trends round to point gibson, where it terminates. this part of the coast is fronted by extensive reefs, which render the approach to it very dangerous: at sixteen miles to the northward of the cape there is a range, the holothuria banks, that extend in an east and west direction for twenty-three miles; their north-east extent was not ascertained, but the western end, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, is narrow, and not more than five or six miles broad. there is another range of reefs to the westward of the cape, that extends in a north and south direction for upwards of twenty miles; and about from three to five miles broad. the water breaks on many parts of it. its north extremity, in latitude degrees / minutes, is sixteen miles west / north from troughton island: in this space the sea is quite clear, and from sixteen to twenty fathoms deep. the narrowest part of the channel, between the reef and the peninsula, is at point gibson, where it is more than eight miles wide, and in mid-channel about twenty-three fathoms deep. between cape bougainville and cape voltaire is the admiralty gulf. it is twenty-nine miles wide and twenty-two deep, independent of port warrender. this gulf is thickly strewed with islands and reefs: a group off cape voltaire was seen by the french and named by them the institute islands, the three principal of which, of flat-topped shape, are called descartes, fenelon, and corneille; besides these the montesquieu group, and pascal and condillac islands, were distinguished. on the eastern side of the gulf, near the shore, are osborn's islands, which are high and rocky: the southernmost is remarkable for its steep, precipitous form, and for its resemblance to mount cockburn in cambridge gulf. there is also a conspicuous high bluff on the principal island, which appears to have been seen by the french. in the offing is cassini island; it is rather low and level, and surrounded by cliffs and rocky shores: on the eastern side are four sandy beaches, which are very much frequented by turtle: a reef projects off its north end for a mile and a half. the anchorage is good near the island, but the water is very deep. the situation of its centre is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes. port warrender is an excellent port, and affords good anchorage in the bay round crystal head, in which a vessel is quite land-locked; but equally secure anchorage may be had for five miles higher up the port, in from four to seven fathoms, mud. it extends for six miles farther, but the depth in some parts is not more than two fathoms. at eleven miles from the entrance, the port is separated into two inlets, which wind under the base of a dividing range of high, steep, and wooded hills; these run up for five miles higher, when they become mere mangrove creeks. there is probably another inlet on the east side of port warrender which we did not examine, since it appeared to be less considerable in size, and important in appearance, than the arm which we had examined. crystal head is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. walmesly bay appeared to be a good port also, but it is open to the eastward. we did not enter it. cape voltaire is the extremity of a promontory, extending for more than twenty miles into the sea, and separating the admiralty gulf from montagu sound. there is a flat-topped hill near its extremity, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds; and, at three miles more to the southward, a peaked hill; its shores on either side are rocky, and indented by bays. at one part the width across to walmesly bay cannot be more than a mile and a half. the montalivet isles, about six leagues from the main, consist of three rocky islands; they are visible for six or seven leagues from the deck: the north-easternmost is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes seconds. montagu sound extends from cape voltaire to the north end of bigge's island, a distance of thirty-one miles, and is from eleven to twenty miles deep. it is fronted by a range of islands; the outer range, which is eight miles within the montalivet isles, was called prudhoe islands; besides which there were several scattered about the sound, and some of larger size near the main: of the latter are kater's and wollaston's. they are of a very rocky character, and furnished with but a poor and shallow soil, although the surface is thickly covered with small trees, growing most luxuriantly. water island, to the north-east, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, was visited by us, as was also capstan island, in the south-west corner of the sound. the latter island is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. they are both rocky, and destitute of any soil but what is formed by the decomposition of the vegetables that grow upon the island. the channels between them appeared to be clear and free from hidden danger. the depth among the islands is from ten to fifteen fathoms on a muddy bottom; but the anchorage is better between kater island and the promontory that separates it from walmesly bay, than any other part. it is a very fine port, particularly near the bottom, in swift's bay, where the depth is from four to five fathoms at low water, it is high water at full and change in swift's bay at twelve o'clock, which is two hours and a quarter later than in vansittart bay: the tide rose eighteen feet, whereas in port warrender its rise was only six. the islands off the north-east end of bigge's island are more numerous than in other parts of the sound: they were only seen at a distance, and too numerous to give correct positions to. bigge's island is fourteen miles long, and from six to seven broad; it is of moderate height, and rocky character: its south end appeared to be thickly wooded. a flat-topped hill near the shore of scott's strait is a remarkable object, and may be seen six or seven leagues off. it is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. scott's strait is a channel separating bigge's island from the main: it is thirteen miles long, and from three to one and a quarter broad. it is of irregular depth, and has some rocks in mid-channel, which are dry: the deepest channel is near the eastern shore, the depth being from ten to fourteen fathoms. the strait does not terminate until you are to the westward of cape pond, for there are several islets off the south end of bigge's island, and a considerable reef, through which, although there may be deep channels, yet they must be narrow. off the north-west end of bigge's island are several rocky islets; the outer ones were seen by me in the bathurst (see above): they are the maret isles of commodore baudin; they consist of four or five principal islands, of about two miles in length, besides as many more of very small size off the south extremity of the group. the northern point of the northernmost island is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the group is fronted on the north-west side by a considerable reef, extending north by east / east for seven miles; the outer edge being three miles and a half to the westward of the group. york sound is fourteen miles wide and ten deep: it is contained between cape pond and the northern extreme of the coronation islands. it is spacious, but the bottom, in the middle, is rocky: there is, however, very good anchorage near the coronation islands; and there is also, possibly, as good on the eastern shore to the south of cape pond, which has a rocky island immediately off it, the situation of which is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. at the bottom of york sound is prince frederic's harbour, a fine spacious port, fourteen miles long, and from five to seven broad: it is terminated by two rivers, namely hunter's and roe's. it has several rocky islands on either shore; and, at the bottom, they are numerous. the tide here rises at the springs twenty-nine feet. the anchorage is not so good in the entrance of the port, but a good bottom may be found as soon as hunter's river begins to open, and bears east / north, and when you are within a small island that is in the centre of the port; but an anchorage may very probably be obtained on the northern shore, or, indeed, any where out of the strength of the tides. hunter's river runs up for about fourteen miles. it is about one mile and a half wide at the entrance, and preserves that width for more than four miles, when it suddenly contracts and becomes shoal, and very tortuous in its course, and winds through a narrow chasm in the rocks, which rise precipitously in some parts for at least two or three hundred feet. a vessel may anchor in seven fathoms near the end of the first reach; its course is to the east-north-east. there is a remarkable rock at the entrance, in latitude degrees minute seconds, and longitude degrees minutes. roe's river first trends for seventeen miles to the east by south, and then, taking a sudden turn to the south, runs up for thirteen miles more; after which it trends to the south-east, and was supposed to run up for at least ten miles farther. its entrance for seven miles forms a very good harbour, being from two to six fathoms deep; but, in anchoring here, it must be recollected that the tide falls twenty-nine feet. this river, like hunter's river, is bounded on either bank by precipitous hills, which, in many parts, are inaccessible. five miles to the westward of cape torrens is point hardy: off the latter is an islet; and three miles, north by east / east from it, is a reef, on which the sea breaks. this point is the east head of port nelson, which extends to the southward from it for eight miles: its western side is formed by the coronation islands: its width is three miles, with good anchorage all over it. at the bottom is careening bay, where the mermaid was repaired. the latitude of the beach in degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds.* port nelson communicates with the sea to the westward of the coronation islands, which may be considered a strait. at the south-west end of the southernmost island, where the strait is narrowest, and not more than one mile and a quarter wide, there is a patch of rocks in the centre, which always shows: the channel on the north side of these rocks is the best: the water is very deep, and the tide sets right through. (*footnote. the latitude of the observatory was taken every day during our stay, using the sea-horizon, but the effect of refraction was so great that the daily observations varied as much as minutes seconds. the mean of meridional altitudes with the sextant made the latitude degrees minutes . seconds, and of fourteen observations with the circle degrees minutes . seconds. mean for the latitude of the observatory degrees minutes seconds south. the longitude was deduced by the mean of the observations of our two visits; namely, in october, , and august, : the latter were taken at sight point, in prince regent's river, the difference of the meridians of the two places, by chronometers and survey, being minutes . seconds. . september and . by twenty sets of lunar distances with the sun, containing one hundred sights with the sextant, the sun being to the east of the moon, the longitude is degrees minutes . seconds. . august nd and rd. by seventeen sets of lunar distances with the sun, containing eighty-five sights with the sextant, the sun being to the west of the moon, the longitude of sight point, in prince regent's river, was found to be degrees minutes . seconds, or of careening bay degrees minutes . seconds. the mean is the longitude of the observatory degrees minutes seconds east.) the coronation islands separate york sound from brunswick bay, and are situated in front of port nelson. the group consists of seventeen or eighteen islands, besides numerous rocky islets. on the largest island are two remarkable peaks; the easternmost is in degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the island is eight miles long, and from four to two wide; the others are from three to one mile in length; they are covered with vegetation, and the larger islands are well clothed with trees. the great rise of the tide would render this part of the coast of importance, was it not for the wretched state of the country, and the unproductiveness of its soil, which are great drawbacks upon the advantage of the tide's unusual rise. it is high water at full and change in port nelson at twelve o'clock, as it is also in montagu sound. beyond the coronation islands there is a string of small, rocky islands extending for sixteen miles: the westernmost is freycinet's group; the principal island of which captain de freycinet has described as resembling an inverted bowl; and, from this description, we had no difficulty in finding it out; it is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. among the other islands we distinguished the islets colbert, keraudren, and buffon. on the last there is a small, grassy, peaked hillock, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. we passed out to sea between freycinet's group and keraudren; and within one mile and a half of the latter had eighteen fathoms: it appeared, from the colour of the water, to have a reef projecting to the westward. brunswick bay is at the back of these islands, and extends from cape brewster, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, which terminates port nelson, to point adieu. it is an extensive bay or sound, and is about twenty miles in extent, with good anchorage all over it. the coast is here very much indented by rivers and bays; among which may be particularized prince regent's river, hanover bay, and port george the fourth. prince regent's river is, without exception, the most remarkable feature of the north-west coast. in general the inlets of this coast form extensive ports at their entrance; and, when they begin to assume the character of a river, their course becomes tortuous, and very irregular; of which there cannot be a better instance than the neighbouring river, roe's river. prince regent's river trends into the interior in a south-east by east direction for fifty-four miles. with scarcely a point to intercept the view, after being thirteen miles within it. the entrance is formed by cape wellington on the east, and high bluff on the west, a width of eight miles, but is so much contracted by islands, that, in hauling round cape wellington, the width is suddenly reduced to little more than a mile: at the branching off of rothsay water, it is little more than half a mile, and also the same width at the entrance of st. george's basin. in this space, however, it is in some parts a little wider, but in no part between projecting points is it more than one mile and a quarter. for the first nine miles the stream is narrowed by islands; beyond this, its boundaries are formed by the natural banks of the river. on the eastern side, within cape wellington, is a deep bay, but of shoal and rocky appearance. at six miles farther on are two inlets, rothsay and munster waters, near which the tide forms rapid eddies and whirlpools, that render its approach dangerous. in mid-channel is a group of isles; and, off the easternmost, a reef projects to the eastward for more than half a mile, round which a vessel must pass; here the channel is not more than half a mile wide. munster water, on the western side, communicates with hanover bay by a narrow strait, with very good anchorage in it in four and five fathoms mud; it is, however, an inconvenient place to go to, if a vessel is bound any farther up the river. rothsay water is a very considerable arm; and was conjectured to communicate with prince frederic's harbour, and, if so, would insulate the land between capes torrens and wellington. we did not enter rothsay water; and the tides and whirlpools were too rapid and dangerous to trust our small boats without running a very great risk. at the entrance of this arm, on the south shore, there appeared to be a shoal-bank. halfway bay offers very good anchorage out of the strength of the tides, with abundance of room to get underweigh from. the northernmost point of the bay, sight point, has a small islet off it (lammas islet) where the observations were taken to fix the longitude of careening bay. (see above.) the two bays on the opposite, or north-east shore, are shoal, and not fit for any vessel drawing more than six or seven feet; and the shores are so lined with mangroves, as in most parts to defy all attempts at landing. after passing them, the shores approach each other within three-quarters of a mile, but the south-west shore is fronted by a rocky shoal, which narrows it to less than half a mile; here the tide runs very strong, and forms whirlpools. on passing the point, the river opens into a large, spacious reach, which was called st. george's basin; and two conspicuous islands in it were called st. andrew and st. patrick's islands. at the north-east corner are two remarkable hills, mounts trafalgar and waterloo: the situation of the summit of the former is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes. the basin is from eight to nine miles in diameter, but affords no safe anchorage until a vessel is above st. patrick's island. the northern side of the basin is shoaler, and has two small inlets, which trend in on either side of the mounts, and run in for upwards of five miles, but they are salt. at the south side of the basin there are two or three inlets of considerable size, that trend in towards a low country. at ten miles south-east by east from the narrow entrance to the basin the river again resumes its narrow channel, and runs up so perfectly straight for fourteen miles in a south-east by east course, that the hills, which rise precipitously on either bank, were lost in distance, and the river assumed the most exact appearance of being a strait; it was from one to one mile and a quarter wide, and generally of from four to eight fathoms deep on a bottom of yellow sand: the river then took a slight bend, and continued to run up for twelve or thirteen miles further, with a few slight curves, and gradually to decrease in width until terminated by a bar of rocks; which, when the tide rose high enough to fall over, was very dangerous to pass: here a considerable gully joins the main stream, and, being fresh water, was supposed to have the same source as roe's river. the river trended up for about three or four miles farther, when it is entirely stopped by a rapid formed of stones, beyond which we did not persevere in tracing it; the tide did not reach above this, and the stream was perceived to continue and form a very beautiful fresh-water river, about two or three hundred yards wide. as our means did not allow of our persevering any further, we gave up our examination. at seventeen miles above st. george's basin, on the south shore, we found a cascade of fresh water falling in a considerable quantity from the height of one hundred and forty feet; and this, in the rainy season, must be a very large fall, for its breadth is at least fifty yards. at the time of our visit it was near the end of the dry season: and even then there was a very considerable quantity falling. several small inlets trended in on either side of the river above the basin, particularly one upon the north side, which, from the height of the hills under which it trended, would probably produce a freshwater stream. in the bathurst watered from the cascade, but the fatigue was too great, and the heat too powerful, for the boats' crew had to pull nearly forty miles every trip. high water took place in st. george's basin at twenty minutes after twelve o'clock: the tide rose twenty-four feet. hanover bay is a very convenient port, about five miles deep, but exposed from the north-north-west; the anchorage is, however, so good, that no danger need be apprehended. at the bottom of the bay there is a deep chasm in the land, yielding a fresh-water stream; beyond this the bay terminates in a shoal basin. in the offing are several rocky islets, particularly one, a high rock, which is very remarkable. a little to the north-east of the river is a sandy beach, the situation of which is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. high bluff, the extremity of the promontory separating hanover bay from port george the fourth, speaks for itself. it is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. between high bluff and point adieu, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, is port george the fourth, having midway in its entrance a high island nearly two miles long; and to the southward, in the centre of the port, a high rocky islet, the lump, the summit of which is situated in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the western side of the port is an extensive island, augustus island, eleven miles long; it is high and rocky, and has several bays on its eastern side. the port affords very good anchorage, particularly between entrance island and the lump, in nine fathoms, mud; but there is also very good anchorage with the lump bearing west, in ten fathoms, mud. port george the fourth terminates in a strait, roger's strait, communicating with camden bay. the best entrance to the port is on the eastern side of entrance island; for the opposite, although practicable and sufficiently deep for the largest ships, is narrow, and must be buoyed before it can be used. point adieu is the last land seen by us in : it is the north-east end of augustus island, and is a rocky, bluff point. in the offing, at the distance of three miles, there is a considerable range of reefs, that extend from the peaked island of jackson's isles; and more to the north-west is another group of rocky islands. to the westward of augustus island is a range of islands extending for five leagues; on their north side they are fronted by considerable coral reefs, which at low water are dry; besides which there are several small islets that contract the channels, and render the navigation intricate and difficult. between augustus and byam martin's islands there is an open strait, of one mile and a half wide; but, its communication with the sea to the north, appears to be little more than half a mile. byam martin's island is separated from a range of small islets, extending north-north-east by a strait; and these last are divided from the champagny isles by another strait, from twenty-eight to thirty fathoms deep, through which the tide runs with great force. off the north end of byam martin's island are several smaller islets and coral reefs; the latter extend from it for more than six miles: the north-westernmost of these islets is the land seen in by captain heywood, and was called by him vulcan point: red island, which he also saw, is eight miles to the westward; it is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds: between it and champagny isles the ebbing tide uncovered several extensive reefs. ten miles north degrees east from red island, and south degrees west from freycinet's island, is a dry sandbank surrounded by a reef. degerando island, so called by the french, is the southernmost of the champagny isles: considerable reefs extend off its south end, which are dry at low water; its centre is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. camden bay is formed between byam martin's island and pratt's islands, and extends to the eastward to roger's strait; it is twelve miles deep and eight wide. here the tide rose and fell thirty-seven feet and a half, the moon's age being nineteen days. high water took place thirteen minutes after the moon's transit. between camden bay and point swan, a distance of ninety miles, the mainland falls back, and forms a very considerable opening fronted by a multitude of islands, islets, and reefs, into which, from our loss of anchors; we were not able to penetrate. from camden bay the islands, for the coast seemed too irregular to be the mainland, extend in a range in a south direction for more than fifty-five miles, to where there appeared to be a deep opening, or strait, from three to five miles wide. an irregular line of coast then appeared to extend for seven leagues to the north-west, and afterwards to the westward for five or six leagues. to the westward of this, the land appeared to be less continuous, and to be formed by a mass of islands separated by deep and narrow straits, through some of which the tide was observed to rush with considerable strength, foaming and curling in its stream, as if it were rushing through a bed of rocks: this was particularly observed among the islands to the south of macleay's islands. after extending for thirty miles farther to the south-west, the land terminates evidently in islands, which then trend to the south-east; and to the westward they are separated from cygnet bay, and the land to the southward of it by a strait five or six leagues wide. the narrowest part of this strait is at point cunningham, where it is twelve miles wide; two-thirds over to the islands are two rocky islets, which bear due south from sunday strait. montgomery islands, a group of seven islets on the eastern side of this extensive range of islands, which are named buccaneer's archipelago, are low and of small extent, particularly the six easternmost, none of which are a mile long: the westernmost, which has an extensive reef stretching to the north-west, is more than three miles in diameter, and appears to be of different formation to the other, being low and flat, whilst the rest are scarcely better than a heap of stones, slightly clothed with vegetation. between the easternmost islet and the land, there is a strait of a league in width. the tide prevented our trying its depth: a league and a half to the north-west, at high-water, we had irregular soundings between ten and sixteen fathoms, but six fathoms must be deducted from it to reduce it to the depth at low water. three leagues to the north-west of montgomery's westernmost island are cockell's isles, two in number, low and flat, but of small size. a reef extends for more than five miles to the westward, and it was not thought improbable that it might be connected with the reefs that extend to the westward of montgomery islands. the centre of the largest island is in degrees minutes south, and degrees minutes east. to the north-east of cockell's islands the flood-tide sets to the south; but to the westward with great strength to the south-east, and, at an anchorage ten miles to the eastward of macleay isles, the tide rose and fell thirty-six feet, the moon being twenty-one days old. cockell's islands are twenty miles from the land to the south; and in this interval, but within four leagues from the shore, are several small rocky islets, on one of which there is a remarkable lump; nearer the shore are two islands, which have a more fertile and verdant appearance than any other part near them: these form the western extremity of collier's bay. macleay isles lie in a north by west direction, and are eight miles in extent; the principal and highest island is near the south end of the group; those to the northward are small and straggling. the centre of the highest is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. caffarelli island was seen by the french. its summit is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. it is the north-westernmost of a range of islands, extending in the direction of north degrees west; among which cleft island, so named from a remarkable cleft or chasm near its north end, and dampier's monument, are conspicuous: the latter is a high lump. this range is separated from one of a similar nature, and extending in a like direction to the eastward, by a strait from three to four miles wide, and from fifteen to twenty deep. fourteen miles north degrees west from the summit of caffarelli island is brue reef, a circular patch of rocks of about a mile in diameter; three miles to the north-east of which we had irregular soundings, between thirty-eight and forty-five fathoms on a rocky bottom. the reef is in degrees minutes south, and degrees minutes seconds east. six miles south of caffarelli island, is a rocky island, surrounded by a reef; and eight miles farther are several small rocky islands, forming the north extremity of a range, which, extending to the south by east for ten miles, form the eastern side of sunday strait, which is the best, and in fact the only safe communication with the deep opening between point cunningham and the islands to the eastward. between this strait and point swan, a distance of eleven miles, the space is occupied by a multitude of islands and islets, separated from each other by narrow and, probably, by deep channels, through which the tide rushes with frightful rapidity. sunday strait is more than four miles wide, and appears to be free from danger. the tide sets through it at the rate of four or five miles an hour, and forms strong ripplings, which would be, perhaps, dangerous for a boat to encounter. the vessel was whirled round several times in passing through it; but a boat, by being able to pull, might in a great measure avoid passing through them. cygnet bay is formed between the islands and point cunningham; it is fronted by a bank, over which the least water that we found was two fathoms; within this bank there is good anchorage, and near the inlets at the bottom of the bay, there is a muddy bottom, with eight and nine fathoms mud. point cunningham projects slightly to the eastward; its easternmost extremity is in latitude degrees minutes seconds and longitude degrees minutes; from the northward it has the appearance of being an island, as the land to the westward is rather lower: two miles and a half south of it is carlisle head, the north extremity of goodenough bay. the shore thence extends in a south-south-east direction for seventeen miles, in which space there is a shoal bay, beyond which we did not penetrate. off the point is an islet, in latitude about degrees minutes, and to the south of it the land was seen trending to the south by east for four or five miles, when it was lost in distance. from this anchorage no land was distinctly seen to the eastward; between the bearings of east-north-east and south-south-east, a slight glimmering of land was raised above the horizon, by the effect of refraction; but this, as in a case that occurred before in a neighbouring part off point gantheaume, might be at least fifty miles off. from all that is at present known of this remarkable opening, there is enough to excite the greatest interest; since, from the extent of the opening, the rapidity of the stream, and the great rise and fall of the tides, there must be a very extensive gulf or opening, totally different from everything that has been before seen. there is also good reason to suspect that the land between cape leveque and point gantheaume is an island; and if so, the mouth of this opening is eight miles wide; besides, who is to say that the land even of cape villaret may not also be an island? the french expedition only saw small portions of the coast to the southward; but it does not appear probable that the opening extends to the southward of cape villaret. (see above.) thirty-three miles in a north degrees west direction from the summit of caffarelli island is adele island. it is low, and merely covered with a few shrubs, and is about three miles from east to west, and from one to one and a half broad; its west end is in degrees minutes south, and degrees minutes seconds east. at about a league north-west from its western end are two bare sandy islets, which were uncovered as we passed, but which as there was not the slightest appearance of vegetation upon it, may be covered at high water. on the western side of adele island, is an extensive patch of light-coloured water, in some parts of which the sea broke upon the rocks, which were only just below the surface. the light-coloured water extends for fourteen miles north west by west / west from adele island, but there is reason to think that the water is deep over the greater part of it; for we crossed over its tail, and sounded in forty-five fathoms without finding bottom, whilst in the darker-coloured water on either side of it, we had forty-two and forty-four fathoms. point swan is the north-easternmost point of the land of cape leveque; it has an island close off its extremity, round which the tide rushes with great force, and forms a line of ripplings for ten miles to the west-north-west, through which, even in the bathurst, we found it dangerous to pass. five miles to the north-eastward of the point are two small rocky islets, two miles apart from each other. cape leveque is low and rocky, with a small islet close to its extremity: its extreme is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. between the cape and point swan, there is a sandy bay, fronted by a bed of rocks. it was in this bay that the buccaneers anchored, which dampier has so well described. the coast between capes leveque and borda extending south degrees west nineteen miles, is low and rocky, and the country sandy and unproductive. between cape borda and point emeriau is a bay ten miles deep, backed by very low sandy land; and five miles further is another bay, that appeared to be very shoal: thence the coast extends to the south-west for twenty-three miles to cape baskerville; it is low and sandy, like that to the northward, but the interior is higher, and with some appearance of vegetation. thirteen miles from the shore are the lacepede islands; they are three in number, and surrounded by a reef nine miles long by five wide. they lie in a north-west direction, and are two miles apart: the north-westernmost is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds: they are low and slightly clothed with bushes, and seem to be little more than the dry parts of the reef, on which a soil has been accumulated, and in time produced vegetation. these islands appear to be the haunt of prodigious numbers of boobies. the variation is degrees minutes west. in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, the french have placed a reef, banc des baleines; which we did not approach near enough to see. between capes baskerville and berthollet, is carnot bay; it is six miles deep, and backed by low land. the bottom of the bay was not distinctly seen, but from the appearance of the land behind the beach, it is not improbable that there may be a rivulet falling into it. at point coulomb, in latitude degrees minutes, where there is a range of dark red cliffs, the coast commences to present a more verdant and pleasing appearance than to the north: the interior rises to an unusual height, and forms a round-backed hill, covered with trees: it reminded us of the appearance of the country of the north coast, and is so different from the rugged and barren character of the islands of buccaneer's archipelago as to afford an additional ground for our conjecture of the insularity of this land. the red cliffs extend for four miles to the southward of point coulomb, and are then superseded by a low coast, composed alternately of rocky shores and sandy beaches. cape boileau is seventeen miles to the south of point coulomb; here the shore trends in and forms a bay fifteen miles wide and six deep: the south head is the land of point gantheaume, which is composed of sandhills very bare of vegetation, as was also the character of the interior. from point gantheaume, in latitude degrees minutes, the coast trends to the south-east for about fifteen miles, where it was lost to view in distance: the extreme was a low sandy point, and appeared to be the south extremity of the land. the space to the south of this, which appeared to be a strait, insulating the land to the north as far as cape leveque, is nine miles wide. the south shore trends to the westward to cape villaret, on which there is a remarkable hillock, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the space between the cape and point gantheaume was called roebuck bay. it is here that captain dampier landed, in the year . three miles to the south of the hillock on cape villaret, are two lumps, which at a distance appeared like rocks. cape latouche-treville has a small hummock near its extremity, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds; to the eastward of it, there is a shallow bay open to the northward. the depth of water in the offing of roebuck bay, is between eight and twelve fathoms; the bottom is sandy, and there are in some parts sandbanks, on which the depth decreased three fathoms at one heave, but the least water was eight fathoms. the flood-tide sets to the eastward, towards the opening, and at an anchorage near cape latouche-treville, the ebb ran to the north-east: but the tides were at the neaps, and did not rise more than sixteen feet. captain dampier, at the springs, found it flow thirty feet, which tends unquestionably to prove the opening behind roebuck bay to be considerable, even if it does not communicate with that behind the buccaneer's archipelago. the interval between cape latouche-treville and depuch island, was not seen by us. the following brief description of it is taken from m. de freycinet's account of commodore baudin's voyage. lagrange bay, to the east of cape bossut, is a bight, the bottom of which was not seen. cape bossut is low and sandy, as well as the neighbouring land; and, with the exception of a small grove of trees a little to the north of cape duhamel, the country is sterile everywhere. the casuarina reef is a bank of sand and rocks, parts of which are dry, on which the sea occasionally breaks. the channel between it and the shore is narrow and shoal, the depth being two and a half fathoms. the dry part of the reef extends from east to west for about two miles. between capes duhamel and missiessy, the coast is sandy and sterile, with rocky projections: geoffroy and desault bays are of the same character. with the exception of two intervals, one of which is to the west of cape missiessy, and the other to the east of the bancs des planaires, the french saw the coast between capes missiessy and keraudren, but at a great distance. it appeared low and sterile. the bancs des planaires appeared to have a considerable longitudinal extent; it was not ascertained whether they joined the mainland: some parts seemed to be dry at low water. there is a bank with only fourteen feet water over it, situated nearly north-east from cape keraudren in degrees minutes latitude. north, a little westerly, from cape larrey, between which and cape keraudren there is a bay with an island (poissonnier) in the entrance, is bedout island. it is in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes, east of paris, or degrees minutes east of greenwich. it is low and sandy. the banc des amphinomes is very extensive, and appeared to be connected with the main; it is composed of coral, rocks, and sand. the coast to the south-west of cape larrey is, as well as the cape itself, of a remarkable red colour. the country appeared to be sterile. turtle islands, two in number, lie west-north-west from cape larrey: the south-westernmost is merely a flat sandy islet (plateau de sable) the other is surrounded by a reef of coral, upon which the sea breaks. the casuarina (m. de freycinet's vessel) had nine fathoms within half a mile of it; the reef appeared to be steep, and the island to afford a landing in fine weather. the land is equally low and sandy as far as cape thouin and cape cossigny. the geographe reefs extend for more than twelve miles, and perhaps are joined to the land. their southern parts dry at low water. the geographe sailed through them, so that it is probable they are detached in numerous reefs. at forestier islands we saw the coast again. the main is here very low, but from the shoalness of the water we were not able to penetrate behind depuch island. it is very uncertain whether the coastline that is laid down upon the chart is correct: it was scarcely visible from the deck, and was so low that it might have merely been the dry parts of extensive reefs. the high land retires for fifteen or twenty miles, and forms an amphitheatre or deep bay, with some hills of considerable elevation in the distance. all the islands of this group are low and sandy, excepting depuch, which is high, and of a very peculiar formation; it is described in the first volume. we did not land upon it, but on its north-east side there appeared to be a bay, on which the french found a stream of water. between depuch island and cape lambert the coast is very shoal. towards the latter the hills approach the sea, and the bottom is deeper. bezout island is connected to the cape by a reef, on which there are several dry rocks; we passed close round its north-east edge, and had eleven fathoms. to the westward of cape lambert, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes, there are two deep openings, which appeared to be merely bays, but their bottom was not distinctly seen. on the top of the hill of the projecting point that separates them, there are three remarkable rocky summits. the next point has several round-backed hills upon it; it is the east head of nickol's bay, into which there may possibly fall one or more streams; its shores are low, and appeared to be lined with mangroves. nickol's bay affords good anchorage in six and seven fathoms, and is only exposed to the north-east. it is protected from westerly winds by high land: it is, however, rather exposed to the south-west winds, from the little elevation of the land in that direction; but if a vessel should drive, the passage between bezout and delambre island is clear and, as far as we know, free from danger. delambre island has very extensive reefs stretching to the northward, and also to the eastward, but on its western side did not appear to extend for more than half a mile: the hill at the north end of the island is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minute seconds; the passage between it and the reef off hauy island, is about two miles and a half wide, and from nine to ten fathoms deep. the edge of the reef off the latter island is not well defined, for we passed several straggling rocks. legendre island is the northernmost of dampier's archipelago: it is nine miles long, and from half to one and a half mile broad: near its south-east end, which is connected to hauy island, there are several rocky islets, and near its extremity it has three remarkable hillocks; its north-west point is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes; its north-east coast and north-west extremity are of bold approach: the latter has a reef that fronts its shores, extending for about a quarter of a mile into the sea; the ground under its lee is rocky, and not safe to anchor near. our cable hooked a rock, fortunately however it was rotten, and broke away, so that the cable, being a chain was not damaged. the islands of dampier's archipelago, are of high rocky character, and very different from either the coast or the islands in their vicinity. it consists of about twenty islands, besides smaller ones, scattered over a space of forty miles in extent: delambre is the easternmost island, and a small sandy island to the south-west of enderby island is the westernmost. gidley island, and two others to the eastward, extend in a north and south direction; they are high and rocky. the west shore of gidley island appeared to be fronted by a continuous reef, on which some patches of dry rocks were observed. gidley island is separated from legendre island by a very shoal and rocky strait, apparently impassable for anything larger than boats. it has several small sandy islets scattered about it, and at low water the greater part is dry. there is doubtless a deep passage through, but it must be intricate and dangerous, and only to be attempted in a case of the most pressing emergency. on the island to the southward, are two sandy bays. the land to the southward is doubtless a part of the main: and is, like the other islands, high and rocky. it forms the eastern shore of mermaid's strait, which is an excellent port, affording safe and secure anchorage at all seasons. the islands on the western side of the strait, are lewis and malus. the north-east point of the latter island, courtenay head, is, without doubt, captain dampier's bluff head. it is a very remarkable point; its summit is in degrees minutes seconds south, and degrees minutes seconds east. on its west side is a sandy bay with good anchorage in four and five fathoms. malus island is separated from lewis island by a strait a mile wide; it is probably deep. the north-east point of lewis island is a narrow projecting tongue of land, terminating in a high rocky lump; and to the southward of it, are two high rocky islets of similar appearance. there is also another, but of smaller size, off the south-east point of malus island. in the centre of lewis island there is a valley, that stretches across to the opposite sides of the island, forming a bay on either side. to the south of lewis island is a group of islands, which, from the circumstance of our communicating with the natives, was called intercourse islands. they are all small. the largest has a remarkable summit upon it, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds: it is from this island that the natives drove us, and would not allow us to land.* the channel between them and lewis island is more than a mile wide, and is seven and eight fathoms deep. (*footnote. vide volume .) enderby island is separated from lewis island by a channel one mile and a half wide, apparently clear and free from danger. its south-west point is rocky head, the summit of which was found to be in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. to the north is goodwyn island; and further north, and west-north-west from malus island, from which it is separated by a strait two miles and a half wide, is rosemary island, which, when viewed from the north-north-east or south-south-west, has three hummocks bearing from each other west by north and east by south. the centre hummock is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes. in the vicinity of rosemary and goodwyn islands are several small rocky islands, particularly on the north-east side of the former; and at the distance of three miles, to the north of the centre of malus island, is a patch of flat rocks, which are those seen and noticed by dampier (dampier volume page table number ) but from his vague account, it is not at all certain what island he saw; and, was it not for the peculiarity and remarkable appearance of courtenay head, it might have been any of the others. there is good anchorage in all parts about the archipelago, particularly within lewis island, where the intercourse islands will shelter a ship from whatever point the wind may blow. there is no wood of any size to be procured among the islands, which is a great drawback upon its utility as a port. in the rainy season water is doubtless abundant, but must be soon evaporated. we saw no rivulet or any fresh water, excepting a few gallons that were protected from the heat of the sun by being under the shade of a fig, but from the number of natives seen by us, it is probable that there must be a large quantity not far off. the natives of this part use logs to convey them from and to the islands. a small sandy island, with a reef extending for two miles from its north-west end, and one mile and a half from its south-east end, lies off the south-west end of enderby island, and would serve as a good protection from the sea in a south-west wind, for the anchorage on the south side of enderby island. the mainland is high and rocky behind the islands, but at the bottom of the bay again assumes a low character: more to the westward, a range of hills rises abruptly and advances for fourteen miles in a north-west direction from the interior, and reaches the shores of the bay, when it extends for eleven miles to the westward, and is then terminated by a valley, or an opening of one mile and a half wide, that separates it from the rocky hills of cape preston. the cape juts out into the sea, and is connected by reefs to some low sandy islands to the north-east; it is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes. in the centre of the bay, at eight miles north degrees east from the extremity of the cape, is a low, sandy islet, of about one-third of a mile in diameter; and behind it, near the shores of the bay, there appeared to be other islands of the same size and character, the particular form and situation of which could not be distinguished. there is a small rocky islet off cape preston, and some to the south-south-west, in which direction the shore trends in and forms a bay, the shores of which were not seen. from cape preston the coast assumes a very different character from that to the eastward, being less sinuous, very low, and either fronted by mangroves, or by a range of sandhills, both of which conceal the interior. the coast, at from three to seven miles, is fronted by a range of low, sandy islets, from one quarter to two-thirds of a mile in diameter: there are, however, two or three near cape preston of larger size, particularly one bearing south degrees west, fifteen miles from the extremity of the cape, of rocky character, but very level, and apparently sterile; it is nearly circular, and about two miles in diameter. it is visible for about five leagues. thirty miles south-west by south from cape preston is a mangrove bight, with several openings communicating with a large lagoon, or body of water, at the base of a small range of hills. the bight is shoal and thickly studded with sandy islets. hence the coast extends to the south-west by west, fronted by mangroves for about forty miles, and then for about sixteen miles south-west to the entrance of curlew river. between curlew river and cape preston, a space of eighty-five miles, there are not less than thirty sandy islets in sight from the coast, separated from each other by channels, generally navigable, between one to five miles wide. good anchorage may be found among these islands, for the sea cannot fail of being smooth in the strongest winds. the depth among these islands is from four to six fathoms, and the bottom generally of gravel or sand. curlew river is defended by a shoal entrance, and is merely a creek running through a low country for three miles; its banks are overrun with mangroves, and it affords no inducement whatever for vessels to visit it. the country behind is low, and, at spring tides, or during the rainy season, is inundated. the coast continues low and sandy to cape locker, a distance of thirteen miles, and with the same barren character for twenty miles further, forming the east side of exmouth gulf. rosily, and thevenard isles are low and sandy; they were seen by us at a considerable distance. barrow's island, of about forty miles in circumference, is of moderate height and level aspect, but of very sterile and barren appearance. a considerable reef extends towards the main from its south-east side, where there is also a small islet: on the north-east side are three islets; the two outermost of which are low and rocky. the west coast of barrow's island was seen by the french, who thought it was part of the main; they named its north-west end, cape dupuy, and its south end, cape poivre. at ten miles south degrees west from the last cape, the french charts have assigned a position to a reef: and four miles north degrees east from cape dupuy is another. neither were noticed by us, since we did not approach this part sufficiently near to see them if they do exist; of which, from the account of the french, there can be but little doubt. lowendal island and trimouille island were seen by us, but not any vestige of hermite island, which the french have placed in their chart. from m. de freycinet's account, the two latter islands were seen at different times; and since trimouille island has a reef extending for five miles from its north-western extremity, as hermite island is described to have, there seems to be good reason to suppose that there is but one; had there been two, we should have seen it on passing this part in .* (*footnote. vide volume .) from the reasons mentioned in the narrative, there remains no doubt in my mind that barrow's island, and lowendal and trimouille islands (which the french called the montebello islands) are the long lost tryal rocks. the latitude and description answer very exactly; the longitude alone raises the doubt, but the reckonings of former navigators cannot be depended upon, and errors of ten or twelve degrees of longitude were not rare, of which many proofs might be found, by comparing the situations of places formerly determined with their position on the charts of the present time. many old navigators were not very particular; and never gave the error of their account upon arriving at their destined port, either from shame or from carelessness and indifference. a reef of rocks is said to exist in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. they were seen by lieutenant ritchie, r.n., in the command of a merchant brig, as appears by an account published in the sydney gazette. exmouth gulf terminates the north-west coast of australia; it is thirty-four miles wide at its entrance (between the north-west cape and cape locker) and forty-five miles deep. its eastern side is formed by a very low coast, the particulars of which were not distinguished, for it is lined by an intricate cluster of islands that we could not, having but one anchor, penetrate among. in the entrance is muiron island, and two others, h and i; and within the gulf they are too numerous to distinguish: all the outer ones have been assigned correct positions to, as have all between exmouth gulf and dampier's archipelago. the islets y and z are the outer ones of the group; between which and the western shore there is a space of fourteen miles in extent, quite free from danger, with regular soundings between nine and twelve fathoms on a sandy bottom. under the western shore, which is the deepest, there are some bays which will afford anchorage; but the bottom is generally very rocky. in the neighbourhood of the bay of rest, the shore is more sinuous, and in the bay there is good anchorage in three and four fathoms, mud. here the gulf is twelve miles across, and from three to six fathoms deep; but the eastern side is shoal and very low. the gulf then shoalens and narrows very much; and at fifteen miles farther terminates in an inlet, or, as has been subsequently conjectured, a strait communicating with the sea at the south end of the high land that forms the western side of the gulf, and which is doubtless the identical cloates island that has puzzled navigators for the last eighty years. it perfectly answers the descriptions that have been given; and the only thing against it is the longitude; but this, like that of the tryal rocks, is not to be attended to. (*footnote. vide below.) the south-west point of this land has been named point cloates until its insularity shall be determined, when, for the sake of geography, the name of cloates island should be restored. at the bottom of the south-eastern side of exmouth gulf the land is so low and the islands so numerous, that it was in vain that we attempted to examine its shores, which was also rendered still more difficult and dangerous to persevere in doing, from our losses of anchors, and the strong winds which blew every night from the south-west. the north-west cape is a low, sandy point, projecting for full two miles to the east-north-east from the fall of the land, which was called vlaming head. there is a reef of small extent off the cape, but separated from it by a channel half a mile wide, and six fathoms deep; a sandy spit extends also from the cape for about a quarter of a mile. the extremity of the north-west cape is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds; and vlaming head in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minute seconds. ... appendix a. section . of the winds and weather, and description of the western coast between the north-west cape and cape leeuwin. north-west coast. we did not obtain much experience of the winds upon this coast, having only been upon it during the months of january and february, when they prevailed between south-south-east and south-south-west, veering sometimes, though rarely, to south-west. in the winter season (june, july, and august) hard gales of wind have been experienced from the north-west, even as high as shark's bay; and at this season the coast ought not to be approached. the south-east trade is suspended in the neighbourhood of the coast in the summer season, and the winds are almost constant from south-south-west. between the north-west cape and point cloates, which is in degrees minutes seconds south, a space of about fifty-two miles, the shore is defended by a reef of rocks, extending from three to five miles from it. the land is high and level, and of most sterile appearance: nearer the north end there is a low, sandy plain at the foot of the hills; but to the southward the coast appeared to be steep and precipitous. this is evidently the land that has been taken for cloates island; and, in fact, it is not at all unlikely to be an island, for, to the southward of the latter point, the shore trends in, and was so indistinctly seen, that it probably communicates with the bottom of exmouth gulf.* at latitude degrees minutes the coast slightly projects, and is fronted by a reef, on which the sea was breaking heavily. (*footnote. vide volume .) cape farquhar, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, is a low, sandy point. to the northward of it the coast trends in and forms a bay, but not deep enough to offer shelter from the prevailing winds. between cape farquhar and cape cuvier the coast is low and sandy; the land has a level outline, and the shore is formed by a sandy beach, which did not appear to be fronted by rocks. the land of cape cuvier is high, level, and rocky, and, rising abruptly from the sea, forms a bluff point, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. this promontory is the northern head of shark's bay. the land was not seen by us to the south-east, and is laid down, as is indeed the whole of shark's bay, from m. de freycinet's chart, which was drawn from the survey made of it in commodore baudin's voyage. the western coast of bernier and dorre islands are bold to, and are composed of a high, precipitous cliff, with a level summit. the only irregularity upon them is a slight elevation on the south end of the latter. off the north end of bernier island is the small islet called kok's. the channel between bernier and dorre is about a mile and a half wide, but is so blocked up by rocks as to be impassable. dirk hartog's island extends from cape inscription, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, to degrees minutes; it is here separated from point escarpee (bluff point) by a strait, which has a shoal communication with shark's bay. dirk hartog's island is high, and of similar appearance to bernier and dorre; it is fronted by a line of breakers. dirk hartog's road, at the north end of the island, is a commodious roadstead, sheltered from all winds to the southward of east and west; and, since they are the prevailing and almost constant winds of this part, may be considered a very secure anchorage. there is a reef extending off cape inscription for half a mile, which will also afford protection from the sea, even should the wind blow hard from the west. the beach of the bay is fronted by coral rocks, but affords easy landing in all parts, particularly at high water. this beach is covered with turtles' nests; and at daylight thirty to fifty might be turned and embarked without any difficulty or delay. the animals are easily taken, since the rocks prevent their escaping into the sea; and it is only at high water that they can return. m. de freycinet says (page ) that there is a passage between the reef, off the east point of the bay, and the shore with ten fathoms. the following account of shark's bay is taken from m. de freycinet's account (page et seq.) in the fairway of the entrance to shark's bay, between dorre and dirk hartog's islands, is dampier's reef; it is two miles in extent from east to west, and about one mile wide. it has but two and a half and three fathoms water over it, and should be approached with care, on account of the swell. proceeding southerly from cape levillain, which is the east head of dirk hartog's road, at the distance of five or six miles is a cove (barachois) formed by reefs, where boats might obtain shelter. hence to quoin point (coin-de-mire) the coast has no sinuosities. tetrodon bay is seven miles wide and very shallow; it has two or three sandy islets in it, and can only be entered by small boats. near refuge point is a safe and convenient creek. to the southward of this there are several shoal bays. to the eastward of cape ransonnet, which is peaked and of a moderate elevation, there are several little creeks well adapted for boats and, to the westward, a sandy plain extends to the south extremity of the island. that part of shark's bay, between dirk hartog's island and peron's peninsula, is formed by le passage epineux, useless harbour (havre inutile) and henry freycinet's harbour: to the southward of the line of bearing between quoin point and cape lesueur, the sea is shoal and studded with banks, but to the north it is quite open. the passage epineux, which separates dirk hartog's island from the main, is about two miles wide; but the reefs and rocks, which protrude from either shore, reduce the passage to half that width. the depth upon the rocky bar which stretches across the entrance is six fathoms, but immediately without it the depth is twenty-two fathoms. m. de freycinet says, that a ship upon a lee shore in the vicinity of point escarpee may enter this opening with confidence; she will find a good shelter and excellent anchorage in five and six fathoms fine sand. to enter it, pass in mid-channel, if anything, borrowing upon point escarpee, and steer for the mondrain de direction, and pass over the bar without fearing the breakers upon it, which are caused by the sudden decrease of depth, from twenty-two to six fathoms; after this the depth will continue without altering more than one fathom. the best anchorage is to the south-west of cape ransonnet, for within it the passage is blocked up by shoals, over which a boat cannot without difficulty pass. useless harbour is so shoal as to be, according to its name, quite unserviceable; since boats can with difficulty penetrate to the bottom, although its length is twenty-one miles: henry freycinet harbour is twenty-two leagues long in a south-east direction; and from three to six leagues wide. its entrance is blocked up by a bar; and, although the depth within is in some parts considerable, it is very doubtful whether ships can enter it. the shores are difficult to land upon, from the shoals extending so far off. on the western side of this harbour there are several inlets and deep bays, but too shoal to be of any service. the eastern shore of the harbour is formed by peron's peninsula, which separates it from hamelin's harbour. it is sixteen leagues long and five leagues wide. dampier's bay, at the north-west end, contains several sandy bays, where boats may almost always land. it is here that the french had their observatory. from the northern point of the peninsula, pointe des hauts-fonds, the reefs extend for three leagues to the north and north-north-west. they were then supposed to extend to the north-east. the french only examined the western shores of hamelin harbour. the opposite coast was seen only at a distance, and the shoalness of the water prevented their boats from approaching it. m. de freycinet says: "ces terres, basses et steriles, ne contiennent aucune coupure; l'uniformite y est par-tout complete," page . although hamelin harbour is not so deep as that of henry freycinet, on the opposite side of peron's peninsula, it is nevertheless of larger size. the centre is much occupied by banks, which entirely surround faure island; the diameter of which is about two leagues. although many sandy beaches were seen at a distance upon the eastern shore of shark's bay, yet the boats of the french ships could not reach the shore on account of the reefs which front it. here and there they distinguished red cliffs, and some signs of a scanty and burnt up vegetation. of the anchorages in shark's bay, the most convenient appears to be that in dampier's bay, at the north-west end of peron's peninsula, as well on account of the excellency of the holding-ground, as the facility of procuring fuel. the naturaliste remained a long time at this anchorage, and never experienced any ill effect from the winds. the distance from the shore was six miles, and the depth six fathoms, fine sandy bottom. the sea was so clear, that the anchor was easily distinguished. the naturaliste found only occasion to moor with a kedge, merely to keep the cable clear of the anchor. as the strongest winds were the south and east, the bower anchor was laid in the latter direction. the above seems to be all that is worth taking from m. de freycinet's account as regards the navigation of shark's bay. the coasts of the harbours of henry freycinet and hamelin are much more detailed by him, and there is also much valuable information upon various heads, particularly as to meteorological observations, and the productions of the land and sea, and a curious example of the effect of a mirage; but as these subjects are irrelevant to the matter of this paper, they have been disregarded. from point escarpee to gantheaume bay, the coast is formed by a precipitous range of rocky cliffs, rising abruptly from the sea, to the height perhaps of three or four hundred feet. the coast is fringed with an uninterrupted line of breakers. the summit of the land is so level, and the coast so uniform, that no summits or points could be set with any chance of recognizing them. the depth at ten miles off the shore, was between fifty and seventy fathoms, decreasing to thirty-four in the neighbourhood of gantheaume bay. gantheaume bay probably affords shelter on its south side from south-west winds: there was some appearance of an opening in it, but vlaming, who sent a boat on shore here, has not mentioned it; and if there is one, it is of very small size, and unimportant. the shores of the bay are low and of sterile appearance. red point, a steep cliffy projection, is the north extremity of a range of reddish-coloured cliffs, of about two hundred feet high, that extends to the southward for eight miles, when a sandy shore commences and continues with little variation, except occasional rocky projections and sometimes rocky bays, as far as cape burney. the coast is moderately high, and, in the interior, some hills of an unusual height for this part of the coast are seen. mount naturaliste is in latitude degrees minutes, and between the latitudes degrees minutes and degrees minutes, is moresby's flat-topped range. it is terminated at the north end by three hills, called menai hills; and at the southern end, by the wizard hills. mount fairfax is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the coast in front of this range is of pleasing and verdant appearance; two or three small openings in the sandy beach, with an evident separation in the hills behind, particularly one in latitude degrees minutes, bore indications of rivulets; and the smokes of natives' fires, and the more wooded character of the coast, showed that the country was evidently more fertile and productive than any other part between cape leeuwin and the north-west cape. the bottom at from ten to twelve miles off, is from twenty to twenty-five fathoms deep, and composed of a fine sand, of a dark gray colour. cape burney is in latitude degrees minutes: four miles to the southward is a reef, apparently detached from the shore. houtman's abrolhos. the old dutch charts give a very considerable extent to this reef; van keulen makes it cover a space of sea, forty-seven miles long, and twenty-five broad. we only saw the islands at the south end, with three detached reefs between them and the shore; one of which (the southernmost) may probably be the turtle dove. the islands lie west degrees north true, forty-one miles from cape burney, but the channel (geelvink channel) between the shore and the reefs, is not more than twenty-six miles wide. the south-easternmost reef that we saw is about three miles long, and lies nearly ten miles south degrees east from the islands; it appeared to be covered, but the sea was breaking high over it. in passing this part of the coast, captain hamelin, who commanded the naturaliste under commodore baudin's orders, must have steered within the reefs, as the geelvink (vlaming's ship) did. the reef that is laid down upon the chart, in latitude degrees minutes is from van keulen. we did not see it. (see horsburgh volume page .) from cape burney the coast is rather low and sandy; in degrees minutes is a reef; and seven miles more to the south is another; they lie from five to seven miles from the shore. in latitude degrees minutes seconds, there is a small peaked hillock; and in degrees minutes seconds, a small sandy patch upon the land. between latitudes degrees minutes and degrees minutes, we did not see the coast, having passed it in the night. it is laid down from van keulen's chart. hence to island point, which is low and rocky, the shore is lined with reefs, extending off shore for two to four miles. at the back of this, and at about eight miles from the coast, is a rocky range, of three leagues in length, on which are mounts peron and lesueur. to the south of island point, are two bays fronted by reefs; the southernmost, jurien bay, has three or more small islets in it. the coast to the south of the bay is sandy. in latitude degrees minutes, are three small rocky lumps, very remarkably placed; the middle one is in latitude degrees minutes seconds: fourteen miles to the south of these are two others, the north-easternmost is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, they are very conspicuously placed upon a ridge of bare white sand. hence the coast winds to the south-south-east for eighty miles as far as the entrance of swan river. the coast is low and slightly wooded, and lined with reefs, that in some places extend for two miles from the shore. off cape leschenault (in latitude degrees minutes) is a reef, lying six miles and a half from the shore; it appeared to be connected with the rocks that line the coast. the following account of swan river is taken from captain de freycinet's account of baudin's voyage (page et seq). "the mouth of swan river is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds east of paris, or ( degrees minutes seconds east of greenwich). the channel is obstructed by a bar of rocks, which it is very difficult to pass over, and, indeed, impracticable if the wind blows from the sea. on entering, the passage is on the starboard side: it is narrow and shoal, and divided into two channels; in each of which there is from five to six feet of water; after passing this, there is seven and eight feet: the course must then be towards the west, to avoid two shoals, which are upon the right bank: after half a mile the navigation is free, and in mid-channel the depth is not less than seven, eight, and nine feet. the river then trends in a northerly direction for seven miles, without any sinuosity of consequence. on the eastern bank, are two shoals; the passage is then on the opposite side of the river, the depth of which is eight feet: beyond these banks the course of the river trends to the eastward towards a low point, upon which there is a solitary tree; an extensive bank fronts this point, and the channel continues on the western shore, ten feet deep. here the river is a mile broad; it then increases its width, and forms spacious bays on either side, that were not examined. to the south-east is an opening, which may probably be an arm of the river; it was called moreau inlet; it was not examined. opposite to it is a sharp point, fronted by a shoal, and the channel is on the eastern side of the river, with thirteen feet water. here the river widens and forms a basin, two miles and a half wide: a little above this the river is blocked up by shoals and islets (heirisson isles) between which the depth is not more than two or three feet, but afterwards deepens gradually from five to fifteen feet: the banks of the river are then not more than one-third of a mile wide, and then continue in a serpentine course, with a channel from seven to ten feet deep, and free from shoals, as far as the french boats examined it. the stream of the river ran very slowly, and winds through a valley, one side of which is abrupt and precipitous, and when it ceases to be so on one side, the heights immediately appear on the other." in front of this river is a group of islands, of which two only are of large size, namely, rottnest and buache. we anchored on the north side of the former, but broke the fluke, from the rocky nature of the bottom. on the north-east side of the island, the anchorage is better, since it is more sheltered. rottnest island is five miles long: it was discovered by vlaming in . its shores are very rocky and difficult to land upon, particularly those of its northern side, which is fronted by rocks. off its north point there are some rocky islets, and on the north-east side a convenient landing place in a sandy bay, where boats may put ashore with great facility. the island is covered with a pine-like tree, which is very good for fire-wood, but no fresh water was found in any part; the french were equally unsuccessful in their search. the north-east point of rottnest island is in degrees minutes seconds south, and degrees minutes seconds east; and the variation degrees minutes west. buache island, according to captain de freycinet's account (page ) is equally difficult to land upon; it is well wooded, but destitute of fresh water. to the south of cape peron is a long range of sandy coast, for seventy miles, to geographe bay, which is open and exposed to the northward and north-west; its western head is formed by cape naturaliste, a rocky point, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, beyond which the coast extends to the southward, without any bays to cape leeuwin. off the cape is naturaliste reef, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds; it was seen by the french expedition. the land is here of a moderate height, but of level aspect. there is a remarkable patch of bare sand, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. it is the tache blanche remarquable of de freycinet's chart. it lies about seven miles from the south extreme of the island. ... appendix a. section . of the winds and weather upon the south coast. directions for king george the third's sound, and hydrographical remarks relating to bass strait. south coast. between the meridians of cape leeuwin and bass strait, the weather is generally very unsettled and tempestuous; and, at certain seasons, very much against a ship making the western passage from port jackson, which is by passing through bass strait, and along the south coast; but it so happens that at the time when ships cannot proceed through torres strait, by reason of the westerly monsoon, namely, from the month of december to that of march, easterly winds prevail upon the south coast, and are more regular and strong in that space between the land and the parallel of bass strait.* i have been told that the south-westerly gales that sometimes occur during that season, seldom, if ever, blow home upon the coast; and that when they do reach the land, they partake more of the character of the sea breeze; be that as it may, a ship steering to the westward should keep to the north of degrees, in order to benefit by the regularity of the wind, which to the south of that parallel generally blows from some western quarter. from april to october the westerly gales are very constant, and veer between south by west and north by east; but, in the months of june and july, seldom veer to the southward of south-west or northward of north-west; they are then accompanied by a deep and heavy sea. the wind, in the summer season, generally revolves with the sun, and, as the atmosphere becomes more dense, veers to the south-east, with fine weather. (*footnote. horsburgh volume page .) the marine barometer is here of considerable importance, as its rise always precedes a south-east wind, and its fall a change from the north-west; it seldom, however, stands lower than twenty-nine and a half inches. the currents generally set to the north, and seldom run with any velocity either to the east or west. a ship steering along this coast to the eastward, bound to port jackson through torres strait, should steer upon the parallel of degrees, to avoid being thrown into the bight to the west of cape northumberland, where with a south-east wind, that would otherwise be fair for carrying her through bass strait, she would be detained probably a week. upon making van diemen's land, she is ready for either a northerly or a southerly wind; since, with the former, she can round van diemen's land, without suffering much detention, or materially lengthening her voyage. king george the third's sound was discovered by captain vancouver in the year , on his celebrated voyage to the north-west coast of america. it offers an excellent resort for vessels, and is convenient for all the purposes of refitting, wooding, and watering. the natives are friendly; the banks of oyster harbour afford a large abundance of oysters and other shell-fish, and the harbours and rivers are well-stocked with fish and birds. there are many convenient anchorages in the sound; the best place for a large ship, when it is necessary to refit the rigging at the same time that she is completing her wood and water, is princess royal harbour; but for a small vessel, not drawing more than eleven feet, oyster harbour is preferable, because she is secured to within one hundred yards of the shore, and therefore better situated for the protection of her people at their occupations from the natives, who are numerous, and will daily visit them. but, for a ship only wanting fuel and water, there is a sandy bay in the south-west corner of the sound, in which two or three streams of excellent water run into the sea over the sand, from which a ship might complete her hold in a day or two, by digging a well to collect it. wood may also be procured at this place, but not of so large a size, or perhaps of so good a quality as at other parts. this bay is readily found, by its being the first to the westward of a rocky point, that projects from some remarkable bare sand hillocks, as also from its being the second sandy beach to the westward of the low flat rocky islet at the back of seal island. the anchorage is good, being a bottom of sand and weeds, and is sufficiently protected from easterly winds by breaksea and michaelmas islands. the anchorage between seal island and the first sandy beach to the westward of bald head, with the low flat rocky islet bearing west, in six or seven fathoms sand and weeds, should be preferred during the summer months; for the easterly winds then prevail, and sometimes blow strong, even as late as march; the anchorage is landlocked, excepting in the direction of east by north, the only quarter to which it is exposed, and even in that direction the angle subtending the sea horizon is not greater than ten degrees of the circle, which is of insignificant consequence. there is no water nearer to this anchorage than in the sandy bay above mentioned, but the distance is trifling for a ship that can send boats with men enough to protect themselves while employed in filling the casks, for notwithstanding the friendly communication we have had with the inhabitants of this sound, they are not to be trusted, unless their character is different from the rest of their countrymen that we have seen. water is procured at princess royal and oyster harbours by digging holes at the edge of the sand under the hills; but, at the latter place, the stream that we used outside the bar affords plenty, of excellent quality, without the trouble of digging. over the bar of oyster harbour there is not more than ten and a half feet at low water, and in the neaps twelve feet at high water; but it is likely that, at spring-tides, there may be fourteen feet, or perhaps more if the wind is blowing into the harbour; but during the springs high water always takes place at night, and it would not, therefore, be prudent to attempt to pass the bar at that time. a vessel intending to go to oyster harbour should anchor off the sandy beach immediately to the eastward of the entrance, that is, between the breakers off the point and the bar, in three fathoms sand, bringing the summit of green island, in the harbour, on with the extremity of the bushes of the west point of entrance, and the highest part of breaksea island in a line with the outer point of the bay: a boat should then be sent to sound the bar. the mark for the deepest part is when the western summit of some flat-topped land, at the back of oyster harbour, is a little open of the rocks off the east side of the entrance. after the bar is passed, the channel is deepest when the centre of the flat land is kept midway between the points of entrance, avoiding a spit of rocks that projects from the rocky point at the west end of the watering beach. the strongest winds are from the westward, and therefore bower anchors should be placed to the south-west and north-west: warps and the stream cable will be sufficient to secure her from easterly winds, as the hills rise immediately over the vessel on that shore. if the run of water outside the bar should fail, holes may be dug at the edge of the grass, about three feet deep, which will yield a sufficient quantity in two or three days for any vessel that can pass over it. the flood-tide in the entrance generally ran sixteen hours, and ebbed eight hours. high water at full and change took place at hours minutes at night; but on the bar the rise and fall was very irregular, and a vessel going in should pay great attention to the depth, if her draught is more than ten feet, for it sometimes rises suddenly two feet. the spring-tides take place about the third or fourth day after new or full moon. the variation here is about degrees east. the situation of seal island, from captain flinders' observations, is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. a small island was reported in the sydney gazette to have been seen in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes east; but as the account says, that kangaroo island was seen the same day, which is not less than one hundred and fifty leagues from the above position, it appears too vague to be correct. (see horsburgh supp. page .) black pyramid, off the north-west end of van diemen's land, in bass strait, is situated about minutes too much to the southward on captain flinders' chart. bell's rock. the following account of a rock, seen by mr. bell, the commander of the ship minerva, on her outward-bound passage to new south wales, appeared in a sydney (new south wales) gazette, of the th of december, . "on the th of november the minerva very narrowly escaped striking on a rock, in the fairway of the west entrance to bass strait, on the south side of king's island. reid's rocks bearing north six miles, and the black pyramid east-south-east: from this situation the danger was about half a mile off (to the southward); but as the water broke only at intervals of three or four minutes, although the swell was very heavy, it is probable there may be sufficient depth of water to carry a ship over it. an indifferent observation made the latitude of the ship at the time degrees minutes." in m. de freycinet's chart of bass strait, some rocky islets are placed forty miles east of sea-elephant bay. i did not succeed in finding them, although the mermaid sailed close to their position. (see volume .) the pyramid, at the east end of bass strait, is placed five miles too much to the northward: its true situation is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. a reef of rocks were seen by lieutenant john lamb, r.n., off cape albany otway. (see horsburgh volume page .) there appears to be a considerable difference in the positions assigned to albatross island, by the french expedition and captain flinders; the former made the difference between the meridian of albatross island, and that of the rock in sea-elephant bay, minutes seconds; whilst by the latter it is minutes seconds. but as captain flinders only saw the north end of king's island, the error seems to originate in his having laid down its eastern side from other authorities, for his difference of longitude between its north-west point and the centre of albatross island only differs minutes seconds from the french, who surveyed that island with great care. several sunken rocks have been discovered from time to time near the north end of great island, so that ships, bound through bass strait to the eastward, should not pass within craggy island without using great caution. the best passage is on the south side of kent's group, between it and the rocky islet (wright's rock) to the south-east. in a line between the above rocky islet and craggy island, and about two miles from the former, is a reef with two small rocks upon it. (see horsburgh supp. page .) there are some considerable errors in captain flinders' chart of van diemen's land, with respect to the latitudes of the south-west cape, the mewstone, the south cape, and the land between them. the first is laid down minutes too much to the north degrees west (true) and the other places in proportion. the corrected situations are given in the second volume of this work. ... appendix a. section . description of the shoals and reefs in the neighbourhood of the coasts of australia. reefs, east coast. elizabeth's reef (see horsburgh's supp. page ) in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees, was discovered by the ships claudine and marquis of hastings, on the th of may, . within two cables' length of the reef, they found fourteen fathoms; at a quarter of a mile off the depth was twenty-five fathoms, but beyond that the bottom was not reached. it is about three miles in circuit, with deep water in the centre: the edge is covered, but some straggling rocky lumps show at intervals above the surface of the water. the east side of the reef extends about north-north-east and south-south-west for one mile, but the greatest extent seemed to be west-north-west and east-south-east. middleton's shoal is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. (see horsburgh volume page .) cato's bank is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. (flinders volume page and horsburgh volume page .) wreck reef is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. (flinders volume page and horsburgh volume page .) carns, or mid-day reef, was discovered by mr. carns, the master of the ship neptune, on the st of june, , having taken a departure the day before from sandy cape. it extends east and west for a considerable distance: the ship passed round the western extremity at two miles off, and found its bearing from sandy cape to be north degrees east, one hundred and seventy-six miles, and to be in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. its eastern limit was not seen: it consists of a string of sandbanks and rocks, from five to twenty feet high, with passages between them. (horsburgh supp. page .) sir james saumarez' shoal was seen by mr. lihou; it is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes by chronometer, which was found correct on making sandy cape a day or two afterwards. there is reason to suppose that many other reefs exist to the north-west of this position. kenn's reef, discovered by mr. alexander kenn, master of the ship william shand, on her passage from sydney to batavia, extends in the direction of north west by north / north for ten miles, and is composed of sand and rocks, some of which, at the south end, were six or eight feet out of the water: it is six miles broad; the centre of the edge (? north) is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes (by chronometer and lunars): it was found to bear south degrees west, six miles from bird islet, of wreck reef. booby and bellona shoals. in the neighbourhood of these reefs, lieutenant john lamb, r.n., commander of the ship baring, was embarrassed for three days, in which interval he was sounding in between nineteen and forty-five fathoms, and frequently passed shoal parts, upon which the sea was breaking. the limits assigned by this officer to the extent of the rocky ground, are the parallels of degrees minutes, and degrees minutes, and the meridians of degrees minutes and degrees minutes. a sandy islet was also seen by him, surrounded by a chain of rocks in degrees / minutes south, and degrees minutes east. the ship minerva also struck soundings in eight fathoms, with the appearance of shoaler water to the south-west; this last danger is in a line between the two shoals in about longitude degrees minutes. (see horsburgh supp. page .) bampton's shoal is laid down in the shape of a horse-shoe, of not less than forty-five miles in extent; on the north-east end are two islets with trees. the avon isles are probably near its south-west extremity: they were seen by mr. sumner, master of the ship avon, september , ; and are described by him as being three-quarters of a mile in circumference, twenty feet high, and the sea between them twenty fathoms deep. at four miles north east by north from them the vessel sounded in twelve fathoms, and at the same time saw a reef ten or fifteen miles to the south-east, with deep water between it and the islets. a boat landed on the south-westernmost islet, and found it inhabited only by birds, but clothed with shrubs and wild grapes. by observation, these islands were found to lie in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. a reef is laid down in m. krusenstern's atlas of the pacific ocean ( ) in latitude degrees, and longitude degrees, and is there called mellish reef. a reef was seen by the ship frederick, the north-east extremity of which is laid down in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes; it is of semi-circular shape, and extends as far south as degrees minutes, and appears to be nearly twenty miles wide. vine's horse-shoe shoal; its northernmost end is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes: it presents its convex, or outer edge, to the southward, and extends as far as fifteen miles to the south and east. diana's bank is placed in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. (horsburgh volume page .) between the parallels of degrees minutes and degrees minutes, and the meridians of degrees minutes and degrees minutes, there are several very extensive reefs, various parts of which have been seen, according to the following accounts. lieutenant vine saw a dry bank in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. see the account of the shoal described by m. tregrosse. mr. brodie, commander of the brig alert, in october, , saw a reef extending for a considerable distance in a north-east and south-west direction. the alert ran along the reef for twenty-five miles: about the centre mr. brodie saw two sand islets in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. lihou's shoal, probably a part of the above reefs seen by lieutenant vine and from the alert, lies in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes: it is forty-six miles in length, and lies north-north-east and south-south-west. a very extensive range of shoals and islets was seen by m. tregrosse, of the french brig les trois freres, in company with the brig jessie, in , according to the subjoined account. on the th june, the two brigs in company fell in with a range of reefs, terminated to the eastward by two sandy islets, the easternmost of which is in degrees minutes ( degrees minutes east of paris); the vessels hauled to the wind immediately, but finding they could not pass to windward, bore up, and ran along the shoal from eight a.m. to four p.m., at the distance of a league and a half. altogether they counted seven islets, three of which were covered with shrubs, and the whole connected by a reef, on the edge of which the sea broke heavily: they were called governor farquhar's group: the westernmost islet is in degrees minutes, and degrees minutes ( degrees minutes east of paris) and appeared to terminate the group. as it was near sunset, the vessels hauled to the wind for the night, and at daylight bore up on a north course: soon afterwards they saw an islet west-north-west; they, however, continued to steer north until eight o'clock, and then, having run nine miles, saw another island north-north-east. on attempting to steer between the isles, they were found to be connected, and having sounded in eleven fathoms, the vessels bore up, and steered between the westernmost islet and two extensive reefs, through a passage five or six miles wide, that appeared to be clear. the westernmost islet is in degrees minutes south, and degrees minutes east ( degrees minutes east of paris) and the westernmost reef, in degrees minutes south, and degrees minutes east ( degrees minutes east of paris). a space of ten or twelve leagues between governor farquhar's group and that seen the preceding day was passed in the night, and probably may contain other reefs. the last group was named tregrosse's islets. north coast. the alert struck on a shoal to the westward of torres strait in ; it seemed to be about two hundred fathoms in length, and about fifty yards broad: it is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. in the vicinity of cape van diemen there are many submarine coral banks, that are not yet shoal enough to be called reefs; that which captain flinders saw, and sounded upon in seven fathoms, lies in degrees minutes latitude, and degrees minutes longitude. the alert also passed over a shoal patch with nine fathoms in degrees minute south, and degrees minutes east. north-west coast. sahul bank is but very imperfectly known, and its extent by no means so large as is laid down upon the chart. in that interval, however, there are probably many reefs, which have been occasionally seen. captain heywood saw a dry part in latitude degrees minutes and longitude degrees minutes, and there are shoal soundings in crossing it on the following parts, namely: column : soundings over coral reef in fathoms. column : latitude. column : longitude. : degrees minutes : degrees minutes. : degrees minutes : degrees minutes. : degrees minutes : degrees minutes. : degrees minutes : degrees minutes. all of which are detached and separated by deep water. (see horsburgh volume page .) cartier island, seen in by the ship cartier, is a dry sand bank surrounded by a shoal extending for four miles to the northward. it is in degrees minutes south, and degrees minutes east, by chronometer. captain heywood in saw the following reefs. the centre of one in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes; and the other in degrees minutes, and degrees minutes. hibernia shoal, seen by mr. samuel ashmore, commander of the ship hibernia, consists of two small sandbanks in the centre of a shoal, four miles in extent, lying in an east and west direction. it is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes, by chronometers. mr. ashmore also saw another shoal in , the particulars of which are detailed in the following letter. "the north-east end of the shoal, fell in with on the th june, , by a good noon observation, is in degrees minutes south, longitude by chronometer degrees minutes seconds (allowing the south head of port jackson to be in degrees minutes seconds). to the westward of the barrier of black rocks, that presented themselves to our view, were several sandbanks, the highest of which, on the east end, appeared to have some vegetation: the rocks in general were six or eight feet above the water and the surf broke violently on the north-east and south-east points in view. the shoal trends in a west by north direction for six or seven miles," it is distinguished on the chart by the name of ashmore's shoal. scott's reef (see horsburgh volume page ) was discovered by captain heywood, r.n., in : the north-west end is in latitude degrees / , and longitude degrees minutes; thence it extends south degrees east for eighteen or nineteen miles to the north-east point, in latitude degrees minute, and longitude degrees minutes; the south extent was not ascertained. it is ninety-seven miles due east from the situation assigned to dampier's rocks. the cartier also struck upon a shoal hereabouts, and captain horsburgh seems to think that there is little doubt of scott's reef being the same that dampier saw, as well as that on which the cartier struck. rowley's shoals consist of three separate reefs, the westernmost is the imperieuse, the middle clerke's, and the north-easternmost the mermaid's. the imperieuse is ten miles in length from north to south, and its greatest breadth five miles: it is surrounded by very deep water and near the eastern edge, in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes, are some dry rocks. clerke's shoal (south end in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes) extends to the north-west, and probably joins the minstrel's shoal, which is described below, and, if this is the case, trends north-north-west / west for seventeen miles. the south end of mermaid's shoal is in degrees minutes south, and degrees minutes east, and extends to the northward for seven miles; but its termination in that direction was not seen. the edges of all these reefs are steep to; and no bottom was obtained with one hundred and eighty fathoms. within the reefs, however, there is a bank of soundings of the depth of from one hundred and seventy to one hundred and twenty fathoms. (see horsburgh volume page .) minstrel's shoal (see horsburgh's supp. page ) its north-east end is in degrees minutes south, and degrees minutes east, or degrees minutes east by chronometer, from the coast of new holland in latitude degrees minutes south. the longitude of that part of the coast by my survey, is degrees minutes; this will make the minstrel's shoal in degrees minutes, which agrees very well with clerke's reef, the centre reef of rowley's shoals, of which it is certainly the north end; so captain horsburgh also supposes. a ship called the lively was wrecked on a coral reef in about degrees minutes south, and degrees minutes east. ritchie's reef, or the greyhound's shoal. the situation of this reef is recorded by captain horsburgh (see supp. page ) to be in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees / minutes; but, by a letter published in the sydney gazette by lieutenant ritchie, r.n., the commander, it would appear to be in degrees minutes seconds, longitude by lunars degrees minutes seconds. rock off van diemen's land. the russian ship rurick, in , saw a dry rock above water off the south-east coast of van diemen's land, in latitude degrees, and longitude degrees minutes. a rock was also seen by the ship lord sidmouth in , in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes. ... appendix a. section . directions for the passage within the reefs through torres strait. inner route. the passage recommended by captain flinders for passing through torres strait us by entering the reefs at murray's island; by which route a two-days' passage will carry a ship past all danger: but, as the space between wreck reef and murray's island is strewed with dangers, many of which have been discovered since the publication of his charts, and of which the greater number have only been recently seen, it cannot be called a safe navigation. the dangers consist of low coral islands, surrounded by extensive reefs, upon which in long and dark nights a vessel is in momentary danger of striking; the result of which must be the certain destruction of the vessel, and the probable loss of the crew. the inner route was first pursued by mr. cripps in the brig cyclops, bound from port jackson to bengal, in . it was subsequently followed by lieutenant c. jeffreys, r.n., in the command of the hired armed vessel kangaroo, on her passage from port jackson to ceylon, in .* this officer drew a chart, with a track of his voyage up the coast; which, considering the shortness of his time, and other circumstances that prevented his obtaining the necessary data to lay down with accuracy so intricate and dangerous a passage, does him very great credit; he filled up the space between endeavour river and cape direction, which captain cook did not see; the only part that had previously been left a blank upon the chart of new south wales; his outline was found to be tolerably correct, and my alterations have only been caused by better opportunities, and by the greater detail of my operations. the general feature of the coast has scarcely required correction; the principal corrections have been in the number, size, and relative bearings of the coral reefs and islands that front it. (*footnote. horsburgh's indian directory volume page .) in describing this route, the whole of the bearings are magnetic; and the courses are freed from the effect of tide or current, since they are only temporary, and often of trifling importance.* (*footnote. in following these directions, reference should be made to the description of the coast contained in this appendix.) directions. having hauled round breaksea spit (see flinders' chart sheet ) in the evening, it would perhaps be dangerous to steer on through the night; after running, therefore, to the west-north-west for five or six leagues, bring to until daylight: but, if the day is before you, the course from the extremity of the spit is west-north-west / west for about a hundred miles. you will then be about twenty miles from cape capricorn: on your way to which you should pass about three miles within lady elliot's island, and also within the southernmost islet of bunker's group, by which you will see how the current has affected your course, and you can act accordingly: if it has set you to the northward, you may pass on either side of or through the islands without danger. after making cape capricorn, you may leave it at a convenient distance, and, directing your course about north west by north, pass either within or without the peaked and flat islands off port bowen; then, steering for the percy group, pass between the nd and rd northumberland islands. after passing the latter, avoid a low dangerous rock, that bears from it north degrees east five miles and three-quarters, and from st peak south degrees west. to avoid this in the night, pass close round number , when, its situation being known, you can easily avoid it. the channel is safe on either side of the percy isles, but that to the westward of them, being better known, is therefore recommended as the safest. then steer either over the mermaid's or bathurst's tracks, which will carry a ship round the projections of the coast as far as cape grafton, as far as which, if the weather is fine, there can be no danger of proceeding through the night; but it must be recollected, that at cape grafton the coral reefs approach the coast, and, consequently, great care must be used. on reaching fitzroy island, round it at a mile off shore, and, when its north end bears west, steer north-west / north for thirty-five miles; you will then be a league to the south-east of a group of low isles; if it should be night when you pass them, come no nearer to them than fourteen fathoms. in steering this course, great care should be taken, not to go too much to the eastward to avoid the reef which the tamar saw. (see above.) if the moon is up the islets will be readily distinguished, but otherwise it would be more prudent to wait for daylight. this course will carry a ship over two of my tracks, and the soundings will be in seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen fathoms. from the low isles direct your course for the hope islands, which bear from the former north degrees west thirty-eight miles, but the course had better be within that line, to avoid some reefs in latitude degrees minutes: pass, therefore, within five miles of cape tribulation, when a direct course may be steered either to the eastward or westward of the hope isles. the better route will be within the western hope, and along its reef at the distance of three-quarters of a mile, by which you will avoid reef a. when you are abreast of its north end, steer north by west westerly for twenty-eight miles; this will carry you to cape bedford which you may round at from one to three or four miles. you will see in your way, at three miles and a half from the north end of the hope reef, reef b; and at fifteen miles from it you will be abreast of e; and five miles farther on you will pass captain cook's turtle reef, which has a dry sand at its north end. these three reefs will be to the eastward of your course. the current sets to the north-west, so that your course must be directed accordingly. in coasting along the shore, you will discern the summits which are marked on the chart. the high conical hill, on the south side of the entrance of endeavour river, is mount cook, bearings of which, crossed with the summit of cape bedford, or any of the particularized summits or points will give the vessel's place, by which the effects of the current, which is generally very slight, will be perceived: on one occasion we found a current in the space between the endeavour reef and turtle reef of two miles an hour to the north-west. being off cape bedford, and steering to the north / west, you will see the three isles ahead: steer between them and the low wooded island; and direct your course round cape flattery and point lookout, to anchor under the turtle group, unless you have time before dark to reach the islands , , or , of howick's group. under which anchorage may be found. in rounding point lookout, do not come within two miles and a half of it, to avoid a reef that is on captain cook's chart, but which we did not see; it lies a mile and a half north from the peaked hill at the extremity of the point. you may pass without the turtle group, or you will find anchorage under lizard island, but this is not recommended, both because the wind is generally fresher as you increase your distance from the shore, and because it lengthens the distance. from the turtle group steer north west by west / west until you see the hillock at the south-east end of number of howick's group: then pass inside and within a mile of and , and between islet and cole's islands, and inshore of and the dry sands s, t, and u. the mermaid's track will direct the course to cape melville. if the day is late when abreast of , of howick's group, anchorage had better be secured under it, as there is none to be recommended between it and cape flinders. upon rounding cape melville, the islands of flinders' group will be seen; and as soon as you have passed round the stony reef that projects off the cape (the extremity of which bears from it by compass north west by north, and from pipon's island south-west by west / west nearly) in doing which steer within the reef that surrounds pipon island, direct the course for the extremity of the islands, which is cape flinders; the course and distance being west / south nearly thirteen miles: on this a low woody island will be left on the starboard hand. his majesty's sloop satellite, in , grounded upon a small reef, bearing north by east (easterly) from the extremity of the cape, distant about two miles; but, as a ship may pass within a stone's throw of the cape, this danger may be easily avoided. the best anchorage here is under the flat-topped hill, at a third of a mile from the shore, in ten fathoms, muddy bottom. in hauling round the cape, avoid a shoal which extends for a short distance from the shore on its western side. if the day is not far advanced, and you have time to run fifteen miles further, the ship may proceed to the reef d; but, indeed, anchorage may be obtained under any of the reefs or islets between this part and cape grenville, for the bottom is universally of mud; and by anchoring with the body of a reef, bearing south-east, the vessel is sufficiently sheltered from the sea, which is generally smooth. on leaving cape flinders, steer west / north for about twenty-three miles, leaving the reefs c and g to seaward, and d, e, and f to the southward, of the course; then haul up about north-west / north, and steer within the reef l and pelican island, and to seaward of the claremont islands and , which are low and woody. when abreast of , the south-west end of the reef m will be seen, which should be passed at from one to two miles, and the course north by west / west will carry you to and , which you may pass on either side of, the channel between them being quite safe. if you take the latter course, steer north, within the reef o, and then close within , to avoid the low rock that covers with the tide. having passed this rock, steer for , and pass within one mile of it, to avoid the shoals that extend off cape sidmouth. hence the course is north-north-west towards night island; and, when abreast of it, steer north / west until near the covered shoal v, when the course may be directed within sherrard's islets and reef (on which there is a sandy islet covered with some bushes) and then steer round cape direction. hence the course north-north-west / west will carry you within the reefs y, z, a, b, and c, and without the rocky islet that lies off restoration island: continuing this course you will, at about five miles beyond the cape, see the long reef e; steer north-west parallel with its edge, which extends until you are abreast of fair cape, where it terminates with a very narrow point. then steer north-west / north, and pass between the two easternmost piper's islands and the reefs h, i, and k; then pass on either side of l and m, inshore of haggerston's island, and round the outermost of sir everard home's group. the anchorages between cape flinders and this are so numerous as not to require particular mention: the north-west end of every reef will afford shelter; but the anchor should not be dropped too near, because the tide sweeps round the edge with greater strength than it does at half a mile off, within which distance the bottom is generally deeper. if the day is advanced and the breeze fresh, night island should not be passed: because the anchorages between it and piper's islands are rather exposed; and a vessel getting underweigh from night island at daylight will easily reach piper's islands, or margaret bay, before dark. the latter bay is round cape grenville; it is fronted by sunday island, which affords good shelter from the wind: it is a safe place to stop at. in passing round sir everard home's islands, steer wide from them, to avoid the tide drifting you towards the group, for it sets to the north-west across the course. the course is then about north-west / west to the bird isles, and thence, to the reef v, about north west by north; the better and more direct plan is to pass within v and w (there is, however, a safe channel between them) and when abreast of the west end of the latter, the course to cairncross island is north by west / west, and the distance about eighteen miles. there not being any very good anchorage between this and cape york, it would be perhaps better to anchor under it for the night, in about fourteen or fifteen fathoms, mud, the island bearing south-east, but not nearer than half a mile, because, within that distance, the bottom is rocky. leaving cairncross island, steer north-north-west / west until escape river is abreast of you, when look out for reef x: steer within it about north west by north, which will take you inside the covered reef z. your course then must be round the albany islands, and hence north west by north for a, which is a rocky islet that may be seen from abreast the albany isles. the passage through the possession isles and endeavour strait is not to be recommended for a large ship, on account of the shoal water that extends from wallis' isles towards shoal cape; but the route round the north end of wednesday and hammond's islands is preferable. upon passing reef a, wednesday island will be seen: in steering towards it, avoid standing too close to the rocky islet that is abreast of the strait between it and horned hill, as some sunken rocks stretch off it for about a quarter of a mile: steer round the north point of wednesday island at half a mile, and then west by south / south which will carry you to the northward of the rock off hammond's island. having passed this rock, steer south-west by west; and when abreast of the south-west end of hammond's island, haul towards a reef, to the southward of the course, on which you will see some dry rocks, which you may pass within half a mile of: you will then avoid reef d, which is generally, if not always, covered: the fairway of this channel is seven and eight fathoms deep. when the summit of good's island bears south-west by west, steer west by south southerly for booby island, by which you will avoid larpent's bank, and when you have passed it, you are clear of the strait. hence you may steer west / south through the night, on which course you will very gradually deepen your water. ... appendix a. section . table: dip of the magnetic needle, observed during the mermaid's and bathurst's voyages upon the coast of australia. column : date. column : place. column : latitude south in degrees minutes seconds. column : longitude east in degrees minutes seconds. column : dip of the needle in degrees minutes seconds. column : north or south end. column : variation in degrees minutes seconds. column : remarks. . october , november : port jackson, east coast : : : : south : east : observed on shore, on the north side of sydney cove. . january : hobart town, van diemen's land : : : : south : east : observed on shore. june : cleveland bay, east coast : : : : south : / east : two observations made at the extremity of the cape. july : endeavour river, east coast : : : : south : east : taken at the tent. . april : goulburn island, north coast : : : : south : east : taken on bottle rock, in south-west bay. . october : careening bay, north-west coast : / : : : south : / west : taken at the tent. dip of the needle at port louis, simon's bay, and various parts of the atlantic ocean, observed upon the bathurst's return to england. . november : port louis, mauritius : : east : : south : west : on shore. . february : simon's bay, cape of good hope : / : / : / : - : to : on shore. february : false bay minutes east-south-east of simon's bay : - : - : : - : to : on the binnacle. february : at sea : : : / : - : : on the binnacle. february : at sea : : : : - : : this observation is correct to / degree. the situation for the above observation bears east degrees north from the place where the same dip was observed by m. perouse on the coast of brazil. february : at sea : : west : / : - : : correct to / degree. the above situation bears east / degrees north from the place where commodore baudin observed the dip of degrees; and east degrees north from the observation of degrees by m. perouse. february : at sea, four leagues north-north-west from st. helena : - : - : : - : : correct to / degree. february : at sea : : : / : - : : correct to / degree. . february : at sea : south : west : / : south : west : -. upon placing the instrument with the end marked degrees in the direction of north degrees east the needle dipped . upon placing the instrument with the end marked degrees in the direction of north east the needle dipped . upon placing the instrument with the end marked degrees in the direction of north east the needle dipped . upon placing the instrument with the end marked degrees in the direction of north east the needle dipped . upon placing the instrument with the end marked degrees in the direction of north east the needle dipped . upon placing the instrument with the end marked degrees in the direction of north east the needle dipped . upon placing the instrument with the end marked degrees in the direction of north / east it was vertical. upon placing the instrument with the end marked degrees in the direction of north east the needle shifted on the opposite side to . upon placing the instrument with the end marked degrees in the direction of south east the needle shifted on the opposite side to . upon placing the instrument with the end marked degrees in the direction of south west the needle shifted on the opposite side to . upon placing the instrument with the end marked degrees in the direction north west the needle shifted on the opposite side to . the mean of the observation, on placing either end north and south was / degrees. the mean of the observation, on placing either end north-east and south-west was . the mean of the observation, on placing either end south-east and north-west was . . february : at sea : south : west : : south : to west : -. upon placing the instrument in the direction of north east the needle dipped . upon placing the instrument in the direction of north east the needle dipped . upon placing the instrument in the direction of north east the needle dipped . upon placing the instrument in the direction of north east the needle dipped . upon placing the instrument in the direction of north east the needle dipped . upon placing the instrument in the direction of north east the needle dipped . upon placing the instrument in the direction of south east the needle shifted. upon placing the instrument in the direction of south east the needle shifted . upon placing the instrument in the direction of south west the needle shifted . upon placing the instrument in the direction of north west the needle shifted . mean when placed at north-east and north-east . mean when placed at north-west and south-east . february : at sea : / : : : south : to west : -. february : at sea : / : : : north : to west : -. from the above observations, it would appear that the magnetic equator crosses the meridian of / degrees west, in degrees minutes south latitude. at the latter observation--when the direction of the instrument was changing, the needle remained quite stationary, the south end of the needle pointing to the north, until the change was effected; it remained in this position for two seconds of time, and then suddenly shifted to the opposite, its proper, direction; its movements were, however, very sluggish and irregular in its shifting end for end. the day was so rainy that no observation could be made for the variation of the compass. march : at sea : south : west : / : north : west : -. march : at sea : south : : : north : : -. march : at sea : south : : / : north : : -. march : at sea : south : : : north : : -. march : at sea : / south : / : : north : : -. march : at sea : north : : / : north : : correct to / degree. march : at sea : north : : : north : : correct to degree. ... appendix a. section . upon the geographical positions of the fixed points of the survey. the observations for determining the longitudes of the various parts of the coast were taken with a circle and a sextant by troughton: besides these valuable instruments we had three chronometers of arnold's make, namely, (box) (pocket) and (pocket); of which the two first were supplied by the admiralty. at the end of the fourth year, in consequence of having stopped, a fourth chronometer, made by parkinson and frodsham (number box) was purchased in the colony, and proved to be a most excellent watch. the situations of the following places, which were either fixed by us or adapted from other authorities, served as the basis of the chronometrical determination of the longitudes of the intermediate parts. the flagstaff of fort macquarie on the north-east head of sydney cove in port jackson (the cattle point of flinders, and otherwise bennelong point) is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes east, being, according to the ensuing table, the mean of all the observations that have been taken. latitude (in degrees minutes seconds) observed by: captain flinders, in and : . . de freycinet in : . king (reduced) : . sir t. brisbane (reduced) : . mean latitude of fort macquarie . longitude (in degrees minutes seconds) observed by: captain cook, reduced from his observations at botany bay, : . captain hunter, : . lieutenant dawes : . lieutenant bradley: . malespina: . messrs. broughton and crosley, : . captain flinders, - : . ditto : . captain de freycinet, : . m. d'espinosa by an eclipse of sun and occultation of jupiter st and nd satellites, : . governor bligh, , eclipse of sun: . captain p.p. king, , eclipse of sun, calculated by mr. rumker: . sir thomas brisbane, (the mean of six eclipses places his observatory in degrees minutes seconds): . mr. rumker, eclipse of sun at parramatta, reduced to fort macquarie: . mean longitude of fort macquarie . percy island (number ). the longitude of the south-west end of this island is by captain flinders' observation in degrees minutes east. endeavour river. the observatory, which was placed within a few yards of the shore on the south side of the entrance (the summit of the highest bush near the extremity of the opposite sandy beach, bearing by compass west degrees minutes south) was found to be situated in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. (see note, appendix a.) goulburn islands. the observations were taken upon bottle rock, the largest of two rocky islets at the north end of south-west bay; but the results were so doubtful and unsatisfactory, that the longitude determined by the chronometers was preferred. the following are the observations that were taken to fix its situation, namely: latitude by fourteen meridional altitudes of the sun l. l. on the sea-horizon, taken in various parts of the bay, and reduced by survey to bottle rock . the difference of longitude between bottle rock and cassini island by chronometers, taken in: : . : . : . mean difference between cassini island and bottle rock: . longitude of cassini island from careening bay, by survey: . longitude of bottle rock, by chronometer, from cassini island: . the mean of the results of the lunar distances that were taken during the years and , gave for the longitude of the rock degrees minutes seconds east. on our last voyage the mean of the bathurst's and dick's watches made it degrees minutes seconds, which was finally adapted, since it accorded better with the chronometrical difference between its meridian and that of cassini island. i have never been able to account for this extraordinary disagreement between the results of the lunar distances and the chronometers, since the former were taken with the sun on both sides of the moon, and seemed to be very good. careening bay. this place was fixed by a series of observations, in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and degrees minutes seconds east. (see appendix a. in a note.) king george the third's sound. the longitude of this place was adapted from the observations and survey of captain flinders, as follows; namely: the tent on the east shore of the entrance of oyster harbour. latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. the sandy beach under the low part of the land of bald head (the first sandy bay round the head) is in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes seconds. coepang, in the island of timor. the situation of the flag-staff of fort concordia, where our chronometers were rated, is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude degrees minutes seconds, according to the observations of captain flinders. ... appendix b. containing a list and description of the subjects of natural history collected during captain king's survey of the intertropical and western coasts of australia. previously to the establishment of the british colony at port jackson, in the year , the shores of this extensive continent had been visited by very few navigators who have recorded any account of the productions of its animal kingdom. the first authentic report that we have, is that of vlaming, who is celebrated as the first discoverer of that rara avis, the black swan: next to him followed dampier, who has handed down to us in his intelligent, although quaint, style, the account of several of the productions of the north-western and western coasts; but the harvest was reserved for banks and solander, the companions of cook, whose names are so well and widely known in the fields of science. these distinguished naturalists were the first collectors upon the coast of new south wales; and although their labours were not confined to any particular branch of natural history, yet botany appeared to be their chief object, of which the banksian herbarium yields ample proof. among the collectors of natural history, in the neighbourhood of the colony, since the year , may be recorded the names of white, paterson, collins, brown, caley, lewin, humphreys, and jamison; and in this interval the coasts have been visited by two english and two french expeditions of discovery; namely, those commanded by admiral d'entrecasteaux, captains vancouver and flinders, and commodore baudin. the first merely touched upon the south coast at the recherche's archipelago, and on the south shores of van diemen's land; and the second only at king george the third's sound, near the south-west cape; but these opportunities were sufficient to celebrate the names of labillardiere and menzies as australian botanists, notwithstanding they have been since eclipsed by the more extensive discoveries of mr. brown, whose collections of natural history upon the voyage of captain flinders, and his pre-eminent qualifications, have justly raised him to the pinnacle of botanical science upon which he is so firmly and deservedly elevated. peron and lesueur, in baudin's voyage, extended their inquiries chiefly among the branches of zoological research; but in that expedition each department of natural history had its separate collector, and the names of leschenault de la tour, riedle, depuch, and bailly, will not be forgotten. unfortunately, the natural history of this voyage has never yet been given to the world, the death of m. peron having put a stop to its publication; a few of the subjects, however, have been taken up by mm. lacepede and cuvier, and other french naturalists, in the form of monographs, in their various scientific journals; but the greater part is yet untouched, probably from the want of the valuable information which died with its collector. m. peron, in his historical account of that expedition, notices a few subjects of zoology that were collected by him, but in so vague a manner, that it is with very great doubt that the specimens which we procured, and suspect to be his discoveries, can be compared with his descriptions. of the natural history collections of captain flinders and mr. brown, no account has been published, excepting the valuable botanical works of the latter gentleman. with respect to the collection which has been formed upon this expedition, it is to be regretted that the gleanings of the animal kingdom, particularly of quadrupeds and birds, should have been so trifling in number; and that the students of natural history should have suffered disappointment in what might, at first view, be fairly considered to have arisen from neglect and careless attention to the subject; but as the principal, and almost the only, object of the voyage was the survey of the coast, for which purpose a small vessel was justly considered the most advantageous, accommodation for a zoological collection was out of the question. the very few specimens that are now offered to the world were procured as leisure and opportunity offered; but many interesting and extremely curious subjects were in fact obliged to be left behind from want of room, and from our not possessing apparatus for collecting and preserving them. a botanical collector for the royal garden, mr. allan cunningham, was attached to the expedition; and this gentleman did not fail to make a very extensive and valuable collection in his department, the whole of which is preserved at kew. in making out the appendix, every species brought home (excepting three or four fishes) has been mentioned, for the sake of furnishing materials for the students of geographical zoology. the distribution of animals is a branch of study that has been very much neglected, which is to be lamented, as it appears likely to offer a very great assistance to the systematic physiologist; and for this reason the species found at the isle of france have been added to the list. for the catalogue and descriptions of the quadrupeds, reptiles, and shells, i am under obligation to mr. j.e. gray, of the british museum. mr. vigors has kindly assisted me with the use of his collection, and his valuable advice with respect to the few specimens of birds that were preserved; and mr. w.s. macleay has furnished me with a very valuable description of my entomological collection. i am also indebted to mr. cunningham for his remarks upon the botany of the country; to mr. brown, for his description of a new tree from king george the third's sound; and lastly to dr. fitton, for his kindness in drawing up for me a very interesting geological notice from the specimens that have been presented to the geological society of london, of which he is one of the most active and scientific members. ... vertebrata. mammalia. by john edward gray, esquire, m.g.s., etc. . pteropus edwardsii, desm. mamm. . madagascar bat, edwards' birds, t. . vespertilio vampyrus, lin. syst. nat. . flying fox, colonists of port jackson. this specimen, caught at point cunningham on the north-west coast, appears to agree with edwards' figure, and with the specimen preserved in the british museum. there is also one in the collection of the linnean society from port jackson. large flights of these animals were observed at port keats and in cambridge gulf, on the north-west coast. this bat seems also to be very abundant on the friendly islands, for forster describes having seen five hundred hanging upon one casuarina tree. forster, page . . canis australiae. canis familiaris australasiae, desmarest, mamm. . australasian dog, or dingo, shaw's zool. , t. . this animal is common in the neighbourhood of port jackson, and dogs, to all appearance of the same species, are found on all parts of the coast. captain king presented a living specimen to sir everard home, bart., who sent it to exeter change. in considering this species as distinct from the common dog, i am supported by the opinion of mr. william macleay*. (see linnean transactions .) (*footnote. no such opinon has been expressed by mr. w. s. macleay in the place alluded to.--p.p.k. [added in "errata"]) captain king informs me that these dogs never bark, in which particular they agree with the linnean account of the american dog; that, in their appearance and cunning disposition, they resemble the fox; and although occasionally domesticated in new south wales, they never lose the sly habits peculiar to their breed, nor can be prevented from killing poultry or biting sheep. this dog, however, seems to be quite a distinct species from that found in the south sea islands, which forster describes as being "of a singular race: they mostly resemble the common cur, but have prodigious large heads, remarkably little eyes, prick ears, long hair, and a short bushy tail. they are chiefly fed with fruit at the society isles; but in the low isles and new zealand, where they are the only domestic animals, they live upon fish. they are exceedingly stupid, and seldom or never bark, only howl now and then." forster's observations, page . . otaria cinerea, peron et lesueur. voyage aux terres austral. ij. . the head of a species, agreeing with the short description of peron, was brought home by the expedition, but that it is the one intended by these authors, there is great room to doubt. i am informed that specimens of peron's animal are in the paris museum, but desmarest and frederic cuvier, who have both lately written upon seals, have only copied the very short specific character given by peron. the head of our specimen is gray, covered with rather short, rigid, hairs, and without any woolly fur. the ears are short, conical. it is very distinct from the otaria falklandica of desmarest (the phoca falklandica* of shaw) by the want of the woolly substance under the hair (called fur by the seal-fishers) and by the length of the ear, which in the latter species, described by shaw, is long and awl-shaped. (*footnote. the specimen in the museum, which i take for this species, was brought by captain peake from new south shetland: it differs from pennant's, and consequently from all succeeding descriptions that are taken from him, in having five instead of four claws and toes to the hind foot.) captain king in his manuscript observes, that this seal is found at rottnest island on the west coast, and at king george the third's sound. it appeared also to be the same species that frequents shark's bay; and, if it is m. peron's otaria cinerea, it is also found as far to the eastward as kangaroo island. the head is deposited in the linnean society's collection. . petaurista sciurea, desm. n. dict. h.n. . didelphis sciurea, shaw's zool. t. . sugar squirrel, colonists of port jackson. a well preserved natural skeleton of this animal was brought home and deposited in the british museum. . acrobata pygmaea, desm. mamm. . didelphis pygmaea, shaw's gen. zool. t. . phalangista pygmaea, geoffr. manuscripts. petaurus pygmaeus, desm. n. dict. h.n. . opossum mouse, colonists at port jackson. this little animal, the smallest and most beautiful of the opossum tribe, is exceedingly numerous in the vicinity of port jackson. it was first described by dr. shaw in his zoology of new holland. there are several specimens in the linnean society's collection. the above is placed in the british museum. . delphinorhynchus pernettensis ? delphinus pernettensis, blainville. delphinus delphis, var. bonnaterre, ency. cetol. . dauphin, pernetty, voyage aux isles malouines, . t. . f. . a head, apparently belonging to this species, was brought home and deposited in the collection of the british museum. this animal is very common upon the northern coasts of new holland. captain king, in his manuscript, remarks, that the coasts of new south wales, and the north-western side of new holland, abound in cetaceous animals. upon the north-east coast, within the reefs, the sea is crowded with balaena physalis, linn., or fin-backed whales, as they are called by the whalers, who pay little attention to them, on account of the danger of approaching them. his boats were sometimes placed in critical situations from these animals suddenly rising to the surface of the water close to them, and lashing the sea with their tremendous fins, and their occasionally leaping out of the water, and falling down with a crushing weight. their colour is generally of a cinereous hue, but a few were noticed that were variegated black and white. the whales of the north-west coast appeared to be of the same species, but of a darker colour. at one of the anchorages, near cape leveque (volume page ) the brig was for a whole night surrounded by these enormous fish, and the crew in momentary dread of their falling on board, the consequence of which would have been very disastrous. the noise of their fall in the water, on a calm night, was as loud as the report of a cannon. ... aves. this collection has been presented to the linnean society, in whose cabinets they are numbered according to the order in which they are here inserted. . halcyon sacra. swainson. alcedo sacra, ind. orn. . sacred kingfisher, latham, . this bird was taken at sea, in the neighbourhood of cambridge gulf, on the north-west coast, having probably been blown off by a strong land wind. . barita tibicen. cuvier. coracias tibicen, ind. orn. sup. . piping roller, latham, . . barita varia. cuvier. coracias varia, ind. orn. . pied roller, latham, . this appears to be a young specimen. . centropus phasianus. illiger. cuculus phasianus, ind. orn. sup. . polophilus phasianus, leach, zool. misc. plate . pheasant cuckoo, latham, . this bird is found upon all parts of the coast of new south wales north of port jackson, as well as upon the eastern part of the north-west coast. its habitat in australia is known to extend as wide as twenty-four degrees of latitude, and twenty-six degrees of longitude. this specimen was taken at endeavour river, on the east coast. there is also another specimen of this bird in the linnean society's collection, that was taken in the neighbourhood of port jackson. . meliphaga corniculata. lewin. merops corniculata, ind. orn. . knob-fronted honey-eater, latham, . this bird is found upon the whole extent of the eastern coast. the next bird in the collection has been arranged by dr. latham in the linnean genus gracula, but appears to me to agree in no respect with that genus, as originally characterized by linnaeus, much less with it as it has been modified by modern ornithologists. whether we consider, according to m. cuvier,* that the type of gracula is the paradisea tristis, linn., or, according to m. temminck, that it is the gracula religiosa, linn.,** in which latter opinion i feel rather disposed to acquiesce, my bird agrees with the group in none of its essential characters. in fact, the linnean genus oriolus is that to which it bears the closest resemblance in its general appearance; particularly by a similar disposition of its colours, and in the structure of its bill, wings, and legs. i would at once refer it to that genus, but that i have some reason to think that it belongs to the meliphagous birds, which are so abundant in new holland, and which have been observed to assume the appearance of almost every group in the insessores. indeed, some birds of that country, which have been decided to be meliphagous, such as the meliphaga cyanops, lewin,*** [graculine honey-eater, lath. syn. . sp. ed. da.] and others allied to it, and which differ little from the bird before us, have so many external relations with the orioles, that they probably would be found to arrange themselves in the same family with them, were it not for the totally different structure of their tongue, and the consequent difference in their habits of life. of the tongue, or mode of feeding of the bird at present before us, i can myself say nothing decisively, not having had leisure or opportunity, as i have already observed, of attending to the more interesting details of natural history during the expedition. but general opinion places this bird among the groups that feed by suction; and as i have a second species hitherto undescribed, which is closely allied to it, i prefer forming both provisionally into a new genus, to referring them to one, from which, although they agree with it in external appearance, they may be totally remote, in consequence of their internal anatomy and habits of life. the error at least will not be so great, and may be easily retrieved. if the tongue of my birds be found to accord with that of the orioles, and not of the honey-suckers, my group of course must fall. (*footnote. regne anim. .) (**footnote. analyse d'un syst. gen. d'orn. page .) (***footnote. birds of new holland plate .) genus mimetes.* (*footnote. mimetes, from greek, imitator; [assuming the appearance of a different group.]) rostrum forte, subarcuatum, subcultratum, mandibulis utrisque apice emarginatis; naribus basalibus, lateralibus, subovalibus, membrano partim tectis. lingua ad sugendum idonea ? alae mediocres, rotundatae; remige ma brevissima; da et ta aequalibus; tia et ta fere aequalibus; longissimis; ta his paulo breviori: remigum tiae ad tam inclusam pogoniis externis in medio gradatim productis. pedes subbreves; acrotarsiis scutellatis, scutis quinque; paratarsiis integris. cauda mediocris, fere aequalis. . viridis. m. olivaceo-viridis, subtus albidus nigro guttatim striatus; alis caudaque nigro-fuscis, illis albido-marginatis, hac apice albo. gracula viridis. lath. ind. orn. supp. page . caput dorsumque olivaceo-viridia, plumis in medio longitudinaliter fusco-lineatis. tectrices superiores nigro-fuscae, ad apicem albido-marginatae; inferiores albido nigroque variegatae. remiges supra fuscae, ad marginem externum apicemque leviter albido-notatae; subtus pallide fuscae. rectrices nigro-fuscae, subtus pallidiores, omnibus, duabus mediis exceptis, apice albo-maculatis. rostrum flavum. pedes nigri. longitudo* corporis, / ; alae a carpo ad remigem tiam, / ; caudae, / ; tarsi, / ; rostri ad frontem, / , ad rictum, / . (*footnote. my measurement is in inches, and their component parts.) . flavo-cinctus (n.s.) m. flavo-viridis, subtus pallidior, capite dorsoque fusco-lineatis, alis caudaque nigris viridi flavoque variegatis. capitis, gulae, dorsique plumae flavo-virides, in medio fusco-lineatae, hujus lineis latioribus. tectrices superiores nigrae, apice flavo-marginatae, pteromatum margine flavo, alis clausis, fasciam conspicuam formante; inferiores flavee, ad basin nigro-notatae. remiges supra nigrae, subtus fuscae; primariis anguste, secondariis late, apice flavo-marginatis; pogoniis externis anguste, internis late, flavo-marginatis. rectrices supra nigrae flavo-viridi marginatae; subtus pallidiores, omnibus, duabus mediis exceptis, macula flava lata apicali notatis. rostrum flavum, paulo altius, et magis carinatum, quam rostrum m. viridis. pedes nigri. the dimensions of this bird are nearly the same as those of m. viridis: the bill only slightly differing in being somewhat higher, and more carinated. the above descriptions will point out the specific differences between the two birds, which are strongly apparent, not merely by the m. flavo-cinctus being marked with yellow where the other bird is white, but by the general distribution of the colours. in this respect, m. flavo-cinctus resembles more closely the true orioles, particularly in the yellow fascia which is formed on the wing, when closed by the junction of the apical spots on the quill coverts. . rallus philippensis. lin. syst. . . ind. orn. . bris. . t. . f. . plate enl. . this bird was found upon booby island, near cape york (the north extremity of new south wales) and agrees with a specimen already in the linnean society's collection, that was taken in the neighbourhood of port jackson. my bird, being of smaller size than most of those with which i have compared it, is probably a young specimen. the rufous band on the breast is narrower than is usual in the species, originating probably from the same circumstance: otherwise it agrees precisely. rallus philippensis was originally found in the philippine islands. it appears to have a very extensive range, as it inhabits lands both in the north and south pacific, as well as in the indian ocean. . haematopus picatus (n.s.) h. ater; corpore subtus, fascia alarum, uropygio, caudaeque basi, albis; remigibus primoribus totis nigris. rostrum pedesque rubri; collum totum nigrum; tectrices inferiores primores fuscae, secondariae albae, ad carpum et ad marginem exteriorem nigro-variegatae; fascia alarum angusta; remiges primores supra nigrae, subtus fuscae; uropygium album parce nigro variegatum. longitudo corporis ab apice rostri ad apicem caadae, ; alae a carpo ad remigem primam, ; rosri, / ; tarsi, / ; caudae, . besides the common oyster-catcher of europe, two species have lately been added to the genus, namely, h. palliatus, temm., a native of brazil, and h. niger, cuv., from new holland. the bird above described approaches more closely to the european species (h. ostralegus) than to the other two; but may be distinguished from it by the following characters, namely: in its dimensions it exceeds the length of the european bird by six inches, and the other parts in proportion; it wants the white collar round the neck, which is a very distinctive character of h. ostralegus; the fascia on the wing is confined to the extremity of the secondary quill feathers alone, whilst in the other bird it extends to some of the wing coverts: the primary quill feathers also are entirely black; whereas the other has them partially variegated with white: the under wing coverts also differ, the primary ones being fuscous, and the outer secondary partially marked with black; whilst the whole of the under wing coverts in h. ostralegus are white. the uropygium also, which in the european bird is entirely white, is in our specimen partially variegated with black. the marginal webs of the toes are much more dilated. the whitish lunular mark under the eye of h. ostralegus, is entirely wanting in our species, of which the margin of the eye seems to be of a reddish tinge, of the same colour as the bill. this bird is common upon the shores of the continent generally; it is called by the colonists the red bill. . aptenodytes minor. gmel. syst. . the little penguin, latham. this bird is common in all parts of the southern ocean. the above specimen was found at king george the third's sound near the south-west extremity of new holland. there are two specimens in the collection marked a, and b. . tachypetes aquila. vieillot. pelecanus aquila, gmel. lin. . frigate bird. this specimen was obtained at ascension, and is common in all parts of the atlantic within or near the tropic. . sterna fuliginosa. gmel. lin. . ind. orn. . egg bird, forst. voyage . cook, voyage , . noddy, dampier, pt. ., table page . figure . hawkesworth's coll. of voyages, . sooty tern, gen. syn. . arc. zool. number . there are two specimens of this bird in the collection, marked a, and b. . sterna pelecanoides (n.s.) s. alba; capitis vertice nigro albo-variegato; dorso, alis, caudaque canis; remigibus fusco-atris, rhachibus albis. colli latera parce cano-maculata; tectrices secundariae primoribus obscuriores; remiges fusco-atrae, pogoniis internis fere ad apicem albo-marginatis; rectrices externae fuscae basi apiceque albis; rostrum subflavum; pedes nigri. longitudo corporis, / ; alae a carpo ad remigem primam, / ; caudae, / ; rostri, ad frontem, / , ad rictum, / ; tarsi, / . the hallux, or hind toe, of this bird appears to be more closely united to the fore toes, and to be situated more in front than is usual among the terns: it is also to be observed, that the side of the nail of the middle toe is considerably dilated, although not serrated, similar to what is observed among the pelecanidae. these characters offer a corroboration of the affinity of the sternae to the family of the pelecanidae, and particularly to the genus phaeton, which approaches the terns more closely than any other group of that family, in the smaller size of the membrane that unites the toes (see linnean transactions ). it may also be stated on the other hand, that the same membrane of the sterna pelecanoides deviates from its own genus, and approaches the pelecanidae, in its being more dilated than usual. the wings are longer than the tail for a considerable extent, by which our bird also evinces another character, in common with the long-winged tachypetes, or frigate bird. . larus georgii (n.s.) l. albus, dorso alisque nigris; rectricibus albis, fascia media atra. rostrum flavum, apice rubro; mandibulae inferioris gonide maxime angulata; remiges primores atrae, secundariae supra nigrae apice albo, infra albae; tectrices inferiores albae; pedes flavi. longitudo corporis, ; alae, a carpo ad remigem primam / ; mandibulae, superioris ad frontem, / , ad rictum, / ; tarsi, / ; caudae, / . this bird was found at king george the third's sound, on the south-west coast, in the vicinity of seal island. ... reptilia. by john edward gray, esquire, m.g.s. genus chlamydosaurus. gray. capite depresso; membrana tympani aperta. gula pennulis plicatis ornata. pedibus quatuor. digitis quinque, elongatis, simplicibus. cauda elongata, subcylindrica. animal scaly; the head depressed; the nostrils placed on the side, midway between the eyes and the end of the head; the drum of the ear naked; the front teeth conical, awl-shaped (eight in the upper, and four in the lower jaw); the hinder ones largest; the side or cheek teeth compressed, short, forming a single ridge, gradually longer behind; tongue short, fleshy, with an oval smooth disk at each side of the lower part of its front part; neck rather long, furnished on each side with a large plaited frill, supported above by a crescent-shaped cartilage arising from the upper hinder part of the ear, and, in the middle, by an elongation of the side fork of the bone of the tongue; body compressed; legs rather long, especially the hinder ones; destitute of femoral pores; feet four, with five toes, the first having two, the second three, the third four, the fourth five, and the little finger and toe three joints; claws compressed, hooked; tail long, nearly round, scaly. this genus appears to be nearly allied to the agamae, but differs from them in the peculiar frill that is appended to the neck. . chlamydosaurus kingii (n.s.) c. corpore luteo, nigro, variegato; squamis carinatis; pennula antice serrata; cauda corpore duplo longiore. chlamydosaurus kingii, gray manuscripts. icon. table a. natural size. inhabits port nelson, north-west coast of australia. the colour yellowish-brown variegated with black: the head depressed, with the sides erect, leaving a blunt ridge on the upper part, in which the eyes are placed: the ridge over the eyes covered with larger scales than those over the head; eyes rather small, with a fleshy ridge above them; eye-lids covered with minute, and surrounded by a delicate serrated ridge of small upright scales: the lips surrounded by a row of oblong, four-sided scales, arranged lengthways, the front scale of the upper lip being the largest: the chin covered with narrow mid-ribbed scales, with a five-sided one in the centre, and several of larger size just over the front of the fork of the lower jaw: nostrils, surrounded by rather a large orbicular scale, situated nearly mid-way between the eye and the end of the upper jaw, the tubes pointing forwards: the side of the face has a very obscure ridge extending from the angle of the mouth to the under part of the ear: neck covered with small scales: frill arising from the hinder part of the head, just over the front of the ears, and attached to the sides of the neck and extending down to the front part of the chest, supported above by a lunate cartilage arising from the hinder dorsal part of the ear, and in the centre by a bone, which extends about half its length: this bone appears to be an elongation of the side fork of the bone of the tongue, but it could not be determined with certainty without injuring the specimen; each frill has four plaits, which converge on the under part of the chin, and fold it up on the side, and a fifth where the two are united in the centre of the lower part of the neck; the front part of its upper edge is elegantly serrated, but the hinder or lower part is quite whole; the outer surface is covered with keeled scales, which are largest towards its centre; the inner surface is quite smooth. the scales of the back are oval, smoothish; those of the lower part of the body and upper part of the legs acutely mid-ribbed, and of the sides and joints of the limbs minute. the tail is twice as long as the body, roundish, covered with acutely mid-ribbed scales, which towards the end form six rows, so as to render it obscurely six-sided; the end is blunt: the toes long, very unequal, varying in joints, as stated in the generic character (which includes also the claw joint) compressed, scaly; the claws hooked, horn-coloured. length of the tail: inches. length of the body: inches. length of the head: / inches. breadth of the head over the eyes: inch. length of the thigh: / inches. length of the foot and sole: / inches. length of the outer edge of the frill: inches. this interesting lizard was found by mr. allan cunningham, who accompanied the expedition as his majesty's botanical collector for kew gardens, on the branch of a tree in careening bay, at the bottom of port nelson. (see volume .) it was sent by him to sir everard home, by whom it was deposited in the museum of the college of surgeons,* which precluded my examination of its internal structure. (*footnote. upon application to the board of curators of the college, i was permitted to have a drawing made of this curious and unique specimen for the appendix of my work. the plate was engraved by mr. curtis, from an exceedingly correct drawing made by my friend, henry c. field, esquire. p.p.k.) respecting this remarkable lizard, mr. cunningham's journal contains the following remarks. "i secured a lizard of extraordinary appearance, which had perched itself upon the stem of a small decayed tree. it had a curious crenated membrane like a ruff or tippet round its neck, covering its shoulders, and when expanded, which it was enabled to do by means of transverse slender cartilages, spreads five inches in the form of an open umbrella. i regret that my eagerness to secure so interesting an animal did not admit of sufficient time to allow the lizard to show by its alarm or irritability how far it depended upon, or what use it made of, this extraordinary membrane when its life was threatened. its head was rather large, and eyes, whilst living, rather prominent; its tongue, although bifid, was short and thick, and appeared to be tubular." cunningham manuscripts. captain king informs me, that the colour of the tongue and inside of the mouth was yellow. . uaranus varius, merrem. lacerta varia, white, journal of a voyage to new holland, , t. . shaw, nat. misc. t. . tupinambis variegatus, daud. rept. iij. . monitor bigarre, cuv. reg. anim. ij. . this species, better known to english dealers under the name of the lace lizard, is peculiar in having the two series of the scales, placed on the upper part of the centre of the tail, raised into a biserrated ridge, and in the outer toe, or rather thumb, of the hinder-foot being long, and reaching to the penultimate distal joint of the first or longest toe; the claws are compressed, sharp. genus phelsuma. gray. pedes quatuor, digitis fere aequalibus, totis lobatis, muticis; poris femoralibus distinctis. caput et truncus supra tesserulis minutis, infra squamis minimis, tecti. this genus, which appears to be confined to the isle of france, differs from the rest of the geckonidae, by the toes being dilated the whole length, and entirely clawless, and covered beneath with transverse scales; by the thumb being very small and indistinct, and by the thighs being furnished with a series of minute pores. . phelsuma ornata (n.s.). p. supra plumbea macula, fasciaque rufa ornata, subtus albida. icon. -- inhabits isle of france. head depressed, truncated in front, covered with minute ovate scales; the front of the upper part lead-coloured, with a rather broad red band a little before the eyes, and a white crescent-shaped spot on each side immediately behind it, and then some obscure red shades just behind that; the back lead-coloured and blue, with six longitudinal series of irregular-sized red spots; belly whitish; tail rather longer than the body. body one inch and five-eighths, head half an inch, tail two inches and a half long. this animal is very interesting, as being the second species of a genus recently established, which only consisted of p. cepedia, the gecko cepedien of peron; cuv. reg. anim. . and t. . f. .; which has somewhat the manner of colouring, but is very distinct from the gecko ocellatus of oppel. genus tiliqua. gray. pedes quatuor pentadactyli, poris femoralibus nullis. caput scutatum; dentes in palato nulli. truncus regulariter squamosus. this genus is distinguished from the true skinks by the want of palatine teeth, the shorter body, and the holes of the ears being furnished on their front part with a fringe. it differs from the succeeding genus, trachysaurus, in the head being covered with distinct flat plates, and the whole of the body with cut hexangular scales; the scales are harder than those of the true skink, but not so distinctly bony as those of the trachysaurus. . tiliqua tuberculata. gray. lacerta scincoides. shaw, nat. misc. lacerta occidua. var. shaw, zool. iij. . scincus tuberculatus, merrem. syst. amph. . scincoid, or skink-formed lizard, white, journal . icon. white, l. c. t. . shaw, n. m. t. ; zool. iij. t. . this lizard, which was first described in the excellent journal of mr. white, does not appear to be uncommon on the coast of australia, as there are several specimens both in the british museum and in the collection of the linnean society, that were probably taken in the neighbourhood of the colony; the specimen before me was caught at seal island, in king george the third's sound. the scales of the whole of the body are broad, hexangular, with five or six longitudinal, slightly-raised ridges, which gradually taper, and are lost just before they reach the margin. the legs are short, thick; the toes of the fore-feet are rather short, the outer reaching to the middle of the second, the second and third equal; the fourth reaching to the last joint of the third, and the little one to the second joint of the fourth finger. in the hind foot the first and third toe are nearly equal, and only half as long as the second; the fourth only half as long as the third; and the fifth about half the length of the fourth toe. genus trachysaurus. gray. pedes quatuor pentadactyli. caput sub-scutatum, dentes in palato nulli. truncus supra sqoamis crassis elongatis subspinosis, infra hexagonis membranaceis imbricatis, tectus. cauda brevis, depressa. this genus is at once distinguished from the former, and indeed from the whole of the scincidae, by the large hard scales that cover the back of the body and head; which are formed of distinct triangular long plates, rough on the outside, and covered with a membranaceous skin. the body shields of the head pass gradually into the dorsal plates. the teeth short, thick, and conical; the palate toothless. the belly and lower surface of the tail are covered with large six-sided scales, like the other genera of the family. the head is rather large, triangular. the legs short, weak; the toes very short, covered only with as many scales as there are joints; the outer and innermost being about half as long as the three central toes, which are nearly of equal length; claws short, conical, channelled beneath. the tail short, depressed. . trachysaurus rugosus (n.s.) t. squamis dorsi rugosis, caudae subspinosis; cauda brevissima. the body nearly uniform, chestnut brown; the head depressed with the scales convex, and more nearly of an equal size than usual: those round the eyes and mouth large; the three anterior scales on the edge of the lower jaw larger than those which cover the lower surface of the head, body, and tail, which are uniform, distinct, large, and membranaceous: the scales of the back are nearly of equal size with those covering the commencement of the tail; they are furnished with a prominent midrib, and end in a point. the legs very short, compressed, covered with nearly smooth, rather thin, scales. the toes very short; claws rather thick, and short. the tail about half the length of the body. head, three inches long. body, seven inches. tail, four inches. only one specimen of this exceedingly interesting animal was brought home by captain king, but the spirits in which it had been preserved had unfortunately evaporated, so that it was considerably injured; there is, however, a specimen, apparently of the same animal, in the collection of the linnean society, which wants the end of its tail. the above specimen was found at king george the third's sound, and is preserved in the museum. . agama muricata. daud. lacerta muricata, shaw, in white's journal of a voyage to new south wales, . lacerta agama, var. ? shaw, gen. zool. iij. . muricated lizard, shaw. icon. shaw, gen. zool. t. , and white's journal t. . f. . this lizard was first described in mr. white's journal, by the late dr. shaw, who paid particular attention to that class of animals; but he was afterwards inclined to consider it as only a variety of the common lacerta agama, or american galeote, from which, however, it is quite distinct. it appears to be a young specimen, since its length is only seven inches, whilst that described by dr. shaw was more than a foot in length; and some have been caught even of a much larger size. the doctor's figure is remarkably good, but rather more spinous than the specimen under examination, which is probably another proof of its youth. it was taken and preserved by mr. james hunter, r.n., who accompanied captain king as surgeon during the mermaid's third voyage, and has been presented by him to the british museum. . disteira doliata. lacepede, ann. de museum, d'hist. nat. . . enhydris doliatus, merrem, syst. amph. . icon. lacep. ann. mus. t. . f. . the series of small hexagonal shields on the abdomen of this curious animal appears to be formed of two series of scales united laterally. the length of the specimen brought home by captain king exceeds four feet. the figure by m. lacepede seems to be too short, but his description agrees admirably with our specimen, which has been presented to the british museum. . leptophis* punctulatus (n.s.). n. squamis laevibus apice uni-indentatis, spinae dorsalis triangularibus; cauda quadrantali, tenui, squamis aequalibus. (*footnote. i have adopted mr. bell's manuscript name for this genus since his paper was read at the zoological club of the linnean society, before the publication of my genera of reptiles in the annals of philosophy, where i erroneously considered it as synonymous with dr. leach's genus macrosoma instead of my ahaetulla. j.e.g.) scales uniform, pale brown, with a minute black dot impressed on the apex: body slender, compressed: abdominal scutae rather broad. the series of scales on the side next to the ventral plates ovate and blunt; those on the sides narrow, linear, in five series; the series of scales along the centre of the back long, triangular. this arrangement of the scales gradually assumes a uniform appearance on the neck close to the head, where they are ovate. head rather long with nine plates, frontal plate being divided; the snout very blunt, truncated; the upper central labial scale octangular, with a deep concavity on the labial margin; the anterior and posterior mental scales long. the tail one-fourth the length of the body, covered with uniform ovate quadrangular scales. length, four feet. this species appears to have a considerable affinity to the genus named macrosoma by dr. leach, but not described by him, and is very much like coluber decorus of shaw. it belongs to the group called by english zoologists, whip snakes. the specimen above described was taken by mr. james hunter, at careening bay, on the north coast, and presented by him to the british museum. . leptophis spilotus. coluber spilotus, lacepede, ann. mus. iv . a specimen of this snake was brought home by captain king, agreeing very well with the short description given by lacepede, in his account of some new species of animals from new holland. it has not been taken notice of in the modern works on reptiles. it may, perhaps, be distinct from it; but upon considering that upwards of two hundred species of this genus have been already described, i thought it best not to increase the number without very good reason. this species forms a second section in the genus leptophis, on account of the form of its scales, particularly those of the throat. captain king has informed me that turtles of two or three kinds are common on the coasts of australia, particularly within the tropic; and alligators were seen, in great abundance, in the rivers of the northern and north-western coasts, particularly in those that empty themselves into the bottom of van diemen's gulf; but as no specimens of either of these animals were preserved, no further notice can be taken of them.* (*footnote. the turtle that frequents the north-east coast, in the neighbourhood of endeavour river, is a variety of the testudo mydas. see banks and solander manuscripts.) ... pisces. by john edward gray, esquire, m.g.s. . tetraodon argenteus. lacepede, ann. mus. . icon. ann. mus. l.c. t. . f. . . chironectes tuberosus, g. cuvier, mem. mus. . icon. -- there are two other species of this genus in captain king's collection, which appear to be new. . balistes australis. donovan. naturalist. repos. . icon. l.c. . teuthis australis (n.s.). t. fusca, fasciis sexta transversis nigro-fuscis, cauda truncata. icon. -- body brown, paler beneath, with six transverse blackish-brown bands; the first placed across the eye and front angle of the gill flap; the second obliquely across the pectoral fin, and the three next, nearly equidistant, straight across the body, the last band placed between the spine and the base of the rays of the tail; and with a black longitudinal line between the eyes. teeth flat, rather broad, rounded at the end, and denticulated. the gills flat, unarmed; pectoral fin subacute, triangular; ventral fin triangular, supported by a very strong first ray; dorsal and anal fins rounded. tail truncated, spine on the side of the tail very distinct, imbedded in a sheath. pectoral fin, fifteen rays, first very short: ventral fin, five rays, one very strong, short. dorsal fin, thirty-one; anterior very strong, first short. anal fin, twenty-three; two first very strong and short. caudal fin, sixteen rays, divided. body ; tail / inches long. body / high; dorsal fin / ; pectoral fin / inches long. this fish belongs to the genus acanthurus of bloch, adopted by shaw (harpurus, of forster) but as that genus is apparently formed from the type of linnaeus' genus, teuthis, i have adopted the latter name for those chetodons which have one spine on each side of the tail, and acanthurus for those that have two. they are usually called lancet-fish, from the curious structure of the sub-caudal spines. captain king has presented to the museum seven or eight other sorts of fish, in spirits, and several interesting drawings, which i have not hitherto been enabled to find in any of the works on ichthyology, but so little is known of the genera and species of this department of natural history, that i am not inclined to describe them as new, for fear of increasing the confusion at present existing. among the unnamed fish, there is one exactly similar to a species found by my late friend mr. cranch, in the south atlantic. . squalus ocellatus. gmelin, syst. nat. . squalus oculatus. banks and solander, manuscripts. . squalus glaucus. captain king observes, this fish is frequently found in the neighbourhood of the coast. . squalus. captain king in his manuscripts observes, that a species of shark was observed commonly near the shores, having a short nose, with a very capacious mouth; the body was of an ash grey colour, marked with darker spots, of a round shape, and about two inches in diameter. this shark was usually ten or eleven feet long. ... annelides. . leodice gigantea. savigny syst. des annel. page . lam. . eunice gigantea, cuv. reg. anim. . nereis aphroditois, pall. nov. act. petrop. . table . figure . . terebella aphroditois, gmelin, syst. nat. . the specimen brought by captain king is nearly five feet long, and was procured at the isle of france. ... annulosa. catalogue of insects, collected by captain king, r.n. by william sharp macleay, esquire, a.m., f.l.s. the collection consists of one hundred and ninety-two species, of which one hundred and thirty belong to the class mandibulata, fifty-eight to haustellata, and four to the arachnida. eighty-one of the species are new, and the extent to which each order of winged insects has been collected, will be best understood from the following summary. column : mandibulata. column : haustellata. coleoptera : lepidoptera. orthoptera : homoptera. neuroptera : hemiptera. hymenoptera : diptera. total species. this number is, of course, not sufficient to allow any general remarks to be founded on the collection, and the following catalogue is, therefore, merely descriptive. class mandibulata. order coleoptera. . panagaeus quadrimaculatus. oliv. enc. meth. hist. nat. obs. there is a wretched figure of this insect given in the fourth volume of cuvier's regne animal. . paecilus kingii (n.s.) p. atronitidus, antennis tomentosis obscuris, basi et apice piceis, labri margine antico palpisque rufo-piceis, thorace linea media longitudinali vix marginem posticum attingente fossulaque utrinque postica, elytris striatis vix atro-aeneis tibiis ad apicem tarsisque atro-piceis. . gyrinus rufipes. fab. syst. eleuth. page . . obs. the description of this species, as given by fabricius is very vague; but as it applies tolerably well to the insect collected by captain king, i have not thought proper to give it a new name. . silpha lacrymosa. schreiber, in linnean transactions . t. , f. . . creophilus erythrocephalus. staphylinus erythrocephalus. fab. syst. eleuth. . . . hister cyaneus. fab. syst. eleuth. page . . . hister. speciosus. dej. cat. page . . passalus polyphyllus (n.s.) p. ater depressiusculus, antennis sex-lamellatis, vertice tuberculis tribus, intermedio majore compressa linearum superiorem duarum elevatarum transversarum dissecante, thoracis lateribus rufo-ciliatis, elytrorum striis lateralibus punctatis. . passalus edentulus (n.s.) p. ater convexiusculus antennis triphyllis, verticis cornu elevato incurva canaliculato apice emarginato, tuberculo utrinque acuto, elytrorllm striis subpunctatis, mandibulis concavis extus dentatis. obs. this insect is much less in size than the former, and is more convex. . lamprima aenea. horae entom. page . . . dasygnathus dejeanii. horae entom. page . . . trox alternans (n.s.) t. capite antice linea angulati elevata marginato, thorace lineis quatuor mediis elevatis, exterioribus interruptis tuberculisque utrinque duobus inaequalibus, elytris tuberculis striatim dispositis, striis alternatim majoribus. . melolontha festiva. fab. syst. eleuth. . page . obs. this most beautiful insect ought to be considered as the type of a new genus near to serica. . diphucephala sericea. kirby, in linnean transactions page . obs. this genus i had named agrostiphila in my manuscripts, but m. dejean has since published it under the name of diphucephala. . diphucephala splendens (n.s.). d. viridis nitidissima antennis palpisque nigris, capite antice thoracisque lateribus subpunctatis, media canaliculato, elytris punctis rugosis seriatim dispositis, corpore subtus hirsutie incano. an melolontha colaspidoides, schon. app. . ? . cetonia variegata. fab. syst. eleuth. page . . c. luctuosa. lat. in cat. mus. gall. obs. this insect is an inhabitant of the isle of france, and was probably collected by captain king during his stay in that island. . cetonia australasiae. donov. ins. of new holland, table . . cetonia dorsalis. donov. ins. of new holland, table . . anoplognathus viridiaeneus. horae. ent. page . . . anoplognathus viriditarsis. leach. zool. miscel. . . anoplognathus rugosus. kirby, linnean transactions . . anoplognathus inustus. kirby, linnean transactions . . repsimus aeneus. melolontha aenea. fab. syst. eleuth. page . . . repsimus dytiscoides. horae. entom. page . . . buprestis macularis. buprestis macularia. don. ins. of new holland, table . . buprestis imperialis. fab. syst. eleuth. page . . . buprestis suturalis. don. ins. of new holland, table . . buprestis variabilis. don. ins. of new holland, table . . buprestis kingii (n.s.) b. elytris striatis nigro-violaceis testaceo-quadrifasciatis haud bidentatis, thorace punctato nigro-aeneo lateribus testaceis. obs. this species comes perhaps too near to some of the darker varieties of b. variabilis, of the true appearance of which scarcely any idea can be formed from the figures of donovan. our insect bears a remarkable similarity to a surinam buprestis, with serrated elytra. . buprestis bimaculata. lin. syst. nat. . . oliv. ins. , table , figure . obs. this is an east indian insect; and, as captain king collected a few species in the isle of france, this is probably one of them. . buprestis fissiceps. kirby, in linnean transactions page , table , figure . . buprestis lapidosa (n.s.) b. cuprea scabrosa thorace lineis duabus parallelis longitudinalibus elevatis, elytris integris subacuminatis substriatis inter tuberculos punctatis, corpore subtus aeneo. . elater xanthomus (n.s.) e. ater antennis apicem versus dilatatis serratis, thorace punctato canaliculato, elytris punctatis striatis pubescentibus basi late auratis dimidiatis. obs. this insect is about four lines long, and entirely black, except the upper half of the elytra. . elater nigro-terminatus (n.s.) e. luteus cavite antennisque atris, thorace convexo macula longitudinali sub-acuminata a margine antico ultra medium attingente, elytris punctato~striatis apice late nigris, anoque nigro. obs. this insect is about the same length with the former, having its feet and underside entirely yellow, excepting the head and a black anal spot, something like the letter v. . lycus serraticornis. fab. syst. eleuth. volume ll. . . lycus septemcavus (n.s.) l. ater thorace parabolico fossulis septem, quatuor anticis fere aequalibus, posticarum media angusta lanciformi, duabus lateralibus latis antice emarginatis. scutello quadrato nigro; elytrls rubris marginatis lineis quatuor elevatis, interstitiis duplici serie punctorum transversorum crenatis. . lycus rhipidium (n.s.) l. ater antennis fiabellatis; thorace angulis porrectis obtusis, fossulis septem, posticarum trium media longitudinali lanciformi; scutello quadrato nigro; elytris rubris marginatis lineis novem elevatis, quatuor alternatim majoribus, interstitiis crenatis. . telephorus pulchellus (n.s.) t. capite thoraceque nigro-nitidis, hujus margine postico late rufo, elytris viridi-caeruleis tomentosis punctatis ad suturam marginatis, corpore pedibusque nigris abdomine subtus rufo. . malachius verticalis, (n.s.) m. rufo-testaceus vertice antennisque apice nigro-nitidis, thorace testaceo. elytris fascia humerali mediaque violaceis, postpectore pedibus anoque nigris. . clerus cruciatus (n.s.) c. testacea tomentosa, capite thoracis lateribus elytrorumque maculis duabus longitudinalibus, quarum postica latiori, nigris, elytris striato-punctatis apice rufescentibus, antennis piceis. pedibus palpisque pallidis. . oedemera livida. oliv. ins. , table figure . dryops livida. fab. syst. eleuth. . . . oedemera lineata. oliv. ins. , table figure . dryops lineata. fab. syst. eleuth. . . obs. i suspect this insect to be merely a variety of the former species. . oedemera punctum (n.s.) oe. flavo-nitida antennis obscuris, fronte puncto atro-nitido impresso, thorace lunula utrinque atro-nitida impresso, scutello flavo, elytris nigro-fuscis limbo et sutura testaceis, geniculis tibiis tarsisque nigris. . lagria tomentosa. fab. syst. eleuth. volume page . . . lagria rufescens. dej. cat. . . cistela securigera (n.s.) c. subtus picea supra brunnea pubescens, antennis apice palporumque articulo ultimo securiformi nigris, elytris punctis crenatis striatis. . amarygmus tristis. cnodulon triste. fab. syst. eleuth. page . . obs. the characters of this genus are given by fabricius under the head of cnodulon, but the true cnodulon of m. latreille is a native of st. domingo, and a different genus of which the characters are to be found in the genera crustaceorum et insectorum. the genus has, however, been of late more accurately investigated by dalman, in his analecta entomologica, and he has given it the name of amarygmus. . amarygmus viridicollis (n.s.) a. convexiusculus capite thoraceque viridi-caeruleis, elytris cupreis striato-punctatis, corpore subtus chalybeo pedibusque nigris. . amarygmus velutinus (n.s.) a. atro-nitidus glaberrimus labri margine rubro, elytris nigro-aeneis punctorum striis minutissimis. obs. this beautiful insect is one of the largest of a genus which contains a great number of species. . adelium calosoioides. kirby, in linnean transactions page . . table . figure . . adelium caraboides. kirby, in linnean transactions page . . . phalidura mirabilis. curculio mirabilis. kirby, in linnean transactions . . table , figure . obs. the characters of this most singular genus phalidura are chiefly to be found in the broken clavate antennae, short thick rustrum, connate elytra, and singular anal forceps of the male. . phalidura kirbii (n.s.) p. nigro-fusca clypeo subfurcato utrinque canaliculato, thorace confertim noduloso, elytris lineis elevatis interstitiis crenatis lateribusque punctato-striatis. . phalidura draco (n.s.) p. atrofusca vertice concavo cruce impresso, clypeo emarginato, thorace depresso utrinque dilatato dentato margine antico tuberculato tuberculourmque lineis quatuor duabus mediis longitudinalibus, elytris punctis elevatis scabrosis utrinque dentibus acutis seriatim armatis, lateribus seriatim nudulosis medioque linea tuberculorum sub-duplici instructo. obs. this and the following species are not true phalidurae; at least neither appears to have the anal forceps, but as they come close in affinity to the genus phalidura, i have not for the present ventured to give them a new generic name. . phalidura marshami. kirby, in linnean transactions . . obs. this insect appears to be a chrysolopus in m. dejean's catalogue. . hybauchenia nodulosa (n.s.) h. atra capite laevi vel punctis minutissimis impresso, clypeo canaliculato, thorace irregulariter noduloso, elytris sutura laeviori punctis que elevatis striatis striis duabus a sutura alternatim majoribus. obs. i regret that i am not able to give the detailed characters of this genus at present. i shall merely, therefore, say that it has the broken clavate antennae of phalidura, only they are here longer than the head and thorax taken together. the body is very convex:, having the thorax as wide as the abdomen, subquadrate, with very convex sides. abdomen joined to thorax by a distinct peduncle. elytra very convex, with almost perpendicular sides. feet long, with rather incrassated femora. . chrysolopus spectabilis. curculio spectabilis. fab. syst. eleuth. . . . chrysolupus echidna (n.s.) c. atrofuscus vertice trilineato, thorace punctis scabro medio concavo subcarinato lineis utrinque elevatis, elytris crenatis seriebus spinarum duabus interiori anum versus abbreviata; spinis anticis depressis obtusis, posticis acutis. c. echidna. dej. cat. . . chrysolopus tuberculatus (n.s.) c. fuscus vertice lineato, thorace punctis scabro medio canaliculato, elytris punctis seriatim impressis, tuberculorumque seriebus tribus minutis interiori abbreviata; tuberculo postico suturali maximo. . chrysolopus quadridens. curculio -dens. fab. syst. eleuth. . . obs. the three last species can scarcely be considered to belong to the same genus with c. spectabilis; but i follow m. dejean until the whole family be more accurately investigated. . gastrodus crenulatus. curculio crenulatus. fab. syst. eleuth. . . . gastrodus albolineatus (n.s.) g. niger thorace scabriusculo rugis transversis duabus lineaque laterali alba, elytris nigris striato-punctatis sutura striaque media elevatis laevibus linea laterali alba haud apicem attingente, apice rufescente albo-punctato. . festus rubripes (n.s.) f. niger capite linea transversa constricto; vertice lineis quatuor elevatis clypeoque tribus, antennis piceis clava obscura, thorace punctis elevatis scabro: elytris punctis impressis striatis, punctis conspicuis argenteo-squamigeris pedibus rufis geniculis obscuris. obs. i am doubtful whether this insect truly belongs to megerle's genus festus. the antennae are much shorter than in pachygaster. . cenchroma lanuginosa. dej. cat. page . . cenchroma obscura (n.s.) c. nigra squamis cinereis asperga clypeo lineis duabus mediis approximatis elevatis lateribus albis, thorace canaliculato, elytris punctis impressis striatis squamisque cinereis subaureis praesertim ad latera aspersis, corpore subtus ad latera pedibusque albo-squamosis. . curculio cultratus. fab. syst. eleuth. . . oliv. ins. . figure . obs. this is a new genus of the curculionidae, but as i am not able in this place to give the characters of it, i prefer to cite the insect under its fabrician title. . rhynchaenus cylindrirostris. fab. syst. eleuth. . . oliv. ins. , figure . obs. this insect is altogether as different from the true rhynchaeni, as the preceding one is from the true curculiones. . rhynchaenus bidens. fab. syst. eleuth. . . oliv. ins. . figure . obs. this is also not a true rhynchaenus, but is a very singular insect in appearance, as the acute spine, which rises from each elytron, appears to be its peculiar defence against entomological collectors. . eurhinus scabrior. kirby. in linnean transactions page . . . rhinotia haemoptera. kirby, in linnean transactions page . . orthorhynchus suturalis (n.s.) o. nigro-fuscus punctis impressus vertice ad oculos albo-bilineato, thorace fossula postica media alba, elytris ad suturam linea pilis alba, corpore subtus lateribus albis. . carpophagus banksiae (n.s.) c. nigro-fuscus pilis albis aspersus capite thoraceque punctatis linea media glabra divisis, scutello cinereo, elytris rugosis lineis quatuor subelevatis, corpore subtus pedibusque cinereo-sericeis. table b. figure . obs. this curious insect is said to be found on the banksia, and would probably, with linnaeus, have been a bruchus. the following are the characters of this new genus. carpophagus (novum genus.) antennae ante oculos insertae filiformes articulo basilari crassiori, secundo subgloboso brevissimo, ultimo apice conico acuto, labrum semicirculare margine antico integro rotundato ciliato. mandibulae validae corneae arcuatae, intus apicem versus subsinuatae edentulae basin versus ciliatae vel submembranaceae. maxillae basi corneae processubus duobus membranaceis apicem versus instructae, lobo externo vel apicali ovali extus ciliato; interno tenuiori lanciformi apice acuto. palpi maxillares breves crassi vix ultra maxillarum apicem extensi, quadriarticulati articulo stipitali vix conspicuo secundo obconico tertio subgloboso breviori ultimo ovali obtuso. palpi labiales triarticulati articulo stipitali minimo, secundo obconico longiore, ultimo crassiori ovato, apice truncato. labium obcordatum basi corneum angustius apice membranaceum medio emarginatum ciliatum lobo utrinque rotundato. mentum semicirculare antice rotundatum medio emarginato sive edentulo. caput porrectum oculis prominulis thorace angustiua clypeo quadrato vertice inter oculos fossulis duabus antice convergentibus. thorax haud marginatus lateribus haud rotundatis subcylindricus antice angustius, postice sublobatus. scutellum tuberculare mucronatum. abdomen thorace duplo latius. elytra convexa humeris eminentibus postice divergentia rotundata. pedes pentameri articulis tribus tarsorum primis ciliatis pulvillatis dilatatis, tertio bilobo, quarto brevissimo et quinto tenuibus obconicis, hoc biunguiculato. femora postica valde incrassata intus unidentata; dente magno. tibiae posticae compressae apice dilatatae. . megamerus kingii (n.s.) m. nigro-fuscus labro palpisque piceis thorace vix punctato postice rugoso, elytris rugis vel punctis confluentibus substriatis fossula ad humeros profunda lineaque suturali impressis, corpore subtus pilis sub-sericeo pedibusque concoloribus. table b. figure . obs. this singular insect has an affinity to sagra, but differs from that genus in having setiform antennae, porrect mandibles, and securiform palpi. its habit is also totally different from that of a sagra, and more like that of some of those insects which belong to the heterogeneous magazine called prionus. it is, undoubtedly, the most singular and novel form in captain king's collection, and forms a new genus, of which the characters are as follow. megamerus (novum genus). antennae inter oculos insertae filiformes vel potius setaceae articulo basilari crassiori secundo subgloboso brevissimo apicali acuto. labrum transverso-quadratum antice submembranaceum tomentosum subemarginatum. mandibulae exertae porrectae supra convexiusculae lunulatae vel falciformes dorso subsinuatae apice vel extus oblique truncatae acutissimae. maxillae basi corneae processubus duobus submembranaceis apicem versus instructae, lobo externo vel apicali ovali extus ciliato, interno tenuiori apice subacuto margineque interno vix unidentato. palpi maxillares quadriarticulati, articulo stipitali minimo inconspicuo, secundo obconico longo duobus ultimis simul sumptis longitudine fere aequali, tertio obconico crassiori, ultimo securiformi compressa. palpi labiales triarticulati articulo stipitali minimo inconspicuo, secundo longo obconico setis quibusdam ad apicem instructo, tertio triangulari compresso vel securiformi. labium membranaceum cordatam antice bilobum, lobis elongatis ciliatis interno latere rectilineari extus ad apicem rotundatis. mentum semicirculare antice rotundatum margine antico emarginato. caput porrectum oculis prominentibus thorace haud angustius. thorax convexus antice posticeque marginatus lateribus rotundatis haud marginatis. scutellum triangulare subacutum. abdomen thorace fere duplo latius. elytra humeris eminentibus marginatis, lateribus parallelis. pedes pentameri articulis tribus tarsorom primis ciliatis pulvillatis dilatatis, penultimo bilobo, ultimo tenui biunguiculato. femora postica valde incrassata intus unidentata. tibiae posticae compressae apice dilatatae angulo externo acuto. obs. the structure of the tarsus in this genus, so near in affinity to carpophagus and sagra, has led me to investigate more minutely the tarsus in the tetramerous and trimerous insects of the french entomologists, and the result has been that the arrangement given in the third volume of m. cuvier's regne animal, is discovered to be as erroneous in point of description, as it is inconsistent with natural affinities. . prionus bidentatus. don. ins. of new holland, table . . prionus fasciatus. don. ins. of new holland, table . . prionus spinicollis (n.s.) p. piceus antennis filiformibus basi nigris articulo ultimo vix crassiore, capite fusco tomentoso, thorace nigro-fusco punctis scabroso, lateribus spinulosus, in medio postice carina laevi tuberculoque utrinque magno compressa scabro; scutello piceo nigro-marginato, elytris testaceis punctulatis substriatis apice unidentatis, pectoris lateribus rufo-tomentosis. . distichocera maculicollis. kirby, in linnean transactions . . distichocera ? rubripennis (n.s.) d. rufo-testacea subtomentosa, capitis lateribus oreque nigris, vertice canaliculato, antennis nigris articulis vix biramosis ramis sinistris brevissimis, thorace atro vitta utrinque rufotestacea, scutello nigro, elytris rufo-testaceis tomentosis apice obtusis dehiscentibus, corpore cuneiformi subtus villo argenteo micante, abdomine utrinque nigro maculato, pedibus nigris. obs. this insect may be considered a molorchus with elytra as long as its wings; and it, therefore, evidently connects this genus with distichocera. . clytus thoracicus. don. sys. of new holland, table . obs. this insect leaves the typical form of clytus, so much as to make me hesitate in placing it in the genus. . callidium bajulus. fab. syst. eleulh. . . obs. this insect answers perfectly well to the specific description as given by fabricius, but is rather larger than the european insect, and has eight obsolete white spots disposed in two parallel bands on the back of the elytra. . callidium erosum (n.s.) c. nigrum capite punctato, ore testaceo, antennis apice fuscis, thorace tomentoso punctato vel potius punctis confluentibus eroso disco rufo medio subtuberculato, elytris acuminatis apice deflexis lineis duabus elevatis interstitiis punctis confertissimis pulcherrime erosis sutura margineque rufis, corpore subtus pedibusque tomentosis. var. b. major, cavite rufo antennis fuscis, elytris rufis litura inter lineas duas elevatas solum nigricante, pedibus nigropiceis. . callidium solandri. lamia solandri. oliv. ins. . . plate . figure . fab. ent. syst. . . . obs. i place olivier's synonym in this case first; because the fabrician description is so erroneous, that did we not know the original insect in the banksian collection, there would be no possibility of making it out. . stenochorus semipunctatus. fab. syst. eleuth. , . obs. this and the three following species belong to the stenochori callidiiformes of schonnher. . stenochorus acanthocerus (n.s.) s. fusco-ferrugineus capite punctato, antennis rubris articulo tertio quarto quinto et sexto apice spinosis, ore rubro, maxillis elongatis apice ciliatis membranaceis, palpis securiformibus, thorace obscuro utrinque unispinoso margine antico tuberculisque dorsalibus utrinque duobus posticoque semicirculari rubris, scutello rubro; elytris rubris fasciis tribus nigris undatis, ad basin inter lineas elevatas subcrenatis apicemque versus punctatis apice bidentatis; corpore subtus nigro-nitido tomentoso pedibus rubris. . stenochorus dorsalis (n.s.) s. fulvo-piceus capite angusto, labro palpisque testaceis, vertice canaliculato, thorace inaequaliter rugoso eminentia media ovali glabra tribusque aliis utrinque inconspicuis, elytris bidentatis lineis subelevatis interstitiisque punctatis macula media suturali testacea antice subemarginata, antennis subtus villosis articulis apice haud spinosis, corpore pedibusque piceis femoribus incrassatis. . stenochorus tunicatus (n.s.) s. flavus antennarum articulis duobus primis nigris quinto apice septimo nonoque nigris, thorace subcylindrico utrinque unidentato supra quadrituberculato tuberculis anticis majoribus, elytris apice flavis unidentatis, parte basali ultra medium subviolaceo-flava linea obliqua terminata, corpore pedibusque flavo-testaceis. . stenoderus abbreviatus. dej. cat. . cerambyx abbreviatus. fab. syst. eleuth. leptura ceramboides. kirby, in linnean transactions volume page . obs. this is certainly mr. kirby's leptura ceramboides, and perfectly agrees with the fabrician description of the cerambyx abbreviatus, except that no mention is there made of its mouth being yellow. mr. kirby says of this insect, "a habitu lepturae omnino recedit cerambycibus propior," and certainly were it allowable to judge entirely from habit, it would seem to connect those american saperdae of fabricius and olivier which have bearded antennae, such as (s. plumigera, oliv., barbicornis, fab.) with some other family, perhaps the oedemeridae. but, however this may be, the genus stenoderus differs from the cerambycidae, and agrees with the lepturidae, inasmuch as it has the antennae inserted between the eyes. . stenoderus concolor (n.s.) s. obscure testceus, antennis articulo basilari longo apice crassiori, capite thoraceque cylindrico constricto subrufis, elytris testaceis punctatis lineis quatuor elevatis. . lamia vermicularis. schon. in app. syn. ins. page , . l. vermicularia. don. ins. fab. . . lamia rugicollis. schon. in app. syn. ins. page , . . lamia bidens. fab. syst. eleuth. . . . acanthocinus piliger (n.s.) a. antennis obscuris pilosis apicem versus cinereo-annulatis, capite cinereo vertice nigro bilineato, thorace obscuro cinereo inaequali postice subcanaliculato medio utrinque tuberculato, elytris obscuris fasciculis minutis nigris flavis cinereisque variegatis, fascia media cinerea undata cristaque tuberculata humeros versus. . notoclea immaculata. marsham, in linnean transactions , table . figure . . notoclea variolosa. marsham, in linnean transactions , table . figure . . notoclea reticulata. marsham, in linnean transactions , table . figure . . notoclea -maculata. marsham, in linnean transactions , table . figure . obs. i suspect that this insect is merely a variety of n. reticulata. . notoclea atomaria. marsham, in linnean transactions , table . figure . . notoclea splendens (n.s.) n. splendidissime cuprea antennis piceis, scutello nigro, thorace postice elytrorum sutura maculisque duabus dorsalibus caeruleo-viridibus, elytris novem striis punctorum subtilissime impressis. . notoclea testacea. marsham, in linnean transactions . table . figure . . notoclea -maculata. marsham, in linnean transactions . table . figure . . podontia nigrovaria (n.s.) p. rufa thorace punctis quatuor utrinque inter latus et fossulas anticas duas divergentes in lineam transversam dispositis, scutellu piceo, elytris testaceis nigro-variis striatis striis punctatis, corpore subtus pedibusque rufis, femoribus posticis valde incrassatis. obs. this insect bears a great affinity to chrysomela -punctata, fab., and other asiatic insects of this type, which have been separated from chrysomela by dalman in his ephemerides entomologicae, under the name of podontia. . phyllocharis cyanicornis. dalman. ephem. entom. . chrysomela cyanicornis. fab. syst. eleuth. page . . . phyllocharis klugii (n.s.) p. rufo-testacea antennis scutello pedibusque atro-cyaneis, capite puncto verticali, thorace macula posticali, elytris punctato-striatis maculis duabus anticis cruceque apicali atro-cyaneis, abdomine subtus atro-cyaneo limbo rufo. obs. this species comes very near to the chrysomela cyanipes of fabricius, and is probably only a variety of it. . chrysomela -guttata. fab. syst. eleuth. . . don. ins. of new holland, table . . chrysomela curtisii. kirby, in linnean transactions volume . . cryptocephalus tricolor. fab. syst. eleuth. . . var. beta. thoracis macula media nigra. . cassida deusta. fab. syst. eleuth. . . oliv. ins. . table figure . . coccinella kingii (n.s.) c. pallide testacea thorace medio maculis quinque nigris duabus anticis elongatia tribusque posticis rotundatis, elytris nigro-tripunctatis punctis humeralibus duobus alioque media marginali. order orthoptera. . blatta australis (n.s.) b. elongato-ovata, ferrugineo-fusca thorace suborbiculato-quadrato, marginibus laterali et posticali lunulisque utrinque duabus paulisper impressis, fascia ante marginem posticum nigrum lata alba transversa, et lineolis duabus longitudinalibus mediis rufis carinulam formantibus in furcam flavam ad marginem anticum desinentibus. obs. the elytra of the male are much longer than the abdomen. . mantis quinquedens (n.s.) m. dilute-viridis thorace haud tripla longiore quam latiore, dorso parte antica, canaliculata excepta longitrorsum carinato, marginibus lateralibus denticulatis, elytris thorace duplo longioribus elongato-ovatis dilute viridibus margine externo maculaque media elevata flavescentibus; alis hyalinis dilute ferrugineis margine antico apiceque subfuscis; pedibus anticis coxis denticulatis margine interna piceo lineis quatuor albis elevatis transversis in dentes desinentibus. . mantis darchii (n.s.) m. dilute viridis thorace quadruplo longiore quam latiore, dorso parte antica canaliculata excepta longitrorsum carinato, marginibus lateralibus postice haud denticulatis, elytris thorace haud duplo longioribus linearibus acuminatis antice viridibus margine flavescente postice subhyalinis subfuscis, nervo costam versus crassiore, aiis apice acuminatis margine antico dilute rufescente, medio nigro punctis hyalinis et parte postica fusca obscura vix maculata. mantis darchii. captain p.p. king, manuscripts. obs. this insect has been named by captain king after his friend thomas darch, esquire, of the admiralty. . phasma titan (n.s) p. corpore decem unciarum longo, subcinereo-fusco lineari, thorace spinulis quibusdam raris acutis elytris longiore, his nigro-viridibus testaceo maculatis maculaque in marginis antici medio magna alba, alis membranaceis nigro-fuscis albo-maculatis, antice coriaceis ad basin rubris nigro-maculatis ad apicem nigro-viridibus testaceo maculatis, pedibus albo-cinereis coxis anticis trigonis angulo inferiori dentibus magnis rufis postico minoribus et superiori nullis. obs. this immense insect, which is nearly a foot long, is now for the first time described, although it seems to be not uncommon in new south wales. although much larger, it comes very near to the p. gigas of linnaeus and stoll, and like it, belongs to lichtenstein's division, thus characterized, "alata elytris alisque in utroque sexu." . phasma tiartum (n.s.) p. corpore fere quinque unciarum longo cuneiformi viridi, capite tiara acuminata spinulosa coronato, thorace antice angusto subdepresso spinuloso postice dilatato convexiori marginibus lateralibus denticulatis, abdomine antice cylindrico medio valde dilatato margine dentato et in processum segmentorum trium linearem desinente segmentis supra binis laminis dentatis in medio armatis, elytris viridibus subovatis minutis alarum rudimentis brevioribus; pedibus viridibus coxis triquetris, anticis angulo interiori tridentato, superiori denticulato processu ad apicem cristato, inferiori dilatato rotundato, quatuor posticis dilatatis ovatis margine denticulatis, femoribus anticis extus dilatatis rotundatis apicem versus subemarginatis, quatuor posticis triquetris angulis dentatis exteriori valde dilatato. table b. figure et . obs. i have been thus particular in the description of this rare insect, in order to afford as much information as possible to the naturalist, who may be inclined to investigate the natural arrangement of the phasmina. . locusta salicifolia (n.s.) l. viridis thorace supra plano lateribus perpendicularibus angulis flavescentibus, elytris alis brevioribus lanceolato-ovatis, costa flava punctis utrinque ad medium impressis alis hyalinis acuminatis apice viridibus. obs. this insect differs from the l. unicolor of stoll, a javanese insect, inasmuch as its thorax is not dentated, and is marked at the angles with yellow. . gryllus pictus. leach, zool. misc. table . . gryllus regulus (n.s.) g. ferrugineo-fuscus antennis filiformibus nigris, elytris obscure nebulosis, alis fusco-hyalinis, thoracis lateribus postice testaceis, corpore subtus rufo-testaceo, tibiis posticis testaceis spinis dorsalibus rufis apicibus nigris. order neuroptera. . libellula sanguinea (n.s.) l. tota sanguinea alis hyalinis stigmate fulvo nervisque sanguineis, posticis basi flavescentibus. . libellula oculata. fab. ent. syst. . . . libellula stigmatizans. fab. ent. syst. . . . lestes belladonna (n.s.) l. supra viridis subtus albescens pedibus nigris, alis quatuor cultratis macula ad marginem apicalem alba. . agrion kingii (n.s.) a. capite nigro, fronte corporeque subtus albidis, thorace abdomineque supra fuscis, segmentis abdominalibus nigro alboque annulatis, alis hyalinis stigmate fusco. order hymenoptera. . ophion luteum. fab. syst. piez. . . obs. this seems, according to fabricius, to be merely a variety of the common european insect. . liris angulata. fab. syst. piez. . . . pompilus morio. fab. syst. piez. . . . pompilus collaris. fab. syst. piez. . . . alyson tomentosum (n.s.) a. nigro-pubescens abdominis segmentis apice argenteis, alis apice nigricantibus. . thynnus variabilis. leach, manuscripts. thynnus dentatus. fab. syst. piez. . . . eumenes campaniformis. fab. syst. piez. . . . eumenes apicalis (n.s.) e. flava thoracis spatio inter alas segmentique abdominalis secundi parte basali nigris, alis flavis apice fuscis. . centris bombylans. fab. syst. piez. . . class haustellata. order lepidoptera. . papilio eurypilus. linn. syst. nat. page . . godart. enc. meth. hist. nat. . . obs. captain king found an insect on the north coast of new holland, which, i think, can only be deemed a variety of p. eurypilus, a species hitherto recorded as inhabiting java and amboyna. this variety is distinguished from the euripilus of godart by several minute differences. . papilio macleayanus. godart, enc. meth. hist. nat. . . . papilio sthenelus (n.s.) p. alis nigris flavo-maculatis posticis dentatis fascia maculaque adjecta flavis, ocello anali rufo lunulae caeruleae submisso. obs. this species is in new holland what demoleus is in africa, and epius in india. it is even difficult to determine whether the three may not be varieties of one species. if varieties, however, they are certainly permanent according to the above localities, and this species may be easily distinguished from epius, which it most resembles, by the large yellow spot near the middle of the superior margin of the upper wing. this spot is divided into two in epius and demoleus. moreover, the band of the lower wing in p. sthenelus is only attended with one small spot. . papilio anactus (n.s.) p. alis nigro-fuscis, anticis griseo-maculatis, inferis dentatis fascia alba extus dentata lunula media nigra limbique nigri lunulis quinque caeruleis ocellis tot rufis submissis. obs. this fine species is of the middle size, and seems to have a relation both with p. epius and p. machaon. the vertex is orange-coloured, with a black line in the middle. the two upper wings are slightly dentated, the lower dentations being marked with white spots. there are three grey spots in the middle of the superior margin of the wing, of which the largest is the one nearest to the body; on the outside of these are two parallel rows of grey spots, the first range consisting of about nine oblong spots unequal in size, and the outer range of eight smaller, whitish, and round spots. the white band of the lower wings, which are not tailed, has a black crescent-like spot in the middle; and on the outside, two parallel rows of five spots, the one blue and the other red, the emarginations of these wings are fringed with white. the underside of this insect is like the upper, except that the colours are more pronounced, and that there are two round white spots on the outside of the white band of the lower wings. . papillo cressida. godart, enc. meth. hist. nat. . . . . papilio harmonia. don. ins. of new holland. p. harmonoides. godart, enc. meth. hist. nat. . . . pontia crokera (n.s.) p. alis integerrimis niveis anticis apice punctoque nigris, posticis cinereo-submarginatis subtus flavo-irroratis. p. crokera. captain p.p. king, manuscripts. obs. this insect is of godart's fifth size, and comes very near to his pieris nina. the wings are of a fine white colour, particularly the upper. these have their summit black, and a minute black point, near the middle. the under wings are without any spots, but are bordered behind by a cinereous thread. the underside of the upper wings have the costa and summit covered with spots and minute incontinuous lines of a yellowish colour. the underside of the lower wings are sulphureous, with very fine undulating or rather incontinuous lines of a yellowish colour. the species has been named by captain king, after john wilson croker, esquire, m.p., and first secretary to the admiralty. . pieris niseia (n.s.) p. alis albis limbo late nigro; anticis macula media nigra limboque albo-trimaculato; posticis subtus nigro-venosis limbi maculis luteo-notatis. obs. this insect comes very near to the p. teutonia of godart and donovan, particularly in its underside. it is, however, smaller than that insect. the upper wings are white, with a posterior broad black subtriangular border, having two or three white spots at the apex. these wings have a black spot near their middle, which is also on the underside, but there communicates by a transverse, short, and rather curved, black band, with a black superior edging of the wing. in other respects the underside of the superior wings is like the upper, except perhaps that it is yellowish at the base. the lower wings have their upper side white, with a broad black border. their underside is strongly veined with black, having the base and the middle of the outer row of white spots in the posterior margin of the wing yellowish. . pieris scyllara (n.s.) p. alis integerrimis albis limbo exteriori utrinque nigro: anticis elongato-trigonis maculis apicalibus quatuor albis. obs. this species comes very near to p. lyncida of godart. its wings are white above. the upper ones have their costa blackish, and a triangular border at their extremity rather dentated on the inside. on this black border is a transverse row of four or five white spots, unequal in size. the lower wings have also a black border with one white spot, and which is simply crenated on the inside. the underside of the four wings scarcely differs from the upper, except that the black borders above mentioned are in general more pale, and those of the lower wings are broader than on the upper side. . pieris nysa. fab. syst. ent. . . p. eudora. don. ins. of new holland. p. nysa. godart, enc. meth. hist. nat. . . p. eudora. godart, enc. meth. hist. nat. . ? obs. on an inspection of the original pieris nysa of fab., in the banksian cabinet, i find it to be the same with the p. eudora of donovan, the only difference being that the under wings are less cinereous on the upper side, and the upper wings have more white at the extremity of the yellow spots at the base of their undersides. these minute differences appear to be sexual. at all events this is undoubtedly the p. eudora of donovan, in his insects of new holland. m. godart, however, most erroneously quotes another work of donovan, namely, the insects of india, and gives an erroneous description, apparently from confounding some indian insect with the insect described by donovan. godart has also erroneously altered the fabrician description of p. nysa, and thus added to the multitude of proofs which his laborious work affords, that the continental entomologists have no means of undertaking a complete description of species, without visiting the extensive collections of london. . pieris nigrina. godart, enc. meth. hist. nat. . . . pieris aganippe. godart, enc. meth. h. nat. . . . pibris smilax. don. ins. of new holland. p. smilax. godart, enc. meth. hist. nat. . . obs. as godart here again cites donovan's work on the insects of india, instead of his insects of new holland, i am inclined to think that he never saw those works. . pieris herla (n.s.) p. alis rotundatis integerrimis flavis, anticis apice fuscis, posticis margine nigro-sublineatis subtus testaceis atomis griseis aspersis. obs. this insect is larger than p. smilax, but resembles it extremely in its upper side. the underside, however, is different, as the extremity of the upper wings and the whole of the under wings are of a fawn colour. the underside of the lower wings is also sprinkled with some grey atoms, and marked obscurely with a fuscous band under two points. . euplaea chrysippus. godart, enc. meth. h.n. . . obs. captain king has brought a variety of this insect from new holland, which only differs from the european specimen figured by hubner, in the row of white points round the edge of the upper side of the lower wings being evanescent. this species is one of those which have a great range of distribution, being found in naples, egypt, syria, india, java, and new holland. . euplaea affinis. godart. enc. meth. h. nat. . . . euplaea hamata (n.s.) e. abdomine supra nigro subtus fusco alis repandis supra atris; omnibus utrinque ad extimum punctis ad basin maculis subbifidis virescenti-albis: subtus anticarum apice posticarumque pagina omni, olivaceo-fuscescentibus. obs. this insect comes so very near to the euplaea limniace, of godart and cramer, which is common on the coromandel coast as well as in java and ceylon, that i can scarcely consider it as any thing but a variety of that species. it differs, however, in being constantly of a smaller size, in its abdomen being black, and in the exterior row of white spots on the under wings not extending much more than half way round the margin of these wings. captain king found this insect in surprising numbers on various parts of the north-east coast, particularly at cape cleveland. see volume . . danais tulliola. fab. ent. syst. page . . obs. i reserve the generic name of danais for such of m. latreille's genus as have no pouches to the lower wings of their males; and to the remainder i give the fabrician generic name of euplaea. . danais darchia, (n.s.) p. alis integris fuscis velutinis caeruleo-micantibus, omnibus supra fascia maculari intra punctorum seriem marginalem abbreviatam alba; anticis puncto albo costali. danais darchia. captain p.p. king mss. obs. this is exactly the size of d. eleusine, to which it appears to come very near. the upper side of the four wings is brownish-black, having towards the margin an arched band of violet-coloured white spots, of which the greatest is at the extremity of the wing. there is also on the superior margin, about the middle of the upper wing, a white point, and at its inferior angle a marginal series of a few white points. the upper side of the lower wings has an abbreviated series of marginal points on the outside of an arched series of violet-coloured whitish lunulae. the underside answers well to the description given by godart of the underside of his danais eunice, except that d. darchia has only one white point in the middle of the upper wing. this species bas been named by captain king after his friend thomas darch, esquire, of the admiralty. . danais corinna (n.s.) p. alis integris fuscis velutinis caeruleo-micantibus, anticis punctis quatuor costalibus, maculis duabus angularibus et punctorum serie marginali albis, punctis extimum versus majoribus; alis posticis punctorum serie marginali et macularum longitudinalium fascia discoidali albis. obs. this species comes between the danais cora of godart and his d. coreta. the underside differs in having the marginal series of white points continued to the very tip of the upper wings, while they have three other points in the disc. there are also eight or nine similar white points between the base of the lower wings and the band of longitudinal spots. . nymphalis lassinassa. godart. enc. meth. . . . vanessa itea. godart. enc. meth. . . . vanessa cardui, var. godart. enc. meth. . . . satyrus banksia. godart. enc. meth. , . . satyrus abeona. godart. enc. meth. . . . satyrus merope. godart. enc. meth. . . . satyrus archemor. godart. enc. meth. . . . argynnis niphe. godart. enc. meth. . . . argynnis tephnia. godart. enc. meth. . . . acrea andromacha. fab. ent. syst. . . a. entoria. godart. enc. meth. . obs. the original insect of fabricius is in the banksian cabinet, and affords further cause of regret, that the article "papillon," of the encyclopedie methodique, should have been undertaken by a person who had not studied the classical collections that exist out of paris. m. godart describes this insect as a new species, under the name of entoria, and makes it an inhabitant of the west coast of africa. . cethosia penthesilea. godart. enc. meth. . . obs. this species bas hitherto been described only as a native of java, but captain king found several specimens of a variety of it on the north coast of new holland. . hesperia rafflesia, (n.s.) h. atra alis integerrimis; anticis fascia maculari abbreviata sulphurea atomisque apicem versus subviridibus aspersis, posticis rotundatis fascia basali ovali sulphurea abbreviata, caudata corporis fascia media sulphurea ano palpisque vivide rufis. obs. this beautiful species i have named after sir stamford raffles, to whose scientific ardour and indefatigable exertions in java and sumatra, every naturalist must feel himself indebted. the undersides of the wings are spotted like the upper, the only difference being, that round the whole disc of the four wings there runs a band of ashy-green atoms. the antennae and feet are black, and the breast whitish. the vivid colour of the yellow spots on the velvety black of the wings distinguish it at once from every known species. . urania orontes. godart. enc. meth. . . var. alis atro-viridibus, anticis fasciis duabus posticis cupreo-viridibus, unica lata. obs. this beautiful variety of an insect hitherto described as peculiar to java and amboyna was found in immense numbers, flitting among a grove of pandanus trees, growing on the banks of a stream near the extremity of cape grafton, upon the north-east coast of new holland. see volume . . agarista agricola. don. ins. of new holland. agarista picta. leach, zool. misc. volume table -- godart. enc. meth. . . obs. as donovan described and figured this insect many years before dr. leach, his name has the right of priority. . sphinx latreillii (n.s.) s. alis integris; superis griseo-flavescentibus atomis brunneis aspersis, punctis duobus nigris basalibus et fasciis quatuor obscuris subapicalibus, inferis griseo-nigrescentibus apicem versos subflavescentibus. dielophila latreillii. de cerisy manuscripts. obs. the underside of the four wings is very pale, of a yellowish-gray colour, traversed by a line of blackish points, which indeed are dispersed very generally over the whole surface. the disk of the upper wings is rather blacker than the rest. the head and thorax are of the colour of the wings, their sides and the conical abdomen being rather lighter. the antennae are ciliated, whitish above, and brownish beneath. . sphinx godarti (n.s.) s. abdomine griseo linea media longitudinali guttulisque lateralibus nigrescentibus, alis integris; superis griseo-nigrescentibus maculis irregularibus nigris punctoque medio albo, inferis griseo-flavescentibus fasciis tribus nigris. dielophila godarti. de cerisy manuscripts. obs. all the wings are of a gray colour beneath, the fringe being alternately white and brown. the thorax is gray, with a narrow, tawny, transverse mark, a lateral white fascia, two black curved marks, and on the hinder part a black spot. the body beneath is of a whitish colour. . macroglossum kingii (n.s.) m. capite thoraceque viridibus, abdomine nigro flavoque variegato, alis integris hyalinis subtus ad originem flavis, superis basin versus brunneis pilis viridescentibus obtectis costa limboque posteriori brunneis, inferis ad originem limbumque internum brunneo-viridescentibus. macroglossum kingii. de cerisy manuscripts. obs. the antennae of this beautiful species are black, very slender at the base, and thick towards the extremity. the palpi are greenish above and white beneath. the breast is white in the middle, and yellow at the sides. the two first segments of the abdomen are, on the upper side, gray in the middle, and yellow on the sides; the third segment is black, with a part of the anterior edge yellowish towards the side; the fourth segment is entirely black, having only a white fringe on its anterior edge; the fifth segment is of an orange yellow, with the middle black; the sixth segment is entirely yellow, and the whole abdomen is terminated by a pencil of hairs, which are yellow at their base, and black at the extremity. the thighs are whitish, with the tibiae and tarsi yellow. . cossus nebulosus. don. insects of new holland. . euprepia crokeri (n.s.) e. alba antennis fuscis, cavite nigro bipunctato, thorace linea transversa miniata antice punctis quatuor et postice duodecim nigris, alis testaceo-fuscis, superis ad basin albis punctis axillaribus tribus atris maculisque duabus mediis hyalinis, abdomine supra miniato subtus albo lateribus duplici serie punctorum nigrorum notatis, pedibus chermesinis. euprepia crokeri. captain p.p. king manuscripts. obs. this lovely insect, of which two specimens were taken at sea, has been named by captain king after john wilson croker, esquire, m.p., and first secretary of the admiralty. . noctua cyathina (n.s.) n. fusco-grisea subtus pallidior, alis superis linea transversa fusca sub-undata aliisque marginalibus obscuris fascia apicem versus fulva undata intus lineola fusca terminata, ad marginem externum dilatata, limbo punctorum serie vix marginato, subtus fascia alba, posteris supra apicem versus nigris fascia media maculisque tribus marginalibus albis, subtus macula marginali pallidiori margine nigro punctato. order homoptera. . cicada australasiae. don. ins. of new holland. . cicada zonalis (n.s.) c. capite thoraceque flavis, hoc macularum fascia nigrarum punctisque posticis variegato, abdomine atro fascia antica rubra analibusque tribus albis, lamellis basalibus subviridibus, elytris hyalinis costis viridibus pedibusque testaceis. order hemiptera. . scutellera banksii. don. ins. of new holland. obs. this insect varies so much in colour, that i almost think it to be the same species with the following s. cyanipes, fab. . scutellera cyanipes. tetyra cyanipes. fab. syst. rhyng. . . . scutellera imperialis. tetyra imperialis. fab. syst. rhyng. . . . scutellera corallifera (n.s.) s. supra cyanea linea verticali nigra thorace antice aurato, scutello ad basin macula transversa rubra, corpore subtus nigro-cyaneo pectoris lateribus auratis abdominis lateribus rubris anoque viridi, pedibus rubris tibiis tarsisque nigro-cyaneis. . scutellera pagana. tetyra pagana. fab. syst. rhyng. . . . pentatoma caelebs. cimex caelebs. fab. ent. syst. . . . pentatoma elegans. cimex elegans. don. ins. of new holland. . lygaeus regalis (n.s.) l. capite rubro, antennis nigris, thorace flavo-marginato antice lineis alba nigraque transverse notato, scutello nigro, elytris flavis macula media parteque apicali membranacea nigris, corpore subtus fulvo lateribus albo-lineatis pedibus nigro-brunneis. order diptera. . stratiomys hunteri (n.s.) s. nigro-brunnea tomentosa, post-scutello flavo, abdomine supra nigro maculis utrinque basin versus duabus viridibus, subtus viridi, pedibus flavis. stratiomys hunteri. captain p.p. king manuscripts. obs. this insect has been named by captain king after mr. james hunter, the surgeon of the mermaid. . asilus inglorius (n.s.) a. obscuro-luteus abdomine ad basin pilis flavis hirsuto, alis flavo-hyalinis apice obscurioribus, pedibus rufis geniculis tarsisque nigris. . tabanus guttatus. don. ins. of new holland. . tabanus cinerescens (n.s.) t. cinereo-ferrugineus subtus albescens, alis hyalinis basin versus subluteis, abdomine linea media maculisque quatuor utrinque cinereis. . pangonia roei. (n.s.) p. rostro brevi tota ferruginea nitida, abdomine subtus testaceo alis fulvo-hyalinis apice margineque exteriori saturatioribus fasciisque duabus mediis obscuris marginalibus. pangonia roei. captain p.p. king manuscripts. obs. this insect has been named after lieutenant john s. roe, r.n.; one of the assistant-surveyors of the expedition. . anthrax prae-argentatus (n.s.) a. supra niger pilis flavescentibus tomentosus subtus albidus, ore albo, pedibus nigris, alis brunneo-hyalinis margine exteriori saturatioribus apice albis. . anthrax bombyliformis (n.s.) a. nigro-bmnneus post-scutello ferrugineo, abdomine supra ad basin fulvo apice albo fasciaque media fusca, subtus albo pedibus atro-brunneis alis hyalinis basi margineque exteriori fuscis maculisque aliquot discoidalibus. . musca splendida. don. ins. of new holland. class arachnida. . nephila cunninghamii (n.s.) n. thorace sericeo cinereo, geniculis incrassatis pedibus nigro-fulvis, tibiarum primo et postremo pari flavo-annulatis. nephila cunninghamii. captain p.p. king manuscripts. named after mr. allan cunningham, the botanist of the expedition. obs. the genus nephila has been very properly separated from epeira by dr. leach in the zoological miscellany. . uloborus canus (n.s.) u. albescens thorace convexo, pedum pari secundo longiori, femoribus nigro-punctatis. . linyphia deplanata (n.s.) l. rufo-testacea mandibulis pedibusque apicem versus nigris, thorace sub-circulari plano, pedum secundo pari longiori. obs. the principal difference of this spider from the genus linyphia, as characterized by latreille, consists in the circumstance of the two largest of the four middle eyes being the posterior ones. the palpi of the male are in this species each provided with a spiral screw resembling the tendril of a vine. . thomisus morbillosus (n.s.) t. pedibus quatuor primis longioribus, cinereus thorace macula postica sublunari magna viridifusca, pedibus sub-geminatim fusco maculatis. ... cirripedes. anatifera sulcata. gray, ann. phil. . pentalasmis sulcata, leach. montague, test. brit. ... radiata. centronia. . echinus ovum ? peron and lesueur. lam. hist. . this specimen, presented to the museum, agrees very well with the short description given by lamarck of this species. . echinus variolaris. lam. hist. . this specimen, agreeing very well with the description of one found by peron, is very remarkable; and has the larger area agrulate and ornamented with two rows of white tubercles, nearly as large as those in the genus cidaris; the pores in the upper part are not perforated, and are placed in segments of circles round small tubercles. . echinometra lucunter. echinus lucunter. gmel. sys. nat. . icon. ency. method. t. . f. , , . anomalia. physalia megalista ? peron voyage lam. hist. . icon. peron, voyage atlas, t. . f. . no specimen of this animal was preserved, but captain king observes, that the animal he caught, of which he made a drawing, differed from lesueur's figure of p. megalista, in being of smaller size, and with fewer tints; the colour of the tentacula was a brighter purple tipped with yellow globules, and the crest of a greenish hue, but the general colour of the animal was purple. it measured from three-quarters to one inch in length. captain king considered it to be a variety of p. megalista. porpita gigantea. peron, voyage . lam. hist. . icon. peron and lesueur, atlas, t. . f. . a very beautiful and accurate drawing of this curious animal was made by lieutenant roe. m. lesueur's figure is also very correctly drawn. acrita. zoophyta. . tubipora musica. gmel. syst. nat. . lam. hist. . icon. seba. mus. t. . f. , . soland. and ellis. t. . according to peron, the animals of this coral are furnished with green-fringed tentacula. . pavonia lactuca, lam. hist. . madrepora lactuca, pallas, zooph. . icon. soland, and ellis, t. . . explanaria mesenterina, lam. hist. il. . madrepora cinerascens, soland. and ellis. icon. soland. and ellis, number . t. . . agaricia ampliata, lam. hist. . madrepora ampliata, soland. and ellis, . icon. soland. and ellis, t. . f. , . . fungia agariciformis, lam. hist. . madrepora fungites, gmel. syst. nat. . icon. soland. and ellis, page . t. . f. , . . fungia limacina, lam. hist. . madrepora pileus, gmel. syst. nat. . icon. soland. and ellis, t. . seba. mus. t. . f. , . . fungia compressa, lam. hist. . . caryophillia ? fastigiata, lam. hist. . madrepora fastigiata, gmel. syst. nat. . icon. soland. and ellis, t. . esp. suppl. t. . . porites subdigitata, lam. hist. . icon. -- . porites clavaria, lam. hist. . madrepora porites, gmel. syst. nat. . icon. soland. and ellis, t. . f. . . astrea stellulata ? lam. hist. . madrepora stellulata, soland. and ellis, page . icon. soland. and ellis. t. . f. , . obs. the stars in this specimen are more numerous, and do not perforate. . madrepora prolifera. lam. hist. . madrepora muricata, gmel. syst. . icon. soland. and ellis, t. . . madrepora abrotanoides, lam. hist. . madrepora muricata, gmel. sys. nat. . icon. soland. and ellis, t. . . seriatopora subulata, lam. hist. . madrepora seriata, pallas. zooph. p . madrepora lineata, esper. suppl. t. . icon. soland. and ellis, t. . f. . . . madrepora laxa (?) lam. hist. . . madrepora plantaginea (?) lam. hist. . icon. esper. suppl. t. . . madrepora corymbosa, lam. hist. . . madrepora pocillifera, lam. hist. . . gorgonia flabellum, gmel. syst. nat. . flabellum veneris, ellis, corall. page . icon. soland. and ellis, t. . f. a. . galaxaria cylindrica, lamouroux. corallina cylindrica, soland. and ellis, . icon. soland. and ellis, t. . f. . . spongia muricina (?) lam. hist. . number . icon. seba. mus. t. . f. . . spongia perfoliata, lam. hist. . number . icon. -- . spongia basta, pallas. zooph. . lam. hist. . number . icon. -- esper. t. . . spongia alcicornis, esper. lam. hist. . number l . icon. -- esper. page . t. . . spongia spiculifera ? lam. hist. . number . icon. -- three or four other species of spongia were brought home, which i have not been able to identify with all of lamarck's descriptions, or with any figures; but as this author has described many species from the collection of peron and lesueur, which have not hitherto been figured, i have not considered them as new, until i have had an opportunity of examining more new holland species, and of seeing those described by lamarck. ... mollusca. by john edward gray, esquire, f.g.s. . conchophora. . solenomya australis. solemya australis, lam. hist. . mya marginipectinata, peron and lesueur. . mactra abbreviata ? lam. hist. . n. . icon. -- this collection contains a considerable number of specimens of a shell agreeing with the short specific character given by lamarck of the above; but as it has not been figured, i have referred to it with a mark of doubt. the shells are rather solid, white, or white variegated with purple, with numerous concentric wrinkles, which are more distinct nearer the margin; the umbones, covered with a thin pale periostraca, nearly smooth and polished, with a small purple spot, the inside white, with the disk and posterior slope purple; the anterior and posterior slopes distinct, the lunule and escutcheon deeply and distinctly sulcated; length fourteen-tenths of an inch; height one inch. . mactra ovalina, lam. hist. . this shell is nearly of the same shape as the last, but the anterior slope is rounded and circumscribed, and the posterior only marked by a raised line in the periostraca. the shell is thin, white; with a pale brown and deeply grooved escutcheon. . solen truncatus, wood. conch. solen ceylonensis, leach, zool. misc. . table . solen vagina, b. lam. hist. . icon. wood. conch. t. . f. . . ency. method. t. . f. . . cardium tenuicostatum, lam. hist. . icon. -- the shell when perfect is white, with rose-coloured umbones; the rose colour is often extended down the centre of the shell, forming concentric zones. . lucina divaricata, lam. hist. . tellina divaricata, gmel. sys. nat. . icon. chemn. conch. . t. . f. . . venerupis galactites, nob. venus galactites, lam. hist. . icon. -- the fact of lamarck having placed in the genus venus this shell, which a modern conchologist has considered as a variety of venerupis perforans, shows the very great affinity that exists between those genera. . venus flammiculata ? lam. hist. . icon. -- this shell is pale yellowish, with irregular, large, distinct, concentric ridges, and distinctly radiated striae; the umbones smooth, polished, orange-yellow; the lozenge lanceolate, purple; the inside golden-yellow; the anterior and posterior dorsal margins purple. . venus tessellata (n.s.) testa ovato-oblonga, albida, lineis purpureis angulatis picta; sulcis concentricis, ad latus posteriorem lamellatis; marginibus integerrimis. icon. -- shell ovate-oblong, white, polished, with rows of square purple spots, forming regular lines, with the points directed toward the back of the shell; covered with many distinct, nearly equal, concentric, smooth ridges; the front part of the ridges somewhat elevated, thin, hinder part distinctly lamellar and much elevated: the lunule subulate, lanceolate; the edge quite entire; umbones with a purple spot; inside white, except on the anterior and posterior dorsal edges, which are purple; length eight-tenths, height six-tenths of an inch. there are two other specimens of this shell in the museum which do not agree with any that lamarck describes; one of these being fourteen-tenths of an inch long, and one inch high, is double the size of captain king's specimen; its habitation is not marked, but the other specimen is from ceylon. . cytherea kingii (n.s.) testa ovato-cordata, tumida, albida, concentrice substriata, radiata, radiis flavicantibus; lunula lanceolato-cordata; intus albida. shell ovate, heart-shaped, white or pale brown, with darker brown rays, each formed of several narrow lines, the umbones white, the edge quite entire; the lunule lanceolate heart-shaped, obscurely defined, the centre rather prominent; inside white, the hinge margin rather broad. this shell is very like cytherea loeta, but differs from it in its markings, as well as its outline, which is more orbicular. the specimen given to the museum by captain king, is one inch long, and eight-tenths of an inch high; but there is another specimen in the collection, from the tankerville cabinet (number ) which is twice that size. . cytherea gibba. cytherea gibbia, lam. hist. . icon. chemn. t. . f. . . . petricola rubra ? cardium rubrum ? montague. this shell agrees in general form, teeth, and colour, with the cardium rubrum of montagu, but it is larger. it was found imbedded in the seaweed and spongy-like substance that covers the tridacna squamosa. . chama limbula, lam. hist. . this shell may, perhaps, be a variety of chama gryphoides. . tridacna gigas, lam. hist. pt. . . chama gigas, gmel. syst. nat. . icon. chemn. t. . f. . ency. meth. plate . f. . . pectunculus radians ? lam. hist. . . arca scapha, lam. hist. . icon. chemn. . t. . f. . ency. meth. plate . f. . a, b. . mytilus erosus, lam. hist. pt. . this shell was described by lamarck from some new holland specimens, that were probably collected by peron in baudin's voyage. it is remarkable for being very thick and solid, and of a fine dark colour, with only a narrow white band on the anterior basal edge. the edge is crenated, and the muscular impressions are very distinct, and raised above the surface, particularly that on the anterior valve, which is both pellucid and tubercular. . modiola (tulipa ?) australis, nob. modiola tulipa, var. . lam. hist. pt. . this australian species will most probably prove to be distinct from the american kind; but the specimen before me does not afford sufficient materials to separate it, since there is only one water-worn valve in the collection. it is not so distinctly rayed as m. tulipa, and the inside is entirely of a brilliant pearly purple, except near the anterior basal edge. . lithophagus caudatus, nob. modiola caudigera, lam. hist. pt. . icon. ency. meth. plate . f. . a, b. . meleagrina albida, var. a. lam. hist. pt. . this appears to be a distinct species from those found in the gulf of mexico and the west indies, but the difference is not easy to describe. the specimens before me, which are small, differ materially from some of the same size among the american species. the outside is of a dull greenish-purple colour, with a few distant membranaceous laminae which are only slightly lobed, and not extended into long processes like those of avicula radiata (zool. misc. . t. .) which is the young of the american kind. the internal pearly coat has a bright yellow tinge. . spondylus radians ? lam. hist. pt. . icon. chemn. conch. t. . f. . . ency. meth. plate . f. . . pecten maximus ? lam. hist. pt. . ostrea maxima, gmel. syst. nat. . icon. chemn. conch. t. . f. . ency. meth. plate . f. . a, b. the shell before me is probably distinct from the above species, but is too much worn down to be separated from it; in its present state it seems to agree tolerably well with the species to which it has been referred. . pecten asperrimus, lam. hist. pt. . this beautiful species was originally found by mm. peron and lesueur on the coast of van diemen's land. . lima minuta (n.s.) testa ovato-oblonga valde tumida clausa radiatim costata, costis transverse costato-striatis, auriculis minutis, margine crenato. this shell, which was brought up by the deep sea sounding-lead, being only one-sixth of an inch long, and one-fourth high, is the smallest species of the genus. it is white, ovate, oblong, turned and closed at the ends; the surface is deeply radiately ribbed; the ribs are concentrically rib-striated, which gives their sides a denticulated appearance; the edge is crenulated, and the umbones are acute, a small distance apart, and nearly in the centre of the hinge margin, which is straight. . pinna dolabrata, lam. hist. pt. . pinna bicolor, chemn. conch. cab. t. . f. . icon. chemn. t. . f. ? the shell, figured by chemnitz, appears to be a variety of this species with the anterior end uncurved, which has most probably been caused by some injury on the anterior basal edge. the species is peculiar for its yellow pearly internal coat, and purplish rays. . cochleophora. . trochus caerulescens. lam. hist. . icon. ency. meth. plate . f. . a, b. inhab. south-west coast. lamarck describes this shell from a specimen found by peron. . trochus noduliferus, lam. hist. . . monodonta conica (n.s.) testa conica, acuta, imperforata, spiraliter striflto-costata, rufa; costis subtuberculatis, albo-nigro-articulatis; apertura sulcata. inhab. -- mus. brit. shell conical, axis longer than the diameter, the whorl flattened with six spiral raised substriae, which are transversely divided into blackish purple beads with white interspaces, the apex rather acute; the base, rather convex, axis imperforated; the aperture subquadrangular, inside furrowed; the base of the columella lip with a prominent tooth and distinct groove behind it, the upper part rugose; axis eight-twelfths, diameter six-twelfths of an inch. this shell does not appear to be uncommon on the coast of australia. . monodonta uranulata (n.s.) testa depresso-conica, umbilicata, purpurea, albomarmorata, spiraliter papillata; papillis quadri-seriatis, umbilico laevi; infima facie papillata, apertura sulcata. inhab. mus. brit. shell rather depressed, conical, purple variegated with white, generally concentrically wrinkled, and ornamented with granulated spiral ribs, the ribs of the upper part of the last, and of all the other whorls rather distant, and forming four series; those of the under part rather closer, and smaller. the axis unbilicated, smooth, the aperture roundish, the outer lips furrowed, the columella lip smooth with a groove at its base, axis four-twelfths, diameter five-twelfths of an inch. . monodonta denticulata (n.s.) testa depresso-conica, umbilicata, rufa, nigro punctata, spiraliter sulcata, subgranulata, umbilico extus crenato. inhab. -- mus. brit. shell depressed, conical, pale reddish, ornamented with rows of white and brown spots, spirally grooved, ribs slightly granulated; the sutures distinct, impressed, the lower part of the last whorl nearly smooth, the umbilicus white, smooth inside, the edge furnished with a series of granules. the mouth subquadrangular, outer lip crenulated at the edge, the columella lip smooth, with a large tooth at the inside, and a little roughness on the outer side; axis three-tenths, diameter five-twelfths of an inch. . monodonta constricta, lam. hist. . . monodonta rudis (n.s.) testa ovato-conica imperforata ulbido-purpurea rudis crassa, labro duplicato, extus albido viridi, intus subsulcato, albo. inhab. -- mus. brit. shell ovate, conical, imperfurated, rough, pearly, concentrically striated, whitish-brown; when worn or where eroded, purple; the whorls convex, suture distinct, sometimes occupying an impressed line on the lower whorl; the base rather convex, the aperture roundish, the axis (imperforate) covered with a white callus, which leaves a slight concavity over its end; the outer lip of three colours, the outer part purple or green and white, the middle pearly, and the inner opaque, white, and furrowed; the surface of the lower part of the last whorl is frequently worn away just opposite the mouth, so as to leave a purple spot. . rissoa clathrata (n.s.) testa subglobosa, subimperforata, alba, solida, spiraliter et concentrice costata; apertura suborbiculari, sutura impressa. shell nearly globular, spire conical, upper whorls with three, lower with seven distinct, large, rather separate, much raised, spiral ribs, and numerous acute transverse ribs, which form an acute tubercle where it crosses the spiral ridges, the suture deeply impressed, very distinct, the aperture nearly orbicular, the outer lip denticulated on its outer edge, inner lip smooth, column without any perforation, only a slight linear cavity behind the inner lip, axis and diameter each one-sixth of an inch. this shell is allied to littorina muricata (turbo muricata, lin.) in its general form and the shape of its umbilicus, but is white and ribbed like rissoa cimex (turbo cimex, lin.) r. calathriscus, the turbo calathriscus of montague. . solarium biangulatum (n.s.) testa orbiculato-conica subdepressa albida spiraliter sub-striata rufo variegata, anfractibus biangulatis supra planis infra convexis, umbilico pervio edentulo. shell orbicular conical; spire rather depressed; whorls five spirally striated; upper part flattened, expanded, white with numerous diverging red cross lines; centre flat, nearly at right angles with the upper edge, white, with a convex thread-like rib round its base, which is distantly articulated; base of the whorls convex, red, punctured and variegated with white; axis conical, concave, white, smooth at the commencement; aperture subquadrangular; inside pearly, inner lip with an obscure tooth at the end of the umbilicus; axis one-fourth, diameter one-third, of an inch. . turbo setosus, gmel. sys. nat. . lam. hist. . icon. chemn. t. . f. , . . turbo torquatus, gmel. . lam. hist. . icon. chemn. . figure . f. a. b. . phasianella varia, lam. ency. meth. plate . f. . a. b. c. phasianella bulimoides, lam. hist. . buccinum australe, gmel. syst. nat. . icon. chemn. t. . f. , . . phasianella pulchra (n.s.) testa minuta oblique conica tenuis pellucida linea albida opaca et fasciis coccineis ornata, anfractibus valde convexis. shell minute, obliquely conical, thin, pellucid, variegated with spiral opaque white intercepted striae and several transverse scarlet bands formed of oblique lines; axis, imperforated, one-sixth, diameter one-eighth, of an inch. this shell is somewhat like p. pullus, turbo pullus of montague, but the whorls are more convex, and it is rather differently marked. . scalaria australis, lam. hist. pt. . . icon. -- . scalaria tenuis (n.s.) testa conica umbillcata tenuis pellucida albida unifasciata, costis albis tenuibus ereberrimis parum elevatis laevibus, anfractibus contiguis. shell conical, thin, pellucid, whitish-brown, with a narrow central spiral brown band; whorls contiguous, convex, smooth, with numerous close oblique slightly raised, thin, simple-edged cross ribs; axis umbilicated; umbilicus narrow; mouth small, ovate, orbicular; axis three-eighths, diameter one-fourth of an inch. this shell is most like scalaria principalis, nob. turbo principalis of pallas, chemn. t. , f. , . the shell before me is most probably a young specimen. . delphinula laciniata, lam. hist. pt. . . turbo delphinus, gmel. syst. nat. . icon. lister. conch. t. . f. . this shell was found at low water upon the coral reefs, in the entrance of prince regent's river, on the north-west coast. . nerita atrata, lam. hist. pt. . . icon. chemn. conch. t. . f. , . . nerita textilis, gmelin. syst. nat. . icon. chemn. , f. , . . natica mamilla, lam. hist. pt. . . nerita mamilla, gmel. syst. nat. . icon. lister conch. t. . f. . enc. meth. plate . f. . a. b. . natica alba, n. icon. chemn. t. . f. . . . natica conica, lam. hist. pt. . . icon. chemn. t. . f. . . . littorina australis (n.s.) testa ovata, conica fulva rudis spiraliter striata sulcata, spira acuta, fauce livida. shell ovate, conical, fulvous-brown, rough, with numerous impressed spiral lines; the spire acute, the whorls rather convex, last slightly angular, the columella lip purplish-brown; axis solid, with a lunate concavity behind the usual situation of the umbilicus. . littorina unifasciata (n.s.) testa ovato-conica imperforata purpureo-albida laevigata, anfractibus convexis ultimo subangulato, apertura purpurea unifasciata. icon. -- shell ovate conical, nearly smooth, with only a few concentric ridges, and distant, scarcely impressed, very narrow, grooves; white or purplish-white outside; the whorls rather convex, last one slightly angular in front; mouth ovate; throat purple or purplish-black with a distinct broad white spiral band just below the slight external keel; inner lip purple with a deep concavity behind it; spire acute half the length of the shell; axis / , diameter / , of an inch. this shell has somewhat the shape of littorina zigzag, the trochus zigzag of montague, but is all of one colour externally and has a much shorter spire. . cerithium palustre, brug. dict. n. . lam. hist. . strombus palustris, gmel. syst. nat. . number . icon. lister. conch. t. . f. . t. . f. . seba, t. . f. . . - . martini conch. t. . f. . . cerithium ebeninum, brug. dict. n. . lam. hist. . icon. chem. conch. t. . f. , . ency. meth. t. . f. . a, b. . cerithium morus, lam. hist. . not brug. icon. lister. t. . f. ? . cerithium lima ? lam. hist. . brug. number . a broken shell apparently of this species was brought home, but when a more perfect specimen is round, it may prove to be distinct from it. . cerithium perversum ? lam. hist. . . nassa fasciata, n. buccinum fasciatum, lam. hist. . . nassa suturalis, n. buccinum suturale, lam. hist. ? . nassa mutabilis, n. buccinum mutabile, gmel. syst. nat. . lam. hist. . icon. list. t. . f. . born. t. . f. . chemn. conch. t. . f. , . . nassa livida (n.s.) testa ovato-conica superne transverse plicata basi spiraliter striata purpureo-livida obscure castaneo bifasciata, anfractibus convexiusculis, sutura linea alba notata, labro extus marginato intus sulcato. icon. -- shell ovate conical, livid purplish-white, with one or two central, obscure brown, bands; upper whorls bluntly transversely plaited, the rest smooth, livid, except at the front part of the last, just over the groove, where it is spirally striated; the suture distinct (not channelled) marked by a white line; the inner lip distinct, raised, the outer thickened on the outer side, edge sharp, inside grooved; the throat fulvous-brown; axis one inch, diameter half an inch. this shell belongs to the group of nassa, but will perhaps form a distinct genus intermediate between it and columbella, characterized by the narrow form of the mouth. it is most nearly allied to n. olivacea, n. (bucc. olivaceum, lam.) and n. canaliculata, n. (bucc. canaliculatum, lam.) . clavatula striata (n.s.) testa ovato-lanceolata turrita albida regulariter spiraliter sulcato-striata transverse et interrupte costata, anfractuum margine superiore angulato subnodoso, cauda brevi, fauce sulcata. icon. -- shell ovate turreted, whitish-brown, with eleven or twelve longitudinal interrupted ribs forming long tubercles on the centre of the whorls; the whorls with distant impressed spiral lines near the suture, with a rather flattened slightly nodulose band; the mouth rather more than one-third the length of the shell; outer lip thin inside, grooved; tail short, with a linear depression on its columella side; axis ten-twelfths, diameter four-twelfths of an inch. . cassis achatina, var. lam. hist. . a worn specimen, apparently a variety of this species. it is entirely smooth, polished, and has the last whorl near the spire slightly concave, edged with a scarcely raised rather nodulous line, the outer lip is very thick, grooved on its inner edge, and the columella is distinctly plaited. it may perhaps prove to be a new kind; but the species of this genus are so exceedingly apt to vary, that i do not wish to increase the number of the already too much extended lists of lamarck and others. . cassis flammea. lam. hist. . cassidea flammea, brug. dict. n. . buccinum flammeum, lin. sys. nat. . gmel. . icon. lister. t. . f. . et t. . f. . martini conch. t. . f. . . . dolium variegatum, lam. hist. . icon. -- . purpura haemastoma, lam. hist. . buccinum haemastoma, lin. syst. nat. . gmel. . icon. lister. t. . f. . martini conch. t. . f. , . . murex adustus ? lam. hist. . icon. seba. mus. ili. t. . f. . . martini conch. t. . f. , . this shell agrees very well with the description of lamarck, except that the whole edge of the mouth is of a fine rose-red colour. . tritonium tranquebaricum, n. triton tranquebaricum, lam. hist. . icon. ency. meth. t. . f. . . tritonium australe, n. triton australe, lam. hist. . murex tritonium australe, chemn. conch. . icon. chemn. t. . f. , . . ranella leucostoma, lam. hist. . icon. -- this shell is very like triton scobinator, lam.; and the varices, like it, neither form a complete series, nor are they alternate, so that it does not agree exactly with the characters of either genus. . fusus verrucosus, n. murex verrucosus, gmel. syst. nat. . icon. martini. t. . f. , . . conus achatinus, brug. dict. n. . lam. hist. . icon. chemn. t. . f. . ency. method. t. . f. . . conus puncturatus. brug. dict. n. . lam. hist. . icon. ency. meth. t. . f. . . conus maurus (n.s.) testa turbinata coronata albida zonis duabus fuscis, spira subdepressa mucronata, faute albida zonis duabus purpureis notata. icon. -- shell very plain, top-shaped, crowned, and whitish, with two brown bands; spire rather depressed; crowned, blunt; the epidermis pale greenish-brown; the inside white, with two broad blue bands, in the front of which is enclosed the canal; axis one and a half, diameter one inch. . cypraea arabica, gmel. syst. nat. . lam. hist. . gray, zool. journal . icon. lister. conch. t. . f. . martini. t. . f. . ency. meth. t. f. , . . cypraea tigris, gmel. syst. nat. . lam. hist. . gray, zool. journal . icon. lister. conch. t. . f. . martini t. . f. - . ency. meth. t. . f. . the shells of this species that are found on the north-east coast of australia are generally of a very pale colour, with only scattered markings. . cypraea mauritiana, gmel. syst. nat. . lam. hist. . gray, zool. jour. . icon. lister. conch. t. . f. . martini t. . f. - . ency. meth. t. . f. . a. b. . cypraea lynx, gmel. syst. nat. . lam. hist. . oray, zool. journal . cypraea venelli, gmel. . cypraea squalina, gmel. . icon. lister. conch. t. . f. . martini t. . f. , . ency. meth. t. . f. . a. b. . cypraea annulus, gmel. syst. nat. . lam. hist. . gray, zool. journal . icon. martini conch. t. . f. . . ency. meth. t. . f. . . cypraea obvelata, lam. hist. . gray, l.c. . icon. -- . cypraea moneta, gmel. syst. nat. . lam. hist. . gray, zool. journal . icon. lister. conch. t. . f. . martini t. . f. . . ency. meth. t. . f. . . cypraea errones. lin. syst. nat. . gray, l.c. . cypraea erronea, gmel. syst. nat. . cyprrea olivacea, b. lam. hist. . icon. pet. gaz. t. . f. . . cypraea caput serpentis. lin. syst. nat. . gmel. . lam. hist. . gray, zool. journal . icon. lister. t. . f. . et t. . f. . martini t. . f. . ency. meth. . f. . . cypraea zigzag, gmel. syst. nat. t. . lam. hist. . gray, zool. journal . cypraea undata, lam. ann. mus. n. . icon. lister. conch. t. . f. . martini t. . f. , . ency. meth. t. . f. . a. b. . cypraea helvola, lin. syst. nat. . gmel. . lam. hist. . icon. lister. conch. t. . f. . martini conch. t. . f. , . ency. meth. . f. . . cypraea nucleus, lin. syst. nat. . gmel. . lam. hist. . gray, zool. journal . icon. born. t. . f. . ency. meth. t. . f. . . cypraea oniscus, lam. hist. . icon. lister. conch. t. . f. . martini t. . f. , . . cypraea australis, lam. hist. . icon. -- . mitra tabanula ? lam. hist. . n. . a single bleached specimen, agreeing with this description excepting in having five instead of three or four plaits on the columella, was brought up by the sounding line. the shell is longitudinally grooved, and very remarkable for being furnished with numerous, rather distant, smooth, narrow, raised spiral bands; having the inter-spaces finely spirally striated; the nucleus of the shell, like that of a voluta, is mammillary. . mitra scutulata, lam. hist. . voluta scutulata sue discolor, chemn. conch. gmel. . icon. chemn. l.c. t. . f. , . lamarck never having seen this shell has described it on the authority of chemnitz, whose figure agrees very well with the shell before me; excepting that the spots round the suture form nearly a continual band at a little distance from it; the outer lip is smooth and thin; the inside dull livid brown; the axis is fourteen-twelfths, the diameter seven-twelfths, of an inch. . marginella minuta (n.s.) testa minuta ovata fusiformis alba polita, spira conoidea obtusiuscula, labro inflexo, columella quadriplicata. icon. -- shell ovate, fusiform, white, polished; spire conical, nearly as long as the aperture, rather blunt; outer lip somewhat inflexed; columella with four distinct plaits; axis three-twelfths, diameter two-twelfths of an inch. . strombus plicatus, lam. hist. . strombus dentatus, gmel. syst. nat. . icon. rumph. mus. t. . f. t. pet. amb. t. . f. . schroet. einl. in conch. t. . f. . ency. meth. t. . f. . a. b. . strombus urceus, lin. gmel. . icon. lister. conch. t. . f. . martini. conch. t. . f. - . . strombus australis (n.s.) testa ovato-oblonga tuberculata spiraliter sulcata albida fusco-variegata, spira exserta, cauda recurva, labro incrassato posterius lobo digiti-formi termitato intus (roseo ?) sulcato. icon. -- ? shell ovate oblong, spiral, white, spotted and lined with pale, fulvous-brown; the spire exserted, conical, half as long as the shell; the whorls longitudinally ribbed with one more prominent than the rest, the one nearest the suture being acute and tuberculated; the canal recurved; the outer lip thickened, ending in a projecting lobe behind, and edged with two or three blunt tubercles; the throat rose-coloured, furrowed; the inner lip much thickened. this shell is one of the five species which have been confounded with strombus auris dianae; it is most like s. zelandiae, n. chemn. t. . f. , , in form and throat, but has the sculpture of s. adusta, n. chemn. t. . f. , ; this last lamarck considers as the true s. auris dianae, whilst linnaeus unquestionably describes the shell figured by martini, t. . f. , and by seba, t, . f. , , which i have named s. lamarckii, from having considered it to be the young of a new species; it is figured by martini, t. . f. , , and by seba, t. . f. , , and is very nearly allied to s. bituberculatus of lamarck. . pterocera lambis, lam. hist. . strombus lambis, gmel. syst. nat. . icon. lister. conch. t. . f. . martini, conch. t. . f. , . this shell is very distinct from strombus camelus of chemn. t. . f. . . bulla australis, gray, ann. of philosophy, n.s. . icon. -- this species is very distinct from bulla striata, lister. conch. t. . f. . with which it has been generally confounded; it is of larger size and perfectly smooth. . bulla hyalina (n.s.) testa ovata cylindrica imperforata tenuis hyalina albida laevis concentrice subrugosa; apice incrassato. icon. -- the shell ovate, cylindrical, thin; hyaline white, smooth, very slightly concentrically rugose; the vertex thickened, not perforated; the aperture rather longer than the shell; the inner lip slightly reflexed; axis five-twelfths, diameter three-twelfths of an inch. . cryptostoma haliotoideum (n.) sigaretus haliotoideus, lam. hist. . . icon. martini. conch. t. . f. - . . hipponix listeri (n.) icon. lister. t. . f. . this shell is very nearly allied to pileopis, but the animal is evidently not brachiopodous. it does not form (or at least not always) a shelly support, but corrodes the surface of the shell to which it is attached, so as to form a more flat attachment, and to leave a lunate convex rib instead of the lunate muscular impression which is observed on those specimens or individuals which have a shelly base. . siphonaria radiata, var. gray, phil. mag. . . siphonaria exigua, sow. gen. patella japonica, donovan. icon. donovan, nat. repos. t. . . bulimus kingii, gray, ann. phil., n.s. . icon. the shell ovate, white, with numerous dark-brown irregular concentric lines, smooth except near the suture where it is slightly wrinkled; whorls six, rather convex; aperture ovate, about half as long as the shell; peristome thin (perhaps not formed); perforation covered with a white even lip, surrounded by a dark edge; the throat chocolate-brown. this shell is abundant on the hills of king george the third's sound, in the vicinity of bald head. . cyclostoma australe (n.s.) testa orbiculata subtrochiformis profunde umbilicata albida fasciis binis fuscis cincta, spira brevi acuta, anfractibus convexis concentrice sulcatis. icon. -- shell orbicular, nearly trochi-form, white with two pale-brown bands on each whorl; the one near the suture narrow, and the other, placed on the middle of the whorl, broad; whorls five; convex rounded, with numerous close concentric furrows; axis umbilicated; umbilicus rather narrow, deep; aperture rather more than one half the length of the shell; peristome (not formed ?) simple. . chiton rugosus (n.s.) testa octovalvis glabra, valvis tuberculatis, ligamento glabro laevi. icon. -- shell with eight valves, bald; valves covered with numerous small tubercles both on the central and lateral area; marginal ligament smooth, bald. . patella tramoserica, chemn. . icon. chemn. t. . f. , . . patella radiata, chemn. . icon. chemn. t. . f. , . when young, the form of this shell is more conical than in the figure above quoted, and the outer surface is finely radiately striated. . patella neglecta (n.) patella melanogramma, sowerby, not gmel. icon. sow. gen. f. when this shell is young, or when the older specimens have lived in deep water, where their surface has not been broken by the shingle, or corroded, or covered with coralloid incrustations, they are regularly radiately ribbed; the ribs are covered with narrow intermediate grooves, marked with a black spot on the internal edge of the shell, which is permanent through all the variations of the outer surface. the inside is pale purplish-brown, with a yellowish-white muscular impression. in the older specimens the central disk is often of a pure opaque-white, and the muscular impressions round the inner edge of the shell are both pellucid brownish-white; length four inches, breadth three, height two inches. this shell is abundant on the rocky shores of king george the third's sound. in the collection there is a worn specimen of another species of this genus; but from its bad state, and from the very great confusion in which the various species of patella are involved, i do not venture to describe it as a new shell, although there has not been any hitherto described to which, in its present state, it can with any certainty be referred. it is conical, convex, with twenty-four or twenty-five distinct convex ribs alternately increasing in size; the grooves between the ribs are broad, with irregular, concentric, black-brown, raised lines, which appear to be caused by the wearing away of the other part of the dark outer coat; the inside is white with a brown disk, and the edge sinuated and furnished with grooves under the larger ribs. . haliotis roei (n.s.) testa subrotunda convexiuscula rugosa et plicata spiraliter sulcata intus argenteo et rubro margaritacea, spira prominula. icon. -- shell roundish, rather convex; the outside reddish or brownish, regular; closely but unequally spiral, ribbed, and irregularly and roughly concentrically striated and plaited; the row of perforations is rather prominent, and pierced with six or seven moderate-sized, slightly tubular, holes; the inside is iridescent, pearly, rather wavy, and exhibits two distinct whorls; the columella lip is short and flattened, outer lip rounded; the spire is convex, rather prominent, placed about one-third of the breadth of the shell from the outer lip, and consists of three whorls, which very rapidly enlarge. this distinct shell, at the desire of captain king, has been named after lieutenant j.s. roe, the assistant-surveyor of the expedition. it is most nearly allied to h. australis, chemn. t. . f. , but differs from it in being rounder and more distinctly ribbed. . haliotis cunninghamii (n.s.) testa ovato-rotundata tenuis depressa rugoso-subplicata spiraliter striata intus argenteo et rubro margaritacea, spira prominula, foraminibus parvis. icon. -- shell roundish-ovate, thin, depressed; the outer surface very slightly concentrically plaited and rough, and finely, regularly, spirally, striated; the row of perforations slightly elevated, pierced with eight or nine small slightly-tubular holes; the spire rather prominent, apex placed about one-fourth of the breadth of the shell from the sutural angle on the outer lip, consisting of four whorls which rapidly enlarge; the inside expanded out, disk nearly flat exhibiting one distinct whorl; the columella lip narrow, rather long, flattened; the outer lip thin, truncated; the nick of the imperfect perforation placed about one-third the length of the outer lip from the end of the columella lip: length six inches, breadth five. this shell, at the wish of captain king, has been named after mr. allan cunningham, the botanical collector of the voyage. this species, although nearly allied to haliotis midae, is quite distinct from it. . haliotis squamosa (n.s.) testa ovato-oblonga convexa rugoso-plicata aurantio-rubens spiraliter costata, costis tuberculato-muncatis, fauce margaritacea, spira retusa. icon. shell ovate-oblong, convex, externally transversely rugose, plaited and spirally ribbed; the ribs concentrically striated and furnished with numerous raised scale-like tubercles; the row of perforations scarcely round contains ten or twelve rather large holes; the spire slightly raised, very near the edge, consisting of two or three very rapidly-enlarging whorls; the inside concave, showing the external ribs, reddish pearly; the columella lip narrow, depressed, bent; the outer lip thin, strait, or cut out; the imperfect perforation about one-fifth the length of the outer lip from the end of the columella lip; length two, breadth one inch and a quarter. this species is very distinct on account of its long form, and curved lower face, as well as its outer surface. . haliotis marmorata, lin. sys. nat. . icon. martini. t. . f. . . padollus rubicundus, de montfort, syst. . padollus scalaris, leach, zool. misc. . haliotis tricostalis, lam. hist. . . icon. de montf. t. . leach, l.c. this specimen, which is the largest i ever saw, measures three inches and a half by two and a half. it was found upon rottnest island, on the west coast. pteropoda. . janthina fragilis, lam. syst. anim. janthina communis, lam. hist. . . helix janthina, lin. sys. nat. . icon. lister. t. . f. . chemn, t. . f. , . several specimens of this shell were taken by the towing-net in the indian ocean, on the passage from the coast of new holland to mauritius. . janthina exigua, lam. hist. . . two or three species of this shell were presented to the museum by mr. hunter, the surgeon to the expedition; it is proved to be very distinct from j. fragilis, from the description of its float by dr. coates in the transactions of the society of natural science of philadelphia. see annals of philosophy for , page . . hyalaea tridentata, lam. hist. . . monooulus telemus ? lin. syst. nat. . anomia tridentata, forsk. faun. arab. . icon. forsk. faun. t. . f. b. chemn. vign. . cuv. ann. mus. t. . anatomy. cephalopoda. . spirula fragilis, lam. syst. anim. . spirula australis, lam. ency. method. . f. . a. b. spirula peronii, lam. hist. . nautilus spirula, lin. syst. nat. . nautilus spicula, gmel. . icon. lister conch. t. . f. . martini. veg. . t. . f. , . ency. method. ut supra animal. captain king brought home several minute species of nautilus, which will be taken notice of at a future period, as they require particular examination and minute comparison with those found upon the coasts of italy and other parts of europe. note. specimens of the shells in the above catalogue, to which the following numbers refer, have been presented to the british museum, namely, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . ... a few general remarks on the vegetation of certain coasts of terra australis, and more especially of its north-western shores. by mr. allan cunningham, collector to the royal gardens at kew. it having been resolved by the british government to employ a colonial vessel from the settlement of port jackson in new south wales, for the purpose of exploring the whole of the north-western coasts of new holland, and that portion of the north coast, not seen by that able navigator, the late captain flinders; a most favourable opportunity was thereby afforded for a partial examination of the plants of those unknown shores, with a view of adding to our progressively augmenting knowledge of the very interesting flora of this southern continent. having materially profited by a twelvemonth's previous residence in new south wales, acquainting myself with the characters (and principal peculiarities of structure) of many genera of plants absolutely proper to terra australis; and particularly in that period, throughout the progress of a long and very interesting journey in the interior, to the westward of port jackson, i was most happy and desirous to obey an instruction i received from the right honourable sir joseph banks, on behalf of the government, directing me to place myself under the orders of captain p.p. king, to whom the execution of this important service had been intrusted, and to accompany him to those particular coasts, destined for his investigation, in order to form and prepare such collections of their vegetation, for the use of his majesty's gardens at kew, as circumstances, and the particular season of the year proper for visiting those shores, might afford me. my very limited knowledge of the plants of that continent, especially of genera, that form a striking feature in its flora, was moreover essentially improved during our stay at king george's sound on the south-west coast, previous to our arrival upon the north-west coast, at the commencement of the first voyage of his majesty's cutter the mermaid. although the reader may inform himself, from captain king's relation of the several voyages, of the opportunities that were afforded me in forming my collections of plants, still it appears necessary, in this place, to take a general retrospective view of those parts of the coasts under examination, whereon my researches were made, adverting, at the same time, to the prevalent unfavourable seasons for flowering plants, during which it should seem the survey of the north-west coast could alone be effected with safety. during the progress of the survey of the southern extreme of the north-west coast (at which part captain king commenced his examinations, in ) i landed in exmouth gulf, then upon one of the islands of dampier's archipelago, at the intercourse islands, and on malus island; but the results of these several excursions (in some of which ample time was afforded me) did by no means answer my expectations; herbaceous plants being for the most part dead, and the few (hard woody) shrubs scarcely bearing fructification: disadvantages arising, in fact, from the extreme barrenness of the land, and more particularly from the prevalent droughts of the season, previous to the change of the monsoon, which soon afterwards took place, obliging us to quit the north-west coast altogether; the remaining periods of the voyage being employed in the examination of certain parts of the north coast. we again reached the north-west coast, in the month of september of the following year, resuming the survey at its northern extremity, under the most flattering views, and with a favourable season for the prosecution of that primary object of the voyage. between the meridians of and degrees, on the parallel of degrees, although a large proportion of the vegetation was for the most part destroyed by the long established droughts, the number of specimens of plants bearing fructification, gathered at port keats, vansittart bay, port warrender, and especially in cambridge gulf (where we spent ten days) was nevertheless considerable and highly interesting, belonging, however, almost wholly to established genera of which grevillea and acacia were the most striking. the breaking up of the monsoon at length again obliged captain king to close his examination of the coast for that season, to which we, however, returned in september, , continuing the survey westerly from the point at which we had left those shores the preceding year. i had very eligible opportunities of landing upon the shores of montagu sound, capstan island, cape pond, york sound, especially at the head of hunter's river, at brunswick bay, and in careening bay, port nelson; at which several parts the collections formed were very important, but not extensive. our encampment on the shore of the latter bay, during the repair of the vessel, enabled me to examine the country around, to the distance of four or five miles; but it being at the height of the dry season, comparatively few flowering plants were detected, and no herbaceous plants of importance. our prolonged stay there also enabled me to form some idea of the flora of its shores and neighbouring country, from which i gathered materials for comparison with the vegetation of endeavour river, situated at the eastern extreme of its parallel on the opposite shore of the continent: the identity of certain species on either coast, together with the inference drawn therefrom, will appear stated, towards the close of this general notice. very few new genera were the fruits of this third voyage, but many undescribed plants of old genera were discovered, and with those that are frequent on the north coast, and tropical shores of new south wales, some were remarked that were originally discovered on the south coast. the period again arrived, that rendered it necessary to depart from the coast, independent of the leaky state of our vessel, which materially hastened our return to port jackson, when the cutter was considered wholly unfit for a fourth voyage, in which the complete survey of the north-west, and the examination of the line of west coasts were contemplated. to effect this important service, the colonial government purchased a brig, subsequently named the bathurst, and i again accompanied captain king from port jackson, in may, , to those parts of the coasts then remaining unexplored, at which we arrived at the close of july. our very limited stay on those shores, however, was at that season wherein all vegetation was suffering under the excess of drought; i had nevertheless the means afforded me of ascertaining the general identity of the plants of prince regent's river, hanover bay, and port george the fourth (portions of the coast explored in the voyage) and other parts in the vicinity, that were examined the preceding year, at a like season, but under circumstances much more favourable. upon our return to the north-west coast from the mauritius, early in , the only part visited was cygnet bay, situate about / degrees to the south-west of the last-mentioned sound, and it happening at a season when some rain had fallen, i met with several plants in an abundant flowering state, of species, however, in part originally discovered upon other coasts, and described by mr. brown, during the investigator's voyage. of the west coast (properly so denominated) which was seen during the bathurst's voyage, very little can be said in reference to its vegetable productions, and most probably nothing can be here advanced, tending to augment our very scanty knowledge of its flora, acquired in part long since, through the medium of the celebrated navigator, dampier, but more especially by the botanists accompanying captain baudin's voyage. i had no opportunity of examining any part of the main, during our run northerly along its extensive shore, but i landed on rottnest island, and repeatedly visited the northern extremity of dirk hartog's island, off shark's bay, where i gathered, under every discouragement of season, some of the most important portions of its rich vegetation; in many instances, however, in very imperfect conditions of fructification. its general features led me decidedly to assimilate it to the striking character of the botany of the south coast; a characteristic of which it is more than probable the mainland largely partakes, if we may draw an inference from its aspect at widely distant parts. upon those portions of the north coast, which were chiefly surveyed during the mermaid's first voyage, at a period immediately subsequent to the season of the rains, i had very favourable opportunities of increasing my collections upon the goulburn islands, ports essington and raffles, croker's island, mount-norris bay, and on the shores of van diemen's gulf; and among many described species, discovered formerly in the great gulf of carpentaria, there were several most interesting new plants. with a view towards an entire completion of the survey of the several coasts of the continent, that part of new south wales within the tropic, north of cape bedford, which was not seen by captain cook, entered into the plans of the mermaid's second voyage; and it was highly gratifying to my feelings to reflect that it was reserved for me to complete several specimens discovered formerly in imperfect states by those eminent naturalists who accompanied the above great circumnavigator, in , desiderata, that have been wanting ever since this period of their discovery; no mediums of communication with those particular parts of the coast having presented themselves. the aggregate of the several collections that have been formed during the progress of the four voyages under the general circumstances above briefly referred to, and which, as constituting a small herbarium, will be thus collectively spoken of in the following remarks, does not exceed one thousand three hundred species of phaenogamous plants; of these five hundred and twenty are already described by authors, the other portion being in part unpublished species, previously discovered on other coasts of terra australis, and in part absolutely new, referable, however, mostly to well defined genera. of cryptogamous plants, there are but few species, and of these, or parasitical orchideae, none have been detected in these voyages in addition to those already described: a circumstance, that with respect to the north-west coast can reasonably be accounted for, from the non-existence of primary mountains, or land above very moderate elevation; by the absence of lofty dense forests (points of character necessary to that permanency of atmospheric moisture, which constitutes an essential requisite to the existence of almost the whole of these tribes): and the consequent general exposure to the sun of those arid shores. limited in number as the new species really are, they will nevertheless constitute, when added to the discoveries recently made, through the medium of expeditions to the interior, from the colony of port jackson, very important materials to carry on that flora of australia, so very ably commenced by mr. brown. since that eminent botanist has already advanced much important matter in the valuable essay, published at the close of the account of captain flinders' voyage, respecting the relative proportions of the three grand divisions of plants in australia, as far as they had been discovered at that period, and has, from very extensive materials, given us a comparative view of that portion of its flora, and the vegetation of other countries; i shall now simply submit a few general remarks in this notice, on certain plants of established natural families, that have been discovered in the progress of these voyages; closing this paper with some observations, chiefly illustrative of the geographical diffusion of several australian plants known to authors, whose localities have hitherto been exceedingly limited. palmae. on considering the vast expanse of the continent of terra australis, and that great extent of coast which passes through climates favourable for the production of certain genera of this remarkable natural family, it is singular that so few of the order should have been discovered: a fact in the history of the australian vegetation, which (upon contemplating the natural economy of many other genera of plants) can only be considered as accounted for, by the great tendency to drought of at least three-fifths of its shores. to corypha, seaforthia, and livistona, the only three genera that have been enumerated in the productions of the australian flora, may now be added calamus; of which a species (discovered without fructification, by sir joseph banks, during the celebrated voyage of captain cook) has at length been detected bearing fruit in the vicinity of endeavour river. the existence of this palm, or rattan, on the east coast, to which it is confined, seems almost to be limited to an area within the parallels of and degrees south; should, however, its range be more extensive, it is southerly one or two degrees, in which direction a remarkable primary granitic formation of the coast continues, throughout the whole neighbourhood of which is a peculiar density of dark moist forest, seemingly dependent on it, and evidently indispensable to the life of this species of calamus; but at the termination of this geological structure, it most probably ceases to exist. a dioecious palm of low stature, and in habit similar to seaforthia, was detected in the shaded forests investing the river hastings, in latitude degrees south, bearing male flowers; but as it may prove to be a dwarf state of a species of that genus, which has lately been observed, with all its tropical habits, in a higher latitude, it cannot now be recognised as a sixth individual of the family whose fructification has been seen. although this order has been observed to be sparingly scattered along the line of east coast almost to the thirty-fifth degree of south latitude, its range on the opposite shores of the continent is very limited. upon the north-west coast, the genus livistona alone has been remarked, in about latitude degrees south; beyond which, throughout a very extensive line of depressed shore, towards the north-west cape, no palms were seen. if the structure of a coast, and its natural disposition to produce either humidity or drought be consulted (a point, with respect to this order, as well as certain other tropical tribes, appearing very important) those portions of the western shores recently seen, indicate no one character that would justify the supposition of the existence of the palmae in the corresponding extremes of the respective parallels that produce them on the opposite or east coast. another remark relative to the economy of this family is, that in new holland it seems confined to the coasts, corypha australis, so frequent in particular shaded situations in the neighbourhood of port jackson, having never been detected in the vicinity of, or upon the mountains, much less in the distant country to the westward of that extensive boundary. asphodeleae. among the several described plants in the herbarium, referred to this family, that were collected upon the east and south-west coasts, are specimens in complete fructification of a remarkable plant of arborescent growth, having a caudex twenty feet high, and all the habits of dracaena. it probably constitutes a new genus distinct from cordyline of commerson, to which, however, it appears closely allied; and has an extensive range on the east coast, where, although it has for the most part been observed within the tropic, it extends nevertheless as far as latitude degrees south. the only plants of asphodeleae remarked on the north-western shores, were an imperfect tricoryne, probably tenella of mr. brown, discovered by that gentleman during the investigator's voyage on the south coast; and the intratropical asparagus, which is frequent in latitude fifteen degrees south. coniferae. to the general observations already made on that part of coniferae inhabiting the southern hemisphere, may be added some important facts, to be gathered from the plants in the herbarium of the late voyages, that will afford a very correct view of the fructification of some doubtful genera, as well as their limits. among these the fruit of podocarpus aspleniifolia of m. labillardiere, was observed, together with the female fructification of another tree (the huon pine) found also at the southern extremes and western coast of van diemen's land, which may prove to be a dacrydium. callitris, of which seven species are known, and principally found in the parallel of port jackson, has also been discovered upon the north-west coast, in about latitude degrees south; and another species, remarkable for its general robust habit, was observed at rottnest island, on the west coast. a tree, most certainly of this family, and probably (from habit) a podocarpus, has been seen upon the east coast, within the tropic, but the absence of fructification prevented its genus being satisfactorily determined. with respect to the extent of the order in the islands of new zealand, some recent specimens gathered upon the northern, prove one of its pines to be a podocarpus; and another, producing a cone, and solitary, alternate scattered elliptical leaves, shows its relation to agathis of salisbury, or dammar pine of amboina. urticeae, whose mass appears also to be confined to equinoctial countries, may be considered very limited in those parts of terra australis lying within the tropic recently explored. ficus is the most considerable genus of the order in that continent; and although chiefly found on the north and north-western shores, is also traced on the east coast, almost to latitude degrees south, where the trees attain an enormous size. about sixteen species are preserved in the collections of the late voyages; all small trees, and one half of which has been gathered on the north-west coast. a species of morus, bearing small white fruit, was discovered upon the continent and islands of new south wales within the tropic, where also a new genus of the order, with radiated leaves, has been traced as far as endeavour river. of the genus urtica, whose numerous species can simply be considered as of herbaceous duration, although a few of tropical existence assume a fruticose habit, there is one plant in the vicinity of the colony of port jackson, remarkable for its gigantic, arborescent growth; many specimens having been remarked from fifteen to twenty feet in height, of proportional robust habit, and of highly stimulating nature. santalaceae. nearly three-fourths of the australian portion of the order described, were formerly discovered in the parallel of port jackson, upon the shores of the south coast, and in van diemen's land. the genus choretrum, however, heretofore limited to the southern extremes of the continent, approaches within about two degrees of the tropic on the west coast, having been lately observed on dirk hartog's island. it is rather remarkable that neither leptomeria nor choretrum form a part of the feature of the vegetation of the arid, depressed portions of the north-west coast,* where several of the more harsh, rigid kinds of plants, of various genera, of the south coast have been remarked. those extensive shores (generally speaking) are not wanting in the order, for two species of the tropical genus santalum, exocarpus, and a globular-fruited fusanus, were collected in and about the parallel of degrees south. (*footnote. towards the north-west cape.) proteaceae. since the publication of mr. brown's valuable dissertation on this very extensive natural family, in which were described all the species known at that period, a few important discoveries have been made in terra australis, particularly on the north-west coast, where the order seems to be limited to grevillea, hakea, and persoonia. in the herbarium formed during the late voyages, are specimens of thirteen species of intertropical grevillea, in various stages of perfection; of these seven are described from specimens formerly gathered upon the east coast, and in the gulf of carpentaria; the remaining six are, however, perfectly new, and will chiefly augment the last section of that genus, having hard (in some instances spherical) woody follicles, containing seeds orbicularly surrounded by a membranous wing, more or less dilated, and a deciduous style; characters that future botanists may deem sufficient to justify its separation from grevillea. the range of this division, which has been named by mr. brown, cycloptera, has been hitherto limited to the gulf of carpentaria, and the tropical shores of the east coast. of the genus hakea, hitherto almost wholly excluded from the tropical parts of australia, besides h. arborescens, the only species formerly observed within that circle, the herbarium furnishes at least two plants, that have been recently discovered in about degrees south latitude, the one being h. oleifolia of king george's sound, whilst the other proves an entirely new species, belonging to the first section of the genus, having long filiform leaves, and ecalcarated capsules. upon the east coast in latitude degrees two shrubs were observed having all the habits of hakea, of the south-west coast, but being without fructification, their identity could not be satisfactorily determined. viewing the general distribution of banksiae, it is a singular fact in the geographical history of this genus, that its species, which have been traced through almost every meridian of the south coast, upon the islands in bass strait, in van diemen's land, and widely scattered throughout the whole extent of new south wales to the north coast, at which extreme of the continent, b. dentata has been observed as far west as longitude degrees east, should be wholly wanting on the line of north-west coast. why the links of this almost perfect chain should have been broken on the seashores appears unaccountable, since they are, by reason of their general sterility and exposure, extremely favourable to the growth of the greater portion of the order. our limited knowledge of the west coast (properly so called) does not afford us materials to hazard even a partial conclusion, relative to the existence of this family on its shores, excepting from the total absence of any one plant of proteaceae at those parts of rottnest and dirk hartog's islands visited during the bathurst's voyage; an inference may be drawn of the general paucity of any part of the order on the shores of the neighbouring main. although no species have been found common to shores opposite to each other, in the higher latitudes, the identity of grevillea mimosoides, persoonia falcata, and hakea arborescens, has been established upon the east coast, and the north-western shores, in the parallel of about degrees south: but whilst this geographical diffusion has been remarked in reference to those particular species, the range of grevillea gibbosa, a plant discovered at endeavour river by sir joseph banks, is now tolerably well defined by observations made during the late voyages, from which it appears to be circumscribed to an area not exceeding one hundred and twenty miles on the east coast. in the course of the progress of the land expedition above referred to, the discovery of another plant of this natural order by mr. fraser, occurred in new south wales, in a tract of country west of the coastline, about the parallel of degrees, where i am informed it is a timber-tree of very large dimensions; and seemingly it constitutes a new genus, nearly allied to knightia of mr. brown, a native of new zealand, as i judged from a casual view of some specimens. labiatae and verbenaceae. the mass of these orders (which are admitted to be very nearly allied to each other) seems in australia to exist on its eastern coast, within and beyond the tropic, and the species in the collection lately formed, are referred to ten established genera, of which (as belonging to verbenaceae) vitex and premna are most remarkable on the north-western coast. of labiatae, a new species of labillardiere's genus prostranthera was discovered upon dirk hartog's island, where, as also at rottnest island, westringia was observed, of species, however, common to the south coast. boragineae. some very important amendments, in reference to the limits of certain genera of the order have been proposed by mr. brown in his prodromus, where the characters are remodelled to the exclusion of certain species previously referred to them by authors. of cordia (to which varronia of linne, and cerdana of ruiz and pavon, have at length been united) only two species have been found in terra australis, of which one had been previously discovered in new caledonia; and during the late voyages c. orientalis has been observed on the north-west coast, where a third species of tournefortia in complete fructification was discovered; and the herbarium contains some species of that section of heliotropium, having a simple straight spicated inflorescence, which were also found on those equinoctial parts of the continent. bignoniaceae. almost ninety species of this beautiful order are described by authors, the greater part of which are at present incorporated among the genuine species of bignonia of linne; a genus that will hereafter be divided, according to the shape of the calyx, the number of fertile stamina, and more especially the form of the fruit (which in some species is an orbicular or elliptical capsule, varying in others to a long cylindrical figure, with seeds partly cuneated, or thickened at one extremity, and in others, a truly compressed siliqua) together with the relative position of the dissepiment, in respect to the valves of the fruit. the greater portion of bignoniaceae appears to exist in the equinoctial parts of america; some, however, are natives of india, and a few occur on the western coast of africa, and island of madagascar, but in terra australis the order is reduced to four plants, of which one is a recent discovery, and may be referred to spathodea. in that continent, the order exists only upon the north and east coasts; it is not, however, entirely limited to the tropic, for tecoma of mr. brown is also found in latitude degrees south, on which parallel it has been traced at least three hundred and fifty miles in the interior to the westward of the colony of port jackson. asclepiadeae and apocineae. nearly the whole of the plants in the recently formed herbarium, that belong to these natural families, have been described from specimens formerly discovered upon the east and north coasts, several of which appear to give a partial character to the vegetation of some parts of its shores. hoya (hardly asclepias carnosa of linne) cynanchum, gymnema, gymnanthus, sarcostemma, and probably secamone, as belonging to asclepiadeae, and all the genera of mr. brown (lyonsia excepted) referred to the latter order, exist on that extensive coast, where balfouria and alyxia have each an accession of species. of strychnos, which is also frequent, and probably produces its flowers during the rainy season (as has been remarked of this genus in other countries) specimens in that stage of its fructification are still a desideratum; all that is known respecting the plant being the form and size of its fruit, which in some species varies considerably. goodenoviae. the herbarium contains very few specimens of this considerable australian family, the greater mass existing in and to the southward of the parallel of port jackson. the order is reduced to goodenia, scaevola, velleia, and the tropical calogyne on the north-west coast, and the few species of the two first genera prove to have been formerly discovered upon the south coast during the voyage of captain flinders, of which one plant has alsa a much more extensive range than has been given it heretofore. it is scaevola spinescens, which forms a portion of the harsh, rigid vegetables of dirk hartog's island on the west coast, and from that shore probably occupies a part of a very considerable extent of barren country in the interior, in a direction towards the east coast, having been seen in abundance in the latitude of port jackson, so near that colony as the meridian of degrees minutes east. a new velleia, discovered on the north-west coast in latitude degrees, augments that genus, belonging to the section with a pentaphyllous calyx. rubiaceae. the existence of several plants of this extensive family in the intratropical parts of terra australis especially when aided by some individuals of almost wholly exotic tribes, that form a prominent feature in the flora of other equinoctial countries, tend, in some measure, to diminish the peculiar character of the vegetation of terra australis on those shores, and thus it is a considerable assimilation to the flora of a part of a neighbouring continent that has been traced. about thirty species are preserved in the collections of these voyages, for the most part belonging to genera existing in india, but more abundant in the tropical parts of south america. of these, gardenia, guettarda, cephaelis, coffea, psychotria, and morinda, are found on the east coast; whilst, in corresponding parallels on the opposite, or north-western shores, the order, although not materially reduced, is limited to the two latter genera, with rondeletia, ixora, and genipa. it is worthy of remark, that the range of psychotria, which has not been observed beyond the tropics in other countries, extends in new south wales as far south as the latitude of degrees; at the western extremity of which it does not appear to exist. caprifoliae, juss. the situation of loranthus and visvum, in the system, appears to be undetermined by authors. m. jussieu associated them with rhizophora, in the second section of this order, from which mr. brown has separated this latter genus, and with two others found in terra australis, has constructed a distinct family, named rhizophoreae; suggesting, at the same time, the analogy of loranthus and viscum to santalaceae, and particularly to proteaceae. the genus loranthus, of which nearly the whole of its described species have been limited to the tropics, is, however, sparingly scattered on all the coasts of australia, where about eleven species have been recently observed, parasitical chiefly upon certain trees that constitute the mass of the forests of that vast continent; namely, eucalyptus, casuarina, acacia, and melaleuca. a solitary and very remarkable deviation from the usual natural economy of loranthus, is observed in a species (l. floribunda) described and figured by m. labillardiere, which is found on the shores of king george's sound, where, in no way recognising the dependent habits of its congeners, it rises from the soil to a tree fifteen feet high, being never remarked relying upon other vegetables for its subsistence. viscum is found in the colony of port jackson, to which it is not confined, having been also gathered at endeavour river, on the same coast, within the tropic. the southern range of the two genera seems to be nearly beyond the fortieth degree of latitude; but in the northern hemisphere, loranthus exists in siberia. umbelliferae. the equinoctial portion of the herbarium contains only three or four plants of this extensive european order, belonging to hydrocotyle, azorella of cavanilles and labillardiere (from which trachymene of rudge is probably not distinct) and a suffruticose plant referred to cussonia, that have been collected upon the east coast. upon the north-western shores, azorella was alone remarked, of which a species is very general upon its main and islands, and chiefly remarkable for its gigantic herbaceous growth. myrtaceae. with respect to that portion of myrtaceae, lately discovered upon the north-western shores of australia, and which are alone worthy of remark here, it is to be observed, that, considering the many points of that coast visited during the progress of the relative voyages, the number of species observed are comparatively few, for, including eucalyptus, it does not exceed sixteen plants. of eucalyptus itself, only seven species were detected on those shores, and these, for the most part, form small trees, more approaching the average dimensions of all their congeners in the colony of port jackson. melaleuca is limited to three species, one of which was originally discovered by the celebrated navigator, dampier, on the west coast, where beaufortia has been recently seen. four species of tristania, their related genus, were gathered in about latitude degrees south, where also an eugenia, bearing fruit, was observed; but of leptospermum, or baeckea, genera chiefly belonging to the higher latitudes of new holland, no species appeared throughout the whole extent of coast examined. rhamneae and celastrinae were formerly united among the rhamni of jussieu, but disposed in sections, differing from each other in the position of the stamina, with relation to the petals, and in the character of the fruit; which, when viewed with other important differences of fructification, induced mr. brown to modify and define them as distinct orders. in the herbarium of the voyages, there are a few plants belonging to rhamnus, ziziphus, ceanothus, or pomaderris, and celastrus, but both families prove to be comparatively rare in the intratropical parts of terra australis, beyond which cryptandra seems only to exist. upon the north-western shores, a species of ziziphus (common to the east and north coasts) forms a tree of large dimensions, where also an undescribed celastrus has been discovered. since pomaderris evidently increases from the verge of the tropic southerly towards the parallel of port jackson, where its maximum exists, and as it is frequent on the south coast, it is highly probable the west coast is not wanting of the genus, particularly as traces of it were found on dirk hartog's island. leguminoseae. there are upwards of one hundred and forty species of this extensive natural class in the herbarium recently formed, which bear a proportion to the aggregate of the entire collections of about one to nine. of the australian portion of mimoseae, which (having been met with upon all the coasts of the continent, and equally diffused in the interior) forms a leading characteristic of its vegetation, upwards of fifty species have been collected, in various stages of fructification; nearly the whole of which are unpublished plants. several of those discovered on the north-western shores, and islands off the west coast, being also extremely curious in their general form and habits; and the existence of a few appears limited to a solitary particular situation, and no one species was observed common to those parts, and the opposite or eastern shores of the continent. the papilionaceous division exceeds seventy species, two-thirds of which belong to established diadelphous genera, found chiefly within the tropic, where some, peculiar to terra australis, and heretofore limited to the more temperate regions, have been discovered. thus hovea and bossiaea were detected in new south wales, in latitude and degrees south, as well as on the north coast; the latter genus being likewise found on the north-western shores, where also two species of kennedia exist; and templetonia, a genus nearly related to bossiaea, originally discovered on the southern shores of australia, is abundant on an island off the west coast. upon the north-west coast, particularly in the parallels of and degrees south, where an exotic feature (if the usual characteristic of the flora of other countries might in this case be so termed) is as manifest, and is as strongly blended with the pure australian character (eucalyptus and acacia) in its general vegetation, as on any other parts of those shores; jacksonia and gompholobium, genera of papilionaceae, with distinct stamens, almost limited to the parallel of port jackson and the south coast, were observed: daviesia, almost wholly restricted to the higher australian latitudes, has been remarked on the north coast. of lomentaceae, bauhinia, caesalpinia, and the emigrant genus guilandina, are all of intratropical existence in new south wales, as also upon the north-west coast; but cassia, although it has an equal extensive range in the equinoctial parts of new holland, has also been recently traced as far in the interior, on the parallel of port jackson, as the meridian of degrees east. euphorbiaceae. the herbarium contains thirty-three plants of this very numerous order, whose maximum seems decidedly to exist in india and equinoctial america. the whole of the australian species are referable to established linnean genera, of which croton and phyllanthus are most remarkable and numerous, existing on all the intratropical shores of terra australis, but by no means limited to them, both genera, together with euphorbia and jatropha, being found in the parallel of port jackson; and croton exists likewise at the southern extreme of van diemen's land, which is probably the limit of the genus on that hemisphere. a tragia (scarcely distinct from a species indigenous in india) is sparingly scattered on the east and north coasts; and acalypha has been remarked on these, as well as the north-western shores. pittosporeae. of this small family, whose characters and limits were first described by mr. brown, there are sixteen species in the herbarium of these voyages, referable to bursaria, billardiera, pittosporum, and two unpublished genera. billardiera, whose species are wholly volubilous, and which are not found north of the parallel of port jackson, is frequent on the south-west coast, and has been recently remarked on the west coast of van diemen's land. bursaria on the other hand, appearing limited to new south wales, has been traced within the tropic to latitude degrees south on those eastern shores, and although the genus pittosporum is even more extensively diffused on that coast, it has not been met with upon the north-western shores, whilst the islands off the west coast furnished me with two new species. diosmeae, although very frequent in the higher latitudes of terra australis, where they are so frequent as to give a peculiar character to their vegetable productions, is comparatively rare within the tropic; for upon the east coast eriostemon and phebalium appear to be the only genera, the latter having been recently discovered, in about latitude degrees south. with some undescribed species of boronia, a new genus allied to eriostemon has been observed on the north-western shores, in the parallel of degrees south, having a remarkable pinnatified fimbriated calyx. of the related family zygophylleae (an order proposed by mr. brown to be separated from the rutaceae of jussieu) tribulus is frequent on the tropical shores of new holland, and a species of zygophyllum, with linear conjugate leaves and tetrapterous fruit, was remarked upon an island off shark's bay, on the west coast. meliaceae. the several genera of this order, whose maximum is in the equinoctial parts of america, differ from each other in the form of the remarkable cylindrical nectarium, the situation or insertion of the antherae upon it, as well as the character of its almost wholly capsular fruit. this structure of nectarium is most striking in turraea, of which a species was observed upon the east coast, far within the tropic; where also, as well as on all the other equinoctial shores of the continent, carapa, more remarkable on account of the valvular character of its capsules, and the magnitude and irregular figure of its nuts, is very general, and probably not distinct from the plant (c. moluccensis, lam.) of rumphius, who has given us a figure in his herbarium amboinense volume table , . sapindaceae. of the very few plants referred to the family in the herbarium, two genera are only worthy of remark here, the one an ornitrophe, found on the east coast, in about latitude degrees, as also within the tropic; and the other, which appears to belong to stadmannia, was discovered upon the same coast, in latitude degrees south, the type of the genus being the bois de fer of the french colonists, a timber tree indigenous at the island of mauritius. malvaceae, juss. tiliaceae, juss. sterculiaceae, vent. buttnericeae, brown. these several families, of which the first is by far the most extensive, have been viewed by mr. brown, as so many allied orders of one natural class, to which the general title of malvaceae might be applied. about thirty-six species of these orders collectively, are preserved in the present herbarium, referable at least to eleven genera, of which nine are most abundant in (and form a characteristic feature of) the botany of india, and the equinoctial parts of south america. fourteen species of hibiscus and sida were observed on the intratropical coasts of australia, beyond which also, on the opposite shores of the continent, each genus has been remarked. one species of bombax with polyandrous flowers, and subspherical obtusely pentagonal capsules, was discovered upon the east coast, in about latitude degrees south, and on nearly the western extreme of the same parallel, it appeared much more abundant. of sterculia which is scarcely to be found beyond the tropics in other countries, a species exists in new south wales in the latitude of degrees, on which parallel it is more frequent in the western interior, and in that direction it has been traced to the distance of three hundred miles from the sea-coast. the genus is also found on the north and north-west coasts, where the species assume more particularly the habits of their congeners in india. among the plants of this family in the herbarium is a species of helicteris (as the genus stands at present) which was observed on the north-west coast bearing fruit, wanting the contortion that characterizes the genus. this plant, together with three other described species, having straight capsules, may hereafter be separated from that linnean genus, and constitute a new one of themselves. grewia, corchorus, triumfetta, and waltheria, have been observed upon the north-west coast, where also abroma, hitherto limited to the tropical parts of new south wales, has been discovered bearing flowers and young fruit. one species of commersonia was gathered at widely-different parts of the north-western shores, and lasiopetalum, whose species are more general at both extremes of the parallel of the colony of port jackson, has been also seen just within the tropic on the east coast, and at dirk hartog's island, off shark's bay, on the opposite shore. capparides. at least ten species of capparis have been discovered upon the coasts of terra australis, for the most part within the tropic, but of these the fructification of two are wanting. a few have been detected on the east coast, but they are more frequent and various in their species upon the north-western shores of the continent. within an area on this extensive coast, not exceeding four degrees of longitude, on the parallel of degrees south, a tree of very remarkable growth and habit, has been traced, having all the external form and bulk of adansonia of the western shores of africa. at the respective period of visiting those parts of the north-west coast, this gouty tree had previously cast its foliage of the preceding year, which is of quinary insertion, but it bore ripe fruit, which is a large elliptical pedicellated unilocalar capsule (a bacca corticosa) containing many seeds enveloped in a dry pithy substance. its flowers, however, have never been discovered, but from the characters of the fruit, it was (upon discovery) referred to this natural family. m. du petit thouars has formed a new genus of capparis pauduriformis of lamarck, a plant of the island of mauritius, which he has named calyptranthus. it has one division of the calyx so formed, that by its arcuated concavity (before expansion) it conceals the whole flower, and the other portions of the calyx; and should this genus be adopted by future botanists, a second species has been recently discovered upon dirk hartog's island, although of remarkably different habit. cleome has been observed only in the equinoctial parts of australia, and like capparis, several species exist on the north-west coast, being limited to c. viscosa in new south wales. drosera, which jussieu associates with these genera is generally diffused, being found within the tropic, at endeavour river, and on the north-west coast; at port jackson, and at the southern extremes of van diemen's land. dilleniaceae. to that australian portion of the order lately enumerated by m. decandolle, the present herbarium offers, in addition, only two species of the genus hemistemma of m. du petit thouars. the one discovered on the north-west coast, and allied to h. angustifolium of mr. brown; the other proving also new, but approaching in character the doubtful species, h. leschenaultii of decandolle, and was discovered upon rottnest island, off the western coast of the continent, and is the first certain species of the genus, that is not limited to a tropical existence. in addition to what has been advanced in respect to certain natural orders that appear in the herbarium, formed under the stated circumstances, a slight mention might be made of other detached genera, or families sparingly observed on these coasts, that were more particularly investigated during the progress of the late voyages; but as these several plants form portions of orders so extremely limited, and in themselves presenting nothing remarkable in their internal structure, or external habit, a few remarks on a general comparison of the vegetation of the north-west coast, with the other shores of terra australis, will conclude this notice. it is very necessary to premise, that the plants observed and collected upon the north-west coast, during the late voyages, are not to be considered as even a distant approach to an entire flora of that extensive line of shore; since the long-established droughts of the seasons (as already remarked) in which the greater part of that coast was visited, had wholly destroyed plants of annual duration, with most of the gramineae, and had indeed generally affected the mass of its herbaceous vegetation. the collections, therefore, can simply be viewed as a gleaning, affording such general outlines of characteristic feature, as will enable the botanist to trace its affinity to the more minutely defined vegetation of the other equinoctial shores of the continent, as well as perceive its general, and, in some instances, almost total want of relation to the botany of other parts, in the more temperate or higher latitudes, where certain striking peculiarities of the australian flora more particularly exist. upon a general comparison of those collections that were thus formed on the north-west coast, with the plants of the north and east coasts, aided also by some few observations made during the voyages, it appears that (with the exception of gompholobium, boronia, kennedia, and one or two unpublished species not referred to any family) the genera (of which several are proper to india) are the same, although the species are very distinct upon the several coasts. notwithstanding an identity of genera has been remarked upon their opposite shores, there are, nevertheless, certain others, frequent upon the east coast, that appear wholly wanting on the north-western shores: of these, the existence of some, even in the tropical parts of new south wales, seems governed by the primary formation of the coast, its mountainous structure, and consequent permanency of moisture in a greater or less degree; namely, almost all the genera of filices, the parasitical orchideae, piper, dracontium and calladium (genera of aroideae) commelina and aneilema, calamus and seaforthia, hellenia a solitary australian genus of scitamineae, some genera of rubiaceae, particularly psychotria and coffea, certain genera of asphodeleae, as cordyline, and a genus allied to it, whose fructification is at length obtained, a solitary plant of melastomeae, and an individual nymphea. other genera also, but little influenced by those local circumstances of situation on the east coast, that are excluded from the opposite shores, are leucopogon (the only equinoctial genus of epacrideae observed during the late voyages) the families bignoniaceae, jasmineae, the genus erythrina, and of coniferae, araucaria of norfolk island. this absence of several orders of plants on the north-western shores, existing in new south wales, or opposite coast, as well as the consideration (at the same time) of the evident causes of such a disparity of species on the former coast, would suggest the opinion, that such plants alone of other parts of the continent are indigenous to the north-west coast, as are capable of sustaining themselves in a soil subjected to seasons of protracted parching droughts. this may apply to some species upon that coast, but it cannot be reduced to a general conclusion; for, on the one hand, it is singular so few of the plants of the south and south-west coasts, and particularly that none other of their genera of proteaceae (than those already mentioned) found altogether in an arid soil, should have been discovered throughout any part of its extensive shore; whilst, on the other hand, at a peculiar structure of a small and limited portion of that coast, in the vicinity of york sound, a sufficiency of shade was observed to be actually produced by the unusually broken character of the country, to favour the nourishment and growth of certain plants alone to be seen beneath the shade of dense forests. these species were myristica insipida, discovered by mr. brown, on one of the prince of wales group of islands on the north coast; cryptocarya triplinervis, brown; bearing ripe fruit, abroma fastuosa; and an undescribed eugenia. although the several genera of plants lately observed on the north-western shores are also frequent in other equinoctial parts of the continent, there is, among the many species which are absolutely proper to that coast, a capparis of such extraordinary habit, as to form a feature in the landscape of a limited extent of its shores, in the enormous bulk of its stem and general ramification, bearing a striking analogy to the adansonia of the west coast of africa. the results of such observations on the vegetation as could only be made in a general way, at parts approaching each extreme of the north-west coast, show their little affinity to each other; for the northern extremity partakes more fully of that feature of the line of coast contiguous to it, which (as already remarked) extends along the north-western shores, declines materially at, and in the vicinity of their southern limits, where the characteristic vegetation of the south, and perhaps the west, coasts has more particularly been found. besides eucalyptus and acacia, which are abundant on every shore, and generally diffused throughout those parts of the interior that have been penetrated, there is another genus almost equally dispersed, which is, however, on the north-west coast reduced to three species. this is dodonaea, whose maximum is certainly in new south wales, within and beyond the tropic, upon the coast, and generally in the interior of the country, extending also to the southern extremity of van diemen's land. our very limited knowledge of the flora of this vast continent (excepting of a part east of longitude degrees, and included between the parallels of and degrees in new south wales) is entirely confined to the vegetation of its immediate shores, upon every distinct coast of which, landings, more or less frequent, and under various circumstances, have been effected; although of all, very considerable portions remain unexplored, and of the line of west coast (properly so denominated) the shores of shark's bay, and some few parts south of it, have alone been scientifically investigated. the interior within the tropic remains entirely in obscurity; the continental defect of a want of large streams having a distant source, to aid a penetration to the internal parts of the country, together with other effectual obstacles, draw at present a veil, and forbid all research into its natural history and character, which will not be removed for very considerable periods (perhaps ages) yet to come! it was the general remark made during a former expedition in the interior of new south wales, that no absolutely entire change takes place in the vegetation east of the meridian of the new settlement named bathurst; but that the plants of the coast were more or less frequent at a hundred and fifty miles from the sea, although in a country estimated at about two thousand feet above its level. having to this circumstance added a remarkable and obvious sameness (arising from an extensive dispersion) of a vein of vegetation in a large tract of country, it may be inquired, how far these facts might, when applied to other parallels, identify a certain portion of the flora of the interior, and that of the sea-coast in the same latitude; or, in other terms, how far the botany of the coast indicates the general feature of the vegetation to a certain limit, in the interior on the same parallel? favourable opportunities were afforded me, to compare the vegetation of opposite coasts within the tropic, at the eastern and western extremes of a particular parallel; and the results of such a comparison identified many species on the two coasts. i have annexed a list of those plants that are common to the north-west and east coasts in and about the parallel of degrees south, from a contemplation of which, together with the above remarks, and a further comparison of the species with those of the shores of the gulf of carpentaria, through which that degree of latitude passes, might not a general idea of some portion of the flora of the expanse of intermediate interior (far beyond the reach of actual investigation) be presumed? a few observations relative to the geographical range of certain genera and species, hitherto considerably circumscribed, will close this notice. the genus pandanus has ever been viewed by botanists as equinoctial; nor was it till recently ascertained satisfactorily, that one of its species (p. pedunculatus, brown) exists on the shores of port macquarie in new south wales, in latitude degrees south: and i have been credibly informed, that the same plant is frequent in the vicinity of port stephens, which is at least a degree to the southward of the above parallel. the latitude of degrees south may be considered the utmost extreme of ranges from the equator of the genus in terra australis, on the opposite shore of which, as also in all other countries, it has not been remarked beyond the tropics. the palms of terra australis, which (as previously observed) are remarkably limited on the north-western shores, have a very considerable diffusion on the north and east coasts, and have even a more general dispersion on the latter shores, than has been allowed them formerly. seaforthia is frequent in dense forests on the east coast, almost to latitude degrees south, where it exhibits all the tropical habits assumed on the northern shores, although the difference of climate, and consequent temperature, are abundantly obvious. on the other hand, a palm of very robust growth, with large flabelliform fronds, and spinous foot-stalks, was remarked at the head of liverpool river, in latitude degrees south, on the north coast; and although without fructification, no doubt existed of its being the corypha australis, hitherto limited to the shores and vicinity of port jackson. araucaria excelsa. the norfolk island pine, which, without doubt, must have been particularly noticed by the celebrated circumnavigator captain cook, in , on the discovery of new south wales, although the circumstance of the very general existence of a pine upon the islands and main of that coast, north of the percy isles, does not appear to be mentioned in the accounts of that particular voyage, has a far more extensive range upon that shore than has been hitherto understood. during the mermaid's voyages, araucaria was observed in the vicinity of mount warning, in new south wales, which lies in the parallel of norfolk island ( degrees south); thence northerly it was very sparingly seen towards the tropic, within which, however, as far as latitude degrees, it is very abundant, forming upon several islands the only timber. this is probably the nearest approach of the species to the equinoctial line; and although it occupies an area of nine hundred miles, it is very probably limited in terra australis to its immediate shores; and, as appears to be the case with pandanus, exists only within the influence of the sea air. calladium macrorhizon, willd., formerly observed by sir joseph banks, at endeavour river, on the east coast, has been recently detected in moist woods, in the country off which the five islands are situate, extending on that shore to latitude degrees south: and schelhammera multiflora, br., a delicate plant of melanthaceae, discovered likewise at endeavour river, abounds in shady forests, in latitude degrees, upon the same extensive coast. the following plants, formerly considered as indigenous only in van diemen's land, have been recently ascertained to exist also in new south wales, in or about the parallel of the colony of port jackson. croton viscosum, labill., originally discovered on the south-west coast, was seen in the interior, as far to the westward of the colony as longitude degrees east. croton quadripartitum, labill., was observed in longitude degrees. goodia latifolia, salisb., was remarked sparingly in the interior, in the meridian of degrees minutes east: and daviesia latifolia of mr. brown is very frequent in societies upon plains at bathurst, in longitude degrees east, where also eryngium vesiculosum, of labillardiere, was observed. aster argophyllus and obovatus, labill. these two species were described by mons. labillardiere, from specimens gathered in the southern extremes of the above island, and have been lately seen tolerably frequent in a remarkable tract of country, in latitude degrees, on the limit of the colony, where the former assumes a robust, arborescent habit. aster phlogopappus, of the same eminent author, was recently remarked upon the more elevated parts of the blue mountain range, on the margin of a remarkable cataract. ... a list of plants common to the east and north-west coasts of terra australis, in and about the parallel of fifteen degrees south, where the breadth of continent exceeds miles. gleichenia hermanni, br. eriocaulon fistulosum, br. philydrum lanuginosum, gaertn. flagellaria indica, l. dioscorea bulbifera, l. *? pandanus pedunculatus, br. cycas angulata, br. santalum oblongatum, br. exocarpus latifolia, br. persoonia falcata, br. grevillea mimosoides, br. hakea arborescens, br. buchnera ramosissima, br. adenosma coerulea, br. orthostemon erectum, br. tabernaemontana orientalis, br. carissa ovata, br. strychnos lucida, br. alyxia obtusifolia, br. ipomoea longifiora, br. ipomoea denticulata, br. ipomoea maritima, br. evolvulus villosus, r. et pav. cuscuta carinata, br. cordia orientalis, br. * clerodendrum inerme, br. * avicennia tomentosa, l. chionanthus axillaris, br. olea paniculata, br. maba laurina, br. sersalisia obovata, br. mimusops parvifolia, br. terminalia, sp. allied to catappa, lam. cleome viscosa, l. capparis sepiaria, l. hibiscus tiliaceus, l. abroma fastuosa, br. bombax australis. jacksonia thesioides. bauhiniae sp. caesalpiniae sp. cassia occidentalis, l. guilandina bonduc, l. morinda citrifolia, l. * carapa moluccensis, lam. zizyphus melastomoides. * bruguiera gymnorhiza, lam. casuarina equisetifolia, lam. should the botany of the shores of the gulf of carpentaria, in the vicinity of those parts, through which the above parallels pass, generally correspond (on comparison) with the above list, it is more than probable that these several species occupy portions of the intermediate interior bounded by the meridians of and degrees east; those plants excepted, having an asterisk prefixed to them, which as forming mangroves, or from other causes exist only on the sea shore. ... a list of plants observed during the late voyages on the shores of terra australis, that are also common to india or south america. acrostichum alcicorne, sw. polypodium acrostichoides, sw. nephrodium exaltatum, br. nephrodium unitum, br. vittaria elongata, sw. asplenium nidus, l. daval ia flaccida, br. gleichenia hermanni, br. flagellaria indica, l. dioscorea bulbifera, l. calladium ? macrorhizon, willd. aristolochia indica, l. daphne indica, l. salicornia indica, willd. deeringia celosioides, br. plumbago zeylanica, l. dischidia nummularifolia, br. acanthus ilicifolius, l. acanthus ebracteatus, l. ipomea turpethum, br. ipomea denticulata, br. ipomea maritima, br. evolvulus villosus, r. et pav. trichodesma zeylanica, br. tournefortia argentea, l. cordia orientalis, br. plectranthus scutellarioides, br. clerodendrum inerme, br. vitex ovata, l. vitex trifolia, l. avicennia tomentosa, l. mimusops kauki, l. aegiceras fragrans, c. koenig. scaevola koenigii, vahl. cleome viscosa, l. capparis sepiaria, l. ? calophyllum inophyllum, l. morinda citrifolia, l. carapa moluccensis, lam. sophora tomentosa, l. cassia occidentalis, l. guilandina bonduc, l. abrus precatorius, l. ? acacia scandens, willd. ? hibiscus tiliaceus, l. suriana maritima, jacqu. pemphis acida, forst. rhizophora mangle, l. ? bruguiera gymnorhiza, lam. sonneratia acida, l. abroma fastuosa, br. casuarina equisetifolia, forst. ... character and description of kingia, a new genus of plants found on the south-west coast of new holland: with observations on the structure of its unimpregnated ovulum; and on the female flower of cycadeae and coniferae. by robert brown, esquire, f.r.s.s.l. and e. f.l.s. (read before the linnean society of london, november and , .) in the botanical appendix to the voyage to terra australis, i have mentioned a plant of very remarkable appearance, observed in the year , near the shores of king george the third's sound, in mr. westall's view of which, published in captain flinders' narrative, it is introduced. the plant in question was then found with only the imperfect remains of fructification: i judged of its affinities, therefore, merely from its habit, and as in this respect it entirely agrees with xanthorrhoea, included the short notice given of it in my remarks on asphodeleae, to which that genus was referred.* mr. cunningham, the botanist attached to captain king's voyages, who examined the plant in the same place of growth, in february, , and in december, , was not more fortunate than myself. captain king, however, in his last visit to king george's sound, in november, , observed it with ripe seeds: and at length mr. william baxter, whose attention i had particularly directed to this plant, found it, on the shores of the same port in , both in flower and fruit. to this zealous collector, and to his liberal employer, mr. henchman, i am indebted for complete specimens of its fructification, which enable me to establish it as a genus distinct from any yet described. (*footnote. flinders voyage volume page .) to this new genus i have given the name of my friend captain king, who, during his important surveys of the coasts of new holland, formed valuable collections in several departments of natural history, and on all occasions gave every assistance in his power to mr. cunningham, the indefatigable botanist who accompanied him. the name is also intended as a mark of respect to the memory of the late captain philip gidley king, who, as governor of new south wales, materially forwarded the objects of captain flinders' voyage; and to whose friendship mr. ferdinand bauer and myself were indebted for important assistance in our pursuits while we remained in that colony. kingia. ord. nat. junceae prope dasypogon, calectasiam et xerotem. char. gen. perianthium sexpartitum, regulare, glumaceum, persistens. stamina sex, fera hypogyna: antheris basi affixis. ovarium triloculare, loculis monospermis; ovulis adscendentibus. stylus . stigma tridentatum. pericarpium exsuccum, indehiscens, monospermum, perianthio scarioso cinctum. planta facie xanthorrhoeae elatioris. caudex arhorescens cicatricibus basibusve foliorum exasperatus? folia caudicem terminantia confertissima longissima, figura et dispositione xanthorrhoeae. pedunculi numerosi foliis breviores, bracteis vaginantibus imbricatis tecti, floriferi terminales erecti, mox, caudice parum elongato foliisque novellis productis, laterales, et divaricati vel deflexi, terminati capitulo denso globoso floribus tribracteatis. kingia australis. table c. desc. caudex arborescens erectus simplicissimus cylindraceus, - -pedes altus, crassitie femoris. folia caudicem terminantia numerosissima patula, apicibus arcuato-recurvis, lorea, solida, ancipitia apice teretiusculo, novella undique tecta pilis adpressis strictis acutis laevibus, angulis lateralibus et ventrali retrorsum scabris. pedunculi numerosi teretes - -pollicares crassitie digiti, vaginis integris brevibus imbricatis hinc in foliolum subulatum productis tecti. capitulum globosum, floridum magnitudine pruni minoris, fructiferum pomum parvum aequans. flores undique dense imbricati, tribracteati, sessiles. bractea exterior lanceolata breve acuminata planiuscula erecta, extus villosa intus glabra, post lapsum fructus persistens: duae laterales angusto-naviculares, acutissimae, carina lateribusque villosis, longitudine fere exterioris, simul cum perianthio fructifero, separatim tamen, dilabentibus. perianthium sexpartitum regulare subaequale glumaceum: foliola lanceolata acutissima disco nervoso nervis immersis simplicissimis, antica et postica plana, lateralia complicata lateribus inaequalibus, omnia basi subangustata, extus longitudinaliter sed extra medium praecipue villosa, intus glaberrima, aestivatione imbricata. stamina sex subaequalia, aestivatione stricta filamentis sensim elongantibus: filamenta fere hypogyna ipsis basibus foliolorum perianthii quibus opposita leviter adhaerentia, filiformia glabra teretia: antherae stantes, ante dehiscentiam lineares obtusae filamento paulo latiores, defloratae subulatae vix crassitie filamenti, loculis parallelo-contiguis connectivo dorsali angusto adnatis, axi ventrali longitudinaliter dehiscentibus, lobulis baseos brevibus acutis subadnatis: pollen simplex breve ovale laeve. pistillum: ovarium sessile disco nullo squamulisve cinctum, lanceolatum trigono-anceps villosum, triloculare, loculis monospermis. ovula erecta fundo anguli interioris loculi paulo supra basin suam inserta, obovata lenticulari-compressa, aptera: testa in ipsa basi acutiuscula foramine minuto perforata: membrana interna respectu testae inversa, hujusce nempe apici lata basi inserta, ovata apice angustato aperto foramen testae obturante: nucleus cavitate membranae conformis, ejusdem basi insertus, caeterum liber, pulposus solidus, apice acutiusculo laevi aperturam membranae internae attingente. stylus trigonus strictus, infra villosus, dimidio superiore glabro, altitudine staminum, iisdem paulo praecocior, exsertus nempe dum illa adhuc inclusa. stigmata tria brevissima acuta denticuliformia. pericarpium exsuccum, indehiscens, villosum, basi styli aristatum, perianthio scarioso et filamentis emarcidis cinctum, abortione monospermum. semen turgidum obovatum retusum, integumento (testa) simplici membranaceo aqueo-pallido, bine (intus) fere a basi acutiuscula, raphe fusca verticem retusum attingente ibique in chalazam parvam concolorem ampliata. albumen semini conforme dense carnosum album. embryo monocotyledoneus, aqueo-pallidus subglobosus, extremitate inferiore (radiculari) acuta, in ipsa basi seminis situs, semi-immersus, nec albumine omnino inclusus. table c. figure . kingiae australis pedunculus capitulo florido terminatus; figure , capitulum fructiferum; , sectio transversalis pedunculi: , folium: hae magnitudine naturali, sequentes omnes plus minus auctae sunt; , flos; , stamen; , anthera antice et, , eadem postice visa; , pistillum; , ovarii sectio transversalis; , ejusdem portio longitudinaliter secta exhibens ovulum adscendens cavitatem loculi replens; , ovulum ita longitudinaliter sectum ut membrana interna solummodo ejusque insertio in apice cavitatis testae visa sit; , ovuli sectio longitudinalis profundius ducta exhibens membranam internam et nucleum ex ejusdem basi ortum; , bracteae capituli fructiferi; , pericarpium perianthio filamentisque persistentibus cinctum; , pericarpium perianthio avulso filamentorum basibus relictis; , semen. obs. . it remains to be ascertained, whether in this genus a resin is secreted by the bases of the lower leaves, as in xanthorrhoea; and whether, which is probable, it agrees also in the internal structure of its stem with that genus. in xanthorrhoea the direction of fibres or vessels of the caudex seems at first sight to resemble in some degree the dicotyledonous arrangement, but in reality much more nearly approaches to that of dracaena draco, allowance being made for the greater number, and extreme narrowness of leaves, to which all the radiating vessels belong.* (*footnote. my knowledge of this remarkable structure of xanthorrhoea is chiefly derived from specimens of the caudex of one of the larger species of the genus, brought from port jackson, and deposited in the collection at the jardin du roi of paris by m. gaudichaud, the very intelligent botanist who was attached to captain de freycinet's voyage.) obs. . i have placed kingia in the natural order junceae along with dasypogon, calectasia and xerotes, genera peculiar to new holland, and of which the two former have hitherto been observed only, along with it, on the shores of king george's sound. the striking resemblance of kingia, in caudex and leaves, to xanthorrhoea, cannot fail to suggest its affinity to that genus also. although this affinity is not confirmed by a minute comparison of the parts of fructification, a sufficient agreement is still manifest to strengthen the doubts formerly expressed of the importance of those characters, by which i attempted to define certain families of the great class liliaceae. in addition, however, to the difference in texture of the outer coat of the seed, and in those other points, on which i then chiefly depended in distinguishing junceae from asphodeleae, a more important character in junceae exists in the position of the embryo, whose radicle points always to the base of the seed, the external umbilicus being placed in the axis of the inner or ventral surface, either immediately above the base as in kingia, or towards the middle, as in xerotes. obs. . on the structure of the unimpregnated ovulum in phaenogamous plants. the description which i have given of the ovulum of kingia, though essentially different from the accounts hitherto published of that organ before fecundation, in reality agrees with its ordinary structure in phaenogamous plants. i shall endeavour to establish these two points; namely, the agreement of this description with the usual structure of the ovulum, and its essential difference from the accounts of other observers, as briefly as possible at present; in tending hereafter to treat the subject at greater length, and also with other views. i have formerly more than once* adverted to the structure of the ovulum, chiefly as to the indications it affords, even before fecundation, of the place and direction of the future embryo. these remarks, however, which were certainly very brief, seem entirely to have escaped the notice of those authors who have since written on the same subject. (*footnote. flinders voyage page , and linnean society transactions page page .) in the botanical appendix to the account of captain flinders' voyage, published in , the following description of the ovulum of cephalotus follicularis is given: ovulum erectum, intra testam membranaceam continens sacculum pendulum, magnitudine cavitatis testae, and in reference to this description, i have in the same place remarked that, "from the structure of the ovulum, even in the unimpregnated state, i entertain no doubt that the radicle of the embryo points to the umbilicus."* (*footnote. flinders voyage loc. cit.) my attention had been first directed to this subject in , in consequence of the opinion i had then formed of the function of the chalaza in seeds;* and sometime before the publication of the observation now quoted, i had ascertained that in phaenogamous plants the unimpregnated ovulum very generally consisted of two concentric membranes, or coats, enclosing a nucleus of a pulpy cellular texture. i had observed also, that the inner coat had no connexion either with the outer or with the nucleus, except at its origin; and that with relation to the outer coat it was generally inverted, while it always agreed in direction with the nucleus. and, lastly, that at the apex of the nucleus the radicle of the future embryo would constantly be found. (*footnote. linnean society transactions page .) on these grounds my opinion respecting the embryo of cephalotus was formed. in describing the ovulum in this genus, i employed, indeed, the less correct term sacculus, which, however, sufficiently expressed the appearance of the included body in the specimens examined, and served to denote my uncertainty in this case as to the presence of the inner membrane. i was at that time also aware of the existence, in several plants, of a foramen in the coats of the ovulum, always distinct from, and in some cases diametrically opposite to the external umbilicus, and which i had in no instance found cohering either directly with the parietes of the ovarium, or with any process derived from them. but, as i was then unable to detect this foramen in many of the plants which i had examined, i did not attach sufficient importance to it; and in judging of the direction of the embryo, entirely depended on ascertaining the apex of the nucleus, either directly by dissection, or indirectly from the vascular cord of the outer membrane: the termination of this cord affording a sure indication of the origin of the inner membrane, and consequently of the base of the nucleus, the position of whose apex is therefore readily determined. in this state of my knowledge the subject was taken up in , by my lamented friend the late mr. thomas smith, who, eminently qualified for an investigation where minute accuracy and great experience in microscopical observation were necessary, succeeded in ascertaining the very general existence of the foramen in the membranes of the ovulum. but as the foramina in these membranes invariably correspond both with each other and with the apex of the nucleus, a test of the direction of the future embryo was consequently found nearly as universal, and more obvious than that which i had previously employed. to determine in what degree this account of the vegetable ovulum differs from those hitherto given, and in some measure, that its correctness may be judged of, i shall proceed to state the various observations that have been actually made, and the opinions that have been formed on the subject, as briefly as i am able, taking them in chronological order. in , grew* describes in the outer coat of the seeds of many leguminous plants a small foramen, placed opposite to the radicle of the embryo, which, he adds, is "not a hole casually made, or by the breaking off of the stalk," but formed for purposes afterwards stated to be the aeration of the embryo, and facilitating the passage of its radicle in germination. it appears that he did not consider this foramen in the testa as always present, the functions which he ascribes to it being performed in cases where it is not found, either, according to him, by the hilum itself, or in hard fruits, by an aperture in the stone or shell. (*footnote. anatomy of veget. begun page . anatomy of plants page .) in another part of his work* he describes and figures, in the early state of the ovulum, two coats, of which the outer is the testa; the other, his middle membrane, is evidently what i have termed nucleus, whose origin in the ovulum of the apricot he has distinctly represented and described. (*footnote. anatomy of plants page table .) malpighi, in ,* gives the same account of the early state of the ovulum; his secundinae externae being the testa, and his chorion the nucleus. he has not, however, distinguished, though he appears to have seen, the foramen of grew, from the fenestra and fenestella, and these, to which he assigns the same functions, are merely his terms for the hilum. (*footnote. anatome plant. page et .) in , camerarius, in his admirable essay on the sexes of plants,* proposes, as queries merely, various modes in which either the entire grains of pollen, or their particles after bursting, may be supposed to reach and act upon the unimpregnated ovula, which he had himself carefully observed. with his usual candour, however, he acknowledges his obligation on this subject to malpighi, to whose more detailed account of them he refers. (*footnote. rudolphi jacobi camerarii de sexu plantarum epistola page et seq.) mr. samuel morland, in ,* in extending leeuwenhoek's hypothesis of generation to plants, assumes the existence of an aperture in the ovulum, through which it is impregnated. it appears, indeed, that he had not actually observed this aperture before fecundation, but inferred its existence generally and at that period, from having, as he says, "discovered in the seeds of beans, peas, and phaseoli, just under one end of what we call the eye, a manifest perforation, which leads directly to the seminal plant," and by which he supposes the embryo to have entered. this perforation is evidently the foramen discovered in the seeds of leguminous plants by grew, of whose observations respecting it he takes no notice, though he quotes him in another part of his subject. (*footnote. philosophical transactions volume n. page .) in , etienne francois geoffroy,* and in , his brother claude joseph geoffroy,** in support of the same hypothesis, state the general existence of an aperture in the unimpregnated vegetable ovulum. it is not, however, probable that these authors had really seen this aperture in the early state of the ovulum in any case, but rather that they had merely advanced from the observation of grew, and the conjecture founded on it by morland, whose hypothesis they adopt without acknowledgment, to the unqualified assertion of its existence, in all cases. for it is to be remarked, that they take no notice of what had previously been observed or asserted on the more important parts of their subject, while several passages are evidently copied, and the whole account of the original state and development of the ovulum is literally translated from camerarius' essay. nor does the younger geoffroy mention the earlier publication of his brother, from which his own memoir is in great part manifestly derived. (*footnote. quaestio medica an hominis primordia vermis? in auctoris tractatu de materia medica tome page .) (**footnote. mem. de l'acad. des sc. de paris page .) in ; vaillant,* who rejects the vermicular hypothesis of generation, supposes the influence of the pollen to consist in an aura, conveyed by the tracheae of the style to the ovula, which it enters, if i rightly understand him, by the funiculus umbilicalis: at the same time he seems to admit the existence of the aperture in the coat. (*footnote. discours sur la structure des fleurs page .) in , needham,* and in , gleichen,** adopt the hypothesis of morland, somewhat modified, however, as they consider the particles in the grains of pollen, not the grains themselves, to be the embryos, and that they enter the ovula by the umbilical cord. (*footnote. new microscopical discoveries page .) (**footnote. observ. microscop. page et paragraph .) adanson, in ,* states the embryo to exist before fecundation, and that it receives its first excitement from a vapour or aura proceeding from the pollen, conveyed to it through the tracheae of the style, and entering the ovulum by the umbilical cord. (*footnote. fam. des plant. tom. page .) spallanzani,* who appears to have carefully examined the unimpregnated ovula of a considerable variety of plants, found it in general to be a homogeneous, spongy, or gelatinous body; but in two cucurbitaceae to consist of a nucleus surrounded by three coats. of these coats he rightly supposes the outermost to be merely the epidermis of the middle membrane or testa. of the relative direction of the testa and inner coat in the two plants in question he takes no notice, nor does he in any case mention an aperture in the ovulum. (*footnote. fisica anim. e veget. tome page to .) gaertner, who, in the preface to his celebrated work, displays great erudition in every branch of his subject, can hardly, however, be considered an original observer in this part. he describes the unimpregnated ovulum as a pulpy homogeneous globule, whose epidermis, then scarcely distinguishable, separates in a more advanced stage, and becomes the testa of the seed, the inner membrane of which is entirely the product of fecundation.* he asserts also that the embryo constantly appears at that point of the ovulum where the ultimate branches of the umbilical vessels perforate the inner membrane; and therefore mistakes the apex for the base of the nucleus. (*footnote. gaert. de fruct. et sem. page , et .) in mons. turpin* published a memoir on the organ, by which the fecundating fluid is introduced into the vegetable ovulum. the substance of this memoir is, that in all phaenogamous plants fecundation takes place through a cord or fasciculus of vessels entering the outer coat of the ovulum, at a point distinct from, but at the period of impregnation closely approximated to the umbilicus, and to the cicatrix of this cord, which itself is soon obliterated, he gives the name of micropyle: that the ovulum has two coats, each having its proper umbilicus, or, as he terms it, omphalode; that these coats in general correspond in direction; that more rarely the inner membrane is, with relation to the outer, inverted; and that towards the origin of the inner membrane the radicle of the embryo uniformly points. (*footnote. annal. du mus. d'hist. nat. page .) it is singular that a botanist, so ingenious and experienced as m. turpin, should, on this subject, instead of appealing in every case to the unimpregnated ovulum, have apparently contented himself with an examination of the ripe seed. hence, however, he has formed an erroneous opinion of the nature and origin, and in some plants of the situation, of the micropyle itself, and hence also he has in all cases mistaken the apex for the base of the nucleus. a minute examination of the early state of the ovulum does not seem to have entered into the plan of the late celebrated m. richard, when in he published his valuable and original analyse du fruit. the ovulum has, according to him, but one covering, which in the ripe seed he calls episperm. he considers the centre of the hilum as the base, and the chalaza, where it exists, as the natural apex of the seed. m. mirbel, in , though admitting the existence of the foramen or micropyle of the testa,* describes the ovulum as receiving by the hilum both nourishing and fecundating vessels,** and as consisting of a uniform parenchyma, in which the embryo appears at first a minute point, gradually converting more or less of the surrounding tissue into its own substance; the coats and albumen of the seed being formed of that portion which remains.*** (*footnote. elem. de physiol. veg. et de bot. tome page .) (**footnote. id. tome page .) (***footnote. id. loc. cit.) in the same year, m. auguste de saint hilaire,* shows that the micropyle is not always approximated to the umbilicus; that in some plants it is situated at the opposite extremity of the ovulum, and that in all cases it corresponds with the radicle of the embryo. this excellent botanist, at the same time, adopts m. turpin's opinion, that the micropyle is the cicatrix of a vascular cord, and even gives instances of its connexion with the parietes of the ovarium; mistaking, as i believe, contact, which in some plants unquestionably takes place, and in one family, namely, plumbagineae, in a very remarkable manner, but only after a certain period, for original cohesion, or organic connexion, which i have not met with in any case. (*footnote. mem. du mus. d'hist. nat. page et seq.) in also appeared the masterly dissertation of professor ludolf christian treviranus, on the development of the vegetable embryo,* in which he describes the ovulum before fecundation as having two coats: but of these, his inner coat is evidently the middle membrane of grew, the chorion of malpighi, or what i have termed nucleus. (*footnote. entwick. des embryo im pflanzen-ey.) in , mons. dutrochet, unacquainted, as it would seem, with the dissertation of professor treviranus, published his observations on the same subject.* in what regards the structure of the ovulum, he essentially agrees with that author, and has equally overlooked the inner membrane. (*footnote. mem. du mus. d'hist. nat. tome page et seq.) it is remarkable that neither of these observers should have noticed the foramen in the testa. and as they do not even mention the well-known essays of mm. turpin and auguste de st. hilaire on the micropyle, it may be presumed that they were not disposed to adopt the statements of these authors respecting it. professor link, in his philosophia botanica, published in , adopts the account given by treviranus, of the coats of the ovulum before impregnation:* and of m. turpin, as to the situation of the micropyle, and its being the cicatrix of a vascular cord. yet he seems not to admit the function ascribed to it, and asserts that it is in many cases wanting.** (*footnote. elem. philos. bot. page .) (**footnote. id. page .) the account which i have given of the structure of the vegetable ovulum, differs essentially from all those now quoted, and i am not acquainted with any other observations of importance respecting it. of the authors referred to, it may be remarked, that those who have most particularly attended to the ovulum externally, have not always examined it at a sufficiently early period, and have confined themselves to its surface: that those who have most minutely examined its internal structure, have trusted too much to sections merely, and have neglected its appearance externally: and that those who have not at all examined it in the early stage, have given the most correct account of its surface. this account was founded on a very limited observation of ripe seeds, generalized and extended to the unimpregnated ovulum, in connexion with an hypothesis then very commonly received: but this hypothesis being soon after abandoned, their statement respecting the ovulum was rejected along with it. in the ovulum of kingia, the inner membrane, with relation to the external umbilicus, is inverted; and this, as i have already observed, though in direct opposition to m. turpin's account, is the usual structure of the organ. there are, however, several families in each of the two primary divisions of phaenogamous plants, in which the inner membrane, and consequently the nucleus, agrees in direction with the testa. in such cases the external umbilicus alone affords a certain indication of the position of the future embryo. it is an obvious consequence of what has been already stated, that the radicle of the embryo can never point directly to the external umbilicus or hilum, though this is said to be generally the case by the most celebrated carpologists. another observation may be made, less obviously a consequence of the structure described, but equally at variance with many of the published accounts and figures of seeds, namely, that the radicle is never absolutely enclosed in the albumen; but, in the recent state, is either immediately in contact with the inner membrane of the seed, or this contact is established by means of a process generally very short, but sometimes of great length, and which indeed in all cases may be regarded as an elongation of its own substance. from this rule i have found one apparent deviation, but in a case altogether so peculiar, that it can hardly be considered as setting it aside. it is necessary to observe, that i am acquainted with exceptions to the structure of the ovulum as i have here described it, in compositae its coats seem to be imperforated, and hardly separable, either from each other or from the nucleus, in this family, therefore, the direction of the embryo can only be judged of from the vessels of the testa.* and in lemna i have found an apparent inversion of the embryo with relation to the apex of the nucleus. in this genus, however, such other peculiarities of structure and economy exist, that, paradoxical as the assertion may seem, i consider the exception rather as confirming than lessening the importance of the character. (*footnote. linnean society transactions page .) it may perhaps be unnecessary to remark, that the raphe, or vascular cord of the outer coat, almost universally belongs to that side of the ovulum which is next the placenta. but it is at least deserving of notice, that the very few apparent exceptions to this rule evidently tend to confirm it. the most remarkable of these exceptions occur in those species of euonymus, which, contrary to the usual structure of the genus and family they belong to, have pendulous ovula; and, as i have long since noticed, in the perfect ovula only of abelia.* in these, and in the other cases in which the raphe is on the outer side, or that most remote from the placenta, the ovula are in reality resupinate; an economy apparently essential to their development. (*footnote. abel's china page .) the distinct origins and different directions of the nourishing vessels and channel through which fecundation took place in the ovulum, may still be seen in many of those ripe seeds that are winged, and either present their margins to the placenta, as in proteaceae, or have the plane of the wing at right angles to it, as in several liliaceae. these organs are visible also in some of those seeds that have their testa produced at both ends beyond the inner membrane, as nepenthes; a structure which proves the outer coat of scobiform seeds, as they are called, to be really testa, and not arillus, as it has often been termed. the importance of distinguishing between the membranes of the unimpregnated ovulum and those of the ripe seed, must be sufficiently evident from what has been already stated. but this distinction has been necessarily neglected by two classes of observers. the first consisting of those, among whom are several of the most eminent carpologists, who have regarded the coats of the seed as products of fecundation. the second of those authors who, professing to give an account of the ovulum itself, have made their observations chiefly, or entirely, on the ripe seed, the coats of which they must consequently have supposed to be formed before impregnation. the consideration of the arillus, which is of rare occurrence, is never complete, and whose development takes place chiefly after fecundation, might here, perhaps, be entirely omitted. it is, however, worthy of remark, that in the early stage of the ovulum, this envelope is in general hardly visible even in those cases where, as in hibbertia volubilis, it attains the greatest size in the ripe seed; nor does it in any case, with which i am acquainted, cover the foramen of the testa until after fecundation. the testa, or outer coat of the seed, is very generally formed by the outer membrane of the ovulum; and in most cases where the nucleus is inverted, which is the more usual structure, its origin may be satisfactorily determined; either by the hilum being more or less lateral, while the foramen is terminal; or more obviously, and with greater certainty where the raphe is visible, this vascular cord uniformly belonging to the outer membrane of the ovulum. the chalaza, properly so called, though merely the termination of the raphe, affords a less certain character, for in many plants it is hardly visible on the inner surface of the testa, but is intimately united with the areola of insertion of the inner membrane or of the nucleus, to one or other of which it then seems entirely to belong. in those cases where the testa agrees in direction with the nucleus, i am not acquainted with any character by which it can be absolutely distinguished from the inner membrane in the ripe seed; but as a few plants are already known, in which the outer membrane is originally incomplete, its entire absence, even before fecundation, is conceivable; and some possible cases of such a structure will be mentioned hereafter. there are several cases known, some of which i have formerly noticed,* of the complete obliteration of the testa in the ripe seed; and on the other hand it appears to constitute the greater part of the substance of the bulb-like seeds of many liliaceae, where it no doubt performs also the function of albumen, from which, however, it is readily distinguished by its vascularity.** but the most remarkable deviation from the usual structure and economy of the outer membrane of the ovulum, both in its earliest stage and in the ripe fruit, that i have yet met with, occurs in banksia and dryandra. in these two genera i have ascertained that the inner membrane of the ovulum, before fecundation, is entirely exposed, the outer membrane being even then open its whole length; and that the outer membranes of the two collateral ovula, which are originally distinct, cohere in a more advanced stage by their corresponding surfaces, and together constitute the anomalous dissepiment of the capsule; the inner membrane of the ovulum consequently forming the outer coat of the seed. (*footnote. linnean society transactions page .) (**footnote. ibid.) the inner membrane of the ovulum, however, in general appears to be of greater importance as connected with fecundation, than as affording protection to the nucleus at a more advanced period. for in many cases, before impregnation, its perforated apex projects beyond the aperture of the testa, and in some plants puts on the appearance of an obtuse, or even dilated stigma; while in the ripe seed it is often either entirely obliterated, or exists only as a thin film, which might readily be mistaken for the epidermis of a third membrane then frequently observable. this third coat is formed by the proper membrane or cuticle of the nucleus, from whose substance in the unimpregnated ovulum it is never, i believe, separable, and at that period is very rarely visible. in the ripe seed it is indistinguishable from the inner membrane only by its apex, which is never perforated, is generally acute and more deeply coloured, or even sphacelated. the membrane of the nucleus usually constitutes the innermost coat of the seed. but in a few plants an additional coat, apparently originating in the inner membrane of grew, the vesicula colliquamenti or amnios of malpighi also exists. in general the amnios, after fecundation, gradually enlarges, till at length it displaces or absorbs the whole substance of the nucleus, containing in the ripe seed both the embryo and albumen, where the latter continues to exist. in such cases, however, its proper membrane is commonly obliterated, and its place supplied either by that of the nucleus, by the inner membrane of the ovulum, or, where both these are evanescent, by the testa itself. in other cases the albumen is formed by a deposition of granular matter in the cells of the nucleus. in some of these cases the membrane of the amnios seems to be persistent, forming even in the ripe seed a proper coat for the embryo, the original attachment of whose radicle to the apex of this coat may also continue. this, at least, seems to me the most probable explanation of the structure of true nymphaeaceae, namely, nuphar, nymphaea, euryale, hydropeltis, and cabomba, notwithstanding their very remarkable germination, as observed and figured in nymphaea and nuphar by tittmann.* (*footnote. keimung der pflanzen page et table et .) in support of this explanation, which differs from all those yet given, i may here advert to an observation published many years ago, though it seems to have escaped every author who has since written on the subject, namely, that before the maturity of the seed in nymphaeaceae, the sacculus contains along with the embryo a (pulpy or semi-fluid) substance, which i then called vitellus, applying at that time this name to every body interposed between the albumen and embryo.* the opinion receives some confirmation also from the existence of an extremely fine filament, hitherto overlooked, which, originating from the centre of the lower surface of the sacculus, and passing through the hollow axis of the albumen, probably connects this coat of the embryo in an early stage with the base of the nucleus. (*footnote. prodr. flor. nov. holl. page .) the same explanation of structure applies to the seeds of piperaceae and saururus; and other instances occur of the persistence either of the membrane or of the substance of the amnios in the ripe seed. it may be concluded from the whole account which i have given of the structure of the ovulum, that the more important changes consequent to real, or even to spurious fecundation, must take place within the nucleus: and that the albumen, properly so called, may be formed either by a deposition or secretion of granular matter in the utriculi of the amnios, or in those of the nucleus itself, or lastly, that two substances having these distinct origins, and very different textures, may co-exist in the ripe seed, as is probably the case in scitamineae. on the subject of the ovulum, as contained in an ovarium, i shall at present make but one other remark, which forms a necessary introduction to the observations that follow. on the structure of the female flower in cycadeae and coniferae. that the apex of the nucleus is the point of the ovulum where impregnation takes place, is at least highly probable, both from the constancy in the appearance of the embryo at that point, and from the very general inversion of the nucleus; for by this inversion its apex is brought nearly, or absolutely, into contact with that part of the parietes of the ovarium, by which the influence of the pollen may be supposed to be communicated. in several of those families of plants, however, in which the nucleus is not inverted, and the placentae are polyspermous, as cistineae,* it is difficult to comprehend in what manner this influence can reach its apex externally, except on the supposition, not hastily to be admitted, of an impregnating aura filling the cavity of the ovarium; or by the complete separation of the fecundating tubes from the placentae, which, however, in such cases i have never been able to detect. (*footnote. this structure of ovulum, indicated by that of the seed, as characterizing and defining the limits of cistineae (namely, cistus, helianthemum, hudsonia and lechea) i communicated to dr. hooker, by whom it is noticed in his flora scotica (page ) published in ; where, however, an observation is added respecting gaertner's description of cistus and helianthemum, for which i am not accountable.) it would entirely remove the doubts that may exist respecting the point of impregnation, if cases could be produced where the ovarium was either altogether wanting, or so imperfectly formed, that the ovulum itself became directly exposed to the action of the pollen, or its fovilla; its apex, as well as the orifice of its immediate covering, being modified and developed to adapt them to this economy. but such, i believe, is the real explanation of the structure of cycadeae, of coniferae, of ephedra, and even of gnetum, of which thoa of aublet is a species. to this view the most formidable objection would be removed, were it admitted, in conformity with the preceding observations, that the apex of the nucleus, or supposed point of impregnation, has no organic connexion with the parietes of the ovarium. in support of it, also, as far as regards the direct action of the pollen on the ovulum, numerous instances of analogous economy in the animal kingdom may be adduced. the similarity of the female flower in cycadeae and coniferae to the ovulum of other phaenogamous plants, as i have described it, is indeed sufficiently obvious to render the opinion here advanced not altogether improbable. but the proof of its correctness must chiefly rest on a resemblance, in every essential point, being established, between the inner body in the supposed female flower in these tribes, and the nucleus of the ovulum in ordinary structures; not only in the early stage, but also in the whole series of changes consequent to fecundation. now as far as i have yet examined, there is nearly a complete agreement in all these respects. i am not entirely satisfied, however, with the observations i have hitherto been able to make on a subject naturally difficult, and to which i have not till lately attended with my present view. the facts most likely to be produced as arguments against this view of the structure of coniferae, are the unequal and apparently secreting surface of the apex of the supposed nucleus in most cases; its occasional projection beyond the orifice of the outer coat; its cohesion with that coat by a considerable portion of its surface, and the not unfrequent division of the orifice of the coat. yet most of these peculiarities of structure might perhaps be adduced in support of the opinion advanced, being apparent adaptations to the supposed economy. there is one fact that will hardly be brought forward as an objection, and which yet seems to me to present a difficulty, to this opinion; namely, the greater simplicity in cycadeae, and in the principal part of coniferae, of the supposed ovulum which consists of a nucleus and one coat only, compared with the organ as generally existing when enclosed in an ovarium. the want of uniformity in this respect may even be stated as another difficulty, for in some genera of coniferae the ovulum appears to be complete. in ephedra, indeed, where the nucleus is provided with two envelopes, the outer may, perhaps, be supposed rather analogous to the calyx, or involucrum of the male flower, than as belonging to the ovulum; but in gnetum, where three envelopes exist, two of these may, with great probability, be regarded as coats of the nucleus; while in podocarpus and dacrydium, the outer cupula, as i formerly termed it,* may also, perhaps, be viewed as the testa of the ovulum. to this view, as far as relates to dacrydium, the longitudinal fissure of the outer coat in the early stage, and its state in the ripe fruit, in which it forms only a partial covering, may be objected.** but these objections are, in a great measure, removed by the analogous structure already described in banksia and dryandra. (*footnote. flinders voyage volume page .) (**footnote. id. loc. cit.) the plurality of embryos sometimes occurring in coniferae, and which, in cycadeae, seems even to be the natural structure, may also, perhaps, be supposed to form an objection to the present opinion, though to me it appears rather an argument in its favour. upon the whole, the objections to which the view here taken of the structure of these two families is still liable, seem to me, as far as i am aware of them, much less important than those that may be brought against the other opinions that have been advanced, and still divide botanists on this subject. according to the earliest of these opinions, the female flower of cycadeae and coniferae is a monospermous pistillum, having no proper floral envelope. to this structure, however, pinus itself was long considered by many botanists as presenting an exception. linnaeus has expressed himself so obscurely in the natural character which he has given of this genus, that i find it difficult to determine what his opinion of its structure really was. i am inclined, however, to believe it to have been much nearer the truth than is generally supposed; judging of it from a comparison of his essential with his artificial generic character, and from an observation recorded in his praelectiones, published by giseke.* (*footnote. praelect. in ord. nat. page .) but the first clear account that i have met with, of the real structure of pinus, as far as regards the direction, or base and apex of the female flowers, is given, in , by trew, who describes them in the following manner: "singula semina vel potius germina stigmati tanquam organo feminino gaudent,"* and his figure of the female flower of the larch, in which the stigmata project beyond the base of the scale, removes all doubt respecting his meaning. (*footnote. nov. act. acad. nat. curios. page table figure .) in , m. de jussieu, in the character of his genus abies,* gives a similar account of structure, though somewhat less clearly as well as less decidedly expressed. in the observations that follow, he suggests, as not improbable, a very different view, founded on the supposed analogy with araucaria, whose structure was then misunderstood; namely, that the inner scale of the female amentum is a bilocular ovarium, of which the outer scale is the style. but this, according to sir james smith,** was also linnaeus' opinion; and it is the view adopted in mr. lambert's splendid monograph of the genus published in . (*footnote. gen. pl. page .) (**footnote. rees cyclop. art. pinus.) in the same year in which mr. lambert's work appeared, schkuhr* describes, and very distinctly figures, the female flower of pinus, exactly as it was understood by trew, whose opinion was probably unknown to him. (*footnote. botan. handb. page table .) in , a memoir on this subject, by mr. salisbury, was published,* in which an account of structure is given, in no important particular different from that of trew and schkuhr, with whose observations he appears to have been unacquainted. (*footnote. linnean society transactions page .) m. mirbel, in ,* held the same opinion, both with respect to pinus and to the whole natural family. but in , in conjunction with m. schoubert,** he proposed a very different view of the structure of cycadeae and coniferae, stating, that in their female flowers there is not only a minute cohering perianthium present, but an external additional envelope, to which he has given the name of cupula. (*footnote. ann. du mus. d'hist. nat. tome page .) (**footnote. nouv. bulletin des sc. tome pages , et .) in i adopted this view, as far, at least, as regards the manner of impregnation, and stated some facts in support of it.* but on reconsidering the subject, in connexion with what i had ascertained respecting the vegetable ovulum, i soon after altogether abandoned this opinion, without, however, venturing explicitly to state that now advanced, and which had then suggested itself.** (*footnote. flinders voyage .) (**footnote. tuckey congo page et linnean society transactions volume page .) it is well known that the late m. richard had prepared a very valuable memoir on these two families of plants; and he appears, from some observations lately published by his son, m. achille richard,* to have formed an opinion respecting their structure somewhat different from that of m. mirbel, whose cupula is, according to him, the perianthium, more or less cohering with the included pistillum. he was probably led to this view, on ascertaining, which i had also done, that the common account of the structure of ephedra was incorrect,** its supposed style being in reality the elongated tubular apex of a membranous envelope, and the included body being evidently analogous to that in other genera of coniferae. (*footnote. dict. class. d' hist. nat. tome page et tome page .) (**footnote. dict. class. d'hist. nat. tome page .) to the earliest of the opinions here quoted, that which considers the female flower of coniferae and cycadeae as a naked pistillum, there are two principal objections. the first of these arises from the perforation of the pistillum, and the exposure of that point of the ovulum where the embryo is formed to the direct action of the pollen; the second from the too great simplicity of structure of the supposed ovulum, which, i have shown, accords better with that of the nucleus as existing in ordinary cases. to the opinions of mm. richard and mirbel, the first objection does not apply, but the second acquires such additional weight, as to render those opinions much less probable, it seems to me, than that which i have endeavoured to support. in supposing the correctness of this opinion to be admitted, a question connected with it, and of some importance, would still remain, namely, whether in cycadeae and coniferae the ovula are produced on an ovarium of reduced functions and altered appearance, or on a rachis or receptacle. in other words, in employing the language of an hypothesis, which, with some alterations, i have elsewhere attempted to explain and defend, respecting the formation of the sexual organs in phaenogamous plants,* whether the ovula in these two families originate in a modified leaf, or proceed directly from the stem. (*footnote. linnean society transactions volume page .) were i to adopt the former supposition, or that best agreeing with the hypothesis in question, i should certainly apply it, in the first place, to cycas, in which the female spadix bears so striking a resemblance to a partially altered frond or leaf, producing marginal ovula in one part, and in another being divided into segments, in some cases nearly resembling those of the ordinary frond. but the analogy of the female spadix of cycas to that of zamia is sufficiently obvious; and from the spadix of zamia to the fruit-bearing squama of coniferae, strictly so called, namely, of agathis or dammara, cunninghamia, pinus, and even araucaria, the transition is not difficult. this view is applicable, though less manifestly, also to cupressinae; and might even be extended to podocarpus and dacrydium. but the structure of these two genera admits likewise of another explanation, to which i have already adverted. if, however, the ovula in cycadeae and coniferae be really produced on the surface of an ovarium, it might, perhaps, though not necessarily, be expected that their male flowers should differ from those of all other phaenogamous plants, and in this difference exhibit some analogy to the structure of the female flower. but in cycadeae, at least, and especially in zamia, the resemblance between the male and female spadices is so great, that if the female be analogous to an ovarium, the partial male spadix must be considered as a single anthera, producing on its surface either naked grains of pollen, or pollen subdivided into masses, each furnished with its proper membrane. both these views may at present, perhaps, appear equally paradoxical; yet the former was entertained by linnaeus, who expresses himself on the subject in the following terms, pulvis floridus in cycade minime pro antheris agnoscendus est sed pro nudo polline, quod unusquisque qui unquam pollen antherarum in plantis examinavit fatebitur.* that this opinion, so confidently held by linnaeus, was never adopted by any other botanist, seems in part to have arisen from his having extended it to dorsiferous ferns. limited to cycadeae, however, it does not appear to me so very improbable, as to deserve to be rejected without examination. it receives, at least, some support from the separation, in several cases, especially in the american zamiae, of the grains into two distinct, and sometimes nearly marginal, masses, representing, as it may be supposed, the lobes of an anthera; and also from their approximation in definite numbers, generally in fours, analogous to the quaternary union of the grains of pollen, not unfrequent in the antherae of several other families of plants. the great size of the supposed grains of pollen, with the thickening and regular bursting of their membrane, may be said to be circumstances obviously connected with their production and persistence on the surface of an anthera, distant from the female flower; and with this economy, a corresponding enlargement of the contained particles or fovilla might also be expected. on examining these particles, however, i find them not only equal in size to the grains of pollen of many antherae, but, being elliptical and marked on one side with a longitudinal furrow, they have that form which is one of the most common in the simple pollen of phaenogamous plants. to suppose, therefore, merely on the grounds already stated, that these particles are analogous to the fovilla, and the containing organs to the grains of pollen in antherae of the usual structure, would be entirely gratuitous. it is, at the same time, deserving of remark, that were this view adopted on more satisfactory grounds, a corresponding development might then be said to exist in the essential parts of the male and female organs. the increased development in the ovulum would not consist so much in the unusual form and thickening of the coat, a part of secondary importance, and whose nature is disputed, as in the state of the nucleus of the seed, respecting which there is no difference of opinion; and where the plurality of embryos, or at least the existence and regular arrangement of the cells in which they are formed, is the uniform structure in the family. (*footnote. mem. de l'acad. des scien. de paris page .) the second view suggested, in which the anthera in cycadeae is considered as producing on its surface an indefinite number of pollen masses, each enclosed in its proper membrane, would derive its only support from a few remote analogies: as from those antherae, whose loculi are sub-divided into a definite, or more rarely an indefinite, number of cells, and especially from the structure of the stamina of viscum album. i may remark, that the opinion of m. richard,* who considers these grains, or masses, as unilocular antherae, each of which constitutes a male flower, seems to be attended with nearly equal difficulties. (*footnote. dict. class. d'hist. nat. tome page .) the analogy between the male and female organs in coniferae, the existence of an open ovarium being assumed, is at first sight more apparent than in cycadeae. in coniferae, however, the pollen is certainly not naked, but is enclosed in a membrane similar to the lobe of an ordinary anthera. and in those genera in which each squama of the amentum produces two marginal lobes only, as pinus, podocarpus, dacrydium, salisburia, and phyllocladus, it nearly resembles the more general form of the antherae in other phaenogamous plants. but the difficulty occurs in those genera which have an increased number of lobes on each squama, as agathis and araucaria, where their number is considerable and apparently indefinite, and more particularly still in cunninghamia, or belis,* in which the lobes, though only three in number, agree in this respect, as well as in insertion and direction, with the ovula. the supposition, that in such cases all the lobes of each squama are cells of one and the same anthera, receives but little support either from the origin and arrangement of the lobes themselves, or from the structure of other phaenogamous plants: the only cases of apparent, though doubtful, analogy that i can at present recollect occurring in aphyteia, and perhaps in some cucurbitaceae. (*footnote. in communicating specimens of this plant to the late m. richard, for his intended monograph of coniferae, i added some remarks on its structure, agreeing with those here made. i at the same time requested that, if he objected to mr. salisbury's belis as liable to be confounded with bellis, the genus might be named cunninghamia, to commemorate the merits of mr. james cunningham, an excellent observer in his time, by whom this plant was discovered; and in honour of mr. allan cunningham, the very deserving botanist who accompanied mr. oxley in his first expedition into the interior of new south wales, and captain king in all his voyages of survey of the coasts of new holland.) that part of my subject, therefore, which relates to the analogy between the male and female flowers in cycadeae and coniferae, i consider the least satisfactory, both in regard to the immediate question of the existence of an anomalous ovarium in these families, and to the hypothesis repeatedly referred to, of the origin of the sexual organs of all phaenogamous plants. in concluding this digression, i have to express my regret that it should have so far exceeded the limits proper for its introduction into the present work. in giving an account, however, of the genus of plants to which it is annexed, i had to describe a structure, of whose nature and importance it was necessary i should show myself aware; and circumstances have occurred while i was engaged in preparing this account, which determined me to enter much more fully into the subject than i had originally intended. ... appendix c. an account of some geological specimens, collected by captain p.p. king, in his survey of the coasts of australia, and by robert brown, esquire, on the shores of the gulf of carpentaria, during the voyage of captain flinders. by william henry fitton, m.d., f.r.s., v.p.g.s. [read before the geological society of london, th november, .] the following enumeration of specimens from the coasts of australia, commences, with the survey of captain king, on the eastern shore, about the latitude of twenty-two degrees, proceeding northward and westward: and as the shores of the gulf of carpentaria, previously surveyed by captain flinders, were passed over by captain king, mr. brown, who accompanied the former, has been so good as to allow the specimens collected by himself in that part of new holland, to supply the chasm which would otherwise have existed in the series. part of the west and north-western coast, examined by captain king, having been previously visited by the french voyagers, under captain baudin, i was desirous of obtaining such information as could be derived from the specimens collected during that expedition, and now remaining at paris; although i was aware that the premature death of the principal mineralogist, and other unfavourable circumstances, had probably diminished their value:* but the collection from new holland, at the school of mines, with a list of which i have been favoured through the kindness of mr. brochant de villiers, relates principally to van diemen's land; and that of the jardin du roi, which mr. constant prevost has obliged me with an account of, does not afford the information i had hoped for. i have availed myself of the notices relating to physical geography and geology, which are dispersed through the published accounts of captain flinders',** and baudin's voyages;*** and these, with the collections above alluded to, form, i believe, the only sources of information at present existing in europe, respecting the geological structure and productions of the north and western coasts of australia. (*footnote. m. depuch, the mineralogist, died during the progress of the voyage, in ; and, unfortunately, none of his manuscripts were preserved. m. peron, the zoologist, after publishing, in , the first volume of the account of the expedition, died in , before the appearance of the second volume. voyage etc. page , ; and page .) (**footnote. a voyage to terra australis, etc., in the years , , and , by matthew flinders, commander of the investigator. two volumes quarto with an atlas folio; london .) (***footnote. voyage de decouverte aux terres australes etc. tome redige par m. f. peron, naturaliste de l'expedition, paris . tome redige par m. peron et m. l. freycinet . a third volume of this work, under the title of navigation et geographie, was published by capt. freycinet in . it contains a brief and clear account of the proceedings of the expedition; and affords some particulars connected with the physical geography of the places described, which are not to be found in the other volumes.) in order to avoid the interruption which would be occasioned by detail, i shall prefix to the list of specimens in captain king's and mr. brown's collections, a general sketch of the coast from whence they come, deduced, principally, from the large charts,* and from the narratives of captains flinders and king, with a summary of the geological information derived from the specimens. but i have thought it necessary to subjoin a more detailed list of the specimens themselves; on account of the great distance from each other of many of the places where they were found, and of the general interest attached to the productions of a country so very remote, of which the greater part is not likely to be often visited by geologists. the situation of such of the places mentioned, as are not to be found in the reduced chart annexed to the present publication, will be sufficiently indicated by the names of the adjacent places. (*footnote. these charts have been published by the admiralty for general sale.) general sketch of the coast. the north-eastern coast of new south wales, from the latitude of about degrees, has a direction from south-east to north-west; and ranges of mountains are visible from the sea, with little interruption, as far north as cape weymouth, between the latitude of and degrees. from within cape palmerston, west of the northumberland islands, near the point where captain king began his surveys, a high and rocky range, of very irregular outline, and apparently composed of primitive rocks, is continued for more than one hundred and fifty miles, without any break; and after a remarkable opening, about the latitude of degrees, is again resumed. several of the summits, visible from the sea, in the front of this range, are of considerable elevation: mount dryander, on the promontory which terminates in cape gloucester, being more than four thousand five hundred feet high. mount eliot, with a peaked summit, a little to the south of cape cleveland, is visible at twenty-five leagues distance; and mount hinchinbrook, immediately upon the shore, south of rockingham bay, is more than two thousand feet high. from the south of cape grafton to cape tribulation, precipitous hills, bordered by low land, form the coast; but the latter cape itself consists of a lofty group, with several peaks, the highest of which is visible from the sea at twenty leagues. the heights from thence towards the north decline gradually, as the mountainous ranges approach the shore, which they join at cape weymouth, about latitude degrees; and from that point northward, to cape york, the land in general is comparatively low, nor do any detached points of considerable elevation appear there. but about midway between cape grenville and cape york, on the mainland south-west of cairncross island, a flat summit called pudding-pan hill is conspicuous; and its shape, which differs from that of the hills on the east coast in general, remarkably resembles that of the mountains of the north and west coasts, to which names expressing their form have been applied.* (*footnote. jane's table-land, south-east of princess charlotte's bay (about latitude degrees minutes) and mount adolphus, in one of the islands (about latitude degrees minutes) off cape york, have also flat summits. king manuscripts.) the line of the coast above described retires at a point which corresponds with the decline of its level; and immediately on the north of cape melville is thrown back to the west; so that the high land about that cape stands out like a shoulder, more than forty miles beyond the coastline between princess charlotte's bay and the north-eastern point of australia. the land near cape york is not more than four or five hundred feet high, and the islands off that point are nearly of the same elevation. the bottom of several of the bays, on the eastern coast, not having been explored, it is still probable that rivers, or considerable mountain streams, may exist there. along this eastern line of shore, granite has been found throughout a space of nearly five hundred miles; at cape cleveland; cape grafton; endeavour river; lizard island; and at clack's island, on the north-west of the rocky mass which forms cape melville. and rocks of the trap formation have been obtained in three detached points among the islands off the shore; in the percy isles, about latitude degrees minutes; sunday island, north of cape grenville, about latitude degrees; and in good's island, on the north-west of cape york, latitude degrees minutes. the gulf of carpentaria having been fully examined by captain flinders, was not visited by captain king; but the following account has been deduced from the voyage and charts of the former, combined with the specimens collected by mr. brown, who has also favoured me with an extract from the notes taken by himself on that part of the coast. the land, on the east and south of the gulf of carpentaria, is so low, that for a space of nearly six hundred miles--from endeavour strait to a range of hills on the mainland, west of wellesley islands, at the bottom of the gulf--no part of the coast is higher than a ship's masthead.* some of the land in wellesley islands is higher than the main; but the largest island is, probably, not more than one hundred and fifty feet in height;** and low-wooded hills occur on the mainland, from thence to sir edward pellew's group. the rock observed on the shore at coen river, the only point on the eastern side of the gulf where captain flinders landed, was calcareous sandstone of recent concretional formation. (*footnote. flinders charts plate .) (**footnote. flinders volume page .) in sweer's island, one of wellesley's isles, a hill of about fifty or sixty feet in height was covered with a sandy calcareous stone, having the appearance of concretions rising irregularly about a foot above the general surface, without any distinct ramifications. the specimens from this place have evidently the structure of stalactites, which seem to have been formed in sand; and the reddish carbonate of lime, by which the sand has been agglutinated, is of the same character with that of the west coast, where a similar concreted limestone occurs in great abundance. the western shore of the gulf of carpentaria is somewhat higher, and from limmen's bight to the latitude of groote eylandt, is lined by a range of low hills. on the north of the latter place, the coast becomes irregular and broken; the base of the country apparently consisting of primitive rocks, and the upper part of the hills of a reddish sandstone; some of the specimens of which are identical with that which occurs at goulburn and sims islands on the north coast, and is very widely distributed on the north-west. the shore at the bottom of melville bay is stated by captain flinders to consist of low cliffs of pipe-clay, for a space of about eight miles in extent from east to west; and similar cliffs of pipe-clay are described as occurring at goulburn islands (see the plate, volume ) and at lethbridge bay, on the north of melville island: both of which places are considerably to the west of the gulf of carpentaria. morgan's island, a small islet in blue-mud bay, on the north-west of groote eylandt, is composed of clink-stone; and other rocks of the trap-formation occur in several places on this coast. the north of blue-mud bay has furnished also specimens of ancient sandstone; with columnar rocks, probably of clink-stone. round hill, near point grindall, a promontory on the north of morgan's island, is composed, at the base, of granite; and mount caledon, on the west side of caledon bay, seems likewise to consist of that rock, as does also melville island. this part of the coast has afforded the ferruginous oxide of manganese: and brown hematite is found hereabouts in considerable quantity, on the shore at the base of the cliffs; forming the cement of a breccia, which contains fragments of sandstone, and in which the ferruginous matter appears to be of very recent production; resembling, perhaps, the hematite observed at edinburgh by professor jameson, around cast-iron pipes which had lain for some time in sand.* (*footnote. edinburgh philosophical journal, july page .) the general range of the coast, it will be observed, from limmen's bight to cape arnhem, is from south-west to north-east; and three conspicuous ranges of islands on the north-western entrance of the gulf of carpentaria, the appearance of which is so remarkable as to have attracted the attention of captain flinders,* have the same general direction: a fact which is probably not unconnected with the general structure of the country. the prevailing rock in all these islands appears to be sandstone. (flinders volume page . see hereafter.) the line of the main coast from point dale to the bottom of castlereagh bay, where captain king's survey was resumed, has also a direction from south-west to north-east, parallel to that of the ranges of islands just mentioned. the low land near the north coast in castlereagh bay, and from thence to goulburn islands, is intersected by one of the few rivers yet discovered in this part of australia, a tortuous and shallow stream, named liverpool river, which has been traced inland to about forty miles from the coast, through a country not more than three feet in general elevation above high-water mark; the banks being low and muddy, and thickly wooded: and this description is applicable also to the alligator rivers on the south-east of van diemen's gulf, and to the surrounding country. the outline of the wellington hills, however, on the mainland between the liverpool and alligator rivers, is jagged and irregular; this range being thus remarkably contrasted with the flat summits which appear to be very numerous on the north-western coast. the specimens from goulburn islands consist of reddish sandstone, not to be distinguished from that which occurs beneath the coal formation in england. on the west of these islands the coast is more broken, and the outline is irregular: but the elevation is inconsiderable; the general height in cobourg peninsula not being above one hundred and fifty feet above the sea, and that of the hills not more than from three to four hundred feet. on this part of the coast, several hills are remarkable for the flatness of their tops; and the general outline of many of the islands, as seen on the horizon, is very striking and peculiar. thus mount bedwell and mount roe, on the south of cobourg peninsula; luxmoore head, at the west end of melville island; the barthelemy hills, south of cape ford; mount goodwin, south of port keats; mount cockburn, and several of the hills adjacent to cambridge gulf, the names given to which during the progress of the survey sufficiently indicate their form, as house-roofed, bastion, flat-top, and square-top hills; mount casuarina, about forty miles north-west of cambridge gulf; a hill near cape voltaire; steep-head, port warrender; and several of the islands off that port, york sound, and prince regent's river; cape cuvier, about latitude degrees; and, still further south, the whole of moresby's flat-topped range, are all distinguished by their linear and nearly horizontal outlines: and except in a few instances, as mount cockburn, steep-head, mounts trafalgar and waterloo (which look more like hills of floetz-trap) they have very much the aspect of the summits in the coal formation.* (*footnote. captain king, however, has informed me, that in some of these cases, the shape of the hill is really that of a roof, or hayrick; the transverse section being angular, and the horizontal top an edge.) sketch of some of the islands off admiralty gulf (looking southward from the north-east end of cassini island, about latitude degrees minutes, east longitude degrees minutes) has some resemblance to one of the views in peron's atlas (plate figure ): and the outline of the iles forbin (plate figure , of the same series) also exhibits remarkably the peculiar form represented in several of captain king's drawings (sketch ). the red colour of the cliffs on the north-west and west coasts, is also an appearance which is frequently noticed on the sketches taken by captain king and his officers. this is conspicuous in the neighbourhood of cape croker; at darch island and palm bay; at point annesley and point coombe in mountnorris bay; in the land about cape van diemen, and on the north-west of bathurst island. the cliffs on roe's river (prince frederic's harbour) as might have been expected from the specimens, are described as of a reddish colour; cape leveque is of the same hue; and the northern limit of shark's bay, cape cuvier of the french, latitude degrees minutes, which is like an enormous bastion, may be distinguished at a considerable distance by its full red colour.* (*footnote. freycinet page .) it is on the bank of the channel which separates bathurst and melville islands, near the north-western extremity of new holland, that a new colony has recently been established: (see captain king's narrative volume .) a permanent station under the superintendence of a british officer, in a country so very little known, and in a situation so remote from any other english settlement, affords an opportunity of collecting objects of natural history, and of illustrating various points of great interest to physical geography and meteorology, which it is to be hoped will not be neglected. and as a very instructive collection, for the general purposes of geology, can readily be obtained in such situations, by attending to a few precautions, i have thought that some brief directions on this subject would not be out of place in the present publication; and have subjoined them to the list of specimens at the close of this paper.* (*footnote. see hereafter.) in the vicinity of cambridge gulf, captain king states, the character of the country is entirely changed; and irregular ranges of detached rocky hills composed of sandstone, rising abruptly from extensive plains of low level land, supersede the low and woody coast, that occupies almost uninterruptedly the space between this inlet and cape wessel, a distance of more than six hundred miles. cambridge gulf, which is nothing more than a swampy arm of the sea, extends to about eighty miles inland, in a southern direction: and all the specimens from its vicinity precisely resemble the older sandstones of the confines of england and wales.* the view (volume plate) represents in the distance mount cockburn, at the head of cambridge gulf; the flat rocky top of which was supposed to consist of sandstone, but has also the aspect of the trap-formation. the strata in lacrosse island, at the entrance of the gulf, rise toward the north-west, at an angle of about degrees with the horizon: their direction consequently being from north-east to south-west. (*footnote. i use the term old red sand stone, in the acceptation of messrs. buckland and conybeare, observations on the south western coal district of england. geological transactions second series volume . captain king's specimens from lacrosse island are not to be distinguished from the slaty strata of that formation, in the banks of the avon, about two miles below clifton.) from hence to cape londonderry, towards the south, is an uniform coast of moderate elevation; and from that point to cape leveque, although the outline may be in a general view considered as ranging from north-east to south-west,* the coast is remarkably indented, and the adjoining sea irregularly studded with very numerous islands. the specimens from this tract consist almost entirely of sandstone, resembling that of cambridge gulf, goulburn island, and the gulf of carpentaria; with which the trap-formation appears to be associated. (*footnote. the large chart sheet best shows the general range of the shore, from the islands filling up the inlets.) york sound, one of the principal inlets on this part of the coast, is bounded by precipitous rocks, from one to two hundred feet in height; and some conical rocky peaks, which not improbably consist of quartz-rock, were noticed on the eastern side of the entrance. an unpublished sketch, by captain king, shows that the banks of hunter's river, one of the branches of york sound, at seven or eight miles from its opening, are composed of sandstone, in beds of great regularity; and this place is also remarkable for a copious spring of fresh water, one of the rarest phenomena of these thirsty and inhospitable shores.* (*footnote. narrative .) the most considerable inlet, however, which has yet been discovered in this quarter of australia, is prince regent's river, about thirty miles to the south-west of york sound, the course of which is almost rectilinear for about fifty miles in a south-eastern direction; a fact which will probably be found to be connected with the geological structure of the country. the general character of the banks, which are lofty and abrupt, is precisely the same with that of the rivers falling into york sound; and the level of the country does not appear to be higher in the interior than near the coast. the banks are from two to four hundred feet in height, and consist of close-grained siliceous sandstone, of a reddish hue;* and the view (plate above) shows that the beds are nearly horizontal, and very regularly disposed; the cascade there represented being about one hundred and sixty feet in height, and the beds from six to twelve feet in thickness. two conspicuous hills, which captain king has named mounts trafalgar and waterloo, on the north-east of prince-regent's river, not far from its entrance, are remarkable for cap-like summits, much resembling those which characterize the trap formation. (sketch .) (*footnote. narrative and .) the coast on the south of this remarkable river, to cape leveque, has not yet been thoroughly examined; but it appears from captain king's chart (number ) to be intersected by several inlets of considerable size, to trace which to their termination is still a point of great interest in the physical geography of new holland. the space thus left to be explored, from the champagny isles to cape leveque, corresponds to more than one hundred miles in a direct line; within which extent nothing but islands and detached portions of land have yet been observed. one large inlet especially, on the south-east of cape leveque, appears to afford considerable promise of a river; and the rise of the tide within the buccaneer's archipelago, where there is another unexplored opening, is no less than thirty-seven feet. the outline of the coast about cape leveque itself is low, waving, and rounded; and the hue for which the cliffs are remarkable in so many parts of the coast to the north, is also observable here, the colour of the rocks at point coulomb being of a deep red: but on the south of the high ground near that point, the rugged stony cliffs are succeeded by a long tract, which to the french voyagers (for it was not examined by captain king) appeared to consist of low and sandy land, fronted by extensive shoals. it has hitherto been seen, however, only at a distance; so that a space of more than three hundred miles, from point gantheaume nearly to cape lambert, still remains to be accurately surveyed. depuch island, east of dampier's archipelago, about latitude degrees minutes, is described by the french naturalists as consisting in a great measure of columnar rocks, which they supposed to be volcanic; and they found reason to believe that the adjoining continent was of the same materials.* it is not improbable, however, that this term was applied to columns belonging to the trap formation, since no burning mountain has been any where observed on the coast of new holland: nor do the drawings of depuch island, made on board captain king's vessel, give reason to suppose that it is at present eruptive. captain king's specimens from malus island, in dampier's archipelago (sixty miles farther west) consist of greenstone and amygdaloid. (*footnote. peron volume page .) the coast is again broken and rugged about dampier's archipelago, latitude degrees minutes; and on the south of cape preston, in latitude degrees, is an opening of about fifteen miles in width, between rocky hills, which has not been explored. from thence to the bottom of exmouth gulf, more than one hundred and fifty miles, the coast is low and sandy, and does not exhibit any prominences. the west coast of exmouth gulf itself is formed by a promontory of level land, terminating in the north-west cape; and from thence to the south-west, as far as cape cuvier, the general height of the coast is from four to five hundred feet; nor are any mountains visible over the coast range. several portions of the shore between shark's bay and cape naturaliste have been described in the account of commodore baudin's expedition; but some parts still remain to be surveyed. from the specimens collected by captain king and the french descriptions, it appears that the islands on the west of shark's bay abound in a concretional calcareous rock of very recent formation, similar to what is found on the shore in several other parts of new holland, especially in the neighbourhood of king george's sound; and which is abundant also on the coast of the west indian islands, and of the mediterranean. captain king's specimens of this production are from dirk hartog's and rottnest islands; and m. peron states that the upper parts of bernier and dorre islands are composed of a rock of the same nature. this part of the coast is covered in various places with extensive dunes of sand; but the nature of the base, on which both these and the calcareous formation repose, has not been ascertained. the general direction of the rocky shore, from north-west cape to dirk hartog's island, is from the east of north to the west of south. on the south of the latter place the land turns towards the east. high, rocky and reddish cliffs have been seen indistinctly about latitude degrees; and a coast of the same aspect has been surveyed, from red point, about latitude degrees, for more than eighty miles to the south-west. the hills called moresby's flat-topped range, of which mount fairfax, latitude degrees minutes, is the highest point, occupy a space of more than fifty miles from north to south. rottnest island and its vicinity, latitude degrees, contains in abundance the calcareous concretions already mentioned; which seem there to consist in a great measure of the remains of recent shells, in considerable variety. the islands of this part of the shore have been described by mm. peron and freycinet;* and the coast to the south, down to cape leeuwin, the south-western extremity of new holland, having been sufficiently examined by the french voyagers, was not surveyed by captain king. (*footnote. peron volume page etc.) swan river (riviere des cygnes) upon this part of the coast, latitude degrees minutes to degrees, was examined by the french expedition, to the distance of about twenty leagues from its mouth; and found still to contain salt water. the rock in its neighbourhood consisted altogether of sandy and calcareous incrustations, in horizontal beds, enclosing, it is stated, shells, and the roots and even trunks of trees. between this river and cape peron, a "great bay" was left unexplored.* (*footnote. peron volume page . freycinet page . .) the prominent mass of land, which stands out from the main, between cape naturaliste and cape leeuwin, and runs nearly on the meridian for more than fifty miles, seems to have a base of granite, which, at cape naturaliste, is said to be stratified.* the same rock also occurs, among captain king's specimens, from bald-head in king george's sound; but nearly on the summit of that hill, which is about five hundred feet high, were found the ramified calcareous concretions, erroneously considered as corals by vancouver and others;** but which appear, from captain king's specimens, to be nothing more than a variety of the recent limestone so abundant throughout these shores. (*footnote. peron volume page .) (**footnote. vancouver . d'entrecasteaux . freycinet . flinders . see the detailed descriptions hereafter; and captain king's narrative volume .) the south coast, and the southern portion of the east coast of australia, which were surveyed by captain flinders, are described in the account of his voyage, and do not come within the object of the present paper. ... geological remarks. . the rocks, of which specimens occur in the collections of captain king and mr. brown, are the following: granite: cape cleveland; c. grafton; endeavour river; lizard island; round hill, near c. grindall; mount caledon; island near c. arnhem; melville bay; bald-head, king george's sound. various slaty rocks: mica-state: mallison's i. talc-state: endeavour river. slaty clay: inglis' i., clack i., percy i. hornblende rock ?: pobassoo's island; halfway bay, prince regent's river. granular quartz: endeavour river; montagu sound, north-west coast. epidote: c. clinton ?; port warrender; careening bay. quartzose conglomerates, and ancient sandstones: rodd's bay; islands of the north and north-west coasts; cambridge gulf; york sound; prince regent's river. pipe-clay: melville bay; goulburn i.; lethbridge bay. rocks of the trap formation. serpentine: port macquarie; percy isles. sienite: rodd's bay. porphyry: c. cleveland. porphyritic conglomerate: c. clinton, percy i., good's i. compact felspar: percy i., repulse bay, sunday island. greenstone: vansittart bay, bat i., careening bay, malus i. clinkstone: morgan's i., pobassoo's i. amygdaloid, with chalcedony: port warrender; half-way bay; bat island; malus i. wacke ?: bat island. ... recent calcareous breccia: sweer's island, n. coast. dirk hartog's and rottnest islands, etc., west coast. king george's sound, south coast. the only information that has been published respecting the geology of new holland, besides what is contained in the voyages of captain flinders and commodore baudin, is a slight notice by professor buckland of some specimens collected during mr. oxley's expedition to the river macquarie,* in ; and a brief outline of a paper by the reverend archdeacon scott, entitled a sketch of the geology of new south wales and van diemen's land, which has been read before the geological society.** on these authorities, the following may be added to the preceding list of rocks: limestone, resembling in the character of its organic remains the mountain limestone or england: interior of new holland, near the east coast; van diemen's land (buckland; prevost manuscripts; scott). the coal-formation: east coast of new holland; van diemen's land. (buckland-scott.) indications of the new red-sandstone (red-marl) afforded by the occurrence of salt: van diemen's land. (scott.) oolite: van diemen's land. (scott.) (*footnote. geological transactions volume page .) (**footnote. ann. of phil. june . i am informed that mr. von buch also has published a paper on the rocks of new holland; but have not been so fortunate as to meet with it. since this paper has been at the press, a report presented to the academy of sciences at paris, on the voyage of discovery of m. duperrey, performed during the years to , has been published; from whence i have subjoined an extract, in order to complete the catalogue of the rocks of australia, according to the present state of our information. les echantillons recueillis tant dans les contrees voisines du port jackson, que dans les montagnes-bleues, augmentent beaucoup nos connoissances sur ces parties de la nouvelle hollande. les echantillons, au nombre de soixante-dix, nous offrent, . les granites, les syenites-quartziferes, et les pegmatites (granites graphiques) qui cunstituent le second plan des muntagnes-bleues. . les gres ferrugineux, et renfermant d'abondantes paillettes de fer oligiste, qui couvrent non seulement une vaste etendue de pays pres des cotes, mais encore le premier plan des montagnes-bleues; et . le lignite stratiforme qu'on exploite au mont-yorck, a pieds au-dessus du niveau de la mer, et dont la presence ajoute aux motifs qui portent a penser que les gres ferrugineux de ces contrees appartiennent au systeme des terrains tertiaires. vingt-sept echantillons ramasses a la terre de van diemen, dans les environs du port dalrymple, et pres du cap barren, indiquent, . des terrains de pegmatite, et de serpentine. . des terrains intermediaires coquilliers, formes du grauwacke-schistoide, et de pierre calcaire. . des terrains tres-recens, composes d'argile sablonneuse et ferrugineuse, avec geodes de fer hydrate, et du bois fossile, a differens etats. on distingue en outre des belles topazes blanches ou bleuatres, parmi les galets quartzeux, qui ont ete recueillis au cap barren: bulletin des sciences naturelles, octobre page .) . the specimens of captain king's and mr. brown's collections, without any exception, agree with those of the same denominations from other parts of the world; and the resemblance is, in some instances, very remarkable: the sandstones of the west and north-west of new holland are so like those of the west of england, and of wales, that the specimens from the two countries can scarcely be distinguished from each other; the arenaceous cement in the calcareous breccia of the west coast is precisely the same with that of sicily; and the jasper, chalcedony, and green quartz approaching to heliotrope, from the entrance of prince regent's river, resemble those of the tyrol, both in their characters and association. the epidote of port warrender and careening bay, affords an additional proof of the general distribution of that mineral; which, though perhaps it may not constitute large masses, seems to be of more frequent occurrence as a component of rocks than has hitherto been supposed.* the mineral itself, both crystallized and compact, the latter in the form of veins traversing sienitic rocks, occurs, in mr. greenough's cabinet alone, from malvern, north wales, ireland, france, and upper saxony. mr. koenig has found it extensively in the sienitic tract of jersey;** where blocks of a pudding-stone, bearing some resemblance to the green breccia of egypt, were found to be composed of compact epidote, including very large pebbles of a porphyritic rock, which itself contains a considerable proportion of this substance. and mr. greenough has recently received, among specimens sent home by mr. j. burton, junior, a mass of compact epidote, with quartz and felspar, from dokhan, in the desert between the red sea and the nile. when new holland is added to these localities, it will appear that few minerals are more widely diffused. (*footnote. see cleaveland's mineralogy page to .) (**footnote. plee's account of jersey quarto southampton page to .) . the unpublished sketches, by captain king and mr. roe, of the hills in sight during the progress of the survey of the coasts of australia, accord in a very striking manner with the geological character of the shore. those from the east coast, where the rocks are primitive, representing strongly marked and irregular outlines of lofty mountains, and frequently, in the nearer ground, masses of strata highly inclined. the outlines on the contrary, on the north, north-west, and western shores, are most commonly uniform, rectilinear, the summits flat, and diversified only by occasional detached and conical peaks, none of which are very lofty. . no information has yet been obtained, from any of the collections, respecting the diluvial deposits of australia: a class of phenomena which is of the highest interest, in an island of such vast extent, so very remote in situation, and of which the existing animals are so different from those of other parts of the globe. it is remarkable, also, that no limestone is among the specimens from the northern and western shores, except that of the recent breccia; and although negative conclusions are hazardous, it would seem probable, from this circumstance, that limestone cannot be very abundant or conspicuous at the places visited. no eruptive mountains, nor any traces of recent volcanic eruption, have yet been observed in any part of australia. . the recent calcareous breccia, of which a detailed description will be found in the subjoined list of specimens, is one of the most remarkable productions of new holland: it was found, during the expedition of commodore baudin, to exist throughout a space of no less than twenty-five degrees of latitude, and an equal extent of longitude, on the southern, west, and north-west coasts;* and from mr. brown's specimens it appears to occur also on the shores of the gulf of carpentaria. the full account which m. peron has given of this formation, sufficiently shows its resemblance to the very recent limestone, full of marine shells, which abounds on the shores of the mediterranean, the west india islands, and in several other parts of the world: and it is a point of the greatest interest in geology, to determine, whether any distinct line can really be drawn, between those concretions, unquestionably of modern formation, which occur immediately upon the shore; and other calcareous accumulations, very nearly resembling them, if not identical, both in the fossils they contain, and in the characters of the cementing substances, that are found in several countries, at considerable heights above the sea. (*footnote. voyage page , to etc.) dr. buckland has described a breccia of modern formation, which occurs upon the shore at madagascar, and consists of a firmly-compacted cream-coloured stone, composed of granular fragments of shells, agglutinated by a calcareous cement.* the stone of guadaloupe, containing the human skeletons, is likewise of the same nature; and its very recent production cannot be doubted, since it contains fragments of stone axes, and of pottery.** the cemented shells of bermuda, described by captain vetch,*** which pass gradually into a compact limestone, differ only in colour from the guadaloupe stone; and agree with it, and with the calcareous breccia of dirk hartog's island, in the gradual melting down of the cement into the included portions, which is one of the most remarkable features of that rock.**** a calcareous compound, apparently of the same kind, has been recently mentioned, as of daily production in anastasia island, on the coast of east florida;***** and will probably be found to be of very general occurrence in that quarter of the globe. and captain beaufort's account of the process by which the gravelly beach is cemented into stone, at selinti, and several other places on the coast of karamania, on the north-east of the mediterranean,****** accords with m. peron's description of the progress from the loose and moveable sands of the dunes to solid masses of rock.******* in the island of rhodes, also, there are hills of pudding-stone, of the same character, considerably elevated above the sea. and captain w.h. smyth, the author of travels in sicily, and of the survey of the mediterranean recently published by the admiralty, informs me, that he has seen these concretions in calabria, and on the coasts of the adriatic; but still more remarkably in the narrow strip of recent land (called the placca) which connects leucadia, one of the ionian islands, with the continent, and so much resembles a work of art, that it has been considered as a roman fabric. the stone composing this isthmus is so compact, that the best mill-stones in the ionian islands are made from it; but it is in fact nothing more than gravel and sand cemented by calcareous matter, the accretion of which is supposed to be rapidly advancing at the present day. (*footnote. geological transactions volume page .) (**footnote. linnean transactions page to .) (***footnote. geological transactions nd series volume page .) (****footnote. koenig philosophical transactions page etc.) (*****footnote. bulletin des sciences nat. mars .) (******footnote. beaufort's description of the south coast of asia minor etc. second edition. london : pages to etc. in the neighbourhood of adalia the deposition of calcareous matter from the water is so copious that an old watercourse had actually crept upwards to a height of nearly three feet; and the rapidity of the deposition was such that some specimens were collected on the grass, where the stony crust was already formed, although the verdure of the leaf was as yet but imperfectly withered (page ): a fact which renders less extraordinary m. peron's statement that the excrements of kangaroos had been found concreted by calcareous matter. peron volume page .) (*******footnote. voyage .) the nearest approach to the concreted sand-rock of australia, that i have seen, is in the specimens presented by dr. daubeny to the bristol institution, to accompany his excellent paper on the geology of sicily;* which prove that the arenaceous breccia of new holland is very like that which occupies a great part of the coast, almost entirely around that island. some of dr. daubeny's specimens from monte calogero, above sciacca, consist of a breccia, containing angular fragments of splintery limestone, united by a cement, composed of minute grains of quartzose-sand disseminated in a calcareous paste, resembling precisely that of the breccia of dirk hartog's island: and a compound of this kind, replete with shells, not far, if at all, different from existing species, fills up the hollows in most of the older rocks of sicily; and is described as occurring, in several places, at very considerable heights above the sea. thus, near palermo, it constitutes hills some hundred feet in height; near girgenti, all the most elevated spots are crowned with a loose stratum of the same kind; and the heights near castro giovanni, said to be feet above the sea, are probably composed of it. but although the concretions of the interior in sicily much resemble those of the shore, it is still doubtful whether the former be not of more ancient formation; and if they contain nummulites, they would probably be referred to the epoch of the beds within the paris basin. (*footnote. edinburgh philosophical journal pages , , , and to .) the looser breccia of monte pelegrino, in sicily, is very like the less compacted fragments of shells from bermuda, described by captain vetch, and already referred to:* and the rock in both these cases, nearly approaches to some of the coarser oolites of england. (*footnote. these specimens are in the museum of the geological society.) the resemblance pointed out by m. prevost,* of the specimens of recent breccia from new holland, in the museum at the jardin du roi, to those of st. hospice near nice, is confirmed by the detail given by mr. allan in his sketch of the geology of that neighbourhood;** in which the perfect preservation of the shells, and their near approach to those of the adjoining sea at the present day, are particularly mentioned; and it is inferred that the date of the deposit which affords them, is anterior to that of the conglomerate containing the bones of extinct quadrupeds, likewise found in that country. m. brongniart also, who examined the place himself, mentions the recent accumulation which occurs at st. hospice, about sixty feet above the present level of the sea, as containing marine shells in a scarcely fossil state (a peine fossiles) and he describes the mass in which they occur, as belonging to a formation still more recent than the upper marine beds of the environs of paris.*** (*footnote. prevost manuscripts. see hereafter.) (**footnote. transactions of the royal society of edinburgh volume page etc. see also the previous publications of m. risso journal des mines tome etc.) (***footnote. brongniart in cuvier ossemens fossiles; nd edit. volume page .) the geological period indicated by these facts, being probably more recent than the tertiary beds containing nummulites, and generally than the paris and london strata, accords with the date which has hitherto been assigned to the crag beds of suffolk, essex, and norfolk:* but later observations render doubtful the opinion generally received respecting the age of these remarkable deposits, and a full and satisfactory account of them is still a desideratum in the geology of england. when, also, our imperfect acquaintance with the travertino of italy, and other very modern limestones containing freshwater shells, is considered,** the continual deposition of which, at the present time, cannot be questioned (though probably the greater part of the masses which consist of them may belong to an era preceding the actual condition of the earth's surface) it would seem that the whole subject of these newer calcareous formations requires elucidation: and, if the inferences connected with them do not throw considerable doubt upon some opinions at present generally received, they show, at least, that a great deal more is to be learned respecting the operations and products of the most recent geological epochs, than is commonly supposed. (*footnote. conybeare and phillips outlines etc. page , geological transactions page etc. taylor in geological transactions nd series volume page . mr. taylor states the important fact that the remains of unknown animals are buried together with the shells in the crag of suffolk; but does not mention the nature of these remains. since these pages have been at the press, mr. warburton, by whom the coast of essex and norfolk has been examined with great accuracy, has informed me that the fossil bones of the crag are the same with those of the diluvial gravel, including the remains of the elephant, rhinoceros, stag, etc.) (**footnote. some valuable observations on the formation of recent limestone, in beds of shelly marl at the bottom of lakes in scotland, have been read before the geological society by mr. lyell, and will appear in the volume of the transactions now in the press. see annals of philosophy page .) since it appears that the accretion of calcareous matter is continually going on at the present time, and has probably taken place at all times, the stone thus formed, independent of the organized bodies which it envelopes, will afford no criterion of its date, nor give any very certain clue to the revolutions which have subsequently acted upon it. but as marine shells are found in the cemented masses, at heights above the sea, to which no ordinary natural operations could have conveyed them, the elevation of these shells to their actual place (if not that of the rock in which they are agglutinated) must be referred to some other agency: while the perfect preservation of the shells, their great quantity, and the abundance of the same species in the same places, make it more probable that they lay originally in the situations where we now find them, than that they have been transported from any considerable distances, or elevated by any very turbulent operation. captain de freycinet, indeed, mentions that patellae, worn by attrition, and other recent shells, have been found on the west coast of new holland, on the top of a wall of rocks an hundred feet above the sea, evidently brought up by the surge during violent storms;* but such shells are found in the breccia of sicily, and in several other places, at heights too great, and their preservation is too perfect, to admit of this mode of conveyance; and to account for their existence in such situations, recourse must be had to more powerful means of transport. (* freycinet page . the presence of shells in such situations may often be ascribed to the birds, which feed on their inhabitants. at madeira, where recent shells are found near the coast at a considerable height above the sea, the gulls have been seen carrying up the living patellae, just taken from the rocks.) the occurrence of corals, and marine shells of recent appearance, at considerable heights above the sea, on the coasts of new holland, timor, and several other islands of the south, was justly considered by m. peron as demonstrating the former abode of the sea above the land; and very naturally suggested an inquiry, as to the nature of the revolutions to which this change of situation is to be ascribed.* from similar appearances at pulo nias, one of the islands off the western coast of sumatra, dr. jack also was led to infer, that the surface of that island must at one time have been the bed of the ocean; and after stating, that by whatever means it obtained its present elevation, the transition must have been effected with little violence or disturbance to the marine productions at the surface,** he concludes, that the phenomena are in favour of a heaving up of the land, by a force from beneath. the probable nature of this force is indicated most distinctly, if not demonstrated, by the phenomena which attended the memorable earthquake of chili, in november, ,*** which was felt throughout a space of fifteen hundred miles from north to south. for it is stated upon the clearest evidence, that after formidable shocks of earthquake, repeated with little interruption during the whole night of the th of november (and the shocks were continued afterwards, at intervals, for several months) it appeared, on the morning of the th, that the whole line of coast from north to south, to a distance of about one hundred miles, had been raised above its former level. the alteration of level at valparaiso was about three feet; and some rocks were thus newly exposed, on which the fishermen collected the scallop-shell fish, which was not known to exist there before the earthquake. at quintero the elevation was about four feet. "when i went," the narrator adds, "to examine the coast, although it was high-water, i found the ancient bed of the sea laid bare, and dry, with beds of oysters, mussels, and other shells adhering to the rocks on which they grew, the fish being all dead, and exhaling most offensive effluvia. and i found good reason to believe that the coast had been raised by earthquakes at former periods in a similar manner; several ancient lines of beach, consisting of shingle mixed with shells, extending, in a parallel direction to the shore, to the height of fifty feet above the sea." such an accumulation of geological evidence, from different quarters and distinct classes of phenomena, concurs to demonstrate the existence of most powerful expansive forces within the earth, and to testify their agency in producing the actual condition of its surface, that the phenomena just now described are nothing more than what was to be expected from previous induction. these facts, however, not only place beyond dispute the existence of such forces, but show that, even in detail, their effects accord most satisfactorily with the predictions of theory. it is not, therefore, at all unreasonable to conceive, that, in other situations, phenomena of the same character have been produced by the same cause, though we may not at present be enabled to trace its connexion with the existing appearances so distinctly; and though the facts, when they occurred, may have been unnoticed, or may have taken place at periods beyond the reach of historical record, or even beyond the possibility of human testimony. (*footnote. peron voyage etc. volume pages to .) (**footnote. geological transactions second series volume page , .) (***footnote. the statements here referred to, are those of mrs. graham, in a letter to mr. warburton, which has been published in the geological transactions second series volume page , etc.; and the account is supported and illustrated by a valuable paper in the journal of the royal institution for april volume page etc.) the writer of this latter article asserts that the whole country, from the foot of the andes to far out at sea, was raised by the earthquake; the greatest rise being at the distance of about two miles from the shore. the rise upon the coast was from two to four feet: at the distance of a mile, inland, it must have been from five to six, or seven feet, pages , .) m. peron has attributed the great abundance of the modern breccia of new holland to the large proportion of calcareous matter, principally in the form of comminuted shells, which is diffused through the siliceous sand of the shores in that country;* and as the temperature, especially of the summer, is very high on that part of the coast where this rock has been principally found, the increased solution of carbonate of lime by the percolating water, may possibly render its formation more abundant there, than in more temperate climates. but the true theory of these concretions, under any modification of temperature, is attended with considerable difficulty: and it is certain that the process is far from being confined to the warmer latitudes. dr. paris has given an account of a modern formation of sandstone on the northern coast of cornwall;** where a large surface is covered with a calcareous sand, that becomes agglutinated into a stone, which he considers as analogous to the rocks of guadaloupe; and of which the specimens that i have seen, resemble those presented by captain beaufort to the geological society, from the shore at rhodes. dr. paris ascribes this concretion, not to the agency of the sea, nor to an excess of carbonic acid, but to the solution of carbonate of lime itself in water, and subsequent percolation through calcareous sand; the great hardness of the stone arising from the very sparing solubility of this carbonate, and the consequently very gradual formation of the deposit--dr. macculloch describes calcareous concretions, found in banks of sand in perthshire, which present a great variety of stalactitic forms, generally more or less complicated, and often exceedingly intricate and strange,*** and which appear to be analogous to those of king george's sound and sweer's island: and he mentions, as not unfrequently occurring in sand, in different parts of england (the sand above the fossil bones of norfolk is given as an example) long cylinders or tubes, composed of sand agglutinated by carbonate of lime, or calcareous stalactites entangling sand, which, like the concretions of madeira, and those taken for corals at bald-head, have been ranked improperly, with organic remains. (*footnote. peron voyage etc. page .) (**footnote. transactions of the geological society of cornwall volume page etc.) (***footnote. on an arenaceo-calcareous substance, etc. quarterly journal royal institution october volume page to .) the stone which forms the fragments in the breccia of new holland, is very nearly the same with that of the cement by which they are united, the difference consisting only in the greater proportion of sand which the fragments contain: and it would seem, that after the consolidation of the former, and while the deposition of similar calcareous matter was still in progress, the portions first consolidated must have been shattered by considerable violence. but, where no such fragments exist, the unequal diffusion of components at first uniformly mixed, and even the formation of nodules differing in proportions from the paste which surrounds them, may perhaps admit of explanation, by some process analogous to what takes place in the preparation of the compound of which the ordinary earthenware is manufactured; where, though the ingredients are divided by mechanical attrition only, a sort of chemical action produces, under certain circumstances, a new arrangement of the parts.* and this explanation may, probably, be extended to those nodular concretions, generally considered as contemporaneous with the paste in which they are enveloped, the distinction of which, from conglomerates of mechanical origin, forms, in many cases, a difficulty in geology. what the degree may be, of subdivision required to dispose the particles to act thus upon each other, or of fluidity to admit of their action, remains still to be determined. (*footnote. the clay and pulverized flints are combined for the use of the potter, by being first separately diffused in water to the consistence of thick cream, and when mixed in due proportion are reduced to a proper consistence by evaporation. during this process, if the evaporation be not rapid and immediate, or if the ingredients are left to act on each other, even for twenty-four hours, the flinty particles unite into sandy grains, and the mass becomes unfit for the purposes of the manufacturer. i am indebted for this interesting fact, which, i believe, is well known in some of the potteries, to my friend mr. arthur aikin. and mr. herschel informs me, that a similar change takes place in recently precipitated carbonate of copper; which, if left long moist, concretes into hard gritty grains, of a green colour, much more difficultly soluble in ammonia than the original precipitate.) . as the superficial extent of australia is more than three-fourths of that of europe, and the interior may be regarded as unknown,* any theoretic inferences, from the slight geological information hitherto obtained respecting this great island, are very likely to be deceitful; but among the few facts already ascertained respecting the northern portion of it, there are some which appear to afford a glimpse of general structure. captain flinders, in describing the position of the chains of islands on the north-west coast of carpentaria, wessel's, the english company's, and bromby's islands, remarks, that he had "frequently observed a great similarity both in the ground plans, and the elevations of hills, and of islands, in the vicinity of each other, but did not recollect another instance of such a likeness in the arrangement of clusters of islands."* the appearances which called for this observation, from a voyager of so much sagacity and experience in physical geography, must probably have been very remarkable; and, combined with information derivable from the charts, and from the specimens for which we are indebted to captain king and mr. brown, they would seem to point out the arrangement of the strata on the northern coasts of new holland. (*footnote. the following are the proportions assigned by captain de freycinet to the principal divisions of the globe. voyage aux terres australes page . column : division of the globe. column : area in french leagues square. column : proportion. asia : , , : . america : , , : . africa : , , : . europe : , : . australia : , : . the most remote points from the coast of new south wales, to which the late expeditions have penetrated (and the interior has never yet been examined in any other quarter) are not above miles, in a direct line from the sea; the average width of the island from east to west being more than miles, and from north to south more than miles.) (*footnote. flinders page ; and charts, plates and . king's charts, plate .) of the three ranges which attracted captain flinders' notice (see the map) the first on the south-east ( , , , , ) is that which includes the red cliffs, mallison's island, a part of the coast of arnhem's land, from cape newbold to cape wilberforce, and bromby's isles; and its length, from the mainland ( ) on the south-west of mallison's island, to bromby's isles ( ) is more than fifty miles, in a direction nearly from south-west to north-east. the english company's islands ( , , , ) at a distance of about four miles, are of equal extent; and the general trending of them all, captain flinders states (page ) is nearly north-east by east, parallel with the line of the main coast, and with bromby's islands. wessel's islands ( , , , ) the third or most northern chain, at fourteen miles from the second range, stretch out to more than eighty miles from the mainland, likewise in the same direction. it is also stated by captain flinders, that three of the english company's islands which were examined, slope down nearly to the water on their west sides; but on the east, and more especially the south-east, they present steep cliffs; and the same conformation, he adds, seemed to prevail in the other islands.* if this structure occurred only in one or two instances, it might be considered as accidental; but as it obtains in so many cases, and is in harmony with the direction of the ranges, it is not improbably of still more extensive occurrence, and would intimate a general elevation of the strata towards the south-east. (*footnote. flinders volume page .) now on examining the general map, it will be seen, that the lines of the coast on the mainland, west of the gulf of carpentaria, between limmen's bight and cape arnhem--from the bottom of castlereagh bay to point dale--less distinctly from point pearce, latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes, to the western extremity of cobourg peninsula, and from point coulomb, latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes, to cape londonderry, have nearly the same direction; the first line being about one hundred and eighty geographical miles, the second more than three hundred, and the last more than four hundred miles, in length.* and these lines, though broken by numerous irregularities, especially on the north-west coast, are yet sufficiently distinct to indicate a probable connexion with the geological structure of the country; since the coincidence of similar ranges of coast with the direction of the strata, is a fact of very frequent occurrence in other parts of the globe.** and it is observable that considerable uniformity exists in the specimens, from the different places in this quarter of new holland which have been hitherto examined; sandstone, like that of the older formations of europe occurring generally on the north and north-west coasts, and appearing to be extensively diffused on the north-west of the gulf of carpentaria, where it reposes upon primitive rocks.*** (*footnote. it is deserving of notice, that the coast of timor, the nearest land on the north-west, at the distance of about miles, is also nearly straight, and parallel to the coast of new holland in this quarter: part of the mountainous range, of which that island consists, being probably more than feet high; and its length, from the north-eastern extremity to the south-west of the adjoining island of rottee, about miles. but, unfortunately for the hypothesis, a chain of islands immediately on the north of timor, is continued nearly in a right line for more than miles (from sermatta island to the south-eastern extremity of java) in a direction from east to west. this chain, however, contains several volcanoes, including those of sumbawa, the eruption of which, in , was of extraordinary violence. see royal inst. journal volume page etc. at lacrosse island, in the mouth of cambridge gulf, on the north-west coast of new holland, the beds rise to the north-west: their direction consequently is from south-west to north-east; and the rise towards the high land of timor. the intervening sea is very shallow.) (**footnote. a remarkable case of this kind, which has not, i believe, been noticed, occurs in the mediterranean; and is conspicuous in the new chart of that sea, by captain w.h. smyth. the eastern coast of corsica and sardinia, for a space of more than two hundred geographical miles being nearly rectilinear, in a direction from north to south; and, captain smyth has informed me, consisting almost entirely of granite, or, at least, of primitive rocks. the coast of norway affords another instance of the same description; and the details of the ranges in the interior of england furnish several examples of the same kind, on a smaller scale.) (***footnote. the coastlines nearly at rightangles to those above-mentioned--from the south-east of the gulf of carpentaria to limmen's bight, from cape arnhem to cape croker, and from cape domett to cape londonderry--have also a certain degree of linearity; but much less remarkable, than those which run from south-west to north-east.) the horn-like projection of the land, on the east of the gulf of carpentaria, is a very prominent feature in the general map of australia, and may possibly have some connexion with the structure just pointed out. the western shore of this horn, from the bottom of the gulf to endeavour straits, being very low; while the land on the east coast rises in proceeding towards the south, and after passing cape weymouth, latitude degrees minutes, is in general mountainous and abrupt; and captain king's specimens from the north-east coast show that granite is found in so many places along this line as to make it probable that primitive rocks may form the general basis of the country in that quarter; since a lofty chain of mountains is continued on the south of cape tribulation, not far from the shore, throughout a space of more than five hundred miles. it would carry this hypothesis too far to infer that these primitive ranges are connected with the mountains on the west of the english settlements near port jackson, etc., where mr. scott has described the coal-measures as occupying the coast from port stevens, about latitude degrees to cape howe, latitude degrees, and as succeeded, on the eastern ascent of the blue mountains, by sandstone, and this again by primitive strata:* but it may be noticed that wilson's promontory, the most southern point of new south wales, and the principal islands in bass strait, contain granite; and that primitive rocks occur extensively in van diemen's land. (*footnote. annals of philosophy june .) the uniformity of the coastlines is remarkable also in some other quarters of australia; and their direction, as well as that of the principal openings, has a general tendency to a course from the west of south to the east of north. this, for example, is the general range of the south-east coast, from cape howe, about latitude degrees, to cape byron, latitude degrees, or even to sandy cape, latitude degrees; and of the western coast, from the south of the islands which enclose shark's bay, latitude degrees, to north-west cape, about latitude degrees. from cape hamelin, latitude degrees minutes, to cape naturaliste, latitude degrees minutes, the coast runs nearly on the meridian. the two great fissures of the south coast, spencer's, and st. vincent's gulfs, as well as the great northern chasm of the gulf of carpentaria, have a corresponding direction; and captain flinders (chart ) represents a high ridge of rocky and barren mountains, on the east of spencer's gulf, as continued, nearly from north to south, through a space of more than one hundred geographical miles, between latitude degrees minutes and degrees. mount brown, one of the summits of this ridge, about latitude degrees minutes, being visible at the distance of twenty leagues. the tendency of all this evidence is somewhat in favour of a general parallelism in the range of the strata, and perhaps of the existence of primary ranges of mountains on the east of australia in general, from the coast about cape weymouth* to the shore between spencer's gulf and cape howe. but it must not be forgotten, that the distance between these shores is more than a thousand miles in a direct line; about as far as from the west coast of ireland to the adriatic, or double the distance between the baltic and the mediterranean. if, however, future researches should confirm the indications above mentioned, a new case will be supplied in support of the principle long since advanced by mr. michell,** which appears (whatever theory be formed to explain it) to be established by geological observation in so many other parts of the world, that the outcrop of the inclined beds, throughout the stratified portion of the globe, is everywhere parallel to the longer ridges of mountains, towards which, also, the elevation of the strata is directed. but in the present state of our information respecting australia, all such general views are so very little more than mere conjecture, that the desire to furnish ground for new inquiry, is, perhaps, the best excuse that can be offered for having proposed them. (*footnote. the possible correspondence of the great australian bight, the coast of which in general is of no great elevation, with the deeply-indented gulf of carpentaria, tending, as it were, to a division of this great island into two, accords with this hypothesis of mountain ranges: but the distance between these recesses, over the land at the nearest points, is not less than a thousand english miles. the granite, on the south coast, at investigator's islands, and westward, at middle island, cape le grand, king george's sound, and cape naturaliste, is very wide of the line above-mentioned, and nothing is yet known of its relations.) (**footnote. on the cause of earthquakes. philosophical transactions volume page to , .) ... detailed list of specimens. the specimens mentioned in the following list have been compared with some of those of england and other countries, principally in the cabinets of the geological society, and of mr. greenough; and with a collection from part of the confines of the primitive tracts of england and north wales, formed by mr. arthur aikin, and now in his own possession. captain king's collection has been presented to the geological society; and duplicates of mr. brown's specimens are deposited in the british museum. rodd's bay, on the east coast, discovered by captain king, about sixty miles south of cape capricorn.* reddish sandstone, of moderately-fine grain, resembling that which in england occurs in the coal formation, and beneath it (mill-stone grit). a sienitic compound, consisting of a large proportion of reddish felspar, with specks of a green substance, probably mica; resembling a rock from shap in cumberland. (*footnote. in captain king's collection are also specimens found on the beach at port macquarie, and in the bed of the hastings river, of common serpentine, and of botryoidal magnesite, from veins in serpentine. the magnesite agrees nearly with that of baudissero, in piedmont. (see cleaveland's mineralogy st edition page .) cape clinton, between rodd's bay and the percy islands. porphyritic conglomerate, with a base of decomposed felspar, enclosing grains of quartz and common felspar, and some fragments of what appears to be compact epidote; very nearly resembling specimens from the trap rocks* of the wrekin and breeden hills in shropshire. reddish and yellowish sandy clay, coloured by oxide of iron, and used as pigments by the natives. (*footnote. by the terms trap, and trap-formation, which i am aware are extremely vague, i intend merely to signify a class of rocks, including several members, which differ from each other considerably in mineralogical character, but agree in some of their principal geological relations; and the origin of which very numerous phenomena concur in referring to some modification of volcanic agency. the term greenstone also is of very loose application, and includes rocks that exhibit a wide range of characters; the predominant colour being some shade of green, the structure more or less crystalline, and the chief ingredients supposed to be hornblende and felspar, but the components, if they could be accurately determined, probably more numerous and varied, than systematic lists imply.) percy islands, about one hundred and forty miles north of cape capricorn. compact felspar of a flesh-red hue, enclosing a few small crystals of reddish felspar and of quartz. this specimen is marked "general character of the rocks at percy island," and very much resembles the compact felspar of the pentland hills near edinburgh, and of saxony. coarse porphyritic conglomerate, of a reddish hue. serpentine. a trap-like compound, with somewhat the aspect of serpentine, but yielding with difficulty to the knife. this specimen has, at first sight, the appearance of a conglomerate, made up of portions of different hues, purplish, brown, and green; but the coloured parts are not otherwise distinguishable in the fracture: it very strongly resembles a rock which occurs in the trap-formation, near lyd-hole, at pont-y-pool, in shropshire. slaty clay, with particles of mica, like that which frequently occurs immediately beneath beds of coal. repulse island, in repulse bay, about one hundred and twenty miles north-west of the percy islands. indistinct specimens, apparently consisting of decomposed compact felspar. a compound of quartz, mica, and felspar, having the appearance of re-composed granite. cape cleveland, about one hundred and twenty miles north of repulse island. yellowish-grey granite, with brown mica; "from the summit of the hill." reddish granite, of very fine grain; with the aspect of sandstone. dark grey porphyritic hornstone, approaching to compact felspar, with imbedded crystals of felspar. cape grafton, about one hundred and eighty miles west of north from cape cleveland. close-grained grey and yellowish-grey granite, with brown mica. a reddish granitic stone, composed of quartz, felspar, and tourmaline. endeavour river, about one hundred miles west of north from cape grafton. grey granite of several varieties; from a peaked hill under mount cook and its vicinity. granular quartz-rock of several varieties: and indistinct specimens of a rock approaching to talc-slate. lizard island, about fifty miles east of north from endeavour river. grey granite, consisting of brown and white mica, quartz, and a large proportion of felspar somewhat decomposed. clack island, near cape flinders, on the north-west of cape melville, about ninety miles north-west of lizard island. smoke-grey micaceous slaty-clay, much like certain beds of the old red sandstone, where it graduates into grey wacke. this specimen was taken from a horizontal bed about ten feet in thickness, reposing upon a mass of pudding-stone, which included large pebbles of quartz and jasper; and above it was a mass of sandstone, more than sixty feet thick. (narrative volume .) sunday island, near cape grenville, about one hundred and seventy miles west of north from cape melville. compact felspar, of a flesh-red colour; very nearly resembling that of the percy islands, above-mentioned. good's island, one of the prince of wales group, about latitude degrees, thirty-four miles north-west of cape york. the specimens, in mr. brown's collection from this place, consist of coarse-slaty porphyritic conglomerate, with a base of greenish-grey compact felspar, containing crystals of reddish felspar and quartz. this rock has some resemblance to that of clack island above-mentioned. sweer's island, south of wellesley's group, at the bottom of the gulf of carpentaria. a stalactitic concretion of quartzose sand, and fine gravel, cemented by reddish carbonate of lime; apparently of the same nature with the stem-like concretions of king george's sound: (see hereafter.) in this specimen the tubular cavity of the stalactite is still open. the shore, in various parts of this island, was found to consist of red ferruginous matter (bog-iron-ore ?) sometimes unmixed, but not unfrequently mingled with a sandy calcareous stone; and in some places rounded portions of the ferruginous matter were enveloped in a calcareous cement. bentinck island, near sweer's island. a granular compound, like sandstone recomposed from the debris of granite. brown hematite, enclosing quartzose sand. pisonia island, on the east of mornington's island, is composed of calcareous breccia and pudding-stone, which consist of a sandy calcareous cement, including water-worn portions of reddish ferruginous matter, with fragments of shells. north island, one of sir edward pellew's group. coarse siliceous sand, concreted by ferruginous matter; which, in some places, is in the state of brown hematite. calcareous incrustations, including fragments of madrepores, and of shells, cemented by splintery carbonate of lime. cape-maria island, in limmen's bight, was found by mr. brown to be composed principally of sandstone. the specimens from this place, however, consist of grey splintery hornstone, with traces of a slaty structure; and of yellowish-grey flint, approaching to chalcedony; with a coarse variety of cacholong, containing small nests of quartz crystals. groote eylandt is composed of sandstone, of which two different varieties occur among the specimens. a quartzose reddish sandstone, of moderately fine grain; and a coarse reddish compound, consisting almost exclusively of worn pebbles of quartz, some of which are more than half an inch in diameter, with a few rounded pebbles of chalcedony. the latter rock is nearly identical with that of simms' island, near goulburn's island on the north coast. chasm island, winchelsea island, and burney's island, are of the same materials as groote eylandt: and sandstone was found also on the western shore of blue-mud bay. on the shore of the mainland, opposite to groote eylandt, a little north of latitude degrees, mr. brown observed the common sandy calcareous stone, projecting here and there in ragged fragments. morgan's island, in blue-mud bay, north-west of groote eylandt, is composed principally of clink-stone, sometimes indistinctly columnar. but among the specimens are also a coarse conglomerate of a dull purplish colour, including pebbles of granular quartz and a fragment of a slaty rock like potstone: the hue and aspect of the compound being precisely those of the oldest sandstones. reddish quartzose sandstone, of uniform and fine grain. a concretion of rounded quartz pebbles, cemented by ferruginous matter, apparently of recent formation. round hill, near cape grindall, a prominence east of north from blue-mud bay, was found by captain flinders to consist, at the upper part, of sandstone. the specimens of the rocks in its vicinity are, dark grey granite, somewhat approaching to gneiss, with a few specks of garnet; and a calcareous, probably concretional stone, enclosing the remains of shells, with cavities lined with crystals of calcareous spar. mount caledon, on the mainland, west of caledon bay, consists of grey granite, with dark brown mica in small quantity; and on the sides and top of the hill large loose blocks of that rock were observed, resting upon other blocks. a small island, near cape arnhem, is also composed of granite, in which the felspar has a bluish hue. smaller of the melville islands, north-east of melville bay.* a botryoidal mass of ferruginous oxide of manganese, approaching to hematite; the fissures in some places occupied by carbonate of lime. (*footnote. the relative position of the islands and bays on this part of the coast is represented in the enlarged map.) melville bay. granite, composed of grey and somewhat bluish felspar, dark brown mica, and a little quartz; containing minute disseminated specks of molybdena, and indistinct crystals of pale red garnet. red cliffs, south-west of arnhem bay; on the line of the first chain of islands mentioned by captain flinders. (see the map, figure .) friable conglomerate, of a full brick-red colour, consisting of minute grains of quartz, with a large proportion of ochreous matter. mallison's island. (map, figure .) the cliffs of this island are composed of a fissile primitive rock, on which sandstone reposes in regular beds. the specimen of the former resembles gneiss, or mica slate, near the contact with granite: the sandstone is thick-slaty, quartzose, of a reddish hue, with mica disseminated on the surfaces of the joints; and one face of the specimen is incrusted with quartz crystals, thinly coated with botryoidal hematite. light grey quartzose sandstone of a fine grain, with a thin coating of brown hematite, was also found in this island: and a breccia, consisting of angular fragments of sandstone, cemented by thin, vein-like, coatings of dark brown hematite, was found there, in loose blocks at the bottom of perpendicular cliffs. the specimen of this breccia is attached to a plate of granular quartz, and may possibly have been part of a vein. the shore of inglis' island, the largest of the english company's range ( . . . in the map) is formed of flat beds, of a slaty argillaceous rock, which breaks into rhomboidal fragments; but the specimen is indistinct. ferruginous masses, probably consisting of brown hematite, come also from this island. astell's island, north-east of inglis' isle. very fine-grained greyish-white quartzose sandstone; identical with that of mallison's island, and very closely resembling some of the specimens from prince regent's and hunter's rivers. among the remaining islands of this range, bosanquet's, cotton's, and pobassoo's isles, were found by mr. brown to consist, in a great measure, of sandstone, of the same character with the specimens above-mentioned. pobassoo's island, a small islet south-east of astell's isle. fine-grained, somewhat reddish, sandstone. another specimen of sandstone is friable, of a light flesh-red colour, and apparently composed of the debris of granite. a crystalline rock, consisting of greenish-grey hornblende, with a very small proportion of felspar (hornblende rock ?). fragment, apparently from a columnar mass, of a stone intermediate between clink-stone and compact felspar. such of the english company's islands as were examined by captain flinders, are stated by him to consist, in the upper part, of a grit, or sandstone, of a close texture; the lower part being argillaceous, and stratified, and separating into pieces of a reddish colour, resembling flat tiles. the strata-dip to the west, at an angle of about degrees. south-west bay of goulburn's south island, two hundred and fifty miles west of the gulf of carpentaria (narrative ). coarse-grained reddish quartzose conglomerate and sandstone; resembling the older sandstones of england and wales, and especially the mill-stone grit beneath the coal formation. fine greyish-white pipe-clay; of which about thirty feet in thickness were visible, apparently above the sandstone last mentioned. coarse-grained, ferruginous sandstone, containing fragments of quartz, from above the pipe-clay. the appearance of the cliff from which these specimens were taken, is represented in the view of the bay on the south of goulburn island (volume ); and a distant head in the view consists of the same materials. simms island, on the west of goulburn's south island (narrative ) is composed of a reddish conglomerate, nearly identical with some of the specimens above-mentioned. the western side of lethbridge bay, on the north of melville island, consists of a range of cliffs like those at goulburn's island; the upper part being red, the lower white and composed of pipe-clay. the western extremity of bathurst island, between cape helvetius and cape fourcroy, is also formed of cliffs of a very dark red colour. lacrosse island, at the mouth of cambridge gulf, about one hundred miles from port keats. reddish, very quartzose sandstone; from a stratum which dips to the south-east, at an angle of about ten or fifteen degrees. micaceous and argillaceous fissile sandstone, of purplish and greenish hues, in patches, or occasionally intermixed; precisely resembling the rock of brecon, in south wales, and, generally, the old red sandstone of the vicinity of bristol and the confines of england and wales. fine-grained thin-slaty sandstone, resembling certain beds of the coal formation, or of the millstone grit, is found in large masses, under an argillaceous cliff, on the north side of lacrosse island. the specimens from the interior of cambridge gulf are from adolphus island, and consist of reddish and grey sandstone, more or less decomposed. vansittart bay, about one hundred and forty miles north-west of cambridge gulf. reddish quartzose sandstone, or quartz-rock. indistinct specimens of greenstone, with adhering quartz; apparently a primitive rock. port warrender, at the bottom of admiralty gulf, about forty miles south-west of vansittart bay (narrative volume ). epidote and quartz, in small crystals confusedly interlaced; apparently from veins, or nests, but unaccompanied by any portion of the adjacent rock. the structure in one of these specimens approaches to the amygdaloidal. a compact greenish stone, with disseminated crystalline spots of epidote, and of quartz, and apparently consisting of an intimate mixture of those minerals, is also among the specimens from port warrender. all these specimens are from detached water-worn masses at the foot of crystal head, on the south-west of the port. the summit of the head is flat and tabular, and the rocks in the vicinity are described by captain king as consisting of siliceous sandstone. chalcedony, apparently from amygdaloid of the trap formation, was also found at port warrender. the epidote of this place is in general of a pale-greenish colour, but is mixed with, and sometimes appears to pass into, spots of a rich purplish-brown. the specimens resemble generally the epidote of dauphiny and siberia; but mr. levy, who has been so good as to examine them, informs me that the crystals exhibit some modifications not described either by hauy, or by mr. haidinger in his paper on this mineral, and which are probably peculiar to this locality. water island, on the west side of cape voltaire, at the south-west entrance of port warrender, is described (volume ) as consisting of quartzose sandstone; as is also kater island, in montagu sound. and the same rock appears to occur throughout the islands on this part of the coast. (narrative .) montagu sound, about five-and-twenty miles south-west of admiralty gulf (narrative ). greyish granular quartz; like that of the lickey hill, in worcestershire. fine-grained quartzose sandstone, of a purplish hue, resembling a rock on the banks of the severn, near bridgenorth. grey and reddish sandstone; apparently composed of the debris of granite, and very nearly resembling that of simms island above-mentioned. hunter's river, falling into york sound, on the north-east side. somewhat coarse reddish-white sandstone; like that of the coal formation, and some varieties of millstone grit. fine-grained, reddish-grey quartzose sandstone, having the appearance of stratification, and resembling the rocks of cambridge gulf. roe's river, at the eastern termination of york sound (narrative ) runs between precipitous banks of sandstone, in nearly horizontal strata, which rise to the height of three hundred feet. careening bay, between york sound and prince regent's river (narrative volume . see the plate volume ). crystalline epidote, and whitish quartz, apparently from a vein. purplish-brown epidote, with small nests or concretions of green epidote and quartz; forming a sort of amygdaloid. conglomerate, containing angular fragments of yellowish-grey quartz-rock, in a base of compact epidote. a nearly uniform greenish compound of epidote intimately mixed with quartz, also occurs at this place. flat lamellar chalcedony. very fine-grained reddish-grey quartzose sandstone, with traces of a slaty structure, resembling that of york sound, and cambridge gulf, was found in the north-east end of this bay; and fine-grained greenstone, on the summit of the adjacent hills. several of these specimens are almost identical with those of port warrender; from which place careening bay is distant about sixty miles. bat island (narrative volume ) western entrance of careening bay. quartz from thin veins, with particles of an adhering rock, probably chlorite-slate. quartz, containing disseminated hematitic iron-ore and copper pyrites. quartz crystals, with chalcedony, from nodules in amygdaloid. quartz with specular iron ore. greenstone, with chalcedony and copper pyrites. a decomposed stone, probably consisting of wacke. the specimens of trap-rocks from this place are from a cavern. greville island, near the entrance of prince regent's river. reddish, coarsely granular, siliceous sandstone; in horizontal strata, intersected by veins of crystallized quartz.* (*footnote. narrative volume .) half-way bay, within prince regent's river on the west of the entrance, near greville island. hornblende rock ? nearly agreeing with that of pobassoo's island, on the north-west of the gulf of carpentaria (see above). calcedony, apparently from nodules in amygdaloid. greenish quartz, approaching to heliotrope. red, somewhat slaty jasper, mixed with quartz and chalcedony, and containing specular iron ore. the specimens from this place much resemble some of those from sotto i sassi, in the val di fassa in the tyrol, which i have seen in the collection of mr. herschel; and which consist of reddish jasper with chalcedony, and a greenish flinty stone, like heliotrope, the whole belonging to the trap-formation. point cunningham, east of south from cape leveque, and about one hundred and fifty miles south-west of prince regent's river. very compact and fine-grained reddish granular quartz, with a glistening lustre, and flat conchoidal fracture. this stone, though so compact in the recent fracture, has distinct traces of stratification on the decomposed surface, which is of a dull reddish hue. bright red ferruginous granular quartz (eisen-kiesel ?) with a glistening lustre, and a somewhat porous texture. a specimen of the soil of the hills at cygnet bay, consists of very fine reddish-yellow quartzose sand. a large rounded pebble, consisting of ferruginous granular quartz, of a dark purplish-brown colour, and considerable density, was found here; near a fireplace of the natives, by whom it is used for making their hatchets; with a fragment of a calcareous incrustation, like that of the west coast hereafter mentioned. the next specimens in captain king's collection--a space of more than three hundred miles on this coast not having been examined by him--are from malus island, in dampier's archipelago (see narrative volume ) they consist of fine-grained greenstone, and what appears to be a basaltic rock, of amygdaloidal structure. dirk hartog's island, west of shark's bay. a compound of rather fine-grained translucent quartzose sand, cemented by carbonate of lime, of various shades of reddish and yellowish grey. this stone has in some places the structure of a breccia; the angles of the imbedded fragments, which are from half an inch to two inches in diameter, being very distinct--but in other parts, the fracture exhibits the appearance of roundish nodules, composed of concentric shells--or bags as it were, of calcareous matter, which vary in colour, and are filled with a mixture of the same substance and quartzose sand: and the spaces between these nodules are likewise occupied by a similar compound.* (*footnote. the following description given by the french naturalists of the rocks at bernier's islands, was probably taken from a large suite of specimens; and m. peron states ( page ) that it is strictly applicable to all the adjacent parts of the continent, and of the islands that were examined by the french voyagers: le sable du rivage (de l'ile bernier) est quartzeux, mele d'une grande proportion de debris calcaires fortement attenues. la substance de l'ile meme se compose, dans ses couches inferieures, d'un gres calcaire coquillier, tantot blanchatre, tantot rougeatre, depose par couches horizontales, dont l'epaisseur varie de a decimetres ( a pouces) et qui toutes etant tres uniformes dans leur prolongement, pourroient offrir a la maconnerie des pierres de construction naturellement taillees. les coquilles incrustees dans ces massifs des roches sont presque toutes univalves; elles apartiennent plus particulierement au genre natice de m. de lamarck, et ont les plus grands rapports avec l'espece de natice qui se trouve vivante au pied de ces rochers. elles sont sans doute petrifiees depuis bien des siecles, car, outre qu'il est tres difficile de les retirer intactes du milieu de ces gres, tant leur adhesion avec eux est intime, on les observe encore a plus de metres ( pieds) au dessus du niveau actuel de la mer. quelque regularite que ces bancs puissent affecter dans leur disposition generale, ils ne sont cependant pas tous homogenes dans leur substance; il est sur-tout une variete de ces roches plus remarquable par sa structure. ce sont des galets calcaires, agreges dans une terre sablonneuse ocracee, qui leur est tellement adherente, qu'on ne sauroit detruire cette espece de gangue sans les briser eux memes. tous ces galets affectent la forme globlueuse, et se composent d'un grand nombre de zones concentriques, qui se developpent autour d'un noyau central d'un gres scintillant et brunatre. ces diverses couches ont a peine quelques millimitres d'epaisseur, et affectent des nuances agreables, qui varient depuis le rouge-fonce jusqu'au jaune-clair. la disposition generale de cette breche lui donne donc quelques rapports grossiers avec le granit globuleux de l'ile de corse; et, par ses couches rubanees, concentriques, elle a quelque chose de l'aspect des agathes-onyx...les bancs de gres divers dont je viens de parler, constituent, a bien dire, la masse entiere du pays qui nous occupe, etc. (volume page . see also freycinet page .) the cementing limestone in the rock of this island, is very like some of the more compact portions of the stone of guadaloupe, which contains the human skeletons, the hardness and fracture being nearly the same in both. the chief difference of these rocks seems to arise from the nature of the cemented substances; which, in the guadaloupe stone, being themselves calcareous, are incorporated, or melted as it were, into the cement, by insensible gradation;* while the quartzose sand, in that of dirk hartog's island, is strongly contrasted with the calcareous matter that surrounds it.** but, wherever the imbedded fragments in the latter consist of limestone, their union with the cement is complete. (*footnote. see mr. koenig's paper. philosophical transactions volume page etc.) (**footnote. captain king informs me that the soundings in this part of the coast bring up a very fine quartzose-sand like that cemented in the breccia.) rottnest island, about four hundred and fifty miles south of dirk hartog's island. indistinct specimens containing numerous fragments of shells, in a calcareous cement; the substance of these shells has at first sight the appearance of chalcedony, and is harder than ordinary carbonate of lime. the characters of the shells in captain king's specimens from this place are indistinct; but the specimens at the jardin du roi, which, there is reason to suppose, have come from this part of the coast, contain shells of several species, belonging among others to the genera, corbula, chama, cardium, porcellanea, turbo, cerithium. m. prevost, to whom i am indebted for this account, observes that notwithstanding the recent appearance of the shells, the beds which contain them are stated to occur at a considerable height above the sea: and he remarks that the aspect of the rock is very like that of the shelly deposits of st. hospice, near nice. king george's sound, on the south coast, east of south from cape leeuwin. beautifully white and fine quartzose sand, from the sea-beach. yellowish grey granite, from bald-head. two varieties of a calcareous rock, of the same nature with that of dirk hartog's island; consisting of particles of translucent quartzose sand, united by a cement of yellowish or cream-coloured carbonate of lime, which has a flat conchoidal and splintery fracture, and is so hard as to yield with difficulty to the knife. in this compound, there are not any distinct angular fragments, as in the stone of dirk hartog's islands; but the calcareous matter is very unequally diffused. a third form in which this recent calcareous matter appears, is that of irregular, somewhat tortuous, stem-like bodies, with a rugged sandy surface, and from half an inch to an inch in diameter; the cross fracture of which shows that they are composed of sand, cemented by carbonate of lime, either uniformly mixed throughout, or forming a crust around calcareous matter of a spongy texture; in which latter case they have some resemblance to the trunks or roots of trees. a mass, which seems to have been of this description, is stated to have come from a height of about two hundred and fifty feet above the sea, at bald-head, on the south coast of australia. these specimens, however, do not really exhibit any traces of organic structure; and so nearly resemble the irregular stalactitical concretions produced by the passage of calcareous or ferruginous solutions through sand* that they are probably of the same origin; indeed the central cavity of the stalactite still remains open in some of the specimens of this kind from sweer's island in the gulf of carpentaria. the specimens from madeira, presented to the geological society by mr. bowdich, and described in his notes on that island,** appear upon examination to be of the same character. but there is no reason to suppose that the trunks of trees, as well as other foreign substances, may not be thus incrusted, since various foreign bodies, even of artificial production, have been so found. professor buckland has mentioned a specimen of concreted limestone from st. helena, which contains the recent shell of a bird's egg;*** and m. peron states that, in the concretional limestone rock of the south coast of new holland, the trunks of trees occur, with the vegetable structure so distinct as to leave no doubt as to their nature.**** (*footnote. tubular concretions of ferruginous matter, irregularly ramifying through sand, like the roots of trees, are described by captain lyon as occurring in africa. lyon's travels appendix page .) (**footnote. excursions in madeira page , ; and bull. des sciences naturelles volume page .) (***footnote. geological transactions volume page .) (****footnote. peron page .) instructions for collecting geological specimens. it so often happens that specimens sent from distant places, by persons unpractised in geology, fail to give the instruction which is intended, from the want of attention to a few necessary precautions, that the following directions may perhaps be useful to some of those, into whose hands these pages are likely to fall. it will be sufficient to premise, that two of the principal objects of geological inquiry, are, to determine, first, the nature of the materials of which the earth is composed; and, secondly, the relative order in which these materials are disposed with respect to each other. . specimens of rocks ought not, in general, to be taken from loose pieces, but from large masses in their native place, or which have recently fallen from their natural situation. . the specimens should consist of the stone unchanged by exposure to the elements, which sometimes alter the characters to a considerable distance from the surface. petrifactions, however, are often best distinguishable in masses somewhat decomposed; and are thus even rendered visible, in many cases, where no trace of any organized body can be discerned in the recent fracture. . the specimens ought not to be too small. a convenient size is about three inches square, and about three-quarters of an inch, or less, in thickness. . it seldom happens that large masses, even of the same kind of rock, are uniform throughout any considerable space; so that the general character is collected, by geologists who examine rocks in their native places, from the average of an extensive surface: a collection ought therefore to furnish specimens of the most characteristic varieties; and the most splendid specimens are, in general, not the most instructive. where several specimens are taken in the same place, a series of numbers should be added to the note of their locality. . one of the most advantageous situations for obtaining specimens, and examining the relations of rocks, is in the sections afforded by cliffs on the seashore; especially after recent falls of large masses. it commonly happens that the beds thus exposed are more or less inclined; and in this case, if any of them be inaccessible at a particular point, the decline of the strata will frequently enable the collector to supply himself with the specimens he wishes for, within a short distance. thus, in sketch , which may be supposed to represent a cliff of considerable height, the observer being situated at a, the beds b, c, d, though inaccessible at that place, may be examined with ease and security, where they successively come down to the shore, at b prime, c prime, and d prime. . to examine the interior of an unknown country, more skill and practice are required: the rocks being generally concealed by the soil, accumulations of sand, gravel, etc., and by the vegetation of the surface. but the strata are commonly disclosed in the sides of ravines, in the beds of rivers and mountain-streams; and these, especially where they cross the direction of the strata, and be made, by careful examination, to afford instructive sections. . among the distinctive circumstances of the strata, the remains of organized bodies, shells, corals, and other zoophytes, the bones and teeth of animals, fossil wood, and the impressions of vegetable stems, roots, or leaves, etc., are of the greatest importance; affording generally the most marked characters of the strata in which they occur. these should, therefore, be particularly sought after, and their relative abundance or rarity in different situations noticed. the petrified bodies should, if possible, be kept united with portions of the rock or matrix in which they are found; and where they are numerous, in sand, clay, or any moist or friable matrix, it is in general better to retain a large portion of the whole mass, to be examined afterwards, than to attempt their separation at the time of collecting. . the loose materials which are found above the solid rocks, in the form of gravel, silt, rolled pebbles, etc., should be carefully distinguished from the solid strata upon which they repose. and the more ancient of these loose materials, found on the sides or summits of hills, etc., should be distinguished from the recent mud, sand, and gravel, brought down by land-floods, or rivers. the bones and teeth of animals are not unfrequently found in gravel of the former description; and the collection of these remains from distant quarters of the globe, is an object of the greatest interest to geology. . besides a note of the locality, there ought, if possible, to accompany every specimen, a short notice of its geological circumstances; as: whether it be found in large shapeless masses, or in strata? if in strata, what are the thickness, inclination to the horizon, and direction with respect to the compass, of the beds? [if these cannot be measured, an estimate should always be recorded, while the objects are in view.] are they uniform in dip and direction? curved, or contorted? continuous, or interrupted by fissures or veins? is the whole cliff, or mass of strata in sight, of uniform composition? or does it consist of different kinds of stone? if the strata be different, what is the order in which they are placed above each other successively? . a label, distinctly written, should accompany every specimen, stating its native place, its relative situation, etc., etc. and these labels should be connected with the specimens immediately, on the spot where they are found. this injunction may appear to be superfluous; but so much valuable information has been lost to geology from the neglect of it, that every observer of experience will acknowledge its necessity; and it is, perhaps, in practice one of the most difficult to adhere to. . a sketch of a coast or cliff, however slight, frequently conveys more information respecting the disposition and relations of rocks, than the longest memorandum. if numbers, denoting the situation of the specimens collected, be marked upon such sketches, much time may be saved at the moment of collecting. but in all such cases, the memorandum should be looked over soon afterwards, and labels distinctly explaining their situation, etc., be attached to the specimens themselves. . the specimens should be so packed, that the surfaces may be defended from exposure to air, moisture, and friction: for which purpose, if strong paper cannot be obtained, dry moss, or straw, or leaves, may be used with advantage. where paper is used for wrapping the specimens, they are best secured by fastening the envelope with sealing-wax. lastly, the collector must not be discouraged, nor be prevented from collecting, by finding that the place which he may chance to visit in a remote situation, has not a striking appearance, or the rocks within his view a very interesting character; since it frequently, and even commonly, happens, that facts and specimens, in themselves of very little importance, become valuable by subsequent comparison; so that scarcely any observation, if recorded with accuracy, will be thrown away. ... the instruments required by the geological traveller will vary, according to the acquirements and specific objects of the individual. the most essential are: the hammer (sketch ); which, for general purposes, may be of the form here represented: the head should be of steel well tempered, about inches from the face to the edge, and / inch square in the middle; the face flat, and square, or nearly so; the edge placed in the direction of the handle. the orifice for the insertion of the handle oval, a very little wider on the outer side than within; its diameters, about inch vertically, and . across; the centre somewhat more than / inch from the face. the handle should be of ash, or other tough wood; not less than inches long; fitting tight into the head at its insertion, without a shoulder; and increasing a little in size towards the end remote from the head, to prevent its slipping. it should be fixed in the head by means of a thin, barbed iron wedge. for trimming specimens, smaller hammers may be employed (sketch ): the form of the head, recommended for this purpose by dr. macculloch,* is rectangular. the dimensions of the face may be inch by / ; the height / . (*footnote. on the forms of mineralogical hammers, quarterly journal royal institution volume page etc.) it will be expedient to have always some hammers, of different sizes, in reserve. a small miner's pick is useful for cutting out, and splitting portions of slaty rocks; or for obtaining specimens of clays, etc. a small stone-cutter's chisel. a chisel with a handle, of the form here represented, will often save the hand of an inexpert collector, and better enable him to direct his blow. for packing the specimens. a stock of strong paper. sealing-wax. writing-paper, cut into labels. thick gum-water, to cement the labels to the specimens. for the conveyance of specimens. a large bag of leather, with straps for the shoulders. strong canvas bags, of smaller size, are very convenient for subdivision and arrangement. for the protection of crystals, or delicate petrifactions, etc., wool or cotton are necessary; and small wooden boxes (like those used for holding wafers) are sometimes required. for distant carriage, strong wooden boxes, casks, or baskets. the following are either essential, or useful in various degrees, for obtaining and recording observations. pocket memorandum-books, of sufficient size to admit sketches. a pocket compass. a measuring-tape, of fifty feet, or more. a telescope. a camera lucida. a box of colours. the best maps should always be sought for: and, the true economy to the traveller being that which saves time, it is best to mark, or even colour the map, in the field. notes inserted on imperfect maps, or deduced afterwards from memoranda, are less authentic; and the process is frequently neglected. portable-barometers, with detached thermometers, are desirable; and the best instruments are ultimately the cheapest. but, unfortunately, barometers of every construction are very easily damaged or deranged. the accurate determination of heights, however, though very interesting to physical geography, is comparatively of little importance to the geologist. if the collector be a surveyor, he will know best to what purpose a pocket sextant, or small theodolite, is applicable: the measurement of distances, of heights, and of the inclination of strata, etc. ... contents of appendix c. general sketch of the coast. geological remarks. . list of rocks. . rocks identical with those of europe. . aspect of the shores. . information wanting respecting diluvial deposits: no specimens of limestone: no volcanoes. . recent calcareous breccia. . range of the coastlines. detailed list of specimens. ... instructions for collecting geological specimens. ... appendix d. comparative table of the languages of the natives, with some general remarks. column : english word. column : caledon bay, gulf of carpentaria. from captain flinders. column : endeavour river, north-east coast. partly from captain cook and mr. forster. column : king george the third's sound, south-west coast. column : port jackson. column : burrah burrah tribe. from mr. scott. column : limestone creek. from mr. oxley. column : port macquarie. from mr. hunter. column : macquarie harbour, van diemen's land. eye : ma-il : me-ul : me-al : mi, or me, mego : miki-laja : milla : me'-e : nam'-mur-uck. nose : ur-ro, or hurro : emer-da, or poteer, bon-joo (cook) : tarmul, moil (flinders) : nogro : - : mor-ro : na'-ag : me-oun. lips : ta-a : yem-be (cook) : tar : willing : - : - : - : -. teeth : lir-ra : mol-ear : orlock : era, or da-ra : yerrah : er-ra : te'-lah : kouk. tongue : mat-ta : unjar : darlin, or thalil : tal-lang : - : - : mal'-way : mim. cheeks : tac-cal : - : ny-a-luck : yarrin : - : - : - : -. chin : na-ing : - : - : wal-lo : - : - : - : -. ears : pon-doo-roo, or po-door-roo : mil-kah, melea (cook) : duong : co-roo, goray, or benne : binning-huiy : wha-da :mo'-ko : goun-reek. hair of the head : marra : morye : ka-at : kewarra, dewarra, or gewarroo : mundar : bulla-ye-ga : wo'l-lack : pipe, or bipipe. neck : mo-i-ang : doom-boo, forster : - : ganga, cadlear, or cadleang : - : oro- : - : treek, or lan-gar-ree. breast : gum-mur : coy-or (forster) : - : nabung : - : be-ning : nam-bang : -. belly : goor-ro : melmal (forster) : cop-bull, or kopul : barrong, or bende : binda : bur-bing : war'rah : -. arm : wan-na, or war-na : aco, or acol : wor-nuck : tarrang : - : bar-gar : co-pah : yir-ra-wig. hand : gong : - : - : tam-mir-ra : morrewalla : - : - : -. fingers : mingel : mun-gal-bah : mai (singular), maih (plural) : ber-ril-le : maranga : nar-ra : mah-tra : war-ra-nook. elbow : le-kal, or le-kan : ye-er-we : - : o-nur : - : - : - : nam-me-rick. posteriors : lam-me : booca (forster) : wa'l-la-kah : bo-ong, or bayley : - : - : - : -. leg : bacca : peegoorga (forster) : - : dar-ra : - : - : woo'lo-loo : -. foot : locko, or nocka : edamal (feet) : ja-an, or bangul : manoe : janna : dhee-nany : - : -. toe : mangel-locko : eb-e-rah : kea (singular) kean (plural) : - : - : - : teel-nah : pe-une. sun : laran-gai, or car-ran-ghie : gallan (forster) : djaat : goona, coing, or con-do-in : bun-nail, or mo-mat : - : too-nigh, or win-gin : -. water : lucka, or lucko : poorai (forster) : - : ba-doo : ajung- : - : bah-do : -. stone : punda : wal-bah : - : keba : wy-juck : - : - : -. kangaroo : loi-tyo : men-u-ah, kan-goo-roo (cook) : beango : tungo, patagorang, bag-gar-ray, wal-li-bah, wal-lar-roo, bou-rou, barro-melon, betong, wy-rung, pademalion : - : - : womboy, pool-cot (tame), mah-koke (the pademalion of port jackson) : raguar. throwing-stick : kail lepo : melpairo, or melpier (forster) : me-a-ra : wo-me-rah : - : - : - : -. nipples (of a man) : - : coy-o-ber-rah, cayo (cook) : be-ep : mou-tral : - : - : - : nerrinook. dog : - : cotta, or kota : tiara : teingo, dingo, worregal : med-di-gen, war-ri-gal : - : - : -. nails : - : kolke : pera : currungal, or car-rung-un : - : - : - : -. beard : - : wol-lar : nyanuck : chinis, or wallo : - : anany : - : ru-ing. mouth : - : - : tatah : karga : - : chuang : wel'-leck : -. fire : - : - : - : gwee-yong, or too-yong : canby : warrenur : cor-yal : lope. membrum virile : - : - : yaw-de-wit : - : - : - : cool-kah : lune. head : - : wageegee (forster) : - : cob-bra : ulangar, or nattang : cah-brah : - : -. the preceding brief collection, of words used by the natives in various parts of the coasts of australia and van diemen's land, has been inserted to show the great dissimilarity that exists in the languages of the several tribes: and it may be remarked, that of thirty-three objects, one only, the eye, is expressed by nearly the same term at each place. in this list, it is true, there is a striking resemblance between the terms used to signify the hair at port jackson, namely, dewarra, or kewarra, or gewarroo, and those which denote the same thing in the language of some of the islands of the eastern seas; such, for instance, as arouroo or hooroo-hooroo of the society islands; lo-ooroo of the friendly islands; hooroo of new zealand; and, perhaps, oouho of the marquesas:* but at new caledonia, which is situated between these places and port jackson, the same thing is expressed by poon, a sound totally distinct. and to render the anomaly still more decisive, it is only necessary to remark, that, within two hundred miles of port jackson, the natives of three tribes, port macquarie. burrah-burrah, and limestone creek, signify the hair, by the words wollack, mundar, and bulla-ye-ga. (*footnote. forster observations page .) the aboriginal connexion of australia with other lands must be proved, as far as language is concerned, by a general resemblance of the words, and not merely by a few examples of coincidence, which can only be considered as accidental: and as our knowledge of the australian languages, except in the vicinity of port jackson, does not yet exceed thirty or forty words, no comparison, derived from such limited information, can be employed with any certainty to determine the question. the connexion must be sought for, probably, where the continent, at its north-eastern extremity, most nearly approaches other lands; but even then the chain will remain imperfect until new guinea and its neighbouring islands are explored, and correct and extensive vocabularies of their languages obtained. forster,* who has paid considerable attention to this subject, and whose opinions are the more valuable from their being the result of personal observation, seems to be convinced that the new hollanders are not an original race, but have derived their origin from new guinea. it is therefore to be hoped, that this subject will not be forgotten by our trans-atlantic and australian colonists; more particularly by those of the new settlement on the north coast at melville island, who, from their vicinity to new guinea, have the best opportunities of throwing light upon the question. (*footnote. ibid.) ... situations of the places mentioned in the preceding list with respect to port jackson. king george the third's sound is on the south-west coast, miles from port jackson. caledon bay is near the north-west extremity of the gulf of carpentaria, miles from port jackson. endeavour river, in latitude about degrees south, is on the north-east coast, about miles from port jackson. burrah-burrah, about miles in the interior, west of port jackson. limestone creek, about miles in the interior, west of port jackson. port macquarie, on the east coast, miles north of port jackson. macquarie harbour, on the west coast of van diemen's land. bruny island, at the south-east extremity of van diemen's land. end of volume . transcriber's note: a list of changes is detailed at the end of the book. [illustration: mount kosciusko. _from the picture by j. s. bowman, m.a._] australian pictures drawn with pen and pencil by howard willoughby of 'the melbourne argus' _with a map and one hundred and seven illustrations from sketches and photographs, engraved by e. whymper and others._ london the religious tract society paternoster row and piccadilly london: printed by william clowes and sons, limited, stamford street and charing cross. [illustration: in the mountains, fernshaw.] preface. in one respect this work differs from its predecessors. the companion volumes were written by travellers to the lands which they described, but australian pictures are by an australian resident. hence, when praise is required, the author has often preferred to quote some traveller of repute rather than to state his own impressions. thanks have to be given to the government of victoria, which kindly placed all its works at the disposal of the author. the official history of the aborigines compiled by mr. brough smyth is especially a valuable storehouse of facts for future writers. the proprietors of the _melbourne argus_ liberally gave the use of the views and pictures of their illustrated paper, the _australian sketcher_, and the offer was gratefully and largely taken advantage of. mr. r. wallen, a president of the art union of victoria, gave permission for the reproduction of any of the works of art published by the society during his term of office. australia is a large place, and it will be seen that, where the author could not refresh his memory by a personal visit, he has here and there availed himself of the willing aid of literary friends. [illustration: the scots' church, collins street, melbourne.] contents. mount kosciusko _frontispiece_ in the mountains, fernshaw the scots' church, collins street, melbourne section i.--introductory. chapter i. introduction. area of australia--england's heritage--natural riches--population--present prospects of immigrants--the six colonies--facilities of travel--character of people. - _illustrations_: a native climbing a tree for opossum a road through an australian forest coranderrk station chapter ii. configuration and climate. dimensions of australia--mount kosciusko--the murray river system--wind laws--the hot wind--intense heat periods--the early explorers--sturt's experience--blacks and bush fires--droughts--unexplored australia. - _illustrations_: the giant gum-tree railroad through the gippsland forest junction of murray and darling rivers the national museum, melbourne chapter iii. the australian people. australian democracies--the federal movement--immigration--current wages--cost of living--absence of an established church--religion in the rural districts--a typical service--sunday observance--mission work--church building. - _illustrations_: statue of prince albert in sydney the bower-bird the independent church, collins street, melbourne section ii.--bird's-eye view of the colonies. chapter iv. victoria. port phillip--early settlement and abandonment--the pioneers henty, batman and fawkner--size of victoria--melbourne--its appearance--public buildings--streets--reserves--pride of its people--unearned increment--sandhurst--ballarat--the capital of the interior--geelong--the western district--view of the lakes--portland--the wheat plains--shepperton--the mallee--gippsland--mountain ranges--school system--cobb's coaches--facts and figures. - _illustrations_: semi-civilised victorian aborigines government house, melbourne melbourne, a railway pier in melbourne in a melbourne suburban house bird's-eye view of melbourne showing public office bird's-eye view of melbourne looking southwards bird's-eye view of central melbourne bourke street, melbourne, looking east university, melbourne the fitzroy gardens, melbourne the yarra yarra, near melbourne bird's-eye view of sandhurst on lake wellington a victorian lake the upper goulbourn, victoria waterfall in the black spur a victorian forest staging scenes a sharp corner chapter v. new south wales. survey of the colony--sydney and its harbour--the great west--the blue mountains--their grand scenery--an australian show place--the fish river caves--dubbo to the darling--the great pastures--the northern tableland--the big scrub country--tropical vegetation. - _illustrations_: views in sydney: government house, the cathedral, and sydney heads government buildings, macquarie street, sydney statue of captain cook at sydney the post office, george street, sydney sydney harbour macquarie street, sydney the town hall, sydney emu plains the valley of the grose zigzag railway in the blue mountains fish river caves waterfall at govett chapter vi. south australia. configuration--the lake country--heat in summer--fruit--glenelg--adelaide--mount lofty range--parks and buildings--mosquito plain caves--camels--the overland telegraph link line--peake station--the northern territory--early misfortunes--present prospects--insect life--alligators--buffaloes. - _illustrations_: overland telegraph party government house and general post office, adelaide waterfall gully, south australia a murray river boat adelaide in king william street, adelaide an adelaide public school reaping in south adelaide camel scenes peake overland telegraph station collingrove station, south australia sheep in the shade of a gum-tree the botanical gardens, adelaide chapter vii. queensland. size and configuration--early settlement--brisbane island and coast towns--gladstone--roma--gympie--toowoomba--townsville-- cooktown--squatting--the cattle station--the sheep station--the queensland forest--the nettle-tree--sugar planting--polynesian natives--stoppage of the labour trade--gold mining--the palmer--silver, tin, and copper. - _illustrations_: brisbane a village on darling downs valley of the river brisbane, queensland townsville, north queensland sugar plantation, queensland chapter viii. western australia. early settlement--mistaken land system--convict labour--the system abandoned--poison plants--perth--king george's sound--climate--pearls--prospects. - _illustrations_: sheep-shearing perth government house, perth albany chapter ix. tasmania. a holiday resort for australians--launceston--the north and south esk--mount bischoff--a wild district--the old main road--hobart--the derwent--port arthur--convicts--facts and figures. - _illustrations_: view of mount wellington, tasmania corra linn, tasmania on the south esk, tasmania views in tasmania launceston hell gate, tasmania on the river derwent section iii.--australian life and products. chapter x. heroes of exploration. tragic stories--flinders and bass--adventures in a small boat--discoveries--disappearance of bass--death of flinders--eyre's journey--ludwig leichhardt--disappearance of his party--theory of his fate--the kennedy catastrophe--the burke and wills expedition--across the continent--the deserted depÔt--slow death by starvation--later expeditions. - _illustrations_: native encampment a new clearing splitters in the forest after stray cattle monument to burke and wills in melbourne chapter xi. a glance at the aborigines. first encounter with the blacks--misunderstandings--narrative of a pioneer--climbing trees--the blacks' defence--decay of the race--weapons--the northern tribes--a northern encampment--corroboree--black trackers--burial--mission stations. - _illustrations_: a corroboree a waddy fight civilised aborigines a boomerang a native encampment in queensland a native tracker church, schoolhouse, and encampment at lake tyers chapter xii. some specimens of australian fauna and flora. marsupials--the 'tasmanian devil'--dingoes--kangaroo hunting--the lyre-bird--bower-bird--the giant kingfisher--emu hunting--snakes--the shark--alleged monotony of vegetation--tropical vegetation of coast--the giant gum--the rostrata--the mallee scrub--flowers and shrubs. - _illustrations_: australian tree-ferns dingoes the _sarcophilus_ or 'tasmanian devil' bass river opossum a kangaroo battue the platypus the lyre-bird the giant kingfisher, or laughing jackass the emu the tiger-snake australian trees silver-stem eucalypts the bottle-tree grass-trees chapter xiii. the squatter and the settler. present meaning of the word 'squatter'--cattle-raising--capital has confidence in squatting now--origin of merino sheep-breeding--management of a run--drought--box-tree clearings--modern enterprise--sheep-shearing--'sundowners'--farming prospects--cheap land--easy harvesting--small capital--selection conditions--bush fires--black thursday--the otway disaster--lost in the bush--missing children. - _illustrations_: driving cattle a merino sheep ring barking a bush welcome before and after the fire found! a squatter's station appendix index section i. introductory. chapter i. introductory. area of australia--england's heritage--natural riches--population--present prospects of immigrants--the six colonies--facilities of travel--character of people. [illustration: a native climbing a tree for opossum] [illustration: a road through an australian forest.] 'australian pictures' must necessarily consist of peeps at australia. it seems presumptuous at first to ask that great island-continent to creep into a single volume. but sketches of parts and bird's-eye views will often reveal more to the stranger than a minute and fatiguing survey of the whole. these pages, though few in number, will, it is hoped, convey to the reader some idea of that vast new world where saxons and celts are peacefully building up another britain. some of the early errors about australia must have already faded away. few can now believe that her birds are without voice and her flowers without perfume, and that the continent itself is a desert fringed by a habitable seaboard. yet it is perhaps hardly realised by the many how grand is the heritage secured in australia for the british race. the extent of territory is enormous. twenty-five kingdoms the size of great britain and ireland could be carved out of this giant island and its appendages, and still there would be a remainder. its total area, , , square miles, is only a little less than the area of europe. at first it was supposed that only a limited portion of this enormous tract would be available for settlement, but this fear is dying out. the central desert, that bugbear of a past generation, has an existence, but man is pushing it farther and farther back. where the explorer perished through thirst a few years ago we now have the homestead and the township; water is conserved, flocks are fed, the property, if it has to be offered for sale, is described as 'that valuable and well-known squatting block.' the tales that were first told were true enough, but man, as he advances, subdues the country and ameliorates the climate. already australia exports to the markets of the world the finest wheat, the finest wool, and the finest gold. her produce in these lines commands the highest prices, and no test of superiority could be more conclusive. in two at least of these items the export could be indefinitely increased, and meat and wine can be added to the list. on such articles as these man subsists, and they are produced here with a minimum of expense and effort. the total population of australia is , , . the settlers have drawn about themselves over , , horses, , , cattle, and , , sheep. but three millions of men and tens of millions of creatures fail to occupy; they do little more than dot the corners of the great lone island. in the north-west of the continent there are tracts of country which the white man has not yet penetrated. tribes still roam there who may have heard of the european stranger, but who have never seen him. adventurous spirits are now pushing into these distant regions, but there will be pioneering work for many a long term of years, and after the pioneer has had his day the task of settlement begins. even in victoria and new south wales, the most thickly populated of the colonies, there are many fertile hillsides and valleys as yet untrodden by man. the population has sought the plains, where the least expenditure was required to make the earth bring forth its increase. some of the richest land in both colonies has yet to be appropriated, the settler having neglected it because it has to be cleared. the giant eucalypt of the uplands frightened the colonist away to the lightly timbered, park-like plains; but now, thanks to the extension of the railways, the mountain ash, the red gum, and the blackwood, with their companions, are found to be sources of wealth. thus, in the old states and in the new territories alike, openings exist for the agriculturist and the grazier as favourable as have ever been offered. more fortunes have been made in australia within the past ten years than have ever been accumulated before. the labourer has put more money than ever into the savings-bank or the building society. the farmer has more rapidly become a comfortable, well-to-do personage; the grazier or squatter has seen his income swell. the value of city property has increased as if by magic. it may be truly said that the chances and prospects of the new arrival are greater to-day, and are likely to be greater for years to come, than they were even in the feverish flush of the gold era. australia is for the present divided into six colonies. as time rolls on we may expect six times this number of states. if some of the larger provinces were at all thickly populated they would be absolutely unmanageable for administrative purposes. the states are named victoria, new south wales, south australia, queensland, western australia and tasmania. they will be noticed in these pages in turn. victoria, with an area of , square miles, has a population of a little more than , , . thus it is the most densely peopled of the group. agriculture, gold mining and wool growing are its prominent industries, and it is the colony in which manufactures are most developed. new south wales has also a population of , , , with an area of , square miles. she is a pastoral colony. queensland, with an area of , square miles, has less than , people, a circumstance that shows how little she has been developed. her industries are pastoral and gold mining; and in the far north sugar plantations have been established under somewhat unhappy auspices. south australia has an area of , square miles, and a population under , . much of her territory is absolutely unexplored. her little community is clustered about adelaide, and has relied so far upon the export of wool, copper and, above all, wheat. last of the continental states comes western australia, the cinderella of the group. her population is only , , her area is no less than , square miles, much of it being absolutely unknown, while the greater part has no other occupants than the black man, the emu and the marsupial. tasmania, the little island colony, has a population of , , and an area of , square miles. all the capitals are on the seaboard, and, setting the western australian perth aside, the traveller can proceed from one to the other either by the magnificent liners of the peninsular and oriental, the orient, and the british india steam navigation companies, or he can avail himself of splendid clyde-built steamers run by local enterprise. very shortly he will be able to land at either adelaide or brisbane, and journey from the one point to the other by rail, as the iron chain is almost continuous now, and missing links are being rapidly completed. whichever capital he lands at, he will find a network of railways branching into the interior, and seated behind the locomotive he can visit places where a few years back the explorers perished! only if he is very ambitious of sight-seeing need he have recourse to coach, horse, or the popular american--but acclimatised--buggy. so far as the people are concerned, he will find that he is still in the old country. traveller after traveller, mr. archibald forbes and lord rosebery in turn, and a host of others, affirm that the typical australian is apt to be more english than the englishman. there is no aristocracy, it is true, and no national church. each state is a democracy pure and simple, under the english flag. but the queen has nowhere more devoted and loyal subjects, and nowhere are the churches more numerous, more active, and apparently more blessed in results. the traveller meets with english manners, english sympathies, and a frank hospitality which, the compilers of books and the deliverers of lectures affirm, is peculiar to australia. but he finds the race amid novel surroundings, amid scenery whose peculiarity is vastness, with a distinctive vegetation unlike any other, with seasons which have little resemblance to those of the old country; and the occupations of the people, he discovers, are also often new. when a writer undertakes to sketch the scene, it must be his fault if he has nothing of interest to relate. [illustration: coranderrk station.] chapter ii. configuration and climate. dimensions of australia--mount kosciusko--the murray river system--wind laws--the hot wind--intense heat periods--the early explorers--sturt's experience--blacks and bush fires--droughts--unexplored australia. [illustration: the giant gum-tree. [_see p. _] [illustration: railroad through the gippsland forest.] it is not possible to understand australia without a glance at the physical conditions of the continent. a good angel and a bad, an evil influence and a beneficial, are ever in contention in nature here. from the surrounding sea come cool and grateful clouds; from the heated interior come hot blasts, licking up life and absorbing the watery vapours which would otherwise fall as rain. sea and land are ever in conflict. [illustration: junction of murray and darling rivers.] australia measures from north to south miles, and from east to west miles--the total area being somewhat greater than that of the united states of america, and somewhat less than the whole of europe. the peculiarity is that all its mountain ranges worth taking notice of--all that are factors in the climate--are comparatively near the coast. thus the main dip is rather inland than outward, and this formation is fatal to great rivers. an interior mountain chain such as the new zealand alps would have transformed the country. the enormous coast-line from spencer's gulf to king george's sound is not broken by the mouth of any stream. such rainfall as there is in this district must drain either into the sea by subterranean channels, or into the inland marshy depressions called lake eyre, lake gairdner, and lake amadeus, which are sometimes extremely shallow sheets of water, sometimes grassy plains, and sometimes desert. the best land is that between the various ranges and the sea, because there most rain falls. and the greatest of the ranges is that which runs from north to south along the east coast of the island, passing through queensland, new south wales, and victoria, and culminating in mount kosciusko, whose peak is feet high, and whose ravines always contain snow. only at kosciusko does snow lie all the year round in australia, though the mountains near it, about feet high, are also almost always covered. to this range we owe the one river system at all worthy of the continent. the waters from the western side of the queensland mountains--there called the dividing range--flow down the warrego into the darling. here they are joined by the waters from the higher ranges of new south wales and victoria, called the australian alps. these waters have been brought down by the murray, the murrumbidgee, and the goulburn, and the united floods fall into the sea, through lake alexandrina, between melbourne and adelaide. on paper this river system shows well. the darling has been navigated up to walgett, which is miles from the sea, and this distance entitles the australian stream to rank third among the rivers of the world, only the mississippi and the amazon coming before it. but the facts are not so good as they seem. the darling depends upon flood waters. sometimes these flood waters will come down in sufficient volume to enable the stream to run from end to end, and sometimes they fail half-way. the river is never open to navigation all the year round, and frequently it is not open to navigation from year's end to year's end. the occasional failure of the darling for so long a period upsets all calculations. the colonists will take this stream and the river murray in hand some day, and will lock both and preserve their storm waters, and the south-eastern corner of the continent will then have a grand river communication. stores will then be sent up, and wool will be brought down with certainty, where now all is doubt and speculation. commissions to consider the subject have been appointed both by the victorian government and the government of new south wales, and conferences are this year ( ) being held upon it and cognate subjects. unhappily, there are no other streams in australia that can be so dealt with, though it should be added that the last has not yet been heard of the rivers of northern australia. we are ignorant of their capacities, though a good guess can be made about them. taking australia from east to west, we find a high range skirting the coast on the east, and supporting a dense sub-tropical vegetation, and giving rise to an extensive but uncertain river system. next comes a more sterile interior, composed of desert, of shallow salt lakes, and of higher steppes in unknown proportions. approaching the west coast we meet ranges again, and rivers and fertile country. mr. h. c. russell, government astronomer for new south wales, in his valuable pamphlet on the 'physical geography and climate of new south wales,' points out that 'if water flowed over the whole of the australian continent, the trade wind would then blow steadily over the northern portions from the south-east, and above it the like steady return current would blow to the south-east, while the "brave west winds" and southerly would hold sway over the other half--conditions which now exist a short distance from the coast. into this system australia introduces an enormous disturbing element, of which the great interior plains form the most active agency in changing the directions of the wind currents. the interior, almost treeless and waterless, acts in summer like a great oven with more than tropical heating power, and becomes the great motor force on our winds, by causing an uprush, and consequent inrush on all sides, especially on the north-west, where it has power sufficient to draw the north-east trade over the equator, and into a north-west monsoon, in this way wholly obliterating the south-east trade belonging to the region, and bringing the monsoon with full force on to australia, where, being warmed, and receiving fresh masses of heated air, it rises and forms part of the great return current from the equator to the south.' the 'hot winds' of the colonists are produced by the sinking down to the surface of the heated current of air, which in summer is continually passing overhead; and when this wind blows in force upon a clear summer's day things are not pleasant. the thermometer from time to time indicates a degree of heat which is almost incredible. in southern melbourne the official record gives a reading of degrees in the sun, and in the shade, and at the inland town of deniliquin, the official register in the shade is degrees. man and beast and vegetation suffer on these days. the birds drop dead from the trees, the fruit is scorched and rendered unfit for market. the leaves of the english trees, such as the plane and the elm, drop in profusion, so that in early summer it will seem as if autumn had set in. the sick, especially children, are terribly affected, and the doctors attending an infant sufferer will say that nothing can be done except to pray for a change of wind. happily, such days as these are rare. the hot blast will not often send the temperature up to more than to degrees, and the duration of the heated wind is limited to three days, and often it prevails during only one, sunset bringing with it a cool southern gale. a moderate hot wind is relished by many people, for the air is dry and even exhilarating to the strong for a while; and the claim is made that it destroys noxious germs and effluvia. sometimes the hot wind will gradually die out, but on other occasions a rushing storm will come up from the south, driving the north wind before it, and in that case the welcome conflict will be preceded by whirling and blinding clouds of dust, and will be accompanied by thunder and lightning and torrents of rain. the fall of the temperature will be something marvellous. the thermometer will be standing at ° in the sun; then the wind will change, rain will fall, and in the evening the register will be °, making a difference of degrees in seven or eight hours. that these days are exceptional is shown by the manner in which vegetation generally flourishes, and by the admiration which each colonist has for the climate of that particular part of australia in which he resides. 'the swan settlements,' says the western australian, 'are the pick of the country. no hot winds there.' at adelaide the visitor is told: 'yes, we are often hotter by ten degrees in the sun than they are in melbourne, but ours is a dry, not a moist heat.' in melbourne the tale is reversed: 'sydney is muggy,' it is averred; 'you cannot stand that. a dry heat is the thing, but those poor beggars at adelaide have it too hot altogether.' no doubt many mistakes occurred in the descriptions of australia given by the early explorers. brave and intelligent as they were, they were 'new chums,' and certainly not born bushmen. transplanted from a small island, continental features overpowered them. forests which took weeks to traverse; plains, like the ocean, horizon-bounded; the vast length of our rivers when compared to those of england, often flowing immense distances without change or tributary--now all but dry for hundreds of miles, at other times flooding the countries on their banks to the extent of inland seas--wearied them. then we know that our cloudless skies, the mirage, the long-sustained high range of the thermometer in the central portion of the continent, troubled them a good deal more than they do us, and helped to make them look on the dark side of things. hence, as a rule, their reports were unfavourable. sturt's account of his detention at depôt glen is enough to frighten anybody, and cannot be read to this day without emotion. here, 'stuck up' by want of water, he dug an underground room, and he and his men passed a terrible summer. the heat was sometimes as high as degrees in the shade, and in the sun it was altogether intolerable. they were unable to write, as the ink dried at once on their pens; their combs split; their nails became brittle and readily broke; and if they touched a piece of metal it blistered their fingers. month after month passed without a shower of rain. sometimes they watched the clouds gather, and they could hear the distant roll of thunder, but there fell not a drop to refresh the dry and dusty desert. the party began to grow thin and weak; mr. poole, the second in command, became ill with scurvy. at length, when the winter was approaching, a gentle shower moistened the plain; and preparations were being made to send the sick man quickly to the darling, when poole died, and the mournful cavalcade returned, leaving a grave in the wilderness. yet this locality proved in time to be a very good sheep-run, differing in nothing from others around it; and eventually was found to be a gold-field, and was extensively worked. runs about the spot are commonly advertised in the melbourne or sydney papers as carrying immense flocks, and as valued with the stock at from £ , to £ , . the explorer was, in fact, within a few miles of cooper's creek. this process of conquering the interior is still going on. man modifies all countries, and australia is no exception to the rule. even the blacks played their part, and it was a mischievous one. they had an instrument in their hands by which they influenced the whole course of nature. this was the fire-stick. with this implement the aborigines were constantly setting fire to the grass and trees, both accidentally and systematically, for hunting purposes, and probably in their day almost every part of new holland was swept over by a fierce fire on an average once in five years. hence the baked, calcined condition of the ground in many parts of the continent, the character of our vegetation, and the comparative scarcity of animal life. the eucalypts survived the fiery ordeal, because of the hardness of their bark; and, when every other creature perished, or had to abandon its litter, the marsupials leaped over the flames with their young in their pouches. strange as the assertion may appear in the first instance, it may be doubted whether any section of the human race has exercised a greater influence on the physical condition of a large portion of the globe than the wandering savages of australia. the white man is working in an entirely opposite direction. by clearing the forest he limits the area of the bush fire. he constructs reservoirs, dams rivers, sinks wells in order to bring subterranean water to the surface, and irrigates land, so that a spot where even the hardiest scrub failed to grow in its natural state, is covered with luxuriant crops. province after province has been rescued from the wilderness already, and the grand work is likely to go on. those who look at what has been done in the way of reclaiming territory in australia will be in no hurry to set bounds as to what man is likely to perform. it is not wonderful that the first inquiry of the practical settler should be as to the rainfall of the country he proposes to occupy. the map most eagerly scanned in australia is the 'rainfall' map, prepared by the government, and issued by the leading weekly papers. a glance at this production reveals the tale which it tells. the coast-line is shown in a dark blue, to indicate the heavy rainfall of from thirty to seventy inches. a pleasant blue represents a moderate rainfall on the interior belt of plains, averaging from fifteen to twenty-five inches. then comes a faint tint spread over what is called the 'never, never' country, where the rainfall is five or ten inches per annum, and where the rain will descend at once, or for two years there will be none, and then the whole average supply will drop from the clouds in one rushing downpour. under such circumstances it will be readily imagined that the terror of the australian settler is a drought. even in the moments of his utmost prosperity he has his anxieties about the next season. a district which has been rainless for a year or two years is a pitiful spectacle of desolation. the grass disappears; the wind carries with it whirling columns of dust; the trees of the dreary plain become more sombre and mournful than ever. if there is a little water left in any dam or reservoir, it is rendered putrid by the carcases of sheep and cattle, for the wretched animals become so weak that, once they fall or stick, they are unable to rise or to extricate themselves. the sun rises in heat, sails through a cloudless sky, and sets a ball of fire. the nights are dewless. the moon only renders more ghastly the depressing panorama. mr. russell complains that pictures of the drought are usually exaggerated, and it may be well therefore to quote official figures. in two years, according to mr. dibbs, treasurer and premier of new south wales (november ), the drought in new south wales has killed , horses, , , head of cattle, and , , sheep. a loss which is estimated at from £ , , to £ , , has fallen upon a single colony, and a single industry in that colony! but this drought was felt with equal severity in parts of south australia and of queensland, and it would be no exaggeration therefore to double the figures communicated to parliament by mr. dibbs. and when , horses, , , cattle, and , , sheep die miserably of hunger and thirst, it is certain that scenes must occur the gloom and wretchedness of which can hardly be over-painted. one squatting company in the north lost , sheep out of , in the drought in question, and the survivors were kept alive with difficulty. scrub was cut down for them. the living gnawed the bones of the dead. the company's shares went down to two shillings in the pound, and other squatting property similarly situated was equally depreciated, when one january morning, , the melbourne, sydney, brisbane, and adelaide papers gave prominence to the welcome news of the break-up of the drought. from this place, that place, and the other, all down the line, came telegrams of the fall of three inches, four inches, five inches, and six inches of rain, the water saturating the ground, filling the dams, and sending the price of pastoral property up as though by magic. the drought disaster, of course, is most felt in the newly taken-up country. here a state of nature obtains, while, as time rolls on, and profits are made, water is conserved, and the run is practically made drought-proof. a minimum quantity of stock can be kept, and the remainder can be travelled to a district which is not smitten. the recuperative powers of the country are enormous; and if the squatter is afflicted one year he holds on, with the consciousness that with three or four good seasons in succession he is a made man. how little we yet know of australia as a whole has been brought under the popular notice by an address delivered by mr. ernest favenc at a meeting of the australian geographical society, held at sydney in january . south australia alone has an area of , square miles unexplored, and western australia has an enormous tract of , square miles, which has been just rushed through, and no more, by three explorers, messrs. forrest, giles, and warburton. here is a total of unknown area equivalent to the heart of europe--say to germany, france, switzerland, austria, and hungary, with italy thrown in. of course the country to the west of the overland telegraph line, being for the most part unknown, is all described as hopeless desert, but mr. favenc doubts the story, and no one is better qualified to express an opinion upon the subject than this gentleman. he stands in the first rank of practical pioneers. the facts that go to support the idea of the existence of large belts of rich prairie land in this huge area are these: in the far interior the transition from barren desert country to rolling downs is sudden and abrupt; without warning, you step from one to the other. the good and the bad country lie very much in bands; and an explorer making an easterly and westerly track might travel in a bad band continuously, if he had the misfortune to strike one. mr. favenc's suggestion is that a well-supplied party should start from a station on the overland telegraph line, and should strike for perth, making, however, extensive excursions on both sides of their route. the bee-line business is almost useless. it would be well if the australian geographical society could take up the idea, for it is somewhat of a reproach to the three millions of inhabitants that australia should be less mapped out than africa; and there is pleasure also in reducing to its narrowest limits that bugbear of the youth of the colonies, the great fiery untamed central desert. if, however, no more exploration be resolved upon, the work will only be postponed, and not abandoned. as one coral insect builds over the other, or as one wave on a rising tide overlaps its predecessor on the shore, so the last outlying pastoral station is speedily passed by one just beyond it. in this way settlement creeps on. progress, though slow and unsensational, is sure. [illustration: the national museum, melbourne.] chapter iii. the australian people. australian democracies--the federal movement--immigration--current wages--cost of living--absence of an established church--religion in the rural districts--a typical service--sunday observance--mission work--church building. [illustration: statue of prince albert in sydney.] [illustration: the bower-bird.] the australian colonies are, one and all, democracies of the most advanced type. annual parliaments have been advocated, though at present triennial legislatures are the rule. payment of members, it should be added, is not adopted by all the states, but the principle seems to be spreading. two houses are established in each colony, a legislative assembly and a legislative council. the former is always elected by manhood suffrage; the latter, as in victoria and south australia, may be an elected body, or, as in new south wales and queensland, it may be composed of members nominated by the crown. how the second chamber should be constituted is one of the problems of the day. every now and then one or the other of the colonies is treated to 'a deadlock' between the two bodies; and more than once in victoria public payments have been suspended in consequence, and popular passion has run high. the australian democracy has worked well upon the whole, and has given security to life and property. the best proof of this is the rapid rise of colonial securities in the public favour. when new south wales, south australia, and victoria commenced to build their national railways in - , they were glad to sell six per cent. debentures at par in london, and now they float four per cent. loans at a premium. the colony of victoria is altogether protectionist, and south australia has given in a partial adherence to the system. to the author the policy seems to be wrong in theory and practice, but the belief is widespread that, even if sacrifices are made, the resources of the colony are thus developed. twenty years back the populations of the various colonies did not touch each other: each colony spread from its own centre; but now this isolation has disappeared. settlement is contiguous with settlement, and trade and intercourse are accelerated accordingly. the colonies can no longer ignore each other, and hence the movement for federation has gathered strength. the first federal council met in hobart in january , but unfortunately jealousies had crept in, and the new body was shorn of its fair proportions. federalists cannot help feeling greatly disappointed that the results hitherto have been so small, and yet probably there is much more to rejoice over than to be downcast about. victoria, queensland, tasmania and western australia were represented at the council, and such laws as it can pass will thus affect three-fifths of the area of the continent. the absence of south australia is understood to be accidental. she is really one of the parties to the federal bond, having agreed to the terms, and having invited the imperial parliament to pass the enabling act, and her early adhesion is expected with confidence. no continental state will then remain outside except new south wales, and it is fairly to be presumed that she will not be insensible to the pressure of public opinion, both in australia and throughout the empire, especially as care is being taken to soothe the local susceptibilities that are now offended. the federal council meets for the present at hobart, the chief town of tasmania, and this town may, for the present, be called the 'federal capital.' the immigration into australia is about eighty thousand men and women yearly. if double or treble that number came, they could well be accommodated. the labourer of to-day is the employer of to-morrow; and as soon as a man acquires landed property his chief complaint is the paucity of hands to improve his holding. a few specimens of wages may be taken from the official list of mr. h. h. hayter, government statist of victoria. on the whole, labour is more in request in victoria than in most of the sister states, and the figures may be taken as representing fair average rates for australia generally. servants, with board, coachmen, and grooms, _s._ to _s._ per week; female cooks, £ to £ per annum; laundresses, £ to £ per annum; general servants, _s._ to _s._ per week (these figures are for , and there has been a heavy rise in - ); ploughmen, _s._ per week and board; blacksmiths, _s._ to _s._ per day; boiler-makers, _s._ to _s._ per day; plumbers, £ to £ _s._ per week; lumpers, _s._ to _s._ per day; masons, carpenters, bricklayers and plasterers, _s._ to _s._ per day. on the other hand, the necessaries of life are cheap. bread is _d._ the lb. loaf, and beef and mutton are retailed at from _d._ to _d._ per lb.; butter varies from _d._ to _s._ _d._ according to the season; milk is _d._ to _d._ per quart; potatoes _s._ _d._ to _s._ per cwt.; tea _s._ _d._ to _s._ _d._ per lb.; rabbits are sold at _s._ per pair, and hares at _s._ each. in the australian colonies there is neither an established church, nor is any aid given by the state to the cause of religion. the denominations are now entirely dependent upon the voluntary exertions of their members for support. a strong feeling has grown up both among politicians and the people in australia that the state ought not to interfere in ecclesiastical matters upon any pretext. the churches, therefore, are simply corporations empowered to hold property upon certain conditions, and at liberty to manage their own affairs as they think fit. there are, however, great difficulties in the way of maintaining religious services regularly. in many of the country districts the population is sparse and scattered; and, however willing the people may be, the paucity of their numbers renders it hard for them to support a church. only a mere handful can be gathered together, most of whom have a hard struggle in their private lives; for, although they own the land which they cultivate, they have to wait until it is cleared for the expected return. the difficulty is enhanced by the fact that each denomination wishes to have a footing in every village, in order to meet the wants of its own people. in many townships where there is room for one strong and self-supporting protestant congregation, there are three or four, each of which is embarrassed by its own weakness. some attempt has been made to prevent the weaknesses of disunion by co-operation among the churches. the episcopalians and the presbyterians combine to support a society which is intended to supply the religious wants of the rural population. the money that is thus raised is spent principally in the erection of buildings, which are used alternately by clergymen of each denomination, so that the preferences of the people for their own form of service are gratified at the least cost, and without any rivalry. by such means the churches have spread their network well over the land. there is not a township of any importance that cannot boast of two or three neat and substantial edifices dedicated to the service of god. there is not a district that is not visited at intervals by ministers or agents of the different denominations, some of whom have to ride long distances in order to overtake every part. the vast plains that stretch between the rivers darling and murray are traversed by clergymen who visit from station to station. the deep forests of gippsland and the otway ranges, inhabited by a hardy race of farmers whose lives are spent in clearing the jungle, are not left unprovided for. though everything is not done that could be desired, it may be said with perfect truth that the churches strive earnestly to keep pace with the continual migration of the people towards the backwoods of the country. it is a pleasant thing to attend a rural service on a typical australian day, when the sun is hot and the sky cloudless, and the whole landscape steeped in peace and quiet. driving along the road, we see the sheep couched in the grass, or we pass a clearing where wheat and oats are growing among the blackened stumps of fallen trees; and nothing disturbs the stillness of the scene save, perhaps, the lazy motion of a crow, or the rush of a startled native bear, a sleepy, gentle, little animal, an enlarged edition of the opossum. the church stands a little apart from the few houses that form the infant township. it is generally built of wood, and surrounded by tall gum-trees, which, however, afford a very scanty shade from the burning heat. here is gathered on the sunday morning a collection of buggies and horses, for the people come long distances, and it is necessary in australia to drive or ride. the congregation stand in groups before the door, chatting over the week's news, and waiting for the clergyman to arrive. the day of rest is the only day in the week in which they have an opportunity of meeting, and many come early and loiter with their neighbours till the service begins. they are all browned and tanned by scorching suns, but they speak with the self-same accent that they learnt at home. there are scotchmen of whom, to judge by their speech and appearance, it is hard to believe that they have not very recently left their native glens, and irishmen whose brogue is wholly uncorrupted by change of climate. most of them, however, have been settled for many years on the land, retaining their old customs in the solitude of the bush, and among the rest a due regard for the worship of god. the children have caught, to some extent, the tone of their parents, and one could almost imagine oneself in a remote parish of britain. the service itself heightens the illusion. the hymn-tunes are old and familiar, and sung very slowly to the accompaniment of a harmonium. the exhortation of the preacher is brief, telling the old and yet ever new story of the saviour's love, and it is listened to with evident attention. one hour suffices for the whole worship, and the audience contentedly disperse, and turn their faces towards their lonely homes. in the towns the organisation of the different churches is effective. their agencies are at work in the poorer quarters of the large cities, where the evils that exist in the old world are showing themselves on a smaller scale. they have stood out strenuously for the observance of the lord's day, and with marked success. sunday observance, if not so strict as it is in scotland, is more general than in england. there is no postal delivery. trains are not run on the main lines, and a limited suburban traffic is alone allowed. all movements for restricting labour on the sunday meet with cordial sympathy and practical support. [illustration: the independent church, collins street, melbourne.] though now independent in their government of the churches in england by which they were originally founded, and which they continue to represent, the colonial churches maintain a close relationship with the mother-country. bishops, and the best preachers, are still brought from home to the colonies. all the important congregations send to england for a minister when there happens to be a vacancy, and all the men who have made a deep impression on the community have been trained there. the whole religious and spiritual life of the colonies is inspired and stimulated by that of england, both in the sense that they naturally lean upon the stronger thought of english writers, and that they are guided by ministers who have studied in british universities. there are colleges connected with the more important denominations, which, it is hoped, will gradually grow till they rival those of other lands. as yet they are incompletely equipped, and one or two men have to bear the brunt of work that is usually divided among four or five. in a new country, which attracts to itself all sorts and conditions of men, nearly every form of belief is represented. many of the sects, however, are very small, and may be said to be practically confined to the metropolitan cities. the catholic apostolic church, the swedenborgians, lutherans, moravians, unitarians, and various bodies of unattached protestants, are thus limited. the episcopalians, the roman catholics, the presbyterians and methodists have by far the largest hold on the people, while independents and baptists are fairly numerous and influential. altogether, the churches provide accommodation for more than one-half of the people, and the ordinary attendance at their principal weekly service amounts to fully one-third. sunday-schools flourish in every part of the country. the total number of children attending them is returned in victoria as - / per cent. of the whole who are at the school age, and the average is not much less in any other colony. when allowance is made for the children who are kept at home by parents that prefer to give their own instruction, and for those in the country who cannot well attend a sunday-school, it is evident that there are comparatively few who receive no religious education at all. the love of church building, which every nation has displayed, is by no means wanting among the australians. in every town the ecclesiastical edifices are the chief features, and in the larger cities some of them are imposing structures. cathedrals are gradually rising in different places. even the churches which are not usually credited with paying much respect to outward appearance are inclined to beautify their buildings. it would be too much to expect that the denominations could lay aside their differences and unite. but a very kindly feeling exists for the most part between them, whether it be due to their equality, or to the novel circumstances in which they were placed when they began their work. that it may continue and tend to further co-operation is the earnest wish of all. statistics, giving the most recent facts about the condition of the various churches in the colonies, will be found in the appendix. section ii. bird's-eye view of the colonies. chapter iv. victoria. port phillip--early settlement and abandonment--the pioneers henty, batman and fawkner--size of victoria--melbourne--its appearance--public buildings--streets--reserves--pride of its people--unearned increment--sandhurst--ballarat--the capital of the interior--geelong--the western district--view of the lakes--portland--the wheat plains--shepperton--the mallee--gippsland--mountain ranges--school system--cobb's coaches--facts and figures. [illustration: semi-civilised victorian aborigines.] [illustration: government house, melbourne.] it is strange that victoria should be one of the youngest of the colonies, for port phillip was amongst the places first noticed by the early settlers of the continent. lieutenant grant, commanding the little brig _lady nelson_, observed the inlet in the year , when _en route_ for sydney. in governor king, of new south wales, dispatched the _lady nelson_, under lieutenant murray, to explore and report. the account given was most favourable of the extent of the bay, the security of its anchorages, and the beauty and apparent fertility of its shores. the result was that it was decided to establish a convict settlement on the shores of the gulf, and in colonel collins and a party of prisoners, with their guards, landed at the site of the now fashionable seaside resort, which has been called sorrento at the instance of sir charles gavan duffy, one of the first landowners there. to the lover of beauty the scene, gazing from sorrento down capel sound, is fair; the blue sea ripples at your feet; the high hills around dromana, draped with the rich ultramarine blue not to be found outside of australia, form a charming background on which one can gaze and gaze again. but the prose of the situation for governor collins was that he was landed on a well-nigh waterless sand-spit, the most sterile portion of the district, the resort to-day of the admirers of loveliness, but shunned even to-day by the practical settler. the citizen in his sorrento villa is lulled by the roar of the league-long surf which ever breaks on the rocky ocean beach, scarcely a mile away. but circumstances alter human views, and the historian of the expedition reports that the monotonous booming of the breakers irritated and depressed both soldiers and convicts, and made a miserable company still more wretched. a search was made for water that was not brackish, but the right places were missed, and at last, happily for all concerned, the settlement was abandoned in favour of the hobart colony. governor collins rejoiced to get away from the spot, the soldiers rejoiced, and the convicts also, and posterity will never leave off rejoicing that victoria was left to be a 'free colony' from its inception. the bad name given to the port phillip district clung to it for nearly a generation. the great central desert was supposed to extend to the sea-coast in this direction; but gradually the real district was discovered by 'overlanders' from new south wales, and at last, in , hovell and hume crossed the murray river, skirted the australian alps, and struck the shores of port phillip between geelong and melbourne. later on the messrs. henty, crossing from tasmania, established a whaling-station in portland bay, and began cultivation also. so the new land was more and more talked about in the existing settlements, just as the new country in north-western australia is being talked of in sydney and melbourne to-day. tasmania sent the first batch of colonists, an association, with mr. john batman at its head, being formed to take up land there. in one sense batman did take up land on an enormous scale. he landed in may, . he says in a despatch to the governor of tasmania: 'after some time and full explanation, i found eight chiefs amongst them who possessed the whole of the territory near port phillip. three brothers, all of the same name, were the principal chiefs, and two of them, men six feet high, very good-looking; the other not so tall, but stouter. the chiefs were fine men. after explanation of what my object was, i purchased five large tracts of land from them--about , acres, more or less--and delivered over to them blankets, knives, looking-glasses, tomahawks, beads, scissors, flour, &c., as payment for the land; and also agreed to give them a tribute or rent yearly. the parchment the eight chiefs signed this afternoon, delivering to me some of the soil, each of them, as giving me full possession of the tracts of land.' how the blacks could sign a parchment is somewhat of a mystery. batman seems to have recognised that a performance of this kind would be laughed at, and so he goes on to describe another signing away which took place. he travelled about with the natives, marking boundary trees. batman was a hardy bushman, and acquired great fame in tasmania by his courage in capturing a notorious convict desperado; but if he imagined that these deeds and purchases would ever be recognised, he was as simple as the blacks themselves. as a matter of fact, no one ever took any notice of them. within a few weeks after the transaction, the second or fawkner party of settlers were on the river yarra, had landed in the gully now called elizabeth street, melbourne, and the future capital had been founded. when the deeds were shown to the new arrivals, they laughed and declined to move on, but proceeded to clear away the site of the city. batman died from the effects of a severe cold in , and 'batman's hill,' where he built his hut, has been cleared away to make room for the great spencer street railway station. john batman would probably have become a rich man had he lived, but his estate was frittered away, and his grandchildren are now working in the mass for their living. quite recently, a subscription having been organised for the purpose, a suitable monument was placed over the grave of the pioneer in the old melbourne cemetery. the blacks would certainly have very much liked the terms which batman made with them to have been respected, for batman spoke of a yearly rent, and no one afterwards ever dreamed of such a provision. the rival pioneer was much more fortunate. john pascoe fawkner lived to a ripe old age, became a member of the legislative council, and 'fawkner's park,' a handsome city reserve, perpetuates his name; while his portrait is in the victorian national gallery. the last time the author met the shrewd old man was in , when he had stopped his carriage on the eastern hill to gaze wistfully at the scene, and was ready to talk with animation about the changes that had passed over it. those changes had been great indeed. on the whole, the lieutenant of the convoy ship _calcutta_ was not exactly happy in his prophecy, when he wrote as he sailed away: 'the kangaroo now reigns undisturbed lord of the port phillip soil, and he is likely to retain his dominion for ages.' sir thomas mitchell was more felicitous when, being commissioned by the sydney government to explore and report on the country to the south of the murray, he wrote back in - : 'a land more favourable for colonisation could not be found. this is _australia felix_.' [illustration: melbourne, . (_from the original sketch by mr. s. h. haydon._)] the surface of this south-eastern corner of australia is strangely diversified, and hence its charm. its own south-eastern region is occupied by the australian alps. hundreds of peaks rising from to feet in height secure here an abundant rainfall, and in the sheltered gullies a noble vegetation is to be found; then come the uplands sloping down to the murray plains. and back from the western seaboard stretches the beautiful so-called western district, composed of open rolling plains studded with lakes, and with the isolated cones of extinct volcanoes. a grand and terrible sight they must have presented when these agents were at work sending forth fire, ashes and water, but, happily for man, their powers have departed long, long ago. mount franklin shows no sign of becoming a second vesuvius, and the volcanic deposit has secured for the west a wonderful luxuriance of growth--such a growth as the grazier dearly loves. the beauty of the eastern district of victoria is of the kind that delights the artist; the pleasant western spectacle is grateful to the banker. the capitalist will build a cottage home in the one, but he will advance money freely on the acres of the other. the gold-fields are the least picturesque of any portion of the austral region, though as gold-fields they possess a romance of their own. [illustration: a railway pier in melbourne in .] but, turning from the country to the town, we have first and foremost that special pride of victoria, the great city of melbourne. batman proclaimed the site 'a good spot for a village,' and the village has become a metropolis. we give an engraving showing what melbourne was like in , and as a contrast, one of a railway pier in the same city forty-six years later. its population of over , puts melbourne into the rank of the first score of the cities of the empire. and if area were considered as the test, the city would not easily be surpassed, except by london itself, for a ten miles' radius from the post office is required to cover it all. there is much filling in to be done, of course, but brighton, oakleigh, surrey hills, and other of the long distance suburbs have not only been built up to, but are being passed by the spreading population. the city itself is a compact mass of about a mile and a half square, encircled by large parks and gardens, all the property of the people, and permanently reserved for their use. built upon a cluster of small rolling hills, the views of melbourne are pleasantly interrupted, and yet it is possible to obtain frequent glimpses from commanding points, either of the whole or of parts of the whole. you will turn a corner and come upon a panoramic peep of streets, of sea and of spires that takes one's breath away. near bishopscourt you have one of these 'coigns of vantage.' you see the busy town below, and hear its hum. on the one side are the suburbs where artisan and clerk and small tradesman have their long rows of cottages and houses, costing from £ to £ , each, while on the other side are the high lands of malvern and toorak, where the successful squatter, speculator, and storekeeper have erected mansions, standing in at present prices from £ , to £ , . government house, the residence of his excellency, the representative of the crown, is a conspicuous object to the south; to the north is the handsome exhibition building, in which the gathering of was held. numerous places of amusement speak of a pleasure-loving people. the two or three spires upon every hill proclaim a christian community not averse to spending money and making sacrifices for its religion. there is no veneer. the cottage is usually of brick; the public buildings, from the twin cathedrals of the roman and anglican churches downwards, are of stone, which is costly here. the mushroom melbourne of has been exchanged for mr. g. a. sala's 'marvellous melbourne' of the present year of grace, . [illustration: a melbourne suburban house.] melbourne streets are wide--a chain and a half or ninety-nine feet in all--and they are busy. the shops seem 'squat' to most visitors from the old world, for two stories high was the rule until within the last few years; but as the price of land goes up, so does the height of the buildings. nothing would be built in the city now under four or five stories, and there are tradesmen's places and stores and 'coffee palaces' that run up to six and seven stories, and are more than a hundred feet above the level of the roadway. thus the complaint of squatness will speedily disappear. not only are the streets wide, but they are also regular. some run north and south; others east and west. thus the city is something of a gridiron, or rather, giants could play games of chess upon its plan. usually towns have been built on the tracks of the cows of the first inhabitants, but melbourne is a surveyor's city. all the streets are straight, and none would be narrow but that lanes intended by the original designers as back entrances for the residents of the main roads have been eagerly seized upon, and are utilised as business frontages. the importers of 'soft goods'--that is, of articles of apparel--have taken possession of one of these streets, flinders lane, and as 'the lane' it is known everywhere throughout australia, without the need of any distinctive affix. further north, dilapidated buildings in another 'lane,' with their shutters up and a profuse display of blue banners with golden hieroglyphics, proclaim that little bourke street has been converted into a chinese quarter. the main streets run their mile and more east and west. they are five in number, with four lanes, while nine broad streets run north and south. of the five, flinders street is adjacent to the wharves and great warehouses, and is commercial in character. [illustration: bird's-eye view of melbourne, showing public offices and gardens: st. kilda in the distance.] [illustration: bird's-eye view of melbourne, looking southwards to the sea.] collins street runs from the public offices in the east to the country railway-station in the west. the one end is given up to the fashionable doctors and the favoured dentists, handsome churches and prosperous chemists filling in the interstices. from the town hall corner, collins street is gay with carriages and with pedestrians who come to see or to shop. farther on we enter the region of the banks, the exchange, the offices of barristers and solicitors, and the rooms of the auctioneers. here men of business are hurrying about. the flutter about the tall building on the left tells of some mining excitement. farther on, a bearded, sun-burned, but well-dressed group will attract attention. 'scott's' is the squatters' hotel, and it has been selected as the place for submitting to auction those 'well-known and extensive pastoral properties entitled the "billabong blocks," within easy distance of market (say eight hundred miles), together with all improvements and stock.' the conversation is whether the station will bring £ , or not--for it is a large property; whether a better sale could have been effected in sydney, and so on; and next day you read in your _argus_ that 'the biddings reached £ , , when the lot was passed in, and was subsequently sold at a satisfactory price, withheld.' last of all, in collins street come assurance companies' offices, the buildings of merchants, and great wool stores. in bourke street, commencing again at the west, where the new houses of parliament stand, we have first shops, hotels, and theatres, then hotels and mews, and finally a region of hotels (now less frequent), and of offices and stores. lonsdale street is in a transitive condition. la trobe street is not recognised. standing on the midway flat you see two hills: the western hill is commercial, the eastern hill is social. after six o'clock flinders street and collins street are deserted. in place of busy scenes of life there is gloom and solitude, while eastern bourke street, where the theatres and concert halls are, is lit up and is thronged. leisured people who can promenade in the daytime use collins street as their lounge; the toiling multitude, who must promenade in the evening or not at all, patronise bourke street. on saturday nights the bourke street block is great; the footways will not accommodate the crowds. another melbourne feature is the rush from the city from four to six o'clock p.m., and the inrush from eight to ten o'clock in the morning. it is enormous, but it is easily met. there is an extensive suburban railway system, the property of the government--as all railways in victoria are. omnibuses and waggonettes are numerous, the latter taking the place of the london cab; and now there are gliding through the streets the successful and popular cable trams, a company having obtained a concession to put down fifty miles of these costly roadways. let a heavy shower of rain fall at or about six p.m., however, and the rush is too great for the accommodation, and those 'too late' have to wait for return vehicles, and to bewail their misfortune. [illustration: bird's-eye view of central melbourne.] [illustration: bourke street, melbourne, looking east.] in public buildings melbourne would be really great, if all that have been begun were finished. but few are. the citizens are not running up miserable flimsy structures, but are building for posterity. final contracts have been taken for the houses of parliament, which are to be finished with a newly-discovered stone of a beautiful whiteness, but expensive to work. from first to last half a million of money will be spent on these halls of legislation. they will crown the eastern hill. the law courts, which cost nearly £ , , are finished, and constitute a handsome pile on the western hill. st. patrick's cathedral, on the eastern hill, will be a marvel, and it is slowly creeping on. the anglican cathedral, founded by bishop moorhouse, is in the heart of the city, and is making more rapid progress. the public library is a noble institution, containing , volumes, and is open without restraint to all comers. so is a national picture gallery which is attached, and which contains specimens of the work of many of the best modern masters. there is a national museum, in which the australian fauna is admirably represented, and the melbourne university is near at hand. this institution, beautifully situated and handsomely endowed, grants degrees which are recognised throughout the empire, and its doors are open to male and to female students alike. ladies have taken b.a. and m.a. degrees already, and the number of the softer sex entering is on the increase. not a ladies' school of repute but has its matriculation class. the town hall, where , people can sit to listen to the organ--one of the world's great organs--is not to be passed over. the botanic gardens are another show spot. they are well within the civic bounds, and by visiting them you obtain a series of lovely views, and become acquainted with the flora of the australian continent, for everything that can be coaxed to grow here has been provided by the director, mr. guilfoyle, with a suitable home. there is a gully for the graceful gippsland ferns, a spot for the gorgeous illawarra flame-tree, a guarded receptacle for the great northern nettle-bush, which is here twelve or fifteen feet in height, and which no one would presume to handle. cycads, palms, and palm lilies represent queensland in one division; a mass of foliage of a bright metallic green speaks of new zealand in another. of no place is the melbournite more proud than of the gardens, which mr. guilfoyle has only had in hand about twelve years, but which he has transformed from a waste into a paradise. [illustration: university, melbourne.] melbourne has a grand system of water supply. the river plenty, a tributary of the yarra, is dammed twenty miles away, and the huge reservoir when full contains nearly a two years' supply. the reticulation allows of a supply of eighty gallons per head to each consumer; but in hot days the demand for baths and for the garden are so great that this quantity is not found to be half enough, and improvements are to be effected. the yan yean system has cost £ , , , and now the watts river is to be brought in, and as the engineers speak of £ , being necessary, the presumption is that £ , , will be required. it is a grand spectacle to see a full head of yan yean turned on to a fire, say at night, when there is no strain to abate the maximum pressure. the flames are not so much put out as they are smashed out of existence. on a wooden building the jet will act like a battering-ram, sending everything flying. no engine is required in these cases; the hose is wound on a light big-wheeled reel, and the instant an alarm is given a brigade can start off at racing speed and come into action on the moment of arrival. [illustration: the fitzroy gardens, melbourne.] as to industries, a list would be wearisome. a hundred tall chimneys make known to the observer the fact that melbourne is becoming a great manufacturing centre. the reserves between the city and its suburbs must ever be the greatest charm of melbourne. to leave melbourne on the south, you must pass through the mile-long albert park, with its ornamental water and its handsome carriage drives, or you must saunter through fawkner park or the domain. yarra park and the botanic gardens are to the south-east, and they link with the beautiful fitzroy gardens. carlton gardens crown the city to the north, and communicate by smaller reserves, such as lincoln square, to the , acre royal park, in which, among other attractions, are the well-stocked gardens of the zoological society, open to the public on certain days, in consideration of a government subsidy, free of cost. the yarra park, lying between melbourne and richmond, contains the principal cricket grounds of the city. here the melbourne cricket club has its head-quarters, and much its sward and its grand stand and its pavilion are praised by our cricketing friends from the old world. in the season the big matches, all england _v._ australia, or new south wales _v._ victoria, will draw their tens of thousands of spectators, and on other occasions the area is utilised for moonlight concerts, for flower-shows, and for pyrotechnics. a jealous eye is kept upon these reserves. once or twice a minister, eager to increase the land revenue, has made a dash at a city park, and has essayed to sell a slice, but so great has been the uproar that no government is likely to indulge in the effort again. indeed, in almost all cases, the alienation has now been rendered impossible except by means of an act of parliament, which could never be obtained. the belt of reserves-- , acres in all--is secure, and it must grow in beauty yearly, continually adding to the attractions of the town. as it is within a stone's throw of city life, you can wander into cool glens and sequestered shades, and hear the thrush sing, or study the beauties of a fern gully. to the pedestrian the walk to business in the morning or from it in the evening is thus rendered delightful; but if the ordinary australian can possibly avoid it he never does walk. you meet curious traces in these reserves of that former time when the eucalypts sheltered not the inevitable perambulator and nursemaid at noon, nor the equally inevitable 'young people' at the 'billing and cooing' stage in the evening, but rather the kangaroo and the black fellow. in the yarra park an inscription on a green tree calls attention to the fact that a bark canoe has been taken from the trunk. the canoe shape being evident in the stripped portion, and the marks of the stone hatchet being still visible on the stem. the blacks would find their way to the river impeded now by a treble-track railway that runs close to their old camp, carrying passengers to a station which three hundred trains enter and leave daily. melbourne has a river. one knows this mostly by crossing the bridges, as otherwise the yarra plays but a small part in the social arrangements of the community. the lower portion of the stream is being greatly improved. it is to be straightened and deepened, so that the largest liners are to come up to the city, as already do -ton intercolonial steamers. the works, which will cost millions, are now ( ) about half-way through. near melbourne the stream is muddy and nasty. sluicers use the water for gold-washing purposes twenty miles away, and factories were allowed years back to be started upon its banks, and though new tanneries and new fellmongeries are forbidden, the old evil-smelling establishments remain. few who look upon the sluggish ditch at melbourne would imagine that five and forty miles away it is a brisk and sparkling river, parrots and satin birds and kingfishers floating about it, ferns bending over and hiding its waters, and the giant gum rising from its banks to double the height of any city spire. the improvements will make the yarra below the city a grand stream, bearing the commerce of the world on its bosom, and one may look forward to the time when the city portion itself will be purified, and the river made worthy of its romantic mountain home. [illustration: the yarra yarra, near melbourne.] the city has its drawbacks. there is dust in the summer, which the water-carts seek in vain to control; and there is mud in winter, which no raving against the corporation appears to affect; and the less said on the drainage question the better. again, as to weather, there are people who protest against the suddenness of the change when the wind in january chops round from north to south, and after panting in the morning you begin to think of a fire at night. but the three hundred delightful days of the year, when existence is a pleasure, are to be remembered, and not the odd sixty-five when ills have to be endured. a favourable impression is usually made upon visitors by the city with its charm of suburbs, its wealth and reserves, its crowds of well-dressed people, always busy about either their pleasure or their business, always obliging, the poorest showing no signs of poverty, nor yet the lowest of the influence of drink. and if a visitor had ideas of his own he would withhold any adverse dictum until he was away, and would not seek to wound the feelings of his hospitable hosts. with them, at any rate, it is a cardinal principle of faith that their much-loved home is entitled to the proud appellation of the 'queen city of the south.' an 'unearned increment,' such as would satisfy the most glowing dreams of the most ardent speculator, has occurred in the capital. one instance may be given. one of the few original half-acre blocks now in possession undisturbed--not cut up--of the family of the original purchaser is situated in a good part of collins street. the colonist whose executors are now holding the property gave £ for it in . to-day the sixty-six feet frontage to collins street is worth £ , per foot; the flinders lane frontage is worth £ per foot. a little ciphering brings out a sum total of £ , as the present value of the original £ investment. and for decades the income derived from the block has been counted by many thousands per annum. the £ has by this time earned at least £ , in all. in many country places a £ lot will bring £ when a decade has passed. but then the place may not become a centre, and your 'unearned increment' will be no more substantial than the evening cloud. there is a reverse to this shield, as to all others. [illustration: bird's-eye view of sandhurst.] from melbourne it is easy to journey to the two great gold-fields of victoria--ballarat and sandhurst. the latter is due north, and is reached by a double-track railway, built in the early days at a cost of £ , per mile. single-track railways, costing £ , per mile, are now the order of the day. sandhurst is the bendigo of old days. it has had many ups and downs; has been deserted, and has been ruined; but the result is the fine city of to-day, with its broad, tree-lined streets, its splendid buildings, and high degree of commercial activity. as a recent writer puts it: 'what vicissitudes has not the place undergone! from enormous wealth to the verge of bankruptcy, from the pinnacle of prosperity to the direst adversity; from financial soundness to commercial rottenness; and yet, with that wonderful elasticity and buoyancy which characterises our gold-fields, the falling ball has rebounded, the sunken cork has again come to the surface, and sandhurst, after all her reverses, is perhaps now richer and on a safer basis than ever--a city whose wide, well-watered streets are perfect avenues of trees, bordered by handsome buildings and well-stocked shops, brilliantly lighted by gas; whose hotel accommodation is proverbially good, whose civic affairs are admirably regulated, whose citizens are busy, hospitable, and prosperous.' there is no mistake about the character of the town. miles and miles of country before you enter it have been excavated and upturned by the alluvial digger. and there are few more desolate sights to be met with than a worked-out and deserted diggings, for often nature refuses to lend her assistance, and does not hide the violated tract with trees or verdure. ugly gravel heaps, staring mounds of 'pipe-clay,' deposits of sludge, a surface filled with holes, broken windlasses, the wrecks of whims, all combine to make a hideous picture as they stand revealed in the pitiless sunshine. alluvial digging of the shallow type is a curse to the unhappy country operated upon. but alluvial mining has long had its little day, and ceased to be in and about sandhurst, and the town lives now by deep quartz mining. you come upon the 'poppet-heads' and the batteries everywhere, even in the beautiful reserve which is the centre of the city. sandhurst contains , inhabitants, , of whom are miners, while the value of the mining machinery and plant is three-quarters of a million sterling. old bendigo had busy scenes, but never did it witness such excitement as when a share mania broke out in . then it was that the richness of the so-called 'saddle reefs' was demonstrated. the old-established companies were paying well, and the extended hustlers exhibited one cake of , ozs. as the result of a crushing of tons. this was just the spark wanted to set the market aflame. from being unduly neglected, sandhurst was unduly exalted; new companies were projected in every direction where a line of reefs could be imagined; existing 'claims' were subdivided, and in a few months £ , was invested in sandhurst mines. of course there was a reaction; but though the speculators lost money to sharpers, there really were auriferous reefs in sandhurst to be honestly worked, and no town seems more likely to hold its own in victoria than the great quartz city. foundries and potteries are springing up in its midst, or rather have sprung up; vineyards and orchards are found to be successes in its neighbourhood, and the visitor is grateful for the tree planting in the broad streets, appreciates the water supply, is duly dazed if he enters a battery chamber, and is delighted when , feet below the surface he is allowed to break off some fragment of glittering quartz. ballarat lies miles to the north-east of melbourne, or at least it is that distance by rail, viâ geelong, but a direct line will soon reduce it to a distance of seventy miles. an upland plateau, with a fringe of hills all around, some of these now denuded of their timber, and glittering white, cold, and bare in the sun, the earth pitted with holes and gullies, scarified as if by some gigantic rooster, 'mullock'-heaps, 'poppet-heads,' and engine-stacks everywhere. this is one's first impression of ballarat. gold-fields are very much like each other all over the world. 'substitute pines for eucalypti,' says mr. julian thomas, 'and i could imagine this to be california. but when one first drives from the station and sees the magnificent width of sturt street, with the avenue of trees planted along the centre, the public buildings, banks, and churches--you are possessed with astonishment that this is a mining town. ballarat is indeed a great inland capital. the difference between this and sandhurst is that at the latter the mines obtrude themselves everywhere. one cannot go half a block but one has mullock-heaps and poppet-heads in view. there is a mine in every back-yard. at sandhurst it is gold--nothing but gold! small nuggets are occasionally, so say the truthful inhabitants, picked up by sharp-visioned pedestrians in the public streets. there is gold or evidences of it all around, even in the very bricks of the houses in which we live, for the old men tell that the first brick building ever erected in sandhurst was pulled down and crushed, yielding three ounces to the ton! in ballarat it is all different. walk up sturt street, or along lydiard street, and one sees nothing but substantial buildings and avenues of trees. the mines are in the suburbs, and do not deface the town, as at sandhurst. after an experience of the plains the city is a perfect arcadia. embowered in trees, the homes of the people are surrounded with gardens. there is verdure and vegetation in every street. one mentally associates an amount of roughness and coarseness with a mining town. here it is quite other than so. there is everything to bring light and culture and sweetness home to the people. sandhurst is superior in one respect--that its public gardens are right in the centre of the town, running by the side of old bendigo creek; but there is nothing in the colonies to surpass wendouree lake, the walks around it, and the adjacent reserves and botanical gardens. an easy walk from the town, and you embark on one of the fleet of elegant little steamers--perfect yachts--furnished with luxurious cushions and rugs as protection from the spray. here everything is calm and peaceful. there is no dust, no noise, no smells. sailing boats and rowing boats are plentiful; in little punts fishermen are bobbing for perch. this is a lung which gives health and happiness to the inhabitants of ballarat. and when, after crossing the lake, you land under the shade of english oak trees, and the air is perfumed with the scent of new-mown hay, you feel that in no other mining community in the world have the people such privileges as here. the botanical gardens are always beautiful, and are a model to other establishments of the same kind in much larger communities.' it was here, early in august , that alluvial gold was discovered at a bend in the yarrowee creek, renamed golden point, where the toil of some of the earlier diggings yielded from twenty to fifty pounds weight of gold per day. in some spots, indeed, the gold lay almost on the surface, amidst the roots of the bush grass, to be turned up by the wheels of the passing bullock-drays, or picked out by hand after heavy showers. at first it was thought that the auriferous deposit did not extend beyond the commencement of the pipe-clay stratum, and most of the diggers moved further afield as soon as they had turned over the bare skin, so to speak, of the ground; but one digger, more persistent than the rest, dug beyond the clay, and was richly rewarded by finding that here lay the true home of the precious metal, here were the 'pockets' so dear to the heart of the true digger. the deserted 'claims' were quickly reoccupied, fresh thousands of diggers poured to the locality, and in a couple of months ballarat was more vigorous than ever. then for a time it was thought that the golden riches lay solely in the alluvial stratum; but more modern research led to the discovery of a number of quartz reefs, from which large quantities of gold have been taken. amongst the leading mines at present being worked are the celebrated 'block hill,' the 'band and albion,' 'redan,' 'washington,' 'koh-i-noor,' 'band of hope,' 'victoria united,' 'llanberis,' 'smith's freehold,' 'williams' freehold,' together with scores of others, employing upwards of three hundred steam engines, with an aggregate of about ten thousand horse-power, besides numerous machines worked by horses. the total value of the plant and machinery in use is nearly a million sterling, and the number of miners engaged in active operations is returned as nine thousand, of whom nearly one-seventh are chinese. the total number of quartz reefs proved to be auriferous is between and , while the extent of auriferous ground worked upon in the district is square miles. but, in addition to its mines, ballarat is renowned for its pastoral and agricultural advantages, the ballarat farmers being always large prize-takers at the various annual shows. the town is delightfully situated at an elevation of , feet above the sea-level, and is correspondingly healthy for all rejoicing in fairly robust constitutions. in winter the weather is sometimes of an ultra-bracing quality with sharp frosts, and even an occasional fall of snow, but on the whole the climate is very good. 'the corner' is a local institution. it was at the corner in olden days that a sort of open-air stock exchange was established, and here do speculators of all degrees still delight to come. many are the stories of the fortunes that have here changed hands at a word--of the midas-like touch of some, the claudian fatality of withering blight possessed by others. here, in the maddest times of the gold fever, was a scene of gambling pure and simple, as reckless as ever broke a homburg bank. here was the _auri sacra fames_ in its most maddening and tantalising intensity. and here, even in these more prosaic times, are sudden flashes of the old spirit, that keep gesticulating crowds surging over the pavement, and the busy wires working hence to melbourne, sandhurst, and other commerce-hives. now and again we read of half-a-ton or so of gold being sent by one or other of the ballarat banks to its melbourne head office, and then we may be sure, there is a bubbling over of excitement at the corner. but it soon calms down to the ordinary seething of the cauldron, to which the shares of the various mining companies bob up and down with a regularity that can be almost reduced to a certainty. anthony trollope said of ballarat: 'it struck me with more surprise than any other city in australia. it is not only its youth, for melbourne is also very young; nor is it the population of ballarat which amazes, for it does not exceed a quarter of that of melbourne; but that a town so well built, so well ordered, endowed with present advantages so great in the way of schools, hospitals, libraries, hotels, public gardens, and the like, should have sprung up so quickly with no internal advantages of its own other than that of gold. the town is very pleasant to the sight.' and with these pleasant words we may leave the great mining capital. if cities, like men, could enforce their rights by suits of equity, geelong would be the capital of the colony of victoria, and many heartburnings, past and present, would have been avoided. but as matters stand, geelong has to be content with third place in the list of victorian extra-metropolitan cities, and with a population of about , . the claims of the town to greater consideration lie in its situation on the shores of corio bay, thus nearer to the sea than melbourne, its central position as regards the first cultivated and most fertile district of the colony, and its early settlement. john bateman, the pioneer, with his party of three white men and four sydney blacks, landed at indented head on may , , and would have 'squatted' thereabouts permanently had it not been for the proceedings of the aboriginals. as it was, geelong was really founded as far back as , when its site was planned by the then surveyor-general, robert hoddle, and in , or before the golden days, it was incorporated into a town. but fine harbour, excellent geographical position, and rich country at its back, were not enough to enable geelong to compete in the race with melbourne, ballarat, and sandhurst. it has grown truly, and the growth has been of the steady nature which gives flavour and solidity; but lacking the fertilising medium of gold, there is no luxuriance, no profusion. in the glorious future--the good time coming--this may prove to have been an advantage. at present it is regarded as a drawback. the town is in almost hourly communication with melbourne, both by rail and steamer, and presents many other features showing it to be instinct with vitality of the best sort, and ready at any time to forge its way to the front. geelong exports goods, principally wool and produce, to the value of three-quarters of a million sterling per annum, and sends cargoes direct to london and liverpool. to accommodate shipping three substantial jetties have been built at an expenditure of nearly one hundred thousand pounds, and the bar at the entrance of the harbour is kept clear to the depth of twenty-two feet. another feature which strikes the eye of the visitor as he glances admiringly round the beautiful bay, on the shores of which the town sits enthroned, is the number of bathing establishments. there are no less than four of these, all of large size and comfortable appointments. [illustration: on lake wellington.] geelong tweed has achieved a high reputation in many markets, and the shawls and blankets made in the town are also widely known. after inspecting the gold-fields there can be no greater change for the visitor than to proceed to that western district, far famed in australia for the richness of its soil, the fineness of its pasture, and the soft beauty of its scenery. it is easily reached, for the railway now runs into its heart at colac and camperdown. this is the lake country of victoria. an easy climb takes you to the top of the mount at colac, and once there you can appreciate the description which mr. julian thomas, the most popular descriptive writer of the australian press, gives of the scene:-- 'this lake country of victoria,' says mr. thomas, 'possesses distinct features, distinct beauties, as yet unsung and unheard of except by the few. as i sit on a fragment of igneous rock and look around me, i indeed feel that "the singer is less than his themes." i feel that i cannot do justice to this magnificent view, i cannot describe all the pleasure it gives me. my readers must come and judge for themselves. we are on the edge of the extinct crater of an enormous volcano. below us a number of lakes. fresh and salt, some fifteen can be counted from this spot. they vary in size from the little mountain tarn filling up one of the mouths of the crater to the great dead sea, corangamite, more than miles round, and covering , acres. this lake is salter than the sea--no fish will live in its waters. from the stony rises on the south to foxhow on the north its shores are outlined with jutting promontories--quaint and picturesque rocky curves, which give it additional beauty. corangamite lake is studded with islands, which increase its attractions by the variety of their form. on these, i am told, the pelicans, so numerous here, build their nests. light and shadow are depicted in the reflections of passing clouds. the shores are white with accumulations of salt. away in the north-west the dim, blue line of the grampians. all around, hills and mountains--the otway ranges, noorat, leura, porndon--are clearly defined. the park-like plains stretching away to the horizon are dotted with trees, under which thousands of cattle and sheep are sheltering from the rays of the noonday sun. here and there pleasant homesteads, green cultivation patches, and fields of golden grain. but the especial glory of the scene is in the variety and number of the smaller lakes filling the craters below us. the yellow tints of the bracken covering the slopes are varied with green glints from the foliage of choice ferns on the steep banks, other colours being supplied by the mosses on the rocks. we have here light and shade, form, outline, colour--everything which makes up beauty in a landscape. and beyond that there is the wonderful interest in thinking of the past. of the age when the numerous volcanoes in the west blazed forth their liquid fire over the land. of the succeeding ages, when the craters, cooled and filled by springs, for century after century, shone in all their glory of lake and tarn under the actinic rays of the morning sun, which darkened the skin of the few black fellows camped on their banks. now coc coc coine, last king of the warrions, has gone. we possess the land, with none to dispute our right to this earthly paradise. but the track of the serpent is even here. the enemy of mankind has now taken the form of the rabbit, which swarms around the red rock by the thousand. [illustration: a victorian lake.] 'a strange feature in the lakes here is that they are alternately fresh and salt. of five within gunshot of where we stand, three are salt and two fresh, yet they are separated only by narrow isthmuses. they vary also considerably in their height above sea-level. corangamite is higher than colac--these crater-tarns higher than corangamite. there is a very high percentage of salt in some of these lakes. the saline properties are caused by the drainage from the basalt rocks, "the water being kept down by vaporisation, while the quantity of salt continually increases." in the summer the lakes fall by evaporation considerably below winter level, leaving on the banks large quantities of native salt in crystals, the gathering of which forms a remunerative occupation to many in the district. cattle love this native salt, but corangamite and its fellows are avoided by mankind. none bathe in their waters; no boats sail upon them. the large lake itself has not even been surveyed or sounded. i am surprised that this has not been used for navigation. in the united states there would be steamers towing flat-bottomed barges; live stock and fire and pit wood, as well as passengers, would be conveyed from north to south and east to west; for, although shallow in places, there is ample depth for boats built on the american model. there was a tradition amongst the blacks that corangamite and colac were once dry, and again that at one time the lakes were all connected in one running stream. but whether the water privileges are sufficiently utilised or not, the lake scenery remains unequalled by anything i have yet seen. [illustration: the upper goulbourn, victoria.] the ports of this district are warnambool and belfast and portland, and near the two first-named places is land of an exceptional richness that has gone far to make the locality wealthy. here the potatoes of the continent are grown. warnambool and belfast supply the melbourne, the sydney, the brisbane, and the adelaide markets. there is no successful competition, for nowhere do quantity and quality go so well together. a maximum yield of twenty and thirty tons per acre has been obtained. the land has been sold at £ per acre. one landowner lets acres at £ s. per acre per annum. these are the 'top' prices, but they establish the fact that the volcanic formation of the western district gives patches with a marvellous producing power. a small estate in _australia felix_--for it was this region which mitchell so named--is a large fortune. portland bay is the only harbour of refuge for hundreds of miles along the coast of australia. as we steam in, cape grant shuts out the new lighthouse on cape nelson, the long swell is dashing with violence against the sides of lawrence rocks, whose peaks are the home of the gannet and other sea fowl. to the right at the extreme north is the flourishing rural township of narrawong. above this the green slopes of mount clay merge into the thickly-timbered forest land not yet cleared. ahead there is a lighthouse, a signal post, a few houses embowered in trees, high cliffs of white limestone or dark basalt, and then, as we round the promontory into the harbour, the quaint yet lovely town is all before us, extending along the bluffs above the shore, the only natural depression being where a stream flows into the sea from a lagoon in a valley at the back of the town. the beauty of this crescent-shaped bay, with its outlines of bold headlands, is striking. as to the town, the white cliffs, the stone-built churches and houses, give it an english look. it recalls many spots on the sussex coast. it is not australian in any of its outer characteristics. the spirit of the english pioneer, edward henty, seems stamped upon it. victoria is traversed for its greater part from east to west by a mountain chain, which is lofty in the south-east corner. gippsland, takes the form of mere high land at the back of melbourne, rises again in the pyrenees, and dies out in the western district. usually the chain is about seventy miles from the seaboard. from the gippsland sea-coast it presents a grand sight, often of snow-topped summits. going to the north from melbourne, you pass over the crest, which is feet high, without being aware of the rise. but all the water on the one side flows to the sea, and on the other to the river murray. crossing the range from melbourne to the north and the north-east, the country slopes to the level murray plains. here you enter upon the wheat-growing district. the level ground is fenced into fields which bear this one crop. shepparton, the agricultural centre of the north-east, aspires to be the australian chicago, and may be mentioned as an instance of the rapid changes which are possible in australia. in a pictorial work published seven years ago, mr. e. c. booth writes; 'the township of shepparton lies on the east bank of the goulbourn. it gains its chief importance from the pound of the district being within its borders, and it will be remembered for years to come on account of the long and weary journeys to it undertaken by bullock-drivers and carriers in search of their strayed cattle.' how far off are those days now! shepparton is to-day a local capital, busy and self-important. its streets are lined with shops and houses; there are five banks, several assurance agencies, a handsome town-hall, and a busy traffic. what is said of shepparton in the north-east applies to horsham in the north-west. horsham, the newly-created capital of the wimmera district, is entitled 'the prairie city.' the wimmera climate is hot and dry, and there were doubts as to whether the farmer would hold his own on these arid plains; but the settlement is now twelve years old, and is increasing mightily. this wimmera district tapers off into the mallee scrub, the old desert of victoria, which has lain neglected for years, while victorians have opened up country miles away. here the dingo found his last refuge, and to the infinite joy of the dingo, as it may be supposed, the rabbit appeared upon the scene. when the rabbit came, the few squatters who were trying to turn the mallee scrub to account gave up in despair, for first the rabbits devoured the scant grass on which the sheep fed, and then the dingoes feeding on the rabbits grew more numerous and strong. the mallee went begging in blocks of , acres, at an annual rental of £ per block; and at last the district had to be specially taken in hand by the state, and long leases have been granted to tenants on favourable terms, on condition that they destroy the 'vermin,' for that is the title bestowed upon rabbits here. several rivers strive to flow from the ranges through or by the mallee to the murray, but none succeed. the avon, the richardson, and the wimmera all collapse and disappear on their way. the loddon has a watercourse for the whole distance, but at its best in summer it will be but a chain of water-holes. yet crop after crop is taken off these plains; the farmers all appear to make money, and now that works for conserving water for irrigation are to be undertaken, the spirits of these sunburnt toilers are of the highest. [illustration: waterfall in the black spur.] all this district is intersected by 'wheat lines' of railway, over which in december, january, and february the crop is rushed to the seaboard. great are the blocks that occur, and indignant is the grumbling because the whole yield cannot be carried at once. horsham is hot with anger, and shepparton refuses to be satisfied, and the lot of the chairman of the railway commissioners is not at this period to be envied. the railways run also to the mountains of the east. one line will take the traveller to beechworth, a charming town in the north-east; another line will convey him to sale--and soon to bairnsdale--right away in gippsland. beechworth should be visited because of the beauty of its surroundings. and if the visitor is a pedestrian, he can accomplish a grand and quite a fashionable walking tour through the alps into gippsland, striking the railway either at bairnsdale or sale. he is in the neighbourhood of romantic ravines, picturesque waterfalls, and grand fern scenery. lyre-birds, bower birds and parrots will be his companions, and if he chooses to diverge a little from the route, he may break into virgin solitudes, and may measure giant gums unheard of before. [illustration: a victorian forest.] one feature is common alike to all victorian towns and the bush--the state school. in the towns the state school is a political structure. in the bush let there be twenty or thirty children in a three-mile radius, and there will be a wooden erection for the young people to attend. in some cases, where the children cannot be otherwise reached, the teacher will meet two or three families at intervals at certain houses. with a population of a million the state has , children on its school books. the instruction is 'free, compulsory, and secular,' and about this latter provision there is a great stir. it is not, however, advisable to stray into vexed issues here. suffice it that there is no more general picture in victoria, than that of the children trooping to and from their lessons, and that many a parent feels his existence brightened by the assurance that, come what may, 'schooling' is provided for. where there are no railways which the tourist can use, he may depend upon being able to proceed by 'cobb.' 'cobb' is the general name for the stage coach of the colonies, no matter who owns the vehicle, where it runs, what are its dimensions. any one who has not travelled by cobb has not properly 'done' australia; and yet the fate of the black man and the marsupial will, one plainly sees, be the fate of cobb. he will be improved out of existence, and thus another element of romance will fade away. our illustrations tell their own tale of moving incidents by field and flood. mr. anthony trollope wrote: 'a victorian coach, with six or perhaps seven or eight horses, in the darkness of the night, making its way through a thickly timbered forest at the rate of nine miles an hour, with the horses frequently up to their bellies in mud, with the wheels running in and out of holes four or five feet deep, is a phenomenon which i should like to have shown to some of those very neat mail-coach drivers whom i used to know at home in the old days. i am sure that no description would make any one of them believe that such feats of driving were possible. i feel that nothing short of seeing it would have made me believe it. the passengers inside are shaken ruthlessly, and are horribly soiled by mud and dirt. two sit upon the box outside, and undergo lesser evils. by the courtesy shown to strangers in the colonies i always got the box, and found myself fairly comfortable as soon as i overcame the idea that i must infallibly be dashed against the next gum-tree. i made many such journeys, and never suffered any serious misfortune.' [illustration: staging scenes.] why 'cobb'? it may be asked. freeman cobb was an american driver of some new york express company, who came to victoria in or , and, seeing his opportunity, sent for some brother drivers and started coaches to castlemaine and sandhurst. for the hundred miles the fare was £ , and the money was well earned. other coaches followed in all directions. no americans were needed to drive. it was found that the colonial-born youth had all the nerve and the spirit for dashing down the side of a gully, for steering along a siding, for fording a questionable creek, or for dodging fallen timber. happily for the tourist, visits to some of the show places of melbourne are still partly paid by coach. to see the romantic falls of the stevenson and the silver eucalypts of the black spur, a partial coach journey is necessary. at loutit bay waterfalls, the ocean and the big trees are all brought together, and to reach this favoured and favourite spot the coach must be utilised. it was well for the nerves of mr. anthony trollope that he was not required to perform this particular journey, lorne or loutit bay not having been opened up when he was on the land. the coaches cross a succession of ranges running up to feet in height, and they had to shave with remarkable closeness some of those gums whose nearness alarmed the english author. one rush down a steep siding was made between two giant eucalypts. there was just room to pass, but so little to spare that the axle on the off side had cut a track through the one tree by the process of frequent touching. if it had touched too hard the passengers would have picked themselves up after a drop of several hundred feet. or they might have had a grand flight through the air into the midst of the fern jungle that hid a purling stream far, far below. the rush through the twin eucalypts was exhilarating; the steerer of cobb, a native of the place, cool and confident, enjoyed it immensely. [illustration: a sharp corner.] chapter v. new south wales. survey of the colony--sydney and its harbour--the great west--the blue mountains--their grand scenery--an australian show place--the fish river caves--dubbo to the darling--the great pastures--the northern tableland--the big scrub country--tropical vegetation. [illustration: views in sydney: government house, the cathedral, and sydney heads.] [illustration: government buildings, macquarie street, sydney.] new south wales is the mother colony of australia, and though, after the gold discovery, she was for a time thrown into the shade by the prowess of her former dependency, victoria, she is making rapid strides to recover; in fact, she may be said to have regained her old premier position. her eastern boundary is the pacific ocean, which washes a coast-line of miles, bold in its outline and studded with numerous harbours. imaginary lines divide her from victoria to the south, queensland to the north, and south australia to the west. the greatest length of new south wales is miles; its greatest breadth about miles; mean breadth, miles. the superficial area is , square miles. that is to say, the colony is as extensive as the german empire and italy combined, or as france and the united kingdom. the million of population which the colony contains is thinly scattered about this vast territory, the country districts obtaining the less, because more than a third of the people are congregated at sydney, the capital, and at newcastle, the coal port adjacent to the metropolis. high mountain ranges are found in new south wales, lofty table-land, and vast low-lying plains, with the result that great variety of climate is obtained. for instance, on a certain day in november, , the newspapers state that between the warrego and the paroo, north of the darling, one thousand out of five thousand sheep had dropped dead upon a rough day's journey, wasted by the hunger and drought, and killed by heat; that two out of a party of three travellers perished of thirst in the lechlan back blocks, and the third alone, naked and half mad, reached a station to tell the tale; that on the lower reaches of clarence and richmond rivers travellers saw cattle in the last stages of starvation, dying in the mud of the river banks, while down upon the shorehaven a roaring spate was heaving haystacks to the sea; that while enterprising tourists were chilled with ice and sleet upon ben lomond, and snow was flattening crops of wheat in the gullies above tumat, sydney, despite the coolness of the daily inflow of ocean water, was suffering under a heavy sweltering heat. and while variations like these are the exception and not the rule, yet all these varied experiences may be endured in the colony on one and the same day. new south wales was discovered and named by captain cook, who landed in botany bay, a few miles north of port jackson, on the th of april, . a penal settlement was formed the following year, and four days after the arrival of the little fleet, a french expedition, under the ill-fated m. de la pérouse, cast anchor in the bay. the officer in command, captain arthur phillip, soon recognised that botany bay was in many respects unsuitable for a principal settlement; and having examined port jackson, and found it to be 'one of the finest harbours in the world,' he did not hesitate to substitute it as the position from which to commence australian colonisation. on the th of january, , the fleet and all the people were transferred to port jackson; a landing was made at the head of sydney cove (the circular quay), and the colony of new south wales was formally declared to be founded. the first settlers in all numbered , of whom were male exiles and female exiles. on the th of february arthur phillip, captain-general and governor-in-chief of the new territory, established a regular form of government; and, in his address to the assembled colonists, expressed his conviction that the state, of which he had laid the foundation, would, ere many generations passed away, become the 'centre of the southern hemisphere--the brightest gem of the southern ocean.' the peculiar audience which he addressed did not share his enthusiasm, but the prediction has been abundantly realised. the convict stage is now forgotten as a dream. to-day new south wales contains almost a third of the population of all the colonies, has an annual import and export trade of nearly £ , , , and raises annually £ , , of revenue. the colony has already constructed miles of railway, and is constructing miles, and parliament has authorised the construction of miles, and there are , miles of telegraph wires open. the value of its annual export of wool is, in normal seasons, worth £ , , ; its sheep number , , ; its horses, , ; its horned cattle, , , ; and its swine, , . the land under crop is , , acres; the annual out-put of coal is , , tons, of which nearly two-thirds are exported. the mines of gold, silver, tin, copper, and manganese, are also very rich, and their export is great. the city of sydney and its suburbs have a population of , . [illustration: statue of captain cook at sydney.] the following general description of sydney and the colony is contributed by mr. f. h. myers:-- 'naturally any notice of the colony of new south wales begins with sydney and its harbour-- "like some dark beauteous bird whose plumes are sparkling with unnumbered eyes," wrote moore, as he looked up aloft at the sky by night, and found companionship in the soul of beauty there. often has the image occurred to me when entering, on a summer's night, the harbour gates of beautiful sydney, or looking down upon the stillness of the sleeping coves from any of the surrounding hills. lights are spread upon the blackness of the hills--straight lines, crescents, squares, and marvellous configurations--lights rise up from the harbour depths, straight shafts and twisted columns, pillars and spires and trees of light, wherever from ship's mast, or yard, or port, rays of white or blue or red strike the waters, and straightway seem to grow as plants of fire. along the shores may be seen the blue gleams of electric fire, the duller green and red of the oil lamps on the ships, still and bright in the quiet water; alternating, mingling, shifting, blending, as the surface is only slightly stirred. every calm night brings such illumination. 'a traveller entering sydney harbour upon any still night sees this panorama opening to him; and if he have the good fortune to be detained in quarantine till morning, he may see a far more beautiful picture by rising with the rising sun. the city and the harbour lie spread out before him, the spires and towers standing out in the distance, clear and shining in the morning sunlight. the long land arms run out on either hand, while the blue sea, unruffled and smooth, forms a fine contrast to rock and foliage and sky. 'to see sydney well in the clear broad daylight, it is needful to travel by the cable tram to the heights of north shore, and walk thence by the military road to the head of morsman's bay. a splendid view point is thus obtained, above and opposite to the length and breadth of the city. you see the light-tower upon the moth head, and following the coast-line south you look along all the heights of woolahra, waverly, and paddington to randwick. between that ocean coast and the inner line of the harbour are the homes of a quarter of a million of people. you may see thence the spires of st. philip's, and st. james', and st. david's, and st. patrick's, the towers of st. andrew's cathedral, and, through the heavy foliaged trees of the domain, the high walls of the yet unfinished st. mary's. in the distance, and partly obscured by the smoke of the university buildings, the various colleges are grouped, almost joined by the distance. near them are the prince alfred hospital, and the deaf, dumb, and blind institutions. [illustration: sydney harbour.] [illustration: the post office, george street, sydney.] [illustration: macquarie street, sydney.] 'in the dense centre of city buildings rises the new tower of the general post office. it overlooks everything, and waves its flag of practical utility in the sight of the whole city. very near to it appears the town hall, small by comparison, though more elaborate, and between them and the water the heavy masses of commercial buildings fringed by the unbroken line of masts. the city yet to be on the north shore looks very small, and you are not surprised that no suspension bridge overhangs the water. you must look into the future for that. 'complete your picture of the present by a glance up the long estuaries of the paramatta and lane cove rivers, and a look across the rolling woodlands westward to the giant barrier of the blue mountains. look also across the harbour, where right below you the round tower of fort dennison stands in mid-channel, and a little lower down the perfect half moon of rose bay, blue as the sky above. look down to the heads, where a dozen craft are entering upon the long huge rollers which break upon bluff dobroyd opposite, or die down to ripples upon the innumerable beaches of middle harbour. watch the many lights and colours of the water, the ultramarine of the mid-channel, the indigo in the shadow of the hills, the emerald of a strip close beneath the cliff, where no wind moves, nor any pulse of tide or ocean stir is felt; the glories of opal and amber, where fierce sun rays burn about rocky shores. 'take in all the greatness and beauty of the present, and then try to realise the picture in the square miles of buildings already raised. you can see how they are growing, how far away to south and west, and through the forest and beside the waters of the north coast, houses and establishments of various kinds are rising like _avant couriers_ of the compact masses whose advance is by no means slow. look from them to a point of the city where roofs and chimneys are most closely packed, where the smoke of the labour of human life seems ascending perpetually, and you may see a succession of white puffs, and hear a louder, sharper pulse of toil pierce the low murmur of distant and multitudinous sounds, and you know that you look upon the present centre of the railway system of the colony; you have fixed your eye upon the focussing point of two thousand miles of railways. these are the feeders of the city; these reaching out divide and grip and drain the colony. they gather its produce, the results of its labour, and bring them down to this city, which stands without rival or competitor along miles of coast. [illustration: the town hall, sydney.] 'let us travel along each of these lines, radiating somewhat as the fingers of a spread hand from south to north. 'the south coast railway, the most recently opened and not yet completed line, runs down the south coast to kiama. this line is a purveyor of many luxuries and necessaries of life, leading out first to broad suburban breathing grounds on the country between the southern bank of port jackson and botany bay, making a hundred square miles of good building country accessible, crossing the historic bay three miles up the tidal estuary of george river, crossing a somewhat barren plateau, and arriving at the national park. it penetrates next vast forests and overruns tremendous gorges, winding about precipices, and getting down by a way of its own to the country at the foot of the bulb pass. all the seaward slopes and ravines of this pass are as a vast natural conservatory. they take all the morning sun, they are never touched by western or southern wind, they are plentifully watered with regular rains, and they nurse and produce a beauty unfamiliar to the latitude. take a few steps over the brow of the hill on the old road, and look down. you see tropical verdure and bloom, palms rising a hundred feet, and spreading feathery plumes upon lance-like stems; myrtle and coral trees, figs and lily-pillies, with a sheen upon their leaves like the light on a summer sea; bowers and arches and impenetrable jungles of great vines, trailing tendrils fifty feet long, and swinging masses of perfumed bloom a hundred feet from the ground. there is nothing of the old familiar australian bush about it. you are , feet above the sea, which stretches away to the world's rim beneath and before you. below, past all the wonderland of the bush, is the white tower of woolongong, and beyond that the fringe of white beach and snowy breakers, the fern islands, set in sapphire. far, far away goes the coast land. 'between coast-line and mountains lies the fertile land, the strip of country that serves and feeds the great city. the train comes here to be laden with the rich produce--milk, butter, and cheese--which by tons upon tons is taken in and distributed in sydney every day. out of the bowels of the mountains the line brings also coal and iron and shale and other mineral products, and from the dense forest pour down the little coast rivers. [illustration: emu plains.] 'halting at kiama first, it will render all the beauties of the illawarra district proper accessible, as all its rich products available; but in a very few years it must pass on across shoalhaven and bega, and over the rugged country of the victorian border beyond eden and boyd town. 'our next finger, the great west, is a mighty one in every sense, miles in length, and crossing in that length a fair section of the whole colony, and enclosing in the triangle of which it forms the northern side, with the southern and south-western line and murrumbidgee river opposite, and the darling for base, the wildest mountains, the richest agricultural acres, and the broadest pastures of the colony. by paramatta, castle hill, and toongabbie, the earliest agricultural settlements the colony knew, which, however, seem rather to have reached senility than perfect development, the north-western line strikes out for the rampart of the famous blue mountains--now one of the show-places of australia. very soon the traveller perceives the great barrier stretched right across the plain. behind the dark green trees of the middle distance it looms as the wall of some forbidden land. and nearer the deep blue river at its feet looks like a moat specially made for purposes of defence. long indeed was the barrier effective, before the strong right arm of civilization put down the stone pillars and carried over the platform of the railway-bridge across which the train thunders now, the great engines puffing and snorting, their force conserved for the present, but ready to be expended by-and-by in the charge up the mountain. [illustration: the valley of the grose.] 'the upward view from that bridge should never be missed. it is a long glassy sheet of water, coming from the bold and densely timbered gate of the hilly shore miles away, and flowing down to the bridge, past the sleepy old town, between grassy banks or drooping willows, or groves of whispering oaks. there is no perceptible current, the water-lilies sleep on the surface, and if a boat be pulling upwards the ripples of the water break gently on either bank. you may note so much in the rapid transit of the train, which ten minutes after its departure from penrith station is fairly at the feet of the mountains. there are little knolls there, lightly grassed and gracefully timbered, looking down upon "long fields of barley and of rye." very soon we pass these fields; we are rising fast. the plains sink and extend beneath us. the white stones of the little grave-garden at emu plains glisten beside the tall black cypress trees, the river shines like a band of steel, and the reflection of the willows and oaks are faintly seen.' penrith looks as a child's toy village; and windsor and richmond, far away, are but indistinct white dots. all quiet, tame, prosperous, and very simply beautiful below; all above and beyond wild and rugged, and, in the commercial sense, unprofitable. as marvellous a contrast as could be imagined, the beginning and the end apparently of new orders, the results of different forces, the work of the earth spent in opposite moods. one must needs marvel in contrasting such scenes, and more profound becomes the marvel and the wonderment, as with every mile a vaster, wilder, grander region is found. cliff-faces leagues long, and a thousand feet perpendicular; huge basins, like veritable gulfs in space, where a firmament of blue gathers between the rocky mountain head and the forest growth below, isolated rocks that dwarf all monuments reared in any city of old; deep calling unto deep in innumerable waterfalls, and through all the summer months frequent thunder, as if the spirits who had wrought their marvels below were still toiling at some other labour in mid-air. the meanest mind becomes expanded in wonder, and the least philosophical instinct begins to speculate and inquire. there has, indeed, been much deep speculation, much zealous and competent inquiry as to the phenomena of these mountains, and the startling contrast upon their southern front. tennison-woods studied and wrote of them, and more recently dr. j. e. taylor has, in a few graphic sentences, expressed his opinions of the geological changes which have taken place, particularly of the changes and causes which have produced the fertile plains and the hills, whose chief present product is ozone, with the river rolling between. having touched lightly upon the facts generally known of the hawkesbury sandstone formation, overlaid on a great breadth of the county of cumberland by the wianamatta shales, he says:-- 'but the continuity of both the hawkesbury sandstones and the overlying and usually accompanying wianamatta shales is interfered with on a magnificent scale at emu plains. the entire country from this point to sydney heads has been slowly let down by one of those great earth movements known as a "downthrow fault." the downthrow was not the work of one single act of disturbance--it went on for ages. meantime the wianamatta shales, which overlaid the hawkesbury sandstones of the blue mountains, were denuded off, or nearly so, for there is only a small patch now remaining, right on the top, after we have ascended by the first zigzag, to show that they were once continuous with those of the plains more than , feet below.' there is infinite variety in the mountains. even though wearied of the grandeur and wildness of the gorges, the vastness of the basins, whose great forest carpets appear but as robes of green evenly spread, or the grotesquely piled rocks, and the bold and beautiful flora of the table-lands and mountain heads, the traveller need not hasten back to town, imagining he has seen all. let him find his way down from blackheath to the entrance of a valley known as the mermaid's cave--a great grey rock that juts out and almost blocks the valley, dividing a somewhat arid gorge above from a lovely dell below. he passes through a rock-cleft, and there before him is a scene beautiful as new. there indeed,-- 'a vale of beauty, lovelier than all the valleys of the greater hills.' yes, this is the fairy land of the mountains. tall, feathery-foliaged, golden-blossomed wattles rise side by side with the olive-green turpentines, and through them runs the mountain brook in cataract after cataract. upon the edge of the wattle-grove the tree-ferns grow, and beyond them is a carpet of bracken--a broad slope at the hill-foot, rich dark green with tips of pink, and shadows and hollows of russet and brown, where new growths display yet their dainty shades, or dead leaves have taken the rich autumnal brown. there is deep, grateful shade here in the heat of the day, for no sunbeam penetrates the roof of wattle and palm-like fern, and the water seems to bring down coolness from its higher springs. [illustration: zigzag railway in the blue mountains.] a bolder valley, one of the great gorges of the world, is the lithgow, the road to the western slopes and the long-locked interior. it was down this great ravine that the first explorers looked awe-stricken at the marvellous road that nature had prepared for them; and who can gaze without awe and wonder and broadening conceptions of nature and nature's work as he looks down that entrance way to australia's heart, and realizes the manner and the period of its making? the ages that have clothed the mountain sides with forests are but as seconds to years by comparison with those which have worn the world's crust away, and by comparison with these stupendous results of natural forces, what pigmy work appears the zigzag down which goes the inland train! this lithgow vale is usually considered the western limit of the blue mountains, though in their further northward range, notably about capertee on the mudgee line, they rise again and display forms of rugged grandeur. [illustration: fish river cave.] beyond the mountains the artistic surveyor may travel fast. branching off at walerawang, he may find the mountain scenery he has just left repeated on the line to mudgee, but there is another turn, and not by rail, which he must not miss. it is at tarana, in the fish river caves, newly christened jenola. the road runs off to the southward, a distance of forty miles, to the west of a wild country on the western slopes of the blue mountains, and then by a grim cavern in the hillside is entry found to a natural temple, which travellers affirm has no equal in the wide, wide world. the old guardian and guide of the place, who alone can walk safely amid the labyrinth, tells us that we have hardly begun to explore the caves so far, for every year some new grotto is discovered. he plods his careful way along some dripping track through the tall stalagmites, standing as monuments of the dead in fairy-land, feels some fissure in the mountain side, works the point of his staff through, and discovers--vacuity; makes carefully a small hole, introduces a thread of magnesium wire, sets it ablaze, and in the long glow learns that he has discovered another cathedral vaster than st. peter's, with a dome that mocks st. paul's. by-and-by he will open a way to it; will add it to his catalogue; will say to a party of visitors: 'i have found another cave, and will flash light upon the glory which, could it be transported to london or paris, would be worth a million sterling.' how many more caves remain to be discovered it is impossible to say; they may run miles into the mountains. future days may see mimic electric cars running through the caves, and brilliant globes of light flashing like suns upon the summits of tall lone columns ten miles from the entrance. now there is no tramway nor riding way whatever within the caves, but difficult foot-paths and painful steps, and slightly hazardous creeping places, and ladders to ascend, and narrow parts to pass, and a good deal of labour to be performed to see even a little of the treasures which have so far been unlocked. there are, to the traveller who has leisure and who is content to live hard and sleep hard, so that he may delight his more refined faculties, four days' good sight-seeing in the caves--four days through which the world and all the things therein may be left behind, and glories as of a kingdom of old may be fully enjoyed--four days through which he may imagine himself entering into such a land as that held by lytton's 'coming race,' domes of the world above you vast as the dome of heaven without. far down below the strange black river, running-- 'through measureless caverns to the sea;' mysterious echoes meeting you, great white ghostly figures appearing suddenly in the fitful illumination, alabaster lakes, pools, baths, spotless, stainless marble sanctuaries, and palace halls, which, lit by the sudden flash from the magnesium wire, seem bespangled more thickly and gorgeously than any royal crown with glittering jewels. you are filled rather with wonderment than admiration, and the whole world without seems utterly contemptible to you, whenever you return to the cave's mouth. [illustration: waterfall at govett.] there are green fields at the bases of great timbered hills all the way to bathurst, where the oldest and most considerable of all inland cities of the colony sits beside the macquarie river, on the crown of the down country which rolls, rich with grass or grain, for leagues around. on the long north-eastern flight we may hover a while over bathurst, may note with pleasure the fair country homes amongst the gardens and bowers, the church spires of the city, and the many fair buildings. we shall not find another such town as bathurst, though country fair enough is beneath us by blayney and orange, and southward thence through many villages and little mining towns to forbes. and almost due north to the wellington valley, and out to dubbo, which is the gate of the great pastures, the country is of the same character. on leaving dubbo we reach the magnificent distances of australia, the land of the mirage and the great drought, the land of marvellous flocks and herds. there on the vast bush plain or amongst the box forest are great hosts of cattle, one or two or three thousand head, already six or nine months on the road, hoping to make the port or the trucking station in three months more. strange men are with them, white as to colour--as white in pluck and endurance, but as uncivilised as the one or two trackers who watch the horses. in this region during the bad seasons you cross bare and bone-strewn plains. at a wretched homestead you may find a man in the lowest deep of despair. well-to-do a couple of years ago, hoping to be rich before the decade had closed, he is lord now of twenty thousand skeletons lying upon the soil, which looks as if indeed cursed, and so effectively that it will never bear grass or herb again. you may see river-beds of baked mud, and glistening veins of sand that once were running creeks. here grow brigalow and mulga, gaunt and weird as the dragon-tree of the soudan. hundreds of miles stretches this dreary land, the lachlan winding through it from east to west, the least significant stream in a dry or ordinary season that ever served as the watercourse for so broad a land. out in its centre lies a village, cohan, grown about a mountain of copper, and along the darling are other villages, bourke, bremoroma, welcanna, wentworth, lingering on when no rain falls, and blossoming with a dripping month as rapidly almost as the herbage of the black flats. i never saw anything beautiful in them except the self-devotion of some few good women who shine as stars amongst the general blackness. but when the rain has fallen, particularly in the pleasant winter after a genial autumn, it cannot be said that the land lacks beauty. i remember winter days a hundred miles north and south from the darling river at bourke, when the face of nature seemed to shine in open placid beauty and to break into the tenderest imaginable smile with each dying day; mornings in june, when, awakened by the glowing log to see the flush of dawn through an oak hut or over a pine-ridge that seemed to rise mysteriously with the sun, and, as though actually molten down by the increasing heat, to vanish utterly in the full glow of day. there was no painful mockery in the mirage that hung at noon on the horizon, with its flat-crowned trees rooted apparently in the still blue water--for by any clump of broad-leaved colane or drooping myall there was water in abundance, water clear and cool in every hollow; and grass, herbage and flowers knee-deep over all the land, when the spotted leaf and trees were all abloom and the quandongs were heavily fruited, and the nardoo with its life-saving seed ripened and decayed unheeded. often at eventide in that winter did the whole landscape seem pure and perfect as a single crystal, the sky just after sunset of the palest primrose or the colour of the neck of a wheat-stalk when the ear is just ripe; the flood water through the lignum bushes glassy still; not a leaf of any tree stirring nor a grass-blade or herb-bloom moving upon all the plain. from the multitudinous flowers of the sand-ridge comes a rare sweet fragrance mingling with the balsamic odour of the pines. there would be noise and tumult a little later, as the crested galahs came cackling homeward to rest, and then the long and solemn hush of night, with sound enough and yet no lack of peace. the whistle of the wild duck's wing and sharp blow of her descent on the water, the dull thunder of the wings of great birds--pelicans, native companions, swan, ibis, and crane--rising in hurried flight, scared by some movement of 'possum or night-feeding kangaroo. always the tinkle of the horse-bell and the prattle of the flame-tongues within the little circle of heat and light. beauty enough in the inner lands in such a year, a marvellous contrast to the ghostliness, the abomination of desolation, of the year when no rain falls and all life dies. the northern table-land is intersected by the great northern railway, and is bounded by the pacific ocean, the macpherson range, the dumaresque and darling rivers, and the great western line. the third division of the colony contains upwards of , square miles of country, of mountain and plain and wild forest and fertile down, and infinite variety of scenery. near to the coast, and south and west from the line leaving newcastle for the north, such country as we have seen about orange and albany, but with the green in foliage and verdure which comes from a somewhat warmer and more genial climate. farther inland there are more of the great pastures, and in the extreme north a prosperous agriculture and a beginning of tropical industry, which afford a pleasant contrast to all that we have seen before. we shall not linger long here to look upon any new england villages or prosperous towns. we shall not concern ourselves with the marvellous richness of the breeza plains--where in the wet summers grass grows so tall that horses and bullocks are lost; and stockmen tell of patches where they have had the long seed-stalks above their heads, and they on horseback--but visit the north-eastern corner of the colony, where the three sugar rivers come down from the mountains. all their surroundings are tropical and rich, and never so rich perhaps as in the heart of the country lying about the heads of the richmond, and northward towards the tweed river. there we find the vegetation whose density and glory and magnificence must be seen to be realised. it is the country known as the big scrub, where everything is gigantic, compared with ordinary australian vegetation. the river flows deep and navigable for small craft between low banks of rich deep soil, chocolate loam, decomposed trap rock, spouted in remote ages from the mountains whose high wild crests overlook the queensland country, a hundred miles to the north. the dense scrub growth covered all a half-century ago, and the huge cedar-trees towering above the jungle overhung the river; but now along many a mile the scrub has been cleared away, and the cane-fields surround the settlers' houses. wonderfully delicate and fair look the canes beside the dark scrub, bright green or pale yellow, as varied in tint as wheat-fields between the time of the bloom and the harvest. they give grand evidence of the power of the soil, and fully justify the wisdom of those bold speculators who built the great mills lower down. quickly changes the foliage as the ascent to the table-land is made; vines and flowers and orchids are left behind. pine and cedar give place to gum, box, and ironbark, while in the gullies are ferns of a hardier growth, and trickling water that seems of near relationship to the mountain snows. higher and higher, and colder and fresher becomes the air; and, turning now, the panoramic view below spreads broad and fair, the half-dozen branches of the richmond seen flashing at times through the trees, the corn and cane patches but bright green dots in the dense forest, and braids of a lighter green beside the broader stream, a reflection of the ocean upon the farthest sky; and last, upon the heights the distant northern mountains are seen the giant warders of the great divide. mount lindsay is the grandest of all, lifting crags and ramparts more than , feet from the downs below, as rugged in appearance as any escarpment of the blue mountains, and of a vaster height and bulk. the rich pasture-lands about his feet are buried in haze, and occasional lagoons sparkle like flakes of silver or eyes of a well-contented earth-spirit looking up to the sky. waiting there till evening, you may see mount lindsay afire with the floods of light which catch his summit when all the trees below are dark; and farther south, where the clarence river springs, the tall gaunt peak of the nightcap will only lose the light before the mightier mountain. both stand out above all neighbours, though joining them is a mighty chain, with beauties innumerable, stretching right along the line which separates the tropic land of queensland from the beautiful and prosperous colony of new south wales. chapter vi. south australia. configuration--the lake country--heat in summer--fruit--glenelg--adelaide--mount lofty range--parks and buildings--mosquito plain caves--camels--the overland telegraph line--peake station--the northern territory--early misfortunes--present prospects--insect life--alligators--buffaloes. [illustration: j. a. g. little. r. g. paterson. c. todd. a. j. mitchell. overland telegraph party.] [illustration: government house and general post office, adelaide.] south australia should rather be called central australia, for it lies half-way between the western and the eastern seaboard, and the colony runs right through the continent from north to south. it is an enormous tract, , miles in length and in breadth. the total area is , square miles, of which at present barely a tenth is in occupation, though exploration has already made known the existence of millions of acres of magnificent pasture-land ready for settlement. in the colonies, when you speak of south australia, you are understood to mean the district of which adelaide is the centre. if you referred to the inland portion, you would speak of the 'far north;' and again, if you meant the port darwin--gulf of carpentaria country--you would use the term 'northern territory.' the original south australia is first to be noticed. [illustration: waterfall gully, south australia.] no part of australia is more strongly marked with australian peculiarities than this. the murray is the only river, and this stream brings down the waters of the ranges of the south-eastern colonies; the other streams are merely courses in which, under favourable conditions, water may be looked for, and not otherwise. the ranges are few in number, and are of no great elevation. but the grass plains and the scrub plains are immense. gazing round from an eminence, the impression produced by the equal height of the vegetation, and the dull glaucous colour of the foliage, is that you are looking upon the open rolling illimitable ocean. south australia contains whole principalities of the ordinary park-like bush of australia; the eucalypts standing in grass without any undergrowth, either singly or in clumps, as though planted by a landscape gardener. if an expert were whisked during his sleep--like another bedreddin hassan--and dropped from europe, asia, africa or america anywhere in these regions, he would exclaim the moment he opened his eyes--''tis australia.' a glance at the map would lead to the conclusion that the colony is well supplied with lakes. on paper, lake torrens, lake eyre, lake gardiner, lake amadeus, cover large areas, but unfortunately an antipodean meaning must be attached to the term; for the most part these lakes are either muddy reed-covered swamps, or salt marshes unfitted for navigation in winter, and evaporating into vast glittering clay pans in summer. the level of several of these extensive depressions is believed to be below that of the sea, and the cutting of a canal to unite them to spencer's gulf, the deepest indentation on the southern coast, has been suggested, and will probably some day be carried into effect, and then there may be changes worked in the climate. [illustration: a murray river boat.] at present, however, south australia is decidedly hot during its summer months of december, january and february. the thermometer runs up to and and degrees. 'but then,' says the typical south australian, taking you by the buttonhole, 'it is a dry heat, and really you do not feel it; there is no enervating aqueous vapour about;' and there certainly is not. no complaints of wet and sloppy weather are ever to be heard. on the contrary, when the south-easter brings a heavy bursting bank of cloud with it, there is a general rubbing of hands and utterance of congratulatory remarks. 'splendid rain to-day,' is the usual phrase; and 'how far north does it extend?' is the current query. but, admitting that the south australian summer is hot, it must be added that the climate during the other eight months is delightful. one enthusiast declares that the pure soft balmy air is such as one would expect to blow over 'the plains of heaven;' and at any rate there is first-class medical testimony that for people with weak lungs there are few more hopeful resorts. the 'far north' is subject to droughts and to floods, and the northern territory has a weather system of its own. as the description of its climate suggests, south australia is a grand fruit country. grapes, peaches, apricots and oranges, grow practically without cultivation, and attain perfection in the open air. in the season there are few tables in adelaide on which piles of grapes and plates of apricots and peaches are not to be regularly found. the fruit can be purchased in the market at a penny a pound, so that at current wages there is no occasion for the poorest of the working classes to stint in these luscious products of the soil. [illustration: adelaide in .] adelaide, the metropolis of south australia, called after the wife of william iv., was founded in . to-day, with its suburbs, it contains about , inhabitants. on the th of december, , captain hindmarsh, who had served under nelson at the nile, landed from h.m.s. buffalo at holdfast bay, in st. vincent's gulf, and beneath the shade of a patriarchal gum-tree, and in presence of a few officials, read his commission as the first governor of south australia. the anniversary of that event is observed as a public holiday by all classes in the community, while the old gum-tree has become a source of solicitude, and is reverently cared for by the municipal authorities of glenelg--a fashionable watering-place which has grown up within sight of governor hindmarsh's landing-place. and indeed this glenelg is a fitting entrance to the fair city of adelaide, with which it is connected by two lines of railway. facing the dazzling white beach are the seaside residences of squatting kings, wealthy merchants, and other successful colonists; while the bay itself is studded with yachts and other pleasure craft, with perchance a man-of-war, or two or three mail steamers, at anchor in the offing, for all the ocean-borne mails are either landed or shipped at glenelg. during the summer evenings the sands and long jetty are thronged with visitors from the capital, who have come down to enjoy the fresh cool breezes, or to listen to the various bands of music. adelaide itself is laid out on a gently sloping ground, from to feet above the sea-level, on both sides of the torrens, which is spanned by three large handsome bridges. the part out north is called north adelaide, to distinguish it from 'the city,' which lies on the other side of the river. the streets are all unusually broad, even for australian cities, and run at right angles, many of them being bordered with rows of trees, the shade of which is very refreshing in the hot summer days. one of the features of the place is the number and extent of its beautiful public squares and park lands. in this respect it transcends even melbourne. the squares in each quarter of the city are reserves of several acres in extent, embellished with flowers, trees, and fountains; while the parks are extensive reservations, surrounding the city on every side, separating it from the suburbs. adelaide, with ordinary care, can never be other than a healthy city. moreover, it can never extend its boundaries. this fact accounts for the high prices obtained for city property. land originally bought for eight or ten shillings an acre has recently changed hands at £ a foot. its surroundings are the charms of the city. on the west is the sea. four or five miles to the east is the thickly wooded mount lofty range, so called from the highest peak, feet above the sea-level, which, trending away to the southward, closes in on that side the undulating plain on which the city is built. to the northward the range takes a more easterly direction for twenty or forty miles. these hills, which are reached from adelaide by railways and tram-lines, and excellent carriage-roads, are a favourite summer resort of those citizens who can afford to avail themselves of the coolness and seclusion which they offer. [illustration: king william street, adelaide.] the buildings in adelaide show well. a very white freestone has entered largely into the more recent erections; and, as there are comparatively few large factories in the city, and no shipping nearer than port adelaide, they lose but little of their pristine freshness by smoke and grime. then the unpleasant effect produced by the sight of a hovel adjoining a palatial bank or pile of warehouses several storeys high, is of rare occurrence, while the broad streets offer the most advantageous conditions for the display of the various architectural styles employed. the town has been called 'the city of churches;' and the number of ecclesiastical edifices which it contains places its pretensions to that distinction beyond question. the anglican cathedral of st. peter is a large and imposing building, a portion of which is still uncompleted, occupying an elevated position in the southern portion of north adelaide. the roman catholic cathedral of st. francis xavier is in the south, and recalls the early days of the colony, when the prophecies of its future importance were few in number. all the other great religious bodies are also creditably represented. nearly all the government departments are in the vicinity of victoria square, an ornamental reserve, through which king william street, one of the most handsome thoroughfares in australia, has been carried. no traveller should leave adelaide without spending some hours in the botanical garden. to omit that lovely resort would be an error indeed. [illustration: an adelaide public school.] south australia contains a little over , inhabitants. its chief industries are agricultural, pastoral, and mining. very early in its history it became the granary of the colonies, and, although it can no longer claim that distinction, it is still one of the few places in the world where the visitor can travel over three hundred miles in the same direction between fields of waving yellow corn. despite the small returns from wheat-growing, the area under cultivation is enlarged every year, and is now not less than two million acres. more attention is being paid to scientific farming, thanks to the influence of the recently established agricultural college at roseworthy, thirty miles north of adelaide, experimental farms in various parts of the colony, and the lectures delivered in the chief agricultural centres. the yield is so dependent on the rainfall that the average for the colony rarely exceeds ten bushels per acre, and occasionally falls below three. the subject of irrigation has lately been warmly taken up by the agricultural community, and the next few years will see not only a more rational system of farming, but the adoption of means to render that community less dependent on the uncertain rainfall. at the london exhibition a splendid sample of wheat grown at mount barker--a beautifully situated township amongst the hills, twenty miles south-east of adelaide--obtained the highest award. [illustration: reaping in south adelaide.] of the show places of south australia none are more interesting than the curious caves of the mosquito plains. they have been described at length by the naturalist tennison woods, in his _geological observations of south australia_: 'in the midst of a sandy, swampy country, a series of caves is found, whose internal beauty is at strange variance with the wildness of the scenery around. the entrance is merely a round hole on the top of a hill, which leads to a small sloping path under a shelf of rock. descending this for about twenty-five feet, one gets a first glimpse of the magnificence enshrined below. the observer finds himself at the entrance of a large oblong square chamber, low, but perfectly lighted by an aperture at the opposite end; and all around, above and below, the eye is bewildered by a profusion of ornaments and decorations of nature's own devising. it resembles an immense gothic cathedral, and the numbers of half-finished stalagmites, which rise from the ground like kneeling or prostrate forms, seem worshippers in that silent and solemn place. at the farther end is an immense stalactite, which appears like a support to the whole roof; not the least beautiful part of it being that it is tinted by almost every variety of colour, one side being of a delicate azure, with passages of blue, green, and pink intermingled; and again it is snowy white, finally merging into a golden yellow. the second cave or chamber is so thickly studded with stalactites that it seems like a carefully arranged scene, which, from the interminable variety of form and magic effect of light and shade, might easily be taken to represent some fairy palace. very soon the cavern becomes as dark as night, and further exploration to the numerous chambers and fissures beyond has to be made by the assistance of torches. on leaving the last chamber, we return to the light; a narrow passage, richly wreathed with limestone, is observed on the right hand going out. proceeding a little way down, a large vaulted chamber is reached, so perfectly dark and obscure that even torches can do but faint justice to its beauty. here, above all other portions of the caves, has nature been prodigal of the fantastic ornament with which the whole place abounds. there are pillars so finely formed, and covered with such delicate trellis-work, there are droppings of lime making such scroll-work, that the eye is bewildered with the extent and variety of the adornment. it is like a palace of ice with frozen cascades and fountains all round.' a special feature of the settlers' life in the 'far north' is the increasing use of camels. at beltana a camel-breeding establishment has been in existence for nearly twenty years. sir thomas elder introduced the animals first from afghanistan, and, as they are found to be well adapted for work in central australia, they are now largely used. they are broken in to draw drays, or to trot with a buggy behind them; and the 'belle of beltana' uses one for a hack. nearly a thousand camels have been provided from this establishment for hauling stores and for doing the every-day work of bullock and horses. the ordinary team is composed of six camels. a team of eight will drag a dray with three tons of goods through the heaviest sand. the animals wear large leather collars, and their harness is in other respects very similar to that used for horse teams. no great difficulty has been experienced in training the camel to this novel sort of work. but the australian bushman would not hesitate about putting a hippopotamus into harness. [illustration: camel scenes.] for pluck in public works south australia has a character of her own. one of her great enterprises was the construction of the 'overland telegraph line' from adelaide on the one side to port darwin on the other side of the continent, to meet the cable laid from singapore to that place, and thus to establish direct communication with great britain. two years were spent in this arduous undertaking. the country was awkward; materials and stores had to be transported across the desert as the work went on. for months the parties were stopped by floods; some perished from thirst, and the blacks harassed others. when at last the line was up it was found that the white ants had destroyed the poles in the northern territory, and they had to be replaced with iron columns. one contractor and one officer after another gave up in despair, and at last mr. charles todd, superintendent of telegraphs, who was responsible for the scheme, had to leave his city office; and, though he had no bush experience, his zeal and his intelligence were rewarded with success. an engraving is given on page of mr. todd and three of his most energetic colleagues in the work: messrs. paterson, mitchell, and little. the work was begun in , and on august , , the first message was sent over the miles of wire. it was feared that the blacks would never let the line stand, but, though they have 'stuck up' the stations occasionally and killed operators, they have never interfered with the wires. while the line was being constructed the operators gave every black who visited them the opportunity of enjoying a gratuitous electric shock. the peculiar sensation vividly affected their nerves and their imagination, and thus a wholesome awe was engendered of what they called 'the white-fellow's devil.' the illustration given on this page represents peake telegraph station, situated over seven hundred miles north of adelaide. the large building in the centre is the telegraph station and government buildings; to the right is a cattle station. the hills in the background are mostly of a stony character common to central australia, with a slight growth of bushes here and there. round about the station there are large numbers of blacks camped, and the officers have to go about heavily armed. the station at barrow creek, farther north, was 'stuck up' by the blacks a few years ago, and two of the officers killed. at every station there are usually two operators and four line repairers. as the adjacent station is or miles away, and there are no nearer neighbours, the little garrisons lead a lonely life. whenever a breakage occurs two men start from either station between which the fault exists; each party takes, besides a supply of wire, a field instrument, and at every thirty miles a 'shackle' is put down, and the party communicates with its own station, and so each proceeds until one or the other finds and repairs the defect. communication being restored, the news is conveyed to the other party, and both take up their instruments and retrace their steps without having seen each other. [illustration: peake overland telegraph station.] at the barrow creek station, a party of the employés were surprised in by the blacks, when they had left the building to indulge in a bathe. they had to run for their lives through a volley of spears to regain the shelter of their loop-holed home. mr. stapleton and a line repairer were mortally wounded, and two others were badly hurt. mr. stapleton was found to be sinking rapidly. the news was flashed to adelaide. in one room of the city stood the doctor and mrs. stapleton, listening to the 'click, click' of the messages. a thousand miles away in the desert, in a lonely hut beleaguered by the blacks, lay the dying man with an instrument brought to his bedside. he received the doctor's message that his case was hopeless. he heard his wife's adieus, and he telegraphed an eternal farewell. it is easy to believe that the affecting spectacle moved those around the group in adelaide to tears. south australia's next great feat is to run a railway across the continent. already the line is completed a distance of nearly four hundred miles northwards towards strangeways springs. camels imported by mr. h. j. scott are used to carry stores, rations and water to the men employed in advance, whilst, from the other end, the palmerston and pine creek line, miles in length, is in the hands of the contractors. it is hoped that within the next ten years the transcontinental railway will be completed, thereby uniting australia and the east. [illustration: collingrove station, south australia.] when john mcdouall stuart at last crossed the continent from sea to sea and from north to south, there was great enthusiasm in adelaide. the explorer received £ from parliament, and the colony obtained permission to push its bounds up to the indian ocean, thus annexing a nice little tract of , square miles. thus, in the year , was the northern territory acquired. it was resolved at once to form a settlement in the new country. the imperial government from time to time had endeavoured to colonise north australia, settlements being formed in turn at melville island, raffles bay, and port essington; but each place in turn was abandoned. undeterred by these failures, the south australian authorities sold land, marked out a township, appointed an official staff, and invited colonisation. and then south australia went through its painful experience. the owners of land warrants complained that they had been 'sold' as well as the land; the expected colonists did not put in an appearance; while the members of the staff were quarrelling, the blacks made a raid and stole and destroyed nearly all the stores, and finally many of the government officers took to open boats and escaped after a hazardous sea voyage to western australia. for years and years the northern territory was a source of expense and anxiety to the good people of adelaide; but a colonist--and least of all a south australian colonist--never despairs. the party that counselled abandonment was looked upon with scorn, and after every disaster a new staff was sent up to port darwin, and more and more attractive land offers were made. but the adelaide government was taught the lesson all larger and more important governments have yet to acquire: namely, that you cannot force colonisation, that the one condition of success is a natural growth. times have changed recently. the overlanders, having accounted for queensland, pushed into the northern territory, and consequent upon their favourable reports runs have been taken up in all directions, and in immense areas, and in all probability the northern territory is on the eve of a great development. in the last two or three years tens of thousands of cattle have been moved from queensland and new south wales into the new country, and at the roper and macarthy rivers bush townships have been established, and the town of palmerston (port darwin) has witnessed a large increase in private and substantial buildings. prospectors have opened up gold, copper and tin mines. the gold export is now £ , per annum, and copper mines are being energetically worked; and a railway which is about to be constructed to the present mineral centre is expected to effect a revolution, as the want of carriage has hitherto checked mining progress. [illustration: sheep in the shade of a gum-tree.] residents in the northern territory speak hopefully about the climate. that the white man cannot perform the same amount of constant work in tropical australia that he can in his own climes and countries is admitted, but still, it is contended, he can work and be healthy and happy. there is an absence amongst the population of the enervation so conspicuous in india, java, singapore, and ceylon. artisans ply their callings on the eight hours system, as elsewhere in australia, without special precautions against the sun. the climate is, in fact, more australian than it is tropical. but at port darwin itself there is much to remind the traveller that he is in the tropics, and is nearer to the equator than to capricorn. mingled with the characteristic flora of australia are the palms, bamboos, rattan canes, and wild nutmeg-trees, and other flora of the adjacent spice islands. the ground, the vegetation, and the atmosphere are alive with insect life. linnaeus has eleven orders of insects, but, as one settler facetiously remarks, had the eminent naturalist in question visited the northern territory, he might have classified one hundred and eleven orders. fire-flies flit about; beetles display their metallic brilliancy; radiant moths and butterflies fleck the gloom. the observant man admires and marvels; but not always does the view charm, for myriads of mosquitoes and sand-flies have at him, and the bung-fly, attacking the eyelid, will cause a swelling that will close up the eye for several days. ants are found literally in legions. in the houses some amusement is to be derived from watching the ant-eating lizard, who is allowed to run up and down the walls without molestation, and is, indeed, welcomed as a highly useful domestic animal. in the bush surprise is excited by the enormous ant-hills. some are twenty-five feet in height, and six or eight feet in diameter; but usually they are from six to twelve feet high, and about four feet in diameter; and along a belt of country extending perhaps one hundred miles, they may stand apart but fifty or a hundred feet. to level these cunningly devised cellular structures, occasionally, would prove far more costly than levelling the ground of timber. in other places the 'meridional' ant-hill is met with. these edifices are from three to six feet high, and more. they are broad at the base, and taper to a point at the summit. the form therefore is that of a long wedge, and the peculiarity is that all the summit lines are true north and south, as though laid down by a surveyor. in the rivers the traveller is introduced to the alligator. many are the tales of horror and of escape related in connection with these saurians. one member of the original exploring party of the south australian government, a man named reid, fell asleep in a boat on the roper river, with his leg hanging carelessly over the side of the craft. an alligator seized the limb and dragged the man out of the boat, his screams too late calling attention to his fate. the alligator is found right down the queensland coast. while writing, the following telegram appears in the _argus_ (melbourne, march , ): 'a girl named margaret gordon, the daughter of a dairyman on cattle creek, thirty miles from townsville, has been devoured by an alligator. she went with a servant-girl to the creek for water, when a large alligator rushed at her and carried her off. the occurrence was witnessed by the girl's father, who was unable to render any assistance.' the one trace left of the early settlements of raffles bay and port essington is that herds of buffaloes are to be met with in the districts in question, and also some timor ponies. both animals were introduced from timor, and when the settlements were abandoned males and females were left to run wild. the buffaloes have spread along the north coast, nearly, if not quite, to the gulf of carpentaria, and to the south as far as the bottom of van diemen's gulf. they are generally found congregated in herds of twenty to fifty, under the guidance of a single full-grown male, oftentimes of enormous size. but stragglers are often met with far beyond these limits. the young males are turned out of the herd by the patriarch as soon as they approach maturity, becoming wanderers for life unless they can re-establish themselves, or gain a footing in other herds; and this can only be done by killing or driving off the leading bull. of course many are doomed to a solitary life, and roam far from the haunts of their fellows. there is no danger of the buffaloes mixing with the herds of the settlers, as the antagonism between these cattle races is pronounced and insurmountable. [illustration: the botanical gardens, adelaide.] chapter vii. queensland. size and configuration--early settlement--brisbane island and coast towns--gladstone--roma--gympie--toowoomba--townsville--cooktown-- squatting--the cattle station--the sheep station--the queensland forest--the nettle-tree--sugar planting--polynesian natives-- stoppage of the labour trade--gold mining--the palmer--silver, tin, and copper. [illustration: brisbane.] [illustration: a village on darling downs.] the following sketch of the great colony of queensland is from the pen of mr. carl a. feilberg of brisbane. in order to form a just idea of queensland it is necessary to bear in mind the broad divisions of its territory. first, there is the coast country, which is often spoken of as a strip, though in reality it has at some points a depth of over two hundred miles. a glance at the map will show innumerable rivers finding their way into the sea along the whole east and north coasts of the colony, and it is the country which forms the watersheds of these rivers which is spoken of as the coast. west and south of this bordering tract lies the great central plateau, which is mainly a huge plain, where the surface, which sometimes rises into rolling downs and sometimes spreads out in apparently limitless flats, is only broken by a few ranges of low hills. from this great plateau the whole surface drainage is to the south and south-west, a small portion finding its way into the darling, but the greater part flowing by a network of channels through the thirsty sands which lie to the north of the lakes, or more properly the huge swamps of south australia. in the coast country the rainfall in ordinary seasons is sufficient in quantity and sufficiently spread over the year to permit of agriculture. the rivers and creeks generally contain running streams of water, and the air is moist enough to permit the fall of dew at night. in the interior the rivers are watercourses that seldom contain running streams, being during the greater part of the year merely chains of pools, or 'water holes,' as they are locally called. rain falls at long and uncertain intervals: the annual total is small; night-dews are not common, and agriculture is virtually impossible unless assisted by irrigation. to this general description there is, however, one important exception. in the southern part of the colony the table-land approaches to within seventy or eighty miles of the seaboard, and therefore enjoys a comparatively moist climate. the district so situated, known as the darling downs, lies immediately to the west of brisbane, and is the seat of the most important agricultural settlement of the colony. the moister climate of the darling downs changes almost imperceptibly as they stretch to the westward, and it is difficult to fix on the point where agriculture, carried on in the usual way, without irrigation, may be regarded as a hopeless task. the occupation of the territory now included in queensland began almost simultaneously at two points. pioneer squatters, pushing northward from the interior of new south wales, discovered the fertile plains of the darling downs, and the sydney authorities determined to form a convict station on the shores of the remote almost unexplored sheet of land-locked water known as moreton bay. the convict station was founded in , and in the first instance on the coast at a place since known as humpy bong, meaning, in the language of the blacks, 'dead huts or houses.' this settlement was soon abandoned, as the water-supply was precarious, and there was insufficient shelter for shipping. a site was subsequently chosen about twenty miles up the channel of the principal river emptying into moreton bay, which had been named after sir thomas brisbane; and 'the settlement,' as it was at first called, soon came to be known by the name of the river, and the decaying buildings of the first attempted lodgment caused the wandering blacks to give the locality the name it now bears. at first, of course, there were nothing but the necessary buildings for the convicts--dangerous characters who had been convicted for fresh crimes in the land of their exile, and were therefore relegated to what was then the safe isolation of moreton bay--and for the warders and others in charge of the prisoners. meanwhile, as we have said, pioneer squatters had spied out the pastoral wealth of the darling downs, and some bold adventurers had pushed overland with their flocks to occupy it. these pioneers at first kept up communication by bush trails with far distant sydney, but, hearing that a new settlement had been formed on the coast, they sought to open communication with it. a pass--known as cunningham's gap--was found in through the ranges which form the eastern flanks of the great plateau, and communication was opened with the settlement. townships were formed. near the verge of the darling downs plateau the seed of what is now the thriving and important town of toowoomba was sown by the carriers making a halting-place before attempting the toilsome and dangerous descent through the ravines of the thickly wooded range, which then swarmed with bold and hostile savages. another such halting-place was the spot where travellers, having emerged from the broken country and having passed the great scrubs or jungles at the foot of the hills--now a populated and thriving farming district--first struck the navigable waters of the bremer, the principal affluent of the brisbane. at that point the town of ipswich came into existence, and for many years it rivalled brisbane in importance, because the goods brought to the capital by sea-going ships were taken in river craft to the former town, which was thus the point of departure for all land carriage. brisbane grew slowly. there was no special attraction to induce people to leave the more populated districts of new south wales, and bury themselves in so remote a settlement. there was the fever which attacks settlers in all newly opened settlements, the blacks were dangerous, and that the place was a station for doubly and trebly convicted felons told against it. but the rich darling downs came to be regarded as a pastoral paradise, and squatting occupation spread rapidly in the interior, so that its expansion told slowly but surely on the outpost. the convict establishment was in time closed. the plot of ground formerly cultivated by the convicts is now occupied partly by a fine public garden, and partly by the domain surrounding the governor's residence. brisbane is a fast-growing city, with a population, including the suburbs, of between , and , , its growth since the census of having been so rapid that it is not possible to furnish more than an approximate estimate of the number. originally built on a flat, partly enclosed by an abrupt bend of the river, the town has climbed the bordering ridges, crossed the stream and spread out in all directions. the principal street--queen street--runs across the neck of the original river-side 'pocket;' at one end it touches the wharves, at the other it meets the winding river at right angles, and the roadway is carried on by a long iron bridge across to the important suburb of south brisbane. queen street, which is the combined collins and bourke streets of brisbane, promises to be a fine-looking thoroughfare. already it possesses shops and bank buildings which may challenge comparison with those of any australian city, and every year the older buildings are giving way to new and more imposing structures. on one side of the thoroughfare the cross-streets lead through the oldest part of the city; through blocks of buildings where fine warehouses and tumbledown hovels are strangely intermixed with the parliament houses, the public gardens, and the wharves. on the other side of queen street the same cross-streets climb steep ridges to the terraces, where high and broken ground offer cool breezy sites for streets filled with dwelling-houses. the diversified surface of the ground over which the town of brisbane has spread itself, the broad noble river which winds through it, doubling back almost on itself, as if loth to quit the city it has called into existence, and the picturesque range of wooded hills which closes the view to the westward, constitute a scene of great beauty. an artist roaming round the town would find objects of interest everywhere. from the elevated terraces he could look down on the main town, with the river, a broad band of silver, winding through it, and his horizon would include the blue peaks of the main range to the westward, and the shimmer of the sunlight on the great land-locked sheet of moreton bay to the eastward. [illustration: valley of the river brisbane, queensland.] one of the sights of brisbane is the garden of the acclimatisation society--a body supported partly by private subscription and partly by government endowment. in these gardens are collected a vast number of trees and plants selected for their use and beauty, and the sub-tropical position of brisbane allows the propagation of the vegetable products of almost every zone. the 'bush house' in these gardens, a huge structure consisting of a rough framework roofed with dried bushes, covers several acres, and is stocked with a most interesting collection of ferns, lycopods, orchids, dracænas, colans, begonias, &c. there is a public museum, which is well stocked, and its specimens of natural history are well arranged. the use of timber for buildings is very general in brisbane. pine is abundant on the coast of queensland, and the easily worked timber is cheap. the climate is very mild, and their weatherboard walls are quite sufficient to keep out the very moderate cold experienced in winter; almost all the dwelling-houses, and many of the stores in the suburbs, are therefore wooden buildings. the dwelling-houses also are nearly all detached, standing each one in an allotment of its own, so that the residential part of the town straggles over an immense area, stretching out in fragmentary streets for miles from the main city. there are hundreds of neat cottages and trim villas scattered over the low hills and valleys, on the river bank, or nestling under the range of hills which lie to the west of the town. it should be remembered, however, that in the climate of brisbane the 'verandah is the best room in the house,' and people live as much as possible in the open air; the family group gathers on the verandah in the evening instead of, as in a colder climate, congregating indoors. the extended coast-line of queensland, and the peculiar position of brisbane in the extreme south, has prevented it from concentrating the social and commercial life of the colony, as is done by sydney, melbourne and adelaide. it is by far the largest coast town, the centre of government, and its commerce is larger than that of all the remaining ports put together, but these ports are many of them also real capitals and commercial cities. the first important town on the coast going northward is maryborough, on the banks of the mary river, a town containing probably , inhabitants, and the commercial capital of a rich agricultural and mineral district, of somewhat limited extent. maryborough disputes with brisbane the possession of the most extensive ironworks in the colony, the demand for sugar and mining machinery having called them into existence. rockhampton, near the mouth of the fitzroy, is a town of equal if not greater population than maryborough, but it is a far finer and better built city. being the west terminus of the central system of trunk railways, it is essentially a commercial capital, and a busy, thriving place. agricultural operations are not as yet very extensively carried on in the surrounding district, neither sugar-growing nor general cultivation having at present helped to increase the prosperity of maryborough, nor is there any successful gold-field in the vicinity, though one phenomenally rich mine, mount morgan, is being worked in the neighbourhood. rockhampton has grown and prospered by trade, and as it is the outlet for over , square miles of territory, it should have a very prosperous career before it. the towns named are the most important on the coast-line of sub-tropical queensland. there are also the thriving little towns of bundaberg, at the mouth of the burnett river, the outlet for a rich tract of agricultural land, and gladstone, a few miles to the south of the mouth of the fitzroy. the last-named township is next after brisbane the oldest settlement in queensland, but it has never prospered. hidden away at the head of a great land-locked sheet of deep water--probably after sydney the finest natural harbour on the east coast of australia--it slumbers peacefully without any visible trade: a bush village, supported by the stockmen employed on the neighbouring cattle stations, and occasionally galvanised into life by a promising discovery among the rich but fragmentary and erratic mineral lodes found in the volcanic country in its vicinity. these constitute all the coast towns worth mentioning. inland, on the line of trunk railway running westward from brisbane, are ipswich and toowoomba, both agricultural centres, but the latter the more important of the two, with a population of eight or nine thousand people. just beyond toowoomba, a branch of the railway curving to the south runs to warwick, another pretty country town of some four thousand people, surrounded by rich soil and thriving farmers, and enjoying, from its elevation, a pleasantly cool climate. continuing, the branch railway reaches stanthorpe, near the border, mentioned elsewhere, and the line is being continued to effect a junction with the new south wales railway system. after leaving toowoomba, the main line continues in a nearly direct line westward, passing through dalby, a rather stagnant little bush town of some two thousand people, set down in the midst of vast plains more suited by reason of the climate for pasture than agriculture. these plains may be regarded as the limit of the darling downs. beyond them the railway runs through a desolate tract of scrub--not the fertile jungle of the coast districts, but an arid tract closely filled with stunted trees, hard and gnarled by their long struggle for existence. emerging from this belt, the railway reaches another open tract, consisting of the true pastoral downs country, and runs into the pleasant little town of roma, where from three to four thousand persons find employment in supplying the wants of the surrounding pastoral region. still continuing, the railway is being pushed on westward towards the great pastoral area of the interior--the fertile wilderness which burke and wills first traversed, and where they died, which now is being filled by millions of sheep, and adding rapidly to the wealth of the colony. there are bush townships in the track of the advancing railway which will no doubt become towns, but as yet they are in no way noticeable. the same may be said of the townships reached by the central trunk railway running westward from rockhampton and its branches. the country through which it runs has not a climate very suitable for agriculture--at least no agricultural settlement has taken place--and with the exception of clermont, a little town of about two thousand inhabitants, which grew into some importance by means of mineral discoveries in its vicinity, there are only bush townships of varying sizes in the central districts. the thriving town of gympie, with five thousand inhabitants, the second gold-field of queensland, and also the centre of a thriving and spreading agricultural settlement, lies about seventy miles to the south of maryborough, with which it is connected by railway. the line of the tropic of capricorn runs close to the town of rockhampton; sub-tropical queensland ends there. the first place of importance on the coast going north is mackay, a town of some three or four thousand people, supported by a small rich district which has become the chief centre of sugar cultivation in the colony. the mackay district is in a sense isolated, having little or no trade connection with the interior. next after mackay comes bowen, a sleepy, decaying settlement of some one thousand inhabitants, occupying a most beautiful site on a sheet of water land-locked by a ring of picturesque islands. there is no prettier town on the coast of queensland, no place which seems more fitted for the site of a great city than bowen; but trade left it soon after its foundation, and it has mouldered half-forgotten ever since. from bowen northward the coast of queensland is sheltered by the line of the barrier reef and a long chain of romantic and beautiful islands. the traveller on this coast enjoys a perpetual feast of the eye. on the one side the islands in the line of reef present every variety of form and colour--the green of the timber or vegetation clothing them, the varying lines of their fantastic, weather-beaten, rocky cliffs, and the dazzling white coral sand of their beaches. on the other side, the mountains of the coast range approach closely to the shore, sometimes apparently springing upwards from the very beach; and their imposing masses, clothed with dense vegetation to the very summits, smile rather than frown on the blue sparkling wavelets of the sheltered water, which seems to lave their feet. at various points the mountains fall back, opening, as it were, avenues to the interior of the country. at the entrance to one of these openings is townsville, the chief commercial centre and the virtual capital of the north. this fast-growing city is built on the actual sea-coast; and though to some extent sheltered by islands, its harbour is shallow and exposed. a breakwater, however, is being gradually made, and in various ways an artificial harbour is being formed. townsville, which now contains probably a population of nine or ten thousand people, is the terminus of the northern trunk line. immediately to the west of it are the great gold-fields of charters towers and ravenswood, and the railway is being pushed far to the westward, traversing the northern portion of the pastoral plateau of the west, and tapping the verge of the great plains which slope gradually to the shore of the gulf of carpentaria. townsville promises to be a very fine city; and, although it is too new a settlement to contain many buildings of special note, it will not long be without them. [illustration: townsville, north queensland.] still following the coast, and passing the little mountain-bound port of cardwell, which nestles at the feet of great hills which, by cutting it off from inland traffic, have stunted its growth, and by the ports of cairns and port douglas, which dispute between them the lucrative position of outlet for the mineral fields on the elevated mountain plateau lying just behind them, we come to cooktown. this town, built at the mouth of the endeavour river, on the spot where captain cook careened his vessel after the discovery of australia, was called into existence by the great gold rush of the palmer, described elsewhere. its fortunes waxed with the rush, and waned as the alluvial field became exhausted; so that its population, chinese and european, is now probably not more than two thousand souls. there is, however, a future before it, because a railway, now in course of construction, will soon link it with the palmer gold-field, where there are hundreds of gold-reefs awaiting cheaper carriage and more certain communication with the coast for their full development. in the meantime cooktown is becoming a centre for the nascent new guinea trade, and a certain amount of settlement is taking place in its vicinity. this is the best port on the mainland of the cape york peninsula, but at its extremity there is the port of thursday island, a shipping centre, and the northern outpost of australia. at thursday island there is a government resident, charged with the control of the pearling fleet, which has its head-quarters there, and the government of the scattered islands in torres straits, which are under the jurisdiction of queensland. thursday island is a port of call for all vessels passing through torres straits, and several thousand tons of coal are always stored there. on the gulf of carpentaria are two small ports. the principal one, normanton, on the norman river, is a growing town of over a thousand inhabitants, and will probably be the terminus of a line of railway. burketown, on the albert river, is a place which is reviving after a strange history. about twenty years ago, when the pioneer squatters first drove their herds into the gulf country, a township was located there; but the settlers formed their settlement and lived in such reckless defiance of all sanitary rules that a fatal fever broke out, which decimated them. the place was after this entirely abandoned, and the grass hid the rotting posts of the mouldering houses, which rapidly decayed in that hot, moist climate. a few years ago, however, the attempt to form a town was renewed, and this time with more care. burketown is now quite as healthy as any tropical settlement; and as it is surrounded by vast plains of exceptional fertility, abundantly watered by flowing streams, it will probably become a place of some importance. this completes the list of towns on the coast of northern queensland. queensland is pre-eminently the cattle colony, possessing no less than , , head of horned stock in . experience has shown that sheep do not thrive in the coast districts, especially in the north. the merino breed of sheep will thrive, in spite of an exceedingly high summer temperature, provided the heat is dry, but not when the warmth is accompanied by moisture; so that in queensland sheep-raising is practically confined to the table-lands of the interior. cattle, on the other hand, do as well on the short scanty grasses, and in the dry pure air of the uplands, as on the rank luxuriant herbage and in the steamy atmosphere of the great plains which lie sweltering in the sun round the shores of the gulf of carpentaria. the whole colony is therefore available for cattle, while probably not more than half, or at the utmost two-thirds, can be used by the sheep-grazier. it is not possible, however, to lay down any definite boundaries between the sheep and cattle countries, because at many points the one melts insensibly into the other, and prolonged experience is sometimes required to fix the dividing line with any degree of accuracy. the sheep-owner comes when the wilderness has been partly subdued, the blacks tamed and reduced to idle drunken loafers, and the facilities and cost of carriage greatly reduced. he must either be a capitalist or have the command of large sums of money, for he has to subdivide his country with great paddocks inclosed by wire fences; he must supplement the natural stores of water by scooping out reservoirs, sinking wells, or damming creek channels; and he must erect costly buildings as wool-sheds, stores, huts, &c. the term squatter is quite misapplied to the wool kings of the present day, who are here men of business, watching the markets and the seasons, eager to utilise to its utmost every crop of grass which a good rain yields, and to turn it into mutton and wool, and buying and selling stock so as to profit by every turn of the market. a good deal of the sheep farming of the colony is now carried on not by individuals, but by joint-stock companies with capitals of many hundred thousands of pounds. in fact, the old-time squatter--the type depicted in such books as henry kingsley's stories--is as extinct as the dodo in queensland, so far as the sheep districts are concerned. the cultivation of cereals and crops such as are grown in the southern colonies is only practised in queensland on a considerable scale in the district of darling downs, where the comparatively cool climate of the inland plateau is accompanied by a sufficient rainfall to permit of ordinary farming. wheat is grown, but not to any great extent, the total area under wheat in being less than , acres. the soil is very fertile, and the yield of grain per acre is decidedly above the australian average; but for some reason red rust is a perfect scourge to the farmer. it is on the fertile scrub land that the most successful agriculture is carried on. these scrubs are generally found on the banks of rivers, although in certain localities broad areas, containing hundreds of square miles, are clothed with scrub. the soil is a deep alluvial deposit; and the close-growing trees on it spring straight and tall in the struggle to reach the upper atmosphere and light, for the leafy roof allows no sun to penetrate to the damp ground, soft with mouldering leaves, but makes a cool green gloom even on the most fiery summer day. there is something very solemn in the quietude of a scrub untouched by the axe of the lumberer or settler. there is no undergrowth, properly speaking, though delicate little ferns and fairy-like mosses nestle close to the feet of the trees. but there is a wealth of parasitical life. giant lianas twine from tree to tree, hanging in great loops and folds and contortions, suggesting the idea of huge vegetable monsters writhing in agony. much more graceful are the lovely shy orchids hiding in crannies, and the bolder ferns, springing from great root-masses attached to the stems of the trees, the graceful shape and curve of the leaves, and their pure pale-green colour, undisturbed and undimmed by wind or sun. among the wilderness of trees may be noticed the victims of the treacherous fig, the dead trunk of the original tree still visible, but enveloped in the interlacing stem of the robber, which has seized it in its cruel embrace, sucked life and marrow out of it, and reared triumphantly its crown of glossy green leaves far above in the bright sunlight. on all these beautiful or strange or weird objects one gazes in a stillness which seems to be intensified by the continuous murmur of the breeze in the leafy roof--a quiet so great that one is almost startled by the timid thud of the tiny scrub marsupial, which, after a gaze of fascinated terror at the intruder, hurries away, or by the clatter of a scrub pigeon or turkey far up in the overarching foliage, or the strange snoring call of the australian sloth, or native bear. in the tropical scrub the lianas, the creeping canes and creepers of every description, bind the trees into compact masses of vegetation; and it is a vegetation which, if one may be allowed the term, is of a fiercer type than in the south. every creeper seems to be armed with thorns, to tear the clothes and lacerate the flesh of the rash intruder, and poisonous and stinging plants abound. chief among these must be placed the nettle-tree, a shrub with broad green, soft-looking leaves, covered with a down that carries torture in every tiny fibre. even horses brushed by these treacherous leaves go mad with pain. but in the north, as in the south, the timber-getter rifles the scrub of its treasures of timber, and the sugar planter clears all before him, and skims with his cane-crops the incalculable store of fertility accumulated in the soil. [illustration: sugar plantation, queensland.] it is in connection with sugar-growing that the labour difficulty, common in australia, becomes unusually severe in queensland. the difficulty is two-fold--climatic and economical. field work in the tropics is everywhere shunned by white men, and in queensland, north of mackay, it has not as yet been found possible to induce europeans to engage in it. some of the work connected with cane-growing, also, is peculiarly exhausting, because the canes, when they reach a height of six or seven feet, shut out every breeze, and the heat between the rows is stifling. then a large staff of labourers is required on a plantation, because during the planter's harvest--the crushing season, which extends over some months--a considerable number of additional hands are required. in a colony where labour is well paid and work abundant there is practically no floating population to furnish these temporary supplies. it follows therefore that the planter must keep all the year round a staff equal to his harvest requirements, and the expense of doing this, if the men employed were paid at the high rate of wages current for white men, would be crushing. the difficulty has been, up to the present time, solved by the importation of south sea islanders, who are generally speaking good and docile labourers, not affected by heat, and comparatively cheap. they are engaged for terms of three years, at a wage in cash of £ a year; but their employers have to feed and clothe them, and to pay for the cost of their introduction and their return to their homes when the engagements are terminated. it is reckoned that the cost of kanaka labourers, including everything, equals from £ to £ a year for each 'boy' employed, though that of course is very much less than the £ a week, with food and lodging, generally paid to white labourers. the labour trade, as the procuring of kanakas is termed, is, however, to be stopped in . in spite of rigid regulations and the care exercised by the government of the colony, it is a trade which, from its very nature, is liable to abuse, and it has been abused. vessels trading to islands where the natives knew nothing of the colony or of regular work endeavoured by fraud and misrepresentation, and sometimes, though rarely, by actual violence to procure cargoes of labourers. it must be remembered that the queensland labour trade has been ever since its establishment the bone of contention in fierce party disputes, and the usual unscrupulousness of party politicians has been displayed alike in attacking and defending it. taking a general view of agriculture, it must be admitted that queenslanders have not, except in regard to sugar, taken advantage of their great opportunities. sugar-growing, until the recent crisis in the labour difficulty, was progressing rapidly. the yield for , though not officially stated, is computed by reliable experts at , tons of sugar, which is nearly all of a high quality, and worth probably about a million sterling. the wheat yield, as has been seen, is insignificant, and even of maize--which grows freely in every part of the colony--there is not enough produced to supply home consumption. in the tropical coast districts some attention is being paid to the cultivation of fruit for export. pine-apples and bananas grow luxuriantly in all parts of the colony, but in the north they attain great size and develop a very fine flavour. these fruits, with mangoes, are now sent south in yearly increasing quantities. arrowroot growing and manufacture is spreading in the districts round brisbane, where the soil and climate seem to be especially suitable to the tuber. coffee has been grown experimentally at several points on the coast, but nowhere in quantity, though the experiments have been highly successful. cotton growing, which at one time was vigorously fostered by the government in the southern coast districts, flourished so long as a bonus was paid on every bale exported, but when that support was withdrawn it was killed by the labour difficulty. olives, almonds, figs, and fruits especially suited to a sub-tropical climate flourish in the same southern coast districts, but no attempt has been made to cultivate them on a commercial scale. an effort was made to establish silk production, and it resulted in the production of just enough silk to secure the promised bonus, and there the industry stopped. in fact, agriculture throughout the colony is crippled by its very prosperity. the high rate of wages prevalent, and the demand for labour in other fields, precludes the possibility of pursuing any agricultural industry which requires many hands, unless the product is exceptionally high-priced. the mineral wealth of queensland is surprising. its gold-fields are of vast extent, and as yet hardly touched. there are innumerable copper lodes; stream and lode tin are being successfully worked; silver ores abound, and are being mined now; iron has been found in great quantities; extensive coal-fields exist, and are being worked in the vicinity of brisbane and maryborough; lead, nickel, cobalt, and bismuth ores have been found. the gold prospectors found their way to queensland soon after the great alluvial fields of the south began to show signs of exhaustion, but for many years they found little to reward their efforts. there was, however, a prevailing idea among regular gold-miners--who, very soon after the first discoveries, began to form a distinct class in the population--that rich finds would be made in the northern colony. this belief led to the canoona 'rush' in , probably the most remarkable wild-goose chase in which the excitable australian miners ever engaged. there was a report that gold had been found near the shores of keppel bay, then occupied only by a few cattle stations, and at once all the miners of australia became excited. steamers and sailing vessels, filled with eager men, discharged their living freights on the desolate shore, and in an incredibly short space of time many thousands of miners, scantily provided with the necessaries of life, had ascertained that the rush was a 'duffer'--that there was no gold--and were spreading over the face of the country, prospecting it in all directions. they found no gold, and were reduced to such straits that the government of new south wales, which then included queensland, was compelled to charter craft to carry them away. but if they found no gold, they discovered and made known the value of the country, and laid the foundation of what is now the thriving town of rockhampton. gold was found in sufficient quantities to repay mining at peak downs, about two hundred miles inland from rockhampton, where, it may be mentioned, the proprietors discovered a wonderfully rich lode of copper ore that was afterwards mined and produced many thousand tons of metal. the gold yield of queensland, however, for many years after separation was only trifling. in the whole gold export of the colony was only ounces, and in it sunk to ounces. but in a prospector named nash, travelling through the broken hilly country which forms the upper watershed of mary river, found 'prospects' in a gully, which induced him to stay and try it. in a few days he rode into the sleepy seaport of maryborough--then a stagnant township with grass-grown streets--and startled it by applying for a prospector's claim. in a few weeks the colony rang with the news that a really rich alluvial gold-field had been found, and in a few months from twelve to fifteen thousand people had congregated in the field of gympie. it was a very rich but a limited field, and, though other neighbouring patches were opened out and worked, the alluvial deposits were soon exhausted. but there was better than alluvial gold at gympie. the ridges were seamed with quartz reefs, which were proved to be richly impregnated with metal; and the gold yield from these reefs has been constant and increasing ever since. in gympie yielded , ounces of gold, and it has given since it was first opened , , ounces. the last great gold discovery in queensland was that of the palmer in . in the preceding year, mr. (now sir arthur) palmer, being premier, sent out an exploring expedition to examine the unknown interior of the cape york peninsula. in this report the explorers mentioned that they had found 'the colour' in the bed of a river which they named after the premier. a party of four well-equipped northern miners acted on the hint. carrying with them plenty of provisions and spare horses, they set out to examine the palmer country, and soon found that the sand which overlays its rocky bed and the gullies running into it were impregnated with gold. a great rush ensued, and, though no very remarkable nuggets were discovered, and no specially rich finds were made, the gold was everywhere near the surface, and large quantities were unearthed. from its discovery to the end of the palmer yielded , , ounces. chapter viii. western australia. early settlement--mistaken land system--convict labour--the system abandoned--poison plants--perth--king george's sound--climate--pearls--prospects. [illustration: sheep-shearing.] [illustration: perth.] western australia, as its name implies, is the tract of country lying upon the western side of the great island continent of the south. a glance at the map shows that the eastern side of the island, and much of the southern, is occupied by the colonies of south australia, victoria, new south wales, and queensland, the land in which is taken up by squatters, by agriculturists and miners for hundreds of miles inland, while the coast-line is studded with large cities, like melbourne, sydney, and adelaide, and with numerous flourishing settlements. on the other side is the enormous tract of western australia, miles in length from north to south, and miles in breadth, thus embracing in extent one-third of the continent. here, instead of ports, of towns, and of settled districts, we find only a few scattered settlements, and this is the case though the colony is an old one, and one for which much has been done. by virtue of seniority of settlement, it ranks next to new south wales. it was founded in , under government auspices, and with a great flourish of trumpets, mainly in consequence of a very favourable report prepared by captain stirling, r.n., afterwards sir james stirling, first governor of the colony. to induce settlement, enormous grants of land were made to men of influence and capital, who in return were to bring out a proportionate number of labourers, and perform other 'location duties.' thus a mr. peel, a relative of sir robert peel, obtained , , colonel latour , , and sir james stirling , acres. it appears now to be agreed that this grant system was as injudicious as it was lavish. middle-class capitalists came to reside on their estates, and not to work, and the settler of humbler but more useful pretensions was led to believe that the colony was closed to him. the settlement was hapless from the first. old colonists give lively descriptions of how ladies, blood horses, pianos, and carriages, were landed on a desolate coast, while no one knew where his particular allotment lay. the settlers found that they had no control whatever over the men they brought out, and in some instances they were left to establish their homes in the wilderness as they best could by themselves. many, deciding from the arid appearance of the place that there was no prospect of success, abandoned it. some who believed at one time that the garden of eden lay on the banks of the swan river, and that colonisation was a perpetual picnic, returned wiser, poorer, and sadder, to the more congenial sphere of settled and civilised england. others, like the messrs. henty, sought more favourable fields, and ultimately, in _australia felix_, acquired both riches and reputation. many of those who remained do not seem to have possessed the stuff the real settler is made of, but thought more of giving entertainments and seeking pleasure than of work. when the supplies they had brought from england ran out, they were very nearly starved, and they had to expend much of their capital in importing provisions. in after years their numbers were but little increased. considerable doubt existed about their progress being sure, and none whatever about its being slow. never well-to-do, they felt very severely the depression general throughout australia in . people looked to their money-chests only to see if they had sufficient left to take them away. casting about for relief, the york agricultural society suggested that convicts should be applied for, and the proposal found favour with the people. backsliding seems as easy with communities as with individuals. the colonists who had met more than their share of difficulties and obstruction, while proceeding in the straight-forward path of settlement, found everything prepared for them when they turned aside. it so happened that, just before this time, the effects produced by the vast influx of convicts into tasmania had shocked the british public, and provoked a spirit of resentment and resistance in the australian colonies such as had never existed before. the whole of the eastern settlements stood arrayed against the mother country, and the conclusion was forced upon the imperial government that the system must be terminated. earl grey, who was then in office, and who had initiated important improvements in the management of convicts, endeavoured to find for the flood of british criminals a new outlet where these plans could be tested. he addressed a circular on the subject to the colonies of new south wales, south australia, western australia, new zealand, the cape, the mauritius, and ceylon, explaining the improvements it was proposed to make in the management of the convicts, promising to send a free emigrant for every convict shipped, and asking whether, under these conditions, the colonies would consent to receive criminals. the answer was "no" in each instance, with the single exception of western australia. her reply was favourable, and a bargain was soon struck. western australia entered into the contract upon the understanding that the annual imperial expenditure should be sufficiently large to be of importance to the colony, and in the hope that cheap labour would attract capital to it. the system was continued until , when, in deference to the protests of the sister states, and because also expectation had been greatly disappointed as to the results, convict importation was finally closed and determined. the protest was carried so far that it was proposed by one government to exclude from the ports of the free colonies ships that had come from the convict settlement; and this decision would have shut out the mail steamers. and western australia found that, while it obtained convict labour, it frightened away free men, while immigrants avoided the place as though it were a plague-spot. now it may be said the past is forgotten, the taint is dying away, and western australia is awakening into life. the country is being opened to the northward, but up to within the past few years the bulk of the settlement was in the south-western corner of the colony, in the neighbourhood of the swan river--a stream which possesses the peculiarities of being short, broad, and shallow, and which, in consequence of its bar and its flats, is well-nigh useless as far as navigation is concerned. at the mouth of the river lies fremantle, with a population of about --the seaport of the colony. ten miles higher up is perth, the capital city, possessing more inhabitants than fremantle. a like distance farther on is pretty guildford, and seventy miles from the seaboard, separated from it by the darling ranges, are the agricultural settlements in the avon valley. the town of bunbury lies on the western sea-coast; and albany, a settlement of equal size on the southern coast, is indebted for its existence to its harbour--king george's sound--being a place of call for the mail and numerous other steamers. geraldton and roebourne are northern ports--the latter the centre of the pearl fishery trade. looking at its vast size, and the dispersion of its thin population--the whole not equal to that of a melbourne suburb--western australia can only be described by one image--it is the giant skeleton of a colony. a clever yankee once described the colony of western australia as having been run through an hour-glass. the american, however, possessed the failing common to many humorists: he economised the truth for the sake of uttering a smart saying. it is only to be expected that in a country like western australia, possessing an area of a million square miles, that sandy tracts are to be met with; but to assert that the colony is a vast sandy waste--a sahara--is to convey a wrong impression of its physical features. in the far north the richest of australian tropical vegetation exists; fine rivers flow through tracts of splendidly grassed territory, and the conformation of the country is bold. it is farther south, where the tropical growth gives place to level plains and bush vegetation, that the dreary sandy plains exist in parts, though not to the extent sometimes imagined. along the south-west coast, however, where the splendid forests of jarrah and other varieties of eucalypts are found, the soil is richer and better watered, but the prevalence of dangerous poison plants renders it less useful for pastoral purposes. some districts are infested with strong quick-growing bushes, the juices of which are fatal to animal life. there are no less than fourteen known varieties of these plants, but only four are commonly pointed out. these are the york-road, the heart-leaf, the rock, and the box-scrub--the _gastrolobium bilobum_, the _gastrolobium calycinum_, _gastrolobium callistachys_, and the _gastrolobium anylobiaides_. the most common is the york-road plant, a low bushy scrub, with narrow fresh green leaves, and a light coloured stem. after a bush fire this plant is the first to spring up. its young shoots have a particularly green and attractive appearance; the sheep feed eagerly upon it, swell to a great size, and die in a few hours. a single mouthful at this period is sufficient to destroy them. the plant is also very dangerous when in blossom, as then also the sap is fresh and plentiful. in summer, when it is dried up, the sheep do not care about it, and may even be fed on country where it is not very thick. it is destructive to horned cattle, but it does not affect horses much. millions of acres are overrun with this poison shrub, which, however, when cleared, may be profitably occupied. for instance, in the mahogany forests about the darling ranges, there is a coarse grass growing which would support sheep well, but, in consequence of the prevalence of poison, at present the land remains unproductive and unoccupied. as one goes north the poison plants disappear, and the flocks which victoria and queensland and new south wales are now pouring into the new pastures there feed as securely as they would in the western district of victoria, or on the famous darling downs. the city of perth is built in a picturesque situation above the broad reach of the swan river known as perth waters. its streets are broad and well defined, and, considering that it only contains a population of some seven thousand souls, it is a remarkably compact town. the town hall, built by convict labour, is a pretentious structure, and within easy distance of it are to be found the legislative assembly chamber and the commodious offices devoted to the use of the civil servants. the principal buildings are to be found in st. george's terrace, a fine wide street lined with beautiful trees. the soil of perth is admirably suited to the growth of many varieties of fruits and flowers, and the love of the residents for these gifts of nature is indicated by the well-kept gardens that surround most of the houses. indeed, no colony can produce finer fruit than western australia. [illustration: government house, perth.] fremantle, the principal port of the colony, is a modest little town with narrow streets nestling at the mouth of the swan river. here was maintained for many years the great convict depôt of the colony, and the many public conveniences the residents possess are due to the efforts of prison labour. the most remarkable feature about fremantle is the whiteness of its streets and buildings. this arises from the almost universal employment of limestone as a building and road material. the glare on a bright summer's day is both extremely dazzling and hurtful to the eyesight. the swan, which runs from fremantle to perth, is a noble river. it opens out into splendid reaches of varying width. its banks are fringed with veteran gum-trees, whose rugged outlines are reflected with mirror-like sharpness in the clear waters beneath. the misfortune is that such a fine stream cannot be made practical use of without considerable expenditure; but all entrance to it from the sea is barred by a ridge of sandstone, which stretches, some six feet under water, completely across its mouth. the southern portion of the colony is singularly unfortunate in possessing very few harbours. fremantle is now an open roadstead, but the state proposes by the expenditure of a large sum of money to give effect to a scheme formulated by sir john goode, the eminent engineer, which, it is believed, will render the port perfectly safe in all weathers. king george's sound, however, has been exceptionally favoured by nature. the entrance to it is by either of the two passages which surround the massive rock, appropriately named breaksea, that rises up with rugged abruptness in the centre of the channel. at the rear of breaksea the inlet opens into a grand harbour, where the largest ships can lie with perfect safety in the roughest weather. the scenery along the shores is diversified and beautiful, and no more charming place of call could be found for the ocean mail steamers, which anchor there regularly every fortnight. the little town of albany is situated upon the rising boulders of granite at the head of the sound; but its isolated position has told against the prosperity of the place. the harbour has been aptly stated to be the front gate of the colony, with a blank wall behind it. that blank wall consists of the long tract of dismal country lying between albany and perth; but the colonists hope, with the aid of an english syndicate who have contracted to construct a railway to join the government system at beverley, to abolish the barrier which now cuts them off from albany. they will then be able to utilise the harbour and to elevate it to the position it should occupy. of late years the strategical importance of king george's sound in case of warfare has commanded the attention of imperial and colonial statesmen. the climate of western australia is decidedly salubrious. for years past the residents have sought to induce the indian authorities to make it their sanatorium for invalid officers, but so far nothing definite has resulted from their representations. sport is plentiful in every part of the province, and the homely hospitable character of the people renders a visit to the colony a most enjoyable experience. the great pride of western australians is in the wild flowers that cover their plains in the spring time. the surface of the earth is then carpeted with an endless variety of the most beautiful forms of the floral creation. every crevice and cranny is filled with blossoms, whose bright colours contrast vividly with the more delicate hues of the 'everlastings' that abound in the more level country. the pearl fisheries off the coast of west australia, and especially at shark bay, produce the true pearl oyster, the _avicula margaritifera_. for a long time this shell was supposed to be valueless, on account of its thin and fragile structure; but now there is a great demand for it, both in europe and america. it is especially prized by french and german artists for fine inlaid cabinet work. during the year , tons of pearl shell were exported from western australia, valued at $ , and the value of the pearls exported during the same period was $ , . several of these pearls were of extraordinary size and beauty, one weighing grains. a mass of pearls in the form of a perfect cross was found at nickol bay, west australia, in the early part of last year, each pearl being about the size of a large pea, and perfect in form and colour. [illustration: albany.] the oysters in the west australian fisheries are generally removed by passing an iron-wire dredge over the banks, but divers are also employed, the diving being carried on from the end of september to the end of march. pearl oysters are gregarious in their habits, and whenever one is met with it is almost certain that vast numbers of others will be found in the immediate neighbourhood. writing of western australia, sir f. napier broome, c.m.g., says: 'many of the farmsteads i visited in the country districts are such as their owners may well be proud of. they represent years of arduous toil, and of courageous struggle with many difficulties. i find in some of them the grey-haired, sturdy early settlers of the colony, still strong and hale, after nearly a half-century of colonisation, now able, i was rejoiced to see, to rest from their labours, and to enjoy growing comforts and easier circumstances, while the farm or the sheep station was looked to by the stalwart sons. wherever i went, i perceived that western australia, though not a country of richness, was nevertheless a land in which an honest worker of shrewd wit has rarely failed to gather round him, as years went on, the possessions which constitute a modest competence, and perhaps something more, enjoyed amidst the affections and the ties of a home in which he can take life easily in the evening of his days, and from which he can see his children marry and go forth to such other homes of their own. i did not find the feverish, brand-new, shifting and disjointed communities of a wealthy colony, but i found a people amongst whom ties of kindred are numerous and much thought of, who have dwelt side by side with each other all their lives, and who have preserved among themselves a unity and friendly feeling most pleasant to encounter, and social characteristics natural and agreeable in their unaffectedness, simplicity and heartiness. each little township resembles an english village rather than the colonial assortment of stray atoms one is familiar with elsewhere. the more one sees and knows of western australia and its people, the more they win on one.' the most important circumstance in connection with the western australia of to-day is the discovery that the north-western corner contains fine pasture-land, permanent rivers, and good harbours. explorers from the east have visited the place, and have reported favourably upon its prospects, and now there is a good deal of _bonâ fide_ squatting enterprise being displayed. companies have been formed, and syndicates and flocks and herds have been sent from melbourne and sydney by sea, and cattle are also being pushed across from queensland. if these ventures have only half the success which is predicted for them, there is a great future in store for this part of western australia. and recent reports from the colony disclose the fact that there is every indication that an extensive gold-field exists in the country between king sound and cambridge gulf. a 'rush' has set in, and there is considerable excitement throughout australia about the matter. chapter ix. tasmania. a holiday resort for australians--launceston--the north and south esk--mount bischoff--a wild district--the old main road--hobart--the derwent--port arthur--convicts--facts and figures. [illustration: view of mount wellington, tasmania.] [illustration: corra linn, tasmania.] this island is the smallest of the australian colonies, and the lover of the picturesque pronounces it to be the fairest of them all. it is a land of mountain and of flood--another scotland, but with a perennial blue sky and an italian climate. now that there is a leisured and a wealthy class in australia, this wealth of scenery is becoming a real fortune to tasmania. a twenty hours' run takes the holiday-maker from melbourne wharves to launceston, and then the island, with its streams, its hills and its fisheries, is open to him. the rush of excursionists to enjoy the cool weather and the romantic views has become greater and greater with successive years; and, though new zealand is the switzerland of the colonies, yet tasmania, being so much nearer the mainland, and having so many native charms, is sure to hold its own as a holiday resort. moreover tasmania is held in affectionate regard by thousands of australians whose birthplace she is. her material prosperity is not so great as that of her neighbours, and consequently her youth are lured to the mainland, where they usually establish themselves successfully, and where they also acquire such substance as enables them at frequent intervals to revisit the old land. so great is the migration of the young men that it would have fared ill with the damsels of the isle but for a compensatory influence. their own youth were lured away to seek for wealth and to woo wives in other lands; but the tasmanian clime enriches the fair sex with complexions which are the despair of their more sallow sisters of the north, and the deserted maidens have always had their revenge by captivating and winning their visitors. his lady friends tremble for the australian bachelor who spends a leisure month across the straits. and then there are many territorial families in victoria and new south wales whose sires emigrated from tasmania in the early days of colonisation. it is not surprising therefore that there is a strong attachment between the rich sons and the poorer motherland which it will take much to sever. bass straits separate tasmania from australia, but the journey is easily made in large well-equipped steamers which leave melbourne regularly, and which speedily reach the smooth water of the tamar. this river debouches on the north coast, and is a noble stream forty miles in length, coursing through alluvial stretches backed in the far distance by grand tiers of mountain ranges. along its banks there are dots of settlement, but, as they are at wide intervals, the traveller appreciates the charm of navigating what appears to be an unexplored tract. but for the beacons and buoys to mark the shoals there is little to indicate the presence of man. given a clear day--and all days are more or less clear in tasmania--a bracing breeze from the south, and a trip up the tamar cannot be excelled; and if it be that the traveller comes in the early spring, before the snow has quite disappeared from the highest hills beyond, and while the freshness of the new vegetation still makes the near landscape glorious, he will wish for no better communion with nature. launceston, on the tamar, is the second city of the island--second in point of picturesque surroundings, second also in political importance, because hobart, in the south, is the capital; but first in the material aspect, from which point of view even lovers of the beautiful are content to pay some homage. it is decidedly a pretty town. at its wharves two rivers, the north esk and south esk, meet, and in their mingling form the tamar. the north esk comes down over crags and precipices, through a striking gorge, whose bold sheer cliffs frown at each other and on the deep silent stream below. the most romantic spot of all is corra linn, on the south esk, where the river dashes over boulders through a gateway of basalt, changes into a quiet restful stream, reflecting foliage and rock in its peaceful depths, and then dashes on again, falling and falling and falling, cataract after cataract, whirlpool after whirlpool, until its force is expended in the deep tamar, and its bosom becomes dotted with the 'white-winged messengers' of commerce. the south esk flows through rich agricultural country, where the land has been farmed for more than a generation, and where the hedged fields on the hillsides recall kent and sussex to the mind of the englishman, and give the average australian, whose knowledge of farm landscape is made unpleasant by the recollection of mile after mile of rail fencing, a splendid idea of how husbandry may be made to present a charming aspect. [illustration: on the south esk, tasmania.] a fine railway runs through fertile country to the town of deloraine, on the river meander, and on to the north-west coast to the mouth of the mersey, a distance of eighty miles. it passes large properties devoted to the breeding of high-class sheep, which have served to make the colony famous throughout australia, because the flocks which now supply a vast proportion of the world's wool have been bred from studs imported from these areas. the train passes through glades and over plains, round mountain sides and over streams; and at deloraine the traveller is delighted by the bold appearance of quamby bluff, jutting from the end of a long range against the blue sky. the mersey has beauties, and so have the don, the cam, the forth, and numberless other limpid streams which 'bring down music from the mountains to the sea'--this music being particularly grateful to the visitor who, it may be, has just left the parched plains of central australia. back from this coast, through wild country to wilder, lies mount bischoff, the richest tin mine in the world. this prize was secured, unhappily not for himself, by an old gentleman voted eccentric by his neighbours, but so strongly inspired with the belief that rich tin deposits must exist in the interior that for months and months he would wander through the bush prospecting under conditions of hardship scarcely conceivable--a long way from the tracks of humanity, absolutely self-reliant and thoroughly confident. at last, where a pretty river, the waratah, turns a prominent hill and runs over a high precipice, he found the long sought-for treasure. he also found on his return to the haunts of men that his story was not believed, that 'philosopher smith,' as he was designated, was not able to easily secure the assistance requisite for the development of his discovery. in time, however, he succeeded, and the mount bischoff company was formed, and started upon its career. mr. smith held his allotment of stock through the early years of work, but gradually he was compelled to realise in the market at ridiculously low rates. twelve years ago the shares went almost begging at thirty shillings each, and they have since ruled as high as eighty pounds. it is difficult, on looking at the mine, to conjecture when the lode will be exhausted. the 'faces' being worked from part of the mountain, and as the material is brought under treatment, of course, the picturesqueness of the scene has to suffer. when 'philosopher smith' broke upon it he must, if he was anything of a philosopher, have been greatly impressed with its magnificence, for then not only were the mountains lofty, but they bore magnificent forests, and the babbling streams were delightfully pure. now the traveller can only admire the mountains, which are still high, unless, of course, he is also impressed by the enterprise which has drawn the wealth from the hillside, albeit that in so doing the forests have suffered and the waters have been stained. beyond mount bischoff the woods grow denser, and traffic through them to newer tin-fields on the west coast is infrequent and hazardous. twelve or fifteen years ago very few men visited that district, and even now nobody goes there unless impelled by strong business reasons. when you stand on mount bischoff and look across the hills which rise in this wild region, you are presented with a grand spectacle, and you wonder if the day can ever come when clearings and cultivation will be where now the bush appears to be impenetrable. [illustration: views in tasmania.] from launceston, in an easterly direction, the traveller finds much to interest him, particularly in that quarter where stand ben lomond and other mountains, each upwards of feet high. st. mary's pass is a natural gateway through the ranges, and the coaches which traverse the road rattle along alarming ridges; but pleasure and surprise are so strongly excited that there is no time for a thought of danger. through to fingal, and on to st. helen's at george's bay, on the east coast, the variations of scene are endless. and then the cliffs are reached; and, gazing on the broad blue ocean once more, it is vividly brought home to the continental australian that he is on an island, and a beautiful island also. tin and gold mines have been worked in this division of the colony more or less successfully; but the interests were not permanent, and the attention of investors has long since been diverted to finer fields. [illustration: launceston.] launceston is connected with hobart by one of the finest macadamised roads-- miles in length--in the world, and by a narrow-gauge railway of miles. the railway is a comparatively new institution, but the road has stood for years, and will stand for ages. in 'the old days,' as the past is happily and conveniently termed in tasmania, there were only two settlements--hobart and launceston; and it became as necessary to establish others as to connect them. at that time hundreds of convicts were being landed from england, and the additional necessity to find employment for them induced the governing authorities to embark upon the enterprise of making the road and making new towns. it cost more than a railway would cost nowadays, for prison labour has always been expensive. but it is thoroughly substantial, and has the great advantages of passing through the richest agricultural and pastoral lands of the colony, and the great charm of running over many bold hills and of crossing many of the most beautiful streams of the island. thirteen hours were required to perform the journey between the two towns when coaches were running, and there are many who, while thoroughly appreciating the quicker transit of the railway, nevertheless sigh for the good old invigorating coach-ride, and the rests at the old hostelries--just such as would be found on an english turnpike. the railway had to be constructed along a devious course, and consequently traffic was diverted from the direct road, and from the ancient hamlets to newer settlements, where everything is spick and span. the old resting-places have not yet disappeared, but many of them are decaying, and present striking contrasts to the new order of things on the rail route. 'for a young country you have an elegant supply of ruins,' was the comment of an american who was driven over this road. he was quite right, but the ruins are revered by all who remember the traffic when it was at its best. they are not signs of national decay, but the result of a change of transit. as they stand now even they are not unprofitable. without them many a picturesque scene would be less interesting. [illustration: hell gate, tasmania.] hobart is a lovely city. it has been made beautiful by nature, and it will become famous by the act of man, for it is the spot where the first federal council of australasia met in january . it is rather inverting the order of things to first dwell upon the newest characteristic of the town, but the departure is justified by the promise of the great good which must follow the establishment of the union. in due course the federal spirit must expand, and when australians, in years to come, revert to the starting-point of their national life, they will think kindly of hobart. the city of 'balmy summers and cheerful winters' stands on the big-volumed derwent. the river rises far inland, up among high mountains, where lake st. clair and lake sorell reflect the snowy peaks of their basaltic guardians. it runs through rich country, where settlement has become permanent, down to new norfolk, where it bends and twists, and skirts lofty cliffs, passes through hop-fields, whose golden crops in the autumn make the landscape beautiful and the air fragrant, develops into a noble course a little farther on, and at hobart is in some places seven miles in width, and in no place less than a mile. there are high mountains on both sides, and the valleys are exceptionally productive. the city is seated on seven hills; behind it is knocklofty, a respectable eminence; and behind that again mount wellington, feet in height, forms a grand background. the population numbers about thirty thousand, and the citizens are tolerably thrifty, although not so enterprising nor so wealthy as the colonists of the mainland. the city was established early in the century, and for very many years it was the _entrepôt_ for the thousands of wretched convicts expatriated from great britain. it was an important military station, and its palmiest days were thirty-five years ago, when the imperial government spent £ a day in the maintenance of the gaols and the barracks. at that time the city was an important place, but the curse of transportation was upon it. in the last convict ship discharged its cargo, and since then the system has gradually run down, and is now very little more than a memory. the traces must necessarily linger, but their ultimate effacement is only a question of time. it is a pity that so fair a spot was ever used for so ill a purpose. being the capital, hobart possesses all the usual official institutions: a government house in a beautiful garden on the derwent, in which resides a well-paid representative of her majesty; parliament houses, in which sit two chambers, who legislate upon the most approved constitutional plan; a supreme court, civil service court, and other accessories suited to the requirements of the colony. its monetary and trading institutions are sound, and its commercial relations with other ports expanding. the harbour is lined with well-built wharves, and the depth of water is astonishing. twelve miles down the river are the heads. the southern pacific is beyond; and so easy is the navigation that vessels very rarely have to employ pilots. reefs and shoals are unknown. a two or three hours' trip seawards to the south-east enables one to reach the famed port arthur, in a land-locked bay hedged by bluff promontories whose aspect is so stern that the beneficent calm within is made the more beautiful when they are passed. port arthur was the centre of convictism for many years, and the prisons stand now, though the place has long since been given up as a penal settlement. it is on the southern point of a peninsula, which is connected with the mainland by a narrow strip, not more than one hundred yards wide, called eaglebank neck. this was, and is, the only means of communication by land with the outer world, and the authorities devised stringent if inhuman means to prevent the escape of prisoners. fierce dogs were chained at such intervals that it would be impossible for a man to pass between them, and they kept watch by night, while armed men were on guard by day. it was a straight and narrow path, but no one ever passed that way. to swim through the water on either side was equally hazardous, because of the risk of being attacked by sharks, and consequently the number of escapes was extremely small. the only authenticated break away from bondage was performed by three men--martin cash, cavanagh, and jones, who swam pirates' bay in the night, reached a farm-house before morning, equipped themselves for highwaymen's work, and defied arrest for some years. the last prisoners were removed from port arthur in , and the magnificent buildings, than which there are none better in the world, have been allowed to decay, the rich fields and meadows, which were pictures in the busy days of the establishment, are fast becoming obliterated, and desolation promises to encompass all. slowly but surely nature is reclaiming her own, and is effacing the memorials of an infamy which none care to look back upon. chapter after chapter might be written upon the annals of port arthur, but they would be inconsonant with the tone attempted to be given to these pages. on the west of the mouth of the derwent is a magnificent channel forty-five miles in length, deep and beautiful. it is called d'entrecasteaux channel, after an early french navigator, and is a passage-way to hobart for ships coming from the westward. it is lined with fine harbours, and among other rivers receives the heron, which comes down through dense forests from the region referred to in the remarks made concerning the view from mount bischoff. this is indeed a wild country, but hardy adventurers have made homes among the giant trees and slowly cleared patches for fruit-gardens and farms. far back on the west coast is macquarie harbour, which was a convict station before port arthur, and whose history is willingly being forgotten. tasmania contains an area of , square miles, so that she is a little smaller than scotland, and a little larger than greece. her population on january st, , was , . her total revenue was £ , . she had miles of railway open, and she was constructing miles. her exports were valued at £ , , , and her imports at £ , , . all english fruits--such as the strawberry, the raspberry, and the apple--grow with a marvellous profusion, and the hop industry flourishes. [illustration: on the river derwent.] section iii. australian life and products. chapter x. heroes of exploration. tragic stories--flinders and bass--adventures in a small boat--discoveries--disappearance of bass--death of flinders--eyre's journey--ludwig leichhardt--disappearance of his party--theory of his fate--the kennedy catastrophe--the burke and wills expedition--across the continent--the deserted depÔt--slow death by starvation--later expeditions. [illustration: native encampment.] [illustration: a new clearing.] the story of australian exploration is for the most part of a tragic character. great geographical results have been achieved, but the price has been paid in great sacrifices. the records of success are saddened by many episodes of disaster and of death. the tale of heroism and suffering begins with bass and flinders, two young men who have left their names writ large upon the map for ever. they went out in with the second governor of new south wales, bass as surgeon of the ship reliance, and flinders as midshipman. the two were soon friends; they had an equal love of adventure, and the new circumstances in which they were placed fired their ardent imagination with the hope of discoveries that should benefit mankind, if not bring reputation to themselves. never did enthusiasts set to work with more scanty material. with a little boat eight feet long, and a boy to help, they cleared sydney heads, and faced the unknown southern ocean, and mapped out a section of the australian coast. they used to row or sail as far as they could in the day, and at night throw out a stone, which served them as an anchor, and lie at these primitive moorings till daylight. many were their narrow escapes by sea and shore. once they were upset near the shore; their powder was wet, and they lost their supply of fresh water. on reaching land and righting the boat, a body of natives came down upon them, and, as the savages were well armed and were hostile in their demeanour, it looked as if the defenceless party would be sacrificed. but after a hurried consultation bass spread the powder out on the rocks to dry, and went off to a creek to fill the keg with fresh water, while flinders, trading on the personal vanity of the blacks, and their love for hair-dressing, trimmed the beards of the chiefs with a pair of pocket-scissors. he had no lack of candidates. long before he had finished his task, bass had repacked the dry powder, had loaded the muskets, and the two friends with a rush regained their boat, leaving many would-be customers lamenting, and disappointing probably some would-be slayers. a few weeks afterwards a vessel called the sydney cove was wrecked in the unsurveyed tasman seas, the escaping boats were thrown ashore in a storm near cape howe, and this very tribe massacred most of the crew. ingenuity and boldness rescued the adventurers from one peril after another. as their exploits attracted attention, their friend governor hunter helped the discoverers to some small extent. flinders had to sail with his vessel to norfolk island, but bass obtained a whaleboat and a crew of six men, and with this aid he pushed boldly along the coast of what is now the colony of victoria, discovered corner inlet and western port, and proved that tasmania was an island, and not, as was then supposed, a part of the mainland. the separating strait rightly bears his name to this day. on the return of flinders, governor hunter placed a small sloop, the norfolk, at the service of the friends, and with it they surveyed the entire coast of tasmania, flinders preparing the charts. their discoveries were numerous, the river tamar being among them. this, alas, was the last joint expedition of the gallant comrades! bass was tempted to join in some trading speculation to south america, and unhappily his vessel was confiscated by the spaniards for a breach of the customs laws. bass was sent as a prisoner to work in the silver mines, and was never heard of more. well can it be imagined that many a hope, many a bright career, many a noble aspiration, have perished in those living tombs, but surely they never closed over a bolder or more unhappy victim than bass. flinders for a time continued his successful career. he visited england, and was raised to the rank of lieutenant, and he was authorised to proceed with his surveys in a vessel called the investigator. a passport was obtained for him from the french government, exempting him from capture during the time of war. at the same time, however, the french government sent out an expedition under m. baudin. with characteristic energy, flinders did his work in advance of his french rival, who was driven by scurvy to sydney. flinders was returning home when the state of his rotten vessel forced him to put into the mauritius, which then belonged to france. here, despite his passport, his ship was seized, and he was thrown into prison. m. baudin called at the mauritius soon afterwards, and he is accused by history of a great treachery. certainly there is much that charity finds it difficult to explain in m. baudin's conduct. it is written that he copied the charts and papers of the prisoner. this seems to be an incredible meanness; but it is certain that he connived at the detention, and that on his return to france he published a work anticipating all that flinders could say, ignoring the labours of the prisoner, and representing himself as the great australian discoverer of the day. [illustration: splitters in the forest.] more than six years elapsed before flinders was released; and, upon reaching england, he found that the discoveries he intended to announce had been given to the world, and that the public was familiar with them. exposure, hardships, and, above all, the long weary years in the french prison, had all told upon him. he set to work to bring out his book and his charts, and just managed to complete his task, but sank immediately afterwards. it is a mournful chapter. but the fame of flinders survives and is growing. in australian annals no name is more justly honoured. very soon the colonists began to push inland from their settlements on the coast, feeling their way, and gradually becoming acquainted with the novel features of their new abode. there was great joy when, after many endeavours, a sydney party discovered a pass through the extraordinary precipices of the blue mountains, which had long hemmed in the infant colony. the adventures of oxley, who thought that he was stopped by an inland sea, of sturt, who nearly perished in the central desert, and of mitchell, who opened up the western district of victoria, have already been incidentally mentioned in these pages. one of the first efforts to reach the centre of the continent was made by edward john eyre, in after-days governor of jamaica. he left adelaide in , his party consisting of five europeans and three natives, with thirteen horses. but the year was one of drought. the great marsh, now called lake torrens, was a sheet of glittering salt. the horses broke through the crust, and a hideous and tenacious black mud oozed out. advance on this line was impossible; and, upon taking a more westerly route, the explorer was stopped by the still larger marsh now called lake eyre, which was also a deceptive sheet of salt. disappointed, eyre returned to the head of spencer's gulf, and decided to make a dash at western australia, following the line of the cliffs in order to intercept any rivers. alas, there were none to intercept! the party had to depend for subsistence upon the chance of finding water-holes not dried up, and the little clay pans formed by the aborigines, and called native wells. at an early stage eyre sent all his party back, except his overseer baxter, his black boy wylie, and two natives. the farther he went the more sterile the country became, and the worse was his position. the burning sand suffocated the travellers, and day after day passed without water. most of the horses died. eyre was watching the remnant feeding on some scanty vegetation one night, and was musing on his gloomy prospects, when he heard a musket shot. the two natives had murdered the overseer, decamped with the stores, and left eyre and his boy wylie to their fate! the night was dark, and eyre gives a vivid description of his feelings as he sat in the gloom by the side of the corpse of his friend, expecting every moment that the treacherous blacks would use their muskets upon him and wylie. he could not bury the body, for the ground was hard rock, and he had no tools. day after day he plodded on. had wylie deserted him he must have perished, for in the boy's quickness in detecting traces of the natives and indications of their 'wells' lay the only chance of safety. at last, when nearly exhausted, eyre saw two boats at sea. they belonged to a french whaler. eyre was taken on board, was well fed, was supplied with stores and ammunition; and, after a rest of eleven days, he and wylie continued their journey, and, the country improving, they reached king george's sound in safety. thirty years after this journey was made it was repeated from the opposite side by mr. john forrest, a fine young west australian explorer, who with a small party passed over it with but little inconvenience or difficulty. mr. forrest again and again camped on eyre's old camping ground, which he recognised at once, and which seemed to have remained undisturbed from the time eyre and wylie left it. next comes the tale of the explorer over whose fate a veil of mystery and romance has fallen. in ludwig leichhardt was an eager young german botanist. he set his heart upon exploration. his first trip was most successful, as, starting from sydney, he made his way to the gulf of carpentaria, and discovered many of the fine rivers of northern queensland. so much enthusiasm was occasioned by these revelations of a grand country in tropical australia that the sydney people subscribed £ for leichhardt, and the government presented him with £ . after a short trip of seven months in the queensland bush, leichhardt organised an expedition to cross australia from west to east, a feat which no man has yet performed, though explorers from the west have met the tracks of those coming from the east. his party consisted of h. classen, six white men, and two blacks, with cattle and sheep. his last letter, which was dated from mcpherson's station, cogoon, april rd, , concluded in the following words: 'seeing how much i have been favoured in my present progress, i am full of hopes that our almighty protector will allow me to bring my darling scheme to a successful termination.' the hope was not realised. he has been tracked to the banks of the flinders, in northern australia, but his fate is unknown. the disappearance of his party has been absolute, and the australian imagination has dwelt long, anxiously and lovingly upon the mystery. no theory has been so wild but that it has found some eager adherents; every straw of hope has been grasped at. expedition after expedition has sallied forth to rescue the living or to bury the dead, but all in vain: the tales have proved false, and slowly hope has faded away. the explanation now generally accepted is that the party was surprised in low country by some tropical flood, in which all perished. a capital bushman, leichhardt was not likely to starve. and if he had died from thirst, or if he had been murdered by the natives, some of his animals would probably have escaped, or some weapon or some piece of their equipment would have been found, and would have furnished a clue to the mystery. but the earth gives no more trace of him than the deep sea of a vessel that has foundered, or the air of a bird that has passed by. [illustration: after stray cattle.] the kennedy disaster was on a large scale. edmund kennedy had explored the course of the barcoo with success, and in he was landed with twelve men at rockingham bay, to strike across country, to a schooner at cape york. the dense jungle of the tropical bush and the vast swamps checked their progress. he left eight men at weymouth bay, and proceeded with three men and a black boy, jacky, on his journey to the schooner. the blacks were numerous and hostile, and the bush gave them shelter. kennedy was speared by an unseen hand, and died in the arms of jacky. the three men were never heard of, and only two of the other party of eight escaped. jacky, however, turned up at the schooner with the papers confided to his care, a living skeleton. he is one of the many instances of the fidelity of the australian black when once he has become attached to his master. the rush to the gold-fields checked exploration for a time. all thoughts were directed to the auriferous treasure. but after the new population had settled down somewhat, a strong desire manifested itself to discover the secret of the continent. the south australian government offered a reward of two thousand pounds to the first person who should cross the continent from south to north, and the intrepid john mcdouall stuart was soon in the field to earn the money and to secure the fame. stuart had been one of the officers in sturt's last party, and he had discovered for south australian employers a fine belt of pastoral territory beyond the salt lakes that had discomfited eyre. in victoria the public subscribed a large sum of money, which the government doubled. the government also sent for camels, at a great expense, and the royal society appointed a committee to organise the expedition. the command was given to robert o'hara burke; landells, who had brought over the camels, was second; and a young man from the melbourne observatory, w. j. wills, was placed in charge of the instruments. the dash and energy of o'hara burke, and the talent and christian fortitude shown by wills, have endeared the memory of both these leaders to the country; but the admission must be reluctantly made that the tragic issue was due to burke's unfitness for the command. he was no bushman, and was too eager and impulsive for a leader. as a second in command he would have been invaluable; as a chief he was overweighted. the expedition left melbourne august , . burke's orders were to take his stores up to cooper's creek, and, when he had established his depôt there, to start for carpentaria. on the way up burke quarrelled with landells, who resigned, wills taking his place. at the same time burke met with a man named wright, who struck his fancy, and this stranger, utterly unqualified for the post, was placed in an important command. burke left the bulk of the stores and most of the party on the darling in charge of wright, who was to bring them on with all possible speed, while the leader made a forced march with a light party to cooper's creek. days passed without wright's appearing; and, instead of returning to hasten up his stores, burke, with characteristic boldness, resolved to make a dash for carpentaria. he divided his party and his stores, leaving brahe and three men at the creek to wait for wright, and started with wills, king and gray, on december , with six camels and a horse. the party made a rapid journey through fair and good country. box forests and well-grassed plains--a good squatting country--was traversed, and finally the explorers struck a fine stream, the concherry, running to the north, whose banks were clothed with palms and tropical vegetation. they were greatly pleased, for they knew they had but to follow this river to reach the northern sea. but the camels broke down. leaving them in charge of gray and king, the leaders proceeded on foot, and came with exultation to an inlet of the great northern gulf. their task was done; they could turn back. but this was their last moment of joy, troubles thickening afterwards to the end. their rapid travelling over broken country under a tropical sun, with scanty rations, began to tell upon all. there was no time for rest nor for hunting. the party must push on and on to reach the depôt where food awaited them. gray complained of a failure of all his powers, and in particular of an inability to use his legs. it was thought he was shamming, and he was punished and hurried on; but soon afterwards he laid down and died, and the same symptoms attacked them all, burke bitterly regretting his severity. they began to kill their camels, and, scarcely sustained by this food, they pushed on, their pace dwindling to a crawl, and then to a totter. on april they came in sight of the depôt, and a grateful 'thank god!' burst from their lips. they fired a gun. it was not answered, and they found the place deserted. wright, with the stores, had never reached the creek, and brahe, seeing week after week elapse, had fallen back to ascertain what was the matter in his rear, leaving half of his remaining provisions for burke and wills. when the three travellers entered the desolate depôt they gazed round in dismay, and burke threw himself on the ground to conceal his feelings--they had expected safety, and they were confronted by death. but a tree marked 'dig' caught their eyes, and they came upon the buried provisions. a rest for a couple of days was indispensable. and then burke came to the decision not to strike for the darling, as wills desired, but to make for a pioneer cattle station at mount hopeless on the south australian border. this was a fatal choice, the camp being a few miles away. the same day brahe, who had met wright, rode back to the depôt. by one of those fatalities which mark the expedition, burke had buried his despatches in the _cache_, and had taken some pains to restore it to its original condition, and so brahe thought it had not been disturbed. it was clear that some disaster had happened to burke. but wright, who was in command of the stores, decided to fall back on the darling to report matters to the committee. thus were burke and wills abandoned. wright and brahe, when at the depôt, were within two hours' journey of the perishing leaders. growing weaker and weaker, the forlorn and deserted trio struggled on. the country became worse and worse. they struck the wretched desert where sturt suffered so severely. water failed there, and all vegetation disappeared, and all hope of food, from the country. their torn and rotten clothing dropped from their backs. they killed their last camel. in despair they walked back to cooper's creek, on the chance of finding the natives--just at the moment when another day would have rewarded them with the sight of mount hopeless on the horizon. [illustration: monument to burke and wills in melbourne.] when they regained the creek their provisions were gone. the blacks showed the hapless men how to gather the little black seeds of a grass called the nardoo, on which they mostly lived themselves. the white men hoped that it would support them, but could only starve upon it. an effort was made to reach the depôt to see if relief had arrived, but the strength of burke and of wills gave out. wills was the first to sink. as he could travel no farther, burke and king left him in a native hut with nardoo seed and water by his side, while they sought assistance from the blacks, who had given wills a meal of fish a few days before. when king returned a few days later with three crows which he had shot, the pure and gentle spirit of wills had taken its flight. burke had only tottered a few miles from the hut. he laid down to die, asking king to place his pistol in his hand, and not to bury him. the strong man had become as a child. he sent many messages to friends. then he was silent; and the early morn saw the earthly end of a generous, ardent, manly leader, whose faults were of the head and are forgotten, while his virtues were of the heart and endear his memory. king made his way to the natives, with whom he lived many months, until he was rescued. the government granted him a substantial pension. a married sister devoted herself to his care. but those who looked upon his face saw his fate there. thirst, hunger, and privation had smitten him too severely, and very soon he also fell asleep. great energy was shown in sending expeditions to the relief of burke and wills, when wright returned to the darling without them. one party under m'kinlay started from adelaide, another under walker from queensland; landsborough led a third, which was landed at the gulf of carpentaria to reach melbourne, and howitt proceeded from melbourne viâ cooper's creek. the knowledge these expeditions gave of the country was great, and when mcdouall stuart, in , crossed the continent, interest in exploration lapsed. ten years afterwards a series of efforts were made by giles, gosse, lewis, forrest and colonel warburton, to cross from south australia to the western seaboard. forrest pushed his way through from the west, and warburton from the east. this latter party had a terrible battle for life, and without the camels, and without an intelligent black fellow who hunted for the native clay-pans, all must have perished. the men abandoned everything, even their clothing, down to shirts and trousers; and warburton arrived, strapped to a camel's back, rapidly sinking from exhaustion. still there are vast territories in australia untrodden by the foot of the white man, but the task of filling up the blanks is now left to the pioneer settler. one squatter pushes out beyond another, as the coral insect builds on its predecessor's cell. without any stir a district that was once in the desert is occupied, and then the blocks beyond are attached. the process is sure, though without sensation. chapter xi. a glance at the aborigines. first encounter with the blacks--misunderstandings--narrative of a pioneer--climbing trees--the blacks' defence--decay of the race--weapons--the northern tribes--a northern encampment--corroboree--black trackers--burial--mission stations. [illustration: a corroboree.] [illustration: a waddy fight. (_see p. ._)] from large portions of the continent the native has now been absolutely swept away. the immigrant who intends to settle in the populated parts of south australia, victoria, new south wales, tasmania and queensland, will have no more to do with the natives than he would have to do with the redskins if he visited ohio or pennsylvania. the aborigines, unless in the harmless guise of mission blacks, are not to be found except in the far-off outlying parts where the pioneer squatter is prosecuting his labours, and there the old sad tale of plunder and of murder by the tribes, and of revenge by the white man--too often on guilty and innocent alike--is still repeated. the blacks of australia differ in appearance and in size greatly, quite as much as do the inhabitants of europe. there are poorly fed tribes who are correctly described by dampier, while on the other hand men of a splendid physique can be found amongst them. it may be said at once that the tales that deny their intelligence and which degrade them almost to the level of brutes are unfounded. they live in their natural state, without care or responsibility, very much as children, and they have the cleverness and the uncertain tempers and the mercurial happiness of children. they could live, it must be remembered, with a minimum of exertion. so long as a country was not over-populated, opossums, fish and roots were obtained with little labour, and there was no occasion for house-building. as animals like the sheep and the horse flourish in the open in most parts of australia without artificial shelter, so man can 'camp out' with comparative ease. thus the black was not, and is not, called upon to exercise his higher faculties. food was too scarce to enable him to multiply and to form permanent settlements. yet, such as it was, its collection did not brace him up to any mighty efforts. his life was never in danger from wild animals. if he found many opossums, he indulged in a surfeit; if marsupials, lizards, birds and roots were scarce, he pinched for a time. if the black had discovered agriculture, his state might have been very different, but of cultivation he never had the slightest idea. once when a tribe was induced by an enthusiastic settler to plant potatoes, the men and women rose in the night and dug up the seed and feasted upon it. it was inconceivable to them why the white man should desire to bury good food. thus the black man wandered in one sense aimlessly over vast tracts of country, living on its chance fruits: a restless nomad, with no apparent prospect of rising on the social scale. even in victoria, the garden of australia, it took , acres to maintain a black. it must be admitted that this waste of power was too great. the european had a right to conceive that the land was not in an occupation that need be respected, though more consideration for the original tenants might have been and ought to have been shown. the mischief was that colonisation was unsystematic. no one knew how to deal with the blacks. the blacks did not know how to establish friendly relations with the white man. we give two illustrations here of victorian natives. the likeness in profile is that of a civilised black, and is strongly characteristic of the victorian race. the woman is also a good representative of the victorian lubra. in civilised races the woman eclipses the man in beauty, but the rule reads backwards in savage races. the australian black man is often stately and picturesque--his mate is generally hideous. an offence committed within a tribe was generally settled by the disputants fighting the issue out with spears or with waddies until the elders thought that justice was satisfied. terrible wounds would be given and received, but to the healthy black man, cuts, smashes, and bruises that would be fatal to the white are as nothing. although many pioneer settlers lived on friendly terms with the blacks, yet their sheep would be stolen, and then there were reprisals. here and there all the hands on a station would be sacrificed. when the settlers were at all near each other, it was the custom in victoria to fix heavy bells on posts near the house, and thus the warning of an attack was passed through a district, and a force would be brought together to relieve the white men and to punish the black. so it has been in turn in all the settlements. [illustration: civilised aborigines.] mr. g. f. moore, when advocate-general at the swan, gave the following narrative of a defence made to him by a black, who for his crimes had been outlawed: 'a number of armed native men had surrounded the house, when mr. moore went to the door to speak to them, having his fire-arms close at hand. he soon recognised yagan, but the natives near the door denied that he was present. however, when the outlaw perceived that he was known, he stepped boldly and confidently up, and, resting his arm on mr. moore's shoulder, looked him earnestly in the face, and addressed him, as the first law officer of the crown, to the following effect: "why do you white people come in ships to our country and shoot down poor black fellows who do not understand you? you listen to me! the wild black fellows do not understand your laws; every living animal that roams the country and every edible root that grows in the ground are common property. a black man claims nothing as his own but his cloak, his weapons, and his name. children are under no restraint from infancy upwards; a little baby boy, as soon as he is old enough, beats his mother, and she always lets him. when he can carry a spear, he throws it at any living thing that crosses his path; and when he becomes a man his chief employment is hunting. he does not understand that animals or plants can belong to one person more than another. sometimes a party of natives come down from the hills, tired and hungry, and fall in with strange animals you call sheep; of course, away flies the spear, and presently they have a feast! then you white men come and shoot the poor black fellows!" then, with his eagle eye flashing, and holding up one of his fingers before mr. moore's face, he shouted out--"for every black man you white fellows shoot, i will kill a white man!" and so with "the poor hungry women: they have always been accustomed to dig up every edible root, and when they come across a potato garden, of course, down goes the wanna (yam-stick), and up comes the potato, which is at once put into the bag. then you white men shoot at poor black fellows. i will take life for life!" and so far as in him lay yagan kept his word.' generally speaking, the colour of the natives is a chocolate brown; their dress is of the simplest kind: the opossum cloak, the strips of skin worn round the loins and the apron of emu feathers constitute their wardrobe. the aboriginal is essentially a hunter. his hands reveal his occupation at once, as they exclude the idea of manual labour. an english ploughman, it has been said, might squeeze two of his fingers in the hole of an australian shield, but he could do no more. like most nomads, the objection of the natives to steady work is insuperable. in pursuit of game, in stalking an emu or a kangaroo, they will concentrate their attention for hours, and will occasionally undergo great fatigue, but without some excitement or object they will do nothing. no black man will ever stoop to lift an article if he can raise it with his toe. and the big toe of the black man in the bush is almost as useful and as flexible as the thumb. the missionaries at the blacks' stations have achieved wonders with their pupils, but the one thing they cannot do is to induce the pure aboriginal to labour in any such way as the white man works. give him a horse, however, and he is happy. mr. e. m. carr, chief inspector of stock in victoria, in his interesting and valuable _recollections of squatting in victoria_, brings the daily life and the customs of the blacks vividly before the reader. his father took up country so far back as , in the moira district; and mr. carr, though a stripling, was left in charge. he came in contact with the blacks therefore when they were absolutely in a state of nature. he gives a long and interesting account of some matrimonial negotiations carried on between the ngooraialum and bangerang tribes. we have space for only a small part of his graphic story. the young people are betrothed to each other years before the time of marriage, and, of course, have no voice whatever in the arrangements. while mr. carr was staying with the ngooraialum tribe, the bangerang, preceded by one of their number named wong, arrived. 'the bangerang, after they had satisfied themselves by a glance that it was really wong, continued as if entirely unconcerned at his arrival; taking care, however, to keep their eyes averted from the direction in which he was coming. this little peculiarity, i may notice, is very characteristic of the blacks, who never allow themselves to give way to any undue curiosity as regards their fellow-countrymen, and as a rule refrain from staring at any one. wong, when he arrived within twenty or thirty yards of the camp, slowly put his bag off his shoulder without saying a word, gazed around him for a moment in every direction save that of the bangerang camp, and sat down with his side face towards his friends, and quietly stuck his spears one by one into the ground beside him, with the air of a man who was unconscious of any one being within fifty miles of him; the bangerang, in the meantime, smothering all signs of impatience. probably five minutes passed in this way, when an old lubra, on being directed in an undertone by her husband, took some fire and a few sticks, and, approaching the messenger, laid them close before him, and walked slowly away without addressing him. old wong, as if the matter hardly interested him, very quietly arranged his little fire, and, as the wood was dry, with one or two breaths blew it into a blaze. not long after, an old fellow got up in the camp, and, with his eyes fixed on the distance, walked up majestically to the new-comer and took his seat before his fire. though these men had known each other from childhood, they sat face to face with averted eyes, their conversation for some time being constrained and distant, confined entirely to monosyllables. at length, however, they warmed up; other men from the camp gradually joined them; the ice was broken, and complete cordiality ensued; and wong having given the message of which he was the bearer, that the long-expected ngooraialum were coming, the conference broke up, the new-comer being at liberty to take his seat at any camp-fire, at which there was no women, which might suit his fancy. the next evening, from amongst the branches of a tree in which they were playing, some young urchins announced the arrival of the ngooraialum. the bachelors, being unencumbered, arrived first; next, perhaps, couples without children; then the old and decrepit; and, lastly, the families in which there was a large proportion of the juvenile element. as they arrived they formed their camps, each family having a fire of its own, some half-dozen yards from its neighbour's; that of the bachelors, perhaps, being rather further off, and somewhat isolated from the rest. after the strangers had arranged their camps (which, as the weather was fine, consisted merely of a shelter of boughs to keep off the sun), and each group had kindled for itself the indispensable little fire, which the aboriginal always keeps up even in the warmest weather, they began to stroll about. on this occasion two or three bangerang girls found husbands amongst the ngooraialum, who returned the compliment by making as many bangerang men happy. in every instance it was noticeable that the husband was considerably older than the wife, there being generally twenty years--often much more--between them; indeed, as i frequently noticed, few men under thirty years of age had lubras, whilst the men from forty to fifty had frequently two, and occasionally three better halves.' in another chapter mr. carr shows his friends in an unamiable light. one of the warriors of the tribe died. 'pepper' was buried with all honours; but, as usual, the great question was who had bewitched him. the common practice was resorted to for discovering the enemies. 'shortly after sunrise the men, spear in hand (for no one ever left the camp without at least one spear), went over to the new grave. entering its enclosure, they scanned with eager eyes the tracks which worms and other insects had left on the recently-disturbed surface. there was a good deal of discussion, as, in the eyes of the blacks, these tracks were believed to be marks left by the wizard whose incantations had killed the man, and who was supposed to have flown through the air during the night to visit the grave of his victim. the only difficulty was to assign any particular direction to the tracks, as in fact they wandered to and from every point of the compass. at length one young man, pointing with his spear to some marks which took a north-westerly direction, exclaimed, in an excited manner: "look here! who are they who live in that direction? who are they but our enemies, who so often have waylaid, murdered, and bewitched bangerang men? let us go and kill them." as pepper's death was held to be an act particularly atrocious, this outburst jumped with the popular idea of the tribe, and was welcomed with a simultaneous yell of approval which was heard at the camp, whence the shrill voices of the women re-echoed the cry. 'a war-party, fifteen in number, proceeded stealthily, and chiefly by night marches, to the neighbourhood of thule station, visiting on their way those spots (known to one of the volunteers) at which parties of the doomed tribe were likely to be found. after several days' wandering from place to place, subsisting on a few roots hurriedly dug up, and suffering considerably from hunger and fatigue, they caught sight, as they were skulking about towards sundown, of a small encampment, without being themselves seen, upon which they retired and hid in a clump of reeds. about two o'clock in the morning the war-party left their hiding-place and returned to the neighbourhood of the camp, and having divested themselves of every shred of clothing, and painted their faces with pipe-clay, they clutched their spears and clubs, and, walking slowly and noiselessly on, soon found themselves standing over their sleeping victims. 'according to native custom, no one was on watch at the camp, and i have often heard the blacks say that their half starved dogs seldom give the alarm in cases of strange blacks, though they would bark if the intruders were white men. they gently raised the rugs a little from the chests of the doomed wretches, and at a given signal, with a simultaneous yell, plunged their long barbed spears into the bosoms or backs of the sleepers. then from the mia-mias, which were quickly overturned, came the shrieks of the dying, the screams of the women and children, blows of clubs, the vociferation of the prostrate, who were trying to defend themselves; the barking of the dogs and the yells of the assailants, who numbered fully three to one. altogether it was a ghastly, horrible scene that the pale moon looked down on that night at thule.' mr. carr describes the agility displayed by the men in such feats as mounting the trees for opossums, &c., and the illustration on page tells the story of one of these hunts. of australian weapons the most interesting is the boomerang. mr. brough smyth, in his work on the aborigines, discredits the idea that there is any connection between the boomerang and the throwing or crooked stick of the dravidian races of india, as has been contended, and insists that it is _sui generis_. its peculiar action depends upon a twist in the wood, the twist of the screw, which may be imperceptible to the careless observer, but which is always there. [illustration: a boomerang.] when a skilful thrower takes hold of a boomerang with the intention of throwing it, he examines it carefully (even if it be his own weapon, and if it be a strange weapon still more carefully), and, holding it in his hand, almost as a reaper would hold a sickle, he moves about slowly, examining all objects in the distance, heedfully noticing the direction of the wind, as indicated by the moving of the leaves of the trees and the waving of the grass, and not until he has got into the right position does he shake the weapon loosely, so as to feel that the muscles of his wrist are under command. more than once, as he lightly grasps the weapon, he makes the effort to throw it. at the last moment, when he feels that he can strike the wind at the right angle, all his force is thrown into the effort: the missile leaves his hand in a direction nearly perpendicular to the surface; but the right impulse has been given, and it quickly turns its flat surface towards the earth, gyrates on its axis, makes a wide sweep, and returns with a fluttering motion to his feet. this he repeats time after time, and with ease and certainty. when well thrown, the farthest point of the curve described is usually distant one hundred or one hundred and fifty yards from the thrower. it can be thrown so as to hit an object behind the thrower, but this cannot be done with certainty. the slightest change in the direction of the wind affects the flight of the missile to some extent; but the native is quick in observing any possible causes of interference. the northern blacks are the southern blacks, but are 'much more so.' they are finer and fiercer men; more given to slaughter, building better houses, more intractable. the engraving on the next page depicts an encampment of blacks on the shore, at the mouth of wreck creek, rockingham bay, queensland. the figure to the right of the picture is engaged painting a shield. the curiously-shaped huts of the north australian blacks form characteristic objects in the engraving. the engraving on page of a corroboree in the far north is from a photograph by mr. p. foelsche, at port essington. the males group themselves as shown in our illustration, and stamp the ground with both feet simultaneously, making a peculiar sound, and keeping tune with a guttural exclamation. the first who sounds a false note or misses a beat leaves the group amidst the ridicule of the bystanders, and this process is continued until the number of performers is reduced to a pair, who divide the honours. these northern tribes are guilty of revolting acts of cannibalism. [illustration: a native encampment in queensland.] no keener observers of nature in the world are to be found than the australian blacks. their gaze is microscopic rather than extensive. they have no appreciation of natural beauty and taste; but their attention is directed to the broken twig, the crushed grass, the displaced stone, the light impression--to anything and everything that may reveal the proximity of a foe or the presence of food. no such trackers exist anywhere. celebrity has recently been thrust upon them. in a gang of marauders took to the bush in victoria. they committed many daring crimes, and the police were unable to check or to capture them, though the best men in the force were employed, and tens of thousands of pounds were spent. the idea of employing black trackers was mooted, and some of the victorian aborigines were first tried. but civilisation dulls the instinct. trackers were obtained from the far north, who did their work well. the criminals were surprised and brought to bay. three were killed in the conflict, and the leader, who was captured severely wounded, was hanged in melbourne gaol. it was acknowledged on all hands that the presence of the trackers paralysed the gang, and a few blacks have been kept about melbourne ever since. [illustration: a native tracker.] so soon as the black has been dispossessed, and has ceased to be dangerous, the heart of the white man relents towards him, and he proceeds to look after the remnants of the tribes. philanthropists, lay and clerical, find liberal support from the state and from individuals. thus government stations and mission stations are called into existence in victoria, in south australia, in new south wales, and in western australia, where the blacks have homes provided for them and food, and where strenuous efforts are made to improve their morals and to christianise them. they are taught to grow hops and to look after cattle and to repair their fences, but it is all essential that reserves and streams should be at hand in which they can hunt and wander. under these favourable circumstances the full-blooded black is dying out; and, as there is a movement to distribute all half-castes amongst the general population, the time will come when these institutions will be closed, owing to a lack of inmates. the visitor should not miss the opportunity of inspecting one of the establishments, most of which are easily reached. illustrations are given here of the lake tyers station, which is under the charge of the rev. j. bulmer. a railway journey of a hundred miles to the town named sale, and steamer thence to the entrance of the gippsland lakes, brings the visitor to the spot, and he is sure of a hospitable reception. the upper view represents the mission church, a handsome building, constructed of wood, and erected by the rev. mr. bulmer. service is held morning and evening. other sketches show the school building, in which the aboriginal children are taught by mr. morriss, state school teacher; and a native camp, occupied by natives who decline the accommodation of the huts. [illustration: church, schoolhouse, and encampment at lake tyers.] there are many missions to the blacks. how far is the race capable of christianity? on such an issue only one who has closely studied the natives can pronounce an opinion. if there is any one person who is more entitled to be heard on the subject than another, it is the rev. f. a. hagenauer, who has had nearly a thirty years' experience with the australian black. mr. hagenauer came to australia in as a moravian missionary to the aborigines, and has been engaged in his self-denying labours ever since. recently he has associated with the presbyterian church of victoria, and he has acted--without any stipend from the state--as manager of the government aboriginal station, ramahyuck. the following letter speaks for itself:-- aboriginal mission station, ramahyuck, gippsland, _january , _. dear sir,--i gladly comply with your desire, to furnish you with some reliable information as to my views and experiences among the aborigines in reference to their capability of understanding and receiving christianity as a power to change the hearts and lives of these people. the beneficial influence of true christianity, through the progress of education and civilisation, has worked a wonderful change in the lives, manners and customs of the blacks. any one not acquainted with their former cruel and most abominable habits, but knowing them only as now settled in peaceable communities, would scarcely believe that the description of heathen life which the apostle paul gives in the epistle to the romans was a correct picture of their mode of life. given to the continual licentiousness of their carnal minds, they were slaves to their lusts and passions, which, working with their superstitious and cruel nature, made them ever ready, and their feet swift, to shed blood. without a settled home, they wandered about from place to place in a most miserable and depraved condition, adding to their native vices drunkenness and other evils, which they had learned from white people. the different tribes, either from superstitions or family quarrels, or from violation of tribal territory and the sacred surroundings of their dead, were at continual warfare; and their fear of revenge by secret enemies was sometimes terrible to behold. their howling noises for many days and weeks before and after the deaths of their friends and relatives, which told but too plainly that they were without hope in this world, were most pitiful to hear, and the disgusting scenes in connection with their nocturnal corroborees cannot be fully described. added to this came the tormenting custom to which some of them were subjected at their peculiar native festivities, and especially the barbarous treatment of females by their tribal lords. it is not necessary to refer to the many atrocities and crimes committed by them in days gone by, for it is well known that they gave trouble to the earlier settlers, and were a terror to lonely women and children in the bush; nor need i say anything about their loathsome diseases, which were prevalent among them in consequence of their immoral lives and habits. having lived for so many years among them as a close observer, i can testify that the above statements give only a faint picture of what actually took place, for there is not one hour of the night or day in which i did not witness one or other of their cruel customs. in the midst of their quarrels and bloody fights, at their ghastly corroborees, and during the time of their most pitiful cries around their sick and dead ones, we have been able to bring to them the gospel of life and peace, and many times did they throw down their weapons and stop their nocturnal dances in order to listen to the word of god and the joyful news of salvation through our lord jesus christ. in the beginning of a remarkable awakening amongst the blacks began with earnest cries to god for mercy, and sincere tears of repentance, which was followed by a striking change in their lives, manners and habits. the wonderful regenerating power of the gospel among the lowest of mankind worked like leaven in their hearts, and, through patient labour and the constraining love of jesus, we were soon privileged to see a small christian church arise and a civilised community settled around us. to the glory of god it can be said that a comparatively large number of the remnant of this rapidly decreasing race has been brought to the knowledge of the truth, and a good many honoured the lord by their humble christian life for many years, and a still greater number died in full assurance of eternal happiness through faith in jesus christ. the old manners and customs of the blacks have changed even among the remaining heathen under the influence of the word of god. the war-paints and weapons for fights are seen no more, the awful heathen corroborees have ceased, the females are treated with kindness, and the lamentable cries, accompanied with bodily injuries, when death occurred, have given place to christian sorrow and quiet tears for their departed friends. with very few exceptions, all the wanderers have settled down as christian communities on the various stations, and, where they are kept under careful guidance and religious instruction, the change from former days is really a most remarkable one. whilst, on the one hand, we have reason to rejoice that god has blessed his work to such an extent, we feel sorrow at stating that our joy is often mingled with disappointment, in so far that so very many of these people pass away either through the consequences of their former diseases, or for some unknown reason. the lord does what seemeth good in his sight; and we have reason to thank him for so many tokens of his grace, and for the triumphs of the gospel in the redemption of those members who passed away in peace to their eternal home, to be for ever with the lord. the carrying out of the saviour's commandment to his church, to preach the gospel to every creature, has accomplished that which was considered by many an impossibility; for the influence of the word of god proved its divine power, and many of these poor depraved blacks soon began to sit at the feet of jesus, 'clothed, and in their right mind.' general civilisation and education, in and out of school, for young and old, followed step by step as a fruit of true christianity, and showed in reality a greater progress than we ourselves could have expected in accordance with the generally adopted opinion in reference to the capability of the aborigines. i may state here that in every case of conversion we have been most careful and cautious not to administer the ordinance of baptism too soon, but only after long trials and careful instruction in the word of god. some of the converts have honoured their confession of faith by most honest, faithful, and consistent lives from beginning to end; some have been, and still are, weak in their christian course, whilst others have often to be reminded, and have even had to be put under christian discipline, in consequence of backslidings and sins; but even of those it can be stated truthfully that, though weak, they did cling to jesus for salvation, and cried for mercy to him who alone can forgive sins. to enter into particulars of individual conversions and triumphs of faith would be out of place in such a short statement as this; but there are very many instances, both of young people, and of the very oldest aborigines, who lived and died as faithful humble christians. on the whole, i believe that there is not any great difference between these blacks and any new converts from the heathen in other lands, or even among some classes of white people. it may also be stated that many people here and elsewhere at once expect the converted aborigines to be model christians, whilst they forget that christianity truly teaches all to grow in grace and in truth, and with patience and perseverance to press forward to the great aim; and this certainly is carried out by the converted aborigines in this colony. i remain, dear sir, yours very truly, f. a. hagenauer. chapter xii. some specimens of australian fauna and flora. marsupials--the 'tasmanian devil'--dingoes--kangaroo hunting--the lyre-bird--bower-bird--the giant kingfisher--emu hunting--snakes--the shark--alleged monotony of vegetation--tropical vegetation of coast--the giant gum--the rostrata--the mallee scrub--flowers and shrubs. [illustration: australian tree-ferns.] [illustration: dingoes.] no large carnivorous animals roam over the australian plains, to endanger the life of man or to destroy his flocks and herds. australia is the mother country of the meek and mild marsupial, which is found in abundance, varying in size from the great red 'old man' kangaroo, which stands between six and seven feet high, to the marsupial mouse, which will sleep in a good sized pill-box. there is the stupid, heavy wombat, which seems a mere animated ball of flesh, which burrows in the ground, and which apparently cannot move a mile an hour when it appears on the surface, though its pace is really better than that. on the other hand, there is the elegant flying fox, or rather flying opossum, which by means of a bat-like membrane glides through the air at night, astonishing the traveller, who sees hundreds of large forms sweep noiselessly by. great fruit-eaters are these flying foxes, and there is tribulation when a horde visits a settled district. the native bear, as a marsupial sloth is termed, is the most innocent-looking of animals, and the most harmless, feeding on the leaves of the gum. it swarms in the various colonies. in the next tree will be found a family of the _dasyuridæ_ or native cats, beautiful spotted creatures, the size of a half-grown cat, whose sharp face and continuous activity betray at once a restless and a wicked disposition. it is carnivorous, fierce and intractable. the marsupial pictured on page is a specimen of an elegant variety of the common opossum, found principally in the neighbourhood of the bass river, victoria. the common opossum is found everywhere. [illustration: the _sarcophilus_ or 'tasmanian devil.'] while the native cat is the only mischievous carnivorous marsupial on the australian mainland, tasmania is possessed of two much larger and more destructive animals, the _thylacinus_ or 'tiger-wolf,' and the _sarcophilus_ or 'tasmanian devil;' the former is nearly as large as a wolf, and is shapely and handsomely marked with stripes on the flanks. the latter is a smaller animal. it has been described as 'an ugly bear-like cat.' it is a thick-set creature, black in colour, with white patches, and its hideous appearance and its untameable ferocity quite entitle it to its popular designation. both 'tiger' and 'devil' are nocturnal, and both have been so hunted and trapped by the settlers, whose sheep and poultry they killed, as now to be very scarce. neither has ever been known to attack man. at one time, as geological examination shows, the marsupial 'devil' and his relative were both found in australia, and the wonder is that they should have so completely disappeared from the scene as they have done. [illustration: bass river opossum.] an animal that stands entirely apart from the marsupials in australia is the wild dog. the dingo is one of the mysteries. whence did he come? he is allied to the wild dogs of india, but why should this indian animal be in australia--his form on the surface and his bones in ancient deposits--while no other representative of the fauna of the old world is known? leaving science to unravel this problem, it may be said of the dingo that he is a good-looking but an ill-behaved animal. he is compared to the sheep-dog, to the wolf, and to the fox, and, in fact, he has a dash of each of these creatures in his appearance. he is about two feet high, is well-proportioned, with erect ears and a bushy tail. he stands firmly on his legs, and shows a good deal of strength in his well-constructed body. his colour varies from a yellowish-tawny to a reddish-brown, growing lighter towards the belly; and the tip of his brush is generally white. he cannot bark like other dogs, but he can howl, and he does howl with a soul-chilling effect. his note is to be likened unto the wolf's long howl from oonalastra's shore. campbell's melodious line conveys the idea of misery, and discomfort and uneasiness are engendered when the slumbers of the sleeper in the bush are disturbed by the blood-curdling cry of these breakers of the nocturnal peace. the blacks used to catch the puppies of the wild dog, and then train them to hunt, but they found the european dog sufficient for their purposes, and much more docile and affectionate. as dingoes worry sheep, the first task of a squatter is to get rid of them. when they breed in shelter and a semi-settled district--if they can issue from mallee scrub--a handsome reward is always offered for their heads. in parts of victoria as much as £ per head is paid. an engraving of the creature is given on page . [illustration: a kangaroo battue.] man has to be fed, and therefore game has to be shot and fish has to be caught. the animal life of australia had little rest when the blacks roamed over the country, but it has still less, now that the white man is in possession. the kangaroo hunt varies from a necessary slaughter of the blue and red kangaroos of the plains, to an exciting run and desperate fight for life at the finish of it, when the game is the big dark forester living in the timber belts that line most of the australian streams. the battue of kangaroos is often rendered imperative by the rapid increase of the marsupials after the disappearance of their old enemies, the aborigines and the dingo. as regards the kangaroo, matters are apt to become very serious for the grazier. on an average, these animals consume as much grass as a sheep, and where a few score originally existed there soon come to be a thousand. in some places they have threatened to jostle the sheep and his master out of the land; and, in consequence, energetic and costly steps have to be taken to reduce their numbers. in a battue of this description a whole neighbourhood joins. it may seem hard that this aboriginal should be ruthlessly destroyed in favour of the sheep, because he has no wool; but then, if he could reflect, he would see that, fed and cared for as the merino is, yet his fate would usually be the butcher at last. the battue is not so welcome to the sportsman as the chase of the forester. the 'old man,' when finally run down, backs like a stag into a convenient corner, perhaps the hollow of a great gum-tree, the trunk of which has been partly burned away with a bush fire, and there, with a calm no-surrender expression in his mute face, and just the merest blaze in the big deer-like eyes, waits for the enemy like the splendidly resolute old veteran he is. if he can find a water-pool or river in which to 'stick up,' so much the better for him and the worse for those who attack him. he wades in until only his nervous fore-arms and head are above water, and in this position can keep even a half-dozen dogs from coming to quarters. the forester, standing six feet high, has the advantage over the dogs that, while he stands upon his hind-legs, they must swim. of the amphibious platypus everybody has heard. the creature has been playfully likened unto a creditor, because it is a 'beast with a bill'; but its peculiarities do not stop here. as a survival, or a 'connecting link,' it has other qualities that render it an object almost of veneration to the naturalist. it is a mammal, suckling its young, and yet it lays eggs. this fact was long known to bushmen, but it was doubted by the scientific world, and mr. w. h. caldwell, 'travelling bachelor,' of cambridge, visited australia in - , to specially study the subject, and his researches proved that, as the bushmen had declared, the platypus is oviparous. on the one hand, the platypus, with its duck's bill and its webbed feet, connects the beast with the bird, and, on the other hand, its peculiar oviparian qualities are held to establish a relationship with the reptile. the name once given it, 'water-mole,' indicates its size, though certainly the platypus has considerably the advantage of the mole. it is larger, indeed, than the largest water-rat. when the first specimens were taken to europe a hoax, we are told, was suspected, the idea being that the bill and the feet had been cunningly attached to the body; but the platypus is too common a creature for the idea to be long entertained, and so its existence was officially acknowledged, and it received the title _ornithorhynchus_. the platypus is a 'survival,' and it is likely to survive for many a generation. it breeds in security in a chamber at the end of a long passage which it constructs from the river banks. it is sensitive to sound, and, as it dives with alacrity, and swims with only its beak above water, a shot is no easy matter. as it is still to be obtained in streams so well visited as the yarra and the gippsland avon, it may be imagined that its existence in other rivers is perfectly secure. yet its skin is much valued. as a fur it is equal to the sealskin; and if the animal were only larger it would be systematically hunted for its covering. australia is rich in the abundance and variety of birds of the parrot tribe, and in the occurrence of peculiar species of the feathered race. she possesses the birds of paradise, the king parrot, the blue mountain-parrot, the lories, parroquets and love-birds. the plumage of other birds is often of the gayest type. thus, the blue wren is common about nutbourne; and this bird, says gould, is hardly surpassed by any of the feathered tribe, certainly by none but the humming-birds of america. the cockatoo, with white, black, or rosy crest, flies in flocks, and few sights in the world are prettier than one of these flights. when they finally settle on a tree, they cover it as with a snow-drift. noisy they are, and clever, never feeding in the settled districts without posting sentinels to warn the rest of the approach of the human enemy. [illustration: the platypus.] one of the most interesting birds of australia is the so-called lyre-bird, the _menura victoriæ_ of the naturalist, the 'pheasant' of the settler, and the 'bullard-bullard' of the aborigines, the two words somewhat resembling the native note of the graceful creature. gould was strongly of opinion that the lyre-bird, and not the emu, should be selected as the emblem of australia, since it is very beautiful, strictly peculiar to the country, and 'an object of the highest interest.' [illustration: the lyre-bird.] the lyre-bird is about the size of the pheasant, and is valued because of the magnificent tail of the male bird. the tail is about three feet long. the outer feathers are beautifully marked, and form the lyre from which the bird takes its name. there are also curious narrow centre feathers crossing each other at the base, and curving gracefully outwards at the top. the habitat of the lyre-bird is the romantic fern country of south-eastern australia, and the creature is in accord with its lovely surroundings. it has many peculiarities. thus, the male bird forms a mound of earth, on which it promenades, displaying its tail to its utmost advantage, and uttering its liquid notes for the benefit of its female audience--for the female, dowdy as she is in comparison with her lord, has to be wooed and won. then they are the best of mocking-birds. they imitate with precision the notes of the laughing jackass, the parrot, the solemn mopoke, and moreover they reproduce every sound made by man. every splitter on the mountain-side has his story of endeavouring in vain to discover the users of a cross-cut saw in the neighbourhood, until he found that a 'pheasant' was mocking him; and another favourite topic is the perplexity of the 'new chum' settler, who hears an invisible mate chopping wood on his allotment, with an invisible but barking dog at his heels. the lyre-bird is slow of flight, and he would have a poor chance of escape from the shot-gun were his haunt not in the thick fern vegetation; but this jungle protects him. the birds are not so common as they once were in the ranges immediately about melbourne, but in the fastnesses of gippsland they are met with in their old numbers. the satin or bower-bird is another of australia's wonders. it not only builds a 'bower,' but decorates the structure with the most gaily-coloured articles that can be collected, such as the blue tail-feathers of the rose-bill and pennantian parrots, bleached bones, the shells of snails, &c. some of the feathers are stuck in among the twigs, while others, with the bones and shells, are strewed about near the entrances. the propensity of these birds to pick up and fly off with any attractive object is so well known to the natives that they always search the runs for any small missing article, such as the bowl of a pipe, that may have been accidentally dropped in the bush. in the spotted bower-bird the approaches are decorated with shells, skulls, and bones, especially those which have been bleached white by the sun; and as these birds feed almost entirely upon seeds and fruits, the shells and bones cannot have been collected for any other purpose than ornament. another bird peculiar to australia is the 'giant kingfisher,' or 'piping crow,' or 'musical magpie,' or 'settler's clock,' or, to use the term everywhere applied, 'the laughing jackass.' its extraordinary note, and insane and yet good-humoured prolonged and loud cachinnation is unique, and so is the appearance of the bird. it is a great australian favourite, is never shot, and as a consequence is tolerant of man. it is called the 'settler's clock' in the bush by virtue of its regular hilarious uproar at noon-tide and of its far-heard 'salutation to the moon,' and it will equally make any city reserve lively with its note. a dog-show was recently held in the melbourne exhibition. five hundred dogs naturally made themselves audible. but above all the discord was heard the laugh of the giant kingfisher, intimating that he had secured a golden perch from the pond, and was disposed to rejoice accordingly. it is doubtful whether the laughing jackass destroys snakes. his critics deny the assertion, which is made on his behalf. his admirers cling to a belief which is widespread and has earned for the jackass the immunity from destruction which he enjoys. [illustration: the giant kingfisher, or laughing jackass.] the largest game bird is the emu, but it is not pursued by sportsmen. the chase is cruel, and is only indulged in by stockmen and bohemians of the plain, who traffic in the skins, for which, unfortunately for the emu, there is a good commercial demand. before a horse can be of any service as an emu hunter he must become accustomed to the peculiar rustling sound of the long light tail-feathers when the bird is in rapid motion. further, he must be sound of wind and limb to keep alongside an emu; and these virtues are centred in some of the veteran stock-horses, which by long practice have become accustomed to tread closely upon the heels of a racer while the rider uses his long stock-whip. swerve as the hunted animal may, the old stock-horse never leaves the line. in this way the emu is generally run down, only horse and whip being used. at first he runs with a long clean swinging stride, but as he tires the legs bend outward and get farther apart, until the movement is more akin to the waddle of a fat barn-yard goose. he struggles along bravely until every fragment of strength is gone, and then falls never to rise again. [illustration: the emu.] the finest game-bird in australia is the bustard, or wild turkey, which is found all over the continent, but more plentifully in the western district of victoria. on those clear frosty winter mornings peculiar to the interior you may see them standing rigidly out in the centre of the plain, as though the cold of the night had frozen them into bird-statues. as they avoid the timber, and keep almost constantly to the open, it is only by artifice that the sportsman can get within range. for generations they have been stalked by the blacks, and have thus inherited a dread of man when on foot. they are shot without much difficulty from the saddle or a vehicle, the usual method being to drive round the bird in narrowing circles until within range. the native companion, a bird of very much the same habits and size as the wild turkey, but very different from him in plumage and appearance, also frequents the plains, and is often found in very large flocks. although not generally esteemed as a table bird, he sometimes finds his way into the game market, plucked and dressed, and masquerading as a turkey. an occasional blue feather beneath the wing instead of the spangled grey of the turkey now and again betrays the deception, but, as the birds at table are accepted by all except experts as being genuine wild turkeys, the difference in the flavour of the bird is not very marked. wild ducks are almost universal in australia. the finest of them all is the beautiful mountain duck, found all over the continent, but which seems more closely associated with the woods and waters of lake george, in new south wales. on this broad sheet of water they float in countless thousands, and nest in the thickets upon its banks. next to them in size comes the black duck, a long low bird as seen in the water, and one of the finest of australian wild ducks. the wood-duck is, according to strict scientific classification, a diminutive goose. it has the head, bill, and body of a goose, and yet in popular estimation it is, and always will be, a wild duck, and one of the most beautifully plumaged of australian ducks. the drakes have some of the brilliant tints of the english mallard, and the neck and head are a rich velvet brown, while the breast-feathers are beautifully spangled. the australian teal is much larger than the english bird, but otherwise not unlike it. these four varieties are the best known, but the widgeon and blue-wing are also plentiful, and outside these are at least half a dozen varieties less familiar to australian sportsmen. the black swan can hardly be called a game bird, but it is shot on all the lakes and swamps along the southern coast. in the gippsland lakes it is not an uncommon thing to find thousands of swans in a single flock, and when these rise for a flight, striking the water with feet and wings, the noise can be heard for miles across the lake. when means have been taken to get rid of a rather rank flavour, just as the taste of the gum-leaves is removed from opossum flesh, the swan is occasionally eaten as game. both swans and ducks are very largely shot from light punts, and for many years punt and swivel guns were used with terrible destruction by men whose business it was to supply the game markets of the large cities. in victoria the legislature has by enactment declared the swivel gun an illegal instrument, and since its abolition the ducks are returning in hundreds to their old breeding-grounds. smaller game is abundant everywhere. the snipe, as nearly as possible a prototype of the british bird, provides good shooting, more especially in gippsland. british epicures would be shocked at the uses to which the bird is put in rough bush cookery, where its virtues are held in small esteem. an irish recipe for cooking a snipe is merely to burn its bill in a candle, but some australian cooks go to the other extreme. one recipient of a present of a few brace 'just fried them with steak.' the heresy as regards the steak was bad enough, but such treatment of snipe was altogether unpardonable. the argus snipe is a rare but rather beautiful bird, the markings on its back and wings being exceptionally fine. of australian quail there are at least a dozen varieties, ranging from a small partridge down to the little king quail. in some parts of the colony, without the slightest efforts being made at game preservation, enormous bags are frequently made. [illustration: the tiger-snake.] amongst the game of southern forests the wonga-wonga and bronze-wing pigeons are two really splendid birds, the latter as large as an ordinary blue-rock, and the former making all varieties of the pigeon tribe look like mere dwarfs beside them. they keep closely to the thickets. it requires a quick eye to detect them. snakes are often considered a drawback in australia, but then it must be remembered that a man may live ten years in a snaky part of the country and never see one of these reptiles. now that rational ideas of treatment are gaining ground, death from snake-bites will not average above one per million of the population per annum. the most vicious as well as the most dangerous of these reptiles is the tiger-snake, so called from its tawny, cross-banded colouring. like its near ally, the cobra di capello of india, when irritated it flattens and extends its neck to twice its natural size. a full-sized tiger-snake in the summer season, when it secretes its maximum amount of poison, can inject a dose that is speedily fatal. the treatment in snake-bite cases is still in dispute. the indian doctors reject ammonia, and are followed by the central board of health (victoria), which has issued notices recommending excision and the use of the ligature. spirits are given in abundance by some medical men. walking the sufferer about to avert sleep and coma is a popular procedure. it is the general use of the excision treatment, however, that has reduced the death-rate so wonderfully. if a schoolboy is bitten now he pulls out his knife and excises the bitten part, or he sacrifices the joint of a finger. keep the poison out of the system, and no harm is possible, and the bitten person now directs his energies to carry out that, instead of wasting his time in running after a doctor, who cannot repair the neglect. one sport there is in australia which can be most heartily enjoyed by all. this is shark-catching. the shark is a worse terror than the snake. every harbour contains some monsters fourteen, sixteen, and eighteen feet long, and every year there is some tale of horror. the catching of one of these creatures is a popular event, men rejoicing over the destruction of a dreaded enemy. to the angler australian waters offer great attractions. trout were long ago established in the streams of tasmania and new zealand, and within the last few years they have become very plentiful in victorian rivers. within twenty miles of melbourne good trout-fishing may now be had. the fish are slightly more sluggish than in british waters--a fact no doubt accounted for by the warmer climate; and experts say that at table something is lost in flavour also. the californian salmon have also been acclimatised with fair success. there are several varieties of perch in the colonies; but those of the gippsland rivers, discarding the traditions of their kind all the world over, rise eagerly to the fly, and give splendid sport. to kill fifty a day with the fly, many of them going up to five pounds, is not an uncommon feat. the bream in all the southern rivers and lakes are strong, lusty fellows, that make the reels whistle in a style that is sweetest music to the angler's ear; but if one wants a bag, he must use double-gutted hooks. gamer or better fish than these bream no fisherman could desire. the triton of australian sweet-water streams is the murray cod; but he has nothing but his size to recommend him. along the coast and in the tidal rivers the so-called sea-salmon is another source of gratification to the fly-fisher, for he rises freely, and the largest ones make quite a gallant rush when struck. in the lagoons bordering on the chief of australian rivers, there are large murray perch that at certain times bite voraciously. but the handsomest of his kind in australia is undoubtedly the golden perch, found in the murray and its tributaries. its scales have the beautiful burnished gleam of old gold, and when a big one is brought to bank it is something to admire. judged from the standard of the epicure alone, the black-fish is perhaps the finest of all australian fresh-water fish, its flesh being snow-white, and of a remarkably fine flavour. the fish is found to greatest perfection in the clear mountain streams that come tumbling down from the otway ranges, in the southern part of victoria; but he is of sluggish habits, and by no means the angler's ideal. when these streams are discoloured by storm water very good fishing may be had through the day; but if the water is clear the black-fish comes from his hiding-place only when the shadows from the hill-tops begin to deepen over the water. in some few rivers widening into the sea whiting are caught at certain periods of the year. the best sea-fishing is perhaps that to be had with the schnapper in port phillip bay, where the fish are plentiful about the lines of reef, and range in weight up to forty pounds. notwithstanding the merits of some of the native fish, the traditional love for trout has risen superior to every other inclination with the anglers of victoria and tasmania. the trout in many places have worked themselves so far up the streams that man can only follow with the greatest difficulty, and the scrub is so thick that an angler would find it hopeless to attempt a cast. with these natural preserves extending for miles, the supply of trout in colonial rivers is inexhaustible. in fly-fishing for trout in the colonies it has been found, however, that the most sacredly observed rules of british angling are entirely useless. flies that were deadly in the old country are impotent here; and, as far as the australian is concerned, all the main tenets of the fly-fisher's faith must be absolutely cast aside, and a new angling creed built upon the basis of colonial insect life and the changed habits of the trout as we know them in australia. australian vegetation is sometimes considered monotonous in appearance. but this is the criticism of the stranger, and not of the resident. the first idea of the observer is one of uniformity. when the chinese originally came to australia, no one could see any difference between the units of the mongolian horde. often did robbers of fowl-houses escape punishment from the inability of the prosecutor to identify the men he had chased and lost sight of, and frequently, it is to be feared, was the wrong wearer of the pigtail stoutly sworn to. the yellow skin, the round face and the flat nose conveyed the idea of identity. and to chinamen all europeans were alike. the puzzled celestial could not distinguish between englishman and german, and still less between individual beef-eaters. but australian vegetation has distinctive features that quickly catch the eye. the eucalypt is always the eucalypt, with its sombre green and its peculiar adjustment of foliage. the leaves do not spread out horizontally, but depend vertically from the boughs, an arrangement which minimises the shade afforded in the daytime, but gives beautiful effects in the gloaming, when the tree, not obscuring the light, becomes a network of elegant tracery. viewed in the daytime in juxtaposition to oak or elm, and the confession must be made that the average gum of the plains is scraggy; but in the moonlight the oak or elm will be a black blotch, when the eucalypt is transformed into a wonder of light and shade and of graceful outlines. an acquaintance with the bush soon dispels the notion of monotony. the eucalypts are found to differ one from another; the handsome banksias, the curious casuarinas, or shea-oaks, the graceful acacias, all claim attention and individualise the scene, while palms, grass-trees and tree-ferns add charm and character to many a landscape. [illustration: australian trees.] in vegetation as in other matters australia delights in the vast, sometimes in the _outré_, often in the contrast of extremes. dwarf scrub will cover whole regions. one tract of the mallee scrub, shared between victoria and south australia, covers an area of nearly square miles. the mallee is just high enough to render it impossible for a man on horseback to look over it. and on the mountain ranges in the same colony are to be found long stretches and avenues of the 'giant gums,' whose pure white silvery columns seem as though intended to support the sky. between these two extremes is to be found a pleasantly-wooded country presenting a park-like appearance. farther afield are the interior plains, covered often with the terrible spinifex, or porcupine grass, a hard, coarse and spiny grass, uneatable by horse or ass, or, i believe, by camel, and apt to wound the feet of the unfortunate animal that journeys over it. different indeed from these treeless, waterless steppes are the valleys and mountains of the seaboard. in these regions, protected from hot winds and favoured by a heavy rainfall, we have a luxuriant and elegant vegetation. beginning with the gullies of the dandenong ranges, near melbourne, the traveller can proceed from fairy scene to fairy scene along the coast to far-away carpentaria and papua, the vegetation preserving its identity, and yet slowly changing from a sub-tropical to a tropical character. in the victorian region there are rivulets of clear water hidden from sight by the tree-ferns which flourish on their banks. journeying northwards, the vegetation thickens. parasitical ferns--the staghorns of the conservatory--depend from every branch. palm-trees make their appearance, the noble _livistonia_ attaining in suitable places a height of eighty feet. the musk-tree and the _pittosporum_ scent the air, and lovely twining plants help to form an impenetrable foliage. on reaching the ranges of new south wales, the luxuriance is found to have further developed. from some hill-top you gaze upon a verdant lawn gay with flowers and studded with shrubs. descending, you find that the surface is a vegetable canopy formed by stout and hardy creepers and climbers that spread from tree to tree, only the tops of the lofty eucalypts appearing above this mid-air canopy. lower down, fern-trees and cabbage-palms form a second roof, while the soil supports an undergrowth of mosses, lichens and ferns. but the gum-tree is as distinctive of australia as are the emu and the kangaroo. it pleases australians greatly that their country contains the 'tallest tree in the world.' for years it was believed that nature had done her utmost in the big trees of california, but experts and visitors admit that this belief must be abandoned. the two countries have the issue to themselves; but the _sequoia gigantea_ has had to retire in favour of the _eucalyptus amygdalina_, or giant gum. the following list of generally accepted heights will show how completely the indigenous vegetation of other lands is put out of court:-- the elm feet to feet. the oak feet to feet. _pinus insignis_ feet to feet. himalayan cedar feet. _sequoia gigantea_, or 'big tree' of california feet to feet. _eucalyptus amygdalina_, or giant gum feet to feet. the giant gum is rich in a peculiar volatile oil, and it supplies a splendid timber for shingles, palings, &c. hence, in all accessible parts, the fine specimens are doomed to early destruction by the splitter. the woodman does not spare the tree. the more huge the round, straight, polished, and beautiful stem, the more likely he is to mark it as his own. confident statements have been made that in favoured spots the giant gum attains the height of feet; just as equally confident assertions have been published that the _sequoia_ of california runs up to feet. the highest gum of which there is authentic record is growing on mount baw-baw, gippsland. mr. clement hodgkinson, c.e., gives the official measurement as feet. the highest tree now standing in california is feet, so that the eucalypt is the taller by feet. if two tall elms, feet high, were placed on the top of the tallest _sequoia_ in existence, the mount baw-baw eucalypt would still overlook the three. the fernshaw or black spur timber is famous because it is easily reached from melbourne, but the trees themselves are not the head of their clan. a gum felled in the otway ranges, at the instance of the late professor wilson, measured feet to the spot where its top had been broken off, and, allowing for the average taper, feet had been carried away. a gum felled at dandenong, and measured by mr. d. boyle, measured feet. and the quantity of the timber supported by the soil where these large trees are found is very remarkable. the secretary of the state forest board noted the growth on one acre of ground in the upper yarra district, and he found that the plot contained twenty eucalypts of a height of feet, and thirty-eight saplings of a height of feet, these trees emerging from a dense undergrowth of fern and musk trees. in his _goldfields of victoria_ mr. brough smith photographs a tree feet in circumference, and feet in height, and of greater proportions therefore than the greatest of the _sequoias_. this tree, with hundreds of others, was felled for splitting purposes. the australian giants abound, and new discoveries are constantly made; and it is quite possible that in some one of the valleys yet to be broken into by man the real giant of the globe will be discovered. the picture on page of the gippsland railway running through a cleared track gives some idea of a primæval forest in victoria. mention has been made of the silver columns of the giant gum. the tree sheds its bark annually, and the new skin is of a pure and dazzling whiteness. as the stem is perfectly cylindrical, and as the huge fabric towers and feet high without a branch, the sight of a group of these monarchs is at these times especially beautiful. below are the tree-ferns and a lovely bush undisturbed by the wind, which may be heard rustling the far-off tops of the grove. the elegant lyre-birds will be drinking at a spring. parrots of gorgeous plumage flit by. few can gaze upon such a scene without emotion, without realising with silent awe that this fair spot is nature's temple. and then the oppressed heart, acknowledging the charm, will turn from all that nature gives to what she must bring. of the other gums the pride of place must be awarded to the noble _eucalpytus rostrata_, or red gum of the colonists. fine specimens are still to be found near melbourne, though the value of its wood has marked them out for destruction in the neighbourhood of towns and cities. the _rostrata_ has an enormous spreading upper growth. some of the limbs rival in size the parent stem, and will be gnarled and contorted in a manner recalling the writhings of the laocoon. it should be studied from a distance, for their enormous weight sometimes causes the branches to snap suddenly without the slightest warning, to the ruin of all below. [illustration: silver-stem eucalypts.] the rival of the red gum as a timber tree is the jarrah, an eucalypt peculiar to western australia, where it grows in forests. seen in its home on the darling range, or the hills of geographe bay, the jarrah is a magnificent tree, running up to a hundred feet before it branches, and reminding the spectator sometimes of the rostrata, and sometimes of the giant gum. the specialty of the jarrah is its power to defy the ravages of the insect world and of the sea. this is complete. an examination recently made of a pier at banjoewangie, which was constructed thirty years ago of jarrah, showed that the piles were as sound as the day they were put in, although the seas of java swarm with the _teredo navalis_. the official examination made by a select committee of parliament in south australia, in , of the port adelaide bridge, erected in , disclosed the fact that while every other timber employed below water 'had been completely destroyed by the teredo and other submarine insects, the jarrah remained unscathed,' and had apparently saved the work from collapse. in point of beauty many award the palm amongst the gums to the _eucalyptus ficifolia_, or scarlet flowering gum. it is met with in groups. the tufts of bright scarlet blossom contrast well with the dark-green foliage, and the tree adds greatly to the attraction of the west australian bush. the mallee (_eucalyptus dumosa_) is one of the strangest products of a strange country. the root is a globular mass, varying in size from a child's head to a huge mass which a man can hardly carry. from this bulb a tap root descends to a great depth to reach moist ground below, while other roots spread more horizontally. above ground a few saplings shoot out to a maximum height of about twenty feet, each sapling having a tuft of leaves at its top. the appearance is that of a skeleton umbrella, with the central stick or handle removed. no surface water is to be obtained in the mallee district; its silence is only disturbed by the melancholy wail of the dingo. miserable is the fate of the luckless wretch who wanders into such tracts as these. unable to discern his way, or to gain any point of vantage, and suffering from thirst, the man's reason often succumbs, and he perishes a maniac. yet the victorian mallee district is now being cleared by energetic colonists, who aver that when they have exterminated the rabbit, and poisoned the dingo, and got rid of the scrub--which succumbs to treatment--these plains will prove the most fertile in australia. here allusion may be made to the question whether or not the eucalyptus is a fever-destroying tree. the subject has been thoroughly investigated and discussed by mr. joseph bosisto, m.p., commissioner for victoria at the colonial and indian exhibition, , and his decision is in favour of the utility of the eucalypt. mr. bosisto dwells specially upon the fact that malarious diseases are not native to australia, and that imported fevers are believed to diminish in virulence; and he directly connects the absence of malarious disease with the presence of a peculiar aroma-diffusing vegetation. mr. bosisto mentions the powerful root action of the eucalyptus, which, being an evergreen, is continually at work, absorbing humidity from the earth, and upon its large leaf exudation of oil and acid. his contention is that the volatile oil thrown off by the eucalyptus absorbs atmospheric oxygen, and transforms it into ozone. this much is certain: that if a small quantity of any of the eucalyptus oils be sprinkled in a sick room, the pleasure of breathing an improved air is realised at once. and as mr. bosisto contends that he has established the diffusion of volatile oil by the eucalyptus, and the chemical consequences of such diffusion, he submits with a calm confidence that 'there is an active agency in australian vegetation unknown in other countries,' and that the eucalyptus is rightly described as an anti-fever tree. the tree most favoured for this purpose is the blue gum, or _eucalyptus globus_. the blue gum is extensively cultivated outside of australia, because experiment shows that it produces the most timber in the least time. the rapidity with which the australian forest recovers itself after apparent destruction is indeed one of its marvels. in conversation a landed proprietor of benambra mentioned how, twenty-five years back, there were places in his district in which scarce a stick could be seen--then diggers had cut down every tree for firewood and for their workings. but the diggers have gone, and now there is again the original dense forest. next to the eucalypt the tree most prized in australia is the graceful acacia, varieties of which flourish throughout the continent. the tall slender stem of the 'wattle'--as the tree is termed--supporting a feathery foliage is everywhere to be met with in the south-eastern colonies. in the spring-time the valleys and their river-courses are lit up with the golden bloom which the tree bears in rare profusion, and the perfume scents the air. in a room the odour of a mere twig of the wattle will often be found to be overpowering. in england the young people can 'go a-maying,' and in australia they have no happier time than when they go 'to bring the wattle home.' the quotation is the refrain of a song which the sentiment made popular. not only is the wattle 'a thing of beauty' in itself, but the circumstance that its bark is one of the most powerful tanning agencies in the world, and has a high commercial value accordingly, renders it to its possessor 'a joy for ever.' the tree is now being extensively planted in victoria, where the valuable varieties flourish, not by landscape gardeners, but by shrewd agriculturists intent upon netting £ per ton from the bark. a world of other vegetation demands notice. the seaboard has a characteristic shrub of its own in the so-called tea-tree scrub, described by baron von mueller as a 'myrtle-like _leptospermum_, of tall stature, with half-snowy, half-rosy flowers.' it is the best of sand-binders. no tract is so inhospitable but that the tea-tree will flourish there. it fights the ocean to its edge. on some jutting promontory on which not a rush will grow, exposed to every storm and swept by spray, the tea-tree will be found, stunted and deserted, but still battling bravely for existence against sea and breeze. inland the shea-oak (_casuarina striata_) attracts attention. it is scattered over the continent, and once seen is always remembered. the tree is well shaped, but is leafless, long thin thongs taking the place of foliage. the dark and gloomy appearance of the tree impresses itself upon the spectator, and so, if he camps near it at night, does the melancholy moaning of the wind through its pendent whip-like branchlets. [illustration: the bottle-tree.] small space has been left for a notice of such marvels as the bottle-tree, and such beauties of australian vegetation as the flame-tree. the sydney or queensland visitor in the summer season may see in full bloom, in the illawarra bush, the local 'flame-tree' (_sterculia acerifolia_). the tree bears a profusion of scarlet racemes of flowers, and of large bright green leaves. the foliage sheds itself to make room for the profuse inflorescence, so that the tree has veritably the appearance of a fire. cycads and palm-lilies are picturesque wherever they are met with. the grass-trees (_xanthorrhoea_) are peculiar to australia, and in some places cover myriads of acres. i have seen them in valleys in western australia growing so thickly that it was impossible to push a horse through their ranks. a rugged resinous stem five to ten feet high supports a drooping plume of wiry foliage, from which a flowering bulrush springs. the 'black boy,' as the grass-tree is called in the west, is often weird, and is essentially australian. useful advice to a settler would be, 'be chary of buying land where the grass-tree grows,' for, though there are exceptions, the _xanthorrhoea_ has a weakness for the desert. the warratah, with its single stem of six feet, bearing a crimson blossom resembling a full-blown peony, is one of the most popular of the wild flowers of new south wales. the boronia, with its powerful perfume, will be admired by the visitor; the _araucarias_ have here their home. the heaths are beautiful; and it may be said of them in their place and season, 'you scarce can see the grass for flowers.' for a long time the wild flowers of the country were neglected, but now in some places shows are exclusively devoted to them. the dictum of mr. a. a. wallace is not to be lightly challenged, and it is that 'no country in the world affords a greater variety of lovely flowers than australia, nor more interesting forms of vegetable life.' the grape is providing us with a national industry; the orange-groves of sydney, perth, and other districts are amongst the sights of the place. chapter xiii. the squatter and the settler. present meaning of the word 'squatter'--cattle-raising--capital has confidence in squatting now--origin of merino sheep-breeding--management of a run--drought--box-tree clearings--modern enterprise--sheep-shearing--'sundowners'--farming prospects--cheap land--easy harvesting--small capital--selection conditions--bush fires--black thursday--the otway disaster--lost in the bush--missing children. [illustration: grass-trees.] [illustration: driving cattle.] the terms 'squatter' and 'squatting' are now misleading. they cover a number of different occupations, and perhaps the words 'grazier' and 'grazing' ought to be substituted. the original squatter paid his £ licence fee, and he was at liberty to go where he pleased and to take up as much land as he required for his sheep and for two years' increase. whether he had five hundred sheep or five thousand did not matter. australia was large, and the adventurous pioneer was at liberty to pick and choose. the flocks were 'shepherded'--that is, were not confined between fences, but were looked after by men who drove them to their feed during the day, and placed them inside hurdles at head-quarters at night. but, as land was taken up, the squatter obtained a particular run for a term of years. he subdivided it by fences into paddocks, and so reduced his number of herds and conducted his operations more scientifically. when a new run is taken up, it is pretty sure, in the first instance, to be stocked with cattle. cattle-raising requires no heavy outlay of capital, because, beyond horses for the men, yards to work the stock, and perhaps one or two paddocks to enclose young heifers and separate them from the general herd, no buildings have to be erected. then the produce of a cattle station--the fat stock--can be cheaply driven to market. travelling with stock through the bush costs no more than the wages of the men employed, and, if carefully driven, the bullocks do not deteriorate. last but not least among the advantages possessed by the cattle squatter is the fact that he can make shift with comparatively few water-holes. cattle can feed their way to water much more readily than sheep. at first cattle are not happy on a new country, and will make frequent efforts to break away. often have the stockmen left a herd quietly grazing at night, and found not a hoof in the morning, whereupon comes a fine gallop after the runaways, who always head straight for home. nevertheless skilful herding of the cattle on the run, and extra vigilance for a few months, suffice to accustom the animals to their new home. once 'broken in to the run,' as it is called, the cattle remain on it, and can indeed hardly be driven away. they select their camps--generally tracts of open country, with trees growing in groups, and near water--and the choice is often directed by the stockmen when first they are brought on to the country. on these camps the cattle assemble in the heat of the day, lying lazily in the shade, and moving off to feed at night and in the afternoon and morning. they are easily trained to assemble on the camp whenever hunted up, and the crack of a stock-whip anywhere on a cattle-run, with a well-broken herd, will set all the animals within hearing moving off to the camp. mustering is attended to at frequent intervals on a well-worked cattle station. the stockmen ride round, hunting up all stray groups, and direct them to the central camp, where they assemble in a great compact herd. when thus gathered together, the animals required for any special purpose--fat bullocks for market, or cows and calves for branding--are ridden out of the mass by the stockmen on their well-trained horses, and collected in a separate herd. there is no more interesting sight than this 'cutting out,' as it is called. the stockman rides into the mass of animals, which opens out uneasily as he enters. a touch of the stock-whip on the selected beast indicates him to the intelligent horse, whose rider practically leaves to him the rest of the work. the selected beast tries to escape by wedging himself into masses of his companions; but the horse, who apparently enters thoroughly into the fun of the thing, turns and twists with surprising rapidity, and, before the hunted animal knows what is happening to him, he finds himself edged outside of the main herd, and driven to a separate little group. other men guard this group, and prevent them from rejoining the mass, plying their stock-whips with terrible effect on any refractory beast. when the selection is complete, the chosen herd is driven towards the head station yards, and the main body of cattle allowed to disperse again. cattle-raising is a pursuit full of excitement and danger. chasing the wild animals through the bush or down the steep sides of precipitous hills is work that requires sure feet on the part of the horse, and cool heads and firm seats on the part of the riders. even more perilous is drafting in the yards. the men who enter the great enclosures full of angry frightened animals, to separate and drive them into different compartments, often run quite as much risk as the spanish bull-fighters. but they have quick feet, sharp eyes, and cool heads, and fatal accidents seldom occur; though it often happens that a charging cow or bullock will send all the men in the yard scrambling precipitately to the top rail of the strong high timber enclosure. drought is the great enemy that these pioneers have to dread. nature has fitted the grasses and herbage of the interior to withstand prolonged dry periods. by many beautiful adaptations the herbs growing on the plain are enabled to flower and mature their seed with great rapidity; so that even one soaking downpour will often suffice for the lifetime of a plant, and allow it to shed its ripened seed, which lies hidden in the cracks of the arid, sun-baked soil till the next favourable season occurs. the principal grasses have a remarkable power of remaining in what seems like a state of suspended animation. this is especially noticeable in the case of the mitchell grass, which becomes white and apparently dead, but still retains nourishment for stock in its dried leaves, and vitality in its apparently withered stems. one great reason why the squatter is better off now than he ever was before is that capital has confidence in the occupation. thus the individual is more secure than he was. and large institutions have been formed that make it their business to finance for the squatter. these institutions have their one, two, or three millions of english and scotch capital, and they are managed by men of great colonial experience, who know it is bad policy to do other than support a deserving pioneer right through. their capital is indeed subscribed for the purpose of making stations drought-proof, and their record shows that the system is highly profitable. an enormous amount of the annexation of the desert which is now going on has english and scotch gold as its basis; and this union of home capital and of colonial enterprise is as happy and as effectual a form of federation as can be desired. the following remarks on squatting are contributed by mr. g. a. brown, author of the standard work, _sheep breeding in australia_: 'it is curious that the first settlers in australia firmly believed the country to be quite unfitted for rearing wool-bearing sheep. for fully a quarter of a century the hairy sheep of india and the cape of good hope were bred by the colonists; and it was not till captain mcarthur sold australian grown merino wool in the london market at the rate of _s._ per lb., that the sheep-owners became aware of the splendid industry that awaited development. merino sheep then became the rage, and large sums of money were spent in importing the finest specimens of the breed from the purest flocks in germany. in a few years australia took her place at the head of the list of fine wool-producing countries, and has held it ever since. the world never before saw merino wool so soft, so bright, or so long in staple. it produced a revolution in the manufacture of woollen fabrics, and it brought within the reach of the artisan cloths of a quality that only the wealthy could afford in the previous century. this great work has been effected by the australian squatters. [illustration: a merino sheep.] the management of live-stock in the old squatting days was thoroughly patriarchal. the sheep were kept in flocks varying from to head, according to the character of the country, tended all day by shepherds, and inclosed at night in hurdle yards. as a further protection against lurking blackfellow or prowling dingo, a man slept in a small wooden portable cabin, called a watch-box, close by the sheep. it was no uncommon thing for the men to be roused up two or three times during the night; but, as they had plenty of time to sleep during the day, this was thought no great hardship. the shepherds led an inexpressibly dreary life; they were out at daybreak, and, having turned their sheep in the proper direction, they followed them all day, seldom exchanging a word with a human being till they returned to the hut at night. many of them became eccentric, or, as the working bushmen called it, "cranky," and were quite unfit for any other occupation. as the stock increased, the whole flock could not be fed from the home station, round which the grass was usually reserved for the horses and working bullocks; huts were then erected from three to ten miles or even farther away, according to the size of the station or run, as the leaseholds were called. at these huts, known as out-stations, generally two flocks of sheep were kept, a hut-keeper being employed to cook for the shepherds and shift the hurdle yards every day, so that the sheep might have a clean bed. 'in the old days the country was all unenclosed from one end to the other. vehicles were scarce--there were few coaches, and occasionally a gig would be seen on a main road. the ordinary mode of travelling through the country was on horseback. on arriving at a station the usual plan was to ride up to the principal hut, ask for the proprietor, and announce your name; an invitation to stay all night followed as a matter of course. hospitality was a duty that was most religiously performed by almost every squatter. there were a few exceptions, and they were branded with the prefix of "hungry" attached to their names, and, being known, were avoided alike by horsemen and footmen. 'improvements in bush life were being steadily made when the discovery of gold brought the country prominently under the notice of european countries. the old pastoral life, with all its rustic charm and quietude, disappeared as thoroughly as if it had never been. in the rush and turmoil that ensued many of the old squatters were ruined, while others, more lucky, succeeded in making immense fortunes. over the greater portion of victoria and a considerable area of new south wales the land has been converted into freeholds, and squatting is confined to queensland, and the vast sultry plains of northern, central and western australia. in these countries the areas held under leasehold from the crown are of immense size, many of them being capable of carrying , sheep in good seasons. these great runs are all fenced in and subdivided by wire fences. the sheep are run in paddocks often containing over , acres. as there are few watercourses the stock are watered by means of immense excavations, called tanks, containing an area of , cubic yards of water when filled. large as they are many of them were dried up by the long drought of and . the result has been that the holders of these great pastoral properties have suffered heavy losses. i passed by one cattle station in queensland, four years ago, on which , head of cattle were grazing. since then, so severe has been the drought, the stock has been reduced by deaths from starvation to , head. the deaths of stock on the sheep stations in the same district have been equally heavy. when the seasons have a fair average rainfall in these hot districts everything goes well, and squatting is the most profitable occupation in the colonies, but when a series of dry years set in the squatter's lot is a heartrending one. he can do nothing for the poor creatures he sees slowly starving to death, while overhead, month after month--ay, and year after year--there is the cruel clear sky and the bright hot sun steadily withering up all life. the birds and wild animals die in thousands, and the few that still live are so feeble that their wild nature seems gone out of them. this last drought is not an exceptional event. since central and northern australia have been known, the country has suffered from periodical droughts; but every year the skill of the squatter is exercised in providing fresh supplies of water for his stock, and that is the great requisite in this climate. given a good supply of water, and it is wonderful what a little food will keep sheep alive on the plains of central australia. i have seen sheep in excellent condition on country that to all appearance was absolutely bare of grass. a stranger would not believe that any animal could support life on such scanty pastures. 'under the new order of things that followed the discovery of gold many large freehold estates were put together by the old squatters, and then it was found that a different style of management was required to make the properties pay interest on the capital expended on them. the runs were fenced and subdivided, dams were constructed on the watercourses, and where the country was too flat for dams tanks were made for supplying the stock with water. good houses were built, and fine gardens and pleasure-grounds formed. as the proprietors of these estates became wealthy, they erected houses that for size, style and convenience would rival the pleasant homes of the country gentlemen of england. often in a country that a score of years ago was considered a remote district in the back country, one will now meet with a handsome mansion surrounded by extensive gardens, pleasure-grounds and plantations. where in the old squatting days water was often very scarce, there is now ample to irrigate a garden, and indeed water is usually laid on all over the modern squatter's establishment. 'over a large area of new south wales and victoria the surface of the country was covered by a dense forest of the eucalypt called the box-tree. they were of medium size, and their timber was of little or no value. having surface roots, they robbed the soil of all substance, and the result was that the box-forest country was always bare of grass. it was noticed by a few observant bushmen that the soil in these forests was excellent, and a few experiments were made in the way of clearing the land. the result was satisfactory, but felling the trees was too expensive to practise on a large scale, while the stumps were very apt to throw up a number of vigorous shoots that did as much harm as the parent tree. what use to make of the box-forest country was a puzzle, and most people regarded it as worthless. at this time a firm of squatters astonished their neighbours by purchasing a block of , acres of box-forest, at £ per acre, that the surveyor-general of the colony declared was not worth _s._ _d._ per acre. the plan they adopted for killing the box-trees was one that had only lately been tried. it consisted in cutting a notch round the tree through the bark and into the sap wood, to prevent the sap rising. this plan, called 'ring barking,' when performed at the proper season, effectually kills the tree, and it has since come into general practice all over australia. i have ridden over the estate in the box-forest that was formed by the squatting firm mentioned, and where, years ago, there was not a blade of grass to be seen, is now a fine pasture, that even in indifferent years will keep a sheep to the acre. [illustration: ring barking.] 'drought does not always ruin the squatter, and there are many instances of their surviving the hard time. a squatter of my acquaintance embarked in a heavy purchase in central australia. the run was of vast size, and the soil admirable, but soon after he purchased the property a severe drought set in, water was scarce, and grass almost entirely disappeared. there was no disposing of a portion of the sheep, for every one was short of grass, and there were no buyers. before the drought broke up he had lost eighty thousand sheep from starvation, and the remainder of the flock were in a very emaciated condition. at last the welcome rain set in--not in a heavy shower, but in a continued downfall that lasted for several days. such an ample rain at that time of the year meant abundance of food and water for the next twelve months. the squatter was a man of quick perception and prompt to act in an emergency. his station was in telegraphic communication with melbourne, and, knowing how to operate, he purchased through the stock agents about ninety thousand ewes to lamb from the best flocks in the country. the story is told that he walked up and down his verandah watching the rainfall, and as each successive inch was registered over a certain point he telegraphed to melbourne to purchase ten thousand more sheep. he got the season's lambing and the fleece from the sheep he bought, and then sold the greater portion for nearly double what he paid for them a few months before. that splendid rain made all the difference between ruin and wealth. 'sheep-farming is carried on everywhere in australia, while squatting on crown lands, as we have said, is confined to the vast area of central australia and western australia. the shearing on one of the great stations in the interior is a most important operation, there being a small army of men employed while it lasts. some of the wool-sheds are of great extent, and provide shelter for seven thousand sheep. i have seen as many as a hundred shearers at work at once. they work very hard, and earn a considerable amount of money during the season. they form bands of from forty to eighty men, and start in queensland in july, gradually working their way south. during shearing-time the wool-shed presents a very busy and interesting scene. a hundred shearers are all working as if for a wager, for the element of rivalry enters largely into the work; a dozen half-clad blacks, male and female, are picking up the fleeces and carrying them to the wool tables, where they are skirted, rolled up, sorted and thrown into their several bins. immediately behind the wool-bins are the presses, in which the wool is packed into bales, and at the rear the waggons are loading with bales for the distant railway station. outside the shed men are engaged in branding the sheep after each man's work has been counted from his yard. 'the waggons load heavily, and have often teams of twenty bullocks each, while there are always a few spare bullocks travelling loose to be used as required, when one of the team gets a sore neck or knocks up. the carriers form a distinct class in the back country. they generally travel in bands of four or six teams, which are often owned by one man, who generally accompanies the caravan in a buggy, or, if unable to afford that comfort, drives one of the teams. 'a peculiar feature in station life in australia is the existence of a class of wanderers known as "swagmen," or "sundowners," who wander over the face of the country under the pretence that they are looking for work; but they seldom accept it when offered. they lead a lazy, careless life, making for the shelter of some station towards the close of the day, when they go through the formula of asking for work, after which follows the usual inquiry for accommodation for the night. on some stations these men are such a nuisance that huts are put up for their accommodation; and, instead of permitting them to mingle with the men at their meals, they are given a certain quantity of flour, and sometimes meat. during the day they camp by the side of a creek where there is shelter from the sun, whence they do not stir till it is time to start for the station where they intend passing the night, timing their arrival about sunset. once a man becomes a "sundowner" he is useless for any honest employment. 'the life of a successful squatter is a very pleasant one, with a large freehold estate in a settled part of the country, and an extensive mansion in which to entertain his friends, he can pass a few months very enjoyably in the country; but his real home is in one of the most aristocratic suburbs of melbourne or sydney, where he lives in a house that cost fully five times the value of his squatting run in the old pioneer days. the pioneers deserve rest and prosperity. they did good work in their day, and their successors are emulating their example in the great sultry plains of central australia.' in due course everywhere the australian squatter gives way to the agriculturist. the sheep become a secondary agent to the plough. in place of the squatter we have the 'selector.' land is not given away by the state in australia to the immigrant, and yet it is unusually easy--even for a new country--for the poor man to start farming. this remark is made on the authority of mr. t. k. dow, the agricultural 'special' of the _australasian_ newspaper, with whom the writer conversed on the subject for the purposes of this volume. mr. dow had just returned to the colonies after a tour through america, made for the purpose of procuring information on agricultural matters, and he could thus speak as an expert. he says:-- 'in australia a man selects a piece of land; he pays the survey fee, and then he pays for the fee-simple by annual instalments. but nearly all the land so selected is fit for the plough. the man gets a crop off it the very first year, so that he can pay his way as he goes. the land you get for nothing in other countries is worth nothing in the first instance. it has to be made valuable. there are expensive improvements that have to be effected, and so you want more money to start with there than you do in australia. it is surprising with how little capital men do start here. 'the australian harvesting system is the cheapest in the world, and is peculiar to the country. there is a dryness about the crops of the northern plains, on which the bulk of the wheat in south australia and victoria is grown, and this enables the "stripper" to be used. the stripper is an australian invention. it is described by its name. it squeezes the corn out, and leaves the stalk standing. the corn is threshed upon the straw, and the straw is afterwards burnt off or is ploughed in.' mr. dow is an enthusiastic irrigationist, and it is pleasant to hear him converse about what is to be the future of farming in victoria, when water has been systematically impounded, in order to flood the land in due season. our farmers, it is to be noted, have hitherto sought the plains, where the timber was not more than was required for firewood, and where they could sow and reap at once. but the value of the forest country is now being appreciated. there is heavy clearing to be done, no doubt; but then the land is rich, and gives astonishing root crops, and fattens many sheep to the acre. and when a railway is run into the forest it is found that the timber pays for itself, and for the land also, and is as good a crop as the selector is ever likely to take off the soil. the following are the present conditions under which land can be selected in victoria: the best unsold portions of the public estate, amounting in the aggregate to , , acres, are divided into 'grazing areas,' not exceeding acres in size, each of which is available for the occupation of one individual, who is entitled to select, within the limits of his block, an extent not exceeding acres, for purchase in fee simple at £ per acre, payment of which may extend over twenty years, without interest. the selected portion is termed an 'agricultural allotment,' and of it the selector is bound to cultivate one acre in every ten acres, and make other improvements amounting to a total value of at least £ per acre. the unselected portion of the original area is intended for pastoral purposes, and for this the occupier obtains a lease, at a rental of from _d._ to _d._ per acre, for a period of fourteen years, after which it reverts to the crown, an allowance up to _s._ per acre being made the lessee for any improvements he may have effected calculated to improve the stock-carrying capabilities of the land. in new south wales, queensland, and south australia, and western australia, the facilities are greater than in victoria. but it is better to state the minimum than the maximum advantage. all classes go on the lands with success, because 'high farming' or 'scientific culture' is not attempted in the bush--only in exceptional instances near the towns. a county prize for the best-kept farm was recently awarded to a freeholder whose culture and whose crops were highly commended by the judges. 'you were trained in a good school, evidently,' said one of the judges to the prize-taker. 'not at all, sir,' was the reply; 'until i took up this land i was serving all my life behind a linen-draper's counter.' a handsome endowment has, however, just been made for the establishment of agricultural colleges in australia. without a wife the settler's is but a lonely lot. there are bachelors, of course. our picture represents a forlorn individual returning to his home. he will have a warmer welcome no doubt some day from wife and weans than that which he receives from the cockatoo which he has taught and tamed. the settler has few enemies. the only two worth naming are drought and fire. the systematic storage of water throughout the country is in part mitigating the one, and already in victoria no selector is more than three miles from permanent water for his stock. and as irrigation is coming apace, the fire risk, such as it is, will be diminished. even now it is not serious. not one farmer will be burned out, but at the same time a watch is required to see that no flame gets the upper hand. when a man burns off stubble he must give notice to his neighbours. [illustration: a bush welcome.] some of the most dramatic incidents of bush life occur when an alarm of fire has been given, and the entire neighbourhood turns out to beat down the conflagration with bushes. the males form a line and work with all their energy to stamp out the flames, and the women and children help by supplying the toilers with refreshments and with a fresh stock of boughs and bushes. 'black thursday' (february , ), the memorable day of the colonies, would be impossible now. on that dread occasion southern australia was all ablaze, there was a sad loss of life, and the lurid atmosphere was noticeable as far away as new zealand. bishop selwyn (who was afterwards translated to lichfield) told the writer that he was in his yacht off the new zealand coast at the time, and he was struck by the appearance of a fiery glow in the sky towards the island continent. but the year unexpectedly witnessed a 'black thursday' on a small scale. in one corner of victoria are situated the cape otway ranges, which are covered by fine forests and are the scene of a new and sparse settlement--hardy pioneers venturing in advance of the railways which they expect in due course to come up to them. the summer of opened with great heat: ° f. was registered in the shade, and over ° in the sun. and soon the news spread in the towns and cities of a disaster at the otway. steamers coming into port reported that they had passed through a pitchy darkness in the straits. one of their log records reads: 'off cape otway at noon the darkness became so intense that it was necessary to light the binnacle lamp. the gloom was caused by smoke. a considerable quantity of ashes and charred sticks fell upon the deck.' this smoky volume rolled across the straits to tasmania, and it proclaimed the fact that the forest was on fire. fortunately to the south there is nothing behind the forest but the sea. the northerly wind, which alone fans these conflagrations, blew smoke and fire, not over parched tracts ready to burst into flame, but across the straits towards tasmania, and the enveloped ships were not put in jeopardy, as hamlets would have been. at first it was almost forgotten that the forest was no longer lonely, but was showing here and there patches of occupation; but so it was, and a sad tale of ruin was soon told. mr. s. h. whittaker, who was on the heels of the flames as an '_argus_ special,' kindly supplies the following narrative: 'the night before the great fire was an anxious one in the forest. there was an ominous deep-red glow at sunset--a redness deepened by smoke rising from distant hills. the settlers, as they watched the smoke from the highest points near their selections, fervently hoped for a change of wind, for the country, scorched by the heat of midsummer, was ready to burst into a blaze. daybreak brought with it the fierce north wind, fiery as the blast of a furnace, and strong as a gale. the bush fires could be plainly seen from many a homestead, but there was at first no apprehension of a general calamity. some damage is done in the forest every year by fire, but never before has one hundred miles of country been left a smoking ruin. never before have the selectors been driven half-blinded from their houses, which they had vainly sought to save, to find refuge only for their lives in their small green patches of cultivation. the settlers had seen brushwood fires, had fought the flames and conquered them after suffering some loss, and, profiting by the experience, had cleared the brushwood around their homesteads. the whole forest ablaze, the sky red with lighted fragments flying before the high wind over cleared spaces, creeks, and roads, and igniting, like the torches of a thousand incendiaries, fences, orchards, farms, crops, and buildings in many places at once, had happily never been seen before. the people vividly remember the scenes of that terrible day--how the smoke made the day blacker than night, until the flames got nearer; how these made "leaps and bounds" from tree to tree, and the terrified wallaby, dogs, cattle, fowls, and kangaroo helplessly crowded among the people, seeking shelter and protection from the common danger. 'the struggle to save the home is sometimes touchingly told. mrs. hurley was alone on the selection at cowley's creek with her seven children, her husband being away cutting grass-seed to plant in the autumn. the eldest children were a boy of fourteen and a girl of twelve. she said: "when i saw the fire coming i sent the children to the water-hole to get water in the bucket and dipper and everything that would hold it. we put the water on the fence and houses. the children all worked till they were ready to drop to save the place, even the youngest. the boy was on the roof of the house pouring water on the rafters, and the girl was on the shed. the fire came quick and scorched us. it burned in the tree branches more than on the ground. the wind blew the big sparks right at us and burned our clothes, but the little ones and myself kept going to the water-hole with the dippers and pans to keep the house wet. the boy kept the house well soaked on the roof, and i thought we might keep it safe, when one of the girls cried out, 'mother, it's alight inside.' then the place went all up on fire, and we couldn't get anything out. the sheds and the reaper and binder and thresher went just after, and the orchards and fences as well. the children asked me to run with them to mrs. m'donald, our neighbour's. i told them to run on ahead, as one of the boys had a bad foot, and i had to help him. the other children got to mrs. m'donald's all right, but before i could get through with the boy the forest was all burning, and the branches were coming down in showers. my boots were burnt off my feet, and i have not been able to wear a boot since. mrs. m'donald and the neighbours kindly helped me to put some things on the children, and bob cowley gave me the tent we're living in now." 'the cry, "the house is alight inside," was the despairing message from many a watcher to those who, mounted on the ridge, were striving in the blinding smoke and scorching heat to beat back the fire from the dwelling. the high wind blew live coals underneath the shingles to enkindle the canvas lining, and then the exhausted settler, foiled in his endeavour to save his or his neighbour's home, could only throw himself face downwards in his potato crop to get a breath of fresh air. but mrs. power, of curdie's river, was more fortunate, and it was impossible to belie the simple and unaffected sincerity with which she devoutly ascribed her escape to the direct interposition of providence. her husband, like too many other selectors in the wild and inhospitable heytesbury forest--inhospitable until by laborious toil it has been reclaimed--was away at other work when the fire happened. the holding was directly in the track of the fire. "it was on the hill yonder," said mrs. power, "that we were burned out seven years ago--i mean there where the scrub is as thick as ever, which shows how hard the scrub in this forest is to kill. after we lost our first home we came to this side of the creek, and got on a little better. on the tuesday morning the fire got all about us, in spite of my boys cutting down a tree and putting water on the fences and houses to keep them from burning. they said we had better go away; but wherever i looked there was fire; and i said, 'where shall we go? we might as well be burnt here, beside the old place, as anywhere else.' so i got the boys around me, and i dropped on my knees just here and prayed to the almighty god that it should be his will to spare us, and not leave us again without a home over our heads. the clothes of one of the boys caught fire, as you see, so did the pigstye, and the eighteen bags of grass-seed that i had put in the little garden in front of the house. i expected it to go every minute, but the house stood through it all. it took fire in four places inside and out, but it did not burn, and the roof was left to cover us, in answer to my prayer. it was too hot to go into the house, and i stayed under the blackwood tree; and the wind changed, and the drenching rain came and doused the fire. if the rain had not come, there is no knowing where the fire would have stopped." [illustration: before and after the fire.] 'the rain, which will be remembered as one of the greatest downpours ever experienced in the colony, did indeed save the forest selectors from annihilation. it came just when the fire was at its height, when the trees were crashing to the ground in all directions, and when the fire, not merely scorching and singeing the bark of trees, as bush fires usually do, was consuming thousands of huge boles to charcoal, and the ground, as can still be seen, was at white heat, like a smelter's crucible. the mournfulness of the gaunt, weird scene which the fire has left is peculiarly striking and depressing. such a mingling of night and day as the sunlight lighting the pitchy blackness of the landscape, as far as the eye can reach, is indescribably grotesque and desolate. it is hard to conceive anything like this contrast of the sunshine sparkling brightly upon the wide, inky, silent waste. it is almost like a smile upon a ghastly death's-head. there is not a bird to flutter a wing or to break the oppressive silence with a single note. there is no sign of life or what has been life, except here and there the roasted carcase of a wallaby or kangaroo. the dense forest of straight black bare boles alone reveals the might and fury of a bush fire.' more frequent than the fire, and as thrilling, is the episode in bush life of 'the lost children.' this is a drama that is constantly enacted in the one place or the other. australian children are quick, and they learn in a wonderful way how to travel about country, but still, where there is scrub in the neighbourhood or much undergrowth of any kind, the younger members of the family are terribly apt to go astray. the father or mother returns home to learn that 'little johnny and the girl' were playing about, and did not come in for their evening meal. they could not have tumbled into the water-hole, for that is fenced off. they have not found their way to neighbour dean's. there is no time to be lost. the biggest boy jumps on the colt and rides in hot haste to the nearest police-station, and rouses up neighbours on his way. the policeman telegraphs all about for aid, but faster still 'the bush telegraph' spreads the intelligence that 'big giles, of wattle tree flat, is in trouble. two of his little ones are astray.' then it is that human fellowship shows to advantage. all business is laid aside. the sheep that were being bargained for are neither bought nor sold; the hay is left unstacked; the reaping is discontinued. nothing can be done that night beyond searching around the homestead, but all night long the clatter of horses' hoofs will tell of new arrivals, and the morning will witness a couple of hundred men ready to be divided into parties and to take care that no portion of the country is unsearched. from east and west parties will return disconsolate and silent; but the joyous 'coo-e-e!' of the returning horsemen on the southern hill-top will tell its own tale of rescue. but rarely does a second night elapse before the distracted mother has her children with her again, and one night in the australian bush is not likely to have injured the little ones much. one of the most singular cases on record is that of the girl clara crosbie, who was lost for twenty days in the depth of winter in the victorian uplands, where frosts will set in and where snow will fall, and who lived without food during that time. clara was a town-bred girl, twelve years of age. her mother took a situation in the year as housekeeper to a lilydale farmer, some twenty-five miles away from melbourne towards the mountains. clara was left at a neighbour's house after she had been a few days in the district, but before she was fetched she wanted to go to her mother, and so she slipped out, got off the track easily enough, and was soon hopelessly involved in the reedy fens with which this part of the country is intersected. [illustration: found!] [illustration: a squatter's station.] appendix. the religious statistics of the chief colonies. numbers are but poor tests of the religious condition and progress of a country, but they have their value, and many of the readers of this volume may find the following facts interesting. it has not been found possible to get the information respecting queensland and western australia. it is quite evident at a glance that there is a large number of trained men who are engaged in the great work of the gospel, and that their efforts are supported by a very considerable section of the australian people. victoria.--there being no state religion in victoria, and no money voted for any religious object, the clergy are supported by the efforts of the denomination to which they are attached. the ministers in all sections of the church number , of whom belong to the church of england, to the roman catholic church, to the presbyterian church, to the methodist churches, to the independent church, to the baptist church, to the bible christian church, to other christian churches, and to the jewish church. besides these there are other officials connected with these bodies, who, without being regularly ordained, perform the functions of clergymen, and are styled lay readers, lay assistants, local preachers, mission agents, &c. the number of these is not known, but it no doubt materially swells the ranks of religious instructors in the colony. the buildings used for public worship throughout victoria number at the present time ( ) about , of which are regular churches and chapels, school-houses, and public or private buildings. accommodation is provided for , persons, but the number attending the principal weekly services is said not to exceed , . more than , services are performed during the year. of the whole number of buildings used for religious worship, belong to the church of england, to the roman catholics, to the presbyterians, to the methodists, to independents, to the baptists, to the bible christians, to other christians, and to the jews. the salvation army have erected their "barracks" in various localities, and sometimes rent edifices for divine service, but no statistics of their operations have yet been obtained. new south wales.--with regard to religion, all the churches stand on the same level of equality, there being no established or state church. these churches are supported entirely by voluntary subscriptions, as all state aid ceased in , except some small outstanding liabilities to the then existing incumbents. roughly speaking, out of a population of , there are some , protestants, the great majority belonging to the church of england, and about , roman catholics, the remainder being made up of various denominations. at the taking of the census of the numbers were as follows: church of england, , ; lutherans, ; presbyterians, , ; wesleyan methodists, , ; other methodists, ; congregationalists, , ; baptists, ; unitarians, ; other protestants, ; total protestants, , ; roman catholics, , : catholics undescribed, ; total catholics, , ; hebrews, ; other persuasions, ; unspecified persuasions, , ; pagans, . in there were ministers of religion and churches, with an average attendance at public worship of , persons. the sunday schools have , scholars on their registers. south australia.--of this colony the only facts obtainable are the following round numbers. the number of churches or chapels existing in was ; the number of sittings provided was , ; the number of sunday schools was ; teachers, ; scholars. , . index. aborigines: appearance, ; life, ; fighting, ; mr. moore's narrative about, ; customs, ; dress, ; mr. carr's story, ; ngooraialum and bangerang tribes, ; weapons, ; fierceness of northern blacks, ; corroboree, a, ; cannibalism, ; trackers, their usefulness as, ; mission stations, ; lake tyers station, ; hagenauer, rev. f. a., letter of, about, acacia, adelaide: founding, ; glenelg, ; houses, , ; streets and parks, ; surroundings, ; churches, ; victoria square, ; king william street, ; botanical gardens, albany, albert, river, alligator stories, amadeus, lake, araucarias, argus snipe, australia: former errors about, , ; exports, ; population, ; prosperity, ; colonies, ; capitals, ; people, ; area, ; mountains, ; snow, ; river system, ; physical geography, ; climate, , , , , ; hot winds, ; temperature, ; storms, ; natives, , ; fires, , ; rainfall, ; drought, losses by, , , , ; not yet fully explored, ; democracy, ; securities, rise in, ; federation movement, ; immigration, ; wages, ; prices, ; religion, ; service, a rural, ; sunday observance, ; sects, ; sunday schools, ; church building, _australia felix_, australian alps, the, avon, river, bairnsdale, ballarat: impressions, ; botanical gardens, ; discovery of gold, ; situation, ; the corner, ; trollope on, barcoo, river, barrier reef, the, barrow creek, station at, bass, story of, bass's straits, bathurst, batman, settlement of, in victoria, baudin, m., treachery of, baxter, murder of, bear, native, beechworth, belfast, ben lomond, bendigo, _see_ sandhurst. big scrub, new south wales, birds of paradise, bishopscourt, view from, melbourne, black boy, black-fish, black spur, the, black thursday in south australia, ; in victoria, blackheath, blayney, blue gum, blue mountains, blue wren, boomerang, the, booth, mr. e. c., on shepparton, boroina, bosisto, mr. j., on eucalyptus, botany bay, discovery of, bottle-tree, bourke street, melbourne, bourke, new south wales, ; a winter day at, bowen, box-tree, bower bird, box-scrub, the, bream, breeza plains, bremer, river, bremoroma, brighton, a suburb of melbourne, brisbane, population, ; site, ; streets, ; beauty, ; garden of acclimatisation society, ; houses, broome, sir f. n., on life in western australia, brown, mr. g. a., on sheep breeding, buffaloes, bulmer, rev. j., at lake tyers, bundaberg, bunbury, burke, r. o'hara, expedition of, burketown, burnett, river, bustard, cairns, caldwell, mr. w. h., on the platypus, cam, river, camels at beltana, canoona rush, the, in queensland, cape grant, cape nelson, cape otway ranges, fire at, capertee, capitals, cardwell, carr, mr. e. m., on the natives, carriers, castle hill, _casuarina striata_, cats, native, cattle-raising, cattle, number of, in australia, central trunk railway, queensland, charters towers, churches, the, state of, clarence, river, clermont, climate, , , , , coaching, trollope on, cobb, who he was, cockatoo, cohan, colac lake, collins lands at sorrento, collins street, melbourne, concherry, river, cook, captain, discovers botany bay, cooktown, cooper's creek, native settlement at, corangamite lake, corra linn, corroboree, a, cotton growing in queensland, crosbie, clara, story of, cunningham's gap, cutting out cattle, cycads, dalby, darling downs, , darling, river, , _dasyuridæ_, the, deloraine, democracy, d'entrecasteaux channel, depôt glen, sturt at, derwent, river, devil, tasmanian, dibbs, mr., on losses by drought, dingo, dog, wild, don, river, dow, mr. t. k., on farming, drought, losses by, , , , dubbo, ducks, wild, ; mountain duck, ; black duck, ; wood duck, ; teal, ; widgeon, ; blue wing, eaglebank neck, elder, sir thomas, introduces camels, emu, chase of, emu plains, ; dr. j. e. taylor on, eucalypt, _eucalyptus amygdalina_, _e. dumosa_, _e. ficifolia_, _e. globus_, _e. rostrata_, exploration: sturt's exploration, ; bass and flinders, story of, ; baudin, m., treachery of, ; eyre, e. j., travels of, ; forrest, j., journey of, , ; leichhardt, l., story of, ; kennedy disaster, the, ; stuart, j. mcdougall, journey of, ; burke's expedition, ; m'kinlay's party, ; landsborough's party, ; walker's party, ; howitt's party, ; warburton's party, exports of australia, eyre, e. j., explorations of, eyre, lake, farming, fauna: alligators, ; buffaloes, ; pearls, ; kangaroo, 'old men,' , ; marsupial mouse, ; wombat, ; flying fox, ; native bear, ; native cats, ; bass river opossum, ; tasmanian tiger-wolf, ; tasmanian devil, ; dingo, ; platypus, ; birds, ; parrots, ; birds of paradise, ; king parrot, ; blue mountain parrot, ; lories, ; parroquets, ; love-birds, ; blue wren ; cockatoos, ; lyre-birds, ; bower birds, ; laughing jackass, ; emu, ; bustard, ; native companion, ; wild ducks, ; black swan, ; snipe, ; quail, ; wonga-wonga, ; bronze-wing pigeon, ; snakes, ; shark catching, ; trout, ; salmon, ; perch, ; bream, ; murray cod, ; sea salmon, ; murray-perch, ; golden-perch, ; black-fish, ; whiting, ; schnapper, favenc, mr. e., on exploration, fawkner, settlement of, in victoria, fawkner's park, federation movement, the, feilberg, mr. c. a, on queensland, ferns, fig-tree, the, fingal, fires, , fish river caves, fitzroy, river, flame-tree, flora: nettle-tree, ; poisonous plants, ; box scrub, ; rock plant, ; heart-leaf plant, ; york road plant, ; wild flowers, ; eucalypt, ; mallee scrub, ; giant gums, , ; spinifex, ; ferns, ; palm-tree, ; musk-tree, ; _pittosporum_, ; silver gum, ; red gum, ; jarrah, , ; blue gum, ; acacia or wattle, ; tea-tree scrub, ; shea-oak, ; bottle-tree, ; flame-tree, ; cycads, ; palm lilies, ; grass-trees, ; warratah, ; boroina, ; araucarias, ; heaths, ; grapes, ; mitchell grass, ; box-tree, flinders, story of, flinders' lane, melbourne, flying fox, forbes, forrest, john, journey of, , firth, fremantle, _gastrolobium anylobiaides_, _g. bilobum_, _g. callistachys_, _g. calycinum_, gardiner, lake, geelong, founding, ; growth, ; exports, ; tweeds of, geraldton, gippsland, scenery of, gladstone, glenelg, golden perch, golden point, discovery of gold at, gould on australian birds, grant, lieut., discovers port phillip, grapes, grass-trees, gray, story of, great divide, the, great west railway, new south wales, grey, earl, circular of, on convicts, guildford, guilfoyle, mr., director of the botanic gardens, melbourne, gulf of carpentaria, gums, giant, ; height of, , gympie, ; discovery of gold field at, hagenauer, rev. f. a., on the aborigines, harvesting system, hawkesbury sandstone, hayter, mr. h. h., on wages, heart-leaf, the, heaths, henty, messrs., in portland bay, heron, river, heytesbury forest, hindmarsh, captain, first governor of south australia, hobart, description of, hoddle, robert, lays out geelong, holdfast bay, first landing at, horses, number of, in australia, horsham, hospitality, hot winds, hovell arrives at port phillip, howitt, party of, hume arrives at port phillip, hurleys, the, at the fire at otway ranges, immigration, extent of, ipswich, , jacky, the black, fidelity of, jarrah forests, , jenola, kanakas, the, kangaroo, old man, , kangaroo hunting, kennedy, edmund, story of, kiama, king, story of, king george's sound, kingfisher, or laughing jackass, knocklofty, lake st. clair, lake sorell, lake tyers mission station, landells, story of, landsborough, expedition of, laughing jackass, launceston, leichhardt, ludwig, story of, _leptospermum_, lithgow vale, new south wales, _livistonia_ palm, the loddon, river, lories, lorne, lost in the bush, loutit bay, love-birds, lyre-bird, macarthy, river, mackay, macquarie harbour, macquarie, river, magpie, musical, mallee scrub, rabbits in, ; extent of, mary, river, maryborough, melbourne: site, ; population, ; area, ; description, ; houses, ; government house, ; exhibition building, ; streets, ; flinder's lane, ; collins street, ; scott's, ; bourke street, ; inrush and outrush, ; railways, ; public buildings, ; university, ; botanic gardens, ; water supply, ; reserves, ; cricket, ; the yarra, ; drawbacks, ; climate, ; unearned increment, meander, river, _menura victoriæ_, the, merino sheep, mermaid's cave, the, new south wales, mersey, river, mitchell, sir thomas, verdict of, mitchell grass, m'kinlay, expedition of, moreton bay, moore, mr. g. f., on aborigines, morriss, mr., school teacher to the blacks, morsman's bay, view from, mosquito plains, caves of the, mount barker, mount baw-baw eucalypt, height of, mount bischoff tin mine, mount clay, mount franklin, mount kosciusko, mount lindsay, mount lofty range, mount wellington, mountain system, mouse, marsupial, mudgee line, new south wales, mueller, baron von, on tea-tree scrub, murray cod, murray perch, murray plains, murray, river, , musk-tree, myers, mr. f. h., on sydney, narrawong, nash discovers gympie gold-field, native companion, the, natives, destructiveness of, nettle-tree, the, new norfolk, new south wales: area, , ; population, ; losses by drought, ; climate, ; drought, , ; settlement, ; port jackson, ; statistics, ; sydney, ; south coast railway, ; kiama, ; great west railway, ; paramatta, ; castle hill, ; toongabbie, ; blue mountains, ; emu plains, ; penrith, ; windsor, ; richmond, ; geology, ; blackheath, mermaid's cave, ; lithgow vale, ; capertee, ; mudgee line, ; walerawang, ; tarana, ; fish river caves, ; jenola, ; bathurst, ; blayney, ; orange, ; forbes, ; wellington valley, ; dubbo, ; cattle, ; darling, the, ; cohan, ; bourke, ; bremoroma, ; welcanna, ; wentworth, ; great northern railway, ; newcastle, ; breeza plains, ; richmond, the, ; tweed, the, ; big scrub, ; cane fields, ; great divide, the, ; mount lindsay, ; clarence, the, ; nightcap, the, newcastle, nightcap, the, new south wales, norman, river, normanton, north esk, river, northern territory, _see_ s. australia. northern trunk line of queensland, oakleigh, a suburb of melbourne, opossum, orange, _ornithorhynchus_, the, overland telegraph line, palm-lilies, palm-trees, palmer gold-field, , palmerston, mines of, palmerston and pine creek line, paramatta, parrots, parroquets, peake telegraph station, pearl fisheries of western australia, penrith, perch, pérouse, expedition of, perth, description of, phillip, captain arthur, governor at port jackson, physical geography, pigeon, bronze-wing, piping crow, _pittosporum_, platypus, poole, death of, at depôt glen, population of australia, porcupine grass, port arthur, convicts at, port darwin, vegetation at, port douglas, port essington, port jackson, port phillip: discovery, ; beauty, ; howell and hume arrive at, ; settlement, portland, portland bay, potatoes, yield of, power, mrs., at the fire at otway ranges, prices, quail, quamby bluff, queensland: area and population, ; description, ; settlement, ; convicts there, ; toowoomba, , ; bremer, the, ; ipswich, , ; brisbane, ; maryborough, ; rockhampton, ; bundaberg, ; gladstone, ; warwick, ; stanthorpe, ; dalby, ; roma, ; central trunk railway, ; clermont, ; gympie, , ; mackay, ; bowen, ; barrier reef, the, ; townsville, ; charters towers, ; ravenswood, ; northern trunk line, ; cardwell, ; cairns, ; port douglas, ; palmer gold field, , ; cooktown, ; thursday island, ; gulf of carpentaria, ; normanton, ; burketown, ; cattle, ; sheep farming, ; agriculture, ; scrublands, ; vegetation, ; labour question, the, ; sugar growing, ; exports, ; cotton growing, ; olives, ; almond, ; figs, ; silk, ; mineral wealth, ; coal, ; canoona rush, the, ; nash discovers gympie gold field, rabbits, curse of, raffles bay, railways in victoria, ; in sydney, ; in tasmania, rainfall, ; in sydney, ; in tasmania, rainfall, taking advantage of, ravenswood, red gum, richardson, river, richmond, richmond, river, ring barking, river system, rock plant, the, rockhampton, roeburne, roma, roper, river, ; alligators in, russell, mr. h. c., on physical geography and climate of australia, st. helens, st. mary's pass, sale, salmon, sandhurst, ups and downs of, ; gold in, _sarcophilus_, the, satin bird, schools of victoria, schnapper, scott's, melbourne, sea-salmon, selectors, service, a rural, settler's clock, shark catching, shea-oak, sheep, number of, in australia, sheep breeding, sheep runs, sheep shearing, shepherds, life of, shepparton, silk cultivation in queensland, silver gum, smith, philosopher, story of, smyth, mr. b., on native weapons, ; on gum-trees, snakes, ; treatment for bites of, snow, snipe, sorrento occupied by collins, ; beauty of, south australia: area, , ; population, ; divisions, ; murray, the, ; scenery, ; lake torrens, ; lake eyre, ; lake gardiner, ; lake amadeus, ; climate, ; fruits, ; adelaide, ; mount lofty range, ; industries, ; wheat, ; mount barker, ; caves of the mosquito plains, ; camels at beltana, ; overland telegraph line, ; peake telegraph station, ; barrow creek 'stuck up' at, ; railway construction, ; northern territory: history, ; settlement, ; climate, ; roper, the, ; macarthy, the, ; alligators, ; buffaloes, ; black thursday, south coast railway, n. s. wales, south esk, river, south sea islanders in queensland, spinifex, squatters and settlers: description, ; cattle raising, ; cutting out, ; sheep breeding, ; merino sheep, ; hospitality, ; mode of travelling, ; sheep runs, ; drought, ; houses, ; sheep shearing, ; carriers, ; swagmen or sundowners, ; farming, ; harvesting system, ; stripper, the, ; selecting, mode of, ; fires, ; lost in the bush, staghorn fern, stanthorpe, stapleton, mr., murder of, _sterculia acerifolia_, stevenson, falls of the, stirling, sir james, in western australia, storms, strangways springs, stripper, the, stuart, j. m. d., travels of, , sturt's detention at depôt glen, sunday observance, sundowners, surrey hills, a suburb of melbourne, swagmen, swan, black, swan, river, , sydney: harbour, ; north shore, ; view from morsman's bay, ; churches, ; public buildings, ; railways, sydney cove, tamar, river, tarana, tasmania: a holiday resort for australians, ; tamar, the, ; launceston, ; north esk, the, ; south esk, the, ; corra linn, ; deloraine, ; menada, the, ; mersey, the, ; sheep, ; quamby bluff, ; don, the, ; cam, the, ; forth, the, ; mount bischoff, ; waratah, the, ; ben lomond, ; st. mary's pass, ; fingal, ; st. helen's, ; macadamised road, the great, ; hobart, ; derwent, the, ; lake st. clair, ; lake sorell, ; new norfolk, ; convicts at port arthur, ; eaglebank neck, ; d'entrecasteaux channel, ; heron, the, ; macquarie harbour, ; area, ; population, ; revenue, ; railways, ; exports and imports, taylor, dr. j. e., on geology of emu plains, tea-tree scrub, temperature, tennison woods on the caves of the mosquito plains, thomas, mr., on lake district of victoria, tiger snake, tiger-wolf, tasmanian, thursday island, _thylacinus_, the, todd, mr. charles, and the overland telegraph line, toongabbie, toowoomba, , torrens, lake, trackers, black, townsville, trollope, anthony, on ballarat, ; on coaching, trout, ; fly-fishing for, turkey, wild, tweed, river, victoria: area, ; population, ; protectionist, ; foundation, ; convicts there, ; bad name given to, ; settlement, ; mountains, ; melbourne, ; railways, , ; sandhurst, ; ballarat, ; wendouree, lake, ; discovery of gold at golden point, ; geelong, ; corangamite, lake, ; lake colac, ; warnambool, ; belfast, ; portland, ; potatoes, ; portland bay, ; mountains, ; gippsland, ; murray plains, ; shepparton, ; wimmera district, ; rabbits, ; avon, the, ; richardson, the, ; wimmera, the, ; loddon, the, ; wheat lines of railway, ; beechworth, ; sale, ; bairnsdale, ; state schools, ; cobb, story of, ; coaching, ; falls of the stevenson, ; black spur, the, ; loutit bay, ; lorne, ; black thursday, wages, walerawang, walker, expedition of, wallace, mr. a. a., on flowers of australia, waratah, river, warburton, expedition of, warratah, warwick, wattle, welcanna, wellington valley, wendouree, lake, wentworth, western australia: area, , ; population, ; foundation of the colony, ; large estates in, ; convicts, ; swan, river, ; fremantle, ; perth, ; guildford, ; bunbury, ; albany, ; geraldton, ; roeburne, ; vegetation, ; jarrah forests, ; poisonous plants, ; king george's sound, ; climate, ; wild flowers of, ; sir f. n. broome on life there, ; gold discoveries, western district of victoria, , ; mr. thomas on, wheat lines of wimmera, whittaker, mr. s. h., on fire at otway ranges, whiting, wianamatta shales, the, wills, w. j., story of, windsor, wimmera district, ; rabbits in, ; wheat lines of, wimmera, river, winter day at bourke, new south wales, wombat, wonga-wonga, wornambool, wreck creek, native encampment at, wright, story of, wylie, the black boy, faithfulness of, _xanthorrhoea_, yagan, an aborigine, story of, yarra park, melbourne, yarra, river, york-road plant, the, london: william clowes and sons, limited, stamford street and charing cross. transcriber's note: punctuation has been standardised. unexpected spelling has been retained as it appears in the original publication for lechlan (which might be meant to be lachlan), morsman's bay (possibly now mosman's bay), woolahra (woollahra), walerawang (wallerawang), wornambool (warnambool). both goldfields and gold-fields have been retained as they appear in the original. the following changes have been made: title page - add closing ' to 'the melbourne argus' page - waterfall at gowett changed to waterfall at govett page - corra lynn, tasmania changed to corra linn, tasmania page - ludwig leichardt changed to ludwig leichhardt page - there is no indication in the original publication where the quotation starting "this lake country ..." attributed to mr. julian thomas ends page - paramatta and lan cove changed to paramatta and lane cove page - begar changed to bega page - brigalow and nulga changed to brigalow and mulga page - lonely hut beleagured changed to lonely hut beleaguered page - expecially at shark bay changed to especially at shark bay page - avicula margaratifera changed to avicula margaritifera page - corra lynn, tasmania changed to corra linn, tasmania page - ludwig leichardt changed to ludwig leichhardt page - ludwig leichardt changed to ludwig leichhardt ( instances) page - ecalpytus rostrata, or red gum changed to eucalyptus rostrata, or red gum page - the boroina, with change to the boronia, with page - there is no indication in the original publication where the quotation attributed to mr. g. a. brown in sheep breeding in australia ends index - boroina, ; change to boronia, ; index - gympsie, ; changed to gympie, ; index - leptospernum, changed to leptospermum, index - leichardt changed to leichhardt ( instances) index - menada, river, changed to meander, river, index - nash discovers gympsie changed to nash discovers gympie index - tennisson woods on the caves of the masquito plains, ; changed to tennison woods on the caves of the mosquito plains, ; none production notes: footnotes inserted in square brackets [] at point where referenced, or at end of paragraph. plates (illustrations) not included. a list of plates is given at end of table of contents. ************************************************************************** journal of an overland expedition in australia: from moreton bay to port essington, a distance of upwards of miles, during the years - by ludwig leichhardt "die gotter brauchen manchen guten mann zu ihrem dienst auf dieser weiten erde" goethe, iph. auf tauris. to william alleyne nicholson, esq., m.d. of bristol; to robert lynd, esq. of sydney and to the generous people of new south wales this work is respectfully and gratefully dedicated, by the author preface in preparing this volume for the press, i have been under the greatest obligations to captain p. p. king, r. n., an officer whose researches have added so much to the geography of australia. this gentleman has not only corrected my manuscript, but has added notes, the value of which will be appreciated by all who consider the opportunities he has had of obtaining the most correct information upon these subjects, during his surveys of the coasts parallel to my track. to s. a. perry, esq., deputy surveyor general, i am extremely indebted for the assiduous labour he has bestowed in draughting my map. i shall ever remember the friendly interest he expressed, and the courteous attention with which he listened to the details of my journey. from the rev. w. b. clarke, in addition to the unvaried kindness he has evinced towards me since my arrival in australia, i have received every assistance which his high scientific acquirements enabled him to give. i take this opportunity of publicly expressing my most sincere thanks to these gentlemen, for the generous assistance they have afforded me on this occasion, and for the warm interest which they have been kind enough to take in the success of my approaching enterprise. ludwig leichijardt. sydney, september th, . contents introduction chapter i leave the last station--fossil remains--darling downs--enter the wilderness--waterloo plains--the condamine--heavy rains--charley's misconduct--murphy and caleb lost--kent's lagoon--coal--murphy and caleb found again. chapter ii party reduced by the return of mr. hodgson and caleb--meet friendly natives--native tomb--the dawson--vervain plains--gilbert's range--lynd's range--robinson's creek--murphy's lake--mountainous country--expedition range--mount nicholson--aldis's peak--the boyd. chapter iii ruined castle creek--zamia creek--bigge's mountain--allowance of flour reduced--natives spear a horse--christmas ranges--brown's lagoons--thunder-storms--albinia downs--comet creek--native camp. chapter iv swarms of cockatoos--allowance of flour further reduced--native family--the mackenzie--coal--natives speaking a different idiom--mount stewart--brown and myself miss the way back to the camp--find our party again, on the fourth day--neuman's creek--roper's peak--calvert's peak--gilbert's dome--great want of water. chapter v difference of soil as to moisture--phillips's mountain--allowance of flour reduced again--hughs's creek--tombstone creek--charley and brown become unruly--the isaacs--native women--coxen's peak and range--geological character--charley rebels again and leaves--brown follows him--both return penitent--variations of the weather--skull of native--friendly natives visit the camp. chapter vi heads of the isaacs--the suttor--flint-rock--indications of water--dinner of the natives appropriated by us--easter sunday--alarm of an old woman--natives speaking a language entirely unknown to charley and brown--a barter with them--mount m'connel. chapter vii the burdekin--transition from the depository to the primitive rocks--thacker's range--wild figs--geological remarks--the clarke--the perry. chapter viii brown and charley quarrel--night watch--routine of our daily life, and habits of the members of the party--mount lang--streams of lava--a horse breaks his leg, is killed and eaten--native tribe--mr. roper's accident--whitsunday--big ant hill creek--deprived of water for fifty hours--friendly natives--separation creek--the lynd--psychological effects of a sojourn in the wilderness--native camp--salt exhausted. chapter ix the starry heavens--substitute for coffee--sawfish-- two-storied gunyas of the natives--the mitchell--murphy's pony poisoned--green tree-ant--new beverage--crocodile-- audacity of kites--natives not friendly--the camp attacked at night by them--messrs. roper and calvert wounded, and mr. gilbert killed. chapter x indications of the neighbourhood of the sea--natives much more numerous--the sea; the gulf of carpentaria--the staaten--a native intrudes into the camp--the van diemen--the gilbert--singular native huts--caron river--friendly natives--the yappar--mr. calvert recovered--mode of encampment--swarms of flies--abundance of salt--natives friendly, and more intelligent. chapter xi systematic grass burnings of the natives--native carving--audacity of the natives overawed--the albert, or maet suyker--native mode of making sure of a dead emu-- bullock bogged; obliged to kill it--native device for taking emus--beames's brook--the nicholson--reconnoitre by night--smith's creek--the marlow. chapter xii heaps of oyster-shells--false alarm of a native in the camp--turner's creek--wentworth's creek--journals lost; found again--the van alphen--importance of tea--choice of bullocks for an expedition--choice of a dog--the calvert--the abel tasman--glucking bird again--discover a mode of using the fruit of the pandanus--seven emu river--crocodile--the robinson--shoal of porpoises--native method of preparing the fruit of the pandanus and cycas for food--mr. roper convalescent--wear and tear of clothes--succeed in dressing the seeds of sterculia--the macarthur--friendly parley with circumcised natives--store of tea exhausted--medical property of the grevillea discovered. chapter xiii cape maria--obliged to leave a portion of our collection of natural history--limmen bight river--habits of water birds--native fish trap--the four archers--the wickham--the dog dies--immense number of ducks and geese--the roper--three horses drowned--obliged to leave a portion of my botanical collection--more intercourse with frienldy natives, circumcised--hodgson's creek--the wilton--another horse drowned--anxiety about our cattle--an attack on the camp frustrated--boils--basalt again--injurious effects of the seeds of an acacia. chapter xiv interview with a native--distressing heat--a horse staked: it dies--myriads of flying-foxes--magnificent valley--friendly natives--shot exhausted--instinct of bullocks--south alligator river--friendly natives with an english handkerchief, and acquainted with fire-arms--their language--mirage. chapter xv joy at meeting natives speaking some english--they are very friendly--allamurr--discernment of native sincerity--east alligator river--clouds of dust mistaken for smoke-- impatience to reach the end of the journey--natives still more intelligent--nyuall--buffaloes; source from which they sprung--native guides engaged; but they desert us--mount morris bay--raffles bay--leave the packhorse and bullock behind--bill white--arrive at port essington--voyage to sydney. appendix letter from the colonial secretary to dr. leichhardt the leichhardt testimonial * * * * * list of plates (not included in this etext) lagoon near south alligator river portraits of "charley" and "harry brown" mount nicholson, expedition range, etc. peak range red mountain fletcher's awl, etc. campbell's peak mount m'connel. ranges seen from a granitic hill between second and third camp at the burdekin robey's range grasshopper view near south alligator river victoria square, port essington introduction origin of the expedition--party formed--leave sydney for brisbane--party enlarged--outfit and stores. on my return to moreton bay, from an exploratory journey in the country northward of that district, which had occupied me for two years, i found that the subject of an overland expedition to port essington on the north coast of australia, was occupying much attention, as well on the part of the public as on that of the legislative council, which had earnestly recommended the appropriation of a sum of money to the amount of pounds, for the equipment of an expedition under sir thomas mitchell, to accomplish this highly interesting object. some delay was, however, caused by the necessity of communicating with the secretary of state for the colonies; and in the mean time it was understood that captain sturt was preparing to start from adelaide to proceed across the continent. from the experience which i had gained during my two years' journeyings, both in surmounting the difficulties of travelling through a broken mountainous country, and in enduring privations of every sort, "i was inspired with the desire of attempting it," provided i could be assisted in the expense that would necessarily be incurred for the outfit, and could find a few companions who would be contented with animal food, and willingly and patiently submit to the privation of flour, tea, and sugar, and resign themselves to my guidance. i had well considered this interesting subject in all its bearings, and had discussed it with many of my acquaintances at brisbane and its neighbouring district; who were generally of opinion that it was practicable, under the plan i had marked out: but with others, particularly at sydney, i had to contend against a strong but kindly meant opposition to my journey. some, who took more than a common interest in my pursuits, regretted that i should leave so promising a field of research as that which offered itself within the limits of new south wales, and in which they considered i had laboured with some success during the last two years. others considered the undertaking exceedingly dangerous, and even the conception of it madness on my part; and the consequence of a blind enthusiasm, nourished either by a deep devotion to science, or by an unreasonable craving for fame: whilst others did not feel themselves justified in assisting a man who they considered was setting out with an intention of committing suicide. i was not, however, blind as to the difficulties of the journey which i was determined to undertake; on the contrary, and i hope my readers will believe me to be sincere, i thought they would be many and great--greater indeed than they eventually proved to be; but, during my recent excursions through the squatting districts, i had so accustomed myself to a comparatively wild life, and had so closely observed the habits of the aborigines, that i felt assured that the only real difficulties which i could meet with would be of a local character. and i was satisfied that, by cautiously proceeding, and always reconnoitring in advance or on either side of our course, i should be able to conduct my party through a grassy and well watered route; and, if i were so fortunate as to effect this, i felt assured that the journey, once commenced, would be finished only by our arrival at port essington. buoyed up by this feeling, and by confidence in myself, i prevailed against the solicitations and arguments of my friends, and commenced my preparations, which, so far as my own slender means and the contributions of kind friends allowed, were rather hurriedly completed by the th august, . as our movements were to be comparatively in light marching order, our preparations were confined more to such provisions and stores as were actually necessary, than to anything else. but i had frequently reason to regret that i was not better furnished with instruments, particularly barometers, or a boiling water apparatus, to ascertain the elevation of the country and ranges we had to travel over. the only instruments which i carried, were a sextant and artificial horizon, a chronometer, a hand kater's compass, a small thermometer, and arrowsmith's map of the continent of new holland. in arranging the plan of my journey i had limited my party to six individuals; and although many young men volunteered their services, i was obliged to decline their offers, and confine myself to the stated number, as it was intimately connected with the principles and the means on which i started. on leaving sydney, my companions consisted of mr. james calvert; mr. john roper; john murphy, a lad of about years old: of william phillips, a prisoner of the crown; and of "harry brown," an aboriginal of the newcastle tribe: making with myself six individuals. we left sydney, on the night of the th august, for moreton bay, in the steamer "sovereign," captain cape; and i have much pleasure in recording and thankfully acknowledging the liberality and disinterested kindness of the hunter's river steam navigation company, in allowing me a free passage for my party with our luggage and thirteen horses. the passage was unusually long, and, instead of arriving at brisbane in three days, we were at sea a week, so that my horses suffered much for food and water, and became discouragingly poor. on arriving at brisbane, we were received with the greatest kindness by my friends the "squatters," a class principally composed of young men of good education, gentlemanly habits, and high principles, and whose unbounded hospitality and friendly assistance i had previously experienced during my former travels through the district. these gentlemen and the inhabitants of brisbane overloaded me with kind contributions, much of which, however, to avoid any unnecessary increase to my luggage, i found myself compelled to decline or leave behind; so that i had to forego the advantage of many useful and desirable articles, from their being too cumbersome for my limited means of carriage, and therefore interfering with the arrangements for my undertaking. my means, however, had since my arrival been so much increased, that i was after much reluctance prevailed upon to make one change,--to increase my party; and the following persons were added to the expedition:--mr. pemberton hodgson, a resident of the district; mr. gilbert; caleb, an american negro; and "charley," an aboriginal native of the bathurst tribe. mr. hodgson was so desirous of accompanying me that, in consideration of former obligations, i could not refuse him, and, as he was fond of botanical pursuits, i thought he might be useful. of mr. gilbert i knew nothing; he was in the service of mr. gould, the talented zoologist who has added so much to our knowledge of the fauna of australia, and expressed himself so anxious for an opportunity of making important observations as to the limits of the habitat of the eastern coast birds, and also where those of the north coast commence; as well as of discovering forms new to science during the progress of the journey, that, from a desire to render all the service in my power to natural history, i found myself obliged to yield to his solicitations, although for some time i was opposed to his wish. these gentlemen equipped themselves, and added four horses and two bullocks to those already provided. perhaps, of all the difficulties i afterwards encountered, none were of so much real annoyance as those we experienced at first starting from brisbane. much rain had fallen, which filled the creeks and set them running, and made the road so boggy and soft as to render them almost impassable. it took us the whole day to transport our party, cattle, and provisions over the river, and the operation was not concluded before sunset; but, as it was a fine moonlight night, i determined to start, however short my first stage might be. fortunately, my friends had lent me a bullock dray to convey a portion of our stores as far as darling downs; but, having purchased a light spring cart, it was also loaded; and, flattering myself that we should proceed comfortably and rapidly, i gave orders to march. after much continued difficulty in urging and assisting our horses to drag the cart through the boggy road, we arrived, at about one o'clock in the morning, at cowper's plains, about ten miles from brisbane. i now found my cart an impediment to our movements; but, as it had been an expensive article, i did not despair of its becoming more useful after passing the boggy country. a few days afterwards, however, an accident settled the question; the horses ran away with it, and thereby the shaft was broken, and the spring injured, so that i was compelled to leave it; which i then did most cheerfully, as it is always easier to man to yield to necessity, than to adopt an apparently inconvenient measure by his own free will. the load was removed to pack-horses, and we proceeded with comparative ease to mr. campbell's station, enjoying the hospitality of the settlers as we passed on, and carrying with us their best wishes. i was fortunate in exchanging my broken cart for three good travelling bullocks, and afterwards purchased five draft-bullocks, which we commenced to break in for the pack-saddle; for i had by this time satisfied myself that we could not depend upon the horses for carrying our load. neither my companions nor myself knew much about bullocks, and it was a long time before we were reconciled to the dangerous vicinity of their horns. by means, however, of iron nose-rings with ropes attached, we obtained a tolerable command over their movements; and, at last, by dint of habit, soon became familiar with, and even got attached to, our blunt and often refractory compagnons de voyage. by a present from messieurs campbell and stephens of four young steers and one old bullock, and of a fat bullock from mr. isaacs, our stock of cattle consisted now of head: of horses we had : and our party consisted of ten individuals. of provisions--we had lbs. of flour: lbs. of sugar: lbs. of tea: lbs. of gelatine: and other articles of less consideration, but adding much to our comfort during the first few weeks of our journey. of ammunition--we had about pounds of powder, and bags of shot of different sizes, chiefly of no. and no. . every one, at my desire, had provided himself with two pair of strong trowsers, three strong shirts, and two pair of shoes; and i may further remark that some of us were provided with ponchos, made of light strong calico, saturated with oil, which proved very useful to us by keeping out the wet, and made us independent of the weather; so that we were well provided for seven months, which i was sanguine enough to think would be a sufficient time for our journey. the result proved that our calculations, as to the provisions, were very nearly correct; for even our flour, much of which was destroyed by accident, lasted to the end of may, the eighth month of our journey; but, as to the time it occupied, we were very much deceived. our riding-saddles and pack-saddles were made of good materials, but they were not fitted to the horses' backs, which caused a constant inconvenience, and which would not have happened, had my means allowed me to go to a greater expense. so long as we had spare horses, to allow those with sore backs to recover, we did not suffer by it: but when we were compelled to ride the same horses without intermission, it exposed us to great misery and even danger, as well as the risk of losing our provisions and stores. our pack-saddles had consequently to be altered to the dimensions of the bullocks; and, having to use the new ones for breaking in, they were much injured, even before we left mr. campbell's to commence our journey. the statements of what a bullock was able to carry were very contradictory; but in putting lbs. upon them the animals were overloaded; and my experience has since shown me that they cannot, continually day after day, carry more than lbs. for any distance. the difficulties which we met with for the first three weeks, were indeed very trying:--the loading of bullocks and horses took generally two hours; and the slightest accident, or the cargo getting loose during the day's journey, frequently caused the bullocks to upset their loads and break the straps, and gave us great trouble even in catching them again:--at night, too, if we gave them the slightest chance, they would invariably stray back to the previous camp; and we had frequently to wait until noon before charley and brown, who generally performed the office of herdsman in turns, recovered the ramblers. the consequences were that we could proceed only very slowly, and that, for several months, we had to keep a careful watch upon them throughout the night. the horses, with some few exceptions, caused us less trouble at the commencement of our journey than afterwards, when our hobbles were worn out and lost, and, with the exception of one or two which in turns were tethered in the neighbourhood of the camp in order to prevent the others from straying, they were necessarily allowed to feed at large. it may readily be imagined that my anxiety to secure our horses was very great, because the loss of them would have put an immediate stop to my undertaking.--but i hasten to enter on the narrative of our journey. chapter i leave the last station--fossil remains--darling downs--enter the wilderness--waterloo plains--the condamine--heavy rains--charley's misconduct--murphy and caleb lost--kent's lagoon--coal--murphy and caleb found again. it was at the end of september, , when we completed the necessary preparations for our journey, and left the station of messrs. campbell and stephens, moving slowly towards the farthest point on which the white man has established himself. we passed the stations of messrs. hughs and isaacs and of mr. coxen, and arrived on the th september, at jimba, [it is almost always written fimba, in the journal; but i have corrected it to jimba.--(ed.)] where we were to bid farewell to civilization. these stations are established on creeks which come down from the western slopes of the coast range--here extending in a north and south direction--and meander through plains of more or less extent to join the condamine river; which--also rising in the coast range, where the latter expands into the table-land of new england--sweeps round to the northward, and, flowing parallel to the coast range, receives the whole drainage from the country to the westward of the range. the condamine forms, for a great distance, the separation of the sandstone country to the westward, from the rich basaltic plains to the eastward. these plains, so famous for the richness of their pasture, and for the excellency of the sheep and cattle depastured upon them, have become equally remarkable as the depositaries of the remains of extinct species of animals, several of which must have been of a gigantic size, being the marsupial representatives of the pachydermal order of other continents. mr. isaacs' station is particularly rich in these fossil remains; and they have been likewise found in the beds and banks of mr. hodgson's and of mr. campbell's creeks, and also of oaky creek. at isaacs' creek, they occur together with recent freshwater shells of species still living in the neighbouring ponds, and with marly and calcareous concretions; which induces me to suppose that these plains were covered with large sheets of water, fed probably by calcareous springs connected with the basaltic range, and that huge animals, fond of water, were living, either on the rich herbage surrounding these ponds or lakes, or browsing upon the leaves and branches of trees forming thick brushes on the slopes of the neighbouring hills. the rise of the country, which is very generally supposed to have taken place, was probably the cause of the disappearance of the water, and of the animals becoming extinct, when its necessary supply ceased to exist. similar remains have been found in wellington valley, and in the port phillip district, where, probably, similar changes have taken place. the elevation of darling downs--about to feet, according to the barometrical observations of mr. cunningham--renders the climate much cooler than its latitude would lead one to suppose; indeed, ice has frequently been found, during the calm clear nights of winter. during september and october, we observed at sunrise an almost perfect calm. about nine o'clock, light westerly winds set in, which increased towards noon, died away towards evening, and after sunset, were succeeded by light easterly breezes; thunder-storms rose from south and south-west, and passed over with a violent gust of wind and heavy showers of rain; frequently, in half an hour's time, the sky was entirely clear again; sometimes, however, the night and following day were cloudy. the plains, as we passed, were covered with the most luxuriant grass and herbage. plants of the leguminosae and compositae, were by far the most prevalent; the colour of the former, generally a showy red, that of the latter, a bright yellow. belts of open forest land, principally composed of the box-tree of the colonists (a species of eucalyptus), separate the different plains; and patches of scrub, consisting of several species of acacias, and of a variety of small trees, appear to be the outposts of the extensive scrubs of the interior. there are particularly three species of acacias, which bestow a peculiar character on these scrubs: the one is the myal (a. pendula)--first seen by oxley on liverpool plains, and afterwards at the barwan, and which exists in all the western plains between the barwan and darling downs--whose drooping foliage and rich yellow blossoms render it extremely elegant and ornamental. the second, the acacia of coxen, resembles the myal (without its drooping character), its narrow lanceolate phyllodia rather stiff, its yellowish branches erect. the third, is the bricklow acacia, which seems to be identical with the rose-wood acacia of moreton bay; the latter, however, is a fine tree, to feet high, whereas the former is either a small tree or a shrub. i could not satisfactorily ascertain the origin of the word bricklow [brigaloe, gould.], but, as it is well understood and generally adopted by all the squatters between the severn river and the boyne, i shall make use of the name. its long, slightly falcate leaves, being of a silvery green colour, give a peculiar character to the forest, where the tree abounds. oct. .--after having repaired some harness, which had been broken by our refractory bullocks upsetting their loads, and after my companions had completed their arrangements, in which mr. bell kindly assisted, we left jimba, and launched, buoyant with hope, into the wilderness of australia. many a man's heart would have thrilled like our own, had he seen us winding our way round the first rise beyond the station, with a full chorus of "god save the queen," which has inspired many a british soldier,--aye, and many a prussian too--with courage in the time of danger. scarcely a mile from jimba we crossed jimba creek, and travelled over waterloo plains, in a n. w. direction, about eight miles, where we made our first camp at a chain of ponds. isolated cones and ridges were seen to the n. e., and craig range to the eastward: the plains were without trees, richly grassed, of a black soil with frequent concretions of a marly and calcareous nature. charley gave a proof of his wonderful power of sight, by finding every strap of a pack-saddle, that had been broken, in the high grass of waterloo plains. oct. .--bullocks astray, but found at last by charley; and a start attempted at o'clock; the greater part of the bullocks with sore backs: the native tobacco in blossom. one of the bullocks broke his pack-saddle, and compelled us to halt. oct. .--rise at five o'clock, and start at half-past nine; small plains alternate with a flat forest country, slightly timbered; melon-holes; marly concretions, a stiff clayey soil, beautifully grassed: the prevailing timber trees are bastard box, the moreton bay ash, and the flooded gum. after travelling seven miles, in a north-west direction, we came on a dense myal scrub, skirted by a chain of shallow water-holes. the scrub trending towards, and disappearing in, the s. w.: the loranthus and the myal in immense bushes; casuarina frequent. in the forest, ranunculus inundatus; eryngium with terete simple leaves, of which the horses are fond; prasophyllum elatum, sweetly scented. a new composite with white blossoms, the rays narrow and numerous. sky clear; cumuli to the s. w.; wind from the westward. ridges visible to the n.n.e. and n.e. at the outskirts of the scrub, the short-tailed sleeping lizard with knobby scales was frequent: one of them contained six eggs. we camped outside of the scrub, surrounded by small tufts of the bricklow acacia. droves of kangaroos entered the scrub; their foot-paths crossed the forest in every direction. the thermometer, before and at sunrise, degrees; so cold that i could not work with my knife, away from the fire. at sunset, a thick gathering of clouds to the westward. oct. .--cloudy sky; thermometer degrees at sunrise; little dew; degrees at eight o'clock. we travelled about eleven miles in a s. w. and s. s. w. direction, skirting the scrub. during the journey, two thunder-storms passed over; one to the southward beyond the condamine, the other to the north and north-east over the mountains. the scrub is a dense mass of vegetation, with a well defined outline--a dark body of foliage, without grass, with many broken branches and trees; no traces of water, or of a rush of waters. more to the southward, the outline of the scrub becomes less defined, and small patches are seen here and there in the forest. the forest is open and well timbered; but the trees are rather small. a chain of lagoons from e. by n.--w. by s.; large flooded gum-trees (but no casuarinas) at the low banks of the lagoons. the presence of many fresh-water muscles (unio) shows that the water is constant, at least in ordinary seasons. the scrub opens more and more; a beautiful country with bricklow groves, and a white vitex in full blossom. the flats most richly adorned by flowers of a great variety of colours: the yellow senecios, scarlet vetches, the large xeranthemums, several species of gnaphalium, white anthemis-like compositae: the soil is a stiff clay with concretions: melon-holes with rushes; the lagoons with reeds. at night, a thunder-storm from south-west. our dogs caught a female kangaroo with a young one in its pouch, and a kangaroo rat. oct. .--we followed the chain of lagoons for about seven miles, in a west by south direction; the country to our right was most beautiful, presenting detached bricklow groves, with the myal, and with the vitex in full bloom, surrounded by lawns of the richest grass and herbage; the partridge pigeon (geophaps scripta) abounded in the acacia groves; the note of the wonga wonga (leucosarcia picata, gould.) was heard; and ducks and two pelicans were seen on the lagoons. blackfellows had been here a short time ago: large unio shells were abundant; the bones of the codfish, and the shield of the fresh-water turtle, showed that they did not want food. a small orange tree, about - minutes high, grows either socially or scattered in the open scrub, and a leafless shrub, belonging to the santalaceae, grows in oblong detached low thickets. chenopodiaceous plants are always frequent where the myal grows. the latitude of our camp was degrees minutes seconds. oct. .--was fully occupied with mending our packsaddles and straps, broken by the bullocks in throwing off their loads. oct. .--in following the chain of lagoons to the westward, we came, after a few miles travelling, to the condamine, which flows to the north-west: it has a broad, very irregular bed, and was, at the time, well provided with water--a sluggish stream, of a yellowish muddy colour, occasionally accompanied by reeds. we passed several gullies and a creek from the northward, slightly running. the forest on the right side of the river was tolerably open, though patches of myal scrub several times exposed us to great inconvenience; the left bank of the condamine, as much as we could see of it, was a fine well grassed open forest. conglomerate and sandstone cropped out in several sections. mosquitoes and sandflies were very trouble-some. i found a species of snail nearly resembling succinea, in the fissures of the bark of the myal, on the box, and in the moist grass. the muscle-shells are of immense size. the well-known tracks of blackfellows are everywhere visible; such as trees recently stripped of their bark, the swellings of the apple-tree cut off to make vessels for carrying water, honey cut out, and fresh steps cut in the trees to climb for opossums. our latitude was degrees minutes. the thermometer was / at sunrise; but in the shade, between and o'clock, it stood at degrees, and the heat was very great, though a gentle breeze and passing clouds mitigated the power of the scorching sun. oct. .--during the night, we had a tremendous thunder-storm, with much thunder and lightning from the west. the river was very winding, so that we did not advance more than or miles w.n.w.; the bricklow scrub compelled us frequently to travel upon the flood-bed of the river. fine grassy forest-land intervened between the bricklow and myal scrubs; the latter is always more open than the former, and the soil is of a rich black concretionary character. the soil of the bricklow scrub is a stiff clay, washed out by the rains into shallow holes, well known by the squatters under the name of melon-holes; the composing rock of the low ridges was a clayey sandstone (psammite). sky cloudy; wind north-east; thermometer degrees at o'clock; the sunshine plant (mimosa terminalis) was frequent on the black soil; a swainsonia; an anthericum, with allium leaf and fine large yellow blossoms; and another species with small blossoms, (stypandra). oct. .--commenced with cloudy weather, threatening rain. it cleared up, however, about o'clock, and we had a very warm day. we followed the course of the river for some time, which is fringed with myal scrubs, separated by hills with fine open forest. finding that the river trended so considerably to the northward [it seems that northward here is merely miswritten for westward.--(ed.)], we left it at a westerly bend, hoping to make it again in a north-west direction. thus, we continued travelling through a beautiful undulating country, until arrested by a bricklow scrub, which turned us to the south-west; after having skirted it, we were enabled to resume our course to w.n.w., until the decline of day made me look for water to the south-west. the scrubs were awful, and threatened to surround us; but we succeeded in finding a fine large lagoon, probably filled by the drainage of the almost level country to the north-east. no water-course, not the slightest channel produced by heavy rains, was visible to indicate the flow of waters. occasionally we met with swampy ground, covered with reeds, and with some standing water of the last rains; the ground was so rotten, that the horses and bullocks sunk into it over the fetlocks. the principal timber trees here, are the bastard box, the flooded-gum, and the moreton bay ash; in the myal scrub, coxen's acacia attains a very considerable size; we saw also some ironbark trees. the tracks and dung of cattle were observed; and this was the farthest point to the westward where we met with them. kangaroos seemed to be very rare; but kangaroo rats were numerous. black-fellows were very near to us last night; they very probably withdrew upon seeing us make our appearance. oct. .--cloudy; wind northerly; thermometer at h. m. p. m. degrees. at about / or miles distance, in a north-west direction from our last camp, we came to a fine running creek from the north-east, which we easily crossed; and, at about one mile farther, reached a creek--which, at this time of the year, is a chain of lagoons--lined on both sides by bricklow scrub, which occupied a portion of its limited flats in little points and detached groves. this vale was one of the most picturesque spots we had yet seen. an ironbark tree, with greyish fissured bark and pale-green foliage, grows here, and sterculia heterophylla is pretty frequent amongst the box and flooded-gum, on the rising ground between the two creeks. farther on, the country opened, the scrub receded; ironbark ridges here and there, with spotted gum, with dog-wood (jacksonia) on a sandy soil, covered with flint pebbles, diversified the sameness. the grass was beautiful, but the tufts distant; the ironbark forest was sometimes interspersed with clusters of acacias; sometimes the ironbark trees were small and formed thickets. towards the end of the stage, the country became again entirely flat, without any indication of drainage, and we were in manifest danger of being without water. at last, a solitary lagoon was discovered, about yards in diameter, of little depth, but with one large flooded gum-tree, marked, by a piece of bark stripped off, as the former resting-place of a native; the forest oak is abundant. here i first met with hakea lorea, r. br., with long terete drooping leaves, every leaf one and a-half to two feet long--a small tree -- minutes high--and with grevillea mimosoides, r. br., also a small tree, with very long riband-like leaves of a silvery grey. we did not see any kangaroos, but got a kangaroo rat and a bandicoot. oct. .--travelling north-west we came to a cypress-pine thicket, which formed the outside of a bricklow scrub. this scrub was, at first, unusually open, and i thought that it would be of little extent; i was, however, very much mistaken: the bricklow acacia, casuarinas and a stunted tea-tree, formed so impervious a thicket, that the bullocks, in forcing their way through it, tore the flour-bags, upset their loads, broke their straps, and severely tried the patience of my companions, who were almost continually occupied with reloading one or other of the restless brutes. having travelled five miles into it, and finding no prospect of its termination, i resolved upon returning to our last camp, which, however, i was not enabled to effect, without experiencing great difficulty, delay, and loss; and it was not until the expiration of two days, that we retraced our steps, and reached the lagoon which we had left on the th. we had lost about pounds of flour; mr. gilbert lost his tent, and injured the stock of his gun. the same night, rain set in, which lasted the whole of the next day: it came in heavy showers, with thunder-storms, from the north and north-west, and rendered the ground extremely boggy, and made us apprehensive of being inundated, for the lagoon was rapidly rising: our tent was a perfect puddle, and the horses and cattle were scarcely able to walk. within the scrub there was a slight elevation, in which sandstone cropped out: it was covered with cypress-pine, and an acacia, different from the bricklow. the bottle-tree (sterculia, remarkable for an enlargement of the stem, about three feet above the ground,) was observed within the scrub: the white vitex (?) and geigera, schott., a small tree, with aromatic linear-lanceolate leaves, grew at its outside, and in small groves scattered through the open forest. fusanus, a small tree with pinnate leaves, and buttneria, a small shrub, were also found in these groves. many pigeons were seen; the black cockatoo of leach (calyptorhynchus leachii) was shot; we passed several nests of the brush-turkey (talegalla lathami, gould). charley got a probably new species of bandicoot, with longer ears than the common one, and with white paws. we distinguished, during the rain, three different frogs, which made a very inharmonious concert. the succinea-like shells were very abundant in the moist grass; and a limnaea in the lagoon seemed to me to be a species different from those i had observed in the moreton bay district, the thermometer at sunset degrees (in the water degrees); at sunrise degrees (in the water degrees). on the th october, the wind changed during the afternoon to the westward, and cleared the sky, and dried the ground very rapidly. oct. .--the ground was too heavy and boggy to permit us to start yesterday; besides, three horses were absent, and could not be found. last night, mr. roper brought in three ducks and a pigeon, and was joyfully welcomed by all hands. charley had been insolent several times, when i sent him out after the cattle, and, this morning, he even threatened to shoot mr. gilbert. i immediately dismissed him from our service, and took from him all the things which he held on condition of stopping with us. the wind continued from the west and south-west. oct. .--towards evening charley came and begged my pardon. i told him that he had particularly offended mr. gilbert, and that i could not think of allowing him to stay, if mr. gilbert had the slightest objection to it: he, therefore, addressed himself to mr. gilbert, and, with his consent, charley entered again into our service. john murphy and caleb, the american negro, went to a creek, which mr. hodgson had first seen, when out on a reconnoissance to the northward, in order to get some game. john had been there twice before, and it was not four miles distant: they, however, did not return, and, at nine o'clock at night, we heard firing to the north-east. we answered by a similar signal, but they did not come in. i sent mr. hodgson and charley to bring them back. if they had simply given the bridle to their horses, they would have brought them back without delay; but probably both got bewildered. the latitude of this lagoon, which i called kent's lagoon, after f. kent, esq., is degrees minutes seconds. we tried to obtain opossums, during the clear moonlight night, but only caught the common rabbit-rat. our horses go right into the scrub, to get rid of the little flies, which torment them. the weather is very fair; the regular westerly breeze, during the day, is setting in again: the dew is very abundant during clear nights: the morning very cold; the water of the lagoon degrees to degrees warmer than the air. we have regularly balanced our loads, and made up every bag of flour to the weight of pounds: of these we have eight, which are to be carried by four bullocks. the chocolate and the gelatine are very acceptable at present, as so little animal food can be obtained. the country continues to be extremely boggy, though the weather has been fine, with high winds, for the last four days. tracks of blackfellows have been seen; but they appear rare and scattered in this part of the country. though we meet with no game, tracks of kangaroos are very numerous, and they frequently indicate animals of great size. emus have been seen twice. thermometer at sunset degrees minutes ( degrees in the water); at a quarter past one, degrees. south-westerly winds. oct. .--during the night, north-easterly breeze; at the break of day, a perfect calm; after sunset easterly winds again. thermometer at sunrise degrees ( degrees in the water); a cloudless sky. mr. hodgson and charley, whom i had sent to seek john and caleb, returned to the camp with a kangaroo. i sent them immediately off again, with mr. roper, to find the two unfortunate people, whose absence gave me the greatest anxiety. mr. roper and mr. gilbert had brought one pigeon and one duck, as a day's sport; which, with the kangaroo, gave us a good and desirable supper of animal food. during the evening and the night, a short bellowing noise was heard, made probably by kangaroos, of which mr. gilbert stated he had seen specimens standing nine feet high. brown brought a carpet snake, and a brown snake with yellow belly. the flies become very numerous, but the mosquitoes are very rare. on a botanical excursion i found a new loranthus, with flat linear leaves, on casuarina, a new species of scaevola, buttneria, and three species of solanum. mr. hodgson brought a shrubby goodenia; another species with linear leaves, and with very small yellow blossoms, growing on moist places in the forest; two shrubby compositae; three different species of dodonaea, entering into fruit; and a stenochilus, r. br. with red blossoms, the most common little shrub of the forest. mr. gilbert brought me a piece of coal from the crossing place of the creek of the th october. it belongs probably to the same layer which is found at flagstone creek, on mr. leslie's station, on darling downs. we find coal at the eastern side of the coast range, from illawarra up to wide bay, with sandstone; and it seems that it likewise extends to the westward of the coast range, being found, to my knowledge, at liverpool plains, at darling downs, and at charley's creek, of the th oct. it is here, as well as at the east side, connected with sandstone. flint pebbles, of a red colour, were very abundant at charley's creek, and in the scrub, which i called the flourspill, as it had made such a heavy inroad into our flour-bags. the flat on which we encamp, is composed of a mild clay, which rapidly absorbs the rain and changes into mud; a layer of stiff clay is about one foot below the surface. the grasses are at present in full ear, and often four feet high; but the tufts are distant, very different from the dense sward at the other side of the range. as we left the myal country of the condamine, we left also its herbage, abounding in composite, leguminous, and chenopodiaceous plants, with a great variety of grasses. oct. .--this morning, at half-past nine o'clock, messrs. roper, hodgson, and charley, returned with john murphy and caleb. they had strayed about twelve miles from the camp, and had fairly lost themselves. their trackers had to ride over seventy miles, before they came up to them, and they would certainly have perished, had not charley been able to track them: it was indeed a providential circumstance that he had not left us. according to their statement, the country is very open, with a fine large creek, which flows down to the condamine; this is the creek which we passed on the th oct., and which i called "charley's creek." the creek first seen by mr. hodgson joins this, and we are consequently still on westerly waters. thermometer, at sunrise, degrees (in the water degrees); at eight o'clock degrees. strong easterly and northerly winds during the last two nights. it becomes calm at a quarter past three, with the rise of venus. mr. calvert brought an edible mushroom out of flourspill scrub. the loranthus of the myal grows also on other acacias with glaucous leaves. a bright yellow everlasting is very fine and frequent. oct. .--i left kent's lagoon yesterday. in order to skirt the scrub, i had to keep to the north-east, which direction brought me, after about three miles travelling through open forest, to mr. hodgson's creek, at which john murphy and caleb had been lost. the creek here consists of a close chain of fine rocky water-holes; the rock is principally clay, resembling very much a decomposed igneous rock, but full of nodules and veins of iron-stone. i now turned to the northward, and encamped at the upper part of the creek. to-day i took my old course to the north-west, and passed a scrubby ironbark forest, and flat openly-timbered forest land. i came again, however, to a bricklow scrub, which i skirted, and after having crossed a very dense scrubby ironbark forest, came to a chain of rushy water-holes, with the fall of the waters to the north-east. the whole drainage of a north-easterly basin, seems to have its outlet, through charley's creek, into the condamine. on the banks of hodgson's creek, grows a species of dampiera, with many blue flowers, which deserves the name of "d. floribunda;" here also were leptospermum; persoonia with lanceolate pubescent leaf; jacksonia (dogwood); the cypress-pine with a light amber-coloured resin (charley brought me fine claret-coloured resin, and i should not be surprised to find that it belongs to a different species of callitris); an acacia with glaucous lanceolate one-inch-long phyllodia; and a daviesia; another acacia with glaucous bipinnate leaves; a white scaevola, anthericum, and a little sida, with very showy blossoms. spotted-gum and ironbark formed the forest; farther on, flooded-gum. pigeons, mutton-birds (struthidia), are frequent, and provided us with several messes; iguanas are considered great delicacies; several black kangaroos were scen to day. the weather very fine, but hot; the wind westerly; thermometer at sunset degrees ( degrees in the water.) oct. .--at the commencement of last night, westerly winds, the sky clear; at the setting of the moon (about o'clock a.m.), the wind changed to the north-east; scuddy clouds passing rapidly from that quarter; at sunrise it clears a little, but the whole morning cloudy, and fine travelling weather. we travelled in a north-westerly direction, through a casuarina thicket, but soon entered again into fine open ironbark forest, with occasionally closer underwood; leaving a bricklow scrub to our right, we came to a dry creek with a deep channel; which i called "acacia creek," from the abundance of several species of acacia. not a mile farther we came on a second creek, with running water, which, from the number of dogwood shrubs (jacksonia), in the full glory of their golden blossoms. i called "dogwood creek." the creek came from north and north-east and flowed to the south-west, to join the condamine. the rock of dogwood creek is a fine grained porous psammite (clayey sandstone), with veins and nodules of iron, like that of hodgson's creek. a new gum-tree, with a rusty-coloured scaly bark, the texture of which, as well as the seed-vessel and the leaf, resembled bloodwood, but specifically different; the apple-tree (angophora lanceolata); the flooded-gum; a hakea with red blossoms; zierea; dodonaea; a crassulaceous plant with handsome pink flowers; a new myrtaceous tree of irregular stunted growth, about feet high, with linear leaves, similar to those of the rosemary; a stiff grass, peculiar to sandstone regions; and a fine brunonia, with its chaste blue blossoms, adorn the flats of the creek as well as the forest land. the country is at present well provided with water and grass, though the scattered tufts of anthistiria, and the first appearance of the small grass-tree (xanthorrhaea), render its constancy very doubtful. the winding narrow-leaved kennedyas, gnaphaliums in abundance; aotus in low bushes. no game, except a kangaroo rat, pigeons, ducks, and mutton-birds. mr. phillips brought a crawfish from the creek: it had just thrown off its old shell. fresh-water muscles plentiful, though not of the size of those of the condamine. a small rat was caught this morning amongst our flour bags; it had no white tip at the tail, nor is the tail so bushy as that of the rabbit-rat: probably it was a young animal. oct. .--the creek being boggy, we had to follow it down for several miles to find a crossing place. even here, one of the horses which carried the tea, fell back into the water, whilst endeavouring to scramble up the opposite bank, and drenched its valuable load. we now travelled through a country full of lagoons, and chains of water-holes, and passed through several patches of cypress-pine, until we came to another creek with rocky water-holes, with the fall to the eastward, probably joining dogwood creek, from which we were not four miles distant. fine grassy flats accompanied the creek on its left, whilst a cypress-pine forest grew on its right bank. the latitude of our yesterday's camp was degrees minutes seconds and, to-day, we are only four miles more to the westward. the country is still so flat and so completely wooded--sometimes with scrubs, thickets, acacia, and vitex groves, sometimes with open ironbark forest intermingled with spotted gum--that no view of distant objects can be obtained. several epacridaceous shrubs and species of bossiaea and daviesia reminded me of the flora of the more southern districts. oct. .--we travelled about twelve miles in a north-westerly direction, our latitude being degrees minutes seconds. the country in general scrubby, with occasional reaches of open forest land. the rosemary-leaved tree of the rd was very abundant. an acacia with spiny phyllodia, the lower half attached to the stem, the upper bent off in the form of an open hook, had been observed by me on the sandstone ridges of liverpool plains: and the tout ensemble reminded me forcibly of that locality. the cypress-pine, several species of melaleuca, and a fine ironbark, with broad lanceolate, but not cordate, glaucous leaves, and very dark bark, formed the forest. an arborescent acacia, in dense thickets, intercepted our course several times. bronze-winged pigeons were very numerous, but exceedingly shy. the stillness of the moonlight night is not interrupted by the screeching of opossums and flying squirrels, nor by the monotonous note of the barking-bird and little owlet; no native dog is howling round our camp in the chilly morning: the cricket alone chirps along the water-holes; and the musical note of an unknown bird, sounding like "gluck gluck" frequently repeated, and ending in a shake, and the melancholy wail of the curlew, are heard from the neighbouring scrub. oct. .--our journey was resumed: wind in the morning from the west; light clouds passing rapidly from that quarter. messrs. hodgson and roper, following the chain of ponds on which we had encamped, came to a large creek, with high rocky banks and a broad stream flowing to the south-west. we passed an acacia scrub, and stretches of fine open ironbark forest, interspersed with thickets of an aborescent species of acacia, for about four miles in a north-west course, when we found ourselves on the margin of a considerable valley full of bricklow scrub; we were on flat-topped ridges, about to feet above the level of the valley. after several attempts to cross, we had to turn to the n. n. e. and east, in order to head it, travelling through a most beautiful open ironbark forest, with the grass in full seed, from three to four feet high. following a hollow, in which the fall of the country was indicated by the grass bent by the run of water after heavy showers of rain, we came to fine water-holes, about five miles from our last camp. at the other side of the valley, we saw distant ranges to the north-west and northward. the scrub was occasionally more open, and fine large bottle-trees (sterculia) were frequent: the young wood of which, containing a great quantity of starch between its woody fibres, was frequently chewed by our party. fusanus was abundant and in full bearing; its fruit (of the size of a small apple), when entirely ripe and dropped from the tree, furnished a very agreeable repast: the rind, however, which surrounds its large rough kernel, is very thin. oct. .--during last night a very strong, cold, westerly wind. after travelling about / miles north, we were stopped by a bricklow scrub, which compelled us to go to the east and south-east. i encamped, about three miles north-east by north from my last resting place, and examined the scrub: it was out of the question to cross it. mr. gilbert shot three black cockatoos and a bronze-winged pigeon. oct. .--during the night it was very cold, though no wind was stirring. in the morning we experienced an easterly breeze. travelling to the eastward and east by south, i found that the water-holes outside of the scrub at which we were encamped, changed into a creek with rocky bed, having its banks partly covered with cypress-pine thickets. i crossed it about three miles lower down, and, finding the ironbark forest sufficiently open, turned to the northward; scarcely three miles farther, we came to another creek of a character similar to that of the last, which i suppose to be one of the heads of dogwood creek. the blue brunonia was again frequent; the grass five feet high, in full ear, and waving like a rye field. the soil, however, is sandy and rotten, and the grass in isolated tufts. we encamped about four miles north-east from our last camp. chapter ii party reduced by the return of mr. hodgson and caleb--meet friendly natives--native tomb--the dawson--vervain plains--gilbert's range--lynd's range--robinson's creek--murphy's lake--mountainous country--expedition range--mount nicholson--aldis's peak--the boyd. nov. .--for the past week, the heat was very oppressive during the day, whilst, at night, it was often exceedingly cold; for two or three hours before dawn, and for an hour after sunset, it was generally delightful, particularly within the influence of a cheerful cypress-pine fire, which perfumes the air with the sweet scent of the burning resin. it had now become painfully evident to me that i had been too sanguine in my calculations, as to our finding a sufficiency of game to furnish my party with animal food, and that the want of it was impairing our strength. we had also been compelled to use our flour to a greater extent than i wished; and i saw clearly that my party, which i had reluctantly increased on my arrival at moreton bay, was too large for our provisions. i, therefore, communicated to my companions the absolute necessity of reducing our number: all, however, appeared equally desirous to continue the journey; and it was, therefore, but just that those who had joined last, should leave. mr. gilbert, however, who would, under this arrangement, have had to retire, found a substitute in mr. hodgson, who had perhaps suffered most by additional fatigues; so that he and caleb, the american negro, prepared for their return to moreton bay. previous, however, to their departure, they assisted in killing one of our steers, the meat of which we cut into thin slices, and dried in the sun. this, our first experiment--on the favourable result of which the success of our expedition entirely depended--kept us, during the process, in a state of great excitement. it succeeded, however, to our great joy, and inspired us with confidence for the future. the little steer gave us lbs. of dried meat, and about lbs. of fat. the operation concluded, we took leave of our companions; and although our material was reduced by the two horses on which they returned, mr. hodgson left us the greater part of his own equipment. the loss of the two horses caused us some little inconvenience, as it increased the loads of the animals. the daily ration of the party was now fixed at six pounds of flour per day, with three pounds of dried beef, which we found perfectly sufficient to keep up our strength. whenever it was necessary to delay for any time at one place, our cattle and horses gave us great trouble: they would continually stray back in the direction we came from, and we had frequently to fetch them back five, seven, and even ten miles. mr. hodgson's horses had returned even to the camp of the st october, and three days were required to find them and bring them back. these matters caused us considerable delay; but they were irremediable. on the th october, towards evening, we were hailed by natives, from the scrub; but, with the exception of one, they kept out of sight. this man knew a few english words, and spoke the language of darling downs; he seemed to be familiar with the country round jimba; and asked permission to come to the camp: this, however, i did not permit; and they entered the scrub, when they saw us handle our guns, and bring forward two horses to the camp. on the rd of november they visited us again, and communicated with us, behaving in a very friendly way: they pointed out honey in one of the neighbouring trees, assisted in cutting it out and eating it, and asked for tobacco; it was, however, impossible to make any presents, as we had nothing to spare. they particularly admired the red blankets, were terror-struck at the sight of a large sword, which they tremblingly begged might be returned into the sheath, and wondered at the ticking of a watch, and at the movement of its wheels. the greater part were young men of mild disposition, and pleasing countenance; the children remained in the distance, and i only saw two women. according to their statements, the scrub extends to the condamine. the scrub was crossed in every direction by tracks of wallabies, of which, however, we could not even get a sight. the glucking bird--by which name, in consequence of its note, the bird may be distinguished--was heard through the night. they live probably upon the seeds of the cypress-pine; the female answers the loud call of the male, but in a more subdued voice. a gristes, about seven inches long, resembling the one described in sir thomas mitchell's journey, but specifically different from it, was caught in the water-holes of the creek, which i called "dried-beef creek," in memorial of our late occupation. a goodenoviaceous shrub, a pink hibiscus, and a fine prostrate sida, were found between the camp of the th october and dried-beef creek. nov. .--having previously examined and found a passage through the scrub, we travelled through it for about eight miles on a north by west course. the head of dried-beef creek, was found to be formed by separate water-holes, in a slight hollow along the scrub; and, when these disappeared, we were moving over a perfectly level land, without any sign of drainage, but occasionally passing isolated holes, now for the greater part dry. on our left, our course was bounded by a dense bricklow scrub; but, on our right, for the first four miles, the country was comparatively open, with scattered acacias; it then became densely timbered, but free from scrub. farther on, however, scrub appeared even to our right. a natural opening, which had recently been enlarged by a bush fire, enabled us to pass into a dense ironbark and cypress-pine forest; and then, bearing a little to the right, we came on a slight watercourse to the northward, which rapidly enlarged as it descended between ranges, which seemed to be the spurs of the table land we had just left. nov. .--we observed the tomb of a native near our camp. it was a simple conical heap of sand, which had been raised over the body, which was probably bent into the squatting position of the natives; but, as our object was to pass quietly, without giving offence to the aborigines, we did not disturb it. it is, however, remarkable that, throughout our whole journey, we never met with graves or tombs, or even any remains of blackfellows again; with the exception of a skull, which i shall notice at a later period. several isolated conical hills were in the vicinity of our camp; sandstone cropped out in the creek, furnishing us with good whetstones. after travelling about four miles in a north-west direction, through a fine open undulating country, we came to, and followed the course of, a considerable creek flowing to the westward, bounded by extensive flooded gum-flats and ridges, clothed with a forest of silver-leaved ironbark. large reedy lagoons, well supplied with fish, were in its bed. our latitude was degrees minutes seconds. nov. .--the arrangement for loading our cattle enabled me at last to mount every one of my companions, which was very desirable; for the summer having fairly set in, and no thunder-storms having cooled the atmosphere since we left the condamine, the fatigue of walking during the middle of the day had become very severe. from jimba we started with a few horses without load, which only enabled us to ride alternately; but, as our provisions gradually decreased in quantity, one after the other mounted his horse; and this day i had the pleasure of seeing everybody on horseback. we travelled along the valley of the river about ten miles, in a west-northerly course; our latitude of this day being degrees minutes seconds fine box and apple-tree flats were on both sides of the creek, now deserving the appellation of a "river," and which i called the "dawson," in acknowledgment of the kind support i received from r. dawson, esq., of black creek, hunter's river. at the foot of the ridges some fine lagoons were observed, as also several plains, with the soil and the vegetation of the downs, but bounded on the northward by impenetrable bricklow scrub. in a watercourse, meandering through this scrub, sandstone cropped out, in which impressions of fossil plants were noticed by me. it was interesting to observe how strictly the scrub kept to the sandstone and to the stiff loam lying upon it, whilst the mild black whinstone soil was without trees, but covered with luxuriant grasses and herbs; and this fact struck me as remarkable, because, during my travels in the bunya country of moreton bay, i found it to be exactly the reverse: the sandstone spurs of the range being there covered with an open well grassed forest, whilst a dense vine brush extended over the basaltic rock. the phenomenon is probably to be explained by the capability of the different soils of retaining moisture, and, at the same time, by taking into account the distance of the localities from the seacoast. i called these plains "calvert's plains," after my companion, mr. calvert. farther to the westward we passed over open ridges, covered with bastard-box and silver-leaved ironbark: the former tree grows generally in rich black soil, which appeared several times in the form of ploughed land, well known, in other parts of the colony, either under that name, or under that of "devil-devil land," as the natives believe it to be the work of an evil spirit. nov. .--the first two hours of the day were cloudy, but it cleared up and became very hot; the atmosphere was hazy and sultry; cumuli with undefined outlines all round the horizon: wind from south-west and south. i travelled west by north about eight miles, along the foot of bastard-box and silver-leaved ironbark ridges. the country was exceedingly fine; the ground was firm; the valley from two to three miles broad, clothed with rich grass, and sprinkled with apple-tree, flooded-gum, and bastard-box; the hills formed gentle ascents, and were openly timbered. the water-holes seemed to be constant; they are very deep, densely surrounded by reeds, and with numerous heaps of broken muscle-shells round their banks. scrub was, however, to be seen in the distance, and formed the dark spot in the pleasant picture. game became more frequent; and last night every body had a duck. as we were pursuing our course, mr. gilbert started a large kangaroo, known by the familiar name of "old man," which took refuge in a water-hole, where it was killed, but at the expense of two of our kangaroo dogs, which were mortally wounded. as we were sitting at our dinner, a fine half-grown emu walked slowly up to us, as if curious to know what business we had in its lonely haunts; unfortunately for us, the bark of our little terrier frightened it; and, although one of my blackfellows shot after it, it retired unscathed into the neighbouring thicket. mr. roper killed a rallus, which mr. gilbert thought to be new. the high land from which we came, appears at present as a distant range to the south-east. fine-grained sandstone, with impressions of leaves, was again observed, and a few pieces of silicified wood. a thysanotus with fine large blossoms now adorns the forest. the native carrot is in seed; the eryngium of jimba, and a leguminous plant, prostrate with ternate leaves and bunches of yellow flowers, were frequent; several beautiful species of everlastings were occasionally seen, and the little orange-tree of the condamine grew in the scrub. nov. .--we followed the dawson for about eight miles lower down. about four miles from our camp, it is joined by a fine chain of ponds from the north-east. the flats on both sides are covered by open bastard-box forest, of a more or less open character. in the rainy season, the whole valley is probably covered with water; for we frequently observed the marks of torrents rushing down from the hills; and, along the foot of the ridges, ponds and lagoons were frequent. the heat of summer had already burnt up a great part of the grasses; and it was only in the immediate neighbourhood of the river that there was any appearance of verdure. the bed of the river became drier, and changed its character considerably. charley stated, that he had seen a large plain extending for many miles to the south-west, and a high mountain to the north. several emus, pigeons, and ducks were seen. mr. calvert found concretions of marl in the creek. john murphy caught a great number of crawfish. for the first time since leaving the condamine, we were visited by a thunder-storm. cumuli generally during the afternoon, with wind from the w.n.w; during the night it usually clears up. nov. .--the country along the river changed, during the last two stages, considerably for the worse. the scrub approached very near to the banks of the river, and, where it receded, a disagreeable thicket of bastard-box saplings filled almost the whole valley: fine lagoons were along the river, frequently far above its level; the river itself divided into anabranches, which, with the shallow watercourses of occasional floods from the hills, made the whole valley a maze of channels, from which we could only with difficulty extricate ourselves. "i never saw such a rum river, in my life," said my blackfellow charley. the open forest was sometimes one large field of everlasting flowers with bright yellow blossoms; whilst the scrub plains were thickly covered with grasses and vervain. almost all the grasses of liverpool plains grow here. ironstone and quartz pebbles were strewed over the ground; and, in the valley, fine-grained sandstone with layers of iron-ore cropped out. large fish were seen in the lagoons; but we only succeeded in catching some small fish of the genus gristes. muscles continued to be frequent; and we saw the gunyas of the natives everywhere, although no native made his appearance. it was here that i first met, growing on the scrubby hills, a species of bauhinia, either shrubby or a small shady tree, with spreading branches; the pods are flat, of a blunt form, almost one inch in breadth, and from three to four inches long. the bricklow seems to prevent the growth of almost all other vegetation, with the exception of a small shrub, with linear lanceolate aromatic leaves. an acacia, with long drooping, almost terete leaves, grew along the river; and crinums grew in patches amongst the everlasting flowers, on a sandy soil. our latitude, of the th november, was degrees minutes seconds; and that of the th, degrees minutes seconds, at about eleven miles north-west from the camp of the th november. until the th of november, we travelled down the dawson. in order to avoid the winding course of the river, and the scrub and thickets that covered its valley, which rendered our progress very slow, we had generally to keep to the ridges, which were more open. we several times met with fine plains, which i called "vervain plains," as that plant grew abundantly on them. they were surrounded with scrub, frequently sprinkled with bricklow groves, interspersed with the rich green of the bauhinia, and the strange forms of the bottle-tree; which imparted to the scene a very picturesque character. from one of these plains we obtained, for the first time, a view of some well-defined ranges to the west-north-west. the general course of the river, between the latitudes of degrees minutes seconds and degrees minutes seconds, was to the northward; but, as it commenced to turn to the east, i was induced to cross it, and to follow my former direction to the northwest. between those two latitudes, the river had commenced to run, which was not the ease higher up, notwithstanding it was formed by long reaches of water, upon which pelicans and ducks were abundant. mr. calvert and the black, charley, who had been sent back to one of our last camping places, had, on returning, kept a little more to the north-east, and had seen a river flowing to the northward, and a large creek; both of which, probably, join the dawson lower down. at that part of the river where it commences to run, its bed was more confined, and was fringed by melaleucas and drooping acacias. our provisions had been increased by an emu, which charley shot; our remaining two kangaroo dogs also succeeded in catching an "old man" kangaroo on the vervain plains of the th november. i made it an invariable practice to dry the meat which remained after the consumption of the day's allowance, and it served considerably to save our stock of dried beef, and to lengthen the lives of our bullocks. the utmost economy was necessary;--for we were constantly exposed to losses, occasioned by the pack bullocks upsetting their loads; an annoyance which was at this time of frequent occurrence from the animals being irritated by the stings of hornets--a retaliation for the injuries done to their nests, which, being suspended to the branches of trees, were frequently torn down by the bullocks passing underneath. a large turtle was seen; and mr. gilbert caught two fine eels in one of the lagoons. we had thunder-storms on the th and th of november: the morning is generally cloudy, the clouds come from the north-east and north, clearing away in the middle of the day; and the afternoon is exceedingly hot. nov. .--a dense scrub, which had driven us back to the river, obliged me to reconnoitre to the north-west, in which i was very successful; for, after having crossed the scrub, i came into an open country, furnished with some fine sheets of water, and a creek with corypha palms, growing to the height of or feet. the feelings of delight which i experienced when, upon emerging from the more than usually inhospitable bricklow scrub, the dark verdure of a swamp surrounding a small lake --with native companions (ardeaantigone) strutting round, and swarms of ducks playing on its still water, backed by an open forest, in which the noble palm tree was conspicuous--suddenly burst upon our view, were so great as to be quite indescribable. i joyfully returned to the camp, to bring forward my party; which was not, however, performed without considerable trouble. we had to follow the dawson down to where the creek joined it; for the scrub was impassable for loaded bullocks, and, even on this detour, we had to contend with much scrub as we proceeded down the valley. it, however, became more free from scrub at every step, and opened out into flats of more or less extent on either side, skirted by hills, clothed with an open forest, rising into regular ranges. on my reconnaissance i crossed the gilbert ranges, which were named after my companion mr. gilbert, and came on waters which fall to the eastward, and join the dawson lower down. from the summit of an open part of the range, i saw other ranges to the northward, but covered with bricklow scrub, as was also the greater part of gibert's range. to the east, however, the view was more cheering; for the hills are more open, and the vegetation composed of the silver-leaved and narrow-leaved ironbark trees and an open vitex scrub. several rocky gullies were passed, that were full of palm trees. the valley of palm-tree creek extends about nineteen miles from west to east the ranges which bound it to the south, i called "lynd's range," after my friend r. lynd, esq. gilbert's range bounds it to the northward: middle range separates the creek from the dawson up to their junction. several large swamps are within the valley; one of which, the small lake which first broke upon my view, received the name of "roper's lake," after one of my companions. nov. .--we went about nine miles up the valley, on a south branch of palm-tree creek, which derives its waters from lynd's range. the fine water-hole which i selected for our camp, was not only shaded by stately coryphas and flooded gums, but the drooping callistemon, the creek melaleuca, and the casuarina, gave to it the character of the rivers and creeks of the moreton bay district. it changed, however, into a shallow waterless channel, communicating with one of the large swamps which generally extend along the base of the hills. i rode up lynd's range, passing plains similar to those i have before mentioned, composed of black soil intermingled with fossil wood and decomposed sandstone, and densely covered with burr, (a composite plant) and verbena, and scattered tufts either of bricklow, or of coxen's acacia, or of the bright green fusanus, or of the darker verdure of bauhinia, with here and there a solitary tree of a rich dark-green hue, from forty to fifty feet in height. from the summit i had a fine view down the valley of the dawson, which was bounded on both sides by ranges. a high distant mountain was seen about n.n.e. from lynd's range, at the left side of the dawson. the water-holes abounded with jew-fish and eels; of the latter we obtained a good supply, and dried two of them, which kept very well. two species of limnaea, the one of narrow lengthened form, the other shorter and broader; a species of paludina, and cyclas and unios, were frequent. the jew-fish has the same distoma in its swimming bladder, which i observed in specimens caught in the severn river to the southward of moreton bay: on examining the intestines of this fish, they were full of the shells of limnaea and cyclas. large specimens of helix were frequent on the vervain plains, but they were only dead shells. the fat-hen (atriplex) and the sow-thistle (sonchus) grew abundantly on the reedy flats at the upper end of the creek; grewia, a prostrate myoporum, and a bean with yellow blossoms, were frequent all over the valley. atriplex forms, when young, as we gratefully experienced, an excellent vegetable, as do also the young shoots of sonchus. the tops of the corypha palm eat well, either baked in hot ashes or raw, and, although very indigestible, did not prove injurious to health when eaten in small quantities. in the vicinity of the swamps of palm-tree creek, i noticed a grass with an ear much resembling the bearded wheat: with the exception of the cultivated cerealia, it had the largest seed i ever met with in grasses; even my blackfellow was astonished at its remarkable size. during the night we experienced a strong wind from the northward, and, during the afternoon, a gust of wind and rain from west and north-west; but no thunder. nov. .--clouds gathered from the west and north-west, a few drops of rain fell, and a few low peals of thunder were heard; but, although charged with electric fluid, and, in appearance, threatening an approaching thunder-storm, no discharge of lightning took place. we were very much annoyed and harassed, during the evening and the early part of the night, by sand-flies and mosquitoes; but the clear night grew so cold, that these great enemies of bush comforts were soon benumbed. the latitude of the camp of the th november was degrees minutes seconds. nov. .--no air stirring, night very cold and bright; dew heavy; the surface of the creek covered with vapour; the water very warm. having no apparatus for ascertaining the height of our position above the level of the sea, this very interesting fact could not be determined; but, from the cold experienced, at a period so near the summer solstice, the elevation must have been very considerable. we travelled during the day in a westerly direction over a level country, partly covered with reeds and fat-hen, and came to a broad sandy creek, which turned to the south-east and south. having crossed it, we passed several large lagoons and swamps covered with plovers and ducks; and, at a short mile farther, came again on the creek, which now had a deep channel and a broad sandy bed lined with casuarinas and flooded-gum trees. i called this "robinson's creek." at its left bank, we saw a wide sheet of water, beyond which rose a range densely covered with scrub: i called them "murphy's lake and range," after john murphy, one of my companions. i believe that robinson's creek is a westerly water; and, if so, it is very remarkable that the heads of palm-tree creek, which flows to the eastward, should be scarcely a mile distant; and that the interesting space, separating the two systems of waters, should be, to all appearance, a dead level. i had descended--from a scrubby table land, the continuation of darling downs--into a system of easterly waters. i had followed down the dawson for a considerable distance, and then, following up one of its creeks, found myself again on westerly waters. i could not decide, to my entire satisfaction, whether my views were right; for the country was difficult for reconnoitring; and i was necessarily compelled to move quickly on, to accomplish the object of my expedition: but it is a very interesting point for geographical research, and i hope, if i am not anticipated by other explorers, to ascertain, at some future period, the course of these creeks and rivers. nov. .--the first part of the night till the setting of the moon was very clear; after this it became cloudy, but cleared again at sunrise, with the exception of some mackerel-sky and stratus to the north-west. during the forenoon it was again cloudy, and a thunder-storm occurred at half-past two o'clock from the north-west and west-north-west, with little rain, but a heavy gust of wind. in travelling to the westward, along robinson's creek, although two or three miles distant from it, we passed two lakes, one of which was a fine, long, but rather narrow, sheet of water, with swamps to the south-east. about six miles farther on, the country began to rise into irregular scrubby ridges; the scrub generally composed of vitex intermingled with various forest trees. the small orange-tree, which we had found in blossom at the condamine, was setting its fruit. farther on, the dense bricklow scrub compelled me to approach the banks of the creek, where we travelled over fine flats, but with a rather sandy rotten soil. the apple-tree, flooded-gum, silver-leaved ironbark, and the bastard-box grew on the flats and on the ridges. the creek was well provided with large water-holes, surrounded by high reeds. we now entered a mountainous country; and the banks of the creek became sometimes very steep and broken by narrow gullies, rendering our progress slow and difficult. we had to wind our way through narrow valleys, and over ranges from which the descent was frequently very steep and dangerous. the latitude of our camp of the st november was degrees minutes seconds; that of the nd was degrees minutes; that of the rd, about miles west of murphy's lake, was degrees minutes seconds. here the ranges were, for the most part, openly timbered, with the exception of the higher points, which were generally covered with vine-brush; in one of which we found the nests of the brush turkey (talegalla lathami), and observed the bird itself. some considerable stretches of beautiful country were now travelled over; the leading feature being low ridges, openly timbered with the silver-leaved ironbark, covered with an abundance of grass and herbs, and furnished with large lagoons; there was also a constant supply of water in the creek itself. on the banks of the latter, a species of sterculia grows to a large size, and is one of the most pleasing and ornamental trees of the country; it is probably different from, although nearly allied to s. heterophylla. very disagreeable, however, was the abundance of burr and of a spear-grass (aristida), which attached themselves to our clothes and blankets, and entered (particularly the latter) into the very skin. i have also to mention, that a yellow villarsia was found on one of the lakes; which were generally surrounded by high sedges. we have not seen black swans since leaving murphy's lake; at which place we first saw a species of whistling duck, (leptotarsis, gould.) appearances indicated that the commencement of the ranges was a favourite resort of the "blackfellows." the remains of recent repasts of muscles were strewed about the larger water-holes, and, as i passed a native camp, which had only lately been vacated, i found, under a few sheets of bark, four fine kangaroo nets, made of the bark of sterculia; also several bundles of sticks, which are used to stretch them. as i was in the greatest want of cordage, i took two of these nets; and left, in return, a fine brass hilted sword, the hilt of which was well polished, four fishing-hooks, and a silk handkerchief; with which, i felt convinced, they would be as well pleased, as i was with the cordage of their nets. it was to this spot that mr. pemberton hodgson penetrated, when he afterwards followed my tracks, to ascertain the truth of the rumours, which had been carried by the blacks to moreton bay, of my having been either killed by the natives, or destroyed by a hurricane, which was said to have passed through the narrow valley of the confined creek. the high mountain ranges, at the head of robinson's creek, which we observed from the tops of the hills, at the entrance into the mountainous country, bore w.n.w., and n.w. from the position i now occupied. we had a thunder-storm on the st november, followed by continued rain and a perfect calm during the night occasional showers of rain fell; at sunrise light fleecy clouds from w.n.w.: the nights, when clear, were very cold. until very lately we had all suffered severely from diarrhoea, which i could not account for, othewise than by attributing it to our change of diet. fresh meat had almost invariably affected us; but after a time our continued exposure to the air, the regularity of our movements, and constant state of exertion, rendered us more hardy, and sharpened our appetites. iguanas, opossums, and birds of all kinds, had for some time past been most gladly consigned to our stewing-pot, neither good, bad, nor indifferent being rejected. the dried kangaroo meat, one of our luxuries, differed very little in flavour from the dried beef, and both, after long stewing, afforded us an excellent broth, to which we generally added a little flour. it is remarkable how soon man becomes indifferent to the niceties of food; and, when all the artificial wants of society have dropped off, the bare necessities of life form the only object of his desires. one of our bullocks had torn one of the flour-bags, and about fifteen pounds of flour were scattered over the ground. we all set to work, to scrape as much of it up as we could, using the dry gum leaves as spoons to collect it; and, when it got too dirty to mix again with our flour, rather than leave so much behind, we collected about six pounds of it well mixed with dried leaves and dust, and of this we made a porridge,--a mess which, with the addition of some gelatine, every one of us enjoyed highly. no new insects, few new birds, and but few plants, attracted our attention. mr. gilbert's parrot, which he first met with on the downs, was very frequent; the glucking-bird and the barking-owl were heard throughout the moonlight nights. several native dogs were killed, and their howling was frequently heard. only one kangaroo had been shot since we left the dawson, although their tracks were met with every where. charley had taken several opossums; the presence of these animals generally indicates a good country. quails were abundant, but not worth our powder; flocks of spur-winged plovers were living at the lakes and swamps, and a shy hornbill (scythrops) was seen and heard several times. the nests of the white ant were rarely seen; but the soldier ant, and the whole host of the others, were every where. the funnel ant digs a perpendicular hole in the ground, and surrounds the opening with an elevated wall, sloping outwards like a funnel; the presence of this insect generally indicates a rotten soil, into which horses and cattle sink beyond their fetlocks. this soil is, however, by no means a pure sand, but is well mixed with particles of clay, which allow the ant to construct its fabric. in rainy weather this soil forms the best travelling ground, and is by no means so rotten as when dry. large hornets of a bright yellow colour, with some black marks, made their paper nests on the stems of trees, or suspended them from the dry branches; most of us were several times severely stung by them. when found near our encampment we generally destroyed them, by quickly raising a large fire with dry grass. a species of gristes was abundant in the water-holes, but it was of small size: the eels have disappeared. nov. .--we travelled about eight miles, north by west, ascending a spur, from which the waters flowed, both to the south-west and to the eastward, but both collecting in robinson's creek. every time we turned to the westward we came on tremendous gullies, with almost perpendicular walls, whereas the easterly waters formed shallow valleys of a gently sloping character. the range was openly timbered with white-gum, spotted-gum, ironbark, rusty-gum, and the cypress-pine near the gullies; and with a little dioecious tree belonging to the euphorbiaceae, which i first met with at the severn river, and which was known amongst us under the name of the "severn tree:" it had a yellow or red three-capsular fruit, with a thin fleshy pericarp, of an exceedingly bitter taste; the capsules were one-seeded. the gullies were full of bush-trees, amongst which the bottle-tree, and the corypha-palm were frequent. pomaderris and flindersia were in fruit and blossom. according to mr. gilbert, rock wallabies were very numerous. on a reconnoissance i traversed the continuation of the range, which i found to be of a flat, sandy, and rotten character, having, with the exception of the blackbutt, all the trees and other characteristics of the sandstone country of moreton bay: xylomelum, xanthorrhaea, zamia, leptospermum, a new species of forest oak, which deserves the name of casuarina villosa, for its bark looks quite villous; persoonia falcata, r. br., a small tree about fifteen feet high, with stiff glaucous falcate leaves, and racemose inflorescence; a dwarf persoonia, with linear leaves, the stringy-bark, and a species of melaleuca along the creek. in my excursion i crossed the main branch of robinson's creek, and found the gullies of its right bank as steep and tremendous as those of the left. water was very scarce. the whole country is composed of a fine-grained sandstone. as the water-holes on the range are very few and distant from each other, they are frequented by the bronze-winged pigeons in great numbers. mr. gilbert shot eight of them, and mr. roper, john murphy, and charley, added to the number, so that we had a fine pigeon supper and breakfast, each having his bird--a rare occurrence in our expedition. a few drops of rain fell in the morning. nov. .--when we were waiting for our bullocks, four emus came trotting down the slope towards the camp. messrs. gilbert, roper, murphy, and brown, having their horses ready, gave chase, and, after a dangerous gallop, over extremely rocky ground, succeeded, with the assistance of our kangaroo dog, spring, in securing one of them. when charley returned to the camp with the bullocks, he told us that he had found these emus walking amongst the bullocks, and that he had struck one of them with his tomahawk. on our road to the water, which i had found on my reconnoisance, about seven miles w.n.w., under a still higher range, rising at the right of robinson's creek, we started a herd of eight kangaroos, when our horsemen, assisted by spring, were again successful in taking one of them. nov. .--a thunder-storm during the night, which passed, however, to the other side of the range. after a gust of wind of short duration, we had some very light showers; so light indeed, as not to interrupt our meat-drying process. proceeding on our journey, we ascended the range, and travelled between four and five miles on its level summit, which was covered with open forest, interspersed with thickets of acacias and casuarinas. from the extremity of the range we enjoyed a very fine and extensive view. ranges of mountains with conspicuous peaks, cupolas, and precipitous walls of rock, were observed extending at various distances from west by north to north-west. the most distant range was particularly striking and imposing; i called it "expedition range," and to a bell-shaped mountain bearing n. degrees w., i gave the name of "mount nicholson," in honour of dr. charles nicholson, who first introduced into the legislative council of new south wales, the subject of an overland expedition to port essington; and to a sharp peak n. degrees w., the name of "aldis's peak," in acknowledgment of the kind assistance received from mr. aldis of sydney. we then descended, with great difficulty into a broad valley, bounded on either side by fine slopes and ridges, openly timbered with silver-leaved ironbark. on the small well-grassed flats along the watercourse, the flooded-gum and apple-trees grew to a considerable size. the morning was cloudy, with occasional drops of rain; but it cleared up towards noon, and, near sunset, a wall of dark clouds rose in the west, over the ranges. thunder-storms very generally come with westerly cloudy weather, with north-westerly, and northerly winds. we busied ourselves in extracting the oil from the skin of the emu: this operation was performed by suspending it on sticks before a gentle fire, the oil dripping from it into a shallow vessel. it is of a light amber colour, and is very useful in oiling the locks of our fire-arms; it has been considered a good anti-rheumatic, and i occasionally used it for that purpose. mr. gilbert skinned the tail of the kangaroo to make a bag for holding fat; but it broke and ripped so easily when dry, as to render it unfit for that purpose. we used the skins of the kangaroos to cover our flour-bags, which were in a most wretched condition. our latitude was degrees minutes seconds. nov. .--charley and brown informed us that they had followed the watercourse, and had come to a broad river with precipitous banks, which would not allow any passage for our horses and cattle; they also stated that the watercourse on which we were encamped, became a rocky gully, and that it would be impossible to cross it lower down. from this information i supposed that a river, like the robinson, rising in many gullies of the north-east ranges, and flowing in south-west direction was before us; i, therefore, decided upon heading it. it was, however, very difficult to find a leading spur, and we frequently came on deep and impassable gullies, surrounded by a dense thicket of cypresspine, and a great variety of shrubs peculiar to sandstone rock. after travelling about nine miles in a n. degrees e. direction, we came to a subordinate range, and having found, in one of its watercourses, some tolerable grass and a fine water-hole, we were enabled to encamp. mr. roper and charley, who had kept a little more to the left, reported that they had been on one of the heads of the boyd, and had seen a fine open country to the westward, and south-west. the "boyd" was so named in acknowledgment of the liberal support i had received from benjamin boyd, esq. amongst the shrubs along the gullies, a new species of dodonaea, with pinnate pubescent leaves, was frequent. towards evening we had a thunderstorm from the westward. nov. .--in reconnoitring the country in the neighbourhood of the camp, i ascended three mountains, and ascertained that there are five parallel ranges, striking from north to south, of which the three easterly ones send their waters to the eastward; whereas the two westerly ones send theirs to the boyd, the valley of which has a south-westerly direction. to the north of the boyd, there is a steep mountain barrier, striking from east to west. all these ranges are composed of sandstone, with their horizontal strata, some of which have a very fine grain. impressions of calamites were observed in one of the gullies. we also saw two kangaroos. in the water-hole near our camp, there were numerous small brown leeches, which were very keen in the water, but dropped off as soon as we lifted our feet out of it. the hornets also were very troublesome. recent bush fires and still smoking trees betokened the presence of natives; who keep, however, carefully out of sight. this country, with its dry scrubby ranges and its deep rocky gullies, seems to be thinly inhabited; the natives keeping, probably, to the lower course of robinson's creek and of the boyd. the descent to the easterly waters is much more gentle; water remains longer in the deep rocky basins or puddled holes of its creeks, and the vegetation is richer and greener. instead of the cypress-pine scrub, the corypha-palm and the casuarina grew here, and invited us to cool shaded waters; the corypha-palm promised a good supply of cabbage. we had a thunder-storm from the southward, which turned from the range to the eastward. the two last days were cloudless and very hot; but, on the ranges, a cool breeze was stirring from the northward. nov. .--i wished to move my camp to a small water-hole about eight miles east by north, which i had found yesterday; but, though i kept more to the northward than i thought necessary, we were everywhere intercepted by deep rocky gullies. losing much time in heading them, i ventured to descend one of the more practicable spurs, and, to my great satisfaction, my bullocks did it admirably well. the valley into which i entered was very different from these barriers; gentle slopes, covered with open forest of silver-leaved ironbark, and most beautifully grassed, facilitated my gradual descent to the bottom of the valley, which was broad, flat, thinly timbered with flooded-gum and apple-trees, densely covered with grass, and, in the bed of the creek which passed through it, well provided with reedy water-holes. before i ventured to proceed with my whole party, i determined to examine the country in advance, and therefore followed up one of the branches of the main creek, in a northerly direction. in proceeding, the silver-leaved ironbark forest soon ceased, and the valley became narrow and bounded by perpendicular walls of sandstone, composed of coarse grains of quartz, rising out of sandy slopes covered with dogwood (jacksonia) and spotted-gum. the rock is in a state of rapid decomposition, with deep holes and caves inhabited by rock-wallabies; and with abundance of nests of wasps, and wasp-like hymenoptera, attached to their walls, or fixed in the interstices of the loose rock. through a few gullies i succeeded in ascending a kind of table-land, covered with a low scrub, in which the vegetation about sydney appeared in several of its most common forms. i then descended into other valleys to the eastward, but all turned to the east and south-east; and, after a long and patient investigation, i found no opening through which we could pass with our bullocks. although i returned little satisfied with my ride, i had obtained much interesting information as to the geological character of this singular country. chapter iii ruined castle creek--zamia creek--bigge's mountain--allowance of flour reduced--natives spear a horse--christmas ranges--brown's lagoons--thunder-storms--albinia downs--comet creek--native camp. dec. .--i rode to the eastward from our camp, to ascertain how far we were from the water-hole to which i had intended to conduct my party. after having ascended the gullies, and passed the low scrub and cypress-pine thicket which surrounds them, i came into the open forest, and soon found our tracks, and the little creek for which i had steered the day before. this creek, however, soon became a rocky gully, and joined a large creek, trending to the east and south-east. disheartened and fatigued, i returned to the camp, resolved upon following down the course of the boyd to the south-west, until i should come into a more open country. on my way back, i fell in with a new system of gullies, south of the creek i had left, and east of the creek on which our camp was, and which i had called "the creek of the ruined castles," because high sandstone rocks, fissured and broken like pillars and walls and the high gates of the ruined castles of germany, rise from the broad sandy summits of many hills on both sides of the valley. when i returned to the camp, mr. gilbert told me, that mr. roper and john murphy had been on a mountain towards the head of the main creek, north-west from our camp, and that they had seen an open country before them. i therefore started, on the d december, with mr. gilbert to examine it. our admiration of the valley increased at every step. the whole system of creeks and glens which join "ruined castle creek," would form a most excellent cattle station. with the exception of the narrow gorge through which the main creek passes to join the creek of palms [mr. arrowsmith is of opinion that such a junction is improbable, if the author is alluding to the creek, called palm tree creek, which he fell in with about miles to the s.e.--ed.] to the south-east, which might be shut by a fence not thirty yards long; and of the passable ranges to the north-west, which lead into a new country, and which form the pass seen by roper and murphy, it is everywhere surrounded by impassable barriers. beautiful grass, plenty of water in the lower part of the creek, and useful timber, unite to recommend this locality for such a purpose. the creeks to the east and south-east are also equally adapted for cattle stations. after passing a stony ridge covered with spotted-gum, from which the remarkable features of the country around us--the flat-topped mountain wall, the isolated pillars, the immense heaps of ruins towering over the summits of the mountains--were visible, we descended a slope of silver-leaved ironbark, and came to a chain of water-holes falling to the east. travelling in a north-westerly direction, and passing over an openly timbered country, for about two miles, we came to the division of the waters, on a slight ridge which seemed to connect two rather isolated ranges. we followed a watercourse to the northward, which, at seven miles [in the original drawing the watercourse is not more than two miles long, according to mr. arrowsmith, so that seven miles must be a mistake.--ed.] lower down, joined an oak-tree creek, coming from the ranges to the eastward. here water was very scarce; the banks of the creek were covered with bricklow scrub; and a bush-fire, which had recently swept down the valley, had left very little food for our cattle: the blady-grass, however, had begun to show its young shoots, and the vegetation, on some patches of less recent burnings, looked green. sterculia (heterophylla?) and the bottle-tree, were growing in the scrub; and many wonga-wonga pigeons (leucosarcia picata, gould.) were started from their roosting-places under the old trees in the sandy bed of the creek. we caught a young curlew; and mr. gilbert shot two wonga-wongas, and three partridge-pigeons (geophaps scripta). the latter abound in the silver-leaved ironbark forest, where the grass has been recently burned. after having contended with scrubs, with swamps, and with mountains, we were again doomed to grapple with our old enemy, the silver-leaved bricklow, and a prickly acacia with pinnate leaves, much resembling the a. farnesiana of darling downs. the most remarkable feature in the vegetation; however, was an aborescent zamia, with a stem from seven to eight or ten feet high, and about nine inches in diameter, and with elongated cones, not yet ripe. in consequence of the prevalence of this plant, i called the creek "zamia creek." in the fat-hen flats, over which we travelled in following the watercourse to zamia creek, i was surprised to find erythrina, which i had been accustomed to meet with only on the creeks, and at the outskirts of mountain brushes, near the sea-coast. the white cedar (melia azedarach) grows also along zamia creek, with casuarina, and a species of leptospermum. on my return to the camp, i found that a party had been out wallabi shooting, and had brought in three; they were about two feet long; body reddish grey, neck mouse grey, a white stripe on each shoulder, black muzzle, and black at the back of the ear; the tail with rather long hair. the flying squirrel (petaurus sciureus) which was not different from that of the hunter; and a centropus phasianellus, (the swamp pheasant of moreton bay), were shot. dec. .--we stopped at ruined castle creek, in order to obtain more wallabies, which abounded among the rocks, and which appeared to be a new species: it approaches nearest to petrogale lateralis of gould, from which, however, it essentially differs. mr. gilbert and all our best shots went to try their luck; they succeeded in killing seven of them. the weather was cloudy, but it cleared up during the forenoon; in the afternoon rain commenced with a perfect calm; for the last three days easterly winds have prevailed, often blowing very strong at night. in the rocky gullies, we found the following plants: a new species of grevillea, having pinnatifid leaves with very long divisions, the blossoms of a fine red, and the seed-vessels containing two flat seeds, surrounded by a narrow transparent membrane; leucopogon juniperinum and lanceolatum; a dodonaea with long linear leaves and d. triquetra, were frequent. dec. .--i went with my whole party to zamia creek, the latitude of which is degrees minutes seconds, and which is about sixteen miles west by north from our last camp. dec. .--we followed zamia creek about six miles down. it is very winding and scrubby; the rock on its banks is a clayey flagstone (psammite); the upper strata are more clayey, and break in many small pieces. several hills approached the creek; and a large mountain which i called bigge's mountain, in acknowledgment of the kind support of frederic bigge, esq., was seen to the eastward. a large kangaroo started out of the creek, and was killed by our dogs; it appeared to be rather different from the common one, being remarkably light-coloured, with a white belly, black end of the tail, and the inside of the ear dark. we soon met with a fine reedy water-hole, with swarms of little finches fluttering about it; and, the place being suitable, i encamped for the night, and took the opportunity to repair some of our harness. the night was cloudy; the morning very fine; and the day very hot, with an occasional fresh breeze from the northward, which generally sets in about eleven o'clock. thick cumuli came from the northward during the afternoon, but disappeared towards sunset. dec. .--after a fine night, we had a cold morning with heavy dew. from the hills near the camp, mount nicholson bore n. degrees w. and aldis's peak due north; bigge's range was in sight to the eastward. the horses had gone back to ruined castle creek, about twenty-one miles distant; and the bullocks to our last camp, which, according to charley, had been visited by the blackfellows, who had apparently examined it very minutely. it was evident that they kept an eye upon us, although they never made their appearance. our allowance of flour was now reduced from six pounds to five. dec. .--we travelled down zamia creek. the bed of the creek, though lined with many casuarinas, was entirely dry, and we did not reach a water-hole until we had travelled a distance of nine miles from the camp. hoping that the supply of water would increase, i travelled on ward, leaving mount nicholson about six miles to the left. as we proceeded, the flats along the creek increased in size; and we entered a level country (which seemed unbounded towards the north-east) covered with silver-leaved ironbark, box, and flooded-gum. we passed a large scrubby creek, coming from mount nicholson, and a considerable watercourse from aldis's peak. on the latter, we found a fine water-hole, at which we encamped. we started a great number of kangaroos; but, unfortunately, they all escaped. the whole country was full of game. whilst preparing to proceed on a reconnoissance of the neighbourhood, charley, who had been sent for my horse, returned at full gallop, and told me that blackfellows were spearing our horses. fortunately messrs. gilbert and calvert had just come in; and, mounting our horses, three of us hastened to the place where charley had seen the blacks, leaving the remainder of our party to defend the camp. we found one of our horses had been deeply wounded in the shoulder; but fortunately, the others were unhurt, and were grazing quietly. charley saw two blackfellows retreating into the scrub, but had seen a great number of them when he first came to the place. this event, fortunately not a very disastrous one, was so far useful, as it impressed every one with the necessity of being watchful, even when the blackfellows were not suspected to be near. the latitude of our camp was degrees minutes seconds, and about seven miles from our last camp. aldis's peak bore n.w. by w., distant two miles and a half; and i found that it was surrounded by a dense scrub. after following zamia creek for some miles, i turned to the left, and travelled about north-north-west, when the scrub opened, and we came upon open ridges, and, at about a mile and a half from the river, found some fine lagoons. the ridges, which are spurs of aldis's peak and expedition range, disappear in the level country to the north-east. farther on to the north-north-west, i passed some fine plains, having the black soil, the vegetation, the dry creeks and watercourses, of darling downs. thick scrub seems to extend all along the foot of the range, from aldis's peak to mount nicholson. both these mountains are composed of basalt, containing numerous crystals of peridot. dec. .--i travelled with my whole party over the ground which i had reconnoitred yesterday, and had to go a considerable distance farther to find water. along the scrubs there are generally chains of water-holes, which retain the water for a long time, and are soon filled by heavy thunderstorms; they are well puddled with clay, and, therefore, become dry almost exclusively by evaporation. our camp was about eight miles n.n.w. from the last. the feed was all parched up: the native carrot, which was so green when we passed darling downs, was here withered and in seed. immense stretches of forest had been lately burned, and no trace of vegetation remained. partridge-pigeons were very numerous, and the tracks of kangaroos and wallabies were like sheep-walks. charley saw an emu; but an iguana and a partridge-pigeon were the only addition to our night's mess. the sky was covered by a thin haze, occasioned by extensive bush fires. a fine breeze, which sprung up at eleven o'clock, from the northward, made travelling very agreeable. we enjoy no meal so much as our tea and damper at luncheon, when we encamp between twelve and two o'clock. it is remarkable how readily the tea dispels every feeling of fatigue, without the slightest subsequent injury of health. paludinas and unios were very frequent in the water-holes. the silver-leaved ironbark (eucalyptus pulverulentus) was here coming into blossom. the whole vegetation seemed to feel the heat of an almost vertical sun; and, with the exception of the fresh green of the vitex shrub, the silver-leaved bricklow, and those patches of young grass which had been burnt about a month before--all nature looked withered. it was very hot from nine o'clock to eleven, when the cooling northerly breeze usually sets in. upon reaching the place of our next camp, mr. roper went to cut tent-poles, but, perhaps too intent on finding good ones, unfortunately lost his way, and wandered about the bush for about five miles before we were able to make him hear our cooees. accidents of this kind happen very easily in a wooded country, where there is no leading range or watercourse to guide the rambler, or when sufficient care is not taken to mark and keep the direction of the camp. dec. .--the haze of yesterday cleared up at sunset, after having formed two threatening masses of clouds in the east and in the west, united by a broad belt of mare's tails across the sky. it became cloudy again, and prevented my taking observations during the night; the morning was cool and agreeable, clearing up about eleven o'clock; the northerly wind stirring, as usual. proceeding on our journey, we travelled about nine miles w.n.w. over a box flat, with stiff soil and melon-holes; after a few miles, it changed into an open silver-leaved ironbark forest, with lighter soil. about six miles from our last camp, we came upon a fine creek (with casuarinas and palm-trees), flowing from the mountains on a north-easterly course; and, about three miles further, to the w.n.w., we came to another creek, and numerous palm-trees growing near it. following up the latter, we found a fine water-hole surrounded by reeds, and which is probably fed by a spring. the forest was well grassed; and a small acacia, about fifteen or twenty feet high, with light green bipinnate leaves (from which exuded an amber-coloured eatable gum), formed groves and thickets within it. a capparis, a small stunted tree, was in fruit: this fruit is about one inch long and three-quarters of an inch broad, pear-shaped and smooth, with some irregular prominent lines. capparis mitchelii has a downy fruit, and is common in the scrubs. a small trailing capparis, also with oblong eatable fruit, was first observed on a hill near ruined castle creek, in lat. degrees minutes: we met with it frequently afterwards. we were encamped in the shade of a fine erythrina; and the corypha-palm, tristania, the flooded-gum, the silver-leaved ironbark, tripetelus, and a species of croton, grew around us. a species of hypochaeris and of sonchus, were greedily eaten by our horses; the large xeranthemum grew on the slopes, among high tufts of kangaroo grass. a species of borage (trichodesma zeylanica), with fine blue flowers, was first seen here; and the native raspberry, and ficus muntia, were in fruit. in the afternoon, i went with brown up the range, following the bed of our creek; and, having ascended a spur of sandstone, with gullies on each side, we came to a large basaltic mountain, clothed with fine open timber, and a great number of arborescent zamias. dec. .--accompanied by charley, i went in search of a passage over the range. we ascended several hills in order to obtain general views, and found that the level country, over which we had travelled during the last two days, was of less extent than i had anticipated. to the north-east by east, ranges rise with the characteristic outlines of the basalt and phonolite,--in peaks and long stretched flat-topped hills, with undulations openly timbered extending at their base. one valley descended to the north-north-east; another to the northward. the principal range has a direction from south-west to north-east; it is flat on the top, is well grassed and openly timbered; but, to the northward, it becomes scrubby, and also changes its geological character. after having crossed the range--without any great difficulty, with the exception of some steep places--we came on gullies going down to the north-west; and, from the rocky head of one of them, the whole country to the west and northwest burst upon us. there was a fine valley, a flat country, plains, isolated long-stretched hills, and distant ranges; the highest points of the latter bearing degrees e. and degrees w.; and, as i hoped to reach them by christmas time, i called them "christmas ranges." not being able to discover a good slope on which our bullocks could travel, i descended at once into the gully, and followed it in all its windings; knowing well from experience that it is easier to find a passage up a mountain range than down it. the gully had all the characters of those of the boyd; the same sandstone rock, the same abruptness, and the same vegetation; excepting, perhaps, a new grevillea, with pinnatifid leaves and yellowish-white woolly flowers, which we found here. there was no water, except in some small holes full of gum leaves, which had rendered it unfit for use. after proceeding with great difficulty about three miles, we found that the gullies opened into a broad flat valley; in which fields of fat-hen, the croton shrub, the native tobacco, erythrina, fine specimens of flooded-gum, tristania, and the moreton bay ash, were growing in great abundance. farther down, however, the bricklow scrub covered the whole valley; the water-course disappeared almost entirely; and we were completely disappointed in our hopes of finding a fine country. small plains opened on both sides of the valley, surrounded by bricklow scrub, and with patches of bricklow scattered over them, in which the bottle-tree frequently made its portly appearance. a large flight of wonga wonga pigeons were feeding on the seeds of various species of acacia; we shot two of them. no water was to be found in an extent of fifteen miles. the noisy call of the laughing jackass (dacclo gigantea) made me frequently ride back and examine more minutely those spots marked by a darker foliage; but the presence of this bird is no certain indication of water, though he likes the neighbourhood of shady creeks. i could not help thinking that a considerable creek must come from the north-west side of mount nicholson; and, seeing an isolated range to the south-west, i rode towards it, sure of finding water near it, if there was any to be found. we approached the range just before sunset, much tired, with two wonga-wongas and three iguanas at our saddles. i had just informed my blackfellow, that i wished to encamp, even without water, when some old broken sheets of bark, remains of the frail habitations of the natives, caught my eye; a dry water-hole, though surrounded with green grass and sedges, showed that they had formerly encamped there, with water. this water-hole was found to be one of a chain of ponds extending along the edge of the scrub which covered the hill; and, on following it farther down, we came to a fine pool of water, which enabled us to encamp comfortably. next morning, after having enjoyed an iguana, and finding several other ponds well supplied with water, we returned. in crossing several of the scrub plains before mentioned, it was agreeable to observe that the dense vegetation which covered them was not the miserable burr and the wiry vervain, but senecios and sonchus (sowthistle), which our horses greedily snatched as they waded through them. the soil is of a dark colour, very rich, but mild; and the rock below is basaltic. kangaroos were feeding on the plains along the scrub; and charley fired unsuccessfully at a fine "old man." i saw one emu, and charley a drove of ten more. the country was remarkably rich in various kinds of game; and i was very sorry that we were not better sportsmen, to avail ourselves of so favourable a circumstance. we found a passage for our bullocks at the west side of the valley along which we had come down; the ascent was steep, but practicable. we followed the spur up to the principal range, where we found some difficulty in heading some steep gullies, which come up to the highest crest of the mountains. after some tiresome riding, i was fortunate enough to hit the head of the creek on which our party was encamped; and, following it down--over loose rocks, large boulders, and occasional steep falls--accompanied by my excellent little horse, which willingly followed wherever i led, i came into a more open country; and the report of a gun gave me the pleasing assurance that our camp was at no great distance. my blackfellow quitted me on the range, as he had done before, on several similar occasions; and it was too evident that i could not rely upon him in times of difficulty and danger. within the scrub on the range, we found five or six huts, lately constructed, of the natives; they come here probably to find honey, and to catch rock-wallabies, which are very numerous in the sandstone gullies. in the gully which i descended, a shrub with dark-green leaves was tolerably frequent; its red berries, containing one or two seeds, were about the size of a cherry, and very good eating when ripe. the new grevillea, before mentioned, was also found here growing on a sandy soil; and a species of clematis tied the shrubs into an almost impenetrable maze. the arborescent zamia was as frequent here as on the slopes and flat tops of the basaltic mountains; it grows from six to ten feet high, and even higher, and is about a foot in diameter; and often, its dark scaly trunk, borne to the ground by the winds, raises its fine head like a reclining man. there was a thunder-storm to the south-east and east on the th december. these thunder-storms are generally very local, belonging to distant valleys and ranges. much rain had fallen at the foot of the range, but we had very little of it. several of my companions suffered by eating too much of the cabbage-palm. the blackfellows will doubtless wonder why so many noble trees had been felled here. one of our kangaroo-dogs followed a kangaroo, and did not return; a severe loss, as we have only one left out of five, and this one is young and diseased. our little terrier keeps very well. dec. --after a clear night, the morning was misty, with a wall of clouds to the westward; at nine o'clock it cleared up, and loose cumuli passed over from the east; at eleven o'clock all clouds had disappeared, and a cool breeze set in from the northward. charley did not succeed in bringing in the horses and cattle sufficiently early for starting on the long and difficult passage over the range. our meat was all consumed; but we wished to reserve our bullocks for christmas, which was, in every one of us, so intimately associated with recollections of happy days and merriment, that i was determined to make the coming season as merry as our circumstances permitted. this decision being final, every one cheerfully submitted to a small allowance, and did his best to procure game. our latitude was degrees minutes. dec. .--we travelled along the spur at the west and south-west side of erythrina creek, at which we had been encamped; and, after having headed the whole system of its gullies--keeping to the right along the main range for about three miles, we came to the spur on which i and charley had ascended on our return, and which had a general direction to the north-west. when we arrived at the foot of the range, our cattle and horses were so jaded, and the water-hole still so far off, that i encamped here, more especially as the feed was young and rich, and as i had hopes of obtaining water by digging into the sand which filled the upper part of the valley. in this, however, i did not succeed; for, upon digging about three feet deep, i came on a layer of stiff clay very hard and dry. fortunately, however, a thunder-storm came on towards the evening, which supplied our cattle as well as ourselves with water. this was the only time we encamped without a certainty of water, during our journey from jimba to the head of the gulf, which occupied ten months. the whole night was showery, the wind and clouds coming from all directions. dec. .--we reached the water-holes i had discovered three days previous. our cattle were very thirsty, notwithstanding the late rain, and they rushed into the water as soon as they got sight of it. the hills, at the foot of which we are encamped, are composed of whinstone (basalt). pebbles of conglomerate, of flint, and of quartz deeply coloured with iron, are, however, very frequent on the slopes. it is remarkable that that part of the range which is composed of basalt, is a fine open forest, whereas the basaltic hills of the large valley are covered with dense scrub. the myal was frequent; and the fruit of the small lemon-tree was ripe. i followed the watercourse which connects the water-holes on which we encamped, and met every where with bricklow scrub. mr. gilbert ascended the hills, and stated that the whole valley to the westward appeared like an immense sea of scrub. a thunder-storm was forming to the north-west, but was probably deflected by the ranges. dec. .--last night we had two thunder-storms; one rose in the west, and turned to the northward, following the christmas ranges; the other rose in the south, and turned to the east, probably attracted by expedition range. still following the watercourse, we entered, after about four miles travelling, into the scrub. the watercourse was soon lost in the level ground, and water-holes appeared every where; the general direction of the waters seemed to be to the north-west. four miles farther we came to a piece of open forest at the foot of a hill, which was covered with ironstone-pebbles. here we encamped without water; but, having passed good water-holes not four miles distant, i sent mr. calvert and brown to fetch some, whilst i and charley went forward to examine the country. on my way to some ranges which i had seen to the eastward, i fell in with a dry watercourse, and, following it down for about half a mile from the camp, discovered a well-filled water-hole. the watercourse was found to join a creek with a deep and very wide bed, but dry. muscle-shells strewed in every direction, and other appearances, indicated that, during the wet season, the whole country must be very swampy. the course of the creek was to the n. n. w., and it is joined by watercourses from the right and left; all now quite dry. after having followed the creek for about twelve miles, until sunset, without coming to the end of the scrub through which it trended, we were compelled to retrace our steps; in attempting which my companion, charley, lost the track, but my good little horse, jim crow, guided us to the camp, which we reached about eleven o'clock. mr. calvert and brown had not yet returned; although the report of their guns had been heard several times. the night was extremely cold, notwithstanding we were encamped under the shelter of trees: and it was therefore evident that we were at a considerable elevation above the level of the sea. the box-tree of jimba-flats, the bricklow--in short, the whole vegetation of the scrubby country, west of darling downs, were still around us; and the moreton bay ash (a species of eucalyptus)--which i had met with, throughout the moreton bay district, from the sea coast of the nynga nyngas to darling downs--was here also very plentiful. dec. .--our cattle and our horses, with the exception of those we had used the night before, had strayed in search of water; but charley found them on the sow-thistle plains, beyond our last camp. messrs. calvert, murphy, and brown, came in early this morning; they had lost their way in the dark, in consequence of remaining too long at the water-hole. they informed me that they had passed the night on an open piece of forest ground along a creek. this intelligence induced me to examine the locality: i therefore went with brown, and found the creek, with a deep sandy, but dry bed, full of reeds; its direction being from south by west to north by east. i followed it up about eight miles, when the scrub receded from its left bank, and a fine open extensive flat stretched to the westward. i looked into the casuarina thickets which occasionally fringed its bank, in search of water; but found none. i was frequently on the point of returning, but, induced by the presence of reeds, continued the search, until the scrub again approached the right side of the creek; and, in one of those chains of ponds which almost invariably exist at the outside of these scrubs, a small pool of water was found. this gave me fresh confidence, and i was eagerly examining the creek, when brown exclaimed, "plenty of water, sir! plenty of water!" and a magnificent lagoon, surrounded by a rich belt of reeds, lay before us. the natives must have been at this spot some time before, and have burned the grass; as the earth was now covered with a delicate verdure. the country appeared flat, and was so openly timbered with fine flooded gum-trees, that we could see for a considerable distance; a circumstance very favourable to us, in case of the natives proving hostile. it would appear that this place was frequently resorted to by the natives: the bark had been recently stripped in various places; the huts were in good repair, with heaps of muscle-shells and some kangaroo-bones about them. we returned to the camp with the joyous news; for i had been greatly perplexed as to the direction i ought to take. charley returned very late with the strayed cattle, and reported that he had seen the smoke of the blackfellow's fires all along the western ranges. this was welcome intelligence; for we knew that their presence indicated the existence of a good country. yesterday in coming through the scrub, we had collected a large quantity of ripe native lemons, of which, it being sunday, we intended to make a tart; but, as my companions were absent, the treat was deferred until their return, which was on monday morning, when we made them into a dish very like gooseberry-fool; they had a very pleasant acid taste, and were very refreshing. they are of a light yellow colour, nearly round, and about half an inch in diameter; the volatile oil of the rind was not at all disagreeable. the chains of water-holes within the scrub are covered with a stiff star-grass, having a great number of spikes rising from the top of the stem; and several sedges crowd around the moister spots. a stiff, wiry, leafless polygonaceous plant grows in the shallow depressions of the surface of the ground, which are significantly termed by the squatters "melon-holes", and abound in the open box-tree flats. a small shrubby stenochilus with very green linear lanceolate leaves and red tubulous flowers, is frequent amongst the bricklow. the pools and lagoons contain unios, paludinas, and the lanceolate and oval limnaeas. fine dry weather has set in; the northerly breeze is still very regular; but the mornings, from eight to eleven, are very hot. a few mosquitoes have made their appearance, probably in consequence of the late rains. charley killed a diamond snake, larger than any he had ever seen before; but he only brought in the fat, of which there was a remarkable quantity. the iguanas (hydrosaurus, gray) have a slight bluish tinge about the head and neck; but in the distribution of their colours, generally resemble h. gouldii. mr. gilbert found a land crab in the moist ground under a log of wood; and mr. calvert brought me a species of helix of a yellowish green colour. dec. .--it was with very great difficulty that we collected our horses and cattle; but we could not find one of our pack bullocks, which had concealed himself in the scrub, and, from the unfavourable situation of our camp, we were obliged to abandon it. old bullocks, when tired, care very little about company, and even like to retire to any solitary spot, where there is good feed and water. having nearly reached the end of our stage, we were overtaken by a thunder-storm from the south; which was followed by another from the west with very heavy rain. this was the first heavy rain to which we had been exposed, whilst on the day's march; for thunder-storms did not generally rise till after two o'clock; at which time we were usually secured in our tents. the fine lagoons--which i called "brown's lagoons" after their discoverer--and the good feed about them, induced me to stop for the purpose of killing the fat bullock which mr. isaacs had given us, and of drying it like the charqui of the south americans; instead of waiting till christmas, as we originally intended; especially as we were ignorant of the character of the country before us. accordingly, on the th at five o'clock in the morning, it was slaughtered and cut into thin slices; which, before night, were nearly dried by the powerful heat of an almost vertical sun. we enjoyed ourselves very much on this occasion, and feasted luxuriously on fried liver at breakfast, on stuffed heart for luncheon, and on a fine steak and the kidneys for supper. those who may have lived for so long a time as we had upon a reduced fare, will readily understand with what epicurean delight these meals were discussed. dec. .--we completed our job, by melting down the fat, with which our saddles, bridles, and all our leather gear, were well greased. in the afternoon mr. calvert and charley, who had been sent after the bullock we had left behind, returned with him. they had found him quietly chewing the cud, in a bricklow grove near a small pool of water. dec. .--whilst employed in arranging our packs, murphy and charley went out to examine the surrounding country. on their return they informed me that they had met with a native camp, the inhabitants of which were probably out hunting, for they had left all their things behind. capparis mitchelii was found in blossom. the cockatoo parrakeet of the gwyder river, (nymphicus novae hollandiae, gould.), the common white cockatoo, and the moreton bay rosella parrot, were very numerous. we also observed the superb warbler, malurus cyaneus of sydney; and the shepherd's companion, or fan-tailed fly-catcher (rhipidura); both were frequent. several rare species of finches were shot: and a species of the genus pomatorhinus, a swan river bird, was seen by mr. gilbert. the latitude of this encampment was found to be degrees minutes seconds. dec. .--as our meat was not entirely dry, i thought it advisable to remain another day at this place, which was usefully occupied by packing the fat into bags made of the hide of the animal. besides the plants above-mentioned, a beautiful blue nymphaea was found growing in the lagoon; and around it, among the reeds and high cyperaceous plants, a small labiate, a gomphrena, the native chamomile, and a bellis were growing. the days continue very hot. at p.m. we had a thunder-storm from the southward: but little rain fell. it cleared up at seven o'clock; very heavy dew in the morning. dec. .--we travelled to-day about five miles in a north-north-west direction, and encamped at the creek where charley and his companion had seen the huts of the natives, which we found deserted. our route lay through a flat country, timbered with true box, (small acacias forming the underwood), along a fine lagoon on which were a number of ducks; farther on, the bastard box prevailed, with silver-leaved ironbark, and patches of bricklow scrub, of vitex and of the native lemon. a small tree (a species of acacia) was also seen about thirty or forty feet high, with slightly drooping branches, and lanceolate deep green phyllodia about one inch. i reconnoitred with charley, and found that the creek soon became enveloped by scrub: to the west and south-west rose ranges of a moderate elevation, parallel to which we travelled; plains frequently interspersed with scrub, which became more dense as it approached the foot of the ranges. from these appearances i determined upon sending my party back to brown's lagoons, to secure water; whilst i should examine the country in advance, in order to ascertain the extent of the scrub, in which we were entangled. dec. --during the night we had a tremendous thunder-storm from the southward with much rain, which did not cease till after midnight, and was succeeded by a hurricane from the east. we witnessed a remarkable meteor, of a fine bluish colour, stretching from e.n.e. to w.s.w. almost parallel to the thunder-clouds. the moon, a day from its full, to the eastward, probably produced this phenomenon. the bower of the bowerbird (chlamydera maculata, gould) was seen in the scrub; it is made of dry grass, and its approaches at either end were thickly strewn with snail shells and flint pebbles, which had been collected by the bird with great industry, but for what purpose we could not determine. among the shells we found a helix of a brownish colour and of an oval form, approaching that of bulimus. whilst my companions returned to brown's lagoons, mr. calvert and brown remained with me to examine the country. the creek which i followed down, almost entirely disappeared; but, five miles farther on, its channel was again observed, as deep as before, and was joined by several water-courses from the christmas ranges. the principal channel of the creek was lined with a species of melaleuca, with slightly foliacious bark. several species of sedges, and nutritious grasses, grew round the holes in which the water was constant. at about fifteen miles from the camp, the creek was joined by that which i had followed for some distance on the th december, and, about three miles farther down, it receives another considerable tributary; and, at their junction, it is a fine sheet of water. here the country begins to open, with large box-flats extending on both sides. two small creeks come in from the scrubby hills to the eastward, but, at a short distance beyond their junction, almost the whole channel disappears. soon after, we came to another creek, to the left of the first; but it disappeared in the same manner as the other. we came upon several lagoons, and found some very fine grass: the scrub reappeared on the rising ground about six miles north from the large sheet of water. a little farther on, we came to ridges of basaltic formation, openly timbered with silver-leaved ironbark, and richly covered with young grasses and herbs, identical with those of the darling downs. water holes with fine water were found at the foot of the hills. mimosa terminalis was frequent; numerous flights of partridge pigeons (geophaps scripta) were also seen. dec. .--we returned towards the camp, but, through some inattention, kept too much to the eastward, and passed through a country of an extremely diversified character, and very different in appearance from that we had just left. here we passed an extensive myal forest, the finest i had seen, covering the hilly and undulating country, interspersed with groves of the native lemon tree; a few of which were still sufficiently in fruit to afford us some refreshment. occasionally we met with long stretches of small dead trees, probably killed by bush fires, alternating with bricklow thickets: and then again crossed small plains and patches of open forest ground, which much relieved the tediousness of the ride through thick scrubs, which we had frequently to penetrate with both hands occupied in protecting the face from the branches. we also crossed chains of water-holes surrounded by a coarse stargrass; these now changed into creeks with deep and irregular beds, lined with melaleucas, and now again dwindled into shallow channels, scarcely to be recognised amidst the surrounding scrub. a week before, these holes were hopelessly dry; but a recent thunder-storm had filled them; and had also made the ground soft and heavy, and had called into life thousands of small frogs, which, by an incessant croaking, testified their satisfaction at the agreeable change. dec. .--we returned to brown's lagoons, and entered our camp just as our companions were sitting down to their christmas dinner of suet pudding and stewed cockatoos. the day was cloudy and sultry; we had had a heavy thunder-storm on christmas eve. dec. .--during the night, scud passed from the east; in the morning we had some heavy showers without wind; it cleared up at ten o'clock, and we took advantage of four hours fair weather to travel on. we again passed the huts of the natives, and encamped about seven miles farther down the creek. we were, however, scarcely housed, when heavy showers of rain began to fall, and rendered the soil, which was a stiff loam, heavy and boggy. dec. .--though we had hobbled our horses with straps and stirrup leathers, they had strayed, during the night, to the more open country, where they separated from each other in search of food; and it was not until after three hours search that charley found the greater part of them. we had, however, watched the bullocks during the night, and were therefore enabled to proceed; which we did as far as the fine sheet of water before mentioned, when charley again went in search of the missing horses, with which he returned after some time. the showers continued until about o'clock last night; at a. m. the sky became clear, and continued so through the morning, except an occasional cloud from the eastward. mr. calvert found a bauhinia in blossom; which was not only different from the bauhinia found afterwards at comet river, but also from that of the mitchell. mr. gilbert found a new species of sleeping lizard, with four lighter stripes on the dark brown ground along the back, and with dark spots on the sides. mr. roper shot some ducks, and i found a species of ancylus; besides the species of limnaea and paludina, which we had previously met with. dec. .--we travelled over the box-tree flat, until we reached the open basaltic ridges mentioned on the rd december, and kept along their base. the creek, which had disappeared on the flat, here again formed a large deep channel, lined with melaleucas. hollows existed along the hills, and water-holes ran in lines parallel to the creek; all now quite dry; a scrubby forest land alternated with open flats and bricklow thickets. water was very scarce; and having encamped my party, i started immediately to reconnoitre the country. i followed the creek to the northward, and found it lined by scrub; but the belt along its west side was narrow, and beyond it, a fine open undulating country was observed extending far to the south-west and west, in which direction the loom of distant ranges was seen. these plains, which had some patches of open forest land, were, at the request of my companion, mr. calvert, named "albinia downs." to the north-west, the mountain with the hummock lay close before us, throwing out subordinate spurs to the westward. in riding to the most northerly end of it, i fell in with a small water-course, which led me to a large creek coming from the south-west and west-south-west, with fine casuarinas fringing its banks and forming a dark tortuous line amongst the light green foliage of the trees on the neighbouring flats. about six miles lower down, it was joined by the scrub creek on which we were encamped. the sandy bed of the creek was entirely dry, and we must have encamped without water after a long and fatiguing ride, had not a heavy thunder-shower supplied us; we caught the rain in our pannikins as it dropt from our extended blankets. the thunder-storm had passed, and the sun had set, when brown, my blackfellow, suddenly threw back the blanket under which we sat, and pointed out to me a fine comet in a small clear spot of the western sky. i afterwards learned that this comet had been observed as early as the st december; but our constant travelling in level forest land had prevented us from seeing it before. the creek received the appropriate name of "comet creek." dec. .--following the creek down, we found water in chains of ponds, and watercourses coming from a belt of scrub occupying the ground between the creek and the mountains. fine, though narrow, but well-grassed flats extended along comet creek. we observed growing on the creek, the dwarf koorajong (grewia), a small rough-leaved fig tree, a species of tribulus, and the native portulaca. the latter afforded us an excellent salad; but was much more acid than i had found it in other parts of the country, where i had occasionally tasted it. the native melon of the darling downs and of the gwyder, grew here also. of animals, we saw several kangaroos, emus, native companions, and wallabies. during our return to the camp, a hot wind blew from the south-west across albinia downs: the great extent of which sufficiently accounted for the high temperature. the only thermometer i had was unfortunately broken shortly after we started; this loss was severely felt by me throughout the journey, as we had no means of ascertaining the exact temperature. i made the latitude of our camp at scrub creek to be degrees minutes seconds. dec. .--we travelled about seven miles to the north-east, crossed comet creek, and encamped at some water-holes, in a small creek coming out of the scrub below the range. our sportsmen gave chase to ten emus and a kangaroo on albinia downs: but the rottenness of the ground prevented their capture: rather tantalizing to hungry stomachs! i examined the basaltic rock on several spots, and found that it contained numerous crystals of peridot. the sand in the bed of the river contains very minute particles of igneous rock. the slopes of the range of comet creek are composed of rich black soil, in some places without trees, in others openly timbered. stones of a light coloured rock, with crystals of augite, pebbles of sandstone, of conglomerate, and of quartz, are scattered over the ground, or imbedded in the loamy beds of the water-courses. the belt of scrub at the foot of the slopes runs out in narrow strips towards the river, and these are separated by box-tree thickets, and open box-tree flats. a pea-plant, with ternate leaves, and fine yellow blossoms, was found near our camp: portulaca was very abundant. the bronze-winged pigeon lived here on the red fruit of rhagodia, and the black berries of a species of jasmine; and seems also to pick occasionally the seed vessel of a ruellia, which is very frequent on all the flats of comet creek. during the night, a thunder-storm passed to the southward, but did not reach us; at o'clock we observed very vivid lightning to the westward: the wind was from the north and north-east. dec. .--we travelled along the banks of the creek towards the north-east, but scarcely accomplished six miles, in consequence of its tortuous course. the water-hole which i had found when reconnoitring, was dried up, and we were glad to find a shallow pool, of which our thirsty cattle took immediate possession. the sand in the bed of the creek looked moist, but no water was found, after digging to a depth of five feet. the immediate neighbourhood of the creek was in some places open, in others covered with a shrubby acacia, with long glaucous, and rather fleshy phyllodia. on both sides of the high banks are deep hollows, and chains of ponds, surrounded with reeds; but now quite dry, and covered with the dead shells of limnaea, paludina, and unio. mr. roper found an agama, with light grey on the back, and a yellow belly. a small chlamy-dophorus, (jew lizard of the hunter) was also seen, and is probably identical with the animal inhabiting the banks of that river. brown accompanied me to reconnoitre the country; and we had scarcely travelled two miles along the creek, when my attention was attracted by the remains of a hut, consisting of a ridge pole, and two forked stakes, about six feet high, both having been cut with a sharp iron tomahawk. neither of us doubted that this was the work of a white man, probably a runaway from the settlement at moreton bay. a few miles farther we came to an anabranch of the creek, which turned considerably to the westward. i followed it, and found a shallow watercourse that came out of the scrub, which i also examined in search of water. it led me to another deep channel within the scrub, which looked unusually green, and contained some very large water-holes; but there was no water in them. turning round one of its bends, we saw a column of thick smoke rising from its left bank, near a fine pool of water. it was evident that a camp of natives was before us; we rode cautiously up to the water, near which we saw their numerous tracks, and then stopped to look around, but without dismounting. we were, however, very soon discovered by one of them, who, after staring at us for a moment, uttered a cry, resembling the word "whitefellow," "whitefellow," and ran off, followed by the whole party. we then rode up to the camp, and found their dinner ready, consisting of two eggs of the brush turkey, roasted opossums, bandicoots, and iguanas. in their "dillis," (small baskets) were several roots or tubers of an oblong form, about an inch in length, and half an inch broad, of a sweet taste, and of an agreeable flavour, even when uncooked; there were also balls of pipe-clay to ornament their persons for corroborris. good opossum cloaks, kangaroo nets, and dillis neatly worked of koorajong bark, were strewed about; there were also some spears, made of the bricklow acacia: all were forgotten in the suddenness of their retreat. i could not resist the temptation of tasting one of the eggs, which was excellent; but, as they seemed to have trusted to our generosity, i left every thing in its place, and departed. brown thought that one of them looked like a half-caste, and, as they had called us, as far as we understood, "whitefellows," i felt confirmed in my supposition, either that a white man was with them, or had lived among them very recently. i returned to the creek, in order to find another water-hole with water; but did not succeed, and had to encamp without it. during the night we heard the noise of a frog, "brrr, brrr;" probably a new species, for we had never heard that croak before. it seemed, however, to frighten brown, who, like all blackfellows, is very timid after night-fall. yesterday we met with a new leguminous shrub. it belongs to the section cassia, and has a long pinnate leaf, the leaflets an inch long, and half an inch broad. its pods were about a foot long, half an inch broad; and every seed was surrounded by a fleshy spongy tissue, which, when dry, gave to the pod a slightly articulate appearance. the seeds, when young, had an agreeable taste, and the tissue, when dry, was pleasantly acidulous, and was eaten by some of my companions without any ill effect, whilst others, with myself, were severely purged. to day i found the same plant in form of a tree, about thirty feet high, with a short stem, and long spreading shady branches. chapter iv swarms of cockatoos--allowance of flour further reduced--native family--the mackenzie--coal--natives speaking a different idiom--mount stewart--brown and myself miss the way back to the camp--find our party again, on the fourth day--neuman's creek--roper's peak--calvert's peak--gilbert's dome--great want of water. jan. , .--after a ride of about four miles down the creek, we came to a deep hole of good water, that had been filled by the late thunder-storms, the traces of which, however, had disappeared every where else. i found a red passion flower, with three-lobed leaves, the lobes rounded: it was twining round the trunk of a gum tree, and rooted in a light sandy alluvial soil. a new species of bauhinia, with large white blossoms, growing in small groves, or scattered in the scrub, particularly near the creeks, was conspicuous for its elegance, and was the greatest ornament of this part of the country. it is a tree about twenty-five feet high, with long drooping branches; the foliage is of a rich green colour, and affords a fine shade. a climbing capparis, with broad lanceolate leaves, had also large white showy blossoms; and a fine specimen of this plant was seen growing in the fork of an old box tree, about twelve or fifteen feet from the ground; it was in fruit, but unfortunately was not yet ripe. there was also another species of the same genus, with yellow blossoms, in other respects very similar in appearance to the first. the white cedar was still abundant. when i returned to the camp, i found my companions busily engaged in straining the mud, which had remained in the water-hole after our horses and cattle had drunk and rolled in it. messrs. gilbert and calvert had discovered a few quarts of water in the hollow stump of a tree; and mr. roper and charley had driven the horses and cattle to another water-hole, about two miles off. our latitude was degrees minutes seconds. jan. .--i moved my camp to the water-hole, near which i had met with the natives, and halted at the outside of a bauhinia grove. on visiting the spot where the blacks were encamped, it appeared that they had returned and carried away all their things, probably well contented that we had not taken more than the turkey's egg. the mosquitoes were a little troublesome after sunset and in the early part of the night; but, after that time, it was too cold for them. the flies were a much greater nuisance; at times absolutely intolerable, from the pertinacity with which they clung to the corners of our eyes, to the lips, to the ears, and even to the sores on our fingers. the wind was generally from the eastward during the morning, with cumuli; but these disappeared in the afternoon. brown found a crab, (a species of gecarcinus?) the carapace about an inch and a quarter long, and one and a half broad, the left claws much larger than the right, the antepenultimate joint having a strong tooth on the upper side; it is found in moist places and in the lagoons, and, when these are dried up, it retires under logs and large stones. mr. gilbert saw a large grey wallabi, and a small one which he thought was new. another species of agama was found, differing from the former by its general grey colour, with black spots on the back. jan. .--the night was clear; a fine easterly wind prevailed during the morning, with cumuli, which disappeared towards noon, when the sky became cloudless. thunder-storms generally follow a very sultry calm morning. we travelled about ten miles in a n.n.e. direction, and came to the farthest water-hole i had seen when out reconnoitring. we passed in our journey through a very scrubby country, opening occasionally into fine flats thinly timbered with true box, which was at that time in blossom. i noticed a small tree (santalum oblongatum, r. br.), very remarkable for having its branches sometimes slightly drooping, and at other times erect, with membranous glaucous elliptical leaves, from an inch to an inch and a half long, and three-quarters broad, with very indistinct nerves, and producing a small purple fruit, of very agreeable taste. i had seen this tree formerly at the gwyder, and in the rosewood scrubs about moreton bay, and i also found it far up to the northward, in the moderately open vitex and bricklow scrubs. several small lizards (tiliqua), probably only varieties of the same species, amused us with the quickness of their motions when hunting for insects on the sunny slopes near the water-holes, and on the bark of the fallen trees; some were striped, others spotted, and there were some of a simple brownish iridescent colour. our latitude was degrees minutes seconds. jan. .--brown accompanied me on my usual errand, to find, if possible, a larger supply of water, on which we might fall back, if the creek did not soon change its character. the scrub came close to the banks of the creek, but was occasionally interrupted by basaltic ridges with open forest, stretching to the westward. these ridges were on all sides surrounded with scrub, which did not flourish where the basaltic formation prevailed. broad but shallow channels, deepening from time to time into large water-holes, follow in a parallel direction the many windings of the creek, with which they have occasionally a small communication. they seem to be the receptacles of the water falling within the scrub during the rainy season: their banks are sometimes very high and broken, and the bed is of a stiff clay, like that of the scrub, and is scattered over with pebbles of quartz and conglomerate. whilst these melaleuca channels keep at a distance varying from one to three miles from the creek, winding between the slight elevations of a generally flat country--long shallow hollows and a series of lagoons exist near the creek, from which they are separated by a berg, and are bounded on the other side by a slight rise of the ground. the hollows are generally without trees, but are covered with a stiff stargrass; and they frequently spread out into melon flats, covered with true box. it is difficult to travel along the creek, especially with pack bullocks, as the scrub frequently comes close up to its banks; but the hollows, during the dry season, are like roads. in the channels within the scrub i found a large supply of water, in holes surrounded by sedges and a broad-leaved polygonum, amongst which grew a species of abutilon; the neighbouring dry channel was one beautiful carpet of verdure. in the scrub i found a plant belonging to the amaryllideae (calostemma luteum?) with a cluster of fine yellow blossoms. flights of ducks were on the water, and scores of little birds were fluttering through the grasses and sedges, or hopping over the moist mud in pursuit of worms and insects. the water-holes were about six miles from our camp. i continued my ride about four miles farther along the creek, where i found the scrub had retired, and was replaced by an open silver-leaved ironbark forest, in which the rich green feed relieved our eyes from the monotonous grey of the scrub, and quickened the steps of our horses. here also basaltic ridges approached the creek, and even entered into its bed; among them were several fine water-holes. in our return to the camp we found abundance of water in the lagoons near the river, corresponding to the water-holes within the scrub. this local occurrence of water depends either upon thunder-storms favouring some tracts more than others, or upon the country here being rather more hilly, which allows the rainwater to collect in deep holes at the foot of the slopes. jan. .--we moved down to the water-holes of the basaltic ridges, being about nine miles in a n.n.w. direction from our last camp. at three o'clock a.m. clouds formed very rapidly over the whole sky--which had been clear during the previous part of the night--and threatened us with wet. in the morning some few drops fell, with slight casterly winds; it cleared up, however, about nine o'clock a.m. with a northerly breeze. marsilea grows everywhere on the flats; and a fine little pea plant with a solitary red blossom, was found amongst the basaltic rocks round the water-hole. we observed, growing along the creek, another species of portulaca, with linear fleshy leaves, erect stem, and small yellow flowers; and a half-shrubby malvaccous plant, with small clustered yellow blossoms: the latter is common at the outside of scrubs in the moreton bay district. we also remarked, within the scrub, a small tree, with bright-green foliage, and three-winged capsules slightly united at the base; and another small tree, with deep-green coloured leaves, and two-winged capsules united in all their length; the last is nearly allied to dodonaea. i never before saw nor heard so many cockatoos as i did at comet creek. swarms of them preceded us for one or two miles, from tree to tree, making the air ring with their incessant screams, and then returning in long flights to their favourite haunts, from which we had disturbed them. we saw four kangaroos; and shot some bronze-winged pigeons; in the crop of one i found a small helix with a long spire,--a form i do not remember ever having seen before in the colony. a considerable number of small brown snakes were living in the water-hole; they were generally seen in the shallow water with their heads above the surface, but, at our approach, dived into the deepest part of the hole. our daily allowance of flour was now reduced to three pounds. our provisions disappear rapidly, and the wear and tear of our clothes and harness is very great; but, as our wants increase, our desires become more easily satisfied. the green hide furnishes ample means to preserve our shoes, by covering them with mocassins, and with materials for repairing the harness. the latitude of this camp was degrees minutes seconds. jan. .--leaving my companions at the camp well provided with both grass and water, i followed the creek, with brown, in expectation of a long ride, as messrs. gilbert and roper had been forward about nine miles in search of water, but without finding any. we very soon left the open country, and entered the vilest scrub we had ever before encountered. the parallel lines of lagoons disappeared, and the banks of the creek became very broken by gullies, so that the stiff soil of the neighbouring scrub, not being intercepted by lagoons, is washed by heavy rains into the bed of the creek, which was no longer sandy, but inclined to the formation of water-holes, the clay rendering it impervious to water. the casuarina, which likes a light sandy soil, disappeared at the same time, and was succeeded by the narrow-leaved melaleuca. the flooded-gum, however, kept its place, and frequently attained to a great size. about twelve miles from the camp, a small water-hole appeared in the bed of the creek. this was the first we had met with while travelling along its banks a distance of seventy miles; but, in proceeding about four miles farther, we passed a succession of fine water-holes well supplied with water; and others were found in the adjoining creeks. afterwards, however, the water suddenly disappeared again; and for eight miles farther its bed was entirely dry, although fine grass was growing in it. we had every prospect of passing the night without water, as the sun was sinking fast; but we fortunately reached a small hole before dark, containing a little water, which we had to share with our horses, with a small brown snake, and with a large flight of bronze-winged pigeons; the latter, surprised at our presence, first alighted on the neighbouring trees to observe us, and then hurried down to take their evening draught. jan. .--i travelled farther down the river, and again came, after a ride of three miles, into a well-watered country, but still occupied by scrub; in which the capparis, with its large white sweet-scented blossoms, was very frequent; but its sepals, petals, and stamens dropped off at the slightest touch. its fruit was like a small apple covered with warts, and its pungent seeds were imbedded in a yellow pulp, not at all disagreeable to eat. at last the scrub ceased, and, over an open rise on the right side of comet creek, a range of blue mountains was discovered by my companion, promising a continuation of good country. at this time a fine water-hole was at hand, and invited us to stop and make our luncheon on dried beef and a pot of tea. whilst i was preparing the tea, brown went to shoot pigeons; and, whilst thus employed, he was surprised by the cooee of a blackfellow; and, on looking round, he saw one on the opposite bank of the creek making signs to him, as if to ask in what direction we were going. brown pointed down the creek; the black then gave him to understand that he was going upward to join his wife. we started about half-an-hour afterwards, and met with him, about two miles up the creek, with his wife, his daughter, and his son. he was a fine old man, but he, as well as his family, were excessively frightened; they left all their things at the fire, as if offering them to us, but readily accepted two pigeons, which had been shot by brown. we asked them for water (yarrai) which, according to what we could understand from their signs, was plentiful lower down the creek. in returning homewards we cut off considerable angles of the creek, and passed through a much finer and more open country. on its left bank we passed a scrub creek containing magnificent lagoons. at my arrival in the camp, i was informed that natives had been close at hand, although none had showed themselves. jan. .--i moved my camp about eight miles to the northward, and halted at a fine water-hole in a scrub creek joining comet creek. a pretty little diver was amusing himself on the water. the country is very rich in game. kangaroos and wallabies are very frequent; several brush turkeys were seen, and the partridge and bronze-winged pigeons are very plentiful. our latitude was degrees minutes. jan. .--in travelling down to the water-hole, where we had met the blackfellow and his family, we kept a little too much to the westward, in hope of finding a more open country; instead, however, of an improvement, we encountered sandy hills covered with a dense low scrub and cypress-pine. the latter almost invariably grows on the slight sandstone elevations in a scrubby country. after surmounting many difficulties, we came upon a broad scrub creek, in the dry bed of which we travelled down to comet creek, which we followed, and at last reached our intended camping place. our cattle and luggage had suffered severely, and we devoted the next day to sundry repairs. the weather was very hot: the night clear. our latitude was degrees minutes seconds. jan. .--to prevent unnecessary loss of time by my reconnoitring excursions, and to render them less fatiguing to myself, i arranged that both the blacks should go with me, in order that i might send one back from the first favourable camping place, to bring the party on, whilst i continued to explore the country with the other. under this arrangement, therefore, i went forward, and, following the creek, it was found to sweep to the eastward, round a high plain of rich black soil, and covered with luxuriant vegetation. this plain is basaltic, but, in the valley of the creek, sandstone crops out below it. the slopes from the plain to the creek are steep, and torn by deep gullies, which made travelling very fatiguing. as the creek again turned to the west and north-west, the water-holes increased both in size and number, although the flats within the valley were limited and intersected by watercourses. i sent charley back when we were about seven miles n.w. by n. from our camp, and proceeded with brown down the creek, which, at about four miles farther, to my inexpressible delight, joined a river coming from the west and north-west, and flowing to the east and north-east. it was not, however, running, but formed a chain of small lakes, from two to three and even eight miles in length, and frequently from fifty to one hundred yards broad, offering to our view the finest succession of large sheets of water we had seen since leaving the brisbane. its course continued through a very deep and winding valley, bounded by high but generally level land. the gullies going down to the river were generally covered with a belt of thick scrub, as was also the high land nearest to it; but, farther off, the country appeared to be more open, plains alternating with open forest land, but yet, in places, much occupied by tracts of almost impervious scrub of various extent. we met frequent traces of the natives, who had recently gone down the river, having previously burned the grass, leaving very little for our horses and cattle. at o'clock p.m. a fine strong northerly breeze came up the river, flowing along its broad open valley, and which i supposed to be the sea breeze. this supposition was somewhat confirmed by a similar breeze occurring at the same time on the following evening. the plains are basaltic, and occasionally covered with pebbles of white and iron-coloured quartz and conglomerate, and are in the vicinity of slight elevations, which are probably composed of sandstone and conglomerate, and usually covered with low scrub and cypress-pine. sandstone crops out in the gullies of the valley, in horizontal strata, some of which are hard and good for building, others like the blue clay beds of newcastle, with the impressions of fern-leaves identical with those of that formation. at the junction of comet creek and the river, i found water-worn fragments of good coal, and large trunks of trees changed into ironstone. i called this river the "mackenzie," in honour of sir evan mackenzie, bart., as a small acknowledgment of my gratitude for the very great assistance which he rendered me in the preparations for my expedition. farther down the river, the country became better watered, even at a distance from the river; some small creeks, winding down between scrubby sandstone hills, were full of water, and a chain of fine lagoons was crossed, covered with splendid blue nymphaeas. large coveys of partridge-pigeons rose from the burnt grass as we passed along, and ducks and pelicans were numerous on the stretches of water in the bed of the river. heaps of fresh-water muscles lined the water-holes, which were teeming with fish, apparently of considerable size, as their splashing startled me several times during the night, and made me believe, for the moment, that a large tribe of natives were bathing. a very stiff high grass became very general along the river. on the plains there were fields of native carrots, now dry; also of vervain and burr. the long-podded cassia was plentiful, and its young seeds tasted well, but considerably affected the bowels. cumuli passed from the north-east during the morning: the afternoon was clear, and the night bright. when i returned to the camp on the th january, my companions told me, that upon their journey across the high plains they had observed a high range to the north-west. jan. .--i removed my camp down comet creek, and followed the mackenzie for a few miles, as far as it was easy travelling along its bank. comet creek joins the mackenzie in a very acute angle; the direction of the latter being east, and the course of the former, in its lower part, north-west. our anglers caught several fine fishes and an eel, in the water-holes of the mackenzie. the former belonged to the siluridae, and had four fleshy appendages on the lower lip, and two on the upper; dorsal fin spine rays, and an adipose fin, pectoral spine rays; ventral rays; anal rays; caudal - rays; velvety teeth in the upper and lower jaws, and in the palatal bones. head flat, belly broad; back of a greenish silver-colour; belly silvery white; length of the body - inches. it made a singular noise when taken out of the water. we found here unios of a fine pink and purple colour inside the valves, and a new species of cyclas with longitudinal ribs. small black ants, and little flies with wings crossing each other, annoy us very much, the one creeping all over our bodies and biting us severely, and the other falling into our soup and tea, and covering our meat; but the strong night-breeze protects us from the mosquitoes. a pretty lizard (tiliqua) of small size, with yellowish spots on a brown ground, was caught, and seemed to be plentiful here about. the acacia, with very long linear drooping leaves, that had been observed at the dawson, re-appeared both on comet creek and the banks of the mackenzie. our latitude was degrees minutes seconds. jan. .--we travelled about nine miles e.n.e. over the high land, and through open forest land, and several plains skirted on both sides by scrub. i observed a new species of flindersia, a small tree about thirty feet high, with thin foliage and very regular branches, forming a spire. the latitude was degrees minutes. jan. .--after travelling about three miles in a north-easterly direction along the banks of the river--having, at about a mile from our camp, crossed a good-sized creek on its left bank--the river took a sudden bend to the westward, and a large creek coming from the northward, joined it almost at a right angle to its course. as we proceeded, we came suddenly upon two black women hurrying out of the water, but who, on reaching a distance in which they thought themselves safe, remained gazing at us as we slowly and peaceably passed by. in the bed of the river, which was here broad and sandy, a bean was gathered, bearing racemes of pink blossoms, and spreading its long slender stem over the ground, or twining it round shrubs and trees: its pods were from three to five inches long, and about half an inch broad, containing from four to six seeds, very similar to the horse-bean. this plant was afterwards found growing in the sandy beds, or along the bergs of almost all the broad rivers, and was always a welcome sight; for the seeds, after roasting and pounding them, afforded us a very agreeable substitute for coffee. we passed some very high cliffs, which showed a fine geological section of horizontal layers of sandstone and coal-slate. there were also some layers of very good coal, but the greater part of those visible were of a slaty character. nodules of ironstone were very frequent in the sandstone. after having fixed upon a place to pitch the tent, and after some refreshment, i started with my two black companions upon a reconnoitring excursion along the course of the river, which made several large bends, though its general direction was to the north-east. we passed over some very fine flats of bastard-box, silver-leaved ironbark, and white gum, with a few scattered acacia-trees, remarkable for their drooping foliage, and mentioned under the date nd december. farther on, we came again to scrub, which uniformly covered the edge of the high land towards the river. here, within the scrub, on the side towards the open country we found many deserted camps of the natives, which, from their position, seemed to have been used for shelter from the weather, or as hiding-places from enemies: several places had evidently been used for corroborris, and also for fighting. on a white-gum, which has long lanceolate green leaves, i found a species of loranthus, with leaves resembling those of the silver-leaved ironbark (eucalyptus pulverulentus). having reached a point down the river, in about lat. degrees minutes, from which some low ranges to the n.w. became visible, i returned to the camp. at the point where it turned, a dyke of basalt traverses the river. the country still maintained its favourable character, and the river contained fine sheets of water similar to those already described, on one of which a pelican floated undisturbed by our presence. large heaps of muscle-shells, which have given food to successive generations of the natives, cover the steep sloping banks of the river, and indicate that this part of the country is very populous. the tracks of the natives were well beaten, and the fire-places in their camps numerous. the whole country had been on fire; smouldering logs, scattered in every direction, were often rekindled by the usual night breeze, and made us think that the blackfellows were collecting in numbers around us,--and more particularly on the opposite side of the river; added to which, the incessant splashing of numerous large fishes greatly contributed to augment our fears. as a matter of precaution, therefore, we tied our horses near our sleeping-place, and gathered the grass which grew along the edge of the water for them to eat; and it was not till daylight that our alarm vanished. jan. .--having now ascertained, beyond a doubt, that the mackenzie flowed to the north-east, i returned to the camp, resolved upon leaving it and renewing my course to the west-north-west and north-west; but, as it was extremely doubtful whether we should find water in travelling across the country without a leading watercourse, and as we had failed in procuring a sufficient quantity of game, i determined to take this favourable opportunity of killing a bullock before leaving the river. jan. .--on returning, we found our party encamped about four miles lower down the river than where i had left them. i then removed them to a more convenient spot about two miles still lower down (lat. degrees minutes seconds). just at the moment we were preparing to shoot the bullock, we heard the cooee of a native, and in a short time two men were seen approaching and apparently desirous of having a parley. accordingly, i went up to them; the elder, a well made man, had his left front tooth out, whilst the younger had all his teeth perfect; he was of a muscular and powerful figure, but, like the generality of australian aborigines, had rather slender bones; he had a splendid pair of moustachios, but his beard was thin. they spoke a language entirely different from that of the natives of darling downs, but "yarrai" still meant water. charley, who conversed with them for some time, told me that they had informed him, as well as he could understand, that the mackenzie flowed to the north-east. brown found an empty seed-vessel of the nelumbium, in their camp. at sunset we killed our bullock, and during the th and th occupied ourselves in cutting up the meat, drying it in the sun, frying the fat, preparing the hide, and greasing our harness. charley, in riding after the horses, came to some fine lagoons, which were surrounded by a deep green belt of nelumbiums. this plant grows, with a simple tap root, in the deep soft mud, bearing one large peltate leaf on a leaf stalk, about eight feet high, and from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter, the flower-stalk being of the same length or even longer, crowned with a pink flower resembling that of a nymphaea, but much larger: its seed-vessel is a large cone, with perpendicular holes in its cellular tissue, containing seeds, about three quarters of an inch in length. we found the following shells in the river, viz.; two species of melania, a paludina, the lanceolate limnaea, a cone-shaped physa (?), a cyclas with longitudinal ribs, and the unio before described. murphy shot an ostioglossum, a malacopterygious fish, about three feet long, with very large scales, each scale having a pink spot. we afterwards found this fish in the waters flowing into the gulf of carpentaria; both on its eastern and western sides: and, according to the natives of port essington, to whom i showed the dried specimen, it is also found in the permanent water-holes of the cobourg peninsula. jan. .--leaving my party to complete the process of drying and packing the charqui, i started with my two black companions to examine the country to the north-west. after passing the gullies in the immediate neighbourhood of the river, we came to sandstone ridges covered with an almost impenetrable scrub; chiefly composed of stiff and prickly shrubs, many of them dead, with dry branches filling the intervals. as no grass grew on the poor soil, the bush-fires--those scavengers of the forest--are unable to enter and consume the dead wood, which formed the principal obstacle to our progress. difficult, however, as it was to penetrate such thickets with pack-bullocks, i had no choice left, and therefore proceeded in the same direction. in a short time, we reached an open bricklow scrub containing many dry water-holes, which, farther on, united into a watercourse. we passed a creek flowing to the eastward to join the mackenzie, and continued our route through patches of bricklow scrub, alternating with bastard-box forest, and open vitex scrub, in which the moreton bay ash was very plentiful. about eight miles from our camp, we came upon an open forest of narrow-leaved ironbark (e. resinifera) and bastard-box, covering gentle slopes, from which shallow well-grassed hollows descended to the westward. coming again on scrub, and following it down in a westerly direction, we came to a dry creek; and found water in holes along the scrub. considering this a favourable place for the camp, i sent charley back, to guide my party through the scrub; whilst i proceeded with brown to examine the creek upwards, to the north-west. after a ride of about five miles, during which several fine lagoons were seen, we reached a prominent hill of sandstone formation, surrounded by a most beautiful, open, silver-leaved ironbark forest, changing occasionally into plains without a tree. i ascended the hill, and obtained a very extensive view from its summit. a range of peaks bore n. degrees w.; another range, with undulating outline, was seen to the south-east; and another less prominent range bore n. degrees w. the hill is in latitude degrees minutes, and bears the name of mount stewart, in compliment to mr. stewart, veterinary surgeon of sydney, to whom i am indebted for great assistance and most valuable advice. towards the north-east, the country appeared to be very level, with only one low ridge, apparently at a great distance. to the south, and also to the west, some long-stretched flat-topped hills were visible, several extending as far as the eye could reach. i continued my ride in the direction of the range of peaks to the north-west, over an undulating country of varied character, now extending in fine downs and plains, now covered with belts of thick bricklow scrub, with occasional ridges of open silver-leaved ironbark forest. among the latter was a rather stunted gum-tree, with a black scaly butt; it was very frequent, and greatly resembled the moreton bay ash. the numerous watercourses which i crossed, were all dry; and, when the approach of night compelled us to select a camping place, which we did in a small grove of bricklow, we should have been without water, had not a thunder-storm with light showers of rain, enabled us to collect about a quart of it to make some tea. the next morning we continued our examination, passing over a country of scrub, plain, and forest land; and made our breakfast, and watered our horses, at a small pool of water that was collected in a hole of a little creek, after the last night's thunder-storm. about four miles from this spot, we again found permanent water, near the scrub; and, at three miles farther on, crossed a fine creek, with a reedy bed, along which lightly timbered flats extended; and, about six miles to the w. n. w., we found another creek, separated from the former by openly timbered ridges, and occasional patches of scrub. the flats along this creek and its tributaries were covered with the most luxuriant grass; but are without permanent water, although at present supplied by the late thunder-storms. brown gave chase to an emu with several young ones, but did not succeed in capturing any of them. we now commenced our return to the camp, and, being impatient to get on, put our horses into a canter; the consequence of which was that we lost our way, and were ignorant as to which side we had left the tracks. thinking, however, that mount stewart would guide us, when we should come in sight of it, i kept a south-easterly course, which soon brought us into a thick bricklow scrub. in passing the large flats of the last creek, which was here full of fine reedy water-holes, we observed a native; and brown cooeed to him, and by a sign requested him to wait for us: but he was so frightened, by the sudden appearance of two men cantering towards him, that he took to his heels, and soon disappeared in the neighbouring scrub. we rode the whole day through a bricklow thicket, which, in only three or four places, was interrupted by narrow strips of open country, along creeks on which fine flooded-gums were growing. the density of the scrub, which covered an almost entirely level country, prevented our seeing farther than a few yards before us, so that we passed our landmark, and, when night approached, and the country became more open, we found ourselves in a part of the country totally unknown to us. at the outside of the scrub, however, we were cheered by the sight of some large lagoons, on whose muddy banks there were numerous tracts of emus and kangaroos. in a recently deserted camp of the aborigines, we found an eatable root, like the large tubers of dahlia, which we greedily devoured, our appetite being wonderfully quickened by long abstinence and exercise. brown fortunately shot two pigeons; and, whilst we were discussing our welcome repast, an emu, probably on its way to drink, approached the lagoon, but halted when it got sight of us, then walked slowly about, scrutinizing us with suspicious looks, and, when brown attempted to get near it, trotted off to a short distance, and stopped again, and continued to play this tantalizing trick until we were tired; when, mounting our horses, we proceeded on our way. supposing, from the direction of the waters, that we had left our former tracks to the left, i turned to the north-east to recover them; but it soon became very dark, and a tremendous thunder-storm came down upon us. we were then on a high box-tree ridge, in view of a thick scrub; we hobbled our horses, and covered ourselves with our blankets; but the storm was so violent, that we were thoroughly drenched. as no water-holes were near us, we caught the water that ran from our blankets; and, as we were unable to rekindle our fire, which had been extinguished by the rain, we stretched our blankets over some sticks to form a tent, and notwithstanding our wet and hungry condition, our heads sank wearily on the saddles--our usual bush pillow--and we slept soundly till morning dawned. we now succeeded in making a fire, so that we had a pot of tea and a pigeon between us. after this scanty breakfast, we continued our course to the north-east. brown thought himself lost, got disheartened, grumbled and became exceedingly annoying to me; but i could not help feeling for him, as he complained of severe pain in his legs. we now entered extensive ironbark flats, which probably belong to the valley of the mackenzie. giving our position every consideration, i determined upon returning to the mountains at which we had turned, and took a north-west course. the country was again most wretched, and at night we almost dropped from our saddles with fatigue. another pigeon was divided between us, but our tea was gone. oppressed by hunger, i swallowed the bones and the feet of the pigeon, to allay the cravings of my stomach. a sleeping lizard with a blunt tail and knobby scales, fell into our hands, and was of course roasted and greedily eaten. brown now complained of increased pain in his feet, and lost all courage. "we are lost, we are lost," was all he could say. all my words and assurances, all my telling him that we might be starved for a day or two, but that we should most certainly find our party again, could not do more than appease his anxiety for a few moments. the next morning, the st, we proceeded, but kept a little more to the westward, and crossed a fine openly timbered country; but all the creeks went either to the east or to the north. at last, after a ride of about four miles, brown recognized the place where we had breakfasted on the th, when all his gloom and anxiety disappeared at once. i then returned on my south-east course, and arrived at the camp about one o'clock in the afternoon; my long absence having caused the greatest anxiety amongst my companions. i shall have to mention several other instances of the wonderful quickness and accuracy with which brown as well as charley were able to recognize localities which they had previously seen. the impressions on their retina seem to be naturally more intense than on that of the european; and their recollections are remarkably exact, even to the most minute details. trees peculiarly formed or grouped, broken branches, slight clevations of the ground--in fact, a hundred things, which we should remark only when paying great attention to a place--seem to form a kind of daguerreotype impression on their minds, every part of which is readily recollected. i rejoined my party at the creek which comes from mount stewart. the natives had approached mr. gilbert when out shooting, with a singular, but apparently friendly, noise: "ach! ach! ach!" they had heard the cooce of my blackfellow charley, and thought mr. gilbert wanted them; but, as he was alone, he thought it prudent to retire to the camp. the thunder-storm, which we experienced on the night of the th, had completely changed the aspect of the country round mount stewart. all the melon-holes of the scrub, all the ponds along the creeks, all the water-holes in the beds of the creeks, were full of water; the creek at which we encamped, was running; the grass looked fresh and green; the ground, previously rotten, was now boggy, and rendered travelling rather difficult; but we were always at home, for we found water and grass everywhere. the days from the th to the rd were exceedingly hot, but, during the early morning and the evening, the air was delightfully cool. light casterly and northerly winds stirred during the day. cumuli passed from the same quarters; and generally gathered during the afternoon, and became very heavy. the thunder-storms veered round from the west by the north to the eastward. the nights of the st, nd, and rd were bright and cold, with heavy dew. on the morning of the rd we had misty, loose, confluent clouds, travelling slowly from the north-east, with some drops of rain. i was now convinced that the rainy season had set in near the sea coast; for the clouds which came from that direction, had evidently been charged with rain; but, in passing over a large tract of dry country, they were exhausted of their moisture, and the north-easterly winds were too weak to carry them quickly so far inland. the whole country i had travelled over, is composed of sandstone, with probably occasional outbreaks of igneous rocks, as indicated by the rich black soil. the plains and creeks abound in fossil wood, changed into iron-ore and silica. the soil is generally good, but some of the sandy flats are rotten: and the ridges are covered with pebbles. the trees, with the exception of the flooded-gum, are of stunted habit; and scrub is here developed ad infinitum. a grevillea (g. ceratophylla r.br.?) with pinnatifid leaves, a small tree from fifteen to twenty feet high, and about four inches in diameter; a melaleuca about the same size, with stiff lanceolate leaves, about two inches long and half an inch broad, and slightly foliaceous bark; and an acacia with glaucous bipinnate leaves, of the section of the brush acacias of moreton bay--grew on the sandy soil along the ridges; and a handsome convolvulus with pink flowers adorned the rich plain south-east of mount stewart. i examined the wood of all the arborescent proteaceae which i met with, and observed in all of them, with the exception of persoonia, the great development of the medullary rays, as it exists in several species of casuarina. on the rd, th, and th january, the party moved over the country which i had reconnoitred, to a place about twenty-five miles north-west from mount stewart's creek, and about thirty-four miles from the mackenzie. in the vicinities of several of the camps, charley found many nests of the native bee, full of the sweetest and most aromatic honey we had ever tasted. the wild marjoram, which grows abundantly here, and imparts its fragrance even to the air, seemed to be the principal source from which the bee obtained its honey. we collected a considerable quantity of the marjoram, and added it to our tea, with the double intention, of improving its flavour, and of saving our stock; we also used it frequently as a condiment in our soup. to the westward of our camp of the th january, was a large hill, which i called "west hill;" and, to the north and north-east, several ridges confined the large valley of our creek and its tributaries. from a sandstone peak to the north-east, which i descended with mr. roper, i again saw the range of peaks which i had first observed from mount stewart in a w.n.w. direction; and the country to the north and north-east was evidently very mountainous: the valleys descending in a northerly direction. we rode along the ridges on a w.n.w. and west course, and came into the valley of another creek, which we crossed; and, passing several other ridges, which appear to be connected with west hill, descended to a fine creek, in which we found a reedy water-hole of considerable size. the character of all these creeks is the same. extensive flats of rotten ground, but beautifully clothed with tufts of grass, openly timbered with moreton bay ash and flooded-gum, ascend into gentle grassy slopes of silver-leaved ironbark and bloodwood, and then rise into sandstone ridges with acacia thickets and shrubby plants peculiar to the sandstone formation. an acacia with very large falcate, glaucous phyllodia, and the euphorbiaceous severn-tree, were very plentiful; and crinum grew in thousands on the sandy flats. after a very hot day, the night was bright and dewy: a light breeze was felt at o'clock, which cooled the air. jan. .--i removed my camp to the reedy water-hole of yesterday, about five miles in the direction of west or west by north from our last encampment. here i planted the last peach-stones, with which mr. newman, the present superintendent of the botanic garden in hobart town, had kindly provided me. it is, however, to be feared that the fires, which annually over-run the whole country, and particularly here, where the grass is rich and deep even to the water's edge, will not allow them to grow. to the creek on which we were encamped i gave the name of "newman's creek," in honour of mr. newman. it flows in a south-east and southerly course, and unites probably with west hill creek, on which we were encamped the day before, and with the large creek which we crossed on the th; both of which probably belong to the system of the mackenzie. mr. calvert and charley accompanied me in an excursion to the w.n.w., but, having crossed some ridges and coming to scrub, we took a direction to the northward. fine bastard-box flats and ironbark slopes occupy the upper part of newman's creek. on the ridges, we observed persoonia with long falcate leaves; the grass-tree (xanthorrhaea); the rusty gum, and the melaleuca of mount stewart. having ascended the sandstone ridge at the head of newman's creek, we found ourselves on a table land out of which rose the peaks for which we were steering, and from which we were separated by fine downs, plains, and a lightly timbered country, with belts of narrow-leaved ironbark growing on a sandy soil. on one of the plains quartzite cropped out; and silex and fossil wood lay scattered over the rich black soil: the latter broke readily, like asbestos, into the finest filaments, much resembling the fossil wood of van diemen's land. it is difficult to describe the impressions which the range of noble peaks, rising suddenly out of a comparatively level country, made upon us. we had travelled so much in a monotonous forest land, with only now and then a glimpse of distant ranges through the occasional clearings in the dismal scrub, that any change was cheering. here an entirely open country--covered with grass, and apparently unbounded to the westward; now ascending, first, in fine ranges, and forming a succession of almost isolated, gigantic, conical, and dome-topped mountains, which seemed to rest with a flat unbroken base on the plain below--was spread before our delighted eyes. the sudden alteration of the scene, therefore, inspired us with feelings that i cannot attempt to describe. proceeding onwards we passed some water-holes; but, farther on, the water failed, except here and there in a few pools, in the creeks coming from the range, that had been filled by the last thunder-showers. these pools were generally lined with patches of a narrow-leaved tea tree; and were full of basaltic pebbles. the breeze set in full and strong, as usual, at a quarter past eight o'clock; the night was bright and cool, and the following morning inexpressibly beautiful. we enjoyed a dish of cockatoos for supper: the place abounds with them. jan. .--charley went back to bring forward our party, whilst i proceeded with mr. calvert to reconnoitre the plains under the peaks, feeling confident of finding water at their foot. we passed over plains and lightly-timbered basaltic ridges, between which shallow creeks came down from the range, but we only found water in one or two holes. the plains in the neighbourhood of our intended camp were richly grassed; and a species of hypoxis and the native borage (trichodesma zeylanica, r. br.) adorned them with their bright yellow and blue blossoms. farther on, however, the grass had been burnt, and was not yet recovered. as the day advanced, and the black soil became heated by the almost vertical sun, the heat from above and from below became almost insupportable. three peaks of this range were particularly striking; two of them seemed to be connected by a lower ridge, in a direction from s.e. to n.w. the south-eastern i called "roper's peak," after my companion, who afterwards ascended it with murphy and brown, and the north-western, "scott's peak," after helenus scott, esq., of glendon, hunter's river, who had kindly assisted me in my expedition. in a w. by s. direction from these, and distant four or five miles, is another peak, to which i gave the name of "macarthur's peak," after mr. william macarthur, of cambden. all these peaks are composed of domite; and roper's and scott's peaks are surrounded by a sandstone formation, covered with a dense low scrub. i passed between roper's peak and macarthur's peak, to the northward, and came in sight of another very remarkable cone, which i afterwards called calvert's peak, after my fellow-traveller, in consequence of his having suffered severely in its neighbourhood, as i shall soon have to mention. i traced a creek at the east side of macarthur's peak to its head, and went down another on its west side to a large plain, which seemed to be limited to the westward by openly-timbered ridges. as we advanced into the plain, a most remarkable and interesting view of a great number of peaks and domes opened to the n.n.w. and n.w. there seemed no end of apparently isolated conical mountains, which, as they resemble very much the chain of extinct volcanos in auvergne, might easily be mistaken for such; but, after changing the aspect a little, they assumed the appearance of immense tents, with very short ridge-poles. to the most remarkable of them, which had the appearance of an immense cupola, i gave the name of gilbert's dome, after my companion. far to the n.n.w. a blue peak was seen rising behind a long range of mountains, and from the latter a valley seemed to descend to the w.n.w. a round hill, of a reddish colour, to the south or south-west of macarthur's peak, was called mount lowe, after r. lowe, esq. of sydney. the general direction of these mountains seems to be from n. degrees w. to s. degrees e., and, if we compare them with the line of the coast in the neighbourhood of broadsound and shoalwater bay, bearing due east, it will be found that they are parallel to its direction. all the creeks which we examined, and which fell to the south-west, were entirely dry. on the ridges which bounded the plain to the westward, i met with acacia pendula; and i may here remark that this appears to be the most northern limit of its habitat. here also, in an old camp of the natives, we found a heap of muscle-shells, which were probably taken from some very deep and shady holes in the creek, but which were now without the slightest indication of moisture. water failing us on the western slopes, i crossed to the east side, under the idea and hope that the north and north-east sides of the range, from being more exposed to the sea winds, would be better provided with water; and, passing to the left of calvert's peak, over low basaltic ridges, i came to a creek with a shallow bed, winding between basaltic ridges to the north-east. these ridges were lightly timbered, and covered with an abundance of dry grass: dark-green patches of scrub raised our hopes from time to time, and quickened our pace; but in vain, for no water was to be found. fatigued and exhausted by thirst, both rider and horse wished for an early halt. we stopped, therefore, and hobbled our horses; and, when i had spread my saddle, my head sank between its flaps, and i slept soundly until the cool night-air, and the brilliant moonlight, awoke me. i found my poor companion, mr. calvert, suffering severely from thirst, more so indeed than i did; but i was unfortunately labouring under a most painful diarrhoea, which of itself exhausted my strength. in the morning, to add to our distress, our horses were not to be found, and mr. calvert had a walk of four hours to get them: the poor brutes had rambled away in search of water, but found none. the scream of a cockatoo made me wish to continue our ride down the creek; but my companion was so completely exhausted that i resolved upon returning to the camp, but by a different route, passing to the east side of scott's and roper's peaks. we found sandstone ridges to the very foot of the peaks. although we passed many localities where water might have been expected, and travelled where three different rocks, domite, sandstone, and basalt, came in contact, and where springs are so frequently found, yet not a drop of water could we find. in travelling over the hot plains our horses began to fail us; neither whip nor spur could accelerate their snail-like pace; they seemed to expect that every little shade of the scattered trees would prove a halting-place; and it was not without the greatest difficulty that we could induce them to pass on. it was indeed distressingly hot: with open mouths we tried to catch occasional puffs of a cooler air; our lips and tongue got parched, our voice became hoarse, and our speech unintelligible. both of us, but particularly my poor companion, were in the most deplorable state. in order to ease my horse, i tried to walk; but, after a few paces. i found it impossible; i was too much exhausted. at this distressing moment, however, we crossed the tracks of horses and bullocks, and then we knew we were near the camp, the sight of which, a short time afterwards, was most welcome to us. jan. .--finding that one of the water-holes of the camp had dried up, and that the other was very muddy, we returned to larger water-holes two miles to the south-east. after having done this, i sent mr. gilbert and charley down the creek, to ascertain its course, and to see whether it would be practicable to skirt the highland of peak range to the westward. last night thunder-storms were gathering to the south-west, but they did not come up to us. the night breeze is very strong and regular, and sets in invariably between a quarter and half-past eight o'clock; last night it was quite a gale, which i considered to be the indication of a change in the weather, and of rain. john murphy brought the flower of a yellow hibiscus from roper's peak: it is certainly a new species. jan. .--last night clouds gathered into a thunder-storm to the south-west, but it passed by with very little rain: heavy clouds hung round us, in every direction, but it seemed as if even their passage over the parched plains exhausted their moisture. in the east and south-east a heavy thunder cloud, with incessant lightning, was seen, but so distant that we could not hear the thunder. in the morning, loose clouds spread over the whole sky: this was the first cloudy day we had experienced for the last three weeks. nature looks quite refreshed; the grass is so green, and the modest blue ruellia so plentiful; whole fields of crinum are in full blossom; and the ironbark and flooded-gum with a denser and richer foliage than usual, afford us a most agreeable shade. i wish i could sufficiently describe the loveliness of the morning just before and after sunrise: the air so clear, so transparent; the sky slightly tinged with roseate hues, all nature so fresh, so calm, so cool. if water were plentiful, the downs of peak range would be inferior to no country in the world. mr. calvert collected a great number of limnaea in the water-holes: its shell is more compact than those we have before seen, and has a slight yellow line, marking probably the opening at a younger age. several insects of the genera mantis and truxalis were taken, but did not appear different from those we had previously collected. jan. .--we had a thunder-storm from the west, and thunder clouds in all quarters; but, as usual, very little rain. mr. gilbert returned from his exploratory ride, and stated that the plains extended far to the westward, and that they rose in that direction, forming a succession of terraces; and that another fine range of peaks, even more imposing than those of our peak range, reared their heads to the westward of the plains, converging towards the latter [note at end of para.]; that all the creeks went down to the south and south-west; but that he found no water, except one fine lagoon about fifteen miles to the south-west, which was covered with ducks. he had observed the sign of an anchor, or broad-arrow, cut into a tree with a stone tomahawk, and which he supposed had been done, either by a shipwrecked sailor, or by a runaway convict from moreton bay, when it was a penal settlement: the neighbouring trees were variously marked by blackfellows. [note. captain p. p. king, who surveyed this part of the coast, informs me that the coast hills as seen from the sea, are generally of peaked form, particularly the remarkable elevation of mount funnel, at the back of broad sound--which is apparently not connected with the neighbouring ranges--and also that of double mount, which is visible from a distance of miles. the cumberland islands also, which front the coast in the same vicinity, are of peaked shape, and one, mount dryander, on the west side of whitsunday passage, is a very high peak. in the appendix to captain king's voyage, dr. fitton describes the islands, from the specimens which were submitted for his inspection, to be of primitive formation; and notices the following rocks: compact felspar of a flesh-red hue, enclosing a few small crystals of reddish felspar and of quartz; coane porphyritic conglomerate of a reddish hue; serpentine; slaty clay--which forms the general character of the percy islands. repulse island produced a compact felspar--a compound of quartz, mica, and felspar, having the appearance of decomposed granite. (king's voyage, appendix, p. .) captain king also describes this portion of the coast to be more than usually fertile in appearance; and captain blackwood, of her majesty's ship fly, saw much of this part, and corroborates captain king's opinion as to its fertility. it is hereabouts that the araucaria cunninghamiana grows in such abundance.] being too weak to travel, i sent mr. roper and brown to the northward and to the north-east, to examine the country. by my lunar observations, i made our longitude degrees minutes; our latitude was degrees minutes; so that our distance from keppel bay was miles, and from broad sound . the mackenzie probably disembogues into keppel bay, and if so, it will form the inlet to a fine country; for i suppose that all the creeks going down to the south and south-west, either fall into the mackenzie itself, or join one of its tributaries. mr. gilbert found the skull of a large kangaroo, the nasal cavity of which appeared unusually spacious. he brought home a new malurus, and a rallus: he also shot another species of rallus on the water-hole near our encampment; he also brought in a true caprimulgus. on mr. roper's return, he informed me that he had met with a creek at the other side of the hills to the east of us; that the hills were covered with dense scrub, teeming with wallabis; and that the creek went to the north-east, several other creeks joining it; that, lower down, it was lined with casuarinas, and that about seven miles from the hills, he found fine water-holes. chapter v difference of soil as to moisture--phillips's mountain--allowance of flour reduced again--hughs's creek--tombstone creek--charley and brown become unruly--the isaacs--native women--coxen's peak and range-- geological character--charley rebels again and leaves--brown follows him--both return penitent--variations of the weather--skull of native--friendly natives visit the camp. feb. .--being much recovered, i took both blackfellows with me, and again passed the defile east of roper's and scott's peaks, and followed the watercourse rising from it to the northward. about two or three miles lower down, we found water in deep rocky basins in the bed of the creek. the rock was sandstone, fissured from south-west to north-east. in passing the foot of the peaks, we found a species of grewia (dwarf roorajong) covered with ripe fruit; the fruit is dry, but the stringy tissue which covers the seed, contains a slightly sweet and acidulous substance of a very agreeable taste. the fig-tree with a rough leaf, had plenty of fruit, but not yet ripe. erythrina was both in blossom and in seed. sending brown back to conduct our party to the water-holes we had found, and leaving the creek, which turned to the eastward, i continued my ride to the northward. i passed some gentle well-grassed slopes of narrow-leaved ironbark and spotted gum; and also several basaltic ridges, which head out into small plains gently sloping to the east and north-east. they are formed of a rich black soil, and generally a shallow creek meanders through them: sandstone ridges formed their boundary lower down, where, at their foot, water-holes generally existed, either with a constant supply of water, or readily filled by thunder-showers. the basaltic ridges, as well as the plains, were covered with a fine crop of dry grass; but the sandstone ridges were frequently scrubby. the difference between the sandstone country and the basaltic plains and ridges, is very striking in respect to the quantity of water they contain: in the latter, rain is immediately absorbed by the cracked porous soil, which requires an immense quantity of moisture before it allows any drainage; whereas the sandstone forms steeper slopes, and does not absorb the rain so quickly, so that the water runs down the slopes, and collects in holes at the foot of the hills parallel to the creeks. scrubs are frequent round the low rises of sandstone; and, where the country is level, and the soil loamy, the hollows are often filled with water by the thunder-storms. the moist character of this description of country is probably the cause of the vegetation being more dense than it is in the rich black soil of the plains; in which latter, the seeds of the grasses and herbs lie dormant, until the first rain falls, when they instantly germinate and cover the plain with their rapid and luxuriant growth, as if by enchantment; but which, from its nature, is incapable of maintaining the growth of scrubs and trees. feb. .--the dew was heavy through the night; and, in the morning, loose rainy clouds gathered from the east and north-east, which, however, disappeared about eleven o'clock. charley went back to the camp, to bring it on, and i continued to reconnoitre to the north-west. after passing a sandstone ridge, i came to a creek, which went to the north-west, and which was supplied with water by the late thunder-showers. it was bounded on both sides by sandstone ridges, whose summits were covered with scrub and acacia thickets; and by grassy slopes and flats bearing narrow-leaved ironbark and bastard-box. this would be a most beautiful country, if it contained a constant supply of water. i observed on the ridges an acacia, a small tree, from thirty to forty feet high, and from six to nine inches in diameter, and easily distinguished by its peculiar rough frizzled bark, similar to that of the casuarina found at the ranges of the robinson. it has a dark sweet-scented heartwood, like that of the bricklow and the myal and other acacias, which i had previously met with. the creek turned to the north and north-east, into a plain, and joined a larger creek which came in from the right at about south-west. near their junction, a very conspicuous peak was observed, with several small water-holes with water at its foot. i then returned to the spot to which charley had been ordered to conduct the camp; but, as the party had not arrived, i feared that some accident might have happened, and therefore rode towards the water-holes from which brown had gone back to the camp. i found the detention caused by the absence of the horses, which had strayed to the other side of the range. feb. .--charley rode my horse after the missing ones, and returned with them about one o'clock to the camp; and then we proceeded about six miles due north, in the direction of a fine mountain of imposing character-- which i called "phillips's mountain," after one of my companions--and encamped in sight of calvert's and scott's peaks, the former of which bore s. degrees w., and the latter s. degrees e. our latitude was degrees minutes. acacia farnesiana grew in low shrubs along the plains, stretching its flexible branches over the ground; mimosa terminalis (the sensitive plant) was very plentiful, and more erect than usual; a species of verbena, with grey pubescent leaf and stem, was also abundant. the night breeze had been exceedingly strong during the last four days. at the camp of the th of february my companions shot twenty-one pigeons (geophaps scripta), and five cockatoos; a welcome addition to our scanty meals. for a considerable time previous, i had reduced our allowance of flour to three pounds; but now, considering that we were still so far to the eastward, it was, by general consent of my companions, again reduced to a pound and a-half per diem for the six, of which a damper mixed up with fat was made every day, as soon as we reached our encampment. feb. .--i brought my camp forward about six miles farther to the north-by-east, to the water-holes i had found at the foot of the sandstone ridges; and, after having settled my camp, i went with my two blackfellows in search of more water. about a mile and a-half north from the camp we came to an isolated peak, which i ascended, and from its summit enjoyed the finest view of the peak range i had yet seen. i attempted to sketch it in its whole extent, and gave to its most remarkable peaks separate names. a long flat-topped mountain i called "lord's table range," after e. lord, esq., of moreton bay; and a sharp needle-like rock, which bore west-by-north, received the name of "fletcher's awl," after mr. john fletcher, whose kind contribution towards my expedition had not a little cheered me in my undertaking. towards the east and north-east, a flat country extended, in which the smoke of several fires of the natives was seen, and, in the distance, several blue ranges were distinguished. to the northward, the country was very mountainous, and in the north-west, at a short distance, phillips's mountain reared its head. many shallow valleys, at present of an earth-brown colour, led down from the range. a large creek--which probably collects all the waters that we had passed on the east side of the range, and which i descended during my ride of the rd february--flows down a very conspicuous valley to the eastward. i named this creek after--stephens, esq., of darling downs; and the peak on which i stood after--campbell, esq., of the same district. both these gentlemen had shown the greatest hospitality to me and to my party during our stay at the downs, before starting on the expedition. the rock of campbell's peak is domitic; at the top it is of a bluish colour and very hard, and contains very visible, though minute, crystals of felspar. in a hollow between the two rocky protuberances on the west side of the hill, a noble fig-tree spread its rich dark-green shady foliage; and on the steep slopes erythrina was frequent. i could not help contrasting the character of this place with the moist creeks and mountain brushes of the bunya bunya country near moreton bay, where i had been accustomed to observe the same plant. proceeding to the n.n.e. we passed several creeks or watercourses, some fine open ironbark slopes, and a sandstone range; and, following down a watercourse, came to a creek which seemed to originate in phillips's mountain. this creek contained water; it flowed to the south-east and east, and very probably joined stephens's creek. a rather stunted rusty gum grew plentifully on the sandstone ridges; pebbles of concretionary limestone were found in the creek, probably carried down from the basalt of phillips's mountain; and a deposit of concretionary limestone was observed in the banks of a creek, whilst passing one of the black plains, on this side of the range. a profusion of calcedony, and fine specimens of agate, were observed in many places, along the basaltic ridges. my black companions loaded themselves with the pretty agates, which they had never seen before, and which they evidently considered to be very valuable; but, after a little time, the weight became inconvenient, and they kept only a few, to strike fire with. feb. .--having sent brown back to guide our party to this creek, which is about six miles n. n. e. from yesterday's camping place, in latitude degrees minutes seconds; i continued my ride with charley to the north-west. we ascended a high sandstone range, and travelled for some miles along its flat summit. the country was very broken, but openly timbered, and occasionally of a most beautiful character; but frequently interrupted by patches of miserable scrub. having in our progress brought mount phillips to bear south-west and south, we entered a fine open bastard-box country, with slight undulations, and which seemed to extend to peak range. on the sandstone range i found balfouria saligna r. br., a shrub or small tree, with long linear-lanceolate leaves, and rather drooping branches, covered with very fragrant yellow blossoms; its seed-vessels varied from three to six inches in length, were terete, tapering to a point, and filled with silky seeds. the same little tree was subsequently observed, growing round the head of the gulf of carpentaria, and also at arnheim's land. another shrub (gardenia?), with opposite, oval, rather rough leaves, and large white or light yellow blossoms, like those of the jasmine in shape and fragrance, had been observed once before, but was very common between this latitude and port essington; at which place a species of guettarda, resembling it very much, but with larger flowers, grows along the beach. the last two days the mornings were clear; during the afternoon of each day cirrhi formed, which settling down, became confluent, and united into a dark cloud which promised rain, but dispersed towards evening; and the sun set in a cloudless horizon: in the morning, a northerly breeze is generally stirring, which renders that part of the day more agreeable for travelling. feb. .--i returned last night to the creek, from which i had sent brown back, and found my companions encamped on a very fine water-hole. this morning we travelled to the water-holes i had seen about seven miles in advance to the north-west, and about five or six miles due north from phillips's mountain. after our mid-day meal, i set out again with the two blackfellows, not only with a view to find water for the next stage, but to endeavour to make the table land again, and thence to pursue a more westerly course. a great number of sandstone ranges, several of them very steep, and of considerable elevation, stretch parallel to each other from west to east, forming spurs from a higher mountain range to the westward, which is probably connected with peak range. it is composed of basalt, and partly covered with dense scrub, and in other parts openly timbered; where the scrub prevailed, the soil was shallow and rocky, but the soil of the open forest was deeper, and of the character of that of the plains. the deep gullies were all without water, but occasionally filled with patches of rich brush. many creeks went down between the sandstone ranges: and they were generally bounded on both sides by fine well-grassed, narrow-leaved ironbark slopes, and sweet herbage, on which numerous emus and kangaroos were feeding. in one of the glens among the ridges i observed a new gum-tree, with a leaf like that of the trembling poplar of europe, and of a bright green colour, which rendered the appearance of the country exceedingly cheerful. it is a middle-sized tree, of irregular growth, with white bark; but the wood, not being free grained, was unfit for splitting. lower down, water was found, without exception, in all the creeks, and was most abundant at the edge of the level country to the eastward, where the ridges disappear, by more or less gradual slopes. travelling across these sandstone ranges, with their thick vegetation, and deep gullies and valleys, was exceedingly difficult. the bullocks upset their loads frequently in clambering up and down the rocky slopes, and our progress was consequently very slow. this induced me to give up the westerly course, and to look for a better-travelling country to the eastward; supposing, at the same time, that water would be found more abundant, as we approached the sea-coast. i, therefore, returned to the camp, and on the th february, i travelled about six miles n. n. e., over several ranges and creeks, and came to a creek well supplied with water. on the following day, the th february, i travelled down this creek, and reached a flat country of great extent, lightly timbered with ironbark, bastard-box, and poplar-gum; but the water disappeared in the sandy bed of the creek, which had assumed a very winding course, and we had to encamp on a shallow pool left on the rocks, which, for a short distance, formed again the bed of the creek. our latitude was degrees minutes, about thirteen miles e. n. e. from our camp of the th february. feb. .--we continued travelling along the creek, and halted at very fine water-holes, within some bricklow scrub, which here made its appearance again. the stage did not exceed six miles east; but i did not venture to proceed farther until i had examined the country in advance, which did not look very promising. i named this creek "hughs's creek," after--hughs, esq., of darling downs. the grass-tree grew very abundantly on the rocky sandstone ranges; and the grevillea (g. ceratophylla, r. br.?) with pinnatifid leaves, was not less common: on the upper part of hughs's creek, we first met with the drooping tea-tree (melaleuca leucodendron?), which we found afterwards at every creek and river; it was generally the companion of water, and its drooping foliage afforded an agreeable shade, and was also very ornamental. the slopes towards the flat country were sandy and rotten; but there were some fine hollows, with rich green grass, which very probably formed lagoons during the wet season. the whole country was very similar to that of zamia creek: it had the same extensive flats, the same geological features, the same vegetation, the same direction of the creek to the east and north-east. just before the creek left the hills, it was joined by another; and, at their junction, sandstone cropped out, which was divided by regular fissures into very large rectangular blocks. these fissures had been widened by the action of water, which made them resemble a range of large tombstones, the singular appearance of which induced me to call this, which joins hughs's creek, "tombstone creek." this formation was very remarkable, and occupied a very considerable space. the strata of the sandstone dip towards the east and north-east off peak range; but, in other localities, i observed a dip towards the range. a circumstance now occurred, which, as it seemed to augur badly for the welfare of our expedition, gave me much concern and anxiety. my two blacks, the companions of my reconnoitring excursions, began to show evident signs of discontent, and to evince a spirit of disobedience which, if not checked, might prove fatal to our safety. during my recent reconnoitre, they both left me in a most intricate country, and took the provisions with them. they had become impatient from having been without water at night; and, in the morning, whilst i was following the ranges, they took the opportunity of diverging from the track, and descended into the gullies; so that i was reluctantly compelled to return to the camp. my companions were highly alarmed at the behaviour of the sable gentlemen, believing that they had concerted a plan to decamp, and leave us to our fate. i knew, however, the cowardly disposition of the australian native too well; and felt quite sure that they would return after they had procured honey and opossums, in search of which they had deserted me. to impress their minds, therefore, with the conviction that we were independent of their services, the party started the next day as usual, and, on reaching a beautiful valley, three emus were seen on a green sunny slope, strutting about with their stately gait: mr. roper immediately laid the dog on, and gave chase. after a short time, the horse returned without its rider and saddle, and caused us a momentary alarm lest some accident had happened to our companion: shortly afterwards, however, we were made glad, by seeing him walking towards us, with a young emu thrown over his shoulder. he had leaped from his horse upon nearing the emus, had shot one in the head, and had taken a young one from the dog, which immediately pursued the third, an old one; but his horse escaped, which compelled him to return on foot, with the smallest of the birds. messrs. gilbert and calvert went in search of the dog, and were fortunate enough to find him with the emu which he had killed. we were rejoiced at our success, and lost no time in preparing a repast of fried emu; and, whilst we were thus employed, the two blackfellows, having filled their bellies and had their sulk out, made their appearance, both considerably alarmed as to the consequences of their ill-behaviour. charley brought about a pint of honey as a peace-offering; and both were unusually obliging and attentive to my companions. at this time, i was suffering much pain from a severe kick from one of the bullocks, and felt unequal to inflict any punishment, and therefore allowed the matter to pass with an admonition only. but events subsequently proved that i was wrong, and that a decided and severe punishment would have saved me great trouble. i was, however, glad to find that their conduct met with the general indignation of my companions. the blackfellows told us, that they had caught a ring-tailed opossum, and had seen a black kangaroo with a white point at the end of the tail. brown brought the fruit of a tree, which, according to his account, had the simple pinnate-leaf of the red cedar (credela) with a dark purple-coloured fruit half an inch long, and one inch in diameter, with a thin astringent pericarp: the stony seed-vessel consisted of many carpels, which, if i remember rightly, were monosperme. it belongs probably to an ebenaceous tree. the wood-duck (bernicla jubata) abounded on the larger water-holes which we passed; and the swamp-pheasant (centropus phasianus, gould) was heard several times among the trees surrounding the grassy hollows. the smoke of extensive bush-fires was observed under lord's table range, and along the western and south-western ranges. as we approached the place of our encampment of the th february, some blackfellows were bathing in the water-hole, but fled as soon as we made our appearance. the night of the th february was cloudy, with a little rain, which continued to the morning of the th, but cleared up at noon, and the weather became very hot. during the afternoon, thunder-storms passed to the north and north-west, and also to the east and east-south-east. on the th, thunder-storms again surrounded us on all sides, and from one, which broke over us in the night, a heavy shower fell. the night of the th was exceedingly cold; and the night breeze was observed to be less regular than formerly. we were here very much troubled with a small black ant; infesting our provisions during the day and running over our persons, and biting us severely at night. a large yellow hornet with two black bands over the abdomen, was seen, humming about the water-holes. a crow was shot and roasted, and found to be exceedingly tender, which we considered to be a great discovery; and lost no opportunity of shooting as many as we could, in order to lessen the consumption of our dried meat. we again enjoyed some fine messes of portulaca. feb. .--i went, accompanied by mr. roper and charley, in a due north direction to reconnoitre the country. the flat continued for about eight miles, and then changed into slight undulations. considerable tracts were covered with the poplar-gum; and broad belts of bricklow descended from the hills towards the east. in the scrub; fusanus was observed in fruit, and the stenochilus and the white vitex in blossom; from the latter the native bee extracts a most delicious honey. a small tree, with stiff alternate leaves scarcely an inch long, was covered with red fruit of the form of an acorn, and about half an inch long, having a sweet pericarp with two compressed grain-like seeds, which had the horny albumen of the coffee, and were exceedingly bitter. the pigeons, crows, and cockatoos, fed upon them, we also ate a great number of them; but the edible portion of each seed was very small. it is a remarkable fact that trees, which we had found in full blossom or in fruit in october and november, were again observed to be in blossom and fruit in february. we had to encamp at night without water; and although the clouds gathered in the afternoon of a very hot day, yet no thunder-storm came to our relief. the night breeze, which was in all probability the sea-breeze, set in about ten minutes to six. feb. .--the morning was very cloudy. i continued my course to the northward, and, coming to a watercourse, followed it down in the hopes of finding water: it led us to the broad deep channel of a river, but now entirely dry. the bed was very sandy, with reeds and an abundance of small casuarinas. large flooded-gums and casuarinas grew at intervals along its banks, and fine openly timbered flats extended on both sides towards belts of scrub. the river came from the north and north-west, skirting some fine ranges, which were about three miles from its left bank. as the river promised to be one of some importance i called it the "isaacs," in acknowledgment of the kind support we received from f. isaacs, esq. of darling downs. when we were approaching the river, the well-known sound of a tomahawk was heard, and, guided by the noise, we soon came in sight of three black women, two of whom were busily occupied in digging for roots, whilst the other, perched on the top of a high flooded-gum tree, was chopping out either an opossum or a bees' nest. they no sooner perceived us than they began to scream most dreadfully, swinging their sticks, and beating the trees, as if we were wild beasts, which they wished to frighten away. we made every possible sign of peace, but in vain: the two root-diggers immediately ran off, and the lady in the tree refused to descend. when i asked for water, in the language of the natives of the country we had left--"yarrai" "yarrai," she pointed down the river, and answered "yarrai ya;" and we found afterwards that her information was correct. upon reaching the tree we found an infant swaddled in layers of tea-tree bark, lying on the ground; and three or four large yams. a great number of natives, men, boys, and children, who had been attracted by the screams of their companions, now came running towards us; but on our putting our horses into a sharp canter, and riding towards them, they retired into the scrub. the yams proved to be the tubers of a vine with blue berries; both tubers and berries had the same pungent taste, but the former contained a watery juice, which was most welcome to our parched mouths. a similar tuber was found near mount stewart on the th january. we then proceeded down the river; but not succeeding in our search for water, returned to our camp, which was about fifteen miles distant. as soon as i arrived, i sent mr. gilbert and brown down hughs's creek, to examine the country near its junction. very thick clouds came from the westward, from which a few drops of rain fell: thunder-storms were forming to the north-east and also to the west, but none reached us: the night was very cloudy and warm: the scud flying from the north-east. feb. .--after sunrise the weather cleared up again. all hands were now employed in shooting crows; which, with some cockatoos, and a small scrub wallabi, gave us several good messes. mr. gilbert and brown had, on their excursion, found a rushy lagoon on the left bank of the isaacs, at a short half-mile from its junction with hughs's creek. here they encamped; and, about o'clock at night, the loud voices of blackfellows travelling down the river were heard; these also encamped at some small water-holes, not very distant from mr. gilbert, of whose presence they were not aware. mr. gilbert kept the horses tied up in case of any hostility; but was not molested. the blacks continued their loud conversations during the greater part of the night; and mr. gilbert departed very early in the morning without being seen by them. he continued to follow the river further down, and found that four large creeks joined it from the northward. another creek also joined it from the southward; as subsequently observed by mr. roper. beyond these creeks, several lagoons or swamps were seen covered with ducks, and several other aquatic birds, and, amongst them, the straw-coloured ibis. feb. .--we travelled down to the above-mentioned lagoon, which was about ten miles east by north from our camp; its latitude, was by calculation, about degrees or ; for several circumstances had prevented me from taking observations. as the river turned to the eastward, i determined to trace it up to its head; and set out with mr. gilbert and brown to examine the country around the range which i had observed some days before and named "coxen's peak and range," in honour of mr. coxen of darling downs. we passed the night at a small pool, but were not successful in discovering water in any of the numerous watercourses and creeks, which come down from coxen's range, or out of the belt of scrub which intervened between the range and the river. a loose variegated clayey sandstone, with many irregular holes; cropped out in the beds of the creek. coxen's peak and range were found to be composed of horizontal strata of excellent sandstone, rising by steep terraces, on the western side, but sloping gently down to the east; its summit is covered with scrub, but its eastern slope with groves of grass-trees. the view from the top of coxen's peak was very extensive: towards the south-west and west, peak range was seen extending from scott's and roper's peaks to fletcher's awl; and, beyond the last, other mountains were seen, several of which had flat tops. mount phillips seemed about thirty or forty miles distant; and a very indistinct blue hill was seen to the w.n.w. to the northward, ranges rose beyond ranges, and to the eastward, the country seemed to be flat, to a great extent, and bounded by distant mountains. to the southward, the eye wandered over an unbroken line of horizon, with the exception of one blue distant elevation: this immense flat was one uninterrupted mass of forest without the slightest break. narrow bands of scrub approached the river from the westward, and separated tracts of fine open forest country, amongst which patches of the poplar-gum forest were readily distinguished by the brightness of their verdure. a river seemed to come from the south-west; the isaacs came from the north-west, and was joined by a large creek from the northward. there was no smoke, no sign of water, no sign of the neighbourhood of the sea coast;--but all was one immense sea of forest and scrub. the great outlines of the geology of this interesting country were seen at one glance. along the eastern edge of a basaltic table land, rose a series of domitic cones, stretching from south-east to north-west, parallel to the coast. the whole extent of country between the range and the coast, seemed to be of sandstone, either horizontally stratified, or dipping off the range; with the exception of some local disturbances, where basalt had broken through it. those isolated ranges, such as coxen's range--the abruptness of which seemed to indicate igneous origin--were entirely of sandstone. the various porphyries, and diorites, and granitic, and sienitic rocks, which characterize large districts along the eastern coast of australia, were missing; not a pebble, except of sandstone, was found in the numerous creeks and watercourses. pieces of silicified wood were frequent in the bed of the isaacs. the nature of the soil was easily distinguished by its vegetation: the bastard box, and poplar gum grew on a stiff clay; the narrow-leaved ironbark, the bloodwood, and the moreton bay ash on a lighter sandy soil, which was frequently rotten and undermined with numerous holes of the funnel ant. noble trees of the flooded-gum grew along the banks of the creeks, and around the hollows, depending rather upon moisture, than upon the nature of the soil. fine casuarinas were occasionally met with along the creeks; and the forest oak (casuarina torulosa), together with rusty-gum, were frequent on the sandy ridges. one should have expected that the prevailing winds during the day, would have been from the south-east, corresponding to the south-east trade winds; but, throughout the whole journey from moreton bay to the isaacs, i experienced, with but few exceptions, during the day, a cooling breeze from the north and north-east. the thunder-storms came principally from the south-west, west, and north-west; but generally showed an inclination to veer round to the northward. from coxen's range i returned to the river, and soon reached the place where i had met the black-fellows. in passing out of the belt of scrub into the openly timbered grassy flat of the river, brown descried a kangaroo sitting in the shade of a large bastard-box tree; it seemed to be so oppressed by the heat of the noonday sun as to take little notice of us, so that brown was enabled to approach sufficiently near to shoot it. it proved to be a fine doe, with a young one; we cooked the latter for our dinner, and i sent brown to the camp with the dam, where my companions most joyfully received him; for all our dried meat was by this time consumed, and all they had for supper and breakfast, were a straw-coloured ibis, a duck, and a crow. as mr. gilbert and myself were following the course of the river, we saw numerous tracks of blackfellows, of native dogs, of emus, and kangaroos, in its sandy bed; and, when within a short distance of the place where i had seen the black women, loud cries of cockatoos attracted our notice; and, on going in their direction, we came to a water-hole in the bed of the river, at its junction with a large oak tree creek coming from the northward. this water-hole is in latitude degrees minutes; the natives had fenced it round with branches to prevent the sand from filling it up, and had dug small wells near it, evidently to obtain a purer and cooler water, by filtration through the sand. pigeons (geophapsscripta, gould.) had formed a beaten track to its edge; and, the next morning, whilst enjoying our breakfast under the shade of a gigantic flooded-gum tree, we were highly amused to see a flight of fifty or more partridge pigeons tripping along the sandy bed of the river, and descending to the water's edge, and returning after quenching their thirst, quite unconscious of the dangerous proximity of hungry ornithophagi. the cockatoos, however, observed us, and seemed to dispute our occupation of their waters, by hovering above the tops of the highest trees, and making the air resound with their screams; whilst numerous crows, attracted by a neighbouring bush fire, watched us more familiarly, and the dollar bird passed with its arrow-like flight from shade to shade. we continued our ride six miles higher up the river, without finding any water, with the exception of some wells made by the natives, and which were generally observed where watercourses or creeks joined the river. in these places, moisture was generally indicated by a dense patch of green reeds. the bush fire, which was raging along the left bank of the river on which we were encamped for the night, fanned by the sea breeze, which set in a little after six o'clock, approached very near to our tent, but died away with the breeze; and the temperature cooled down, although no dew was falling. the fire, which was smouldering here and there along the steep banks of the river, was quickened up again by the morning breeze. we observed a great number of very large dead shells of limnaea and paludina, in the dry water-holes and melon-holes along the scrub; some of them not even bleached; but every thing seemed to indicate this to be a more than usually dry season. in the morning we returned to the camp. as i had not discovered a more convenient spot for killing another bullock, i decided upon stopping at the rushy lagoon, until we had provided ourselves with a fresh stock of dried beef. accordingly, on the th february, we killed mr. gilbert's bullock, which turned out a fine heavy beast, and gave us a large supply of fat meat and suet. we had formerly been under the erroneous impression that fat meat would not dry and keep; and, consequently, had carefully separated the fat from the meat. some chance pieces, however, had shown us, that it not only dried and kept well, but that it was much finer than the lean meat. we therefore cut up the fat in slices, like the lean; and it was found not only to remain sweet, but to improve with age. the only inconvenience we had experienced in this process, was a longer detention; and we had to remain four days, (to the st february) before the provision was fit for packing. on the th, immediately after breakfast, whilst we were busily employed in greasing our saddles and straps--a very necessary operation on a journey like ours, where every thing is exposed to the dust, and a scorching sun--charley left the camp, and did not return before the afternoon. he had frequently acted thus of late; and it was one of the standing complaints against him, that he was opossum and honey hunting, whilst we were kept waiting for our horses and cattle. as i was determined not to suffer this, after his late misbehaviour, i reprimanded him, and told him that i would not allow him any food, should he again be guilty of such conduct. upon this, he burst out into the most violent and abusive language, and threatened "to stop my jaw," as he expressed himself. finding it, therefore, necessary to exercise my authority, i approached him to show him out of the camp, when the fellow gave me a violent blow on the face, which severely injured me, displacing two of my lower teeth; upon which my companions interfered, and manifested a determination to support me, in case he should refuse to quit us; which i compelled him to do. when he was going away, brown told him, in a very consoling manner, that he would come by and bye and sleep with him. i was, however, determined that no one within the camp should have any communication with him; and therefore told brown, that he had either to stop with me entirely, or with charley. he answered that he could not quarrel with him; that he would sleep with him, but return every morning; and, when i replied that, in such a case, he should never return, he said that he would stop altogether with charley, and walked off. if i had punished these fellows for their late misconduct, i should have had no occasion for doing so now: but full of their own importance, they interpreted my forbearance, by fancying that i could not proceed without them. previous to this occurrence, charley had, during my absence from the camp, had an interview with the natives, who made him several presents, among which were two fine calabashes which they had cleaned and used for carrying water; the larger one was pear-shaped, about a foot in length, and nine inches in diameter in the broadest part, and held about three pints. the natives patted his head, and hair, and clothing; but they retired immediately, when he afterwards returned to them, accompanied by mr. calvert on horseback. we started, on the st february, from our killing camp, and travelled a long stage; the day was very hot, and the heat of the rotten ground was intense. our little terrier, which had so well borne former fatigues, died; and our remaining kangaroo-dog was only saved by mr. calvert's carrying him on his horse. it was a day well calculated to impress on the blackfellows the difference between riding and walking, between finding a meal ready after a fatiguing journey, and looking out for food for themselves. hearing brown's cooee as we were travelling along, mr. roper stopped behind until brown came up to him, and expressed his desire to rejoin my party, as he had had quite enough of his banishment and bush life; and, before sunset, he arrived quite exhausted at our camping-place, and begged me to pardon him, which i did, under the former condition, that he was to have no farther communication with charley, to which he most willingly assented. feb. .--on a ride with mr. gilbert up the river, we observed several large reedy holes in its bed, in which the blackfellows had dug wells; they were still moist, and swarms of hornets were buzzing about them. about eight miles north-west from the junction of north creek with the river, a large flight of cockatoos again invited us to some good water-holes extending along a scrubby rise. large bastard-box flats lie between north creek and the river. about four miles from the camp, the country rises to the left of the river, and ranges and isolated hills are visible, which are probably surrounded by plains. wherever i had an opportunity of examining the rocks, i found sandstone; flint pebbles and fossil-wood are in the scrub and on the melon-hole flats. at night, on my return, i had to pass charley's camp, which was about a hundred yards from ours. he called after me, and, when i stopped, he came up to me, and began to plead his cause and beg my pardon; he excused his sulkiness and his bad behaviour by his temperament and some misunderstanding; and tried to look most miserable and wretched, in order to excite my compassion. my companions had seen him sitting alone under his tree, during almost the whole day, beating his bommerangs which he had received from the natives. i pitied him, and, after some consultation with my companions, allowed him to rejoin us; but upon the condition that he should give up his tomahawk, to which he most joyfully consented, and promised for the future to do every thing i should require. his spirit was evidently broken, and i should probably never have had to complain of him again, had no other agent acted upon him. feb. .--i moved on to the water-holes, which i had found the day before, and encamped in the shade of a fusanus. the latitude was observed to be degrees minutes seconds. feb. .--mr. gilbert and brown accompanied me this morning upon an excursion. at about a mile and a-half from the camp, a large creek, apparently from the southward, joined the river, and water was found in a scrub creek four miles from the camp, also in wells made by the natives in the bed of the river; and, at about eight miles from the camp, we came upon some fine water-holes along the scrub. here the birds were very numerous and various; large flights of the blue-mountain and crimson-winged parrots were seen; mr. gilbert observed the female of the regent-bird, and several other interesting birds, which made him regret to leave this spot so favourable to his pursuit. he returned, however, to bring forward our camp to the place, whilst i continued my ride, accompanied by brown. several creeks joined the river, but water was nowhere to be found. the high grass was old and dry, or else so entirely burnt as not to leave the slightest sign of vegetation. for several miles the whole forest was singed by a fire which had swept through it; and the whole country looked hopelessly wretched. brown had taken the precaution to fill charley's large calabash with water, so that we were enabled to make a refreshing cup of tea in the most scorching heat of the day. towards sunset we heard, to our great joy, the noisy jabbering of natives, which promised the neighbourhood of water. i dismounted and cooeed; they answered; but when they saw me, they took such of their things as they could and crossed to the opposite side of the river in great hurry and confusion. when brown, who had stopped behind, came up to me, i took the calabash and put it to my mouth, and asked for "yarrai, yarrai." they answered, but their intended information was lost to me; and they were unwilling to approach us. their camp was in the bed of the river amongst some small casuarinas. their numerous tracks, however, soon led me to two wells, surrounded by high reeds, where we quenched our thirst. my horse was very much frightened by the great number of hornets buzzing about the water. after filling our calabash, we returned to the camp of the natives, and examined the things which they had left behind; we found a shield, four calabashes, of which i took two, leaving in their place a bright penny, for payment; there were also, a small water-tight basket containing acacia-gum; some unravelled fibrous bark, used for straining honey; a fire-stick, neatly tied up in tea-tree bark; a kangaroo net; and two tomahawks, one of stone, and a smaller one of iron, made apparently of the head of a hammer: a proof that they had had some communication with the sea-coast. the natives had disappeared. the thunder was pealing above us, and a rush of wind surprised us before we were half-a-mile from the camp, and we had barely time to throw our blanket over some sticks and creep under it, when the rain came down in torrents. the storm came from the west; another was visible in the east; and lightning seemed to be everywhere. when the rain ceased, we contrived to make a fire and boil a pot of tea, and warmed up a mess of gelatine-soup. at eight o'clock the moon rose, and, as the weather had cleared, i decided upon returning to the camp, in order to hasten over this dreary country while the rain-water lasted. the frogs were most lustily croaking in the water-holes which i had passed, a few hours before, perfectly dry and never were their hoarse voices more pleasing to me. but the thunder-storm had been so very partial, that scarcely a drop had fallen at a distance of three miles. this is another instance of the singularly partial distribution of water, which i had before noticed at comet creek. we arrived at the camp about one o'clock a.m.; and, in the morning of the th february, i led my party to the water-holes, which a kind providence seemed to have filled for the purpose of helping us over that thirsty and dreary land. our bullocks suffered severely from the heat; our fat-meat melted; our fat-bags poured out their contents; and every thing seemed to dissolve under the influence of a powerful sun. the weather in this region may be thus described: at sunrise some clouds collect in the east, but clear off during the first hours of the morning, with northerly, north-easterly, and easterly breezes; between ten and three o'clock the most scorching heat prevails, interrupted only by occasional puffs of cool air; about two o'clock p.m. heavy clouds form in all directions, increase in volume, unite in dark masses in the east and west, and, about five o'clock in the afternoon, the thunder-storm bursts; the gust of wind is very violent, and the rain sometimes slight, and at other times tremendous, but of short duration; and at nine o'clock the whole sky is clear again. in the hollows along the isaacs, we found a new species of grass from six to eight feet high, forming large tufts, in appearance like the oat-grass (anthistiria) of the liverpool plains and darling downs; it has very long brown twisted beards, but is easily distinguished from anthistiria by its simple ear; its young stem is very sweet, and much relished both by horses and cattle. feb. .--i set out reconnoitring with mr. gilbert and charley. we found that the effects of the thunder-storm of the th extended very little to the north and north-west, having passed over from west to east. from time to time we crossed low ridges covered with scrub, and cut through by deep gullies, stretching towards the river, which became narrower and very tortuous in its course; its line of flooded-gum trees, however, became more dense. within the reedy bed of the river, not quite five miles from the camp, we found wells of the natives, not a foot deep, but amply supplied with water, and, at four miles farther, we came to a water-hole, in a small creek, which had been supplied by the late rains; we also passed several fine scrub creeks, but they were dry. about ten miles from the wells another deep scrub creek was found, on the right hand of the river, full of water. its bed was overgrown with reeds, and full of pebbles of concretions of limestone, and curious trunks of fossil trees, and on its banks a loose sandstone cropped out. here we found the skull of a native, the first time that we had seen the remains of a human body during our journey. near the scrub, and probably in old camping places of the natives, we frequently saw the bones of kangaroos and emus. i mention this fact in reference to the observations of american travellers, who very rarely met with bones in the wilderness; and to remark, that the climate of australia is so very dry as to prevent decomposition, and that rapacious animals are few in number--the native dog probably finding a sufficiency of living food. on the th there were thunder-storms, but they did not reach us. the night was cloudy, and we had some few drops of rain in the morning of the th, but the weather cleared up about ten o'clock; cumuli formed in the afternoon, and towards night thunder-storms were observed both in the east and west. i found a shrubby prickly goodenia, about four or five feet high, growing on the borders of the scrub. feb. .--mr. gilbert, whom i had sent back from the wells of the natives to bring on the camp, had been prevented from doing so, and i had consequently to return the whole distance. the interruption was caused by our bullocks having gone back several miles, probably in search of better water, for we found them generally very nice in this particular. the natives had, in my absence, visited my companions, and behaved very quietly, making them presents of emu feathers, bommerangs, and waddies. mr. phillips gave them a medal of the coronation of her majesty queen victoria, which they seemed to prize very highly. they were fine, stout, well made people, and most of them young; but a few old women, with white circles painted on their faces, kept in the back ground. they were much struck with the white skins of my companions, and repeatedly patted them in admiration. their replies to inquiries respecting water were not understood; but they seemed very anxious to induce us to go down the river. we started at noon to skull creek, which, in a straight line, was fourteen miles distant, in a north by east direction. loose cumuli floated in the hazy atmosphere during the whole forenoon, but rose in the afternoon, and occasionally sheltered us from the scorching sun. at four o'clock two thunder-storms formed as usual in the east and west, and, eventually rising above us, poured down a heavy shower of rain, which drenched us to the skin, and refreshed us and our horses and bullocks, which were panting with heat and thirst. our stores were well covered with greasy tarpaulings, and took no harm. feb. .--successive thunder-storms, with which this spot seemed more favoured than the country we had recently passed, had rendered the vegetation very luxuriant. the rotten sandy ground absorbed the rain rapidly, and the young grass looked very fresh. the scrub receded a little more from the river, and an open country extended along its banks. the scene was, therefore, most cheerful and welcome. mr. gilbert and charley, who had made an excursion up the river in search of water, returned with the agreeable information that a beautiful country was before us: they had also seen a camp of natives, but without having had any intercourse with them. feb. .--it was cloudy in the morning, and became more so during the day, with easterly and north-easterly winds. as soon as our capricious horses were found, which had wandered more than eight miles through a dense bricklow scrub, in search of food and water, we started and travelled about ten miles in a north-east direction, leaving the windings of the river to the left. the character of the country continued the same; the same ironbark forest, with here and there some remarkably pretty spots; and the same bastard-box flats, with belts of scrub, approaching the river. at about nine miles from skull creek, which i supposed to be in latitude degrees minutes, the isaacs breaks through a long range of sandstone hills; beyond which the country opens into plains with detached patches of scrub, and downs, with "devil-devil" land and its peculiar vegetation, and into very open forest. the river divides into two branches, one coming from the eastward, and the other from the northward. it rained hard during our journey, and, by the time we reached the water-hole which mr. gilbert had found, we were wet to the skin. in consequence of the additional fatigues of the day, i allowed some pieces of fat to be fried with our meat. scarcely a fortnight ago, some of my companions had looked with disgust on the fat of our stews, and had jerked it contemptuously out of their plates; now, however, every one of us thought the addition of fat a peculiar favour, and no one hesitated to drink the liquid fat, after having finished his meat. this relish continued to increase as our bullocks became poorer; and we became as eager to examine the condition of a slaughtered beast, as the natives, whose practice in that respect we had formerly ridiculed. as i had made a set of lunar observations at skull camp, which i wished to calculate, i sent mr. roper up the north branch of the isaacs to look for water; and, on his return, he imparted the agreeable intelligence, that he had found fine holes of water at about nine or ten miles distant, and that the country was still more open, and abounded with game, particularly emus. chapter vi heads of the isaacs--the suttor--flint-rock--indications of water--dinner of the natives appropriated by us--easter sunday--alarm of an old woman--natives speaking a language entirely unknown to charley and brown--a barter with them--mount m'connel. i was detained at this place from the st to the th march, from a severe attack of lumbago, which i had brought on by incautiously and, perhaps, unnecessarily exposing myself to the weather, in my botanical and other pursuits. on the th march. i had sufficiently recovered to mount my horse and accompany my party to roper's water-holes. basalt cropped out on the plains; the slight ridges of "devil-devil" land are covered with quartz pebbles, and the hills and bed of the river, are of sandstone formation. a yellow, and a pink hibiscus, were frequent along the river. my calculations gave the longitude of degrees minutes for skull creek; my bearings however make it more to the westward; its latitude was supposed to be degrees minutes: the cloudy nights prevented my taking any observation. march .--i sent mr. gilbert and charley up the river, which, according to mr. roper's account, came through a narrow mountain gully, the passage of which was very much obstructed by tea-trees. they passed the mountain gorge, and, in about eight miles north, came to the heads of the isaacs, and to those of another system of waters, which collected in a creek that flowed considerably to the westward. the range through which the isaacs passes is composed of sandstone, and strikes from north-west to south-east. in its rocky caves, wallabies, with long smooth tails, had been seen by brown; they were quite new to him, and, as he expressed himself, "looked more like monkeys than like wallabies." mr. gilbert and charley came on two flocks of emus, and killed two young ones; and charley and john murphy hunted down another; charley fell, however, with his horse, and broke a double-barrelled gun, which was a very serious loss to us, and the more so, as he had had the misfortune to break a single-barrelled one before this. the weather continued showery; loose scud passed over from the east and south-east, with occasional breaks of hot sunshine. the corypha palm is frequent under the range; the ebenaceous tree, with compound pinnate leaves and unequilateral leaflets, is of a middle size, about thirty feet high, with a shady and rather spreading crown. we have travelled about seventy miles along the isaacs. if we consider the extent of its bastard-box and narrow-leaved ironbark flats, and the silver-leaved ironbark ridges on its left bank, and the fine open country between the two ranges through which it breaks, we shall not probably find a country better adapted for pastoral pursuits. there was a great want of surface water at the season we passed through it; and which we afterwards found was a remarkably dry one all over the colony: the wells of the natives, however, and the luxuriant growth of reeds in many parts of the river, showed that even shallow wells would give a large supply to the squatter in cases of necessity; and those chains of large water-holes which we frequently met along and within the scrubs, when once filled, will retain their water for a long time. the extent of the neighbouring scrubs will, however, always form a serious drawback to the squatter, as it will be the lurking place and a refuge of the hostile natives, and a hiding place for the cattle, which would always retire to it in the heat of the day, or in the morning and evening, at which time the flies are most troublesome. march .--i moved my camp through the mountain gorge, the passage of which was rather difficult, in consequence of large boulders of sandstone, and of thickets of narrow-leaved tea-trees growing in the bed of the river. to the northward, it opens into fine gentle ironbark slopes and ridges, which form the heads of the isaacs. they seem to be the favourite haunts of emus; for three broods of them were seen, of ten, thirteen, and even sixteen birds. about four miles from the gorge, we came to the heads of another creek, which i called "suttor creek" after --suttor, esq., who had made me a present of four bullocks when i started on this expedition; four or five miles farther down we found it well supplied with fine water-holes. here, however, patches of scrub again appeared. the ridges were covered with iron-coloured quartz pebbles, which rendered our bullocks footsore. the marjoram was abundant, particularly near the scrubs, and filled the air with a most exquisite odour. a mountain range was seen to the right; and, where the ranges of the head of the isaacs abruptly terminated, detached hills and ridges formed the south-western and southern barrier of the waters of suttor creek. march .--as we followed the creek about nine miles farther down, it became broader, and the casuarinas were more frequent. its bed was sandy, occasionally filled with reeds, and contained numerous water-holes, particularly where the sandstone rock formed more retentive basins. during the last two days we had drizzling rain, which cleared up a little about noon and at night. the weather was delightfully cool; the wind was very strong from the eastward. i sent mr. roper forward to look for water, of which he found a sufficient supply. he stated that the country to the westward opened into fine plains, of a rich black soil; but it was very dry. the bluff terminations of the left range bore e. by s., and that on the right e.n.e. march .--we moved to the water-holes found yesterday by mr. roper. on our way we crossed a large scrub creek, coming from the northward and joining suttor creek, which turned to the westward, and even w. by s. and w.s.w. mr. gilbert and charley made an excursion to the westward, in which direction mr. roper had seen a distant range, at the foot of which i expected to find a large watercourse. wind continued from the east and south-east; about the middle of last night we had some rain. a slender snake, about five feet long, of a greyish brown on the back, and of a bright yellow on the belly, was seen nimbly climbing a tree. the head was so much crushed in killing it that i could not examine its teeth. mr. roper and john murphy succeeded in shooting eight cockatoos, which gave us an excellent soup. i found in their stomachs a fruit resembling grains of rice, which was slightly sweet, and would doubtless afford an excellent dish, if obtained in sufficient quantity and boiled. march .--we had slight drizzling showers towards sunset; the night very cloudy till about ten a.m., when it cleared up. the variety of grasses is very great; the most remarkable and succulent were two species of anthistiria, the grass of the isaacs, and a new one with articulate ears and rounded glumes. a pink convolvulus, with showy blossoms, is very common. portulaca, with terete leaves, grows sparingly on the mild rich soil. were a superficial observer suddenly transported from one of the reedy ponds of europe to this water-hole in suttor creek, he would not be able to detect the change of his locality, except by the presence of casuarinas and the white trunks of the majestic flooded-gum. reeds, similar to those of europe, and polygonums almost identical as to species, surround the water, the surface of which is covered with the broad leaves of villarsia, exactly resembling those of nymphaea alba, and with several species of potomogeton. small grey birds, like the warblers of the reeds, flit from stem to stem; hosts of brilliant gyrinus play on the water; notonectes and beetles, resembling the hydrophili, live within it--now rising to respire, now swiftly diving. limnaea, similar to those of europe, creep along the surface of the water; small planorbis live on the water-plants, to which also adhere ancylus; and paludina, cyclas, and unio, furrow its muddy bottom. the spell, however, must not be broken by the noisy call of a laughing jackass (dacelo gigantea); the screams of the white cockatoo; or by the hollow sound of the thirsty emu. the latitude of this spot was degrees minutes s. i examined the country northward for about five miles, crossing some small undulating or hilly downs of a rich black soil, where the phonolith frequently cropped out. there were occasional tracts of "devil-devil" land, and patches of scrub, which, at no great distance, united into one mass of bricklow. tracing a little creek to its head, i crossed ridges with open forest. mr. gilbert and charley returned, after having found, as i anticipated, a considerable watercourse at the foot of the westerly range. suttor creek was afterwards found to join this watercourse, and, as it was its principal tributary, the name was continued to the main stream. march .--in travelling to mr. gilbert's discovery, we crossed large plains, and, at the end of six miles, entered into thick scrub, which continued with little interruption until we reached the dry channel of the suttor. this scrub, like those already mentioned, varies in density and in its composition; the bricklow acacia predominates; but, in more open parts, tufts of bauhinia covered with white blossoms, and patches of the bright green fusanus and silvery bricklow, formed a very pleasing picture. the bed of the suttor was rather shallow, sandy, and irregular, with occasional patches of reeds; its left bank was covered with scrub; but well grassed flats, with bastard-box and ironbark, were on its right. we encamped near a fine reedy water-hole, nearly half a mile long, in lat. degrees minutes seconds. we had travelled about fifteen miles west by north from our last camp. throughout the day the weather was cloudy and rainy, which rendered the tedious passage through the scrub more bearable. march .--we proceeded six or seven miles down the river, in a s.s.w. course. the flats continued on its right side, but rose at a short distance into low ridges, covered either with scrub or with a very stunted silver-leaved ironbark. on one of the flats we met with a brood of young emus, and killed three of them. the morning was bright; cumuli gathered about noon, and the afternoon was cloudy. the wind was from the eastward. the suttor is joined, in lat. degrees minutes, by a large creek from the n.w. from the ridges on the left bank of the creek i obtained an extensive view. the bluff termination of the ranges on the head of the isaacs bore n. degrees e. many high ranges were seen towards the north and north-east. towards the south the horizon was broken only by some very distant isolated mountains. peak range was not visible. a group of three mountains appeared towards the north-west; one of them had a flat top. the whole country to the westward was formed of low ridges, among which the suttor seemed to shape its winding course. the hills on which we stood, as well as the banks of the creek, were composed of flint-rock. pebbles and blocks of pegmatite covered the bed of the creek. this rock also cropped out along the river. this was the first time since leaving moreton bay that we met with primitive rocks, and i invite the attention of geologists to the close connection of the flint rock with granitic rocks; which i had many opportunities of observing in almost every part of the northern and western falls of the table land of new england. a melaleuca with very small decussate leaves, a tree about twenty-five feet high, was growing on the scrubby ridges. flooded-gums of most majestic size, and casuarinas, grew along the river; in which there were many large reedy water-holes. the season must be more than usually dry, some of the largest holes containing only shallow pools, which were crowded with small fishes, seemingly gasping for rain. a ruellia, with large white and blue flowers, adorned the grassy flats along the suttor. the latitude of this spot was degrees minutes seconds. march .--we removed down the river about eight miles s. s. w. to good water-holes, which had been seen by my companions the day before. here the scrub approached the river, leaving only a narrow belt of open forest, which was occasionally interrupted by low ridges of stunted silver-leaved ironbark. pegmatite and porphyry (with a very few small crystals of felspar) and gneiss? were observed in situ. on our way we passed a fine lagoon. a dry but not hot wind blew from the s. s. w.; the night and morning were bright; cumuli with sharp margins hung about after eleven o'clock. a pelican was seen flying down the river, and two native companions and an ibis were at the water-holes. crows, cockatoos, and ducks were frequent. from the remains of mussels about these water-holes, the natives have enjoyed many recent meals. i sent mr. roper and charley down the river, who informed me, on their return late at night, that they had found water at different distances; the farthest they reached was distant about seventeen miles, in a water-hole near the scrub; but the bed of the river was dry. as they rode, one on the right and the other on the left side of the river, a blackfellow hailed charley and approached him, but when he saw mr. roper--who crossed over upon being called--he immediately climbed a tree, and his gin, who was far advanced in pregnancy, ascended another. as mr. roper moved round the base of the tree, in order to look the blackfellow in the face, and to speak with him, the latter studiously avoided looking at mr. roper, by shifting round and round the trunk like an iguana. at last, however, he answered to the inquiry for water, by pointing to the w. n. w. the woman also kept her face averted from the white man. proceeding farther down the river they saw natives encamped at a water-hole, who, as soon as they became aware of the approach of the two horsemen, withdrew with the greatest haste into the scrub; the men driving the shrieking women and children before them. upon mr. roper galloping after them, one athletic fellow turned round and threatened to throw his bommerang, at this sign of hostility mr. roper prudently retired. kangaroo and other nets made of some plant and not of bark, koolimans, bommerangs, waddies, and a fine opossum cloak were found at the camp, but were left untouched by our companions. march .--our party moved to the water-holes, where mr. roper had seen the natives; the latter had removed their property, and were not afterwards heard or seen by any of us. the general course of the river was about south-west, and is joined by several scrub creeks; its bed is broad and shallow, with numerous channels, separated by bergues; and the river itself is split into several anabranches. the scrub is generally an open vitex; a fine drooping tea-tree lines the banks of the river; casuarina disappears; the flooded-gum is frequent, but of smaller size. the mackenzie-bean and several other papilionaceous plants, with some new grasses, grow in it. the most interesting plant, however, is a species of datura, from one to two feet high, which genus has not previously been observed in australia. i also found species of heliotropium of a most fragrant odour. sandstone cropped out in several places, and red quartz pebbles were very abundant in some parts of the river; the sands of its bed are so triturated that no one would ever surmise the existence of granitic rocks, at sixteen or twenty miles higher up. the whole country was flat; no hill was visible, but, towards the end of our day's journey, we crossed a few slight undulations. during the night of the th, southerly winds were followed by a gale from the eastward, with scud and drizzling rain. the morning of the th was cloudy with a little rain; wind southerly. early in the night, a strong east-wind with drizzling long rain set in, but cleared up at midnight. the morning of the th was cloudy, with a southerly wind. our lat. was degrees minutes seconds. march .--mr. gilbert and brown went forward in search of water, supposing that they would find it at a convenient distance, but were unsuccessful, and, as they had taken neither guns nor provisions, they were obliged to return. keeping, however, a little more to the left, on their return, they came to two fine water-holes at the foot of some ironstone ridges, where they passed the night, and reached the camp the following day, having had nothing to eat for twenty-four hours. the camp was then moved to these water-holes, about nine miles off, in a due west course. fine water-holes were passed at a short half-mile from our camp; and, after crossing the northern anabranch of the river, we again found water. the detection of isolated water-holes in a wooded country, where there is nothing visible to indicate its presence, is quite a matter of chance. we have often unconsciously passed well-filled water-holes, at less than a hundred yards distant, whilst we were suffering severely from thirst. our horses and bullocks never showed that instinctive faculty of detecting water, so often mentioned by other travellers; and i remember instances, in which the bullocks have remained the whole night, not fifty yards from water-holes, without finding them; and, indeed, whenever we came to small water-holes, we had to drive the cattle down to them, or they would have strayed off to find water elsewhere. on several occasions i followed their tracks, and observed they were influenced entirely by their sight when in search of it; at times attracted by a distant patch of deeper verdure, at others following down a hollow or a watercourse, but i do not recollect a single instance where they found water for themselves. the horses, however, were naturally more restless and impatient, and, when we approached a creek or a watercourse after a long journey, would descend into the bed and follow it for long distances to find water; giving great trouble to those who had to bring them back to the line of march. whenever they saw me halt at the place where i intended to encamp, they not only quickened their pace, but often galloped towards me, well knowing that i had found water, and that they were to be relieved of their loads. in looking for water, my search was first made in the neighbourhood of hills, ridges, and ranges, which from their extent and elevation were most likely to lead me to it, either in beds of creeks, or rivers, or in water-holes, parallel to them. in an open country, there are many indications which a practised eye will readily seize: a cluster of trees of a greener foliage, hollows with luxuriant grass, eagles circling in the air, crows, cockatoos, pigeons (especially before sunset), and the call of grallina australis and flocks of little finches, would always attract our attention. the margins of scrubs were generally provided with chains of holes. but a flat country, openly timbered, without any break of the surface or of the forest, was by no means encouraging; and i have frequently travelled more than twenty-five miles in a straight line without obtaining my object, in coming on creeks, it required some experience in the country, to know whether to travel up or down the bed: some being well provided with water immediately at the foot of the range, and others being entirely dry at their upper part, but forming large puddled holes, lower down, in a flat country. from daily experience, we acquired a sort of instinctive feeling as to the course we should adopt, and were seldom wrong in our decisions. the ridges, near the water-holes on which we were encamped, are composed of an igneous rock containing much iron, with which the water was impregnated to such a degree, that our tea turned quite black and inky. the natives were very numerous in these parts, and their tracks were everywhere visible. they had even followed the tracks of mr. gilbert's and brown's horses of the preceding day. the night was bright; the day cloudy, and the wind easterly. i went with charley, in the afternoon of the th, to examine the extent of the scrubby country, of which mr. gilbert had given us so poor an account. the channel of the river became narrow and deep, with steep banks, as it enters the scrub, and there the flooded gums entirely disappeared. the scrub is about eight miles long, and from two to three miles broad, and is tolerably open. the bricklow is here a real tree, but of stunted growth, with regularly fissured bark, like that of the ironbark (eucalyptus resinifera). it has long broad falcate phyllodia, whilst another species of the same size has an irregular scaly bark, with small phyllodia, but of a greyer colour than those of the common bricklow. both species grow promiscuously together. where the river left the scrub, it entered into a wild water-worn box flat, and cut up into several irregular channels, lined by a dense thicket of narrow-leaved melaleucas of stunted growth and irregular shapes. the box-tree itself is here a different species, the bark has deeper fissures, and the young wood is very yellow. i shall distinguish it by the name of "water-box," as it grows exclusively near creeks, or on the neighbouring flats. i first observed it at the mackenzie; its bark strips freely, but the stem is too short and irregular to be of any use. in passing a low hill, at the foot of which the box-flat commenced, we came on a very distinct path of the natives, which led us to a deep water-hole, covered with luxuriant grass; containing but a small quantity of water. farther on we came to a second hole better supplied, and to a third; and at last charley cried out, "look there, sir! what big water!" and a long broad sheet of water stretched in sweeps through a dense bauhinia and bricklow scrub, which covered its steep banks. it is a singular character of this remarkable country, that extremes so often meet; the most miserable scrub, with the open plain and fine forest land; and the most paralysing dryness, with the finest supply of water. swarms of ducks covered the margin of the lake; pelicans, beyond the reach of shot, floated on its bosom; land-turties plunged into its waters; and shags started from dead trees lying half immersed, as we trod the well-beaten path of the natives along its banks. the inhabitants of this part of the country, doubtless, visit this spot frequently, judging from the numerous heaps of muscle-shells. this fine piece of water, probably in the main channel of the suttor, is three miles long, and is surrounded with one mass of scrub, which opens a little at its north-western extremity. march .--i continued my ride, ten or twelve miles down the river; the scrub continued, but the immediate neighbourhood became a little more open; several trees were observed, that had been recently cut by the natives in search of honey or opossums. emus were very numerous; sometimes a solitary bird, and at others two, three, four, and up to thirteen together, were seen trotting off in long file, and now and then stopping to stare at us. we caught a bandicoot with two young ones, which gave us an excellent luncheon. when we left the lake, charley thought he could distinguish a plain to the northward; and, riding in that direction, i was agreeably surprised to find that the scrub did not extend more than a mile and a-half from the river; and that, beyond it, plains and open forest extended far to the northward; and fine ridges with most excellent feed, to the southward. the traveller who is merely following the course of a river, is unable to form a correct idea of the country farther off, unless hills are near, from which he may obtain extensive views. at the water-worn banks of the mackenzie, i little expected that we were in the vicinity of a country like that of peak range; and i am consequently inclined to believe that much more available land exists along the banks of the suttor, where its valley is covered with scrub, than we know anything about. march .--the camp was removed to the lake of the suttor, about twelve miles and a-half n. degrees w. we chased a flock of emus, but without success; four of my companions went duck-shooting, but got very few; the others angled, but nothing would bite. the day was cloudy; some drizzling rain fell in the morning; the night was clear. lat. degrees minutes minutes. during my absence, my companions found a quantity of implements and ornaments of the natives, in the neighbourhood of our last camp. on the plains i found two new species of sida; and, on the tea-trees, a new form of loranthus, with flowers in threes on a broad leafy bract, scarcely distinguishable from the real leaves. march .--we travelled down to the water-holes, at which i had turned back. sandstone rock cropped out on several spots, and pieces of broken quartz were strewed over the ground. all the water-holes along the low ridges and within the bed of the river, were full of water; and the district seemed to be one of those which, from their peculiar conformation of surface, are more frequently favoured by thunder-storms. native companions flew down the river, and flights of ducks held their course in the same direction. with the hope of finding a good supply of water lower down, we continued our journey on the st march. the creek frequently divided into channels, forming large islands of a mile and a mile and a-half in length, covered with scrub, and over which freshes had swept. all at once, the water disappeared; the deepest holes were dry; the melaleucas were not to be found; the flooded-gums became very rare, and the rich green grass was replaced by a scanty wiry grass. the whole river seemed to divide into chains of dry water-holes, scarcely connected by hollows. two miles farther we came to a fine large water-hole, surrounded by polygonums and young water-grass, and, at two miles farther, to another, and in about the same distance to a third. recent camps of the natives were on each of them, and a beaten path led from one to the other. one of these holes was crossed by a weir made of sticks for catching fish. bones of large fish, turtle shells, and heaps of muscles, were strewed round the fire places. the whole day was bright and very hot; the wind in the afternoon from e.s.e. the latitude of our last camp was degrees minutes seconds, being about eighteen miles w.n.w. from the lake. mr. roper and brown rode about seven miles down the river, and found that it again formed a large regular bed well supplied with water; and that the country was of a more open character. they came suddenly upon two women cooking mussels, who ran off, leaving their dinners to their unwelcome visitors, who quickly dispatched the agreeable repast; farther on they saw four men, who were too shy to approach. charley also, whilst bringing in the horses on the morning of the nd, passed a numerous camp, who quietly rose and gazed at him, but did not utter a single word. i travelled with my party to the water-holes found by mr. roper; on approaching them, we crossed an extensive box-flat, near that part of the river where it is split into collateral chains of holes. talc-schiste cropped out at the latter part of the journey; its strata were perpendicular, and their direction from north-west to south-east; its character was the same as that of moreton bay and new england; numerous veins of quartz intersected the rock. the water-holes were surrounded by high polygonums; blue nymphaeas were observed in several of them; and ducks were very numerous. the forenoon was cloudless and hot; cirrhous clouds formed in the afternoon; with a breeze from the e.s.e. our lat. was degrees minutes. mr. gilbert and charley, when on a reconnoitring ride, met another party of natives; among them two gins were so horror-struck at the unwonted sight, that they immediately fled into the scrub; the men commenced talking to them, but occasionally interrupted their speeches by spitting and uttering a noise like pooh! pooh! apparently expressive of their disgust. march .--the party moved on about ten miles to the north-east, and encamped at the junction of a large creek which comes from the s.s.e. its character is similar to that of the suttor; and i should not be surprised if it should prove to be the northern anabranch of that creek, and which we crossed on the th of march, the day before we arrived at the lake. the country opens into lightly-timbered ridges, which are composed of a hard rock, the sharp pieces of which covered the ground, and made our animals foot-sore. it seems to me to be a clayey sandstone (psammite) penetrated by silica. a coarse-grained sandstone and quartzite cropped out in that part of the river situated between the two camps. the melon-holes of the box-flats were frequently over-grown with the polygonaceous plant, mentioned at a former occasion; and the small scrub plains were covered with a grey chenopodiaceous plant from three to four feet high. the stiff-leaved cymbidium was still very common, and two or three plants of it were frequently observed on the same tree; its stem is eatable, but glutinous and insipid. the morning of easter sunday was very clear and hot; the wind from e.n.e. as soon as we had celebrated the day with a luncheon of fat damper and sweetened tea, i rode with charley about seven or eight miles down the river, and found abundance of water, not only in the bed of the river, but in lines of lagoons parallel to it. charley shot several ducks, which were very numerous upon the water. whilst riding along the bank of the river, we saw an old woman before us, walking slowly and thoughtfully through the forest, supporting her slender and apparently exhausted frame with one of those long sticks which the women use for digging roots; a child was running before her. fearing she would be much alarmed if we came too suddenly upon her,--as neither our voices in conversation, nor the footfall of our horses, attracted her attention,--i cooeed gently; after repeating the call two or three times, she turned her head; in sudden fright she lifted her arms, and began to beat the air, as if to take wing,--then seizing the child, and shrieking most pitifully, she rapidly crossed the creek, and escaped to the opposite ridges. what could she think; but that we were some of those imaginary beings, with legends of which the wise men of her people frighten the children into obedience, and whose strange forms and stranger doings are the favourite topics of conversation amongst the natives at night when seated round their fires? i observed a fine sienite on several spots; it is of a whitish colour, and contains hornblende and mica in almost equal quantities; granite was also seen, and both rocks probably belong to each other, the presence of hornblende being local. a very hard pudding-stone crops out about nine miles down the river. from the ridges, hills were seen to the n.n.e. and to the westward. vitex scrub is met with in patches of small extent. a white crane, and the whistling duck, were seen. black ducks and teal were most common, and charley shot eight of them. on the banks of the more or less dry water-holes grows an annual leguminous plant, which shoots up into a simple stem, often to the height of twelve feet; its neck and root are covered with a spongy tissue; its leaves are pinnate, a foot or more in length, with small leaflets; it bears mottled yellow flowers, in axillary racemes; and long rough, articulate pods, containing small, bright, olive-green seeds. i first saw this plant at limestone, near moreton bay, and afterwards at the water-holes of comet river. it was extremely abundant in the bed of the burdekin, and was last seen on the west side of the gulf of carpentaria; i could, however, easily distinguish three species of this plant. [they belong probably to the two genera, aeschynomene and sesbania.] last evening, clouds gathered in the west, but cleared off after sunset; the night again cloudy, the forenoon equally so; in the afternoon the clouds were dissipated by a north-east wind. march .--we travelled about nine miles n. degrees w. along the river; a small creek joined from the westward. at night we had a heavy thunder-storm from the s.w. march .--weather very hot; clouds formed during the afternoon. we continued our journey along the river to lat. degrees minutes; the river winds considerably. we passed several hills at the latter part of the stage. i ascended one of them, on the right bank of the river, and obtained an extensive view of the country, which has a very uniform character. there were ridges and low ranges to the westward, one of which stretched from n. by w. far to the westward. the hill on which i stood was composed of limestone rock; it was flat-topped, with steep slopes at each end. in lat. about degrees minutes, we crossed a large creek, densely lined with dropping tea trees, coming from the westward. it was here we first met with careya arborea (roxb.), a small tree from fifteen to twenty feet high, with elliptical leaves of soft texture, four inches long, and two in breadth; its fruit was about two inches long, contained many seeds, and resembled that of the guava. its leaves, however, had neither the vernation nor the pellucid dots of myrtaceous trees. at the junction of the creek, a great number of small corypha palms were growing, and my companions observed the dead stems of some very high ones, whose tops had been cut off by the natives, probably to obtain the young shoot. we passed hills of baked sandstone, before reaching the creek, and afterwards crossed a fine sandy flat, with poplar-gum. the river has a broad bed, at times dividing into several channels, lined with stately melaleucas and flooded-gum, and again uniting into one deep channel, with long reaches of water surrounded by polygonums, and overgrown with blue nymphaeas, damasoniums, and utricularias, and inhabited by large flights of ducks. rock occasionally enters into the bed of the river. the collateral lines of water-holes are rarely interrupted, and the ridges appear to be open on both sides of the river. march .--we travelled along the river to lat. degrees minutes seconds. its course is almost due north. yesterday, being out duck shooting, we came suddenly upon a camp of natives, who were not a little frightened by the report of our guns: they followed our tracks, however, with wailing cries, and afterwards all of them sat down on the rocky banks of the river, when we returned to our camp. to-day we passed the place of their encampment with our whole train, and it was remarkable that they neither heard nor saw us until we were close to them, though we had seen them from a great distance. all the young ones ran away. dismounting from my horse, i walked up to an old man who had remained, and who was soon after rejoined by another man. we had a long unintelligible conversation, for neither brown nor charley could make out a single word of their language. they were much surprised by the different appearance of charley's black skin and my own. phillips wished to exchange his jacket for one of their opossum cloaks, so i desired him to put it on the ground, and then taking the cloak and placing it near the jacket, i pointed to phillips, and, taking both articles up, handed the cloak to phillips and the jacket to our old friend, who perfectly understood my meaning. after some time he expressed a wish to have the cloak back, and to keep the jacket, with which we had dressed him; but i gave him to understand that he might have his cloak, provided he returned the jacket; which arrangement satisfied him. a basket (dilli), which i examined, was made of a species of grass which, according to charley, is found only on the sea coast. we saw a tabiroo (mycteria) and a rifle bird. the morning was cloudy, but very hot. numerous heavy cumuli formed during the afternoon. march .--we travelled to lat. degrees minutes seconds. the country along the river is undulating and hilly, and openly timbered. the rock is of sandstone, and the ground is covered with quartz pebbles. in lat. about degrees minutes, the suttor is joined by a river as large as itself, coming from the s.w. by w., and which changes the course of the suttor to the n.e. just before the junction, the large bed of the suttor contracts into one deep channel, filled in its whole extent by a fine sheet of water, on which charley shot a pelican. i mention this singular contraction, because a similar peculiarity was observed to occur at almost every junction of considerable channels, as that of the suttor and burdekin, and of the lynd and the mitchell. i named the river, which here joins the suttor, after mr. cape, the obliging commander of the shamrock steamer. the bed of the united rivers is very broad, with several channels separated by high sandy bergues. the country back from the river is formed by flats alternating with undulations, and is lightly timbered with silver-leaved ironbark, rusty gum, moreton bay ash, and water box. the trees are generally stunted, and unfit for building; but the drooping tea trees and the flooded-gum will supply sufficient timber for such a purpose. at our camp, at the bed of the river, granite crops out, and the sands sparkle with leaflets of gold-coloured mica. the morning was clear and hot; the afternoon cloudy; a thunder-storm to the north-east. we have observed nothing of the sea-breeze of the mackenzie and of peak range, along the suttor; but a light breeze generally sets in about nine o'clock p.m. charley met with a flock of twenty emus, and hunted down one of them. march .--we travelled down the river to latitude degrees minutes seconds. the country was improving, beautifully grassed, openly timbered, flat, or ridgy, or hilly; the ridges were covered with pebbles, the hills rocky. the rocks were baked sandstone, decomposed granite, and a dark, very hard conglomerate: the latter cropped out in the bed of the river where we encamped. pebbles of felspathic porphyry were found in the river's bed. at some old camping places of the natives, we found the seed-vessels of pandanus, a plant which i had never seen far from the sea coast; and also the empty shells of the seeds of a cycas. mr. calvert, john murphy, and brown, whom i had sent to collect marjoram, told me, at their return, that they had seen whole groves of pandanus trees; and brought home the seed-vessel of a new proteaceous tree. i went to examine the locality, and found, on a sandy and rather rotten soil, the pandanus abundant, growing from sixteen to twenty feet high, either with a simple stem and crown, or with a few branches at the top. the proteaceous tree was small, from twelve to fifteen feet high, of stunted and irregular habit, with dark, fissured bark, and large medullary rays in its red wood: its leaves were of a silvery colour, about two inches and a half long, and three-quarters broad; its seed-vessels woody and orbicular, like the single seed-vessels of the banksia conchifera; the seeds were surrounded by a broad transparent membrane. this tree, which i afterwards found every where in the neighbourhood of the gulf of carpentaria, was in blossom from the middle of may to that of june. the poplar-gum, the bloodwood, the melaleuca of mt. stewart, the moreton bay ash, the little severn tree, and a second species of the same genus with smooth leaves, were growing on the same soil. the grasses were very various, particularly in the hollows: and the fine bearded grass of the isaacs grew from nine to twelve feet in height. charley brought me a branch of a cassia with a thyrse of showy yellow blossoms, which he said he had plucked from a shrub about fifteen feet high. we encamped about two miles from the foot of a mountain bearing about n.e. from us; i called it mount mcconnel, after fred. mcconnel, esq., who had most kindly contributed to my expedition. the suttor winds round its western base, and, at four or five miles beyond it, in a northerly direction, and in latitude degrees minutes seconds joins a river, the bed of which, at the junction, is fully a mile broad. narrow and uninterrupted belts of small trees were growing within the bed of the latter, and separated broad masses of sand, through which a stream ten yards broad and from two to three feet deep, was meandering; but which at times swells into large sheets of water, occasionally occupying the whole width of the river. charley reported that he had seen some black swans, and large flights of ducks and pelicans. this was the most northern point at which the black swan was observed on our expedition. chapter vii the burdekin--transition from the depository to the primitive rocks--thacker's range--wild figs--geological remarks--the clarke--the perry. as this place afforded every convenience for killing and curing another bullock, we remained here for that purpose from the th march to the nd of april. the weather was favourable for our operations, and i took two sets of lunar observations, the first of which gave me longitude degrees minutes, and the second, degrees minutes. the mornings were generally either cloudless, or with small cumuli, which increased as the day advanced, but disappeared at sunset; the wind was, as far as i could judge, northerly, north-easterly, and easterly. april .--the suttor was reported by charley to be joined by so many gullies and small creeks, running into it from the high lands, which would render travelling along its banks extremely difficult, that i passed to the east side of mount mcconnel, and reached by that route the junction of the suttor with the newly discovered river, which i called the burdekin, in acknowledgment of the liberal assistance which i received from mrs. burdekin of sidney, in the outfit of my expedition. the course of this river is to the east by south; and i thought that it would most probably enter the sea in the neighbourhood of cape upstart. flood marks, from fifteen to eighteen feet above the banks, showed that an immense body of water occasionally sweeps down its wide channel. i did not ascend mount mcconnel, but it seemed to be composed of a species of domite. on the subordinate hills i observed sienite. the bed of the river furnished quite a collection of primitive rocks: there were pebbles of quartz, white, red, and grey; of granite; of sienite; of felspathic porphyry, hornblende, and quartz-porphyry; and of slate-rock. the morning was cloudless. in the afternoon, heavy cumuli, which dissolved towards sunset; a strong wind from the north and north by east. a very conspicuous hill, bearing e.n.e. from the junction of the rivers, received the name of mount graham, after r. graham, esq., who had most liberally contributed to my expedition. mr. gilbert found a large calabash attached to its dry vine, which had been carried down by the waters. several other very interesting cucurbitaceous fruits, and large reeds, were observed among the rubbish which had accumulated round the trees during the flood. april .--we travelled up the burdekin, in a north-north-west direction, to latitude degrees minutes seconds. the country was hilly and mountainous; the soil was stony; and the banks of the river were intersected by deep gullies and creeks. the forest vegetation was the same as that on the lower suttor. among the patches of brush which are particularly found at the junction of the larger creeks with the river, we observed a large fig-tree, from fifty to sixty feet high, with a rich shady foliage; and covered with bunches of fruit. the figs were of the size of a small apple, of an agreeable flavour when ripe, but were full of small flies and ants. these trees were numerous, and their situation was readily detected by the paths of the natives leading to them: a proof that the fruit forms one of their favourite articles of food. the drooping tea trees, which had increased both in number and size, grew in company with an arborescent calistemon, along the water's edge; and a species of eucalyptus, somewhat resembling angophora intermedia, was discovered at this spot: it occurs frequently to the northward, and is common round the gulf of carpentaria. the small acacia tree of expedition range was frequently seen in the forest, and was covered with an amber-coloured gum, that was eatable, but tasteless: hakea lorea (r. br.), and grevillea ceratophylla (r. br.); the ebenaceous tree, and that with guava-like fruit (lareya), were all numerous. the bed of the river was covered with the leguminous annual i noticed at the suttor; it grew here so high and thick that my companions were unable to see me, though riding only a few yards from them. rock frequently crops out in the bed of the river, and in the neighbouring hills. several hills at the right bank were formed by a kind of thermantide of a whitish grey, or red colour, and which might be scratched easily with a penknife. other conical hills or short ranges, with irregular rugged crests, were composed of granite of many varieties, red and white, fine grained without hornblende, or containing the latter substance, and changing into sienite; and, at one place, it seemed as if it had broken through psammite. i observed quartzite in several localities, and a hard pudding-stone extending for a considerable distance. we were, no doubt, on the transition from the depository to the primitive rocks; and a detailed examination of this interesting part of the country would be very instructive to the geologist, as to the relative age and position of the rocks. a small fish, with yellow and dark longitudinal lines, and probably belonging to the cyprinidae, was caught. wind prevailed from the northward: the forenoon was cloudless; heavy cumuli in the afternoon. we travelled at first on the right side of the river; but its banks became so mountainous and steep, and the gullies so deep, that we were compelled to cross it at a place where it was very deep, and where our horses and cattle had to swim. many of our things got wet, and we were delayed by stopping to dry them. april .--we moved our camp to latitude degrees minutes seconds, a distance of about nine miles n.w. by n. we passed several granitic peaks and ranges; one of which i ascended, and enjoyed an extensive view. the character of the country changed very little: open narrow-leaved ironbark forest on a granitic sand, full of brilliant leaflets of mica. some deep creeks came from the eastward. to the west and north-west nothing was to be seen but ridges; but high imposing ranges rise to the north and north-east. at one spot, large masses of calcareous spar were scattered over the ground; they were probably derived from a vein in the granite. three black ducks, (anas novae hollandiae) were shot. tracks of native dogs were numerous; and a bitch came fearlessly down to the river, at a short distance from our camp. our kangaroo dog ran at her, and both fell into the water, which enabled the bitch to escape. april .--we re-crossed the river, which was not very deep, and travelled about nine miles n. degrees w. the river flows parallel to a high mountain range, at about three or four miles from its left bank. i named this after mr. robey, another friendly contributor to my outfit. a large creek very probably carries the waters from this range to the burdekin, in latitude degrees minutes. the country was very ridgy and hilly; and we found it exceedingly difficult to proceed along the river. we observed the poplar-gum again in the open forest, and a fine drooping loranthus growing on it. pandanus was also very frequent, in clusters from three to eight trees. the clustered fig-tree gave us an ample supply of fruit, which, however, was not perfectly mellow. veins of calcareous spar and of quartz were again observed. i ascended a lofty hill, situated about a mile and a half to the west of our encampment, and found it composed of felspathic porphyry, with a greyish paste containing small crystals of felspar; but, in the bed of the river, the same rock was of a greenish colour, and contained a great number of pebbles of various rocks, giving it the aspect of a conglomerate; but recognisable by its crystals of felspar, and from its being connected with the rock of the hill. from the top of the hill, which is wooded with a silver-leaved ironbark, i saw a very mountainous country to the n.n.w. and northward, formed into detached ranges and isolated peaks, some of which were apparently very high; but to the north-west and west no ranges were visible. a thunder-storm threatened on the th, but we had only some light showers: the morning of the th was very hot, and the afternoon rainy. wind from north and north-east. nights clear. april .--we travelled about ten miles n. degrees w. over a ridgy, openly timbered, stony and sandy country, and crossed several sandy creeks, in which a species of melaleuca, and another of tristania were growing. no part of the country that we had yet seen, resembled the northern parts of new england so much as this. the rock was almost exclusively granitic isolated blocks; detached heaps, and low ridges composed of it were frequently met with in the open forest. we passed two small hillocks of milkwhite quartz; fragments of this rock, as well as of calcareous spar, were often observed scattered over the ground. the river here made a large bend to the northward, still keeping parallel to robey's range, or a spur of it; and, when it again turned to the westward, another fine high range was visible to the north by east and north-east of it; which i named "porter's range," in acknowledgment of the kindness of another of the contributors to my expedition. its latitude is about degrees minutes. april .--travelled about ten miles n. degrees w. the country became more level, more open, and better grassed; the gullies were farther apart, and headed generally in fine hollows. two large creeks joined the river from the westward; and a still larger one came from the northward, and which probably carries off the water from the country round a fine peak, and a long razorback mountain which we saw in that direction. north-west of porter's range, and between it and the razorback, were two small peaks. the timber is of the same kind, but larger. the poplar-gum was more frequent, and we always found patches of fine grass near it; even when all the surrounding ironbark bark forest was burnt. the large clustered fig-trees were not numerous along the river; we perhaps passed from three to five in the course of a day's journey; though young ones, without fruit, were often seen. heavy clouds gathered during the afternoon of the th, and it rained throughout the night; the wind was from n. and n.e. in the morning of the th some drops of rain fell, but the weather cleared up during the day; wind easterly. the moon changed this day, and we experienced a heavy thunder-storm during the afternoon. april .--we travelled about nine miles n. degrees w., to latitude degrees minutes seconds. the river made a bend to the southward, and then, at a sharp angle, turned again to the north-west. at this angle a large creek joined it from the south; another instance of creeks joining larger channels, coming in a direction almost opposite to their course. two other creeks joined the burdekin during this stage; one from the south-west, and another from the north. the grass was particularly rich at these junctions. the river became considerably narrower, but still had a fine stream. thunder-storms had probably fallen higher up its course, causing a fresh; for its waters, hitherto clear, had become turbid. narrow patches of brush were occasionally met with along its banks, and i noticed several brush trees, common in other parts of the country. besides the clustered fig, and another species with rough leaves and small downy purple fruit, there were a species of celtis; the melia azederach (white cedar); a species of phyllanthus, (a shrub from six to ten feet high); an asclepiadaceous climber, with long terete twin capsules; and several cucurbitaceae, one with oblong fruit about an inch long, another with a round fruit half an inch in diameter, red and white, resembling a gooseberry; a third was of an oblong form, two inches and a half long and one broad; and a fourth was of the size and form of an orange, and of a beautiful scarlet colour: the two last had an excessively bitter taste. the night and morning were cloudy, with a southerly wind, but it cleared up at eleven o'clock. cumuli in the afternoon, with wind from the south-east. from our camp we saw a range of hills, bearing between n. degrees w. and n. degrees w.; they were about three miles distant. i called them "thacker's range," in acknowledgment of the support i received from--thacker, esq., of sidney. april .--we travelled about nine miles w. by n., and made our latitude degrees minutes seconds. the western end of thacker's range bore n.e. two large creeks joined the river from the south and south-west. the country was openly timbered; the moreton bay ash grew along the bergue of the river, where a species of grewia seemed its inseparable companion. the flooded-gum occupied the hollows and slopes of the river banks, which were covered with a high stiff grass to the water's edge, and the stream was fringed with a thicket of drooping tea trees, which were comparatively small, and much bent by the force of floods, the probable frequency of which may account for the reduced size of the tree. the ridges were covered with rusty gum and narrow-leaved ironbark. an erythrina and the acacia of expedition range were plentiful. the grass was rich and of various species. the granite rock still prevailed. a felspathic rock cropped out near the second creek, where i met with a dark rock, composed of felspar and horneblende (diorite.) our camp was pitched at the foot of a series of small conical hills, composed of porphyry. a larger range to the southward of it was also porphyritic, very hard, as if penetrated by quartz, and containing small crystals of flesh-coloured felspar. sienite cropped out on the flats between these two ranges. i commanded a most extensive view from the higher range. high and singularly crenelated ranges were seen to the south-west; detached peaks and hills to the westward; short ranges and peaks to the north; and considerable ranges between north and north-east. a river was observed to join the burdekin from the ranges to the south-west. numerous kangaroos were seen bounding over the rocky slopes to the grassy glens below. a stunted silver-leaved ironbark covered the hills. april .--the night was very cold, particularly towards morning, and the dew heavy; the morning was calm; a breeze from the south-east set in at nine o'clock a.m.; cumuli formed about eleven o'clock, and became very heavy during the afternoon. the country over which we travelled about eight miles n. by w., was one of the finest we had seen. it was very open, with some plains, slightly undulating or rising into ridges, beautifully grassed and with sound ground. we crossed the river i had seen the preceding day from the hill, and found it running. two large creeks, one from the right and the other from the left, also joined the burdekin. i observed pegmatite of a white colour, and hornblende porphyry and diorite. a shrubby clerodendron and an arborescent bursaria, covered with white blossoms, adorned the forest. the latitude was degrees minutes seconds. april .--we continued our journey up the river, in a w.n.w. direction, for about ten miles. the first part of our journey lay through a most beautiful country. the hollows along the river were covered with a dense sward of various grasses, and the forest was open as far as the eye could reach. farther on, however, we occasionally met with patches of vitex scrub, and crossed some stony ridges. a small river joined from the north-east, at about a mile and a half from the last camp, and also two large creeks from the south-west. i ascended the hills opposite our camp, and looked over an immense and apparently flat country, out of which small peaks and short ranges rose. the hills on which i stood were composed of pegmatite, with patches of white mica in large leaflets. during the journey we found granite changing into gneiss, diorite, and quartz rock. on the rocky crest of the hill, i gathered the pretty red and black seeds of a leguminous climbing shrub (abrus precatorius). phonolithic or basaltic pebbles made me suppose that we were near to a change of country. our latitude was degrees minutes seconds. april .--we had scarcely travelled a mile and a half, when we had to cross a large creek, which increased in size higher up. box-tree flats and open vitex scrub extended along its banks, and the latter, according to mr. roper's account, changed into dense bricklow scrub. at the junction of the creek and the river, we came on a dyke of basalt, the flat summit of which was so rough that we were compelled to travel along the flats of the creek, which for a long distance ran parallel to the burdekin. the soil on the basalt was so shallow that it sustained only a scanty vegetation of grass and some few scattered narrow-leaved ironbark trees. we crossed this dyke, however, and at about three miles descended from it into a fine narrow-leaved ironbark flat, extending along the river, in which another large creek from the south-west joined the burdekin. the flat was bounded by hills of limestone, cropping out in large blocks, with visible stratification, but without fossils. having passed the third creek in the course of this day's journey, we encamped on the commencement of another basaltic dyke. the bed of the creek was full of blocks of sienite, of hornblende porphyry, of greenish pegmatite, and of cellular basalt. the river here formed a large sheet of water; large masses of a white sienite protruded out of it, opposite the junction of the creek. the opposite bank exhibited a very perfect and instructive geological section of variously bent and lifted strata of limestone, which was afterwards found to contain innumerable fossils, particularly corals and a few bivalve shells. the rev. w. b. clarke, of paramatta, kindly undertook to examine the fossils brought from this locality. one he determined to be an undescribed species of cyathophyllum, and has done me the honour to give my name to it [refer note at end of chapter]. the others belonged principally to the following genera, viz., asterias, caryophyllea, and madrepora. the right bank of the river rose into steep cliffs of basalt, under which the clustered fig tree, with its dense foliage, formed a fine shady bower. the basaltic dyke was about a mile and a half broad, and i followed it about five miles up the river. its summit was flat, rough, and rocky; at the distance of four miles from our camp it receded a little from the river, and there limestone was observed, crowded with fossils like that on the opposite side of the river. two miles farther, the bed of the river was formed by a felspathic rock, with beautiful dendrites. a small island, with a chain of lagoons on one side, and with the river on the other, was also composed of this rock, in contact with, and covered by, basalt in several places. there were small falls and rapids in several parts of the river. a beaten foot-path of the natives, and many fire-places, showed that this part of it was much frequented by them. wallabies were very numerous between the cliffs of the felspathic rock; and the fine fig trees along the banks of the river were covered with ripe fruit. the river made a wide sweep round the left side of a large limestone hill, whilst a chain of deep basaltic water-holes continued on its right. the basalt ceased to the westward of the limestone hill, and was succeeded by considerable flats of ironbark, moreton bay ash, and bloodwood. the capparis still exhibited a few showy flowers. i examined the country thus far on the th april, after the camp had been formed; on returning, i took with me a large supply of ripe figs, of which we partook freely, and which caused several of us to suffer severely from indigestion, though we had frequently eaten small quantities of them without inconvenience. april .--we avoided the field of basalt by moving up the creek we last crossed, about four miles, and by crossing over to the flats of the river where the basalt terminated. these flats, however, were again interrupted by a basaltic dyke, over which we were compelled to travel, as the steep banks of the river were on one side, and black bare rocks, forming sometimes regular walls with a dense scrub between them, prevented us from turning to the other. after descending from the basalt, we crossed a good-sized creek from the south-west, and travelled over a fine open country to lat. degrees minutes seconds. two hills were close to the left side of the burdekin, which, at their base, were joined by a large running creek from the n.n.w. from the limestone hill of yesterday, no other hill was visible to the westward, though ranges and isolated hills lay to the north and north-east, and a high blue mountain to the south-west. some days ago i found, for the first time, spathodea alternifolia (r. br.), which we continued to meet with throughout the remainder of our journey. i saw but one flower of it, but its falcate seed-vessels, often more than a foot long, were very numerous. pandanus spiralis was frequent. the box (eucalyptus), on the flats along the creek, the soil of which is probably formed of the detritus of basaltic rock, had a lanceolate glossy leaf, uniting the character of the box with glossy orbicular leaves growing generally on the whinstone soil of the northern parts of the colony, and of the box with long lanceolate leaves which prefers stiff flats on the tributary creeks of the hunter. a bottle-tree with a platanus leaf (sterculia?) grew in the scrub on the field of basalt, and was in full blossom. a pretty species of commelyna, on the flats, a cucurbitaceous plant with quinquepalmate leaves and large white blossoms, grew along the river, the approaches of which were rendered almost inaccessible by a stiff high grass. charley brought me the long flower-stalk of xanthorrhaea from some ridges, which were, doubtless, composed of sandstone. two kangaroos were seen; they were of middle size, and of a yellowish grey colour, and seemed to live principally about the basaltic ridges. the cooee of natives had been heard only once during our journey along the banks of the burdekin; and the traces of their former presence had not been very frequently observed. large lagoons full of fish or mussels form a greater attraction to the natives than a stream too shallow for large fish, and, from its shifting sands, incapable of forming large permanent holes. wherever we met with scrub with a good supply of water, we were sure of finding numerous tracks of the natives, as game is so much more abundant where a dense vegetation affords shelter from its enemies. april .--last night, at seven o'clock, a strong breeze set in from the northward, and continued for about an hour, when it became perfectly calm. if this was the same breeze which we had observed at the mackenzie at eight o'clock, and which set in earlier and earlier, as we travelled along the isaacs and suttor (though it was less regular in these places) until we felt it at about six o'clock, we were now most evidently receding from the eastern coast. we travelled in a n. degrees w. direction to lat. degrees minutes seconds. a basaltic ridge, similar to those we had passed, extended in an almost straight line from south-east to north-west; it was covered with a scanty vegetation, with a few small narrow-leaved ironbark trees and erythrinas; the river now approached it, now left it in wide sweeps enclosing fine narrow-leaved ironbark flats. to the south-west side of this ridge or dyke, the soil is basaltic, with box-trees and open vitex scrub. the sharp conical hills of the white ant, constructed of red clay, were very numerous. a very perfect bower of the bower-bird was seen in a patch of scrub trees. in a gully, a loose violet coloured sandstone cropped out, over which the basalt had most evidently spread. farther on, the ridge enlarged and formed small hillocks, with bare rock cropping out at their tops;--a form of surface peculiar to the basaltic or whinstone country of this colony. charley shot the sheldrake of port essington, (tadorna rajah). the singular hissing or grinding note of the bower bird was heard all along the river; the fruit of the fig trees growing near, which seemed to supply it with its principal food during this part of the year. april .--one of our bullocks had gone back on our tracks, and thereby prevented our starting so early as usual. we travelled in a n. degrees w. direction to latitude degrees minutes seconds. the basaltic country continued, and apparently extended a great distance from the river. the flats along the latter were less extensive. sandstone cropped out in deep gullies, and in the bed of the river; it was naturally soft and coarse, but where it rose into hillocks near basalt, it changed into a fine baked sandstone, resembling quartzite, which, when in contact with the igneous rock, looked like burnt bricks. near our camp, a dyke or wall of the aspect of a flinty red conglomerate, crossed the river from south-west to north-east. i believe that this rock belongs to the porphyries of glendon, and of the upper gloucester. we continued to feel the breeze, or rather a puff of wind, between and o'clock at night; it was often very strong and cold, and prevented the mosquitoes from molesting us. april .--we proceeded north by west to latitude degrees minutes, and crossed several gullies coming from the basaltic ridges: these, however, receded far from the river, and large box and ironbark flats took their place for about three miles, when the ridges re-appeared. between four and five miles from the bar of red rock above mentioned, a fine large creek joined the burdekin from the westward. the box and ironbark forest was interrupted by slight rises of limestone full of corals; and by a higher hill of baked sandstone, at the foot of which a limestone hill was covered with a patch of vitex scrub. the strata of the limestone seemed to dip to the southward. the opposite banks of the river were ridgy, but openly timbered, and this fine country, with its well grassed flats, and its open ridges, seemed to extend very far on both sides. messrs. gilbert and roper went to the top of the hill, and saw ranges trending from west to north, with that crenelated outline which i had before seen and mentioned: they distinguished a large valley, and the smoke of several fires of the natives along the range. a large lagoon was at the western foot of the hill on which they were. a large creek was seen, by brown, to join the burdekin from the north-east, at a short mile from our encampment. a baked sandstone and pudding-stone of a white colour projected into the river at the place, which not only exhibited the transition from one rock into the other, but it showed the action of igneous rocks on both, and gave a clue to the nature of the red rock i described yesterday. in the thicket which covered the rock, i observed pomaderris of moreton bay. in decreasing our latitude, both mr. gilbert and myself were inclined to think that, whenever a bird or a plant disappeared, it was owing to that circumstance. in this, however, we were frequently mistaken: trees and herbaceous plants disappeared with the change of soil, and the decrease of moisture, and the birds kept to a certain vegetation: and, as soon as we came to similar localities, familiar forms of plants and birds re-appeared. almost all the scrub-trees of the condamine and kent's lagoon were still to be seen at the burdekin; and the isolated waters near grassy flats were visited by swarms of little finches, which mr. gilbert had observed at port essington, and which, in all probability, belonged to the whole extent of country between that place and the region of the tropics. this slight change of vegetation, and particularly of the inland flora, from south to north, is no doubt connected with the uniformity of the soil and climate: and the immense difference which exists between the eastern and western coast, has led men of science and of observation, not without good reason, to infer that this continent was originally divided into two large islands, or into an archipelago, which have been united by their progressive, and, perhaps, still continued, elevation. as an exception, however, to this remark, a very sudden change of the flora was observed, when we entered into the basin of the gulf of carpentaria, after leaving the eastern waters, although the flora of the north-west coast and port essington, was little different from that of the gulf. april .--we travelled about nine miles n. degrees w. on our way we passed a hill of baked sandstone, and several gullies. about five miles from our last camp, a large creek joined the river; beyond that creek, the country was, without exception, open, and rather of a more undulating character; the flats were somewhat rotten: the river became narrower, but was still running strong; and numerous ducks sported on its shady pools. april .--last night we had a very cold north-easterly wind, and, during the day, some few drops of drizzling rain. we travelled about n. by w. to latitude degrees minutes seconds. after passing some gullies, we came into a more broken and hilly country; the river formed here a large anabranch. the ironbark trees, which timbered the extensive flat along the river, became much finer; but the soil was rotten: the poplar-gum grew on the stiff soil of the hollows. about six miles from our last camp, we came to ranges of high hills of a conical form, and with rounded tops, striking from west to east, and then entered a narrow valley, bounded on each side by rocky hills. mr. roper observed a rugged country to the northward, and a fine high range to the south-east. the whole country from the large flat to our camp, was composed of felspathic porphyry, containing crystals of felspar, and accidentally of quartz, in a paste varying in colour and hardness. in the bed of the river, i still found pebbles of pegmatite, granite, quartz, and basalt; indicating that a country of varied character was before us. the stream wound its way from one side of the broad sandy bed to the other; and those parts where it flowed, were generally very steep, and covered with a dense vegetation, whilst, on the opposite side, the banks sloped gently into the broad sands. among the shrubs and grasses, a downy abutelon was easily distinguished by its large bright yellow blossoms. my blackfellows procured several messes of ducks; and brown brought me a piece of indurated clay with impressions of water-plants. april .--continuing our journey in a north-west direction, we passed over some very rocky hills, composed of indurated clay, and thin strata of sandstone, and pudding-stone. by moving along the foot of a range of high hills, we avoided all those deep gullies which intersected the banks of the river, and travelled with ease through a flat, well grassed ironbark forest. the hills were covered, as usual, with stunted silver-leaved ironbark. a large creek came from the range, and entered the river. a good section on its right bank exposed to view the strata of indurated clay and sandstone; and i was induced to believe that coal might be found below them. as we were passing over the flat between the creck and the river, we saw a native busily occupied in burning the grass, and eagerly watching its progress: the operation attracted several crows, ready to seize the insects and lizards which might be driven from their hiding places by the fire. mr. calvert, brown, and charley, rode nearly up to the man before he was aware of their approach; when he took to his heels, and fled in the greatest consternation. upon reaching the river, at about eight miles from our last camp, we found that it was joined by another river of almost the same size as the burdekin: it had a stream, and came from the northward, whilst the course of the burdekin at this place was from the west to east. from the junction a long range trended to the north-east, and moderate ranges bounded the valley of the river from the northward; another range extended along the left side of the burdekin above the junction; and basaltic ridges, which had broken through the sandstone, approached on its right. the cucurbitaceous plant with palmate leaves, bore a fruit of the size of a large orange, of a fine scarlet colour when ripe; its rind is exceedingly bitter, but the seeds are eaten by birds. mr. phillips found a flesh-coloured drupaceous oblong fruit, about half an inch long, with a very glutinous pericarp, containing a slightly compressed rough stone: in taste it resembled the fruit of loranthus, and the birds, particularly the coekatoos, appeared very fond of it. we all ate a great quantity of them, without the slightest injury. it grew on a small tree, and had a persistent calyx. april .--we travelled in a n. degrees w. course to latitude degrees minutes seconds. rocky ranges frequently approached the river, and deep and intricate gullies descended from them to the latter. our progress was consequently very difficult, and we were compelled to ascend a very high hill to avoid its slopes towards the river, which were too steep for us to cross. as a recompense, however, for the difficulty of the ascent, i had the pleasure of finding some very interesting plants on its summit; particularly a small acacia with verticillate leaves, which dr. binoe, the surgeon of h. m. s. beagle, had found on the north-west coast; and two other acacias equally new to me, and which were afterwards found to extend to the heads of the south alligator river. from this hill we had a magnificent view of the country before us: it was enclosed on all sides by high mountain ranges, of which one in particular overtopped the rest. porphyry was observed on several spots; indurated clay frequently; and, on the top of the hill below which we encamped, i found quartz porphyry, and at the foot a psammite? which i had met several times associated with talc-schiste. april .--we continued our journey in a s. degrees w. course to latitude degrees minutes. the country became still more mountainous; we passed, notwithstanding, many large well grassed flats, on which the timber grew to a greater size than we had observed it at the lower part of the river. the poplar-gum was very frequent in the hollow, and low stiff flats extended parallel to the river. the prevailing rock was talc-schiste, alternating with layers of psammite. on the hills and in the creeks, i frequently observed conglomerate, with many pieces of quartz. the drooping hakea of kent's lagoon (hakea lorea, r. br.; grevillea lorea, r. br. prodr. nov. holl. i. p. ) was in blossom; and on the rocky slopes i found a new species of hakea, having linear lanceolate leaves with axillary fascicules of small brownish flowers: it was an arborescent shrub, from three to six feet high; and is nearly allied to h. arborescens (r. br. prodr. p. ). a high imposing range was visible to the northward. april .--we travelled about nine miles west, making our latitude degrees minutes. ranges ran parallel to the river at different distances: we left a very fine one to the south-west and south, from which the large creek we passed about two miles from our last camp, probably descends. three miles farther, a river as large or even larger than the burdekin, joins the latter from the westward and south-west-- the burdekin coming down from the north-west. i was doubtful which of the two rivers i ought to follow; but finding, after a close examination, that the north-west branch was running, whilst the south-west one contained only large, long, but unconnected reaches of water, i determined upon following the north-west branch. i called the south-west branch the "clarke," in compliment to the rev. w. b. clarke of paramatta, who has been, and is still, most arduously labouring to elucidate the meteorology and the geology of this part of the world. about three miles above the junction, a creek of considerable size joined the burdekin from the northward. wherever the ridges approached the banks of the river, gullies which were scrubby at their heads, became numerous. after having encamped, i rode over to the "clarke," to examine the intervening country. the flat along the burdekin was about two miles and a half broad, and was skirted by silver-leaved ironbark ridges. in approaching the clarke, we came to a low basaltic range, which bounded its fine broad openly timbered valley to the northward. the bed of the river was formed by talc-schiste, in strata, the strike of which was from north by west to south by east, standing almost perpendicular, with a slight dip to the eastward. the stream was perpendicular on the line of striking. the pebbles in its bed were mostly basaltic, baked sandstone, conglomerate, quartz, sienite, and porphyry. i had observed the valley of this river from a high hill near our last camp, and had distinguished many headlands, which i now think were the bluff terminations of lateral basaltic ranges. the valley was bounded on its southern side by a long low range. the blue mountain parrot was very frequent near our camp. i have mentioned a small round eatable tuber, which i found in the basket of a native gin on the nd january. i here found it to be the large end of the tap root of a potamogeton, or a plant nearly allied to that genus; i found it with another interesting water-plant, with foliated spikes of blue flowers, in a small water-hole near our last camp. april .--we travelled about north-west to latitude degrees minutes seconds, over a succession of fine flats; one or two of which were almost exclusively timbered with poplar-gum, which always indicated a sound stiff soil. these flats were separated by shallow gullies, and some casuarina creeks, which come probably from the dividing ridges of the two rivers. ridges and ranges were seen on both sides, at different distances. the casuarina became more frequent along the banks of the river. it was rather remarkable that the moreton bay ash, which is so abundant along the burdekin, was altogether wanting at the clarke. several lagoons were observed at the foot of the ridges; and near them we saw two flocks of the harlequin pigeon (peristera histrionica). talc-schiste cropped out in one of the deep creeks. whilst travelling on the burdekin, with the exception of some ducks and a few kangaroos, we had seen but very little game; but yesterday, when riding to the clarke, two flocks of kangaroos passed me: a proof that the country is not so destitute of game as i had thought. the waters are inhabited by four varieties of fish; one was probably a gristes, about eight inches long, and from one and a half to two inches broad, of a lanceolate shape, with bright yellow spots all over the body; a second smaller than gristes, with dark stripes; a third about a foot long, and three inches broad, belonging to the percidae; and a fourth, a small fish, which seemed to be allied to the cyprinidae. larger fish exist, probably, in the deep rocky basins of water which we occasionally passed; but we never succeeded in catching any; nor did we hear any of the splashing, which was so incessant during the night at the mackenzie. the shell and bones of the turtle indicated its presence in the shady ponds fringed by drooping tea trees. large holes in the banks immediately above the water, were probably inhabited by water rats or lizards. a common carpet snake was killed. whenever we passed through open vitex scrub, with its stiff loamy soil, we were sure of meeting a great number of the conical constructions of the white ant: they were from one to three feet high, very narrow, and tapering to a sharp point. april .--to-day we travelled along the river over an open country, intersected by some gullies; the course of the river was, for about four miles, from north to south, and, at that distance from our camp, was joined by a river coming from the northward, which i now take the liberty of naming the "perry," after captain perry, deputy surveyor-general, who has most kindly mapped my route from the rough plans sketched during the journey. the burdekin here comes from the westward, and made a large bend round several mountains, composed of quartz porphyry, with a sub-crystalline felspathic paste. the latitude was degrees minutes (unclear:) . april .--we travelled almost due west, about nine miles along the river, our latitude being degrees minutes seconds. our route lay through a fine well grassed country; the grass being very dense: at a distance from the river, i observed box flats, and poplar-gum flats; the latter are probably swampy during the rainy season. a good sized creek joined the burdekin; a range of high hills extended along its left side, and its right became equally hilly as we approached our camping place. after establishing our camp, and making the necessary preparations, we killed one of our little steers, and found it in excellent condition. the graziers will judge by this simple fact, how well the country is adapted for pastoral pursuits; particularly when it is remembered that we were continually on the march, and had frequently to pass over very rocky ranges, which made our cattle footsore; and that the season was not the most favourable for the grass, which, although plentiful, was very dry. the steer gave us lbs. of dried beef. in this place i observed and calculated three sets of lunar observations; one gave longitude degrees minutes, and the other longitude degrees minutes. as usual, we greased our harness, although not without considerable discussion, as to whether it would not be more advisable to eat the fat than to apply it to the leather; we also repaired our packs and pack-saddles, and put every thing in travelling order. on the th april we started from our killing camp, and travelled about seven miles n. degrees w.; making our latitude degrees minutes. the ranges now approached the banks of the river, and retarded our progress very much. april .--in consequence of charley's statement, that the banks of the river in advance were so steep and rocky that it would be impossible for us to pass, i left the river side, and crossed over the ranges, and had a very heavy stage for my bullocks; which i regretted the more, as mr. calvert and brown, who returned to our last camp for a sword, had found the route by the river quite practicable. the ranges were composed of a psammite, which was frequently baked, probably by neighbouring out-bursts of igneous rock. several familiar forms of plants were discovered; also a new eucalyptus, with a glaucous suborbicular subcordate leaf, and the bark of the rusty gum: a stunted or middle-sized tree, which grew in great abundance on the ranges. we passed a fine large but dry casuarina creek, coming from the westward, with a broad sandy bed. a large tree, with dark green broad lanceolate stinging leaves, grew on its banks; it resembled the nettle tree, but belonged to neither of the two species growing in the bushes of the east coast. our last day's travelling had not advanced us more than five miles in a straight line, and we had not made any northing, our latitude being again degrees minutes; but we had left the mountains behind us, and had travelled, during the latter part of the stage, over well grassed, openly timbered flats. the ranges on the left side of the river extended several miles farther, but gradually sunk into a level country. [note : the following description of the fossiliferous limestone of the burdekin, was communicated to me by the rev. w. b. clarke, f.g.s. this rock consists of a semi-crystalline, greyish-brown marble, very like some varieties of wenlock limestone. the most conspicuous fossil is a coral, which appears to belong to the family of cyathophyllidae. the genus is perhaps new; but this the want of specimens with which to compare it, does not allow me the means of verifying. it may, however, be classed provisionally as cyathophyllum, to which in many respects it bears a great resemblance; and although it is somewhat contrary to the present rules of classification to assign a specific name from a person, yet, in order to do honour to my friend on account of his skill, diligence, and zeal as a naturalist, as well as a traveller, and as this is the first fossil coral brought away by the first explorer of the region in which its habitat is found, i venture to name it c. leichhardti. the description may be given as follows: cells concavely cylindrical, not dichotomous (thus distinguished from caryophyllia), grouped but separate, laterally if at all proliferous. corallum beautifully stellular, formed by - slightly spirally-curving or regular radiating lamellae, which meet in a central point or overlap on a latitudinal axial line, and are divided by rectangular or outwardly convex and upwardly oblique dissepiments, which become, occasionally, indistinct or obsolete near the centre, thus not assuming the usual characteristic of cyathophyllum, but rather one of strombodes. surface longitudinally striated, the cellular structure being hidden in calcareous spar; the striae formed by the coalescing lamellae, which, at the extremities, seem to be occasionally denticulated, owing to the matrix interrupting their passage to the edge. this resembles what takes place in some astraeidae. the interior has more the features of acervularia than cyathophyllum; but there are patches of broken transverse septa in the rock which exhibit the features of the latter. associated with this is a branching coral, a fragment of which, in a small angle of one of the surfaces of the stone, exhibits the characters of favosites. there are also traces of casts of spirifers, one of which is near to s. pisum of the wenlock rocks. (silur. syst. pl. xiii. f. ). the description here given is deduced from the natural appearances under the lens, and not from artificial or regular sections. but the specimen admits of a partial substitute for this; for the surface is worn down and roughly polished, as is the case with all the exposed surfaces of ancient limestones in australia; the result probably of the acidulous properties of rain water, or of the atmosphere, which, in a tropical climate, where violent showers alternate with great drought, is capable of producing various sensible changes in rocks in a long series of ages. many rocks of limestone in new south wales, even harder than the burdekin marble, are actually grooved in short parallel furrows, over wide surfaces, and along their sides, by some similar agency.] chapter viii brown and charley quarrel--night watch--routine of our daily life, and habits of the members of the party--mount lang--streams of lava--a horse breaks his leg, is killed and eaten--native tribe--mr. roper's accident--whitsunday--big ant hill creek--deprived of water for fifty hours--friendly natives--separation creek--the lynd--psychological effects of a sojourn in the wilderness--native camp--salt exhausted. may .--we travelled west by north, to latitude degrees minutes seconds, over almost a dead flat, which was only interrupted by a fine casuarina creek, with a broad sandy bed, coming from the south-south-west. the soil was stiff, and the forest in which the box tree prevailed, was very open. a species of acacia, with narrow blunt phyllodia, about an inch long, with spinous stipules; hakea lorea, and the grevillea mimosoides (r. br.), with very long linear leaves, were frequent. towards the end of the journey, slight ridges, composed of flint rock, rose on our left; and the country became more undulating. mr. roper saw extensive ranges about fifteen miles distant; shortly before entering the camp, we passed a singularly broken country, in which the waters rushing down from a slightly inclined table land, had hollowed out large broad gullies in a sandy loam and iron ochre, which was full of quartz pebbles. the heavier masses had resisted the action of the waters, and remained like little peaks and islands, when the softer materials around them had been washed away. we met with grass lately burnt, and some still burning, which indicated the presence of natives. it was generally very warm during the hours of travelling, between eight and twelve o'clock, but the bracing air of the nights and mornings strengthened us for the day's labour; the weather altogether was lovely, and it was a pleasure to travel along such a fine stream of water. easterly and north-easterly breezes still prevailed, though i expected that the direction of the winds would change as we passed the centre of york peninsula. our two black companions, who until now had been like brothers--entertaining each other by the relation of their adventures, to a late hour of the night; singing, chatting, laughing, and almost crying together; making common cause against me; brown even following charley into his banishment--quarrelled yesterday, about a mere trifle, so violently that it will be some time before they become friends again. when mr. calvert and brown returned yesterday to the camp, they remarked that they had not seen the waterfall, of which charley had spoken whilst at our last camp; upon which charley insinuated that they had not seen it, because they had galloped their horses past it. this accusation of galloping their horses irritated brown, who was very fond and proud of his horse; and a serious quarrel of a rather ridiculous character ensued. keeping myself entirely neutral, i soon found that i derived the greatest advantage from their animosity to each other, as each tried to outdo the other in readiness to serve me. to-day, charley, who was usually the last to rise in the morning, roused even me, and brought the horses before our breakfast was ready. brown's fondness for spinning a yarn will soon, however, induce him to put an end to this feud with his companion and countryman. in the early part of our journey, one or other of our party kept a regular night-watch, as well to guard us from any night attack of the natives, as to look after our bullocks; but, latterly, this prudential measure, or rather its regularity, has been much neglected. mr. roper's watch was handed from one to another in alphabetical rotation at given intervals, but no one thought of actually watching; it was, in fact, considered to be a mere matter of form. i did not check this, because there was nothing apparently to apprehend from the natives, who always evinced terror in meeting us; and all our communications with them have been accidental and never sought by them. on that point, therefore, i was not apprehensive; and, as to the bullocks, they were now accustomed to feed at large, and we seldom had any difficulty in recovering them in the morning. i shall here particularise the routine of one of our days, which will serve as an example of all the rest. i usually rise when i hear the merry laugh of the laughing-jackass (dacelo gigantea), which, from its regularity, has not been unaptly named the settlers' clock; a loud cooee then roused my companions,--brown to make tea, mr. calvert to season the stew with salt and marjoram, and myself and the others to wash, and to prepare our breakfast, which, for the party, consists of two pounds and a-half of meat, stewed over night; and to each a quart pot of tea. mr. calvert then gives to each his portion, and, by the time this important duty is performed, charley generally arrives with the horses, which are then prepared for their day's duty. after breakfast, charley goes with john murphy to fetch the bullocks, which are generally brought in a little after seven o'clock a.m. the work of loading follows, but this requires very little time now, our stock being much reduced; and, at about a quarter to eight o'clock, we move on, and continue travelling four hours, and, if possible, select a spot for our camp. the burdekin, which has befriended us so much by its direct course and constant stream, already for more than two degrees of latitude and two of longitude, has not always furnished us with the most convenient camps for procuring water. the banks generally formed steep slopes descending into a line of hollows parallel to the river, and thickly covered with a high stiff grass; and then another steep bank covered with a thicket of drooping tea-trees, rose at the water's edge; and, if the descent into the bed of the river was more easy, the stream frequently was at the opposite side, and we had to walk several hundred yards over a broad sheet of loose sand, which filled our mocassins, when going to wash. at present, the river is narrower, and i have chosen my camp twice on its dry sandy bed, under the shade of casuarinas and melaleucas, the stream being there comparatively easy of access, and not ten yards off. many unpleasant remarks had been made by my companions at my choice of camping places; but, although i suffered as much inconvenience as they did, i bore it cheerfully, feeling thankful to providence for the pure stream of water with which we were supplied every night. i had naturally a great antipathy against comfort-hunting and gourmandizing, particularly on an expedition like ours; on which we started with the full expectation of suffering much privation, but which an almighty protector had not only allowed us to escape hitherto, but had even supplied us frequently with an abundance--in proof of which we all got stronger and improved in health, although the continued riding had rather weakened our legs. this antipathy i expressed, often perhaps too harshly, which caused discontent; but, on these occasions, my patience was sorely tried. i may, however, complete the picture of the day: as soon as the camp is pitched, and the horses and bullocks unloaded, we have all our alloted duties; to make the fire falls to my share; brown's duty is to fetch water for tea; and mr. calvert weighs out a pound and a-half of flour for a fat cake, which is enjoyed more than any other meal; the large teapot being empty, mr. calvert weighs out two and a-half pounds of dry meat to be stewed for our late dinner; and, during the afternoon, every one follows his own pursuits, such as washing and mending clothes, repairing saddles, pack-saddles, and packs; my occupation is to write my log, and lay down my route, or make an excursion in the vicinity of the camp to botanize, etc. or ride out reconnoitring. my companions also write down their remarks, and wander about gathering seeds, or looking for curious pebbles. mr. gilbert takes his gun to shoot birds. a loud cooee again unites us towards sunset round our table cloth; and, whilst enjoying our meals, the subject of the day's journey, the past, the present, and the future, by turns engage our attention, or furnish matter for conversation and remark, according to the respective humour of the parties. many circumstances have conspired to make me strangely taciturn, and i am now scarcely pleased even with the chatting humour of my youngest companion, whose spirits, instead of flagging, have become more buoyant and lively than ever. i consider it, however, my invariable duty to give every information i can, whenever my companions inquire or show a desire to learn, and i am happy to find that they are desirous of making themselves familiar with the objects of nature by which they are surrounded, and of understanding their mutual relations. mr. roper is of a more silent disposition; mr. calvert likes to speak, and has a good stock of "small talk," with which he often enlivens our dinners; he is in that respect an excellent companion, being full of jokes and stories, which, though old and sometimes quaint, are always pure, and serve the more to exhilarate the party. mr. gilbert has travelled much, and consequently has a rich store of impressions de voyage: his conversation is generally very pleasing and instructive, in describing the character of countries he has seen, and the manners and customs of the people he has known. he is well informed in australian ornithology. as night approaches, we retire to our beds. the two blackfellows and myself spread out each our own under the canopy of heaven, whilst messrs. roper, calvert, gilbert, murphy, and phillips, have their tents. mr. calvert entertains roper with his conversation; john amuses gilbert; brown tunes up his corroborri songs, in which charley, until their late quarrel, generally joined. brown sings well, and his melodious plaintive voice lulls me to sleep, when otherwise i am not disposed. mr. phillips is rather singular in his habits; he erects his tent generally at a distance from the rest, under a shady tree, or in a green bower of shrubs, where he makes himself as comfortable as the place will allow, by spreading branches and grass under his couch, and covering his tent with them, to keep it shady and cool, and even planting lilies in blossom (crinum) before his tent, to enjoy their sight during the short time of our stay. as the night advances, the blackfellows' songs die away; the chatting tongue of murphy ceases, after having lulled mr. gilbert to sleep; and at last even mr. calvert is silent, as roper's short answers became few and far between. the neighing of the tethered horse, the distant tinkling of the bell, or the occasional cry of night birds, alone interrupt the silence of our camp. the fire, which was bright as long as the corroborri songster kept it stirred, gradually gets dull, and smoulders slowly under the large pot in which our meat is simmering; and the bright constellations of heaven pass unheeded over the heads of the dreaming wanderers of the wilderness, until the summons of the laughing jackass recalls them to the business of the coming day. may .--we travelled in a n.w. direction to lat. degrees minutes seconds; at first over the box flats, alternating with an undulating open country. about three miles before making our camp, we passed several small plains at the foot of what appeared to be basaltic ridges, and came to the dry channel of a river, with reeds and occasional water-holes, and lined with fine flooded-gum trees and casuarinas, but without the dropping tea trees and the moreton bay ash, the latter of which seemed to be the prerogative of the burdekin. at its left side a basaltic ridge rose, covered with thick scrub, and at its base extended a small plain, with black soil strewed with quartz pebbles. the river came, as well as i could judge, from the w.n.w. mr. roper and brown caught a kangaroo, but they had a dangerous ride after it, and the poor brute, when hard pressed, showed fight, and endeavoured to lay hold of mr. roper. in one of the creeks i observed pegmatite; pebbles of talc-schiste and of white quartz covered the bed of the river. may .--we had to travel for a considerable distance in the bed of the river, for the hills approached close to its banks, and numerous deep gullies intercepted their slopes. when, however, the ridges receded, we passed several fine sound flats. the forest was open everywhere, and the grass was good, though old. after travelling about five miles, we saw a hill to the north-east, and, when we came almost abreast of it, the river turned to the eastward, and a wild field of broken basaltic lava rendered it impossible for us to follow its banks. the black rough masses of rock were covered with thick scrub, in which i observed numerous bottle trees with the platanus leaf. keeping to the westward of the scrub, i followed a creek which farther on divided in a chain of ponds, into which the waters of the field of basalt, as well as of the basaltic ridges to the westward of it, collected. these ridges were perfectly level at their summits, and were connected with a table land which extended far to the west. at their foot sienite, quartz rock, and leptinite, were observed. after turning round the field of lava to the eastward, we entered into a large flat, with patches of narrow-leaved tea tree, with reedy swamps and fine flooded-gum trees, and made our camp at a strong running brook, without trees, but densely surrounded with reeds, ferns, and pothos. this stream formed the outlet of some fine lagoons, which extended along the steep slopes of the basaltic table land. i crossed the creek and its flat to the opposite hills. the flat was one level sheet or floor of basalt, here and there covered with a very shallow soil, but sometimes bare, though clothed with a fair supply of grass and with scattered flooded-gum trees. at the foot of the eastern hills, however, deep holes existed in a water-course, with black blocks of basalt heaped over each other, on which the fig tree with its dark green foliage formed a shady bower, most delightful during the heat of the day. the hills were composed of a lamellar granite, approaching the stratified appearance of gneiss, but the leaflets of mica, instead of forming continuous layers, were scattered. the east side of the narrow watercourse was of primitive rock, the west side basaltic. having passed over the hills, i made the river at their east side. its banks were open for access as far as the primitive rock extended, but another field of lava commenced higher up, and rendered any progress with our cattle impossible. a native low shrubby mulberry was found in this scrub, the fruit of which was good to eat, but of very small size. from the top of the hills i enjoyed a most beautiful view of the valley of the river, with its large lagoons covered with nymphaeas and damasoniums. on one of the lagoons, charley shot a parra gallinacea, a bird which mr. gilbert had observed only at port essington. a well beaten path of the natives showed that they were numerous in this part of the country: we saw many of their camping places during the stage; and the fires of their camps were numerous; we saw a party of them, but they were too frightened to allow us to approach. our latitude was degrees minutes seconds. our course was about n.n.w. may .--we ascended the basaltic ridges, and reaching the table land, found it perfectly level, openly timbered, well grassed, but occasionally stony, by which our poor foot-sore bullocks suffered severely. about five miles north-west by west from our camp, we discovered an extensive valley with large lagoons and lakes, and a most luxuriant vegetation, bounded by blue distant ranges, and forming the most picturesque landscape we had yet met with. a chain of lagoons connected by a reedy brook followed the outlines of the table land, along the foot of its steep slopes. we descended by a tolerably gentle slope into the valley, and encamped near the reedy brook, which must be the same as that on which, lower down, our last camp was formed. water, grass, hills, mountains, plains, forest land; all the elements of a fine pasturing country, were here united. during one of the last stages, we discovered a leguminous tree, with the dark fissured bark of the ironbark, but with large bipinnate leaves, the leaflets oblong, an inch in length; the pods broad and thin, and two or three inches long: this tree is common all over the northern part of the continent, and was found growing abundantly around victoria, the principal settlement of port essington. mr. roper and brown, upon an excursion after ducks, which were very numerous on the lagoons, met with blackfellows, who were willing to accost brown, but could not bear the sudden sight of a white face. in trying to cross the valley, my course was intercepted every way by deep reedy and sedgy lagoons, which rendered my progress impossible. i saw, however, that this valley was also floored with a sheet of lava hollowed out into numerous deep basins, in which the water collected and formed the lagoons. may .--i went with charley to reconnoitre the upper part of the reedy brook, with a view to find a passage over the table land to the westward; at the same time i sent mr. roper and brown to trace the river through the lagoons, and to examine whether there was any connection between them. i followed the base of the basaltic table land, along which the brook came down, and, after a two miles' ride on its banks, through oak trees, low fern trees, and several bush trees, found that it came down a valley deeply cut into the table land. the floor of the valley was of basaltic rock, and its steep slopes were covered with boulders of the same formation. the water ran in two distinct beds through the fissures, hollows, and caves of the rock. as our horses could not travel over the sharp edges of the rock without injuring their feet, we ascended the table land, and rode to the northward about four miles, and then came on plains, in which we distinguished a meandering band of green verdure, which proved to be the same brook we had left, or one of its head waters. we followed it through a series of plains, from one of which a blue mountain was visible to the north-west. i called it "mount lang," after dr. lang, the distinguished historiographer of new south wales. smoke was seen to the westward. at the right side of the brook, a stream of lava bounded the plains, and was, as usual, covered with dense scrub. box, with occasional patches of narrow-leaved tea trees, grew along the plains. the forest was very open, and principally consisted of narrow-leaved ironbark; the grass in the forest and on the plains, was of the best description. finer stations for the squatter cannot exist. may .--following the brook about four miles farther, i came to its source at a gentle slope of basalt. plains stretched along both sides of its course, and even beyond it. luxuriant reeds, plothos, and several deep green trees, crowded round its head. kangaroos, which abounded particularly along the scrub, had formed numerous paths through the high grass to the water's edge. i now directed my course to the w.n.w., but soon found myself checked by a dyke or wall of basaltic lava, composed of boulders and tabular blocks heaped over each other in wild confusion, and covered by scrub; it stretched from n.w. to s.e. i travelled round its edge to the southward, after having made a vain attempt to cross it. the outlines of the stream ran out in low heads into the flat table land, and there we met occasionally with springs and chains of water-holes which united lower down into a water-course, which, after following alternately the outline of the scrub, and turning into the stream of lava, became lost among its loose rocks. the lava was very cellular; the basalt of the table land solid. the whole appearance of this interesting locality showed that the stream of lava was of much more recent date than the rock of the table land, and that the latter was probably formed under water, whilst the cellular scorified lava was poured out into the open air. the stream of lava enlarged so much, and descended into so broad a valley, that i considered it to be the head of the burdekin. i walked across it, in order to ascertain the presence of water, but found nothing but deep dry hollows surrounded with drooping tea trees, and the black basaltic rocks covered with wild bottle-tree scrub. it joined the valley of lagoons very much like the valley of the reedy brook, and seemed to unite with the latter, and to expand all over the large basin. numerous headlands protruded from the table land into the valley of lagoons, between the stream of lava and reedy brook. many of them were composed of quartzite and pegmatite [graphic granite, composed of quartz and laminated felspar.--ed.], the detritus of which formed sandy slopes very different from the black and loamy soil of the table land and its plains. several isolated hills and short ridges rise out of the basaltic floor of the valley of lagoons; they are composed of a different rock; and if it may be allowed me to judge by the colour and by analogy, i should say that they were pegmatite and quartzite. it would, therefore, appear that the valley of lagoons is connected with three streams of lava; one following down the river to the southward, a second coming down the valley of reedy brook from w.n.w., and the third coming from the n.w. the course of the burdekin has no connection with this valley, but runs apparently along its eastern side, and divides the primitive rocks from the streams of lava; for i had not observed any lava on its left bank. in returning to our camp, we saw a great number of women and children, who ran away upon seeing us, screaming loudly, which attracted some young men to the spot, who were much bolder and approached us. i dismounted and walked up within five yards of them, when i stopped short from a mutual disinclination for too close quarters, as they were armed with spears and waddies. they made signs for me to take off my hat, and to give them something; but, having nothing with me, i made a sign that i would make them a present upon returning to the camp. they appeared to be in no way unfriendly, and directed us how to avoid the water. when i reached the camp, i found that the blackfellows had been there already, and had been rather urgent to enter it, probably in consequence of the small number of my companions then present, who, however, managed to keep them in good humour by replying to their inquiries respecting our nature and intentions; among which one of the most singular was, whether the bullocks were not our gins. this occurred last night; in the morning they returned again in great numbers, and climbed the trees on the other side of the brook to observe what was doing within the camp. it now became necessary to show them our superiority; which we attempted to do by shooting at a kite, numbers of which were perched on the neighbouring trees; our shots, however, unfortunately missed, and the natives answered the discharge of the gun with a shout of laughter. at this time, however, mr. roper, charley, and myself returned from our excursion, when they became quiet. i threw a tin canister over to them, and they returned me a shower of roasted nymphaea fruit. it seems that the seed-vessels of nymphaea and its rhizoma form the principal food of the natives; the seeds contain much starch and oil, and are extremely nourishing. i then gave them some pieces of dried meat, intimating by signs that it must be grilled; soon afterwards they retired. mr. roper came in with sad tidings; in riding up the steep bank of the river, his horse, unable to get a footing among the loose rocks, had fallen back and broken its thigh. i immediately resolved upon going to the place where the accident had happened, and proposed to my companions, that we should try to make the best of the meat, as the animal was young and healthy, and the supply would greatly assist in saving our bullocks to the end of our long journey; and they declared themselves willing at all events to give a fair trial to the horse-flesh. our bullocks were foot-sore and required rest. we, therefore, shot the horse, skinned and quartered it the same night; and ate its liver and kidneys, which were quite as good as those of a bullock. may .--we cut the meat in slices, and dried it; and though there was some prejudice against it, it would have been very difficult to have detected any difference between it and beef; particularly if the animals had been in the same condition. may .--as i found it necessary to follow the right bank of the river, in order to get out of this intricate country, i sent mr. gilbert and charley to trace the river through the valley of lagoons. having accomplished their object, they informed me that the river had no connexion with the lagoons of the large valley, but that several very large ones were even on its left bank; and that all tree vegetation disappeared from its banks where it passed through a part of the valley of lagoons. may .--as my bullocks were still extremely foot-sore, it was necessary that we should travel only by short stages until they recovered; consequently, the day's journey did not exceed five miles in a n.n.e. direction; and, with the exception of some ridges, upon excellent travelling ground, along the left bank of the river. the latter formed, as i have already stated, the line of separation, first, between basalt and granite, and afterwards between basalt and a quartzose rock (probably baked psammite). the country was beautifully open and well grassed; the river forming a simple channel, without trees, well filled with water and flowing between chains of lakes and lagoons on either side; one of which was covered with flocks of ducks and pelicans, resembling islands of white lilies. beyond the almost treeless flats round the lagoons, casuarinas and callistemon re-appeared along the river. we saw some blackfellows in the distance, who immediately withdrew as we approached them; but the tribe, which we had met at reedy brook, came to the other side of the river, and had much to say; we did not, however, take any notice of them, until we had unloaded our bullocks and finished our luncheon, when i went down to them, and gave them a horn of one of our slaughtered bullocks. roper had saved the mane of his horse, and threw it over to them, but it seemed to frighten them very much. we inquired by signs as to the course of the river, and we understood by their answers, that it came a long way from the northward. at reedy brook the natives had given my companions to understand that the brook had its source not very far off to the w.n.w., by pointing at their heads, then at the brook, and then in the direction mentioned. i was therefore inclined to trust to their information about the river's source. they threw some yam-roots over to us, the plant of which we were not able to ascertain: and after that they retired. may .--this morning they came again, and, when our bullocks were loaded and we were about to start, i went down to them and took a sort of leave. we had scarcely proceeded half a mile, when we missed the tinkling of our bell, and found that charley had forgotten to put it on the horse's neck, and had left it behind. mr. calvert and brown, therefore, returned to look for it, and, upon reaching the place where the camp had been made, saw the natives examining and beating every part of it; at the approach of the horsemen, however, they retired to the other side of the river; but when they turned their horses' heads, after having found the bell, the natives followed them, and threw three spears after them--whether it was out of mere wantonness, or with hostile intentions, i do not know, though i was inclined to believe the first. it was, nevertheless, a warning to us not to repose too much confidence in them. mr. roper met to-day with a severe accident, which nearly cost him his life. it was a very common practice to make our horses stop by catching them by the tails; as he tried to do this with his horse, which was not yet accustomed to him, the animal struck out at him, and kicked him with both feet on the chest. roper happily recovered after some faintness, but complained for several days afterwards of external pain. we travelled this day about four miles and a half n.n.e. along the river side, following a well-beaten path of the natives. the river was again confined in its own valley, with quartzose rocks (psammite) on one side, and the falls of the basaltic table land on the other. basalt was, however, observed here about on several spots at the left bank, and quartz porphyry composed the ridges near our last encampment. the river divided here into a great number of anabranches, but all confined in the same valley, and united by intermediate channels. the bed of it had again become sandy, with small pebbles of pegmatite and quartz. casuarinas were plentiful on its banks; the poplar-gum, and the moreton bay ash on the adjacent flats; tristania, with pubescent leaves round some lagoons; narrow-leaved ironbark, and poplar-gum grew on the hills; and rich grass every where. the night was clear, but the morning foggy, and the dew very heavy. the wind was from the northward, and, as usual, very strong after sunset. may .--we travelled four miles to the e.n.e. the anabranches of the river continued; the ranges of quartz porphyry approached several times close to the river. oak trees and drooping melaleucas grew abundantly in its bed, and along the banks. higher up we crossed fine flats with lagoons and lakes covered as usual with nymphaeas. we encamped in latitude degrees minutes seconds, after passing a casuarina creek, with high banks and a sandy bed. this creek separated the table land from a broken low range of hills, composed of a coarse-grained sandstone. the banks of the river here seemed to have been swept away; a broad sheet of sand, covered with fine drooping tea trees, was slightly furrowed by a narrow stream of water, which seemed for the greater part filtering through the sands; chains of water-holes at its left side, fringed with casuarinas, appeared to be anabranches of the river, and to be connected with the main stream during the rainy season. i have to mention that a species of sciadophyllum, nearly allied to sc. lucidum, (don. iii. p. ,) was found in the lava scrub of the valley of lagoons: it was a small tree with large digitate leaves, each of them composed of from eleven to thirteen oblong acuminate, glabrous leaflets, which were about five inches long; and it attracted the attention of my companions as much by its ornamental foliage as its numerous terminal racemes of bright scarlet coloured flowers. after having celebrated whit-sunday with a double allowance of fat cake and sweetened tea, i started with charley to reconnoitre the country to the westward. our friendly stream not only turned to the north, but afterwards to north-east and east-north-east; and though i had not succeeded in leaving it from reedy brook--not having been able to cross the lava streams of the basaltic table land--i now concluded, from the nature of the pebbles, and sands of the creek which we had crossed last, that the basalts and lavas had ceased, and that a passage to the westward would be practicable. i followed the casuarina creek up to its head, and called it "big ant-hill creek," in consequence of numerous gigantic strangely buttressed structures of the white ant, which i had never seen of such a form, and of so large a size. the general course of the creek was north-north-west: for the first ten miles it was without water, but its middle and upper course was well provided with fine reedy holes, the constant supply of water in which was indicated by nymphaeas, and other aquatic plants. at its left side near the junction i observed, as before mentioned, a coarse grained sandstone, and, at less than a mile higher up, i found flint rock; and, wherever i examined afterwards, the rocks proved to be coarse grained granite and pegmatite, the decomposition of which formed a sandy soil on the slopes, and clayey flats along the creek. the latter, however, were very limited. the ant-hills were intimately connected with the rock, as the ants derived their materials for building from the minute particles of clay among the sand. the primitive rock was cut with deep gullies and ravines, and several tributary creeks joined big ant-hill creek from the primitive side. the basaltic table land, which extended all along the right side of the creek, formed steep slopes into its valley, and were generally topped with loose basaltic boulders. the table land was highest near the creek, and its drainage was not towards the creek, but to the south-west, into the valley of lagoons. white quartz rock was observed in a few places on the right side of the creek, where the primitive rock seemed to encroach into the territory of the basalt; and felspathic porphyry formed probably a dyke in the pegmatite, but was most evidently broken by the basalt. where the upper part of the creek formed a shallow watercourse, and turned altogether into the primitive formation, a plain came down from the west-north-west with a shallow watercourse, which continued the separation of the two formations; the right side of the plain being basaltic, the soil of the box and ironbark forest loamy, with sharp pieces of the rock; the left side being sandy, and covered with a very pleasing poplar gum forest, in which the grotesque ant-hills were exceedingly numerous. about two miles higher up the plain, separated into several distinct plains, the largest of which was from twelve to fifteen miles long, and from two to three miles broad, and came from mount lang; another plain came from an isolated razorback hill, and a third continued on the line of contact of the basaltic and primitive rocks. the upper parts of the small creeks, which come down in these plains, were full of water, and had their source generally between heaps of bare basaltic rocks, surrounded by rich grass, and a scanty scrub of pittosporum, of the native mulberry, of the fig-tree, and of several vines, with polypodiums, osmundas, and caladiums growing between them. several other hills and mountains rose on the table land, generally with open plains at their base. the greater part, however, was open forest, principally of narrow-leaved ironbark and box, and occasionally poplar-gum. one locality was particularly striking: a great number of rocky basins within the basalt, and surrounded by its black blocks, formed evidently so many lagoons during the wet season, as sedges and polygonums--always inhabitants of constantly moist places--grew abundantly in most of them. these basins were situated between low basaltic rises, along which narrow flats frequently extended. the flooded gum-trees were fine and numerous, and made me frequently believe that i was approaching a creek. i rode, however, over eighteen miles of country to the westward without observing the slightest watercourse. long flats bounded by slight undulations extended some to the northward, and others to the westward; but their inclination was imperceptible. i passed some hills and plains; and ascending one of the hills, i obtained a fine view. to the west by south i saw other isolated mountains: the country to the westward was not broken by any elevation; a fine long range was visible to the north-west. it was now o'clock p.m., and my blackfellows had left me, as usual; my horse was foot-sore, and neither the poor animal nor myself had tasted water for the last thirty-six hours. under these circumstances, though i ardently desired to push on to the north-west ranges, i thought it prudent to return; and after a short rest to my horse, during which i chewed some dry pieces of beef, i rode on my way back until o'clock, and then encamped. the coldness of the night reminded me too strongly of the pleasures of the fire and the heavy dew which had fallen, though a comfort to my horse, rendered it difficult to light one; by dint of patience, however, i succeeded, and then stretched myself, hungry and thirsty as i was, by the side of a large ironbark log; whilst my horse, which i had hobbled and tethered, drooped his head over me, little inclined either to feed or move. i started early in the morning of the th, and passed between mount lang and razorback hill. at the foot of the latter i met a small creek, which i followed through a long series of plains until i came on my old track, not very far from big ant-hill creek. at the sight of water, which we had been without full fifty hours, my horse and i rushed simultaneously into it, and we drank, and drank, and drank again, before i could induce myself to light a fire and make some tea, which was always found to be much more wholesome, and to allay thirst sooner than the water alone. near the large water-hole at which i halted, was an old camping place of the natives, and the remnants of many a hut lay scattered round two large flooded gum trees. the smoke of the natives fires was seen in every direction. this part of the country is doubtless well supplied with water-holes: but as they are unconnected with a watercourse, the traveller, unless by accident, has little chance of finding them. in returning along ant-hill creek, i passed a few native men sitting before their gunyas; they were not a hundred yards from me, yet they remained silent and motionless, like the black stumps of the trees around them, until the strange apparition passed by. at sunset, just as i was taking the saddle from my horse, i heard a cooee, and not considering it prudent to encamp in the vicinity of the natives, i began to tighten up the girths again; but, at the same time, answered the cooee, and soon after i saw master charley and his wearied horse descending from the opposite range. he had not had anything to eat since the morning of the preceding day, and was therefore exceedingly pleased to meet me. he had not been able to follow me, in consequence of the foot-soreness of his horse, but he had succeeded in finding a small spring at the foot of mount lang, near which the natives had often and recently encamped. may .--we returned to our camp. the natives [these natives are probably the same as, or are connected with, the tribe that frequent rockingham bay, who have always been noticed for their friendly bearing in communications with ships visiting that place. rockingham bay is situated due east from the position of dr. leichhardt's party.--note by capt. king.] had visited my companions, and behaved very amicably towards them, making them not only presents of spears and wommalas, but supplying them with seed-vessels of nymphaea, and its mealy roasted stems and tubers, which they were in the habit of pounding into a substance much resembling mashed potatoes. they took leave of my companions to go to the sea-coast, pointing to the east and east by south, whither they were going to fetch shells, particularly the nautilus, of which they make various ornaments. may and .--we moved our camp about twenty miles n.n.w. to latitude degrees minutes seconds, to one of the head brooks of big ant-hill creek. we travelled the whole distance over the basaltic table-laud without any impediment. the natives approached our camp, but retired without any communication. i had not found any westerly waters on my ride of the th, but had seen a range to the north-west, and that was the goal of a new exploration. as we had been fortunate enough to find water at the contact of the primitive and basaltic formation, i wished to follow the same line of contact as long as it would not carry us much out of our course. we crossed, in a northerly direction, several granitic ranges which ran out into the table land, and were separated from each other by very large swamps, at the time mostly dry, and covered with a short withered swamp grass, but bearing the marks of frequent inundations. the bed of these swamps was perfectly level, and formed by an uninterrupted sheet of basalt. chains of water-holes between the ranges, which i hoped would lead me to creeks, were lost in the level of these swamps; indeed, these granitic ranges were remarkably destitute of watercourses. the coarse elements of the decomposed rock, principally pegmatite, had formed uniform slopes, in which even heavy showers of rain were readily absorbed; but rounded blocks of rock, sometimes curiously piled, protruded from the granitic sands. pandanus spiralis fringed the scattered water-holes; and grevillea chrysodendron, (r. br.) formed a wreath, of pale silver-colour, round the swamps, but grew on sandy soil. white cranes, the ibis, geese, native companions, and plovers, were very numerous; and the large ant-hills scattered through the forest at the foot of the hills, looked like so many wigwams. from one of the ranges i had another view of the north-west range, and we started for it, leaving the primitive country behind us. a cold, southerly wind set in on the morning of the th, which made brown and myself shiver, and i most gladly availed myself of a flannel shirt, whilst brown covered himself with his blanket. we rode about five hours over an undulating forest land, interrupted by one or two plains, and for the greater part exceedingly stony. we came at last to fresh burnt grass, and observed recent marks of the stone tomahawk of the natives; and, having passed a stony slope, with irregular low stony ridges, we saw an oak-tree creek before us, on the opposite side of which rose the granitic range for which we had directed our course. this creek also ran on the line of contact of primitive and basaltic rocks; the primitive side was cut by gullies and ravines, whilst the basalt formed a steep uninterrupted slope, though covered with boulders which had been carried down even into the sandy bed of the creek, where they were intermingled with those of granite and pegmatite. i called this creek "separation creek," in allusion to its geological relations: at the point where we met it, it turned to the north and north-west, which made me believe that it was a westerly water; but in this i was mistaken. we had some slight showers of drizzling rain during the afternoon. the wind veered towards evening to the northward, and the night was clear. we saw several kangaroos, and their tracks to the water showed that they were numerous. one of them, which we saw in the creek, was of a light grey colour, with rich fur and a white tail. may .--we returned to the camp. a cold easterly wind continued during the day; low rainy clouds in the morning formed into heavy cumuli during the afternoon. my geological observations lead me to the conclusion, that an immense valley between granitic ranges has here been filled by a more modern basaltic eruption, which (supposing that mount lang is basaltic in the centre of elevation) rose in peaks and isolated hills, but formed in general a level table land. the basalt has been again broken by still more recent fissures, through which streams of lava have risen and expanded over the neighbouring rock. may .--we moved our camp about eighteen miles n.n.w., to separation creek, the latitude of which was degrees minutes seconds. john murphy found grevillea chrysodendron in blossom, the rich orange colour of which excited general admiration. the stringy-bark tree, and tristania, were growing on the sandy soil, and the latter near watercourses. several native bustards (otis novae hollandiae, gould.) were shot, and i found their stomachs full of the seeds of grewia, which abounded in the open patches of forest ground. in crossing a plain we observed, under the shade of a patch of narrow-leaved tea trees, four bowers of the bowerbird, close together, as if one habitation was not sufficient for the wanton bird to sport in; and on the dry swamps i mentioned above, small companies of native companions were walking around us at some distance, but rose with their sonorous cu-r-r-r-ring cry, whenever brown tried to approach them. [the natives of argyle call the cry of the native companion, ku-ru-duc ku-ru-duc; the natives of port essington call the bird ororr.--note by capt. king] may .--i went with brown to reconnoitre the course of the creek, and to ascertain whether it flowed to the westward. we soon found, however, that it turned to the north and north-east, and that it was still an eastern water. as far as i followed it down, it formed the separation between the primitive rocks and the basalt, but received several creeks from the westward. in riding along we heard the cooees of natives, and passed several large camping places near the large water-holes of the creek. a blackfellow emerged suddenly from the creek, holding a casuarina branch in his hand, and pointing to the westward. we made a sign that we were going down the creek, and that we had no intention of hurting him; the poor fellow, however, was so frightened that he groaned and crouched down in the grass. wishing not to increase his alarm, we rode on. i followed up one of the largest tributary creeks coming from the westward towards its head; it was lined with casuarinas and flooded-gum trees, like separation creek, and came from an entirely granitic country, ridges and ranges, with some high hills, bounding its valley on both sides; it soon divided, however, into branches, and as one turned too much to the north and the other to the south, i kept between them to the westward, and passed over a hilly, broken, granitic country. large blocks of granite crested the summits of the hills, and their slopes were covered with acacia thickets, and arborescent hakeas and grevilleas. a dwarf acacia, with rhomboid downy phyllodia, an inch long, grew between the rocks. the natives were busy on the hills, cutting out opossums and honey. we heard their calls and the cries of their children. as we descended into another valley, the whole slope was on fire; we passed through it, however, with little difficulty. we crossed ridges after ridges, passed from one little creek and watercourse to another, all of which turned to the northward. at last, heartily tired, and almost despairing of attaining the object of our search, viz., a western water, we came into a valley which went down to the south-west; and, following it down, found that it joined a larger one which went to the westward. a broad creek, with the drooping tea tree and a sandy bed, gave us the promise of soon finding water; and, following the tracks of numerous kangaroos and native dogs, we came to a small pool. after passing over very rocky granitic hills, we came into a more open country; the banks of the creek became reedy, and water was more abundant, and at last a fine pool, surrounded by a rich belt of reeds, was before us. brown was fortunate enough to shoot two ducks; and, as the sun was setting behind a neighbouring hill, we made our camp for the night. may .--we returned to our companions, and by taking a w.n.w. course, we avoided all the ranges and gullies that we had crossed yesterday. at the westerly creek i found a rose-coloured sterculia, with large campanulate blossoms and tomentose seed-vessels: the tree had lost all its foliage. i had met with this species on the rocky ranges of moreton bay (at mount brisbane), but there it was a low shrub, whereas in this place, and all round the gulf of carpentaria, it formed a middle sized tree with spreading branches. a new hakea, with long thin terete leaves (different from h. lorea) and grevillea chrysodendron, grew along the creek. grevillea ceratophylla (r. br.) and another grevillea, with a compound terminal thyrsus, and long lanceolate falcate leaves, grew on the slopes, in company with a xylomelum, with smooth and smaller seed-vessels than those of x. pyriforme. the rocky ridges were occupied by the stringy-bark, fine cypress-pine trees, the stunted silver-leaved ironbark, a eucalyptus, with very scanty foliage, orange-coloured blossoms, seed-vessels longitudinally ribbed, and as large as the egg of a fowl; its butt was covered with a lamellar bark, but the upper part and the branches were white and smooth; also by another eucalyptus, with a scaly butt like the moreton bay ash, but with smooth upper trunk and cordate ovate leaves, which was also new to me; we called it the apple-gum. we frequently met with the grass tree (xanthorrhaea.) may .--we moved our camp to the westerly creek i had found the day before, which with several others formed the heads of a river, flowing to the n.w. i called this river the "lynd," after r. lynd, esq., a gentleman to whom i am under the greatest obligation, for his unmeasured liberality and kindness enabled me to devote my time exclusively to the pursuits of science and exploration. the nights had been as usual very cold, and the dew very heavy. the prevailing breeze was from the east, veering towards evening to the north-east; during the morning a cold south-east wind. the rock was primitive, granite and pegmatite in several varities, with a few exceptions of anagenitic formation. near the place of our first encampment on the lynd, in lat. degrees minutes, i observed a sienite, to which the distribution of the hornblende in layers had given the stratified appearance of gneiss. another rock was composed of felspar and large leaflets of white mica, or of quartz and white mica. the veins which traversed these rocks were all of quartz, which, within the pegmatite, enlarged into big masses and hills, particularly where basaltic rock was near. mr. gilbert and charley went down the creek to find water and a practicable road, in case the country should prove mountainous and rocky. i had a view from a small peak near our camp; the country was full of ridges, but openly timbered, and i saw a low range to the northward, trending from east to west. may .--it was the queen's birth-day, and we celebrated it with what--as our only remaining luxury--we were accustomed to call a fat cake, made of four pounds of flour and some suet, which we had saved for the express purpose, and with a pot of sugared tea. we had for several months been without sugar, with the exception of about ten pounds, which was reserved for cases of illness and for festivals. so necessary does it appear to human nature to interrupt the monotony of life by marked days, on which we indulge in recollections of the past, or in meditations on the future, that we all enjoyed those days as much, and even more, than when surrounded with all the blessings of civilized society; although i am free to admit, that fat-cake and sugared tea in prospectu might induce us to watch with more eagerness for the approach of these days of feasting. there were, besides, several other facts interesting to the psychologist, which exhibited the influence of our solitary life, and the unity of our purpose, on our minds. during the early part of our journey, i had been carried back in my dreams to scenes of recent date, and into the society of men with whom i had lived shortly before starting on my expedition. as i proceeded on my journey, events of earlier date returned into my mind, with all the fantastic associations of a dream; and scenes of england, france, and italy passed successively. then came the recollections of my university life, of my parents and the members of my family; and, at last, the days of boyhood and of school--at one time as a boy afraid of the look of the master, and now with the independent feelings of the man, communicating to, and discussing with him the progress of my journey, the courses of the rivers i had found, and the possible advantages of my discoveries. at the latter part of the journey, i had, as it were, retraced the whole course of my life, and i was now, in my dreams, almost invariably in sydney, canvassing for support, and imagining that, although i had left my camp, yet that i should return with new resources to carry us through the remainder of our journey. it was very remarkable, that all my companions were almost invariably anticipating the end of our journey, dreaming that they reached the sea-coast, and met with ships, or that they were in port essington and enjoying the pleasures of civilized life; whilst i, on awaking, found my party and my interests on the place where i had left them in my dreams. during the leisure moments of the day, or at the commencement of night, when seated at my fire, all my thoughts seemed riveted to the progress and success of my journey, and to the new objects we had met with during the day. i had then to compel myself to think of absent friends and past times, and the thought that they supposed me dead or unsuccessful in my enterprize, brought me back immediately to my favourite object. much, indeed the greater portion, of my journey had been occupied in long reconnoitring rides; and he who is thus occupied is in a continued state of excitement, now buoyant with hope, as he urges on his horse towards some distant range or blue mountain, or as he follows the favourable bend of a river; now all despairing and miserable, as he approaches the foot of the range without finding water from which he could start again with renewed strength, or as the river turns in an unfavourable direction, and slips out of his course. evening approaches; the sun has sunk below the horizon for some time, but still he strains his eye through the gloom for the dark verdure of a creek, or strives to follow the arrow-like flight of a pigeon, the flapping of whose wings has filled him with a sudden hope, from which he relapses again into a still greater sadness; with a sickened heart he drops his head to a broken and interrupted rest, whilst his horse is standing hobbled at his side, unwilling from excessive thirst to feed on the dry grass. how often have i found myself in these different states of the brightest hope and the deepest misery, riding along, thirsty, almost lifeless and ready to drop from my saddle with fatigue; the poor horse tired like his rider, footsore, stumbling over every stone, running heedlessly against the trees, and wounding my knees! but suddenly, the note of grallina australis, the call of cockatoos, or the croaking of frogs, is heard, and hopes are bright again; water is certainly at hand; the spur is applied to the flank of the tired beast, which already partakes in his rider's anticipations, and quickens his pace--and a lagoon, a creek, or a river, is before him. the horse is soon unsaddled, hobbled, and well washed; a fire is made, the teapot is put to the fire, the meat is dressed, the enjoyment of the poor reconnoiterer is perfect, and a prayer of thankfulness to the almighty god who protects the wanderer on his journey, bursts from his grateful lips. may .--we travelled about eight miles down the lynd. the country was very mountainous; granitic and pegmatite ranges bounded the valley on both sides. may .--we continued our journey over the most mountainous and rocky country we had ever passed. the ranges formed the banks of the river itself, and even entered its bed, which gradually enlarged and was frequently formed by several channels fringed with large drooping tea trees. at the end of the stage, basalt was found to have broken through the granite. may .--the river turned more to the northward, and, joined by many gullies, wound its way between wild and rocky, though low ranges. at a place where it left a range of rugged little peaks, basalt re-appeared at its banks, and extended for some distance, now filling flats with its rough and cellular blocks and pebbles, and again forming small hillocks of black bare rock. as soon, however, as the river had fairly left the basaltic formation, fine large flats of a light sandy soil succeeded on both sides; on which pandanus spiralis grew in great abundance, and to a larger size than we had seen before. the bed of the river became very broad, and was covered with sands, shingle, and pebbles of the rocks of its upper course. i passed through a broad rocky gap of a range tending from east to west, and, at about two miles beyond and to the north-west of it, we encamped, in lat. degrees minutes seconds. in passing this gap, on a previous reconnoitring ride with brown, i met with several natives with their wives and children, encamped at the north entrance of it. when they saw us, the men poised their spears, and shook their waddis to frighten us, but when, notwithstanding their menaces, we approached them, they left all their goods, and with their weapons only hurried up the rocks with wonderful agility. three koolimans (vessels of stringy bark) were full of honey water, from one of which i took a hearty draught, and left a brass button for payment. dillis, fish spears, a roasted bandicoot, a species of potatoe, wax, a bundle of tea-tree bark with dry shavings; several flints fastened with human hair to the ends of sticks, and which are used as knives to cut their skin and food; a spindle to make strings of opossum wool; and several other small utensils, were in their camp. one of my blackfellows found a fine rock-crystal [note at end of para.] in one of their bags, when we passed the place next day with our bullocks. the poor people had evidently not yet ventured to return. the natives we had formerly met, had generally watched our movements from a distance, and had returned to their camp as soon as we had fairly left it; but these seemed too much frightened; and i should not be surprised to find that the mountainous nature of their country had given them a greater share of superstition. [note: this shows how far the custom extends throughout the continent, of considering the rock-crystal as sacred; whether it be that it has been transmitted from tribe to tribe, or that the native was everywhere inclined to pick up a shining stone, and to consider it endowed with peculiar virtues. from the absence of brilliant ores, or precious stones, in the bags and dillis of the natives, i concluded, that neither precious stones nor brilliant metallic substances existed in the country where they lived. those with whom we came in contact, generally admired our gold and silver chains and watches very much, but had nothing to show in return except broken shells from the sea-coast] among the new and interesting scrubs and trees which we met with at almost every step, i shall only mention a small grevillea, from one to two feet in height, with pubescent pinnatifid leaves, and a simple or compound thyrsus of scarlet flowers; cochlospermum gossypium, the native cotton tree of port essington, whose bright showy yellow blossoms and large capsules full of silky cotton, attracted our attention; its leaves are deciduous, and the trees were entirely leafless; a fine species of calytrix on the rocks, and two of loranthus on the drooping tea tree, the drooping foliage of which one of them imitated, whilst the other belonged to the group i mentioned as found at the suttor, with its flowers inserted on a leafy bract. exocarpus latifolius is so different from e. cupressiformis, in its foliage and aspect, that i did not suspect their near relation, until i found blossom and fruit: the ripe kernel as well as its yellow succulent leaf-stalk have a very agreeable taste; a leguminous shrub, about five or six feet high, with purple blossoms gathered into terminal oblong heads; this would be an ornament to our gardens. along the river we discovered a large tree, about forty or fifty feet in height, with rather singularly disposed horizontal branches and rich dark green foliage; its leaves were oblong acute, and frequently a foot long; its flowers formed dense heads, which grew into a fleshy body marked with the arcoles of every flower. it is either sarcocephalus or zuccarinia, or nearly allied to them. the tree has never been seen on easterly waters, but it was the invariable companion of all the larger freshwater rivers round the gulf. a fine species of gomphrena was found in the sandy bed of the river. a species of terminalia, a fine shady tree, with spreading branches and broad elliptical leaves, grew along the sandy creeks; and another smaller one with samara fruit preferred the rocky slopes. both of these, and a third species growing on the west side of the gulph, which i shall have to mention hereafter, supplied us with fine eatable gum, and a fourth species, with smooth leaves, had an eatable fruit of a purple colour. the view i obtained from one of the hills near our yesterday's camp was very characteristic. the country was broken by low ranges of various extent, formed by exceedingly rocky hills and peaks, which lifted their rugged crests above the open forest that covered their slopes. heaps of rocks with clusters of trees, particularly the smooth-leaved fig tree, the rose-coloured sterculia, exocarpus latifolius, were scattered over the slopes, or grew on the summits, to which they gave the resemblance of the lifted crest of an irritated cockatoo, particularly when huge fantastic blocks were striking out between the vegetation. as we travelled along, ranges of hills of this character appeared one after another; to which wallums and wallabies fled for security as we scared them from the river's side; the rose-breasted cockatoo (cocatua eos, gould.) visited the patches of fresh burnt grass, in large flocks; bustards were numerous on the small flats between basaltic hillocks, where they fed on the ripe fruit of grewia. on the evening of the th may, we killed one of our bullocks, which had suffered more than any of the others by the journey, in consequence of his having carried our ammunition, which had decreased comparatively little, and the great weight of which had raised large lumps on his ribs, which had formed into ulcers. we were very disagreeably disappointed in not finding sufficient fat to fry the liver, which was our favourite dish; even the fat of the marrow had disappeared and had left a watery tissue, which, when grilled for some time, turned into a yellow substance, having the taste of the fried yolk of an egg. we dried our meat on the th, th, and th. i took a set of lunar sights, and calculated my longitude degrees minutes. may .--we had scarcely left, our camp, when swarms of crows and kites (milvus isiurus) took possession of it, after having given us a fair fight during the previous days, whilst we were drying the meat. their boldness was indeed remarkable, and if the natives had as much, we should soon have had to quit our camp. proceeding, we travelled over a broken and very stony country, with a stiff soil, but mixed with so much sand that even the severn tree grew well. there was another small tree, the branches of which were thickly covered with bright green leaves; it had round inferior fruit, about half an inch in diameter, which was full of seeds: when ripe, it was slightly pulpy and acidulous, and reminded me of the taste of the coarse german rye bread. in consequence of this resemblance, we called this little tree the bread tree of the lynd. i ate handfulls of this fruit without the slightest inconvenience. a species of pittosporum, and several acacias, pandanus, and the leguminous ironbark, were scattered through an open forest of ironbark and lanceolate box. i observed here a very ornamental little tree, with drooping branches and linear lanceolate drooping leaves three inches long; it very much resembled a species of capparis that i had seen at the isaacs. its blossoms are very small, and the calyx and corolla have each five divisions; the stamens are opposite the petals; it bore a fruit like a small apple, with a hard outside, but pulpy and many seeded within, like capparis; the calyx was attached to the base of the fruit. the rock was still granitic, with small outbreaks of basalt; the leaflets of white mica were visible everywhere in the soil and in the large ant-hills, whose building materials were derived from the decomposed felspar. the bed of the river was frequently rocky, and very broad, with low banks and no water. the highest flood-marks we observed were from six to eight feet above the level of the bed; these marks were on the trunks of casuarinas, melaleucas, and flooded-gum, which grew along the channel. the country in general had a winterly appearance; and the grass round the camp was dry, but i observed the fine grass of the isaacs, and many varieties which grow on the suttor and burdekin, which will yield an excellent feed in the proper season; and, even at the present, neither our bullocks nor horses were starving. the part of the country in which we were, possesses great interest in a meteorological point of view. in the centre of the york peninsula, between the east coast and the gulf, and on the slopes to the latter, as might be expected, the northerly and easterly winds which set in so regularly after sunset, as well along the burdekin as on the basaltic table land, failed, and were succeeded here by slight westerly and easterly breezes, without any great and decided movement in the atmosphere; and westerly winds, which had formerly been of rare occurrence, became more frequent and stronger. the days, from the stillness of the air, were very hot; but at night the dews were heavy, and it was very cold. charley asserted that he had seen ice at our last camp. the black cockatoo (calyptorhynchus banksii) has been much more frequently observed of late. we used the last of our salt at the last camp; and what we should do without it, was a question of considerable interest. as i had never taken salt with me in my reconnoitring expeditions, and had never felt the want of it with dried beef, either grilled or raw, i recommended my companions to eat their meat in the same state; and, in fact, good dry beef, without any farther preparation, was much relished by all of us: for, when grilled, it became ashy and burnt, particularly when without fat; and, if stewed, although it yielded a good broth, it became tough and tasteless. the meat of the last bullock was very hard and juiceless, and something was to be done to soften it, and make it palatable: as we had no fat, we frequently steamed it with water, but this rendered it tough, without facilitating in the least the mastication; and its fibres, entering between our teeth, rendered them exceedingly tender, and caused us much pain. after a week's trial, and several experiments, we returned to our former practice of stewing it, and in a very short time relished it as much without salt, as we had formerly done with it. chapter ix the starry heavens--substitute for coffee--sawfish--two-storied gunyas of the natives--the mitchell--murphy's pony poisoned--green tree-ant--new beverage--crocodile--audacity of kites--natives not friendly--the camp attacked at night by them--messrs. roper and calvert wounded, and mr. gilbert killed. june .--mr. gilbert and charley made an excursion down the river last night, to look for water, but, as they did not return in the morning, and as water had been found, after they left, about four miles lower down, we started to meet them. observing a swarm of white cranes circling in the air, and taking their flight down the river, i concluded that we should meet with a good supply of water lower down, and, therefore, passed the nearest water-hole; but, the country and the bed of the river being exceedingly rocky, our progress was very slow. after proceeding about eight miles, we came to the junction of a river from the south-west with the lynd; and encamped at some small pools of water in latitude degrees minutes seconds: having travelled, during the last two stages, in a west-north-west direction. june .--when we left our camp this morning, mr. gilbert and charley returned from their ride; they had come on our tracks last night, but, surrounded as they were by rocky hills and gullies, had been compelled to encamp. we travelled about seven miles and a half, and crossed three good sized creeks, joining the lynd from the north east. the river divided several times into anabranches, flowing round, and insulating rocky hills and ridges. it was much better supplied with water, and contained several large reedy lagoons. an elegant acacia, about thirty or thirty-five feet high, grew on its small flats: it had large drooping glaucous bipinnate leaves, long broad pods, and oval seeds, half black, and half bright red. june .--we continued our journey down the river, about seven or eight miles. the first three miles were very tolerable, over limited box-flats near the river. as we approached the ranges again, the supply of water increased; and we passed one large poel, in particular, with many ducks and spoonbills on it. but the ranges approached the banks of the river on both sides, and formed either precipitous walls, or flats so exceedingly rocky, that it was out of the question to follow it. we, therefore, ascended the hills and mountains, and with our foot-sore cattle passed over beds of sharp shingles of porphyry. we crept like snails over these rocky hills, and through their gullies filled with boulders and shingles, until i found it necessary to halt, and allow my poor beasts to recover. during the afternoon, i examined the country in advance, and found that the mountains extended five miles farther, and were as rocky as those we had already passed. but, after that, they receded from the river, and the country became comparatively level. to this place i brought forward my party on the th june, and again descended into the valley of the river, and encamped near a fine pool of water in its sandy bed, in latitude degrees minutes seconds. here, last night, i met a family of natives who had just commenced their supper; but, seeing us, they ran away and left their things, without even making an attempt to frighten us. upon examining their camp, i found their koolimans, (vessels to keep water) full of bee bread, of which i partook, leaving for payment some spare nose rings of our bullocks. in their dillies i found the fleshy roots of a bean, which grows in a sandy soil, and has solitary yellow blossoms; the tuber of a vine, which has palmate leaves; a bitter potato, probably belonging to a water-plant; a fine specimen of rock-crystal; and a large cymbium (a sea shell), besides other trifles common to almost all the natives we had seen. their koolimans were very large, almost like small boats, and were made of the inner layer of the bark of the stringy-bark tree. there was no animal food in the camp. the whole extent of the mountainous country passed in our two last stages, was of porphyry, with crystals of quartz and felspar in a grey paste; on both sides of it, the rock was granite and pegmatite; and, at the north-west side of the gorge, i observed talc-schist in the bed of the river. the vegetation of the forest, and along the river, did not vary; but, on the mountains, the silver-leaved ironbark prevailed. the general course of the lynd, from my last latitude to that of the th june, was north-west. sleeping in the open air at night, with a bright sky studded with its stars above us, we were naturally led to observe more closely the hourly changes of the heavens; and my companions became curious to know the names of those brilliant constellations, with which nightly observation had now, perhaps for the first time, made them familiar. we had reached a latitude which allowed us not only to see the brightest stars of the southern, but, also of the northern hemisphere, and i shall never forget the intense pleasure i experienced, and that evinced by my companions, when i first called them, about o'clock in the morning, to see ursa major. the starry heaven is one of those great features of nature, which enter unconsciously into the composition of our souls. the absence of the stars gives us painful longings, the nature of which we frequently do not understand, but which we call home sickness:--and their sudden re-appearance touches us like magic, and fills us with delight. every new moon also was hailed with an almost superstitious devotion, and my blackfellows vied with each other to discover its thin crescent, and would be almost angry with me when i strained my duller eyes in vain to catch a glimpse of its faint light in the brilliant sky which succeeds the setting of the sun. the questions: where were we at the last new moon? how far have we travelled since? and where shall we be at the next?--were invariably discussed amongst us; calculations were made as to the time that would be required to bring us to the end of our journey, and there was no lack of advice offered as to what should, and ought to be done. at several of our last camps the cry of the goat suckers, and the hooting of owls, were heard the whole night; and immediately after sunset, the chirping of several kinds of crickets was generally heard, the sound of which was frequently so metallic, as to be mistaken for the tinkling of our bell. at separation creek, we first met with the ring-tailed opossum; and, on the table land, often heard its somewhat wailing cry. june .--we travelled, in a direct line, about nine miles west by north, down the river, although the distance along its banks was much greater; for it made a large bend at first to the northward, and afterwards, being turned by a fine conspicuous short range, to the westward. i named the range after w. kirchner, esq., another of the supporters of my expedition. the river was here, in some places, fully half a mile broad, and formed channels covered with low shrubs, among which a myrtle was frequent. between the ranges, the river became narrower: and, before it reached kirchner's range, a large creek joined it from the eastward; and another from the southward, after it had passed the range. the flats increased on both side of the river, and were openly timbered with box and narrow-leaved ironbark. the rock near our yesterday's camp was talc-schist. farther down sienite was observed, which contained so much hornblende as to change occasionally into hornblende rock, with scattered crystals of quartz. granite and pegmatite were round some lagoons near the creek from the southward. the clustered fig tree of the burdekin, became again more frequent; but sarcocephalus was the characteristic tree of the river. the acacia of expedition range and of the upper lynd, grew to a comparatively large size in the open forest. we observed a cotton tree (cochlospermum), covered with large yellow blossoms, though entirely leafless; and we could not help thinking how great an ornament this plant would be to the gardens of the colony. as the water-holes became larger, water-fowl became more plentiful; and brown succeeded in shooting several wood-ducks and a malacorhyncus membranaceus. the bean of the mackenzie was very abundant in the sandy bed of the river; we roasted and ate some of its fruit; it was, however, too heavy, and produced indigestion: mr. phillips pounded them, and they made an excellent substitute for coffee, which i preferred to our tea, which, at that time, was not very remarkable for its strength. june .--we travelled about nine miles west by north to latitude degrees minutes seconds. the first part of the stage was over an undulating country timbered with box and ironbark; but the latter part was hilly and mountainous: the mountains were so rocky, where they entered the bed of the river, that we were obliged to leave its banks, and travel over a very difficult country. on the small flats, the apple-gum grew with a few scattered moreton bay ash trees; on the bergues of the river we found the white cedar (melia azedarach), clerodendron; an asclepiadaceous shrub with large triangular seed-vessels; and, on the hills, the blood-wood and stringy-bark. the rock, as far as i examined it, was of porphyry of great hardness, and composing hills of an almost conical form. june .--the same difficult country not only continued, but rather increased. charley told me last night, on his return from a walk, that he had found sandstone. to-day we travelled over porphyries like those of the last stage: but, about four miles from the last camp, steep sandstone rocks with excavations appeared on our left, at some distance from the river, from which they were separated by porphyry; but, farther on, they approached the river on both sides, and formed steep slopes, which compelled us to travel along the bed of the river itself. two large creeks joined the river from the southward, one of which was running, and also made the river run until the stream lost itself in the sandy bed. at the end of the stage, however, the stream re-appeared, and we were fairly on the fourth flowing river of the expedition: for the condamine, although not constantly, was raised by rains, and showed the origin of its supply, by the muddy nature of its waters; the dawson commenced running where we left it; and the burdekin, with several of its tributaries, was running as far as we followed it. the waters of the dawson, the burdekin, and the lynd, were very clear, and received their constant supply from springs. we passed a camp of natives, who vere very much alarmed at the report of a gun, which mr. gilbert happened to fire when very near them; this he did in his anxiety to procure a pair of geophaps plumifera, for his collection. these pretty little pigeons had been first observed by brown in the course of our yesterday's stage, who shot two of them, but they were too much mutilated to make good specimens. we frequently saw them afterwards, but never more than two, four, or six together, running with great rapidity and with elevated crest over the ground, and preferring the shady rocks along the sandy bed of the river. i tried several methods to render the potatoes, which we had found in the camps of the natives, eatable; but neither roasting nor boiling destroyed their sickening bitterness. at last, i pounded and washed them, and procured their starch, which was entirely tasteless, but thickened rapidly in hot water, like arrow-root; and was very agreeable to eat, wanting only the addition of sugar to make it delicious; at least so we fancied. june .--we travelled about nine miles west-north-west. the country was in general open, with soft ground on the more extensive flats; although sandstone ranges approached the river in many places. four good-sized creeks entered the river from the southward. the sandstone, or psammite, was composed of large grains of quartz mixed with clay of a whitish red or yellow colour; it frequently formed steep cliffs and craggy rugged little peaks. the stringy-bark grew to a fine size on the hills, and would yield, together with ironbark and the drooping tea-tree, the necessary timber for building. a new species of melaleuca and also of boronia were found, when entering upon the sandstone formation. the wind for the last few days has been westerly; cumuli forming during the day, dissolved towards sunset; the days were very hot, the nights mild and dry. it was evident that we had descended considerably into the basin of the gulf. june .--we travelled about ten miles north-west. box-tree flats, of more or less extent, were intercepted by abrupt barren craggy hills composed of sandstone, which seemed to rest on layers of argillaceous rock. the latter was generally observed at the foot of the hills and in the bed of the river; it had in most places been worn by the action of water. the stringy-bark became even numerous on the flats, in consequence of the more sandy nature of the soil: but the hills were scrubby, and mr. gilbert reported that he had even seen the bricklow. the grass of the isaacs grew from twelve to fifteen feet high, in the hollows near the river, which was, as usual, fringed with sarcocephalus; a species of terminalia; the drooping tea-tree; and with an acacia which perfumed the air with the fragrant odours of its flowers. we gathered some blossoms of the drooping tea-tree, which were full of honey, and, when soaked, imparted a very agreeable sweetness to the water. we frequently observed great quantities of washed blossoms of this tree in the deserted camps of the natives; showing that they were as fond of the honey in the blossoms of the tea-tree, as the natives of the east coast are of that of the several species of banksia. june .--we travelled about five miles north-north-west to latitude degrees minutes seconds. the flats, the rugged hills, and the river, maintained the same character. creeks, probably of no great extent, joined the lynd from the south side of all the hills we passed both yesterday and to-day. the weather was very fine, although exceedingly hot during the day; but the nights were mild, and without dew. an easterly and south-easterly wind blew during the whole day, moderated a little at sunset, and again freshened up after it; but the latter part of the night, and for an hour and a half after sunrise, was calm. i was induced to think that this wind originated from the current of cold air flowing from the table-land of the burdekin down to the gulf, as the easterly winds west of new england do, and as the westerly winds of sydney during july and august, which are supposed to be equally connected with the table-land of new england and of bathurst. the westerly winds occurring at the upper lynd, do not militate against such a supposition, as they might well belong to an upper current coming from the sea. two new fishes were caught; both were very small; the one malacopterygious, and resembling the pike, would remain at times motionless at the bottom, or dart at its prey; the other belonged to the perches, and had an oblong compressed body, and three dark stripes perpendicular to its length; this would hover through the water, and nibble at the bait. silurus and gristes were also caught. brown rendered himself very useful to us in shooting ducks, which were very numerous on the water-holes; and he succeeded several times in killing six, eight, or ten, at oneshot; particularly the leptotarsis, gould, (whistling duck) which habitually crowd close together on the water. native companions were also numerous, but these birds and the black cockatoos were the most wary of any that we met. whilst travelling with our bullocks through the high grass, we started daily a great number of wallabies; two of which were taken by charley and john murphy, assisted by our kangaroo dog. brown, who had gone to the lower part of the long pool of water near our encampment, to get a shot at some sheldrakes (tadorna raja), returned in a great hurry, and told me that he had seen a very large and most curious fish dead, and at the water's edge. messrs. gilbert and calvert went to fetch it, and i was greatly surprised to find it a sawfish (pristis), which i thought lived exclusively in salt water. it was between three and four feet in length, and only recently, perhaps a few days, dead. it had very probably come up the river during a flood, for the water-hole in which the creature had been detained, had no connection with the tiny stream, which hardly resisted the absorbing power of the sands. another question was, what could have been the cause of its death? as the water seemed well tenanted with small fish. we supposed that it had pursued its prey into shallow water, and had leaped on the dry land, in its efforts to regain the deep water. charley also found and brought me the large scales of the fish of the mackenzie, and the head-bones of a large guard-fish. june .--we travelled about eight miles due north. the bed of the river was very broad; and an almost uninterrupted flat, timbered with box and apple-gum, extended along its banks. we were delighted with the most exquisite fragrance of several species of acacia in blossom. june .--we travelled about nine miles n.n.w. to lat. degrees minutes. the flats were again interrupted by sandstone ranges. one large creek, and several smaller ones joined the river. june .--we accomplished nine miles to-day in a n.n.w. direction. the country was partly rocky; the rock was a coarse conglomerate of broken pieces of quartz, either white or coloured with oxide of iron; it greatly resembled the rock of the wybong hills on the upper hunter, and was equally worn and excavated. the flats were limited, and timbered with apple-gum, box, and blood-wood, where the sand was mixed with a greater share of clay; and with stringy-bark on the sandy rocky soil; also with flooded-gum, in the densely grassed hollows along the river. the severn tree, the acacia of expedition range, and the little bread tree, were frequent along the banks of the river. a species of stravadium attracted our attention by its loose racemes of crimson coloured flowers, and of large three or four ribbed monospermous fruit; it was a small tree, with bright green foliage, and was the almost constant companion of the permanent water-holes. as its foliage and the manner of its growth resemble the mangrove, we called it the mangrove myrtle. brown shot fifteen ducks, mostly leptotarsis eytoni, gould.; and charley a bustard (otis australasianus), which saved two messes of our meat. the river was joined by a large creek from the south-west, and by several small ones; we passed a very fine lagoon, at scarcely three miles from our last camp. june .--we travelled nine miles north by west, to lat. degrees minutes. the box-tree flats were very extensive, and scattered over with small groves of the acacia of expedition range. the narrow-leaved ironbark had disappeared with the primitive rocks; the moment sandstone commenced, stringy-bark took its place. we passed some lagoons, crossed a good sized creek from the south-west, and saw a small lake in the distance. at the latter part of the stage the country became more undulating. the edges of the stiff shallows were densely covered with the sharp pointed structures of the white ants, about two or three feet high. they were quite as frequent at the upper part of the river, where i omitted to mention them. we saw a very interesting camping place of the natives, containing several two-storied gunyas, which were constructed in the following manner: four large forked sticks were rammed into the ground, supporting cross poles placed in their forks, over which bark was spread sufficiently strong and spacious for a man to lie upon; other sheets of stringy-bark were bent over the platform, and formed an arched roof, which would keep out any wet. at one side of these constructions, the remains of a large fire were observed, with many mussel-shells scattered about. all along the lynd we had found the gunyas of the natives made of large sheets of stringy-bark, not however supported by forked poles, but bent, and both ends of the sheet stuck into the ground; mr. gilbert thought the two-storied gunyas were burial places; but we met with them so frequently afterwards, during our journey round the gulf, and it was frequently so evident that they had been recently inhabited, that no doubt remained of their being habitations of the living, and constructed to avoid sleeping on the ground during the wet season. june .--we travelled about nine miles and a half down the river, over a country like that of yesterday, the tree vegetation was, however, more scanty, the forest still more open, the groves of acacia larger. brown returned with two sheldrakes (tadorna raja), four black ducks (anas novae hollandiae), four teals (querquedula castanea); and brought the good news that the lynd joined a river coming from the south-east, with a rapid stream to the westward. june .--we left the lynd, along which we had journeyed from lat. degrees minutes to lat. degrees minutes, and travelled about twelve miles w.n.w., when we encamped at the west side of a very long lagoon though i did not see the junction of the two rivers myself, mr. roper, brown, and charley, informed me, that the lynd became very narrow, and its banks well confined, before joining the new river; which i took the liberty of naming after sir thomas mitchell, the talented surveyor-general of new south wales; they also stated that the lynd was well filled by a fine sheet of water. the bed of the mitchell was very broad, sandy, and quite bare of vegetation; showing the more frequent recurrence of floods. a small stream meandered through the sheet of sand, and from time to time expanded into large water-holes: the river was also much more tortuous in its course than the lynd, which for long distances generally kept the same course. the mitchell came from the eastward, and took its course to the west-north-west. at the sudden bends of the river, the bergue was interrupted by gullies, and occasionally by deep creeks, which seemed, however, only to have a short course, and to be the outlets of the waters collecting on the flats and stiff plains at some distance from the river. the bergue was covered with fine bloodwood trees, stringy-bark and box. at a greater distance from the river, the trees became scanty and scattered, and, still farther, small plains extended, clothed but sparingly with a wiry grass. these plains were bounded by an open forest of the acacia of expedition range. this little tree gave us a good supply of a light amber-coloured wholesome gum, which we sometimes ate in its natural state, or after it had been dissolved by boiling. towards the end of the day's stage, we came to several very fine lagoons; one of which was several miles long, and apparently parallel to the river: it was exceedingly deep, and covered with the broad leaves of villarsia and nymphaea, and well stocked with numerous large fish, which betrayed their presence by an incessant splashing during the early part of the night. john murphy caught the small striped perch of the lynd; and another small perch-like fish, with a broad anal fin, which had already excited our admiration at the lynd, by the beauty of its colours, and by the singularity of its movements. charley saw the silurus and the guardfish, and caught several of the broad-scaled fish of the mackenzie; one of which, a most beautiful specimen, has been preserved and sent to mr. gould. when we left our last camp at the lynd, john murphy's pony was missing. charley went to look for it, and did not join us before we had arrived at our camp, after an unusually long and fatiguing stage. he brought us the melancholy news that he had found the poor beast on the sands of the lynd, with its body blown up, and bleeding from the nostrils. it had either been bitten by a snake; or had eaten some noxious herb, which had fortunately been avoided by the other horses. accidents of this kind were well calculated to impress us with the conviction of our dependence on providence, which had hitherto been so kind and merciful. as all our meat was consumed, i was compelled to stop, in order to kill one of our little steers. it proved to be very fat, and allowed us once more to indulge in our favourite dish of fried liver. although we were most willing to celebrate the anniversary of the battle of waterloo, and to revive our own ambitious feelings at the memory of the deeds of our illustrious heroes, we had nothing left but the saturated rags of our sugar bags; which, however, we had kept for the purpose, and which we now boiled up with our tea: our last flour was consumed three weeks ago; and the enjoyment of fat cake, therefore, was not to be thought of. should any of my readers think these ideas and likings ridiculous and foolish, they may find plenty of analogous facts by entering the habitations of the poor, where i have not only witnessed, but enjoyed, similar treats of sugared tea and buttered bread. in crossing one of the creeks we found a species of acacia [inga moniliformis, d. c. prod. vol. ii. p. , where it is described as having been found at timor.], with articulate pods and large brown seeds; it was a small tree with spreading branches, and a dark green shady foliage: it occurred afterwards on all the creeks and water-holes until we reached our destination. it was at the lower part of the lynd that we first saw the green-tree ant; which seemed to live in small societies in rude nests between the green leaves of shady trees. the passer by, when touching one of these nests, would be instantaneously covered with them, and would soon be aware of their presence by the painful bites they are able, and apparently most ready, to inflict. june .--we travelled about eight miles n. degrees w. lat. degrees minutes seconds and again encamped at a very deep lagoon, covered near its edges with villarsias, but without nymphaeas. the soil of the flat round the lagoon, was very stiff and suitable for making bricks. the country along the mitchell was an immense uninterrupted flat with a very clayey soil, on which the following plants were frequent: viz. grevillea, cerotaphylla, and mimosoides, a melaleuca with broad lanceolate leaves, spathodea and a balfouria, r. br. whilst walking down by the lagoon, i found a great quantity of ripe grewia seeds, and, on eating many of them, it struck me, that their slightly acidulous taste, if imparted to water, would make a very good drink; i therefore gathered as many as i could, and boiled them for about an hour; the beverage which they produced was at all events the best we had tasted on our expedition: and my companions were busy the whole afternoon in gathering and boiling the seeds. charley and brown, who had gone to the river, returned at a late hour, when they told us that they had seen the tracks of a large animal on the sands of the river, which they judged to be about the size of a big dog, trailing a long tail like a snake. charley said, that when brown fired his gun, a deep noise like the bellowing of a bull was heard; which frightened both so much that they immediately decamped. this was the first time that we became aware of the existence of the crocodile in the waters of the gulf. june .--we travelled about ten miles north-west, and avoided the gullies by keeping at a distance from the river. plains covered with high dry grass alternated with an open forest; in which we observed spathodea, bauhinia, a balfouria, groves of cochlospermum gossypium, and several other trees, which i had seen in the scrubs of comet river; among which was the arborescent cassia with long pods. a bauhinia, different from the two species i had previously seen, was covered with red blossoms, which, where the tree abounded, gave quite a purple hue to the country. the stringy-bark, the bloodwood, the apple-gum, the box, and the flooded-gum, grew along the bergue of the river. we passed some fine lagoons at the latter end of the stage. the banks of the river were so steep, that the access to its water was difficult; its stream, deep and apparently slow, occupied about half the bed, which was perhaps one hundred and eighty, or two hundred yards broad. the soil was very sandy, and three deep channels parallel to the river were overgrown with high stiff grass. a pretty yellow ipomoea formed dense festoons between the trees that fringed the waters. the unripe seeds of cochlospermum, when crushed, gave a fine yellow colour, shaded into an orange hue. large flocks of peristera histrionica (the harlequin pigeon) were lying on the patches of burnt grass on the plains, they feed on the brown seeds of a grass, which annoyed us very much by getting into our stockings, trowsers, and blankets. the rose-breasted cockatoo, mr. gilbert's platycercus of darling downs, and the betshiregah (melopsittacus undulatus, gould.) were very numerous, and it is probable that the plains round the gulf are their principal home, whence they migrate to the southward. the white and black cockatoos were also very numerous. john murphy caught four perches, one of which weighed two pounds. the purple ant of the east coast has disappeared, and a similar one with brick-coloured head and thorax, but by no means so voracious, has taken its place. the flooded-gum and the bloodwood were in blossom: this usually takes place, at moreton bay, in november and december. this different state of vegetation to the northward and southward, may perhaps account for the periodical migration of several kinds of birds. june .--a shower of rain fell, but cleared up at midnight. we travelled nine miles north-west to lat. degrees minutes seconds, over a country very much like that of the two preceding stages, and past several fine lagoons, richly adorned by the large showy flowers of a white nymphaea, the seed-vessels of which some families of natives were busily gathering: after having blossomed on the surface of the water, the seed-vessel grows larger and heavier, and sinks slowly to the bottom, where it rots until its seeds become free, and are either eaten by fishes and waterfowl, or form new plants. the natives had consequently to dive for the ripe seed-vessels; and we observed them constantly disappearing and reappearing on the surface of the water. they did not see us until we were close to them, when they hurried out of the water, snatched up some weapons and ran off, leaving their harvest of nymphaea seeds behind. brown had visited another lagoon, where he had seen an old man and two gins; the former endeavoured to frighten him by setting the grass on fire, but, when he saw that brown still approached, he retired into the forest. we took a net full of seeds, and i left them a large piece of iron as payment. on returning to the camp, we boiled the seeds, after removing the capsule; but as some of the numerous partitions had remained, the water was rendered slightly bitter. this experiment having failed, the boiled seeds were then (unclear:)tied with a little fat, which rendered them very palatable and remarkably satisfying. the best way of cooking them was that adopted by the natives, who roast the whole seed-vessel. i then made another trial to obtain the starch from the bitter potatoes, in which i succeeded; but the soup for eight people, made with the starch of sixteen potatoes, was rather thin. we were encamped at a small creek, scarcely a mile from the river, from which john murphy and brown brought the leaves of the first palm trees we had seen on the waters of the gulf. they belonged to the genus corypha; some of them were very thick and high. the mornings and evenings were very beautiful, and are surpassed by no climate that i have ever lived in. it was delightful to watch the fading and changing tints of the western sky after sunset, and to contemplate, in the refreshing coolness of advancing night, the stars as they successively appeared, and entered on their nightly course. the state of our health showed how congenial the climate was to the human constitution; for, without the comforts which the civilized man thinks essentially necessary to life; without flour, without salt and miserably clothed, we were yet all in health; although at times suffering much from weakness and fatigue. at night we stretched ourselves on the ground, almost as naked as the natives, and though most of my companions still used their tents, it was amply proved afterwards that the want of this luxury was attended with no ill consequences. we heard some subdued cooees, not very far from our camp, which i thought might originate from natives returning late from their excursions, and whose attention had been attracted by our fires. i discharged a gun to make them aware of our presence; after which we heard no more of them. june .--we travelled about twelve miles n. w. degrees w. to lat. degrees minutes seconds, and encamped at a swamp or sedgy lagoon, without any apparent outlet; near which a great number of eagles, kites, and crows were feasting on the remains of a black ibis. we passed a very long lagoon, and, in the latter part of our stage, the country had much improved, both in the increased extent of its forest land, and in the density and richness of its grass. june. .--we travelled eight or nine miles in a w. n. w. direction to latitude degrees minutes seconds, over many bauhinia plains with the bauhinias in full blossom. the stiff soil of these plains was here and there marked by very regular pentagonal, hexagonal, and heptagonal cracks, and, as these cracks retain the moisture of occasional rains better than the intervening space, they were fringed with young grass, which showed these mathematical figures very distinctly. we passed a great number of dry swamps or swampy water-holes; sometimes however containing a little water. they were surrounded by the mangrove myrtle (stravadium), which was mentioned as growing at the lower lynd. the bottom of the dry swamps was covered with a couch grass, which, like all the other grasses, was partly withered. bustards were numerous, and the harlequin pigeon was seen in large flocks. wallabies abounded both in the high grass of the broken country near the river, and in the brush. mr. roper shot one, the hind quarters of which weighed / lbs.: it was of a light grey colour, and was like those we had seen at separation creek. charley and brown got seventeen ducks, on one of the sedgy lagoons. i visited the bed of the river: its banks were covered with a rather open vine brush. palm trees became numerous, and grew forty or fifty feet high, with a thick trunk swelling in the middle, and tapering upwards and downwards. sarcocephalus, the clustered fig-tree, and the drooping tea-tree, were also present as usual. the bed of the river, an immense sheet of sand, was full a mile and a half broad, but the stream itself did not exceed thirty yards in width. during the night we had again a few drops of rain. june .--we continued our journey about nine miles west by north to latitude degrees minutes seconds, over a rather broken country alternating with bauhinia plains and a well-grassed forest. the banks of a large lagoon, on which several palm trees grew, were covered with heaps of mussel-shells. swarms of sheldrakes were perching in the trees, and, as we approached, they rose with a loud noise, flying up and down the lagoon, and circling in the air around us. a chain of water-holes, fringed with mangrove myrtle, changed, farther to the westward, into a creek, which had no connection with the river, but was probably one of the heads of the nassau. we crossed it, and encamped on a water-hole covered with nymphaeas, about a mile from the river, whose brushy banks would have prevented us from approaching it, had we wished to do so. though the easterly winds still prevailed, a slight north-west breeze was very distinctly felt, from about o'clock a.m. june .--we travelled about ten miles n.n.w. to latitude degrees minutes seconds, but did not follow the river, which made large windings to the northward. it was very broad where brown saw it last, and, by his account, the brush was almost entirely composed of palm trees. he saw a little boat with a fine cymbium shell floating on the water. our road led us over a well grassed forest land, and several creeks, which, although rising near the river, appeared to have no communication with it. some plains of considerable size were between the river and our line of march; they were well grassed, but full of melon-holes, and rose slightly towards the river, forming a remarkable water-shed, perhaps, between the nassau and the mitchell. as we approached the river, we entered into a flat covered with stunted box, and intersected by numerous irregular water-courses. the box was succeeded by a phyllanthus scrub, through which we pushed, and then came to a broad creek, filled with fine water, but not running, although high water-marks on the drooping tea-trees proved that it was occasionally flooded. we did not understand, nor could we ascertain, in what relation this singular country and the creek stood to the river, of which nothing was to be seen from the right bank of the creek. the scrub, and the high grass along the creek, were swarming with white flanked wallabies, three of which brown and charley succeeded in shooting; and these, with a common grey kangaroo caught by spring, and five ducks shot by brown, provided our larder with a fine supply of game. when i first came on the lynd, i supposed that it flowed either independently to the head of the gulf, or that it was the tributary of a river which collected the waters of the york peninsula, and carried them in a south-west or south-south-west course to the head of the gulf of carpentaria. such a course would have corresponded to that of the burdekin at the eastern side, and the supposition was tolerably warranted by the peculiar conformation of the gulf. i expected, therefore, at every stage down the lynd, at every bend to the westward, that it would keep that course. but, having passed the latitude of the head of the gulf, as well as those of the van diemen and the staaten rivers, the lynd still flowed to the north-west; and then, when it joined the mitchell, i imagined that the new river would prove to be the nassau; but, when it passed the latitude of that river, i conjectured that it would join the sea at the large embouchure in the old charts, in latitude degrees minutes--the "water plaets" of the dutch navigators. to follow it farther, therefore, would have been merely to satisfy my curiosity, and an unpardonable waste of time. besides, the number of my bullocks was decreasing, and prudence urged the necessity of proceeding, without any farther delay, towards the goal of my journey. i determined therefore to leave the mitchell at this place, and to approach the sea-coast--so near at least, as not to risk an easy progress--and to pass round the bottom of the gulf. june .--we travelled, accordingly, about seven miles almost due west, the latitude of our new camp being degrees minutes seconds. on our way we passed some very fine long water-holes; some of which were surrounded with reeds, and others covered with the white species of nymphaea; groves of pandanus spiralis occupied their banks. some fine plains, full of melon-holes, but well grassed, separated from each other by belts of forest-land, in which the pandanus was also very frequent, were crossed during the day. june .--we travelled eight miles w.s.w. over a succession of plains separated by belts of forest, consisting of bloodwood, box, apple-gum, and rusty-gum. some plains were scattered over with bauhinias. the holes along the plains are probably filled with water during the rainy season; dead shells of paludina were extremely numerous, and we found even the shield of a turtle in one of them. at the end of the stage, we skirted some dense scrub, and encamped at one of the lagoons parallel to a dry creek, which must belong to the nassau, as its latitude was degrees minutes seconds. the lagoon was covered with small white nymphaeas, damasoniums, and yellow utricularias; and on its banks were heaps of mussel-shells. the smoke of natives' fires were seen on the plains, in every direction; but we saw no natives. brown approached very near to a flock of harlequin pigeons, and shot twenty-two of them. a young grey kangaroo was also taken. the kites were so bold that one of them snatched the skinned specimen of a new species of honey-sucker out of mr. gilbert's tin case; and, when we were eating our meals, they perched around us on the branches of overhanging trees, and pounced down even upon our plates, although held in our hands, to rob us of our dinners;--not quite so bad, perhaps, as the harpies in the aeneid, but sufficiently so to be a very great nuisance to us. yesterday and to-day we experienced a cold dry southerly wind, which lasted till about o'clock a. m., when it veered to the south-west, but at night returned again, and rendered the air very cold, and dry, which was very evident from the total absence of dew. the forenoon was very clear; cumuli and cirrho-cumuli gathered during the afternoon. the sky of the sunset was beautifully coloured. after sunset, the clouds cleared off, but, as the night advanced, gradually collected again. a circumstance occurred to-day which gave me much concern, as it showed that the natives of this part were not so amicably disposed towards us as those we had hitherto met:--whilst charley and brown were in search of game in the vicinity of our camp, they observed a native sneaking up to our bullocks, evidently with the intention of driving them towards a party of his black companions, who with poised spears were waiting to receive them. upon detecting this manoeuvre, charley and his companion hurried forward to prevent their being driven away, when the native gave the alarm, and all took to their heels, with the exception of a lame fellow, who endeavoured to persuade his friends to stand fight. charley, however, fired his gun, which had the intended effect of frightening them; for they deserted their camp, which was three hundred yards from ours, in a great hurry, leaving, among other articles, a small net full of potatoes, which charley afterwards picked up. the gins had previously retired; a proof that mischief was intended. june .--we crossed the creek, near which we had encamped, and travelled about nine miles wost, over most beautifully varied country of plains, of forest land, and chains of lagoons. we crossed a large creek or river, which i believed to be the main branch of the nassau. it was well supplied with water-holes, but there was no stream. loose clayey sandstone cropped out in its bed, and also in the gullies which joined it. a small myrtle tree with smooth bark, and a leafless tree resembling the casuarina, grew plentifully on its banks. we saw smoke rising-in every direction, which showed how thickly the country was inhabited. near the lagoons we frequently noticed bare spots of a circular form, about twelve or fifteen feet in diameter, round each of which was a belt of ten, twelve, or more fire places, separated from each other by only a few feet. it seems that the natives usually sit within the circle of fires; but it is difficult to know whether it belonged to a family, or whether each fire had an independent proprietor. along the lynd and mitchell, the natives made their fires generally in heaps of stones, which served as ovens for cooking their victuals. bones of kangaroos and wallabies, and heaps of mussel-shells, were commonly seen in their camps; but fish bones were very rarely observed. it was very different, however, when we travelled round the head, and along the western side, of the gulf; for fish seemed there to form the principal food of the natives. at the end of our stage, we came to a chain of shallow lagoons, which were slightly connected by a hollow. many of them were dry; and fearing that, if we proceeded much farther, we should not find water, i encamped on one of them, containing a shallow pool; it was surrounded by a narrow belt of small tea trees, with stiff broad lanceolate leaves. as the water occupied only the lower part of this basin, i deposited our luggage in the upper part. mr. roper and mr. calvert made their tent within the belt of trees, with its opening towards the packs; whilst mr. gilbert and murphy constructed theirs amongst the little trees, with its entrance from the camp. mr. phillips's was, as usual, far from the others, and at the opposite side of the water. our fire place was made outside of the trees, on the banks. brown had shot six leptotarsis eytoni, (whistling ducks) and four teals, which gave us a good dinner; during which, the principal topic of conversation was our probable distance from the sea coast, as it was here that we first found broken sea shells, of the genus cytherea. after dinner, messrs. roper and calvert retired to their tent, and mr. gilbert, john, and brown, were platting palm leaves to make a hat, and i stood musing near their fire place, looking at their work, and occasionally joining in their conversation. mr. gilbert was congratulating himself upon having succeeded in learning to plat; and, when he had nearly completed a yard, he retired with john to their tent. this was about o'clock; and i stretched myself upon the ground as usual, at a little distance from the fire, and fell into a dose, from which i was suddenly roused by a loud noise, and a call for help from calvert and roper. natives had suddenly attacked us. they had doubtless watched our movements during the afternoon, and marked the position of the different tents; and, as soon as it was dark, sneaked upon us, and threw a shower of spears at the tents of calvert, roper, and gilbert, and a few at that of phillips, and also one or two towards the fire. charley and brown called for caps, which i hastened to find, and, as soon as they were provided, they discharged their guns into the crowd of the natives, who instantly fled, leaving roper and calvert pierced with several spears, and severely beaten by their waddies. several of these spears were barbed, and could not be extracted without difficulty. i had to force one through the arm of roper, to break off the barb; and to cut another out of the groin of mr. calvert. john murphy had succeeded in getting out of the tent, and concealing himself behind a tree, whence he fired at the natives, and severely wounded one of them, before brown had discharged his gun. not seeing mr. gilbert, i asked for him, when charley told me that our unfortunate companion was no more! he had come out of his tent with his gun, shot, and powder, and handed them to him, when he instantly dropped down dead. upon receiving this afflicting intelligence, i hastened to the spot, and found charley's account too true. he was lying on the ground at a little distance from our fire, and, upon examining him, i soon found, to my sorrow, that every sign of life had disappeared. the body was, however, still warm, and i opened the veins of both arms, as well as the temporal artery, but in vain; the stream of life had stopped, and he was numbered with the dead. as soon as we recovered from the panic into which we were thrown by this fatal event, every precaution was taken to prevent another surprise; we watched through the night, and extinguished our fires to conceal our individual position from the natives. a strong wind blew from the southward, which made the night air distressingly cold; it seemed as if the wind blew through our bodies. under all the circumstances that had happened, we passed an anxious night, in a state of most painful suspense as to the fate of our still surviving companions. mr. roper had received two or three spear wounds in the scalp of his head; one spear had passed through his left arm, another into his cheek below the jugal bone, and penetrated the orbit, and injured the optic nerve, and another in his loins, besides a heavy blow on the shoulder. mr. calvert had received several severe blows from a waddi; one on the nose which had crushed the nasal bones; one on the elbow, and another on the back of his hand; besides which, a barbed spear had entered his groin; and another into his knee. as may be readily imagined, both suffered great pain, and were scarcely able to move. the spear that terminated poor gilbert's existence, had entered the chest, between the clavicle and the neck; but made so small a wound, that, for some time, i was unable to detect it. from the direction of the wound, he had probably received the spear when stooping to leave his tent. the dawning of the next morning, the th, was gladly welcomed, and i proceeded to examine and dress the wounds of my companions, more carefully than i had been able to do in the darkness of the night. very early in the morning we heard the cooees of the natiyes, who seemed wailing, as if one of their number was either killed or severely wounded: for we found stains of blood on their tracks. they disappeared, however, very soon, for, on reconnoitring about the place, i saw nothing of them. i interred the body of our ill-fated companion in the afternoon, and read the funeral service of the english church over him. a large fire was afterwards made over the grave, to prevent the natives from detecting and disinterring the body. our cattle and horses fortunately had not been molested. the cold wind from the southward continued the whole day; at night it fell calm, and continued so until the morning of the th june, when a strong easterly wind set in, which afterwards veered round to the north and north-west. calvert and roper recovered wonderfully, considering the severe injuries they had received; and the wounds, which i feared as being the most dangerous, promised with care and patience to do well. as it was hazardous to remain long at the place, for the natives might return in greater numbers, and repeat their attack, as well on ourselves as the cattle, i determined to proceed, or at least to try if my wounded companions could endure to be removed on horseback. in a case like this, where the lives of the whole party were concerned, it was out of the question to attend only to the individual feelings and wishes of the patients; i felt for their position to the fullest extent that it was possible for one to feel towards his fellow creatures so situated; but i had equal claims on my attention. i had to look exclusively to the state of their wounds, and to the consequences of the daily journey on their constitutions; to judge if we could proceed or ought to stop; and i had reason to expect, or at least was sanguine enough to hope, that although the temporary feelings of acute pain might make them discontented with my arrangements, sober reflection at the end of our journey would induce them to do me justice. the constant attention which they required, and the increased work which fell to the share of our reduced number, had scarcely allowed me time to reflect upon the melancholy accident which had befallen us, and the ill-timed death of our unfortunate companion. all our energies were roused, we found ourselves in danger, and, as was absolutely necessary, we strained every nerve to extricate ourselves from it: but i was well aware, that the more coolly we went to work, the better we should succeed. chapter x indications of the neighbourhood of the sea--natives much more numerous--the sea; the gulf of carpentaria--the staaten--a native intrudes into the camp--the van diemen--the gilbert--singular native huts--caron river--friendly natives--the yappar--mr. calvert recovered--mode of encampment--swarms of flies--abundance of salt--natives friendly, and more intelligent. july .--we left the camp where mr. gilbert was killed, and travelled in all about fourteen miles south-west, to lat. degrees minutes. we passed an extensive box-tree flat, and, at four miles, reached a chain of water-holes; but, during the next ten miles, we did not meet the slightest indication of water. box-tree flats of various sizes were separated by long tracts of undulating country, covered with broad-leaved tea-trees, grevillea ceratophylla, and g. mimosoides, and with the new species of grevillea, with broad lanceolate leaves. we had to skirt several impassable thickets and scrubs of tea-tree, in one of which pandanus abounded. at last, just as the sun was setting, and we were preparing to encamp in the open forest without water, we came to a creek with fine water-holes covered with villarsias. charley shot a native companion; a fabirou was seen crossing our camp. my wounded companions got on uncommonly well, notwithstanding the long stage, and i now had all reason to hope, that their wounds would not form any impediment to the progress of our journey. july .--we travelled ten miles south-west over a country exactly like that of yesterday; and encamped at a shallow water-hole in a creek, which headed in a tea-tree thicket, a grove of pandanus being on its north side, and a small box-flat to the southward. though the country was then very dry, it is very probably impassable during the rainy season. the tea-tree thickets seemed liable to a general inundation, and many shallow water-holes and melon-holes were scattered everywhere about the flats. the flats and elevations of the surface were studded with turreted ant-hills, either forming single sharp cones from three to five feet high, and scarcely a foot broad at their base, or united into a row, or several rows touching each other, and forming piles of most remarkable appearance. the directions of the rows seemed to be the same over large tracts of country, and to depend upon the direction of the prevailing winds. i found verticordia, a good sized tree, and a melaleuca with clustered orange blossoms and smooth bark, which i mentioned as growing on the supposed nassau. july .--we followed the tea-tree creek about four miles lower down, and encamped near some fine rocky water-holes, in which i discovered a yellow villarsia, resembling in its leaves villarsia inundata, r. br. our day's journey was a short one in consequence of our having started so late. the delay was caused by charley having captured an emu, a flock of which he met when fetching the horses. by holding branches before him, he was enabled to approach so close to them, that he shot one dead with a charge of dust shot. it was a welcome prize, and repaid us for the delay. to our wounded friends the delay itself was a welcome one. the mussel-shells of these water-holes appeared to be narrower and comparatively longer than those we had previously seen. pandanus was, as usual, very frequent; but a middle sized shady wide spreading tree, resembling the elm in the colour and form of its leaves, attracted our attention, and excited much interest. its younger branches were rather drooping, its fruit was an oblong yellow plum, an inch long and half an inch in diameter, with a rather rough kernel. when ripe, the pericarp is very mealy and agreeable to eat, and would be wholesome, if it were not so extraordinarily astringent. we called this tree the "nonda," from its resemblance to a tree so called by the natives in the moreton bay district. i found the fruit in the dilli of the natives on the st june, and afterwards most abundantly in the stomach of the emu. the tree was very common in the belt of forest along the creek. the wind, during the last two days, was southerly, south-westerly, and westerly, freshening up during the afternoon. the forenoon was very hot: the night clear, and rather cool towards morning. i observed many shooting stars during the two last nights. july .--we travelled seven miles in a south-west direction, to lat. degrees minutes seconds, over an entirely flat country, covered with a very open forest of box, of bloodwood, and of the stiff-leaved melaleuca, with the arborescent grevillea already mentioned, and with a species of terminalia with winged fruit. in the more sandy tracts of bloodwood forest, grew the nonda, the pandanus, and the apple-gum. the shallow creek was surrounded by a scrub of various myrtaceous trees, particularly melaleucas. the creek afterwards divided into water-holes, fringed with stravadium, which, however, lower down gave way to dense belts of polygonum. the water was evidently slightly brackish; the first actual sign of the vicinity of the sea. a young emu was killed with the assistance of spring; and a sheldrake was shot by brown. native companions were very numerous, and were heard after sunset, all round our camp. the stomach of the emu was full of a small plant resembling chickweed, which grew round the water-holes. the smoke of the natives' fires was seen to the south and south-west. july .--we travelled over full twenty miles of country, although the distance from camp to camp, in a straight line, did not exceed fourteen, in a south by west direction; the latitude of our new camp was degrees minutes seconds. after passing several miles of tea-tree forest, intermixed with box, and alternating with belts of grassy forest land, with bloodwood and nonda, we entered upon a series of plains increasing in size, and extending to the westward as far as the eye could reach, and separated from each other by narrow strips of forest; they were well-grassed, but the grasses were stiff. tea-tree hollows extended along the outskirts of the plains. in one of them, we saw salicornia for the first time, which led us to believe that the salt water was close at hand. having crossed the plains, we came to broad sheets of sand, overgrown with low shrubby tea-trees, and a species of hakea, which always grows in the vicinity of salt water. the sands were encrusted with salt, and here and there strewed with heaps of cytherea shells. beyond the sands, we saw a dense green line of mangrove trees extending along a salt water creek, which we headed, and in which brown speared the first salt water mullet. we then came to a fine salt water river, whose banks were covered with an open well grassed forest; interrupted only by flat scrubby sandy creeks, into which the tide entered through narrow channels, and which are probably entirely inundated by the spring tides. not finding any fresh water along the river i went up one of the creeks, and found fresh water-holes, not in its bed, but parallel to it, scarcely a mile from the river. when crossing the plains, the whole horizon appeared to be studded with smoke from the various fires of the natives; and when we approached the river, we noticed many well beaten footpaths of the natives, who are found generally in greater numbers and stronger tribes near the sea coast, where the supply of food is always more abundant and certain. the first sight of the salt water of the gulf was hailed by all with feelings of indescribable pleasure, and by none more than by myself; although tinctured with regret at not having succeeded in bringing my whole party to the end of what i was sanguine enough to think the most difficult part of my journey. we had now discovered a line of communication by land between the eastern coast of australia, and the gulf of carpentaria: we had travelled along never failing, and, for the greater part, running waters: and over an excellent country, available, almost in its whole extent, for pastoral purposes. the length of time we had been in the wilderness, had evidently made the greater portion of my companions distrustful of my abilities to lead them through the journey; and, in their melancholy conversations, the desponding expression, "we shall never come to port essington," was too often overheard by me to be pleasant. my readers will, therefore, readily understand why brown's joyous exclamation of "salt water!" was received by a loud hurrah from the whole party; and why all the pains, and fatigues, and privations we had endured, were, for the moment, forgotten, almost as completely as if we had arrived at the end of the journey. july .--remained in camp the whole of this day, to rest the poor animals, which had been much fatigued by our last long stage. charley shot a duck (malacorhynchus membranaceus); and he, brown, and john murphy, went to the salt water to angle. my expectations, however, of catching fish in the salt water, and of drying them, were sadly disappointed. the whole amount of their day's work was, a small silurus, one mullet, and some small guard-fish. the weather continued fine, the forenoon usually very hot, but the air was cooled in the afternoon by a south-west breeze; the nights were clear and rather cold. when i left moreton bay, i had taken a spare set of horse-shoes with me for every horse. they were shod at our leaving the downs, but they soon lost their shoes; and, as our stages were short, and the ground soft, i did not think it necessary to shoe them again. in travelling along the burdekin, however, and the upper lynd, they became very foot-sore; but still there was a sufficient change of good country to allow them to recover; i had been frequently inclined to throw the spare shoes away, but they had as often been retained, under the impression that they might be useful, when we came to the gulf, to barter with the natives for food, particularly for fish. finding, however, that the natives were hostile, and scarcely wishing to have any farther intercourse with them, i decided upon leaving the horse-shoes, and several other cumbersome articles behind; and they were consequently thrown, with two spare gun barrels, into the water-hole at which we were encamped. the natives will probably find them, when the holes dry up; and, if preserved, they will be a lasting testimonial of our visit. july .--charley told me that he had followed the river up to its termination. i consequently kept a little more to the left, in order to head it, and travelled two or three miles through a fine bloodwood and nonda forest, the verdant appearance of which was much increased by the leguminous ironbark, which grew here in great perfection. two emus had just made their breakfast on some nonda fruit when we started them, and charley and brown, assisted by spring, succeeded in killing one of them. we soon came to a salt-water river, with a broad sandy bed, perfectly free of vegetation, although its banks were fringed with drooping tea-trees. the tide being low, we were enabled to ford it. whilst crossing it, a flock of black-winged pelicans stood gravely looking at us. the latitude of the ford, which was two miles and a half south from our last camp, would be degrees minutes, which corresponds with that of the staaten, marked at the outline of the coast. a well grassed open forest extended along both sides of the river; and, at its left, large deep nymphaea lagoons were parallel to it. south of the staaten, we travelled over a forest country, similar to that of former stages, and which might be aptly distinguished by the name of grevillea forest; as gr. mimosoides (r. br.) is its characteristic feature; though a rather stunted stiff-leaved tea-tree was more numerous. some slight rises were covered with thickets of the acacia of expedition range. the last six or seven miles of our stage were over an immense box-flat. we passed many spots lately burnt by the natives, and saw the smoke of their fires in every direction. we encamped on a good sized creek, on which grew the articulate podded acacia, the mangrove myrtle (stravadium), and the drooping tea-tree. as soon as we had pitched our tents, we cut up the hind quarters of the emu into slices for drying; but we had to guard it by turns, whip in hand, from a host of square-tailed kites (milvus isiurus). john murphy and charley, whilst riding round the camp to ascertain if natives were in the neighbourhood, came on one of their camps occupied chiefly by women, and a few old men, who immediately ran off, but set the grass on fire as they went, to prevent the approach of the horsemen; and left behind them their waddies, spears, and a good supply of potatoes. at dusk, when charley brought in the horses, two of which we tethered near the camp, the form of a native glided like a ghost into our camp, and walked directly up to the fire. john, who saw him first, called out, "a blackfellow! look there! a blackfellow!" and every gun was ready. but the stranger was unarmed, and evidently unconscious of his position; for, when he saw himself suddenly surrounded by the horses and ourselves, he nimbly climbed a tree to its very summit, where he stood between some dry branches like a strange phantom or a statue. we called to him, and made signs for him to descend, but he not only remained silent, but motionless, notwithstanding all the signs and noise we made. we then discharged a gun, but it had not the intended effect of inducing him to speak or stir. at last i desired charley to ascend the neighbouring tree, to show him that we could easily get at him if necessary. this plan was more successful; for no sooner were charley's intentions perceived, than our friend gave the most evident proof of his being neither deaf nor dumb, by calling out most lustily. he pooh'd, he birrrred, he spat, and cooeed; in fact, he did everything to make the silent forest re-echo with the wild sounds of his alarm; our horses, which were standing under the tree, became frightened, and those which were loose ran away. we were much afraid that his cooees would bring the whole tribe to his assistance, and every one eagerly proffered his advice. charley wished to shoot him, "or," said he, "you will all be killed; i do not care for myself, but i care for your being killed and buried." others wished to remove from the spot, and so give him an opportunity of escaping. i was, of course, horrified at the idea of shooting a poor fellow, whose only crime, if so it might be called, was in having mistaken our fire for that of his own tribe: so i went to our own fire, which was at a short distance, where he could see me distinctly, and then made signs for him to descend and go away. he then began to be a little more quiet, and to talk; but soon hallooed again, and threw sticks at myself, at my companions, and at the horses. we now retired about eight yards, to allow him to escape, which we had not done before, because i feared he might imagine we were afraid of his incantations, for he sang most lamentable corrobories, and cried like a child; frequently exclaiming, "mareka! mareka!!" this word is probably identical with marega; the name given by the malays to the natives of the north coast, which is also called by them "marega." [capt. king's intertropical survey of australia, vol. i. p. .] after continuing his lamentations for some time, but of which we took no notice, they gradually ceased; and, in a few minutes, a slight rustling noise was heard, and he was gone: doubtless delighted at having escaped from the hands of the pale-faced anthropophagi. july .--this morning the whole tribe, well armed, watched us from a distance; but they allowed us quietly to load our bullocks, and depart, without offering us the least annoyance. their companion will, no doubt, leave a dreadful account of the adventures of last night to his black posterity. we travelled about twelve miles south by west to latitude degrees minutes; at first over an almost uninterrupted box-flat, full of melon-holes, and with many small holes in the ground, which caused our horses and cattle to stumble at almost every step. the dry melon-holes were covered with dead paludinas, with shells of a large crab, and of the fresh water turtle. at about seven miles, we passed a strip of blackwood forest, with many nonda trees; and crossed a small creek. the latter part of the stage was again over a large box-flat, intersected by shallow grassy depressions, timbered with flooded-gum. we saw on the rising ground some open scrub, with scattered bauhinias and cochlospermums. our encampment was at a creek on the south side of a slight rise, with bauhinia trees, and near good water-holes. the creek, like all the others we had passed, flowed to the westward. near our camp we examined three holes, full six feet deep, and four feet in diameter, communicating with each other at their bottom. they were about three feet apart, and appeared to have been dug with sharp sticks. i have not the slightest idea for what purpose they were intended. they were most certainly not dug to obtain roots; and it seemed unlikely for wells; for the water, even in this unusually dry season, was very abundant. the white ant-hills, which are built in rows, had, during this stage, a direction from north by west to south by east, and, as i have before mentioned a conjecture that the little builders would expose the narrowest side of their habitation to the weather side, the prevailing winds would be from the north. july .--we travelled thirteen or fourteen miles south by west to latitude degrees minutes seconds, at first crossing a box-flat, and after that a succession of greater or smaller plains, separated by a very open grevillea forest. these plains were well grassed, or partly covered with a species of euphorbia, which was eaten by our horses and cattle; and also with the long trailings of the native melon; the fruit of which tastes very tolerably, after the bitter skin has been removed; but when too ripe, the fruit is either insipid or nauseous. the bustard seems to feed almost exclusively on them, for the stomach of one, which brown shot, was full of them. the apple-gum, which we had missed for some time, again made its appearance, accompanied by another white gum, with long narrow leaves. as we approached the creek, at which we afterwards encamped, the vegetation became richer, and the melon-holes enlarged into dry water-holes, which were frequently shaded by the acacia with articulate pods (inga moniliformis). the two species of terminalia, of the upper lynd, were numerous; and a small green looking tree, which we found growing densely along the creek, had wood of a brown colour, which smelt like raspberry jam; and, upon burning it, the ashes produced a very strong lye, which i used in dressing the wounds of my companions. this tree was found in great abundance on all the rivers and creeks round the gulf, within the reach of salt water; and when crossing arnheim land, though less frequently. sandstone cropped out in the banks of the creek, and formed the reservoirs in its bed. last night, and the night before, we experienced a very cold wind from the southward. the laughing jackass (dacelo cervina, gould) of this part of the country, is of a different species from that of the eastern coast, is of a smaller size, and speaks a different language; but the noise is by no means so ridiculous as that of dac. gigantea: he is heard before sunrise, and immediately after sunset, like his representative of the eastern coast. the latter was observed as far as the upper lynd, where the new one made his appearance. we crossed a bush fire, which had been lighted just before we came to the creek, but we did not see the incendiaries. in the morning of the th july, however, they had discovered our tracks, and followed them until they came in sight of the camp; but retired as soon as they saw us: and when they met charley returning with the bullocks, they ran away. after half-an-hour's travelling towards the south-west, we came to the van diemen, which is marked in arrowsmith's map in latitude degrees. it was about seventy or eighty yards broad, with steep banks and a fine sandy bed, containing detached pools of water surrounded by polygonum, and extremely boggy. my horse stuck in the mud, and it was with great difficulty that i extricated him. as our meal bags were empty, and no sign of game appeared, i decided upon selecting a good open camping place, for the purpose of killing our last little steer. the country was a fine open grassy forest land, in which the apple-gum prevailed, and with many swampy grassy lagoons covered with white, blue, and pink nymphaeas. the box tree grew in their immediate neighbourhood. in the bed of the van diemen we saw some well constructed huts of the natives; they were made of branches arched over in the form of a bird-cage, and thatched with grass and the bark of the drooping tea-tree. the place where we encamped had been frequently used by the natives for the same purpose. our attention was particularly attracted by a large heap of chaff, from which the natives appeared to have taken the seeds. this grass was, however, very different from the panicum, of the seeds of which the natives of the gwyder river make a sort of bread; and which there forms the principal food of the little betshiregah (melopsittacus undulatus, gould). the night was calm, clear, and cold. the kites became most daring and impudent. yesterday, i cleaned the fat gizzard of a bustard to grill it on the embers, and the idea of the fat dainty bit made my mouth water. but alas! whilst holding it in my hand, a kite pounced down and carried it off, pursued by a dozen of his comrades, eager to seize the booty. we killed our little steer in the afternoon of the th, and the next day we cut the meat into slices, and hung it out on a kangaroo net: the wind was high, the sun warm, and our meat dried most perfectly. whilst we were in the midst of our work, some natives made their appearance. i held out a branch as a sign of peace, when they ventured up to hold a parley, though evidently with great suspicion. they were rather small, and the tall ones were slim and lightly built. they examined brown's hat, and expressed a great desire to keep it. in order to make them a present, i went to the tents to fetch some broken pieces of iron; and whilst i was away, brown, wishing to surprise them, mounted his horse, and commenced trotting, which frightened them so much, that they ran away, and did not come again. one of them had a singular weapon, neatly made, and consisting of a long wooden handle, with a sharp piece of iron fixed in at the end, like a lancet. the iron most probably had been obtained from the malays who annually visit the gulf for trepang. some of their spears were barbed. july .--the meat had dried so well, that i started this morning; having completed the operation of drying in rather more than a day. it was, of course, necessary to spread the meat out for several days, to prevent its becoming mildewed. this was done every day after arriving at our camping-place. our killing camp was about five miles south-west from the van diemen; and we travelled in the same direction about eight miles farther, through a most beautiful country, consisting of an open forest timbered with the box-tree, apple-gum, and white-gum; it was well grassed, and abundantly supplied with water. we crossed a small river with a course west by north; it had a broad sandy bed, numerous pools of water, and steep banks: the latter were covered with sarcocephalus and drooping tea-trees. i called it the "gilbert," after my unfortunate companion. five miles farther, we came to a fine creek, at which we encamped. its water-holes were surrounded by the nelumbiums of the mackenzie, and by a fine yellow ipomoea, with larger flowers than that described as growing at the mitchell. we gathered a considerable quantity of nelumbium seeds, which were very palatable, and, when roasted and pounded, made a most excellent substitute for coffee. july .--our horses had enjoyed the green feed round the lagoons near our killing camp, so much, that they returned to it during the night, and caused a delay until noon, when we resumed our journey. the first part of the stage was over fine well-watered forest land. we crossed two creeks, with good water-holes, in one of which was a fishing weir. the country to the south of the last creek changed to a succession of plains of various sizes, extending mostly to the westward, and very open undulations scattered over with rather stunted trees of grevillea mimosoides, g. ceratophylla, terminalia, bauhinia, and balfouria? an apocynaceous tree. and again we passed over box and apple-gum flats, which, by their rich verdure, refreshed the eye tired with the uniform yellow colour of the dry grass, in which the whole country was clothed. we saw the bush fires of the natives every where around us; and many large tracts which had been recently burnt. the sun was getting very low, and my patients were very tired, and yet no water was to be seen. cumuli, which had been gradually collecting from one o'clock in the afternoon, cast their shadows over the forest, and deceived the eye into the belief that the desired creek was before us. at last, however, to our infinite satisfaction, we entered into a scrub, formed of low stunted irregularly branched tea-trees, where we found a shallow water-course, which gradually enlarged into deep holes, which were dry, with the exception of one which contained just a sufficient supply of muddy water to form a stepping-stone for the next stage. our latitude was degrees minutes seconds. july .--we travelled about eleven miles s.s.w. to latitude degrees minutes seconds, over an immense box-flat, interrupted only by some plains and by two tea-tree creeks; the tea-trees were stunted and scrubby like those of our last stage. at the second creek we passed an old camping place of the natives, where we observed a hedge of dry branches, and, parallel to it, and probably to the leeward, was a row of fire places. it seemed that the natives sat and lay between the fires and the row of branches. there were, besides, three huts of the form of a bee-hive, closely thatched with straw and tea-tree bark. their only opening was so small, that a man could scarcely creep through it; they were four or five feet high, and from eight to ten feet in diameter. [a hut of this description, but of smaller dimensions, is described by capt. king, at the north goulburn island.--king's voyage, vol. i. p. .] one of the huts was storied, like those i noticed on the banks of the lynd. it would appear that the natives make use of these tents during the wet and cold season, but encamp in the open air in fine weather. a brown wallabi and a bustard were shot, which enabled us to save some of our meat. we encamped at a fine long water-hole, in the bed of a scrubby creek. july .--mr. roper's illness increased so much that he could not even move his legs, and we were obliged to carry him from one place to another; i therefore, stopt here two days, to allow him to recover a little. july .--we travelled about ten miles south degrees west over an almost uninterrupted box and melaleuca flat, free from melon-holes and grassy swamps, but full of holes, into which our horses and bullocks sank at every step, which sadly incommoded our wounded companions. about two miles and a half from our camp, we came to the caron river (corners inlet), which deserved rather the name of a large creek. its sandy and occasionally rocky bed, was dry; but parallel lines of nymphaea lagoons extended on both sides. the drooping tea-tree was, as usual, very beautiful. we skirted a tea-tree scrub, without a watercourse, about two miles and a half south of the "caron," and passed some undulations, with grevillea forest. to the south-west of these undulations, we came to a chain of lagoons; from which several white cranes and a flight of the black ibis rose. brown shot one of the latter, which, when picked and cleaned for cooking, weighed three pounds and a half; it was very fat, and proved to be excellent eating. cytherea shells were again found, which showed that the salt water was not very far off. charley gave a characteristic description of this country, when he returned from a ride in search of game: "it is a miserable country! nothing to shoot at, nothing to look at, but box trees and anthills." the box-forest was, however, very open and the grass was good; and the squatter would probably form a very different opinion of its merits. when we were preparing to start in the morning some natives came to look at us; but they kept within the scrub, and at a respectable distance. july .--we travelled south-west by west, over a succession of plains, and of undulating grevillea forest, which changed into tea-tree thickets, and stunted tea-tree scrubs, on a sandy soil with salicornia, binoe's trichinium, and several other salt plants. at about five miles from the camp, we came to salt-water inlets, densely surrounded by mangroves, and with sandy flats extending along their banks, encrusted with salt. charley rode through the dry mangrove scrub, and came on a sandy beach with the broad ocean before him. we had a long way to go to the east and s.s.e. to get out of the reach of the brackish water, and came at last to grassy swamps, with a good supply of fresh water. we encamped in lat. degrees minutes seconds; about ten miles south by west from our last camp. charley was remarkably lucky to-day, in catching an emu, and shooting six teals, a brown wallabi of the mitchell, and a kangaroo with a broad nail at the end of its tail. brown also shot a sheldrake and a malacorhynchus membranaceus. during the time that we were travelling to the southward, we had a north-east wind during the forenoon, which in the afternoon veered round to the east and south. such a change, in a locality like ours, was very remarkable; because, in the neighbourhood of the sea, it was natural to expect a sea breeze, instead of which, however, the breeze was off the land. the cause can only be attributed to a peculiar formation of the country south and south-east of the gulf. july .--we travelled seven miles and a half due south, through a succession of stunted tea-tree thickets and tea-tree forests, in which the little bread-tree of the lynd was common. we passed two creeks with rocky beds, the one with salt water, and the other fresh. the natives had been digging here, either for shells or roots. we came to a fine river with salt water about two hundred and fifty or three hundred yards broad, with low banks fringed with stunted mangroves. the well beaten foot-path and the numerous fire-places of the natives, proved how populous the country must be. in following a foot-path, we came to some large lagoons, but containing very little water; the natives had been digging in the dry parts, perhaps for the roots of nymphaea. we encamped at one of them in lat. degrees minutes. the country along the river was an open box-forest. natives cooeed around us; and we saw a man and his gin, and farther on two others busily occupied in burning the grass. when charley came to the lagoon he saw a black boy, who immediately retreated out of sight. two straw-necked ibises and seven ducks were shot. mr. roper had suffered much by the long rides of the last stages; but his health was improving, notwithstanding. the nonda tree had disappeared north of the van diemen, and the emu here feeds on the fruit of the little severn tree, which is so excessively bitter, as to impart its quality to the meat, and even to the gizzard and the very marrow. as we approached the salt water, the various species of eucalyptus, with the exception of the box, disappeared, and various species of tea-tree (melaleuca) took their place; they grew even on the sands with incrustations of salt, and gave way only to the mangroves, which were bathed by the brine itself. we now commenced collecting the gum of the broad-leaved terminalia of the upper lynd, and boiled it for mr. roper, who liked it very much. we recognised one of the kites (milvus isiurus), which had followed us from our last killing camp, down to the head of the gulf. july .--this morning, the bullocks had strayed farther than usual, and, whilst we were waiting for them, some natives came to the rocks opposite our camp; and one of them beckoned me to come over to him. they had been observing our camp last night, for some time after the rising of the moon, and i had caused brown to discharge his gun, in order to drive them away. they did not, however, trouble us then any farther, but encamped at a neighbouring lagoon; showing evidently that they expected no harm from us. when the bold fellow invited me to come over to him, i hesitated at first, as they might have disturbed us when loading our bullocks; but, as the animals did not appear, i took my reconnoitring bag with some iron nose rings, and made brown follow me at some distance with the double barrelled gun, and went over to them. after much hesitation, four of them approached me. i made them presents, which gained their confidence, and they began to examine and admire my dress, my watch, etc. it was singular that the natives were always most struck with our hats. we made them understand where we came from and whither we were going, and it seemed that they understood us better than we could understand them. when the bullocks arrived, we returned to our camp, accompanied by the natives, who had lost all fear after the tokens of friendship they had received: and when we started, they joined our train and guided us on their foot-path (yareka) along the salt water creek (yappar.) they very much admired our horses and bullocks, and particularly our kangaroo dog. they expressed their admiration by a peculiar smacking or clacking with their tongue or lips. the fine river changed very soon into a salt water creek, coming from south by west. we passed some very beautiful rocky lagoons under the abrupt terminations of low sandstone hills, which were openly timbered at the top, but surrounded by thickets of the little severn tree. the box-tree grew on the flats which separated the ridges from the creek, with the small bread-tree, the bloodwood and pandanus. as the mangrove disappeared, the drooping tea-tree took its place. several rocky bars crossed the "yappar," which seemed to be the name by which the natives called it; but only one was broad enough to allow us to cross safely with our horses and bullocks. here our black friends took their leave of us; they seemed very desirous of showing us their whole country, and of introducing us to their tribe, which was probably very numerous. after crossing the creek in lat. degrees minutes or minutes, and longit. degrees minutes approx., we travelled due west, and came at once into an undulating hilly country. the hills were composed of iron-sandstone; their summits were generally very openly timbered with apple-gum and a new white-barked tree; but their bases were covered with thickets of the little severn tree. the intervening flats bore either a box-tree with a short trunk branching off immediately above the ground; or a middle-sized tea-tree, with a lanceolate leaf, or thickets of stunted tea-tree. we travelled full thirteen miles without water, or any decided water-course. we passed several dry water-holes shaded by the broad-leaved terminalia; and saw many acacias twenty-five and thirty feet in height, with a slender trunk, and an elegant drooping foliage: it very much resembled the acacia of expedition range; but the drooping habit and more distant leaflets of its bipinnate leaves, showed at once their difference. we had travelled five hours and a half, and mr. roper rode up to me several times, to complain of his inability to go any farther. i encouraged him, however, and at sunset, we reached a creek, but it was dry; and, although we travelled until dark along its winding course, and saw many deep holes on its flats, and although fresh burnings showed that the natives had been there, yet no water was to be found, and we were obliged to encamp without it. we, therefore, hobbled and tethered all the horses, and watched the bullocks. charley followed the creek for some distance in search of water, but returned without finding any. july .--when charley was riding after our hobbled horses, he came, at about two miles n. e., from our camp, to another watercourse, with well filled rocky water-holes. when he brought this welcome intelligence, we immediately loaded our bullocks, and moved to these water-holes; on which it appeared some natives had encamped very lately. the country around was broken and scrubby; but in general it was well-grassed, with a sound soil. our latitude was degrees minutes seconds. the wind, during the last two days, was from the southward in the forenoon, and from the westward in the afternoon. the nights were calm and clear, but very cold. mr. calvert had happily recovered so much as to be able to resume his duties; and, notwithstanding the fatigues of the last long stage, mr. roper had slightly improved. july .--last night was beautifully clear and calm, until midnight, when a cold south wind set in, which made us all shiver with cold. i had not felt it so much since the night of mr. gilbert's death, nor since we left the upper lynd and the table land of the burdekin. the wind was equally strong in the morning from the south-east, and veered in the course of the day to the south and south-west. we travelled about eight miles and a half w.n.w. to lat. degrees minutes seconds, at first passing over a scrubby country, which changed into box flats when we approached the waterless creek, at which we encamped on the night of the th. to the westward of this creek, box flats alternated with tea-tree thickets; and opened at last into a large plain, which we crossed at its southern termination, where it was three miles broad; it appeared boundless to the northward. plains of the same character had been dimly seen through the open forest to the northward, for some time before we came to the one we crossed. this was not covered with the stiff grass, nor the dry wind-grass of the plains north of the staaten; but it bore a fine crop of tender grasses, which rendered them infinitely more valuable for the pasture of horses and cattle. at the west side of the plain, we found a chain of fine long lagoons, surrounded by polygonum, and apparently well stocked with fish. charley and brown caught an emu, with the assistance of the dog, which became every day more valuable to us. since mr. gilbert's death, the arrangements of our camp have been changed. i now select an entirely open space, sufficiently distant from any scrub or thicket, even if we have to go a considerable distance for water. our pack-saddles are piled in two parallel lines close together, facing that side from which a covered attack of the natives might be expected. we sleep behind this kind of bulwark, which of itself would have been a sufficient barrier against the spears of the natives. tired as we generally are, we retire early to our couch; charley usually takes the first watch, from half-past six to nine o'clock; brown, calvert, and phillips follow in rotation; whilst i take that portion of the night most favourable for taking the altitude. john murphy has his watch from five to six. we generally tethered three horses, and kept one bridled; and, with these arrangements, we slept as securely and soundly as ever; for i felt sure that we had nothing to fear, as long as our tinkling bell-horse, and perhaps a second horse, was moving near us. the natives considered our animals to be large dogs, and had frequently asked whether they would bite (which i affirmed, of course); so that they themselves furnished us with a protection, which otherwise i should not have thought of inventing. july .--when charley returned this morning with the horses, he told me, that a fine broad salt-water river was again before us. i kept, therefore, at once to the southward, and feared that i should have to go far in that direction before being able to ford it. after travelling about two miles, we came in sight of it. it was broad and deep, with low rocky banks. salicornia grew along the small gullies into which the tide flowed; some struggling stunted mangroves were on the opposite side; and the plains along the right side of the river were occupied by a scanty vegetation, consisting of phyllanthus shrubs, scattered box, and the raspberry-jam trees. we had travelled, however, more than a mile on its bank, when we came to a broad rocky barrier or dam extending across the river, over which a small stream of brackish water rippled, and, by means of this, we crossed without difficulty. i now steered again north-west by west, and passed at first some fine shady lagoons, and for the next six miles, over an immense plain, apparently unlimited to the north and north-east. at its west side we again found polygonum lagoons, which were swarming with ducks, (particularly malacorhynchus membranaceus), and teal (querquedula). box, raspberry-jam trees, and acacia, (inga moniliformis, d.c.) formed a shady grove round these lagoons, which continued towards the south-east. their latitude was degrees minutes seconds. smoke was visible in every part of the horizon. charley, brown, and john, shot fourteen ducks, and increased this number towards evening to forty-six ducks, five recurvirostris, one small red-shank, and two spoon-bills: the latter were particularly fat, and, when ready for the spit, weighed better than three pounds; the black ducks weighed a pound and three-quarters. the malacorhynchus was small, but in good condition, and the fat seemed to accumulate particularly in the skin of the neck. the south wind, as usual, visited us again last night, and made it exceedingly cold. this intense cold is probably owing to the large plains, over which the wind passes. we were never so much troubled by swarms of flies, as during the last two days; it was impossible to get rid of them by any means. july .--we travelled about six miles north-west to latitude degrees minutes, and crossed several plains separated by belts of open forest, and came to a fine salt-water river; the banks were steep but not high, and stunted mangroves grew on the water's edge: the raspberry-jam tree covered the approaches to the river. salicornia and binoe's trichinium grew round the dry ponds, and along the small water-courses, into which the tide flowed. we found a good crossing place at a fishery of the natives; who--to judge by the number of their tracks through the soft mud, and by the two large camps on both sides of the river, which were covered with fish-bones--must be very numerous. we continued our journey for about a mile and a half from the river, and came to some grassy fresh-water lagoons, although the salicornias at first made me think they were brackish. shortly after starting this morning, we saw a brood of thirteen emus, on the plain which we were about to cross. john, charley, and the dog pursued them, and killed the old one; which, however, severely wounded poor spring in the neck. when we came up to them with the train, the twelve young ones had returned in search of their mother; upon which brown gave chase with spring, and killed two. this was the greatest sport we ever had had on our journey. upon making our camp, we cut part of their meat into slices, and dried it on green hide ropes; the bones, heads, and necks were stewed: formerly, we threw the heads, gizzards, and feet away, but necessity had taught us economy; and, upon trial, the feet of young emus was found to be as good and tender as cow-heel. i collected some salt on the dry salt ponds, and added it to our stew; but my companions scarcely cared for it, and almost preferred the soup without it. the addition, however, rendered the soup far more savoury, at least to my palate. july .--we travelled n. degrees w. and, at two miles, reached a salt-water creek, which we crossed at a fishing place of the natives. soon afterwards we came on other shallow half dry salt-water creeks, the dry parts of which were covered with thick incrustations of salt, some of which we collected. our bullocks were very seriously bogged in crossing one of them. after passing this intricate meshwork of boggy channels, we entered upon an immense plain, with patches of forest appearing here and there in the distance. it was well grassed, but its sandy patches were covered with salicornia. this plant abounded particularly where the plain sloped into the system of salt-water creeks; the approaches of which were scattered over with the raspberry-jam tree. a west-north-west and west course led me constantly to salt water; and we saw a large expanse of it in the distance, which charley, to whose superior sight all deference was paid, considered to be the sea. i passed some low stunted forest, in which a small tree was observed, with stiff pinnate leaves and a round fruit of the size of a small apple, with a rough stone, and a very nauseous rind, at least in its unripe state. to the westward of this belt of forest, we crossed extensive marshes covered with tender, though dry grass, and surrounded by low ironstone ridges, openly timbered with stunted silver-leaved ironbark, several white gums, and hakea lorea, r. br. in full blossom. we had not seen the latter for a long time, although grevillea mimosoides, with which it was generally associated, had been our constant companion. beyond the ridges, we came again on salt-water creeks, and saw sheets of sand, which looked like the sea from the distance. i turned to the south and even south-east; and, finding no water, we were compelled to encamp without it, after a very long and fatiguing stage. whilst we were occupied in tethering and hobbling our horses, and eating our supper, charley, whose watch it was, allowed the bullocks to stray in search of water, and the next morning he was so long absent whilst looking for them, that my exhausted companions became impatient; and i thought it advisable to send them back to our last camp with as many pack-horses as we could muster, myself remaining alone to guard the rest of our property. they found three of the bullocks on the plain, in the most wretched condition, and met charley returning with four others, which had made an immense round along all the salt-water creeks. my companions, however, were fortunate enough to find a fresh water lagoon about three miles west of our last camp. john and charley returned after moon-rise, with three pack-horses, and arrived at my camp at a quarter to seven in the morning. i had been in a state of the most anxious suspense about the fate of our bullocks, and was deeply thankful to the almighty when i heard that they were all safe. i had suffered much from thirst, having been forty-eight hours without water, and which had been increased by a run of two miles after my horse, which attempted to follow the others; and also from a severe pain in the head, produced by the impatient brute's jumping with its hobbled forefeet on my forehead, as i was lying asleep with the bridle in my hand; but, after drinking three quarts of cold tea which john had brought with him, i soon recovered, and assisted to load our horses with the remainder of our luggage, when we returned to join our companions. the weather was very hot during the day, but a cool breeze moved over the plains, and the night, as usual, was very cold. yesterday morning, john and brown rode down to a hollow to look for water, whilst we were waiting for the bullocks. at their return, they stated that they had come to two salt-water creeks, all full of salt, of which they brought several lumps. i started immediately with mr. calvert and brown, and, sure enough! i found the broad bed of a creek one mass of the purest and whitest salt. lumps of it had crystallized round stems of grasses which the wind had blown into the water. a little higher up the creek, a large pool of water was full of these lumps, and in less than ten minutes we collected more than sufficient to supply us for the rest of the journey. ship loads of pure salt could have been collected here in a very short time, requiring nothing but drying and housing, until it could be removed. its appearance was quite new and wonderful to me, who had been so busily employed in scraping the incrustations full of mud from the dry beds of the creeks. yesterday, brown shot a black-winged pelican; the pectoral muscles and the extremities of which proved good eating; but the inside and the fat were of a nauseously fishy taste. charley shot a bustard, and john a black ibis. the smoke of the black-fellows' fires was seen to the southward. the fresh grass of recent burnings extended over all the plains, and even near our waterle encampment, where its bright verdure made us believe that we approached a fresh water swamp. july .--i stopped at this camp to allow our cattle to recover from their fatigue; intending afterwards to proceed up the river until i came into the zone of fresh water, which we had left, and then to continue my course to the west and north-west. during our stay in this place, mr. calvert found a piece of pack canvass, rolled round some utensils of the natives. july .--we travelled about ten miles south by east; but were soon compelled by the salt-water creeks to leave the river, which seemed to come from south-south-east. we crossed several mangrove creeks, one of which contained a weir formed by many rows of dry sticks. these creeks were too boggy to be forded in any part where the tide reached, and we had to follow them up for several miles, until their beds divided into lagoons. here the drooping tea-tree re-appeared, which i considered to indicate the presence of fresh water, at least for a part of the year. i found them, however, at times, on salt-water rivers, not on the level of the salt water, but high on the banks within the reach of the freshes during the rainy season. in turning again towards the river, we crossed a large plain, from which pillars of smoke were seen rising above the green belt of raspberry-jam trees which covered the approaches to the river. after passing some forest of moreton bay ash, bloodwood, clustered box, acacia (inga moniliformis), and a few bauhinias, we came to another salt-water creek, with a sandy bed and deposits of fine salt. very narrow flats extended along both sides of the creek, and rose by water-torn slopes into large treeless plains. the slopes were, as usual, covered with raspberry-jam trees. i saw smoke to the south-ward, and, on proceeding towards it, we came to a fine lagoon of fresh water in the bed of the creek. july .--we travelled about five miles and a half south-south-east up the creek, and encamped in latitude degrees minutes. the character of the country was the same. when about two miles from our last camp, we came upon a tribe of natives fishing in a water-hole, near which a considerable quantity of large and small fish was heaped. the men made a tremendous noise, which frightened our bullocks, and hastened to the place where their gins were. the latter, among whom was a remarkably tall one, decamped at our approach. a fine shell of dolium was in their camp, which we passed through. after we had passed by, the natives followed us; upon which i returned towards them, and hung a nose ring on the branch of a small tree. this sign of friendly disposition on my side, emboldened them to approach me and demand a parley. i, therefore, dismounted, and, accompanied by charley, divided some empty tin canisters among them, with which they seemed highly satisfied. they were altogether fine men. three or four old men with grey beards were amongst them; and they introduced a young handsome lad to me, with a net on his head and a quill through his nose, calling him "yappar." he was probably a youth of the yappar tribe who had been sent forward as a messenger to inform them of our having passed that country. seeing my watch, they pointed to the sun; and appeared to be well acquainted with the use of my gun. further up the creek, we again saw some storied gunyas of the natives. july .--we travelled about ten miles west by south, over an immense plain, with here and there a solitary tree, or a small patch of forest. it was full of melon-holes, and much resembled the plains of the condamine. salicornia and binoe's trichinium were wanting. at the west side of the plain, a green belt of forest stretched from north to south. before we entered into it, and into the valley of the creek, along which it extended, we passed some open forest of stunted silver-leaved ironbark. on the slopes of the plains we met, as usual, the raspberry-jam tree thickets, and on the flats and hollows along the creek, the clustered box; whilst, on the banks of the creek, grew the broad-leaved terminalia and acacia (inga moniliformis). following the creek up about half a mile, we found a fine rocky water-hole. the rock was a clayey ironstone. when entering upon the plain in the morning, we saw two emus on a patch of burnt grass. brown and charley gave chase to them; but brown's horse stumbled and threw him, and unfortunately broke the stock of the double barrelled fowling piece, and bent the barrels. spring took hold of the emu, which dragged him to the lagoon we had left, pursued by charley on foot. the emu plunged into the water, and, having given spring and charley a good ducking, made its escape, notwithstanding its lacerated thigh. three harlequin pigeons, and six rose-breasted cockatoos (cocatua eos, gould.), were shot on the plains. the weather was delightful; a fine breeze from the east cooled the air. july .--we made about ten miles due west, the latitude of our camp being degrees minutes seconds. after passing some ironstone ridges, covered with stunted silver-leaved ironbark, we entered upon a large plain, from which we saw some low ranges to the south, and smoke to the w. degrees s. i followed this course about seven miles; but the smoke was still very distant, and, perceiving a belt of forest to the westward, i took that direction, passed the head of a small creek which went to the southward, crossed some box forest and ironbark ridges, and came into an open country, with alternating plains and ridges, which, even at the present season, was very pretty, and must, when clothed in the garments of spring, be very beautiful. the creek which we had met at the east side of the forest, had swept round the ridges, and was now again before us, pursuing a north-west course. a fine plain extended along it, on which i observed acacia farnesiana of darling downs, the grass of the isaacs, and several grasses of the suttor. the holes of the creek were shaded by large terminalias, and by a white gum, with slightly drooping foliage of a pleasing green colour. we followed the creek down, and soon came again to ironstone ridges. i had sent charley forward to look for water, and, when he joined us again, he told me that there was a water-hole, but that natives, for the greater part gins, were encamped on it. i could not help taking possession of it, as there were none besides, to our knowledge; and our bullocks and horses were fatigued by a long stage. i, therefore, rode up to it alone; the gins had decamped, but a little urchin remained, who was probably asleep when his mother went. he cried bitterly, as he made his way through the high grass, probably in search for his mother. thinking it prudent to tie an iron ring to his neck, that his parents might see we were peaceably inclined, i caught the little fellow, who threw his stick at me, and defended himself most manfully when i laid hold of him. having dismissed him with an angry slap on his fat little posteriors, he walked away crying, but keeping hold of the iron ring: his mother came down from the ridge to meet him, laughing loud, and cheering with jokes. i observed ironstone pebbles, and large pieces of a fine grained flaggy sandstone on the first plains we crossed; the sandstone was excellent to sharpen our knives. chapter xi systematic grass burnings of the natives--native carving--audacity of the natives overawed--the albert, or maet suyker--native mode of making sure of a dead emu--bullock bogged; obliged to kill it--native device for taking emus--beames's brook--the nicholson--reconnoitre by night--smith's creek--the marlow. august .--we travelled about seven miles west by north. silver-leaved ironbark ridges, of a dreary aspect, and covered with small shining brown iron pebbles, alternating with small plains and box-flats, extended generally to the northward. some of the hills were open at their summits, timbered with apple-gum, and covered with white ant-hills; their bases were surrounded with thickets of the severn tree. we encamped at a fine nymphaea lagoon, in the rich shade of a white drooping gum tree. a large but dry creek was near us to the westward. the grass was excellent. august .--we travelled twelve miles west-north-west, over a fine box-flat, crossed a good sized creek, about five miles from the camp, and, to the westward of it, passed over seven miles of ironbark ridges. we descended from them into the valley of a creek fringed with the white-gum tree, and followed it down for about three miles before we found water. we encamped at a good water-hole, at the foot of the ridges, in latitude degrees minutes seconds. brown and charley, who had gone two miles lower down, told me that they had found salt-water, and deposits of very fine salt. many lagoons were on the flats, surrounded by polygonums, and frequented by ducks, spoonbills, and various aquatic birds. they had shot, however, only one teal and a spoonbill. in travelling down the creek, we frequently started wallabies. geophaps plumifera was very frequent on the ironbark ridges. a cormorant with white breast and belly, and the rose cockatoo were shot; the former tasted as well as a duck. brown collected a good quantity of the gum of terminalia, and the seeds of the river bean, which made an excellent coffee. the native bee was very abundant. the natives seemed to have burned the grass systematically along every watercourse, and round every water-hole, in order to have them surrounded with young grass as soon as the rain sets in. these burnings were not connected with camping places, where the fire is liable to spread from the fire-places, and would clear the neighbouring ground. long strips of lately burnt grass were frequently observed extending for many miles along the creeks. the banks of small isolated water-holes in the forest, were equally attended to, although water had not been in either for a considerable time. it is no doubt connected with a systematic management of their runs, to attract game to particular spots, in the same way that stockholders burn parts of theirs in proper seasons; at least those who are not influenced by the erroneous notion, that burning the grass injures the richness and density of the natural turf. the natives, however, frequently burn the high and stiff grass, particularly along shady creeks, with the intention of driving the concealed game out of it; and we have frequently seen them watching anxiously, even for lizards, when other game was wanting. august .--we travelled, for the first two miles, n. degrees w. over scrubby ironstone ridges, and then entered upon a fine plain, from which smoke was seen to the west and north-west. i chose the latter direction, and passed over ironstone ridges covered with stunted silver-leaved ironbark; and a species of terminalia, a small tree, with long spathulate glaucous leaves, slightly winged seed-vessels, and with an abundance of fine transparent eatable gum; of which john and brown gathered a great quantity. some of the ridges were openly timbered with a rather stunted white-gum tree, and were well grassed; but the grass was wiry and stiff. at the end of our stage, about sixteen miles distant from our last camp, we crossed some rusty-gum forest; and encamped at a fine water-hole in the bed of a rocky creek, shaded by the white drooping gum, which seemed to have taken the place of the flooded gum. groves of pandanus spiralis grew along the creek, which ran to the north by east. all the small watercourses we passed, inclined to the eastward. charley found the shell of a cytherea on an old camping-place of the natives, which indicated our approach to the salt water. a native had carved a representation of the foot of an emu in the bark of a gum-tree; and he had performed it with all the exactness of a good observer. it was the first specimen of the fine arts we had witnessed in our journey. august .--we travelled about ten miles west-north-west, over scrubby ridges, plains, and box-flats. in a patch of rusty-gum forest we found acacia equisetifolia, and the dwarf grevillea of the upper lynd in blossom; the thyrsi of scarlet flowers of the latter were particularly beautiful. as we entered into the plains, binoe's trichinium and salicornia re-appeared. i steered towards the smoke of a blackfellow's fire, which we saw rising on the plains; the fire was attended to by a gin. charley went forward to examine a belt of trees visible in the distance; and john murphy followed a hollow in the plain, and succeeded in finding a fine lagoon, about half a mile long, partly rocky and partly muddy, surrounded by polygonums, and fields of salicornia. a few gum trees, and raspberry-jam trees grew straggling around it; but no dry timber was to be found, and we had to make a fire with a broken down half dried raspberry-jam tree. our meat bags were now empty, and it was necessary to kill another bullock, although the spot was by no means favourable for the purpose. natives were around us, and we saw them climbing the neighbouring trees to observe our proceedings. when charley joined us, he stated that a fine broad salt-water river was scarcely a quarter of a mile from the lagoon; that he had seen a tribe of natives fishing, who had been polite enough to make a sign that the water was not drinkable, when he stooped down to taste it, but that freshwater was to be found in the direction of the lagoon, at which we were encamped. no time was to be lost, and, as the afternoon had advanced, we commenced operations immediately. though the bullock was young, and in excellent working condition, the incessant travelling round the gulf had taken nearly all the fat out of him, and there was scarcely enough left to fry his liver. at sunset, we saw the natives approaching our camp, with loud vociferations, swinging their spears, and poising and putting them into their wommalas. we immediately saddled and mounted two of our horses, and discharged a pistol. the latter stopped their noise at once; and some cowered down to the ground. john and charley rode slowly towards them; at first they tried to face, and then to surround the horsemen; but john and charley separated, and threatened to cut them off from the river. as soon as they saw their supposed danger, they ran to the river, plunged in, and crossed it. we were very watchful during the night, but were not disturbed. next morning, natives passed at some distance, but showed no inclination to molest us. august .--we cut our meat into slices, and, although we were reduced in number, we had become so expert, that we had finished a full sized bullock by half past eleven, a. m. the process occupied four of us about four hours and a half; john and brown were employed in putting it out on the kangaroo net to dry. the strong sea breeze dried it beautifully; but it attracted much moisture again in the night, and was very moist when we packed it into the bags at starting. the sea breeze set in on the th at o'clock, became very strong during the afternoon, lessened at sunset, and died away about o'clock, p. m. when it became thick and foggy. this was the case on the th, th, and th, and was very regular. august .--we left the large lagoon, which, as i was prevented from making an observation, i supposed to be in latitude degrees minutes v. minutes, and followed the winding course of the river up to latitude degrees minutes. the river, i am inclined to think, is the albert of captain stokes, and the maet suyker of the dutch navigators, and its general course is from south-south-west, to north-north-east. plains, forest country, open scrub frequently broken by gullies, alternated with each other. several large and deep basins parallel to the river, were dry. the rough-leaved fig tree, the white cedar, and a stiff-leaved ipomoea with pink blossoms, grew on its sandy banks; and some low straggling mangroves at the water's edge. the day was far advanced, and i became very anxious about our moist meat; and feared that we should have to encamp without water. we saw burnt grass every where, and logs were even still burning; and fresh water could not be very far off, but yet we were unable to detect it. at last, i observed some trees, of a fresher appearance than usual, beyond a small rise; and, riding up to it, found a small water-hole surrounded by polygonums: on examination, it was found to contain only a very small quantity of water, yet what remained was good. charley, who returned afterwards, said that he had been before at this water-hole, and had found a tribe of natives encamped on it, one of whom lifted his spear against him, but his courage forsook him upon observing charley still riding towards him, when he and the whole camp took to their heels, leaving a good supply of convolvulus roots, and of terminalia gum behind them. we found shells of cymbium and cytherea, an enormous waddie, which could have been wielded only by a powerful arm, nets and various instruments for fishing, in their deserted camp. august .--i thought it advisable to stop here, and give our meat a fair drying. the natives were not seen again. charley and john took a ride to procure some game, and came to a salt-water creek, which joined the river about three miles from our camp; the river flowed in a very winding course from the eastward. they found some good fresh water-holes, at the head of the salt-water. august .--we travelled about seven miles e.s.e. over plains and ironbark ridges. the approaches of the creek, broken by watercourses and gullies, were covered with thickets of raspberry-jam trees. the rock cropped out frequently in the creek, which was said to be very rocky lower down. the salt-water hibiscus, a species of paritium, adr. juss. (hibiscus tiliaceus? linn. d.c. prodr. i. p. ) grew round the water-holes. we found the same little tree at the salt-water rivers on the west coast of the gulf, and at port essington. i had formerly seen it at the sea coast of moreton bay; its bark is tough and fibrous, and the heart-wood is brown with a velvety lustre. august .--when charley returned with the horses, he told us, that, when he was sitting down to drink at a water-hole about three miles up the creek, ten emus came to the other side of the water; keeping himself quiet, he took a careful aim, and shot one dead; then mounting his horse immediately, he pursued the others, and approaching them very near, succeeded in shooting another. he broke the wings of both and concealed them under water. it is a singular custom of the natives, that of breaking the wings upon killing an emu; as the wings could only slightly assist the animal in making its escape, should it revive. but in conversation with brown as to the possibility of one of the emus having escaped, he said very seriously: "blackfellow knows better than white fellow; he never leaves the emu without breaking a wing. blackfellows killed an emu once, and went off intending to call their friends to help them to eat, and when they came back, they looked about, looked about, but there was no emu; the emu was gone--therefore the blackfellows always broke the wings of the emus they killed afterwards." this was, however, very probably one of brown's yarns, made up for the occasion. i sent mr. calvert and charley to fetch the game, whilst we loaded the bullocks, and by the time they returned, we were ready to start. the emus were fine large birds, but not fat; this season seemed to be unfavourable for them. when we came out into the plain, we saw the smoke of the natives to the southward, and i steered for it, supposing that they were either near the river, or at all events not far from fresh water. after two miles travelling, we crossed another creek with fine polygonum water-holes, and, emerging from it into a second plain, we saw a flock of emus in the distance. chase was given to them, and with the assistance of spring, one was caught. loaded with three emus, we travelled over a succession of plains, separated by narrow belts of timber, mostly of-box, bloodwood, and tea-tree. the plains were broken by irregular melon-holes, which rendered our progress slow and fatiguing. we came to ironbark ridges, and to the very spot where the natives had been burning the grass, but no watercourse, nor lagoon was seen. brown rode farther to the southward, and observed the tracks of the natives in that direction, but found nothing but box-tree flats. i sent charley forward to the westward, and followed slowly in the same direction; night overtook us, when we were crossing a large plain, but charley had lighted a large fire, which guided us, and made us believe that he had found water. he was indeed at the steep banks of the river albert, but it was still salt. we hobbled and tethered all the horses, and watched the bullocks. fortunately we had provided ourselves with some water, which allowed half a pint to every man, so that we felt the inconvenience of a waterless camp less than formerly. besides, we had fresh meat, which made a great difference in our desire for water. it was a beautiful night, and even the dew was wanting, which had been such a hindrance to drying our meat during the previous nights. during my watch, i seated myself on one of the prominences of the steep banks, and watched the loud splashings of numerous large fish which momentarily disturbed the tranquillity of the mirror-like surface of the water. brown had found a bar across the river, and, on examination it proved perfectly dry during low water, and allowed us to cross, after having brought our bullocks and horses down the steep banks, which, however, was not effected without great difficulty. we had most fortunately hit the very spot where such a crossing was possible. brown saw a great number of fine fish in the river, which he called "taylors." the natives had been here frequently: the grass had been recently burnt, and fish bones indicated this as one of their habitual camping places. we could not, however, discover where they quenched their thirst. i sent charley forward in a north-west direction to look for water. when we came out into the plains which stretched along both sides of the river as far as the eye could reach, we saw smoke very near us on the right. i went towards it, until i found that it rose on the opposite side of the river we had just crossed; brown, however, detected a pool of slightly brackish water in a deep creek at a short distance from its junction with the river. it was too boggy for our cattle to approach, but it allowed us to quench our own thirst. we now re-entered the plains, and followed the track of charley, who soon returned with the pleasing intelligence that he had found some fine water-holes. these were in the bed of a creek, surrounded by a band of forest composed of box, raspberry-jam trees, and the broad-leaved terminalia, the fruit of which was eaten by the black cockatoo. the slopes of the water-holes were steep and boggy, and one of our bullocks was so exhausted that he slipped on the steep banks, rolled into the water, and got so severely bogged, that we were compelled to kill him, after trying everything in our power to extricate him. on the th august we cut him up. the night, however, was very foggy with heavy dew, which prevented the meat from drying. the miserably exhausted state of the animal had rendered the meat very flabby and moist, and it not only dried badly, but was liable to taint and to get fly-blown. august .--we had a fine sea-breeze from the northward, which dried the outside of the meat well enough, but not the inside, so that it became in many parts so putrid that i had to throw them away, although we saved a good deal by splitting the puffed pieces, and exposing the inside to the air. the natives had surrounded the water-hole on which we encamped with a barricade or hedge of dry sticks, leaving only one opening to allow the emus to approach the water. near this the natives probably kept themselves concealed and waited for the emus; which in these parts were remarkably numerous. on the th, john, charley, and brown, rode down three birds, and, on the th, they obtained four more, two of which were killed by john murphy, who rode the fleetest horse and was the lightest weight. the possibility of riding emus down, clearly showed in what excellent condition our horses were. even our bullocks although foot-weary upon arriving at the camp, recovered wonderfully, and played about like young steers in the grassy shady bed of the creek, lifting their tails, scratching the ground with their fore feet, and shaking their horns at us, as if to say, we'll have a run before you catch us. the latitude of these water-holes was degrees minutes seconds, and they were about nine miles from the crossing place of the river, which i calculated to be in longitude degrees minutes (appr.). the plains were covered with flocks of small white cockatoos, (cocatua sanguinea, gould.) which mr. gilbert had mentioned as having been found in port essington: their cry was rather plaintive, and less unmelodious than the scream of the large cockatoo; nor were they so shy and wary, particularly when approaching the water. august .--our beasts were so heavily laden with the meat of two bullocks, that i found it rather difficult to carry the additional meat of the emus. we, however, divided every emu into four parts--the chest, the rump, and the two thighs--and suspended each of the latter to one of the four hooks of a packsaddle; the remaining parts were carried on our horses. we travelled about eight miles north-north-west, over a succession of plains, interrupted by some watercourses, and a good sized creek. at the end of the day's stage, we found a small pool of water in a little creek which we had followed down. according to charley's account, salt-water existed a mile lower down. though our arrival at the camp was very late, we set immediately to work, and cut up the four emus, which i put on ropes and branches to dry. fortunately, a cold dry south-east wind set in, which very much assisted us in the operation of drying. the sea breeze was strong, as usual, during the day; clouds gathered very suddenly about o'clock, p. m. to the southward and south-east, and rose very quickly with a strong south-east wind; they passed as quickly as they came; when the wind ceased. another mass of clouds formed, and rose quite as suddenly, and, having passed, the sky became quite clear, and a cold strong wind set in from the south-east, which lasted for the next two days, and rendered the nights of the th and th august cold, dry, and dewless. we had forgotten to drive our bullocks to the water, which they had passed not five yards off, and in sight of which they had been unloaded; the poor brutes, however, had not the instinct to find it, and they strayed back. charley started after them the same night, and went at once to our old camp, supposing that the bullocks had taken that direction; but they had not done so; they had wandered about seven miles from the camp, without having found water. august .--we travelled about twelve miles west-north-west, first over plains, but afterwards, and for the greater part of the stage, over openly timbered well-grassed box-flats, which seemed to bound the plains to the southward; they were drained by no watercourse, but contained many melon-holes. i changed my westerly course a little more to the northward, and again crossed a succession of plains, separated by hollows. these hollows were covered with thickets of small trees, principally raspberry-jam trees; and contained many dry water-holes, either in regular chains or scattered. they, no doubt, formed the heads of creeks; as we invariably came on decided watercourses whenever we followed hollows of this character down to the northward. after sunset, we came to a dry creek, and were compelled to encamp without water. we took care, however, to watch our bullocks, and hobble and tether our horses, which enabled us to start early in the morning of the th, when we followed the creek about seven miles north-east, and there found some very fine water-holes within its bed, in latitude degrees minutes, at which we encamped, to allow our cattle to recover; for they had had very little water during the two last days. smoke was seen to the north-west, north, and north-east. charley shot two more emus, and i felt the loss of our bullock very much, as it became difficult to carry the additional meat, which, however, was too valuable to be wasted or thrown away. although we had followed the creek for seven miles, we did not find it joined by any of those hollows we had crossed the day before; and it would appear that the intervening plains extended far to the north-ward, and that the hollows and creeks converged only very gradually towards each other. august .--last night we were busily employed in cutting up and drying our two emus, in which operation we were favoured by a slight breeze from the south-east. as we had no fat nor emu oil to fry the meat with, i allowed a sufficient quantity of meat to be left on the bones, which made it worth while to grill them; and we enjoyed a most beautiful moonlight night over a well grilled emu bone with so much satisfaction, that a frequenter of the restaurants of the palais royal would have been doubtful whether to pity or envy us. we travelled to the north-west, because, whenever i kept a westerly course, i had almost always to follow creeks down to the northward to obtain water; and, notwithstanding a north-west course, had, on previous occasions, generally brought us to salt-water. for the first three miles, we passed several plains, and crossed a creek in which we recognised a casuarina, which tree we had not seen since we left the mitchell. we then came to a river from thirty to forty yards broad, and apparently very deep; the water was very soft, but not brackish, although affected by the tide, which caused it to rise about two feet. a narrow belt of brush, with drooping tea-trees, the corypha palm, the pandanus, and sarcocephalus, grew along the water's edge. the box, the broad-leaved terminalia, and the inga moniliformis (articulate podded acacia), covered the gullies which came down from the plains, and the flats along the river. we proceeded four or five miles up the river, in a south-west direction, in order to find a crossing place. large plains occupied both sides, on which numerous patches of grass had been lately burnt; which indicated the presence of natives. fish were very plentiful, and charley said he had seen a crocodile. the plains and banks of the river were well grassed, and adapted for cattle and horses. we encamped in latitude degrees minutes. [this cannot possibly be degrees minutes--it is about degrees minutes--(note by mr. arrowsmith.)] august .--the river was joined by a running creek from south-south-west, which we had to follow up about five miles, where it formed a very narrow channel between thickets of palm trees, drooping tea-trees, sarcocephalus, and particularly pandanus, which crowded round the tiny stream. we again travelled north-west, over several plains, separated by belts of timber, and, at the end of about five miles, came to a fine brook, whose pure limpid waters flowed rapidly in its deep but rather narrow channel, over a bed of rich green long-leaved water plants. magnificent tea-trees, casuarinas, and terminalias, gave a refreshing shade, and pandanus and corypha palms added to the beauty of the spot. the plains were well-grassed, but full of melon-holes. i observed on them a few small trees, belonging to the sapindaceae, with pinnate and rather drooping leaves, with a light grey bark, exuding a good eatable gum. i called the brook "beames's brook," in acknowledgment of the liberal support i received from walter beames, esq. of sydney. we again enjoyed here the young shoots of the corypha palm. august .--we crossed beames's brook without difficulty, and travelled about two miles north-west, over a plain, when we came to a river with a broad sandy bed and steep banks, overgrown with large drooping tea-trees. its stream was five or six yards broad and very shallow. parallel lines of deep lagoons covered with nymphaeas and villarsias were on its west side. the bergue between the river and the lagoons was covered with bloodwood and leguminous ironbark; and fine box flats were beyond the lagoons. i called this river the "nicholson," after dr. william alleyne nicholson, of bristol, whose generous friendship had not only enabled me to devote my time to the study of the natural sciences, but to come out to australia. the longitude of the nicholson was degrees minutes (approx.) after passing the box flats along-the river, we entered into a country covered with thickets and scrub, rarely interrupted by small patches of open forest, and travelled about fourteen miles north-west from the river, when the setting sun compelled us to encamp, without having been able to find water. just on entering the scrub, we saw four emus walking gravely through a thicket of the little severn tree, picking its bitter fruit, and throwing occasionally a wondering but distrustful glance at our approaching train. charley and brown, accompanied by spring, gave chase to them, and killed one, which was in most excellent condition. when we came to the camp, we secured the horses, and watched the bullocks, as was usual on such occasions, and fried and enjoyed our fresh meat as well as we could. to satisfy my companions i determined to reconnoitre the country in advance by moonlight; and allowed them to return to the lagoons of the nicholson, should i not have returned by o'clock next morning. accordingly, i started with charley when the moon was high enough to give me a fair view of the country, and followed the star vega as it declined to the westward. as we advanced, the country improved and became more open. it was about midnight when charley, in passing a patch of thick scrub, noticed a slight watercourse, which increased rapidly into large water-holes. these were dry, and covered with withered grass, but, on resuming our westerly course, we came in a very short time to a creek with a succession of rocky basins. it was unaccountable how these deep holes could have become so soon dry, as every one of them must have been full immediately after the rainy season. after following the creek for about two hours, charley remarked that the cracked mud of one of the large water-holes was moist, and, on digging about a foot deep, a supply of water collected, abundantly sufficient for ourselves and for our horses. the channel divided several times, and charley examined one branch, and i took the other. thus separated from my companion, i caught the cheerful glance of a fire before me, and, as i approached, a great number of them became visible, belonging to a camp of the natives. though i wished to ascertain whether they were encamped near a water-hole, or near wells, several of which we had observed higher up the creek, i thought it prudent, unarmed as i was, to wait for charley. i cooeed, which disturbed the dogs of the camp; but the cold wind blew so strong from the east, that i feared charley would either not hear my cooee, or i not his. the discharge of his gun, however, showed me where he was, and we were soon together again. we passed the camp; the fires sparkled most comfortably in the cold night. we examined the creek, but saw neither natives nor water. two miles lower down, however, we came to fine water-holes with a good supply. we stopt here for an hour, to make a pot of tea, and to allow our horses to feed. we had followed the creek so far to the north-east and east, that we were, according to my calculation, about ten miles n.n.e. from our camp. trusting in charley's almost instinctive powers, i allowed him to take the lead, but he, being drowsy in consequence of a sleepless night, kept too much to the right, and missed our tracks. as the appointed time for my return had elapsed, and i was sure that my companions had gone back, i changed my course to go at once to the lagoons of the nicholson; and came on the tracks of the returning party, which we followed to the lagoons, where my companions had already safely arrived. we had been on the saddle from o'clock at night, to o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, and, with the exception of one hour, had ridden the whole time through the most dreary and scrubby country, and were, of course, extremely fatigued. most annoying, however, was the idea that all our fatigues had been to no purpose, except to show to my companions that i was right in my supposition, that a good day's journey parallel to the coast would invariably bring us to water. august .--we travelled about eighteen miles n.n.w., to those water-holes we had found on our reconnoitring ride. their latitude was degrees minutes. the country was so very scrubby and difficult, that we travelled from morning until long after sunset before we reached the place. the long journey had both tired and galled our bullocks and horses, and our packs had been torn into pieces by the scrub. this induced me to stay a day at this creek (which i called moonlight creek, as it had been found and explored during moonlight), to allow some rest both to my bullocks and myself, whom the long riding had much exhausted, and also to re-arrange our packs. the composition of the scrub depended on the nature of the soil. the narrow-leaved tea-tree, in shrubs from five to seven feet high, and the broad-leaved tea-tree from twenty to twenty-five feet high, grew on a sandy loam, with many ant-hills between them; the little severn tree and the glaucous terminalia preferred the light sandy soil with small ironstone pebbles, on which the ant-hills were rare, or entirely wanting; the raspberry-jam tree crowded round water-holes, which were frequently rocky; and the bloodwood, the leguminous iron-bark, the box, and apple-gum, formed patches of open forest. we collected a great quantity of terminalia gum, and prepared it in different ways to render it more palatable. the natives, whose tracks we saw everywhere in the scrub, with frequent marks where they had collected gum--seemed to roast it. it dissolved with difficulty in water: added to gelatine soup, it was a great improvement; a little ginger, which john had still kept, and a little salt, would improve it very much. but it acted as a good lenient purgative on all of us. we found the days, when travelling in the scrub, excessively hot, for the surrounding vegetation prevented us from feeling the sea-breeze; very cold easterly and south-easterly winds prevailed during the night. august .--mr. calvert and brown, whom i had sent to reconnoitre the country, returned with the sad intelligence that they had found no water. they had crossed a great number of creeks of different sizes, with fine rocky water-holes, which seemed all to rise in scrubby ironstone hills, and had a course from s. w. to n. e. and e. n. e.; but towards their heads they were dry, and lower down they contained salt water. the two explorers had unfortunately forgotten their bag of provisions, and were consequently compelled to return before they could accomplish their object. as i anticipated a very long stage, and perhaps a camp without water, i had some wallabi skins softened and tied over our quart pots filled with water, which enabled us to carry about eight quarts with us. august .--we accordingly started early, and travelled for several miles through a pretty open broad-leaved tea-tree forest, formed by small trees from twenty to thirty feet high. this changed, however, into dense scrub, which we could only avoid by keeping more to the westward, in which direction the tea-tree forest seemed to extend to a great distance. here we passed several tea-tree swamps, dry at this time, level, like a table, and covered with small trees, and surrounded by a belt of fine box-trees and drooping water-gum trees. in order to come to a watercourse, i again crossed the thick scrub which covered the undulations of iron-stone to the northward, and came to a fine rocky creek, which brown recognised as one of those he had seen, but which contained only salt water lower down. we consequently continued our journey to the north-west, through tea-tree forest, and over some very large tea-tree swamps, and came at last to a creek and to a small river, along which we travelled until darkness compelled us to encamp. it had fine water-holes, and was densely shaded with drooping tea-trees; but the holes were dry, with some few exceptions of small wells of the natives. the latitude of our camp was degrees minutes. we had seen a great number of pigeons and white cockatoos, and we were sure that a greater supply of water was near, as many patches of burnt grass showed that the natives had been here very lately. next morning, the th, when charley returned with the horses, he told us that we had passed a fine lagoon, not a mile and a half off, at the left bank of the river, which the night had prevented us from seeing, and which the horses had found when returning on their tracks. we moved our camp to this lagoon, which was covered with villarsia leaves, and contained a reddish water coloured by very minute floating bodies of that colour. the natives had surrounded it with dry sticks, leaving an opening on one side, for the purpose of taking emus, as before described. these birds were very numerous, and lived exclusively on the fruit of the little severn tree, which was excessively bitter and imparted its quality to the meat; charley and brown, assisted by the dog, killed one of them. a cockatoo was shot, which in form and colours resembled the large white cockatoo, but was rather smaller, and the feathers of the breast were tipped with red. we saw the bones of a jew fish, and a broken shell of cymbium, in an old camp of the natives near the lagoon. the apple-gum, the box, and the moreton bay ash composed a very open well-grassed forest, between the lagoon and the river; the latter had an e. n. e. and almost easterly course. i called this river or large creek, "smith's creek," after mr. smith, a gentleman who had shown us the greatest kindness and attention when we were staying at darling downs. our journey round the head of the gulf had shown that the "plains of promise" of capt. stokes extended from big plain river to the nicholson, and that they extended farthest to the southward, along two large salt water rivers in the apex of the gulf, the more westerly of which was no doubt the albert of capt. stokes, and the maet suyker of the dutch navigators. these plains were bounded to the southward by box-flats, and drained by numerous creeks, which in their lower course were tolerably supplied with water. the most interesting fact, and which had already been observed by capt. stokes, was the moderate temperature of this part of the country. if my readers compare my observations on the weather from lat. degrees minutes at the east coast, to lat. degrees minutes on the west coast of the gulf, they will be struck by the general complaint of "cold nights." if they compare the direction of the winds, they will find that at the east coast the southerly and south-south-westerly winds were very cold, and that they became southerly and south-easterly at the apex, and turned still more to the eastward, at the west coast. in comparing these directions of the wind, i was led to the conclusion, that the large plains were the origin and the cause of these winds. the bracing nature of the winds and of the cold nights, had a very beneficial influence on our bodies; we were all well, with the exception of mr. roper, who still suffered from the wound in his loins, and from a distressing diarrhoea. i am not aware of the season in which capt. stokes explored this part of the country; but it must not be forgotten, that the same causes which would produce cold winds in the winter, might be the cause of hot winds in the summer. august .--we travelled about seventeen miles n. n. w. to lat. degrees minutes seconds, through an uninterrupted scrub and broad-leaved tea-tree forest. half way we crossed a broad watercourse, with long tracks of burnt grass. the pandanus and the bloodwood grew on its limited flats. at the end of our stage, we came to a rocky watercourse, which we followed down, and in which a native dog betrayed to us a deep pool of water, covered with villarsia leaves, and surrounded by polygonums. many of the dry water-holes we had passed were surrounded by emu traps; the tracks of these birds were exceedingly numerous, a grove of pandanus was near the water on the sandy banks of the creek. august .--we travelled about eleven miles n. n. w. to lat. degrees minutes seconds, through the bleakest scrubby country we had ever met: nothing but tea-tree scrub, and that not even cheered by the occasional appearance of a gum tree, or of the blood-wood. after ten miles, we came to a salt water creek, rocky, with detached pools of water and deposits of salt. following it up, we came to a well beaten foot-path of the natives, which brought us in a short time to a good supply of drinkable, though very brackish water. the sandstone hills before us and to the northward, were covered with low shrubs and the broad-leaved tea-tree, with wiry and stiff grasses, and looked very unpropitious. the rock was composed of quartz pebbles of different colours, imbedded in a red clayey paste. we have commenced to carry with us not only our quart pots, but also our two gallon pot full of water. august .--we travelled to lat. degrees minutes seconds long. degrees minutes; a distance of about eight miles n.n.w. and n.w. over a more open country, with occasional patches of thick scrub. we crossed several watercourses and creeks; and came to a small river which flowed to the n. by e. and which i called the "marlow," after capt. marlow of the royal engineers, who had kindly assisted me in the outfit of my expedition. we went down the river about two or three miles, and came to a plentiful supply of water, which was indicated, a long time before we arrived at it, by the call of the red-breasted cockatoos, noticed a few days since; but which was probably only a variety of the common species. a low shrubby acacia with sigmoid phyllodia was frequent on the hills. a little fly-catcher (givagone brevirostris?) charmed us with its pretty note at our last camps. bronze-winged pigeons were very numerous, and i saw a pair of geophaps plumifera rising from under a shady rock, as i was riding down a rocky creek. two black ducks and three cockatoos were shot; the long reaches of water down the river were covered with water-fowl, and charley and brown were so desirous of procuring some messes of black ducks, that they did their best to persuade me to stop; but, being anxious to escape from this scrubby country, i did not yield to their solicitations. the crops of the large cockatoos were filled with the young red shoots of the haemodorum, which were almost as pungent as chillis, but more aromatic; the plant abounded on the sandy soil. the small cockatoo of the plains, which we saw again in great numbers, seems to feed on a white root and on the honey of the whole seed-vessel, or the flower-bud, of the drooping tea-tree. the first part of the night was clear, but it became foggy and cloudy after midnight. in the morning, the dew was dropping from the trees, but the grass and our things were not at all wet. august .--we travelled about ten miles n. degrees w. over a scrubby though a little more open country, full of enormous massive ant-hills, surpassing even those of big ant-hill creek, in height and circumference, and came, at the distance of eight miles from our camp, to a low scrub on sandy soil with shallow watercourses. salicornia grew in abundance; and emu tracks were very frequent. coming on a broad foot-path of the natives, i followed it to the south-west, and came to some fine fresh water-holes in the bed of a creek, surrounded by high drooping tea trees, which were in blossom and covered with swarms of white cockatoos. these water-holes were in lat. degrees degrees, and situated to the south-west of some low scrubby hills. we encamped in a grove of pandanus. the natives had just left, and the tea-tree bark was still smoking from the fire which had spread from their camp. large flights of the small white cockatoo came to the water. the flying-fox visited the blossoms of the tea-tree at night, and made an incessant screeching noise. charley shot one of them, which was very fat, particularly between the shoulders and on the rump, and proved to be most delicate eating. august .--it rained the whole day; in consequence of which i gave my cattle a rest. the rain came from the westward, but continued with a southerly wind; it ceased with wind from the s.e. and e.s.e. lightning was observed to the south-west. we erected our tents for the first time since mr. gilbert's death; using tarpaulings and blankets for the purpose. our shots amused themselves by shooting blue mountainers for the pot; and a strange mess was made of cockatoo, blue mountainers, an eagle hawk, and dried emu. i served out our last gelatine for sunday luncheon; it was as good as when we started: the heat had, however, frequently softened it, and made it stick to the bag and to the things with which it was covered. the fire places of the natives were here arranged in a straight line, and sheltered from the cold wind by dry branches: they were circular, the circumference was slightly raised, and the centre depressed and filled with pebbles, which the natives heat to cook their victuals. the bell which one of our horses carried, was unaccountably broken at our last camp; and it was quite a misery to hear its dull jarring sound, instead of the former cheerful tinkling. one of our horses had separated from the rest, and had gone so far up the creek, that charley did not return with it until very late in the afternoon of the st september, which compelled us to stop at our camp. chapter xii heaps of oyster-shells--false alarm of a native in the camp--turner's creek--wentworth's creek--journals lost; found again--the van alphen--importance of tea--choice of bullocks for an expedition--choice of a dog--the calvert--the abel tasman--glucking bird again--discover a mode of using the fruit of the pandanus--seven emu river--crocodile--the robinson--shoal of porpoises--native method of preparing the fruit of the pandanus and cycas for food--mr. roper convalescent--wear and tear of clothes--succeed in dressing the seeds of sterculia--the macarthur--friendly parley with circumcised natives--store of tea exhausted--medical property of the grevillea discovered. sept. .--we travelled n.w. by w. and came, after passing some of the usual tea-tree scrub, to an undulating country, with scattered shrubs of the salt water tea-tree, which grew particularly on the sandy heads of salt water creeks. salicornia was another sure indication of salt water; and, after about seven or eight miles, our course was intercepted by a broad salt-water creek. its bed, however, was sandy, and the water shallow, which enabled us to cross it a little higher up, without difficulty. we turned again to the n.w. by w., steering for one of the numerous smokes of the natives' fires which were visible in every direction. we soon came, however, to broad sands with deep impressions of the tracks of emus, wallabies, and natives; and to sandy depressions sloping towards narrow salt-water creeks densely fringed with mangroves. a large river was no doubt before us. to get out of this difficult meshwork of salt-waters, i turned to the south-west, and continued in this direction until the sands, mangrove creeks, and salicornias, disappeared, and we were again fairly in the scrubs, which however we found more open, and frequently interspersed with bloodwood and pandanus. i sent charley and brown in different directions to look for water, and a small pool with brackish ferruginous nasty water was found, which made a very miserable tea, and affected our bowels. in the mangrove creeks we found telescopium, pleurotoma; and heaps of oyster-shells, for the first time on our journey. arcas were frequent, but no cythereas. the mussels (unios) of the slightly brackish water were small, but plentiful. it was on this stage that we first met with a leafless species of bossiaea, from three to five feet high, with compressed stem, and branches of the habit of bossiaea scolopendrium, with yellow blossoms, and smooth many-seeded pods little more than an inch long. this shrub was one of the principal components of all the scrubs we passed from this place to limmen bight, and was also found, though less frequently, towards the centre of arnheim's land. the day was exceedingly hot, though cloudy; the wind from the east: the night cool, without wind. when brown and charley rejoined us, the former appeared so much alarmed and agitated, that i thought they had met some natives, and had received some injury, although they said they had not. my imagination was working on the possibility of an attack of the natives, and i consequently laid myself down without taking my boots and trowsers off, to be ready at a moment's notice, and rose several times in the course of the night to see that the watches were strictly kept. in the morning watch, john murphy roused me by saying that he saw a native: i felt certain now that an attack was about to be made upon us. i, therefore, immediately gave the alarm, and every one had his gun ready, when it was discovered that our own brown was the man whom john had mistaken for a strange native. he had left his couch without being observed, and, when he returned, it was too dark to recognize him; he was, however, very near losing his life, or at least being shot at, for his wild yells "tis me! tis me!" which he uttered when he became aware of his dangerous position, were not understood, but only increased our belief that they were the war-cry of attacking natives. the creek, on a water-hole of which we encamped in lat. degrees minutes seconds, was doubtless one of the heads of the broad salt-water creek we crossed, and which i called "turner's creek," after cowper turner, esq. of sydney: sept. .--we travelled about nine miles west by north, through an open tea-tree forest skirting the heads of those scrubby creeks which went down to the salt water, the dark mangrove line of which we had seen yesterday. but we crossed four good sized dry creeks, lined with drooping tea-trees and white-gum trees. their banks and flats were covered with groves of pandanus, whose stately crowns were adorned with red-fruited cones: the seed-vessels contained in their stringy texture a rich mellow pear-like substance, which however was hot, and made our lips and tongues very sore. we encamped on some water-holes, with excellent water, in a fifth creek, which lower down contained some fine reaches of brackish water covered with wild geese (anseranas melanoleuca, gould.) and black ducks. as charley was watching some geese, an emu walked up to him, which he shot; he succeeded besides in getting two geese, which were in most excellent condition, and weighed better than five pounds each. a well beaten foot-path of the natives led up a broad salt-water creek, to the northward of the creek on which we were encamped, and which joined it lower down. charley, when going after the horses, saw a camping place of the natives with spears and the usual utensils: but the inhabitants had either not yet returned from their hunting and fishing excursions, or had left it, frightened by the frequent discharge of our guns. sept. .--we travelled about eleven miles west by north. the first three miles and a half led us through scrub; we forded a salt-water creek about thirty yards broad, and then, for the next four miles, proceeded through a scrubby country, and came to a second salt-water creek as broad as the first, but containing only pools of water. the scrub now opened, and the last four miles lay through a fine box-flat, bounded by long hollows surrounded with drooping tea-trees and the white water-gum, the bright foliage of which formed a most agreeable contrast with the dull green of the scrubs and the box-trees. after crossing a small sandy creek, along which grew a few sarcocephalus, we came to a large creek lined with drooping tea-trees and sarcocephalus, and encamped on a fine pool of water, within its deep bed. i named this creek after w.c. wentworth, esq. m.c. who had kindly contributed to the outfit of my expedition. at early dawn, a flight of wild geese filed in long line over our camp, the flapping of their wings was heavy, but short, and the note they emitted resembled that of the common goose, but was some-what shriller. in the box-flat we started a flock of emus, and spring caught a fine male bird. it would have been highly amusing for a looker on to observe how remarkably eager we were to pluck the feathers from its rump, and cut the skin, to see how thick the fat was, and whether it was a rich yellow, or only flesh-coloured. we had, indeed, a most extraordinary desire for anything fat; and we soon found where to look for it. in the emu it accumulates all over the skin, but particularly on the rump, and between the shoulders, and round the sternal plate. to obtain the oil, we skinned those parts, and suspended them before a slow fire, and caught the oil in our frying pan; this was of a light yellowish colour, tasteless, and almost free from scent. several times, when suffering from excessive fatigue, i rubbed it into the skin all over the body, and its slightly exciting properties proved very beneficial. it has always been considered by the white inhabitants of the bush, a good anti-rheumatic. the sea breeze from the northward still continued during the day; the nights were clear and dewy, but ceased to be so cold. i found a piece of granite and a fragment of fortification agate in the sandy bed of the creek. sept. .--we travelled about ten miles west by north, to lat. degrees minutes seconds. having passed a rather open forest of bloodwood, apple-gum, and leguminous ironbark, with isolated patches of scrub, and some dry teat-ree swamps with heaps of calcined mussel-shells, we came to a thick stringy-bark forest, on a sandy soil, with a hard sandstone cropping out frequently. this opened into the flats of a sandy pandanus creek, which we crossed; and, three miles farther, we came to another broad creek with salt water. its bed was rocky, and we forded it easily. i followed one of its branches for several miles, and found, after passing its salt-water pools, a small pool of fresh water in its rocky sandy bed, near which i observed an old camping place of the natives. i was considerably in advance of my train, and the dog was with me. as i was examining the pool of water and the numerous tracks round it, an emu came walking along the shady bed of the creek; i immediately mounted my horse and pursued it with the dog, and caught it after a very short run; to prevent its wounding the dog, i dismounted to kill it, when my horse became frightened, broke loose, and ran away. i returned with the emu to the water, and when the train arrived, i sent charley after the horse, whilst i walked about two miles further up the creek to find a better supply of water. not succeeding, however, i returned and encamped at the small pool, which we enlarged with the spade, and obtained a sufficient supply of very good water. charley returned with the horse, but my saddlebags, my journals and a calabash were lost. i was in great anxiety, and blamed myself severely for having committed such an act of imprudence. charley went, however, a second time on foot, and succeeded in finding everything but the calabash, which was a great loss to our dog. in the camping place of the natives, i found a large round stone of porphyry, upon which the natives were accustomed to break the seed-vessels of pandanus. i could discover no indications of this rock in the creek, not even the smallest pebble; and i am consequently inclined to think that this stone was brought by the natives from a considerable distance to the south-west. but, from the broken pieces of granite of our last camp, it became evident that a rocky primitive country, like that of the upper lynd, could not be very distant. even the vegetation agreed well with that of the same locality; as the dwarf grevillea, g. chrysodendrum, and the falcate grevillea of the upper lynd, were here again observed. the tea-trees along the banks of the creek, as far as the salt-water extended, were leafless and dead. this may be accounted for by a succession of dry years in which usual freshes have not taken place; and by the supposition that the drooping tea-tree cannot live on water entirely salt. sept. .--we travelled twelve miles north-west, through pandanus and bloodwood forest, alternating with scrub, stringy-bark forest, and tea-tree thickets; and, in the latter part of the stage, through broad-leaved tea-tree forest. we encamped at a fine river, with a bed three hundred yards broad from bank to bank, but with a narrow channel of running water. this channel was fringed with the water pandanus, which we first observed at beames's brook; the sandy bed was covered with drooping tea-trees and grevillea chrysodendrum. charley shot a bustard, the stomach of which was filled with seeds of grewia, with small yellow seeds, and some beetles. on this stage, we again passed some of those remarkable dry tea-tree swamps--surrounded with heaps of very large mussel shells--evidently showing that they had been a long time under water, though they were now overgrown with small tea-trees, perhaps five or six years old; and which proved, like the drooping tea-trees on the banks of the creek, that the last few years had been exceedingly dry. i supposed the river to be the van alphen of the dutch navigators, as its latitude, where i crossed it, was about degrees minutes, and its longitude i calculated to be degrees minutes. sept. .--we travelled about nine miles n. n. w. to latitude degrees minutes; the first part of the stage was scrubby, the latter part undulating with a fine open stringy-bark forest. the trees were tall, but rarely more than a foot in diameter. here we met with hard baked sandstone, of a whitish grey colour. about seven miles from our camp, we saw a low blue range to the westward; and, soon after, passed a sandy pandanus creek, with scrubby broken banks: this was joined by a second, and both together entered a broad tea-tree creek, coming from the south-west, in which we found a fine pool of water covered with white and yellow villarsias and yellow utricularias. the rose-coloured sterculia, and a smooth broad-leaved terminalia, were observed on the sandy flats of the creek; and a small fan-leaved palm (livistona humilis, r. br.), a small insignificant trunkless plant, growing between sandstone rocks, was here first observed. a taller species of this palm, as we subsequently found, formed large tracts of forest on the cobourg peninsula, and near the alligator rivers. as our tea bag was getting very low, and as i was afraid that we should have to go a long time without this most useful article, i thought it advisable to make a more saving arrangement. we had, consequently, a pot of good tea at luncheon, when we arrived at our camp tired and exhausted, and most in want of an exciting and refreshing beverage. the tea-leaves remaining in the pot, were saved and boiled up for supper, allowing a pint to each person. in the morning, we had our soup, and drank water ad libitum. tea is unquestionably one of the most important provisions of such an expedition: sugar is of very little consequence, and i believe that one does even better without it. we have not felt the slightest inconvenience from the want of flour; and we were a long time without salt. the want of the latter, however, made us costive, and, when we began to use it again, almost every one of us had a slight attack of diarrhoea. our horses were still in excellent condition, and even improving; and our five bullocks also kept in good working order, although the oldest of them rather lagged behind. in choosing bullocks for such a journey, one should be particularly careful to choose young powerful beasts, about five or six years old, and not too heavy. all our old and heavy bullocks proved to be bad travellers; only one had borne the journey until now, and he was only preserved by great care and attention. during summer, the ground is so hot, and frequently so rotten, that even the feet of a dog sink deep. this heat, should there be a want of water during a long stage, and perhaps a run after game in addition, would inevitably kill a soft dog. it is, therefore, of the greatest importance to have a good traveller, with hard feet: a cross of the kangaroo dog with the bloodhound would be, perhaps, the best. he should be light, and satisfied with little food in case of scarcity; although the dried tripe of our bullocks gave ample and good food to one dog. it is necessary to carry water for them; and to a little calabash, which we obtained from the natives of the isaacs, we have been frequently indebted for the life of spring. sept. .--we travelled about ten miles north-west by west, to latitude degrees (unclear:) minutes. the first and last parts of the stage were scrubby, or covered with a dense underwood of several species of acacia, grevillea chrysodendrum and a species of pultenaea with leafless compressed stem. the intervening part of our journey was through a stringy-bark forest, with sandy, and frequently rotten soil, on sandstone ridges or undulations. some patches of stiffer soil were covered with box or with straggling apple-gum and bloodwood. in the scrub, i again observed fusanus with pinnate leaves. several good sized dry sandy creeks were surrounded with pandanus. we saw a low range in form of a horse-shoe, to the westward; and a higher one beyond it in the distance. we encamped at a small river, which had just ceased running, but contained in its bed two chains of small deep ponds full of perches, and shaded with pandanus and drooping tea-trees, which grew to a large size all over the bed between the two ponds. i named this river the "calvert," in acknowledgment of the good services of mr. calvert during our expedition, and which i feel much pleasure in recording. we saw two emus, and brown killed one of them, with the assistance of the dog, which received a severe cut in the neck from the sharp claw of the bird. the whole country round the gulf was well-grassed, particularly before we crossed the nicholson; and on the plains and approaches to the rivers and creeks. the large water-holes were frequently surrounded with a dense turf of fimbristylis (a small sedge), which our horses liked to feed upon. some stiff grasses made their appearance when we approached the sea-coast, as well on the plains as in the forest. the well-known kangaroo grass (anthisteria) forms still one of the principal components of the pasture. the scrubby country had a good supply of a tufty wind-grass; and, although the feed was dry during this part of the year, our horses and cattle did exceedingly well, as i have already mentioned. both took an occasional bite of some acacias, of grevillea chrysodendrum, and of several other shrubs. cattle driven over the country we have passed, by short stages, and during the proper season, would even fatten on the road. when we approached the water-hole on which we were going to encamp, john observed a fine large iguana in the water, which was so strikingly coloured that he thought it different from those we had previously seen. xyris, philydrum, a species of xerotes, and an aromatic spreading herb, grew in great abundance round the water. i found a great quantity of the latter in the stomach of the emu. a species of crotolaria, two or three feet high, with simple woolly oblong or oblongo-lanceolate leaves, and with a beautiful green blossom of the form and size of that of kennedya rubicunda, grew in the bed of the river. great numbers of large bright yellow hornets, with some black marks across the abdomen, visited the water. flies were exceedingly troublesome: but the mosquitoes annoyed us very rarely, and only where water was very abundant. the nights have been very dewy, but not cold. the wind in the morning from the south-east, veering round to the northward during the day. sept. .--we travelled north-west by north, and for several miles, through a scrubby stringy-bark forest, when we came to steep sandstone ridges, composed of a hard flaggy horizontally stratified rock. higher ranges were seen to the w.n.w. and west; and i found myself fairly caught between rocky hills when i least expected them, but hoped to enter upon a country corresponding in its character with the low coast marked down in the map, in this latitude. i turned to the northward, and found a practicable path between the hills, and came, after crossing a small sandy creek to a fine salt-water river, as broad as any we had seen. high hills were at its left bank; and, as we followed it up in a direction s. degrees w., the right became more broken, and the vegetation richer. a very conspicuous foot-path led us through heaps of cockle shells to a fishing station of the natives, where they seemed to have a permanent camp; the huts being erected in a substantial manner with poles, and thatched with grass and the leaves of pandanus; there were extensive fire places containing heaps of pebbles; and an abundance of fish bones. the weir was, as usual, formed with dry sticks, across a shallow part of the river. a spring of fresh water was below the camp at the edge of high water. as the tide was high, and an abundant supply of fresh water was found in a creek which joined the river a few hundred yards from the fishery, we encamped on the creek, in lat. degrees minutes seconds, lon. degrees minutes. i consider this river to be the "abel tasman" of the dutch navigators: and that it is probably joined by the calvert. its flats were well-grassed, and very openly timbered with bloodwood, stringy-bark, leguminous ironbark, then in blossom, and a large tree with white smooth bark, spreading branches, and pinnate leaves. the salt water hibiscus (paritium) and acacia (inga moniliformis), were also in blossom. charley, brown, and john, went to spear some fish, but the tide was out, the water shallow, and the fish were gone. charley saw here, for the first time, the torres straits pigeon (carpophaga luctuosa, gould.) the little creek, at which we were encamped, had formed its channel through sandstone rock; and its narrow bed, containing a ferruginous water supplied by springs, was crowded with high reeds, and shaded with various trees of a dense green foliage. frogs croaked, and crickets chirped, the whole night; and the call of goat-suckers, and the hooting of owls, were heard in every direction; large fish were splashing in the water; wallabies were bleating as they came down to the creek, and saw our horses; and mosquitoes by their loud humming prevented our sleeping. this noise of animal life during the night formed an agreeable contrast to the dead silence which we had observed at almost all our camps around the gulf, with the exception of the one occupied on the st september, and of that at the marlow, where the flying-fox was the merry reveller of night. sept. .--we were again too late for low tide, to cross at the fishery of the natives, and consequently travelled about two miles and a half higher up, passing in our way three other fisheries; where we crossed the river, the bed was very wide, and covered with shrubs, shingle, and blocks of sandstone; but its rapid stream of fresh water was only about fifteen or twenty yards broad, and three feet deep. at the left side of the river, we saw four or five fine cycas palms, from eight to ten feet high, and the stem from six to nine inches in diameter. high rocky sandstone ridges extended on the same side, in a direction parallel to the river, and at the distance of two or three miles. they were covered with scrub, open box, and stringy-bark forest; and the wallabi and kangaroo tracks going down to the river, were very numerous. the appearance of the cypress pine, which formed groups within the stringy-bark forest, and particularly on the rises and sandy slopes, was of a most striking character. a new species of grevillea, and also of calythrix, were found in blossom. beyond the ridges, the stringy-bark forest was obstructed by the leguminous shrub with broad stem (bossiaea). several pandanus creeks went down to the north-east; and the second contained a little water. after travelling about twelve miles to the north-west by north, we encamped at a fine creek with large pools of water, in lat. degrees minutes. during the night, we heard the well-known note of what we called the "glucking bird," when we first met with it, in the cypress pine country, at the early part of our expedition. its re-appearance with the cypress pine corroborated my supposition, that the bird lived on the seeds of that tree. sept. .--we travelled about twelve miles north by west, over a country in which scrub, stringy-bark forest, and cypress pine thickets alternated. we passed some patches of broad-leaved tea-tree forest. the raspberry-jam tree became again more frequent. about a mile from the camp, we crossed a small creek with water; and at seven miles further, another, but it was dry; and, at the end of the stage we came to a fine sandy creek with large pools. seeing that the natives had encamped here frequently, and some very lately, by the heaps of broken pandanus fruit, i did not hesitate to pitch our tents; but, on examining the water, i was greatly disappointed in finding it so brackish that the horses and cattle would not drink it. i, therefore, started with charley in search of better, and, in the upper part of the creek, we found some large water-holes just dried up: but, on digging, they yielded an ample supply of good water. on this little excursion, we were fortunate enough, by the aid of spring, to kill two emus; but the poor dog again received some deep scratches. the camps of the natives were, as usual, distinguished by heaps of shells of cytherea, oysters, fresh-water mussels, and fish bones. the fresh-water mussel was small, and of a yellowish colour. we had some few drops of rain at about half-past o'clock, a. m, sept. .--the horses, though hobbled, had strayed so far in search of water, that we had to wait for them until o'clock. we started, however, but, after travelling a short distance, finding the day far advanced, and our chance of finding water very doubtful, i determined to return to the water-hole which we had dug yesterday; about two miles and a half west by south. the flats of the creek were well-grassed; large drooping tea-trees with groves of pandanus grew on the hollows near the creek, and tea-tree thickets farther off. i frequently tasted the fine-looking fruit of the pandanus, but was every time severely punished with sore lips and a blistered tongue; and the first time that i ate it, i was attacked by a violent diarrhoea. i could not make out how the natives neutralized the noxious properties of the fruit; which, from the large heaps in their camps, seemed to form no small portion of their food. the fruit appeared either to have been soaked, or roasted and broken, to obtain the kernels; for which purpose we invariably found large flat stones and pebbles to pound them with. i supposed that they washed out the sweet mealy matter contained between the stringy fibres, and that they drank the liquid, as they do with the honey; and that their large koolimans which we had occasionally seen, were used for the purpose. i, consequently, gathered some very ripe fruit, scraped the soft part with a knife, and washed it until all the sweet substance was out, and then boiled it; by which process it lost almost all its sharpness, had a very pleasant taste, and, taken in moderate quantities, did not affect the bowels. the fruit should be so ripe as to be ready to drop from the tree. sept. .--we travelled about ten miles n. degrees w., through a succession of tea-tree and cypress pine thickets of the worst description, interrupted by three creeks, the first dry, the second with pools of brackish water, and the third with chains of nymphaea ponds within and parallel to its bed. we came at last to the steep banks of a salt-water creek densely covered with cypress pine scrub, and followed it for several miles up to its head, when two kites betrayed to us a fine lagoon, surrounded with polygonums and good pasture. the natives were either able to drink very brackish water, or they carried the necessary supply of fresh water to these pandanus groves, at which they had evidently remained a long time to gather the fruit. sept. .--we travelled three or four miles north-west, through a tea-tree forest, when the country opened, and a broad salt-water river intercepted our course. it came from w.s.w., and went to e.n.e. we proceeded eight or ten miles along its banks before we came to fresh water. in its immediate neighbourhood, the country was beautifully grassed, and openly timbered with bloodwood, stringy-bark, the leguminous ironbark, and the white-barked tree of the abel tasman. over the short space of eight miles we saw at least one hundred emus, in flocks of three, five, ten, and even more, at a time: they had been attracted here by the young herbage. we killed seven of them, but they were not fat, and none seemed more than a year old. the extraordinary success induced me to call this river, the "seven emu river." by following a track of the natives, i found a fine well in the bed of the river, under the banks; the water was almost perfectly fresh; and that of the river was only slightly brackish. a fishing weir crossed the stream, where it was about twenty yards broad, and from two to three feet deep. we were occupied to a late hour of the night in cutting up our emus. i had intended to stop the next day, but, as our camp in the bed of the river was surrounded by a thick underwood; as the dew was very heavy, the water brackish, and the young feed dangerous for our cattle, which had fed so long on dry grass, i thought it prudent to continue my journey. the longitude of this river, according to my daily distances, was degrees minutes. sept. .--we travelled about fifteen miles n. degrees w., passing for the first eight miles over a very fine available country, but without meeting with water, or even with a watercourse. beyond that, however, the country became more undulating, and we crossed, for about four miles, a most wretched sandstone scrub. here we saw some natives, but they avoided us. the scrub opened upon fine box flats, with numerous shallow watercourses; farther on, they were interrupted by scrubby or thickly timbered elevations, on which we met with some cycas palms from thirty to fifty feet high, thick at the butt, and tapering gradually towards the crown. at one of the shallow creeks, which suddenly became rocky, and probably formed falls and rapids in the wet season, we struck upon a well beaten foot-path of the natives, which led us through cypress pine thickets, and over open lawns to a creek, whose right bank was covered with cycas groves of the most strikingly picturesque appearance; and here i observed that the cycas, although it generally has a simple stem, frequently grew with two or three arms. the foot-path went up the creek: lower down, i found broad, deep, but dry water-holes; and, still lower, salicornia indicated the approach to the salt water. the foot-path conducted us from one zamia grove to another, which alternated with fine forest composed principally of white-gum, the fresh green foliage of which was extremely pleasing to the eye. i observed some large wells, ten or twelve feet deep, and eight or ten in diameter, which the natives had dug near the zamia groves, but they were without the slightest indication of moisture. i continued to follow the path for five miles, until i came to a broad-leaved tea-tree forest. the sun was then low, and my companions far behind: i, therefore, returned to ascertain the cause of their delay; and found that our old bullock had refused to carry his pack, and it had been put on a horse; but that, even then, the poor beast was scarcely able to crawl before us. his weakness had been occasioned by a diarrhoea brought on by the green feed and the brackish water at seven emu river; and i congratulated myself on not having remained there longer, as probably all my bullocks would have been equally affected. we encamped without water, hobbled our horses, and watched the bullocks, which were all very tired and little inclined to feed during the greater part of the night. our emu meat became tainted, in consequence of the heat and the long stage. sept. .--we continued our course n. degrees w. and, at the end of two miles, came to another foot-path of the natives, which i requested charley to follow. we passed through tea-tree forest, and a succession of cycas groves, and came out into plains, and to the heads of sandy creeks with tea-tree shrubs and salicornia. we were just turning to the westward, expecting to find a large salt-water river before us, when we heard charley's gun, the signal of his having found water. he soon after joined us, and guided us on the foot-path, three miles south-west, to a large well, near a much frequented camping place of the natives, under the banks of a magnificent salt-water river. its banks were covered with a close forest of cycas palms. the well was formed by the natives, who had raised a wall of clay, by which they caught the fresh water which sparingly oozed out of a layer of clay very little above the mark of high water. we unloaded our bullocks: but, having watered our horses, we found that the supply of the well was not even sufficient for them, and that it was filling very slowly. the poor bullocks had, therefore, to wait until the water could again collect. we had fairly to defend it against our horses, which eagerly pressed towards the water, or stood anxiously waiting on the steep slopes, like cats and dogs round a dog's meat cart, now and then uttering a neigh of discontent. when charley first discovered the well, he saw a crocodile leaning its long head over the clay wall, enjoying a drink of fresh water. the river or creek at which we encamped, and which i called "cycas creek," at two miles lower down, entered a still larger river coming from the westward, which i called the "robinson," in acknowledgment of the liberal support which i received from j. p. robinson, esq., in the outfit of my expedition. charley saw a shoal of porpoises in it when he went down the river to fetch the horses. wishing to ascertain how far the salt water extended, and whether any fresh water lagoons were near us, i took charley, and followed a foot-path of the natives which led up cycas creek, and passed a succession of cycas groves, of tea-tree forest with bloodwood and white-gum, and some cypress pine thickets. after seven miles, the salt water ceased, and a ledge of rock separated it from a fine pool of slightly brackish water, on which some natives were encamped, but they left the place directly we made our appearance. i crossed, and found on the left side a fine rocky lagoon, above the level of the water in the creek. after paying a visit to the deserted camp, we returned to our companions, made our dinner on tainted emu meat, reloaded our bullocks and horses, and travelled by moonlight up to the lagoon. about three miles before we reached it, we were obliged to leave our old bullock, as he refused to walk any farther: but mr. calvert and brown brought him next morning to the camp. as we passed the cycas groves, some of the dry fruit was found and tasted by several of my companions, upon whom it acted like a strong emetic, resembling in this particular the fruit of zamia spiralis, (r. br.) of new south wales. the natives, at this season, seemed to live principally on the seeds of pandanus spiralis, (r. br.) and cycas; but both evidently required much preparation to destroy their deleterious properties. at the deserted camp of the natives, which i visited yesterday, i saw half a cone of the pandanus covered up in hot ashes, large vessels (koolimans) filled with water in which roasted seed-vessels were soaking; seed-vessels which had been soaked, were roasting on the coals, and large quantities of them broken on stones, and deprived of their seeds. this seems to show that, in preparing the fruit, when ripe, for use, it is first baked in hot ashes, then soaked in water to obtain the sweet substance contained between its fibres, after which it is put on the coals and roasted to render it brittle when it is broken to obtain the kernels. i also observed that seeds of cycas were cut into very thin slices, about the size of a shilling, and these were spread out carefully on the ground to dry, after which, (as i saw in another camp a few days later) it seemed that the dry slices are put for several days in water, and, after a good soaking, are closely tied up in tea-tree bark to undergo a peculiar process of fermentation. the cycas disappeared where the fresh water commenced; and it seemed to be confined to the sandy soil near the salt water. sept. .--i stopped at cycas creek, to allow our old bullock to recover, as it was easier for us to drive him than to carry his meat, heavily laden as our other bullocks were. the emu meat became so tainted that it affected our bowels, and i had consequently to reserve it for the dog. as the nutritious qualities of our meat decreased, i had increased the daily allowance from five pounds to seven; allowing two pounds and a half for breakfast, the same quantity for luncheon, and two pounds for dinner. mr. roper had slowly recovered, but sufficiently to mount his horse without assistance. we were sadly distressed for want of clothing. the few shirts which we had taken with us, became so worn and threadbare, that the slightest tension would tear them. to find materials for mending the body, we had to cut off the sleeves, and, when these were used, pieces were taken from the lower part of the shirt to mend the upper. our trowsers became equally patched: and the want of soap prevented us from washing them clean. we had, however, saved our shoes so well, by wearing mocassins while travelling along the eastern coast, that every one was well provided, particularly after the death of mr. gilbert, whose stock of clothes i divided among my companions. sept. .--i went with charley to reconnoitre the country between cycas creek and the robinson. a foot-path led us from one to the other, passing through a series of cycas groves, box and tea-tree forest, and thickets of tea-tree and cypress pine. the latter covered long tracts near the robinson, and frequently attained a large size. the river was about two hundred yards broad, with sleep banks intersected by deep gullies. two tea-tree creeks, which entered it at the point where our examination stopped, contained fresh water in the upper part of their short courses. we crossed the river by a rocky bar, and, below it, was another, on which the natives had erected a rude wall of stone, for catching fish. the upper bar was not covered even by the tide; but, above it, the water although very bitter, was not salt. we found here the carcase of a crocodile; and the skull of another was found near our camp at cycas creek. after crossing the river, we followed down its left bank to the lower ford, in order to find some fresh water, and at last came to a small tea-tree gully with two pools of water, near which some natives were encamped; there were, however, only two very old men in the camp at the time, who, on seeing us, began to chaunt their incantations. we were too anxious to examine the water to stand upon ceremony, and, when they saw us approach, they retired across the river to their friends, who were probably occupied at no great distance in collecting the seeds of pandanus and cycas. in the camp, we observed cycas seeds sliced and drying on the ground; and some pandanus seeds soaking in large vessels; emu bones were lying in the ashes, and the feet of the emu were rolled up and concealed between the tea-tree bark of the hut. a small packet contained red ochre to colour their bodies, and larger packets contained soaked cycas seeds, which seemed to be undergoing fermentation. they were of a mealy substance, and harmless; but had a musty taste and smell, resembling that of the common german cheese. there was also a very large stone tomahawk made of greenstone; and some fans of emu feathers. in returning, we chased and shot an emu. sept. .--we moved our camp to the water-holes at the left bank of the robinson, about six miles and a half west by north, from the head of the salt-water in cycas creek. the longitude of the robinson is, according to my reckoning, degrees minutes. on our way we again met the natives, men, women, and children, who ran away screaming loudly. i visited their camp again, and found that they had been there to fetch the emu feet; but had left all the other things behind. i went with brown to examine the country before us. the first three or four miles lay through an open well-grassed forest and over some small plains, on which we gave an unsuccessful chase to three emus. the cycas disappeared as we receded from the river. we passed a small scrubby creek, and a long tract of stringy-bark forest, mixed with bloodwood and pandanus, and patches of cypress pine. here we again observed the gum-tree with orange blossoms and large ribbed seed-vessels, which we found at the upper lynd, and had called melaleuca gum. sterculia was frequent, and we collected a great quantity of its ripe seeds. we passed several dry swamps, surrounded with tea-tree thickets, and heaps of fresh water mussel shells. a rich iron-stone rock cropped out frequently; its surface had the appearance of having been netted. in a tract of broad-leaved tea-tree forest, we came to a watercourse, which led us to a fine creek surrounded with pandanus and drooping tea-trees, and containing a chain of deep water-holes in its bed. its course was from west to east. sept. .--we removed our camp to the creek i had found last night, about nine miles north-west from the robinson. on our way, we saw two flocks of emus, and spring caught one of the birds. according to charley, who is a native of bathurst, the emus of this part of the country are much smaller than those of his country, which frequently yield from two to three gallons of oil; but very few of the gulf emus contained fat enough to fry their own liver; and their skin was as dry as that of the native dog. a similar difference has been observed in the bustard, which, at the gulf, rarely weighed more than three pounds and a half; whereas individuals of twenty and twenty-eight pounds weight have been shot to the southward. i succeeded here in cooking the seeds of sterculia, which had recently been gathered; first by separating them from their prickly husks, and roasting them slightly, and then pounding and boiling them for a short time. they produced not only a good beverage with an agreeable flavour, but ate well and appeared to be very nourishing. they contained a great quantity of oil. brown caught an agama, of a light yellowish colour, about a foot long. the nights had been generally cloudy, with the exception of the last, which was clear with heavy dew. the days were very hot before the setting in of the sea breeze, which now generally took place at half past eleven. but the refreshing breeze was little felt in the close stringy-bark forest, which, with the dust rising under our bullocks' feet, rendered the heat almost suffocating. sept. .--our journey to-day was in a n. degrees w. direction for about eleven miles, through stringy-bark forest, in which the melaleuca and the cypress pine were either scattered, or formed small patches of forest. we then crossed a shallow sandy creek surrounded with thickets of cypress pine; passed some broad-leaved tea-tree forest, and came to a fine open country timbered with tea-tree, and, farther on, with box and white gum. after fifteen miles, our course was intercepted by the largest salt-water river we had yet seen, and we turned at once to the w.s.w. in order to head it. deep hollows surrounded by tea-trees, but quite dry, extended parallel to the river. we observed several islands in the river; and it was joined by some deep creeks filled with salt water at their lower parts, but dry higher up. the whole country was equally open and well grassed. the leguminous ironbark, the white-barked tree of the abel tasman, the fig tree, and sterculia in fruit, grew in the forest; and the white water-gum in the hollows, the drooping tea-tree at the level of the freshes, and a species of salt-water casuarina below it. i called this river the "macarthur," in acknowledgment of the liberal support my expedition received from messrs. james and william macarthur of cambden. when we were passing through the stringy-bark forest, about four or five miles from the camp of the th, we heard the calls of some natives behind us, and i stopped our train to ascertain what they wanted: they were soon perceived running after us, and, when they were sufficiently near, i dismounted and advanced slowly to have a parley, and was met by an old man with three or four young fellows behind him. as soon as he saw that i intended to make him a present, he prepared one in return; and when i gave him some rings and buckles, he presented me with some of the ornaments he wore on his person. as our confidence in each other was thus established, some of my companions and several others of the natives came up, and we exchanged presents in a very amicable manner. they were all well made, good looking men; and one young man, whose body was coloured red, was even handsome, although his expression was somewhat wild and excited. all of them seemed to have been circumcised. charley told me afterwards, that, at my first approach, some of them held their bommerangs ready to throw, but i do not think that it was more than a simple attitude of defence, in case i should have proved the aggressor. on my inquiring about water, they pointed in the direction which we were going, and seemed to say, "it is far, but it is large; baco! baco! umara!" they frequently repeated with emphasis. john also told me that an old man had made signs of a large water, but not fit to drink, and was very anxious for us to change our course, mr. roper had understood the same. but, as long as we were ignorant what was before us, the pantomime and words of the natives enabled us to form but very vague and hopeless guesses. it was easy to understand them, when we knew the reality. these natives must have had some intercourse with white men, or malays, for they knew the use of a knife, and valued it so highly, that one of them offered a gin for one. they appeared equally acquainted with the use of our fire-arms. no doubt they had seen the malays, and probably some had accompanied them to the islands; as it is a common custom of the malays to take natives home with them, that they may become friendly to them when fishing for trepang at this part of the gulf. as the stage lengthened, our old bullock began to lag behind, and at last lay down incapable of walking any farther. in the hope of finding water, i continued my journey until the decline of day compelled me to encamp. we watched our bullocks as usual during the night, and i was distressed to find that another of them, a young but heavy beast, had suffered so much, that i feared he would soon have to be slaughtered, and the number of our pack bullocks be again reduced. sept. .--i sent mr. calvert and charley back to fetch the bullock, whilst we continued our journey up the river. the country maintained the same character, being open and well-grassed. at the end of about seven miles, we came to a range of sandstone hills with horizontal strata, deeply fissured and worn by the waters and the atmosphere. a creek at the northern side of the range was dry; but, at its southern foot, there was another, which contained several small pools and two deep rocky basins with an ample supply of water. here, therefore, we encamped to wait for our old bullock, which i now resolved to kill; being well aware that he would be a constant drawback to our progress. wallabies were exceedingly numerous, and their tracks as broad as the foot-paths of the natives. our lat. was degrees minutes seconds; long. according to reckoning, degrees minutes. mr. calvert and charley had succeeded in driving our bullock to within about three miles of our camp, where he had again lain down. as soon as the moon rose, i went with charley to bring him on; but when we came to the place where they had left him, he was gone. it was impossible even for charley to track him in the uncertain moonlight; and, as the night was very cold and foggy along the flats and hollows of the river, we made a fire, to wait for daylight. by a most unfortunate accident, my hat caught fire, and was consumed in an instant; it was a great loss to me in such a climate, and under daily exposure to a most powerful sun. i had to make shift with a small bag made of strong canvass, the long end of which i turned over my face to shade it. when the sun rose, we resumed our search, and succeeded in finding the poor beast, after tracking him for six miles across the country; he had evidently rambled in search of water, and had generally been attracted by shady hollows, in which any one would have reasonably expected to find it. he had, however, been completely unsuccessful; the hollows appeared to have been dry for a very long time; he travelled tolerably well to our camp, where he was immediately killed, skinned, quartered, and cut up. his meat was not quite so flaccid and watery as that of our last bullock; but it was by no means good. he was an old, and a heavy beast, and the experience we had of him strongly corroborates my observations, that such beasts can neither bear the fatigues of a long journey, nor travel with a load, unless regularly well fed and watered. on this occasion we made a grand discovery, of which we afterwards profited greatly. a portion of the skin of the bullock was dried, and a certain quantity was added to our soup at night; which we soon found to be not only a great improvement, but to be in itself much preferable to the tasteless meat of our knocked-up bullocks. the stomach was also made use of on this occasion, as our useful dog, spring, was well provided with emu meat. we had our last pot of tea on the nd, and we were now fairly put on dry beef and water. by a mere accident, we discovered a remarkable medicinal property of the glutinous secretion of the seed-vessels of a drooping grevillea. john murphy, having no pockets in his trowsers, put the seeds which he found during the stage into his bosom, close to the skin, where he had already deposited a great number of sterculia, and was much inconvenienced by the starry prickles which surround the seeds. afterwards, finding the drooping grevillea in fruit, he gathered some capsules and placed them as before stated. upon arriving at the camp, he felt great pain; and, on examining the place, he saw, to his greatest horror, that the whole of the skin of the epigastric region was coloured black, and raised into a great number of painful blisters. upon his showing it to me, i thought that it was caused by the sterculia prickles having irritated the skin, and rendered it more sensitive to the sharp properties of the exudation of the seed-vessels of grevillea. brown, however, merely touched the skin of his arm with the matter, when blisters immediately rose; showing clearly its properties. the discoloration of the skin was like the effects of nitrate of silver. sept. .--when charley returned with the horses from a higher part of the river, he told us that he had seen so many wallabies and such numerous tracks of emus and crocodiles, that i sent john and brown to procure some game. they returned with only a red wallabi (halmaturus agilis) and a spoonbill. according to their account, the river enlarged into an immense sandy bed, like that of the lynd, and was covered with trees and shrubs, very much resembling those of that river. its course was from the westward; and in that direction large plains extended. they had seen three crocodiles, one of which lay in the shade of a sarcocephalus tree. the bean of the mackenzie grew plentifully along the river, and was covered with ripe seeds. in the morning of the th, i sent john and brown to collect as many of them as they could, for coffee; whilst i and charley went to reconnoitre the country for water. a w.n.w. course brought us so much into sandstone ranges, gullies, and heads of creeks, that we turned to the northward, until we came again into the open box and tea-tree forest, mixed with bloodwood and gum. about four miles from the camp, we found water-holes supplied by springs, and which had just been left by the natives, who were busy in burning the grass along the ridges, and on the fine intervening flats. it was here that i again met with a species of banksia, on the sandy flats immediately below the sandstone ranges, which was either a variety of b. integrifolia, or a species very nearly allied to it. we found it afterwards all over arnheim's land, especially on the table land and on the rocky heads of the south alligator river, where it grew on sandy flats surrounding the rocks, and particularly round sandy swamps. the cypress-pine and pandanus were frequent, but sterculia was rare. we remarked that the little finches generally anticipated us in the harvest of the ripe fruit of the latter. about eight miles from the springs, after crossing a great number of small dry sandy watercourses, we came to a fine creek with two large nymphaea ponds. on our return, we ran down an emu, the stomach of which was full of the fruit of the little severn tree. the meat of the whole body was so exceedingly bitter, that i could scarcely eat it. brown and john had returned with a good supply of beans, and of the large eatable roots of a convolvolus growing on the plains. the former allowed us again a pot of coffee at luncheon for the next three weeks. this coffee had at first a relaxing effect, but we soon became accustomed to it, and enjoyed it even to the grounds themselves. sept. .--we removed our camp to the water-holes i had found the day before. we crossed the river at the head of the salt water, where the shallow stream of fresh water was about fifteen yards broad. sandstone ridges were all round our last camp, and on the opposite side of the river, where it was joined by a deep pandanus creek. john murphy told me that he shot a fish at the crossing place, which had the first ray of the dorsal fin very much prolonged, like one of the fresh-water fishes of darling downs; they had been in such a hurry to roast it, that i had no chance of examining it. the day was exceedingly hot, particularly from to o'clock, when the strong sea breeze set in from the north-east. sept. .--i went with brown to reconnoitre the country to the north-west. about a mile from the camp, we crossed a fine creek with a chain of ponds and a tiny stream densely fringed with pandanus. to the north-west of it, we rode through a succession of scrubby and open stringy-bark forest of tea-tree flats and thickets, and over long tracts of stringy-bark saplings which had been recently burned. the melaleuca gum was very frequent in the stringy-bark forest: the cypress-pine formed either small thickets or occurred scattered. sterculia, which at the time was particularly valuable to us, was rare. red ironstone cropped out every where, and formed large shallow basins, surrounded by tea-tree thickets; like those swamps i have mentioned on several occasions. about eight miles from the camp, we crossed a good sized waterless creek, with drooping tea-trees, and groves of pandanus; and about three miles farther, came to a large creek with some very long water-holes, which were all stocked with small fish. on our return, it became so dark that we missed our tracks; and, by keeping too much to the eastward, we came to a very wild rocky country, in which the large pandanus creek, as well as that on which we were encamped, changed their character so much that we crossed without recognising them. we encamped out, and the next morning, the th, we changed our course to the southward, which brought us to a little hill we had passed two days before, and which brown immediately recognised: thus affording another instance of the quickness of his eye, and of his wonderful memory for localities. we returned on our former bullock tracks to the camp; and having taken some breakfast, and loaded our bullocks, we immediately started for the water-holes, which were situated about eleven miles to the north-west, in lat. degrees minutes seconds. sept. .--i reconnoitered with charley in a north by west course, and travelled through a most wretched country. cypress-pine thickets alternated with scrubby stringy-bark forest, acacia and tea-tree thickets, and with broad tea-tree forest. the bossiaea with broad leafless stem, was one of the principal components of the scrub. about eight miles from our camp, we crossed a small creek with good water-holes; and at four miles and a half further, came to a river with several channels, separated by high and irregular bergues, with a sandy bed containing large pools of water surrounded with water pandanus and drooping tea-trees. acacia neurocarpa, and a species of cassia, which we had observed since leaving seven emu river, grew on the sands. after giving our horses a short rest, during which we refreshed ourselves with a pot of sterculia coffee, we returned towards our camp; but, wishing to find a more open road, kept more to the eastward, and came sooner than i expected to sterculia creek: which name i had given to the creek on which we were encamped, in reference to the groves of sterculias of both species, rose-coloured as well as heterophylla, which grow on its banks. we followed it up for seven miles, when the setting sun, and our great fatigue, induced us to stop. the creek changed its character every quarter of a mile, forming now a broad sandy or pebbly bed, then a narrow channel between steep banks; and again several channels, either with fine water-holes, or almost entirely filled up and over-grown with a scanty vegetation. on the banks, thickets alternated with scrubs and open country, and, lower down, the country became very fine and open. early in the morning of the th, we started again, and arrived at the camp after a long ride, both hungry and tired. chapter xiii cape maria--obliged to leave a portion of our collection of natural history--limmen bight river--habits of water birds--native fish trap--the four archers--the wickham--the dog dies--immense number of ducks and geese--the roper--three horses drowned--obliged to leave a portion of my botanical collection--more intercourse with frienldy natives, circumcised--hodgson's creek--the wilton--another horse drowned--anxiety about our cattle--an attack on the camp frustrated--boils--basalt again--injurious effects of the seeds of an acacia. oct. .--the camp was moved forward to the river we had found on the th, about thirteen miles north by west from our camp at sterculia creek. about a mile from the river, we passed a large swampy lagoon, round which the natives had burned the grass. several flocks of whistling ducks (leptotarsis eytoni, gould) and many black ibises were here. we heard the call of the "glucking bird" every night during the last fortnight, particularly from about to o'clock a.m. i called this river the "red kangaroo river;" for, in approaching it, we first saw the red forester of port essington (osphanter antilopinus, gould). the longitude, according to my reckoning, was degrees. oct. .--we travelled about eleven miles north by west, to lat. degrees minutes seconds, over an undulating country, if possible even worse than that of the last two stages. low sandy rises were covered with stringy-bark trees and saplings, and the depressions were either thickly beset with different species of acacia, of pultanaea, of the broad-stemmed bossiaea, or formed shallow basins of red ironstone covered and surrounded with tea-tree scrub. on the higher elevations, the cypress-pine thickets proved even worse than the scrub. we crossed only one sandy little creek, and came, at the end of the stage, to the head of a small pandanus creek, which improved rapidly, and, a little way down, contained fine nymphaea ponds. charley went still farther down, and, in an old camp of the natives, found cythereas and the head of a crocodile. it was during this stage, and among the scrub and underwood of the sandy hills, that we first met with grevillea pungens (r. br.), a shrub from two to five feet high, with pale-green pinnatifid pungent leaves, and racemes of red flowers. flagellaria indica, l. was very abundant near the creek; and our bullocks fed heartily upon it: particularly in this most wretched country, where the grass was scanty and hard. although the days were exceedingly hot, the air immediately before and after sunrise was most agreeable. oct. .--we travelled about six miles and a half north by west, over a country equally scrubby as that of the preceding stage. the saplings had been killed by a bush fire, and a hurricane, which must have swept over the country some years ago, had broken and uprooted the larger trees, which lay all to the west and north-west. since then, saplings had sprung up, and, with the remains of the old trees, formed a most impervious scrubby thicket, through which we could move but very slowly. about a mile from our camp, we crossed a salt-water creek nine or ten yards broad. there was some vine brush, with plenty of flagellarias, growing along its banks. a little farther, we crossed a freshwater creek, which was larger than the preceding. both appeared to come from some conspicuous ranges, about six or eight miles to the westward. about five miles farther, we encamped on a sandy creek with fine pools of water. oct. .--we were obliged to remain here, as the horses, not finding sufficient food in the neighbourhood of the camp, had strayed so far through the scrub, that they were not found before o'clock in the afternoon, when it was too late to proceed. oct. .--we continued our course north by west, through a similar wretched country, and, at the end of about six miles, came to some hills, on the north side of a broad sandy creek, from which we distinguished the white sands of the sea coast, and the white crest of breakers rolling towards the land. in the bed of the creek as well as on its banks, the back bones of cuttle-fish were numerous. charley and john went down to the beach, and brought back several living salt-water shells. i proceeded up the creek in a south-west direction, and came, at about three miles, to some pools of good water, with a tolerable supply of young feed. the range we had seen yesterday, was still about eight or ten miles distant, tending from s.s.e. to n.n.w.; it was steep and naked, and was composed of a white rock which proved to be a baked sandstone, nearly resembling quartzite in its homogeneous texture. oct. .--one of our bullocks had become so weak that he was unable to carry his load; it was, therefore, put on one of our spare horses, which were still in excellent condition. i steered for one of the detached mountains at the northern end of the range, and travelled about twelve miles north-west, before we came to its foot. we had, however, to leave our bullock on the way, as the difficult nature of the country and diarrhoea together had completely exhausted him. scrub and dense underwood continued over a rather undulating country to the foot of the range, which was itself covered with open forest. we passed through a gap between the last two hills of the range, and charley and brown, whom i had sent forward in different directions, and who had both been on the highest hill, stated that they had distinctly seen an island in the sea; which could be no other than that marked cape maria in arrowsmith's map. they had also seen a large river to the northward, coming from the west; and clearly distinguished large sandy plains extending along it as far as the eye could reach. at the west side of the range, we soon came to a small salt-water creek with small sandy and sometimes boggy salicornia plains, surrounded with the scrubby salt-water tea-tree, which possessed an odour very much resembling that of a blackfellow. we proceeded about six miles to the southward, when the country became more open, with an abundance of fine young feed for our horses and cattle. the water was slightly brackish, and, strange enough, it became more so the higher we went up the creek. whilst we were at our last camp, charley met a long file of native women returning, with their dillies and baskets full of shell fish, to the range; near which, very probably, fresh water existed. we saw their numerous tracks, and a footpath leading to the river; and heard their cooees round our present camp, which may have interfered with one of their camping places. our lat. was degrees minutes. oct. .--john and charley went back to fetch the bullock, and, in the mean time, i occupied myself in examining our packs, in order to dispense with such things as were least necessary; for, with an additional weight of pounds of dried meat and hide, our pack bullocks were overloaded, and it was now imperative upon me to travel as lightly as possible. thus i parted with my paper for drying plants, with my specimens of wood, with a small collection of rocks, made by mr. gilbert, and with all the duplicates of our zoological specimens. necessity alone, which compelled me to take this step, reconciled me to the loss. our bullock came in during the afternoon, and was immediately killed, skinned, and quartered. oct. .--we cut the meat into slices, and put them out to dry. oct. .--i went with brown to examine the country along the river, which i called "limmen bight river;" from its disemboguing into limmen bight. charley had been at the upper part of the creek on which we were encamped, and found it running and fresh; which made me believe, that those pools of very brackish water we had previously seen, belonged to a different watercourse. i rode with brown to the westward, over a succession of ironstone ridges covered with stringy-bark scrub. these ridges formed steep headlands into the broad flat valley of the river. along the valley, bare sandy and boggy plains alternated with tea-tree thickets and mangrove swamps, in one of which our horses got deeply bogged. after five miles we came on a large piece of salt water, which, according to brown, was a tributary creek of the river. it flowed between low banks fringed with tea-trees. we followed a foot-path of the natives, who seemed very numerous, which led towards another range west by south; and crossed several tea-tree creeks, pandanus groves, and swamps full of a high blady grass. we observed some springs, with but little water however, though densely surrounded with ferns (osmunda). after about seven miles, we were stopped by a fern swamp full of fine box-trees, with a thick jungle of high stiff grasses and ferns (blechnum). a small running creek formed its outlet, and contained a chain of deep ponds covered with nymphaeas, and surrounded with typha (bull-rush), the youngest part of the leaves of which is very tolerable eating. large swarms of ducks (leptotarsis eytoni, gould), rose with their peculiar whistling noise, at our approach. oct. .--i moved my camp to the chain of lagoons, which we found yesterday; and our horses and cattle enjoyed the fine feed. the largest hill of the range to the westward, bore south-west from our camp. a species of hibiscus with large pink flowers, but small insignificant leaves, and another small malvaceous shrub with white flowers grew round the camp. oct. .--last night we saw long flights of geese (anseranas melanoleuca, gould) and swarms of ducks, passing our camp from west to east; which made us very naturally suppose that large lagoons of fresh water existed at the head of the fern swamp, of which our little typha brook formed the outlet. brown and charley were very desirous of getting some of these geese, and concocted a plan either to induce me to follow the brook up, or to stop me altogether. not knowing their intentions, i sent brown after the cattle, and charley to find a crossing place. they met, however, at those supposed lagoons, and amused themselves in shooting geese, and (after having probably enjoyed an off-hand dinner of roasted goose) they returned at o'clock, complaining of course, that the cattle had strayed very far. though i had been very much annoyed by waiting so long, i was pleased in finding that they had shot four geese. in order, however, to show my sable companions that their secret manoeuvres only tended to increase their own labour, i ordered the bullocks to be loaded immediately they arrived, and proceeded to get out of this intricate country as soon as possible. we travelled west by north, over a tolerable open country, leaving the salt-water plains to the right, and crossed several well beaten foot-paths, and a sort of play ground on which the natives seem to have danced and crawled about, as it bore the impressions of both hands and feet. after four miles, we came to a broad salt-water creek, the high banks of which were covered with numerous heaps of cytherea shells, which had lived in the mud of the creek. we followed it up about a mile, when it ended in a hollow coming from the range. after passing this, our course was intercepted by another large creek, which compelled us to go to the south and even to south-east along the western side of the range which we had seen from typha brook. we followed it up about two miles, and found some ponds of slightly brackish water, in which, however, nymphaea grew, and several small freshwater fish lived; and near them the track of a crocodile was observed by charley. open country alternated with thick acacia underwood along this creek, and its grass was still coarse and blady. many gullies came down from the range; which was composed of baked sandstone, with not very distinct stratification, and irregularly broken blocks. at a lagoon which we passed in the commencement of the stage, brown shot three more geese; thus disclosing to us the haunts of those numerous flights we had seen. we roasted four of our geese for dinner, and they formed by far the most delicious dish our expedition had offered: the others were stewed for the next breakfast; and they were equally good: though a whole night's stewing might have robbed them of a little of their rich flavour. we had frequently observed the flight of waterfowl, at the commencement of night, and a little before dawn. at cycas creek, spoonbills, ibises, and whistling ducks came at night fall to the fresh water, and left it in the morning. the geese flew past at night from an open lagoon to the westward, to more confined ponds at the head of the fern swamp to the eastward. it would appear that they prefer a sheltered situation for the night, and large open sheets of water by day. the nights were usually dewy, in consequence of the moist sea breeze, which blew almost the whole day from east and e. n. e., and set in frequently as early as or o'clock. the morning, from about o'clock till the sea breeze set in, was exceedingly hot; but, before sunrise, it was most delightful; the myriads of flies which crowded round us during the day, and the mosquitoes which annoyed us after sunset, were then benumbed; and although the sun rose with the full intensity of its heat, it was not so inconvenient in the early morn as to induce us to look for shade. not a breath was stirring; and the notes of the laughing jackass and some few small birds, alone showed that there were other beings enjoying the beauty of this august solitude. oct. .--we proceeded three or four miles up the creek, and found a crossing at a fishing place of the natives; in an old camping place near this fishery, i saw a long funnel-shaped fish trap, made of the flexible stem of flagellaria. hence we travelled about north-west by west, towards a fine mountain range, which yesterday bore w. n. w. after six miles of undulating scrubby country, and broad-leaved tea-tree forest, we arrived at a creek with a fine pool of water, which, notwithstanding its nymphaeas, charas, and typhas, was slightly brackish and bitter. limnaea, and two species of melania, were found in it; the one species, with a long sharp spire, had been found in a reedy brook, at the upper burdekin. limmen bight river was not half a mile from our camp; and i now hoped that we should soon be out of the system of salt-water creeks joining it from the southward. our lat. was degrees minutes (?) and longitude, according to reckoning, degrees minutes. we had left the stiff grasses of the coast, and the pasture was fast improving. john murphy shot the torres straits pigeon (carpophaga luctuosa, gould) which we had once before observed; but it was exceedingly shy and rare, and only seen in pairs. oct. .--we travelled about sixteen miles to the southward, to lat. degrees minutes seconds, following the river, and heading several salt water creeks, which prolonged our journey very much. stony hills and ranges frequently approached the river, and rendered our travelling difficult and fatiguing. they were composed of baked sandstone, and white and blue indurated clay, the strata of which dipped at a very small angle to the southward, and the strike from east to west. the flats between the ranges, and along the river and creeks, were openly timbered and well grassed; and, at the head of a salt-water creek, we found deep ponds of constant water covered with nymphaeas, and surrounded with typhas and drooping tea-trees. towards the end of the stage, where the high rocky hills formed deep declivities into the river, we had to ascend them, and to travel along their summits. a good sized creek joined the river at their southern slopes, which, though salt below, contained some good pools of fresh water higher up. to the southward of this creek, there were four very remarkable flat-topped cones of sandstone, which appeared like a plateau cut into four detached masses. these i called the "four archers," in honour of my excellent hosts messrs. david, charles, john, and thomas archer of moreton bay. from the eastern one, i enjoyed a fine view, and distinguished distant ranges broken by a gap to the southward, and detached long-stretched ridges to the westward. i went with charley to examine the river, in order to find a fording place, in which we succeeded at about four miles south-west from our camp, in lat. degrees minutes seconds; where a stony bar crossed the salt water, leaving a small channel in which the tide formed a shallow stream. the bed of the river became very broad and sandy, covered with shrubs like those of the lynd and most of the other rivers we had passed. oct. .--we crossed the river, and travelled about ten miles north-west, over a succession of stony ridges, separated by fine open tea-tree and box flats. some fine shallow sandy watercourses, quite dry, went down to the north by east. at the end of the stage, the uniform colour of the country was interrupted by the green line of a river-bed, so pleasing and so refreshing to the eye, with the rich verdure of its drooping tea-trees and myrtles, interspersed with the silver leaves of acacia neurocarpa and grevillea chrysodendron. the river was formed by two broad sandy beds, separated by a high bergue, and was full yards from bank to bank. it contained large detached water-pools fringed with pandanus, which were very probably connected by a stream filtering through the sands, i called it the "wickham," in honour of captain wickham, r.n. of moreton bay, who had recently commanded a survey of the north-west coast of new holland, in h.m.s. beagle. the red wallabi (halmaturus agilis, gould) was very numerous along the gullies of the river: and we started a flock of red foresters (osphranter antilopinus, gould) out of a patch of scrub on the brow of a stony hill. charley and brown, accompanied by spring, pursued them, and killed a fine young male. i had promised my companions that, whenever a kangaroo was caught again, it should be roasted whole, whatever its size might be. we had consequently a roasted red forester for supper, and we never rolled ourselves up in our blankets more satisfied with a repast. brown found a eugenia, with large white blossoms and large coriaceous oblong lanceolate shining leaves; it was a tree of thirty or forty feet high, with a grey bark, and a good hard wood. it was growing at the upper part of the creek on which we were encamped last night. its fruit was two inches in diameter, with longitudinal ribs, scarlet red, and very eatable when dropt from the tree, but when gathered on the tree, it had an aromatic pungency. this tree was very common along the well watered creeks of arnheim's land; particularly along the south alligator river, and at raffles bay. brown brought from the same locality a melastoma, which, according to him, was a shrub, three or four feet high. oct. .--we continued our journey in a north-west direction. the first five or six miles was over a succession of very lightly timbered box-flats, alternating with small plains. they were bounded by scrubs and ranges, which we crossed, and from the top of one obtained the view of a remarkable system of parallel ranges, all steep mountain walls of a white colour indicating the nature of their rock, and separated from each other by perfectly level flats covered with broad leaved tea-tree forest. at their foot a richer tree vegetation existed, principally composed of the leguminous ironbark, blood-wood, and pandanus. the darker verdure of these trees, which we also observed at the foot of the most distant range, made us believe that a river was near it. after travelling about five miles over a flat, we crossed a broad sandy creek, which we did not follow, although beaten foot-paths of the natives led down it, as we firmly believed that a river was before us. at five miles farther, we came to the foot of the range, which rose suddenly from the level country, and, although a small watercourse existed in the tea-tree flat, our anticipated river proved to be like the dutchman's "cape fly-away." in ascending the range, our poor bullocks suffered severely, and, when we reached the summit, they stood panting with their tongues hanging out of their mouths; i therefore halted a short time, to allow them to recover. the east slopes of all these ranges were steep, but to the north-west they were very gentle, and covered with stringy-bark forest. a long succession of similar ranges was seen to the north-west. a small watercourse brought us to a creek containing large but dry water-holes. finding that it turned to the eastward, round the range we had just crossed, and that it almost disappeared in the scrubby tea-tree flats, we turned to the northward, passed several more ridges, and encamped long after sunset, near a dry but promising creek, without water. i immediately sent mr. calvert and charley down the creek, in search of water, and they returned, towards midnight, with the welcome intelligence that they had found some fine pools. i had been absent during the latter part of the stage, and most unfortunately our kangaroo dog had been left behind, whereby this most valuable animal was lost. he had been the means of our obtaining so much, and indeed the greatest part of our game, that his loss was severely felt by us. our lat. was degrees minutes. oct. .--we travelled down to the water, about four miles north-east along the creek, which was covered with cypress pine thickets, and tea-tree scrub. mr. calvert and charley returned on our tracks to endeavour to recover our poor dog. they found him almost dead,--stretched out in the deep cattle track, which he seemed not to have quitted, even to find a shady place. they brought him to the camp; and i put his whole body, with the exception of his head, under water, and bled him; he lived six hours longer, when he began to bark, as if raving, and to move his legs slightly, as dogs do when dreaming. it seemed that he died of inflammation of the brain. if we become naturally fond of animals which share with us the comforts of life, and become the cheerful companions of our leisure hours, our attachment becomes still greater when they not only share in our sufferings, but aid greatly to alleviate them. the little world of animated beings, with which we moved on, was constantly before our eyes; and each individual the constant object of our attention. we became so familiar with every one of them, that the slightest change in their walk, or in their looks was readily observed; and the state of their health anxiously interpreted. every bullock, every horse, had its peculiar character, its well defined individuality, which formed the frequent topic of our conversation, in which we all most willingly joined, because every one was equally interested. my readers will, therefore, easily understand my deep distress when i saw myself, on recent occasions, compelled to kill two of our favourite bullocks long before their time; and when our poor dog died, which we all had fondly hoped to bring to the end of our journey. brown had, either by accident, or influenced by an unconscious feeling of melancholy, fallen into the habit of almost constantly whistling and humming the soldier's death march, which had such a singularly depressing effect on my feelings, that i was frequently constrained to request him to change his tune. oct. .--we travelled about eighteen miles n. n. w. over an undulating country, in which cypress-pine thickets alternated with scrubby stringy-bark forest, and some tea-tree flats. after seven miles, we crossed a large dry creek, which went to the eastward; and, eight miles further, we entered upon a fine box-flat, with hills to the north and north-west. we followed a very promising pandanus creek, in which the presence of typha (flag, or bulrush) and a new species of sesbania indicated the recent presence of water. mr. roper having ascended one of the hills, and seen a green valley with a rich vegetation about three miles to the northward, we in consequence left the creek, which turned to the eastward; and, after passing several miles of most wretched scrub, came into an open country, with scattered groves of trees. as the sun was setting, i resolved upon encamping in an open plain, although without water, except what we carried in our large stew-pot. charley, who had been sent forward, had not yet joined us; i, therefore, ordered two guns to be fired, to let him know where we were; he immediately answered us from a short distance, where he lighted up a cheerful fire. after some time, during which misfortune and carelessness had played us the trick of upsetting our waterpot, charley arrived with the welcome news that he had found some water-holes in a small creek; we therefore, at moonrise, again saddled our tired animals, and repaired thither. the day had been exceedingly hot; but the passing shadows of cumuli which formed in the afternoon, occasionally afforded us a delightful relief. the sea breeze was strong, particularly towards evening; but the dense scrub and forest kept it from us during the day. oct. .--i stopped at the water-holes, to allow our cattle to recover. it was a lovely place. the country around us was very open, and agreeably diversified by small clusters of the raspberry-jam tree. salicornia and binoe's trichinium indicated the neighbourhood of salt water; but the grass was good and mostly young. the creek was shaded by drooping tea-trees and the broad-leaved terminalia, which also grew scattered over the flats. the water-hole on which we were encamped was about four feet deep, and contained a great number of guard-fish, which, in the morning, kept incessantly springing from the water. a small broad fish with sharp belly, and a long ray behind the dorsal fin, was also caught. it was highly amusing to watch the swarms of little finches, of doves, and ptilotis, which came during the heat of the day to drink from our water hole. grallina australis, crows, kites, bronze-winged and harlequin pigeons, (peristera histrionica, gould), the rose cockatoo (cocatua eos), the betshiregah (melopsittacus undulatus), and trichoglossus versicolor, gould, were also visitors to the water-hole, or were seen on the plains. the day was oppressively hot; and neither the drooping tea-trees, nor our blankets, of which we had made a shade, afforded us much relief clouds gathered, however, in the afternoon, and we had a few drops of rain in the course of the night and following morning. charley and john had gone out on horseback to obtain some emus, with which the country seemed to abound; they returned, however, at night, without any emus, but brought in about twenty-two whistling and black ducks, one goose and several waders, which they had obtained at a lagoon which was several miles in length, and varied from to yards in breadth, covered with nymphaeas, and fringed with a dense vegetation; it was surrounded by fine pasture. never, as they described, had they seen so many ducks and geese together; when they rose, their numbers darkened the air, and their noise was deafening. they had observed a wooden post, cut with an iron tomahawk, rammed in the ground and propped with several large stones; which seemed to be the work either of white men or malays. oct. .--we travelled about four miles north degrees west, over plains and an open undulating box and raspberry jam tree country, to the lagoon which my companions had discovered. they had not exaggerated their account, neither of the beauty of the country, nor of the size of the lagoon, nor of the exuberance of animal life on it. it was indeed quite a novel spectacle to us to see such myriads of ducks and geese rise and fly up and down the lagoon, as we travelled along. casuarinas, drooping tea-trees, the mangrove myrtle (stravadium) and raspberry-jam trees, grew either on the flats, or formed open groves along the banks; and polygonums covered the water's edge. when we came to the end of the lagoon, which was bounded on the left by a stony rise of flaggy psammite, i observed a green belt of trees scarcely yards to the northward; and on riding towards it, i found myself on the banks of a large fresh water river from to yards broad, with not very high banks, densely covered with salt water hibiscus (paritium), with a small rubiaceous tree (pavetta?), which filled the air with the jasmine-like fragrance of its blossoms; with flagellaria, water pandanus, and a leguminous climber with bunches of large green blossoms (mucuna?--d.c. pr.). the water was slightly muddy, as if a fresh had come down the river; and the tide rose full three feet. it was the river mr. roper had seen two days before, and i named it after him, as i had promised to do. the country along its left bank was well-grassed and openly timbered with box; hills were on the opposite side. its course was from north-west to south-east; but this seemed to be rather local. natives seemed to be numerous; for their foot-path along the lagoon was well beaten; we passed several of their fisheries, and observed long fishtraps made of flagellaria (rattan). all the cuts on various trees were made with an iron tomahawk. natives, crows, and kites were always the indications of a good country. charley, brown, and john, who had been left at the lagoon to shoot waterfowl, returned with twenty ducks for luncheon, and went out again during the afternoon to procure more for dinner and breakfast. they succeeded in shooting thirty-one ducks and two geese; so that we had fifty-one ducks and two geese for the three meals; and they were all eaten, with the exception of a few bony remains, which some of the party carried to the next camp. if we had had a hundred ducks, they would have been eaten quite as readily, if such an extravagant feast had been permitted. oct. .--we travelled about ten miles n. degrees w. up the river; and i was fortunate enough to determine my latitude by an observation of alpheratz, which cloudy nights had prevented me from obtaining since the th october: it was degrees minutes; my longitude, according to reckoning, was degrees minutes. the river continued equally broad, with a fine open box-tree country on its right, whilst a range of hills with several bluff breaks extended along the left side, interrupted occasionally by some openings of small creeks, and, in one place, by the valley of a small river, which brown saw joining it from the northward. we followed a broad foot-path of the natives, which cut the angles of the river, and passed along several large lagoons at the foot of some low sandstone ridges, that occasionally approached the river, which was joined by some brushy creeks, one of which was of a considerable size. the box-trees were of stunted growth, but the raspberry-jam trees were still abundant and larger than usual. the grass was plentiful, but old and dry. the lagoons were covered with ducks, geese, and pelicans; and native companions were strutting about on the patches of fresh burnt grass. brown pursued two emus, and caught one of them. wallabies were numerous; two bustards, and even a crocodile were seen. a small lizard or newt was observed on the mud between high and low water marks. the green ant of the lynd inhabited the shady trees of the brushy banks; and, in the forest, brick coloured and black ants were numerous and troublesome. a strong easterly wind was blowing during the day, and no cumuli formed. camps of the natives were frequent, and fresh burnings and fresh mussel-shells showed that they had been lately at the lagoons. but, on the river, the camps were older and not so numerous, and no burnings had lately taken place. oct. .--after waiting a very long time for our horses, charley came and brought the dismal tidings that three of the most vigorous of them were drowned, at the junction of the creek with the river. although the banks of the roper were steep and muddy, the large creek we had passed was scarcely two miles distant, and offered an easy approach to the water on a rocky bed. it remained, therefore, inexplicable to us how the accident could have happened. this disastrous event staggered me, and for a moment i turned almost giddy; but there was no help. unable to increase the load of my bullocks, i was obliged to leave that part of my botanical collection which had been carried by one of the horses. the fruit of many a day's work was consigned to the fire; and tears were in my eyes when i saw one of the most interesting results of my expedition vanish into smoke. mr. gilbert's small collection of plants, which i had carefully retained hitherto, shared the same fate. but they were of less value, as they were mostly in a bad state of preservation, from being too much crowded. my collection had the great advantage of being almost complete in blossoms, fruit, and seed, which i was enabled to ensure in consequence of the long duration of our expedition, and of the comparative uniformity of the australian flora. i left the unfortunate place, and travelled about six miles up the river, which kept a w. n. w. course. open box-flats were bounded by ridges two or three miles from the river. at the opposite side, ranges were seen with some rocky bluff hills. charley shot a bustard. oct. .--we travelled about seven miles to the westward, when we came to a broad creek, which compelled us to go five miles to the southward in order to cross it. the country was still a succession of box-flats along the river, with rocky barren ranges in the distance; the latter, however, approached so near the creek, that we found it difficult to pass along. about two miles and a-half from our last camp, we had to cross a running casuarina brook, which, though very small, was so boggy, that two of our horses were again in great danger of being lost. last night we heard the calls of natives at the opposite side of the river. as soon as they saw us, they crossed the river, and came pretty close to us: the discharge of our guns, however, kept them at a distance. several of our party, during their watches saw them moving with fire sticks on the other side of the river. in the morning, three of them came boldly up; so i went to them with some presents, and they became very friendly indeed. presents were exchanged; and they invited us in the most pressing manner to accompany them to their camp; and were evidently disappointed in finding that we could not swim. i gave them horse-nails, and they asked me to bend them into fish-hooks. they had doubtless seen or heard of white people before; but of our horses and bullocks they were much afraid, and asked me whether they could bite: they accompanied me, however, pretty near to the camp; but kept their arms round my waist, to be sure of not being bitten. as we proceeded on our journey, they followed us for a long distance, and offered charley and brown a gin, if we would go to their camp. they were circumcised, and two front teeth had been knocked out; they had horizontal scars on their chests. a great number of flying-foxes (pteropus) were in the river brush, and brown shot three of them. the days were cloudless and very hot; the east wind was strong during the afternoon; the nights very cool and pleasant, but without dew. oct. .--this morning, our sable friends came again to our camp; they made their approach known by a slight whistling. we invited them to come nearer, and many new faces were introduced to us. of three young people, one was called "gnangball," the other "odall," and a boy "nmamball." these three names were given to many others, and probably distinguished three different tribes or families. we gave them sheets of paper on which the figures of kangaroos, emus, and fish were drawn. when we were loading our bullocks, a whole mob came up with great noise; and one of them danced and jumped about with incessant vociferations, flourishing his wommerah, crowned with a tuft of opossum's hair, like a drum-major; i put a broken girth round his waist, which seemed to tranquillize him wonderfully. in drinking water out of my pot, i offered it to my friend; but he hesitated to follow my example, until he applied to an elderly, bearded, serious-looking man, who sipped of it, and then my friend ventured to taste its contents. when we started on our journey they followed us with many remarks for a very long way, until we came again to the river; when their appetites probably compelled them to return to their camp; but not before inviting us to accompany them thither, and giving us to understand that they had plenty to eat. on leaving us, they pointed down the river, and repeated the word "aroma!" "aroma!" about three miles to the westward of our camp, the water ceased, and the creek formed a dry sandy bed, covered with casuarinas; it was joined by two pandanus creeks with steep deep channels, and well provided with water-holes. i had to go down the creek four miles, in order to avoid some steep rocky ranges; but we turned afterwards to the northward, and travelled, over an open well-grassed country, to the river: it was, however, full of melon-holes and very stony. ranges and high rocky ridges were seen in every direction. from one of them a pillar of smoke was rising, like a signal fire. the extensive burnings, and the number of our sable visitors, showed that the country was well inhabited. about four or five miles from the last creek,--which i shall call "hodgson's creek," in honour of pemberton hodgson, esq.--the river divided into two almost equal branches, one coming from the northward, and the other from north-west by west. i named the river from the northward the "wilton," after the rev. mr. wilton of newcastle, who kindly favoured my expedition. its latitude was about degrees minutes. about three miles above the junction of the wilton with the roper, we again encamped on the steep banks of the latter, at a spot which i thought would allow our horses and cattle to approach in safety. one unfortunate animal, however, slipped into the water, and every effort to get him out was made in vain. its constant attempts to scramble up the boggy banks only tired it, and as night advanced, we had to wait until the tide rose again. i watched by him the whole night, and at high water we succeeded in getting him out of the water; but he began to plunge again, and unfortunately broke the tether which had kept his forequarters up, and fell back into the river. at last i found a tolerable landing place about fifty yards higher up; but, as i was swimming with him up to it, and trying to lead him clear of the stumps of trees, he became entangled in the tether rope by which i guided him, rolled over, and was immediately drowned. this reduced our number of horses to nine. when the other horses were brought to the camp, another rushed into the water, but i swam with him at once to the good landing place, and we succeeded in saving him. i. started late on the th oct. and travelled over a country similar to that of our late stages. about a mile up the river, a ledge of rocks crossed the bed, over which a considerable stream formed a small fall and rapids; above this was a fine sheet of water, overhung with shady tea-trees, casuarinas, and pandanus, which made this crossing place extremely lovely. my grief at having lost an excellent horse which i had ridden for the greatest part of the journey, was increased by now knowing that one mile more travelling would have saved him to me. the northern banks of the river were at first open: but they soon became bounded either by isolated, or chains of, rocky hills. these hills separated the valley of the river from an open well grassed, but extremely stony back country; from which creeks carried the water down to the river, through gaps and openings between the hills. to the northward of this back country, other ranges ran parallel to those along the river, from northwest by west to south-east by east, and shorter ranges joined them occasionally. the whole country was composed of sandstone and indurated clay, with very distinct stratification. the layers of clay were white, grey, or slate-coloured; with many shining leaflets of mica. the days were very hot; the east-breeze very strong during the afternoon, and particularly towards sunset; the nights were warm, clear, and without dew. some sheldrakes and wallabies were seen, and a bustard was shot by charley: large fish were splashing in the water. i gathered the large vine-bean, with green blossoms, which had thick pods containing from one to five seeds. its hard covering, by roasting, became very brittle; and i pounded the cotyledons, and boiled them for several hours. this softened them, and made a sort of porridge, which, at all events, was very satisfying. judging by the appearance of large stones which were frequently found, in the camps of the natives, still covered with the mealy particles of some seed which had been pounded upon them, it would seem that the natives used the same bean; but i could not ascertain how they were able to soften them. it did not make good coffee; and, when boiled in an iron pot, the water became very dark. our latitude was degrees seconds. oct. .--we travelled about seven miles northwest to lat. degrees minutes, following the river in its various windings over more than twelve miles. the country was well grassed, and openly timbered with white gum, box, and leguminous ironbark; but occasionally broken by deep gullies, which were fringed with the articulate-podded acacia (inga moniliformis), and the broad-leaved terminalia. several ranges with rocky slopes approached or bounded the river; and three remarkable bluff hills, two on its right, and one on its left side, formed characteristic landmarks. their summits were surrounded by perpendicular precipices, from the foot of which steep rocky, but uniform slopes went down to the level country. thick high reeds covered the approaches of the river, and the lower parts of the gullies; and noble casuarinas rivalled the drooping tea-tree in beauty. grevillea pungens (r. br.) was observed on the hills; it is, therefore, not particular to the coast scrub. a species of native tobacco, with smaller blossoms than that of the hunter, and with its radical leaves spreading close over the ground, was growing on the open spaces round the water-holes. the river was well supplied with long reaches of water connected by a small stream. in the morning, we had a pleasant westerly breeze, which veered to the north-west and northward; the regular sea breeze set in from the northeast in the afternoon; the night was hot and sultry; but the weather during the day was cooler than that we experienced for the last week. the red wallabies were very numerous, particularly in the kind of jungle along the river. sheldrakes and ibises abounded at the water-holes. charley shot two wallabies. oct. .--we enjoyed most gratefully our two wallabies, which were stewed, and to which i had added some green hide to render the broth more substantial. this hide was almost five months old, and had served as a case to my botanical collection, which, unfortunately, i had been compelled to leave behind. it required, however, a little longer stewing than a fresh hide, and was rather tasteless. we accomplished about eight miles in a straight line to the westward, but went over a much greater extent of ground; as i mistook a large though dry creek from the northward for the river, and followed it about four miles; when, finding my mistake, i crossed about four or five miles of rich treeless plains, and reached the river again at the foot of a long high range to the westward. other ranges appeared to the eastward and northward. as we approached the river, we passed some sandstone hills covered with a dense scrub exactly like that of the sea coast south of limmen bight. it was principally composed of several species of acacia of grevillea chrysodendron (r. br.), and of the bossiaea with broad stem. all along the outside of the scrub, we observed old camps of the natives; several of whom were seen crossing the plains. the bed of the river became excessively wild: the pandanus channel was still full of water, and running; but the dry bed was full of rocky water-holes or chains of them, composed of, and scattered over with blocks of sandstone; and overgrown with most magnificent casuarinas, with tea-trees and flooded-gum (or its representative). large camps of the natives were full of the shells of lately roasted mussels (unios), the posterior part of which appeared to be much broader, and more sinuated, than those we had hitherto seen. john and charley found the head of an alligator; and the former caught the broad-scaled fish of the mackenzie (osteoglossum), which weighed four pounds. the mosquitoes, and a little black ant, were very annoying during the warm but slightly dewy night. as we were slowly winding our way among the loose rocks, brown's horse got knocked up, and we were compelled to encamp. after the disasters which had lately befallen us, i became more alive to the chances to which we were exposed, even more so than after mr. gilbert's death; up to which time we had travelled more than a thousand miles, without any great misfortune. at the commencement of our journey, the cooee of my companions, who were driving the bullocks and horses after me, had generally called me back to assist in re-loading one of our restive beasts, or to mend a broken packsaddle, and to look for the scattered straps. this was certainly very disagreeable and fatiguing; but it was rather in consequence of an exuberance of animal spirits, and did not interfere with the hope of a prosperous progress: but, since leaving the seven emu river, these calls invariably acquainted me with the failing strength of our poor brutes; and knowing only too well the state of exhaustion in which they were, i was almost constantly expecting to be reminded of it, as i was riding along, which rendered me extremely nervous and restless. the death of our spare horses did not allow us any more to relieve the others by alternate rests, and we became soon aware of their increasing weakness. this was considerably aggravated by the necessity under which we were of keeping two horses tethered near the camp, not only to facilitate the finding of the others in the morning, but to form a defence against a possible attack of the natives. oct. .--we travelled about seven miles up the river, to lat. degrees minutes in a w.s.w. course: and to long. degrees minutes, according to my reckoning. the range still continued along the right bank of the river; and, at length, when it ceased, another range commenced at the left bank. here the aspect of the country changed very agreeably. fine, well grassed plains of moderate size extended along the river, and between its numerous anabranches: for the river divided into several pandanus channels, either running or with chains of water-holes. these plains were bounded by a range trending east and west, about two or three miles from the left bank of the river. smoke was seen beyond it. mr. roper met and spoke with three natives, who did not appear to be afraid of him. another of our horses became knocked up, and compelled us to encamp very early in the day, and, as they were all much exhausted, i allowed them to feed at large, without taking the usual precaution of keeping two tethered, in the event of being surprised by the natives. that this was intentionally taken advantage of seemed probable; for, after night-fall, at the commencement of charley's watch, four natives sneaked up to the camp, and were preparing to throw their spears, when they were seen by charley, who immediately gave the alarm. we got up instantly, but they had disappeared, and no one but charley saw anything of them. i should have been inclined to consider it a hoax, had i not heard their distant cooees as late as o'clock, when i silenced them by the discharge of a gun. oct. .--we travelled ten miles in a north-west direction, to lat. degrees minutes. when we had followed the green belt of the river near four miles, charley, who had been sent to shoot some ducks, returned, and reported that we were near the head of the river; and that he had discovered water bubbling out of the ground at the foot of a slight rise. we now followed the direction of some smoke which rose behind a large mountain; passing on our way, over an undulating country clothed with a forest of the broad-leaved tea-tree; and a scrubby flat with large melon-holes fringed with raspberry-jam trees; and through a gap between two high ranges, in which there was a small dry creek that turned to the north-east. from a large polygonum water-hole which had recently become dry, a swarm of whistling ducks rose, probably scared by our approach. two bustards were also seen. about three miles farther, we came to a good-sized creek, up which we proceeded until we found a small pool of water, which, after some digging, gave us a good supply. charley had found a fine pool about four miles higher up. at this time, i was suffering from a great irritability of the skin, and was covered all over with a prickly heat; the slightest pressure or rubbing produced inflammation and boils, particularly about the knees: and mr. phillips suffered in the same way, at the arm and elbow. mr. gilbert had been subject to these boils when we were travelling at peak range, and along the isaacs; but, since that time until now, none of the party had been inconvenienced by them. oct. .--we travelled about twelve miles n.n.w., and followed the creek about four miles, to allow our cattle and horses to drink freely at the water-hole discovered by charley the day before. we passed some plains, and through a broad-leaved tea-tree forest, and then skirted a thick scrub, which covered the approaches of a range. after seven miles travelling, we came to an immense flat lightly timbered with box and broad-leaved tea-tree, and surrounded on every side, except the s.s.e., by high ranges, protruding like headlands into the plain. upon passing them afterwards, i found them to form undulating chains of baked sandstone hills. we crossed several small watercourses going to the north-east and east, and came to a considerable creek, near which basalt cropped out. this was the first igneous rock of more recent date, that we had met with since leaving separation creek, and the upper lynd. even my blackfellows recognized at once the rock of darling downs; and we hailed it as the harbinger of western waters. the whole country up the creek had been lately burned, which induced me to follow it towards its head, in hope of finding the place where the natives had procured water. the bed was filled with basaltic boulders, as were also its dry holes, from one of which the grallina australis rose, and for the first time deceived our expectations. in a wider part of the valley, i observed wells of the natives dug in the creek, which we enlarged in the hope of their yielding a sufficient supply of water; but in this we were mistaken, as barely enough was obtained to quench our own thirst. charley, however, in a search up the creek, and after a long ramble, found a small pond and a spring in a narrow mountain gorge, to which he had been guided by a beaten track of wallurus. our horses and bullocks, which were crowding impatiently round the little hole we had dug, were immediately harnessed, and we proceeded about three miles in a north direction to the head of a rocky valley, where our cattle were enabled at least to drink, but all the grass had been consumed by a late bush fire. the acacia of expedition range was plentiful in the large flat and at the wells of the natives, and formed a fine tree: its seeds, however, were shed, and had been roasted by the late bush fire. mr. phillips (who was always desirous of discovering substitutes for coffee, and to whom we owed the use of the river-bean of the mackenzie) collected these seeds, and pounded and boiled them, and gave me the fluid to taste, which i found so peculiarly bitter that i cautioned him against drinking it; his natural desire, however, for warm beverage, which had been increased by a whole day's travelling, induced him to swallow about a pint of it, which made him very sick, and produced violent vomiting and purging during the whole afternoon and night. the little i had tasted acted on me as a lenient purgative, but mr. calvert, who had taken rather more than i did, felt very sick. the gum of this acacia was slightly acid, and very harmless. oct. .--we travelled about four miles to the n.w. and n.n.w. along the summit of rocky ranges, when a large valley bounded by high ranges to the north and north-west, burst upon us. we descended into it by a steep and rocky basaltic slope, and followed a creek which held a very tortuous course to the south-west; we had travelled along it about seven miles, when charley was attracted by a green belt of trees, and by the late burnings of the natives, and discovered a running rivulet, coming from the n.n.w. it was fringed with pandanus, acacia (inga monilifornis) and with an arborescent vitex, with ternate leaves. the flats were well grassed, and lightly timbered with box and white-gum. on the flat summit of the sandstone ranges, we observed the melaleuca gum, the rusty gum, the mountain acacia, and persoonia falcata, (r. br.) the basaltic rock was apparently confined to the upper part of the valley, where it had broken through the sandstone, which composed all the ranges round our camp, the latitude of which i observed to be degrees minutes seconds. at our last camp, i observed a platycercus, of the size of the moreton bay rosella, with blackfront, yellow shoulders, and sea-green body; the female had not the showy colours of the male, and the young ones were more speckled on the back. i believe it to be the platycercus brownii, gould. a black and white ptilotis, the only stuffed specimen of which was taken by a kite almost out of mr. gilbert's hand, was very frequent at the wells of the natives. during the night, a great number of flying-foxes came to revel in the honey of the blossoms of the gum trees. charley shot three, and we made a late but welcome supper of them. they were not so fat as those we had eaten before, and tasted a little strong; but, in messes made at night, it was always difficult to find out the cause of any particular taste, as master brown wished to get as quickly as possible over his work, and was not over particular in cleaning them. platycercus versicolor (the port essington parrakeet) visited, in large flocks, the blossoms of the gum trees, and was quite as noisy through the day, as the flying-fox was during the night. oct. .--when we were going to start, brown's old horse was absent, and after much searching, the poor brute was found lying at the opposite side of the creek, with its back down the slope, and unable to move. we succeeded in turning him, and helping him to rise, but he was so weak, as to be scarcely able to stand: indeed all our cattle were tired and foot-sore, in consequence of several days travelling over rocky ranges, and required rest. i therefore determined on remaining here a day, as no place could be better suited for their recovery. the grass was young and various, the water delightfully cool, and the scattered trees were large and shady. numerous birds frequented the water; a species of ptilotis, with its cheerful and pleasing note, entertained us at daybreak, as the leatherhead with its constantly changing call and whistling did during the day. dacelo cervina, gould, (the small laughing jackass) was not heard so frequently nor so regularly as its representative of the east coast. i found a species of fern (taeniopsis) along the creek, and a species of mimosa about three feet high had been observed on the plains and the flats of the roper. charley and brown went to shoot flying-foxes, and returned at luncheon with twelve; during the afternoon, they went again and brought in thirty more; having left about fifty hanging, wounded, on the trees. they had been at a large swamp and a pond, connected with the creek, in which charley declared that he had seen a strange animal "with two horns," and which had deterred him from going into the water. as brown, on the following day, saw a crocodile in the same pond, charley's imagination had very probably added two horns to his wonderful animal. chapter xiv interview with a native--distressing heat--a horse staked: it dies--myriads of flying-foxes--magnificent valley--friendly natives--shot exhausted--instinct of bullocks--south alligator river--friendly natives with an english handkerchief, and acquainted with fire-arms--their language--mirage. nov. .--we reached lat. degrees minutes seconds, having travelled about nine miles north-west by north. a range composed of baked sandstone, approached so close to the banks of "flying-fox creek," that we were obliged to cross the range; to the east-ward of which tea-tree flats extended, with many deep but dry water-holes, fringed with fine drooping tea-trees. the country farther on, was well grassed and lightly timbered. winding round isolated ranges on a n.n.w. course, we came again on the pandanus creek, which we followed. this creek was joined by several other sandy creeks, also by dry channels fringed with pandanus, and by chains of water-holes, in which typhas (bullrush) indicated the underground moisture. some long-stretched detached hills were seen to the northward, and a long range to the eastward, trending from south to north. the flat valley between them was scattered over with groves of pandanus. a high stiff grass covered the approaches of the creeks, and long tracts, which had been burnt some time ago, were now covered with delightful verdure. this, with the dark green belt of trees which marked the meanderings of several creeks, gave to this beautiful country the aspect of a large park. i was following one of the sandy creeks, when mr. calvert called my attention to a distant belt of pandanus, which he supposed to be a river; i sent mr. roper to examine it; and, when the discharge of his rifle apprized us that he had met with water, we followed him. it was a broad creek, with a stream about three feet deep, and from seven to ten yards wide, with a firm and sandy bed; its banks were shaded by large gum-trees, and sarcocephalus; and thick reeds, and a stiff blady grass fringed its waters. the frequent smoke which rose from every part of the valley, showed that it was well inhabited. brown met two natives, with their gins and children, but they ran away as soon as they saw him. at sunset, a great number of them had collected near our camp, and set fire to the grass, which illumined the sky, as it spread in every direction. they tried to frighten us, by imitating a howling chorus of native dogs; but withdrew, when they saw it was of no avail; at all events, they left us undisturbed during the night--except by one of their dogs, which had been attracted probably by the scent of our flying-fox supper. john and charley had remained behind to shoot flying-foxes, and they returned at sunset, with twenty-nine; which furnished us with a good breakfast and dinner. the night was clear, and a strong warm breeze set in at a quarter to nine, from the n.n.e. it was as full and steady as those winds we had experienced at peak range, and at the mackenzie. although we had seen the heads of only one branch of the roper, i feel convinced that this creek, which was no doubt joined by that at which we encamped the day before, belonged equally to that river. nov. .--we travelled about eight miles and a half north degrees west along the creek, cutting however one of its bends by crossing some basaltic ridges with a flat summit; from which two almost parallel ranges were seen to the westward, one near, and the other blue in the distance. to the northward, two mountains appeared, from which the creek seemed to take its principal rise. the creek wound between baked sandstone hills, and was alternately enlarging into nymphaea ponds, and running in a small stream over a pebbly or sandy bed. pandanus, drooping tea-trees, terminalias, acacias, and sarcocephalus gave it a rich green appearance. the apple-gum and eugenia, with ribbed scarlet fruit, grew on the flats. methorium endl. was found, in leaf and size resembling the hazel-nut; it had showy red and white blossoms. the clustered fig-tree was abundant along the creek; but its ripe fruits were rare at this time of the year. a small fish, a species of gristes, about six inches long, was seen in the nymphaea ponds, but we could not induce it to bite. at o'clock p.m. we felt again a strong warm breeze from north by east; but at o'clock in the morning, a fine cool breeze, quite bracing and refreshing, blew from the westward. a flight of wild geese came down the creek, at about o'clock in the morning, which made me suppose that the creek was an outlet of some large lagoons, like those in the valley of the burdekin. nov. .--we continued our course up the creek, for nine or ten miles, to lat. degrees minutes seconds. its stream still continued; but the valley became narrower, and the pandanus and drooping tea-trees rarer. ponds and water-holes extended along the foot of the ridges, in a direction parallel to the creek. the broad-leaved terminalia was in blossom. polyphragmon, which was first met with at the upper lynd; careya arborea, hakea arborescens, and coniogeton arborescens, were observed. white cockatoos were numerous, but shy. a pale green horse-fly annoyed us as well as our horses. the ridges were not very high, and all were composed of baked sandstone; at the left side of the creek, near our camp, there was a chain of conical hills. as we were travelling along, a native suddenly emerged from the banks of the creek, and, crossing our line of march, walked down to a nymphaea pond, where he seemed inclined to hide himself until we had passed. i cooeed to him; at which he looked up, but seemed to be at a loss what to do or say. i then dismounted, and made signs to show my friendly disposition: then he began to call out, but, seeing that i motioned away my companions with the horses and bullocks, as i moved towards him, and that i held out presents to him, he became more assured of his safety, and allowed me to come near and put some brass buttons into his hand. i understood him to ask whether we were following the creek, and i answered "brrrrrr aroma aroma!!" pointing at the same time with a long sweep to the northward. as, however, we were equally unintelligible to each other, and he did not appear to be very communicative, i mounted my cream-coloured horse, and left him staring at me in silence until i was out of sight. we encamped at noon, under two wide-spreading sarcocephalus trees, whose grateful shade offered us a shelter from the scorching sun. but, as the sun got low, the shades of the oval crown of the trees drew rapidly off, and we had to lean against the shady side of the butt to obtain relief from the heat, which had so enervating an effect upon us that the slightest exertion was painful. after sunset, however, in the comparative coolness of the evening, our animal spirits revived; and it was only during that part of the day, and in the early morning before sunrise, that i felt inclined to attend to any business that required much bodily exertion. it was a great enjoyment indeed to lie devoid of any covering on our couch, and watch the fading tints of sunset. the usual, and therefore expected, night breeze did not set in; but, about half-past o'clock p.m., there was a slight stir in the atmosphere, accompanied with a sense of moisture, as if a distant thunder-storm had occurred, and interrupted the usual progress of the breeze. nov. .--we travelled about seven miles, north-west by north, to lat. degrees minutes seconds. after following the creek about a mile, it turned so far to the westward that i left it, and with much difficulty ascended the ranges to the northward: from their highest elevation, i saw that a high range, trending from south-east to north-west, bounded the valley of the creek i had left; another fine range was seen to the eastward. following a gully, we descended into the valley of a creek flowing to the southward, and which probably joined the creek i had left below the place of our last encampment. in the lower part of the gully, we came upon some fine nymphaea ponds and springs surrounded by ferns. the whole valley, though narrow, was beautifully grassed. trichodesma, grewia, crinum, and the trefoil of the suttor, grew on the flats; the apple-gum, rusty-gum, the mountain acacia and fusanus, the last in blossom, grew on the ridges. the rock was a baked sandstone; in the pebbles of the creek i found the impressions of bivalves (one ribbed like cardium). our bullocks had become so foot-sore, and were so oppressed by the excessive heat, that it was with the greatest difficulty we could prevent them from rushing into the water with their loads. one of them--that which carried the remainder of my botanical collection--watched his opportunity, and plunged into a deep pond, where he was quietly swimming about and enjoying himself, whilst i was almost crying with vexation at seeing all my plants thoroughly soaked. nov. .--we travelled in all about eleven miles n. degrees w. to latitude degrees minutes. after following the creek, on which we had encamped, to its head, we passed over a scrubby stringy-bark forest; and, whenever we came to watercourses going to the eastward, we turned to the north-west and westward. we passed several sandstone hills and ridges rising out of this sandy table land, and attempted to cross one of them, but our path was intercepted by precipices and chasms, forming an insurmountable barrier to our cattle. we, therefore, followed a watercourse to the southward, winding between two ranges to the westward and southward, and continued again to the north-west, which brought us to a tributary of the creek we had just left, and in which we found large water-holes covered with nymphaeas and villarsias. the strata of the range which we ascended, dipped to the south-west; in which direction i saw a high range, probably the continuation of the one i had observed at yesterday's stage along roper's creek. the melaleuca-gum, the cypress-pine, fusanus and banksia abounded in the stringy-bark forest, and along the creeks; and the flats round the water-holes were covered with a dark green sedge, which, however, our cattle did not relish so much as, from its inviting verdure, i had anticipated would have been the case. the remains of fresh-water turtles were frequently noticed in the camps of the natives; and mr. calvert had seen one depicted with red ochre on the rocks. it is probable that this animal forms a considerable part of the food of the natives. john murphy reported that he had seen a hut of the natives constructed of sheets of stringy-bark, and spacious enough to receive our whole party; the huts which i had observed were also very spacious, but covered with tea-tree bark. smoke from the natives' fires was seen from the range in every direction, and their burnings invariably led us to creeks. charley shot a rock wallabi of a different species from any we had previously seen: it was of a light grey colour; the tail was smooth, and its black tip was more bushy than in other species; there were two white spots on the shoulder; it was smaller than those of ruined castle creek, and the red wallabies of the mitchell and of the shores of the gulf. john shot a large iguana of remarkably bright colours, which were perhaps owing to a late desquamation of the skin. nov. .--we travelled fourteen miles n. degrees w. to latitude degrees minutes seconds, and encamped in a little creek, at the head of which was a grassy drooping tea-tree swamp. we left all the eastern water-courses to the right, and followed several which went down to the southward, up to their heads. the country, with the exception of the ridges which bounded the narrow valleys of watercourses, was a sandy level stringy-bark forest, interspersed with melaleuca-gum and leguminous ironbark; saplings of which formed large tracts of a low open under-wood. we had passed a large but dry swamp, having no outlet, and surrounded with pandanus, when brown called my attention to an opening in the forest, and to a certain dim appearance of the atmosphere peculiar to extensive plains and valleys. travelling in that direction we soon found ourselves at the margin of the sandy table-land, from which we overlooked a large valley bounded by high ranges to the westward. we then followed a very rocky creek, in its various windings, in search of water; grallina australis called four times, and deceived us each time; and cockatoos, and pigeons, and finches, all proved false prophets. however, about five miles farther, we found a small pool, at which natives had very recently encamped, and, three miles farther, two fine water-holes fringed with pandanus. our bullocks and horses were very foot-sore, and could scarcely move over the rocky ground. the ridges at the head of this western creek were covered with an arborescent capparis, the ripe fruit of which tasted very like strawberries; but those which were not ripe were very pungent. another little tree, belonging to the hamelieae d.c., with large white fragrant blossoms, and fruit about two inches long and one broad, with numerous seeds nestling in a pulpy substance, was very abundant. in its ripe state, the pulp turned black; i ate some of it, but although it proved to be harmless, it was not good. the little bread-fruit of the upper lynd, no doubt belonged to the same class of plants. i believe that all the creeks which we passed since leaving the roper, still belonged to that river; and that the western creek and all the western waters we met, until reaching the south alligator river, belonged to the system of the latter. the division of the eastern and western waters was, according to my reckoning, in longitude degrees minutes. nov. .--we followed the creek for about four or five miles, and halted at a well-grassed spot with good water-holes, in order to kill one of our bullocks, and allow the other two and the horses to recover. the poor brute was fairly knocked up and incapable of going any farther, even without a load. some of my readers may wonder that our bullocks should suffer so much when travelling through a country both well grassed and well watered, and by such short stages; but they should consider the climate in which we travelled, and the excessive heat to which we were exposed. the rocky nature of the ground contributed no less to their foot-weariness and exhaustion. if i could have rested two or three days out of seven, the animals would have had time to recover, and would have done comparatively well. but, independent of the fatigues of travelling, the relaxing and enervating influence of the climate was as visible in our cattle as in ourselves. the apple-gum, a bloodwood, and the poplar-gum(?) grew round our camp; the grasses were tender, but formed distinct tufts; crinum was plentiful. the night breeze set in at a quarter to o'clock from north-east, or north by east, strong, full and warm; there was a slight moisture in the air before daybreak, which rendered our almost dry meat a little damp again. we were occupied during the th nov. in drying our meat, mending and washing our things, and arranging the few loads which were left. nov. .--we travelled down the creek in a south-west course, for about nine miles. low sandstone ranges bounded its valley to the southward and south-east; stony ridges with stunted trees and cypress-pine extended to the north-west. the banks of the creek, which i called "snowdrop's creek," after the bullock we had killed, were grassy and open; it was well provided with water. a pretty little sida, a convolvolus, and grewia, were growing amongst the young grass. mr. calvert saw the livistona palm. we felt a breeze from the eastward during the afternoon, as usual, and the strong night breeze from north and north-east; but, in the morning, a wind from north-west and west, which belonged probably to another system of atmospherical movements. a swarm of whistling ducks (leptotarsis eytoni, gould.) passed during the night from down the creek to the eastward, which made me suppose that snowdrop's creek was either joined by large creeks with water, or that itself joined a larger river. the black ibis was frequent at the water-hole. nov. .--we travelled about six miles and a half n. n. w. the creek turned so far to the westward and southward, that i left it, and crossed some ridges, beyond which a very rocky creek going down to snowdrop's creek, intercepted our course. having crossed it with great difficulty, we travelled through a scrubby forest, and came to the heads of the same creek, several of which were formed by swamps. here the drooping tea-tree, growing in a sandy peat, attained a stately height. the sandy slopes around the swamps were covered with banksia, the melaleuca gum, and pandanus, and a rich profusion of grasses and low sedges surrounded the deep pools of spring water. these spots, which bore the marks of being much visited by the natives, were like oases in the dry, dull, sandy forest, and formed delightful shady groves, pleasing to every sense. kangaroos and various birds, particularly the white cockatoo, were numerous; and the little bees came like flies on our hands, on my paper, and on our soup plates, and indicated abundance of honey; a small species of cicada had risen from its slumbers, and was singing most cheerfully. one of our horses was seriously staked in the belly, by some unaccountable accident; i drew a seton through the large swelling, although, considering its exhausted state, i entertained but a slight hope of its recovery. nov. .--we accomplished about ten miles in a direct line, but on a long and fatiguing circuitous course. starting in a northerly direction, we passed over some rocky ground, but soon entered into a sandy level, covered with scrubby, stringy-bark forest, intermixed with melaleuca gum. at the distance of four miles i came to a rocky creek going to the westward, which i followed. from one of the hills which bounded its narrow valley, i had a most disheartening, sickening view over a tremendously rocky country. a high land, composed of horizontal strata of sandstone, seemed to be literally hashed, leaving the remaining blocks in fantastic figures of every shape; and a green vegetation, crowding deceitfully within their fissures and gullies, and covering half of the difficulties which awaited us on our attempt to travel over it. the creek, in and along the bed of which we wound slowly down, was frequently covered with large loose boulders, between which our horses and cattle often slipped. a precipice, and perpendicular rocks on both sides, compelled us to leave it; and following one of its tributary creeks to its head, to the northward, we came to another, which led us down to a river running to the west by south. with the greatest difficulty we went down its steep slopes, and established our camp at a large water-hole in its bed. the longitude of the river was, according to my reckoning, degrees minutes. a new species of rock pigeon (petrophassa, gould.) with a dark brown body, primaries light brown without any white, and with the tail feathers rather worn, lived in pairs and small flocks like geophaps, and flew out of the shade of overhanging rocks, or from the moist wells which the natives had dug in the bed of the creek, around which they clustered like flies round a drop of syrup. a fine shady eucalyptus, with a short barrel, but large spreading branches, and with the grey bark of the box, grew between the rocks along the creek. nov. .--we had been compelled to leave the injured horse behind, and upon going this morning with charley to fetch it to the camp, we found the poor brute dead. on our return to the camp, we followed another creek to the northward, which also joined the river, about eight miles to the eastward of our camp. the river was densely covered with scrub, and almost perpendicular cliffs bounded its valley on both sides. myriads of flying-foxes were here suspended in thick clusters on the highest trees in the most shady and rather moist parts of the valley. they started as we passed, and the flapping of their large membranous wings produced a sound like that of a hail-storm. nov. .--the two horses ridden by charley and myself yesterday, had suffered so severely, that i had to allow them a day of rest to recover. in the mean time, i went with charley and brown to the spot where we had seen the greatest number of flying-foxes, and, whilst i was examining the neighbouring trees, my companions shot sixty-seven, of which fifty-five were brought to our camp; which served for dinner, breakfast, and luncheon, each individual receiving eight. the flying-fox lived here on a small, blue, oval stone-fruit, of an acid taste, with a bitter kernel; it grew on a tree of moderate size. very small specimens of the seaforthia palm were here observed for the first time; and the large scarlet fruit of eugenia was found. during the night, we heard the first grumbling of thunder since many months. nov. .--we travelled about twelve miles north by west. after crossing the river, we followed a rocky creek to its head, and passed over ten miles of level sandy country of stringy-bark forest, with melalcuca gum and banksia, interrupted only by a small pandanus creek. at the end of the stage, we came to rocky creeks, one of which headed in a drooping tea-tree swamp, with rich vegetation, but without water. the creek, which we followed down for two miles, there changed its character, and meandered through sandy, well-grassed flats, and contained some good water-holes, on which we encamped. john told me that he had found the ripe fruit of exocarpus cupressiformis; which i doubted very much, as i had not seen the slightest trace of it since we left the dawson, although exocarpus latifolia was very frequent all over the sandy table-land. but we gathered and ate a great quantity of gibong (the ripe fruit of persoonia falcata), and some small yellow figs of the glossy-leaved fig-tree. i observed a eucalyptus of rather stunted growth, with broad, almost oval leaves, and long, narrow seed-vessels. during the night, thunder clouds and lightning were seen in every direction; and the whole atmosphere appeared to be in a state of fermentation. heavy showers poured down upon us; and our tarpaulings, which had been torn to pieces in travelling through the scrub, were scarcely sufficient to keep ourselves and our things dry. but in the morning of the th, all nature seemed refreshed; and my depressed spirits rose quickly, under the influence of that sweet breath of vegetation, which is so remarkably experienced in australia, where the numerous myrtle family, and even their dead leaves, contribute so largely to the general fragrance. this day we travelled about six miles to the w. n. w. our course, however, was for three miles to the northward, over a sandy level forest, intercepted by several rocky creeks. the third which we came to, i followed down to the westward, and came to a large creek, which soon joined a still larger one from the eastward. both were well provided with water; and we encamped at a very large hole under a ledge of rock across the bed of the creek; and which probably formed a fine waterfall during the rainy season. thunder-storms formed to the southward and northward; but we had only a few drops of rain. it was remarkable to observe that those to the southward vered round to the south-west by west, whereas those to the northward veered round to the north-east and east. nov. .--we travelled nine miles north-west by north; crossed numerous rocky creeks, and some undulating country; and had a most distressing passage over exceedingly rocky ranges. at the end of the stage, we came to a large pandanus creek, which we followed until we found some fine pools of water in its bed. my companions had, for several days past, gathered the unripe fruits of coniogeton arborescens, br.; which, when boiled, imparted an agreeable acidity to the water, and when thus prepared tasted tolerable well. when ripe, they became sweet and pulpy, like gooseberries, although their rind was not very thick. this resemblance induced us to call the tree "the little gooseberry tree." at the table land, and along the upper south alligator river, it was a tree from twenty-five to thirty feet high, with a fresh green shady foliage; but, at the cobourg peninsula, it dwindled into a low shrub. the fruit was much esteemed there by the natives; for, although the tree was of smaller size, the fruit was equally large and fine. nov. .--we travelled four or five miles through banksia, and melaleuca-gum forest, crossed several rocky creeks; and followed down the largest of them; which in its whole extent was exceedingly rocky. the rock was generally in horizontal layers. there were many high falls in the bed, which compelled me to leave the creek, and proceed on the rising ground along its banks, when suddenly the extensive view of a magnificent valley opened before us. we stood with our whole train on the brink of a deep precipice, of perhaps feet descent, which seemed to extend far to the eastward. a large river, joined by many tributary creeks coming from east, south-east, south-west and west, meandered through the valley; which was bounded by high, though less precipitous ranges to the westward and south-west from our position; and other ranges rose to the northward. i went on foot to the mouth of the creek; but the precipice prevented my moving any farther; another small creek was examined, but with the same result. we were compelled to move back, and thence to reconnoitre for a favourable descent. fortunately the late thunder-storms had filled a great number of small rocky basins in the bed of the creek; and, although there was only a scanty supply of a stiff grass, our cattle had filled themselves sufficiently the previous night to bear a day's privation. in the afternoon, charley accompanied me on foot in a northerly direction (for no horse could move between the large loose sandstone blocks), and we examined several gullies and watercourses, all of a wild and rocky character, and found it impossible to descend, in that direction, into the valley. charley shot a wallooroo just as it was leaping, frightened by our footsteps, out of its shady retreat to a pointed rock. whilst on this expedition, we observed a great number of grasshoppers, of a bright brick colour dotted with blue: the posterior part of the corselet, and the wings were blue; it was two inches long, and its antennae three quarters of an inch. nov. .--we returned to the creek in which we had encamped on the th, and pitched our tents a little lower down, where some rich feed promised our cattle a good treat. immediately after luncheon, i started again with charley down the creek, myself on horseback, but my companion on foot. it soon became very rocky, with gullies joining it from both sides; but, after two miles, it opened again into fine well-grassed lightly timbered flats, and terminated in a precipice, as the others had done. a great number of tributary creeks joined it in its course, but all formed gullies and precipices. many of these gullies were gently sloping hollows, filled with a rich black soil, and covered with an open brush vegetation at their upper part; but, lower down, large rocks protruded, until the narrow gully, with perpendicular walls, sunk rapidly into the deep chasm, down which the boldest chamois hunter would not have dared to descend. i now determined to examine the country to the southward; and, as it was late and my horse very foot-sore, i remained for the night at the next grassy flat, and sent charley back to order my companions to remove the camp next morning as far down the creek as possible, in order to facilitate the examination, which, on foot, in this climate, was exceedingly exhausting. nov. .--i appeased my craving hunger, which had been well tried for twenty hours, on the small fruit of a species of acmena which grew near the rocks that bounded the sandy flats, until my companions brought my share of stewed green hide. we went about three miles farther down the creek, and encamped in the dense shade of a wide spreading rock box, a tree which i mentioned a few days since. from this place i started with brown in one direction, and charley in another, to find a passage through the labyrinth of rocks. after a most fatiguing scramble up and down rocky gullies, we again found ourselves at the brink of that beautiful valley, which lay before us like a promised land. we had now a more extensive view of its eastern outline, and saw extending far to our right a perpendicular wall, cut by many narrow fissures, the outlet of as many gullies; the same wall continued to the left, but interrupted by a steep slope; to which we directed our steps, and after many windings succeeded in finding it. it was indeed very steep. its higher part was composed of sandstone and conglomerate; but a coarse-grained granite, with much quartz and felspar, but little mica and accidental hornblende, was below. the size of its elements had rendered it more liable to decomposition, and had probably been the cause of the formation of the slope. in the valley, the creek murmured over a pebbly bed, and enlarged from time to time, into fine sheets of water. we rested ourselves in the shade of its drooping tea-trees; and, observing another slope about two miles farther, went to examine it, but finding that its sandstone crest was too steep for our purpose, we returned to mark a line of road from the first slope to our camp. for this purpose i had taken a tomahawk with me, well knowing how little i could rely on brown for finding his old tracks; but, with the tomahawk, he succeeded very well; for his quick eye discovered, from afar, the practicability of the road. we succeeded at last, and, after many windings, reached our camp, even quicker than we had anticipated. charley returned next morning, and reported that he had found a descent, but very far off. this "very far off" of charley was full of meaning which i well understood. during the night we had a very heavy thunder-storm which filled our creek and made its numerous waterfalls roar. nov. .--we proceeded on our tree-marked line to the slope, and descending, arrived, after some difficulty, safe and sound in the valley. our horses and cattle were, however, in a distressing condition. the passage along rocky creeks, between the loose blocks of which their feet were constantly slipping, had rendered them very foot-sore, and had covered their legs with sores. the feed had latterly consisted either of coarse grasses, or a small sedge, which they did not like. but, in the valley, all the tender grasses reappeared in the utmost profusion, on which horses and bullocks fed most greedily during the short rest i allowed them after reaching the foot of the slope. the creek formed a fine waterfall of very great height, like a silver belt between rich green vegetation, behind which the bare mountain walls alone were visible. i proceeded down the creek about three miles to the north-west, when it joined a larger creek from the south-west. here one of our two remaining bullocks refused to go any further; and as our meat bags were empty, i decided upon stopping in this favourable spot to kill the bullock. careya arborea, the broad-leaved terminalia, coniogeton arborescens, an umbrageous white-gum tree, and pandanus, together with the luxuriant young grass, gave to the country a most pleasing aspect. but the late thunder-storm had rendered the ground very damp, and that with the mawkish smell of our drying meat, soon made our camp very disagreeable. in the rocky gullies of the table land, we had observed a great number of shrubs, amongst which a species of pleurandra, a dwarf calythrix, a prostrate woolly grevillea, and a red melaleuca, were the most interesting. near the slope by which we entered the valley, a species of achras was found, but with a much smaller fruit than that of port jackson. the melodious whistle of a bird was frequently heard in the most rocky and wretched spots of the table land. it raised its voice, a slow full whistle, by five or six successive half-notes; which was very pleasing, and frequently the only relief while passing through this most perplexing country. the bullock was killed in the afternoon of the th, and on the st the meat was cut up and put out to dry; the afternoon was very favourable for this purpose; but, at night rain set in, and with the sultry weather rendered the meat very bad. the mornings were generally sultry and cloudy; during the afternoon the clouds cleared off with the sea-breeze: and towards sunset thunder-storms rose, and the nights were rainy, which prevented me from making observations to ascertain my latitude. the longitude of the descent, was, according to reckoning, degrees minutes. a little before sunset of the st four natives came to our camp; they made us presents of red ochre, which they seemed to value highly, of a spear and a spear's head made of baked sandstone (gres lustre). in return i gave them a few nails; and as i was under the necessity of parting with every thing heavy which was not of immediate use for our support, i also gave them my geological hammer. one of the natives was a tall, but slim man; the others were of smaller size, but all had a mild and pleasing expression of countenance. large fish betrayed their presence in the deep water by splashing during the night: and charley asserted that he had seen the tracks of a crocodile. swarms of whistling ducks occupied the large ponds in the creek: but our shot was all used, and the small iron-pebbles which were used as a substitute, were not heavy enough to kill even a duck. some balls, however, were still left, but these we kept for occasions of urgent necessity. nov. .--as our meat was not sufficiently dry for packing we remained here the whole of this day; but, at night, the heaviest thunder-storm we perhaps had ever experienced, poured down and again wetted it; we succeeded, however, notwithstanding this interruption, in drying it without much taint; but its soft state enabled the maggots to nestle in it; and the rain to which it had been exposed, rendered it very insipid. poor redmond, the last of our bullocks, came frequently to the spot where his late companion had been killed; but finding that he was gone, he returned to his abundant feed, and when i loaded him to continue our journey down the river he was full and sleek. it was interesting to observe how the bullocks on all previous occasions, almost invariably took cognizance of the place where one of their number had been killed. they would visit it either during the night or the next day, walk round the spot, lift their tails, snuff the air with an occasional shake of their horns, and sometimes, set off in a gallop. nov. .--we travelled about eight miles north-west over an equally fine country. a high range of pegmatite descended from the table land far into the valley, from east to west; and an isolated peak was seen to the west of it at the left bank of the river. the eugenia with scarlet fruit, and another species with rose-coloured fruit, of most exquisite taste--particularly when the seed was abortive, and the pericarp more developed--were abundant on the flats of the river; and aemena?, with smaller fruit and thin acidulous rind, grew straggling on the ridges. a thunder-storm from the north-east, compelled us to hasten into camp; and we had scarcely housed our luggage, when heavy rain set in and continued to fall during the first part of the night. nov. .--we travelled about nine miles to the north-west, to lat. degrees minutes seconds, which a clear night enabled me to observe by a meridian altitude of castor. we were, according to my latitude, and to my course, at the south alligator river, about sixty miles from its mouth, and about one hundred and forty miles from port essington. the river gradually increased in size, and its bed became densely fringed with pandanus; the hollows and flats were covered with groves of drooping tea-trees. ridges of sandstone and conglomerate approached the river in several places, and at their base were seen some fine reedy and rushy lagoons, teeming with water-fowl. a flock of black ibises rose from a moist hollow; white and black cockatoos, were seen and heard frequently. at day-break, i was struck with the sweet song of rhipidura flaviventris, gould. the natives cooeed from the other side of the river, probably to ascertain whether we were friendly or hostile; but did not show themselves any farther. they were unio eaters to a great extent, judging from the heaps of shells we saw along the river; the species of unio on which they lived, was much smaller than that we had observed on the roper. john and charley saw a native in the bed of the river, busily employed in beating a species of bark, very probably to use its fibres to strain honey. he did not interrupt his work, and either did not see them, or wished to ignore their presence. the horse flies began to be very troublesome, but the mosquitoes fortunately did not annoy us, notwithstanding the neighbourhood of the river, and the late rains. charley and brown shot five geese, which gave us a good breakfast and luncheon. a strong breeze from the northward set in late every afternoon, since we had descended into the valley of the south alligator river. nov. .--we travelled about seven miles and a half n.w. by w., to lat. degrees minutes seconds. i intended to follow the sandy bergue of the river, but a dense pandanus brush soon compelled us to return, and to head several grassy and sedgy swamps like those we passed on the last stage. chains of small water-holes, and nymphaea ponds, ran parallel to the river; and very extensive swamps filled the intervals between rather densely wooded ironstone ridges, which seemed to be spurs of a more hilly country, protruding into the valley of the river. some of these swamps were dry, and had a sound bottom, allowing our cattle to pass without difficulty. others, however, were exceedingly boggy, and dangerous for both horse and man; for charley was almost suffocated in the mud, in attempting to procure a goose he had shot. the swamps narrowed towards the river, and formed large and frequently rocky water-holes, in a well defined channel, which, however, became broad and deep where it communicated with the river, and which in many places rivalled it in size. a belt of drooping tea-trees surrounded the swamps, whilst their outlets were densely fringed with pandanus. the livistona palm and cochlospermum gossypium grew on the ridges; the tea-tree, the stringy-bark, the leguminous ironbark and eugenia were useful timber. the whole country was most magnificently grassed. a porphyritic sienite cropped out at the head of the first swamp, about a mile from our last camp. we had cut our rifle balls into slugs, with which charley and brown shot three geese (anseranus melanoleuca, gould). a low range was seen at the south-east end of the large swamp on which we encamped. nov. .--we travelled about nine miles and a half n.n.w. to lat. degrees minutes seconds. after having once more seen the river, where it was joined by the broad outlet of a swamp, i turned to the northward, and passed over closely-wooded and scrubby ridges of ironstone and conglomerate, with pebbles and pieces of quartz covering the ground. livistona inermis, r. br. formed small groves; and pandanus covered the hollows and banks of two small creeks with rocky water-holes going to the westward. about six miles from our last camp, an immense plain opened before us, at the west side of which we recognized the green line of the river. we crossed the plain to find water, but the approaches of the river were formed by tea-tree hollows, and by thick vine brush, at the outside of which noble bouquets of bamboo and stately corypha palms attracted our attention. in skirting the brush, we came to a salt-water creek (the first seen by us on the north-west coast), when we immediately returned to the ridges, where we met with a well-beaten foot-path of the natives, which led us along brush, teeming with wallabies, and through undulating scrubby forest ground to another large plain. here the noise of clouds of water-fowl, probably rising at the approach of some natives, betrayed to us the presence of water. we encamped at the outskirts of the forest, at a great distance from the large but shallow pools, which had been formed by the late thunder-showers. the water had received a disagreeable sour aluminous taste from the soil, and from the dung of innumerable geese, ducks, native companions, white cranes, and various other water-fowl. the boggy nature of the ground prevented our horses and the bullock from approaching it; and they consequently strayed very far in search of water. in the forest land, the torres straits pigeon (carpophaga luctuosa, gould,) was numerous. at sunset, charley returned to the camp, accompanied by a whole tribe of natives. they were armed with small goose spears, and with flat wommalas; but, although they were extremely noisy, they did not show the slightest hostile intention. one of them had a shawl and neckerchief of english manufacture: and another carried an iron tomahawk, which he said he got from north-west by north. they knew pichenelumbo (van diemen's gulf), and pointed to the north-west by north, when we asked for it. i made them various presents: and they gave us some of their ornaments and bunches of goose feathers in return, but showed the greatest reluctance in parting with their throwing sticks (wommalas.) they were inclined to theft, and i had to mount brown on horseback to keep them out of our camp. nov. .--the natives returned very early to our camp, and took the greatest notice of what we were eating, but would not taste anything we offered them. when brown returned with our bullock, the beast rushed at them, and pursued them for a great distance, almost goring one of their number. we travelled about three miles and a half north-east, but had to go fairly over ten miles of ground. we followed the foot-path of the natives for about two miles, passing over some scrubby ridges into a series of plains, which seemed to be boundless to the n.w. and n.n.w. a broad deep channel of fresh water covered with nymphaeas and fringed with pandanus, intercepted our course; and i soon found that it formed the outlet of one of those remarkable swamps which i have described on the preceding stages. we turned to the e. and e.s.e. following its outline, in order either to find a crossing place, or to head it. the natives were very numerous, and employing themselves either in fishing or burning the grass on the plains, or digging for roots. i saw here a noble fig-tree, under the shade of which seemed to have been the camping place of the natives for the last century. it was growing at the place where we first came to the broad outlet of the swamp. about two miles to the eastward, this swamp extended beyond the reach of sight, and seemed to form the whole country, of the remarkable and picturesque character of which it will be difficult to convey a correct idea to the reader. its level bed was composed of a stiff bluish clay, without vegetation, mostly dry, and cracked by the heat of the sun; but its depressions were still moist, and treacherously boggy; in many parts of this extensive level, rose isolated patches, or larger island-like groves of pandanus intermixed with drooping tea-trees, and interwoven with ipomaeas, or long belts of drooping tea-trees, in the shade of which reaches of shallow water, surrounded by a rich sward of grasses of the most delicate verdure, had remained. thousands of ducks and geese occupied these pools, and the latter fed as they waded through the grass. we travelled for a long time through groves of drooping tea-trees, which grew along the outline of the swamps, but using great caution in consequence of its boggy nature. several times i wished to communicate with the natives who followed us, but, every time i turned my horse's head, they ran away; however, finding my difficulties increased, whilst attempting to cross the swamp, i dismounted and walked up to one of them, and taking his hand, gave him a sheet of paper, on which i wrote some words, giving him to understand, as well as i could, that he had nothing to fear as long as he carried the paper. by this means i induced him to walk with me, but considerably in advance of my train, and especially of the bullock; he kept manfully near me, and pointed out the sounder parts of the swamp, until we came to a large pool, on which were a great number of geese, when he gave me to understand that he wished brown to go and shoot them; for these natives, as well as those who visited us last night, were well acquainted with the effects of fire arms. we encamped at this pool, and the natives flocked round us from every direction. boys of every age, lads, young men and old men too, came, every one armed with his bundle of goose spears, and his throwing stick. they observed, with curious eye, everything we did, and made long explanations to each other of the various objects presented to their gaze. our eating, drinking, dress, skin, combing, boiling, our blankets, straps, horses, everything, in short, was new to them, and was earnestly discussed, particularly by one of the old men, who amused us with his drollery and good humour in trying to persuade each of us to give him something. they continually used the words "perikot, nokot, mankiterre, lumbo lumbo, nana nana nana," all of which we did not understand till after our arrival at port essington, where we learned that they meant "very good, no good, malays very far." their intonation was extremely melodious, some other words, the meaning of which we could not make out, were "kelengeli, kongurr, verritimba, vanganbarr, nangemong, maralikilla;" the accent being always on the first syllable of the word, and all the vowels short. nov. .--our good friends, the natives, were with us again very early in the morning; they approached us in long file, incessantly repeating the words above mentioned, perikot, nokot, etc. which they seemed to consider a kind of introduction. after having guided us over the remaining part of the swamp to the firm land, during which they gave us the most evident proofs of their skill in spearing geese--they took their leave of us and returned; when i again resumed my course to the northward. i understood from the natives that a large lake, or deep water, existed at the head of the swamp, far to the east and north-east. we travelled about nine miles north by east, to lat. degrees minutes seconds. a foot-path of the natives led us through an intricate tea-tree swamp, in which the rush of waters had uprooted the trees, and left them strewed in every direction, which rendered the passage exceedingly difficult. in the middle of the swamp we saw a fine camp of oven like huts, covered with tea-tree bark. after crossing some scrubby sandstone ridges, we came to a sandy creek, up which we proceeded until we found a small water-hole, which had been filled by the late thunder-storms, where we encamped. the weather had been very favourable since we left the upper south alligator river. it was evident from the appearance of the creek and the swamps, that the rains had been less abundant here. cumuli formed here regularly during the afternoon, with the setting in of the north-west sea breeze, but dispersed at sunset, and during the first part of the night. thunder clouds were seen in the distance, but none reached us. the clear nights were generally dewy. the country was most beautifully grassed: and a new species of crinum, and several leguminous plants, diversified with their pretty blossoms the pleasing green of the flats and the forest. since the rd of november, not a night had passed without long files and phalanxes of geese taking their flight up and down the river, and they often passed so low, that the heavy flapping of their wings was distinctly heard. whistling ducks, in close flocks, flew generally much higher, and with great rapidity. no part of the country we had passed, was so well provided with game as this; and of which we could have easily obtained an abundance, had not our shot been all expended. the cackling of geese, the quacking of ducks, the sonorous note of the native companion, and the noises of black and white cockatoos, and a great variety of other birds, gave to the country, both night and day, an extraordinary appearance of animation. we started two large native dogs, from the small pool at which we encamped; a flock of kites indicated to me the presence of a larger pool which i chose for our use; and here we should have been tolerably comfortable, but for a large green-eyed horse-fly, which was extremely troublesome to us, and which scarcely allowed our poor animals to feed. we had a heavy thunder-storm from the north-east, which, however, soon passed off. nov. .--we travelled about twelve miles to the northward to lat. degrees minutes seconds, over ironstone and baked sandstone ridges, densely wooded and often scrubby. the first part of the stage was more hilly, and intersected by a greater number of creeks, going down to west and north-west, than the latter part, which was a sandy, level forest of stringy-bark and melaleuca gum. the little gooseberry-tree (coniogeton arborescens, d.c.) the leguminous ironbark, a smooth, broad-leaved terminalia, calythrix, and the apple-gum, were plentiful. livistona inermis, r. br. grew from twenty to thirty feet high, with a very slender stem and small crown, and formed large groves in the stringy-bark forest. a grass, well known at the hunter by its scent resembling that of crushed ants, was here scentless; a little plant, with large, white, tubular, sweet-scented flowers, grew sociably in the forest, and received the name of "native primrose;" a species of commelyna, and a prostrate malvaceous plant with red flowers, and a species of oxystelma, contributed by their beauty and variety to render the country interesting. nov. .--the lower part of the creek on which we were encamped was covered with a thicket of pandanus; but its upper part was surrounded by groves of the livistona palm. as our horses had been driven far from the camp by the grey horse-fly and by a large brown fly with green eyes, which annoyed us particularly before sunset, and shortly after sunrise, we had to wait a long time for them, and employed ourselves, in the meanwhile, with cutting and eating the tops of livistona. many were in blossom, others were in fruit; the latter is an oblong little stone fruit of very bitter taste. only the lowest part of the young shoots is eatable, the remainder being too bitter. i think they affected the bowels even more than the shoots of the corypha palm. we made a short sunday stage through a fine forest, in which livistona became more and more frequent. we crossed several creeks going to the westward; the country became more hilly, and we followed a large creek with a good supply of rainwater, until it turned too much to the westward, when we encamped. the clear night enabled me to make my latitude, by an observation of castor, to be degrees minutes seconds. we had accomplished about five miles to the northward. we saw two emus, and charley was fortunate enough to shoot one of them; it was the fattest we had met with round the gulf. during the clear, dewy night, flocks of geese and ducks passed from the west to the north-east, and i anticipated that the next stage would bring us again to large swamps. the bed of the creek on which we encamped was composed of granitic rock. chapter xv joy at meeting natives speaking some english--they are very friendly--allamurr--discernment of native sincerity--east alligator river--clouds of dust mistaken for smoke--impatience to reach the end of the journey--natives still more intelligent--nyuall--buffaloes; source from which they sprung--native guides engaged; but they desert us--mount morris bay--raffles bay--leave the packhorse and bullock behind--bill white--arrive at port essington--voyage to sydney. dec. .--we travelled about eleven or twelve miles to the northward, for the greater part through forest land, large tracts of which were occupied solely by livistona. a species of acacia and stringy-bark saplings formed a thick underwood. the open lawns were adorned by various plants, amongst which we noticed a species of drosera, with white and red blossoms? a mitrasacme; a narrow-leaved ruellia, the white primrose, the red prostrate malvaceous plant, a low shrubby pleurandra, and an orchideous plant--one of the few representatives of this family in the australian tropics; the most interesting, however, was a prostrate grevillea, with oblong smooth leaves, and with thyrsi of fine scarlet flowers; which i consider to be grevillea goodii, r. br. we crossed two small creeks, and, at the end of three miles, we came to a pandanus brook, the murmuring of whose waters over a rocky pebbly bed was heard by us at a considerable distance. a broad foot-path of the natives led along its banks, probably to large lagoons, of which it might be the outlet. the country became flatter, more densely wooded, and gently sloping to the northward, when we entered a tea-tree hollow, through which the mirage indicated the presence of an immense plain, which we all mistook for the ocean. we crossed over it to a belt of trees, which i thought to be its northern boundary. the part of the plain next to the forest-land was composed of a loose black soil, with excellent grass; farther on it was a cold clay, either covered with a stiff, dry grass, apparently laid down by the rush of water, or forming flats bare of vegetation, which seemed to have been occasionally washed by the tide. finding that the belt of trees was a thicket of mangroves along a salt-water creek, i returned to some shallow lagoons near the forest, the water of which was drinkable, though brackish and aluminous. to the westward of the plains, we saw no other limit than two very distant hills, which i took to be the two hills marked to the southward of the embouchure of the south alligator river. to the eastward, we saw another narrow belt of trees; beyond which, however, the plain evidently continued. numerous pillars of smoke were seen to the westward. a fine north-west breeze set in at three o'clock in the afternoon, and refreshed us, as well as the cattle, which were suffering most severely from heat and fatigue. dec. .--whilst we were waiting for our bullock, which had returned to the running brook, a fine native stepped out of the forest with the ease and grace of an apollo, with a smiling countenance, and with the confidence of a man to whom the white face was perfectly familiar. he was unarmed, but a great number of his companions were keeping back to watch the reception he should meet with. we received him, of course, most cordially; and upon being joined by another good-looking little man, we heard him utter distinctly the words, "commandant!" "come here!!" "very good!!!" "what's your name? !!!!" if my readers have at all identified themselves with my feelings throughout this trying journey; if they have only imagined a tithe of the difficulties we have encountered, they will readily imagine the startling effect which these, as it were, magic words produced--we were electrified--our joy knew no limits, and i was ready to embrace the fellows, who, seeing the happiness with which they inspired us, joined, with a most merry grin, in the loud expression of our feelings. we gave them various presents, particularly leather belts, and received in return a great number of bunches of goose feathers, which the natives use to brush away the flies. they knew the white people of victoria, and called them balanda, which is nothing more than "hollanders;" a name used by the malays, from whom they received it. we had most fortunately a small collection of words, made by mr. gilbert when at port essington; so that we were enabled to ask for water (obert); for the road (allun); for limbo cardja, which was the name of the harbour. i wished very much to induce them to become our guides; and the two principal men, eooanberry and minorelli, promised to accompany us, but they afterwards changed their minds. my first object was to find good water, and our sable friends guided us with the greatest care, pointing out to us the most shady road, to some wells surrounded with ferns, which were situated in some tea-tree hollows at the confines of the plains and the forest. these wells, however, were so small that our horses could not approach to drink, so that we had to go to another set of wells; where i was obliged to stop, as one of our horses refused to go any farther. this place was about four miles e.n.e. from our last camp. the wells were about six or eight feet deep, and dug through a sandy clay to a stiff bed of clay, on which the water collected. it would appear that the stiff clay of the plains had been covered by the sandy detritus of the ridges, from which the water slowly drained to the wells. it was evident, from the pains which the natives had taken in digging them, that the supply of fresh water was very precarious. in many instances, however, i observed that they had been induced to do so, simply by the want of surface water in the immediate neighbourhood of places where they obtained their principal supply of food. this was particularly the case near the sea-coast, where no surface water is found; whilst the various fish, and even vegetable productions, attract the natives, who will, in such a case, even contract the habit of going the longest possible time without water, or, at least, with very little, as is well shown in mr. eyre's journey round the australian bight. we had to water our horses and the bullock with the stew pot; and had to hobble the latter, to prevent his straying, and attacking the natives. the natives were remarkably kind and attentive, and offered us the rind of the rose-coloured eugenia apple, the cabbage of the seaforthia palm, a fruit which i did not know, and the nut-like swelling of the rhizoma of either a grass or a sedge. the last had a sweet taste, was very mealy and nourishing, and the best article of the food of the natives we had yet tasted. they called it "allamurr" (the natives of port essington, "murnatt"), and were extremely fond of it. the plant grew in depressions of the plains, where the boys and young men were occupied the whole day in digging for it. the women went in search of other food; either to the sea-coast to collect shell-fish,--and many were the broad paths which led across the plains from the forest land to the salt-water--or to the brushes to gather the fruits of the season, and the cabbage of the palms. the men armed with a wommala, and with a bundle of goose spears, made of a strong reed or bamboo (?), gave up their time to hunting. it seemed that they speared the geese only when flying; and would crouch down whenever they saw a flight of them approaching: the geese, however, knew their enemies so well, that they immediately turned upon seeing a native rise to put his spear into the throwing stick. some of my companions asserted that they had seen them hit their object at the almost incredible distance of yards: but, making all due allowance for the guess, i could not help thinking how formidable they would have been had they been enemies instead of friends. they remained with us the whole afternoon; all the tribe and many visitors, in all about seventy persons, squatting down with crossed legs in the narrow shades of the trunks of trees, and shifting their position as the sun advanced. their wives were out in search of food; but many of their children were with them, which they duly introduced to us. they were fine, stout, well made men, with pleasing and intelligent countenances. one or two attempts were made to rob us of some trifles; but i was careful; and we avoided the unpleasant necessity of showing any discontent on that head. as it grew late, and they became hungry, they rose, and explained that they were under the necessity of leaving us, to go and satisfy their hunger; but that they would shortly return, and admire, and talk again. they went to the digging ground, about half a mile in the plain, where the boys were collecting allamurr, and brought us a good supply of it; in return for which various presents were made to them. we became very fond of this little tuber: and i dare say the feast of allamurr with eooanberry's and minorelli's tribe will long remain in the recollection of my companions. they brought us also a thin grey snake, about four feet long, which they put on the coals and roasted. it was poisonous, and was called "yullo." at nightfall, after filling their koolimans with water, there being none at their camp, they took their leave, and retired to their camping place on the opposite hill where a plentiful dinner awaited them. they were very urgent in inviting us to accompany them, and by way of inducement, most unequivocally offered us their sable partners. we had to take great care of our bullock, as the beast invariably charged the natives whenever he obtained a sight of them, and he would alone have prevented their attacking us; for the whole tribe were so much afraid of him, that, upon our calling out "the bullock," they were immediately ready to bolt; with the exception of eooanberry and minorelli, who looked to us for protection. i had not, however, the slightest fear and apprehension of any treachery on the part of the natives; for my frequent intercourse with the natives of australia had taught me to distinguish easily between the smooth tongue of deceit, with which they try to ensnare their victim, and the open expression of kind and friendly feelings, or those of confidence and respect. i remember several instances of the most cold-blooded smooth-tongued treachery, and of the most extraordinary gullibility of the natives; but i am sure that a careful observer is more than a match for these simple children of nature, and that he can easily read the bad intention in their unsteady, greedy, glistening eyes. dec. .--the natives visited us very early in the morning, with their wives and children, whom they introduced to us. there could not have been less than of them present; they were all well made, active, generally well-looking, with an intelligent countenance: they had in fact all the characters of the coast blacks of a good country; but without their treacherous dispositions. i started in a north-east direction; and as we were accompanied by the natives, i led our bullock, by the noserope, behind my horse. after crossing a plain, we were stopped by a large sheet of salt-water, about three or four miles broad, at the opposite side of which a low range was visible; when eooanberry explained that we had to go far to the south-east and south, before we could cross the river, and that we had to follow it down again at the other side. he expressed his great attachment to his wife and child, and obtained leave of us to return to his tribe, which had already retired before him. seeing the necessity of heading the river, which i considered to be the east alligator; the longitude of which was, where we first came to it, degrees minutes according to reckoning; i returned to the forest land, and travelled along its belt of pandanus, to obtain a better ground for our cattle, and to avoid the scorching heat of the forenoon sun. observing some singularly formed mountains rising abruptly out of the plains and many pillars of smoke behind them, i tried to get to them, but was again prevented by the broad salt water. we now steered for a distant smoke to the south-east by east, and had travelled fully seventeen miles on, or along extensive plains, when we perceived seven natives returning on a beaten foot-path, from the salt water to the forest. we cooeed--they ran! but when we had passed, and charley stopped behind alone, they came up to him, and, having received some presents, they showed us some miserable wells between two tea-tree groves; after which they hastened home. our cattle were tired and thirsty, but we could give them nothing to drink, except about six quarts of brackish water; which fell to the share of our bullock. the feed, however, was rich and young, and during the night a heavy dew was deposited, many flocks of geese came flying low over the plains, which made us hope that water was not very distant. whilst we were passing the head of a small mangrove creek, four native dogs, started out of a shady hole; but we looked in vain for fresh water. the plains, which were very level, with a few melon-holes, were scattered all over with dead limnaeas, which showed evidently, that fresh, or slightly brackish water, covered them occasionally, and for some length of time. since we first entered upon the large plains of the alligator rivers, we had seen myriads of the small cockatoo (cocatua sanguinea, gould), which retired towards night, in long flights from the plains, to the shade of the drooping tea-trees near the shallow pools of water on which we encamped. we had also observed several retreats of flying-foxes in the most shady parts of the pandanus groves, receiving frequently the first indication of them by the peculiar odour of the animal. cumuli formed very early in the morning, and increased during the day, sending down showers of rain all round the horizon. the sea breeze set in at o'clock; and the weather cleared up at sunset, and during the first part of the night; but after o'clock a. m. became cloudy again, with inclination to rain; heavy dew fell during the clear part of the night. dec. .--the natives returned very early to our camp. i went up to them and made them some presents; in return for which they offered me bunches of goose feathers, and the roasted leg of a goose, which they were pleased to see me eat with a voracious appetite. i asked for allamurr, and they expressed themselves sorry in not having any left, and gave us to understand that they would supply us, if we would stay a day. neither these natives nor the tribe of eooanberry would touch our green hide or meat: they took it, but could not overcome their repugnance, and tried to drop it without being seen by us. poor fellows! they did not know how gladly we should have received it back! they were the stoutest and fattest men we had met. we travelled at first to the east, in the direction from which the geese had come last night, but, arriving at ridges covered with scrubby forest, we turned to the north-east, and continued in that direction about seven miles and a half, over iron-stone ridges, when we again entered upon the plains of the river. mountains and columns of smoke were seen all along its northern banks; but we afterwards found that most of those supposed columns of smoke were dust raised by whirlwinds. we now followed the river until a vine brush approached close to its bank, into the cool shade of which our bullock rushed and lay down, refusing to go any farther; our packhorse and most of our riding horses were also equally tired. the bed of the river had become very narrow, and the water was not quite brine, which made me hope that we should soon come to fresh water. charley, brown, and john, had gone into the brush to a camp of flying-foxes, and returned with twelve, which we prepared for luncheon, which allowed our bullock time to recover. they gave an almost incredible account of the enormous numbers of flying-foxes, all clustering round the branches of low trees, which drooped by the weight so near to the ground that the animals could easily be killed with endgels. the seaforthia palm raised its elegant crown far above the patches of vine brush which we passed at the river side of the ridges. after a delay of two hours, we again started, and travelled in a due south direction towards some thick smoke rising between two steep and apparently isolated rocky hills: they were about four miles distant, and, when we arrived at their base, we enjoyed the pleasing sight of large lagoons, surrounded with mangrove myrtles (stravadium), with pandanus, and with a belt of reeds and nelumbiums. man, horse, and bullock, rushed most eagerly into the fine water, determined to make up for the privation and suffering of the three last days. the lagoons were crowded with geese, and, as the close vegetation allowed a near approach, brown made good use of the few slugs that were still left, and shot ten of them, which allowed a goose to every man; a great treat to my hungry party. dec. .--i determined upon stopping for a day, to allow our cattle to recover. every body was anxious to procure geese or flying-foxes; and, whilst three of my companions went to the flying-fox camp which we had visited yesterday, loaded with ironstone pebbles for shot, and full of the most sanguine expectations, brown was busy at the lagoons, and even mr. roper stirred to try his good luck. the two met with a party of natives, who immediately retreated at sight of mr. roper; but during the afternoon they came to the other side of the lagoon opposite to our camp, and offered us some fish, a silurus (mao) and a tench (?) which they had speared in the lagoons. i made a sign for them to come over and to receive, as presents in exchange, some small pieces of iron, tin canisters, and leather belts; which they did; but they became exceedingly noisy, and one of them, an old rogue, tried to possess himself quietly and openly of every thing he saw, from my red blanket to the spade and stew-pot. i consequently sent brown for a horse, whose appearance quickly sent them to the other side of the lagoon, where they remained until night-fall. brown offered them half a goose, which, however, they refused; probably because it was not prepared by themselves, as they were very desirous of getting some of the geese which we had not yet cooked. brown had shot nine geese, and our fox hunters returned with forty-four of the small species. when the natives became hungry, they ate the lower part of the leaf-stalks of nelumbium, after stripping off the external skin. they threw a great number of them over to us, and i could not help making a rather ridiculous comparison of our situation, and our hosts, with that of the english ambassador in china, who was treated also with nelumbium by its rich mandarins. the natives seemed to speak a less melodious language, which might be ascribed to the mountainous character of their country. i collected the following names: kobboyakka, nobungop, kanbinycx, manguradja, apirk (apek), yaganyin, kolar, kadgupa, gnanga gnanga. ayir meant stone spear; ekolpen, jagged fish-spear. i made the latitude of these lagoons, by an observation of castor, degrees minutes seconds. dec. .--the natives visited us again this morning, and it was evident that they had not been with their gins. they invited us to come to their camp; but i wished to find a crossing place, and, after having tried in vain to pass at the foot of the rocky hills, we found a passage between the lagoons, and entered into a most beautiful valley, bounded on the west, east, and south by abrupt hills, ranges, and rocks rising abruptly out of an almost treeless plain clothed with the most luxuriant verdure, and diversified by large nymphaea lagoons, and a belt of trees along the creek which meandered through it. the natives now became our guides, and pointed out to us a sound crossing place of the creek, which proved to be the head of the salt-water branch of the east alligator river. we observed a great number of long conical fish and crab traps at the crossing place of the creek and in many of the tributary salt-water channels; they were made apparently of flagellaria. here i took leave of our guides: the leader of whom appeared to be "apirk," a young and slender, but an intelligent and most active man. we now travelled again to the northward, following the outline of the rocky ridges at the right side of the creek; and, having again entered upon the plains, we encamped at a very broad, shallow, sedgy, boggy lagoon, surrounded with typhas, and crowded with ducks and geese, of which brown shot four. it was about four miles east of our yesterday's camp. numerous flocks of the harlequin pigeon (peristera histrionica, gould) came to drink at this lagoon; and innumerable geese alighted towards the evening on the plain, and fed on the young grass, moistened by the rain. the number of kites was in a fair proportion to that of the geese; and dozens of them were watching us from the neighbouring trees. we found a new eugenia, a tree of rather stunted growth, with broad opposite leaves, and fruit of the size of an apple, of a delicate rose-colour, and when ripe, a most delicious refreshment during a hot day. we had frequently met with this tree on sandstone ridges, and in sandy soils, but had never before found it in fruit. the day was distressingly hot, but we had several light showers during the afternoon. dec. .--"apirk," with seven other natives, visited us again in the morning, and it seemed that they had examined the camp we had last left. they gave us to understand that we could travel safely to the northward, without meeting any other creek. apirk carried a little pointed stick, and a flat piece of wood with a small hole in it, for the purpose of obtaining fire. i directed my course to a distant mountain, due north from the camp, and travelled seven or eight miles over a large plain, which was composed of a rich dark soil, and clothed with a great variety of excellent grasses. we saw many columns of dust raised by whirlwinds; and again mistook them for the smoke of so many fires of the natives. but we soon observed that they moved in a certain direction, and that new columns rose as those already formed drew off; and when we came nearer, and passed between them, it seemed as if the giant spirits of the plain were holding a stately corrobori around us. they originated on a patch of ground divested of its vegetation by a late fire. there was a belt of forest to the northward, and the current of the sea-breeze coming up the valley of the river from n.n.w. seemed to eddy round the forest, and to whirl the unsheltered loose earth into the air. towards the river, now to the west of our course, peaks, razor-backed hills, and tents, similar to those we had observed when travelling at the west side of the river on the rd december (and probably the same), reappeared. to the east of the mountain, towards which we were travelling, several bluff mountains appeared, which probably bounded the valley of a river flowing to the northward, and disemboguing between the liverpool and mount morris bay. for the last five miles of the stage, our route lay through forest land; and we crossed two creeks going to the east, and then came to rocky sandstone hills, with horizontal stratification, at the foot of which we met with a rocky creek, in the bed of which, after following it for a few miles, we found water. the supply was small; but we enlarged it with the spade, and obtained a sufficient supply for the night. a thunder-storm formed to the northward, which drew off to the westward; but another to the north-east gave us a fine shower, and added to the contents of our water-hole. a well-beaten foot-path of the natives went down the creek to the south-east. my latitude, according to an observation of castor, was degrees minutes. we saw the torres strait pigeon; a wallooroo and a red kangaroo (osphranter antilopinus, gould). the old camps of the natives, which we passed in the forest, were strewed with the shells of goose eggs, which showed what an important article these birds formed in the culinary department of the natives; and, whilst their meat and eggs served them for food, their feathers afforded them a protection against the flies which swarmed round their bodies during the day. the arborescent vitex with ternate leaves, which i had first met with at the flying-fox creek of the roper, was also observed here. at this time we were all sadly distressed with boils, and with a prickly heat; early lancing of the former saved much pain: the cuts and sores on the hands festered quickly; but this depended much more on the want of cleanliness than any thing else. a most dangerous enemy grew up amongst us in the irresistible impatience to come to the end of our journey; and i cannot help considering it a great blessing that we did not meet with natives who knew the settlement of port essington at an earlier part of our journey, or i am afraid we should have been exposed to the greatest misery, if not destruction, by an inconsiderate, thoughtless desire of pushing onward. dec. .--i went to the westward, to avoid the rocky ground, and if possible to come into the valley of the east alligator river, if the country should not open and allow me a passage to the northward, which direction i took whenever the nature of the country permitted. after crossing the heads of several easterly creeks, we came upon a large foot-path of the natives, which i determined to follow. it was, in all probability, the same which went down the creek on which we had encamped last night: it descended through a narrow rocky gully, down which i found great difficulty in bringing the horses; and afterwards wound through a fine forest land, avoiding the rocky hills, and touching the heads of westerly creeks, which were well supplied with rocky basins of water. it then followed a creek down into swampy lagoons, which joined the broad irregular sandy bed of a river containing large pools and reaches of water, lined with pandanus and drooping tea-trees. this river came from the eastward, and was probably the principal branch of the east alligator river, which joined the salt-water branch we had crossed in latitude about degrees minutes. we met another foot-path at its northern bank, which led us between the river and ranges of rocky hills, over a country abounding with the scarlet eugenia, of which we made a rich harvest. we encamped at a fine lagoon, occupied, as usual, with geese and ducks, and teeming with large fish, which were splashing about during the whole night. the situation of these lagoons was, by an observation of castor, in lat. degrees minutes seconds; and about nine miles north-west from our last camp. immediately after our arrival, brown went to shoot some geese, and met with two natives who were cooking some roots, but they withdrew in great haste as soon as they saw him. soon afterwards, however, a great number of them came to the opposite side of the lagoon, and requested a parley. i went down to them with some presents, and a young man came over in a canoe to met me. i gave him a tin canister, and was agreeably surprised to find that the stock of english words increased considerably; that very few things we had were new to him, and that he himself had been at the settlement. his name was "bilge." he called me commandant, and presented several old men to me under the same title. several natives joined us, either using the canoe, or swimming across the lagoon, and, after having been duly introduced to me, i took four of them to the camp, where they examined everything with great intelligence, without expressing the least desire of possessing it. they were the most confiding, intelligent, inquisitive natives i had ever met before. bilge himself took me by the hand and went to the different horses, and to the bullock and asked their names and who rode them. the natives had always been very curious to know the names of our horses, and repeated "jim crow," "flourbag," "caleb," "irongrey," as well as they could, with the greatest merriment. bilge frequently mentioned "devil devil," in referring to the bullock, and i think he alluded to the wild buffaloes, the tracks of which we soon afterwards saw. we asked him for "allamurr;" and they expressed their readiness to bring it, as soon as the children and women, who both went under the denomination of piccaninies, returned to the camp. the day being far advanced, and their camp a good way off, they left us, after inviting us to accompany them: but this i declined. about o'clock at night, three lads came to us with allamurr; but they were very near suffering for their kindness and confidence, as the alarm of "blackfellows" at night was a call to immediate and desperate defence. suspecting, however, the true cause of this untimely visit, i walked up to them, and led them into the camp, where i divided their allamurr between us; allowing them a place of honour on a tarpauling near me for the remainder of the night, with which attention they appeared highly pleased. the night was clear and dewy, but became cloudy with the setting of the moon. dec. .--the natives came to our camp at break of day, and bilge introduced several old warriors of a different tribe, adding always the number of piccaninies that each of them had; they appeared very particular about the latter, and one of the gentlemen corrected bilge very seriously when he mentioned only two instead of three. bilge had promised to go with us to balanda, but, having probably talked the matter over during the night, with his wife, he changed his intentions; but invited us in the most urgent manner, to stay a day at their camp. although no place could be found more favourable for feed and water, and a day's rest would have proved very beneficial to our cattle, yet our meat bags, on which we now solely depended, were so much reduced, that every day of travelling was of the greatest importance; as the natives told us that four days would bring us to the peninsula, and two more to balanda. we crossed the plain to the westward, in order to avoid the low rocks and rocky walls which bounded this fine country to the north and east. after about three miles, however, we turned to the northward, and travelled with ease through an open undulating forest, interrupted by some tea-tree hollows. just before entering the forest, brown observed the track of a buffalo on the rich grassy inlets between the rocks. after proceeding about five miles we crossed a chain of fine nymphaea ponds; and, at five miles farther, we came upon a path of the natives, which we followed to the eastward, along a drooping tea-tree swamp, in the outlet of which we found good water. our lat. was degrees minutes; about ten miles and a half north by east, from bilge's lagoon. mitrasacme elata, and all the other little plants i have before mentioned, were growing in the stringy-bark forest. a flight of whistling ducks came at night, and alighted on the ground near our camp; but departed as soon as they saw us moving. tracks of buffaloes were again observed by charley. the night was clear and very dry. dec. .--we travelled about seven miles to the northward; but kept for the first three miles in a n.n.w. direction from our camp, when we came to a small plain, with a mangrove creek going to the westward; scarcely two miles farther, we crossed a drooping tea-tree swamp, of which a pandanus creek formed the outlet; and, two miles farther still, a large plain opened upon us, in which we saw a great number of natives occupied in burning the grass, and digging for roots. all the country intervening between the creeks and the plain was undulating stringy-bark forest. i left my companions in the shady belt of drooping tea-trees, and rode with charley towards the natives, in order to obtain information. they were, however, only women and children, and they withdrew at my approach, although i had dismounted and left my horse far behind with charley. they had, however, allowed me to come near enough to make them understand my incessant calls for "obeit," water, adding occasionally "balanda; very good; no good." when they had disappeared in the forest, charley came with the horse, and we reconnoitred along the boundaries of the plain to find water, but not succeeding, we returned; and, when opposite to the place where i had left my companions, i cooeed for them to come over to me. my cooee was answered by natives within the forest, and, shortly afterwards four men came running out of it, and approached us most familiarly. they spoke english tolerably, knew the pipe, tobacco, bread, rice, ponies, guns, etc.; and guided us to a fine lagoon, which i named after the leading man of their tribe, "nyuall's lagoon." two of them promised to pilot us to balanda and to "rambal," which meant houses. they were very confiding, and women and children entered for the first time freely into our camp. they examined every thing, but made not the slightest attempt to rob us even of a trifle. when the women returned at night, they did not bring "allamurr," or, as it was here called, "murnatt," but plenty of "imberbi," the root of convolvolus, which grow abundantly in the plain: they gave us a very seasonable supply of it, but would not taste our dried beef, which they turned, broke, smelled, and then with a feeling of pity and disgust returned to us. nyuall gave an amusing account of our state: "you no bread, no flour, no rice, no backi--you no good! balanda plenty bread, plenty flour, plenty rice, plenty backi! balanda very good!" he, gnarrangan, and carbaret, promised to go with us; and the first intended to take his wife with him. they imitated with surprising accuracy the noises of the various domesticated animals they had seen at the settlement; and it was amusing to hear the crowing of the cock, the cackling of the hens, the quacking of ducks, grunting of pigs, mewing of the cat, etc. evident proofs that these natives had been in victoria. a heavy thunder-storm passed over at o'clock p. m. and the natives either crowded into my tent, or covered their backs with sheets of tea-tree bark, turning them to the storm, like a herd of horses or cattle surprised by a heavy shower in the middle of a plain. imaru lay close to me during the night, and, in order to keep entire possession of my blanket, i had to allow him a tarpauling. dec. .--we travelled about seven miles n.n.w. over an immense plain, with forest land and rising ground to the eastward, in which direction four prominent hills were seen, one of which had the abrupt peak form of biroa in moreton bay. the plain appeared to be unbounded to the westward. when we approached the forest, several tracts of buffaloes were seen; and, upon the natives conducting us along a small creek which came into the plain from the n.n.e., we found a well beaten path and several places where these animals were accustomed to camp. we encamped at a good-sized water-hole in the bed of this creek, the water of which was covered with a green scum. as the dung and tracks of the buffaloes were fresh, charley went to track them, whilst brown tried to shoot some ibises, which had been at the water and were now perched on a tree about yards off. at the discharge of the gun a buffalo started out of a thicket, but did not seem inclined to go far; brown returned, loaded his gun with ball, went after the buffalo and wounded him in the shoulder. when charley came back to the camp, he, brown and mr. roper pursued the buffalo on horseback, and after a long run, and some charges, succeeded in killing it. it was a young bull, about three years old, and in most excellent condition. this was a great, a most fortunate event for us; for our meat bags were almost empty, and, as we did not wish to kill redmond, our good companion, we had the prospect of some days of starvation before us. we could now share freely with our black friends, and they had not the slightest objection to eat the fresh meat, after baking it in their usual manner. they called the buffalo "anaborro;" and stated that the country before us was full of them. these buffaloes are the offspring of the stock which had either strayed from the settlement at raffles bay, or had been left behind when that establishment was broken up. they were originally introduced from the malay islands. i was struck with the remarkable thickness of their skin, (almost an inch) and with the solidity of their bones, which contained little marrow; but that little was extremely savoury. we had a heavy thunder-storm at o'clock at night from the southward. dec. .--part of the meat was cut up and dried, and part of it was roasted to take with us; a great part of it was given to the natives, who were baking and eating the whole day; and when they could eat no more meat, they went into the plains to collect "imberbi" and murnatt, to add the necessary quantum of vegetable matter to their diet. the sultry weather, however, caused a great part of the meat to become tainted and maggotty. our friend nyuall became ill, and complained of a violent headache, which he tried to cure by tying a string tightly round his head. the black ibis, cocatua, kites, crows, and a small black and white species of heron, frequented our water-hole. the night was extremely close, and, to find some relief, i took a bath; which gave me, however, a very annoying inflammation of the eyes. dec. .--at day break, an old man, whom nyuall introduced to us as commandant, came with his gin, and invited us to his camp, about two miles off. we went to it with the intention of continuing our journey, and found a great number of women and children collected in very spacious huts or sheds, probably with the intention of seeing us pass. they had a domestic dog, which seemed very ferocious. a little farther on, we came to a small creek, with good water-holes, and our guides wished us to stop; but, when i told them that we were desirous of reaching balanda as soon as possible, and added to my promise of giving them a blanket and a tomahawk, that of a pint pot, gnarrangan and cabaret again volunteered, and pursuaded a third, of the name of malarang, to join them. for some miles, we followed a beaten foot-path, which skirted the large plain, and then entered the forest, which was composed of rusty-gum, leguminous ironbark, cochlospermum gossypium, and a small apocynaceous tree (balfouria, br.); we crossed several salt-water creeks which went down to van diemen's gulf. the country near these creeks, was more undulating, the soil sandy and mixed with small ironstone pebbles; fine tea-tree flats with excellent grass, on which the buffaloes fed, were frequent. along the plain, small clusters of brush protruded into it from the forest, or covered low mounts of sea shells, mixed with a black soil. amongst these copses, the tracks of buffaloes were very numerous. we travelled about ten miles north-west by north, and encamped at a small pool of water in a creek, in which the clayey ironstone cropped out. its water was so impregnated with the astringent properties of the gum-trees, that mr. phillips boiled and drank it like tea. before arriving at this creek, we had a thunder-storm, with heavy rain, from the northward. after pitching our tents, our guides went out, and returned with a small iguana (vergar), and with pods of the rose-coloured sterculia, which they roasted on the coals. i succeeded in saving a great part of our meat by smoking it. our horses were greatly distressed by large horse-flies, and every now and then the poor brutes would come and stand in the smoke of our fires to rid themselves of their persevering tormentors. this want of rest during the night contributed very much to their increasing weakness; though most of them were severely galled besides, which was prevented only in two by the most careful attention, and daily washing of their backs. on this stage we again passed one of those oven-like huts of the natives, thatched with grass, which i have mentioned several times, and which nyuall's tribe called "corambal." at the place where we encamped, the ruins of a very large hut were still visible, which indicated that the natives had profited by their long intercourse with the malays and europeans, in the construction of their habitations. dec. .--when we started, intending to follow the foot-path, our native guides remained behind; and, when i had proceeded two or three miles, my companions came up to me and stated, that the natives had left us, but that they had given them to understand that the foot-path would conduct us safely to balanda. they had attempted to keep the large tomahawk, but had given it up when brown asked them for it. i was very sorry at their having left us, as the cloudy sky had prevented me for several days from taking any latitude, and determining my position. we crossed a great number of small creeks, coming from the eastward, and draining the ridges of the neck of the peninsula. scattered pandanus and drooping tea-trees grew on their banks as far as the fresh water extended; when they were succeeded by the salt-water tea-tree and the mangrove, covering and fringing their beds, which enlarged into stiff plains, without vegetation, or into mangrove swamps. the latter were composed of aegiceras, bruguiera, and pemphis. the tracks of the buffaloes increased in number as we advanced, and formed broad paths, leading in various directions, and made me frequently mistake them for the foot-path of the natives, which i eventually lost. a course north degrees west, brought us to easterly creeks, one of which i followed down, when brown called out that he saw the sea. we, therefore, went to the sea-side, and found ourselves at the head of a large bay, with an island to the north-east, and with headlands stretching far into the ocean, which was open and boundless to the northward. it was mount morris bay, with valentia and crocker's islands; the latter, however, appeared to us to be a continuation of the main land. we now went to the north-west and westward, until we came again on westerly waters. the country in the centre of the neck of the peninsula, was very hilly, and some of the ridges rose, perhaps, from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet above the level of the sea; one or two hills were still higher. they were all composed of a clayey ironstone, and clothed with patches of scrub, formed principally of calythrix, and with a more open forest of cypress pine, white-gum, tea-trees, bloodwood, livistona palms, pandanus, with shrubby terminalias and coniogetons. the grass was dry, but high and dense; and buffalo tracks spread in every direction, particularly down the creeks, both to the eastward and westward. we followed a westerly creek in all its windings, in order to detect water in one of its rocky water-holes. the rock was shaly, of a greyish colour, like the clay shale of newcastle above the layers of the coal, but more indurated. patches of vine brush grew along the banks, and their verdure led me frequently to expect the presence of water. we met, however, only with salt-water, where the mangroves commenced, and had consequently to continue our journey. here we again came on the foot-path of the natives, which skirted the mangrove swamps, and i followed it for about three miles farther, crossed several dry watercourses, and at last found some pools of rain water, in a small creek. i was fortunate enough to make my latitude by an observation of regulus, degrees minutes seconds. dec. .--i followed the foot-path of the natives, with the intention of continuing on it, until i came in sight of mounts bedwell and roe. if i had done so, much trouble would have been saved. but, after we had travelled more than three hours, the country became very hilly and ridgy, and i supposed that we were close to those mountains, but were prevented, by the ridges, from seeing them. we went consequently to the northward, and after an hour's riding over a hilly, but openly timbered country, came to an easterly creek, which we followed down, until we found an abundance of water. the upper part of this creek was very scrubby, and with but little grass. i imagined that we had arrived at the west side of port essington, and that the creek on which we encamped was probably the warvi. to ascertain this, i rode down the creek with charley: it became more open; limited flats of sandy alluvium were clothed with the refreshing verdure of young grass, and with groves of banksias; its hollows were fringed with large drooping tea-trees. the creek itself was a succession of shady water-holes, out of which, at our approach dashed buffaloes, three and four at a time, shaking their muddy heads, as they scrambled up the steep banks, and galloped to the neighbouring thickets. the stiff sedges of the salt-water, and the salt-water tea-trees, made their appearance about three miles from our camp; and it is probable that the sea was scarcely half a mile farther. high hills rose to the northward, openly timbered, but at their base with patches of scrub, and very stony. here we heard the distant cooees of natives, which we answered, going in their direction, until we came to a camp, in which we found an old lame man, "baki baki," and a short sturdy fellow, "rambo rambo;" both of whom knew a great number of english words, and were quite familiar with the settlement, and knew the commandant, mr. macarthur. they promised the guide us the next morning to balanda, after having made many inquiries about our stock of provisions and of tobacco. i made my latitude degrees minutes seconds, by an observation of regulus; which, allowing a possible error of a few miles, confirmed me in my belief, that we were at the head of the harbour; particularly as baki baki had told me that he had come this very morning from the settlement. dec. .--when we arrived with our whole train at the camp of the natives, their behaviour was quite altered, and they now showed as little inclination to guide us to the settlement, as they had been eager last night to do so. i persuaded baki baki, however, to go, at least part of the way; and, when we saw that he became tired, we mounted him on one of the horses, and led it by the bridle. he pointed to the w.n.w. as the direction in which the settlement lay. we travelled about five miles over stony ironstone ridges, with extensive groves of livistona palm covering their slopes. here baki baki desired to dismount; and, telling us that it was a very good road to balanda, took his leave and returned. soon after we came to a large creek full of water, running to the eastward, which we followed up for a long distance, before we were able to cross. our pack-horse became bogged, and as it was so weak that it would not even make an effort to extricate itself, and as i supposed that we were near the settlement, we took off its pack-saddle and load, and left it behind. we crossed two or three more watercourses; and continued the course pointed out by the native, until it became very late, and i found myself compelled to look for water; particularly as our bullock showed evident symptoms of becoming knocked up. i therefore followed the fall of the country to the north-east; and, in a short time, came to the sea-side. we compared our little map of the harbour of port essington with the configuration of the bay before us, but nothing would agree exactly, although it bore a general resemblance to raffles bay. a narrow belt of brush covered the approaches to the water; but the scarlet eugenia grew on the sandy flats towards the hilly forest; where we also found a new tree, a species of anacardium, which the natives called "lugula;" it bore a red succulent fruit, formed by the enlargement of the stalk, with a greyish one-seeded nut outside, like exocarpus. the fruit was extremely refreshing; the envelope, however, contained such an acrid juice that it ate into and discoloured my skin, and raised blisters wherever it touched it: these blisters were not only followed by a simple excoriation, but by a deep and painful ulceration. in the forest, we met with some few small seaforthia palms, the young shoots of which we obtained with great difficulty, not then knowing how easily the natives strip them of the surrounding leaves and leafstalks. i followed a a well beaten foot-path of the natives to the northward, crossed a creek, in the mangrove swamp of which another horse was bogged, which we extricated after great exertion; and, after two or three miles, came to a large fresh-water swamp (marair) on which we encamped. the sun had long set, and our cattle, as well as ourselves, were miserably tired. we were here visited by a tribe of natives, who were well acquainted with the settlement; they were all friendly, and willing to assist us; and many of them spoke very tolerable english. one of them, apparently the chief of the tribe, though a hunchback, named "bill white," promised to guide us to the settlement. he gave us to understand that we had come too far to the northward, and that we had to go to the south-west, in order to head port essington, and to follow its west coast, in order to arrive at victoria. we were, in fact, at raffles bay. the natives knew every body in victoria, and did not cease to give us all the news; to which we most willingly listened. they fetched water for us from a great distance, and gave us some murnatt, which was extremely welcome. perceiving the state of exhaustion and depression in which we were, they tried to cheer us with their corrobori songs, which they accompanied on the eboro, a long tube of bamboo, by means of which they variously modulated their voices. i may mention that we experienced a heavy thunder-storm during the afternoon. dec. .--we started, with a willing guide, for the goal of our journey, and travelled to the south-west over a hilly country, covered with groves of the livistona palm, which, as we proceeded became mixed with seaforthia (the real cabbage-palm). a fine large creek, containing a chain of large water-holes went to the north-east, and disembogued probably into bremer's bay. we followed it for three or four miles towards its head; and, when crossing it, we had a very heavy thunder-storm; at the earliest hour we had ever witnessed one. the seaforthia palm because very abundant, and at last the forest was formed entirely of it, with trees of every size. our guide showed us how we could easily obtain the young shoots, by splitting the leaves and leafstalks; and we enjoyed a fine meal of the cabbage. our bullock refused to go any farther, and, as i then knew that the settlement was not very distant, i unloaded him, and covered his packsaddle and load with tarpaulings, and left him to recruit for a few days; when i intended to send for him. as we approached the harbour, the cabbage palm became rarer, and entirely disappeared at the head of it. we crossed several creeks running into the harbour, until we arrived at the matunna, a dry creek, at which the foot-path from pitchenelumbo (van diomen's gulf) touched the harbour, and on which we should have come last night. we followed it now, crossed the warvi, the wainunmema, and the vollir--all which enlarged into shallow lagoons or swamps, before they were lost between the mangrove thickets. at the banks of the vollir, some constant springs exist, which induced sir gordon bremer to choose that place for a settlement, and on which victoria at present stands. all these creeks were separated from each other by a hilly forest land; but small fertile flats of sandy alluvium, clothed with young grass, and bordered by banksias, extended along their banks. the forest was principally composed of stringy-bark, the leguminous ironbark, melaleuca-gum, with underwood of acacias, coniogeton, pachynemas, pultenaeas? and careya? a tree very much resembling the real ironbark (eucalyptus resinifera) was observed at the warvi; but i expect it will be found entirely different. the stringy-bark and the drooping tea-tree were the only useful timber near the settlement. the cypress-pine (callitris) could, however, be obtained without any great difficulty from mount morris bay, or van diemen's gulf. on the vollir, we came on a cart road which wound round the foot of a high hill; and, having passed the garden, with its fine cocoa-nut palms, the white houses, and a row of snug thatched cottages burst suddenly upon us; the house of the commandant being to the right and separate from the rest. we were most kindly received by captain macarthur, the commandant of port essington, and by the other officers, who, with the greatest kindness and attention, supplied us with every thing we wanted. i was deeply affected in finding myself again in civilized society, and could scarcely speak, the words growing big with tears and emotion; and, even now, when considering with what small means the almighty had enabled me to perform such a long journey, my heart thrills in grateful acknowledgement of his infinite kindness. after a month's stay at port essington, the schooner heroine, captain mackenzie, arrived from bally, on her voyage to sydney, via torres strait and the inner barrier, a route only once before attempted with success. we embarked in this vessel, and arrived safely in sydney, on the th of march. to the generous attentions of captain mackenzie our party owe much; and, at his hospitable table, we soon forgot the privations of our late journey. at sydney, a reception awaited us, the warmth and kindness of which, it is out of my power to describe. all classes pressed forward to testify their joy at our reappearance, which, we found, had been long despaired of, and to offer their aid in supplying our wants. a public subscription was set on foot, which, in a very few weeks, by the liberal contributions which flowed in from all parts of the colony, amounted to upwards of fifteen hundred pounds; and in the legislative council, a motion was brought forward, which, by the unanimous vote of that house, and the ready concurrence of his excellency, sir george gipps, the governor, devoted a thousand pounds out of the public revenue to our use. in the appendix to this volume, will be found the very handsome letter, in which the hon. mr. e. deas thomson, the colonial secretary, conveyed to me this resolution of the government; and an account of the proceedings taken at the school of arts, on the st september, when his honor, the speaker, dr. c. nicholson, presented me with that portion of the public subscription, which the committee of the subscribers had awarded. in laying these documents before the public, i will leave it to be supposed how vain would be any attempt of mine to express my gratitude to that generous people to whom i have inscribed this humble narrative. appendix. letter from the colonial secretary to dr. leichhardt. colonial secretary's office, sydney, th june, . sir,--i do myself the honour to inform you that the auditor general has been requested to prepare a warrant for the payment, out of the crown revenue, of a gratuity of pounds to yourself and party which accompanied you in your recent expedition to port essington; in consideration of the successful issue of that very perilous enterprise; the fortitude and perseverance displayed by the persons engaged in it; and the advantages derived from it to the colony; and i beg to add, that it is with much gratification that i make this communication to you. the money is to be divided in the manner stated below, which the governor has considered reasonable, after weighing all the circumstances of the case, and advising with the gentleman who waited on his excellency on friday the th instant, and who formed a deputation from the committee, who have superintended the collection and distribution of the money ( pounds.) raised in sydney by voluntary subscription, in testimony of the services rendered to the colony by you and your companions, viz. dr. leichhardt pounds mr. calvert mr. roper john murphy w. phillips, who has already received from the government a pardon the two aboriginal natives, charles fisher and harry brown ---- the pounds for the two blacks will be lodged in the savings' bank, and will not be drawn out without the approval of the vice president of that institution. i have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant, (signed) e. deas thomson, colonial secretary. * * * * * the leichhardt testimonial. [extract from the sydney herald, sept. , .] yesterday afternoon, a meeting of the subscribers to the leichhardt testimonial was held in the school of arts. at half-past three o'clock the honourable the speaker of the legislative council entered the room with dr. leichhardt, who was received with loud applause. as soon as silence was restored, the speaker rose and addressed dr. leichhardt. he said, the duty has been assigned to me of presenting to you, on behalf of a numerous body of colonists, an acknowledgment of the grateful sense they entertain of the services rendered by you to the cause of science and to the interests of this colony. whilst i fully participate in the admiration with which your merits are universally acknowledged, i confess that i shrink from the task now imposed upon me, from a sense of my inability to do justice to it in language commensurate with the occasion. for indeed it would be difficult to employ any terms that might be considered as exaggerated, in acknowledging the enthusiasm, the perseverance, and the talent which prompted you to undertake, and enabled you successfully to prosecute, your late perilous journey through a portion of the hitherto untrodden wilds of australia. an enthusiasm undaunted by every discouragement, a perseverance unextinguished by trials and hardships which ordinary minds would have despaired of surmounting, a talent which guided and led you on to the full and final achievement of your first and original design. it is needless for me to recall to the recollection of those around me, the circumstances under which the project of undertaking an overland journey to port essington was formed. the smallness of your party, and the scantiness of its equipment, the length and unknown character of the country proposed to be traversed, induced many to regard the scheme as one characterised by rashness, and the means employed as wholly inadequate towards carrying out the object in view. many withheld their support from a dread lest they might be held as chargeable with that result which their sinister forebodings told them was all but inevitable with a small but adventurous band. you nevertheless plunged into the unknown regions that lay before you. after the lapse of a few months without any tidings of your progress or fate, the notion became generally entertained that your party had fallen victims to some one of the many dangers it had been your lot to encounter; that you had perished by the hands of the hostile natives of the interior; that want of water or exposure to tropical climate were even but a few of the many evils to which you had rendered yourself liable, and to the influence of some one or more of which it was but too probable you had fallen a prey. two parties successively went out with the hope of overtaking you, or at least of ascertaining some particulars of your fate. the result of these efforts was, however, fruitless, and but few were so sanguine as to believe in the possibility of you or your comrades being still in existence. i need not recall to the recollection of those here present, the surprise, the enthusiasm, and the delight, with which your sudden appearance in sydney was hailed, about six months ago. the surprise was about equal to what might be felt at seeing one who had risen from the tomb; a surprise, however, that was equalled by the warm and cordial welcome with which you were embraced by every colonist; and when we listened to the narrative of your long and dreary journey--the hardships you had endured, the dangers you had braved, the difficulties you had surmounted--the feeling with which your return amongst us was greeted, became one of universal enthusiasm. for it would indeed be difficult to point out, in the career of any traveller, the accomplishment of an equally arduous undertaking, or one pregnant with more important results, whether we contemplate them in a scientific, an economical, or a political point of view. the traversing, for the first time by civilised man, of so large a portion of the surface of this island, could not fail to be attended with many discoveries deeply interesting to the scientific inquirer, in botany, geology, and zoology. your contributions to each of these departments of knowledge have consequently been equally novel and valuable. in a social and economical point of view, it is difficult, if not impossible, to over-estimate the importance of the discovery recently made of an all but boundless extent of fertile country, extending to the north, soon to be covered with countless flocks and herds, and calculated to become the abode of civilized man. in its political aspect, the possession of an immense territory, now for the first time discovered to be replete with all those gifts of nature which are necessary for the establishment and growth of a civilized community, cannot be regarded as a fact of small importance; nor the possession of a continuous tract of fine and fertile land, that connects us with the shores of the indian ocean, and which would appear to render the australian continent a mere extension of the anglo-indian empire as a matter of indifference. it would be almost impossible to exaggerate the importance of these considerations; i shall, however, abstain from occupying your time by dwelling upon what must be so obvious to all. the colonists of new south wales, dr. leichhardt, have been anxious to evince their gratitude to you for all that you have done in behalf of this their adopted country. as soon as your return was announced, subscriptions were entered into for the purpose of presenting to you a suitable testimonial. to the fund raised for this purpose persons of all classes, and from every quarter of the colony, have contributed. the sum that has been raised amounts to pounds shillings pence. the executive, with a laudable emulation, have presented you a sum of pounds from the crown revenue. gratifying as this demonstration must doubtlessly prove to your feelings, it is unquestionably beneath your deserts; and the substantial reward due to your past exertions will be found in the undying glory of having your name enrolled amongst those of the great men whose genius and enterprise have impelled them to seek for fame in the prosecution of geographical science--with those of niebuhr, burckhardt, park, clapperton, lander, and, in australian geography, with those of oxley, cunningham, sturt, eyre, and mitchell. in these days of universal knowledge, when there are so many competitors for distinction in every department of science, few attain the desired goal of scientific eminence. perhaps no one has so fair a chance of giving immortality to his name as he who has first planted his foot where civilized man had never before trodden. the first chapter in the history of australia, some thousand years hence, will present a narration of those adventurous spirits--of the exploits of those who may fairly be considered its first conquerors, and by whose peaceful triumphs an empire had been added to the parent state. i cannot close this brief address without indulging in an aspiration for the safety and success of one now engaged in an enterprise similar to that from which you hate earned so much honour. i allude to sir t. mitchell. to enter upon any eulogium of the character or abilities of that distinguished officer on the present occasion, is uncalled for; the enterprise in which he is engaged must command the sympathy of every person here present, and i am sure of no one more than of yourself. in enterprises such as those in which both he and yourself are engaged, it may fairly be said the harvest is plentiful, the labourers are few--a kindred taste and zeal in the pursuit of a common object can be attended with no other than a worthy and generous emulation. it only remains for me to add one word to what i have already said--you have disclosed your intention of starting within a few weeks from the present time on another exploratory expedition. from your past career we may all safely indulge in sanguine anticipations as to your future success. that providence may guide you in your wanderings and crown your future labours with new laurels is the ardent wish of all on whose behalf i now address you. let me, however, beg that you will guard, against any unnecessary exposure to risk, that life in the preservation of which we all feel so deep a concern. with the assurance of the gratitude, esteem, and admiration of my brother colonists, permit me now to present you with pounds, being the proportion of the public subscription awarded to you. dr. leichhardt (who was evidently deeply affected) said: mr. chairman and gentlemen, i thank you for the munificent gift with which you have honoured me--i thank you for the congratulations for the past--for your kind wishes for my approaching expedition. [note. ] i feel the more the weight of your generous liberality, as i am conscious how much your kindness has overvalued my deserts; but i shall try to render myself worthy of it; and i hope that the almighty, who has so mercifully taken care of me on my former expedition, will grant me skill and strength to continue my explorations, and will render them equally successful and beneficial to this colony. may his blessings attend the generous people who have shown, by the honours they have done me, how great an interest they take in the advancement of discovery. mr. c. cowper then moved a vote of thanks to the committee and their secretary, which was acknowledged by mr. r. graham, when the business of the meeting closed. those who appreciate the value of dr. leichhardt's scientific exploration of the country from moreton bay to port essington, and who feel any interest in his record of the difficulties of his enterprise, will be glad to learn that the royal geographical society of london has recently awarded him the queen's gold medal, in acknowledgment of his services; and that the royal geographical society of paris has likewise adjudged him its gold medal of this year. [note . the object of the new expedition here alluded to, is to explore the interior of australia, to discover the extent of sturt's desert and the character of the western and north-western coast, and to observe the gradual change in vegetation and animal life from one side of the continent to the other. dr. leichhardt does not expect to be able to accomplish this overland journey to swan river, in less than two years and a half. according to a letter written by him on the eve of his departure (dec. , ); his party consisted of six whites, and two blacks; he had purchased thirteen mules, twelve horses, and two hundred and seventy goats; and bad received forty oxen, three mules, and two horses, as presents. he then purposed to travel over his old route, as far as peak range, and then to shape his course westwards; but thought it not impossible, as his course depends on water, that be should be obliged to reach the gulf of carpentaria, and then to follow up some river to its source.--ed.] the end explorations in australia: . explorations in search of dr. leichardt and party. . from perth to adelaide, around the great australian bight. . from champion bay, across the desert to the telegraph and to adelaide. with an appendix on the condition of western australia. by john forrest, f.r.g.s. illustrations by g.f. angas. . to his excellency frederick aloysius weld, esq., c.m.g., governor of tasmania, late governor and commander-in-chief of western australia. my dear governor weld, it was during your administration of the government of western australia, and chiefly owing to your zeal and support, that most of the work of exploration described in this volume was undertaken and carried out. your encouragement revived the love of exploration which had almost died out in our colony before you arrived. with gratitude and pleasure i ask you to accept the dedication of this volume as an expression of my appreciation of your kindness and support. yours very faithfully, john forrest. contents. chapter . previous expeditions into the interior. attempts to discover a route between south and western australia. eyre's disastrous journey. leichardt, the lost explorer. the latest explorations. chapter . first expedition in search of leichardt. statements made by the natives. an expedition prepared. leader appointed. official instructions. the journal. chapter . second expedition. from perth to adelaide, round the great bight. a new exploration suggested. proposal to reach adelaide by way of the south coast. the experience derived from eyre's expedition. survey of port eucla. official instructions. the start. dempster's station near esperance bay. the schooner at port eucla. journal of the expedition. chapter . reception at adelaide and return to perth. departure from gawler and arrival at adelaide. appearance of the party. public entrance. complimentary banquet. grant by the government of western australia. chapter . third expedition. from the west coast to the telegraph line. proposal to undertake a new expedition. endeavour to explore the watershed of the murchison. expeditions by south australian explorers. my journal. fight with the natives. finding traces of mr. gosse's party. the telegraph line reached. arrival at perth station. chapter . public receptions at adelaide and perth. procession and banquet at adelaide. arrival in western australia. banquet and ball at perth. results of exploration. appendix. description of plants, etc. report on geological specimens. note by editor. governor weld's report ( ) on western australia. table of imports and exports. ditto of revenue and expenditure. public debt. population. list of governors. maps. . general map of australia, showing the three journeys. . from perth to longitude degrees in search of leichardt. . from perth to adelaide, around the great australian bight. . from champion bay to adelaide. illustrations. portrait of john forrest. the horses bogged at lake barlee. portrait of alexander forrest. arrival at the great australian bight. fresh water found. public welcome at adelaide. attacked by the natives at weld springs. on the march. the spinifex desert. reaching the overland telegraph line. explorations in australia. chapter . previous expeditions into the interior. attempts to discover a route between south and western australia. eyre's disastrous journey. leichardt, the lost explorer. the latest explorations. as the history of the principal expeditions into the interior of australia has been narrated by several able writers, i do not propose to repeat what has already been so well told. but, to make the narrative of my own journeys more intelligible, and to explain the motives for making them, it is necessary that i should briefly sketch the expeditions undertaken for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the vast regions intervening between western and the other australian colonies, and determining the possibility of opening up direct overland communication. with energetic, if at times uncertain, steps the adventurous colonists have advanced from the settlements on the eastern and southern coasts of the vast island into the interior. expeditions, led by intrepid explorers, have forced their way against all but insurmountable difficulties into the hitherto unknown regions which lie to the north and west of the eastern colonies. settlements have been established on the shores of the gulf of carpentaria. burke and a small party crossed australia from south to north, enduring innumerable hardships, burke, with two of his associates, perishing on the return journey. about the same time stuart crossed farther to the west, reaching the very centre of australia, and telegraphic wires now almost exactly follow his line of route, affording communication, by way of port darwin, between adelaide and the great telegraphic systems of the world. attempts to cross the desert. the telegraph line divides australia into two portions, nearly equal in dimensions, but very different in character. to the east are the busy and rapidly advancing settlements, fertile plains, extensive ranges of grassy downs, broad rivers, abundant vegetation; to the west a great lone land, a wilderness interspersed with salt marshes and lakes, barren hills, and spinifex deserts. it is the sahara of the south, but a sahara with few oases of fertility, beyond which is the thin fringe of scattered settlements of the colony of western australia. to cross this desert, to discover routes connecting the western territory with south australia and the line marked by the telegraph, has been the ambition of later explorers. mr. gregory attempted, from the north, to ascend the victoria river, but only reached the upper edge of the great desert. dr. leichardt, who had previously travelled from moreton bay, on the eastern coast, to port essington on the northern, attempted to cross from the eastern to the western shores, and has not since been heard of. mr. eyre made a journey, memorable for the misfortunes which attended it, and the sufferings he endured, from adelaide round the head of the great bay, or bight of southern australia, to perth, the capital of western australia; and much more recently colonel egerton warburton succeeded in crossing from the telegraphic line to the western coast across the northern part of the great wilderness, nearly touching the farthest point reached by mr. gregory. eyre's journey. it was in the year , only four years after the foundation of south australia, that the first great attempt to discover a route from adelaide to the settlements in western australia was made. there then resided in south australia a man of great energy and restless activity, edward john eyre, whose name was afterwards known throughout the world in connexion with the jamaica outbreak of , and the measures which, as governor, he adopted for repressing it. it was anticipated that a profitable trade between the colonies might be carried on if sheep and other live-stock could be transferred from one to the other in a mode less expensive than was afforded by the sea route between adelaide and the swan river. eyre did not believe in the possibility of establishing a practicable route, but urged, through the press, the desirability of exploring the vast regions to the north, which he anticipated would afford a good and profitable field for adventurous enterprise. he offered to lead an expedition which should explore the country around the great salt lake lying to the north-west of the settled portion of the colony, and to which the name of lake torrens had been given. very little was known of this lake, and absolutely nothing of the country beyond. the general supposition, in which eyre shared, was that there existed a large space of barren land, most probably the bed of a sea which had at one time divided the continent into several islands; but it was hoped that no insuperable difficulties in the way of crossing it would present themselves, and beyond might be a fertile and valuable district, offering an almost unbounded field for settlement, and with which permanent communications might without great difficulty be established. some geographers were of opinion that an inland sea might be in existence, and, if so, of course water communication with the northern half of australia could be effected. mr. eyre's proposition found ready acceptance with the colonists, the government granted pounds--a small sum indeed--but the colony was then young, and far from being in flourishing circumstances. friends lent their assistance, enthusiasm was aroused, and in little more than three weeks from the time when eyre proposed the expedition, he started on his journey. five europeans accompanied him, and two natives, black boys, were attached to the party, which was provided with thirteen horses, forty sheep, and provisions for three months. lake torrens was reached, and then the difficulties of the expedition began. although dignified with the name of lake, it proved to be an enormous swamp, without surface water, and the mud coated with a thin layer of salt. the party struggled to effect a passage, and penetrated into the slime for six miles, until they were in imminent danger of sinking. the lake, or rather salt swamp, presented a barrier which eyre considered it impossible to overcome. the party turned in a westerly direction, and reached the sea at port lincoln. here a little open boat was obtained, and mr. scott, eyre's courageous companion, undertook to attempt to reach adelaide and obtain further supplies. this he successfully accomplished, returning in the water witch with stores and provisions, two more men, and some kangaroo dogs. thus reinforced, the party reached fowler's bay in the great bight of south australia. the map shows that a journey of more than miles must have been made before the point was reached. thence they attempted to make their way round the head of the bight, but were twice baffled by want of water. nothing daunted, eyre made a third attempt, and succeeded in penetrating fifty miles beyond the head of the bight. but the result was achieved only at a cost which the little party could ill sustain. four of the best horses perished, which deprived eyre of the means of carrying provisions, and he had to decide between abandoning the expedition altogether or still further reducing the number of his companions. mr. scott and three men returned to adelaide, leaving behind a man named baxter, who had long been in eyre's employ as an overseer or factotum; the two natives who had first started with him, and a boy, wylie, who had before been in eyre's service, and who had been brought back in the cutter. six months after eyre had started from adelaide, he was left with only four companions to continue the journey. he had acquired considerable experience of the privations to be encountered, but refused to comply with the wishes of colonel gawler, the governor, to abandon the expedition as hopeless, and return to adelaide. indeed, with characteristic inflexibility--almost approaching to obstinacy--he resolved to attempt the western route along the shore of the great bight--a journey which, only a few months before, he had himself described as impracticable. the cutter which had been stationed at fowler bay, to afford assistance if required, departed on the st of january, , and eyre and his small party were left to their fate. he had been defeated in the attempt to push forward in a northward direction, and he resolved not to return without having accomplished something which would justify the confidence of the public in his energy and courageous spirit of adventure. if he could not reach the north, he would attempt the western route, whatever might be the result of his enterprise. after resting to recruit the strength of his party, eyre resolutely set out, on the th of february, on what proved to be a journey attended by almost unexampled demands upon human endurance. nine horses, one pony, six sheep, and a provision of flour, tea, and sugar for nine weeks, formed the slender stores of the little party, which resolutely set forward to track an unknown path to the west. accompanied by one of the blacks, eyre went on in advance to find water. for five days, during which time he travelled about miles, no water was obtained, and the distress endured by men and animals was extreme. it is not necessary to dwell on every incident of this terrible journey. eyre's descriptions, animated by remembrances of past sufferings, possess a graphic vigour which cannot be successfully emulated. sometimes it was found necessary to divide the party, so wretched was the country, and so difficult was it to obtain sufficient water in even the most limited supply for man and beast. once eyre was alone for six days, with only three quarts of water, some of which evaporated, and more was spilt. but his indomitable determination to accomplish the journey on which he had resolved never failed. he knew that at least miles of desert country lay between him and the nearest settlement of western australia; but even that prospect, the certain privations, the probable miserable death, did not daunt him in the journey. the horses broke down from thirst and fatigue; the pony died; the survivors crawled languidly about, "like dogs, looking to their masters only for aid." after a few days, during which no water had been obtainable, a dew fell, and eyre collected a little moisture with a sponge, the black boys with pieces of rag. to their inexpressible joy, some sand-hills were reached, and, after digging, a supply of water was obtained for their refreshment, and for six days the party rested by the spot to recruit their strength. the overseer and one of the natives then went back forty-seven miles to recover the little store of provisions they had been compelled to abandon. two out of the three horses he took with him broke down, and with great difficulty he succeeded in rejoining eyre. at this time the party were miles from their destination, with only three weeks' provisions, estimated on the most reduced scale. baxter, the overseer, wished to attempt to return; but, eyre being resolute, the overseer loyally determined to stay with him to the last. one horse was killed for food; dysentery broke out; the natives deserted them, but came back starving and penitent, and were permitted to remain with the white men. then came the tragedy which makes this narrative so conspicuously terrible, even in the annals of australian exploration. two of the black men shot the overseer, baxter, as he slept, and then ran away, perishing, it is supposed, miserably in the desert. eyre, when some distance from the place where poor baxter rested, looking after the horses, heard the report of the gun and hurried back, arriving just in time to receive the pathetic look of farewell from the murdered man, who had served him so long and so faithfully. wylie, the black boy, who had been with eyre in adelaide, now alone remained, and it is scarcely possible to imagine a more appalling situation than that in which eyre then found himself. the murderers had carried away nearly the whole of the scanty stock of provisions, leaving only forty pounds of flour, a little tea and sugar, and four gallons of water. they had also taken the two available guns, and nearly all the ammunition. the body of baxter was wrapped in a blanket--they could not even dig a grave in the barren rock. left with his sole companion, eyre sadly resumed the march, their steps tracked by the two blacks, who probably meditated further murders; but, with only cowardly instincts, they dared not approach the intrepid man, who at length outstripped them, and they were never heard of more. still no water was found for miles; then a slight supply, and the two men struggled on, daily becoming weaker, living on horse-flesh, an occasional kangaroo, and the few fish that were to be caught--for it must be remembered that at no time were they far from the coast. on the nd of june, nearly four months after they had bidden good-bye to the cutter at fowler's bay, they stood on the cliffs, looking out over the ocean, when they saw in the distance two objects which were soon recognized as boats, and shortly afterwards, to their unbounded joy, they discerned the masts of a vessel on the farther side of a small rocky island. animated by a new life, eyre pushed on until he reached a point whence he succeeded in hailing the ship, and a boat was sent off. the vessel proved to be a french whaler, the mississippi, commanded by an englishman, captain rossiter. the worn-out travellers stayed on board for a fortnight, experiencing the utmost kindness, and with recruited strength and food and clothing, they bade a grateful farewell to the captain and crew, and resumed their journey. for twenty-three days more eyre and his attendant wylie pursued their way. rain fell heavily, and the cold was intense; but at length, on the th of july, they reached albany, in western australia, and the journey was accomplished. for more than twelve months eyre had been engaged forcing his way from adelaide to the western colony; and the incidents of the journey have been dwelt upon because afterwards i passed over the same ground, though in the opposite direction, and the records of eyre's expedition were of the greatest service to me, by at least enabling me to guard against a repetition of the terrible sufferings he endured. explorations by leichardt. it is further necessary to refer to another of the journeys of exploration which preceded my own--that of the unfortunate leichardt. he endeavoured to cross the continent from east to west, starting from moreton bay, queensland, hoping to reach the western australian settlements. in leichardt had succeeded in crossing the north-western portion of the continent from moreton bay to port essington, and he conceived the gigantic project of reaching western australia. towards the end of , accompanied by eight men, with provisions estimated at two years' supply, he started on his journey. he took with him an enormous number of animals-- sheep, goats, bullocks, horses, and mules. they must have greatly encumbered his march, and the difficulty of obtaining food necessarily much impeded his movements. his original intention was first to steer north, following for some distance his previous track, and then, as opportunity offered, to strike westward and make clear across the continent. after disastrous wanderings for seven months, in the course of which they lost the whole of their cattle and sheep, the party returned. disappointed, but not discouraged, leichardt resolved on another attempt to achieve the task he had set himself. with great difficulty he obtained some funds; organized a small but ill-provided party, and again started for the interior. the last ever heard of him was a letter, dated the rd of april, . he was then in the fitzroy downs; he wrote in good spirits, hopefully as to his prospects: "seeing how much i have been favoured in my present progress, i am full of hopes that our almighty protector will allow me to bring my darling scheme to a successful termination." the fate of leichardt. from that day the fate of leichardt and his companions has been involved in mystery. he was then on the cogoon river, in eastern australia, at least miles from the nearest station on the western side of the continent. his last letter gives no clue to the track he intended to pursue. if a westerly course had been struck he would have nearly traversed the route which subsequently warburton travelled; but no trace of him has ever been discovered. several expeditions were undertaken to ascertain his fate; at various times expectations were aroused by finding trees marked l; but leichardt himself, on previous journeys, had met with trees so marked, by whom is unknown. natives found in the remote interior were questioned; they told vague stories of the murder of white men, but all investigations resulted in the conclusion that the statements were as untrustworthy as those generally made to explorers who question uninformed, ignorant natives. the white man's experience is usually that a native only partially comprehends the question; he does not understand what is wanted, but is anxious to please, as he expects something to eat, and he says what he thinks is most likely to be satisfactory. leichardt was certainly ill-provided for an expedition of the magnitude he contemplated, and it appears to be at the least as probable that he succumbed to the hardships he encountered, or was swept away by a flood, as that he was murdered by the blacks. twenty-seven years have elapsed since he disappeared in the interior; yet the mystery attending his fate has not ceased to excite a desire to know the fate of so daring an explorer, and ascertain something definite respecting his course--a desire which was one of the principal motives that prompted my first expedition into the unknown interior dividing the west from the east. in , mr. giles headed an exploring party from melbourne, which succeeded in making known a vast district hitherto unexplored; but his progress was stopped, when he had reached longitude degrees minutes, by a large salt lake, the limits of which could not be ascertained. in the following year mr. gosse, at the head of a party equipped by the south australian government, started from nearly the same point of the telegraph line, and at the same period as the warburton expedition, but was compelled to return after eight months' absence, having reached longitude degrees minutes. gosse found the country generally poor and destitute of water. he was perhaps unfortunate in experiencing an unusually dry season; but his deliberate conclusion was, "i do not think a practicable route will ever be found between the lower part of western australia and the telegraph line." various expeditions. at the instance of baron von mueller, and assisted by a small subscription from the south australian government, mr. giles made a second attempt to penetrate westward. he reached the th degree of east longitude, and discovered and traversed four distinct mountain ranges, on one of which mr. gosse shortly afterwards found his tracks. one of his companions, mr. gibson, lost his way and perished in the desert, and therefore mr. giles turned his face eastwards, and, after an absence of twelve months, reached adelaide. he encountered many perils, having been nine times attacked by the natives, probably in the attempt to obtain water; and on one occasion was severely wounded and nearly captured. on the th march, , mr. ross, with his son and another european, three arabs, fourteen horses, and sixteen camels, started from the telegraph line, near the peake station in south australia. he was compelled to return through want of water, although, soon after starting, he had greatly reduced the number of his party by sending back three of his companions, two of the horses, and twelve of the camels. such, in brief, have been the results of the efforts made to cross australia between the telegraph line and the west coast, and ascertain the probability of establishing a practicable route. i have referred to them to show how persistent has been the desire to achieve the exploit, and how little daunted by repeated failures have been australian explorers. i now propose to relate my own experiences--the results of three journeys of exploration, conducted by myself. the first was undertaken in the hope of discovering some traces of leichardt; the second nearly retraced the route of eyre; the third was across the desert from western australia to the telegraph line in south australia. the first journey did not result in obtaining the information sought for; the second and third journeys were successfully accomplished. chapter . first expedition in search of leichardt. statements made by the natives. an expedition prepared. leader appointed. official instructions. the journal. early in , dr. von mueller, of the melbourne botanic gardens, a botanist of high attainments, proposed to the government of western australia that an expedition should be undertaken from the colony for the purpose of ascertaining, if possible, the fate of the lost explorer, leichardt. reports had reached perth of natives met with in the eastern districts, who had stated that, about twenty years before (a date corresponding with that of the last authentic intelligence received from leichardt), a party of white men had been murdered. this tale was repeated, but perhaps would not have made much impression if a gentleman, mr. j.h. monger, when on a trip eastward in search of sheep-runs, had not been told by his native guide that he had been to the very spot where the murder was committed, and had seen the remains of the white men. his story was very circumstantial; he described the spot, which, he said, was near a large lake, so large that it looked like the sea, and that the white men were attacked and killed while making a damper--bread made of flour mixed with water, and cooked on hot ashes. so certain was he as to the exact locality, that he offered to conduct a party to the place. this appeared like a trustworthy confirmation of the reports which had reached the colony, and created a great impression, so that the government felt it a duty incumbent on them to make an effort to ascertain the truth of this statement, and dr. von mueller's offer to lead an expedition was accepted. i was then, as now, an officer of the survey department, and employed in a distant part of the colony. i was ordered to repair to headquarters, to confer with the authorities on the subject, and was offered the appointment of second in command and navigator. this was a proposition quite in accordance with my tastes, for i had long felt a deep interest in the subject of australian exploration, and ardently desired to take my share in the work. i at once arranged the equipment of the expedition, but, while so engaged, the mail from melbourne brought a letter from dr. von mueller, to the effect that his other engagements would not permit him to take the lead as proposed, and i was appointed to take his place in the expedition. official instructions. the honourable captain roe, r.n., the surveyor-general, who had himself been a great explorer, undertook the preparation of a set of instructions for my guidance; and they so accurately describe the objects of the journey, and the best modes of carrying them out, that i transcribe the official letter:-- survey office, perth, th april, . sir, his excellency the governor having been pleased to appoint you to lead an expedition into the interior of western australia for the purpose of searching for the remains of certain white men reported by the natives to have been killed by the aborigines some years ago, many miles beyond the limits of our settled country, and it being deemed probable that the white men referred to formed part of an exploring party under the command of dr. leichardt, endeavouring to penetrate overland from victoria to this colony several years ago, i have been directed to furnish the following instructions for your guidance on this interesting service, and for enabling you to carry out the wishes of the government in connexion therewith. . your party will consist of six persons in the whole, well armed, and made up of mr. george monger as second in command, mr. malcolm hamersley as third in command, a farrier blacksmith to be hired at newcastle, and two well-known and reliable natives, tommy windich and jemmy, who have already acquired considerable experience under former explorers. . an agreement to serve on the expedition in the above capacities has been prepared, and should be signed by each european member of the party previous to starting. . a saddle-horse has been provided for each member of the party, together with ---- pack-horses to transport such portions of the outfit as cannot be carried by the former. a three-horsed cart will also accompany the expedition as far as may be found practicable through the unsettled country, and thereby relieve the pack-horses as much as possible. . all preparations for the journey being now complete, it is desirable that you should lose no time in starting, so as to arrive at the commencement of the unexplored country by the end of the present month, or beginning of the expected winter rains. it has been, however, already ascertained from native information that a considerable quantity of rain has recently fallen over the regions to be explored, and that no impediment may be anticipated from a scarcity of water there. . the route to be followed might advantageously commence at newcastle, where some of your party and several of your horses are to be picked up, and thence proceed north-easterly to goomaling, and miles further in the same general direction, passing eastward to mounts chunbaren and kenneth of mr. austin's, to the eastern farthest of that explorer, in degrees east and / degrees south. thence the general north-easterly route of the expedition must be governed by the information afforded by your native guides as to the locality in which they have reported the remains of white men are to be found. . on arriving at that spot, the greatest care is to be taken to bring away all such remains as may be discovered by a diligent search of the neighbourhood. by friendly and judicious treatment of the local natives, it is also probable that several articles of european manufacture which are said to be still in their possession might be bartered from them, and serve towards identifying their former owners. the prospect of obtaining from the natives, at this remote date, anything like a journal, note-book, or map, would indeed be small; but the greatest interest would be attached to the smallest scrap of written or printed paper, however much defaced, if only covered with legible characters. a more promising mode by which the former presence of european explorers on the spot might be detected is the marks which are generally made on the trees by travellers to record the number or reference to a halting-place, or the initials of some of the party. thus the letter l has in several instances been found by searching parties to have been legibly cut on trees in the interior of the eastern colonies, and in localities supposed to have been visited by the eminent explorer alluded to. it is needless to point out that metal articles, such as axes, tomahawks, gun and pistol barrels, iron-work of pack-saddles, and such like, would be far more likely to have survived through the lapse of years than articles of a more perishable nature. . after exhausting all conceivable means of obtaining information on the spot, and from the nature of surrounding country, an attempt should be made to follow back on the track of the unfortunate deceased, which is said to have been from the eastward and towards the settled part of this colony. here a close and minute scrutiny of the trees might prove of great value in clearing up existing doubts, especially at and about any water-holes and springs near which explorers would be likely to bivouac. . after completing an exhaustive research and inquiry into this interesting and important part of your duties, the remainder of the time that may be at your disposal, with reference to your remaining stock of provisions, should be employed in exploring the surrounding country, in tracing any considerable or smaller stream it may be your good fortune to discover, and generally in rendering the service entrusted to your guidance as extensively useful and valuable to this colony as circumstances may admit. . towards effecting this object, your homeward journey should, if possible, be over country not previously traversed by the outward route, or by any former explorers, and should be so regulated as to expose your party to no unnecessary risk on account of the falling short of supplies. . in your intercourse with the aborigines of the interior, many of whom will have no previous personal knowledge of the white man, i need scarcely commend to you a policy of kindness and forbearance mixed with watchfulness and firmness, as their future bearing towards our remote colonists may be chiefly moulded by early impressions. . to render the expedition as extensively useful as possible, i would urge you, in the interests of science, to make and preserve such specimens in natural history as may come within the reach of yourself and party, especially in the departments of botany, geology, and zoology, which may be greatly enriched by productions of country not yet traversed. . direct reference to minor objects, and to matters of detail, is purposely omitted, in full reliance on your judgment and discretion, and on your personal desire to render the expedition as productive as possible of benefit to the colony and to science in general. . in this spirit i may add that the brief instructions herein given for your general guidance are by no means intended to fetter your own judgment in carrying out the main object of the expedition in such other and different manner as may appear to you likely to lead to beneficial results. in the belief that such results will be achieved by the energy and perseverance of yourself and of those who have so nobly volunteered to join you in the enterprise, and with confident wishes for your success, in which h.e. largely participates, i remain, sir, your obedient servant, j.s. roe, surveyor-general. john forrest, esquire, leader of exploring expedition to the north-east. mr. george monger (brother of the gentleman who gave the information), who accompanied me as second in command, had previously been on an expedition to the eastward, and jemmy mungaro was the black who said he had seen the spot where the remains of the white men were. his persistence in the statement encouraged me to hope that i might be the first to announce positively the fate of the lost explorer; but i had then to learn how little dependence can be placed on the testimony of australian aborigines. on the th of april, , i began the journey. i was well supplied with instruments for making observations, so as to ascertain our daily position. a knowledge of at least the leading principles of the art of navigation is as necessary to the explorer as to the mariner on the ocean. our stock of provisions consisted of pounds of flour, pounds of pork, pounds of sugar, and pounds of tea; and we each took two suits of clothes. the party were all in good spirits. for myself i was hopeful of success, and my white companions shared my feelings. the natives were, as they generally are, except when food is scarce, or their anger excited, on the best terms with everybody and everything, and jemmy mungaro, so far as could be judged from his demeanour, might have been the most veracious guide who ever led a party of white men through difficulties and dangers on an expedition of discovery. day by day i noted down the incidents of the journey, and that journal i now submit to the reader. journal of proceedings of an exploring expedition in search of the remains of the late dr. leichardt and party, undertaken by order of the government of western australia, by john forrest, government surveyor. sir, in pursuance of instructions received from you, the exploring party under my command consisted of the following persons, namely, mr. george monger, as second in command; mr. malcolm hamersley, as third in command; probation prisoner, david morgan, as shoeing smith, and two natives (tommy windich and jemmy mungaro). the latter native gave mr. j.h. monger the information respecting the murder of white men in the eastward. reached newcastle on the th and left on monday, th, with a three-horse cart and teamster and thirteen horses, making a total of sixteen horses. reached mombekine, which is about sixteen miles east-north-east from newcastle. april th. continued journey to goomalling, sixteen miles, which we reached at p.m., and devoted the remainder of the afternoon to weighing and packing rations, etc., for a final start. st. leaving goomalling at . a.m., we travelled in a northerly direction for nine miles, and reached walyamurra lake; thence about east-north-east for seven miles, we encamped at a well on north side of kombekine lake. the water was very bad from opossums being drowned in it, and there was hardly any feed. nd. hearing from a number of natives that there was no water in the direction we intended steering, namely, to mount churchman, we decided on changing our course and proceed there via waddowring, in latitude degrees south and longitude degrees east. steering about south-south-east for eight miles, through dense scrubby thickets, which we had great difficulty in getting the cart through, we struck the road from goomalling to waddowring, which we followed along about east for eight miles, and camped at a well called naaning, with hardly any feed. rd. mr. george roe (who had come from northam to bid us farewell) and my teamster left us this morning to return to newcastle. considerable delay having occurred in collecting the horses, we did not start till twelve o'clock, when we steered east-north-east for eight miles over scrubby sand-plains, and camped at a well called pingeperring, with very little feed for our horses. th. started at . a.m. and steered about east for seven miles over scrubby, undulating sand-plains, thence north degrees east magnetic for two miles, thence north degrees for one mile, and thence about north degrees east magnetic for five miles over scrubby sand-plains. we camped at a spring called dwartwollaking at p.m. barometer . ; thermometer degrees. th (sunday). did not travel to-day. took observations for time, and corrected our watches. found camp to be in south latitude degrees minutes by meridian altitude of sun. th. travelled in about the direction of north degrees east magnetic for twenty-eight miles. we reached yarraging, the farthest station to the eastward, belonging to messrs. ward and adams, where we bivouacked for the night. th. bought some rations from ward and co., making our supply equal to last three months on the daily allowance of a pound and a half of flour, half a pound of pork, a quarter of a pound of sugar, and half an ounce of tea per man. being unable to take the cart any further, and wishing to have the team horses with me, i arranged with ward and co. to take it to newcastle for pounds. packed up and left yarraging with ten pack and six riding horses, and steering north degrees east magnetic for eight miles we reached waddowring springs in south latitude degrees and longitude degrees east. th. started this morning with mr. monger, tommy windich, and dunbatch (a native of this locality) in search of water in order to shift the party. travelling about north for eleven miles we found a native well, and by digging it out seven feet we obtained sufficient water for ourselves and horses. i therefore sent mr. monger back with instructions to bring the party to this spot, called cartubing. i then proceeded in a northerly direction, and at two miles passed water in granite rocks at a spot called inkanyinning. shortly afterwards we passed another native well, called yammaling, from which we steered towards a spot called beebynyinning; but, night setting in, our guide lost his way, and we were obliged to camp for the night in a thicket without water and very little feed. th. this morning dunbatch brought us to beebynyinning, where we obtained a little water by digging. after digging a well we returned to cartubing, where we met the party and bivouacked on a patch of green feed. th. shifted the party from cartubing to beebynyinning, watering our horses on the way at inkanyinning and yammaling, which was fortunate, as there was very little water at beebynyinning. may st. steering about north-east for eight miles over grassy country, we reached and encamped at danjinning, a small grassy spot, with native well, by deepening which about ten feet we obtained a plentiful supply of water. mr. austin visited danjinning in , and we could see the tracks of his horses distinctly. barometer . every appearance of rain, which we are in much want of. nd (sunday). rested at danjinning, which i found to be in south latitude degrees minutes by meridian altitude of the sun. read divine service. jemmy shot six gnows and a wurrong to-day. rd. steering in a northerly direction for sixteen miles, we reached yalburnunging, a small grassy spot, with water in a native well, which we deepened four feet, and procured a plentiful supply. for the first nine miles our route lay over scrubby sand-plains, after which we came into dense thickets and stunted gums. th. steering towards mount churchman, or geelabbing, for about fifteen miles, we reached a grassy spot called billeburring, and found water in a native well, probably permanent. at eight miles we passed a water-hole in some granite rocks, called gnaragnunging. dense acacia and cypress thickets most of the way. th. steering in a northerly direction for about twelve miles, we reached mount churchman, or geelabbing, an immense bare granite hill, and camped, with plenty of feed and water. at five miles passed a spring called coolee. country very dense and scrubby; no feed in any of the thickets. from the summit of mount churchman, ningham of mr. monger, or mount singleton of mr. a.c. gregory, bore north degrees minutes east magnetic. this evening a party of nine natives (friends of our native jemmy) joined us, who state that a long time ago a party of white men and horses died at a place called bouincabbajibimar, also that a gun and a number of other articles are there, and volunteer to accompany us to the spot. th. left mount churchman in company with the nine natives, and travelled about north-north-west for ten miles to a small water-hole called woodgine, thence in a northerly direction to a branch of lake moore, which we crossed without difficulty, and, following along its north shore for three miles, we bivouacked at a spring close to the lake called cundierring, with splendid feed around the granite rocks. th. steering in a northerly direction for eleven miles, through dense thickets of acacia and cypress, we reached some granite rocks with water on them, called curroning, and bivouacked. have fears that the information received from the natives relates to nine of mr. austin's horses that died from poison at poison rock. they now state they are only horses' bones, and not men's, as first stated. th. travelling in the direction of north degrees east for about ten miles, we reached some granite rocks, with a water-hole in them, called coorbedar. passed over very rough, low, quartz hills, covered with acacia thickets, etc. at four miles passed a water-hole called yeergolling; at seven miles a small one called gnurra; and another at eight miles called munnarra. th (sunday). rested our horses at coorbedar. found camp to be in south latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitudes of the sun and regulus, and in longitude degrees minutes east. from a quartz hill half a mile south-west from coorbedar, mount singleton bore north degrees minutes east. the supply of water from the rock having been used, i went, in company with mr. hamersley, to a spot one mile and a half south-south-west from coorbedar, called dowgooroo, where we dug a well and procured a little water, to which i intend shifting to-morrow, as i propose staying in this vicinity for two days, so as to give me time to visit warne, the large river spoken of by jemmy. th. started this morning in company with tommy windich and a native boy (one of the nine who joined us at mount churchman) to examine the locality called warne. steering north degrees east magnetic for about seven miles, we came to a grassy flat about half a mile wide, with a stream-bed trending south running through it. the natives state it to be dry in summer, but at present there is abundance of water, and in wet seasons the flat must be almost all under water. after following the flat about seven miles we returned towards camp, about five miles, and bivouacked. th. returned this morning to dowgooroo and found all well. rain, which we were much in want of, fell lightly most of the day. barometer . ; thermometer degrees. th. steered this morning about north degrees east magnetic for eight miles, and camped by a shallow lake of fresh water--the bivouac of the th. here we met a party of twenty-five natives (friends of my native jemmy and the nine who joined us at mount churchman) who had a grand corroboree in honour of the expedition. they stated that at bouincabbajilimar there were the remains of a number of horses, but no men's bones or guns, and pointed in the direction of poison rock, where mr. austin lost nine horses. being now satisfied that the natives were alluding to the remains of mr. austin's horses, i resolved to steer to the eastward, towards a spot called by the native, jemmy, noondie, where he states he heard the remains of white men were. th. bidding farewell to all the natives, we steered in a south-easterly direction for fifteen miles, and camped in a rough hollow called durkying; cypress and acacia thickets the whole way. th. one of our horses having strayed, we did not start till . a.m., when we steered in about a south-east direction for eight miles, and camped on an elevated grassy spot, called mingan, with water in the granite rocks, probably permanent. the thickets were a little less dense than usual, but without any grass, except at the spots mentioned. by meridian altitudes of mars and regulus, we were in south latitude degrees minutes seconds, and in longitude about degrees minutes east. th. steering north-east for four miles, and north-north-east for seven miles, over sandy soil, with thickets of acacia and cypress, we bivouacked on an elevated grassy spot, called earroo, with water in granite rocks. th (sunday). rested at earroo; horses enjoying good feed. by meridian altitudes of regulus and mars, camp at earroo was in south latitude degrees minutes seconds, and in longitude degrees minutes east; weather very cloudy; barometer . th. started . a.m., and steered north degrees east for about five miles; thence about north degrees east for eight miles; thence north degrees east for five miles, to a small grassy spot called croobenyer, with water in granite rocks. sandy soil, thickets of cypress, acacia, etc., most of the way. found camp to be in south latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitudes of regulus and aquilae (altair); barometer . . th. steering north degrees east for two miles and a half, we saw a low hill called yeeramudder, bearing north degrees minutes east magnetic, distant about seventeen miles, for which we steered, and camped to the north of it, on a fine patch of grass with a little rain-water on some granite rocks. at eleven miles crossed a branch of a dry salt lake, which appears to run far to the eastward. th. steering about north degrees east magnetic for fourteen miles, attempted to cross the lake we had been leaving a little to the southward, making for a spot supposed by us to be the opposite shore, but on arriving at which was found to be an island. as we had great difficulty in reaching it, having to carry all the loads the last yards, our horses saving themselves with difficulty, and, being late, i resolved to leave the loads and take the horses to another island, where there was a little feed, on reaching which we bivouacked without water, all being very tired. th. on examining this immense lake i found that it was impossible to get the horses and loads across it; i was therefore compelled to retrace my steps to where we first entered it, which the horses did with great difficulty without their loads. i was very fortunate in finding water and feed about three miles north-north-west, to which we took the horses and bivouacked, leaving on the island all the loads, which we shall have to carry at least half way, three quarters of a mile, the route being too boggy for the horses. heavy work in the bog. st. went over to the lake in company with messrs. monger, hamersley, and tommy windich, with four horses. succeeded in getting all the loads to the mainland, carrying them about three quarters of a mile up to our knees in mud, from which point the lake became a little firmer, and the horses carried the loads out. i cannot speak too highly of the manner in which my companions assisted me on this trying occasion. having been obliged to work barefooted in the mud, the soles of mr. hamersley's feet were in a very bad state, and he was hardly able to walk for a fortnight. seeing a native fire several miles to the southward, i intend sending tommy windich and jemmy in search of the tribe to-morrow, in order that i may question them respecting the reported death of white men to the eastward. nd. went over to the lake with all the horses, and brought the loads to the camp. started tommy and jemmy in search of the natives. after returning to camp, overhauled all the pack bags, and dried and re-packed them, ready for a fresh start on monday morning. also washed the mud off the horses, who appear to be doing well, and fast recovering from the effects of the bogging. tommy and jemmy returned this evening, having seen some natives after dark, but were unable to get near them. rd (sunday). went with tommy windich and jemmy on foot to follow the tracks of the natives seen yesterday. seeing no chance of overtaking them, as they appeared to be making off at a great rate, and were twelve hours in advance of us, we returned, after following the tracks for five miles across the lake. the camp was reached at p.m., after we had walked about fifteen miles. this spot, which i named retreat rock, i found to be in south latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitudes of regulus and mars, and in about longitude degrees minutes east. th. some of the horses having strayed, we were not able to start till . a.m., when we steered in about east-north-east direction for sixteen miles, and camped on a piece of rising ground, with very little water. from this bivouac, a very remarkable peaked hill, called woolling, which i named mount elain, bore north degrees minutes east magnetic, distant about twenty miles; and two conspicuous hills, close together, called yeadie and bulgar, bore north degrees east magnetic. dense thickets, acacia, cypress, etc., sandy soil with spinifex, most of the way. discovery of lake barlee. th. steering for yeadie and bulgar for five miles, and came to some granite rocks with water, where we gave drink to our thirsty horses. leaving the party to follow, i went with jemmy in advance to look for water, which we found in a rough stream-bed, and brought the party to it. this afternoon went with jemmy to the summit of yeadie, and took a round of angles. the local attraction was so great on this hill that the prismatic compass was useless; luckily i had my pocket sextant with me, by which i obtained the included angles. from the summit of yeadie the view was very extensive. the great lake that we had already followed for forty miles ran as far as the eye could reach to the east and south, studded with numerous islands; low ranges of hills in every direction. this immense lake i named lake barlee, after the colonial secretary of western australia. by meridian altitudes of mars and regulus, camp was in south latitude, degrees minutes seconds, and in longitude about degrees minutes east, yeadie bearing north degrees east magnetic, distant about two miles. th. moving in about a northerly direction for nine miles, we turned to the eastward, rounded a branch of lake barlee, towards some loose granite rocks, where we encamped, but could not find water. sent jemmy over to another rock one mile southward, where he found a fine permanent water-hole, to which we took the horses after dark. distance travelled to-day about eighteen miles. tommy shot a fine emu, which was a great treat to us all. th. shifted the party over to the water found last night, one mile distant, and camped. found camp to be in south latitude degrees minutes, and in longitude about degrees minutes east. marked a small tree with the letter f. close to the waterhole. th. some of the horses having strayed, we did not start till . a.m., when i went in advance of the party, in company with jemmy, to look for water. after following lake barlee for nine miles, it turned to the southward. then scouring the country in every direction for water without success, we reached the tracks of the party (who had passed on), and, following them over plains of spinifex and stunted gums, found them encamped with plenty of water, which they had luckily discovered at sundown. distance travelled eighteen miles about true east. by meridian altitude of bootes (arcturus), this bivouac is in south latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude about degrees minutes east. disappointed expeditions. th. started in company with tommy and jemmy to explore the country eastward, leaving the party to take off the horses' shoes for their relief. travelling in an easterly direction for eight miles over sandy soil and spinifex, we reached the summit of a high hill, supposed by jemmy to be noondie, which i named mount alexander, from which we saw another range about eleven miles distant, bearing north degrees minutes east magnetic, to which we proceeded, and found water in some granite rocks. none of these hills, however, agreed with the description given by jemmy; and the expectations were at an end that he would succeed in showing us the spot where the remains of white men were. returning to camp, seven miles, bivouacked on a grassy flat, without water or food. th. (sunday). started at dawn, with the saddles and rugs on our backs, in search of the horses, and, after travelling a mile and a half on their tracks, found them at a small water-hole passed by us yesterday. saddled up and reached camp at eleven o'clock, and found all well. yesterday morning the dogs caught an emu, off which we made a first-rate breakfast, not having had anything to eat since the previous morning. barometer . . a difficulty with the natives. st. started this morning in company with mr. monger and jemmy in search of natives, leaving mr. hamersley in charge, with instructions to proceed eastward about twenty-two miles, to where i found water on the th. after starting the party we steered in a south-south-east direction towards a high range of hills, which i named mount bivou, about twelve miles distant. to the westward of the range we found a fine water-hole in some granite rocks, where we rested an hour to allow the horses to feed. continuing in about the same direction for five miles, we ascended a rough range to have a view of the country. we descried a large fire to the westward seven miles, towards which we proceeded, in the hope of finding natives. when we were within half a mile we could hear hallooing and shouting; and it was very evident there was a great muster (certainly not less than ) of natives, corrobberying, making a dreadful noise, the dogs joining in chorus. having stripped jemmy, i told him to go and speak to them, which he started to do in very good spirits. he soon beckoned us to follow, and asked us to keep close behind him, as the natives were what he called like "sheep flock." he appeared very nervous, trembling from head to foot. after reassuring him, we tied up our horses, and advanced through the thicket towards them. when getting in sight of them, jemmy commenced cooeying, and was answered by the natives; after which he advanced and showed himself. as soon as they saw him, the bloodthirsty villains rushed at him, and threw three dowaks, which he luckily dodged; when fortunately one of the natives recognized him (having seen jemmy at mount elain when a little boy), and called to the others not to harm him. seeing jemmy running towards the horses, mr. monger and i thought it was time to retire, as we saw the mistake we had made in leaving the horses. the thickets being dense, we had difficulty in finding the horses quickly. on reaching them mr. monger found he had dropped his revolver. had not jemmy been recognized, i feel sure we should have had bloodshed, and might probably have lost our lives. mounting the horses, we advanced towards the natives, and had a short talk with one of them who came to speak to jemmy. there was a guard of eight natives, with spears stripped, and dowaks in readiness, should we prove hostile. although i assured them we were friends, and asked them to put down their spears, they took no notice of what was said. one native told us not to sleep here, but to go away and not return, or the natives would kill and eat us, after which he turned away as if he did not wish to have any more words with us. it being now dark, we took his advice, and retreated towards where we had dinner, five miles off. camped in a thicket without water, and tied up our horses, keeping watch all night. june st. at daybreak saddled up our tired and hungry horses, and proceeded to where we had dinner yesterday. after giving our horses two hours' grazing and having had breakfast, started back towards the natives' camp, as i wished to question them respecting the reported death of white men in this neighbourhood. when we approached the natives' bivouac, we saw where they had been following up our tracks in every direction, and jemmy found the place where they had picked up mr. monger's revolver. while jemmy was away looking for the revolver, mr. monger saw two natives following up our trail, and within fifty yards of us. we both wheeled round and had our guns in readiness, but soon perceived they were the same as were friendly last night, and i called jemmy to speak to them. at my request they went and brought us mr. monger's revolver, which they stated they had been warming near the fire! fortunately for them, it did not go off. on being questioned by jemmy, they stated that the place noondie (where jemmy stated he heard the remains of the white men were) was two days' journey north-west from this spot; that there were the remains of horses, but not of men, and they volunteered to show us the spot. being now p.m., and having to meet the party to-night at a place about twenty-three miles distant, we started at once, leaving the natives, who did not wish to move to-day, but who apparently sincerely promised to come to our camp to-morrow. reached camp at the spot arranged an hour after dark, and found all well. bivouacking. nd. rested our horses at the place, which i called the two-spring bivouac, there being two small springs here. re-stuffed with grass all the pack-saddles, as some of the horses were getting sore backs. by meridian altitude of sun found the camp to be in south latitude degrees minutes seconds, and in longitude about degrees minutes east. i was very much annoyed at the natives not putting in appearance as promised. rd. no sign of the natives this morning. i decided to steer in the direction pointed out by them, and travelling about north degrees east magnetic for fifteen miles, we found water in some granite rocks, with very good feed around, cypress and acacia thickets, light red loamy soil, destitute of grass. th. steering in about west-north-west direction for sixteen miles, the first six of which were studded with granite rocks, good feed around them, after which through poor sandy country, covered with spinifex. we bivouacked in a thicket without water or feed, and tied up our horses. saw a natives' fire, but was unable to get near it. barometer . ; fine. th. after travelling in a northerly direction for seven miles without finding water, and without seeing any hill answering the description given by jemmy, i struck about east for sixteen miles, and camped at a fine spring near some granite rocks, with splendid feed around them. this is the first good spring since leaving the settled districts. at p.m., barometer . ; thermometer degrees. th (sunday). rested at camp, which i called depot spring, and found to be in south latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitude of sun. barometer at a.m. . ; thermometer degrees; at p.m., barometer . ; thermometer degrees. th. started this morning, in company with mr. hamersley and jemmy, to explore the country to the northward, where we had seen a peaked hill. went in that direction about thirty miles, the first twenty of which were studded with granite rocks, with fine feed around them. at twenty-seven miles crossed a salt marsh, about one mile wide, and, continuing three miles farther, reached the peaked hill, which was composed of granite, capped with immense blocks, giving it a very remarkable appearance. bivouacked on north-west side of hill, at a small water-hole. th. this morning, after saddling up, we ascended the conical hill (which i named mount holmes) and took a round of angles from it, after which we struck north degrees east magnetic to a granite range about eight miles distant, where we found two fine water-holes, and rested an hour. thence in about a south-south-east direction for twelve miles, we bivouacked without water on a small patch of feed. the day was very fine, and the rainy appearance cleared off, much to our grief. th. at daybreak, no sound of horses' bells, and anticipating they had made off in search of water, we put our saddles, guns, and rugs on our backs, and started on their tracks. after following the tracks for nine miles we came to a water-hole and had breakfast; afterwards we succeeded in overtaking the horses in a grassy flat, about thirteen miles south-south-east from our last night's bivouac. the last few miles our troublesome load became very awkward and heavy. one of the horses had broken his hobbles. continuing in about the same course for six miles, we struck about west-south-west for ten miles, and reached camp, where we found all well, at p.m. barometer . ; cloudy. an old native. th. started again this morning in company with mr. monger and jemmy, to explore the country to the eastward, leaving mr. hamersley to shift the party to our bivouac of the nd instant, about twenty-four miles south-east from here. after travelling east-north-east for six miles, we came upon a very old native at a fire in the thicket. jemmy could not understand what he said, but he thought that he meant that there were a number of armed natives about. he was very frightened, howled the whole time we stayed, and was apparently in his dotage, hardly able to walk. continuing our journey, we camped at a small water-hole in some granite rocks, with good feed around them, about sixteen miles east-north-east from depot spring. th. started at sunrise, and steered about east-north-east over lightly-grassed country; and on our way came upon a middle-aged native with two small children. we were within twenty yards of him before he saw us. he appeared very frightened, and trembled from head to foot. jemmy could understand this native a little, and ascertained from him that he had never seen or heard anything about white men or horses being killed or having died in this vicinity. did not know any place named noondie; but pointed to water a little way eastward. jemmy then asked him all manner of questions, but to no purpose, as he stated he knew nothing about the business. jemmy asked him if he had ever heard of any horses being eaten; he answered no, but that the natives had just eaten his brother! i have no doubt parents have great difficulty in saving their children from these inhuman wretches. then the old man tried to cry, and ended by saying he had two women at his hut, a little westward. after travelling ten miles from our last night's bivouac, and not finding water, we struck north degrees east magnetic for about twenty miles, through scrubby thickets, without feed, and arrived at the bivouac of the nd, where the party will meet us to-morrow. reached the water at the two springs half an hour after dark. th. explored the country around camp in search of a better place for feed, but could not find water. mr. hamersley and party joined us at p.m., all well. tommy shot a red kangaroo, which was a great treat, after living so long on salt pork. barometer . ; fine; cold wind from the east all day. th (sunday). rested at camp. intend taking a trip to the southward to-morrow. barometer . . th. started this morning, in company with morgan and jemmy, to examine the country to the southward. travelled in a south-westerly direction for twenty-five miles, and camped at the spot where we had the encounter with the natives on may . we found they had left, and there was no water on the rocks. luckily our horses had water six miles back. mount ida. th. saddled up at daybreak, and steered about south-east towards a high range of hills about ten miles distant. i named it mount ida, and from the summit i took a round of angles with my pocket sextant. on all the hills in this neighbourhood the local attraction is so great that the prismatic compass is useless. found a fine spring of water on south side of mount ida, in an almost inaccessible spot. after giving the horses two hours' rest we continued our journey north degrees east magnetic for eight miles to a granite range, where, after a diligent search, i found two water-holes, and bivouacked, with good feed around the rocks. th. saddled up at sunrise, and steered to some trap ranges, north degrees east, about seven miles distant, from which i could see an immense lake running as far as the eye could reach to the eastward, and westerly and northerly, most probably joining lake barlee. not being able to proceed farther southward, on account of the lake, i steered in a northerly direction for twenty miles, but, discovering neither feed nor water, bivouacked in a thicket, and tied up our horses. th. at dawn, found that my horse sugar, after breaking his bridle, had made off towards our bivouac of the th. placing my saddle on jemmy's horse, we followed on the track for six miles, when we came to a few granite rocks, with a little water on them, from rain that had fallen during the night. at this place morgan was left with the horses and our guns, while jemmy and i followed on sugar's tracks, taking only a revolver with us. after travelling on the tracks for two miles we overtook him, and with a little trouble managed to catch him. on reaching the spot where we had left morgan, we found him with the three double-barrelled guns on full cock, together with his revolver, in readiness. on being asked what was the matter, he stated "nothing," but he was ready to give the natives what he called "a warm attachment." after having breakfast we steered north-north-west for about twenty miles, and reached camp at p.m., and found all well. rained a little during the day. exploring eastward. th. having thus made an exhaustive search in the neighbourhood where jemmy expected to find the remains of the white men, by travelling over nearly the whole of the country between latitude degrees and degrees minutes south, and longitude and degrees east, i determined to make the most of the little time at my disposal, and carry out the instruction that i was to attempt to proceed as far eastward as possible. accordingly, after collecting the horses, steered about east-north-east for nine miles, to a low quartz range, over tolerably grassy country, not very dense. from this range i saw some bare granite rocks bearing about north degrees east magnetic. for these we steered, and luckily, after travelling six miles over a plain, which in severe winters must be nearly all under water, found a fine pool in a clay-pan, and bivouacked. there was a little rain during the night. th. the horses having strayed back on our tracks, we did not start till o'clock, when the journey was continued towards the granite range seen yesterday, about ten miles distant. we camped on west side of north, with plenty of water from the recent rain on the granite rocks, but with very little feed. at five miles crossed a dry stream-bed, eighteen yards wide, sandy bottom; thickets most of the way, but not very dense. th (sunday). rested at camp. jemmy shot four rock kangaroos to-day. took a round of angles from a bare granite hill, north degrees east magnetic, about one mile from camp, which i found to be in south latitude degrees minutes by meridian altitudes of bootes (arcturus) and a pegasi (markab); and in longitude about degrees minutes east. saw a high hill bearing north degrees minutes east magnetic, about twenty-five miles distant, which i named mount lenora; and another bearing north degrees east magnetic, about twenty-five miles distant, which i named mount george. intend proceeding to mount lenora to-morrow. marked a small tree (ordnance-tree of mr. austin) with the letter f at our bivouac. st. steering towards mount lenora over some tolerably grassy country, we reached it at sundown, and, not finding any water, camped without it, with very good feed. in south latitude degrees minutes by meridian altitudes of lyrae (vega) and aquilae (altair), and in longitude about degrees minutes east. nd. after making every search in the vicinity of the bivouac for water, and the country ahead appearing very unpromising, i decided to return ten miles on our tracks, where we found a fine pool of water in a brook, and camped. tomorrow i intend taking a flying trip in search of water. a native up a tree. rd. started this morning, in company with tommy windich, to explore the country to the eastward for water, etc. after travelling three miles towards mount lenora, saw a natives' fire bearing north-east about three miles, to which we proceeded, and surprised a middle-aged native. upon seeing us he ran off shouting, and decamped with a number of his companions, who were at a little distance. the horse i was riding--turpin, an old police-horse from northam--evidently well understood running down a native, and between us we soon overtook our black friend and brought him to bay. we could not make him understand anything we said; but, after looking at us a moment, and seeing no chance of escape, he dropped his two dowaks and wooden dish, and climbed up a small tree about twelve feet high. after securing the dowaks, i tried every means to tempt him to come down; fired my revolver twice, and showed him the effect it had on the tree. the report had the effect also of frightening all the natives that were about, who no doubt made off at a great rate. i began to climb up after him, but he pelted me with sticks, and was more like a wild beast than a man. after discovering we did not like to be hit, he became bolder and threw more sticks at us, and one hitting tommy, he was nearly shooting him, when i called on him to desist. i then offered him a piece of damper, showing him it was good by eating some myself and giving some to tommy. he would not look at it, and when i threw it close to him he dashed it away as if it was poison. the only way of getting him down from the tree was force, and, after considering a moment, i decided to leave him where he was. we accordingly laid down his dowaks and dish, and bade him farewell in as kindly a manner as possible. continuing our course, passing mount lenora, we steered north degrees minutes east magnetic to a table hill, which i ascended and took a round of angles. this hill i named mount malcolm, after my friend and companion, mr. m. hamersley. saw a remarkable peak bearing north degrees east magnetic, distant about twenty miles, towards which we proceeded, and at six miles came upon a small gully, in which we found a little water, and bivouacked. th. started early this morning, and steered east-north-east for six miles to some low stony ranges, lightly grassed; thence north degrees minutes east magnetic to the remarkable peak, which i named mount flora, distant about nine miles from the stony ranges, ascending which, i obtained a round of bearings and angles. saw a high range bearing about north degrees minutes east magnetic, apparently about sixteen miles distant, towards which we travelled till after dark, searching for feed and water on our way without success, and there bivouacked and tied up our horses. mount margaret. th. saddled at dawn, and proceeded to the range, which bore north degrees minutes east magnetic, about five miles distant, on reaching which i ascended the highest peak, and named it mount margaret. took a round of angles and bearings. from the summit of mount margaret the view was very extensive. there was a large dry salt lake to the southward, as far as the eye could reach, while to the east and north-east there were low trap ranges, lightly grassed. a high table hill bore north degrees east magnetic. being now about sixty miles from camp, and not having had any water since yesterday morning, i decided to return. steering about west for eight miles, we struck a brook trending south-east, in which we found a small quantity of water in a clay-pan. after resting an hour, in order to make a damper and give the horses a little of the feed, which only grew sparingly on the banks of the brook, we continued our journey towards camp. passing mount flora, we camped about eight miles farther onwards, near a small patch of feed, without water, about a mile north of our outward track. th. started at dawn, and reached our bivouac of the rd. there obtained just sufficient water for ourselves and the horses. continuing, we found a fine pool of rain-water in a brook a mile and a half west of mount malcolm, and, reaching camp an hour after dark, found all well. on our way tommy windich shot a red kangaroo, which we carried to camp. th (sunday). rested at camp. found it to be in south latitude degrees minutes by meridian altitudes of sun, aquilae (altair), and lyra, and in longitude about degrees minutes east. although we had great difficulty in procuring water in our last trip, i was reluctant to return without making another effort, especially as, from the appearance of the country east of the farthest point, i had hope of a change, and therefore concluded to shift the party to the water found yesterday near mount malcolm, and make another attempt to proceed farther east. th. steering about north degrees east magnetic, over lightly-grassed country, thinly wooded for sixteen miles, we camped a mile and a half west of mount malcolm, in south latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitude of aquilae (altair), and in longitude about degrees minutes east. th. started this morning, in company with tommy windich, with seven days' provisions, leaving instructions for mr. monger to shift the party back to our last camp, where the feed was much better, in latitude degrees minutes south, and longitude degrees minutes east. travelled about east for thirty miles towards mount margaret, our farthest point last trip. we camped in a thicket, without water, on a small patch of feed. th. saddled up at dawn, and proceeded towards mount margaret, obtaining a little water at the spot where we found water on our former trip. continuing, we came to a fine pool of water in a brook, and rested an hour, mount margaret being north-east about two miles and a half. hardly any feed near the water. resuming, we passed mount margaret and started towards the table hill seen previously, bearing north degrees east magnetic, apparently about eighteen miles distant, over a series of dry salt marshes, with sandy country and spinifex intervening. after travelling eight miles, we bivouacked without water on a small patch of feed. with the pocket sextant i found this spot to be in south latitude about degrees minutes, and longitude about degrees minutes east. mount weld. july st. after journeying towards the table hill seen yesterday for six miles, crossed a large brook heading south-west, in which we found a small pool of rain-water, and rested an hour to breakfast. resuming for about six miles, reached the table hill, which i ascended and took a round of angles. i have since named this hill mount weld, being the farthest hill seen eastward by us. continuing about north degrees east magnetic for fifteen miles, through dense thickets--no grass except spinifex--we bivouacked, without water or feed, and then tied up our horses. i found this spot to be in south latitude degrees minutes by meridian altitude of bootes (arcturus), and in longitude about degrees minutes east. nd. started at dawn, and steered about east, searching on our way for water, which our horses and ourselves were beginning to want much. at six miles we found a small hole in some rocks, apparently empty, but on sounding with a stick i found it to contain a little water. the mouth of the hole being too small to admit a pannican, and having used my hat with very little success, i at last thought of my gum-bucket, with which we procured about two quarts of something between mud and water, which, after straining through my pocket-handkerchief, we pronounced first-rate. continuing for six miles over clear, open sand-plains, with spinifex and large white gums--the only large trees and clear country seen since leaving the settled districts--we climbed up a white gum to have a view of the country eastward. some rough sandstone cliffs bore north degrees east magnetic, about six miles distant. the country eastward was almost level, with sandstone cliffs here and there, apparently thickly wooded with white gums, and other trees; spinifex everywhere, but no prospects of water. more to the north, a narrow line of samphire flats appeared, with cypress and stunted gums on its edges--all barren and desolate--so much so, indeed, that for the last twenty-five miles there has been no grass seen at all save spinifex. after taking a few bearings from the top of the tree (which i marked with the letter f on the south side), which is in south latitude about degrees minutes, and longitude about degrees east, i decided to return to our last watering place, nearly thirty-one miles distant, as we were now over miles from camp, and the horses had been without water or feed since yesterday morning. therefore, keeping a little to the north of the outward track, we travelled nearly two hours after dark, and camped without water or feed, and tied up the horses. windich brook. rd. saddled up early, and steered westerly towards our last watering-place, about fourteen miles distant; but, after travelling nearly seven miles, came to a small pool of water (at the head of the brook where we found water on the st), and rested two hours to allow our horses to feed, as they had neither eaten nor drunk for the last forty-eight hours. resuming our journey along the brook (which i named windich brook, after my companion, tommy windich) for ten miles, in which we found several pools of water, but destitute of feed, camped without water about two miles east of our bivouac of the th june. th. travelling about west-south-west for twelve miles, we reached the pool of water found on our outward track on the th june, two miles and a half south-west from mount margaret. there we rested an hour. resuming, we travelled nearly along our outward track for eighteen miles, and camped without water on a small patch of feed. tommy shot two wurrongs to-day. th. started at daybreak, and, continuing nearly along our outward track for twenty-five miles, we reached the water close to mount malcolm, where we left the party, they having shifted, as instructed, seventeen miles farther back. there we rested an hour; but, having finished our provisions, we roasted two wurrongs and made a first-rate dinner. tommy also shot an emu that came to water, and which we carried to camp. reached there at p.m. and found all well, having been absent seven days, every night being without water, during which time we travelled over miles. th. weighed all the rations, and found we had pounds flour, pounds bacon, pounds sugar, and pounds tea--equal to thirty-two days' allowance of flour, ten days' bacon, nineteen days' sugar, and twenty-one days' tea on a full ration. thereupon concluded to return to perth as quickly as possible, and reduce the allowance of tea and sugar to last thirty days--bacon to be done without. by that time i hope to reach clarke's homestead, victoria plains, and intend to return by mount kenneth, nanjajetty, ningham, or mount singleton, and thence to damparwar and clarke's homestead, thus fixing a few points that will be useful to the survey office. the return journey. th. at . a.m., barometer , thermometer degrees. started on the return, and followed along our outward tracks for sixteen miles. camped on east side of granite range, in south latitude degrees minutes, and east longitude degrees minutes. th. travelling nearly along our eastward track, and passing our bivouac of the th june, we reached the two springs bivouac. th. travelled twenty-two miles, and reached our bivouac of th may-- degrees minutes east. th. reached the bivouac of may th. on our way i ascended a very high range, which i named mount alfred, and took a fine round of angles--mount alexander, mount bivou, mount ida, mount elvire, and yeadie and bulgar being visible. th (sunday). plotted up our track. th. travelled for twenty-five miles and camped on a splendid patch of feed, with a little water on some granite rocks about two miles west of our bivouac of the th. this i found to be in south latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitudes of bootes (arcturus) and pegasi (markab), and in longitude about degrees minutes east; mount elvire bearing north degrees east magnetic, distant about twenty-one miles. th. leaving the party in charge of mr. monger, with instructions to proceed to retreat rock--our bivouac of may rd--i started with mr. hamersley and jemmy to attempt to cross lake barlee, in order to explore the country on its south side, near mount elvire, as well as to try and find natives, jemmy being acquainted with these tribes. steering north degrees east magnetic for seven miles, we came to the lake, and, entering it, succeeded in reaching the southern shore after twelve miles of heavy walking, sinking over our boots every step--the horses having great difficulty in getting through. when we reached the southern shore, it was nearly sundown. determined to push on, and reached the range, where we bivouacked on a patch of feed and a little water; mount elvire bearing north degrees east magnetic, about one mile distant; and yeadie and bulgar north degrees east magnetic. rained lightly during the day. being wet through from the splashings of the horses while crossing the lake, and from it raining throughout the night, and not having any covering, our situation was not the most pleasant. jemmy informed me there was a fine permanent spring close to mount elvire; but we did not go to see it. th. this morning, after ascending a range to have a view of the country, steered north degrees east magnetic, and then, travelling six miles, came to a branch of lake barlee running far to the southward, which we attempted to cross; but after travelling a mile and a half, the horses went down to their girths in the bog, and we had great difficulty in getting them to return, which, however, we ultimately succeeded in doing, and made another attempt, at a place where a series of islands appeared, to cross it, and, passing over without much difficulty, reached the opposite shore at sundown, where we bivouacked on a splendid grassy ride, with abundance of water in granite rocks, mount elvire bearing north degrees east magnetic, and yeadie and bulgar north degrees east magnetic. th. having finished our rations last night, we started at dawn, and steered towards retreat rock. where we were to meet the party. after travelling five miles, we came to that part of lake barlee which we attempted to cross, without success, on may th (on our outward track); but, leading our horses, we at last succeeded in crossing, and reached camp, all very tired, at twelve o'clock, finding all well. the party were encamped one mile north of our former bivouac, at some granite rocks with two fine water-holes. th. considerable delay having occurred in collecting the horses, we did not start till ten o'clock, when we travelled nearly along our outward track--passing yeeramudder hill, from the summit of which mount elvire bore north degrees minutes east magnetic about thirty-five miles distant--for about twenty-one miles, and bivouacked at some granite rocks with a little feed around them, which i found to be in south latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitudes of bootes (arcturus) and pegasi (markab), and in longitude about degrees minutes east. th. started at . a.m., and, steering about west for twenty-five miles through dense thickets without feed, we camped without water on a small miserable patch, in south latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitude of bootes (arcturus). marked a small tree with f. . being now in friendly country, i decided to give up keeping watch, which had been done regularly for the last two months. th (sunday). after starting the party, went, in company with tommy windich, to take bearings from a low hill, bearing north degrees, distant about eight miles, after which we struck in the direction in which we expected to find the party; but as, for some reason or other, they had not passed by, i anticipated they must have met with good feed and water, and camped, it being sunday. however this may be, we kept bearing more and more to the southward, in hope of crossing the track, till after dark, when we reached the warne flats, and bivouacked. not expecting to be absent more than a few days, we had neither rations nor rugs. luckily, tommy shot a turkey, which we roasted in the ashes, and made a very good meal. the night was bitterly cold, and, not having any rug, i slept with a fire on each side of me, and, considering the circumstances, slept fairly. th. made a first-rate breakfast off the remainder of the turkey, and then started in search of the party, making back towards where we had left them, keeping well to the southward. after spending nearly the whole of the day, and knocking up the horses, we found the tracks of the party nearly where we had left them yesterday morning, and, following along them for nine miles, found where they had bivouacked last night; and, it being now two hours after dark, we camped also, having between us for supper an opossum, which tommy had luckily caught during the day. the night was again very cold, and we had hardly anything to eat, which made matters still worse. th. starting on the tracks at daybreak, followed them for about thirteen miles, and then we found the party encamped on the east side of a large bare granite rock called meroin, mount kenneth bearing north degrees east magnetic, about fifteen miles distant. from a cliff, about one mile west of the camp, took a splendid round of angles, mount kenneth, mount singleton, and several other known points being visible. by meridian altitudes of sun, a bootes (arcturus), e bootes, and a coronae borealis, camp was in south latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude about degrees minutes east. st. at seven a.m., barometer . ; thermometer degrees. started at . a.m. steered about west for fifteen miles, over country studded here and there with granite rocks, with good feed around them--in some places rock poison--and then camped at a spring called pullagooroo, bearing north degrees from a bare granite hill, three quarters of a mile distant, from which hill mount singleton bore north degrees east magnetic, by meridian altitudes of a bootes (arcturus) and e bootes. pullagooroo is in south latitude degrees minutes seconds. finished our bacon this morning, and for the future will only have damper and tea. nd. steering a little to the north of west, through dense thickets without grass, we bivouacked at a very grassy spot called bunnaroo, from which mount singleton bore north degrees east magnetic. by meridian altitudes of a bootes (arcturus), e bootes, and coronae borealis, camp is in south latitude degrees minutes, and in longitude about degrees minutes east. mount singleton. rd. after starting the party with instructions to proceed straight to mount singleton, distant about thirty-two miles, i went, in company with jemmy, to the summit of a high trap range in order to take a round of angles, and fix nanjajetty, which was visible. while on our way to join the party, saw the tracks of two men and two horses, with two natives walking, and soon after found where they had bivouacked a few days before. was much surprised at this discovery: suppose it to be squatters looking for country. continuing, we found the tracks of our party, and overtook them, and encamped at a fine permanent spring--mount singleton bearing north degrees east magnetic about three miles and a half distant. reached the party at seven o'clock. there was a partial eclipse of the moon this evening. th. there being splendid green feed around mount singleton, and as the horses were tired, i concluded to give them a day's rest. went, in company with mr. monger and jemmy, to the summit of mount singleton, which took us an hour to ascend; but, on reaching it, we were well repaid for the trouble by the very extensive view and the many points to which i could take bearings. far as the eye could reach to the east and south-east were visible lake moore, mount churchman; to the north, conspicuous high trap ranges appeared; while to the west, within a radius of six miles, hills covered with flowers gave the country a pretty appearance. further to the west a dry salt lake and a few trap hills appeared. reached the camp at p.m. on our way shot three rock kangaroos. th (sunday). rested at camp near mount singleton, which i found to be in south latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitude of sun, and longitude about degrees minutes east. th. some delay having occurred in collecting the horses, did not start till a.m., when we steered a little to the north of west towards damparwar. for the first seven miles over rough trap hills lightly grassed, when we entered samphire and saltbush flats for four miles. crossing a large marsh at a point where it was only yards wide, and continuing through thickets, we camped at a spot with very little feed and no water, in south latitude degrees minutes seconds. from this spot mount singleton bore north degrees minutes east magnetic, distant about twenty miles. here we met two natives, whom we had seen on our outward track at the warne corroboree. they were of course friendly, and slept at our camp; they had a great many dulgates and opossums, which they carried in a net bag, made out of the inner bark of the ordnance-tree, which makes a splendid strong cord. they informed us that a native had come from the eastward with intelligence relating to the encounter we had with the large tribe on may , adding that we had all been killed, and that all the natives in this vicinity had cried very much on hearing the news. this is another specimen of the narrations of natives, with whom a tale never loses anything by being carried. th. steering a little to the north of west for eighteen miles, we reached damparwar springs, a clear grassy spot of about acres, on west side of a low granite hill. the spring was dry, but by digging a few feet obtained abundant supply. from the appearance of the country there has hardly been any rain in this neighbourhood for many months. took a round of angles from a trap hill about two miles distant, mount singleton and many other points being visible. met a party of friendly natives here. by meridian altitudes of a bootes, a coronae borealis and a lyrae (vega), damparwar spring is in south latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude about degrees minutes east. th. steering in a southerly direction, and following along the western margin of a salt lake--most of the way over samphire flats, with thickets intervening, denser than usual--we encamped on a small grassy spot, with plenty of water in granite rocks, called murrunggnulgo, situated close to the west side of the lake, which i named lake monger. the native jemmy, in company with some of his friends, stayed behind to-day in order to catch opossums, and did not join us this evening. by meridian altitudes of e bootes, a coronae borealis, a lyrae (vega), and aquilae (altair), murrunggnulgo is in south latitude degrees minutes seconds. damparwar bearing about north magnetic. th. moving a little to the west of south for twenty miles, through dense thickets, by far the worst we have ever encountered, and destitute of feed, we reached bera bera, a grassy spot with a dry well, where water might be procured. continuing north degrees east for about five miles, we reached and camped at some granite rocks, with a fine well of water called wandanno, which i found to be in south latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitudes of lyrae (vega) and aquilae (altair). from bera bera, mount singleton bore north degrees minutes east magnetic about fifty miles distant. jemmy did not put in an appearance to-day, but sent on a native to say he would join us in a day or two. th. travelling about north degrees east magnetic for fourteen miles, over samphire flats, with thickets intervening, we reached a fine grassy spot, with water in granite rocks, called gnookadunging. continuing about south for two and a half miles, passed another small grassy spot called ginbinning; thence in about the general direction of north degrees east magnetic. for about eleven and a half miles, over an immense sand-plain, running as far as the eye could reach to the north-west and south-east, we camped in the centre of it at a spring called manginie, a sheep station belonging to mr. james church. towards the end of the day bailey's horse tommy fairly gave in, and we had great difficulty in getting him to camp, which mr. hamersley and i did not reach until an hour after dark. the night was cloudy, and i was unable to get any observations, but luckily at daybreak obtained meridian altitudes of jupiter, which placed manginie spring in south latitude degrees minutes. st. steering about south-south-west for thirteen miles, we reached cooroo springs--a fine grassy spot in winter--where we camped, the horses being very tired. for the first seven miles over scrubby sand-plains; thence to cooroo, over grassy country, with spearwood thickets intervening. tommy shot a kangaroo this afternoon, which was very acceptable, having had only damper and tea for several days past. august st (sunday). rested at cooroo springs. all very busy putting our ragged clothes in as good repair as possible. by meridian altitudes of sun, lyrae (vega), degrees minutes. read divine service. jemmy has not yet overtaken us, so i conclude he has changed his mind, and does not intend following us. we are now about nine miles from clarke's homestead, which bears about south-south-east. nd. travelling about south-south-east for nine miles over grassy country, with york gums, etc., we reached the hospitable residence of mr. clarke, where we were very kindly received, and stayed a short time to hear the news. resuming for eighteen miles along the road to newcastle, we passed mr. donald macpherson's, where i obtained some rations, and pushed on six miles farther, and bivouacked one mile south of badgy-badgy, with very short feed for our horses. rd. travelling along the road towards newcastle for twenty-six miles, we camped one mile past byen, and about sixteen miles from newcastle. th. reached newcastle at eleven o'clock, and had just time to report the safe return of the expedition before the mail left. th. after handing over all the horses provided by the different settlers to their respective owners, and bidding farewell to mr. george monger (who intends proceeding to york), i left newcastle in company with mr. m. hamersley and tommy windich, leaving morgan and remainder of equipment to follow with the cart which had been brought to newcastle by ward and c. adams. reached baylup at p.m. th. made an early start; reached guildford at twelve o'clock, where we rested an hour. then resuming, reached perth at p.m., and reported personally the results of the expedition, having been absent days, in which time i travelled by computation over miles. i now beg to make a few remarks with reference to the main object of the expedition, which was the discovery of the remains of the late dr. leichardt and party. the natives' stories. in the first place, mr. frederick roe was informed by the native weilbarrin, that two white men and their native companions had been killed by the aborigines, thirteen days' journey to the northward, when he was at a spot called koolanobbing, which is in south latitude about degrees minutes, and longitude about degrees minutes east. mr. austin lost eleven horses at poison rock (nine died, and two were left nearly dead), which is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude about degrees minutes east, or about miles from koolanobbing, and in the direction pointed to by the natives. i therefore imagine it to be very probable that the whole story originated from the horses lost by mr. austin at poison rock, as i am convinced the natives will say anything they imagine will please. again, the account given us at mount churchman, on may th, appeared very straightforward and truthful. it was very similar to that related to mr. roe; but, on questioning the natives, they at last stated there were neither men nor guns left, only horses' remains, and pointed towards poison rock. further, the native who gave all the information to mr. monger was one of our party. his tale, as related by mr. monger, also appeared very straightforward and truthful, that white men had been killed by the natives twenty years ago; that he had seen the spot, which was at a spring near a large lake, so large that it looked like the sea as seen from rottnest, eleven days' journey from ningham or mount singleton, in a fine country. the white men were rushed upon while making a damper, and clubbed and speared. he had often seen an axe which formed part of the plunder. all this appears feasible and truthful enough in print; but the question is, of what value did i find it? upon telling jemmy what mr. monger stated he told him, he said he never told him that he had seen things himself, but that he had heard it from a native who had seen them, thus contradicting the whole he had formerly stated to mr. monger. moreover, the fine country he described we never saw, what a native calls good country being where he can get a drink of water and a wurrong; and if there is an acre of grassy land they describe it as a very extensive grassy country! this i have generally found the case. as a specimen of the untruthfulness of these natives, i may quote that my native jemmy, who was a first-rate fellow in every other respect, stated to mr. monger and myself at york, that there was a large river like that called the avon at york, to the eastward, knowing at the time he would be found out to be telling a falsehood. he even told mr. george monger, before leaving newcastle, to buy hooks, in order to catch the fish that were in the river, and concluded by stating that we would have great difficulty in crossing it, as it ran a great distance north and south. almost every evening i questioned and cross-questioned him respecting this river; still he adhered to what he first stated! it may well be imagined how disappointed we were on reaching the spot to find only a small brook running into a salt marsh, with water in winter, but dry in summer. with reference to the country travelled over, i am of opinion that it is worthless as a pastoral or agricultural district; and as to minerals i am not sufficiently conversant with the science to offer an opinion, except that i should think it was worth while sending geologists to examine it thoroughly. conduct of the party. it now becomes my most pleasing duty to record my entire satisfaction with the manner in which all the members of the expedition exerted themselves in the performance of their respective duties. to mr. george monger and mr. malcolm hamersley i am indebted for their co-operation and advice on all occasions. i am also deeply indebted to mr. hamersley for collecting and preserving all the botanical specimens that came within his reach, as well as the great trouble and care taken with the store department, placed under his immediate charge. to probation prisoner david morgan my best thanks are due as the shoeing smith, as well as acting cook for the party the whole time. of tommy windich (native) i cannot speak too highly, being very useful in collecting the horses, as well as a first-class huntsman, and really invaluable as a water finder. accompanying me on many trying occasions, suffering often from want of water, he showed energy and determination deserving of the highest praise. jemmy mungaro was also a first-class bushman, and invaluable as a water finder. he was in many ways useful, and very obedient. his great failing was that he exaggerated--no tale ever losing anything in his charge. nevertheless, i have many things to thank him for, and therefore he deserves praise. in conclusion, sir, allow me to thank you for your kindness and advice, which has greatly supported me in this arduous undertaking. i much regret that an expedition which was so efficiently equipped, and on which i was left so free to act, has not resulted in more direct benefit to the colony, to satisfy many who are not capable of appreciating the importance of such explorations. i have, sir, etc., john forrest, leader of expedition. the honourable captain roe, r.n., surveyor-general. so far as the mystery on which the fate of leichardt is involved was concerned, my expedition was barren of results; but the additional knowledge gained of the character of the country between the settled districts of western australia and the rd meridian of east longitude, well repaid me, and those of the party, for the exertions we had undergone. rewards. shortly after my return i received an official communication from mr. barlee, the colonial secretary at perth, announcing that his excellency the governor, with a view to mark his sense of the value of my services as leader of the expedition, had sanctioned the payment to me of a gratuity of pounds. mr. monger and mr. hamersley each received pounds; morgan, the probation prisoner, who had done good service in the expedition, especially in looking after the horses, was promised a remission of a portion of his sentence. tommy windich and jemmy mungaro, the natives, had each a single-barrel gun, with his name inscribed--presents which they highly valued. so ended the first of my expeditions; and a very short time elapsed before i was called upon to undertake a longer, more hazardous, and more important journey. chapter . second expedition. from perth to adelaide, round the great bight. a new exploration suggested. proposal to reach adelaide by way of the south coast. the experience derived from eyre's expedition. survey of port eucla. official instructions. the start. dempster's station near esperance bay. the schooner at port eucla. journal of the expedition. immediately on my return to perth a new expedition was suggested by dr. von mueller, whose anxiety for the discovery of leichardt was rather increased than abated by the disappointment experienced. he proposed that i should start from the upper waters of the murchison river with a light party and provisions for six months, and endeavour to reach carpentaria. he thought, not only would such an expedition almost certainly find some traces of the lost explorer, but probably would make geographical discoveries of the highest interest and importance. in a paper in the colonial monthly he argued that: "while those who searched after traces of the lost party did not solve the primary objects of their mission, their labours have not been without importance to geographical science. the course of one traveller connected the southern interior of queensland in a direct route with the vast pastoral depressions about lake torrens; the researches of another explorer, bent on ascertaining leichardt's fate, unfolded to us a tract of table country, now already occupied by herds and flocks, not less in length than that of sweden and italy...we should bear fully in mind how a line in leichardt's intended direction would at once enable the squatters of north-east australia to drive their surplus of flocks and herds easily across to the well-watered, hilly and grassy country within close proximity to the harbour of the north-west coast." i should have been well satisfied to undertake an expedition in the proposed direction, starting from the head of the murchison, and trying to connect my route with that of mr. a. gregory's down sturt creek; but the difficulty of obtaining funds and lack of support caused the project to be set aside or at least delayed. mr. weld, then governor of western australia, who always heartily supported explorations, was in favour of an attempt to reach adelaide by way of the south coast, and offered me the command of an expedition in that direction. i readily accepted the offer, and at once busied myself with the necessary preparations, but was far from being insensible to the difficulties of the undertaking. of the route nothing was known except the disastrous experience of mr. eyre in and . his remarkable narrative--interesting to all concerned in the history of explorations or in the records of energy, courage, and perseverance under the most discouraging circumstances--might have acted as a warning to future explorers against endeavouring to follow in his track. the fearful privations he endured, his narrow escape from the most terrible of all forms of death, were certainly not encouraging; but his experience might often be of service to others, pointing out dangers to be avoided, and suggesting methods of overcoming difficulties. at any rate, i was not deterred from the attempt to trace once more the coast of the great bight, and to reach the sister colony by that route. eyre had not discovered any rivers, although it was possible that he might have crossed the sand-bars of rivers in the night. the difficulties he laboured under in his almost solitary journey, and the sufferings he endured, might have rendered him unable to make observations and discoveries more practicable to a better equipped and stronger party, while the deficiency of water on the route appeared to offer the greatest impediment. we were not, however, deterred from the attempt, and on the th of march, , we started from perth on a journey which all knew to be dangerous, but which we were sanguine enough to believe might produce considerable results. that we were not disappointed the result will prove. indeed, the difficulties were much fewer than we had been prepared to encounter; and in five months from the date of departure from perth we arrived safely at adelaide, completing a journey which mr. eyre had been more than twelve months in accomplishing. the exploring party. my party was thus composed: i was leader; the second in command was my brother, alexander forrest, a surveyor; h. mclarty, a police constable; and w. osborne, a farrier and shoeing smith, these with tommy windich, the native who had served me so faithfully on the previous expedition, and another native, billy noongale, an intelligent young fellow, accompanied us. before i enter upon the details of my journey it may be useful to state as briefly as possible the efforts made to obtain a better acquaintance with the vast territory popularly known as no man's land, which had been traversed by eyre, and afterwards to summarize the little knowledge which had been obtained. in major warburton--who afterwards, in and , succeeded in crossing the northern part of the great inland desert, after enduring great privations--contrived to reach eighty-five miles beyond the head of the bight, and made several journeys from the coast in a north and north-westerly direction for a distance of about sixty miles. traces of eyre's expedition were then visible. the holes he had dug in search of water twenty years before were still there, and the records of his journey were of great value as guiding warburton's movements. his experience of the nature of the country amply confirmed that of the previous explorer. he found the district to the north to be a dreary waste, destitute of food and water. rain seldom fell, and, when it did, was immediately absorbed by the arid soil. bustards and moles were the only living creatures. to the north-west there was a little grass, but the tract showing verdure was very small in extent, and beyond it was again the scorched, barren, inhospitable desert. two years afterwards other explorations were attempted, and especially should be noted captain delessier's. he was disposed to think more favourably of the nature of the country. the enterprise of squatters seeking for "fresh fields and pastures new," to whom square miles represent less than acres to graziers and sheep farmers in england--is not easily daunted. they made a few settlements; but the scanty pasturage and the difficulty of obtaining water, by sinking wells, in some instances to the depth of over feet, have been great drawbacks. discovery of port eucla. it might naturally be inquired why no attempts were made to reach the coast of the great bight by sea? why so much suffering has been endured when a well-equipped vessel might have landed explorers at various points and been ready to afford them assistance? in his explorations to the north of western australia, mr. f. gregory had a convenient base of operations in the dolphin, a barque which remained on the coast. it might seem that similar aid could have been afforded to warburton and others who attempted to trace the south-coast line. but for hundreds of miles along the shores of the bight no vessel could reach the shore or lie safely at anchor. long ranges of perpendicular cliffs, from to feet high, presented a barrier effectually forbidding approach by sea. about , however, an excellent harbour was discovered about miles to the west of fowler's bay. the south australian government at once undertook a survey of this harbour, and captain douglas, president of the marine board, the officer entrusted with this duty, reported in the most favourable terms. the roadstead, named port eucla, was found to afford excellent natural protection for shipping. there was, however, the less encouraging circumstance that it was situated a few miles to the west of the boundary of the colony, and consequently western, and not south, australia was entitled to the benefit of the discovery. it was evident that port eucla, which captain douglas carefully surveyed by taking soundings and observing bearings, was the key to the exploration of this vast portion of the continent. but, notwithstanding the propositions made to the government of western australia by the york agricultural society for equipping an exploring party, nothing was done until the beginning of , when the governor determined on equipping an overland party intended to make its way, keeping as far inland as possible, to eucla, where assistance and supplies would await them. it was this expedition which i was selected to command. the following copy of official instructions will show the object of the exploration and the preparations made to insure a fair prospect of a successful result:-- official instructions. colonial secretary's office, perth, march th, . sir, his excellency the governor, confiding in your experience, ability, and discretion, has been pleased to entrust to your charge and leadership an overland expedition, which has been organized for the purpose of exploring the country between the settled portions of this colony and the port of eucla, situated near its east boundary. your party will consist of the following six persons, well armed, and provisioned for two months, namely, yourself as leader; mr. alexander forrest, your brother, as second in command; h. mclarty, a police-constable, third in command; w.h. osborne, farrier, etc.; and two reliable natives, one of whom will be your former well-tried companion, windich. an agreement to serve under you on the expedition in the above capacities will be signed by each european named previous to starting. ample stores and supply of provisions have been prepared for your use, and a suitable coasting vessel (the schooner adur) is engaged, under an experienced commander, to convey them where required, and to be at your disposal in aiding the operations of the expedition. it is desirable the party should start from perth as soon as all arrangements have been completed, and take the most convenient route to esperance bay, where men and horses can be recruited, further supplies from the coaster laid in, and a fresh start made for eucla so soon as the first winter rains may lead to a prospect of the country being sufficiently watered. about miles to the eastward of the station of messrs. dempster, at the west end of esperance bay, lies israelite bay, under some islands, in front of which there is said to be anchorage. that being the nearest known anchorage westward of eucla, it appears to offer a convenient spot whence fresh supplies might be drawn from your coaster with which to prosecute the remaining miles; but this arrangement as to an intermediate place of call will be liable to modification, after consulting on the spot with the messrs. dempster, who are well acquainted with that part of the coast. between israelite bay and eucla the route should be as far from the coast as circumstances and the nature of the country will admit. at eucla all the remaining provisions and stores that may be required should be landed, and the coaster despatched on her return to fremantle with a report of your proceedings. after recruiting at eucla, five or six days might be employed with advantage in exploring the country to the northward, care being taken to place in security, by burying in casks or otherwise, such provisions, etc., as might not be necessary for the northern excursion. on returning to eucla from the north, the expedition is to make a final start overland for adelaide, by such route as you may deem advisable. the surveyor-general is of opinion that via port lincoln, and thence to adelaide by steamer, would be the preferable route; but of this you will be the best judge, after receiving information from the various out-stations you will pass. before leaving south australia, you will dispose of your horses and such remaining stores and provisions as may not be further required, retaining all instruments and such pack-saddles and other articles of outfit as you may deem worth preserving for future service. on arriving at adelaide you will report yourself to his excellency the governor, and avail yourself of the first favourable opportunity of returning to perth with your party, and with the remains of your outfit, either by any vessel about to proceed direct to the swan, or by the earliest mail-steamer to king george's sound. on application to his excellency, sir james fergusson, you will be furnished with such means as may be necessary to defray your expenses from south to western australia, as well as during your stay in the former colony. i am to impress on you the advisability of endeavouring, by every means in your power, to cultivate friendly relations with the aboriginal inhabitants of the country you are about to traverse. such are briefly the general instructions by which it is intended you should be governed in conducting the expedition entrusted to your care and guidance; and i may add that the fullest confidence is placed in your energy, zeal, and discretion, for bringing it to a successful issue. the main objects of the undertaking are alone referred to; and, although a mode of accomplishing them is briefly alluded to, it is by no means intended to fetter your judgment in adopting such measures of minor details as may appear to you necessary for effectually carrying them out. i have the honour to be, sir, your obedient servant, fred. p. barlee. departure from perth. the adur, chartered by the government, was a vessel of thirty tons, owned by mr. gabriel adams. it gives me much pleasure to express my thanks to him and to mr. waugh, the master, and to the crew of the vessel, for the important services they performed, and the zeal they exhibited in rendering me assistance, not only on board the vessel, but also on shore. we started from perth on the afternoon of wednesday, the th of march, . his excellency the governor accompanied us for about three miles on the albany road. we had fifteen horses, and provisions sufficient for the journey to esperance bay, a distance of about miles, where, it was arranged, further supplies would await us. by the th of april we had reached kojonup, travelling in a north-easterly direction, and then rested four days, leaving for jerramungup on the th, and reaching it on the th. our first day's journey brought us to mr. graham's homestead, near which we bivouacked; thence our route lay in an easterly direction, at first through good grassy country with jam and white gum trees and shea oaks, by way of etticup, martinup (where we bivouacked on the night of the th), and nigalup, beyond which were scrubby sand-plains extending southwards towards the stirling range. on the following night we camped near some granite rocks. the next day's journey extended to koorarkup, where we again rested. our rate of travel was from twenty to twenty-five miles a day, and already we began to experience inconvenience from want of water. a little stream, the pallinup, was salt, and there were salt pools on the route between our last camping-place and koorarkup, where we were now resting. around jerramungup was rich grassy country, but beyond it we passed over scrubby undulating plains for about sixteen miles, camping, on the night of the th, on a small branch of the fitzgerald river, near some granite rocks called dwertup. at this spot there was water, but very little feed for the horses. my observations showed that we were in latitude degrees minute seconds south. from this point the progress will be best narrated by extracts from my diary. a reference to the map will show that as yet we had not reached the track of eyre, who had followed the coast to king george's sound; but by the th of april we had reached his line of route. april th. travelled to the north of east, and at seven miles crossed the main branch of the fitzgerald river; granite rocks in bed, and saltwater pools. after travelling over stony undulating country for twenty-one miles, camped on a small patch of feed, with water in some granite rocks, called coombedup. th. continuing easterly over rough stony country, crossing several brooks with salt pools of water in them, we reached the phillips river, and, after a good deal of searching, found some fresh water in a small brook near the river. the immense pools in the phillips were as salt as sea water. distance travelled about twenty-five miles. view of the sea. th (sunday). did not travel. went this morning, in company with mclarty, to the summit of a high hill in eyre's range, called annie's peak, which we reached after one and a half hour's hard climbing. it is the steepest hill i ever attempted to ascend. we had a splendid view of the sea--the first since leaving perth--and i also obtained a fine round of angles and bearings. on our return, found billy had shot five ducks, and tommy soon returned with an emu. in the evening it very suddenly came on to thunder and lighten, and soon rained in torrents, and, as we were rather unprepared, we did not pass a very pleasant night. th. just as we had collected the horses it commenced to rain in torrents; got under way, however, by o'clock, steering in about an easterly direction over sandy, scrubby country, and at ten miles crossed a brook with salt pools in it, and afterwards reached a large river of salt water, which we followed about two miles, and then camped at a spring called jerdacuttup. it rained in torrents the whole day, blowing hard from the southward, so that all were drenched when we halted. th. after travelling about twenty-three miles, in an easterly direction, we reached a salt lake, called parriup, and camped. procured water on some granite rocks near camp. th. travelling nine miles, reached mr. campbell taylor's station on the oldfield river, and rested for the remainder of the day. st. after starting the party, with instructions to reach and camp on north side of stokes' inlet, distant about twenty miles, i went with mr. taylor to the mouth of the oldfield river, in order to take bearings to east mount barren, but was disappointed, the weather being very hazy. accompanied by a native of mr. taylor's, followed on the tracks, but, night setting in, we made the best of our way to where i expected to find the party, but could see nothing of them, and were obliged to camp for the night without food, and, what was worse, without a fire, having neither matches nor powder with us. luckily i had a rug, by which means i fared much better than my companion, who had only a small kangaroo skin. as it blew and rained in torrents most of the night, our position can be better imagined than described. nd. early this morning we were looking for the tracks of the party, but without success; finally we returned eight miles to the margaret river, and, after a good deal of searching, found the tracks almost obliterated by the rain, and followed along them. upon nearing stokes' inlet we met tommy windich looking for us, he having seen the tracks and last night's bivouac. he informed me that they had camped about four miles westward of the inlet, and we had therefore passed them in the dark last night. made all haste to overtake the party; succeeded in doing so, after a great deal of trouble, one hour and a half after dark. encamped on north side of barker's inlet, at a small well of water called booeynup. we did justice to the supper, as we had not had anything to eat for thirty-two hours. rd. for the first nine miles over scrubby sand-plains, kangaroos very numerous, when we came into and skirted a chain of salt lakes and marshes. continuing over generally low country, well grassed, for five miles, we reached and camped at the old homestead of the messrs. dempster, called mainbenup. esperance bay. th (sunday). left camp in company with billy noongale, and proceeded to esperance bay, distant twenty-four miles. on getting in view of the bay, was much disappointed to see no schooner lying at anchor, and felt very anxious for her safety. was very kindly received by mrs. andrew dempster; the messrs. dempster being away on mondrain island. th. went several times up on the hill, looking out for the adur, but was each time disappointed. on my return in the evening, found the party had arrived from mainbenup, and had camped. th. rained very heavily all last night. shifted camp over one mile west of homestead to a sheltered spot, where there was feed and wood. no signs of the adur. th and th. rested at camp; the weather very stormy. the messrs. dempster returned from mondrain island this evening. th. shifted camp back to the homestead, and camped in a sheltered nook near the head. on ascending the look-out hill this evening, was rejoiced to espy the adur near cape le grand, making in for the bay, and at o'clock went off in messrs. dempster's boat, and had the great pleasure of finding all hands well. they had experienced heavy weather, but everything was dry and safe. i cannot find words to express the joy and relief from anxiety this evening; all fears and doubts were at an end, and i was now in a position to attempt to carry out my instructions. the messrs. dempster, whose hospitality was so welcome, are good specimens of the enterprising settlers who are continually advancing the frontiers of civilization, pushing forward into almost unknown regions, and establishing homesteads which hereafter may develop into important towns. in ten days we had journeyed miles, and had enjoyed a foretaste of the nature of the country through which we should have to make our way. four days' rest recruited our energies, and the arrival of the adur, with stores, gave all the party excellent spirits. the last day of april was occupied with landing the stores required for immediate use, and the following day, being sunday, we rested, and, observing the practice adopted in my previous expeditions, i read divine service to a somewhat larger congregation than i generally had around me. the horses had suffered from sore backs, the result of saddles being stuffed with straw; and on the two following days we were all busy restuffing them with wool, and i set osborn, the farrier, to work to widen and alter the iron-work, so as to make the saddles more comfortable and easy to the horses. from the rd to the th of may we remained at mr. dempster's, and i made a survey of his location, a tract of forty acres. on saturday, the th, mr. william dempster left for perth, and i had the opportunity of sending a report of our proceedings to that date to the colonial secretary, and also of forwarding private letters. last day in esperance bay. sunday, the th, being our last day in esperance bay, was passed quietly, all attending divine service at mr. dempster's house; and on the following morning we prepared to start on the second stage of our journey. the adur was to meet us again at israelite bay, about miles to the eastward; and here i resume the extracts from my diary:-- may th. after collecting the horses, we saddled up and started en route for israelite bay, where i had instructed the master of the adur to meet us. bidding good-bye to our kind friends at esperance bay, travelled along the north shore for about eleven miles, when we left the coast and steered towards mount merivale, and camped at a spring on south-east corner of a salt sake, mount merivale bearing north degrees east magnetic; frenchman's peak north degrees east magnetic, and remarkable island north degrees east magnetic. the country for the last few miles is beautifully grassed, with numerous brackish streams running through. commenced keeping watch this evening, two hours each, from p.m. to o'clock a.m. marked a tree with the letter f. at our bivouac. th. travelled nearly due east for twenty-four miles, through scrubby, sandy country without timber. remarkable bare granite hills studded in every direction. camped at a spring on south-east side of granite hills, resembling a saddle. passed mount hawes, leaving it a little to the north. from hill near camp, mount hawes bore north degrees east magnetic, mount merivale north degrees east magnetic, frenchman's peak north degrees minutes east magnetic, and the east side of mondrain island north degrees minutes east magnetic. th. the horses having strayed back on the tracks last night, we were delayed till o'clock, when only eight of them were brought in. sent tommy in search of the remainder, and, after waiting until o'clock for his return, my brother, osborn, and billy went with seven horses and loads; instructed to camp at the first place where there was feed and water, there being no feed at this camp. mclarty and myself waited until tommy returned, which he did at sundown, having had to go back twenty-four miles to the bivouac of the th. there being scarcely any feed here, and it being too late to follow after the party, we tied up our horses for the night. found it rather long hours watching, namely, about four hours each. by meridian altitude of sun, camp is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south. th. packed up and followed on the tracks of the party, and at ten miles found them camped on a branch of a creek which runs into duke of orleans bay. brackish streams plentiful: scrubby, sandy country. by meridian altitudes of sun and arcturus, camp is in south latitude degrees minutes seconds. the alexander river. th. travelled in an easterly direction towards cape arid, passing at five miles a large creek, and at ten miles camped on a running brackish stream, which i named the alexander. scrubby open country most of the way. shot a few ducks from thousands that are in these rivers. th. continuing a little to the south of east for ten miles, crossed a large brook, and at fourteen miles reached another creek. followed it up a mile and camped on east side of a large salt lagoon, into which the brook empties. splendid green feed around camp, but no water. went with billy to look for some, and, after going a mile and a half east, struck the thomas river, where we met two natives, quietly disposed, who showed us the water, and, after filling our canteens, returned with us to camp. th (sunday). shifted camp over to the thomas river, one mile and a half, where there was plenty of water. rained a little during the day. grassy piece of country round camp--the first good feeding land seen since leaving mount merivale. about half a mile west of camp, mount ragged bore north degrees minutes east magnetic, mount baring north degrees minutes east magnetic, and south-west point of cape arid north degrees minutes east. by meridian altitude of sun, camp was in south latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude about degrees east. billy shot five ducks this afternoon. th. got an early start and steered nearly east, accompanied by the two natives, over scrubby sand-plains for about twenty-one miles. we camped near the sea, a few miles to the westward of cape pasley. filled our canteens about two miles back from where we camped, from which point mount ragged bore north degrees east magnetic, cape pasley north degrees minutes east magnetic, and south-east point of cape arid north degrees east magnetic. th. steering in an east-north-east direction for about nineteen miles, we camped near point malcolm, mount ragged bearing north degrees east magnetic, and point dempster (israelite bay) north degrees minutes east magnetic. hope to reach israelite bay to-morrow, as it is only sixteen miles distant. there was no water at point malcolm, but luckily we had filled our canteens. the wind was strong from the westward, accompanied with light showers all day. tommy shot a kangaroo this evening, and the two natives who were travelling with us from the thomas river did ample justice to the supper, literally eating the whole night. israelite bay. th. after starting the party, went in advance with billy to prepare camp at israelite bay. when we reached it were delighted to find the adur lying safely at anchor there; proceeding on board, found all well. procured abundance of water by digging one foot deep in the sand-hills, and good feed a short distance from camp. our friends on the adur were looking anxiously for us. we were two days behind the appointed time, and they feared some evil had befallen us, not taking into consideration the many delays incidental to such a journey through strange and difficult country as we had made. we had occupied ten days in reaching israelite bay since leaving mr. dempster's station, going an average of about twelve miles a day, which would be a slow rate of progress in a settled country, but which had sufficiently tried our horses, they being now in a very reduced condition from scarcity of feed. i resolved to stay at the camp for eight or ten days to recruit the horses, as there was good feed in the vicinity; and we re-stuffed and re-fitted the saddles and had the horses shod. i made a correct chart of the route from esperance bay, and found that the coast-line, as laid down in the admiralty charts, was in many places incorrect. on the th of may we determined to celebrate the queen's birthday. all hands from the adur came ashore, and i drew them up in line under the union jack, which was duly hoisted near the camp. we presented arms; sang god save the queen vigorously, and fired a salute of twenty-one guns, finishing with three cheers. i venture to record that our vocal efforts were as sincerely and heartily made in the australian wilderness as any which rang that day in any part of her majesty's wide dominions. we were all highly delighted--not only feeling that we had done our duty as loyal subjects, but other celebrations in more civilized places were forcibly recalled to memory. i had fixed the th as the time for our fresh start, and we had enough to do in packing bags, and making general repairs and improvements in our outfit. eucla bay, the only other point at which we should be able to communicate with the coaster, was miles to the east of israelite bay. the nature of the country was quite unknown, except so far as indicated by the not very encouraging record of eyre's journey. we felt that we should inevitably have to encounter considerable difficulties, and perhaps even fail to reach eucla. i deemed it right to give explicit directions to mr. waugh, the master of the schooner, so that, in the event of not meeting with us at the appointed place, he should have no difficulty as to the course to pursue, and to that end i gave him in writing the following instructions:-- instructions for the schooner. israelite bay, th may, . sir, it being my intention to start for eucla on monday, the th instant, i have the honour to direct you will be good enough to make arrangements for leaving this place on the th of june, wind and weather permitting, and sail as direct as possible for port eucla, situated in south latitude degrees minutes, and east longitude degrees minutes east. you will remain at anchor in port eucla until the st september, long before which time i hope to reach and meet you there. no signs of myself or party appearing by that date, you will bury in casks under the black beacon, pounds flour, pounds pork, pounds sugar, pounds tea, and four bags barley, together with the remainder of our clothing on board. you will be careful to hide the spot of concealment as much as possible, or by any other means that may suggest themselves. also you will bury a bottle containing report of your proceedings. all these matters had better be attended to a day or two before, and on the nd of september you will set sail and return with all despatch to this place (israelite bay), where, if i have been obliged to return, i will leave buried a bottle at this spot (arranged by us yesterday), which will contain instructions as to your future proceedings. no signs of our return being found here, you will sail for fremantle, calling at esperance bay on your way. on arriving in fremantle, you will immediately report your return to the honourable the colonial secretary, and forward him a report of your proceedings, after which your charter-party will have been completed. these arrangements are chiefly respecting your proceedings in the event of our not reaching eucla; and i may add that, although i have every hope of reaching there in safety, still it is impossible to command success in any enterprise, and i have to impress upon you the necessity of these instructions being carried out, as nearly as possible, to the very letter. wishing yourself and crew a prosperous voyage, and hoping soon to meet you in port eucla, i have, etc., john forrest, leader of expedition. mr. r.b. waugh, master of schooner adur. starting for eucla. on sunday, the th of may, all hands came ashore to dinner. it was certainly a festive party under rather extraordinary circumstances, but it was heartily enjoyed. so far as we were concerned the future was more than usually uncertain; but there was no feeling of despondency, and we separated in the evening with mutual good wishes and hopes for the success of the expedition. i read divine service, and, situated as we were, a small party remote from civilization, i think we all felt more impressed than under ordinary circumstances would have been the case. we had rested for eleven days. good food had restored the condition of the horses, and we rested in our camp in good spirits, ready for the work we were to begin on the following morning. my observations showed that we were in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude about degrees minutes east, the variation of compass from a number of azimuths being about degrees minutes westerly. the narrative is now continued in extracts from my diary:-- may th. after bidding good-bye to the crew of the adur, and to the two natives we have had with us from the thomas river, who were now at the end of their country and were afraid to come any further with us, we left israelite bay en route for eucla, and steered in a northerly direction for about fifteen miles over salt marshes and clay-pans, with dense thickets intervening, destitute of grass. i was obliged to make for the coast, and, following it for about eight miles, we camped close to it, without water or feed, and tied up our horses in latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitude of arcturus and a bootes. st. saddled up at dawn and continued along the beach for four miles; came to a large sand patch, and found abundance of water by digging one foot deep in the hollows. camped on east side of the sand-hills, with first-rate feed for the horses. by meridian altitude of sun, camp is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south. june st. after starting the party, went with tommy windich to examine the country to the north-west, and then, travelling nine miles over salt marshes and samphire flats, with dense scrub intervening, we reached what is named on the admiralty charts the front bank, which, ascending, we found very steep and rough. at last, gaining the summit, the country receded to the north, level and thickly wooded, as far as the eye could reach. we travelled about four miles to the north-west, from where we ascended the range, and then climbed a tree to have a view of the country, which i found very level and thickly wooded with mallee. i therefore determined to turn east, and if possible, reach the party to-night. accordingly, we reached the sea, and, following the tracks of the party, came up with them at about p.m., encamped on north-east side of an immense sand-patch, about twenty-five miles from our last night's bivouac. there was abundance of water on the surface in the hollows of the sand-hills. nd. there being no feed near camp, saddled up and continued towards point culver for four miles and camped, with only some coarse grass growing on the white sand-hills for our very hungry horses. found plenty of water by digging. this is a poor place for the horses: intend making a flying trip to the north-east to-morrow. by meridian altitude of sun and arcturus, camp is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes east. rd. started with my brother and billy to examine the country to the north-east, and travelled in about a north-east direction for twenty-five miles over very level country, but in many places most beautifully grassed. we camped on a splendid flat, without water. a view of the sea. th. started at dawn and travelled in a southerly direction for nine miles, when we found a rock water-hole containing one gallon, and had breakfast. continuing for four miles, we reached the cliffs, which fell perpendicularly into the sea, and, although grand in the extreme, were terrible to gaze from. after looking very cautiously over the precipice, we all ran back quite terror-stricken by the dreadful view. turning our course westward along the cliffs, we reached camp at o'clock, and found all well. we saw several natives' tracks during the day. th (sunday). rested at camp. read divine service. intend making preparations to-morrow for starting on tuesday morning, and attempt to reach the water shown on mr. eyre's track, in longitude degrees minutes east, miles distant, by carrying thirty gallons of water with us and walking in turns, so as to have the horses to carry the water. intend allowing each man one quart and each horse two quarts per day. feel very anxious as to the result, as it will take five or six days; but it is the only resource left. after explaining my views to my companions, and pointing out the great probability of our meeting with small rock water-holes, was much relieved by the sanguine way in which they acquiesced in the plans, and the apparent confidence they placed in me. th. filled the water-cans, and got everything ready for a start to-morrow morning. th. started at a.m., carrying over thirty gallons of water with us. one of the drums leaked so much that we left it at camp. travelled along our outward tracks of the th, and camped at our former bivouac, with splendid feed, but no water for our horses. th. started early, and steered about north-east through dense mallee thickets, destitute of grass or water, for eighteen miles. we came upon a small patch of open grassy land, and camped without water for our horses. this is the second night our horses have been without water, but the grass has been fresh, and they do not yet appear to have suffered much. marked a tree at camp, f., . my brother, i am sorry to say, left his revolver at our last night's bivouac, and did not notice it until this evening, when it was too far to send back to look for it. by meridian altitude of arcturus, camp is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes east. sufferings from thirst. th. made an early start, steering north-east, and at one mile found a rock water-hole containing fifteen gallons, which we gave the tired, thirsty horses, and, continuing, chiefly through dense mallee thickets, with a few grassy flats intervening, for twenty-two miles, found another rock water-hole holding about ten gallons, which we also gave the horses, and, after travelling one mile from it, camped on a large grassy flat, without water for the horses. our horses are still very thirsty, and have yet seventy miles to go before reaching the water in longitude degrees minutes east. am very thankful for finding the little water to-day, for if we had none, our situation would be somewhat perilous, and some of the horses would probably show signs of distress to-morrow. latitude of camp, degrees minutes seconds south by arcturus, and longitude degrees minutes east. th. steering east-north-east over generally open country, grassy flats, etc., thinly wooded, for twenty-one miles, found a small rock water-hole containing three gallons, which we put into our canteens. after travelling three miles further, camped on the edge of a grassy flat, and gave our horses half a gallon each from our canteens. our horses appear fearfully distressed this evening. for the last ninety-six hours they have only had two gallons each. latitude of camp degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degrees minutes east. th. found, on collecting the horses, that four were missing. those found were in a sad state for want of water, and there was not a moment to lose. i therefore at once told tommy to look for those missing, and, after saddling up, sent the party on with my brother, with instructions to steer easterly for nearly fifty miles, when they would reach the water in longitude degrees minutes east. i remained behind to await tommy's return, and, after an hour's awful anxiety, was rejoiced to see him returning with the ramblers. we lost no time in following after the party, and at two miles came to a water-hole they had emptied and given to the horses (fifteen gallons), and at five miles overtook them. after travelling ten miles, found another water-hole with fifteen gallons, which we also gave our horses, they being still very thirsty. at fourteen miles found a water-hole holding three gallons, which we transferred to our canteens; and at fifteen miles camped on a small but very grassy flat, close to which we found a water-hole of ten gallons, which i intend giving the horses to-morrow morning. although the horses are still very thirsty, they are much relieved, and are willing to feed. we all felt tired from long, weary, and continued walking. by meridian altitude of arcturus, camp is in latitude degrees minutes south, and longitude degrees minutes east. th (sunday). after giving the horses the little water found by tommy last evening, we struck a little to the south of east over generally grassy country, slightly undulating for three miles, when, being in advance, walking, i found a large water-hole with about gallons of water in it. it being sunday, and men and horses very tired, i halted for the day, as there was most luxuriant feed round camp. our horses soon finished the water, and looked much better after it. although now without water, we are in comparative safety, as the horses have had nearly sufficient. we are now only thirty-two miles from the water shown on mr. eyre's chart, in longitude degrees minutes east. latitude of camp degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes east. meeting natives. th. made an early start, and steering a little to the south of east, keeping straight for the water in longitude degrees minutes east. at eighteen miles got a view of the sea, and beheld the sand-hills about fifteen miles ahead. here we saw some natives' fires close to us. approaching them, we came upon an old woman, and my brother and tommy soon brought a man to bay. there were about twenty round us; they appeared very frightened. after detaining them half an hour, and treating them as kindly as possible, we bade them farewell and continued our journey. the natives were entirely naked. after we left the natives, we came to where the cliffs leave the sea, in longitude degrees minutes east. from here point dover was clearly visible, and i cannot express my feelings when gazing on the scene. to the westward, those grand precipitous cliffs, from to feet high, and point dover, near which mr. eyre's overseer was murdered, could easily be discerned; and while thinking over his hardships and miseries, we turned our faces eastward, and there saw, within a few miles, the water we so much needed. we then descended the cliffs and reached the sea shore, which we followed for about twelve miles, reaching the first sand-patch at about o'clock p.m. there was good feed all around, but we could not, from the darkness, find any water. gave our horses all we had with us, about fifteen gallons. a glimpse of the adur. th. this morning searched the sand-patches for water, without success; i therefore packed up and proceeded towards another large patch, four miles distant, going in advance with billy. after we left, tommy found a place used by the natives, where water could be procured by digging. he, however, followed after billy and myself. on reaching the sand-patch we saw the place where water could be procured by digging; we also found sufficient to satisfy our horses on some sandstone flats. we were soon joined by the party, who were overjoyed to be in perfect safety once more, and we were all thankful to that providence which had guarded us over miles without finding permanent water. we soon pitched camp, and took the horses to the feed, which was excellent. returning, we were surprised to see a vessel making in for the land, and soon made her out to be the adur. although the wind was favourable for eucla, she made in for the land until within about three miles, when she turned eastward, and, although we made fires, was soon out of sight. i afterwards ascertained that they were not sure of their longitude, having no chronometer on board, and therefore wished to see some landmark. th. dug two wells to-day, and found good water at seven feet from the surface. lined them with stakes and bushes to keep them from filling in. in the afternoon we all amused ourselves shooting wattle-birds, and managed to kill fifteen. th. dug another well and bushed it up, the supply from the two dug yesterday being insufficient, and obtained an ample quantity of splendid fresh water. by a number of observations, camp is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes east, the variation of compass being about degree minutes easterly. the horses are improving very quickly, there being splendid feed round the sand-patches. th. went with tommy windich for a walk eastward along the beach, and returned a little inland. passed over some patches of beautiful grassed country. saw a pine pole standing on one of the hummocks near the beach, probably erected by mr. eyre, as i am not aware of any one else having been here. we could not find any of his camps, however; doubtless the sand has long since covered them. th. making preparations for a flying trip inland on monday. th (sunday). read divine service. every appearance of rain. th. started this morning, in company with mclarty and tommy windich, to explore the country to the northward. the first twelve miles north was through very dense thickets and sandy hills, when we reached the cliffs, which we ascended with difficulty, and steering about north-north-east for the first three miles, through dense mallee thickets, we emerged into a generally grassy country, and travelled over beautifully-grassed downs. we camped at a rock water-hole of fifteen gallons, about twenty-five miles from main camp. st. steering about north for one mile, we found a rock water-hole holding about thirty gallons; and continuing for thirteen miles over grassy plains, thinly wooded, the country became very clear and open, and at twenty-five miles there was nothing but plains, gently undulating, of grass and salt-bush in view. far as the eye could reach to the north-west, north, and north-east, this clear and grassy country extended; and being now fifty miles from camp, with the prospect of finding water diminishing as we travelled northward, i determined to return. accordingly struck south-west, and after travelling twelve miles found a small water-hole of three gallons, and camped for the night. set watch as follows: myself to , mclarty to . a.m., and tommy from . to a.m. we found them rather long hours. nd. saddled up at dawn, and steering southerly over clear, open, grassy plains for twenty-eight miles, we reached the cliffs, and rested an hour; after which we continued our journey and reached camp a little after dark, finding all well. a relic of eyre. rd. made preparations for a start for eucla to-morrow, and put everything in travelling order. during my absence, osborn had got the horses' feet in order, and the pack-saddles had been overhauled, and repairs generally made. in looking round the camp, tommy windich found shoulder-blade of a horse, and two small pieces of leather. they no doubt belonged to mr. eyre's equipment, and, on reference to his journal, i find he was here obliged to kill a horse for food. in his journal he writes thus: "early on the morning of the th april, , i sent the overseer to kill the unfortunate horse, which was still alive but unable to rise from the ground, having never moved from the place where he had first been found lying yesterday morning. the miserable animal was in the most wretched state possible, thin and emaciated by long and continued suffering, and labouring under some complaint that in a very few hours, at the farthest, must have terminated its life." i cut off part of the shoulder-blade, and have since given it, together with the pieces of leather, to his excellency governor weld. a party of natives. th. started at . a.m. en route for eucla. steering in a north-north-east direction for fifteen miles, reached the cliffs, and after following along them two miles, found a large rock water-hole, but in an almost inaccessible spot. while i was examining the cliffs near, to find a place where we could get the horses up, tommy heard a cooey, and after answering it a good many times, we were surprised to see two natives walking up towards us, unarmed. i approached and met them; they did not appear at all frightened, and at once began to eat the damper i gave them. we could not understand anything they said. i beckoned them to come along with us, which they at once did, and followed so closely after me as to tramp on my spurs. they pointed to water further ahead. after walking about a mile, four more natives were seen running after us, who, on joining, made a great noise, singing, and appearing very pleased. shortly afterwards two more followed, making seven in all; all entirely naked, and every one circumcised. we found the water alluded to on the top of the cliffs, but, it being too late to get the horses up, we turned off to the southward half a mile, and camped on a small grassy flat, without water for the horses. the seven natives slept at our fire. we gave them as much damper as they could eat. they had not the least particle of clothing, and made pillows of each other's bodies, and resembled pigs more than human beings. th. the horses began to stray towards morning, and at a.m. i roused billy and brought them back. after saddling up, went to the cliffs, and with two hours' hard work in making a path and leading up the horses (two of which fell backwards), we managed to gain the summit. the seven natives accompanied us, and giving one of them the bag containing my rug to carry over to the water, i was surprised to see him trotting off with it. calling tommy, we soon overtook him and made him carry it back to the party. after giving our horses as much as they required from the fine water-holes, i motioned five of the natives to leave us and two to accompany us, which they soon understood, and appeared satisfied. travelling in an east-north-east direction for twenty-one miles, over rich grassy table-land plains, thinly wooded, we camped on a very grassy spot, without water for our horses. by meridian altitude of arcturus, camp is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes east. th (sunday). finding the two natives entirely useless, as we could not understand them, and had to give them part of the little water we carried with us, motioned them to return, which they appeared very pleased to do. steering in an easterly direction for two miles, over downs of most luxuriant grass, we found a large rock water-hole holding over gallons. it was sunday, and all being tired, we camped for the day. in every direction, open gently undulating country, most beautifully grassed, extended. by meridian altitude of sun, camp is in latitude degrees minutes south. read divine service. tommy and billy went for a stroll, and returned bringing with them two small kangaroos, (the first we have shot since leaving israelite bay) which proved a great treat. the natives also found a fine water-hole about a mile from camp. gave the horses all the water at this place. every appearance of rain. th. made rather a late start, owing to some of the horses straying. steered in an east-north-east direction, and at ten miles found a small waterhole, and at twenty-one miles another, both of which we gave our horses, and at twenty-four miles camped on a grassy spot, without water for our horses. for the first fifteen miles grassy, gently undulating, splendid feeding country extended in every direction, after which there was a slight falling off, scrubby at intervals. by meridian altitude of arcturus, camp was in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes east. th. had some difficulty in collecting the horses, and made a late start, steering in about an east-north-east direction for the first five miles, over very grassy flats, etc., when it became more dense and scrubby until twenty miles, after which it improved a little. at twenty-four miles we camped on a grassy rise, without water, in south latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes east. our horses appeared distressed for want of water, the weather being very warm. heavy marching. th. had to go back five miles to get the horses this morning. after saddling up, travelled in about an easterly direction for twenty-four miles, and camped on a grassy rise, close to a small rock water-hole. during the day, found in small rock-holes sufficient to give each horse about three gallons. the country was generally very grassy, although in some places rather thickly wooded. mclarty was very foot-sore from heavy and long walking. by meridian altitude of arcturus, camp is in latitude degrees minutes south, and longitude degrees minutes east. th. hearing the horses make off, i roused billy and brought them back; they had gone two miles. packed up, and steering in an east direction over generally very grassy country with occasional mallee thickets, for about twenty-two miles, we came to a splendidly-grassed rise, and found a fine rock water-hole on it, containing about gallons, which our horses soon finished being fearfully in want, the day being very warm. we are now only thirty miles from eucla. for the last two days mclarty has been so lame that i have not allowed him to walk--his boots hurting his feet. july st. made an early start, every one being in high spirits, as i told them they should see the sea and eucla to-day. travelling about east over most beautifully-grassed country, at five miles found a large water-hole, holding gallons; but our horses, not being thirsty, did not drink much. this is the first rock water-hole we have passed without finishing since we left point culver. after ten miles reached the cliffs, or hampton range, and had a splendid view of the roe plains, wilson's bluff looming in the distance, bearing north degrees minutes east magnetic. descending the cliffs with difficulty, we followed along the foot of them, which was beautifully grassed, and, after travelling twelve miles, beheld the eucla sand-hills. on my pointing them out, every heart was full of joy, and, being away some distance, i heard the long and continued hurrahs from the party! eucla was all the conversation! i never before remember witnessing such joy as was evinced on this occasion by all the party. after travelling five miles further we camped close to the cliffs, at a small water-hole, wilson's bluff bearing north degrees east magnetic, and the delissier sand-hills north degrees east magnetic. we might have reached eucla this evening, but i preferred doing so to-morrow, when we could have the day before us to choose camp. we are now again in safety, eucla being only seven miles distant, after having travelled miles without finding permanent water--in fact, over miles with only one place where we procured permanent water, namely, in longitude degrees minutes east. i trust we all recognized with sincerity and thankfulness the guiding and protecting father who had brought us through in safety. by observation, the camp was in latitude degrees minutes south. eucla reached. nd. made an early start and steered straight for the anchorage, distant about five miles, having first ascended the range to have a view of the country, which was very extensive. far as the eye could reach to the westward the roe plains and hampton range were visible; while to the eastward lay wilson's bluff and the delissier sand-hills; and three miles west of them we were delighted to behold the good schooner adur, riding safely at anchor in eucla harbour, which formed by no means the least pleasing feature of the scene to our little band of weary travellers. made at once for the vessel, and, on reaching her, found all well and glad to see us. she was anchored between the red and black beacons. the latter had been blown down, but shall be re-erected. there being no water at the anchorage, moved on to the delissier sand-hills, where we found water by digging two and a half feet from the surface. camped on west side of the sand-hills. landed barley, etc., from the boat. there was good feed for the horses under the hampton range, about a mile and a half distant. the next day was sunday. the crew of the adur came ashore and dined with us, and, as usual, i read divine service. on the following morning i went aboard the schooner and examined the log-book and charts. we painted the red and black beacons, and mr. adams having trimmed up a spar, we erected a flagstaff thirty-four feet high. i occupied myself the next day with preparing a report to be sent to the colonial secretary. my brother went off to the boat and brought ashore the things we required. we were busy on the following days packing up and shipping things not required for the trip to adelaide, and i gave the master of the adur instructions to sail with all despatch for fremantle. the following report, which i sent back by the adur, describes the progress then made with somewhat more detail than in my journal:-- port eucla, th july, . sir, it is with much pleasure i have the honour to report, for the information of his excellency the governor, the safe arrival here of the expedition entrusted to my guidance, as also the meeting of the schooner adur. leaving esperance bay on the th of may, we travelled in an easterly direction, over plains generally poorly grassed, to israelite bay (situated in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes east), which we reached on the th may, and met the adur, according to instructions issued to the master. here we recruited our horses and had them re-shod, put the pack-saddles in good order, packed provisions, etc., and gave the master of the adur very strict and detailed instructions to proceed to eucla harbour, and await my arrival until the nd of september, when, if i did not reach there, he was to bury provisions under the black beacon and sail for fremantle, via israelite and esperance bays. everything being in readiness, on the th of may we left israelite bay en route for eucla, carrying with us three months' provisions. keeping near the coast for sixty miles, having taken a flying trip inland on my way, we reached the sand-patches a little to the west of point culver, in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes east, on the nd of june. on the rd went on a flying trip to the north-east, returning on the th along the cliffs and point culver. i found the country entirely destitute of permanent water, but, after leaving the coast a few miles, to be, in places, beautifully grassed. on the coast near the cliffs it was very rocky, and there was neither feed nor water. finding there was no chance of permanent water being found, that the only water in the country was in small rocky holes--and those very scarce indeed--and the feed being very bad at point culver, i determined, after very mature consideration, to attempt at all hazards to reach the water shown on mr. eyre's track in longitude degrees minutes east, or miles distant. in accordance with these arrangements, on the th day of june started on our journey, carrying over thirty gallons of water on three of our riding horses, and taking it in turns walking. travelled about north-east for four days, which brought us to latitude degrees minutes south, and longitude degrees minutes east, finding, during that time, in rocky holes, sufficient water to give each horse two gallons. on the fifth day we were more fortunate, and were able to give them each two gallons more, and on the sixth day (the th june, sunday) found a large rock hole containing sufficient to give them five gallons each, which placed us in safety, as the water in longitude degrees minutes east was only thirty-two miles distant. continuing, we reached the water on tuesday, june th, and by observation found it to be in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes east, the variation of the compass being about degree minutes easterly. the country passed over between point culver and longitude degrees minutes east, was in many places beautifully grassed, level, without the slightest undulation, about feet above the sea, and not very thickly wood. it improves to the northward, being clearer and more grassy, and the horizon to the north, in every place where i could get an extensive view, was as uniform and well-defined as that of the sea. on the route from point culver to longitude degrees minutes east, we were from twenty to twenty-five miles from the sea. recruiting ourselves and horses till the th, i took a flying trip to the northward. for the first twelve miles from the sea was through a dense and almost impenetrable scrub, when we reached the cliffs, and after ascending them we came into the same description of level country that we travelled over from point culver, save that this was more open and grassy, and became still clearer as we proceeded north, until, at our farthest point north, in latitude degrees minutes south, and longitude degrees minutes east, scarcely a tree was visible, and vast plains of grass and saltbush extended as far as the eye could reach in every direction. we found a little water for our horses in rock holes. returning, we reached camp on june nd. on the rd we were engaged making preparations for a start for eucla. in looking round camp, tommy windich found the shoulder-blade of a horse and two small pieces of leather belonging to a packsaddle. the shoulder-blade is no doubt the remains of the horse mr. eyre was obliged to kill for food at this spot. on june th started for eucla, carrying, as before, over thirty gallons of water, and walking in turns. on the th found on the top of the cliffs a large rock hole, containing sufficient water to give the horses as much as they required, and on the th were equally fortunate. from the th to the th we met with scarcely any water, and our horses appeared very distressed, more so as the weather was very warm. on the evening of the th, however, we were again fortunate enough to find a water-hole containing sufficient to give them six gallons each, and were again in safety, eucla water being only thirty miles distant. on the morning of the st day of july we reached the cliffs, or hampton range (these cliffs recede from the sea in longitude degrees minutes east, and run along at the average distance of twelve or fifteen miles from the sea until they join it again at wilson's bluff, in longitude degrees east. they are very steep and rough, and water may generally be found in rock holes in the gorges. i, however, wished to keep further inland, and therefore did not follow them), and shortly afterwards we beheld the wilson's bluff and the eucla sand-hills. camped for the night near the hampton range, about five miles from eucla harbour, and on the nd july, on nearing the anchorage, discovered the schooner adur lying safely at anchor, which proved by no means the least pleasing feature to our little band of weary travellers. camped on west side of delissier sand-hills, and found water by digging. the country passed over between longitude degrees minutes east, as a grazing country, far surpasses anything i have ever seen. there is nothing in the settled portions of western australia equal to it, either in extent or quality; but the absence of permanent water is the great drawback, and i do not think water would be procured by sinking, except at great depths, as the country is at least three hundred feet above the sea, and there is nothing to indicate water being within an easy depth from the surface. the country is very level, with scarcely any undulation, and becomes clearer as you proceed northward. since leaving cape arid i have not seen a gully or watercourse of any description--a distance of miles. the route from longitude degrees minutes east to eucla was generally about thirty miles from the sea. the natives met with appeared friendly and harmless; they are entirely destitute of clothing, and i think not very numerous. very little game exists along the route; a few kangaroos were seen, but no emus--an almost certain sign, i believe, of the scarcity of water. the health of the party has been excellent; and i cannot speak too highly of the manner in which each member of the expedition has conducted himself, under circumstances often of privation and difficulty. all our horses are also in splendid condition; and when i reflect how great were the sufferings of the only other europeans who traversed this route, i cannot but thank almighty god who has guarded and guided us in safety through such a waterless region, without the loss of even a single horse. i am afraid i shall not be able to get far inland northward, unless we are favoured with rain. we have not had any rain since the end of april, and on that account our difficulties have been far greater than if it had been an ordinary wet season. i intend despatching the adur for fremantle to-morrow. the charter-party has been carried out entirely to my satisfaction. with the assistance of the crew of the adur i have repainted the red and black beacons. the latter had been blown down; we, however, re-erected it firmly again. i have also erected a flagstaff, thirty feet high, near camp on west side of delissier sand-hills, with a copper-plate nailed on it, with its position, my name, and that of the colony engraved on it. we are now within miles from the nearest adelaide station. i will write to you as soon as i reach there. it will probably be a month from this date. trusting that the foregoing brief account of my proceedings, as leader of the expedition entrusted to my guidance, may meet with the approval of his excellency the governor, i have, etc., john forrest, leader of expedition to eucla and adelaide. the honourable the colonial secretary, perth, w.a. we had now accomplished rather more than half the distance between perth and adelaide, but there was still a gap of miles to be bridged over. we bade good-bye to our friends on board the adur, and were now thrown entirely on our own resources. i resume the extracts from my journal:-- looking for water. july th. started in company with my brother and billy, having three riding horses and a pack horse, to penetrate the country to the northward. travelled in a northerly direction for about twenty-seven miles, over plains generally well grassed, and then bivouacked. from the camp only plains were in sight, not a tree visible. did not meet with a drop of water on our way, and, having brought none, we had to do without it. this season is too dry to attempt to cross these vast grassy plains, and i shall return to camp to-morrow--the attempt to get inland without rain only exhausting ourselves and horses to no purpose. th. after collecting the horses, which had strayed back on the tracks, we steered in a south-south-west direction, and reached camp a little after sundown. did not find any water, except about half a gallon, during the two days, and, the weather being warm, the horses were in a very exhausted state when they reached camp. found the adur had left yesterday afternoon. th (sunday). rested at eucla. read divine service. th. osborn busy with the shoeing. went with billy to wilson's bluff, and saw the boundary-post between south and western australia, placed by lieutenant douglas. returned at sundown. th. erected the flagstaff with the union jack flying, and nailed a copper plate to the staff, with the following engraved on it:-- western australia. erected by j. forrest, july th, . from the flagstaff, wilson's bluff bore north degrees minutes east magnetic, and the black beacon north degrees minutes east magnetic, and it is situated in latitude degrees minutes seconds south. th. there was a total eclipse of the moon in the morning. all busy preparing for a start for the head of the bight to-morrow. buried a cask eight feet west of flagstaff, containing pounds flour, pounds barley, new sets of horse-shoes, shoeing nails, etc. nailed a plate on flagstaff, with dig feet west on it. took a ride to the black and red beacons, to examine country round eucla. th. bidding farewell to eucla and the union jack, which we left on the flagstaff, we started for the head of the bight, carrying over thirty gallons of water with us, and walking in turns. ascended the cliffs without difficulty, and passed the boundary of the two colonies; then left the sea, and, steering in an east-north-east and north-east direction until a little after dark, camped on a grassy piece of country, without water for our horses. distance travelled about twenty-six miles. by observation camp is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes east. suffering from thirst. th. started at daylight, and travelled east-north-east for seven miles, when we bore east over generally level country, well grassed, but entirely destitute of water. we camped at sundown on a grassy rise, without water for our horses. distance travelled, thirty-four miles. the horses have not had any water for two days, and show signs of distress. intend starting before daylight, as there is a good moon. th. at a.m. went with billy to bring back the horses, which had again made off. after returning, saddled up, and at . a.m. got under way, steering a little to the south of east in order to make the cliffs, as there might be water in rock holes near them. at eighteen miles came to the sea, but could find no water. at thirty miles saw a pile of stones, and at thirty-three miles saw a staked survey line. camped on a grassy piece of country, two miles from the sea. this is the third day without a drop of water for the horses, which are in a frightful state. gave them each four quarts from our water-drums, and i hope, by leaving a little after midnight, to reach the head of the bight to-morrow evening, as it is now only forty miles distant. by observation, camp is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes east. th. was obliged to get up twice to bring back the horses, and at four o'clock made a start. the horses were in a very exhausted state; some having difficulty to keep up. about noon i could descry the land turning to the southward, and saw, with great pleasure, we were fast approaching the head of the great australian bight. reached the sand-patches at the extreme head of the bight just as the sun was setting, and found abundance of water by digging two feet deep in the sand. gave the horses as much as i considered it safe for them to have at one time. i have never seen horses in such a state before, and hope never to do so again. the horses, which four days ago were strong and in good condition, now appeared only skeletons, eyes sunk, nostrils dilated, and thoroughly exhausted. since leaving eucla to getting water at this spot, a period of nearly ninety hours, they had only been allowed one gallon of water each, which was given them from our water-drums. it is wonderful how well they performed this journey; had they not started in good condition, they never could have done it. we all felt very tired. during the last sixty hours i have only had about five hours' sleep, and have been continually in a great state of anxiety--besides which, all have had to walk a great deal. signs of civilization. th. this is a great day in my journal and journey. after collecting the horses we followed along the beach half a mile, when i struck north for peelunabie well, and at half a mile struck a cart track from fowler's bay to peelunabie. after following it one mile and a quarter, came to the well and old sheep-yards, and camped. found better water in the sand-hills than in the well. there is a board nailed on a pole directing to the best water, with the following engraved on it: g. mackie, april th, , water [finger pointing right] yards. upon sighting the road this morning, which i had told them we should do, a loud and continued hurrahing came from all the party, who were overjoyed to behold signs of civilization again; while billy, who was in advance with me, and whom i had told to look out, as he would see a road directly, which he immediately did, began giving me great praise for bringing them safely through such a long journey. i certainly felt very pleased and relieved from anxiety, and, on reviewing the long line of march we had performed through an uncivilized country, was very sensible of that protecting providence which had guided us safely through the undertaking. th. steered in an easterly direction along an old track towards wearing's well, as i intend going inland, instead of along the coast to fowler's bay. travelled for sixteen miles through a barren and thickly-wooded country, sand-hills, etc. we camped on a small grassy flat, without water. being now in the settled districts i gave over keeping watch, which we had regularly done since the th of may. th. continuing for fifteen miles, we reached a deserted well called wearing's; it was about feet deep, and after joining all the tether-ropes, girths, bridle reins, halters, etc., we managed to get up a bucket full, but after all our trouble it was quite salt. we therefore continued our journey south-east for fowler's bay, and at four miles saw some fresh sheep tracks, and shortly afterwards saw the shepherd, named jack, who was very talkative. he told us he had been to swan river, and thought it was quite as good as this place. he also said there was a well of good water about eight miles further on. this was a pleasant surprise, the nearest well on my chart being sixteen miles distant: this was a new well sunk since the survey. we therefore pushed on, although our horses were very tired, and reached the well, where there was a substantial stone hut; met the shepherd, whose name was robinson. he said he knew who we were, having heard about three months ago that we might be expected this way. he was as kind and obliging as it was possible to be in his circumstances. had a difficulty in drawing water for the horses, the well being nearly feet deep, and there was not a bite for the poor creatures to eat, except a few miles off. as it was now an hour after dark, i turned them out, and left them to do the best they could. the old shepherd kept talking most of the night, and said we looked more like people just come from fowler's bay than having come overland from western australia. st. the horses strayed off in many directions during the night, and they were not all collected till after noon, when we continued our journey for four miles, and finding a small piece of feed, we camped without water for the horses. many of the horses were in a very critical state, and one was completely knocked up. nd. again were delayed by the rambling of the horses until nearly noon, when we travelled along the road towards fowler's bay. after ten miles, watered the horses at a well called waltabby, and two miles further on camped, with scarcely any feed for the horses. one of the horses completely gave in to-day, and we had great difficulty in getting him to camp. by meridian altitude of arcturus, camp is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south. reaching a station. rd. although the feed was short, our horses did not stray, and after saddling up we continued along road for two and a half miles, and reached colona, the head station of degraves and co., of victoria, where we were most hospitably received by mr. maiden, the manager. at his desire camped, and turned out the horses on a piece of feed kept for his horses, and intend remaining over sunday. we accepted his kind invitation to make ourselves his guests while we remained. he informed me that the south australian government had instructed the mounted trooper at fowler's bay to proceed to the head of the bight and give us every information and assistance in his power. i am glad we have saved him the journey. th. rested at colona. in the afternoon was rather surprised at the arrival of police-trooper richards and party, who were on their way to try and find out our whereabouts. he handed me a circular for perusal, stating that anything i required would be paid for by the south australian government. th. left colona, accompanied by police-trooper richards and party. mr. maiden also accompanied us a few miles, when he returned, bearing with him my sincere thanks for his kindness to myself and party. after travelling eleven miles, we reached the hospitable residence of messrs. heathcote and mathers, where we stayed to dinner, and, although pressed to stay, pushed on seven miles, and camped at a well called pintumbra. th. rested at pintumbra, as there was good feed for our tired and hungry horses. police-trooper richards and party also remained with us. at fowlers bay. th. travelled towards fowler's bay, and at ten miles reached yallata, the residence of mr. armstrong, where we had dinner, and afterwards reached fowler's bay and put up at the police-station. th to st. remained at fowler's bay, recruiting ourselves and horses, and wrote the following letters to the honourable the colonial secretary, western australia, and to his excellency sir james fergusson, governor of south australia:-- fowler's bay, th july, . sir, i have the honour to report, for the information of his excellency the governor, the safe arrival here of the exploring expedition under my command, and beg to give you a brief outline of our proceedings since the departure of the schooner adur from port eucla. on the th of july, started on a flying trip north from eucla, with fourteen days' provisions, but was unable to penetrate more than thirty miles (which was over clear open plains of grass, etc., scarcely a tree visible), on account of the scarcity of water, not meeting with a drop of water on the whole journey. returned to eucla on the th, and, as summer had apparently set in, and there appeared no likelihood of rain, i decided to at once start for fowler's bay and adelaide. on the th, therefore, we started, carrying with us about thirty gallons of water. after great privation to our horses, and not meeting with a drop of water for miles, by travelling day and night we reached the head of the bight on the evening of the th july, and found abundance of water by digging in the sand-hills. our horses had been ninety hours without a drop of water, and many of us were very weary from long marching without sleep. many of the horses could scarcely walk, and a few were delirious; they, however, all managed to carry their loads. they have not, however, yet recovered, but with a few days' rest i hope to see them well again. there being very little feed at the head of the bight we continued our journey, and on the rd july reached colona (head station of degraves and co.), where we met police-trooper richards, who was on his way to the head of the bight to meet us, in accordance with instructions from his excellency sir james fergusson. leaving colona on the th, we reached fowler's bay on the th july, all well. we are now about miles from adelaide. our route will be through the gawler ranges, skirting the south end of lake gairdner, and thence to port augusta and adelaide, which we shall probably reach in five or six weeks from date. by this mail i have written to his excellency sir james fergusson, apprising him of our safe arrival, as well as giving him a brief account of our journey. according to present arrangements we shall, at latest, be in perth by the october mail. trusting that these proceedings may meet with the approval of his excellency the governor, i have, etc., john forrest, leader of expedition to eucla and adelaide. the honourable the colonial secretary, perth, western australia. fowler's bay, th july, . sir, in accordance with my instructions from the government of western australia, i have the honour to report, for the information of his excellency sir james fergusson, that the exploring expedition organized by that government and placed under my command, has reached this place in safety. with his excellency's permission, i will give a brief account of our journey since leaving perth. official report. leaving perth on the th march, we reached esperance bay, the station of the messrs. dempster, on the th april, and remained to recruit our horses until the th may, when we continued in an easterly direction for about miles, and reached israelite bay, in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east, where we met a coasting vessel with our supplies, etc. left israelite bay on may th, and reached the water shown on mr. eyre's track in longitude degrees minutes east on the th june, depending wholly on rock water-holes during the journey. here we recruited and made a trip inland for fifty miles, finding the country to be very clear and well grassed, but entirely destitute of permanent water. leaving longitude degrees minutes east on th june, we reached eucla on the nd july, depending again solely on rock water-holes, our horses often being in great want of water. at eucla we again met the coaster with supplies, etc. after despatching the coaster on her return to swan river, attempted to get inland north of eucla; but, owing to the scarcity of water and the dryness of the season, was unable to get more than thirty miles inland. i therefore concluded to continue the journey towards adelaide, and accordingly left eucla on july th, reaching the head of the great australian bight on the evening of the th, after a very hard and fatiguing journey, without a drop of water for our horses for ninety hours, in which time we travelled miles. men and horses were in a very weary state when we reached the water, which we found by digging in the sand-hills at the extreme head of the bight. continuing, we reached fowler's bay on the th july. from longitude degrees minutes east to port eucla, in longitude degrees minutes east, our route was from twenty to thirty miles from the sea, and in the whole of that distance we only procured permanent water in one spot, namely that shown on mr. eyre's track in longitude degrees minutes east. on our route we passed over many millions of acres of grassy country, but i am sorry to say i believe entirely destitute of permanent water. the natives met with were friendly, but to us altogether unintelligible. the health of my party has been excellent, and we have reached this place without losing a single horse. before reaching fowler's bay, we were met by police-trooper richards, who was on his way to meet us, in accordance with instructions from his excellency. i am truly thankful for this, as he has been of great service to us, and has been very attentive to our requirements. i hope to reach adelaide in five weeks from date. my route will be through the gawler ranges to port augusta, and thence to adelaide. trusting that this short account of our journey may not be wholly uninteresting to his excellency, i have, etc., john forrest, leader of expedition from western australia. the private secretary, government house, adelaide, south australia. august st. left fowler's bay, accompanied by police-trooper richards, en route for port augusta. travelled fourteen miles in about an east-north-east direction and camped. rained lightly this evening. nd. reached pinong station. distance travelled, thirty miles. passed several huts and wells. the whole journey was over most beautifully-grassed country. rd. left pinong, and, after travelling thirty miles, reached a spot called athena; then camped, leaving charra station about seven miles to the southward. passed a few huts and wells during the day. th. at seventeen miles reached denial bay, when we turned off towards hosken and broadbent's stations, and at thirteen miles further camped on a very grassy rise, with two small rock water-holes, called merking. by meridian altitude of a lyrae (vega), found it to be in latitude degrees minutes seconds south. paney station. th. after travelling eight miles, came to a deserted station of hosken and broadbent's, and found abundance of water in a rock water-hole called chillandee. as the horses were very tired, and there was splendid feed for them, we camped here for the remainder of the day. th. left chillandee, and after travelling twenty-six miles, passed madebuckela, the homestead of mr. hosken, where we camped at a deserted hut, with splendid feed and water for the horses. th. travelled towards gawler ranges for thirteen miles, and camped at a spot called conkabeena, from which the ranges were clearly visible. th. continuing in an easterly direction for twelve miles, we reached wollular, a granite hill with plenty of water on the rocks; after which proceeded due east for twelve miles, through dense thickets and sandy hills, when we came on a small patch of grassy land and camped, mount centre bearing north degrees east magnetic. th. continuing towards mount centre for eighteen miles, over a succession of salt lakes and very sandy hills and scrub, we reached a road making a little farther north, which was followed, and after travelling five miles came to narlibby, and camped on most beautiful feed. th. after taking wrong roads and going a good deal out of our way, we reached paney station and camped at the police-station. th and th. rested at paney, as the horses were very tired, and there was splendid feed for them. police-trooper richards intends returning to-morrow to fowler's bay. he has given us every assistance in his power, and deserves our very sincere thanks for his kindness and attention. th to th. travelling towards port augusta, accompanied for half the distance by police trooper o'shanahan, from paney station. th. reached port augusta. telegraphed to his excellency sir james fergusson, informing him of our arrival. camped five miles from port augusta, at a small township named stirling. th. received telegram from his excellency sir james fergusson, congratulating us on our success. camped a few miles from mount remarkable. th. passed through melrose, and on the rd reached clare, where i had the pleasure of meeting mr. john roe, son of the honourable captain roe, our respected surveyor-general. on august th reached riverton, and on the th gawler. on the th we arrived at salisbury, twelve miles from adelaide. through all these towns we have been most cordially received, and i shall never forget the attention and kindly welcome received on the journey through south australia. reception at adelaide. on the th august we left salisbury, and for an account of our journey from there to adelaide i cannot do better than insert an extract from the south australian register of august th, :-- "on saturday morning the band of explorers from western australia, under the leadership of mr. forrest, made their entrance into adelaide. they left salisbury at half-past nine o'clock, and when within a few miles of the city were met by inspector searcy and one or two other members of the police force. later on the route they were met by an escort of horsemen, who had gone out to act as a volunteer escort. at government house gate a crowd of persons assembled, who gave them a hearty cheer as they rode up. the whole party at once rode up to government house, where they were received by his excellency, who was introduced to all the members of the expedition, and spent a quarter of an hour in conversation with mr. forrest, and in examining with interest the horses and equipments, which all showed signs of the long and severe journey performed. wine having been handed round, the party withdrew, and were again greeted at government gate by hearty cheers from the crowd, which now numbered several hundreds. they then proceeded by way of rundle street to the quarters assigned them at the police barracks. the men are to remain at the barracks, and the officers are to be entertained at the city of adelaide club." from august th to september th we remained in adelaide, having been most kindly received by all with whom we came in contact. we saw as much of the country as possible. i disposed of my horses and equipment by public auction; then left in the steamer alexandra with the whole of my party on the th, reaching king george's sound on the th at a.m. left king george's sound on the th, and arrived in perth on the th, where we were most cordially welcomed by his excellency the governor and the citizens of perth, having been absent days. in the foregoing i have attempted to give a faithful and correct account of our proceedings, and, in conclusion, beg to make a few remarks respecting the character and the capabilities of the country travelled over. in about longitude degrees east the granite formation ends, at least on and near the coast; but from longitude degrees to the head of the bight, a distance of over miles, there is no change in the formation, being limestone and high table land the whole distance. the portion most suited for settlement is, i believe, between longitude degrees minutes east and longitude degrees east, near eucla harbour, or, in other words, the country to the north of the hampton range--the country north of the range being most beautifully grassed, and i believe abundance of water could be procured anywhere under the range by sinking twenty or thirty feet. there is also under the same range a narrow strip of fine grassy country for the whole length of the range, namely about miles. i have every confidence that, should the country be settled, it would prove a remunerative speculation, and, if water can be procured on the table land, would be the finest pastoral district of western australia. conclusion. before i conclude, i have the pleasing duty to record my entire appreciation of every member of the party. i need not particularize, as one and all had the interest and welfare of the expedition at heart, and on no occasion uttered a single murmur. finally, sir, my best and most sincere thanks are due to his excellency governor weld for the very efficient manner in which the expedition was equipped. it is chiefly owing to the great zeal and desire of his excellency that i should have everything necessary that the success of the enterprise is attributable. i have, etc., john forrest, leader of expedition. the honourable f.p. barlee, esquire, colonial secretary, western australia. chapter . reception at adelaide and return to perth. departure from gawler and arrival at adelaide. appearance of the party. public entrance. complimentary banquet. grant by the government of western australia. arrival at adelaide. on saturday, the th of august, we reached adelaide. on the previous day we had left gawler for salisbury, where we rested until the following morning, when we started at half-past nine o'clock for adelaide. a few miles from there we were met by the chief inspector of police and some troopers sent to escort us, and soon afterwards a volunteer escort of horsemen gave us a friendly welcome. we were heartily cheered as we entered the town and then rode to government house, where we were received in the most cordial manner by the governor, sir james fergusson. after a brief time spent in examining the horses (which were all the worse for the long and arduous journey) also the equipments, and in partaking of refreshments, we left the government house, the people cheering lustily, and passed through king william and rundle streets on the way to the city of adelaide club. my brother and self stayed there while in town, and the others at the police barracks, where man and horse enjoyed the much-needed rest and refreshment. it may interest the reader to quote from the south australian advertiser the description of our appearance when we first entered adelaide: "it was a genuine australian bush turnout, the trappings, water-drums, and other necessaries being admirably adapted for the purpose. the horses looked somewhat the worse for wear; but, considering the immense distance that they have travelled, their condition was not to be complained of, and a few weeks in the government paddocks will put them in capital condition. the officers and men, both white and black, look the picture of health, and their satisfaction at having completed their long and arduous task is beaming from their countenances." whatever our countenances may have expressed, i know we felt an intense satisfaction at having been enabled to discharge the duty we had undertaken. on the evening of the rd of september sir james fergusson entertained us at dinner, and many old colonists who, in their time, had been engaged in exploring expeditions, were among the guests. mr. barlee, the colonial secretary of western australia, who arrived in adelaide a day or two after we had reached it, was present with me at the luncheon on the occasion of the inauguration of the northern railway extension at kooringa. in replying to the toast of the visitors, he took the opportunity of thanking the south australian people and the government for the courtesy and kindness extended to me and the members of my party, who, he said, had carried out the instructions so successfully and in a manner which made him proud of the colony to which he belonged. he hoped that the line of communication that had been opened might soon lead to much better and closer intercommunication between the colonies. with characteristic consideration and kindness governor weld, immediately on receiving my report from eucla, addressed a private letter to my father, congratulating him on my success. reception at perth. anxious to lose no time in reporting myself to my government, i only remained in south australia about a fortnight, and then left for perth in the branch mail steamer, and arrived there on tuesday, the th of september. the city council determined to give us a public reception and present an address. a four-in-hand drag was despatched to bring us into the city, and a procession, consisting of several private carriages, a number of the citizens on horseback, and the volunteer band, escorted us. the city flag was flying at the town hall, and there was a liberal display of similar tokens from private dwellings. the governor and his aide-de-camp came out five miles to meet us, and accompanied us to the beginning of the city, where he handed us over to the council, meeting us again at the government offices. a crowd had collected in front of the government offices, where we were to alight, and amid cheering and general hand-shaking we entered the enclosure. here his excellency the governor received us with warm congratulations, and the city council presented the address, which was read by the chairman, mr. glyde. he said:-- "mr. forrest, in the name of the citizens i have the very great pleasure to bid you a cordial welcome on your safe return to perth. we sincerely congratulate yourself and party on the success which has attended your adventurous expedition overland to adelaide. it must have been gratifying to you to have been selected to lead this expedition, and to follow such explorers as captain roe, gregory, austin, and others, of whom west australia may well be proud. your expedition, however, has an additional interest from the fact that its leader and members were born in the colony. i trust, sir, that at no distant date you may have the satisfaction to see the advantages realized which the route opened by your expedition is calculated to effect." i had had no reason to expect such a marked official reception, and could only express the pleasure i experienced in knowing that the colonists so fully appreciated my efforts to carry out successfully the task confided to me. the governor also offered his congratulations, and three cheers having been given the party, and three more for the governor, we left for our quarters highly gratified with the reception. his excellency gave a large dinner-party to celebrate our return, and on monday, the th of october, a public demonstration of welcome was afforded by a banquet to which we were invited by the citizens. the following is a report from the perth journal:-- complimentary banquet to mr. john forrest. on monday evening last a complimentary banquet was given to mr. forrest, the explorer, at the horse and groom tavern. about seventy sat down to dinner, among whom were his excellency the governor, the private secretary, the colonial secretary, the surveyor-general, captain roe, and many of the leading inhabitants of perth and fremantle. the chair was taken by captain roe. on his right was his excellency the governor, and on his left the guest of the evening--mr. forrest. the vice-chair was filled by mr. landor. after the cloth had been removed, the chairman, captain roe, rose and proposed the queen, a lady whom the people could not consider without being proud of the sovereign by whom they were governed. the chairman said he rose to propose another toast, which, he trusted, was not always given as a matter of course, but with heartfelt satisfaction. it was the health of the heir apparent to the throne. (cheers). the prince of wales will, it is hoped, one day fill the throne of his illustrious mother--may that day be far distant!--but, when that day does arrive, may he display the exemplary virtues of his illustrious mother and the sterling qualities that distinguished his great father! the chairman, in proposing the next toast, his excellency the governor, said he had some difficulty in doing so, particularly as the subject of it was on his right hand that evening; yet he considered the gratitude of the colonists was due to her majesty's government for selecting a gentleman who was so well qualified to benefit the colony. he believed his excellency was the man to drag the colony out of the hole (cheers); and he believed his excellency was the man to attain for us that prosperity we so much desired (hear, hear); but we must do our utmost to support him in the effort to secure it. it was impossible for any man to perform one hundredth part of what was wanted of him; yet he believed his excellency would do all in his power to benefit the colony in every way. let every one give his excellency that strenuous support necessary to attain prosperity, and we would attain success. he trusted that when the term of his excellency's sojourn amongst us had arrived, he would remember with pleasure the days he had spent in western australia. the toast was drunk with cheers and enthusiasm. his excellency the governor, who was received most cordially, rose to thank them for the very kind manner in which they had received the toast which had been proposed by the worthy chairman. the chairman was right in saying that they might rely upon his doing his best for the benefit of the country, but they must not be disappointed; he could not do everything, but they might depend upon it he would do what he considered right for the people and the colony, without the fear or favour of any. but "many men of many minds," as the old school copy says. people thought widely different, but he would do his best for the welfare of the colony. (cheers). he did not, however, rise to speak of himself; the toast that evening was in honour of mr. forrest, and at the present moment, viewing the state of europe, looking at the fact that at this very time two of the largest nations in the world are carrying on a deadly strife; that on either side deeds of daring have been done, which we all admire, and by which we are all fascinated--and why? because the human mind admired daring and enterprise. but war devastated the world--war meant misery, destitution, widows, orphans, and destruction, yet we behold all these with a species of fascination. but not only in time of war, but at a period of peace, are the highest feelings of human nature and the noblest instincts of mankind brought out. it was in a spirit of daring, of self-sacrifice, of love of fame and science, that induced the gentleman, whose health will be duly proposed to you this evening, to undertake the task he has so successfully completed. the same motives, no doubt, led the warrior into the battle-field, as the explorer into a new and unknown country. he, like the warrior, combated dangers regardless to self. peace, then, has triumphs as well as war. mr. forrest and his party well deserve the triumphs they have secured in their successful journey from this colony to adelaide. the benefits conferred on the colony can best be appreciated by those who have the greatest capacity of looking into futurity, and as long as australia has a history, the names of mr. forrest and his companions will be borne down with honour. to himself it will be a source of pleasure to know that the first year of his administration will be rendered memorable by the exertion, zeal, and enterprise of mr. forrest. his excellency resumed his seat amidst loud and continued applause. captain roe said a very pleasing duty now devolved upon him; it was to recognize services well done and faithfully performed. it was always satisfactory to have our services recognized, and the leader of the expedition over a distance of more than miles, from perth to adelaide, so successfully, was deserving of esteem. that expedition had brought the colony into note, and the good results from it would soon be apparent. he personally felt more than he could say on the subject. he felt more in his heart than he could express in words. he trusted that the success of forrest and his party would be a solace to him in his latest day, and that in their latter days they would look back with pride to the energy and pluck they displayed in their younger. he called upon them to drink the health and success of mr. forrest and his companions during life. (loud and continued cheering.) mr. barlee: one more cheer for the absentees--mr. forrest's companions. (immense cheering.) a voice: one cheer more for the black fellows. (applause.) mr. forrest, who was received with enthusiasm, said he felt quite unequal to the task of responding to the toast which had been so ably and feelingly proposed by captain roe, and so kindly received by his fellow-colonists. he was extremely gratified to find that his services had been so highly appreciated, and were so pleasing to his friends and fellow-colonists. he was much flattered at the kind way in which himself and his party had been received by his excellency governor fergusson and the people of south australia; but he must say he was much better pleased at the reception he received from his excellency governor weld and the citizens of perth on his return. he was sorry he did not see round the table his companions of the expedition--some had gone out of town--but he must say that during the whole of their long and severe march, oftentimes without water, not one refused to do his duty or flinched in the least for a single moment. on the part of himself and his companions, he sincerely thanked them for the very kind manner in which they had drunk their health. (great applause.) mr. landor rose and said he had a toast to propose--it was the members of the legislative council--and in doing so he would like to make a few observations upon the old. that evening they had had the pleasure of hearing one of the oldest of the council, one who had seen more trial and suffering than any other, and to whom the grateful task fell that evening of introducing to you one who was new in travel; and, while admiring that act, he could not but call to mind the hardships that that gentleman had endured in former days. in times gone by parties were not so well provisioned as they were now, and he remembered the time when captain roe, short of provisions, discovered a nest of turkey's eggs, and, to his consternation, on placing them in the pan found chickens therein. but things have altered. captain roe belonged to an old council, and it is of the new he proposed speaking. from the new council great things are expected, and of the men who have been selected a good deal might be hoped. we all wanted progress. we talked of progress; but progress, like the philosopher's stone, could not be easily attained. he hoped and believed the gentlemen who had been elected would do their best to try to push the colony along. he trusted the gentlemen going into council would not, like the french, get the colony into a hole; but, if they did, he trusted they would do their best to get it out of the hole. what the colony looked for was, that every man who went into the council would do his duty. he had much pleasure in proposing the new members of council with three times three. mr. carr begged to express his thanks for the very flattering manner in which the toast of the new council had been proposed and seconded. as a proof of the confidence reposed in them by their constituents, he could assure them that they would faithfully discharge their duties to them in parliament, and work for the good of the colony generally. (cheers.) again thanking them for the honour done the members of the new council, mr. carr resumed his seat amidst great applause. mr. leake (who, on rising, was supposed to follow mr. carr) said his rising was not important. as the next toast fell to his lot, he would ask them to charge their glasses. the toast that was placed in his hands was to propose the health of his friend, mr. barlee, the colonial secretary. he trusted they would join him in giving mr. barlee a hearty welcome after his travels in foreign parts. mr. barlee started on his journey with the approval of the entire colony, and that the acts of the government had always the approval of the colonists was more than could be said at all times. (laughter.) mr. barlee's visit to the other colonies must have been beneficial, and he trusted mr. barlee would that evening give them his experience of the other colonies. we have not had an opportunity of hearing of mr. barlee, or what he has done since he was in adelaide. in adelaide sir j. morphett, the speaker of the house of assembly, had said that mr. barlee was a hard-working man, and that was a good deal to say for a man in this part of the world. (loud laughter.) mr. barlee, no doubt, would that evening give them a history of his travels, and tell them what he had done in adelaide, melbourne, and sydney. mr. barlee was a proven friend of the colonists and of west australia. he would ask them to join him in drinking the health of mr. barlee with three hearty cheers. (drunk with enthusiasm.) mr. barlee, who on rising was received with unbounded applause, said it would be impossible for him to conceal the fact that he was much pleased at the hearty manner in which his health had been proposed and received that evening. he did not require to leave the colony to know the good feeling of his fellow-colonists for him, nor to acquire testimony as to his quality as a public officer. there was one matter, however, he very much regretted, and that was that he was not present at the ovation given by the people of south australia to mr. forrest and his party. mr. forrest had passed through adelaide one day before his arrival. mr. forrest and his party had attracted attention not only in south australia, but also, as he found, in all the other australian colonies. having done so much, we were expected to do more in the way of opening up the large tract of country that had been discovered. it was our duty to assure the other colonies that the country would carry stock, and stock would be forthcoming. if mr. forrest in former days established his fame as an explorer, his late expedition only proves that he must commence de novo. of the modesty and bearing of mr. forrest and his party in south australia he could not speak too highly. there was, however, one exception, and that was his friend windich (native). he was the man who had done everything; he was the man who had brought mr. forrest to adelaide, and not mr. forrest him. he (mr. barlee) was in his estimation below par to come by a steamer, and he walked across (laughter); and it was an act of condescension that windich even looked upon him. (great laughter.) he was quite aware mr. leake, in asking him to give an account of his travels in foreign parts, never seriously intended it. if he did, he would only keep them until to-morrow morning. he would say that his was a trip of business, and not pleasure, and hard work he had. morning and night was he at work, and he trusted he would be spared to see the results of some of his efforts to benefit west australia. (loud cheers.) he considered, what with our lead and copper-mines, our jarrah coal-mines, and the prospect of an auriferous country being found, a new era was dawning on the colony. (cheers.) for the first time in the last sixteen years he had the pleasure of drinking that evening the health of the members of the legislative assembly. he was not yet a member of that council, but it was probable he would be a member, and have important duties to discharge therein. he was proud to learn the quiet and orderly manner in which the elections had been conducted, and the good feeling and harmony that existed on all sides, and to learn that the defeated candidates were the first to congratulate the successful ones on their nomination. he sincerely trusted that the same quiet good feeling and harmony would remain and guide the council in their deliberations hereafter. other complimentary toasts having been duly honoured, the company broke up. while the citizens of perth were thus exhibiting encouraging approval of our exertions, official recognition, in a practical form, was not wanting. on the th of october, captain roe forwarded to me the following communication:-- surveyor-general's office, perth, th october, . sir, having submitted to the governor your report of the safe return to head-quarters of the overland expedition to eucla and adelaide, entrusted to your leadership, i have much pleasure in forwarding to you a copy of a minute in which his excellency has been pleased to convey his full appreciation of your proceedings, and of the judgment and perseverance displayed in your successful conduct of the enterprise. in these sentiments i cordially participate, and, in accordance with the wish expressed in the minute, i beg you will convey to the other members of the expedition the thanks of his excellency for their co-operation and general conduct. official rewards. as a further recognition of the services of the party, his excellency has been pleased to direct that the sum of two hundred pounds be distributed amongst them, in the following proportions, payable at the treasury, namely:-- to the leader of the expedition... pounds. to the second in command... pounds. to h. mclarty and r. osborne, pounds each... pounds. to the aborigines, windich and billy, pounds shillings.... pounds. total pounds. i am, sir, your obedient servant, j.s. roe, surveyor-general. john forrest, esquire, leader of expedition, etc., etc. the following is the minute referred to in the above:-- honourable surveyor-general, i beg that you will convey to mr. john forrest, leader of the eucla expedition, the expression of my appreciation of the zeal, judgment, and perseverance which he has displayed in the successful conduct of the enterprise committed to his charge. great credit is also due to the second in command, and to every member of the party. all have done their duty well, and to them also i desire to render my thanks. it is with much pleasure that, with the advice of my executive council, i authorize a gratuity of pounds, to be divided in the proportions you have submitted to me. (signed) fred. a. weld. st october, . it will be remembered that the york agricultural society had previously proposed an overland expedition, but had not succeeded in obtaining official sanction, it being then believed that eucla could be best approached from the sea. after my return the society held a meeting, at which his excellency the governor was present, when my report of the expedition was received with every mark of approval of my labours. chapter . third expedition. from the west coast to the telegraph line. proposal to undertake a new expedition. endeavour to explore the watershed of the murchison. expeditions by south australian explorers. my journal. fight with the natives. finding traces of mr. gosse's party. the telegraph line reached. arrival at perth station. the success which had attended my previous expeditions, and the great encouragement received from the government and public of each colony, made me wish to undertake another journey for the purpose of ascertaining whether a route from western australia to the advanced settlements of the southern colony was practicable. i also hoped to contribute, if possible, towards the solution of the problem, what is the nature of the interior? my first journey, when i succeeded in penetrating for about miles into the unknown desert of central australia, had convinced me that, although there might, and doubtless would, be considerable difficulties to be encountered, there were no insuperable obstacles except a probable failure in the supply of water. that certainly was the most formidable of all the difficulties that would no doubt have to be encountered; but on the previous journey the scarcity of water had been endured, not without privation and suffering, but without any very serious result. at any rate, the expedition i desired to undertake appeared to be of an extremely interesting character. it might contribute to the knowledge of an immense tract of country of which hardly anything was known; it might also be the means of opening up new districts, and attaining results of immense importance to the colonies. perhaps, too, i was animated by a spirit of adventure--not altogether inexcusable--and, having been successful in my previous journeys, was not unnaturally desirous of carrying on the work of exploration. a new expedition proposed. in an expedition went out to the eastward of perth under command of my brother, mr. a. forrest, in search of fresh pastoral country. it was a very good season, but the expedition was too late in starting. it succeeded in reaching latitude degrees south, longitude degrees minutes east, and afterwards struck south-south-east towards the coast; then, with considerable difficulty, it reached mount ragged and the thomas river, and, continuing westerly, got as far as esperance bay, the homestead of the messrs. dempster. this expedition discovered a considerable tract of good country, some of which has been taken up and stocked. it was equipped on very economical principles, and did not cost more than pounds. the leader had been previously with me as second in command on the journey to adelaide in , and afterwards accompanied me in from the west coast through the centre of the western part of australia to the telegraph line between adelaide and port darwin. he received great credit from the government for the energy and perseverance displayed on this expedition--a character borne out by future services as second in command with me. in july, , i addressed the following letter to the honourable malcolm fraser, the surveyor-general:-- western australia, perth, july th, . sir, i have the honour to lay before you, for the consideration of his excellency the governor, a project i have in view for the further exploration of western australia. my wish is to undertake an expedition, to start early next year from champion bay, follow the murchison to its source, and then continue in an east and north-east direction to the telegraph line now nearly completed between adelaide and port darwin; after this we would either proceed north to port darwin or south to adelaide. the party would consist of four white and two black men, with twenty horses, well armed and provisioned for at least six months. the total cost of the expedition would be about pounds, of which sum i hope to be able to raise, by subscriptions, about pounds. the horses will be furnished by the settlers, many having already been promised me. the geographical results of such an expedition would necessarily be very great; it would be the finishing stroke of australian discovery; would be sure to open new pastoral country; and, if we are to place any weight in the opinions of geographers (among whom i may mention the reverend tenison woods), the existence of a large river running inland from the watershed of the murchison is nearly certain. referring to the map of australia you will observe that the proposed route is a very gigantic, hazardous, and long one; but, after careful consideration, i have every confidence that, should i be allowed to undertake it, there are reasonable hopes of my being able to succeed. minor details are purposely omitted; but, should his excellency favourably entertain this proposition, i will be too glad, as far as i am able, to give further information on the subject. trusting you will be able to concur in the foregoing suggestions. i have, etc., john forrest. to this letter the governor appended the following memorandum:-- mr. j. forrest, in a most public spirited manner, proposes to embark in an undertaking, the dangers of which, though not by any means inconsiderable, would be outweighed by the advantages which might accrue to this colony, and which would certainly result in a great extension of our geographical knowledge. should he succeed in this journey, his name will fitly go down to posterity as that of the man who solved the last remaining problem in the australian continent; and, whatever may come after him, he will have been the last (and certainly, when the means at his disposal and the difficulties of the undertaking are considered, by no means the least) of the great australian explorers. the honour to be gained by him, and most of the advantages, will ultimately fall to this colony, which is his birth-place; and for my own part i shall be very proud that such a design should be carried out during my term of office. i wish that the means of the colony were sufficient to warrant the government in proposing to defray the entire cost of the expedition, and i think it would be a disgrace to the colony if it did not at least afford some aid from public funds. these papers will be laid before the legislature, and the government will support a vote in aid, should the legislature concur. fred. a. weld. july th, . this memorandum showed that his excellency thoroughly sympathized with my reason for desiring to undertake the expedition. the proposition, supported by official approval, was acceded to by the legislative council, which voted the pounds stated to be required in addition to the pounds which i hoped to be able to raise by subscription. just at this time, however, south australia was making great efforts to solve the problem i had undertaken to attempt, preparations being made for the departure of three expeditions. stuart's great feat of crossing the continent from south to north had been followed by other successful efforts in the same direction. another result was the establishing a line of telegraph from adelaide to port darwin. this might therefore be considered the eastern boundary of the unknown districts, and moreover was the point of departure for the south australian expeditions in a westerly direction. it was also the limit i desired to reach, and, reaching it, i should achieve the object i had so much at heart. of the south australian expeditions, only one was successful in getting to the western colony, and that one, led by colonel warburton, involved much suffering and was comparatively barren of practical results. besides, as we afterwards knew, the route selected by him was so far to the north as not to interfere with my project. the following letter to me expresses the official estimate of the result of colonel warburton's expedition:-- surveyor-general's office, perth, march th, . the gist of the information i have from colonel warburton may be summed up in a few words. from the macdermot ranges in south australia to the head of the oakoon river (about miles from the coast), keeping between the parallels of and degrees south latitude, he traversed a sterile country, in which he states horses could not possibly exist--they would starve, as they could not live on the stunted scrub and herbage which the camels managed to keep alive on. the general character of the country seen was that of a high, waterless, slightly undulating, sandy table-land, with in some parts sand deserts in ridges most harassing to traverse. there was nothing visible in the way of water courses in which water could be retained; but they were successful in finding, at long distances, sufficient to maintain themselves and their camels as they fled, as it were for their lives, westward over the sahara, which appears to be in a great part a desolate wilderness, devoid of life, or of anything life sustaining. though this is a grim picture put before you, yet i would not have you daunted. your task is a different one, and one which all the colony is looking forward to see successfully completed by you. i have, etc., (signed) malcolm fraser, surveyor-general. governor weld, however, decided that it might be better to postpone my expedition, as it would not be advisable to appear to enter into competition with the other colony; besides which it might be of considerable advantage to wait and avail ourselves of the results of any discoveries that might be made by the south australian explorers. another reason for delay was that i was required to conduct a survey of considerable importance, which it was desirable should be completed before undertaking the new expedition. it may assist my readers to understand the references in the latter part of my journal if i state that in april, , mr. gosse, one of the south australian explorers, quitted the telegraph line about forty miles south of mount stuart; that the farthest point in a westerly direction reached by him was in longitude degrees minutes east; and that mr. giles, a victorian explorer, had reached longitude degrees, but had been unable to penetrate farther. some records of these expeditions, and a copy of the chart made by mr. gosse, were in my possession, when at length, in march, , i set to work on the preliminary arrangements for the expedition. before leaving perth i received from the surveyor-general the following outline of instructions for my general guidance:-- official instructions. western australia, surveyor-general's office, perth, th march, . sir, the arrangements connected with the party organized for the purpose of proceeding on an exploratory expedition to the north-eastern division of this territory having now been completed, i am directed to instruct and advise you generally in the objects and the intention of the government in regard to it. the chief object of the expedition is to obtain information concerning the immense tract of country from which flow the murchison, gascoigne, ashburton, degrey, fitzroy, and other rivers falling into the sea on the western and northern shores of this territory, as there are many good and reasonable grounds for a belief that those rivers outflow from districts neither barren nor badly watered. mr. a.c. gregory, coming from the northwards by sturt's creek, discovered the denison plains, and it may be that from the head of the murchison river going northwards there are to be found, near the heads of the rivers above alluded to, many such grassy oases; and, looking at the success which has already attended the stocking of the country to the eastward of champion bay, and between the heads of the greenough river and murchison, it will be most fortunate for our sheep farmers if you discover any considerable addition to the present known pasture grounds of the colony; and by this means no doubt the mineral resources of the interior will be brought eventually to light. every opinion of value that has been given on the subject tells one that the head of the murchison lies in a district which may prove another land of ophir. in tracing up this river from mount gould to its source, and in tracing other rivers to and from their head waters, detours must be made, but generally your course will be north-east until you are within the tropics; it will then be discretionary with you to decide on your route, of which there is certainly a choice of three, besides the retracing of your steps for the purpose, perhaps, of making a further inspection of the good country you may have found. firstly, there is to choose whether you will go westward, and fall back on the settlements at nicol bay or the de grey river, on the north-west coast. secondly, to consider whether you might advantageously push up sturt's creek, keeping to the westward of gregory's track. thirdly, to decide whether or not you will go eastward to the south australian telegraph line. possibly this latter course may be the most desirable and most feasible to accomplish, as the telegraph stations, taking either watson's creek or daly waters, are not more than miles from the known water supply on sturt's creek, and, supposing you do this successfully, the remaining distance down the telegraph line to port darwin is a mere bagatelle, provided an arrangement can be made with the south australian government to have a supply of provisions at daly waters. in the event of your going to port darwin, the plan probably will be to sell your equipment and horses, returning with your party by sea, but in this and in other matters of detail there is no desire to fetter you, or to prevent the proper use of your judgment, as i am fully aware that your sole object is in common with that of the government--the carrying to a satisfactory result the work to be done. i hope that before you individually leave we shall have the pleasure of welcoming colonel warburton, and i have no doubt will be able to obtain some valuable information from him. having now dwelt generally on the objects of the expedition, i will go more into details. your party will consist of yourself as leader, mr. alexander forrest as surveyor and second in command, james sweeney (farrier), police-constable james kennedy, and two natives, tommy windich and tommy pierre, making six in number and twenty horses. the party will be well armed; but by every means in your power you will endeavour to cultivate and keep on friendly relations with all the aborigines you may fall in with, and avoid, if possible, any collision with them. the provisions and other supplies already arranged for are calculated to serve the party for eight months. the expedition will start from champion bay, to which you will at once despatch by sea the stores to be obtained here; and the men and horses should proceed overland without delay. you will be probably able to charter carts or drays to take most of your impedimenta from geraldton to mr. burges's farthest out-station on the murchison; this will save you miles of packing, and husband the strength of your horses for that distance. having the assistance of mr. alexander forrest as surveyor to the party, you will do as much reconnaissance work in connexion with the colonial survey as it may be possible; and also, by taking celestial observations at all convenient times, and by sketching the natural features of the country you pass over, add much to our geographical knowledge. all geological and natural history specimens you can collect and preserve will be most valuable in perfecting information concerning the physical formation of the interior. you will be good enough to get the agreement, forwarded with this, signed by the whole of the party. i am, etc., malcolm fraser, surveyor-general. departure of the expedition. on the th of march, , the expedition quitted perth. colonel harvest, the acting-governor, wished us a hearty god-speed, which was warmly echoed by our friends and the public generally. the surveyor-general and a party accompanied us for some distance along the road. ten days afterwards we reached champion bay, where we intended to remain for three days, having settled to commence our journey on the st of april. we had enough to do in preparing stores, shoeing horses, and starting a team with our heaviest baggage to a spot about fifty miles inland. on the st march we were entertained at dinner by mr. crowther (member of the legislative council for the district) at the geraldton hotel. it was from that point we considered the expedition really commenced, and my journal will show that we numbered our camps from that place. our final start was not effected without some trouble. the horses, happily ignorant of the troubles which awaited them, were fresh and lively, kicking, plunging, and running away, so that it was noon before we were fairly on the move. our first day's journey brought us to a place named knockbrack, the hospitable residence of mr. thomas burges, where we remained two days, the rd being good friday. on the th we were again on our way--a party of friends, messrs. e. and f. wittenoom, mr. lacy, and others, accompanying us as far as allen nolba. we camped that night at a well known as wandanoe, where, however, there was scarcely any feed for the horses, who appeared very dissatisfied with their entertainment, for they wandered away, and several hours were spent on the following morning in getting them together. our route lay by way of kolonaday, north spring, tinderlong, and bilyera to yuin, mr. burges's principal station, which we reached on the th, and remained until monday the th. then we started on a route east-north-east, and camped that night at a rock water-hole called beetinggnow, where we found good feed and water. my brother and kennedy went on in advance to poondarrie, to dig water-holes, and we rejoined them there on the th. this place is situated in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes seconds east. on the following day we were very busy packing up the rations, for i had arranged to send back the cart, gone on in advance. we had eight months' provisions, besides general baggage, and i certainly experienced some difficulty in arranging how to carry such a tremendously heavy load, even with the aid of eighteen pack-horses, and a dozen natives who accompanied us. i intended to start on the th, but one of the horses was missing, and, although pierre and i tracked him for five miles, we were compelled to give up the search for that night, as darkness came on, and return to camp. on the following day, however, we followed up the tracks, and caught the horse after a chase of twenty miles. he had started on the return journey, and was only a mile from yuin when we overtook him. camels and horses in the desert. by half-past nine on the morning of the th we had made a fair start. the day was intensely hot, and as we had only three riding-horses, half of the party were compelled to walk. we travelled in a north-easterly direction for eleven miles, and reached a spring called wallala, which we dug out, and so obtained sufficient water for our horses. i may mention here that colonel warburton and other explorers who endeavoured to cross the great inland desert from the east had the advantage of being provided with camels--a very great advantage indeed in a country where the water supply is so scanty and uncertain as in central australia. as we ascertained by painful experience, a horse requires water at least once in twelve hours, and suffers greatly if that period of abstinence is exceeded. a camel, however, will go for ten or twelve days without drink, without being much distressed. this fact should be remembered, because the necessity of obtaining water for the horses entailed upon us many wearying deviations from the main route and frequent disappointments, besides great privation and inconvenience to man and beast. the th was sunday, and, according to practice, we rested. every sunday throughout the journey i read divine service, and, except making the daily observations, only work absolutely necessary was done. whenever possible, we rested on sunday, taking, if we could, a pigeon, a parrot, or such other game as might come in our way as special fare. sunday's dinner was an institution for which, even in those inhospitable wilds, we had a great respect. this day, the th, ascertained, by meridian altitude of the sun, that we were in latitude degrees minutes seconds south. we had several pigeons and parrots, which, unfortunately for them, but most fortunately for us, had come within range of our guns. while thus resting, police constable haydon arrived from champion bay, bringing letters and a thermometer (broken on the journey), also a barometer. when he left we bade good-bye to the last white man we were destined to see for nearly six months. after the usual difficulty with the horses, which had again wandered, we started on monday, the th, at half-past ten, and steering about degrees east of north for seven miles, came to a spring called bullardo, and seven miles farther we camped at warrorang, where there was scarcely any water or feed. we were now in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, cheangwa hill being north degrees east magnetic. i now take up the narrative in the words of my journal, which will show the reason for ultimately adopting the third of the routes which the letter of instructions left to my discretion. april st. continued on north degrees east to cheangwa hill four miles; thence northerly, passing koonbun, and on to a place called pingie, on the sandford river. from camp to pingie, barloweery peaks bore north degrees east magnetic, cheangwa hill north degrees east, latitude degrees minutes seconds. found water by digging. rather warm; barometer rising. clear flats along water-courses; otherwise dense thickets. the murchison river. nd. continued northerly; at twelve miles crossed the dividing range between the sandford and other creeks flowing into the murchison. camped at a granite hill called bia, with a fine spring on its north side. got a view of mount murchison, which bore north degrees east magnetic from camp. fine grassy granite country for the first eight miles to-day. splendid feed at this camp. travelled about fifteen miles. latitude by meridian altitude of regulus degrees minutes south. walking in turns every day. rd. steering a little west of north over level country for six miles, with a few water-courses with white gums in them, we came into granite country with bare hills in every direction. kept on till we came to a brook with pools of fresh water, where we camped about one mile from the murchison river. latitude degrees minutes seconds, mount murchison bearing north degrees east. went with pierre to a peak of granite north degrees east, about one mile and a half from camp, from which i took a round of angles and bearings. travelled about eighteen miles to-day. th. at one mile reached the murchison river, and followed along up it. fine grassy flats, good loamy soil, with white gums in bed and on flats. travelled about fourteen miles, and camped. rather brackish water in the pools. latitude of camp degrees minutes seconds by regulus. shot seven ducks and eight cockatoos. saw several kangaroos and emus. rain much required. mount murchison bears from camp north degrees east, and mount narryer north degrees east magnetic. th. continued up river for about nine miles, and camped at a fine spring in the bed of river, of fresh water, which i named elizabeth spring; it is surrounded by salt water, and is quite fresh. mount narryer bore from camp north degrees east magnetic, and mount murchison north degrees minutes east magnetic. windich shot an emu, and some ducks were also shot. fine grassy country along river; white gums in flats; large salt pools. very hot weather; thermometer degrees in pack-saddle. th (sunday). did not travel to-day. plotted up track and took observations for time and longitude. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. latitude of camp degrees minutes seconds south by regulus. th. travelled up river for about sixteen miles; camped at a fine fresh pool in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, mount narryer bearing north degrees east, and mount dugel north degrees east magnetic. fine grassy country along river. shot six ducks; great numbers were in the river, also white cockatoos. very warm mid-day; cloudy in evening. marked a tree f on the right bank of river. a solitary camp out. th. followed up the river. fine pools for the first six miles, with numbers of ducks in them. after travelling about twenty miles we lost the river from keeping too far to the east, and following branches instead of the main branch--in fact, the river spreads out over beautifully-grassed plains for many miles. fearing we should be without water, i pushed ahead, and after following a flat for about six miles, got to the main river, where there were large pools of brackish water. as it was getting late, returned in all haste, but could not find the party, they having struck westward. i got on the tracks after dark, and, after following them two miles, had to give it up and camp for the night, tying up my horse alongside. neither food nor water, and no rug. th. i anxiously awaited daylight, and then followed on the tracks and overtook the party, encamped on the main branch of the river, with abundance of brackish water in the pools. shot several cockatoos. from camp mount narryer bore north degrees minutes east magnetic, and mount dugel degrees minutes east magnetic. camp is in latitude degrees minutes seconds. marked a tree with the letter f on right bank of river. th. two of the horses could not be found till half-past twelve. after this we continued up the river over well-grassed country for about ten miles. camped at a small pool of fresh water, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, which we luckily found by tracking up natives. large pools of salt water in river. three walking and three riding every day. set watch to-night, two hours each. may st. followed up river, keeping a little to the south of it for about fifteen miles. we camped on a splendid grassy flat, with a fine large pool of fresh water in it. shot several ducks. this is the best camp we have had---plenty of grass and water--and i was very rejoiced to find the month commence so auspiciously. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at . p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds south. sighted mount gould, which bore north degrees east magnetic. marked a white gum-tree f , being th camp from geraldton. meeting natives. nd. steered straight for mount gould, north degrees east, for sixteen miles, when i found i had made an error, and that we had unknowingly crossed the river this morning. after examining the chart, i steered south-east towards mount hale and, striking the river, we followed along it a short distance and camped at some brackish water, mount hale bearing north degrees east, and mount gould north degrees east. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at . p.m. as pierre was walking along, he suddenly turned round and saw four or five natives following. being rather surprised, he frightened them by roughly saying, "what the devil you want here?" when they quickly made off. windich and i then tried to speak to them, but could not find them. latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude about degrees minutes east. rd (sunday). went to summit of mount hale in company with pierre, and after an hour's hard work reached it. it was very rough and difficult to ascend. the rocks were very magnetic; the view was extensive; indeed, the whole country was an extended plain. to the east, plains for at least thirty miles, when broken ranges were visible. mount gould to the north-north-east showed very remarkably. mount narryer range was visible. to the south, only one hill or range could be seen, while to the south-east broken ranges of granite were seen about thirty miles distant. mount hale is very lofty and rugged, and is composed of micaceous iron ore, with brown hematite; being magnetic, the compass was rendered useless. returned about one o'clock. windich and the others had been out searching for fresh water, and the former had seen three natives and had a talk with them. they did not appear frightened, but he could not make anything out of them. they found some good water. barometer, at . p.m., . ; thermometer degrees. took observations for time and longitude. we are much in want of rain, and thought we should have had some, but the barometer is rising this evening. to-morrow we enter on country entirely unknown. th. started at nine o'clock, and, travelling north-east for three miles, came to junction of river from mount gould, when we got some fresh water, also met two natives who were friendly, and they accompanied us. we took the south or main branch of river, and, steering a little south of east for about nine miles, over splendidly-grassed country, we camped on a small pool of fresh water on one of the courses of the river, mount gould bearing north degrees minutes east magnetic, and mount hale north degrees minutes east magnetic. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds by regulus. marked a tree f , being nd camp from geraldton. lofty ranges. th. we travelled up easterly along the river, which spreads out and has several channels, sometimes running for miles separately, then joining again. there were many fine fresh pools for the first four miles, after which they were all salt, and the river divided into so many channels that it was difficult to know the main river. after travelling about sixteen miles over fine grassy plains and flats, we were joined by seven natives, who had returned with the two who had left us this morning. they told us that there was no fresh water on the branch we were following, and we therefore followed them north degrees east for seven miles (leaving the river to the southward), when they brought us to a small pool in a brook, where we camped, mount gould bearing north degrees minutes east magnetic, mount hale north degrees east magnetic. latitude degrees minutes from mean of two observations. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. th. three of the natives accompanied us to-day. we travelled east for six miles, when i ascended a rise and could see a river to the north and south; the one to the north the natives say has fresh water. as the natives say there is plenty of water ahead, north degrees east, we continued onwards to a hill, which i named mount maitland. after about twenty miles we reached it, but found the spring to be bad, and after digging no water came. for our relief i tied up the horses for some time before letting them go. ascending the hill close to the camp, i saw a very extensive range, and took a fine round of angles. the compass is useless on these hills, as they are composed of micaceous iron ore, with brown hematite, which is very magnetic. to the east a line of high, remarkable ranges extend, running eastwards, which i have named the robinson range, after his excellency governor robinson. one of the highest points i named mount fraser, after the honourable commissioner of crown lands, from whom i received much assistance and consideration, and who has aided the expedition in every possible way; the other highest point, mount padbury, after mr. w. padbury, a contributor to the expedition fund. the river could be traced for thirty miles by the line of white gums, while to the south long lines of white gums could also be seen. i am not sure which is the main branch, but i intend following the one to the north, as it looks the largest and the natives say it has fresh water. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m.; latitude degrees minutes south. the last thirty-five miles over fine grassy plains, well adapted for sheep-runs; and water could, i think, be easily procured by digging, as well as from the river. th. the three natives ran away this morning, or at least left us without asking leave. we had to keep watch all last night over the horses to keep them from rambling. got an early start, and steering north degrees east for about twelve miles, we reached the river, and camped at a fresh pool of splendid water. this is a fine large branch; it is fresh, and i believe, if not the main, is one of the largest branches. the country is now more undulating and splendidly grassed, and would carry sheep well. the whole bed of the river, or valley, is admirably adapted for pastoral purposes, and will no doubt ere long be stocked. latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude about degrees minutes east. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at . p.m. marked a white gum on right bank of river f , being the th camp from champion bay. th. continued up the river for about fifteen miles, the stream gradually getting smaller, many small creeks coming into it; wide bed and flat. fine grassy country on each side, and some permanent pools in river. camped at a small pool of fresh water, and rode up to a low ridge to the north-east, from which i got a fine view to the eastward. i do not think the river we are following goes much farther; low ranges and a few hills alone visible. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at o'clock p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitude of jupiter. th. continued along river, which is gradually getting smaller, for about thirteen miles over most beautiful grassy country, the best we have seen. white gums along bed. i believe the river does not go more than twenty miles from here, it being now very small. found a nice pool of water and camped. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at half-past five o'clock. the dry season. th (sunday). went with windich south about eight miles to a low range, which i rightly anticipated would be a watershed. could see a long line of white gums; believe there may be a river to the south, or it may be the salt branch of the murchison. returned to camp at two o'clock; plotted up track. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. mount fraser bears north degrees east magnetic from camp, which is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude about degrees minutes east. the country is very dry indeed; in fact, we could not be more unfortunate in the season thus far. i only trust we may be blessed with abundance of rain shortly, otherwise we shall not be able to move onwards. th. continued up river, which is getting very small, over beautifully-grassed country, and at seven miles came to a fine flat and splendid pool of permanent water. although a delightful spot, i did not halt, as we had come such a short distance. here we met six native women, who were very frightened at first, but soon found sufficient confidence to talk and to tell us there was plenty of water ahead. as they always say this, i do not put any faith in it. we continued on about east for eight miles to a high flat-topped hill, when we got a view of the country ahead and turned about north-east towards some flats, and at about eight miles camped on a grassy plain, with some small clay-pans of water. splendid feeding country all along this valley--i may say for the last miles. heard a number of natives cooeying above our camp, but did not see them. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at six o'clock p.m.; latitude degrees minutes south by meridian altitude of jupiter. th. started east-north-east for four miles, then north three miles to the range, where we searched over an hour for water without success. we then travelled south-east for five miles and south one mile and a half to a water-hole in a brook, by digging out which we got abundance of water. about a quarter of a mile farther down the brook found a large pool of water and shot six ducks. as soon as we unloaded, it commenced to rain, and kept on steadily till midnight. i am indeed pleased to get this rain at last, as the country is very dry. splendid open feeding country all to-day, and the camp is a beautifully-grassed spot. marked a white gum-tree f , close to the pool or spring on the right bank of this brook. glengarry range. th. continued on, steering about south-east, as the flat we have been following the last week is now nearly at an end. afterwards determined to bear southward, in order to see where the south branch of the river goes to. for the first six miles over most magnificent grassed country. ascended a low range to get a view of the country. the prospect ahead, however, not cheering. took round of bearings. a very conspicuous range bore about south, which i named glengarry range, in honour of mr. maitland brown, a great supporter of the expedition; while to the south-east only one solitary hill could be seen, distant about twenty miles. we, however, continued for about ten miles over most miserable country, thickets and spinifex, when we reached some granitic rocks and a low rise of granite, on which we found sufficient water to camp. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at . p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds south by regulus. th. steered south-east for about fourteen miles to a stony low range, thence east-north-east and east and south for six miles, turning and twisting, looking for water. windich found some in a gully and we camped. spinifex for the first fourteen miles, and miserable country. the prospect ahead not very promising. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. every appearance of rain. latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude about degrees minutes east. th. raining lightly this morning. i did not proceed, but gave the horses rest. th. continued east for five miles, when we found three of the horses were missing; returned with windich, and found them near camp, having never started at all. seeing white gums to the south-east, we followed for five miles down a fine brook (which i named negri creek, after commander negri, founder of the geographical society of italy), with fine grassy country on each side. afterwards it joined another brook, and went south-east for about three miles, where it lost itself in open flats. struck south for two miles to some large white gums, but found no water. after long looking about i found water in a gully and camped. distance travelled about twenty miles. spinifex and grassy openings the first five miles to-day. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at o'clock p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds by jupiter. windich shot a turkey. mounts bartle and russell. th (sunday). the horses rambled far away, and it was noon before they were all collected. shifted three and a half miles north, where there was better feed and water. went on to a low hill on the north of our last night's camp, and got a fine view of the country to the south and south-east. two remarkable flat-topped hills bore south-east, which i named mount bartle and mount russell, after the distinguished president and foreign secretary of the royal geographical society. saw a long line of white gums (colalyas) running east and west about ten miles distant, looking very much like a river. to the east and north the view was intercepted by long stony rises, apparently covered with spinifex. large white gum clumps studded the plains in every direction. evidences of heavy rainfall at certain times to be seen everywhere. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds south. th. steered south-south-east for four miles, then south-east generally, towards the flat-topped hills seen yesterday, and which bore degrees east magnetic from spinifex hill. at six miles crossed a low range covered with spinifex, after which we passed over country generally well grassed, some of it most beautifully, and white gums very large in clumps were studded all over the plains. at about twenty-two miles reached the flat-topped hills, and camped, finding some water in a clay-pan. the line of white gums i find are only large clumps studded over extensive plains of splendidly-grassed country. no large water-course was crossed, but several small creeks form here and there, and afterwards run out into the plains, finally finding their way into the murchison. it was sundown when we camped. walked over twenty miles myself to-day. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at six o'clock; latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude about degrees minutes east. th. continued in a north-easterly direction for about eight miles over fine grassy plains, and camped at some water in a small gully with fine feed. i camped early in order to give the backs of the horses a good washing, and to refit some of the pack-saddles. passed several clay-pans with water. we have not seen any permanent water for the last eighty miles. i much wish to find some, as it is very risky going on without the means of falling back. the country seems very deficient of permanent water, although i believe plenty could be procured by sinking. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds south. left a pack-saddle frame and two pack-bags hanging on a tree. kimberley range. th. steering north-east for five miles over fine grassy plains, came to a low stony range, ascending which we saw, a little to the south, a line of (colalya) white gums, to which we proceeded. then following up a large brook for about five miles north-east, we camped at a small water-hole in the brook. in the afternoon i went with pierre about one mile north-east of camp to the summit of a rough range and watershed, which i believe is the easterly watershed of the murchison river. all the creeks to the west of this range (which i named kimberley range, after the right honourable lord kimberley, the secretary of state for the colonies) trend towards the murchison, and finally empty into the main river. from this range we could see a long way to the eastward. the country is very level, with low ranges, but no conspicuous hills. not a promising country for water, but still looks good feeding country. this range is composed of brown hematite, decomposing to yellow (tertiary), and is very magnetic, the compass being useless. bituminous pitch found oozing out of the rocks--probably the result of the decomposition of the excrement of bats. it contains fragments of the wing cases of insects, and gives reactions similar to the bituminous mineral or substance found in victoria. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. on summit of watershed, barometer . ; thermometer degrees; latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude about degrees minutes east. st. continued on north-east, and, travelling over the watershed of the murchison, we followed along a gully running north-east; then, passing some water-holes, travelled on and ascended a small range, from which we beheld a very extensive clear plain just before us. thinking it was a fine grassy plain we quickly descended, when, to our disgust, we found it was spinifex that had been burnt. we continued till three o'clock, with nothing but spinifex plains in sight. i despatched windich towards a range in the distance, and followed after as quickly as possible. when we reached the range we heard the welcoming gunshot, and, continuing on, we met tommy, who had found abundance of water and feed on some granite rocks. we soon unloaded, and were all rejoiced to be in safety, the prospect this afternoon having been anything but cheering. distance travelled about thirty miles. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. cold easterly wind all day. about eighteen miles of spinifex plains. latitude degrees minutes seconds by arcturus and e bootes. nd. did not travel to-day, the horses being tired, and the country ahead did not seem very inviting. windich found a native spring about a mile to the north-east. this is a very nice spot, surrounded as it is by spinifex. variation degrees minutes west by observation. rd. continued on north-east for about twelve miles over spinifex plains and sandy ridges. went on ahead with windich, and came to a gorge and some granite rocks with abundance of water, and were soon joined by the party. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds by altair. th (sunday). we rested at camp. i was all day calculating lunar observations. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at . p.m. frere ranges. th. travelled onwards about north degrees east for eight miles, passing a low granite range at six miles. came to a fine brook trending a little south of east, which we followed downwards seven miles, running nearly east. this brook was full of water, some of the pools being eight or ten feet deep, ten yards wide, and sixty yards long. it flowed out into a large flat, and finally runs into a salt lake. i named this brook sweeney creek, after my companion and farrier, james sweeney. leaving the flat, we struck north-north-east for four miles, and came to a salt marsh about half a mile wide, which we crossed. following along, came into some high ranges, which i named the frere ranges, after sir bartle frere, the distinguished president of the royal geographical society. found a small rock water-hole in a gully and camped. water appears exceedingly scarce in these ranges. it is very remarkable that there should have been such heavy rain twelve miles back, and none at all here. rough feed for horses. distance travelled about twenty-seven miles. these ranges run east and west, and are the highest we have seen. the marsh appears to follow along the south side of the range. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at . p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds by arcturus. th. ascended the frere ranges and got a fine view to the north and east. fine high hills and ranges to the north; a salt marsh and low ranges to the east and south-east. continued on north-east for four miles, then north-north-west for three miles, passing plenty of water in clay-holes and clay-pans in bed of marsh, we camped at a fine pool in a large brook that runs into the marsh, which i called kennedy creek, after my companion james kennedy. the prospect ahead is very cheering, and i hope to find plenty of water and feed for the next miles. latitude degrees minutes seconds south; barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. marked a white gumtree f close to camp in bed of river. the banks of the brook at this spot are composed of purple-brown slate (silurian). th. followed up the kennedy creek, bearing north-north-east and north for about seven miles, passing a number of shallow pools, when we came to some splendid springs, which i named the windich springs, after my old and well-tried companion tommy windich, who has now been on three exploring expeditions with me. they are the best springs i have ever seen--flags in the bed of the river, and pools twelve feet deep and twenty chains long--a splendid place for water. we therefore camped, and found another spot equally good a quarter of a mile west of camp in another branch. there is a most magnificent supply of water and feed--almost unlimited and permanent. a fine range of hills bore north-west from the springs, which i named carnarvon range, after the right honourable the present secretary of state for the colonies. the hills looked very remarkable, being covered with spinifex almost to their very summit. we shot five ducks and got three opossums this afternoon, besides doing some shoeing. there is an immense clump of white gums at head of spring. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. marked a large white gum-tree f on west side close to right bank of river, being our st camp from geraldton. latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude about degrees minutes east. mount salvado. th. steering north degrees east for eleven miles, we came to a rough hill, which i ascended, camped on north side of it, and found water in a gully. the view was very extensive but not promising--spinifex being in every direction. a bold hill bore north degrees east magnetic, about seven miles distant to the north-north-west, which i named mount salvado, after bishop salvado, of victoria plains, a contributor to the expedition fund. the carnarvon ranges looked very remarkable. to the east and north-east spinifex and low ranges for fifteen miles, when the view was intercepted by spinifex rises--altogether very unpromising. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds south. th. steered east-north-east for seven miles, when we came to some fine water in a gully, which we did not camp at, owing to my being ahead with windich, and my brother not seeing a note i left telling him to remain there while i went on to get a view ahead. passing this at ten miles, we reached a low spinifex hill capped with rock, from which a remarkable hill was visible, which i named mount davis, after my friend mr. j.s. davis, who was a contributor to the expedition fund. mount salvado was also visible. spinifex in every direction, and the country very miserable and unpromising. i went ahead with windich. steering about north degrees east for about eight miles over spinifex sand-hills, we found a spring in a small flat, which i named pierre spring, after my companion tommy pierre. it was surrounded by the most miserable spinifex country, and is quite a diamond in the desert. we cleared it out and got sufficient water for our horses. to the north, south, and east nothing but spinifex sand-hills in sight. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds south by altair. searching for water. th. steering east-north-east over spinifex red sand-hills for nine miles, we came to a valley and followed down a gully running north-north-east for two miles, when it lost itself on the flat, which was wooded and grassy. about a mile farther on we found a clay-pan with water, and camped, with excellent feed. the country is very dry, and i should think there has not been any rain for several months. the appearance of the country ahead is better than it looked yesterday. i went onwards with windich to-day, and found the water. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at . p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds. st. (sunday). rested at camp. took observations for time. left two pack-saddle bags hanging on a tree. june st. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at a.m. in collecting the horses we came on an old native camp, and found the skull of a native, much charred, evidently the remains of one who had been eaten. continued on about north-east along a grassy flat, and at five miles passed some clay-pans of water, after which we encountered spinifex, which continued for fifteen miles, when we got to a rocky range, covered with more spinifex. myself and windich were in advance, and after reaching the range we followed down a flat about north for six miles, when it joined another large water-course, both trending north-north-west and north-west. we followed down this river for about seven miles, in hopes of finding water, without success. night was fast approaching, and i struck north for four miles to a range, on reaching which the prospect was very poor; it proved to be a succession of spinifex sand-hills, and no better country was in view to the north-east and east. it was just sundown when we reached the range; we then turned east for two miles, and south, following along all the gullies we came across, but could find no water. it was full moon, so that we could see clearly. we turned more to the westward and struck our outward tracks, and, following back along them, we met the party encamped at the junction of the two branches mentioned before. we kept watch over the horses to keep them from straying. mine and windich's horses were nearly knocked up, and windich himself was very ill all night. latitude degrees minutes seconds south. at weld springs. nd. early this morning went with pierre to look for water, while my brother and windich went on the same errand. we followed up the brook about south for seven miles, when we left it and followed another branch about south-south-east, ascending which, pierre drew my attention to swarms of birds, parroquets, etc., about half a mile ahead. we hastened on, and to our delight found one of the best springs in the colony. it ran down the gully for twenty chains, and is as clear and fresh as possible, while the supply is unlimited. overjoyed at our good fortune, we hastened back, and, finding that my brother and windich had not returned, packed up and shifted over to the springs, leaving a note telling them the good news. after reaching the springs we were soon joined by them. they had only found sufficient water to give their own horses a drink; they also rejoiced to find so fine a spot. named the springs the weld springs, after his excellency governor weld, who has always taken such great interest in exploration, and without whose influence and assistance this expedition would not have been organized. there is splendid feed all around. i intend giving the horses a week's rest here, as they are much in want of it, and are getting very poor and tired. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. shot a kangaroo. rd. rested at weld springs. light rain this morning. the horses doing well, and will improve very fast. towards evening the weather cleared, which i was sorry for, as good rains are what we are much in need of. did some shoeing. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. th. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at a.m. rested at weld springs. shod some of the horses. repairing saddles. rating chronometer. windich shot an emu. horses doing first-rate, and fast improving. th. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. rested at weld springs. shoeing and saddle-stuffing. ten emus came to water; shot twice with rifle at them, but missed. rated chronometer. th. rested at weld springs. took three sets of lunars. pierre shot a kangaroo. marked a tree f on the east side of the spring at our bivouac, which is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude about degrees minutes east. mended saddles. horses much improved, and some of them getting very fresh. th (sunday). pierre shot an emu, and the others shot several pigeons. this is a splendid spot; emus and kangaroos numerous, pigeons and birds innumerable, literally covering the entire surface all round the place in the evenings. we have been living on game ever since we have been here. intend taking a flying trip to-morrow; party to follow on our tracks on tuesday. read divine service. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. th. started with tommy pierre to explore the country east-north-east for water, leaving instructions for my brother to follow after us to-morrow with the party. we travelled generally east-north-east for twenty miles over spinifex and undulating sand-hills, without seeing any water. we turned east for ten miles to a range, which we found to be covered with spinifex. everywhere nothing else was to be seen; no feed, destitute of water; while a few small gullies ran out of the low range, but all were dry. another range about twenty-four miles distant was the extent of our view, to which we bore. at twenty miles, over red sandy hills covered with spinifex and of the most miserable nature, we came to a narrow samphire flat, following which south for two miles, we camped without water and scarcely any feed. our horses were knocked up, having come over heavy ground more than fifty miles. the whole of the country passed over to-day is covered with spinifex, and is a barren worthless desert. back to the springs. th. at daybreak continued east about four miles to the range seen yesterday, which we found to be a low stony rise, covered with spinifex. the view was extensive and very gloomy. far to the north and east, spinifex country, level, and no appearance of hills or water-courses. to the south were seen a few low ranges, covered also with spinifex; in fact, nothing but spinifex in sight, and no chance of water. therefore i was obliged to turn back, as our horses were done up. travelling south for five miles, we then turned west-north-west until we caught our outward tracks, and, following them, we met the party at o'clock, coming on, about twenty miles from the weld springs. our horses were completely done up. we had not had water for thirty-one hours. we all turned back, retreating towards the springs, and continued on till o'clock, when we camped in the spinifex and tied up the horses. th. we travelled on to the springs, which were only about three miles from where we slept last night, and camped. i intend staying here for some time, until i find water ahead or we get some rain. we are very fortunate in having such a good depot, as the feed is very good. we found that about a dozen natives had been to the springs while we were away. they had collected some of the emu feathers, which were lying all about. natives appear to be very numerous, and i have no doubt that there are springs in the spinifex or valleys close to it. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at . p.m. th. rested at the weld springs. shot an emu; about a dozen came to water. my brother and windich intend going a flying trip east-south-east in search of water to-morrow. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. th. my brother and windich started in search of water; myself and pierre accompanied them about twelve miles with water to give their horses a drink. about ten o'clock we left them and returned to camp. fight with the natives. th. about one o'clock pierre saw a flock of emus coming to water, and went off to get a shot. kennedy followed with the rifle. i climbed up on a small tree to watch them. i was surprised to hear natives' voices, and, looking towards the hill, i saw from forty to sixty natives running towards the camp, all plumed up and armed with spears and shields. i was cool, and told sweeney to bring out the revolvers; descended from the tree and got my gun and cooeyed to pierre and kennedy, who came running. by this time they were within sixty yards, and halted. one advanced to meet me and stood twenty yards off; i made friendly signs; he did not appear very hostile. all at once one from behind (probably a chief) came rushing forward, and made many feints to throw spears. he went through many manoeuvres, and gave a signal, when the whole number made a rush towards us, yelling and shouting, with their spears shipped. when within thirty yards i gave the word to fire: we all fired as one man, only one report being heard. i think the natives got a few shots, but they all ran up the hill and there stood, talking and haranguing and appearing very angry. we re-loaded our guns, and got everything ready for a second attack, which i was sure they would make. we were not long left in suspense. they all descended from the hill and came on slowly towards us. when they were about yards off i fired my rifle, and we saw one of them fall, but he got up again and was assisted away. on examining the spot we found the ball had cut in two the two spears he was carrying; he also dropped his wommera, which was covered with blood. we could follow the blood-drops for a long way over the stones. i am afraid he got a severe wound. my brother and windich being away we were short-handed. the natives seem determined to take our lives, and therefore i shall not hesitate to fire on them should they attack us again. i thus decide and write in all humility, considering it a necessity, as the only way of saving our lives. i write this at p.m., just after the occurrence, so that, should anything happen to us, my brother will know how and when it occurred. p.m. the natives appear to have made off. we intend sleeping in the thicket close to camp, and keeping a strict watch, so as to be ready for them should they return to the attack this evening. at . my brother and windich returned, and were surprised to hear of our adventure. they had been over fifty miles from camp east-south-east, and had passed over some good feeding country, but had not found a drop of water. they and their horses had been over thirty hours without water. th (sunday). the natives did not return to the attack last night. in looking round camp we found the traces of blood, where one of the natives had been lying down. this must have been the foremost man, who was in the act of throwing his spear, and who urged the others on. two therefore, at least, are wounded, and will have cause to remember the time they made their murderous attack upon us. we worked all day putting up a stone hut, ten by nine feet, and seven feet high, thatched with boughs. we finished it; it will make us safe at night. being a very fair hut, it will be a great source of defence. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. hope to have rain, as without it we cannot proceed. th. finished the hut, pugging it at the ends, and making the roof better. now it is in good order, and we are quite safe from attack at night, should they attempt it again, which i think is doubtful, as they got too warm a reception last time. i intend going with windich to-morrow easterly in search of water. barometer . at p.m.; thermometer degrees. th. left the weld springs with windich and a pack-horse carrying fourteen gallons of water. steered south-east for twelve miles over spinifex, after which we got into a grassy ravine, which we followed along three miles, passing some fine clay-holes which would hold plenty of water if it rained. we then turned east-north-east for twelve miles over spinifex, miserable country, when we struck the tracks of my brother and windich on their return, june th. we followed along them south-east for four miles, and then south-east to a bluff range about eighteen miles, which we reached at sundown. spinifex generally, a few grassy patches intervening, on which were numbers of kangaroos. we camped close to the bluff, and gave the horses one gallon of water each out of the cans. just when the pannicans were boiled, heard noises which we thought were natives shouting. we instantly put out the fire and had our supper in the dark, keeping a sharp look-out for two hours, when we were convinced it must have been a native dog, as there were hundreds all round us, barking and howling. the weather is heavy and cloudy, and i hope to get some rain shortly. we slept without any fire, but it was not very cold. th. as the horses did not ramble far, we got off early and followed along and through the ranges east-south-east about, the distance being eighteen miles. passed some splendid clay-pans quite dry. the flats around the ranges are very grassy, and look promising eastwards, but we cannot find any water. kangaroos and birds are numerous. being about seventy miles from camp, we cannot go any farther, or our horses will not carry us back. we therefore turned, keeping to the south of our outward track, and at about eleven miles found some water in some clay-holes, and camped at about o'clock in the afternoon. there is sufficient water to last the party about a week, but not more. the weather is dark and threatening, and i believe there will be rain to-night, which will be a great boon, and will enable us to travel along easily. it is in circumstances such as i am at present placed that we are sure to implore help and assistance from the hand of the creator; but when we have received all we desire, how often we forget to give him praise! th. rained lightly last night, and we had a nice shower this morning. yet did not get very wet, as we had our waterproofs. fearing that the rain would obliterate the tracks and the party be unable to follow them, i decided to return towards weld springs. therefore followed along our outward track, but found, to our sorrow, that there had been no rain west of our last night's camp. we pushed along and got within eighteen miles of weld springs and camped without water, having left the cans behind, thinking we should find plenty of rain-water. th. we had to go about two miles for our horses this morning; after which, we made all haste towards weld springs, as i knew the party would be coming on along our tracks to-day. when we were within six miles of the spring we met the party, but, being obliged to take our horses to water, i decided that all should return and make a fresh start to-morrow. the natives had not returned to the attack during our absence, so i conclude they do not intend to interfere with us further. on our way to-day we passed some fine rock holes, but all were quite dry. rain is very much required in this country. th. started at . a.m., and steering south-east towards the water found on the th for twenty-four miles; thence east-south-east for eight miles, and camped without water on a small patch of feed. the last ten miles was over clear spinifex country of the most wretched description. the country all the way, in fact, is most miserable and intolerable. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds south by meridian altitude of arcturus. left the rum-keg and a pair of farrier's pincers in the stone hut at weld springs. st (sunday). got an early start, and continued on east-south-east. at about three miles reached a spring on a small patch of feed in the spinifex and camped, but found, after digging it out, that scarcely any water came in. i have no doubt that it will fill up a good deal in the night; but, our horses being thirsty, i re-saddled and pushed on to the water about sixteen miles ahead, which we reached at p.m. there is not more than a week's supply here, therefore i intend going ahead with pierre to-morrow in search of more. the country ahead seems promising, but there is a great deal of spinifex almost everywhere. from weld spring to our present camp is all spinifex, with the exception of a few flats along short gullies. latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude about degrees minutes east. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. nd. left camp in company with tommy pierre, with a pack-horse carrying fifteen gallons of water. steered south-east for four miles, then east for about eight miles over fine grassy country, then south-east towards a high range about twenty-five miles distant. after going about three miles, struck a flat trending south-south-east, which we followed down about four miles, passing two small clay-holes with water in them; then we struck south-east for four miles, and came to a large brook trending south-east, which we followed along until it lost itself on the plain about six miles. fine grassy country all the way, and game abundant. there were a few gallons of water here and there in the brook, but none large enough to camp at. i then turned east, and at about seven miles reached the hill seen this morning, which i named mount moore, after mr. w.d. moore, of fremantle, a subscriber to the expedition fund. ascending the hill we had an extensive view to the south-west, south, and south-east. fine grassy country all round and very little spinifex. to the south about nine miles we saw a lake, and farther off a remarkable red-faced range, which i named timperley range, after my friend mr. w.h. timperley, inspector of police, from whom i received a great deal of assistance before leaving champion bay. a remarkable peak, with a reddish top, bore south-south-east, which i named mount hosken, after mr. m. hosken, of geraldton, a contributor to the expedition. i made south towards the lake, and at one mile and a half came on to a gully in the grassy plain, in which we found abundance of water, sufficient to last for months. we therefore camped for the night, with beautiful feed for the horses. i was very thankful to find so much water and such fine grassy country, for, if we had not found any this trip, we should have been obliged to retreat towards weld springs, the water where i left the party being only sufficient to last a few days. the country passed over to-day was very grassy, with only a little spinifex, and it looks promising ahead. distance from camp about thirty-five miles. lake augusta. rd. steering south for about eight miles, we reached the lake, which i named lake augusta. the water is salt, and about five miles in circumference. grassy country in the flat; red sand-hills along the shore. it appeared deep, and swarmed with ducks and swans. pierre shot two ducks, after which we pushed on north-east for about twelve miles to a low rocky bluff, which we ascended and got a view of the country ahead--rough broken ranges to the east and south. we continued on east for six miles, when, on approaching a rocky face of a range, we saw some natives on top of it, watching us. approaching nearer, we heard them haranguing and shouting, and soon afterward came within thirty yards of one who was stooping down, looking intently and amazedly at us. i made friendly signs, but he ran off shouting, and apparently much afraid. he and several others ran up and joined the natives on the cliff summit, and then all made off. we turned, and steering east-north-east for six miles, and then east for about fourteen miles, the last few miles being miserable spinifex country, we camped, with poor feed, amongst some spinifex ranges. a good deal of grassy country the first part of the day. kangaroos very numerous, and emus also. evidences of the natives being in great numbers. th. ascended a red-topped peak close to our bivouac and got a view ahead. a salt lake was visible a few miles to the east, towards which we proceeded. passing along samphire flats and over red sand-hills, we got within a mile of the lake. the country close to it not looking promising, i determined to turn our faces westward towards the party. steering a little south of west for three miles, we struck a large brook trending north-east into the lake, and, following it up a mile, found a fine pool of fresh water, with splendid feed. this is very fortunate, as it is a good place to bring the party to. elated with our success, we continued on westerly, passing some fine rock water-holes, half full of water, and at twenty miles from the pool we found a springy hole, with plenty of water in it, within a few hundred yards of our outward track. we had missed it going out; it is in the centre of a very fine grassy plain. kangaroos and emus numerous, also natives. giving the horses water, we pushed on for twelve miles and camped on some fine grassy flats. every appearance of rain. another native. th. having finished all our rations last night, i shot two kangaroos while out for the horses, and brought the hind quarters with us. continuing westerly for about ten miles, we reached the water, our bivouac on the nd. i awaited the arrival of the party, which should reach here this morning. at two o'clock heard gunshots, and saw my brother and windich walking towards us. found that they had missed our tracks and were camped about a mile higher up the gully, at some small clay-holes. we got our horses and accompanied them back. rained this evening more than we have had before. very cloudy. barometer . , but inclined to rise. everything had gone on well during my absence. th. did not travel to-day, as there was good feed and water at this camp. my brother, windich, and pierre rode over to lake augusta to get some shooting, and returned in the afternoon with a swan and two ducks. on their way out they saw a native and gave him chase. he climbed up a small tree, and, although windich expended all his knowledge of the languages of australia to get him to talk, he would not open his lips, but remained silent; they therefore left him to get down from the tree at his leisure. re-stuffed some of the pack-saddles. marked a tree f , being our th camp from geraldton. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m.; weather cleared off and fine night. latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude about degrees minutes east. th. erected a cairn of stones on south-east point of mount moore, after which continued on and reached the spring found by me on the th; distance fifteen miles. the last six miles poor spinifex country. fine and grassy round spring. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds by arcturus. marked a tree f , being the st camp from geraldton. th (sunday). rested at spring. found the variations to be degree minutes west by azimuths. th. reached the pool found by me on the th; distance seventeen miles. latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude about degrees minutes east. splendid feed round camp. marked a tree f , being the nd from geraldton. about two miles west of camp i ascended a remarkable hill and took a round of bearings, naming it mount bates, after the secretary of the royal geographical society. faring sumptuously. th. left camp f in company with tommy windich, taking one pack-horse, to find water ahead eastward. steered east-north-east over salt marshes and spinifex sand-hills, and at about eleven miles found water in some clay-pans, and left a note telling my brother to camp here to-morrow night. continued on and found several more fine water-pans and fine grassy patches. ascended a range to get a view ahead. in every direction spinifex, more especially to the north; to the east some low ranges were visible, about twenty miles distant, towards which we proceeded. on our way we surprised an emu on its nest and found several eggs; we buried four with a note stuck over them, for the party to get when they came along, and took three with us. soon after this the horse windich was riding (mission) gave in, and we had great difficulty in getting him along. i was much surprised at this, for i considered him the best horse we had. we reached the range and found water in some of the gorges, but no feed; spinifex everywhere. we continued on till dark, passing some natives' fire, which we did not approach, then camped with scarcely any feed. i hope to have better luck to-morrow. we have found plenty of water, but no feed; this is better than having no water and plenty of feed. we had one wurrung, four chockalotts, and three emu eggs, besides bread and bacon, for tea to-night, so we fared sumptuously. july st. got off early and continued easterly to a low stony range three miles off, over spinifex sandy country. found a rock water-hole and gave our horses a drink. continuing about east to other ranges, which we followed along and through, and from range to range, spinifex intervening everywhere, and no feed, a few little drops of water in the gullies, but not sufficient for the party to camp at. when we had travelled about fifteen miles, we turned north for three miles, and again east, through and over some ranges. no feed and scarcely any water. saw a range about twenty-five miles farther east--spinifex all the way to it. mission being again knocked up, although carrying only a few pounds, we camped about three o'clock at a small hole of water in a gully--only large enough to serve the party one night--the first to-day that would even do that. the last forty miles was over the most wretched country i have ever seen; not a bit of grass, and no water, except after rain; spinifex everywhere. we are very fortunate to have a little rain-water, or we could not get ahead. nd. steered towards the range seen yesterday a little south of east, and, after going twelve miles, my horse completely gave in, mission doing the same also. i had hard work to get them along, and at last they would not walk. i gave them a rest and then drove them before me, following windich till we reached the range. found a little water in a gully, but no feed. spinifex all the way to-day; most wretched country. we ascended the range, and the country ahead looks first-rate; high ranges to the north-east, and apparently not so much spinifex. we continued north-east, and after going four miles camped on a patch of feed, the first seen for the last sixty miles. i was very tired, having walked nearly twenty miles, and having to drive two knocked-up horses. i have good hopes of getting both feed and water to-morrow, for, if we do not, we shall be in a very awkward position. rd. soon after starting, found a little water in a gully and gave our horses a drink. ascended a spur of the range and had a good view ahead, and was very pleased with the prospect. steering north-east towards a large range about fifteen miles off, we found a great deal of spinifex, although the country generally was thickly wooded. i rode mission, who went along pretty well for about twelve miles, when williams gave in again, and mission soon did the same. for the next six miles to the range we had awful work, but managed, with leading and driving, to reach the range; spinifex all the way, and also on the top of it. i was very nearly knocked up myself, but ascended the range and had a very extensive view. far to the north and east the horizon was as level and uniform as that of the sea; apparently spinifex everywhere; no hills or ranges could be seen for a distance of quite thirty miles. the prospect was very cheerless and disheartening. windich went on the only horse not knocked up, in order to find water for the horses. i followed after his tracks, leading the two poor done-up horses. with difficulty i could get them to walk. over and through the rough range i managed to pull them along, and found sufficient water to give them a good drink, and camped on a small patch of rough grass in one of the gorges. spinifex everywhere; it is a most fearful country. we cannot proceed farther in this direction, and must return and meet the party, which i hope to do to-morrow night. we can only crawl along, having to walk and lead the horses, or at least drag them. the party have been following us, only getting a little water from gullies, and there is very little to fall back on for over fifty miles. i will leave what i intend doing until i meet them. i am nearly knocked up again to-night; my boots have hurt my feet, but i am not yet disheartened. th. we travelled back towards the party, keeping a little to the west of our outward track; and after going five miles found some water in clay-holes, sufficient to last the party about one night. two of our horses being knocked up, i made up my mind to let the party meet us here, although i scarcely know what to do when they do arrive. to go forward looks very unpromising, and to retreat we have quite seventy miles with scarcely any water and no feed at all. the prospect is very cheerless, and what i shall do depends on the state of the horses, when they reach here. it is very discouraging to have to retreat, as mr. gosse's farthest point west is only miles from us. we finished all our rations this morning, and we have been hunting for game ever since twelve o'clock, and managed to get a wurrung and an opossum, the only living creatures seen, and which windich was fortunate to capture. loss of horses. th (sunday). early this morning windich and i went in search of more water. having nothing to eat, it did not take us long to have a little drink of water for our breakfast. went a few miles to the north-west and looked all round, but only found a small rock water-hole. windich got an opossum out of a tree. we returned about twelve o'clock and then ate the opossum. at about one o'clock we saddled up and made back towards the party, which i thought should have arrived by this time. when about two miles we met them coming on; they had been obliged to leave two horses on the way, knocked up, one named fame, about twenty-four miles away, and little padbury about eight miles back; all the others were in pretty good trim, although very hungry and tired. we returned to the little water, which they soon finished. i was glad to meet the party again, although we were in a bad position. intend returning to-morrow to the range left by the party this morning, where there is enough water for half a day, and search that range more thoroughly. the horses will have a good night's feed and i have every confidence that, if the worst comes, we shall be able to retreat to a place of safety. found my brother in good spirits. we soon felt quite happy and viewed the future hopefully. i was sorry to lose the horses, but we cannot expect to get on through such a country without some giving in. the country is so dry; the season altogether dry, otherwise we could go ahead easily. a good shower of rain is what is required. it has been very warm the last three days, and i hope much for a change. read divine service. latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude about degrees minutes east. barometer . at p.m. th. retreated back to the water left by the party in the range fourteen miles south-west. at one mile we gave the horses as much water as they required from some rock holes. after reaching the water and having dinner, pierre and myself, and my brother and windich, started off on foot to examine the range for water, but could find only a few gallons. i think there will be sufficient water to last us here to-morrow, and we will give the country a good searching. if we fail, there must be a retreat westwards at least seventy miles. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. water found. th. early this morning pierre and i and my brother and windich started off in search of water, as there was scarcely any left at camp. unless we are fortunate enough to find some, retreat is inevitable. pierre and myself searched the range we were camped in, while windich and my brother went further south towards another range. we searched all round and over the rough ranges without success, and reached camp at one o'clock. to our relief and joy learnt that my brother and windich had found water about five miles south-south-east, sufficient to last two or three weeks. this was good news; so after dinner we packed up and went over to the water. the feed was not very good, but i am truly thankful to have found it, as a retreat of seventy miles over most wretched country was anything but cheering. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds by arcturus. th. rested at camp. devoted the day to taking sets of lunar observations. there is very little feed about this water, and to-morrow my brother and pierre go on a flying trip ahead. it is very warm to-day, and has been for the last week. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. th. very cloudy this morning, although the barometer is rising. my brother and pierre started on the flying trip; intend following on their tracks on saturday. could not take another set of lunars on account of the cloudy weather. was very busy all day repairing pack-saddles and putting everything in good order. did away with one pack-saddle, and repaired the others with the wool. shall leave here with twelve pack-horses, and three running loose and two riding, besides the two that are on flying trip. barometer . thermometer degrees at p.m. th. finished repairs and got everything ready for a good start to-morrow morning, when we will follow my brother's and pierre's tracks. cloudy day, but barometer does not fall. marked a tree f , being our th bivouac from geraldton. hung up on the same tree four pack-bags and one pack-saddle frame. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. tommy windich shot a red kangaroo this afternoon, and also found a fine rock water-hole about one mile north-east of camp. th. followed on the tracks of my brother and pierre, south seven miles to a rough broken range--spinifex and rough grass all the way. thence we turned south-east for three miles; then north-east and east over most wretched spinifex plains for nine miles, when we got on to a narrow grassy flat, and, following it along about four miles, came to some water in a clay-pan, sufficient for the night, and camped. with the exception of this narrow flat the country passed over to-day is most miserable and worthless, and very dusty. another hot day. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m.; latitude degrees minutes seconds south. th (sunday.). our horses finished all the water. we got off early, and, steering east, followed my brother's and pierre's tracks for eight miles, when we reached a low rise, and a fine rock water-hole holding over a hundred gallons of water. while we were watering our horses we heard gunshots, and soon beheld my brother and pierre returning. they had good news for us, having found some springs about twenty-five miles to the eastward. they had seen many natives; but for an account of their proceedings i insert a copy of his journal. barometer . ; thermometer degrees. we camped for the day. latitude degrees minutes seconds south. read divine service. a. forrest's journal. july th. steered east from the rock hole for the first fifteen miles, over clear open sand-plains and red sand-hills covered with spinifex; then south-south-east for ten miles over similar country to a rough range; after going nearly all round it only found about one gallon of water. as my horse was very tired, i almost gave up all hopes of finding any, as it would take us all our time to get back; however, i went south-east for seven miles further, and found about fifty gallons in a rock hole, but not a blade of grass near it. as it was nearly dark, and no feed near, i bore south for a low range about five miles distant, and found a little feed but no water, and camped. my horse completely gave in; i had great difficulty in getting him to the range. th. again bore west on our return to meet the party. after going seven miles we saw a beautiful piece of feeding country--the first we had seen for the last miles--and after looking for water, and our fondest hopes beginning to fail, we at last followed what seemed to be the largest gully to its head, when we were gratified in beholding abundance of water, with several springs, and good feed in the flats below. my horse was completely knocked up, and i was glad to be able to give him a rest. after being an hour here, pierre, who is always on the look-out, saw two natives, fully armed and in war costume, making for us. i was soon on my legs and made towards them, but as soon as they saw us they began to move off, and were soon out of sight in the thicket. at two o'clock continued on west-north-west for twelve miles, camped in a thicket, and, after taking off our saddles and making a fire, were very much surprised to find a party of eight or nine natives going to camp close to us, and a number more coming down the hill. as it was just dark we thought it best to move on a few miles, which we did after dark. i believe, myself, they intend attacking us after dark. a. forrest. th. steering straight for the water found by my brother, about east-south-east for twenty-five miles, over most miserable spinifex country, without a break. just before we got to the water windich shot an emu. we saw two natives, who made off. many fires in every direction. latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude about degrees minutes east. fine water at this place. i have no doubt water is always here. i named it the alexander spring, after my brother, who discovered it. abundance of water also in rock holes. th. rested at alexander spring. eating emu was our chief occupation to-day, i think. weather cloudy. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. natives' graves. th. rested at alexander spring. went for a walk to a flat-topped hill about south-south-east chains from camp, which i have since named mount allott, and placed a cairn on it; another hill close by i named mount worsnop, after respectively the mayor and town clerk of adelaide. found two natives' graves close to camp; they were apparently about two feet deep, and covered with boughs and wood; they are the first i have ever seen in all my travels to the eastward in australia, and windich says he has never come across one before either. we also found about a dozen pieces of wood, some six feet long and three to seven inches wide, and carved and trimmed up. all around were stones put up in the forked trees. i believe it is the place where the rite of circumcision is performed. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. th. left alexander spring, in company with windich, to look for water ahead. steered east for twelve miles, over spinifex sand-hills with some salt-marsh flats intervening. we then turned south-east for seven miles to some cliffs, and followed them along east about one mile and a half, when we saw a clear patch a little to the north-east, on reaching which we found a fine rock water-hole holding over gallons of water. we had a pannican of tea, and gave our horses an hour and a half's rest. left a note for my brother, advising him to camp here the first night. we continued on a little to the south of east for about fifteen miles over spinifex plains, when we camped on a small patch of feed. saw a fire about three quarters of a mile south of our camp, and supposed that natives were camped there. th. early this morning we proceeded to where we saw the fire last night, but could not find any natives: it must have been some spinifex burning. we continued about east for two miles; found a rock water-hole holding about fifty gallons, and had breakfast. after this, continued on a little south of east for twelve miles, when we turned more to the north, searching every spinifex rise that had a rocky face, first north and then north-west and west, all over the country, but not over any great extent, as my horse (brick) was knocked up. about one o'clock we found enough to give the horses a drink, and to make some tea for ourselves. we saw some low cliffs to the north, and proceeding towards them we saw ahead about north-north-east a remarkable high cliff. i therefore decided to make for it. i had to walk and drive my horse before me, and before we reached the cliff we had hard work to get him to move. when we got close we were rejoiced to see cliffs and gorges without end, and descending the first hollow found a fine rock hole containing at least gallons. we therefore camped, as it was just sundown. i am very sanguine of finding more water to-morrow, as our horses will soon finish this hole. there was very little feed about the water. searching for water. th. this morning we began searching the ranges for water. first tried westerly, and searched some fine gullies and gorges, but without success. my horse soon gave in again, and i left him on a patch of feed and continued the search on foot. i had not walked a quarter of a mile before i found about gallons in a gully, and, following down the gully, we found a fine pool in a sandy bed, enough to last a month. we were rejoiced at our good fortune, and, returning to where we left the horse, camped for the remainder of the day. there is not much feed anywhere about these cliffs and gullies, but as long as there is plenty of water the horses will do very well. to-morrow i intend going back to meet the party, as the way we came was very crooked, and i hope to save them many miles. it is certainly a wretched country we have been travelling through for the last two months, and, what makes it worse, the season is an exceptionally dry one; it is quite summer weather. however, we are now within miles of mr. gosse's farthest west, and i hope soon to see a change for the better. we have been most fortunate in finding water, and i am indeed very thankful for it. th (sunday). started back to meet the party, leaving old brick hobbled, and my saddle, rug, etc., hidden in a tree. after travelling about twenty miles, met the party coming all right. everything had gone on well during my absence. they had slept last night at the rock hole, where we stayed on the th, and found sufficient water for the horses in it. the note i left had been taken away by the natives, who were very numerous about there. many tracks were seen, following mine and windich's for several miles. the party had not, however, seen any of them. they were rejoiced to hear of the water ahead, and we steered for it, keeping to the west of our return route to search some cliffs on the way for water. after travelling nine miles we camped without water, on a grassy flat close to some cliffs; most miserable spinifex country all day; this is the first grass seen. walked over twenty miles to-day myself. th. steered north-east straight for the water found on the th for fourteen miles; reached it and camped. found the horse brick i left behind, and saddle, rug, etc., as we left them. horses were very thirsty, but there is plenty of water for them. feed is rather scarce. i named this creek and pool after the honourable arthur blyth, chief secretary of south australia. st. rested at camp. i took observations for time, intending to take several sets of lunars, but the day was cloudy, and i only managed to get one. intend going ahead to-morrow in search of water. nd. started in company with pierre to look for water ahead, steered a little north of east for about twelve miles to the points of the cliffs, and ascended a peak to get a view ahead. the line of cliff country ran north-east, and to the east, spinifex undulating country; nevertheless, as i wished to get a view of some of the hills shown on mr. gosse's map, i bore east and east-south-east for over thirty miles, but could not find a drop of water all day, and we had come nearly fifty miles. camped on a small patch of feed. very undulating spinifex country, and no place that would hold water, even after rain, for more than a day or two. rd. decided not to go any further, although i much wished to get a view further to the east, but our horses would have enough to do to carry us back. steered north for a few miles, and then north-west for twenty miles, thence west-south-west to camp, which we reached after dark, not having had any water for ourselves or horses since we left it yesterday morning. the weather was very warm, and our horses were done up when they reached camp. on our return we got a fine view to the north-east, which looks more promising. my brother and windich intend going to-morrow in that direction in search of water. th. my brother and windich started in search of water. we rested at camp. took lunar observations, but did not get results which i care much to rely on, owing to the distances being too great. th. rested at camp. my brother and windich did not return, so i have good hopes that they have found water ahead. took several sets of lunars this evening. barometer . at p.m.; warm weather. th (sunday). rested at camp. my brother and windich returned late this evening, having been over sixty miles to the east-north-east, and having found only one small rock water-hole with water in it. many rock holes had been seen, but all dry. they had met several natives. one woman and child they had caught and talked to. she did not seem frightened, and ate readily the damper and sugar given her. the country appears more parched than it has been, which i had thought scarcely possible. a range and flat-topped hill were seen about fifteen miles to the east of their farthest point, but they were unable to reach it. barometer . ; fine. th. rested at blyth pool. intend going a flying trip to-morrow. worked out several lunar observations, and the position of blyth pool is in latitude degrees minute, seconds south, longitude degrees minutes east. barometer . ; thermometer degrees at p.m. th. left camp in company with windich to look for water ahead, taking a pack-horse and ten gallons of water, besides two small tins for our own use. steered north-east nearly along my brother's tracks for twenty miles, and reached the water in the rock hole seen by him, and had dinner. in the afternoon continued on a little south of east for about seven miles. camped without water for the horses on a small patch of old feed. the weather is dark and cloudy, and there is much thunder about. i expect rain this evening; if it comes it will be a great boon, and will enable us to travel on easily. todd range. th. rained lightly during the night; my rug got wet. thinking we could get plenty of water ahead, i left the drums and water, as the horses would not drink. we steered about east over miserable spinifex country, and cut my brother's return tracks. passed a rock hole seen by him, and found only a few pints of water in it, proving to us that very little rain had fallen. we sighted the range and hill seen by my brother, and reached it at sundown. i have named it the todd range, and the highest hill, which is table-topped, i have named mount charles, after mr. c. todd, c.m.g., postmaster-general of south australia. no sign of water, and apparently very little rain has fallen here last night. found an old natives' encampment, and two splendid rock holes quite dry; if full they would hold or gallons. was very disappointed at this, and it being now after dark we camped without water for the horses, having travelled over forty miles. before we reached the range we had most miserable spinifex sand-hills. scarcely any feed in the range, and spinifex everywhere. what grass there is must be over two years old. th. very thick fog this morning. we bore north for four or five miles, and then south-east for about five miles, when we got a fine view to the east, and could see some hills, which are no doubt near mr. gosse's farthest west. they bore south-east about eighteen miles distant. i could not go on to them, as i was afraid the party would be following us, on the strength of the little rain we had the night before last. reluctantly, therefore, we turned westward, and soon after came to an old native encampment with a rock hole quite dry, which would hold gallons if full. it must be a long while since there has been rain, or it would not have been dry. we continued on, searching up and down and through the todd ranges, finding enough for our horses from the rain. late in the afternoon we found another camping-place with four rock holes quite empty, which, if full, would hold or gallons at least. this was very disheartening, and we felt it very much. it appeared to us that there was no water in this country at this season, and we felt it was useless looking for it. we now decided to make back towards the party; but being uncertain that my brother would not follow, on the strength of the rain, determined to bear south-west until we struck our outward tracks. after going six miles, camped without water, and nothing but some old coarse scrub for the horses. one good shower of rain would enable us to get over this country easily; but in this season, without rain, it is quite impossible to move a number of horses. a native husband. st. steering about south-east towards our outward tracks, came across a native with his wife and two children, the youngest about two years old. as soon as they saw us, the man, who had a handful of spears, began talking at us and then ran off (the eldest child following him), leaving his wife and the youngest child to take care of themselves. the child was carried on its mother's back, and hung on without any assistance. thus encumbered, the woman could not get away. she evidently preferred facing any danger to parting with her child. windich spoke to her, and she talked away quietly, and did not seem much afraid. we could not understand anything she said, so allowed her to follow her husband, who certainly did not come up to our standard of gallantry. we continued on until we reached our outward tracks, and i was much relieved to find that the party had not gone on. we found a little water in a small rock hole, and rested two hours, as our pack-horse (little brown) was knocked up. we continued on about five miles, and camped on a patch of feed in a range, without water. little brown was so knocked up that we had great difficulty in getting him to walk. august st. steering westerly for about eight miles, reached our bivouac of the th, and gave our horses the water from the drums. continued on, making straight for camp; stayed two hours to give the horses a rest, and when within fifteen miles of camp found a rock hole with about gallons of water in it. little brown completely gave in, and we were obliged to leave him. pushed on and reached the party a little after dark, and found all well, having been absent five days, in which time we had travelled about miles. nd (sunday). my brother and pierre went on a flying trip to the south-east in search of water. kennedy and myself went and brought little brown and pack-saddle, etc., to camp. windich shot an emu; saw about twenty. thermometer degrees in sun during the day; barometer . at p.m. preparing for a struggle. i now began to be much troubled about our position, although i did not communicate my fears to any but my brother. we felt confident we could return if the worst came, although we were over miles from the settled districts of western australia. the water at our camp was fast drying up, and would not last more than a fortnight. the next water was sixty miles back, and there seemed no probability of getting eastward. i knew we were now in the very country that had driven mr. gosse back. i have since found it did the same for mr. giles. no time was to be lost. i was determined to make the best use of it if only the water would last, and to keep on searching. (even now, months after the time, sitting down writing this journal, i cannot but recall my feelings of anxiety at this camp.) just when the goal of my ambition and my hopes for years past was almost within reach, it appeared that i might not even now be able to grasp it. the thought of having to return, however, brought every feeling of energy and determination to my rescue, and i felt that, with god's help, i would even now succeed. i gave instructions to allowance the party, so that the stores should last at least four months, and made every preparation for a last desperate struggle. rd. rested at camp. my brother and pierre did not return this evening, so i concluded they must have found some water for their horses. barometer falling slowly; getting cloudy towards evening. th. a light shower of rain this morning. rested at camp. my brother and pierre returned this evening, having found a few small rock water-holes, but not sufficient to shift on. they had been about fifty miles east-south-east, and had passed over most miserable spinifex country the whole way. they had not had any rain, not even the light shower we had this morning. they had seen four natives, but did not get near enough to talk to them. i intend going with windich ahead to-morrow, in the hope that rain may have fallen last night to the east-north-east. the weather, which had looked threatening all day, cleared off this evening. barometer . . the baker range. th. thinking that rain might have fallen to the north-east, i left camp with windich to ascertain, instructing my brother to follow on the th; before leaving to bury some flour and everything that could be dispensed with, and to carry all the drums full of water. he has since informed me that he buried on left bank of brook, seven yards north of a small tree with a tin plate nailed on it, on which is written, dig yds. n., two pack-bags, containing pounds flour, six leather water-bottles, two tomahawks, one pick, one water canteen, one broken telescope, three emu eggs, some girths and straps, one shoeing hammer, one pound of candles, and left a lantern hanging on a tree. a bottle was also buried, with a letter in it, giving the latitude and longitude of the camp, and a brief outline of our former and future intended movements. we reached the rock holes about north-east twenty miles, and were delighted to see them full, besides plenty on the rocks. this was very encouraging, and after resting two hours we pushed on east-north-east, to a range visited by my brother on his last flying trip, and which i named the baker range, and the highest point mount samuel, after sir samuel baker, the great african explorer, and could see that lately rain had fallen, although much more in some places than in others. travelled till after dark through and over spinifex plains, wooded with acacia and mulga scrub, and camped without water and only a little scrub for the horses, having travelled nearly forty miles. th. our horses strayed during the night. after we had found them we proceeded to the baker range and found water in a gully on some rocks, and the rock holes seen by my brother and windich on their former trip had also a good deal in them. i was greatly delighted at this; there must have been a good shower or two here. before reaching water windich shot a turkey, which we roasted and ate for breakfast, not having had any tea last night. we rested here about two hours. continuing on east-north-east for about sixteen miles, came to the four large rock holes seen by windich and myself on our former trip. they were quite dry, but, as we suspected, there was a good deal of water in a rocky gully close by. about two miles before we reached here we passed a rock hole full of water, about sixty gallons. i left a note telling my brother to camp here on sunday night, and to follow on our tracks on monday. we continued on about five miles, and camped not far from mount charles, without water for the horses; but they were not thirsty. so far we have been most fortunate, although there is very little to fall back on should we be unable to proceed; in fact, as soon as the surface water dries up it will be impossible. we are, however, three days in advance of the party, and if we can get enough for our two riding-horses we shall be able to stop them before there is any great danger, although we may lose some of the horses. th. steered south-south-east for about four miles to two large rock holes seen by windich and myself on our former trip, but found them quite dry, as before. continued on south-east towards the hills seen by us formerly, and, after travelling about ten miles, got a fine view of the country, which looked splendid. high hills and ranges as far as could be seen to the south and east, and we thought all our troubles were over. we pushed on about east-south-east to a high hill about ten miles off, over red sand-hills covered with spinifex. country of the most miserable description. we reached the hill, which i named mount harvest, after colonel harvest, the acting-governor of western australia at the time of our departure, and who took a great interest in the expedition. we ascended the hill; more ranges and hills were seen--in fact, the whole country was one mass of hills and ranges to the south, south-east, and east. we followed down gullies and over hills, passing two rock holes dry, until after dark, but could not find any water. the country is most beautifully grassed, and is a great relief after travelling over so many hundreds of miles of spinifex; but the season is very dry, and all the gullies are dry. we camped for the night without water for ourselves or horses. i have since learnt that these ranges were seen by mr. giles, and were named the warburton ranges. signs of white men. th. early this morning windich and i went on foot to search the hills and gullies close around, as our horses were knocked up for want of water. we returned unsuccessful about o'clock. close to where we found our horses we found a tree with the bark cut off one side of it with an axe which was sharp. we were sure it was done by a white man, as the axe, even if possessed by a native (which is very improbable), would be blunt. we are now in the country traversed by mr. gosse, although i am unable to distinguish any of the features of the country, not having a map with me, and not knowing the latitude. should we find water, and the party reach here, there will no doubt be little difficulty in distinguishing the hills. the country certainly does not answer the description given of his farther westward. however, i will leave our position geographically for the present, and treat of what is of much more importance to us, namely, the finding of water. we saddled our horses and continued our search about south-east, over hills and along valleys--the distance or direction i am unable to give--our horses scarcely moving, and ourselves parched with thirst. the sun was very hot. at about noon we found some water in a gully by scratching a hole, but it was quite salt. as our horses would not drink it, it can be imagined how salt it was. we drank about a pint of it, and windich said it was the first time he ever had to drink salt water. i washed myself in it, which refreshed me a little. our horses could not go much further without water, but we crawled along about north, and shortly afterwards found a small rock hole in the side of a large rough granite hill, with about five gallons of good water in it. we had a good drink ourselves, put half a gallon into a canteen, and gave the rest to the horses. from here our usual good fortune returned. we had not gone far when windich called me back and said he had found horses' tracks, and sure enough there were the tracks of horses coming from the westward. windich took some of the old dung with him to convince our companions that we had seen them. we followed westward along the tracks for half a mile, when we found two or three small rock holes with water in them, which our horses drank. still bearing to the north we kept finding little drops in the granite rocks--our old friend the granite rock has returned to us again, after having been absent for several hundred miles. we satisfied our horses, and rested a short time to have something to eat, not having had anything for forty-eight hours. we bore north-west, and soon afterwards found a fine rock hole of water in granite rocks, sufficient to last the party a day. plenty of water on rocks, also, from recent rain here. we were rejoiced, as we now had a place to bring the party to. but our good fortune did not end here: continuing on westerly or a little north of it, we came on a summer encampment of the natives, and found a native well or spring, which i believe would give water if dug out. this may make a good depot if we require to stay long in this neighbourhood. we were overjoyed; and i need not add i was very thankful for this good fortune. when everything looked at its worst, then all seemed to change for our benefit. we camped two miles from the water. th (sunday). took the horses back to the water, and on our way there found a clay-pan with a few hundred gallons of water in it. started back to meet the party, intending to await their arrival at the first range we came to on our outward track. steering a little north of west for fourteen miles, we camped on west side of mount harvest, not having seen a drop of water on our way. luckily we brought nearly half a gallon with us, so shall be able to manage until the party overtake us to-morrow. our horses will be very thirsty, but i will give them five gallons each out of the drums. shot a wurrung on our way, which we had for dinner. found two fine rock holes quite empty. there appears to have been no rain here, although fifteen miles east there has been a good deal. i hope the change of moon on the th will bring us some rain, as we shall then be able to travel along easily. my personal appearance contrasts most strikingly with town life--very dirty, and i may say ragged. i scarcely think my friends would know me. washing, or brushing one's hair is out of the question, unless when resting at camp. th. we stayed at our last night's bivouac until o'clock, when we saddled up and followed back along our outward tracks to meet the party, which we expected to find this afternoon. about o'clock met them coming on, all well. they were all rejoiced to hear of the water ahead. we gave the horses water out of the drums, and turned eastward with them. we reached mount harvest by sundown, the party having travelled thirty miles, and camped on grassy flat without water for the horses. latitude degrees minutes seconds south by altair, longitude degrees minutes east. everything had gone on first-rate with the party. they had nearly finished all the water at mount samuel, and in the todd range, so that we cannot now turn back, even if we wished, unless with the risk of having to go ninety or a hundred miles without water. finding tracks. th. continued on to the water found ahead, and on our way saw some clay-holes with water and satisfied the horses. when near the spring, saw natives' tracks, and shortly afterwards a fire with a whole kangaroo roasting in it. the natives had made off when they saw us, leaving their game cooking. continuing on, and passing the native well, we reached the granite rocks, two miles from the spring, and camped. while having dinner we saw two natives about a quarter of a mile from us, watching us; we beckoned to them, and windich and i approached them. as we neared them they began talking and moving off slowly; we could not get close to them, although they did not appear to be afraid of us. some fine ranges are visible from here south-east. latitude of camp degrees minutes seconds south, by meridian altitude of altair. marked a tree f , being the th camp from geraldton. barometer . at p.m. we are not in the latitude of mr. gosse's track by fifteen miles, yet there are tracks only about two miles south of us! i cannot account for this. the tracks may be mr. giles's, as i cannot think mr. gosse could be out in his latitude. th. left camp with tommy windich to find water ahead, instructing my brother to follow on to-morrow. we bore east-south-east for a few miles over grassy flats towards some high hills, but, seeing what we supposed a good spot for water, we turned east towards it, over miserable spinifex sand-hills, and found some splendid granite rocks and holes, but not much water--enough, however, to give the horses a drink. if there was rain, there would be enough water here for a month or more. near these rocks found a tree resembling the figtree (ficus platypoda), with ripe fruit about the size of a bullet, which tasted very much like a fig. i ate some of the fruit, which was very good. fine hills and ranges to the eastward, and country very promising, and in many places beautifully grassed. after resting two hours we pushed on about east, and, after going five miles over spinifex sand-hills, came to a granite range and found two fine rock holes, sufficient to satisfy the horses. continuing on, we camped close to a peaked granite hill, which i named mount elvire. no water for the horses. found the old horse-tracks, just before we camped, coming from eastward. i cannot make them out to be mr. gosse's; they must be mr. giles's. there appears to be a great number of horses', but am uncertain if there are any camel-tracks. in safety. th. found a rock hole with about forty gallons of water in it close to camp. after watering our horses we followed along the old tracks, going nearly north-east, and passed a gnow's nest, where they had apparently got out eggs. shortly afterwards found where the party had camped without water, and continued on to some high hills and ranges; then we left them to follow some emu tracks, which, after following up a gully and over a hill, brought us to a fine spring of good water in a gully. we camped here, and intend waiting for our party, which will reach here to-morrow. we watched at the water for emus, and after waiting about four hours saw two coming, one of which windich shot. fine grass, although old and dry, down this gully. ranges in every direction. the country contrasts strikingly with what we have been travelling through for the last three months. the party whose tracks we followed this morning have not been to this spring, so they must have missed it. all my troubles were now over, inasmuch as i felt sure we would accomplish our journey and reach the settled districts of south australia; although, as it afterwards proved, we had many days of hard work and some privation yet to endure. still the country was much improved, and not altogether unknown. i then gave out publicly to the party that we were now in safety, and in all human probability in five or six weeks would reach the telegraph line. i need not add how pleased all were at having at last bridged over that awful, desolate spinifex desert. th. went to a hill close to camp, the highest in this neighbourhood, and erected a pile of stones. about o'clock the party arrived all safe. they reported having seen three natives the day we left, and had induced them to come to camp, and had given them damper and sugar and a red handkerchief each; they did not remain long. each had two spears, very long and thick, and made out of three pieces spliced together, with large barbs on them. the party had finished all the water on their way, the horses yesterday having drank over ten gallons each. this afternoon i took a round of angles and bearings from a pile of stones on the hill. marked a tree f , near spring, which i named barlee spring, after the honourable f.p. barlee, colonial secretary of western australia, from whom i have ever received much kindness and assistance, and who took a great interest in this expedition. a remarkable hill bore south-south-west from spring, which i named mount palgrave. barlee spring is in longitude about degrees minutes east. unable to get latitude: too cloudy. th. left camp with windich to look for water ahead, instructing my brother to follow to-morrow. steered east along the south side of a rocky range for ten miles, when we ascended a hill to get a view ahead. about thirty miles to east fine bold ranges are visible, also broken ranges from north-east and round to south-east; they are no doubt the cavanagh ranges of mr. gosse. about five miles ahead we saw some granite rocks, to which we proceeded, and found a tremendous rock hole full of water; it was in between two large rocks and completely shaded from the sun. as the country east to the ranges appears to be all spinifex and red sand-hills, i decided to remain here to-night and continue on in the morning. left a note telling my brother to camp here on sunday night. in the afternoon got a fine round of angles from granite rocks. the country passed over to-day was along and through ranges which are no doubt the barrow ranges of mr. gosse. the flats are very grassy, but the hills are covered with spinifex. my brother marked a tree at this camp f , and observed the latitude to be about degrees minutes, but was unable to get very good observation on account of clouds. the ficus platypoda was also found here, loaded with ripe fruit. giles's camp. th (sunday). steering about east-north-east towards the ranges, we passed over very miserable spinifex plains and red sand-hills the whole way, about thirty miles. after reaching the ranges we followed up a fine grassy wide flat, splendidly grassed, although old; and on the flat were innumerable horse-tracks--unmistakable evidence of horses being camped for months in this neighbourhood. kept on up the gully and flat for about a mile and a half, when windich found a gum-tree marked e. giles oct. , . my former suspicions that mr. giles must have been in this neighbourhood were now confirmed. soon after we came on a cart-track, which rather astonished us, and soon found that it must have belonged to mr. gosse, who also camped close here. a deep, well-beaten track went along up the gully, which we followed, knowing it was the daily track of the horses to the water, and soon after found their old camp at a beautiful spring running down the gully a quarter of a mile. a stock-yard had been built, and gardens made, besides a large bush hut to shelter the party from the sun as well as rain. trenches were dug round the hut and tent, so that they must have had rain. i should say mr. giles must have been camped here for two or three months at least. we camped half a mile down the gully from the spring. mr. gosse and mr. giles were within a few miles of each other at the same time, and did not meet. th. went for a walk to examine the cart-tracks; found two tracks going east and west. this convinced me that the cart belonged to mr. gosse, who i knew had returned. went to the top of a high hill to take angles, while windich tried to shoot a kangaroo. after a hard climb i reached the summit, and had just commenced taking angles when i heard three shots, and shortly after windich cooeying. looking round, i saw a native running along about yards from me. he disappeared in a hollow. fearing that windich had been attacked by the natives i descended towards him as quickly as possible, but could not see him. i looked about, keeping a sharp look-out, expecting to be attacked, but could not find windich. sat down a short time and finally made my way back to the horses, and, after finding them, saddled one and started back to look for windich. found him coming along with a kangaroo on his back, having shot three, but had not seen any natives; he had been waiting for me a good while. after dinner i went back to get my coat and a compass left at the foot of the hill, and then again ascended the hill and got a fine round of angles. the rock is very magnetic, and the compass is quite useless. could see the dust from the party coming across the spinifex sand-hills, and, descending, met them just before sundown. another encounter with natives. they reported having had an encounter with the natives on the th, and having been followed by a number of armed natives for a long way. finally they had been compelled to fire on them, but had not killed any. they were glad to hear of the spring found, and, continuing on, reached it about half-past o'clock. the spring is fort mueller of mr. giles, where he was camped for a long while, and his most westerly permanent water. by observation fort mueller is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude by lunar observation degrees east, the variation being about degree minutes east by azimuths. th. rested at spring. marked a tree sixty yards south of camp f , being th camp from geraldton. also erected a pile of stones on peak, thirty chains west-south-west of camp, with a pole in centre, on which is marked: j. forrest, august , ' . took four sets of lunars, which place spring in longitude degrees east of greenwich. th. steering east-south-east along mr. gosse's track for about thirty-five miles, over most miserable sandy hills and plains of spinifex, with the exception of a few miles at first, along a grassy flat. two rock holes passed were quite dry. camped without water on a grassy flat not far from the ranges; hope to find water early to-morrow, as our horses are too poor to go long without it. was obliged to abandon police-horse brick to-day, as he was completely done up. nothing but downright poverty is the cause of his giving in; and the same in the case of fame and little padbury, which we abandoned over a month ago. they were poor when they left, and have only had very dry grass ever since. it is a wonder to me they all do not give in, as many are mere skeletons. poor old brick held up as long as he could, but was forced to give in, and we had to leave him to his solitary fate; he will probably go back to the spring (fort mueller). barometer . ; latitude degrees minutes seconds south. th. got a very early start, and continued on. at one mile found a sandy soak in a gully, and by digging it out got sufficient water for all our horses. still proceeding onwards, following a gully for two miles, came to mr. gosse's depot number , at skirmish hill. a bullock had been killed here, and the flesh jerked. found a large white gum-tree marked gos. at camp. all the water was gone. i, however, camped, and took our horses to a place a mile west, where, by digging in the sand, we got enough for them. went with pierre to the summit of skirmish hill, and took angles. to the south, nothing but sand-hills and spinifex; to the north-east the tomkinson ranges showed up and looked very remarkable and promising. marked a tree f , being th camp from geraldton. camp is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude about degrees minutes east. tomkinson ranges. st. left camp at skirmish hill in company with windich, instructing my brother to follow to-morrow. found a fine rock hole two miles from camp, and followed along mr. gosse's track for twenty miles to the tomkinson ranges, over most miserable sandy ridges, covered with spinifex. fine grassy flats along and through the ranges. we left the track to examine a gully to the north, but could not find any water. got on the track just before dark and followed it along a few miles. camped without water for our horses on a fine flat of very old grass. windich's horse completely knocked up, and we had to walk and drive him before us this afternoon. the day was excessively hot, and the horses are very thirsty. we have only about a quart ourselves. elder springs. nd. early this morning we continued on, windich's horse scarcely able to walk. after about ten miles, found a rock hole with three gallons of water in it, which we gave to our horses. followed mr. gosse's track to see if there was any water about his depot number , but we either missed it or had not reached it. about noon windich's horse could go no farther, and mine was not much better. what was to be done? we nearly finished what water we had with us. the party were coming on to-day, and were depending on us to find water. i determined not to follow the track any farther, but to search for water ourselves. the horses were unable to move; we therefore decided to leave them and go for a search on foot. windich said he had seen emu tracks, and he thought they were making south. we therefore started on foot. the sun's heat was excessive. about o'clock returned unsuccessful, and finished what water we had with us. what next to do was the question; no time was to be lost. mr. gosse's map showed some gullies ahead, but whether there was any water in them was questionable; he states, "nearly all the waters discovered in the mann and tomkinson ranges were running when left, and from a considerable height." it must have been a good season, and not like this. we decided to go on foot to a gully about two miles north, which had white gums in it. we started off and saw more emu tracks going and coming, also natives' tracks. windich shot a wurrung, which he said had lately drunk water. when we reached the gully, many tracks were seen ascending it, and we felt sure we should find water, and surely enough we soon reached a most splendid spring, running down the gully half a mile. we were elated and very thankful. windich got a shot at an emu, but missed it. after having a good drink we went back and got our horses, reaching the spring with them after dark. they were very thirsty and completely done up. mr. gosse missed this spring; probably there was water on the flats when he was here, and he did not look much. although his track is easily followed, we had nearly got into serious difficulty by following it. had we not found this spring our position would be very critical, not having any water for ourselves or horses, and the party in the same predicament. i will be careful not to follow the track too far in future, but to trust to our own resources and look for ourselves. we feel sure we passed water this morning, as in one place we saw emu tracks and pigeons. the party will reach here to-morrow, and i feel very thankful and relieved to have such a fine spring to bring them to. the feed is good a mile down from the spring, although it is very old and dry. there has not been any rain to speak of since mr. gosse was here, nearly twelve months ago, as can be seen by the cart-tracks crossing the gullies. i named this spring the elder springs, after my friend the honourable thomas elder, who has been such a great supporter of exploration, and from whom i received a great deal of kindness and attention. rd (sunday). awaited the arrival of the party. shot an emu; and, while skinning it, heard a gun-shot, and soon after saw kennedy coming on, walking. found that the party were only half a mile off. they had been very distressed for water, and had left pounds of flour and a pack-saddle five miles back, taylor's mare about three miles back, and burges and his saddle two miles back. when they saw my note, directing them to the water, they had gone back and got burges, and with great difficulty got him close to camp, when he lay down and they left him. windich and i started back on foot at once with two buckets of water, and met burges within a quarter of a mile of camp, crawling along; we gave him the water and he then went on to the spring. we went back and found taylor's mare, and brought her slowly to camp. we are now safe again, and i must give the horses a few days' rest. the weather has been hot, and if we had not found this spring, not more than five horses would have lasted out the day. i will send back and get the flour, as it is only five miles off. the party were all very glad to see such a fine spring, as their position was very dangerous, having only three gallons of water with them altogether. th. rested at elder spring. found the barometer had got broken, which i was very sorry for. worked out several lunars taken on the th at giles's camp. th. worked out the remainder of the lunars. marked a large white gum-tree close to camp, on left bank of elder springs, f , being the th camp from geraldton. found camp to be in south latitude degrees minutes seconds and longitude about degrees minutes east. my brother and pierre went back and brought up the flour left five miles back on the rd. mount jane. th. went with pierre to a high peak, which i named mount jane, about four miles south-south-east from camp, and got a round of angles, and a fine view of the country. to the east high ranges and grassy flats, but to the south, and from south-east to west, nothing but level country with a few low rises here and there, apparently sand-hills covered with spinifex--most miserable country. th. left camp with tommy windich to look for water ahead, instructing my brother to follow to-morrow. steered east for four miles, when we struck mr. gosse's cart-track. followed along it a few miles, when we bore more to the north; then in the direction of emu tracks, and passed along a fine grassy flat with hundreds of kangaroos in every direction; also many emu tracks. we were sure we were getting close to water. a little farther on saw about twenty-five emus, and soon reached a spring in the brook, and camped for dinner. concluded to remain here the remainder of the day. went for a walk higher up the brook and found another spring, about one mile from the first. returned and took our horses up to it, as there was better feed there. left a note, telling the party to camp there also. in a good season these flats must look magnificent; at this time they are very dry, but there is a good deal of old grass on them. my brother marked a tree at spring f , which he found to be in latitude degrees minutes. i named this spring wilkie spring, after the honourable dr. wilkie, the honorary treasurer of the burke and wills exploration fund, who took such a lively interest in australian exploration. th. continued on eastward and soon struck mr. gosse's cart-track. followed it along about seven miles, passing mount davies, when we bore more to the south. following the direction of some natives' tracks, and after going about two miles, found a native well in a gully, where water could be procured by digging. left a note telling my brother to dig it out and see if he could get enough for the horses. we continued on about east-north-east, and soon after shot a kangaroo and rested an hour for dinner, after which we bore about north-east towards a gully and white gums, and found it to be nilens gully of mr. gosse. found his camp and a white gum marked with a broad arrow, but no water. we followed along and through the ranges, twisting and turning about, and at last found a number of natives' tracks, making towards a gap, and, following along them, found they led to a gorge and white gum gully, ascending which we found water in some little springs. after watering our horses we returned towards the party three miles and camped, intending to bring the party to the spring to-morrow. friendly natives. th. returned about five miles and met the party coming on all right. they reported having met about twenty natives yesterday, who were friendly, and who came to them, first of all laying down their spears. they had given them damper and a handkerchief. pierre gave them two kylies. they had three kangaroos roasting in their fire. when we were passing nilens gully i saw a native running, and, calling windich, we went over and saw five natives sitting on some rocks watching us. i went towards them; at first they appeared hostile, but after talking at them and making signs they began to be friendly and came down close to us. they were all armed with spears. one of them gave me his spear, which was very blunt, and i sharpened it for him. he made signs for me to give him the knife, but i could not, as we were very short of knives. they were afraid at first when i showed them how a horse could gallop, but soon were very pleased and laughed heartily. windich shot a chockalott and gave it to them. they were amazed at seeing the bird drop, and were very pleased when it was given to them, as they much prize the feathers of these birds. after this we left them and continued on to the spring found yesterday, and camped. got plenty of water by digging a few holes in the springy places. marked a tree f in gorge close to spring. found spring to be in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude about degrees minutes east. the mann ranges. th (sunday). rested at spring. took bearings from hill close to spring, mount hardy bearing north degrees east magnetic, and mount davies north degrees east magnetic. the mann ranges were also clearly visible about ten miles off. in the afternoon windich found a fine spring in a gully about half a mile north of camp, at which he shot an emu. i named these springs the crowther springs, after my friend mr. charles crowther, of geraldton. emus and kangaroos very numerous in these ranges. st. got an early start and took the horses to the water found by windich yesterday, where they could help themselves. steered east-north-east about, over level country; spinifex generally, studded with desert oaks, with limestone and snail-shells on surface for about twenty miles. reached the mann ranges. before we reached the ranges we struck mr. gosse's track, and followed it along, and shortly came to a very large and recent encampment of the natives. there must have been a hundred camped here about a week ago. found two small springs not far off, but not strong enough to water all our horses; but we soon found some fine springy pools in a gully about half a mile further on, where mr. gosse also had been camped, and marked a tree with a broad arrow. i marked on the same tree f , being our st camp from geraldton. mr. gosse's return track leaves his outward track at this spot. i intend following his return track and make in to the telegraph line, down the alberga, and on to the peake. there is abundance of water at this place, which i have no doubt is permanent, as there are four springs within half a mile of one another, but three are very small. took bearings from a very high range close by; mount davies, mount edwin, and mount hardy being visible. the mann ranges are very high and rough, and are composed of reddish granite. they are the highest ranges met with since leaving mount hale and mount gould, on the murchison. found camp f to be in latitude degrees minutes seconds south by meridian altitude of altair and vega, and longitude about degrees minutes east. september st. continuing about east along the foot of the mann ranges for about fifteen miles, came to mr. gosse's bivouac of october th, but could find no water; a well that had been dug in the sand was dry. followed up the gully about a mile, and came to a small spring, and camped. after draining it out, found there was no supply, but were fortunate enough to find some large rock holes with water--no doubt soakages from the rocks--but they were in an almost inaccessible spot, and it was with great difficulty we managed to water the horses. one horse fell and nearly lost his life. country passed over to-day was poorly grassed, and spinifex patches here and there. large and recent native encampments seen in two places to-day. latitude degrees minutes seconds south. marked a tree f , close to our bivouac in bed of gully. nd. followed along south side of mann ranges over country pretty well grassed for about sixteen miles, and reached mr. gosse's bivouac of october th. found a little water in a sandy hole, and a small spring about half a mile higher up the gully. we had to carry the water from the spring in drums, which was slow and hard work. when we had watered half of the horses, windich came, having found great pools of water in a large rocky gully about a mile west; we therefore packed up again and went over to the water. it was a very rough and rocky gully, and the horses had hard work in getting up to it, but there was abundance when they reached it. pools of water, rock bottom; in fact, rock reservoirs, and fed by springs. it was nearly night when we had finished watering. windich shot four ducks. found camp to be in latitude degrees minutes south. marked a tree f , being rd camp from geraldton. another encounter with natives. rd. got a late start, owing to the horses rambling. we continued on easterly and reached day's gully, mr. gosse's number depot. the water was all gone, and we had to proceed. followed his track along two miles, when windich and i went in search of water, the party waiting our return. after searching a gully to the west without success, we went east to a bare granite hill and, passing through a gorge, emerged into a small flat, and saw about natives, all sitting down eating kangaroos. as soon as they saw us they all rose and shouted, and many ran towards us with their spears. one spear came close to me, and stuck fast in the ground. windich and i fired our revolvers at them several times, and chased them up the hill. after this they appeared more friendly, and some came towards us and followed us back towards the party, keeping about yards behind. we reached them and went back to the natives; they were perched all over the hills, more than twenty on one rock. they were friendly now, and about thirty came to us who talked away and seemed very pleased. they were much afraid of the horses, and would not come near them. we made the natives understand we wanted water, and about forty conducted us to a rock hole with nearly fifty gallons in it, which we gave the horses. the natives laughed heartily when they saw us watering the horses, but much more when we hit them to drive them away. they were also delighted that windich and pierre were black, and marked about the body, and also at pierre having his nose bored. they would not come with us further, and pointed towards water westward. we did not follow their direction, and continuing on easterly, camped without water, and only very old dried grass for our horses. we were obliged to abandon the mare supplied by mr. john taylor to-day, together with about pounds of flour, also the pack-saddle. she is very near foaling, and is very weak; she has carried only the empty bags for some time, and has been gradually failing. she is a fine mare, and i am sorry to lose her, but we cannot help it. we have more flour than we require, so i decided to leave pounds, as our horses are not able to carry it easily. we have over hundredweight still, which will be quite sufficient. tomorrow i intend pushing on to try and reach the spring in the musgrave range shown on mr. gosse's chart. it is about forty miles from here, and i have no doubt the horses will go there, although they are very weak. the natives met to-day were all circumcised; they had long hair and beards, which were all clotted and in strands. the strands were covered with filth and dirt for six inches from the end, and looked like greased rope; it was as hard as rope, and dangled about their necks, looking most disgustingly filthy. the men were generally fine-looking fellows. the natives are very numerous in this country, as fires and camps are seen in many places, besides well-beaten tracks. pierre dropped his powder-flask, and one of them picked it up and gave it to him. they were very friendly and pleased, and i think, after the first surprise was over, only a few were hostile. they were much amused at my watch ticking, and all wanted to put their ears to hear it. sufferings of the horses. th. the horses would not feed last night, and had to be watched. at o'clock we got up and collected them, and got under way by half-past o'clock, following on towards the musgrave ranges. the morning was cool, and the horses went along very well. after travelling about twenty miles padbury and butcher began to show signs of giving in. we still pushed on, in hope of finding water in lungley's gully; the sun shone out very hot in the afternoon. passed a remarkable high peak, which i named mount mary. my brother, sweeney, and pierre were behind with the knocked-up horses, trying to get them along. windich went on hosken, the only horse that was strong enough, to the north to scour some valleys. kennedy and i pushed along slowly with the main lot of horses. if we halted a minute, many of the horses lay down, and we had great difficulty in getting them up again. after travelling about thirty-one miles we reached a gully which i supposed was lungley's, and i left kennedy with the horses while i ascended it on foot. i soon saw many emu tracks, and therefore was positive water was a little higher up. found windich was about yards in advance of me, having crossed over into the same gully. i soon heard him shout that there was abundance of water, and fired the welcome gun-shots to acquaint the party. returned, and after lifting up some of the horses that had lain down, and met my brother with the knocked-up ones, we all proceeded up to the water, which we found to be a beautiful spring running down the gully about thirty chains. we were all rejoiced at this good fortune, as we never before wanted water more than at the present time. mr. gosse had camped here, his depot number , and i wonder he does not show such a fine spring on his map. we are now in perfect safety, and i will give the horses two days' rest. th. rested at spring. windich and pierre shot three emus; a great many came to water. being nearly out of meat, we are glad to get them. th (sunday). took bearings from a hill about a mile east of camp, from which there was a very extensive view. far as the eye could reach to south, level plains extended, with low hills rising abruptly out of them here and there; to the west the deering hills and mann ranges; while to the east the high musgrave ranges soon stopped the view. the whole country is level, the ranges rising abruptly out of the plains, and is not like the hilly country in the settled districts of western australia. marked a tree close to the camp f , being th camp from geraldton. found camp to be in latitude degrees minutes seconds by meridian altitude of altair, and longitude about degrees minutes east. gosse's spring. th. left spring, and steering about east for seven miles along foot of musgrave ranges, when we turned north-north-east for four miles, and east one mile to mr. gosse's depot number , found spring in a brook, large white gums in gully; a very fine spring, but not running; any quantity of water. first-rate feed in gully and on flat. weather cloudy. intend resting here to-morrow, as one of our horses is very lame, and there is everything we want. th. rested at camp. rained lightly last night, and very stormy. blew a hurricane towards morning. rained lightly until noon; more rain than we have had on the whole trip. we have not had a drop of rain since the light shower on the th august. marked a tree f , being the th camp from geraldton. shod two horses. finished all our meat. we have now only flour enough for the remainder of our journey. as my friend mr. gosse did not name this splendid place, i take the liberty of naming it gosse's spring, as that is the name we always gave it in referring to it. th. the horses rambled away last night, and were not collected till late. it was nearly eleven o'clock when we started. we travelled about fourteen miles over fine grassy country, and camped on a fine flat with a little water in a gully which appears springy; good feed, although chiefly old, all round camp. one of our horses is very lame, and we have a little trouble in getting him along. it rained again last night. latitude degrees minutes seconds south. th. steered north-north-east for five miles, and then north-east and east to beare's creek, mr. gosse's depot number , where we found a most beautiful spring running strong down the gully for half a mile. i wonder he did not mark it permanent water on his map, as it is one of the best springs i have ever seen. poor place for feed. the horses inclined to ramble. shot two ducks which were in one of the pools, and two wurrungs, which were very acceptable, being now altogether without meat. latitude degrees minutes seconds. grassy gorge on our route to-day. th. we got up long before daylight, intending to get an early start, and reach whittell's creek, but two of the horses were missing, and it was after eight o'clock when windich returned with them. we, however, started, and steering easterly through dense acacia thickets without grass for about thirty miles, we reached the creek, and found plenty of water by digging in the sand. rough low granite hills all along our route, but very little feed. passed many clay-pans with water in them. the country was sandy and stony, and is thickly wooded. mount woodroffe bears north degrees east magnetic from our camp, and a remarkable granite hill bore north, which i named mount elizabeth. latitude degrees minutes south. marked a tree f , being th camp from geraldton. fig-tree gully. th. continued onwards about north-east for ten miles, over saltbush flats with water in clay-pans in places, to the north part of a range, from which i got a view of mount connor, which rose abruptly out of the ocean of scrub. rounding the mount, bore south-east towards harry's reservoir, reaching which we camped. it is at the head of a rocky gully; it is very rough to reach, and no feed within a mile and a half of it. there was plenty of water in the hole, which is about six feet deep. a white gum-tree close to the pool is marked gos, , and i marked under it, on same tree, f , being th camp from geraldton. this being such a rough place, and no feed near, i will move on to-morrow towards or to figtree gully. weather dark and cloudy. th (sunday). continued on towards figtree gully, having to go a long way north in order to get round and through the ranges. most beautifully-grassed country all the way; by far the best-grassed country we have seen for months. after travelling about nineteen miles we found water on some granite rocks, and camped on a very fine grassy flat. windich shot a large kangaroo, which was very acceptable. th. about o'clock this afternoon we collected the horses, and travelled on to figtree gully about four miles, our horses first finishing all the water on the granite rocks. we got enough at figtree gully to satisfy them, although there is not a great supply. there is a small soakage from the rocks; we filled the drums to-night, so as to have sufficient for them in the morning, as the water does not come in quickly. the view to the east is not very interesting. a few low hills, and generally level country--apparently thickly wooded with mulga and acacia. the marryatt river. th. got an early start, and steering about east for six miles, crossed the gum creek, and followed it along about a mile and a half, when we steered more to the east, until we struck the head of the marryatt, which we followed down north-east and east, until we reached the salt native well marked on mr. gosse's map. we camped here, and dug out the well, which was very brackish; yet the horses drank it. there was a very poor supply of water, and we kept bailing it out into the drums all night, and managed to get out about sixty gallons. we travelled about thirty miles to-day; our horses were very thirsty, the weather oppressive. i found a small water-hole, with about twenty gallons in it, about one mile north, to which we will take the horses to-morrow morning. th. went over to the rock hole and gave our horses the water--about one bucket apiece, after which we struck south-east to the river, and found two rock holes with sufficient water in them to satisfy all the horses. continued on and reached mr. gosse's camp, where he marks on his map "water-hole dug." found it quite dry; but after going a few hundred yards we found a nice clay-pan with water in it, and camped. there has been a little rain here a few weeks ago, and it has not all dried up yet. if it was not for the rain-water we should have much difficulty in getting down this river, as all the old native wells dug in the sand are dry. th. followed down the marryatt, and at six miles passed a native well, which was quite dry. we continued on, and at about eight miles found a number of rock water-holes, all nearly full of water, about a quarter of a mile south of the river, and camped. shod some of the horses. took a set of lunar observations. th. two of the horses rambled away during the night, and delayed our start. at eight o'clock we got under way, and followed along the river. the day was excessively hot, and we had to walk in turns. at two o'clock crossed the gum creek shown on mr. gosse's map, and searched for the large clay-pan shown a short distance beyond it; hundreds of natives' tracks seen all along. towards evening we found a rock water-hole with about two gallons in it, which refreshed us, as we were all very thirsty. here we were obliged to abandon police-horse champion, he being completely knocked up; he has had a very bad back for a long time, and has been running loose without any load. we pushed on, and i sent windich to look for water. we travelled until eight o'clock, when we camped for the night without water. shortly after we had camped, windich overtook us, and reported having found some clay-pans about six miles back. after having something to eat i decided to return to the clay-pans, and therefore packed up three of the horses, and let the others go loose, leaving the packs until our return. reached the water by midnight, and the horses finished it all, and were not half satisfied. i thought there was more, or would not have come back for it. we hobbled them out, and had a few hours' rest. a painful march. th. early this morning we searched the flat for water, and found a rock water-hole with about fifty gallons in it, but could not find any more clay-pans. we therefore gave the horses the fifty gallons, and pushed on towards "water near table-land" shown on mr. gosse's map, about twenty-one miles distant. the day was excessively hot again, and walking was most fatiguing. men and horses moved along very slowly, but did not give in. towards noon a hot wind began to blow. onwards still we pressed, and crossed the large creek coming into the alberga about two miles from the water. i told the party we were now close, and showed them the low table-land just ahead. before we reached it we found a clay-hole with water, and gave the horses a good drink, after which we moved on a mile and camped at mr. gosse's depot number , where we got plenty of water by digging in the sandy bed of the river. i was very glad to reach here, for the horses were getting very weary, and sweeney was also done up, and looked very ill and swollen up about the head. the walking was most harassing, for, besides the ground being soft, the sun was overpowering, and most excessively hot. we are now in safety again, and to-morrow being sunday we will rest. th (sunday). rested to-day. windich shot an emu. worked out lunar observations. marked a tree f , being th camp from geraldton. latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude about degrees minutes east. st. continued down the alberga about south-east for about twenty miles, over sandy country thickly wooded with mulga and acacia, to mr. gosse's bivouac of december st, but there was scarcely any water by digging. we therefore pushed on and found a native well, from which, by digging out about five feet, we procured abundance of water. sweeney still very unwell, unable to walk; others walking in turns. distance twenty-five miles. nd. the horses rambled back on the tracks about three miles, and it was eight o'clock before we got started. we followed down the alberga over stony plains, poorly grassed and thickly wooded, for about eighteen miles. found sufficient water by digging in the sand; there was only a very poor supply, and it took us a good while to water all the horses. the river bed is more than a quarter of a mile wide and very shallow, and spreads out over the plains for many miles in heavy winters. rd. watering the horses delayed us a little this morning, as there was a very poor supply coming into the well. we followed down the river, and after travelling about nine miles heard a native shouting, and soon saw him running after us. he was quite friendly, but could not speak any english; he came along with us, and shortly afterwards we found a native well with sufficient water by digging, then camped, as our horses were very weak, and required a rest. we finished all our tea and sugar to-day, and have now only flour left; we will therefore have bread and water for the next week, until we reach the peake. the native ate heartily of damper given to him, and remained all day, and slept at our camp. distance ten miles. near the end of the journey. th. travelled down river, the native still accompanying us, and at about six miles met a very old native, and a woman and a little girl. they were quite friendly, and showed us water; and the woman and girl came with us to appatinna, mr. gosse's depot , where we camped at a fine pool of water under right bank of river. windich shot three emus that were coming to the water, and we all had plenty of them to eat. the natives were very pleased, and went back and brought up the old man and another woman and child. there were now six with us. they have seen the telegraph line, as can be seen by signs they make, but they cannot speak english. th. the horses rambled off miles, and it was nearly ten o'clock before we got under way. there was no feed at all for them. we followed down the alberga for about fifteen miles, about east generally, and camped, with very little old dried-up grass for our horses. about half an hour after we left appatinna this morning we had a very heavy shower of rain, and, although it only lasted about a quarter of an hour, it literally flooded the whole country, making it boggy. it was the heaviest thunderstorm i have ever seen. we shall have no difficulty in procuring water now all the way to the telegraph line, which is not more than forty miles from here. the natives stayed at appatinna, as they had too much emu to leave. we did not want them, and were just as well pleased they did not come on. mr. gosse's track went north-north-east to the hamilton river from appatinna. th. got off early and followed the river about two miles, when it took a bend to the north, and as it was rather boggy near it we left it, and steered about east and east-north-east for twenty miles over most miserable country without any grass. we camped on a small gully with a little water in it, and some old dry grass in a flat. the horses were very tired, not having had anything to eat for the last two or three days, and some showed signs of giving in; in fact, all weak and knocked-up, and we have to handle them very carefully. for the first thirteen miles we passed many clay-pans full of water--water nearly everywhere--after which there was very little; and the rain does not appear to have been heavy to the east. the river is about a mile and a half north of us, and we have not seen it for some miles. latitude degrees minutes south. hope to reach the telegraph line to-morrow. th (sunday). continuing east-north-east for two miles, came to the alberga, and following along its right bank over many clay-pans with water, about east for twelve miles, and then east-north-east for three miles, and reached the telegraph line between adelaide and port darwin, and camped. long and continued cheers came from our little band as they beheld at last the goal to which we have been travelling for so long. i felt rejoiced and relieved from anxiety; and on reflecting on the long line of travel we had performed through an unknown country, almost a wilderness, felt very thankful to that good providence that had guarded and guided us so safely through it. the telegraph line is most substantially put up, and well wired, and is very creditable at this spot; large poles of bush timber, often rather crooked, and iron ones here and there. i now gave up keeping watch, having kept it regularly for the last six months. marked a tree f , being th camp from geraldton. we had not much to refresh the inner man with, only damper and water, but we have been used to it now more than a month, and do not much feel it. the horses are all very tired, and many of them have sore backs. i hope to reach the peake on wednesday night, where we shall be able to get something to eat. we find making the damper with boiling water makes it much lighter and softer, and is a great improvement. latitude degrees minutes seconds south. th. we travelled down the telegraph line for about twenty-one miles, and camped on a branch of the neales river, with a little grass. level plains and small rocky rises all the way; very stony country; many clay-pans with water. a well-beaten road goes along near the telegraph line. we did not get on it till we had travelled along the line about fifteen miles. it crosses the alberga east of the line. th. when we were nearly ready to start, police-horse butcher lay down and died in a few seconds; he appeared all right when we brought him in, and was saddled as usual. old age, very severe hard work, and continual travelling, is no doubt the cause of death: we took off his shoes, and left him where he died. i was sorry for the poor old horse; he had been rather weak for a good while, but had borne up well to the very last. we only had four horses to ride to-day, and sweeney being still lame really made but three horses between five of us. we travelled down the road for about thirty-three miles over stony plains; many clay-pans with water, but no feed. camped on a gully with some old feed in the flat, in latitude degrees minutes. miserable country for grass all day, but plenty of water from recent rains everywhere. hope to reach the peake by mid-day to-morrow. damper and water as usual. th. got off early as usual, all in high glee at the prospect of meeting civilized habitations again. travelled along the road and saw cattle, and shortly afterwards reached the peake, and rather surprised the people. mr. bagot, the owner of the cattle station, was the first i met; and after telling him who we were, he said he had surmised it was so. he soon told us that mr. giles had returned, and also mr. ross, who had been despatched by the honourable thomas elder with camels and a good equipment to find an overland route to perth, but was unable to get over to western australia. we were soon introduced to mr. blood, the officer in charge of the telegraph station, and, after unloading, were soon engaged at dinner, the roast beef and plum pudding being a striking contrast to our fare lately! both mr. and mrs. blood, as well as mr. bagot, did all they could to make us comfortable during our four days' rest. congratulatory telegrams. immediately on reaching peake, i despatched a telegram to his excellency mr. musgrave, governor of south australia, at adelaide, informing him of the safe arrival of the party, and received the following reply from the private secretary:-- his excellency has received your message with great satisfaction, and congratulates you heartily on your safe arrival. this telegram was accompanied by another from the honourable arthur blyth, the chief secretary of the colony: is there anything you want? mail leaves on october th. shall be happy to facilitate any despatch you may wish forwarded to your government. superintendent of telegraphs has given instructions for every assistance to be rendered you at the various telegraph stations on your road down. the instructions sent by mr. todd, the superintendent of telegraphs, to mr. blood, the officer in charge at peake station, were to the following effect:-- please give my hearty congratulations to mr. forrest on the successful completion of his great feat, which i have communicated to the government and press; also baron von mueller, who sends his congratulations. i shall be glad to have a few particulars as to route followed, if convenient to mr. forrest to supply them. render his party every attention. mr. ernest giles, the explorer, also telegraphed, and i also received messages from the editors of the register and advertiser, adelaide newspapers, congratulating me, and asking for a few particulars for publication in their papers. i complied with the request immediately, forwarding a brief narrative of the more remarkable incidents of our journey. on the th of october, the day after our arrival at peake, i wrote, for the information of governor musgrave, a short account of the journey, and this, accompanied by a more detailed narrative, addressed to the honourable malcolm fraser, commissioner of crown lands at perth, was, together with several private telegrams, forwarded free of charge by the south australian government, which also provided us with fresh horses and everything we required for our journey to adelaide. we left the peake on the th of october, greatly refreshed by the rest and the kind treatment we had received from mr. and mrs. blood, and mr. bagot, the owner of the cattle station. before i record the details of our journey and the receptions given us at every place on the route, i will quote the concluding remarks of my journal relative to the expedition:-- the country traversed. i now beg to make a few remarks with reference to the character and capability of the country traversed; and through the kindness and courtesy of baron von mueller, c.m.g., etc., government botanist of victoria, and of mr. r. brough smyth, secretary for mines of victoria, i am enabled to annex reports upon the botanical and geological specimens collected on our journey. the whole of the country, from the settled districts near champion bay to the head of the murchison, is admirably suited for pastoral settlement, and in a very short time will be taken up and stocked; indeed, some already has been occupied. from the head of the murchison to the th meridian, the boundary of our colony, i do not think will ever be settled. of course there are many grassy patches, such as at windich springs, the weld springs, all round mount moore, and other places; but they are so isolated, and of such extent, that it would never pay to stock them. the general character of this immense tract is a gently undulating spinifex desert--festuca (triodia) irritans, the spinifex of the desert explorers, but not the spinifex of science. it is lightly wooded with acacia and other small trees, and, except in a few creeks, there is a great absence of any large timber. the prevailing rock, which crops out on the rises and often forms low cliffs, in which are receptacles for holding water, is light red sandstone (desert sandstone, tertiary). the only game found in the spinifex is a kangaroo rat, commonly called the wirrup; but in the grassy openings there are many kangaroos, and often emus, also a rat known as the wurrung. these animals are very good eating, and formed a valuable addition to our store department. at the permanent waters there were always myriads of bronze-winged pigeons, and also the white cockatoo with scarlet crest, called the chockalott; also the beaccoo, or slate-coloured parrot. generally, however, with the exception of the crow and hawk, birds were not very numerous except round water. whenever a sheet of water was found we found ducks, and in lake augusta swans and ducks were innumerable. in bringing this report to a close it is not necessary to refer much to the reasons that induced me to keep more to the south than i originally intended. it will readily be seen, after perusing this journal, that it was a necessity, and that we could not get further north. it is a marvel to me that we got through at all; the season was an exceptionally dry one--in fact, a drought--our horses were of a very ordinary kind, and the country most wretched. when it is remembered that a horse in poor condition and in warm weather cannot go much over a day without water, and when the sterility of the country is considered, it will be readily seen what a disadvantage one labours under without camels, which can go ten days without water. well can i sympathize with mr. giles when he states in his journal: "all i coveted from my brother explorers was their camels, for what is a horse in such a region as this? he is not physically capable of enduring the terrors of this country." and so it is; horses are the noblest and most useful animals in the world, but they must have food and water regularly. the camel, on the other hand, is physically formed to travel over these desolate regions, and in australia has been known to go twelve and fourteen days without water, carrying pounds, and sometimes pounds weight. from these few remarks it will be seen what a great disadvantage mr. giles and myself laboured under compared with major warburton and mr. gosse; and what in similar circumstances might have been easily performed by them was quite impossible in our circumstances. in reading this journal, it may be wondered why we followed so much along mr. gosse's track, when a new route for ourselves might have been chosen more to the south. the reason is, i had intended, as soon as i reached the th meridian (the boundary of our colony), to make a long trip to the south, near to eucla, and thus map that important locality; but on reaching there i was prevented by the following causes: the weather was excessively warm; the country to the south seemed most uninviting --sand-hills as far as could be seen, covered with spinifex; our horses were very poor; our rations were running short, the meat and tea and sugar being nearly gone; water was very scarce, and i could clearly see that, although mr. gosse had travelled the route last year, it did not follow that we should be able to do it easily this, as all the water thus far where he had camped was gone. i felt we were altogether on our own resources for water, and i concluded to push on towards the telegraph line as quickly as possible. it turned out, although we had considerable difficulty, that we reached the line sooner than i could have anticipated. acknowledgments. i have the very pleasant duty to record my thorough appreciation of the services of my companions. to my brother, mr. alexander forrest, i am especially indebted for his assistance and advice on many occasions, also for his indomitable energy and perseverance. every service entrusted to him was admirably carried out. he never disappointed me. when absent for a week, i knew to a few minutes when we should meet again. whether horses or loads had to be abandoned, it mattered not to him, he always carried out the service; and i attribute much of the success to being supported by such an able and hopeful second in command. in addition to this, he bestowed great care on the stores of the expedition; collected all the botanical specimens, besides taking observations for laying down our route on many occasions during my absence. to tommy windich (native) i am much indebted for his services as a bushman, and his experience generally. accompanying me on many occasions, often in circumstances of difficulty and privation, i ever found him a good, honest companion. to james kennedy, james sweeney, and tommy pierre i am thankful for the ready obedience and entire confidence they placed in me. they ever conducted themselves in a proper manner, and on no occasion uttered a single murmur. i take this opportunity of thanking all those gentlemen who so kindly subscribed to the expedition fund. in conclusion, sir, i beg you will convey to his excellency governor weld my sincere thanks for the kindness and support he has given me in this arduous enterprise. i can truthfully state, if it had not been for his zeal and assistance, i should not have been able to undertake and accomplish this exploration. i have also to thank the honourable f.p. barlee, colonial secretary, and yourself, for your kind attention and consideration, and your desire that i should have everything that was necessary to bring the expedition to a successful termination. chapter . public receptions at adelaide and perth. procession and banquet at adelaide. arrival in western australia. banquet and ball at perth. results of exploration. we reached beltana on the th, where we were joined by mr. henry gosse, brother and companion of the explorer, and arrived at jamestown on the th of october. this was the first township on the route, and the inhabitants, although somewhat taken by surprise by our appearance, would not let the opportunity pass for giving us a warm welcome. on the following morning there was a good muster of the principal residents at jureit's hotel, and an address was presented to me. our healths were then drunk and duly responded to, and we had every reason to be highly gratified with our first formal reception. burra burra and gawler. the next day we reached kooringa, on the burra, and there too our arrival excited considerable enthusiasm, and we were invited to a complimentary dinner at the burra hotel assembly rooms, mr. philip lane, the chairman of the district council, presiding. an address was presented, and, my health having been proposed by mr. w.h. rosoman, manager of the national bank, in replying, i took the opportunity of expressing my thanks to my associates in the expedition for their unfailing co-operation under occasionally great difficulties and privations. on saturday, the st, having witnessed a cricket-match at farrell's flat, we visited the burra burra mines, and there we received an address from the manager, accountant, captain, chief engineer, and storekeeper. we remained at burra the next day (sunday), and on monday morning started by train for salisbury with our fifteen horses in horse-boxes. eleven of these were the survivors of the expedition, and we were desirous that our faithful and hard-worked four-footed companions should have their share of the attention of our south australian friends. at gawler we were received by a crowd of people, and flags were flying to do us honour. the town clerk and a considerable number of the principal residents were waiting for us in an open space near the railway station, and presented an address on behalf of the municipality. we were then invited to a luncheon at the criterion hotel, the chair being filled, in the absence of the mayor, who was unwell, by mr. james morton. here again i was called on to respond for my health being proposed; but i need not weary the reader by endeavouring to repeat all i said upon that and other similar occasions. i acknowledged and deeply felt the personal kindness of the receptions my party had experienced; and i fully shared with those who signed the addresses i received, or proposed my health at dinners, the hearty desire that the successful issue of my expedition might be the means of uniting still more closely the two colonies in bonds of mutual good-feeling and sympathy. i had been similarly welcomed at gawler and other places in south australia on the occasion of my previous visit, and i was, i trust, not unjustifiably proud and pleased that my old friends had recognized my recent services. reception at salisbury. at salisbury, which we reached on the nd of november, a very hearty reception awaited us, and we were entertained at a dinner given at the salisbury hotel under the presidency of the reverend j.r. ferguson. after dinner the chairman read a brief address, signed by the chairman of the district council; and as the speeches referred not only to my own expedition, but were interesting in relation to other explorations and the method of conducting them, i may be pardoned for quoting a portion of the report of the proceedings which appeared in the local newspapers:-- the chairman then said he wished to express the great pleasure it was to him to meet mr. forrest, his brother, and party, after their triumphant accomplishment of the daring and arduous undertaking of crossing from the australian shores of the indian ocean to the very interior of south australia. we at all times felt constrained to value and honour men who in any way contributed to the progress and welfare of mankind. we esteemed those men whose lives were devoted to the explorations of science, and whose discoveries were rendered serviceable to the comfort and advancement of the race; and what were the achievements of travellers but contributions to the advancement and welfare of the race--contributions in which were involved the most magnificent heroism in penetrating the regions which had hitherto been untrodden by the foot of the white man? they obtained their contributions to the advancement and welfare of men by the manifestation of high moral endurance, which enabled them to submit to privations and discomforts of the most trying character; while withal they showed dauntless courage in going forward and meeting dangers of every possible kind, even to the loss of life itself. he was disposed to rank the achievements of their guests with those of the foremost of travellers of whom we read. he had sat enchanted with the perusal of the travels of john franklin in the arctic regions; and, by the way, john franklin accompanied captain flinders in his expedition in the year , which was sent out for the purpose of surveying the south coast of australia. he had perused with intense interest the travels of samuel baker in the interior of africa along the source of that wondrous nile, as also those of speke, grant, stanley, and that prince of men, the late dr. livingstone; and the name of their guest was entitled to rank along with such. (cheers.) let now our stockholders and men of capital take advantage of mr. forrest's explorations--let his well-earned honours be bestowed upon him--and let all representatives of intelligence and enterprise hail him. we who were here as australians were proud of him and rejoiced over him, and would seek to send him back to his own home with our loud plaudits and our heartiest gratitude. the vice-chairman, in proposing the health of mr. john forrest, the leader of the expedition, said he was sure they were all extremely glad to see mr. forrest and his party in their midst. when mr. forrest was amongst them before they all thought he was a fine, jolly young fellow, and thought none the less of him on that occasion. (applause.) at any rate, he was stouter than when he appeared on his first visit. he thought the country would feel grateful to mr. forrest and his companions for the benefits which would result from their achievement. (applause.) mr. john forrest, who was received with loud cheers, said he thanked them very heartily for the enthusiastic way in which they had drunk his health, and for the very handsome address they had presented to him. he felt altogether unable to respond in the way he could wish to the many remarks that had been made by their worthy chairman. if he could only make himself believe that he was worthy of being placed in the rank of the men whom he had mentioned, he certainly would feel very proud indeed. it had always given him the greatest pleasure to read the accounts of the travels of these great men. he remembered being closely connected with captain flinders's researches upon the south coast of australia, and, after his journey from perth to eucla, mr. eyre, the late governor of jamaica, wrote to him that he risked his life upon the accuracy of captain flinders's observations, and in no case had he the least cause to regret it. exploration in other parts of the world, as in africa, was carried on in a very different style to the exploration in australia. even in the early times, exploration here was carried on in a very different way to what it was at the present time. large equipages, many waggons, and that sort of thing were used in the time of captain sturt and other early explorers, until mr. eyre took a light equipment, with very few horses and very few men. since then the work had had to be done with very light turn-outs. in western australia a good deal of exploration was done before his time, and expeditions had been very common. they generally cost very little indeed. the horses were generally given by the settlers, the government contributed a few hundred pounds, and young settlers volunteered for the service. the cost was sometimes or pounds; and upon his expedition, up to the time they left the settled districts of western australia, they had only spent about pounds. he did not know that he could say anything more. he had spoken several times on his journey down, and it seemed to him that he had said the same thing over and over again. his forte was not in public speaking, but he hoped they would take the will for the deed. they never could forget the very kind and hearty reception they had received in every place they had visited in south australia. (cheers.) the reverend j.g. wright proposed the health of mr. alexander forrest and the remainder of the party. he remarked that they had heard a great deal about mr. forrest, the leader of the party, and whilst he had manifested a great deal of courage and perseverance, and they all felt indebted to him as the leader of the party, yet there was much praise due to his brother and the rest of his companions. he was gratified at having the opportunity of meeting them before they went down to the metropolis, and he was sure it was no small matter to salisbury to have such a band remaining with them for a short time. it would be a source of pleasure to colonists generally to see them, and he trusted that the work which had been so nobly performed, and what had followed after it, would tend to link the colonies more closely together. he was glad to see that original holders of the land in their western colony--the natives--had been employed in the work of exploration and opening up the country. (hear, hear.) they were expected to do honour to generals and warriors who had distinguished themselves and placed their names high on the roll of fame, but he thought that such could not claim greater honours than the explorer. his work was not one of bloodshed, but one which was undertaken in the interests and for the benefit of humanity. civilization, agriculture, art, and science followed the explorations of those noble men who had taken their lives in their hands and faced difficulties and dangers for the advancement of their fellow-men. he proposed with the heartiest feelings the toast of mr. alexander forrest and his companions. the toast was very cordially drunk. mr. alex. forrest, on rising to respond, was greeted with hearty and continued cheering. he said he thanked the company most heartily for the manner in which they had drunk his health and that of his companions. he could assure them they felt highly flattered at the reception which had been accorded them. it was more than they expected. when here four years ago, it was on a small trip compared with what they had accomplished this time. it would not be necessary for him to go over the same ground that his brother had remarked upon--in fact, his brother had quite taken the wind out of his sails; and public speaking certainly not being his forte, although he was quite at home round the camp-fire, he must ask them to excuse him making a lengthy speech. he could assure them they all thanked them very sincerely for their kindness, and deeply appreciated the honour which had been done them. (cheers.) tommy pierre, one of the aboriginals attached to the expedition, being called upon to respond, after some hesitation, said, "well, gentlemen, i am not in good humour to-night. (laughter.) i am very glad i got through. we got a capital gaffer that leaded us through; but it wasn't him that got us through, it isn't ourselves, but god who brought us through the place, and we ought to be very thankful to god for getting us through. (laughter and cheers.) i am not in good humour to-night to speak (laughter), but i will speak when i get in adelaide." (prolonged cheering.) tommy windich, the other aboriginal attached to the expedition, was also asked to respond, but he could not muster courage enough to do so. welcome at adelaide. the preparations for our reception at adelaide were most elaborate. it seems to have been resolved that the capital of south australia should appear as the representative of the satisfaction felt throughout the colony at the successful completion of an adventure, the result of which was so deeply interesting, and which had been several times attempted by explorers, not less ardent and determined, but less fortunate than ourselves. at an early hour on the morning of the rd of november, on which day it was known our party would arrive, the streets through which we were to pass were thronged with thousands eager to bid us welcome. not only the city itself, but the suburban districts contributed to swell the crowd. balconies and housetops were thronged, and all along the line of route were flags and decorations of flowers and evergreens, streamers with inscriptions of welcome, and arches adorned with large pictures representing incidents of bush life. the bells, too, rang out merry peals, and the day was observed as a general holiday at adelaide. we left salisbury at twelve o'clock, escorted by a considerable number of the inhabitants. before reaching adelaide we were met by carriages containing the mayors of adelaide, port adelaide, kensington, and norwood, the town clerks, and members of the different corporations. a very interesting and characteristic compliment was paid to us by the presence of members of various exploring expeditions, who, from their own experience, could best estimate the value of the results we had achieved, and the difficulties we had encountered. following the official personages, on horseback, was mr. john chambers, who, with his brother, the late mr. james chambers, and the late mr. finke, sent out in the parties under the leadership of the intrepid mr. john mcdouall stuart, to explore the interior lying between south australia and the northern shores of the continent. three members of this party--messrs. a.j. lawrence, d. thompson, and john wall--followed on horseback, carrying standards marked with the dates january, , and july , , when stuart departed from adelaide, and when he planted his flag on the northern shores. then came representatives of the various exploring parties--messrs. f.g. waterhouse, f. thring, w.p. auld, s. king, j.w. billiatt, and h. nash, of stuart's party; mr. r.e. warburton, mr. dennis white, and charley, the native boy, of colonel warburton's expedition; mr. william gosse (leader), and mr. harry gosse, of the gosse expedition; and mr. ernest giles, leader of the giles expedition. the reception committee and representatives of the oddfellows, foresters, druids, rechabites, good templars, german, and other friendly societies, followed, after which came our party. we wore the rough, weather-beaten, and, it may be added, shockingly dilapidated garments in which we had been clothed during our expedition, and were mounted on the horses which had served us so well. it was wished that we should represent to the adelaide public, as realistically as we could, the actual appearance of our party while engaged on the long journey, so we slung our rifles at our sides, and each of us led a pack-horse carrying the kegs we had used for the conveyance of water. in one respect, no doubt, we failed to realize adequately the appearance of our party when struggling through the spinifex desert, or anxiously searching for rock holes and springs. the month of great hospitality we had experienced since reaching peake station had considerably improved our own personal appearance, and the horses were very unlike the wretched, half-dying animals we had such difficulty to keep alive and moving. after us came, in long procession, bands of music, and the members of the various orders, the german club, the bushmen's club, and a goodly number of horsemen and carriages. the bands played inspiring strains, the crowd shouted and cheered, and my brother and i were perpetually bowing acknowledgments. as for the two natives, tommy windich and tommy pierre, they appeared to be perfectly amazed by the novelty of the spectacle, and the enthusiasm of the vast throng which lined the streets. on our arrival at the town hall we were received by the ministry, the honourable w. milne (president of the legislative council), sir g.s. kingston (the speaker), several members of both houses of parliament, and other gentlemen. having alighted, we were conducted to a platform, and addresses were presented to us by the mayor, on behalf of the citizens of adelaide; from the odd fellows, the foresters, the rechabites, the good templars, and four german societies. in replying to these i did my best, but very inadequately, to express my feelings of gratitude for the reception we had met with, and of thanks for the generous manner in which our endeavours to successfully perform an arduous task had been recognized. the mayors of kensington, norwood, and port adelaide, also offered a few words of congratulation to our party. by particular request, we showed ourselves on the balcony, and bowed our acknowledgments for the very hearty welcome we received. then we remounted our horses, and took them to the police paddocks, after which my brother and i were introduced to the adelaide club. i have mentioned that several distinguished australian explorers took part in the reception, and i may add that among them were the whole of stuart's last party, except the gallant leader and mr. kekwick, who were dead, mr. few, who was in a distant part of the colony, and the farrier, who had gone no one knew whither. it was also appropriate to the occasion that two horses, who were memorably connected with explorations, should be associated with the animals who had served one so well. the horse which had carried poor burke on his ill-fated expedition from melbourne was ridden by mr. f.g. waterhouse, and mr. f. thring was mounted on a horse which had crossed the continent with stuart. banquet at the town hall. in the evening we were entertained at a banquet in the town hall, the chair being occupied by the honourable arthur blyth, the premier of the colony. the proceedings were fully reported in the newspapers on the following day; and as so many explorers were present, and addressed the company, i may be permitted, apart from personal considerations, to quote the principal speeches delivered on the occasion. the chairman rose to propose the toast of the evening, and was received with cheers. he said, "i think, for the last two or three days, that there has been a general feeling that south australians were not very good at receptions and getting up processions; but at all events to-day we have showed that we can manage such things as well as people of more importance probably than ourselves--at all events quite as well as countries much more thickly populated than our own. (cheers.) we have all of us read something about the old roman triumphs--how the conquerors, when they went forth and were successful, were granted a triumph, and in this triumph were accompanied by the most beautiful of their captives, and the most wonderful and singular of the animals they had taken, and passed through the cities of which they were citizens, and received the plaudits of their inhabitants. to-day we have granted a triumph, not to a warrior who has killed thousands of his fellows, or added much to the landed property of the country, but to one who has been a warrior nevertheless, fighting many difficulties that many warriors had not to contend with, and carrying his life in his hands, as warriors have done of old, in leading those who are associated with him in the triumph here to-day. (cheers.) there was no beautiful captive in his train, and no curious animals, as in the old roman triumphs. all that we saw were some dusty pack-horses, and some well-worn packsaddles; yet with these the explorer has to proceed on his journey, and conquer the difficulties of the desert, knowing that with such slender things to rely upon he must hope to overcome the dangers, and endure to the end. (cheers.) gentlemen, in the page of australian exploration, which is the sentiment attached to my toast--in its pages there are to be read too many tragic stories. we cannot think of the history of exploration without thinking with regret of some of the names connected with it. what an extraordinary page is that of leichardt, of whom it has been said no man '--knows his place of rest far in the cedar shade.' "and yet so great is the interest which is taken in his fate that the wildest stories of a convict in the gaols of a neighbouring colony have been of interest to us, and have caused some of our fellow australians to send out a party to see if something could not still be heard of that explorer. then think of burke and wills, and what a tragic tale was theirs--so nearly saved, so closely arrived to a place of safety, and yet to miss it after all! i daresay there are hundreds here who, like myself, saw their remains taken through our streets in the gloomy hearse on the road to that colony which they had served so well; and we know that now the country where they laid down their lives is brought under the hand of pastoral settlement. they were the heroes of other lands; but have we not heroes also of our own? (loud cheering.) have we not here the likeness of a man who knew not what fear was, because he never saw fear who carried out the thorough principle of the briton in that he always persevered to the end? and then, coming nearer to our own time, speaking by weeks and months, had we not our opportunity of entertaining in the city the leader of an expedition that successfully passed its way through the desert to the shores of western australia? i refer to colonel warburton. when speaking, upon that occasion, of the noble way in which the people of western australia had received our explorer, i ventured to hope that before many months we should have an opportunity of welcoming some explorer from that colony. gentlemen, the hour has come, and the man. (loud cheering.) for west australia, though the least of the colonies in population, has its exploring heroes too. (cheers.) i have no doubt you have read, within the last few days, all about the battle that mr. forrest has had to fight with the spinifex desert, with unknown regions, and hostile natives. while giving all praise to those australian explorers connected with this australian empire that is to be, i ask you to join with me in drinking the health of the last and not the least, and i now give you the toast of australian exploration, coupled with the name of mr. john forrest." (cheers.) the toast was enthusiastically received, and three hearty cheers given. band: the song of australia. mr. john forrest, who was received with loud cheers, said, "mr. chairman and gentlemen, i feel very proud that my name should be coupled with the toast of australian exploration. i assure you i feel altogether unequal to the toast so aptly proposed by our worthy chairman, my forte not being public speaking; still, i will try to do as well as i can. (cheers.) since i arrived at years of discretion, i have always taken a very deep interest in exploration, and for the last five years i have been what is generally termed in western australia the young explorer, as i have conducted all the explorations that have been undertaken by our government. in the year i was instructed to accompany an expedition as navigator, which was intended to be commanded by dr. mueller, of melbourne, to search for the remains of the late dr. leichardt, who started from near moreton bay in , i think. dr. mueller not having arrived to take command as was anticipated, and the expedition having been got ready, i was deputed to the command, and we went out about miles to the eastward of the settled districts of our colony, in order to find out whether the statements of the natives relative to the existence of white men or their remains in the locality were correct or not. we were out about five months. although we did not suffer very much, as we had sufficient water and sufficient provisions, still it was a very dry season. we came back and settled that there were no remains--that, in fact, the reports of the natives were unfounded, and that they referred to the remains of horses lost by an explorer of our colony, mr. austin, not many miles to the eastward. this was the first attempt at exploration i had made, and, although i had been brought up to bush life, i knew very little about exploration, as i found when i went out. i was made aware of many things that i did not know about before, and i must say that i was a much better second than a commander. after this i undertook to conduct an exploration north-east from our colony to sturt's creek, where mr. a. gregory came down about , and down the victoria river. this fell to the ground; but our present governor, mr. weld, had a great idea that we should organize an expedition to come to this colony overland along the coast--along the course which was previously taken by mr. eyre, i think in --and he requested me to take command. of course i readily acquiesced in his suggestion, and in we started on our journey; and although we did not experience the difficulties mr. eyre experienced, still we had some little difficulty, and we would have had a great deal more, i have no doubt, if we had not had mr. eyre's experience to guide us. many people--in our colony, i mean--thought it was a very little thing indeed we had done, as we had only travelled along another man's tracks, although they gave us a very hearty and enthusiastic reception. we reported that there was good country along the coast, and i am glad to say that in the course of a year a telegraph line will be run across the route we travelled. (cheers.) i hope it will tend to unite more closely than they are at present united the whole of the australian colonies, and especially this colony with our own. (cheers.) there is a very great deal of good country inland from the south coast; and if only water can be procured, i am quite certain it will be the finest pastoral district of west australia. (hear, hear.) i have no doubt the establishment of telegraphic communication will tend to the settlement of that part of the country, and i am very glad indeed that the government of south australia have acted so liberally as to join with our government in erecting the line. (cheers.) after this my exploration experience still increased, and i tried very hard to get up another expedition; but, not being a wealthy man, i had to depend upon others. i often represented that i would like to go, and people talked about the matter, and then i thought i would make an offer to the government, which they might accept or not as they liked. we have the good fortune to have in our colony a governor--who, i am sorry to say, is leaving shortly--who takes a great interest in exploration. he had been an explorer himself, having, as he has often told me, travelled across new zealand with his swag on his back. (cheers.) he has always been a great supporter of mine, and done all he could to forward exploration; and about two years ago i laid before him, through the commissioner of crown lands, a project which i was willing to accomplish if he would recommend the granting of the necessary funds. in a very complimentary reply he quite acquiesced with what i suggested, and promised to lay it before the legislative council with the support of the government; and in the matter was brought before the council. all i asked was that the government of west australia would grant me some pounds, and i would from my own private purse, and those of others who had agreed to assist me, stand the remainder of the cost. (cheers.) if they granted me that sum, i was willing to undertake an exploration from champion bay up to the murchison, the head of which we did not know, and strike the telegraph line for port darwin, it being left to my discretion which course should be pursued. four hundred pounds seems a paltry sum, but there was some bitter opposition to its being granted, although by the aid of the government and other members it was voted. last year was the year when i should have undertaken the exploration, and i was, of course, quite prepared to do so; but in the meantime a whole host of expeditions from south australia had come into the field. mr. giles, i saw, had started from some part of the telegraph line westward, and i heard afterwards that he had through some misunderstanding--i do not know what it was; i only know by what i read in the papers--returned to adelaide. then we heard that the south australian government had despatched mr. gosse, and that the honourable thomas elder--whom i have the pleasure of meeting to-day--had despatched colonel warburton (cheers)--to explore towards the same direction--as we judged from the despatches and newspapers--that i intended to start from. i belong to the survey department of west australia, and was requested by the commissioner of crown lands and surveyor-general, the honourable malcolm fraser, to superintend some surveys he specially wished undertaken that season. i had an interview with the governor, and he said very wisely he did not wish to order me in any way; that it was no use running a race with south australia, and that as they were first in the field, although we were the first to suggest the exploration, we should wait till the next year, when, if the south australian explorers were fortunate enough to reach this colony, we should have no necessity to send an expedition, and that if they did not, we should certainly profit by their experience. i, being engaged in another service in which i took great interest, was willing to wait for another year; and if, as mr. weld said, the south australians did not succeed, i would undertake it the next year, and benefit by their experience. as it turned out, the expedition undertaken by the government, commanded by mr. gosse, did not succeed in reaching the colony of western australia, and the expedition undertaken by colonel warburton, under the auspices of my recent friend, the honourable thomas elder, reached our colony, but so far north that it did not add to the knowledge of the route we had laid out for ourselves. he came out between the th and nd degrees of latitude, whereas we started from the th, and did not intend to go more north than that. after we heard--his excellency the governor was away on a visit to new zealand at the time--that mr. gosse had turned back, although he had succeeded in reaching a very great distance from the telegraph line, i had instructions from the colonial secretary to equip an expedition at once. if mr. gosse had succeeded, i am sure i would not have been here to-day; but, as he did not succeed, i had orders to equip an expedition, and as i was starting news arrived from the north-west coast by a coaster that colonel warburton and his party had arrived. (cheers.) this, of course, gave us very great pleasure, and steps were at once taken to give him a reception in perth. (cheers.) as soon as we heard that he had arrived, our whole colony rose up to give him a welcome; and although what we did did not come up with what you have given to us to-day--for our colony is only a small one, with little over , inhabitants--still i am sure that colonel warburton told you it was a kind reception. (cheers.) i am sorry to say that i was not able to be present when he was received, though i waited some time in order to have that opportunity. the opportunities for transport from our north-west settlements to the capital are very few at a certain time of the year, and that was the time when colonel warburton arrived in our settlements; so that in a matter of or miles, from nicol bay to perth, he delayed unfortunately three or four months. it was a very great pity that he should have been delayed so long. after receiving addresses at roeburne and fremantle, the colonel arrived just in time to be forwarded miles to catch the mail, and therefore he had not time, i know, to receive the reception that would have been given him by the people of west australia had he remained in our colony a little longer. (cheers.) all i can say is, that though what has been done for colonel warburton cannot compare with what has been done for us to-day, it was done in the same spirit, and we did our best. (cheers.) i am sure that i would have been very much pleased to have met colonel warburton here this evening; but i understand that he is gone upon a tour to his native land, and so i am deprived of the opportunity. i have, however, had the pleasure of meeting other explorers, and i must congratulate south australia upon possessing so many explorers. i had no idea that she could assemble so many, and that so young a man as myself should be able to meet so many, all young men. i have read a great deal of early explorations, and could tell you a good deal about them; but i have no doubt you are just as well acquainted with their histories as i am. i have only gleaned their history from books written by able men on exploration; and i therefore need say little upon that subject, and will content myself with a short reference to explorations of recent date. i have already referred to colonel warburton. mr. gosse's is of more recent date. i have never been able to read his journal to this day; but i hope to be able to do so now. through the kindness of mr. phillipson, of beltana, i was able to see his map of the country he passed over, with which i am very well pleased; and, in spite of what some people have said, i think that mr. gosse's exploration will be found of considerable benefit to the colony, and that his action was one for which he deserved very much credit. he travelled for some time in bad country, but, going on, he got into good country; and that which he has described as the musgrave and mann and tomkinson ranges i hope to see next year stocked with south australian sheep and cattle. (cheers.) the country which mr. gosse found is country abounding with any quantity of grass, with many springs; and there are, perhaps, many more than i saw, for i kept along mr. gosse's track; but i will say that i always found water where he said that it would be found. (cheers.) there is but one fault that i have to find with him, and that is, that he did not say that water would be found where i sometimes found it; but doubtless this arose from a very laudable caution in an explorer, for had he stated that water would be found where it failed it might have cost men their lives. one place he marked springs, and if he had been mistaken there, we would have lost our lives; but i am glad to say that we found there a very good spring indeed, (cheers) enough to last all the sheep of south australia, or at any rate a good spring; and i am glad on this occasion to be able to thank him for being so careful to mark permanent water where permanent water really existed. mr. giles's exploration would have been as useful to me as mr. gosse's, but unfortunately he did not return before i left the settled districts of west australia, and therefore i did not benefit by his work. i am sure that my companions and myself feel very much the hearty reception you have given us on this occasion. i cannot find words to express my feelings on that point at all. i feel very deeply thankful, and that is about all that i can say. (loud cheers.) six weary travellers, travelling through the spinifex desert with about fifteen or sixteen nearly knocked-up horses, not knowing whether they should find water, or whether their lives were safe or not, i am sure that we could not imagine that, after all our travels were over, we should receive such a reception as we have received to-day. (cheers.) i am sure that if any stimulus is required to induce persons to become explorers, those who witness our reception to-day ought to feel content. i am very proud of the hearty and enthusiastic reception my companions and myself have met with. i hope you will take the will for the deed, and in the absence of better speaking on my part, consider that we are deeply thankful." (loud cheers.) sir h. ayers, k.c.m.g., had much pleasure in proposing a toast that had been allotted to him, and made no doubt that the company would have equal pleasure in responding to it. the toast was early explorers, and he had been requested to associate with it the name of mr. john chambers. (cheers.) it seemed to be the lot of poor human nature that whenever we met for rejoicing there was always sure to be some little mournful circumstance attending it, and we could scarcely think of the early explorers without remembering with regret the noble leaders and brave members of former expeditions who have now passed to their eternal rest. there was the name of sturt that came first in the list of our old explorers. there was the name and the likeness of a man far more familiar to many of them. there was kekwick, and more recently poor mckinlay--all gone to their last account. but still he was proud to see, and he was sure it formed a source of gratification to that company, and especially so to our guest, so many brave men at the table who had been companions of those leaders and others in the early expeditions of this country. (cheers.) he said it with pride, that in no other australian colony could be seen such a group as sat at that table who had gone through the hardships and dangers of exploration; for with one or two exceptions all of them in the row were explorers. it was hardly possible for us to estimate how much we had benefited by those who had opened up the country for us. we were few in numbers and could not appreciate the work of the explorer; but generations yet unborn would bless the names of those men who had carried it out. (cheers). he thought that it was doing only a just tribute to associate the name of mr. john chambers with this toast, because it might not be known to all present that mr. chambers, with his late brother james and mr. w. finke, enabled mr. stuart to accomplish the journeys that he made throughout the continent. (cheers.) it was their capital and his great skill, for in the face of so many explorers he was not ashamed to say that mr. mcdouall stuart was the greatest explorer that ever lived. it was their capital that had enabled him to perform the work which he had done, and for which his name would remain as a monument for ever in the memories of south australians. for not only were we indebted to stuart for the most valuable discoveries he had made, but he thought mr. todd would say that his indications had proved the most accurate. but he had also done a great thing for exploration in changing the modus operandi. he had been one of sturt's party that went out with bullock-drays; but he had had genius, and had changed all that, starting upon exploring with light parties, and thus being able to accomplish so much, and he was glad to say that explorers since had followed up the same plan with great success. (cheers.) and they were still further indebted to the messrs. chambers. they had not only assisted in discovering far-off country, but had been the first to invest their capital in stocking it and making it useful. he was sorry to see that there were not more messrs. chambers to go and do likewise; but he thought he saw signs of the spread of settlement further, for the toe of the agriculturist was very near upon the heel of the sheep-farmer, and if the sheep-farmers did not look out and get fresh fields and pastures new, they would soon find that the agriculturist was all too near. that was a question that he enlarged upon, especially in another place; but as brevity seemed to be the order of the night, he would only ask them to drink the health of the early explorers, coupled with the name of mr. john chambers. the toast was received with three cheers. band: auld lang syne. mr. j. chambers rose amid cheers, and said that he was proud to say that he had been connected with the earliest of our explorations, having been associated with the gallant captain sturt in his exploration of the murray. after his arrival in the colony he had first travelled with him and the then governor, the late colonel gawler, in exploring the south. they had had no difficulties and dangers to encounter then that some of the explorers of the present had to go through, and, although they travelled with heavy bullock-drays, managed to have plenty of water and food. their principal difficulty lay in getting through the ranges to the south, and the interminable creeks and gullies which they got into and had to retrace their steps from. this was a small matter of exploration, and might at the present day appear absurd; but then there were doubts where the angas was, and whether the onkaparinga in mount barker district was not the angas, and when beyond the hills they did not know whether mount barker was not mount lofty, and whether mount lofty was not some other mount. it was, however, done, and, having settled these matters by observation, they returned to adelaide after an exploration of three weeks. they were on their return made small lions of, although they had not had to fight the natives, and had had bullock-drays with them, while their horses were in rather better condition than when they went out. there was no doubt that the subject of exploration was one of the most important to be considered by those who in the future would have to do with the country, as it was always well to have information beforehand; and, if governor gawler and captain sturt had known more, there would have been a different result to their exploration journey up the murray. the gallant captain sturt had made cooper's creek his depot, and that place twelve months ago had been looked upon as a home by persons in search of country with a view of stocking it. his youngest son had been round there for five months, and had penetrated the country far and wide, and had often to retrace his steps there for water. they had heard from the young explorer, mr. forrest, how it was said when he came here before that he had only traversed the tracks of mr. eyre. so be it, and often was it said that mr. eyre did no good because he kept to the coast; but they had heard from mr. forrest that the tracks and descriptions of mr. eyre were of vast assistance to him. (cheers.) therefore no man could tell what good he might do; the finding of a spring in a desert might eventually become of great service to the descendants of those who lived at the time. there were some whom he wished could have been there, but providence had ordained the contrary, and therefore he stood before them to say that it was for no purpose of self-aggrandizement, but for the purpose of good to the nation, that the early expeditions were promoted and conducted (cheers) and that the object of james chambers, finke, stuart, and himself was to span this colony for the purpose of allowing a telegraph line to be laid. (cheers.) when we read of the many times that stuart was driven back by the force of circumstances, it could easily be conceived that he possessed a very energetic spirit. it was not once or twice that stuart was driven back, but he was determined to penetrate the continent for the purpose, he was proud to know, of paving the way for telegraphic communication; and had it not been for his brother, mr. stuart, and himself, he was proud to say, we should not this day have had the telegraph. it was often said that there never would be a telegraph line, but their answer was always "yes." (cheers). he thanked them heartily for the position in which they had placed him and mr. stuart's companions, and which they all appreciated. (cheers). mr. j.w. billiat, who was imperfectly heard, also responded. he said that when he went out with mr. stuart he was only a new chum; but he went out and came back again, and there he was. he could not say much about mr. stuart's explorations, as all that needed to be said had been so ably put by sir henry ayers. there was no country in the world that had so tried the endurance and perseverance of the men on exploring expeditions as south australia had done, and explorers should receive all the credit that could be given. he knew the difficulty of travelling country like that mr. forrest had come across, as several of mr. stuart's party had travelled upon it trying to strike the victoria river. if mr. john chambers's liberality were known, and the way he had entered into the question of exploration generally were known, his name would be brought into more prominence than it had. he had sat in the background, but he had found both money and energy. the honourable w. everard (commissioner of crown lands) said the toast he had to give was the government and people of western australia. owing to a variety of circumstances, our relations with western australia had not been so intimate or close as those with the eastern colonies. that would be readily understood, because western australia, being a small colony, and self-reliant and independent, had troubled us very little --occasionally for a few tons of flour or a cargo of notions. another reason was that it had not had telegraphic communication with us or the rest of the world, and it was separated from us by a large extent of country which till lately was considered little better than a howling wilderness. he was happy to say that by the enterprise of western australia the magic wire which annihilated time and distance would be laid between the two colonies before long; and he was happy to say the legislature here had agreed to construct the south australian part of the line, so that western australia would be placed in communication, not only with south australia, but the world. (cheers.) and again, with reference to that large tract of hitherto supposed desert country which lay between the two colonies, the experience of the gallant men he saw around him, and not only of the messrs. forrest, but of warburton, gosse, and giles, had shown that it contained grassy valleys, mountain ranges, and permanent waters, and he believed that before long it would be occupied by squatters. we must remember that, in south australia, close upon the heels of the explorer came the squatter with his flocks and herds, and he even was not long left in quiet enjoyment; and if his runs were good they were soon taken from him for agricultural purposes. considering the progress that we were making in agriculture, it was high time we sought to enlarge our borders. although it was true that the band of explorers who were now before them had only made a line through the country, we must remember that it would be a base-line for future operations. their work was very different to making a forced march of two or three days when it was known there was permanent water ahead. the explorer had carefully and deliberately to feel his way into unknown country, and if he went a mile or two too far he could not retrace his steps, and we could not attach too much importance to the services of those individuals who had risked their lives in that way. it was said, when edward john eyre made that wonderful journey of his along the coast of western australia, that he had done nothing but gone along the coast; but along that very line there would be a telegraph to connect this colony with western australia. (cheers.) it was true that western australia was the smallest of the australian group, and she had not perhaps been so favoured as south australia, as her country was not so good; but he believed, from the enterprise of her government, and the courage, perseverance, and endurance shown by some of her sons, that she would yet take her place among the australian group, and that at some future date she would be one of the provinces which would form one united australia. (cheers.) the toast was drunk with cheers. mr. alexander forrest responded. he said he thanked them most cordially for having associated his name with that of the government and people of western australia. he had had the honour for the last four years of being employed in the service of the western australian government, and he could assure them that they had a very good government. they had representative government, although not responsible government; but since they had been on their trip they had heard that it was proposed to establish constitutional government. he did not believe it would make much difference, but personally he was glad to see it. the people would have the management of their own money, and that he considered a good thing, for they were never satisfied till they had the control over it. when the party left, all the people of western australia were longing to do honour to and entertain colonel warburton; and, although they were a small people, they did their best, and what they did they did heartily. (cheers.) if mr. gosse had got over they would have given him also a good reception. he had not expected to see as many people as he had seen that day. the streets were crowded, and, wherever he looked, some one seemed to be looking in that direction. (laughter.) the toast included the people of western australia, and he could assure them that, as he had travelled through the length and breadth of the land, he knew every man in it, every squatter, every farmer, every rich man, every poor man, and every magistrate. this was not the first time that he had been exploring, as he accompanied his brother to this colony four years ago, and in the government sent him out in command of a party to find new land, when he went out about miles. he thanked them for the very kind way in which they had spoken of his companions. since they came to this colony they had been fed and clothed, and no one would take any money. (cheers.) in the city he expected something great, but in the burra, gawler, and other places where they did not expect it, they had met with a hearty reception. he saw a great improvement in adelaide. when he came here four years ago, the colony was not in such a good state, and a great many men were out of work; but now everything was in good order, and he believed south australia would be one of the first colonies of australia. (cheers). mr. william gosse rose, and was received with loud cheers. he said he felt honoured by being invited on the present occasion, and had much pleasure in taking part in the reception of mr. john forrest and party. he would take that opportunity of making a few remarks. his instructions, when he was sent out, were to find a route as nearly as possible in a direct line from his starting-point upon the telegraph line to perth, only deviating when obliged to do so for water. he had to feel his way as he advanced, form depots to secure his retreat if necessary, and accurately fix all points on his track. the last words the honourable t. reynolds had said to him were, "you fully understand that perth is your destination, and not any other point on the western coast," or words to that effect. they would see by that, that had he been fortunate enough to discover the country by which mr. forrest got across, he should scarcely have been justified in proceeding. his farthest point west was between and miles from the explored portion of the murchison, and miles from the sources of the same. copies of his diary and map had been forwarded to mr. forrest by mr. goyder on the th of february, , the originals of which had been ready for publication on his arrival on the telegraph line, and had not been compiled after their return to adelaide, as some people supposed from the delay in their publication. he made these statements partly in self-defence, as remarks had been made by members in the house to the effect that the government had fitted out an expedition at an enormous expense which had done comparatively nothing, though his map showed , square miles of country. sir john morphett had been asked to propose the toast of the australian colonies. it was a very large toast indeed at the present time even, and what it might be in the future it was impossible to say. he hoped that it would be something wonderful. (cheers.) at the present time the immense country was occupied by , , people, and we could not with that number get on. what we wanted was more population. what were the products which australia could produce? first of all was wheat--the best in the world. then there were wine and wool, and lead, and gold, and copper, tin, and sugar. these were all products that the world wanted, and all that we required to make our production of these a success was federation. we should have greater individual strength and prosperity, and greater universal strength and prosperity if we were federated, and we would in time become what we wanted to be--a nation. (cheers.) let them come to west australia, which was the birth-place of their esteemed and energetic friend mr. forrest. he was glad to see that she had at last freed herself from the shackles of that curse of convictism, and could now go hand in hand with the other colonies in the march of progress. he gave them the toast of the colonies of australia, coupling with it the name of mr. ernest giles. the toast having been duly honoured, mr. ernest giles rose to respond, and was met with cheers. he had been called upon to respond to this toast, which, as sir john morphett had told them, was a very comprehensive one--so comprehensive that he was sure that he would fail to do it justice. what he had to say therefore on the subject would not detain them long. sir john morphett had touched upon the progress and prosperity of the colonies, and there was no doubt that at the present time the colonies were in a far more prosperous state than they had ever been in before. with regard to federation, a gentleman high in the service here, speaking to him, had said that if that was carried out exploration should not be forgotten, but that fresh lines should be taken with the co-operation of all the colonies. the splendid success which had attended mr. forrest would, he had no doubt, tend greatly to promote the ultimate prosperity of the colonies. (applause.) mr. john forrest, in a few complimentary words, proposed the health of the chairman, which was well received and acknowledged. visit to gawler and melbourne. a few days afterwards i was honoured by an invitation from gawler to lay the first stone of a monument to commemorate the achievements of the late mr. john mckinlay, the leader of the burke relief expedition, and the explorer, under great difficulties, of the northern territory. mr. mckinlay died at gawler in december, , and it was resolved to perpetuate his memory by the erection of an obelisk in the cemetery. the th of november was the day appointed for the ceremony, and after i had laid the stone with the customary forms, there was a luncheon, presided over by mr. w.f. wincey, the mayor of gawler. he delivered a really eloquent address, describing the character and heroic labours of the distinguished explorer, whose achievements we were celebrating. my own health and that of my brother was proposed, and in responding (my brother not being present) i once more took occasion to express the deep sense, on the part of all my associates, of the kindness with which we had been received. after this my brother and i paid a flying visit to melbourne, where we remained a few days, and received much attention from the governor, sir george bowen, the mayor of melbourne, and others; and then, on the th of december, we bade farewell to our south australian friends and started on our homeward voyage. on the th we reached king george's sound, where we were heartily welcomed and presented with a congratulatory address. at banbury and fremantle we were received with kindness and enthusiastic demonstrations. at banbury we met mr. weld. he was on his way to king george's sound, en route for his new government in tasmania. he welcomed us very heartily, and expressed his regret that he was unable to receive us at perth. the popular air, when johnny comes marching home again, was selected as extremely appropriate to the occasion, and after a champagne breakfast at the residence of the chairman of the municipal council, mr. marmion, at fremantle, we left for perth in a carriage and six, tommy windich and tommy pierre riding on gaily-decked horses immediately behind us. on reaching perth we were met by the commandant, colonel harvest, the chairman and members of the reception committee, and representatives of the friendly societies. the streets were crowded, and on our way to the town hall we were enthusiastically cheered. mr. randell, the chairman of the perth municipality, read an address of welcome. i need not repeat what i said in reply; my words were but the expression of what has been felt ever since our perilous journey was completed--thankfulness that i had been preserved and strengthened to do my duty, and that i had been so well supported by brave and faithful companions. but i will quote the characteristic speech of tommy pierre, who returned thanks on behalf of the party--windich was called on, but could not summon courage to say a word. tommy said, "well, gentlemen, i am very thankful to come back to swan river, and banbury, fremantle, and perth. i thought we was never to get back. (laughter.) many a time i go into camp in the morning, going through desert place, and swear and curse and say, 'master, where the deuce are you going to take us?' i say to him, 'i'll give you a pound to take us back.' (cheers and laughter.) master say, 'hush! what are you talking about? i will take you all right through to adelaide;' and i always obey him. gentlemen, i am thankful to you that i am in the town hall. that's all i got to say." (cheers.) no doubt we all shared tommy's thankfulness, and i am sure his homely language very fairly expressed the spirit in which all my associates had shown their confidence in me during our long journey. a banquet and ball were given in the town hall. mr. randell presided at the former, supported by the bishop of perth; sir archibald p. burt, the chief justice; the honourable the commandant; mr. l.s. leake, speaker of the legislative council; the honourable a. o'grady lefroy, colonial treasurer, and other gentlemen of high position. the newspapers published the following report of the principal speeches delivered:-- the chairman gave his excellency the governor, whose unavoidable absence he, in common with every one present, deeply regretted, knowing full well the deep interest his excellency had always evinced in connexion with exploration, and especially in connexion with the expedition so successfully carried through by their guests that evening. the toast was drunk amid loud cheering. the chairman next gave the army, navy, and volunteers, which was duly honoured. the honourable the commandant, in responding for the army and the navy, heartily thanked the assembly for the loyal manner in which the toast had been received. the toast of the british army and navy, always appropriate at a banquet where britons were assembled, was particularly appropriate on the present occasion, gathered together as they were to do honour to valour. (cheers.) it was needless for him to state that--all knew it--british soldiers, well equipped, properly provided in every way, and properly led, would go anywhere, and face any mortal thing; and so, it appeared, would west australians, true sons of great britain. the other day, at the presentation of the address given to mr. forrest by the citizens of perth, he (the commandant), alluding to the young explorer's gallant and truly heroic services in the field of exploration, had said that, were he a soldier, the distinguished feat he had accomplished would have entitled him to be decorated with the soldier's most honourable mark of distinction--the victoria cross. (cheers.) now he had no desire to accord mr. forrest the least particle of credit beyond what he honestly believed he was entitled to, but he meant to say this--that mr. forrest had displayed all the noblest characteristics of a british soldier under circumstances by no means as favourable for arousing a spirit of intrepidity, and for stimulating bravery, as was in operation on a battle-field, amidst the all-powerful excitement of an engagement with the enemy, urged on to deeds of valour by the examples of comrades. who or what had mr. forrest and his little band of followers to cheer them on; to urge them forward on their perilous and dreary enterprise? what surrounding circumstances encouraged them to face unknown dangers? he should think that many a wearisome day and night in crossing the arid, trackless desert-path he was traversing, he would, on laying down his head to rest, say, "would for bedtime in perth, and all well!" nothing daunted, however, by perils, privations, and difficulties, he carried his enterprise successfully through; and although there were no victoria crosses for distinguished services of that nature, there, nevertheless, was an order of merit for rewarding exploits such as mr. forrest had performed, and he most heartily and sincerely trusted that the decoration of honour conferred upon the gallant warburton would be likewise conferred on mr. forrest. (applause.) captain birch briefly responded on behalf of the volunteers. the chairman then said the pleasing duty devolved upon him to propose the toast which was in reality the toast of the evening, and to ask them to drink with him the health and prosperity of mr. john forrest and his party. (cheers.) nine months ago, within a day, they had undertaken a perilous journey across an unknown country, to accomplish what was believed by many to be an impossible task on account of the terrible nature of that country. what dangers, what difficulties, what privations they had suffered in carrying out their daring enterprise, and what the result of their arduous labours had been, was already known to most if not all of those now present, a succinct chronicle of their journey having been published in the south australian and in the local newspapers. to-night they were amongst them safe and sound, having been saved by almighty providence from dangers which they could not have contended with, and surmounted difficulties which but for such divine help must have been insuperable. all honour to them; all honour to the brave men who had assisted to achieve such a victory, of which even mr. forrest and his companions might well be proud, and the advantages of which he felt that we could not yet fully appreciate. (cheers.) the honourable the commandant had spoken so ably of their victory that little remained for him to add. he, however, ventured to differ from the gallant commandant on one point, namely, that, when compassed on all sides by difficulties, far from aid, succour, or assistance of any kind, mr. forrest must have wished himself back in perth, all well. he (mr. randell) did not believe that such a thought ever entered mr. forrest's head, fully determined as he was to cross the continent, or perish in the attempt. he was sure that not even the golden reward offered by tommy pierre, for turning back, exerted any influence on his gallant leader's mind; on the contrary, they found him quietly rebuking tommy's failing courage with a "hush" and a promise to take him right through to adelaide. mr. forrest's courage never failed him on the way, nor had they any reason to believe that the courage of any member of his party had really failed in the face of the terrible difficulties they had encountered, and, by god's help, surmounted. (applause.) they all had read of the olympic games of the ancient greeks, and the kindred sports indulged in by the romans of old. their athletic contests being conducted in the presence of immense crowds of spectators naturally stimulated the athletes to distinguish themselves; the applause of their fellow-citizens urged them on to strive with might and main to win the crown of laurel or ivy leaves with which the brow of the victor was decked. he well remembered an incident recorded in grecian history, where two brothers had been engaged in an athletic contest and been victorious. when they came forth to receive the crown which rewarded their victory, their aged father--who himself, in his younger days, had been an athlete--was present, and the sons placed their crown on his venerable head. he was sorry that the father of the young heroes whom they were then entertaining was not present to witness the reward freely bestowed upon his sons by their fellow-countrymen. (cheers.) our south australian neighbours, in their magnificent reception of mr. forrest and his party, had given us a good example of how to appreciate and reward noble deeds, and it must be pleasing to every western australian to reflect on the cordiality of that reception. (applause.) he thought the colony would be neglecting its duty if it did not, as one man, recognize the extreme kindness which had been shown our gallant explorers by the people and by the government of our sister colony--south australia. (cheers.) it was a pleasing trait in mr. forrest's character that he had not been at all spoilt by the enthusiastic and really splendid ovation he and his party had received at the hands of our southern neighbours; nothing could be more admirable than his unaffected modesty and unassuming deportment in the face of such a reception. the life of a lion did not spoil their young hero, nor, as the inquirer had said that morning, did he think it would suit him long; for however tempting it might be to some people to live upon laurels well earned, such men as mr. forrest had no difficulty in overcoming the temptation to ease and repose, however deserving and indisputable his claims thereto. (cheers.) he believed with the inquirer that it was mr. forrest's natural instinct to lead a hard life in the cause of exploration. he belonged--not by birth it was true, but through his parents--to a country that had produced such men as mungo park; bruce, who explored the sources of the nile; and campbell, who, labouring in the same cause, traversed the wilds of africa; and that greatest and noblest of all explorers, the dead but immortal livingstone. (cheers.) mr. forrest's achievements had entitled his name to stand side by side in the page of history with men of that stamp and others who had placed the human family under such great obligations by their undaunted and self-denying efforts in the cause of exploration. (cheers.) it would not perhaps be right on his part to refer to the pecuniary reward which the legislature had voted as an honorarium to mr. forrest and his party, but he would say this much--and he believed every one in the colony would be in accord with him--that the public would not have grumbled, on the contrary, would have been glad if the grant had been pounds and not pounds. (hear, hear.) he did not think for a moment that the legislative council thought that pounds was the measure of the value of mr. forrest's services; they were rather influenced by the extent of the public revenue and the ability of the country to pay a larger amount; nevertheless, he would have been pleased, and the public would have been pleased, had the vote been more commensurate with the value of those services. (cheers.) in asking the present assembly to join him in drinking the toast of mr. forrest's health and that of his party, he considered it was as if he moved a vote of thanks on behalf of the colony for the labours in which they had been associated, for the honour they had conferred on their country, and he would ask them to join him in heartily drinking the toast. (cheers.) the toast was received with several rounds of cheering. the commandant rose in explanation, and said he never for a moment meant to infer that in the midst of his greatest difficulties mr. forrest ever thought of giving up his task. what he said was that he must have often, in lying down his head after a wearisome day's journey, wished himself at home in perth all well, with his enterprise accomplished, but not otherwise (cheers). he did not believe that mr. forrest ever winced at danger, ever swerved from the path he had laid out for himself to traverse. mr. john forrest, on rising, was received with applause, which rose to ringing cheers. upon the subsiding of the applause, mr. forrest said, "mr. chairman and gentlemen, i feel that i ought to say a great deal on this occasion, but i really hardly know what to say. i can, of course, say that i sincerely thank you for your kindness in inviting myself and companions to this great banquet, and when i say that, i trust you will give me credit for saying what i feel in my heart of hearts. but i feel i have much more than this to say this evening, knowing as i do that i would disappoint you if i did not address you at some length. i will endeavour to muster the words and the courage to do so; as you know, public speaking is not my forte, and if i fail in satisfying your expectations, you must accept the will for the deed (cheers). when i had the honour of being entertained at a public banquet at adelaide, i had a good deal to say there of my career up to the present; but here i need not say a word about my antecedents, for most of you have known me from my childhood (cheers). for the last few years you all know i have had some little to do with exploration, and for me to tell you anything of my past experience would be simply waste of time and waste of words. you will, however, expect me to say something of our latest enterprise. i had been for some time animated by a desire to explore the untrodden interior of our island continent. i had, as you know, been twice before in the field; once in an eastward direction, and once along the south sea-board to adelaide--the latter, i was told, being considered a very small undertaking, quite a coasting trip, and one on account of which we could not lay claim to much credit. i therefore was desirous of penetrating the mystery that shrouded the interior, and, with that object in view, i used my utmost endeavours to organize an expedition in that direction. without the support and co-operation of one who i am sorry not to see here this evening, he having quitted the metropolis--his excellency governor weld--my endeavours, i may safely say, would not have resulted in the organization of the expedition i had at heart, and i should not have been here to-night, occupying the proud position which i do. (cheers.) my proposition to his excellency, through the commissioner of crown lands, was warmly received, and cordially espoused by the executive. any one can see it on application, together with his excellency's minute, which was very complimentary to me. the proposition was carried through the legislative council, and a small sum of money was voted for the expedition, without which it could not probably have been organized and fitted out. i am happy to say that our trip is not likely to cost much more than the amount voted ( pounds). possibly the expense may reach pounds or so; if it does, i have no doubt the legislature will willingly vote the extra amount. (hear, hear.) if it does not, of course we keep to the original proposition, and we shall only ask for the pounds. i am quite prepared to abide by the original arrangement; but i think that every man in the colony is satisfied that the expedition was conducted at the least possible expense, and that we all tried to do our very best. (cheers.) i scarcely think it is necessary for me to enter into any details of our journey; i have already given the most salient points in my published telegraphic despatch to the government. we experienced some difficulties, no doubt, and some few privations, but i can assure you none of us ever thought of turning back. (cheers.) on one occasion, i admit, the thought did enter my head that, possibly, we might have to turn back, but i did not tell any member of the party a word about it. the thought haunted me at night, and i could not sleep; and had we to carry it into execution we should have probably found ourselves coming out somewhere near victoria plains, and it struck me that i should be greeted with such expressions as "well, old man, i am glad to see you back, but i am sorry you could not get through." i knew people would be glad to see us back, but their satisfaction at our safe return would be alloyed with regret at our failure to get right across; so i said to myself, "i never can face that; i must try again," and try again we did, and you know the result. (cheers.) i candidly tell you that the thought struck me that if we were baffled in our efforts to penetrate through, it might be all the better for this colony, inasmuch as there would be a saving of expense thereby, although the credit due to me would be considerably diminished. but i did not care so much for that. when, however, i reached the settled portions of south australia, i was very anxious to get right through to the telegraph line, just to show our neighbours that we could get across. from the date of our arrival at peake station, you know how cordially we were received throughout the rest of our journey, and with what kindness we were treated. probably all of you have read of our enthusiastic reception at adelaide. i never saw so many people in my life before, nor such a demonstration. they say there were , persons present. i thought there were , present. (laughter.) as for my brother, he seemed enchanted with the sight, and especially with the ladies. he has said he thought they were all looking at him. on the contrary, gentlemen, i thought they were all looking at me. (laughter.) every one we came in contact with, both high and low, treated us most kindly. the same again in melbourne. (cheers.) now, i must say a word or two about my first impressions on visiting melbourne. the first object of interest that caught my attention was the splendid monument erected to the memory of the gallant explorers, burke and wills. baron von mueller kindly met me on the jetty when we landed, and i accompanied him in a cab to have an interview with the governor. when we came in sight of this monument i asked the baron to stop while i alighted to inspect it. he courteously did so. gentlemen, a thrilling feeling came over me on looking on that memorial of two brave men who sacrificed their lives in the cause of exploration. the monument represents poor burke standing over wills, who is kneeling down. the first relief represents the party leaving melbourne, and the popular demonstration accorded them; in the next place the return from carpentaria is depicted, and the discovery of a depot where some provisions had been deposited. there is king in the act of holding a candle, burke reading a letter, and wills's head is peering over his shoulder. further on there is a relief representing the death of the brave leader with his revolver grasped in his hand. on the other side there is howitt and his party finding king, the sole survivor of burke's party, among a number of black fellows, with whom he had been living for several weeks--the black fellows looking aghast at the relief party. several times afterwards, during my stay in melbourne, i went to look at this monument, and it always sent a thrill through my very soul. (cheers.) gentlemen, in conclusion, i must again express my gratitude for the kind manner in which you have received me and the members of my party back amongst you. my only consolation, in the face of the ovations i have received, is that we all tried to do our very best. (cheers.) as to the vote of the legislature, alluded to by your chairman, while i thank him heartily for his liberal spirit, i assure you i am very well satisfied indeed. (applause.) when i started on the expedition i never expected one farthing of honorarium from the public funds; but though i am modest i am not altogether unselfish, and i did expect what i think every briton expects from his countrymen when he does his best--but what he does not always get--the thanks of my fellow-colonists. (cheers.) that i have received most abundantly, and i am quite satisfied with it, and so i think are all the members of my party. we are also quite content with, and thankful for, the provision made for us by the legislative council. i don't know whether i shall again appear before you as an explorer, or whether i shall rest on my laurels, as the inquirer said to-day. i can only say that if my services are required i shall be found ready and willing. (cheers.) in the toast you have so enthusiastically drank my companions are very properly associated with myself, for i am much indebted to them for their hearty co-operation. they always endeavoured to do what i desired, and the most friendly feelings existed amongst us throughout the journey. (cheers.) i never withheld from them any information as to our whereabouts or our movements; the maps, route, and the observations taken during the expedition were always open for their inspection, so that they could see our exact position from day to day. i had no secrets from them (hear, hear), and this confidence was reciprocated on their part. i never had occasion to check or to use an angry word to one of my party. they one and all always showed readiness and willingness to obey my instructions--in fact, i seldom had any occasion to instruct them; and i gladly avail myself of this opportunity to thank them publicly for their exemplary conduct. (cheers.) on their behalf, as well as on my own behalf, i once more also thank you most sincerely for the honour you have done us and the kindness you have shown us. i hope that our future career will show that we are not altogether unworthy of that kindness." (loud cheers.) tommy pierre, one of the aboriginals attached to the expedition, then stepped forward, and, addressing the assembly, said: i only black fellow, you know; nothing at all but just a few words. i ought to give you good lecture. (laughter.) well, gentlemen, i am very thankful that i got into the city of perth; that people give me welcome and everything. i am always thankful to any person that brought me into city of perth. (laughter.) when i speak so of city of perth i don't speak wrong at all, what i speak is true and true. well, gentlemen, i am very thankful to the people in perth at the town hall; i am very thankful to every one that welcome me. i am always very glad to see white fellows around me. in bunbury, governor weld spoke to me and say he left me a present in city of perth, and i hope i will get it too. (cheers and laughter.) governor weld is a splendid fellow; splendid governor. well, gentlemen, i am all thankful; my last word is--i am thankful to you all. (cheers.) mr. randell: in consequence of the absence of the surveyor-general--from what cause i am unable to state--his lordship bishop hale has kindly consented to propose the next toast. (cheers.) his lordship, on rising, was received most cordially. he said that the toast which had just been entrusted to him was one that would have been better proposed by the surveyor-general. the sentiment was australian exploration. it so happened that ever since he had arrived in australia he had been very much interested in exploration, and much mixed up with persons engaged in that work. he had known the veteran explorer sturt, the discoverer of south australia; and he had also been acquainted with his brave companion, john mcdouall stuart, who had marked out the route subsequently followed by the trans-continental telegraph line from adelaide to port darwin, for, wonderful to say, no better route could afterwards be discovered; the map of stuart's journey and the map of the telegraph line were almost identical. with regard to mr. forrest's exploratory labours, referred to with unaffected and characteristic modesty by the young explorer himself, his lordship believed that great and practical results would follow, and that, even as stuart's track from south to north of the continent had become the line of communication between those two extreme points, so would the path traversed by mr. forrest become, some day or other, the line of communication through the central portion of the continent from west to south australia. (cheers.) with respect to the necessity for exploration, no doubt it was a very essential work to be carried out. whenever he had gone to distant and sequestered parts of the colony in the exercise of his ecclesiastical functions, and was called upon to console people so situated as to be cut off from the blessings of regular ministration, he was in the habit of saying to them, "although you are at present cut off, yet you may believe that god in his providence has designed that his world shall be inhabited, and ordained that pioneers shall go forth into desert places in order to accomplish that end." explorers, therefore, like mr. forrest, might well feel that in devoting themselves to the work of exploration they were doing their duty to god and to their country in seeking to discover new fields, likely to be of practical use as new settlements for the ever-increasing human family. their efforts in that direction, often purchased with much suffering and privation, entitled explorers to be classed in the front rank of benefactors to mankind. (applause.) the population of the world was continuously increasing, and new settlements became a necessity. in london alone it was said there was a birth every five minutes. what, then, must be the population of the british empire if the increase in one city was at that rate? it was but due to mr. forrest and to all such explorers that they should receive the thanks of their fellow-men for devoting their lives to so desirable a work as the discovery of new country, fitted for the habitation of civilized men. (applause.) he would not trespass any further on the patience of the assembly: he was present in order to join in that general feeling of admiration which mr. forrest's exploit had evoked. cooler courage and greater heroism could not be displayed under any circumstances than were displayed by his young friend on his right, circumstanced as he had been on divers occasions during his journey, with his life and the lives of his brave companions frequently in imminent peril. (cheers.) mr. forrest had just told them that he did not think it necessary to enter into the details of that journey, inasmuch as the most important particulars connected therewith had already appeared in his telegraphic despatch to the government, published in the local newspapers. that telegram was certainly one of the most explicit and distinct records of the kind that his lordship had ever perused. he had paid but a moderate degree of attention to it, but had experienced no difficulty whatever in pricking out mr. forrest's track on a map, and in forming a distinct conception of his journey. (cheers.) it only remained for his lordship to ask them to join him in drinking the sentiment of australian exploration, and at the same time to drink the health of mr. alexander forrest, whose name was coupled with it. (cheers.) the toast was enthusiastically honoured, the band playing the song of australia. mr. a. forrest, on rising, was received with applause. he was indistinctly heard at the reporter's table, owing to the distance which separated him from it, and the constant hum of conversation, which by this time was becoming general. he was understood to express the proud satisfaction he felt at being present that evening, and more especially as his name had been associated with the toast of australian exploration. the sentiment was a wide one, and they need not suppose that he was going to enter into the history of all australian explorations that had taken place. he was sure that time would not admit of his making even cursory remarks upon these events. mr. forrest then alluded to the exploratory labours of stuart--perhaps the greatest of australian explorers--of mckinlay, of burke and wills, of captain roe, and the gregorys, and of the veteran warburton. the hospitality shown by this colony to the last-named gallant explorer had produced a lasting feeling of gratitude throughout south australia. the manner in which our southern neighbours spoke of the kind treatment extended by the inhabitants of this colony to that aged explorer, from the day he reached our north-west settlements to the hour he embarked on board steamer for adelaide, reflected honourably upon the hospitable nature of west australian people. mr. elder, one of the enterprising gentlemen at whose expense the expedition was organized and equipped, had told him (mr. forrest) that he never heard of such kindness. the south australians, however, were not long before an opportunity was afforded them of returning that hospitality, and they certainly had not neglected the opportunity. than the treatment which the party to which he had the honour of belonging had received at the hands of the people of south australia nothing could be kinder--nothing could possibly be more hospitable. every house was thrown open to them; their horses were fed free of charge; it did not cost them a single penny in travelling; everywhere they were met with the most cordial reception. their triumphal entry into adelaide was a demonstration worthy of a prince. (cheers.) having thanked his fellow-colonists for the very hearty reception accorded them on their return, mr. forrest spoke in very complimentary terms of the other members of the expedition. the two natives were first-rate fellows, and, as for sweeney and kennedy, he would never wish to have better companions in the bush. they were always for going ahead; no thought of turning back ever entered their heads; in their greatest privations not a murmur escaped their lips. (loud cheers.) mr. l.s. leake said: "the toast i have to propose is south australia and the sister colonies--a sentiment which i think might most appropriately have immediately followed on the speech of my noble friend, mr. john forrest, who by his remarks paved the way to the few words i have to say. why south australia should be placed before the other colonies on this occasion it is not difficult to conjecture. she has, above all others, gained our affection by her kind and hospitable treatment of our fellow-colonists, our respected guests this evening who were received in adelaide with even greater honour than the son of our beloved queen. (cheers.) with reference to mr. forrest himself, western australia should be proud of having produced such a man; and i only wish i had arrived in the colony four years and a half earlier, so that i might lay claim to having been born here. many of those around me are natives of western australia; and although i am proud of old england, my native country, i should have been glad to boast of having been born in the same colony as john forrest. all of his fellow-colonists should be proud that mr. forrest has accomplished a feat which the whole civilized world must admire. (cheers.) i did think that the surveyor-general would have considered it worthy of his coming here to-night to join us in doing honour to mr. forrest, and that he would have introduced you to a gentleman connected with the government of victoria, now in this colony--mr. wardell, the inspector-general of public works, for whose services we are under deep obligation. i believe him to be an excellent engineer, and in examining our harbour at fremantle he will be the right man in the right place. had he, however, been in his right place to-night, he would have been here amongst us, introduced by the surveyor-general, and we should thus have an opportunity of publicly thanking the victorian government for granting us the benefit of his services. (hear, hear.) but, though victoria is not represented at this festive gathering, south australia is, and that by a gentleman whose name it affords me great pleasure to connect with the toast which has been entrusted to me. this colony was established in the year , and in there arrived amongst us one of our pioneer settlers, a good, worthy, honest--i cannot say english, but scotch--gentleman, mr. walter boyd andrews, than whom a more upright man never landed on our shores. he is represented here to night by his eldest son, with whom i spent the greater portion of my younger days, and who for the last ten years has been registrar-general of the colony of south australia. i have, therefore, much pleasure in associating his name with the toast which i now ask you to join me in drinking, prosperity to south australia and the sister colonies." (cheers.) the toast was drunk with loud cheering, the band playing pull, pull together. mr. andrews, in response, said: "mr. chairman and gentlemen, i rise at once to return thanks, because i always fancy that words spoken on the spur of the moment come from the very heart. i will first of all dispose of myself, having been taken completely by surprise in finding my name associated with the sentiment proposed by my old friend, mr. leake. i thank you most heartily for the honour you have done me, and the kind manner in which you have responded to the toast. as regards south australia and the sister colonies, you have done south australia the proud honour of giving her precedence over her sisters of the group, thereby showing, as mr. leake has said, the warmth of your affection towards her, which kindly feeling, i sincerely believe, is reciprocated on her part. the cordial reception accorded to your gallant explorers is an earnest of that feeling, and i think i may venture to say that the colony which i have the honour to serve will at all times extend a hearty welcome to any west australian colonist. there is, i assure you, a very affectionate feeling entertained by south australians towards this colony--a feeling that has been in existence for a long time, and which is growing deeper and deeper every day. she is not only willing to extend the right hand of friendship to you, but, as you know, has expressed her readiness to meet you half way across the desert that separates you from each other by means of the telegraph. (cheers.) she does not feel jealous that you should receive telegraphic intelligence from the outside world earlier than she does; on the contrary, she is anxious that you should be placed in the same advantageous position as regards telegraphic communication as your other sisters are. (applause.) gentlemen, on her behalf, and on my own behalf, i thank you most heartily for the kind manner in which this toast has been received." results of the explorations. since then, in the summer of , i have visited europe and received many proofs of the interest felt by englishmen in australian exploration. in the colonies, too, i find that the spirit of adventure which stimulates settlers to follow eagerly in the steps of the pioneer has been active. already stations are being advanced on each side along the shores of the great bight, and a telegraph line is being constructed from king george's sound to adelaide, along my route of , which will connect western australia with the telegraph systems of the world. farther north, towards the head waters of the murchison, advances have been made, and i and other explorers must feel a gratification, which gives ample reward for all our toil, in knowing that we have made some advance at least towards a more complete knowledge of the interior of vast and wonderful australia. appendix to journal. . description of the plants, etc., collected on expedition; showing also the locality from which they were taken: by baron von mueller, c.m.g., etc. camp . latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- cassia desolata. trichodesma zeilonicum. stylobasium spatulatum. psoralea cucantha. scaevola spiniscens. sida petrophila. codonocarpus cotinifolius. adriana tomentosa. salsola kali. camp . latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- acacia aneura. oeschynomene indica. eremophila longifola. cassia sturtii. plectronia latifolia. camp . latitude degrees minutes south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- santalum preissianum. plectronia latifolia. camp . latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- brachychiton gregorii. dodonaea petiolaris. cassia artemisioides. eremophila latifolia. hakea lorea. acacia aneura. eremophila longifolia. camp . latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- cassia eremophila. eremophila longifolia. camp . latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- stemodia viscosa. eremophila longifolia. sida petrophila. adriana tomentosa. convolvulus erubescens. cassia sturtii. hakea lorea. camp . latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- acacia aneura. eremophila longifolia. cassia eremophila. cassia desolata. eremophila brownii. loranthus exocarpi. camp . latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- pappophorum commune. cassia eremophila. acacia salicina. santalum lanceolatum. senecio lantus. eremophila duttoni. ptilotus alopecuroides. brunonia australis. hakea lorea. cassia eremophila. eremophila longifolia. camp . latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- cassia notabilis. cassia artemisioides. camp . latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- eremophila latrobei. dodonaea petiolaris. camp . latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- crotalaria cunninghami. indigofera brevidens. sida petrophila. acacia salicina. dodonaea petriolaris. condonocarpus cotinifolius. cassia sturtii. cassia artemisioides. kochia brownii. eremophila longifolia. loranthus exocarpi. camp . latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- hakea lorea. cassia desolata. eremophila longifolia. abutilon fraseri. acacia salicina. cassia platypoda. ficus platypoda (the native fig). camp . latitude degrees minute south; longitude degrees minutes east. crotolaria cunninghami. indigofera brevidens. cassia eremophila. trichodesma zeilanicum. cassia artemisioides. camp . latitude degrees minutes south; longitude degrees minutes east. abutilon fraseri. trichodesma zeilanicum. acacia salicina. camp . latitude degrees minutes seconds south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- gossypium sturtii. hibiscus farragei. pterocaulon sphacelatus. salsola kali. condonocarpus cotinifolius. heliotropium undulatum. scaevola spiniscens. stylobasium spatulatum. adriana tomentosa. tecoma australis. ficus platypoda. trichodesma zeilanicum. sida virgata. dodonaea viscosa. helichrysum apiculatum. jasminum lineare. adriana tomentosa. indigofera australis. petalostylis labicheoides. scaevola aemula. pterocaulon sphacelatus. santalum preissianum. festuca (triodia) irritans. the santalum preissianum, the so-called native peach, with edible fruit, is found generally on the whole route. the spinifex so often mentioned is the festuca (triodia) irritans, the spinifex of the desert explorers, but not of science. latitude degrees minutes south; longitude degrees east:-- marsdenia leichardti, the climber with edible pods and milky sap, the seeds with a downy top, called by the natives carcular. latitude degrees minutes south; longitude degrees minutes east:-- the casuarina decaisneana, the shea-oak or desert oak peculiar to central australia. appendix . report from r. brough smyth, esquire, secretary for mines of victoria, on the geological specimens collected on the expedition. column : position of locality where the specimen was collected. column : remarks by mr. john forrest on the specimens forwarded. column : mr. r. brough smyth's report on specimens. latitude degrees south, longitude degrees minutes east : taken from mount hale on the murchison river. this formation extends to longitude degrees east, and is very magnetic, also very heavy. there must be a great deal of iron in it. the hills are very high, and the echo very remarkable. i have seen the same kinds of hills in latitude degrees, longitude degrees. bare granite rocks sometimes in the vicinity, though not attached. (may th.) : two small specimens of micaceous iron-ore with brown haematite. impossible to state the age. similar ore occurs in victoria, in elvans in porphyry, but it also occurs in tertiary rocks. latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east : the water shed of the murchison, after crossing which we entered the triodia desert. found oozing out of rock in the water-shed of the murchison. : brown haematite, decomposing to yellow. (tertiary.) bituminous material. mr. cosmo newbery reports that it is probably the result of the decomposition of the excrement of bats. it contains fragments of the wing cases of insects, and gives reactions similar to the bituminous mineral or substance found in victoria. latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees east : peaks rising out of sandy triodia desert. (may th.) : , quartz; , chalcedony; , quartz; , silky shale (silurian); , very micaceous schist (silurian). latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east : found in the frere ranges. : , ferruginous rock (tertiary); , portion of a seam or joint of a rock; , very fine soft purple slightly micaceous rock (silurian); , white micaceous slaty sandstone (silurian). latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east : this rock was broken off the face of the side of a bank of brook. it is rather soft, and would split; it is all in layers. i cut my initials in it with a chisel. : purple brown slate (silurian). latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east, mount moore : many ranges and some grassy country running from longitude to longitude degrees, generally composed of this description of rock. : , rough quartzite (conglomeritic) tertiary; , rough quartzite with white band, brown and purple (tertiary). latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east : taken from rough range rising out of gently undulating desert. (july th.) : white flinty rock; consists in the main of silica, with magnesia and alumina; it also contains water and traces of the alkalies. it is probably derived from the decomposition of granite. the "rough ranges" are perhaps granitic. latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east : from a low table hill (alexander spring). : translucent greenish quartz. impossible to state the probable age. latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east : this sandstone is the usual rock found in all the country from longitude degrees to degrees minutes. in it are receptacles for water, and all the rising ground is composed of it. very often one side of the rise forms a cliff. where this is taken from there is a long line of cliffs with many creeks running from them, and low cliff-hills all about. : light red sandstone (desert sandstone, tertiary). latitude degrees south, longitude degrees minutes east : from the farthest ranges westward from telegraph line; good grassy country in flats. the dark piece from a salt gully. (august th.) : , silico felspathic rock impregnated with micaceous iron (probably from a dyke); , , green schist (silurian). latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees east : in the cavanagh ranges. many ranges. (august th.) : greenstone (diabase ?). latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east : tomkinson ranges. many ranges running east and west, and grassy flats between them. (august th.) mount jane. : aphanite. note by the editor. the publication of the preceding journal affords an appropriate occasion for inviting attention to the remarkable progress of western australia within the last few years. mr. john forrest is proud to acknowledge himself as belonging to that colony--indeed native-born--and his fellow-colonists have invariably supported and encouraged his explorations. belonging to the public service, he has recognized as his main object the discovery of new and good country with the view of extending colonization, while within his ideas of duty there has been a steadfast regard for those objects which promote the welfare of young settlements. it has long been observed that western australia requires to be thoroughly understood in its great capacities for carrying a large population. there are vast resources yet to be developed, and what has been accomplished in sheep and cattle stations, in copper and lead mining, in wine-growing, in pearl fisheries, besides other important operations, prove that the country has scarcely been tapped, and will be sure to reward those who have the enterprise and industry to become settlers. it is only necessary to substantiate these statements by official documents, and, in the hope that this volume will do good service to western australia, the following papers are reprinted. governor weld's report to the earl of carnarvon. government house, perth, september , . my lord, it has appeared to me that your lordship may think it desirable that, before i leave, i should, so far as the limits of a despatch may enable me to do so, place before you the present state of this colony, review the progress it has made within the last five years, and indicate its future prospects. . when i was appointed to the government of western australia i was aware that from various causes the colony had made but little progress; and on my arrival in september, , i found chronic despondency and discontent, heightened by failure of the wheat crop, by the prospect of the gradual reduction of convict expenditure and labour on which the settlers had been accustomed to depend, by the refusal of the home government to continue to send out free immigrants, and by that vague dread of being thrown on their own resources so natural to men who have been accustomed to take no part in their own affairs, and who have consequently learned to rely entirely upon the government, and not at all upon themselves. one healthy symptom there was, and that was a desire, not very strong perhaps, or even generally founded upon a just appreciation of the past, or political foresight of the future; but still a very wide-spread desire, and to many a reasonable and intelligent desire, for a form of representative institutions which might give the colonists some real voice in the management of their own affairs. . at the earliest possible moment i commenced work by travelling over as much as possible of the settled and partially settled districts of the colony; an old colonist bushman and explorer myself, travelling on horseback and camping out were but natural to me, and i wished to judge for myself of the capabilities of the colony; and before i had been six months in the country i had ridden considerably over two thousand miles, some part of the distance unfortunately, owing to an accident, with a fractured rib and other injuries. i had made acquaintance with settlers of all classes, and was able to form an opinion so accurate, both of the people and of the country i have since had to deal with, and of their capabilities, that i have never altered that opinion, nor have my many subsequent journeys done more than supplement the knowledge i then gained. . my first political aim was to promote local self-government in local affairs by establishing or giving real power to road boards and municipalities (a policy i afterwards carried into effect with school boards also); and, so soon as i had obtained the sanction of her majesty's government, i introduced that modified form of representative institutions provided by and vic., chap. , and then passed the municipal acts i have mentioned above. this policy has fulfilled not only my expectations but my hopes, and should the council that is about to meet wish to take the ultimate step of entering into complete self-government by adopting the responsible system, the preparation afforded by the last five years will admittedly be of the greatest value. . it fell to me to carry into effect the ecclesiastical policy indicated by lord granville in a despatch, number , of july , , held over for my arrival, in which his lordship suggested that grants (regard being had to the number in the community of each denomination) should be equal in substance and alike in form, and asked if there were any difficulties in applying to western australia "that principle of religious equality which had long been recognized in the australian colonies." lord kimberley, in an enclosure to his despatch, number , of december , , expressed similar views. to this on march , , in my despatch, number , i was enabled to reply that i had already carried the policy recommended into practice, that the grants had been equalized by "levelling up," that the vote for the church of england was "now handed over to the bishop of perth, the government reserving the right to satisfy itself that it is applied to those purposes of religious ministration and instruction for which it is voted, and that all vested interests are maintained intact and claims on the government respected." since then i have supported such measures as were thought desirable to promote self-organization, and i have moreover made liberal grants of land for glebes, churches, schools, and institutions to the various religious bodies in proportion to their numbers. i have reason to know that on all sides satisfaction is felt at the position in which i shall leave ecclesiastical affairs so far as the action of government may effect them. . the elementary educational question, on my arrival, was a source of much contention and ill-feeling, which came prominently into play, when in the second session of i caused a bill, drafted by myself, and the general provisions of which i was subsequently informed were "entirely approved of" by your lordship's predecessor, to be introduced into the legislature, and carried it--not, however, quite in its original form. though the alterations are unquestionably defects, and may somewhat mar its success, it has hitherto worked very well, and has proved itself not only effective but economical: it has received praise from its former opponents and from the most opposite quarters, and old bitternesses are now (i hope for ever) things of the past. . i have not failed to give the utmost support in my power--a support unfortunately much needed in a colony like this--to the chief justice, and it has been a great gratification to me that, on my recommendation, the long and valuable services of sir archibald paull burt have been recognized by her majesty, and that he has received the honour of knighthood--a rank which none of her majesty's servants will more fitly adorn. i have suggested to the legislature that a small increase of salary should be given to uphold the dignity of the supreme court; and the question, to which i have already drawn the attention of the legislature, of the appointment of two puisne judges and constitution of a court of appeal ought to be taken into consideration at no distant period. one new resident magistracy has been established in a district where it was very much needed, and two local courts have been constituted. there is some difficulty in finding a sufficiency of fit persons for the commission of the peace who are willing to exert themselves, and the pay of the resident magistrates is in too many cases insufficient to enable them properly to support their position as representatives of the government in their districts. . in the military department i have enabled successive commandments to make reductions in the enrolled pensioner force. by withdrawing the guard from rottnest island, and by concurring in the reductions at out-stations, a very considerable saving has thus been effected. i have given all the encouragement in my power to the volunteer movement, and i may confidently state that the volunteer force was never before in so good a state, either so far as regards numbers or efficiency. to this result the efforts of successive commandants and liberality of the legislature have mainly contributed. . it has been for me to preside over the latter stages of the existence of the imperial convict establishment in western australia, as a large and important department; henceforth it will be confined in narrow limits, and i may state with confidence that the great reductions and concentrations that it has been my duty to effect have not been attended with those disastrous effects to the colony that were so confidently predicted, and also that although the residue of convicts are, many of them, men of the doubly reconvicted class and long-sentence men, discipline is well kept, serious prison offences are rare, the health of the men is excellent, whilst severe punishments are seldom needful. i here beg leave to make favourable mention of mr. w.r. fauntleroy, acting comptroller-general of convicts, who has proved himself to be my most valuable officer. . much remains to be done in the survey and lands department. when mr. fraser in december, , took charge of the department, the greatest economy was needed to make the revenue of the colony meet the expenditure, and consequently it was necessary to reduce and lay upon our oars; mr. fraser reorganized his department, putting it on a new system, letting out work by contract instead of keeping up a large permanent staff, and thereby effected a considerable annual saving; at the same time he has been steadily working, as time and means have permitted, towards certain definite objects, namely, in the direction of a trigonometrical survey, by fixing points, by making sketch and reconnaissance surveys of new and important districts, and by accurately fixing by survey main lines of road: this will give a connexion to the records in the survey office which has been hitherto wanting, and will contribute to enable him to construct that great desideratum--a large and accurate map of western australia, so far as it is settled or partially settled. i concur with mr. fraser in thinking that, so soon as means will admit, a considerably increased annual expenditure should be devoted to surveys. . the joint survey of the coast will also aid in this work. the admiralty, in assenting to my proposal to undertake a joint coast survey, which has been placed under a highly meritorious officer, navigating lieutenant archdeacon, r.n., have conferred a great benefit on this colony, and promoted the interests of british commerce and navigation, much valuable work having already been done. . in close connexion with the survey and lands department is the topic of exploration. so soon as possible after my first arrival, i took upon myself to send mr. john forrest overland to adelaide, along the shores of the great bight, nearly on the line of mr. eyre's route in . i did this before the introduction of representative government, and it is right to say that i knew that i could not have got a vote for it. i felt that this was the last act of an expiring autocratic regime, and i believe it was one of the least popular of my acts; but certainly no small sum of public money has been expended with greater results--for, as i hoped, mr. forrest's expedition has bridged the gap that separated west australia from the other colonies, has led to settlement on the shores of the great bight, and to the connexion of this colony with the rest of the world by electric telegraph. i never doubted of the future of west australia from the day when the news of mr. forrest's success reached perth. since then more interest has been taken in exploration. a second expedition was sent out to the eastward under mr. alexander forrest in , with the support of the legislature and some of the settlers, and at present under the same auspices mr. john forrest is again exploring to the northward and eastward. his route will be guided by circumstances, but it is not improbable that he may aim for the central australian telegraph line, and i am already anxiously expecting tidings of him. . in , with a vote i obtained from the council, i engaged mr. henry y. brown as government geologist. his geological sketch map and his researches, which he pushed in one instance far into the interior, have been of the greatest value; and it was with much regret that in , owing to the disinclination evinced in the legislature in the then straitened circumstances of the colony to expend money on a scientific department, that i was obliged to forego my desire of making it a permanent part of the establishment. . as colonel warburton's journey from the central south australian telegraph line to our north-west coast was set on foot and its expenses defrayed by private colonists of south australia, i only allude to it to acknowledge the obligation that this colony lies under to those public-spirited gentlemen and to the gallant leader and his followers. parties headed by mr. gosse, by mr. giles, and by mr. ross have all within the last two years penetrated from the eastern colonies to within the boundary of our unexplored territory, but, beyond a certain extension of geographical knowledge, without effecting any material results. . under the head of survey and lands department, it will be proper to glance at the alterations in the land and mineral regulations, which have offered increased inducements and facilities for cultivation and occupation, and which have considerably promoted mining enterprise. gold mining regulations have been also prepared and are ready for issue, should occasion, as is likely, render them requisite. i willingly acknowledge the assistance i have received from mr. m. fraser, the surveyor-general and commissioner of crown lands, who has had much experience in new zealand, for the services he has rendered in all these matters. . the mineral riches of this colony are very great. i have never doubted but that they would ultimately become a main source of its advancement. all the different kinds of auriferous quartz known in other colonies are found abundantly in various parts of this--the question of payable gold is, as i have long since reported, simply a question of time. after many efforts, i at last, in , obtained a vote for prospecting, and the results are most promising, the fact of the existence of rich auriferous quartz being now established. we shall immediately be in a position to crush specimen consignments of quartz by a government steam-crusher, and i doubt not but that, if followed up, the results will be most important. but gold is not the only nor perhaps the most important of the minerals possessed by west australia. the colony is extraordinarily rich in lead, silver, copper, iron, plumbago, and many other minerals are found in various localities, and indications of coal and petroleum are not wanting--what is wanting, is energy and enterprise to develop these riches, and that energy and enterprise is being attracted chiefly from victoria, first by means of concessions that i was enabled to make, and now by the reports of the new comers to their friends. i made a small concession to a smelting company: and another, and also an iron mining company, is in the field. . when on my arrival i turned around me to see what was to be looked for to supply the place of imperial expenditure, only second to our minerals, our forests attracted my attention. they could not fail to do so, because just before i came there was an outcry for the development of this industry by government aid. with lord granville's assent i made liberal concessions, and thereby induced a pioneer company, shortly followed by others from victoria, to embark capital in the enterprise. the public ardour here had, however, cooled, and an ignorant cry was raised against foreigners, and the prospects of the trade were systematically decried. several causes besides this militated against it, but it is surmounting them, and at the present moment not only are the companies largely employing labour and expending money, but their own success is becoming an established fact, and the export is enormously increasing, and with good management must continue to increase indefinitely. whilst on this subject i may allude to the question of the preservation of our forests, but as i am treating it more fully in a separate despatch i will only say that this and the kindred question of planting ought, at no distant period, to occupy the attention of our legislature. . the pearl shell and pearl fishery may be said to have sprung into existence within the last few years. it employs a fleet of cutters and schooners, chiefly of small size, on the north-west coast, port cossack being the head-quarters. at sharks bay also there are a number of smaller boats. a licence fee on boats and a tax on shells has been imposed by the legislature; laws for the protection of aboriginal divers and malays have been enacted. i shall immediately have a government cutter on the north-west coast for police and customs purposes, which will also be useful in cases of shipwreck amongst the islands and inlets, and in searching for and reporting the position of reefs, of anchorages, and of new banks of pearl oysters. it will probably hereafter become advisable to let areas for pearling under certain regulations as in ceylon, but this could not well be done with our present means and knowledge. . to turn now to the more settled industries, first in importance is that of agriculture. it is chiefly in the hands of men of little capital, and is carried on in a very slovenly way by the greater part of them. bad seasons, an over-great reliance on cereals, which have for several successive years been seriously affected by the red rust, and a neglect of other products suitable to the soil and climate, added in too many cases to careless and intemperate habits, have until lately rendered the position of many of the small farmers a very precarious one. last year, however, was more favourable, and they to a great extent recovered themselves. the lesson of the past has not been altogether lost; they have also been much assisted by the new land regulations, and a few prosperous seasons will, i sincerely trust, put this class, which ought to be a mainstay of the colony, into a really prosperous condition. . the cultivation of the vine is a profitable pursuit, and the quantity of land fitted for that purpose is very great; both soil and climate are eminently favourable to the growth of the grape. recent legislation has given some encouragement to wine-growers by facilitating the sale of home-grown pure wine. the quantity of land laid down in vineyards is slightly increased, but the class of settlers that are most numerous in western australia do not readily take to industries that are new to them, however profitable they may be, nor can they afford to wait for returns, nor have many of them the knowledge necessary to make good wine: still this industry will become one of the most important in the colony. . the pastoral interest is the pioneer interest of a new colony. western australia has been somewhat less favoured than some other parts of australia in its pastoral lands, but it has, nevertheless, a good deal of very good pastoral country, and under the extremely liberal concessions lately offered to those who will devote capital to the eradication of poison plants much more may be made available, whilst fresh country is being largely occupied inland. the progress, however, of the pastoral interest, considering the age of the colony, though latterly great, is not so great as might have been expected; the comparatively good prices obtainable and anticipated for meat have kept down the increase of stock, and consequently the yield of wool; and as yet very little or nothing has been done to supplement natural resources by growing artificial grasses and fodder plants. no country presents greater capabilities for horse breeding, and cattle do exceeding well and are very profitable. . the sandal-wood trade is in a flourishing condition, and has brought money into the colony, and enabled many of the poorer classes to obtain a livelihood by cutting that aromatic wood for export. it is, however, doubted by some whether the labour employed in this trade does not withdraw many from more steady and permanently useful labour on their farms and small holdings. . in the matter of minor industries, sericulture holds a first rank. i look to it in the future as a source of employment for paupers on the hands of the government, and also for women and children. i have taken much interest in this pursuit, and have caused a mulberry plantation to be made and plants distributed, and have published much information on the subject. the report of the chamber of commerce of como (italy), alluded to in my despatch, number , of th may, , conclusively shows that this colony is remarkably well adapted for the cultivation of silk. the cultivation of the olive and the castor-oil plant are industries for which this soil and climate are extraordinarily well adapted. tobacco, hops, and dried and preserved fruits might largely add to the riches of the colony. in great part at my own expense, i have introduced and distributed hop plants and various kinds of fruits of great utility, and have, in fact, in the absence of any botanic garden (in which i have vainly endeavoured to get the settlers to take an active interest), made my own garden a kind of nursery for acclimatization and distribution of useful and ornamental plants, and i have also given a small concession for the cultivation of the cocoa-nut on the north-west coast, where, in the absence of vegetables, it would be invaluable. and, thanks to the government of the mauritius, i have been able to introduce various kinds of sugar-cane, for which part of this territory is well adapted. the growth of coffee has been also attempted on a government plantation, but without success. cotton had already been proved to thrive admirably, and to be excellent in quality, but is not considered likely to pay without cheap labour. i may here note that, with an eye to the future, i have made reserves for the purposes of public parks and recreation grounds in several places. deer, angora goats, hares, and trout have been also introduced. . i will now proceed to another branch of my subject--public works and undertakings; and first in the category of public works and undertakings i put those which relate to communications, and under that subdivision immeasurably the most important are such means of communication as, by terminating the isolation which has been the great bar to the advancement of this colony, may make it a living part of the system of life and progress which has been growing and prospering around it. on this end was my mind set when i was appointed to the governorship, to this end have i worked steadily ever since, and this end is partially accomplished, and its complete fulfilment is not distant. the vote for the construction of the telegraph line via eucla to south australia, passed last session, and the proposal of messrs. siemens brothers regarding a submarine cable to madras, fitly close an administration which found western australia within twelve miles, and has already placed her in possession of a complete telegraphic system, consisting of about nine hundred miles of wire, worked at a remarkably small cost, in efficient order, already remunerative, and affording the greatest advantages both to the public service and to private business. it is noteworthy that four or five years ago there was a strong feeling that the construction of telegraph lines was a waste of public money, and only a few months ago a prominent member of the legislature publicly objected to the line which is to connect this colony with the rest of the world, that it would only benefit a few individuals! such ideas, however, are rapidly becoming obsolete even in western australia. i will here note that, under a power given me by law to fix and alter rates, i, in january, , reduced the charges to a uniform rate of one shilling per ten words, and one penny for each additional word (press messages at quarter price), and was the first to do so in the australian colonies. . after much and persistent opposition, the legislature was at length induced to vote a subsidy for steam on the coast, connecting our western ports and all this part of the colony with albany, king george's sound, the port of call of the royal mail steamers from europe and the eastern colonies. this has done much to throw open this colony, rendering access to it no longer difficult and uncertain, and greatly facilitating intercommunication. a very chinese objection to steam communication has been publicly made by the same gentleman to whose opinion on telegraphic communication i have already alluded; namely, that it enabled people to leave the colony. i am, on the contrary, of opinion that it is certainly conducing to progress and the promotion of commerce. the steamer we have at present is, however, insufficient, but i doubt not but that a second and more powerful boat will shortly be procured, as it is already required: i understand, however, that no west australian capital is as yet forthcoming for the purpose, nor for steam communication with india, than which nothing could be more important, as it would render available the magnificent geographical position of the colony, and open a market close at hand for its products. i have long ago and frequently stated my willingness to give all possible government support to such an undertaking. . i am immediately about, by invitation, to proceed to champion bay, and to cut the first sod of the first west australian railway, on the geraldton and northampton line. i have already fully indicated the advantage that there is good reason to anticipate will result from the opening of that line, which will, i do not hesitate to say, be the parent of future and greater undertakings. when the colony arrives at a position safely to borrow a million or a million and a quarter, a railway from fremantle and perth, probably up the helena valley, into the york district, and thence down the country eastward of the present sound road, to the fine harbour of king george's sound, would do more than anything else to give an outlet to the resources of the country and supply its wants; such a line would ultimately be extended through the eastern districts and victoria plains northward to the irwin, greenough, and geraldton. but i will recall myself from these and other speculations of the yet more distant future, and look back upon the modest past. two tramways with locomotives now bring timber to the coast from the jarrah forests, and there are also two other tramways for the same purpose, of less extent, but still of some importance. i have made concessions to the companies constructing them. . with regard to ordinary roads, i can very confidently say that, considering the extent of the country and its scattered population, no colony that i have ever seen is in a better position regarding roads. occasionally, owing to the loss of convict labour, the scarcity of free labour, the disinclination of the people to tax themselves locally, and the great extent of the roads themselves, parts of the roads already made fall out of repair whilst other parts are being formed; but on the whole, having perhaps traversed more of western australia than any one man in the colony, i very confidently assert that, taking all in all throughout the country, the roads are in a better condition than they have ever been before. large bridges have been constructed over the upper swan, moore river, blackwood, capel, and preston, besides twelve smaller bridges, and a large one completed at the upper canning. . bushing the geraldton sand-hills has been a very useful and successful work; the experiment was first tried by lieutenant-colonel bruce. part of the work has been done by convict labour, and part by farmers and settlers in payment for a loan advanced to them for seed-wheat before my arrival. it is not too much to say that this work has saved the town of geraldton and its harbour from destruction by sand. . a little has been done in the way of improving the swan river navigation by means of a dredge imported by governor hampton, and worked by prison labour and by an appropriation in the loan act of . a work has also been constructed, from funds provided out of the same loan, at mandurah, by which the entrance to the murray river has been improved. . harbour improvements have occupied much of the attention of government. a fine and substantial open-piled jetty at fremantle, seven hundred and fifty feet long, has been constructed, and answers all the purposes for which it was designed; but the larger and extremely difficult question of the construction of a really safe harbour at or near fremantle is yet undecided. various plans have been proposed, and great pressure has been put on the government to commence works hastily and without engineering advice. at one time one scheme has found favour, and another at another, and the merits of the rival schemes of our amateurs have been popularly judged upon the principle of opposing most strongly anything that was supposed to find favour with the government. last session a strong wish to do something caused the legislature to advocate a scheme which many persons think would cause the mouth of the river swan to silt up, and expose the town of fremantle to danger, lest the river in flood should burst out (as no doubt it did formerly) into the south bay over the town site. the question, however, is referred to the victorian government engineer, and the melbourne government have been asked to allow him to visit this colony, but i fear that the people will not accept his decision; and unless the members of the new legislature will agree to do so, or, in the event of his not coming, do what i have long since recommended, namely, ask your lordship to refer the whole question to the decision of sir john coode, or some other great authority, and undertake beforehand to abide by it, i see no chance of anything being carried into effect until the warmth and personal feeling which, strangely enough, is always evoked by this question, shall be succeeded by a more reasonable and business-like mood. one of my first acts on reaching this colony was, in accordance with the previously expressed wish of the council and colonists, to send for an engineer of high repute to report. his report only raised a tempest of objurgations, and i must frankly confess failure in my efforts to leave fremantle with a harbour; and, indeed, i am far from being convinced that anything under an enormous outlay will avail to give an anchorage and approaches, safe in all weathers, for large ships, though i, with the melbourne engineers, think that the plan of cutting a ship channel into freshwater bay, in the swan river, advocated by the reverend charles grenfel nicholay, is worthy of consideration. jetties at albany, king george's sound, the vasse, bunbury, and geraldton, have been lengthened, one at dongarra constructed, and money has been voted for the construction of one at port cossack. moorings have been procured from england, and are being laid down at fremantle and other ports. . with respect to public buildings, the perth town hall--a very large and conspicuous building, commenced by governor hampton--was completed not long after my arrival, and handed over by me to the city council and municipality on june , ; attached to it i caused the legislative chamber to be built, and so arranged that at no great cost this colony possesses a council-room more convenient and in better taste than many i have seen of far greater pretensions. it is, however, proposed hereafter to build legislative chambers in the new block of government buildings, of which the registration offices now about to be commenced will form a wing, for which the contract is , pounds. the public offices at albany were finished shortly after my arrival. i may mention, among a number of less important buildings, the harbour-master's house, albany; school-houses there and in various other places; large addition to government boys' school, fremantle; court-house and police-station, and post and telegraphic offices at greenough and at dongarra; police-station, gingin; addition to court-house, york; post and telegraphic offices at guildford, york; and northam bonded store, government offices, and police-station, roebourne. considerable additions have been made, which add to the convenience and capabilities of the fremantle lunatic asylum, and alterations and adaptations and additions have been made to several other buildings; for instance, at albany a resident magistrate's house and also a convenient prison have been formed at no great outlay. at perth a building has been erected to which i call attention, the government printing-house; this new department has been of immense service during the four years in which it has been in existence--in fact, it would have been impossible to have gone on without it; and the government printing work is most creditably done at a very reasonable cost. a handsome stone sea-wall has been commenced by convict labour at the new jetty at fremantle, which will reclaim much valuable land, and greatly improve the appearance of the place. harbour lights have been erected at several places. a large lighthouse is in the course of erection at point moore, at geraldton, which will be of much importance; and it is proposed, with the co-operation of other colonies, to erect one near cape leeuwin, as recommended at an intercolonial conference on that subject. . postal facilities have been increased, several new offices opened, and postages (under powers vested in me by law) considerably reduced, on both letters to the colonies and newspapers, from the tariff i found in force. in this a step in advance of some of our neighbours was taken. . i have reduced several police-stations on the recommendation of captain smith, the superintendent, which appeared to be no longer necessary; but, on the other hand, i have extended police protection into outlying districts, both for the benefit of european settlers and of the aboriginal inhabitants. these latter have gained little and lost much by the occupation of their country by settlement. i have fought their battle against cruel wrong and oppression, holding, i trust, the hand of justice with an even balance, and i rejoice to say not without effect and benefit to both races. their services as stockmen, shepherds, and pearlers are invaluable; and when they die out, as shortly no doubt they will, their disappearance will be universally acknowledged as a great loss to the colonists. . the legislature, i am happy to say, have latterly seconded my efforts by encouraging industrial institutions for their benefit. similarly they have in the last session turned their attention to the condition of the destitute and criminal children of our own race; and, in my own sphere, i have done what was possible for the encouragement of the (denominational) orphanages which have been long established and are in full working order. this colony is, for its size and means, well supplied with hospitals, asylums, and establishments for paupers, in which i have taken great personal interest. . in legislation i have endeavoured to avoid over-legislation and premature legislation. i have considered that free-trade principles are especially in place in a colony situated as this is. the ad valorem duty, and that on wines, spirits, and a few other articles, has been raised for revenue purposes; some others have been put on the free list. i successfully resisted the imposition of a duty on flour; i should have simplified the tariff still further than i have done, and admitted free many more articles--some of food, others used in our industries--had the legislature not objected; the tariff as it stands is inconsistent. the english bankruptcy system has been introduced, and an act passed regarding fraudulent debtors; distillation has been permitted under proper safeguards; sunday closing of public-houses has been rendered compulsory with good effect; a lunacy bill on the english model has become law; the torrens land registration system has been adopted, and will shortly be put into force. many equally important measures are alluded to in their places in the pages of this despatch, and i will not inflict upon your lordship a list of many minor acts, some not unimportant, which have proved beneficial in their degree. . among lesser but not unimportant matters, i may mention that i have extended the system of taking security from government officers in receipt of public moneys. the commencement of a law and parliamentary library has been made. . immigration from england has, on a small scale, been set on foot lately, and families are now expected from neighbouring colonies, but our population from obvious causes has increased but slightly during the last five years; on my arrival it was said to be actually decreasing, and there were many reasons why such an opinion was not unreasonable--reduction of the convict establishment threw some out of employment, expirees also desired to quit a country which to them had been a land of bondage, and the prospects of the country were gloomy; now there is a great want of labour, any that comes is at once absorbed, and every effort should be made to attract a constant stream of immigrants. . it will be observed that when the whole authorized loan is raised, the colony will be only in debt to the extent of a little over one year's income, or pounds shillings / pence a head, whilst victoria is indebted pounds shillings / pence, new south wales pounds shillings, south australia pounds shillings pence, queensland pounds shillings / pence, tasmania pounds shillings / pence, new zealand pounds shillings pence. i beg also to call your lordship's attention to the fact that western australia has only yet spent the , pound loan, and has now only begun to spend that of , pounds. i also would point out that the last annual increase of revenue has about equalled the whole capital amount which has been expended out of loans. . i have caused the following statistics to be furnished me from the treasury and customs departments for six years, ending on the th september of each year. the first year given, that ending on the th september, , is the year immediately preceding my arrival, i having been sworn in on that very day. treasury and customs departments statistics for six years to in pounds/shillings/pence. column : category. column : . column : . column : . column : . column : . column : . *imports : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / . **exports : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / . ***customs duties : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / . ****revenue : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / . ****expenditure : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / : , / / . observations. *ships now expected will greatly swell the items of imports and customs. **this is exclusive of re-exported articles, and the valuations are very moderate. in round numbers, the exports may be said to be over , pounds. ***part of the increase of customs duties is owing to increase of duties on spirits, wines, and some other items; and ad valorem, on the other hand, credit should be given for some articles which have been admitted free. taking the balance as the amount accruing from increase of duties, it may be put at , pounds on the last year. ****it will be observed that for some time, until better seasons returned and measures bore fruit, i had to a slight extent to rely on the surplus found in the chest to make revenue and expenditure meet. to have starved the expenditure at that time would have been to have damaged the future progress of the colony, and the legislative council opposed several reductions that i thought might have been effected. on the th september, , there was a sum of , pounds shillings pence in the chest, and something like this sum will be at the disposal of the legislature at their meeting, beyond current revenue. . i need hardly say that the commercial state of the colony is admittedly sound, and i am informed in a more prosperous condition than at any previous period of its existence. landed property, especially about perth, has lately risen immensely in value, and the rise is, i hope, spreading and will reach the outlying districts. perth has lost its dilapidated appearance, and neat cottages and houses are springing up in all directions, and the same progress to some extent is noticeable in fremantle and elsewhere. . i will not conclude this report without recalling the success which attended the efforts made by the government, to which my private secretary mr. henry weld blundell largely contributed, to represent the products of western australia at the sydney exhibition of . much of this success was attributable to the exertions of mr. f.p. barlee, colonial secretary, then representing at sydney this colony in the intercolonial conference. in that conference, the first to which a representative of this colony was admitted, and which therefore marked an epoch in its political existence, mr. f.p. barlee took a prominent part, ably upheld the trust i placed in him, and received a most marked and cordial reception from our colonists on his return. . i have further to express my obligations to that officer for the assistance he has ever given me; were it not for his fearless and loyal support, for the confidence which is placed in him by the very great majority of the colonists, and for his fidelity in following my instructions and carrying out my policy, it would have been impossible for me, under a form of government most difficult to work, to have carried to a successful issue the trust that has been imposed upon me, and to have left this colony prosperous and self-reliant. . should your lordship, considering the position in which i found western australia--the reduction of imperial expenditure it has been my duty to effect, the failure of the wheat crop for four successive seasons and consequent depression, the inexperience of a new legislature, the absence of any propositions for the benefit of the colony from the opposition, the obstacles thrown at first in the way of all measures which have eventuated in good--should you, considering these things and the present state of the colony, be of opinion that the administration of its affairs during the last five years has not been unsatisfactory or unfruitful, i beg that you will award a due share of credit to the colonial secretary, who, as my mouthpiece in the legislature, has carried on single-handed all parliamentary business, and also to those gentlemen who are now, or have at various times been, members of my executive, and who have ever united to support me; to the nominated members of the legislature who have steadily voted for all the measures which have led to the present progress of the colony, and whose merits the constituencies have fully recognized by electing them as representatives on vacancies in every case where they have stood; to the elected members, who every session have given me increased support, and who, forming two-thirds of the legislature, had it in their power entirely to have reversed my policy; and lastly, to the people of western australia, who on each election have increased my strength, on whose ultimate good sense, i--knowing colonists, myself an old colonist--put my reliance, a reliance which has not been disappointed. i have, etc., (signed) fred. a. weld, governor. the earl of carnarvon, etc. etc. etc. ... statistics in pounds/shillings/pence. value of imports and exports from to . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . value of imports and exports for . column : countries. column : imports. column : exports. united kingdom : , / / : , / / . british colonies: victoria : , / / : , / / . south australia : , / / : , / / . new south wales : , / / . new zealand : , / / : , / / . mauritius : , / / : , / / . singapore : , / / : , / / . ceylon : , / / : / / . british india : / / : , / / . all other british possessions : / / : / / . foreign countries china : , / / : , / / . java : , / / : , / / . timor : / / . u.s. of america : / / : / / . macassar : - : / / . whaling ground : - : / / . total : , / / : , / / . revenue and expenditure from to . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . : , : , . revenue and expenditure for . revenue. customs : , / / . land sales : , / / . land revenue : , / / . money orders : , / / . telegrams : , / / . fines, forfeitures, and fees of court : , / / . reimbursements in aid of expenses incurred : , / / . special revenue (north district) : , / / . miscellaneous revenues : , / / . total revenue : , / / . expenditure. civil establishment : , / / . miscellaneous disbursements : , / / . parliamentary salaries : , / / . judicial establishment : , / / . customs establishment : , / / . police establishment : , / / . medical establishment : , / / . postal and telegraph department : , / / . total expenditure : , / / . public debt : , pounds. population of western australia. : , . : , . : , . : , . : , . : , . : , . : , . : , . succession of governors of western australia. name and title. appointment. retirement. captain james stirling, lieutenant-governor. june, . september . captain irwin, acting lieutenant-governor. september . september . captain daniell, acting lieutenant-governor. september . may , . captain beete, acting lieutenant-governor. may , . may , . sir james stirling (formerly captain stirling), governor. august . december . john hutt, esquire, governor. january . december . lieutenant-colonel clarke, governor. february . february . lieutenant-colonel irwin (formerly captain irwin), governor. february . july . captain charles fitzgerald, governor. august . june . a.e. kennedy, esquire, governor. june, . february . lieutenant-colonel john bruce, acting governor. february , . february , . j.s. hampton, esquire, governor. february , . november . lieutenant-colonel john bruce, acting governor. november . september . f.a. weld, esquire, governor. september . september . w.c.f. robinson, esquire, c.m.g. september . gilbert and rivington, printers, st. john's square, london. the end. none due north. by maturin m. ballou, author of "due south," "due west," "edge-tools of speech," "genius in sunshine and shadow," etc., etc. one vol. mo. $ . . mr. ballou's previous travel-books have had an immense popular success, now repeated in this vivid record of his recent travels in russia and scandinavia. it contains attractive accounts of the danish, swedish, and norwegian capitals, copenhagen, stockholm, and christiania; chapters devoted to bergen and trondhjem; the loffodens and maelström; the north cape and midnight sun; lapland and finland; st. petersburg and moscow; the neva and volga; nijni-novgorod; warsaw and russian poland, etc. =boston traveller=: "of the finest and most extensive culture, mr. ballou is the ideal traveller." =george parsons lathrop= in the =new york star=: "research is a recreation and travel a joyous rambling. above all things, mr. ballou does not believe in boring or in being bored. books of travel written in this light and pleasant vein do far more, we are convinced, toward making the general reader feel at home on foreign questions than more labored and abstruse dissertations on the subject are apt to do. mr. ballou's cheerfulness of mood is contagious, and the book is one likely to meet with a generous welcome. in 'due north' (ticknor & co.) he has made a memorable journey. the reader is interested and entertained, and comes away with his eyes opened." =the observer= (=new york=): "we are ready and glad to follow mr. ballou all around the compass as long as he continues to lead in such delightful and interesting ways. mr. ballou is in many respects a model traveller. he sees and hears everything which ought to be seen and heard, no more and no less, and describes his experiences in such an easy and natural way that his readers are carried along through his pages for hour after hour without a thought of being weary. we count this volume of travel as by far the brightest and best of any we have seen during the present season." =national baptist=: "exceedingly interesting. one of the best of recent works of travel." =boston globe=: "an ideal writer of books of travel, and blends instruction and entertainment in the most insidious manner. next to going one's self to the countries is the reading of mr. ballou's own travel in them." =christian leader=: "we commend the book, alike for its novel information and for its constant fascination." =journal of education=: "he has the tact to travel without an object; he strolls. he sees things accidentally; you feel that you might have seen the same things, under the same circumstances. he never lectures; rarely theorizes. it is as useful to read him as it is enjoyable to travel with him." =b. p. shillaber=: "he is a vivid portrayer of scenes visited, and in his descriptions, so admirably given, there is a self-evident authenticity that renders them charming." =boston transcript=: "the late e. p. whipple said, in a review of one of mr. ballou's books, 'few persons have travelled so extensively, and no one more profitably both to himself and the reading public.' ... the first two chapters are devoted to copenhagen and denmark, so graphically described as to induce a strong desire to visit that extremely interesting danish capital. from thence the narrative of the journey takes the reader into norway and along one of the most remarkable coast lines in the world, indented by fjords deeper than the sea into whose bosom they empty." =the beacon= (=boston=): "the book as a whole is very pleasant, very entertaining, very instructive, and very popular in the good sense of the word. it will help in destroying the popular prejudice about northern and eastern europe which, strange to relate, is still supreme in our press and even in our literature, but is wholly unjustified." =new-orleans times-democrat=: "a very charming book, ... a series of studies and sketches of northern europe, with myth and legend and historical fact interwoven, that makes it enchanting reading." =the church review=: "altogether, this is certainly one of the most successful and satisfactory books of its kind recently published." =the watchman=: "while mr. ballou confines himself to facts, his style is yet so graceful and natural as to captivate the attention and interest of the reader. the narrative runs on like a pictorial panorama unrolled upon canvas, under the best light, and we seem to see in tangible form the people, the architecture, and the thousand characteristics of scenery which are recorded by the author's ready pen." edge-tools of speech. by m. m. ballou. an encyclopædia of quotations, the brightest sayings of the wise and famous. invaluable for debating societies, writers, and public speakers. a treasure for libraries. vol. vo. $ . . * * * * * notices of the press. =cincinnati commercial=: "a vast collection of pungent quotations.... mr. ballou has made this immense collection in a liberal spirit. his test has been fitness and excellence. the volume will be an addition to the working force of writers, speakers, and readers." =the northwestern=: "an almost inexhaustible mine of the choicest thoughts of the best writers of all ages and countries, from confucius down to garfield and gladstone,--a _potpourri_ of all the spiciest ingredients of literature. there is a vacancy on every student's desk and in every library which it alone can fill, and, we believe, soon will fill. the book deserves the popularity which it is most certain to gain." =the beacon= (=boston=): "the quotations cover a wondrous multitude of subjects. indeed, the book is like an endless string of pearls, with here and there a ruby, a diamond, or a bit of honest glass interjected. mr. ballou's taste is thoroughly catholic, his sympathy wide as the world, and his judgment good. the friends of quotations will find these 'edge-tools' inexhaustible, yet well arranged, and highly convenient for reference. the book is a literary treasure, and will surely hold its own for years to come. it deserves a place by the side of mr. bartlett's 'familiar quotations,'--no mean honor for any book." =the critic=: "m. m. ballou's 'edge-tools of speech' shows a broader culture and a wider range of thought and subject. he has classified his quotations alphabetically under the head of subjects after the fashion of a glossary ('ability,' 'absence,' etc.), and has collected the most famous literary or historical sayings bearing on each subject. every side of the subjects finds an application and illustration in one quotation or another. thus the word 'ability' is made the text of wise utterances from napoleon i., dr. johnson, wendell phillips, longfellow, maclaren, gail hamilton, froude, beaconsfield, zoroaster, schopenhauer, la rochefoucauld, matthew wren, gibbon, and aristotle. it has no rival." =philadelphia times=: "there is a running fire of fine thoughts brilliantly expressed, and hence a splendid fund of entertainment." =boston journal=: "'edge-tools of speech' will find its way into thousands of families. it is a volume to take up when a few minutes of leisure are found, and it will always be read with interest." =church press=: "the work, indeed, is a dictionary or encyclopædia of wise and learned quotations; and, beginning with the word 'ability' and ending with 'zeal,' it presents in consecutive order the wisest and wittiest sayings of all the best writers of all ages and countries upon all subjects in theology, philosophy, poetry, history, science, and every other topic that might be useful or entertaining. it is thus a treasury of useful learning, and will prove valuable in suggesting thoughts, or in supplying quotations for the illustration of ideas, or the embellishment of style." =book notes=: "it is a large collection of condensed expressions of thought on a great variety of subjects, by the most distinguished or profound writers of all ages. it is arranged by subjects. take the word 'novel,' by which we mean a fictitious story. this book gathers short, pithy expressions concerning it by herschel, goldsmith, emerson, sir walter scott, thackeray, dryden, carlyle, sala, beecher, willmott, hamerton, fielding, swift, macaulay, sterne, masson, balzac, george curtis, and others. it is not within the range of possibility for any reader to have read all these writers. even had he done so, how could he remember just where to turn to these authors to find their thoughts, and yet how convenient it is for a writer or a speaker to have quick access to them for illustrations. this book for the uses for which it was made is invaluable." =the commonwealth=: "a remarkable compilation of brilliant and wise sayings from more than a thousand various sources, embracing all the notable authors, classic and modern, who have enriched the pages of history and literature. it might be termed a whole library in one volume." =the watchman=: "highly creditable, as evincing vast literary research and a catholic spirit in the selections. professional men and littérateurs can hardly afford to be without a book which is calculated to aid and stimulate the imagination in so direct a manner." =boston home journal=: "the volume is not only of great value to students, professional men, and littérateurs, but will be a rich treasury in the intelligent home." * * * * * _for sale by all booksellers. sent, post-paid, on receipt of the price, by the publishers_, ticknor & company, boston. by the same author: * * * * * genius in sunshine and shadow. _one volume. mo. $ . ._ * * * * * notices of the press. =boston courier=: "one of those pleasant, chatty, and gossipy volumes that everybody enjoys reading. in his easy and flowing style he tells most entertainingly the curious vagaries of the men of genius whom the world has revered, and many a fact which escaped the ordinary reader of biography will here be seized upon and remembered. the volume is a most agreeable companion for solitary hours." =pittsburg bulletin=: "mr. ballou seems to have a positive genius for seizing upon prominent traits of character or events in the lives of his subjects. how many people who have read of cromwell and hampden know that they were once on the point of setting out for america to live before they took part in england's civil war? how many people remember agassiz's noble answer when offered a large salary to lecture,--'i cannot afford to waste time in making money'?" =brooklyn magazine=: "daniel de foe, keats, oliver cromwell, hugh miller, john bunyan, benjamin franklin, elihu burritt, benjamin west, and hundreds of others are cited as instances to illustrate that genius is independent of circumstances. a galaxy of the names of the world's great men is presented to demonstrate the fact that the humblest may rise to be the greatest. mr. ballou's book is crowded full of interest from cover to cover. he shows a wide knowledge of men and events, and his strict regard for accuracy gives a permanent value to the book. to place such a book as this in the hands of young men is to confer a blessing upon them. it is full of beneficial illustrations and lessons, and many a young man will take new heart after a perusal of its pages." =journal of education= (=boston=): "the book has much of the fascination of a conversation, chatting leisurely about the gossip, history, anecdotes, etc., which the names of hundreds of authors, artists, and other celebrities suggest. the index is so complete and accurate as to make this marvellous compilation as available as an encyclopædia." =sunday budget=: "a work of exceeding interest and value, for it is a veritable epitome of biography, dealing with all the famous characters of literature, science, and art, and presenting a wealth of instructive data such as no volume of similar compass has ever contained. a more instructive and interesting book has not been brought out the present season, and its charm exerts a hold upon the reader that leads him on from page to page." =the journalist= (=new york=): "a charming, gossipy volume of literary anecdotes. it is this very gossipy style which makes the book an easy one to read; and, while the briefness of some of the references frequently piques the reader's curiosity into further investigation, they are full enough to furnish much valuable information concerning the masters of art and literature. mr. ballou displays a broad and thorough knowledge of men of genius in all ages, and the comprehensive index makes the volume invaluable as a book of reference, while--a rare thing in reference books--it is thoroughly interesting for consecutive reading." =the watchman=: "the book contains, in a condensed form, so large an amount of interesting information concerning the personality of authors, artists, and scientists as to cause us to wonder how one mind could be sufficiently retentive to produce so comprehensive a collection. the book is so easy and flowing in style as to seem more like listening to agreeable conversation than the reading of printed pages." =boston traveller=: "one of the most permanently valuable publications of the year. it has one very striking and curious element in being a kind of literary phonograph, so to speak, with which one can sit down alone in one's room and summon up spirits from the vasty deep of the past with far better success than attended glendower's efforts in that line. one returns to mr. ballou's book again and again to discover the secret of this peculiar quality; but, open the work where he will, the same spell of fascination is over it. the wide range of literature in many lands and languages, the fine and discriminating insight, and the scholarly culture that were so conspicuous in mr. ballou's 'edge-tools of speech,' are revealed in the 'genius in sunshine and shadow.' it is a book to live with,--a statement that can be predicated of few of the latter-day publications." =saturday evening gazette=: "a large store of delightful literary entertainment. it is written in a graceful, fluent, and attractive style, and with an easy liveliness that makes it peculiarly pleasing in the perusal. we know of no volume in which is presented so vast a fund of interesting gossip about the world's great ones in art, literature, and science as is here set forth. every page is abundant in anecdote, of which there is such a copious shower that it even overflows into foot-notes. it would be next to impossible to describe the work in detail, so extensive is the field it covers and so luxuriant is it in illustration. it is enough to state that it will be found fascinating by every reader of refined and educated taste, and attractive and edifying by all, not only for what it tells, but for the bright, chatty, and spirited manner in which it is told." =massachusetts ploughman=: "one of the most agreeable books. it is a work teeming with delightful information and anecdote gathered from the broad fields of literature and art. the great charm of the book is its colloquial and epigrammatic style, conveying a whole volume of suggestiveness and facts on every page. open it where we may, it reads charmingly, and one is loath to lay it aside until every page has been perused. in saying that the book is one of real and permanent value, we pay it a just and merited tribute." under the southern cross under the southern cross _or travels in_ australia, tasmania, new zealand, samoa, and other pacific islands by maturin m. ballou author of "due west; or, round the world in ten months," "due north; or, glimpses of scandinavia, russia, and russian poland," "due south; or, cuba past and present," etc. ... of antres vast and deserts idle, rough quarries, rocks, and hills whose heads touch heaven, it was my hint to speak,--such was the process; and of the cannibals that each other eat, the anthropophagi.--shakspeare. boston ticknor and company tremont street _copyright, _, by maturin m. ballou. _all rights reserved._ university press: john wilson and son, cambridge. preface. dr. johnson is reported to have said that the best way to travel is to sit by one's own fireside and read how others have done it; but though this may be the safest mode it certainly is not the pleasantest. this any travelled writer knows; and he also knows that could he succeed in adequately inspiring the reader with his accounts of the delights of foreign experiences, especially those of the grand, beautiful, and marvellous exhibitions of nature, he would surely induce him to add to his own enjoyment by similar personal experiences. that there is a degree of pleasure in recording these observations we freely confess; but that one constantly feels how inadequate is language to convey a realizing sense of what is actually enjoyed in travel we must as freely admit. madame swetchine was more sarcastic than truthful when she pronounced travel to be the frivolous part of serious lives, and the serious part of frivolous ones. to an observant person nothing can be more instructive than travel; in fact it may be said to be the only royal road to learning. travel is a magician,--it both enchants and disenchants; since while it delights the eye, it often proves the winding-sheet of many cherished illusions. there is always some bitter to be tasted with every sweet; but even the bee which finds a thorn on every rose comes home laden with honey. m. m. b. boston, january, . contents. chapter i. page journey across the american continent.--the giant city of the west.--a chinese community.--embarking for a long sea-voyage. --about ocean birds.--navigating the pacific.--peculiarities of life at sea.--curiosities of the deep.--ambergris.--city of honolulu.--an island paradise.--early paganism at hawaii. --wholesale human sacrifices.--royalty at the race-course.-- not a kingly monarch - chapter ii. ladies riding astride.--passion for flower decorations.--a sailor on a bucking horse.--a weekly gala-day.--hawaiian ladies' costume.--a famous battle-ground.--the native's staff of life.--ubiquitous john chinaman.--largest apple- orchard in the world.--hawaiians as cannibals.--an active volcano.--colony of lepers.--unwelcome visitors.--our political relations with the sandwich islands - chapter iii. the samoan islands.--a unique race of savages.--diving for money.--a genuine samoan mermaid.--german aggressiveness.--a south-sea nunnery.--a terrible disease.--christianity vs. paganism.--under the southern cross.--grandeur of the heavens at sea.--landing at auckland.--a stormy ocean.--the famous harbor of sydney.--england and her australian colony.--the modern eldorado.--early settlers - chapter iv. interesting statistical facts.--emigration.--heavy indebtedness. --curious contrasts.--new south wales.--a populous city.--a splendid harbor.--the yacht "sunbeam."--street scenes.--gin palaces.--public gardens of sydney.--a noble institution of learning.--art gallery.--public libraries.--pleasure trip to parametta.--attractive drives.--a sad catastrophe in sydney harbor - chapter v. a zigzag railway.--wonderful series of caves.--immense sheep- runs.--sheep-shearing.--central australia.--city characteristics. --fine architectural development.--steam tramways.--labor unions.--colonial federation.--the tariff.--loyalty to england. --spirit of local rivalry.--the st. giles of sydney.--city clubs.--the laughing jackass.--public parks.--gold mines - chapter vi. the capital of queensland.--public gardens.--gold mines and gold mining.--pleasant excursion.--inducements to emigrants. --coolie principle of labor.--agricultural products.--sugar plantations.--australian aborigines.--cannibalism.--civil wars.--indian legends.--fire-arms and fire-water.--missionary efforts.--a brief romance.--the boomerang.--the various tribes. --antiquity of these lands - chapter vii. morning in the forest.--flying foxes.--a startling snake- story.--geographical.--want of irrigation.--droughts.-- immense sheep-runs.--seeking a shepherd life.--wonderful gold nuggets.--a "welcome" discovery.--wool is king in queensland. --the chinese population.--education in australia.--peculiar banking business.--waging war upon kangaroos.--journalism in australia.--proposed new colony - chapter viii. an inland journey.--the capital of victoria.--grand public buildings.--water-supply of the city.--public parks and gardens.--street scenes.--dashing liveries.--tramways.-- extremes.--melbourne ladies.--street beggars.--saturday half-holiday.--public arcades.--the city free library.--the public markets.--china-town, melbourne.--victims of the opium habit - chapter ix. a melbourne half-holiday.--inconsistency of laborers.--vice- royal residence.--special gold-fields of victoria.--ballarat. --great depths in mines.--agricultural interests.--sandhurst. --the giant trees of australia.--the kangaroo.--in victorian forests.--peculiar salt lakes.--the bower-bird's retreat.-- the wild dog.--desirable and undesirable emigrants.--no place for the intemperate - chapter x. from melbourne to adelaide.--capital of south australia.--new gold-fields.--agricultural interests.--city institutions.-- inducements to immigrants.--public buildings.--a city of churches.--australian ladies.--interior of the country.-- irrigation.--german settlers.--the botanical gardens.--west australia.--perth the capital.--the pearl fisheries.--commercial advantages considered - chapter xi. from australia to tasmania.--the river tamar.--bird life.-- city of launceston.--aborigines of the island.--tattooing.-- van diemen's land.--a beautiful country.--rich mines.--mount bischoff.--down in a gold mine.--from launceston to hobart. --rural aspects.--capital of tasmania.--street scenes.--a former penal depot.--mount wellington.--personal beauty.--an unbecoming fashion - chapter xii. lake district of tasmania.--mount wellington.--kangaroos.--the big trees.--a serenade.--the albatross.--marksmanship at sea. --dust of the ocean.--a storm.--franklin's proposition.--a feathered captive.--bluff oysters.--most southerly hotel in the world.--invercargill.--historical matters.--geographical. --the climate of new zealand.--colonial hospitality - chapter xiii. the city of dunedin.--scotch residents.--the enchanter's wand. --chain-cable tramways.--volcanic effects.--the salvation army.--local gold-fields.--enormous aggregate product.--trees and flowers.--the rabbit pest.--port littleton.--market day in christchurch.--an interesting city.--wonderful extinct bird.--strange record of an unknown race.--the new zealand forests - chapter xiv. capital of new zealand.--about the native race.--a city of shops.--local earthquakes.--large glaciers.--mcnab's gardens. --a public nuisance.--napier.--maori peculiarities.--native language.--mythology.--christianizing savages.--gisborne.-- cruelty to dumb animals.--shag island.--sir george gray's pleasant home.--oysters growing on new zealand trees! - chapter xv. historical glance at auckland.--a remarkable volcanic region. --city institutions.--queen street and its belongings.--mount eden.--comprehensive view.--labor unions.--the public debt.-- kauri forests.--production of kauri gum.--environs of auckland. --the native flora.--an admirable climate.--a rich mineral district.--agricultural development - chapter xvi. a journey to the king's country.--an experienced "whip."-- volcanic hills.--a new zealand forest.--a strangely afflicted boy.--lake rotorua.--ohinemutu.--funeral of a maori chief.-- wailing and weeping.--moonlight on the lake.--wonderland.-- spouting geysers and boiling pools.--savage mode of slaughter. --maori houses.--chivalry and cannibalism.--savage and civilized life - chapter xvii. the maori dog.--a romantic island.--sinking of a maori fort. --volcanic destruction.--a country of boiling springs.-- idleness.--a lazy race of savages.--native religion.--a fitful geyser.--sophia, the famous guide.--a funeral dance. --the "haka" performance.--maori improvidence.--rubbing noses. --native babies.--church-going and card-playing.--the king's country.--eloquent aborigines.--a sanitarium.--sulphur point. --future of new zealand - under the southern cross. chapter i. journey across the american continent.--the giant city of the west.--a chinese community.--embarking for a long sea-voyage.--about ocean birds.--navigating the pacific.--peculiarities of life at sea.--curiosities of the deep.--ambergris.--city of honolulu.--an island paradise.--early paganism at hawaii.--wholesale human sacrifices.--royalty at the race-course.--not a kingly monarch. when the author resolved upon a journey to the antipodes he was in london, just returned from norway, sweden, and russia, and contemplated reaching the far-away countries of australia and new zealand by going due east through the mediterranean, the suez canal, the red sea, and then crossing the indian ocean. but this is not the nearest route to oceania. the english monthly mail for that part of the world is regularly forwarded from liverpool to boston or new york, thence across the continent of america, and by steamboat from san francisco. these mail steamers touch at the sandwich islands, after which the course lies southwest into the island-dotted latitudes of the widespread south pacific. auckland, in new zealand, is reached by this route in thirty-seven days from london; and sydney, in australia, five days later,--the two great english colonies being separated by over a thousand miles of unbroken ocean. the latter route was adopted by the writer of these pages as being both more comfortable and more expeditious. having already experienced the sirocco-like heat of the red sea throughout its whole length, from adin to suez, the prospect of a second journey in that exhausting region was anything but attractive. the atlantic ocean was therefore crossed to the westward, and a fair start made from much nearer home; namely, by the american central pacific route. the journey by rail across our own continent was easily accomplished in one week of day-and-night travel, covering a distance of thirty-four hundred miles from boston to san francisco. comfortable sleeping-cars obviate the necessity of stopping by the way for bodily rest, provided the traveller be physically strong and in good health. on a portion of the road one not only retires at his usual hour, but he also breakfasts, dines, and enjoys nearly all the domestic conveniences in the train, while it is moving at a rate varying from thirty-five to forty-five miles per hour, in such well-adjusted cars as hardly to realize that he is all the time being rapidly and surely forwarded to his destination. the pleasing variety of scenery presented to the eyes of the watchful traveller from the car windows is extremely interesting and peculiarly american, embracing peaceful, widespread, fertile fields, valleys of exquisite verdure, foaming torrents and mountain gorges, together with alpine ranges worthy of switzerland. now the route skirts the largest lakes on the face of the globe, navigated by mammoth steam ships; now follows the silvery course of some broad river, or crosses a great commercial water-way, hundreds of feet above its surface, by iron bridges skilfully hung in air. for scores of miles the road may run parallel with some busy canal crowded with heavily-laden barges, slowly making their way to market. besides winding through mountain gorges, plains, parks, and primeval forests, one passes _en route_ through grand and populous cities numbering half a million and more of people each, as well as through pleasant towns, thrifty villages, pioneer hamlets, and indian reservations, where the plains are as far-reaching as the open sea, the blue of the sky overhead and the yellow buffalo-grass which carpets the earth forming the only blending colors,--until by and by a distant glimpse of the waters of the pacific signifies that the land-journey draws near its close, and soon after the young but wonderful giant city of the west, san francisco, is reached. five years had elapsed since we last visited this thriving metropolis, during which brief period whole streets of substantial houses have been erected in what was formerly a suburb of the town, and many noble architectural structures have been reared upon the long avenues previously established. in population forty thousand inhabitants have in that space of time been added to its aggregate numbers, while it is to-day growing in wealth, numbers, and political importance faster than ever before. what a panorama of living interest was afforded by its streets, alleys, and broad boulevards! how impressive to watch its cosmopolitan life, to note the exaggerated love of pleasure exhibited on all hands, the devotion of each active member of the community to money-making, the artificial manners and customs so widely prevailing, the iniquitous pursuits of the desperate and dangerous classes, and the ripe aptitude of their too willing victims! it is the solitary looker-on who sees more than the actors in the great drama of every-day life. it is "the hearing ear and the seeing eye" that enrich the memory and ripen the judgment. is it not curious to observe how the lines of barbarism and civilization intersect along these teeming avenues? of our own country we do not propose to treat at length in these pages; but probably not many of our readers have visited the hidden corners of chinatown in the metropolis of california,--a section of the city contiguous to its very centre, and yet at total variance with its every aspect. it required but a slight stretch of the imagination after passing its borders to believe oneself in canton, pekin, or hong-kong, except that the thoroughfares in the asiatic capitals are mere alleys in width, shut in overhead and darkened by mats, while here we have broad streets after the american and european fashion, open to the sky. they are, however, lined with chinese shops decked in all their national peculiarities exhibiting the most grotesque signs, while the windows are crowded with outlandish trash, and the whole is surrounded by an oriental atmosphere. this section is entirely peopled by the mongolians, and by such poor, fallen, abandoned men and women of other nationalities as seek among these surroundings to hide themselves from the shame and penalty of their crimes. there are but few native chinese women here, and those that are seen have been smuggled in, it being the rule that none of them shall be landed in this country. the chinaman appears thoroughly at home here, and revels in his native dress,--pigtail, odd shoes, and silk attire,--even though he may adopt the american style while working as a stevedore on the wharves, or while engaged in various avocations about the other parts of the city. here without the least attempt at disguise all the many vices of the race are freely indulged in, especially as regards sensuality, opium-smoking, and gambling. a chinaman rarely touches spirituous liquors, so that there is no drunkenness to be seen in the district, but only that insensibility which is the effect of indulgence in opium. the thirty thousand asiatics who live in chinatown are packed together at night like dried herring in a box. twenty of them often sleep in the same small room, lying upon the floor, without even an apology for a bed. here they cook and eat mysterious dishes after the custom of their race, amid smells and filth which no american or european stomach could endure. a couple of hours sufficed to give us all the personal experience of this locality we had the least wish to acquire, though our official guide of the police force proposed to introduce us to other peculiar sights and into deeper cellars,--places usually hidden from the curious eyes of the general public. the vile practices, indecent and gross exhibitions, which are indulged in by these mongolians, no respectable paper would publish in detail. in short, chinatown is the repository of vice of the most brutal and disgusting character, affording the fullest entertainment for the low tastes of the most depraved. finding that this pandering to the curiosity of a certain class of whites brings them in money, the chinamen give them all the grossness they are willing to pay for. the reader, however, must not entertain a wrong idea with regard to chinatown, since in the midst of all this squalor, dirt, immorality, and wickedness, there are some of this race living here who keep themselves untainted by the objectionable associations that surround them. they are the exceptions, to be sure. we were told of several chinese gentlemen, for instance, who have amassed large fortunes by legitimate trade, within the last ten or fifteen years,--men who, as reliable and honorable merchants, stand high among the commercial people of san francisco. three names were given us by a gentleman who was well informed in the matter, of asiatics who were each worth over a million dollars. to these were added the names of two who are worth over two millions. these men will not return to china, because the property tax is so high there. like many of our own citizens, these chinese find their great satisfaction in accumulating wealth, and so go on adding daily to their possessions. we have said that there are thirty thousand chinese in this district, but we were officially informed that forty thousand would be much nearer the true aggregate. the impression prevails that the open immigration of this race has ceased at san francisco, but the arrival of several hundreds by steamer the day before we visited their miserable quarter of the town, was duly announced in the papers. these came by the way of japan. a sickening odor adheres to one's clothing for hours after returning from the asiatic section of san francisco,--a flavor of musk, opium, stale tobacco, and sandal-wood, the latter being freely burned as an incense before the chinese gods; for amid all his filth and vileness, john does not forget scrupulously to fulfil the conventional requirements of his idolatrous faith. after a few days devoted to renewing acquaintance with the familiar localities of the city, passage was taken on board the union steamship company's mail-packet "zealandia" bound for australia. once before the golden gate, as the entrance into the harbor of san francisco is called, had been passed by the author when bound upon a twenty days' sea-voyage. japan then formed the objective point, the route being a northerly one; but the "zealandia" was bound for the tropics and the far southern sea,--that vast region forming the largest expanse of ocean in the world and containing fully one half of its water surface. the pacific measures nine thousand miles from north to south, and is ten thousand miles broad between quinto, south america, and the moluccas, or spice islands; while at the extreme north, where behring strait divides the continents of asia and america, it is but about forty miles in width, and in clear weather one can distinctly see the shore of asia from that of our own continent. the harbor of san francisco presented much the same busy scene which so impressed us five years before; it was full of commercial activity and the occupations incident to various forms of maritime life. the noise of steam-whistles from the ferry-boats, the hoarse signals from ocean-going vessels starting on long voyages, and the boatswain's shrill whistle were half deafening as they mingled in direst discord. big white sea-gulls in myriads flew fearlessly in and out among the shipping, uttering defiant screams, or floated like corks upon the water alongside of the ship. in no other part of the world are there so many snow-white sea-gulls to be seen as frequent this spacious and charming bay. they are large, graceful, dignified birds, and are never molested, being looked upon as picturesque ornaments to the harbor; besides which they are the most active sort of scavengers in removing the floating carrion and the débris thrown from the wharves and the cook's galley. the gulls one sees off the coast of norway and among the loffoden islands are thousands in number, but they are not nearly so large as are these bird-monarchs of the pacific. their rank, fishy flavor renders them unfit for the table, though the chinamen about the wharves secretly snare and eat them. their breeding-places are not known, but they must be hundreds of miles away on unfrequented rocks and reefs. distance, however, is of little account to these buoyant navigators of the atmosphere. one of the ship's officers told us of a sea-gull which was caught within the last year just off the golden gate, and detained for a brief period on board a steamship bound for japan. a short piece of red tape was securely tied to one of its legs, after which the bird was released. this identical gull followed the ship across the pacific into the harbor of yokohama,--a distance of over four thousand miles. until this experiment was tried, it had been doubted whether the same individual birds continue with a ship on a long voyage as they seem to do. "you will see the albatross as we get down south," continued the officer, "a bird worth watching, the largest of the gull family, frequently measuring across its outspread wings twelve feet from tip to tip." we resolved to be on the lookout for this king-bird, though rather doubting the mammoth proportions attributed to him. by turning to a map of the western hemisphere it will be found that the sandwich islands are located far up in the northeastern part of the pacific ocean, whence a vessel laying her course for new zealand steers south by west through a long tract of ocean, seemingly so full of islands that the inexperienced are apt to wonder how she can hold such a course and not run foul of some of the polynesian groups. but so vast are the distances in oceania, so mathematically exact are the rules of navigation, so well known are the prevailing winds and currents, that the passengers of a steamship may make the voyage and not sight even a headland between honolulu and auckland,--a distance of more than four thousand miles. this is the course we pursued, first steering for the hawaiian group, and thence for the north headlands of new zealand, _via_ tutuila, of the samoan islands. it was magellan, the portuguese navigator, who first discovered this great ocean, sailing through the strait which bears his name. in the month of november, , he finally came into the waters of the new sea upon which he was the first to sail, and which he named mar pacifico. it may have been "pacific" in his day, or may have seemed so to him after experiencing some rough weather on the other side of the continent of america, but we have seen it more turbulent than the atlantic, especially where it approaches the antarctic circle. magellan did not long survive to enjoy the fame and profit of his discovery, as about a twelvemonth later he was killed in an unfortunate skirmish with the savages of some of the pacific islands. he is often compared with his great contemporary columbus, whose experience in the west indies was undoubtedly the incentive for magellan on his voyages of discovery. sea-life is conducive to idleness, and the saline atmosphere is narcotic. lying in his berth the voyager gazes listlessly at the yellow iron-mould on the towels, the greasy moreen curtains, the restless hanging-lamp, and the damp, begrimed carpet, while he inhales the unpleasant bilge-scented atmosphere which penetrates everything. the jerking motion of the ship shaken incessantly by the propeller, causes the letters of the printed regulations tacked upon the door to run together in unintelligible lines, until at last he grows dizzy with the ceaseless motion imparted to everything. finally, with a sudden burst of energy the deck is reached, where there is pretty sure to be something suggestive to occupy the mind and vary the wearisome monotony. the wonderful blue of the sea by day, and its fire-like phosphorescence by night, are always interesting. the mediterranean between malta and gibraltar is proverbially blue, but the pacific seemed to us more so. at times it lay as if in a trance, a perfect calm, the ship's keel gliding as it were over a burnished metallic field, or a flood of molten sapphire. the familiar jelly-fish often appeared above the liquid depths, contracting and expanding its soft, flat body, and thus progressing through the still waters, its half-transparent form emitting opaline colors under the warm rays of the sun. the many-armed, vaulting cuttle-fish was seen now and again leaping out of the water as though pursued by some aquatic enemy, though its general habit is not to frequent the surface by daylight. specimens of the deep-sea star-fish with its five arms of equal length were abundant. those which we met here were of a reddish and purple color combined, but we have seen them in shallower waters of a bright orange-yellow. while exhibiting but little apparent life, the star-fish can yet be quite aggressive when pressed by hunger and in search of food, having, as naturalists tell us, a mysterious way of causing the oyster to open its shell, whereupon the star-fish proceeds gradually to consume the body of the bivalve. one frail, small rover of the quiet surface of the sea always interested us,--the tiny nautilus, with a transparent shell almost as frail as writing-paper. it was to be seen only in calm weather. if disturbed, it drew itself within its sheltering cover and sank slowly from sight. no wonder the ancient greeks saw in its beautifully corrugated shell the graceful model of a galleon; and hence its name, derived from the greek word which signifies a ship. every amusing suggestion, however trivial, is welcome, if it only serves to break the depressing monotony of the sea,--a sail, a shark, a new ocean bird, a school of porpoises. two or three of our passengers had supplied themselves with microscopes, and they often dropped a gauze scoop-net over the ship's side, where it was permitted to trail for a few moments; then drawing it on board they amused themselves by subjecting the contents to a microscopic examination. the results were often very curious. on one occasion a short bit of floating sea-weed was thus obtained, upon which was securely woven a cluster of what looked like tiny quinces in shape, though the color was jet black. they were called sea-grapes by the sailors, but we knew them to be a cluster of fishes' eggs. they proved to be those of the cuttle-fish, and were eighteen or twenty in number. amiable persons exhibit their natural traits of disposition at sea in strong contrast to those who are actuated by opposite qualities,--the latter, we are sorry to say, being nearly always in the majority. enmities and friendships are formed with equal promptness and facility; but however desirable it may be, there is no escaping the forced companionship incident to life on shipboard, where ceremony is for the time being mostly banished. customs become established which would be considered rather _outré_ upon land. ennui has made more persons reckless than has despair. those individuals are comparatively few on such occasions who have sufficient mental resource profitably to occupy their minds, and those who have nothing to do quickly tire of themselves and of all about them. if it were not for the decided breaks in the routine of each day and evening afforded by the several meals, surely suicides at sea would be frequent. one inevitable conclusion is sure to be arrived at; namely, that a long sea-voyage is an infallible remedy for over-fastidiousness and sickly sentimentality. when we had been at sea about a week there was observed floating upon the water a pale-gray, amber-like substance; it was not abundant, but to the watchful eye seemed peculiar, and was several times apparent. this our captain declared to be ambergris,--a substance originally found in the intestines of the sperm whale, and believed to be produced there only. science declares it to be a diseased secretion of the animal, probably induced by indigestion,--just as the pearl is a diseased secretion of the australian and penang oysters. ambergris is often found floating about the shores of the coral sea and throughout the region known as australasia, having been ejected by the many whales frequenting these latitudes. on the west coast of new zealand the natives may frequently be seen searching along the shore after a heavy gale, eagerly securing more or less of the article. the "zealandia," on her previous voyage to that of which we are now writing, brought from auckland to san francisco three boxes of ambergris weighing about one hundred pounds each, the three boxes being invoiced at a valuation of thirty thousand dollars. it is rarely that so much is imported into this country in a twelvemonth. when first taken from the whale it is of a soft texture, and is quite offensive to the smell; but after a brief exposure to the air it rapidly hardens, and then emits a sweet, earthy odor, and is used for the manufacture of the choicest perfumery, being nearly as important for that purpose as the more costly musk. the peculiar currents of the sea in these special regions, its vast extent and fabulous depths, the huge monsters and the tiny creatures occupying it, the speed of the ship, her exact tonnage and the trade in which she had been engaged since she was launched on the clyde,--all these items became of vital importance to the voyagers, but their detail would seem prosy to the general reader. it was really surprising to see how earnest intelligent people become over matters which under ordinary circumstances and on shore would not have received a moment's consideration. the distance which we expected to accomplish was referred to daily, and was thus formulated: from san francisco to honolulu is twenty-one hundred miles; from honolulu to auckland is thirty-eight hundred miles; from auckland to sydney is twelve hundred and eighty miles. the ship's run was daily recorded and posted up for the general satisfaction, the result being promptly deducted from the aggregated figures as above. it was on the eighth day of the voyage that we made the sandwich islands. a glance at the map will show the reader that these volcanic upheavals lie on the bosom of the north pacific, in a slight curve, and number thirteen in all. the total area combined does not exceed sixty-five hundred square miles, seven of them being mere islets, and six only are inhabited. the largest of the group is hawaii, situated the farthest south, being in round numbers a hundred miles long by eighty broad, and with the natives gives its name to the whole group, as they are here officially called the hawaiian islands,--though captain cook, on their first being discovered, about a hundred years ago, gave them the name of the sandwich islands, after the then first lord of the english admiralty, and by this latter name they are generally known on the maps and in geographies. the chain of islands which form the group are but a series of volcanic peaks rising abruptly from a depth of three miles below the sea-level to as great a height above it, being, so to speak, natural chimneys from the tops of which vast internal fires in former ages have found vent. we made the island of oahu, passing along the windward shores of maui and molokai in the early gray of a soft june morning, and doubling the lofty promontory known as diamond head, which rears its precipitous front seven hundred feet above the sea. we ran along the coast while the sun rose and beautified the mountain-tops, the green slopes, gulches, and fern-clad hills sparkling with streamlets. the dawn was lovely in its aspect, fresh and sweet. a gentle land-breeze brought us the dewy fragrance of the flowers which had been distilled from a wilderness of bloom during the tropical night. the uncertain light melted slowly away as a dainty flush appeared in the east. a few transparent clouds hung over the verdant isle, clouds so fleecy and ermine-like that they might have been the mantles of angels. it was entrancing thus to be gliding noiselessly over a perfectly calm sea, with so many attendant elements of beauty. we stood quite alone in the bow of the ship, wondering how the passengers below could court the thrall of sleep at such a moment. as we drew nearer and nearer to the shore, sugar plantations, cocoanut groves, and verdant pastures came clearly into view, dotted here and there with the low primitive dwellings of the natives, and occasionally ornamented by the picturesque, vine-covered cottages of american and european residents. as the city of honolulu was approached, it seemed to be half buried in a cloud of luxuriant foliage. blessed with frequent rains, drought is not known here, and the verdure is perennial. the sudden change of the color of the ocean was very noticeable as we steamed at half speed through a narrow gap of the coral reef which forms a natural breakwater to the harbor. we passed the light-house which stands on the inner edge of the reef,--a structure not over thirty feet in height, consequently not visible from a ship's deck more than ten miles away. the captain informed us that it was the only light between this island and the coast of new zealand, in the far south pacific. the channel through the reef to safe anchorage is carefully buoyed on either side, and at night a safety-lantern is placed upon each of these little floating beacons, so that a steamer can easily steer her course in safety, come when she may. though the volcanic origin of the land is plain, it is not the sole cause of these reefs and islands appearing thus in mid-ocean. upon the flanks of the upheaval the coral insect with tireless industry rears its amazing structure, until it reaches the surface of the waves as a reef, more or less contiguous to the shore, and to which ages finally serve to join it. the tiny creature delegated by providence to build these reefs dies on exposure to air,--its work being then done. the far-reaching antiquity of the islands is established by these very coralline formations, which could only have attained their present elevation just below the surface by the growth of thousands of years. as already intimated, the land rises so abruptly from the bottom of the sea that the water retains its dark-blue tint to within a short distance of the shore, where it assumes a light-blue and bottle-green hue, with other magic colors striking in their effect viewed beneath the clear morning light and embossed with the rays of the glowing sun. we were soon safely moored inside the harbor, where there is an average depth of sixteen fathoms, and room for a hundred large vessels to find anchorage at the same time. the wharves are spacious and most substantially built, with ample depth alongside. honolulu, which is situated on the south side of the island, is the commercial port of the whole group,--the half-way house, as it were, between north america and asia, california and the new world of australasia. the streets of the anglo-hawaiian capital are clean and all admirably macadamized, the material employed for the purpose being coral, black lava, stone, and sand. at night the thoroughfares are rendered nearly as light as by day, through the liberal use of gas. one of the first things to attract our attention after landing was a huge steam-rolling machine at work upon the road-bed of one of the streets leading to the wharves. the city, with its twenty thousand inhabitants more or less, has all the belongings of modern civilization, such as churches, charitable institutions, hospitals, schools, gas, electric lights, and the telephone; yet it was forced upon the mind how brief the period that had transpired since this was nearly a wilderness, peopled by a race of cannibals, whose idolatrous superstitions involved frequent human sacrifices. to-day nearly all the rising generation can read and write, and the entire race are professed christians. one fact especially indicative of progress came to our knowledge; namely, that the government expends fifty thousand dollars annually upon the local schools. could a stronger contrast be found than the aspect presented by honolulu when captain cook discovered these islands, in , and that of the honolulu of ? in imagination we find ourself trying to look forward to the close of another century, and surmising what may then be the condition of these isolated spots of earth. the original paganism of this people was of the most brutal type, revelling in human gore. we were told of rows of stone altars on which a hundred victims are known to have been sacrificed at one time, the altars still standing as memorials of the wretched idolatrous worship of the past. such scenes were of frequent occurrence among the aborigines, surrounded by a climate which was nearly perfect, and by a profuseness and bounty of vegetation that made the support of life a mere holiday existence. they poured out human blood like water upon the altars erected to their idols, and fattened upon human flesh. it is strange indeed that some of the most lovely parts of the world should have been peopled by cannibals. we speak in the past tense; but all travellers in savage, half-civilized lands know that there are many waste places of the earth which are to-day the abode of the anthropophagi. in those early days the several islands of the hawaiian group had each a separate king. bitter wars were frequent among them, and the savages of the pacific islands always ate their prisoners taken in battle. king kamehameha finally subjected the several isles to his sway, and founded the government which has lasted to our day. many of the streets of honolulu present a grateful shade along the sidewalks, being lined by choice ornamental trees, of which the cocoanut, palm, bread-fruit, candle-nut, and some others are indigenous; but many have been introduced from abroad and become thoroughly domesticated. the tall mango-tree with its rich, glossy leaves, the branches bending under the weight of its delicious fruit, was seen growing everywhere, though it is not a native of these islands. it was impossible not to observe with acute interest the great variety of fruit-trees, most of whose pendulous branches were heavy with luscious products. among them were the feathery tamarind, the orange, lime, alligator-pear, citron-fig, date, palm, rose-apple, and some others whose names we did not learn. of all the flowering trees the brilliant _ponciana regia_ was most conspicuous and attractive, with its cloud of scarlet blossoms, each cluster as large as a florida orange. some of the thoroughfares, especially that known as king's street, are lined by pretty, low-built cottages, standing a hundred feet and more back from the roadway, with broad, inviting verandas, the whole front festooned and nearly hidden by tropical and semi-tropical plants in full bloom. this delightful aspect was supplemented by lovely flower-beds, and groups of ornamental trees in the gardens, with here and there an isolated norfolk island pine, forcing its strong individuality of shape and foliage upon the observation. a china rose-tree full of crimson flowers was noticed, and in a garden near the palace we saw a peach-tree, with one side full of rosy blossoms, while the other was decked with ripening fruit. how this was achieved we did not stop to inquire, pausing only long enough to admire the novel and anomalous effect. the gardens of honolulu do not lack for water, a never-failing supply of the precious liquid being brought from the neighboring mountains in large iron pipes, and introduced into each city dwelling; moreover, we were told by the residents that they have only to sink a well ten or twelve feet deep anywhere on the plateau occupied by the city, when an abundance of water can always be secured. it was delightful to think that this lovely floral display to be seen all about us, around the native shanties as well as in the grounds of the better classes, was not confined to any one season, but that the various months of the year were severally beautified with roses, lilies, and the thousand and one gems of flora's kingdom grown out-of-doors. the race-course of honolulu is situated four or five miles from the city proper, and is reached by a hard, well-kept, level road passing, it seemed, through one continuous tropical garden. here was presented to us a gay and interesting picture of strong local color. the course occupies ample grounds laid out and fenced in the usual circular style of a one-mile track. the racing was conducted by the jockey club of the city, who certainly introduced on this occasion some remarkably well-bred animals. however they may have become possessed of the money, the natives, high and low, seemed to have plenty of loose cash to bet with, and the silver dollars were rapidly passed from hand to hand as each trial came to an issue. it was all conducted upon the cash principle; no accounts seemed to be kept, but settlements were made then and there, between the races. the scene was enlivened with music furnished by the king's native band, composed of twenty-eight colored men led by a german conductor. this band is certainly under remarkable discipline and very scientific instruction, and few similar organizations of white men in america can be truthfully said to excel them. they were uniformed in pure white linen ornamented with brass buttons, bearing the national hawaiian arms, and wore snow-white helmets tipped with spikes of glittering brass of the german army pattern. king kalakana, who is very fond of racing and always assists at these exhibitions, greeted us cordially upon the grand stand, where he sat among the other spectators dressed in a suit of white linen and a plain straw hat. a few moments later, by invitation of his majesty we stepped into an adjoining apartment, where he jauntily tossed off a goblet brimming with champagne, adding a few pleasant words of welcome. the trouble with him is that he is far too much inclined "to look upon the wine when it is red," though we were informed confidentially that his favorite tipple was gin. notwithstanding that he is a man of more than ordinary intelligence, and even of a considerable degree of culture, morally speaking he has no traits of character which command respect, and is at times so much given to a sensual life as to outrage all kingly associations, incurring the disgust even of his most intimate associates. in person he is tall, well built, a little over six feet in height, of very dark complexion, and with crisp curly hair. he is remarkably superstitious, we were told, and consults pretended supernatural agents as to various state matters. this trait must have been born in him, and is matched by a similar spirit prevailing in the breast of every native. he is too selfish in disposition to be exercised by any real degree of patriotism, and "can be bought at a very low market value in connection with any private enterprise," to quote the words of a leading citizen with whom we conversed about the political condition of the islands. there are always plenty of adventurers ready to take advantage of such possible venality, and our informant told us that there were stories privately circulated, and undoubtedly true, which if publicly substantiated would result in his being dethroned. "indeed," he added, "there is only a sort of phantom royalty maintained in honolulu." these considerations did not tend to prepossess us much in the king's favor; and besides, it was impossible readily to forget that his direct ancestors slew, roasted, and ate captain cook. this delectable monarch has just passed his fifty-second year, and as he may very properly be styled a fast liver, his career will hardly be a long one, more especially as the islands seem to be in a troubled political condition, so deep seated that a revolution is at all times imminent, while the proposed establishment of a republic is freely prognosticated and openly discussed. it is reported that the king has lately been detected in receiving heavy bribes for the granting of certain valuable and exclusive privileges; besides which, his personal life and habits being, as already intimated, extremely repulsive to a large portion of the people, he is growing daily more and more unpopular. it is well known that merchants and resident foreigners have been for some time taking serious steps for self-protection and the safe care of their property in the event of a popular uprising. the present king, it will be remembered, was elected to the throne by ballot upon the death of the former sovereign, who died about fourteen years ago, without leaving any regular heir to succeed him. the heir-apparent to the throne is the brother of the king, and is now thirty-three years of age. chapter ii. ladies riding astride.--passion for flower decorations.--a sailor on a bucking horse.--a weekly gala-day.--hawaiian ladies' costume.--a famous battle-ground.--the native's staff of life.--ubiquitous john chinaman.--largest apple-orchard in the world.--hawaiians as cannibals.--an active volcano.--colony of lepers.--unwelcome visitors.--our political relations with the sandwich islands. there are not infrequently substantial reasons for customs which appear to us absurd at first blush. it was observed at the race-course of honolulu that the women all rode man-fashion,--that is, astride of their horses; and being accustomed to the saddle from childhood they rode remarkably well. even european and american ladies who become residents also adopt this fashion of riding, for the reason, as we were told, that side-saddles are not considered to be safe on the steep mountain roads. if one rides in any direction here mountains must be crossed. every one rides on horseback,--men, women, and children. he must be a poor man indeed who does not own two or three horses of the pony, island breed. there are plenty of light american-built vehicles to be had for use about the city roads, but wheels will not answer upon the mountain paths. it should be mentioned, for the benefit of invalids as well as pleasure travellers, that there is an admirable public house in the centre of the town, built by the government and leased to a competent landlord. it is kept on the american plan, and has all the modern comforts and conveniences, is lighted by gas, furnished with electric bells, and has accommodations for fifty guests. the native women festoon themselves in an extraordinary manner with flowers on all gala occasions, while the men wear wreaths of the same about their straw hats, often adding braided leaves of laurel hung across the shoulder and chest. the white blossoms of the jasmine, fragrant as tuberoses, which they much resemble, are generally employed for this decorative purpose, being offered for sale about the streets and on the veranda of the hotel in long strings woven fresh from the vines. upon the slightest excuse for doing so, all honolulu blossoms like a rose. we landed on a saturday, which is a regular gala-day with the natives, and indeed every one seems to join in making it a general holiday. it is pay-day on the plantations and in the town establishments, besides being the day on which the country people come to market with their produce. but all marketing, all buying and selling of goods is over by noon or an hour after, when the riot of pleasure-seeking begins. it was a ludicrous sight to observe the sailors who happened to be in port join in the saturday carnival. to do so in proper style it was absolutely necessary for them to be on horseback; and a sailor in that situation always seems like a fish out of water. with his feet thrust as far into the stirrups as possible, his body bent well forward and with both hands firmly grasping the pommel of the saddle, he leaves the horse to go pretty much his own way, while he thumps hard and fast up and down in his uncertain seat, to the undisguised merriment of the natives and lookers-on generally. one of these foremast hands had been furnished with a bucking horse,--we rather think designedly so. the animal was subject to periodical attacks of this vicious propensity, one of which fits took him directly opposite the post-office, where we chanced to be standing. it was really astonishing to see how successfully the unaccustomed rider clung to the horse's back; a practised rider could not have kept his seat more determinedly. the struggle between horse and man lasted for some ten minutes, but was finally ended by jack tar being landed in the middle of the street face downward, to the infinite amusement of the crowd who had watched the progress of the struggle. jack, nevertheless, remounted his bucephalus, and rode away with his comrades, who had patiently awaited the issue, bestriding the animal as he would have done a topsail yard in a gale of wind. both sexes of the natives much affect bright colors upon their persons, such as scarlet turbans wound about their heads; and sky-blue scarfs and yellow gowns predominate, producing a very picturesque if somewhat anomalous effect. when the head is bare their jet-black hair is sleek and glistening with cocoanut oil. the women wear but one garment, usually of french calico, close at the throat and extending from the yoke to the ankles. the gown is quite free and flowing, not confined at the waist, the wearer being generally bare-legged and bare-footed,--thus adding to the diaphanous nature of the costume, which after all is well adapted to the climate. it was noticed that the foreign-born ladies often appeared in the same style of dress, adding slippers and hose. to be very fleshy is considered as adding a charm to the hawaiian ladies; and however this is brought about, it certainly prevails, affording the individual possessor of such a plethoric condition evident satisfaction. as a people the hawaiians are very courteous and respectful, rarely failing to greet the passing stranger with a pleasant smile and a softly articulated "oloha," equivalent to "my love to you." the drinking of kava, the native spirituous liquor, is no doubt conducive to the immoderate accumulation of flesh, or at least to a bloated condition of the body; but as a rule the natives are not intemperate drinkers, except perhaps on saturdays, when, as we have already intimated, the town is half mad with all sorts of excesses. one statue only was noticed in honolulu,--a bronze figure representing kamehameha i., which was decked with a gilded robe and helmet, producing a tawdry and vulgar effect. there are four bronze tablets in bas-relief upon the pedestal, representing emblematical scenes relating to the first discovery of the island by captain cook and of his early intercourse with the barbarous natives. the whole monument is crude and inartistic, but doubtless it was an expensive affair. this kamehameha i. must have been anything but a nice sort of person. when the missionaries first came hither he was living with his five sisters as wives; and when told how outrageous this was in the light of christianity, he compromised the matter by selecting his oldest sister as his favorite wife and discarding the rest. he died in , at the age of eighty-three years, and was a polygamous old rascal or a patriotic alexander, according to the standpoint from which he is judged. if we can credit the hawaiian legends, he was a man who possessed great physical strength as well as skill in the use of weapons, and was undoubtedly brave. he was the father of his people in more than one sense, having as many children as the late brigham young. a drive of three or four miles from the city brings one to what is called the "pali," which signifies in english the precipice. the route thither is straight up the nuuanu valley over a very uneven and only half-passable road, rocks and stones disputing every foot of the way with the vehicle, until by a not very abrupt ascent a height of three thousand feet above sea-level is reached. the last part of the distance is accomplished on foot, and presently the visitor finds himself standing upon the very edge of an abrupt precipice at the head of the valley, affording one of the most remarkable views to be found in any part of the globe. lying fifteen hundred feet below the brow of this cliff is an outspread area of thirty or forty square miles embracing hills marked by winding bridle-paths, level plains, small rolling prairies, groves of cocoanut, of bananas, and sugar-cane plantations, small herds of cattle on grazing ranches, and rice-fields extending to the verge of the ocean. this large area is bordered on either side by mountains of various heights, composed of lava-rock so formed as to give the appearance of having been cleft in two, the precipitous side left standing, and the other half lost in the ocean; coral reefs form the seaward boundary marked by a long, white, irregular line of surf breaking over them. as one regards this view from the top of the pali, there arises on his immediate right a steep mountain four thousand feet heavenward, forming the highest point on the island of oahu, recorded as being at the apex seven thousand feet above the level of the sea. the valley of nuuanu opens with a broad entrance at the end nearest to the city, but contracts gradually as one ascends, until at its head it is a narrow gap or mountain-pass through which is a bridle-path leading over the range to the country below. through this pass the wind draws with such power and velocity as to compel the traveller to grasp securely the iron barrier which has been erected to enable one to approach the verge of the cliff in safety. this narrow opening forms the gate through which honolulu gets its daily taste of the refreshing trade-winds. in ascending this beautiful valley one is constantly charmed by the discovery of new tropical trees, luxurious creepers, and lovely wild-flowers. the strangers' burial-ground is passed just after crossing the nuuanu stream, and close at hand is the royal mausoleum,--a stone structure in gothic style, which contains the remains of all the hawaiian kings, as well as those of many of the high chiefs who have died since the conquest. some shaded bathing-pools are formed by the mountain streams lying half hidden in the dense foliage. here one also passes the residence of ex-queen emma, widow of the late king, pleasantly located and flower-embowered, having within its grounds some notable examples of fine tropical trees from other lands. its mistress was educated in england, and has here surrounded herself with many european comforts and elegancies. she may be seen almost daily driving out in a pony-carriage, to which a nice pair of showy though small island-bred horses are attached. this valley is classic ground in the history of these islands, being the spot where the fierce and conquering invader, king kamehameha i., fought his last decisive battle, the result of which confirmed him as sole monarch of the hawaiian group. here the natives of oahu made their final stand, and fought desperately, resisting with clubs and spears the savage hordes led by kamehameha. but they were defeated at last, and with their king, kaiana, who led them in person, were driven over the abrupt and fatal cliff by hundreds, bravely ending the struggle for liberty with the sacrifice of their lives. the half-caste guide tells the stranger of this battle and its issue with a sad air and earnestness of feeling not akin to the humdrum stories of european guides, who recite their lesson by rote, like parrots. no person should land at honolulu and go away without visiting the pali. it can easily be accomplished in three or four hours by vehicle, or if one is pressed for time it can be done more quickly, and to the author's mind much more agreeably, on horseback. in our eagerness to see and enjoy every aspect of the valley, breakfast had been forgotten, and it was already high noon, so that a preparation of wild bananas, bruised into a paste and stewed in cocoanut cream, was partaken of with much relish at a native hut. the dish was new to us, and was rendered still more acceptable by a cup of native coffee, which had not been adulterated by the cunning trader's art. on the way to the valley, and indeed all about the environs of the city, one passes large patches, measuring an acre more or less, of submerged land, where is grown the hawaiian staff of life,--the _taro_, a root which is cultivated in mud, and mostly under water, recalling the rice-fields as we have seen them in japan and china. the article thus produced, when baked and pounded to a paste, forms a nutritious sort of dough, like uncooked flour, which is called _poi_, constituting the principal article of food with the natives, as potatoes do with the irish or macaroni with the italians. the baked taro is powdered and mixed with water, after which it is left to ferment; and when this process has taken place it is ready for eating. it is then placed in a large bowl about which the natives squat on their hams, and thrusting their fingers into the blue liquid mass they adroitly convey a mouthful at a time to their lips and rapidly swallow it. it is served in various degrees of thickness; if very thin, it is called two-finger poi, because in order to convey sufficient for a mouthful to the lips two fingers must be used; but if thick, it is one-finger poi. as the lazzaroni of naples pride themselves upon their expertness in conveying the cooked macaroni to their mouths and down their throats, so the kanakas become experts in the transmission of poi to satisfy their hunger. these sandwich island natives eat a small species of fish resembling our smelts, quite raw, with their poi. the environs of the city in any direction are composed of well-irrigated gardens, plantations of bananas, clusters of cocoanuts, figs, mangoes, melons, and various tropical fruits. the cocoanut-grove of waikiki, about four miles from honolulu, contains many of these prolific trees, and well repays a visit. single cocoanut-trees are always graceful and interesting, with their tall wrinkled stems, but a small forest of them is a sight worth going miles to behold. the weight of the nutritious fruit supported in the branches can only be computed by the hundreds of tons. palolo valley is some ten miles from honolulu, and is best reached on horseback. here the crater of an extinct volcano forms the principal object of interest. leaving the horses at the head of the valley, the visitor climbs up a precipitous slope some five hundred feet to the oblong opening, which is now filled with a great variety of peculiar ferns, quite unlike any to be found elsewhere. many blooming wild-flowers also beautified the spot whence the fiery lava poured forth its molten stream long ages ago. nearly a hundred marked varieties of ferns can be gathered here in the briefest period of time by an expert botanist. on the way thither one passes through gulches, forests, and fields of the rankest tropical verdure, at times enjoying glimpses from the heights, of scenery indescribably grand and beautiful, like all that appertains to this picturesque island group, the puzzle of geologists and geographers. though oahu is very mountainous, like the rest of the hawaiian islands, still none of these ranges reach the elevation of perpetual snow. the delight and favorite amusement of the natives is to get into the saddle, galloping hither and thither in a break-neck fashion, without any fixed purpose as to destination. some are seen riding bare-back, some with bridles, and some with only halters; but all are astride. the women and young girls are particularly conspicuous in their high-colored costumes flowing in the wind, and supplemented by streaming wreaths and strings of flowers, while they manage their horses with consummate skill and masculine energy. having observed among the natives a certain type of features and general aspect which struck us as decidedly european, and which if genuine would seem to be traceable far back to early generations, the idea was expressed to a resident american, who had an interesting explanation promptly ready for us. it seems, according to our friend's story, that the spaniards are accredited in the legends of oahu with having discovered these islands, and with several times visiting them as early as the year , thus rendering the first visit of captain cook no new discovery. it is further held that spanish galleons on their way to and from manila in the sixteenth century stopped at these islands for water and fresh fruits. of course all this is but legendary, and based on the faintest shadow of proof. furthermore, according to these traditions, a couple of spanish ships from mexico were wrecked on the hawaiian islands about the year , having, as was the custom in those days, a numerous crew as well as some passengers, who mixed with and married native women. naturally the descendants of such unions have inherited a certain distinctiveness of features and complexion which is still traceable. we give this report as we heard it, though it may be all a myth. the ubiquitous chinamen are found here as gardeners, laborers, house-servants, fruit-dealers, and poi-makers. what an overflow there has been of these asiatics from the flowery land! each one of this race arriving at these islands is now obliged to pay ten dollars as his landing fee, in default of which the vessel which brings him is compelled to take him away. this singular people, who are wonderfully industrious notwithstanding their many faults and effeminacies, are despised in these islands alike by the natives, the americans, and the europeans; and yet we were told that the chinese increase annually, slowly but surely, and it is believed here that they are destined eventually to take the place of the aborigines. the aggregate number now resident upon the group is placed at ten thousand. it was manifest that many branches of small trade were already monopolized by them, as one sees to be the case at penang, singapore, and other pacific islands. on nuuanu street every shop is occupied by a chinaman, dealing in such articles as his own countrymen and the natives are likely to purchase. it certainly does appear as though the native race would in the near future be obliterated, and their place be filled by the anglo-saxons and the chinese,--the representative people of the east and the west. the taro-patches of the hawaiians, will ere long become the rice-fields of the mongolians and the places that now know the aborigines will know them no more forever. the pertinacity which enables these asiatics to get a foothold and maintain themselves in various countries in the face of such universal oppression and unpopularity, is a constant source of surprise to one who has seen them established and prospering in so many foreign lands. nothing seems to discourage a chinaman; he encounters rebuffs, insults, oppression, taxation, with entire equanimity, toiling on, suffering in silence, accumulating and hoarding his dollars with the fixed purpose of finally returning to his distant home. he is sober, painstaking, patient, and provided you do not have too much of him, is by no means a bad servant, laborer, or mechanic. the general fish-market, situated at the northern extremity of queen's street, affords a most interesting exhibition of the marine products of these shores. here all was life, bustle, color, and oddity, vividly recalling a similar scene in another hemisphere, at havana. the berries, fish, and fruit which one purchases are delivered in a broad, fresh green leaf which forms the wrapper. this is much nicer, as well as more appropriate, than is the use of rough, ill-smelling brown paper. here we saw devil-fish, dolphins, bonitos, flying-fish, ocean mullet, crabs, and a great variety of sea-mosses which the natives dry and eat with their poi. among the rest a plenty of gold and silver fish were noticed, such as are kept in glass globes as pets with us. here they are larger, and so plentiful that the natives catch and eat them as they would any other of the finny tribe. some of the fishes displayed here are spotted like a leopard, and some are striped like a tiger,--dark brown lines on a buff ground. besides these there was an abundance of rose-colored medusa. the variety and beauty of colors exhibited by the fishes of the tropics is quite confusing when they are arrayed side by side upon a white marble counter fresh from their native element. the natives eat very little meat, but keep in excellent physical condition upon poi and fish, supplemented by the abundant natural fruits which a bountiful providence so liberally supplies. chief among these is the banana, which seems to grow larger and finer here than elsewhere, being permitted to ripen on the parent stem. like oranges which are allowed to mature in the same manner, the flavor is far superior to those ripened off the trees. the steep conical hill which overlooks the city presenting its dull, brick-red façade when viewed from nearly any direction is a ceaseless reminder of the volcanic origin of the place. it contains a large extinct crater, and is called on account of its peculiar formation the punch bowl. its apex is about five hundred feet above the level of the harbor. at the top one looks down into a large concave,--a scooped-out, bowl-like cavity, partially filled with a débris of stones and cinders over and about which vegetation has freely grown, the earth being mixed with decomposed lava. a few goats were browsing over this sleeping crater, which has been enacting the part of rip van winkle for a score or more of centuries. we enjoyed a perfect view from the summit, which was high enough to form an admirable picture of land and sea combined. on the side which overlooks honolulu are the remains of an old fort, which commands the hawaiian capital. speaking of fruits, we were informed that on the neighboring island of maui, one of the most spacious and mountainous of the group, is the largest apple-orchard in the world. the natives call this fruit _ohias_. the forest of apple-trees stretches from sea to sea far up the mountains. the trees vary from forty to fifty feet in height, yielding their harvest from july to september, during which period they are laden with a fair-sized, wild, white apple, which is not unpalatable to the taste, though not equal to the cultivated fruit. this orchard is estimated to cover an area of over ten miles wide and nearly twice as long. the trees, we were told, will average over twenty-five barrels of apples each. no commercial and little domestic use is made of them, but the fruit ripens, falls off the trees, and there decays annually. one peculiarity of the product is that when ripe the apples will keep sound but for a few days, as is the case with ripe bananas. the natives eat them to a moderate extent, but make no great account of them. we took the liberty of suggesting the possible advantage of a cider-mill, but our informant said, with a shrug of the shoulders, that there was not sufficient local enterprise to start the business. the six inhabited islands of the hawaiian group are kauai, oahu, molokai, lanai, maui, and hawaii, the last containing the largest active volcano on the globe; namely, that of kilauea, to visit which many persons cross the atlantic and pacific oceans, besides the continent of america, which lies between the two. oahu, of which honolulu is the capital, was chosen as the principal harbor because it is the only one presenting all the marine necessities, such as sufficient depth of water, space, and a secure anchorage for ships. in the olden days of hawaiian history, lahaina, on the island of maui, was the city of the king, and the recognized capital. this was in the palmy days of the whale fishery. it has a sheltered roadstead, but will not compare with the present capital in this respect. the settlement is now going to ruin, the palace tumbling to pieces by wear and tear of the elements, and all the surroundings are a picture of decay. should the panama canal ever be completed, it would prove to be of immense advantage to these islands, as they lie on the direct course which a great share of navigation must follow. the aggregate population of the group is now about sixty thousand, of whom some thirty-eight thousand are natives. history tells us that captain cook estimated these islands to contain over three hundred thousand inhabitants when he discovered them. perhaps this was an exaggeration, though it is a fact that they are capable of sustaining a population of even much greater density than this estimate would indicate. until within fifty or sixty years the natives of the several islands made war upon one another, principally for the purpose of securing prisoners, whom they roasted and devoured. indeed, cannibalism has existed in some of the islands even to a more modern date than that referred to. of latter years the natives have shown a hearty desire to affiliate and intermarry with europeans and americans, discarding their idolatrous worship and professing christianity; but those who read well-meant missionary reports can hardly realize how little this profession of christianity generally signifies among semi-barbarous races. the manners, customs, and dress of the whites have been very generally adopted, so far as external appearances go; but as in the case of all other aboriginals who inhabit the pacific isles, large or small, wherever the white man appears in numbers, the black disappears. the crater of kilauea on the island of hawaii is still in a semi-active condition. twice within our memory it has burst forth briefly but with enormous power, and at this writing it sends forth ceaseless vapor, smoke, and sulphurous gases, with occasional bursts of stones, lava, and crude metallic substances. the fiery opening is four thousand feet above the base of the mountain, the orifice having an estimated diameter of eight miles; that is to say, it is that distance across the opening. the height above sea-level is placed at six thousand feet. one would surely think that such an enormous orifice on the earth's surface ought to be sufficient to relieve all the smouldering subterraneous fires and explosive gases confined beneath the crust of the habitable globe, saying nothing of vesuvius, etna, and a dozen other active volcanoes. in the year an eruption took place from the crater of mauna loa on the same island, which lasted nearly thirty days, and was of such body that the flood of lava ejected, running a destructive course of fifty miles, reached the sea, and added one quarter of a mile of territory to the area of hawaii, raising also several hills of two hundred feet in height near the shore. three subsequent eruptions occurred from this mountain, a few years intervening between them, the latest of which was in . were it not for this and other volcanic vents in the group, these islands in mid-ocean would doubtless be suddenly swallowed up by some great convulsion of the restless subterranean forces. some portions of the coast of hawaii are indented by large and curious caves, which are the homes of thousands of sea-birds; but very little is known about them, as they have never been explored. it is natural, considering its active volcanoes, that earthquakes should be more common on this island than upon any other of the group. the population lives almost entirely near the coast; but where this people first came from not even cunning scientists pretend to know. leprosy is still prevalent among the natives, the victims of which dreadful disease are promptly isolated upon the island of molokai, where there are now about a thousand sufferers confined. the island is in formation so mountainous that the natives call it _kaaina pali_,--a land of precipices. some portions can only be reached by water, and that in fair weather, the mountains being impassable. that portion occupied by the unfortunate lepers is a plain naturally cut off from the rest of the island by the pali of kalae. fully realizing the necessities of their case these people submit to their isolation without a murmur, and seem, as we were informed, comparatively content. a ration of five pounds of meat and twenty pounds of vegetables is issued to each person weekly, besides which they have garden-plats that they cultivate for such fruits, vegetables, and flowers as they choose. the supply of food furnished to them gratuitously is so much better than any hawaiian gets under ordinary circumstances, that many persons are actually willing to make themselves lepers and be taken into this death-stricken community, in order to share its abundant provisions. there is here a little church wherein all the lepers congregate on sundays, to listen to the preaching of a leper minister, and a day-school where the leper children are taught by a native schoolmaster afflicted with the same disease. we heard of a roman catholic priest who has devoted his life to these poor unfortunate outcasts, and who lives with them to comfort and aid them in their trials, though he is not himself a leper. this is indeed heroism, to brave the horrors of such an exile in the fulfilment of what he conceives to be his religious duty. if we knew the priest's name we would record it in this connection. like tropical regions generally, honolulu does not lack for annoying insects and disagreeable as well as poisonous reptiles. that the mosquito reigns here goes without saying, and exhaustive measures are taken in every domestic establishment to afford protection against the ubiquitous pest. our steamer, on the passage toward america, took on board five hundred packages of bananas, each bunch wrapped up in a covering of banana-leaf husks. the night after we sailed for san francisco quite a commotion was created among the lady passengers, reinforced by the gentlemen, on the finding of huge roaches, scorpions, centipedes, and elephantine spiders meandering in and about the berths and the cabins. that the sensation experienced on awaking from sleep to feel a damp, slimy creature creeping slowly over one's face is excessively disagreeable, may be readily supposed. these reptiles and insects were brought on board in surprising numbers in the fruit packages, where they were securely hidden until they chose to come forth. the chief engineer of the ship prepared a number of bottles with proof spirit, in which a lot of these scorpions and centipedes were preserved, and which were secured by passengers curious in such matters. a young child was bitten by one of the mammoth spiders, causing its arm to swell up alarmingly, but the doctor treated the wound promptly with ammonia, and gave the little sufferer some internal medicine which seemed to act as an antidote to the poison. we must not close these notes touching the hawaiian group without a few words relating to our intimate national relation therewith, which at the present time is assuming special political importance. the relation of the united states with the hawaiians is in a somewhat peculiar state at the present writing. for ten years past there has existed a reciprocity treaty between us by which their sugar crop is admitted free of duty into the states, and a certain liberal concession on their part is made as to admitting the products of this country into the islands. the operation of this treaty has been to stimulate the production of sugar in the islands from about thirty thousand tons per annum to one hundred thousand tons and over, all of which comes to this country except a small amount used for domestic consumption. the incidental trade with us which has grown out of the treaty is very large, especially in machinery of several kinds, mills, engines, horses, hay, and grain. it has virtually brought the people of the sandwich islands under the wing of this government, and concentrated her foreign trade almost entirely upon this country. the youth of the islands, of both sexes and in large numbers, are sent for educational purposes to our institutions. forty of such persons were passengers on the "zealandia" on the outward voyage, going home for a vacation trip. the luxuries as well as most of the necessities of the hawaiians are now purchased in our markets. all of this business, or certainly nine tenths of it, is the natural outgrowth of the treaty referred to. there is no other foreign port in the world where the american flag is so often seen as in that of honolulu, the carrying of this great amount of sugar being mostly done in american vessels. while england and germany are watching for chances to "annex" coaling-stations, and small groups of islands in the pacific, we virtually have the most admirable one in our own hands,--a fact which should not be lost sight of. therefore when it is proposed, as it has been and will be again, to abrogate the treaty of , let our statesmen carefully inform themselves of the entire bearing of so serious a matter. we have but casually enumerated a few of the items which bear more especially upon the subject, but perhaps it is enough to awaken intelligent interest therein. three quarters of all the money invested in the sugar-raising business of the sandwich islands is furnished by american capitalists who draw their annual dividends therefrom. the late revolution was a bloodless one, brought about by the conservative and intelligent element of the islands, composed largely of americans. in order to retain his seat upon the throne, the king was obliged to grant some liberal concessions as to the laws of the realm and his own powers, still leaving him, however, with all the authority which should rest in the hands of a constitutional monarch of the nineteenth century. the very fact of this concession being promptly granted by the king is sufficient evidence of its most reasonable character. once more it was saturday, the gala-day of the hawaiians, when we bade adieu a second time to honolulu; and the tableau which then fixed itself upon the mind will long remain. the brief stay had been full of interest and enjoyment; it was, indeed, only too brief. our good ship the "alamada" got up steam in the early morning and was under way by nine o'clock, steering through the coral reef seaward. the king graciously sent his military band to play for us some parting airs, while a thousand spectators consisting of mingled races and equally of both sexes, gorgeously wreathed in flowers, thronged the capacious pier. it was high tide, so that the "alamada" loomed up high above the heads of the motley assembly. in the middle foreground lay the tropical city enshrined in palms, cocoas, and flower-bedecked trees, beyond which the picturesque valley of nuuanu formed a long perspective reaching into the volcanic hills. to the right and left the mountain range extended for miles, forming a series of valleys, gulches, and abrupt precipices, with here and there a plateau of table-land, all clothed in exquisite verdure. the shore was dotted by native huts, cocoanut-groves, and banana-orchards, adding infinite variety to the whole scene. we had taken on board as passengers some native residents, whose friends had come to bid them good-by with all the earnest demonstrations of a tropical race. amid the waving of handkerchiefs and the reiterated farewells came the hoarse command from the bridge to cast off the shore lines. then the grand old flag--the stars and stripes--was run up at the peak, and the waiting band played "hail columbia," followed by "home, sweet home," responded to by many moistened eyes and quickened pulsations of the heart. as we glided away our forecastle gun barked forth a sharp, ringing farewell which was echoed back a score of times by the mountain gorges. chapter iii. the samoan islands.--a unique race of savages.--diving for money.--a genuine samoan mermaid.--german aggressiveness.--a south-sea nunnery.--a terrible disease.--christianity _vs._ paganism.--under the southern cross.--grandeur of the heavens at sea.--landing at auckland.--a stormy ocean.--the famous harbor of sydney.--england and her australian colony. --the modern eldorado.--early settlers. in our course southward we made the islands known as the samoan, or navigator's group, and stopped to land the american and european mails at tutuila, which is about two thousand three hundred miles from honolulu. the six islands which form this group of the south pacific lie between the society and feejee groups, three of them being among the largest in polynesia. their names are savaii, upolu, tutuila, manua, manono, and apolima. savaii has a circumference of a hundred and forty miles, and is literally covered with forests of tropical trees from shore to mountain-top. upolu measures nearly fifty miles from east to west, and is the most fertile and populous of the group. apolima is the most remarkable for its cones and craters, giving unmistakable evidence of former volcanic action, by clearly-defined vents and fire-shafts among its hills. there are few rivers on these islands, but upolu and savaii have several crystal lakes among their mountains. gales, cyclones, and earthquakes occur quite often enough to vary the monotony. we have said that there are six of these islands; there are also others, scarcely more than islets, however. the highest land in the group is on savaii,--a lofty peak in the middle of the island, the top of which is nearly always hidden in clouds. tutuila was the island which was first sighted, and as it lay sleeping upon the bosom of the southern ocean it presented a beautiful picture of tropical verdure,--an oasis in the great desert of waters. and yet it did not present a very inviting aspect by its wave-lashed and rock-bound shore. it was calm weather,--that is, comparatively so; but there is always a long swell in these latitudes, which when it meets the impediment of shore or reefs is sure to express its anger by a wild display of force. the island is remarkably mountainous, but the foliage rose to its lofty sky-line, and came down to where the breakers chafed the coast with tremendous fury. there was the azure of the sky, the deep green of the vegetation, the light blue-green of the shoal water, and the snow-white spray tossed high in air, to vary the richness of the coloring, which was finer than that of oahu. we were told of a safe landing-place in a sheltered cove, and made out the slender spire of a wooden church, but could not see any opening in the long line of dashing spray which leaped twenty feet high as each successive swell broke upon the rocks. just behind them the palm-groves, bananas, and cocoanut-trees formed a dense breastwork, flanked here and there by low native huts, grass-thatched and brown. in no other region does the cocoanut-tree thrive in greater luxuriance and fruitfulness than here; and were it not that the natives are so lacking in enterprise, this product alone might be made a very large source of profit. the deep green foliage of the bread-fruit all along the shore indicated the abundance of this natural food-supply of the islanders. together with the yam and taro it forms their main support. the last named is called the daily bread of the samoans, just as the poi forms the main sustenance of the hawaiians. the samoans are fine-looking specimens of the savage races of the south pacific. the men are broad-shouldered and athletic, the women by no means ugly, and certainly graceful. they have very little if any of the flat nose and protruding lips of the african race. their complexion is a light brown, "the livery of the burnished sun," the women exhibiting a warm rosy hue upon their smooth, well-rounded faces. the bodies of both sexes are more or less elaborately tattooed in blue. if tattooing constituted costume, of which in fact it takes the place here, the samoans would be gorgeously clad, as they certainly excel in this respect the maoris of new zealand. this sort of savage ornamentation with the latter people is more confined to the face, which the samoans neglect only to be more elaborate upon the limbs and body. it is really surprising to what pain and inconvenience the barbaric races of the pacific islands put themselves in order to gratify their vanity and conform to local fashion. the process of tattooing is a slow agony; but the laws of fashion are as imperious in the cannibal islands as upon the parisian boulevards. the tedious and painful operation of tattooing is performed by professionals, who make a paying business of it. the skin is punctured by an instrument made of bone, or by spines of the shaddock-tree, while the dye injected is usually obtained by boiling the candle-nut. among some of the pacific tribes tattooing is considered religiously binding; by others it is adopted purely for fancy's sake. the men wear their hair twisted up in little spiral horns, reminding one of the natives of the coast who meet the steamers at the mouth of the red sea, and who exhibit the same aptness in diving for silver coins. the women wear their hair rather short, and are given to dressing their heads and necks with flowers,--a similar fancy to that already described as connected with the hawaiians. the missionaries have taught the women when they are on shore to wear a small strip of cloth with a hole in the centre for putting over the head, and which hanging down back and front partially covers the otherwise exposed bosom. about the loins they wear a breech-cloth like the men, and sometimes a short skirt reaching half-way to the knees. we were told that the women are fond, on all gala occasions, of painting their faces with any pigment that is obtainable. our observation of both sexes was obtained chiefly as they came off in their boats to the ship, which they always do in scores; and those we saw were nearly in a state of nature. the yellow and abundant hair of the men must be colored by some process known only to themselves; for though they wear nothing to protect their heads, the sun could not so bleach it. at one time our decks were crowded with these savages, offering for sale curious shells, fruits, native-made ornaments, especially necklaces formed of a dried scarlet berry. apia, the capital town of upolu and the metropolis of the group, presents an inviting prospect from the sea, and the whole island in its general conformation is the most notable of them all. the foot-hills lie quite back from the shore, rising one green elevation behind another, until the great central mountain range is reached, which has an elevation of some four thousand feet above the level of the surrounding waters. all of these hills and the top of the highest elevation are clothed in ever green vegetation, flanked here and there by exposed and abrupt cliffs, bare, rugged, and grand, standing like giant sentinels defying the power of the elements. in the distance, upon a mountain side, is seen a thin silver thread, sparkling in the sun's rays, stretching downward from the heights, which we were told would prove to be a clear, never-failing cascade of water could we approach near enough to discover its real character. it forms the source of a small river, which courses its way to the sea. many a ship comes hither and anchors, to fill her water-casks from this crystal spring. the town, including its two meeting houses and many european cottages, was half-hidden by the trees, while the water between the ship and the shore was alive with small native boats full of naked islanders, men and women, ready to sell carved clubs, spears, and canes of native wood. of the many boats that came off to meet our ship two contained some remarkable swimmers and divers. the most expert among them all was a young woman, who by her rapid movements in the water managed to secure fully half of the sixpences and shillings which were thrown overboard for the divers, though there were numerous competitors of the other sex. she always came to the surface smiling, with the silver between her teeth; and after shaking her head like a newfoundland dog, and wiping the brine hastily from her eyes, she was quite ready for another plunge, having in the mean time stowed the silver coin away securely in her cheek, as monkeys do nuts and candy. the water alongside the ship was probably thirty or forty fathoms deep, but no piece of money got half-way to the bottom before it was overtaken and secured by a native diver. though all were as nearly nude as was admissible in the presence of civilized people, they evinced not the least consciousness of personal exposure. and after all, when we paused to think of the matter, it was they who were naturally covered and we who were artificially clothed. a bunch of fresh, glowing, scarlet hibiscus was observed in one of the boats lying quite neglected, being evidently considered of too little value to offer for sale, but which we secured for a sixpence. this flower grows in wild luxuriance in the samoan islands, and forms the most common ornament worn in the hair of the women. the men pass much time in dressing their hair in the little spiral columns as already described, while the women cut theirs short, leaving only sufficient length in which to affix the flower-stems. when articles of food, such as cake, meats, or candy, were given to the natives they invariably smelt of them before tasting, and if they proved palatable they expressed their satisfaction by a smile and a grunt, more animal than human. they had some few words of english, of which they made incessant use. their unconscious manners and thoughtless by-play somehow recalled that of the monkey tribe, even to the way they curled their lower limbs under them in the boats, or when sitting upon our deck. some of the spears and war-clubs which they offered for sale showed much delicacy and skill, both in the design and carving. the german government has for a considerable time carried matters with an arbitrary hand in these islands, showing a covert but determined purpose, shamefully oppressing the native race, of whom there are about thirty-five thousand, appropriating their lands, and under various pretences robbing them in every possible manner. while we were there four german ironclads lay off apia, having come with the purpose of gaining possession of samoa either by diplomacy or gunpowder. the pretext made use of was oppression of german citizens on the part of the native government! unfortunately the natives were in a state of partial anarchy, quarrelling among themselves, there being two parties desiring to control the throne. the germans incited a revolution among them a year ago, favoring one of these aspirants in order to take advantage of such a condition of affairs as would grow out of a pronounced revolution. an englishman who took passage on our ship at the islands was full of indignation at the arrogance of the germans, and infused a similar feeling among us by relating in detail the course pursued by these interlopers during the past twelvemonth, especially at apia. the natives, as this gentleman represented them, are generally an inoffensive, frugal people, having few vices, most of which have been taught them by the whites. they are remarkably slow to anger, and bear the oppression of these foreign invaders very humbly. there are some cotton plantations on the islands conducted by american and english enterprise. cocoanut oil and arrowroot are also exported, being gathered by enterprising foreigners who employ the natives. the group contains a little less than three thousand square miles of territory. statistics show that even here in their comparative isolation, the native race is rapidly dying out, there being now twenty thousand less than were estimated to exist on the several islands so late as , when a census was taken as correctly as was possible among a savage and superstitious people. there are not more than three hundred foreigners all told, and these consist about equally of americans, english, and germans. from the seemingly careless manner of life which prevails among the native race, one would hardly infer that any fixed form of government exists among the samoans, but the contrary is the fact. they have a paternal system of government, which is scrupulously upheld by the several tribes, all the villages being united by the same customs and language, and amenable to the same code of traditional laws. the usages and customs of the fathers have an unfailing influence over their descendants, and though free intercourse with the whites has led to the adoption of certain foreign rules and laws of trade and land-tenure, yet these are feeble in effect compared with the force of those of early, native origin. apia, already referred to, is the residence of the several foreign consuls. it has a small but safe harbor, and in the olden times was a famous resort for american whalers. prominent in the picture of the town as seen from the water is a roman catholic cathedral of stone, with a graceful spire, behind which upon a hillside is the comfortable house of the bishop. there are a number of catholic priests upon these islands, and we were told that near to apia is a convent of samoan nuns, which struck us as the height of absurdity. upolu claims the distinction of containing the only nunnery in the south pacific. grog-shops have as usual followed close upon the footsteps of the missionaries, and even apia contains six of them in full blast. we had as fellow-passengers a family of english missionaries to land at tutuila, who were on their return to the islands after a brief visit to their european home. this family had already lived five years among the samoans, and were returning hither to complete their term of ten years under the direction of the london missionary society. much interesting information was gathered from them concerning the manners and customs of the people of the group. as a race, it appears that they are quite distinct from other polynesian tribes, and are far behind many of them in point of civilization. they seemed to us to be half amphibious, full of mirth and irresponsibility as we saw them in their naked simplicity, quite as much at home in the water as in their canoes. we were told that the children learned to swim before they could fairly walk,--which seemed almost incredible. they are mostly professed christians, whatever that may signify to them,--though we very much doubt if a dozen could give the meaning of the term. one real and undoubted benefit which these missionaries impart to the natives is that they are teaching them to read, write, and speak english in regularly organized schools; so that there will be few of the rising generation who will not possess this important knowledge at least. the health of the people on these islands is represented to be most excellent, owing to the perfection of the climate; but there is one prominent drawback to the locality in the presence and prevalence of elephantiasis among the natives, from which hideous disease the foreign residents are not exempt. it requires time to develop it in the system, and it does not attack persons until after a residence of eight or ten years. there is no known cure for the disease, unless one leaves the region where it is developed, and even then it requires a surgical operation to remove the enormous protuberance which usually forms upon the lower part of the body or the limbs. we saw some photographs taken from life of sufferers through elephantiasis, which exhibited swellings upon the limbs and body half as large as the individual's body itself. nowhere else in the world do malformations caused by this peculiar disease assume such tremendous proportions as here in samoa. quinine is freely used to check the development of the affliction, as it is known to prevail most in low-lying and marshy neighborhoods; and yet what we term malaria is absolutely unknown among these islands. a german resident took passage in our ship on his way home to berlin, who had lived some dozen years at apia. the disease had begun its development in his ankles, one of which was swollen as large as his thigh. the local physician had advised his departure at once, and that a surgical operation should be performed in another climate. singular to say, these protuberances can almost always be safely severed from the body by a skilful surgical operation, enormous though they be; nor are they liable to return if the patient keeps away from the climatic influences which caused them. "the samoans have no authentic information in any form concerning the past," said our intelligent friend the missionary. "it is to them quite as unknown as the future. they possess traditions, but such as are only fragmentary and unreliable, probably the inventions of their designing priests. their origin and history are in fact clouded in utter obscurity." their language seems to be an offshoot of the malay, and does not resemble especially the hawaiian or maori languages, which are almost identical with each other. this seems rather strange, as their ocean home is situated in a direct line between the two, which should indicate, one would think, a similar origin of the races. "they live under an iron bondage of superstition, which seems inherent in their nature," said our informant, "and which no attempt at christian enlightenment appears to dispel." one instance was related to us relative to their blind simplicity, but which at the same time evinced a degree of shrewdness. a chief, old and decrepit, who realized that he was near his end, after attending the missionary services on a certain sabbath afternoon, returned to his cabin where he was soon after found going through all the barbaric ceremonies of his ancient faith before a wooden image, beating time on a rude tom-tom, and performing other strange rites. the missionary, who had come to bring him some medicine for a chronic trouble from which he suffered, expressed his surprise that he should be thus engaged in idolatrous worship after so recently participating in the christian ceremonies. "ah!" said the old savage, "me fish with two hook. i catchee fish. fish no like one hook, he bite other hook." it was naïvely expressed, but signified that by accepting both creeds,--that of the samoan priests and that of the missionaries,--he would have two chances instead of one of getting to the better world, toward which even south sea islanders hopefully turn their eyes. on the occasion of our second visit to the samoans,--that is, on the return voyage coming north,--we had more opportunity to study the race; but the shrill whistle of the steamer finally warned our visitors away from the vessel,--a signal which they well understood and generally heeded. the government boat having put her mail on board, there was nothing further to detain us. when we were once more fairly under way, it was found that one of the natives had been left on board bargaining with the passengers in the cabin below. he coolly tied up the silver he had received for his wares in a knot of his breech-cloth, stepped to the ship's side, and plunged headlong into the sea. rising quickly to the surface he struck out for tutuila, a league and more away, with no more seeming hesitation than we would feel in beginning a walk of a like distance upon the land. once he was seen to turn upon his back and float for a moment leisurely upon the surface, but soon resumed his swimming position again, heading steadily for the land. at that moment the cry came from forward, "there she blows!" the usual signal at sea for a whale in sight, and all eyes were turned to watch the gambols of a large whale and her calf, half a mile to windward. it will be remembered that these were once famous whaling latitudes, but this adventurous industry has now become almost a thing of the past in these regions. in the mean time the leviathan and its giant baby were lashing the sea and sending up small mountains of spray, the calf occasionally leaping quite out of the water in its redundant sportiveness. when we finally turned toward the swimming native again, in the opposite direction, his shock of yellow hair was quite lost to view amid the vivid sunlight which blazed over the quivering sea. after the samoan group, we passed through or near the society islands, encircled by coral reefs, but kept steadily on our course south-southwest, making thirteen knots an hour, and hastening out of the heat of the tropics into a cooler and more comfortable region. in no other part of the world has the author seen a clearer atmosphere or a grander display of the heavens at night than was enjoyed in the regions through which we were now sailing. hours were passed in watching the luminous sky, where new and brilliant constellations were serenely gazing down upon us. venus, the evening star, shone so clear and bright as to cast a long wake upon the wrinkled surface of the sea. there are but about fifteen hundred stars which can be counted from a ship's deck by the naked eye,--a fact which but few persons realize. with an opera-glass or telescope, however, the number can be much increased. we are told that astronomers, by means of their greatly improved facilities, have counted twenty millions of stars. this may be true, and yet it seems almost incredible. we have seen an observer, not familiar with the location of the southern cross, examine the heavens long and patiently before being able to find this famous cluster of the southern hemisphere,--a visual obtuseness not uncommon among persons who seldom watch the heavens by night. few give much thought to the stars. some hastily glance at them and pronounce them beautiful; others regard them with more patient admiration; but not one in a thousand seriously and carefully studies them. a good way of readily finding the cross is to remember that there are two prominent stars in centaurus that point directly to it. the one farthest from the cross is regarded as the fixed star nearest to the earth, but its distance from us is twenty thousand times that of the sun. stellar distances especially can be realized only by comparison. for instance: were it possible for a person to journey to the sun in a single day of twenty-four hours, basing the time upon a corresponding calculation of speed, it would require fifty-five years to reach this nearest star! probably not one half of those who have sailed beneath its tranquil and impressive beauty are aware, that in the middle of the southern cross there is a brilliant cluster of stars, which though not visible to the naked eye, are brought out with a strong telescope,--shining like new gems in a beautiful necklace of pearls. in these far-southern waters we saw for the first time what are called the magellan clouds. they lie between canopus, acherner, and the south pole. these two light clouds--or what seem to be such, seen in a perfectly clear sky--are nothing more nor less than visible nebulæ, or star-clusters, at such vast distances from the earth as to have by combination this effect upon the human vision. at sea the stars assume perhaps a greater importance in our estimation than on land, because from them is obtained latitude and longitude, on the principles of terrestrial measurement; and thus by their aid the mariner determines his bearing in the great waste of ocean. forty or fifty centuries ago the chaldean shepherds were accustomed to gaze upon these shining orbs in worshipful admiration, but with no idea of their vast system. they were to them "the words of god, the scriptures of the skies." it has been left to our later days to formulate the methods of their constant and endless procession. all the principal stars are now well known and their limits clearly defined upon charts, so that we can easily acquire a knowledge of them. the inhabitants of north america have the constellation of ursa major as also the north star always with them; they never wholly disappear below the horizon. when the mariner sailing north of the equator has determined the position of this group of seven stars, two of which are known as "the pointers" indicating the north star, he can designate all points of the compass unerringly. but in the south sea, where we are writing these lines, a little north of new zealand, they are not visible. other constellations however, whose relative positions are as fixed in the southern hemisphere, become equally sure guides to the watchful navigator. how suggestive are these "altar-fires of heaven," particularly when seen from the deck of a ship, alone and at midnight, surrounded by infinite space, thousands of miles from land and home! generations of men succeed one another in rapid succession, nations rise and fade away, whole races are obliterated from existence, pyramids moulder into dust with thousands of years upon their heads; but the stars fade not; they are the same, unchanged, unchanging, through all the centuries, uninfluenced by the fall of empires or the wreck of human hopes and beliefs. on the night of the th of june the hundred and eightieth meridian was crossed, and the st of june was dropped into the sea, so to speak. we had no tuesday that week; wednesday followed monday,--a natural experience in going round the world, which has often been explained. we had been losing time daily in sailing south and west, until this change of date became necessary to regulate the ship's time in accordance with that of greenwich. an ungeographical englishman whom we had on board our steamer refused to alter the time of his watch from the first, saying that he only knew that it would come right of itself when he got back to london, which was true enough, though he could not explain why. twenty-one days from san francisco the light at tiri-tiri point, on the coast of new zealand, was sighted, twenty miles distant from auckland. we entered the harbor early in the morning, and were soon moored at the union company's wharf, at the foot of queen street. here the ship not only had freight to discharge, but two or three hundred tons of coal to take on board; so we enjoyed a whole day wherein to stroll about the city, and in the evening we witnessed the "pirates of penzance" at abbott's opera house. the play was admirably performed by an itinerant company, which regularly makes the rounds of the colonial cities of both australia and new zealand. the outer and inner harbors of auckland are very beautiful, having picturesque headlands, dominated by volcanic mountains and extinct craters,--indeed the city stands upon the lava vomited from the bowels of mount eden. the first land made on coming from the samoan group was great barrier island, which separates the ocean eastward from the hauraki gulf, upon which auckland is situated. as we shall return in future chapters to this interesting country, no more need be said of its northern metropolis in this connection. early on the morning after our arrival the "zealandia" was again under way, steering north-northeast, until the most northerly point of new zealand was doubled, then an exact due-west course sped the good ship on her way to sydney, australia, twelve hundred and eighty miles distant. it is a stormy ocean that lies between these two countries, and it is useless to disguise the fact that the voyager who crosses it must make up his mind to great and unavoidable discomfort. any one pursuing the course indicated in these pages, however, will have become pretty well seasoned before entering upon this stage of the long journey. the famous english man-of-war "challenger" essayed this voyage between sydney and auckland twice before she accomplished it, finally fighting her way through the boisterous waves and adverse currents with the united power of sails and steam. we approached the coast of australia in tempestuous weather and at night, the "zealandia" stoutly ploughing her way through a heavy head-sea, while half a gale of wind blew in our faces, and hailstones nearly as large as marbles cumbered the deck. the ship seemed to evince almost human instinct, pausing for an instant now and again, and trembling in every seam as huge waves blocked the way; then, bending down determinedly to the work of forcing a path through the opposing billows, she forged ahead, with the bows at one moment lifted high in air, and the next half buried in the sea. a few days previous we were in the burning latitudes of the samoans, now we were on the verge of freezing. this temperature was perhaps exceptional, and indeed after landing we were satisfied that it was so. the storm gradually abated during the night, and the clouds rapidly cleared away, racing madly across the sky like retreating cavalry. while we were still fifty miles off the shore, which was hidden in night and distance, the first officer of the ship, knowing that we would thank him for doing so, awoke us from sleep, and as soon as we joined him on deck he pointed out a glow on the far-away horizon, which he said was caused by the light-house on sydney heads. having carefully watched the ship's reckoning, we knew her position very nearly, and looking at him in surprise, we asked,-- "is it possible to make out a light-house at sea from such a distance as your reckoning shows you to be from land?" "certainly," he replied, "for there is hornby light." "it seems impossible," we exclaimed. "perhaps i should qualify the remark," said he. "in what way?" we asked. "i do not mean that we actually see the light itself, but we clearly see its reflection upon the horizon." "still," we rejoined, "it seems incredible." "you must remember," said he, "that this is an electric light, placed on the top of a very lofty cliff; and also that the light-house itself is many feet in height." "seeing is believing," was all we could say. but we had not before supposed that a light under any circumstances could be made out at such a distance on the sea. hornby light occupies one of the most important headlands on the entire coast of australia, and great care is taken to maintain its efficiency. after a sea-voyage of nearly a month's duration, the sight of land was indeed welcome. one could not but feel a burning impatience once more to tread the solid earth. this was no isolated volcanic island lying half submerged amid a broad expanse of turbulent seas; it was literally _terra firma_, the visible portion of a whole continent. a steamer of two or three hundred tons brings the pilot off the shore in these vexed and boisterous seas. the struggle to board us was one requiring coolness and courage, nor was it accomplished without considerable risk. six hours after sighting the distant light of sydney heads we were running in between the two bold, frowning, giant cliffs which form the entrance of this remarkable harbor. the ship was on half speed. botany bay was passed,--a now lovely retreat, retaining nothing of its ill-repute but the name. it is seven miles below the capital, and now forms a pleasure resort for the citizens of sydney. wooloomaloo bay, mcquade's point, garden island, and the forts were passed one after the other, as we slowly forged ahead through the channel. some surprise was felt at the indifferent nature of the visible defences of sydney harbor, assuming that defensive means are required at all; but it seems that there are torpedoes, booms, and submarine appliances all ready to be sunk should such defences be called for by any hostile demonstration. to eyes weary of the monotony of the sea the aspect of the famous harbor with its lake-like expanse, its many green islands with handsome residences scattered over them, its graceful promontories and the abundance of semi-tropical vegetation, all together formed one of the loveliest pictures imaginable, heightened as these attractive surroundings were by the dewy freshness and glow of the early morning sun. the wharf at which we landed was not in the busiest maritime district, but seemed to be situated in the centre of the town as it were, our tall masts taking their place among the multitude of church spires and weather-vanes which crowd together here. the usual custom-house ceremonies were encountered, which in this instance were not of an annoying character, and we soon began to realize that we were upon the soil of this great island-continent which possesses an area of nearly three millions of square miles. so far as we can learn, it was a land entirely unknown to the ancients, though it is more than probable that the chinese navigators knew of the existence of north australia at a very early period. still, until about a century ago it presented only a picture of primeval desolation. the hard work of the pioneer has been done, and civilization has rapidly changed the whole aspect of the great south lands. to-day the continent is bordered by thrifty seaports connected by railroads, coasting-steamers, turnpikes, and electric telegraphs. it is occupied by an intelligent european population numbering between three and four millions, possessing such elements of political and social prosperity as place them in an honorable position in the line of progressive nations. the first railroad in australia was begun in , but at this writing there are ten thousand miles of railroad in successful operation, owned by the several local governments. so favorable is the climate, that nearly the whole country might be turned into a botanical garden. indeed, australia would seem to be better entitled to the name of eldorado, so talked of in the sixteenth century, than was that imaginary land of untold wealth so confidently believed by the adventurous spaniards to exist somewhere between the orinoco and the amazon. this new home of the british race in the south pacific, surrounded by accessible seas and inviting harbors, inspired us at once with vivid interest. we say "new," and yet geologically speaking it is one of the oldest portions of the earth's surface, containing a flora and fauna of more permanent character than that of the european continent; for while a great part of europe has been submerged and elevated, crumpled up as it were into mountain chains, australia has been undisturbed. it is remarkable that in a division of the globe of such colossal proportions there was found no larger quadruped than the kangaroo, and that only man was a predacious animal. he, alas! was more ferocious than the lynx, the leopard, or the hyena; for these animals prey not upon each other, while the aborigines of australia devoured their own species. what america was to spain in the proud days of that nation's glory, australia has already been to england; and that, too, without the crime of wholesale murder and the spilling of rivers of blood, as was the case in the days of cortez and pizarro. the wealth poured into the lap of england by these far-away colonies belittles all the riches which the spaniard realized by the famous conquests of mexico and peru. here is an empire won without war, a new world called into existence by moral forces, an eldorado captured without the sword. here nature has spread her favors broadcast over a land only one fifth smaller than the whole continent of europe, granting every needed resource wherewith ultimately to form a great, independent, and prosperous nation; where labor is already more liberally rewarded, and life more easily sustained, than in any other country except america. among the most prominent advantages which at first strike the observation of the stranger in australia are those of an extended shore-line indented with many noble harbors, a semi-tropical climate beneath bright italian skies, a virgin soil of unequalled fertility, and a liberal form of government; while the hills, valleys, and plains abound in mineral wealth of gold, silver, iron, copper, and coal, inexhaustible in quantity and unsurpassed in quality. to the black diamonds of her coal-fields australia will owe more of her future progress than to her auriferous products. they already have conduced to the grand success of various branches of manufactures, as may be seen in the many enterprises springing up in the neighborhood of sydney. the coal-fields extend all along the seaboard from brisbane to sydney. those at newcastle are of vast proportions, having a daily output which gives employment to a large fleet of steamships and sailing-vessels. this coal is mined and put on shipboard, as we were told, at a cost of eleven shillings per ton. it is of excellent quality, admirable for manufacturing purposes, and very good, though somewhat dirty, for steamship use. near these newcastle coal-mines are ample deposits of iron ore of excellent quality,--two products whose close proximity to each other is of great importance in the economical production of manufactured iron and steel. only immigration is now needed to develop these grand resources, and that requisite is being supplied by a numerical growth surpassed alone by that on the pacific coast of the united states. it is difficult to believe, while observing the present population, wealth, power, and prosperity of the country at large, characterized by such grand and conspicuous elements of empire, that it has been settled for so brief a period, and that its pioneers consisted of the overflow of english jails and prisons. the authentic record of life in the colonies of australia during the first few years of their existence is mainly an account of the control of lawless men by the strong and cruel arm of military despotism, often exercised under the most unfavorable circumstances. situated more than twelve thousand miles away from their base of supplies, famine was often imminent, and the unavoidable sufferings of officers and men, of officials and prisoners, were at times indescribably severe. the earliest shipment of criminals hither was in , consisting of six transports with about eight hundred convicts, two hundred of whom were women. these were disembarked at port jackson, in sydney harbor; so that the first settlement of new south wales was strictly a penal one. chapter iv. interesting statistical facts.--emigration.--heavy indebtedness.--curious contrasts.--new south wales.--a populous city.--a splendid harbor.--the yacht "sunbeam."--street scenes.--gin palaces.--public gardens of sydney.--a noble institution of learning.--art gallery.--public libraries.--pleasure trip to parametta.--attractive drives.--a sad catastrophe in sydney harbor. before proceeding to take the reader from city to city, and to depict their several peculiarities, a few statistics gathered by the author on the spot will afford as tangible evidence of the growth and present commercial standing of the colonies of australasia as anything which could be adduced. the annual revenue raised by these colonies aggregates a larger sum than that realized by sweden, norway, switzerland, denmark, and greece united. five hundred million dollars are annually paid for imports; and exports to a like amount are sent from the country. up to the present writing australia has realized from her auriferous soil over three hundred and thirty million pounds sterling. her territory gives grazing at the present time to over seventy-five million sheep. this is more than double the whole number of sheep in the united states. when it is remembered that the population of this country is sixty millions, and that australia has not much over three millions, the force of this comparison becomes obvious. the amount of wool exported to the mother country is twenty-eight times as much as england has received in the same period from the continent of europe. the combined exports and imports of the united kingdom of great britain are shown to be a little over one hundred dollars per annum for each unit of the population; in australia the aggregate is a trifle over two hundred dollars per head. the four principal capitals of australia contain over eight hundred thousand inhabitants. the railroads of the country have already cost over two hundred million dollars, and are being extended annually. new south wales has in proportion to its population a greater length of railroad than any other country in the world, while there are some thirty thousand miles of telegraph line in the length and breadth of the land. in ten years, between and , new zealand doubled her population, having now some six hundred thousand; and the australian colonies increased at nearly as rapid a rate, while the monthly immigration still going on gives constant and profitable employment to one of the best equipped steamship lines upon the ocean. the steady and natural increase of population in great britain, taken in connection with the circumscribed limits of her territory, demands an outlet for the annual emigration of a large percentage of her people. there are no better lands for those who are thus induced, or compelled, to seek another field wherein to create a new home than australia and new zealand. there are several considerations that lead to this conviction. first, such immigrants will still be under the fostering care of their native government; second, the colonial authorities offer great inducements to immigrants, such as grants of land together with free transportation from the old to the new country; and third, there is here a climate far more desirable and healthful than that of england, ireland, or scotland. while the necessary cost of living is less, wages are higher, and many luxuries can be enjoyed which at home would not be considered within the reach of persons of moderate means. bread, the staff of life, and meat, its strong supporter, are both very much cheaper in the colonies than in any part of great britain. these considerations enforce the conclusion that australasia is the natural resort of emigrants from the british isles, and that it will continue to attract thence a steady flow of population. canada for the emigrant presents not a moiety of the inducements of these south sea lands, nor can we understand what possible reason can lead british subjects to select it above the favored country of which we are treating. while we were discussing the economical and political condition of the colonies with a government official at sydney, he took occasion to express regret at the large debt of the colonies. we are glad to know, however, that these debts of the several divisions of australia and new zealand do not represent the cost of useless wars or expenditures for vain glory; on the contrary, the money has been invested in railroads and other necessary and substantial improvements, which form an ample security or mortgage for the same, and which is yearly increasing in value. probably some of these enterprises have been premature, but their ultimate value is beyond all doubt. australia is divided into five provincial governments,--new south wales, victoria, queensland, south australia, and west australia. the island of tasmania forms another province, and is separated from victoria by bass strait, the two being within half a day's sail of each other. sydney is the capital of new south wales; melbourne, of victoria; adelaide, of south australia; brisbane, of queensland; perth, of west australia; and hobart, of tasmania. it may be remarked incidentally that south australia might more properly be designated by some other title, as it is not south australia at all. victoria lies south of it, and so does a large portion of west australia. the governments of these several divisions are modelled upon that of new south wales, the parent colony of them all. though we are by no means attempting to write a history or make a geography of these great southlands, still an enumeration of certain important facts is not inappropriate, and will serve to make matters more clear to the general reader as he accompanies us through the following pages. we have said that the several governments of these colonies are modelled upon that of new south wales, which has a constitution and two houses of parliament. the first, or legislative council, is composed of a limited number of members nominated by the crown, and who hold office for life; the second, or legislative assembly, is composed of members elected from the various constituencies, who are chosen by ballot. all acts before becoming law must receive the approval of the queen of england, though this is said to be practically a mere form. there is a resident governor in each colony, also appointed by the queen. educational facilities, especially as regards primary schools, are abundant, attendance upon which is compulsory. where children reside at some considerable distance from school, free passes are given to them on the railroads to facilitate compliance with the legal requirement. one of the first thoughts that dawned upon us after we had time fully to realize this state of affairs in these antipodes was that as compared with our own country this is a land of curious contradictions. here the eagles are white and the swans black; the emu, a bird nearly as large as the ostrich, cannot fly, but runs like a horse. the principal quadruped here, the kangaroo, is elsewhere unknown; and though he has four legs, he runs upon two. when the days are longest with us in america, they are shortest here. to reach the tropics australians go due north, while we go due south. with us the seed, or stone, of the cherry forms the centre of the fruit; in australia the stone grows on the outside. the foliage of the trees in america spreads out horizontally; in this south-land the leaves hang vertically. when it is day with us, it is night with them. here christmas comes in midsummer; with us, in mid-winter. bituminous and anthracite coal are with us only one color,--black, black as erebus; but they have white bituminous coal here, white as chalk. we are thousands of miles north of the equator; they are thousands of miles south of it. the deciduous trees with us shed their leaves in winter; with them they are evergreen, shedding their bark and not their leaves,--the gardens of alcinous being not more perennial than the length and breadth of this favored land. in proceeding with our subject it is proper to begin with new south wales, at whose capital we landed, this colony being also the oldest if not the wealthiest province of the entire country. not only her mineral wealth and great agricultural facilities, but her commanding position and numerous admirable harbors will ever enable her to maintain precedence among her prosperous and wealthy sister colonies. as originally founded, new south wales embraced the whole eastern seaboard of australia; but in the southern part was formed into the province of victoria, and in the northern part was divided into a separate colony, called queensland, still leaving her an extensive sea-coast of eight hundred miles in length. when we say that new south wales is twice as large as california, it will be realized that she is not greatly circumscribed in territory. the present population, in the absence of actual statistics, may be safely stated to amount in round numbers to one million. sydney, often called by her citizens the queen of the pacific, is built upon two ridges of land of considerable elevation, the valley between being occupied by the busiest portion of the population and containing the best shops in every department of trade. there are many fine large business and public edifices of stone, but these are only too often flanked by buildings of a very low and awkward construction, one story in height. there is no consecutive purpose or uniformity in the street architecture, a wild irregularity prevailing. george street, which is the main business thoroughfare, is two miles in length, and contains many stores or shops furnished as well as the average of those in vienna and paris. these are really fine business edifices, having massive french plate-glass windows and being in all particulars admirably appointed. the peculiar conformation of the town makes the lateral streets precipitous, so that a large portion of the city is composed of hilly avenues, to surmount which there is a constant struggle going on with loaded teams. like the old streets of boston, those of sydney were the growth of chance, and were not originally laid out after a system, as in melbourne, adelaide, or brisbane. our washington street was originally a cow-path, while the present site of george street in sydney was at first a meandering bullock-track. the names of the streets are historic in their suggestions. george street was named after george the third, during whose reign the colony was founded. pitt street is named after the earl of chatham; castlereagh, bathurst, erskine, and other streets recall familiar names of english statesmen. the higher thoroughfares, those upon the ridges, overlook the inner harbor and shipping, affording a constantly varying maritime picture. thus from nearly opposite our hotel, on the day of our arrival, we saw lying upon the waters of the bay four large german men-of-war (the same which afterward visited and terrorized the simple natives of the samoan islands), and also an iron-clad belonging to japan fully equal in nautical appearance to the german craft. all were dressed from their hulls to their topmast heads with tiny flags in gayest colors, as it happened to be coronation day. a little nearer the heart of the town, in what is known as farm cove, lord brassey's famous yacht, the "sunbeam," rode quietly at anchor, whose keel has cut the waters of all the notable harbors of the world, and whose significant name the late lamented lady brassey has rendered a household word by her delightful pen. the snow-white hull and graceful rig of the yacht was not unfamiliar to the author, who saw it six years ago at port said, and who then met its late mistress at cairo, in egypt. excursion steamers, ferry-boats, men-of-war launches, racing-cutters, and a hundred small sailing-craft added life and interest to this impressive picture of sydney harbor, as seen from the higher streets of the town. the much-lauded bay is indeed charming, as the most indifferent spectator must admit; yet it did not strike us as so much more beautiful than others that we have visited in various countries. it is better, however, not to challenge the ire of all sydney by speaking irreverently of the harbor, since the faithful worship of its alleged incomparable beauty is with the citizens a species of religion. it has the advantage of being but slightly affected by the tides, and in consequence has no shoals to spoil the view with their muddy aspect at various times each day, or to emit noxious fumes under the rays of a burning sun. eight or nine fathoms of water in nearly any part of the bay make it accessible to ships of heaviest draught. it is seven miles from the entrance at the heads up to the city proper. this capacious basin, with its countless nooks and windings, has a shore line of two hundred and fifty miles, the whole of which is so well protected and land-locked that in all weather it is as glassy and smooth as the lake of geneva. the main thoroughfares of sydney are not kept in a very cleanly condition,--a statement which even the residents must indorse; but the streets are full of the busy life which appertains to a great metropolis. cabs and private vehicles dash hither and thither; heavily-laden drays grind their broad wheels over the rough pavements; pedestrians crowd the sidewalks; messenger boys, mounted upon wiry little horses, gallop on their several errands, some of them dressed in scarlet coats, signifying that they are in government service; newspaper hawkers, boot-blacks, bearers of advertising placards, itinerant fruit-venders, chinamen with vegetables in baskets slung on a pole across their shoulders, pass and repass one in rapid succession; omnibuses rattle furiously over the pavements, while the "going, going, gone," of the open sham auction-rooms rings upon the ear. now and then one meets a beggar, blind or decrepit; but such are not numerous, and generally palliate their vocation as well as evade the law by offering some trifling articles for sale, such as pencils, shoestrings, or matches. in european cities, where professional beggary is so often resorted to as a regular occupation, one hardens his heart and passes these people heedlessly by; but here in sydney he drops a trifle in the hat. every street-corner has its bar-room, about whose doors are congregated a disreputable crowd of bloated faces and bleared eyes, among whom are seen only too many of the youth of the town, beginners in vicious habits, besides numerous idle but able-bodied representatives of the laboring classes. no part of london even is more numerously supplied with gin palaces and low tap-rooms than sydney. the sad sight of intoxicated women staggering along the public way shocked the sensibilities, though this unfortunate exhibition was far less common than we have seen it in liverpool and glasgow. the demi-monde are fully represented upon the streets,--one of the sad but inevitable concomitants of a great city. let us add, in all fairness, that this objectionable feature is certainly no more conspicuous here than in chicago or new york,--a fact which is mentioned not to draw a comparison, but in order faithfully to depict the every-day aspect of a colonial capital. turning from these multiform scenes of human life, often ludicrous, but oftener painfully sad, we sought the botanical gardens; and after that at calcutta, and the superb gardens of kandy in ceylon, this of sydney is the next finest we remember to have seen. in round numbers these gardens embrace fifty acres of land, laid out in terraces and irregular elevations, so that many of the broad paths overlook portions of the city and harbor. the grounds extend on a gentle incline to the shores of the beautiful bay, forming a semicircle round what is known as farm cove, a picturesque indentation of the harbor. the several main paths are liberally ornamented with statuary representing flora, ceres, commerce, science, etc. one special charm of these delightful grounds is the fact that they are accessible by a walk of about five minutes from the centre of the city. it is not necessary to organize an excursion in order to reach them, as is the case with many similar resorts elsewhere, such as sydenham in london, central park in new york, or the bois de boulogne, paris. here semi-arctic and semi-tropical plants and trees were found growing together, and all parts of the globe seemed to be liberally represented. the hardy scotch fir and the delicate palm of the tropics jostle each other; the india-rubber tree and the laurel are close friends; the california pine and the florida orange thrive side by side; so with the silver fern-tree of new zealand and the guava of cuba. china, japan, india, africa, egypt, and south america, all have furnished representative trees and shrubs for these comprehensive gardens, and here they have become acclimatized. a thrifty cluster of the indian bamboo, that king of the grasses, was seen here forty feet high, close by a specimen of the native australian musk-tree, which attains a height of nearly twenty feet and exhales from leaf and bark a peculiarly sweet odor, though not at all like what its name would seem to indicate; it has broad, laurel-like leaves and bears a pale yellow blossom. there was pointed out to us a sheoak-tree, which it is said emits a curious wailing sound during the quietest state of the atmosphere, when there is not a breath of wind to move the branches or the leaves. this tree is almost universally found growing near the sea, and is said to have borrowed the murmur of the conch-shell. no reasonable cause is assigned for its mournful song, which has proved to be the inspiring theme of many a local poet. near the very centre of the gardens three norfolk island pines attracted particular attention because of their remarkable development. the head gardener told us that they were planted here about , and they are certainly the noblest examples of their kind we have seen. the oldest one, perfect in form and foliage, is ninety-five feet high, and three feet from the ground measures fourteen feet nine inches in circumference; the other two are even taller, but measure one foot less in circumference. the density of foliage, uniformity of shape, and general perfection of these beautiful pines exceed anything of the kind to be found elsewhere. in walking to the garden by the way of bridge street, there was observed, just opposite the buildings containing the educational bureau, a dual tree of great size and beauty. the effect was that of one immense tree, but there were really two trunks which furnished this mountain of foliage. they were moreton bay fig-trees, and were full of green fruit. this tree, the fruit of which we believe is useless, has a singular habit which recalls that of the banyan-tree; namely, that of forming many aerial roots which hang downward from the branches, though they do not grow long enough to reach the earth and produce new stock like the banyan,--which is known, by the way, as the indian fig-tree. within the botanical gardens the flowers were as attractive and in as great variety as the trees. fuchsias, roses, camellias in great variety, pansies of the double species, a whole army of brilliant tulips, and many other plants were in gorgeous bloom, though this was in july, which, it must be remembered, is winter in sydney. the collection of camellias was remarkable both for the size to which they grew and for the abundance of the blossoms. over three hundred were counted on one tree, as white as untrodden snow, all being of perfect form and freshness; there were others double, single, striped, and scarlet, all thrifty and lovely, but none of them quite equal to the myriad-decked one in white. the azaleas, double scarlet geraniums, violets, heliotropes, and daphnes were dazzling in color and confusing in their abundance. nestling among the mounds of rock-work were succulent plants, orchids, cacti, ferns, and other pleasing forms of delicate vegetation. flowers bloom in every month of the year in this region, out of doors, and are rarely troubled by frost. as we came out of the public garden after this first visit, the last rays of the setting sun threw tremulous shadows over the foliage and the pale faces of the marble statues. the softening colors of the western sky were reflected clearly in the unruffled arm of the bay close at hand, tinging its waters with purple and golden hues. it was a scene and moment to put one at peace with all the world. the atmosphere was intoxicatingly fragrant just at this bedtime hour of the flowers, filling one here, within pistol-shot of the crowded, boisterous life of the town, with sensuous delight. sydney has two or three moderate-sized but very attractive arcades,--one especially worthy of note leading from george street near the city hall, in which are many fine shops, refreshment saloons, and cafés, with flower and fruit stores. these areas being under glass--that is, roofed over at the top of the buildings--are a favorite resort for ladies and promenaders generally. on entering these arcades one steps from deafening and confusing noise into a quiet atmosphere, with most agreeable surroundings. not far away on george street is the general vegetable and fruit market, where poultry and flowers are also sold. the articles are displayed with an artistic eye for color and appropriate effect. young women are employed to sell the fruit and flowers, whose pleasant and by no means obtrusive importunity with visitors makes many purchasers. george street is fragrant on a sunny afternoon with button-hole bouquets, purchased of these flower-girls, who evince admirable taste in the graceful and effective manner of arranging their floral gems. the display of fruit is remarkable, and the article is as cheap as it is tempting; so that those who in england or in many parts of america would not feel able to afford to indulge in oranges, apples, pears, and bananas, not forgetting the appetizing fruit of the passion-plant, here make of these a wholesome addition to their daily food-supply. sydney is only rivalled in this respect by san francisco, which city cannot be surpassed in the cheapness or quality of its fruit from tropical and semi-tropical regions within its own borders. many floral establishments solely devoted to the sale of plants and cut-flowers were observed in different sections of the city with very beautiful displays in their large plate-glass windows. it is only a liberal population of refined taste which will support these attractive establishments; their manifest thrift tells its own story. if in these notes we speak most frequently of the common classes, depicting scenes illustrative of humble and every-day life among the masses, it is because such are the most representative; but the reader may be sure that there is another class happily existing in sydney, and in all of these pacific colonies, where the author met with and shared the hospitality of many cultured people, who exhibited a degree of refinement unsurpassed in the best of our own home circles. some writers choose to dilate upon their intercourse with such people, giving the names of officials and the initials of private individuals from whom they received entertainment; but it seems to us better to avoid such personal mention, in which the reader can feel very little interest. the university of sydney, admirably situated about a mile from the business portion of the city, not far from the alfred hospital, is the first that was founded in the southern hemisphere. in its immediate neighborhood are the affiliated colleges of st. paul, st. andrew, and st. john, belonging respectively to the church of england, the presbyterian denomination, and the roman catholics. religious instruction is given at these colleges, but not in the university. this edifice is of gothic architecture, built of freestone, and is situated in spacious elevated grounds overlooking victoria park and the city, being enclosed by a high iron fence. within this enclosure, which is several acres in extent, the land is terraced and ornamented with choice trees and flowers. the façade of the main building is over four hundred feet in length. on one side is a fine large stone building just finished, which is designed for a medical school; and on the other is a spacious structure appropriated to the purpose of a museum, where we found some thousands of classified objects of special interest as antiquities. the object of the university is to afford a liberal education to all orders and denominations without distinction. graduates rank in the same order as those of similar british home institutions. this university was originally founded by government, but from time to time it has been the recipient of rich endowments from private sources, until it has become nearly self-supporting. the great hall of this building deserves particular mention. it is a remarkable apartment finished elaborately in the elizabethan style, and is lighted by ten large stained-glass windows. in these were observed representations of the sovereigns of england, from william the conqueror to queen victoria. several of these windows are the gifts of wealthy patrons. the room is about a hundred and fifty feet in length and fifty wide, with a ceiling reaching to the roof, being at least seventy feet in height, finished in gothic style and forming a marvel of carpentry, carving and painting. the citizens of sydney may well be proud of this admirably appointed university. the art gallery is a low one-story iron building in the grounds of the park known as the domain, and it well repaid a visit of a few hours, though it is at present only the nucleus of a future collection. it contains some excellent modern pictures by popular artists, english and french. one fine example by louis buvelot, an australian artist, is full of merit. there are many excellent models of classic sculpture, including the group of the laocoön. some choice water-colors interested us, and there were some meritorious pieces of sculpture by native artists. one or two unselfish and devoted friends of art in sydney have given the most of their time and much of their pecuniary means for years to promoting the interests of this collection, which under their fostering care has already reached a high intrinsic value, and is full of promise of future permanence and still greater excellence. on the way back to our hotel from visiting the art gallery we stopped at the free public library, which contains over one hundred thousand volumes arranged after a most admirable system. not only do the immediate residents of the city and its environs enjoy the advantages of this collection, but the books are sent all over new south wales, upon application from local authorities, in boxes containing one hundred volumes each, free of transportation. to secure this privilege in any instance, it is only necessary for the town authorities to sign a bond, making themselves responsible for the return of the books within a given period, or agreeing to pay for any that are lost. this system of distribution, we were told, worked admirably, involving no loss and no more wear and tear than any other consistent use of the books, while the benefits of the library are thus extended to half a million of people. another circulating library, known as maddock's select library, was found in george street, after the style of mudie's in london, or loring's in boston, the object of which was to supply its patrons with the best books and serial publications as soon as published. besides the periodical literature of the day, this establishment contains thousands of standard books, which are constantly lent for a moderate sum to the reading public. this library, we were told, has been established for twenty years, and has really become a city institution. it is only upon visiting places which do not possess such convenient literary resorts that one can properly estimate their public value and importance. walking about the wharves in the early morning we one day saw and awaited the mooring of the incoming boat from parametta. it was crowded with merchants' clerks, shop-keepers, and business people generally who are employed in the city during the day, but who return to their suburban homes to sleep. among these were women from the shores of the river and harbor, with baskets of cut-flowers for the sydney market. they were all neatly dressed, bright-looking girls and women, as rosy as their lovely wares. some of them had two long light frames of wire which they carried in each hand, and in the openings of which were double rows of flowers, enabling each girl to carry a score and more of bouquets. these were glowing with morning freshness imparted by "some sweet mystery of the dew," and were composed of camellias in three or four colors, lilies of the valley, blue violets, and tea-roses, with sheltering borders of maiden's-hair fern and other varieties of green. all these were of out-door growth. truly, flowers are appreciated, cultivated, and loved all over the world; even here in eldorado they delight the eye with their beauty and the senses with their fragrance. a brief day devoted to a trip from sydney to the town of parametta will well repay the visitor; and to vary the scene one should go thither by steamboat and return by the sydney and bathurst railroad. this excursion gives one a better idea of the harbor in detail than can be acquired in any other manner. the comfortable little passenger-boat skirts the shore and winds among the small islands, stopping at many of them to land or to take up passengers. these islands are clotted with villas and cottages, each having a two-story veranda, generally decked with vines, and all overlooking the bay. the boat passes under a picturesque iron bridge painted white, which crosses an arm of the sea. skilled oarsmen are constantly pulling up and down the parametta river in their long, pointed, egg-shell boats, for here is the famous boat-race course. verdant and well-wooded lawns of exquisite green sweep grandly down to the water's edge. orange and lemon trees, with here and there a group of bananas and other tropical plants, bend gracefully over the tide. now and again the australian ivy beautifies the shore, creeping over the quaint little cottages and bursting out at times in clouds of yellow blossoms on rocky promontories and gently swelling knolls. one recognizes also the scarlet nasturtium and beds of soft blue violets intermingling with fragrant jonquils. the lily of the valley, forgetting that it is winter here, opens its bell-like blossom of snowy-white and fills the whole air with dainty sweetness. the green and striped aloe grows wild in clusters affording variety and beauty of effect to all around. there were here and there clusters also of the yellow-leaved wattle, producing by its foliage almost the exact effect of blossoms; and as the river is ascended, an abundance of the water-loving mangrove is seen bordering the banks, like willows in new england. and if one turns for a moment from the enchantment near at hand, far away over the plains and undulating country, mingling with the very clouds, are seen the blue mountains. all far-away mountains present an aspect of blue, but those of new south wales are indeed cerulean. a quiet aspect of stupid respectability, if we may be permitted the term, environed the town of parametta. it is a dull place, and fully merits its expressive nickname of sleepy hollow. one is half inclined to look for a coating of blue mould over the streets and houses. while driving in the neighborhood, where everything seemed so purely english, one felt the sight of the many orange-trees in full bearing, or the flitting about of small paroquets, to be a sort of incongruity. the early colonists, as we were told, tried to raise wheat hereabout, but the soil was ill adapted to that cereal, though for raising oranges and semi-tropical fruits parametta has since become quite famous. the town is just fifteen miles from sydney, and has in its environs some beautiful drives. rocky hall, the residence of a hospitable and wealthy citizen, not far from the town of parametta, contains in its spacious grounds an orchard with a marvellous variety of growing fruits. the proprietor, mr. james pye, is good authority on all subjects relating to horticulture. the salubrious character of the climate has enabled this gentleman to produce in abundance thriving specimens of nearly every known fruit either tropical or hardy, added to which he has a large and choice variety of flowers. we are reminded in this connection of one of the pleasantest drives in sydney, not to be forgotten by the visiting stranger,--that along the shores of port jackson. here, within a few minutes' walk of the heart of a populous city, we have rippling waters, waving foliage, frequent gardens, vine-clad cottages, a yellow pebbly shore, and a bay full of maritime beauties,--all combining to form a lovely panorama full of local color and of infinite variety. but even the beautiful aspect of sydney harbor has its drawbacks. with a single oarsman we crossed the bay from port jackson shore, and as we glided quietly over the water and looked down into the depths alongside, we saw more than one hideous man-eating shark of the dreaded white species, stealthily in search of human prey. though they feed on other fish, the white sharks seem to prefer human flesh to all other, and will remain patiently for days at a time in the same spot, watching for a chance to satisfy this terrible appetite. sad accidents from this source are not infrequent, two young lads from an overturned boat having been seized and eaten by these voracious creatures just one week previous to our arrival in sydney. the instance here referred to was particularly afflicting as we heard it described. the father of one of the boys was the horrified witness of the scene, without being able to render his son the least assistance. the sharks which frequent the coast of norway, the catching of which forms a regular industry there, are what are termed the mackerel shark, because they feed mostly upon that fish. the size of this kind averages from six to eight feet in length; but those which frequent the coast of australia will measure from ten to twelve feet, and have enormous mouths furnished with four or five rows of long sharp teeth. they are well called the tigers of the sea. chapter v. a zigzag railway.--wonderful series of caves.--immense sheep-runs.--sheep-shearing.--central australia.--city characteristics.--fine architectural development.--steam tramways.--labor unions.--colonial federation.--the tariff.--loyalty to england.--spirit of local rivalry.--the st. giles of sydney.--city clubs.--the laughing jackass.--public parks.--gold mines. there is one special excursion which should not be neglected by travellers to sydney; namely, a visit to what are called the fish river caves at tarana. no person would neglect them who could anticipate the novel experience to be enjoyed by such a visit, which need occupy but four days' time. we had not even heard of these singular wonders of nature's handiwork before coming hither. the short journey to the caves takes one through a delightful though wild and mountainous region, replete with grand natural scenery. the route leads through the emu plains and over the blue mountains by the zigzag railroad, from whose various elevations lovely far-reaching views are enjoyed of the district left behind and the gleaming nepean river winding gracefully through it. this range of mountains reaches a height of three thousand four hundred feet, intersected by precipitous ravines fifteen hundred feet in depth, and by gulches scarcely excelled in our own rocky mountains. one is reminded here most forcibly of the precipitous zigzag road at darjeeling, in india, which ascends toward the himalayan range, and which is nearly as remarkable as this example of australian engineering. we were told that this zigzag railroad of five miles more or less in length cost three million dollars, and saw no reason to doubt it. in working out some of the levels from the face of the precipitous and rocky sides of the mountain, laborers were suspended by ropes from holding-ground far above their heads, and very many of the cuttings were accomplished under equally trying circumstances. as a piece of daring and successful engineering there is nothing to equal it in the southern hemisphere. the subterranean temples and halls of limestone which constitute these remarkable fish river caves are of vast extent, filled with many intricate windings, galleries, and irregular passages, in which one would inevitably be lost without an experienced and faithful guide. the many apartments are known by special names, and there are several singularly perfect archways whose exact proportions no architect could improve. these caves present some of the most beautiful stalactites we have ever seen, and in many prominent features they are considered to be unique. whole days of examination would not exhaust their variety. one of the caves is of cathedral dimensions, having a height of five hundred feet and a length and breadth according well with its altitude. another of the apartments is appropriately designated as the menagerie, on account of the peculiar shapes produced by the crystal-like formations, from which the imagination can easily create various animals. when lighted, these subterranean palaces form a gorgeous spectacle. one peculiar division is called the bell tower, being a small chamber in which are five or six stalactites hanging near together, and which when struck give out rich metallic tones similar to a chime of bells. for extent, variety, and beauty combined, these buried halls and chambers have no equal so far as our experience goes, though they recall the grotto of adelsberg, near trieste, which exhibits some similar features, and also the subterranean caverns in the environs of matanzas, cuba. in these fish river caves the fantastic shapes assumed by the limestone formations are infinite in variety, as well as weird and singular in their groupings. but perhaps they excel most particularly in their beautiful coloring, in many instances presenting great brilliancy of lustre, which causes the individual stalactites to seem like ponderous opals. a magnesium wire is introduced by the guide for the pleasure of the visitor, and when the caves are thus illumined the most fairy-like effect is produced. it is as if one suddenly stood within the charmed palace of aladdin, the gauze-like fountains reflecting the light upon one another like a series of mirrors, and the whole sparkling like rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. the effect then becomes fantastic, unreal, theatrical. from some of the intricate windings the distant music of waterfalls strikes pleasantly on the ear, and crystal streams reflect the light in azure hues. when the guide extinguishes for a moment his powerful light, gloom and darkness surround the visitor, stimulating the imagination to vivid activity. these might be the caves of erebus leading to hades, and where is charon to ferry us across the styx? may not that distant sound of falling water be the voice of lethe, that river of oblivion "whereof whoso drinks straightway his former sense and being forgets"? some of these natural temples have domes rivalling st. peter's and st. paul's. how many there are of these caves, running for miles into the mountains, no one can say, as they have never been fully explored; but every year some new grotto is discovered and added to the number already recorded. caves of limestone formation are produced in many parts of the world, and the simplest knowledge of chemistry coupled with a little careful observation shows us clearly how they have been created. the conditions must first be those of an underlying bed of limestone nearly horizontal in its layers, over which a forest or wooded surface has grown. the falling rain washes the decaying leaves, and in doing so borrows from them certain chemical properties, charged with which the water sinks into the limestone beds. the carbon acquired by the water combines with and dissolves the lime and other components of the rock, which then escape as gases through the interstices of the earth. thus openings are at first formed, which are slowly increased in size by the same process during the passing ages, until vast and curious caves are created. when underground channels have been begun, coursing streams of water assist the chemical action and wear away the rock by simple friction. with these facts in mind, the fish river caves cease to be miraculous formations, as some have imagined them, and are only marvels,--giving us tangible evidence of the many thousands of years which must have transpired during their creation. in the broad space of country lying between the coast and the alpine range, of which the blue mountains form a part, there are many sheep-runs of large proportions, upon which are sheep in almost fabulous numbers. the land here seems especially adapted in its natural condition to the raising and sustenance of these profitable animals, though it is also susceptible of a much higher degree of improvement and cultivation. our observation was confined mainly to the country nearest the borders of new south wales and victoria. here one man, a thrifty scotchman from "auld reekie," with whom we became acquainted, was the owner of over one hundred and twenty thousand sheep, and several other men had more than half that number each. forty or fifty thousand belonging to one person is not considered at all remarkable in this great south-land of australia. when it is remembered that each one of these animals must be sheared annually, the enormous labor involved in caring for such a stock begins to be realized. in the clipping season, bands of men sometimes numbering forty or fifty, go from one run to another to shear the sheep, and become very expert at the business, realizing a handsome sum of money at the close of each season. some of these men invest their money in flocks, and thus gradually become possessed of runs of their own. several such instances were named to us. such "a neighbor" (any one within ten miles is called "a neighbor") "began as a clipper two or three years ago, and now he owns his twenty thousand sheep." the annual natural increase is fully seventy-five per cent per annum. some clippers are not so careful of their means, but after the season is finished they hie away to sydney, melbourne, or some other populous centre, where they drink and gamble away their money much faster than they earned it. a smart professional shearer will clip one hundred sheep in a day of ten hours. the highest price paid for such service is five dollars a day, or rather five dollars per each hundred animals sheared. these men often work over hours during the season, for which they are paid at the same rate, and are always found in board and lodging by the owner of the run by whom they are employed. machinery to do the clipping is being introduced, though not rapidly, as only a few more animals can be sheared per day by machinery than by hand,--a process similar in its operation to that of horse-clipping. the great advantage, however, of machinery is the perfect uniformity of cut obtained,--a result which the most experienced shearer cannot insure. the operator often cuts the sheep more or less severely in the rapidity of the hand process; but this is impossible where the machine is used, though it leaves the animal with a shorter fleece all over its body, and consequently gives a yield of three or four ounces more of wool from each. to feed and properly sustain such vast numbers of sheep requires ample space; but there is enough of that, and to spare. australia in its greatest breadth, between shark's bay on the west and sandy cape on the eastern shore, measures twenty-four hundred miles; and from north to south--that is, from cape york to cape otway--it is probably over seventeen hundred miles in extent. a very large portion of the country, especially in the interior and northwestern sections, still remains unexplored. the occupied and improved portions of the country skirt the sea-coast on the southern and eastern sides, which are covered with cities, towns, villages, and hamlets where nine tenths of the population live. the country occupied for sheep-runs and cattle-ranches is very sparsely inhabited. the reason for this is obvious, since the owner of a hundred thousand sheep requires between two and three hundred thousand acres to feed them properly. the relative proportion as to sheep and land, as given to us, is to allow two and a third acres to each animal. of course there is land which would support these animals in proportion of say one sheep to the acre; but the average is as above. those who are engaged in agriculture have pushed their homes back inland as far as the soil and the watercourses will avail them. the latter element must be especially regarded, as the country is unfortunately liable to severe droughts. thus district after district has been reclaimed from the wilderness and turned into fertile grazing lands. there is no bound to this gradual progress of land cultivation; slow but sure, it will only cease when the western coast bordering on the indian ocean, now mostly a wilderness, shall be reached. a sort of patriarchal simplicity has until lately governed these pioneers of agriculture. any unmarked and unoccupied land has been freely appropriated to their use. but as a higher grade of husbandry has advanced, more stringent laws have been enforced and cheerfully acquiesced in; so that at present there is very little near the coast suitable for grazing which is not under registry with the crown officers. squatting is therefore no longer a happy-go-lucky venture, but that which the pioneer has he pays for,--a small sum to be sure, but it renders his claim safe from any chance infringement. the want of such well-defined rules in the earlier days led to many a bitter quarrel, which not infrequently ended in a fatal manner. adventurous men, who always go armed, are generally quick to quarrel, and reckless in the use of weapons. the central portion of australia is described as being one vast extent of alluvial plains, interspersed with sandy ridges, dry lakes (or land depressions), and occasional hills. many portions have a very rich black soil, bearing what are called nigall-trees, which yield a transparent gum in large quantities, in all respects resembling gum-arabic, being perfectly soluble in water. this gum the natives eat freely; and it is very palatable, though its nutritive qualities are quite doubtful. the natives eat this gum to allay the pangs of hunger, but it is not believed that human life could long be sustained upon it. on some of these central plains there is a natural grass of the most nutritious quality, which grows profusely. the europeans call it blue-grass, of which sheep and cattle are very fond. large tracts are liable to inundation from floods during the brief rainy season. the soil consists of a rich plastic formation. wild carrots and wild flax abound; the former are especially sought for by sheep, while the bolls of the latter are considered fattening for all stock. sheep will patiently dig with their fore-feet to get at the carrots, and devour them eagerly, though they are very bitter to the taste. another peculiarity of the country, as it was described to us, is the entire absence of all stones; not one is to be found except at the foot of some of the hills, which are often twenty miles apart. it is believed that this part of the territory is at a certain depth underlaid by an abundance of fresh water, which would be perfectly accessible by means of artesian wells. if a suitable and efficient system of irrigation could be adopted it would bring into use at once an enormous territory as large as half-a-dozen of our largest western states, which is now little better than a dry desert, where in summer the grass becomes hay dried upon the roots, but which in winter, when the rain falls, puts on an inviting aspect of rich verdure. the great dividing mountain chain of australia is near the coast-line in the south and east, averaging perhaps a hundred miles or more from the sea. nearly all the gold which the land has produced has come from the valleys and hillsides of this range. the gold diggings of new south wales have proved to be very rich in some sections; but unlike those of queensland and victoria,--the former six hundred miles north of sydney, and the latter six hundred miles south of it,--the precious metal is here found mostly in alluvial deposits. a true fissure vein of gold-bearing quartz, as we were informed, has never been found in new south wales. as a source of pecuniary and lasting income, her coal mines are far more valuable than all the rest of her mineral deposits combined. sydney holds high rank as a british colonial city, and deservedly so, having special reason for pride in the complete system of her charitable and educational organizations, her noble public buildings, and the general character of her leading citizens. land in the town and its vicinity is held at prices averaging as high as in boston or new york, and the wealth of the people is represented to be very great in the aggregate. the city hall, now in course of enlargement, is an admirable structure of stone, grand in its architecture and most substantially constructed. when finished it will equal the hôtel de ville of paris in size, and to our taste surpass it architecturally. it is of the composite order, with bold reliefs and pillared front, its whole effect being in strong contrast to that of st. andrew's cathedral in george street, which is close at hand. the latter is in pure gothic of the pointed style, and although it is comparatively small, it will rank favorably in its decorations and internal arrangements with any of the lately-built english cathedrals. the view from the open cupola of the city hall, at a height of about one hundred and fifty feet above the level of george street, is unusually comprehensive, taking in not only the immediate city on all sides, but also the environs, including the several divisions of the harbor. to the westward, fifteen miles away, lies parametta, while eastward the heaving breast of the restless pacific ocean dies away in the far horizon. from this eyrie one looks down upon the cathedral, which is a very costly edifice, and was thirty-one years in building,--the funds being frequently exhausted, and money for the purpose difficult to raise. but it now stands as a fine christian monument of choice design, thoroughly and artistically carried out. the post-office is a very large stone structure surmounted by a tall square tower, rather out of proportion. this building extends over a whole square, or rather fronts upon three streets, embracing ample room for every department of the postal service, including that of the telegraph. the whole building is surrounded on the three sides by lofty pillars of stone, forming a corridor open to the streets, admirably conceived so that the attendant public are at all times under shelter. among the other prominent public buildings are the treasury, the land office, and the colonial secretary's office, each four or five stories in height, built of stone, and situated near the shore of the harbor. this is the immediate neighborhood of the circular quay at the head of sydney cove. this quay has a length of over three thousand feet, and is available for the mooring of the largest steamers that navigate the ocean. numerous steamships of five thousand tons and upward lay here on the occasion of our visit. the erection of new buildings is always an evidence of thrift and general prosperity. much building was observed to be in progress here, mostly large stone edifices designed for business purposes, remarkable for their architectural pretension and the solidity of the mason-work. all this activity gave us the impression of being in the midst of a prosperous, progressive people. the contrast presented by sunday compared with the rest of the week was remarkable, the day being one of perfect repose so far as all outward appearances went. the bar-rooms were all closed and every branch of business suspended. the public gardens, public library, and art gallery, however, were all open. the tramways of sydney are operated by steam-power, noisy, smoke-dispensing locomotives being in constant use on the main thoroughfares where tramways are laid. two or more passenger-cars are run coupled together, stopping at certain designated points for passengers, say at the end of every other block, and nowhere between stations either to take up or set down passengers. flag-men are placed at what are considered to be extra-hazardous crossings, and we were told that accidents seldom occur, except through the carelessness of the passengers; but that there was constant and imminent risk caused by these steam-cars was perfectly manifest. a woman was run over and fatally injured, so that she died on the same day in the hospital, while we were in the city. of course it was represented to have been the victim's own fault; but we beg leave to differ from this decision, and to ascribe the blame to those who first permitted the introduction of so dangerous a motor into the crowded streets of a large city. labor combinations, labor "unions," as they are called, have proved very disastrous in sydney to all concerned, but more especially to the laboring classes themselves. general enterprise in several departments of mechanical labor is seriously impeded. men well inclined and able to work for fair wages are not permitted to do so, the "unions" terrorizing them into obedience to their ill-conceived and arbitrary rules, though wages are about double what they are in england, and as high as in this country. the consequence is that the street-corners and bar-rooms are crowded with idlers and vicious men, half driven to despair by their own folly, who somehow find money for beer and rum if not for bread for their suffering families. there is ample and remunerative employment for all independent men, but those who prefer to be led by others rather than to think and act for themselves must pay the penalty. the laborer of to-day if thrifty, industrious, and sober becomes the employer of to-morrow, and as soon as a man is possessed of land or other real property he begins to complain of the want of hands to carry on the same, and to look upon the whole subject of labor and capital in a more reasonable light. that the real interests of both are entirely mutual is perfectly obvious to the intelligent mind, and those designing agitators who strive to array one against the other are emissaries of ill-omen. laborers were asking for work from the government officials when we were in sydney, and demanding high wages with circumscribed hours. such were told that there was employment for all who would seek it inland, upon the farms and plantations, where indeed the great drawback was the want of able hands; but the naturally idle and dissipated will always crowd to populous centres. agriculture is taking its place as the main industry of the country, and if people who are now asking for aid from the government in these colonies would go inland and seek occupation, independent of all hampering "union" connections, they would promote their own interest and the best good of their adopted country. respectable female help is especially needed here, for which the best wages are paid; and when we read of the somewhat startling cry of london women of the humbler class, "give us work and pay which will feed and clothe us," it seems as if the need might be easily supplied here, to the mutual advantage of these women and the colonists. already in these colonies there are well-organized means by which worthy and deserving persons can reach australia or new zealand free of cost to themselves so far as passage is concerned, so desirous are the colonists to induce emigration from england of a class of men and women who will become of general use in the community. the explanation of this incongruity between want of occupation and the dearth of laborers of either sex is, that the sensational cry which we have quoted comes mostly if not entirely from a class whose habits and lives are not such as to make them desirable in the colonies, or indeed anywhere else. for the most part, undoubtedly, it is the dissolute, drinking, thieving classes of london and other large cities who loudly utter these demands, spurred on to do so by reckless socialists and conspiring anarchists. for the worthy and industrious poor, above all others, australia and new zealand offer unequalled inducements in the way of a new home. the climate is admirable, not liable to extremes, and constantly reminding one of the south of france or the shores of the mediterranean. statistics exhibiting the death-rates of the several colonies were a surprise to us, showing that australia, new zealand, and tasmania were healthier even than london, which is well known to be remarkable in this respect. owing to the purity and elasticity of the atmosphere, which is proven to contain an unusual amount of ozone, the same degree of heat is not realized so much as it is elsewhere. the thermometer while we were in sydney showed a mean of ° fahrenheit in the shade, in the month of june, which answers to our month of december in america. the death-rate of the new england cities is perhaps safely put at twenty-one per thousand, while that of australia is shown to be seventeen per thousand,--a statement equally applicable to new zealand and tasmania. so far as we could learn by careful inquiry, malarial fevers are there quite unknown. while in sydney, we heard much relative to the proposed federation of the several colonies; that is, the adoption of one parliament for and a recognized union of all the provinces, following as a model the general idea of the canadian organization. at present each section of the country--namely, queensland, new south wales, victoria, south australia, west australia, and tasmania--is under a separate government, carried on without any unity of interest as regards the whole. indeed the bitterest rivalry seemed to exist between them, a petty jealousy being fostered which is entirely unworthy of an intelligent and liberal people. doubtless the world at large can see that the best interests of australia would be served by a consummation of this purpose of federation, but it is not universally popular among the colonists. new south wales, we were told, decidedly holds back from such a plan, her individual interest inclining her to maintain isolation; but, so far as one might judge, the other colonies favor it. it has been said that new south wales is more loyal to the queen than are her own english subjects at home; and as shrewd judges surmise that a complete federation of these colonies would ultimately lead to a declaration of independence of the mother country, they partly oppose the idea upon this ground. undoubtedly it would be a step in that direction. many nationalities are represented in australia and new zealand, but the majority are english, scotch, and irish. the officials of new south wales, especially, look to england for many favors which a separation would cut them off from; among these are honorary titles and appointments under the crown. the constitution under which these colonies are living is such as to entitle them to be called democracies. in many respects they are more liberal and advanced than is england herself. church and state, for instance, are kept quite distinct from each other. as to the legislative powers of the colonies, the home government has not even a veto which can be said to be of any real account. when such dissent on the part of the queen is expressed (which is rare), there is a certain legal way of avoiding its force,--a resort to which the colonists have not failed to betake themselves at times. here as elsewhere there are two parties in the general politics of the country,--one loyal to the last degree to the british throne, the other ready at the first opportunity to cut loose from the home government, which is so many thousands of miles away. the most important question relating to federation seems to be that of the tariff. while new south wales favors a low and simple tariff, victoria insists upon "protection" in the fullest sense of that much-abused term. queensland is more liberal, and favors free-trade. this question therefore becomes an important factor in the proposed federation; and could it be settled, no doubt a general union would soon follow. it is clearly in accordance with the logic of events that in the near future not only will federation take place throughout these colonies, making them one just as these united states are one, but their independence of the mother country will naturally follow. that great english writer on political economy, john stuart mill, says: "countries separated by half the globe do not present the natural conditions for being under one government, or even members of one federation. if they had sufficiently the same interests, they have not and never can have a sufficient habit of taking counsel together. they are not part of the same public; they do not discuss and deliberate in the same arena but apart, and have only a most imperfect knowledge of what passes in the minds of one another." it would seem as if mr. mill had these colonies of the south pacific in view when he expressed these ideas. the pride of empire is all-powerful, but the growth and extent of nations, as shown in the history of the babylonian, assyrian, and roman empires, are governed by principles beyond their individual control. when men have builded too high the structure topples over. the more dominion is extended the more vulnerable it becomes. there is also, as mr. mill intimates, a vital distinction between continuous or contiguous empire and empire dispersed and separated by thousands of miles of ocean. if there were not such a persistent spirit of rivalry existing between the several colonies of australia, the different railroad gauges which have been purposely established could not be maintained for a single month. such obvious folly seemed inexcusable to a stranger. victoria has the broad gauge of five feet three inches; new south wales has a gauge of four feet eight inches; while in queensland the narrow gauge of three feet six inches is adopted. freight or passengers going over the railroads from brisbane to adelaide must change cars twice, and from sydney to melbourne--only six hundred miles--freight and passengers must change cars at albury. it was not very clear to the writer why this spirit of jealousy should exist at all, much less why it should be so universally indulged in. at sydney, melbourne is vilified most recklessly; its simplest enterprises are decried: no good can come out of nazareth! melbourne, on her part, returns the compliment with interest; and so it is also with adelaide. this feeling operates as a serious and ever-present drawback to colonial progress in nearly every direction. were australia to become independent of the mother country, and its divided interests consolidated, the benefit to be derived therefrom seemed to us to be unquestionable. one occasionally heard the saying, "australia for the australians," in the same sense as the irish demand "ireland for the irish." it is a favorite phrase used by the agitators in addressing the masses. the only possible danger of this country becoming involved in a foreign war arises from her being a dependency of england; and it is doubtful how long these colonists will remain contented to be exposed to such a serious emergency, in the issues of which they could have no direct interest. the proposal for federation, as it was explained to us, contemplates uniting far-away new zealand with the other colonies,--a purpose which seems to be without any good reason to recommend it. new zealand and australia are as far apart as africa and south america, or as turkey is from england. the sea which separates them is without islands, is turbulent, torn by antarctic currents and swept by raging storms at nearly all seasons. even in what is called fine weather there is a ceaseless swell heaving the bosom of this sea very trying to endure, and which it is only safe to encounter in large, well-equipped vessels. in ethnological respects as well as in scenery and climate the countries are diametrically opposite. the maoris and the native australians--the aborigines of the two countries--are as different as white men are from negroes, there being no actual resemblance except that both are of bronzed hue. new zealand has a damp, windy, but not cold climate, with a never-failing supply of water; australia is a dry, arid land often suffering from drought. the first is characterized by deep cool shades, the latter by heat and glare, and by inland plains which in their present condition might not inappropriately be compared to an african desert for sterility and temperature. nearly every city has its "st. giles." in sydney the quarter which might be thus appropriately designated is known as "the rocks." here the backsliders most do congregate, and here are located rookeries devoted to their temporary lodgment. the police rarely penetrate here unless in the special pursuit of a criminal, as it forms a sort of neutral ground between crime and justice. this city contains at least as many whitewashed rogues as other cities of its size,--men and women who cunningly keep within the pale of the law, or who may have served out one or more sentences of imprisonment, and are legally clear from the clutches of justice. such characters, if they do not openly resort to "the rocks," are very apt to have some secret connection therewith. the daily habitués are persons whose lives are filled with constant mis-deeds, who gain their bread by criminal acts, and whose career is characterized by recklessness and excess. sailors are often enticed hither, and after being plied with drugged liquor are robbed. we do not remember to have seen anywhere more petrified rascality to the square inch than was evinced in the features of the men and women of "the rocks." no enterprise, it seemed, could be too wicked for them to engage in. gold-digging is not as a rule conducive to morality; indeed it is apt to lead directly in the opposite course. thus it is that toilers after the glittering metal having acquired a goodly sum are apt to toss aside the pick and shovel for what is termed a "lark," and wending their way to town bring up finally at "the rocks," where a miner and his gold are almost sure rapidly to part company. if he shows resistance, a knife or a revolver may be the fatal resort. clubs are as much of an institution in the colonies as they are in london; indeed, an englishman at home or abroad without his club is never quite himself. in sydney and melbourne the club takes the character of a private hotel where members, and strangers introduced by them, lodge and take their meals. we were officially informed in both of these cities that our name had been recorded as entitled to all the conveniences of more than one of these organizations; but further than the prompt recognition of the courtesy and kindness of these committees we did not avail ourself of the privileges tendered. to be sure one is introduced at these clubs to the best society of the place, but the only trouble encountered by the author in this respect was that he could only with difficulty escape the profuse hospitality and cordial attention pressed upon him by the colonials. our journey into the south pacific was a long one; we had but a few months in which to traverse the length and breadth of these great islands; time therefore was precious, and self-abnegation a duty in order to fulfil a comprehensive programme. the first time the author made the acquaintance of the "laughing jackass" was in the bird, fruit, and flower market on george street. his sarcastic notes were afterward often encountered in his wild state and among his open-air haunts. not to make special mention of him would be to omit reference to one of the most curious creatures the traveller meets with in his wanderings about the country. mischievous, sly, droll, insulting, without a particle of shyness, what a bird it is! his plumage is mottled, white and black; he has very little tail, but is provided with a great gawky head, a well-rounded body, and is a little larger than the domestic pigeon. his eyes are preternaturally big, and gaze coolly at you as though they would pierce you through. he laughs almost exactly like a human being, with a touch of bird malice added; and though it is harsh, his merriment is ludicrously contagious, for no one can avoid laughing both at and with him. it is a riotous tumult of laughter. he is as intelligent as the mino-bird, and can be taught to talk better than a parrot,--at least so we were told,--and, sad to say, shows a manifest delight in profanity. the bushmen consider him to be a sort of barometer foretelling the weather; for when it is about to rain the jackass becomes miserable, dejected, and sleepy, sitting upon a branch of a tree with his feathers all awry and his head hidden under his wing,--a very picture of melancholy. of all birds he seems most like a caricature of his own species. though he is of the kingfisher tribe, he does not seem to pay much attention to fishes, his favorite food being small snakes. these he seizes just back of the head, and flying rapidly aloft drops them upon stony ground, thus breaking their delicate spine. this process is repeated until life becomes extinct in the victim, when the jackass proceeds leisurely to devour the body piecemeal. as he is thus considered to perform an important service to the settlers, who are much troubled with snakes, he enjoys complete immunity from trap and gun. sydney fully illustrates the commendable passion which all the colonies of australasia evince for the establishment of public parks. if this is a weakness it is a grand one, which we heartily wish was epidemic in this country. nothing is more conducive to health, beauty, and good morals than these beautiful places in and about populous cities and towns. every capital or considerable town in australia, new zealand, or tasmania is thus beautified and improved; but sydney and melbourne have endeavored in this respect especially to rival each other. sydney being the oldest settlement has had more time to perfect a grand system of gardens and reserved lands which are not surpassed by any european capital. first there is hyde park, situated in the centre of the town; next the domain, as it is called, containing one hundred and forty acres on the north side of the metropolis, ornamented by broad paths and noble shade-trees; close at hand are the beautiful botanical gardens of forty acres in extent, which we have already described. added to these there is the prince alfred park of twenty acres, and the belmore park of ten acres. virtually forming a part of this same system of reserved lands is a tract of six hundred acres known as moor park, lying on the southeast side, adjoining which is the popular metropolitan race-course. this list of parks speaks for itself, representing an amount of open, ornamental space which would serve a city of three millions, while sydney has but about that number of hundred thousands. no one thing is more indicative of opulence, liberality of sentiment, and regard for the public good than such grand free resorts. being in the vicinity, a flying visit was made to the township of bingera, situated in a northwest direction from sydney on the gwydir river, at a distance of three hundred and fifty miles from the capital. it possesses more than passing interest, as it has, besides some valuable and paying "diggings" of gold near at hand, something still more attractive to adventurous spirits,--namely, diamond mines. these are being industriously worked and with paying results, though no very large amount of profit has yet been realized. nearly a thousand small diamonds have been found here and sent to market. though they are not large, they are remarkable for purity of color and excellence of quality. this is a rich mineral district, abounding specially in copper and tin; but there are not over a thousand people at bingera, even including the floating population attracted by the diamond-fields. the most famous of the gold mines here is the "upper bingera," which has proved very profitable to its owners, and is about sixteen miles from bingera. another somewhat famous mine of this neighborhood is known as the "bobby whitlow;" and still a third which deserves mention as being nearly as prolific is called "the boro." all these mines have been more or less freely worked and partially abandoned for more promising fields, but they are by no means exhausted. it may very reasonably be doubted whether australia would have risen into notice, or have been so promptly peopled by englishmen, had it not been that hordes of convicts were shipped thither from great britain in the early days of its discovery. though this transportation of criminals thither was long ago abolished, and this element of reproach has been nearly lived down, "there is still unfortunately a convict flavor permeating some classes,"--we use the very words of a respectable citizen with whom we were conversing upon the subject. some of the rich men of to-day came out from england as prisoners; and the heads of some families, whose descendants are now reasonably esteemed and respected, were once ticket-of-leave men. but in sheer justice it should be remembered that persons in those days were very often transported by the courts of the old country for crimes of the most petty character. chapter vi. the capital of queensland.--public gardens.--gold mines and gold mining.--pleasant excursion.--inducements to emigrants.--coolie principle of labor.--agricultural products.--sugar plantations.--australian aborigines.--cannibalism.--civil wars.--indian legends.--fire-arms and fire-water.--missionary efforts.--a brief romance.--the boomerang.--the various tribes.--antiquity of these lands. brisbane, the capital of queensland, which was originally known as moreton bay district, lies about five hundred miles north of sydney, and is reached most readily by coasting steamers; though the railroad long since begun, has been nearly completed between the two cities, and may possibly be open by the time these notes are printed. it has a population, if we include the immediate suburbs, of fully fifty thousand. until it was an appendage of new south wales, but was in that year formed into an independent colony and named queensland, after the reigning queen of great britain. the site of the city is a diversified surface, with the river whose name it bears winding gracefully through it about twenty-five miles from its mouth; though in a direct line it would be but half that distance to its debouchment into moreton bay, one of the largest bays on the coast of australia. it was discovered by captain cook in , and is formed by two long sandy islands running north and south, named respectively standbroke and moreton islands, enclosing between them and the mainland a spacious sheet of water more than thirty miles long and six or eight wide, beautified by several small and fertile islands. on approaching brisbane by the sea one is puzzled at first to find where the mouth of the river can be, so completely is it hidden by mangrove swamps which skirt the coast hereabout for many miles. a pleasant little watering-place is located close at hand named sandgate, which is connected by hourly stages with the city. several small rivers, all of which however are more or less navigable, empty into moreton bay, showing that the district of brisbane is well watered. it is less than fifty years since brisbane was opened to free settlers, having been previously only a penal station of the english government. but of this taint here the same may be said as of sydney or hobart in tasmania,--scarcely a trace remains. the principal streets run north and south, and are half a mile long, being crossed at right angles by smaller ones. all of these thoroughfares were originally laid out too narrow for the purpose designed. here one remarks the same system of verandas reaching from end to end of the streets, and stretching over the sidewalks to the edge-stones before the shops, which is observed in all the other cities and large towns of australia and new zealand. for a city of its size it is unusually well supplied with churches and places of public worship, of which there are forty-one, embracing all sects of professed christians. queen street is the main thoroughfare and is lined with handsome stores and beautiful edifices, for there is no lack of architectural pretension either in the public or private buildings. like all of its sister cities in these colonies, brisbane has an elaborate botanical garden, in which the people take great interest; it certainly seemed to approach very nearly that of sydney not only in spaciousness, but in general excellence,--the climate here favoring even a more extensive out-door display of tropical and delicate vegetation than can be obtained farther south. the fine examples of the great india-rubber tree found here were nearly equal to those we have seen in their native forests, where the great anaconda-like roots are often as much above as below the surface. contiguous to these grounds and forming a conspicuous object in the landscape is the parliament building, a grand structure of cut-stone brought from neighboring quarries. this building has been a very expensive affair, and probably antedates by half a century the absolute requirements of the colony. still, one pauses to ask himself if it is possible that only a few years ago the present site of brisbane was a waste of dense jungle, a reeking swamp, a barren hillside. and if it has accomplished so much in the way of growth and material progress in so short a time, what may not be hoped for it in the near future? there are besides the botanical gardens three other "reserves," as they are universally denominated in australia; namely, queen's park, victoria park, and bowen park, each laid out in the most liberal spirit and in anticipation of a population which the city will undoubtedly realize within a few years from the present time. the ample water-supply of the town has also been partially anticipatory; but what an immense advantage it is to brisbane! the sparkling liquid is brought by an excellent system of pipes from the hills near enaggera creek, seven miles distant from the city. here a large reservoir has been created by throwing a dam across a narrow part of a deep gully, and thus a large body of water securely preserved. this water is both palatable and wholesome. an intelligent spirit of enterprise is evinced by the citizens, and everything goes to show that this is destined to be a populous and prosperous centre. as to the climate, it is simply perfect, the mean temperature being set down at °. ipswich, about twenty-five miles from the city, on the road to the darling downs, has a population of ten thousand. gympie, a gold-mining town a hundred miles north, has about the same number of inhabitants. maryborough, on the banks of the mary river, is another thriving town equally populous; and rockhampton, near the mouth of the fitzroy river, is a town of similar size and importance. charter's towers, croyden, and table-top are each productive gold centres; and there are many others which might be named, as showing the populous and important character to which queensland has already attained. of the gold-producing localities, charter's towers is perhaps the best developed and the richest. the particular "claim" at this point, known by the name of the "day-dawn," is thought to be the most valuable, and has turned out a very large aggregate of gold. through the country, inside of the coast-range, there runs a broad belt of gold-bearing quartz more or less near the surface, but which requires organized capital to improve it effectually. at first the localities are worked by a few hands for the surface yield, and the excavation is continued as far down as can be done without elaborate hoisting apparatus. then the claim is apt to be abandoned, or left to be eventually improved and worked by machinery aided by wealthy organizations. to the west of this mineral belt are situated the endless rolling downs and prairies of the province, covered with herbage suitable for the support of countless herds and flocks, and where some fourteen millions of sheep are now yielding meat and wool for export, and where some four millions of cattle are also herded. the real greatness of the country is to be found in this agricultural capacity, this pastoral interest. gold will attract adventurers, but the substantial permanent population will be found west of the auriferous range of mountains. the pursuit of gold-mining has been called the triumph of hope over experience, since notwithstanding the rich rewards so often attendant on this pursuit, by it more seekers mar than make their fortune; and when once a man has engaged in it, he seems to become utterly unfit for any other occupation. nevertheless, so great is the infatuation pertaining to gold-mining, that when one seeker, broken down by ill-success, ill-health, and perhaps the contracting of bad habits, is finally forced to abandon the pursuit, his place is quickly taken by fresh recruits, over-credulous and ever increasing in numbers. we spoke particularly of charter's towers as being a remarkable mine in its productiveness. we mean comparatively so, as those at gympie are also of great promise. the "lady mary" claim in this district is known all over australia for its profitable yield. the mount morgan mine near rockhampton, on a branch of the river dee, is thought by some to be the richest gold mine in the world; nor should it be supposed that the auriferous fields in queensland have all been discovered. it is the same here as among our own rich gold and silver leads. take those of montana for instance; no one who knows anything about that territory believes that one lead has been found out of one hundred that are in the hills awaiting the prospecter's pick: yet montana has sent within the last year,-- ,--the extraordinary sum of thirty-five million dollars in gold and silver to the mint. an extremely pleasant trip may be enjoyed up the brisbane river and bremer creek, on which latter stream ipswich is situated. it is twice as far by water as by land, but the sail is delightful. the visitor often gets a charming view of the city from the river, while at the same time passing suburban residences, flourishing farms, banana-groves, cotton-fields, sugar-plantations, orange-orchards, and the varied scenery which borders the river's course. if one has time for but a single excursion from the capital of queensland, let him go to ipswich by the river. we would also advise him not to miss the trip from sydney to the town of parametta up the river of the same name. the unreasonably high rates demanded as wages, we were told, had the effect of crippling many industries at brisbane, and especially of hindering the successful development of agriculture, farmers in many instances being unable even to harvest their crops. this is a natural sequence of the mining attractions of the country. queensland is probably as rich as any portion of australia in other mineral deposits as well as in gold, abounding in copper, silver, tin, and coal, so that mining, first and foremost, absorbs the attention of large numbers at the expense of other enterprises. the immediate need of this province is more population and more laborers. we were told that liberal inducements were held out to acceptable people to come hither from the old country, but just what these inducements were it was not so easy to ascertain. it is for the common interest both of england and her south sea colonies that the rough, rude men who throng to the gold-diggings of those colonies should be in a measure counterbalanced by an influx of well-disposed and intelligent people, with such domestic associations as will insure their responsible and good citizenship. families, where they can be induced to emigrate, should be offered the most liberal inducements, especially if they are persons possessing a knowledge of farming,--these would be a most valuable addition to the colony. government can well afford to give to such desirable emigrants a free passage, and land on which to settle without a cent of first cost to them. the high rates of passage and the price charged for land in these colonies have together acted as prohibitory measures to new settlers going thither. there are millions of acres of good land in australia and new zealand which lie idle, and will continue to do so for a century to come, unless proper persons are induced by liberal terms to go and occupy them. there is a certain class in england and great britain generally to whom the agents of the colonies can well afford to be liberal and open-handed, and there are others upon whom all such liberality would be worse than thrown away. to cause a steady emigration from the old country the conditions must be made at first entirely for the benefit of the new-comer, and in the end his presence will redound to the permanent good of the colonies. the cultivation of wheat is growing more and more general in queensland, but the staple productions may be said to be wool and sugar. coffee, tobacco, and cotton are also grown, but only to a limited extent, though the acreage devoted to the latter is said to be annually increasing. the laborers upon the plantations, and indeed the colored laborers both in town and country, are composed largely of south sea islanders, imported hither from both the near and far islands on the very objectionable coolie principle which so long prevailed in cuba. these laborers are engaged to serve a certain period,--say five years,--for which time the employer contracts to pay them six pounds sterling per annum, feeding and housing them in the mean time; and at the expiration of the term agreed upon he promises to return them to their island homes free of all cost to themselves. of course this system is open to unlimited abuse, as was proved in the west indies and elsewhere, resolving itself into a species of actual slavery. besides which, under the guise of securing contract labor it has been proved that natives were forcibly abducted from their homes by unprincipled sea-captains, who realized a large amount of money per head for passage and for procuring the stolen islanders. one instance of this sort was related to us in detail, where a small coasting-vessel brought a large number of natives from an outlying island of the feejee group, whence they were forcibly abducted, and treated with as much cruelty as formerly characterized the slave trade between africa and cuba. even when imported under the fairest scheme that could be conceived, the ignorant "kanacks," as they are called, cannot enforce their rights, and rarely ever see their homes again after having once left them. the contracts entered into between employers and these men are little more than a farce on the part of the principals, and are probably never consummated. it is gratifying to know that this iniquitous system of coolie labor is becoming a thing of the past. freely expressed public opinion has nearly abolished it, although its evil results are by no means yet outgrown. it is clearly apparent to any observant person that the pastoral and agricultural interests are paramount to all others in australia. this is amply proved by the published statistics of the past five years. few persons not especially interested to inquire have any idea of the large amount of fresh meat shipped thither in refrigerator steamers, or of the aggregate amount of wool and flour exported thence to england, india, and china. the tenure upon which farm-lands are held in queensland, as already intimated, seemed to us to be not a little confusing. in order to make men good citizens their land should be to them a freehold; that is, the title should be solely vested in themselves. the laws relating to this matter differ in the several colonies. the semi-tropical climate of queensland permits of the cultivation (as we have already stated) of pineapples, cotton, arrowroot, bananas, coffee, mangoes, and the like. the cotton is of the long and best staple. the planters here already compete with those of the west indies in the product of the sugar-cane, three varieties of which are especially adapted to this climate; namely, the burbon, the purple java, and the yellow otaheitan. it must not be forgotten that two thirds of this colony is within the tropics, stretching northward until it is separated from the equator by eleven degrees only. three tons of sugar to the acre is no uncommon yield upon the plantations of queensland, and this too where the machinery used in the grinding and reducing is of a poor character. were more modern methods adopted, the aggregate result would not only be much increased in quantity, but also in quality. the machinery used for this purpose in the sandwich islands--all brought from the united states--is infinitely better adapted to the purpose, besides being actually more economical in the long run. some of the queensland planters have taken pride in demonstrating that intelligent white labor is possible, and more profitable, all things considered, than any other. there is one characteristic of sugar-raising here which we should not omit to mention; namely, that several crops can be realized from one planting. the first crop is called the "plant" crop, and those that follow are known as "ratoon" crops, the latter continuing several years. in the west indies and some other countries a first and second crop are realized from one planting; but the third year requires new planting. this division of australia is more than five times as large as the united kingdom of great britain, possessing a world of undeveloped resources of the most promising character. when the great central railroad shall be built,--and it is believed that it will soon be under way,--an immense impulse will be given to queensland. the sun here shines with a more tropical ardor and a more genial warmth than in new south wales; the trees are of more varied shapes and of richer growth,--similar, in fact, to those of central america. the palm takes the place of the eucalyptus to a certain extent, and the woods teem with the bunya-bunya,--a very desirable and ornamental tree, which belongs to the pine family. here also abound the tulip-tree, rosewood, sandal-wood, and satin-wood, with other choice varieties not found farther south. the tulip-tree and the sour gourd recall the vegetation of equatorial africa, which many of the natural products here very closely resemble. we have spoken of the bunya-bunya tree. when it is full-grown it towers two hundred feet in the air; but when young, it throws out branches all about its base close to the earth and to a distance of several yards. above these, smaller branches rise in regular gradation to the top, forming a perfect cone of dense foliage. at maturity it produces annually upon its apex a large cluster of fruit, which is nutritious and palatable, being eagerly consumed by both the natives and the whites. this product is similar to the chestnut in taste and appearance, each tree producing a bushel or more at a time. the bunya-bunya has a sort of mysterious significance with the "black fellows" as the aborigines are called, and no one is permitted to cut down one of these trees. the laws of the colony also forbid its destruction. the aborigines are oftener met here than at the south, as they prefer to live in the more temperate climate, and where they can have the country more to themselves. they are all nomads, and probably do not number over twenty-five or thirty thousand, slowly but surely decreasing numerically before the advance of the whites. even when first discovered they were but a handful of people, as it were, scattered over an immense continent. they have still no distinct notion of the building of houses in which to live, or at least they adopt none, though they have the example of the whites ever before them. as a rule they are hideously ugly, with flat noses, wide nostrils, and deep-sunken eyes wide apart. a bark covering, much ruder than anything which would content an american indian, forms their only shelter, and they often burrow under the lee side of an overhanging rock. unlike the maoris of new zealand, they have no settled abode, and are more nomadic than the bedouins of the desert. the skill of this people in tracking game or human beings is nearly equal to that of the blood-hound. in the early days of penal servitude they were specially employed by the authorities for this purpose, and have been known to conduct a pursuit after an escaping convict for a hundred miles without once losing his trail, and finally leading to his capture. in the more modern conflicts between the bushrangers and the authorities they proved of great value, not as fighters, but as trackers. missionary effort among these australian tribes seems to have been pretty much abandoned, and by intelligent people is considered to have been a failure. like all savage races, they are full of superstitions. they pay little attention to marriage obligations, but buy and sell wives according to their fancy, the women acquiescing with quiet indifference. we were told of one practice among them so ridiculous that we doubted it when first we heard of it. ocular demonstration, however, proved its reality. it appears that when a youth arrives at such an age that he aspires to be a man, so to speak,--to own property or to marry,--he is put through some cabalistic rites the nature of which they will not divulge. the initiation ceremony ends, however, by the aspirant having one of his front teeth knocked out, or broken off close to the gum. this is accomplished by means of a sharp blow from a stone shaped for the purpose. after this deforming process is accomplished, the youth is pronounced to be eligible to all the rights and privileges of the elders of his tribe. any of these aborigines, therefore, whom you meet is sure to be minus a front tooth. by the bye, it is all important that this tooth-smashing business should be performed at the full of the moon, and it is followed by what is termed a grand "corrobberee," or feast. in old times,--not long ago,--the menu on such occasions was incomplete unless the principal dish consisted of human flesh; but if this practice still prevails, as many believe to be the case, it is indulged in secretly. we were informed that the only way of accounting for the lack of numbers among the children of the aborigines is on the theory that infanticide is still practised by the native tribes. these savages are as fond of disfiguring themselves with yellow and red pigments as are our western aborigines. the tribes in the northwestern part of queensland are at constant enmity among themselves, and being naturally fond of quarrelling, like our indians, they improve every opportunity to do so, frequently attacking and killing one another for the most trivial causes. each tribe has its territory carefully marked off, and any infringement by another tribe is sure to end in bloodshed. it would seem as though everything conspired to wipe them from off the face of the earth. it is a remarkable fact that consumption causes the death of a considerable percentage of the tribes annually. they believe its victims to have become bewitched, having had an evil eye cast upon them; the result is that they redouble the incantations which they consider to be necessary to remove all illness. the australian blacks have a plenty of legends of the most barbaric character, but by no means void of poetic features. they believe that the earth was created by a being of supreme attributes, whom they call nourelle, and who lives in the sky surrounded by children born without the intervention of woman. they entertain the idea that because the sun gives heat it needs fuel, and that when it descends below the horizon it procures a fresh supply for its fires. the stars are supposed to be the dwellings of departed chiefs. the serpent is believed to contain the spirit of a real devil. to eat the kidney of an enemy, it is thought, imparts to the one who swallows it the strength of the dead man. any number above five these blacks express by saying, "it is as the leaves,"--not to be counted. the white man's locomotive is an imprisoned fire-devil, kept under control by water. the lightning is the angry expression of some outraged god. one singular tradition which this people have is to the following effect: in the beginning there was no death. the first created men and women were told not to go near a certain tree, in which lived a sacred bat. the woman one day approached the tree, whereupon the bat flew away; and after that came death. one would be glad to know if this fable antedates that more familiar and not dissimilar one of the garden of eden. the period of the total extinction of this race cannot be far distant. queensland is the only province where the australian aborigines are still an element worth taking into account. statistics show that they are dying at the rate of ten per cent per annum! the author asked an intelligent citizen of brisbane what could be the cause of such mortality. "oh," said he, in an airy way, "fire-arms and fire-water are doing the business for these black fellows." a remarkably comprehensive temperance lecture embraced in a single line, formulated by an old chief of these natives, occurs to us in this connection. he was one of the brisbane tribe, and on a certain occasion said to a government agent: "one drink is too much; two is not half enough." to taste was to drink to excess; abstinence with these people as with many white men is easy enough, but temperance in the use of spirits impossible. the natives will accept work from the whites when driven to do so by want of food. some of them work well and are liberally paid for it; but to insure this, liquor must be carefully kept from them. a single glass demoralizes, a second draught intoxicates. a drinking native is of no use to himself or any one else; and if he can get the means he rapidly drinks himself to death. the women are undersize as compared with the average of white people; but the males are athletic, excelling as axe-men and bullock-drivers, while on the sea-coast, when they work at all, they are good hands at the oar. their hair is not curly like that of the africans, but straight and silky like that of the malays, and they have the long, attenuated limbs of the hindu race. as in all barbaric countries invaded by the whites, the native race fade rapidly away. mr. anthony trollope depicted the true relative conditions of the races here when he said: "it was impossible to explain to the natives that a benevolent race of men had come to live among them, who were anxious to teach them all good things. their kangaroos and fish were driven away, their land was taken from them, the strangers assumed to be masters, and the black man did not see the benevolence. the new-comers were christians, and were ready enough to teach their religion if only the black man would learn it. the black man could not understand the religion, and did not want it, and to this day remains unimpressed by any of its influences. but the white man brought rum as well as religion, and the rum was impressive, though the religion was not." he adds significantly: "there was much spearing on one side and much shooting and hanging on the other." the extent of the country is suggested by the fact, as given to us, that the natives in the far interior of the north, while they doubtless have heard of a white man have never yet seen one. efforts have been freely made by philanthropic associations to ameliorate the condition of these blacks, but it seems impossible to turn them from their nomadic habits,--their instincts leading them to seek support as hunters, and after the manner of their forefathers, rather than by any more civilized pursuit. we were told of an instance of a young native lad of ten years, who was taken from his wild life by the mutual consent of all concerned, and brought to brisbane to live with the whites and be educated. great effort was made in his behalf, to render him in every respect comfortable and contented. he was placed at a suitable school, where he gradually developed an unusual degree of intelligence, showing much aptitude at learning, and becoming a favorite with both pupils and teachers. he lacked for nothing; was dressed like his associates and pleasantly domesticated. he remained several years among the whites apparently well satisfied with his surroundings, and great hopes came to be entertained that he would become thoroughly civilized, and exercise in manhood a strong influence for good among his native people. finally at the age of nineteen he was suddenly missing, and no one could say what had become of him. after months of search, he was discovered to have returned secretly to his former home and associates, and was there found as naked and nomadic as the rest. no inducement could prevail upon him to return to a life among the whites. there is a brief romance connected with the story of this youth which is not without interest. it appears that the young native, who was a fine specimen of his race, became warmly attached to the lovely daughter of the white family with whom he made his temporary home. the girl was about his own age, and it is believed that her refining influence over him was the secret of his remarkable studiousness and rapid progress in learning. after he was discovered among his own people, the young lady acknowledged that they had regarded each other with tenderest affection, and that the youth would long before have returned to his tribe but for her restraining influence. he regarded her with too much honest affection, however, to suggest even her going with him to share the hardships of his savage life, but told her that he grew hourly more restless and miserable, and that he _must_ seek his native wilds. this girl was too sensible to argue against the manifest destiny of both their lives, and with a first and last kiss they separated forever. no one can say how it was with the savage youth, whose eyes had been opened to all there is of noble and good in civilization; but doubtless he was finally consoled by some dusky maiden of his tribe. as to her whom he left behind, her true woman heart was sorely tried; and after hiding her sorrow for some five years she died unmarried. the most singular weapon possessed by these aborigines is one which originated with them, and is known as the boomerang,--of which every one has heard, but which perhaps few of our readers have seen. it is a weapon whose special peculiarities have caused it to pass into a synonym of anything which turns upon the person who uses it. it seems at first sight to be only a flat, crooked, or curved piece of polished wood, about twenty or twenty-four inches long (though these instruments vary in length), and three quarters of an inch in thickness. there is nothing particularly striking about this weapon until you see a native throw one; in doing which he carefully poises himself, makes a nice calculation as to the distance from him of the object he designs to hit, raises his arm above his head and brings it down with a sort of swoop, swiftly launching the curved wood from his hand. at first the boomerang skims along near the ground, then rises four or five feet, but only to sink again, and again to rise. as you carefully and curiously watch its course, and suppose it is just about to stop in its erratic career and drop to the ground, it suddenly ceases its forward flight and rapidly returns to the thrower. sometimes in returning it takes a course similar to its outward gyrations; at other times it returns straight as an arrow, gently striking the thrower's body or falling to the ground at his feet. it is thought that no white man can exactly learn the trick of throwing this strange implement, and few ever attempt to throw one,--or rather we should say, few attempt it a second time; nor can the native himself explain how he does what we have described. "me! i throw him, just so,"--that is all the answer you can get from him. we were told that the most expert of the blacks will not only kill a bird at a considerable distance with the boomerang, but that they cause the bird to be brought back to them by the weapon. this last degree of expertness we certainly did not witness, nor do we exactly credit it; but we can vouch for the first, as we have described it. the common weapons possessed by the aborigines when first discovered by the whites--besides the boomerang, which can inflict a severe if not fatal wound--were heavy war-clubs curiously carved, wooden spears tipped with flint, and many others made of sharpened stones. in throwing their wooden spears they were wonderfully expert,--an art which they still cultivate and willingly exhibit to strangers. a bullet from a rifle speeds not more surely to the bull's-eye than do these spears when thrown by the hand of a native; but the singular skill which can impart such magic to a weapon like the boomerang, might well be supposed to prove effective in launching a straight spear to its mark. all these weapons constructed by the australian natives are elaborately finished, and so polished, indeed, as to surpass the effect of varnish, in every way showing great care and patient labor in their manufacture. but though possessed of such skill in the construction of weapons, they appear to have none in the building of houses. in no part of the world have we seen people so poorly lodged, for even the digger indians of california afford themselves some sort of secure shelter while these people have none. ethnologists tell us that these blacks belong to the ethiopian race,--the lowest, probably, of all the human family. that they form a special type is very clear to any one who has been among them. the conviction forces itself upon one that they must be the remnant of some ancient and peculiar people, of whom we have no historic record. it is believed among well-informed persons in brisbane (as we have already intimated) that cannibalism is still secretly practised among some of the tribes. those living in northern queensland are so isolated as to have adopted but few modern tools or domestic utensils, but they still have their stone knives and axes. as a people they are very far behind the maoris in intelligence, and are ever ready to adopt the vices of the whites but not their virtues. great care is taken to keep fire-arms away from them, which effort is by no means successful, as there are plenty of adventurous white men--themselves outlaws--who will sell arms and ammunition to the natives whenever it is for their own advantage to do so. these tribes are quite pugnacious, and are known to have killed many of the chinese who have landed at the north, near torres strait, whom they doubtless devoured. the old brisbane tribe, known to have numbered not many years ago some twelve hundred, is now absolutely extinct, not a word of its language even being spoken by a human being. within a wide sweep of sydney and melbourne the aboriginal tribes have virtually died out. as regards morality, or virtue, among the black women, they would seem to have no idea of the significance of such terms. we learned one curious fact relating to the burial of the dead among the natives, which is that they always place the body in the ground in an upright position. their religion seems to be a sort of demon worship. "good god take care himself; bad god [devil],--look sharp for him!" there is some cunning if not philosophy in this sort of reasoning. like many other savage people, especially those inhabiting tropical regions, they have no idea of harvesting, or of storing food for future use. if they have enough to eat at the present hour, that is all-sufficient. when australia was first taken possession of by the whites it seems to have been, if the term is in any instance admissible, a god-forsaken land; certainly the most destitute of natural productions of any portion of the globe. we can well believe that before these blacks came hither,--perhaps a thousand years ago,--this land was untrodden by human beings, though scientists are by no means agreed upon this point. no species of grain was known to these natives; not a single fruit worthy of notice grew wild, and not an edible root of value was produced. the only game of any size was the kangaroo and a few species of birds. now the trees, fruits, vegetables, and game of all regions have become domesticated here, and have all proved to be highly productive, whether transplanted from tropical or from semi-tropical regions. while we write these lines, one most palatable and peculiar product is recalled, namely, the passion-fruit. the gorgeous flowering species is familiar to us all, but the fruit-bearing vine grows in australia to perfection. when ripe it is egg-shaped, and about the size of a hen's-egg, being eaten in much the same manner. the top is cut off, leaving the skin as a shell from which the luscious contents are eaten with a spoon. the flavor is a most agreeable sub-acid. we have intimated that appearances lead to the conviction that both australia and new zealand were uninhabited about ten centuries ago; and yet it would seem as though the south pacific must have been peopled by races of a certain degree of civilization in the far past. on the marshall and the gilbert groups of islands, as well as on the kingsmill and the ladrones, there are prehistoric stone monuments which were never constructed by savages. on lele, near strong's island, there are elaborate stone fortifications overgrown by tropical forests, the walls of which are twelve feet thick, underlaid by caverns, vaults, and secret passages. here also is a quadrangular tower forty feet in height. the tradition of the present inhabitants is that a great city once existed on this site, of which they know nothing. ruins are also found in the navigator's islands, the marquesas, and even the sandwich islands, whose origin is as much a mystery to the present inhabitants as to the inquiring stranger. was there once in the far-away past a great malayan empire existing in the pacific ocean? there is a peruvian tradition that in the olden times strangers came from the great south sea in ships to the west coast of america, for commercial intercourse with the civilized race which existed there. in visiting these various by-paths of the globe, one realizes that there are problems as to the antiquity of our race the solution of which reaches far beyond any of the most ancient records of our present civilization. we have seen in the boulak museum at cairo objects of egyptian make which were doubtless six thousand years old; and the sphinx, situated ten miles away, where the city of gizeh once stood, must antedate that period. but among these south sea islands are prehistoric ruins and monuments which are believed to antedate the sphinx. the same may be said of the buried columns that have been overgrown by the forests of central ceylon to the depth of a hundred feet. to our humble perception, so far from bringing man's origin more into accordance with the darwinian theory, these facts widen the gap, and render it still more doubtful. chapter vii. morning in the forest.--flying foxes.--a startling snake-story.--geographical.--want of irrigation.--droughts.--immense sheep-runs.--seeking a shepherd life.--wonderful gold nuggets.--a "welcome" discovery.--wool is king in queensland.--the chinese population.--education in australia.--peculiar banking business.--waging war upon kangaroos.--journalism in australia.--proposed new colony. a drive of a few miles inland from brisbane carries one through pleasant villages and among farms, plantations of sugar-cane, orchards, and fields of pineapples, beyond which one enters the forest. the banks of the rivers and creeks are generally covered with a dense semi-tropical growth of vegetation, while the forest stretches for many a mile into lonely districts. a great variety of trees are found here, some of primeval growth and large size, belonging to the blue-gum species; others, like sassafras, pine, and cedar, are fragrant and delight the senses, being surrounded by a thick undergrowth of marvellous luxuriance. the jungles in india or the islands of the malacca straits are not more dense than some of the wooded districts to be found in queensland. these retired spots are filled with bird and insect life, but with few animals. cockatoos and parrots, in gay colors and gaudy combinations, are the prevailing representatives of the feathered tribe. there are also numberless wild pigeons, in great variety, uttering a ceaseless, low, brooding note which seems to be in exact harmony with the sylvan surroundings. the bell-bird, cat-bird, and laughing jackass announce their presence in unmistakable utterances, all serving to keep the senses on the _qui vive_. the early morning was the hour chosen for our visit to one of these forest glades, while the dew was yet upon the grass. our companion--a resident full of enthusiasm and intelligence, and withal a good horseman--hurried us into the saddle to reach the woods betimes. "at noon," said he, "you might hear a leaf drop anywhere hereabout, for at that hour, bird, insect, reptile, even the flies and mosquitoes of the queensland 'scrub,' take their siesta; but in the morning and the gloaming they vie with one another in their vocal demonstrations." the morning was cloudless; the advancing day was already tempered by the warmth of the sun, but in the shade of the trees there was a cool fragrance and only a dim cathedral light. flying foxes greatly abound in this vicinity as well as in other parts of the country, often appearing in surprising numbers, especially on moonlight nights. they prove most destructive to choice fruits, and are said to be an increasing nuisance. the leaves of the gum-tree seem to form their principal food; but at times they visit a cultivated section in such marvellous numbers as to sweep away every green leaf and tender shoot in the gardens and fields, like an army of locusts. the natives and chinese eat them, but the more civilized inhabitants would as soon eat rats and mice. these flying foxes are unable to take flight from the ground, and when they are found there can easily be captured. neither can they run rapidly, but waddle toward the nearest tree-trunk, which they ascend rapidly by means of their long, sharp claws, and from the branches of which they throw themselves into the air, where they skim about like a bird on the wing. they are rarely seen until evening, always performing their depredations by night. it is a remarkable fact that these peculiarly awkward creatures, whose legs seem utterly unavailable for ordinary service, unless it be for climbing, will carry large fruit, weighing nearly a pound, long distances to their nests. during the day they retire to secluded places in the woods, where they sleep hanging head downward from the branches by the natural hooks attached to their shoulders. as with common bats, which they resemble in some respects, secluded caves are a favorite resort of the flying foxes. we are reminded in this connection of another remarkable animal found here, called the flying 'possum,--a creature which does not actually fly, but which "shoots" across a considerable space through the air, between tall trees or elevated objects like cliffs, by means of expanding a loose skin or membrane formed on both of its sides, and which connects the front legs with the hind ones. this creature, like the kangaroo, is indigenous, and only found in australia. we heard much said about the venomous nature of australian snakes, and were cautioned especially to avoid the places known to be frequented by them. doubtless there are plenty of snakes in australia as in most other regions, poisonous ones also in the bush, and that they do sometimes fatally bite persons there can be no question; but we did not chance to see any, either of the venomous or harmless sort. there is one quality very commendable in the serpent tribe: as a rule, they show a disposition to get out of the way of human beings. if trampled upon, of course they will turn and bite or sting; but this is not to be set down to their discredit, but to the natural instinct of self-defence. one of the most venomous of all snakes is indigenous to our own country,--namely, the rattle-snake; but even he never fails to give ample warning of his presence before attacking any one. the habits of these australian snakes are similar to those of their species wherever found; their usual resort is a hole in the ground under fallen leaves, or in the decaying trunk of a tree, and they live by preying upon frogs, mice, lizards, and birds. we were told of some instances of their power to charm small birds,--an old story to be sure, and one for which we must have ocular evidence before crediting it. new zealand is happily free from the pest of snakes,--there being no more there than in ireland. doubtless providence had some legitimate purpose to subserve in creating tarantulas, poisonous spiders, and scorpions in australia, but the "why and wherefore" is rather a conundrum. we heard while in sydney a singular snake-story, which we have every reason to believe to be true, the facts of which were said to have occurred not long before near the town of parametta. in the family of a settler who resided some half a league from the town was an invalid daughter, of an extremely nervous temperament. she was sleeping one summer afternoon in a hammock swung between a couple of supporting standards in the shade of the piazza, when she was suddenly awakened by feeling something cold and moist clinging about her throat. she put up her hand to the spot and clasped the body of a snake just back of its head, and with a horrified cry wrenched with all her strength to tear it away. this was the first instinctive action of the moment, but so great was her terror that she speedily lost all consciousness of the situation. her hand however still grasped the snake where she had first seized upon it, and with such a convulsive force that the creature was rendered powerless. the cry of the terrified girl brought the father from within the house, who instantly came to her relief; but in the fit which her fright had induced, her hand slowly contracted about the creature's throat with a force which awake she could not possibly have exerted, and before her fingers were unclasped by the aid of a bit of the hammock cord the reptile was completely strangled. fortunately the creature had not bitten the girl before she seized it; and after that, it was unable to do so. it is said to have been four feet long and of a poisonous species. queensland is nearer to new guinea on the north than victoria is on the south to tasmania. the depth of torres strait, which separates queensland and new guinea, is nowhere over nine fathoms. it is generally believed by those who make a study of such matters that these two countries were originally connected, and that the sea, aided perhaps by some volcanic action, finally separated them. after a current between them was once established, the land on each side would wear away rapidly. the distance across the strait is to-day less than one hundred miles. doubtless many of the island groups in this region were first formed in some such manner as we have indicated. by glancing at a map of the world the reader will observe that there are islands that extend almost uninterruptedly from the southeastern extremity of asia nearly half-way across the pacific. oceania is the favorite word applied by geographers to this world of islands, especially as indicating australia, new zealand, tasmania, and their immediate dependencies. of this system australia forms the great central feature. some idea of the immensity of the pacific ocean may be realized when we see that there is nevertheless an unbroken waste of waters between these islands and the coast of america of some two thousand miles in width. these lands of oceania are surrounded by water not only of the widest expanse, but also--as has been proved by scientific soundings--of the greatest depth of any on the globe. queensland is as liable to serious droughts as the rest of australia on the slopes of the mountain range of the interior. as we have already shown, nearer the coast the land is well watered. there are few lakes in the colony,--indeed, none worthy of the name; and the one river which is the mississippi of the country, known as the murray,--navigable for over a thousand miles of its course,--is not at all times to be relied upon. this is an evil which could easily be remedied by skilful engineering. this river has no proper outlet to the sea, but debouches into a shallow marsh called lake alexandrina. "sir," said an individual to us at sydney, with piscatorial dogmatic emphasis, "no country can be great without trout or salmon." as australia has no available rivers for these fish to swim in, the inference as to her possible greatness was obvious. we have said that the murray is the mississippi of australia, but it is no more like that great father of waters than tom thumb is like hercules. like the mississippi, however, it has a greater, or at least longer, tributary than itself. as the american river is the receptacle of the missouri, so the murray obtains its greatest volume by means of its principal branch and feeder, the darling. this river extends over twelve degrees of latitude, and by its winding course would measure three thousand miles. it is mostly supplied by the snow-clad australian alps. the fitful nature of this watercourse may be judged by the fact that although it is often in places a torrent, and in others expands into lake-like proportions over low-lying country, at certain seasons it may be crossed on foot where it joins the murray. below this junction the latter river frequently expands to three hundred yards and more in width, with a depth of from ten to twenty feet. for fifteen hundred miles of its course it is called a navigable river, though it is not to be relied upon as such,--small river steamers being not infrequently caught upon shoals, where they are left high and dry for months together. so with regard to the darling; notwithstanding its erratic character, it has often been ascended by light-draught steamers nearly a thousand miles above its junction with the murray. it is singular that in a country where irrigation is so much needed, and where enterprise is so general in all other directions, this matter does not receive more attention. to the stranger, irrigation seems to be the one thing lacking in this favored land. canals tapping these rivers at points where they should first be dammed, would pay a twofold reward,--not only supplying water wherewith to quench the thirst of the half-exhausted land, but, being made navigable, they would convey to market the very crops they had already enabled the husbandman to raise. where the country is thus irrigated,--as in india and utah,--the crops are simply certain, rain or shine; and the transportation is also assured at a reasonable figure. australia, with its rich virgin soil and dry climate, is just the place to repay tenfold all irrigating enterprise. we were told of certain points on the murray river, where, by one properly constructed dam, water in abundance could be held and thrown back for a distance of thirty miles. it appears that in one year not long ago, when there was a great drought, over fifteen million sheep and horned cattle died of thirst in new south wales and queensland! this sounds almost incredible, but it was so recorded in the official reports of the colonies. and yet the means of conserving water by simple methods are, as we have seen, quite within the reach of government or private enterprise. in one year, by suitable arrangements, animal property alone might have been saved to the value of fifty million dollars. we were told of one extraordinary period of drought which extended over five years previous to , which was followed by copious and excessive rains lasting for months,--"thus," as our agricultural informant pithily expressed it, "turning a blessing into a judgment." queensland, as we have shown, occupies the northeastern portion of the continent, and measures thirteen hundred miles in length from north to south, by eight hundred miles in width, containing a population at the present time of about three hundred and forty thousand. the climate of brisbane is often compared to that of madeira; it is entirely free from the hot winds which sometimes render sydney, melbourne, and adelaide so extremely uncomfortable. the river which divides the city into north and south brisbane is crossed by a grand iron bridge over a quarter of a mile in length, a portion of which swings upon a centre to admit of the passage of steamers and sailing-vessels, the river being navigable above the capital. political excitement runs high in brisbane. we were told of scenes that occurred in the local parliament leading to bitter criminations between members, which would certainly have resulted in duels in most countries. sometimes, however, a different spirit prevails, and a spicing of fun is introduced. on one occasion the bill of a firm of solicitors against the government came up for discussion. the firm name was little & brown, and their account seemed to some of the members to be exorbitant. while the question of voting the money to pay this bill was before the house, there was also one pending for the protection of wild birds. at last a humorous member proposed that the account of the "lawyer-bird" should be included in the bill. his meaning was not at first apparent to the assembly, and the presiding officer asked him to explain what this bird was. his answer created an uproar of laughter among the members. "the bird i refer to," he said, "is little and brown; and it has a very long bill!" the widespread plains of this part of australia, so specially adapted for sheep-runs and cattle-ranches, are largely improved for that purpose; and it is estimated that there are over twelve millions of sheep upon them to-day. wool is one of the most valuable raw materials known to commerce, and that shipped from queensland has had a preference, owing to its adaptability to manufacturing purposes. sheep-farming is here carried on upon a scale exceeding that of all other parts of the world. single individuals hold even larger flocks than those of new south wales. we have not seen an official statement of a year's clip for the whole country since that for , which gave as the aggregate value of that year something over twenty million pounds sterling. besides sheep, the plains also sustain large herds of horned cattle. one owner told us he had over fifteen thousand cattle on his ranch, and that some of his neighbors had a still larger number. the coast portion of queensland is the most desirable of all the colony. it is well wooded, and the climate is equable. the entire shore is studded with picturesque islands and has numerous excellent harbors. the three summer months--december, january, and february--are hot; but as plenty of rain falls at this season, tropical moisture and heat are agreeably combined. cool southerly winds also prevail during this season, so that it is rarely oppressively hot. the famous great barrier reef of australia belongs entirely to this province, and is twelve hundred miles in length, extending along the coast from port brown to torres strait, the average distance from the shore being about sixty miles. though the sea on the coast is made smoother by this giant reef, navigation in other respects is undoubtedly rendered precarious by it. scientists think it indicates the former outline of the coast and continent, about one fifth of which is supposed to have sunk beneath the ocean. leaving out west australia, which is at present so little developed, the country may be divided thus. queensland is the best and most extensive pastoral section; in this respect new south wales comes next. south australia should be characterized for its grain-fields, and victoria is richest in auriferous deposits; but there is gold enough in all the colonies to afford constant stimulus to mining enterprise, fresh discoveries in this line being made every few weeks. many young men belonging to the better classes of england's youth, filled with poetic ideas, come out here to seek employment on sheep-runs, having imbibed certain notions of a free out-of-door life, and the charm of a half-wild career in the open country. but the reality often amazes them. some of these young men have been accustomed to a life of elegant leisure, soft beds, dainty food, and plenty of servants to do their bidding; but actuated by a desire to attain to a condition of independence of family control, a wish to pay their own way, to earn money by manly labor, or by some other of the thousand incentives that not infrequently sever family ties, they have resolved to seek a new field. in australia they find freedom, but it is coupled with hard work. there is no chance for drones in the business of sheep-raising, or for those who would languish on downy beds of ease. the competitor in this field must be in the saddle at daybreak, must learn to ride all sorts of horses, and to catch and saddle the one he does ride; for all the horses are turned out to get their own feed at large, and are never stabled. they also get no grooming, except what their riders give them; they are not even shod, and are sometimes addicted to bucking, which will require all a man's knowledge of horsemanship to overcome. the ranch-man has ten hours a day in the saddle, and must often ride fast and far to round in his flocks. he must acquire the art of counting them, of judging correctly of their condition, of shearing, and often of killing them. for all this he may get five or six hundred dollars a year and his rations, with the advantage, however, of living in the open air, of having an unobstructed digestion and a ravenous appetite, and of sleeping the sleep which no opiate can produce. the life upon a sheep-run will be likely to make a man of him if he has the right material in him, with plenty of endurance and adaptability. the idyllic notions of shepherd life which may at first have attracted him, and the real thing as encountered in the neighborhood of the darling downs of queensland, are two quite different things. there are some who experience all this and with their first year's earnings purchase sheep and go on adding to their flock annually, until by natural increase and purchased additions they become master shepherds and owners of great numbers. when success is thus achieved, which is quite possible under ordinary good fortune, the profit that follows is almost fabulous. in a country where there are such enormous sheep-runs and where owners count their herds by twenties of thousands, there must at times be a glut of meat, and at all times an endless supply of it on hand. the cattle-ranches, though not nearly so numerous, nor carrying such large numbers of animals, yet produce relatively an immense supply of meat, since one average steer is equal in weight to eight or ten sheep. before the present method of shipping fresh meat to europe was perfected, it was often the case that tens of thousands of sheep and horned cattle were boiled down simply to produce tallow; and this practice is even now resorted to, though to a more limited extent than heretofore. tallow was and is very easily packed and shipped. there were at one time over forty boiling-down establishments in new south wales alone, and statistics show that three hundred thousand sheep and some hundreds of bullocks were in one year converted into tallow by these establishments. the carcasses of the animals for any other purpose were absolutely wasted, while the poorer classes of england were denying themselves meat because of its high cost in their own country. it was a realizing sense of these facts which first led to the meat-canning process, which is still a thriving industry here, and afterward to the building of ship refrigerators, which make it possible to ship entire carcasses fresh to europe, where they never fail to arrive in the best condition for the market. the very name of australia has a flavor of gold, and yet not one half of its auriferous diggings have been discovered,--every twelvemonth bringing to light new deposits of rich quartz, and fresh alluvial diggings. while the author was in sydney, a gold nugget was found at maitland bar and brought to that city, for which the commercial bank of the metropolis paid the finder the handsome sum of seven thousand six hundred dollars. it soon after passed into the possession of the government, and is now held by it for the purpose of being exhibited at the forthcoming centennial exhibition to be held at melbourne. at the museum of this latter city we saw a cast which was taken of the largest nugget ever found in australia. as it was perfectly gilded, it seemed in its large glass case as though it might be the real article. it weighed originally two thousand three hundred ounces, and was valued at forty-six thousand dollars. it is known by the name of the "welcome nugget." it seems that the finder had heretofore sought in vain to make a living at gold-digging, having worked long and patiently in search of the precious metal. finally he had reached a condition of poverty and desperation which had led him that very day to resolve upon throwing up his claim (nobody would give him anything for it), and to seek work in the nearest city as a day-laborer; he would thus secure at least food and a shelter. it was in this frame of mind, weary and hungry, that he chanced upon this marvellous discovery; and hence he appropriately named it the "welcome nugget." these remarkable "finds," as the miners term them, happen once in a series of years; but in getting at the average success of gold-mining the larger number of those who have not been able to realize even a laborer's day-wages at the business, must be taken into the account. it is safe to accept the conclusion which every intelligent person in australia, new zealand, and california has arrived at; namely, that the cost of getting gold out of the earth is as much as its intrinsic value. to put it in other words: in the long run, the average laborer, working at any other calling for three dollars or even less per day, will realize more money in a twelvemonth than the average gold-miner in the same period. nevertheless, gold-mining seems to be the active agent which providence has employed to people the waste places of the earth. the western states of america are ample proof of this. in glancing at a printed record of the finding of golden nuggets, we see that among others one of pure gold was found in , in hayti, which weighed forty-six pounds troy. another is mentioned as having been found in bolivia in , weighing fifty-five pounds troy. but the wonder of its time was found in the ural mountains in , and weighed ninety-seven pounds troy. this specimen the author saw, two years ago, in the museum of mining at st. petersburg. the largest single mass of pure gold found in the united states came from california, and, if our memory serves us correctly, weighed a little over twenty-six pounds troy. all these examples, however, have been placed in the shade by numerous nuggets that have been found in victoria in later times. the "welcome nugget," already mentioned, came from balarat, in victoria. a nugget was also discovered here, which should be mentioned even in this by no means complete list. we refer to that found in , called the "blanche berkeley," after the governor's daughter, and which weighed one hundred and forty-five pounds troy. far-seeing political economists do not hesitate to pronounce the coal mines of new south wales and queensland of far more value than the gold mines of victoria and south australia; and they claim that these coal deposits are the most extensive in the world. the government of queensland (and we believe the governments of the other colonies also) pays a gratuity of five hundred pounds sterling to the first discoverer of gold-diggings, provided the new place be twenty miles away from any previous discovery. the governments are not affected by the glamour of the gold; that is a secondary consideration with them, for they know that it is not the glittering metal itself which enriches the country, but the vitality imparted by its agency. men are brought together from near and far in large numbers, and those are induced to work who have never worked before. all must live, and to enable them to do so there must be busy hands and brains occupied in other lines than that of actual mining. the consumption of many articles is stimulated, and fresh life infused into new and legitimate channels of trade. wool, not gold, is the real "king" in queensland to-day. it is thought by many that by and by sugar may become the rival of wool in this section. mackay, situated on the pioneer river, is the chief centre of the sugar industry of the colony, which extends over a large acreage north of cape palmerston, and around the slope of mount bassett. here the noise of the crushing-mills in the grinding season, and the busy whirl of the centrifugal machine greet the ear in all directions. so prolific is the soil here that the cane is said to grow like weeds, and without cultivation. brisbane, like the rest of queensland, has not escaped the inroads of the chinese; and here they are not favorites any more than elsewhere. this universal prejudice against the asiatics is in many respects both reasonable and unreasonable. that the chinaman never fails to introduce certain vicious habits wherever he appears, goes without saying; opium-smoking and gambling have become as natural to him as breathing. but he is frugal, energetic, industrious, and in some respects a very valuable member of a newly colonized country, filling a position which would otherwise be unoccupied. in australia he is content to follow in the white man's footsteps, and utilize--as a miner, for instance--what is left by his predecessor. a chinaman will obtain fair results and good wages by working over the "tailings" of the gold-fields, which are thrown aside as useless by the more impatient and ambitious english laborer. john is specially useful in many occupations, and is a natural gardener, raising the best of vegetables for market upon refuse grounds that no one else would think it worth while to cultivate. he reduces all fertilizing matter to liquid form, and industriously applies it by hand, destroying each insect pest with his fingers. no slug, caterpillar, or vicious parasite can escape his vigilance. he sacrifices himself entirely to the object in hand, and as long as there is sufficient light for him to see to work, he continues to toil: no eight-hour or ten-hour system answers for him. he is to-day essentially the market gardener of australia and new zealand; no one attempts to compete with him in this occupation. no european can bear the exposure to the sun or support his strength under the enervating heat as the chinaman can do. and yet with all these qualities to recommend him, so undesirable is his presence held to be by the people, that a law has been passed by which each chinaman landing in any of these colonies is obliged to pay the sum of fifty dollars "head money," as it is called; and no women of the race are permitted to land at all. here, as in california and elsewhere, the dead chinaman is embalmed by a cheap process,--the body being finally enclosed in a lead coffin, which in turn is put into a wooden box, and exported to its native soil. the poorest chinaman rarely fails to leave money enough behind him to accomplish this purpose, and the friends of the deceased consider it a religious duty to fulfil his last wishes. judging critically from what we saw of this race of people in the various parts of the colonies of australasia, we should say that they are individually and collectively superior to the average european immigrants, in the general characteristics which go to make up a desirable citizen. in industrial habits they far excel the common immigrant from england and ireland. if the mongolians have some bad habits, the europeans have ten to their one. it is mostly the pugnacious british, striking, never-satisfied laborer who complains of the presence of the chinese, because he cannot compete with them in sobriety, industry, frugality, and faithfulness of service. the chinese are naturally very hospitable, and no lonely shepherd or roving prospector ever came to their cabins hungry, or in want of any special article, without receiving the needed aid gratuitously. john always marries when he can induce a european or american woman to have him for a husband, and there are many such instances all over the colonies. no one ever hears of a chinaman abusing his wife; indeed, they are remarkable for being good husbands. they take particular delight in seeing their wives well-dressed, especially on all gala occasions, and cheerfully and liberally contribute the means for this purpose. chinamen are never seen here in a state of intoxication; and they thus form a noticeable exception among a population of such incessant drinkers as one sees everywhere in these countries. australasia affords unlimited scope for chinese industries, and we hardly know how the colonies could get on without them. it is highly gratifying to see how thoroughly the cause of universal education is appreciated and supported in these colonies, as there can be no stronger evidence of legitimate progress than this fact furnishes. brisbane is no exception to this remark. all education is secular in character, even the reading of the bible being omitted in the primary and other schools. in new south wales special scriptural lessons are read; but in victoria and south australia scriptural teachings can only be given out of the regular school hours,--and thus the various denominational prejudices are carefully respected. victoria furnishes absolute free education. in the other colonies a very small fee is charged, which is apparently the best policy; since parents and children will naturally prize more highly that which costs them money, be the sum never so small, nor will they willingly neglect that for which they are required to pay. the result of this educational zeal is obvious to any one, tending as it does to raise the character of the colonies at home and their good reputation abroad. the general population forms already a reading community which supports a large number of excellent bookstores in each populous centre, besides public libraries, many newspapers, and well-conducted local magazines. concerning the newspapers of australasia, let us bear appreciative testimony to their general excellence, to the able and even scholarly manner in which they are edited, and to the remarkable liberality evinced in the collecting of news from all parts of the globe. the mechanical appearance and general make-up of the colonial newspapers is fully equal to that of the best american and english dailies. in auckland, new zealand, with a population of not more than sixty thousand, including the immediate suburbs, we saw one of hoe's large, rapid, completing presses, printing the "new zealand daily herald" at the rate of fifteen thousand copies an hour, folding and delivering it automatically ready for the carriers. the whole work was done by machinery, the roll of paper being suspended above the press after the latest improved style, so that no "feeders" even were required. one is sure to remark the large number of banking establishments in every city and considerable town throughout australasia. we were told that there are thirty joint-stock banking companies in the country, with some eight hundred branches more or less. these companies pay an annual dividend of from ten to fourteen per cent to their stockholders. the existence of so many successful banks in so circumscribed a community is a matter not quite clearly understood by the author, though upon inquiry it was found that the style of banking business done here differed materially from that transacted in populous cities of the old world. for instance, the banks here advance money freely upon growing crops, wool on the sheep's back, and other similar securities that would hardly be considered as legitimate collateral in america. the usual rate of interest to borrowers upon what is considered fair security, is never less than ten per cent,--twelve and fifteen per cent being most common. the speculative nature of nearly all kinds of business in the colonies impairs general confidence, and people come to be unduly sharp, requiring even heavier rates than those already named where there is any chance of getting them. they simply illustrate the axiom, that a high rate of interest signifies a high degree of risk. in the mean time the banks flourish, occupying the largest and most costly business edifices that are to be seen in sydney, melbourne, brisbane, or adelaide. we did not chance to see any specimens of that curious animal the kangaroo while we were in queensland, but this marsupial is represented to be more numerous and more of a pest here than in any other part of the country. we were told of a certain sheep-run known as peak downs station, where the proprietor had been obliged to wage a long-continued war against them, instituting annual hunts over the extensive district which he held. he was joined by his friends and neighbors in an annual raid upon the animals, which lasted not infrequently for ten consecutive days. he kept an account of the number of kangaroos destroyed upon his lands, which had reached the almost incredible aggregate of thirty-eight thousand in a few years. that special district absolutely swarmed with these animals until the means mentioned for their destruction were adopted. the kangaroo is very prolific in its wild state, and would, if allowed to multiply undisturbed, soon drive the sheep from their feeding-grounds. its skin, when properly cured and dressed with the fur on, makes good rugs suitable for domestic use. leather is also made from the skin, and when well tanned and carefully prepared is available for many purposes, although as a regular industry the skin of the kangaroo has never been made much use of in the form of leather; it is considered very desirable as a fur robe, or when made up into a garment. the darling downs of queensland, several times alluded to in these notes, consist of broad, undulating, grass-covered steppes, with a rich black soil admirably suited for agricultural purposes. they are easily reached from brisbane by rail in a few hours, and at warwick, the principal town of the downs, good hotel accommodations may be found. stanthorpe is the centre of the tin-mining industry of this region. for a number of years surface diggings only were attempted here, but later many deep shafts have been sunken and are now profitably worked. in this more legitimate form of mining a permanent industry has been established. there are so many prolific and excellent tin mines in the colonies that these special deposits are held to be of no extraordinary value. it is proposed, as we were informed at brisbane, to separate the north of queensland from the south, at the twenty-second parallel of latitude, and to form the northern portion into a separate colony. this purpose seemed at one time to have very nearly reached consummation, but it has not been pressed for some unknown reason. as queensland is larger than england, ireland, scotland, france, belgium, holland, and denmark added together, there can be no want of territory for such a political division. it is only about thirty years since this province, as it now stands, was separated from new south wales. from brisbane we returned to sydney on the way to the southern cities; and here the journey was broken by a day's rest, as it is nearly twelve hundred miles from brisbane to melbourne. chapter viii. an inland journey.--the capital of victoria.--grand public buildings.--water-supply of the city.--public parks and gardens.--street scenes.--dashing liveries.--tramways.--extremes.--melbourne ladies.--street beggars.--saturday half-holiday.--public arcades.--the city free library.--the public markets.--china-town, melbourne.--victims of the opium habit. melbourne, the capital of victoria, lies nearly six hundred miles southwest of sydney. the journey from one city to the other by rail is rather a tedious one, as there is very little of interest upon the route to engage the attention of the traveller. soon after leaving the latter city the road runs through a level country, which is sparsely inhabited, but quite heavily wooded with that wearying tree the eucalyptus, presenting hardly one feature of attractiveness to recommend it to the eye. it is always dressed in a sober, funereal garb, which by no effort of the imagination can one reasonably call green. miles and miles were passed of houseless monotony, the land often denuded of trees, and showing only a low growth of wattle, or some small shrub of the eucalyptus family. most of the settlers' cabins seen inland were mere shells, consisting of frames of wood covered on roof and sides with corrugated sheet-iron, unpainted; while others presented a still ruder appearance, being frames of wood covered loosely with bark, only one degree better than the bark shelters of the aborigines in northern queensland. at some of the railroad stations a faint effort is made at the cultivation of flowers, and occasionally pretty effects are produced by planting california pines in groups or borders, mingled with some other species of imported trees, mostly of the conifer family,--their foliage, by its choice verdure, putting the native trees to shame, though they are known as evergreens: there are indeed no deciduous native trees in australia. here and there a small orchard of orange-trees was seen, the fruit in its deep-yellow glow standing out against the surrounding foliage in bold relief. the traveller meets with no more delightful experience than when approaching an orange-orchard in full bloom. for a mile before the place is reached, the fragrant atmosphere foretells the coming pleasure to the senses. this is oftenest realized in the west indies, or in florida. here it was not the season of the bloom but of the fruit. a few gardens of tropical aspect, with groups of bananas, were also observed; but to see this most generous of all fruit-trees in perfection, one must go north toward the equator, into queensland. now and again a few thousand sheep were seen, and some small herds of horned cattle feeding on the hillsides or browsing among the forest glades; but the true pastoral districts are much farther inland. at albury the murray river was crossed, which here makes the boundary between new south wales and victoria, though which side of the watercourse belongs to the former and which to the latter is a constant source of dispute between them. an examination of baggage took place at albury, as though the traveller were passing from one european nationality to another. the two colonies, however, have tariffs materially differing from each other, and duty is demanded upon all merchandise passing either way between them. the custom-house officers are quite discriminating, and unless they have reason to suspect a person of designs against the customs they do not put him to unnecessary trouble in the examination of his effects. not until one comes to within fifty or sixty miles of melbourne upon this route does the country become attractive; but here it begins to open into broad green fields and rich meadows, forming a choice succession of agricultural districts, affording the best of pasturage and showing upon a large scale the careful cultivation of root-crops, corn, oats, wheat, and barley. government owns and operates the railroad with a fair degree of liberality, though the prices charged for transportation are much higher than with us in america. the cars are often of the english style, formed into coaches which are cheaply upholstered, though they are reasonably comfortable. it is but little more than half a century since an englishman named john batman ascended the yarra-yarra and bargained with the chiefs of the native tribe located here, to sell "to him and his heirs forever" so many thousand acres of land as now embrace the area occupied by the city of melbourne and its immediate environs, covering six or eight miles square. for this grant of land batman paid the chiefs in goods, which are said to have consisted of one dozen cotton shirts, a dozen colored woollen blankets, a handful of glass-bead ornaments, twelve bags of flour, and two casks of pork. these were all otherwise unattainable articles to the savages, who, however, had land enough and to spare. it is said that the aborigines pleaded hard for one or more guns to be added to the payment, but batman was too wary to supply them with weapons which they could in an emergency turn against himself or other white men. the englishman came and settled upon his purchase, built a stock-house, and proposed to surround himself with friends in order to form a sort of small independent state. but only a brief period transpired before an authorized agent of the english government appeared upon the spot and declared the bargain between batman and the savages to be null and void; in justice, however, to the purchaser, government paid him some thousands of pounds sterling, and he turned over all his right and title to the authorities accordingly. neither party could possibly have anticipated that in so few years this land would be valued at many millions of pounds sterling. five years ago a monument was erected to batman's memory, he having died in ; this monument stands in the old cemetery of melbourne. to-day the site once so cheaply purchased, with the population now upon it, is classed by english writers as forming, in point of wealth, numbers of inhabitants, and general importance, the tenth city in the world! the first sight of melbourne was quite a surprise to us, though we thought we were fairly informed about this capital of victoria. no stranger could anticipate beholding so grand a city in this far-away south-land of the pacific. where there was only a swamp and uncleared woods a few years ago, there has risen a city containing to-day a population of fully four hundred and twenty thousand, embracing the immediate suburbs. this capital is certainly unsurpassed by any of the british colonies in the elegancies and luxuries of modern civilization, such as broad avenues, palatial dwellings, churches, colossal warehouses, banks, theatres, and public buildings and pleasure-grounds. it is pleasant to record the fact that one fifth of the revenue raised by taxation is expended for educational purposes. of what other city in the new or the old world can this be said? universities, libraries, public art-galleries, and museums lack not for the liberal and fostering care of the government. no city except san francisco ever attained to such size and importance in so short a period as has melbourne. the public buildings of the city are mainly constructed of a sort of freestone brought from tasmania, as the local quarries, being mostly of a volcanic nature, are too hard for favorable working, though some use is made of their material. the new and elaborate roman catholic cathedral, now nearly completed, is entirely constructed of this stone. melbourne covers a very large area for its population; indeed, we were told by those who should be well informed in such matters that its extent of territory is nearly the same as that of paris. in the environs are many delightful residences, embowered with creeping vines and surrounded with flower-gardens. these dwellings could hardly be made to look more attractive externally, though simple architecturally. they are mostly vine-clad; flora has touched them with her magic finger, and they have become beautiful. many of these suburbs are named after familiar european localities, such as brighton, kew, emerald hill, collingwood, st. kilda, fitzroy, and so forth. the streets of st. kilda must have been named about the period of the late crimean war, as the following names were observed among them: raglan, sebastopol, redan, cardigan, balaklava, and malakoff. lake yan-yan supplies melbourne with drinking-water by means of a system embracing a double set of pipes. this water-supply for domestic and general use is beyond all comparison the best we have ever chanced to see. the valley of the river plenty, which is a tributary of the yarra-yarra, is dammed across at yan-yan, nearly twenty miles from the capital, by an embankment half a mile long,--thereby forming a lake nearly ten miles in circumference, with an area of over thirteen hundred acres, and an average depth of twenty-five feet. it holds sufficient water, as we were informed by an official, to furnish an ample supply for the use of the city during a period of two years, allowing fifteen gallons per head per day for the present population. this grand piece of engineering was expensive, but is fully worth all it has cost; namely, between six and seven million dollars. the river yarra-yarra runs through the city, and is navigable for large vessels to the main wharves, where it is crossed by a broad and substantial bridge. both the harbor and the river are being dredged by the most powerful boats designed for the purpose which we have ever seen. above the bridge the river is handsomely lined with trees; and here, notwithstanding a somewhat winding course, the great boat-races take place which form one of the most attractive of all the local athletic amusements,--and melbourne is famous for out-door sports of every form and nature, but principally for boating and ball-playing. a whole chapter might be written describing the public gardens of the city and our inspiring visit to them. the variety of trees here collected is marvellous in its comprehensiveness. oaks and elms of great size were observed among other exotics; one would hardly have thought they could have found time to acquire such proportions, but all trees grow with marked rapidity in this climate. some very beautiful fern-trees were noticed, twenty feet in height, their fronds measuring fourteen feet in length, drooping plume-like about the graceful bending stems. here were seen fine specimens of the magnolia-tree, bending to the ground under the weight of great yellow blossoms. the collection of tropical fruit-trees was remarkably complete. wherever there are gardens in front of the dwellings in the environs of the city one is sure to see an abundance of the little pink and white daphne, fragrant and lovely as the violet, flourishing in great luxuriance. the abundance of maiden's-hair fern, in various sizes down to little leaves of pin-head dimensions, gives occasion for its very free use in bouquets. the variety of color found in this species of fern is quite noticeable here, the shades running from a deep dark green, by easy gradations, to almost an orange hue. the charming little daphne is the favorite button-hole flower of the collins street beaux, backed by a tiny spray of light-green fern. we saw some bouquets of cut-flowers in floral establishments on swanston street, exhibiting a degree of artistic taste in the arrangement which could not be excelled. the most delicate branches of maiden's-hair fern were so intertwined among the various colored flowers as to form a gauze-like veil, so that one seemed to behold them through a transparent cloud of misty green. such combinations of tangible beauty cannot be equalled by the finest paintings. this capital of victoria, as we have intimated, is a city of public gardens. it is astonishing what an air of elegance, space, and wholesomeness is imparted by them. besides the botanical gardens there are the fitzroy gardens, situated in the eastern suburb of the town, which contain some seventy-five acres of ground beautifully laid out and ornamented with a grand collection of trees, shrubs, and flowers, especially in the department of ferns. fountains, rocky basins, and artificial waterfalls add picturesqueness to the place. the zoölogical gardens are in the royal park, containing a really fine collection of animals as well as a well-furnished aviary. we had as "fellow-passengers" on board the "zealandia" a pair of young california lions designed for this collection, which arrived safely at their destination. these baby lions were quite sea-sick on the long voyage, but were in fine condition when we saw them in their new and spacious quarters at the zoo-zoo. carlton gardens are in the northern suburb, near the parliament house; here also stands near by, the exhibition building, erected at a cost of over half a million dollars. it is now improved as a place for public amusements of various sorts, and contains a well-stocked and particularly well-arranged aquarium, somewhat after the style of that at brighton, england. there are five or six other parks or public gardens more or less extensive, all charmingly laid out and beautified with trees of native and foreign species, with miniature lakes, aquatic plants and birds, and possessing picturesquely arranged fountains. albert park, in the eastern suburb, contains a lake so large as to render it available for sailing-boats and pleasant rowing-parties, for which purpose it is daily improved by both sexes and entire families. the streets of melbourne present a busy aspect, and there is ample space afforded for all legitimate business and pleasure purposes, these thoroughfares being each one hundred feet in width,--a gauge which is maintained throughout the city. they are all laid out at right angles, with mathematical precision. this liberal allotment of space for public use is carried out even in the suburbs, calculation having been made in advance for the growth of the city which is sure to come. the streets are for the most part paved either in blocks of granite or of wood, being in a few instances macadamized; but all are kept in admirable condition, both as to use and cleanliness. the stream of humanity pouring through them at all hours of the day is indeed vast and varied, though the population, while it consists of a mingling of nationalities, is yet distinctively english. it seemed to the writer that more americans were to be found in this capital of victoria than elsewhere in the colonies, quite a number being prominently engaged in speculative enterprises, and maintaining agencies for firms whose headquarters are in the united states. several of our popular life insurance companies are thus represented. the busy activity in the streets was remarkable. hansom cabs rattled about or stood in long rows awaiting patrons; four-wheeled vehicles of an inexcusably awkward style, also for hire, abounded; messenger-boys, with yellow leather pouches strapped over their shoulders, hurried hither and thither; high-hung omnibuses with three horses abreast, like those of paris and naples, dashed rapidly along, well filled with passengers; men galloped through the crowd upon small horses, carrying big baskets of provisions on their arms; dog-carts driven by smart young fellows, with a flunky behind in gaudy livery, cut in and out among the vehicles; powerful draught-horses stamped along the way, drawing heavily loaded drays; milk-carts with big letters on their canvas sides made themselves conspicuous, rivalled as to the size of the lettering by the bakers' carts of similar shape; light and neat american wagonettes glided along among less attractive vehicles. now and then a chinaman passed by with his peculiar shambling gait, a pole across his shoulders balancing his baskets of truck; women with oranges and bananas for a penny apiece met one at every turn,--and still the sidewalks are so broad and the streets so wide that no one seemed to be in the least incommoded. the fruiterers' stands here and there, as well as the windows of the dealers in the same products, presented an array remarkable for its tempting variety. among these fruits are the mandarin and navel oranges, apricots, figs, grapes, passion-fruit, pineapples, bananas, peaches, plums, and several other sorts, all in fine condition. with the exception of san francisco, nowhere else can fruit of such choice character be found in so great variety and at such cheap rates as in melbourne. while driving in the environs of the city many plots of ground were observed cultivated by chinamen, and kept in the neatest possible manner. as we have already said, john is a natural gardener. in the first place his knowledge of fertilizing materials suitable for the soil enables him to produce vegetables not only in abundance, but of the best quality. he is independent of markets, going personally to his customers,--thus making his body serve for both cart and horse, and accustoming himself to carry heavy burdens daily. by such means he realizes all the profit there is to be made on his products, not having to divide with the wholesale dealer or the middle-man. he thus shows business keenness as well as a capacity to endure great drudgery. so absorbed is the general attention, in other directions that only john attends to the raising of vegetables,--thus providing a necessary diet for those who would otherwise be liable to lose health and strength for the want of it. one meets plenty of jews upon the boulevards of melbourne, with their strongly-marked features. there was an abundance of them also in sydney; and indeed where are they not to be found, if there is money to be borrowed or trade to be vigorously pushed? on the corners of the streets in melbourne are to be seen a peculiar class of idlers. the eight-hour system of labor prevails here, and men hasten from work to the bar-rooms, there being one of these poison-dispensing resorts at every corner of the business thoroughfares. we calculated that there were four thousand "gin mills" in this city, and probably that is an under estimate. the common laboring classes of this city are not only universal drinkers, but they are also "hard drinkers." they are as a rule too ignorant or besotted to see, putting all other things out of the question, that the cup of any sensual indulgence if drained to the bottom has always poison in its dregs. they indulge grossly, and suffer accordingly. the showy liveries worn by the retainers of some of the more wealthy (not the better) classes of the citizens of sydney and melbourne seemed to us strangely out of place. as nearly as we could get at the facts by casual inquiry, most of these buttoned and uniformed flunkies were in the service of persons concerning whose genealogy the less said the better, especially when we remember that the earlier residents of australia were mostly composed of those who left their native country for their country's good. "you may safely calculate that the father of the latest australian baronet was a nobody, or something worse," says a writer in one of the local magazines. melbourne, however, seemed to us less open to any aspersions growing out of former penal associations than either brisbane, sydney, or hobart in tasmania, all which colonies were originally settled as penal stations. victoria is one of the youngest of all these colonies, and was, up to the discovery of the gold-fields within her present borders,--that is, in ,--a portion of new south wales; but to-day it is the metropolis _par excellence_ of australia. it has not the many natural beauties of sydney, but it has numerous compensating advantages, and is undoubtedly the real centre of colonial enterprise upon the continent. the admirable system of tramways in melbourne is worthy of all praise, use being made of the subterranean cable and stationary engines as a motor. this mode of propulsion is safe, cheap, and clean. while we were in the capital tracks were being laid for several new and extended routes, one of which runs through burke street parallel with collins. the public amusements of a large city often aid one in forming a just idea of its development in other directions. those of this capital of the southern hemisphere are numerous, well conducted, and well attended,--a sure evidence of prosperity and general thrift. people from inland who have money to spend are attracted to such places as will afford them the greatest variety of reasonable amusements; and hence melbourne, rather than sydney, has become the resort of these pleasure-seekers. it has been said that gold made melbourne and wool made sydney,--a remark which is based on fact. the experiences of both these cities in the early part of their career was peculiar. money easily gained is seldom wisely spent; sums that fall as it were into the open palm will burn in the unaccustomed pocket; the excited recipient resorts to high revels and all sorts of excesses, be he never so quiet and reasonable under ordinary circumstances. at one time skilled labor in melbourne commanded the extraordinary wages of ten dollars per day, and mechanics thought the millennium had come; they had not the wit to see that such extremes produce in the end a sure and severe reaction, but experience taught them that lesson by and by. "the greatest flood has the soonest ebb." the lavish earnings of the masses, whether at the gold-fields or at the bench, were soon engulfed in the beer-barrel and the wine-cask; the bar-rooms were the only places where uninterrupted industry was exhibited, and where unremitting application to a given object was conspicuous. "our streets," said a citizen of melbourne to us, "in the early days of the gold-rush swarmed with drunken revellers; nor could we see any ready way out of the trouble which afflicted the community. finally, however, the diggings ceased to yield so lavishly; the surface ore was exhausted, and to get gold out of the earth a man was compelled to work hard for it. the great novelty also began to wear away, and those who were making money less easily, very naturally were disposed to spend it less foolishly." the exaggerated rates of wages were consequently reduced, inflated prices for all articles of consumption fell gradually to a reasonable figure, and affairs generally returned to their normal condition. precisely the same experience was realized in the early days of the gold discovery in california. personal beauty is not the prevailing characteristic of the female portion of the community of melbourne any more than it is at sydney; and shall we be forgiven for saying that in our opinion the ladies do not dress in very good taste? young and middle-aged women generally cut their hair short; but why such a fashion should prevail among them we could not conjecture, the boyish aspect thus produced being anything but becoming. the bar-rooms are very generally tended here, as they are also in england, by women; and the bar-maids universally cut their hair short, in boy-fashion. one would think that this fact alone would be sufficient to induce ladies of respectability to avoid such an extreme and questionable custom. the wide sidewalks are here covered with stationary verandas, as noticed in most of the colonial cities and towns. these coverings are sometimes made of glass or of matched boards, but most commonly of corrugated sheet-iron, supported at the edge-stones by small iron pillars. they form a shelter from both rain and sun,--recalling the rue rivoli of paris, or the streets of turin in italy, or of bologna in spain. the ladies and gentlemen strolling under these covered ways, before the fine display in the shop windows, present a gay and attractive picture at the fashionable hours of the day. but in broad contrast to these bright and cheerful centres, there are in the northeastern section of the town filthy alleys and by-ways that one would think must be, owing to their filth and squalor, hot-beds of disease and pestilence, well calculated to supplement the inevitable effects of the defective drainage of this rich capital on the banks of the yarra-yarra. one cannot but notice the peculiar pronunciation and mode of speech common among the people here. it is what we call cockney in america, with some added local effects. the misplacing of the letter _h_ is almost universal. this is a habit which appears to be infectious; one individual who practises it is liable to corrupt scores of others. the drawling hesitancy of the londoners of a certain class is also easily transmitted, being as catching as stuttering or the measles. one who passes through foreign cities and is able to spend rarely more than a couple of weeks in each capital, is not competent to speak authoritatively of its social life, or in detail of its best society. but it is safe to say that ladies and gentlemen are the same everywhere. they form perhaps the higher element of a social centre, but they do comparatively little toward determining its outward aspect or its political status. it is the people _en masse_ who form the general character of a large population,--such individuals as one meets in omnibuses, railroad cars, hotels, places of public amusement, and upon the fashionable promenades at the favorite hours. the general post-office of melbourne is situated at the junction of elizabeth and burke streets, presenting a striking architectural aspect, with its tall tower, bold reliefs, illumined clock, and chime of bells. it is admirably designed for the purposes of this department of the government, and covers an entire block by itself, with a pillared colonnade about it similar to that already described as forming the outer portion of the post-office at sydney. it affords room not only for the several divisions of the post-office proper, but also for the savings bank, the money-order department, and that of the telegraph, all which are under the control of the government. spacious as the original design of the structure was, the business transacted in it has already outgrown its capacity, so that more room is now imperatively demanded. additions are consequently making by extending the rear of the building, while at the same time the tower is being raised and a story added to the whole edifice. the author does not pretend to describe the many public buildings of melbourne, but briefly to mention such as most impressed him. among these were the town hall, on the corner of elizabeth and collins streets,--a very large and solid building in the renaissance style, erected in , containing among numerous other rooms designed for municipal use the executive chamber, and one remarkable apartment capable of seating over five thousand persons. in this hall is a grand organ which is acknowledged to be the fifth largest in the world,--a noble and costly instrument of exquisite harmony and great power, a full description of which was given to us with much patient courtesy. the town hall is four stories high, and has office room for all the various branches of the city business, with ample accommodations for civic ceremonies. collins street is the fashionable boulevard of the city, though burke street nearly rivals it in gay promenaders and elegant shops. to make a familiar comparison, the latter is the broadway, the former the fifth avenue, of melbourne. on the upper part of burke street there is a covered market consisting of two spacious floors occupying an acre and more of ground, which we visited in the early morning. the confused variety of articles and lines of goods here offered for sale was really ludicrous, recalling a similar display witnessed at warsaw, in poland, near the saxony gardens, though it lacked entirely the element of picturesqueness there so prominent. here were displayed side by side dry-goods and green fruit, crockery ware and millinery, flowers and meats, clothing and jewelry, boots, shoes, and poultry, singing-birds and underwear. indeed, what was there not to be had here for a price? a mile and more away from this, up elizabeth street, the regular vegetable and meat market was found. here several acres were covered by sheds open at the sides, where country produce was offered at wholesale and retail. it is more than probable that "nice" people do not go to market in melbourne, judging from the character of the noisy, jostling, and rather rudely-behaved masses who were encountered in these two markets, especially the last named. here neatness and cleanliness in the surroundings were completely ignored. the garbage over which one was compelled to pass in order to get about the market was not only extremely difficult to encounter, but also disgusting. in european and american cities one meets representatives of all classes in such resorts at early morning, but it does not seem to be so in melbourne. in philadelphia and havana the household mistress, followed by a servant with a basket, goes regularly to early market,--or if not daily, certainly on saturday mornings. 't is not so here. there are four large arcades in the city all opening from burke street, and forming pleasant popular resorts for strollers, who are here sheltered from the weather and the noise of the public thoroughfares. they are respectively the royal arcade, nearly opposite the post-office, containing elegantly furnished shops; the victoria arcade, opposite the theatre royal; the eastern arcade, next to the market; and the book arcade, in the eastern part of burke street,--this last, as its name indicates, being devoted mostly to the sale of books. free evening concerts are given also in these retreats, which always attract fair audiences. the book arcade is a very popular resort for students and the better class of evening idlers. the proprietor told us that he had two hundred thousand volumes upon his shelves,--a number which we judged from appearances not to be over stated. these books were so systematically arranged by subjects, that the inquirer for any special work could have it in hand in a moment; or if it was not in stock, the proprietor could ascertain that fact almost as quickly. the character of the books in this establishment was of a singular mixture, running from the higher classics down to a dime novel, and from the encyclopædia britannica to mother goose's melodies. the public library of melbourne is a large and impressive building, standing by itself back from the street on rising ground, and would be creditable to any european or american city. it already contains a hundred and twenty-six thousand volumes, and is being constantly added to by public and private bequests. the collection of manuscripts and unbound pamphlets is large and comprehensive, especially in the latter department. the interior arrangements of the library struck us as being particularly excellent, affording ample and accessible room for the books, besides all needed table accommodations for the use of the public. in this respect the library was far in advance of our boston institution, and is hardly surpassed by the astor library in new york. as to the melbourne building, inside and out, it is superior to both of the libraries we have named in architectural effect. under the same roof is a technological museum containing an extensive collection, especially of geological specimens, mainly comprised of those found in australia. for entomologists and mineralogists the collection here exhibited will present also special interest. an entire wing upon the lower floor of the building--the library proper being up one flight of stairs--is devoted to statuary and to a public school of art. a third department is appropriated to a permanent exhibition of paintings. here may be seen many choice modern pictures and some admirable copies from the old masters. all these departments come under the direction of the managers of the library, and all are free to the public. over one hundred persons were counted at the reading-tables of the library during our brief visit. there were representatives among them of all classes of citizens, from the professional student in search of special information, to the laboring man seeking to improve himself by acquiring general knowledge. many of these readers were clearly from a station in life that would furnish them no access to such books except for this public provision. what an admirable arrangement it is that here affords to the humblest well-behaved person books, shelter, warmth, and light, from ten in the morning until ten at night, free of all charge or onerous conditions! it is the multiplication of such facilities for culture and self-improvement which so emphasizes the real meaning of the words _civilization_ and _progress_. this is a grand missionary work in the right direction. now let the managers of the melbourne public library open the doors of their institution on sundays, and thus add to the usefulness of this noble benefaction. melbourne has its chinese quarter, like sydney and san francisco; it is situated in little burke street, just back of the theatre royal, and forms a veritable china-town with its joss-house, opium-dens, lottery cellars, "fantan" cafés, low hovels, and other kindred establishments. here one requires a guide to make his way understandingly and safely. the unintelligible notices posted upon the buildings in chinese characters are a curious puzzle to the uninitiated. the signs over the shops are especially peculiar; they do not denote the name of the owner, or particularize the business which is done within, but are assumed titles of flowery character. thus,--kong, meng & co. means "bright light firm;" sun kum lee & co. is in english "new golden firm;" kwong hop signifies "new agreement company;" hi cheong, "peace and prosperity firm;" kwong tu tye, "flourishing and peaceful company,"--and so on. john is an inveterate smuggler, and manages to get a large amount of his precious opium landed without paying any portion of the high rate of duty imposed by the government. the chinese are very impulsive, and will follow one another sometimes, like a flock of sheep after a leader. not long since there burst out in their melbourne quarter an epidemic of suicide, and many of them resorted to it. the mode they adopted was that of strangulation, which they effectually accomplished by knotting their pigtails about their throats. there is a chinese doctor of medicine in this asiatic section of melbourne who was educated in pekin, and who is said to have been once attached to the family of the emperor of china, but for some irregularity was banished from that country. we were told that he had performed some remarkable cures among the better class of citizens, in cases which had been given up by european physicians. it was said that he might command a large professional practice if he would remove from the locality where his countrymen lived and which is held in such bad odor. john is nowhere a favorite, as we have already clearly demonstrated, however advantageous may be his frugal and industrious habits in the formation of new states. that he possesses at least this recommendation has been fully proved in the instances of california and australia. in the official report of the completion of the first atlantic and pacific railroad, the following paragraph appears: "labor was difficult to get, and when obtained, more difficult to control, until the chinese arrived; and to them is due the real credit of the construction of the road." this paragraph of course refers to the pacific end of the route. it is as a rule the worst type of the chinese who leave their native land to make a new home elsewhere, and it is not to be expected that they will be much improved by intercourse with the australian "larrikins," who are composed of the lowest and most criminal orders. these refuse of humanity are largely composed of the rabble of london and liverpool, many of whom have had their passage paid by their relatives at home solely to get rid of them, while others have worked their passage hither to avoid punishment for crimes committed in england. murders are by no means infrequent in the chinese quarter of melbourne, or as some call it the "hell of little burke street." these crimes, however, are oftenest committed by the larrikins, sometimes undoubtedly by the chinese. it is altogether a sheltering refuge for criminals of various nationalities, being a source of constant anxiety to the authorities and a puzzle to the police officials. poor, abandoned white women are mingled with the other habitués of this mongolian district, and they too learn the subtle fascination of the opium pipe. an intelligent man, long engaged in missionary work in melbourne, and particularly in this special region of the town, told us that the girls and women who had become fixed inhabitants of the little burke street quarter were irredeemable. to break the once contracted habit of opium indulgence was next to impossible. he declared that in all his experience he had known but two veritable reformations among these women, and one of them finally ended her wretched career in a mad-house. chapter ix. a melbourne half-holiday.--inconsistency of laborers.--vice-royal residence.--special gold-fields of victoria.--ballarat.--great depths in mines.--agricultural interests.--sandhurst.--the giant trees of australia.--the kangaroo.--in victorian forests.--peculiar salt lakes.--the bower-bird's retreat.--the wild dog.--desirable and undesirable emigrants.--no place for the intemperate. saturday afternoon is made a weekly carnival in melbourne, though it does not by any means assume so picturesque an aspect as in honolulu. here the shops are all closed soon after mid-day, work of every sort ceases, and amusements promptly begin, being kept up vigorously until after midnight. the parks and pleasure-grounds are crowded with foot-ball, baseball, and cricket players, as well as by groups devoted to other games. in the evening the theatres and public exhibitions are all insufficient to accommodate the throngs that attend them, though there are five regular places in the city where dramatic entertainments are given. the bar-rooms reap a golden harvest, and are especially patronized, while a general spirit of license prevails among all classes. the streets are crowded by a careless, not to say reckless, throng of men, women, and boys, very many of whom were observed to be decidedly the worse for liquor. burke street, elizabeth street, and even collins street, which represent the best portion of the town, are tinctured for the time being with a spirit of rowdyism. indeed, a general latitude of behavior appears to be condoned on this saturday half-holiday, as it is with us to a certain extent on the fourth of july. the workmen of melbourne who have received ten hours' pay for eight hours' work also claim this gratuity of time on the sixth day, and by their use of it not only cheapen their labor, but impair both their health and their fortune. we could not but conclude on the whole that the saturday half-holiday as employed by the masses of melbourne was a weekly error, and that the class which most imperiously demand this release from occupation is unfortunately composed of those who most grossly abuse the privilege. on sunday few people were to be seen in the streets and fewer still in the churches, leading one to divine that the day was generally devoted to necessary recuperation after the gross excesses of saturday. it was noticed that the bar-rooms were ostensibly closed on the sabbath. this the local law requires, but there are always ways and means whereby the thirsty tippler gets his fill. the laborers who place themselves under the control of some organized union are in fact its slaves, the victims of designing theorists and cunning managers, who are themselves drones in the human hive. the ordinary workman does not think for himself; he does not realize that the less he gives for his day's wages the dearer must become those articles that are dependent upon labor. if the abbreviated time of eight hours per day for five days of the week, and four hours on saturday, constitute a week's work, the laborer has more to pay for all of the necessities of life than he would have were full hours and a fair equivalent given for the wages he receives. it costs more to build houses in the former instance; therefore his rent must be increased. he must pay more for his food and clothing. an honest day's work is the true criterion of value; and so far as that is curtailed just so much more must it cost for family support, and just so much poorer shall we all be, both capitalist and laborer. one sees no special signs of poverty in the streets of melbourne, as we have already intimated; but there may be, and to a certain extent we know that there is, squalor existing, though it does not make itself visible in the public thoroughfares. there are "back slums" that do not by their appearance invite one to penetrate them, and which would best be avoided at night; but these are the concomitants of all large and promiscuous gatherings of humanity. though the city is well situated for drainage, there seems to be at present only a very defective mode adopted, mostly dependent upon surface flow to clear the daily accumulation of débris. we were told, however, that this objection was fast being remedied, and that there already exists a partial system of drainage which has been applied to the most important sections of the town. the heavy clouds of fuliginous coal-smoke which envelop melbourne are caused by the steam-launches, ferry-boats, coasting and ocean-going steamers, and manufactories, all which create their motive-power with sydney bituminous coal,--a good steam-producing article, but which covers everything in its neighborhood with a fine black dust, the formidable enemy of clean faces and white linen. the smoke and dust nevertheless are significant of life and energy. they indicate that business is active, that the channels of trade are not blocked; and therefore they are cheerfully submitted to. "dirt," said a certain shrewd philosopher, "is not dirt; it is something in the wrong place." the finest site near the city has been selected for the residence of vice-royalty; so that quite a prominent feature of the suburbs is the government house, which is situated about a mile from the city proper, and is an imposing but ugly-looking building. it has a central tower twenty-five feet square more or less, and of considerable height. it is pleasanter to say a good word concerning any object than a harsh one; but the government house in melbourne is irredeemable ugly, though it must have cost a mint of money. this immense edifice is only half improved on the inside, being large enough for a european royal residence requiring accommodations for a large number of retainers; the governor of victoria, however, finds it necessary to count the cost as regards his manner of living, since his official salary is by no means sufficient to keep up a royal court. the ball-room of this residence is somewhat famous for its size and general appointments, being of such proportions as would easily accommodate a marching regiment under arms. it is however on certain occasions thrown open and lighted throughout for its original purpose. the public park which joins the grounds of the government house is beautiful indeed, being a botanical garden in itself, and the one redeeming feature of the establishment. victoria is the special gold-field of australia, and has produced two thirds of all the precious metal which statistics credit to the country at large. one of the localities which has proved to be most prolific in gold is ballarat, now a charming and populous city, and next to melbourne in importance. it lies nearly a hundred miles north of the capital, at an elevation of some fifteen hundred feet above sea-level, and is accessible by rail. this is thought to be the centre of one of the richest gold-producing districts in the world. beechworth, one hundred and seventy miles northeast of melbourne, at a higher elevation than ballarat, is nearly as populous and well-nigh as prolific in the precious metal. the diggings of maryborough district, situated a hundred and fifty miles northwest of melbourne, are also of great extent and quite famous. there are over eight thousand miners at work here. castlemain, some seventy-five miles north of the capital, has proved to be very profitable in its yield of gold. nearly forty square miles of auriferous lands are being worked by europeans and chinese in the district of ararat, about a hundred and fifty miles from melbourne, northward. from these several sources of mineral wealth there flows constantly toward the capital a stream of riches, making it the greatest gold-producing locality on the globe. there are about fifty thousand people in all engaged at gold-mining in the several parts of victoria, at least ten thousand of whom are chinese. the latter operate almost entirely in the alluvial workings, while the europeans are occupied almost wholly in quartz-crushing. some of the shafts sunk for procuring paying quartz are over two thousand feet in depth. the stawell mine is, to be exact, two thousand four hundred and twelve feet below the surface of the ground, from which depth is brought up stone yielding over four ounces of gold to the ton. we have by no means exhausted the list of noted diggings in this region, but have only mentioned a few of them, such as came most readily to mind; moreover, new deposits of recognized value are being discovered every few months. still, we repeat here that reliable figures show that in the aggregate the corn and wool of victoria alone are of more monetary value than is the result from all the alluvial and quartz-yielding mines within her entire borders. three days from melbourne will suffice for visiting the interesting and handsome city of ballarat. it is now a place containing over fifty thousand inhabitants, owing its existence entirely to the finding of gold on the spot which it occupies; indeed, it has not inappropriately been called the city of midas. where thirty years ago the land was covered with miners' tents and log-huts, an arid and treeless expanse lying between two low hills, there is now a fine modern city. it is a metropolis with broad boulevards, substantial stone buildings, massive warehouses, sumptuous residences, elegant official structures, and good schools, supplemented by many philanthropic and religious institutions. the environs of ballarat are also beautified, having many choice trees planted all about them, especially california pines, which are great favorites here and multiplying continually. trees grow in this climate with such rapidity as to encourage their planting. they are particularly desirable here, where the surroundings were redeemed from such original crudeness, as they impart a certain grace and home-like appearance to otherwise desolate places. a glimpse only may be had of ballarat in the time we have named, but let no one who comes hither neglect the public garden, which the reader of these notes has by this time learned is one of the prime necessities of each of these colonial capitals. the wealthy citizens of ballarat have expended freely of their gold upon this delightful park, which, if it does not rival in some particulars those of sydney and melbourne, certainly comes quite up to them in general excellence and beauty. there is plenty of water to be had in the city for irrigating and all other purposes, an artificial lake having been created in the hills not far away, whence pipes bring the water to every one's door. this reservoir is of admirable workmanship, and of inestimable value to the town. the pleasant streets are rendered shady and attractive by long lines of bordering trees. the mining here is carried on in the environs, not in "every man's back yard," as is said to be the case at sandhurst, another famous mining point of which we shall speak further on. all the ground upon which ballarat is built, however, has been faithfully and profitably dug over and passed through the sieve or over the amalgamating tables. surface mining is no longer prosecuted here to any extent. these deposits are naturally the first to fail in productiveness, but the neighboring hills are formed of a gold-bearing quartz which is being crushed, night and day, by hundreds of powerful machines; and the works still pay ten thousand miners fair day-wages, besides giving the organized companies who employ them satisfactory dividends. thus mining has been largely robbed of its adventurous character in this neighborhood, and perhaps also of most of its alluring charm, having become a sort of regular industry, like coal-mining, or even brick-making. ballarat being situated on elevated ground, the air here is particularly bracing and healthful, so that melbourne physicians sometimes send invalids hither. it is plainly the centre of a former volcanic region, and in many places near at hand extinct volcanoes can be counted by the score,--some filled up to their summits with the débris of ages, some forming deep depressions, and some filled with small lakes of bitter water. there is plain evidence of these volcanic cones and craters having discharged basalt, lava, scoria, cinders, and the like within a comparatively modern period. the natives who were found in this region had legends of eruptions having taken place hereabout, but as to how long ago they could give no idea, having no means of measuring periods of time. although gold-mining, as we have said, is a prominent feature of the general industry of ballarat, the prevailing business of this immediate district is farming. it is now a great agricultural centre as well as a gold-producing one, and this legitimate pursuit is becoming daily of more and more importance,--thus once more demonstrating that even in eldorado gold-mining is a means to an end, not the grand object itself. we were told that the great wheat-fields in this district have been ploughed, planted, and reaped for fifteen consecutive years, without the least thought on the part of the occupants of using any fertilizer. to-day these fields yield as uniformly as at first, and seem inexhaustible in their fertility. five million pounds sterling in gold is annually produced in victoria; yet it is perfectly well known that the cost of its production, in labor and money, amounts to about the same sum. the original cost of the mines, the expense incurred for machinery, the daily wages of the thousands of miners, and the interest upon the capital invested, are each factors in the calculation, not forgetting that there are frequent expensive exigencies sure to occur. for instance, we were told of an accident which happened in a victoria mine just previous to our visit, resulting in the loss of the lives of eight miners. owing to a defective metallic rope, a "lift" containing eight men suddenly fell while ascending a shaft, killing instantly every one of its occupants. the court held that the company was responsible for the lives of these men, because it permitted its agent to use a defective rope. the agent promptly settled with the representatives of the unfortunate men at a thousand pounds for each life, making an aggregate sum of forty-five thousand dollars; and it cost another thousand pounds to repair the injured machinery of the mine. the author looked somewhat carefully into the subject of gold-mining with the desire to arrive at a correct conclusion concerning it, and was fortunate in meeting intelligent men who were ready to impart their experience in this field of enterprise,--among them being some who had been personally interested in all departments of mining for many years. at the risk of some repetition, we would here say that gold-mining has profited most those who have never engaged in it; that the cool-headed traders, brokers, bankers, and agriculturalists have reaped the real benefit growing out of the gold discoveries in australia, not the eager, hard-working, excited digger himself. in short, we believe that the same amount of patient labor and steady application bestowed upon almost any other industry would yield a better return to the toiler. we have spoken incidentally of sandhurst, one of the famous gold-fields of victoria, which was originally known by the name of bendigo. this place, situated a hundred miles from ballarat, more directly inland, has matured into an attractive and important city, well laid out into broad streets lined with ornamental trees, and containing many fine public and private edifices. sandhurst possesses all the elements that go to form a progressive and intelligent community, having ample school facilities, churches, hotels, and charitable organizations. the population is an increasing one, and already numbers some thirty-five thousand. its array of well-furnished shops affords a bright and attractive feature. the environs, unlike those of ballarat, are rough and uncared-for, presenting many acres of deserted diggings, with deep holes, broken windlasses, ruined quartz-tubs, rusted and useless pieces of machinery, and a profusion of other mining débris. alluvial or surface mining is entirely worked out in the vicinity of sandhurst, but quartz raising and crushing still gives employment to thousands of laborers; and as there seems to be a comparatively unlimited supply of the gold-bearing rock, we can see no reason why the place should not go on prosperously for any length of time to come. there are here some of the most extensive works for reducing the quartz-rock that have ever been erected. the principal mine of the neighborhood has reached a depth of twenty-six hundred feet, fresh reefs of rich quartz having lately been struck and developed, concerning the existence of which there were no signs whatever at the surface of the land. we were told that a true reef had never been exhausted, or worked out in australia, though alluvial deposits often cease to yield in a few months. the deep mine of which we have just spoken is the property of a wealthy englishman named george lansell, a noted gold-miner of victoria. about five miles from sandhurst is the town of eaglehawk, perched upon an eminence, having its own municipal government, and even aspiring to be a rival of sandhurst; but it is really at present scarcely more than a suburb of that city. at eaglehawk there are some exceptionally rich gold mines, where quartz is raised which we were told yields from four to five ounces of pure metal to the ton of rock handled. there are shafts here varying from five hundred to one thousand feet in depth, with the usual drifts and galleries. the depth of the shafts is being steadily increased, and new lateral workings started. the depth to which these mines in victoria and elsewhere in australia may be profitably worked is not yet demonstrated, though geologists until within a brief period have confidently asserted that beyond one hundred feet the quartz rock would not be found sufficiently rich to pay for the labor of raising it to the surface and crushing it. theory and fact, however, have come into collision upon this point, as demonstrated both in california and australia. the laws which govern these deposits are not understood, and the best-informed often find themselves at fault in their calculations. the mines do not invariably grow richer as they descend, but vary near the surface. "twenty-five years of mining experience," said a victorian to us, "have taught me that no one knows at what depth quartz lodes or reefs will be found to pay, and there is nothing to show that the quality or quantity of the yield of metal depends upon the depth from which it is taken." statistics show all sorts of yield of gold at all depths; it is indeed as the working miners say regarding the gold, "where it is, there it is, and no rule applies." we were told of the appointment of a government commission in melbourne not long ago, whose members travelled over the colony to inspect personally the mining operations, and make a proper report thereon. after due consideration these gentlemen prepared and published their report, with much official flourish, each member doubtless tincturing it with some favorite theory of his own. the result was simply ridiculous, as within a twelvemonth, and by practical results at the various mines which they had inspected, every deduction of their report was proved to be entirely wrong. it is in this colony of australia that the traveller finds the giant trees, considered to be one of the great wonders of our times, and which exceed in dimensions those grand conifers of california in which americans feel such pride. these big trees of victoria are called the mountain ash, though why so named we do not understand, as they are not of that family. but they are certainly the tallest trees in the known world, often measuring four hundred feet and more in height, and from fifty to sixty feet in girth a couple of yards from the ground. when we say that these trees exceed in dimensions those of california, we refer especially to their height, inasmuch as the american trees equal them, if they do not in some instances surpass them, in circumference. the australian trees rise a hundred feet more or less from the roots without putting forth a lateral branch. on beholding them one is not at first impressed by their exceptional size or monarch-like appearance; but they grow upon one by further observation. a trip of a hundred miles from melbourne due east to sale--a remarkably pleasant town of between three and four thousand inhabitants, situated on the gippsland railroad--takes one to the region where these immense forest giants are to be seen, and at the same time introduces the traveller to some of the finest scenery in the mountain range of this district. it is in this neighborhood that one finds the kangaroo in his wild state; but a good local guide is necessary to insure success in the search for these animals. though the kangaroo, like everything else aboriginal, is gradually disappearing in australia, the onslaught and ceaseless war which is waged against the wild dog, the only enemy except man which the kangaroo has to fear, leaves the latter a chance even for increase in some districts, as we found to be the case in queensland. it is calculated that one kangaroo eats as much grass and consumes as much food generally as do five sheep, and consequently he is looked upon as an enemy, to be hunted with the one idea of exterminating him altogether. in roaming the woods one is almost sure to fall in with more or less of these animals. they are usually found sitting upright in circles of a dozen or more, as grave as though engaged in holding a formal council. their short fore-paws hang limp before them, while their restless heads and delicate ears turn hither and thither in watchful care against surprise. notwithstanding their huge paunch, big hind-quarters, and immense tail, there is something graceful and attractive about these creatures, even with all their proverbial awkwardness. when they are young they are as playful as kittens. even when running away from pursuit,--a process performed by enormous leaps, often covering a rod at each flying jump,--there is a certain airy grace and harmony of movement attending their motions. dogs and horses have more power of endurance than the kangaroo, and are thus enabled to run them down; but neither horse nor dog can achieve the same degree of speed for moderate distances. if the chase occurs in a wood where there are numerous obstacles, like heavy logs, the kangaroo is safe, since he can surmount all such impediments without diminution of speed. in the forest glades of victoria one becomes acquainted with some of the most interesting of the birds of australia. it is said that very many of those which are now abundant are not indigenous, but have been introduced from time to time by the new-comers from europe and elsewhere. at all events, the birds of this region are abundant enough now and of great variety, adding much to the charm of inland districts. the shrill whistle of the blue-jay saluted us constantly; and equally frequent were the monotonous notes of the green thrush. now and then the confused utterances of the leather-head were heard, a peculiar bird resembling a small vulture. as to the screams of the cockatoos and parrots, they are at times quite deafening. there was observed one diminutive feathered creature called the diamond-bird, arrayed in gorgeous plumage, and having a rich dark crimson tail, while the body was mottled like the iris colors upon a blue pigeon's throat, or the surface of an opal. now and again the small pheasant wren flitted by, lighting upon some delicate branch of tree or bush, with its long tail trailing behind it. one specimen of the lyre-bird was seen, though it is so shy and wild as to be seldom captured. it is mainly to behold the big gum-trees, however, that one visits the fernshaw mountain district; and they alone richly repay the trouble of going thither. we were told of one fallen monarch which was measured by a government surveyor, which had a length upon the ground of four hundred and seventy-four feet. the pyramid of cheops is not so high as was this tree when it stood erect. the average height of these marvels is from three hundred and fifty to four hundred feet. they are situated in a valley protected from winds, and are favorably located to promote their growth, and also to preserve them from destruction by gales or sudden tornadoes, such as have prostrated some of the largest trees in our own valley of the yosemite. there are some picturesque lakes in gippsland which deserve mention, separated from the sea only by narrow necks of land, though in some instances there are passages between navigable by small steamboats. the largest of these lakes is that known as lake corangamite, which is salt, though it has no visible connection with the sea. the great amount of evaporation which takes place here in the summer months leaves on its shores large quantities of salt crystals, the gathering of which forms an important local industry. in these inland excursions large districts were seen devoted to the raising of grapes and the production of wine therefrom. we were told that the wine made from these victoria vineyards was admitted to be the best produced in the country. much land is also given up to the raising of hops, which recalled the thrifty fields of kent, in england. there were seen here immense expanses of oats, which are mostly cut green,--that is, just before ripening,--for fodder. together with these several interests, there were also plenty of copper and tin mines being worked; and we were informed by good authority that one third of the total area of the colony is believed to be occupied by gold-bearing quartz. extraordinary as this assertion appears, it is fully credited by the author. a most curious and remarkable example of birdlife and bird-instinct was pointed out to us, in the instance of what is known as the bower-bird. this peculiar little creature builds a cunning play-place, a tiny shady bower, which it ornaments with vines and high-colored feathers of other birds, besides the yellow blossoms of the wattle-tree and dainty ferns. in this ingeniously devised sylvan retreat the feathered architect runs about and holds a sort of carnival, to which he apparently invites others of his tribe. at all events a select company come hither and join the builders for an hour or so, chirping vigorously and strutting about together in a most ludicrously demonstrative manner. scarcely any of the animals found in other countries were native to this land. there were no apes, no ruminants, no lions, tigers, or wolves. we were told about the wild dog, already spoken of, familiarly known as the "dingo," which is such a serious pest to the sheep-raisers, and which closely resembles the scotch collie. this creature is the wildest and fiercest animal found in the australian bush, evincing a destructive propensity merely for the sake of spilling blood. its habit is to kill a dozen sheep when it attacks a flock, though one would more than suffice to satisfy its hunger. it seizes the unresisting victim by the throat, and its fatal work is quickly accomplished. a price is placed upon the head of the dingo by government, and there is a class of men who are particularly fond of hunting it, and who obtain a living by waging a constant war upon the species. undoubtedly this animal was introduced here by captain cook when he landed a second time in the country, and a century of wild life has given to it a new nature. the hunters of the dingo also make rabbits a special object of onslaught, for which government pays a liberal premium of so much per brace, the heads being required as evidence of their destruction. but all efforts to destroy these prolific creatures have so far proved inadequate. a packet ship arrived from london with emigrants while we were at melbourne, its passengers being of a very mixed character. some few of them were doubtless real workers honestly desirous of benefiting their circumstances in a legitimate manner; but the majority seemed to be idlers, of little use to themselves and hardly desirable additions to the colony. these new arrivals appeared entirety unlike the emigrants who come in such vast numbers to our own shores from all parts of europe. while a majority of these australian immigrants were obviously from the lower classes of the big english cities, the arrivals in america consist mostly of those coming from the rural districts of northern europe. as already intimated, characters which cannot be whitewashed in england are often encouraged to emigrate to australia. originally such persons were sent hither by the courts; now they come by the persuasion of their friends. we believe there is enough of sterling worth and responsibility established in australia to overrule the unfortunate elements thrown upon her shores by the inflow of questionable humanity. at all events such a class of immigration is the inevitable outgrowth of circumstances beyond the control of the colonists. they have so successfully lived down the early penal associations attached to their country, that the best result may be hoped for as regards this matter. australia is certainly a good place to bring people to their true level. the shiftless and helpless quickly sink to the bottom, while energy and tact, whether in the low born or those from the higher walks of life, cause their possessors to rise to the surface and become a power in the land. the author saw some examples of a sad and painful character in the cases of individuals who had been reared in luxury at home, in england, but who were nearly starving in melbourne. they would willingly have worked their passage back to the old country, but as they could not be rated as able-bodied seamen, they could find no such chance. there is room and opportunity enough in australia for any number of sober, hardy, frugal men and women who have a special business or regular calling. an industrious and worthy person is sure to make a good living there, and perhaps to realize a fortune; but he cannot _pick_ it up,--he must _work_ it up. that which comes by laborious effort and self-abnegation remains with us, and constitutes a lasting capital. the gold nuggets which are occasionally found here never amount to much as regards the benefit of the finder. it is upon the whole a fortunate day for the respectable immigrant who has any degree of ability, when he concludes to turn his back upon gold-digging and adopt some more legitimate business. the great elements of success are the same in australia as in california, africa, or massachusetts; namely, steadiness of purpose, application, and temperance. one thing we would impress upon every one: let those who cannot resist the fascination of the bottle, avoid australia; for it is the very hot-bed of dissipation, and no place for the weak and irresolute. the laboring classes of melbourne and sydney especially make great efforts to prevent emigration from europe, on the ground that it will have a tendency to reduce wages,--a view palpably narrow and contracted beyond all reason. there cannot be too many good immigrants; and any policy tending to limit their numbers is as short-sighted as most of the ignorant schemes of organized labor unions. even a larger number of the despised chinese would be desirable in the present state of things in australia; but the landing fee of fifty dollars acts almost as prohibitory in regard to the asiatic race, besides which all sorts of lawless impediments are instituted to operate against their well-being. chapter x. from melbourne to adelaide.--capital of south australia.--new gold-fields.--agricultural interests.--city institutions.--inducements to immigrants.--public buildings.--a city of churches.--australian ladies.--interior of the country.--irrigation.--german settlers.--the botanical gardens.--west australia.--perth the capital.--the pearl fisheries.--commercial advantages considered. we shall now leave victoria and take the reader into another colony, by no means less interesting than those already visited. the distance from melbourne to adelaide, the capital of south australia, is about the same as that from sydney to melbourne,--say, six hundred miles. australia is an immense territory, and its capital cities are a long way apart. the cars upon this route are constructed upon both the american and english plan, and one is not annoyed by having to change cars to accommodate a difference in the gauge, as upon the sydney route, where for this purpose he is aroused at midnight on the borders of victoria. on passing the limit of south australia the traveller finds his watch to be twenty-five minutes too fast, and makes the necessary alteration to accommodate the local time in accordance with western longitude. it is a tiresome journey,--or at least we found it so. there were few first-class passengers, none of whom particularly interested a stranger beyond general observation; moreover the road passes through what is called the ninety-mile desert, which is desolate and barren indeed. the miles seemed interminable; and it was a great relief at last when a wooded country was reached, and there came into view open, well-fenced fields, with here and there small groups of choice breeds of cattle and sheep, and an occasional neat homestead. in the course of this journey the murray bridge was crossed. this iron structure spans the breadth of that great australian water-way here known as the murray river, but which finds its source thousands of miles to the north, in queensland, where it is known as the darling river. after leaving murray bridge two large engines were necessary to draw our train up the steep incline among the hills and mountains which separate adelaide from her eastern territory. these mechanical giants puffed and panted with an almost human expression, in their vigorous struggle to drag the train forward,--now and again hovering upon the very verge of inability, and then, as it seemed to us, by putting forth renewed energy and extraordinary effort, pressing forward and finally surmounting the steep way. the aspect of the scenery rapidly changed for the better as we advanced, and our spirits rose accordingly. everything looked bright and thrifty. gardens, orchards, well-cultivated fields, and pleasant roadside stations, with the summer residences of the citizens of adelaide, were rapidly passed, until mount lofty station was reached and the descent toward the plains began. the traveller was soon gratified by a bird's-eye view of the capital of south australia, lying spread out upon the plain, with the broad sea beyond glittering with mottled sunshine. adelaide is surrounded by an amphitheatre of wooded hills rearing their heads not far away from the city, and forms a very fine picture when thus approached. the capital is so perfectly level that to be seen to advantage it must be looked upon as a whole from some favorable elevation. though this colony is called south australia, it should be known as central australia in respect to its actual geographical position. it is destined in the near future to merit the name of the granary of the country, being already largely and successfully devoted to agriculture. this pursuit is followed in no circumscribed manner, but in a large and liberal style, like that of our best western farmers. immense tracts of land are also devoted to stock-raising, for the purpose of furnishing "dead beef" for shipment to england in fresh condition. south australia contains nearly a million square miles, and is therefore ten times larger than victoria, and fifteen times the size of england. it extends northward from the temperate zone, so that nearly one half of its area lies within the tropics, while it has a coast-line of five hundred miles along the great southern ocean. a vast portion of its interior is uninhabited and indeed unexplored. the total population of the whole colony is about four hundred thousand. wheat, wool, wine, copper, and meat are at present the chief exports. though gold has been found in this province to a very large extent, it is not so abundant here as in other parts of australia,--and yet since these notes were begun new gold-fields have been discovered in this section which are reported to be exceedingly rich. statistics show that somewhat over seventeen million pounds sterling in gold have been exported from south australia since its first discovery here. one mine alone, known as the moonta, has paid its shareholders in dividends the large sum of twelve hundred thousand pounds sterling. gold-digging as a business, however, grows less and less attractive in the colony, though the precious metal must continue to be produced here for many years to come, by well-organized companies who possess ample machinery for raising and crushing the quartz rock. but good wages, equalling the average earned by miners, are now paid here by a dozen easier and more legitimate occupations,--among the rest the large vineyards which produced last year over three million gallons of pure native wine. the great trouble is to procure laborers at all, notwithstanding the liberal scale of wages paid. no community or section of country has ever yet reached a permanent success, according to the usually accepted idea of success, upon what may in this connection be denominated a gold basis. "let us cherish no delusions," said a san francisco preacher on a certain occasion; "no society has ever been able to organize itself in a satisfactory manner on gold-bearing soil. even nature herself is deceitful: she corrupts, seduces, and betrays man; she laughs at his labors, she turns his toil into gambling and his word into a lie!" the preacher's deductions have proved true in california, south africa, new zealand, and australia. and yet we have freely admitted in these pages that the finding of gold mines has stimulated labor, immigration, and manly activity in many directions, and has thus indirectly been the agent of good in other than its own field. as we find gold king in victoria, so in adelaide we have pastoral millionnaires. some of the men who have become enriched by this means possess fortunes of over two million pounds sterling, and have gone back to england to enjoy their wealth in their native land; others, and these are the larger portion of the successful settlers, still remain here, promoting the local interests of the colony. adelaide, thus named for the queen of william iv., we found to be the depot of a large and growing trade in wool and grain especially derived from the fertile agricultural district of which it is the capital, and is furnished with numerous arterial railways to bring these products to market. we were told by reliable parties here that there are at present about four million acres of land under the plough. preference is universally given to the grain produced in this colony, because of its uniform excellence. new south wales and victoria hamper their people in the use of this grain by the imposition of most unreasonable and aggravating tariff laws. "protection," said an earnest citizen of melbourne to us, "does anything but protect; it makes much of our food cost us twenty per cent more than it would naturally if the ordinary laws of trade were permitted to adjust themselves." the mass of the people favor free-trade, but the leaders and the officials favor high tariff, for they realize a living through the collecting of dues that arise under its provisions. it was admitted to the author by local political economists that it costs fifty per cent of the aggregate sum collected to keep "the machine" moving,--a fact which alone forms a strong argument against the entire system. adelaide, with a population of a hundred and fifty thousand, has a noble university, quite equal in standing to that of any city in the country. when we remember how youthful she is, it becomes a matter of no small surprise that adelaide has achieved such a condition of progress in all the appointments and possessions which go to make up a great city of modern times. this remark will apply indeed to all the australian capitals, none of which are deficient in hospitals, libraries, schools, asylums, art galleries, and charitable institutions generally. few of the european cities of twice the size of these in australia can boast a more complete outfit in all that goes to promote a true civilization. we must not forget, however, that a city established in the nineteenth century has a lamp to guide its feet in the experience of all who have gone before,--thus enabling it to start upon a wise and proper basis from the very outset. though south australia presents little of the glamour of auriferous fields to attract new settlers, those who come here are as a rule of the best class. this colony offers officially the most liberal inducements to new-comers, while the natural advantages of its agricultural and stock-raising districts are unsurpassed in either of the other colonies. a land-order is given gratuitously to every qualified person upon his arrival at adelaide, which is good for one hundred dollars for each adult, and fifty dollars for each child, at the government land office; besides which other liberal inducements are offered that are calculated to interest representatives especially of the agricultural class of great britain. king william street is a broad and elegant thoroughfare, the principal one of the city. it is lined on either side with grand palatial buildings,--banks, insurance offices, warehouses, shops, and hotels. on this street also are the post-office and the town hall. one looks about at the solid and pleasing architectural effect of all these buildings with no small degree of surprise. everywhere within the limits of the city, especially extending eastward and westward of the post-office, spacious edifices are to be found, either completed and occupied or in course of construction. the material used for building purposes consists very largely of a handsome white stone, which produces a remarkably cheerful general effect. by ascending north adelaide hill one gets an admirable view of all the space between mount lofty and the city proper, which space is dotted with villas, gardens, and pleasant domestic surroundings, and profusely ornamented with trees. there is an aspect of thrift and business prosperity in the very atmosphere; civic and suburban improvement is the order of the day. the churches of all denominations are numerous and handsome. comparisons may be odious, and especially so as regards different portions of these colonies, between which there is rampant a spirit of exaggerated and endless jealousy; but we cannot refrain from saying that to the casual observer adelaide manifests greater evidences of enterprise and rapid growth than either sydney, melbourne, or brisbane. the citizens are especially alive to all educational interests. there is here a minister of education, a training and model school, three colleges, and an ample number of common and primary schools. the south australian institute and museum is designed for the promotion of art studies, science, and philosophy. king william street is nearly two miles long, certainly rivalling in many respects collins street in melbourne, and is more elegant and effective as a whole than george street in sydney. some enterprising parties should introduce a few hundred hansom cabs into the city, to take the place of the hideous four-wheeled vehicles which are drawn about town by two horses. victoria square, situated in the very heart of adelaide, is a busy quarter, where at a single glance one has a view of the principal public buildings, including the town hall, a noble structure, the colonnade of which is built over the surrounding foot-way. opposite this building is the general post-office, the main features of which are like the post-office of sydney,--a tall square tower rising from the centre, which seemed in both instances quite out of place. the city is remarkable for the compactness of its business centre. queen street runs from bank to bank of the river, so that the masts of the shipping are visible from either end of the thoroughfare. the city proper is separated from its suburbs by a wide belt of park lands, and all the approaches are lined with thrifty ornamental trees. great liberality and good judgment presided over the laying out of adelaide. all the streets are broad and regular, running north and south, east and west. there are no mysterious labyrinths, dark lanes, or blind alleys in the city; all the avenues cross each other at right angles and are uniform in width. somehow we missed the irregular ways of old european cities and those of the far east, where one can get delightfully lost and bewildered now and then. adelaide has been called the city of churches, and as already intimated it certainly is well supplied in that respect; but it is still better entitled to be called the city of public parks. there was a grand industrial exhibition open at adelaide during our visit, to which all the sister colonies had contributed; and hosts of strangers were consequently attracted to the town, imparting a business aspect to everything and a general life to its streets which doubtless was not its normal condition. still, be this as it may, the capital of south australia is growing steadily in population and material wealth. the present exhibition building stands in the adelaide park lands, fronting north terrace, adjacent to the botanical gardens. a direct line of railway, seven miles long, connects the exhibition with the wharves at port adelaide, where ships of the largest tonnage can lie at the pier and discharge their cargoes. the completeness, thorough organization, and amazing variety of this exhibition of industries here in the south seas was a subject of great surprise and admiration to us. it is not, however, our intention to go into a description of the exhibition, but it was certainly worthy of all commendation. the australian ladies of this section are essentially unlike their sisterhood of the colonies in general. they are characterized by a bright, buoyant, piquant manner which charms and captivates the stranger who is so fortunate as to enjoy their proverbial hospitality. without being in the least flippant, they are debonair and winsome in the display of their many accomplishments, which always embrace music, drawing, and dancing. they are more like the women of america in height and general figure than their english progenitors. they have none of the english stoutness which indicates a plethora of blood and vigor; indeed, there was a marked delicacy generally apparent in the matter of health, which is to be attributed doubtless to climatic influences,--and yet statistics show a low scale of mortality in adelaide, as in most parts of australia. regarding amusements, dancing is a favorite one, quite as much so here as among the ladies of spain. among gentlemen belonging to what is termed the best society in adelaide, it is a fact worth remarking that one finds no idlers; all have some legitimate calling, and would evidently feel ill at ease without it. idling is not popular; each citizen is expected to contribute in some form to the general condition of thrift and progress, as well as to do his share toward developing the natural resources of the state. this is imperative in a youthful colony, and not out of place in any community. it is believed that the interior of the continent, which is largely embraced within the territory of south australia, was at a comparatively recent period covered by a great inland ocean. here are found the mammoth bones of animals of the marsupial species, now extinct, which have afforded much interest to scientists. on some portions of these plains it is said that the heat absorbed from the sun in the daytime is radiated from the soil at night to such a degree as to be insufferable to human beings. the soil is represented to be at such times like burning coal; and when the air moves over it, an effect is produced as from a furnace, or from a sirocco blowing off the coast of africa. the effect of these winds is occasionally felt in sydney and melbourne; and while it lasts, humanity becomes inert, and exertion impossible. it rarely continues, however, more than three days, and in the vicinity of adelaide is seldom experienced more than twice in a season. several lakes are represented to exist in the interior, as shown by maps of australia,--among them lake torrens, lake eyre, lake gardiner, and lake amadeus, apparently covering large areas; but these localities are little more than muddy swamps or salt marshes, which are completely dried up in summer. their level is believed to be considerably below that of the sea; and it has been proposed to cut a canal from torrens to spencer gulf: if that proved advantageous, then lake eyre could be connected with comparatively little labor. spencer gulf is the deepest indentation upon the south coast, and would flood these swamps with permanent water, rendering them not only navigable, but producing a favorable change in the climate. at present, during the summer season the thermometer rises in the lake region to ° and even to ° fahrenheit. this district is regarded as a desert waste because of its want of a permanent supply of water, being "eaten up," to use a local phrase, with drought. and yet this want of water at certain seasons while there is an abundance at others is a matter so obviously within the ability of the people to remedy, that one cannot sympathize much with them in their present deprivation. why the intelligent means of irrigation so well known and so thoroughly tested elsewhere are not adopted here, it is difficult to understand. we heartily agree with the position assumed in regard to this matter by a certain english bishop, of whom we were told. he came to australia to make it his home; and being applied to in a dry season to issue a circular-prayer for rain, he answered that a fair average quantity of water fell upon the land already, and that he declined to petition the almighty to work a miracle until the colonists had themselves done what they could to preserve the rains by constructing proper reservoirs and sinking artesian wells. these people must not expect that hercules will help them, unless they first put their own shoulders to the wheel. the river darling shows well upon paper, and judged by its aspect on the map it is a river which might rank with the volga and the amazon. but the truth is that it forms a watercourse dependent at present upon floods, admitting of navigation for hundreds of miles at certain seasons, and at others being as dry as the arno at florence or the manzanares at madrid. by a series of dams and canals this river might be navigable all the year round. the same remark applies to several of its tributaries, and to rivers generally running toward the inland centres and flowing into the murray. the governments of the several colonies have long realized the importance and the necessity of a grand and comprehensive system of irrigation. they seem to be never tired of talking about the matter; but the time has now come for action. some of the most enterprising of the pioneers as they have advanced inland have built dams on the small tributaries of the two rivers named, and have found it to pay them tenfold. some have sunk artesian wells, and have in their turn reaped commensurate advantages. we were shown great reaches of country where ten years ago cattle would have starved had they been turned out to find a living there, but which now support large herds of domestic animals. africa's interior is scarcely less mapped out and explored than central australia. there are thousands of square miles upon which the foot of a white man has never trod. tartary has its steppes, america its prairies, egypt its deserts, and australia its "scrub." the plains so called are covered by a low-growing bush, compact and almost impenetrable in places, composed of a dwarf eucalyptus. the appearance of a large reach of this scrub is desolate indeed, the underlying soil being a sort of yellow sand which one would think could surely produce nothing else. we were told of one large section of south australia ten thousand miles square, which is solely covered with this scrub. "yet," said our informant, himself an agriculturist of experience and a large landholder, "experiment has shown that if a watercourse were turned upon this ground and the scrub cleared away, it would give us a soil nearly as fertile as the valley of the nile." and he added: "after a year or two more of useless talk, irrigation will be applied in all directions." the climate of adelaide and the surrounding country is of much greater warmth than that of the region about brisbane, sydney, or melbourne. it is not uncommon for the thermometer to register ° in the shade during the summer months. the vegetable products are almost identical with those of south africa, and the soil is equally productive, yielding crop after crop with no signs of exhaustion. the food of the common people is cheap, abundant, and good. mutton and beef do not cost one tenth as much as is charged for them in england or america, while bread is but four cents per pound. the flour produced here we were told won prizes wherever it was exhibited, and was considered as ranking with the very best manufactured anywhere. all kinds of vegetables are also cheap, and thanks to the chinamen they are also in good supply: no one but john pretends to raise them. everybody eats meat three times a day, rich and poor; but of the cooking,--well, as we cannot say anything complimentary about it, we will not dilate upon this theme. the large number of german residents in and about adelaide is particularly observable, and whole villages were found to exist in south australia where german was the one language spoken. this people form the best class of settlers, for they come hither with a well-considered purpose, almost always in the direction of agricultural enterprise; and this they pursue undeviatingly. many of them are from the rhine districts of germany, and interest themselves in the planting and culture of the grape and in winemaking, having brought with them a special and valuable experience obtained in their native land. the large, well-kept parks which surround this capital of south australia form a magnificent drive, eight or ten miles long, outside of which are the villas and pleasant flower-gardens of the citizens, where one sees tropical fruits growing in great abundance,--including the orange, lemon, citron, pineapple, and the like. some of the floral displays were truly gorgeous, embracing the flaring warratah and the glowing banksias, decked with curious and lovely foliage. here and there were to be seen the norfolk island pine, of which one never tires, and which is a great favorite all over this country. it branches straight out from the trunk with a succession of hard prickly leaves inclining upward at the ends. its color is always of the deepest green. the botanical gardens of adelaide cover a hundred and thirty acres, the hedges of which are formed of a picturesque variety of yellow cactus, acacias, magnolias, and myrtles. here we first saw the australian bottle-tree, which is native only to these colonies. it receives its name from its resemblance in shape to a junk-bottle. this tree has the property of storing up water in its hollow trunk,--a well-known fact, which has often proved a providential supply for thirsty travellers in a country so subject to drought. here also was seen the correa, with its stiff stem and prickly leaves, bearing a curious string of little delicate pendulous flowers, red, orange, and white, not unlike the fuchsia in form. the south sea myrtle was especially attractive, appearing in flower with round clustering bunches, spangled with white stars. the styphelia, a heath-like plant, was a surprise to us, with its green flower, the first of its species the author had seen. we were shown a specimen of the sandrach-tree from africa, which is almost imperishable, and from which the ceilings of mosques are exclusively made; it is supposed to be the shittim-wood of scripture. the indian cotton-tree loomed up beside the south american aloe, this last with its bayonet-like leaves, ornamented in wavy lines like the surface of a toledo blade. the groupings of these exotics, natives of regions so far apart upon the earth's surface, yet quite domesticated and acclimated here, formed an incongruous picture and an interesting theme for contemplation. west australia, of which perth is the capital, is eight hundred miles in width and thirteen hundred long from north to south, actually covering about one third of the continent. it embraces all that portion lying to the westward of the one hundred and twenty-ninth meridian of east longitude, having an area of about one million square miles,--or, to make a familiar comparison, it is eight times as large as the united kingdom of great britain and ireland. it has but few towns, ports, or settled districts, and perth itself has less than eleven thousand inhabitants. the city is represented to be an attractive place, possessing a fine climate. its oranges and tropical fruits generally are said to be excellent. it is situated on the swan river, better known locally as perth waters. this river runs from fremantle to perth, and is a noble water-way, commercially spoiled however by a dangerous ledge of rocks about six feet under water, which shuts off the entrance from the sea. of course, in due time dynamite will settle the business for that ledge. the population of the entire colony known as west australia is at the present writing hardly forty thousand, scattered along the seaboard or within a hundred miles of it. the results accomplished by this small number of inhabitants show very clearly of what the country is capable, and indicate what it would doubtless yield under more generous cultivation. the colony exported last year over a million dollars' worth of wool, besides copper, sandal-wood, timber, cattle, and so on. late statistics show that there are over two millions of sheep in this section of the country, and we were told that it could support as many more as are found in queensland and new south wales united. pearl-oysters abound on the coast of west australia, and pearl-shells are a ready source of income to the people, being exported in large quantities. these are most freely procured at the north. there are merchants in sydney who annually fit out boats of from six to ten tons each, and send them to this locality for the pearl-oyster fishing. this is best prosecuted nearest to torres strait, which separates australia from new guinea. next to the great island-continent itself, new guinea is the largest island in the world, being three hundred and sixty miles wide by thirteen hundred miles in length; but while australia as a whole is so remarkably healthy, not even the african gold coast is so dangerous to health as new guinea. its flat, densely-wooded, swampy coast is simply deadly to white men, and even the natives suffer constantly from low fever. these natives are probably the most barbaric of any savages living in this nineteenth century; they have no notion of even the rudest agricultural operations, living altogether on fish, berries, and roots. the pearl-fisheries of which we were speaking give employment to a singular class of laborers, consisting of malays, lascars, south sea islanders, australian aborigines, runaway sailors, and west indian negroes. formerly the oysters were raised from four or five fathoms' depth solely by divers, but dredging has lately been adopted with good success. the pearl-oyster is a large mollusk, the shell weighing sometimes as much as eight pounds. the divers are paid fair wages, and whatever pearls they find become their perquisites, it being the shells alone that the employer seeks to secure. these, when properly dried and cleansed, he ships to europe, where they bring an average of five hundred dollars per ton. when diving is depended upon for raising the oysters, a boat is very fully equipped, and the captain, who is the diver, descends in a full set of armor. air-pumps supply the necessary atmosphere to enable him to remain for half an hour and more under water, during which time he fills the canvas bags which are sent down to him empty and drawn up by those remaining in the boat. considerable capital is embarked in this business. one enemy the divers have to look out for is the shark. these dreadful creatures do not swarm on the coast of west australia, but are nevertheless sometimes seen there; and when that is the case the diver signals his crew to draw him to the surface, for though he is armed with a long knife, he could hardly cope with these ravenous monsters in their own element. the coast-line of the colony is set down as being three thousand miles in length on the indian ocean, and some hundreds upon the southern ocean. the country is known to be auriferous, but to what extent it is impossible to say. there are two or three hundred miles of railroad here belonging to the government, and more is under contract to be built in this year of , covering short routes between comparatively populous points. immigration is encouraged by liberal appropriations, and the population is increasing steadily if not rapidly. the late discovery of gold-fields at the kimberly district on the fitzroy river has already turned public attention thither, and settlers and adventurers are sure to follow fast. government survey has shown that on the territory traversed by the mary, margaret, elvira, and ord rivers an immense number of gold-bearing quartz-reefs exist, besides surface diggings along the river courses and valley from which "good color," as miners express it, can be got from the sand almost anywhere. already diggers have gone to work successfully in this region, where it seems the country is well-watered most of the year, and where the government surveyors say there is no trouble in storing water against possible drought. all these facts simply signify that perth, the western capital of the colonies, is in the near future to go through the same experience as have melbourne, adelaide, ballarat, and brisbane, and that she is sure by and by to become like them a great and prosperous city. what is called a "rush" in the colonies has not yet taken place in the kimberly district, but there is a steady trend of gold-miners thither, and one or two extraordinary "finds" would draw to this part of the country as eager a throng as ever swarmed in new south wales or victoria bent upon the same errand. were we to write more in detail of west australia it would be simply from what we learned through intelligent persons at melbourne, sydney, and adelaide. we did not visit perth. a glance at the map will show the reader how great are the distances between the capitals of australia, over which we traversed hither and thither three thousand miles and more. from adelaide to perth, overland, would be a distance of fifteen hundred miles, which would require to be accomplished mostly on horseback. by water across the australian bight and indian ocean, it would be a voyage of about the same length. the climate of west australia was represented to us as being extremely fine; and one great pride of the people there is the variety and abundance of the wild-flowers which cover hill and dale near the coast-line of the entire colony. the pearl-fisheries to which we have alluded produce some of the most valuable gems that find their way to the markets of the world; for though by general consent the choicest pearls come from ceylon and the persian gulf, those found on the west coast of australia are deemed by many equal to the best. beautiful specimens were shown to us in melbourne which we could not recognize as in any way inferior to the oriental gems that bring such fabulous prices in paris and london. in a jeweller's shop on collins street we saw several which had come from the region near torres strait, and which were valued at a hundred pounds sterling each, and one which on account of its size was prized at two hundred pounds, it having already been sold for that sum. on preparing to leave australia proper, some facts were noted as deduced from careful observation and diligent inquiry. it seems that this country can command the markets of the world in three articles at least,--wool, meat, and wine. for producing these she has the advantages of breadth of territory, of climate, and of general adaptation beyond those of any other land. at the present writing it would be safe to add gold to the other three staples, since australia, in combination with tasmania and new zealand, is producing more of it annually than any other country in the world. in competition with the united states in the home market,--that is, in england,--australia is handicapped by some eight thousand miles of distance, and must therefore count just so much relative additional cost of transportation. but australia can produce two of the special articles named,--meat and wool,--at least ten per cent cheaper than our own country. as regards cereals, australia is capable of raising at present double the amount of grain which she can consume. in that staple, however, the united states and some other countries can compete with her for reasons which favor them, independent of the additional distance she must overcome to reach a market. chapter xi. from australia to tasmania.--the river tamar.--bird life.--city of launceston.--aborigines of the island.--tattooing.--van diemen's land.--a beautiful country.--rich mines.--mount bischoff.--down in a gold mine. --from launceston to hobart.--rural aspects.--capital of tasmania.--street scenes.--a former penal depot.--mount wellington.--personal beauty.--an unbecoming fashion. from adelaide and perth let us turn our steps toward another of this group of british colonies in the south sea. to reach tasmania one takes a coasting steamer at melbourne, passing down the river yarra-yarra, the muddiest of water-ways, until bass strait is reached, across which the course is due south for a hundred and twenty miles. this is a reach of ocean-travel which for boisterousness and discomfort can be said to rival the english channel. as the coast of tasmania is approached, a tall light-house, one hundred and forty feet in height, first attracts the attention,--designating the mouth of the tamar river. the land formed a lee for the steamer as we approached it, giving us smooth water at last, whereupon the strained muscles of the body gradually relaxed, and it was delightful to be once more upon an even keel. at sea the human body is constantly struggling in the vain effort to preserve its equilibrium. during our short but tumultuous voyage across bass strait our steamer was often surrounded by a great variety of sea-birds,--among which were the cape-pigeon, the stormy petrel, and the gannet, which last is the largest of ocean birds next to the albatross. on drawing still nearer to the shore flocks of pelicans were observed upon the rocks, and that most awkward of birds, the penguin, was seen in idle groups. the penguin is a good swimmer, but his apologetic wings are not intended for flying. as these birds stand upright, they always suggest the unpleasant idea of men with arms amputated above the elbows. the winding tamar with its tree-covered islands, green headlands, and bold background of undulating hills affords a varied and beautiful picture. beyond the nearest range of hills was seen a second and much higher series, whose tops were covered with snow. our passage of the strait had been partly made in the night, and as we entered the mouth of the river the sun rose, turning these frosty peaks into sparkling crowns. the rise and fall of the tide in the tamar is quite remarkable, being characterized by a difference of some fourteen feet. it is singular that no enthusiastic traveller has written of the great beauty of this river of tasmania, which deserves the highest appreciation for its natural loveliness and interesting variety of scenery. true, it has the disadvantage of extreme tides, which at one hour of the day expand it into broad, lake-like proportions, and at another reduce it to a narrow, intricate channel, disfigured by unsightly mud-banks and half-submerged ledges; but nevertheless, for a large portion of the twenty-four hours it is a scene of diversified beauty. even when the receding tide has left so much of rock and soil uncovered, one is rendered picturesque by varied birdlife, and the other by large reaches of bright-green sea-vegetation. here and there isolated houses dot the shore, surrounded by well-cultivated fields,--not temporary cabins, such as prevail through the inland districts of australia, but neat and permanent structures, consisting of comfortable dwellings and large barns, with other appropriate buildings. these barns signify the necessity in tasmania of affording a shelter in winter for domestic animals, while at the north we had not seen such a structure in the entire country from brisbane to adelaide. we pass up the tamar river through its winding channel for a distance of forty miles before coming in sight of the harbor and town of launceston. the many tall, smoking chimney-shafts which meet the eye indicate that the town is busy smelting ores dug from the contiguous mineral hills and valleys. approaching it in the same manner in which we first came to parametta, at the head of river navigation, it was natural to compare the aspect of that drowsy though picturesque place with this vigorous, wide-awake community. launceston is no sleepy hollow, but is a pleasant and thrifty little city, slightly addicted to earthquakes and their attendant inconveniencies. the place is named for a town in cornwall, england, and the tamar from a river of the same name also in that country. at our hotel numerous cracks in the walls and ceilings were silent but significant tokens of what might be expected to occur at almost any moment; but it was observed that the residents do not give this subject a second thought. we have left australia proper far behind, but the bass strait which separates that country from tasmania is evidently of comparatively modern formation. the similarity of the vegetation, minerals, fauna, and flora of the two countries shows that this island must at some time in the long-past ages have been connected with the mainland. and yet the aborigines of tasmania were a race quite distinct from those of australia,--so different, indeed, as only to resemble them in color. they were a well-formed, athletic people, with brilliant eyes, curly hair, flat noses, and elaborately tattooed bodies. this ingenious and barbaric ornamentation of the body, practised by isolated savage races, seems to have been universal among the inhabitants of the pacific islands, though the great distances which separate them, as well as the lack of all ordinary means of intercommunication, would lead to the belief that they could not have borrowed the idea from one another. we are also reminded that singularly enough the rite of circumcision has been found to exist among some of the most completely isolated tribes of the pacific, which causes the ethnologist to exclaim in wonder whence these savages could have got the idea. the isolation of the samoans is so complete that one is half inclined to believe their own tradition that they originally sprang from the sea; and yet this people are even more elaborately tattooed than the natives of the feejee islands. the tasmanian aborigines "wore no clothing whatever when first discovered, leaving even those parts of the person exposed which an innate sense of decency causes most savages to conceal. they hunted the kangaroo with spears, and brought down birds with a heavy whirling stick," says an old chronicler; but whether he means by "a heavy whirling stick" to indicate the boomerang, we cannot say. if these savages possessed that ingenious instrument, it would show that they must have been more or less intimate with the australian aborigines, who doubtless invented it. they are said to have been low in the scale of barbarism; but they were not stupid, lighting fires by the friction of two pieces of dry wood, and roasting their fowls, fish, and prisoners of war before eating them. they were openly addicted to cannibalism to the very last, until association with the whites gradually ended this barbarism. they however secretly practised infanticide until formally interfered with by the laws of the white invaders. so late as sixty years ago there were three or four thousand of these people still in existence in tasmania, but to-day not one soul is living to represent the race; civilization to them has indeed proved to be an active agent of destruction. they were bold and independent, prompt to resent an injury, but very poorly provided with the means of avenging themselves. their weapons were mere toys when compared with the fire-arms of the whites. the war constantly waged between the two races was most unequal, and ended only in the extermination of the natives. these savages had to deal largely with escaped prisoners and ex-convicts, who were hardly less savage, thinking no more of shooting a black man than they would of shooting a kangaroo; and it is affirmed that this class of whites banded together and hunted the aborigines as they would wild beasts. no wonder that the natives retaliated in kind, and that when they found an unprotected family of whites they savagely destroyed women and children, and burned down their homes. thus mutual destruction went on, the whites being annually reinforced by numbers from across the sea, and the barbaric natives dwindling rapidly away. when the country cast off the disgrace of being a penal colony, the name it bore was very judiciously changed from van diemen's land to that of tasmania, in honor of its first discoverer, abel janssen tasman, the famous dutch navigator of the seventeenth century. we should perhaps qualify the words "first discoverer." tasman was the first accredited discoverer, but he was less entitled to impart his name to this beautiful island than were others. captain cook, with characteristic zeal and sagacity, explored, surveyed, and described it, whereas tasman scarcely more than sighted it. however, any name was preferable to that of van diemen's land, which had become the synonym for a penal station, and with which is associated the memory of some of the most outrageous and murderous acts of cruelty for which a civilized government was ever responsible. the whole island has now a population of about one hundred and thirty thousand, and a total area of over twenty-four thousand square miles, being really as much a part of australia as ceylon is of india, and sustaining the same relative geographical position. as ceylon is called the pearl of the continent it so nearly adjoins, so tasmania may justly be called the jewel of australia. the climate is so equable and healthy that it bears the name among the australians of the eden of the colonies. its size is not quite that of ireland, one hundred and seventy miles long by a hundred and sixty in width. there are no extremes of heat and cold, the winter mean being ° fahrenheit, and that of summer °. lying so much nearer the antarctic circle it is of course cooler than the continent, but the influence of its sea surroundings renders its climate more equable. for many years it has formed a popular summer resort for the citizens of sydney and melbourne, as well as of other portions of the mainland. it may be the result of a local prejudice, but it is universally admitted that its native-born women are remarkable for personal beauty: we mean those born here of european parents. the general aspect of the country is that of being occupied by thrifty farmers of advanced ideas, such as carry on their calling understandingly, much more like well-populated america than like australia. our native fruits--apples, peaches, pears, and the like--thrive here in such abundance as to form a prominent item in the exports, besides promoting a large and profitable industry in the packing of preserved fruits, which are in universal use in australia and new zealand. these canned fruits have an excellent and well-deserved reputation, there being an extensive demand for them on shipboard. here also we saw enormous trees, with a circumference of eighty feet near the ground and a height of three hundred and fifty feet. fern-trees, with their graceful palm-like formation, are frequently seen thirty feet in height. the country is well wooded, and traversed by pleasant watercourses; is singularly fertile, and rich in good harbors, especially upon the eastern coast. in short its hills, forests, and plains afford a pleasing variety of scenery, while its rich pastures invite the stock-breeder to reap a goodly harvest in the easiest and most profitable manner. the familiar description which occurs in deuteronomy seems to apply exactly to this favored island: "for the lord thy god bringeth thee into a good land; a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil-olive and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness,--thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass." tasmania is already largely occupied for the purpose of sheep-runs and wool-raising, and is studded with lovely homesteads carefully fenced in, the grounds being covered with fruit and ornamental trees. there seemed to us scarcely an acre of waste land to be seen in passing through the country upon travelled routes. the roads in many districts are lined with thrifty hedges symmetrically trimmed, consisting sometimes of the brilliant yellow gorse, and often of the double, stocky species of geranium in scarlet bloom. this species, which is not particularly fragrant, grows almost like a wild scrub here, requiring little or no cultivation; the more it is trimmed down the more stocky it becomes, until a hedge of it is quite impenetrable. the interior of tasmania develops into a mountain range of from two to five thousand feet in height, while its valleys and plains give support and ample pasturage to two million five hundred thousand sheep, not to enumerate the large herds of horned cattle which also abound. the wool produced upon the island has long been a favorite in the market on account of its uniformity and general excellence, always commanding the best prices. in and about the mountain ranges, gold, tin, silver, copper, and coal abound, so that the land teems with undeveloped mineral wealth, besides being full of beautiful lakes and fertile valleys. tasmania indeed might well be the elysium depicted by hesiod and pindar, the island of the blest in the far western ocean. as a whole it pleased us greatly. the women were handsome, the children bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked, the men dignified and intelligent. the dwellings were neat and substantial, the grounds and gardens trim and picturesque. the walls were ivy-grown, and the fields divided by hedges. prosperity and good taste were observable everywhere, presenting a succession of landscapes like those of populous new england. the roads are equal to the best european highways, having been built at great expense by convict labor, winding through fields that recall, as we have said, the finest of american rural scenery, presenting at the same time scarcely a shade of newness. the people who have built such complete cottage homes here have surely done so with the intention of staying. the very sunshine seemed more golden, the trees more green and graceful, and the skies clearer and bluer than on the continent left behind. indeed, tasmania might be a big slice detached from england and drifted into the south sea. the rural scenery of kent or surrey is not more charming, while the thrifty hop-fields here heighten the general resemblance. gold-mining, though followed to a certain extent in tasmania, has not seemed to demoralize the people, and is really a secondary occupation to others that pay better both in a moral and a pecuniary sense. as we have shown, launceston is situated at the head of navigation on the tamar river, where the town nestles in the lap of a valley surrounded by hills. the population numbers about twelve thousand. it is regularly laid out in broad streets lighted by gas, and has a good water-supply brought from st. patrick's river fifteen miles east of the city. there are numerous substantial public buildings of brick and stone, and everything bears a thorough business aspect indicating great prosperity. there is a public library containing over ten thousand volumes, and there are also five or six well-appointed schools of the several grades. the town hall is a very fine and substantial building of dressed stone, and several large brick buildings for business purposes were observed to be in course of erection. the city is not without its botanical garden, embracing twelve or fifteen acres of land near the centre of the town. the walks and drives in and about the neighborhood are quite attractive. the north and south elk rivers rise on different sides of ben lomond, and after flowing through some romantic plains and gorges, they join each other at launceston. this sky-reaching mountain is worthy of its scotch counterpart; between it and launceston is some of the finest river and mountain scenery in all tasmania. ben lomond is the chief object in the landscape wherever one drives or walks in this part of the island. one of the first places of interest in this vicinity to which the attention of the visitor is invited, is a locality reached by a drive of four or five miles from launceston called cora linn, which is notable for its romantic scenery. it consists of a deep gorge, through which the north elk river rushes noisily, forming seething cascades and dashing waterfalls of a grand character. to reach this spot one passes through the pretty village of st. leonard, where there is a neat little wesleyan chapel and plenty of handsome villas most home-like in aspect. the winter is here like that of nice and mentone, while the summer is much like that of new england, though not subject to such extremes. one sees many bronze-winged pigeons here, a very fine domestic bird, blazing with color under the sun's rays. of all the vast mineral wealth of tasmania, the most thoroughly developed enterprise is that of the mount bischoff tin mine, which is situated about one hundred and fifty miles from launceston. it is accessible from the city either by land or water. the land-route passes through a highly interesting district, diversified by river and mountain scenery, pleasant homesteads, cultivated fields, and some of the largest sheep-runs on the island. the quartz or tin-bearing rock of this mine may be said to form the entire hill to the height of three hundred feet,--mount bischoff itself being three thousand feet above sea-level. several shafts have been sunk to a depth of a hundred feet each, showing that the metallic deposit reaches to that depth with a "breast" (as miners term it) as broad as the hill itself. the deposit is therefore practically inexhaustible, and of such value that it has already greatly enriched its stockholders. the tin is shipped direct to england in the form of "pigs," and the demand from that country seems to absorb the entire product of this mine. the price for tin ore is said to be as uniform as that for gold. the company's pay-roll at the mine averages twenty thousand dollars a month, the men receiving from two dollars a day upwards, none, however, exceeding two dollars and a half as day-laborers. this mountain of tin, for that is really what it is, has been tunnelled through its greatest dimension, showing it to be equally rich in all parts. it is a busy place, but so well organized in every department that there is no confusion, each man working intelligently and to the best advantage. we were told by the superintendent that the shares of this mine originally cost five dollars each; to-day they are selling for three hundred dollars per share, and not always to be had at that price. they are almost wholly owned in this neighborhood, and on them the owners receive monthly dividends. we were told of other tin mines in this island, but mount bischoff is _the_ tin mine of tasmania. a view from the summit of mount bischoff across the wild forest and densely-covered hills is a picture to be long remembered. the query suggested itself, is it possible that this immense wild tract of country, these miles upon miles of seemingly impenetrable forest, will ever be cleared and dotted with the homes of settlers? being in the heart of a rich mineral district, where not tin alone but gold also is found, doubtless it is destined, in the near future, to have a similar experience to that which transformed ballarat and sandhurst from deserts into cities. a trip to the beaconsfield gold mine, which is situated some thirty miles from launceston, will well repay the traveller from other lands. the town of beaconsfield ranks next to those of hobart and launceston in importance, and has a rapidly increasing population. it is of quite recent establishment, and owes its rise solely to the discovery of the attractive metal within that district. the tasmanian mine, so called, is considered one of the most valuable and prolific on the island, possessing also a very perfect "plant" in machinery and the usual appliances for quartz mining. before descending the main shaft of the mine one must assume suitable clothing, as mud and water are to be encountered in extraordinary quantities. the great difficulty to be overcome in working nearly all of these subterranean mines is the profuse influx of water, often involving the necessity for a steam-pumping apparatus of immense power, which must be worked night and day in order to keep the various sections of the mine sufficiently dry for working. armed with candles, we descended two hundred feet by the "lift" to the first level, or drift, forming a passage just high enough and wide enough for a man to swing a pick in, but as wet as a river, one being often over shoes in water and mud. from the far end of this passage we got now and then a breath of fresh air, which seemed to come down a ventilating shaft. a few dismal-looking laborers were seen chipping off the rock amid the misty shadows caused by the fitful light. what a place to work in day after day,--and all for gold, "saint-seducing gold"! after a short exploration on this level, we descended still another two hundred feet, penetrating a second drift almost identical with the first in size and general character. here some chinamen were engaged with picks, drills, and shovels,--dark, mysterious figures, who seemed to glare at us from out the uncertain rays of light as though they were brooding over some fancied wrong, for which they would gladly avenge themselves then and there. the quartz rock which they break away from the walls of the drift is all the time being hoisted to the surface of the mine to be crushed and passed through various processes to extract the precious metal. the next gallery was still two hundred feet lower down the shaft,--that is, six hundred feet from the surface. here, after passing through the same experiences as above, we mildly but firmly declined to go any farther into the bowels of the earth simply for the sake of saying that we had done so, since there was really nothing to be seen essentially different from what had already been examined. it was no slight relief to get once more to the surface, and to see the light of day. on looking about us and reflecting on the network of galleries we had threaded far below this upper earth, there was seen a quarter of a mile away, on the other side of the lagoon, the ventilating shaft which gave air to the mine. the name of another successful mine in this immediate vicinity is the florence nightingale mine, very similar to the tasmanian, and therefore requiring no description. the gold-workings are mostly of the quartz, though there are some paying alluvial diggings along the banks of running streams, where it would seem as though some midas had bathed, and filled the sand with scales of gold,--places the sight of which at once recalled that far-away river pactolus of the lydian country. many fortunes are staked and lost in the sinking of these deep shafts, where the indications have been so promising at the surface, but which not being thoroughly understood have led to operations ending in great disappointment. as a rule, however, the miners have become sufficiently experienced to work unerringly; and when a quartz-bearing vein has once been discovered, they can follow its course, or strike it at various levels, almost with certainty. the trip from launceston to hobart, a distance of one hundred and twenty miles more or less, takes us into the centre of the island,--the direction being from north to south through lovely glades, over broad plains, across rushing streams, and around the base of abrupt mountains. the narrow-gauge railroad which connects the two cities is owned and operated by a private company, whose charge for carrying a passenger over the short distance named is six dollars. the cars are so poorly constructed, so narrow, and so meanly upholstered, as to appear like worn-out omnibuses built forty years ago. to add to the traveller's discomfort, the road-bed is as bad as it can be and not derail the cars constantly. one fellow-traveller suggested that there should be printed upon each passenger's ticket the condition that the holder would be expected to walk round all the sharp curves, and to help push the train up the steep grades. the engine seemed to be of that minimum capacity which always left a doubt upon the mind whether it would not give out altogether at the next up grade. in short, this railroad is a disgrace to tasmania. travellers, however, must learn not only to carry ample change of clothing with them, but also an ever ready stock of patience and forbearance,--better currency with which to insure comfort than even silver and gold. it was mid-winter in tasmania, and yet ploughing, sowing, and harrowing were going on at the same time along the route,--an agricultural anomaly rather puzzling to a stranger. the road passes through many pleasant though small villages. ben lomond, with its white crest, overlooks the scene for many miles after leaving launceston. this grand mountain is in the north of the island what mount wellington is in the south,--the pride of the residents who live beneath its shadow. it is prolific in mineral deposits, including gold and coal; but at the present time mining operations are only prosecuted for the purpose of producing a domestic supply of the latter article. about thirty miles from launceston the traveller arrives at campbelltown, which is the centre of a pastoral district. the place lies embosomed in hills, the highest point being mount campbell,--an elevation rising twenty-three hundred feet above sea-level. next the town of ross is passed,--a pretty little village, beautified by ornamental trees, and having a long arched stone bridge and lovely rural surroundings. tunbridge, which follows, is half-way between the two cities, and seemed to be a very thrifty settlement. this, as we were told, was the nearest point to what is known as the lake district of tasmania, where a series of large and permanent deposits of water, lying three thousand feet above the average inhabited portions of the island, form a centre of considerable interest. it is proposed to tap these lakes in the best engineering style, for the purpose of irrigating hundreds of square miles of soil,--the country here, as upon the mainland, being subject to occasional droughts. as we proceeded southward the picturesqueness of the scenery increased, now winding through valleys or creeping over mountain passes. wherever the valleys widen into plains there are seen numberless rural homes, substantial and attractive, surrounded by fertile fields, cultivated gardens, and large fruit-orchards,--the latter leafless at this season, though the general foliage of the country is evergreen. thrifty gorse hedges are prominent everywhere, blazing with yellow blossoms which lighted up and warmed the landscape like sunshine. oatlands, jericho, and melton mowbry follow one another,--each a thriving town graced with substantial buildings, often constructed of white freestone wrought from neighboring quarries. all the way the tall mountain ranges are in full sight, with patches of snow here and there high up on their sides. at the town of brighton the river derwent is first seen not far away, shining under the sun's rays like silver; after which hobart is soon reached, and we are relieved from the imprisonment of the uncomfortable cars. hobart was so named by colonel collins, its founder, in , in honor of lord hobart, who was then secretary of state for the colonies. it is surrounded by hills and mountains on all sides except where the derwent opens into lake form, making a deep and well-sheltered harbor, whence it leads the way into the southern ocean. among the lofty hills in this vicinity mount wellington towers grandly forty-two hundred feet above the others, so close to the city on the northwest side as to seem almost within rifle-range. the shape of the town is square, built upon a succession of low hills, being very much in this respect like sydney. it has broad streets intersecting one another at right angles, lined with handsome well-stocked stores serving an active and enterprising population of thirty thousand or more. of these shops, two or three spacious and elegant bookstores deserve special mention, being such as would do credit to any american or european city. their shelves and counters were found to contain a remarkably full assortment of both modern and classic literature. there must be many cultured and intelligent people here to afford sufficient support to such admirable establishments. many fine public buildings were observed, with elaborate façades, nearly all built of light freestone; while quite a number of handsome edifices, both for public and private use, were noticed as in course of construction of the same material. churches, banks, insurance offices, and the like, all in this bright cheerful stone, give not only an imposing aspect to the thoroughfares of the city, but one always pleasing whether viewed under cloud-shadows or in the rays of the sun. and yet hobart has hardly outlived the curse of the penal associations which clustered about its birth. thirty or forty years ago the british government expended here five thousand dollars per day in support of jails and military barracks. the last convict ship from england discharged her cargo at hobart in , since which year the system has gradually disappeared. the loss of a large, profitable, and regular business incidental to a penal depot, however objectionable in some of its associations, gave the place a check from which it has taken a series of years to recover; but its far more legitimate and agreeable growth is now one in which the citizens may and do take a commendable and natural pride. the past history of the place, so characterized by official cruelties, brutalities, and crimes, will not bear recall or exposure to the light of day. what cayenne was to france, hobart was to england; namely, the convict's purgatory, where order was maintained only by the lash, the halter, and the bullet; where official murder formed a part of the daily routine. what a broad contrast exists between that picture of the past and the surroundings of the present; between the penal life that reigned here in , and the healthy, contented existence characterizing the hobart in which the author is writing these notes! the view from mount wellington is justly famed for its varied and comprehensive character. the city with its gracefully undulating conformation, lying at the visitor's feet, is framed by a three-quarter circle of tree-covered hills, relieved by the river derwent, which conducts the eye seaward by its bright, sparkling, and winding stream. turning to the view inland, there lies beneath a beautiful blue sky, just touched here and there by fleecy clouds, a fair and lovely land diversified by rivers, lakes, forests, villages, and towns,--some of the latter in the valleys, some on the open plains, some perched on the mountain-sides, and all together forming a most fascinating, far-reaching picture of the fairest section of australasia. hobart also has its botanical garden, covering an area of over twenty acres near the centre of the town. it is filled with ornamental trees, flowers, and fruit-trees from every part of the world, the sweet-scented shrubs rendering the dewy morning atmosphere fragrant even in mid-winter. geraniums, cacti, tiger-lilies, and many creeping plants were flowering as though in a tropical climate, not at all abashed by the snow-caps upon some of the mountain ranges in sight. this garden slopes down in beautiful form to the waters of the harbor, and is washed by the blue derwent. the city is supplied with good drinking-water from a copious, never-failing crystal spring, situated half-way up mount wellington. the street scenes have the usual local color; like those of launceston, they embrace the typical miner, with his rude kit upon his shoulder, consisting of a huge canvas-bag, a shovel and pick. the professional chimney-sweep, with blackened face and hands begrimed, whom we lost sight of years ago in boston and london, is seen here pursuing his vocation. market-men have the same singular mode of delivering purchases to their customers as we noted elsewhere, and are seen constantly galloping upon little wiry horses, bearing upon their arms large well-filled baskets. women with scores of slaughtered rabbits cry them for sale at sixpence a pair, besides which they realize a bounty for killing the pests. let us not forget to mention the lovely, rosy-cheeked children and handsome maidens met at every few steps going to or coming from school, with their glowing promise of health and beauty. it is remarkable how certain communities are characterized by handsome girls and boys, together with lovely children, while another locality, either far away or near at hand, is notable for the almost painful plainness of its rising generation. such experiences are sure to force themselves upon the notice of the traveller in foreign lands, personal beauty being oftenest encountered where least expected, and usually under such circumstances as to be the more impressive. the same inclination to cut the hair short like that of boys, which we had noticed among women single and married still farther north, prevails here to even a greater extent. though it was so common, it nevertheless repeatedly suggested their late possible recovery from some serious and depleting fever. chapter xii. lake district of tasmania.--mount wellington.--kangaroos.--the big trees.--a serenade.--the albatross.--marksmanship at sea.--dust of the ocean.--a storm.--franklin's proposition.--a feathered captive.--bluff oysters.--most southerly hotel in the world.--invercargill.--historical matters.--geographical.--the climate of new zealand.--colonial hospitality. the river derwent, which rises far inland where the beautiful lakes st. clair and sorell are embosomed, itself broadens into an inland lake six miles wide, where it forms the harbor of hobart, famous for the summer regattas that are rowed upon its surface. here the largest maritime craft that navigates these seas can lie close to the wharf and the warehouses to discharge cargo, while the fine large stone custom house is within pistol-shot of the shore. let us emphasize the importance of a visit to the lake district of tasmania, where the lakes just referred to lie in their lonely beauty,--now overhung by towering cliffs, like those bordering a norwegian fjord, and now edged by pebbly beaches, where choice specimens of agate and carnelian abound. they are dotted here and there by verdant isles with sedge-lined shores, and present sheets of a glassy surface unbroken for miles in extent. the neighborhood is one of primeval loneliness, invaded only by an occasional traveller; but a brief visit to lake st. clair and lake sorell leaves a delightful picture upon the memory not soon to be obliterated. the charming cloud-effects which hang over and about the lofty hills that environ the capital of tasmania recall vividly those of the lake of geneva, near chillon, and the dent du midi; while the derwent itself, reflecting the hills upon its blue and placid surface, forms another pleasing resemblance to lake leman. we should not forget to mention that in ascending mount wellington, the lion of tasmanian scenery, where the visitor reaches a height of about two thousand feet, the old world ocean floor is reached and clearly defined, as we have seen it exhibited among the heights of norwegian mountains. here there are plenty of lithoidal remains of the former denizens of the ocean,--fossils telling the strange and interesting story of terrestrial changes that have taken place in the thousands upon thousands of years that are past. hobart is one of the very few cities with which we are familiar whence alpine elevations can be so easily reached. its broad streets run to the base of snow-covered mountains at one end, and at the other terminate on the busy shore of the harbor. a walk up the precipitous sides of mount wellington affords special delight to the lover of botanical science. the ferns to be found in the gullies and elsewhere are singularly attractive in their great variety and natural beauty of combinations. one spot is so marked and monopolized by them as to be called fern-tree bower. the difference between this species of plant as found in tasmania and those indigenous to the mainland is that the former maintain their entire freshness and summer colors all through the year,--though this is a characteristic in a general way of all australian vegetation, as seen in the perpetual and vigorous freshness of the forests. on this mountain-side mosses, lichens, and blue-striped gentians are mingled in close companionship, with here and there dainty specimens of the white wood-sorrel,--lowly, but lovely examples of nature's gardening. here was also seen the cabbage-palm twenty feet high, imparting a marked tropical aspect to this cool region. some delicate specimens of ferns were seen depending from the trunks of trees in damp and low-lying places, where they also lined the shallow water-ways. on returning from an excursion from mount wellington we saw some domesticated kangaroos. this animal can easily be tamed, and will then follow a person about like a dog, evincing remarkable attachment and intelligence. one of those which we saw followed its mistress, the lady of the house, wherever she went, but would follow no one else. when she sat down, it came and nestled by her side with all the confidence imparted by a sense of perfect protection. the kangaroo has a wonderfully expressive face, more than half human, with a head and large plaintive eyes quite like those of a fawn of the red-deer species. the ears are long, nervously active and extremely delicate, seeming to be almost transparent when seen against a strong light. tasmania once swarmed with kangaroos, but the hunters here, as upon the mainland, have nearly obliterated the species. full-grown males sometimes measure six feet when standing upright, and weigh about one hundred and fifty pounds. the sharp claws of the short fore-feet are powerful weapons, and if brought to bay by the dogs when hunted, the male kangaroo will sometimes turn upon his pursuers and with his claws disembowel the largest dog. when unmolested, however, they use these fore-paws like a squirrel, holding their food and carrying it to their mouths with them as we do with our hands. the fish-market of hobart was to us quite interesting. the local denizens of the sea here seem to have a physiognomy, so to speak, all their own, differing in shape, colors, and general aspect from those with which we were elsewhere familiar. long, slim, pointed fish are here a favorite; and others, so like young sharks as to make one shudder at the thought of eating them, found ready purchasers. the lobsters were quite unlike our new england species; indeed, they are here known as cray-fish, or craw-fish. they have, in place of a smooth, soft shell, a corrugated one, pimply like the red face of an inveterate toper, and so hard are they as to require a hammer to break out the meat that forms the body, while they are entirely lacking in the claws which form so prominent a portion of our common lobster. the oysters here seem to be equally uninviting, as the shells are so crumpled that it becomes a mystery where the knife should be inserted to obtain the very small quantity of edible matter forming the body of the oyster. how wareham, blue point, or shrewsbury bay oysters would astonish people who are satisfied with these apologies for first-class bivalves! about twenty miles from hobart one finds a forest of the remarkable gum-trees of which we have all read,--trees which exceed in height and circumference the mammoth growths of our own yosemite valley, and fully equal those of victoria. the immediate locality which contains them is known as the huon district. a walk among these forest giants fills one with mingled emotions of wonder and delight. surrounded by beautiful fern-trees nearly forty feet high, whose plumed caps tremble and vibrate in the breeze, one's eyes seek the lofty tops of these grand forest monarchs which are nearly lost in the sky to which they aspire; no church steeples, no cathedral pinnacle reared by the hand of man, but only mountain peaks reach so far heavenward. these forests are so abundant in their yield that local steam saw-mills are constantly engaged in cutting and preparing the lumber in various dimensions for the market. all the trees are by no means of the great size of which we have spoken, and yet all are extraordinary in this respect. the people of hobart claim that they can show trees in the huon forests taller and larger than any to be found in victoria. we measured only one in the former district, which had lately fallen, the dimensions of which we can vouch for; namely, three hundred and thirty feet in length or height, and seventy-one feet in circumference. the average reader will not be able to realize the remarkable figures here given as applying to the trunk of a tree, except by comparison with some familiar object. a century ago, before tasmania was settled by the english, the whole country was covered with dense forests, remarkable for the size of individual trees. even now the western half of the island remains mostly unchanged and unexplored, traversed by wild mountain ranges, full of deep, gloomy, and nearly inaccessible ravines shut in by giant precipices. many of these districts were untrodden even in the days of the aborigines. the abundance of land already available to accommodate the present sparse population, together with the impenetrable nature of the forest growth of the west coast, have caused that region to remain unexplored. our hotel in hobart was the orient, which is situated upon high ground; and by ascending to its roof at night a grand, awe-inspiring view of the heavens was obtained,--the blue vault being thickly strewn with stars. as we stood gazing at them our thoughts wandered back to the period of the nativity and the journey of the wise men. the surrounding hills terraced by dwellings which were brilliantly lighted, and which crept up to the sky line, made it difficult to decide just where the artificial lights ended and heaven's lamps began. it is marvellous how clear and bright the constellations and single stars shine forth in these latitudes presided over by the southern cross,--which was in the zenith, emphasized by the great stars in centaurus pointing toward it, and accompanied by the mysterious belt of the via lactea and the illumined magellan clouds. "this brave o'er-hanging firmament; this majestical roof fretted with golden fire." the tardy moon was somewhere behind the dark shadowy range of hills, but the stars filled the valley and plain with a soft, dreamy, exquisite light. just at that moment a band of local musicians broke forth with the air of "home, sweet home," as a serenade of welcome to the "tasmanian nightingale," miss amy sherwin, who had returned that day to her native land from a foreign professional tour. a lonely, unheeded stranger was also there, under the deep sea-blue canopy studded with stars, whom those familiar strains moved to quickened tears. presently, over the height of mount wellington a broad light was gradually developed, covering the mantle of snow with silver spangles, and the moon burst forth upon the scene with a calm, mellow radiance, sweeping grandly on its upward course. then the vocalist came out upon a balcony, and in her clear contralto voice gave the words of the touching song, to the delight of the welcoming group below. but one may not delay for sentiment. "this world is a bog," said queen elizabeth, "over which we must trip lightly. if we pause we sink!" this was our last night in hobart. the next day we sailed for new zealand. a state-room was secured on board the steamship "mararoa," which had just arrived from sydney, and which was bound for the east coast of the country just named. the ship sailed at mid-day, and as we steamed down the derwent seaward we were followed by a myriad of cape-pigeons, a small graceful bird of the gull family, with which we have not before chanced to meet. the twelve miles of river between hobart and the open sea virtually forms the harbor of this city, just as sydney harbor begins when the "heads" are passed seven miles below the capital. the undulating shore of the river on either side was beautified by rural residences and cultivated fields near the water's edge. but a little way inshore we could see a continuous range of elevations, backed by those still higher; and finally in the distance we descried a series of cloud-embraced mountains. as soon as the mouth of the river was reached the ship's course was laid a little south of east, the dull green of the water on soundings changing to the navy-blue of the broad ocean. we were then fairly launched on our twelve-hundred-mile voyage. the prevailing winds of the season blow from the west, which with the australian current and the antarctic drift were all in our favor, and so the good ship sped bravely on her way. the "mararoa" is a fine vessel of twenty-five hundred tons' measurement, possessing most admirable passenger accommodations; so fine, indeed, were her appointments as to make her seem to us rather out of place upon a track of ocean so little frequented by travellers. it appeared on inquiry, however, that she was originally built for the route between san francisco and australia, but proved insufficient in freight capacity. the tedium of the voyage was beguiled by watching critically the graceful movements of the wandering albatross, the fateful bird of nautical romance, which is seen in large numbers below the thirtieth parallel of south latitude. the peculiarities of this sea-bird's flight are a constant marvel, for it scarcely ever plies its wings, but literally sails upon the wind in any desired direction. what secret power, we wondered, could so propel him for hundreds of rods, with an upward trend at the close? if for a single moment he partially lights upon the water to seize some object of prey, there is a trifling exertion evinced in rising again until he is a few feet above the waves, when once more he sails, with or against the wind, upon outspread, immovable wings. with no apparent inclination or occasion for pugnacity, the albatross is yet armed with a tremendous beak, certainly the most terrible of its kind attached to any of the feathered tribe. it is from six to eight inches long, and ends in a sharp-pointed hook of extreme strength and hardness. a preserved specimen of the albatross was mounted in the saloon of the "mararoa," as an ornament appropriate for a vessel sailing in the latitudes where this bird-monarch roams. this was easily measured, and though not of the largest size reached by them, its dimensions seemed to us extraordinary. the body measured three feet in length, from the beak to the end of the short tail; the spread of wing from tip to tip was ten feet eight inches. the web-feet were seven inches across, and armed with three sharp claws an inch and a quarter long; these were very strong, and capable of sustaining twenty or thirty pounds. the prevailing color of the albatross is a slate-white over the upper part of the body and wings; but the breast and under surface generally are of pure white. of course the birds vary in color, but this is the most common description. ermine itself is not whiter than the breast of the albatross; living in the air and bathing constantly in the sea, there is no encounter liable to soil its purity. the feathers are pearl-like in their lustre. it has been said that if he pleased, the albatross might breakfast at the cape of good hope and dine in new york, so swift is it in flight and so powerful on the wing. while we were watching from the ship's deck the tireless movements of these birds, an officer of the "mararoa" told us that on the previous voyage some english passengers who had rifles with them shot at the graceful creatures, but found it almost impossible to hit them. the deck of a vessel in motion was under any circumstances an uncertain base from which to take aim; moreover, the birds were always on the wing; and again, the missiles were bullets, not shot. it is particularly difficult to calculate distances under such circumstances, and so these marksmen found it. an albatross was sometimes barely touched by the leaden messenger, so that the tip of its wing perhaps shed a few feathers, or a similar effect was produced upon some part of its body; but this did not serve to frighten them, as the detonation of fire-arms was so unusual a circumstance at sea. they had not learned the trick of the rifle, and would require to see the fall of more than one of their number following its report, before they would connect cause and effect in such a way as to be a warning to them. these birds are hardy, and must be touched in some vital point in order to disable them; a slight wound would not affect them any more than the partial hooking of a fish affects it,--failing, as is often the case, to prevent it from again biting at the fatal barb. at last one of the birds at which the englishmen of the "mararoa" were firing was struck in the body, and fell headlong into the sea. then it was demonstrated that albatross nature is as cannibalistic as that of the russian wolf. the wounded, bleeding, and helpless bird was almost instantly fallen upon by its late companions and torn quickly to pieces to fill their greedy crops. "that," said a lady passenger who had overheard the officer's story, "was not only cruel, but terribly unnatural." the officer's respectful answer was very significant. "nay, madam," said he, "it was only too natural!" while dreamily watching the throbbing surface of this mystery of waters through which our good ship steadily ploughed her way, the thought occurred to us of how many uses the various seas and oceans were to man besides forming the great pathway of commerce reaching to the uttermost parts of the globe. the animals it produces are among the mightiest and the smallest, from monstrous whales and walruses down to the tiny animalcules. what an inexhaustible supply of food it yields for the support of man! its contributions to various industries are almost limitless, while the treasuries of art are enriched by the abundance of tortoise-shell, mother-of-pearl, and the lovely pearl gem itself, with delicate shells, coral, amber, and other choice articles of decoration. a very interesting chapter might be written upon the prolific yield of the sea in the various departments of food, industry, and art. while we were musing thus, a school of dolphins, as they are often called, appeared on the surface near the ship's side. the proper name of this fish is the porpoise. the dolphin belongs to the whale family, breathing atmospheric air; while the porpoise has no blow-holes, but receives the water into its mouth to be thrown out at the gills. porpoises seem to be the most sportive fish that swim in the sea, and while they remained in their playful mood near our ship, it was amusing to watch their gambols. at night the phosphorescence of these lonely waters lying just north of the antarctic circle, between southern tasmania and new zealand, was indeed marvellous. liquid fire is the only term which will properly express its flame-like appearance. a bucketful was drawn and deposited upon deck; while it remained still it appeared dark and like any other water, but when agitated it emitted scintillations of light like the stars. a drop of this water placed under the microscope was found to be teeming with living and active organisms. a muslin bag was suspended for a few moments over the ship's side and then drawn up, and after being permitted to drip for a few seconds the contents left in the bag were placed in a glass tumbler, when the quantity of living forms was found to be so great and abundant as to be visible to the naked eye. no two of these minute creatures seemed to be of similar form; the variety was infinite, and their activity incessant. most of these animalcules are so small that if it were not for the microscope we should never even know of their existence. one day at table a lady passenger complained of the dust of the sea, which she said got into her eyes and caused them to smart severely, and also soiled her clothing. others laughed at her, and declared that there could be no dust at sea; but they were mistaken. there is a salt dust which rises from the spray and impregnates everything, even filling one's mouth with a saline taste. while the sun shines, this deposit, like the dew on land, is less active and perceptible; but to walk the deck at night is to become covered with a thin coating of salt dust, so fine indeed as to be hardly noticeable, but which in time becomes sufficiently crystallized to be obvious to the eye. the dust of the sea is no fable. the officer who stands his night-watch on the bridge will testify to this fact; and his cabin steward will tell you that he has often to resort to something more potent than a whisk-broom to cleanse clothing which has been exposed to sea-dust. winter upon the sea and winter upon the land in this extreme southern region are two very different things. on shore (save on the mountain-tops) there is scarcely any snow, the climate being mild and equable; but upon the ocean the fickle element does not forget boldly to assert itself. three uneventful days carried us nearly a thousand miles upon our way toward new zealand; but as night came on at the close of the third day, the barometer--which had been falling ominously for some time, after reaching a most significant figure--suddenly jumped several points, foretelling the heavy weather into which we were now rapidly driven. everything had been made as snug on board the "mararoa" as was possible, which was only the part of prudence, for the ship began to waltz in the wildest fashion to the hoarse music of the on-coming storm. it was a dismal and trying night, the raging sea breaking over and about the ship, drenching everything fore and aft, and causing the stout iron hull to tremble all over like a delicate fern in the wind. it was so cold that it seemed strange that the water did not freeze where it struck the deck and the rigging. there were no means provided for heating the cabins or the saloon, and the result was that a shivering discomfort was realized everywhere. on, on we drove into the dense darkness, with extra lookouts stationed forward, although it was impossible to see half a ship's length ahead. timid passengers blanched with fear, and most of those who had thus far escaped sea-sickness now succumbed to that dismal disorder. "he that will learn to pray, let him go to sea," says george herbert. to undress before taking to one's berth was quite impossible, since both hands were required to keep the body from being thrown thither and hither like a ball; but once fairly in the berth, the friendly brace of the lee-board and the firm gripe of the metallic bars united, served to keep one in position. sleep was out of the question, and so one was forced to exercise as much patience and philosophy as possible under the circumstances. sailing-vessels making this voyage, as we were told, carry casks of cheap oil, which in some cases they use to still the boisterous sea about them when "god maketh the deep to boil like a pot." is it generally known that our own benjamin franklin first suggested, about a century ago, the carrying of oil to sea by vessels for this purpose? our shrewd american philosopher was also the first to propose, about the same period, that ship-builders should construct the hulls of vessels in water-tight compartments, thus affording them sufficient sustaining power to float when by accident portions of the hull became leaky or broken in. after the lapse of a century both precautions have been generally adopted. if oil can be used to good effect anywhere upon troubled waters, we should judge that it might be on the track of vessels between tasmania and south new zealand. the longest night must have an end. the half-hour strokes of the sonorous ship's-bell rang upon the ear through the fierce howling of the gale, until the morning light finally broke, which seemed to be a signal for the abating of the storm, as by and by the sun rose bright and clear from behind the yet mountainous waves. no observation had been obtained on the previous day owing to the cloudy condition of the sky, so that it was impossible exactly to define our position; but dead reckoning showed we must be nearing the land, and as the sea began rapidly to subside, it was evident that we were under the lee of the shore. as the day advanced, the sun burned away the mist and revealed to us the mountains of the southern coast of new zealand, with their tops clad in virgin white. midway between summit and base cloud-wreaths decked the range of hills, which in the sun's rays seemed struggling with one another for precedence. we skirted the mainland for hours, encountering numerous islands, now and again opening dark mountain gorges which came down to the very shore, enabling one to look deep into the mysterious heart of the hills and discover new peaks extending far inland. clouds of sea-martins wheeled about the ship, saluting us with strange cries, some alighting upon our very topmasts, where they paused for a moment and then launched into the air again. this sea-bird, in size between the common gull and the cape-pigeon, is peculiar to this coast; we had never seen a live specimen before. as they settle upon the water or rise from it, their red legs become conspicuous, and are in singular contrast to their soft white bodies and light slate-colored wings. they are a tame and fearless bird, flying about the ship almost within arm's reach. one was secured by a foremast hand and brought aft, seeming to care no more for his temporary captivity than a domestic fowl would have done. their feathery covering is exquisitely soft and glossy, the under part of the wings and the body having a covering as delicate as the downy plumage of young goslings. our feathery captive when released joined his companions, and was saluted by loud cries of welcome. the west and southwest coasts of new zealand, which we were skirting, are indented with deep fjords almost precisely like the coast of norway from bergen to hammerfest; and singular to say, these arms of the sea, like those of the far north, are much deeper than the contiguous ocean,--a practical evidence of their being of similar original formation. while we were remarking upon these peculiarities, the captain of the "mararoa" recalled the fact that it is always the west coast of any land which is indented in this remarkable manner, let the cause be what it may. just as the sun set like a blazing fire-ball in the sea upon the western horizon, the ship rounded the bold promontory known as "the bluff," and winding up the narrow channel into the harbor was soon moored to the one pier of the place. this was none too promptly done, for no sooner was the ship made fast than the darkness of night enshrouded both land and water. a woman who had anticipated the arrival of the "mararoa" had set up a temporary oyster-stand on the pier, by placing a couple of boards across two barrels, beside which she had raised a powerful blazing flambeau. here she opened and dispensed fresh bivalves. and _such_ oysters we have rarely seen; they were in their prime, large, full, and perfect in flavor. blue points could not excel them. it seems that oysters are a specialty here, whence they are shipped in large quantities to tasmania and australia. it was a weird and curious picture presented by the group on the pier,--the blazing, flickering flambeau casting flashes upon the many faces, and all surrounded by deep shadows and darkness. among the spectators of the ship's arrival who had come to the pier were a score of half-breeds,--maori girls and men, laughing and chattering like monkeys. a night's sleep, a quiet night in harbor and on board ship, was a needful process of recuperation after the experience of the previous one on a raging sea, and we rose wonderfully refreshed the next morning. at breakfast we were regaled with new zealand oysters and fresh fish. the bluff--also known as campbelltown--is located in the very track of storms, and is open to the entire sweep of the great antarctic ocean. its shelving side, sloping toward the harbor, forms a sort of lee,--a sheltered position which is occupied by a pretty little fishing village of some sixty houses, with a population of less than a thousand. these people gain their living mostly from the neighboring sea, and from such labor as is consequent upon the occasional arrival of steamships on their way to the north. here we took refreshment at the golden age hotel,--a primitive little inn, quaint to the last degree, its reception-room ornamented with many species of stuffed birds, mostly sea-fowls, among which was a preserved specimen of the albatross even larger than the one whose dimensions we have already given. there was a well-preserved seal hanging from a hook in the wall; also a sword-fish, and a young shark of the man-eating species. on one side of this room was a glass case of curious shells, large and small; and on the opposite side was an open bar presided over by a ruby-nosed bardolph. the golden age is noticeable as being the most _southerly_ public house of entertainment in the world. twelve months previous, being exactly one year to a day, we had partaken, at hammerfest, in norway, of the hospitality of the most _northerly_ hotel on the globe. when this coincidence was casually mentioned to the host of the golden age, he would have immolated us on the altar of his hospitality had we not discreetly retreated to the ship. a single day was passed at the bluff, a place so small that one could "do" it in an hour; and yet there was much of interest here to be observed. one is paid for ascending the high point of the bluff, some nine hundred feet, by the fine view afforded of land and sea. many half-caste people were observed, born of intermarriage between europeans and the aborigines. some of the young women of this descent were remarkable for possessing fine eyes, rich brown complexions, white teeth, clear-cut features, and a great wealth of long black hair. these answer to our quadroons of the southern states in appearance, having the same dainty touch of color on the cheeks and lips. in figure they were tall and well-formed; but we were told that, like our quadroons, they are a short-lived race. there are a few half-breed men to be seen about the town, mostly engaged in service to the whites as boatmen and fishermen. they are said to make excellent and intelligent seamen. taking the cars at the bluff one can run up to invercargill, a distance of seventeen miles, consuming, however, a full hour in the transit. this was found to be quite a pleasant and busy town of about eight thousand inhabitants, which has grown to its present condition very rapidly. we were told that twenty-five years ago it had less than a hundred inhabitants. it is now the chief town of what is known as the district of southland,--a large and fertile district. the town is built upon a perfectly level plain; the streets are unusually wide, and the place is neat and thrifty. the principal thoroughfare is dee street, in which are the banks, insurance offices, the post-office, and the athenæum. a liberal provision by those who laid out the town was made for its future growth, which is reasonably expected to be rapid on account of its commercial advantages. the buildings of invercargill are substantial and handsome, including several fairly good hotels. some building was observed to be in progress, and other evidences of growth and prosperity were manifest. the town is situated one hundred and fifty miles south of the city of dunedin, with which it has considerable trade, and is the terminus of the southern trunk line of new zealand. the neighborhood is mostly taken up for pastoral and agricultural purposes, fruit-raising, and the like. there are valuable coal-fields here, and it is a considerable wool depot. our visit was of the briefest, as we took the cars the same afternoon back to the bluff, whence we were to sail northward. it is a curious fact, probably remembered by few of our readers, that franklin proposed in a printed article to colonize new zealand from our own country, so highly did he regard the possible advantages to be thus derived. this plan, if it had been adopted, would have anticipated by nearly a hundred years the action of the english government in that direction. as early as the year our whalers had learned to seek the sperm whale in these waters, and to enter the harbors of new zealand for wood and water and to make necessary repairs. american sailors, as well as others, shipped on board these vessels, and while in port here took maori mistresses; and the children who sprang from these unions became numerous, their descendants being at once recognized to-day. such have generally sought european connections, and are occasionally found here and there in all parts of the country, frequently engaged in the walks of business life. it will be remembered that new zealand did not become a recognized british colony until the year . for three quarters of a century after cook's first visit the native tribes remained in free possession of their country. it is true that england was constructively mistress of these islands by right of discovery, but she made no formal assumption of political domain until the period already named, when it was formed into a colony subordinate to the government of new south wales. up to the year english and american trading-vessels and whalers bought and sold articles from the natives, mostly consisting of flax (the wild growth of the country), for which they paid in fire-arms and powder,--though the weapons thus disposed of to the maoris were such generally as had been condemned as useless in american or european lands. the sale of fire-arms to the islanders was stopped as soon as the english took formal possession; but in the mean time the maoris had possessed themselves of sufficient weapons to make them dangerous enemies in the warfare which so soon became a settled condition of affairs between them and the white invaders. as early as white men of a venturous disposition began to settle in small numbers among the natives; but often their fate was to be roasted and eaten by cannibals. before missionaries, no doubt influenced by truly christian motives, came hither and devoted their lives to this people,--in more senses than one, as it is well known that they not infrequently met with a fate similar to that of their secular brethren. in an incorporated association in london, called the new zealand company, sent out a ship loaded with emigrants to settle in the country. these were the pioneers who established the city of wellington, the present capital of the islands. the country was still under the jurisdiction of new south wales; but in it was constructed into an independent colony, and the first legislative council was held at auckland. thenceforth special settlements were regularly made by shipments from england; and in the imperial parliament granted the people of new zealand a charter of self-government. by this act the sovereign power was vested in a general assembly, consisting of a governor appointed by the crown, and two houses,--a legislative council, or upper house, the members of which are nominated by the government, and a house of representatives chosen by the people at large. before taking the reader to the several cities embraced in the route we followed through new zealand, a few preliminary and general remarks, embracing information which is the outgrowth of subsequent experience, may add interest to these pages and render our progress more intelligible. first, as to position, new zealand lies as far south of the equator as italy does north of it. it is divided into the north and south islands by cook's strait. the south island is also known as middle island, to distinguish it more fully from stewart island, which belongs to the group, and which lies to the south of it. this last-named island is separated from middle island by foveaux strait, some fifteen or twenty miles across from the bluff. it is about fifty miles long by thirty broad, and has a mountain range running through it, the loftiest peak of which is a trifle over three thousand feet high. there are some fishing hamlets here, but very few inhabitants. all these islands are believed to have once been a part of a great continent, which is now sunk in the sea. the southern alps of the south island, which were thus named by captain cook, are wooded up to the snow-line, the greatest height reached by any portion of the range being thirteen thousand feet; and let us add that in frosty grandeur they are unequalled outside the limits of polar regions. vast snow-fields and glaciers exist among them, whence flow icy streams to the lakes of the table-land. the southwest corner of the island, as already intimated, is peculiarly indented by glacial action. there are numerous large lakes in both the north and south islands, notably in the district called southland, in the south island, where there are twelve large bodies of fresh water. these lakes are usually called the cold lakes of new zealand, in distinction from those in the north island known as the hot lakes. many of these bodies of water in both sections are of enormous depth and of great scenic beauty. one is often reminded of scotland by the general scenery in new zealand, both countries being characterized by dark, serrated mountains casting sombre shadows into still, deep bays. lake taupo in the central part of the north island covers an area of two hundred and fifty square miles. there are numerous mountain ranges in the north especially, which are mostly covered with forests, and three giant snow-capped mountains,--ruapehu, tongariro, and mount egmont,--ranging from seven to ten thousand feet each in height. the several portions of these islands differ materially from one another; the strange volcanic developments of the north island are not repeated in the south. of local peculiarities we shall speak in detail as we progress. it is not yet a hundred and twenty years since captain cook first landed in new zealand, and the numerous native population that then swarmed upon its shores have dwindled to a comparative shadow of a once formidable race. but it is the present, not the past, with which we have mostly to do,--the present aspect of mountains, valleys, rivers, and lakes; with the wonderful volcanic developments and present activity of submerged forces that are exhibited in this peculiar country. though heroic deeds and historic associations have not hallowed these localities, they are sufficiently unique in their own inherent charms to be intensely attractive. one does not pause amid burning mountains, boiling springs, and rushing geysers, to dwell on the want of human or historic background; the marvellous sublimity of nature is sufficient. the bleaching bones of men and of extinct enormous birds, found among the brown tussocks of these lonely plains and in these curious caves, tell of a period long past,--and yet a period unhistoric and unheroic. these pages will clearly show that there is no lack of grandeur and beauty in this isolated land, but there is an utter lack of pathos. unlike australia, new zealand is rarely visited by drought; the whole eastern coast, north and south, abounds in good natural harbors, while the rivers and streams are ever-flowing and innumerable. though it is a mountainous country, it differs for instance from switzerland, in that it has no lack of extensive plains, which seem to have been left by nature ready to the hand of the farmer, requiring scarcely ordinary cultivation to insure large crops of cereals. the diversity of surface, as well as the fact that these islands extend over thirteen degrees of latitude, give new zealand a varied climate; but it is a remarkably temperate one, its salubrity far surpassing that of england or any portion of the united states. while snow is never seen in the north island except upon the highest mountain peaks, the plains of the south island--as far south as otago--are sometimes sprinkled with it, but only to disappear almost immediately. the rivers are generally destitute of fish, and the forests of game. it is no sportsman's country; but vegetation runs riot, the soil being remarkably fertile, clothing the wild lands with perpetual verdure and vigorous freshness. persons competent to express an opinion, compare the climate in the north, say at auckland, with that of spain; the middle, represented by wellington, with that of france; and the southern, say at invercargill, with that of england. the area of the islands is about one hundred thousand square miles, being a few more than are contained in england, wales, and ireland combined. the entire coast line is four thousand miles in length. there are here nearly seventy million acres of land, forty millions of which are deemed worthy of cultivation. the soil being light and easily worked, favors the agriculturist, and new zealand is free from all noxious animals and venomous reptiles. there are other islands besides the two principal ones named (adding stewart island), but they are too small to require mention. the wonderful collection of geysers, sulphurous springs, and natural baths of the north island are famous all over the world, and we shall presently ask the reader to visit them with us. slight shocks of earthquakes are not uncommon here, but only one serious volcanic eruption has occurred for many years. the remote situation of the country, surrounded by the greatest extent of ocean on the globe, has kept it in a measure unknown to the rest of the world, even in these days of rapid communication. wellington, the capital, is about sixteen thousand miles, more or less, from the colonial office in london; in other words, new zealand forms the nearest land to the actual antipodes of england. the precious metals are distributed over the land in gold-bearing quartz reefs, rich alluvial diggings, and in the sands of its many rivers; mines of tin and iron and other deposits are supplemented by an abundance of the most important of all minerals, coal. in the gold-fields were discovered in otago, stimulating fresh immigration, until at the present writing the country contains in round numbers six hundred thousand souls. in these general remarks let us not forget to express hearty appreciation of the pronounced hospitality of the people of these british colonies, both in australia and new zealand. it was almost impossible to escape its generous importunity, or to steal from it a few hours daily for personal observation and reflection. intelligent, kind-hearted persons sometimes forget that even the best meant hospitality may become oppressive by over-effusiveness. we might have passed free over every railroad in australia and new zealand, the coasting steamers had a cabin quite at our service without charge, and even our hotel bills would have been handed to us receipted without pay, had we permitted it; but no service of whatever sort was accepted without the current charge for the same being paid. we wish, however, to bear testimony to the whole-heartedness which was so liberally displayed to a stranger. a chance newspaper paragraph printed by a sydney journal on our first arrival, whose editor recognized the author's name, went the rounds of the colonial press, and we were thus promptly recognized on appearing at each new locality. as regards the matter of federation, spoken of in connection with australia, it seemed to us hardly to apply to new zealand, since this country is already one in this respect. there is no such folly recognized in new zealand as a tariff between the different sections. as to federation with australia, twelve hundred miles and more away across the sea, the citizens of dunedin, wellington, and auckland say they do not see any possible advantage to accrue to them from it. on the contrary, they would lose more than they could by any possibility gain. new zealand looks askance upon all high-tariff methods, and would gladly have free-trade. "we do not want to see public enterprise thus handicapped in dunedin," said a prominent merchant of that city to us,--a sentiment echoed a few weeks later by an english resident doing business in auckland, who said to us frankly, "we hope your country will keep up its high tariff; it suits us exactly. if you were to adopt free-trade principles in the united states you would eventually ruin the trade of england in the markets of the world." chapter xiii. the city of dunedin.--scotch residents.--the enchanter's wand.--chain-cable tramways.--volcanic effects.--the salvation army.--local gold-fields.--enormous aggregate product.--trees and flowers.--the rabbit pest.--port littleton.--market day in christchurch.--an interesting city.--wonderful extinct bird.--strange record of an unknown race.--the new zealand forests. we sailed from the bluff at sunset on our return from invercargill, having a boisterous voyage of fourteen hours to dunedin, the chief city of otago district, and indeed the chief city of new zealand, if we make the number of inhabitants and the wealth of the place a criterion of comparison. port chalmers, situated a few miles below dunedin, forms an outer harbor, so to speak; but vessels drawing twenty feet of water moor at the city wharves at high tide. we were told that the channel from the sea to the town was to be deepened so as to admit of vessels reaching the wharves at all stages of the tide, and that dredging for this purpose would begin at once. the lower harbor is land-locked, being surrounded by hills which slope gracefully down to the water's edge, the general conformation here recalling the scenery about the lakes of killarney. all the way up the river from port chalmers, a distance of nine miles, the banks are dotted with pleasant rural residences, picturesque acclivities, and low wooded ranges. here and there were seen broad fields of grain and rich pastures, with domestic cattle grazing, and a few score of choice sheep,--the whole forming an aspect of rural thrift and peaceful abundance. if, as was the case in our instance, the tide is too low to admit of the steamers going up to the town, one can land at the port and proceed to dunedin by rail,--an opportunity which was gladly availed of, as we had "enjoyed" quite enough of sea-travel for some weeks at least. the cities of both australia and new zealand have a habit of locating themselves among and upon a collection of hills, up the sides of which the houses creep in a very picturesque manner. dunedin is no exception to this rule, rising rather abruptly from the plateaux where are the wharves and business centre of the town, to the summit of the foot-hills about which it lies. the town is more undulating in its conformation than hobart, so lately described. a portion of the level plain near the shore, upon which broad streets and fine substantial blocks of buildings now stand, consists of made land, redeemed at great expense and trouble from the shallow water front. this whole section is as level as a dining-table. heavy shipping business cannot well be conducted on a hillside; therefore the construction of this plateau was a necessity, as the town grew in size and extended its commercial relations. a couple of mountains close at hand, each of which is considerably over two thousand feet in height, dominate the city. the scottish character of the early settlers of dunedin, as well as that of the present population, is emphasized by the names of its twenty odd miles of well-lighted and well-paved streets, of which nearly all the names are borrowed from the familiar thoroughfares of edinburgh. the only monumental statue in the town is that of scotland's beloved poet, robert burns, which is situated before the town hall, in a small enclosure. the first settlement here was as late as , by a colony nearly every member of which came from scotland, from which source the city has continued to draw many of its citizens. the scottish brogue salutes the ear everywhere; the scottish physiognomy is always prominent to the eye; indeed, there are several prevailing indications which cause one half to believe himself in aberdeen, glasgow, or dundee. this is by no means unpleasant. there is a solid, reliable appearance to everything; people are rosy-cheeked, hearty, and good to look at; there is a spirit of genuineness impregnating the very atmosphere, quite wanting in many places named in these pages. the wand of the enchanter touched the place in , from which date it took a fresh start upon the road of prosperity. it was caused by gold being discovered in large quantities near at hand, and from that date dunedin has grown in population and wealth with almost unprecedented rapidity. large substantial stone edifices have sprung up on all the main thoroughfares devoted to business purposes,--banks, public offices, churches, store-houses, and schools,--giving a substantial aspect quite unmistakable. numerous large buildings of white freestone were in course of erection while we were in the city, the material being brought from a neighboring quarry. this stone very much resembles that which we found in such general use in tasmania; it is very easily worked, but rapidly hardens upon exposure to the atmosphere. the market gardening for the supply of vegetables to the citizens of dunedin was found to be carried on in the immediate vicinity by the chinese, just as it is in and about the cities of australia. no one attempts to compete with them in this line of occupation. there was found to be here about the same relative number of asiatics as elsewhere among these south sea colonies, and a small section of the town is devoted to their headquarters. there are numerous tramways in this capital, the cable principle being adopted in most of them. dunedin, indeed, was the first town in australasia to adopt this improved motor; and although horsepower is still employed upon some of the thoroughfares, the former mode has the preference both in point of cleanliness and economy,--besides which, horses could not draw heavily-laden cars up some of the steep streets of dunedin. the sensation when riding on one of these cable roads up or down a steep grade in the city, was much the same as when ascending or descending the rigi in switzerland, by means of the same unseen motor. the car is promptly stopped anywhere to land or take in a passenger, by the simple movement of a lever, and is as easily started again. there is no painful struggle of horse-flesh to start forward again after each stop. the powerful stationary engine situated a mile away, by means of the chains beneath the road-bed, quietly winds the car up the declivity, however heavily it may be laden, without the least slacking of power, irregularity of motion, or any visible exertion of force. it seemed to us that no better motor could possibly be devised, especially when rising grounds are to be surmounted. the principle is well demonstrated in some of the steepest avenues in san francisco, where cable tramways have long been successfully operated. dunedin has two capacious theatres; also a public library containing about thirty thousand volumes, attached to which is a cheerful reading-room supplied with all the best magazines and journals of the times, including several of the most popular of our american issues. not to contain a botanical garden within its limits would be for the place to take a retrograde step among its sister colonial cities; and so dunedin has a very creditable one, with many exotic trees and plants, which have readily adapted themselves to the climate. among these there were observed some beautiful larches, junipers, cypresses, chinese gingko-trees, irish yews, indian cedars, american birches, and many magnificent tree-ferns. mingled with these were flower-beds of heath, laurestinus, daphne, and yellow gorse, all in gorgeous bloom, though it was mid-winter. the daphnes had both blossom and red berries upon their stems at the same time. the palm-like cabbage-tree is indigenous, and imparts an aspect of equatorial africa to the whole. to us there is a pleasing revelation in these trees and plants, however simple they may be in themselves. there is a refinement, a delicacy of taste, a love of the beautiful in nature evinced in all such gathering of the products of widespread countries and different hemispheres, and placing them in juxtaposition. wonderful are the lovely contrasts and striking natural peculiarities presented to the eye in so comparatively a small compass. time was when one must travel the wide world over to see these arboreal representatives of varied climes; now they may be enjoyed in an afternoon stroll through the flower-decked paths of some local botanical garden. real appreciation looks deeper than the surface; there are stories and legends always ready to be whispered into the ear of the inquiring traveller. these singularly formed hills about dunedin are not mere barren rocks; they have their suggestiveness, speaking of volcanic eruptions, of wild prehistoric upheavals dating back for many thousands of years. scientists tell us these islands are of the earliest earth formations. the ground upon which this city stands, like that of auckland farther north, is composed of the fiery outflow of volcanic matter. it goes without saying that dunedin has all the usual educational and philanthropic institutions which a community of fifty thousand people demand in our day. especially is it well supplied with educational advantages, which seem to be conscientiously improved by the rising generation. the sum expended upon the public schools by the government is very large; the exact amount is not now remembered, but we recollect being impressed with the fact that it was remarkable for a community of no greater numbers. throughout new zealand there are over eight hundred registered public schools of the various grades. the public buildings, notably the university, high school, provincial council hall, and the presbyterian church,--this last of a very white stone, nearly as white as marble,--are all imposing and elegant structures. these cities have not escaped the nuisance of the "salvation army," whose principal arguments consist of instrumental noise and torchlight parades. here in dunedin, as in sydney and melbourne, auckland and elsewhere in the colonies, they constitute a chronic bore. they are composed of about one third women, and two thirds men and boys; the women beat crazy tambourines, wear poke bonnets, and sing aloud in cracked voices, while the men form themselves into instrumental bands, and produce the most hideous discord. these designing, or deluded, creatures tramp through the streets, in rain or shine, howling and uttering meaningless shouts until they are hoarse. the authorities do not interfere with such demonstrations, though they are clearly a public nuisance; but the mob deride and jeer them. doubtless the persistent and remarkable exhibitions indulged in by these noisy religionists attract the vulgar imagination, and make followers if not converts. the public house at which we were stopping--the grand hotel--faces upon prince's street, which is the principal thoroughfare of the city, and in which is a square, ornamented by a monument erected to the memory of captain william cargill, the leading pioneer of this region. about the base of this well-lighted monument, it being night, a band of salvationists were alternately playing upon brass instruments and singing hymns while we were endeavoring to write. the impression was thus strongly forced upon us that this open-air piety, this noisy and gratuitous religious serenading is more disagreeable than efficacious for good. having spoken of the grand hotel of dunedin, let us add that it is one of the best houses of public entertainment we have found in all australasia. it is a large, elegantly-appointed freestone building, under admirable management,--a little in advance perhaps of the present requirements of the city, but the population is rapidly increasing, to which end a first-class hotel largely contributes by attracting strangers and making their visit agreeable in all that conduces to their domestic comfort. within about seventy-five miles of dunedin are some of the most productive gold-fields in the country. gabriel's gulch, so called, has proved to be a mint of the precious metal so rich that all the tailings of the diggings which have been once worked at a handsome profit, are just being submitted to a second and more scientific process in order to obtain the gold which is known still to remain in them. the amount of these tailings in gross weight is doubtless hundreds of thousands of tons; what percentage of gold to the ton will be realized, remains to be seen. an interested party informed us that it was confidently expected that more profit would be obtained by this second treatment than had been realized by the first. some average samples sent to england for scientific treatment yielded at the rate of two ounces and one half of gold to the ton of tailings. if even two ounces can be realized, these diggings of gabriel's gulch will prove a bonanza indeed. new zealand in proportion is nearly as rich in gold deposits as is australia, and the precious metal is found under very nearly the same conditions; that is, in quartz reefs and in alluvial deposits. much gold has been found here in what are termed pockets, under bowlders and large stones that lie on the sandy beach of the west coast. this gold is popularly believed to have been washed up out of the sea in heavy weather; but undoubtedly it was first washed down from the mountains by the rivers, and deposited along the shore. official returns show that new zealand has produced over fifty million pounds sterling in gold, or two hundred and fifty million dollars, since its first discovery there. besides europeans there are several thousand chinese engaged in mining for gold; and here as in australia these asiatics work upon such claims and such tailings as have been abandoned by others. fern-trees abound in and about dunedin, often growing to a height of thirty feet, with noble coronals of leaves,--far more effective and graceful than the fan-palm which is seen in such abundance at singapore, penang, and in equatorial regions. the fuchsias grow to mammoth proportions and to a giant height here. we have never seen this favorite so large elsewhere, with one exception,--in the summer gardens of st. petersburg, where an exotic plant of this beautiful flowering shrub had grown to the size of a tree, twenty feet high. about the suburban residences of this colonial capital laburnums, roses, laurels, and lilies abound, blooming all the year round. innumerable exotics have been brought hither, and as was remarked to us by a citizen who was exhibiting a fine display on his own grounds, "the plant that will not thrive in new zealand in any month of the year with ordinary care, out of doors, is yet to be found." this gentleman showed us a tiny flower in bloom, so like the swiss edelweiss that we asked whence it came, and learned that it is a native of the mountain regions of new zealand. it was surely an edelweiss, the simple but beautiful betrothal flower of the european alps. it has a different name here, which we cannot recall. as to trees, the elm, beech, willow, fir, ash, and oak have so long been introduced from england, have been so multiplied, and have grown to such proportions, that they seem native here. botanists tell us that there are not quite fifty different species of trees in england; but we are assured by equally good authority that there are a hundred and fifty different species found in new zealand,--an assertion we could easily believe after having been in the country a few weeks, and enjoyed the beauty of its abundant forests. when captain cook first came hither, he fully understood the cannibal habits of the native race, and desired to take some practical steps toward discouraging and effacing such inhuman practices. upon his second visit, therefore, he introduced swine and some other domestic animals, including goats, in the vain hope that they would ultimately supply sufficient animal food for the savages and divert them from such wholesale roasting and eating of one another. the goats and some other animals were soon slaughtered and eaten, but the swine to a certain extent answered the purpose which captain cook had in view. that is to say, they ran wild, multiplied remarkably, and were hunted and eaten by the natives; but cannibalism was by no means abolished or even appreciably checked. wild hogs are still quite abundant throughout the northern island, springing from the original animals introduced years ago. with equally good intent, though not for a similar purpose, in later years rabbits were introduced into the country, but have in the mean time so multiplied as to become a terrible pest, consuming every green thing which comes in their way. "like locusts they devour everything that grows out of the ground," said a stock farmer to us, "and would if left to themselves soon eat the sheep out of the fields." the flesh is recognized as good and suitable to eat, but it is so abundant that it is held in small repute, the skins only as a rule being preserved, and the carcasses left on the ground where they are killed, to be consumed by hawks and other carrion-eating birds. when brought to market, as they are daily, the retail price of rabbits is two pairs for sixpence, the seller retaining the skins and receiving the bounty paid by government for their destruction. we were told that london and paris are the largest consumers of the rabbit-skins, being freely used by the glove-makers for the manufacture of a certain grade of gloves. we also saw large cases of the skins securely packed and addressed to merchants in vienna and berlin. thousands of bales of rabbit-skins are annually exported; indeed, so extensive is this trade that there is a large commercial room established in dunedin called the rabbit-skin exchange, where the article is bought and sold in enormous quantities. thirty-five miles inland from this city, the author has seen by moonlight a whole sloping hillside which seemed to be moving, so completely was it covered by these little furry quadrupeds. they are poisoned, shot, trapped, and killed with clubs, but still so rapidly do they breed that there is no visible diminution of their numbers. from dunedin to christchurch by sea is about two hundred miles, or the trip may be made by sail via oamaru and timaree. the harbor of littleton, which stands in the same relation to christchurch as port chalmers does to dunedin, is a thoroughly sheltered deep bay, surrounded by a range of hills on three sides,--hills of cliff-like character rising abruptly out of the sea. beyond those are higher elevations, their tops covered with snow, which the sun tinged with silvery hues as we sailed up the channel on a bright july morning. the surroundings are delightfully picturesque, the entrance to the harbor being as narrow as the harbor of havana. it is formed by two breakwaters extending from opposite sides toward each other, each of which is over a thousand feet in length. two huge dredging-machines were seen busily at work deepening the channel, so that vessels drawing not over twenty-two feet of water can lie at the wharves and discharge cargo. the spirit of commercial enterprise was very manifest here. it was as late as the year that the first settlement was made at christchurch, when a considerable company of immigrants, since called the "canterbury pilgrims," came from liverpool intending to form a community devoted to the church of england. this design however was only partially carried out, though christchurch is the chief seat of the church of england in new zealand, and has a magnificent cathedral testifying to the design of the original founders. it is said that the first people who arrived freely expressed their disappointment when they climbed the hills of littleton and looked off upon the canterbury plains, with scarce a tree or shrub upon them, and not even a hillock to break the dull monotony of the brown tussock and low clumps of wild flax. a little over thirty years have since passed, and how different is the view to-day! those lonely, dreary plains are now covered with thrifty farms, divided by broad fields of grain and well-fenced orchards, dotted here and there with pleasant homesteads surrounded by ornamental trees and blooming gardens, while as the centre and motive of it all there lies in the foreground, close at hand, christchurch, the cheerful and populous city of the plains. the lonely aspect of thirty years ago has given place to one instinct with busy life and modern civilization. littleton with its four thousand inhabitants is a most active and intensely busy seaport. we were not prepared to find so much shipping lying at its wharves. the long piers which are built out from the shore are lined with foreign and coasting steamers, and are also laid with iron rails connecting with the railroad which runs into the interior. thus freight is brought in the cars alongside of the shipping, and it requires only a hoisting apparatus to fill rapidly with freight the hold of the largest vessel. the export of new zealand produce from littleton in reached the aggregate of nearly two million pounds sterling, and the revenue collected during the same year was two hundred thousand pounds sterling. the harbor is overlooked by a castellated signal-tower, situated upon a lofty cliff; and the town itself is terraced over the hillsides after the usual style of the colonies. nothing could be more striking to the eye upon entering the harbor from the sea than these cliff residences. littleton is connected with christchurch by a railroad, the tunnel for which is cut directly through the surrounding range of hills, which are almost worthy of the name of mountains. the tunnel is considerably over a mile in length. when this means of surmounting the great impediment presented by the hills was first suggested, it met with serious opposition, as being far too expensive an enterprise for so young a colony to undertake. so it was for a while given up; but as the colony grew in numbers, and produce for shipment poured into christchurch, the necessity of the railroad was more and more fully realized. without it, all exports by the way of the port of littleton must be hauled by animal power over the hills at great expense. finally the road was authorized; and once being determined upon, it was quickly built, at a cost of over one million dollars. having penetrated the range of hills by means of this grand improvement, one emerges into a broad level country, and passes through an agricultural district which is under a high state of cultivation, beautified here and there by pleasant rural residences, gardens, and wooded reaches. the land is divided into convenient lots and separated by tall hedges of gorse, blooming in all its gaudy yellow splendor, and impregnating the atmosphere with a sweetness which belied the season, seeming rather to belong to the balmy days of early spring. eight miles of rail brings us to the outlying portions of christchurch. this metropolis of the canterbury plains is located upon ground as level as a chessboard, its broad streets intersecting one another with almost painful regularity and precision, but lined with fine substantial stone buildings, and rendered attractive by many shops displaying a great variety of goods. these avenues are full of busy life; horse-railroads, freight-wagons, coaches, and cabs are constantly passing before the eyes. the day of our arrival chanced to be that of the monthly races, and all the world of christchurch and its environs had turned out to enjoy a holiday. some of the shops were closed at noon, that all might participate in this gala occasion. four-horse teams, with long ranges of extra seats rigged for the purpose, started from the public square laden with male passengers, the vehicles bearing great placards reading, "to the races for one shilling." one might have imagined oneself in new york or london, so rushing was the tide of life through cashel street and cathedral square. the public garden of christchurch is situated in a bend of the river avon, on the western side of the city, about five minutes' walk from the business centre of the town. it occupies some eight or ten acres of land laid out in tasteful style. that portion which adjoins the river is lined with a beautiful border of weeping willows. a system is adopted in arranging the plants whereby all of a hardy nature are placed by themselves, the tropical vegetation being arranged together in the same manner; the plants indigenous to japan, china, india, australia, and great britain form each a group by themselves. this is called the geographical order, and has some advantages; but in adhering to such an arbitrary rule of adjustment, picturesqueness of effect must often be sacrificed. this whole collection of plants is of considerable beauty and scientific interest, though the garden is yet in its infancy, being less than twenty years old; but it is yearly undergoing much improvement. a city built upon a perfect level is very rarely seen either in australia or new zealand, though there are exceptions, as in the case of adelaide. such a site is by no means so pleasant to the eye, albeit there are many practical advantages gained thereby. one feels shut up as it were in these long level reaches; the abrupt hills of sydney, dunedin, or san francisco are preferable, even if often inconvenient. nevertheless christchurch is a pleasing, prosperous, and rapidly growing city, with much architectural beauty in its thoroughfares. as the commercial outlet of a broad-spread, fertile, and easily accessible district, it must continue to prosper commercially. saturday is an especially attractive day here, when the country people--both men and women--from considerable distances come to town to dispose of their produce in the open market. the variety and excellence of meats, vegetables, fruits, and flowers accumulated here on such occasions is worthy of any large capital city. there is a conglomerate of humanity drawn together on this busy day of the week, which turns the streets and squares into a sort of out-door fair. we observed none of that abandon and careless dissipation which characterizes melbourne on saturdays; and yet christchurch does not lack for an ample class who make pleasure-seeking a regular occupation. at the museum in this city a most interesting and perfect skeleton of that great prehistoric bird the moa was seen,--a bird which was indigenous in new zealand, and which is believed to have been extinct for about two thousand years, probably disappearing before any human beings came to these islands. the maori indians can be traced back but six or seven hundred years, and only very imperfectly during that period. they are believed to have come from the islands lying in the more northerly pacific, presumably from the sandwich or hawaiian group. even the traditions of these natives fail to give us any account of this gigantic bird while living; but its bones are found in various sections of the country, principally in caves, and from these we must "gather and surmise." what is left of the moa to-day is quite sufficient to form the greatest ornithological wonder in the world. the head of this reconstructed skeleton in the museum of christchurch stands sixteen feet from the ground, and its various proportions are all of a character to harmonize with its remarkable height. this skeleton shows the marvellous bird to have been, when standing upright, six feet taller than the average full-grown camelopard. it belonged to the titans who dwelt upon the earth perhaps twenty or thirty thousand years ago, in the period of the mastodon and the dodo. what niagara is to ordinary waterfalls, the moa was to all the bird-tribe. it was a long time before incredulous scientists could be induced to admit these interesting facts, but the tangible evidence now existing in the museum of this new zealand city is indisputable. this museum owes its great excellence and admirable scientific arrangement to dr. von haast, the famous geologist and early explorer of new zealand, and forms a worthy monument to his great fame in the world of science. some writers who have made a study of the subject are inclined to believe that the moa was still existing when the first of the maoris arrived in new zealand; but this is only a supposition. it is an open question, indeed, whether the maoris were or were not the first human beings to tread the soil of these islands. there is sufficient evidence relating to this subject to whet the appetite of conjecture, but not to satisfy it. in the takiroa caves of the south island in the waitaki valley, and in a sheltered rocky glen or half cave near canterbury, there are certain crude rock-paintings which are a puzzle to savants. these consist of figures representing men, birds, beasts, fishes, snakes, altars, and weapons, crude indeed as to design, but recognizable. the maoris know nothing of their origin, and in the present light of the history of that race there is nothing which leads to the belief of these rock-paintings being of maori production; in fact there seems to be sufficient evidence to prove their greater antiquity. the present natives have never been rock-painters, not possessing for this the requisite skill, though they have always been carvers in wood after a rude fashion. there seems to be some consecutive meaning in these rock illustrations, though what is designed to be indicated cannot be made out by careful and experienced men who have come hither from europe solely to examine them. they are indelibly painted in red and black on the face of the rock, which is composed of calcareous sandstone. close examination of the various figures shows that they are underlaid by others, which have either worn away under atmospheric influences, or have been partially obliterated by hand to make place for those which now are prominently visible. writing in hieroglyphics is not the accomplishment of savages, but argues at least a semi-civilized condition. so do the colossal statues of easter island (south pacific), which were never created by any such race of people as the present savage inhabitants; and yet these tribes have no traditions even of any previous residents of their island. it is the world to them, or rather was until europeans first visited the place. the population of christchurch is from thirty-five to forty thousand. the plain upon which the city stands extends upon the same level for a distance of fifty miles inland, forming one of the best agricultural divisions in new zealand, which is called the canterbury district. statistics show this immediate region to have produced in nearly seven million bushels of wheat, over four million bushels of oats, besides barley and potatoes in very large quantities. there are over three hundred miles of railroad in the district upon which to bring this grain and produce to market, a large percentage of which is shipped to europe. we were informed that the number of sheep in this district would considerably exceed four millions, and that the annual shipment of wool was very large. the immediate environs of the city are dotted with cornfields and dairy farms, whose products find a ready home demand. christchurch is famous for its annual agricultural fairs and pastoral exhibitions, which attract annually twenty-five thousand strangers to the town. a horseback ride of a few hours from this city into the "bush" reveals a wealth of wooded richness almost indescribable. the trees, mostly of the pine family, yet totally different from the trees to which we give that name, were gracefully draped with luxuriant creepers, mingled with which were glowing red blossoms. tall fern-trees and flowering aloes shared our admiration with variegated orchids, blending color and form in lovely combinations. in the low grounds the deep-green leaves of the wild flax stood forth with their tall, honey-laden flowers nodding in the breeze and tempting the bees to their embrace. the glowing afternoon sunlight was mottled with busy-winged insect life. the lowly ferns spread in most inimitable patterns a verdant carpet beneath our feet, such as no cunning of the loom could equal. it is well worth a pilgrimage from far-away lands to make the acquaintance, solitary and alone, of the primeval new zealand forests, where there are no reptiles to dread and no wild animals to encounter. only nature, old but unchanged,--nature, still and grand,--is here to be seen, presenting features which teach us in eloquent language of our own littleness and her immeasurable grandeur. the beauty of the new zealand forest will not soon be forgotten. reclining upon the verdure-spread earth, and watching the far-reaching shadows, one is lulled into a dreamy mood by the mysterious whispers of the foliage, the influence of the soft resinous atmosphere, and the low drone of insects. the leaves seem to tremble and vibrate like the strings of an eolian harp. is it because the brain is over-stimulated by acute sensitiveness that tears--absurd tears--dim the eyes while one is surrounded by this delicious solitude? all nature seems to be in harmony with one's feelings in this paradise of paroquets and love-birds, this eden of the southern seas, this climate of eternal spring. we have somewhere read of the paucity of song-birds in the regions of australasia, but let us hasten to correct such an impression. the notes that are trilled over one's head in these umbrageous solitudes constitute a bird-opera worthy of the great southlands overhung by the southern cross. chapter xiv. capital of new zealand.--about the native race.--a city of shops.--local earthquakes.--large glaciers.--mcnab's gardens.--a public nuisance.--napier.--maori peculiarities.--native language.--mythology. --christianizing savages.--gisborne.--cruelty to dumb animals.--shag island.--sir george gray's pleasant home.--oysters growing on new zealand trees! wellington is situated on the north side of cook's strait, and is the capital of new zealand. it is less than two hundred miles from christchurch. auckland was originally the seat of government, but since this city has been the political capital, in consequence of which the jealousy existing between the two cities nearly equals that between sydney and melbourne. wellington has a grand harbor for all commercial purposes, is very capacious and entirely land-locked. after a narrow entrance is passed, the harbor opens into a magnificent sheet of water, in which the largest ships may ride in safety and discharge their cargoes at wharves built upon the busiest streets of the town. here, as in dunedin, a plateau of land has been reclaimed from the sea for business purposes. the curved line of lambton quay, one of the main thoroughfares of the city, represents what was once the strand, but a number of broad streets with long lines of warehouses have grown up between it and the sea; so that lambton quay is now in the centre of the town. the reclaiming of still more level land from the water-front is going on, in order to accommodate business requirements. the province of wellington stretches northward a hundred and fifty miles, containing seven million acres of land, diversified by two mountain ranges, and having as grand scenery as can be found in the islands. our stay at wellington was brief, for there is nothing of special interest to detain one here, and two days seemed a long time to devote to it. were it not that this city is the recognized capital of the country, we should have passed it by with the briefest mention. it has its asylums, a college, hospital, botanical gardens, roman catholic cathedral, and colonial museum,--the latter being of more than ordinary interest in the excellence and completeness of its several departments. what is called the maori house, built by the natives, is particularly interesting, being full of aboriginal curiosities such as domestic utensils, weapons, and elaborate carvings. this house is of ordinary village size, and is elaborately ornamented on many of its panels and posts by the indians of the ngatikaipoho tribe, who reside on the bay of plenty, and who are famous for their carvings. the theatre royal is a fine structure capable of accommodating a thousand persons. the spacious botanical garden occupies one hundred acres of ground, just about double the size of that at sydney, and contains besides the usual collection of exotics the most comprehensive assortment of native trees that we chanced to see anywhere. the city is surrounded by hills, except on the seaward side. by ascending the hill back of the town, upon which is the roman catholic cemetery, one obtains an excellent view of wellington as a whole, the harbor especially forming a charming portion of the picture. soame's island, which is the quarantine station, lies in the front, four miles from the city; to the left lie petone and the hutt; at the right is mount victoria dominating the bay, while many pretty villas cluster about its foot. distant ranges descend toward the harbor, shutting it in by an amphitheatre of hills. there is no lack of shipping about the wharves, and there were plenty of row-boats and small sailing cutters; and as we viewed the scene, an ocean steamship was steering across the bay seaward, leaving a long line of black curling smoke behind her, which was in strong contrast with her snow-white foaming wake. we found it somewhat cold and rather blustering on cemetery hill, though it was july. but this is new zealand winter; and yet flowers were blooming luxuriantly in the open air in unexposed places. these islands are in one sense as tropical as africa or southern india; but it must be remembered that they are the most southerly of the south pacific groups, and that there is a southern or antarctic pole as there is a northern or arctic one. the farther we proceed either north or south from the equatorial line, or centre of the globe, the cooler we shall find the climate. thus southern new zealand being nearer the antarctic circle is less tropical than the northern portion, which is twelve hundred miles nearer the equator. a considerable number of natives, mostly in european costume, were met in the streets of wellington, loitering aimlessly about the corners and gazing curiously into shop windows. the girls and women had heavy shocks of unkempt hair shading their great black eyes, high cheek-bones, and disfigured mouths and chins, which last were tattooed in blue dye of some sort. the males tattoo the whole face elaborately, but the women only thus disfigure themselves about the mouth and chin. it was most amusing to see them meet one another and rub noses, which is the maori mode of salutation. it would be an exaggeration to call these people a cleanly race, though the tribes that occupy the hot lake district (whither we shall take the reader in another chapter) spend two thirds of their time in the water. the half-breeds are generally of fine physical appearance, the men especially being tall and well-developed; indeed it would be difficult to find more admirable specimens of physical manhood than exist among these anglo-maoris. as we have elsewhere intimated, the daughters of some of the unions between whites and natives are very pretty and intelligent, having received partial education and acquired some pleasing accomplishments. but there are few of these to be found among the tribes, and fewer still among the whites. among these natives, as a rule, the laborious work is put upon the women, while the men fill the rôle of idlers. it seems strange that while they were thorough barbarians and cannibals they continued to thrive,--certainly they did not largely decrease in numbers; but with semi-civilization has come almost annual decimation. as we have seen was the case of the aborigines in tasmania, it is believed by many that the same fate of final complete extinction is in store for the maoris in the near future. the entire coast north of wellington is extremely bold, tumbled together in true volcanic confusion. in the neighborhood of the capital this conformation begins to extend inland; thus the city has no near background of available country for population, from which to draw a certain amount of business,--no suburbs, so to speak. the town impressed us as being a city of shops; and how so many persons can realize a fair living from the amount of local business in wellington is certainly a mystery. here the dwellings creep up the hills as we have so often described the case elsewhere; and as the houses are mostly built of wood, fires have proved especially destructive. we found the general post-office in ruins by a recent fire, though it was a brick structure; the lofty stuccoed walls were still standing. some large new buildings nearly finished were also observed to be of brick. for a number of years at first the fear of serious earthquakes prevented the use of any other material in building than wood. even now there is a frequent tremulousness of the earth, and rumblings as of distant thunder are heard in the hills that run inland from the city toward the high mountains,--all which is quite sufficient to keep the fact in mind that this is a volcanic region. earthquake shocks are frequent all over the islands, from cape maria in the far north to south cape in the southern part of stewart island. it is believed that new zealand was rent midway, and that cook's strait was thus created between the north and south islands by volcanic explosion. there is known to be an extinct volcano at the bottom of the strait in front of the entrance to the harbor of wellington, over which the water is never absolutely calm. thus it would seem that the city is situated very near a volcanic centre. a fellow-traveller in discussing the matter suggested that it was not just the place to seek for a "permanent" investment; but on the other hand an intelligent elderly resident assured us that these demonstrations are gradually dying out. fires have latterly been so sweeping and disastrous in wellington, that this element is coming to be more dreaded than earthquakes; and partially to provide against destruction by flames, stone and brick as building materials in the centre of the town are being almost universally substituted for wood. the southern alps, as the range which runs north and south through new zealand is called, are believed to antedate the alps of europe, while nowhere else is marked evidence of glacial action more clearly defined. the glaciers of to-day, though they are insignificant in comparison to those of ancient periods, are of vast size and full of awe-inspiring effects. in one respect these glaciers particularly resemble those of norway; that is, in descending so nearly to the sea. the author has seen enormous glaciers in scandinavia whose lower portions were within a hundred feet of the surface of the ocean, while it is well known that in switzerland there is no instance where a glacier descends lower than thirty-five hundred feet above the level of the sea. willis street is the fashionable thoroughfare of wellington, being considerably more than a mile in length and nearly straight; but it is quite irregular in width. this street is lined on either side with stores and public buildings, some of large and pretentious aspect. we counted nine good-sized bookstores upon this avenue, all well stocked with modern literature. one may safely put down this fact as being a significant sign of the general intelligence of the neighborhood. wellington is certainly growing with the prevailing rapidity of the several localities which we visited; new streets were being laid out, of better width and having more regularity of form, while the roadways were being thoroughly macadamized, and rolled with a heavy steam-rolling machine. in the harbor a large steam-dredging boat was also busy deepening and straightening the course of the channel. eleven steamships and half-a-dozen large sailing-vessels lay at the wharves, five of the latter from england. it is natural that the trade of the colonies should be very generally retained by the mother country, though there is a considerable commerce carried on with the west coast of america. the stranger coming to the capital must not omit to visit the hutt, a pleasant village situated where the hutt river enters the bay. here also is located the wellington race-course; and most interesting of all the attractions hereabout is a famous resort known as mcnab's gardens. the pleasant lawns, flower-beds, and fruit-orchards of this place form a charming resort for pleasure parties out on a ride or drive from the city. some of the ornamental trees contained in these gardens were the finest we saw in new zealand. the labyrinth of walks leads through exquisitely kept flower-beds, which specially exhibit the remarkably favorable nature of the climate for floral displays at any season of the year. the many fine exotics which are exhibited here must have been accumulated at a heavy expense. a small admission fee is very properly charged by the proprietor, who is prepared also to supply any desired refreshments at a reasonable price. as we write these notes there steals over the senses a delicious memory of atmospheric sweetness, daintily impregnated with mignonette, lilies, lemon verbena, and roses, at that pleasant resort on wellington bay. the last scene witnessed at the capital, as we were about to embark on a steamer for the north, was an attempt at a parade by some "salvationists." the procession moved in single file, consisting of three poke-bonnets with an equal number of young women under them, two men in red coats, and two in dark clothes, very shiny and greasy. there were also four or five small boys, who so straggled from the line that it was by no means certain whether they belonged to it or not. one of the girls vigorously pounded a cracked tambourine, one of the red-coated men blew occasional blasts upon a tin fish-horn, and all sang psalms much out of tune. the sight would have been ludicrous, had it not been saddening. in the midst of the chorus, "glory, hallelujah," the foremost girl, at the most critical moment of her performance upon the tambourine, made a misstep and fell at full length in the middle of the muddy street, while her noisy instrument rolled away through the slush. "there is something in the misfortunes of our best friends which is not entirely displeasing to us," says a certain french philosopher; and so the salvationists supplemented their companion's misfortune and their "glory hallelujah" with uproarious laughter. as the poke-bonnet became once more elevated, both it and the wearer presented a wofully dilapidated appearance. it seems incredible that fanaticism can make such ninnies of men and women, for some of these ill-conducting persons are probably sincere. napier is situated about two hundred miles north of wellington, upon an open roadstead and a very dangerous coast,--a fact sadly impressed upon us by the wreck of a large ship, the "northumberland," an english freighter which was destroyed here a few days before our arrival and portions of which were still visible. with two anchors down, this fine vessel was driven on shore and completely wrecked, involving the loss of several lives and much valuable property. almost superhuman efforts were made in behalf of the sufferers by the local life-saving boat's crew, but only with partial success. the business portion of napier is quite level, and regularly laid out; but the residences of the population creep up, tier upon tier, on the surrounding hills, one of which forms an extraordinary promontory extending into the roadstead. the six thousand persons who constitute the population of the town seem to be taking life very easily; indeed, there did not appear to be much of any business going on in the place, and the quietude of it was not a little oppressive. there were small crowds of men and youth loafing before the bar-rooms upon the corners of the streets, and among them were observed quite a sprinkling of half-castes and full-blooded natives. there was also a number of native women strolling about listlessly, wrapped only in their high-colored blankets and wearing a single skirt. the tattooed faces rendered these women and girls needlessly hideous,--an aspect which was partially redeemed by their fine eyes, the beauty of which nothing can efface; they are large, black as night, and brilliant, full of feeling and tenderness. if the term "ox-eyed" ever applied to humanity, it is appropriate to the maori women, who possess this one feature in perfection. we obtained some noteworthy and interesting information relative to these aborigines. for instance, they never eat salt; they have no fixed industry, and no idea of time or its divisions into hours and months; they are, like our north american indians, constitutionally lazy; they are intensely selfish, and care nothing for their dead; they have a quick sense of insult, but cannot as a rule be called pugnacious; they excite themselves to fight by indulging in a hideous war-dance and by singing songs full of braggadocio, and when thus wrought up to a certain pitch they are perfectly reckless as to personal safety. the maori is not however a treacherous enemy; he gives honorable notice of his hostile intent, warring only in an open manner,--thus exhibiting a degree of chivalry unknown among our american indians. money with the maori is considered only as representing so much rum and tobacco. alcohol is their criterion of value; bread and meat are quite secondary. they live entirely from hand to mouth, to use an expressive term, and never take heed for the morrow. as a rule they seem entirely thoughtless and happy in the present, so long as their necessities are satisfied and their animal pleasures are not interfered with. after all, this semi-barbarous race are like children, who follow bad example sooner than good. "white man drink whiskey, why not i?" said one of them to us at ohinemutu when we declined to give him "drink money." as a rule the maoris are not beggars, except for strong drink. they will importune a stranger for rum, but not for bread. we were told by an official of the district at napier that it is quite impossible to imbue these maoris with a sense of the importance of chastity; the idea is ignored altogether. but it is with them as with the japanese; after a woman is married she becomes sacred, and to treat her with unchaste violence then is to incur the penalty of death. it would be impossible to imagine a more immoral people, when judged by the conventionalities of our civilization, than these new zealand natives. ancient traditions are fast fading away among this people, dying with the elders of the tribes in whose memory they are locked up. though the missionaries half invented and half transcribed an oral maori language, it is almost solely applied to a translation of the bible, and there cannot be said now to exist any native literature. yet, could their legends be properly recorded, they would form a sort of barbaric literature by no means without considerable poetic value. sir george gray has attempted something of the sort, but with indifferent success. he speaks the native tongue fluently, however, and has always sympathized heartily with the aboriginal race, who call him their english father. "maori" (pronounced _mowre_) is the name which the aborigines gave themselves. if there were any human beings on these islands when the maoris first arrived they doubtless fell a prey to the cannibalistic habits of the new-comers, whose insatiable appetite for human food was, as we have seen, irrepressible. when discovered by captain cook, they were the crudest of savage races; they knew scarcely anything of the mechanic arts, their skill being limited to the scooping out of a boat from the trunk of a tree, and the fabrication of fishing-nets from the coarse fibre of the wild flax. they also made spears, shields, and clubs. they had no beasts of burden, and so their women were made to supply the place. their agriculture was confined to the raising of sweet potatoes and the esculent taro, while their more substantial food consisted of fish, rats, wild fowl, and human flesh. yet we are told by well-informed writers upon the subject that they were of all the south sea tribes the most intelligent. they are physically the most vigorous of any savages inhabiting islands south of the equator, that we have met. they seemed from the outset to be desirous of learning from and affiliating with the whites,--a disposition which has led them to a degree of improvement in domestic life, manner of living, building of proper shelter for a home, and the manufacture of certain articles of convenience. wherever they are now found in the neighborhood of populous centres, they have more or less adopted european clothing,--though we were told some amusing anecdotes of their going back into the "bush," from time to time, solely to indulge in the old savage habit of nudity, and to enjoy a sense of entire freedom from the conventionalities of the whites. there is not much intermarriage between the white people and the natives in these days, although when there were fewer white women this was not so uncommon; but the licentiousness prevalent among the native girls is sufficient to prevent this at the present time. the race evinces to-day many of the wild traits of their ancestors, which have been transmitted to them in their blood, and which break out in odd ways now and then when least expected. you cannot quite tame an apache warrior, a spanish gypsy, or a new zealand maori; there will still remain a lingering desire toward the old life, which will often be resumed upon the first opportunity by the seemingly reclaimed savage. these natives exhibit very little family affection, though we saw evidences of tenderness toward their very young children. the old men and women are not infrequently abandoned when ill or too feeble to take care of themselves,--a trait which is sometimes exhibited by our own indian tribes. polygamy and slavery still exist among them. indeed, a married woman is virtually the slave of her husband, whom she is expected to supply with food by gathering roots, berries, fruits, and the like. we are told by the early missionaries that the maoris possessed an oral mythology rudely resembling that of the classics. they firmly believed in a future state of existence, and built rude temples to a great spirit, but could see no harm whatever in making war upon neighboring tribes for the purpose of replenishing their larder. so late as their greatest delight was the war-dance, the cannibal feast, and the boasting war-song. the braggadocio of their fighting songs would do credit to falstaff; but the maori affords us the anomaly of a braggart who is not by any means a coward. now and then there is seen among them a face of so unmistakably a jewish cast as to set the imagination at work to find some possible connection, far back among the by-gone ages, between this race and the hebrews. when this peculiar cast of features is seen among the girls or young women, it forms a face strikingly attractive. the maoris when first discovered had many games and sports which were identical with our own,--such as flying kites, skipping rope, cat's-cradle, gymnastic pole-exercise, hide-and-seek, dancing, and walking upon stilts. they are represented to have been good orators, and have handed down proverbs from generation to generation,--terse sayings, which are still preserved among them, and which are in spirit similar to many of those of confucius. captain cook estimated when he first visited them that the maoris had passed the period of their best days. he thought that in the century previous to his coming hither they had eaten about one fourth of their number. the race now numbers only thirty-six or thirty-eight thousand, though it is certain it aggregated a hundred thousand and more one century ago. it seems that a half-caste man or woman rarely lives to the age of forty years, and of the pure-blooded we saw comparatively few old persons. now and then one was met, hideous of feature, whose deeply indented wrinkles rivalled the lines of tattoo, and who was bent in figure, decrepit, and bereft of most of the human faculties. such a one, perhaps, was not so extremely old in years, but was prematurely aged. they are all most inveterate smokers, men, women, and children; and you can give a maori maiden of "sweet sixteen" nothing more acceptable to her taste than a pipe and a plug of smoking-tobacco. we were told before going among these new zealand aborigines that they had been christianized; that is to say, they had discarded idolatry and the doctrines of their fathers, and accepted the gospel as propounded to them by the white missionaries. but this was not found to be exactly true. if large numbers of them have at times professed christianity, many of the "converted" have also returned to their mumbo-jumbo faith. half of them, we judge, have never even pretended to be christians. before you can _convert_ savages, you must in a degree _humanize_ them; and this humanizing process has yet to be accomplished among this race. the maoris live nearly like the lower class of animals, preferring that sort of life even after half a century of intercourse with the whites. they may for policy's sake listen to, and pretend to accept christianity, as many of the chinese are known to do; but both races, it is well understood, return to their original faith at the first opportunity. the modern maori accepts the creed of the missionaries because it is the easiest thing for him to do; but he still believes in witchcraft, the evil-eye, and sorcery as openly practised by his designing priests. the roman catholic faith, which addresses itself so palpably to the eye by form and ceremony, is most popular among them, and has by far the largest number of professed adherents of any denomination. the maoris isolate themselves mostly in what is called the king's country of the north island, which embraces the hot lake district; and here they live under their own rule and customs. their king is absolute in the domain claimed by them, which is held inviolate by treaty with the english crown. their decrease in numbers is as rapid in the king's country as it is where they are brought into more close connection with the whites. as a people they have manifestly fulfilled the purpose for which providence placed them upon these islands of the south sea; and now, like the moa, they must pass off the same and give way to another race of beings. so it is with the red man of america, and so was it with the now totally extinct natives of tasmania. no philanthropic effort can stop the fulfilment of the inevitable. it is _kismet_. the town of napier is made up in the business portion of one-story houses, though in the main street there are found some establishments rising to the dignity of two stories. a skeleton frame of wood, covered on roof and sides with corrugated iron only, forms the material of many of the stores and dwelling-houses. there is a long esplanade just back of the town, within three minutes' walk of the centre, which has a most superb sea view. it borders upon a shelving beach two miles long, and though not suitable for bathing purposes on account of having a dangerous undertow, it is very charming as a promenade. iron seats are arranged here and there upon the crown of the roadway, where one can sit at leisure and enjoy the hoarse music of the waves, at the same time looking off upon an immense area of wave-tossed waters, the scene occasionally being varied by the sight of a passing steamship leaving her long trail of smoke upon the distant horizon. it was a cool and somewhat boisterous winter's day when we were there, and yet the seats upon the beach were occupied by some romantic couples who seemed rather inclined to force the season by imitating turtle-doves, except that the latter are not supposed to mate until the genial spring-time. one day was quite sufficient time to pass in such a place as napier. we had come hither by steamer, and were glad to get on board ship once more as night came on, which found us directly steaming away northward. next morning soon after sunrise we cast anchor in an open roadstead off the town of gisborne, where we took on board a couple of hundred of sheep transported to our ship from the shore by means of a lighter, and which were to be landed at auckland. it was a cold, dreary, foggy sabbath morning; the ship rolled heavily, and the appearance of the little steam-tug, which was lifted at one moment above our bulwarks and the next plunged almost beneath our keel, was not sufficiently inviting to induce us to land, so we know nothing personally about the town called gisborne, except that no place can ever amount to much commercially which depends upon such an exposed roadstead for its shipping facilities. the disagreeable smell, the dirt, and the discomfort generally caused by those poor sheep on their way to be slaughtered, is remembered with a shudder. they were so closely packed together upon our open and uncovered deck, as to be unable to lie down at all; and when the hour of slaughter came it must have been to them--thirsty, hungry, and weary as they were, after two days and nights on board--a great relief from suffering. the outrageous inhumanity exercised toward these poor helpless creatures rendered us quite miserable through those forty-eight hours. from gisborne we were bound to auckland, and when we arrived off that port we passed sir george gray's island, which has a maori name signifying shag island. it is situated over twenty miles seaward from the city of auckland, at the entrance of the hauraki gulf. here sir george has pitched his tent for life, being now well advanced in age. as a young man, when in the engineer corps of the english army, his rare ability and conspicuous talents commanded general respect, and he was rapidly advanced through the several stages of promotion. he received public honors at an early age, being governor of south australia at thirty; afterward he was governor of cape town, africa, and later on was made governor of new zealand, though he is now only a member of its house of assembly. his name is held in great reverence here by all classes, as that of one who has ever been a true promoter of the best interests of these colonies. sir george has a refined literary taste, and is a profound ethnological scholar. probably no european has so thoroughly mastered the maori tongue as he, or done so much toward producing a correct impression concerning the race. in any serious trouble between the aborigines and the colonists, both parties are always ready to abide by his settlement of the matter. the natives know he has their best good at heart, and follow his advice under all circumstances. he was governor during the last and most serious war which occurred between the maoris and the whites, and to his influence was chiefly due its successful and amicable end. while he was firm and energetic during the war, at its close he saved the remnant of the race from beggary by securing to them the large tract of country which they now occupy. this left them still free and independent, though as victors sir george's government might have confiscated all the native lands. sir george's home upon this spacious island, which he owns, is a most delightful retreat, where he has gathered his household gods about him, consisting of many books, works of art, and curiosities relating to these islands. here, surrounded by a pleasant family circle devoted to his happiness, he has elected to live to the close of his life. he formerly possessed a library which he had been many years in collecting under peculiar advantages, and which numbered over ten thousand volumes, mostly historical works. this collection he has recently presented to the corporation of auckland for the benefit of the public, and it has been added to the public library of the city. shag island is now a tropical garden, producing the fruits of all lands and the flowers of all latitudes. oranges, lemons, and bananas were seen growing down to its very shores, while its sloping sides were covered with palms, cocoanuts, and various tropical trees flourishing side by side with those of hardier climes. sir george is an enthusiastic gardener, and has here met with phenomenal success in the acclimatization of plants, trees, fruits, and flowers of all regions. there is a peculiar tree which thrives on the seaward side of this island, named by the maoris _pokutukawa_, which signifies, "wet in the ocean's spray." it bears a profusion of crimson flowers; but both its roots and its willow-like boughs seek the water with a very obvious natural inclination, and to them adhere the sweet little oysters native to the hauraki gulf. thus it has been said, half in fable and half in truth, that the trees in new zealand bear oysters! what a change has come over this island, which not long ago was covered with a tangled forest, making one of the special strongholds of the aborigines! it was the aggressive tribe of momona that so long and so successfully held shag island, whence their chief made daring raids upon the mainland to keep his larder supplied with the flesh of his enemies. at last, however, the tribes of the mainland joined together and attacked the island in a body, putting its thousand defenders to the sword; and after feasting long upon their bodies, the successful invaders returned to celebrate their victory at the foot of mount eden, whose giant proportions overlook the present city of auckland. chapter xv. historical glance at auckland.--a remarkable volcanic region.--city institutions.--queen street and its belongings.--mount eden.--comprehensive view.--labor unions.--the public debt.--kauri forests.--production of kauri gum.--environs of auckland.--the native flora.--an admirable climate.--a rich mineral district.--agricultural development. auckland is the northern metropolis of new zealand, and to us seemed to be its most representative city. as we have before mentioned, it was formerly the capital of the country until wellington was selected for the headquarters of the government, as being the more central and accessible from the various islands. so beautiful and picturesque are the bay and harbor of auckland that we were not at all surprised to hear its citizens call it the naples of new zealand. before the european settlers came hither, this was the locality where the most savage wars were carried on by the natives, and where the most warlike tribes lived in fortified villages. though the country has virtually no history that is known to us, it has a recognized past extending back for some centuries. when the missionaries first came here, about the year , the main subsistence of the natives who lived around what is now auckland harbor, was human flesh. the first white immigrants, as well as the seamen of chance vessels driven upon the coast, were invariably killed, cooked, and eaten by the maoris, until the white men became more wary, and by superior intelligence, backed by more effective weapons, proved themselves to be the masters. thus the time soon came when the natives dared not attack the whites; but they still carried on their cannibalistic wars against one another, apparently determined upon mutual destruction. not only did cannibalism prevail here at the time of the early discoveries, but also in brazil, in the west indies, in the pacific islands, along the coast of north america, and among the indians of chili, who ate the early navigators that landed upon their shores. this province bears the same name as the city, and is a region of grand forests, fertile plains, and majestic rivers,--the very opposite of arid inland australia. the variety and value of its trees suitable for timber are exceptionally noticeable; it was this fact which first drew to new zealand the attention of european traders. hence come the famous kauri spars, or ship-timber, the best for this special purpose which can be found in any land. the kauri-tree belongs to the pine family, yet is quite distinct from all other conifers, bearing a lance-shaped tapering leaf, and growing to great heights. it is only too well known, however, that the activity of this export trade is fast denuding these grand kauri-forests. the isthmus upon which the city of auckland is built is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable volcanic districts in the world, though the agency of subterranean fires is visible enough to the eye of the traveller all over new zealand. mount tongariro, six thousand feet in height, is even now in constant activity, with occasional vigorous outbursts. the violent earthquakes which occur in both the north and south islands cause alternate depressions and elevations. the severest modern earthquake took place so late as , raising the coast-line four feet higher for many miles. as in the peninsula of scandinavia, we here find a grand longitudinal mountain range extending from the extreme of the south island through the auckland district to the far north, forming a backbone, as it were, to the country. we were told that within a radius of ten miles from the centre of auckland there are sixty-three volcanic cones, or points, in this range where eruptions have taken place. these hills vary in height from two to seven hundred feet; each of them was fortified and occupied by native tribes a century ago, the highest of all being mount eden, close to the present town. on this there are abundant evidences still left of the native fortification; but of the large maori population that once covered the peninsula, and lived securely in these _pahs_, or fortified villages, not a soul remains. auckland is spread over a large territory; its villa-like houses, each with a pretty garden attached (except in the business section), cover the sloping hillside and valley from the foot of mount eden to the waters of the bay. queen street is the main thoroughfare of the town,--a broad avenue extending from the wharves to the suburbs, lined with a rather motley collection of buildings, some of which, however, are large and have fair architectural pretensions. there are upon this street a dozen or more fine stone buildings occupied by banks, insurance offices, warehouses, and some very handsome stores. besides these there are several of brick, four stories high, with handsome façades. but the town is mainly constructed of wood, and--as we noted was the case in wellington--has more than once been nearly swept away by conflagrations; so that a less inflammable material is now universally being adopted for building purposes. the principal public edifices are the post-office, supreme court house, government house, public library, and the hospital, while churches are to be seen in all sections of the town. there is also a university, a college for boys, and a high school for girls, with numerous primary schools. the harbor is one of the largest and best in new zealand,--indeed, we may say in australasia. though it is not so large or so varied in scenery, some unprejudiced persons compare it for beauty with that of sydney. it has two dry docks, one of which is the largest in the south pacific, being five hundred feet long and eighty wide. there is ample depth in the harbor for vessels of any size, and excellent wharf facilities. the shorter distance of auckland from the ports of america gives it an advantage over any other seaport in australasia. it is reached from london across the american continent in thirty-seven days, while to reach sydney requires four days more of steam navigation. this northern metropolis is situated, as already mentioned, in the centre of rich timber-lands, and also of abundant coal deposits. should the panama canal be completed at some future day, auckland would be the first port of call and the last of departure between europe and the colonies of the south pacific. its present population, including that of the immediate suburbs, is something over sixty thousand; that of the whole province of auckland is one hundred and thirty thousand. the ponsonby suburb and the village of whou are composed of pleasant residences tastefully ornamented. parnell, as it is called, forms another notable suburb, rendered attractive by hedge-rows, drooping willows, and prettily-arranged gardens. from this point one gets a fine view of the outspread bay lying below, exhibiting its various and busy craft. steam ferry-boats are constantly gliding across the harbor, little white-winged cutters bend gracefully to the breeze, the tall masts of sailing-ships line the piers, and tiny row-boats glance hither and thither. the lofty marine-signal hill looms up across the harbor in its verdant garb, while volcanic cones, a little way inland on either shore, form an irregular line of background. far away, and beyond all, the eye sees the swelling bosom of the restless southern ocean. both the level and steep streets of the town are "corded" with tramways, carried on at present by horsepower; but we were told that a cable-system with local engines was contemplated, and would doubtless soon be adopted, as the conformation of the town particularly favors this mode of transit. the pleasure-ground of auckland is the domain, with well-arranged walks shaded by an abundance of noble trees, both native and exotic; these grounds are bordered on one side by parnell and on the other by the city. one pleasure-resort, the favorite of babyhood and nursery-maids, is called albert park, which is a small mountain rather than a park, as it is quite a climb to reach the summit, toward which zigzag paths are constructed, without which facility ladders would be required to reach the conical top. this reserve is but a few rods from queen street, and it rises therefore in the very centre of the town, which it overlooks in all directions; even mount eden, a mile away, loses one half of its commanding aspect when viewed from the top of albert park. on its highest point there is a tall flag-staff with signal halyards, which did not seem to be in regular use, except perhaps to raise the national flag on special occasions. two or three large cannon were also found here, mounted upon awkward carriages; but it may be doubted if they could be made of much use under any circumstances. as we have said, queen street contains many fine stores, and these are well stocked with a due mingling of a choice and a common class of goods. the necessities of life were found to be extraordinarily cheap. meat, good beef and mutton, might be bought for four cents a pound; wearing apparel--all-wool goods--was offered at very low prices; the fish is good, in large variety, and cheap; oysters are abundant, and to be had all along shore simply for the gathering. these last are small, but of very sweet flavor. the first excursion enjoyed after arriving at auckland was a pleasant walk of a mile or more to mount eden, in the direction of the khyber pass. it is not a severe if a toilsome climb to reach the top, which is nearly eight hundred feet above sea-level. the terraced and pitted sides of the mountain show that it was formerly one of the maori strongholds. at the top there is a hollow inverted cone of considerable depth, the sides of which are covered with creeping vines and ferns, the bottom being strewn here and there with rubble, slag, and hardened lava which looks as though it had not been cooled a very long time. here we have clearly defined the mouth of an extinct volcano. if vesuvius slept for centuries and then burst forth to overwhelm an entire city, why may not this mountain be expected in the course of time to do likewise? the present view from mount eden, however, is indeed charming, and should not be missed by any one capable of appreciating such a pleasure. on the seaward side the whole of the volcanic isthmus lies at the visitor's feet; the portion sloping to the shore, known as the village of remuera, is covered with handsome villas, cottages, luxurious groves and gardens, beyond which lies the city of auckland, with its suburbs stretching away on either side. to the southward the volcanic hills called the three kings are conspicuous; and underlying them are many curious caves, where large numbers of human bones are still seen, testifying to the former orgies of the maoris. beyond the city lies the harbor, its clear waters sharply reflecting the sun's rays. a couple of miles away on the other side of the bay is mount victoria, once also an active volcano, but now only a signal station. the irregular north shore of the hauraki gulf, marked by promontories, inlets, green bays, and fertile meadows, spreads seaward on that side. away to the right loom the triple peaks of rangi-toto, its well-wooded sides rising gracefully from the waters of the gulf toward tiri-tiri and the open ocean. looking inland, one sees a rolling country dotted here and there with smiling homesteads, wooded clumps, and volcanic knolls innumerable,--all together forming quite an incomparable picture. at the suggestion of a friend our second visit to mount eden was made by moonlight. the luminary in her last quarter was yet quite sufficient to lend a bewildering loveliness and light, which brought out the isle-dotted hauraki gulf and manakoo harbor clear in every outline, beautifying the dimpled waters with a silvery sheen. on the summit of mount eden there is to be seen an abundance of small shells embedded in the earth and mixed with the débris, showing clearly enough that the soil upon which one is standing, nearly a thousand feet above the level of the harbor of auckland, must once have been the bottom of the neighboring sea. though we were told that the city was suffering from business depression, we saw some tangible evidences of growth and prosperity,--such as the erection of large and substantial buildings for business purposes, for offices and dwellings. a mammoth flour-mill, among other structures, was nearly completed; it was located very near to the wharves, between them and the railroad station. this mill was built upon the american plan, and all the machinery, as the proprietor informed us, was imported from the united states. this establishment is seven stories in height, substantially built of brick, and covers with its immediate outbuildings an acre of land. the business depression referred to had arisen almost entirely from the arbitrary acts of labor unions, scores of whose members were seen idling away their time about the bar-rooms of queen street, or being assisted to the police-station in a drunken condition. many workmen who were doing well had lost their situations, and were now eking out a precarious living by resorting to the gum-fields, where with pick and shovel they could at least keep from starving. even the noisy drones who had incited industrious men to bring about this state of affairs, were now themselves compelled to work or starve. some few men have shown sufficient intelligence and independence to think for themselves and have cut loose from organizations which cost them so much to support, and which are only successful in involving in trouble all concerned. we were a little startled when informed of the magnitude of the public debt of new zealand, which aggregates nearly thirty-three million pounds sterling. this sum, large as it is, represents only the national debt, to which must be added an equally large sum representing the aggregate indebtedness of the several cities. the english creditors may be sure, however, that so long as they are prepared to lend money, new zealand will be ready to borrow it. it has now become necessary to borrow large sums annually to pay the interest upon this growing debt. one is reminded of falstaff's sentiments: "i can get no remedy against this consumption of the purse; borrowing only lingers it out, but the disease is incurable." a citizen of auckland said to us, "the necessity for a fresh, additional loan is aggravatingly obvious; but we have no security to offer, for we are nearly beggared." the country may and doubtless will come out of this financial embarrassment all right, for it is rich in animal, vegetable, and mineral products beyond nearly every other country, excepting perhaps the sister colonies of australia. the exports of are represented to have exceeded eight million pounds sterling, over one million of which was in gold. the export of meat is annually increasing, and the mutton, from its greater size and fatness, is preferred to that which is produced in australia. the country is believed to be almost fabulously rich in auriferous deposits, besides which coal of excellent quality is abundant and easily mined; while in the north the kauri-forests yield immense quantities of shipping timber. all that is needed to promote and confirm the prosperity of this naturally favored country is population,--a good class of immigrants to open up the fertile lands, and to produce grain for food and export. but the labor unions are jealous of immigration, and strive to prevent it in all possible ways lest it should tend to lower wages. neither the leaders nor their followers have brains enough to look at the matter in any other light than a thoroughly selfish one. as they outnumber the rest of the community and can therefore outvote them, they are likely for a while to enact laws which will favor their narrow purposes. the principles and system of democracy were never so challenged before as in this case at auckland. what is wanted there is one-man power--a despotism, if you will--until affairs can be put into proper course, and people who are too ignorant to know what is best for them are taught a little common-sense. auckland will be set back ten years at least in the matter of progress by the crisis through which she is now passing. labor organizations have chosen as usual the very worst time to enforce their arbitrary rule, and must suffer accordingly. new zealand as a colony has gone ahead too rapidly, and without counting the cost. it has built railroads too fast; that is, before they are absolutely required,--railroads running straight into the "bush," without any _raison d'être_; and the present reaction is but a natural sequence arising from extravagance. undoubtedly these "bush" railroads, as they are now called, will help to open up the country through which they run; but even this may be done at too great a cost. experience has demonstrated the wisdom of a rule the reverse of that which has been adopted here; namely, first to wait for a certain amount of population and business before furnishing the expensive railroad facilities required for their accommodation. the kauri-tree, though a conifer,--the pine of this country,--is not at all like our north american pine; instead of needles, its foliage consists of leaves of sombre green. the botanists call it _dammara australis_. it produces a timber, however, which for some uses is unequalled. it is very slow of growth, is remarkably durable, easily worked, of fine grain, and does not split or warp by atmospheric exposure. we were told that the kauri-tree requires eight hundred years to arrive at maturity. one of the first objects to attract our attention upon landing at auckland was a number of kauri tree trunks brought to the wharf for shipment. some of these logs measured seven feet in diameter, and were from eighty to ninety feet in length. to visit the kauri-forests of the auckland district one takes cars from the city to helensville, a distance of forty or fifty miles, where the kaipara river is reached, upon which small steamers ply, taking one directly to the desired spot. here the busy saw-mills, which are gradually consuming these valuable trees, are so located that vessels of two thousand tons can load at their yards, and with their cargoes pass directly out to sea. it is singular that while this district is the only place in new zealand where the kauri-trees are found, nearly every other species of tree indigenous to the country is also found here,--among them the rimu, the matai, the white and silver pines, the tooth-leaved beech, and the totara, all in close proximity to the kauri, and together forming a most remarkable conglomeration of species. it was our good fortune to travel in the kauri-forests with professor kirk, conservator of state forests, and from him many interesting facts were learned. here over seven millions of acres are forest-covered. the mills give permanent occupation to five or six thousand men, and the gum-digging carried on close at hand is pursued as a regular occupation by at least two thousand more. the saw-mills, as regards their machinery and capacity, are among the most complete we have ever seen, employing the best modern inventions to facilitate their operations and output, which averages six or seven million feet of dimension-timber annually. there are six of these mills in this immediate locality, each of which has in its own right many thousand acres of land bearing a sufficiency of good timber to supply them for twelve years to come. it is believed that by that time all the kauri-forests of new zealand will be worked out or exhausted. in anticipation of the failure of this supply for ship's masts and spars, iron is being very generally adopted, and will eventually take the place of wood altogether. the commercial prosperity of auckland and its vicinity is largely due to the harvest reaped from these forests. the kauri-tree grows to an average height of a hundred feet, with a diameter of fifteen feet and over. it is a clannish tree, so to speak; when found near to those of other species, it groups itself in clumps apart from them. one often sees, however, large forests where the kauri reigns supreme, quite unmixed with other trees; and beneath the shadow of its limbs there is no undergrowth save the verdant ferns,--nature's universal carpet for the woodlands here. there are thus created dim perspectives and forest vistas of marvellous beauty. the kauri gum forms a large figure in the table of exports from auckland, and the digging and preparation of it for market, as we have shown, gives employment to many persons. the natives have a theory that the gum descends from the trunks of the growing trees, and through the roots becomes deposited in the ground. but this is not reasonable. the gum is a semi-fossilized composition, showing that it has gone through a process which only a long period of time could accomplish. it is usually found at a depth of five or six feet from the surface. it is undoubtedly the fact that the northern part of new zealand was once covered with immense forests of this gum-producing tree, which have matured and been destroyed by fire and by decay, century after century; and the deposit which is now so marketable is from the dead trees, not the living. experiments have been tried which prove that the gum exuded by the growing trees has no commercial value. the only evidence to give color to the maori theory is the fact that the gum is found near the roots of young trees; but it is also found far away from any present kauri growth. it is very similar to amber, for which article it is often sold to unskilled purchasers; but its principal use is in the manufacture of varnish. amber, it will be remembered, is the product of a now extinct tree of the pine family, whole forests of which are supposed to have been sunken in the baltic sea, whence our present supply of the article is mostly derived, and where these forests have been submerged for perhaps twice ten thousand years. the deposits of the kauri gum in the auckland district seem to be inexhaustible. on returning to the city we found quite sufficient in and about auckland to interest and occupy us for a week and more. we made almost daily excursions, sometimes on foot and sometimes on horseback; and when mounted, our day's journey often covered a distance of many miles inland, each time in a new direction. in our trips afield, after passing through the immediate suburbs of the city, we found outlying cottages where the garden-plats are adorned with english plants in full bloom, succeeded by thrifty farms, well-fenced fields, and highly cultivated meadows. these last were dotted here and there with choice breeds of cattle and picturesque groups of sheep. some very fine horses were observed in this region; and there are some breeding-farms here solely devoted to the raising of fine animals for the market,--many of which, as the proprietors told us, are sent twelve hundred miles by ship to sydney, and even still farther, to melbourne and adelaide. notwithstanding this district is the oldest in its settlement by the whites of any in new zealand, the scenery struck us as being singularly primitive, bold, and beautiful, while the bright, breezy, light, and shadow-casting atmosphere brought out every native grace of form and color. along the roads one is delighted by the abundance of the marsh-mallow, sweet clover, wild mint, and trefoil, and only sighs for time to gather of them and leisure to enjoy their sweets. many trees and flowers were noted which were quite new to us, and which the intelligence of our half-breed guide rendered doubly interesting. the natives had distinctive and expressive names for every fowl, tree, and flower before the white man came. there is a lovely little native daisy called tupapa, and a blue lily known by the aborigines as rengarenga; also a green and yellow passion-flower named by the indians, kowhaia. a glutinous, golden buttercup is known as anata, which is nearly as abundant as its namesake in america. a small white fragrant flower which attracted our attention is called the potolara. all these species are wild. one morning the guide brought us a dew-spangled bunch of them all together, wound about with a delicate sweet-smelling native grass known as karetu,--the _torresia redolens_ of botany. the immediate neighborhood of auckland has been almost denuded of the original native trees, and shade is very much needed both for beauty and comfort. fires and the woodman's axe have swept away the grand old forest and the "bush" which once covered every rod of land in this vicinity. a few english oaks and other imported trees planted by the immigrants are to be seen, besides some california pines, which are universal favorites in this country. at a short distance inland, and especially bordering salt-water inlets, the traveller is surprised and charmed by groups of the pohutukawa, a tree thus named by the maoris. like many other blossoming trees of the southern pacific, its flowers when gathered have very little individual beauty or attractiveness, its brilliant color-effect being derived from the clusters of bright scarlet stamens, which when seen in mass upon the tree appear strikingly beautiful. we do not remember to have seen the english lark in any island south of the equator, but they abound here, and must have been introduced by the early settlers from great britain. another fact about auckland struck us as curious. here we find a rich greensward carpeting hill and dale, field and lawn, which is the growth of imported seed, and which has proved so tenacious as to root out all original and opposing vegetation, and establish itself permanently. here also may be seen the european thistle, the veritable scotch article greatly improved by transplanting. the farmers declare that it enriches the ground,--a sentiment which we also heard expressed at dunedin,--and every one can see for himself that it feeds the bees. new zealand seems to be adapted for receiving into its bosom the vegetation of any land, and of imparting to it renewed life and added beauty. its foster-mother capacity has been fully tested, and for years no ship left england for this part of the world without bringing more or less of a contribution in plants and trees to be propagated in the new home of the colonists. the consequence is that we find pines and cypresses, oaks and willows, elms and birches, besides fruit-trees of all sorts grown in europe, thriving here in abundance, and so thoroughly acclimated as to seem indigenous. the climate of this region appeared to us very nearly perfect, favoring human life as well as that of the vegetable kingdom. it may be compared as a whole to the climate of the best portions of europe. it has the soft, genial atmosphere of the south of france and italy (which is best enjoyed at nice and mentone), but none of the chill caused by the piercing mistral of the mountains, nor the scorching blasts of the african and egyptian siroccos. in seeking to recall a climate which most nearly approaches it, madeira alone suggests itself. its range of temperature is more limited than any other place we have visited north or south of the equator, or in either hemisphere. summer and winter are here only the dry and the rainy seasons; flowers, vegetables, grapes, in short all plants grow bright and thrifty the whole year round in the open air. tropical and hardy plants are here equally at home; scottish firs and indian palms, oranges, lemons, india-rubber trees, and limes thrive side by side. as we were told in japan one could do there, so here one can gather a pretty bouquet in the open air any day in the year. we must not forget to speak of the mineral resources of this province of auckland, which were in the early days of its settlement quite unsuspected, but which have turned out to be both extensive and profitable. a gold-bearing range of lofty hills runs northward along the banks of the thames river, ending on the coromandel peninsula. here several quartz mines are being successfully worked for gold, though the process of disintegration does not seem to be satisfactorily understood. it is well known that not more than half the precious metal which the rock contains is realized by the means now employed for its extraction. in order to obtain the best and latest improvements in machinery designed for this purpose, a representative agent and proprietor of these thames river mines came to the united states in the same ship with the author, to visit our principal mining centres in the states of idaho, colorado, california, and so forth. coal of excellent quality crops out in various parts of the province, particularly at the bay of islands, and several coal mines are regularly worked. copper is found here also, and a valuable article of manganese, besides iron, nickel, bismuth, asphaltum, and other minerals. in poverty bay petroleum has been discovered in great abundance, and though it is made no special use of at present, it is sure in the near future to be profitably utilized. the district to which we have just referred as being rich in gold-bearing quartz and other minerals, and which is situated along the banks of the thames and waikato rivers, is also productive as a pastoral and agricultural country. a large portion of the land is laid down to grass and other crops, and is well stocked with sheep and cattle. government has done much to encourage agricultural enterprise among the people of the province, realizing its great importance over all other industries. the remarkable fertility of the soil seconds this purpose, and there are hundreds of square miles of it as level as our western prairies. we were told of a company called the waikato land association, which was formed not alone for pecuniary profit to its stockholders, but also to advance the pastoral and agricultural interests of the province. this association owns a hundred thousand acres of rich land which is being drained and brought into the most available condition. we saw the operation going on in the form of extensive and systematic drainage, tree-planting, and other means of improvement upon the company's lands, through the centre of which the railroad runs southward from auckland. chapter xvi. a journey to the king's country.--an experienced "whip."--volcanic hills.--a new zealand forest.--a strangely afflicted boy.--lake rotorua.--ohinemutu.--funeral of a maori chief.--wailing and weeping.--moonlight on the lake.--wonderland.--spouting geysers and boiling pools.--savage mode of slaughter.--maori houses.--chivalry and cannibalism.--savage and civilized life. here in auckland we were also in the vicinity of the hot lake district of north new zealand, and a week was devoted to a visit to the remarkable points of interest connected therewith. to accomplish this, one goes from the capital of the province a hundred and thirty miles to oxford, and thence thirty miles by stage to the native town of ohinemutu. this route carries the traveller in a southeast course, and leads into the very heart of the north island, among the maori tribes. the cars took us over a level country, which however is bounded on either side, five or six miles distant, by lofty serrated hills, presenting a confusion of irregular forms. these hills contain an abundance of mineral wealth in the form of gold, silver, iron, coal, and manganese. many low-lying marshy fields of native flax were observed, and the waikato river was three times crossed in its winding course. large plantations containing several thousand each of young pine-trees of the american species were seen, covering gentle slopes and many broad acres of level land, where government is endeavoring to establish artificial forests throughout wide reaches of unwooded country. these trees grow more rapidly here than they do even in their native soil. miles upon miles of this level country were covered only by the low-growing ti-tree and the ever present ferns; the former, being a sort of tall heath, was in some places in bloom, producing an effect as if a light fall of feathery snow had lodged upon the delicate branches. flocks of sheep and lambs were numerous, but the population was sparse. the whole landscape was lighted up here and there by the bright yellow leaves of the wattle-tree, which contrasted strongly with the black beech, the deep green of the cabbage-palm, and what is called the white-pine, which is totally unlike any pine we ever saw. several miniature villages were passed through, where a few small european houses clustered in the neighborhood of the railroad depots, consisting of a blacksmith's forge, a grocery-store, a one-story inn, and three or four dwellings. there was plenty of water everywhere. now it was a small and pretty stream, and again it was a large river's course. at one rural hamlet a rustic water-wheel was revolving, splashing and sparkling in the sunshine with a noisy, gleeful sound, telling how easily and thoroughly these fields might be irrigated. we passed through what is called the waikato pastures, a rural district where herds of fine-looking cattle were browsing, and where cheese-making is a flourishing industry. some coal mines were being worked upon the route, connected by side-tracks with this main branch of the railroad; the coal, it was plain to see, was a good article for domestic use or for manufacturing purposes. small maori encampments, composed of a dozen lodges each, were scattered along our way, the lazy, tattooed natives--men and women--lingering about the stations with blackened pipes in their mouths, smoking the rankest sort of tobacco, while they kept up a chattering like benares monkeys. why maori women and savage squaws generally are so fond of wearing men's hats, with a feather stuck into them, we cannot understand; for though serving the purpose of a head-covering, they are far from being ornamental. the awkward maori men looked doubly outré in their ill-fitting european clothes. oxford is the somewhat pretentious name given to the hamlet where the railroad ends, containing five houses, one of which is the oxford royal,--a neat but circumscribed inn, affording us a sleeping apartment measuring exactly seven feet wide by nine in length. the stage-drive from here to ohinemutu--the centre of the geysers, boiling springs, and mud caldrons, and also of the maori reservation--is by a road a little over thirty miles in length, which we do not hesitate to pronounce to be the hardest to travel that it has yet been our misfortune to encounter. the patient reader will bear witness that we do not often parade the hardships of travel, but it makes our bones ache to recall those seven hours of staging; and yet they were by no means without their compensation. it was the author's good fortune to sit upon the box with an experienced and admirable "whip,"--harry kerr by name,--who was fully equal to his business. the vehicle was an american stage, the harnesses on the horses were american made, and the stage line was owned by an american,--a resident in new zealand for many years, during which time he has held a mail contract throughout the country. we travelled lightly, there being no other passenger, and four stout horses forming the motive power; but had not the stage been constructed of the best seasoned material, and put together in the most thorough manner, it would have been left upon the road in fragments before it had completed the trip. the traveller under such circumstances is always more or less dependent upon the intelligence of the driver who takes him through a new country, and we cheerfully acknowledge our indebtedness on this occasion. we can well understand why harry kerr is a favorite in the auckland district. on leaving oxford the journey takes one at first through a section of country where the hills were thrown about in the wildest fashion during the ancient volcanic period, causing them to present a grotesqueness of aspect which is quite beyond description. here the bowels of the earth vomited forth their fiery secretions of molten lava, and as it cooled, it formed itself into countless ridges and hills, no two of which are alike. the road wound over hills, down into gulches, and skirted precipices where to have deviated a few inches only from the proper track would have been instant destruction. as we rose to the summit of some elevation loftier than the rest, the view became expansive. from one of these summits was seen, nearly one hundred miles away on the far horizon, the broad, bold, snow-covered mountain ruapehu, ten thousand feet high. the last portion of the journey from oxford to ohinemutu took us through one of the grandest forests in all new zealand, extending eighteen or twenty miles without a human habitation or any sign of life, save the flutter of an occasional bird. in this forest, mingled with tall columnar trees of various species, were seen frequent examples of the fern-tree thirty feet in height and of surpassing beauty, spreading out their plumed summits like an egyptian palm, while the stem had the graceful inclination of the cocoanut-tree. well has the fern-tree been called the forest houri. the picturesque effect of the birches was also remarkable, flanked by the massive outlines and drooping tassels of the rimu, the soft luxuriance of the undergrowth adding charms to the whole. for miles of the way on either side of the road the forest was impenetrable even to the eye save for the shortest distance, presenting a tangled mass of foliage, vines, and branches such as can be matched only by the virgin forests of brazil or the jungles of india. ground-ferns were observed in infinite variety, sometimes of a silvery texture, sometimes of orange-yellow, but oftenest of the various shades of green. here too we made acquaintance with the sweet-scented manuka, the fragrant veronica, and the glossy-leaved karaka,--this last the pride of the maoris. a dark-colored shrub, with leaves like the orange-tree, their under side being of a quicksilver hue, was pointed out to us by the driver, which though poisonous, as he declared, to horses, sheep, and cattle, is nevertheless eaten by them with avidity whenever they chance to come upon it. its first effect is to intoxicate them, and it will ultimately prove fatal unless an antidote is given. many specimens of the lofty rimu-tree were seen, about whose tall white stems a parasitic vine was slowly and treacherously weaving itself, clasping and binding the upright body with such a marvellous power of compression as literally to strangle it, until ultimately the vine becomes a stout tree in place of the original. the most noted and destructive of these vegetable boa-constrictors is the gigantic rope-like rata, whose gordian knot nothing can untie. the tree once clasped in its toils is fated, yielding up its sap and life without a struggle to cast off its deadly enemy. many trees were observed whose stems bore branches only far above the surrounding woods, laden with bunches of alien foliage,--parasites like the mistletoe. indeed, this forest seemed like vegetation running riot; and with its clumps of abnormal foliage, fixed like storks' nests in the tops of the trees, it recalled similar effects seen on the banks of the st. john's river in florida. midway in these almost impenetrable woods, where the soil was literally smothered by vegetation and a wilderness of undergrowth, we came upon a lonely cottage, with a large barn and some outbuildings attached, which had been established by the owner of the stage line; and here our four jaded horses were changed for fresh ones. at this isolated spot we saw a remarkably handsome boy between six and seven years of age, large and well-formed for one of his years, wearing only a blouse reaching to his knees,--otherwise being entirely without clothing. it was instantly apparent that he was mentally deficient, and his eccentric gambols caused us to make further inquiries. it seems that his mother, an intelligent englishwoman, four or five months before the boy was born had been so terribly frightened by a furious bull as to throw her into convulsions, from which she was with difficulty restored. the eccentricities of the child began to exhibit themselves as soon as he had reached a twelvemonth, and from that period his actions became more animal than human. he cares only for vegetable food, living mostly on potatoes. the use of the knife and fork he utterly ignores, taking his food from the plate with his mouth, not using his hands. he smells of every new thing or person when first presented to his notice. he will not abide clothing beyond the blouse already spoken of, and when he is restrained in any purpose butts with his forehead like a bull. the boy has never uttered any words distinctly, though he makes half-articulate sounds of assent and negation. sometimes he walks about with his head extended before him, mooing like a bovine, and on such occasions he takes no notice of any words addressed to him or any attempt to divert him. he is quite mischievous, but not viciously so; it is necessary to keep wire screens over the glass windows, which he would otherwise put his head through when he desired to get into the open air. he was running about the space before the house and roadway when we saw him, and submitted to our kindly caress, even uttering sympathetic sounds in response, while his large black eyes looked into our own with a half-pleading, half-grateful expression. the father told us that the favorite amusement of the boy was tossing small articles high into the air and seeing them fall to the earth. having this in mind, we commissioned harry kerr to purchase a strong ball for the unfortunate child, and to bring it to him on the return trip. the health of the boy has always been perfect, and his strength is equal to that of a youth of twice his age. he has brothers, one older and one younger than himself, both of whom seem to be of even more than ordinary intelligence, and all are over-fond of the unfortunate one. after leaving the forest and crossing a volcanic mountain, the road winds across the broad reach of table-land which borders lake rotorua, whose waters lay shimmering under the warm and brilliant tints of the afternoon sun. we drove for three or four miles along the side of this beautiful and romantic sheet of water, concerning whose one island the maoris have many curious legends, prominent among which is one nearly identical with that of leander and the hellespont,--possibly antedating that classic story, and thus proving that "there is nothing new under the sun." this lake is justly celebrated for its scenic beauty and remarkable surroundings, being about ten miles long by eight or nine in width. as we approached the quaint little settlement of ohinemutu, over which floated a heavy sulphurous cloud of steam, a motley cortége was met, consisting of men, women, and children decked in all the gay colors which delight the maori heart. their heads were dressed in gorgeous feathers, yellow wattle-blossoms, and other fantastic ornaments, their faces rendered hideous by tattooing. each of the women had an infant upon her back, held in position by a tawdry shawl arranged in the form of a sack and tied across the breast. these natives called to mind the feather-crowned crow indians of the yellowstone valley, both races living in a wonderland of geysers, boiling springs, and sulphurous vapor. this display proved to be a funeral procession in honor of a dead chief named rotohika. curiosity led us to follow the procession to the grave near at hand, where the ceremony was brief but peculiar. two of the dead chief's wives knelt by the coarse wooden box which supplied the place of a coffin, and made sacrifice of their long dark locks of hair, cutting them from their heads and placing them in the box containing the body of the deceased. the box was then lowered into the grave, each relative throwing a shovelful of dirt upon it, and others followed, quickly filling up the cavity. the throng then returned to their huts with manifest eagerness, to participate in a grand feast. after the burial is completed the grave is placed under what is termed "tapu,"--or in other words the spot is made sacred, to be avoided always; to tread upon it is considered a desecration. we were told that formerly the burial ceremony of a chief involved the sacrifice of at least one human life. if the tribe had a prisoner of war on hand, his life sufficed. after sprinkling his blood upon the grave, his body was roasted and eaten at the grand feast which followed. the maori "wakes" his dead after the irish fashion, the revel lasting as long as the money holds out, and almost any excess is condoned on these occasions, which are characterized by the strangest and most weird dances, the wildest shouts and wailings, the most fantastic distortion of body and limbs that can be conceived of. on the occasion at which we were present the performers, especially the women, seemed to us for the time being to lose their reason, and to become maniacs, exciting one another to a state of frenzy. to listen to the native _tangi_, or wail for the dead, one would think it represented the most natural and heart-broken grief, accompanied as it is by a copious fall of tears; but this is all pretence. it is wonderful how these maori women can summon such perfect showers of tears at will; we saw them shed niagaras of brine, which of course deceived no one. it was as purely a mechanical operation as is the work of a hydraulic ram. a wail of grief is started by some one among the mourners, when it is taken up and continued for hours by the others, now one and now another prolonging the note with unabated vigor. though realizing that this is so largely mere pretence, one cannot listen to the sad note of the _tangi_ without a corresponding sense of sorrowful emotion. the present occasion being the decease of a great man among them, drew forth the most exaggerated expressions, and the wailing was at times almost deafening. the lake house, presided over by the intelligent and lady-like mrs. graham, afforded us every comfort as well as admirable service, hardly to be anticipated in so isolated a spot. the window of our chamber overlooked lake rotorua; and as the moon was at its full on that first evening of our arrival, the scene was indescribably lovely. it was an inspiration to stand on the shore of the lake, beholding the heavens above, and their reflected glory in the mirror-like waters below. the wailing, singing, and dancing among the natives had ceased; the performers had rolled themselves in their blankets, and worn out with excess were sleeping; the night and its peace were over all,--and yet it was as light as mid-day. one certainly feels inclined to give new zealand moonlight precedence over anything of the sort elsewhere. how it silvered the unruffled surface of the lake! so calm, so intense, so dazzlingly brilliant were its shining waters that they seemed to put the stars out of countenance. with a couple of tawny, tattooed natives we took a long, lazy row upon rotorua at midnight, "the dusky hour friendliest to sleep and silence," permitting the boat at times to float after its own fancy, while we dreamed a dream of peace. so quiet were the scene and the hour that both oarsmen leaned upon the thwarts and slept. it was enchantment verified; one was loath to break the spell by arousing the sleepers and turning shoreward. by and by the silence, only slightly broken by the light dip of the oars, became almost oppressive, and we said, "give us a song, men! a maori song;" and those rough, dark-hued rowers broke forth in a low, weird chant as we glided smoothly over the water, seeming to be the only adjunct needed to fill the measure of that midnight hour. and yet it is difficult to say which was the more inspiring,--the sweet, suggestive hours of the moon's reign, or those of the delicious break of day across the lake, so quickly followed by the sunrise. how responsive were the waiting waters to every fresh hue and color of the returning morn! the moonlight had recalled many thoughts of the past, memories both sad and joyous; while the sunlight was full of hope, promise, and present grandeur. those of our readers who have seen at the foot of the maritime alps, on the shores of the mediterranean, the change of night into morning, will most readily understand what the break of day really is over lake rotorua. once fairly within the area of this south land of varied wonders, the most active volcanic region of the antipodes, nothing seems too strange to be true; geysers, fumaroles, boiling springs, and dry stones burning hot beneath one's feet, as though the surface of the land covered nature's chemical laboratory, are all regarded by the visitor as quite the proper thing,--in fact, just what is to be expected. even the scores of naked maori bathers, of both sexes, outrage no sense of propriety in this weird atmosphere of ohinemutu. one seems to be surrounded by a race upon whose semi-civilization the era of clothes has not yet dawned. the maori inhabitants of wairoa, the native town which was so recently buried with all its people by a volcanic outburst, had no more reason to anticipate any immediate danger than have these natives on the banks of lake rotorua. indeed, so far as external evidence of subterranean volcanic force is concerned, the inhabitants of wairoa had not one half the threatening tokens about them that exist here at every turn. sulphur, alkaline, and iron-impregnated pools of inviting temperature induce one to indulge in frequent baths, and it seems but natural that the natives in their semi-nude condition should pass so much of their time in the water, both sexes mingling in this pleasure as they would do in the ordinary avocations of life. near to the shore, where the lake is shallow, a boiling spring forces its way to the surface of the surrounding cold water, telling of a submerged fiery caldron underlying the lake at that particular point. it was, however, no more significant than the scores of other steam-holes and spouting geysers which force themselves to the surface all about this sulphurous region. in short, the town of ohinemutu is built on a thin crust, roofing over, as it were, a vast fiery furnace, whose volcanic eccentricities form the marvel of the locality. here then the traveller eats, drinks, and sleeps above a series of suppressed volcanoes. one could not but recall the fate of lisbon and of half-exhumed pompeii. many of these springs and geysers are so hot that a mere touch of the water will blister the human flesh as quickly as contact with red-hot iron. others are of a temperature suitable for boiling vegetables; and still others by artificial means--that is, the introduction of cool surface-water--are rendered of a temperature suitable for bathing purposes. one must walk cautiously among these boiling mud-pits, open springs, and steam-holes; a misstep might prove instantly fatal. caldrons lie on either side of the path, within a few inches of where one may be walking all unsuspiciously. a maori child lately disappeared while playing near some sulphurous jets. a full-grown aboriginal met the same fate not long ago; he had been partaking too freely of intoxicants, and sank into the stygian darkness without uttering a cry. one coolly records these facts; but what an awful fate to encounter! the natural conclusion as to the cause of these remarkable phenomena would seem to be that the waters of the lakes, rivers, and springs descend by various channels to the fiery regions below, and are returned by the force of the steam thus created, bringing up with them the débris which is deposited about the surface. of the hundreds of these boiling springs only a score or so have been analyzed; no two, however, exhibit the same properties. the various chemical combinations seem to be without limit, and bathing in them is considered to be a specific for some skin-diseases as well as for rheumatic affections. there can be no doubt but that all the virtues possessed by similar springs in europe or america are equally combined in these of new zealand, and the list of remarkable cures which they have accomplished is annually increasing. white faces are here the exception; dusky, bronzed ones, the rule. this is the real home of the natives, and for ages has formed the chief settlement of the arawa tribe. nothing could possibly be more grotesque than to see groups of the native women--from the wrinkled old grandams to the girls of a dozen years--bathing at all hours in the warm, steaming pools without any apparent thought of undue exposure. it is their daily, almost hourly resort. as a rule, a blanket forms their only covering; and if they are cold, day or night, they at once resort to the hot springs for warmth. their chief occupations are literally bathing, and smoking tobacco,--the women using the pipe even more freely than the men. of regular occupation they have none. a few potatoes are planted and allowed to grow without cultivation, and these with pork form their chief food. some small lake fish are added to their diet occasionally; but this amounts to very little, as a lake so under volcanic influences, so impregnated by sulphur springs and super-heated waters, as is rotorua, is not a favorable place for fish breeding. the revels incident upon a funeral are often kept up for a week or more. to conduct the ceremonies with due éclat for the death of the late chief of whom mention has been made, much extra food was necessary to entertain the visiting representatives of other tribes, men and women, who had come to ohinemutu. we chanced to witness the preparing of a portion of the feast on the second day after our arrival. a native seized a large pig by the hind leg, in the midst of the animals feeding about among the fern-roots, and pulled him backwards toward the lake. the animal took matters very coolly, much to our surprise, and made no noise about it. maori and pig thus backed into the water until the man was waist-deep, when he suddenly seized the other hind leg of the animal and threw him upon his back, at the same time putting his foot upon him, thus holding the pig under water for the space of a couple of minutes, until life in the animal became extinct. with the aid of one or two companions, the native then proceeded to chop the pig into small pieces with an axe and a hatchet. a large camp-kettle stood hard by, in which some herbs and a few potatoes with spring water had been placed. into this kettle the crude, unwashed portions of the carcass were thrust until it was full to its brim, and then a sheet-iron cover was pressed on the top and held down by a couple of large stones. a small fire of chips built upon the hot stones on which the kettle stood in the open air, soon set the pot to boiling, and in half an hour's time the mess was quite sufficiently cooked for maori taste. it was then devoured eagerly by the hungry mourners who sat round the pot without any attempt at ceremony, and, so far as we could discover, without the use of knives or plates; hands and fingers seemed to be all-sufficient. the natives sometimes partake of bread, when they can get it; but potatoes constitute their chief diet. the little cooking in which they indulge is usually performed by the boiling springs, in which they suspend their potatoes in small wicker nets; and for baking purposes they use the red-hot stones that are to be found in plenty in this vicinity. these broad flat stones are the identical ones on which the natives in the past used to roast their prisoners of war before eating them. it is impossible to bear one's hand on them for an instant; the wonder is that stones subjected to such constant heat do not become calcined and break in pieces. there are no means for building fires inside the native cabins, which have little or no furniture; in place of using chairs, the natives squat upon their hams, like nearly all savage races, and most of the eastern tribes. their beds are composed of dried fern-leaves, sometimes raised a few inches above the level of the earth floor; but quite as often nothing but the fern-leaves intervene between the body and the ground. the _wharry_, or cabin, is always the same, and contains but one apartment, with a low doorway and an overhanging thatch of dried ti-tree interwoven with long grasses. there is no matting or flooring of any sort upon the ground within the cabin. ohinemutu is built over a region so heated by internal fires that the earth is dry and warm,--too warm we thought. there is one compensation, however, for the risk of thus building one's home over burning sulphurous regions,--no insects or vermin can exist in these ground-floor huts, which the uncleanly habits of their occupants would otherwise tend to make swarm with such parasites. in these cabins there is sometimes seen a rude attempt at ornamentation in carving, but the images are grotesque, and to us were quite unmeaning,--consisting generally of hideous heads with blood-red lolling tongues and dwarf-shaped bodies. the natives have very little idea of decoration, except tattooing and the wearing of a few personal ornaments. there is a green stone--nephrite--native to new zealand, which is prized by the women for personal wear, and which admits of a high degree of polish. this stone in various shapes is worn as ear-rings, amulets tied about the neck, or made into beads; it is sometimes worn bracelet-fashion about the wrists or ankles. there is another and less common ornament worn by the maori women; namely, a small pink or white feather thrust through the cartilage of the nose, the ends hanging down on either side, shading the upper lip like a moustache. this recalled the brass and silver rings worn through nose and lips, as seen in south africa and the straits settlements. the young women of the tribes that are brought most in contact with the whites are giving up the tattooing process upon their faces; but those of middle age, or older, are defaced by blue lines about the lower lip and the chin. the pride of the women is to wear a short skirt of some high-colored material, and to wrap themselves in a blanket of the "loudest" pattern,--flaming red or yellow being preferred. the men affect more the dress of europeans. the maoris differ in many essential particulars from most savage races with whom we have chanced to meet. unlike the american indian, the maori is neither treacherous nor deceitful. he does not, like our american savage, foster a spirit of secret revenge, but when his enmity is aroused it is openly displayed and exercised, man-fashion. this has been a tribal trait with the maoris for centuries. before declaring war the maori always gives his enemy fair notice. but for ages he has been accustomed to go to war upon imaginary grievances; or, to put it more clearly, his great object was to make prisoners, and when made, to cook and eat them. the early maoris, even so late as sixty years ago, looked upon war--what we should call civil war; that is, fighting one tribe with another--as being the only legitimate object of life. no two tribes, however nearly allied, were proof against an ever present liability to fall out with each other and engage in internecine strife. an authentic anecdote was told to us illustrative of this propensity to fight where no principle whatever was involved. a certain chief of a tribe living near rotorua received a message from a neighboring chief which he construed into an insult; and he indignantly declared that the sender would not have ventured upon such a message had he not known and counted upon the superiority of the weapons of war which he possessed, which, it seemed, embraced a number of european fire-arms. when this imputation of unfairness and cowardice came to the ears of the first chief, he divided all his weapons into two lots, and sent for his rival to come and choose between them. this done, of course there was no further excuse for not fighting. the tribes fought a long and bloody battle, followed on both sides by a great feasting upon each other's prisoners! here was united, most indisputably, a spirit of chivalry with that of ferocity. in these days, however, the maoris have settled down to a life of quiet, and could hardly be more peacefully inclined; they are now as lazy and listless as the arabs. it is surprising how well these maoris got along without civilization. it is fully as surprising to see how they wilt and fade away with it. whether the white man has been upon the whole of any advantage to them is certainly an open question. they originally possessed a language composed of a copious vocabulary, and also a complete social system that answered their purpose. their houses, rude as they were, kept out the heat of the summer sun and retained the necessary warmth in winter,--and this in a degree quite superior to european houses. their food-supply, eked out by cannibalism, was ample though not varied, while their natural condition involved few necessities. their wars promoted a condition of robustness as well as a spirit of enterprise and activity. but with civilization came rum, tobacco, and laziness. far be it from us to argue in favor of the savage life above that of the civilized; but to judge these savage races correctly or fairly, we must look at them from their own standpoint, not from ours. chapter xvii. the maori dog.--a romantic island.--sinking of a maori fort.--volcanic destruction.--a country of boiling springs.--idleness.--a lazy race of savages.--native religion.--a fitful geyser.--sophia, the famous guide.--a funeral dance.--the "haka" performance.--maori improvidence.--rubbing noses.--native babies.--church-going and card-playing.--the king's country.--eloquent aborigines.--a sanitarium.--sulphur point.--future of new zealand. the funeral wailings of the natives during the day were not sufficient to fill the measure of uncanny noise; so at night--those wonderfully bright moonlight nights!--the dogs seemed to feel it incumbent upon them to take up the refrain, and they howled frightfully by the hour together. the maori dog is quite different from any other specimen of the canine race; he is a mongrel of decidedly conglomerate character,--the most remarkable fact about these creatures being that no two of them are at all alike, or seemingly of the same breed. why the maoris keep these dogs we cannot conceive; they certainly have no food to spare for them, and the poor creatures look nearly starved with their thin bodies and protruding ribs. at ohinemutu every cabin had at least one dog, and frequently three or four of these animals were seen lying before the entrance. they rushed out and barked fiercely at the passing stranger, but there the hostile demonstration ended. dogs are not more numerous, in proportion to the population, in cairo or constantinople, nor more neglected, than here. we suggested to one of the half-castes that it would be possible to utilize these animals for food, but he shook his head knowingly and said, "no, no; him got no meat on him bones." their pigs run wild, and feed themselves on fern-roots and sweet weeds; but their dogs, not being herbivorous, fare hardly for food. unable to sleep on account of these canine disturbers of the night, we rose long before daylight on the third day of our visit to ohinemutu, and awaking a couple of natives, took a row-boat over to the island of mokoia, which is situated about four miles from the mainland, toward the centre of lake rotorua. this island is itself a sleeping volcano, lying now placidly enough upon the bosom of the waters, but originally thrown up from the bottom of the lake in some past century. though the natives evidently thought us crazy to abandon a comfortable bed at such an hour, we only gave them the necessary direction and sat down quietly in the stern of the boat. it was just sunrise as a landing was effected on the island, when a sight was enjoyed which had not been anticipated. as the monarch of day showed his face above the volcanic hills, the effect was superb. mokoia is a well-wooded island, and on the side farthest from ohinemutu there is some level fertile land occupied by natives; indeed, there is here quite a maori village. it was once a favorite missionary station, but as such was long ago abandoned. it is a sort of second edition of the villages lying about the lake house on the mainland. when the missionaries were here they planted fruit-trees, which are still thriving and annually productive of pears, apples, peaches, and the like. one of the boatmen spoke english after the maori fashion, and wanted to relate the love-story of the island, the hinemoa legend; but we knew it already. we did listen, however, to the story of the blood-thirsty chief hongi, who came hither when mokoia was the stronghold of a prosperous tribe, and putting them to the sword, killed one half and more in a terrible hand-to-hand fight; after which he and his followers feasted on their bodies for weeks. we got back to the lake house by mid-day. the faulty and incomplete traditions of the natives concerning the last eruption previous to that of about a twelvemonth ago which occurred in the hot lake district, are entirely unsatisfactory; but the late terrible one which destroyed the beautiful pink and white terraces at tarawera by one sudden throe of nature, and by which nearly two thousand square miles of territory were sensibly affected, we know all about. the destructive demonstration lasted only six hours, but during that time the amount of lava, volcanic bombs, stones, and fiery substances thrown out by the burning mountain is beyond calculation. this volcanic outburst seemed to us just what might be expected at ohinemutu at any moment. what signifies it that matters have remained in their present condition for perhaps a thousand years? the liability to an outburst is none the less on that account. such is the history of all eruptions: centuries elapse of comparative quiet and seeming immunity from serious danger,--and then comes a great and awful explosion! confined steam, boiling water, and burning sulphur must somewhere and somehow find vent at the surface. the seething and subdued roaring which never ceases are a constant warning to this effect. and yet here both europeans and natives live on, and give the possible contingency never a thought. within pistol-shot of where these notes were originally made, there was before our eyes a half sunken point jutting out into lake rotorua which has "gradually subsided"--ominous words--so that but a small portion remains in view. in former times a _pah_, or fort, stood upon this point, the fate of which is briefly told. one stormy night a hoarse rumbling noise was heard, of more than usual significance, followed by a shrill sound of hissing steam. the trembling earth opened on the border of the lake, and the pah with all its people sank instantly into the raging fires below. no native can be induced to put foot upon what is left of this peninsula at the present day. the place is _tapu_. the visitor explores it alone, while his guide remains at a wholesome distance. plenty of boiling springs, sulphurous vapor-holes, and seething mud-pools were found distributed over the place where the maori pah and its people were engulfed. although by the late eruption, so far as is known, only one hundred and six persons--natives and europeans--were destroyed, it included a whole maori village which was instantly blotted out of existence, as was the pah on the peninsula jutting into the lake. the particulars of the late awful visitation, unequalled in the history of new zealand, were sad and harrowing to listen to. there were instances where persons, still alive, were dug from the ashes and débris miles away from the crater, after being either buried, or partially so, for one and two days, though none of them survived more than a few hours after exhumation. we were told of an aged maori whose cabin was miles distant from the burning mountain, who was exhumed after twenty-four hours' burial. he was over one hundred years of age, and survived three days after being recovered. as to those far-famed and beautiful natural curiosities the terraces, so completely is the configuration of the country changed for many miles in all directions, that it is quite impossible to discover their former site. an area covering nearly thirty square miles is now but one sad picture of desolation, strewn with ashes and lava, to look upon which was both depressing and awe-inspiring. one bowlder was pointed out to us which must weigh at least a hundred tons, that was thrown a quarter of a mile from the mouth of the crater. the country over which the boiling springs and geysers occur is about a hundred and twenty miles long by seventeen or twenty wide, their activity varying somewhat at different localities. the fiery region extends beneath the sea after reaching the coast at the bay of plenty, being doubtless connected with several remote islands of the pacific ocean,--the immediate vicinity of ohinemutu being apparently the centre of thermal development. it is only necessary in many places to make a hole a few feet deep by thrusting one's walking-stick into the ground, to bring forth a vigorous demonstration of the hissing steam. on first rising from sleep in the morning and looking out upon the remarkable scene, the low-lying dense clouds of vapor all about the hamlet give one the idea that the activity of the underground forces is greater in the night than during the day; but this is probably not the case. except occasionally, when owing to some great unknown disturbing cause an unusual explosion takes place, the result varies but little at the surface from one year's end to another. is idleness infectious? one dallies with time in the midst of these strange phenomena, wandering among the native huts and their lazy, bronzed inhabitants, studying their gypsy life in all its phases. everything is not quite agreeable, but all is quaint, novel, and interesting. we were shown some of the native carving which was executed a hundred years ago, mostly in the form of war-clubs and idols. there were images representing strange human beings of both sexes; but they were always grotesque, and often disgusting. there was not even an approach to excellence or a spirit of art observable in any of them. a certain consistency is discovered in the manners and customs of this people who live so nearly after the style and laws which governed their ancestors, and which have been carefully preserved for hundreds of years. superstition is born in a maori. he is a professed christian,--that is, in most cases,--and accepts the bible; but he is apt to give it his own interpretation: yet for that matter how many white religionists there are who do the same! these children of nature follow their ancestral traditions modified by christian influences. the original religion of the natives, if we can give it that name, consisted in a dim belief of a future state, quite undefined even in their own minds. it was largely a sort of ancestor worship, according to the missionaries, with a vague idea of some being higher and better than anything human or finite. the sorcery which was universally practised among them filled up a certain measure of religious conviction and observance; nor is this by any means disused among them to-day. many of the tribes can read and write, and educational facilities are freely offered to the rising generation by the english government. whakarewarewa--we can write but not pronounce the name--forms another active volcano point, and is situated about four miles from the lake house. for three days, whenever the eyes wandered in that direction, we had seen the hamlet, which occupies a side-hill, steaming away vigorously, and sometimes got a glimpse of the boiling water spouted high in air. the road thither lies over a perfectly level way in the midst of a plain which was doubtless overflowed by the lake in former times, and which is still so much under water as to be nearly navigable for a small boat. here we found another tribe of maoris surrounded by geysers, boiling pits, hot, spluttering, and unwholesome-looking mud-pools, with steam-holes innumerable. what a region of perpetual ferment it is! how busy must be the fiery agencies constantly operating in nature's subterranean laboratory! soon after entering the hamlet we passed a clear, blue boiling-pool of great depth, which is improved by the whole community for cooking purposes. in the sides of this out-of-doors stone and earthen cavity indentures had been made, where iron pots and wicker screens could be placed for boiling vegetables and other food. the action of the largest geyser here was fitful and irregular, subsiding for a few seconds now and then, and again bursting forth with renewed power, throwing a column of boiling water thirty feet into the air with startling effect. we were told that this geyser when in operation often sent up such a column to the height of sixty feet. much wandering over the earth's surface and knowledge of terrestrial affairs has taught us not to accept unchallenged the statements of even such worthy guides as our veracious sophia. the fact as confirmed to us by ocular demonstration was quite startling enough, and exaggeration was certainly needless. this erratic geyser emerges from a large opening eight or ten feet in diameter worn through the split rock, and is of unknown depth,--a successful attempt to sound it being impossible, as the spray would envelop the operator and scald him to death. the water from this geyser overflows a series of bowlders running down into a broad sulphurous basin, in which are many more boiling springs and yawning chasms, with here and there overheated flat stones upon which the natives bake their food. the bowlders and slabs over which the chemicalized waters flow, receive a yellowish deposit of sparkling silica, mixed with crystals of sulphur and gleaming sparks of black manganese, which all together form beautiful colors when the sun's rays break through the clouds of mist and play upon them. we were shown among the rocks a natural stone basin capable of holding thirty or forty gallons of water, into and through which the boiling waters could be conducted at will; and here, according to sophia, her forefathers used to boil the heads of their prisoners into a palatable soup! the action of the subterranean forces is more demonstrative here than at ohinemutu, and the immediate sulphurous effect upon the atmosphere is much more dense. the matter thrown up from the depths consists of crystals of alum, soda, sulphur, arsenic, iron, and other chemicals, which form cones about the several chasms. after passing in and out among these geysers, boiling rivulets, hot springs, and steam clouds, one is glad to reach an elevation where the atmosphere is comparatively clear and pure, and where a long breath may be drawn with a degree of comfort. standing upon an elevation overlooking the whole strange scene, the air filled with heated spray, steam, and sulphurous gases, forming all together a dense vapor which clouded the sunlight, it was impossible not to recall the picture of dante's inferno. our cicerone here, as the reader has already been partially informed, was the famous sophia, a maori woman who has acted in this capacity for many years, and who, as she herself deposed, was the mother of fifteen children, twelve of whom were still living. her tattooed face is well wrinkled by the hand of time, though her activity in climbing the different points of interest is marvellous. she speaks english well, is gentle in voice and remarkable for her good manners, taking great care that those whom she conducts through these novel scenes shall see and understand every object of interest. on the green borders of all this volcanic confusion, as we were leaving whakarewarewa, a fragrant little bouquet of the wild blossoms of the manuka were gathered and offered to us by a maori girl, who felt so much overpaid by the shilling tendered her in return as to hesitate to receive it. on returning to ohinemutu we found extensive preparations going on in the maori hamlet for a grand dance as a sort of winding-up ceremony to the four days of wailing and feasting over the death of the chief, of whom the reader has already heard. it was curious to see into what a state of excitement the natives could work themselves by means of dance and song. it recalled the infatuation and frenzy of the whirling dervishes of cairo. alcohol could not more thoroughly excite them or stimulate their brains. in these exercises the women far exceeded the men in their extravagance of behavior,--jumping wildly up and down, thrusting out their arms and legs with perfect abandon and apparent unconsciousness, distorting their bodies and features, and twisting themselves generally into most impossible shapes. a dull, monotonous drum-beat was the only musical accompaniment, which was produced from a hollow log, both ends of which were covered with sheep-skin. the perfect concert of action among the dancers was marvellous, the more so because no consecutive purpose could be divined. the most weird and picturesque scene we can recall as witnessed in the lake district was the performance of one of these dances by moonlight; but it must be acknowledged that the exhibition was more striking than decorous. belonging to this tribe, and indeed to all that are visited by the whites, there is always a bevy of dancing-girls with a world of passion in their bold, luminous eyes, and a reckless disregard of all delicacy in their behavior, ever ready to perform before strangers for money. some of these girls have very long, perfectly straight hair and a jewish cast of features quite in contrast to the typical maori faces. the indifference of parents to the conduct of their daughters is remarkable even for savages. one great objection to the _haka_, or native dance, is the beer-drinking which invariably accompanies it. the beer is brought from the hotel in an open bucket holding several gallons, and mugs being furnished, the performers partake freely, until by the time the dance draws to a close they are not in a condition to care much for the proprieties. when one of these maoris meets another after a long separation, the first thing is the mutual rubbing of noses, after which each of the parties begins to mourn and weep; but when they say good-by at parting, for however long a term, boisterous laughter is indulged in,--for it is a principle with them to speed the parting guest with feast, song, and hilarity. as the dead lies prepared for burial, the nearest relative first, and the closest friend after, rubs noses with the corpse. the natives here are in receipt of a considerable amount of money from the rents of lands, from pensions granted by the government, and from acting in the capacity of guides, or as boatmen on the lake, and for performing other odd jobs for the whites. but they have no idea of economy or of saving anything for a time of need. the money which they receive goes as fast as it comes into their possession, and mostly for liquor and tobacco. when the money is gone, they will half starve themselves until a fresh supply comes in. after one of their continued wakes, at which food is so recklessly wasted, and all their spare cash expended in drinking and in other excesses, there follows a period of fasting, during which they live upon roots, berries, and stray bits of food picked up here and there. such is their improvidence, that there are often times when they would absolutely starve were it not for the aid given gratuitously by the whites. the maoris at the present time are remarkably peaceable among themselves,--being never known, as we were told by local officials, to quarrel one with another, not even in their cups; for while liquor makes them foolish, it seldom makes them pugnacious. it was noticed that the fathers often carried the infant children on their backs, and in the same style adopted by the mothers. from this and other indications we got the impression that they are very kind to their children. one thing is certainly remarkable: these native babies never cry. we were a full week among them, witnessing their domestic life at nearly all hours, and we never heard the first cry from their lips. the same peculiarity as regards infants was also noticed by the author both in china and japan. as has been mentioned already, the funeral of one of their chiefs had drawn numerous representatives from other tribes to ohinemutu, so that the number of aborigines was largely increased at the hamlet during our stay. the last day of our sojourning here was sunday, a certain outward respect for which is observed by the natives as well as the few white residents at ohinemutu. the little rude earthen-floored chapel, where a roman catholic priest officiates, was not large enough to accommodate both the resident tribe and their visitors at the same time, so they divided into two parties,--one half attending the services in the chapel, while the other half remained outside squatting upon their hams and playing cards for pennies. this seemed to us to be a little out of keeping with the church-going idea, but the average native is not at all amenable in his feelings to the conventionalities of the whites. gambling with cards under the shadow of the church presented no anomalous aspect to these waiting worshippers. when the first audience had completed the usual religious exercises,--listening to prayers read in latin, which of course were "all greek" to them,--then the card-players changed places with them, and each party did as the other had just done. the afternoon was devoted to foot-ball by the men, and to bathing, gossiping, and smoking tobacco by the women. the food and stimulants had evidently become exhausted, as the visitors prepared to depart to their homes, but they were dismissed as usual with riotous tokens of joy. the government now owns a considerable portion of land in the hot lake district, which has been purchased at a fair price from the natives. the region called the king's country contains at least ten thousand square miles, lying within clearly-defined boundaries. its possession is sacredly secured to the maoris by treaty with the home government of england. the aborigines however would in no contingency permit any encroachment upon their present domain; they would declare open war first, and fight for their rights. it is remembered by the whites that these natives _can_ fight when incited to do so by their chiefs, and by a sense of being wronged. this was made clear enough in the early days of the european occupancy, when it cost the english thousands of lives and vast amounts of treasure before peace was finally brought about by the abundant concessions of sir george gray, the then governor. the natives had very rude weapons in those days; now, however, they have fire-arms, and know how to use them. no foreigner can go into the king's country without a native permit; no white man can travel there without a maori guide; a murderer or other criminal cannot be pursued thither by a government officer, except by first obtaining the proper permission. in these reserved lands the maoris show a bold and warlike front. they enjoy full political rights in the government of the country, and return their own members to the national assembly from the several districts in their province. the few educated members of the tribe are distinguished for a certain kind of eloquence, and can speak well and forcibly in behalf of the interests of their race. like our own american indians, they abound in poetical figures of speech and natural illustrations. instances were related to us of some of these maori representatives (generally with more or less european blood in their veins), who had electrified the legislative body to which they belonged, by their eloquent and powerful harangues, and who had more than once carried their purpose to a successful issue, against the manifest popular wish of the assembly, by their clear force of argument and manly speech. government is building a sanitarium at sulphur point, as it is called, situated about half a mile from the lake house. the baths attached to it are supplied with water from springs which are highly charged with chemical matter, each being quite different from the others in its peculiar properties, and supposed to possess special curative powers. there is also here a hospital already in operation under the control of the government, in which there were a score of patients when we visited it. several of these were grateful and enthusiastic for the benefit they believed themselves to have experienced by bathing in the ill-smelling waters. said one to us: "i now leave my crutches under my bed; but when i came here two weeks ago i could not walk across my room without them. now, however, i walk a mile in the open air, forenoon and afternoon, without any help, and have a grand appetite, with the digestion of an ostrich." a large town has been arranged for by the authorities in anticipation of the future popularity of these hot springs. broad, regular, and well-laid out streets have been graded and fenced, having nicely gravelled road-beds, lined with ornamental trees; but there are yet no dwelling-houses here except the very comfortable hospital structure. there is, however, a grocery store, a post-office, and a town hall,--these last two being of brick. it seemed to us that the atmosphere of sulphur point must always prove an insuperable objection to its being adopted as a permanent home. the constant odor rising from the subterraneous fires not only excites disgust, but is disagreeably suggestive of the nearness to active volcanic agencies. the lake house is situated upon a gentle elevation, thirty or forty feet higher than the lake, and overlooking the lands all about it; but sulphur point is nearly on a level with the water, and is so low that any rise of the lake would inevitably flood it, and it must always be very damp. yet invalids have come all the way from the north of europe to test the advantages of these springs, and, as we were assured by the attendant physician, with almost unvarying success. a railway is constructing from oxford hither which will connect ohinemutu with auckland direct, obviating the necessity for staging, which no invalid should attempt unless the road is in a very different condition from that in which we found it. the railway will doubtless be finished within a twelvemonth. one must start before sunrise from ohinemutu in order to reach auckland on the same day, though the distance is only a hundred and sixty miles, all but thirty of which is by railway. we have shown that the road between the lake district and oxford is one requiring time to deal with. when we left the lake house, the silvery gray of the morning was struggling through the clouds of hot vapor and sulphurous steam which hung over and about the place. the stage lanterns and those in the hands of the attendants cast a weird and fitful glamour all about us. a dog was baying down among the maori cabins, albeit the hamlet as a whole still slept. the horses brought out from their stable into the crisp morning air were a little restless, and a hostler held the bits of the two leaders. presently the driver called out, "all right! let them go!" and in a moment more we were rolling smartly away by the borders of lake rotorua. the extended programme was completed, and now our steps would be turned toward distant america. no intelligent person can be blind to the favorable position of new zealand or to the promise of its future commercial importance. situated as it were in the centre of this austral ocean, the future highway of the world, it is accessible from all quarters. on the west, not far away, lie the busy harbors of australia, with which her exchanges of merchandise are constant. within easy reach of india and china on one side, she has california, mexico, and south america on the other. to the north lie the hundreds of islands which constitute the groups of polynesia, notable for their voluptuous climate and primitive fertility. with the opening of the panama canal or other available means for crossing the isthmus, new zealand will lie directly in the highway between europe and the gold-fields of the great island-continent,--between england and her largest colony. the insular position of the country does not necessarily indicate inaccessibility. the many beautiful islands of the south sea must sooner or later come under the commercial sway of new zealand, as they may be explored and civilized. her admirable harbors, noble estuaries, and navigable rivers are elsewhere unsurpassed. if destined to achieve greatness, these islands, like those of great britain, will do so through the development and maintenance of maritime power; and with so many advantages as they possess, we predict for them this final accomplishment. as an attractive country to the explorer and traveller, though so many thousands of miles away from the beaten tracks, new zealand is rendered accessible by the growing facilities of our times, and certainly combines within itself a grand variety of natural phenomena which nowhere else are so readily reached or more striking to behold. her soil produces all the vegetation and fruits of the teeming tropics; and yet within a few hours' travel of flower-clad plains, one can ascend mountains as lofty, and behold glaciers as frigid and grand, as in switzerland or norway. while perennial verdure characterizes her valleys and plains, her lofty ranges are snow-capped all through the year. in the north she has geysers, boiling springs, heated caldrons, and active craters, as endless in variety as they are countless in number; in the south she has myriads of cool lakes which for beauty of scenery excel the lake of geneva, and for depth vie with the famous fjords of scandinavia,--thus giving us an epitome of the grandest exhibitions of many lands. her native race is unique, excelling nearly all others in originality, and full of interest to the ethnological student. in the wild maori country the paths are among a wilderness of boiling waterspouts, and in the open districts of the lower country one is sheltered by fern-trees, tall, graceful, and picturesque. from the crests of burning mountains we may look into regions where sulphurous fires never cease, and by turning the eyes in another direction behold crystal waters tumbling over precipices hundreds of feet in height, to feed the streams which irrigate the fertile plains below. these marvellous forests, precipitous gorges, lovely rivers, and fruitful valleys have neither legend nor history to lend them fortuitous attractions; but is it not quite as fascinating to tread such unworn lands, to make one's own path in the unbroken forest, and to be brought face to face with nature in her primal condition? he who has become blasé with travel in europe, or even in the less worn fields of asia, may here encounter wonder upon wonder which will be sure to "whet his almost blunted appetite," and to renew in him all the early charms of foreign discovery and travel. +-----------------------------------------------+ | transcriber's note: | | | | inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the | | original document have been preserved. | | | | typographical errors corrected in the text: | | | | page franciso changed to francisco | | page mani changed to maui | | page darjeling changed to darjeeling | | page gympic changed to gympie | | page gympic changed to gympie | | page chinamen changed to chinaman | | page cleanly changed to clean | | page where-ever changed to wherever | | page presumedly changed to presumably | +-----------------------------------------------+ a lady's visit to the gold diggings of australia in - by mrs charles (ellen) clacy contents chapter i. introductory remarks chapter ii. the voyage out chapter iii. stay in melbourne chapter iv. camping up--melbourne to the black forest chapter v. camping up--black forest to eagle hawk gully chapter vi. the diggings chapter vii. eagle hawk gully chapter viii. an adventure chapter ix. harriette walters chapter x. ironbark gully chapter xi. forest creek chapter xii. return to melbourne chapter xiii. ballarat chapter xiv. new south wales chapter xv. south australia chapter xvi. melbourne again chapter xvii. homeward bound chapter xviii. conclusion appendix. who should emigrate? chapter i. introductory remarks it may be deemed presumptuous that one of my age and sex should venture to give to the public an account of personal adventures in a land which has so often been descanted upon by other and abler pens; but when i reflect on the many mothers, wives, and sisters in england, whose hearts are ever longing for information respecting the dangers and privations to which their relatives at the antipodes are exposed, i cannot but hope that the presumption of my undertaking may be pardoned in consideration of the pleasure which an accurate description of some of the australian gold fields may perhaps afford to many; and although the time of my residence in the colonies was short, i had the advantage (not only in melbourne, but whilst in the bush) of constant intercourse with many experienced diggers and old colonists--thus having every facility for acquiring information respecting victoria and the other colonies. it was in the beginning of april, -, that the excitement occasioned by the published accounts of the victoria "diggings," induced my brother to fling aside his homer and euclid for the various "guides" printed for the benefit of the intending gold-seeker, or to ponder over the shipping columns of the daily papers. the love of adventure must be contagious, for three weeks after (so rapid were our preparations) found myself accompanying him to those auriferous regions. the following pages will give an accurate detail of my adventures there--in a lack of the marvellous will consist their principal faults but not even to please would i venture to turn uninteresting truth into agreeable fiction. of the few statistics which occur, i may safely say, as of the more personal portions, that they are strictly true. chapter ii. the voyage out everything was ready--boxes packed, tinned, and corded; farewells taken, and ourselves whirling down by rail to gravesend--too much excited--too full of the future to experience that sickening of the heart, that desolation of the feelings, which usually accompanies an expatriation, however voluntary, from the dearly loved shores of one's native land. although in the cloudy month of april, the sun shone brightly on the masts of our bonny bark, which lay in full sight of the windows of the "old falcon," where we had taken up our temporary quarters. the sea was very rough, but as we were anxious to get on board without farther delay, we entrusted our valuable lives in a four-oared boat, despite the dismal prognostications of our worthy host. a pleasant row that was, at one moment covered over with salt-water--the next riding on the top of a wave, ten times the size of our frail conveyance--then came a sudden concussion--in veering our rudder smashed into a smaller boat, which immediately filled and sank, and our rowers disheartened at this mishap would go no farther. the return was still rougher--my face smarted dreadfully from the cutting splashes of the salt-water; they contrived, however, to land us safely at the "old falcon," though in a most pitiable plight; charging only a sovereign for this delightful trip--very moderate, considering the number of salt-water baths they had given us gratis. in the evening a second trial proved more successful, and we reached our vessel safely. a first night on board ship has in it something very strange, and the first awakening in the morning is still more so. to find oneself in a space of some six feet by eight, instead of a good-sized room, and lying in a cot, scarce wide enough to turn round in, as a substitute for a four-post bedstead, reminds you in no very agreeable manner that you have exchanged the comforts of old england for the "roughing it" of a sea life. the first sound that awoke me was the "cheerily" song of the sailors, as the anchor was heaved--not again, we trusted, to be lowered till our eyes should rest on the waters of port philip. and then the cry of "raise tacks and sheets" (which i, in nautical ignorance, interpreted "hay-stacks and sheep") sent many a sluggard from their berths to bid a last farewell to the banks of the thames. in the afternoon we parted company with our steam-tug, and next morning, whilst off the isle of wight, our pilot also took his departure. sea-sickness now became the fashion, but, as i cannot speak from experience of its sensations, i shall altogether decline the subject. on friday, the th, we sighted stark point; and as the last speck of english land faded away in the distance, an intense feeling of misery crept over me, as i reflected that perchance i had left those most dear to return to them no more. but i forget; a description of private feelings is, to uninterested readers, only so much twaddle, besides being more egotistical than even an account of personal adventures could extenuate; so, with the exception of a few extracts from my "log," i shall jump at once from the english channel to the more exciting shores of victoria. wednesday, may , lat. degrees minutes n., long. degrees minutes w.--whilst off the bay of biscay, for the first time i had the pleasure of seeing the phosphoric light in the water, and the effect was indeed too beautiful to describe. i gazed again and again, and, as the darkness above became more dense, the silence of evening more profound, and the moving lights beneath more brilliant, i could have believed them the eyes of the undines, who had quitted their cool grottos beneath the sea to gaze on the daring ones who were sailing above them. at times one of these stars of the ocean would seem to linger around our vessel, as though loth to leave the admiring eyes that watched its glittering progress.* * * * * sunday, , lat. degrees minutes n., long. degrees minutes w.--great excitement throughout the ship. early in the morning a homeward-bound sail hove in sight, and as the sea was very calm, our captain kindly promised to lower a boat and send letters by her. what a scene then commenced; nothing but scribes and writing-desks met the view, and nought was heard but the scratching of pens, and energetic demands for foreign letter-paper, vestas, or sealing-wax; then came a rush on deck, to witness the important packet delivered to the care of the first mate, and watch the progress of the little bark that was to bear among so many homes the glad tidings of our safety. on she came--her stunsails set--her white sails glittering in the sun--skimming like a sea-bird over the waters. she proved to be the maltese schooner 'felix,' bound for bremen. her captain treated the visitors from our ship with the greatest politeness, promised to consign our letters to the first pilot he should encounter off the english coast, and sent his very last oranges as a present to the ladies, for which we sincerely thanked him; the increasing heat of the weather made them acceptable indeed. wednesday, , lat. degrees minutes n., long. degrees minutes w.--at about noon we sighted madeira. at first it appeared little more than a dark cloud above the horizon; gradually the sides of the rocks became clearly discernible, then the wind bore us onward, and soon all traces of the sunny isle were gone. friday, , lat. degrees minutes n., long. degrees minutes w.--another opportunity of sending letters, but as this was the second time of so doing, the excitement was proportionately diminished. this vessel was bound for the port of liverpool, from the coast of africa; her cargo (so said those of our fellow-travellers who boarded her), consisted of ebony and gold-dust, her only passengers being monkeys and parrots. sunday, june , long. degrees minutes w.--crossed the line, to the great satisfaction of all on board, as we had been becalmed more than a week, and were weary of gazing upon the unruffled waters around us, or watching the sails as they idly flapped to and fro. chess, backgammon, books and cards, had ceased to beguile the hours away, and the only amusement left was lowering a boat and rowing about within a short distance of the ship, but this (even by those not pulling at the oars) was considered too fatiguing work, for a tropical sun was above us, and the heat was most intense. our only resource was to give ourselves up to a sort of dolce far niente existence, and lounge upon the deck, sipping lemonade or lime-juice, beneath a large awning which extended from the fore to the mizen masts. tuesday, august , lat. degrees minutes s., long. degrees minutes e.--early this morning one of the sailors died, and before noon the last services of the church of england were read over his body; this was the first and only death that occurred during our long passage, and the solemnity of committing his last remains to their watery grave cast a saddening influence over the most thoughtless. i shall never forget the moment when the sewn-up hammock, with a gaily coloured flag wrapped round it, was launched into the deep; those who can witness with indifference a funeral on land, would, i think, find it impossible to resist the thrilling awe inspired by such an event at sea. friday, , lat. degrees minutes s., long. degrees minutes e.--sighted moonlight head, the next day cape otway; and in the afternoon of sunday, the nd, we entered the heads, and our pilot came on board. he was a smart, active fellow, and immediately anchored us within the bay (a heavy gale brewing); and then, after having done colonial justice to a substantial dinner, he edified us with the last melbourne news. "not a spare room or bed to be had--no living at all under a pound a-day--every one with ten fingers making ten to twenty pounds a-week." "then of course no one goes to the diggings?" "oh, that pays better still--the gold obliged to be quarried--a pound weight of no value." the excitement that evening can scarcely be imagined, but it somewhat abated next morning on his telling us to diminish his accounts some per cent. monday, .--the wind high, and blowing right against us. compelled to remain at anchor, only too thankful to be in such safe quarters. tuesday, .--got under weigh at half-past seven in the morning, and passed the wrecks of two vessels, whose captains had attempted to come in without a pilot, rather than wait for one--the increased number of vessels arriving, causing the pilots to be frequently all engaged. the bay, which is truly splendid, was crowded with shipping. in a few hours our anchor was lowered for the last time--boats were put off towards our ship from liardet's beach--we were lowered into the first that came alongside--a twenty minutes' pull to the landing-place--another minute, and we trod the golden shores of victoria. chapter iii. stay in melbourne at last we are in australia. our feet feel strange as they tread upon terra firma, and our sea-legs (to use a sailor's phrase) are not so ready to leave us after a four months' service, as we should have anticipated; but it matters little, for we are in the colonies, walking with undignified, awkward gait, not on a fashionable promenade, but upon a little wooden pier. the first sounds that greet our ears are the noisy tones of some watermen, who are loitering on the building of wooden logs and boards, which we, as do the good people of victoria, dignify with the undeserved title of pier. there they stand in their waterproof caps and skins--tolerably idle and exceedingly independent--with one eye on the look out for a fare, and the other cast longingly towards the open doors of liardet's public-house, which is built a few yards from the landing-place, and alongside the main road to melbourne. "ah, skipper! times isn't as they used to was," shouted one, addressing the captain of one of the vessels then lying in the bay, who was rowing himself to shore, with no other assistant or companion than a sailor-boy. the captain, a well-built, fine-looking specimen of an english seaman, merely laughed at this impromptu salutation. "i say, skipper, i don't quite like that d----d stroke of yours." no answer; but, as if completely deaf to these remarks, as well as the insulting tone in which they were delivered, the "skipper" continued giving his orders to his boy, and then leisurely ascended the steps. he walked straight up to the waterman, who was lounging against the railing. "so, my fine fellow, you didn't quite admire that stroke of mine. now, i've another stroke that i think you'll admire still less," and with one blow he sent him reeling against the railing on the opposite side. the waterman slowly recovered his equilibrium, muttering, "that was a safe dodge, as the gentleman knew he was the heaviest man of the two." "then never let your tongue say what your fist can't defend," was the cool retort, as another blow sent him staggering to his original place, amidst the unrestrained laughter of his companions, whilst the captain unconcernedly walked into liardet's, whither we also betook ourselves, not a little surprised and amused by this our first introduction to colonial customs and manners. the fact is, the watermen regard the masters of the ships in the bay as sworn enemies to their business; many are runaway sailors, and therefore, i suppose, have a natural antipathy that way; added to which, besides being no customers themselves, the "skippers," by the loan of their boats, often save their friends from the exorbitant charges these watermen levy. exorbitant they truly are. not a boat would they put off for the nearest ship in the bay for less than a pound, and before i quitted those regions, two and three times that sum was often demanded for only one passenger. we had just paid at the rate of only three shillings and sixpence each, but this trifling charge was in consideration of the large party--more than a dozen--who had left our ship in the same boat together. meanwhile we have entered liardet's en attendant the melbourne omnibus, some of our number, too impatient to wait longer, had already started on foot. we were shown into a clean, well-furnished sitting-room, with mahogany dining-table and chairs, and a showy glass over the mantelpicce. an english-looking barmaid entered. "would the company like some wine or spirits?" some one ordered sherry, of which i only remember that it was vile trash at eight shillings a bottle. and now the cry of "here's the bus," brought us quickly outside again, where we found several new arrivals also waiting for it. i had hoped, from the name, or rather misname, of the conveyance, to gladden my eyes with the sight of something civilized. alas, for my disappointment! there stood a long, tumble-to-pieces-looking waggon, not covered in, with a plank down each side to sit upon, and a miserable narrow plank it was. into this vehicle were crammed a dozen people and an innumerable host of portmanteaus, large and small, carpet-bags, baskets, brown-paper parcels, bird-cage and inmate, &c., all of which, as is generally the case, were packed in a manner the most calculated to contribute the largest amount of inconvenience to the live portion of the cargo. and to drag this grand affair into melbourne were harnessed thereto the most wretched-looking objects in the shape of horses that i had ever beheld. a slight roll tells us we are off. "and is this the beautiful scenery of australia?" was my first melancholy reflection. mud and swamp--swamp and mud--relieved here and there by some few trees which looked as starved and miserable as ourselves. the cattle we passed appeared in a wretched condition, and the human beings on the road seemed all to belong to one family, so truly vandemonian was the cast of their countenances. "the rainy season's not over," observed the driver, in an apologetic tone. our eyes and uneasy limbs most feelingly corroborated his statement, for as we moved along at a foot-pace, the rolling of the omnibus, owing to the deep ruts and heavy soil, brought us into most unpleasant contact with the various packages before-mentioned. on we went towards melbourne--now stopping for the unhappy horses to take breath--then passing our pedestrian messmates, and now arriving at a small specimen of a swamp; and whilst they (with trowsers tucked high above the knee and boots well saturated) step, slide and tumble manfully through it, we give a fearful roll to the left, ditto, ditto to the right, then a regular stand-still, or perhaps, by way of variety, are all but jolted over the animals' heads, till at length all minor considerations of bumps and bruises are merged in the anxiety to escape without broken bones. "the yarra," said the conductor. i looked straight ahead, and innocently asked "where?" for i could only discover a tract of marsh or swamp, which i fancy must have resembled the fens of lincolnshire, as they were some years ago, before draining was introduced into that county. over princes bridge we now passed, up swanston street, then into great bourke street, and now we stand opposite the post-office--the appointed rendezvous with the walkers, who are there awaiting us. splashed, wet and tired, and also, i must confess, very cross, right thankful was i to be carried over the dirty road and be safely deposited beneath the wooden portico outside the post-office. our ride to melbourne cost us only half-a-crown a piece, and a shilling for every parcel. the distance we had come was between two and three miles. the non-arrival of the mail-steamer left us now no other care save the all-important one of procuring food and shelter. scouts were accordingly despatched to the best hotels; they returned with long faces--"full." the second-rate, and in fact every respectable inn and boarding or lodging-house were tried but with no better success. here and there a solitary bed could be obtained, but for our digging party entire, which consisted of my brother, four shipmates, and myself, no accommodation could be procured, and we wished, if possible, to keep together. "it's a case," ejaculated one, casting his eyes to the slight roof above us as if calculating what sort of night shelter it would afford. at this moment the two last searchers approached, their countenances not quite so woe-begone as before. "well?" exclaimed we all in chorus, as we surrounded them, too impatient to interrogate at greater length. thank heavens! they had been successful! the house-keeper of a surgeon, who with his wife had just gone up to forest creek, would receive us to board and lodge for thirty shillings a week each; but as the accommodation was of the indifferent order, it was not as yet une affaire arrangee. on farther inquiry, we found the indifferent accommodation consisted in their being but one small sleeping-room for the gentlemen, and myself to share the bed and apartment of the temporary mistress. this was vastly superior to gipsying in the dirty streets, so we lost no time in securing our new berths, and ere very long, with appetites undiminished by these petty anxieties, we did ample justice to the dinner which our really kind hostess quickly placed before us. the first night on shore after so long a voyage could scarcely seem otherwise than strange, one missed the eternal rocking at which so many grumble on board ship. dogs (melbourne is full of them) kept up an incessant barking; revolvers were cracking in all directions until daybreak, giving one a pleasant idea of the state of society; and last, not least, of these annoyances was one unmentionable to ears polite, which would alone have sufficed to drive sleep away from poor wearied me. how i envied my companion, as accustomed to these disagreeables, she slept soundly by my side; but morning at length dawned, and i fell into a refreshing slumber. the next few days were busy ones for all, though rather dismal to me, as i was confined almost entirely within doors, owing to the awful state of the streets; for in the colonies, at this season of the year, one may go out prepared for fine weather, with blue sky above, and dry under foot, and in less than an hour, should a colonial shower come on, be unable to cross some of the streets without a plank being placed from the middle of the road to the pathway, or the alternative of walking in water up to the knees. this may seem a doleful and overdrawn picture of my first colonial experience, but we had arrived at a time when the colony presented its worst aspect to a stranger. the rainy season had been unusually protracted this year, in fact it was not yet considered entirely over, and the gold mines had completely upset everything and everybody, and put a stop to all improvements about the town or elsewhere. our party, on returning to the ship the day after our arrival, witnessed the french-leave-taking of all her crew, who during the absence of the captain, jumped overboard, and were quickly picked up and landed by the various boats about. this desertion of the ships by the sailors is an every-day occurrence; the diggings themselves, or the large amount they could obtain for the run home from another master, offer too many temptations. consequently, our passengers had the amusement of hauling up from the hold their different goods and chattels; and so great was the confusion, that fully a week elapsed before they were all got to shore. meanwhile we were getting initiated into colonial prices--money did indeed take to itself wings and fly away. fire-arms were at a premium; one instance will suffice--my brother sold a six-barrelled revolver for which he had given sixty shillings at baker's, in fleet street, for sixteen pounds, and the parting with it at that price was looked upon as a great favour. imagine boots, and they very second-rate ones, at four pounds a pair. one of our between-deck passengers who had speculated with a small capital of forty pounds in boots and cutlery, told me afterwards that he had disposed of them the same evening he had landed, at a net profit of ninety pounds--no trifling addition to a poor man's purse. labour was at a very high price, carpenters, boot and shoemakers, tailors, wheelwrights, joiners, smiths, glaziers, and, in fact, all useful trades, were earning from twenty to thirty shillings a day--the very men working on the roads could get eleven shillings per diem, and, many a gentleman in this disarranged state of affairs, was glad to fling old habits aside and turn his hand to whatever came readiest. i knew one in particular, whose brother is at this moment serving as colonel in the army in india, a man more fitted for a gay london life than a residence in the colonies. the diggings were too dirty and uncivilized for his taste, his capital was quickly dwindling away beneath the expenses of the comfortable life he led at one of the best hotels in town, so he turned to what as a boy he had learnt for amusement, and obtained an addition to his income of more than four hundred pounds a year as house carpenter. in the morning you might see him trudging off to his work, and before night might meet him at some ball or soiree among the elite of melbourne. i shall not attempt an elaborate description of the town of melbourne, or its neighbouring villages. a subject so often and well discussed might almost be omitted altogether. the town is very well laid out; the streets (which are all straight, running parallel with and across one another) are very wide, but are incomplete, not lighted, and many are unpaved. owing to the want of lamps, few, except when full moon, dare stir out after dark. some of the shops are very fair; but the goods all partake too largely of the flash order, for the purpose of suiting the tastes of successful diggers, their wives and families; it is ludicrous to see them in the shops--men who, before the gold-mines were discovered, toiled hard for their daily bread, taking off half-a-dozen thick gold rings from their fingers, and trying to pull on to their rough, well-hardened hands the best white kids, to be worn at some wedding party; whilst the wife, proud of the novel ornament, descants on the folly of hiding them beneath such useless articles as gloves. the two principal streets are collins street and elizabeth street. the former runs east and west, the latter crossing it in the centre. melbourne is built on two hills, and the view from the top of collins street east, is very striking on a fine day when well filled with passengers and vehicles. down the eye passes till it reaches elizabeth street at the foot; then up again, and the moving mass seems like so many tiny black specks in the distance, and the country beyond looks but a little piece of green. a great deal of confusion arises from the want of their names being painted on the corners of the streets: to a stranger, this is particularly inconvenient, the more so, as being straight, they appear all alike on first acquaintance. the confusion is also increased by the same title, with slight variation, being applied to so many, as, for instance, collins street east; collins street west; little collins street east; little collins street west, &c. &c. churches and chapels for all sects and denominations meet the eye; but the established church has, of all, the worst provision for its members, only two small churches being as yet completed; and sunday after sunday do numbers return from st. peter's, unable to obtain even standing room beneath the porch. for the gay, there are two circuses and one theatre, where the "ladies" who frequent it smoke short tobacco-pipes in the boxes and dress-circle. the country round is very pretty, particularly richmond and collingwood; the latter will, i expect, soon become part of melbourne itself. it is situated at the fashionable--that is, east--end of melbourne, and the buildings of the city and this suburban village are making rapid strides towards each other. of richmond, i may remark that it does possess a "star and garter," though a very different affair to its namesake at the antipodes, being only a small public-house. on the shores of the bay, at nice driving distances, are brighton and st. kilda. two or three fall-to-pieces bathing-machines are at present the only stock in trade of these watering-places; still, should some would-be fashionables among my readers desire to emigrate, it may gratify them to learn that they need not forego the pleasure of visiting brighton in the season. when i first arrived, as the weather was still very cold and wet, my greatest source of discomfort arose from the want of coal-fires, and the draughts, which are innumerable, owing to the slight manner in which the houses are run up; in some the front entrance opens direct into the sitting-rooms, very unpleasant, and entirely precluding the "not at home" to an unwelcome visitor. wood fires have at best but a cheerless look, and i often longed for the bright blaze and merry fireside of an english home. firewood is sold at the rate of fifty shillings for a good-sized barrow-full. the colonists (i here speak of the old-established ones) are naturally very hospitable, and disposed to receive strangers with great kindness; but the present ferment has made them forget everything in the glitter of their own mines, and all comfort is laid aside; money is the idol, and making it is the one mania which absorbs every other thought. the walking inhabitants are of themselves a study: glance into the streets--all nations, classes, and costumes are represented there. chinamen, with pigtails and loose trowsers; aborigines, with a solitary blanket flung over them; vandemonian pickpockets, with cunning eyes and light fingers--all, in truth, from the successful digger in his blue serge shirt, and with green veil still hanging round his wide-awake, to the fashionably-attired, newly-arrived "gent" from london, who stares around him in amazement and disgust. you may see, and hear too, some thoroughly colonial scenes in the streets. once, in the middle of the day, when passing up elizabeth street, i heard the unmistakeable sound of a mob behind, and as it was gaining upon me, i turned into the enclosed ground in front of the roman catholic cathedral, to keep out of the way of the crowd. a man had been taken up for horse-stealing and a rare ruffianly set of both sexes were following the prisoner and the two policemen who had him in charge. "if but six of ye were of my mind," shouted one, "it's this moment you'd release him." the crowd took the hint, and to it they set with right good will, yelling, swearing, and pushing, with awful violence. the owner of the stolen horse got up a counter demonstration, and every few yards, the procession was delayed by a trial of strength between the two parties. ultimately the police conquered; but this is not always the case, and often lives are lost and limbs broken in the struggle, so weak is the force maintained by the colonial government for the preservation of order. another day, when passing the post-office, a regular tropical shower of rain came on rather suddenly, and i hastened up to the platform for shelter. as i stood there, looking out into great bourke street, a man and, i suppose, his wife passed by. he had a letter in his hand for the post; but as the pathway to the receiving-box looked very muddy, he made his companion take it to the box, whilst he himself, from beneath his umbrella, complacently watched her getting wet through. "colonial politeness," thought i, as the happy couple walked on. sometimes a jovial wedding-party comes dashing through the streets; there they go, the bridegroom with one arm round his lady's waist, the other raising a champagne-bottle to his lips; the gay vehicles that follow contain company even more unrestrained, and from them noisier demonstrations of merriment may be heard. these diggers' weddings are all the rage, and bridal veils, white kid gloves, and, above all, orange blossoms are generally most difficult to procure at any price. at times, you may see men, half-mad, throwing sovereigns, like halfpence, out of their pockets into the streets; and i once saw a digger, who was looking over a large quantity of bank-notes, deliberately tear to pieces and trample in the mud under his feet every soiled or ragged one he came to, swearing all the time at the gold-brokers for "giving him dirty paper money for pure alexander gold; he wouldn't carry dirt in his pocket; not he; thank god! he'd plenty to tear up and spend too." melbourne is very full of jews; on a saturday, some of the streets are half closed. there are only two pawnbrokers in the town. the most thriving trade there, is keeping an hotel or public-house, which always have a lamp before their doors. these at night serve as a beacon to the stranger to keep as far from them as possible, they being, with few exceptions, the resort, after dark, of the most ruffianly characters. * * * * * on the nd of september, the long-expected mail steamer arrived, and two days after we procured our letters from the post-office. i may here remark, that the want of proper management in this department is the greatest cause of inconvenience to fresh arrivals, and to the inhabitants of melbourne generally. there is but one small window, whence letters directed to lie at the office are given out; and as the ships from england daily discharged their living cargoes into melbourne, the crowd round this inefficient delivering-place rendered getting one's letters the work, not of hours, but days. newspapers, particularly pictorial ones, have, it would appear, a remarkable facility for being lost en route. several numbers of the "illustrated london news" had been sent me, and, although the letters posted with them arrived in safety, the papers themselves never made their appearance. i did hear that, when addressed to an uncolonial name, and with no grander direction than the post-office itself, the clerks are apt to apropriate them--this is, perhaps, only a wee bit of melbourne scandal. the arrival of our letters from england left nothing now to detain us, and made us all anxious to commence our trip to the diggings, although the roads were in an awful condition. still we would delay no longer, and the bustle of preparation began. stores of flour, tea, and sugar, tents and canvas, camp-ovens, cooking utensils, tin plates and pannikins, opossum rugs and blankets, drays, carts and horses, cradles, &c. &c., had to be looked at, bought and paid for. on board ship, my brother had joined himself to a party of four young men, who had decided to give the diggings a trial. four other of our shipmates had also joined themselves into a digging-party, and when they heard of our intended departure, proposed travelling up together and separating on our arrival. this was settled, and a proposal made that between the two sets they should raise funds to purchase a dray and horses, and make a speculation in flour, tea, &c., on which an immense profit was being made at the diggings. it would also afford the convenience of taking up tents, cradles, and other articles impossible to carry up without. the dray cost one hundred pounds, and the two strong cart-horses ninety and one hundred pounds respectively. this, with the goods themselves, and a few sundries in the shape of harness and cords, made only a venture of about fifty pounds a-piece. while these arrangements were rapidly progressing, a few other parties wished to join ours for safety on the road, which was agreed to, and the day fixed upon for the departure was the th of september. every one, except myself, was to walk, and we furthermore determined to "camp out" as much as possible, and thus avoid the vicinity of the inns and halting-places on the way, which are frequently the lurking-places of thieves and bushrangers. * * * * * on the sunday previous to the day on which our journey was to commence, i had a little adventure, which pleased me at the time, though, but for the sequel, not worth mentioning here. i had walked with my brother and a friend to st. peter's church; but we were a few minutes behind time, and therefore could find no unoccupied seat. thus disappointed, we strolled over princes bridge on to the other side of the yarra. between the bridge and the beach, on the south side of the river, is a little city of tents, called little adelaide. they were inhabited by a number of families, that the rumour of the victoria gold-mines had induced to leave south australia, and whose finances were unequal to the high prices in melbourne. government levies a tax of five shillings a week on each tent, built upon land as wild and barren as the bleakest common in england. we did not wander this morning towards little adelaide; but followed the yarra in its winding course inland, in the direction of the botanical gardens. upon a gentle rise beside the river, not far enough away from melbourne to be inconvenient, but yet sufficiently removed from its mud and noise, were pitched two tents, evidently new, with crimson paint still gay upon the round nobs of the centre posts, and looking altogether more in trim for a gala day in merry england than a trip to the diggings. the sun was high above our heads, and the day intensely hot; so much so, that i could not resist the temptation of tapping at the canvas door to ask for a draught of water. a gentleman obeyed the summons, and on learning the occasion of this unceremonious visit, politely accommodated me with a camp-stool and some delicious fresh milk--in melbourne almost a luxury. whilst i was imbibing this with no little relish, my friends were entering into conversation with our new acquaintance. the tents belonged to a party just arrived by the steamer from england, with everything complete for the diggings, to which they meant to proceed in another week, and where i had the pleasure of meeting them again, though under different and very peculiar circumstances. the tent which i had invaded was inhabited by two, the elder of whom, a powerfully-built man of thirty, formed a strong contrast to his companion, a delicate-looking youth, whose apparent age could not have exceeded sixteen years. after a short rest, we returned to melbourne, well pleased with our little adventure. the next day was hardly long enough for our numerous preparations, and it was late before we retired to rest. six was the hour appointed for the next morning's breakfast. excited with anticipating the adventures to commence on the morrow, no wonder that my dreams should all be golden ones. chapter iv. camping up--melbourne to the black forest the anxiously-expected morning at length commenced, and a dismal-looking morning it was--hazy and damp, with a small drizzling rain, which, from the gloomy aspect above, seemed likely to last. it was not, however, sufficient to damp our spirits, and the appointed hour found us all assembled to attack the last meal that we anticipated to make for some time to come beneath the shelter of a ceiling. at eight o'clock our united party was to start from the "duke of york" hotel, and as that hour drew nigh, the unmistakeable signs of "something up," attracted a few idlers to witness our departure. in truth, we were a goodly party, and created no little sensation among the loungers--but i must regularly introduce our troop to my readers. first then, i must mention two large drays, each drawn by a pair of stout horses--one the property of two germans, who were bound for forest creek, the other belonged to ourselves and shipmates. there were three pack-horses--one (laden with a speculation in bran) belonged to a queer-looking sailor, who went by the name of joe, the other two were under the care of a man named gregory, who was going to rejoin his mates at eagle hawk gully. as his destination was the farthest, and he was well acquainted with the roads, he ought to have been elected leader, but from some mis-management that dignity was conferred upon a stout old gentleman, who had taken a pleasure-trip to mount alexander, the previous summer. starting is almost always a tedious affair, nor was this particular case an exception. first one had forgotten something--another broke a strap, and a new one had to be procured--then the dray was not properly packed, and must be righted--some one else wanted an extra "nobbler"--then a fresh, and still a fresh delay, so that although eight was the appointed hour, it was noon ere we bade farewell to mine host of the "duke of york." at length the word of command was spoken. foremost came the gallant captain (as we had dubbed him), and with him two ship doctors, in partnership together, who carried the signs of their profession along with them in the shape of a most surgeon-like mahogany box. then came the two germans, complacently smoking their meerschaums, and attending to their dray and horses, which latter, unlike their masters, were of a very restless turn of mind. after these came a party of six, among whom was gregory and two lively frenchmen, who kept up an incessant chattering. joe walked by himself, leading his pack-horse, then came our four shipmates, two by two, and last, our own particular five. most carried on their backs their individual property--blankets, provisions for the road, &c., rolled in a skin, and fastened over the shoulders by leathern straps. this bundle goes by the name of "swag," and is the digger's usual accompaniment--it being too great a luxury to place upon a dray or pack-horse anything not absolutely necessary. this will be easily understood when it is known that carriers, during the winter, obtained pounds and sometimes pounds a ton for conveying goods to bendigo (about one hundred miles from melbourne). nor was the sum exorbitant, as besides the chance of a few weeks' stick in the mud, they run great risk of injuring their horses or bullocks; many a valuable beast has been obliged to be shot where it stood, it being found impossible to extricate it from the mud and swamp. at the time we started, the sum generally demanded was about pounds per ton. on the price of carriage up, depended of course the price of provisions at the diggings. the weight of one of these "swags" is far from light; the provender for the road is itself by no means trifling, though that of course diminishes by the way, and lightens the load a little. still there are the blankets, fire-arms, drinking and eating apparatus, clothing, chamois-leather for the gold that has yet to be dug, and numberless other cumbersome articles necessary for the digger. in every belt was stuck either a large knife or a tomahawk; two shouldered their guns (by the bye, rather imprudent, as the sight of fire-arms often brings down an attack); some had thick sticks, fit to fell a bullock; altogether, we seemed well prepared to encounter an entire army of bushrangers. i felt tolerably comfortable perched upon our dray, amid a mass of other soft lumber; a bag of flour formed an easy support to lean against; on either side i was well walled in by the canvas and poles of our tent; a large cheese made a convenient footstool. my attire, although well suited for the business on hand, would hardly have passed muster in any other situation. a dress of common dark blue serge, a felt wide-awake, and a waterproof coat wrapped round me, made a ludicrous assortment. going along at a foot-pace we descended great bourke street, and made our first halt opposite the post-office, where one of our party made a last effort to obtain a letter from his lady-love, which was, alas! unsuccessful. but we move on again--pass the horse bazaar--turn into queen street--up we go towards flemington, leaving the melbourne cemetery on our right, and the flag-staff a little to the left; and now our journey may be considered fairly begun. just out of melbourne, passing to the east of the benevolent asylum, we went over a little rise called mount pleasant, which, on a damp sort of a day, with the rain beating around one, seemed certainly a misnomer. after about two miles, we came to a branch-road leading to pentridge, where the government convict establishment is situated. this we left on our right, and through a line of country thickly wooded (consisting of red and white gum, stringy bark, cherry and other trees), we arrived at flemington, which is about three miles and a half from town. flemington is a neat little village or town-ship, consisting of about forty houses, a blacksmith's shop, several stores, and a good inn, built of brick and stone, with very fair accommodation for travellers, and a large stable and stock-yards. after leaving flemington, we passed several nice-looking homesteads; some are on a very large scale, and belong to gentlemen connected with melbourne, who prefer "living out of town." on reaching the top of the hill beyond flemington there is a fine view of melbourne, the bay, william's town, and the surrounding country, but the miserable weather prevented us at this time from properly enjoying it. sunshine was all we needed to have made this portion of our travels truly delightful. the road was nicely level, fine trees sheltered it on either side, whilst ever and anon some rustic farm-house was passed, or coffee-shop, temporarily erected of canvas or blankets, offered refreshment (such as it was), and the latest news of the diggings to those who had no objection to pay well for what they had. this flemington road (which is considered the most pleasant in victoria, or at least anywhere near melbourne) is very good as far as tulip wright's, which we now approached. wright's public-house is kept by the man whose name it bears; it is a rambling ill-built, but withal pleasing-looking edifice, built chiefly of weather-board and shingle, with a verandah all round. the whole is painted white, and whilst at some distance from it a passing ray of sunshine gave it a most peculiar effect. in front of the principal entrance is a thundering large lamp, a most conspicuous looking object. wright himself was formerly in the police, and being a sharp fellow, obtained the cognomen of "tulip," by which both he and his house have always been known; and so inseparable have the names become, that, whilst "tulip wright's" is renowned well-nigh all over the colonies, the simple name of the owner would create some inquiries. the state of accommodation here may be gathered from the success of some of the party who had a penchant for "nobblers" of brandy. "nothing but bottled beer in the house." "what could we have for dinner?" inquired one, rather amused at this hobson's choice state of affairs. "the eatables was only cold meat; and they couldn't cook nothink fresh," was the curt reply. "can we sleep here?" "yes--under your drays." as we literally determined to "camp out" on the journey, we passed on, without partaking of their "cold eatables," or availing ourselves of their permission to sleep under our own drays, and, leaving the road to sydney on our right, and the one to keilor straight before us, we turned short off to the left towards the deep creek. of the two rejected routes i will give a very brief account. the right-hand road leads to sydney, via kilmore, and many going to the diggings prefer using this road as far as that township. the country about here is very flat, stony and destitute of timber; occasionally the journey is varied by a water-hole or surface-spring. after several miles, a public-house called the "lady of the lake" is reached, which is reckoned by many the best country inn on this or any other road in the colonies. the accommodation is excellent, and the rooms well arranged, and independent of the house. there are ten or twelve rooms which, on a push, could accommodate fifty or sixty people; six are arranged in pairs for the convenience of married persons, and the fashionable trip during the honey-moon (particularly for diggers' weddings) is to the "lady of the lake." whether sir walter's poem be the origin of the sign, or whether the swamps in the rear, i cannot say, but decidedly there is no lake and no lady, though i have heard of a buxom lass, the landlord's daughter, who acts as barmaid, and is a great favourite. this spot was the scene last may of a horrible murder, which has added no little to the notoriety of the neighbourhood. after several miles you at length arrive at kilmore, which is a large and thriving township, containing two places of worship, several stores and inns. there is a resident magistrate with his staff of officials, and a station for a detachment of mounted police. kilmore is on the main overland road from melbourne to sydney, and, although not on the confines of the two colonies, is rather an important place, from being the last main township until you reach the interior of new south wales. the government buildings are commodious and well arranged. there are several farms and stations in the neighbourhood, but the country round is flat and swampy. the middle road leads you direct to keilor, and you must cross the deep creek in a dangerous part, as the banks thereabouts are very steep, the stream (though narrow) very rapid, and the bottom stony. in , the bridge (an ordinary log one) was washed down by the floods, and for two months all communication was cut off. government have now put a punt, which is worked backwards and forwards every half-hour from six in the morning till six at night, at certain fares, which are doubled after these hours. these fares are: for a passenger, d.; a horse or bullock, s.; a two-wheeled vehicle, s. d.; a loaded dray, s. the punt is tolerably well managed, except when the man gets intoxicated--not an unfrequent occurrence. when there was neither bridge nor punt, those who wished to cross were obliged to ford it; and so strong has been the current, that horses have been carried down one or two hundred yards before they could effect a landing. keilor is a pretty little village with a good inn, several nice cottages, and a store or two. the country round is hilly and barren--scarcely any herbage and that little is rank and coarse; the timber is very scarce. this road to the diggings is not much used. but to return to ourselves. the rain and bad roads made travelling so very wearisome, that before we had proceeded far it was unanimously agreed that we should halt and pitch our first encampment. "pitch our first encampment! how charming!" exclaims some romantic reader, as though it were an easily accomplished undertaking. fixing a gipsy-tent at a fete champetre, with a smiling sky above, and all requisites ready to hand, is one thing, and attempting to sink poles and erect tents out of blankets and rugs in a high wind and pelting rain, is (if i may be allowed the colonialism) "a horse of quite another colour." some sort of sheltering-places were at length completed; the horses were taken from the dray and tethered to some trees within sight, and then we made preparations for satisfying the unromantic cravings of hunger--symptoms of which we all, more or less, began to feel. with some difficulty a fire was kindled and kept alight in the hollow trunk of an old gum tree. a damper was speedily made, which, with a plentiful supply of steaks and boiled and roasted eggs, was a supper by no means to be despised. the eggs had been procured at four shillings a dozen from a farm-house we had passed. it was certainly the most curious tea-table at which i had ever assisted. chairs, of course, there were none, we sat or lounged upon the ground as best suited our tired limbs; tin pannicans (holding about a pint) served as tea-cups, and plates of the same metal in lieu of china; a teapot was dispensed with; but a portly substitute was there in the shape of an immense iron kettle, just taken from the fire and placed in the centre of our grand tea-service, which being new, a lively imagination might mistake for silver. hot spirits, for those desirous of imbibing them, followed our substantial repast; but fatigue and the dreary weather had so completely damped all disposition to conviviality, that a very short space of time found all fast asleep except the three unfortunates on the watch, which was relieved every two hours. wednesday, september .--i awoke rather early this morning, not feeling over-comfortable from having slept in my clothes all night, which it is necessary to do on the journey, so as never to be unprepared for any emergency. a small corner of my brother's tent had been partitioned off for my bed-room; it was quite dark, so my first act on waking was to push aside one of the blankets, still wet, which had been my roof during the night, and thus admit air and light into my apartments. having made my toilette--after a fashion--i joined my companions on the watch, who were deep in the mysteries of preparing something eatable for breakfast. i discovered that their efforts were concentrated on the formation of a damper, which seemed to give them no little difficulty. a damper is the legitimate, and, in fact, only bread of the bush, and should be made solely of flour and water, well mixed and kneaded into a cake, as large as you like, but not more than two inches in thickness, and then placed among the hot ashes to bake. if well-made, it is very sweet and a good substitute for bread. the rain had, however, spoiled our ashes, the dough would neither rise nor brown, so in despair we mixed a fresh batch of flour and water, and having fried some rashers of fat bacon till they were nearly melted, we poured the batter into the pan and let it fry till done. this impromptu dish gave general satisfaction and was pronounced a cross between a pancake and a heavy suet pudding. breakfast over, our temporary residences were pulled down, the drays loaded, and our journey recommenced. we soon reached the deep creek, and crossed by means of a punt, the charges being the same as the one at keilor. near here is a station belonging to mr. ryleigh, which is a happy specimen of a squatter's home--everything being managed in a superior manner. the house itself is erected on a rise and surrounded by an extensive garden, vinery and orchard, all well stocked and kept; some beautifully enclosed paddocks reach to the creek, and give an english park-like appearance to the whole. the view from here over the bay and brighton is splendid; you can almost distinguish geelong. about a quarter of a mile off is a little hamlet with a neat swiss-looking church, built over a school-room on a rise of ground; it has a most peculiar effect, and is the more singular as the economizing the ground could not be a consideration in the colony; on the left of the church is a pretty little parsonage, whitewashed, with slate roof and green-painted window-frames. i still fancy, though our redoubtable captain most strenuously denied it, that we had in some manner gone out of our way; however that may be, the roads seemed worse and worse as we proceeded, and our pace became more tedious as here and there it was up-hill work till at length we reached the keilor plains. it was almost disheartening to look upon that vast expanse of flat and dreary land except where the eye lingered on the purple sides of mount macedon, which rose far distant in front of us. on entering the plains we passed two or three little farm-houses, coffee-shops, &c., and encountered several parties coming home for a trip to melbourne. for ten miles we travelled on dismally enough, for it rained a great deal, and we were constantly obliged to halt to get the horses rested a little. we now passed a coffee-shop, which although only consisting of a canvas tent and little wooden shed, has been known to accommodate above forty people of a night. as there are always plenty of bad characters lounging in the neighbourhood of such places, we kept at a respectful distance, and did not make our final halt till full two miles farther on our road. tents were again pitched, but owing to their not being fastened over securely, many of us got an unwished-for shower-bath during the night; but this is nothing--at the antipodes one soon learns to laugh at such trifles. thursday, .--this morning we were up betimes, some of our party being so sanguine as to anticipate making the "bush inn" before evening. as we proceeded, this hope quickly faded away. the keilor plains seemed almost impassable, and what with pieces of rock here, and a water-hole there, crossing them was more dangerous than agreeable. now one passed a broken-down dray; then one's ears were horrified at the oaths an unhappy wight was venting at a mud-hole into which he had stumbled. a comical object he looked, as, half-seas-over, he attempted to pull on a mud-covered boot, which he had just extricated from the hole where it and his leg had parted company. a piece of wood, which his imagination transformed into a shoe-horn, was in his hand. "put it into the larboard side," (suiting the action to the word), "there it goes--damn her, she won't come on! put it into the starboard side there it goes--well done, old girl," and he triumphantly rose from the ground, and reeled away. with a hearty laugh, we proceeded on our road, and after passing two or three coffee-tents, we arrived at gregory's inn. the landlord is considered the best on the road, and is a practical example of what honesty and industry may achieve. he commenced some nine months before without a shilling--his tarpaulin tent and small stock of tea, sugar, coffee, &c., being a loan. he has now a large weather-board house, capable of making up one hundred beds, and even then unable to accommodate all his visitors, so numerous are they, from the good name he bears. here we got a capital cold dinner of meat, bread, cheese, coffee, tea, &c., for three shillings a-piece, and, somewhat refreshed, went forwards in better spirits, though the accounts we heard there of the bad roads in the black forest would have disheartened many. mount macedon now formed quite a beautiful object on our right: a little below that mountain appeared a smaller one, called the bald hill, from its peak being quite barren, and the soil of a white limestone and quartzy nature, which gives it a most peculiar and splendid appearance when the sun's rays are shining upon it. as we advanced, the thickly-wooded sides of mount macedon became more distinct, and our proximity to a part of the country which we knew to be auriferous, exercised an unaccountable yet pleasureable influence over our spirits, which was perhaps increased by the loveliness of the spot where we now pitched our tents for the evening. it was at the foot of the gap. the stately gum-tree, the shea-oak, with its gracefully drooping foliage, the perfumed yellow blossom of the mimosa, the richly-wooded mountain in the background, united to form a picture too magnificent to describe. the ground was carpeted with wild flowers; the sarsaparilla blossoms creeping everywhere; before us slowly rippled a clear streamlet, reflecting a thousand times the deepening tints which the last rays of the setting sun flung over the surrounding scenery; the air rang with the cawing of the numerous cockatoos and parrots of all hues and colours who made the woods resound with their tones, whilst their restless movements and gay plumage gave life and piquancy to the scene. this night our beds were composed of the mimosa, which has a perfume like the hawthorn. the softest-looking branches were selected, cut down, and flung upon the ground beneath the tents, and formed a bed which, to my wearied limbs, appeared the softest and most luxuriant upon which i had slept since my arrival in the colonies. friday, .--with some reluctance i aroused myself from a very heavy slumber produced by the over fatigue of the preceding day. i found every one preparing to start; kindly considerate, my companions thought a good sleep more refreshing for me than breakfast, and had deferred awakening me till quite obliged, so taking a few sailors' biscuits in my pocket to munch on the way, i bade farewell to a spot whose natural beauties i have never seen surpassed. proceeding onwards, we skirted the bald hill, and entering rather a scrubby tract, crossed a creek more awkward for our drays than dangerous to ourselves; we then passed two or three little coffee-shops, which being tents are always shifting their quarters, crossed another plain, very stony and in places swampy, which terminated in a thickly-wooded tract of gum and wattle trees. into this wood we now entered. after about five miles uncomfortable travelling we reached the "bush inn." i must here observe that no distinct road is ever cut out, but the whole country is cut up into innumerable tracks by the carts and drays, and which are awfully bewildering to the new-comer as they run here and there, now crossing a swamp, now a rocky place, here a creek, there a hillock, and yet, in many cases, all leading bona fide to the same place. the "bush inn" (the genuine one, for there are two) consists of a large, well-built, brick and weather-board house, with bed-rooms for private families. there is a detached weather-board, and stone kitchen, and tap-room, with sleeping-lofts above, a large yard with sheds and good stabling. a portion of the house and stables is always engaged for the use of the escort. about two hundred yards off is the "new bush inn," somewhat similar to the other, not quite so large, with an attempt at a garden. the charges at these houses are enormous. five and six shillings per meal, seven-and-sixpence for a bottle of ale, and one shilling for half a glass or "nobbler" of brandy. about half a mile distant is a large station belonging to mr. watson; the houses, huts and yards are very prettily laid out, and, in a few years he will have the finest vineyard in the neighbourhood. two miles to the east is the residence of mr. poullett, commissioner of crown lands, which is very pleasantly situated on the banks of an ever-running stream. the paddock, which is a large one ( square miles, or acres), is well wooded. some new police barracks and stabling yards are in the course of erection. we did not linger in the "bush inn," but pursued our way over a marshy flat, crossed a dangerous creek, and having ascended a steep and thickly wooded hill on the skirts of the black forest, we halted and pitched our tents. it was little more than mid-day, but the road had been fearful--as bad as wading through a mire; men and beasts were worn out, and it was thought advisable to recruit well before entering the dreaded precincts of the black forest. fires were lit, supper was cooked, spirits and pipes made their appearance, songs were sung, and a few of the awful exploits of black douglas and his followers were related. later in the evening, an opossum was shot by one of us. its skin was very soft, with rich, brown hair. saturday, --a dismal wet day--we remained stationary, as many of our party were still foot-sore, and all were glad of a rest. some went out shooting, but returned with only a few parrots and cockatoos, which they roasted, and pronounced nice eating. towards evening, a party of four, returning from the diggings, encamped at a little distance from us. some of our loiterers made their acquaintance. they had passed the previous night in the black forest, having wandered out of their way. to add to their misfortunes, they had been attacked by three well-armed bushrangers, whom they had compelled to desist from their attempt, not, however, before two of the poor men had been wounded, one rather severely. hardly had they recovered this shock, than they were horrified by the sudden discovery in a sequestered spot of some human bones, strewn upon the ground beside a broken-down cart. whether accident or design had brought these unfortunates to an untimely end, none know; but this ominous appearance seemed to have terrified them even more than the bushrangers themselves. these accounts sobered our party not a little, and it was deemed advisable to double the watch that night. chapter v. camping up--black forest to eagle hawk gully sunday, .--a lovely summer morning, which raised our spirits to something like their usual tone, with the exception of our gallant(?) captain, who resigned his post, declaring it his intention to return to melbourne with the four returning diggers. poor fellow! their awful account of the black forest had been too much for his courage. gregory was elected in his place, and wishing him a pleasant trip home, our journey was resumed as usual, and we entered the forest. here the trees grow very closely together; in some places they are so thickly set that the rear-guard of the escort cannot see the advance-guard in the march. there is a slight undergrowth of scrub. we saw some of the choicest of the erica tribe in full bloom, like a beautiful crimson waxen bell-blossom, and once whilst walking (which i frequently did to relieve the monotony of being perched on the dray by myself) i saw a fine specimen of the oreludiae at the foot of a tree growing from the wood; it was something like a yellow sweet-pea, but really too beautiful to describe. the barks of the trees, and also the ground, have a black, charred appearance (hence the name of the forest); this is said to have been caused by its having once been on fire. many of the ambuscades of the noted douglas were passed, and the scenes of some most fearful murders pointed out. we only halted once--so anxious were we to leave behind us this dreaded spot--and at sunset reached the borders of the five mile creek. monday, .--another fine day. crossed the five mile creek by means of a rickety sort of bridge. there are two inns here, with plenty of accommodation for man and beast. we patronized neither, but made the best of our way towards kyneton. our road lay through a densely wooded country till we arrived at jacomb's station; this we left, and turning to the right, soon reached kyneton, which lies on the river campaspe. carlshrue lies to the right, about three miles distant, on rather low land; this is the chief station of the government escort; the barrack accommodation is first-rate, with stabling and paddocks for the horses, &c. kyneton is about sixty-one miles from melbourne. there are two large inns, with ample accommodation for four hundred people between them, several stores, with almost every needful article. a neat little church, capable of holding nearly three hundred persons, with a school and parsonage. there is a resident magistrate and constabulary, with a police-court and gaol in progress of erection. the township is rather straggling, but what houses there are have a very picturesque appearance. the only draw-back to this little town is the badness of the streets. although it is rather on an elevated spot, the streets and roads, from the loamy nature of the sod, are a perfect quagmire, even abominable in summer time. the charges here are high, but not extortionate, as, besides the two inns alluded to, there are several coffee-shops and lodging-houses; so competition has its effect even in the bush. the campaspe is a large river, and is crossed by a substantial timber bridge. we still adhered to our original plan of camping out; a few necessaries were purchased in the town, and after continuing our journey to a little distance from it, we halted for the night. tuesday .--this morning commenced with a colonial shower, which gave us all a good drenching. started about eight o'clock; returned to kyneton; crossed the bridge, and passed several farm-houses. the country here is very changeable, sometimes flat and boggy, at others, very hilly and stony. we were obliged to ford several small creeks, evidently tributaries to the campaspe, and at about ten miles from kyneton, entered the coliban range, which is thickly wooded. the river itself is about fourteen miles from kyneton. here we camped, in the pouring rain. some of our party walked to the town of malmsbury, about a mile and a half from our camping place. the town consisted of about three tents, and an inn dignified by the appellation of the "malmsbury hotel". it is a two-storied, weather-board, and pale house, painted blue, with a lamp before it of many colours, large enough for half-a-dozen people to dine in. it (the inn, not the lamp,) is capable of accommodating two hundred people, independent of which there is a large tent, similar to the booths at a fair, about feet long by wide, for the convenience of those who prefer sleeping under cover when the house is full. being hungry with their walk, our comrades dined here, for which they paid s. d. a-piece; ale was s. d. a glass; brandy s. per half glass, or "nobbler;" cheese, s. d. a pound; bread, s. the four-pound loaf; wine, s. a bottle. by the time they returned, we had struck our tents, intending to cross a muddy-banked creek that lay in our road that evening, as we were told that the waters might be too swollen to do it next day. the water reached above their waists, and as my usual post was very insecure, i was obliged to be carried over on their shoulders, which did not prevent my feet from being thoroughly soaked before reaching the other side, where we remained all night. wednesday, .--rainy day again, so much so, that we thought it advisable not to shift our quarters. in the afternoon, three returning diggers pitched their tents not far from ours. they were rather sociable, and gave us a good account of the diggings. they had themselves been very fortunate. on the same day that we had been idly resting on the borders of the black forest, they had succeeded in taking twenty-three pounds weight out of their claim, and two days after, two hundred and six ounces more, making, in all, gold to the value (in england) of about eighteen hundred pounds. they were returning to melbourne for a spree, (which means to fling their gains away as quickly as possible,) and then as soon as the dry season was regularly set in, they meant to return to bendigo for another spell at work. on representing to them the folly of not making better use of their hard-earned wages, the answer invariably was, "plenty more to be got where this came from," an apt illustration of the proverb, "light come, light go." two of these diggers had with them their licences for the current month, which they offered to sell for ten shillings each; two of our company purchased them. this, although a common proceeding, was quite illegal, and, of course, the two purchasers had to assume for the rest of the month the names of the parties to whom the licences had been issued. as evening approached, our new acquaintances became very sociable, and amused us with their account of the diggings; and the subject of licensing being naturally discussed, led to our being initiated into the various means of evading it, and the penalties incurred thereby. one story they related amused us at the time, and as it is true i will repeat it here, though i fancy the lack of oral communication will subtract from it what little interest it did possess. before i commence, i must give my readers some little insight into the nature of the licence tax itself. the licence, (for which thirty shillings, or half an ounce of gold, is paid per month) is in the following form: victoria gold licence. no. , sept. , . the bearer, henry clements, having paid to me the sum of one pound, ten shillings, on account of the territorial revenue, i hereby licence him to dig, search for, and remove gold on and from any such crown land within the upper lodden district, as i shall assign to him for that purpose during the month of september, , not within half-a-mile of any head station. this licence is not transferable, and to be produced whenever demanded by me or any other person acting under the authority of the government, and to be returned when another licence is issued. (signed) b. baxter, commissioner. at the back of the licence are the following rules: regulations to be observed by the persons digging for gold, or otherwise employed at the gold fields. . every licensed person must always have his licence with him, ready to be produced whenever demanded by a commissioner, or person acting under his instructions, otherwise he is liable to be proceeded against as an unlicensed person. . every person digging for gold, or occupying land, without a licence, is liable by law to be fined, for the first offence, not exceeding pounds; for a second offence, not exceeding pounds; and for a subsequent offence, not exceeding pounds. . digging for gold is not allowed within ten feet of any public road, nor are the roads to be undermined. . tents or buildings are not to be erected within twenty feet of each other, or within twenty feet of any creek. . it is enjoined that all persons at the gold fields maintain and assist in maintaining a due and proper observance of sundays. * * * * * so great is the crowd around the commissioner's tent at the beginning of the month, that it is a matter of difficulty to procure it, and consequently the inspectors rarely begin their rounds before the th, when (as they generally vary the fine according to the date at which the delinquency is discovered), a non-licensed digger would have the pleasure of accompanying a crowd of similar offenders to the commissioners, sometimes four or five miles from his working-place, pay a fine of about pounds, and take out a licence. after the th of the month, the fine inflicted is generally from pounds to pounds and a licence, which is rather a dear price to pay for a few days' permission to dig, as a licence, although granted on the th of one month, would be unavailable for the next. the inspectors are generally strong-built, rough-looking customers, they dress like the generality of the diggers, and are only known by their carrying a gun in lieu of a pick or shovel. delinquents unable to pay the fine, have the pleasure of working it out on the roads. now for my story--such as it is. mike and robert were two as good mates as any at the mount alexander diggings. they had had a good spell of hard work, and, as is usually the way, returned to melbourne for a holiday at christmas-time; and then it was that the bright eyes of susan hinton first sowed discord between them. mike was the successful wooer, and the old man gave his consent; for mike, with one exception, had contrived to make himself a favourite with both father and daughter. the exception was this. old hinton was a strict disciplinarian--one of what is called the "good old school"--he hated radicals, revolutionists, and reformers, or any opposition to church or state. mike, on the contrary, loved nothing better than to hold forth against the powers that be; and it was his greatest boast that government had never pocketed a farthing from him in the way of a licence. this, in the old man's eyes, was his solitary fault, and when mike declared his intention of taking another trip to the "lottery fields" before taking a ticket in the even greater lottery of marriage, he solemnly declared that no daughter of his should ever marry a man who had been openly convicted of in any way evading the licence fee. this declaration from any other man, who had already promised his daughter in marriage, would not have had much weight; but mike knew the stern, strict character of hinton, and respected this determination accordingly. the day of their departure arrived, and with a tearful injunction to bear in mind her father's wishes, susan bade her lover farewell, and robert and he proceeded on their journey. full of his own happiness, mike had never suspected his comrade's love for susan, and little dreamt he of the hatred against himself to which it had given birth--hatred the more to be dreaded since it was concealed under a most friendly exterior. for the first month mike behaved to the very letter of the law, and having for the sum of one pound ten shillings purchased his legal right to dig for gold, felt himself a most exemplary character. success again crowned their efforts, and a speedy return to melbourne was contemplated. in the ardour of this exciting work another month commenced, and mike at first forgot and then neglected to renew his licence. "the inspector rarely came his rounds before the th; the neighbourhood was considered deserted--fairly 'worked out;' he'd never come round there." thus argued mike, and his friend cordially agreed with him. "lose a day's work standing outside the commissioner's tent broiling in a crowd, when two days would finish the job? not he, indeed! mike might please himself, but he shouldn't get a licence;" and this determination on the part of his "mate" settled the matter. in one respect mike's self-security was not unfounded; the gully in which their tent was now pitched was nearly deserted. some while previous there had been a great rush to the place, so great that it was almost excavated; then the rush took a different direction, and few now cared to work on the two or three spots that had been left untouched. like many other localities considered "worked out," as much remained in the ground as had been taken from it, and as each day added to their store, mike's hilarity increased. it was now the th of the month; their hole had been fairly "bottomed," a nice little nest of nuggets discovered, their gains divided, and the gold sent down to the escort-office for transit to melbourne. a few buckets-full of good washing-stuff was all that was left undone. "to-day will finish that," thought mike, and to it he set with hearty good-will, to the intense satisfaction of his comrade, who sat watching him at a little distance. suddenly mike felt a heavy hand upon his shoulder: he looked up, and saw before him--the inspector. he had already with him a large body of defaulters, and mike little doubted but that he must be added to their number. old hinton's determined speech, susan's parting words and tears, flashed across his mind. "you've lost your bonnie bride," muttered robert, loud enough to reach his rival's ears. mike glanced at him, and the look of triumph he saw there roused every spark of energy within him, and it was in a tone of well-assumed composure that he replied to the inspector, "my licence is in my pocket, and my coat is below there;" and without a moment's hesitation sprang into his hole to fetch it. some minutes elapsed. the inspector waxed impatient. a suspicion of the truth flashed across robert's mind, and he too descended the hole. there was the coat and the licence of the past month in the pocket; but the owner had gone, vanished, and an excavation on one side which led into the next hole and thence into a complete labyrinth underground, plainly pointed out the method of escape. seeing no use in ferreting the delinquent out of so dangerous a place, the inspector sulkily withdrew, though not without venting some of his ill-humour upon robert, at whose representations, made to him the day previous, he had come so far out of his road. but let us return to mike. by a happy thought, he had suddenly remembered that whilst working some days before in the hole, his pick had let in daylight on one side, and the desperate hope presented itself to his mind that he might make a passage into the next pit, which he knew led into others, and thus escape. his success was beyond his expectation; and he regained the open air at a sufficient distance from his late quarters to escape observation. once able to reflect calmly upon the event of the morning, it required little discrimination to fix upon robert his real share in it. and now there was no time to lose in returning to melbourne, and prevent by a speedy marriage any further attempt to set his intended father-in-law against him. the roads were dry, for it was the sultry month of february; and two days saw him beside his lady-love. although railroads are as yet unknown in australia, everything goes on at railroad speed; and a marriage concocted one day is frequently solemnized the next. his eagerness, therefore, was no way remarkable. no time was lost; and when, three days after mike's return, robert (with his head full of plots and machinations) presented himself at old hinton's door, he found them all at a well-spread wedding breakfast, round which were gathered a merry party, listening with a digger's interest to the way in which the happy bridegroom had evaded the inspector. mike had wisely kept the story till susan was his wife. thursday .--with great delight we hailed the prognostications of a fine day, and, after having eaten a hearty breakfast on the strength of it, we recommenced our travels, and crossed the coliban bridge. the coliban is a fine river running through a beautiful valley bounded with green trees; the bridge is a timber one, out of repair, and dangerous. a township called malmsbury has been laid out here in small allotments with the expectation of a future city; but as yet not a house has been erected, with the exception of the "hotel" before mentioned, putting one in mind of the american eden in "martin chuzzlewit." a mile beyond the coliban are the washing huts of john orr's station, and about three miles to the left is his residence; the house is stone, with verandahs, the garden and vineyards are prettily laid out. after passing the bridge, we took the right-hand road, which led us through a low country, and across two or three tributary creeks; we then reached the neighbourhood of saw-pit gully, so called from the number of saw-pits there, which formerly gave employment to numerous sawyers, whose occupation--it is almost needless to state--is now deserted. it is surrounded with fine large timber; there are several coffee-shops, a blacksmith's and wheelright's, and a neat little weather-board inn. at this part, our german friends bade us farewell, to follow out their original plan of going to forest creek; they had persuaded four others to accompany them, so our number was reduced to fifteen, myself included. the scenery now became very beautiful, diversified with hill and dale, well wooded, with here and there a small creek, more agreeable to look at than to cross, as there were either no bridges or broken-down ones. the loveliness of the weather seemed to impart energy even to our horses; and we did not pitch our tents till we had travelled full sixteen miles. we were now close beside mount alexander, which is nearly covered with timber, chiefly white gum, wattle and stringy bark. friday, .--a lovely morning; we proceeded in excellent spirits, passing some beautiful scenery, though rather monotonous. during the first few miles, we went across many little creeks, in the neighbourhood of which were indications that the diggers had been at work. these symptoms we hailed with intense delight. gregory told us the history of a hole in this neighbourhood, out of which five people cleared , pounds worth of gold each in about a few hours. in lieu of sinking a shaft, they commenced in a gully (colonial for valley), and drove a hole on an inclined plane up the side of the hill or rise. however wet the season, they could never be inconvenienced, as the very inclination would naturally drain the hole. such a precaution was not needed, as the whole party were perfectly satisfied with the success they had had without toiling for more. the country between here and the "porcupine inn" is exceedingly beautiful--not unlike many parts in the lowlands of wales. about eight miles on the road we pass barker's creek, which runs through a beautiful vale. we camped this evening about four or five miles from bendigo, and some miles from the "porcupine inn," which we left behind us. the "porcupine" is a newly built inn on an old spot, for i believe there was an inn in existence there before the diggings were ever heard or thought of. the accommodation appears on rather a small scale. near it is a portion of the station of the messrs. gibson, through which the public road runs; some parts are fine, others wooded and swampy. saturday, .--fine day; we now approached bendigo. the timber here is very large. here we first beheld the majestic iron bark, eucalypti, the trunks of which are fluted with the exquisite regularity of a doric column; they are in truth the noblest ornaments of these mighty forests. a few miles further, and the diggings themselves burst upon our view. never shall i forget that scene, it well repaid a journey even of sixteen thousand miles. the trees had been all cut down; it looked like a sandy plain, or one vast unbroken succession of countless gravel pits--the earth was everywhere turned up--men's heads in every direction were popping up and down from their holes. well might an australian writer, in speaking of bendigo, term it "the carthage of the tyre of forest creek." the rattle of the cradle, as it swayed to and fro, the sounds of the pick and shovel, the busy hum of so many thousands, the innumerable tents, the stores with large flags hoisted above them, flags of every shape, colour, and nation, from the lion and unicorn of england to the russian eagle, the strange yet picturesque costume of the diggers themselves, all contributed to render the scene novel in the extreme. we hurried through this exciting locality as quickly as possible; and, after five miles travelling, reached the eagle hawk gully, where we pitched our tents, supped, and retired to rest--though, for myself at least, not to sleep. the excitement of the day was sufficient cure for drowsiness. before proceeding with an account of our doings at the eagle hawk, i will give a slight sketch of the character and peculiarities of the diggings themselves, which are of course not confined to one spot, but are the characteristics that usually exist in any auriferous regions, where the diggers are at work. i will leave myself, therefore, safely ensconced beneath a tent at the eagle hawk, and take a slight and rapid survey of the principal diggings in the neighbourhood from saw-pit gully to sydney flat. chapter vi. the diggings of the history of the discovery of gold in australia i believe few are ignorant; it is therefore necessary that my recapitulation of it should be as brief as possible. the first supposed discovery took place some sixty years ago, at port jackson. a convict made known to governor phillip the existence of an auriferous region near sydney, and on the locality being examined, particles of real gold-dust were found. every one was astonished, and several other spots were tried without success. suspicion was now excited, and the affair underwent a thorough examination, which elicited the following facts. the convict, in the hope of obtaining his pardon as a reward, had filed a guinea and some brass buttons, which, judiciously mixed, made a tolerable pile of gold-dust, and this he carefully distributed over a small tract of sandy land. in lieu of the expected freedom, his ingenuity was rewarded with close confinement and other punishments. thus ended the first idea of a gold-field in those colonies. in the rev. w. b. clarke expressed his belief in the existence of gold in the valley of the macquarie, and this opinion was greatly confirmed by the observations of european geologists on the uralian mountains. in an indisputable testimony was added to these opinions by a mr. smith, who was then engaged in some iron works, near berrima, and who brought a splendid specimen of gold in quartz to the colonial secretary. sir c. a. fitzroy evinced little sympathy with the discovery, and in a despatch to lord grey upon the subject, expressed his opinion that "any investigation that the government might institute with the view of ascertaining whether gold did in reality exist to any extent or value in that part of the colony where it was supposed from its geological formation that metal would be found, would only tend to agitate the public mind, &c." suddenly, in , at the time that the approaching opening of the crystal palace was the principal subject of attention in england, the colonies of australia were in a state of far greater excitement, as the news spread like wild-fire, far and wide, that gold was really there. to edward hammond hargreaves be given the honour of this discovery. this gentleman was an old australian settler, just returned from a trip to california, where he had been struck by the similarity of the geological formation of the mountain ranges in his adopted country to that of the sacramento district. on his return, he immediately searched for the precious metal; ophir, the turon, and bathurst well repaid his labour. thus commenced the gold diggings of new south wales. the good people of victoria were rather jealous of the importance given by these events to the other colony. committees were formed, and rewards were offered for the discovery of a gold-field in victoria. the announcement of the clunes diggings in july, , was the result; they were situated on a tributary of the loddon. on september , those of ballarat, and on the th those of mount alexander completely satisfied the most sceptical as to the vast mineral wealth of the colony. bendigo soon was heard of; and gully after gully successively attracted the attention of the public by the display of their golden treasures. the names given to these gullies open a curious field of speculation. many have a sort of digger's tradition respecting their first discovery. the riches of peg leg gully were brought to light through the surfacing of three men with wooden legs, who were unable to sink a hole in the regular way. golden gully was discovered by a man who, whilst lounging on the ground and idly pulling up the roots of grass within his reach, found beneath one a nest of golden nuggets. eagle hawk derives its name from the number of eagle-hawks seen in the gully before the sounds of the pick and shovel drove them away. murderer's flat and choke'em gully tell their own tale. the irish clan together in tipperary gully. a party of south australians gave the name of their chief town to adelaide gully. the iron bark is so called from the magnificent trees which abound there. long, piccaninny, and dusty gully need no explanation. the jim crow ranges are appropriately so called, for it is only by keeping up a sort of jim crow dancing movement that one can travel about there; it is the roughest piece of country at the diggings. white horse gully obtained its name from a white horse whose hoofs, whilst the animal in a rage was plunging here and there, flung up the surface ground and disclosed the treasures beneath. in this gully was found the famous "john bull nugget," lately exhibited in london. the party to whom it belonged consisted of three poor sailors; the one who actually discovered it had only been a fortnight at the diggings. the nugget weighed forty-five pounds, and was only a few inches beneath the surface. it was sold for , pounds; a good morning's work that! let us take a stroll round forest creek--what a novel scene!--thousands of human beings engaged in digging, wheeling, carrying, and washing, intermingled with no little grumbling, scolding and swearing. we approach first the old post-office square; next our eye glances down adelaide gully, and over the montgomery and white hills, all pretty well dug up; now we pass the private escort station, and little bendigo. at the junction of forest, barker, and campbell creeks we find the commissioners' quarters--this is nearly five miles from our starting point. we must now return to adelaide gully, and keep alongside adelaide creek, till we come to a high range of rocks, which we cross, and then find ourselves near the head-waters of fryer's creek. following that stream towards the loddon, we pass the interesting neighbourhood of golden gully, moonlight flat, windlass and red hill; this latter which covers about two acres of ground is so called from the colour of the soil, it was the first found, and is still considered as the richest auriferous spot near mount alexander. in the wet season, it was reckoned that on moonlight flat one man was daily buried alive from the earth falling into his hole. proceeding north-east in the direction of campbell's creek, we again reach the commissioners' tent. the principal gullies about bendigo are sailors's, napoleon, pennyweight, peg leg, growler's, white horse, eagle hawk, californian, american, derwent, long, picaninny, iron bark, black man's, poor man's, dusty, jim crow, spring, and golden--also sydney flat, and specimen hill--haverton gully, and the sheep-wash. most of these places are well-ransacked and tunnelled, but thorough good wages may always be procured by tin dish washing in deserted holes, or surface washing. it is not only the diggers, however, who make money at the gold fields. carters, carpenters, storemen, wheelwrights, butchers, shoemakers, &c., usually in the long run make a fortune quicker than the diggers themselves, and certainly with less hard work or risk of life. they can always get from one to two pounds a day without rations, whereas they may dig for weeks and get nothing. living is not more expensive than in melbourne: meat is generally from d. to d. a pound, flour about s. d a pound, (this is the most expensive article in house-keeping there,) butter must be dispensed with, as that is seldom less than s. a pound, and only successful diggers can indulge in such articles as cheese, pickles, ham, sardines, pickled salmon, or spirits, as all these things, though easily procured if you have gold to throw away, are expensive, the last-named article (diluted with water or something less innoxious) is only to be obtained for s. a bottle. the stores, which are distinguished by a flag, are numerous and well stocked. a new style of lodging and boarding house is in great vogue. it is a tent fitted up with stringy bark couches, ranged down each side the tent, leaving a narrow passage up the middle. the lodgers are supplied with mutton, damper, and tea, three times a day, for the charge of s. a meal, and s. for the bed; this is by the week, a casual guest must pay double, and as inches is on an average considered ample width to sleep in, a tent feet long will bring in a good return to the owner. the stores at the diggings are large tents, generally square or oblong, and everything required by a digger can be obtained for money, from sugar-candy to potted anchovies; from east india pickles to bass's pale ale; from ankle jack boots to a pair of stays; from a baby's cap to a cradle; and every apparatus for mining, from a pick to a needle. but the confusion--the din--the medley--what a scene for a shop walker! here lies a pair of herrings dripping into a bag of sugar, or a box of raisins; there a gay-looking bundle of ribbons beneath two tumblers, and a half-finished bottle of ale. cheese and butter, bread and yellow soap, pork and currants, saddles and frocks, wide-awakes and blue serge shirts, green veils and shovels, baby linen and tallow candles, are all heaped indiscriminately together; added to which, there are children bawling, men swearing, store-keeper sulky, and last, not least, women's tongues going nineteen to the dozen. most of the store-keepers are purchasers of gold either for cash or in exchange for goods, and many are the tricks from which unsuspecting diggers suffer. one great and outrageous trick is to weigh the parcels separately, or divide the whole, on the excuse that the weight would be too much for the scales; and then, on adding up the grains and pennyweights, the sellers often lose at least half an ounce. on one occasion, out of seven pounds weight, a party once lost an ounce and three quarters in this manner. there is also the old method of false beams--one in favour of the purchaser--and here, unless the seller weighs in both pans, he loses considerably. another mode of cheating is to have glass pans resting on a piece of green baize; under this baize, and beneath the pan which holds the weights, is a wetted sponge, which causes that pan to adhere to the baize, and consequently it requires more gold to make it level; this, coupled with the false reckoning, is ruinous to the digger. in town, the jews have a system of robbing a great deal from sellers before they purchase the gold-dust (for in these instances it must be dust): it is thrown into a zinc pan with slightly raised sides, which are well rubbed over with grease; and under the plea of a careful examination, the purchaser shakes and rubs the dust, and a considerable quantity adheres to the sides. a commoner practice still is for examiners of gold-dust to cultivate long finger-nails, and, in drawing the fingers about it, gather some up. sly grog selling is the bane of the diggings. many--perhaps nine-tenths--of the diggers are honest industrious men, desirous of getting a little there as a stepping-stone to independence elsewhere; but the other tenth is composed of outcasts and transports--the refuse of van diemen's land--men of the most depraved and abandoned characters, who have sought and gained the lowest abyss of crime, and who would a short time ago have expiated their crimes on a scaffold. they generally work or rob for a space, and when well stocked with gold, retire to melbourne for a month or so, living in drunkenness and debauchery. if, however, their holiday is spent at the diggings, the sly grog-shop is the last scene of their boisterous career. spirit selling is strictly prohibited; and although government will license a respectable public-house on the road, it is resolutely refused on the diggings. the result has been the opposite of that which it was intended to produce. there is more drinking and rioting at the diggings than elsewhere, the privacy and risk gives the obtaining it an excitement which the diggers enjoy as much as the spirit itself; and wherever grog is sold on the sly, it will sooner or later be the scene of a riot, or perhaps murder. intemperance is succeeded by quarrelling and fighting, the neighbouring tents report to the police, and the offenders are lodged in the lock-up; whilst the grog-tent, spirits, wine, &c., are seized and taken to the commissioners. some of the stores, however, manage to evade the law rather cleverly--as spirits are not sold, "my friend" pays a shilling more for his fig of tobacco, and his wife an extra sixpence for her suet; and they smile at the store-man, who in return smiles knowingly at them, and then glasses are brought out, and a bottle produced, which sends forth not a fragrant perfume on the sultry air. it is no joke to get ill at the diggings; doctors make you pay for it. their fees are--for a consultation, at their own tent, ten shillings; for a visit out, from one to ten pounds, according to time and distance. many are regular quacks, and these seem to flourish best. the principal illnesses are weakness of sight, from the hot winds and sandy soil, and dysentery, which is often caused by the badly-cooked food, bad water, and want of vegetables. the interior of the canvas habitation of the digger is desolate enough; a box on a block of wood forms a table, and this is the only furniture; many dispense with that. the bedding, which is laid on the ground, serves to sit upon. diogenes in his tub would not have looked more comfortless than any one else. tin plates and pannicans, the same as are used for camping up, compose the breakfast, dinner, and tea service, which meals usually consist of the same dishes--mutton, damper, and tea. in some tents the soft influence of our sex is pleasingly apparent: the tins are as bright as silver, there are sheets as well as blankets on the beds, and perhaps a clean counterpane, with the addition of a dry sack or piece of carpet on the ground; whilst a pet cockatoo, chained to a perch, makes noise enough to keep the "missus" from feeling lonely when the good man is at work. sometimes a wife is at first rather a nuisance; women get scared and frightened, then cross, and commence a "blow up" with their husbands; but all their railing generally ends in their quietly settling down to this rough and primitive style of living, if not without a murmur, at least to all appearance with the determination to laugh and bear it. and although rough in their manners, and not over select in their address, the digger seldom wilfully injures a woman; in fact, a regular vandemonian will, in his way, play the gallant with as great a zest as a fashionable about town--at any rate, with more sincerity of heart. sunday is kept at the diggings in a very orderly manner; and among the actual diggers themselves, the day of rest is taken in a verbatim sense. it is not unusual to have an established clergyman holding forth near the commissioners' tent and almost within hearing will be a tub orator expounding the origin of evil, whilst a "mill" (a fight with fisticuffs) or a dog fight fills up the background. but night at the diggings is the characteristic time: murder here--murder there--revolvers cracking--blunderbusses bombing--rifles going off--balls whistling--one man groaning with a broken leg--another shouting because he couldn't find the way to his hole, and a third equally vociferous because he has tumbled into one--this man swearing--an other praying--a party of bacchanals chanting various ditties to different time and tune, or rather minus both. here is one man grumbling because he has brought his wife with him, another ditto because he has left his behind, or sold her for an ounce of gold or a bottle of rum. donnybrook fair is not to be compared to an evening at bendigo. success at the diggings is like drawing lottery tickets--the blanks far outnumber the prizes; still, with good health, strength, and above all perseverance, it is strange if a digger does not in the end reap a reward for his labour. meanwhile, he must endure almost incredible hardships. in the rainy season, he must not murmur if compelled to work up to his knees in water, and sleep on the wet ground, without a fire, in the pouring rain, and perhaps no shelter above him more waterproof than a blanket or a gum tree; and this not for once only, but day after day, night after night. in the summer, he must work hard under a burning sun, tortured by the mosquito and the little stinging march flies, or feel his eyes smart and his throat grow dry and parched, as the hot winds, laden with dust, pass over him. how grateful now would be a draught from some cold sparkling streamlet; but, instead, with what sort of water must he quench his thirst? much the same, gentle reader, as that which runs down the sides of a dirty road on a rainy day, and for this a shilling a bucket must be paid. hardships such as these are often the daily routine of a digger's life; yet, strange to say, far from depressing the spirits or weakening the frame, they appear in most cases to give strength and energy to both. this is principally owing to the climate, which even in the wet season is mild and salubrious. perhaps nothing will speak better for the general order that prevails at the diggings, than the small amount of physical force maintained there by government to keep some thousands of persons of all ages, classes, characters, religions and countries in good humour with the laws and with one another. the military force numbers , officers and men; the police about . the government escort is under the control of mr. wright, chief commissioner; it consists of about forty foot and sixty mounted police, with the usual complement of inspectors and sergeants; their uniform is blue--with white facings, their head-quarters are by the commissioners' tent, forest creek. the private escort uniform is a plain blue frock coat and trowsers. it is under the superintendence of mr. wilkinson; the head-quarters are at montgomery hill, forest creek. both these escorts charge one per cent for conveying gold. for the victoria diggings, there is a chief commissioner, one acting resident commissioner; one assistant commissioner at ballarat, one at fryer's creek, five at forest creek, and six at bendigo. provision is made by government for the support, at the mines, of two clergymen of each of the four state paid churches of england, scotland, rome, and wesleyan, at a salary of pounds a year. chapter vii. eagle hawk gully before commencing an account of our operations at the eagle hawk, it will be necessary to write a few words in description of our gold-digging party there; their christian names will be sufficient distinction, and will leave their incognito undisturbed. this party, as i have said before, consisted of five gentlemen, including my brother. of the latter i shall only say that he was young and energetic, more accustomed to use his brains than his fingers, yet with a robust frame, and muscles well strengthened by the various exercises of boating, cricketing, &c., with which our embryo collegians attempt to prepare themselves for keeping their "terms." frank ------ (who, from being a married man, was looked up to as the head of our rather juvenile party) was of a quiet and sedate disposition, rather given to melancholy, for which in truth he had cause. his marriage had taken place without the sanction--or rather in defiance of the wishes--of his parents, for his wife was portionless, and in a station a few grades, as they considered, below his own; moreover, frank himself was not of age. private income, independent of his parents, he had none. a situation as clerk in a merchant's office was his only resource, and during three years he had eked out his salary to support a delicate wife--whose ill health was a neverfailing source of anxiety and expense--two infants, and himself. an unexpected legacy of pounds from a distant relative at last seemed to open a brighter prospect before them; and leaving his wife and children with their relatives, he quitted england to seek in a distant land a better home than all his exertions could procure for them in their own country. i never felt surprised or offended at his silent and preoccupied manner, accompanied at times by great depression of spirits, for it was an awful responsibility for one so young, brought up as he had been in the greatest luxury, as the eldest son of a wealthy merchant, to have not only himself but others nearest and dearest to maintain by his own exertions. william ------, a tall, slight, and rather delicate looking man, is the next of our party whom i shall mention. his youth had been passed at christ's hospital. this he quitted with the firm conviction (in which all his friends of course participated) that he had been greatly wronged by not having been elected a grecian; and a rich uncle, incited by the beforementioned piece of injustice, took him under his care, and promised to settle him in the world as soon as a short apprenticeship to business had been gone through. a sudden illness put a stop to all these schemes. the physicians recommended change of air, a warmer climate, a trip to australia. william had relatives residing in melbourne, so the journey was quickly decided upon, a cabin taken; and the invalid rapidly recovering beneath the exhilarating effects of the sea-breezes. how refreshing are they to the sick! how caressingly does the soft sea-air fan the wan cheeks of those exhausted with a life passed amidst the brick walls and crowded, noisy streets of a city; and william, who at first would have laughed at so ridiculous a supposition, ere the four months' voyage was terminated, had gained strength and spirits sufficient to make him determine to undertake a trip to the diggings. he was a merry light-hearted fellow, fonder of a joke than hard work, yet ever keeping a sharp eye to the "main chance," as the following anecdote will prove. one day during our stay in melbourne he came to me, and said, laughing: "well! i've got rid of one of the bad habits i had on board the ----." "which?" was my reply. "that old frock-coat i used to wear in the cold weather whilst we rounded the cape. a fellow down at liardet's admired the cut, asked me to sell it. i charged him four guineas, and walked into town in my shirt-sleeves; soon colonized, eh?" richard ------ was a gay young fellow of twenty, the only son of a rich member of the stock exchange. in a fit of spleen, because the parental regulations required him always to be at home by midnight, he shipped himself off to australia, trusting that so energetic a step "would bring the govenor to his senses." he was music-mad, and appeared to know every opera by heart, and wearied us out of all patience with his everlasting humming of "ciascun lo dice" "non piu mesta," &c. octavius ------ was the eighth son of a poor professional man, who, after giving him a good general education, sent him with a small capital to try his fortune in the colonies. for this he was in every way well fitted, being possessed of a strong constitution, good common sense, and simple inexpensive habits; he was only nineteen, and the youngest of the male portion of our party. the day after our arrival at the diggings, being sunday, we passed in making ourselves comfortable, and devising our future plans. we determined to move from our present quarters, and pitch our tents higher up the gully, near montgomery's store. this we accomplished the first thing on monday morning and at about a hundred yards from us our four shipmates also fixed themselves, which added both to our comfort and security. a few words for their introduction. one of them was a scotchman, who wished to make enough capital at the mines to invest in a sheep-run; and as his countrymen are proverbially fortunate in the colonies, i think it possible he may some time hence be an australian millionaire. another of these was an architect, who was driven, as it were, to the diggings, because his profession, from the scarcity of labour, was at the time almost useless in melbourne. the third was, or rather had been, a house-painter and decorator, who unfortunately possessed a tolerably fine voice, which led him gradually to abandon a good business to perform at concerts. too late he found that he had dropped the substance for the shadow; emigration seemed his only resource; so leaving a wife and large family behind, he brought his mortified vanity and ruined fortunes to begin the world anew with in australia. he was the only one whose means prevented him from taking a share in our venture; but to avoid confusion, the scotchman subscribed twice the usual sum, thus securing double profits. the fourth was a gentleman farmer, whose sole enemy, by his account, was free trade, and who held the names cobden and bright in utter detestation. as soon as the tents were pitched, all set to work to unpack the dray: and after taking out sufficient flour, sugar, tea, &c., for use, the remainder of the goods were taken to the nearest store, where they were sold at an average of five times their original costs: the most profitable portion of the cargo consisted of some gunpowder and percusion-caps. the day after, by good fortune, we disposed of the dray and horses for pounds, being only pounds less than we paid for them. as the cost of keeping horses at the diggings is very great (sometimes two or three pounds a day per head), besides the constant risk of their being lost or stolen, we were well satisfied with the bargain; and never did mind young speculators, who five months previous had been utter strangers, accomplish their undertaking to themselves, or less disagreement one with another. this business settled, the next was to procure licences, which was a walk of nearly five miles to the commissioners' tent, bendigo, and wasted the best part of wednesday. meanwhile we were seriously debating about again changing our quarters. we found it almost impossible to sleep. never before could i have imagined that a woman's voice could utter sounds sufficiently discordant to drive repose far from us, yet so it was. the gentlemen christened her "the amiable female." the tent of this "amiable" personage was situated at right angles with ours and our shipmates, so that the annoyance was equally felt. whilst her husband was at work farther down the gully, she kept a sort of sly grog-shop, and passed the day in selling and drinking spirits, swearing, and smoking a short tobacco-pipe at the door of her tent. she was a most repulsive looking object. a dirty gaudy-coloured dress hung unfastened about her shoulders, coarse black hair unbrushed, uncombed, dangled about her face, over which her evil habits had spread a genuine bacchanalian glow, whilst in a loud masculine voice she uttered the most awful words that ever disgraced the mouth of man ten thousand times more awful when proceeding from a woman's lips. but night was the dreadful time; then, if her husband had been unlucky, or herself made fewer profits during the day, it was misery to be within earshot; so much so, that we decided to leave so uncomfortable a neighbourhood without loss of time, and carrying our tents, &c., higher up the gully we finally pitched them not far from the portland stores. this was done on thursday, and the same evening two different claims were marked out ready to commence working the next day. these claims were the usual size, eight feet square. friday, .--early this morning our late travelling companion, joe, made his appearance with a sack (full of bran, he said,) on his shoulders. after a little confidential talk with william, he left the sack in our tent, as he had no other safe place to stow it away in till the bran was sold. this gave rise to no suspicion, and in the excitement of digging was quite forgotten. about noon i contrived to have a damper and a large joint of baked mutton ready for the "day labourers," as they styled themselves. the mutton was baked in a large camp oven suspended from three iron bars, which were fixed in the ground in the form of a triangle, about a yard apart, and were joined together at the top, at which part the oven was hung over a wood fire. this grand cooking machine was, of course, outside the tent. sometimes i have seen a joint of meat catch fire in one of these ovens, and it is difficult to extinguish it before the fat has burnt itself away, when the meat looks like a cinder. our butcher would not let us have less than half a sheep at a time, for which we paid s. i was not good housekeeper enough to know how much it weighed, but the meat was very good. flour was then a shilling a pound, or two hundred pounds weight for nine pounds in money. sugar was s. d., and tea s. d. fortunately we were well provided with these three latter articles. the hungry diggers did ample justice to the dinner i had provided for them. they brought home a tin-dish full of surface soil, which in the course of the afternoon i attempted to wash. tin-dish-washing is difficult to describe. it requires a watchful eye and a skilful hand; it is the most mysterious department of the gold-digging business. the tin dish (which, of course, is round) is generally about eighteen inches across the top, and twelve across the bottom, with sloping sides of three or four inches deep. the one i used was rather smaller. into it i placed about half the "dirt"--digger's technical term for earth, or soil--that they had brought, filled the dish up with water, and then with a thick stick commenced making it into a batter; this was a most necessary commencement, as the soil was of a very stiff clay. i then let this batter--i know no name more appropriate for it--settle, and carefully poured off the water at the top. i now added some clean water, and repeated the operation of mixing it up; and after doing this several times, the "dirt," of course, gradually diminishing, i was overjoyed to see a few bright specks, which i carefully picked out, and with renewed energy continued this by no means elegant work. before the party returned to tea i had washed out all the stuff, and procured from it nearly two pennyweights of gold-dust, worth about s. or s. tin-dish-washing is generally done beside a stream, and it is astonishing how large a quantity of "dirt" those who have the knack of doing it well and quickly can knock off in the course of the day. to do this, however, requires great manual dexterity, and much gold is lost by careless washing. a man once extracted ten pounds weight of the precious metal from a heap of soil which his mate had washed too hurriedly. in the evening joe made his re-appearance, carrying another sack on his shoulders, which contained a number of empty bottles, and now for the first time we became initiated into the bran mystery which had often puzzled us on the road--it seemed so strange a thing to carry up to the diggings. joe laughed at our innocence, and denied having told us anything approaching a falsehood; a slight suppression of the truth was all he would plead guilty to. i verily believe william had put him up to this dodge, to make us smile when we should have felt annoyed. being taxed with deceit, said he: "i told you two-thirds truth; there wanted but two more letters to make it brandy," and with the greatest sang-froid he drew out a small keg of brandy from the first sack and half-filled the bottles with the spirit, after which he filled them all up to the neck with water. the bottles were then corked, and any or all of them politely offered to us at the rate of s a piece. we declined purchasing, but he sold them all during the evening, for which we were rather glad, as, had they been discovered by the officials in our tent, a fine of pounds would have been the consequence of our foolish comrades good-nature and joke-loving propensities. we afterwards found that master joe had played the same trick with our shipmates and with the two doctors, who had bought a tent and settled themselves near our old place by montgomery's store. saturday, .--the two holes were "bottomed" before noon with no paying result. it had been hard work, and they were rather low-spirited about it. the rest of the day they spent in washing some surface-soil, and altogether collected about i ounce and a half of gold-dust, counting the little i had washed out on the friday. in the evening it was all dried by being placed in a spade over a quick fire. we had before determined to square accounts and divide the gold every saturday night, but this small quantity was not worth the trouble, so it was laid by in the digger's usual treasury, a german match-box. these round boxes hold on an average eight ounces of gold. these two unproductive holes had not been very deep. the top, or surface soil, for which a spade or shovel is used, was of clay. this was succeeded by a strata almost as hard as iron--technically called "burnt stuff,"--which robbed the pick of its points nearly as soon as the blacksmith had steeled them at a charge of s. d. a point. luckily for their arms, this strata was but thin, and the yellow or blue clay which followed was comparatively easy work--here and there an awkward lump of quartz required the use of the pick. suddenly they came to some glittering particles of yellow, which, with heartfelt delight they hailed as gold. it was mica. many are at first deceived by it, but it is soon distinguished by its weight, as the mica will blow away with the slightest puff. after a little useless digging among the clay, they reached the solid rock, and thus having fairly "bottomed," the holes to no purpose, they abandoned them. sunday, .--although impossible at the diggings to keep this day with those outward observances which are customary in civilized life, we attempted to make as much difference as possible between the day of rest and that of work. frank performed the office of chaplain, and read the morning service in the calm and serious manner which we expected from him. i was rather amused to see the alacrity with which, when this slight service was over, they all prepared to assist me in the formation of a huge plum-pudding for the sunday's dinner. stoning plums and chopping suet seemed to afford them immense pleasure--i suppose it was a novelty; and, contrary to the fact implied in the old adage, "too many cooks spoil the broth" our pudding turned out a . in the afternoon we strolled about, and paid a visit to our shipmates. i was certainly most agreeably surprised by the quiet and order that everywhere prevailed. monday, .--today our party commenced "sinking" in a new spot at some little distance. the first layer of black soil was removed, and on some being washed in a tin dish, it was found to contain a tolerable portion of gold, and was pronounced to be worth transporting to the tent to be regularly cradled. my first official notice of this fact was from richard, who entered the tent humming "suona la tromba," with a bucket full of this heavy soil in each hand. he broke off in the middle of his song to ask for some water to drink, and grumbled most energetically at such dirty work. he then gave me an account of the morning's doings. after a thin layer of the black surface soil, it appeared they had come to a strata of thick yellow clay, in which gold was often very abundant. this soil, from being so stiff, would require "puddling," a work of which he did not seem to relish the anticipation. before the day was over, a great number of buckets full of both soils were brought up and deposited in heaps near the tents. all, with the exception of the "operatic" richard, seemed in good spirits, and were well satisfied with what had been done in so short a time. in the evening the other party of our shipmates arrived, and were busy fixing their tent at a distance of about forty yards from us. frank and the other four, though pretty tired with the days labour, lent a helping hand, the united efforts of nine speedily accomplished this business, after which an immense quantity of cold mutton, damper, and tea made a rapid disappearance, almost emptying my larder, which, by the bye, was an old tea-chest. we asked our friends their motive for leaving the old spot, and they declared they could stand the "amiable female" no longer; she grew worse and worse. "her tongue was sich" observed the scotchman, "as wad drive ony puir beastie wild." she had regularly quarrelled with the two doctors because they would not give her a written certificate, that the state of her health required the constant use of spirits. she offered them two guineas for it, which they indignantly refused, and she then declared her intention of injuring their practice as much as possible, which she had power to do, as her tent was of an evening quite the centre of attraction and her influence proportionably great. pity 'tis that such a woman should be able to mar or make the fortunes of her fellow creatures. tuesday, .--the holes commenced yesterday were duly "bottomed," but no nice pocket-full of gold was the result; our shipmates, however, met with better success, having found three small nuggets weighing two to four ounces each at a depth of not quite five feet from the surface. wednesday, .--to-day was spent in puddling and cradling. puddling is on the same principle as tin-dish-washing, only on a much larger scale. great wooden tubs are filled with the dirt and fresh water, and the former is chopped about in all directions with a spade, so as to set the metal free from the adhesive soil and pipe-clay. sometimes i have seen energetic diggers tuck up their trowsers, off with their boots, step into the tub, and crush it about with their feet in the same manner as tradition affirms that the london bakers knead their bread. every now and again the dirtied water is poured off gently, and with a fresh supply, which is furnished by a mate with a long-handled dipper from the stream or pool, you puddle away. the great thing is, not to be afraid of over-work, for the better the puddling is, so much the more easy and profitable is the cradling. after having been well beaten in the tubs, the "dirt" is put into the hopper of the cradle, which is then rocked gently, whilst another party keeps up a constant supply of fresh water. in the right hand of the cradler is held a thick stick, ready to break up any clods which may be in the hopper, but which a good puddler would not have sent there. there was plenty of water near us, for a heavy rain during the night had filled several vacated holes, and as there were five pair of hands, we hoped, before evening, greatly to diminish our mud-heaps. now for an account of our proceedings. two large wooden tubs were firmly secured in the ground and four set to work puddling, whilst frank busied himself in fixing the cradle. he drove two blocks into the ground; they were grooved for the rockers of the cradle to rest in, so as to let it rock with ease and regularity. the ground was lowered so as to give the cradle a slight slant, and thus enable the water to run off more quickly. if a cradle dips too much, a little gold may wash off with the light sand. the cradling machine, though simple in itself, is rather difficult to describe. in shape and size it resembles an infant's cradle, and over that portion of it where, if for a baby, a hood would be, is a perforated plate with wooden sides, a few inches high all round, forming a sort of box with the perforated plate for a bottom; this box is called the hopper. the dirt is here placed, and the constant supply of water, after well washing the stuff, runs out through a hole made at the foot of the cradle. the gold generally rests on a wooden shelf under the hopper, though sometimes a good deal will run down with the water and dirt into one of the compartments at the bottom, and to separate it from the sand or mud, tin-dish-washing is employed. as soon as sufficient earth was ready, one began to rock, and another to fill the hopper with water. richard continued puddling, william, enacted aquarius for him, whilst a fifth was fully occupied in conveying fresh dirt to the tubs, and taking the puddled stuff from them to the hopper of the cradle. every now and then a change of hands was made, and thus passed the day. in the evening, the products were found to be one small nugget weighing a quarter of an ounce, and in gold-dust eight pennyweights, ten grains, being worth, at the digging price for gold, about thirty-five shillings. this was rather less than we hard less calculated upon, and richard signified his intention of returning to melbourne, "he could no longer put up with such ungentlemanly work in so very unintellectual a neighbourhood, with bad living into the bargain." these last words, which were pronounced sotto voce, gave us a slight clue to the real cause of his dislike to the diggings, though we, did not thoroughly understand it till next morning. it originated in some bottles of mixed pickles which he had in vain wanted frank, who this week was caterer for the party, to purchase at four shillings a bottle, which sum, as we were all on economical thoughts intent, frank refused to expend on any unnecessary article of food. this we learnt next morning at breakfast, when richard congratulated himself on that being the last meal he should make of tea, damper and muton, without the latter having something to render it eatable. the puddling and cradling work had, i fancy, given the finishing stroke to his disgust. poor dick! he met with little commiseration: we could not but remember the thousands in the old country who would have rejoiced at the simple fare he so much despised. william, in his laughing way, observed, "that he was too great a pickle himself, without buying fresh ones." richard left us on thursday morning, and with him went one of the other party, the house-painter and decorator, who also found gold-digging not so pleasant as he had expected. we afterwards learnt that before reaching kilmore they separated. richard arrived safely in melbourne, and entered a goldbroker's office at a salary of three pounds a week, which situation i believe he now fills; and as "the governor," to use richard's own expression, "has not yet come to his senses," he must greatly regret having allowed his temper to be the cause of his leaving the comforts of home. his companion, who parted with richard at kilmore, was robbed of what little gold he had, and otherwise maltreated, whilst passing through the black forest. on reaching melbourne, he sold everything he possessed, and that not being sufficient, he borrowed enough to pay his passage back to england, where, doubtless, he will swell the number of those whose lack of success in the colonies, and vituperations against them, are only equalled by their unfitness ever to have gone there. thursday was past in puddling and cradling, with rather better results than on the first day, still it was not to our satisfaction, and on friday two pits were sunk. one was shallow, and the bottom reached without a speck of gold making its appearance. the other was left over till the next morning. this was altogether very disheartening work, particularly as the expenses of living were not small. there were many, however, much worse off than ourselves, though here and there a lucky digger excited the envy of all around him. many were the tricks resorted to in order to deceive new-comers. holes were offered for sale, in which the few grains that were carefully placed in sight was all that the buyer gained by his purchase. a scene of this description was enacted this friday evening, at a little distance from us. the principal actors in it were two in number. one sat a little way from his hole with a heap of soil by his side, and a large tin dish nearly full of dirt in his hand. as he swayed the dish to and fro in the process of washing, an immense number of small nuggets displayed themselves, which fact in a loud tone he announced to his "mate", at the same time swearing at him for keeping at work so late in the evening. this digger, who was shovelling up more dirt from the hole, answered in the same elegant language, calling him an "idle good-for-nought." every now and then he threw a small nugget to the tin-dish-washer, loudly declaring, "he'd not leave off while them bright bits were growing thick as taters underground." "then be d----d if i don't!" shouted the other; "and i'll sell the hole for two hundred yeller boys down." this created a great sensation among the bystanders, who during the time had collected round, and among whom was a party of three, evidently "new chums." "it shall go for a hundred and fifty!" again shouted the washer, giving a glance in the direction in which they stood. "going for a hundred, tin-dish as well!" letting some of the water run off, and displaying the gold. this decided the matter, and one of the three stepped forward and offered the required sum. "money down," said the seller; "these here fellers 'll witness it's all reg'lar." the money was paid in notes, and the purchasers were about to commence possession by taking the tin-dish out of his hand. "wait till he's emptied. i promised yer the dish, but not the stuff in it," and turning out the dirt into a small tub the two worthies departed, carrying the tub away with them. not a grain of gold did the buyers find in the pit next morning. saturday, october .--this day found the four hard at work at an early hour, and words will not describe our delight when they hit upon a "pocket" full of the precious metal. the "pocket" was situated in a dark corner of the hole, and william was the one whose fossicking-knife first brought its hidden beauties to light. nugget after nugget did that dirty soil give up; by evening they had taken out five pounds weight of gold. foolish richard! we all regretted his absence at this discovery. as the next day was the sabbath, thirty-six hours of suspense must elapse before we could know whether this was but a passing kindness from the fickle goddess, or the herald of continued good fortune. this night, for the first time, we were really in dread of an attack, though we had kept our success quite secret, not even mentioning it to our shipmates; nor did we intend to do so until monday morning, when our first business would be to mark out three more claims round the lucky spot, and send our gold down to the escort-office for security. for the present we were obliged to content ourselves with "planting" it--that is, burying it in the ground; and not a footstep passed in our neighbourhood without our imagining ourselves robbed of the precious treasure, and as it was saturday night--the noisiest and most riotous at the diggings--our panics were neither few nor far between. so true it is that riches entail trouble and anxiety on their possessor. chapter viii. an adventure sunday .--a fine morning. after our usual service frank, my brother, and myself, determined on an exploring expedition, and off we went, leaving the dinner in the charge of the others. we left the busy throng of the diggers far behind us, and wandered into spots where the sound of the pick and shovel, or the noise of human traffic, had never penetrated. the scene and the day were in unison; all was harmonious, majestic, and serene. those mighty forests, hushed in a sombre and awful silence; those ranges of undulating hill and dale never yet trodden by the foot of man; the soft still air, so still that it left every leaf unruffled, flung an intensity of awe over our feelings, and led us from the contemplation of nature to worship nature's god. we sat in silence for some while deeply impressed by all around us, and, whilst still sitting and gazing there, a change almost imperceptibly came over the face of both earth and sky. the forest swayed to and fro, a sighing moaning sound was borne upon the wind, and a noise as of the rush of waters, dark massive clouds rolled over the sky till the bright blue heavens were completely hidden, and then, ere we had recovered from our first alarm and bewilderment, the storm in its unmitigated fury burst upon us. the rain fell in torrents, and we knew not where to turn. taking me between them, they succeeded in reaching an immense shea-oak, under which we hoped to find some shelter till the violence of the rain had diminished; nor where we disappointed, though it was long before we could venture to leave our place of refuge. at length however, we did so, and endeavoured to find our way back to eagle hawk gully. hopeless task! the ground was so slippery, it was as much as we could do to walk without falling; the mud and dirt clung to our boots, and a heavy rain beat against our faces and nearly blinded us. "it is clearing up to windward," observed frank; "another half-hour and the rain will be all but over; let us return to our tree again." we did so. frank was correct; in less than the time he had specified a slight drizzling rain was all of the storm that remained. with much less difficulty we again attempted to return home, but before very long we made the startling discovery that we had completely lost our way, and to add to our misfortune the small pocket-compass, which frank had brought with him, and which would have now so greatly assisted us, was missing, most probably dropped from his pocket during the skirmish to get under shelter. we still wandered along till stopped by the shades of evening, which came upon us--there is little or no twilight in australia. we seated ourselves upon the trunk of a fallen tree, wet, hungry, and, worst of all, ignorant of where we were. shivering with cold, and our wet garments hanging most uncomfortably around us, we endeavoured to console one another by reflecting that the next morning we could not fail to reach our tents. the rain had entirely ceased, and providentially for us the night was pitch dark--i say providentially, because after having remained for two hours in this wretched plight a small light in the distance became suddenly visible to us all, so distant, that but for the intensity of the darkness it might have passed unnoticed. "thank god!" simultaneously burst from our lips. "let us hasten there," cried frank, "a whole night like this may be your sister's death and would ruin the constitution of a giant." to this we gladly acceded, and were greatly encouraged by perceiving that the light remained stationary. but it was a perilous undertaking. luckily my brother had managed to get hold of a long stick with which he sounded the way, for either large stones or water-holes would have been awkward customers in the dark; wonderful to relate we escaped both, and when within hailing distance of the light, which we perceived came from a torch hold by some one, we shouted with all our remaining strength, but without diminishing our exertions to reach it. soon--with feelings that only those who have encountered similar dangers can understand--answering voices fell upon our ears. eagerly we pressed forward, and in the excitement of the moment we relinquished all hold of one another, and attempted to wade through the mud singly. "stop! halt!" shouted more than one stentorian voice; but the warning came too late. my feet slipped--a sharp pain succeeded by a sudden chill--a feeling of suffocation--of my head being ready to burst--and i remembered no more. when i recovered consciousness it was late in the morning, for the bright sun shone upon the ground through the crevices of a sail cloth tent, and so different was all that met my eyes to the dismal scene through which i had so lately passed, and which yet haunted my memory, that i felt that sweet feeling of relief which we experience when, waking from some horrid vision, we become convinced how unsubstantial are its terrors, and are ready to smile at the pain they excited. that i was in a strange place became quickly evident, and among the distant hum of voices which ever and anon broke the silence not one familiar tone could i recognize. i endeavoured to raise myself so as to hear more distinctly, and then it was that an acute pain in the ankle of the right foot, gave me pretty strong evidence as to the reality of the last night's adventures. i was forced to lie down again, but not before i had espied a hand-bell which lay within reach on a small barrel near my bed. determined as far as possible to fathom the mystery, i rang a loud peal with it, not doubting but what it would bring my brother to me. my surprise and delight may be easier imagined than described, when, as though in obedience to my summons, i saw a small white hand push aside the canvas at one corner of the tent, and one of my own sex entered. she was young and fair; her step was soft and her voice most musically gentle. her eyes were a deep blue, and a rich brown was the colour of her hair, which she wore in very short curls all round her head and parted on one side, which almost gave her the appearance of a pretty boy. these little particulars i noticed afterwards; at that time i only felt that her gentle voice and kind friendliness of manner inexpressibly soothed me. after having bathed my ankle, which i found to be badly sprained and cut, she related, as far as she was acquainted with them, the events the previous evening. i learnt that these tents belonged to a party from england, of one of whom she was the wife, and the tent in which i lay was her apartment. they had not been long at the diggings, and preferred the spot where they were to the more frequented parts. the storm of yesterday had passed over them without doing much damage, and as their tents were well painted over the tops, they managed to keep themselves tolerably dry; but later in the evening, owing to the softness of the ground, one of the side-posts partly gave way, which aroused them all, and torches were lit, and every one busied in trying to prop it up till morning. whilst thus engaged they heard our voices calling for help. they answered, at the same time getting ready some more torches before, advancing to meet us, as there were several pit-holes between us and them. their call for us to remain stationary came too late to save me from slipping into one of their pits, thereby spraining my ankle and otherwise hurting myself, besides being buried to my forehead in mud and water. the pit was not quite five feet deep, but, unfortunately for myself in this instance, i belong to the pocket edition of the feminine sex. they soon extricated me from this perilous situation, and carried me to their tents, where, by the assistance of my new friend, i was divested of the mud that still clung to me, and placed into bed. before morning the storm, which we all thought had passed over, burst forth with redoubled fury; the flashes of lightning were succeeded by loud peals of thunder, and the rain came splashing down. their tents were situated on a slight rise, or they would have run great risk of being washed away; every hole was filled with water, and the shea-oak, of whose friendly shelter we had availed ourselves the evening before, was struck by lightning, shivered into a thousand pieces. after a while the storm abated, and the warm sun and a drying wind were quickly removing all traces of it. frank and my brother, after an early breakfast, had set out for eagle hawk gully under the guidance of my fair friend's husband, who knew the road thither very well; it was only three miles distant. he was to bring back with him a change of clothing for me, as his wife had persuaded my brother to leave me in her charge until i had quite recovered from the effects of the accident, "which he more readily promised," she observed, "as we are not quite strangers, having met once before." this awakened my curiosity, and i would not rest satisfied till fully acquainted with the how, when, and where. subsequently she related to me some portion of the history of her life, which it will be no breach of confidence to repeat here. short as it is, however, it is deserving of another chapter. chapter ix. harriette walters harriette walters had been a wife but twelve months, when the sudden failure of the house in which her husband was a junior partner involved them in irretrievable ruin, and threw them almost penniless upon the world. at this time the commercial advantages of australia, the opening it afforded for all classes of men, and above all, its immense mineral wealth, were the subject of universal attention. mr. walters' friends advised him to emigrate, and the small sum saved from the wreck of their fortune served to defray the expenses of the journey. harriette, sorely against her wishes, remained behind with an old maiden aunt, until her husband could obtain a home for her in the colonies. the day of parting arrived; the ship which bore him away disappeared from her sight, and almost heart-broken she returned to the humble residence of her sole remaining relative. ere she had recovered from the shock occasioned by her husband's departure, her aged relation died from a sudden attack of illness, and harriette was left alone to struggle with her poverty and her grief. the whole of her aunt's income had been derived from an annuity, which of course died with her; and her personal property, when sold, realized not much more than sufficient to pay a few debts and the funeral expenses; so that when these last sad duties were performed, harriette found herself with a few pounds in her pocket, homeless, friendless, and alone. her thoughts turned to the distant land, her husband's home, and every hope was centred in the one intense desire to join him there. the means were wanting, she had none from whom she could solicit assistance, but her determination did not fail. she advertized for a situation as companion to an invalid, or nurse to young children, during the voyage to port philip, provided her passage-money was paid by her employer. this she soon obtained. the ship was a fast sailer, the winds were favourable, and by a strange chance she arrived in melbourne three weeks before her husband. this time was a great trial to her. alone and unprotected in that strange, rough city, without money, without friends, she felt truly wretched. it was not a place for a female to be without a protector, and she knew it, yet protector she had none; even the family with whom she had come out, had gone many miles up the country. she possessed little money, lodgings and food were at an awful price, and employment for a female, except of a rough sort, was not easily procured. in this dilemma she took the singular notion into her head of disguising her sex, and thereby avoiding much of the insult and annoyance to which an unprotected female would have been liable. being of a slight figure, and taking the usual colonial costume--loose trowsers, a full, blue serge shirt, fastened round the waist by a leather belt, and a wide-awake--harriette passed very well for what she assumed to be--a young lad just arrived from england. she immediately obtained a light situation near the wharf, where for about three weeks she worked hard enough at a salary of a pound a week, board, and permission to sleep in an old tumbledown shed beside the store. at last the long looked-for vessel arrived. that must have been a moment of intense happiness which restored her to her husband's arms--for him not unmingled with surprise; he could not at first recognize her in her new garb. she would hear of no further separation, and when she learnt he had joined a party for the bendigo diggings, she positively refused to remain in melbourne, and she retained her boyish dress until their arrival at bendigo. the party her husband belonged to had two tents, one of which they readily gave up to the married couple, as they were only too glad to have the company and in-door assistance of a sensible, active woman during their spell at the diggings. for the sake of economy, during the time that elapsed before they could commence their journey up, all of them lived in the tents which they pitched on a small rise on the south side of the yarra. here it was that our acquaintance first took place; doubtless, my readers will, long ere this, have recognized in the hospitable gentleman i encountered there, my friend's husband, and, in the delicate-looking youth who had so attracted my attention, the fair harriette herself. * * * * * but--revenons a nos moutons. on the third day of my visit i was pronounced convalescent, and that evening my brother and william came to conduct me back to eagle hawk gully. it was with no little regret that i bade farewell to my new friend, and i must confess that the pleasure of her society had for the time made me quite careless as to the quantity of gold our party might be taking up during my absence. whilst walking towards our tents, i heard the full particulars of their work, which i subjoin, so as to resume the thread of my digging narrative in a proper manner. monday.--much upset by their anxiety occasioned by the non-appearance the previous evening of frank, my brother, and myself. the two former did not reach home till nearly noon, the roads were so heavy. after dinner all set to work in better spirits; came to the end of the gold--took out nearly four pounds weight. tuesday and wednesday.--digging various holes in the vicinity of the lucky spot, but without success. the other party did the same with no better result. such were the tidings that i heard after my three days' absence. thursday.--to-day was spent in prospecting--that is, searching for a spot whose geological formation gives some promise of the precious metal. in the evening, william and octavius returned with the news that they had found a place at some, distance from the gully, which they thought would prove "paying," as they had washed some of the surface soil, which yielded well. it was arranged that the party be divided into two, and take alternate days to dig there. friday.--in pursuance of the foregoing plan william and octavius set off, carrying a good quantity of dinner and their tools along with them. they worked hard enough during the day, but only brought back three pennyweights of gold-dust with them. my brother and frank gained a deal more by surface washing at home. saturday.--changed hands. frank and my brother to the new spot, digging. octavius and william surface washing. there results were much the same as the day before. sunday, october --we took advantage of the fine weather to pay a visit to harriette and her party. we found them in excellent spirits, for at last they had hit upon a rich vein, which had for three days been yielding an average of four pounds weight a day, and was not yet exhausted. i say at last, for i have not before mentioned that they had never obtained more than an ounce of gold altogether, up to the day i left them. we were sincerely pleased with their good fortune. harriette hoped that soon they might be able to leave this wild sort of life, and purchase a small farm, and once again have a home of their own. this could not be done near melbourne, so they meant to go to south australia, where any quantity of land may be bought. in this colony no smaller quantity than a square mile-- acres--is sold by the government in one lot; consequently, those whose capital is unequal to purchase this, go to some other colony, and there invest the wealth they have acquired in victoria. as we had some idea of leaving eagle hawk gully, i bade harriette farewell. we never expected to meet again. it chanced otherwise; but i must not anticipate. monday and tuesday were most unprofitably passed in digging holes; and on tuesday night we determined to leave the eagle hawk, and try our fortune in some of the neighbouring gullies. wednesday was a bustling day. we sold our tent, tools, cradle, &c., as we knew plenty were always to be bought of those who, like ourselves, were changing their place. had we known what we were about, we should never have burdened ourselves by bringing so many goods and chattels a hundred and twenty miles or more up the country; but "experience teaches." having parted with all encumbrances, myself excepted, we started for the iron bark gully. all the gold had been transmitted by the escort to melbourne, and one fine nugget, weighing nearly five ounces, had been sent to richard. we could not resist the pleasure of presenting him with it, although by our rules not entitled to any of the proceeds. the following are the rules by which our affairs were regulated. they were drawn up before leaving melbourne, and signed by all. though crude and imperfect, they were sufficient to preserve complete harmony and good fellowship between five young men of different character, taste, and education--a harmony and good fellowship which even richard's withdrawal did not interrupt. the rules were these: . no one party to be ruler; but every week by turn, one to buy, sell, take charge of gold, and transact all business matters. . the gold to be divided, and accounts settled every saturday night. . any one voluntarily leaving the party, to have one-third of his original share in the expense of purchasing tent and tools returned to him, but to have no further claim upon them or upon the gold that may be found after his withdrawal. any one dismissed the party for misconduct, to forfeit all claim upon the joint property. . the party agree to stand by one another in all danger, difficulty, or illness. . swearing, gambling, and drinking spirits to be strictly avoided. . morning service to be read every sunday morning. . all disputes or appeals from the foregoing rules to be settled by a majority. chapter x. ironbark gully i have said little in description of the eagle hawk, for all gullies or valleys at the diggings bear a strong external resemblance one to another. this one differed from others only in being much longer and wider; the sides, as is usually the case in the richest gullies, were not precipitous, but very gradual; a few mountains closed the background. the digging was in many places very shallow, and the soil was sometimes of a clayey description, sometimes very gravelly with slate bottom, sometimes gravelly with pipeclay bottom, sometimes quite sandy; in fact, the earth was of all sorts and depths. at one time there were eight thousand diggers together in eagle hawk gully. this was some months before we visited it. during the period of our stay at bendigo there were not more than a thousand, and fewer still in the iron bark. the reasons for this apparent desertion were several. the weather continued wet and uncertain, so that many who had gone down to melbourne remained there, not yet considering the ground sufficiently recovered from the effects of the prolonged wet season, they had no desire to run the risk of being buried alive in their holes. many had gone to the adelaide diggings, of which further particulars hereafter, and many more had gone across the country to the ovens, or, farther still, to the sydney diggings themselves. according to digging parlance, "the turon was looking up," and bendigo, mount alexander, and forest creek were thinned accordingly. but perhaps the real cause of their desertion arose from the altered state of the diggings. some time since one party netted pounds in three weeks; pounds a week was thought nothing wonderful. four men found one day seventy-five pounds weight; another party took from the foot of a tree gold to the value of pounds. a friend of mine once met a man whom he knew returning to melbourne, walking in dusty rags and dirt behind a dray, yet carrying with him , pounds worth of gold. in peg leg gully, fifty and even eighty pounds weight had been taken from holes only three or four feet deep. at forest creek a hole produced sixty pounds weight in one day, and forty more the day after. from one of the golden gullies a party took up the incredible quantity of one hundred and ninety-eight pounds weight in six weeks. these are but two or three instances out of the many that occurred to prove the richness of this truly auriferous spot. the consequence may be easily imagined; thousands flocked to bendigo. the "lucky bits" were still as numerous, but being disseminated among a greater number of diggers, it followed that there were many more blanks than prizes, and the disappointed multitude were ready to be off to the first new discovery. small gains were beneath their notice. i have often heard the miners say that they would rather spend their last farthing digging fifty holes, even if they found nothing in them, than "tamely" earn an ounce a day by washing the surface soil; on the same principle, i suppose, that a gambler would throw up a small but certain income to be earned by his own industry, for the uncertain profits of the cue or dice. for ourselves, we had nothing to complain about. during the short space of time that we had been at eagle hawk gully, we had done as well as one in fifty, and might therefore be classed among the lucky diggers; but "the more people have, the more they want;" and although the many pounds weight of the precious metal that our party had "taken up" gave, when divided, a good round sum a-piece, the avaricious creatures bore the want of success that followed more unphilosophically than they had done before the rich "pocketful" of gold had made its appearance. they would dig none but shallow holes, and a sort of gambling manner of setting to work replaced the active perseverance they had at first displayed. some days before we left, eagle hawk gully had been condemned as a "worthless place," and a change decided on. the when and the where were fixed much in the following manner: "i say, mates," observed william on the evening of the sunday on which i had paid my last visit to harriette, "i say, mates, nice pickings a man got last week in the iron bark--only twenty pounds weight out of one hole; that's all." "think it's true?" said octavius, quietly. "of course; likely enough. i propose we pack up our traps, and honour this said gully with our presence forthwith." "let's inquire first," put in frank; "it's foolish to change good quarters on such slight grounds." "good quarters! slight grounds!" cried william; "what next? what would you have? good quarters! yes, as far as diggings concerned--whether you find anything for your digging is another matter. slight grounds, indeed! twenty pounds weight in one day! yes, we ought to inquire; you're right there, old boy, and the proper place to commence our inquiries is at the gully itself. let's be off tomorrow." "wait two days longer," said octavius "and i am agreeable." and this, after a little chaffing between the impatient william and his more business-like comrades, was satisfactorily arranged. behold us then, on wednesday the th, after having sold all our goods that were saleable, making our way to the iron bark gully. william enacted the part of auctioneer, which he did in a manner most satisfactory to himself, and amusing to his audience; but the things sold very badly, so many were doing the same. the tents fetched only a few shillings each, and the tools, cradles, &c., en masse, were knocked down for half a sovereign. the morning was rather cloudy, which made our pedestrian mode of travelling not so fatiguing as it might have been, had the sun in true colonial strength been shining upon us. this was very fortunately not the case, for we more than once mistook our way, and made a long walk out of a short one--quite a work of supererogation--for the roads were heavy and tiring enough without adding an extra quantity of them. we passed in the close neighbourhood of sailor's, californian, american, long, and piccaninny gullies before reaching our destination. most of these gullies are considered ransacked, but a very fair amount of gold-dust may be obtained in either by the new comer by tin-dish fossicking in deserted holes. these deserted gullies, as they are called, contained in each no trifling population, and looked full enough for comfortable working. what must they have resembled the summer previous, when some hundreds of people leaving a flat or gully was but as a handful of sand from the sea-shore! before evening we arrived at the iron bark. this gully takes its name from the splendid trees with which it abounds; and their immense height, their fluted trunks and massive branches gave them a most majestic appearance. we paused beneath one in a more secluded part, and there determined to fix our quarters for the night. the heavy "swags" were flung upon the ground, and the construction of something resembling a tent gave them plenty to do; the tomahawks, which they carried in their belts, were put into immediate requisition, and some branches of the trees were soon formed into rough tent-poles. the tent, however, though perhaps as good as could be expected, was nothing very wonderful after all, being made only of some of the blankets which our party had brought in their swags. beneath it i reposed very comfortably; and, thanks to my fatiguing walk, slept as soundly as i could possibly have done beneath the roof of a palace. the four gentlemen wrapped themselves in their blankets, and laid down to rest upon the ground beside the fire; their only shelter was the foliage of the friendly tree which spread its branches high above our heads. next morning william was for settling ourselves in the gully. he wanted tents, tools, &c., purchased, but by dint of much talking and reasoning, we persuaded him first to look well about, and judge from the success of others whether we were likely to do any good by stopping there. we soon heard the history of the "twenty-pound weight" story. as frank and octavius had at once surmised, it originated in a party who were desirous to sell their claims and baggage before starting for melbourne. i believe they succeeded--there are always plenty of "new chums" to be caught and taken in--and the report had caused a slight rush of diggers, old and new, to the gully. many of these diggers had again departed, others stayed to give the place a trial; we were not among the latter. the statements of those who were still working were anything but satisfactory, and we were all inclined to push on to forest creek. meanwhile, it is thursday afternoon. all but frank appear disposed for a siesta; he alone seems determined on a walk. i offer myself and am accepted as a companion, and off we go together to explore this new locality. we proceeded up the gully. deserted holes there were in numbers, many a great depth, and must have cost a vast amount of manual labour. in some places the diggers were hard at work, and the blows of the pick, the splash of water, and the rocking of the cradle made the diggings seem themselves again. there were several women about, who appeared to take as active an interest in the work as their "better halves." they may often be seen cradling with an infant in their arms. a man and a cart preceeded us up the gully. every now and again he shouted out in a stentorian voice that made the welkin ring; and the burden of his cry was this: "'ere's happles, happles, vandemonian happles, and them as dislikes the hiland needn't heat them." the admirers of the fertile island must have been very numerous, for his customers soon made his pippins disappear. we passed a butcher's shop, or rather tent, which formed a curious spectacle. the animals, cut into halves or quarters, were hung round; no small joints there--half a sheep or none; heads, feet, and skins were lying about for any one to have for the trouble of picking up, and a quantity of goods of all sorts and sizes, gridirons, saucepans, cradles, empty tea-chests, were lying scattered around in all directions ticketed "for sale." we quickly went on, for it was not a particularly pleasant sight, and at some distance perceived a quiet little nook rather out of the road, in which was one solitary tent. we hastened our steps, and advanced nearer, when we perceived that the tent was made of a large blanket suspended over a rope, which was tied from one tree to another. the blanket was fastened into the ground by large wooden pegs. near to the opening of the tent, upon a piece of rock, sat a little girl of about ten years old. by her side was a quantity of the coarse green gauze of which the diggers' veils are made. she was working at this so industriously, and her little head was bent so fixedly over her fingers that she did not notice our approach. we stood for some minutes silently watching her, till frank, wishing to see more of her countenance, clapped his hands noisily together for the purpose of rousing her. she started, and looked up. what a volume of sorrow and of suffering did those pale features speak! suddenly a look of pleasure flashed over her countenance. she sprang from her seat, and advancing towards frank, exclaimed: "maybe you'll be wanting a veil, sir. i've plenty nice ones, stronger, better, and cheaper than you'll get at the store. summer dust's coming, sir. you'll want one, won't you? i havn't sold one this week," she added, almost imploringly, perceiving what she fancied a "no-customer" look in his face. "i'll have one, little girl," he answered in a kindly tone, "and what price is it to be?" "eighteen pence, sir, if you'd please be so good." frank put the money into her hand, but returned the veil. this action seemed not quite to satisfy her; either she did not comprehend what he meant, or it hurt her self-pride, for she said quickly: "i havn't only green veils--p'raps you'd like some candles better--i makes them too." "you make them?" said frank, laughing as he glanced at the little hands that were still holding the veil for his acceptance. "you make them? your mother makes the candles, you mean." "i have no mother now," said she, with an expression of real melancholy in her countenance and voice. "i makes the candles and the veils, and the diggers they buys them of me, cos grandfather's ill, and got nobody to work for him but me." "where do you and your grandfather live?" i asked. "in there?" pointing to the blanket tent. she nodded her head, adding in a lower tone: "he's asleep now. he sleeps more than he did. he's killed hisself digging for the gold, and he never got none, and he says 'he'll dig till he dies.'" "dig till he dies." fit motto of many a disappointed gold-seeker, the finale of many a broken up, desolated home, the last dying words of many a husband, far away from wife or kindred, with no loved ones near to soothe his departing moments--no better burial--place than the very hole, perchance, in which his last earthly labours were spent. these were some of the thoughts that rapidly chased one another in my mind as the sad words and still sadder tone fell upon my ear. i was roused by hearing frank's voice in inquiry as to how she made her candles, and she answered all our questions with a child-like naivete, peculiarly her own. she told us how she boiled down the fat--how once it had caught fire and burnt her severely, and there was the scar still showing on her brown little arm--then how she poured the hot fat into, the tin mould, first fastening in the wicks, then shut up the mould and left it to grow cold as quickly as it would; all this, and many other particulars which i have long since forgotten, she told us; and little by little we learnt too her own history. father, mother, grandfather, and herself had all come to the diggings the summer before. her father met with a severe accident in digging, and returned to melbourne. he returned only to die, and his wife soon followed him to the grave. having no other friend or relative in the colonies, the child had been left with her aged grandfather, who appeared as infatuated with the gold-fields as a more hale and younger man. his strength and health were rapidly failing, yet he still dug on. "we shall be rich, and jessie a fine lady before i die," was ever his promise to her, and that at times when they were almost wanting food. it was with no idle curiosity that we listened to her; none could help feeling deeply interested in the energetic, unselfish, orphan girl. she was not beautiful, nor was she fair--she had none of those childish graces which usually attract so much attention to children of her age; her eyes were heavy and bloodshot (with work, weeping, cold, and hunger) except when she spoke of her sick grandfather, and then they disclosed a world of tenderness; her hair hung matted round her head; her cheek was wan and sallow; her dress was ill-made and threadbare; yet even thus, few that had once looked at her but would wish to look again. there was an indescribable sweetness about the mouth; the voice was low and musical; the well-shaped head was firmly set upon her shoulders; a fine open forehead surmounted those drooping eyes; there was almost a dash of independence; a "little woman" manner about her that made one imperceptibly forget how young she was in years. a slight noise in the tent--a gentle moan. "he's waked; i must go to him, and," in a lower, almost a deprecating tone, "he doesn't like to hear stranger folks about." we cheerfully complied with the hint and departed, frank first putting some money into her hand, and promising to call again for the candles and veils she seemed quite anxious we should take in return. our thoughts were as busy as our tongues were silent, during the time that elapsed before we reached home. when we entered, we found a discussion going on, and words were running high. my brother and octavius were for going somewhere to work, not idle about as they were doing now; william wanted to go for a "pleasure trip" to forest creek, and then return to melbourne for a change. frank listened to it all for some minutes, and then made a speech, the longest i ever heard from him, of which i will repeat portions, as it will explain our future movements. "this morning, when going down the gully, i met the person whom we bought the dray-horses of in melbourne. i asked him how he was doing, and he answered, 'badly enough; but a friend's just received accounts of some new diggings out albury way, and there i mean to go.' he showed me also a letter he had received from a party in melbourne, who were going there. from these accounts, gold is very plentiful at this spot, and i for one think we may as well try our fortune in this new place, as anywhere else. the route is partly along the sydney road, which is good, but it is altogether a journey of two hundred miles. i would therefore propose (turning to my brother), that we proceed first to melbourne, where you can leave your sister, and we can then start for the ovens; and as provisions are at an exorbitant price there, we might risk a little money in taking up a dray-full of goods as before. and as we may never chance to be in this part of victoria again, i vote that we take william's 'pleasure trip' to forest creek, stop there a few days, and then to melbourne." this plan was adopted. friday morning.--frank stole out early after breakfast, for a visit to little jessie. i learnt the full particulars afterwards, and therefore will relate them as they occurred, as though myself present. he did not find her sitting outside the tent as before, and hesitated whether to remain or go away, when a low moaning inside determined him to enter. he pushed aside the blanket, and saw her lying upon an old mattress on the ground; beside her was a dark object, which he could not at first distinguish plainly. it was her grandfather, and he was dead. the moaning came from the living orphan, and piteous it was to hear her. it took frank but a few minutes to ascertain all this, and then he gently let down the blanket, and hastened to the butcher's shop i have already mentioned. he learnt all that there was to know: that she had no friends, no relatives, and that nothing but her own labour, and the kindness of others, had kept them from starvation through the winter. frank left a small sum in the butcher's hands, to have the old man buried, as best could be, in so wild and unnatural a place, and then returned to the mourning child. when he looked in, she was lying silent and senseless beside the corpse. a gentle breathing--a slight heaving of the chest, was all that distinguished the living from the dead. carefully taking her in his arms, he carried her to our tent. as i saw him thus approaching, an idea of the truth flashed across me. frank brought her inside, and laid her upon the ground--the only resting-place we had for her. she soon opened her eyes, the quick transition through the air had assisted in reviving her, and then i could tell that the whole sad truth returned fresh to her recollection. she sat up, resting her head upon her open hands, whilst her eyes were fixed sullenly, almost doggedly, upon the ground. our attempts at consolation seemed useless. frank and i glanced at one another. "tell us how it happened," said he gently. jessie made no answer. she seemed like one who heard not. "it must have been through some great carelessness--some neglect," pursued frank, laying a strong emphasis on the last word. this effectually roused her. "i never left him--i never neglected him. when i waked in the morning i thought him asleep. i made my fire. i crept softly about to make his gruel for breakfast, and i took it him, and found him dead--dead," and she burst into a passion of tears. frank's pretended insinuation had done her good; and now that her grief found its natural vent, her mind became calmer, and exhausted with sorrow, she fell into a soothing slumber. we had prepared to start before noon, but this incident delayed us a little. when jessie awoke, she seemed to feel intuitively that frank was her best friend, for she kept beside him during our hasty dinner, and retained his hand during the walk. there was a pleasant breeze, and we did not feel over fatigued when, after having walked about eight miles, we sat down beneath a most magnificent gum tree, more than a hundred feet high. frank very wisely made jessie bestir herself, and assist in our preparations. she collected dry sticks for a fire, went with him to a small creek near for a supply of water; and so well did he succeed, that for a while she nearly forgot her troubles, and could almost smile at some of william's gay sallies. next morning, very early, breakfast rapidly disappeared, and we were marching onwards. an empty cart, drawn by a stout horse, passed us. frank glanced at the pale little child beside him. "where to?" cried he. "forest creek." "take us for what?" "a canary a-piece." "agreed." and we gladly sprung in. for the sake of the uninitiated, i must explain that, in digger's slang, a "canary" and half-a-sovereign are synonymous. we passed the "porcupine inn." we halted at noon, dined, and about two hours after sighted the commissioners' tent. in a few minutes the cart stopped. "can't take yer not no further. if the master seed yer, i'd cotch it for taking yer at all." we paid him and alighted. chapter xi. forest creek in my last chapter we were left standing not far from the commissioners' tent, forest creek, at about three o'clock in the afternoon of saturday, the th. an air of quiet prevailed, and made the scene unlike any other we had as yet viewed at the diggings. it was the middle of the month; here and there a stray applicant for a licence might make his appearance, but the body of the diggers had done so long before, and were disseminated over the creek digging, washing, or cradling, as the case might be, but here at least was quiet. to the right of the licensing commissioners' tent was a large one appropriated to receiving the gold to be forwarded to melbourne by the government escort. there were a number of police and pensioners about. not many months ago, the scarcity of these at the diggings had prevented the better class of diggers from carrying on their operations with any degree of comfort, or feeling that their lives and property were secure. but this was now altered; large bodies of police were placed on duty, and wooden buildings erected in various parts of the diggings for their accommodation. assistant commissioners (who were also magistrates) had been appointed, and large bodies of pensioners enrolled as police, and acting under their orders. roads were also being made in all directions, thereby greatly facilitating intercommunication. but i must not forget that we are standing looking about us without exactly knowing where to turn. suddenly william started off like a shot in pursuit of a man a little way from us. we could not at first guess who it was, for in the diggers' dress all men look like so many brothers; but as we approached nearer we recognised our late captain, gregory. "well, old fellow, and where did you spring from?" was frank's salutation. "i thought you were stuck fast in the eagle hawk." "i may say the same," said gregory, smiling. "how got you here?" this was soon told, and our present dilemma was not left unmentioned. "a friend in need is a friend indeed," says the proverb, and william echoed it, as gregory very complaisantly informed us that, having just entered upon a store not far distant, he would be delighted to give us a shelter for a few nights. this we gladly accepted, and were soon comfortably domiciled beneath a bark and canvas tent adjoining his store. here we supped, after which gregory left us, and returned with mattresses, blankets, &c., which he placed on the ground, whilst he coolly ordered the gentlemen to prepare to take their departure, he himself presently setting them the example. "i'm certain sure the young leddy's tired," said he; "and that little lassie there (pointing to jessie) looks as pale and as wizened as an old woman of seventy--the sooner they gets to sleep the better." we followed the kindly hint, and jessie and myself were soon fast asleep in spite of the din close beside us. it was saturday night, and the store was full; but the babel-like sounds disturbed us not, and we neither of us woke till morning. it was sunday. the day was fine, and we strolled here and there, wandering a good way from gregory's store. as we returned, we passed near the scene of the monster meeting of . the following account of it is so correct, that i cannot do better than transcribe it. "the exceeding richness of the mount alexander diggings, and extraordinary success of many of the miners, led the government to issue a proclamation, raising the licence from thirty shillings to three pounds. as soon as these intentions became known, a public meeting of all the miners was convened, and took place on the th of december, . this resolve of the governor and executive council was injudicious, since, in new south wales, the government proposed to reduce the fee to s.; and among the miners in victoria, dissatisfaction was rife, on account of the apparent disregard by the government of the wants and wishes of the people engaged in the gold diggings, and because of the absence of all police protection, while there appeared to be no effort made to remedy this defect. indignation was, therefore, unequivocally expressed at the several diggings' meetings which were held, and at which it was resolved to hold a monster meeting. the 'old shepherd's hut,' an out station of dr. barker's, and very near the commissioners' tent, was the scene chosen for this display. for miles around work ceased, cradles were hushed, and, the diggers, anxious to show their determination, assembled in crowds, swarming from every creek, gully, hill, and dale, even from the distant bendigo, twenty miles away. they felt that if they tamely allowed the government to charge pounds one month, the licensing fee might be increased to pounds the next; and by such a system of oppression, the diggers' vocation would be suspended. "it has been computed that from fifteen to twenty thousand persons were on the ground during the time of the meeting. hundreds, who came and heard, gave place to the coming multitude, satisfied with having attended to countenance the proceedings. the meeting ultimately dispersed quietly, thereby disappointing the anticipations of those who expected, perhaps even desired, a turbulent termination. the majority determined to resist any attempt to enforce this measure, and to pay nothing; but, happily, they were not reduced to this extremity, since his excellency wisely gave notice that no change would be made in the amount demanded for licence." the trees up which the diggers had climbed during the meeting are still pointed out. the "old shepherd's hut" was standing. it seemed a most commodious little building compared to the insecure shelter of' a digger's tent. the sides of the hut were formed of slabs, which were made mostly from the stringy bark,--a tree that splits easily--the roof was composed of the bark from the same tree; the chimney was of stones mortared together with mud. this is the general style of building for shepherds' huts in the bush. as we passed it i could not but mentally contrast the scene that took place there on the important day of the monster meeting, to the deep tranquillity that must have reigned around the spot for centuries before the discovery of gold drew multitudes to the place. the trees in this neighbourhood are mostly stringy bark; almost all are peeled of their covering, as many diggers, particularly those who have their families with them, keep much to one part, and think it, therefore, no waste of time or labour to erect a hut, instead of living in a comfortless tent. on monday morning we determined to pursue our travels, and meant that day to pay a flying, visit to fryer's creek. it was a lovely morning, and we set out in high spirits. a heavy rain during the night had well laid the dust. on our way we took a peep at several flats and gullies, many of which looked very picturesque, particularly one called specimen gully, which was but thinly inhabited. we had hardly reached fryer's creek itself when we saw a vast concourse of people gathered together. frank and my brother remained with me at a little distance, whilst octavius and william went to learn the occasion of this commotion. it arose from an awful accident which had just occurred. three brothers were working in a claim beside the stream, some way apart from the other diggers. the heavy rain during the night had raised the water, and the ground between the hole where they were working and the creek, had given way imperceptibly underneath. one brother, who was early in the hole at work, fancied that the water at the bottom was gradually rising above his knees; he shouted to his comrades, but unfortunately they had gone, one, one way, one, another, in quest of something, and it was some minutes ere they returned. meanwhile the water in the hole was slowly but surely rising, and the slippery sides which were several feet high defied him to extricate himself. his cries for help became louder--he was heard, and his brothers and some neighbours hastened to his assistance. ropes were procured after some further delay, and thrown to the unhappy man--but it was too late. none dared approach very near, for the ground was like a bog, and might at any moment give way beneath their feet; the water was nearly level with the top of the hole, and all hope of saving him was gone. the brothers had often been warned of the danger they were running. shuddering at the thoughts of this awful death we turned away, but no change of scene could dissipate it from our minds--the remembrance of it haunted me for many a night. jessie seemed pleased to see us on our return--we had left her behind with gregory to his great delight--we abstained from mentioning before her the fearful accident we had but witnessed. that evening we wandered about forest creek. we had not gone far before a digger with a pistol in his hand shot by us; he was followed by an immense mob, hooting, yelling, and screaming, as only a mob at the diggings can. it was in full pursuit, and we turned aside only in time to prevent ourselves from being knocked down in the confusion. "stop him--stop him," was the cry. he was captured, and the cry changed to, "string him up--string him up--it's useless taking him to the police-office." "what has he done?" asked my brother of a quiet by-stander. "shot a man in a quarrel at a grogshop." "string him up--string him up--confront him with the body," vociferated the mob. at this moment the firmly-secured and well-guarded culprit passed by, to be confronted with the dead body of his adversary. no sooner did he come into his presence than the ci-devant corpse found his feet, "showed fight," and roared out, "come on," with a most unghostlike vehemence. the fury of the mob cooled down; the people thought the man had been murdered, whereas the shot, fortunately for both, had glanced over the forehead without doing any serious injury. taking advantage of this lull, the fugitive declared that the wounded man had been robbing him. this turned the tables, and, inspired by the hootings of the now indignant mob, the "dead man" took to his heels and disappeared. the diggers in pennyweight flat, nicholson's gully, lever flat, dirty dick's gully, gibson's flat, at the mouth of dingley dell, and in dingley dell itself, were tolerably contented with their gains, although in many instances, the parties who were digging in the centre of the gullies, or what is called "the slip," experienced considerable trouble in bailing the water out of their holes. some of the names given to the spots about forest creek are anything but euphonious. dingley dell is, however, an exception, and sounds quite musical compared to dirty dick's gully. the former name was given to the place by a gentleman from adelaide, and was suggested by the perpetual tinkling of the bullock's bells, it being a favourite camping place for bullock drivers, offering, as it did, an excellent supply of both wood, water, and food for their cattle. from whom the latter inelegant name originated i cannot precisely tell--but there are plenty of "dirty dicks" all over the diggings. the current prices of this date at forest creek were as follows: flour, to pounds per hundred-weight; sugar, s. d. a pound, very scarce; tea, s.; rice, s.; coffee, s.; tobacco, s.; cheese, s.; butter, s.; honey, s. d.; candles, s. d; currants, s. d., very scarce; raisins, s. d.; figs, s. d.; salt, s. d. picks, spades, and tin dishes, s. each. gold s. per ounce. tuesday, .--before breakfast we were busily employed in packing the "swags" when octavius suddenly dropped the strap he held in his hand for that purpose, and darted into the store. thinking that we had omitted something which he went to fetch, we continued our work. when everything was ready and the last strap in its place, we again thought of our absent comrade, making all sorts of surmises regarding his disappearance, when, just as frank was going after him, in he walked, accompanied by a stranger whom he introduced as his uncle. this surprised us, as we were ignorant of his having any relatives in the colonies. he then explained that a younger brother of his father's had about eight years ago gone to south australia, and that never having heard of him for some years they had mourned him as dead. after many adventures he had taken a fancy to the diggings, and had just come from melbourne with a dray full of goods. he went to gregory's store to dispose of them. octavius had heard them in conversation together, and had mistaken his uncle's for his father's voice. hence the precipitation of his exit. the uncle was a tall sunburnt man, who looked well-inured to hardship and fatigue. he stayed and took breakfast with us, and then having satisfactorily arranged his business with gregory, and emptied his dray, he obligingly offered to convey jessie and myself to melbourne in it. accordingly after dinner we all started together. our new companion was a most agreeable person, and his knowledge of the colonies was extensive. with anecdotes of the bush, the mines, and the town, he made the journey pass most pleasantly. before evening we reached the golden point near mount alexander. this term of "golden" has been applied to a great many spots where the deposits have been richer than, usual. there was a golden point at ballarat, and when the report of the alexander diggings drew the people from there, they carried the name with them, and applied it to this portion of the mount. to the left of the point, which was still full of labourers, was the store of mr. black, with the union-jack flying above it. it is a most noted store, and at one time when certain delicacies were not to be had in melbourne they were comparatively cheap here. we passed by this busy spot and encamped at sunset at the foot of mount alexander. it was a lovely evening and our eyes were feasted by a most glorious sight. all the trees of the forest gradually faded away in the darkness, but beyond them, and through them were glimpses of the granite-like walls of the mount, brilliantly shining in and reflecting the last glowing rays of the setting sun. some of the gorgeous scenes of fairy-land seemed before us--we could have imagined that we were approaching by night some illuminated, some enchanted castle. that evening we sat late round our fire listening to the history which the uncle of octavius related of some of his adventures in south australia. the posts he had filled formed a curious medley of occupations, and i almost forget the routine in which they followed one another, but i will endeavour to relate his story as much as possible in his own words. "when i started from england, after having paid passage-money, &c., i found myself with about pounds ready money in my purse--it was all i had to expect, and i determined to be very careful of it; but by a young man of five-and-twenty these resolutions, like lady's promises, are made to be broken. when i landed in adelaide with my money in my pocket--minus a few pounds i had lost at whist and cribbage on board ship--i made my way to the best inn, where i stayed some days, and ran up rather a longish bill. then i wanted to see the country, which i found impossible without a horse, so bought one, and rode about to the various stations, where i was generally hospitably received, and thus passed a few months very pleasantly, only my purse was running low. i sold the horse, then my watch, and spent the money. when that was gone, i thought of the letters of introduction i possessed. the first that came to hand was directed to a wesleyan minister. i called there, looking as sanctimonious as i could. he heard my story, advised me to go to chapel regularly, 'and for your temporal wants,' said he, 'the lord will provide.' i thanked him, and bowed myself off. "my first act was to burn my packet of introductory letters, my next was to engage myself to a stock-holder at s. a week and my rations. he was going up to his station at once, and i accompanied him. we travelled for about two hundred miles through a most beautiful country before we reached his home. his house was, in my ideas, a comical-looking affair--made of split logs of wood, with a bark roof, and a barrel stuck on the top of the roof at one end by way of a chimney-pot. his wife, a pale sickly little woman, seemed pleased to see us, for she had been much alarmed by the natives, who were rather numerous about the neighbourhood. there was only a young lad, and an old shepherd and his wife upon the station, besides herself. before i had been there six weeks she died, and her new-born little baby died too; there was not a doctor for miles, and the shepherd's wife was worse than useless. i believe this often happens in the bush--it's not a place for woman-folks. "i was here eighteen months--it was a wild sort of life, and just suited my fancy; but when i found i had some money to receive, i thought a spree in town would be a nice change, so off i marched. my spree lasted as long as my money, and then i went as barman to a public-house at clare, some way up the country--here i got better wages and better board, and stopped about half-a-year. then i turned brewer's drayman, and delivered casks of good australian ale about adelaide for s. a week. the brewer failed, and i joined in a speculation with an apple dealer to cart a lot up to the kapunda copper mines. that paid well. i stopped up there as overseer over four-and-twenty bullock-drays. well, winter came, and i had little to do, though i drew my s. a week regularly enough, when the directors wanted a contract for putting the small copper-dust into bags, and sewing them up. i offered to do the job at d. a bag, and could get through a hundred and fifty a day. how much is that? oh! s. d. a-piece. i forgot to tell you i'd a mate at the work. that was good earnings in those days; and me and my mate, who was quite a lad, were making a pretty penny, when some others offered to do them a halfpenny a bag cheaper. i did the same, and we kept it to ourselves for about four weeks longer, when a penny a bag was offered. there was competition for you! this roused my bile--i threw it up altogether--and off to adelaide again. soon spent all my cash, and went into a ship-chandler's office till they failed; then was clerk to a butcher, and lost my situation for throwing a quarter of his own mutton at him in a rage; and then i again turned brewer's man. whilst there i heard of the diggings--left the brewer and his casks to look after themselves, and off on foot to ballarat. "here i found the holes averaging some thirty feet--which was a style of hard work i didn't quite admire; so hearing of the greater facility of the alexander diggings, i went through bully rook forest, and tried my luck in the jim crow ranges. this paid well; and i bought a dray, and bring up goods to the stores, which i find easier work, and twice as profitable as digging. there's my story; and little i thought when i went into gregory's store to-day, that i should find my curly-pated nephew ready to hear it." next day we travelled on, and halted near saw-pit gully; it was early in the afternoon, and we took a walk about this most interesting locality. the earth was torn up everywhere--a few lucky hits had sufficed to re-collect a good many diggers there, and they were working vigorously. at dusk the labour ceased--the men returned to their tents, and for the last time our ears were assailed by the diggers' usual serenade. imagine some hundreds of revolvers almost instantaneously fired--the sound reverberating through the mighty forests, and echoed far and near--again and again till the last faint echo died away in the distance. then a hundred blazing fires burst upon the sight--around them gathered the rough miners themselves--their sun-burnt, hair-covered faces illumined by the ruddy glare. wild songs, and still wilder bursts of laughter are heard; gradually the flames sink and disappear, and an oppressive stillness follows (sleep rarely refuses to visit the diggers' lowly couch), broken only by some midnight carouser, as he vainly endeavours to find his tent. no fear of a "peeler" taking him off to a police-station, or of being brought before a magistrate next morning, and "fined five shillings for being drunk." early on tuesday morning i gave a parting look to the diggings--our dray went slowly onwards--a slight turn in the road, and the last tent has vanished from my sight. "never," thought i, "shall i look on such a scene again!" chapter xii. return to melbourne before the evening of wednesday the th, we passed through kyneton, and found ourselves in the little village of carlshrue, where we passed the night. here is a police-station, a blacksmith's, a few stores and some cottages, in one of which we obtained a comfortable supper and beds. a lovely view greeted us at sunrise. behind us were still towering the lofty ranges of mount alexander, before us was mount macedon and the black forest. this mountain, which forms one of what is called the macedon range, is to be seen many miles distant, and on a clear, sunny day, the purple sides of mount macedon, which stands aloof as it were, from the range itself, are distinctly visible from the flag-staff at melbourne. we had intended to have stopped for the night in kyneton, but the charges there were so enormous that we preferred pushing on and taking our chance as to the accommodation carlshrue could afford, nor did we repent the so doing. the following are the kyneton prices. a meal or bed--both bad-- s; a night's stabling, one pound ten shillings per horse; hay at the rate of d. a pound; this is the most exorbitant charge of all. hay was somewhere about pounds a ton in melbourne. the carriage of it to kyneton, now that the fine weather was setting in, would not exceed pounds a ton at the outside, which would come to pounds. the purchaser, by selling it at kyneton at the rate of d. a pound, or pounds per ton, cleared a profit of pounds--not quite per cent. if this is not fortune-making, i should like to know what is. it beats the diggings hollow. next morning we looked our last at "sweet carlshrue," and having crossed the five mile creek, camped for our mid-day meal beside the black forest. here a slight discussion arose, as to whether it would be more advisable to proceed on our journey and camp in the black forest that night, or whether we should remain where we were outside, and recommence our journey in good time the next morning so as to get through this most uncomfortable portion of our travels in one day. frank and octavius were for the latter plan, as the best and safest, but the rest (thinking that, having once travelled through it without encountering any thing resembling a bushranger, they might safely do so again) protested against wasting time, and were for entering those dark shades without further delay. the uncle of octavius whom, in future, for the sake of convenience, i shall call mr. l----, was also of this mind, and as he was in some sort our leader during the journey, his advice decided the matter. danger to him was only a necessary excitement. he was naturally fearless, and his merry laugh and gay joke at the expense of the bushranger fearing party gradually dissipated the unaccountable presentiment of danger which i for one had in no small degree experienced. on we went, up hill and down dale, sometimes coming to a more open piece of ground, but more generally threading our way amid a very maze of trees, with trunks all black as the ground itself, whilst the dingy foliage and the few rays of sunshine that lit up those dark, deep glades served only to heighten the gloominess around. after walking for about six miles--i preferred that mode of getting along to the joltings of the dray--we all felt disposed to rest ourselves. we selected a spot where the trees were less thickly clustered, and taking the horses out of the dray, tethered them by strong ropes to some trees near. the dray itself was turned up, and a blanket thrown over the up-raised shafts formed a most complete and cosy little tent. a fire was next kindled, and a kettle full of water (with the tea in it!) was placed on to boil, some home-made bread, brought from carlshrue, was placed upon the ground, and some chops were toasted on the ends of sticks, which are usually the impromptu toasting-forks of the bush. the old tin plates and pannicans, not quite so bright as once upon a time, but showing, despite sundry bruises and scratches, that they had seen better days, were placed upon the tea-table, which of course was the ground. two or three knives and forks were on general service, and wandered about from hand to hand as occasion required. altogether it was a merry, sociable party, and i think i enjoyed that supper better than any i ever tasted before or since. "chacun a son gout," many a one will say. the pleasantest moments must come to an end, and so did these. after having sat up later than usual, jessie and i retired to our gipsy tent, leaving our guardian diggers smoking round the fire. they meant to keep watches during the night to prevent a surprise. friday.--we were comfortably seated at our breakfast, discussing a hundred subjects besides the food before us, when a shrill "coo-ey" burst through the air; "coo-ey"--"coo-ey" again and again, till the very trees seemed to echo back the sound. we started to our feet, and, as if wondering what would come next, looked blankly at each other, and again the "coo-ey," more energetic still, rang in our ears. this is the call of the bush, it requires some little skill and practice, and when given well can be heard a great way off. in such a place as the black forest it could only proceed from some one who had lost their way, or be a signal of distress from some party in absolute danger. we again looked from one to the other--it bewildered us; and again the cry, only more plaintive than before, came to us. simultaneously they seized their pistols, and started in the direction whence the sounds proceeded. they were all too true englishmen to hear a fellow-creature in peril and not hasten to their succour. jessie and myself could not remain behind alone--it was impossible; we followed at a little distance, just keeping our comrades in sight. at last they came to a halt, not knowing where to turn, and we joined them. frank gave a "coo-ey," and in about the space of a minute the words "help, help,--come, come," in scarcely, audible sounds, answered to the call. we penetrated about thirty yards farther, and a few low groans directed us to a spot more obscure, if possible, than the rest. there, firmly bound to two trees close together, were two men. a thick cord was passed round and round their bodies, arms, and legs, so as to leave no limb at liberty. they seemed faint and exhausted at having called so long for help. it was the work of a moment for our party to fling down their pistols, take out knives and tomahawks, and commence the work of releasing them from their bonds. but the cords were knotted and thick, and there seemed no little labour in accomplishing it. they were also retarded by the small quantity of light, for, as i said before, it was a dark and secluded spot. at length one man was released, and so faint and exhausted was he, from the effects of whatever ill-usage he had suffered, that, being a tall, powerfully made man, it required the united strength of both frank and mr. l---- to prevent his falling to the ground. jessie and myself were standing a little apart in the shade; we seemed as if spell-bound by the incident, and incapable of rendering any assistance. the second was soon set at liberty, and no sooner did he feel his hands and feet free from the cords than he gave a loud, shrill "coo-ey." a shriek burst from jessie's lips as, immediately the cry was uttered, and before any one could, recover from the bewilderment it occasioned, four well-armed men sprang upon our startled party. taken thus at disadvantage, unarmed, their very knives flung down in their eagerness to untwist the cords, they were soon overpowered. the wretch who had been reclining in frank's arms quickly found his feet, and, ere frank could recover from his surprise, one heavy blow flung him to the ground; whilst the other twined his powerful arms round mr. l----, and, after a short but sharp struggle, in which he was assisted by a fellow-villain, succeeded in mastering him. it was a fearful sight, and i can hardly describe my feelings as i witnessed it. my brain seemed on fire, the trees appeared to reel around me, when a cold touch acted as a sudden restorative, and almost forced a scream from my lips. it was jessie's hand, cold as marble, touching mine. we spoke together in a low whisper, and both seemed inspired by the same thoughts, the same hope. "i saw a little hill as we came here," said jessie; "let's try and find it and look out for help." i instinctively followed her, and stealthily creeping along, we gained a small rise of ground which commanded a more extended view than most places in the black forest, and, but for the thickness of the trees, we could have seen our own camping-place and the part where the ambuscade had been laid. from sounds of the voices, we could tell that the ruffians were leading their prisoners to the spot where we had passed the night, and the most fearful oaths and imprecations could ever and anon be heard. well might our hearts beat with apprehension, for it was known that when disappointed in obtaining the gold they expected, they vented their rage in torturing their unfortunate victims. meanwhile jessie seemed listening intently. the time she had spent in the bush and at the diggings had wonderfully refined her sense of hearing. suddenly she gave a shrill "coo-ey." the moment after a shot was fired in the direction of our late camp. jessie turned even paler, but recovering herself, "coo-ey" after "coo-ey" made the echoes ring. i joined my feeble, efforts to hers; but she was evidently well used to this peculiar call. on a fine still day, this cry will reach for full three miles, and we counted upon this fact for obtaining some assistance. "help is coming," said jessie, in a low voice, and once more with increasing strength she gave the call. footsteps approached nearer and nearer. i looked up, almost expecting to see those villainous countenances again. "women in danger!" shouted a manly voice, and several stalwart figures bounded to our side. "follow, follow!" cried jessie, rushing forwards. i scarcely remember everything that occurred, for i was dizzy with excess of pleasure. there was a short scuffle, shots were fired at retreating bushrangers, and we saw our friends safe and free. the whole, matter was then related to our preservers--for such they were--and i then learnt that when the bushrangers had marched off our party to the camping-place, they proceeded to overhaul their pockets, and then bound them securely to some trees, whilst one stood ready with a pistol to shoot the first that should call for help, and the others looked over the plunder. this was little enough, for our travelling money, which was notes, was kept--strange treasury--in the lining of the body of my dress, and here too were the gold receipts from the escort office. every night i took out about sufficient to defray the day's expenses, and this was generally given into frank's hands. enraged and disappointed, the villains used most frightful language, accompanied by threats of violence; and the one on guard, irritated beyond his powers of endurance, fired the pistol in the direction of william's head. at this moment jessie's first "coo-ey" was heard: this startled him, and the shot, from the aim of the pistol being disarranged, left him unhurt. "it's that d----d child," muttered one, with a few, additional oaths; "we'll wring her neck when we've secured the plunder." one of the ruffians now attempted more persuasive measures, and addressing mr. l----, whom i suppose he considered the leader, expended his powers of persuasion much in the following manner. "you sees, mate, we risks our lives to get your gold, and have it we will. some you've got somewhere or another, for you havn't none on you got no paper from the escort--you planted it last night, eh? jist show us where, and you shan't be touched at all, nor that little wretch yonder, what keeps screeching so; but if you don't--" and here his natural ferocity mastered him, and he wound up with a volley of curses, in the midst of which our rescuers rushed upon them. when we came to talk the whole matter over calmly and quietly, no doubt was left upon our minds, as to the premeditation of the whole affair. but for the watch kept, the attack would most probably have been made during the night. our timely friends were a party of successful diggers returning, from work. they too had passed the night in the black forest--providently not very far from us. they accepted our thanks in an off-hand sort of way, only replying--which was certainly true--"that we would have done the same for them." it was in endeavouring to assist assumed sufferers that our party fell into the ambuscade laid for them. they waited whilst we got the dray and horses ready, and we all journeyed on together, till the black forest was far behind us. we saw no more of the bushrangers, and encamped that night a few miles beyond the "bush inn." at this inn we parted with our gallant friends. they were of the jovial sort, and having plenty of gold, were determined on a spree. we never met them again. on saturday we travelled as far as the "deep creek inn." some distance before reaching that place, we passed two rival coffee-shops on the road. we stopped at the first, to know if they had any uncooked or cold meat to sell, for our provisions were running low. "havn't none," said the woman, shaking her head. then looking hard at william, and judging from his good-humoured face, that he was a likely one to do what she wanted, she said to him. "now, sir, i'm agoing to ax a favour of you, and that is to go a little farther down the road, to the other coffee-tent, and buy for me as much meat as they'll let you have. they's got plenty, and i've none; and they knows i'll lose custom by it, so you'll not get it if they twigs (anglice guesses) you comes from me. you understand, sir," and she put sovereign into his hand to pay for it. laughing at the comicality of the request, and the thoroughly colonial coolness of making it, william set off, and presently returned with nearly half a sheep hanging over his shoulders, and a large joint in one hand. "bless me, what luck!" exclaimed the delighted woman, and loud and profuse were her thanks. she wanted to cook us a good dinner off the meat gratis; but this we steadily refused and purchasing enough for the present, we put our drays again into motion, and a little while after kindled a fire, and were our own cooks as usual. that night we camped beside the deep creek, about a mile from the "deep creek inn." the route we were now taking was different to the one we had travelled going up--it was much more direct. we remained all sunday beside the creek, and the day passed quietly and pleasantly. on monday the th we were again in motion. we passed the well known inn of tulip wright's. how great a change those few weeks had made! winter had given place to summer, for australia knows no spring. we walked along the beautiful road to flemington, gave a look at the flagstaff and cemetery, turned into great bourke street, halted at the post-office, found several letters, and finally stopped opposite the "duke of york hotel," where we dined. i shall leave myself most comfortably located here, whilst i devote a chapter or two to other diggings. chapter xiii. ballarat ballarat is situated about forty-five miles from geelong, and seventy-five nearly west of melbourne. this was the first discovered goldfield of any extent in victoria, and was made known on the th of september, . the rush from geelong was immense. shops, stores, trades, all and everything was deserted; and the press very truly declared that "geelong was mad--stark, staring gold-mad." during the month of september five hundred and thirty-two licences were taken out; in the month following the number increased to two thousand two hundred and sixty one! the usual road to ballarat is by the adelaide overland route on the gambier road; but the most preferable is per geelong. the former route leads over the keilor plains, and through bacchus marsh, crossing the werribee river in two places. mount buninyong then appears in sight of the well-pleased traveller, and ballarat is soon reached. the route via geelong is much quicker, as part of the way is generally performed by steam at the rate of one pound a-piece. those who wish to save their money go to geelong by land. after leaving flemington, and passing the benevolent asylum, the deep creek is crossed by means of a punt, and you then come to a dreary waste of land, called iett's flat. beyond is a steep rise and a barren plain, hardly fit to graze sheep upon, and at about twenty miles from melbourne you come to the first halting house. some narrow but rapid creeks must be got over, and for seven miles further you wander along over a dreary sheep-run till stopped by the broken river, which derives its name partly from the nature of its rocky bed, and partly from the native name which has a similar sound. this creek is the most steep, rapid, and dangerous on the road, having no bridge and no properly defined crossing-place or ford, except the natural rocks about. the bottom is of red sand-stone and rocks of the same description abut from the sides of the creek, and appear to abound in the neighbourhood; and all along the plains here and there are large fragments of sand and lime-stone rocks. two hundred yards from the creek is a neat inn after the english style, with a large sitting-room, a tap, a bar, and a coffee-room. the bed-rooms are so arranged as to separate nobs from snobs--an arrangement rather inconsistent in a democratic colony. the inn also affords good stabling and high charges. up to this distance on our road there is a scarcity of wood and springs of water. we now pass two or three huts, and for twenty miles see nothing to please the eye, for it is a dead, flat sheep-walk. about seven miles on the melbourne side of geelong, the country assumes a more cheering appearance--homesteads, gardens, and farms spring up--the roads improve, and the timber is plentiful and large, consisting of shea-oaks, wattle, stringy bark, and peppermints. many of the houses are of a good size, and chiefly built of stone, some are of wood, and very few of brick. geelong, which is divided into north and south, is bounded by the barwin, a river navigable from the bay to the town, and might be extended further; beautiful valleys well wooded lie beyond. between the two townships a park has been reserved, though not yet enclosed; the timber in it, which is large--consisting principally of white gum and stringy bark--is not allowed to be cut or injured. there are several good inns, a court-house, police-station, and corporation offices. there is also a neat church in the early pointed style, with a parsonage and schools in the elizabethan; all are of dark lime-stone, having a very gloomy appearance, the stones being unworked, except near the windows; the porches alone slightly ornamented. the road and pavement are good in the chief streets; there is a large square with a conduit, which is supplied by an engine from the barwin. the shops are large and well furnished, a great many houses are three stories high, most are two, and very few one. the best part of town is about one hundred feet above the river. a large timber bridge over the ballarat road was washed down last winter. the town is governed by a mayor and corporation. there is a city and mounted police force, and a neat police-court. a large and good race-course is situated about three miles from the town. as regards scenery, geelong is far superior to melbourne, the streets are better, and so is the society of the place; none of the ruffian gangs and drunken mobs as seen in victoria's chief city. there are various, chapels, schools, markets, banks, and a small gaol. the harbour is sheltered, but not safe for strangers, as the shoals are numerous. geelong is surrounded by little townships. irish town, little scotland, and little london are the principal and to show how completely the diggings drained both towns and villages of their male inhabitants, i need only mention that six days after the discovery of ballarat, there was only one man left in little scotland, and he was a cripple, compelled nolens volens to remain behind. the road from geelong to ballarat is well marked out, so often has it been trodden; and there are some good inns on the way-side for the comfort of travellers. on horseback you can go from the town to the diggings in six or eight hours. ballarat is a barren place, the ground is interspersed with rocky fragments, the creek is small, and good water is rather scarce. in summer it almost amounts to a drought, and what there is then is generally brackish or stagnatic. it is necessary never to drink stagnant water, or that found in holes, without boiling, unless there are frogs in it, then the water is good; but the diggers usually boil the water, and a drop of brandy, if they can get it. in passing through the plains you are sure of finding water near the surface (or by seeking a few inches) wherever the tea tree grows. the chief object at the ballarat diggings is the commissioners' tent, which includes the post-office. there are good police quarters now. the old lock-up was rather of the primitive order, being the stump of an old tree, to which the the prisoners were attached by sundry chains, the handcuff being round one wrist and through a link of the chain. i believe there is a tent for their accommodation. there are several doctors about, who, as usual, drive a rare trade. it is almost impossible to describe accurately the geological features of the gold diggings at ballarat. some of the surface-washing is good, and sometimes it is only requisite to sink a few feet, perhaps only a few inches, before finding the ochre-coloured earth (impregnated with mica and mixed with quartzy fragments), which, when washed, pays exceedingly well. but more frequently a deep shaft has to be sunk. of course the depth of the shafts varies considerably; some are sixty or even eighty, and some are only ten feet deep. sometimes after heavy rains, when the surface soil has been washed from the sides of the hills, the mica layer is similarly washed down to the valleys and lies on the original surface-soil. this constitutes the true washing stuff of the diggings. often when a man has--to use a digger's phrase--"bottomed his hole," (that is, cut through the rocky strata, and arrived at the gold layer), he will find stray indications, but nothing remunerative, and perchance the very next hole may be the most profitable on the diggings. whether there is any geological rule to be guided by has yet to be proved, at present no old digger will ever sink below the mica soil, or leave his hole until he arrives at it, even if he sinks to forty feet. so, therefore, it may be taken as a general rule, wherever the diggings may be, either in victoria, new south wales, or south australia, that gold in "working" quantities lies only where there is found quartz or mica. ballarat has had the honour of producing the largest masses of gold yet discovered. these masses were all excavated from one part of the diggings, known as canadian gully, and were taken out of a bed of quartz, at the depths of from fifty to sixty-five feet below the surface. the deep indentures of the nuggets were filled with the quartz. the largest of these masses weighed one hundred and thirty-four pounds, of which it was calculated that fully one hundred and twenty-six pounds consisted of solid gold! about seven miles to the north of ballarat, some new diggings called the eureka have been discovered, where it appears that, although there are no immense prizes, there are few blanks, and every one doing well! in describing the road from melbourne to geelong, i have made mention of the broken river. a few weeks after my arrival in the colonies this river was the scene of a sad tragedy. i give the tale, much in the same words as it was given to me, because it was one out of many somewhat similar, and may serve to show the state of morality in melbourne. the names of the parties are, of course, entirely fictitious. * * * * * prettiest among the pretty girls that stood upon the deck as the anchor of the government immigrant ship 'downshire' fell into hobson's bay, in august, , was mary h----, the heroine of my story. no regret mingled with the satisfaction that beamed from her large dark eyes, as their gaze fell on the shores of her new country, for her orphan brother, the only relative she had left in their own dear emerald isle, was even then preparing to follow her. nor could she feel sad and lonely whilst the rich irish brogue, from a subdued but manly and well-loved voice, fell softly on her ear, and the gentle pressure of her hand continually reminded her that she was not alone. shipboard is a rare place for match-making, and, somehow or another, henry stephens had contrived to steal away the heart of the 'downshire' belle. prudence, however, compelled our young people to postpone their marriage, and whilst the good housewife qualities of the one readily procured her a situation in a highly respectable family in melbourne, henry obtained an appointment in the police force of the same town. their united savings soon mounted up, and in a few months the banns were published, and christmas-day fixed on for the wedding. mary, at her lover's express desire, quitted her mistress's family to reside with a widow, a distant relative of his own, from whose house she was to be married. delightful to the young people was this short period of leisure and uninterrupted intercourse, for the gold mania was now beginning to tell upon the excited imaginations of all, and henry had already thrown up his situation; and it was settled their wedding trip should be to the golden gullies round mount buninyong. and now let me hasten over this portion of my narrative. it is sad to dwell upon the history of human frailty, or to relate the oft-told tale of passion and villainy triumphant over virtue. a few days before christmas, when the marriage ceremony was to be performed, they unfortunately spent one evening together alone, and he left her--ruined. repentance followed sin, and the intervening time was passed by mary in a state of the greatest mental anguish. with what trembling eagerness did she now look forward to the day which should make her his lawful wife. it arrived. mary and the friends of both stood beside the altar, whilst he, who should have been there to redeem his pledge and save his victim from open ruin and disgrace, was far away on the road to ballarat. to describe her agony would be impossible. day after day, week after week, and no tidings from him came; conscience too acutely accounting to her for his faithlessness. then the horrible truth forced itself upon her, that its consequences would soon too plainly declare her sin before the world; that upon her innocent offspring would fall a portion of its mother's shame. thus six months stole sorrowfully away, and as yet none had even conjectured the deep cause she had for misery. her brother's non-arrival was also an unceasing source of anxiety, and almost daily might she have been seen at the melbourne post-office, each time to return more disappointed than before. at length the oft-repeated inquiry was answered in the affirmative, and eagerly she tore open the long-anticipated letter. it told her of an unexpected sum of money that had come into his hands--to them a small fortune--which had detained him in ireland. this was read and almost immediately forgotten, as she learnt that he was arrived in melbourne, and that only a few streets now separated them. she raised her face, flushed and radiant with joyful excitement--her eyes fell upon him who had so cruelly injured her. the scream that burst from her lips brought him involuntarily to her side. what will not a woman forgive where once her heart has been touched--in the double joy of the moment the past was almost forgotten--together they re-read the welcome letter, and again he wooed her for his bride. she consented, and he himself led her to her brother, confessed their mutual fault, and second preparations for an immediate marriage were hurriedly made. once more at the altar of st. peter's stood the bridal party, and again at the appointed hour stephens was far gone on his second expedition to the diggings, after having increased (if that was possible) his previous villainy, by borrowing a large portion of the money before mentioned from his intended brother-in-law. it was pretty evident that the prospect of doing this had influenced him in his apparently honourable desire to atone to the poor girl, who, completely prostrated by this second blow, was laid on the bed of sickness. for some weeks she continued thus and her own sufferings were increased by he sight of her brother's fury, as, on her partial recovery, he quitted her in search of her seducer. during his absence mary became a mother, and the little one that nestled in her bosom, made her half forgetful of her sorrows, and at times ready to embrace the delusive hope that some slight happiness in life was in store for her. but her bitter cup was not yet drained. day by day, hour by hour, her little one pined away, until one dreary night she held within her arms only its tiny corpse. not one sound of grief--not an outward sign to show how deeply the heart was touched--escaped her. the busy neighbours left her for awhile, glad though amazed at her wondrous calmness; when they returned to finish their preparations for committing the child to its last resting-place, the mother and her infant had disappeared. carrying the lifeless burden closely pressed against her bosom, as though the pelting rain and chilling air could harm it now, mary rapidly left the town where she had experienced so much misery, on--on--towards geelong, the route her seducer and his pursuer had taken--on--across iett's flat, until at length, weak and exhausted, she sank down on the barren plains beyond. next morning the early dawn found her still plodding her weary way--her only refreshment being a dry crust and some water obtained at an halting-house on the road; and many a passer-by, attracted by the wildness of her eyes, her eager manner, and disordered dress, cast after her a curious wondering look. but she heeded them not--on--on she pursued her course towards the broken river. here she paused. the heavy winter rains had swollen the waters, which swept along, dashing over the irregular pieces of rock that formed the only means of crossing over. but danger was as nothing to her now--the first few steps were taken--the rapid stream was rushing wildly round her--a sensation, of giddiness and exhaustion made her limbs tremble--her footing slipped on the wet and slimy stone--in another moment the ruthless waters carried her away. the morrow came, and the sun shone brightly upon the still swollen and rapid river. two men stood beside it, both too annoyed at this impediment to their return to melbourne to be in the slightest degree aware of their proximity to one another. a bonnet caught by a projecting fragment of rock simultaneously attracted their attention: both moved towards the spot, and thus brought into closer contact they recognized each other. deadly foes though they were, not a word passed between them, and silently they dragged the body of the unhappy girl to land. in her cold and tightened grasp still lay the child. as they stood gazing on those injured ones, within one breast remorse and shame, in the other, hatred and revenge, were raging violently. each step on the road to ballarat had increased her brother's desire for vengeance, and still further was this heightened on discovering that stephens had already left the diggings to return to town. this disappointment maddened him; his whole energy was flung into tracing his foe, and in this he had succeeded so closely, that unknown to either, both had slept beneath the same roof at the inn beside the broken river. the voices of some of the loungers there, who were coming down to the creek to see what mischief had been done during the night, aroused him. he glanced upon his enemy, who pale and trembling, stood gazing on the wreck that he had made. revenge at last was in his hands--not a moment was to be lost--with the yell of a maniac he sprang upon the powerless and conscious-stricken man--seized him in his arms rushed to the river--and ere any could interpose, both had found a grave where but a few minutes before the bodies of mary and her infant had reposed. chapter xiv. new south wales about seventy years ago a small colony of convicts first made the forests ring with the blows of the axe, and a few tents were erected where sydney now stands. the tents, and they who dwelt beneath them, have long since disappeared, and instead we have one of the finest cities that our colonial empire ever produced. the streets in sydney are, as in melbourne, built at right angles with one another; they are macadamized, well lighted with gas, and perambulated by a number of policemen during the night. some of the shops almost rival those of london, and the public buildings are good and numerous. there is a custom-house, a treasury, police-office, college, benevolent asylum, banks, barracks, hospitals, libraries, churches, chapels, a synagogue, museum, club-house, theatre, and many splendid hotels, of which the largest is, i think the "royal hotel," in george street, built at the cost of , pounds. hyde park is close at hand, with un-numbered public walks, and a botanical garden, the favourite resort of all classes. in the neighbourhood of sydney are some good oyster-beds, and many are the picnics got up for the purpose of visiting them. the oysters cling to the rocks, and great numbers are easily obtained. the distance from sydney to melbourne, by the overland road, is about six hundred miles; but the steamers, which are constantly plying, afford a more comfortable mode of transit. the gold diggings of new south wales are so well known as to require but a cursory notice. the first official notification of the fact of gold having been discovered bears date, may , , and is contained in a despatch from the governor to earl grey. in it he announced the existence of a gold field to the westward of bathurst, about one hundred and fifty miles from sydney. at the same time, he added his supposition that the gold sent for inspection was califorian. mr stutchbury, the geological surveyor, quickly undeceived his excellency. he wrote from hill creek reporting that four hundred persons were hard at work, and that the gold existed not only in the creek but beyond it. the following postscript was added to his letter: "excuse this being written in pencil, as there is no ink in this city of ophir." and this appropriate name has ever since been retained. the natural consequences of this discovery was the flocking of hundreds of the inhabitants of sydney to bathurst. sober people began to be alarmed at this complete bouleversement of business and tranquillity. for the sake of order the governor attempted to put a stop to the increasing desertion of the capital by proclaiming that the gold-fields were the prerogative of the crown, and threatening gold-diggers with prosecution. it was all in vain. the glitterings of the precious metal were more attractive than the threats of the governor were otherwise. the people laughed good-humoured at the proclamation, and only flocked in greater numbers to the auriferous spot. government now took a wiser course, and finding it impossible to stem the torrent, determined to turn the eagerness of the multitude to some account. a licence-fee of s., or half an ounce of gold, per month was imposed, which, with few exceptions, has always been cheerfully paid. the turon diggings soon followed those of bathurst. this river flows into the macquarie after a course of a hundred miles. along the entire length auriferous discoveries are constantly being made, and it bids fair to last for many years to come. the gold is not found, as many erroneously suppose, so much among the sand as by digging in the soil. it also exists in paying quantities on the shores and in the rive flows of the macquarie, the abercrombie, and belubula rivers. major's creek, too, is a favourite locality, and was first made known by a prospecting woman. according to mr. stutchbury's report, he found gold almost wherever he tried for it, and whilst traversing the macquarie from walgumballa to the turon, he found it at every place he tried. surely midas must, once upon a time, have taken a pleasure-trip to australia! the delirium of the sydney gold-fever reached its height when it became publicly known that a piece of one hundred and six pounds weight had been disembowelled from the earth, at one time. this immense quantity was the discovery of a native, who, being excited by the universal theme of conversation, provided himself with a tomahawk, and explored the country adjacent to his employer's land. he was attracted by a glittering yellow substance on the surface of a block of quartz. with his tomahawk he broke off a piece, which he carried home to his master, dr. kerr, of wallawa. not being able to move the mass conveniently, dr. kerr broke it into small fragments. the place where it was found is at the commencement of an undulating table-land, very fertile, and near to a never-failing supply of water in the murroo creek. it is distant about fifty miles from bathurst, thirty from wellington, and twenty from the nearest point of the macquarie river. dr. kerr presented the native and his brother with two flocks of sheep, two saddle-horses, a quantity of rations, a team of bullocks, and some land. about twenty yards from the spot where this mass was found, a piece of gold called the "brennan nugget" was soon after discovered. it weighed three hundred and thirty-six ounces, and was sold in sydney for more than , pounds. but it would be useless to enter into fuller particulars of the diggings of new south wales. panoramas, newspapers, and serials have made them familiar to all. chapter xv. south australia adelaide, the capital of south australia, was the last formed of the three sister colonies. in an act of colonization was obtained; and land, both in town and country, sold rapidly. the colonists, however, were most unfortunately more engaged in speculating with the land, than grazing upon or tilling it; and the consequence was, that in a few years the south australians were only saved from a famine by the unexpected arrival overland of herds and flocks from victoria. as it was, horses and cows of a very indifferent kind were sold for more than a hundred pounds a-piece, and sheep for five pounds a head. the discovery of the copper mines alone saved the country from ruin. the first was the kapunda. it was accidentally discovered by a shepherd, who picked up a piece on the surface of the ground, and showed it to his master. pieces of copper ore may even now be found in the same way. next followed the far-famed burra-burra. in the latter mine there is a great quantity of malachite, which, when smelted, gives copper at an average of eighty-five per cent. south australia possesses the finest river in australia--namely, the murray, on which steamers will soon ply as far as five hundred miles up the country. on either side of this river is a thick and dry scrub--sometimes ten, sometimes thirty miles wide. in this scrub, manna is not unfrequently found, to the great delight of the natives, who are very fond of it. it is of a very excellent description, and in colour has a slight tendency to pink. adelaide itself is a well-laid out town. the streets are built in the same manner as in sydney and melbourne; but those in adelaide are much wider. many of the buildings and warehouses are highly creditable, particularly when we take the juvenile age of the colony into consideration. adelaide has never yet been "a transportation colony," and the society there is usually considered more recherche than in any other city in australia. the climate is very good, and the vine flourishes as in the south of france. the principal export of south australia is copper, to which may be added some wool and tallow. the roads about are excellent, and the small farms in the neighbourhood are more in the english style than one could expect to meet with so many thousand miles away from home. the overland route from adelaide to melbourne is about four hundred miles in length. in summer the road is pretty good, but in winter, a lake or swamp of twenty miles extent has to be waded through. the scrub about south australia is very thick, and any one may easily lose themselves in it. this has in fact often been the case, and a fearful instance of it occurred some few years ago. a young lady--the daughter of a gentleman residing near adelaide--started out one sunday afternoon with a book as her companion. evening came, and she did not return, which alarmed her family, and search was made far and near--but in vain. on the fourth day, they at length discovered her lying dead at the foot of a tree. the pages of her book were covered with sentences, pricked in with a pin, expressive of her sufferings and of her unavailing efforts to retrace her steps. she was only three miles from her father's house when she sank down to die of hunger, thirst, and exhaustion; and probably during the whole time of her wanderings had never exceeded that distance from her home. the adelaide gold-diggings began to excite attention in the months of august and september, . in october the following report was made: "camp, echunga, gold-fields, "october , . "sir, "i have the honour to state for the information of his excellency the lieutenant-governor, that since my last report sixty licences have been issued, making a total of three hundred and fifty-six. * * * * many families of respectability have arrived, and are now living in comfortable and commodious tents. the presence of well-dressed women and children gives to the gold-fields, apparently distinguished for decorum, security and respectability. "from the feeling of greater security and comfort, combined with cheapness of living, all classes of diggers are unanimous in their preference of this place to victoria. * * * * "the nugget of gold which i have forwarded for his excellency's inspection, weighing about an ounce and a half, was found about seven feet below the surface.* * * * "there are some few amongst the lately arrived who expressed dissatisfaction with the result of their labours and observations, while others, who have been working for the last month, have promptly renewed their expired licences. (signed) "a. j. murray, "assistant gold commissioner. "the hon. the colonial secretary." in the month of october several pieces of gold, weighing each half an ounce and upwards, were found, and a few of the holes that had been abandoned by inexperienced hands, when taken possession of by old diggers on the turon or the bendigo, were found to contain good washing stuff. the diggings were well supplied with food of every kind; and during the summer months there could be no lack of fruits and vegetables in abundance, at reasonable prices, supplied from the numerous and well-cultivated farms and gardens around. this is certainly an advantage over the diggings of victoria or new south wales, if gold really does exist in paying quantities; if not, all the fruit and vegetables in the world would not keep the diggers at echunga. the following "lament" was circulated in adelaide, but not one of the newspapers there would print it. they were all too anxious for the success of their diggings, to countenance any grumblers against them: a lament for my thirty shillings, dedicated to the echunga victims, my one pound ten! my one pound ten! i paid as licence fee; ah! cruel bonney! pray return, that one pound ten to me. when to echunga diggings first i hastened up from town, thy tent i sought with anxious care and paid the money down. and though my folly ever since i bitterly deplore, it soothes my mind to know there were three scores of fools before. then, bonney, listen to my lay, and if you wish to thrive, send back the money quick to me, to number sixty-five. who wants but little here below, nor wants that little long, had better to echunga go, and not to mount coorong. but as for me i like a swag, at least a little more than what we got there in a week-- eight pennyweights 'mongst four. for that, of surface earth we washed of dray loads half a score; i'll swear that cradling never seemed such tedious work before. to sink for gold we then commenced, with grief i must confess, 'twas fruitless toil, although we went down thirty feet or less. all you who've paid your one pound ten, are on your licence told that then you are entitled to remove alluvial gold. but if the alluvial gold's not there i'd like to have it proved by what ingenious process it can ever be removed? then back to bendigo i'll haste, to seek the precious ore; although my one pound ten i fear returns to me no more. yet as the boundary line i cross, my parting prayer shall be-- ah! cruel bonney! pray return my one pound ten to me! antigropolos. adelaide, september . with a short extract from the "south australian register" of february , , i shall conclude my remarks on the adelaide diggings. "the gold fields.--although there is at the diggings everything to indicate gold in large quantities, none have succeeded in realizing their hopes. the majority content themselves with what they can get on chapman's hill and gully, knowing that, if a fresh place is discovered, they will stand as good a chance as those who have spent months in trying to find better ground. "the quantity of gold taken to the assay-office, during four consecutive weeks, amounting to less than four thousand ounces, the governor has proclaimed that after the th of february the office will be closed." chapter xvi. melbourne again it was on monday the th of october, that for the second time i entered melbourne. not many weeks had elapsed since i had quitted it for my adventurous trip to the diggings, yet in that short space of time how many changes had taken place. the cloudy sky was exchanged for a brilliant sunshine, the chilling air for a truly tropical heat, the drizzling rain for clouds of thick cutting dust, sometimes as thick as a london fog, which penetrated the most substantial veil, and made our skins smart terribly. the streets too had undergone a wondrous transformation. collins street looked quite bright and cheerful, and was the fashionable promenade of those who had time or inclination for lounging. parties of diggers were constantly starting or arriving, trips to st. kilda and brighton were daily taking place; and a coach was advertised to run to the diggings! i cannot quite realize the terrified passengers being driven through the black forest, but can picture their horror when ordered to "bail up" by a party of australian turpins. in every window--milliners, baby-linen warehouses, &c., included--was exhibited the usual advertisement of the gold buyer--namely, a heap of gold in the centre, on one side a pile of sovereigns, on the other bank-notes. the most significant advertisement was one i saw in a window in collins street. in the middle was a skull perforated by a bullet, which lay at a little distance as if coolly examining or speculating on the mischief it had done. on one side of the skull was a revolver, and on the other a quantity of nuggets. above all, was the emphatic inscription, "beware in time." this rather uncomfortable-looking tableau signified--in as speaking a manner as symbols can--that the unfortunate skull had once belonged to some more unfortunate lucky digger, who not having had the sense to sell his gold to the proprietor of this attractive window had kept his nuggets in his pocket, thereby tempting some robbers--significantly personified by the revolver--to shoot him, and steal the gold. nowhere could you turn your eye without meeting " , oz. wanted immediately; highest price given;" " , oz. want to consign per ----; extra price given to immediate sellers," &c. outwardly it seemed a city of gold, yet hundreds were half perishing for want of food, with no place of shelter beneath which to lay their heads. many families of freshly-arrived emigrants--wife, children, and all--slept out in the open air; infants were born upon the wharves with no helping hand near to support the wretched mother in her misery. how greatly the last few weeks had enlarged melbourne. cities of tents encompassed it on all sides; though, as i said before, the trifling comfort of a canvas roof above them, was denied to the poorest of the poor, unless a weekly tax were paid! but i must return to ourselves. our first business the next morning was to find for our little jessie some permanent home; for all our movements were so uncertain--i myself, thinking of a return to the old country--that it was considered advisable to obtain for her some better friends than a set of volatile, though good-hearted young fellows--not the most suitable protection for a young girl, even in so lax a place as the colonies. we never thought of letting her return to england, for there the life of a female, who has her own livelihood to earn, is one of badly-paid labour, entailing constant privation, and often great misery--if not worse. i have before said that william had relatives in melbourne, and to them we determined to entrust her. mrs. r----- was a kind-hearted and most exemplary woman; and having a very young family of her own, was well pleased at such an acquisition as the thoughtful, industrious little jessie. each of our party contributed a small portion of their golden earnings to form a fund for a future day, which i doubt not will be increased by our little friend's industry, long before she needs it. here let us leave her, trusting that her future life may be as happy as her many excellent qualities deserve, and hoping that her severest trials have already passed over her. our next care was to obtain our gold from the escort-office; to do which the receipts given in bendigo had to be handed in, and after very little delay the precious packets were restored to their respective owners. the following is a facsimile of the tickets, printed on parchment, attached to each parcel of which a duplicate, printed on common paper, is given to the depositor: bendigo creek. no. . date, th of october, . name, mr. a----. quantity, oz. dwts. consigned to, self. the trifling charge for all this trouble and responsibility is sixpence an ounce. the business satisfactorily arranged, the next was to dispose of it. some was converted into money, and sold for s. an ounce; and the remainder was consigned to england, where, being very pure and above standard, it realized pounds an ounce. a great difference that! we next paid richard a visit, who, though surprised was well pleased to see us again. he declared his resolution of returning to england as soon as possible. our party fixed their journey to the ovens to take place in three weeks. william determined to remain in town, which i think showed wisdom on his part as his health was not equal to roughing it in the bush; and this was a much more formidable trip than the last, on account of length, and being much less frequented. meanwhile we enjoyed the fine weather, and our present companionship, as much as possible, while taking little trips here, there, and everywhere. the one i most enjoyed was a sail in the bay. the captain of the vessel in which we left england, was still detained in port philip for want of hands--the case of hundreds--and offered to give us a sail, and a dinner on board afterwards. we soon made up a large party, and enjoyed it exceedingly. the day was lovely. we walked down to liardet's beach, a distance of nearly three miles, and were soon calmly skimming over the waters. we passed st. kilda and brighton, and gained an excellent view of the innumerable vessels then lying useless and half-deserted in the bay. it was a sad though a pretty sight. there were fine east indiamen, emigrant ships, american clippers, steamers, traders--foreign and english--whalers, &c., waiting there only through want of seamen. in the cool of the evening our gallant host rowed us back to the beach. since our first landing, tents and stores had been erected in great numbers, and little adelaide was grown wonderfully. i think i have never mentioned the quantity of frogs that abound in australia. this particular evening i remarked them more than usual, and without the least exaggeration their croaking resembled a number of mills in motion. i know nothing to which i can more appropriately liken the noise that resounded along the swampy portions of the road, from the beach to melbourne. much has been said of the climate of australia, and many are the conflicting statements thereon. the following table contains all the information--personal and otherwise--which i have been enabled to collect. january and february.--generally the hottest months; average of the thermometer, in the shade; thunder-storms and colonial showers of rain occasionally visit us. march.--fine genial weather; average temperature, in the shade. april.--weather more uncertain; mosquitos depart; average temperature, in the shade: may.--fine, till towards the latter part of the month, when sometimes the rainy season commences; average temperature in the shade, . june.--rainy, and much cooler; temperature at an average of in the shade. july.--coldest month in the year; midwinter in the colonies; average temperature, . ice and snow may be seen inland. august.--very rainy. average temperature, in the shade. september.--windy stormy month; weather getting warmer. average temperature, in the shade. october--the presence of the mosquito, a sure proof that the weather is permanently warm. average temperature in the shade, . november and december.--tropically warm. locusts, mosquitos, and unnumbered creeping things swarm both in bush and town. towards the end of december the creeks commence to dry up, and the earth looks parched for want of rain. no yule-log needed on christmas day. thermometer as high as in the shade; average . the principal trees in australia are the gum, stringy bark, manna tree, wild cherry (so called), iron bark, shea oak, peppermint, acacia, and the mimosa, which last, however, should more properly be called a shrub. these and others, like the indian malelucas, are remarkable for the cajeput oil contained in their leaves, and in the gums which exude from their sterns, and in this point of view alone, considering their boundless number, their value can hardly be over estimated. the gum of some of the acacias will bear comparison with gum-arabic. their bark and timber are likewise useful, and when the gold fever has subsided, will become valuable as exports. wild flowers there are in abundance, and some exquisite specimens of ferns. for the benefit of those better skilled in botany than myself, i give the following list of dr. muller's indigenous plants of victoria. correaochrolenca and phebalium asteriscophorum, both with the medical properties of the bucco-bush, eurybia rhodochaeta, e. rugosa, e. adenophylla, e. asterotristia, sambucus, gaudichaudiana, prostanthera hirsuta, pimelea axiflora (powerful surrogat of the mezerion shrub), bossidea decumbcus, asterotristia asperifolia, patersonia aspera, grevilliea repens, dallachiana, &c. the geranium, fuschia, rhododendrum, and almost all varieties of the cacti have been taken to the colonies, and flourish well in the open air all the year round, growing much more luxuriantly than in england. the vineyards must some day form a considerable source of employment and profit to the colonists. the wine made in australia is very good. the vines are cultivated in the same manner as in france. in the neighbourhood of sydney, oranges and peaches are grown out in the open air. apples and other fruits flourish well in van diemen's land. all these fruits are not indigenous to australia. the only articles of food natural there, are the kangaroos, emus, opossums, and other denizens of the forest, a few snakes, some roots, and a worm, about the length and thickness of a finger, which is abundant in all parts of the colony, and is taken out of the cavities, or from under the bark, of the trees. it is a great favourite with the blacks, as it can be procured when no other food is attainable. i have before made mention of the bush and scrub; there is a great dissimilarity between the two. the former resembles a forest, with none or very little underwood. the scrub, on the contrary, is always underwood, of from six to twenty feet high, and only here and there a few trees are seen. to be lost in either bush or scrub is a common thing. if on horseback the best way is to give the rein to your four-footed companion, and instinct will most probably enable him to extricate you. if on foot, ascend, if possible, a rise of ground, and notice any fall in the country; here, most likely, is a creek, and once beside that, you are pretty sure of coming to a station. if this fails, you must just bush it for the night, and resume your search next morning, trusting to an occasional "coo-ey" to help you out of your difficulty. the scenery of australia partakes of all characters. sometimes miles of swamp reminds one of the lincolnshire fens; at other times it assumes quite a park-like appearance, though the effect is greatly injured by the want of freshness about the foliage, which always looks of a dirty, dingy green. the native trees in australia never shed their leaves, never have that exquisite young tint which makes an english spring in the country so delicious. their faded look always reminded me of those unfortunate trees imprisoned for so many months beneath the crystal palace. the mountains in australia are high and bold in outline, and the snow-capped alps on the boundaries of new south wales are not unlike their european namesakes, the highest tops are from six to seven thousand feet above the level of the sea. the country round ballarat is more in the north american style, and when the creek is full, it is a fine sight, greatly resembling, i have beard, one of the smaller rivers in canada; in fact, the scenery round ballarat is said to approach more to upper canada than any in the colony. the rocks, although not high, are in places very bold and romantic, and in the wet season there are several water-falls in the neighbourhood. eels are very plentiful in victoria, and are peculiar to this district, being seldom, if ever, found in any other part of the known continent. old writers on australia have stated that eels are unknown in this part of the world, which, since this colony has been settled in, has been found to be erroneous, as the barwin, the yarra yarra, and their tributaries abound with them, some weighing five or six pounds. a few days after our return from the diggings, we breakfasted off a dish of stewed eels, caught by a friend; the smallest weighed about a pound and a half, the largest about three pounds. they were caught three miles from melbourne, in the salt water creek. a small kind of fish like the lamprey, another similar to the gudgeon, and also one (of rather a larger kind--the size of the roach) called here "white herrings," but not at all resembling that fish, are found. pike are also very numerous. crabs and lobsters are not known here, but in the salt creeks near the sea we have craw-fish. of course, parrots, cockatoos and "sich-like," abound in the bush, to the horror of the small gardeners and cultivators, as what they do not eat they ruin by destroying the young shoots. kangaroos are extremely numerous in the scrub. they are the size of a large greyhound, and of a mouse colour. the natives call them "kanguru." the tail is of great strength. there are several varieties of them. the largest is the great kangaroo, of a greyish-brown colour, generally four or five feet high and the tail three. some kangaroos are nearly white, others resemble the hare in colour. pugs, or young kangaroos, are plentiful about the marshy grounds; so are also the opossum and kangaroo rat. the latter is not a rat, properly speaking, but approaches the squirrel tribe. it is a lilliputian kangaroo, the size of our native wood squirrel and larger, only grey or reddish-grey. it can leap six or eight feet easily, and is excellent eating. the native dog is of all colours; it has the head and brush of a fox, with the body a legs of a dog. it is a cowardly animal, and will run away from you like mad. it is a great enemy of the kangaroo rat, and a torment to the squatter, for a native dog has a great penchant for mutton and will kill thirty or forty sheep in the course of an hour. a species of mocking-bird which inhabits the bush is a ludicrous creature. it imitates everything, and makes many a camping party imagine there is a man near them, when they hear its whistle or hearty laugh. this bird is nicknamed the "jackass," and its loud "ha! ha! ha!" is heard every morning at dawn echoing through the woods and serving the purpose of a "boots" by calling the sleepy traveller in good time to get his breakfast and pursue his journey. the bats here are very large. insects, fleas, &c., are as plentiful as it is possible to be, and the ants, of which there are several kinds, are a perfect nuisance. the largest are called by the old colonists, "bull-dogs," and formidable creatures they are--luckily not very common, about an inch and a half long, black, or rusty-black, with a red tail. they bite like a little crab. ants of an inch long are quite common. they do not--like the english ones--run scared away at the sight of a human being--not a bit of it; australian ants have more pluck, and will turn and face you. nay, more, should you retreat, they will run after you with all the impudence imaginable. often when my organ of destructiveness has tempted me slightly to disturb with the end of my parasol one of the many ant-hills on the way from melbourne to richmond, i have been obliged, as soon as they discovered the perpetrator of the attack, to take to my heels and run away as if for my life. centipedes and triantelopes (colonial, for tarantula) are very common, and though not exactly fatal, are very dangerous if not attended to. the deaf adder is the most formidable "varmint" in australia. there are two varieties; it is generally about two feet long. the bite is fatal. the deaf adder never moves unless it is touched, hence its name. i do not think it has the power of twisting or twirling, like the ordinary snake or adder and it is very slow in its movements. there are several species of snakes, some of them are extremely venomous and grow to a large size, as long as ten feet. the black snake is the most venomous of any; its bite is fatal within a few hours. but let us leave these wilder subjects and return to melbourne. the state of society in the town had not much improved during my absence. on the public road from melbourne to st. kilda, fifteen men were robbed in one afternoon, and tied to trees within sight of one another. in melbourne itself the same want of security prevailed, and concerts, lectures, &c., were always advertised to take place when there was a full moon, the only nights any one, unarmed, dared venture, out after dusk. the following extract from the "argus," gives a fair specimen of melbourne order. "we are led to these remarks (referring to a tirade against the government) by an occurrence that took place last week in queen street, the whole detail of which is peculiarly illustrative of the very creditable state of things, to which, under the happy auspices of a la trobe dynasty, we are rapidly descending. "a ruffian robs a man in a public-house, in broad daylight. he is pursued by a constable and taken. on the way to the watchhouse a mob collects, the police are attacked, pistols are pointed, bludgeons and axe-handles are brought out of the adjacent houses (all still in broad daylight, and in a busy street), and distributed amongst the crowd, loud cries inciting attack are heard, a scuffle ensues, the police are beaten, the prisoner is rescued, the crowd separates, and a man is left dead upon the ground. the body is taken into a public-house, an inquest is held, the deceased is recognized as a drunkard, the jury is assured that a post-mortem examination is quite unnecessary; and the man is buried, after a verdict is brought in of 'died by the visitation of god;' the said visitation of god having, in this instance, assumed the somewhat peculiar form of a fractured skull!" this is a true picture of melbourne; but whether the "argus" is justified in reproaching the "la trobe dynasty" with it, is quite another matter. in pages like these, anything resembling an argument on the "transportation question," would be sadly out of place. to avoid thinking or hearing it was impossible, for during my second stay in melbourne, it was a never-failing subject of conversation. in victoria (which is only forty-eight hours' journey from van diemen's land), i have seen the bad results of the mingling of so many transports and ticket-of-leave men among the free population. on the other hand, i have heard from many and good authorities, of the substantial benefits conferred on sydney and new south wales by convict labour. it is difficult to reconcile these two statements, and it is an apple of discord in the colonies. whilst in victoria, i met with a great variety of emigrants, and i was much struck by the great success that seems to have attended on almost all of those who came out under the auspices of mrs. chisholm. no one in england can fully appreciate the benefits her unwearied exertions have conferred upon the colonies. i have met many of the matrons of her ships, and not only do they themselves seem to have made their way in the world, but the young females who were under their care during the voyage appear to have done equally well. perhaps one way of accounting for this, is the fact that a great many of those going out by the chisholm society are from scotland, the inhabitants of which country are peculiarly fortunate in the colonies, their industry, frugality, and "canniness" being the very qualities to make a fortune there. "sydney herbert's needlewomen" bear but a bad name; and the worst recommendation a young girl applying for a situation can give, is to say she came out in that manner--not because the colonists look down on any one coming out by the assistance of others, but because it is imagined her female associates on the voyage cannot have been such as to improve her morality, even if she were good for anything before. much is said and written in england about the scarcity of females in australia, and the many good offers awaiting the acceptance of those who have the courage to travel so far. but the colonial bachelors, who are so ready to get married, and so very easy in their choice of a wife, are generally those the least calculated, in spite of their wealth, to make a respectable girl happy; whilst the better class of squatters and diggers--if they do not return home to get married, which is often the case--are not satisfied with any one, however pretty, for a wife, unless her manners are cultivated and her principles correct. to wander through melbourne and its environs, no one would imagine that females were as one to four of the male population; for bonnets and parasols everywhere outnumber the wide-awakes. this is occasioned by the absence of so many of the "lords of creation" in pursuit of what they value--many of them, at least--more than all the women in the world--nuggets. the wives thus left in town to deplore their husbands' infatuation, are termed "grass-widows"--a mining expression. and now two out of the three weeks of our party's stay in melbourne has expired, during which time a change (purely personal) had made my brother's protection no longer needed by me. my wedding-trip was to be to england, and the marriage was to take place, and myself and caro sposo to leave australia before my brother departed for the ovens diggings. the 'c----,' a fine east indiaman, then lying in the bay, was bound for london. we were to be on board by the th of november. this of course gave me plenty to do, and my last morning but one in melbourne was dedicated to that favourite feminine occupation--which, however, i detest--i mean, shopping. this being accomplished to my great dissatisfaction--for all i bought could have been obtained, of a better description, for half the price in england--i was preparing to return home by way of collins street, when my name in familiar accents made me suddenly pause. i instantly recognised the lady who addressed me as one of the english governesses in a "finishing" school where three years of my girlhood were passed. julia ------ was a great favourite among us; no one could have done otherwise than admire the ability and good-humour with which she fulfilled her many arduous duties. perhaps, of all miserable positions for a well-educated and refined young person to be placed in, that of "little girls' teacher" in a lady's school is the worst. her subsequent history i learnt as we walked together to my present abode. her mother had had a cousin in sydney, who being old and unmarried, wrote to her, promising to settle all his property, which was considered large, upon her daughter and herself, his only living relatives, provided they came out to the colonies to live with him until his death. a sum of money to defray the expenses of the voyage was enclosed. this piece of unexpected good news was received with pleasure, and the invitation gladly accepted. they sailed for sydney. on arriving there, they found that some speculation, in which he was greatly involved, had failed; and the old man had taken the loss so greatly to heart, that he died only five months after having dispatched the letter to his english relatives. poor julia was placed in a most painful position. in england she had scarcely been able to support her invalid mother by her own exertions, but in a strange country and without friends these difficulties seemed increased. her first act was to look over the advertizing columns of the papers, and her eye caught sight of one which seemed exactly to suit her. it was, "wanted, a governess to take the entire charge of a little girl, the daughter of a widower, and also an elderly lady, to superintend the domestic arrangements of the same family during the continual absence of the master at another station." julia wrote immediately, and was accepted. in the occasional visits that her pupil's father paid to his little girl, he could not fail to be struck by the sweet disposition and many other good qualities of her governess, and it ended by his making her his wife. i felt at liberty to congratulate her, for she looked the picture of happiness. i saw her again next day, when she showed me the advertisement which had been the means of such a change in her circumstances. the day before my departure was a painful one, so many farewells to be taken of dear friends whom i should never meet again. on friday, the th of november, my brother and all our party, richard and jessie included, accompanied us to the pier at williamstown, to which we were conveyed by a steamer. for this we paid five shillings a-piece, and the same for each separate box or parcel, and twelve shillings to a man for carting our luggage down to the melbourne wharf, a distance of not a mile. on landing at the pier, how greatly was i astonished to meet harriette and her husband. her modest desires were gratified, and they had realized sufficient capital at the diggings to enable them to settle most comfortably near adelaide. in hurried words she told me this, for their boat was already alongside the pier waiting to take them to their ship. hardly had they departed than a boat arrived from our vessel to convey us to it. sad adieux were spoken, and we were rowed away. that evening a pilot came on board, anchors were weighed, we left the bay, and i saw melbourne no more. chapter xvii. homeward bound we soon left port philip far behind, and in a few days saw nothing but a vast expanse of water all around us. our vessel was filled with returning diggers; and it is worth while to remark that only two had been unsuccessful, and these had only been at the diggings a few days. one family on board interested me very much. it consisted of father, mother, and two children. the eldest, a little, girl, had been born some time before they left england. her brother was a sturdy fellow of two years old, born in the colonies soon after their arrival. he could just toddle about the deck, where he was everlastingly looking for "dold," and "nuddets." the whole family had been at the diggings for nine months, and were returning with something more than , pounds worth of gold. in england it had been hard work to obtain sufficient food by the most constant labour; they had good reason to be thankful for the discovery of the gold-fields. saturday, november , was forty-eight hours long, or two days of the same name and date. sailing right round the world in the direction of from west to east, we gained exactly twenty-four hours upon those who stay at home; and we were therefore obliged to make one day double to prevent finding ourselves wrong in our dates and days on our arrival in england. melbourne is about ten hours before london, and therefore night, and day are reversed. rapidly it became cooler, for the winds were rather contrary, and drove us much farther south than was needed. we were glad to avail ourselves of our opossum rugs to keep ourselves warm. one of these rugs is quite sufficient covering of a night in the coldest weather, and imparts as much heat as a dozen blankets. they are made from the skins of the opossums, sewn together by the natives with the sinews of the same animal. each skin is about twelve inches by eight, or smaller; and as the rugs are generally very large, they contain sometimes as many as eighty skins. they may be tastefully arranged, as there is a great difference in the colours; some being like a rich sable, others nearly black, and others again of a grey and light brown. the fur is long and silky. at one time a rug of this description was cheap enough--perhaps as much as two sovereigns but the great demand for them by diggers, &c., has made them much more scarce, and it now requires a ten pound-note to get a good one. the best come from van diemen's land. in summer they are disagreeable, as they harbour insects. however, whilst rounding cape horn, in the coldest weather i ever experienced, we were only too happy to throw them over us during the nights. one morning we were awakened by a great confusion on deck. our ship was ploughing through a quantity of broken ice. that same afternoon, we sighted an immense iceberg about ten miles from us. its size may be imagined from the fact, that, although we were sailing at a rate of ten knots an hour, we kept it in sight till dark. this was on the rd of december. we soon rounded the horn, and had some very rough weather. one of the sailors fell off the jib-boom; and the cry of "man overboard" made our hearts beat with horror. every sail was on; we were running right before the wind, and the waves were mountains high, a boat must have been swamped; and long before we could "bout ship", he had sunk to rise no more. after rounding cape horn, we made rapid progress; by christmas day, we were in the tropics. it was not kept with much joviality, for water and food were running scarce. provisions were so dear in melbourne, that they had laid in a short allowance of everything, and our captain had not anticipated half so many passengers. we tried, therefore, to put into st. helena, but contrary winds preventing us, we sailed back again to the south american coast, and anchored off pernambuco. it was providential that economical intentions made our captain prefer this port, for had we touched at rio, we should have encountered the yellow fever, which we afterwards heard was raging there. pernambuco is apparently a very pretty place. we were anchored about four miles from the town, so had a good view of the coast. i longed to be on shore to ramble beneath the elegant cocoa-nut-trees. the weather was intensely hot, for it was in the commencement of january; and the boats full of fruit, sent from the shore for sale, were soon emptied by us. i call them boats, but they are properly termed catamarans. they are made of logs of wood lashed securely together; they have a sail and oars but no sides, so the water rushes over, and threatens every moment to engulf the frail conveyance; but no, the wood is too light for that. the fruits brought us from shore were oranges, pine-apples, water-melons, limes, bananas, cocoa-nuts, &c., and some yams, which were a good substitute for potatoes. the fruit was all very good, and astonishingly cheap; our oranges being green, lasted till we reached england. some of our passengers went on shore, and returned with marvellous accounts of the dirtiness and narrowness of the streets, and the extremely natural costume of the natives. we remained here about four days, and then, with favourable winds, pursued our voyage at an average rate of ten or twelve knots an hour. as we neared the english coast, our excitement increased to an awful height; and for those who had been many years away, i can imagine every trivial delay was fraught with anxiety. but we come in sight of land; and in spite of the cold weather, for it is now february, , every one rushes to the deck. on we go; at last we are in the downs, and then the wind turned right against us. boats were put off from the deal beach. the boatmen there rightly calculated that lucky gold-diggers wouldn't mind paying a pound a-piece to get ashore, so they charged that, and got plenty of customers notwithstanding. on sunday, the th of february, i again set foot on my native land. it was evening when we reached the shore, and there was only an open vehicle to convey us to the town of deal itself. the evening was bitterly cold, and the snow lay upon the ground. as we proceeded along, the sounds of the sabbath bell broke softly on the air. no greeting could have been more pleasing or more congenial to my feelings. chapter xviii. conclusion as i trust that, in the foregoing pages, i have slightly interested my readers in "our party," the following additional account of their movements, contained in letters addressed to me by my brother, may not be quite uninteresting. the ovens diggings are on the river of the same name, which takes its rise in the australian alps, and flows into the murray. as these alps separate new south wales from victoria, these diggings belong to the latter province. they are about forty miles from the town of albury. they are spread over a large space of ground. the principal localities are spring and reid's creeks. now for the letters. "melbourne, january , . "my dear e--, "you'll be surprised at the heading of this but the ovens are not to my taste, and i'm off again with frank and octavius to bendigo tomorrow. i suppose you'll like to hear of our adventures up to the ovens, and the reasons for this sudden change of plans. we left melbourne the monday after you sailed, and camped out half-way to kilmore, a little beyond the 'lady of the lake.' the day was fine, but the dust made us wretched. next day, we reached kilmore--stopped there all night. next day on again, and the farther we went, the more uncivilized it became--hills here, forests there, as wild and savage as any one could desire. it was 'bushing it' with a vengeance. this lasted several days. once we lost our road, and came, by good luck, to a sort of station. they received us very hospitably, and set us right next morning. four days after, we came to the goulburn river. there was a punt to take us over, and a host of people (many from bendigo) waiting to cross. three days after, we pitched out tents at the ovens. here i soon saw it was no go. there was too much water, and too little gold; and even if they could knock the first difficulty on the head, i don't think they could do the same to the second. in my own mind, i think it impossible that the ovens will ever turn out the second bendigo that many imagine. hundreds differ from me, therefore it's hundreds to one that i'm wrong. the average wages, as far as i can judge, are an ounce a-week; some much more, many much less. we did not attempt digging ourselves. eagle hawk shallowness has spoilt us, for not even octavius (who, you know of old, was a harder worker than either frank or self) thinks it worth digging through fourteen or sixteen feet of hard clay for the mere pleasure of exercising our limbs. provisions there were not at the high price that many supposed they would be, but quite high enough, heaven knows! meat was very scarce and bad, and flour all but a shilling a pound; and if the fresh arrivals keep flocking in, and no greater supply of food, it will get higher still. we stayed there two weeks, then brought our dray back again, and are now busy getting ready for a fresh start to bendigo. among other things we shall take, are lemonade and ginger-beer powders, a profitable investment, though laughable. the weather is very hot--fancy degrees in the shade. water is getting scarce." * * * * * "have seen all our friends in melbourne except richard, who left for england a fortnight ago. jessie is well, and growing quite pretty. she says she is extremely happy, and sends such a number of messages to you, that i'll write none, for fear of making a mistake. will write again soon." * * * * * "your affectionate brother, in haste, "----" "melbourne, april , . "my dear e----, "i suppose you've thought i was buried in my hole, or 'kilt' by bushrangers in the black forest; but i've been so occupied in the worship of mammon, as to have little thoughts for anything else. * * * * * "we made a good thing of our last two speculations. ginger-beer and lemonade, or lemon kali, at sixpence a tiny glass, paid well. a successful digger would drink off a dozen one after another. some days, we have taken ten pounds in sixpences at this fun. what they bought of us wouldn't harm them, but many mix up all sorts of injurious articles to sell; but our consciences, thank god! are not colonised sufficiently for that. we have had steady good luck in the digging line (for we combine everything), and after this next trip, mean to dissolve partnership. * * * * * "octavius talks of going out as overseer, or something of that sort, to some squatter in new south wales for a year or so, just to learn the system, &c., and then, if possible, take a sheep-run himself. frank means to send for mrs. frank and small co. he says he shall stay in victoria for some years. i do believe he likes the colony. as for myself, i hope to see the last of it in six weeks' time. * * * * * "hurrah for old england!--no place like it. * * * * * "your very affectionate brother, "----" with a cordial assent to the last few words, i conclude these pages. appendix who should emigrate? the question of "who should emigrate?" has now become one of such importance (owing to the number who are desirous of quitting their native land to seek a surer means of subsistence in our vast colonial possessions), that any book treating of australia would be sadly deficient were a subject of such universal interest to be left unnoticed; and where there are so many of various capabilities, means and dispositions, in need of guidance and advice as to the advantage of their emigrating, it is probable that the experience of any one, however slight that experience may be, will be useful to some. any one to succeed in the colonies must take with him a quantity of self-reliance, energy, and perseverance; this is the best capital a man can have. let none rely upon introductions--they are but useless things at the best--they may get you invited to a good dinner; but now that fresh arrivals in melbourne are so much more numerous than heretofore, i almost doubt if they would do even that. a quick, clever fellow with a trade of his own, inured to labour, and with a light heart, that can laugh at the many privations which the gipsy sort of life he must lead in the colonies will entail upon him; any one of this description cannot fail to get on. but for the number of clerks, shopmen, &c., who daily arrive in australia, there is a worse chance of their gaining a livelihood than if they had remained at home. with this description of labour the colonial market is largely overstocked; and it is distressing to notice the number of young men incapable of severe manual labour, who, with delicate health, and probably still more delicately filled purses, swarm the towns in search of employment, and are exposed to heavy expenses which they can earn nothing to meet. such men have rarely been successful at the diggings; the demand for them in their accustomed pursuits is very limited in proportion to their numbers; they gradually sink into extreme poverty--too often into reckless or criminal habits--till they disappear from the streets to make way for others similarly unfortunate. a little while since i met with the histories of two individuals belonging to two very different classes of emigrants; and they are so applicable to this subject, that i cannot forbear repeating them. the first account is that of a gentleman who went to melbourne some eight months ago, carrying with him a stock of elegant acquirements and accomplishments, but little capital. he is now in a starving condition, almost with-out the hope of extrication, and is imploring from his friends the means to return to england, if he live long enough to receive them. the colours in which he paints the colonies are deplorable in the extreme. the other account is that of a compositor who emigrated much about the same time. he writes to his former office-mates that he got immediate and constant employment at the rate of pounds per week, and naturally thinks that there is no place under the sun like melbourne. both emigrants are right. there is no better place under the sun than melbourne for those who can do precisely what the melbourne people want; and which they must and will have at any price; but there is no worse colony to which those can go who have not the capabilities required by the melbourne people. they are useless and in the way, their accomplishments are disregarded, their misfortunes receive no pity; and, whilst a good carpenter or bricklayer would make a fortune, a modern raphael might starve. but even those possessed of every qualification for making first-class colonists, will at first meet with much to surprise and annoy them, and will need all the energy they possess, to enable them to overcome the many disagreeables which encounter them as soon as they arrive. let us, for example, suppose the case of an emigrant, with no particular profession or business, but having a strong constitution, good common sense, and a determination to bear up against every hardship, so that in the end it leads him to independence. let us follow him through the difficulties that bewilder the stranger in melbourne during the first few days of his arrival. the commencement of his dilemmas will be that of getting his luggage from the ship; and so quickly do the demands for pounds and shillings fall upon him, that he is ready to wish he had pitched half his "traps" over-board. however, we will suppose him at length safely landed on the wharf at melbourne, with all his boxes beside him. he inquires for a store, and learns that there are plenty close at hand; and then forgetting that he is in the colonies, he looks round for a porter and truck, and looks in vain. after waiting as patiently as he can for about a couple of hours, he manages to hire an empty cart and driver; the latter lifts the boxes into the conveyance (expecting, of course, his employer to lend a hand), smacks his whip, and turns down street after street till he reaches a tall, grim-looking budding, in front of which he stops, with a "that ere's a store," and a demand for a sovereign, more or less. this settled, he coolly requests the emigrant to assist him in unloading, and leaves him to get his boxes carried inside as best he can. perhaps some of the storekeeper's men come to the rescue, and with their help the luggage is conveyed into the store-room (which is often sixty or eighty feet in length), where the owner receives a memorandum of their arrival. boxes or parcels may remain there in perfect safety for months, so long as a shilling a week is paid for each. our emigrant, having left his property in security, now turns to seek a lodging for himself; and the extreme difficulty of procuring house accommodation, with its natural consequences, an extraordinary rate of rent, startles and amazes him. he searches the city in vain, and betakes himself to the suburbs, where he procures a small, half-furnished room, in a wooden house for thirty shillings a week. the scarcity of houses in proportion to the population, is one of the greatest drawbacks to the colony; but we could not expect it to be otherwise when we remember that in one year victoria received an addition of nearly , inhabitants. the masculine portion of these emigrants, with few exceptions, started off at once to the diggings; hence the deficiency in the labour market is only partially filled up by the few who remained behind, and by the fewer still who forsake the gold-fields; whilst the abundance of money, and the deficiency of good workmen, have raised the expenses of building far above the point at which it would be a profitable investment for capital. meantime, the want is only partially supplied by the wooden cottages which are daily springing up around the boundaries of the city; but this is insufficient to meet the increasing want of shelter, and on the southern bank of the yarra there are four or five thousand people living in tents. this settlement is appropriately called "canvas town." but let us return to our newly-arrived emigrant. having succeeded in obtaining a lodging, he proceeds to purchase some necessary articles of food, and looks incredulously at the shopkeeper when told that butter is s. d. a pound, cheese, ham, or bacon s. to s. d., and eggs s. or s. a dozen. he wisely dispenses with such luxuries, and contents himself with bread at s. d. the four-pound loaf, and meat at d. a pound. he sleeps soundly, for the day has been a fatiguing one, and next morning with renewed spirits determines to search immediately for employment. he does not much care what it is at first, so that he earns something; for his purse feels considerably lighter after the many demands upon it yesterday. before an hour is over, he finds himself engaged to a storekeeper at a rate of three pounds a-week; his business being to load and unload drays, roll casks, lift heavy goods, &c.; and here we will leave him, for once set going he will soon find a better berth. if he have capital, it is doubtless safely deposited in the bank until a little acquaintance with the colonies enables him to invest it judiciously; and meanwhile, if wise, he will spend every shilling as though it were his last; but if his capital consists only of the trifle in his purse, no matter, the way he is setting to work will soon rectify that deficiency, and he stands a good chance in a few years of returning to england a comparatively wealthy man. to those of my own sex who desire to emigrate to australia, i say do so by all means, if you can go under suitable protection, possess good health, are not fastidious or "fine-lady-like," can milk cows, churn butter, cook a good damper, and mix a pudding. the worst risk you run is that of getting married, and finding yourself treated with twenty times the respect and consideration you may meet with in england. here (as far as number goes) women beat the "lords of creation;" in australia it is the reverse, and, there we may be pretty sure of having our own way. but to those ladies who cannot wait upon themselves, and whose fair fingers are unused to the exertion of doing anything useful, my advice is, for your own sakes remain at home. rich or poor, it is all the same; for those who can afford to give pounds a-year to a female servant will scarcely know whether to be pleased or not at the acquisition, so idle and impertinent are they; scold them, and they will tell you that "next week tom, or bill, or harry will be back from the diggings, and then they'll be married, and wear silk dresses, and be as fine a lady as yourself;" and with some such words will coolly dismiss themselves from your service, leaving their poor unfortunate mistress uncertain whether to be glad of their departure or ready to cry because there's nothing prepared for dinner, and she knows not what to set about first. for those who wish to invest small sums in goods for australia, boots and shoes, cutlery, flash jewellery, watches, pistols (particularly revolvers), gunpowder, fancy articles, cheap laces, and baby-linen offer immense profits. the police in victoria is very inefficient, both in the towns and on the roads. fifteen persons were stopped during the same afternoon whilst travelling on the highway between melbourne and st. kilda. they were robbed, and tied to trees within sight of each other--this too in broad daylight. on the roads to the diggings it is still worse; and no one intending to turn digger should leave england without a good supply of fire-arms. in less than one week more than a dozen robberies occurred between kyneton and forest creek, two of which terminated in murder. the diggings themselves are comparatively safe--quite as much so as melbourne itself--and there is a freemasonry in the bush which possesses an irresistible charm for adventurous bachelors, and causes them to prefer the risk of bushrangers to witnessing the dreadful scenes that are daily and hourly enacting in a colonial town. life in the bush is wild, free and independent. healthy exercise, fine scenery, and a clear and buoyant atmosphere, maintain an excitement of the spirits and a sanguineness of temperament peculiar to this sort of existence; and many are the pleasant evenings, enlivened with the gay jest or cheerful song, which are passed around the bush fires of australia. the latest accounts from the diggings speak of them most encouragingly. out of a population of , (which is calculated to be the number of the present inhabitants of victoria), half are said to be at the gold-fields, and the average earnings are still reckoned at nearly an ounce per man per week. ballarat is again rising into favour, and its riches are being more fully developed. the gold there is more unequally distributed than at mount alexander, and therefore the proportion of successful to unsuccessful diggers is not so great as at the latter place. but then the individual gains are in some cases greater. the labour is also more severe than at the mount or bendigo, as the gold lies deeper, and more numerous trials have to be made before the deposits are struck upon. the ovens is admitted to be a rich gold-field, but the work there is severely laborious, owing to a super-abundance of water. the astonishing mineral wealth of mount alexander is evidenced by the large amounts which it continues to yield, notwithstanding the immense quantities that have already been taken from it. the whole country in that neighbourhood appears to be more or less auriferous. up to the close of last year the total supposed amount of gold procured from the victoria diggings, is , , ounces, which, when calculated at the average english value of pounds an ounce, is worth nearly sixteen millions sterling. one-third of this is distinctly authenticated as having come down by escort during the three last mouths of . in melbourne the extremes of wealth and poverty meet, and many are the anecdotes of the lavish expenditure of successful diggers that are circulated throughout the town. i shall only relate two which fell under my own observation. having occasion to make a few purchases in the linen drapery line, i entered a good establishment in collins street for that purpose. it was before noon, for later in the day the shops are so full that to get a trifling order attended to would be almost a miracle. there was only one customer in the shop, who was standing beside the counter, gazing with extreme dissatisfaction upon a quantity of goods of various colours and materials that lay there for his inspection. he was a rough-looking customer enough, and the appearance of his hands gave strong indication that the pickaxe and spade were among the last tools he had handled. "it's a shiny thing that i want," he was saying as i entered. "these are what we should call shining goods," said the shopman, as he held up the silks, alpacas, &c., to the light. "they're not the shiny sort that i want," pursued the digger, half-doggedly, half-angrily. "i'll find another shop; i guess you won't show your best goods to me--you think, mayhap, i can't pay for them--but i can, though," and he laid a note for fifty pounds upon the counter, adding, "maybe you'll show me some shiny stuff now!" unable to comprehend the wishes of his customer, the shopman called to his assistance the master of the establishment, who being, i suppose, of quicker apprehension, placed some satins before him. "i thought the paper would help you find it. i want a gown for my missus. what's the price?" "twenty yards at one-ten--thirty pounds. that do, sir?" "no; not good enough!" was the energetic reply. the shrewd shopkeeper quickly fathomed his customer's desires, and now displayed before him a rich orange-coloured satin, which elicited an exclamation of delight. "twenty-five yards--couldn't sell less, it's a remnant--at three pounds the yard." "that's the go!" interrupted the digger, throwing some more notes upon the counter. "my missus was married in a cotton gown, and now she'll have a real gold 'un!" and seizing the satin from the shopkeeper, he twisted up the portion that had been unrolled for his inspection, placed the whole under his arm, and triumphantly walked out of the shop, little thinking how he had been cheated. "a 'lucky digger' that," observed the shopman, as he attended to my wants. i could not forbear a smile, for i pictured to myself the digger's wife mixing a damper with the sleeves of her dazzling satin dress tucked up above her elbows. a few days after, a heavy shower drove me to take shelter in a pastry-cook's, where, under the pretence of eating a bun, i escaped a good drenching. hardly had i been seated five minutes, when a sailor-looking personage entered, and addressed the shopwoman with: "i'm agoing to be spliced to-morrow, young woman; show us some large wedding-cakes." the largest (which was but a small one) was placed before him, and eighteen pounds demanded for it. he laid down four five-pound notes upon the counter, and taking up the cake, told her to "keep the change to buy ribbons with." "pleasant to have plenty of gold-digging friends," i remarked, by way of saying something. "not a friend," said she, smiling. "i never saw him before. i expect he's only a successful digger." turn we now to the darker side of this picture. my favourite walk, whilst in melbourne, was over prince's bridge, and along the road to liardet's beach, thus passing close to the canvas settlement, called little adelaide. one day, about a week before we embarked for england, i took my accustomed walk in this direction, and as i passed the tents, was much struck by the appearance of a little girl, who, with a large pitcher in her arms, came to procure some water from a small stream beside the road. her dress, though clean and neat, bespoke extreme poverty; and her countenance had a wan, sad expression upon it which would have touched the most indifferent beholder, and left an impression deeper even than that produced by her extreme though delicate beauty. i made a slight attempt at acquaintanceship by assisting to fill her pitcher, which was far too heavy, when full of water, for so slight a child to carry, and pointing to the rise of ground on which the tents stood, i inquired if she lived among them. she nodded her head in token of assent. "and have you been long here? and do you like this new country?" i continued, determined to hear if her voice was as pleasing as her countenance. "no!" she answered quickly; "we starve here. there was plenty of food when we were in england;" and then her childish reserve giving way, she spoke more fully of her troubles, and a sad though a common tale it was. some of the particulars i learnt afterwards. her father had held an appointment under government, and had lived upon the income derived from it for some years, when he was tempted to try and do better in the colonies. his wife (the daughter of a clergyman, well educated, and who before her marriage had been a governess) accompanied him with their three children. on arriving in melbourne (which was about three months previous), he found that situations equal in value, according to the relative prices of food and lodging, to that which he had thrown up in england were not so easily procured as he had been led to expect. half desperate, he went to the diggings, leaving his wife with little money, and many promises of quick remittances of gold by the escort. but week followed week, and neither remittances nor letters came. they removed to humbler lodgings, every little article of value was gradually sold, for, unused to bodily labour, or even to sit for hours at the needle, the deserted wife could earn but little. then sickness came; there were no means of paying for medical advice, and one child died. after this, step by step, they became poorer, until half a tent in little adelaide was the only refuge left. as we reached it, the little girl drew aside the canvas, and partly invited me to enter. i glanced in; it was a dismal sight. in one corner lay the mother, a blanket her only protection from the humid soil, and cowering down beside her was her other child. i could not enter; it seemed like a heartless intrusion upon misery; so, slipping the contents of my purse (which were unfortunately only a few shillings) into the little, girl's hand, i hurried away, scarcely waiting to notice the smile that thanked me so eloquently. on arriving at home, i found that my friends were absent, and being detained by business, they did not return till after dusk, so it was impossible for that day to afford them any assistance. early next morning we took a little wine and other trifling articles with us, and proceeded to little adelaide. on entering the tent, we found that the sorrows of the unfortunate mother were at an end; privation, ill health and anxiety had claimed their victim. her husband sat beside the corpse, and the golden nuggets, which in his despair he had flung upon the ground, formed a painful contrast to the scene of poverty and death. the first six weeks of his career at the diggings had been most unsuccessful, and he had suffered as much from want as his unhappy wife. then came a sudden change of fortune, and in two weeks more he was comparatively rich. he hastened immediately to melbourne, and for a whole week had sought his family in vain. at length, on the preceding evening, he found them only in time to witness the last moments of his wife. sad as this history may appear, it is not so sad as many, many others; for often, instead of returning with gold, the digger is never heard of more. in england many imagine that the principal labour at the diggings consists in stooping to pick up the lumps of gold which lie upon the ground at their feet, only waiting for some one to take possession of them. these people, when told of holes being dug in depths of from seven to forty feet before arriving at the desired metal, look upon such statements as so many myths, or fancy they are fabricated by the lucky gold-finders to deter too many others from coming to take a share of the precious spoil. there was a passenger on board the vessel which took me to australia, who held some such opinions as these, and, although in other respects a sensible man, he used seriously to believe that every day that we were delayed by contrary winds he could have been picking up fifty or a hundred pounds worth of gold had he but been at the diggings. he went to bendigo the third day after we landed, stayed there a fortnight, left it in disgust, and returned to england immediately--poorer than he had started. this is not an isolated case. young men of sanguine dispositions read the startling amounts of gold shipped from the colonies, they think of the "john bull nugget" and other similar prizes, turn a deaf ear when you speak of blanks, and determinately overlook the vast amount of labour which the gold diggings have consumed. whenever i meet with this class of would-be emigrants, the remarks of an old digger, which i once over heard, recur to my mind. the conversation at the time was turned upon the subject of the many young men flocking from the "old country" to the gold-fields, and their evident unfitness for them. "every young man before paying his passage money," said he, "should take a few days' spell at well-sinking in england; if he can stand that comfortably, the diggings won't hurt him." many are sadly disappointed on arriving in victoria, at being unable to invest their capital or savings in the purchase of about a hundred acres of land, sufficient for a small farm. i have referred to this subject before, but cannot resist adding some facts which bear upon it. by a return of the land sales of victoria, from to , it appears that , acres of land were sold in the whole colony; and the sum realized by government was , pounds. in a return published in , it is stated that there were three persons who each held singly more land in their own hands than had been sold to all the rest of the colony in fourteen years, for which they paid the sum of pounds each per annum. yet, whilst , pounds is realized by the sale of land, and not pounds a-year gained by letting three times the quantity, the colonial government persists in the latter course, in spite of the reiterated disapprobation of the colonists themselves; and by one of the last gazettes of governor la trobe, he has ordered , acres, or , square miles, to be given over to the squatters. the result of this is, that many emigrants landing in victoria are compelled to turn their steps towards the sister colony of adelaide. there was a family who landed in melbourne whilst i was there. it consisted of the parents, and several grown-up sons and daughters. the father had held a small tenant farm in england, and having saved a few hundreds, determined to invest it in australian land. he brought out with him many agricultural implements, an iron house, &c.; and on his arrival found, to his dismay, that no less than acres of crown lands could be sold, at a time, at the upset price of one pound an acre. this was more than his capital could afford, and they left for adelaide. the expenses of getting his goods to and from the ships, of storing them, of supporting his family while in melbourne, and of paying their passage to adelaide, amounted almost to pounds. thus he lost nearly a fourth of his capital, and victoria a family who would have made good colonists. much is done now-a-days to assist emigration, but far greater exertions are needed before either the demand for labour in the colonies or the over-supply of it in england can be exhausted. pass down the best streets of melbourne: you see one or two good shops or houses, and on either side an empty spot or a mass of rubbish. the ground has been bought, the plans for the proposed budding are all ready. then why not commence?--there are no workmen. bricks are wanted, and pounds a thousand is offered; carpenters are advertized for at pounds a week; yet the building makes no progress--there are no workmen. go down towards the yarra, and an unfinished church will attract attention. are funds wanting for its completion? no. thousands were subscribed in one day, and would be again were it necessary; but that building, like every other, is stopped for lack of workmen. in vain the bishop himself published an appeal to the various labourers required offering the very highest wages; others offered higher wages still, and the church (up to the time i left victoria) remained unfinished. and yet, whilst labour is so scarce, so needed in the colonies, there are thousands in our own country able and willing to work, whose lives here are one of prolonged privation, whose eyes are never gladdened by the sight of nature, who inhale no purer atmosphere than the tainted air of the dark courts and dismal cellars in which they herd. send them to the colonies--food and pure air would at least be theirs--and much misery would be turned into positive happiness. i heard of a lady who every year sent out a whole family from the poor but hard-working classes to the colonies (it was through one of the objects of her thoughtful benevolence that this annual act became known to me), and what happiness must it bring when she reflects on the heartfelt blessings that are showered upon her from the far-off land of australia. surely, among the rich and the influential, there are many who, out of the abundance of their wealth, could "go and do likewise." the end. the jenolan caves. [illustration: the coral grotto. [_frontispiece_] the jenolan caves: an excursion in australian wonderland. by samuel cook. _illustrated with twenty-four plates and map._ eyre & spottiswoode, her majesty's printers: london--great new street, fleet street, e.c. . [illustration: coat of arms] preface. the following historical and descriptive account of the jenolan (formerly called the fish river) caves was written for the _sydney morning herald_. by the kind permission of the proprietors of that journal (messrs. john fairfax and sons) and, at the request of numerous correspondents, it is now republished. the author is conscious, however, that neither tongue, nor pen, nor pictorial art can convey an adequate idea of the magnificence and exquisite beauty of these caves. words are too poor to express the feelings of admiration and awe which are experienced by those who wander through the marvellous subterranean galleries embellished with myriads of graceful and fantastic forms of purest white alternating with rich colour and delicate tints and shades. of all the caves in new south wales those at jenolan are the most beautiful, and well-travelled men admit that they are unrivalled in any other part of the world. as they are so little known this book may be interesting, and serve to give some impression concerning geological transformations and the slow processes of nature in the production of works at once grand, ornate, and unique. the illustrations are from photographs by messrs. kerry and jones of sydney, who have generously permitted the author to make selections from their beautiful and extensive series of cave pictures. contents. chapter i. page how the caves were discovered chapter ii. the approach to the caves chapter iii. the external features of the caves--the grand arch chapter iv. the devil's coach house chapter v. the night caves chapter vi. the nettle cave chapter vii. the arch cave chapter viii. the carlotta arch chapter ix. the elder cave chapter x. the lucas cave--the music hall--the shawl cave chapter xi. the exhibition--the broken column--the jewel casket--judge windeyer's couch--the underground bridge chapter xii. the lurline cave--the fossil bone cave--the snowball cave chapter xiii. the bone caves chapter xiv. the imperial cave--the wool shed and the gravel pits--the architect's studio--the bone cave chapter xv. the margherita cave chapter xvi. the helena cave chapter xvii. the grotto cave chapter xviii. the lucinda cave chapter xix. katie's bower chapter xx. the right-hand branch of the imperial cave--the subterranean river chapter xxi. the fossil bone cave, the sparkling rock, and the crystal rock chapter xxii. the shawl cave chapter xxiii. lot's wife chapter xxiv. the crystal cities--the show-room and the grand stalactites chapter xxv. the fairies' bower--the selina cave--the mystery--nellie's grotto chapter xxvi. the vestry, the jewel casket, the bridal veil, and the flowering column chapter xxvii. how caves are made--the work of ages chapter xxviii. the garden palace--the stalagmite cave and the gem of the west chapter xxix. the fairies' retreat--the queen's diamonds chapter xxx. general impressions--caves unexplored chapter xxxi. conclusion list of illustrations. the coral grotto _frontispiece_ the grand arch entrance _to face page_ the grand arch--looking east " camp creek " the devil's coach house " the northern entrance to the devil's coach house " the nettle cave " the arch cave " the carlotta arch " the lucas cave " the shawl cave " the broken column " the underground bridge " the architect's studio " the helena cave " the lucinda cave " katie's bower " the underground river and its reflections " the crystal city " the show-room " the mystery " nellie's grotto " the alabaster column " the gem of the west " map of the district _at end of book._ the jenolan caves. chapter i. how the caves were discovered. the jenolan caves contain some of the most remarkable and beautiful objects in australian wonderland. they are formed in a limestone "dyke," surrounded by magnificent scenery, and hide in their dark recesses natural phenomena of rare interest to the geologist, as well as of pleasurable contemplation by non-scientific visitors; while in and about them the moralist may find "---- tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything." to see these caves once is to create a lifelong memory. the pink and the white terraces of new zealand, which before the recent eruptions attracted so many tourists, did not excel in splendour the caves at jenolan. but it is common for people to go abroad to admire less interesting things than are to be found within easy distance of their starting point, and which, if they were a thousand miles away, would probably be regarded as worthy of a special pilgrimage. there are persons living two or three leagues from the caves who have never seen them, and who, if they embraced the opportunity for inspection, would possibly regard them with the kind of wonder with which they would gaze upon the transformation scene at a pantomime. and yet the most frequent entry in the visitors' book is that the caves are "grand beyond expectation," and in some of their principal features "indescribably beautiful." the first of these caves was discovered in by james whalan, who lived on the fish river, near what is now the tarana railway station. having been robbed by a man named mcewan, he accompanied a police officer in search of the desperado, and tracked him to the romantic spot which forms the centre of the cave reserve, where he was captured. it is possible that some of these caves were known previously to outlaws, who found in them a secure and convenient hiding-place when hotly pursued. but the visit of whalan on the occasion of the capture of mcewan first brought them into public notice. the name of the bush-ranger is given to the creek which plays an important part in connection with the caves. one of the principal features received its name from the captor, and another--the bow cave--is called after some stolen bullock-bows found therein. they were then known as the "fish river caves," or as the "binda caves." they were called the fish river caves because they were in what was then regarded as the "fish river district," and not very far from the fish river post-office. they were called the "binda caves" after a station about nine miles distant to the northward. and so they were indifferently known until the month of august, , when their designation was officially changed to "jenolan"--that being the name given by sir thomas mitchell (surveyor-general of new south wales) to the mountain from which is named the parish within which the caves are situated. the change of nomenclature was recommended on the ground that the then existing names were infelicitous and misleading,--the caves being not upon the fish river, but upon a different watershed, separated from it by the main dividing range of the colony. the time was considered appropriate for remedying the mistake, because a map of the parish of jenolan was then in course of preparation, and would shortly be lithographed and issued to the public. the official correspondence on this subject discloses the fact that "binda" was first thought of as a good official name, and then "bindo;" but the former was found to be the name of a post town between yass and goulburn, and the latter the name of a village and a mountain nine miles north of the caves, and, like the fish river, on the west side of the dividing range. some exception was taken to the proposed change. it was urged that the name "jenolan" was already applied to a mountain in the capertee district; but to this it was replied that the mountain called "jenolan," seven or eight miles from the caves in an easterly direction, was marked on sir thomas mitchell's engraved map of the central portion of new south wales, whilst the other was not so defined--showing precedence in point of time and importance; and, further, that the orthography of the two names is different, the one being spelt "jenolan" and the other "geenowlan"--the former being the name of the parish in which the caves are situated, and the latter the name of a peak near capertee, in the county of roxburg. so it was finally determined to change the name of the caves to "jenolan," and in august, , they were gazetted accordingly. such a change could not have taken place without inconvenience and some misconception. recently inquiries have been made as to whether the "jenolan caves" are newly-discovered wonders, or old friends under a new designation? for about a quarter of a century after the discovery by whalan, little notice was taken of the caves. they were regarded by a few who knew about them as remarkable freaks of nature, but allowed to remain unexplored until some of their hidden beauties were so disclosed as to rouse the enthusiasm of the present curator--mr. jeremiah wilson--to whom, for his daring, energy, and patient investigation the public are greatly indebted. when their fame began to be bruited about, the number of visitors increased, and among them were goths and vandals who did not scruple to remove many a crystal gem from the still unfathomed caves. it became evident that unless something were promptly done to secure these newly-found treasures to the public, and protect them from ruthless hands, their magnificence would soon be destroyed, and the people deprived of a possession which should be a source of delight and instruction to succeeding generations, and excite the admiration of tourists from all parts of the world. the government did the right thing when it prevented the acquisition by private individuals of the caves and a large area of land around them. it would have been better had the dedication to the public been made earlier. the _gazette_ notice reserving from conditional purchase land about the caves with a view to their preservation, bears date nd october, , and has appended to it the signature of the late j. bowie wilson, who was then secretary for lands in the martin ministry. the area specially protected is six and a quarter square miles in the county of westmoreland, and near to it are some important forest reserves. the official correspondence from to the present time is not very interesting, having reference principally to suggested improvements; it is very bulky, and shows that a large amount of official interest has been taken in the subject; but the money expended and the work accomplished indicate that hitherto government and parliament have had but a faint idea of their obligations in regard to the jenolan caves. chapter ii. the approach to the caves. there are several routes to the caves. that commonly chosen is by way of tarana, a small township miles from sydney by rail, and , feet above the level of the sea. the train journey is through interesting country. leaving behind the new western suburbs with their elegant villas, stately mansions, and well-kept gardens, the traveller arrives at parramatta with its quaint old church, its fine domain with sturdy english oaks of magnificent growth, its glimpses of river, its old king's school, and its many evidences of change from the old to the new. from parramatta (which is but miles from sydney), to penrith, there are farms, and dark-leaved orange groves sweet-scented and laden with golden fruit; villages and townships and little homesteads where peace and contentment seem to reign; orchards and cultivated fields with rich brown soil on the hill sides; fine horses, splendid cattle, and cottages with troops of sturdy children. at penrith, miles from sydney and feet above sea-level, the country is flat, and the nepean river which flows in graceful contour is spanned by a magnificent iron bridge supported on four massive piers of solid masonry. the train speeds across the emu plains which are walled in by the blue mountains, so-called on account of the azure haze which covers them as with a bridal veil and is to the everlasting hills what the bloom is to the peach. scaling the mountain side by a zigzag road, which is one of the "show" works of the colony illustrative of engineering audacity, in the course of a few miles the train climbs to an elevation of feet. at blaxland's platform, miles from sydney, the altitude is feet above sea-level. the name of blaxland recalls the fact that it was not until that a route across the blue mountains was discovered. near to the railway line is the track found by wentworth, blaxland, and lawson, over what had theretofore been regarded as an impassable barrier range to the westward of sydney. on speeds the train, still rising and rising, and revealing a series of views remarkable for grandeur and the sylvan monotony of the gum tree, until at katoomba platform, miles from sydney, the elevation is , feet above sea-level. and so the journey continues past abrupt rocks, gloomy gorges, sparkling waterfalls, rocky glens, bold bluffs, leafy gullies, fairy dells and vernal valleys, until it descends the great zigzag into lithgow, falling about feet in less than five miles! lithgow is miles from sydney, and although the blue mountains have been passed, the altitude is still about , feet. lithgow is a busy place, apparently destined to become a manufacturing centre. there are already in the vicinity numerous coal mines, potteries, and other works. from this point to tarana the country varies from agricultural and pastoral to rugged scenery. the distance from tarana to the caves is miles, which has to be traversed by coach or on horseback. at present the ordinary course is to take coach on the arrival of the train at tarana and drive to oberon the same evening. the road is good, the district agricultural, and the scenery agreeable. the course from oberon to the caves is through a less settled country, and for a considerable distance through unsettled primeval "bush," occupied chiefly by the wallaby, the opossum, the bandicoot, many varieties of the parrot kind that flaunt their gaudy plumage in the sunlight, and the native pheasant or lyre bird (_menura superba_) which is a veritable mimic. the country is broken and mountainous and in winter the temperature is low, with cutting winds and severe frosts; in summer the heat is fervent. these silent forces in conjunction with brawling mountain torrents have been large factors in the production of the natural phenomena which are to be found in the valley dammed by the limestone "dyke" in which the caves are formed. the approach to the jenolan caves at the end of the route _viâ_ tarana is remarkable for its construction and gradient, as well as for the magnificent scenery which surrounds it. all the way from oberon the land rises, until an altitude of , feet above sea-level is attained. then there is a gradual downward grade, until what is called "the top camp" is reached, shortly after which the traveller arrives at a part of the range which he traverses by five zigzags, and descends about yards in a total length of road five chains less than three miles! this thoroughfare is made by cutting into the mountain side; and although with a well-appointed conveyance and careful driving it is safe enough, inexperienced travellers feel a sense of relief when the journey is concluded, and they are set down at the cave house below, which, notwithstanding that it is in the lowest depth of a mountain recess, is still nearly , feet above sea-level. any feeling of nervousness, however, is superseded by a sense of the grandeur of the view. if an occasional glance is given at the steep declivity, and a thought occurs as to what would be the consequence of a mishap, the attention is immediately diverted to some new magnificence in the wildly beautiful panorama, the sight of which alone would almost compensate for so long a journey. on the return trip, when portly gentlemen ascend on foot this very steep zigzag they pause occasionally to contemplate the beauties of nature and estimate the advantages of pedestrian exercise. perhaps, also, when they have made the same observation two or three times, they begin to think it possible to carry pedestrian exercise to excess, and that a wire tramway would be convenient. still, at a second or third glance, they get an excellent idea of the course of the limestone ridge, and a better understanding of the operations of nature in the excavation of the caves and the production of the wonderful formations they contain. chapter iii. the external features of the caves. that portion of the limestone dyke in which the caves are found runs six miles north and south; and the grand arch and the devil's coach house--the two principal "day caves"--are formed right through the mountain, near the centre, in an easterly and westerly direction. on the one side mcewan's creek flows towards the devil's coach house, and on the other side is a natural watercourse leading to the grand arch, which is only a few yards distant from it. bearing in mind how the watercourses converge towards these two central caves, and with what force, in times of heavy rain, the floods scour them, a good understanding may be obtained of the mechanical causes of the enormous excavations which excite amazement as well as admiration. if a visit be paid in winter, when the frost is sharp and the ground is "hoar with rime;" when every bough and every blade of grass is covered with congealed dew and adorned with forms of crystallisation which rival the rarest beauties of the caves; when rocks are split and crumbled by sudden alternations of heat and cold; there will be abundant illustration of the effect of water and light, and the variation of temperature in causing geological transformation. limestone is not soluble in water without the addition of carbonic acid. an exploration of the caves, however, shows that the mountains are not composed entirely of limestone, but that other substances constitute part of their bulk. the principal causes of the formation of the "day caves," the grand arch and the devil's coach house, are the mechanical action of water and the variation of temperature. as regards the interior caves, where night reigns supreme, chemical combination has played a more important part. but the effect of water power is everywhere observable in graceful contours, caused by continuous motion, or in stony efflorescence, produced by intermittent humidity or dryness of the atmosphere. the action of the former is the more marked and striking, the latter more elaborate, and microscopically beautiful. the hygrometric condition of the caves is recorded in lovely forms, which lend enchantment to ornate bowers, sparkling grottoes, and fairy cities. [illustration: the grand arch entrance.] [illustration: the grand arch--looking east.] the grand arch. the grand arch runs east and west, and is about yards in length, feet high, and feet wide at its western end. the eastern end is feet high, and about feet wide. its proportions and outline are gloomily impressive, and rather awe-inspiring. it is like the portico to some great castle of giant despair. the eastern end is a marvel of natural architecture, and the wonder is how so spacious a roof can remain intact under a weight so enormous. the rugged walls are varied by many peculiar rocky formations. on the northern side is "the lion," shaped in stone so as to form a fair representation of the monarch of the forest. "the pulpit" and "the organ loft" are suggestive of portions of some grand old cathedral. adjacent is "the bacon cave," where the formations represent "sides," like so many flitches in the shop of a dry salter. the roof is hung with enormous honeycombed masses of limestone, whose sombre shades deepen to blackness in numerous fissures and crannies and cavernous spaces. as seen from the floor the roof appears to be covered with rich bold tracery, engraved by herculean hands. near the basement are huge rocky projections, with deep recesses, which for ages have been the retreat of rock wallabies. near the eastern entrance, lying on the ground, is a gigantic block of limestone, weighing from , to , tons, and which at some remote period fell, and tilted half over. this is evident from the stalactite formation which remains on it. ascending the precipitous masses on the south-eastern side of the eastern entrance over rocks which are, on the upper surface, as smooth as glazed earthenware, a position is attained from which the magnitude of the ornaments of the roof can be estimated. it is then perceived that what, viewed from the floor of the archway, seemed like natural carving in moderately bold relief, are pendant bodies of matter extending downwards to feet, and of enormous bulk. along the walls of the arch are caves running obliquely into the mountain , , and feet, and the bottom of which is thick with wallaby "dust." out of these caves are passages which enable the marsupials to pass from one rocky hall to another until they find a secure refuge in some obscure and sunless sanctuary. the wallaby dust resembles mosquito powder. perhaps it would be equally efficacious. it is not improbable that the floors of these caves represent a moderate fortune. the explorer sinks over his boot tops in the fine pulverised matter, which, however, is not odoriferous, and is void of offence if a handkerchief be used as a respirator. the presence of this substance, and the oxidisation of its ammonia, probably account for the saltpetre in the crevices of adjacent rocks, although not absolutely necessary to the result, because, in the absence of such accessories, it is an admitted chemical fact that nitrifiable matter is not commonly absent from limestone. in the mammoth cave of kentucky saltpetre manufacture was carried on to a great extent by lixiviation from to , and during the civil war a principal factor in the manufacture of gunpowder was obtained from the same source. up amongst the rocks, midway between the floor and the roof of the eastern entrance to the grand arch, in the midst of the wallaby drives, and near to a haunt of the lyre bird, the present curator of the caves had his sleeping-place for years. there he strewed his bed of rushes or of grasses and ferns and mosses; and certainly neither philip quarll nor robinson crusoe had ever a more magnificent dormitory. [illustration: camp creek.] near to it is a sepulchral-looking place, which, before the cave house was erected, was reserved for strong-minded lady visitors, and fenced off with a tent-pole and a rug. farther on is a series of rocks, where bachelors could choose for pillows the softest stones in the arch and dream of angels. all these historic places are pointed out by way of contrast to the state of things now existing, and which, perhaps, in turn will form as great a contrast to the state of things years hence. from this part of the archway a much better view of the pulpit, the lion, and the organ loft can be obtained than is possible from the floor. their massiveness is brought out with great effect. the stalactites and stalagmites which form the organ pipes taper with remarkable grace, and are set off by the shadows in the recesses which vary from twilight grey to the darkness of erebus. over all are ponderous masses of blue limestone, with immense convexities filled with perpetual gloom. the rocks leading to the caves, the upper part of which is smooth as glass, owe their polish to their long use by wallabies as a track to and from their favourite haunts. here and there may be detected in the "dust" on the floor the footprint of the native pheasant. there may also be seen and felt boulders and rugged rocks lying about in strange disorder. leaving the grand archway by the eastern end, the excursionist descends, through a rocky defile interlaced with foliage, into a dry, stony creek, about which are growing some very rare ferns, as well as some which are common, but nevertheless beautiful, and also some handsome native creeping plants. from this point may be seen the pinnacle which rises over the archway to an altitude of about feet. about yards down this dry creek, and about yards below the junction of the roads from the grand archway to the devil's coach house, is "the rising of the water." here among the rocks in the bed of the creek the water bursts out of the ground like a sparkling fountain of considerable volume, and "gleams and glides" along a romantic dell "with many a silvery waterbreak." and if it does not "steal by lawns and grassy plots," or yet by "hazel covers," or "move the sweet forget-me-nots that grow for happy lovers," it does here and there "loiter round its cresses." its banks are so steep that its course cannot be easily followed for any great distance, but, without much difficulty, it may be traced until it flows over a rocky ledge into a deep pool, where there is a wire ladder for the convenience of bathers. thence it chatters on to the river cox, whence it enters the warragamba, which joins the nepean a few miles above penrith, and about miles below the pheasant's nest. it does not, therefore, enter into the sydney water supply, but passes through the hawkesbury to the ocean. [illustration: the devil's coach house.] chapter iv. the devil's coach house. the road from the grand arch to the devil's coach house is devious and uneven, with occasional fissures in the ground indicating the entrance to new subterranean marvels. to the right is the mouth of a cave yet unnamed and unexplored. a little farther on, high up in the rocky wall which connects the two converging mountains of limestone, is the carlotta arch, which resembles a gothic window in the grand ruins of some venerable monastic pile, fretted and scarred by centuries of decay. almost immediately after passing the line of the carlotta arch, the visitor arrives at the devil's coach house, which runs nearly north and south. it is an immense cave, whose proportions are better gauged than those of the grand arch, because the light flows in, not only from the ends, but also from the roof. at a height of some feet, it has a large orifice in the dome, fringed with stately trees, the fore-shortening of which from their base upwards is very peculiar as seen from the bottom of the cave. on the floor are strewn about rocks of black and grey marble, smoothed and rounded by attrition, and weighing from a few pounds to many hundredweight. in flood-time the storm-waters dash these rocks against each other with tremendous force, and the roaring of the torrent resounds like thunder through the cave. in such wild seasons blocks of stone a ton weight or more are moved a considerable distance. the walls are partly composed of black marble with white veins, and some of the boulders on the floor contain marks of fossil shells. the most magnificent view of the devil's coach house is from the interior of the cave near the northern entrance, from which the rise of the arch appears to be upwards of feet. its roof is fringed with stalactites, and the outlook is into a wildly romantic gully. stalactites are suspended from the sides of the entrance, and in several places there are stalagmites covered with projections like petrified sponge, while near to them are formations resembling masses of shells commonly found on rocks by the seaside. some of these combinations might be examined for hours, and yet leave new and interesting features to be discovered. small pellucid drops glisten at the ends of the stalactites, illustrating the process of their formation. the large stalactites on the roof and small stalagmites on ledges near the floor of the cave, and _vice versâ_, afford a practical illustration of the theory that where water flows most freely the stalagmites are largest, and where it flows most reluctantly the stalactite formation is the most magnificent. [illustration: the northern entrance to the devil's coach house.] from an inspection of these two kinds of cave ornamentation it is seen that, whereas the former are porous and free from central tubes, sometimes running in a straight line and sometimes obliquely, the latter are solid, being formed by lamination and not by accretions of matter conveyed through small interior ducts to external points. this cave may appropriately be called the marble hall. portions of the walls are graced with a "formation" from the limestone rocks above, the stucco having flowed in shapes both grotesque and arabesque. some of the interstices are filled with stalactites and stalagmites of various colours and proportions. many stalactites on the roof of the mouth of the cave are said to be from to feet long. all around are entrances to numerous interior spaces adorned with stalactites of the most delicate hues. some are tinged with various gradations of blue; others are of salmon colour, and delicate fawn. others again are sober grey, and white shaded with neutral tint. the rocks are decorated with little patches of moss, from rich old gold to living green. the harmony of colour is marvellous, and the combined effect unique. nature herself has so painted and ornamented the cave as to give a lesson to professors of decorative art. the vision of rocky beauty grows upon the imagination of the observer until at last it seems like a new revelation of the enchanting effects which can be produced by natural combination. to the artist this cave presents attractions of a kind not to be found in any other of the wonderful caves of jenolan, although commonly it receives small attention from visitors, who recognise its grand proportions, but are impatient to witness the more elaborate and brilliant features in the hidden recesses of the mountain. why this spacious cavern should be called the devil's coach house (except on the _lucus a non lucendo_ principle) few would divine. the name of his satanic majesty is often associated with horses and horse-racing, but not generally with coaches and coach-houses. in this connection, however, it is necessary to observe class distinctions. the cavern is not sufficiently monstrous to be used by milton's personification of the rebellious archangel, nor sufficiently hideous for burns's "auld clootie," with hoofs and horns. coleridge's devil or southey's devil (as illustrated in "the devil's thoughts" of the one, and "the devil's walk" of the other) was neither too grand nor too ignoble to notice coach-houses. but then, he was a sarcastic fiend, for when he "saw an apothecary on a white horse ride by on his vocations," he "thought of his old friend death in the revelations"--which was rather severe on the pharmacist. but leaving the man of drugs-- "he saw a cottage with a double coach-house, a cottage of gentility; and the devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility." the cottage at the caves is not particularly "genteel" in appearance. the coach-house is large enough to hold almost as many horses as were kept by solomon, and as many chariots as were possessed by pharaoh, and at one end it is "double;" but there was no thought of pharaoh, or solomon, or coleridge, or southey when it was named. it was not because this huge place was considered big enough to be the devil's coach house that it was called after the devil, nor because it was thought to be a suitable place for satan to "coach" his disciples in; nor had the person who named it any intention of paying a compliment to poetic genius. it was called the devil's coach house for reasons similar to those which created the nomenclature of the numerous devil's pinches and devil's peaks, devil's mills and devil's punchbowls, in various parts of the world. captain cook more than a century ago gave the name of the devil's basin to a harbour in christmas sound, on the south side of tierra del fuego, because of its gloomy appearance--it being surrounded by "savage rocks," which deprive it of the rays of the sun. for similar reasons, perhaps, the name of the devil's coach house was given to this interesting portion of the jenolan caves, which are surrounded by mountains and "savage rocks," and from which the rays of the sun are excluded, except during a few hours per day. in winter the sunshine does not glint on to the roof of the cave house till about , and at about in the afternoon the valley is wrapped in shade. it is or years since james whalan came suddenly upon the mouth of this cave, and it so impressed him with its rugged grandeur and weirdness that when he returned home he reported that he had been to the end of the world, and had got into the devil's coach house. so by that term it is still called, although it has been since named the easter cave, because of a visit by some distinguished member of the government service during easter, which in new south wales is now as favourite a holiday time as it was when kept as a festival in honour of the goddess of light and spring. for a short period in the afternoon one end of the cave is flooded with the warm beams of the sun. then it is at its best, and, as the enamoured hand of fancy gleans "the treasured pictures of a thousand scenes," so, after the bright rays have disappeared, and the cave is seen in the shade or by "the pale moonlight," its beauties change from hour to hour, like shadows on the mountains or the cloud glories of an autumn sunset. chapter v. the night caves. the "day" caves of jenolan, although grandly picturesque, are but slightly typical of the interior caverns. as the few bars of harmony dashed off by way of prelude to an intricate musical composition prepare the ear for the movement which is to follow, so an inspection of the external caves trains the faculty of observation for the ready appreciation of the more elaborately beautiful objects in the dark recesses of the enchanted mountain. the contrast between the two is as marked as the difference between the costly pearls of a regal diadem and the rough exterior of the shells which first concealed them. to explore the "night" caves it is necessary to be furnished with artificial light, and each excursionist is provided with a candle fitted into a holder, the handle of which is like the barrel of a carriage lamp, and immediately underneath the flame is a saucer-shaped guard with the edge turned inwards, so as to catch the drips from the sperm. by means of this arrangement the lights may be presented at almost any angle without doing injury to the caves, except in regard to the smoke, which although slight, is nevertheless in degree perilous to the wondrous purity of the formations. the principal features of the "night" caves are illuminated by the magnesium light, which is rich in chemical rays and burns with great brilliancy. there should not be allowed in the caves any colorific or other light which would cause smoke by imperfect combustion, or emit volatile substances likely to change the interior hues. if their pristine beauty--or as much of it as remains--is to be preserved, the caves ought to be illuminated by electricity, which will neither affect the temperature nor soil the most delicate of nature's handiwork. the smoke of candles in a quiescent atmosphere like that of the caves, cannot fail, in process of time, to have a deleterious effect. years ago, in the wingecarribee country, there were some fairy gullies. the sides were flanked with sassafras columns, the roofs were covered with branches interlaced by creepers that excluded the sunbeams, and on the banks of the creeks which trickled through the centre were tree-ferns of marvellous beauty. their perfect fronds were lovely--their growth prodigious; but that in which their charm chiefly lay was their unexampled delicacy of colour. when the natural shade was removed, and they were subject to wind, and rain, and dust, they became commonplace. they grew like other tree-ferns, and were ranked with ordinary things. so with the caves. their wondrous beauty and attractiveness are found in their freedom from defilement. in their illumination there should be neither smoke nor heat, and it is a question whether within their precincts incense ought to be burned, even to king nicotine. [illustration: the nettle cave.] chapter vi. the nettle cave. the nettle cave is for the most part a place of twilight. if visitors are incautious in approaching it they will soon come to the conclusion that it has been properly named, for all around are fine clumps of herbaceous weeds with sharp tubular hairs upon vesicles filled with irritating fluid. the sting of a nettle and the sting of an adder resemble each other, but are yet dissimilar. the adder strikes his tubular fang into his prey, but the nettle victim impinges upon the tubular hair which communicates with the acrid vesicle. the nettle cave is reached by climbing feet to the left of the grand arch, and if in the ascent the visitor be invited to smell a plant with alternate leaves and racemes of not very conspicuous flowers, it would be well for him to decline with thanks. there are some rough cut steps leading to this cave, and on one side is a galvanised wire rope supported by iron stanchions let into the rocks, which makes the ascent tolerably safe. the road runs between two bluff rocks, which for a considerable distance rise almost perpendicularly, and then curve so as to form a segment of a circle some feet overhead. the cave is barred from wall to wall by a light iron gate sufficient to prevent improper intrusion, not ponderous enough for a penal establishment, but sufficiently pronounced to suggest richard lovelace's lines-- "stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage; minds innocent and quiet take that for an hermitage." descending some of the rough stones and winding along a footpath, the tourist descends into a chamber below a magnificent series of rocks covered with beautiful "formation" from the dripping roofs above. this is called "the willows," because of the resemblance it bears to the graceful and beautiful appearance of the _salix babylonica_, on which in the olden time captive israelites hung their harps and "wept when they remembered zion." the entrance to this cave is circuitous. first there are some rocky steps to be climbed, and then the road winds through avenues of "willow" formation up to the summit. from this point about or feet down is a funnel-shaped declivity resembling the mouth of an extinct volcano. in some respects it is like the "blow hole" at kiama (a natural fountain, inland, fed by ocean waves which force their way through a water-worn tunnel). undoubtedly that also is one of the wonders of the world, but some time since it was utilised by the local corporation as a receptacle for dead horses and defunct cattle! from this declivity in the nettle cave the visitor naturally shrinks, being dubious as to where his remains would be found if he were to make an uncertain step. in his timorous progress, however, his attention is soon arrested by some splendid stalagmites to the left of the hellish-looking vacuity. one of the most noble is about four feet in diameter at the base, and from to feet high, covered with curiously-shaped ornamentation, and having minute stalactites projecting from the sides. all about it are nodules of delicate fretwork, as lovely as the coral of the ancient sea out of which this mountain was made millions of years ago. on the apex is a gracefully-tapered cone; and hard by is a small stalagmite covered with prickles as sharply defined as those of the echinus. all around are limestone pictures of surpassing loveliness. there is not much variety of colour, but the formation is infinite in its variety. it is intended to have the hideous and perilous-looking volcanic funnel previously mentioned guarded by wirework, which is necessary to ensure the complete safety of sightseers. if an unfortunate wight were to trip, he might fall a distance of about feet, and be shot without ceremony into the devil's coach house. one remarkable stalagmite in the vicinity of this infernal shaft is shaped like a hat, and another is like a gigantic mushroom. the floor of the cave is thin, and when stamped upon vibrates in imitation of an earthquake wave. stalactites in rich profusion depend from the roof, and here and there are clumps of bats, clinging together like little swarms of bees. the stalactites are tipped with drops of lime-water clear as crystal at the lowest point, and becoming gradually opaque. it is also noticeable that while the drops at the ends of the stalactites appear to be perfectly still globular bodies, their molecules seem to be in perpetual motion. the opaque part of the drops thickens until it resembles sperm, and then the gradation is almost imperceptible until it unites with the solid formation. all around are curiously-shaped drives, one of which has been explored until it communicates with the imperial cave. it is not an inviting entry, for it is low and narrow, and has sharp stalactites on the roof. the floor is covered with very fine dust, about the eighth of an inch thick, which, however, seems not to rise, and when struck with a hammer the sound is like a blow struck upon a carpet, and the dull thud reverberates in the caverns below. from the end of the cave, looking towards the mouth, the appearance is particularly wild. the stalagmites in front resemble prisoners in some castle keep, and the part of the cave farther on, upon which the light falls, near to the barred entrance, makes the interior shade seem more gloomy. there is one remarkable pillar about feet in diameter from the floor to the roof of the cave; and seeing that it is about feet in height, and has been made by the constant dripping of lime-water, visitors may speculate as to its age, and statisticians may estimate the number of drips required for its creation. along the sides of the cave are beautiful pillars. some are like trunks of trees, gnarled and knotted, and some like elaborately-carved columns. there are grottoes and alcoves, and terraces formed by runs of water; gothic arches and etruscan columns, carvings of most cunning elaboration, and stalactites more noticeable for their massiveness than for their grace. there are narrow chasms descending into blackness, through which future discoveries may be made. on the water-formed terraces are numerous stalagmites resembling congewoi and other zoophytes. it seems as though nature had fashioned the cave after a kaleidoscopic view of the most remarkable objects in marine and vegetable life. at the end of this section the roof rises, and is pierced by an inverted pinnacle. the walls are composed of masses of stalactite formation, imperfectly developed by reason of pressure. near at hand liquid substances have fallen, and petrified so rapidly as to resemble streaks of lava which had suddenly cooled and formed cords and ligaments like grand muscles and tendons. the eastern end of the cave runs into the devil's coach house, about feet above the coach-house floor. the opening is very beautiful, being ornamented with columns and pinnacles, and the view from this point to the interior of the cave is unexampled. scores of breaches in the roof and sides can be seen leading to other marvellous places--there being cave upon cave and innumerable changes of formation upon the ground. in rocky basins the _débris_ is largely composed of minute bones. the "remains" may be taken up by handfuls. the teeth of bats and native cats--the vertebræ of marsupials and snakes--the wing-bones of birds, and other fragments of the animal world are mixed together in a mammoth charnel-house, whose grandeur could hardly be surpassed by the most costly and artistically designed mausoleum. the ball room--an upper storey of the nettle cave--is reached by mounting twenty-nine steps cut into the rock. near the eastern entrance are two stalactitic figures fashioned like vultures about to engage in combat. all around the little plateau of terpsichore are huge stalagmites, resembling domes, crowded together and pressing into one another. some are set off with stalactites; others are honeycombed. thence the direction is still upwards, and the ascent is made by means of about wooden steps, with a guard rail on each side. the formations are striking and graceful. pointing upward is a gauntleted hand and forearm of a warrior of the olden time. there are representations of bewigged legal luminaries and bearded sages like old father christmas or santa claus. some of the columns which support the archway have tier upon tier of stalactites, drooping so as to counterfeit water flowing from a fountain, alternating with stalactite formation like boughs of weeping willow. one prominent stalagmite is like the back of a newly-shorn sheep, with shear-marks in the wool. on the western side is a figure like that of an orator in the act of exhortation. the forehead is bald, long white locks are flowing on to the shoulders, one arm is upraised, and the pose gives an idea of earnestness and force. in front, just below the bust, is a reading desk of stone, the outer edge of which is fringed with stalactites. from this place are steps leading to the arch. they are safe and convenient. underneath them is still to be seen the wire ladder formerly used to pass from the nettle cave to the arch cave, and it is easy to understand the trepidation of nervous visitors when they were swaying about on it in mid-air over the dark abyss below. after resting for a moment in the midst of a stalagmitic grotto, the visitor ascends some stone steps towards the grand arch, proceeds through a beautiful cavern with norman and doric pillars, composed almost entirely of stalagmites, and enters the arch caves, which were so called because at that time they were accessible only through the carlotta arch. they are now, as previously described, approached through the nettle cave by means of the wooden staircase, which was built about three years ago. chapter vii. the arch cave. the arch cave runs north-westerly from the line of road to the carlotta arch, and has a gradual descent. it is about a hundred yards long, and in some places about half a chain wide. the roof is decked with beauty; the floor is covered with dust. there is now but one complete column in the centre, and that is formed by a stalactite which extends in a straight line from the roof to the floor. it is surrounded by a number of other magnificent pendants of a similar kind, more or less ornate, and crowded together in rich profusion. some of them have grown until they nearly touch bold rocks which jut out from the walls, and the spaces between the larger cylindrical forms are filled by stalactites of various lesser lengths, some of which are figured so as to represent festoons of flowers. the complete pillar tapers from the upper to the lower end. for about two-thirds of the way down it is compounded of several stalactitic lines; the remainder is a simple shaft with irregular surface. to the right of it is a marvellous piece of formation like the head of a lion with the forelegs and the hoofs of a bull, posed so as to resemble assyrian sculpture. [illustration: the arch cave.] at one time there were in this cave five pillars as perfect as the one which remains, but in they were destroyed by a goth from bathurst. there are numerous columns of dimensions not so great along the sides of the cave, and at every step appear fresh objects of admiration. some of the stalactites are resonant, and so is the floor, which, on the thinnest portion, responds imitatively to the tramping of feet. in a passage on the right hand side is a stalactite which the cave-keeper has carefully watched for years, in order to form some idea as to the rate of stalactitic growth. he has always found a drop of water clinging to the lowest surface as though it were ready to fall, and yet during the whole term of years the actual addition to the solid stalactite has been only half-an-inch in length, of a thickness equal to that of an ordinary cedar-covered lead pencil. it is evident, from observation of other portions of this cave, that some formations have been created in a manner less slow. still, it is probable there are stalactites the growth of which has been more gradual than the one subjected to special scrutiny. the entrance furnishes an illustration of damage done by careless visitors years ago, and of the necessity for constant care to preserve the caves from destruction. when this cavern was first opened to the public the floor was white as snow. it is now black and greasy, as well as dusty. the change has been brought about by the pattering of feet encased in soiled boots, and by drips from candles and torches used before the present lighting arrangements were adopted. some of the stalactites have their lower portions damaged in a similar way. but, worse still, an elaborate and very attractive specimen, resembling cockscomb, has been damaged by fracture, and made incomplete by unauthorised appropriation. the porosity of some of the rocks can here be readily distinguished. their surface is like that of pumice stone. in dry weather the walls are sparkling; in wet seasons they are moist and dull. at the far end of the cave the floor is covered with little indurated lumps with carved surfaces. they are all similar in shape, and vary in bulk from the size of quandong seeds or nuts, of which bracelets are sometimes made, to that of a mandarin orange. perhaps they were fabricated on the roof and became detached. it is hardly possible they could have been formed where they lie without being joined together in a solid mass. here perfect silence reigns. it is so profound as to be almost painful, and the darkness is so dense that when the candles are extinguished the visitor can pass a solid object before his eyes without the shadow of a shade being perceptible. it is not suggestive of the darkness which-- "falls from the wings of night like a feather that is wafted downwards from an eagle in its flight." nor yet of "the trailing garments of the night" sweeping "through her marble halls." there is nothing to give the idea of action. solitary confinement for hours in such a "separate cell" would drive some men mad. at the end of the cave is a mass of stalactites, through which is a passage leading to "the belfry," where are some large stalactites, three of which, when struck with a hard substance, sound like church bells. one of them has a deep tone, equivalent to c natural. the others do not vibrate so as to produce perfect notes according to musical scale, nor are their sounds either rich or full. [illustration: the carlotta arch.] chapter viii. the carlotta arch. on returning to the mouth of the arch cave, the tourist proceeds towards the carlotta arch--so named in honour of a daughter of the surveyor-general of new south wales, mr. p. f. adams, who visited the caves or years ago, and has always taken an interest in their exploration and preservation. ascending some stone steps, guarded by galvanised wire, an excellent view of the ball room to the eastward is obtained. the steps make access easy. previously the rocks were slippery, in consequence of the polish given to them by the feet of marsupials, and the return journey was accomplished by holding on to a rope, and sliding down the glassy surface. the entrance to the carlotta arch is protected by a wire railing, about feet by or feet. passing through the iron gate, the visitor finds himself on a little platform. hundreds of feet below is a gully, rippling at the bottom of which is a rill of water, which sings as it goes, and whose melody, softened by distance, is pleasant as the hum of bees or the carolling of birds. above is a hoary rock, rugged and bare, with the exception of some clumps of lilies which flourish and bloom in its inaccessible clefts. from this point the tourist ascends the nettle rocks for about or feet. some steps are to be cut here, and certainly they are much needed, for at present the journey is very toilsome and difficult. from the end of the protected portion to the summit-- or feet--the acclivity may be comfortably surmounted by ordinarily active people. the carlotta arch is about feet high and about feet wide, with an interior fringe of stalactites. the picture seen through it is exceedingly grand, including majestic trees and romantic gullies, huge mountains and immense rocks, with bold escarpments. the walls of the arch are pierced like a fortress. its entire superstructure represents the union of two mountains by a natural bridge, clad with trees and shrubs and creeping plants which trail gracefully down its sides. on the summit are eucalypti, and conspicuous amongst them is an iron guard for the protection of passengers going over the viaduct. about half-way up this track from the arch to the bridge (which is the concluding portion of the new road from mount victoria), a good view can be obtained of mcewan's creek, where the water has broken through the hills, leaving the limestone rocks and caves sometimes on the one side and sometimes on the other for a distance of three miles up the valley running northerly. to the westward is the zigzag, leading to the cave-house by the route from tarana, and from which can be obtained the grandest view _en route_ from oberon to jenolan. here, after having spent an hour or two in the caves, it is pleasant to bask in the golden sunshine and watch the gaudy parrots flit by. from this point to the northward the limestone is visible to its full extent till it is overlapped by higher mountains. it is about three miles in length, by a maximum of half a mile in width. immediately to the south the limestone dyke is covered, but it crops up again about seven miles distant, and continues on the surface for to miles, in the direction of goulburn. near to what is called the gallery (the approach to the bridge over the arch) is an old gum tree, growing right over the centre of the devil's coach house, and feet above the gullies, which can be seen by looking over the precipice. if it were a blue gum tree, "and nothing more," it would be as uninteresting as the "yellow primrose by a river's brim" was to peter bell. as a specimen of its kind this tree is a failure; but it happens to be in the centre of the cave reserve, and the "blaze" on it bears the mark, "f ." from this point the reserve extends two and a half miles east and west by five miles north and south, and is certainly one of the most wonderful areas dedicated to the public. in the rocks near to the centre tree is an orifice called "the devil's hole." it pierces the mountain obliquely, but without much deviation from a straight line, and a stone thrown down it takes, according to its weight, from nine to twelve seconds to find a resting-place on the floor of the devil's coach house! this is an experiment which should not be tried without precaution, and then only under official sanction, otherwise some serious accident may occur. it would be well to erect notice-boards at this and several adjacent places, warning persons not to cast stones into the caverns, for the whole mountain is full of holes and caves and drives. a piece of rock cast heedlessly into a crevice or perforation in one cave might mean death to a tourist in lower cavernous regions, and there is neither medical man nor coroner within convenient distance. from the bridge (which is guarded by wire ropes) on the western side, the visitor looks down on the elder cave; the zigzag is in front, and below is the sylvan valley from which the "ermin'd frost" has been thawed, and which now "laughs back the sun." to the eastward are in view of the spectator the nettle and arch caves gate, the south entrance to the devil's coach house, and the waterfall to the cave river. in the distance can be discerned a place known as oaky camp, or mcewan's camp, which is of interest in connection with bushranging episodes of the olden time. from the highest point of the hill over the grand archway the cave-house can be seen nestling in the valley feet below. perched upon this pinnacle, with terrible depths on each side and awe-inspiring grandeur at every turn, the beholder is apt to realise how very small is the space he fills in the economy of nature, how inadequate is language to express deep emotions of the mind, and how marvellous are the works of the creator! chapter ix. the elder cave. on leaving-the carlotta arch and the bridge, the visitor--mentally gratified, physically tired, and conscious that his perceptive faculties have been somewhat strained--rejoices that the cave-house is conveniently near, so that he can promptly ensconce himself in an easy-chair and meditate upon the charming scenes upon which his eyes have feasted. if he be unusually robust he may economise the return journey by taking a peep at the elder cave, which lies just off his homeward course. it derives its name from the elder trees which grow about it and conceal its entrance, which is at the bottom of a "ragged" shaft similar to that described in the tragedy of "titus andronicus," whose authorship is disputed, but which samuel phelps and others have no doubt was written by shakespeare. it resembles the "subtle hole" where bassianus lay imbrued "all of a heap like a slaughtered lamb." but that was near an alder, and not an elder, tree; and, so far as is known, the pit which leads to the elder cave has no associations so tragic as those which are inseparable from the horrible brutalities of "titus andronicus." its mouth is not covered with "rude growing briars," nor are there upon the leaves "drips of new-shed blood as fresh as morning dew distilled on flowers." on the contrary, it is a rather cheerful-looking pit, filled up with foliage like an arborescent bouquet in an enormous natural vase. for a long time its cavity was completely obscured by the leafy covering, and it was first entered by climbing along a branch level with the surface of the ground, and descending the trunk of the tree to the bottom of the well. there are several elders in the pit, which, being unusually moist, is favourable to their growth, and they bear splendid cymes of cream-coloured flowers and black berries suggestive of spiced home-made wine. the elder cave was found by mr. wilson in , but it has not had much attention bestowed upon it, probably because its beauties have been eclipsed by later discoveries. the first part consists of some rather large chambers connected by small passages, rough inside, and difficult to explore. all are pretty, and one, named "the chapel," contains stalactites called "shawls," on account of their resemblance to ladies' vestments so designated. one of these is about five feet long by six inches deep, and a quarter of an inch thick. half of it is of glassy clearness. the floor is of ornate formation. the next chamber is called the "coral cave." it is difficult of access. the way for about yards varies from only two to four feet from floor to ceiling. nearly at the end is a hole about feet in diameter and feet deep, containing fossil bones. from floor to roof the formation is grand. there are a few fine stalagmites, but the chief beauty is in the stalactitic growth. many of the stalactites hang from the lowest shelving rock to the floor, and form an alabaster palisade. immense bunches of snow-white limestone droop from the roof, and one unusually large conical mass tapers off until it connects with the apex of a pyramidal block on the floor. in contrast with these ponderous specimens are numerous straw-like glassy tubes. portions of the floor are covered with beautiful coral. near the mouth of this pit cave is an aperture of special interest, because it is the entrance to the shaft at the bottom of which, on the th february , the intrepid curator discovered the imperial cave, which is one of the most magnificent opened to the public. he made three separate attempts before he was able to bottom this deep black hole. on the first occasion he was lowered into it at the end of a rope, and when all the line had been paid out was dangling in mid-air at the end of his tether. when he was let down a second time with a longer cord it was found to be deficient, and the cave-keeper was still suspended in ebon space. the second failure made him still more resolute. he did not believe that the black hole into which he had descended was the bottomless pit, and so he tried again to fathom its inky depths, and at a distance of feet from the surface alighted upon the rocky floor of what is now called the imperial cave. cave exploration is not what would be commonly regarded as a pleasant pastime. it requires a lissom body, plenty of physical strength, and a strong nerve to worm along narrow passages, without any certainty of being able to reach a turning-place, and with the risk of being so wedged in as to make retreat impossible. a stout heart is necessary to enable a man to descend to unknown depths of blackness from mouths of fearsome pits, close proximity to which makes one's flesh creep. a fracture of the rope or the falling of a piece of rock might give the explorer his quietus. a somewhat sensational illustration of this kind of peril is given in griffin's "studies in literature." the eldest son of george d. prentice, one of the sweet singers of the new world, determined to fathom the maelstrom of the mammoth cave in kentucky. a long rope of great strength was procured, and with a heavy fragment of rock attached to it, like a stone at the end of a kellick rope, it was let down and swung about to clear the course of loose stones. "then the young hero of the occasion, with several hats drawn over his head to protect it as far as possible against any masses falling from above, and with a light in his hand and the rope fastened around his body, took his place over the awful pit, and directed the half-dozen men, who held the end of the rope, to let him down into the cimmerian gloom. occasionally masses of earth and rock whizzed past, but none struck him. on his way, at a distance of feet, the spray caused by a cataract which rushed from the side down the abyss nearly extinguished his light. one hundred and ninety feet down he stood on the bottom of the pit. returning to the mouth of the cave the pull was an exceedingly severe one, and the rope, being ill-adjusted around his body, gave him the most excruciating pain. but soon his pain was forgotten in a new and dreadful peril. when he was feet from the mouth of the pit and from the bottom, swaying and swinging in mid air, he heard rapid and excited words of horror and alarm above, and soon learned that the rope by which he was upheld had taken fire from the friction of the timber over which it passed. several moments of awful suspense to those above, and still more awful to him below, ensued. to them and to him a fatal and instant catastrophe seemed inevitable. but the fire was extinguished with a bottle of water belonging to himself, and then the party above, though almost exhausted by their labour, succeeded in drawing him to the top. he was as calm and self-possessed as upon his entrance into the pit; but all of his companions, overcome by fatigue, sank down upon the ground, and his friend, professor wright, from over-exertion and excitement, fainted, and remained for some time insensible. the young adventurer left his name carved in the depths of the maelstrom--the name of the first and only person that ever gazed upon its mysteries." the keeper of the jenolan caves has had many experiences quite as thrilling as that of the son of george d. prentice, who, some time after his descent into the maelstrom, fell in the conflict between the northern and the southern states of the american union. the curator has hundreds of times wormed his way in the darkness through narrow drives and descended black holes of unknown dimensions by means of ropes and ladders. he has burrowed about like a rabbit, squeezing through small apertures, occasionally having his clothes torn off him by stalactites, and his knees wounded by miniature stalagmites, and his sides abrased by the sharp corners of projecting rocks. when being lowered by ropes he has run the risk of being brained by falling _débris_. fortunately, he has been preserved from serious injury, and is still as lithe as a ferret. christopher columbus made wonderful maritime discoveries in the western hemisphere, and captain cook distinguished himself in the southern seas, but neither the bold genoese nor the stout-hearted yorkshireman who thrice circumnavigated the globe could have thrown more earnestness into his work than has been displayed by the subterranean explorer at jenolan, of whom it may be said, without prejudice to his good name, that he has done more underground engineering than any "road-and-bridge" member of the legislative assembly, performed more turning and twisting than the most slippery minister of the crown who has ever held a portfolio in new south wales, and found secluded chambers enough to permit every political or social adullamite--"every one that is in distress, and every one that is in debt, and every one that is discontented"--to have a little cave of his own. as the visitor has to be guided by the curator through labyrinthine passages as intricate as the most puzzling mazes of crete or egypt, in order to see fairy grottoes, crystal cities, jewel caskets, coral caves, and mystic chambers which he has discovered, it may be here recorded that mr. jeremiah wilson was born in ireland, near enniskillen, that he was three years old when he came to new south wales, years ago, and that his family have lived continuously near oberon. his first visit to jenolan was with a party of excursionists. he has ever since taken a romantic interest in the caves, and from the time of his appointment as cave-keeper in until now his enthusiasm for exploratory work appears to have never flagged. [illustration: the lucas cave.] chapter x. the lucas cave. the lucas cave presents, in grand combination, almost every type of subterranean beauty to be found in the natural limestone caves of jenolan. it rivals the imperial cave, which, however, is commonly regarded as the more attractive, and displays a more dazzling magnificence than that which characterises either the arch or the elder cave. the approach to the lucas cave is by a zigzag path from the valley, leaving the high pinnacle rock to the left hand. the route is not difficult to agile people, but the road would be greatly improved by the cutting of suitable steps. on gaining the top of the ridge the waterfall is in front. to the left are rocks rising like a vast citadel to a height of feet, at the summit of which are immense cliffs with deep gorges between them. the distance is too great to enable the visitor to discern their geological composition. some of them seem as though they had been shaped by human hands in the time of the pharaohs. they remind one of the enormous stones in the great pyramid of egypt, or the massive blocks in the temple of the sun at heliopolis, and the limestone ridges suggest the mighty nile which runs through similar ranges. these elevated pinnacles and chasms are favourite resorts of marsupials. wallabies may be seen leaping from rock to rock and peering out from the crevices. as they are not molested they afford visitors ample opportunity to watch their graceful movements. the distance from the top of the ridge to the mouth of the cave is about yards, with a fall of feet. the descent in some places is so steep as to make it difficult in dry seasons. in wet weather it is dangerous, the rocks being covered with slippery clay. the grand cavern, called the "lucas cave," was so named in recognition of valuable services rendered by the hon. john lucas, m.l.c., who, from the th december , until the dissolution of parliament on the th december , represented in the legislative assembly the electorate of hartley, in which jenolan is situated. he used his influence to obtain the dedication of the reserve, and make provision for the care and improvement of the caves. it was on his recommendation that the present cave-keeper was appointed to the office of curator. his foresight and activity are suitably commemorated by the association of his name with objects of beauty, the fame of which is now spread throughout the whole civilised world. the opening to the lucas cave is very massive, and has a rather steep fall of about feet from the pathway to the floor of the cavern. the entrance is about feet wide and feet high. the roof of the portico is ornamented by rocks, which in shape and colour appear to be in keeping with the gloomy-looking tunnel beyond. the overhanging masses are honeycombed and convoluted in a remarkable manner, and thin off to points like stalactites. the curved, tapering forms are in groups of various dimensions, drooping in folds like those of loosely-fitting garments. they represent not "formation," but the original rock, out of the crevices of which the softer portions and earthy substances have been extracted by the ordinary operations of nature. to the left of the archway is a bulky convoluted pillar, rising from the surrounding blocks and boulders to the uppermost part of the portico, and to the right of the archway is a fine piece of stalagmite formation about feet in height. in the centre, immediately behind it, is a large stalactite, and near by an extensive patch which looks like conglomerate of lime and pebbles. on the outer walls are flowering shrubs and creeping plants, including one which bears a strong resemblance to the climbing fig (_ficus stipulata_), which clothes with pleasant verdure many an ugly wall in and about sydney. the rock colouring is especially fine and beautifully shaded all the way from the broad daylight to the beginning of the interior blackness, which is somewhat sharply defined by a fringe of stalactites like the vertical bars of a portcullis. the immediate entrance to this cave is begrimed with dust. a few yards onward there is an iron gate. the guide opens it and carefully locks in his visitors, who light their candles and proceed by a downward path. the descent is about feet, partly by steps cut zigzag fashion, and then on a sloping floor covered with _débris_. there is a marked difference in the temperature, which is many degrees higher than that of the outward air, and several degrees warmer than the interior of the arch and nettle caves. small flies surprise the excursionists by the suddenness of their appearance, and by the narrow limits of their _habitat_. they live in the zone between daylight and darkness. in the region of perpetual night the only signs of animated nature are clusters of bats. the lighted candles serve to make the surrounding darkness more pronounced. where the rays of light pierce through the night to its rocky boundary indistinct, irregular lines can be seen like the ribs of a skeleton, and it is easy to conjure up all sorts of uncanny shapes, from hobgoblins to anthropophagi. the only sounds audible, or apparently audible, are the quickened respiration and the throbbing of the heart. when the voice is raised its effect is strange, and there is no responsive echo. darkness and silence dwell together. after spending a few seconds--or minutes--in their company, the curator lights his magnesium lamp, and the visitor finds himself in the precincts of "the cathedral," in the centre of which is a large stalagmite. the roof rises to a height of about feet, feet loftier than canterbury cathedral or notre dame, and within feet of the altitude of st. paul's! the walls are composed of limestone, terraced with tier upon tier of stalagmites brought into bold relief by the gloom of innumerable fantastically-shaped recesses. the preacher is solitude; his theme is "awful stillness." wandering through the nave to the south, the visitor walks over caves not yet opened, but the existence of which can be proved by dropping little pebbles into dark recesses and listening to the percussion on floors more or less remote. in an aisle of the cathedral leading to the music hall, there is another grandly-arched cavern with a steep descent into an abysmal depth. here on the one side are numerous stalactites, white as virgin snow, and on the other similarly-shaped formations of carbonate of lime tinged with oxide of iron--some of them so deeply as to present the colour of a boiled lobster's crust. this is a favourite clustering place for bats, and numbers of these membranous-winged quadrupeds may be seen snoozing together on the roof. the music hall. by means of a wire ladder the excursionist descends still deeper into the bowels of the earth. he then goes farther down by or steps, cut in a clayey substance, to the vestibule of the music hall. some of the stalagmites are stained with clay. they have evidently been used as steadying-posts by visitors who had previously placed their hands on the red earth when working their way down the declivity where the steps are now formed. the other stalagmites away out of reach are white and glistening. the approach to the music hall, which was discovered in the summer of , is low. the passage to it is about yards long. the floor is composed entirely of "formation," and at the sides are numerous columns of different colours. the music hall itself is about feet in height, and runs out at the end to about two feet. it is called the "music hall" because of its very fine acoustic properties. a weak voice raised in song or oratory sounds full and sonorous. this hall encloses a secret which architects of public buildings might covet, and the wonder is how such tonic effects are produced in a chamber which presents so many obstructions to the waves of sound. the floor contains a series of basins, curiously shaped by the water which has been retained in them, until it has escaped by percolation to form stalactites and stalagmites at some lower level. the edges of these shallow reservoirs are sharply defined and gracefully moulded. the formation of the walls is extremely delicate. some of it is white and some like yellow coral. the roof has been slightly defaced by certain nineteenth century cads. in various places the "mark of the beast," in lampblack, has been produced by holding candles near to the ceiling and moving them about gradually, and the sooty hieroglyphics remain unto this day as an evidence of vanity and folly. the floor, which was once like alabaster, is now soiled by the tramping of feet. but, notwithstanding these defects, the music hall is still very beautiful. [illustration: the shawl cave.] the shawl cave. returning to the main passage, the tourist descends steps, and enters the shawl cave, a magnificent chamber, the roof of which slopes at an angle of about degrees. into one side the "formation" of carbonate of lime has floated like lava in volumes, and presents the appearance of a suddenly congealed cascade. all the adjacent rocks are covered with fine sheets of formation, white and coloured, and hanging in graceful folds. on a far-off wall is more formation of a similar kind, projecting from a perpendicular rock, and variegated with superb tracery and colouring. the "shawls" hang parallel to each other. they gradually increase from six inches to three feet in depth, in a lateral length of from to feet, and at a distance appear as though they had been placed on the wall by an artist; but when the light is put behind them it is seen that they are independent, slightly corrugated, semi-transparent slabs of equal thickness and graduated widths. of this kind of formation, however, more magnificent specimens are to be found in the imperial cave. in another part of this cavern are large detached blocks of formation, which sparkle like diamonds all over the lines of fracture. they are in wild disorder, as though they had been hurled about in some titanic conflict. the stalactites here are of different character from those found in the other caves, being composite and covered with ornamentation of various kinds. the lower rocks, too, are rippled and chequered like wicker-work, and resemble the formation of the pink terraces of rotomahana, which were destroyed by lava from a volcano in . the roof is about feet high, and the sides of the cave are formed of massive ledges, over which a limey substance has flowed in large masses and assumed elegant shapes fringed with stalactites. near this place is a hole which goes down to the bottom of another cave. it has not yet been fully explored, but it has been ascertained that its depth is about feet, with a clear pool at the bottom. a stone thrown down it is heard to strike two or three times, and finally splash in the liquid crystal. chapter xi. the exhibition. at the western end of the shawl cave, and on its southern wall, is a remarkable formation denominated "the butcher's shop." experts in the preparation of animal food have discovered in this strong resemblances to sides of beef, joints, and "small goods" covered with a reticulum like the netted membrane sometimes thrown over meat exposed for sale. one would hardly expect to find anything æsthetic about such a display. as a realistic production, however, it will bear favourable comparison with some so-called works of art which show how much humour a jocular sculptor can cut into a piece of cold stone. in its bearing upon gastronomy, exception might be taken to one or two of the joints, which suggest veal that has been "spouted," and an excess of adipose matter; but upon the whole the "shop" may be regarded as a not unpleasing representation of a chamber filled with chilled meat. leaving the unromantic stall and ascending seven steps under a roof about feet high, the cave-walker ambulates towards the exhibition, which is approached by wooden steps, leaving to the right a beautiful formation like a frozen waterfall of from to feet. these steps have pendant from them fungi of the most delicate kind, some resembling eider-down, hanging in flossy masses from underneath the cross pieces. this fungoid growth affords evidence of dampness destructive to the timber, which ought to be replaced by more durable material. it is satisfactory to know that specifications have been prepared and tenders forwarded to the department for this work. it will be more satisfactory to learn that prompt action has been taken in regard to them, and that they have not been simply docketed and smothered in some obscure pigeon-hole. the road to the exhibition is rather rough, there being large masses of angular rocks on either side, and the pathway itself is somewhat rugged. the entrance to the bride's cave is to be seen down a rocky declivity of about feet. the gallery leading to this chamber is only about inches by inches. the cave itself is about six feet high, and hung around with drapery of alabaster. the ceiling is of coral formation, and the floor pure white. farther on to the left is another chamber, the entrance to which is pretty, but difficult of access. it is from inches to feet high. there is beautiful formation in one part from the ceiling to the floor. some of it is like straws, as clear as glass, and a portion of the floor sparkles as though it were set with diamonds. the exhibition is of large proportions, being about feet each way, but its height ranges only from to feet. its floor is reached by nine steps. from the centre of the exhibition the entrance to the bride's chamber is on the right. to the left is a broken column, which at one time was sound from the floor to the roof, but which has been fractured apparently by the sinking of the rock on which the stalagmitic portion rests. the separation is slight, and there is a slight departure from the right line. [illustration: the broken column.] the broken column. to the eastward are several interesting stalactites. one represents a black fellow's "nulla-nulla," another a lady and child, another the palm of a hand blackened by candle smoke. on the south side is a spacious platform like the stage of a theatre--the front, about feet wide, is supported by two columns. the height is about feet, and across the top is a curtain of formation representing drapery gracefully arranged, with a fringe of little sparkling stalactites. on each side of this is a smaller entrance similarly adorned and as exquisitely beautiful. the floor of the stage is about feet deep, and the curved ceiling about feet from the drop curtain to the floor. this is as it appears at a distance. on nearer approach it is perceived that the pillars are uneven, and marked with formations of various kinds. that which seemed like a stage becomes an irregular cavern, with immense rocks lying about in great disorder. when the exhibition is illuminated by the magnesium light, some beautiful red and white stalactites are disclosed, glittering like dewdrops in the sunlight, and also some exceedingly pretty stalagmites. this chamber was called "the exhibition" on account of the variety of its specimens. it contains stalactites and stalagmites, white and coloured--variegated shawls--sombre marble and sparkling rocks, clusters of formation, and elephantine masses of carbonate of lime in shapes which prove how much more subtle than professors of art is nature herself. at the south end a cave slopes down, and there are boulders and _débris_ stained with iron, as well as other indications of great soakage and percolation. the jewel casket. eastward, about feet, is the "jewel casket." on the way to it are openings to numerous unexplored caves. affixed to an immense block of limestone are some or shawl-pattern formations of various sizes, which give forth musical sounds when struck with a hard substance, and which, with a little practice, could be played upon like a mammoth harmonicon. _en route_ from the exhibition to the jewel casket, although the passage has not been so dry for twenty years, the rocks are covered with moisture, and the lime can be scraped off like soft soap. from the exhibition there is a descent eastward of about feet along the gallery, which is somewhat narrow, but the roof of which is covered with pretty stalactites. near the entrance to the casket is a remarkable reticulated rock. the descent is by steps east, and then proceeding north about five yards the jewel casket is reached. the jewel casket is at the end of a very remarkable cave. its ceiling is marvellously beautiful. the walls and ridges on each side sparkle like gems of the first water. some of the rocks are covered with virgin white, and some are delicately coloured. the entrance to the casket itself is very small, being only about inches by . its upper portion is of glistening rich brown, and slopes in varied graceful folds down to the bed rock. when the magnesium light reveals the splendour of the interior it is seen that the casket stretches away to a considerable distance; the floor is covered with white and amber brilliants and snowy coruscating flakes of dazzling purity. here are clusters of cave diamonds, opals, and pearls, with delicate fawn-coloured jewels scattered about promiscuously. rich and rare are the gems this casket contains, and exclamations of delight are evoked when their charms burst upon the view like a vision of fairyland. neither tongue nor pen, nor photographic art nor pencil-sketch, can ever do full justice to this natural treasury of beautiful things. judge windeyer's couch. leaving the jewel casket, the visitor proceeds in a northward direction along a passage, from the exhibition to "the hall to the bridge." there is an ascent of steps west, and then the way to the hall is under a low archway, through which it is necessary to proceed on hands and knees. through this archway is a little cavern, something like the jewel casket, with a floor of diamond drift and delicate coral. at the top of the steps the hall runs north-west. then the way lies down a gradual slope of rough rocks to the head of steps, with a wire rope on the right hand side. at the top of the steps near to the jewel casket and in the hall to the bridge is a piece of formation like an upholstered sofa, which has been named "judge windeyer's couch," because it is said that the learned judge sat on it when he visited the caves. its surface is of a rich reddish brown, and may have suggested the celebrated woolsack which, in the days of "good queen bess," was introduced as the lord chancellor's seat in commemoration of the act to prevent the exportation of wool which was at that time as important an element in england's prosperity as it is at present to the well-being of australia. in the hall beautiful formation is seen. a large rock, with shawl-pattern appendages and other ornamentation, is specially attractive. another represents a miniature niagara, done in stone. the features are varied by splendid stalactites, from pure white to rich brown. the formation on the wall is like frozen fountains. the bottom consists of huge rocks, angular and rugged, with immense flags of limestone. about yards from the bridge is "touch-me-not" corner, with a grotto quite out of reach, but of the interior of which, when the light is flashed into it, a splendid view can be obtained. the stalactites are perfectly shaped and beautifully pure. some of them are as white as snow, some are opaline, and others are tinged with mineral colours. the floor has many stalagmites and sparkling formations like a jewelled carpet, which falls from the entrance a little distance down the wall in graceful brown folds fringed with russet stalactites. here the hall is very spacious, being about feet across, and the roof rises from to feet. it has on it some of the most beautiful stalactites in the caves, many of them being of unsullied white. to the left, high up on the side of the hall, is a piece of pure lime formation like a lace shawl, the apparent delicate network of which is an object of special interest, if not of envy, to the fair sex. [illustration: the underground bridge.] the underground bridge. the underground bridge is not a brilliant achievement in engineering, but seems to be well constructed and safe, which is an important consideration; for, although it is so many hundred feet below the summit of the mountain, and yet down so low as to be on the same level as the foundations of the cave house in the adjacent valley, it spans a black yawning gulf, at the extremity of which, feet still farther down, is a clear pool of water feet deep! the bridge is about feet long. it has wire girders and uprights, with stanchions and handrails, and a wooden deck, which, by-the-bye, needs some repair, for several of the planks are broken. the passage is made increasingly secure by galvanised wire netting stretched along the lower part of the bridge on both sides. the rocks which form the boundary of the immense chasm spanned by the bridge are of enormous size, and the scene from this point is remarkable for sublimity rather than for what is commonly called beauty. near the roof is an immense recess, filled with huge stalactites and mammoth pieces of formation, which have floated over the bottom and formed graceful ornamentation for the cavern below. and so the process is repeated from the top of the immense chamber, near the roof, down to the rugged walls immediately round the bridge. even on the rocks which surround the abyss similar wondrous decorations are lavishly bestowed. the clear-headed and sure-footed guide descends from one jutting rock to another and yet another, until he approaches a row of remarkable stalactites which can be just discerned through the gloom. this group is called "the piano," because of the resonant qualities of its separate parts. each stalactite gives out a note. the notes vary in quality and pitch, but most of them are imperfect. as stalactites they are very fine, but as melodious instruments they are frauds. they refuse to harmonise, and their music is about as entrancing as that of a discordant "upright grand," mounted on one leg and played with a handle. chapter xii. the lurline cave. seventy or eighty yards from the underground bridge is the lurline cave. the course is south-west, through a curved gallery with steps in different flights, and two archways--one like loveliness when "adorned the most," and the other formed by an ornate mass of stalactites. the lurline cave is justly regarded as one of the most charming chambers in the group. the _coup d'oeil_ is magnificent. it does not need any close examination to find that it has some distinctive features which show that, although there is no aqueous accommodation for the queen of the water nymphs, whose name it bears, the appellation of this portion of the lucas cave cannot, etymologically at least, be considered as a _lucus a non lucendo_. there are the "coral bowers" and cells to which rudolph was transported; the "halls of liquid crystal, where the water lilies bloom;" there is the cool grot in which the water queen dwelt; there is the rock on which she sat "when all was silent save the murmur of the lone wave, and the nightingale that in sadness to the moon telleth her lovelorn tale;" there is rhineberg's magic cave, with its "wedges of gold from the upper air;" there are the distant recesses to which lurline sent the gnome while she restored to life her mortal affinity. with such surroundings it is easy to reproduce, link by link, the rosy chain which enthralled the german count and "the daughter of the wave and air." or, to take the more rollicking version by "thomas ingoldsby, esq." here is "a grand stalactite hall," like that which rose above and about the impecunious "sir rupert the fearless," when he followed to the bottom of the rhine the dame whose-- "pretty pink silken hose cover'd ankles and toes; in other respects she was scanty of clothes; for so says tradition, both written and oral, her _one_ garment was loop'd up with bunches of coral." where-- "scores of young women diving and swimming, * * * * all slightly accoutred in gauzes and lawns, came floating about him like so many prawns," and where their queen, lurline, lost her heart and her plate, and, according to the same reverend author, her cajoler, whose disastrous fate inspired the moral-- "don't fancy odd fishes! don't prig silver dishes! and to sum up the whole in the shortest phrase i know, beware of the rhine, and take care of the rhino!" the floor is covered with hemispherical mounds or domes for the naiads to recline on. the outer wall is composed of formations ranged in festoons of stalactites--not smooth and transparent, but opaque white, and marked with all the wonderful elaboration which characterises zoophytic work in the coral reefs of the southern seas. this cave contains several sub-caves, each of which has special charms, and the turning of some of the arches is marvellously graceful. one of the recesses is filled with stalactites which look like groups of seaweed. the coral is russet and cream colour and saffron, and there are honeycombed rocks varying in shade from vandyck brown to chrome yellow. some of the stalactites in the interior sub-caves are transparent. whichever way the eye is turned it encounters submarine grottoes of fantastic shape, decorated with imitations of algæ. if it were only at the bottom of the rhine instead of thousands of feet above sea-level, it would seem natural as well as beautiful, but here its existence is simply a wonder, and the sensation produced is fairly described by the last word in the marriage service of the church of england. still, "when mother fancy rocks the wayward brain," it is easy to associate with it denizens of the deep, and people it with naiads, or with undines, who were supposed to marry human beings, and, in certain conditions, become endowed with human souls. the cave is about feet high, and from to feet broad. some of the coralline ledges at the sides are remarkably handsome, and many of the stalactites are from six to eight inches in diameter. the cavern is elegant in its proportions, highly favoured in regard to stalactite growth, graceful in contour, and rich in colouring. the fossil bone cave. about yards north-west from the lurline cave is the fossil bone cave. to reach this cavern it is necessary to ascend steps. it is scarcely less beautiful than the lurline cave. the lime formation represents pensile boughs of weeping-willow, garlands of flowers, and stalactites covered with all kinds of floral decorations. here also are some fine "shawl" formations hanging from the rocks. one of them is called "the gong," because it produces a sonorous note similar to that of the chinese instrument which is superseding the dinner-bell, and challenging its title to be regarded as "the tocsin of the soul." on a sloping side of the floor are some forms distinctive in shape and colour, and resembling a lot of small potatoes shot down indiscriminately. the wonder is how in such a place they could have been so formed and isolated. here is an oblique cavern, at the bottom of which a bone of some large animal lies embedded in the limestone formation like a type in a matrix. at one time it was doubted whether this, which appeared to be bone, was really an osseous substance, but subsequent examinations have proved that it is bone. a fracture of the rock has shown that the outer part of the bone is compact, and the inner part cellular. it is beautifully white, and, as the formation about is brownish, the phosphate can be readily distinguished from the carbonate of lime. on the roof above the fossil bone cave is a rare stalactite about feet in length, and by the side of the tomb of the unknown animal--which may have been anything from a diprotodon to a dingo--is a splendid monumental stalagmite. the cave is about feet high, and feet in length and breadth. the roof is of a light cream colour, and has brown stalactites of perfect shape. the side rocks are magnificently draped. numerous splendid columns like white marble, and sheets of stalactitic growth, excite wonder and admiration. the snowball cave. about yards through a hall, running north-east of the fossil bone cave, is the snowball cave, which is about feet high, or feet long, and from to or feet wide. it runs north-north-east. its distinctive feature is that its roof and a portion of its walls are covered with little white masses like snowballs. some of the patches of carbonate of lime stick to the walls in isolated discs, and others are massed as though snowballs had been thrown at a mark, and a number of them had stuck close together. some of the stalactites in this chamber have been formed by the upward pressure of water, and assume many tortuous shapes. an interesting feature of this portion of the caves is the existence of a number of stalactites which show how readily vibration is communicated from one to another. the visitor puts his finger to the end of a stalactite, and when an adjacent one is struck so as to make it sound, it is perceptible that the vibration of the sounding stalactite is communicated to its silent neighbour. there is one more chamber to visit in the lucas cave. to reach it the visitor ascends four steps, and travels north-west about yards to the head of a wire ladder, which he descends to a place directly underneath the snowball cave, and then he goes down the steps into the wallaby bone cave, over the entrance to which is a very pretty cluster of stalagmites, from inches to inches long, and varying from the thickness of a straw to three-quarters of an inch in diameter. the floor is covered with wallaby bones, and in the immediate vicinity are quantities of osseous breccia. chapter xiii. the bone caves. the bone caves are intensely interesting, and a considerable amount of attention has been paid to them by scientists. in , professor owen, when writing to the colonial secretary, said that the natural remains obtained from the limestone caves of wellington valley in , "revealed the important and suggestive fact that the marsupial type of structure prevailed in the ancient and extinct as well as in the existing quadrupeds of australia." seventeen years ago there was an expedition to the wellington valley bone caves. parliament voted £ for the purpose, and an investigation was made by mr. gerard krefft, who at that time was curator of the australian museum, and dr. thompson. they obtained many valuable and rare specimens, some of which were said to be quite new to science, consisting of the remains of mammals, birds, and reptiles. the largest bones and teeth discovered were of a size equal to those of a full-grown elephant. they were remains of diprotodons and nototheriums, gigantic marsupials now extinct. the wellington valley caves were discovered by sir thomas mitchell more than years ago. from them no fewer than , specimens of fossil remains were presented to the british museum. when the result of the exploration was forwarded to professor owen, he said that the conclusion was very much what might have been naturally looked for, and that the only disappointment he felt was the absence of human remains and works. ten years ago an attempt was made to obtain the co-operation of the neighbouring colonies in the work of thoroughly exploring the caves of the western and southern districts and australian rivers. the proposition originated with the agent-general for new south wales, professor owen, and sir george macleay, but the adjacent colonies did not see their way to participate, whereupon our cabinet decided to do the work without extraneous aid, and £ was voted by parliament for the service of . at an earlier stage professor liversidge had written to the colonial secretary, transmitting the following extract from a letter he had received from professor boyd dawkins, m.a., f.r.s., of owens college, manchester:--"would the government of new south wales undertake the systematic exploration of the wonderful caves which are in the colony, and which certainly ought to be explored? not only is there a certainty of adding to the great marsupials which have been obtained, but there is a great chance of finding proof that man was living at the same time as the extinct animals, as he has already been found in europe and asia. i should expect to find a very low form of the aborigine. such an inquiry would be of a very great interest to us here in england, who are digging at the caves all over europe, and the duplication which would be obtained would enable the trustees of the australian museum to increase their collections largely by exchanges." the minutes of the meetings of the trustees of the australian museum show that in a committee, consisting of dr. cox, mr. wilkinson, and professor liversidge, was appointed for the management of the exploration of caves and rivers, and it was decided that the following caves should, if possible, be examined in the order as written:--wellington caves, cowra, or belubula caves, abercrombie, wollombi, fish river (now jenolan), wombeyan, wallerawang, cargo, yarrangobilly, murrumbidgee, kempsey. the goodradigbee caves were also included, and from them was taken a great quantity of bones of small animals, with a number of jaw, thigh, hip, and shin bones of some animals of the kangaroo family. the smaller bones were those of mice, bats, birds, and marsupials. in the wellington breccia cave a shaft was sunk, and on the th september, , mr. e. p. ramsay, curator of the museum, reported, among other things, the following:--"a great number of interesting bones have already been obtained from this shaft, but the mass of feet of bone breccia which we passed through shows that we have here a large field for exploration. from this shaft we have obtained bones of the following animals, besides a great number of small bones yet undetermined--diprotodon, macropus, palorchestes, sthenurus, procoptodon, protemnodon, halmaturus, thylacinus, bettongia, sarcophilus, phascolomys, dasyurus, phalangista, pteropus (?), bats, rodents (mus), a few lizards' bones, and a few vertebræ of lizards and snakes." other caves also were explored, but it was found that the bones obtained from them were of recent origin. it is a question whether it would not be desirable to make still further investigations. the osseous breccia--where it exists--appears to be similar in all the caves. there are rifts and pits and chambers where animals have retired to die, and where from time to time their bones have been formed into cement with the liquefied rock, which in process of time has again hardened and become a solid compound of bone and stone. in the southern room on the first floor of the sydney museum is a large collection of bones from the wellington and other caves. these remains have been collected during the last four or five years under the direction of mr. ramsay, the curator. they are chiefly the bones of marsupials. there are not among them any fossil remains which indicate the presence of man in australia at any very remote period. some of the principal bones are those of extinct marsupials, and are important from a scientific point of view. they include bones of the following animals (species extant) found in the wellington caves:--the thylacinus (tasmanian tiger), sarcophilus (tasmanian devil), mastacomys (a rodent), hapalotis albipes, and mus lineatus (new south wales). other important fossil remains in the museum are those of the thylacoleo (two species), diprotodon, procoptodon, protemnodon, palorchestes, macropus titan, nototherium, phascolomys. there are not in the sydney museum any bones from the jenolan caves--which, however, contain many interesting remains of the animal world,--because the search for them would involve the destruction of attractive features. for these reasons attention was given to the wellington caves, whose beauties were not likely to receive further disfiguration than they have already suffered. from the wallaby bone cave the visitor returns to the fossil bone cave, and ascends a wire ladder which is about to be replaced by an iron staircase. as he mounts this wire-rope ladder, which is feet long and not "stayed," he feels the necessity for some better means of communication. from the top to the cathedral is about yards south-east. a large portion of the cave north-west from this point has not been explored. there are five or six different branches, one of which runs out to daylight at a small aperture ( inches by inches) over the rise of the water below the grand archway and the devil's coach house. the distance from here through the cathedral to the entrance gate is about yards, up two flights of steps. there is a gradual ascent to the steps, and the final flight of brings the excursionist to the gate and to the sunshine. he will be glad to rest awhile before entering the imperial cave, which is the grandest of them all. chapter xiv. the imperial cave. the imperial cave is graced with myriads of lovely objects. darkness brooded over them for ages, as drip by drip and atom by atom they were formed into things that charm and shine in chambers whose walls are "clad in the beauty of a thousand stars." there are underground gullies terrible enough to be the home of apollyon, with legions of goblins; and strangely radiant elfin palaces where titania might be supposed to reign, and robin goodfellow carry on his frolicsome pranks. in the year , when the cave-keeper (mr. wilson) discovered this magnificent series of caverns, he was lowered down a distance of feet through egyptian darkness. as this mode of access was neither cheerful nor easy, nor free from danger, he determined, if possible, to find a less inconvenient and perilous approach to the cave. after two years of patient investigation he accomplished his heart's desire. the orifice which has been converted into the present entrance was at first, for a distance of feet, only inches by inches, but the curator worked his way through it, caterpillar fashion, with a light in one hand and a hammer in the other, knocking off the rough formation, and widening the aperture from time to time until he made communication free from difficulty. throughout this splendid cave there are many places where similar efforts, accomplished with equal success, have added largely to the safety and convenience of visitors, who reap the fruits of the heroic work performed by the brave explorer, whose best years have been spent in rendering accessible to the public the marvellous beauties of the jenolan caves. from the accommodation house the way to the imperial cave is through the grand arch, on the northern side of which, at the eastern end, are two wooden staircases. the first springs from the floor of the arch amidst immense blocks of stone irregularly disposed. it has steps, and a handrail on each side. this terminates at the summit of a pile of limestone rocks, the uppermost of which forms a platform guarded by iron stanchions and a galvanised wire rope. from this platform there is another flight of steps to the portico of the cave--a plain archway, the floor of which is feet higher than the floor of the cave-house. the entrance is guarded by a light iron gate. the wool shed and the gravel pits. about yards from the entrance to the imperial cave, northward, and thence about yards east, is "the wool shed." the approach to it is narrow and low. in some places it has been formed by blasting, and in others by excavation through a red, sandy substance underneath the limestone. it widens as the wool shed is approached. in the floor is a hole going down to the former entrance to the cave, now closed by a stone wall. the wool shed is about feet wide, feet high, and feet long. the formation over a large part of the walls and roof resembles the fleeces of sheep, hanging about and spreading over the shelving rocks in all directions. there is one pelt which suggests the "golden fleece" torn by jason from the tree trunk in the poison wood guarded by the huge serpent spangled with bronze and gold, and which was soothed to slumber by the magic song of orpheus. the surroundings are as strange as those of the lonely cave where dwelt cheiron the centaur, who taught the leader of the argonauts "to wrestle and to box, and to hunt, and to play upon the harp." but perhaps, after all, it may be only an indifferent limestone representation of a fellmongering establishment. the woolly skins and scraps are mirrored on the retina. the impressions produced by the sense of vision depend not upon the optic nerve, but upon the imagination. simply as a spectacle, however, the wool shed is curious and entertaining. the blocks of stone near to the base are for the most part plain, and the floor is broken and rugged. descending steps, and passing through a tunnel five feet six inches by two feet, the visitor stands at the junction of the right and the left hand branches of the cave. here formerly the passage was only inches by inches. the larger opening was made by blasting, and the material blown from the solid rock has been packed away in recesses at the side of the hall, which, at the junction of the two branches, widens out considerably, but does not present any specially interesting features. the right hand branch runs north-west, and the left hand branch runs south-west. taking the south-west branch first, after travelling about yards the visitor comes to "the gravel pits," which he reaches by ascending a mound with steps. there are two pits of gravel. one of them is about feet deep and the other about feet. in the rocks overhead are bones distinctly visible, owing to the earthy matter having fallen away from them. some of these bones are large. there are shelving rocks about six feet from the floor. the sides of one of the gravel pits are oblique, but the other pit, which is railed off, is round and perpendicular. it could hardly have been more symmetrical had it been made by a professional well-sinker. this spot, although perhaps uninteresting to a mere sight-seer, cannot fail to attract the attention of geologists. ascending two flights of stairs with steps each, the excursionist attains a height of about feet above the gravel pits in a north-westerly direction. between the two flights of steps the ground is sloping, and the walls hold a considerable portion of drift, the pebbles of which are large and tinged with oxide of iron. this passage leads to the margherita cave, and from it a tunnel branches off towards the "architect's studio." this is a very pretty vestibule, about yards in length, and bearing south-east. at first it rises several feet by steps, and later on there is a descent of five steps through masses of stalactites, and past a beautiful pillar. [illustration: the architect's studio.] the architect's studio. the height of the "studio" is about feet. this _atelier_ is a marvel of beauty. there are in it two temples of the most lovely kind. large masses of splendid stalactites hang from the roof. on the walls are columns profusely decorated with coral and tracery and bosses, and carvings which could be imitated only by the most cunning workmanship. near the centre is a large stalactitic mass, most graceful in shape, with numerous appendages; and underneath appear several stalagmites. some of them have been partially destroyed, but one, which touches the enormous mass of stalactites above, remains intact. near to this is a splendid column, richly embellished. the walls are profusely adorned with elaborate configurations, which are supposed to represent architectural "studies," from which the cave derives its name. most of the formation is white or light grey; but in some of the recesses there is rich colouring. each chamber has its own distinctive attractions, and contains many objects which challenge special admiration. massive grandeur is set off with the most delicate and fragile beauty. stalagmites are not numerous here, but one about eight feet in height, and two inches in diameter at the base, tapers off gradually towards the roof until it becomes as attenuated as the thin end of a fishing-rod. the stalactitic formation hangs in ponderous grotesquely-shaped concretions, some of which extend from the roof nearly to the floor, and many of the stalactites which decorate the stalactitic formation are perfect in shape and purity. the choicest portions of the architect's studio are fenced off with galvanised wire rope on iron standards. the bone cave. ascending a flight of steps out of the architect's studio the course is south-west about yards to the bone cave. the way is difficult, a portion of the journey having to be performed on hands and knees. the cave, which runs north and south, is about feet high, feet long, and from to feet wide. in the middle of it is a passage only partially explored. the bone cave is guarded by iron rods and wire netting. bunches of stalactites hang from the roof, and the floor is strewn with bones, covered with a thick coating of lime formation. there are also bones embedded in the floor. some of the formations on the floor are very peculiar, consisting of small curiously-shaped pieces fitted together at remarkable angles, and yet capable of being taken to pieces like triplicate kernels pressed together in one nutshell. a large proportion of the stalactites are quite transparent and decorated with small sharp points, and some formations among the coral are as lovely as fine marine mosses, which they resemble. in the midst are numerous unexplored recesses, which, when the light penetrates, are seen to hold hundreds of fine stalactites, crystal and opaque. the objects of beauty in the bone cave retain their colour, because they cannot be handled by that class of visitors who fancy that they can see only with their fingers. on the walls are specimens of delicate fretwork, and on the floor as well as on the top of rocky ledges, stalagmites lavishly ornamented. although not as grand as the architect's studio, this is a very fine cave, and additional interest attaches to it in consequence of the fossil bones it contains. the adjacent chambers cannot be explored without destroying some of the well-known beauties of the cavern. chapter xv. the margherita cave. from the bone cave to the margherita cave is about yards, travelling north-east to the top of the first steps, then east into the architect's studio, and then north about yards. the margherita cave varies from to feet in height, and is from to feet wide. it is remarkable chiefly for the magnitude and beauty of its stalactitic formation, the best portions of which are fenced off with iron rods and wire netting. the formations are nearly all of the same general character. although there are many changes in detail, the typical pattern is observed everywhere in the midst of infinite variety, just as in a fugue choice snatches of melody sound forth in the clear treble, skip away in the mellow tenor, roll forth in the deep bass, and then dart about will-o'-the-wisp-like all through the composition, without ever getting out of harmony. it is a grand chamber full of stately concords and charming effects of light and shade. hard by is another chamber with masses of beautiful stalactites, and, on a pinnacle, a figure appears about the height of the venus de medici, robed in drapery of white, slightly suggestive of the binary theory of feminine attire, and with a peculiar curvature denominated the "grecian bend." the bend is unmistakable. there is just a suspicion of the "divided skirt," and the attitude is easy and graceful, the grecian bend notwithstanding. the upper part of the body from the waist has no "boddice aptly laced," but becomes gradually mixed indiscriminately with other kinds of beauty, which, although they may "harmony of shape express," do not in the sense indicated by prior become "fine by degrees and beautifully less." admirers of classic beauty may be inclined to regard the incompleteness of the figure as "fine by defect and delicately weak." there are some stalagmites on the sloping bank of formation, which runs down to the wire netting and is finished off at each extremity by two massive stalactitic pillars. the margherita cave received its name in honour of the wife of lieut.-colonel cracknell, superintendent of telegraphs. col. cracknell visited the caves in , and on the nd july illuminated this and some other portions with the electric light. the margherita was the first of the underground chambers in which flashed its brilliant rays. in the absence of facilities for generating electricity by means of the now well-known dynamo machine, colonel cracknell had recourse to primary batteries, and adopted the form known as the maynooth or callan cell, the elements of which were cast iron and zinc in solutions of nitric and sulphuric acid. it was not an easy task to unload and carry up the iron cell battery and the apparatus into the cave, as each set of six cells weighed lbs. the whole, together with the acids and the electric light apparatus, exceeded cwts. the battery, however, was soon made ready, and to the admiration of all present cave margherita was illuminated by the electric light. a photographic apparatus was then placed in position, the plates were exposed, and in minutes the first negatives were produced, and said to be all that could be desired. it is satisfactory to learn that arrangements are almost complete for the permanent lighting of the caves by electricity. lieutenant-colonel cracknell proposes to illuminate them in sections, containing each, say, incandescent lamps, and when one section has been thoroughly explored the lamps therein will be cut off and those in the next section brought into operation, and so on until the whole of the interior has been examined. it is intended that swan's incandescent lamp of -candle power shall be used. the electricity is to be generated by a small edison dynamo, with which accumulators of the elwell-parker type will be kept charged, so that at all times there will be a supply available for lighting the lamps. it has not yet been determined whether to use steam or water power, but it is thought likely that sufficient of the latter may be secured in the vicinity of the caves to work a turbine, and thus produce the necessary energy. chapter xvi. the helena cave. leaving the margherita cave by a descent of five steps, and travelling north-west about ten yards through a festooned hall, the helena cave opens to view. it was named in . helena is the prenomen of mrs. hart, whose husband accompanied lieutenant-colonel cracknell on his visit to the caves, and took photographs of some of the chambers, when for the first time they were illuminated by electricity. mr. hart was connected with the photographic branch of the government printing office. the pictures then produced, although large and fairly good, are not equal to some more recent photographs taken when the chambers were illuminated by the magnesium light. [illustration: the helena cave.] the helena cave is about yards long, to feet high, and varies in width from to feet. for stalactitic splendour it will bear comparison with the most magnificent of the caves. there are columns like the trunks of stately trees, covered with rough formation resembling coarse bark. coralline masses droop laden with myriads of cells. in the recesses are stalactites perfect in shape--crystal, and alabaster set off by others coloured like ferruginous sandstone. lovely grottoes and decorated rock ledges abound. in one or two instances joined stalactites and stalagmites form pillars with bunches of formation all about them like stony efflorescence. several steps lead into a recess, the floor of which contains basins made by the action of water. the formation throughout is remarkable for its lavish ornamentation and purity. among the grand cornices is one weighing about half a ton, formed in such a manner as to resemble great bunches of grapes, like those brought from eschol by the hebrew spies to illustrate their report on "the promised land." in other parts are small clusters like vine produce growing _en espalier_. it seems as though in these subterranean sunless bowers nature had by some subtle process striven to reproduce in stone the fruits and flowers of the sunned surface, clothing them in pure white and sombre grey, and endowing them with charms as sweet and mutely eloquent as the fragrance of the cestrum nocturnum, or the cold beauty of a night cactus bloom which caresses the moonbeams or wantons in the stellar light. this place, full of enchanted grottoes and elfin palaces, gives, perhaps, the best illustration of the plan, so uniform and yet so diverse, on which these limestone mountains have been honeycombed into galleries, "high overarch'd with echoing walks between," and caverns large and small, from cathedral spaciousness to the minimised dimensions of the tiniest chamber in the finest coralline structure. their infinite gradation may be fairly described by certain well-known lines, and substituting the word "caves" for the name of the most lively insects of the genus pulex-- big caves have little caves and lesser caves about 'em; these caves have other caves, and so _ad infinitum_. the most remarkable feature hereabouts is a piece of formation called "the madonna." it is supposed to represent a woman carrying an infant, which rests on her right arm. the left arm hangs loosely by her side, and the right knee is bent as in the act of walking. the head bears less resemblance to that of one of the favourite creations of the old masters than it does to the anterior part of a russian bear. a pyramidal mound about four feet high forms a pedestal for the figure, which is about two feet six inches from crown to sole. a sculptor with mallet and chisel might in an hour or two convert it into a representation of loveliness, but at present it is only a veiled beauty. visitors have to imagine all those witcheries and feminine perfections portrayed by great artists who have made "the madonna and child" a life study. the best view of this cave is that looking south-east with "my lady" in the centre. the stalactites show to great advantage, and as the manifold charms brought into bold relief by the magnesium light disappear, and the sable goddess "from her ebon throne, stretches forth her leaden sceptre," the sensation produced is one of pleasant bewilderment. the deep gloom which follows celestial brightness enshrouds the glorious scene. the pageant fades away as did the celebrated palace which potemkin reared for his imperial mistress. it was made of blocks of ice. the portico was supported by ionic pillars, and the dome sparkled in the sun, which had just strength enough to gild, but not to melt it. "it glittered afar like a palace of crystal and diamonds, but there came one warm breeze from the south, and the stately building dissolved away until none were able to gather up the fragments." so it is with these underground wonders. they are brought into bold relief, and gilded by the brilliant light of the magnesium lamp. it is extinguished, and the gorgeous palaces and solemn temples suddenly become like "stuff which dreams are made of." another beautiful feature in the helena cave is a formation under a mass of stalactites which hang from the roof and drop water on to a jutting rock below. on a corner of this shoulder is a huge epaulette, and underneath are some elegantly-shaped brackets. still farther down is an enormous richly decorated mass, flanked by shell pattern formation. the base rock rests on a mound of limestone gracefully curved, and the intervening spaces are filled with myriads of ornate specimens. some distance above the floor is a bold rock with a sharply cut under-surface like the sounding-board of a pulpit hung with stalactites. here are also terraces like miniatures of the celebrated white terraces of new zealand, with basins, the sides of which are graced with a formation which at one time was pure white, but the lower portions of which are now discoloured. the upper part, however, still retains its pristine purity and loveliness. the terraces approaching the grotto are stained by the tramping of feet. about halfway up is a handsome stalagmite of fine proportions. this chamber is grandly impressive, and remarkable for its charming variety of formation, as well as for its graceful contours. chapter xvii. the grotto cave. at the point of exit from the helena cave there is a descent of four steps. then it is necessary to ascend steps north-north-east on the way to the right-hand branch of the imperial cave. from the top of the steps the distance to the junction is about yards. on the left side of the passage, at the foot of the lower steps in the left-hand branch, is a drive down into the gallery of the right-hand branch, the fall being about feet. it was by being lowered down this hole that the cave-keeper found that portion of the right-hand branch which extends from the shaft to the junction of the two branches. this perilous part is railed off with two wires supported on iron standards let into the rock. at a point yards north, on the passage to the grotto cave, at an angle, is a drop of feet into the right-hand branch of the imperial cave. sitting on a thin shell of limestone, on the right-hand side, the visitor may pitch a stone into a hole inches by inches, and hear it strike the bottom of the black depth. he may thrust his candle down to arm's length underneath the mineral crust, and (if he be in a very cheerful vein) fancy he is peering into the infernal regions, over which he rests on a thin and fragile screen. from this point the grotto cave is south-south-west about yards. precautions have been taken against accident at this spot. iron standards are let into the rock, and there are double wires stayed back to the walls of the cave. it is intended to make it still more secure on the lower side by a netting of three inch wire, on one and a quarter inch iron standards, from four to six feet high. where the rock has been cut to make the passage wide enough, the steps are wet, and there is a little basin always full of bright water of a bluish tint. a false step here might precipitate a sight-seer into an almost perpendicular hole, some idea of the depth of which may be formed by casting a stone down, and listening to its striking against the sides, until after the lapse of several seconds the sound of its contact with the floor rises like a feeble voice, still further subdued by distance. descending five steps, a good sight is obtained of the grotto cave. it is feet high in places, and about feet wide, with passages in all directions. it runs south-south-east and north-north-west, and is full of interesting vaults and crypts, over which nature seems to have cast a mystic spell. for alluring charms, fantastic combinations, and disposition of matter, no comparison can be found between it and the most artistic grottoes built by human hands. one grotto is roofed with delicately white and richly-traced formation, studded with stalactites of rare splendour. here is a delicate white shaft piercing the dome; there a stalagmite within half-an-inch of the stalactite above. a broken pillar suggests either an accident or a barbaric act; near to it is a perfect column, which, in the dim light, seems like a figure emerging from the cave. close inspection reveals imitations of coral and seaweed, curved stalactites, and filagree work of the most intricate design. little flakes of lime, like snow, at the back of the grotto, sparkle like twinkling stars. another grotto, in the centre of the cave, is made entirely by large stalactites, set off with small ones. some are covered with filaments about the thickness of ordinary sewing-cotton; others seem as though they were covered with beautiful mosses. many of the pendants are richly wrought and extremely graceful. the upper stalactites are covered with thicker filaments like twine and pack-thread. a third grotto is remarkable chiefly for a splendid cornice or buttress projecting from a pillar. it is as grand, though not as ornate, as similar formation in the margherita cave. it was named on the th march , and its designation is appropriate. near the exit is a marvellous grotto, at the entrance to which is a massive stalagmitic pillar, five feet in diameter, meeting the end of a stalactite about feet long. the back of the stalagmite constitutes a separate grotto of stalactites and shell-pattern formation. near to it is a remarkable rock, covered with cauliflower-shaped masses of limestone. it is known as the cauliflower rock--the _choufleur_ of the gnomes who guard the unfathomable caves of jenolan. in yet another grotto, at the rear of the main pillar, is a beautiful canopy, with thin stalactites, straight like walking-canes, and others thin as straws, crystal and opaque. there are also many contorted stalactites and other eccentricities in stone. a little iron ladder makes it easy to descend into this cave of so many beautiful grottoes on gracefully undulating foundations. near the point of departure is a dangerous spot, for the proper guarding of which arrangements are being made. adjacent is a considerable quantity of red clay covered with smooth white formation, and fractures of rock round about sparkle with crystals. [illustration: the lucinda cave.] chapter xviii. the lucinda cave. after travelling a few yards south from the grottoes the visitor arrives at the lucinda cave. the hall is from to feet wide and from to feet high. the approach to the cave is through limestone rocks. the path has a gentle slope, and in some places the walls are besprinkled with a white substance like wool. near the centre of the passage is a hole in the roof partly lined with formation which sparkles like a starlit sky. a little farther on is a descent of four steps through a passage, the walls of which glitter with great brilliancy. about yards from the lucinda cave, south-south-west, is a magnificent spectacle. the roof is densely crowded with stalactites of every type of beauty. on each side are crevices of dazzling splendour, and on the floors of which brilliants have been showered like hail. the largest remain in the centre, and the corners and other remote places are heaped with diamond drift. in one place in the lower cave is a bank made of formation washed from the hall above, thickening to the base at an angle of about °, and studded with cave gems. between the jewelled floors and the superincumbent rocks are stalagmites of pure white calcareous alabaster. at the end of this passage are three steps, which it is necessary to ascend in order to reach the lucinda chamber, which was discovered on the th february, , and is named after the wife of the curator of the caves. the lucinda cave is from to feet high, from to feet wide, and about feet long. its entrance junctions with the steps to katie's bower. to reach the lucinda cave from the junction, the visitor passes over a level floor, like cement, about feet in length. this cave is remarkable for its scenic grandeur. the spectator stands in mute admiration, and gazes upon the magnificent sight like one who is spellbound. the beauty is brobdignagian in its proportions. the figures are all colossal. there are immense stalactites and stalagmites of every hue. an enormous mass of formation droops from the ceiling to the summit of a stalagmitic mound upon which it rests. it is like a series of suddenly congealed waterfalls, and the groundwork below is gracefully rippled on the outer surface, and fringed with stalactites. the mound previously mentioned rests upon another of larger size, of equally graceful contour, and besprent with brilliants which sparkle like immense diamonds. to the right is a cascade of formation which has trickled and solidified from rock to rock and from ledge to ledge in graceful curves from the roof to the floor. those who have seen water arrested by congelation on an extensive weir, and rendered opaque by hoar, can form a tolerably correct idea of the kind of beauty here represented in stone. to the left of the frozen waterfall is a bower of sparkling substances, and at its extremity is a recess, from the farthest visible point of which can be seen magnificent clusters of stalactites, of rich and varied colouring. this bower is more chastely beautiful than any ever possessed by oriental potentate. the walls on the left side are richly draped with sheets of formation of uniform thickness, hanging from the roof like shawls or scarves. this mineral drapery is opaque, striped and flecked with russet and reddish brown, and edged with white as pure as virgin snow. it is guarded by a fence of iron rods and galvanised wire; consequently it is impossible to make a close and minute examination of its interior, but the general effect is fascinating. in one of the recesses is a terraced rock covered with reddish formation, like a cascade, which certainly is not less beautiful than were the pink terraces of rotomahana. a little beyond the cascade the same kind of formation ornaments a massive pillar, which constitutes one of the principal features of the cave. in the foreground is a hall which leads to an unexplored region below, and the entrance to which is guarded by a fence to prevent accidents. the floor is curiously formed by a series of basins, the rims of which are shaped into every variety of curve and indentation, running in and out like frilling, not with regular curved lines like escallops, but representing in miniature the waterlines of a quiet harbour with large bays and pretty inlets and creeks and reaches, without a single straight line. the edges of these basins are about two inches in height, covered on the outside by sparkling limestone, like delicate coral, thickening towards the floor. inside the formation is still more beautiful, with coralline matter of the same general character swelling out to the most graceful concavity. there is perfection in every segment, and in every tiny cell lurks tremulous light. chapter xix. katie's bower. taking a course between the parallel fences of wire-netting, and travelling about yards, the jewel casket is seen on the western side of the cave. it extends about feet due south, and is about two feet six inches high by about six feet wide. it does not contain any new type of beauty, but rather represents a collection of the most enchanting cave splendours. even the stalactites and stalagmites are overlaid with ornamentation. it is a focus of dazzling brilliancy. [illustration: katie's bower.] returning to the junction, there is a descent by steps south-west into "katie's bower," which is the last chamber in the left-hand branch of the imperial cave. forty-three of these steps are like cement, are cut in the solid rock, and are of wood. on the left-hand side, at the foot of the staircase, is a hole feet deep. to the north of the entrance, at the top of the wooden steps, is a remarkable formation suggestive of a chinese pagoda, waxy-amber-and-flesh-coloured. to the left is a beautifully-formed dome, with convexities of pure white, sparkling all over as though it were studded with diamonds cut with large facets. at the bottom of the dome are numerous stalactites, resting on a curved rock coated with the same material. it is like a richly bejewelled throne with a grand canopy suspended from the roof by a large stalactite. it contains many hundredweight of formation, and is about three yards from end to end of the curve. it is ornamented with filagree work and stalactites of the most curious and beautiful kinds, and on the upper surface are some handsome stalagmites. at the rear of this splendid canopy, set with precious stones, is a recess with a sparkling floor. having descended some steps to the south-east, and ascended others through a broken part of the subterranean region, the visitor will find much to admire in katie's bower. it is about feet long, to feet high, and from to feet wide. its direction is from north-west to south-east. the north-west end is very rough, with a rocky floor. the beauties of the bower are located to the south and south-east. there are on the one side alabaster pillars, on the other is formation. immediately over the arch is a deposit of red clay, which has imparted a rich colour to the huge stalactites which hang from the roof. the light of the candles is flashed back by glittering crystals. the floor, which forms the entrance to the bower, is carpeted with glistening alabaster. descending steps into the bower there is a fountain full of lime-water, and a plate suitably inscribed conveys the information that katie's bower was discovered on the th february, , by jeremiah wilson (guide), c. webb, h. fulton, c. west, j. bright, e. webb, e. t. webb, j. thompson, w. h. webb, e. bowman, w. thompson, j. mcphillamy, r. thompson, j. webb, and s. webb. the before-mentioned gentlemen were the first to enter the bower after its discovery. they had rendered valuable assistance to the guide, and were well rewarded for all their trouble by the consciousness that they had participated in opening to the public a new and charming scene in this western wonderland. the stalactites and formation at the mouth of the cave are pure alabaster. it should be here stated that this bower was named in honour of a daughter of the hon. e. webb, m.l.c., of bathurst, who at various times has interested himself in regard to the caves, and sister of the messrs. webb whose names appear on the tablet, and who supplied ladders and ropes to the curator, and otherwise assisted him in his explorations. it is a grand cavern, with massive pillars and large stalactites, and elaborate alabaster structures, more remarkable for richness of detail than the most wonderfully-constructed oriental temple. the dome commences near the roof with a conical mass of brilliant formation, from which depend many fine stalactites, which rest on a solid mass, and seem to hold it suspended. this second mass of formation is ornamented with stalactites like frozen jets of water. and so the process is continued again and again, until the points of the lowest stalactites rest on a white mass level with gracefully-curved and coloured rocks, which descend with elegant contours to the bottom of the bower. the same kind of wonderful fabrication is repeated at the sides of the principal figure. some of the flooring is as rich and pure as that of the jewel casket. it is a marvel of intricate grandeur, and has the advantage of having been well preserved. from the alabaster stalagmite in front, to the most delicate lime drapery on the walls, there is no prominent "mark of the beast." the cads of the period have not been permitted to perform their favourite ceremony of the laying on of hands. it would be useless to speculate as to the time the caves in this branch "took in building." it defies all calculation. apparently the process of formation is finished. there is no dripping from the stalactites. there may be, however, in wet weather; but it seems as though the creative action had given way to the hardening process. it is suggestive of that portion of "king solomon's mines" in which h. r. haggard has a clever and somewhat caustic conceit respecting stalactitic growth. on his way through the enormous cave leading to solomon's treasure-house, he was enchanted with the gigantic pillars, which looked like ice, and which sprang in lofty and yet delicate beauty sheer to the distant roof. "others again," he says, "were in process of formation. on the rock floor there was in these caves what looked exactly like a broken column in an old grecian temple, whilst high above, depending from the roof, the point of a huge icicle could be dimly seen. and even as we gazed we could hear the process going on, for presently with a tiny splash a drop of water would fall from the far-off icicle on to the column below. on some columns the drops only fell once in two or three minutes, and in these cases it would form an interesting calculation to discover how long at that rate of dripping it would take to form a pillar, say feet high by in diameter. that the process was, in at least one instance, incalculably slow, the following instance will suffice to show. cut on one of these pillars, we discovered a rude likeness of a mummy, by the head of which sat what appeared to be one of the egyptian gods, doubtless the handiwork of some old-world labourer in the mine. this work of art was executed at about the natural height at which an idle fellow, be he phoenician workman or british cad, is in the habit of trying to immortalise himself at the expense of nature's masterpieces, namely, about five feet from the ground; yet at the time that we saw it, which must have been nearly , years after the date of the execution of the drawing, the column was only eight feet high, and was still in process of formation, which gives a rate of growth of a foot to a , years, or an inch and a fraction to a century." this is a very good satire upon the presumption of some modern disciples of the illustrious cocker. a botanist may, by its concentric zones, tell the years of an exogenous plant; a bucolic sage may judge the age of horned cattle by counting their horny rings; but to tell the æons of a stalagmite is more difficult than the accurate compilation of a feminine census. arithmetical calculations on such a subject would probably be received with as much confidence as phrenological evidence of the character and habits indicated by bumps on the head of the great sphinx at ghizeh. chapter xx. the right-hand branch of the imperial cave. having thus completed his inspection of the left-hand branch of the imperial cave, the visitor returns to the junction, passing through all the chambers previously noticed in it excepting the architect's studio and the bone cave, and proceeds to explore the still more wondrous and beautiful works in the right-hand branch. the subterranean river. the first object of interest in the right-hand branch of the imperial cave is the subterranean river, which runs at the bottom of a fearful chasm about yards from the point where the two branches bifurcate. after having wandered through marble halls and crystal palaces, and bowers where "rural fays and fairies dwell," the course seems rather gloomy. but attention is attracted by some curiously-shaped nodules, like those found in a part of the arch cave, and by basins with thin laminated sides slightly corrugated. these specimens reveal the secret of the construction of the pretty reticulated mounds, which give such a charming effect to several of the most regularly formed features of the caves. to complete the process, the sharp parallel lines which form a succession of little equidistant ridges require only to be smoothed off by a gently flowing film of water, and to receive a coat of colouring derived from clay or oxide of iron. this part of the branch, therefore, should not be passed through hurriedly, for it is instructive. [illustration: the underground river and its reflections.] the road is fairly good, although the arching is low. those parts, the narrowness of which formerly made progress difficult, have been enlarged, but a pretty natural bridge has been carefully preserved. the halt is at the end of a wire ladder bent over a cliff, which forms one side of an immense gulf, where perpetual darkness broods. here the visitor has a more ungraceful task to perform than that of the cursed serpent, for he must recline face downwards and "progress backwards" until he assumes the form of an obtuse angle, with one line over the precipice. then he has to use his legs pretty much as an octopus uses its tentacles, to gain a footing on the ladder, which descends about feet on the chasm side of the angle. having found the first rung he feels happy, but not sufficiently hilarious to slide like a lamplighter. he grips the side wires carefully, takes heed to his steps, and goes down slowly. when he has descended a little way, the dim candle-lights above appear to be far distant, and when he is or steps down they look like glowworms. the journey, however, is not perilous to persons who possess a fair share of agility and nerve. it is frequently performed by ladies, of whom the guide is specially careful, preceding them and keeping just below them on the ladder. as this is, perhaps, the most interesting of all the cave sights, it is desirable that some easy mode of descent should be provided, such as a skip like those employed in mines, or a lift made by machinery to work as easily and effectively as those which ascended and descended at will in the subterranean world inhabited by "the coming race." it was, perhaps, some such place as this which suggested to bulwer lytton the chasm down which his nameless hero descended to the bottom of an abyss illuminated with a diffused atmospheric light, soft and silvery as from a northern star; where he found lakes and rivulets which seemed to have been curbed into artificial banks, some of pure water, and some which shone like pools of naphtha; where the birds piped in chorus, and where he made the acquaintance of the an people and the gy-ei, who moved through the air without effort, who had for servants automata always obedient, and totally ignorant of the eight-hours system, and whose religion had these two peculiarities: "firstly, that they all believed in the creed they professed; and, secondly, that they all practised the precepts indicated by the creed." underground rivers appear to be natural to limestone caves. the reason of their existence is to be found in the fact that the mountains in which they are formed are, in geological parlance, "dykes." they must not be confounded with old river beds, such as are encountered by miners--where the surface of the earth has been raised by deposits of alluvium, or where the geological condition of things has been changed by volcanic action. these cave rivers have all been formed by water finding the lowest attainable level in its passage to the sea, and by the solid limestone rocks which have barred its direct course, and have been undermined by its subtle but persistent action. the fluid, dammed back by the mountains, has simply obeyed the laws of gravitation and accumulated force, as evidenced in the trickling silvery thread which follows the course of ant-tracks; in the laughing rill which makes its bed among the pebbles; in the babbling brook which leaps to the swelling river; and in the mighty torrent whose strength and velocity proclaim the majesty of hydraulic power. in all parts of the world where limestone dykes and caves exist, it is reasonable to expect to find subterranean rivers. the eye of the seer can follow the water drips-- "down through caverns and gulfs profound, to the dreary fountain-head of lakes and rivers underground." he can see them again when the rain is done-- "on the bridge of colours seven, climbing up once more to heaven, past the setting sun." but the underground rivers found in caves perform vagaries outside the sweet imaginings of the poet and the prevision of the seer. far from the beaten track they turbulently force their way through recesses and tunnels and pockets of the earth, before they are again warmed with sunshine, and glow in the harmonious colours which form the bow of promise. the rev. richard taylor, in his "_te ika a maui_," refers to interesting caves near mokau (new zealand), in some of which bones of the moa have been discovered. about a mile from pukemapau he came to a limestone range, and entered a large cave called tanaureure. at the bottom of a chasm he found a fine crystal spring, about a foot or so deep, but appears not to have been particularly inquisitive as to whence the water came or whither it went. a little distance up one of the tributaries of the rewa river, in fiji, is a crystal streamlet which flows on towards a lofty ridge, near to which it sinks into the earth. at the mouth of a dark cavern can be heard the roaring. it is a grand expansive excavation, but "dark as was chaos ere the infant sun was roll'd together, or had tried his beams athwart the gloom profound." the water rushes through narrow chasms as through a race, collects in a large pool, and flows through a distant outlet, marked by a speck of light, like a tiny star. at the weathercote cave, in yorkshire, a stream swallowed up by a rocky mouth is thus described by walter white in his book entitled "a month in yorkshire":-- "the rocks are thickly covered in places with ferns and mosses, and are broken up by crevices into a diversity of forms, rugged as chaos. a few feet down, and you see a beautiful crystalline spring in a cleft on the right, and the water turning the moss to stone as it trickles down. a few feet lower, and you pass under a natural bridge formed by huge fallen blocks. the stair gets rougher, twisting among the big, damp lumps of limestone, when suddenly your guide points to the fall at the farther extremity of the chasm. the rocks are black, the place is gloomy, imparting thereby a surprising effect to the white rushing column of water. a beck running down the hill finds its way into a crevice in the cliffs, from which it leaps in one great fall of more than feet, roaring loudly. look up: the chasm is so narrow that the trees and bushes overhang and meet overhead; and what with the subdued light and mixture of crags and verdure, and the impressive aspect of the place altogether, you will be lost in admiration. "to descend lower seems scarcely possible, but you do get down, scrambling over the big stones to the very bottom, into the swirling shower of spray. here a deep recess, or chamber, at one side, about eight feet in height, affords good standing ground, whence you may see that the water is swallowed up at once, and disappears in the heap of pebbles on which it falls." in the wombeyan caves, near taralga, in this colony (new south wales), there is a similar phenomenon. the mountain in which the caves are formed dams, at right angles, a valley of considerable length. on the one side a creek flows into a hole underneath the "wombeyan church"--a name given to the principal entrance. this shallow hole is filled with large boulders and less bulky water-worn stones, through which the water instantly filters and disappears. the suction is perceptible if a hand or foot be placed in the basin. on the other side of the mountain the water, running at a considerable distance below the surface, can be seen through an orifice. farther on, about three-quarters of a mile from the mountain side, the stream bubbles up like a fountain, and reminds the visitor of antique pictures representing the rush of water from rock-smitten horeb. the most gigantic of underground river wonders are to be found in the mammoth cave of kentucky, where the echo river is navigable for three-quarters of a mile, where the roaring river raises its liquid voice, where lake lethe soothes to forgetfulness, and where there is a veritable styx with a nineteenth century charon. but although everything about that cave is colossal, it cannot surpass jenolan in its deep emotional effects, or in the admiration it evokes. indeed, in these respects an american visitor, familiar with the mammoth cave, has given the palm to jenolan. having descended the -feet ladder, the foot of which is clamped to a bare rock, the excursionist watches the guide hopping gleefully down, with candles in one hand and paraphernalia in the other. he then peers into the darkness to find the river, and is led along a gradual slope of about ten feet, when he comes to its margin without recognising it, and would possibly soon be up to his knees in it if he were not warned by his cicerone. it is apparently motionless, as smooth as a mirror, and so clear that at first it is difficult to believe there is any water there at all. you see the sand and pebbles and rocks at the bottom, but do not perceive the fluid which covers them. the river is about feet wide, and from to inches deep. the length visible is about yards. the overhanging rocks range from or feet to feet in height. from one end of the river comes a sweet soothing sound, made by water-friction. this proves the existence of a considerable current, but the fluid is so limpid and smooth that the eye cannot detect its motion. it is demonstrated, however, in another way. the curator cuts little sections of sperm candle, and, after lighting the wick, floats them on the river, whereupon they immediately begin to glide down the stream, the course of which is nearly south-east. the effect is extremely pretty. not only are the lights themselves sharply mirrored below, but there is a perfect reflection of the rocks above. near the tunnel by which the water emerges n.n.w. is a mass of overhanging formation, duplicated in a natural mirror. the bed of the watercourse is dark, being covered chiefly with mud and grit and a few water-worn pebbles. the rocky walls are of limestone--white and black. up the channel n.w., about yards, is a good crossing-place--not in old charon's boat, but by means of an ordinary deal plank. on the other side of the river is a ledge of rocks with pebble drift concreted with a substance somewhat resembling the cement in which diamonds are found, and the pebbles, although larger, are of the same shape and blackness as those commonly associated with the luminous gems found in their natural state at kimberley, in south africa, or in the tenterfield district of new south wales. on turning the light of the magnesium lamp up the river, its rocky ledges are seen to be ornamented with stalactites and formation perfectly mirrored in the water, which is about feet from the surface, and about below the level of the cave house in the centre of the valley. never had river more romantic barriers. human imagination could not conceive a freak of nature more wildly grand or mysteriously beautiful. there are large ornamented pillars near delicately-tinted formation, drooping from overhanging rocks, like pensile boughs of weeping willow. some of the twigs skim the surface of the stream, and others are bathed in it. beyond is a water-hole about feet long, and from to feet wide. because of its wonderful clearness, it is difficult to judge of its depth; but it has been tested to the extent of five feet, and probably at the extreme point where the water flows from the tunnel it may be six or seven feet deep. the effect of the brilliant light is superb. the ornamentation on the roof of the tunnel is reflected and transposed in the mirror below, each reflected stalactite having the appearance of a twin stalagmite rising from the river bed, which may be traversed for about yards. nearly six months ago the caretaker placed in this river twenty young carp from bathurst. some of them were enticed from their cavernous resting-places by the bright rays of the lamp, and appeared to be tolerably vivacious and in fair condition. they seem to have all they require except the solar rays; but what is life without sunshine! they ought to be scientifically observed, for there is a theory that in three generations of darkness they will become blind. this has been the fate of the fishes in the mammoth cave of kentucky, and it is stated that their blindness is the result of a law of nature, which does not continue to supply organs or powers which have ceased to be necessary. dr. forwood, in his history of the mammoth cave, says:--"the fishes are of a peculiar species, and are of a class known as viviparous, which give birth to their young alive, and do not deposit eggs after the manner of most other fishes. they have rudiments of eyes, but no optic nerve, and are, therefore, incapable of being affected by any degree of light.... it has been proved that these eyeless fishes prey upon each other. in shape they somewhat resemble the common catfish, and rarely exceed eight inches in length." professor silliman published the following in his "journal" for may :--"of the fish there are two species, one of which has been described by dr. wyman in the _american journal of science_, and which is entirely eyeless. the second species of the fish is not colourless like the first, and it has external eyes, which, however, are found to be quite blind. the crawfish, or small crustacea, inhabiting the rivers with fish are also eyeless and uncoloured; but the larger-eyed and coloured crawfish, which are abundant within the caves, are also common at some seasons in the subterranean rivers, and so also, it is said, the fish of the green river are to be found in times of flood in the rivers of the caves." dr. forwood gives also the following quotations, on the authority of professor agassiz, an eminent naturalist in the department of ichthyology:-- "the blind fish of the mammoth cave was for the first time described in in the 'zoology of new york,' by dr. dekay, part rd, page , under the name of 'amblyopsis spelæus,' and referred, with doubt, to the family of 'siluridæ,' on account of a remote resemblance to my genus cetopsis. dr. j. wyman has published a more minute description of it, with very interesting anatomical details, in vol. xlv. of the 'american journal of science and arts,' , page . "in , dr. tellkampf published a more extended description, with figures, in 'müller's archiv' for , and mentioned several other animals found also in the cave, among which the most interesting is the crustacean which he calls 'astacus pellucidus,' already mentioned, but not described, by mr. thompson, president of the natural history society of belfast. both thompson and tellkampf speak of eyes in these species, but they are mistaken. i have examined several specimens and satisfied myself that the peduncle of the eye only exists; but there are no visible facets at its extremity, as in other crawfish. "mr. thompson mentions, further, crickets, allied to 'phalangopsis longipes,' of which tellkampf says that it occurs throughout the cave. of spiders, dr. tellkampf found two eyeless, small white species, which he calls 'phalangodes armata' and 'anthrobia monmouthia'; flies, of the genus 'anthomyia'; a minute shrimp, called by him 'triura cavernicola'; and two blind beetles; 'anophthalmus tellkampfii' of erichson, and 'adelops hirtus;' of most of which dr. tellkampf has published a full description, and figures in a subsequent paper, inserted in erichson's 'archiv,' , p. . "the infusoria observed in the cave resemble 'monas kolpoda,' 'monas socialis,' and 'bodo intestinalis,'--a new chilomonas, which he calls 'ch. emarginata,' and a species allied to 'kolpoda cucullus.' "as already mentioned, dekay has referred the blind fish, with doubt, to the family of siluridæ. dr. tellkampf, however, establishes for it a distinct family. dr. storer, in his 'synopsis of the fishes of north america,' published in , in the 'memoirs of the american academy of arts and sciences,' is also of opinion that it should constitute a distinct family, to which he gives the new name of 'hypsæidæ,' page . from the circumstance of its being viviparous, from the character of its scales, and from the form and structure of its head, i am inclined to consider this fish as an aberrant type of my family of cyprinodonts." the effect of long-continued darkness upon visual organs has had some remarkable illustrations. at one time an idea prevailed in america that caves possessed certain curative properties, and afflicted people remained in them; but the absence of light proved disastrous to many. it is recorded that those patients "who remained in the cave three or four months presented a frightful appearance. the face was entirely bloodless, eyes sunken, and pupils dilated to such a degree that the iris ceased to be visible, so that, no matter what the original colour of the eye might have been, it soon appeared black." this subterranean river offers a fine opportunity for scientific observation well worthy to be embraced by some australian naturalist. in the vicinity of the river is to be noticed one of the few signs of decay to be found in the caves--a portion of shell pattern formation shows evidence of mouldering, and appears like a mere skeleton. when the visitor has ascended the ladder and safely negotiated the angle at the top, he feels that he has witnessed the most interesting place to be found in the western wonderland; and when he fishes for a compliment to his agility, and is reminded of the graceful forms that occasionally ascend and descend in much better style, he immediately recalls a patriarch's dream, and thinks the ladder ought to be named after jacob. chapter xxi. the fossil bone cave, the sparkling rock, and the crystal rock. about yards north from the ladder to the underground river is the entrance to the fossil bone cave. here is a stratum of coffee-coloured slatey substance in layers like those of the wianamatta shale. it is so soft that a gentle touch is sufficient to pulverise it. it is slightly honeycombed, and its outer surface is covered with imitations of delicate lichens. in this cave there is not anything in the shape of a stalagmite, except an empty brandy bottle on a little shelving rock, and that would be generally regarded as a bad substitute. for æsthetic as well as for other reasons, it would be better to keep such "stalagmites" out of the caves. on the top of a large rock is a mass of "washdirt," inches deep, with "headings" of about the same dimensions. some experienced diggers say they never saw more promising stuff. during the yellow fever from which so many suffered a few years ago, companies were floated on the strength of "claims" equally delusive. proverbially, "auriferous ground" is deceitful, and this "washdirt," which looks rich enough to make a prospector's eyes sparkle with delight, has proved to be as worthless as a lying prospectus. a portion of it was washed, but did not show the colour of gold. it remains, however, an object of interest, and may serve to teach a useful lesson. there are in this cave solid limestone rocks above and below. the roof is about feet beneath the surface of the mountain. in the bed of the cavern are many fossil bones. some appear to be remains of native dogs. in various rocks are clusters of bat bones. a very noticeable osseous object is the vertebra of a bird with one side-bone. there is no trace of the other. there are also many large bones, the cylindrical cavities of which are filled up with formation. some of these bones are deposited about eight feet from the bottom of the cave. on one ledge is a heap of bones, large and small. some of them are very fine specimens. the height of this cave is about feet, and its breadth from to feet. travelling from the passage leading to the fossil bone cave n.n.w. about yards, and passing through a cutting n.w. about yards, the visitor comes to "the sparkling rock." a cutting, five feet by two feet, forms the entrance to a spacious hall, where is seen the sparkling rock, large and shelving. the principal portion of it is slightly coloured, but the lower part is beautifully white. it is hung with large stalactites and fleecy pendants. some of the formation resembles sheepskins, with the woolly side outwards, thrown negligently over the ledges. from this point the course runs west about yards through a hall from to feet high, and from to feet wide, and thence north about yards to the crystal rock. about yards west from the sparkling rock, and by a road wide enough for a coach and four, there is a large upward shaft of about feet to the grotto cave, which, as previously stated, is between the helena and the lucinda caves in the left-hand branch. here the tourist gets a good idea of the way in which the two branches of the imperial cave are situated with regard to each other. the right-hand branch is the lower series. the left-hand branch is higher up in the interior of the mountain, and to the south-east, with the exception of the grotto cave, which is immediately overhead, and about feet from the sparkling rock. on the left-hand side of the passage, and about yards from the crystal rock, is a very pretty grotto of formation, with an overhanging ornamental mass like a canopy. up above, about feet, is the opening to an unexplored cave, the mouth of which is composed of solid shining rock, with white stalactites. there are also, round about, coloured stalactites varying in length from an inch to a couple of feet. the remainder of the passage is lofty and rugged. not far from the entrance to the crystal rock is the bottom of the shaft down which the curator was lowered from the coral cave (a sub-cavern of the elder cave) into the imperial, and on the wall this memorable event is duly recorded. here we read:--"these caves were discovered by jeremiah wilson." then follows a list of the names of persons who lowered the fearless curator down the black hole: "alfred whalan, thomas a. gread, jeremiah f. cashin, joseph read, nicholas delaney, ralph t. wilson, thomas pearson, heinrich neilzet, and william read." they were named "wilson's imperial caves" on february , . from this spot the sparkling rock is about yards n.n.e. it is about feet wide and about feet high. stalactitic formation descends from an angle in the roof, and rests on four or five finely coloured terraces which glitter all over as though they were covered with spangles. to the left of these terraces is a large basin with coral sides and a rim composed of three or four layers of shell-shaped pattern overlapping like fish scales, the rows being a little way apart from each other, and the intervening spaces filled with formation. the bottom of the basin is covered with very delicate ornamentation, deposited by water which has soaked through to a lower level. in the background is another rock, covered with similar formation, fringed with stalactites, and stalactites also descend to it from the roof. chapter xxii. the shawl cave. about yards from the sparkling rock is the shawl cave. it is approached through a passage from six to eight feet high and two to four feet wide, containing numerous small but pretty grottoes. the shawl cave is very interesting. to the left of the entrance is a grotesque pillar with little domes of snowy whiteness and masses of stalactite. the cave is about feet long, feet high, and from to feet wide. it contains three magnificent "shawls." one is feet long, inches deep, and one-sixth of an inch thick, and in the blending of colours represents tortoise-shell. the other two are not quite as large as the first-mentioned. they are straw-coloured, varied with rich brown. they hang at right angles from the side of a convex sloping roof, and the colouring runs from end to end in parallel lines, but the bands of colour vary in depth. for instance, the first piece of the shawl--say one inch and a half from the roof--may be pure white formation, of lime, or carbonate of lime coloured with oxide of iron which gradually becomes paler and paler. the next two inches may be light yellow, spotted with brown. the next strip may be fox-colour, and so on, until the design is completed. for the most part, the cave "shawls" are of uniform thickness, like sheets of opaque glass slightly corrugated transversely. the opposite wall is nearly perpendicular. at each end of the cave is a grotto. one is low down and gloomy-looking; the other lofty, going up into the roof and full of formation, some of which is like frost work. the stalactites are immense. from the further wall are sloping terraces, gradually enlarging towards the base underneath the hanging shawls. there are also some remarkable clumps of formation. one is like a giant's foot; another resembles the skull of a wolf, or of some other animal related to the canine tribe. about seven yards north from the shawl cave is a cavern feet broad, yards long, and from to feet high, the principal object in which is "the lady's finger." under a shelving rock fringed with stalactites of all the prevailing colours, and almost every variety of shape, the "finger" forms the extremity of a stalagmite about inches high, and similar in figure to a feminine forearm in a sleeve, with coral trimmings. the forearm is white, and the chubby hand is of a waxy-looking flesh colour. the thumb and the index finger point upward. according to the talmud, "man is born with his hands clenched, and dies with his hands wide open;" in reference to which one of the rabbinical sages remarks--"entering life he desires to grasp everything; leaving the world, all that he possessed has slipped away." this hand with the lady's finger, however, is not grasping, and it points upwards. the modern science of chiromancy, according to a. r. craig, m.a., in his interesting book "your luck is in your hand," divides hands into seven classes: " . the hand elementary, or hand with a large palm; . the hand necessary, or spatulated; . the hand artistic, or conical; . the useful or square hand; . the philosophical, or knotted hand; . the psychological, or pointed hand; . the mixed hand." it would be difficult to class the hand with "the lady's finger" in any of the foregoing divisions, and it would puzzle one skilled in palmistry, and who regards the human hand as a mirror of the mind, to use it even in the way phrenologists use the casts of bull-necked, animal-headed felons. the index finger is long, the pollex (thumb) is short; the medius (middle) is wanting, and so are the annularis (ring finger) and the auricularis (little finger), "so named by the romans because of its utility in cleansing the ear." the visitor, therefore, must not expect to find here a hand like a model of perfection on a greek statue; but he will see a remarkable alabaster extremity, sufficiently well formed to be called "the lady's finger." the rocky bank, which is coloured with several shades of brown, and veined with formation, is also flecked with white, like snow. at one end of the cave the view closes with long-sparkling stalactites--those nearest being brown and flesh-coloured. behind them is pure white formation which sets off to great advantage the beautifully-tinted stalactites sparsely scattered about the cave. the other end of the cavern gradually tones off to sombre rocks of grey and brown. at the end of the lady's finger cave is a charming grotto, and, above, the rocks are like fine coral in various shades of red and grey. inside the grotto are stalagmites thick at the base and with elegant stalactites resting on them. some are pure white, and others are covered with fine tracery. in front is a perfect stalactite which descends to within an inch of a perfect stalagmite just underneath it, and aptly illustrates the process of their growth. on the floor are pretty hillocks of somewhat dismal-looking matter which, on close inspection, is seen to be made of coralline figures and sparkling crystal atoms. in the foreground is a fine stalagmite, fitted all over with minute coral. this group, protected by wire netting, is specially interesting because it is unblemished. all round the approaches are little bunches of stalactites like epaulettes. after travelling west about nine yards, ascending five steps, and then proceeding yards north, the tourist arrives at a cave containing a very conspicuous column called "lot's wife." chapter xxiii. lot's wife. the alabaster pillar called "lot's wife" stands in solitary grandeur within a gloomy cave. its sombre surroundings are in harmony with the tragic old-world history recalled by the central figure. the nimble thought skips over ages and ages, and in the "mind's eye" appear the rich plains of siddim and the flowing jordan, and the fugitives and the lava, and the terrible climax. as the biblical record of the catastrophe is supposed to teach the folly of disobedience on the part of wives, and the perils of hankering after doubtful pleasures, the pillar which recalls it may be contemplated with advantage by newly-married couples, now that the caves are becoming a favourite resort of honeymooners. perhaps in time to come there may be religious services and solemnisation of matrimony in these fantastic subterranean caverns. it is related by dr. forwood, that a romantic marriage took place in the gothic chapel of the mammoth cave of kentucky, "which family interference prevented occurring _on_ the earth." he says: "the fair lady, whose lover was opposed by her parents, in a rash moment promised them that she would never marry her betrothed 'on the face of the earth.' afterwards, repenting of her promise, but being unable to retract and unwilling to violate it, she fulfilled her vow to her parents as well as to her lover by marrying him 'under the earth.'" how far the pillar in the caves is like that mentioned in the book of genesis it is impossible to say, because the latter has been neither minutely described nor photographed. josephus, the great historian of the wars and antiquities of the jews, and who was not born until about , years after lot's departure from sodom, says he saw it. his words are: "when lot went away with his two maiden daughters--for those who were betrothed to them were above the thoughts of going, and deemed that god's words were trifling--god then cast a thunderbolt upon the city, and set it on fire with its inhabitants.... but lot's wife continually turning back to view the city as she went from it, and being too nicely inquisitive what would become of it, although god had forbidden her to do so, was changed into a pillar of salt." and, he adds, "for i have seen it, and it remains to this day." it is to be regretted that he did not describe the pillar itself. a century later irenæus bore testimony to the existence of the pillar, and spoke of its lasting so long "with all its members entire." this would lead to the inference that the original pillar retained the shape of a female figure. if it did, then in this respect there is no similarity between the pillar of warning on the dead sea plain and the pillar in the jenolan caves. the latter is a pretty round column, about five feet four inches high, rounded off irregularly at the top, and built up in sections, which show separate growths, like divisions in the stem of a cabbage-tree palm, or the joints of a bamboo. it is probable, therefore, that there is not the slightest resemblance between the two pillars. bishop patrick thinks that some of the storm which overwhelmed the cities of the plain overtook lot's wife, "and falling upon her as she stood staring about, and minded not her way or guide, suddenly wrapped her body in a sheet of nitro-sulphurous matter, which, congealing into a crust as hard as stone, made her appear, they say, as a pillar of salt, her body being candied in it." it is about , years since the disobedient "help-meet" of the oriental squatter was fixed like a fly in amber, as a solemn warning to recalcitrant spouses for all time. had the first drip then fallen on to the mound in the jenolan caves where now stands "lot's wife"? query. the jenolan pillar is evidently of slow growth. each joint, which looks something like fine tallow, may, as the curator facetiously puts it, represent a century of "dripping." in this respect it is unlike the historic pillar whose name it bears. dr. kitto, in his very interesting "daily biblical illustrations," says in reference to the latter: "from the nature of the case, and from the peculiarly bituminous and saline character of the locality through which this phenomenon was produced, we must not expect to discover many parallel instances which might be quoted in illustration. accordingly we find that the illustrative parallels which have been diligently sought out by the old commentators have rarely any real bearing on the subject, being for the most part accounts of people frozen to death and long preserved in that condition uncorrupted in the boreal regions, or else of persons suffocated and then petrified by the mineral vapours of the caves in which they were hid, or otherwise of persons 'turned to stone,' and found generations after standing in the postures wherein they found their death. the only instance we have met with which seems appropriate, and which rests on the authority of a contemporary of fair credit, is related by aventinus, who states that in his time about country people, with their cows and calves, were, in carinthia, destroyed by strong and suffocating saline exhalations which arose out of the earth immediately upon an earthquake in . they were by this reduced to saline statues or pillars, like lot's wife, and the historian tells us that they had been seen by himself and the chancellor of austria." it was, perhaps, some such incident as this which gave to mr. haggard the idea as to how the kukuana people from time immemorial preserved their royal dead. he first of all described twala, the last of the kukuana kings, as in a limestone cave, with his head perched upon his knees and his vertebræ projecting a full inch above the shrunken flesh of the neck. "then," he says, "the whole surface of the body was covered by a thin glassy film caused by the dripping of lime-water. the body was being transformed into a stalactite." the antecedent kings were ranged around a table in this wonderful cave, and the author continues:--"a look at the white forms seated on the stone bench that ran around that ghastly board confirmed this view. they were human forms indeed, or rather had been human forms; now they were stalactites [stalagmites?]. this was the way in which the kukuana people had from time immemorial preserved their royal dead. they petrified them. what the exact system was, if there was any, beyond placing them for a long period of years under the drip, i never discovered; but there they sat, iced over and preserved for ever by the silicious fluid. anything more awe-inspiring than the spectacle of this long line of departed royalties, wrapped in a shroud of ice-like spar, through which the features could be dimly made out (there were of them, the last being ignosi's father), and seated round that inhospitable board, with death himself for a host, it is impossible to imagine. that the practice of thus preserving their kings must have been an ancient one is evident from the number, which, allowing for an average reign of years, would, supposing that every king who reigned was placed here--an improbable thing, as some are sure to have perished in battle far from home--fix the date of its commencement at four and a quarter centuries back. but the colossal death who sits at the head of the board is far older than that, and, unless i am much mistaken, owes his origin to the same artist who designed the three colossi. he was hewn out of a single stalactite [stalagmite?], and, looked at as a work of art, was most admirably conceived and executed." there is nothing suggestive of anything so hideous as this in the jenolan caves. "lot's wife," as she appears there, is as straight down as a "shaker," without the slightest suspicion of artificial "improvement." nor does the pillar correspond with the result of more recent discovery made by an american expedition to the dead sea, and in reference to which dr. kitto says:--"the course of their survey could hardly fail to bring under notice every marked object upon either shore, and one they did find, an obviously natural formation, which--or others in former times like it--might readily be taken by persons unaccustomed to weigh circumstances with the precision we are now accustomed to exact, for the pillar of lot's wife. among the salt mountains of usdum (an apparent transposition of sodom), on the west side of the kind of bay which forms the southern extremity of the dead sea, the party beheld, to their great astonishment, while beating along the shore, a lofty round pillar, standing, apparently detached from the general mass, the head of a deep, narrow, and abrupt chasm. they landed, and proceeded towards this object over a beach of soft slimy mud, encrusted with salt, and at a short distance from the water, covered with saline fragments and flakes of bitumen. the pillar was found to be of solid salt, capped with carbonate of lime, _cylindrical in front_ and _pyramidal behind_." the italics are the doctor's. it is not novel to say that history repeats itself; but it is questionable whether among the fashionable inhabitants of the cities of the plain in the days of lot the modern crinolette was a feminine artifice of that worthless time. according to the koran, lot's wife, waila, was in confederacy with the men of sodom, and used to give them notice when any strangers came to lodge with him "by a sign of smoke by day and of fire by night." in this regard the pillar at jenolan may be regarded as a warning, and not as suggestive of anything, except, perhaps, the lesson conveyed by the apocrypha, in the book of wisdom x. , where there is a reference to lot's wife, "of whose wickedness even to this day the west land that smoketh is a testimony, and plants bearing fruits that never come to ripeness; and the standing pillar of salt is a monument of an unbelieving soul." is it not a pity that so beautiful a column in the most wonderful caves ever made by nature should have been associated with so much that is off-colour? true, it is itself a little crooked and irregular, but these characteristics are accounted for by its peculiar formation. it has not been produced in the ordinary way by drippings from one stalactite, but, contrary to rule, owes its origin and development to two small stalactites in the roof. consequently, its growth has been continually warped. it is, however, a beautiful feature of the imperial cave, and may teach many useful lessons to persons of observation and _nous_. [illustration: the crystal city.] chapter xxiv. the crystal cities--the show-room and the grand stalactites. from "lot's wife" to "the crystal cities" is about yards north, through a hall from to feet high. on the right-hand side is a concrete wall, which rises about inches from the floor, to protect the "cities" from dust raised by the tramping of feet. at the end of this concrete wall is a descent of two steps, which brings visitors in full view of the exquisitely beautiful cave, in which there is a group of dazzling lilliputian cities, whose buildings are of crystallized lime. the streets appear to be thronged with minute figures "---- no bigger than an agate stone on the forefinger of an alderman." the sight recalls the man mountain and the wonderful land of lilliput, upon which lemuel gulliver was cast, where cavalry exercised on the palm of his hand, and infantry marched abreast between his legs, which were stretched out like those of a colossus. imagination can supply the palace of belfaborac in the metropolis of lilliput, surrounded by myriads of tiny statuettes, representing the kingdom in which raged no less than six rebellions, excited by an imperial decree that eggs should be broken only at the smaller end, whereas it had been from time immemorial an article of faith that they should be broken only at the larger end, and notwithstanding that their book of faith and morals required only that all true believers should break their eggs at the "convenient end." there is no evidence in these crystal cities, however, of any rival factions corresponding to the "big-endians" and the "little-endians" of lilliput. the figures are crowded together like masses of people before a hustings or at a cricket match, and the effect is passing strange. they have been formed by water which has been retained for a time in natural basins and then gradually percolated through the floor, possibly to enter into the composition of crystal cities in other sparkling caves. in this respect they resemble the basins previously described. the crystallization formed in still water, or in water which moves only downwards, passing slowly through the floor as through a dripstone, is always characterized by extreme delicacy and elaboration. the contrast between the "lot's wife" crypt and this is as great as the distinction between the dead sea and the garden of eden; between gustave doré's illustrations of purgatory and paradise; between milton's l'allegro and his il penseroso; between the pink and white terraces which until recently were the delight of new zealand tourists, and the eruptive mask of scoria which now covers their charms. in this remarkable cave several distinctive features are presented. the central horizontal line is well defined by an overhanging ledge, from which hang some splendid stalactites. several of them are of extraordinarily large size, elegant form, and delicate colour. one, of pure white, on the left-hand side of the cave, rests on the head of a sturdy stalagmite which has grown from the middle of a mass of rocks, sloping down to the base. a little to the right are two twin stalactites, caricatures of the stretched out scraggy legs of some very-long-cold-and-hungry man, and the most prominent central figures of the ledge are two conical pieces tapering off to fine points, like mammoth icicles. above this ledge the formation of lime on the dark rugged wall and roof resembles fleecy clouds in an angry sky. below, running back into the mountain, are the crystal cities, fenced in with corrugated sparkling walls coped with shell-formation. a little beyond is another wall of a similar kind, also gracefully curved in obedience to natural laws, for nature loves curves and wages perpetual war against straight lines. in the distance are five or six other mural divisions. the central one is gracefully bent like the letter s, but not quite so much rounded at the ends. between the outer wall and the rest is an open pear-shaped space, in which are four small domes and two conspicuous figures. the principal of these is "the queen's statue," a pleasing stalagmitic form of pure alabaster, about inches in height, and standing on a pedestal of white, shading off to brown. it does not require much imaginative power to see in this image a representation of some royal personage clad in ermine robes. the proportions are good, and the pose is exceedingly graceful. near to the queen's statue is another notable stalagmitic object, formed in three sections, indicating periods of rest between. first there is a foundation of white limestone formation. then there is a columnar growth of a few inches, with a distinct joint between it and the base. superposed is a dome-shaped summit, not unlike the back of a human head of that kind which phrenologists call "intellectual;" and between this and the lower portion is another well-defined joint at the nape of the neck. it is peculiar, but not regal, in appearance. the topographical aspect of the crystal cities is something like that presented by a bird's-eye view of a piece of country, in which everything is much foreshortened, as in the case of the katoomba colliery and mining township in the depths of the kanimbla valley, when seen from a cliff , feet overhead. giant eucalypti are dwarfed to the proportions of pot plants. tall tree ferns resemble starfish. stalwart workmen are reduced to pigmies, and the railway seems like the double line at the foot of an account in a ledger. the various walls in the cave are supposed to encompass separate cities. the old english idea of a "city" is an incorporated place, with a cathedral and a bishop. in america all incorporated towns with a mayor and aldermen are spoken of as cities. but modern cities are not walled like those in the caves. the latter accord more with ancient cities which were intramural. for "cities" are ancient. cain built one. walled cities were numerous in the land of canaan. but from the cities of the plain to the apocalyptic city of gold, with foundations garnished with all manner of precious stones, it would be difficult to imagine anything more brilliant and sparkling than the crystal cities of the jenolan caves. passing from the crystal cities to "the show-room," about yards north, several charming features present themselves for admiration, among which are conspicuous a glittering cascade, terraces of warm brown colour, reticulated; and also a pure white, delicately-made shawl hanging from the roof. the height of the crypt is about four feet, and its breadth feet. the floor is mitred at the side, and between the shell borders are little forests of figures. some elegant doric shafts extend from the floor to the roof, which is adorned by many sparkling stalactites. the show-room itself is a marvel of beauty. its name indicates that it is a place of splendid exhibits, and it is appropriate. the cavern is feet high, feet wide, and about yards long. some of its principal features are remarkable for their elegance, and the most striking figure is distinguished by classic grace. it is a stalactite of purest white, seven or eight feet long, and from a little distance seems as smooth and round as though it had been turned in a lathe. it tapers very gradually, and its termination, which is thickened a little, rests on a stalagmite equally symmetrical, but formed in sections, each layer--of which there are about a dozen--indicating separate periods of formation and times of rest. this peculiar stalagmite stands on a dome marked by similar lights and shades. it is the centre of many varieties of cave ornamentation. for the most part the stalagmites are dumpy and poor, but there are numerous shelving platforms hung round with gorgeous stalactites, and above them are pieces of intricate formation, both floral and coral, of different classes of excellence. there are magic haunts and silent chambers with coruscations like twinkling stars on a "moon-deserted night." nature has cast over the whole of this cave a spell of exquisite beauty. [illustration: the show-room.] near to the show-room is the cave of "the grand stalactites." it is only about feet by feet, but its massive grandeur is so impressive that the pleasure it produces is "akin to pain." some of the stalagmites are enormous. their summit is lost in the masses of huge stalactites which depend from the roof, and they rest on beautiful brown terraces and mounds, covered with scintillating reticulation. the elephantine stalagmites, like the stalactites which hang between and about them, and in several instances descend nearly to their base, are of dazzling whiteness. the massive pillars are so close together that the intervening spaces look like columns of jet, and thus we have "buttress and buttress alternately framed of ebon and ivory." the majesty of this cave haunts you. when the magnesium lamp is extinguished and thick darkness once more casts its veil over the magnificent scene, the vision of beauty dwells in the mind like a memory which stirs the depths of the soul. chapter xxv. the fairies' bower. a few paces only from "the show-room" is "the fairies' bower," rich in grotesque lines and mystic crypts, in the purity of the formation which decorates it, and in delicacy of tints and shades. in the midst is a peculiarly-shaped stalactitic pillar resting on a dome, and which may be regarded as the pixies' trysting-place. then there are the "diamond walls," covered with millions of gems, each of which, as it flashes through the gloom, sparkles like "a rich jewel in an ethiop's ear," or, like the very obtrusive french paste "drops" which, on her "sunday out," light up the auricular organs of mary jane. it is noticeable that the walls are not of the formation which is diamantiferous. there is nothing suggestive of the diamond beds on the banks of the ganges, the gem mines of brazil, the rich fields of south africa, or even the more recently-discovered diamond-bearing districts of bingera, mudgee, or new england, in new south wales. there is not any gravel-drift, and the reflected light displays neither diamantine lustre nor play of colours; but, nevertheless, there is great brilliancy. it suggests, however, not so much the glories of the koh-i-noor or the splendours of the orloff, in the russian imperial sceptre, as the glitter of spangles on the dress of the acrobat. the selina cave. north-west from the diamond walls is a gallery to the selina cave. midway, or about yards from the junction at the diamond walls, is "cook's grotto," named after mr. samuel cook, of marrickville. it is a lovely nook, with stalactites of rare purity and beauty. this grotto is about five feet high and from to feet wide. in front is a conical sloping rock with a waxy-looking reticulated surface; and the grotto itself is filled with stalactites as white as the foam of an ocean billow dashed upon the rocks of an iron-bound coast. between two of the principal stalactites is a fine "shawl" or "scarf," made of the purest meerschaum. over the grotto is some pretty formation, and round about are many coloured stalactites, which make a striking contrast. to the left is a splendid alabaster stalagmite, semi-transparent, like camphor, and the little stalactites above, from which it has been formed, are of similar character, being slightly opalescent, and without any stellar reflection of light. the selina cave, yards north of cook's grotto, is about feet high, yards long, and feet wide. it is named in honour of the wife of the hon. e. b. webb, m.l.c., of bathurst, and in recognition of the interest in the caves taken by the webb family from time to time. the walls are heavily laden with ornament. there is on the right hand side a lavish supply of variously-coloured stalactites. a large mass of formation has flowed from the fore part of the ceiling to the left, and assumed all sorts of graceful and fantastic shapes, until it reaches a shell pattern composite dwarf wall on the floor, about a foot thick at the base, and thinning off to about an inch at the top. the best of the stalactites are objects of great curiosity on account of the peculiar way in which they are embellished by small gnarled and twisted projections, and protuberances like miniature stalactitic protea in every conceivable kind of tortuosity. in front of the cave is a magnificent stalagmite called "lot." it is about feet high and two feet in diameter, and may be supposed to represent the patriarch after his capture by the confederate monarchs who made war against the kings of the cities of the plain. it is rather large, but then it is recorded--"there were giants in those days." it is not on record why this particular column is called "lot." perhaps it was thought that the briny tears shed by the son of haran on account of the loss of his wife would be sufficient to make a second pillar of salt of similar dimensions. the roof opening into the cave is adorned with stalactites, and on the floor there are besides "lot" two other remarkable stalagmites, which may be taken to represent members of his family. in shape they are probably quite as representative as noachian figures of mesdames shem, ham, and japhet, that give variety to the contents of those wonderful arks which are supposed to convey to the juvenile mind the principal incidents associated with the deluge. the roof opening into the cave is adorned with splendid stalactites, and among these is a beautiful white "shawl." the floor is composed partly of handsome basins, on the bottom and sides of which is elegant crystallization. in one corner of the roof some rich colouring sets off pure snowflakes done in lime. among the stalactites and stalagmites are some exceedingly grotesque figures. there is also a little tablet, "selina cave, feb. , ." [illustration: the mystery.] the mystery. from the "selina cave" to "the mystery" is about yards north. in the gallery leading to this wondrous cavern may be noticed a number of small testaceous shells resembling those of cockles, embedded in the walls. the cave itself is rightly named, because of the wonder it excites by its sublimity. the spectator is first fascinated by its magnificence, and then puzzled to account for the many peculiarities and eccentricities of form which present themselves. it is an enigma. some of the conformations appear more like the expression of vagrant fancies than the result of inanimate natural forces. florid stalactites and floriferous rocks have become almost commonplace objects, and the visitor by this time is nearly satiated with limestone beauty; but here he finds new marvels written in mystic characters, which can be deciphered only by long and patient study. the cavern is about feet high, from to feet wide, and about yards in length. it consists of two parts. on one side is an immense mass of delicate white and rich cream-coloured formation, with numerous giant stalactites, which in purity rival virgin snow. smaller stalactites in great profusion, are of the most perfect whiteness. but in the midst of the masses of formation are most wonderfully-contorted tubes and threads and thousands of fine lines, some like hairs and others like spun glass. there is filagree work of the most _recherché_ kind. some of the threads are as fine as the filaments of a spider's web, but twisted and turned in a more subtle manner. some of the stalactites are decorated in the same mysterious way, their hirsute covering being partly pellucid and partly opaque. on the other side of the cave is a similar wonder, which still further illustrates the mysterious operations of nature, and shows with what affluence she can adorn, and how fertile are her resources. [illustration: nellie's grotto.] nellie's grotto. about yards north-west from "the mystery" is "nellie's grotto," named in honour of mrs. carruthers, of sydney, who visited the cave shortly after its discovery. this grotto varies from one to five feet in height, and is about feet from end to end. its beauty is bold and striking. its chief features are taken in at a glance, and its general effect is unique. in the foreground on the right hand side is a pillar of great thickness and apparent strength, standing on a gracefully waved and rippled mound. about half of this column is stalagmitic, and was formed at different rates of speed, as may be noticed from its uneven bulk and the shape of the sections which enlarge upwards. each succeeding portion belongs to a separate epoch commencing on a smaller circumference, until it imitates in shape its predecessor; and then the process is again repeated. the stalagmitic part of the pillar ends at about the centre of the column, and is out of the perpendicular, like the leaning tower of pisa. from the shape of the upper section, it seems as though three or four stalactites of about equal thickness, but of various lengths, had been closely cemented together. altogether this pillar is a very bold and beautiful object. at the other end of the grotto are two columns composed in a somewhat similar manner, but of much smaller dimensions. they also rest on blocks of formation, and are surrounded by a number of splendid stalactites, some of which descend half way and others to the base. between these two extremities, there are on the floor about a dozen little cones of white matter like sugar-loaves, but not so smooth. on four of them rest the points of magnificent tapering stalactites, straight from the roof of the grotto, and in a line with these and the two extreme columns are stalactites of various lengths, some plain and some richly ornamented. the interior of the grotto is also enriched with similar kinds of beauty. a little distance away to the left is to be seen on another bold rocky ledge a second series of small stalactites, suggestive of the commencement of another grotto similar to that which now wins so much admiration. there is also a very remarkable stalagmitic formation which resembles a wax candle burning before a shrine of purity. it is with reluctance that the tourist turns from this lovely grotto and wends his way towards "the vestry." he feels as though he could hardly refrain from taking a last fond look, even though he should run the risk of being converted into a limestone pillar. chapter xxvi. the vestry, the jewel casket, the bridal veil, and the flowering column. about yards north of nellie's grotto is "the vestry," a cavern about feet high, feet wide, and feet in length. it is called the vestry, because of its propinquity to some very fine cathedral-like architecture, and not because any minister requires it to robe himself in, or because it is used for the meetings of any parochial assembly. this vestry runs east and west, and there is here a large area of unexplored caves. indeed, it may be said that there are in almost every part of the mountain openings which indicate the possibility of the existence of new and lovely caverns. it is also probable that in process of time it will be found that all the principal chambers are connected by passages which by a little enlargement may make intercavernous communication complete between all the best known caves. that this is likely may be gathered from an incident which occurred a few months ago. there were then at the cave house four black cats, slightly marked with white. on being petted, the playful animals would not only purr their thanks, but also follow like dogs. one day the most venturesome of them went with a party into the lucas cave, and travelled with them a considerable distance before it was missed, and then it was thought that it had returned to the daylight. in the evening, however, it was not in its accustomed place on the hearthrug, and about the middle of the following day it was discovered in the imperial cave on the other side of the grand arch! the attention of the party was attracted by the doleful cries of the animal, which had by that time realised the fact that it had lost itself in a dangerous place. some doubt might have existed as to the identity of the cat found in the imperial with that lost in the lucas cave, had it not been that with the party that took it in were two boys, who had carried it now and then, and permitted its extremities once or twice to come in contact with their lighted tapers. they were able to identify it by "the drips of sperm on its back, its burnt whisker, and the singe on the tip of its tail!" thus a very interesting fact was established which but for the accidental brandings would have been doubtful. the visitor returns to the fairies' bower and the grand stalactites junction; and about yards north-west from the junction he arrives at the crystal palace, which is fenced in by wire-netting in order to protect its marvellous grandeur from that class of sightseers who appear to be unable to look at anything except they can place their unwashed paws upon it--in which case impressions are mutual. there are three distinct types of beauty in this palace--the simple, the compound, and the elaborately complex. the simple forms are extremely massive. to call them "pretty" would be to convey an entirely erroneous idea of their quality. the stalagmitic features are immense. one of them is a gigantic pillar, built up in sections from an enormous basement on a rocky mound, over which it has flowed like milk-white lava. about a foot or so above the crest of the rock it is several feet thick, and at one time its upper surface formed a disc or table. on this flat top was gradually formed another white mass of somewhat smaller proportions, tapering towards the top, or second platform, from which rises another stalagmitic section, expanding from the base, and this process is repeated to the very summit, so that the beautiful white pillar has a serrated appearance. for unsullied whiteness and peculiarity of structure it will bear favourable comparison with the most remarkable pillars in the cave. near to it is another pyramidal-shaped mass of even greater bulk, which tapers as it rises towards the stalactitic formation, and harmonises with it in grandeur. from the right hand side of the base another and smaller stalagmite rears its head, and immediately above it, and to the right of it, are masses of formation hanging like stalactites of various lengths, and bound together in solid but graceful combination. farther still to the right is an immense stalactite, shaped like the body of a kingfish minus its tail. the floor of this part of the palace is also very attractive, by reason of its graceful curves and undulations, and miniature rippled terraces. the more complex part of the palace to the left begins with a magnificent piece of shawl formation, from the lower end of which depends a splendid stalactite. the shawl is draped at an angle of about - / degrees, and in a line with its principal portion the wall is hung with marvellous stalactites, one of which is of great length, and clear as crystal. then there is a cavernous place, from the shades of which emerge rounded masses of white formation, fringed with myriads of stalactites. from behind these the same kind of ornamentation is repeated again and again until a ledge of rocks is reached, which slopes down to a marvellously beautiful stalagmite several feet high, and which rises from the floor immediately underneath the stalactite at the end of the shawl before mentioned. the general impression left by this part of the palace is that its grandeur is different from that which distinguishes other portions of the caves, but it would be as difficult to say in what the peculiarity consists as it would be to describe the general appearance presented by different turns of a kaleidoscope. the most intricate part of the palace is distinctive enough to leave a separate memory. the wall is covered with masses of brilliantly white formation, with stalactites all about them, some short, some long, some tapering like icicles, some straight like pipe-stems; most of them pellucid, and some like iridescent glass. some of the "shawls" are delicately tinted, and present a charming appearance. there are deep brown and delicate fawn-coloured banks, which seem as though they were covered with a stony network. little caves at the sides are partly filled with drifts of glistening snow. some of the ledges are covered with white stucco, with delicate fringes. many of the stalactites are charged with water, and the drops coquette with the light and rival the glitter on the walls. there are stately and elegant shafts of alabaster from floor to ceiling, coloured stalactites and stalagmites nearly meeting. at every glance the eye is pleased with new and curious forms and rich combinations of colour. masses of the formation are fringed with contorted threads and pipes, and on the foreground are some curiously-shaped masses like snow, with delicate frost work and projections like frosted hairs all over their surface. these are for the most part opaque, but the predominant features are crystal. the distance from the crystal palace to the jewel casket is about yards north-west, through a hall about feet high and about feet wide. the casket itself is a horizontal fissure in the rocks, about feet by , filled with brilliants of various hues. its splendour is enchanting. overhanging stalactites guard the casket, and form as it were bars of alabaster, opal and crystal, and through the spaces may be seen many different varieties of crystallization. the floor is carpeted with jewels, set off with sparkling masses like frozen snow. some of the gems are white like diamonds, some coloured like cairngorms, and other varieties of rock crystal of even more delicate tints, and numbers of them are clear and translucent. some of the ornamentation is of a rich brown. the impression produced is that nothing could possibly be more brilliant and entrancing than this rich casket; and yet, remembering how many times previously he has come to the same conclusion and subsequently found he had miscalculated the magnificence still in reserve, the visitor hesitates to accept the jewel casket as the _ne plus ultra_ of cave magnificence. then there is the bridal veil, about feet by feet--a wonderful piece of delicate tracery imitating fine lace--not _écru_, but white as the fairest emblem of a blameless life. here are numerous terraces in deep brown and fawn colour covered with spangles which glitter like broken-up moonbeams on the wavelets of a summer sea or the phosphorescence which, in the wake of a ship, mocks the stars. the flowering column comes next--a huge mass of formation feet high, branching off into all sorts of shapes graceful and grotesque. it is about eight feet wide in the centre, of a rich brown colour shading off to a brighter and lighter hue. this pillar is covered with remarkable little figures like flowers natural and fanciful, and near to it is a series of imitation cascades in regular sequence which simulate so much natural force that they might be taken as an illustration in lime of "how the waters come down at lodore." these cataracts or waterfalls are now for the most part dry; but at one time the supply of liquid or semi-liquid limestone, of which they are formed, must have been very abundant. chapter xxvii. how caves are made--the work of ages. there remain now to be described but four of the caves ordinarily frequented by visitors. these are "the garden palace," "the stalagmite cave," "the gem of the west," and "the fairies' retreat," with "the queen's diamonds." but, as already intimated, it is impossible to foretell what visions of loveliness may be disclosed by future explorations. quite recently the curator has wormed his way into another splendid cave of large dimensions and great beauty. an opening of about eight feet leads to a small chamber feet wide and from four to eight feet high. the floor is pure and sparkling. there are some very pretty stalactites and pieces of formation hanging from the roof, with transparent pipes and straws terminating in little hair-like projections. from this cave there is a passage inches by inches high and then inches high by inches wide, extending about feet, and opening on to a room with a floor of velvet-like coral. as the foot rests on it the sensation resembles that produced by walking on a new brussels carpet, or stepping on a frosted lawn of buffalo grass, which slightly crunches beneath the feet. this cavern is about feet by feet, and from feet to feet high. from it there is a fall of about feet, opening into another chamber, to the left of which is a pretty fimbriated tray, feet by feet, filled with little knobs of formation, with points so sharp that any pressure of the hand would cause pain. these nodes and points are almost as clear and spotless as the drops of a glass chandelier before they have been converted into fly-walks. then there is another tray or basin with looped edges containing crystals which are a little "off colour;" and yet another, with escalloped border and formation of a milky hue--that is, pure milky--opaque white, not cerulean blue. this basin is about feet by feet. the roof immediately over the basin is like delicate coral. to the right is a sort of illusion representing solidified water round about black limestone pebbles. this crystal has been formed by a run of water from a rock, the summit of which is about feet away, and which slopes down from the wall at an angle of about degrees. the sloping rock is beautifully reticulated and marked by curved lines, which gradually diminish towards the base, where the formation changes to nodules and curiously-formed, irregular combinations of the preceding figures massed together. from the ceiling descend various formations of cave decoration, some clear as the skin of a mayfair beauty at her first ball, others of a delicate fawn colour, and the remainder tinged with oxide of iron. there is a range from the delicate lily of the valley to the rough bronze of the muscular navvy, not to speak of the dusky brown of the unwashed sundowner who arrives at a "station" when "the shades of night are falling fast," and whose motto is not "excelsior." the next chamber is about feet by feet, at the end of a slight declivity as white as snow. it is in the form of an ordinary retort, and is succeeded by another chamber of somewhat similar contour, the principal ornamentation being on the floor. thence the course is upwards, and the most attractive formation is from the roof. the stalactites are in clusters, and for the most part small. some of them are like twigs, but clear as a limpid stream. here also are stalagmites about nine inches high, formed on the ends of huge rocks. in addition to these are other smaller stalagmites near to a hole about feet deep, and on the floor are fossil remains. in this hole are passages unexplored. hard by is a pretty "shawl" hanging from the roof, and beyond it a rock about three feet high, the edge of which is covered with a fine substance like down, which, when blown upon, flies about like the winged seeds of thistles. descending from this cavern, about yards through a narrow passage, there is a steep fall of nearly feet, which leads to a chamber, the roof of which is about feet high. on the right hand side of this cave are some very white shawl pattern formations and stalactites, and to the left are fine shawls, clear as glass, from four to eight feet long, and from to inches deep. just beyond is a crisp, velvety floor, like that which characterises a chamber previously described, but not of the same colour. this floor is in some parts very red, as though it had been coloured with clay, and other parts are like glass stained with red ochre. the stalactites are thin, and formed in all sorts of peculiar shapes. the floor is uncommon, being of a piebald character, appearing as though buckets of solution of lime had been cast upon it, in the midst of some large stalactites that give character to the cave, which is about feet by feet. passing on you come to a pretty chamber ornamented with stalactites, composed mostly of yellow crystal. the cave then runs nobody at present knows where. there are unexplored chambers all around. this cave is named after the government geologist, and is to be known as the wilkinson cave. mr. c. s. wilkinson has contributed some valuable matter to cave literature. his account of the jenolan caves, written for the government, contains several beautiful passages bearing upon the physical and chemical agencies at work in the formation of limestone caverns. and here it may be interesting to refer to one or two other authorities also on the same subject. dr. wright, an american scientist, says, "there can be no doubt that the solvent action of water holding carbonic acid in solution" is the primary agency concerned in the formation of limestone caves. "limestone," he says, "is not soluble in water until it combines with an additional proportion of carbonic acid, by which it is transformed into the bicarbonate of lime. in this way the process of excavation is conducted until communication is established with running water, by which the mechanical agency of that fluid is made to assist the chemical. little niches and recesses, which seem to have been chiselled out and polished by artificial means, were formed in this manner; for when these points are strictly examined, a crevice will be observed at the top or at the back of them, through which water issued at the time of their formation, but which has been partially closed by crystals of carbonate of lime or gypsum." dr. wright, referring to the different conditions and different periods of cave formation, says:--"the sulphate of lime, which is known under the name of gypsum, plaster of paris, selenite, alabaster, etc., exerts a much greater influence in disintegrating rock than the sulphate of soda. the avenues in which gypsum occurs are perfectly dry, differing in this respect from those that contain stalactites. when rosettes of alabaster are formed in the same avenue with stalactites, the water which formed the latter has for ages ceased to flow, or they are situated far apart, as the former cannot form in a damp atmosphere." mr. wilkinson also alludes to separate periods of formation in connection with the jenolan caves. he says:--"there appear to have been two distinct periods during which stalactitic growth formed; one of comparatively remote age, and very local in character, being chiefly confined to the caves known as the lurline and bone caves; and another but recent and still in operation. the older growth is essentially of a stalactitic type, and the stalactites are remarkably thick, though in one or two cases a huge stalagmite is to be seen. the newer growth exhibits every fantastic and beautiful form known, from the thin hollow reed and transparent veil to the snow-white dome stalagmites, the crystal-fringed pool, the wave-lined floor, and the crooked-fringed shapes that are turned in all directions." but there is one passage in mr. wilkinson's account which takes us far beyond the time when the limestone mountains were formed, and describes a complete circle of natural transmutation and reproduction, and which may be appropriately quoted in connection with the cave which bears his name. here it is:--"first, the decaying vegetation of some ancient forest is invisibly distilling the gas known as carbonic acid; then a storm of rain falls, clearing the air of the noxious gas, and distributing a thousand streamlets of acid water over the surrounding country, and which, as it drains off, not only wears the rocks it passes over, but dissolves them in minute quantities, especially such as contain much lime, and then, laden with its various compounds, flows off to the distant sea, where reef corals, lying in fringing banks round the coast, are slowly absorbing the lime from the water around them, and building the fragile coatings that protect them during life. slowly as the land sinks the coral bank increases in height, for reef corals can only live near the surface of the water; and soon a considerable thickness has been obtained; while below the upper zone of live corals lies a vast charnel-house of dead coral coverings; then comes a change; suitable temperature, or some other essential condition, fails, killing out all the corals, and through long ages other deposits accumulate over them, gradually crushing and consolidating the coral bank into a firm rock. at last a convulsion of the earth's crust brings it up from the buried depth in which it lies, leaving it tilted on its edge, but still, perhaps, below the surface of the ground; rain, frost, and snow slowly remove what covers it, until it lies exposed again to the sunlight, but so changed that but for the silent but irresistible testimony of the fossil forms of which it is composed, it were hard to believe that this narrow band of hard grey rock was once the huge but fragile coral bank glistening in the bright waters with a thousand hues. and now the process is repeated; the decaying vegetation of the surrounding forest produces the carbonic acid, the rains spread it over the ground, which is now the most favourable for being dissolved, and the consequence is that the acid water saturates itself with the limestone rock, and whenever the least evaporation takes place, has to deposit some of its dissolved carbonate of lime in one of the many stalactitic forms, before it can flow off to the sea and distribute its remaining contents to fresh coral banks. thus the old coral reef melts away far inland, and the lime that formed the coatings of its corals is again utilised for the same purpose. what a simple succession of causes and effects, and yet before the circle is completed long ages of time have come and gone; and what a fine example of the balance between the waste and reproduction that takes place in nature!" and thus the diurnal motion of the earth and its annual journey round the solar circle, as well as the repetitions of history, have impressive geological analogies. how many hearts have begun to beat--how many have throbbed with passion and ambition, and waxed cold as an extinct volcano in the years required to form a small stalactite? how many ages have come and gone since the jenolan caves were coral reefs in the azure sea? chapter xxviii. the garden palace--the stalagmite cave and the gem of the west. the "garden palace," about yards north from the flowering column, is remarkable for the beauty of its proportions and the charming grace of its arches and dome. it has on the left hand side a magnificent stalactite descending from the roof, and coming to a fine point on the top of a stalagmite, which rises a short distance from the floor. there are also many other stalactites and stalagmites of rare proportions. near to it is a fascinating little crypt that can be peered into from a small aperture in the wall of the passage, which is here about feet wide and feet high. this part of the "palace" is about feet by feet inches and about inches high. there is no association about this portion to vividly recall the elegant building which adorned the inner domain, or even the grandeur of its ruins, which the fierce flames could not consume. it is simply a charming little peepshow filled with the most dainty specimens of crystallization, the purest stalactites, and the most elaborate decoration. in front is a stalagmite called the "prince's statue." most of the stalactites are transparent. the stalagmites are white as snow, and some of them sparkle with an external coating like hoar-frost. there are small globular pieces covered with tubular spikes, like those of the echinus, but as fine as the stings of bees or the antennæ of butterflies. in the centre is a little colour of a roseate hue, and the most prevalent forms resemble transparent flowers and plants which rival the skill of the glass-blower, and surpass the most delicate work of the artificer in gold and silver. this crypt is like a dreamland treasure-house filled with spoils of art and fancy. the stalagmite cave and the "gem of the west" are about yards north of the garden palace, through a hall about feet high and feet wide. the stalagmites are magnificent, and the walls are adorned with glittering formation of delicate tracery. there are some fine specimens of stalactites, and the distance between two of them has been carefully measured with a view to accurate observation as regards the rate of future growth. not far from these are some remarkable stalagmites, formed on and about a sugar-loaf-shaped mound. the uppermost one, which appears incomplete--not having yet received its apex--is composed of five sections. another close by is formed of eight or nine sections, and one lower down of about the same number of distinct portions. like some other stalagmites already described, their individual sections represent separate periods of formation and of rest. [illustration: the alabaster column.] one of the most beautiful of the large stalagmites in the caves is the alabaster column. [illustration: the gem of the west.] the "gem of the west" is in every respect worthy of its name. it is one of the most attractive caves in the series, and calls forth expressions of delight the moment it is illuminated by a magnesium lamp. it is carefully protected by wire netting, and retains all its pristine loveliness. it occupies but a small space, being seven or eight feet high by about five feet wide. there is a considerable amount of formation on the roof, extending down the wall to the ledge of a rock, the flat under-surface of which forms the roof of the cave. from it descend numbers of stalactites of various lengths, as clear as crystal. in between these are numerous small glass-like ornaments, and here and there are little rifts filled with a substance like drifted snow and sleet. the stalactites are not all clear; some of them resemble alabaster, and their shapes are very grotesque. many are straight as reeds; some are bulbous, and several are combinations of straight pipe and bulb. a few have grown obliquely, but many of the smaller ones are contorted in the most extraordinary manner. on the other side is a formation like a miniature niagara, with "wild shapes for many a strange comparison," and forms of exquisite beauty. "full many a gem of purest ray serene the dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear." but ocean caves do not contain anything more pure and captivating than the splendours of the gem of the west. chapter xxix. the fairies' retreat. it is about yards north-east from the gem of the west to the fairies' retreat. the passage is from to feet high and from to feet wide, and rather damp. the visitor ascends a short ladder to a rocky ledge, where there is a small opening and a narrow passage, along which he has to wriggle his way in a recumbent posture and with his feet foremost. long before he has reached the immediate entrance to the retreat he begins to think puck has led him a "pretty dance," and he has gained some idea of the least pleasant sensations incident to cave exploration. when he has completed the journey in a doubled-up posture, and is placed in an attitude scarcely less uncomfortable, curved like a boomerang, he feels as though he would give the world to be able to stretch himself. but a slight pressure upwards reminds him of the superincumbent mountain, and so he feels like a prisoner with billions of tons above him and the rocky base below. he begins to grow hot, and would give anything to be in a place capacious enough to enable him to expand and breathe freely. however, the lamp is turned on, and for a moment or two he is lost in admiration of the scene. he might fancy himself sindbad in the diamond valley, or think that the cave-keeper possessed the lamp of aladdin, or that he had come upon enchanted land. this retreat extends s.e. about yards. its entrance is about feet by inches at the embouchure, and it widens a little towards the end. it is about four feet wide and three feet high, and is filled with glittering cave gems and alabaster flowers, and myriads of figures which sparkle with brilliants. but what are the brightest jewels and the choicest flowers to ease of body and mental serenity? many of the fair sex have visited this retreat, carefully tutored and assisted by the curator. it may be appropriately and pleasantly inspected by agile sylphs and dapper little men who affect a contempt for muscular development and insist upon being gauged by dr. watts's standard, but ladies who are massive and gentlemen who are portly and plethoric will, when making their exit, caterpillar fashion, think it very absurd that so splendid a spectacle should have so mean and inconvenient an approach. the queen's diamonds. after seeing the fairies' retreat there remains but one other surprise, and that is "the queen's diamonds." these are in a casket easily accessible, and the opening to which is about three feet wide by one foot high. the jewel case itself is about four feet wide, three feet deep, and feet long. when the light is turned into it the brilliancy of the scene is perfectly dazzling. the prismatic formations are wonderful, and the blaze of magnificence mocks the descriptive power of either pen or pencil. it is "labyrinth of light" which appeals to the imagination with rare force. edgar a. poe worked up an excellent sensation in his story of "the gold bug." the way in which mr. william legrand became possessed of the scarabæus with scales of bright metallic lustre, and of the scrap of paper which contained mysterious directions leading to hidden piratical plunder by kidd, is not more interesting to the general reader than cryptography is to the student. the enthusiastic way in which the curator speaks of this cave and its distance and measurements recalls to memory the exciting incidents connected with the death's-head, the gold bug dropped through its eye-socket, the taping of the distance from the fall of the scarabæus to the hidden wealth, the hurried digging, and the discovery of the buried treasure. "as the rays of the lantern fell within the pit, there flashed upwards a glow and a glare from a confused heap of gold and of jewels that absolutely dazzled our eyes." the feeling produced in that case was exhaustion from excitement; but the sensation caused by a glance at the brilliance of the queen's diamonds is one of intense gratification. it is a most vivid and lustrous spectacle. the crystals are in clusters grouped together like the petals of flowers, and these flower-shaped forms combine with others of a similar kind, and constitute elaborate floral masses. they are much more difficult to decipher than was the cryptography left by the pirate kidd. as brewster puts it, "though the examination of these bodies has been pretty well pursued, we can form at present no adequate idea of the complex and beautiful organization of these apparently simple bodies" of the , or more different crystals known to science, nearly half are composed of carbonate of lime, but "the queen's diamonds" are certainly among the rarest. the crystallized forms in the caves are very numerous. some of them are irregular, on account of the substance not having been sufficiently divided before its deposition, or because of inadequate space or insufficient repose, but for the most part they are regular and perfect of their kind. none, however, are more regularly formed or more pronounced than "the queen's diamonds." it would be difficult to describe their geometric shape. the separate fragments of each cluster vary from about an inch to a fraction thereof. they are like three-sided prisms, tapering to points at the ends. the edges are sharp as knives from the centre to the upper point; but from the centre to the end which is joined to others, the sharp edge is replaced by a smooth surface, as though a cut had been made with a razor. the upper ends of these prisms are clear as glass; the lower ends are a little cloudy. the brilliancy of the combination is marvellous. chapter xxx. general impressions. when the queen of sheba heard of the fame of solomon she went to jerusalem with a great train, with camels that bore spices and large quantities of gold and precious stones, and fully satisfied the curiosity commonly attributed to her sex. she proved the wisdom of the far-famed monarch, admired his house and its appointments, the apparel of his servants, the attendance of his ministers, and the magnificence of his daily table; and, according to josephus, she said: "as for the report, it only attempted to persuade our hearing, but did not so make known the dignity of the things themselves as does the sight of them, and being present among them. i, indeed, who did not believe what was reported by reason of the multitude and grandeur of the things i inquired about, do see them to be much more numerous than they were reported to be." or, as the verdict of "the queen of the south" is given in the authorized version of the old testament, "i believed not the words until i came, and mine eyes had seen it; and, behold, the half was not told me." a similar testimony will be borne by most visitors in regard to the magnificence of the jenolan caves, and "the multitude and grandeur" of the objects which excite surprise or challenge admiration at almost every step. jenolan is a veritable wonderland, as well as a most interesting geological study. it presents features sufficiently sublime to touch the deepest chords of the human heart: forms sufficiently graceful to charm the artist; situations affording novel material for the romancist; configurations, transmutations, and fascinations to move the soul of the poet; and vast, silent cathedrals which inspire a feeling of devotion, for-- "nature, with folded hands, seems there kneeling at her evening prayer." some of the best photographs which have been taken of the most prominent features of the caves give an idea of their grandeur, but it is only a poor one. they convey no impression of their delicate sheen and dazzling beauty, of the gradations of tint and colour; of the mystic crypts and charming contours. a good photograph may aid those who have seen the caves to fill in details, but even to the most imaginative person who has not had the pleasure of a personal inspection it cannot possibly convey anything like an adequate sense of the thousand and one charms which elude both the photographer and the artist. there is as much difference between the pictorial illustration and the reality as there is between a vacant stare and an eye filled with lovelight and sparkling recognition. and the same remark will apply in greater or lesser degree to verbal description. words are altogether too poor, and it may be folly to attempt to describe the indescribably beautiful. among the numerous inscriptions in the cave book, a visitor has given his judgment upon this point very bluntly. he says, without periphrasis or euphemism--"the man who would attempt to describe these caves is a fool." still, these articles as they appeared in the _sydney morning herald_, have at least brought the caves prominently before the public, and perchance in their present form may be of use to future visitors. on leaving the cimmerian gloom of the imperial cave, and emerging into the clear daylight, the sensation is strange, for after being two or three hours entombed in the heart of the limestone mountains, the darkness seems as natural as night. it is joyous, however, to be back again in the sunshine, and to find that-- "there is a tongue in every leaf, a voice in every rill." caves unexplored. and as you glance once more along the limestone mountain ridge you wonder what hidden beauties yet remain to be revealed. to the north from the devil's coach house numerous caves are known to exist, and it is probable that some of them may present features more remarkable than any yet discovered. the creek, which runs quietly along, has on its way some oblique outlets before it sinks into the earth, and recalls, with its surroundings, the pleasure-place of kubla khan,-- "where alf the sacred river ran through caverns measureless to man down to the sunless sea." the first of these caves is very deep, with a steep ascent. the curator has penetrated it to a depth of feet. he was lowered into one shaft feet perpendicular, and found in it a number of interesting bones, which he sent to the museum of the department of mines in sydney. one of them resembled the tusk of a tiger, and was thought to be too large to have been in the jaw of any australian animal extant. the next known cave is called the "glass cave," on account of the transparent beauty of its adornments, which are equal to those of the imperial cave. the third is unexplored, but there is reason to believe that it is very extensive. the fourth, which seems to run southward, is also unexplored. some time ago the curator was lowered into it, a depth of feet, but he has not been able to make any examination of its interior. next is the mammoth cave, so called because of its vast chambers. one of these is estimated to be upwards of feet high, feet long, and feet wide. it contains a large amount of formation, the prettiest portions of which are about feet from the floor. the roof is so high that the magnesium lamp is hardly strong enough to bring it into view. there is a very long and wide chamber leading from this towards the south, with a large number of "drops" of from to feet, many of them unexplored. the length of this chamber is about chains--that is, one-eighth of a mile. from this the curator was lowered into another chamber of vast proportions, and from to feet deeper down, through solid limestone. at the end of its undulating floor he came to a river about six feet wide and nine inches deep, the water of which was running in a strong stream. round about are many little caverns full of bones. the next is the bow cave, to which reference has previously been made. it is a small cavern, and, as has already been explained, there were found in it six bullock bows, together with two harrow pins, and a pair of hinges; supposed to have been "planted" there by mcewan, the bush-ranger, about the year . this cave has about it numerous small drives not yet explored. farther on is a pretty cave, running, with a gentle slope, two or three hundred yards into the mountains, and containing numerous chambers and water-holes. five or six of these chambers only have been explored, and they contain some very handsome stalactites. farther on are two or three other caves, to the entrance of which only the curator has been. above all these caves a strong stream of water sinks suddenly into the ground. it is believed that this feeds the river in the mammoth cave, and afterwards flows into the imperial, and comes to the surface again in camp creek, on the other side of the limestone range, where it bursts up suddenly from between the boulders, as though there were underneath them a broken -inch city water-pipe. on the south side of the grand arch are several known caves. the curator has been lowered about feet into one of small dimensions, with a large chamber from it, containing many sonorous stalactites of large proportions, as well as much elaborate formation. next to this is a cavern called the specimen cave. it is about feet deep, with a large number of bones on the floor, which has been broken away. the fracture shows that it was largely composed of red clay. the broken face is full of bones. this cave would be worth special examination, because it is believed many of the bones belonged to animals which have disappeared from new south wales. farther on is a cave into which, five years ago, the curator was lowered about feet. at a still greater distance, three miles from the cave house, is a cave, with a strong stream of water flowing out of it. that is the farthest limestone visible on this side of the mountain. the stream sinks into the ground at a short distance after it leaves the mouth of the cave. it is believed that this water runs underneath all the caves on the south side into the lucas cave, and is not seen again until it re-appears under "the bridge." the range of limestone rocks seen from the cave house extends north and south five-and-a-half or six miles. at each end water in considerable volume sinks into the earth suddenly and re-appears in caves near the centre of the valley; the northern stream flowing through the imperial cave, and the southern through the lucas cave. both streams come to the surface in camp creek, and chatter away towards the sea. chapter xxxi. conclusion. the journey from sydney to the caves is long and expensive, but the route is interesting all the way. thirty-six miles from the city after crossing the emu plains and the magnificent bridge over the nepean at penrith, feet above sea-level, the train begins to climb the mountain range, and after travelling miles it attains an altitude of , feet. the first zigzag up lapstone hill brings into view a splendid panorama, and, notwithstanding the disregard of railway surveyors for fine scenery when it is placed in the balance against economical construction, there are many glorious glimpses to be obtained from the carriage windows during the journey between sydney and tarana. if the traveller has time to stop _en route_ he will find much to interest him round about lawson and katoomba, blackheath and mount victoria. the great zigzag into the lithgow valley is one of the most remarkable feats of engineering in the world. there is a fall of about yards in five miles of running. even after this sudden descent the country is still very elevated, and at tarana, where it is necessary to take coach for the caves, it is upwards of , feet above the level of the sea. the train which leaves sydney at o'clock in the morning arrives at tarana at . in the afternoon. by coach or buggy from tarana the little agricultural township of oberon--distant about miles--can be approached comfortably the same evening. at oberon there is a well-kept hotel, which reminds one of the best village hostelries in the old country. here it is customary to stay the night. bidding good morning to your host after a moderately early breakfast, you can drive to the door of the cave house just in time for lunch. the road from tarana to oberon is well made and metalled, and with a pair of good horses you can travel at a spanking pace. from oberon to the caves the road is also good, but not so wide as that from tarana to oberon. a considerable portion of it may be described in fact as an excellently kept bush track. the road down the zigzag is, as already mentioned, a trial to the nerves of timid people. it is much too narrow, and ought to be widened by cutting still farther into the mountain side, building up the retaining wall more substantially, and paying greater attention to drainage. a cable tramway would then make the transit easy and pleasant. a light railway to oberon would probably give as good a return as nine-tenths of the mileage on our railways, and if the tramway from there to the caves would not pay immediately it would ultimately create settlement and traffic, and in the meantime be an important factor in increasing the traffic on the miles of railway leading to it from sydney. until a short time ago the caves were completely cut off from rapid communication with the outer world, but now they are in telephonic communication with the telegraph system of the colony. [illustration: coat of arms] [illustration: map section of new south wales, showing the position of jenolan caves.] london: printed by eyre and spottiswoode, _her majesty's printers_, downs park road, hackney. transcriber's notes: bloxland changed to 'blaxland' throughout. such places named after gregory blaxland ( - ), fordwich, kent. wombean changed to 'wombeyan' throughout. coach-house changed to 'coach house' throughout. coodradigbee changed to 'goodradigbee'. page . kunimbla changed to 'kanimbla'. page . discoveries in australia; with an account of the coasts and rivers explored and surveyed during the voyage of h.m.s. beagle, in the years - - - - - - . by command of the lords commissioners of the admiralty. also a narrative of captain owen stanley's visits to the islands in the arafura sea. by j. lort stokes, commander, r.n. volume . london: t. and w. boone, , new bond street. . to captain robert fitzroy, r.n. the following work is dedicated as a tribute to his distinguished merit, and as a token of heartfelt gratitude and respect, by his old shipmate and faithful friend, the author. introduction. i cannot allow these volumes to go before the public, without expressing my thanks to the following gentlemen for assistance, afforded to me in the course of the composition of this work: to captain beaufort, r.n., f.r.s., hydrographer to the admiralty, for his kindness in furnishing me with some of the accompanying charts; to sir john richardson, f.r.s; j.e. gray, esquire, f.r.s.; e. doubleday, esquire, f.l.s., and a. white, esquire, m.e.s., for their valuable contributions on natural history, to be found in the appendix; to j. gould, esquire, f.r.s., for a list of birds collected during the voyage of the beagle; to lieutenants gore and fitzmaurice, for many of the sketches which illustrate the work; and to b. bynoe, esquire, f.r.c.s., for several interesting papers which will be found dispersed in the following pages. captain owen stanley, r.n., f.r.s., also merits my warmest thanks, for the important addition to the work of his visits to the islands in the arafura sea. i have to explain, that when the name australasia is used in the following pages, it is intended to include tasmania (van diemen's land) and all the islands in the vicinity of the australian continent. all bearings and courses, unless it is specified to the contrary, are magnetic, according to the variation during the period of the beagle's voyage. the longitudes are generally given from meridians in australia, as i much question whether any portion of the continent is accurately determined with reference to greenwich. sydney, port essington, and swan river, have been the meridians selected; and the respective positions of those places, within a minute of the truth, i consider to be as follows: swan river (scott's jetty, fremantle) degrees minutes east. port essington (government house) degrees minutes east. sydney (fort macquarie) degrees minutes east. contents of volume . chapter . . introduction. objects of the voyage. the beagle commissioned. her former career. her first commander. instructions from the admiralty and the hydrographer. officers and crew. arrival at plymouth. embark lieutenants grey and lushington's exploring party. chronometric departure. farewell glance at plymouth. death of king william the fourth. chapter . . plymouth to bahia. sail from plymouth. the eight stones. peak of tenerife. approach to santa cruz. la cueva de los guanches. trade with mogadore. intercourse between mogadore and mombas. reason to regret mombas having been given up. sail from tenerife. search for rocks near the equator. arrival at san salvador. appearance of bahia. state of the country. slave trade. and results of slavery. extension of the slave trade on the eastern coast of africa. moral condition of the negroes. middy's grave. departure from bahia. mr. "very well dice". chapter . . from the cape to swan river. a gale. anchor in simon's bay. h.m.s. thalia. captain harris, and his adventures in southern africa. proceedings of the land party. leave simon's bay. an overloaded ship. heavy weather and wet decks. island of amsterdam. its true longitude. st. paul's. water. westerly variation. rottnest island. gage's road. swan river settlement. fremantle. an inland lake. plans for the future. illness of captain wickham. tidal phenomena. perth. approach to it. narrow escape of the first settlers. the darling range. abundant harvest. singular flight of strange birds. curious cliff near swan river. bald head. mr. darwin's theory. the natives. miago. anecdotes of natives. their superstitions. barbarous traditions, their uses and their lessons. chapter . . from swan river to roebuck bay. sail from gage's road. search for a bank. currents and soundings. houtman's abrolhos. fruitless search for ritchie's reef. indications of a squall. deep sea soundings. atmospheric temperature. fish. a squall. anchor off the mouth of roebuck bay. a heavy squall. driven from our anchorage. cape villaret. anchor in roebuck bay. excursion on shore. visit from the natives. mr. bynoe's account of them. a stranger among them. captain grey's account of an almost white race in australia. birds, snakes, and turtle. move the ship. miago, and the black fellows. the wicked men of the north. clouds of magellan. face of the country. natives. heat and sickness. miago on shore. mr. usborne wounded. failure in roebuck bay. native notions. chapter . . from roebuck bay to skeleton point. departure from roebuck bay. appearance of the country. progress to the northward. hills and cliffs. french names and french navigators. tasman, and his account of the natives. hazeygaeys and assagais. his authenticity as an historian. description of the natives. marks and mutilations. phrenological development. moral condition. proas, canoes, and rafts. another squall. anchor in beagle bay. face of the country. palm trees. dew. hauling the seine. a meeting with natives. eastern salutation. miago's conduct towards, and opinion of, his countrymen. mutilation of the hand. native smokes seen. move further to the north-east. point emeriau. cape leveque. point swan. tide-races. search for water. encountered by natives. return to the ship. the attempt renewed. conduct of the natives. effect of a congreve rocket after dark. a successful haul. more natives. miago's heroism. the plague of flies. dampier's description of it. native habitations. underweigh. wind and weather. tidal phenomenon. natural history. singular kangaroo. bustard. cinnamon kangaroo. quails. goanas and lizards. ant hills. fishing over the side. a day in the bush. a flood of fire. soil and productions. white ibis. curious tree. rain water. geology of the cliffs. weigh, and graze a rock, or touch and go. the twins. sunday strait. roe's group. miago and his friends. a black dog. a day of rest. native raft. captain king and the bathurst. a gale. point cunningham. successful search for water. native estimation of this fluid. discovery of a skeleton. and its removal. the grey ibis. our parting legacy. chapter . . point cunningham to fitzroy river. survey the coast to point cunningham. move the ship. mosquitoes. southern view of king's sound. singular vitreous formation. move to the south of point cunningham. captain king's limit. termination of cliffy range. disaster bay. an exploring party leave in the boats. the shore. a freshwater lake. valentine island. native fire and food. a heavy squall. the wild oat. indications of a river. point torment. gouty-stem tree and fruit. limits of its growth. another squall. water nearly fresh alongside. the fitzroy river. tide bore and dangerous position of the yawl. ascent of the fitzroy. appearance of the adjacent land. return on foot. perilous situation and providential escape. survey the western shore. return to the ship. sporting, quail and emus. natives. ship moved to point torment. chapter . . the fitzroy river to port george the fourth, and return to swan river. examination of the fitzroy river. excursion into the interior. alarm of the natives. ascent of the river. sufferings from mosquitoes. red sandstone. natives again surprised. appearance of the country. impediments in the river. return of the boats. an alligator. stokes' bay. narrow escape of an officer. change of landscape. pheasant-cuckoos. a new vine. compass hill. port usborne. explore the eastern shore of king's sound. cone bay. native fires. whirlpool channel. group of islands. sterile aspect of the coast. visited by a native. bathurst island. native hut and raft. return to port usborne. native spears. cascade bay. result of explorations in king's sound. interview with natives. coral reefs. discover beagle bank. arrival at port george the fourth. examination of collier bay in the boats. brecknock harbour. the slate islands. freshwater cove. an eagle shot. its singular nest. rock kangaroos. a conflagration. sandstone ridges. doubtful bay. mouth of the glenelg. remarkable tree. fertile country near brecknock harbour. return to the ship. meet with lieutenant grey. his sufferings and discoveries. visit the encampment. timor ponies. embarkation of lieutenant grey's party. sail from port george the fourth. remarks on position of tryal rock. anecdotes of miago. arrival at swan river. directions for entering owen's anchorage. chapter . . swan river to sydney. miago's reception by his countrymen. whale fishery. strange ideas entertained by natives respecting the first settlers. neglected state of the colony. test security of owen's anchorage. weather. celebration of the anniversary of the colony. friendly meeting between different tribes. native beggars. personal vanity of a native. visit york. description of country. site of york. scenery in its neighbourhood. disappointment experienced. sail from swan river. hospitality of colonists during our stay. aurora australis. gale off cape leeuwen. stormy passage. ship on a lee shore. south-west cape of tasmania. bruny island lighthouse. arrive at hobart. mount wellington. kangaroo hunt. white kangaroo. civility from the governor. travertine limestone. leave hobart. singular current. appearance of land in the neighbourhood of sydney. position of lighthouse. entrance and first view of port jackson. scenery on passing up the harbour. meet the expedition bound to port essington. apparent increase of sydney. cause of decline. expedition sails for port essington. illawarra. botany bay. la perouse's monument. aborigines. meet captain king. appearance of land near sydney. chapter . . bass strait. leave sydney. enter bass strait. island at eastern entrance. wilson's promontory. cape shanck. enter port phillip. tide-race. commence surveying operations. first settlement. escaped convict. his residence with the natives. sail for king island. examine coast to cape otway. king island. meet sealers on new year islands. franklin road. solitary residence of captain smith. soil. advantageous position for a penal settlement. leafless appearance of trees. examine west coast. fitzmaurice bay. stokes' point. seal bay. geological formation. examine coast to sea elephant rock. brig rock. cross the strait to hunter island. strong tide near reid's rocks. three hummock island. rats. the black pyramid. point woolnorth. raised beach. coast to circular head. headquarters of the agricultural company. capture of a native. mouth of the tamar river. return to port phillip. west channel. yarra-yarra river. melbourne. custom of natives. manna. visit geelong. station peak. aboriginal names. south channel. examine western port. adventure with a snake. black swans. cape patterson. deep soundings. revisit king and hunter islands. fire. circular head. gales of wind. reid's rocks. sea elephant rock. wild dogs. navarin and harbinger reefs. arrive at port phillip. sail for sydney. pigeon house. drought. mr. usborne leaves. chapter . . sydney to port essington. leave sydney. gale and current. port stephens. tahlee. river karuah. stroud. wild cattle. incivility of a settler. river allyn. mr. boydell. cultivation of tobacco. a clearing lease. william river. crossing the karuah at night. sail from port stephens. breaksea spit. discover a bank. cape capricorn. northumberland isles. sandalwood. cape upstart. discover a river. raised beach. section of barrier reef. natives. plants and animals. magnetical island. halifax bay. height of cordillera. fitzroy island. hope island. verifying captain king's original chart. cape bedford. new geological feature. lizard island. captain cook. barrier and reefs within. howick group. noble island. cape melville. reef near cape flinders. princess charlotte's bay. section of a detached reef. tide at claremont isles. restoration island. islands fronting cape grenville. boydan island. correct chart. tides. cairncross island. escape river. correct position of reefs. york isles. tides. torres strait. endeavour strait. booby island. remarks on barrier and its contiguous islands and reefs. cape croker and reef off it. discover error in longitude of cape. reefs at the mouth of port essington. arrive at the latter. chapter . . port essington. bearings from shoals in the harbour. appearance of the settlement. meet captain stanley. church. point record. prospects of the settlement. buffaloes escape. fence across neck of peninsula. lieutenant p.b. stewart explores the country. natives. uses of sand. tumuli-building birds. beautiful opossum. wild bees. escape from an alligator. result of astronomical observations. geological formation. raffles bay. leave port essington. popham bay. detect error in position of port essington. melville island. discover a reef in clarence strait. cape hotham. native huts and clothing. geological formation. discover the adelaide river. interview with natives. attempt to come on board. messrs. fitzmaurice and keys nearly speared. exploration of the adelaide. its capabilities. wood-ducks. vampires. another party ascends the adelaide. meet natives. canoes. alligator. visit melville island. green ants. thoughts of taking ship up adelaide abandoned. tides in dundas strait. return to port essington. theatricals. h.m.s. pelorus arrives with provisions. further remarks on the colony. chapter . . leave port essington. reach timor laut. meet proas. chief lomba. traces of the crew of the charles eaton. their account of the wreck and sojourn on the island. captain king's account of the rescue of the survivors. boy ireland's relation of the sufferings and massacre of the crew. appearance of the shores of timor laut. description of the inhabitants. dress. leprosy. canoes. village of oliliet. curious houses. remarkable ornaments. visit the oran kaya. burial islet. supplies obtained. gunpowder in request as barter. proceed to the arru islands. dobbo harbour. trade. present to chief. birds of paradise. chinaming junks' bottoms. character of natives. some of them profess christianity. visit the ki islands. village of ki illi. how protected. place of worship. pottery. timber. boat-building. cultivation of the eastern ki. no anchorage off it. visit ki doulan. antique appearance of. luxuriant vegetation. employment of natives. defences of the place. carvings on gateway. civility of chief. his dress. population of the ki group. their religion. trade. place of interment. agility of australian native. supplies. anchorage off ki doulan. island of vordate. visit from chief. excitement of natives. their arms and ornaments. carved horns on houses. alarm of the oran kaya. punishment of the natives of laarat by the dutch. revisit oliliet. discover that mr. watson had rescued the european boy. return to port essington. mr. watson's proceedings at timor laut. ... appendix. list of birds, collected by the officers of h.m.s. beagle. descriptions of six fish. by sir john richardson. m.d., f.r.s. etc. descriptions of some new australian reptiles. by j.e. gray, esquire f.r.s. etc. descriptions of new or unfigured species of coleoptera from australia. by adam white, esquire m.e.s. descriptions of some new or imperfectly characterized lepidoptera from australia. by e. doubleday, esquire f.l.s. list of charts. volume . general chart of australia. bass strait. arafura sea. list of illustrations. volume . natives of western australia. i.r. fitzmaurice del. south branch of the albert river. g. gore del. london, published by t. & w. boone, . native habitation. singular tail of kangaroo. natural size. rocks on roe's group. native raft. kileys of king sound and swan river. / th of the usual size. substantial native hut. spears of king sound and swan river. monument to la perouse. circular head. south-south-east six miles. reid's rocks, king island and the black pyramid. section of the north-east coast of australia, and great barrier reef. horizontal scale of miles. vertical scale of feet. a. cape upstart, feet high. b. bay within fathoms deep. c. raised bed of coral and shells, feet high. d. depth fathoms, fine grey sand and shells. e. fathoms, grey sandy mud or marl, which after exposure to the air becomes very hard. f. fathoms, coarse sand. g. great barrier reef, outer part uncertain, being taken from the width of it near h. no bottom, with fathoms. i. level of sea at high-water; rise of tide feet. north-west part of magnetic island. g. gore del. london, published by t. & w. boone, . mount hinchinbrook. west-north-west miles. section of a detached coral reef in latitude degrees south, within the barrier reef of australia. the point c (on the edge of the reef c) stands two feet above waterline g, and the point d / feet above it. the depth of water in the lagoon exaggerated in section. figures on line denote depth of water in feet beneath. g level of sea in a mean state. rush shoulder-covering of natives. victoria from the anchorage. native town of oliliet. o. stanley del. london, published by t. & w. boone, . fishes. fishes. plate . figures , , . cristiceps axillaris. drawn on stone by w. mitchell. hullmandel & walton lithographers. fishes. plate . figures , . balistes phaleratus. drawn on stone by w. mitchell. hullmandel & walton lithographers. fishes. plate . figures , , , , . assiculus punctatus. drawn on stone by w. mitchell. hullmandel & walton lithographers. fishes. plate . figures , , , . natural size. scorpaena stokesii. drawn on stone by w. mitchell. hullmandel & walton lithographers. fishes. plate . smaris porosus. drawn on stone by w. mitchell. hullmandel & walton lithographers. fishes. plate . chelmon marginalis. drawn on stone by w. mitchell. hullmandel & walton lithographers. reptiles. reptiles. plate . silubosaurus stokesii. day & haghe, lithographers to the queen. reptiles. plate . egernia cunninghami. day & haghe, lithographers to the queen. reptiles. plate . hydrus stokesii. day & haghe, lithographers to the queen. reptiles. plate . gonionotus plumbeus. w. wing litho. c. hullmandel's patent. insects. insects. plate . figures , a, b and c. megacephala australasiae, hope. insects. plate . figures and a. aenigma cyanipenne, hope. insects. plate . figures , a, b, c, d, e and f. calloodes grayianus, white. insects. plate . figures , and a. biphyllocera kirbyana, white. insects. plate . figure . cetonia (diaphonia) notabilis. insects. plate . figure . stigmodera elegantula. insects. plate . figure . stigmodera erythrura. insects. plate . figure . stigmodera saundersii, hope. insects. plate . figures , a, and b. clerus ? obesus. ... chapter . . introduction. objects of the voyage. the beagle commissioned. her former career. her first commander. instructions from the admiralty and the hydrographer. officers and crew. arrival at plymouth. embark lieutenants grey and lushington's exploring party. chronometric departure. farewell glance at plymouth. death of king william the fourth. for more than half a century, the connection between great britain and her australian possessions has been one of growing interest; and men of the highest eminence have foreseen and foretold the ultimate importance of that vast continent, over which, within the memory of living man, the roving savage held precarious though unquestioned empire. of the australian shores, the north-western was the least known, and became, towards the close of the year , a subject of much geographical speculation. former navigators were almost unanimous in believing that the deep bays known to indent a large portion of this coast, received the waters of extensive rivers, the discovery of which would not only open a route to the interior, but afford facilities for colonizing a part of australia, so near our east indian territories, as to render its occupation an object of evident importance. his majesty's government therefore determined to send out an expedition to explore and survey such portions of the australian coasts as were wholly or in part unknown to captains flinders and king. h.m. sloop beagle. for this service h.m. sloop beagle was commissioned at woolwich, in the second week of february by commander wickham, who had already twice accompanied her in her wanderings over the least known and most boisterous waters of the globe; first, in her sister ship of discovery, the adventure, captain king, and afterwards as first lieutenant of the sloop now entrusted to his command. under captain wickham some of the most important objects of the voyage were achieved, but in consequence of his retirement in march , owing to ill health, the command of the beagle was entrusted to the author of the following pages; and as, by a singular combination of circumstances, no less than three long and hazardous voyages of discovery have been successfully completed in this vessel, some account of her here may not be wholly uninteresting. the reader will be surprised to learn that she belongs to that much-abused class, the -gun brigs--coffins, as they are not infrequently designated in the service; notwithstanding which, she has proved herself, under every possible variety of trial, in all kinds of weather, an excellent sea boat. she was built at woolwich in , and her first exploit was the novel and unprecedented one of passing through old london bridge (the first rigged man-of-war that had ever floated so high upon the waters of the thames) in order to salute at the coronation of king george the fourth. voyages of the beagle. towards the close of the year she was first commissioned by commander pringle stokes,* as second officer of the expedition which sailed from plymouth on the nd of may, , under the command of captain phillip parker king; an account of which voyage, published by captain r. fitzroy, who ultimately succeeded to the vacancy occasioned by the lamented death of captain stokes, and who subsequently commanded the beagle during her second solitary, but most interesting expedition--has added to the well-earned reputation of the seaman, the more enduring laurels which literature and science can alone supply. (*footnote. not related to the author.) death of captain stokes. though painful recollections surround the subject, it would be hardly possible to offer an account of the earlier history of the beagle, and yet make no allusion to the fate of her first commander, in whom the service lost, upon the testimony of one well qualified to judge, "an active, intelligent, and most energetic officer:" and well has it been remarked by the same high authority, "that those who have been exposed to one of such trials as his, upon an unknown lee shore, during the worst description of weather, will understand and appreciate some of those feelings which wrought too powerfully upon his excitable mind." the constant and pressing cares connected with his responsible commanded--the hardships and the dangers to which his crew were of necessity exposed during the survey of tierra del fuego--and in some degree the awful gloom which rests forever on that storm-swept coast--finally destroyed the equilibrium of a mind distracted with anxiety and shattered by disease. perhaps no circumstance could prove more strongly the peculiar difficulties connected with a service of this nature, nor could any more clearly testify that in this melancholy instance every thought of self-preservation was absorbed by a zeal to promote the objects of the expedition, which neither danger, disappointment, anxiety, nor disease could render less earnest, or less vigilant, even to the last! the two vessels returned to england in october, , when the adventure was paid off at woolwich, and the beagle at plymouth; she was recommissioned by captain fitzroy--to whose delightful narrative allusion has been already made--on the th july, ,* and continued under his command till her return to woolwich in november, ; where, after undergoing some slight repairs, she was a third time put in commission for the purposes of discovery, under commander wickham, her former first lieutenant; and shortly afterwards commenced that third voyage, of the toils and successes of which, as an humble contribution to the stores of geographical knowledge, i have attempted in the following pages to convey as faithful and complete an account as the circumstances under which the materials have been prepared will allow. nor will the subject less interest myself, when i call to mind, that for eighteen years the beagle has been to me a home upon the wave--that my first cruise as a middy was made in her; that serving in her alone i have passed through every grade in my profession to the rank i have now the honour to hold--that in her i have known the excitements of imminent danger, and the delights of long anticipated success; and that with her perils and her name are connected those recollections of early and familiar friendship, to which even memory herself fails to do full justice! (*footnote. the beagle was stripped to her timbers, and rebuilt under this able officer's own inspection: and among other improvements, she had the lightning conductors of the well-known snow harris, esquire, f.r.s. fitted to her masts; a circumstance to which she has more than once been indebted for her safety.) admiralty instructions. the following instructions were received by captain wickham, previous to our departure from woolwich, and under them i subsequently acted. by the commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral of the united kingdom of great britain and ireland, etc. whereas his majesty's surveying vessel, beagle, under your command, has been fitted out for the purpose of exploring certain parts of the north-west coast of new holland, and of surveying the best channels in the straits of bass and torres, you are hereby required and directed, as soon as she shall be in all respects ready, to repair to plymouth sound, in order to obtain a chronometric departure from the west end of the breakwater, and then to proceed, with all convenient expedition, to santa cruz, in tenerife. in the voyage there, you are to endeavour to pass over the reputed site of the eight stones, within the limits pointed out by our hydrographer; but keeping a strict lookout for any appearance of discoloured water, and getting a few deep casts of the lead. at tenerife you are to remain three days, for the purpose of rating the chronometers, when you are to make the best of your way to bahia, in order to replenish your water, and from thence to simon's bay, at the cape of good hope; where, having without loss of time obtained the necessary refreshments, you will proceed direct to swan river; but as the severe gales which are sometimes felt at that settlement may not have entirely ceased, you will approach that coast with due caution. at swan river, you are to land lieutenants grey and lushington, as well as to refit and water with all convenient despatch; and you are then to proceed immediately to the north-west coast of new holland, making the coast in the vicinity of dampier land. the leading objects of your examination there will be, the extent of the two deep inlets connected with roebuck bay and cygnet bay, where the strength and elevation of the tides have led to the supposition that dampier land is an island, and that the above openings unite in the mouth of a river, or that they branch off from a wide and deep gulf. moderate and regular soundings extend far out from cape villaret: you will, therefore, in the first instance, make that headland; and, keeping along the southern shore of roebuck bay, penetrate at once as far as the beagle and her boats can find sufficient depth of water; but you must, however, take care not too precipitately to commit his majesty's ship among these rapid tides, nor to entangle her among the numerous rocks with which all this part of the coast seems to abound; but by a cautious advance of your boats, for the double purpose of feeling your way, and at the same time of surveying, you will establish her in a judicious series of stations, equally beneficial to the progress of the survey, and to the support of your detached people. prince regent river appears to have been fully examined by captain king up to its freshwater rapids, but as the adjacent ridges of rocky land which were seen on both sides of collier bay, were only laid down from their distant appearance, it is probable that they will resolve themselves into a collection of islands in the rear of dampier land; and it is possible that they may form avenues to some wide expanse of water, or to the mouth of some large river, the discovery of which would be highly interesting. as this question, whether there are or are not any rivers of magnitude on the western coast is one of the principal objects of the expedition, you will leave no likely opening unexplored, nor desist from its examination till fully satisfied; but as no estimate can be formed of the time required for its solution, so no period can be here assigned at which you shall abandon it in order to obtain refreshments; when that necessity is felt, it must be left to your own judgment, whether to have recourse to the town balli, in the strait of allas, or to the dutch settlement of coepang, or even to the arrou islands, which have been described as places well adapted for that purpose; but on these points you will take pains to acquire all the information which can be obtained from the residents at swan river. another circumstance which prevents any precise instructions being given to you on this head, is the uncertainty that prevails here respecting the weather which you may at that period find in those latitudes, and which it is possible may be such as if not altogether to prevent the execution of these orders, may at least cause them to be ineffectually performed, or perhaps lead to a waste of time, which might be better employed on other parts of the coast. if such should eventually be the case, it would be prudent not to attempt this intricate part of the coast during the prevalence of the north-west monsoon, but to employ it in completing the examination of shark bay and of exmouth gulf, as well as of other unexplored intervals of coast up to the nd degree of longitude; or, with a view to the proximity of one of the above-mentioned places of refreshment, it might, perhaps, be advisable, if compelled to quit the vicinity of dampier land, to devote that part of the season to a more careful investigation of the low shores of the gulf of carpentaria, where it has been surmised, though very loosely, that rivers of some capacity will be found. the above objects having been accomplished (in whatever order you may find suitable to the service) you will return to the southern settlements for refreshments; and then proceed, during the summer months of fine weather and long days, to bass strait, in which so many fatal accidents have recently occurred, and of which you are to make a correct and effectual survey. but previous to your undertaking that survey, as it has been represented to us that it would be very desirable for the perfection of the tidal theory, that an accurate register of the times and heights of high and low-water should be kept for some time in bass strait, you will (if practicable) establish a party for that purpose on king island, and you are to cause the above particulars of the tides there to be unintermittently and minutely observed, and registered in the blank forms which will be supplied to you by our hydrographer. if, however, circumstances should render this measure unadvisable at that island, you will either choose some less objectionable station, where the average tide in the strait may be fairly registered; or, if you can employ no permanent party on this service, you will be the more exact in ascertaining the above particulars at every one of your stations; and in all parts of this strait you will carefully note the set and strength of the stream at the intermediate hours between high and low-water, and also the time at which the stream turns in the offing. the survey of bass strait should include, first, a verification of the two shores by which it is formed; secondly, such a systematic representation of the depth and quality of the bottom as will ensure to any vessel, which chooses to sound by night or day, a correct knowledge of her position; and, thirdly, a careful examination of the passages on either side of king island, as well as through the chains of rocks and islands which stretch across from wilson's promontory to cape portland. this survey will, of course, comprehend the approach to port dalrymple, but the interior details of that extensive harbour may be left to the officers employed by the lieutenant-governor of van diemen's land, provided you can ascertain that it is his intention to employ them there within any reasonable time. the number of vessels which are now in the habit of passing through bass strait, and the doubts which have recently been expressed, not only of the just position of the dangers it is known to contain, but of the existence of others, show the necessity of this survey being executed with that care and fidelity which will give confidence to all future navigators; and may, therefore, be more extensive in its limits, and occupy a larger portion of your time than is at present contemplated. you must exercise your own judgment as to the fittest period at which you should either repair to sydney to refit, or adjourn to port dalrymple to receive occasional supplies. whenever this branch of the service shall be completed, you are forthwith by a safe conveyance to transmit a copy of it to our secretary, that no time may be lost in publishing it for the general benefit. at sydney you will find the stores which we have ordered to be deposited there for your use, and having carefully rated your chronometers, and taken a fresh departure from the observatory near that port, and having re-equipped his majesty's ship, and fully completed her provisions, you will proceed by the inner route to torres strait, where the most arduous of your duties are yet to be performed. the numerous reefs which block up that strait; the difficulty of entering its intricate channels; the discordant result of the many partial surveys which have from time to time been made there, and the rapidly increasing commerce of which it has become the thoroughfare, call for a full and satisfactory examination of the whole space between cape york and the southern shore of new guinea, and to this important service, therefore, you will devote the remaining period for which your supplies will last. in this latter survey you will cautiously proceed from the known to the unknown; you will verify the safety of endeavour strait, and furnish sufficient remarks for avoiding its dangers; you will examine the three groups called york, prince of wales, and banks, islands; you will establish the facilities or determine the dangers of passing through those groups, and by a well-considered combination of all those results, you will clearly state the comparative advantages of the different channels, and finally determine on the best course for vessels to pursue which shall be going in either direction, or in opposite seasons. though with this part of your operations cook's bank, aurora reef, and the other shoals in the vicinity will necessarily be connected, yet you are not to extend them to the rd degree of longitude, as the examination of the great field to the eastward of that meridian must be left to some future survey which shall include the barrier reefs and their ramified openings from the pacific ocean. you are, on the contrary, to proceed, if practicable, but most cautiously, in examining the complicated archipelago of rocks and islands which line the northern side of torres strait, till, at length, reaching new guinea, you will there ascertain the general character of that part of its shore, whether it be high and continuous, or broken into smaller islands with available channels between them, as has been asserted; or whether, from being guarded by the innumerable reefs and dangers which are marked in the charts, it must remain altogether sealed to the navigator. the nature of the country, as well as of its products, will also be inquiries of considerable interest; and you will, perhaps, be able to learn whether the dutch have made any progress in forming settlements along its shores; and if so, you will take especial care not to come into collision with any of their authorities. throughout the whole of this extensive region, you will bear in mind the mischievous disposition of the natives; and while you strictly practice that dignified forbearance and benevolence which tend to impress far higher respect for our power than the exercise of mere force, you will also be sedulously on your guard against every surprise; and though your boats should always be completely armed, you will carefully avoid any conflict where the ignorant or misguided natives may presume on your pacific appearance, or on the disparity of your numbers. you will then turn to the westward, and pursue this part of the survey, so as to determine the breadth of the foul ground off the coast of new guinea, and the continuity or interrupted form of that coast; and you will establish certain positions on the mainland (if the adjacent sea be navigable, and if not on the several advancing islands) which may serve as useful land-falls for vessels coming from the indian seas, or for points of departure for those who have passed through any of these straits. you will thus continue a general examination of this hitherto unexplored coast as far as cape valsche, which is now said to be only the terminating point of a chain of large islands, and then across to the arrou islands, which are supposed to be remarkably fertile, to abound with resources and refreshments, and to be peopled by a harmless and industrious race, but which do not appear to have been visited by any of his majesty's ships. the length of time which may be required for the due execution of all the foregoing objects cannot be foreseen. it may exceed that for which your supplies are calculated, or, on the other hand, a less degree of the supposed complexity in the ground you will have traversed, along with the energy and diligence with which we rely on you for conducting these important services, may enable you to complete them within that period. in this latter case you will return to the northern coast of new holland, and selecting such parts of it as may afford useful harbours of retreat, or which may appear to comprise the mouths of any streams of magnitude, you will employ your spare time in such discoveries as may more or less tend to the general object of the expedition. before your departure from sydney you will have learnt that his majesty's government has established a new settlement at port essington, or somewhere on the north coast of new holland; and before you finally abandon that district you will visit this new colony, and contribute by every means in your power to its resources and its stability. we have not, in the concluding part of these orders, pointed out the places or the periods at which you are to replenish your provisions, because the latter must depend on various circumstances which cannot be foreseen, and the former may be safely left to your own decision and prudence; but when you have been three years on your ground, unless some very important result were to promise itself from an extension of that period, you will proceed to the island of mauritius, in order to complete your stock of water and provisions, and then, touching at either side of the cape of good hope, according to the season, and afterwards at ascension, you will make the best of your way to spithead, and report your arrival to our secretary. directions will be forwarded to the commanders-in-chief at the cape of good hope and in the east indies, and to the governors or lieutenant-governors of the several settlements at which you have been ordered to call, to assist and further your enterprise as far as their means will admit: and you will lose no opportunity, at those several places, of informing our secretary of the general outline of your proceedings, and of transmitting traces of the surveys which you may have effected, together with copies of your tide and other observations. you will likewise, by every safe opportunity, communicate to our hydrographer detailed accounts of all your proceedings which relate to the surveys; and you will strictly comply with the enclosed instructions, which have been drawn up by him under our directions, as well as all those which he may, from time to time, forward by our command. given under our hands, the th of june, . signed, charles adam. george elliott. to j.c. wickham, esquire. commander of his majesty's surveying vessel beagle, at woolwich. by command of their lordships. signed, john barrow. ... nor should the valuable instructions of captain beaufort, hydrographer to the admiralty, be forgotten; such extracts as may probably prove of interest to the general reader are here subjoined. extracts from hydrographer's instructions. the general objects of the expedition which has been placed under your command, having been set forth in their lordship's orders, it becomes my duty to enter somewhat more specifically into the nature and details of the service which you are to perform. their lordships having expressed the fullest reliance on your zeal and talents, and having cautiously and wisely abstained from fettering you in that division and disposition of your time which the periodic changes of the seasons or the necessities of the vessel may require, it would ill become me to enter too minutely into any of those arrangements which have been so flatteringly left to your discretion; yet, in order to assist you with the results of that experience which has been derived from the many surveys carried on under the direction of the admiralty, and to ensure that uniform consistency of method in your varied labours, which will so greatly enhance their value, i will briefly touch on some of the most important subjects, and repeat those instructions which their lordships have in every former case ratified, and which it is therefore expected you will bear in mind during the whole progress of your survey. the first point to which your orders advert, after quitting england, is the eight stones, where you will probably add one to the many testimonies which have been already collected of their non-existence, at least in the place assigned to them in the old charts; but, before we venture to expunge them, it becomes a serious duty to traverse their position in every possible direction. should the weather be favourable, it would be desirable, while crossing their parallel, to obtain one very deep cast of the lead, and should that succeed in reaching the bottom, the sacrifice of a few days will be well bestowed in endeavouring to trace a further portion of the bank. a small chart, showing the tracks of various ships across this place, is hereto annexed, and as the meridian of degrees minutes nearly bisects the two adjacent courses, you are recommended to cross their parallel in that longitude. from the canary islands to the coast of brazil, and indeed throughout every part of your voyage, you should endeavour to pass over the places of all the reported vigias which lie near your course, either outward or homeward. you will perceive a multitude of them carelessly marked on every chart, but of some you will find a circumstantial description in that useful publication, the nautical magazine, and a day devoted to the search of any, which will not withdraw you too far from your due course, will be well employed. the rocks off cape leeuwin, some near king george sound, the dangerous patch off kangaroo island, and many others, of which accounts are given in the above work, ought, if possible, to be examined, as more immediately appertaining to your own field. whenever found, the depth, nature, and limits of the banks on which they stand, should be determined, as they might prove to be of sufficient extent to give warning to the danger, and then a direct course should be immediately made by the beagle to the nearest land, where a convenient place should be selected, and its position carefully ascertained. at swan river you will have previously learnt from lieutenant roe, the surveyor-general, whether the above-mentioned rocks off kangaroo island, have been again seen, or their position altered, since captain brockman's first description, so as to save your time in the search. you will no doubt obtain from that intelligent officer, lieutenant roe, much important information respecting the north-west coast, as well as all the detached intelligence, which during his long residence there he must have collected, relating to every part of the shores of new holland. from him, also, you will acquire many useful hints about the places in the indian sea where refreshments may be obtained, as well as some insight into the disposition of the authorities and the inhabitants whom you will meet there, and he will probably be able to give you a clear account of the duration of the monsoons and their accompanying weather. if at port dalrymple it should so happen that you can wait on sir john franklin, it is probable that he will detach lieutenant burnett to cooperate with you in the survey of bass strait, and it is certain that the governor will do everything in his power to assist your labours. at sydney you will have the advantage of seeing captain p.p. king, whose long experience of all those coasts, as well as of the seasons, and of the manner of dealing with the inhabitants, will be of the utmost use to you; and whose zeal for the king's service, and whose love of science, will lead him to do everything possible to promote your views. if mr. cunningham, the government botanist, be there, he also will, i am convinced, eagerly communicate to you and your officers everything which may be serviceable in the pursuits connected with natural history. at swan river, at port dalrymple, and at sydney, it may, perhaps, be possible for you to hire, at a low rate, some person acquainted with the dialects of the natives, which you are subsequently to visit, and with whom it will be so essential to be on friendly terms. such a person will greatly assist in that object; but you will keep him on board no longer than absolutely necessary, and you will take care to provide for his return if the beagle should not be able to carry him back. general information. in such an extensive and distant survey, numerous subjects of inquiry, though not strictly nautical, will suggest themselves to your active mind; and though, from your transient stay at any other place, you will often experience the mortification of leaving them incomplete, yet that should not discourage you in the collection of every useful fact within your reach. your example in this respect will stimulate the efforts of the younger officers under your command, and through them may even have a beneficial influence on the future character of the navy. it has been suggested by some geologists, that the coral insect, instead of raising its superstructure directly from the bottom of the sea, works only on the summits of submarine mountains, which have been projected upwards by volcanic action. they account, therefore, for the basin-like form so generally observed in coral islands, by supposing that they exist on the circular lip of extinct volcanic craters; and as much of your work will lie among islands and cays of coral formation, you should collect every fact which can throw any light on the subject. hitherto it has been made a part of the duty of all the surveying vessels to keep an exact register of the height of the barometer, at its two maxima of , and its two minima of o'clock, as well as that of the thermometer at the above periods, and at its own day and night maximum and minimum, as well as the continual comparative temperature of the sea and air. this was done with the view of assisting to provide authentic data, collected from all parts of the world, and ready for the use of future labourers, whenever some accidental discovery, or the direction of some powerful mind, should happily rescue that science from its present neglected state. but those hours of entry greatly interfere with the employments of such officers as are capable of registering those instruments with the precision and delicacy which alone can render meteorologic data useful, and their future utility is at present so uncertain, that it does not appear necessary that you should do more than record, twice a day, the height of the former, as well as the extremes of the thermometer, unless, from some unforeseen cause, you should be long detained in any one port, when a system of these observations might then be advantageously undertaken. there are, however, some occasional observations, which cannot fail of being extensively useful in future investigations: . during the approach of the periodic changes of wind and weather, and then the hygrometer, also, should find a place in the journal. . the mean temperature of the sea at the equator, or, perhaps, under a vertical sun. these observations should be repeated whenever the ship is in either of those situations, as well in the atlantic as in the pacific; they should be made far away from the influence of the land, and at certain constant depths, suppose fifty and ten fathoms, and at the surface also; and this last ought to be again observed at the corresponding hour of the night. . a collection of good observations, systematically continued, for the purpose of connecting the isothermal lines of the globe, and made, as above, at certain uniform depths. . some very interesting facts might result from the comparison of the direct heat of the solar rays in high and low latitudes. the two thermometers for this purpose should be precisely similar in every respect; the ball of the one should be covered with white kerseymere, and of the other with black kerseymere, and they should be suspended far out of the reach of any reflected heat from the ship, and also at the same elevation above the surface of the water; the observations should be made out of sight of land, in a variety of latitudes, and at different hours of the day, and every pains taken to render them all strictly similar and comparative. . all your meteorologic instruments should be carefully compared throughout a large extent of the scales, and tabulated for the purpose of applying the requisite corrections when necessary, and one or more of them should be compared with the standard instruments at the royal society or royal observatory on your return home. . all observations which involve the comparison of minute differences should be the mean result of at least three readings, and should be as much as possible the province of the same individual observer. . in some of those singularly heavy showers which occur in crossing the equator, and also at the changes of the monsoon, attempts should be made to measure the quantity of rain that falls in a given time. a very rude instrument, if properly placed, will answer this purpose, merely a wide superficial basin to receive the rain, and to deliver it into a pipe, whose diameter, compared with that of the mouth of the basin, will show the number of inches, etc. that have fallen on an exaggerated scale. . it is unnecessary to call your attention to the necessity of recording every circumstance connected with that highly interesting phenomenon, the aurora australis, such as the angular bearing and elevation of the point of coruscation; the bearing also of the principal luminous arches, etc. . it has been asserted that lunar and solar halos are not always exactly circular, and a general order might, therefore, be given to the officer of the watch, to measure their vertical and horizontal diameters whenever they occur, day or night. large collections of natural history cannot be expected, nor any connected account of the structure or geological arrangements of the great islands which you are to coast; nor, indeed, would minute inquiries on these subjects be at all consistent with the true objects of the survey. but, to an observant eye, some facts will unavoidably present themselves, which will be well worth recording, and the medical officers will, no doubt, be anxious to contribute their share to the scientific character of the survey. i have now exhausted every subject to which it can be necessary to call the attention of an officer of your long experience; and i have, therefore, only further to express my conviction, that if providence permits you to retain your wonted health and activity, you will pursue the great objects of this expedition with all the energy in your power, and with all the perseverance consistent with a due regard to the safety of his majesty's ship, and to the comfort of your officers and crew. given, etc. this th of june, . f. beaufort, hydrographer. ... officers and crew. the crew embarked in the beagle in this her third voyage, consisted of: john clements wickham, commander and surveyor. james b. emery, lieutenant. henry eden, lieutenant. john lort stokes, lieutenant and assistant surveyor. alexander b. usborne, master. benjamin bynoe, surgeon. thomas tait, assistant surgeon. john e. dring, clerk in charge. benjamin f. helpman, mate. auchmuty t. freeze, mate. thomas t. birch, mate. l.r. fitzmaurice, mate.* william tarrant, master's assistant. charles keys,** clerk. thomas sorrell, boatswain. john weeks, carpenter. a corporal of marines and seven privates, with forty seamen and boys. (*footnote. this officer i afterwards appointed to the assistant surveyorship (vacated upon my succeeding captain wickham) on account of the active part he had taken in the surveying duties: an appointment most handsomely confirmed by captain beaufort.) (**footnote. mr. keys was always a volunteer for boat work, and is entitled to honourable mention as being, even where all were zealous, of great value upon more than one occasion.) during our six years' voyage the following changes occurred: mr. usborne invalided, in consequence of his wound, in may ; mr. birch exchanged, in august , with mr. pasco, into the britomart; mr. freeze exchanged, in september , with mr. forsyth,* into the pelorus; in february , mr. helpman joined the colonial service in western australia; mr. c.j. parker was appointed, in december , to mr. usborne's vacancy, superseding mr. tarrant, who had been doing master's duty since mr. usborne left; lieutenants emery and eden returned to england in march . late in the same month commander wickham invalided, when the writer of this narrative was appointed to the vacant command, by commander owen stanley, h.m.s. britomart, senior officer present, an appointment subsequently confirmed by the lords of the admiralty. in april , lieutenant graham gore succeeded lieutenant emery.** commander wickham, myself, mr. bynoe, the boatswain, and two marines, had served in both the previous voyages of the beagle. (*footnote. from this officer's previous knowledge of the duties of surveying, having sailed in the beagle on her former voyage, he proved a very valuable addition to our party.) (**footnote. lieutenant gore had been appointed to h.m.s. herald and came down from india, expecting to join her at sydney: on his arrival, he found she had left the station; and though he might have spent some months among his friends there, he in the most spirited manner, at once volunteered to join the beagle, and proved himself throughout the remainder of the voyage of the greatest value, both to the service, and the friend who here seeks to do justice to his worth. this deserving officer would seem to have an hereditary taste for the duties of a voyage of surveying and discovery, his grandfather having accompanied the renowned circumnavigator, cook, and his father, the unfortunate bligh. besides lieutenant gore's valuable services in h.m.s. beagle, he was st lieutenant of h.m.s. volage, during the early part of the chinese war, and present at the capture of aden: he served under captain sir george back in the polar expedition, and on board h.m.s. albion at the battle of navarin.) departure from woolwich. on the th of june we left woolwich, in tow of h.m. steamer boxer, furnished with every comfort and necessary (by the lords of the admiralty) which our own experience, or the kind interest of captain beaufort could suggest. it had been determined by the government--the plan having been suggested by lieutenant grey to lord glenelg, then secretary of state for the colonies--that, simultaneously with the survey of the seaboard of the great continent of australia, under captain wickham, a party should be employed in inland researches, in order more particularly to solve the problem of the existence of a great river, or water inlet, supposed, upon the authority of captains king and dampier, to open out at some point on its western or north-western side, then but partially and imperfectly surveyed. lieutenants grey and lushington's party. this expedition was now entrusted to the command of lieutenant grey--since governor of south australia--who was accompanied by lieutenant, now captain lushington; mr. walker, surgeon, and corporals coles and auger, of the royal sappers and miners, who had volunteered their services: they were to take passage in the beagle, and to proceed either to the cape of good hope or swan river, as lieutenant grey might ultimately determine. it was arranged that they should join us at plymouth, and on our arrival there on the th of june--having called at portsmouth on our way--we found them anxiously expecting us. here we were busily occupied for some days in rating the chronometers, and testing the various magnetic instruments: we also during this time swung the ship to try the local attraction, which neither here, nor in any subsequent experiments, exceeded one degree. as the ship lay in the sound our observations were made on a stone in the breakwater marked / , from whence we took our chronometric departure; it is about one-third of the length from the east end, and had been used for similar purposes by captains king and fitzroy. we considered it to be west of greenwich, hours minutes seconds t. farewell glance at plymouth. hardly anyone can visit plymouth sound without being at once struck with the singular beauty of the surrounding scenery; nor shall i easily forget the mingled feelings of admiration and regret with which my eye dwelt upon the quiet spot the evening before bidding it a long, long farewell. the sea had sunk to sleep, and not a single breath disturbed its glassy surface: the silent waters--and yet how eloquently that silence spoke to the heart--glided swiftly past; into the still air rose the unbroken column of the thin and distant smoke; through long vistas of far-off trees, which art and nature had combined to group, the magnificent building at mount edgcumbe, but veiled, to increase its beauty: scenery varying from the soft luxury of the park, to the rude freedom of the wild mountain's side, by turns solicited the eye; and as i leant against a shattered rock, filled with all those nameless feelings which such an hour was so well fitted to call forth, i felt notwithstanding all the temptations of promised adventure, the full bitterness of the price we pay for its excitements! death of william the fourth. on the evening of the st of june, we received the melancholy intelligence of the death of our late most gracious sovereign, king william the fourth. to all classes of his subjects his mild and paternal government has endeared his memory; and none however they may differ with him, or with each other, upon that great political revolution which will render the name and reign of the fourth william, no less remarkable than that of the third, will refuse the tribute of their sincerest respect for qualities that adorned the sovereign while they exalted the man. by the naval service, in which he had spent the early part of his life, his name will long be remembered with affection; he never lost sight of its interests; and warmly supported its several institutions and charities, long after he had been called by providence to the throne of his fathers. we bore the first intelligence of his fate, and the account of the accession of our present most gracious queen, to every port at which we touched up to the period of our reaching swan river. chapter . . plymouth to bahia. sail from plymouth. the eight stones. peak of tenerife. approach to santa cruz. la cueva de los guanches. trade with mogadore. intercourse between mogadore and mombas. reason to regret mombas having been given up. sail from tenerife. search for rocks near the equator. arrival at san salvador. appearance of bahia. state of the country. slave trade. and results of slavery. extension of the slave trade on the eastern coast of africa. moral condition of the negroes. middy's grave. departure from bahia. mr. "very well dice". the morning of the th july saw us running out of plymouth sound with a light northerly wind, and hazy weather: soon after we were outside we spoke h.m.s. princess charlotte, bearing the flag of admiral sir r. stopford, and as she was bound down channel we kept together for the next three days: she had old shipmates on board, and was not the less an object of interest on that account. nothing worthy of particular notice occurred during the run to santa cruz in tenerife, which we made on the th of july; having in obedience to our instructions passed over the presumed site of the eight stones, thus adding another though almost needless testimony to their non-existence, at least in the place assigned them in the old charts. in passing the gut of gibraltar we remarked the current setting us into it: this i have before noticed in outward voyages: in the homeward, one is generally too far to the westward to feel its effects. a small schooner sailed for england on the th, and most of us took the opportunity of sending letters by her. i learnt from the master of her that a timber ship had been recently picked up near the island, having been dismasted in a gale off the banks of newfoundland; she was days drifting here. peak of tenerife. we were not so fortunate on this occasion as to obtain a distant sea view of the far-famed peak of tenerife. there are few natural objects of greater interest when so beheld. rising at a distance of some leagues in dim and awful solitude from the bosom of the seemingly boundless waves that guard its base, it rests at first upon the blue outline of the horizon like a conically shaped cloud: hour after hour as you approach the island it seems to grow upon the sight, until at length its broad reflection darkens the surrounding waters. i can imagine nothing better calculated than an appearance of this kind to satisfy a beholder of the spherical figure of the earth, and it would seem almost incredible that early navigators should have failed to find conviction in the unvarying testimonies of their own experience, which an approach to every shore afforded. in approaching the anchorage of santa cruz, vessels should close with the shore, and get into soundings before--as is the general custom--arriving abreast of the town, where from the steepness of the bank, and its proximity to the shore, they are obliged to anchor suddenly, a practice never desirable, and to vessels short handed, always inconvenient: besides calms sometimes prevail in the offing, which would prevent a vessel reaching the anchorage at all. la cueva de los guanches. lieutenant grey was most indefatigable in collecting information during the short period of our stay at the island, as an examination of his interesting work will at once satisfy the reader: he explored a cave three miles to the north-east of santa cruz, known by tradition as la cueva de los guanches, and reputed to be a burying-place of the aboriginal inhabitants of the island: it was full of bones, and from the specimens he brought away, and also from his description of all that he examined, they appear to have belonged to a small-limbed race of men. besides the wine trade, a considerable traffic is carried on with the moors upon the opposite coast, who exchange gums and sometimes ivory for cotton and calico prints, and occasionally tobacco. trade with mogadore. the chief port for this trade is mogadore, from whence ships not unfrequently sail direct to liverpool. a singular circumstance was mentioned to me by our first lieutenant mr. emery, as tending to prove the existence of commercial intercourse between the various tribes in the interior, and the inhabitants of the coast at mogadore on the north-west coast of africa, and mombas on the south-east. in the year , certain english goods were recognized in the hands of the moors at mogadore which had been sold two years previously to the natives at mombas. the great extent of territory passed over within these dates, renders this fact somewhat extraordinary; and it affords a reason for regretting that we did not keep possession of mombas, which would ere this have enabled us to penetrate into the interior of africa: we abandoned it, at the very time when the tribes in the interior were beginning to find out the value of our manufactures, especially calicoes and cottons. from the best information that lieutenant emery had obtained among the natives, it seems certain that a very large lake exists in the interior, its banks thickly studded with buildings, and lying nearly due west from mombas. it was lieutenant emery's intention to have visited this lake had he remained longer at mombas; the sultan's son was to have accompanied him, an advantage which, coupled with his own knowledge of the country and its customs, together with his great popularity among the natives, must have ensured him success. it is to be feared, that so favourable an opportunity for clearing up the doubts and darkness which at present beset geographers in attempting to delineate this unknown land, will not soon again present itself. sail from tenerife. having completed the necessary magnetic observations, and rated the chronometers, we sailed from tenerife, on the evening of the rd. it should be noticed that the results obtained from our observations for the dip of the needle, differed very materially from those given by former observers: the experiments made by lieutenant grey in different parts of the island, satisfied us that the variation could not be imputed to merely local causes. as in obedience to our instructions we had to examine and determine the hitherto doubtful position of certain rocks near the equator, about the meridian of degrees west longitude, we were obliged to take a course that carried us far to the eastward of the cape de verd islands; for this reason we had the north-east trade wind very light; we finally lost it on the th, in latitude degrees minutes north, and longitude degrees minutes west; it had been for the two previous days scarcely perceptible. the south-east trade reached us on the th of august, latitude degrees minutes north longitude degrees minutes west, and on the morning of the th we crossed the equator in longitude degrees minutes west: when sundry of our crew and passengers underwent the usual ceremonies in honour of old father neptune. a close and careful search within the limits specified in our instructions justified us in certifying the non-existence of the rocks therein alluded to: but before we presume to pass any censure upon those who preceded us in the honours of maritime discovery, and the labours of maritime survey, it will be proper to bear in mind the ceaseless changes to which the earth's surface is subject, and that, though our knowledge is but limited of the phenomena connected with subterranean and volcanic agency, still, in the sudden upheaval and subsidence of sabrina and graham islands, we have sufficient evidence of their vast disturbing power, to warrant the supposition that such might have been the case with the rocks for which our search proved fruitless. nor are these the only causes that may be assigned to reconcile the conflicting testimonies of various navigators upon the existence of such dangers; the origin of which may be ascribed to drift timber--reflected light discolouring the sea, and causing the appearance of broken water--or to the floating carcass of a whale, by which i have myself been more than once deceived. arrival at san salvador. a succession of winds between south-south-east and south-east, with the aid of a strong westerly current, soon brought us near the brazils. we made the land on the morning of the th, about miles to the north-east of bahia, and in the afternoon anchored off the town of san salvador. though this was neither my first nor second visit to bahia, i was still not indifferent to the magnificent or rather luxuriant tropical scenery which it presents. a bank of such verdure as these sun-lit climes alone supply, rose precipitously from the dark blue water, dotted with the white and gleaming walls of houses and convents half hidden in woods of every tint of green; while here and there the lofty spires of some christian temple pointed to a yet fairer world, invisible to mortal eye, and suggested even to the least thoughtful, that glorious as is this lower earth, framed by heaven's beneficence for man's enjoyment, still it is not that home to which the hand of revelation directs the aspirations of our frail humanity. state of the country at bahia. i had last seen bahia in august, , on the homeward voyage of the beagle; and it was then in anything but a satisfactory condition; the white population divided among themselves, and the slaves concerting by one bloody and desperate blow to achieve their freedom. it did not appear to have improved during the intervening period: a revolutionary movement was still contemplated by the more liberal section of the brazilians, though at the very period they thus judiciously selected for squabbling with one another, they were living in hourly expectation of a rising, en masse, of the blacks. that such an insurrection must sooner or later take place--and take place with all the most fearful circumstances of long delayed and complete revenge--no unprejudiced observer can doubt. slave trade. that selfish and short-sighted policy which is almost invariably allied with despotism, has led to such constant additions by importation to the number of the slave population, that it now exceeds the white in the ratio of ten to one, while individually the slaves are both physically and in natural capacity more than equal to their sensual and degenerate masters. bahia and its neighbourhood have a bad eminence in the annals of the brazilian slave-trade. upwards of fifty, some accounts say eighty cargoes, had been landed there since the beagle's last visit: nor is the circumstance to be wondered at when we bear in mind, that the price of a slave then varied from to pounds, and this in a country not abounding in money. the declining trade, the internal disorganization, and the rapidly augmenting slave population of bahia, all tend to prove that the system of slavery which the brazilians consider essential to the welfare of their country, operates directly against her real interests. the wonderful resources of the brazils will, however, never be fully developed until the brazilians resolve to adopt the line of policy suggested in captain fitzroy's interesting remarks upon this subject. to encourage an industrious native population on the one hand, and on the other to declare the slave-trade piratical, are the first necessary steps in that march of improvement, by which this tottering empire may yet be preserved from premature decay. results of slavery. it would, however, be a vain imagination, to suppose that this wiser and more humane determination will be spontaneously adopted by those most implicated in this debasing and demoralizing traffic. indeed it appears from the best information obtained on the subject, that since the vigilance of our cruizers has comparatively put a stop to the trade on the west coast of africa--where it has received a great discouragement--it has been greatly extended on the east. could it but have been foreseen by our government that their efforts upon the west coast, would in proportion as they were successful, only tend to drive the traders in human flesh to the eastward, it is probable that mombas would have still been retained under our dominion; for such a possession would have enabled us to exercise an effectual control in that quarter: as it is, it gives additional reason to regret that the place was ever abandoned. the horrors of the passage--horrors which no imagination can heighten, no pen adequately portray--are by this alteration in the chief seat of the accursed trade most fearfully augmented. the poor victims of cruelty and fraud and avarice, in their most repulsive forms, are packed away between decks scarcely three feet high, in small vessels of or tons, and thus situated have to encounter the cold and stormy passage round the cape: the average mortality is of course most frightful, but the smallness of the vessels employed decreases the risk of the speculators in human flesh, who consider themselves amply repaid, if they save one living cargo out of every five embarked! moral condition of the negroes. in the meantime cargoes of slaves are almost weekly landed in the neighbourhood of bahia: the thousand evils of the vile system are each day increasing, and with a rapid but unregarded footstep the fearful hour steals on, when a terrible reckoning of unrestrained revenge will repay all the accumulated wrongs of the past, and write in characters of blood an awful warning for the future! so far as we could learn, no attempts are made by the masters to introduce the blessings of christianity among those whom they deprive of temporal freedom. the slave is treated as a valuable animal and nothing more: the claims of his kindred humanity so far forgotten as they relate to his first unalienable right of personal freedom, are not likely to be remembered in his favour, in what concerns his coheritage in the sublime sacrifice of atonement once freely offered for us all! he toils through long and weary years, cheered by no other hope than the far distant and oft delusive expectation that a dearly purchased freedom--if for freedom's blessings any price can be too costly--will enable him to look once more upon the land of his nativity; and then close his eyes, surrounded by the loved few whom the ties of kindred endear even to his rude nature. it would swell this portion of the work to an unreasonable extent, to give any lengthened details of the working of a system, about which among my readers no two opinions can exist. let it suffice to say, that the europeans are generally better and less exacting masters than the brazilians. among the latter it is a common practice to send so many slaves each day to earn a certain fixed sum by carrying burdens, pulling in boats, or other laborious employment; and those who return at night without the sum thus arbitrarily assessed as the value of their day's work, are severely flogged for their presumed idleness. middy's grave. during our brief stay at bahia i paid a visit to the grave of poor young musters, a little middy in the beagle during our last voyage, who died here on the th may, , from the effects of a fever caught while away on an excursion up the river macacu. he was a son of lord byron's mary, and a great favourite with all on board. poor boy! no stone marks his lonely resting place upon a foreign shore, but the long grass waves over his humble grave, and the tall palm tree bends to the melancholy wind that sighs above it. as i paid his memory the tribute due to his many virtues and his early death, i breathed a prayer that the still and placid beauty of the spot where his mortal remains return to their kindred dust, may typify the tranquil happiness of that world of spirits with which his own is now united! mr. "very well dice." on the afternoon of friday the th, we left the magnificent bay of bahia, and after obtaining an offing, stood away to the southward and eastward. i was much amused by a story of grey's a day or two after we sailed: it seems he had mistaken the quartermaster's usual call in conning the ship of "very well, dice" (a corruption of "very well, thus") for a complimentary notice of the man at the helm; and anxious to know the individual who so distinguished himself, had two or three times gone on deck to see "mr. very well dice:" finding a different helmsman each time, completely confounded him; and when i explained the matter, he joined me in a hearty laugh at the mistake! chapter . . from the cape to swan river. a gale. anchor in simon's bay. h.m.s. thalia. captain harris, and his adventures in southern africa. proceedings of the land party. leave simon's bay. an overloaded ship. heavy weather and wet decks. island of amsterdam. its true longitude. st. paul's. water. westerly variation. rottnest island. gage's road. swan river settlement. fremantle. an inland lake. plans for the future. illness of captain wickham. tidal phenomena. perth. approach to it. narrow escape of the first settlers. the darling range. abundant harvest. singular flight of strange birds. curious cliff near swan river. bald head. mr. darwin's theory. the natives. miago. anecdotes of natives. their superstitions. barbarous traditions, their uses and their lessons. we had, upon the whole, a favourable passage across to the cape; but on the th of september, when distant from it about miles, we encountered a moderate gale from the north. as this was the first heavy weather we had experienced since our departure from england, i was curious to see what effect such a strange scene would have on our passengers. wrapt in mute astonishment, they stood gazing with admiration and awe on the huge waves as they rolled past, occasionally immersing our little vessel in their white crests--and listening, with emotions not wholly devoid of fear, to the wild screams of the seabirds as they skimmed o'er the steep acclivities of these moving masses. the landsmen were evidently deeply impressed with the grandeur of a storm at sea; nor can the hardiest seaman look with unconcern on such an exhibition of the majesty of him, whose will the winds and waves obey. not more poetically beautiful than literally true are the words of the psalmist, so appropriately introduced into the form of prayers at sea--"they that go down to the sea in ships, and occupy their business in great waters: these men see the works of the lord, and his wonders in the deep: for at his word the stormy wind ariseth, which lifteth up the waves thereof." my own experience has over and over again satisfied me, that, mingled with many a dim superstition, a deep religious sentiment--a conviction of the might and mercy of heaven--often rests on the heart of the most reckless seaman, himself all unconscious of its existence, yet strangely influenced by its operations! anchor at simon's bay. we sighted land on the evening of the th of september, rounded the cape the next morning, and in the afternoon anchored in simon's bay. we found here h.m.s. thalia, bearing the flag of admiral sir patrick campbell, commander-in-chief of the cape station: and during our subsequent stay received every attention which kindness and courtesy could suggest, from himself and his officers. we were glad to ascertain that our chronometers had been performing admirably. they gave the longitude of simon's bay, within a few seconds of our homeward determination during the last voyage. mr. maclear, of the royal observatory, and captain wauchope, of the flagship, had been measuring the difference of longitude between simon's bay dockyard and cape town observatory, by flashing lights upon the summit of a mountain midway between those two places. their trials gave a greater difference, by a half second, between the two meridians, than we had obtained on a former visit by carrying chronometers to and fro. the results stand as follow: mr. maclear and captain wauchope: . seconds south. h.m. sloop beagle: . seconds south. adventures of captain harris. we found at the cape the renowned captain harris, h.e.i. company's bombay engineers, who had just returned from his sporting expedition into the interior of southern africa, having made his way through every obstacle, from the frontier of the cape colony, through the territories of the chief moselekatse, to the tropic of capricorn. with his spirit-stirring accounts of hunting adventure and savage manners we were all most highly gratified. what he had seen, where he had been, and what he had performed "by flood and field," have since been told to the world by himself, and therefore need not be repeated here: but it would be unpardonable not to do justice to his energy, his perseverance, and his success. he had collected quite a museum of the natural history of the wild beasts against whom his crusade had been directed; while his collection of drawings, both as regarded the animals delineated, and the appearance of the country in which they were found, was really most beautiful: and many a pleasant hour was spent in viewing the various specimens and illustrations, each one of which testified the intrepidity and skill of himself or his no less adventurous companion, william richardson, esquire, b.c.s. it will readily be believed that these two gentlemen were then, themselves, the great lions of that part of africa. sail for swan river. having completed our observations, and crammed every available square inch of the beagle with various stores--a proceeding rendered absolutely necessary by the unsatisfactory accounts we received of the state of affairs at swan river--we sailed for that place on the morning of the th of october. it should be mentioned, that lieutenant grey, hearing it would be impossible for him to obtain a suitable vessel at swan river, hired a small schooner from this port, and sailed, with his party, for hanover bay, on the north-west coast of australia, the day after our departure. his subsequent perils, wanderings, and adventures having been fully described in his own published account, i need do no more here than allude to them. we encountered a good deal of heavy weather, shifting winds, and consequently irregular seas, during our run to swan river; and owing to the deep state of our loaded little vessel, her decks were almost constantly flooded. for many days we had never less than an inch and a half of water on them all over; and this extra weight, in our already overburdened craft, did not, of course, add to her liveliness; however, she struggled on. island of amsterdam. and on the st of november bore us in sight of the island of amsterdam, and in the afternoon passed to the southward of it, sufficiently near to determine its position. the summit of the island, which has rather a peaked appearance, we found to be , feet high, in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east of greenwich. it is singular that though this island, which is almost a finger-post for ships bound from the cape either to new holland or india, has been so long known to all navigators of these seas, its true longitude should have been till now unascertained. the western side presented the appearance of a broken-down crater, nor indeed can there be any reason to doubt its volcanic origin. light brown was the pervading colour upon the sides of the island, and appeared to be caused by stunted bushes and grass. the southern island, st. paul's, affords a good anchorage in fathoms, about midway on its eastern side, latitude degrees minutes, and is in every way preferable to the spot chosen for that purpose by vlaming in , on the south-east side of amsterdam, where landing is never very easy, and generally quite impracticable. st. paul's. the well ascertained fact, that water is found in abundance at st. paul's, leads to a very fair inference, that in this humid atmosphere, and with a much greater elevation, the same essential commodity may be met with at amsterdam; but certainly at st. paul's, and most probably at amsterdam, the rugged nature of the travelling over these volcanic islands, would render useless any attempt to water a ship. the following table, though it may not possess much interest for the general reader, will not be without its value in the eyes of my nautical brethren: it shows the increase of variation since : column : source. column : date a.d. column : westerly variation. from horsburg's directory : : / . from horsburg's directory : : / . from horsburg's directory : : . h.m.s. beagle : : . as these islands lie in the same meridian, the longitude given above of amsterdam, will equally apply to st. paul's: they are admirably situated for connecting the meridians of africa and australia. we lost sight of amsterdam towards evening, and flattered ourselves that we were also leaving the bad weather behind. the sky more settled; the sea less high; and the barometer rising: such indications, however, cannot be implicitly trusted in this boisterous climate; and shortly after dark, having shipped a very heavy sea, we rounded too for the night. the constant set of the huge following seas, carried our little vessel much faster to the eastward than could be easily credited, till proved by actual observation. during the last three or four days, we had run upwards of miles daily by the observations, being from twenty to thirty more each day than appeared from the reckoning. rottnest island. we made rottnest island on the morning of wednesday, november th; and in the afternoon of the same day, anchored in gage's road, swan river. our position at midnight, the night before, made us about miles from the mainland, when we had the wind from the eastward, getting round again towards noon to south and by west. this may be some guide to the limit of the land wind, and as such i record the fact. during the three days previous to our making the land, we experienced a northerly current of one knot per hour. we tried during the same period for soundings, with nearly fathoms, but in vain. we passed along the north shore of rottnest at the distance of a mile and a half, closing with it as we got to the eastward, where it is not so rocky. the north shore should not be approached within a mile. as we were opening out the bay on the north-east end of the island, we passed over a rocky patch, with, from appearance, not more than three fathoms on it, it is small, and we had fathoms close to it. this patch is about one mile north by west from the north-west point of the bay. off this point is a low rocky islet; and when on the shoal, we could just make out the white sandy beach in the bay open between it and the point. the western points of the island are all shut in by the north point; therefore, keeping them open, will always enable the navigator to give this dangerous rock* a wide berth. (*footnote. now called roe's patch.) swan river settlement. the swan river settlement, which is a portion of the colony of western australia, was founded in august , under the auspices of the colonial office, captain stirling being the first lieutenant-governor. fremantle. fremantle, at the entrance of swan river, is the sea port; and perth, situate about nine miles inland, the seat of government: guildford and york are the other chief places in the colony. there is nothing very particularly inviting in the first appearance of western australia; dull-green-looking downs, backed by a slightly undulating range of hills, rising to nearly , feet high, are the chief natural features of the prospect. fremantle, of which it was wittily said by the quartermaster of one of his majesty's ships who visited the place, "you might run it through an hourglass in a day," is but a collection of low white houses scattered over the scarce whiter sand. the only conspicuous landmark visible in approaching the anchorage is the jail: rather a singular pharos for a settlement in australia, which boasts its uncontaminated state. this building i afterwards induced the governor to have white-washed, and it now forms an excellent mark to point out the river, as well as the town.* (*footnote. a large patch of white sand, on the coast, about three miles to the northward of swan river, also serves as a landmark.) shortly after our arrival, i was introduced to the governor, sir james stirling; he, and all those here best qualified to judge, joined in regretting that lieutenant grey had not decided to come on with us. the accounts we heard of the country and the natives gave us every reason to entertain but slender hopes of his success. an inland lake. sir james and mr. roe, the surveyor-general, appeared to coincide with the general opinion that a large inland lake will ultimately be discovered. they had questioned many of the natives about it, who all asserted its existence, and pointed in a south-easterly direction to indicate its position. their notions of distance are, to say the least, exceedingly rude; with them everything is "far away, far away." the size of this water the natives describe by saying, that if a boy commenced walking round it, by the time he finished his task he would have become an old man! after all may not this be the great australian bight that these natives have heard of, for none we met in western australia pretended to have seen it? they derive their information from the eastern tribes, and under such circumstances it must at least be considered extremely vague.* (*footnote. this much-talked-of lake, which it was the assumed labour of a life to circumambulate, was discovered in january , by messrs. landor and lefroy, who found it about miles south-south-east from beverley. it is quite salt, called dambeling, and about fifteen miles long by seven and a half broad!) the surveyor-general had lately returned from an exploring journey to the eastward of the capital, and reported that there existed no reasonable probability of extending the colony in that direction: he strongly recommended us to proceed at once to the north-west coast, and return again to swan river to recruit; saying that we should find the heat there too great to remain for a longer period. this course captain wickham, after due deliberation, resolved to adopt, and accordingly all the stores, not absolutely required, were forthwith landed, and the ship made in every respect as airy as possible. the th november was fixed for our departure, when most unfortunately captain wickham, while on his way to perth, was attacked with a severe dysentery, and continued so ill that he could not be brought to the ship till the end of december. the most that could be effected was done to improve this unavoidable delay; and our tidal observations, before commenced, were more diligently pursued. we found the greatest rise only thirty-one inches, and here, as elsewhere on the australian coast, we observed the remarkable phenomenon of only one tide in the twenty-four hours! surveying operations were also entered on, connecting rottnest island with the mainland; the dangers which surround it, as well as those which lie between its shores and the coast, were discovered and laid down: this survey, of great importance to the interests of shipping in these waters, was ultimately completed on our subsequent visits to swan river. that arid appearance which first meets the settler on his arrival, and to which allusion has already been made, cannot but prove disheartening to him: particularly if, as is generally the case, his own sanguine expectations of a second paradise have been heightened by the interested descriptions of land jobbers and emigration agents. approach to perth. however, when he ascends the river towards the capital, this feeling of despondency will gradually wear away; its various windings bring, to his eager and anxious eye, many a bright patch of park-like woodland; while the river, expanding as he proceeds, till the beautiful estuary of melville water opens out before him, becomes really a magnificent feature in the landscape; and the boats, passing and repassing upon its smooth and glassy bosom, give the animation of industry, and suggest all the cheerful anticipations of ultimate success to the resolute adventurer. from about the centre of this lake-like piece of water, the eye first rests upon the capital of western australia, a large straggling village, partly concealed by the abrupt termination of a woody ridge, and standing upon a picturesque slope on the right bank of the river, thirteen miles from its mouth. the distant range of the darling mountains supplies a splendid background to the picture, and the refreshing seabreeze which curls the surface of melville water every afternoon, adds to the health, no less than comfort, of the inhabitants. the former inconvenience, caused by the shoal approach, and which rendered landing at low-water a most uncomfortable operation, has now been remedied by the construction of a jetty. like all the australian rivers with which we are yet acquainted, the swan is subject to sudden and tremendous floods, which inundate the corn lands in its vicinity, and sweep away all opposing obstacles with irresistible impetuosity. narrow escape of the first settlers. the first settlers had a most providential escape from a calamity of this kind: they had originally selected for the site of their new city, a low-lying piece of land, which, during the first winter after their arrival, was visited with one of these strange and unexplained invasions from the swelling stream: had the deluge been delayed for another year, these luckless inhabitants of a new world would have shared the fate of those to whom noah preached in vain; but, warned in time, they chose some safer spot, from whence, in future, they and their descendants may safely contemplate the awful grandeur of similar occurrences, and thankfully profit by the fertility and abundance which succeed to such wholesale irrigation. during this, our first visit, i had no opportunity of penetrating into the country further than the darling range: in journeying thither, we passed through guildford, a township on the banks of the swan, about seven miles north-east from perth, and four from the foot of the mountains. it stands upon a high part of the alluvial flat fringing the river, and which extends from half to one mile from it on either side. the rich quality of the soil may be imagined from the fact, that, in , after thirteen years of successive cropping, it produced a more abundant harvest than it had done at first, without any artificial aid from manures. singular flight of strange birds. a singular flight of strange birds, was noticed at guildford about the year , during the time when the corn was green: they arrived in an innumerable host, and were so tame as to be easily taken by hand. in general appearance they resembled the land-rail, but were larger, and quite as heavy on the wing. they disappeared in the same mysterious manner as they arrived, and have never since repeated their visit. were these birds visitors from the interior, or had they just arrived at the end of a migratory journey from some distant country? it is to be regretted that no specimen of them was to be obtained, as it might have helped to clear an interesting subject from doubt. the darling range. the change in ascending this range, from the alluvium near its base, to the primitive formation of which it is itself composed, is very remarkable. shells still common on the adjacent coasts were met with feet below the surface, near the foot of the range, by one of the colonists when sinking a well. in the same locality deposits of sand may be seen, having that particular wavy appearance which is always noticed upon the sea beach. these appearances, as well as the general aspect of the adjacent country, seem to justify the conclusion i arrived at while on the spot, that the land which now intervenes between the mountains and the shore, is a comparatively recent conquest from the sea. the character of this land may be thus described: the first three miles from the coast is occupied with ridges of hills, from to feet high, of calcareous limestone formation, cropping out in such innumerable points and odd shapes as to be almost impassable. some of these lumps resemble a large barnacle; both lumps and points are covered with long, coarse grass, and thus concealed, become a great hindrance to the pedestrian, who is constantly wounded by them. to these ridges succeed sandy forest land and low hills, except on the banks of the rivulets, where a belt of alluvial soil is to be found. the darling range traverses the whole of western australia in a direction, generally speaking, north and south. it appears to subside towards the north, and its greatest elevation is nearly , feet. the cliffs of the coast at the mouth of swan river, have a most singular appearance, as though covered with thousands of roots, twisted together into a species of network. a singular cliff. a similar curiosity is to be seen on bald head, in king george's sound, so often alluded to by former navigators, and by them mistaken either for coral, or petrified trees standing where they originally grew. bald head was visited by mr. darwin, in company with captain fitzroy, in february , and his opinions upon the agencies of formation, so exactly coincide with those to which i attribute the appearances at arthur's head, that i cannot do better than borrow his words. he says--page , volume , "according to our views, the rock was formed by the wind heaping up calcareous sand, during which process, branches and roots of trees, and land-shells were enclosed, the mass being afterwards consolidated by the percolation of rain water. when the wood had decayed, lime was washed into the cylindrical cavities, and became hard, sometimes even like that in a stalactite. the weather is now wearing away the softer rock, and in consequence the casts of roots and branches project above the surface: their resemblance to the stumps of a dead shrubbery was so exact, that, before touching them, we were sometimes at a loss to know which were composed of wood, and which of calcareous matter."* (*footnote. for more exact details the reader should consult mr. darwin's volume on volcanic islands.) the natives. we were much struck during our stay by the contrast between the natives here, and those we had seen on the beagle's former voyage at king george's sound. the comparison was wholly in favour of those living within the influence of their civilized fellow-men: a fact which may surprise some of my readers, but for which, notwithstanding, i am quite prepared to vouch. a better quality, and more certain supply of food, are the causes to which this superiority ought to be attributed: they are indeed exceedingly fond of wheaten bread, and work hard for the settlers, in cutting wood and carrying water, in order to obtain it. individually they appear peaceable, inoffensive, and well-disposed, and, under proper management, make very good servants; but when they congregate together for any length of time, they are too apt to relapse into the vices of savage life. among the many useful hints, for which we were indebted to mr. roe, was that of taking a native with us to the northward; and, accordingly, after some trouble, we shipped an intelligent young man, named miago; he proved, in some respects, exceedingly useful, and made an excellent gun-room waiter. we noticed that, like most of the natives, he was deeply scarred, and i learned from him that this is done to recommend them to the notice of the ladies. like all savages, they are treacherous--for uncivilized man has no abstract respect for truth, and consequently deceit, whether spoken or acted, seems no baseness in his eyes. anecdotes of the natives. i heard an anecdote at perth that bears upon this subject: a native of the name of tonquin asked a settler, who lived some distance in the interior, permission to spend the night in his kitchen, of which that evening another native was also an inmate. it seems that some hate, either personal, or the consequences of a quarrel between their different tribes, existed in the mind of tonquin towards his hapless fellow lodger; and in the night he speared him through the heart, and then very quietly laid down to sleep! of course in the morning no little stir took place. tonquin was accused, but stoutly denied the charge. so satisfied, however, was the owner of the house of the guilt of the real culprit, that had he not made his escape, he would have been executed red hand--as the border wardens used to say--by the man, the sanctity of whose roof-tree he had thus profaned. tonquin afterwards declared that he never slept for nearly a fortnight, being dogged from place to place by the footsteps of the avengers of blood. he escaped, however, with his life, though worn almost to a shadow by constant anxiety. when i saw him some years afterwards, i thought him the finest looking native i had ever seen, but he was apparently, as those who knew him best reported him to be, insane. if not the memory of his crime, and the consequent remorse which it entailed upon him, perhaps the fugitive life he was compelled to lead in order to avoid the wrath of human retribution, had been used to make manifest the anger of heaven for this breach of one of those first great laws of human society, which are almost as much instincts of our nature as revelations from the creator to the creatures of his will! superstitions. the natives have a superstitious horror of approaching the graves of the dead, of whom they never like to speak, and when induced to do so, always whisper. a settler, residing in a dangerous part of the colony, had two soldiers stationed with him as a guard: upon one occasion five natives rushed in at a moment when the soldiers were unprepared for their reception, and a terrible struggle ensued: the soldiers, however, managed, while on the ground, to shoot two of them, and bayonetted the remaining three. the five were afterwards buried before the door, nor could a more perfect safeguard have been devised; no thought even of revenge for their comrades would afterwards induce any of the tribe to pass that fearful boundary. their most curious superstition, however, remains to be recorded; it is the opinion they confidently entertain, and which seems universally diffused among them, that the white people are their former fellow countrymen, who in such altered guise revisit the world after death. miago assured me that this was the current opinion, and my own personal observation subsequently confirmed his statement. at perth, one of the settlers, from his presumed likeness to a defunct member of the tribe of the murray river, was visited by his supposed kindred twice every year, though in so doing they passed through sixty miles of what was not unfrequently an enemy's country. their religious opinions, so far as i have been able to obtain any information on the subject, are exceedingly vague and indefinite. that they do not regard the grave as man's final resting place, may, however, be fairly concluded, from the superstition i have just alluded to, and that they believe in invisible and superior powers--objects of dread and fear, rather than veneration or love--has been testified in captain grey's most interesting chapter upon native customs, and confirmed by my own experience. the evil spirit. i used sometimes to question miago upon this point, and from him i learned their belief in the existence of an evil spirit, haunting dark caverns, wells, and places of mystery and gloom, and called jinga. i heard from a settler that upon one occasion, a native travelling with him, refused to go to the well at night from fear of this malevolent being; supposed to keep an especial guardianship over fresh water, and to be most terrible and most potent in the hours of darkness. miago had never seen this object of his fears, but upon the authority of the elders of his tribe, he described its visible presence as that of a huge many-folded serpent; and in the night, when the tall forest trees moaned and creaked in the fitful wind, he would shrink terrified by the solemn and mysterious sounds, which then do predispose the mind to superstitious fears, and tell how, at such a time, his countrymen kindle a fire to avert the actual presence of the evil spirit, and wait around it--chanting their uncouth and rhythmical incantations--with fear and trembling, for the coming dawn. i have preserved these anecdotes here, because i can vouch for their authenticity, and though individually unimportant, they may serve to throw additional light upon the manners, customs, and traditions of the aborigines of australia; but to all really interested in the subject, i would recommend a perusal of captain grey's second volume. i have as yet neither space nor materials to attempt any detailed account of the customs, superstitions, or condition of this strange people; but it would be impossible to pass them by quite unnoticed: nor can the voyager, whose chief object is to make their native land a field for the exertions of british enterprise, be wholly indifferent to the manner in which our dominion may affect them. the history of almost every colony, founded by european energy, has been one fearful catalogue of crime; and though by the side of the spanish, dutch, and portuguese, english adventurers seem gentle and benevolent, still cruelty and oppression have too often disgraced our name and faith. future prospects. thank heaven, with many a doubt as to the time that must elapse ere that glad day shall come, i can look onward with confidence to a period--i trust not far remote--when throughout the length and breadth of australia, christian civilization shall attest that the claims upon england's benevolence have been nobly acknowledged! chapter . . from swan river to roebuck bay. sail from gage's road. search for a bank. currents and soundings. houtman's abrolhos. fruitless search for ritchie's reef. indications of a squall. deep sea soundings. atmospheric temperature. fish. a squall. anchor off the mouth of roebuck bay. a heavy squall. driven from our anchorage. cape villaret. anchor in roebuck bay. excursion on shore. visit from the natives. mr. bynoe's account of them. a stranger among them. captain grey's account of an almost white race in australia. birds, snakes, and turtle. move the ship. miago, and the black fellows. the wicked men of the north. clouds of magellan. face of the country. natives. heat and sickness. miago on shore. mr. usborne wounded. failure in roebuck bay. native notions. currents and soundings. the solemnities of christmas, and the festal celebration of the new year, beneath a cloudless sky, and with the thermometer at , concluded our first visit to swan river. we left our anchorage in gage's road on thursday, january th, devoting several hours to sounding between rottnest and the main. we bore away at p.m. to search for a bank said to exist about fifteen miles north from the middle of rottnest island, having from twenty to twenty-two fathoms over it. near the position assigned we certainly shoaled our water from twenty-eight to twenty-four fathoms, but no other indication of a bank was to be found. satisfied that we had now no further reason for delay, we kept away north-west with a fresh southerly wind, and the glad omen of a brilliant sunset. january . we were rather surprised to find by our observation at noon, no indication of a northerly current, though yesterday when becalmed between rottnest and the main we were drifted to the northward at the rate of nearly two knots per hour. we sounded regularly every four hours, but found no bottom at fathoms: the wind during the morning was light from south-south-west but during the night we had it fresh from south-east. january . we passed, at midnight, within miles of the position assigned in the chart to the low coral group known as houtman's abrolhos,* and again sounded unsuccessfully with fathoms. (*footnote. subsequent observations placed these islands miles more to the eastward than the position there assigned them. our track, therefore, was really miles from them.) we continued steering a northerly course up to the th, keeping within from to miles distance of the coast, and repeating our deep-sea soundings every six hours without success. indications of a squall. the wind during each day was moderate from the south-south-west and south by west, freshening during the night from south, and south by east; a heavy swell was its constant companion, and the barometer fell to . . on the morning of the th, being in the parallel of north-west cape, our course was altered to north-east by east; it blew hard during the night, and we had a disagreeable sea; but, as usual, it moderated again towards the morning. we had shaped a course to make a reef in latitude degrees minutes, and named after its discoverer, lieutenant ritchie, r.n.; but owing to its being situated, as we afterwards found, half a degree to the eastward of its assigned position in the charts, we did not see it. at a.m., and with fathoms, we reached a bottom of sand, broken shells, and coral, being then about miles north-north-east from tremouille island, the nearest land. steering east by north / north for miles, brought us to our noon position in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east, and into a depth of fathoms, with the same kind of bottoms. south-south-west, miles from our morning position, captain king had and fathoms; from this we may suppose the edge of the bank of soundings, extending off this part of the coast, to be very steep. these soundings, together with those of captain king, as above, may give some idea of the nature and extent of this bank, which seems to be a continuation of the flat extending north-north-east miles, connecting barrow and tremouille islands with the main: its outer edge being kept heaped up thus steeply by the constant action of the current sweeping round the north-west cape. deep sea soundings. we continued steering east and by north / north, and at sunset, miles from our noon position, the water had deepened to fathoms, bottom a fine white sand and powdered shells. before we were miles from our noon position, we could find no bottom with fathoms. january . we made but slow progress during the night, and felt delay the more tedious from the eager anxiety with which we desired sight of the land where our duties were to begin in earnest. we were not successful with our soundings till p.m., when we had the same kind of bottom as before described, with fathoms: miles east by north / north from our noon position, which was miles west by south from roebuck bay: miles in the same direction from our noon position, we shoaled our water to fathoms, the ground retaining the same distinctive character. we had the wind from south-west to south-east during the afternoon, but at p.m. it chopped round to north-north-west, when, too, for the first time, we perceived lightning to the south-east--barometer . ; thermometer . january . the preceding indications of the coming squall, which had given us full time for preparation, were realized about one o'clock this morning, when it reached us, though only moderately, from south-east. it was preceded by the rise and rapid advance of a black cloud in that quarter, just as captain king has described. atmospheric temperature. at noon we were in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east, and in soundings of fathoms, fine white sand, broken shells, and fragments of dead coral. there was only a slight variation in the atmospheric temperature of two degrees during the twenty-four hours, the highest in the day being , and the lowest at night . the water was very smooth, but as night approached it thundered and lightened heavily and vividly, and most of us noticed and suffered from a particularly oppressive and overpowering state of the atmosphere, which the heat indicated by the thermometer was by no means sufficiently intense to account for. january . during the last twenty-four hours we had made but miles progress in the direction of roebuck bay; our noon observations placed us in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east, being about miles from the nearest land. we obtained soundings at fathoms, yellow sand and broken shells. during the afternoon, it being nearly a calm, we found ourselves surrounded by quantities of fish, about the size of the mackerel, and apparently in pursuit of a number of small and almost transparent members of the finny tribe, not larger than the minnow. we sounded at sunset, and found bottom at fathoms, which shoaled by half-past ten to . the circumstance, however, occasioned no surprise, as we had run south-south-east miles, in a direct line for that low portion of the coast from which the flat we were running over extends. the first part of the night we had the wind at north-north-east, the breeze steady, and the water as smooth as glass; but as the watch wore on, quick flashes of forked lightning, and the suspicious appearance of gathering clouds in the south-east, gave warning of the unwelcome approach of a heavy squall. heavy squall. at eleven we lay becalmed for ten minutes between two contending winds; that from the south, however, presently prevailed, and shifting to the south-east, blew hard: meantime, a dark mass of clouds in the east-south-east appeared suddenly to assume the form of a deep-caverned archway, and moved rapidly towards us; in a few minutes, the ship was heeling majestically to the passing gust, the lightning flashed vividly and rapidly around us, alternately concealing and revealing the troubled surface of the foam-covered sea, while the thunder rolled heavily over our heads. the squall was heavy while it lasted, commencing at east-south-east and ending at east-north-east. it was accompanied by heavy rain. towards the end of the middle watch, the weather began to assume a more settled appearance, and we had a moderate breeze from the north; but between five and six o'clock a.m., it shifted suddenly by the west to south-south-east, and became light. we sounded repeatedly during the night in from to fathoms, the same kind of bottom as before; which we found agree very well with those reported in the account of the french expedition under captain baudin. from the specimens of the squalls we experienced the last two nights, and which appear to be pretty regular in their visitation, i am inclined to believe they do not extend any considerable distance from the land. they give the seaman ample warning of their approach; yet, since they always come on in the night, when their violence cannot be properly estimated, the ship's head should (if circumstances permit) be kept to the westward (west-north-west) until the short-lived fury of the storm has exhausted itself. january . we progressed with light and variable airs through the day, gradually shoaling our water till nine p.m., when the anchor was dropped in fathoms, having previously passed over a rocky ledge of apparently coral formation, in / fathoms. the land over the south point of roebuck bay bore east-south-east, about miles distant; but we did not see it till the following morning. driven from the anchorage. the evening wore a threatening aspect, though not apparently so much to be dreaded as that of yesterday; however, we were disagreeably out in our anticipations, for about three o'clock a.m. (january ) a heavy squall burst on us, veering from east-south-east to east-north-east, broke our best bower anchor, and drove us half a mile out to sea, when the remaining fluke hooked a rock and brought us up. it rained and blew till daylight, then we were again favoured with fine weather, and light westerly winds. the land was now in sight, cape villaret being the most northerly point, and bearing east-south-east some or miles. the hillock upon this cape, and two other hummocks, lying to the southward, formed the only prominent features of the low land in sight. cape villaret. at this anchorage the flood-tide set east and by north, from one to one and a half knots per hour. before weighing i procured a specimen of live coral from the depth of fathoms. light airs, and the aid of the flood-tide, carried us into the centre of roebuck bay, where we came to an anchor in fathoms, cape villaret bearing south by west / west about miles. the fall of the tide here was no less than feet. as we closed with the land, i had a good opportunity of speculating upon its appearance, and the probability of our investigation confirming or contradicting the opinion entertained by captains king and dampier, that a channel would be found to connect roebuck bay with an opening behind buccaneers archipelago, thus making dampier's land an island. i confess, my own impressions at first sight differed from that of those high authorities, nor did a nearer examination shake my opinion. cape villaret, a short ridge lying east and west, and about feet high, was still the most remarkable object; the sand on its side having a curious red appearance. from the masthead the land was not visible to the eastward for the space of one point of the compass; yet its level character, and the shoalness of the water, led alike to the opinion that no such communication as supposed would be found to exist. january . collecting materials for the chart was the chief occupation of the day. mr. usborne discovered a high-water inlet in the south shore of the bay, five miles east of cape villaret, having a dry bank of sand before it at low-water. visit from the natives. while the party were on shore, they were visited by six of the natives, a larger race of men than those on the south coast, naked, with the exception of a grass mat round the waist, and the hair straight and tied up behind, seemingly ignorant of the use of the throwing stick, but carrying spears ill-shapen and unbarbed. one of them had a kiley, or boomerang, and each carried a rude hatchet of stone. none of them had suffered the loss of the front tooth, which, with some tribes, is a distinction of manhood. when asked by signs for fresh water, of which our party saw no traces, they pointed to the south-east; a circumstance which i record, as it may possibly be of some service to future explorers. as the boat was leaving, one of them, supposing, i presume, that they were out of our reach, and might therefore attack us with impunity, threw a stone at the boat, which luckily did no harm, though hurled with great dexterity and force. upon this, a pistol was discharged over their heads, when they retired with far greater rapidity than they had advanced. an almost white race. mr. usborne mentions, in an account of this interview (published in the nautical magazine for , page ) that one of the party differed in several physical characteristics from the rest. after describing them in general terms as being from five feet six, to five feet nine inches tall, broad shoulders, long and slight legs, large heads, and overhanging brows--he continues, "there was an exception in the youngest, who appeared of an entirely different race: his skin was a copper colour, while the others were black; his head was not so large, and more rounded; the overhanging brow was lost; the shoulders more of a european turn; and the body and legs much better proportioned; in fact, he might be considered a well-made man, at our standard of figure." a similar instance of meeting with one of a tribe, not apparently belonging to the same subdivision of the human family as those by whom he was surrounded, is recorded by captain grey, who speaks indeed of the existence of a distinct race, totally different (i.e. from the other aborigines) and almost white. i cannot say that i have myself encountered any of these almost white men, whose existence, as a distinct race, captain grey appears to have rather hastily admitted; such variation in form and colour as mr. usborne alludes to, may, however, be accounted for by the intercourse which the natives on the north coast hold from time to time with the malays. several very large black martins, with white or grey heads, were hovering over the ship this morning; and many flights of small white tern, and a bird, commonly called the razor-bill, passed and re-passed the ship every morning and evening, flying from the bay to seaward, and returning at sunset. two water snakes were shot alongside the ship during the day; the largest measured four feet, and was of a dirty yellow colour. a good-sized fish was taken from the stomach of one of them. their fangs were particularly long, and very much flattened, having no cutting edge whatever. some turtle also passed the ship to-day, and a day or two afterwards we were fortunate enough to shoot one which weighed pounds: he had ample justice done to his merits. it was high-water at . p.m., and the stream changed at the same time, a circumstance conclusively demonstrating that we were not anchored in a strait. january . we got underweigh in the morning, but from the shallowness of the water anchored within a mile east of our former position. the native miago. the native miago, who had accompanied us from swan river, was most earnest in his inquiries about the savages, as soon as he understood that some of them had been seen. he appeared delighted that these blackfellows, as he calls them, have no throwing sticks; for though at times exceedingly valiant in conversation, and very anxious to kill one of the men, and carry off one of their gins, or wives--the great end, aim, and ambition of all australian force or policy--he yet evidently holds these northmen in great dread. they are, according to his account, "bad men--eat men--perth men tell me so: perth men say, miago, you go on shore very little, plenty quibra men* go, you go." these instructions appear to have been very carefully pressed upon him by his associates, and certainly they had succeeded in inspiring him with the utmost dread of this division of his fellow countrymen, which all his boasting about killing some of them and taking one of their women as proof of his prowess, back to perth, failed to concern. (*footnote. i.e. men of the ship.) clouds of magellan. he gave me this evening a new reason to account for the appearance of the two small clouds called after the celebrated magellan, in the following words: "you see," said he, pointing up to the sky, "little smoke." i assented at once; for certainly the clouds have very much the appearance of that to which he compared them: he then continued: "perth man tell me, long, long time back, he make fire, smoke go far away up, far away, stop and never go away more." miago evidently believed that his friend at perth had really lighted the fire, the smoke of which had thus gone up "far away, far away," to "stop and never go away more." i can easily enough comprehend why the assertion might be made, and possibly without any intention to deceive upon the part of the asserter, who may first have seen the clouds after watching the ascent of his own fire smoke through the still air, in the same direction; but that it should be implicitly believed, as it evidently was by miago, upon the mere word of his fellow countryman, did, i own, astonish me; and seems to indicate that, in their social intercourse with each other, they may have more regard for truth than i was at first inclined to give them credit for. useless bay. mr. usborne was away to-day in one of the boats, seeking a berth for the ship higher up the bay: upon his return he reported that he had been over the banks before mentioned, upon which he found the water very shoal: the face of the country he described as exceedingly low, with mud lumps not unlike ant-hills,* scattered here and there over the face of it, and several clusters of small trees. natives also had been seen, though no opportunity of approaching them had occurred, as the moment their restless eyes, or quick ears, detected our approach, they most rapidly retreated. (*footnote. subsequent experience literally verified this opinion.) heat and sickness. january . two boats were despatched this morning, under mr. usborne's command, to examine the eastern part of what i think may be named very properly useless bay. this would have been my duty, had i not unfortunately been taken ill in the evening of the preceding day: the symptoms were violent headache, and a disordered state of the stomach, caused, the surgeon says, by the oppressive and overpowering heat which we have experienced for the last few days, and the general effects of which seem more distressing to the ship's company than is often experienced under a higher range of the thermometer; the deprivation of all power, or energy, is one of its most unpleasant consequences. i am inclined to think that one reason for its great and wearying effect upon most of us--indeed, more or less, all are suffering from it--is that there is hardly any variation in temperature during the whole twenty-four hours: it sometimes does not amount to more than two or three degrees. captain wickham and the surgeon visited an inlet near the ship to-day, which had indeed been looked into, but not explored before. they proceeded to the south-west for about three miles, through a very tortuous channel, dry in many parts at low-water, thickly studded with mangrove bushes, over and through which the tide made its way at high-water, giving to that part of the country the appearance of an extensive morass. a slightly elevated table-topped range of land was seen from time to time, some eight or nine miles to the south-east, but in its highest elevation did not reach feet. the apparent width of the inlet in no way diminished so far as the exploring party examined it; and this fact, coupled with the general character of the country hereabouts, induces me to suppose that the periodical return of the spring tide, floods the greater part of the coast between the sea shore and the base of the range i have alluded to. vampires of a very large kind were here met with, the furthest south we had seen them. miago on shore. miago had accompanied this party on shore, though he evidently showed no great devotion to the deed. they said he watched everything, aye, every bush, with the most scrutinizing gaze: his head appeared to turn upon a pivot, so constantly was it in motion, with all that restless watchfulness for which the savage is ever remarkable. the heat to-day either exceeded an average, or else perhaps, as an invalid, i noticed it more closely: on shore, it was degrees in the shade. on board, it was degrees in the shade. pulling off in the boats . during the day, it fluctuated, between and . a breeze from seaward blew the greater part of each night from west-south-west, hauling round to south in the morning. january . our noon observation to-day enabled us to fix the latitude of cape villaret degrees minutes seconds, which precisely agrees with that assigned to it by captain king. mr. usborne wounded. in the afternoon the boats returned with mr. usborne, who had been unfortunately very severely wounded by the accidental discharge of a musket. it appeared that after a careful examination of the bay, which ended as i had anticipated, in proving that no opening to the interior would be found in it, the party were returning to the boats, when, from the accidental explosion of a musket in the hand of one of the party, a ball entered mr. usborne's right side, near the spine, between the lower rib and hip bone, making an exit in a line with the navel. this truly unfortunate circumstance--which for some weeks deprived the expedition of the services of a most valuable officer--occurred about o'clock a.m., but the time and trouble of carrying the sufferer through the mud to the boats, and then pulling some miles, made it near o'clock before he was on board and under the charge of mr. bynoe: we were all shocked to see our companion lifted apparently lifeless into the vessel he had so recently quitted full of health, and animated by an anxious desire to do all in his power to conduce to the general success; but were ere long assured by mr. bynoe, whose personal or professional merits need no eulogium from me--and who immediately and most carefully attended our wounded messmate--that the best results might be reasonably hoped for: a prediction shortly afterwards happily verified. at the time this unlucky accident occurred, some twenty natives rushed from the concealment whence they had been doubtless watching all the proceedings of the party, as though they designed to bear a part in what probably seemed to them, as poor usborne went down, an approaching fray: however, the sight of the two boats in the distance, which upon deploying they had full in view, deterred them from acting upon any hostile intentions, supposing such to have existed in their minds. loaded pistols left behind. the accident, however, and their sudden appearance, could only serve additionally to flurry the little party who had to convey their disabled officer to a place of safety, and mr. helpman, who may well be pardoned the want of his usual self-possession at such a moment, left behind a pair of loaded pistols. they would puzzle the savages greatly of course, but i hope no ill consequences ensued: if they began pulling them about, or put them in the fire, the better to separate the wood and iron, two or three poor wretches might be killed or maimed for life, and their first recollections of the quibra men, as miago calls us, would naturally be anything but favourable. thus disastrously terminated our examination of roebuck bay, in which the cheering reports of former navigators, no less than the tenor of our hydrographical instructions had induced us to anticipate the discovery of some great water-communication with the interior of this vast continent. a most thorough and careful search--in which everyone seemed animated by one common and universal sentiment, prompting all to a zealous discharge of duty--had clearly demonstrated that the hoped-for river must be sought elsewhere: and that very fact which at first seemed to lessen the probabilities of ultimate success, served rather to inspire than to daunt; since while it could not shake our reliance upon the opinions of those best qualified to decide, that such a river must ultimately be discovered, it only narrowed the ground upon which energy, knowledge, and perseverance had yet to undergo their probation, ere they enjoyed their reward! the boyl-yas. our intercourse with the natives had been necessarily of the most limited character, hardly amounting to anything beyond indulging them with the sight of a new people, whose very existence, notwithstanding the apathetic indifference with which they regarded us, must have appeared a prodigy. what tradition may serve to hand down the memory of our visit to the third generation, should no newer arrival correct its gathering errors, and again restore some vestige of the truth, it is hardly possible to imagine; but should any misfortune follow their possession of mr. helpman's pistols, that in particular will be narrated as the motive for the visit of those white men who came flying upon the water, and left some of the secret fire upon the peaceful coast: and when again the white sails of the explorer glisten in the distant horizon, all the imaginary terrors of the boyl-yas,* will be invoked to avert the coming of those who bring with them the unspeakable blessings of christian civilization. (*footnote. the natives in the neighbourhood of swan river give this name to their sorcerers.) chapter . . from roebuck bay to skeleton point. departure from roebuck bay. appearance of the country. progress to the northward. hills and cliffs. french names and french navigators. tasman, and his account of the natives. hazeygaeys and assagais. his authenticity as an historian. description of the natives. marks and mutilations. phrenological development. moral condition. proas, canoes, and rafts. another squall. anchor in beagle bay. face of the country. palm trees. dew. hauling the seine. a meeting with natives. eastern salutation. miago's conduct towards, and opinion of, his countrymen. mutilation of the hand. native smokes seen. move further to the north-east. point emeriau. cape leveque. point swan. tide-races. search for water. encountered by natives. return to the ship. the attempt renewed. conduct of the natives. effect of a congreve rocket after dark. a successful haul. more natives. miago's heroism. the plague of flies. dampier's description of it. native habitations. underweigh. wind and weather. tidal phenomenon. natural history. singular kangaroo. bustard. cinnamon kangaroo. quails. goanas and lizards. ant hills. fishing over the side. a day in the bush. a flood of fire. soil and productions. white ibis. curious tree. rain water. geology of the cliffs. weigh, and graze a rock, or touch and go. the twins. sunday strait. roe's group. miago and his friends. a black dog. a day of rest. native raft. captain king and the bathurst. a gale. point cunningham. successful search for water. native estimation of this fluid. discovery of a skeleton. and its removal. the grey ibis. our parting legacy. departure from roebuck bay. january , . satisfied that no inland communication could be expected from roebuck bay, we weighed in the early part of the morning, and stood away to the northward. appearance of the country. roebuck bay, so named to commemorate the name of dampier's ship, is about sixteen miles across: the southern shores are low, and extensive sandbanks and mud flats are bared at low-water. near the north-east point of the bottom of this bay, is a curious range of low cliffs, from twenty to thirty feet high, and strongly tinged with red, in such a manner as to suggest that they must be highly impregnated with oxide of iron. in the neighbourhood of these cliffs the country had a more fertile, or rather a less desolate appearance, stretching out into extensive plains, lightly timbered with various trees of the genus eucalypti, while, on the south shore of the bay, the mangroves were numerous. towards the afternoon we discovered a small inlet, being then about miles from our former anchorage in roebuck bay. we steered directly for it, and when within half a mile of its mouth, we had, at high-water, six fathoms. from the masthead i could trace distinctly the course of this inlet, which at this state of the tide appeared to be of great extent; but the bar which locked its mouth, and over which the sea was breaking very heavily, rendered it impossible to take a boat across without evident risk, by which no real good would be obtained, as the rise and fall of the tide, eighteen feet, on this low coast, was more than sufficient to account for the imposing, though deceptive appearance of this opening. from the main-top-gallant yard i was enabled to take an almost bird's-eye view of the level country stretched apparently at my feet. the shore, like the south side of roebuck bay, was fringed with mangroves, while to the north-north-east lay an extensive plain, over which the water seemed, at certain seasons of the year, to flow. the country around, for miles, wore the appearance of an interminable and boundless plain, with an almost imperceptible landward elevation, and thickly wooded with stunted trees. in sailing along this part of the coast we found several inaccuracies in captain king's chart, doubtless owing to the distant view with which he was compelled to content himself, and to the unfavourable state of the weather against which he had to contend. i was on deck nearly, indeed, the whole of the night, baffled by flying clouds in my attempts to fix our latitude by the stars: at length, however, i succeeded in ascertaining it to be degrees minutes south. january . the morning was fine, but the wind we had experienced the preceding night caused a rather heavy swell, which rendered the attempt to enter this inlet an impracticable task; however, it was tried. we found between the ship and the shore six, four, and two fathoms, but as the mouth of the inlet was filled with breakers, apparently on a bar extending out half a mile, i was fully convinced that further perseverance would only amount to waste of time and needless risk, and therefore, after taking a few angles to fix the position of the boat, we returned on board. it appeared at low-water to be nearly dry, and then only amounted to a collection of mud and sandbanks. the examination quite satisfied me that it partook of the same character as the one already spoken of as seen yesterday, and that they are alike useless. we were soon underway, and standing towards, or rather along, the shore; and as the day advanced, the wind drew more to the westward, a common occurrence, enabling us to lay along the shore, north / east. by four p.m., we were within two miles of it, in nine fathoms. the coast here is fronted with a range of sandhills, some of which are topped with verdure: several low black rocky points extend for some distance from the flat sandy beach into the sea. i have no hesitation in saying, that this is a kind of black sandstone, often found at the bases of most cliffy points, and probably coloured by the chemical action of the saltwater. the sandhills, which form the coastline, do not appear to extend more than a mile inland. beyond, the country appeared to subside into the same dull level which is the characteristic feature of what we have yet seen of this coast, thickly studded with timber of a much finer growth than the stunted productions of roebuck bay. behind the cliffy parts of the coast the land assumed a more fertile appearance; and this seemed an almost invariable law in the natural history of this new world. progress to the northward. five miles to the northward of point coulomb, we passed a reef, lying a mile from the shore, with seven fathoms one mile seaward of it. the land now trended to the eastward, and formed a large bay, the south point of which we rounded at half past four p.m. the mangroves grew right down to the water's edge, and the spring tides appear to inundate the country to a very considerable extent, the land here being lower than any we had yet seen. we anchored, at half past eight, in six and a half fathoms, and i ran below to find how our wounded messmate had borne the day. from my usual post, the masthead, i traced the shore from point to point of carnot bay, so named after the celebrated french consul and engineer. a very low sandy point bore north degrees, east miles. sandbanks and breakers completely fortified its shores, and effectually forbid all approach, except under the most favourable circumstances. land discovered by tasman. the several french names with which commodore baudin has distinguished leading portions of this coast, of course, professional courtesy will willingly respect; it is, however, only right to mention, that while he contented himself with so distant a view of this part of australia as to be sometimes completely mistaken in the most important particulars, to the celebrated abel tasman belongs the merit of having previously landed upon its shores in that very bay, which now bears the name of the great republican. description of the natives. tasman describes the natives as being quite naked, black in colour, and having curly hair, "malicious and cruel," using for arms bows and arrows, hazeygaeys* and kalawaeys. they came, upon one occasion, fifty in number, to attack a party of the dutch, who had landed, but took fright at the sight and sound of firearms. "their proas," he adds, "are made of the bark of trees, and they use no houses." (*footnote. hazeygaeys are synonymous with assagais, the name for the short african spear, used by the tribes between port natal and the cape, and which is generally supposed to be the native term for the weapon. captain harris, however, states that this supposition is incorrect; and, certainly, its appearance and termination here incline me to join him in suspecting it of a dutch origin.) such is the account of this distinguished and trustworthy discoverer, upon whose veracity i should be the last to attempt to affix suspicion: his very simplicity of detail, and the entire absence of rhetorical artifice, would convey sufficient internal evidence of his truth, had not the subsequent progress of australian discovery served to confirm all the material facts of his narrative. i may, however, remark, that the natives seen upon this coast during our cruise, within the limits of roebuck bay to the south, and port george the fourth to the north, an extent of more than miles, with the exception that i shall presently notice, agreed in having a common character of form, feature, hair, and physiognomy, which i may thus describe. the average height of the males may be taken to be from five feet five inches to five feet nine inches, though, upon one occasion, i saw one who exceeded this height by an inch. they are almost black--in fact, for ordinary description, that word, unqualified by the adverb, serves the purpose best. their limbs are spare and light, but the muscle is finely developed in the superior joint of the arm, which is probably owing to their constant use of it in throwing the spear. some tribes are entirely naked, while others wear girdles of skin and leaves, hardly sufficient, however, to serve any purpose of decency, much less of comfort. phrenological development. their hair is always dark, sometimes straight and sometimes curled, and not unfrequently tied up behind; but we saw no instance of a negro, or woolly, head among them. they wear the beard upon the chin, but not upon the upper lip, and allow it to grow to such a length as enables them to champ and chew it when excited by rage; an action which they accompany with spitting it out against the object of their indignation or contempt. they have very overhanging brows, and retreating foreheads, large noses, full lips, and wide mouths: in some cases they want the two foreteeth in the upper jaw, and while, in any one tribe in which the custom prevails, it seems to be unanimous, it does not appear to be, by any means, universally diffused along the whole north-western coast. the unfavourable impression produced by the prevailing character of their physiognomy, is confirmed, if their phrenological conformation is taken into consideration; and certainly, if the principles of that science are admitted to be true, these savages are woefully deficient in all the qualities which contribute to man's moral supremacy. let me, in justice, add, that while we found them ignorant and incurious to the last degree, they were generally suspicious rather than treacherous, and not insensible to such acts of kindness as they could comprehend. upon all this extent of coast, we saw no single instance of the use, or even existence, of any proa, or canoe; and my own opinion, strengthened by personal experience, and enforced by the authority of the most recent navigators, is, that the canoe is not used upon the north-west coast. the negative evidence, at least, is strongly in favour of this presumption; for, while we saw the canoe in use in clarence strait--the western boundary of the northern coast--we saw nothing but the raft to the south of that point. i cannot, therefore, avoid the conclusion, that, misled by the similarity of external appearance, tasman mistook the raft of unbarked timber for a bark canoe, such as he may have seen upon other parts of the coast. we had a return of the same kind of squall from the eastward, as we had experienced before our arrival in roebuck bay, and from which, since that time till now, we had luckily managed to escape. january . we were again at work by daylight, but were delayed, getting clear of the foul ground, lying off cape baskerville, on which we twice shoaled the water to three and five fathoms, five and seven miles west and by south from that headland. beagle bay. the land over it rises to an elevation of nearly feet, and then again becomes low and sandy, opening out a bay, which from appearance promised, and wherein we afterwards found, good anchorage: it was named beagle bay, and may serve hereafter to remind the seamen who benefit by the survey in which that vessel bore so conspicuous a part, of the amount of his obligations to the government that sent her forth, the skill and energy that directed her course, and the patient discipline by which, during her long period of active service, so much was done for the extension of our maritime knowledge. in the bight formed between this bay and cape baskerville we passed two high-water inlets; the mouths of both were fronted with rocky ledges. we anchored here, soon after midday, and had every reason to be satisfied with our berth. beagle bay is about three miles broad and seven deep; the country around is low and open, and traces of water deposit were visible in several spots to indicate its dangerous proximity to the sea. the smaller shrubs of the country were common; and the mangroves flourished in great abundance on the beach, and along the little creeks that diverge from it. some large anthills, and very small palm trees, not six feet in height, were noticed for the first time so far south. during the night the wind veered round to south-west, and blew quite fresh, a circumstance which made us additionally prize our good anchorage here. we had, however, no squall, nor any dew, which i should mention falls most copiously upon certain nights, without any apparent indication; to these dews, the vegetation of this country, so far as we can judge, seems to owe its principal nourishment and support. visited by natives. january . the forenoon was devoted to the examination of this excellent anchorage, and a party was also despatched to haul the seine. on landing they were met by a party of natives, who saluted them in a manner which strikingly resembled the eastern mode. they had no weapon, save one kiley or boomerang, and bowed down until they almost kissed the water. conduct of miago. their speech was shrill and quick, perfectly unintelligible to our friend miago, who seemed greatly in fear of them: they seemed astonished to find one apparently of their own clime, complexion, and degree in company with the white strangers, who must have seemed to them a different race of beings; nor was their wonder at all abated when miago threw open his shirt, and showed them his breast curiously scarred after their fashion--for this custom of cutting stripes upon the body, as other savages tattoo it, by way of ornament, seems universally to prevail throughout australia--as a convincing evidence that he, though now the associate of the white man, belonged to the same country as themselves. when miago had, in some degree, recovered from his alarm--and their want of all weapons no doubt tended to reassure him more than anything else, he very sagaciously addressed them in english; shaking hands and saying, "how do you do?" and then began to imitate their various actions, and mimic their language, and so perfectly did he succeed that one of our party could not be persuaded but that he really understood them; though for this suspicion i am convinced there was in truth no foundation. in general appearance this tribe differed but little from those we had previously seen. they wore their hair straight, and tied behind in a rude semblance of the modern queue; their beards were long, and two or three among them were daubed with a kind of black ochre. all of them had lost one of the front teeth, and several one finger joint;* in this particular they differed from the natives seen in roebuck bay, amongst whom the practice of this mutilation did not prevail. they were, i think, travelling to the southward, at the time they fell in with us, for they had no females among the party, by whom they are usually at other times accompanied. the circumstance of their being unarmed may seem to militate against the supposition that they were travelling, but it is to be borne in mind that these people universally consider the absence of offensive weapons as the surest test of peaceful intentions, and would therefore, if they desired to maintain a friendly footing with the newcomers, most probably deposit their arms in some place of concealment before they made themselves visible. (*footnote. a similar custom was noticed by captain cook at the sandwich islands, where it was regarded as a propitiatory sacrifice to the eatooa, to avert his anger; and not to express, as the same mutilation does in the friendly islands, grief for the loss of a friend.) native smokes. the coast seems pretty thickly populated between roebuck and beagle bays; as the smoke from native fires was constantly to be seen, but in all cases these signs of human existence were confined to the neighbourhood of the sea. the fishing proved unsuccessful, so we were fain to content ourselves without the promised addition to our evening meal. we found the tide rise here feet. in the afternoon we reached another anchorage, some ten miles further to the north-east. the coast along which we sailed within the distance of two miles, was chiefly remarkable for its tall, dark-looking cliffs, with here and there a small sandy bay intervening. we anchored under point emeriau, so named by captain baudin, by whom it was mistaken for an island; its tall, white cliffs, springing from and guarded by a base and ledges of black rock, and tinged with red towards their summits, render it a point not easily to be mistaken or forgotten by any who have once seen it. beyond this the coast curved away to the eastward, forming a bight about eleven miles in length. january . leaving our anchorage at daylight, we passed the north point of the bight just mentioned soon after noon; it is a low black rugged cliffy point, called borda by the french, having a much more weather-beaten appearance than would have been anticipated in this latitude. behind it the country rose obliquely, the horizon terminating in an inconsiderable, undulatory, and well-wooded elevation. cape leveque. we passed another bight in the afternoon, the shores of which were low and rocky, with a mangrove creek in its depth: from this bight the coast becomes almost straight, the line being hardly broken by rocky points and shallow sandy bays, to cape leveque, on the north-east side of which we found an indifferent anchorage just before sunset. cape leveque is a red cliffy point some sixty feet in height, with an islet of the same character lying close off it. the latter bore from our anchorage in fathoms, south degrees west miles, and / west degrees south from the entrance point of the inviting opening, we were now about to explore, with an interest rather stimulated than decreased by the want of success that attended our examination of roebuck bay. point swan. this point was named by captain king, point swan, in honour of captain swan of the cygnet, under whom dampier first discovered it; and was an appropriate tribute of respect and admiration, from one distinguished no less than dampier himself, by the possession of those qualities of firmness, patience, judgment and perseverance, which make up the character of the scientific and adventurous navigator, to him by whom he had been preceded in australian discovery. the country between point swan and cape leveque has a very sandy and barren aspect; the hillocks near the latter partook of its prevailing red colour. tide-races. january . we proceeded this morning in the direction of point swan, and remarked, as we approached it, the heavy tide-race which used captain king so roughly, and which subsequent surveying operations enabled us to account for, from great irregularity in the bottom, changing almost at once from to fathoms. we waited, having no wish to experience the full effect of the current, for slack water, and thus passed round it quietly enough; we anchored in a small bight, south degrees west / miles from point swan, in seven fathoms, which, as we rightly conjectured, would leave us in three, at low-water.* (*footnote. the following is captain king's graphic account of his encounter with this race: "on my way towards point swan, we saw from the masthead a line of strong tide ripplings, extending from the point in a north-west by west direction, within which we at first attempted to pass; but finding they were connected to the point, hauled up to steer through them where they seemed to be the least dangerous. as we approached, the noise was terrific; and although we were not more than two minutes amongst the breakers, yet the shocks of the sea were so violent, as to make us fearful for the safety of our masts. a smaller vessel would perhaps have been swamped; for although the sea was in other parts quite smooth, and the wind light, yet the water broke over the bows, and strained the brig considerably.") as we had now arrived at the point from which we anticipated carrying on our most important operations, it became of paramount interest to know whether we could rely for that indispensable article, fresh water, upon the resources of the wild and barbarous shores. the vast extent of country; the delightful verdure which clothed great portions of it; nay, even the evidences of a people living upon its shores, would, under any other circumstances, and on any other coast, have been deemed conclusively to decide this point in the affirmative: but the voyager knows, from the best authority, that upon the coasts, and within the heart of australia, nature seems to delight in contradiction, and that she is more than usually capricious with respect to the supply of what is ordinarily her most common, as it is ever one of her most precious gifts. a few wretched mud-holes might serve for a time to content the savages trained to privation from their earliest infancy, but for ourselves it was clear, either that a reasonable supply of fresh water must be found here, or we must not calculate upon remaining beyond the time which would leave us sufficient to proceed to hanover bay, where this most needful commodity was, upon the authority of captain king, to be found. search for water. no sooner, therefore, was the beagle properly secured in her new berth, than a party was despatched in the boats to commence a search for water, and to fix upon a spot for carrying on the necessary observations: scarcely, however, had we pushed off from alongside, before the white ensign at our main warned us that the natives were in sight from the ship,* and, on turning our eyes to the shore, we beheld it thronged with savages: the rapidity of whose movements, as they shouted in apparent defiance, brandishing their spears, and whirling their arms round and round with windmill-like velocity, as though to threaten our advance, rendered it impossible to estimate their number with any confidence, but they were evidently in considerable force. however, we pulled to the shore, a measure against which the valiant miago stoutly protested, and landed in a position not directly commanded by the natives. they made no attempt to prevent us, but anxious to avoid hostilities--in every event almost equally deplorable--we deferred any distant search for water; and having fixed on a spot for our temporary observatory, returned to the ship. (*footnote. this signal was always made when natives were seen from the ship, if any parties were away.) january . a strong party was sent on shore, early this morning, with the necessary tools for digging a well, should the search for water upon the surface prove abortive. it was at once found that this operation ought forthwith to be commenced, and accordingly a promising spot was selected in a valley not half a mile from the sea. the natives mustered again in force upon the heights, and seemed to watch our proceedings with the greatest interest: we saw nothing of them the following day, but on the third they seemed so much emboldened by our inoffensive proceedings, that they approached so near as to keep the party pretty much upon the alert. fire a congreve rocket. it was, therefore, determined, lest familiarity should breed contempt, to give them a hint of our superiority without inflicting any injury upon their persons or property; and, accordingly, shortly after dark we fired a congreve rocket from the ship, and in a direction immediately over their presumed position: this had the desired effect, and our well-digging operations, though ultimately unsuccessful, proceeded without further annoyance. conduct of the natives. two or three days afterwards a small party came down upon the beach while we were hauling the seine; and tempted by the offer of some fish--for an australian savage is easily won by him who comes with things that do show so fair as delicacies in the gastronomic department--they approached us, and were very friendly in their manner, though they cunningly contrived always to keep the upper or inland side of the beach. we made them some presents of beads, etc. from the stores supplied by the admiralty for that purpose, but they received them with an indifference almost amounting to apathy. they very closely examined the heroic miago, who submitted to be handled by these much-dreaded northern men with a very rueful countenance, and afterwards construed the way in which one of them had gently stroked his beard, into an attempt to take him by the throat and strangle him! an injury and indignity which, when safe on board, he resented by repeated threats, uttered in a sort of wild chant, of spearing their thighs, backs, loins, and, indeed, each individual portion of the frame. plague of flies. their habit of keeping the eyes almost closed, and the head thrown back, in order to avoid the plague of flies, under which this country seems to suffer, adds to the unpleasant expression of their countenance, and quite justifies the correctness of dampier's account: "their eyelids are always half-closed, to keep the flies out of their eyes, they being so troublesome here, that no fanning will keep them from coming to one's face; and without the assistance of both hands to keep them off, they will creep into one's nostrils, and mouth too, if the lips are not shut very close; so that from their infancy, being thus annoyed with these insects, they do never open their eyes as do other people, and therefore they cannot see far unless they hold up their heads, as if they were looking at somewhat over them." we found constant occasion, when on shore, to complain of this fly nuisance; and when combined with their allies, the mosquitoes, no human endurance could, with any patience, submit to the trial. the flies are at you all day, crawling into your eyes, up your nostrils, and down your throat, with the most irresistible perseverance; and no sooner do they, from sheer exhaustion, or the loss of daylight, give up the attack, than they are relieved by the musquitos, who completely exhaust the patience which their predecessors have so severely tried. it may seem absurd to my readers to dwell upon such a subject; but those, who, like myself, have been half-blinded, and to boot, almost stung to death, will not wonder, that even at this distance of time and place, i recur with disgust to the recollection. the natives, in all parts of the continent alike, seem to possess very primitive notions upon the subject of habitation; their most comfortable wigwams hardly deserve the name: not even in the neighbourhood of english settlements are they beginning in any degree to imitate our european notions of comfort. among these northern people, the only approach to anything like protection from the skiey influences that i could discover, was a slight rudely thatched covering, placed on four upright poles, between three and four feet high. another, of a much superior description, which i visited on the western shore of king's sound, will be found delineated in that part of my journal to which the narrative belongs. wind and weather. february . we remained at this anchorage until the th of february, in consequence of a continuance of bad weather; indeed, the rain during the three first days of that month was at times of the most monsoon-like character, while the wind, constantly blowing very fresh, kept veering from north-west to south-west. every now and then, by way of agreeable variety, a heavy squall would take us from south-south-west, though more commonly from west-south-west. the only certainty that we could calculate upon, was, that at north-north-west the wind would remain when it got there, stationary for a few hours. the thunder and lightning, the former loud and with a long reverberating peal, and the latter of the most intensely vivid kind, were constantly roaring and flashing over our heads; and, with the stormy echoes which the rolling deep around woke on these unknown and inhospitable shores, completed a scene that i shall never cease to remember, as i never then beheld it without mingled emotions of apprehension and delight. the rain, however, certainly befriended us in more ways than one: it cooled the atmosphere, which would else have been insufferably hot, diminished for a time the number and virulence of our winged tormentors, and recruited our stock of fresh water; for, though ultimately we were not obliged to have recourse to it as a beverage, it did exceedingly well for washing purposes. we had also, during this time, one most successful haul with the seine, which amply supplied us with fresh fish for that and the two following days; the greater part were a kind of large mullet, the largest weighed six pounds five ounces, and measured twenty-five inches in length. tidal phenomenon. on the same day we remarked, owing to the north-west wind, a singular phenomenon in the tides here. from half-ebb to high-water the stream wholly ceased, and the water being heaped up in the bay by the force of the wind, fell only sixteen, instead of twenty-four feet. several sporting excursions were made during this period, but with comparatively little success. it is not a country naturally very abundant in game of any kind, except kangaroos, which are numerous, but so harassed by the natives as to be of course extremely shy of the approach of man. singular kangaroo. however, mr. bynoe succeeded in shooting one which possessed the singular appendage of a nail, like that on a man's little finger, attached to the tail. i regret that we had no subsequent opportunity to decide whether this was one of a new species of the macropodidae family, or a mere lusus naturae. the dimensions and height of this singular animal were as follows:* length of body from tip of nose: inches. length of tail from stump to tip: / inches. weight: pounds. (*footnote. this animal has been classed by mr. gould as macropus unguifer, and is now deposited in the british museum. one precisely similar was afterwards killed on the east coast of the gulf of carpentaria.) we also saw some very large red or cinnamon-coloured kangaroos, but never got near enough to secure one; they were apparently identical with a new race, of which i afterwards procured a specimen at barrow's island.* (*footnote. osphranter isabellinus. gould.) one day, when i had penetrated some considerable distance into the bush, farther indeed than any of our party had strayed before, i saw a large bustard, but was unable to get a shot at him; his anxious and acute gaze had detected me, at the same moment that i had discovered him, and he was off. i thought at the time that he bore a strong resemblance to the wild turkey of the colonists in the southern parts of the continent. we were lucky enough to shoot several quails of apparently quite a new species. in one particular they differed from the members of the genus coturnis, in having no hind toe. goannas and lizards were plentiful in this neighbourhood, and some of the latter in particular were most brilliant in colour: they ran down the tall trees, in which they seem to pass a great portion of their lives, at our approach, with a most marvellous rapidity, and darting along the ground, were soon in safety. anthills. but what, perhaps, most attracted our attention, was the very surprising size of the anthills, or nests. i measured one, the height of which was feet, and width at the base feet; from whence it tapered gradually to the apex. they are composed of a pale red earth; but how it is sufficiently tempered, i am unable to state; certain is it, that it has almost the consistence of mortar, and will bear the tread of a man upon the top. fish. the fishing over the ship's side was not less successful than hauling the seine; though quite a different kind of fish was taken to reward the labour of the saltwater waltonians, who devoted themselves to it. they generally secured (at slack water) a large fish, in shape like a bream, and with long projecting teeth. february . we made up a party on the th for the purpose of penetrating a little way into the interior, and got seven miles from the sea in a south by west direction. everything wore a green and most delightful appearance; but the reader must bear in mind, how vegetation had just been forced by heavy rains upon a light, heated soil, and also recollect that to one who has been pent up for some time on board ship a very barren prospect may seem delightful. native fires. the country was more open in character than i had before noticed it, and the numerous traces of native fires which we found in the course of the excursion, seemed readily to account for this: indeed during dry seasons it not unfrequently happens, that an immense tract of land is desolated with fire, communicated, either by the design or carelessness of the natives, to the dry herbage on the surface. the moment the flame has been kindled it only waits for the first breath of air to spread it far and wide: then on the wings of the wind, the fiery tempest streams over the hillsides and through the vast plains and prairies: bushwood and herbage--the dry grass--the tall reed--the twining parasite--or the giant of the forest, charred and blackened, but still proudly erect--alike attest and bewail the conquering fire's onward march; and the bleak desert, silent, waste, and lifeless, which it leaves behind seems forever doomed to desolation: vain fear! the rain descends once more upon the dry and thirsty soil, and from that very hour which seemed the date of cureless ruin, nature puts forth her wondrous power with increased effort, and again her green and flower-embroidered mantle decks the earth with a new beauty! soil and productions. the soil of the extensive plain over which we journeyed this day, was light and sandy in character, but the large amount of vegetable matter which it contains, and the effect of the late rains, which had penetrated some or inches into it, made us perhaps somewhat overvalue its real merits. this plain rose gradually before us until it reached an elevation of feet above the level of the sea, and was covered with a long, thin grass, through which the startled kangaroo made off every now and then at a killing pace. the face of the country was well but not too closely covered with specimens of the red and white gum, and paperbark tree, and several others. the timber was but small, the diameter of the largest, a red gum, inches. ever and anon the sparkling brilliant lizards darted down from their resting places among the boughs, so rapid in their fearful escape, that they caught the eye more like a flash of momentary light, than living, moving forms. we flushed in the course of the day a white bird, or at least nearly so, with a black ring round the neck, and a bill crooked like the ibis, which bird indeed, except in colour, it more resembles than any i have ever seen.* (*footnote. since ascertained to be an ibis--the threskiornis strictipennis.) among the trees seen in the course of this ramble, i had almost forgotten to mention one which struck me more than any other from its resemblance to a kind of cotton tree, used by the natives of the south sea islands in building their canoes. february . the day following we secured several boat-loads of rainwater, deposited in the holes of the rocks, near our temporary observatory, and were the better pleased with our success, as our well-digging had proved unsuccessful. geology of the cliffs. there was something particularly striking in the geological formation of the cliffs that form the western side of this bay: and which rise from to feet in height, their bases apparently resting amid huge and irregular masses of the same white sandstone as that which forms the cliffs themselves, and from which this massive debris, strewn in all conceivable irregularity and confusion around, appears to have been violently separated by some great internal convulsion. some of these great masses, both of the living cliff and ruined blocks beneath, are strangely pierced with a vein or tube of vitreous matter, not less in some instances than inches in diameter. in every place the spot at which this tube entered the rock was indicated by a considerable extent of glazed or smelted surface; but i am not sufficiently versed in the science of geology to offer any specific theory to account for the appearances i have described: the cliffs were rent and cracked in a thousand different ways, and taking into consideration their strange and wrecked appearance, together with the fact that lightning is known to vitrify sand, may we not thus get a clue to the real agency by which these results have been produced?* (*footnote. since this was written, i have consulted my friend, mr. darwin, who has kindly examined a specimen i brought away. he pronounces it "a superficial highly ferrugineous sandstone, with concretionary veins and aggregations." the reader should, however, consult mr. darwin's work on the geology of volcanic islands page .) weigh and graze on a rock. february . the weather was thick and gloomy, and it rained fast; but, having completed our survey and observations, and the wind being favourable, it was resolved to get underweigh without further loss of time. in the very act of weighing, the ship's keel grazed a sunken rock, of the existence of which, though we had sounded the bay, we had been, till that moment, in ignorance! he only who has felt the almost animated shudder that runs through the seemingly doomed ship at that fearful moment, can understand with what gratitude we hailed our escape from the treacherous foe. in passing out, we named two low small rocky islands, lying north of point swan, and hitherto unhonoured with any particular denomination, the twins. it should be noted, that the tide did not begin to make to the southward till hours minutes a.m., being full half an hour after low-water by the shore. we passed through several tide races; not, however, feeling their full force, owing to our encountering them at the time of slack water. in every case our soundings indicated great irregularity of bottom, the cause to which i have already assigned these impediments to in-shore navigation. sunday strait. we found a temporary anchorage the same morning, on the east side of the large group forming the eastern side of sunday strait; so named by captain king, who was drifted in and out of it on that day, august th, , amid an accumulation of perils that will long render the first navigation of this dangerous archipelago a memorable event in the annals of nautical hardihood. roe's group. this group we called after lieutenant roe, r.n., surveyor-general of western australia, who had accompanied captain king in that perilous voyage, and whose valuable information had enabled us to escape so many of the dangers to which our predecessors had been exposed. nothing could exceed the desolate appearance of the land near which we were now lying: rocks, of a primitive character, massed together in all the variety of an irregularity, that rather reminded the beholder of nature's ruin than her grandeur, rose, drear and desolate, above the surrounding waters; no trees shaded their riven sides, but the water-loving mangrove clothed the base of this sterile island, and a coarse, wiry grass was thinly spread over its sides. miago and his friends. soon after we had anchored, some natives were observed by miago watching us from the shore; and shortly afterwards a party landed, to attempt communicating with them, and to get the necessary observations for the survey. in the first object they failed altogether; for these blackfellows, as that gallant hero called them, retired to the heights, and, while closely watching every movement, refused to trust themselves within our reach. the smallness of their number, and their want of arms, quite elevated the courage of miago, who loudly vaunted his intention of monopolizing a northern gin, in order to astonish his friends upon our return to the south: stealing away the ladies being, as i have before remarked, the crowning and most honourable achievement of which man, in the eyes of these savages, is capable. i ought not to omit remarking here, that the natives seen to-day were accompanied by a black dog; the only instance in which, before or since, we observed the existence of a dog of that colour in this vast country. captain king mentions that he saw one in this neighbourhood during his visit in . day of rest. the following day was sunday, and, there being no absolute necessity to shift our berth, we remained at anchor; marking the character of this sacred festival, by giving it up to the crew, for healthful rest and harmless recreation--after morning prayers had been performed--as much as the needful discipline, upon a proper observance of which the efficiency of a ship's company entirely depends, would allow. this practice, constantly observed throughout our long voyage, was always attended with the best results. some rather small pigeons,* of a dark brown colour, marked with a white patch on the wings, were seen, and some specimens shot. they made a whirring sound in flight, like the partridge, and appeared to haunt the rocks; a habit which all subsequent observation confirmed. (*footnote. petrophila albipennis. gould.) february . soon after daylight we left this anchorage, whose exact position i mention, as it may be of use to some future voyager in these seas. the eastern of the three islands north of roe's group was just open of the north point of the bight in which we lay, and a small rocky islet close to the shore bore south-south-west one mile; we had five fathoms at low-water in the bight, and twelve immediately outside. after making a stretch to the southward for about five miles, in soundings varying from to fathoms, we again closed with the shore, and anchored in five fathoms, on the south side of roe's group, three miles from our former anchorage. a party landed in the afternoon to procure the requisite observations: the country was not quite so sterile, nor its face of so rugged a character. native raft. we found nothing worth particular attention, except a native raft, the first we had yet seen. it was formed of nine small poles pegged together, and measured ten feet in length by four in breadth; the greatest diameter of the largest pole was three inches. all the poles were of the palm tree, a wood so light, that one man could carry the whole affair with the greatest ease. by it there was a very rude double-bladed paddle. from a distant station i looked upon the dangerous and rapid current, which divides two rocky islands, and the perils of which are fearfully increased by the presence of an insulated rock in its centre, past which (its fury only heightened by the opposition) the torrent hurries with accelerated force. captain king and the bathurst. it was by this fearful passage that captain king entered this part of the sound, drifting towards apparently instant destruction, without a breath of wind to afford him even a chance of steering between the various perils that environed his devoted ship. as the bathurst swept past the neighbouring shores--covered with the strange forms of the howling savages who seemed to anticipate her destruction, and absolutely within the range of their spears--drifting with literally giddy rapidity towards the fatal rocks, what varied thoughts must have flashed, crowding an age within an hour, upon the mind of her commander? it seemed that all evidence of what his own perseverance, the devotion of his officers, and the gallantry of his crew, had accomplished for the honour of their common country, would in a few brief moments be the prey of the rapid, the spoil of the deep; and yet, while many a heart sent up its voiceless prayer to him, whose arm is not shortened that it cannot save, believing that prayer to be their last--not a cheek blanched--not an eye quailed! but the loving-kindness of omnipotent mercy rested even upon that solitary ship, and within a few yards of the fatal rock, one momentary breath of wind, proved his providential care, for those from whom all hope had fled! i shuddered as the events captain king has recorded, rose up in palpable distinctness to my view, and afterwards, in memory of that day, called the channel escape--to the sound itself we gave the name of king's, in the full confidence that all for whom the remembrance of skill and constancy and courage have a charm, will unite in thinking that the career of such a man should not be without a lasting and appropriate monument! february . it blew a violent gale the whole of this day from west-south-west, coming on quite unexpectedly, for neither the state nor appearance of the atmosphere gave us the least indication of its approach. exposed on a lee-shore, it may be imagined that we were by no means displeased to see it as rapidly and inexplicably depart, as it had suddenly and mysteriously appeared. point cunningham. february . leaving this anchorage we found another in a bay on the mainland, miles south from point swan, and north-west from a remarkable headland named by captain king, point cunningham, in honour of that distinguished botanist, whose zealous exertions have added so much to the flora of australia. i well remember when we were preparing to sail from sydney, in may , the scientific veteran seemed to enter with the utmost interest into all the details of the coming adventure. and even, though the natural force of that frame which had so often set danger at defiance, while engaged in the ennobling pursuits to which his honourable career had been devoted, was too palpably failing the mind whose dictates it had so long obeyed; the fire of the spirit that had burned throughout so brightly, seemed to leap up in yet more glowing flame, ere quenched forever by the ashes of the grave! alas! within the brief period of two months, the world had closed upon him for ever! successful search for water. a point, fronting a small islet, almost joined to it at low-water, was selected as a fitting spot for the commencement of our well-digging operations, which we hoped to bring to a more successful termination than our former attempt at point swan. after sinking to a depth of eight feet our anticipations were fully justified, the water flowing in through the sides in great abundance. it was quite fresh, and in every way most acceptable to us all; but tinged as it was with the red colour of the surrounding soil, we could at once perceive that it was only surface water. as we watched it filling our neatly excavated well, we found no great difficulty in understanding why, in this continent, a native speaks of any very favoured district, as "very fine country--much plenty water--fine country;" thus comprehending in the certain supply of that one necessary of life, the chief, nay almost the sole condition essential to a happy land. skeleton point. we named this skeleton point from our finding here the remains of a native, placed in a semi-recumbent position under a wide spreading gum tree, enveloped, or more properly, shrouded, in the bark of the papyrus. all the bones were closely packed together, the larger being placed outside, and the general mass surmounted by the head, resting on its base, the fleshless, eyeless skull grinning horribly over the right side. some of the natives arrived shortly after we had discovered this curious specimen of their mode of sepulture; but although they entertain peculiar opinions upon the especial sanctity of the house appointed for all living--a sanctity we certainly were not altogether justified in disregarding--they made no offer of remonstrance at the removal of the mortal remains of their dead brother. whether here, as in the neighbourhood of fremantle, they regarded us as near kindred of their own under a new guise, and so perhaps might suppose that we took away the dry bones in order to rebuild the frame of which they before formed the support, and to clothe the hideous nakedness of death with the white man's flesh; or whether, deeming us indeed profane violators of that last resting-place of suffering humanity, which it seems an almost instinctive feeling to regard with reverence, they left the office of retribution either to the spirit of the departed, or the more potent boyl-yas--to be found upon the testimony of miago in the wicked north--i know not; certain it is that under the superintendence of mr. bynoe the removal was effected, and that the skeleton itself, presented by that officer to captain grey, was by him bestowed upon the royal college of surgeons, in whose museum it is now to be found. among the ornithological specimens obtained here was one of the curlew tribe, greatly resembling an ibis, and remarkable for its size. it measured from the extremity of the bill to the tip of the toe / inches, and weighed pound / ounces. the colour, with the exception of the belly and legs, which were of a dirty white slightly mottled, very much resembled that of the common english wild duck. kileys. one of the natives seen to-day had with him a kiley, so different in shape to any we had previously seen that i preserved a sketch of it. all the party wore their hair tied up behind, and each had suffered the loss of one of the front teeth in the upper jaw: and some had endured an extraordinary mutilation; apparently in exaggeration of an ancient jewish rite. in general appearance they resembled the natives previously seen at point swan. our parting legacy. they appeared to luxuriate in the water we had found, wondered at the size of our well, and expressed the greatest admiration of our skill in thus procuring this needful article; and i do not doubt but that long after every other recollection of our visit shall have passed away, this beneficial memorial of it will perpetuate the visit of h.m.s. beagle, to this part of the great continent of australia. chapter . . point cunningham to fitzroy river. survey the coast to point cunningham. move the ship. mosquitoes. southern view of king's sound. singular vitreous formation. move to the south of point cunningham. captain king's limit. termination of cliffy range. disaster bay. an exploring party leave in the boats. the shore. a freshwater lake. valentine island. native fire and food. a heavy squall. the wild oat. indications of a river. point torment. gouty-stem tree and fruit. limits of its growth. another squall. water nearly fresh alongside. the fitzroy river. tide bore and dangerous position of the yawl. ascent of the fitzroy. appearance of the adjacent land. return on foot. perilous situation and providential escape. survey the western shore. return to the ship. sporting, quail and emus. natives. ship moved to point torment. february , . we remained at this sheltered anchorage until the st, by which time the coast, so far as point cunningham, had been carefully examined. we found it everywhere indented with deep bays, in each of which good anchorage was to be found. the water's edge was in almost every place fringed with the closely twining mangrove trees, behind which the country gradually rose to an average level of about feet, being thickly covered with the various sorts of eucalypti, for which all the explored portions of this continent are more or less remarkable. in the afternoon of the st, we moved into a bay north-west of point cunningham, and anchored in fathoms (low-water) about a mile north-west from that point; having passed over a bank of or fathoms, with on its outer, and on its inner side, and lying / miles north from point cunningham. mosquitoes. i spent the early part of this night on shore, a circumstance of which the tormenting mosquitoes took every possible advantage; finally driving me from their territory with every indignity, and in a state of mind anything but placid. the poet doubtless spoke from experience when he asserted: --there was never yet philosopher that could endure the toothache patiently. and even could such a prodigy of patient endurance be found, i am sure it would fail him when exposed to the ceaseless persecution of these inexorable assailants. february . the greater part of to-day was spent in making a more minute examination of the bay, the shoal discovered yesterday rendering a more careful search necessary. from the summit of point cunningham, i had a fine view of the opposite shore of the sound; very broken and rugged it appeared to be. to the south-east and south i could see no land; a circumstance which raised my hopes of finding in that direction the long and anxiously expected river, which the geological formation of the country, and all the recorded experience of discovery, alike warranted us in anticipating. the point upon which i stood was a steep and cliffy rock facing the sea, connected with the mainland by a low and narrow neck of land, but almost insulated at high-water during the spring tides. a singular cliff, projecting on its south-east side, is called by captain king, carlisle head; but we searched in vain for the fresh water, which that distinguished navigator speaks of, as having been found there by him in . singular vitreous formation. we remarked here, certain vitreous formations, in all, except form, identical with those already described as having been seen at point swan. these were small balls lying loose on the sandy beach, at the bottom of the cliff; they were highly glazed upon the surface, hollow inside, and varying in size from a musket, to a tennis ball.* (*footnote. vide mr. darwin on "superficial ferrugineous beds" geology of volcanic islands page .) february . we weighed early in the morning, and rounded point cunningham; anchoring again at o'clock a.m., miles north of it, in fathoms (low-water); west by north, one mile from where we lay, a red cliffy head, called by captain king, in memory of the difficulties which ultimately compelled him to leave this interesting coast, foul point, marks the limit of his survey of this part of the northern shore of australia, and terminates the range of cliffs,* which, up to this point, forms nature's barrier against the sea. beyond it, the coast assumes a low and treacherous character, and subsides into a deep bay, called by captain king, not without reason, disaster bay. (*footnote. the cliffs at foul point and point cunningham unite the sandstone and argillaceous formation.) from the masthead, from whence i hoped to get a wide view of the unknown waters we were about to explore, i could just see valentine island, bearing south-south-east about miles. its lofty extremities alone being visible, it had the appearance of two islands. here, then, a really most interesting--nay, a most exciting--portion of the duties of the survey were to commence in earnest; and it was reserved for us to take up the thread of discovery reluctantly abandoned by our enterprising and scientific predecessor, at the moment when the prize was almost within his grasp. exploring party in boats. it was forthwith determined, that captain wickham and mr. fitzmaurice should collect the necessary materials for completing the survey, and preparing the chart of the bay in the immediate neighbourhood of the ship; while to myself the whale boat and yawl were to be entrusted; nor can i describe with what delight, all minor annoyances forgotten, i prepared to enter upon the exciting task of exploring waters unfurrowed by any preceding keel; and shores, on which the advancing step of civilization had not yet thrown the shadows of her advent, nor the voice of that christianity, which walks by her side through the uttermost parts of the earth, summoned the wilderness and the desert to hail the approaching hour, in the fulness of which all the earth shall be blessed! soon after dark we were visited by a squall from the eastward, longer in duration, and heavier than any we had before experienced. from our exposed situation--no land intervening for miles--it raised a good deal of sea: the wind remained fresh at the east during the greater part of the night. february . the morning broke, dark, gloomy, and threatening; but, as the day advanced, it gradually assumed its usual bright and brilliant character; and at seven a.m. we started, mr. helpman having the whaleboat, while mr. tarrant accompanied me in the yawl. we crossed disaster bay in four and five fathoms, steering in the direction of valentine island, and inside a long sandy spit, partly dry at low-water, and extending two-thirds of the way across. freshwater lake. while waiting for the tide to rise, in order to cross this natural breakwater, we landed, and struggled for a good mile through a mixture of deep mud and sand, drifted, at the coastline, into hills of from twenty-five to thirty feet high, and bound together by a long coarse grass; immediately beyond which we came upon a small lake of fresh water, where all the luxuriant growth of tropical vegetation was starting into life, and presenting an almost miraculous contrast to the barren sterility, that stamped an aspect of changeless desolation upon the rest of this inhospitable shore. indeed, so far as our experience extended, upon the coasts, and within the interior of this in many respects extraordinary continent, the want of water appears to be the chief drawback to the fertility otherwise to be anticipated from its geographical position: at the same time, it is quite impossible to blind oneself to the fact, that further researches on the one hand, and the application of the great discoveries in hydraulics, of which recent years have been so fruitful, on the other, may, and probably will, spread the vernal bloom of cultivation over wastes, now condemned to prolonged and arbitrary periods of drought. this spot, which long arrested my attention, and upon which i gazed with the selfish feeling of delight inspired by the thought that thereon never before had rested the curious eye of any restless and indefatigable wanderer from the west, is distant about yards north-north-west, from a solitary patch of low red cliffs, the first of this formation that present themselves south of foul point. valentine island. extensive flats fronting the coast to the southward, almost connect it at low-water with valentine island, which we reached at two p.m., just on the top of high-water, and shortly afterwards grounded the boats in a small bay to the westward. the greatest extent of valentine island is three-quarters of a mile in an east by south direction: either extremity is formed by high cliffs, a low valley intervening. native fire and food. on landing we found a fire still burning, near the beach, and beside it a bundle of the bark of the papyrus tree, in which were carefully packed a quantity of ground nuts, they were each about three-quarters of an inch long, and in shape not unlike a kidney potato;* it seemed clear, judging from the native value of the commodities thus rashly abandoned, that our arrival had rather taken by surprise these untutored children of the wilderness: we saw nothing of them till we had reembarked, when (four or five only in number) they returned to the beach; and we could perceive that our foot tracks, upon which they appeared to hold an animated debate, had, to say the least, mightily puzzled them. i ascended the highest point of the island in the afternoon, and from thence looked over several miles of densely wooded country, but offering no appearance of land to the eastward of south-south-east. we gazed with indescribable delight upon the wide expanse of open water which lay before us in that direction, and already anticipated the discovery of some vast inlet, terminating in the mouth of a magnificent river, upon the exploration of which our imagination was already busily engaged; nor for the moment did the thought, or rather the recollection of the fact, that captain king had seen land (by refraction) in that quarter, serve to damp our ardour. when it made its way, and perseveringly insisted upon engaging a certain share of my attention, its presence only added an additional motive to my previous determination to set the question at rest by personal examination, and in the interim, to look immediately before sunrise (when the atmosphere within the tropics is always clear) for the very sight i should have been most disappointed to have beheld. during the afternoon i shot over the island, and enjoyed some very fair sport; especially with the pheasant-cuckoo,** and quail, large and small, which were numerous: several birds not unlike the so-called crow of the swan river colonists were seen. we found no fresh water, but in addition to the abundance of game, the presence of the natives, proves the island to be not wholly destitute of this first requisite of life. the thermometer at p.m., was degrees in the shade, while the unnatural calm that reigned around gave the experienced seaman plain warning of some disturbance at hand. (*footnote. this esculent appeared to resemble the warran, or yam, used for food by the native inhabitants north of swan river.) (**footnote. centropus phasianellus. gould.) a heavy squall. just before sunset these anxious anticipations proved correct: a mass of broad edged white clouds rose rapidly in the east, and spread over the till then unbroken blue of the vast vault above; among or rather behind the interstices of these clouds, the lightning quivered and flashed fearfully and fitfully, gleaming with a terrible distinctness in the fading light of expiring day! anon, darker and more ominous clouds succeeded to the first, and quickly uniting seemed to span all heaven with a frowning arch, that came rapidly onwards upon the wings of the now-rising tempest. it was some time ere its approach either attracted the attention or disturbed the boisterous mirth of the boats' crews, who, with the enviable philosophy of their class, were gaily laughing over the incidents of the day. i had just secured a good latitude by canopus, when the squall burst upon us from east-south-east, it blew very hard indeed for about an hour, veering round to, and terminating at, north-east, and then all was calm again; partaking of the general characteristics of previous visitations of the same kind, to which we have been subject since our arrival upon this coast, it lasted for a much less time, as hitherto their average duration had been about three hours. it brought the thermometer down to degrees. all was quiet by midnight, and undisturbed by the past we finished the night in peace. daybreak found us at the eastern end of the island, from which point we observed a low strip of land bearing east about miles distant; a fact which re-establishes captain king's authority, against mr. earle's contradiction.* this confirmation of that distinguished and able navigator, in some degree reconciled me to the unpropitious discovery, that the shores of this great sheet of water were visibly beginning to contract. (*footnote. vide earle's eastern seas page .) wild oat. during our walk we noticed the wild oat in great abundance. this valuable species of corn is then indigenous to this part of the world. ere long, perhaps, the time will arrive when upon the coast, where now in native negligence it springs and dies, it may spread the white and glistening garment of cultivation--testify the existence--and promote the comfort of social life. the same seed was found near hanover bay, by lieutenants grey and lushington, and throve exceedingly well in the soft and luxurious climate of the ever-verdant mauritius. leaving some presents in a conspicuous situation for the present rightful possessors of the island, whose temporary shelter we had obtained, we hastened back to the boats, and stood away to the eastward for the low land seen from the island, and crossed various narrow sandy ridges, nearly dry at low-water, and generally trending north and south, showing the direction of the stream by which they were formed, and at distances of , , , and miles, in an east by south direction from valentine island; the soundings between them averaged from to fathoms. a favouring breeze from the south helped us halfway across to the point, from whence i hoped and believed we should hereafter date the first great event of the voyage; and then dying away, compelled us to take to the oars, with the thermometer at degrees in the shade. indications of a river. as we proceeded, several circumstances concurred to satisfy me that we were at length really approaching the mouth of a considerable river; large trees drifted past us with the ebbing tide, while each cast of the lead proved that we were gradually, though nearing the land, deepening the water. point torment. fortune too seemed now resolved to favour us, the deep channel most opportunely lying along the eastern shore, which we reached soon after noon, and landed on the only beach of sand hereabouts left uncovered at high-water. here, for better security against the squalls we had experienced for the last two nights, we hauled up the boats. a name was soon found for our new territory, upon which we with rueful unanimity conferred that of point torment, from the incessant and vindictive attacks of swarms of mosquitoes, by whom it had evidently been resolved to give the newcomers a warm welcome. the greater part of point torment is deeply intersected with deep narrow creeks, and is almost entirely flooded at high-water: it extends low and swampy for nearly three miles in breadth, and then rises gradually, the slope being well wooded with the white eucalypti. here also i remarked the gouty-stem tree, figured by captain grey, and described by captain king, as of the nat. ord. capparides, and thought to be a capparis; it also bears a resemblance to the adansonia described in captain tuckey's congo. this was but a small specimen in fruit, of which the following brief description may convey a tolerably clear idea. in shape it something resembled the coconut, with a gourd-like outside, of a brown and yellow colour. its length was five inches, and diameter three. the shell was exceedingly thin, and when opened it was found to be full of seeds, imbedded in a whitish pulp, and of a not ungrateful taste. this place, latitude degrees minutes south, may be considered the limit of its growth in that direction, and the victoria river, of which i shall have occasion to speak hereafter, in latitude degrees minutes, the northern boundary of its indigenous empire. we saw no traces of inhabitants, not even the thin rising smoke, which so often greeted our eyes near the coast we had recently surveyed. i climbed the highest tree we could find, and from the elevation it afforded looked southwards over a wide prospect of nothing but mangroves and mudbanks; still interesting from the fact that upon them the wondering gaze of the curious european had never yet been bent! the mosquitoes. procuring the necessary observations completed the duties of the day; but, alas! the sleep all could have enjoyed so much after our work, was rendered impossible by the swarms of mosquitoes, who at sunset relieved those of their tribe upon whom the day duty had devolved, and commenced a most unsparing attack upon us: all devices to escape them were tried in vain, and some of the men were really half mad with the insufferable annoyance: at last, about eight o'clock, when all patience seemed exhausted, a welcome peal of thunder, and bright flashes of lightning announced the expected and much desired squall. it served to blow away some of our persecutors; but our rest was of very short duration, and i was at length compelled to order the people to take to the boats, fairly driven from the shore by our diminutive but invincible assailants. the tide set past the boats at the rate of four knots per hour, and it fell feet, being feet more than we had as yet found it. the only rock seen here was a block, visible at low-water; it was a conglomerate, and the most southerly formation of the kind we met with. the flood-tide. february . the daylight found us all anxiously speculating upon the probable results to be accomplished before the darkness once more closed in upon us, but the morning being perfectly calm, we were compelled to wait till the flood-tide made: this soon took us past an island four miles from the eastern shore, seen the evening before, and which now proved to be a narrow strip, covered with the never-failing mangrove; and having two smaller islands, nearly identical in character, lying two miles south of it. we passed them at noon, and saw the land to the westward, our position being then miles south of point torment. the water had shoaled in several places during the passage to less than a fathom (low-water); but the tide hemmed in by the contraction of this great inlet (the left shore of which gradually trending to the eastward, here approached to within six miles of the opposite coast) still hurried us on with a rapidity agreeable enough but not quite free from danger, towards what appeared to be the mouth of a large river. if our exultation had been great in the morning, when such success as this was only half anticipated, what was it at that exciting moment when the eventful hour which should give us the triumph of such a discovery as that we now fairly anticipated, seemed within our grasp? i cannot answer for others, but for myself i had never known a sensation of greater delight. doubt, disappointment, difficulty, and danger; all, all were unheeded or forgotten in the one proud thought that for us was reserved an enterprise the ultimate results of which might in some future year affect the interests of a great portion of the world! presently, as if to recall to their routine of duty, these upward-springing thoughts, the boats were found to be rapidly carried by the stream towards an extensive flat, which appeared to extend right across the opening towards which all eyes had been turned with so much eagerness, and over which the tide was boiling and whirling with great force. to attempt to cross would have been madness; there was nothing, therefore, to be done but patiently await the rising of the tide. escape point. the nearest land, a mangrove point bearing south-south-east one mile, we afterwards named escape point, in grateful memory of the providential escapes we experienced in its vicinity. where the boats were anchored we had nearly five feet at low-water, and the tide ran past them at the rate of five miles an hour. as soon as possible we again started, in a south by west direction, and proceeded for about five miles, when the boats were anchored, near the western shore, which we proposed to visit at low-water. from the yawl's masthead i traced the shore all round, except to the south-east, where i could see an opening about a mile wide. the western land was slightly elevated, perhaps to feet, and clothed with rather large trees, while to the eastward the land appeared very low. as the tide ebbed, we found, to our disappointment and mortification, that the flat over which we reckoned to secure a passage to the mainland, never became quite dry (the tide here falling only feet) while from its soft and treacherous character, it was impossible to cross it on foot. mouth of the fitzroy. all doubt about our being in the mouth of a river was put an end to by finding that, during the last of the ebb, the water was nearly fresh. this discovery was hailed by us all with a pleasure which persons only familiar with the well-watered and verdant fields of england cannot fully comprehend. our success afforded me a welcome opportunity of testifying to captain fitzroy my grateful recollection of his personal kindness; and i determined, with captain wickham's permission, to call this new river after his name, thus perpetuating, by the most durable of monuments, the services and the career of one, in whom, with rare and enviable prodigality, are mingled the daring of the seaman, the accomplishments of the student, and the graces of the christian--of whose calm fortitude in the hour of impending danger, or whose habitual carefulness for the interests of all under his command, if i forbear to speak, i am silent because, while i recognise their existence, and perceive how much they exalt the character they adorn, i feel, too, that they have elevated it above, either the need, or the reach of any eulogy within my power to offer! i felt pretty confident that the first rush of the tide upon its reflux would be violent, and had made preparation accordingly. in the first watch these anticipations were realized, and i was roused from a momentary doze by a loud roaring, which i at once recognized to be the voice of thunder, heralding the advancing tide. tide-bore. the night was pitch dark, and though i instinctively turned my eyes towards the offing, i could see nothing, but as each anxious moment passed away, the fearful voice of the waters sounded nearer and nearer, and within less time than i have occupied in the narration, the full force of the rush of tide coming on like a wall, several feet high, and bringing our anchor away with it, was upon us. the cable thus slackened, the yawl sheered, and was thrown violently upon her broadside in the midst of it, and had it not been for the shores lashed to each mast, she must inevitably have capsized. the whaleboat fared better; being lighter she was the sooner afloat, and besides her buoyant bow was the better able to receive and resist the shock. when the tide slacked we returned to the deep water off escape point, and spent the remainder of the night in quiet, i would fain hope, so far as most of us were concerned, not without a thankful remembrance of him, whose merciful providence had been so recently manifested in our behalf! ascent of the fitzroy. february . leaving mr. tarrant in charge of the yawl, i proceeded with mr. helpman to trace the river, immediately after daylight. against the last of the ebb tide, and with the thermometer at degrees, we contrived to reach a spot two miles beyond point escape before noon. from point escape upwards, there appeared to be, at low-water, no regular channel; the bed of the river assumed the aspect of an extensive flat of mud, intersected with small rivulets or streams that served to drain it. no signs of human habitation were seen along its banks, which divided by numerous small creeks, and thickly fringed with the unfailing mangrove, stretched away in level and drear monotony, only broken towards the west by land of inconsiderable elevation. the circling flight of the ever-wary curlew, and the shrill cry of the plover, now first disturbed in their accustomed territory, alone vouched for the presence of animal life in that vast solitude, the effect of which they heightened, rather than removed! return on foot. finding the further ascent almost if not altogether impracticable at the present state of the tide, i ordered the boat back to point escape, and landed, accompanied by mr. helpman, and a seaman, intending to return on foot. perilous situation. the shore was a soft mud, in which the small mangroves had found a most congenial soil: while our journey every now and then, arrested by the intervention of one or other of the numerous little creeks of which i have before spoken, promised to prove a more fatiguing, if not more hazardous affair, than we had originally contemplated. we managed at first, by ascending their banks for a short distance from the river, to jump across these opposing creeks, but as the tide rose, they filled and widened in proportion, and each moment increased the difficulties of our position, now heightened by the untoward discovery that william ask, the seaman who had accompanied us, was unable to swim! time and tide, however, wait for no man, and the rapidly rising waters had flooded the whole of the low land which formed this bank of the river, so that we were compelled to wade, feeling with a stick for the edges of the creeks in our route, over each of which mr. helpman and myself had alternately to swim in order to pass the arms undamaged; and then ask, making the best jump that he could muster for the occasion, was dragged ashore on the opposite side. at length we reached a creek, the breadth of which rendered this mode of proceeding no longer practicable, and we were compelled to stop, being fortunately very near the point where i had directed the boat to meet us. our situation was now anything but pleasant, the water being already above our knees, and the tide having still several hours to rise; while the mangrove trees by which we were surrounded, were all too slender to afford the least support. in this state of affairs, leaving mr. helpman with ask--who had secured a piece of drift timber as a last resource--i made my way to the edge of the shore, only to find that the boat, unable to stem the current, had anchored some distance above us! mr. helpman and myself might have reached her by swimming; but even could i have easily reconciled myself to part with our arms and instruments, at any rate to abandon poor ask in the dilemma into which i had brought him was not to be thought of. by repeated discharges of my gun i at last succeeded in attracting the attention of the boat's crew, who made an immediate and desperate effort to come to our assistance: while their strength lasted they just contrived to hold their own against the tide, then, drifting astern, were again compelled to anchor. the attempt was renewed, when an equally desperate struggle was followed by just as fruitless a result: the force of the stream was clearly more than they could overcome, and an intervening bank precluded any attempt to creep up to us along the shore. most anxiously did i watch the water as it changed its upward level almost with the rapidity of an inch a minute, being in doubt whether it would rise above our heads, ere it afforded a sufficient depth to carry the boat over the intervening bank, and bring us the only assistance that would afford a chance for our lives. i breathed a short, but most fervent prayer to him, in whose hands are the issues of life and death, and turned back to cheer my comrades with the chance of rescue. and providential escape. nor shall i ever forget the expression of thankfulness and gratitude which lit up the face of poor ask, as the whispers of hope were confirmed by the welcome advance of the whaleboat's bows through the almost submerged mangroves, just as the water had topped our shoulders; and, therefore, barely in time to confirm upon this locality its former title of point escape! we now pulled down to this last-named point, and waited for the tide to fall, in order to obtain the necessary observations for determining its position: those for latitude, taken in the early part of the night, gave a result (worked on the spot) of degrees / minutes south; being an increase in latitude of miles from the present position of the beagle. having now but two days' provisions remaining, i determined on completing the survey of the western shore, south of valentine island, and then to return and report our discovery, knowing that captain wickham would do all in his power to prosecute it to the utmost. return to the ship. march . these plans were accordingly carried into effect, and we returned to the ship on the morning of the rd of march. we found all well on board, with the exception of poor mr. usborne, whom we were delighted to see so far recovered. one sentiment of satisfaction pervaded the whole ship's company, when informed of our success; and, as i had anticipated, captain wickham at once determined upon further exploring our new discovery in lighter boats, first placing the ship as near the mouth of it as practicable. during the squall, on the first night of our absence, the ship parted her cable, and was nearly on the rocks. our sportsmen had been actively and successfully employed during our absence, having shot a great number of quail; they had seen two emus, and messrs. bynoe and dring had obtained several specimens of rare birds, all of which are now figured by mr. gould in his birds of australia. a few natives had also been seen, but they were too wary to permit any intercourse with them. march . this was sunday, and no imperative necessity hindered our making it a day of rest. various necessary observations occupied the greater part of monday; and, on the day following, the ship was moved, under my guidance, to an anchorage, in fathoms (low-water) / miles west from point torment. chapter . . the fitzroy river to port george the fourth, and return to swan river. examination of the fitzroy river. excursion into the interior. alarm of the natives. ascent of the river. sufferings from mosquitoes. red sandstone. natives again surprised. appearance of the country. impediments in the river. return of the boats. an alligator. stokes' bay. narrow escape of an officer. change of landscape. pheasant-cuckoos. a new vine. compass hill. port usborne. explore the eastern shore of king's sound. cone bay. native fires. whirlpool channel. group of islands. sterile aspect of the coast. visited by a native. bathurst island. native hut and raft. return to port usborne. native spears. cascade bay. result of explorations in king's sound. interview with natives. coral reefs. discover beagle bank. arrival at port george the fourth. examination of collier bay in the boats. brecknock harbour. the slate islands. freshwater cove. an eagle shot. its singular nest. rock kangaroos. a conflagration. sandstone ridges. doubtful bay. mouth of the glenelg. remarkable tree. fertile country near brecknock harbour. return to the ship. meet with lieutenant grey. his sufferings and discoveries. visit the encampment. timor ponies. embarkation of lieutenant grey's party. sail from port george the fourth. remarks on position of tryal rock. anecdotes of miago. arrival at swan river. directions for entering owen's anchorage. march , . we spent the morning in making the necessary preparations, and in the afternoon started to resume our examination of fitzroy river. captain wickham and lieutenant eden in the gig, and myself, accompanied by mr. tarrant, in one of the whaleboats; we reached the mangrove isles at sunset, and spent the night between them and the eastern shore. on the th the tide suited us but badly, and we were only able to proceed about four miles beyond escape point, where we secured the boats in a creek out of the influence of the tide. we found much less water off escape point than on our former visit. excursion into the interior. in the evening we made an excursion into the interior. it was one vast unbroken level, covered with a strong and wiry grass, intersected with numerous watercourses, which the tide filled at high-water, there were also indications of more important, but less regular, visits from the sea. here and there a solitary tree assisted us in estimating the distance we had walked. we saw two emus in this plain, which appeared also a favourite resort of quail and a bronze-winged pigeon. we could not get within shot of the wary emus, but the quail and pigeons afforded us good sport, notwithstanding the ceaseless attacks of the mosquitoes, which swarmed in the long grass, and defied anything less impenetrable than mackintosh leggings, encumbrances not desirable for a pedestrian with the thermometer at degrees, particularly when worn over a pair of flushing trousers. thus defended, i could, in some degree, defy these tormenting assailants, and at night, under the additional security afforded by a large painted coat, contrived to secure two or three hours of unbroken rest--a luxury few of my companions enjoyed. it was with much disappointment that we found the channel occupied, at low-water, by a mere rivulet, draining the extensive mud flats then left uncovered. hope, however, though somewhat sobered, was not altogether destroyed by this malapropos discovery, and we still looked forward with an interest but little abated, to the results of a complete survey of our new discovery. march . we moved on when the tide served, keeping close to the eastern bank of the river, where there appeared at low-water, the largest stream, then barely two feet deep. following the sinuosity of the shore, our general direction was south, and after we had thus proceeded two miles, we found the width of the river suddenly contract from three miles to one. the banks were low and covered with a coarse grass. natives. here we saw three natives, stretching their long spare bodies over the bank, watching the leading boat with the fixed gaze of apparent terror and anxiety. sso rivetted was their attention, that they allowed my boat to approach unnoticed within a very short distance of them; but when they suddenly caught sight of it, they gave a yell of mingled astonishment and alarm, and flinging themselves back into the long grass, were almost instantly out of sight. they were evidently greatly alarmed, and as miago, whose presence might have given them confidence, was not with us, it seemed hopeless to attempt any communication with them, much as we should have liked to convince them, that these strange white creatures were of a race of beings formed like themselves, though even of our existence they could have had no previous idea. exploration of the river. six miles from our last night's bivouac, still keeping our southerly direction, brought us to some low, grassy islets, extending almost across the river, and leaving only confined and shallow channels; through one of which we had, at half tide, some difficulty in finding a passage for the boats. the river now widened out a little, and we found the deep water near the western bank, the appearance of the country remaining unaltered. we landed to pass the night at a rocky point on the east side of the river, one mile south from the most western islet of the chain just described as almost preventing our ascent. the depth of the river at this point was about twelve feet at low-water; and its breadth some four or five hundred yards. we found the water fresh at all times of tide, which here rose only eight feet; being ten feet less than its greatest rise eight miles nearer the mouth, where the time of high-water at the full and change of the moon occurs at hours minutes p.m. this was the first rock formation we had noticed since leaving point torment, a distance of nearly thirty miles; it was a very fine-grained red sandstone, darkened and rendered heavy by the presence of ferruginous particles. the appearance of the country now began to improve, the eastern bank was thickly wooded, and a mile higher up, the western appeared clothed in verdure. i noticed here the same kind of tree, seen for the first time behind our last night's bivouac; it was small and shrubby-looking, with a rough bark, not unlike that of the common elm, and its little pointed leaf, of a deep, dark green, contrasted with the evergreen eucalypti by which it was surrounded, reminded me of the various tints that give the charm of constant variety to our english woods, and lend to each succeeding season a distinctive and characteristic beauty.* (*footnote. the diameter of the largest tree of this kind was only eight inches: it was exceedingly hard, and of a very dark red colour, except a white rim about an inch in thickness. this wood worked and looked the best, in a table i had made out of various specimens of woods collected on the north-west coast of australia.) sufferings from mosquitoes. i must be pardoned for again alluding to our old enemies the mosquitoes, but the reception they gave us this night is too deeply engraven on my memory to be ever quite forgotten. night of torment. they swarmed around us, and by the light of the fire, the blanket bags in which the men sought to protect themselves, seemed literally black with their crawling and stinging persecutors. woe to the unhappy wretch who had left unclosed the least hole in his bag; the persevering mosquitoes surely found it out, and as surely drove the luckless occupant out of his retreat. i noticed one man dressed as if in the frozen north, hold his bag over the fire till it was quite full of smoke, and then get into it, a companion securing the mouth over his head at the apparent risk of suffocation; he obtained three hours of what he gratefully termed comfortable sleep, but when he emerged from his shelter, where he had been stewed up with the thermometer at degrees, his appearance may be easily imagined. our hands were in constant requisition to keep the tormentors from the face and ears, which often received a hearty whack, aimed in the fruitless irritation of the moment at our assailants, and which sometimes ended in adding headache to the list of annoyances. strike as you please, the ceaseless humming of the invincible mosquito close to your ear seems to mock his unhappy victim! one poor fellow, whose patience was quite exhausted, fairly jumped into the river to escape further persecution. we had the wind from south-west to south-east during the afternoon, but at p.m. it veered round to north-north-west. while getting the observations for time and latitude, some of us were compelled to remain quiet, an opportunity our tiny assailants instantly availed themselves of, covering our faces and hands. to listen quietly to their hum, and feel their long stings darting into your flesh, might put the patience of job himself to a severe trial. ascent of the fitzroy. march . after such a night of torment, we hailed the morning with delight; and having partaken of an early breakfast, proceeded on our interesting discovery. the first reach took us more than a mile, in a south-west by west direction, the width of it being towards the latter end nearly a quarter of a mile; the deepest water (from seven to eight feet) was on the west side, and a dry flat of sand fronted the other for some distance. the course of the river now changed, first to south-east then round to west-north-west enclosing a mile of ground. we had great difficulty, owing to the water being very shoal, in getting our boats through the next reach, which was rather more than a mile in a west by south direction. after threading our way through three more reaches, trending south-south-west--south-west, and south and from half to one mile in length, the shades of evening and fatigue attending a long and unsatisfactory day's work, warned us that it was time to seek a resting-place for the night, although we had but little hopes of obtaining any. we had made good but six miles during the day in a general south-west by west direction. our progress being delayed by the difficulty we had in getting the boats over the shallows, and by a current running at the rate of from one to two miles an hour. the depth of the river varied during the day from one to fourteen feet, and its width from three to five hundred yards. in the deep reaches were the wrecks of large trees, rearing their decayed heads, in evidence of the resistless fury of the torrent that had torn them from their roots, during some vast inundation, traces of which still remain on the banks, many feet above the present level of the river. the general aspect of the country had improved, and the eastern bank reached an elevation of feet; it was covered with long, green grass, and thickly wooded with a luxuriant growth of the white eucalyptus, while the almost total absence of every appearance of animal life, impressed an air of solemn tranquillity upon the whole scene. perhaps it was from there being little to admire in the surrounding scenery that we were so much struck with the beauty of the western sky, as its gilded clouds marked the departure of the great ruler of the day. it was scarcely possible to behold a more splendid sunset; but with us, after another sleepless night, his rise, as he tinged the eastern sky, was hailed with even greater delight. march . at daylight i climbed the highest tree i could find on the eastern bank of the river, in order to get a peep at the surrounding country. the prospect, however, was but limited. the landscape presented to my view, was an almost uninterrupted level; open woodlands, with here and there a few grassy spots, were its prevailing features. i could see nothing of the river itself beyond the reach in which the boats were lying; its upper extremity bore south by west and was about half a mile from our halting place. i made a discovery in climbing this tree, which i hoped to make available in our farther ascent of the fitzroy, should we be so fortunate as to accomplish its further exploration, or in any similar circumstances during our examination of these untrodden wilds. it was this, and i mention it, as the hint may be useful to others: i found our enemies the mosquitoes did not resort to the higher portions of the tree, and that by climbing some thirty feet from the ground, a night's repose, or at least a night undisturbed by their attacks might be obtained. hastening back to the boats, we pushed on, but were some time getting to the end of the reach, the shallowness of the water rendering our advance difficult and tedious; entering at length the next, which trended south-west for about half a mile, the river gradually widened out until it attained a breadth of about half that space. an extensive flat of sand fronted the eastern bank, which was very low, and though now dry, bore undoubted marks of being not unfrequently visited by floods. the western bank of the next reach was low and broken, evidently forming a group of low grassy islands when the river is in a higher state. some yellow sandstone cliffs, from ten to sixteen feet in height, formed the opposite bank of this reach, which extended barely a quarter of a mile, in from a south by east to a south by west direction; and varied in width from one to two hundred yards. we now entered a lake-like reach of the river, trending south for a mile and a quarter, having a breadth of about a hundred yards, and a depth in many places of twelve feet; being twice that which we had usually found in any of the lower reaches, with scarcely any stream. soon after entering this remarkable sheet of water, we noticed a rock formation in its western banks; this we found to be a coarse-grained red sandstone, with fragments of quartz, and extended for nearly a quarter of a mile along the edge of the water. over many parts of it was a coating of a dark and metallic appearance, about three inches thick; and the surface in places presented a glazed or smelted appearance. mr. darwin, in his work upon volcanic islands, page , alludes to this formation, under the head of "superficial ferruginous beds," and thus concludes his observations: "the origin of these superficial beds, though sufficiently obscure, seems to be due to alluvial action on detritus abounding with iron." as we proceeded along this canal, for such was the appearance of the reach we were now ascending, we surprised a small party of natives. they were at the water's edge, beneath a high mound of loose white sand, over which the children were some time in making their escape, struggling and screaming with anxiety and fear, as they half buried themselves beneath its treacherous surface; and sometimes, after almost gaining the summit, sliding back again to the base. all parental care seemed for the moment lost in the overwhelming sense of present danger, caused by the strange and unknown spectacle thus suddenly presented to the gaze of these poor savages. our white faces, curious garments, moving boats, the regular motions and unaccustomed sounds of our heavy oars, must indeed have filled them with amazement. i have since frequently remarked, that our oars created more wonder, or alarm, among the various tribes who first learnt through us the existence of their white brethren, than almost any other instrument of which they could at all understand the use; perhaps, as they propel their frail rafts with a spear, they jumped to the conclusion, that our oars were also immense spears, which, being their chief weapons, must have given us a formidable appearance. we noticed, among the trees on the banks of this natural canal, two varieties of the palm; both kinds had been observed by mr. brown in the gulf of carpentaria, during captain flinders' voyage. at the end of this reach, which extended for a mile and a half in a south-east by south direction, the river was scarcely yards wide, and the depth had decreased from to feet; the current, scarcely perceptible in the deep water, now ran with a velocity of from one to two miles per hour. here, therefore, the fitzroy may be said to assume all the more distinctive features of an australian river: deep reaches, connected by shallows, and probably forming, during the droughts which characterize australia, an unlinked chain of ponds or lagoons; and in places, leaving no other indication of its former existence than the water-worn banks and deep holes, thirsty and desolate as a desert plain. at this point, the river divided into two branches, one having an east-south-east, and the other a south-south-east direction. anxious to determine, which, as the larger, best deserved our exploration, we landed at a high grassy point on the west bank. from the top of the highest tree in the neighbourhood, i commanded an extensive view of the wide and far-spread landscape then first submitted to the scrutiny of a european. varied and undefined are the thoughts called forth at such a moment; the past, the present, and the future, at once occupy, and almost confound the imagination. new feelings accompany new perceptions; and gazing for the first time upon a vast and unknown land, the mind, restless and active, as the roving life by which it is informed, expands for the reception of the crowding fancies, called into life as by the wand of the magician. after yielding for a while to the influence of the scene, i was glad to perceive the greater magnitude of the southerly branch of the river, which offered the most direct line into the interior. i could trace each stream for nearly three miles, but that which trended to the east was a mere rivulet. both flowed through a perfectly level country. seven miles was about as far as the eye could reach over this wearisome-looking level. to the westward the country was open; the trees were small, and in clumps, with green grassy patches between; but in other directions, it was densely wooded, and on the eastern bank the trees were large. in the branches of the one i ascended, rushes, deposited by the current, were found feet above the present level of the stream. this part of the country is therefore sometimes visited by heavy floods; they do not, however, seem to depend immediately upon the quantity of rain, for while the whole face of the landscape indicated large and recent supplies, the river appeared little, if at all, affected by them. having determined to follow the larger branch of the fitzroy, we continued on our course, and found that beyond this point the river again widened to nearly yards; but that a chain of small islets, extending from bank to bank, nearly stopped our proceeding further. this obstacle was, however, overcome after some difficulty; and still proceeding upwards another mile, we came to a narrow rapid and shallow reach, which brought us into another still and deep, about yards wide, and bounded by high grassy banks. through this we pursued our way right merrily, indulging in the golden anticipation that the fitzroy would yet convey our boats some distance into the interior of that vast and unknown continent, with the present condition and future destiny of which our thoughts were so often busy. impediments in the river. scarcely, however, had we made good another mile, when we found ourselves entangled among a cluster of small islets, and sunken trees, which almost wholly choked up the channel. the river thus pent up, ran through the small openings in this barrier with great velocity; while above, it had again assumed the deep still character which i have before had occasion to describe. we had partly overcome this impediment, when captain wickham decided upon giving up the attempt, and ordered the boats to return, considering the evident risks too great to justify further perseverance. we therefore gave up the exploration of the fitzroy, in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east, having traced its course for miles in a general south-south-west direction, and having penetrated miles from the coastline, towards the centre of australia, from which we were still distant miles. my view from the treetop extended about four miles beyond the furthest point we had reached on the river, it had been our good fortune to add to the geography of australia. its banks here were feet high, and covered with grass; partially broken or washed down, they disclosed to view a rich alluvial soil, nearly two feet deep. the trees we found most common during our expedition into this portion of the new lands of australia, consisted chiefly of two species of palm, and three of the eucalypti, stunted banksia, acacia, and the singular tree before mentioned. the birds we saw were wholly those belonging to the land, and were chiefly black and white cockatoos, and a variety of finches. we neither saw nor caught any fish, and the absence of waterfowl led us to suppose they were scarce. return of the boats. all the excitement and interest we had enjoyed in exploring the fitzroy thus far, now left us, and our return was comparatively tedious and monotonous work. march . we, however, managed to reach our last night's bivouac by dark; and towards the close of the next day we got as far down as the outer grassy islet in the entrance of the river. the night was stormy, but the wind and rain together kept away the mosquitoes, and enabled us to obtain a little most welcome rest. this change in the weather was sudden. hitherto we had been singularly fortunate, each succeeding night, and returning morn being, in cleanness and beauty, only a repetition of its predecessor. march . the morning was again fine, and the bright sky was not disfigured by the least trace of the dark clouds that had so lately overspread it. the tide fortunately favoured our making an early start. on passing escape point, so named, as the reader may recollect, in grateful remembrance of the providential escape a small party of us experienced there, we saw an alligator slide his unwieldy carcass from the soft mud-bank, upon which he had been lazily reclining, into one of the creeks we had so much difficulty in crossing. we could not but feel grateful that even the existence of these monster reptiles in this river was then unknown to us, as the bare thought of a visit from one of them would have added to the unpleasantness of our position, while the actual presence of so wholesale a gastronomer would perhaps have given another and less auspicious name to escape point. a creek, ten miles from point torment, afforded us shelter for the night, which was again wet and squally. march . at daybreak the blue vault above was still disfigured by dark inky blotches of clouds. we reached the ship before breakfast, and found that mr. helpman and mr. keys had ascertained that the opening on the north-east side of point torment was a great bay, extending ten miles in a south-easterly direction, with a width of the same distance: its shores throughout were fringed with mangroves, through which the tide found its way, inundating many miles of the interior at high-water. stokes's bay. in the north and south corners of the depths of this bay they found an inlet, each being about three miles deep; narrow, sandy ridges, almost dry at low-water, trending to the north-west, and separated by channels from three to four fathoms, occupied the greater portion of this extensive bay, which captain wickham, out of compliment, named after myself. point torment afforded a very fair field for the exertions of our collectors in natural history. without wishing to bore my readers with another long mosquito story, i think the following may be interesting. an officer entangled in mangroves. one of the officers on a shooting excursion lost his way and got entangled in a mangrove forest, where the ground being a soft mud, travelling became very laborious, particularly in a temperature of degrees and without water; fatigue hastened by thirst, at length quite knocked up my shipmate, who threw himself exhausted on the ground. in vain did he seek for a little rest, for no sooner was he quiet than swarms of mosquitoes assailed him, and forced him again on his legs; unwelcome as these tormenting visitors generally are, they were probably in this case the means of saving my friend's life, as goaded on by their unceasing attacks, to exertions otherwise out of the question, he eventually reached assistance, and was brought on board in a most helpless condition. the tide here was two hours later than at foul point: the greatest rise noticed in the ship was thirty feet, which was seven feet less than we had found it in the yawl. we had several heavy squalls from eastward this afternoon, and during the early part of the night, with rain and thunder. march . the morning broke dull and gloomy, with a light breeze from the eastward. there were altogether evident symptoms of a decided and immediate change in the weather. the survey of the south-eastern portion of the sound being now complete, the ship was taken over to the high rocky land lying north miles from point torment. we crossed the flat extending four miles north-west from that point, in from two to three fathoms at low-water; the soundings afterwards varied from nine to eleven fathoms with a soft, muddy sand bottom. we anchored in seven fathoms low-water, one mile and a half south-south-west from the southern of two small rocky islets, lying miles north from point torment and three from the rocky shore behind them; a sandbank, dry at low-water, extended from these islets to within half a mile of the ship. change of landscape. our eyes were now relieved by a pleasing change of landscape; the land had wholly changed in character from that of which we had seen so much and grown so weary. it no longer stretched away in an illimitable and boundless plain, but rising abruptly from the water's edge, attained an elevation of feet. the highest part of this range (afterwards named compass hill) bore north by west distant four and a quarter miles. we were all of course exceedingly anxious to visit this new land; but the weather, strange to say, put our patience to a trial of four days, during which it equalled in severity any we had experienced under swan point. it commenced with dark masses of clouds rising in the east, which were soon followed by a fresh breeze from the south-east with heavy rain, gradually freshening as it came round to the westward, blowing hardest between west-south-west and west-north-west. the barometer being out of order we were unable to observe how this unusual change would have affected that instrument; the thermometer, however, fell to degrees, an alteration of temperature which, combined with the dampness of the atmosphere, exposed us to the novel sensation of cold. we noticed the time of high-water was about fifteen minutes earlier than at point torment, the flood-stream setting east-south-east and the ebb west. the former at a rate of two miles, and the latter one mile per hour. march . at length the wished for change arrived, and we again beheld this morning the deep pure blue of a southern sky. we were all eager to commence our exploration, and mr. usborne, ever anxious to be actively employed, was so far recovered that he induced the surgeon, though reluctantly, to allow him to again share in the duties of the survey. he was accordingly despatched to look for a berth for the ship further to the north-west, while captain wickham and myself went towards compass hill. we were accompanied by mr. bynoe, who, during our excursion, was fortunate enough to add several rare birds to his collection. exploration of the bay. we landed in a small sandy bay at the western end of a growth of mangroves, fringing the shore behind the islands. the sandbank fronting them we found to extend to the bay we landed in; to the westward of it there was deep water close to the shore. wood and water might easily be obtained in this bay, a circumstance that may give it value in the eyes of future navigators, as it did in ours. before ascending the hill we crossed a flat clothed with rich grass, out of which we flushed several pheasant-cuckoos.* we found one of their nests on the ground containing four eggs, in size and colour they resembled the domestic pigeon. the nimble manner in which these birds hop along the branches of trees, with their long tails whisking behind, give them, at the first glance, more the appearance of monkeys than birds. (*footnote. centropus phasianellus.) a new vine. we found here the gouty-stem tree of large size, bearing fruit; and also a vine, which, from all the information i have since been able to collect, appears to be quite a new specimen;* it bore a small but well-tasted black berry, similar in shape and general appearance to the grape sometimes seen climbing over the cottage doors in england. each fruit contained three large seeds, in shape and size resembling the coffee berry. it was growing in a light sandy soil, and the temperature to which it was exposed varies from to degrees. it is a matter of great regret that i was not able to introduce this new species of vine into england; the seeds and specimens of it having been unfortunately destroyed by mice and insects. i was, however, more fortunate at sydney and swan river. (*footnote. from the description i gave of this vine to sir w. hooker he thought it quite new.) compass hill. we at length gained the top of compass hill, which we found to be a slight mound on a platform of coarse sandstone formation, with fragments of quartz; the sandstone was tinged with red, and appeared to be crumbling away; a straggling growth of white eucalypti covered the crest of this height, which rather spoilt the view we had promised ourselves; however, by climbing several of them, i managed to see all round. west, six and a half miles, there was a snug cove fronted by a small island, from whence the coast appeared to take a more northerly direction. the extremes of a large sheet of water bore north by west and west by north, which we afterwards found to be connected with the above-mentioned cove. a succession of heights, similar to the one we were on, bounded our view between north and north-east. twenty-one miles, in a south-east by east direction, were some detached, round hills, apparently the termination of the high land on which we stood; these appeared to rise out of a plain of such an extent, in a south-east and easterly direction, that i conceived it possible it may have extended to the rear of collier bay, which damped the interest we had previously looked forward to, in the exploration of that part of the coast, as it tended materially to weaken the probability of finding any large opening there. in crossing one of the valleys in our descent to the boats, mr. bynoe wounded a large kangaroo; we gave chase; but notwithstanding all our efforts, and at the expense of many a bruise, stumbling over the rugged ground, the prize, almost within our grasp, escaped, and, to add to our misfortune, one of the small compasses was found missing, the strap that suspended it having given way; from this accident the hill received its name. port usborne. on our return to the ship, we found mr. usborne had discovered good anchorage in the cove we had seen from the hill, which in commemoration of his providential recovery was called after him port usborne. march . it was a clear and beautiful morning, and the sun as it rose shed a glittering stream of light over the placid waters of the bay, now slightly rippled by an easterly air. all were early and busily engaged in moving the ship into port usborne. on our way we crossed the inner edge of a bank seen from compass hill, in three fathoms: helpman's south islet bore at the time east three and a half miles; after crossing this bank, the least water we had was ten fathoms; this depth we found in passing on the eastern side of the small, low island fronting port usborne. a solitary overspreading tree, and a white patch on its eastern extremity renders this island conspicuous, and is of this importance, that it guides a stranger to the only safe anchorage among the islands on the eastern shore of king's sound. as a further guide to port usborne it is situated at the southern extremity of all these islands, and where the coast suddenly trends away to the eastward. we were delighted to find ourselves in an anchorage almost surrounded by land, and although the rugged sandstone ridges, with their dark, mysterious, and densely-wooded valleys, did not give the shore a very inviting appearance, still the very wildness of the scenery contrasted pleasingly in our remembrance with the monotonous level of the country about point torment, and on the banks of the fitzroy. our present position had also its practical advantages, being well adapted for carrying on the essential duties of the survey, for which service the boats were prepared in the course of the afternoon. this snug little port we found to be three-quarters of a mile broad and one deep, and varying in depth from seven to fifteen fathoms: it faces west, the entrance points lying nearly north and south of each other, and affords an abundant supply of wood and water. we saw no traces of inhabitants; not even the curling smoke that had so often indicated their presence, greeted the eye; all was silent, and the feelings of utter loneliness were only dispelled by the mournful screams of the curlew, and occasional howl of the wild dog, as the deepening shadows of night closed in. march . the boats were manned early, and we left the ship with the best wishes of the anxious group who watched our departure, and speculated with eager anticipation upon the probable result of our enterprise. eastern shore of king's sound. mr. usborne proceeded in one boat to examine a group of islands, lying six miles north-west from our anchorage; mr. tarrant and myself in the other, to explore the eastern shore of king's sound. it was thus again our good fortune to enjoy the exciting pleasure of anticipated discovery; perchance again to wander over the face of a country, now the desert heritage of the solitary savage, but fated, we hope, to become the abode of plenty, and the land of peace. after passing the extreme north-west point of the mainland, seen from the ship, we discovered a deep bay, which once reached, would afford safe anchorage for a fleet. near its northern point a large stream of water fell into the sea in glittering cascades; off this a ship may anchor in twelve fathoms within a quarter of a mile; close to the west is a small sandy beach. promising to refresh ourselves at this inviting stream, we continued our course to the northward. after passing a deep narrow channel, trending north-west by west we met the first rush of the northerly, or ebb stream, which, running at the rate of six or seven knots, swept us through a very small, dangerous opening, between some rocky islets and the main. a small bay fortunately afforded us the means of avoiding a treacherous ledge of sunken rocks, which had the boat touched, at the almost giddy rapidity we were hurried along, our destruction must have been inevitable. landing to cook our dinners, i went to the top of the highest neighbouring hill, to obtain a round of angles: our journey was a perfect scramble, the face of the country being intersected by deep ravines, and covered with huge blocks of coarse sandstone; over these we observed several of the rock-kangaroo, bounding with their long, bushy tails swinging high in the air as if in defiance of pursuit. the view of the archipelago, from this position, fully satisfied me, that without incurring great risk, it would be impossible for a ship to thread her way through the numerous islands, independent of shoals, tide-races, and shifting winds, which form the ordinary perils of such navigation. i reckoned more than eighty islands in this portion of the archipelago alone. cone bay. after dinner we proceeded, steering north-north-east, and crossed two deep bays, the first and the second / miles wide, both affording good anchorage, but utterly useless from the barrier of reefs and islets extending across their mouths. these bays and the ranges of hills we passed, trended east-south-east. to the second and deepest we gave the name of cone bay, from a singular hill of that form on its eastern shore. the eastern entrance of a small tortuous channel afforded us a resting place for the night, having made good miles in a north-north-east direction from the ship. the observations were made for latitude on the south point, and gave a result of degrees / minutes south. it was nearly dark when we anchored, and therefore our intended attempt to gain the summit of the neighbouring heights, was necessarily postponed till this morning. march . when the first rays of the sun saw us struggling over the huge masses of rock of which they are composed. the view itself differed but little from that obtained yesterday, except that the islands are yet more numerous, the mainland more frequently indented with bays varying from two to five miles in width, and invariably trending in the same east-south-east direction. the long and narrow islands which these bays contained generally subsided to the south-south-west. i was fully occupied in sketching the surrounding objects from this station, till the tide had risen sufficient for us to pass the channel. after a late breakfast we again bore away to the north-east under a double-reefed sail, as the sky wore a threatening appearance. after clearing the channel we crossed a bay about two miles wide and four deep, thickly studded with small islands. at noon being near the north point of it, i landed in order to secure a latitude, and at the same time a round of angles. having the flood tide against us, we had only made five miles in a north by east direction from last night's bivouac. native fires. here for the first time since leaving the fitzroy we saw native fires. one of them was upon an island eight or nine miles from the main, between which, however, a chain of smaller ones formed links of communication. these signs of inhabitants gave us hopes of finding some improvement from the almost utter sterility that had hitherto prevailed among these scattered islands. we had as yet seen no traces of either canoes or rafts, and therefore were not a little curious to see what mode of conveyance the natives of these parts used. we soon again moved onwards in a north by east direction, across another large bay, which, similar to the last, contained many islets. it was with great reluctance we pursued this northerly course, as i hoped ere this to have found an opening leading to the coast near collier bay; but the result of this day's progress fully satisfied me of the improbability of any such existing. remarkable headland. the north point of this bay forms a most remarkable headland, rising abruptly from the water to an elevation of feet. its cliffy face presented a grey and aged appearance, which together with the strange column-shaped rocks, scattered over its level summit, gave it the appearance of an ancient turreted fortress. here i first noticed a change in the strata; hitherto it had been invariably west-north-west, while from this point, as far as our subsequent experience enabled us to decide, it was west. i may be pardoned for noticing by way of a momentary digression that all the rocks hitherto seen on this part of the coast precisely resemble the group forming the western side of sunday strait; the inclination and direction of the strata are identical; while an examination of all the high rocky portions of this archipelago will satisfy the geologist that they belong to the same age of the world. the history of these coral reefs and islands, which have already attained something like a majority (if i may use the expression) may be read, at least it is apparently clearly written in the rising banks around, which are just struggling with the tide before they lift themselves forever beyond its reach. as they rise, the mangrove, the pioneer of such fertility as the sea deposits, hastens to maturity, clothing them with its mantle of never-fading green, and thus bestowing on these barren reefs the presence of vegetable life. whirlpool channel. our course now lay along the western foot of the curious headland just described, a rapid tide soon hurried us past its frowning shadows into a very winding channel scarcely half a mile wide, and more than fathoms deep; in this we experienced violent whirlpools, the first of which, from want of experience, handled us very roughly, suddenly wrenching the oars out of the men's hands, and whirling the boat round with alarming rapidity; after several round turns of this kind we shot out of the channel (which from the above circumstance we called whirlpool channel) into a bay about three miles wide, trending east; at the head of it were some snug coves, the shores of which were clothed with long rich grass and clumps of palm trees, thus realizing the hopes we had entertained of finding a more fertile country on first observing signs of inhabitants. we would fain have occupied one of these beautiful coves for the night, but as there was still two hours' daylight, we pushed on across the bay for a group of islands three miles further in a north-north-east direction. we obtained snug quarters for the night in a little sandy cove, between the largest of this small cluster of isles which we found to differ totally in shape and character from any yet seen; they trended north-north-west in narrow ridges, and were of a grey slate formation, their eastern sides formed steep precipices, while the western subsided to the water in rich grassy slopes, leaving quite a serrated ridge on their summits. bathurst island. we managed to reach the most elevated part of the highest island, by crawling along its ridge on our hands and knees. from this station i recognized the islands to the north-west to be those forming the eastern shore of sunday strait, and from the westerly trend of some larger ones bearing north-east about eight miles, i rightly supposed them to be the same captain king had laid down off that part of the coast, where it trends away to the eastward into collier bay; the largest of these i in consequence named bathurst island, after his vessel. we were glad to find the islands becoming less numerous, and a prospect of at last making our way to the eastward. we just finished our observations, as the sun's bright orb touched the distant horizon, and ere we reached the boat, the last vestige of day had taken its silent flight. our present position in this network of islands, will be better described by giving it in latitude and longitude, which we found to be degrees minutes south and degrees minutes east. we had as usual a fine night with a light east-south-east breeze, which had succeeded a strong one from south-east during the day. march . daylight found us running before a fresh breeze from the south-east in a north-north-east direction; crossing the mouths of small bays, four miles brought us to the north-west extreme of the mainland, the shores of which we followed for two miles in a east-north-east and one in an east half south direction, when we came to a small sandy bay where we landed to search in a promising ravine for water; this we had the good fortune to find almost immediately; whilst the breakers were filling, mr. tarrant and myself ascended a hill near, for a few angles. appearance of the country. the country again presented a barren appearance, large masses of coarse sandstone lay scattered over the face of it; a wiry grass, with a few stunted gum-trees growing in the ravines, were all the vegetation this point boasted of, and from what we saw of the interior, it appeared scarcely more inviting. the sterility however which apparently prevailed over this part of australia, could not obliterate those feelings of deep interest, which must pervade everyone, as the eye wanders for the first time over a country hitherto unknown. visited by a native. we had just completed our surveying operations, when two of the boat's crew came to report a visit from one of the natives, and concluding others were at hand, hastened up to strengthen our party; they said their sable visitor came to them without any enticing, no offers of red or blue handkerchiefs, or some gaudy bauble that seldom fails to catch the eye of a savage--and without the slightest indication of fear. we hurried down to see this marvellously confiding native, who we found coming up the hill; he met us with all the confidence of an old acquaintance. his first act of civility, was to show mr. tarrant and myself an easy road to the beach; and i shall never forget as he preceded us, or rather walked by our side, yielding the path, with natural politeness, to those he seemed to regard as his guests, how wonderful was the agility he displayed in passing over the rocks; sometimes coming down the face of one almost precipitous, without the least apparent effort. when i pointed to the fresh water, he said slowly and distinctly, "yampee, yampee." in height he was about feet inches, his hair bore no symptoms of being tied up behind (a custom we always before noticed) his teeth were also perfect, and though his brow had the distinctive peculiarity of the people of this continent, his forehead was remarkably high, his perception was very quick, his utterance gentle and slow, both in articulation and by signs (not flinging his arms about in the windmill-like fashion customary with those we had before seen) his manner of conversation afforded a most pleasing contrast to that of the natives hitherto seen, and altogether i was exceedingly prepossessed in his favour. we very much regretted that we were not better provided with presents for him: particularly as it seldom happened that i was without a supply, for such occasions; in this case, however, all i could give him consisted of a few beads, and some biscuit which he devoured most readily. nor ought the perfect confidence this man manifested, in thus trusting himself alone and unarmed, among such extraordinary strangers, to be passed over unnoticed: it commanded respect from us all. his conduct too was in the same spirit when we parted from him, though then i admit it almost as much disappointed as astonished me: when the boat left the shore, he turned to ascend the beach, and without once looking back, walked as unconcernedly and listlessly away, as though such things were to him everyday sights. native habits. this want of curiosity is a very singular and i believe an almost distinctive feature in the character of the native australian. among all other savages of whom i have read, or among whom i have had any opportunity of judging for myself, except the inhabitants of tierra del fuego, a perpetual and never satisfied curiosity seems to be the leading habit of their minds: here, however, wonder is rarely expressed, curiosity seldom apparent--yet their indifference is not stupidity, or their simplicity cunning. bathurst island. we had now been sufficiently long in australia to know the value of a stream of water, and therefore always felt the necessity of particularizing the locality of any we had the good fortune to find; from this one the extremes of bathurst island bore north-west and north-east. we now pulled for the opening on the east side of bathurst island, but finding the flood-tide setting so strong through it from the northward, i found it would be a waste of time to contend with it, and therefore proceeded to a hill on the east end of bathurst island. a large flock of white cockatoos screamed violently, as if wishing to dispute our landing, and it was not till their numbers had been thinned, of which our evening meal felt the benefit, that we could get any peace. we reached the summit of the island by following up a ravine, which formed the only break in the cliffs that faced the south-east side of the island. there was a thick growth of red gums and the papyrus, on its sides, and near the summit we found rocks containing iron; a vein of the same vitrified matter i have described as seen at swan point, separated it from the prevailing rock of the island, which was composed of sandstone and fragments of quartz. the rocks containing metal had a strange appearance, being heaped together in the form of a whirlpool; the ground beneath appeared quite hollow. our view was very commanding, and fully repaid us for the scramble up; there was a clear sea to the north-east, and bearing east-south-east were some small islands, which i afterwards found to be situated near the depth of collier bay. the macleay isles of captain king bore north-north-east about six miles: between the latter and a group farther west, there was a clear wide channel, which appeared to lead between the island we were on and the next to the westward. as this was the first part of the coast, since leaving port usborne, that a sailing vessel could approach without great risk, we proceeded to examine that channel more minutely, and were sorry to find the extensive coral reefs which fronted the islands, left a space of only half a mile between; a black pointed rock ten feet above high-water, marks the edge of the western reef, where it is covered by the tide; keeping this close on the starboard hand, will conduct a ship into good anchorage in and fathoms. the rise and fall of the tide at this place, we found to be feet. native habitations. as we required another station on the west end of bathurst island, i arranged that we should pass the night in a small cove near its south-eastern extreme; here we found several native habitations of a totally different and very superior description to any we had hitherto seen in any part of australia; they bore a marked resemblance to those i had seen on the south-east coast of tierra del fuego, which was so striking as to be remarked even by some of the boat's crew, who had belonged to the beagle in her wanderings on that stormy coast. stout poles from to feet high formed the framework of these snug huts--for so indeed they deserve to be termed--these were brought together conically at the roof; a stout thatching of dried grass completely excluded both wind and rain, and seemed to bespeak the existence of a climate at times much more severe than a latitude of degrees minutes south, would lead one to anticipate. the remains of small fires, a well greased bark pillow, a head ornament of seabird's feathers, together with several other trifling articles, strewn upon the floors of these wigwams, proved that they had been very recently inhabited. native raft. but perhaps the most interesting discovery in this bay, was a native raft, which we found near the beach, in such a position as must have required the exertions of several men to have placed it there; being heavier than either of our boats. in the construction of this raft, almost everything had been left to nature. it was framed of the dead trunk of a mangrove tree, with three distinct stems growing from one root, about feet long, and / broad. the roots at one end closely entwined, as is the habit of the tree, formed a sufficient bulwark at the stem, while an elbow in the centre of the trunk, served the same purpose at the stern: a platform of small poles, well covered with dried grass, gave a sufficient flooring to this rude specimen of a raft. i could not survey it without allowing my thoughts to carry me away in pleasing reflections upon the gradual progress of human ingenuity by the advance of which, the same intellect that first contents itself with the mere floating of the single tree, at length shapes a forest into timbers and launches the floating fortress in triumph on the deep! return to port usborne. we were now about miles in a direct line from port usborne, and perhaps by the winding course we were obliged to follow; only two days' provisions remained, and as we were still deficient of material for the chart of this archipelago, i was reluctantly obliged to abandon the idea of attempting to reach collier bay. the mainland we had explored, since leaving port usborne, may be described as forming eight bays, varying in depth from three to eight miles, and in width from two to five; their general trend is east-south-east; many islets skirt their shores, and almost more than can be counted fill their mouths. march . with the first grey of the morning we left bathurst island, on our return to the southward. whilst passing inside the cluster of isles of slate formation, we heard a "halloa," and on looking in the direction from whence it proceeded, a native was observed on a raft: the boat's course was immediately altered so as to cut him off should he attempt to escape, but to my great surprise he paddled towards us with all possible haste. the native yampee. he was soon alongside, and with great satisfaction we at once recognized our strange friend of yesterday, who amongst the boat's crew, went by the sobriquet of yampee. he again made use of the word yampee according to our orthography, and after repeating it several times, i offered him some water, which he very eagerly accepted, twice emptying a canister that had originally held pounds of preserved meat; this afforded me additional proof of yampee being the word the natives of these parts use for water. at swan river, the native name for water is gab-by, which differs so much as to lead us to suppose the dialect of the two places is quite distinct. this supposition is also borne out by the fact, that miago, the native of swan river we had on board, could never understand the language spoken by his countrymen, on the western shore of king's sound. we found our new acquaintance as yesterday, perfectly naked, the raft he was on was in every respect similar to that previously seen upon roe's group, with this slight exception, that between each pole several small pieces of wood were inserted so as to make the flooring of the raft almost smooth. into the large end of the centre, and largest pole, six long pegs were driven, forming a kind of basket in which were secured his means for procuring fire; they consisted of two pieces of white flint, and some tinder rudely manufactured from the inner bark of the papyrus tree. he used in paddling a short spear, sharp at each end, and struck the water alternately on either side; in this primitive manner he contrived to make way with a rapidity that astonished us all. he had two spears on the raft, besides the one he used for paddling; one of them was about feet long, also pointed at each end, though not barbed; and a small stick, similar to that used by other natives for throwing at birds, and small animals. as well as we could understand by his signs, it appeared that he had been anxiously waiting our arrival, and had pushed off from the main to intercept the boat, on our leaving bathurst island. we threw him a line, and he immediately comprehended our intention, and its use, by at once making fast to the raft; an instance of confident reliance upon our good intentions, which reflected much credit upon the unsuspicious openness of his own character, and which i should have exceedingly regretted by any act of ours to abuse. parting with the native. had not the distance and our scant supply of food, rendered such a step imprudent, i should have been very glad to have towed him to the ship. i really believe he would have trusted himself with us, for that or a much longer distance; but this could not be, and therefore, after endeavouring to make him understand that we should sleep some distance to the south, where there was a larger boat, alluding to the ship, we filled his basket with bread, gave him as much water as he could drink, and bidding him farewell, reluctantly cut him adrift: i shall not soon forget the sorrowful expression of his countenance, when this apparently inhospitable act was performed; it did not seem however to quench his regard for his new friends, for so long as we could see him he was hard at work paddling in our wake. i noticed that the beads given him yesterday were gone; this fact, coupled with the smokes seen during the day, satisfied me that he had friends in the neighbourhood, to whom i hoped he would report favourably of his new acquaintances; we had certainly endeavoured to obtain his goodwill. simple-hearted, trusting savage, farewell! native spears. the woodcut represents the difference between the spear used by the natives of this district and those of swan river. we soon reached whirlpool channel, through which the tide again hurried and whirled us with almost frightful rapidity; we were in one part of it shot down a fall of several feet, the boat's bow being fairly buried in the boiling current. emerging from this channel the hoary face of the remarkable headland already described, burst on our view; and as it was necessary if possible to reach its summit, we landed in a small bay, near the southern extremity. by following a winding ravine we gained the crest of this singular platform, which we found formed of a fine-grained sandstone, with some beautiful specimens of crystallised quartz on its higher parts, over which was a slight sprinkling of vegetation, consisting of a few small gumtrees and patches of coarse grass. the weather was unusually cloudy, with squalls from the north-east; towards the evening it was fine with a moderate breeze from east-south-east. as it was late when we reached the boat, we spent the night where we landed. march . we were early on the move pursuing our southerly course, the morning being rather gloomy with a fresh north-east wind, which raised a good deal of sea in the mouths of the larger bays. as the day closed we reached a cove half a mile north of tide-race point, where we passed the night. march . this morning the thermometer was down to degrees at daylight, which gave us the novel sensation of cold. it was late in the forenoon before the violent ripplings at tide-race point had subsided sufficiently to allow of our passing it. the rate of the current at this point appeared at times scarcely less than eight knots per hour, and traversing a rocky ledge, extending to some islands, and nearly dry at low-water, rendered it almost impassable, except when nearly high tide. cascade bay. in the afternoon we reached the cascade discovered on our way to the northward, and from which the bay within which it is received its name. we spent an hour or two luxuriating in the thorough enjoyment of a treat so rare, as this beautiful stream must be considered in north-western australia. in the evening we continued our return to port usborne, by a channel leading from the bottom of cascade bay into the large sheet of water first seen from compass hill; our progress was arrested at its inner entrance by the violence with which the tide rushed through, and we were therefore obliged to pass another night in the boats. return of the boats. march . we reached the ship this morning, entering port usborne by a narrow rocky channel, on its north-west shore; on the precipitous sides in this passage we noticed several of the rock kangaroo. we found that mr. usborne had returned three days before us: from his account of the islands he had visited, they appear to have the same sterile character as most of those we had seen; in other respects, his trip was void of interest, beyond that of surveying. during the absence of the boats, tidal and magnetic observations had been made, some specimens in natural history had been collected, and all that could in any way add to the interest of the expedition, had been as well attended to as the means placed at our disposal would allow. we closed at port usborne our explorations in king's sound, the result of which enabled us to fill up the gap long existing in the charts of the north-west coast of australia, and which had for years been the theme of much ingenious geographical speculation. the result of our labours, if it had been less brilliant than eager anticipation at the onset led us to hope for, had nevertheless been on the whole satisfactory. the river fitzroy, although not of the magnitude that we hoped to find, was still an undoubtedly valuable acquisition to our stock of geographical knowledge, and offered a way of access into the interior, of which we had availed ourselves to the extent of miles, and which subsequent explorers might yet further improve: while in many minor yet important matters, much had been done, and much seen, to more than compensate for the disappointments and annoyances inseparable from the pursuits of the adventurer. leaving port usborne. march . the morning was unusually stormy, dark clouds rested upon the adjacent high land, while others no less portentous hurried past us on the wings of the tempest. soon after breakfast, we bade adieu to the wild scenery of port usborne, and stood across the sound, for our old anchorage on the north side of point cunningham, distant one and twenty miles. in the mouth of the harbour we passed over a coral knoll, having five fathoms on it. we did not, however, reach our destination till nearly p.m., having been taken some distance up the sound, by the flood-tide. our soundings in crossing varied from fifteen to twenty fathoms, chiefly over rocky ground. it rained almost all the day, and we had several sudden shifts of wind, from south-east to north-west. our first view of the western shore of the sound was singular; point cunningham, and carlisle head, appeared like two high square-looking islands. we anchored soon after high-water, which appeared to be about a quarter of an hour earlier than at port usborne. we remained at this anchorage till the rd of april, during which time several unsuccessful hauls were made with the seine, but some additions were made to the collection of natural history, particularly in the ornithological branch. it is not a little remarkable, that fish should be so scarce on this part of the coast, a fact also noticed by captain king. interview with natives. april . this morning five natives made their appearance on the beach. captain wickham and myself went on shore, in order if possible to induce them to visit the ship: on landing he recognised them for old acquaintances, and i gave the eldest of the party, a handkerchief upon which he seemed to have set his affections; however when he understood our wish for the company of himself and friends on board, he was with difficulty induced to retain it. none but those who have made the experiment, are aware of what has to be overcome before any sort of intercourse can be carried on by signs; or how often, among the most intelligent, the greatest mistakes must of necessity occur. i have since thought, remembering what passed during this interview, that while we were making signs to them that on board they would find something to eat, each man's fears suggested the probability of a certain convocation, not where he eats, but where he is eaten, and induced him to decline standing treat upon the occasion. the singular manner these men had also of holding the face turned upwards, in order to escape the plague of flies, fully confirmed the truth of old dampier's account of the manners of these people when he first discovered this part of the world. the eldest was the spokesman, or rather the signsman of the party, and this is always the custom, so far as we have had an opportunity of judging. the word they make use of in bowing (which they did quite in an eastern style) appeared to be irru irru: their breasts were scarred with deep horizontal cuts, such as we had previously noticed on the natives in roebuck bay. i was so much struck with the resemblance between these people and the natives of tierra del fuego, that i have been tempted to believe that the stream of population flowed thitherward from the continent of america. i ought to mention that when captain wickham and myself left the ship, in the hope of inducing the natives to return with us, miago, hearing of the expected visit, immediately went below, and dressed himself to the best possible advantage. no sooner did the boat come alongside, than he appeared at the gangway, inquiring with the utmost possible dignity, "where blackfellas?" and was evidently and deeply mortified that he had no opportunity of astonishing the natives. there has been a marked change in the weather, since the sun crossed the equator: we have had no repetitions of the easterly squalls, before so prevalent, and the winds have been almost regular in the following order. from p.m. to a.m. a light breeze from south-south-west which freshening alters to south-east where it remains till a.m., from that hour gradually decreasing, and at the same time changing to north-east and north. the thermometer, for some days past has ranged from to degrees; a temperature which we thought a few months ago intolerable, was now quite agreeable. we looked forward with the utmost anxiety to the result of our arrival at port george the fourth, as there, or at least in that neighbourhood, we hoped to hear some tidings of our friends grey and lushington, who, when we separated from them at the cape, intended to land in hanover bay, establish a depot for stores, and from thence penetrate if possible into the interior. their peaceable disposition. i had no fear on the subject of any hostility from the natives, for in our own experience, we had as yet always found them inoffensive and peaceable; while should they prove otherwise, i was satisfied that a very slight acquaintance with the effects of gunpowder would be quite sufficient to quell their warlike propensities, but i did fear that they had chosen a very unfavourable point for debarkation, and that many causes would combine to arrest their progress into the interior. how unhappily my anticipations were verified, will be seen hereafter. early on the morning of the rd, we left our anchorage under point cunningham, and by two o'clock p.m., had worked through sunday strait, where we encountered its usual heavy tide-races. at four o'clock in the afternoon, caffarelli island bore east-south-east, miles distant: and about six, the wind, which through the day had been light and variable quite deserted us, when to avoid drifting back into the strait we anchored in fathoms; caffarelli island bearing south-south-east miles. the tide here appeared to be one hour earlier than in sunday strait: the flood set in a south-easterly, and the ebb in an opposite direction, at the rate of from half to one mile per hour. the th saw us again underweigh, by the light of the stars, but the wind being variable and against us, we did not get beyond adele island, where we anchored in fathoms: the nearest part of it bearing north degrees east miles. adele island. brue reef was seen in the course of the day, and appeared to be correctly laid down by captain king: there appeared, however, some discrepancy in the position of adele island, the southern extremity of which we found to be in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, which is one mile and a half to the southward of the place assigned to it in his chart. the sea was breaking heavily on the reef, which fronts the island for a distance of two miles. the island itself is low, desolate and barren. we noticed there was scarcely any set of tide at this anchorage. during the day's progress we found several coral ledges, in from to fathoms, and trending north-east by east, and with from to fathoms between them. the specimens of this beautiful submarine production brought up by the lead, were of the most delicate kind, nor on any occasion did the lead present any appearance to indicate that it had fallen among a coarser sort. one beautiful fragment was obtained in sunday strait in fathoms, a depth at which living coral is rarely found. beagle bank. april . daylight on the th found us standing to the eastward--east-north-east--with a light northerly wind, in soundings ranging from to fathoms, and over a bottom of white and brown sand in the deep, and coral rock in the shoal water. in the afternoon we had the good fortune to discover one of the reefs, which render the navigation of this part of the coast rather hazardous. the position of this danger, is however well marked by a bank of very white sand and dead coral, from which the reef extends two miles and a half, in a north-north-west and one mile in a south-south-east direction; and which rising some feet above the mean level of the blue surrounding water, became a conspicuous object from our deck, even at the distance of six miles. we gave our discovery the name of beagle bank, as another memorial of the useful services in which our little vessel had been so frequently engaged, and our observations enabled us to fix the centre of it in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east. shoal soundings. we anchored in the evening in fathoms, the bank distant / miles in a south by east direction: half a mile nearer to it, we found only fathoms. the tide rose at this anchorage feet. the flood stream began by setting to the south-south-west, and ended at south-east by east. the ebb set west by north, and the utmost strength of stream never exceeded one mile per hour. it was high-water at o'clock p.m., and the stream changed at the same time. the tide was therefore two hours later here than in the entrance to king's sound, from which it would appear that the tidal wave approaches this coast from the west-south-west. april . we made slight progress towards port george the fourth, during the forenoon; the water deepening to and fathoms, soon after we had weighed. we espied a ridge extending to the south-east from beagle bank, which supplies another fact in support of the opinion i have before advanced, and which gives a north-westerly trend to these ledges. the wind failing, and the ebb-tide drifting us again to the westward, in sight of beagle bank, the anchor was dropped / miles east by north of it, and in a depth of fathoms, to which we had suddenly shoaled from , this position marked the limit of shoal soundings in an east by north direction from beagle bank. between sunset and midnight we were able to make miles, in an east by north direction, when a contrary tide, and an accompanying calm, compelled us to anchor in fathoms: the soundings during the run had varied from to fathoms: the bottom, latterly a soft mud, of a dirty grey colour. a twilight star placed our position miles west of red island, which corresponded with the bearings at daylight. april . the wind being still very light, we were compelled to wait for the flood-tide, which did not favour us till a quarter past six in the morning. the last direction of the ebb stream was north. it was nearly dark before we reached our anchorage, in fathoms, one mile from point adieu: on our way material was secured for laying down the sea-face of the champagny islands. red island brought to our recollection captain heywood, by whom this part of the australian continent had been seen, and of whose earlier career a notice will be found in sir john barrow's interesting narrative of the mutiny of the bounty. trafalgar and waterloo. the soundings during the entire day, ranged from to fathoms, and the character of the bottom was similar to that last described. our observations for latitude did not verify our position by the chart, though all its bearings and distances appeared relatively correct. the discrepancy may perhaps be ascribed to the effect of refraction, as we were prevented by the land from observing on both horizons. the most remarkable objects in this neighbourhood, were two hills, named by captain king, mount trafalgar, and mount waterloo, to record in one hemisphere, two memorable events, not likely to be easily forgotten in the other: although assuredly the time will come when the peaceful triumphs of science and civilization, of which these names are here enduring witnesses, will be far more highly valued, and far more truly honoured! mount trafalgar made its first appearance in the form of a huge quoin or wedge, resting longitudinally upon the horizon, with its point towards the south-east. among other memoranda for the improvement of the chart of this coast, it should be noted that the reef extending to the north-west from jackson's peaked island, appears to join the small islands lying near it in that direction, and to which, from their colour, we gave the name of the brown islands. the brown islands. as there was every probability of the ship being detained in this neighbourhood for some days, searching for traces of lieutenants grey and lushington's party, and as the examination of collier bay, where we still hoped to find an opening leading into the interior, would prevent the necessity of our return to this part of the coast, i applied to captain wickham, for permission to proceed with the two whaleboats on that service. a wound on the foot had in some degree unfitted me for any very active duty, but i felt satisfied that the opportunity--perhaps the last i might have--ought not to be undervalued or neglected. brecknock harbour. april . by daylight on the th, the boats had left the ship, and were standing to the southward among the islands. our party consisted of mr. helpman, mr. fitzmaurice and myself. passing through the eastern part of port george the fourth, we entered roger strait, which led into a large sheet of water, forming a beautiful harbour; we landed to obtain a better view of it, on a small island at the southern entrance of this strait. this islet looked truly inviting, being clothed with long rich grass, which to our cost we found concealed boulders of granite; this was the first time we met with this primitive rock, and from the colour of the surrounding heights it was evident we were in an old red sandstone region. strange to say the attraction on this island rendered our compasses quite useless; we noticed on its north-west side a portion of the wreck of a small vessel. there was a small mangrove inlet in the south-east corner of this harbour, over which the land was low, forming a gap in the neighbouring heights. we now pushed on for an island lying in the entrance of the harbour, bearing west by north miles; our soundings in passing over this part (of what we afterwards called brecknock harbour, as captain king had named the entrance of it camden sound, from a distant view he had of it) gave a depth of fathoms, over an even muddy bottom; but towards and in the entrance it increased to fathoms. entrance isle. the island we now landed on, we called from its situation, entrance island. from a high part overlooking its steep southern side we had a very commanding view. the centre of a string of small islets bore north one mile; there extended miles in a west direction, from the north point of the harbour; both these and entrance isle escaped captain king's notice, owing to the distant view he had of this part of the coast. a point bearing south-west distant miles, was the extreme of the mainland that we could see in the direction we were going. we found the sandstone of this island not of the same ancient red colour as that on the shore fronting it. one boat was employed in the meantime sounding the entrance of the harbour, which we found to be miles across, and from to fathoms deep; the mouth of it faces the west-north-west, entrance isle lying half a mile outside its points, with a clear channel nearly a mile wide, on either side of it. about a quarter of a mile off the main, and fronting the south side of this island, there is a singular needle-shaped rock, feet high, marking the outer extreme of a coral ledge, which is covered at high-water. as it now blew a fresh breeze from seaward, and the afternoon was far advanced, we spent the remainder of the day in a further examination of the entrance. we were much pleased with the result of our evening's work, finding the approach to this fine harbour quite free from danger, and capable of admitting vessels of any size; there were no reefs or islets seaward of it to add to the anxiety of the navigator, or lessen the value of our discovery; the importance of which will be greatly enhanced, should lieutenants grey and lushington have the good fortune to discover any land fit for colonization in its neighbourhood. our labours here closed with observations for a boat rate, for the chronometers and latitude, the latter being degrees / minutes south on a sandy beach at the eastern side of entrance isle. slate islands. april . we rounded the extreme point to the south-west seen from entrance isle at sunrise; the rocks on this point were arranged quite in the form of a fort, from whence it received the name of battery point; another group of islands now came in view, bearing from battery point south-west by south about miles; these we named slate islands, from their singular formation. they extended one mile north-west from a point of land; between them and battery point, the coast fell back forming two bays, crossing the mouths of which we had fathoms. on passing slate islands, we saw a headland, named by captain king point hall, bearing south by west / west distant miles. it has a high peaked and isolated appearance, being separated from the contiguous high land by a low neck. we passed a bay miles wide on its north-eastern, and a snug cove on its south-eastern side. it was past noon and we were glad to see the stagnant calm, that had for hours reigned around, dispelled by the seabreeze which now darkened the horizon. our course, during the afternoon was south by east along a low rocky coast, but as we had to contend with a three-knot tide, we did not get farther than a small sandy cove, bearing south by east miles from point hall, by the close of the day, which was the only spot we had seen the whole of the afternoon capable of affording shelter for the boats. freshwater cove. we were agreeably surprised to find a stream of water running into the head of this cove, as the parched appearance of the low hills over it did not lead us to expect such good luck, in remembrance of which we called it freshwater cove. landing, i hastened to the south point of the cove, to secure the necessary data for the chart, before the surrounding objects were veiled in darkness. we again appeared to be in a sterile white sandstone region, where, with the exception of a few land birds, there was a total absence of animal life, and almost that of the vegetable, for even the gumtrees common in this part, were not to be seen. our view to the southward was very limited, embracing only the montgomery islands of captain king; they consist of six small rocky islets resting on an extensive coral flat, that we afterwards observed to be dry at low-water, and which extended to a large low sandy island, lying six miles west from them; the latter was not seen by captain king, in his distant view of this neighbourhood. the eastern and largest of the montgomery isles stands on the extreme of the coral flat; we found it to be feet high, and bore south-west by south miles from this point of freshwater cove. the latitude we obtained in the course of the night gave a result of degrees minutes south. april . at daylight we continued pursuing our south by east course, following the same kind of low straight rocky shore, as that of yesterday afternoon. we passed inside a reef fronting the shore from a mile south of freshwater cove; this passage was about half a mile wide and from to fathoms deep. having the flood-tide in our favour, we proceeded rapidly, and at the end of four miles, found the trend of the coast suddenly changed to east-north-east for two miles, when it again took a southerly direction, forming a chain of high rocky islets. deferring our examination of the main, lying about a mile in the rear of these islets, we kept on our south by east course, in the direction of some very high land now seen for the first time. three miles further brought us to a small rocky islet, where we landed for a set of angles. our hopes were considerably raised on reaching the top of this islet, by finding that we looked in vain for land towards the head of collier bay; the high land to the southward proved to be the south point of a large bay, having on its northern side similar high ranges. lizards. this island was overrun with a great variety of lizards, in consequence of which we named it lizard island. during our stay here, two birds,* rare on this part of the coast, were shot; they were of a smaller kind than any i had before seen, and differed from them in plumage, being without the white collar round the neck. leaving lizard island, we continued our southerly route, and ere long saw more land ahead, lying like a blue cloud on the horizon. ten miles brought us abreast of the high land we had first seen, and six more to the southern point of a bay, lying on its south-western side, where the duties of the survey again obliged us to land. we considered ourselves now entering once more on the new lands of australia, as captain king could scarcely have had even a distant glimpse of this part; his extreme southern position being abreast of freshwater cove, from whence he describes the view of the coast as follows. "the land to the southward trended deeply in, and appeared to me much broken in its character." we therefore naturally looked on everything here with a greater degree of interest, and with the view of affording time to examine the country, and determine the position of this point by observation, i arranged to pass the night in its vicinity. (*footnote. haematopus picatus, described in the appendix to captain king's work on australia.) head of collier bay. the view from this station, blighted our hopes of finding an opening leading into the interior from collier bay, for we could trace the land all round the head of it, forming high ranges without a single break. this malapropos discovery, materially diminished the pleasure we had before experienced, on first seeing a new part of the continent. about twenty miles west from where we stood, were a group of islands, which i was able to identify as those seen from bathurst island, near the eastern entrance point of king's sound; they appeared to extend about ten miles in a northerly direction, from the western point of collier bay. an eagle shot. whilst using the theodolite, we came within the searching glance of a hungry eagle, which soaring over our heads for some time, at length swooped within range of our guns, when he paid for his curiosity with the loss of his life. this was the only rapacious bird we saw in collier bay, and appears to be of the species falco leucogaster latham.* on examination, the stomach contained fish and part of a small snake, and from what i have since observed this bird frequents the sea coast. their nests are very large, built on bare spots in the shape of a pyramid; some of them measuring three feet in diameter, and six high. to convey a better idea of the size and exposed situation of the nests of these birds, i may state that on low parts of the coast, they were often used as surveying marks. this projection, which we called eagle point, is of a siliceous sandstone formation, intersected by nearly vertical veins of quartz, and forms a spur thrown off from a high range four miles to the south-eastward. we did not find any water in the few miles of country traversed in the course of the afternoon, yet everything wore a rich green appearance, and the scenery in some of the dells we crossed, was very picturesque, and quite alive with birds and insects; flights of many-coloured parakeets swept by with a rapidity that resembled the rushing sound of a passing gust of wind. among the trees, i noticed for the first time the banksia, common in western australia; mr. cunningham, the botanist who accompanied captain king, did not consider its indigenous empire extended to the north-west coast. of the other kinds, and which complete all the variety we observed on this part of the continent, were the mimosa, acacia, papyrus, and two sorts of eucalyptus; there were also several plants of the order leguminosae. (*footnote. figured in mr. gould's work on the birds of australia as ichthyiaetus leucogaster.) the seabreeze. we had a breeze throughout the entire day, from north-east till o'clock, then west-north-west till near midnight; this westerly or seabreeze, reached us within ten minutes of the time it did yesterday, a regularity we found to prevail the few days we spent on this part of the coast. the tide (being near the spring) fell in the night feet, leaving the greater part of the bay dry at low-water. our observations for latitude placed eagle point in degrees / minutes south. april . we left with the first streak of dawn, and pursued our course to the southward, passing inside a small reef lying half a mile west from eagle point. the eastern shore now took a south by west direction, forming shallow bights, flanked by hills of moderate elevation; our next station was an islet at the head of collier bay, bearing south-south-west / west miles from eagle point: it was in the mouth of a shoal bay about three miles deep in a west-south-west direction, the shores of which were lined with mangroves and overlooked by a high rocky ridge. the width of collier bay, at its entrance miles, was here only six. narrow inlet. the western shore ran in a north-west by west direction, a straight rocky coast, over which rose abruptly a range of barren heights. the tide stream gradually weakened as we approached the head of the bay, where it scarcely exceeded half a knot, and the soundings decreased to seven fathoms, with a kind of muddy sand bottom; but the clearness of the water, and the equal duration of the flood and ebb streams, afforded the most conclusive evidence of the small opening we now discovered in the south-east corner of the bay being nothing more than an inlet. it bore from this islet east-south-east four miles, yet as a drowning man catches at a straw, so did we at this inlet, and were soon in the entrance, which we found to be half a mile wide, with a very strong tide rushing out. after some difficulty we landed on a high rocky island in the mouth of it, the summit of which afforded us a good view of the inlet, which within the entrance widened out and was about two miles deep. a point prevented our seeing the eastern extreme, which mr. helpman was sent to examine; he found it extended two miles in an east-north-east direction, and like the other parts of it, to be lined with a scanty growth of mangroves, and flanked by high rocky land. the shape of this inlet resembles that of a bottle with a broad base, and being subject to a tidal change of level of feet, it is easy to imagine with what violence such a body of water must rush through the narrow entrance to keep on a level with the slow-moving waters of the bay outside. the cause of this great rise of tide in the head of collier bay, may be attributed to there being no escape for the vast body of water flowing into it. the land over the depth of this inlet which i have before spoken of, as being barren rocky heights, bounded our view to the southward; it bore south-south-east three miles, and lies in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east being the farthest point we determined towards the centre of the continent. the extreme position reached in that direction by lieutenant lushington of lieutenant grey's expedition, bears from this point, north degrees east fifty miles. thus terminated our explorations in collier bay, and although we had not the good fortune to find it the outlet of some large opening leading into the interior, still we succeeded in setting at rest the speculation, such a deep indentation of the coastline had hitherto afforded, and increased our geographical knowledge of this part of the continent miles. return of the boats. in the afternoon we commenced our return to port george the fourth, from which we were then distant about miles; after delaying to examine two islands lying north by east four miles from the inlet, of slate formation, we reached a narrow point six miles further down the bay, in time to save a true bearing from the sun's amplitude. we were surprised to find this point also composed of the same kind of grey slate. the islands we examined differed from those of the same formation in king's sound, having steep precipitous sides to the north-west instead of to the south-east. as it was by this time nightfall we did not proceed farther. april . towards the morning there was a south-east breeze which brought the thermometer down to degrees; it generally ranged between and degrees. raft point. the large bay discovered on our way to the southward now became the point of interest, and as daylight closed in the boats were secured in a small sandy cove, just within its southern point, where there were several native rafts, constructed precisely in the same manner as those seen in king's sound, from which circumstance we called the place raft point. immediately over it was the high land first seen in coming down the bay; huge masses were rent from its lofty frowning crags, on which the rays of the setting sun produced the most grotesque figures. a beautiful stream of water fell into the sea, in leaping cascades, half a mile inside the cove. several rock kangaroos were seen on the heights; and after securing observations with some early stars, for latitude, which placed raft point in degrees minutes south, we tried an experiment to get a shot at the kangaroos, by setting fire to the grass and small wood growing at the base, and in the interstices of the rocks. a conflagration. this part of the country being very dry, a fire was soon kindled, and in a few minutes the cliffs resounded with the noise of the flames, as they darted fiercely upwards, revealing their riven sides, and occasionally bursting out behind large masses of strange figured rocks to the no slight risk of our sportsmen, who were perched upon them. seabirds, frightened from their resting places, screamed fearfully, and the dismal howl of the wild dog, equally alarmed, sometimes fell on the ear amidst the roaring of the dangerous element, which in the intense darkness of the night we could not but admire. whilst gazing on this wild scene, i could not help speculating on the probable cause the natives would assign for this great conflagration; the bright glare of which must have extended over several miles of country, perhaps alarming and doubtless causing deep consultation amongst the wise men of their tribes. it may also have taxed their power of invention, as they never use large fires in the night, except in wild stormy weather, when the creaking trees, and moaning wind, give them a dread of a visit from the evil spirit. april . being anxious to examine the range over the cove, i desired mr. helpman to explore the north-east corner of this large bay, and the main lying behind the islands, fronting the coast to the northward of it. we accordingly moved off on our several occupations at an early hour. after much difficulty mr. fitzmaurice and myself found ourselves on a tableland of sandstone formation, elevated by measurement feet above the sea level, and by far the highest land yet noticed on this part of the continent; the prospect here was very cheerless; similar but lower ranges met the eye in every direction towards the interior, those overlooking the eastern shore of the bay, were from to feet high. there appeared to be a large island in its north-east corner, which fell back about miles, and like many other parts of it was lined with a growth of mangroves. a string of smaller islands extended three miles from the north point, leaving an entrance only two miles wide. a sandstone ridge similar to that on which we stood, rose abruptly from the north point, but of less elevation. i was not a little surprised to find that lieutenant grey had seen land from to feet high, only about miles from the height on which we stood, but as he had not the means of measuring these great elevations, and as captain king, who was within miles of the high land alluded to, does not notice it, yet mentions some hills from to feet high, miles further to the north-east, i am induced to believe that lieutenant grey may have over-estimated the height of the land he saw.* (*footnote. mounts trafalgar and waterloo, which are not nine hundred feet high, are the first points of the continent that meet the eye from seaward.) doubtful bay. from subsequent information, i called this doubtful bay; the tide ran into it at the rate of from to knots, but the clear appearance of the water, and entire absence of driftwood, afforded strong grounds for supposing that it did not receive the waters of any river. leaving raft point, we crossed over to the islands on the opposite side, for a few angles on their southern extreme, and afterwards made the best of our way to freshwater cove. the day had, however, closed in long before arriving there, and in the extreme darkness of the night the cove was difficult to find. indeed my companions could not believe we were there until one of the men returned with a keg of water from the stream in the head of it. mr. helpman's report. mr. helpman joined us at sunset, and gave the following report of his proceedings: "on leaving the cove at raft point, we passed along the south shore for two miles, and landed on a point that afforded a most commanding view of the bay, and the openings in its north-east corner, which appeared to be formed by a large island lying near the shore. this supposition afterwards proved to be correct, on landing at a point fronting its western extreme, from whence i was enabled to trace the shore round the north-east corner of the bay, till i identified it as the same we had seen on the eastern side of the island from the station just left. from the still and discoloured state of the water, i felt satisfied there was no opening in the north-east corner of this bay. i am, however, willing to admit it may have been more satisfactory to others if there had been sufficient time at my disposal to have actually gone round the island. we now hastened off to examine the mainland, lying behind a chain of islands to the northward, where we also failed to discover an opening." mouth of the glenelg. as this account of mr. helpman's coincided with the opinion i had formed of the other parts of the coast, i was induced at that time to come to the conclusion that the river glenelg which i found lieutenants grey and lushington had discovered, on my return to the ship, did not communicate with the sea in this neighbourhood, as lieutenant grey had supposed, but took a south-west direction, flanking collier bay, and terminating in the mangrove openings on the eastern shore of stokes' bay in king's sound. my opinion was strengthened by lieutenant lushington having seen from his furthest position (which has already been given) a very high bluff point to the southward, distant or miles, and a line of cliffs under which he conceived that an opening of the sea or a river may run. further experience has convinced me of the great difficulty attending the discovery of the mouths of rivers in australia, and as mr. helpman did not actually visit the north-east corner of doubtful bay (named in consequence) i am inclined to believe there is a possibility of the mouth of the glenelg still being found there. april . we were on our way to point hall before the eastern hills had received their golden hue from the rays of the rising sun, and landed to ascend the summit of that headland from the bay, on its south-east side, which proved to be a safe anchorage, except with south-west winds, having a small islet in its centre. we ascended the height on the lee side, and as the sun was now approaching the zenith the heat became very oppressive; but the air was quite perfumed with the rich fragrance of different gums. this warm aromatic odour we always experienced in a slighter degree on first landing in north-western australia. remarkable tree. i noticed a tree quite new to me, it was of stunted growth, bearing a fruit resembling a small russet apple, which hung in clusters at the extremity of small branches; the skin was rough, covering a pulp that had an acid flavour, inside of which was a large stone, and i observed a white fluid exuded from the branches when broken. although this was almost a solitary tree, i have since learnt it grows in the southern parts of the continent. as the woodcut and description given in page , volume of sir thomas mitchell's work on australia, is almost identical with this fruit, it must be indigenous to a great extent of country, since sir thomas mitchell found it in latitude degrees minutes south whilst by us it was discovered in degrees minutes south. we did not observe any other change in the vegetation on this point; of birds we saw but few, chiefly parrots, some of which we shot. a coast range of brown grassy hills prevented our seeing anything of the interior. to seaward there was neither islet nor reef to interrupt the blue surface of water that bounded our view in the far north-west. descending we embarked from a cove on the north-east side, where the boats had been ordered to meet us; between this and one on the opposite side there was only a narrow neck of low land. it is singular that we should not have seen any natives, or even traces of them anywhere excepting at raft point, during the whole of this cruise. the slate isles. pursuing our northerly course, we reached a small group of islands, named from their formation, slate isles. finding that all the material required here for the chart could not be collected this evening, i desired mr. helpman to go on to brecknock harbour, to sound and examine its southern shore the next morning, whilst mr. fitzmaurice and myself remained to complete the survey hereabouts. april . we were on the top of the northern slate island early; a small islet with a reef off its northern extreme, bore north a mile and a half, and a low sandy isle, west / north about miles; this was a most unwelcome discovery, as it lay in the track of vessels approaching brecknock harbour, and which captain king must have passed very close to in the night without being aware of it. we were fortunate in being able to intersect our lines to the extremes of all the islands forming the north side of camden sound from this station, which rendered it one of great importance. of the interior we saw even less than from point hall, and the prospect if possible was more cheerless. our again meeting rocks of transition origin, led us to infer that the soil in the neighbourhood was of a better quality, as the decomposition of rocks of this class furnishes a much more fertile soil than sandstone of recent formation. leaving the slate islands, we reached entrance isle, in brecknock harbour, in time to secure observations for the rates of the chronometers, which we found had been performing admirably; they placed the sandy bay on the east side of entrance isle, in longitude degrees minutes east; the latitude as before given, degrees / minutes south. fertile country. at this place mr. helpman rejoined us, having completed the examination of the south shore of the harbour; from a high hill over it he discovered some fine country, bearing east-south-east about eight miles. in speaking of it, he says, "i was invited to the top of this hill by the certainty of a good view of the interior over the low land forming the south-eastern shore of the harbour, and most amply was i repaid for the toil of ascending it, by feasting my eyes on a most luxuriant well-watered country, lying at the eastern foot of a remarkable peak, visible from port george the fourth. to the north-east there lay a range of hills,* apparently of no great elevation. (*footnote. macdonald range of lieutenant grey, considered by him feet high.) brecknock harbour. part of this rich land extended to within five miles of the south-eastern part of brecknock harbour." the proximity of such fertile land to this fine port was of great importance, and induced us to consider it a great addition to our discoveries in north-western australia. under this impression, i trust the following brief description of it may not be without its value in the eyes of some of my readers. brecknock harbour is six miles deep, extending gradually from a width of one and three quarter miles at the entrance to five at the head, and has a depth of water varying from five to seven fathoms, with a soft muddy bottom. the few observations on the tides our short visit afforded, make the time of high-water, on full and change day, about half an hour before noon, when the rise is nearly thirty feet, and the strength of stream in the entrance nearly two knots. lieutenant grey. april . although very anxious to learn if they had in the ship heard anything of lieutenant grey's party, still i did not like to break through my usual rule of indulging in a thorough cleansing of men and boats, before making our appearance on board, we therefore did not make an early start. in clearing roger strait, we heard the cry of a native, who was seen with the aid of a spy-glass, perched on a distant cliff, watching our movements. i scarcely believed it possible to have heard his shrill voice so far. we reached the ship, lying in port george the fourth, early in the afternoon, and found on board a most welcome addition to our little party, in the person of lieutenant grey. i met him again, with feelings of the greatest satisfaction; for though none were, perhaps, fully aware of it, a feeling of despondency as to the fate of himself and his companions, had more than once occurred to me, which each day's delay much increased, and which this agreeable rencounter at once effectually removed. poor fellow! gaunt misery had worn him to the bone; and i believe, that in any other part of the world, not myself alone, but lieutenant grey's most intimate friends, would have stared at him without the least approach to recognition. badly wounded, and half starved, he did, indeed, present a melancholy contrast to the vigorous and determined enthusiast we had parted from a few months before at the cape, to whom danger seemed to have a charm, distinct from success. no sooner had we ascertained the safety of the rest of the party, than, as might be supposed, we fell into a long and animated conversation upon the success of the expedition. they had discovered a river, called by them the glenelg, and a tract of fine country, which, from lieutenant grey's description, i instantly recognised as being the same mr. helpman had seen from brecknock harbour. a spot, sixty miles in a south-south-east direction from hanover bay, indicates their furthest distance towards the interior. the rugged nature of the country in the neighbourhood of this coast, and its vast distance from the interior, from whence it is further removed than any other part of the continent, justify the expression of an opinion that this was an ill-chosen spot for the debarkation of an expedition for inland research; though unquestionably its proximity to our east indian possessions, would make it, if suitable in other respects, a most valuable spot for colonization. i shall always regret that lieutenant grey and his companions had not the advantage of starting from the fitzroy, or exploring yet further the unknown course of the victoria, by which i am now convinced, a most successful attempt to reach the interior might be made. alas! while we cannot but regret the prodigal sacrifices of health and energy made to acquire such a limited knowledge of a part of the continent, hitherto utterly unknown, we must not forget to do justice to the perseverance which opposing obstacles could defeat, but not daunt; and in what it did accomplish, furnished additional motives to renewed exertion, and useful suggestions by which more fortunate followers may reap the success deserved by, though denied, to the first adventurers. the worn and haggard aspect of lieutenant grey and all his companions, spoke of itself how severe had been the hardships they were called on to endure: i need not say that their wants were relieved with the utmost eagerness of frank hospitality, and that their tales of hair-breadth escapes and moving accidents awoke all ears, and stirred in every heart. to meet with a countryman in a foreign land, is of itself generally an agreeable incident: the tones of one's native language, or the reminiscences of one's earlier and happier years, which such a meeting recalls, are sure to bestow upon it a pleasure of its own. what was it then to meet a former fellow voyager, and a friend? to meet him after almost despairing of his safety? and to meet him fresh from a perilous and partially successful attempt to penetrate into the same unknown and mysterious country, a further and more perfect acquaintance with which was a prime object of my own personal ambition, no less than of public duty with all engaged in our present adventure? those who have known the communion of sentiment and interest, which it is the tendency of one common purpose to create among all by whom that purpose is shared, can most readily and most perfectly understand with what deep and mutual interest lieutenant grey and myself heard and recounted all that each had done since our parting at the cape. several anecdotes of his adventures confirmed my own experience, and add weight to the opinions i have before expressed. from his description of the tribes his party had encountered, he must have been among a people more advanced in civilization than any we had hitherto seen upon this coast. he found several curious figures,* images, and drawings, generally in colours, upon the sides of caves in the sandstone rock, which, notwithstanding their rude style, yet evince a greater degree of advancement and intelligence than we have been able to find any traces of: at the same time it must be remembered that no certain date absolutely connects these works with the present generation: the dryness of the natural walls upon which they are executed, and the absence of any atmospheric moisture may have, and may yet preserve them for an indefinite period, and their history read aright, may testify not the present condition of the australian school of design, but the perfection which it had formerly attained. (*footnote. illustrated in lieutenant grey's first volume.) light-coloured natives. lieutenant grey too, like ourselves, had seen certain individuals in company with the natives much lighter in colour, and widely differing in figure and physiognomy from the savages by whom they were surrounded; and was inclined to believe that they are descended from dutch sailors, who at different times, suffering shipwreck upon the coast, have intermarried with its native inhabitants: but as no authentic records can be produced to prove that this portion of the coast was ever visited by dutch navigators at all, i am still more disposed to believe that these lighter coloured people are malays, captured from the trepang fishers, or perhaps voluntarily associating with the australian, as we know that the australian not unfrequently abandons his country, and his mode of life, to visit the indian archipelago with them. before pursuing any further the train of speculation in which my thoughts naturally enough arranged themselves, owing to this meeting with lieutenant grey, it may be as well to advert to the circumstances under which he and his party were found by captain wickham. it seems that on moving into port george the fourth, the ship's guns were fired in order to apprize the wanderers, if within hearing, that friends and aid were at hand. these signals were heard on board the lynher, and were at once rightly understood to denote the presence of the beagle. at that time, however, the master of the lynher--the schooner which lieutenant grey had chartered at the cape, was himself in no small perplexity as to the fate of those he had transported to this lonely coast; and was now growing exceedingly anxious at their non-appearance. the next morning, the th, captain wickham started in the yawl for hanover bay, in order to prosecute the search at the point where he knew lieutenant grey's depot was to be established, and on rounding the headland the first welcome object that met his eye was the schooner at anchor. captain wickham learnt from mr. browse the master, that the period for which the schooner was chartered having expired, he was only waiting the return of the expedition from motives of humanity. the further care of lieutenant grey and his comrades was at once undertaken by captain wickham, by whom it was determined, owing to the shortness of provisions on board the beagle, to proceed to timor on the return of the boats, in the hope of being able to revictual there, leaving some conspicuous record of his recent visit, with hidden letters declaratory of his proceedings, and promising his speedy return. a party was immediately despatched on shore, and upon the face of the sandstone cliff they painted in characters of gigantic proportion, beagle observatory. letters south-east paces. of necessity compelled to wait for the boats, captain wickham returned to the beagle. captain wickham's meeting with lieutenant grey. on the morning of the th, lieutenant grey, accompanied by two of his party, made his appearance upon the shores of hanover bay, after a twelve weeks wander in the interior; during which, great hardships, fatigue, and peril had been undergone, and much curious and valuable information collected. hearing of the proximity of the beagle, he lost not a moment, but hastened to assure captain wickham that the whole party was safe, and spent the evening of the th--that previous to my return--among those who sympathized with his sufferings, and heartily welcomed him once more on board. after the first greetings had been exchanged between us, lieutenant grey professed the utmost anxiety to hear whether, during our late excursion in the boats, we had discovered the mouth of the glenelg, the river first seen by him on the nd of march. i was of course compelled to inform him that we had found no trace of any river, although the coast from port george the fourth to the bottom of collier bay, an extent of nearly one hundred miles, had been examined, and with the exception i have already noticed, too closely to admit of mistake. an evening with lieutenant grey. the next afternoon i followed lieutenant grey round to hanover bay, distant twelve miles from the beagle's anchorage. on the passage i noticed that the remarkable bluff, spoken of by captain king, had been omitted in the charts, and a low rocky point marked in its place. it was after sunset when we reached the schooner in hanover bay; the greater part of the night was devoted to an examination of lieutenant grey's plans of his expedition, and the drawings with which various events in it had been illustrated. all these were executed with a finished carefulness one could not have expected to find in works carried on in the bush, and under such varied circumstances of distraction and anxiety as had followed lieutenant grey's footsteps: though terribly worn and ill, our opportune arrival, and the feeling that he was among those who could appreciate his exertions, seemed already to operate in his recovery. upon an old and tattered chart, that had indeed done the state some service, we attempted to settle the probable course of the glenelg, the knotty question held us for some hours in hot debate; but as in a previous paragraph, i have rendered my more deliberate opinions, i need not here recount the varied topics discussed during that memorable evening: but it may be readily imagined with how swift a flight one hour followed another, while i listened with eager impatience to lieutenant grey's account of a country and people till now unknown even to english enterprise. he appears to have seen the same kind of grape-like fruit* that we observed in king's sound. (*footnote. grey's australia volume page .) the encampment. i took the boat in the afternoon at high-water to proceed to the encampment, which we were then able to approach within a quarter of a mile. it was situated in the depth of a creek, into which a clear and sparkling stream of fresh water poured its abundance: the shore was formed of enormous granite boulders, which rendered it hardly accessible except at high-water; and the red sandstone platform which is here the nature of the coast, was abruptly intersected by one of those singular valleys which give so marked and so distinctive a characteristic to australian geology. the separated cliffs approach to within about a quarter of a mile of each other, and then--still preserving their precipitous form--recede some three miles inland, in a southerly direction, and there rejoining, make any passage from walker's valley* to the interior a barely practicable feat. (*footnote. so named by lieutenant grey to commemorate the services rendered by the surgeon of his party in finding a road from it to the interjacent country.) timor ponies. the encampment consisted of a few roofless huts, placed irregularly upon a carpet of rich grass, whereon six timor ponies were recruiting after the fatigues of a journey in which they appeared to have borne their full share of privation and danger. their marketable value was indeed but small, and lieutenant grey had, therefore, determined to leave them behind in the unrestrained enjoyment of their natural freedom. my visit was made after the encampment had been finally abandoned, and the thought that a little spot once tenanted by civilized man was about to be yielded to that dreary solitude from which for a while he had rescued it, made the pilgrimage a melancholy one. the scene itself was in strict keeping with such thoughts--the rugged and lofty cliffs which frown down upon the valley--the flitting shadows of the watchful eagles soaring far over my head--and the hoarse murmurs of the tide among the rocky masses on the beach--ail heightened the effects of a picture engraven on my memory too deeply for time itself to efface. while the men were preparing for embarkation i strolled with lieutenant lushington up the valley, a little beyond the late encampment: the timor ponies were busily engaged upon the fresh grass; near the banks of a beautiful pool in which we both enjoyed a freshwater bath, i noticed a small coconut tree, and some other plants, which he and his companions had benevolently endeavoured to naturalize here: they seemed healthy enough, but i should fear the rank luxuriance of surrounding and indigenous vegetation will render the ultimate well-doing of the strangers exceedingly doubtful. assisted by our boats the whole party embarked in the early part of the afternoon, and appeared highly delighted to find themselves again on board the schooner. i was much impressed with the emphatic manner in which lieutenant lushington bid the shore a hearty farewell. the same evening the lynher was moved round to port george the fourth--thus affording us an opportunity of welcoming all our former fellow-voyagers once more on board the beagle; where we spent one of those delightful evenings, known only to those who have been long separated from the rest of the world. leave port george the fourth. on the th we left port george the fourth on our return to swan river, in company with the lynher, in which lieutenant grey and his party had arranged to proceed to the mauritius. a finer port than this, in some respects, can hardly be imagined. like hanover bay, over which, however, it possesses the advantage of an easier access from the sea, it affords safe anchorage, abundance of fresh water, plenty of fuel, and a fine beach for the seine: but the numerous islands and reefs which skirt this coast greatly reduce the value of both these harbours. the master of the lynher told me of certain tidal phenomena remarked by him during his protracted visit to hanover bay: he had noticed that the highest tides always occurred on the fourth day after the full or change of the moon, and that they then attained a maximum height of twenty-five feet; while during the neaps the difference between high and low-water sometimes did not exceed twenty-four inches! during the short time that we were in this neighbourhood, the prevailing winds were from south-east and to east from after midnight till noon, and from west to north until midnight. our progress through the day was but slow; the wind light and most provokingly foul at west-north-west. isolated rock. while standing towards a small island bearing north and by west five and a half miles from point adieu, we discovered a single rock with apparently deep water all around it, and just awash at low-water. it bore north-west and by west three-quarters of a mile from this island, which resembles red island, and captain king's group of the rocky islands, in that calcined-like appearance which has by turns given them red and brown for a distinct appellation. in the afternoon we saw the sandbank laid down in captain king's chart; it appeared a white rocky islet. the night was spent beating to the westward, between it and red island, against a light breeze. april . at daylight, whilst standing to the south-west the water shoaled rapidly though regularly from to fathoms, we then tacked, red island bearing south-east one mile and a quarter; in standing out (north) the water deepened suddenly and almost immediately to fathoms. i imagine this shoal to be a continuation of one laid down by captain king, extending two miles south from red island: passing the latter on our way to port george the fourth we had to fathoms, two and a half miles from its north-west side. april . we continued to make but little progress to the westward, scarcely averaging more than a mile per hour: the soundings indicating that we were still on the coral ledge that skirts the whole of this coast, northward of cape leveque; on the raised parts of which are numerous reefs of an irregular size and almost invariably trending from west to north-west. the number of these low coral reefs already known, and the probable number of those yet undiscovered, make this rather a dangerous sea, and must have a tendency to lessen the value of the north-west coast of australia for purposes of forming settlements. in the afternoon we saw again the reef discovered and named after the beagle. steering west-north-west we passed four miles from its northern side in soundings varying from to fathoms. remarkable ripplings. april . towards the close of this day we passed through a line of very remarkable ripplings, extending in a north and south direction, which we knew indicated some great inequality in the bottom, but whether from deep to shoal water was a matter of some anxiety; therefore, with leadsmen in the chains and the men at their stations for working ship, we glided into this streak of agitated water, where plunging once or twice she again passed into the silent deep. we sounded ineffectually with fathoms in the ripplings; for some time before the soundings had been regular and fathoms fine sand, and four miles beyond it we had fathoms, but did not succeed afterwards in reaching the bottom with fathoms. this line of disturbed water, therefore, marks the edge of the bank of soundings fronting this part of the coast, from which the nearest point, cape leveque, bore south-east miles. part from the lynher. the lynher having to pursue a more westerly course, we were of necessity, though reluctantly, obliged to part company this evening: the few evenings we passed together at sea were rendered very pleasant and amusing by the crews singing to each other as the vessels, side by side, slipped stealthily through the moonlit waters. april . still pursuing a west-south-west course, at the slow rate of forty miles daily, our position at noon was latitude degrees minutes south longitude degrees minutes east. during the day we passed within fifteen miles of the lively's reef, and from the numbers of terns and other small seabirds, seen for the last three days, there can be little doubt of its whereabouts being known, and that during that time we had been in the neighbourhood of other reefs still undiscovered. april . we experienced the long rolling swell of the southern ocean, which, as well as our reckoning, informed us we were rounding north-west cape; at the same time we began to feel a steady breeze from the south-east and the northerly current which there prevails. as we were now approaching the usual track of vessels bound from australia to india, we were not unprepared for the somewhat unusual sight of a strange sail: an object always of some little interest, but which becomes quite an event to those whose duty leads them into the less frequented portions of the deep. the tryal rocks. the increasing trade now carried on between sydney and the gorgeous east, has converted the dividing sea into a beaten track; and as no further evidence has been brought forward to confirm the reported existence of the tryal rocks, asserted to lie directly in the course steered by vessels making this passage, i cannot but adhere to captain king's opinion, that tremouille island and its outlying reefs, situated in the same latitude as that in which the tryal rocks are supposed to lie, have originated the mistake;* one, be it observed, of longitude, in which particular the accounts of earlier navigators must always be received with caution. (*footnote. subsequent explorations have proved this to be the case.) anecdotes of miago. while our return to swan river was thus baffled and delayed by the long and almost unbroken continuance of foul winds, it afforded some diversion to watch the countenance and conduct of miago, who was as anxious as anyone on board for the sight of his native land. he would stand gazing steadily and in silence over the sea, and then sometimes, perceiving that i watched him, say to me, "miago sing, by and by northern men wind jump up:" then would he station himself for hours at the lee-gangway, and chant to some imaginary deity an incantation or prayer to change the opposing wind. i could never rightly learn to whom this rude melody was addressed; for if anyone approached him near enough to overhear the words, he became at once silent; but there was a mournful and pathetic air running through the strain, that rendered it by no means unpleasing; though doubtless it owed much of its effect to the concomitant circumstances. the rude savage--separated from all his former companions, made at once an intimate and familiar witness of some of the wonders of civilization, carried by his new comrades to their very country, and brought face to face with his traditionary foes, the dreaded northern men, and now returning to recount to his yet ruder brethren the wonders he had witnessed--could not fail to interest the least imaginative. yet miago had a decided and most inexplicable advantage over all on board, and that in a matter especially relating to the science of navigation: he could indicate at once and correctly the exact direction of our wished-for harbour, when neither sun nor stars were shining to assist him. he was tried frequently, and under very varying circumstances, but strange as it may seem, he was invariably right. this faculty--though somewhat analogous to one i have heard ascribed to the natives of north america--had very much surprised me when exercised on shore, but at sea, out of the sight of land, it seemed beyond belief, as assuredly it is beyond explanation: but i have sometimes thought that some such power must have been possessed by those adventurous seamen who, long before the discovery of the compass, ventured upon distant and hazardous voyages. i used sometimes, as we approached the land of his nativity, to question him upon the account he intended to give his friends of the scenes he had witnessed, and i was quite astonished at the accuracy with which he remembered the various places we had visited during the voyage: he seemed to have carried the ship's track in his memory with the most careful accuracy. his description of the ship's sailing and anchoring were most amusing: he used to say, "ship walk--walk--all night--hard walk--then by and by, anchor tumble down." his manner of describing his interviews with the "wicked northern men," was most graphic. his countenance and figure became at once instinct with animation and energy, and no doubt he was then influenced by feelings of baffled hatred and revenge, from having failed in his much-vaunted determination to carry off in triumph one of their gins. i would sometimes amuse myself by asking him how he was to excuse himself to his friends for having failed in the premised exploit, but the subject was evidently a very unpleasant one, and he was always anxious to escape from it. in spite of all miago's evocations for a change of wind we did not see rottnest island before the morning of the th. the ship's track on the chart after passing the north-west cape, resembled the figure seven, the tail pointing towards the north. we passed along the south side of rottnest, and by keeping its south-western extreme shut in with the south point, cleared the northern end of the foul ground extending north-north-west from a cluster of high rocks called the stragglers. return to swan river. as gage road was not considered safe at this time of the year, the ship was taken into owen's anchorage under the guidance of mr. usborne. we first steered for the mew stone, bearing south, until the leading marks could be made out; they are the western of two flat rocks lying close off the west side of carnac island and a large white sand patch on the north side of garden island. the rock must be kept its own breadth open to the eastward of the highest part of the patch; these marks lead over a sort of bar or ridge of sand in and / fathoms; when the water deepened to and fathoms, the course was then changed to east-south-east for a patch of low cliffs about two miles south of fremantle, which brought us up to owen's anchorage in and fathoms, passing between success and palmelia banks. thus concluded our first cruise on this almost hitherto unknown part of the continent; and looking at its results we had every reason to feel satisfied, having appended miles of new land to our geographical store, and succeeded in an object of paramount interest in this country, the discovery of a river. besides the nautical information obtained, some additions were made to the secondary objects of the voyage, by increasing our knowledge of the natural history and indigenous productions of north-western australia. changes of temperature. during the period of our visit we had a temperature varying from to degrees; the weather generally fine, with moderate south-easterly winds, and occasionally heavy squalls from the eastward, excepting in the month of february and part of march, when we experienced heavy falls of rain, accompanied by fresh westerly winds. but as these changes have already been noticed in the diary, it is needless to enter into further detail about them here. chapter . . swan river to sydney. miago's reception by his countrymen. whale fishery. strange ideas entertained by natives respecting the first settlers. neglected state of the colony. test security of owen's anchorage. weather. celebration of the anniversary of the colony. friendly meeting between different tribes. native beggars. personal vanity of a native. visit york. description of country. site of york. scenery in its neighbourhood. disappointment experienced. sail from swan river. hospitality of colonists during our stay. aurora australis. gale off cape leeuwen. stormy passage. ship on a lee shore. south-west cape of tasmania. bruny island lighthouse. arrive at hobart. mount wellington. kangaroo hunt. white kangaroo. civility from the governor. travertine limestone. leave hobart. singular current. appearance of land in the neighbourhood of sydney. position of lighthouse. entrance and first view of port jackson. scenery on passing up the harbour. meet the expedition bound to port essington. apparent increase of sydney. cause of decline. expedition sails for port essington. illawarra. botany bay. la perouse's monument. aborigines. meet captain king. appearance of land near sydney. miago's reception by his countrymen. we were considerably amused with the consequential air miago assumed towards his countrymen on our arrival, which afforded us a not uninstructive instance of the prevalence of the ordinary infirmities of our common human nature, whether of pride or vanity, universally to be met with both in the civilised man and the uncultivated savage. he declared that he would not land until they first came off to wait on him. decorated with an old full-dress lieutenant's coat, white trousers, and a cap with a tall feather, he looked upon himself as a most exalted personage, and for the whole of the first day remained on board, impatiently, but in vain prying into each boat that left the shore for the dusky forms of some of his quondam friends. his pride however could not long withstand the desire of display; yielding to the impulse of vanity, he, early the following morning, took his departure from the ship. those who witnessed the meeting described it as cool on both sides, arising on the part of his friends from jealousy; they perhaps judging from the nature of his costume, that he had abandoned his bush life. be that as it may, the reception tended greatly to lower the pride of our hero; who through generosity (expending all his money to purchase them bread) or from a fear of being treacherously speared, soon convinced his former associates how desirous he was of regaining their confidence. he did not, however, participate in the revelry then going on amongst the natives at fremantle, where, at this period of the year, they assemble in great numbers to feast on the whales that are brought in by the boats of a whaling establishment--which i cannot allude to without expressing an opinion that this fishery, if properly managed and free from american encroachments, would become one of the most important branches of industry. during the time that miago was on board we took great pains to wean him from his natural propensity for the savage life by instilling such information as his untutored mind was capable of receiving, and from his often-expressed resolutions we were led to hope a cure had been effected; great was our disappointment then on finding that in less than a fortnight after our arrival, he had resumed his original wildness, and was again to be numbered amongst the native inhabitants of the bush. to us he had been the source of great mirth, by the absurd anecdotes he sometimes related about his countrymen. his account of their conjectures respecting the arrival of the first settlers may amuse the reader; he said, "the ships were supposed to be trees, and the cattle large dogs (the only animal besides the kangaroo known to them) whose size and horns excited such alarm, that one which strayed into the bush being met by a party of natives made them climb up the nearest trees in the greatest terror." state of the colony. it may give some definite idea of the neglected state of this infant colony, to mention that during the entire period of our absence--a space of six months--there had been but one arrival there, and that not from england. the solitary visitor was h.m.s. pelorus from the indian station. the want of communication with the mother country was beginning to be felt severely, and in matters of graver moment than mere news. many necessary articles of home manufacture or importation, scarcely valued till wanted, were now becoming almost unattainable: one familiar instance will illustrate at once how this state of things presses upon the comfort of the colonists; the price of yellow soap had risen to four shillings per pound! owen's anchorage. the usual winter anchorage in cockburn sound, being seven miles from the town of fremantle, the colonists were naturally very anxious to see tested the equal security of one which we had chosen within half that distance. the point was fairly tried, and very satisfactorily determined during the heavy weather which we experienced on the st of march, and th of june, which did not raise more sea than a boat at anchor could have ridden out with safety. these gales lasted about forty-eight hours each, commencing at north by west and gradually blowing themselves out at west-south-west. in each instance a heavy bank of clouds in the north-west gave us a day's notice of their approach. the indications of the barometer were less decisive; its maximum was . . the weather in the interval between these gales was wet and unsettled; but afterwards, until our departure, it continued remarkably fine with an average temperature of degrees. the winds at this season prevail from the land, the seabreezes being both light and very irregular. anniversary of the colony. we were just in time to share in the annual festivities with which the inhabitants celebrate the formation of the colony. horseracing, and many other old english sports showed that the colonists still retain the tastes and habits of home. some of the aborigines took part in the amusements of the day with evident enjoyment: and we were surprised to find that in throwing the spear they were excelled by an english competitor. we hardly know how to reconcile this fact with our own favourite theories upon the perfection of the savage in the few exercises of skill to which he devotes his attention, and were obliged to take refuge in the inadequate suggestion that the wild man requires a greater degree of excitement than his more civilised competitor, to bring out, or call into action, all the resources of his art. among the natives assembled were a small party from king george's sound: they had come to perth, bearing despatches from that place. the good understanding which appeared to exist between them and their fellow-countrymen in this district, led me to believe that by bringing different tribes more frequently together, under similar happy auspices to those which convened the meeting of to-day, much might be done to qualify the eager and deadly hatred in which they are too prone to indulge. the natives in the town of perth are most notorious beggars: the softer sex ply this easy craft even more indefatigably than the men. their flattering solicitations and undeniable importunity seldom altogether fail of success, and "quibra (i.e. ship) man," after the assurance that he is a "very pretty gentleman," must perforce yield to the solicitation "tickpence give it um me." there was one amongst them, who from some accident had lost several of his toes. when in conversation, if he fancied any person was observing his foot, he would immediately endeavour to conceal the part that was thus disfigured by burying it in the sand. another instance, exemplifying how prevalent is the frailty of vanity in the heart of man in his primitive condition. visit york. as a little time was required to give the ship a slight refit and the crew some relaxation, it afforded an opportunity of visiting york, situated about sixty miles east from perth, and at that extremity of the colony. accordingly, one murky afternoon a small party of us were wending our way over the darling range. long after dark the welcome bark of dogs rang through the forest in the still dark night, assuring us that shelter was at hand, and we soon found ourselves before a large fire in the only house on the road, enjoying, after a dreary wet ride, the usual fare at that time at the out-stations--fried pork and kangaroo. about this tenement was the only spot of land along the whole line of road that could at all lay claim to anything like fertility; at which i was the more surprised, as our route intercepted the direction in which patches of good land are generally found in this part of the continent. the soil of this little piece was of a rich black mould and well watered by a neighbouring spring. our road lay in some places over tracts of loose white sand, and in others round and over low ironstone hills. descending from one of these heights to a rich narrow flat, the presence of three or four houses informed us we were within the township of york. the position of the level it occupies forms the western bank of the river avon, which is now and has been for some time past nothing more than a chain of waterholes. in this neighbourhood the hills lie detached from one another in irregular directions, and are composed of granite; from the summit of one on the western side of the town we looked over a vast expanse of undulating forest land, densely wooded, with scarcely a grassy patch to break the monotony of the view. to give an idea of the personal labour early settlers are obliged to undergo, i may mention that we found mr. bland, the most wealthy colonist in western australia, engaged in holding the plough. i was disappointed in my visit to this part of the country as it did not leave a favourable impression of its fertility--still it afforded me an opportunity of judging by comparison of the quality of the soils in western australia and on the banks of the fitzroy, and i was happy to find i had not overrated the latter. the odium of a recent murder in the vicinity committed by natives had led to their absenting themselves just now from york, but a few of their numbers too young for suspicion were employed in the capacity of servants and appeared sharp and intelligent lads. sail from swan river. on the th of june we took leave of our friends in western australia, proceeding out of owen's anchorage by a passage recommended by the harbour-master, in which we found half a fathom less water than the one through which we entered. during our stay there, nothing could exceed the kindness with which we were welcomed, and we experienced that proverbial hospitality of colonists which in this instance we shall ever remember with feelings of the most sincere and heart-felt pleasure. it may appear out of place inserting it here but on our first arrival at swan river in november last, we saw the aurora australis very bright. at midnight of the rd of june we passed cape leeuwin, the south-western extremity of the continent; named by the first discoverer in , landt van de leeuwin or the land of lions. the wind which had increased since the morning to a fresh gale from the northward, now suddenly veered round to the westward, accompanied with rain and causing a high cross-sea. gale off cape leeuwin. these sudden shifts of wind frequently raise a very dangerous sea off cape leeuwin.* this made the third gale we had experienced since the th of may, and is recorded here from its commencing at north-east instead of at north, the usual point at which gales in these regions begin. during the stormy weather which prevailed throughout the passage, we were unceasingly attended by those majestic birds and monarchs of the ocean--the white albatross (diomedia exulans) which with steadily expanded wings sailed gracefully over the surface of the restless main in solemn silence, like spectres of the deep; their calm and easy flight coursing each wave in its hurried career seemed to mock the unsteady motion of our little vessel as she alternately traversed the deep hollows and lofty summits of the high-crested seas. (*footnote. in a gale off this cape in , h.m.s. zebra was compelled to throw her guns overboard.) july . it was our intention to have passed through bass strait, but finding we were unable to weather king island bore up on the th for hobart. on the evening of the same day we were by a sudden change of the wind placed in one of those perilous situations in which both a good ship and sound gear are so much required; the wind, which had been northerly throughout the day, about p.m. veered round to west, blowing a heavy gale with a high sea; and since we had now run about halfway along van diemen's land, left us with an extensive and dangerous shore under our lee. through the dismal gloom of the night, during which there was incessant rain with a succession of heavy squalls, the angry voice of nature seemed indeed to be raised in menace against us, and it was not until the close of the next day that a slight abatement of the weather relieved our anxiety for the safety of the ship. during the night the wind backed round to the north-west and the sky became once more partially clear. early on the morning of the th we descried the south-western extremity of the land of van diemen, discovered in by the celebrated dutch navigator, abel tasman, and so named by him after the governor of batavia, under whose authority the voyage thus crowned with success had been performed. tasmania. to this portion of australasia i shall systematically apply the name of tasmania, in honour of that adventurous seaman who first added it to the list of european discoveries. the same principle appears to have been recently acted upon by the government in creating the bishopric of tasmania, and i may therefore plead high authority to sanction such innovation:* higher perhaps than will be required by him who calls to mind that hitherto the navigator who added this island, and the scarcely less important ones of new zealand to the empire of science, has been left without a memorial, the most befitting and the most lasting that universal gratitude can consecrate to individual desert. the insular character of tasmania was not fully ascertained till the year , when the intrepid bass, then surgeon of h.m.s. reliance, while on a whaleboat cruise from sydney, discovered the strait which bears his name. (*footnote. mr. greenough, late president of the geological society, in his anniversary address to that body on the th of may, , remarks that, "it is much to be regretted that government has not recognised tasmania as the name of that island, improperly denominated van diemen's land. the occurrence of a second van diemen's land on the northern coast of australia occasions confusion; and since tasman, not van diemen, was the first discoverer of the island, it would be but just that whatever honour the name confers should be given to the former navigator." journal of the royal geographical society of london volume part .) south-west cape. towards a.m. steering east by south before a long rolling sea, we passed about six miles from the south-west cape of tasmania. there was no opportunity at the time of determining exactly the amount of error in the position assigned to it in the present charts, but we were satisfied that it was placed at least five miles too far south. the maatzuyker isles, a group a few miles to the south-east of this cape, are also incorrectly laid down. the view of this headland was of a very impressive and remarkable character, and to add to the usual effect of its lonely and solitary grandeur, a heavy sea still vexed and swelling from the turbulence of the recent gale, was breaking in monotonous regularity against its white and aged face; rising a thousand feet precipitously above the level of the sea, and terminating in a peak, rendered yet more conspicuous by a deep gap behind it. the adjacent coast had a singularly wild, bare, and storm-beaten appearance. we beheld the rugged and treeless sides of barren hills; and here and there, where vegetation struggled with sterility, its stunted growth and northern inclination caused by the prevailing winds testified to an ungenial clime; high, bare-faced peaks appeared occasionally through the thick clouds that girdled them, and the whole coastline forcibly reminded us of the dreary shores of tierra del fuego. bruny island lighthouse. on opening d'entrecasteaux channel, we observed a splendid lighthouse erected by sir john franklin, on the south-west extremity of bruny island, and which serves to guide entering vessels clear of the shoals in the mouth of that channel, formerly fatal to so many a luckless voyager, wrecked within sight of the hoped-for shore, upon which he might never set his foot. the situation of the lighthouse appears admirably chosen, and it may readily be seen in the daytime, a wide gap being cut in the woodland behind it. in alluding to the great improvement in the navigation of d'entrecasteaux channel, by the erection of the lighthouse on bruny island, it must be remembered that we are indebted to the indefatigable exertions of lieutenant burnett, r.n., who had been appointed marine surveyor to the colony by the admiralty, for a knowledge of the exact position of its dangers. in prosecuting this service, i grieve to say, his life was lost, by the upsetting of a boat in one of those sudden gusts of wind which sweep down the steep valleys on the sides of that channel. this sudden termination of lieutenant burnett's labours has been deplored alike by the colony, and by the profession of which he was so bright an ornament. we entered storm bay after dark against a strong north-west wind, which quite vindicated the title of the bay to the name it bears, and so much delayed our progress, that it was morning before we were abreast of the iron pot lighthouse at the entrance of the derwent river, and after dark before we reached sullivan's cove, hobart. although the passage up the river was tedious and annoying from the adverse and squally wind that prevailed throughout the day, we were almost repaid for the delay by the scenery each tack brought to our view, and to which the remembered aspect of the shores we had so recently quitted, seemed by contrast to add a yet more delightful verdure. as we proceeded, we noticed since our last visit, several bare patches in the woodlands, where the axe and the brand of the enterprising colonists had prepared the way for that cultivation under the influence of which the landscape wore in places an almost english aspect. this fancied resemblance--inspiring by turns delightful anticipation and fond regret--was heightened by the occasional addition of many pretty little cottages scattered along the sloping banks of the river, and adding to the luxuriant appearance of the country, the peaceful grace and sanctity of home. july . we were detained at hobart till the th, the bad state of the weather rendering it impossible to complete the requisite observations for rating chronometers, etc. mount wellington. we had two or three snowstorms during the time, but even in fine weather the proximity of mount wellington, towering above hobart, and throwing its strange square-headed shadow across the still waters of sullivan's cove, must always render fort mulgrave an unfavourable spot for observations, from its arresting the progress of each passing cloud. the pleasure of our return was very much enhanced by the kind hospitality with which we were received by the inhabitants, and the officers of her majesty's st regiment. from sir john franklin the governor, we experienced all the attention and courtesy--all the frank and generous hospitality which it was in his power to bestow. had we been without the claims of previous acquaintance to have recommended us to his best offices, the fact that our voyage was intended to advance the cause of science, would have been quite sufficient to interest in our welfare, one who has achieved a reputation as enduring as it is honourable, amid the perils and trials connected with an arctic campaign of discovery. the unfavourable state of the weather also prevented us from visiting and enjoying the alpine scenery in the neighbourhood of hobart. kangaroo hunt. we did, however, get a few miles from the town upon one occasion, when the fox-hounds of a gentleman, mr. gregson, who will be long remembered in the colony for his pedestrian and equestrian performances--met in the neighbourhood to hunt the kangaroo. a thoroughly english appreciation of all that promised sport, led a large party of us to join the meet, at a place called the neck. the turnout was by no means despicable: the hounds were well bred, though rather small--perhaps an advantage in the sort of country over which their work lies. a tolerable muster of red coats gave life and animation to the scene, and forcibly reminded us of a coverside at home. the hounds found a large kangaroo almost immediately upon throwing off, and went away with him in good earnest. there was a burning scent, and from the nature of the country, over which we went for some distance without a check, the riding was really desperate. the country was thickly wooded, with open spaces here and there, in which fallen trees lay half hidden by long grass. riding to the hounds was therefore as necessary as dangerous, for once out of sight it was almost impossible to overtake or fall in with them. most of the field rode boldly and well, yet i remarked one or two casualties: early in the run, a gentleman was swept off his horse by the projecting branch of a tree, under which he was going at a reckless pace, and another had his hat perforated immediately above the crown of his head. yet notwithstanding the annoyance of ferrying our horses across the derwent, we returned to hobart, very much pleased with the day's sport.* (*footnote. in the first volume of the tasmanian journal, will be found an animated description of kangaroo-hunting with these hounds, by the honourable h. elliot, who mentions that on one occasion a large kangaroo gave them a run of eighteen miles.) white kangaroo. in a gentleman's house there, i saw for the first time, a specimen of an albino or white variety of kangaroo, halmaturus bennettii.* another object that interested me greatly was a quarry of travertine limestone, in the neighbourhood of hobart, where i saw the impression** of leaves of plants, not in existence at present, and of a few shells of ancient species. (*footnote. one of this rare kind, was presented by sir john franklin to her majesty, in whose menagerie at windsor it died, and was sent afterwards to the british museum, where it now may be seen.) (**footnote. drawings of these impressions, together with the shells will be found in count strzelecki's scientific work.) sail from hobart. we sailed from hobart on the th of july and carried a strong fair wind to within a few days' sail of sydney, when we experienced a current that set us miles south-east in hours; this was the more extraordinary as we did not feel it before, and scarcely afterwards; and our course being parallel to the shore, was not likely to have brought us suddenly within the influence of the currents said to prevail along the coast. the ship's position was miles east of jervis bay when we first met it. july . this morning the clearness of the atmosphere enabled us at an elevation of feet, to distinguish the light near the entrance of sydney harbour, while at a distance of thirty miles from it. its site has been admirably chosen for indicating the position of the port from a distance at sea, but it has been placed too far from the entrance to be of much service to vessels when close in shore.* the low land in the vicinity of sydney and botany bay, presents a striking contrast with the coast of the illawarra district, a little further southwards; where the sea washes the base of a lofty range of hills, which sweeping round some distance in the rear of the two former places, leaves an extensive tract of low country between them and the sea. upon the summit of these hills there rest almost invariably huge clouds, which serve even through the gloom of the darkest night, to assure the anxious navigator of his position. (*footnote. some years since a ship with convicts was driven at night by a south-east gale, close in with the light, and was obliged to run for the harbour, but being then without anything to guide her into the entrance, was wrecked on the south point. the loss of life was dreadful. the light lately erected near the sow and pigs reef, has in some measure remedied the evil here pointed out: but being too far within, and on the south side of the entrance, it is not made out till, with southerly winds, a ship has approached dangerously close to the north head.) approach to sydney. on approaching sydney, a stranger cannot fail of being delighted with his first glance at the noble estuary which spreads before and around him. after sailing along a coastline of cliffs some feet in height, and in general effect and outline not unlike those of dover, he observes an apparent breach in the sea-wall, forming two abrupt headlands, and ere he has time to speculate upon the cause of that fancied ruin, his ship glides between the wave-worn cliffs into the magnificent harbour of port jackson. the view which solicits the eye of the sea-wearied voyager as he proceeds up the harbour, is indeed well calculated to excite a feeling of mingled admiration and delight--the security and capacity of the port--its many snug coves and quiet islets with their sloping shores, sleeping upon the silver tide--pretty white cottages and many english-looking villas peeping out here and there from their surrounding shrubberies, and the whole canopied by a sky of ethereal blue, present a picture which must at once enchant the most fastidious observer. we found lying in the famous cove of sydney, h.m.s. alligator and britomart, commanded by captain sir gordon bremer, and lieutenant (now captain) owen stanley, going to form a settlement at port essington on the north coast; an expedition of much interest, particularly to us, from having some old shipmates engaged in it. contrast with south america. on first arriving at sydney from south america, i was much struck with the strange contrast its extensive and at the same time youthful appearance presented to the decrepit and decaying aspect of the cities on that continent. we had then been visiting colonies and settlements founded centuries ago, by a nation at that time almost supreme in european influence, and planted with every circumstance of apparent advantage upon the shores of a fertile and luxurious continent given by the immortal genoese to the crown of spain. we had found them distracted by internal commotions, disgraced by ignorance, debased by superstition, and defiled by slavery. colonisation. in sydney we beheld with wonder what scarce half a century had sufficed to effect; for where almost within the memory of man the savage ranged the desert wastes and trackless forests, a noble city has sprung as though by magic from the ground, which will ever serve both as a monument of english enterprise, and as a beacon from whence the light of christian civilisation shall spread through the dark and gloomy recesses of ignorance and guilt. the true history of our australian possessions; the causes which have led to their settlement; the means by which they have been established; the circumstances by which they have been influenced; and the rapid, nay, unexampled prosperity to which they have attained; present some of the most curious and most important laws of colonisation to our notice. without attempting so far to deviate from my present purpose as to enter here on a deduction from the data to which i have alluded, it cannot be denied that, in the words of an eloquent writer in blackwood, "a great experiment in the faculty of renovation in the human character, has found its field in the solitudes of this vast continent: that the experiment has succeeded to a most unexampled and unexpected degree: and that the question is now finally decided between severity and discipline." what else remains, what great designs and unfathomed purposes, are yet reserved to grace this distant theatre, i pause not now to guess. the boldest conjecture would probably fall very far short of the truth. it is sufficient for us to know that providence has entrusted to england a new empire in the southern seas. nor can we doubt that there as elsewhere throughout the various regions of the habitable globe, the same indomitable spirit which has achieved so many successes, will accompany those whom heaven has appointed as pioneers, in that march of moral regeneration and sound improvement long promised to the repentant children of earth. quarantine establishment. we were sorry to find that it had been necessary to form a quarantine establishment in the north harbour, in consequence of the diseases brought to the country by emigrant ships. a number of tombstones, whitening the side of a hill, mark the locality, and afford a melancholy evidence of the short sojourn in the land of promise which has been vouchsafed to some. expedition to port essington. it not being the favourable season for commencing operations in bass strait, we remained at sydney until november, and embraced the opportunity of clearing out the ship. our stay was undiversified with incidents, and it may as well therefore be briefly passed over. among the few occurrences worth mentioning, was the departure of the expedition sent out to form a settlement at port essington on the northern coast. its object was simply military occupation, it having been deemed advisable about that time to assert practically the supremacy of great britain over the continent by occupying some of its most prominent points; but as soon as its destination became known in the colony, several persons came forward as volunteer-settlers, and expressed the greatest anxiety to be allowed to accompany the expedition. their views extended to the establishment of a trade with the islands in the arafura sea; and certainly they would have been far more likely to draw forth the resources of the country, than a garrison, whose supplies are brought to them from a distance, whose presence holds out no inducement to traders, and who are not impelled by any anxiety for their own support to discover the riches of the soil. for these reasons the determination of government not to throw open the lands, and their refusal to hold out the promise of protection to the individuals who expressed a desire to accompany the expedition, are greatly to be regretted. in a vast continent like australia, so remarkably destitute of fixed inhabitants, it would seem that every encouragement should be afforded to persons desirous of locating themselves on unoccupied tracts. there is a great difference besides, between giving rise to delusive hopes--inducing people as it were under false pretences to repair to new settlements--and checking the spirit of colonisation when it manifests itself. every young establishment must go through a certain process. it is necessary that some should pioneer the way for others; and endure hardships the beneficial results of which may be enjoyed only by their successors. had advantage been taken of the enterprising spirit that prevailed at the time of which i speak, the germs of a fresh settlement would have been deposited at port essington, which must ultimately have risen into importance. a great stream of emigration was pouring into the south-eastern portion of australia, and it would have been wise to open a channel by which some portion of it might have been drawn off to the northern coast. but such were not the views entertained by the authorities concerning this matter. they seemed apprehensive of incurring the blame of encouraging the speculating mania which raged so extensively at sydney, and which has reacted with so pernicious an effect upon the colony.* the expedition accordingly retained its purely military character. however, i may add, that the bishop of australia attended to the spiritual wants of the settlement by sending with it a church in frame. (*footnote. on our arrival at sydney in , we found speculation at its height: land-jobbers were carrying on a reckless and most gainful trade, utterly regardless of that revulsion they were doomed soon to experience. town allotments that cost originally but pounds were in some instances sold, three months afterwards, for ten times that sum. yet amid all this appearance of excessive and unnatural prosperity there were not wanting those who foresaw and foretold an approaching change. to the withdrawal of the convicts, solely at the expressed wish of some of the most wealthy colonists, has been traced much of the decline that followed; and the more recent pages in the history of sydney will fully bear out the opinions expressed by captain fitzroy when he visited it in : he says, "it is difficult to believe that sydney will continue to flourish in proportion to its rise. it has sprung into existence too suddenly. convicts have forced its growth, even as a hot bed forces plants, and premature decay may be expected from such early maturity.") botany bay. during our stay at sydney we paid a visit to botany bay, which from the circumstance of its being the point first touched at by captain cook, naturally possesses the greatest interest of any place in the neighbourhood. our way thither lay over a sandy plain, into which the coast range of low hills subsides. there is little or no verdure to relieve the eye, which encounters aridity wherever it turns; and the sand being rendered loose by frequent traffic, the foot sinks at every step, so that the journey is disagreeable to both man and beast. these inconveniences, however, were soon forgotten on our arrival at our destination, amidst the feelings excited and the associations raised by the objects that presented themselves. monument to la perouse. within the entrance of the bay, on the northern side, stands a monument* erected to the memory of la perouse, that being the last spot at which the distinguished navigator was heard of, from , until , when the chevalier dillon was furnished with a clue to his melancholy fate by finding the handle of a french sword fastened to another blade in the possession of a native of tucopia, one of the polynesian group. by this means he was enabled to trace him to the island of mannicolo, on the reefs fronting which his ship was lost. (*footnote. on the eastern side is engraven: a la memoire de monsieur de la perouse. cette terre qu'il visita en mdcclxxxviii. est la derniere d'ou il a fait parvenir de ses nouvelles. also: erige au nom de la france par les soins de mm. de bougainville et du campier, commandant la fregate la thetis, et la corvette l'esperance, en relache au port jackson, en mdcccxxv. on the western side: this place, visited by monsieur de la perouse in the year mdcclxxxviii, is the last whence any accounts of him have been received. also: erected in the name of france by mm. de bougainville and du campier, commanding the frigate the thetis and the corvette the hope, lying in port jackson, a.d. mdcccxxv. on the north: le fondement pose en ; eleve en . on the south: foundation laid in , completed .) close by, on the same point, stands the tomb of a french catholic priest, named le receveur, who accompanied la perouse, as naturalist, in his circumnavigation of the globe, and died at this great distance from his native land. a large stump of a tree rising near, "marks out the sad spot" where lie mouldering the bones of the wanderer in search of materials to enrich the stores of science. no doubt many a hope of future fame expired in that man's breast as he sank into his last sleep in a foreign clime, far from his home and friends and relations, such as his order allowed him to possess. the applause of the world, which doubtless he fancied would have greeted his labours at the end of his perilous journey, he was now robbed of; and he must have felt that few would ever recollect his name, save the rare voyager who, like myself, having encountered the same dangers that he had braved, should chance to read his short history on the narrow page of stone that rests above his grave. cape solander. another object of greater interest to the englishman is observable on cape solander, the opposite point of the bay. it is a plate set in the rock, recording the first visit of the immortal cook, to whose enterprise the colonists are indebted for the land that yields them their riches, and which must now be invested in their eyes with all the sanctity of home. surely it would become them to evince a more filial reverence for the man who must be regarded as in some respects the father of the colony. let us hope that they will one day raise a monument to his memory, which to be worthy of him must be worthy of themselves--something to point out to future generations the spot at which the first white man's foot touched the shore, and where civilisation was first brought in contact with the new continent. illawarra. but though botany bay is interesting from the associations connected with it--i am quite serious, though the expression may raise a smile on some of my readers' lips--the tract of country best worth seeing in the neighbourhood of sydney, is illawarra, commonly called the garden of new south wales. by a change in the formation from sandstone to trap, a soil this here produced capable of supporting a vegetation equal in luxuriance to any within the tropics. in the deep valleys that intersect the country, the tree-fern attains a great stature, and throwing out its rich spreading fronds on all sides forms a canopy that perfectly excludes the piercing rays of even an australian sun. it is impossible to describe the feelings of surprise and pleasure that are excited in the mind of the traveller as he descends into any one of these delightful dells: the contrast in the vegetable kingdom strikes him at once; he gazes around on the rich masses of verdure with astonishment, and strongly impressed with the idea that enchantment has been at work, involuntarily rubs his eyes and exclaims, "am i in australia or in the brazils?" aborigines. few only of the aborigines of the neighbourhood of sydney are now to be seen, and these are generally in an intoxicated state. like most savage tribes they are passionately addicted to spiritous liquors, and seek to obtain it by any means in their power. out of a sugar bag, with a little water, they manage to extract a liquor sufficient to make half a dozen of them tipsy; and in this condition, as i have observed, they most frequently presented themselves to my view. they are in every respect a weak, degraded, miserable race, and are anything but a favourable specimen of the benefits produced by intercourse with polished nations on an uncivilised people. however, the natives of australia vary as strangely as its soil; the members of the tribes that dwell about shoalhaven and the small southern ports, and come up in coasting vessels, are good-looking, useful fellows, and may hereafter be made much of. i noticed also, in my circumnavigation of the continent, a remarkable diversity in the character of the natives, some being most kindly disposed, while others manifested the greatest hostility and aversion. my whole experience teaches me that these were not accidental differences, but that there is a marked contrast in the dispositions of the various tribes, for which i will not attempt to account. i leave in the hands of ethnologists to determine whether we are to seek the cause in minute variations of climate or in other circumstances, physical or historical. this i can say, that great pains were formerly taken to civilize the natives of sydney, gardens were given them, and numerous attempts made to inculcate habits of order, and communicate a knowledge of european arts; but no advantageous results ensued, and it was at length deemed impossible not only to improve them, but even to prevent their deterioration. i cannot determine whether this evinces a natural inaptitude in the savage to learn, or too great impatience in the teachers to witness the fruits of their labours, and a proneness to be discouraged by difficulties. "is this grass?" in the journal of my residence at sydney i find as the result of one day's experience, the following laconic and somewhat enigmatical memorandum: "is this grass?" the question implies a doubt, which it would not be easy for any person unacquainted with the circumstances of time and place, to solve: but the reader, when he has seen the explanation, will understand why very pleasing associations are connected with this brief note. i was going down to the jetty late one evening, when i met a party just landed, evidently complete strangers in this quarter of the world. their wandering and unsteady glances would have convinced me of this fact, had their whole appearance left any doubt about the matter: among them were some ladies, one of whom suddenly detached herself from her companions, and directed as it were by instinct through the gloom, hastened towards a few sods of turf, pressed them exaltingly with her foot, and exclaimed in a light, joyous, happy voice--through which other emotions than that of mere gladness struggled--"is this grass?" the words were nothing. they might have been uttered in a thousand different tones and have not fixed themselves on my memory; but as they fell in accents of delight and gratitude from the lips of the speaker, they told a whole story, and revealed an entire world of feeling. never shall i forget the simple expression of this newcomer, whose emotions on first feeling the solid earth beneath her tread, and touching a remembrance of the land she had left in quest of another home, will be incomprehensible to no one who has crossed the ocean. captain king. we met several persons at sydney from whom we received valuable information, and particularly captain king, who, as the reader may recollect, commanded the first expedition on which the beagle was employed. his great scientific attainments must ever attach respect to his name, and his explorations on the australian coast, previous to the survey in which we were engaged, together with his father's services as governor of new south wales, give him and his children a lasting claim upon the country. the information he furnished on this and subsequent occasions was extremely valuable. rising of the australian continent. an observation of his gave rise in my mind to very curious conjectures; he told me that where he used formerly to anchor the vessel he commanded in the head of sydney cove, there was now scarcely sufficient water to float even a boat. as the deposits of the small stream that flows into it could not have produced this change, i was led to examine the shore of the harbour, when i found what seemed to me to be the marks of the sea higher than its present level; this, coupled with the decrease in the soundings we found in darling harbour, leads to the legitimate inference that this part of the continent is rising; and my reader will recollect that it is a prevalent theory that the whole of the vast plains of australasia have but recently emerged from the sea. chapter . . bass strait. leave sydney. enter bass strait. island at eastern entrance. wilson's promontory. cape shanck. enter port phillip. tide-race. commence surveying operations. first settlement. escaped convict. his residence with the natives. sail for king island. examine coast to cape otway. king island. meet sealers on new year islands. franklin road. solitary residence of captain smith. soil. advantageous position for a penal settlement. leafless appearance of trees. examine west coast. fitzmaurice bay. stokes' point. seal bay. geological formation. examine coast to sea elephant rock. brig rock. cross the strait to hunter island. strong tide near reid's rocks. three hummock island. rats. the black pyramid. point woolnorth. raised beach. coast to circular head. headquarters of the agricultural company. capture of a native. mouth of the tamar river. return to port phillip. west channel. yarra-yarra river. melbourne. custom of natives. manna. visit geelong. station peak. aboriginal names. south channel. examine western port. adventure with a snake. black swans. cape patterson. deep soundings. revisit king and hunter islands. fire. circular head. gales of wind. reid's rocks. sea elephant rock. wild dogs. navarin and harbinger reefs. arrive at port phillip. sail for sydney. pigeon house. drought. mr. usborne leaves. before quitting sydney i must express my gratitude for the hospitality we experienced during our stay, which prepared us with greater cheerfulness to encounter the difficulties we might expect to meet with in the boisterous waters that rolled between the then imperfectly known shores, and islands of bass strait. it was not until the th of november that we bade adieu to our friends, and sailed to commence our contemplated operations. on the th we passed the rocky islands (kent's group) at the eastern entrance of the strait, their barren and bleak appearance bespoke the constant gales that swept over them, checking every tendency to vegetation. as we approached them the soundings decreased to fathoms, the observation of which fact apprises vessels coming from the eastward in thick weather, of their proximity. after leaving these islands we progressed but slowly, and the passage through the strait promised to be tedious: yet, as the wind was fair and the weather fine, we had no reason to complain, considering moreover the remarkably mild reception we met with in the funnel, the name commonly and most appropriately given by the colonists to bass strait, from the constant strong winds that sweep through it. wilson's promontory. on the th we passed wilson's promontory, the southern extremity of australia, connected with the main by a low sandy isthmus, only left dry it is probable of late years. it is a very mountainous tract, rearing its many peaks in solemn grandeur from the waves and burying their summits* at most seasons of the year, in a canopy of grey mist. on some occasions, however, the bold outline of the mountains is relieved against a clear sky, and their loftiest points catch the first rays of the morning sun, as it rises from the eastern ocean. many small islands are dispersed over the sea in front of this promontory, and partake of its character, being apparently the tops of mountains thrusting themselves up from the deep, and suggesting the belief that new countries are about to be disclosed. passing port western, generally called western port, a high mound on the south-eastern extremity of grant island was the most conspicuous object. the next remarkable feature in the coast is cape shanck, a projection at the western end of a long line of cliffs. lying close off it is a rock, named, from its exact resemblance, pulpit rock. (*footnote. nearly feet high.) port phillip. in a small bay on the east side of this headland we caught a glimpse of some rich valleys; but from thence for a distance of miles, the coast retains a barren sandy character to port phillip, which we reached on the afternoon of the th. we scarcely found any ripplings in the entrance, an occurrence of extreme rarity; for it will readily be imagined that a body of water required to fill a bay thirty miles deep and twenty broad, passing through an entrance one mile and a half in width, must rush with great violence; and when we take into account the extreme unevenness of the bottom (soundings varying from to and even fathoms) no surprise can be felt that such a stream, particularly when opposed to a strong wind, should raise a dangerous sea. the force of it may be conjectured from a fact of which i was myself witness. standing on one of the entrance points, i saw a schooner trying to get in with all sails set before a fresh breeze, and yet she was carried out by the current. another observation is also recorded for the guidance of the stranger passing into the port. when in the middle of the entrance, a low clump of dark bushes breaking the line of white sand beach beyond shortlands bluff, was just seen clear of the latter. the first appearance of port phillip is very striking, and the effect of the view is enhanced by the contrast with the turbulent waves without and in the entrance. as soon as these have been passed, a broad expanse of placid water displays itself on every side; and one might almost fancy oneself in a small sea. but the presence of a distant highland forming a bluff in the north-east soon dispels this idea. besides this bluff (called by the natives dandonong) arthur's seat, and station peak are the principal features that catch the eye of the stranger. the latter, called youang by the natives, is one of a small group of lofty peaks rising abruptly out of a low plain on the western shore of the bay; whilst arthur's seat towers over the eastern shore, and forms the northern extremity of a range subsiding gradually to the coast at cape shanck. anchoring close to the southern shore, about three miles within the entrance, we set to work in good earnest with our surveying operations--in the first place selecting a conspicuous spot for observation, from which all the meridians of our work in the western part of the strait were to be measured. for the sake of my nautical readers i may mention that the western extreme of the cliffy patches on the south shore of the bay, marks the place chosen. the nature of our employment confining us to the neighbourhood of the entrance, we had no opportunity of visiting the town of melbourne, situated near the northern side of the bay. this capital of australia felix had for a long time been known to some squatters from tasmania; but to sir thomas mitchell the inhabitants must ever feel grateful for revealing to the world at large the fertility of the districts in its neighbourhood. it is not a little singular that the attempt to form a settlement at this place in should have failed. a fort was built and abandoned, and of the party of convicts who accompanied the expedition, two escaped and joined the natives, by whom one was murdered, whilst the other, contriving by some means to ingratiate himself with them, remained in their company until , when he was discovered by the settlers from tasmania. during the eleven years he had passed in the bush, without coming in contact with any other european, he had entirely forgotten his own language, and had degenerated into a perfect savage. his intellect, if he ever possessed much, had almost entirely deserted him; and nothing of any value could be gleaned from him respecting the history and manners of the tribe with whom he had so long dwelt. he received his pardon and went to hobart, but such was the indolence he had contracted that nothing could be made of him. the southern shore of port phillip is a singular long narrow tongue of land, running out from the foot of the range of which arthur's seat is the most conspicuous point. i infer from the limestone prevailing in it, and containing shells of recent species, that it was once much beneath its present level; in fact, that it stops up what was formerly a broad mouth of the bay, leaving only the present narrow entrance at the western extremity. over its surface are scattered hills from one to two hundred feet in height, in the valleys between which was found some light sandy soil supporting at this time rich grass, and at various places a thin growth of banksia, eucalypti, and casuarina, all stunted and showing symptoms of having been roughly used by the south wind. near the spot we had chosen for the centre of our observations was a well of inferior water, and we did not find any better in the neighbourhood. the point in question therefore will never be very eligible as a settlement. the kangaroos are numerous and large, and the finest snappers i have ever heard of are caught off this point, weighing sometimes as much as thirty pounds. our fishing experiments, however, were not very productive, being principally sharks; thirteen young ones were found in a single female of this species. sail for king island. bad weather prolonged our stay until the th of november. we had been chiefly occupied in determining the position of the mouths of the various channels intersecting the banks, that extend across the entire bay, three miles within the entrance. the most available passages appeared to be those lying on the south and west shores, particularly the former for vessels of great draught; but we did not conclude the examination of them at this time, sailing on the morning of the th to survey the coast to the westward. the first thirteen miles, trending west by south was of a low sandy character, what seemed to be a fertile country stretching behind it. two features on this line are worthy of notice--point flinders, resembling an island from seaward, on account of the low land in its rear; and the mouth of the river barwon, navigable for boats entering in very fine weather. on its northern bank, eight miles from the sea is the site of the town of geelong. passing this the nature of the country begins to change, and high grassy downs with rare patches of woodland present themselves, which in their turn give place, as we approach cape otway, to a steep rocky coast, with densely wooded land rising abruptly over it. cape otway. the above-mentioned cape is the northern point of the western extremity of bass strait, and is swept by all the winds that blow into that end of the funnel. the pernicious effect of these is evident in the stunted appearance of the trees in its neighbourhood. it is a bold projection in latitude degrees minutes, and appears to be the south-west extremity of a ridge of granite gradually rising from it in a north-east direction. about half a mile off it, lies a small detached reef. having thus coasted the northern side of the strait, we proceeded to cross over to tasmania to examine the southern side. about halfway is king island, extending in a north and south direction, thirty-five miles, and in an east and west thirteen. it lies right across the entrance of the strait, about forty miles from either shore, and from its isolated position is well adapted for a penal settlement. the more northern channel of the two formed by this island is the safer, and the water deepens from to fathoms as you approach it from the continent. its outline is not remarkable, the most conspicuous point being a round hill feet high over the northern point called cape wickham. we anchored in a bay on the north-west side, under new year island, which affords shelter for a few vessels from all winds. there is a narrow passage between the two, but none between them and the southern point of the bay, which is open to the north-west. on the summit of one of these islands boulders of granite are strewed, and they exhibit a very remarkable white appearance from seaward when the sun has passed his meridian. a sealer's family. a sealer had established himself on the north island with two wives, natives of tasmania. they were clothed in very comfortable greatcoats made of kangaroo skins, and seemed quite contented with their condition. their offspring appeared sharp and intelligent. in another part of my work i shall touch more fully on the history of these sealers, who style themselves residents of the islands. they further distinguish their classes by the names of eastern and western straits-men, according to the position of the islands they inhabit. the sealers on new year island had a large whaleboat, which i was somewhat puzzled to know how they managed, there being but one man among them. he informed me, however, that his wives, the two native women, assisted him to work the boat, which had been well prepared for the rough weather they have to encounter in bass strait by a canvas half-deck, which, lacing in the centre, could be rolled up on the gunwale in fine weather. the mutton bird. the principal occupation of these people during this month of the year is taking the sooty petrel, called by the colonists the mutton bird, from a fancied resemblance to the taste of that meat. it is at the present month that they resort to the island for the purpose of incubation. they constitute the chief sustenance of the sealers, who cure them for use and sale: their feathers also form a considerable article of trade. many parts of the island were perfectly honeycombed with their burrows, which greatly impede the progress of the pedestrian, and are in some cases dangerous from snakes lying in them. the sealers told me that they had lost a cat which died within an hour after the bite of one of these reptiles. we here found cabbages and water, and the people informed us that it was always their custom to plant a few vegetables on the islands they frequented. from the top of this island we had a good view of the harbinger reefs, so-called from a convict ship of that name which was lost upon them and all hands perished. i was glad to find they were only two detached rocks lying three miles and a half from the shore, instead of, as reported, one continued reef lying six or seven miles from the land. they bore north six miles from our position. captain smith. the sealers informed us that a house which we descried in the bay, was occupied by a gentleman who had met with a reverse of fortune. we accordingly paid him a visit next morning, and found that he was a captain smith with whom the world had gone wrong, and who had accordingly fled as far as possible from the society of civilised man and taken up his residence on the shores of king island with his family. he had given the name of port franklin to the bay, which we changed to franklin road, from its not being worthy of the title of a port. he was led to choose his position from its being in the neighbourhood of the only secure anchorage from all winds, and near the best soil he had found after traversing the whole of the island. according to his account it was totally unfit for rearing sheep on a large scale; the bushes and grass being so full of burrs that the wool was completely spoiled. the soil was everywhere very inferior, and a few patches only of clean land was to be found, the principal part being overrun with dense scrub and impervious thickets. there were few elevations on the island, and those not of any great magnitude, the loftiest point being scarcely seven hundred feet. the formation of the neighbourhood of captain smith's house was granite: water abounds. west side of king island. the house in which this modern robinson crusoe dwelt was what is called a slab hut, formed of rough boards and thatched with grass. he had a garden in which grew some cabbages and a few other vegetables; but he complained sorely of blight from the west winds. there are three varieties of kangaroos on the island, and plenty of wildfowl on some of the lagoons; so that supplies are abundant: but the few sheep he possessed were rendered of little value from the burrs i have before mentioned. i could not help pitying the condition of this gentleman and his interesting family--a wife and daughter and three or four fine boys. they had retained a few of the tastes and habits of civilized life, and i observed a good library with a flute and music in the slab hut. it was with great pleasure that i afterwards learned that captain smith's prospects had brightened. he is now, i believe, a comfortable settler on the eastern side of tasmania. on the th we passed down the western shore of king island, finding the coast to be low, treacherous and rocky. we discovered some outlying rocks a mile and half from shore, and about eleven miles south from new year island. the most remarkable circumstance we noticed in this part of our cruise, was the leafless appearance of the trees on the higher parts of the island. it seemed as though a hurricane had stripped them of their verdure. they reminded me strongly of a wintry day in the north. about eight miles from the extremity of the island we discovered a bay affording good anchorage in east winds. it was afterwards called fitzmaurice bay. from its neighbourhood a long dark line of black cliffs stretches southward until within about three miles of the point, when the ground sinks suddenly, whence vessels are apt to be misled and to fancy that the island ends there, whilst in reality it stretches out into a low dangerous rocky point, named after the writer, for about three miles more. seal bay. rounding this we anchored on the eastern side of it in seal bay--a wild anchorage, the swell constantly rolling in with too much surf to allow of our commencing a series of tidal observations. this bay, in the mouth of which lies a small cluster of rocks, is separated from the one on the opposite side, by a strip of low sandy land, which, as i have said, may easily be overlooked by vessels coming from the westward. a ship indeed has been lost from fancying that the sea was clear south of the black cliffs that skirt the shore down from fitzmaurice bay. the wallaby are numerous on this part of the island. mr. bynoe shot one (halmaturus bellidereii) out of whose pouch he took a young one which he kept on board and tamed. it subsequently became a great pet with us all. i noticed here a trappean dyke, but the general formation of this end of king island exactly corresponded with that about captain smith's house, which shows that it is a continuous ridge of granite. the south-eastern shore is rather steep, and the ground which rises abruptly over it is almost denuded of wood. leaving seal bay--from the south point of which we saw the principal dangers at this extremity of bass strait, reid's rocks bearing east by south / south miles--we coasted round the eastern shore and anchored off a sandy bay about the centre of the island. the only remarkable object was a rock, lying one mile from the shore and five from seal bay, on which we bestowed a name suggested by its form, brig rock. off the north point of the bay in which we anchored lies a white rock or islet called sea elephant rock, with a reef a mile off its north point. opposite this is a small inlet fed by the drainage of some lagoons or swamps behind the bay. northward the character of the coast, as far as we could see, changes considerably, being lower, with a continued line of sandy shore. a breeze from the eastward prevented our completing the survey of the northern side of the island; but one important result we had arrived at, namely, that safe anchorage may be obtained in west winds within a moderate distance of this part of the shore in less than fifteen fathoms. cross the strait. we now crossed over to the group of islands fronting the north-western point of tasmania, and confining the southern side of the mouth of the strait. the tide setting to the south-west at the rate of three knots an hour* brought us within five miles of reid's rocks. passing at that distance from their eastern side we had and fathoms sand and rock: and the greatest depth we found in crossing was fathoms towards the south side of the strait. (*footnote. this set of the tide being rather across the channel renders the passage between king island and reid's rocks by no means recommendable. captain king on returning to new south wales, used this passage and was very nearly wrecked; the set of the tides at that time not being known. it appears they saw the south point of king island just at dark, and shaped a course well wide of reid's rocks; they found themselves, however, drifted by the tide close on them. we made the time of high-water at the full and change of the moon in this entrance of the strait to be half an hour before noon; but the western stream began three hours and a half before, and the eastern again precedes low-water by the same amount of time.) a secure anchorage. early on the morning of december rd, we reached a secure anchorage between three hummock island, and hunter, formerly called barren island; and we had every reason to be thankful at finding ourselves in such a snug berth, for during our stay, we experienced gales from east and west, with such sudden changes that no ship could have saved herself. this made us sensible how necessary it was to choose anchorages sheltered from both winds. our surveying operations were sadly delayed by this boisterous weather. three hummock island receives its name from three peaks rising on its eastern side. the south rises abruptly from the water and forms a singular sugarloaf feet high. it is composed of granite, boulders of which front many of the points, forming strange figures. the whole of the island is clothed with an almost impervious scrub, which growing laterally forms a perfect network, so that it is impossible to traverse it. mr. bynoe procured few specimens of birds in consequence. the woodcutters one day cut a small brown opossum in half: it seemed to be a very rare if not a new animal; but unfortunately the head part could not be found. small brown rats were very numerous, they had rather short tails with long hind feet, and sat up like kangaroos. the trees on this island are small and stunted, being chiefly banksia and eucalypti. water is plentiful. we supplied the ship from wells dug on the north point of a sandy bay on the south-east side of the island.* (*footnote. the reef that so nearly sealed the mermaid's fate with captain king, we found to lie half a mile north-west from the north-east end of three hummock island.) barren island. hunter island well deserves its former name of barren, for it is perfectly treeless; a green kind of scrub overruns its surface, which at its highest point is three hundred feet above the level of the sea. in form it is like a closed hand with the fore-finger extended, pointing north. the inclination of its strata differs, dipping to the sea on both sides, east and west. these at first sight appeared to be of the same kind of sandstone that we had seen so much of on the north-west coast, but on closer inspection i found they were raised beaches; the prevailing mass of the island was a granitoid rock. the black pyramid. from stations on hunter island we were enabled to determine the positions of the numerous dangers fronting its west or seaward side, and also that of a dark mass of rock, feet high, appropriately named the black pyramid, lying miles west by north from the centre of the island, and in latitude degrees minutes south which places it nearly five miles south of its position in the old charts. it is quite a finger-post to this entrance of the strait, and all ships should pass close to it. when i looked at these islands and rocks i could not help thinking of poor captain flinders and his enterprising companion mr. bass, the discoverers of the north-western part of tasmania. what a thrill of excitement must have shot through their frames when on rounding hunter island, in the little norfolk cutter, they first felt the long swell of the ocean and became convinced of the insular character of tasmania! this discovery must have amply repaid them for all their toils and privations. nothing indeed is so calculated to fill the heart of the navigator with pride, as the consciousness that he has widened the sphere of geographical science, and added new seas and new lands to the known world. the south end of hunter island is about three miles from a point of the mainland, called woolnorth; but from the rocks and inlets that encumber the passage and the rapid rush of the tide it is only navigable for small vessels with great caution. point woolnorth is a rather low sloping point composed of the same rock as hunter island. ten miles south of it a raised beach again occurs feet above the level of the sea. behind point woolnorth the country swells into hills nearly six hundred feet high. three miles from its extreme is an out-station of the van diemen's land agricultural company, of which i shall say more anon. some forty persons are here located under the care of a german, who amused himself by making a large collection of insects, which he has since taken to germany. the soil on this extremity of tasmania is most productive; but much labour is required in clearing for the purposes of cultivation. from thence to circular head, bearing east / south miles, the shore is low and sinuous, forming three shallow bights. walker island. walker and robbins islands, which lie together in the shape of an equilateral triangle, with sides of nine miles, front the coast about midway, and leave only a narrow boat-channel between them and the main. on walker island our boats met the wives of some sealers whose husbands had gone to king island on a sealing excursion. they were clothed like those on new year island. one was half european and half tasmanian, and by no means ill-looking; she spoke very good english and appeared to take more care of her person than her two companions, who were aborigines of pure blood. a few wild flowers were tastefully entwined with her hair, which was dressed with some pretensions to elegance. they had a pack of dogs along with them, and depended in a great measure for their maintenance on the wallaby they killed. the skin also of these animals constitutes to them an important article of trade. it was the th before we had completed for the present our survey of this part, owing as i have before observed, to the constant bad weather, which was doubly felt by the boats in which all the materials for the chart of this neighbourhood were collected. circular head. we now examined the coast to circular head, under the north side of which we anchored in fathoms on the morning of the th, after spending a day under the south-east corner off robbins island, where we found good anchorage in westerly winds. making too free with the shore with a low sun ahead, we grounded for a short time on a shingle spit extending off the low point north-west from circular head. three quarters of a mile east-north-east from this point is a dangerous rocky ledge just awash, on which several vessels have run. by keeping the bluff extreme of circular head open it may always be avoided. the latter is a singular cliffy mass of trappean rock, rising abruptly from the water till its flattened crest reaches an elevation of feet. this strange projection stands on the eastern side of a small peninsula. on the parts broken off where it joins the sandy bay on the north side, we found the compass perfectly useless, from the increased quantity of magnetic iron ore they contain. it is on this point that the headquarters of the van diemen's land agricultural company are established under the charge of a mr. curr, whose house with its extensive out-buildings and park, occupying some rising ground on the northern part of the point, greets the eye of the stranger, to whom the reflection is forcibly suggested by the sight, that the natural graces of the scene, must soon yield to the restraining regularity with which man marks his conquests from the wilderness. the name of this faint memento of home was, we were informed, hyfield; a straggling village occupies a flat to the left, and in the bay on the south side of the head, which is the general anchorage, is a store with a substantial jetty. english grasses have been sown at this establishment with great success, one acre of ground now feeding four sheep, instead of as before, four acres being required for one; the improvement in the grass was also made evident by the excellent condition in which all the stock appeared to be. hyfield. the garden at hyfield was quite in keeping with the other parts of the establishment, and it was not a little pleasing to observe a number of english fruit trees. i was told, however, that they suffered exceedingly from blight which was brought by the west winds. in one corner that at first escaped my curiosity, so completely had it been shut out from the gaze of all by a winding bowery walk, i found in a sort of alcove, the tomb of a child; upon it lay a fresh bouquet of flowers, revealing that the dead was not forgotten by those who were left behind. it was easy to divine, and i afterwards learned this to be the case, that it was the mother, mrs. curr, who came every morning to pay this tribute of affection to the departed. a weeping willow drooped its supple branches over the tomb; some honey-suckle and sweet-briar surrounded it, loading the air with their rich fragrance; not even the chirping of a bird disturbed the solemn silence that reigned around; everything seemed to conspire to suggest holy and melancholy thoughts, and i lingered awhile to indulge in them; but perceiving by the few footmarks that i was an intruder, hastened to retire, by no means sorry, however, to have discovered this evidence of the enduring love a mother bears her offspring. in the park at hyfield were some fallow deer, imported from england, and seeming to thrive exceedingly well. there were also two emus, the sight of which reminded me of a very curious observation i had before made, and the truth of which again struck me forcibly, namely, that the face of the emu bears a most remarkable likeness to that of the aborigines of new south wales. had there been any intimacy between the native and the emu, i might have been disposed to resort to this circumstance as an explanation; for some maintain that the human countenance partakes of the expression and even of the form of whatever, whether man or beast, it is in the habit of associating with. surrey hills. the company have another station about sixty miles south-east from circular head, at the surrey hills, from whence the road to launceston is good and wide. but between it and circular head there are several rivers to ford, and the country is not only very hilly, but densely wooded with enormous trees, some of which i was informed were feet in circumference. this causes great difficulty in clearing the land. they accomplish about fifty acres every year. the establishment consists of one hundred persons, many of whom are convicts. they are kept in excellent order; and their being strictly forbidden the use of spirits no doubt contributes materially to prevent their giving trouble. i could not help thinking that the company conducted its operations on too extensive a scale to render their undertaking profitable. the high pay of their officers, and the difficulties encountered in clearing the land, are in themselves considerable drawbacks; especially when we consider, that after all the pains bestowed, the soil acquired for the purposes of cultivation is often of very inferior quality. the soil on the peninsula, of which circular head forms the most remarkable feature, is generally speaking of a poor light character, and not well watered. the country lying immediately behind it is low and cut up with branches from a large estuary. my esteemed friend, count strzelecki, traversed the country between circular head and point woolnorth (north-west extreme of tasmania) and describes it as presenting "eight rivers as difficult to cross as the scamander, with deep gullies and rocky ridges, and marshes more difficult to overcome than either ridges or rivers." mineral waters. we learned there were some mineral waters about fifteen miles to the westward of circular head. the ingredients they contain, and their medicinal properties, were discovered by count strzelecki, who in speaking of them, says, "i have endeavoured to ascertain both--the latter on my own constitution, and the former by chemical analysis. they belong to a class of carbonated waters." from his examination he concludes, "that they are aperient and tonic, and sufficiently disgusting to the palate to pass for highly medicinal." whilst here, i was informed that a small party of natives were still at large, though seldom seen, keeping in the remotest recesses of the woods. they thus succeeded in avoiding for some years their enemy the white man. indeed it was only when pressed by hunger that these aboriginal possessors of the soil ventured to emerge from their hiding-places, and rob some of the company's out-stations of flour. by these means, however, it was that a knowledge was obtained of their existence. for, though they managed so secretly, that it was some time before they were found out, a shepherd at an out-station, began at last frequently to miss flour and tobacco* in a very mysterious manner. he determined accordingly to watch, but was for a long time unsuccessful. at length he saw a native woman steal into the hut, when he drew the door to by a line which communicated with his place of concealment. of the treatment this poor woman received from the hands of her captor i shall treat hereafter. after being kept a prisoner some time, she was sent to flinders island; but it was long before the discovery was made that she had any companions. i was informed that the shepherd who took her, afterwards lost his life by the spear of a native, probably impelled by revenge. (*footnote. the fondness exhibited by the aborigines who inhabit the southern parts of australia for smoking is extraordinary.) sail for the river tamar. we completed our operations on the evening of the day on which we arrived, namely, december th, and left for the tamar river, in order to measure a meridian distance. passing six miles from rocky cape, we had fathoms; and steering east, the depth gradually increased to fathoms, with a soft muddy bottom, being then twenty miles north-west by west from port dalrymple, the mouth of the tamar. the th was one of the few fine days it was our good fortune to meet with, and we enjoyed a splendid view of the alpine features of tasmania. towering peaks connected sometimes by high tablelands, glittered in the sun as if capped with snow.* (*footnote. near hobart, in february , i saw snow on the side of a mountain.) port dalrymple. early in the afternoon, the lighthouse on low head appeared like a white speck resting on the blue horizon; and by evening we found ourselves at anchor just within the reefs fronting the west entrance point of port dalrymple. the first appearance of the tamar river is not very inviting to the seaman. a rapid stream, thrown out of its course, hemmed in by numerous reefs, and passing over a bottom so uneven as to cause a change in the soundings from to , and then fathoms, with a ripple or line of broken water across the mouth renders it impossible in strong north-west winds for a stranger to detect the channels, and raises so much sea that the pilots cannot reach the vessels that arrive off the mouth. as the beagle passed through the west channel, the shear or first beacon on the west reefs was on with a round-topped hill some distance up the river. although there is very apparent difficulty in navigating the tamar, still the first glance shows it to be a stream of importance. its valley, although not wide, may be traced for miles abruptly separating the ranges of hills. we can easily imagine, therefore, the joy experienced by captain flinders on first discovering it in , and thus bestowing a solid and lasting benefit on the future tasmanian colonists. this is not, however, the only portion of australasia whose inhabitants are indebted for the riches they are reaping from the soil, to the enterprising spirit of captain flinders. george town is a straggling village lying two miles within the entrance of the tamar; in its neighbourhood were found greenstone, basalt, and trappean rocks. launceston, the northern capital of tasmania, lies thirty miles up the river, or rather at the confluence of the two streams called the north and south esk, which form it. sir john franklin. we found that the governor was attending not only to the present but the future welfare of the colonists, by examining into the most eligible spots for erecting lighthouses at the eastern entrance of bass strait, fronting the north-east extreme of tasmania, the numerous dangers besetting which have been fatal to several vessels. these buildings will be lasting records of the benefits the colony derived from sir john franklin's government. as we subsequently visited the tamar, it is needless to give here the little information we gathered during our brief stay. our observations were made on the south point of lagoon bay, where we found a whaleboat belonging to a party of sealers just arrived with birds' feathers and skins for the launceston market. they had left their wives and families, including their dogs, on the islands they inhabit. return to port phillip. on the morning of the nd, we were again out of the tamar, and making the best of our way to port phillip for a meridian distance. there was little tide noticed in the middle of the strait; the greatest depth we found was fathoms, miles north-west from the tamar, where the nature of the bottom was a grey muddy sand or marl. at noon on the rd, we entered port phillip, and ran up through the west channel in three and three and a half fathoms. point lonsdale, the west entrance point, being kept open of shortland bluff--a cliffy projection about two miles within it--leads into the entrance; and a clump of trees on the northern slope of indented head, was just over a solitary patch of low red cliffs, as we cleared the northern mouth of the channel. from thence to hobson's bay, where we anchored at p.m., the course is north by west miles across a splendid sheet of water, of which the depth is and fathoms. william town, the seaport town of australia felix, named after his majesty king william iv., stands on a very low piece of land forming the southern shore of hobson's bay, called point gellibrand, after a gentleman from hobart, one of the first who brought stock to port phillip. he was lost in the bush in a very mysterious manner in . no trace of him or his horse was found till , when some of the natives showed where his mouldering bones lay. the point that bears his name scarcely projects sufficiently to afford large ships shelter from south winds in hobson's bay. in the north-west corner of the latter is the mouth of the yarra-yarra river; but although only one mile and a half from the general anchorage, it is very difficult to be made out. the following anecdote will illustrate the difficulty of detecting the mouths of rivers in australia. soon after we anchored in hobson's bay, a small schooner passed, going to melbourne. several of the officers were at the time standing on the poop, and each selected a spot at which the schooner was to enter the river; and although, as i have before stated, we were only one mile and a half from it, none of us was right. a single tall bushy-topped tree, about a mile inland, rose over the schooner as she left the waters of hobson's bay. william town consisted, at that time, of only a few houses. one disadvantage under which this place labours is badness of water, while the country around it is a dead level, with clumps of very open woodland. the formation is whinstone, but the soil's fertile quality shows an absence of sandstone. river yarra-yarra. proceeding up the yarra-yarra, we found that about two miles from the mouth, the river divides, one branch continuing in a northerly direction, and the other, a narrow sluggish stream, turning suddenly off to the eastward. the banks are so densely wooded, that it is seldom if ever that its surface is ruffled by a breeze. melbourne. the township of melbourne on its north bank, five miles from the river's mouth, we found a very bustling place. nearly two thousand persons had already congregated there, and more were arriving every day, so that great speculation was going on in land. we were delighted with the park-like appearance of the country, and the rich quality of the soil. this was the most fertile district we had seen in all australia; and i believe everyone allows that such is the case. its reputation indeed was at one time so great, that it became the point of attraction for all settlers from the mother country, where at one time the rage for port phillip became such, that there existed scarcely a village in which some of the inhabitants, collecting their little all, did not set out for this land of promise, with the hope of rapidly making a fortune and returning to end their days in comfort at home. everyone i think must leave with such hopes; for who can deliberately gather up his goods and go into a far country with the settled intention of never returning? a rocky ledge extends across the river fronting the town, upon which the plan had been formed of erecting a dam for the purpose of keeping the water fresh; whereas now the river is salt above the town, and the well water is not particularly good. the yarra-yarra is not navigable even for boats many miles beyond melbourne, on account of the numerous falls. some of the reaches above the town are very picturesque--still glassy sheets of water stretch between steep banks clothed with rich vegetation down to the very edge of the stream--the branches of the trees droop over the smooth surface, and are vividly reflected; and substance is so perfectly blended with shadow, that it is impossible to detect where they unite. at the western extremity of melbourne is a low round hill, fifty-seven feet above the level of the sea by our observations, and about thirty above the town. there are now none of the aborigines in the neighbourhood of melbourne; but i learned that some of their old men remember the time when the site of the town was under water, in consequence of one of those sudden inundations that happen in australia, and are so much in keeping with the other strange things that occur there. singular custom. having alluded to the natives, i may here mention a singular custom that came under notice some time after, at the protectorate in the valley of the loddon, in the vicinity of melbourne. several women were observed having their faces completely concealed by their opossum-skin mantles. not satisfied with this moreover, in passing a party of men, they moved in a sidelong manner, so as to render it impossible, even if the covering came to be displaced, that their faces should be seen. in the evening at the corobbery, these persons, three in number, were seated in the circle of women, so as to have their backs turned to the dancers or actors, their faces still being wholly concealed. they remained seated, motionless, taking no part in the singing or the gestures of encouragement indulged in by the other women. it was subsequently explained by a protector, that these were women who had daughters betrothed to the men of their tribe, and that during the period of betrothment the mothers are always thus rigidly veiled. near mount macedon, thirty miles north-west from melbourne, there has been discovered, i was informed, a quarry of marble of a very fine quality; and in the same neighbourhood is an extinct crater. the formation at and in the immediate vicinity of melbourne, is of tertiary deposits associated with arenaceous older rocks. we returned to the ships by a short route leading direct from melbourne to the northern shore of hobson's bay. during the walk i was much struck with the great risk that people run in selecting land from a map of this country, half of our road lying over a rich loam, and the other half over soft sand. the trees swarmed with large locusts (the cicada) quite deafening us with their shrill buzzing noise. manna. we found the branches of these trees and the ground underneath strewed over with a white substance resembling small flakes of snow, called by the colonists manna. i am aware that an erroneous idea exists that this matter is deposited by the locusts; but in fact it is an exudation from the eucalyptus; and although i saw it beneath another kind of tree, it must have been carried there by the wind. a different sort, of a pale yellow colour, is found on a smaller species of eucalyptus growing on highlands, and is much sought after for food by the natives, who sometimes scrape from the tree as much as a pound in a quarter of an hour. it has the taste of a delicious sweetmeat, with an almond flavour, and is so luscious that much cannot be eaten of it. this is well worthy of attention from our confectioners at home, and it may hereafter form an article of commerce, although from what has fallen under my own observation, and from what i have learnt from mr. eyre and others, i should say it is not of frequent occurrence. the first kind, being found strewed underneath the tree probably exudes from the leaf, whilst the second oozes from the stem. the wood of the latter is much used for fuel by the natives, especially in night-fishing, and burns brightly, without smoke, diffusing also a delicious aromatic smell. hobson's bay. on christmas day, which we spent in hobson's bay, we experienced one of those hot winds which occasionally occur coming off the land. during its prevalence, everything assumes a strange appearance--objects are seen with difficulty, and acquire a tremulous motion like that which is imparted to everything seen through the air escaping from an over-heated stove. the thermometer on a wall under the glare of the sun, stood at degrees. we surveyed hobson's bay during our stay, and connected it by triangulation with melbourne. our observations were made at the inner end of a small jetty. the mouth of the yarra-yarra is closed up by a bar, which from its soft muddy nature may be easily removed. the deepest water we found on it at high tide was nine feet. corio harbour. having completed our operations, we next morning, january st, , departed for corio harbour, situated at the head of a deep inlet midway on the western shore of port phillip. we found our progress impeded as we beat up it by a long spit, extending two thirds of the way across from a low projecting point lying midway on the north shore. on the opposite side, the land is of moderate elevation, and has in many places a most inviting rich park-like appearance, swelling on all sides into grassy downs, with patches of open woodland interspersed. in the afternoon we anchored in three fathoms, about a quarter of a mile from the south point of corio harbour. this is a level expanse of land named point henry, from which a long spit extends, leaving only a shoal channel between it and the northern shore. thus, though the harbour has apparently a broad open mouth, it is impossible for a large vessel to enter it. january . after breakfast a party of us went to visit captain fyans, the police magistrate of the district, for the purpose of arranging a trip to station peak. we landed on the south-west corner of corio harbour, where we found four fathoms close to the beach, immediately over which is the north end of the township of geelong. a kind of store and two other wooden buildings pointed out its locality. captain fyans was living in a log-hut on the banks of the marabul river. our road thither lay west about three miles across a woody down. river barwon. the marabul runs to the southward, and joins the barwon flowing from the west; after which the united streams take a south-easterly direction. the course of the latter i was anxious to trace, having seen its mouth in passing along the coast west from port phillip. very opportunely i met with mr. smith, belonging to the colonial surveying department, who being employed in the neighbourhood, took me to a commanding station on some low hills about three miles to the south, called by the natives barabul. we crossed the barwon running to the south-east at the foot of them, near where it fell some height over a rocky shelf forming a pretty waterfall. turning to the left from this roar of water, you find the stream meandering silently between rich grassy flats. on one of these mr. smith's tents were pitched, overlooked by a craggy height on the opposite side of the river; and the blue stream of smoke that arose from the fire of his party, helped to impart life and beauty to the scene. from the barabul hills i almost traced the barwon to its confluence with the sea. five miles to the south-east from where we stood it communicated with a large lagoon; after leaving which, i was informed there was only a depth of three feet, and a width of one eighth of a mile. it is not, however, this alone that renders the barwon useless for water-carriage to the town of geelong; for the exposed situation of its mouth almost always prevents boats from entering. the singular sloping treeless sides of the barabul hills, and the declivities of the valley of the marabul river, bear a striking resemblance to many parts of eastern patagonia. they appear as if they had just emerged from the sea, which had as it were scooped out their hollows and smoothed their sides. a remarkable high round hill, perfectly bare of trees, and called by the natives moriac, bore west / south six miles from where we stood. on our return we met some of the natives; they were the first i had seen of the aborigines of this part of the continent, and were certainly a finer race than the people on the western coasts. they complained of the white men bringing animals into their country that scare away the kangaroo, and destroy the roots which at certain seasons of the year form part of their sustenance. this, mr. smith told me, was a very general complaint. i spent a very pleasant evening at captain fyans' comfortable quarters, in the course of which arrangements were made for next day's journey to station peak, mr. smith kindly offering to lend me a horse and to accompany me. station peak. january . we started for station peak very early. the morning air had a delightfully bracing effect; and the grass glittered with a copious fall of dew. the first five miles of road lay over a high down, with pretty patches of woodland interspersed; and the remaining ten over a low plain that stretches to the foot of the peak. six miles from the latter we crossed a hollow where i noticed some calcareous matter, in which were included shells of recent species, evidently showing that an upheaval had taken place in this part of the continent. we saw on the plain several large bustards resembling a light brown domestic turkey. leaving our horses at the foot of the peak, we ascended it by a sloping ridge on the south-east face. huge blocks of granite--some poised on a point as if the slightest touch would send them rolling and thundering to the plains below--covered the sides and summits of this and the smaller peak, to the north of which are several others scattered over about a mile of ground. on reaching the summit, i hastened to a pile of stones which captain flinders had erected to commemorate his visit; but, alas, the bottle and paper left by him were gone, and i have not since been able to learn who it was that took away this interesting and valuable record. view from station peak. the view commanded all points of the splendid sheet of water called port phillip, which stretched away its shining expanse seemingly almost from our very feet; whilst north-east two long wavy lines of trees showed the course of the little and weariby rivers meandering through the plain. the natives call this cluster of peaks ude (great) youang, and the other west-north-west seven miles, anuke (little) youang. another solitary high round hill, fifteen miles further nearly, in the same direction, is called bununyong. we have thus five native names of places in the immediate neighbourhood of port phillip, having the termination ng, and we may perhaps add another, the barwon being probably barwong. at king george's sound in western australia, the names end in up, and again to the eastward, near gipps' land, the final letter is n. these observations may probably assist in directing the attention of philologists to the subject of the distribution of the australian dialects or languages. ude youang, or as captain flinders named it, station peak, is a granite mass elevated feet above the sea. at geelong there is some confusion in the formation. the rocks, however, that prevail are trappean. fossil shells. in digging a well there, a fossil cowrie (cypraea eximia) of an extinct species was once found at the depth of sixty feet. another specimen of the same shell was dug up at franklin village near launceston, from a hundred and forty feet below the surface of the soil. count strzelecki gives a figure of it in his interesting work. mr. ronald gunn, in his observations on the flora of geelong, observes that out of a hundred species of plants collected indiscriminately, sixty-seven were also to be found in tasmania, leaving only thirty-three to indicate the peculiarities of the geelong vegetation. some of the officers of the beagle exhibited at this place symptoms of being infected with the land-speculating mania we had witnessed at melbourne, by bidding for some of the allotments of the township of geelong, which were just then selling. one that was bought for pounds might have been sold a year afterwards for pounds. i mention this fact that the reader may see what a ruinous system was then in vogue. arthur's seat. on the morning of january , we left geelong, touched at hobson's bay for a chronometric departure, and proceeded to sea by the south channel. arthur's seat is a good guide for its entrance from hobson's bay, the channel passing close under the foot of it. the eastern extremity of the northern banks, we found very difficult to make out, from the water being but slightly discoloured on it. it is, moreover, on account of its steepness, dangerous to approach. from this eastern corner of the bank, arthur's seat bears south / degrees west and a solitary patch of cliff, westward of the latter, south degrees east. in consequence of bad weather it was three days before we passed through the channel, which, we were pleased to find navigable for line of battle ships. a west / north course led through, and the least water was five fathoms on a bar at the eastern entrance, where the width is only three-tenths of a mile, whilst in the western it is one mile, with a depth of seventeen fathoms. when in the latter we saw flinders point between lonsdale and nepean points, and as we came down the channel, the last two points were just open of each other. port western. leaving port phillip, we surveyed the coast to the eastward, and anchored in the entrance of port western, after dark on the th. next morning we examined the south-west part of grant island, and moved the ship to a more secure anchorage off its north-east point. port western is formed between grant and french islands in rather a remarkable manner: two great bays lie one within the other, the inner being nearly filled up by french island, whilst the outer is sheltered by grant island, stretching across it almost from point to point, and leaving a wide ship-channel on its western side, whilst on the eastern the passage is narrow and fit only for boats and small vessels. gales between north-west and south-west detained us here until the th. we found water by digging on the north-east extreme of grant island, which at high tide is a low sandy islet. on first landing there, we found in a clump of bushes a kangaroo, very dark-coloured, indeed almost black. his retreat being cut off he took to the water, and before a boat could reach him, sank. this not only disappointed but surprised us; for in tasmania a kangaroo has been known to swim nearly two miles. black swans were very numerous, and it being the moulting season, were easily run down by the boats. their outstretched necks and the quick flap of their wings as they moved along, reminded us forcibly of a steamboat. at this season of the year when the swans cannot fly, a great act of cruelty is practised on them by those who reside on the islands in bass strait, and of whom i have before spoken as sealers: they take them in large numbers and place them in confinement, without anything to eat, in fact almost starve them to death, in order that the down may not be injured by the fat which generally covers their bodies. scarcely any traces are now to be found of the old settlement on a cliffy point of the eastern shore of the harbour. the rapid growth of indigenous vegetation has completely concealed all signs of human industry, and the few settlers in the neighbourhood have helped themselves to the bricks to build their own homes. we noticed, however, one or two remaining indications of the fact that a settlement had formerly existed on that spot, among others an old flagstaff still erect, on a bluff near the north-east end of grant island. a very large domestic cat, also, was seen on the south-east point, doubtless another relic of the first settlers. the rocks chiefly to be met with at port western are analogous to those of the carboniferous series. over its eastern shore rises a range of woody hills to the height of between five and seven hundred feet, stretching away in a north-east direction. this harbour presents one very curious feature, namely, a sort of canal or gut in the mud flats that front the eastern side of grant island. its depth varies from six to seven fathoms, whilst the width is half a mile. the most remarkable object, however, is the helmet-shaped headland, rising abruptly from the sea to the height of feet, and forming the south-east extreme of grant island. it is the more conspicuous from the circumstance that all the rest of the island is covered with low hills, clothed in an almost impervious scrub. the land at the head of the inner of the two bays i have alluded to in describing port western, partakes of the same character, and is intersected by a number of creeks. this greatly increases the difficulty of the overland communication between port phillip and the available land on port western, travellers being compelled to take a very circuitous road in order to avoid this almost impassable tract, and reach the banks of bass river, where the best soil is found, and which has been named after the enterprising man whose memory must for ever remain intimately connected with this part of the world. snake adventure. a few rare insects were collected by mr. emery, whose adventures with snakes bear a great resemblance to some of waterton's. he was walking out once on grant island, when his attention was attracted by the pitiful cries of a bird in a tree close at hand. he soon discovered that a snake* was in the act of robbing the nest, whilst the mother fluttering round, was endeavouring to scare away the spoiler. mr. emery immediately climbed up, and with a courage which few other men would have exhibited, seized the reptile by the back of the neck and killed it. we found that it had already swallowed one of the young ones, which had so extended the skin, and made so large a lump, that we were quite puzzled to know how it could have been got down. (*footnote. lieutenant emery has this snake still in his possession, stuffed in a masterly style, and set up with the bird in its mouth.) capabilities of port western. we were astonished to find the tide here nearly an hour later than at port phillip, and higher by six feet. the cause of this peculiarity is no doubt to be attributed to the fact of the tides at port western being influenced by the easterly flood-stream. the bad weather we experienced during our stay enabled us to judge of the capabilities of the port, which we were glad to find the finest we had yet seen in bass strait, not so much, however, from its size, for above grant island the extent of deep water is limited, as from the great facility of access. on the th we left port western, passing out by keeping an isolated piece of tableland, called tortoise head, on the south-east extremity of french island, open of the north-east point of grant island. the only danger is a sandbank, lying in the centre of the channel, four miles within the entrance. it may always be avoided by keeping a cable's length from the eastern shore. the western half of the south side of grant island, is a line of cliffs, from one to three hundred feet in height. a remarkable pyramidal rock marks the point where this terminates, after which a long range of low hills, covered with scrub, stretches to cape wollami, the helmet-shaped headland before-mentioned. a light north-east wind rendered our progress slow towards cape patterson, we reaching it by daylight of the th. it is a low point, covered with scattered sand hillocks; a few rocky patches here and there front its sand beach. finding from the succession of dense fogs that we could not prosecute an easterly examination of the coast, we returned towards port phillip, and experienced some unusual swells off port western. extraordinary soundings. the soundings were in general tolerably regular; but in the same neighbourhood we had some extraordinary ones--seventy fathoms, on a gravelly bottom. this was nearly one third of the way across from grant island to cape shanck, seven miles from the latter. the same strange depth was likewise found three miles south from cape wollami, with the same kind of gravel bottom, or a very fine kind of shingle. it was a single cast of the lead. on either side in this last case were and fathoms fine sand and shells. had it not been for the change in the quality of the bottom, i should have doubted so great a depth, which is the more remarkable from its being the greatest within the strait. the next day towards evening we again anchored in hobson's bay, where we stayed till the rd. this time in getting out of port phillip through the southern channel, we met with an accident. i have before mentioned the difficulty of seeing the eastern part of the north bank, which, on this occasion, combined with the dazzling effect of the sun's rays ahead, was the cause of our grounding for a short time near the inner entrance. it was, therefore, noon next day before we were again outside, when we steered across for the north end of king island. january . in passing franklin road the next morning, we saw a cutter at anchor, doubtless the colonial vessel which is occasionally allowed to visit captain smith, and afford him supplies. we passed down four miles from the western side of king island, carrying an outer line of soundings, varying from to fathoms; and in the evening anchored in fitzmaurice bay. bell rock. next morning we proceeded in search of bell rock,* lying in the middle of the south entrance of bass strait, eight miles south from the northern and largest of reid's rocks; but there being only a light air stirring from the westward, we were almost wholly at the mercy of the tide, which carried us midway between its assigned position and the last-mentioned dangers. we passed near several small eddies and slight whirlpools, in which no bottom was found in the boats with fathoms. the north-west extremity of reid's rock might with propriety be described as a small islet, it being a dark mass some half a mile long, and rising feet out of the water. the french charts exhibit some sunken rocks to the north of this; but, if they really exist, of which there is great doubt, we saw nothing of them. i may here mention, that great circumspection should be used by vessels in the neighbourhood of reid's rocks, as the soundings do not indicate their approach, and as the tide runs among them with great rapidity. (*footnote. a rock was seen in h.m.s. conway five miles west-south-west from bell rock.) black pyramid. between them and the black pyramid we had and fathoms. we passed the night standing to and fro close to the pyramid, which i have before described as a dark rocky lump feet high. its western side is a sombre storm-beaten cliff, whilst to the east it slopes away almost to the water's edge. a few patches of coarse grass may be seen on some sheltered spots. sealers, i am informed, have landed upon it on certain rare occasions of fine weather, and have been repaid for their daring by capturing a few fur-seals from the rookery that there exists. the black pyramid from some points of view, greatly resembles curtis island, near the eastern entrance of the strait. a mile and a half from its eastern side, there was only fathoms, which was the least water we were in during the night. january . we found ourselves at daylight in fathoms, two miles south-west from the pyramid, when we stood away east-south-east, to sound and have a seaward view of the entrance between hunter island and point woolnorth. this examination confirmed our former opinion that no ship-channel existed there. but even if there had been one, the passage is so strewed with rocks and disturbed by such heavy tide ripples, that it wears a most dangerous appearance from the offing. rounding the south side of the south black rock, we went between it and steep island in fathoms. from thence we steered between the north black rock and the west point of hunter island in fathoms, having fathoms midway between. albatross island. continuing our northern course, we passed a mile from the west side of albatross island, in and fathoms. it is a dark cliffy isle, the summit of which although feet high, appears to be sometimes washed by the sea. there are one or two finger-shaped points of rock at the south end; and a singular split in the entire island may be seen on the bearing of north degrees east. the wind had now increased to a gale from the westward, and we were obliged to seek shelter under hunter island. january . in the morning the breeze was moderate from north-east, to which quarter it had changed suddenly during the night, veering round from west by the north. by noon it had shifted to east-north-east and had increased to a gale. at p.m. it blew a strong gale with gusts from that quarter. the barometer had now just begun to fall, and was at . . during the day it had been steady at . . this gale lasted, blowing with the same violence (latterly from east) until p.m. the next day, when after a calm of about a quarter of an hour the wind changed suddenly to north with rain, thunder, and vivid lightning, and by p.m. had veered to west and increased once more to a strong gale with heavy squalls. the barometer at the same time began to rise; it had been stationary at . since the morning. it was the evening of the st before this gale blew over, after veering to the south-west. the barometer at the time was at . , having risen to that height in the morning. the rotatory character of this storm, which resembled those we had experienced on our former visit, induces me to enter thus into details respecting it. these observations, too, may evince more plainly, the necessity of an anchorage at this time of the year being sheltered from both east and west winds. fire on three hummock island. the fire that had been accidentally kindled on three hummock island, when we were last there, was still burning. this conflagration had almost been fatal to mr. bynoe, who was out in the scrubs when it burst forth, having with great difficulty forced his way among them in search of specimens for his collection of birds. his attention was suddenly roused by the roaring of the flames as they swept down the sides of the hills, wrapping them in a sheet of fire. the predicament in which he was placed was a most critical one, as he hardly knew which way to turn to avoid the pressing danger. even when, fortunately, he had taken the right direction, it was with the greatest exertion that he burst through the matted thicket and reached the water's edge before the fire. our fishermen were very successful with the hook and line, taking near the rocks great numbers of fish, some of which were a species of rock cod. alongside the ship we only caught sharks, one of which contained thirty-six young ones. although the barometer remained stationery at . the weather continued so boisterous, and westerly squalls followed each other in such rapid succession, that it was the rd of february, before we could commence work in earnest. on that day the ship was moved to near the south end of hunter island, where we found a nice quiet anchorage with scarcely any tide off a long sandy beach. leave for circular head. by the th we completed what remained to be done of the survey of this part, and proceeded to collect the necessary soundings between three hummock island, and circular head, anchoring under the latter the same evening. here we met mr. curr, the company's superintendent, who was absent during our first visit. from him we experienced so great hospitality, that our stay appeared shorter than it really was. on the morning of the th we again left. it was our intention to have stood over midway across the strait in search of some islands reported by the french to be thereabouts, though all the local information we could gain on the subject tended to induce a disbelief of their existence. heavy gale. but the sky assuming a threatening aspect, and the wind increasing from the westward, we sought shelter under the south-east end of robbin island. and it was well we did so; for during the following two days, it blew the heaviest gale we had yet met with in the strait. a succession of violent gusts from the west, with loud thunder, vivid lightning, and much rain, constantly reminded us of the wisdom of our cautious proceeding. at port phillip this same storm was felt very severely. such was its strength and violence, that many houses were unroofed, and other damage done to a large amount. it passed over both melbourne and geelong, darkening the air with the clouds of dust it bore along with it, and filling the minds of the inhabitants with the greatest terror and apprehension. they called it a tornado; and it appeared to have quite the rotatory character of a hurricane. february . we left this anchorage, and passed three miles from the north-east side of three hummock island where we found only six fathoms, apparently on a bank thrown up by the tide sweeping round its sides. from thence we steered across the strait to sea elephant rock on the eastern shore of king island. we saw nothing of the islands laid down by the french, thirteen leagues east of it, and it was my firm belief that they had no existence. subsequent observation has confirmed this belief. we however found the shoal water supposed to exist thereabouts. the northern termination of the highland over the south-eastern part of the island which marks sea elephant bay was very apparent as we approached. in the evening we anchored in seven fathoms on the north side of sea elephant rock, which we visited the following morning. it is nearly a mile in circumference, and feet high, clothed with a coarse wiry grass. a small vessel if properly moored might find shelter under it from easterly gales. we were surprised to find the time of high-water here nearly two hours earlier than at three hummock island; the flood-stream came from the southward. wild dogs. of the number of wild dogs that we had heard of as being on this island, we saw only two. from the bones we found of others it is more than probable that they live upon each other at the seasons of the year when the mutton birds having departed; they would otherwise have to depend solely for subsistence on the few shellfish adhering to the rocks. this reminded me of what i once witnessed on an island off the eastern coast of patagonia. several herds of deer had once existed upon it; but some persons having turned a number of dogs loose, the original inhabitants were soon destroyed, and the newcomers afterwards devoured each other, so that when i saw them, but a small remnant remained. the dogs on sea elephant rock, which were left by sealers, had grown so wild that they would not allow us to approach them. i saw here some small penguins, a bird we rarely met with in the strait. this part of king island is clothed with thick scrubs, among which we saw numerous tracks of kangaroos, a certain sign that it is not much frequented by civilized or uncivilized man. leaving this anchorage we examined the eastern shore of the island which we found, as i have before described, to be low and sandy. passing along two miles from it, we had a depth of from to and fathoms. as we approached the northern end, the character of the coast changed, it being formed by rocky points with small sand bays intervening. the reef laid down by the french, two miles from the north-east extremity of the island, we found to be only half a mile south-south-west from it, one of the many errors we discovered in the french chart of the strait. it is a small ugly ledge quite beneath the water, and from the absence of rocky points on the low sandy shore it fronts, is quite unlooked for. navarin and harbinger rocks. the next day, february th, we examined the dangers fronting the north side of the island, consisting of navarin and harbinger rocks, neither of which we found so formidable or so far from the shore as had been reported. the former lies only a mile and a half off the north end, and although we did not pass between it and the shore, there is little doubt that a passage exists. we passed between the harbinger rocks in fathoms; this great depth in their immediate vicinity, gives no warning of their proximity in the night or during thick weather. complete the survey of port phillip. as it was now necessary for us to think of preparing for our return to the north coast, the proper season for passing through torres strait also approaching, and the increasing importance of port phillip, rendering it desirable to complete our survey of its entrance before our departure; we consequently proceeded thither. we found even soundings of fathoms extend twenty miles north by east from harbinger reef, but from thence northwards, the depths gradually decreased. calms and light winds rendered the passage across very tedious. we spent one night at anchor in fathoms near the entrance, about six miles south from point flinders, where the tide scarcely ran a knot an hour; the flood-stream set north-east. with these operations closed our work in bass strait, for the present. we had completed the western entrance from port western on the north shore and circular head on the south. the weather had prevented our doing more, and obtaining as many soundings as we could have wished. it had been unusually boisterous and unsettled, much more so than the winter generally is. from all i could learn such a season had not been experienced in the memory of the oldest inhabitants. march . bidding adieu to our hospitable friends, we left port phillip, and having spent a night at port western, stood out from it next morning, and passed over in and fathoms, the patch of discoloured water discovered by flinders, two miles south of the remarkable round islet, that lies off the western extreme of grant island. pursuing our course to the eastward, we were detained by contrary winds for some time among the islands at the eastern entrance of the strait. all these we found to be considerably out in position, showing the necessity of an accurate survey. we were exceedingly delighted when on the th we were enabled fairly to turn our back on bass strait, that region of storms, which stretched behind us as we receded like a black mass resting on the horizon. a strong south-wester soon carried us far away from it in the direction we had been so long endeavouring to pursue. at noon on the th, we were close in with the land in the neighbourhood of jervis bay. a long line of cliffs fronts the shore; but the highlands recede as in the neighbourhood of sydney, leaving a low tract of country between them and the sea. pigeon house. to the south-west of this bay, we had an excellent view of that singular landmark, which captain cook, with his usual felicity in the choice of names, called the pigeon house. it was just open of the south end of some tablelands, and resembled a cupola superimposed upon a large dome. next day in the forenoon, we again arrived at sydney; where we remained from march th to may st, employing the time in completing our charts, sending home tracings of them, and preparing for our cruise on the northern coast. i was glad to find the return meridian distance between port phillip and sydney agree with the going one, placing the jetty at william's town degrees minutes seconds west of fort macquarie. drought at sydney. everything was still suffering from one of those fearful droughts that occasionally visit this colony, but are as yet unknown in western australia, where the seasons are certain, although available land is scarce. an idea may be formed of the nature of this visitation, when i say, that for some time previous to our former departure from sydney, during the whole of our absence, and for several months subsequent to our return, not a drop of rain fell. the consequence of this was, that the whole country was dried up, and the dust lay on the roads, especially towards parramatta, at least a foot thick. whoever attempted to travel, therefore, seemed, if the wind blew, as though he had been passing through a mill. it will readily be imagined that so long a succession of dry seasons, did prodigious injury to the stock, and utterly ruined the wheat crops. to add to the distress then occasioned, the people of tasmania seizing on the opportunity, raised the price of grain, expecting to make a large profit. but their avidity in this instance over-reached itself. instead of sending to them for corn, the people of sydney despatched vessels to south america, and as the early cargoes that arrived sold to advantage, a great deal of money was embarked in the speculation. soon, however, the natural consequence ensued. the market became glutted, cargo after cargo came in, the purchasers held back, prices fell, and in many instances the importers were glad to dispose of their wheat at a rate far inferior to what it had been shipped at. i have no doubt that the financial derangement caused by so large an amount of bullion going out of the country (for all these cargoes were bought with ready money) had much to do with the subsequent depression. i may here take an opportunity of remarking that, as a general rule, it is the labouring classes that thrive best at sydney. they can in tolerably prosperous times, earn sufficient in three or four days, to support themselves throughout the week. during the remainder of the time, the sober and industrious man employs himself in building a house; but i am sorry to say that the generality repair to the vast number of public houses that swarm on every side, and get drunk. this is evident from the annual revenue derived from rum, which in was , pounds, amounting to more than seven gallons for every individual in the colony. mr. usborne leaves. it caused us extreme regret that before our departure from sydney, we were deprived of mr. usborne's valuable services. he was compelled to return home in consequence of the dreadful wound he had received from a musket ball, which, as has already been related, passed through his body. in him the expedition sustained a great loss; his presence and society were missed by all; and his departure was generally felt. it may easily be conceived indeed that the separation from a friend and messmate under such circumstances, must have cast for a time a shade of sadness over our minds. mr. usborne took charge of the charts which we sent to england on this occasion. mr. cunningham. i cannot leave sydney without alluding to our meeting with mr. cunningham, the botanist, whose death i have already mentioned, as having taken place two months after our departure from sydney. though worn out by disease, and evidently on the brink of the grave, the fire of enthusiasm kindled in his frame, and his eyes glistened as he talked of our projected enterprise; and it was with difficulty that he could be dissuaded from accompanying us. his name, which will be remembered by his friends on account of his many amiable qualities, will not be forgotten by posterity; for it has become associated with the lands he explored, as well as with the natural productions he described. the presence and attention of his valued friend captain p.p. king, contributed to soothe his last moments. chapter . . sydney to port essington. leave sydney. gale and current. port stephens. tahlee. river karuah. stroud. wild cattle. incivility of a settler. river allyn. mr. boydell. cultivation of tobacco. a clearing lease. william river. crossing the karuah at night. sail from port stephens. breaksea spit. discover a bank. cape capricorn. northumberland isles. sandalwood. cape upstart. discover a river. raised beach. section of barrier reef. natives. plants and animals. magnetical island. halifax bay. height of cordillera. fitzroy island. hope island. verifying captain king's original chart. cape bedford. new geological feature. lizard island. captain cook. barrier and reefs within. howick group. noble island. cape melville. reef near cape flinders. princess charlotte's bay. section of a detached reef. tide at claremont isles. restoration island. islands fronting cape grenville. boydan island. correct chart. tides. cairncross island. escape river. correct position of reefs. york isles. tides. torres strait. endeavour strait. booby island. remarks on barrier and its contiguous islands and reefs. cape croker and reef off it. discover error in longitude of cape. reefs at the mouth of port essington. arrive at the latter. may . we again bade adieu to our friends at sydney, and sailed to explore the north-western part of the continent, which from the number of openings still unexamined, possessed the interest that invariably attaches to whatever is unknown. we submitted, accordingly, with impatience to the delay caused by light north-westerly winds, and a southerly current of nearly a knot per hour, which prevented us from reaching the parallel of port macquarie before the th; when about forty miles from it we experienced a gale,* from north-east and east-north-east, that lasted till the evening of the next day, when we found ourselves about miles south-east of port stephens. during this gale the southerly current increased its velocity to two miles an hour, and its strength appeared to be about seventy miles from the land. this delay rendered it necessary to obtain a fresh chronometric departure, and as the winds prevented our returning to port jackson, we proceeded to port stephens, where we anchored, june th. we found the admiralty chart of the coast in the neighbourhood very defective, some islands being completely omitted, whilst others were much misplaced. (*footnote. this gale was from south-east at sydney, and the most severe they had experienced for many years; it blew many vessels adrift and did other damage.) remarkable headlands. port stephens. i have before spoken of the change in the features of this portion of the eastern coast. here a number of conical hills, from four to six hundred feet in height, suddenly presented themselves to our view, two of them, very remarkable headlands, and preserving the aboriginal names of yacaba and tomare, constitute the entrance points of port stephens. the sea-face of tomare is a high line of cliffs, from which projects a sand-spit, leaving only a narrow entrance. when in this i noticed that a round hill at the south end of a distant range, was over the opening between the first island and the northern shore of the harbour. within the entrance are extensive sandbanks, leaving between them and the south shore a narrow, and in some parts deep, channel, subject to a rapid stream of tide. port stephens may be considered a large estuary, about fifteen miles in length, contracted near the centre to a width of about a mile, which is further lessened by the presence of a woody islet, the same i have before alluded to. nearly two miles within this narrow the beagle anchored off the settlement of the australian agricultural company, a straggling village called carrington, on the western shore of the harbour. tahlee. on the side of a hill, half a mile to the westward, is the residence of the superintendent, a situation which, to enhance the pleasure of our visit, was held by captain p.p. king, r.n. tahlee, the name of this spot, surpassed in beauty all i have ever seen in australia. it stands on the crest of a steep grassy slope, over which are scattered numerous small bushy lemon trees, the deep verdure of their foliage, interspersed with golden fruit, contrasting charmingly with the light green carpet from which they spring. at the foot of this declivity, a screen of trees rising to a considerable height, almost shuts out the view of the water, though breaks here and there allow small patches to be seen, athwart which a native canoe occasionally glides to and from the fishing grounds. these fairy boats, stealing along the water on a fine calm morning, greatly enhance the beauty of the scene. they belong to a party of natives who have taken up their quarters near tahlee, and who, though by no means a fine race, have always been well disposed towards europeans. unfortunately they are much addicted to the use of ardent spirits, having acquired the habit from the whalers who frequent the place. a young woman and her husband form part of the domestic establishment at tahlee. we were as much delighted as surprised with the richness of the vegetation, when compared with its dry parched appearance at sydney--another of the striking contrasts characteristic of australia. at captain king's table i tasted the wonga-wonga pigeon; it is the largest of any of the australian kinds, and the flesh is very white and rich. it is a difficult bird to shoot, as it always keeps in the thickest foliage, and is strong and quick on the wing. through the kindness of the same friend i was also enabled to enjoy a ride into the country, during the interval between the observations for rating the chronometers. river karuah. i had to ascend the karuah river, flowing into the north-west corner of port stephens, for twelve miles, to a place called boorral, the furthest point at which it is navigable, and where all goods are landed for the company's stations up the country. mr. ebsworth the treasurer of the company resides there in a charming cottage, almost covered with roses and honeysuckle, and commanding two picturesque reaches of the karuah. about two miles within the entrance, the river winds between high and steep banks, densely covered with creepers, acacias, and other vegetation of a tropical character, all quite matted together, and hanging in festoons, the ends of which are immersed in the water. mr. white, who had charge of the company's stock, met me at boorral, with horses, and we were not long in reaching stroud, about seven miles higher up on the eastern bank of the river. it is the head-quarters of the company, and has quite the appearance of a truly english village, each cottage having its neat little garden. i was very much pleased with the whole arrangement of the place, as i strolled through it in the evening, and was delighted to find the inhabitants of a remote part of australia, retaining such vivid recollection of tastes so characteristic of englishmen. several experiments had been tried in clearing the land in the neighbourhood of stroud, one of which was by what they call ringing the trees; that is to say, they cut off a large circular band of bark, which, destroying the trees, renders them easier to be felled. but the danger of this practice was, that in stormy weather they were blown down, thereby endangering the lives of persons or stock passing. in the thickets near stroud, great numbers of the lyre bird are found. they receive their names from the shape of their tails, which one could hardly suppose so small a bird, having no other beauty, could possess. trip up the country. at mr. white's hospitable cottage, i met two gentlemen on their way to the hunter river, and as fortunately the route i proposed taking, lay in that direction, we started together early the next morning. crossing the karuah, our road for some distance lay over a rugged country, along a winding path between very steep hills. six miles west-south-west from stroud, we passed through a range trending north-west from two to three thousand feet high, the debris from which enrich the flats of the karuah on its eastern, and the williams river on its western side. our guide amused me by pointing to some of the steep parts of the range which he had galloped down, while hunting wild cattle, the most useful and exciting sport known in australia--useful, inasmuch as it prevents the wild cattle from coming down to the plains and enticing away the tame herds; and exciting, from the rough nature of the country, in which the sport is pursued. wild cattle. the wild cattle invariably keep on high ranges, and from their acuteness of smell, are difficult to get at, and it is only to leeward that one can approach them. the bulls being the leaders of the herds are always singled out, and after a desperate and trying gallop over a rugged country, the huntsman finds himself going stride for stride alongside one of these kings of the forest, and wondering how an animal so ungainly in his gait, can get over the country at such a pace. jumping over fallen trees, and dodging round others, he at last finds himself on a clear spot, when drawing a pistol from his holster, and riding up so as almost to touch the animal's side, he lodges a well directed ball just behind the fore shoulder. this is the most critical moment. great command of your horse is required, for the bull, if not mortally wounded, turns suddenly half mad with rage on his pursuer, and puts his nerves and judgment to a severe test. on these occasions almost incredible feats of horsemanship are performed; and nearly precipitous slopes are descended. i have seen similar exploits nowhere but in chile, where horses are ridden down the sides of frightful ravines on their haunches at half speed for bets; but in that country the severity of the bit gives the rider a power over his steed unknown elsewhere. incivility of a settler. we crossed the williams river, about fifteen miles south-west from stroud, and after nearly another hour's ride came to a place called wallaroba. i was here doomed to experience the only instance of incivility i ever found in australia. it was late in the afternoon of a cold blustering day, and having breakfasted early, we were prompted to test the hospitality of a mr. chapman, whose station we were passing. it was the only one we had seen during the day, and knowing the possibility of our being mistaken for bush-rangers,* we turned back our rough coats, and rode up to the house as smart as we could make ourselves. we met the owner standing in the gateway of the garden fronting the house, which he nearly filled; but although presenting a john bull's exterior, there was a great deficiency of the national character within. after introducing ourselves we asked for a little milk, but were refused on the plea that there was none at the station. our surly informant added, that we should find a comfortable inn eight miles farther on. first looking at the number of fine milch cows that were grazing near, and then at the speaker, we turned and left him in silent disgust. (*footnote. escaped convicts, who live by plundering the settlers, taking also their lives if any resistance is offered. i remember on one occasion, a party of gentlemen had their horses taken from them: one of them was of great value, and the owner thought he would try an experiment to recover him, by saying in a jocular manner, that he would tie a card with his address round the animal's neck, in order that when done with they might know where to return him. strange to say his experiment succeeded, as the horse was sent back a short time afterwards.) we passed the night at the inn to which we had been directed, and next morning i separated from my companions, our roads being different. there had been a hoar frost during the night, and the morning was delightfully bracing. about ten miles in a north-west direction, brought me to the end of my journey at cam yr allyn, the residence of mr. boydell. a few miles from this place, i passed the house of a mr. townsend, the road close to which was literally through a garden of roses, which in the freshness of the morning, diffused a delicious fragrance. mr. boydell's residence is on a rich spot of ground, on the banks of the allyn river, which runs among the spurs of a range of hills, trending north-north-west, and distant about six miles to the eastward, where it attains an elevation of three or four thousand feet. sagacity of the horse. the country in the neighbourhood is very hilly, and intersected by deep narrow valleys or ravines. i was very much amused by the sagacity displayed by the horses in crossing these. they make a point, as soon as they get near the bottom on one side, of dashing down at a most tremendous pace, in order to gain an impetus that shall carry them up the opposite acclivity. the first time the animal i rode exhibited this instance of forethought, i imagined he was about to run away with me; for suddenly, without giving the least warning, he made a rush in a downward direction and was across the valley before i could look round. all the hills in this part of the country, showed singular sloping sides to the south-west, whilst on the opposite, they were almost perpendicular; old red sandstone is generally found on their sides, and granite on their summit. on the allyn, i noticed the same kind of rich limestone, that i found on the west bank of the karuah, two miles within the entrance. these two spots are about thirty miles apart. the rocks in the valley of the karuah belong to the transition series, and on the shore of port stephens, they consist of porphyry, basalt, and greenstone. an instance here came under my own observation of the beneficial results which sometimes arise from the punishment of transportation; knowing the difficulty of getting good servants, i was curious to learn how mr. boydell had procured his excellent butler, and on inquiry was surprised to learn that he had been sent out for robbing madame vestris of her jewels. cultivation of tobacco. mr. boydell was cultivating tobacco to some considerable extent, with the hope of being able to supply the colony; others who speculated on a larger scale were ruined; for it soon turned out that it was impossible to compete in cheapness with american tobacco. this was in consequence of the extensive establishment required on the estate--the large drying sheds that had to be erected, the number of coopers necessary, and the general high price of labour. mr. boydell was also cultivating the vine, of which he made a light kind of wine, a very excellent species of hock. the messrs. mcarthurs have been at great expense in promoting this branch of cultivation, and are entitled to their share of credit. but to mr. bushby the colony owes the first introduction of the grape, which will hereafter prove of inestimable benefit, from the great commerce to which it must give rise. i may here mention that the same gentleman has deserved highly of his fellow-colonists, by having been the means of bringing good water from some distance into sydney. the importance of this to the town was very apparent even to us transient visitors, from the crowd of water carts we constantly saw during the severe drought, patiently waiting their turn to fill from the pump in hyde park. i was fortunate enough to find two gentlemen to return with as companions, from cam yr allyn, which we left early, under the guidance of a native, mounted on one of mr. boydell's horses. we were to have made a short cut by crossing the hilly country; but after going some distance we found our guide at fault, and he very innocently acknowledged himself to be, as he termed it, "murry stupid." it was a long time, he said, since he had travelled that way. having however provided myself with a sketch of the country and a compass, i was enabled to conduct the party out of this dilemma. a clearing lease. on reaching the banks of william river, we inquired our way at a cottage, whose occupants, i found, held a small piece of land on what is called a clearing lease--that is to say, they were allowed to retain possession of it for so many years, for the labour of clearing the land. many an industrious poor man is raised to opulence by this means, a pair of oxen being all that is necessary to set them going. with them they drag away the fallen timber, and afterwards plough the land. it is astonishing to see what work oxen will do; they drag drays over almost incredible steeps, not quartering them as horses do, but going straight up, be the hills ever so steep. we learnt here that the township of dungog, through which our road to stroud lay, was close by. we should readily know it, we were informed, by the lock-up, a place of confinement for misbehavers, and generally the first building in australian towns. the particular erection alluded to, seemed to be well known in the neighbourhood. as we crossed the william river i was much struck with the richness of the flats on its banks. crossing the karuah. in fording the karuah, just before reaching stroud, the effect was singular and startling. the thick foliage arching over the river, quite shut out the little light the stars afforded, and as we had to descend into it, down a very steep bank, it was like plunging into a dark bottomless pit; the noise of the stream over the stones alone told us we should find a footing below. into this gloomy cave our party one by one descended, the foremost calling out when he had reached the bottom, that the way was clear, and hastening across to prevent the horseman who followed from being carried by the impetus into contact with him. waiting my turn upon the verge of the bank, i contemplated with pleasure the heavy masses of the forest stretching like dark shadows behind me, and on the other side, the long winding line of verdure at my feet, from beneath which rose the splashing, rippling, gushing sound of the stream, whilst overhead, the vault of heaven was thick inlaid with patterns of bright gold. but the plunge of my companion's horse in the water, and his voice calling out that all was right, soon drew me away, and in another moment i was fording in utter darkness the rapid though shallow stream of the karuah. we passed the night at stroud, and next morning started for port stephens. there having been some delay in getting my horse, i was obliged to push over the first seven miles in little more than a quarter of an hour, the postman having waited for me over his time. port stephens. on the th, the requisite observations were obtained for rating the chronometers, which we found had altered their rates in a most singular manner; so much so, that in spite of the short interval that had elapsed since our departure from sydney, we found the resulting meridian distance between that place and port stephens, to be very defective. this fact illustrates the unaccountable changes that sometimes occur in the rates of chronometers, and the necessity of repeated measures of difference of longitude to arrive at the truth. on the morning of the th we again sailed for the north coast with a fine southerly wind. june . at noon, when in fathoms, with coarse sand bottom, we saw indian head, bearing north-north-west miles, it is a dark cliffy point; but there is another more remarkable in the shape of a quoin, three or four miles to the northward. at p.m., we were in the same depth, sandy cape, so named by cook for its being a low point streaked with patches of white sand, bearing west-south-west eight miles. as it was now blowing very hard from east-south-east, with constant squalls and thick rainy weather, the ship was brought to the wind under snug sail, for the night. june . at daylight we were in fathoms, the outer elbow of breaksea spit, bearing south-east by south three miles. large shark. it was when anchored under this spit that in h.m.s. britomart, a monstrous shark was caught, about twenty feet long, in which were found the bones of some very large animal, possibly those of a bullock, that had been carried out to sea by some current. steering north-north-west we deepened the water in eight miles to fathoms, and after rounding the northern extremity of breaksea spit, which appeared to be formed of a few detached breakers, steered west by north for bustard bay. in fathoms, with fine sand, we passed three miles south of lady elliott's island, a small level spot about seventy feet high, fringed with a coral reef, particularly to the south-east, and forming the south eastern isle of bunker's group. it was first seen at the distance of seven miles from the beagle's poop, the height of the eye being fifteen feet, and at that number of miles east of it we had thirty fathoms. the weather was still very hazy, but the wind had subsided to a light breeze from east-north-east. after passing breaksea spit, a westerly current was felt of nearly a knot an hour, which was also found to be the case in june, . june . the morning was bright and sunny, a happy change after several days of thick, rainy, and boisterous weather. the remarkable features in this part of the coast, consisting of round hill,* peaked hill, and mount larcom, stood out in bold relief against the pure blue of an australian sky. (*footnote. this hill was seen miles from the beagle's poop, and is a good guide for bustard bay. peaked hill we found to be feet high, and mount larcom . they form admirable points for fixing the position of the groups of isles fronting this part of the coast.) coral bank. in the evening steering north-west by west we passed over a coral bank three miles wide, the least water on which was nine fathoms. from this depth we procured a specimen of living coral. this bank was again crossed in june, , a mile and a half further to the south-west, when the depth was only seven fathoms. it lies eight miles south-south-west from a low islet, four miles from which in a west-south-west direction is a coral patch, nearly dry. this islet, in latitude degrees minutes south to which we gave the name of mast head, forms the south-western of a group fronting cape capricorn. the latter has a hump on its extreme, resembling a haycock, and by our observations* is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, which is two miles south of its position in the chart. as we were detained by light winds in the neighbourhood, i had more than one opportunity of detecting this error. by midnight we were about miles north by west from cape capricorn, when we felt a swell from the eastward, which assured me there was an opening in the reefs on the north side of the group of islets fronting the cape. (*footnote. hummock island is alike in error with cape capricorn, but all the distant points agree with the beagle's observation.) flat island. june . there was a light air from south-west till near noon, then one from seaward which freshened and became in the afternoon steady at south-east, a quarter it afterwards prevailed from. we were at the time passing about three miles from flat island, in fathoms, an increase in the soundings we had but just got into. we were glad to find the ship's position, fixed by points both far and near, agree with the observations, a fact i can only account for here, from the circumstance, that flinders laid down the coast about port bowen by observations on shore, whereas that in the neighbourhood of cape capricorn, was from those made with the sea-horizon which he found differ very materially. during the day we added to the chart the position of two peaks, feet high, lying about miles south-west by west from cape manifold, and forming the northern end of a high rocky range. a current was also noticed setting north a mile an hour. the entrance of port bowen bore west-south-west miles at midnight, when the depth was fathoms. northumberland isles. june . from thence we steered to pass between number and number of the northumberland isles, in order that we might lay down their outlines correctly, and also determine the positions of some small islets lying on the south-west side of number . the most remarkable land in sight in the morning was mount westall, named by flinders after the talented artist who accompanied him, and which forms the highest part of the eastern shore of shoalwater bay. the soundings during the night were very regular, only varying from to fathoms with a soft muddy bottom, mixed occasionally with which the lead brought up small stones. the summit of number of the northumberland isles forms a remarkable peak feet high; a sandy bay on the west side promised good anchorage, and on its south-east and northern sides were some high detached rocks. the heights of the other parts of the group vary from two to six hundred feet. the crests of the western isles are covered with pine trees, which give them a curious jagged appearance. in the afternoon we passed in fathoms four miles from the eastern side of the percy isles, which enabled us to add their eastern extremity in the chart. the mainland falling so much back soon after passing port bowen, we could form no idea of its character, but certainly what we had seen did not leave a favourable impression of its apparent fertility. sandalwood. captains flinders and king, having given a description of the percy isles, it will not be necessary for me to say anything about them, further than that they are composed of a trap-like compound with an aspect of serpentine, and that either on them or the northumberland isles, sandalwood has been found of late, and taken by a tasmanian vessel to the china market. just before dark, the soundings decreased to fathoms, pine peak of percy group, bearing south-west miles. our course was now shaped for cape gloucester, the extreme of the cumberland isles; and about this time we felt the flood-tide setting south-west by west nearly a knot an hour, a sure indication of there being openings in the barriers in that direction. the great distance at which this part of it lies from the islands will render its examination a difficult and hazardous undertaking. the night was anything but favourable for sailing among islands, being very hazy, with passing rain squalls. at midnight we passed nearly two miles from the north-east side of k of the cumberland group, in fathoms, in which depth we continued till getting abreast of pentecost island, the next evening, the th, when it increased to fathoms, but still on the same kind of green sandy mud bottom. at p.m. we passed about seven miles from cape gloucester, which at that part was nearly feet high. yet the night was so hazy, that it was only visible at intervals. here we noticed many ripplings which we afterwards found indicated a north-north-west current of a knot and a half an hour, caused no doubt by the proximity of a part of the barrier, the distance between it and cape gloucester being only miles. i may here observe that the barometer was very high with these fresh south-east winds and hazy weather, and rather low during the light north-west winds we experienced in the neighbourhood of cape capricorn. cape upstart. june . at daylight the beagle was a few miles east of cape upstart, in fathoms, having passed two miles from the north side of holborn island, in fathoms. the above headland received its name from captain cook, and peculiarly deserves it, appearing in fact from the lowness of the land behind, actually to start up out of the water. chronometers being chiefly affected by changes of temperature, it was necessary to ascertain the rates of those in the beagle again before reaching port essington, for a correct measurement of the difference of meridians between that place and port stephens. the bay on the west side of cape upstart had been recommended by captain king for that purpose, as he had considered it likely to be the mouth of an opening. this conjecture the low land in the head of the bay, together with a singular break in the distant hills seemed fully to justify. we accordingly entered the bay and anchored half a mile within the north-east point. this took us till the afternoon to reach, in consequence of our having a light land breeze until p.m. when it became steady from north-east, drawing round to south, after sunset, and veering to south-west again in the morning. this alternation of land and seabreezes continued during our stay, for three or four successive days. in the evening we landed and ascended the north-east extremity of the cape, from whence we saw at once that hopes of discovering any opening were delusive, the low shores of the bay could be traced all round, except in the north-west corner, where a point shut out our view. exploration of a river. on sweeping the western shore with a spyglass, i discovered the mouth of a river about a mile to the north of a hillock marked in captain king's chart. this river was made the object of an exploring party, and next day captain wickham and lieutenant eden, went on that interesting service. it has two entrances, both very shallow, and is of little importance, being on a lee shore and fronted by a bar, which seems to break at all times of the tide. however, as there is such very safe anchorage near, the discovery may hereafter prove of some value. captain wickham found it fresh ten miles from the entrance, but at that point it is nearly lost in the sands, and so very shallow that the natives have a fishing weir across it. the land, which appears to be much cut up with creeks, is very flat on both sides, and is subject to inundations. this was evident from the signs of drift, to the height of six feet, on the trees that grew along the banks, themselves not more than a couple of yards above high-water mark. the exploring party saw a few natives, but they were too shy to communicate. one was discovered on a long flat, crawling on his hands and knees, to catch a glimpse of the strange intruders, and looking more like a great insect than a man. in the distance up the river a good many smokes appeared; but i doubt whether this may be considered as denoting a densely populated country, as fires are kindled by the australian natives, both as signals and for the purposes of hunting. geological queries. previous to my departure from england, i had the pleasure of hearing a valuable paper by my friend mr. darwin, on the formation of coral islands,* read at the geological society; my attention being thus awakened to the subject, the interest of this important paper was to me greatly enhanced by a series of queries, kindly furnished by mr. darwin, and drawn up with a view to confirm or invalidate his views, his purpose being to elicit truth from a combination of well attested facts, and by inducing the research of others to further the objects of science. among these queries was the following: "are there masses of coral or beds of shells some yards above high water mark, on the coast fronting the barrier reef?" (*footnote. see also the hydrographer's instructions supra.) raised beaches. captain king, in answer to the above states, that some of the islands within the reef have beaches of broken coral; and, as an instance, he refers to fitzroy island. i will, myself, here adduce what may be deemed an important fact; and which, if allowed its due weight, will go far to weaken the arguments brought forward in favour of the subsidence of the north-east coast of australia. i found a flat nearly a quarter of a mile broad, in a quiet sheltered cove, within the cape, thickly strewed with dead coral and shells, forming, in fact, a perfect bed of them--a raised beach of twelve feet above high-water mark. on the sandy beach fronting it, also a few feet above high-water mark, was a concretion of sand and dead coral, forming a mass about fifty yards long. fronting this, for about the width of one hundred and fifty feet, was a wall of coral with two feet water on it; and immediately outside, five fathoms, with a fine sandy bottom, slightly sloping off. the annexed woodcut will better explain what we have here endeavoured to bring before the reader. section of the coast. this small coral-strewed flat where our observations were made, and the results of which are as follows; latitude degrees / minutes south; longitude degrees / minutes east of port essington, is surrounded by an amphitheatre of hills. had it been on the seaward side of the cape, i might have been readier to imagine that it could have been thrown up by the sea in its ordinary action, or when suddenly disturbed by an earthquake wave; but as the contrary is the case, it seemed impossible to come to any other conclusion, than that an upheaval had taken place. the whole of cape upstart is a granite mass, and its crests are covered with boulders, some of which have rolled down and form rather conspicuous objects on the shores and points of the bay. pumice stone. near the north-west extremity of the cape just at high-water mark, i noticed some pumice stones, small and not having the appearance of belonging to a recent eruption, which seems to agree with the opinion expressed by the reverend w.g. clarke in the tasmanian journal. he considers, and i think justly, that its origin may be in the solomon, new caledonia, or some other of the volcanic islands to the east of australia, from whence it drifted, as it has been found on all parts of the coast, to the southern portion of which it has doubtless been carried by the current. captain wickham did not remark any above the entrance of the river he explored, on the western side of the bay, which bears out the opinion i have above expressed. a curious fact, mentioned by mr. clarke is, that one piece, perfectly water-worn, was found upon a high mountain, full twenty-five miles inland from the mouth of clarence river. was this carried thither by one of the natives, or does it indicate that pumice drifted to this part of the continent at a time when, if ever, it was on a level with the ocean? i further remarked in this place, many of the land shells common to this and other parts of the coast. there was great difficulty in attaining the loftiest point of the cape, which i found to be two thousand feet high. from thence our party commanded a view of the whole of the bay, and discovered that we were, strictly speaking, standing upon an island, a small creek winding round the southern foot of the high land, and connecting the bays on the eastern and western side of cape upstart. the break in the hills seen by captain king, and supposed to indicate an opening, has been already alluded to. on reaching the summit i found that this was merely a valley, containing the head of the plain which stretched from the shores of the bay. on its southern side rose mount abbott; but one of the most remarkable features on the coast is mount elliott, lying about forty-five miles west and by north from our position. it is a long level hill, with a peak at its northern extremity. all those in the neighbourhood, as far as i could judge with the spyglass, seemed to be of the same formation with cape upstart. we found this a convenient stopping-place for vessels making the inner passage, wood and water being easily procured. the latter is found in a considerable reservoir fed by two streams from the high land of the cape, lying a mile within the mouth of the bay. from appearances, i should say it would yield an abundant supply at any season of the year. natives surprised. there were a few natives loitering about on cape upstart when we arrived; and i think we should have communicated with them had it not been for the fright into which they were accidentally thrown. a boat's crew on landing surprised a small party, which instantly dispersed in various directions. a lad, however, instead of escaping with the rest, stowed himself away in a crack between two boulders of granite. every endeavour was made to get him to come out of his hidingplace; biscuit was offered him, but he snapped savagely with his teeth at the hand that held it. finding all attempts fruitless he was left; and no doubt, the account he gave his comrades of us, while under the influence of fright, was sufficiently terrible to take them all away from the neighbourhood. these natives used nets similar to those i had seen on the north-west coast, and in their make, resembling, in a remarkable manner, the ones employed by europeans. plants and animals. in the valley, just within cape upstart, a few palms and a species of cotton were growing; and in other places, the never-failing eucalyptus, of small growth. certain bulbs* were also found, apparently of the same species as those on the percy isles; several of which we removed and presented to the botanical garden at sydney, where we afterwards had the gratification of seeing them in a flourishing state. (*footnote. crinum angustifolium. they belong to the narcissus, but are in themselves a new order of plant.) a few quails were shot of the same large kind as that found on all other parts of the continent, also one or two pheasant cuckoos.* they did not differ from those we killed on the north-west coast, although nearly five degrees further south. a very large pigeon was also shot, resembling in colour the common blue rock, but without a bronze mark. we had not seen this species before; it was a very wary bird, and was found in the rocks. (*footnote. centropus phasianellus. gould.) new kangaroo. but the greatest prize our sportsmen shot was a specimen of a small female kangaroo, of a new kind.* (*footnote. deposited in the british museum, and figured as petrogale inanata, by mr. gould, who being misinformed, has described it as inhabiting the north coast of australia.) it measured as follows, just after it was killed: length of body from tip of nose, inches; length of tail from stump to tip, inches; weight / pounds. its colour was a slate or light grey on the back, and dirty yellow or light brown on the belly; extreme half of tail black, with hair gradually increasing in length, from the centre to the tip and terminating in a tuft. on the back of the hind legs the hair is longer than on any other part of the body. the nails on the hind feet were short, covered with long hair, and did not project over the pulpy part of the foot, which is well cushioned and rough, giving a firm hold to projecting rocks. the head was small, and sharp towards the muzzle; the ears were short and slightly rounded, the eyes black, and the forearms very short. in this animal the pouch was very superficial. it inhabits the most rugged summits, taking refuge in the clefts of the rocks. june . in the afternoon we left the anchorage we had been the first to occupy, and standing out of the bay, were much struck by the rugged outline cape upstart presents. the huge boulders scattered over the crest of the hills, give it the appearance of a vast mass of ruins, the clear atmosphere bringing it out in bold relief against the sky. we stood over north-west for the opposite shore, and closing to within three miles of the land changed our course and ran along the singular low point forming the coastline to the north-west of cape upstart; and by p.m. rounded its northern extreme called cape bowling green, at a distance of six miles, in fathoms, steering then to pass about four miles outside the palm isles. during the whole night our soundings only varied from to fathoms. magnetical island. the weather was gloomy with passing showers of rain and a moderate south-south-east breeze; but all was bright again by daylight (july st) when magnetical island bore south degrees west, and the south and largest of the palm isles north degrees west, which, corresponding with the log, showed there had been no current during the night. magnetical island was so named by cook, because he fancied it affected the endeavour's compass in passing it. there is good anchorage on the west side, where it is densely covered with trees, amidst which a few straggling pines reared their lofty and angular-shaped heads, giving by their variety a picturesque appearance to the scene.* we passed the palm islands early in the forenoon. the largest we found to be feet high, with a remarkable white rock off its south-east extreme. (*footnote. see the view annexed.) the cordillera. behind these isles we saw numerous blue streaks of smoke from the fires of the natives, indicating the state of population on the slope of that lofty range of hills, which may be called the cordillera of eastern australia, and which at this point, tower to a great height, overlooking the coast.* we were abreast about noon of its most remarkable feature, mount hinchinbrook, in latitude degrees minutes south, rising to the height, according to our observations, of feet. (*footnote. the proximity of this high land to the coast, may account for the gloomy weather of the previous night.) although a number of fires being once seen is not always a sign in australia of a densely populated part of the country, yet when they are constantly visible, as in this part of the continent, it is fair to infer, that the inhabitants are numerous, and the soil fertile. i might further remark, that captain king found the natives well disposed; and at goold island, in this neighbourhood, they even came on board his vessel uninvited, an evidence of friendship and confidence, rarely characterizing a race of beings so wary as are generally the inhabitants of australia. it is not a little singular that the altitude of mount hinchinbrook should be identical with what strzelecki considers the mean height of the cordillera, which he traced continually on foot, from to degrees south latitude giving to the highest point, feet in latitude degrees minutes south, the name of mount kosciusko, for reasons most admirably and feelingly expressed, and which we therefore, in justice to his patriotic sentiments, give below in his own words.* it will thus be seen that there is a northerly dip in the cordillera of feet in degrees of latitude. (*footnote. "the particular configuration of this eminence struck me so forcibly, by the similarity it bears to a tumulus elevated in krakow, over the tomb of the patriot kosciusko, that although in a foreign country, on foreign ground, but amongst a free people, who appreciate freedom and its votaries, i could not refrain from giving it the name of mount kosciusko.") the great height of this range, and the extreme abruptness of its eastern face, where no waters are thrown off, renders it more than probable that on the western side there is land of great fertility. whatever waters originate on its summit and slopes, must flow towards the interior, and there give rise to rivers emptying themselves into the gulf of carpentaria, or by first forming lagoons, feed streams of some magnitude even, during their overflow. halifax bay. it is the general opinion of every voyager who has sailed along the coast of halifax bay, that it is the most interesting portion of the north-east side of the continent; as, combining the several facts which we have above given, we have every reason to believe that the discovery of fertile and therefore valuable land, will one day reward the labours of the explorer. nothing was seen by us of the san antonio reef, laid down in the charts as fronting the palm isles; but this was subsequently accounted for by captain stanley, who found that it was sixteen miles north of its supposed position, being in latitude degrees minutes south, and twenty-four miles distant from the nearest land, hillock point. this fact is the more satisfactory and important that, from its present position, as laid down in the chart, being supposed to be near the palm islands, it was apt to create an unpleasant state of anxiety in the mind of those navigating these waters during thick weather or at night. from noon we steered north-north-west, and at p.m. dunk island bore south-west eight miles distant; our soundings varying, during that period, from thirteen to fifteen fathoms. during the day we had several opportunities of satisfactorily testing the accuracy of captain king's chart. while passing barnard's group, soon after dark, we found a current setting west-north-west nearly a mile an hour, a rate at which it kept during the whole night, but in a north-north-west direction. during the day we had a light breeze from south-south-east, which shifted to west-south-west during the night. numerous native fires were observed burning on the shore during the first watch, at the foot of the bellenden ker hills, remarkable mountains of considerable altitude. fitzroy island. july . soon after midnight we were abreast of frankland group, and at a.m. passed three miles to the eastward of fitzroy island, where our soundings increased to seventeen fathoms, with a current running upwards of a mile an hour to the north-west, an increased velocity, which may be accounted for by the proximity of the reefs to a projection of the coast forming cape grafton. i must not, however, pass an island which like fitzroy, carried in its name a pleasing association to many on board the beagle, without a word of notice, particularly as its features are in themselves sufficiently remarkable, having a singular peaked summit feet high, near the north-east end. on the western side is a little cove where captain king found snug anchorage. reef near low isles. passing midway between green island, which is about twenty feet high, encircled with a coral reef, and cape grafton, we steered north-west / north for a shoal on which her majesty's ship imogene grounded; and at noon, were exactly on the spot, in latitude degrees / minutes south by observations and bearings of the land, low isles being west-north-west four miles. here we found sixteen fathoms, not having had less than seventeen since the morning. there was no appearance of any such reef nearer than that laid down by lieutenant roe, bearing east from the above-mentioned low isles and under which her majesty's ship tamar anchored. it must therefore have been on the north-west part of this reef that the imogene struck, and the south part must be the reef laid down in the chart as having been seen by her to the southward, which accounts for our not seeing it from the beagle. we passed through several patches of discoloured water, caused by washings from reefs to windward, which are very deceptive. at sunset the anchor was dropped in thirteen fathoms, for the first time since leaving port stephens. the south point of weary bay bore west-north-west three miles, and cape tribulation south by east six miles. near the middle of the former, i noticed a patch of discoloured water, which has since been found by a merchant vessel to be a shoal. hope islands. the land over the latter place is very high, presenting several singular peaks, one more prominent than the rest, in the shape of a finger. that over trinity bay, which we were the greater part of the day crossing, is also of great altitude. in its south corner we noticed the river-like opening spoken of by captain king, lying in the rear of some remarkable peaks. we had been informed by him, that the greater part of the coast between weary bay and endeavour river, including the hope islands, had been altered from his original survey, a tracing of which he had furnished us with previous to leaving sydney. the few bearings we obtained while at anchor, induced us to consider it correct, a fact we further proved during the early part of the next day's run, as the course steered from our anchorage north by west / west, carried us a little more than a mile west of the hope islands. had their assigned position in the chart been correct, our course would have led us right over the western isle. on detecting this error, we found it necessary to re-survey this part of the coast, and it affords me much pleasure, after so doing, to be able to bear testimony to the extreme correctness of captain king's original chart above alluded to. soon after passing the hope islands, we saw the reef where cook's vessel had so miraculous an escape, after grinding on the rocks for hours, as graphically described in his voyages. it is called endeavour reef, from this circumstance. cape bedford. continuing on the same course, we passed three miles from cape bedford, at p.m. this is one of the most remarkable features on the coast, being a bluff detached piece of tableland, surmounted by a singular low line of cliffs, reminding me forcibly of the lava-capped hills on the river santa cruz, in eastern patagonia. as far as i could judge, by the aid of a good glass, it seemed to be composed of a mixture of red sand and ironstone, of a very deep red hue, bearing a great similarity to the country on the north-west coast, in latitude / degrees south. leaving cape bedford, we went in search of a shoal laid down by h.m.s. victor, as lying two miles to the west-south-west of three isles. both captain king and lieutenant roe had expressed a doubt of its existence in the position marked, a doubt which our researches fully justified; and therefore, as it at present stands, it should be expunged from the chart. from thence we steered north for lizard island, the remarkable peak on which soon rose in sight; this course took us within three miles of cape flattery, where a couple of peaks, with a slope between them, render it a conspicuous headland. about seven miles west from thence, there is a strange alteration in the appearance of the country, changing from moderately high conical-shaped hills, to lofty table ranges about , or feet in height, trending about south-west and by west. lizard island. having still a little moonlight, we were enabled to keep underweigh part of the night, and during the first watch came to in fathoms, in a bay on the west side of lizard island, the extremes bearing from south / east to east-north-east. during the day we experienced a northerly current, varying from three quarters to half an knot an hour. july . we remained at this anchorage, until the following morning, for the purpose of determining the position of the island, and of visiting the peak, which we found to be nearly twelve hundred feet high. i ascended by a slope rising from the shore of the small bay where our observations were taken, and which may be easily distinguished, from being the second from the north point of the island. their result was to place it in latitude degrees / minutes south longitude degrees / minutes east of port essington. variation by the mean of five or six needles was / degrees east being half a degree more than it was at cape upstart. other magnetic observations were also made, consisting of those for the dip and intensity. in a valley to the left of the slope by which we ascended the peak, were noticed several very remarkable, low and spreading trees, with a dark green foliage, and leaves large, ovate, and obtuse. the branches, from which, when broken, a milky juice exuded, were thick and glossy, of an ash colour; at their extremity they were thin, with long pendulous stems, supporting a bell-shaped flower, of a rich crimson hue; these hung in great profusion, and contrasting with the surrounding dark green verdure, presented a very beautiful and striking appearance. the diameter of the trunk of the largest tree was inches, and the height feet. lieutenant emery painted a most faithful representation of one of them, by means of which we found on our arrival at port essington, that neither the professional nor amateur botanists, had any knowledge of it. to them and to ourselves it was alike perfectly new. captain cook. on the preceding evening i had refreshed my memory by reading cook's account of his visit to the same spot, and was thus able minutely to follow in the footsteps of the immortal navigator. there is an inexpressible charm in thus treading in the track of the mighty dead, and my feelings on attaining the summit of the peak, where the foot of the white man, had perhaps but once before rested, will easily be understood. below to the eastward stretched a vast expanse of water, broken at the distance of about eight miles, by a long narrow line of detached reefs, on which there ran a white crest of foaming breakers, marking the outer edge of the great barrier, a name which few seamen could hear with indifference when in its vicinity. if i felt emotions of delight, on first perceiving the extent of a danger so justly dreaded, how much stronger must have been the feelings of captain cook, when from the same spot years before, he saw by a gap in the line of broken water, there was a chance of his once more gaining the open sea, after being confined to the eastern shores of the australian continent, for a distance of miles. though the dangers of this inner channel had proved so nearly fatal to his ship, the truth of the homely adage, which describes all as happening for the best, was here fully borne out, as the very fact of his position enabled captain cook to make considerable discoveries along the coast--just as by the mishap on endeavour reef, the presence of a river was made apparent, and some slight knowledge of the aborigines obtained, as well as numerous facts illustrative of the natural and vegetable productions of the locality. providence channel. little did he think at that time, however, when standing on the summit of the peak, that he was about as it were to thread the eye of a needle, by passing through another break, in a manner which can only be designated as providential. this gap in the great reef is now known as providence channel, a name which must ever remind us of him, who in moments when our lives hang as by a thread, is ever watchful, and spares us in the exercise of his inscrutable will. carried back to times past, we stood upon the summit of the height, dwelling in thought upon the adventurous career of the great navigator, when suddenly, as if by magic, the whole scene below and around was obscured, and we found ourselves wrapped in a dense cloud of vapour, which came sweeping across the island, drenching us to the skin, with a rapidity which spoke volumes for the penetrating character of an australian fog. cold and shivering we hailed the temporary re-appearance of the sun with delight, and our clothes were dried almost as speedily as they had been wetted. our satisfaction was however but of short duration, as the same agreeable operation, of alternate drenching and drying, occurred several times during our stay on the peak. barrier reef. the opening through which captain cook passed out to sea, bore about north by east miles, the outer line of the barrier reef, curving from thence to the north-west, and following the trend of the land. when this singular wall of coral, the most extensive perhaps in the world, is surveyed, it will i think be found to follow the direction of the coast it fronts with such exactness, as to leave little doubt that the vast base on which rests the work of the reef-building polypifers, was, contrary to the opinion which i am aware prevails, upheaved at the same time with the neighbouring coast of the australian continent, which it follows for a space of upwards of a hundred miles. coral reefs. from the elevation on which i stood, i had an excellent view of some reefs within the barrier; whether they encircled an islet, or were wholly beneath the water, their form was circular, although from the ship, and indeed anywhere, viewed from a less height, they appeared oval-shaped. this detection of my own previously erroneous impressions, seemed to account for the recurrence in charts of elongated-shaped reefs, others having doubtless fallen into the same error. it is very remarkable that on the south-east or windward side of these coral reefs, the circle is of a compact and perfect form, as if to resist the action of the waves, while on the opposite side they were jagged and broken.* (*footnote. in the pacific the islets are generally on the weather side of the lagoon reefs.) the south-west side of the peak rises perpendicularly from a grassy flat, which stretches across that part of the island, separating two bays, the beaches of which with the rest on the island are composed of granulated quartz, and coarse shingle. a stream of water, rising in the peak, runs through the green, while a few low gumtrees grow in small detached clumps; a ship may therefore procure both water and fuel; finding this to be the case, and as it was a convenient stopping place, we made a plan of the island, connecting it with those in the immediate neighbourhood. it is the more advantageous as an anchorage, in that it can be reached during the night, whereas this could not be done in the inner channel near turtle islands, it lying so much to the westward, and being more intricate. indeed it is not prudent to approach these isles even in the afternoon, from the number of reefs, and the difficulty in seeing them with the sun ahead. mr. bynoe was not fortunate enough to add to his collection of birds; those he observed being only doves and parrots, besides a flycatcher common to parts of the coast, and often before met with by us. a couple of vampires of the larger and darker species were also seen, and numerous land shells (helix) similar to those on cape upstart; found near the roots of trees, buried in the decayed vegetation. two old coconuts and large quantities of pumicestone were picked up on the south-east side of the island. the prevailing character of the rocks was granitic, out of which some beautiful specimens of hornblende were procured. the entire island was fringed with a narrow strip of coral, but i noticed none of it above high-water mark. howick group. july . we took our departure at an early hour, and after running round to sketch the north-east side of the island, stood to the westward for howick group. the weather being thick we did not discover the somewhat remarkable peak on number , until we were close to it. our progress was accelerated by a current running half a knot an hour, and finding the passage between number and of howick group, much impeded by rocks, we hauled up between and isles, and on keeping away again west-north-west for point barrow, found ourselves close to a reef, almost dry, and extending nearly a mile further off the north-east side of coles island, than is laid down in the chart; thus contracting the channel between it and number island, to a space of not more than two miles. when the course was shaped for point barrow, noble island, a very remarkable pyramidal-shaped rocky height, was a point on the port bow. its singular appearance makes it conspicuous amid the recollections of this part of the coast. we now once more approached to within a distance of seven miles of the mainland, which presented to our view a low sandy shore, with a few remarkable hummocks rising over it, and somewhat high, broken, rocky land immediately behind. cape melville. passing point barrow we anchored near the north end of a large reef, cape melville bearing west-north-west ten miles. here we felt a swell rolling in from seaward, and during the day there had been a current in our favour, of about a mile an hour. from the haze on the horizon, noticed from this anchorage, as well as on passing cape melville, i believe the outer edge of the barrier reef to be not more than four or five leagues distant from the land. our attention had been previously directed by captain king and others, to the singular appearance of the rocks on cape melville; indeed no one can pass this remarkable projection without being struck by the strange manner in which piles of reddish-coloured stones are scattered about in the utmost confusion, and in every possible direction over this high ridge. i much regretted that on passing next morning there was no opportunity of landing to see the nature of this confused mass; judging, however, from the result of my examination of a similar appearance presented by depuch island on the north-west coast, i believe this point to be of volcanic origin. cape flinders. between the rocks off cape melville, and a reef encircling two small islets, the channel is not more than a mile in width: indeed, i consider passing this point and cape flinders the most intricate part of the inner route. after rounding the rocks off the former we steered for the latter cape, keeping it a little on the port bow; this course led us on reef a, lying midway between the cape and a low island to the north-east. when on the southern extremity cape flinders bore south degrees west miles, and clack island north degrees west. the latter is a remarkable cliffy lump, interesting from the circumstance of mr. cunningham having found native drawings in its caves. after clearing this danger, and passing the cape, we steered across princess charlotte bay, keeping wide to the southward of the reefs fronting it, in order that we might the more easily distinguish them; the sun at that time of the day being in the direction of the ship's head. the soundings gradually decreased with a soft muddy bottom, as we approached the eastern shores of the bay; which is so large and free from shoals, that a vessel not wishing to anchor might pass the night standing off and on with perfect safety. there is over the head of this bay a remarkable level-topped hill, called by captain cook, janes' tableland; rendered the more conspicuous from the low nature of the surrounding country. section of coral reef. in the evening we anchored a mile from the south-west side of a small detached reef, marked f in the chart, and distant miles from cape flinders; the solitary position of this reef, it being four miles from the inner edge of the great barrier, and nine from the nearest part of the main, gave us a good opportunity of making a section, with a view of illustrating the progressive structure of coral edifices, in the still waters within the barrier reef; we accordingly visited the spot in the evening, and being an interesting object, we give a drawing of the section. it proved a good specimen of the circular or lagoon reef. one young mangrove was growing on the elevated part marked c in the woodcut. the rim which rose on all sides was quite black, but white when broken; the highest part being about three feet above the water. the nature of the bottom within the reef was a white sand mixed with small pieces of dead coral: without, we found on either side soft green sandy mud with shells, the inclination of the bottom on which the reef rests, being only one degree, we may fairly infer it to be superimposed on a most extensive basis. claremont isles. july . to-day being sunday we did not proceed further than number of the claremont isles, a low rocky group encircled by coral reefs, to give the ship's company a run on shore during the afternoon; in order to remind them of its being a day of rest appointed by the lord. when we anchored, we found, contrary to the usual north-westerly tendency of the current, a tide setting south-south-west three quarters of a knot an hour, this lasted for a space of four hours, when it changed, and ran north-north-west from half to three quarters of a knot during the remainder of our stay. the wind was moderate from east-south-east. july . we weighed at a.m., and about the same hour in the evening again anchored under restoration island. the ship's track during the day followed the trend of the land, keeping about seven miles from it, except when opposite cape direction, where we were about half that distance from the shore. we found little to add to captain king's chart, with the exception of some reefs lying about ten miles east from the above-mentioned headland. cordillera. the coast here again attained a moderate height, and a round hill ten miles south of cape direction, reached the height of feet; its latitude being degrees south is nearly five degrees and a half north of where the cordillera is feet high, and / degrees of where it attains its greatest elevation, that of feet; a fact which will at once demonstrate the northerly tendency in the dip of the chain of hills. this degree is further illustrated by the height of pudding-pan hill in degrees minutes south being only feet. from the data given, despite the limited number of our facts, it will be seen that the dip becomes gradually more rapid as you advance to the northward. south-east from cape sidmouth the passage was much contracted by a covered rock in the very centre of the channel; this may be avoided by keeping close to the west side of island number . restoration is a lofty rocky lump, terminating in a peak feet high. a smaller islet of the same character lies about half a mile off its south-east side; there is also a remarkable peak on the shore, four miles to the southward. this part of the coast is thus rendered very conspicuous from seaward, and may be discerned outside the barrier reefs. restoration island is a point of some interest from having been first visited in by captain bligh, during his extraordinary and unparalleled voyage in the bounty launch, from the society islands. the dangers and perils undergone by this undaunted voyager, and our consciousness of the joy which the sight of land must have brought to his heart, gave much zest to our feelings with regard to the locality. there is always an interest in connection with scenes associated with a name such as that of bligh, but to us the interest was double; it was the sympathy of seamen with a brother sailor's misfortunes. restoration island. as captain king had not examined this interesting spot, we thought his chart would be greatly improved by our passing a day in the place; this was the more necessary as we found it to be a snug anchorage and convenient place for ships passing. the name of restoration island was given it by bligh, from the circumstance of his having made it upon the anniversary of the recall of charles ii. to the throne of england. july . the surveying operations necessary to perfect the chart of this neighbourhood, afforded ample employment during the day. the weather being dull, with passing rain, and squalls, the view i had anticipated enjoying from the summit of the island was quite destroyed. like cape upstart and lizard island it is a granite mass. dead coral was found on the western side, ten feet above high-water mark, a fact which in some measure supports what i have stated in connection with the raised beach on cape upstart. a low sandy tongue of land forms the south-west extreme, leaving a narrow passage between it and the main. this flat is covered with brushwood, gumtrees, and a few palms. the observations were made on this point, and the results were as follow: latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degrees / minutes east of port essington. july . the morning broke with the same dull, gloomy weather, the wind fresh at south-east and continued thus during the day, slightly diversified by a few passing rain squalls. soon after daylight we were again on our passage, the cloudy weather enabling us to make out the eastern reefs, which at high-water are covered, and consequently difficult to be seen in that direction in the morning. they front quoin and forbes islands, remarkable rocky lumps, more so, however, from the extreme lowness of those in their vicinity, than from their own magnitude. the latter was found to be feet high. a north-west by north course from restoration brought us to piper islands. the soundings were from to fathoms, with a greater proportion of sand in the quality of the bottom than had been before noticed. sir everard home's islands. passing between them and reefs h and i also between young island (an elevated reef, with one small mangrove growing on the highest part) and reef m, we hauled up north-east by north round the north end of the latter, to weather sir everard home's islands, a low group connected by shoal water and extending about four miles from cape grenville. we passed midway between them and haggerston's islands, a square lump feet high. cockburn islands. sir charles hardy's and the cockburn isles are also conspicuous objects in this neighbourhood, particularly the former, which is visible from outside the barrier, and thus forms a leading mark for ships making their way through these reefs. in the evening the anchor was dropped about a mile from the north side of the bird isles in ten fathoms, a sudden degree from fifteen, just before standing in west-south-west to the anchorage. five miles south-east by east from these isles, we passed close to the position of a patch of shoal water, according to the chart: its presence, however, was not detected, the depth at the time being nineteen fathoms. the only additions made to the chart during the day were a few soundings, besides increasing the number and altering the position of cockburn islands, with the reefs fronting them. the number of these isles is thus increased from two to four; they are square rocky lumps, the largest being three hundred feet high. the current during the day set steadily north-west almost a mile an hour. on anchoring we found it setting west-north-west at the same rate. at midnight it changed its direction to east-south-east from a quarter to half a knot an hour. the time of high-water being about a.m., it is evident the flood-stream came here from south or south-east. the islands passed during the day, were of a small lagoon character and the reefs oval-shaped, with an elevated patch of dead coral at their north extreme, which had the appearance, at a distance, of sand. the mainland had much changed in outline, having subsided into a wearisome series of undulating hills, varying from five to seven hundred feet in height. the coast was, therefore, utterly void of any feature of interest, after passing fair cape. july . at daylight we were again underway and steered north by east for the purpose of ascertaining if there were any reefs to the eastward of u and v. when number of a group next south of cairncross bore north degrees west four and a half miles the course was changed to west-north-west to pass between the reef fronting its south side and reef w where we had a depth of fathoms; both of these we found it necessary to enlarge on the chart. at the time of altering the course, the ship was west-north-west two miles from the position of an island according to chart; but as we did not see it, and as captain king has not laid it down upon his own authority, we may safely conclude that it either does not exist, or that it is much out of position. boydan island. rounding the reef off its south extremity, we anchored in fathoms, one mile south degrees west from the centre of the island before mentioned--number of the group south of cairncross--shortly before noon. this captain king supposes to be boydan, that on which the crew of the charles eaton were massacred. it was therefore determined that the remainder of the day should be spent in examining the place, with a view to ascertain the correctness of this supposition. the melancholy interest of the search was to me greatly enhanced, from having seen at sydney young d'oyly, one of the survivors of this ill-fated party, and son of an indian officer returning from furlough. being an infant, his helplessness excited the sympathies of an indian woman, who snatched him from the arms of his murdered mother, and sheltered him within her own. nor did her kindness stop here, the never-failing maternal solicitude of the sex, inducing her to protect and console the child. examination of boydan island. we had just read captain p.p. king's interesting pamphlet in relation to this sad event, detailing with minuteness all the circumstances of the tragedy, and with our minds so recently imbued with the horrors it inspired, naturally advanced to the search with zeal and activity; anxious, if possible, to place the locality of its occurrence beyond a doubt. the isle was easily traversed, being of small extent, not more, indeed, than a mile in circumference. we crossed it accordingly in every direction, and discovered the remains of native fires, near which great quantities of turtle bones, and some coconut shells were scattered about. it was remarkable that wherever boughs were cut, an axe or some other sharp instrument had been used. a topmast with the lower cap attached to it, was found on the south-east side of the island, which we afterwards discovered to be a portion of the brig william, wrecked on the outer barrier three months before. captain king drew his conclusions relative to this island from the circumstance of young ireland's stating, that on their way to it in the canoe, after leaving the raft, they first passed three islands on the right northward, and one on the left southward. correct chart. from the bearings, however, and from our run on the following morning we found it necessary to correct the chart, thus decreasing the number of islands. we found that marked , to have no existence, and , far too much to the westward, while and were placed to the eastward of their true position. these errors occasionally occur where they are numerous, much alike, and are passed quickly. the change in the number and position of the islands is in some measure hostile to the views of captain king, and i am further inclined, from these corrections, to draw the conclusion that number of the group is boydan island, a name given by the murray islanders, to the spot rendered notorious by the cold-blooded massacre we have already alluded to, and which will be described more in detail in captain stanley's highly interesting narrative, further on in the present work. on examining the reef fronting the island, which is a more perfect specimen of a lagoon than any we had yet seen, we found that the outer edge consisted of a wall higher than any of the parts within, rising at low-water, to an elevation of ten feet, while inside, pools or holes existed, three or four feet deep, containing live coral, sponges, sea-eggs, and trepang. scattered about on different parts of the reef were many chama gigas, not, however, so large as those i had formerly seen at keeling or cocos islands, in the indian ocean, weighing pounds. singular to say, at p.m., i observed the latitude by a meridian altitude of venus, although a bright sunny day. the result agreed with captain king's chart, placing the centre of the island in latitude degrees minutes south. tidal observations. we experienced more tide here than at any anchorage we had yet occupied during the passage. from to p.m., it set half an knot an hour to the southward, then changed to north-west by north, increasing its rate to one knot by o'clock, and decreasing it to a quarter of a knot by a.m., when it again set to the south-south-west. the stream thus appears to set nine hours north-west by north and three south-south-west. the short duration of the latter, which is the ebb, is caused by the northerly direction of the prevailing current. this also was the only spot where our fishermen had any success; in a few hours several dozen of a species of small red bream being caught. three or four ships passing together would find a secure berth about two miles north-north-east of where the beagle anchored, where the depth is moderate, with good holding ground. it has great advantage in this particular over cairncross, where but one vessel could lie snug, and still greater over turtle island, more exposed even than the former with a strong tide, and where vessels ride very uneasily. moreover the supposed boydan, or number isle, can be left a full hour before daylight, there being nothing in the way to impede a ship's progress for some miles. those who are not desirous of passing the reefs off wednesday and hammond islands, late in the day, with the sun in an unfavourable position, can find a convenient stopping place in blackwood bay under the largest york isle, or under the cape of that name. cairncross island. july . we left at an early hour, steering north-north-west / west for cairncross island, which we passed at a distance of half a mile from the eastern side in fathoms. its height is seventy-five feet to the tops of the trees, which, according to mr. bynoe, who subsequently visited it in the month of september, are dwarf gums. the tea-tree of the colonists is also found here, in addition to some small bushes. this island is the resort of a large bright cream-coloured pigeon (carpophaga leucomela) the ends of the wings being tipped with black, or very dark blue. mr. bynoe found the island quite alive with them; flocks of about twenty or thirty flying continually to and from the main. they not only resort but breed there, as he found several old nests. as this bird was not met with in the beagle on the western coast, we may fairly conclude it only inhabits the eastern and northern; the furthest south it was seen by the officers of h.m.s. britomart was latitude degrees. in addition to these, mr. bynoe saw the holes of some small burrowing animals, which are doubtless rats. on a sandy spit, close to the bushes or scrub, he saw a native encampment of a semicircular form, enclosing an area of about ten yards. the occupants had but recently left it, as a fire was found burning, and the impression of their feet still fresh in the sand. it appears that at this season of the year, being the favourable monsoon for ships passing through the barrier reefs on their voyage to india, the islands to the southward are much frequented by the natives of murray and others of the northern isles, waiting, like wreckers of old, the untoward loss of some ill-fated ship, when their canoes appear as if by magic, hastening to the doomed vessel; just as in the pampas of south america, no sooner has the sportsman brought down a deer than the air is filled with myriads of vultures winging their way towards the carcass, though a few minutes before not a feather was stirring. the long-sightedness of these indians resembles that of the carrion bird itself,* while their rapacity and recklessness of blood is fully equal to that of the lower animal. (*footnote. as some of our readers may imagine that vultures and birds of prey are attracted to the carcasses of animals by smell, i may state that an experiment was tried with a condor in south america; being hoodwinked, he passed unnoticed a large piece of beef, but as soon as the bandage was removed, he rushed eagerly towards and devoured it.) pudding-pan hill. we left our readers at cairncross island, and now return to our narrative by describing the neighbouring coast. the most remarkable feature on this part of the mainland, generally speaking a dull monotonous level, is a hill bearing over the extremity of the reef fronting the south side of cairncross, south degrees west, to which captain bligh has given the quaint name of pudding-pan hill. it received this appellation from a resemblance to an inverted pudding dish, commonly used by sailors, and is feet high. the coast about ten miles to the northward projects a mile and a half further eastward than is marked in the chart. this error did not however appear to be so great south of escape river, where the character of the coast is low and cliffy, separated by small sandy bays; instead of a continued line of cliffs as at present represented. escape river. at noon we were in the parallel of the south point of escape river, in latitude degrees minutes south, observations and bearings both agreeing. this river receives its name in record of one of those narrow escapes to which surveying vessels are subject, captain king having been nearly wrecked in the mermaid. attempting to enter the river he found it not to be navigable, a reef extending across its mouth, on which his vessel struck very heavily. correct position of reefs. avoiding captain king's track, we passed to the eastward of reef x, being thus afforded a better opportunity of determining its position than he had. this we did by transit bearings with different points, which placed it nearly two miles south by east of the spot assigned it on the charts.* (*footnote. on mentioning this afterwards to captain p.p. king, he told me his survey of that part of the coast had never given him satisfaction; for there the monsoon blows fresh, and his small vessel was hurried past without his being able to land in search of better data for the chart. the reader must not, from these corrections (few, when we consider the extent of the survey) be led to imagine that our object is to pick out errors in the surveys of others; but from being in a larger and better appointed vessel, our opportunities of examination were necessarily greater than those afforded to captain king, who was always most anxious to detect errors in his own charts. without dwelling on the fact that the result of our examination afforded us the satisfaction of restoring parts of the chart, before erroneously corrected, to his original construction, we would venture to hope that, while desirous as much as possible to perfect our knowledge of the coast, we were in no manner actuated by that spirit of fault-finding, so pithily described by liebeg, when he says that it is "startling to reflect that all the time and energy of a multitude of persons of genius, talent, and knowledge is expended in endeavours to demonstrate each others' errors.") this error we found to extend also to reefs y and z. x is one of the oval-shaped reefs, with the singular white patch of dead coral on its northern extremity which i have before spoken of. z is similarly marked, and dries at last quarter ebb, while the south-east part of y is never covered, a few mangroves growing on it. when abreast of x, we saw from deck the curious flat-topped hill on the largest york island, mount adolphus, and when over the centre of reef z, it bore north / degrees west. we now steered to the westward between reefs, x and y, and afterwards north-north-west for mount adolphus. between the brothers and albany islands the depth was fathoms; these are both black rocky lumps, particularly the latter, the outer being a mere pointed rock. altogether they assume a sterile and dreary appearance, in excellent keeping with the inhospitable character of the adjoining coast. several shoals and much shoal water were noticed in newcastle bay. blackwood bay. at p.m., we anchored in blackwood bay, in a depth of fathoms. point dicky bearing south half a mile, and mount adolphus north-east. in the evening a plan was made of this very convenient stopping place for ships, and all the angles taken to the north-west extremity of the group, place them a mile and a half to the eastward of their position in the chart. observations were also obtained near point dicky, which we found to be in latitude degrees / minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east of port essington. the north-west extremity of the singular flat-topped hill being minute seconds north, and seconds east of this spot. the first question interesting to ships is the supply of wood and water; the latter we had no time to look for, but of the former there was an abundance, though from the shore being fronted by extensive coral flats, it is difficult to be attained. the appearance of the island is similar to that of the albany cluster, it having the same rocky, bleak, and almost wild look; from which i conclude they are of the same formation, which in general terms we may call porphyritic. parts of the island appeared to be intersected by a growth of mangroves. there appeared great irregularity in the tides at this anchorage, as if there were a meeting of various streams. at p.m. it was setting south-west about an hour, and continued to run in that direction until hours minutes, gradually decreasing its rate. it then took a north and by east direction with the same velocity, until half an hour after midnight, when it again changed back to south-south-west, a course it pursued during the remainder of our stay. by the rise of the water on the shore it would appear that the flood came from the westward. torres strait. on reaching york island we considered ourselves within the strait, which took its name from the spanish navigator torres, who sailed in , second in command under pedro fernandes de quiros, from callao in peru, with the object of discovering the tierra austral, then supposed to be a continent occupying a considerable portion of the southern hemisphere, lying westward of america. torres passed through this strait in , but despite the great importance of the discovery, its existence remained unknown until , from the jealousy of the spanish monarchy, which kept the reports of its navigators a secret from the world. at the time in question, however, manila fell into our hands, and in the archives of that colony, a duplicate copy of torres's letter to the king of spain was found by the hydrographer, mr. dalrymple. the passage was now made known, and in tardy justice to the discoverer it received the appellation of torres strait; a tribute to the reputation of man, the greatest perhaps which could be bestowed, since no more sure road to immortality can be pointed out, than giving a name to the great and imperishable works of the creator's hand. it was not however until , that the world received full confirmation of this great acquisition to our geographical knowledge; the immortal cook then passing through and settling the question of its existence. this being the high road between our growing eastern and australian possessions, the reader will at once see the importance which must ever attach to the discovery, and will the more readily comprehend our enlarging in some degree upon the circumstance. july . there had been noticed last evening a slight rippling outside the bay, and on leaving this morning we found it to be a ridge about two cables width, the least water on it being three fathoms. from the shoalest part, mount adolphus bore north degrees east, and point dicky south degrees east. it appeared by the ripples continuing towards the north-west of york island, that this rocky ledge extended in that direction. vessels entering blackwood bay may always avoid this shoal, by keeping close to point dicky, or by steering for mount adolphus, when it bears north-east / north. being desirous to know if there were a practicable channel through endeavour strait, by which the inconvenience before alluded to, of passing the reef fronting hammond's island late in the afternoon, might be avoided, we proceeded in that direction, passing along the north-eastern extreme of the continent, and between the possession islands we entered endeavour strait. this termination of the shores of australia, being level and of moderate elevation, presents nothing remarkable, save a peak over cape york and fronting the possession isles. cook's island. it has an inhospitable appearance, being apparently similar in formation with york isles, and subsides rapidly to the south-west forming the south side of endeavour strait, where it scarcely reaches an elevation of fifty feet: contrasting forcibly with the high rocky land of the opposite side of the strait, formed by the largest of the prince of wales islands; upon which former navigators not having bestowed a name, we conferred that of the immortal navigator. not but that the strait known by the name of his ship, is quite sufficient to recall the mind of posterity to his perils and dangers in these seas; but that we his humble followers in the great cause of discovery might add our mite to the wreath of glory which must ever encircle the name of captain cook. on the north-east extremity of this island is a remarkable peak, in the shape of a horn, called by him horn hill. captain king having only passed between the eastern of the possession isles, little was known of the western shores. a few angles and bearings were accordingly taken, as we passed between them to assist in remedying this deficiency. endeavour strait. there was no impediment to our passage through the strait, until we got abreast of wallis isles, cape cornwall bearing east by north / north; when the water shoaled to four fathoms and a half. finding by hauling up on either tack, that we were on a ridge extending from the cape, we ran to the westward, until we could cross it, which we did in three and a half fathoms, north wallis island bearing south-west five miles. booby island. i saw at the time from the masthead, a blue streak of water to the southward, still affording hopes of there being a deep outlet to endeavour strait; but as the day was far advanced, with a fresh breeze from east-south-east, it was not deemed prudent to get the ship entangled in shoal water; therefore, after crossing the ridge extending off cape cornwall we steered north-west / west for booby island, in regular soundings of six and seven fathoms, and late in the afternoon anchored nearly a mile from its western side, a flagstaff bearing south degrees east. this we found on landing had been erected in by captain hobson,* of h.m.s. rattlesnake, who at the same time placed in a large box, made for the purpose, a book with printed forms, which every ship passing filled up, with the addition of such remarks as were thought of consequence. over this box in large letters were painted the words post office, a name by which booby island must be quite familiar to all who have navigated these seas; ships being here in the habit of leaving letters for transmission by any vessel proceeding in the required directions. i noticed a similar practice prevailing among the whalers at the galapagos islands in the pacific. we are indebted for the book to the public spiritedness of an indian army officer. the beneficial results of the plan were experienced by ourselves, as here we first heard of the port essington expedition, having passed eight months previously; also of the schooner essington, that left sydney in advance of the expedition for that place, having succeeded in determining the fact of the non-existence of the other young d'oyly, one of the passengers of the ill-fated charles eaton. this result of the enterprising merchant-man's researches, fully bears out the fact mentioned by captain king, on the authority of the darnley islanders, that he shared the fate of his parents, being devoured by their savage captors. all the ships which have recorded their passage in the book, appeared to have entered the barrier between the latitude of degrees minutes and degrees minutes; generally about degrees minutes reaching sir charles hardy's island the same day. they all spoke of a strong northerly current outside the reef, in some instances of nearly three knots. the time occupied in making the passage from sydney by the outer route, varied from fourteen to twenty days, it being certainly shorter than the inner, though attended with much greater risks. one objection made against the latter is the necessity of anchoring every evening, somewhat laborious work to the crews of merchant ships; this might be obviated in some measure by using a light anchor, which could be done with perfect safety in the still waters within the reefs. we found two barques at anchor, which had arrived on the preceding day. in accordance with a practice very generally observed, they were giving themselves a short period of repose and relaxation after the anxieties and danger of the outer passage; which, short as it is, has doubtless sprinkled grey hairs over many a seaman's head. (*footnote. afterwards governor of new zealand.) its description. although booby island is a mere rock, from the various associations connected with it, being during one half of the year the constant resort of europeans, it becomes at once a place of interest, and imperatively demands some notice at our hands. it is a quarter of a mile in diameter, flat, and about thirty feet high, the summit being bare porphyry rock. a valley intersects the north-west side of the island, in which a few creepers, some brushwood, and two or three trees of tolerable size, with a peculiar broad green leaf, bearing a great resemblance to that of the wild almond of the west indies, were seen, giving shelter to some pigeons and quails, in which latter the island abounds, even more than in the bird which gives its name to the locality. still, however, from the white colour of the top of the island, produced by the boobies, it is clearly one of their temporary haunts; and indeed, subsequently, in the month of september, their season of incubation, mr. bynoe saw them there in great abundance. the contrary was the case with the quail, which, by that time, had completely deserted the island. turtle were once found on this isle, but they are now never taken. a few of the stones mentioned by captain king are still to be seen on the summit. remarks on the coral reefs of australia. this being a point at which ships correct or test the going of their chronometers, it was necessary to obtain observations for longitude. the spot chosen for the purpose was the landing-place near the south-west corner of the islet, and which we found to be degrees minutes east of port essington. our opportunities of examination with regard to the inner edge of the great barrier, and its contiguous islands and reefs, terminating at booby island; it may not be deemed irrelevant to hazard a few remarks in recapitulation. in the first place there was a very perceptible increase in the elevation of the reefs and of those islands resting on similar constructions, as we advanced to the northward. cairncross island, in latitude / degrees south, composed of heaped up consolidated fragments, attains an elevation of feet; but its trees rise to a height of feet, whilst to the southward, in latitude / degrees south the islands were partially flooded by a tide, rising only about six feet. the reefs are all either circular or oval-shaped, with a rim rising round them. the description of that fronting the isle we visited for boydan will illustrate their general character. their northern ends are the highest, and are almost invariably marked by a heap of dead coral and shells, which as we have mentioned, in one or two instances, from its white appearance has often been taken for sand. the remarkable breaks in this singularly great extent of coral reefs, known as the barrier of australia, being in direction varying from west to west-north-west generally speaking north-west, leads me to believe that the upheaval by which the base of this huge coral building was formed, partakes of the general north-westerly direction, in which a large portion of the eastern world apparently emerged from the water. a glance at the map of that portion of the globe, will strengthen this hypothesis, placing as it does this singular fact at once before the reader's mind. starting with the stupendous heights of the himalaya mountains, and proceeding thence to several groups of the polynesian islands, new caledonia, and others, this remarkable similarity in the trend of these portions of the earth is plainly distinguishable. it would appear, therefore, from the general north-westerly tendency of these upheavals, that the cavernous hollows beneath the crust of the earth, within whose bosom originated these remarkable convulsions, have a strong inclination in one direction, a circumstance in connection with the earth's history of great and curious interest. with this general statement of facts, which we note for the benefit of scientific men, and in illustration of the singular changes which are taking place on the surface of the globe, we return to our narrative, from which we have wandered at some considerable length. as the duration of our cruise on the north-west and most interesting portions of the coast, depended in a great measure on the supply of provisions to be obtained at port essington, we were naturally anxious to satisfy ourselves upon the point, and accordingly spent but a few hours at booby island, taking our departure at p.m. on the day of our arrival. proceed to port essington. proceeding towards port essington, we experienced a constant current setting between north-west and west, from half to three quarters of a knot an hour, except when crossing the mouth of the gulf of carpentaria, when from the indraught its direction was changed to west-south-west. the winds were as captain king has described them, veering from south-south-east in the morning, to east in the evening, and blowing fresh towards the middle of the day. beyond this nothing occurred worthy of remark, until the morning of the th, when soon after daylight we found ourselves steering rather within a large patch of discoloured water, extending off cape croker, the north-east extreme of the coburg peninsula, a low point with a slight hummock on it; on the north side of this peninsula is situated port essington, thirty miles to the westward of the cape. cape croker reef. the light-coloured water off the latter, we knew indicated the reef discovered by the brig tigris, belonging to the indian navy, which in company with the new south wales colonial schooner, isabella, was returning from rescuing the survivors of the charles eaton, from the natives of murray island. when half a mile from the north-east side, in fathoms rocky bottom, cape croker, bearing south degrees east six miles; we steered out, keeping at the same distance round this patch of light water in twenty and twenty-one fathoms, seven or eight miles from the cape, which bore when over what appeared the shoalest part, south degrees east. this conclusion i afterwards found, on meeting captain stanley, to be correct, as that bearing led over the part of the reef he struck on in h.m.s. britomart. but being on the inner part he was distant only three miles from cape croker, whilst the outer edge of the reef i believe to be seven miles from it on the same bearing. in hauling up to the southward, round the north-west extreme of the discoloured water, the soundings were as follows, , , and fathoms, with rocky bottom. the cape bore when in the least depth south degrees east nine miles. we were fortunate in having such good means of determining the longitude of cape croker, by observation of a twilight star when in the meridian, and others with the sun soon afterwards. these both agreeing, place the cape / miles east of port essington, instead of , as it is laid down in the chart. this discovery is of vital importance to ships proceeding to port essington; we were therefore glad of so good an opportunity for rectifying the error. port essington. expectation was on tip-toe as we were fast approaching port essington, feeling naturally anxious to see what progress had been made at the new settlement, and to learn the fate of the expedition. there was, however, nothing striking in the first appearance of the land, a low woody shore; the most remarkable object being a sandy islet, with a tree in its centre, about a mile east of point smith, the eastern point of port essington: vashon head forming the western. as we drew near, a boat came alongside belonging to h.m.s. britomart. from mr. pascoe we heard that the alligator had just sailed for sydney, leaving the former to await her return at port essington. the people forming the settlement had been very healthy, bearing out dr. wilson's account of raffles bay; and had found the natives exceedingly well disposed. for this advantage we are indebted to the excellent judgment displayed by the unfortunate* captain barker, late commandant of raffles bay, he having during his stay in that place, treated them with kindness, to which they were fairly entitled from men so far their superiors in knowledge and power, and who were moreover intruders upon their soil. had this noble conduct of captain barker been more universally accepted as an example, the results would, we doubt not, have been equally satisfactory elsewhere. (*footnote. this expression may to some of our readers require explanation, and we therefore quote a brief extract from dr. wilson's voyage round the world, page . "in obedience to orders from the colonial government, he was examining the coast in the vicinity of encounter bay, principally with the view of ascertaining whether any available communication existed between the river murray (lately discovered by captain sturt) and the sea. while in the execution of this duty, he was barbarously murdered by the natives, and his body thrown into the sea." in sturt's two expeditions volume page , a detailed narrative of this tragedy is given.) wreck of the orontes. we also heard with much regret,* of the wreck of the orontes, which accompanied the expedition from sydney. she left the settlement, with the intention of proceeding to some port in the east indies; and when just clearing the harbour struck on a reef, knocking a hole in her bows. she filled so rapidly that they had barely time to reach the shore under vashon head, ere she sank. the reef, which now bears her name, is according to mr. tyers' plan, received from mr. pascoe, a mile in extent east and west, and half a mile north and south; while the nearest part of it is distant from vashon head and point smith very nearly five miles. from its extremes the following are the bearings; from the western, vashon head south degrees west, point smith south degrees east: and from the eastern the same points bear south degrees west and south degrees east. (*footnote. the loss of a ship is always looked upon as a most untoward event, on the occasion of a new settlement being formed, and is ever forcibly imprinted upon the memory of all ship-masters. this was felt to a most serious extent at swan river; and many masters of vessels in speaking of port essington, have at once expressed their fear of proceeding thither, deterred by the loss of the orontes.) orontes reef. the least depth on the orontes reef is about a fathom, but the generally discoloured state of the water, renders it impossible to determine its exact position, and thus greatly increases the injury done by its presence to the mouth of the harbour. the same difficulty prevents the end of the reef fronting point smith from being made out. after rounding the latter, we hauled to the wind, south-west by south up port essington. chapter . . port essington. bearings from shoals in the harbour. appearance of the settlement. meet captain stanley. church. point record. prospects of the settlement. buffaloes escape. fence across neck of peninsula. lieutenant p.b. stewart explores the country. natives. uses of sand. tumuli-building birds. beautiful opossum. wild bees. escape from an alligator. result of astronomical observations. geological formation. raffles bay. leave port essington. popham bay. detect error in position of port essington. melville island. discover a reef in clarence strait. cape hotham. native huts and clothing. geological formation. discover the adelaide river. interview with natives. attempt to come on board. messrs. fitzmaurice and keys nearly speared. exploration of the adelaide. its capabilities. wood-ducks. vampires. another party ascends the adelaide. meet natives. canoes. alligator. visit melville island. green ants. thoughts of taking ship up adelaide abandoned. tides in dundas strait. return to port essington. theatricals. h.m.s. pelorus arrives with provisions. further remarks on the colony. port essington. the expanse of water presented to our view in standing up port essington, quite delighted us. it is in truth a magnificent harbour, and well worthy of having on its shores the capital of northern australia, destined, doubtless, from its proximity to india, and our other fast-increasing eastern possessions, to become not only a great commercial resort, but a valuable naval post in time of war. many circumstances combine to render it a desirable station. its great size, having an extent sufficient to hold the largest fleet, is in itself of vast importance, while, as a shelter for distressed vessels, or the surviving crews of wrecks, it cannot be too highly rated: the more so that excellent wood for repairing ships grows in the neighbourhood, especially teak and oak, specimens of which with others, captain laws forwarded, in , to one of the dockyards in england. as we advanced the shores of the harbour contracted, and at the distance of thirteen miles from the entrance are only one mile apart; scarcely half, however, of this space is navigable, from a bank extending off the west side, which is a rocky head called spear point, from the circumstance of captain king having been there nearly speared by the natives. the bearings for clearing the extremes of this reef are as follows. for the south-eastern, adam head south degrees west, for the eastern, middle head south degrees west, and for the north-eastern, oyster head north degrees west. this great decrease in the breadth of the passage, necessarily gives the tide at this spot great rapidity, by which a channel, thirteen fathoms deep, has been formed close to the eastern shore, a low sandy tongue of land called point record. this name was given to it on the occasion of port essington and the contiguous country, being taken possession of by sir gordon bremer when on his way to settle melville island, in . a bottle containing an account of their proceedings was buried, and hence the name. the same cause which influences the tides, has rendered the sides of the narrow channel very steep, and a vessel standing towards the bank fronting spear point, should, accordingly, tack when the water shoals to nine fathoms, as the soundings in approaching that part fronting port record are , , , and fathoms. beyond these points, the harbour again widens and forms a large basin nearly five miles in extent; but from a broad point projecting two miles from the south-east side, the inner harbour is proportionably decreased in size. from the extreme of this cliffy point, called by captain king, from its position, middle head, a narrow bank extends some distance in the direction of point record, forming the only danger in this part of the harbour. bearings for the harbour. from its outer edge, point record bears north, and the north-east part of middle head, south degrees east. these and other bearings recently given, will perhaps be considered of little value by the general reader, but as they were required to take the beagle into port essington, they will be found useful to others for the same purpose. appearance of the settlement. the narrow entrance to the inner harbour, may by some be considered a drawback, but on the other hand, it must be borne in mind, that what is an impediment to navigation, is also a safeguard against attack. moreover, from this want of breadth in the harbour, a fort on point record, which is commanded by no height, would perfectly protect it. it was from this confined portion that our anxious desire to catch a glimpse of the new settlement was at length gratified; and we were somewhat surprised, considering the recent date of its formation, to discover the presence of so many buildings as were scattered over the top of a cliffy point on the south-west part of the harbour, called adam head, at the base of which was a long jetty. clearing the bank off spear point, we ran up and anchored near h.m.s. britomart, lying off the settlement, early in the afternoon. the sight of another vessel is ever cheering to the hearts of those who have been, as it were, for a time, cut off from the world;* nor was our arrival, bringing, as we did, news and letters, any less welcome; though after a long interval the receipt of a letter, perhaps bearing an ill omen in the very colour of its wax, is very far from generating unmixed emotions of pleasure. so much may occur in the brief space of a few months, that a seal must ever be broken with feelings of great anxiety. (*footnote. i well remember the sensations i experienced on first seeing a sail after an interval of nine months, and that wholly spent on the storm-beaten shores of south-western tierra del fuego. j.l.s.) port essington. we too had our share of news to be made acquainted with. captain stanley had been on a most interesting cruise to the arru islands, the deeply interesting narrative of which expedition the reader will peruse, we are sure, with unqualified satisfaction, in a later section of the present work. this meeting gave me real pleasure, though with regret i saw that he had been much harassed. lieutenant p.b. stewart,* of the alligator, had also made a journey over the peninsula, to which i shall presently further allude. (*footnote. since promoted for services in china; he also served in the beagle during her last expedition.) we were of course extremely anxious to visit the settlement. landing at the jetty, which we found a very creditable piece of workmanship erected under the direction of lieutenant p.b. stewart, we ascended the cliff, and on gaining the summit, found ourselves on a small piece of tableland partially cleared. seen through the trees, the dwellings of the settlers had an air of neatness, pleasing to the eye. among the other buildings in progress was the church, which, planted as it was on the northern shores of the australian continent, was expected to form a nucleus from which offshoots might by degrees draw within its influence the islands in the arafura sea, and thus widely spread the pure blessings of christianity. it is highly characteristic of our countrymen, that where with other nations, the tavern, the theatre, the dancing-house, are among the earliest buildings in a new settlement, with us everywhere the church is first thought of. in few corners of the world, where english influence has extended itself, is this otherwise than true, and it is a highly enviable distinction. it seems, indeed, that wherever the flag of britain floats, there is made known the word of god in its purity; and as an empire has been vouchsafed us on which the sun never sets, the extent of our influence for good in this respect is incalculable. we may venture to express our sincere hope, that our country will ever continue to enjoy this noble supremacy. at the south-east extremity of the settlement, raised on piles, was the government-house, fronted on the harbour side by a small battery. behind the table-plain, the land, producing very coarse grass, falls away to the south-west, and some clear patches which from lying in a low situation, are flooded during the rains, form tolerable soil. generally speaking, however, there is a great deficiency of land fit for cultivation. on some of the best spots lying to the southward and westward, gardens have been commenced with some success. before proceeding further with our journal of events at port essington, it may be proper to introduce some brief account of the state and prospects of the settlement at that place. the reader will remember an allusion in a previous chapter to the departure from sydney of the expedition despatched for the purpose of forming it, as well as some remarks on the policy of giving it a purely military character. that expedition reached its destination on october , , having taken formal possession on the way, of cape york and the adjacent territory. sir gordon bremer's first care was to select a site for the proposed township; and after due deliberation, a spot was fixed on which was thought to combine all desirable advantages: as good soil, the neighbourhood of fresh water, and easy approach from the ships in port. in the selection of the spot to be occupied by a settlement, the capabilities of the soil must ever be the first consideration; still, however, there will always exist an objection on the ground of its great distance of miles from the mouth of the harbour. a similar disadvantage in the falkland islands, proved of great detriment to the settlement in berkeley sound. the site of victoria, for such was the name bestowed, in honour of her majesty, on the new settlement, is raised in the loftiest part about fifty feet above high-water level. upon it the plans of a number of cottages and gardens were rapidly marked out; and it was not long before this hitherto desolate spot presented the appearance of a large straggling village. a pier was speedily run out into the sea; and a good road cut to it. the church, also, which i have before mentioned, was soon to be distinguished, rising above the government cottage and officers' quarters; while in order to ensure an ample supply of water, deep wells were sunk on the tableland within the settlement, which fully answered expectation, the water proving good and abundant. not long after the arrival of the expedition, m. dumont d'urville, with the astrolabe and zelie, arrived in raffles bay, and it was popularly believed that they had entertained some intentions of forestalling our settlement. at any rate, the question whether foreign powers were entitled to take possession of points on the coast of australia was much debated at the time. however this may be, and with whatever feelings the respective governments of france and england may have regarded each other at the time, the officers of the two nations seemed to vie in courtesy. a boat was despatched from victoria to invite them to enter the harbour, and the greatest harmony prevailed during their stay. on the th of march, six malay proas came in and were soon followed by others, their owners soliciting permission to erect their establishments for curing trepang under the protection of the british flag. this being granted, they made choice of a spot on the beach, and a little subsidiary settlement soon sprung up. being now for the first time secure from the attacks of the natives, whose hostility had until then forced every other man of them to keep under arms whilst the rest worked, they expected to pursue their occupation with far greater advantage to themselves. originally hopes were entertained that a very large population of malays, and even chinese would speedily collect at port essington: but from some defect in the colonial regulations their immigration was for a time checked. at length, however, a remedy has been applied, and facility given for the introduction of settlers from the indian archipelago and the celestial empire. the great difficulty that this small settlement has had to contend with from the beginning, is the climate; which, though not absolutely pernicious in itself, is unsuited to european constitutions. the settlers have been attacked at various times by fever, and have experienced a large comparative mortality; but hopes are entertained that by proper regulations, especially if temperate habits could be introduced, this may be avoided. the capabilities of the soil, though it has by some been pronounced totally unfit for agricultural purposes, are still supposed by others to be great, and it is believed that if colonists, capable of working in the climate, could be induced to repair to port essington, rice, cotton, indigo, etc. might be raised, of the finest quality, and in great abundance. the livestock at the settlements, consisted, by the last accounts, of an english cow and a bull, two indian heifers and two cows, above fifty goats, six working oxen, thirty buffaloes, six pigs, a few fowls, five ponies, and thirty half-greyhounds for catching kangaroos. some of these were private, others public property. several cattle have been lost, on hearing which, a plan that had before suggested itself, recurred vividly to my mind. i once thought the herds of buffalo and other animals might be prevented from straying, by a fence run across the peninsula, between mount norris bay, and the north-east corner of van diemen's gulf. the width is only three miles, and the rude micmac indians of newfoundland, have carried fences for a similar purpose many times that extent. the necessity of so doing became more apparent each time i visited the place, especially when i heard of herds of buffaloes being seen upon the main. another advantage which occurred to me in connection with this subject, was, that it would have rendered an out-station necessary, and have thus led to a further communication with the natives, which would ultimately tend to increase our knowledge of them and the interior; this after our subsequent discovery of adelaide river became of still greater moment. the existence of the out-station would also form a change for the settlers, and journeys thither would remove the dreary inactivity of a new settlement at certain periods. the absence of this fence may account for captain grey's party having seen signs of buffalo on the mainland; he discovered the tracks of a cloven-footed animal, which one of his men who had been much in south africa, at once recognised as the spur of a buffalo. but one advantage can arise from the want of this precaution. some of the finest lands in the neighbourhood of sydney, now called cow pastures, were discovered, by finding them to be the constant haunt of wild cattle; a similar accident might prove equally advantageous in the neighbourhood of port essington. to return, however, to the period of the establishment of the colony: it was of course deemed desirable to take an early opportunity of exploring cobourg peninsula, on which victoria is situated; and accordingly on may st, lieutenant p.b. stewart, with several well-armed companions, started on an exploring expedition. they carried water and a week's provisions on two ponies, but did not encumber themselves with a tent; sheltering themselves at night from the dew in little huts made of branches. on the second day they crossed several running streams, with extensive grassy patches, and came to a halt during the sultry part of the day on the banks of a river or chain of pools. here grew many fine cedar-trees, of a light colour and close-grained, while thick woods of the mangrove appeared on all sides: these much impeded their advance, and prevented them from making any great progress. however, they crossed to the eastern side of the peninsula, where they found a rich and beautiful country, in some parts reminding them of the rich south american forest, rather than the dreary sameness of an australian wood. numerous tracks of the buffalo seemed to testify to the excellence of the pasture. several evidences, also, of the presence of natives were from time to time discovered, and at length a small party met them and exhibited a very friendly spirit. they acted as guides to the explorers, showing them where water could be found, giving every information in their power, and supplying them with crabs; but of course they did not fail to ask for bread, of which as much as could be spared was given them. on may th, they conducted lieutenant stewart's party back to middle head, and he expresses great surprise at the precision with which they found their way in the bush without having any apparent means to guide them. i have before alluded to this instinctive power of the aborigines of australia. lieutenant stewart gives as the general result of his observations, extending over about seventy or eighty miles, that there is abundance of fresh water on the peninsula; that the south side is by far the finest and best watered country; that the trees are there free from the white ant; and that in a large tract of country, the cabbage-palm abounds. he also observes, that as much of the south coast as he saw, has a coral reef extending about a mile from the beach; and that the rise and fall of the tide is much greater than at port essington. the natives were found by the settlers, as we have already stated, very friendly, and their assistance proved valuable: they brought in the head of the palm-cabbage, which makes an excellent vegetable, though to procure it, the tree is cut down and destroyed: they also supplied the party with wild honey. one of the raffles bay tribe instantly made himself known on the arrival of the expedition in the bay; he was called by the name of alligator, on account of his huge teeth, though his proper appellation was marambari. from lieutenant vallach* of h.m.s. britomart, i received much valuable information respecting the natives, whom i find to be divided in three distinct classes, which do not intermarry. the first is known as maudrojilly, the second as mamburgy, the third as mandrouilly. they are very particular about the distinction of classes, but we could never discover which was the superior and which the inferior class, though it is supposed by most of those who have inquired into the subject, that the madrojilly, or first class, head the others in war, and govern the affairs of the tribe. (*footnote. lieutenant vallach died at moulmain in .) these aborigines were certainly a fine race, differing in some matters from the other natives of australia; their hair was neither curly nor straight, but crisp. the custom of extracting a front tooth prevails among them, while the nasal cartilage here as elsewhere was perforated. i noticed in particular that they did not make use of the boomerang, or kiley, but of the throwing stick or womera, of a larger kind, however, than any i have observed elsewhere; the head of their spears was made of stone. they have a smaller kind, chiefly used to kill birds and other animals at a considerable distance. they have also large heavy clubs, while the natives on the south coast carry only the short throwing stick.* they go wholly naked, except when entering the settlements, on which occasions they wear a few leaves. their canoes were chiefly obtained from the malays. (*footnote. we refer our readers to mr. eyre's work, where these and other weapons are figured.) i here saw the only musical instrument i ever remarked among the natives of australia. it is a piece of bamboo thinned from the inside, through which they blow with their noses. it is from two to three feet long, is called ebroo, and produces a kind of droning noise. it is generally made use of at corrobories or dances, some of which express feats of hunting and war, while others are very indecent, and reminded us of similar exhibitions in the east. it was generally remarked that the old clothes given to these savages disappeared in a most mysterious manner. they were understood to be sold to the natives inhabiting the loftier parts of the interior, but of this i entertain very considerable doubt. sand, in which the australian continent abounds, is like everything else proceeding from the hand of the creator, not without its uses. on cold nights the natives make up for their total want of covering, by burying themselves in it, and nothing can be more irresistibly comic than to see these black lumps sticking out of the earth, like so many enchanted unfortunates in an eastern romance. it moreover has other uses, forming a substitute for soap;* and when cooking turtle it is mixed with earth and sprinkled over the meat, as we should pepper. (*footnote. their general habits are cleanly.) one discovery which was made through the medium of the natives, was that the large tumuli noticed by captain king and others, and supposed to be raised by the inhabitants, are the works of a bird; some of them are thirty feet long and about five feet high; they are always built near thick bushes in which they can take shelter, at the least alarm. the edifice is erected with the feet, which are remarkable both for size and strength, and a peculiar power of grasping; they are yellow while the body is brown. nothing can be more curious than to see them hopping towards these piles on one foot, the other being filled with materials for building. though much smaller in shape, in manner they much resemble moor-fowl. the use made of the mound is to contain eggs, which are deposited in layers, and are then hatched by the heat generated in part from decomposition. the instant that the shell bursts, the young bird comes forth strong and large, and runs without the slightest care being taken of it by the parent. of the number of eggs laid by each bird, seldom more than two are hatched. it is singular that these mounds are found away from the earth and shells of which they are composed. it seems difficult to credit that a bird so small could raise a structure so large. the largest we ever saw was about eight feet high, on one of the possession islands in endeavour strait. the name given to the bird by mr. gould is megapodius tumulus, and it will be unnecessary to enter upon any further details concerning it, as he has described it most interestingly in his work on the birds of australia. great numbers of kangaroos were also found here, which at the period of our arrival the settlers were just getting into the way of killing. there are three varieties, of which the largest weighs about pounds. i must further allude to a most beautiful little opossum which inhabits these parts. it is about half the size of a full-grown rat, and designated as belideus ariel. its colour and fur greatly resemble the chinchilla, and i have little doubt that the skin is valuable and might be made an article of trade. this animal has a membrane between the fore and hind paws, which aids it to some extent when leaping from bough to bough. it is a great enemy to the wild bee, devouring them and their nests; the bees the natives discover by tapping the tree and listening for a buzzing from within. those we saw, amounting to nearly a hundred, were about the size of a fly, of a dusky black colour, and strange to say, were hovering round an empty tar-barrel. they have been unsuccessfully tried in hives at sydney. alligators abound, and one of the marines had a very narrow escape from them. it appears that one of these monsters who had come out of the water in the night, in search of food, found him sleeping in his hammock, which he had very injudiciously hung up near the water. the alligator made a snap at his prize; but startled at this frightful interruption of his slumbers, the man dexterously extricated himself out of his blanket, which the unwieldy brute, doubtless enraged at his disappointment, carried off in triumph. for some time this story was not believed, but when afterwards the huge reptile, on a similar excursion, was shot, a portion of the blanket was found in his stomach with the paw of a favourite spaniel, taken when swimming off the pier head. extensive hauls of fish were made on point record, amongst which one species, there called salmon, was most excellent eating. it is unnecessary for a transient visitor to enlarge upon the birds of port essington, as in mr. gould's work we have the result of the labours of an individual who spent months collecting in the neighbourhood. the spot selected for our observations was government house, where nearly a hundred observations with the sun and stars were made for latitude, the mean result being degrees minutes seconds south, which strange to say, was nearly seconds greater than captain stanley and mr. tyers' determination: this difference to me was quite unaccountable, as the instruments used in the beagle were before and subsequently, satisfactorily tested at well determined places. the longitude being affected by the doubtful meridian distance between sydney and port stephens, we can only give an approximate result; and therefore for the sake of the longitudes of those places referred to the meridian of port essington, we consider it degrees minutes east of greenwich. from the quantity of iron in the rocks at victoria, it was impossible to get any satisfactory observation for the variation of the compass. those obtained varied from / to / degrees east. we found that mr. tyers had made about seven months' observations on the tides, which gave a very irregular rise and fall, varying from two to thirteen feet. the time of high-water being half past three, at the full and change. oxide of iron is found in some places in large quantities, and is used by the natives to adorn themselves when dancing. this it is which gives to the coast the peculiar red hue noticed between cape croker and port essington. many of the cliffs were composed of a light-coloured marl; but the formation is chiefly old arenaceous rocks. two of the highest and most remarkable hills on the peninsula, known as mounts bedwell and rose, have singular flat tops, bearing some resemblance to the curious appearance of cape bedford. i am inclined to believe this formation to be floetz trappe. their elevation is about four hundred feet, being twice the general height of the peninsula. raffles bay. the temperature during our stay averaged degrees while land and sea breezes prevailed. we should not omit to mention, that lieutenant stewart, when visiting raffles bay in order to invite the french officers as above alluded to, found that a deep inlet intervening, formed a good harbour, to which he gave the name of port bremer. of the old settlement nothing remained, save the graves of those whose labours had tended to render this part of australia another outlet for the surplus population of the mother country, extending at the same time the blessings of civilization. the rapid growth of rank vegetation had swept all else away, and there in solemn solitude, upon that still and silent shore, mouldered the bones of the original colonists of raffles bay, whose praiseworthy efforts were rendered futile, by the unfavourable reports forwarded to government; reports we cannot think entirely free from prejudice, when we know from captain law's account, that one of the commandants declared that he felt disposed to sell out of the army in preference to going there.* one thus prepared to dislike the place, could scarcely be expected to take an interest in the country, or endeavour fully to develop its resources. (*footnote. see wilson's voyage round the world page .) we cannot avoid expressing our regret at the abandonment of the settlement in raffles bay, after it had gone on so far successfully under captain barker's excellent management. in mentioning his kindness to the natives, to whose goodwill we must always owe much, we have already given one of the causes which assisted in fostering the undertaking. nothing could be more unwise than the hostility shown to the natives by the first settlers, as from them we must always calculate on learning much that is useful and valuable, with regard to the productions of the country; a knowledge which would otherwise consume much time to acquire. this was not the only matter, however, in which he showed his superior good sense and judgment. his enticing the people of macassar to come and locate there, was another instance of his foresight, which would have led in time to very favourable results. he was soon, however, compelled to retract his invitation, writing from coepang to the dutch governor of macassar, in order to stop the immigration, which otherwise would have been considerable. with all these several elements of success, we should doubtless, but for the abandonment, have now had a flourishing settlement in northern australia. the causes which led to its breaking up, are thus succinctly given by dr. wilson. "the alleged causes were: first, the unhealthiness of the climate; secondly, the hostility of the natives; and thirdly, the non-visitation of the malays." these he clearly proved, as we have subsequently done, to be without much foundation; but we ourselves do not so much deplore the leaving of raffles bay, perhaps an ill-chosen site, but rather that the settlement was not removed instead of being given up. when the anxieties and difficulties which universally accompany the formation of a new settlement are reflected on, the regret we have already expressed will be more easily understood. when port essington was located, all these had to be suffered over again; whereas had the station at raffles bay, been transferred thither at once, it would have been now at a very high pitch of perfection. besides, however small the spot on which the english flag waves constantly, it will always prove a check on the marauding propensities of the neighbouring islanders, and thus add materially to the general welfare and civilization of such portions of the globe as fall within the influence of the respected locality.* (*footnote. in further proof of the prospects of success, which were open to the new settlement under its able commandant, we give the following extract from dr. wilson's journal, when at coepang, in company with captain barker, after their final departure from raffles bay. "we were informed by the master of the mercus, that many chinese were about to emigrate from java to raffles bay, having recently learned that they would be permitted to do so. the total abandonment of the north coast of new holland caused much regret to the mercantile people here, as they had anticipated great advantages from a commercial intercourse.' wilson's narrative page .) leave port essington. july . finding that we could not procure a supply of provisions from the settlement, our stay was necessarily, though reluctantly, of short duration, and on the morning of the th, we were accordingly running out of port essington. after rounding vashon head, we steered to the westward, along the northern side of the peninsula, and early in the afternoon anchored in popham bay, one point of which is formed by the north-west extreme of the peninsula, a low projection with one tall mangrove growing on the point, and fronted by an extensive coral reef, past which a two-knot tide sweeps into the gulf of van diemen. on the eastern side of this projection is a snug boat or small-craft harbour, much frequented by the malays, who call it blue-mud bay. it may be recognized by a little island lying off its mouth. our attention having been directed towards the openings on the coast opposite melville island, we proceeded towards the first, lying on the south side of clarence strait. it was further important to ascertain, if that strait was navigable, and also to examine the south-eastern side of melville island. bird island. finding the western shore of cobourg peninsula placed too far from port essington on the chart, it was determined to commence the survey at popham bay, choosing for the observation spot a small bank of sand and dead coral lying in its centre, and bearing east / south / of a mile from where we anchored in nine fathoms. we named this bird island, from finding it almost covered with terns and gulls. the latitude of it according to our observations was degrees / minutes south and longitude west of port essington / miles, being / less than is given in captain king's chart, the north-west extreme of the peninsula being there placed too far from port essington, and the north-east point, cape croker, too near, it would appear that the discrepancy was chiefly in the position of port essington, with respect to the northern extremes of the peninsula, as captain king and ourselves only now differ two miles in the distance between cape croker and popham bay, ours being the greater. the evening was calm as usual, while midnight brought with it a fresh south-east wind. during the night the temperature was as low as degrees. july . on leaving at daylight we crossed over to examine the western shores of dundas strait, formed by the eastern side of melville island; captain king having passed it in the night. as we stood close along it into the gulf, we found the soundings very irregular. six miles north degrees east from cape keith, we passed over two patches of only three or four fathoms; these we could not see from the general disturbed and discoloured state of the water, it blowing fresh from south-east. we found the nature of this part of melville island to be low rocky points, separating sandy bays. one of the few remarkable features on it, is a round hill feet high, five miles north-west from cape keith. clarence strait. passing the latter, we crossed over to the opposite eastern entrance point of clarence strait, cape hotham, discovering on our way thither a reef nearly awash, about two miles in extent, bearing south degrees west fifteen miles from cape keith, and north degrees east fourteen miles from cape hotham. the deepest water we found while crossing was fathoms, five miles north of the latter, the general depth being and fathoms. the wind failing in the afternoon, it was evening when we reached our anchorage in nine fathoms, cape hotham bearing south west, two miles and a half, and close to the edge of a large shoal which we subsequently found to extend a mile and a half north, and six miles east from the cape. here we found the tides set west by south and east-north-east from half a knot to two knots, the westerly stream beginning nearly three hours after high-water, a peculiarity generally occurring in straits. july . after one of those soft and lovely evenings so common to this part of australia, with a gentle breeze and cloudless sky, we were surprised to find that the morning opened dreary and gloomy. there was a very fresh south-south-east wind with heavy masses of clouds; the breeze continued until noon, when as usual it subsided. we moved the ship a few miles down the opening in the south side of the strait, and in the afternoon a party went on shore near cape hotham. we found the country very poor and sandy, and elevated about fifteen feet above high-water mark. despite this, the white gum-trees appear to thrive, growing in great abundance, about thirty or forty feet high; there were also others of a different kind, besides a few palms. the rocks were red sand and ironstone blended together. in some places i noticed it had the same glazed and vitrified appearance, as before remarked by me at king's sound, on the north-west coast. mr. bynoe, who was of the party, added to his collection of birds, a kingfisher, and a specimen of a glossy species about the size and colour of an english blackbird; others were seen and killed, but all common to other parts; the most rare of the latter was the large cream-coloured pigeon i have alluded to, some few pages back. native companion. the white ibis with a black neck, plentiful in king's sound, and a large bird, a species of crane, were also seen. the latter was of a french grey hue, with the exception of the head, which was black and of the shape of a bittern, commonly known among the colonists by the name of native companion. it is difficult to imagine how this name could have originated, as there is no instance of the natives making a pet of anything, except the wild dog of the country, and of that only, it is probable, from its utility in procuring them food. on visiting this place a few days afterwards, to repeat the observations for the errors of the chronometers, we saw a few natives, but they avoided an interview, disappearing when we landed. they made the same motions with their arms, throwing them open, and bowing as the natives in king's sound did. the few huts i fell in with, reminded me of one i had seen near the north-west part of king's sound, a representation of which will be found in the portion of the work descriptive of that locality. those on cape hotham, to enter more into particulars, did not exceed five feet in height, nor were they so substantially built; they were, however, well thatched with the same kind of coarse grass. the entrances were carefully closed, except in one instance, when the aperture was so small that it was with difficulty i could crawl in; when i had entered there was nothing to gratify my curiosity. native clothing. hanging on trees round these habitations, were specimens of an article of clothing, never before seen among the aborigines of australia, for which reason i have been induced to give the woodcut of one.* it is a kind of covering for the shoulders, a species of cape, made from coarse grass. (*footnote. i have since heard from mr. earl, that the women in the south-east part of van diemen's gulf, occasionally wear a covering round their waist, somewhat similar to the representation given.) baskets were also left hanging on the trees, bespeaking the honesty of the inhabitants of this part of the country. the land near the huts was turned up in search of roots, and close by were some large clubs. the thermometer fell in the night to degrees, producing the novel though pleasant sensation of cold. july . although apparently we could trace the land, near the head of the opening or bay, still the great set of tide in that direction, left hopes of its being the mouth of a river. we have already alluded to the difficulty of detecting the mouth of australian streams, and the doubts thus engendered occasioned the greater anxiety. impatient to learn the truth, mr. fitzmaurice was despatched to examine the head of the bay, whilst the ship was moved towards it, anchoring again one mile north-west from a very remarkable patch of low red cliffs (which from startling circumstances, hereafter to be related, were called escape cliffs) and only two cables length distant from the coral ledge, by which this and the shores around were fronted. visit the shore. here another party visited the shore, and those whose occupation did not render their presence necessary near the water, strolled into the country, penetrating about four or five miles inland, but they were rewarded by the sight of no novelty, or even variety in the scenery, beyond what was presented to our view on the visit to cape hotham, which it will readily be allowed was little enough. indeed it will in general be found, that in australia, a change of formation is necessary to produce any of the scenery, which otherwise exhibits a most monotonous sameness. a coarse kind of ironstone gravel was (if i may use the term) scattered over the face of the country; some of it had a glazed appearance on the surface, being hollow within, and about the size of a musket ball. properly speaking they are composed of a ferruginous sandstone, but they have been already more fully alluded to when first met with at point cunningham, near king's sound, on the north-west coast. the general formation is the same as at cape hotham, itself almost identical with the rocks at port essington. a few traces of small kangaroos were seen; but not a bird or any other living thing two miles from the beach. this peculiarity the reader will remember was also noticed in the neighbourhood of king's sound. discovery of adelaide river. on returning to the ship we found that mr. fitzmaurice had arrived, bringing the expected, and very gratifying intelligence, that a large river with two branches, running south-east and south, with a depth of four fathoms, emptied itself into the head of the bay. the joy a discovery of this nature imparts to the explorer, when examining a country so proverbially destitute of rivers as australia, is much more easily imagined than described. it formed a species of oasis amid the ordinary routine of surveying, rousing our energies, and giving universal delight. the castle-builders were immediately at work, with expectations beyond the pale of reason. exploring party. an exploring party, however, was at once formed, consisting of captain wickham, lieutenant emery, and mr. helpman, who--the next day being sunday--did not leave before the morning of the th, with two boats and four days' provisions. many were the anxious and envious looks bestowed on the party as they left the ship on the deeply interesting service of exploring the new river. so strong and native is man's desire for the unknown, that his feelings are never more tried than when on the brink of a discovery, while those who are in presence of the novelty, and cannot enjoy the satisfaction of tasting that pleasure, must ever experience somewhat acute emotions of regret. there was no difficulty in finding a name for a river which fell into clarence strait; it was at once, therefore, honoured with that of adelaide, after her most gracious majesty the queen dowager. the bay that receives its waters was called after vice-admiral sir charles adam. the remaining part of the south side of clarence strait, together with the islands in the western entrance of it, gave ample, though not such interesting employment as the exploration of the adelaide, to those who were left behind. several unsuccessful hauls were made with the seine, fish in adam bay being very scarce. native family. near escape cliffs i met a small family of natives, consisting of an elderly man, his wife, and four children; by degrees, advancing alone, i contrived to get near enough to make the woman a present of a handkerchief, in return for which she gave me a large leaf of the cabbage palm, that was slung across her back. i at length drew all the family around me, the eldest child, a youth of about , being the most timid. he had a small piece of wood two feet long, sticking through the cartilage of his nose. his teeth and those of the other children were quite perfect, but in the father and mother two of the upper front ones were gone, as we before noticed was the case with the natives at port essington, where this ceremony is performed after marriage. the hair of these people was neither curly nor straight, but what i have before called crisp, being of that wavy nature sometimes noticed in europeans. they had with them three small-sized dogs of a light brown colour, of which they appeared very fond, and i could not induce them to part with them. the old man's spear was not barbed, and the womera or throwing stick of the same long narrow shape as at port essington. the woman had also the same bottle-shaped basket slung over her neck, as before remarked, and containing white and red earths for painting their bodies. curiosity and fear. these people exhibited more curiosity than i had before noticed in the aborigines, as i was able to induce them to visit the whaleboat that was on shore close by. here, as in other places, the size of the oars first astonished them, and next the largeness of the boat itself. the exclamations of surprise given vent to by the old man as he gazed on the workmanship of his civilized brethren, were amusing; suddenly a loud shout would burst from his lips, and then a low whistle. i watched the rapid change of countenance in this wild savage with interest; all his motions were full of matter for observation. the mixed curiosity and dread depicted in his dusky face, the feeling of secret alarm at this first rencontre with a white man intruding in his native wilds, which he must have experienced, added much to the zest of the scene. i, however, at length almost persuaded the old man to accompany me on board; he even put one foot in the boat for the purpose, when seeing the depth of the interior, he recoiled with a slight shudder, as if from immersion in cold water. he was now overwhelmed by the woman and elder child with entreaties not to take such a rash step, and their rude eloquence succeeded. it was amusing to see the struggle between fear and curiosity plainly depicted in the man's face, as he stood with one foot on the boat, and the other on the shore, hearkening but too credulously to the picture of danger, forcibly drawn by his friends, while curiosity, with almost equal strength, was urging him to dare the perils of the white man's boat. a desire to be better acquainted with the strangers who had come to the shores of his native land in a large bird--such being their strange idea of a ship, the sails forming the wings--no doubt materially influenced him; but the eloquence of his relatives prevailed over all; and this interesting interview terminated by our leaving the shore without our sable friend, who, however, promised to visit the ship in an old bark canoe, about feet long, that was lying on the beach near at hand. this promise was faithfully kept, for the same evening, a canoe was seen paddling off, containing two young natives in addition to the old man. they stopped at some distance from the ship, moving round to view her on all sides. attempt to entice natives on board. fearing at last that their courage had failed, and that they would not come on board, the dinghy, our smallest boat, was sent towards them, there being only a boy besides myself in it. i had hoped that thus they would not be frightened, but they instantly began to move towards the shore, and it required some manoeuvring to get near them; succeeding at length, however, i found my acquaintance of the morning anxious to go to the ship, a measure the other two did not at all approve of, as they kept edging away towards the land, whilst i gave the old man the presents i had brought him. at one time the dinghy got between the canoe and the shore, when instantly a gleam of terror flashed across the faces of the young men. one of them was a large square-headed fellow of ferocious aspect, whose countenance was lit up by a look of fierce revenge, as the canoe made towards the land, after i had ceased my endeavours to entice them on board. whatever these people may have imagined to be our motive in wishing them to visit the ship, i little thought that my pressing them would have so nearly led to fatal results. i shall proceed to explain this remark by relating the startling circumstances from which escape cliffs received their name. narrow escape of mr. fitzmaurice. a few days after my interview in the dinghy with the natives, mr. fitzmaurice went ashore to compare the compasses. from the quantity of iron contained in the rocks, it was necessary to select a spot free from their influence. a sandy beach at the foot of escape cliffs was accordingly chosen. the observations had been commenced, and were about half completed, when on the summit of the cliffs, which rose about twenty feet above their heads, suddenly appeared a large party of natives with poised and quivering spears, as if about immediately to deliver them. stamping on the ground, and shaking their heads to and fro, they threw out their long shaggy locks in a circle, whilst their glaring eyes flashed with fury as they champed and spit out the ends of their long beards.* they were evidently in earnest, and bent on mischief. (*footnote. a custom with australian natives when in a state of violent excitement.) dancing for life. it was, therefore, not a little surprising to behold this paroxysm of rage evaporate before the happy presence of mind displayed by mr. fitzmaurice, in immediately beginning to dance and shout, though in momentary expectation of being pierced by a dozen spears. in this he was imitated by mr. keys, who was assisting in the observations, and who at the moment was a little distance off, and might have escaped. without, however, thinking of himself, he very nobly joined his companion in amusing the natives; and they succeeded in diverting them from their evident evil designs, until a boat landing in a bay near drew off their attention. the foremost of this party was recognised to be the ill-looking fellow, who left me in the canoe with a revengeful scowl upon his face. messrs. fitzmaurice and keys had firearms lying on the ground within reach of their hands; the instant, however, they ceased dancing, and attempted to touch them, a dozen spears were pointed at their breasts. their lives hung upon a thread, and their escape must be regarded as truly wonderful, and only to be attributed to the happy readiness with which they adapted themselves to the perils of their situation. this was the last we saw of the natives in adam bay, and the meeting is likely to be long remembered by some, and not without pleasant recollections; for although, at the time, it was justly looked upon as a very serious affair, it afterwards proved a great source of mirth. no one could recall to mind, without laughing, the ludicrous figure necessarily cut by our shipmates, when to amuse the natives, they figured on the light fantastic toe; and the readers, who look at the plate representing this really serious affair,* will behold two men literally dancing for their lives. (*footnote. see above.) return of the boats. august . this morning the boats returned; they had gone up the adelaide in a general southerly direction, nearly miles: the windings of the river, which were very great in some places, forming the shape of the letter s. it became at this distance very narrow, and was divided into two branches, one taking a southerly direction, the other an easterly; the latter was too narrow for the boat's oars, while the former was blocked up by fallen trees lying across it. as in addition to the difficulties just mentioned, only one day's provision remained in the boats, the further exploration of the adelaide was necessarily, though reluctantly, abandoned. banks of the adelaide. for thirty miles of the upper part of the river the water was fresh; while the banks, excepting near the point of separation, were low, being not more than five feet above the present level of the river, a circumstance very favourable for irrigation, and the cultivation of rice. fifteen miles from the mouth they were fringed by the growth of mangroves; and higher up many of the points were thickly wooded, while on either side stretched a vast extent of prairie country, dotted here and there with islands of timber, which served to break the native monotony of the scene. somewhat less than halfway up, rose on both banks a thick jungle of bamboo, which, in places where the water was always fresh, attained the gigantic height of from to feet. between and miles from the mouth the soil is a good light-coloured mould; above this, commencing where the bank of the river is marked by a coarse red gritty sandstone projection, the aspect of the country changes from that of low plains to a slightly wooded and gently undulating surface, in some places stony. this character continued to the furthest point reached in the boats, in latitude degrees minutes south, and longitude degrees minutes east. when they had penetrated thus far into the new lands of australia, the explorers returned, having experienced those sensations of delightful excitement, to which we have before alluded, and which naturally called forth strong emotions of regret in those who were denied a participation in the feverish enjoyment of discovery. from the highest tree at captain wickham's furthest point, the appearance of the country was, as far as the eye could reach, one wearisome level, broken to the southward, at a distance of ten miles, by a rocky mound about feet high. upper part of the river. the river, which for some distance had not been fifty yards wide, with a rocky bed in places, and banks from six to twenty feet high, was subject at this point to a tidal change of level of about three feet, but there was no perceptible stream, and the water which a few miles lower down had been muddy, was here quite clear. small bamboos and other drift were observed in the branches of the trees eight or ten feet above the water, showing the height which the river attains at some seasons of the year. by the hollows on many of the plains, water appeared to have lain some time, and doubtless parts of this low land were periodically overflowed. on the point dividing the upper branches of the river some coarse sand was washed up, which on examination was found to be of a granitic character, clearly showing the primary formation of the country through which the adelaide flowed. the only rocks noticed in the parts traversed by the boats were, as i have before said, of red porous sandstone. the smoke of several large fires was observed up the country, but none of the natives were seen. monkey-birds. towards the upper part of the river they noticed a strange bird, very much like a guineafowl in size and manner of running along the ground. the colour was speckled white and brown. this, doubtless, from mr. bynoe's description of one he wounded on the coast in the neighbourhood of the adelaide, must have been the leipoa ocellata of gould, one of the mound or tumuli-building birds, first seen in western australia by mr. george moore, and afterwards on the north-west coast, and in south australia by captain grey. although known to range over a large expanse of the continent, this was the first time it was discovered in northern australia. in the reaches where the bamboo grew, flights of large vampires (resembling the pteropus rubricollis of geoff.) were met with: they kept continually flying to and fro close over the boats as they passed up, making a screeching disagreeable noise, which, however, was far less unpleasant than the mildewy odour with which they filled the air, calling to mind the exclamation placed by our immortal bard in the mouth of trinculo. the heavy flap of the leathern wings of these monkey-birds, as the men called them, was singular, while sometimes a flight would darken the verdure of a bamboo, which, yielding to their weight, bent low, as if before a passing gust of wind. to fix themselves appeared always a difficult, and was certainly a noisy operation, each apparently striving to alight upon the same spot. they first cling to the bamboo by means of the long claw, or hook attached to the outer edge of the wing, and then gradually settle themselves. the river swarmed with alligators. fish also abounded; and in the salt water, a kind commonly known in the river plate by the name of cat-fish, is plentiful. one that we caught was of the enormous weight of twenty pounds. a large kind of dark bream of excellent flavour was taken in fresh water. wood-ducks. many of the reaches also swarmed with wildfowl, consisting almost wholly of ducks, which, from a habit of perching on the trees, have received the name of wood-ducks. they were very different and far superior in plumage to those found on the south-eastern parts of the continent, and as they have not yet been numbered among the australian birds so vividly described by mr. gould, we may venture to be somewhat minute in describing them. they are inferior in size to the common european wild duck, but are marked in much the same manner on the breast. the back is a dark brown, while the wings, still darker, are slightly bronzed at the tips. their singularly long legs are of a pale flesh colour, while the web on the foot is very much arched near the toes, giving greater pliability to the foot and a power of grasping, which enables them to perch on trees. the head and bill, the latter of a pale ash colour, are both large. when on the wing they make a peculiar though pleasing whistling sound, that can be heard at a great distance,* and which changes as they alight, into a sort of chatter. their perching on trees is performed in a very clumsy manner, swinging and pitching to and fro. we subsequently often found them on the rivers on the north coast, but not within some miles of their mouths or near their upper waters, from which it would appear that they inhabit certain reaches of the rivers only: we never found them in swamps. the farthest south they were afterwards met with, was on the albert river in the gulf of carpentaria, in latitude degrees south, which gives them a range of six and a half degrees of latitude over the northern part of the continent. their nests never came under our notice, and consequently we are not aware either of the size or colour of their eggs; neither did we see any young birds during the period of our observation, ranging from july to november only.** (*footnote. mr. eyre has since informed me that there is a whistling-duck, something similar, on the murray river, but is not aware that it has the peculiar habit of perching on trees.) (**footnote. mr. gould, who had previously described this bird (leptotarais eytoni) being desirous of figuring it in his splendid work, has been furnished with this account.) exploration of the southern branch of the adelaide. august . the southern arm of the adelaide river, and about fifteen miles near the mouth of the other branch, still remaining to be explored, i started on this interesting service the day of the return of captain wickham, august th. we soon found that the one we ascended promised nothing, from there being no tidal stream of any consequence; still we hoped to trace its rejunction with the main branch, but after proceeding in a general south by west direction five miles, and east-south-east the same distance, it became so narrow that the mangroves on each side entirely blocked up the passage, and stopped the boat's progress. i here again felt the inconvenience of our not being furnished with one of the pendulum horizons, invented by captain becher, r.n.* it being high-water, and as the shore was lined with an impenetrable growth of mangroves, we were unable to land. in vain did i try, by cutting down some of them, to find a rest for the artificial horizon on one of the stumps; they were so connected with each other beneath the water, by a perfect network of roots, that although several of the surrounding trees were felled, a tremulous motion was still conveyed from a distance, and i consequently lost the observation for latitude. (*footnote. i strongly recommend this ingenious invention to every seaman. in foggy weather it will save hours of anxiety, and may often prevent the horrors of shipwreck.) the saltwater arm of the adelaide we found had another branch, which took us eight miles in a south-west direction, terminating like the other, and at low-water being a mere ditch. there was nothing picturesque in following the windings of these creeks or inlets; a tall growth of mangroves with their stems immersed, rendering the view limited and wearisome. we, however, were urged on by hope, being in momentary expectation that each turn would bring some change, while to add to the zest of our proceedings we felt ourselves to be the first europeans who had traversed these parts. now and then the deep stillness of nature would be broken by the mournful cry of a curlew, disturbed by the splash of the oars, while sometimes a heavy flapping of wings was heard amid the mangroves, and out would start suddenly three or four white ibises with black necks, giving utterance to a peculiar cry, which faintly resembles that of the male guinea fowl. all else was deep unbroken silence. by evening we had again reached the entrance of the river, where we passed the night, during which there was a very heavy dew. august . the lower part of the adelaide having been already explored, prevented us from experiencing that depth of interest which we should otherwise have felt; still we were destined to enjoy our share of pleasurable sensations, as on the result of our examination depended the important fact of whether the river was navigable for large vessels. we therefore started to settle this momentous question, even before the eastern sky was tinted with orange from the rising of the sun, which in these latitudes gives no glimmering twilight: day fading and appearing instantaneously, the rapidity of the change presenting a remarkable effect. extensive reaches. passing a narrow part, formed by two low red cliffy projections, we entered a wide reach that had an extensive flat of and / fathoms water on the south side. the next was similarly circumstanced, the shoal water of the same depth, being, however, on the west side. still in both there was a -fathom channel at low-water, and in the reaches above, seven in number, trending in a general south-south-east direction, about twice that depth. this imparted to our discoveries the stamp of utility, and as captain wickham found it navigable for thirty miles higher up where the water is fresh, we may pronounce the adelaide the deepest river in australia. meet a canoe. proceeding upwards, we met a party of natives about seven miles from the mouth, in a very pretty bark canoe, fifteen feet long, and about two deep. the bark was sewn together with much neatness, and it was altogether the most artistic piece of workmanship i had seen among the aborigines of australia. it was the last of that description we met with in this direction, for we did not find canoes in use with the natives to the westward of clarence strait, but only rafts, a fact alluded to in an earlier portion of the work. alarm of the natives. two young men only were in the craft, which ran close in under the mangroves, through which we could see other natives passing. by proceeding cautiously and slowly, i got pretty close to them. they were evidently afraid that if they left it we should take their boat, and this gave them courage to face the strange white men. terror, however, was marked in their countenances, and one of the two leaped on shore, as we approached, in a state of great excitement, jumping and flinging his arms about violently; whilst sometimes he would dip up a handful of water and squirt it out with great force from the corners of his mouth. the size of the boat appeared, as usual, to astonish the lad who remained in the canoe. he appeared less frightened than the other, and i induced him to accept a few presents from the end of a long stick. though they had a deficiency in the upper front teeth, they had not disfigured any other part of their bodies. the stature of the two young men was small, perhaps feet inches, but those behind the mangroves were much taller. alligators being so very numerous i was surprised to notice what little dread the natives appeared to have of them, dancing and wading about in the water near the bank, as if they and the animal had entered into a treaty of amity. their alarm appearing to have worn off, we continued our journey, but by hoisting the sail, the good effect was in a great measure counterbalanced, as the sight of it called forth a yell from the whole of them, which catching the echoes, reverberated from side to side, and resounded in our ears for some time afterwards. proceeding, we gained the end of the twelfth reach early in the afternoon, when we obtained observations for longitude, that being the highest part of the river not surveyed, and distant about fifteen miles from the mouth; we had also just reached the portion frequented by the peculiar whistling wild duck, of which we bagged about twenty, forming an agreeable addition to our evening and next day meals. after concluding the observations, we examined the country for some distance; a level tract met the eye wherever it wandered, broken here and there by patches of low trees. the plains were thinly dotted with a coarse wiry grass. in places near hollows, where water had collected, the soil, which was a dark kind of clayey mould, cracked and curled up with the heat. a few shells were found scattered over the plains, of the kind so common on the north-east coast (helix). the tedious uniformity and sameness in the banks of the adelaide, thus far, may be illustrated by the fact, that to know the boat's position on returning, it was necessary to have the sketch of the river constantly before our eyes, and to reckon each reach as we passed. alligators. taking the return tide, we passed the night in the fourth reach; very stringent orders were given to the watch to keep a sharp lookout for alligators, as a great many had been seen during the day, while we knew that on the previous night a monster of this description had attempted to get into one of the boats. we had fired at several, but with one exception had done no mischief. to be roused by the noise of the boat's keel or side grating harshly against the scaly back of an alligator, is far from being a pleasant occurrence, and on such occasions i generally found myself clutching a pistol, always kept near me, for the purpose of executing judgment upon the very first flat head that showed his nose above the gunwale. entertaining very vivid recollections of our experience on fitzroy river, on the first start of the boats great preparations were made against the mosquitoes; to our agreeable surprise, however, we experienced but slight annoyance from them. the exemption, however, was fully made up by the swarms of flies which infest the adelaide, and during mealtimes availed themselves of the opportunity of popping into our mouths. there had been a fresh north-east wind the latter part of the day, which dying away was succeeded by a calm and cloudless night with a heavy dew. the thermometer was down to degrees, and in the day varied from to . return of the boats. august . we got on board in the forenoon, when the result of our examination was heard with a satisfaction not easily expressed, but which may be readily imagined. we felt that we had discovered a river navigable for vessels of four and five hundred tons, for about fifty miles, and into fresh water, a thing hitherto unknown in australia. we may then with justice congratulate ourselves on the importance of the discovery of the adelaide. adam bay. the bay into which it flows, named after sir charles adam, is six miles deep and ten broad at the entrance, where there are fathoms. the shores gradually approach each other, and at the head, where it receives the waters of the adelaide, the width is only one mile. the mouth of the river is fronted with shoals that extend out five miles; the channel between them is narrow, and fathoms deep, and lies on the western side of the bay. a guide for the mouth of it is the east entrance point of the river, bearing south degrees east. the generally discoloured state of the water prevents the shoals from being seen, as well as the coral reefs extending from half to three quarters of a mile off the east side of the bay, where there is excellent anchorage. sea and land breezes prevailed; the former blowing from the north-west which gave it the advantage of being of easy access either from the westward through clarence strait, or from the eastward through that of dundas. the spring tides sometimes rise feet, when the time of high-water is six o'clock. the stream set north-east and north-west from half to one knot, changing to the latter direction two and a half hours after high-water. our observations place escape cliffs (too remarkable and conspicuous to be overlooked, and which ships should anchor abreast of) in latitude degrees / minutes south and longitude degrees minutes west of port essington. the variation of the compass was degrees easterly. i was able at this anchorage, by a bearing of a distant point, to ascertain the local attraction in the ship, which in no instance exceeded degree, being the amount we had found at plymouth, previous to our departure from england. our deeply interesting researches on the south side of clarence strait, leading to so important a discovery, were now concluded. examine melville island. the success which had rewarded our efforts, made us wish to cling to the spot, and it was therefore almost with regret that we found ourselves leaving to examine the southern shores of melville island, where we anchored two miles from the beach, and fifteen within the west entrance of the strait. a quarter of a mile off the sandy flat, extending some distance from the shore, there was one fathom of water, being a very gradual decrease from six where the ship lay. the necessary angles and bearings for the survey, were taken from the top of some cliffs sixty feet high, composed of a red sand and ironstone, and a white kind of marl or pipe clay. the shore trended nearly south-west and north-east. six miles in the former direction is an inlet which mr. fitzmaurice has visited from the vernon isles, and another much smaller, about a third of the intervening distance from where we stood. the high land which was almost level, lay about three miles in our rear, following the trend of the shore. two peaks rising in hollows on it attained an elevation of and feet. there were no rocky points visible at low-water--a clean sandy beach, which appeared, strange to say, to have been washed occasionally by a heavy surf, forming the coastline. a singular clump of casuarina was close to the westward of the cliffs, and its dark naked aspect contrasted with the stunted gumtrees and scattered palms, sparingly sprinkled over this sterile tract of country. with the exception of a few seabirds, there was nothing living stirring to change the opinion we have just expressed of this part of melville island. our visit, however, was not to be forgotten in an instant, although no very pleasing recollections were connected with it. green ants. whilst taking a few angles near the cliffs, we suddenly experienced a series of severe bites or nippings in several parts of our body, and looking round to discover whence arose this unexpected attack, found ourselves under a tree covered with large green ants. their bites were exceedingly painful, and it was only by beating and tearing off our clothes that we could rid ourselves of these unwelcome visitors. from a distance our appearance must have been sufficiently amusing. one moment soberly intent upon our duties, and the next jumping like madmen, and hastily stripping off our garments. the name of ant cliffs records our visit to the south shores of melville island. the tide on this side of the strait ran nearly two knots an hour, following the direction of the shore; the time of high-water being a quarter of an hour earlier than in adam bay. august . recrossed clarence strait to obtain observations for rating the chronometers, and examine the extensive shoal off cape hotham. on anchoring near its edge, a patch with only five feet was discovered close to the ship; the muddy and restless state of the water, caused by a meeting of the tides, setting out of van diemen's gulf and adam bay, renders it necessary to approach cape hotham from the northward, with caution. however, the unusually great depth, for this strait, of twenty fathoms, will give warning of a ship's proximity to this danger, the limits of which have been given on the occasion of our first visit to cape hotham. want of water. our stock of water being now much reduced, it was necessary before proceeding further, that we should procure a supply. as it was a matter of no certainty that we should find sufficient on the coast to the westward, it was at first suggested that we should take the ship up the adelaide and fill the tanks from alongside. this would have been a grand feat, having never before been accomplished in any river in australia. indeed it was the only one on the whole continent, which could carry up a vessel of the beagle's draught into fresh water. an idea, the realization of which would so completely crown our exploration with success, naturally gave rise to a great degree of enthusiasm and excitement. soon, however, more sober thoughts prevailed, when we reflected on the time this proceeding would consume, on account of the tortuous* course of the river: time which we could, with our scanty stock of provisions, ill spare. at port essington it was possible we should be able to get a supply of both, as a ship might have arrived during our absence. moreover it was highly important, that we should make known without delay, the discovery of a river of such magnitude as the adelaide, distant only seventy miles from the settlement. (*footnote. nothing shows the flat nature of a country more than the tortuous course of a stream passing through it. it is a want of change in the level, which causes a river to twist and wind about in search, as it were, of the weakest spot for its exit.) return towards port essington. it was then finally resolved that we should return to port essington, and in the forenoon of the th, the beagle was drifting along the western shore of dundas strait, out of van diemen's gulf. the day happening, very remarkably for the locality at this season, to be calm throughout, the anchor was dropped at sunset in fathoms; cape fleming the north-east point of melville island, bearing north-west / west eight miles. a deep sandy bay bore south-west five miles, which promised good anchorage. the appearance of the north-east part of melville island was still very triste, presenting to the eye nothing save patches of mangroves, behind which rose a range of ill-defined hills, feet in elevation. (*footnote. the tide out of van diemen's gulf takes a north-west direction, until coming in contact with cape keith, it branches off along the east and south side of melville island.) we anchored to prevent being taken back through dundas strait by the return tide, which from p.m., to midnight, set south-east by south from two to three knots an hour. high-water at popham bay on the east side of the strait being at a quarter past eleven, we may conclude the north-west stream began at this anchorage three quarters of an hour after high-water. weighing as soon as the tide made out of the strait, although there was still no wind, we were rather surprised at daylight to find how little the ship had drifted to the north-north-west. the only reason i can give in explanation is that the ebb or north-west stream out of the gulf joins with, and is thrown out of its course by the easterly or ebb stream setting past cape fleming. arrival at the port. a breeze springing up late in the morning, we beat along the north side of the cobourg peninsula, entering port essington at dusk. in working round vashon head, we found the water shoal very rapidly to , , and fathoms on approaching it; on the bearing south degrees west. this head is fronted by a reef of some extent, which similar to the other at the entrance of port essington, cannot be distinguished, owing to the muddy colour of the water; it is therefore necessary that the lead should be kept constantly going when in its vicinity. when daylight broke, we found no fresh arrival to greet our anxious gaze, the britomart being still the only guardian of the port. her solitary aspect at once destroyed our hopes of supplies, and on reaching the settlement our fears proved to have too much foundation. hope, however, is the last feeling which leaves the human breast, and in this instance did not desert us; as there was still a chance of a vessel arriving, while we were engaged in watering the ship. victoria theatre. the news of our discovery of the adelaide was hailed with infinite satisfaction, and the numerous speculations and ideas on the subject which were at once afloat, afforded an agreeable variety to the monotony of existence in the settlement, where however at the moment of our arrival an unusual degree of excitement prevailed through the activity of captain stanley. theatrical amusements. ever anxious to provide for the amusement of others, he had been for some time engaged in getting up a play, which was now nearly ready to be performed. its name i regret to have forgotten; it was however nothing very deep, and was selected from a volume that had already performed a voyage to the north pole. this adventurous playbook, which had certainly done its duty, was originally picked up by its owner on tower-hill. the scenery was painted by captain stanley with earths of the country, who also was stage manager and general planner of the whole. the wives of some of the garrison supplied female costumes, while a large workshop was converted into a theatre. at length, after the difficulties usually attendant on private theatricals, everything was in readiness for the first performance of the drama in northern australia. tickets were issued, of which i have one before me, a small piece of card containing the words "victoria theatre, port essington, august th, ." in after years this will be looked upon as a curious relic in connection with the history of this part of the continent. as if to cause the first performance of a play at victoria, to take place under smiling auspices, such as the occasion properly called for, h.m.s. pelorus arrived with supplies and letters from sydney. the previous growing dearth of provisions had rendered it somewhat difficult to secure a very happily disposed audience, an empty stomach being apt to provoke fault finding: but the arrival of a ship on the very play day caused a crowded and delighted attendance. everything went off smoothly, and with hearty peals of laughter. all the characters being supported by men, the female personages of the drama presented a most grotesque appearance; moreover the act drop being an old ensign, the ladies could be seen through it, regaling themselves, during these intervals, with a pipe. the whole affair gave infinite satisfaction, while ours was greatly enhanced, and our minds prepared for any duty, by the timely arrival of supplies and letters, of both of which we fortunately received our share. our departure from port essington, was not therefore hurried; and i had some slight opportunity of adding to my knowledge, with regard to the capabilities of the place, which were found to grow upon acquaintance. the fact of its being well fitted for the growth of cotton was in particular a great additional recommendation. the sallow appearance of the settlers clearly demonstrated the temperature to be high, though apparently there was no diminution in physical strength. it should however be remembered that up to this time they had not had the same nourishment as those who appeared amongst them as transient visitors, with ruddy faces. the warmth of the climate in itself conduces to intemperance, which to europeans is ever fatal. the pelorus brought orders for the britomart to proceed to sydney. passage through torres strait. captain stanley was anxious--with the westerly monsoon--to have attempted the passage through torres strait, instead of going round the west coast, as such a course might have led to some discoveries in that neighbourhood; a result always in such a service of the utmost importance. it is however to be regretted that the senior officer did not approve of this plan, as the passage has only once been made from the westward by captain lihou, r.n., who having experienced some difficulties reported unfavourably of it. the importance of an intimate acquaintance with this route will be better appreciated, when we reflect that ultimately through this passage will the great traffic be carried on between our east indian and australian possessions. during our visit to port essington, some of the changes among our officers, mentioned in the beginning of the work, took place. mr. forsyth joined us from the pelorus, and, from his knowledge of surveying, was a valuable addition to our party. sketch of victoria. having said so much in relation to port essington on our former visit, and wishing to create among our readers an interest in the locality, we give a slight sketch of the appearance of the settlement from the anchorage, which will be more effective than our most elaborate description of it. evil example of convicts. before taking leave of this new colony, we must at once express a hope that it will not be made a penal settlement; not that we doubt the wonderful degree in which the convict system has hastened the prosperity of our possessions on the south-eastern part of the continent; but from the proximity of northern australia to the islands in the arafura sea--the waters separating them being often navigable for boats--the natives would be contaminated and vitiated, their women corrupted, and the badly disposed among the islanders rendered worse; and instead of our advent bringing with it the light of the gospel, and the real and substantial blessings of civilization, we should enjoy the unenviable privilege of still further degenerating the savage. the evil thus caused in new zealand has been incalculable; to the bad example of convicts we owe much of the ills which have there arisen; the fine fearless bearing of the wild man, has been partially exchanged for the low cunning, acquired from the runaway felon; who reckless of his own life can have no regard for that of others. the worst crimes of the dregs of a civilized population have been introduced; and many of those wretched beings, who might otherwise have been reclaimed from the rude vices of savage life, have, through the white man's instrumentality, perished in sin.* (*footnote. i knew an instance of a convict, who when dying actually picked a man's pocket. the ruling passion, strong in death, was here painfully exemplified. j.l.s.) the number of malay proas that visit this part of the continent, would also furnish facilities for the escape of convicts from the neighbourhood of port essington. we shall now fulfil our promise to the reader, of laying before him captain stanley's interesting cruise to the islands we have just alluded to, which will occupy the remaining portion of the present volume. chapter . . leave port essington. reach timor laut. meet proas. chief lomba. traces of the crew of the charles eaton. their account of the wreck and sojourn on the island. captain king's account of the rescue of the survivors. boy ireland's relation of the sufferings and massacre of the crew. appearance of the shores of timor laut. description of the inhabitants. dress. leprosy. canoes. village of oliliet. curious houses. remarkable ornaments. visit the oran kaya. burial islet. supplies obtained. gunpowder in request as barter. proceed to the arru islands. dobbo harbour. trade. present to chief. birds of paradise. chinaming junks' bottoms. character of natives. some of them profess christianity. visit the ki islands. village of ki illi. how protected. place of worship. pottery. timber. boat-building. cultivation of the eastern ki. no anchorage off it. visit ki doulan. antique appearance of. luxuriant vegetation. employment of natives. defences of the place. carvings on gateway. civility of chief. his dress. population of the ki group. their religion. trade. place of interment. agility of australian native. supplies. anchorage off ki doulan. island of vordate. visit from chief. excitement of natives. their arms and ornaments. carved horns on houses. alarm of the oran kaya. punishment of the natives of laarat by the dutch. revisit oliliet. discover that mr. watson had rescued the european boy. return to port essington. mr. watson's proceedings at timor laut. in pursuance of orders from sir g. bremer, c.b. we sailed from port essington on the th march, , having on board, captain kuper (then st lieutenant of h.m.s. alligator) and one of the australian natives, who was induced to accompany us, partly by his own curiosity, and partly by liberal promises and plenty to eat. he was known at the settlement by the name of jack white, and from his great good humour and intelligence, was a favourite with everyone. i hoped by keeping him on board for some time, away from his tribe, to wean him in some degree from his savage habits; and that by being able to communicate with him with greater facility, we might learn more of the manners and customs of his countrymen, than we had yet been able to do; in addition to which we anticipated no small amusement from witnessing his astonishment at seeing countries and people so different from his own. light airs prevented our clearing the harbour till the morning of the th, and at p.m. on the th, we made the land of timor laut; but from our ignorance of the coast, we were obliged to keep under easy sail during the night, which was squally with heavy rain. timor laut proas. at daylight on the st, we made all sail to the northward, and about , observed two large proas, with dutch colours flying, standing out from the land under sail; they were full of men, and for some time appeared to be in great doubt, whether they should come near us or not, as they shortened sail and consulted together several times; at last, however, they came under our stern, which was the only way in which they could approach, as their long outriggers, projecting or feet on each side of their narrow canoes, prevented them from coming close alongside. as soon as they got hold of the rope we gave them, they hauled close up, and a little thin shrivelled old man came scrambling over the taffrail: he was dressed in a long black serge coat, check shirt, and black trousers, and as soon as he had regained his breath, after the violent exertions he had made, presented me with a neat little basket containing some papers which he seemed very anxious i should examine. i took them up, rather to please him, than with any expectation of being able to understand them, but to my surprise and great interest, found carefully rolled up in several envelopes, two pieces of lead pencil, part of the leaf of a norie's navigation tables, and some scraps of paper, on which, written in pencil, was a rough journal of the proceedings of the men who left the ill-fated charles eaton (soon after she was wrecked in torres strait) in one of her cutters, in which they reached this island, and after remaining for thirteen months got to amboyna in a trading proa, and thence to batavia, where they gave the following account of their misfortunes to the resident, mr. d.w. pietermaat. wreck of the charles eaton. the charles eaton sailed from sydney on the th july, , and on the th of august, about o'clock in the forenoon, during a fresh full sail breeze, the vessel struck on a reef called the detached reef, situated at the entrance of torres strait. proceedings of the crew. during the preceding night the captain, as a measure of prudence, had ordered the first reef to be taken in the topsails, in order not to enter the passage before daylight. the ship struck on the reef so violently, that both keel and rudder were instantly knocked off and carried away, and the captain declared the vessel to be totally lost; at the same time giving orders to get the boats ready and furnished with provisions, in order to endeavour to reach the island of timor. at the time the vessel was wrecked, she had four boats, the longboat, two cutters, and a dinghy or small jolly boat. in the largest cutter, w. grindall, laurent constantine, and george pigot, left the wreck, and richard quin, and james wright, joined them the next morning by swimming across a bar or reef at the risk of their lives. the other boats were knocked to pieces and lost, by the vessel falling over on her side, and they were unable to save any more of the passengers or crew, as it was impossible to pull the boat up against the strong current; and none of them would venture amidst the heavy breakers to reach the boat by swimming. they were unable to state what became of the captain, passengers, and rest of the crew; but at the time richard quin and james wright left the wreck, all the passengers and crew were alive on the forecastle of the vessel, with the exception of one sailor named james price, who was drowned by the smallest of the cutters swamping at the time she was lowered. the passengers on board at the time the vessel was wrecked, were captain d'oyly of the bengal artillery, his wife, and two sons, george and william; an english gentleman named armstrong; and a bengalese native servant. names of the crew. the ship's crew consisted of twenty-four persons: j.g. moore, master; j. clare, chief mate; w. mayer, second mate; g. pigott, third mate; j. grant, surgeon; l. constantine, carpenter; w. montgomery, steward; w. perry, j.p. ching, midshipmen; r. quin, a. quail, w. moore, c. robinson, j. caen, w. hill, j. berry, r. lounce, w. jeffrey, j. wright, w. gumble, j. miller, and w. williams, seamen; j. ireland and j. sexton, boys. the five seamen in the cutter, not seeing any possibility of saving more of the ship's company, and the next morning not perceiving a single person on the wreck, concluded that these unhappy persons had been washed off by the increasing swell of the sea during the night. on sunday morning, august th, they left the wreck, and steered as westerly a course as possible by the sun and stars--they had no compass--in order to reach the dutch settlement of coupang in the island of timor. the whole of their provisions consisted of pounds of bread, one ham, and a keg containing about four gallons of water; which had been placed in the boat before she was lowered. the cutter reaches timor laut. after driving about for fifteen days on the ocean, they descried land which they took to be timor; they went on shore and procured some water and coconuts; but afterwards pursuing their course along the coast, they were attacked by a number of native proas, and being warn out with fatigue, and without any arms to defend themselves, they were forced to surrender. the natives upset the boat, and stripped them of all their clothes, after which they were brought on shore, where the natives at first seemed inclined to kill them, but through the intercession of two chiefs, named pabok and lomba, their lives were spared. they afterwards learnt, that they were at the native village of oliliet, in the island of timor laut; part of their clothes were given back to them, and they were well treated, without being compelled by the natives to perform any labour; their sustenance consisted of indian corn, yams, a little rice and some fish, but the quantities given them were only just sufficient to keep them alive. during their abode in this island, they learnt that in one of the neighbouring settlements called laouran, at that period at war with the one in which they lived, there was another european, formerly belonging to an english brig, that had been wrecked seven years ago, and of whose crew he, and a boy since dead, had alone been spared by their savage captors. after remaining more than thirteen months at oliliet, a trading proa arrived from amboyna, in which they received permission to depart, promising to return soon in an english ship, with arms and ammunition to assist the chiefs in defeating their enemies. in this proa, after a passage of five days, they arrived at amboyna, on the th of october, . ireland's account of the fate of the crew. of the melancholy fate of those who remained on the wreck, the boy ireland gave the following account, which was published at sydney by captain p.p. king, r.n. ireland and the younger d'oyly, were rescued from the savages by captain c.m. lewis, of the colonial schooner, isabella, who was sent to look for them in consequence of captain carr of the ship mangles* having reported that he had seen two white persons among the natives of murray's island, but had been unable to induce the natives to give them up. (*footnote. i afterwards met captain carr in the mangles; he expressed great regret that so much blame should have been attached to him for not bringing away the children. his account differed very much from young ireland's, and it is but justice to him to state that it was owing to his report that the vessels were sent in search of ireland and young d'oyly. j.l.s.) the charles eaton left sydney on the th of july, , bound to canton, by way of torres strait; and experienced a series of fine weather and favourable winds until she approached the barrier reef, when the weather became thick and rainy. the master was provided with captain ashmore's chart, guided by which he boldly steered for the reefs. unfortunately, however, for him the weather was so clouded on approaching the barriers, that he could obtain no observation for the latitude, and yet it would appear that the ship was in a very favourable position. about ten o'clock in the morning the reefs were suddenly perceived right ahead, upon which the ship was hove up in the wind and both anchors let go, and the cables paid out to the end; but as the depth was probably unfathomable they had no effect, for she drifted on the reef and fell over on her beam ends. the chief mate then cut her masts away, but the bottom was soon bilged, and everything destroyed by the water, which broke over the decks, and the ship became a perfect wreck. happily the upper part of the vessel kept together, on which the crew and passengers collected. soon after she struck, a vessel was observed three or four miles to windward, high and dry upon the reefs, with her masts standing, and royal yards across, and sails set, in which position she must have been left by her crew.* (*footnote. the flora, sheriff, master.) during the confusion that existed, one of the quarter-boats was lowered, but immediately swamped, by which one man, named price, was drowned. soon afterwards, three of the crew, namely g. pigott, the third mate; l. constantine, the carpenter; and w. gumble, one of the seamen, put sails, provisions, and water, and arms, and all the carpenter's tools, into the other quarter-boat, and lowered her down; and kept near the wreck during the day and following night. the next day r. quin and j. wright, two seamen, joined them, after which they refused to take any more; although six of the crew made their way over the reef the next morning, and wished to be taken on board. the boat, however, bore away, and was seen no more. the master then, assisted by those who remained, attempted to make a raft, which was not completed before the expiration of seven days. during this interval they had managed to distil the contents of a cask and some bottles of water from the sea, by the aid of the ship's coppers, and a leaden pipe from the quarter gallery cistern, the whole of which they placed on the raft with a basket containing beer, and a cask of pork. whilst they were on the wreck they were upon a daily allowance of two wine glasses of distilled water, and a few pieces of damaged biscuit. as soon as the raft was completed, they got upon it, but finding that it was not buoyant enough to hold them, they threw over the water the pork and beer. still it did not support their weight, so the greater number returned on board; leaving mr. moore the master, mr. grant the surgeon, captain and mrs. d'oyly, and their two children, their nurse, a native of india, and mr. armstrong, passengers; also two seamen, named lounce and berry, who determined to remain upon it all night. in the morning, however, it was found that the rope by which the raft had been made fast to the stern of the wreck had been cut, and nothing was seen of their companions. it is probable that the uncomfortable situation in which they found themselves, up to their waists in water, and the sea constantly breaching over them, induced the master to cut the rope and trust to providence to guide himself and the passengers to some place of safety. those that remained then made another raft of the vessel's topmasts lashed together with coir rope, and made a sail out of some cloth which formed a part of her cargo. it took seven days before it was completed, when they launched off and bid adieu to the ill-fated vessel, which was probably soon broken up, for at high-water the sea breached over her. the vessel that was seen with her masts standing, was too far to windward for them to reach, for even the boat could not make way against the wind and current. upon casting off, they set their sail and steered before the wind, but the raft was so heavy and deep that very little progress was made. she drifted rather than sailed, and probably did not go more than a mile or one mile and a half an hour. after some time they came to a reef upon which they remained for the night, and the next morning proceeded before the wind, but saw no more reefs. after being two days and nights upon the raft, up to their waists in water, and partaken of very little food, they passed an island, and then saw several more ahead. soon afterwards a canoe was perceived paddling towards them, containing ten or twelve indians, who as they approached stood up and extended their arms to show they had no weapons and were inclined to be friendly. on reaching the raft the indians got upon it, and conducted themselves very peaceably; and after a short time proposed that they should leave the raft and go into the canoe, which they at first hesitated to do, until thomas ching, a midshipman, said he would go, as he should then have a better chance of getting to england, upon which they all consented, and embarked in the canoe. before they left, the indians searched the raft very narrowly for iron implements, but only found a few hoops which they collected and took with them. they left the raft about four o'clock in the afternoon, and in less than an hour were landed on an island which they subsequently found was called boydan, and which is probably that on the chart called number , to the eastward of hannibal island.* (*footnote. on their way to it the canoe passed, first, three islands on the right (northward) and one on the left (southward). the mainland was also distinguished from boydan island, and appeared to be about twelve or fourteen miles off, which agrees very well with the island it is supposed to be.) upon disembarking, the natives accompanied them round the island in search of food and water, but they were so exhausted by fatigue and hunger, that they could scarcely crawl. upon their return to the place where they landed, they threw themselves on the ground in despair; as it was evident from the ferocious bearing and conduct of the savages, who stood around their party grinning and laughing in the most hideous manner, that they were exulting in the anticipation of their murderous intentions. in this dreadful state of suspense, mr. clare, the first officer, addressing his companions, recommended them to be resigned to their fate; and read to them, in a most impressive manner, several prayers from a book which he had brought with him from the wreck; after which, commending themselves to the protection of the almighty, they laid down, and worn out by severe exhaustion, were soon asleep; but it was to them the sleep of death; for no sooner had they composed themselves than, as ireland describes, he was roused by a shout and noise, and upon looking up saw the indians murdering his companions by dashing their brains out with clubs. the first that was killed was poor ching, and after him his companion perry, and then mr. mayer, the second officer: after which the confusion became so great, that ireland could not distinguish what passed. the last however, that met his fate was mr. clare, who in the attempt to make his escape to the canoe, was overtaken by his pursuers, and immediately despatched by a blow on the head. ireland and another boy named sexton, were now left awaiting their fate: the former, the narrator of this melancholy tale, thus describes his deliverance: an indian came to me with a carving knife to cut my throat, but as he was about to do it, having seized hold of me, i grasped the blade of the knife in my right hand and held it fast, struggling for my life. the indian then threw me down, and placing his knee on my breast tried to wrench the knife out of my hand, but i still retained it, although one of my fingers was cut through to the bone. at last i succeeded in getting uppermost, when i let him go and ran into the sea, and swam out; but being much exhausted, and the only chance of my life was to return to the shore, i landed again fully expecting to be knocked on the head. the same indian then came up with an infuriated gesture, and shot me in the right breast with an arrow; and then in a most unaccountable manner suddenly became quite calm, and led or dragged me to a little distance, and offered me some fish and water, which i was unable to partake of. whilst struggling with the indian, i observed sexton, who was held by another, bite a piece of his arm out, but after that knew nothing of him, until i found his life had been spared in a manner similar to my own.* (*footnote. upon interrogating ireland to obtain some explanation of the reason their lives were spared, he says, that he has frequently seen the indians recover themselves in a moment from a violent paroxysm of fury; and he attributes their safety to a circumstance of this nature. p.p.k.) at a short distance off, making the most hideous yells, the other savages were dancing round a large fire, before which were placed in a row the heads of their victims; whilst their decapitated bodies were washing in the surf on the beach, from which they soon disappeared, having been probably washed away by the tide. sexton and i were then placed in charge of two natives, who covered us with the sail of the canoe, a sort of mat, but paid no attention to my wound, which had been bleeding profusely. the next day the indians collected all the heads; and, embarking, removed to another island where the women lived, which they called pullan. on landing there, ireland saw two of captain d'oyly's children, and the ship's dog, called portland; the elder (george) d'oyly, told him that the first raft had landed on the island, and that all the passengers, excepting himself and his brother, had been instantly murdered; that his mother was killed by a blow with a club, and that his little brother was in her arms at the time, but was saved by one of the women, who afterwards took care of him. the child was seen by ireland, when they landed, in the woman's arms, crying very much. he also saw some pieces of the ship's cabin doors, attached as ornaments to the heads of their canoes, which they appeared to prize very much, and other relics, among which were the heads of the passengers and crew, of the first raft; those of mrs. d'oyly and captain moore being plainly distinguishable; the former by the hair, the latter by the features. the heads were suspended by a rope to a pole that was stuck up near the huts of the women; round which they danced every night and morning, accompanying their infuriated gestures with the most horrid yells. the number of indians collected amounted to about sixty; they were merely residing on the island during the fishing season; for their home, as it afterwards turned out; was at a considerable distance off. their principal subsistence was turtle and small fish, which they caught with hook and line, and shellfish which abound on the reefs. the island also produces a small fruit like a plum with a stone in it, probably a species of eugenia. the fish were broiled over the ashes of a fire, or boiled in the basin of a large volute (voluta ethiopica) which being rather a scarce shell is of great value to them. the island of pullan is covered with low trees and underwood, and the soil is sandy. in the centre of it is a spring, which supplied the whole party with sufficient water for their consumption; and, as ireland says, they used a great deal, it must at least have yielded fifteen or twenty gallons a day, for the hole was always full. upon a voyage they carry their water in bamboo joints, and coconut shells, as do the malays. after remaining here two months, the indians separated. one party taking ireland and the infant d'oyly with them, embarked in a canoe, and after half a day's sail reached another islet to the northward, where they remained a day and a night, on a sandy beach; and the next morning proceeded and reached another island similar to pullan, low and bushy, where they remained a fortnight. they then proceeded to the northward, calling on their way at different islands, and remaining as long as they supplied food, until they reached one,* where they remained a month, and then they went on a visit to darnley's island, which they called aroob, where for the first time, ireland says, he met with kind treatment. (*footnote. probably one of the group of the northward of halfway island, near aureed, named by mr. lewis, sir richard bourke's group.) after a fortnight they again embarked and returned by the way they came, to an island they called sir-reb,* situated near aureed, where their voyage ended, and they remained until purchased by duppar, the murray islander; who, it appears, upon hearing that there were two white boys in captivity, at aureed, embarked in a canoe with his wife pamoy, and went for the express purpose of obtaining them, taking for the purpose of barter some fruit. the price of their ransom was a branch of bananas, for each. they returned by way of darnley's island, where they stopped a few days, and then reached murray's island, where they remained ever since, and were most kindly treated. duppar gave little d'oyly to a native named oby to take care of; a charge of which he faithfully acquitted himself, and both oby and his adopted child soon became very fond of each other; for as the child was a mere infant, he soon forgot his mother, and naturally attached himself to his nurse. when at aureed the indians had named ireland, wak; and little d'oyly, they called uass; names which they retained at murray's island, and by which they are doubtless now known all over the archipelago. (*footnote. sir-reb, according to ireland's information is marsden island. p.p.k.) ireland lived in the same hut with duppar and his family; his employment was to cultivate a plantation of yams, and during the season to assist in taking turtle and shellfish. on one occasion he accompanied them on an excursion towards new guinea, where they went for the purpose of barter and trade; which they frequently did, to obtain bows and arrows, canoes and feathers, for which they give in return shells;* and which from their scarcity, the new guinea people prize very much, but as duppar was fearful that the new guinea people would steal or murder him, he was left at darnley's island, in charge of agge, an indian, until their return. duppar and his friends, however, were not long away; for having stopped at an island, jarmuth (campbell's island) to pass the night, one of the islanders attempted to take away by force from one of the visitors, his moco moco (a sort of bandage worn round the calves of the legs, made of the bark of bamboo) upon which a quarrel ensued, in which the murray islanders used their bows and arrows, and wounded several, one being shot through the body. the jarmuth people then retreated to their huts, and the others embarked; but instead of going to new guinea, returned to darnley's island, where in a few days they received a message from jarmuth, offering peace; which, however, they would not accept; nor did they afterwards make friends. (*footnote. ireland describes the shell to be a cone, and recognized it among the plates in the encyclopedie methodique, as the conusmille punctatus.) ireland's account of the visit of the mangles, is so different from what captain carr describes, that the discrepancy must be received with much caution. he states that captain carr's object seemed to be entirely that of trading for tortoise-shell; he was alongside the mangles, and not at a considerable distance off; he was so near as to ask one of the people on the poop to throw him a rope, to get fast to the vessel, which was done, but owing to the sea running high he was obliged to let it go; upon which he asked for a boat to be lowered for him to get on board, which was also done, and he should have made his escape, had not one stood up in the bow with a naked cutlass and the others flourished their weapons over their heads; which frightened the indians so much that they pulled away on shore, followed by the boat for a little distance, and there concealed him. ireland declares, that he did not say, that the natives would not give him up. when under the mangles' stern one of the crew offered him some tobacco which he declined. had captain carr offered an axe for him, he would have been given up immediately as well as little d'oyly, who was on the beach, in the arms of one of the natives. the natives knew that ireland was anxious to be taken away, and were averse to his going off to the vessel, saying, "you shall not go there to be killed;" but as he hoped to make his escape he persisted, and the result was a bitter disappointment to him. such is the succinct narrative, of which old lomba offered me the first rude materials. the chief lomba. as soon as i had read the papers contained in the basket, i endeavoured, by the help of the malay dictionary, to gain some more information from the old man, and after some time succeeded in making out that he was the chief lomba, mentioned by the seamen in their narrative; which was confirmed by finding that the shirt he wore was marked with the name of the unfortunate midshipman, j.p. ching, who so early fell a victim to the murderous savages on the reef. from our ignorance of the language i was unable to gain any information of the european boy, said to be still on the island. lomba pointed out the village he came from, prettily situated on the crest of a well-wooded hill, and gave me to understand that i should there find the other chief, pabok, who was too old and infirm to come down. upon which i determined to remain for the night, in order to visit the village, in hopes of getting some more information, and also to make pabok a present, which he well deserved for his good services. the gig was accordingly sent inshore to sound, and soon made the signal of having found an anchorage, upon which we stood in, greatly to the delight of the natives, who, as they were not armed, were allowed to come on board, where they behaved very well. some went aloft with great activity to assist in furling sails, and two came aft to the wheel, the use of which they seemed to understand perfectly. at one o'clock we anchored in fathoms sand and coral, three quarters of a mile from the shore; and as soon as the ship was secured, a party of us landed, accompanied by the old chief, and followed by most of the natives in their canoes. appearance of the shores. on landing, the contrast to the australian shores we had so recently sailed from, was very striking. we left a land covered with the monotonous interminable forest of the eucalyptus or gumtree, which, from the peculiar structure of its leaf, affords but little shelter from the tropical sun. shores fringed with impenetrable mangroves; a soil producing scarcely any indigenous vegetable, either in the shape of root or fruit fit for food. the natives black, naked, lowest in the scale of civilized life; their dwellings, if such they can be called, formed by spreading the bark rudely torn from the tree, over a few twigs placed in the ground, under which they creep for shelter; dependent almost entirely on the success of the chase for their daily food, not having arrived at the first and simplest form of cultivation, and in like manner destitute of all trace of religion, except the faint symptom of belief in an evil spirit. we landed on a beach, along which a luxuriant grove of coconut trees extended for more than a mile, under the shade of which were sheds neatly constructed of bamboo and thatched with palm leaves, for the reception of their canoes. to our right a hill rose to a height of about feet, covered with brilliant and varied vegetation so luxuriant as entirely to conceal the village built on its summit. the natives who thronged the beach were of a light tawny colour, mostly fine, athletic men, with an intelligent expression of countenance. dress of the natives. their dress consisted of a cloth round the waist reaching to the knee, which in some instances was neatly ornamented with small white shells; their arms and ankles were loaded with rings formed of ebony, ivory, and coloured glass, some of the former bore evident marks of having been turned in a lathe. the lobes of their ears were perforated with large holes, from which enormous earrings of ivory and ebony, in the shape of padlocks, were suspended, sometimes as many as three from one ear. a few of the natives had gold earrings of considerable size but rude workmanship. the boys and younger men had their hair cut short, and their heads smeared over with a preparation of lime, which bleaches the naturally black hair to a flaxen colour; as soon as this is effected, the hair is allowed to grow to a considerable length, and in due time presents a piebald appearance, the ends retaining the flaxen colour while the roots are black. when grown to a sufficient length it is wound gracefully round the head and fastened by a comb of sandalwood or tortoise-shell; some specimens of which were very large, and of such superior manufacture as to indicate an intercourse with much more civilized nations. leprosy. the natives appeared to be healthy with the exception of a sort of leprosy, from which many of them were suffering. it gave them a most disgusting appearance, but did not appear to cause any inconvenience, nor were they avoided by the rest of their companions, as if the disease had been contagious. on our first landing, very few of the natives had any arms, but they afterwards brought down some bows and arrows, some of which were four or five feet long, neatly headed with iron. we also saw a few iron-headed spears, a few cresses, and some hatchets of a very rude construction. canoes. their canoes, about thirty of which were hauled upon the beach, were from twenty-five to thirty feet long, and very narrow, with outriggers projecting ten or twelve feet from each side, and supporting a piece of buoyant wood to give stability. they carried one large mat-sail, but did not appear to sail fast. as soon as we had satisfied our curiosity on the beach, old lomba led the way to the village on the crest of the hill. the ascent commenced close to the landing place by a flight of steps rudely formed by logs of wood laid across a narrow path cut in the hillside, which brought us to within forty or fifty feet of the summit. after which we had to climb two ladders, made of hard red wood richly carved, placed almost perpendicularly against the cliff. in a recess under the upper step we noticed four small idols that bore a strong resemblance to those of the south sea islanders. village of oliliet. after reaching the top of the ladder we passed through a gateway, evidently intended for defence, and then found ourselves in the village of oliliet, built on a level space of considerable extent, accessible only from seaward by the path we had ascended, which the removal of the ladders would render impracticable, and on the land side protected by a wall, beyond which the jungle appeared to be very dense. the houses, all raised on piles six or eight feet above the ground, could only be entered by means of a ladder leading through a trapdoor in the floor. the roofs neatly thatched with palm leaves, and formed with a very steep pitch projected considerably beyond the low side-walls, and surmounted at the gables by large wooden horns,* richly carved, from which long strings of shells hung down to the ground, giving the village a most picturesque appearance. (*footnote. see the view annexed.) the houses were arranged with considerable regularity, so as to form one wide street of considerable extent, from which narrow alleys branched on each side. our conductor led us to the oran kaya, whom we found seated in front of a small house in the widest part of the street, opposite to which there was a circular space marked out by a row of stones placed on the ground, and which appeared to be set aside for religious purposes, as they seemed unwilling we should set foot within it. here the natives soon afterwards assembled in considerable numbers, and were for some time engaged in serious discussion. oran kaya and pabok. the oran kaya, who was an elderly man, received us very civilly, and invited us to sit down beside him. soon afterwards pabok came up. he was very old, had lost the sight of one eye, and wore an old straw hat of european manufacture, decorated with stripes of red and blue cloth sewn round it. i tried in vain to get more information from him about the european boy; and on pressing him to come down to the boat to receive a present, he made signs he was too old to do so. after remaining a short time in the village, during which one of our party caught a transient glimpse of some of the women, we returned to the beach; where we found that the natives had brought a plentiful supply of coconuts, and they promised to bring some other supplies off in the morning. departure from oliliet. at sunset the natives all went quietly away, and we returned on board, passing on our way some small rocky islands which appeared to be used as burial places, and emitted an intolerable stench; the bodies were placed in rude wooden boxes, open at the top and quite exposed to the air, from one small rock not large enough to hold a body, there was a long bamboo erected, from which a human hand, blackened by exposure to the sun, was suspended. on the nd, soon after daylight, the natives came off, bringing with them indian corn and coconuts, in such quantities that they sold the latter for a couple of pins each. they also brought yams, bananas, fowls, chilies, etc. but they did not seem inclined to part with them for anything we could offer, except gunpowder, which i would not allow to be given as barter. at nine, finding we could get no more information from them, we weighed; the natives all left us very quietly as soon as the capstan was manned, and by signs appeared to wish us to revisit them. during the whole time they were on board, they behaved perfectly well, and did not make any attempt at stealing, though they must have seen many things most valuable to them, which they might easily have taken. from what we saw of oliliet, it does not appear to be a place from which any quantity of sea stock can be procured, for although they had plenty of pigs and fowls in the village, they did not seem at all inclined to part with them. water may be procured on the beach, but a merchant vessel should be very cautious in sending her boats for it, as the crew being necessarily divided, would easily fall victims to any treacherous attack on the part of the natives; and from all we subsequently learnt of them from the traders we met at arru, they are not always to be trusted. after clearing the bay we stood to the northward, along the east coast of timor laut, which is formed by a range of hills wooded to the very summit, and indented by deep bays which would afford anchorage during the north-west monsoon, were it not for a coral reef that appears to extend along the coast, at a distance of two to three miles from the shore. during the day we passed six villages, all built like oliliet on cliffs overhanging the sea, and protected on the land side by dense jungle, through which it would be difficult to penetrate. arru islands. at sunset, we passed a small detached coral reef, and then steered for the arru islands, in the hope of being able to gain some information from the traders who frequent them, for the purpose of procuring the birds of paradise, trepang, pearls, etc. which are found in their vicinity. during our passage across, we had very irregular soundings, and at daylight on the th of march, saw the arru islands; all the islands of this group, which extends from north to south about miles, and the eastern limits of which are but imperfectly known, are very low and swampy, but from being well-wooded, have the appearance of being much higher than they really are: many of the trees that we saw attained a height of ninety feet, before they began to branch out. dobbo harbour. we stood along the islands to the northward all day, with very light winds, and on the th were off the entrance of dobbo harbour, situated between the two islands, wamma and wokan. as there were several square-rigged vessels in the harbour, we tacked and made signal for a pilot, and were soon afterwards boarded by the master of one of the vessels, who to our great delight hailed us in very good english. under his pilotage we ran in and anchored off a low sandy point, on which the traders establish themselves during their stay, by building very neat bamboo houses thatched with the palm leaf. several hundred people, including some dutchmen from macassar, and chinamen, remain throughout the year. the house of messrs. klaper and nitzk, cost above pounds and contained goods to the amount of ten times that sum and upwards. the trade with these islands appears to be carried on in the following manner. towards the end of the north-west monsoon, the trading vessels from java and macassar, having laid in their stock for barter, come over to dobbo, generally touching at the ki islands to procure boats, which are there built in great numbers. on arriving they make the chief of the island (who carries a silver-headed stick, with the dutch arms engraved upon it, as an emblem of his authority) a present, which he considers to be his due, consisting generally of arrack and tobacco. the large boats they have brought from the ki islands having been thatched over, and fitted with mat sails are then despatched through the various channels leading to the eastward, under the charge of a chinaman, to trade for trepang, pearls, pearl oyster-shells, edible birds-nests, and birds of paradise, in return for which they give chiefly knives, arrack, tobacco, coloured cottons, brass wire, ornaments for the arms, etc. these boats return to their vessels as soon as they have procured a cargo, of which the pearls form the most valuable portion. the trepang obtained here is only considered as third-rate; that from the tenimber group second, and from australia first-rate. birds of paradise. the birds of paradise, which are brought from the east side of the island, appeared to be plentiful; they are shot by the natives (from whom the traders purchase them for one rupee each) with blunt arrows, which stun them without injuring the plumage, and are then skinned and dried. the natives describe them as keeping together in flocks, headed by one, they call the rajah bird, whose motions they follow.* (*footnote. this is also mentioned by pennant in his work on the malayan archipelago, published in .) during the absence of the trading boats, the rest of the crews are employed making chinam of lime, from the coral which abounds on the beach, which fetches a good price at banda, where fuel is expensive. as soon as the south-east monsoon is fairly set in, the junks are hauled up on the western side of the sandy spit at high-water spring tides, a sort of dam is then built round them, with bamboos, and a kind of mat the malays call kadgang, banked up with sand; from this the water is bailed out by hand, so as to form a dry dock in which they clean and coat the bottom with chinam which lasts till the next season. the cargo, as it is brought in by the different trading boats, is carefully dried and stowed away in the different storehouses on the point. character of the natives. of the natives of the islands we had not on this occasion an opportunity of seeing much, but the traders on the whole gave them a good character for honesty, and described them as a harmless race very much scattered. they used formerly to bring their articles of barter to dobbo, but discontinued it within the last few years, in consequence of having been ill-used by the bughis. many of them profess christianity, having been converted by dutch missionaries sent from amboyna. the ki islands. having completed our survey of the harbour and obtained such supplies as we could, which, from the traders only bringing with them enough for their own consumption, did not amount to much, we sailed for the ki islands; a group sixty miles to the eastward of arru, consisting of two large islands called the greater and lesser ki, and a number of small islands lying to the westward of the latter. the great ki is about sixty miles long, high, and mountainous; the lesser ki and the small islands are low, few parts of the group attaining an elevation of more than fifty feet. owing to the light airs and unsettled weather attendant on the change of the monsoon, it was not till the rd that we arrived off the village of ki illi, situated on the north-east end of the great ki, and finding no anchorage, the brig stood on and off, while we landed in the boats at the village which is built close down on the beach and surrounded by a wall, but not so strongly protected by its position as the villages in timor laut. the houses, like those at oliliet, were raised on piles above the ground, but were not surmounted by the carved gables which seem to be peculiar to the tenimber group. in the centre of the village we noticed a large building, evidently a place of worship, surrounded by a grass plot, on which a number of stones were ranged in a circle with some taller ones in the middle. ki illi is celebrated for its manufacture of pottery, of which we saw many specimens, formed with great taste, of a coarse porous material, which being unglazed is well adapted for cooling by evaporation, in the manner so much used in the east. boat-building at ki illi. we had also an opportunity of seeing the boats, which are built in great numbers from the excellent timber with which all the islands of this group abound. they are much used by the traders frequenting the arru islands, and were highly spoken of for their durability and speed. the boats we saw, though they varied considerably in size, were all built on the same plan, having a considerable beam, a clean entrance and run, a flat floor, and the stem and stern post projecting considerably above the gunwales. they were all built of planks cut out of solid timber to the form required, dowelled together by wooden pegs, as a cooper fastens the head of a cask, and the whole afterwards strengthened by timbers, lashed with split rattan to solid cleats left for the purpose in each plank, during the process of hewing it into shape. four of the smallest of these boats were purchased for the use of the colony, for about / dollars each, and were found to answer very well. after leaving ki illi we sailed to the southward, along the eastern side of the great ki, which is well wooded to the summit of the hills, and cleared away for cultivation in many places. there is no anchorage off this side of the island, which is so steep to, that on one occasion we could get no bottom with ninety fathoms, two ships' lengths from the beach. at daylight on the th we entered the strait between the greater and lesser ki, the shores on both sides of which are lined with small patches of cultivation. during the day we observed several small detached reefs, and at sunset anchored on a reef, extending from the north end of the lesser ki, in thirteen fathoms. ki doulan. april . after breakfast, i started with some of the officers to visit ki doulan, the principal village in the lesser ki, and sent another boat to sound towards a small island to the westward. after leaving the brig we passed a luxuriant grove of coconut trees, extending along the beach, under the shade of which we saw several villages, where the natives were busily employed building boats. a pull of three miles brought us to the town of ki doulan, situated near the beach, and surrounded by a stone wall, which had every appearance of antiquity. on the sea side, where the wall was in its best state of preservation, there were three gates leading towards the beach, but accessible only by means of ladders four or five feet high, which could easily be removed in case of attack. the stones forming the sides of the central gateway were ornamented by rude bas-reliefs, representing figures on horseback; and the gate itself, formed of hard wood, and strong enough to keep out any party not provided with artillery, was richly carved. natives of ki doulan. within the walls there was a considerable space in which the houses were built without any regularity, resembling those at oliliet, with the exception of the carved horns at the gable. we visited the chief's, and found it tolerably clean: it consisted of one storey only; the high-pitched roof being used as a storeroom, to the rafters of which all sorts of miscellaneous articles were suspended. the chief himself, who was an old man, dressed in the black serge denoting his rank, was very civil, and offered us arrack and cocoa nuts. the natives of this group differ considerably from those of arru, and more resemble those of timor laut, but are not so much inclined to treachery. the population is said to amount to or , . christianity has not made the same progress here as at arru, and many of the natives profess the mahometan faith, to which they have been converted by the mahometans of ceram, who have several priests in the islands. they pay great attention to cultivation, and produce considerable quantities of coconut oil of a superior quality. tortoise-shell is also found, but their chief source of trade consists in the number of boats and proas, of various sizes, they build of the timber which abounds in both islands. outside the walls we noticed several burial places; and in a small shed, not very highly ornamented, was a rude figure of a man, nearly the size of life, holding a spear in his hand; and near this shed was a building resembling the one at ki illi, but much smaller, and very much out of repair. on the beach two macassar proas were hauled up to repair, and their crews had erected houses, similar to those at arru, for the purpose of carrying on their trade. the boats, of which the natives had great numbers in every stage of construction, were more highly finished than those at ki illi, but of the same form. on returning on board, mr. hill, who had been away sounding, reported a clear channel to the westward. in the evening we again landed at a small village near the ship, beautifully situated in a most luxuriant grove of coconut trees, and surrounded by a jungle, too dense to penetrate, except where a path had been cleared. many of the trees were very fine. agility of jack white. we were all much amused and surprised at the extraordinary activity our australian native, jack white, displayed in ascending the coconut trees, which he did with as much ease as any of us could have mounted a ladder, and when near the top of one of the highest, finding the sleeves of his frock and the legs of his trousers in the way, he held on with one arm and leg, while he rolled his trousers up above the knee, and then with both legs, while he rolled his sleeves above his elbows. his delight at the coconuts, which were quite new to him, was very great. although we were not very successful in obtaining supplies on this occasion, we found on a subsequent visit, when our stay was longer, that they could be obtained at a very moderate price; firewood and water may also be obtained without difficulty. off the town of ki doulan the water is too deep for a ship to anchor, but the shoal which projects from the point of the island three miles north of the town affords good anchorage in both monsoons. there seem to be clear passages between all the islands in this group, though contracted in places by reefs, which, from the clearness of the water, can be distinctly seen from the masthead. island of vordate. on the morning of the th we got underweigh, and passing to the westward of the ki group, saw the nusa tello islands indistinctly through the haze to the westward of us. at dawn on the th we made the high land of vordate, but light winds prevented our making much progress till the evening, when a light air carried us along the land, and soon after sunset we anchored in twenty fathoms off a small village. daylight on the th did not impress us with a favourable idea of our anchorage, for it appeared we had entered by a narrow and deep channel between two reefs upon which there was not more than / fathoms. at a chief came off from the village in a large canoe pulled by about a dozen men, with a tom-tom beating in the bow. he was very anxious to get some arrack, and promised plenty of supplies. after breakfast we landed, and were saluted by one gun from a proa hauled up on the beach. our arrival had evidently caused much excitement among the natives, who came down in great numbers, and formed a semicircle round the boat. they were nearly all armed with cresses and steel-headed spears. several of them wore a sort of breastplate made of hide, and their heads were ornamented with a profusion of richly coloured feathers and long horn-like projections formed of white calico; long necklaces of shells hung down to their waists, and all had their hair dyed in the same way as at oliliet. here we again noticed the carved horns surmounting the gables of the houses. the oran kaya. soon after we landed, the oran kaya made his appearance, and seemed to be in a great state of alarm. as soon as he got within the circle of his countrymen he commenced a series of most profound salaams, bending his head down till he touched my feet. by way of reassuring him, i presented him with a fine gaudy red shawl, which for a time had the desired effect; and he then produced a document in dutch, signed by lieutenant kolff, which appeared to be a certificate of good conduct. by means of the vocabulary and dictionary i tried to make them understand that we only wanted some pigs, vegetables and poultry, for which we had brought money to pay or goods to exchange. these he promised to procure for us, and to send them on board, earnestly making signs all the time that we should go away as soon as possible. alarm of the natives. finding the natives still coming down to the beach in great numbers, and that all were in a highly excited state, we merely gratified our curiosity on the beach, without attempting to go into their village, and returned on board. we subsequently found out that the natives had some reason to be alarmed at our appearance, as they had been recently visited by a frigate, sent by the dutch government to punish the inhabitants of the neighbouring island laarat for the murder of captain harris, and part of the crew of the english bark alexander, on which occasion she destroyed the village and took away several of the natives, who were supposed to have been implicated in the business, prisoners to amboyna. after about an hour, during which the natives remained in a compact group on the beach, evidently in deep consultation, the same chief who visited us in the morning came off again, bringing with him the promised supplies, consisting only of a billy-goat and a small pig. we tried some time in vain to convince him we had no hostile intentions, and as the weather was too unsettled to remain in so insecure an anchorage, we weighed, and made sail for oliliet, passing close along the island of vordate, which is moderately high, luxuriantly wooded, very well cultivated, and apparently densely inhabited. it is separated from laarat by a narrow strait, which, from the way the sea broke across it, appeared to be quite shoal. return to oliliet. april . at a.m. we were off laouran, but finding the swell, occasioned by the strong breezes experienced yesterday, was breaking too heavily on the reef skirting the bay for a boat to land, we stood on for oliliet, and on rounding the point fired a gun and hove to. two canoes soon after left the beach, and from the number of articles of european manufacture with which they were decorated, we soon saw that some vessel must have visited the place since our departure; and on the chief coming on board he handed me some papers, from which i ascertained that mr. watson, commanding the essington schooner, had visited the place during our absence; and by having a person on board who could communicate with the natives, he had succeeded by threats and promises held out to the chiefs in getting the european boy given up to him. the boy had nearly forgotten his english at first, but mr. watson afterwards made out that he belonged to the stedcombe schooner, the crew of which were all murdered by the natives while engaged in watering their vessel. he had been ten years on the island, during which time he had been well treated by his captors. the brig was obliged to stand off and on, as there is no anchorage off oliliet during the south-east monsoon, which had now set in; but two boats were sent on shore to obtain supplies. conduct of the natives. they were well received by the natives, and again visited the village, where they were surprised to find that all the women came out to see them. all, both young and old, were dressed in a dark coloured wrapper, which reached from the waist to the knees, and on their ankles they wore a profusion of bright brass ornaments. the boats were not very successful in procuring stock, but the chiefs promised an abundant supply in the morning, which i determined to wait for, and accordingly worked to windward under easy sail during the night, but found at daylight that we had been sent so far to the southward by a current, that it was a.m. before we were again near enough to send the boats in. on landing they found all their chiefs, and a considerable number of the natives waiting on the beach with vegetables, etc. for sale. but they had hardly commenced their barter, when a powerful looking man, armed with a large iron-headed spear, in a state of intoxication, came rushing down from the village; he made directly for the crowd upon the beach, apparently with the intention of attacking our party; but the natives immediately closed upon him, and after some trouble disarmed him; after which he continued to rush about the crowd in a violent state of excitement, running against any of our party he could see, and making urgent signs to them to leave the shore. at the same time the noise and confusion on the beach was so great, that the officer in charge of the party prepared to return on board at once, in order to avoid any collision with the natives. as soon as the chiefs became aware of his intention, they were most anxious he should remain, and made every profession of friendship to induce him to do so; but he had heard so much of their treachery from the traders at arru that he resisted their entreaties, and returned on board at half-past eleven. arrive at port essington. as soon as the boats were hoisted up, we made sail for port essington, and anchored there on the th of april. ... it was our intention to have concluded this volume with captain stanley's narrative, but as the following account of the daring manner in which mr. watson rescued the english boy from the savages of timor laut, has fallen into our hands, and as doubtless it was the cause of the strange and suspicious reception the britomart's boats met with on their second visit to oliliet, we here lay it before our readers: mr. watson's proceedings at timor laut. mr. watson had not been off the island long before his vessel, the schooner essington, was surrounded by eleven armed canoes, for the purpose of attack. the chief wished mr. watson to go in and anchor, which he refused, but showed him that he was ready for defence in case of any outrage on their part. the chief, thinking he could entrap him, made signs of friendship, and mr. watson allowed him and his crew to come on board. the chief then said that a white man was on shore, and wished the master to go and fetch him off, which was refused. mr. watson then laid out an immense quantity of merchandise, which he said he would give for the white man, and desired the chief to send his canoe ashore to fetch him; stating, however, that he would retain him on board till the white man came, and also, that if he was not immediately brought, he would either hang or shoot the chief, and he had rope prepared for the purpose, as also a gun. this manoeuvre had the desired effect on the chief, who immediately despatched his canoe to the shore. for three days and nights mr. watson was compelled to cruise off the island, the natives still refusing to bring off forbes. towards the close of the third day they brought off the boy, but would not put him on board until mr. watson placed the rope round the chief's neck, when they came alongside; and as the crew of the essington were hoisting forbes up the side of the vessel, the chief jumped overboard into his canoe. mr. watson made the chief come on board again, and told him that although he had deceived and wished to entrap him, yet he would show that the white men were as good as their word; and not only gave the chief the promised wares, but also distributed some to each of the other ten canoes. this line of conduct had a very good effect on the natives, who after receiving the goods expressed great joy, and as they were leaving kept up a constant cheer. forbes at first appeared in a savage state, but after a short time, stated the following particulars relative to the loss of the stedcombe, and the massacre of the crew: the stedcombe, mr. barns, master, arrived off the coast in the year . mr. barns* having left her in charge of the mate, he and two or three others went ashore at melville island. (*footnote. when at sydney, in , i met mr. barns, who corroborated forbes's account. j.l.s.) the mate ran her into timor laut, and anchored; he then went ashore with the crew, leaving the steward, forbes, and another boy, on board. after they had been ashore a short time, forbes looked through a telescope to see what they were about, when he saw that the whole of the crew were being massacred by the natives. he immediately communicated that fact to the steward, and advised him to unshackle the anchor, and run out to sea, as the wind was from the land. the steward told him to go about his business, and when he got on deck he found the vessel surrounded with canoes. the natives came on board and murdered the steward; forbes and the other boy got up the rigging, and in consequence of their expertness the natives were unable to catch them, but at last made signs for them to come down, and they would not hurt them. they availed themselves of the only chance left them of saving their lives, and surrendered. they were immediately bound, and taken on shore; a rope was fastened to the ship, her cable slipped, and the natives hauled her ashore, where she soon became a wreck. forbes states that several dutchmen had called at the island, to whom he appealed for rescue, but they all refused to interfere; and latterly, whenever any vessel hove in sight, he was always bound hand and foot, so that he should have no chance of escape. both himself and the other boy had been made slaves to the tribes; his companion died about three years since. the poor fellow is still in a very bad state of health; the sinews of his legs are very much contracted, and he has a great number of ulcers all over his legs and body. fortunately for forbes, mr. watson had a surgeon on board the essington, who immediately put him under a course of medicine, which, without doubt, saved his life; for, from the emaciated state in which he was received on board, it was impossible, without medical aid, that he could have survived much longer. too much fraise cannot be awarded to mr. watson for his exertions in rescuing this lad. appendix. list of birds, collected by the officers of h.m.s. beagle, during the years to . ichthyiaetus leucogaster. ieracidea berigora. astur approximans, vig. and horsf. collocalia arborea. podargus humeralis, vig. and horsf. podargus phalaenoides, gould. eurostopodus guttatus. merops ornatus, lath. dacelo leachii. dacelo cervina, gould. halcyon macleayii, jard. and selb. alcyone azurea. dicrurus bracteatus, gould. colluricincla cinerea, gould. pachycephala gutturalis. pachycephala melanura, gould. pachycephala pectoralis, vig. and horsf. pachycephala lanoides, gould. artamus sordidus. cracticus destructor. cracticus argenteus. grallina australis. graucalus melanops. graucalus albiventris. pitta iris, gould. oriolus viridis. cinclosoma punctatum, vig. and horsf. malurus lamberti, vig. and horsf. malurus melanocephalus, vig. and horsf. malurus splendens. malurus brownii, vig. and horsf. stipiturus malachurus. cysticola exilis ? ephthianura albifrons. sericornis frontalis. anthus pallescens. cincloramphus cruralis. mirafra ? ---- ? petroica multicolor. zosterops luteus. pardalotus punctatus. pardalotus uropygialis, gould. dicaeum hirundinaceum. amadina lathami. amadina gouldiae, gould. estrelda oculea. estrelda phaeton. estrelda annulosa, gould. estrelda temporalis. donacola pectoralis, gould. donacola flaviprymna, gould. emblema picta, gould. poephila acuticauda, gould. rhipidura albiscapa, gould. rhipidura isura, gould. rhipidura motacilloides. seisura volitans. piezorhynchus nitidus, gould. myiagra platyrostris. gerygone ---- (like g. albogularis). chlamydera nuchalis. cacatua galerita, vieill. cacatua eos. calyptorhynchus macrorhynchus, gould. platycercus brownii. melopsittacus undulatus. nymphicus novae-hollandiae. pezoporus formosus. trichoglossus swainsonii, jard. and selb. trichoglossus rubritorquis, vig. and horsf. trichoglossus versicolor, vig. climacteris melanura, gould. sittella leucoptera, gould. chalcites lucidus. eudynamys orientalis. centropus phasianus. meliphaga novae-hollandiae, vig. and horsf. glyciphila ocularis, gould. glyciphila fasciata, gould. ptilotis versicolor, gould. ptilotis flavescens, gould. ptilotis flava, gould. ptilotis chrysotis. entomophila albogularis, gould. entomophila rufogularis, gould. acanthogenys rufogularis, gould. tropidorhynchus citreogularis, gould. tropidorhynchus argenticeps, gould. acanthorhynchus superciliosus, gould. myzomela sanguineolenta. myzomela erythrocephala, gould. myzomela pectoralis, gould. myzomela obscura, gould. entomyza albipennis. myzantha lutea, gould. ptilinopus superbus. leucosarcia picata. phaps chalcoptera. phaps elegans. geophaps smithii. geophaps plumifera, gould. petrophassa albipennis, gould. geopelia cuneata. geopelia placida, gould. carpophaga luctuosa. macropygia phasianella. oedicnemus grallarius. haematopus fuliginosus, gould. haematopus longirostris. turnix melanotus, gould. turnix castanotus, gould. turnix varius. turnix velox, gould. turnix pyrrhothorax, gould. synoicus australis. synoicus ? chinensis. ardea novae-holiandiae, lath. nycticorax caledonicus, less. falcinellus igneus. numenius australasianus, gould. recurvirostra rubricollis, temm. strepsilas collaris, linn. pelidna australis. tribonyx ventralis. rallus philippensis. eulabeornis castaneoventris. cygnus atratus. leptotarsis eytoni. dendrocygna arcuata. nettapus pulchellus, gould. tadorna radjah. casarca tadornoides. biziura lobata. bernicla jubata. anas novae-hollandiae. spatula rhynchotis. malacorhynchus membranaceus. podiceps poliocephalus, jard. and selb. phalacrocorax carboides, gould. phalacrocorax melanoleucus, vieill. ... appendix. descriptions of six fish taken by the officers of the beagle on the coasts of australia, by sir john richardson, m.d. f.r.s., etc. inspector of naval hospitals. ... balistes phaleratus. richardson. ch. spec. b. cauda tot aculeolis quot squamis armata; gena tota squamulis stipatis aspera, nec lines laevibus decursa; squamis majoribus rotuntdatis post aperturam branchiorum; fascia frontali et mtacula caudae nigris: fascia nigra laterali ab oculo ad caudam extensa, cumque pari suo ter trans dorsum conjugata. radii. d. - : ; a. : ; c. ; p. . fishes. plate . figures , . profile oval, with a somewhat convex nape, and the face descending in a very slightly concave line. the mouth is on a level with the middle height of the body, and forms the obtuse end of the oval. the white teeth have their points ranged evenly, the eye is high up but does not touch the profile, and the two contiguous openings of the nostrils are immediately before it. the gill opening inclines obliquely forward as it descends, touches the middle line of height at its lower end, and its length is equal to a fifth of the altitude of the body. the scales anterior to the pectorals and gill openings are closer and finer than on the hinder parts of the fish. on the body each scale is roughened by vertical rows of blunt points, which become more acute towards the hinder part of the flanks, and on the tail one of the points of each scale rises into a minute spine curved towards the caudal fin. in the narrowest part of the tail there are not above three or four of these spines in a vertical row, but there are ten or more between the posterior parts of the dorsal and anal. immediately behind the gill openings there are three roundish scales larger than the others. the scales of the cheeks are studded with points, which are more minute and rounded than the others, and there are no smooth intervening lines, such as exist on the cheeks of some other species. the dorsal spine is rather short, thickish, and not acute. it is strongly roughened by five or six rows of short bluntish and truncated teeth. the soft dorsal and anal commence with a simple flexible ray which is not jointed. the other rays have each from four to six rough points near their bases. the rays of the caudal are alternate. the ventral spine is short and blunt, and is armed with short divaricated teeth, some of which are forked. the roughness runs forward on the chine or ventral line, until it passes gradually into the ordinary scales of the head. the dewlap is very slightly extensible, and but little developed. it is supported by six thread-like rays, which are all divided to the base. a black band crosses the forehead from eye to eye. the upper half of the eye is bordered with black. the first dorsal exclusive of its last ray is of the same hue; a black band descends from it, and two from the second dorsal, which meet in a stripe that extends from the eye to the tail, the whole bearing some resemblance to the traces of a coach-horse. there is also a black mark on the upper surface of the tail, and a minute brownish speck on each scale, which specks form very faint rows on the cheeks and belly. the ground tint is pale or whitish, with some duskiness on the face, as if it had been coloured when recent. length, / inches. height of body, / inch. habitat. the western coasts of australia. ... cristiceps axillaris. richardson. ch. spec. c. pinnis intaminatis; macula argentata post os maxillare, altera in summa gena pone oculum et tertia majori in axilla pectorali; linea laterali argenteo-punctata. radii. b. ; d. : -- : ; a. : ; c. ; p. ; v. : . fishes. plate . figures , , . this singularly delicate and clear-looking fish has, after long immersion in spirits, a pale flesh colour, with transparent and spotless fins. a bright silvery streak descends from the angle of the preorbitar to the corner of the mouth, where it dilates a little. a speck of the same colour exists within the upper limb of the preoperculum, and immediately behind the pectoral fin there is a large oblong one. the little tubes forming the lateral line are also silvery. it is with much doubt that i name this species as distinct from the c. australis of the histoire des poissons, but there some points in m. valenciennes' description of that fish which i cannot reconcile with the specimen now under consideration. and first, with respect to scales, m. valenciennes states that he could detect none in australis, but in axillaris there are minute round scales, lying rather wide of each other, each having central umbo and lines radiating from it to the circumference. these scales are not easily seen while the skin continues moist, but become apparent as it dries, and are most numerous towards the tail. the head of axillaris is scaleless, and a row of pores runs along the lower jaw, up the preoperculum, and along the temporal groove. the eye is also encircled by similar pores. the muscular fibres shine through the delicate skin as in australis, and the teeth on the jaws and vomer appear to be similar. on comparing the specimen of axillaris with the figure of australis in the histoire des poissons, the second dorsal does not appear undulated as in the latter, but the spinous rays increase gradually in height from the first, and the anterior dorsal is proportionally higher; the distance also between the ventrals and anus is considerably less in proportion to the length of the head, which is contained four times and a half in the total length of the fish, while the height of the body is contained five times. the proportions of australis are stated differently. length of specimen, . inches. habitat. king george's sound (benj. bynoe, esquire surgeon of the beagle). since the above notice was drawn up i have examined a cristiceps upwards of six inches long, which was sent from botany bay by sir everard home to the college of surgeons. this does not clear up the doubt respecting the identity of australis and cristiceps. it has completely lost its colours, and shows neither the greenish bands of australis, nor the silvery marks of axillaris, it has, however, the form of the fins of the latter, with the number of rays exactly as in australis, a space between the ventrals and anus equal to the length of the head, scales on the body, as in axillaris, and similar pores on the head. better materials are required to enable us to decide whether axillaris be a nominal species or not. ... scorpaena stokesii. richardson. radii. d. : ; a. : ; c. / ; p. ; v. : . fishes. plate . figures , , , and , natural size. the scorpaenae have so strong a generic resemblance among themselves that it is difficult to detect the distinctive characters of the species, especially as the colours of the recent fish speedily fade when macerated in spirits, or when the mucous integument decays or is injured. we have received but a single example of the subject of this article, which is named in honour of the able commander of the beagle. the species bears a near resemblance to the scorpaena militaris, but differs from it in having no spinous point terminating the intra orbitar ridges, and in the distribution of the scales on the cheek and gill cover. the spinous points on the head approach very near to those of bufo and porcus. the inferior preorbitar tooth is acutely spinous, and points directly downwards; the two anterior ones are inconspicuous, and not very acute, and the smaller upper posterior one observed in most scorpaenae is obsolete, or, at least, completely hidden by the integuments. the nasal spines are, as usual, small, simple, and acute. the three supra orbitar teeth are smaller than in militaris, and the middle one reclines so as to be concealed by the integument instead of standing boldly up. the two low ridges between the orbits do not end in spinous points. the lateral ridges continued from the orbits over the supra scapulars, and the temporal ridges which are parallel to them, but run farther back, contain each four teeth. the infra-orbitar ridge is slightly uneven anteriorly, and two reclining teeth may be made out at its posterior end. the preoperculum is curved in the segment of a circle, and has a short spine, with a smaller one on its base, opposite to the abutment of the infra-orbitar ridge. beneath this spine there are four angular points on the edge of the bone. the opercular spines are as usual two in number, being the tips of two low even divergent ridges, with a curved notch in the edges of the bone between them. the coracoid bone is notched above the pectoral fin, the notch being terminated below by a spine, and above by an acute corner. there are no scales between the cranial ridges on the top of the head, nor in the concave inter-orbital space. a single row of five or six scales traverses the cheek below the infra-orbitar ridge. the temples before the upper limb of the preoperculum are densely scaly, as is also the gill flap above the upper opercular ridge. the acute membranous lobe which fills the notch between the two opercular spines is likewise scaly, and there are a few scales about the origin of the ridges, but the space between the ridges, the sub-operculum, and the inter-operculum, are naked. there is a short fringed superciliary cirrhus, and some slender filaments from other parts of the head, as shown in the figure, also lax skinny tips on the inferior points of the preorbitar and preoperculum, but the condition of the specimen does not admit of other cirrhi being properly made out if such actually existed. in the axilla of the pectoral there are four or five pale round spots. the figure, which is of the natural size, represents the markings which remain after long maceration in weak spirit. if there be a black mark in the first dorsal, as in the militaris, it is effaced in our specimen. length, . inches. habitat. the coasts of australia. ... smaris porosus. richardson. ch. spec. smaris rostro porosissimo; fascia obscura e rostro per oculum recte ad caudam tracta; fascia altera in summo dorso. radii. b. ; d. : ; a. : ; c. / ; v. : . fishes. plate . this smaris has fewer dorsal rays than any species described in the histoire des poissons, and a shorter body than the mediterranean vulgaris. its shape is fusiform, the greatest height, which is at the ventrals, and which exceeds twice the thickness, being contained exactly four times in the total length, caudal included. the thickness at the gill cover is greater than that of the body, which lessens very gradually to the end of the tail. the snout is transversely obtuse, but is rather acute in profile. a cross section of the body at the ventrals is ovate, approaching to an oval, the obtuse end being upwards. in profile the curve of the belly is rather greater than that of the back, and the face slopes downwards to the mouth, nearly in a straight line. the head forms rather less than a quarter of the whole length. the eye is large, and approaches near the profile without trenching on it. the mouth is scarcely cleft so far back as the nostrils. the intermaxillaries are moderately protractile, and curve a little downwards. the teeth are disposed on the jaws in rather broad villiform bands, the individual teeth being setaceous and erect. they become a little taller nearer the outside, and the outer terminal cross row, composed of three on each side of the symphysis, may be termed small canines. on the lower jaw the villiform teeth in front are more uniformly small, and there is an acute row of subulate teeth, which are tallest in the middle of the limbs of the jaw, beyond which, towards the corners of the mouth, there is an even row of very small teeth. at the end of the jaw there is a small canine on each side exterior to all the others. the fore edge of the preorbitar is slightly curved in form of the italic f, the lower corner curving forward abruptly, so as to produce a notch, which is filled up by the extremity of the retracted maxillary. the whole end of the snout, back to the eyes, including the disk of the preorbitar, is minutely porous, and a row of large pores borders the upper half of the orbit. the jaws, the uneven lobate disk of the preoperculum and the branchiostegous membrane are naked, the rest of them being scaly. the scales of the cheek are disposed in six concentric curves, the same arrangement extending to the gill-cover, but less conspicuously. a small flat spinous point projects beyond the scales of the operculum, which has a very narrow membranous edging. the scales are ciliated. the caudal is slightly notched at the end, its basal half is scaly, as is also the base of the pectorals; the rest of the fins are scaleless. the dorsal is nearly even, its height being, however, rather greatest at the fourth or fifth spine. its end is rounded. a dark stripe, commencing at the top of the snout, runs through the eye straight to the tail, and a fainter one occupies the summit of the back to the end of the dorsal. the curve of the lateral line rises above the lower stripe anteriorly, but coincides with it beyond the posterior end of the dorsal. the rest of the fish is silvery, and the fins are not marked. these colours are described from a specimen preserved in spirits. length, inches. habitat. king george's sound. (bynoe). ... chelmon marginalis. richardson. chelmon marginalis, richardson, annals and mag. of nat. hist. , page , september . radii. d. : ; a. - l; c. / ; p. ; v. : . fishes. plate . natural size. this fish is described in the annals of natural history from a dried specimen brought from port essington by mr. gilbert. it has very much the form of chelmon rostratus, but wants the eye-like spot on the dorsal. several examples in spirits were brought by the officers of the beagle from the north-west coast of australia, all of which show a broad band passing between the dorsal and anal fins, which was not visible in the dried specimen. this band is bounded anteriorly by one, and posteriorly by two whitish lines. in the annals the anal fin is described as being more angular than the dorsal, but in the specimens in spirits the reverse appears to be the case. this variation depends on the degree or expansion of the fins, and both may be much rounded by pulling the rays apart. the exact distribution of the bands may be clearly made out from the figure, which is very correct. the rays of the fins probably vary in number in different individuals, and our careful enumeration of those specimens kept in spirits, as recorded above, gives two or three soft rays more in the dorsal and anal, than we were able to detect in the dried skin. length, / inches. habitat. northern and north-western coasts of australia. ... assiculus. ch. gen. corpus compressissimum, assulaeforme: caput crassius, minus altum, declive. os parvum. maxilla inferior porifera, ore clauso ascendens, hinc, ore hiante, ultra maxillam speriorem modice protractam extensa. preoperculum margine integro nec spinifero, disco arcto, inaequali, esquamoso, genam squamosam postice et infra cingens. operculum tridentatum: suboperculum crenatum; utrumque et interoperculum latiusculum squamis satis magnis tecta. dentes villiformes, minuti cum dente canino in media utroque latere maxillae inferioris et trans apicem utriusque maxillae dentibus quatuor (vel sex) fortioribus, altioribus, in serie exteriori ordinatis. dentes vomeris et palati acuti, stipati minuti. dentes pharyngei, acerosi inequales, acuti. membrana branchialis radiis sex sustentata, interoperculis liberis, accumbentibus tecta. squamae satis magnae, nitidae ciliatae. linea lateralis antice abrupte ascendens, dein dorso parallela et approximata, postice diffracta infraque per mediam caudam cursum resumens. pinnae magnae esquamosae. pinna dorsi anique radiis tribus, spinosis, ceteris articulatis. pinnae ventrales sub pectorales offixae, propter tenuitatem ventris invicem approximatae. the strong resemblance which the subject of this article bears to the pseudochromis olivaceus of dr. ruppell (neue worlbethiere, page , taf. , figure ) induced me at first sight to refer it to the same genus, but on examination i found that very material alterations would require to be made in the generic characters assigned to pseudochromis,* to enable them to apply to our fish. (*footnote. m. swainson, considering this name as very objectionable, has proposed labristoma instead. both names are founded on the resemblance which the fish bears to another genus, in whole or in part, and the objection which has been made to the one is equally valid against the other.) the above character has therefore been drawn up, and ichthyologists may consider assiculus, either as a proper generic form, or as merely a subgenus or subdivision of pseudochromis, with an extended character, according to their different views of arrangement. the last named genus, as described and restricted by dr. ruppell, from whom all our knowledge of it is derived, has the jaw teeth disposed in a single row, and the minute palatine teeth of a sphaeroidal form. the operculum has its angle prolonged, and is not toothed, nor is the suboperculum crenated; and a considerable number of the rays of the dorsal fin, succeeding to the three spinous ones, are simple but flexible, the posterior ones only being articulated and divided in the usual manner. linnaeus has briefly characterized two fish (labrus ferrugineus, bl. schn. page , and labrus marginalis, id. page ) which most probably belong, either to pseudochromis or assiculus, and which are to be placed, m. valenciennes thinks, near malacanthus, among the labridae. now, this family, according to m. agassiz, is essentially cycloid in the structure of its scales, although there is a slight departure from the rigid characters of the order in the serrated preopercular of crenilabrus, ctenolabrus, and some others, and in the spine bearing operculum of malacanthus. the latter genus is, moreover, described by m. agassiz as possessing scales with toothed edges, and rough to the touch when the finger is drawn forwards. it has the simple intestinal canal without caeca, which is proper to the labridae. the intestine of pseudochromis is similarly formed, the stomach being continuous with the rest of the alimentary canal, and not distinguished by any cul de sac. having but one specimen of assiculus for examination, i have not been able to submit it to dissection to see whether the structure of its intestines be the same or not, but both it and pseudochromis differ very widely from the labroid type in their scales, possessing the peculiar firm, shining, strongly ciliated structure, which we observe in glyphisodon and its allies, and in the lateral line being interrupted in a precisely similar manner. chromis and plesiops have already been removed by m. valenciennes from the labridae to the glyphisodontidae, and it is with them that we feel inclined to range assiculus and pseudochromis, notwithstanding the discrepancies in the form of the intestinal canal. we can, however, trace a gradation in the variation of form. the normal number of caeca in the glyphysodontidae is three. in chromis there are generally two small ones, while the bolti of the nile, or the chromis niloticus of cuvier, has no pyloric caecum, but a large cul de sac to the stomach. malacanthus is widely separated from the glyphisodontidae by its continuous lateral line. since these remarks were written i have seen muller's paper, entitled, beitrage zur kentniss der naturlichen familien der fische, in which the chromidae are indicated as a distinct family from the glyphisodontidae, which latter he names labroidei stenoidei; and pseudochromis, it is stated, belongs to neither of these families, because it has twofold pharyngeals with a division between them. dr. muller promises a separate article on pseudochromis, which i have not yet seen. ... assiculus punctatus. radii. br. ; d. : ; a. : ; c. ; p. : v. , . fishes. plate . figures , , , , and . this fish is as thin in the body as a lath, whence the generic name. its greatest width is at the cheek, as shown by the section figure , where the transverse diameter is about half the height. figure shows the section at the gill cover, and third dorsal spine, where the thickness is less; and figure , represents a section behind the ventrals, where the thickness is little more than a tithe of the height, and it gradually decreases to the caudal fin. the oblong profile is highest at the third dorsal spine, whence it descends with a slightly convex curve to the mouth, which is low down--the under jaw when extended, being nearly on a line with the belly. the height of the tail between the vertical fins is equal to half the greatest height of the body. the dorsal and ventral lines are both acute, especially the former, and the medial line of the nape continues acute to the orbits. the length of the head, measured from the upper jaw, is contained four times and a half in the total length of the fish. the large round eye, situated near the upper profile, fills more than a quarter of this length. the orbit is surrounded by a ring of muciferous canals, with open orifices, which are the only exterior vestiges of the suborbitar chain. the small mouth descends obliquely and scarcely reaches back to the orbit. the intermaxillaries are moderately protractile, but the lower jaw, when depressed, projects still further forward. the maxillary widens towards its lower end, which curves a little forwards. three pores exist on each limb of the lower jaw. the teeth of the upper jaw present a fine, but rather uneven and broad cardiform surface at the symphysis, which narrows to a single row towards the corner of the mouth, where they are a little longer and more subulate. four canine teeth stand across the end of the jaw anterior to the dental plate, the intermediate ones being shorter than the outer ones. the dentition of the under jaw differs in the dental band being narrower, and in there being a conspicuous canine in the middle of each limb of the jaw. there are also six canines standing across the extreme tips of the jaw, opposed to the upper ones. most of the teeth are slightly curved backwards. the chevron of the vomer projects from the roof of the mouth, and its surface is armed by minute teeth in about three or four densely crowded rows. the palatine teeth are still more minute, and the band is four or five deep. the teeth, when examined with a lens, appear to be very acute and in nowise spherical. the pharyngeal teeth are subulate and acute, and of unequal heights. there seems to be only one inferior pharyngeal bone below; but without dissection this could not be clearly made out. the outer branchial rakers are long. the narrow, slightly pitted, scaleless disk of the preoperculum bounds the scaly cheek behind and below, and has an entire edge with neither spine nor acute angle at the bend. the other pieces of the gill cover are closely covered with scales, only a little smaller than those of the body. the pretty wide thin inter-operculum lays freely over the gill membranes, and covers them when shut up. the sub-operculum is minutely crenulated on the edge, and has a small sub-membranous tip, which projects a little beyond the three opercular teeth. a small curved notch marks the separation between the interoperculum and sub-operculum. the scales extend on the crown of the head to the middle of the orbits. the snout, lips, jaws, the place at the corner of the mouth over which the maxillary glides and the gill membrane are scaleless. the scales of the body are very regularly disposed, showing rhomboidal disks when in situ, with strongly ciliated edges. the lateral line ascends at its commencement and bends rather suddenly under the first soft dorsal ray to run near and parallel to the ridge of the back. it terminates beneath the sixth ray from the end of the fin, but recommences on the fourth scale beneath, and runs in the middle height of the tail to the base of the caudal. two or three of the scales before its recommencement, have a minute pit in the middle of their disks, as is not unusual with the glyphisodons. the first part of the lateral line forms an almost continuous tubular ridge traced on thirty-eight scales of the second row from the summit of the back; the posterior part traverses six or seven scales. there are twelve or thirteen scales in a vertical row on the side of the body. the anus, situated a short way before the anal fin, has a very small aperture. there are no scales on the fin membranes. the three dorsal spines are short, graduated, moderately stout, and pungent. the twenty-three soft rays are all distinctly articulated, and more or less branched. the last ray is divided to the base, and is graduated with the two preceding ones, giving a rounded form to the posterior tip of the fin. the specimen had the anterior part of the fin frayed a little, so that it is probable that the soft rays are higher and less distinctly branched than the artist has represented them to be in copying the example placed before him. the ventrals are in a line with the tip of the gill cover and first soft dorsal ray, and from the extreme narrowness of the pelvis are close to each other. they are tapering, pointed, and overlap the beginning of the anal, which, though it have fewer rays than the dorsal, is similar in structure. the pectoral and caudal are much rounded, especially the latter. there is a greater space between the anal and caudal than between the dorsal and the same fin. in the caudal there are twenty rays, including two very short ones above, and the same number below. the general colour of the specimen, which has been long in spirits, is shining yellowish-brown with several round dots of azure-blue scattered over the body. the cheek is crossed obliquely by a row of three spots. the figure errs in representing the spots as dispersed over the cheek; they are in fact ranged in a row. length, / inches. habitat. coast of australia. haslar hospital, th october, . ... appendix. descriptions of some new australian reptiles. by john edward gray, esquire, f.r.s., etc. ... fam. sauridae. silubosaurus, gray. head subquadrangular, raised in front, head-shields flat, thin, rather rugose. nasal shields ovate, triangular, rather anterior, with a groove behind the nostril. rostral shields triangular, erect. supranasal none; internasal broad; frontonasal large, contiguous; frontal and interparietal small, frontoparietal and parietal moderate; eyebrow shields, - . temples scaly, no shields between the orbit and labial plates. eyes rather small, lower lid opatic, covered with scales. ears oblong, with a large scale in front. body fusiform, roundish thick; scales of the back, broad, lozenge-shaped, keeled; keels ending in a dagger point; largest on the hinder parts of the throat and belly; transverse, ovate, -sided. limbs four, strong. toes elongate, compressed, unequal, clawed; tail short, conical, tapering, depressed; with rings of large, broad, lozenge-shaped, dagger-pointed, spinose scales, with a central series of very broad -sided smooth scales beneath. this genus is intermediate between cyclodus and egernia, but quite distinct from both. it differs from tachydosaurus and cyclodus in having slender elongated toes like egernia, in the scales being keeled, and in there being no series of large plates beneath the orbit, and it is easily known from egernia by the tail being depressed and broad, instead of conical and round. like all the genera above named, it appears to be peculiar to australia. the silubosaure. silubosaurus stokesii. reptiles. plate . olive brown, varied with black and large white spots; shields of the head white, black-edged. inhabits australia. egernia, gray. head quadrangular, rather tapering in front. head shields convex, rugose. nasal shields ovate-triangular, rather anterior, approximate; supranasal none; rostral triangular, erect; internasal lozenge-shaped, as long as broad; frontonasal rhombic, lateral, separate; frontal and interparietal moderate, elongate; frontoparietals , rather diverging, contiguous in front; parietal moderate, half ovate. temple shielded. orbit without any scales between it and the labial shields. ears oblong, with small scales in front. body fusiform. scales of the back, sides, and upper part of the limbs broad, -sided, with a large central keel ending in a spine, larger on the loins, those of the nape - or -grooved, of the throat and belly thin, broad, ovate, -sided. legs , strong. toes elongate, compressed, unequal, clawed. tail as long as the body, round, tapering, with series of broad -sided, keeled, strongly-spined scales, with a series of broad -sided smooth scales. cunningham's egernia. egernia cunninghami. tiliqua cunninghami. gray, proceedings of the zoological society to . reptiles. plate . olive, white spotted head, brown chin, and beneath white; ears with or pointed scales in front. inhabits australia. fam. agamidae. chelosania, gray. head large, covered with small rather unequal not imbricate scales. sides of the face rounded, without any large scales upon the edge of the eyebrows. parotids swollen, unarmed. nostrils lateral, medial. throat lax, with a slight cross fold behind. the sides of the neck unarmed. nape and back with a crest of low angular distant scales. body compressed, with rings of rather small rhombic keeled rough uniform scales placed in cross rings; of the belly rather larger, obliquely keeled; of the limbs larger. tail elongated, tapering, rather compressed, with keeled scales, those of the under sides rather truncated, the keel of the scales of the end forming ridges, the upper surface slightly keeled, subdentated. toes - , moderate, unequal. femoral and preanal pores none. the chelosania. chelosania brunnea. pale brown, rather paler beneath. inhabits west australia. gindalia, gray. head moderate, subquadrangular, covered with regular keeled scales, of the occiput rather smaller. face-ridge rather angular, edged with small scales. parotids rather swollen, with a ridge of rather larger conical scales over the ears above. nostrils lateral, medial. throat rather lax, with a cross fold behind. nape and back rounded, not crested. scales of the back equal, rhombic, keeled, placed in longitudinal series; on the sides smaller, but with the keels forming rather ascending ridges; of the belly similar, in longitudinal series, with the keels sharp and rather produced at the tip. the tail round, tapering, with imbricate rhombic seales, with the keels forming longitudinal ridges. femoral and preanal pores none. toes - , unequal. gindalia, gray. the gindalia. gindalia bennettii. pale brown, rather paler beneath; the scales of the back small, sharply keeled, forming longitudinal ridges, which converge together just at the base of the tail towards the two upper ridges formed by the keels of the scales of the tail; of the limbs rather larger. inhabits north-west coast of australia. grammatophora. the crested grammatophore. grammatophora cristata. olive; head black varied, beneath pale; throat, chest and under side of the thighs black; tail black-ringed; scales rather irregular, with a central and two lateral series of compressed keeled scales; nape with a crest of compressed elevated distant scales; sides of the neck with scattered single elongated conical spines; tail tapering, with uniform keeled scales, keeled above, rather dilated at the base, with indistinct cross series of rather larger scales. inhabits west australia. the netted grammatophore. grammatophora reticulata. grammatophora decresii, gray, grey's trav. austr. , not dum. et bib. black, yellow-spotted and varied, beneath grey, vermiclated with blackish; tail black-ringed; back and nape with a central series of larger keeled scales, with distant cross series of similar scales; sides of the nape and parotids with series of rather larger keeled scales; scales of the back small, subequal; tail tapering, with regular nearly equal keeled scales, and or cross bands of larger scales at the base. inhabits west australia. the yellow-spotted grammatophore. grammatophora ornata. black; the back with a series of large yellow spots, smaller on the sides; the tail and limbs yellow-banded, beneath yellow; the throat black-dotted; chest blackish; nape with a slight scaly crest; ears with a few tubercular scales in front; neck with or groups of short tubercular scales on each side; the scales small, ovate, imbricate, keeled, of the middle of the back rather larger, and with a few rather larger (white) ones scattered on the sides; nostril near the front edge of the orbit. inhabits west australia. family hybridae. stokes' sea serpent. hydrus stokesii. reptiles. plate . grey; white beneath; scales of the back, broad, ovate, cordate, keeled; of the sides larger, and of the belly largest, all keeled; of the two central series of the belly rather larger, more acute and smooth. labial shields, , , , high band-like; the and the highest. , cheek scale; , anterior, and , posterior ocular, the lower hinder largest; the hinder labial shields behind the eye small, the hinder one smallest. inhabits australian seas. this species is the giant of the genus, being very many times larger than the hydrus major of shaw (pelamis shawi, messem.) from the coast of india. the body is as thick as a man's thigh, and it must have been a most powerful and dangerous enemy to any person in the water. gonionotus, gray. head ovate, depressed, covered with small rather acute scales, with small frontal plates just over the rostral in front; rostral small, triangular, concave in the centre. nostrils large, rather anterior, in the middle of a rather large plate, with a slight slit to the hinder edge; labial scales rather larger; the lower ones with a concavity in the middle of each scale. eyes convex, rather large, pupil oblong; throat with small acute scales. body elongate, compressed, subpentangular; back covered with very small semicircular scales, with a row of larger ovate keeled scales on each side, and or rows of similar larger keeled scales over the vertebral line; the sides covered with moderate ovate keeled scales, rather larger beneath the belly, covered with a series of transverse rounded plates. tail elongate, rather compressed, subpentangular, tapering, like the back above, and with a single series of rounded transverse plates beneath. gonionotus plumbeus. reptiles. plate . bluish-grey, belly and beneath white. length of body , of tail , total inches. inhabits -- this animal is at once known from all the other homalopsina, by the three keels on the back, by having only a single series of plates beneath, and in the lower labial shields being pitted. family crocodilidae. the muggar or goa. crocodilus palustris, lesson belanger, vog. . gray cat. reptiles british museum . crocodilus vulgaris, dum. and bibr. erp. gen. n. . crocodilus biporcatus, cuv. oss. foss. tome plate , figure . skull. crocodilus biporcatus raninus, muller. inhabits victoria river. captain stokes has furnished me with the following note on this species. "length in feet inches: of alligator: . from base of head to extremity of nose: . across the base of head: . iength of lower jaw: . teeth in both jaws vary in size, and are variously disposed, as will be seen in the sketch. in upper jaw on each side of maxillary bone: incisors. in lower jaw on each side of maxillary bone: incisors. the largest teeth are / inch in length. the two lower incisors are stronger and longer than the upper, and project through two holes in front part of upper jaw. breadth across the animal from extreme of one fore foot, across the shoulders, to the other side, feet inches. the fore feet have each five perfect toes, the three inner or first, have long horny nails, slightly curved, the two outer toes have no nails, nor are they webbed. the third and fourth toes are deeply webbed, allowing a wide space between them, which is apparent, even in their passive state. the hind feet are twice the size and breadth of the fore, with four long toes, the two first are webbed as far as the first joint, and the other are strongly webbed to the apex of last joint; the last or outer toe has no nail. from the apex of tail, a central highly notched ridge runs up about midway of it, and there splitting into two branches, passes up on each side of the spine over the back, as far up as the shoulders, gradually diminishing in height to the termination. a central ridge runs down from the nape of the neck, over the spinous processes of the vertebrae (being firmly attached to them by strong ligaments) as far down as the sacrum, diminishing to its termination likewise." the eggs are oblong, inches and lines long, and inches lines in diameter. the skull of this specimen, which was presented to the british museum by captain stokes, has exactly the same form and proportions as that of the crocodiles called goa and muggar on the indian continent, and is quite distinct in the characters from the egyptian species. a number of large stones, about the size (the largest) of a man's fist, were found in the stomach. messrs. dumeril and bibron deny that any species of crocodile is found in australia. see erpet. gen. , . ... appendix. descriptions of new or unfigured species of coleoptera from australia. by adam white, m.e.s. assistant in the zoological department, british museum. ... megacephala australasiae, hope, proceedings of the entomological society, november , , annals and magazine of natural history, , . stokes, insects. plate , figure . habitat: north-west australia. aenigma cyanipenne, hope; variety with the whole of the thorax punctulated. insects. plate , figure . the specimen figured, in other respects seems to me to agree with the species above-mentioned, described briefly by the reverend f. hope in the proceedings of the entomological society for november , . ... biphyllocera kirbyana, white, app. to grey's australia, . stokes, insects. plate , figure . habitat: australia. in figure a are well seen the beautifully pectinated lamellae of the antennae in this genus. the species is of a pitchy brown, beneath it is yellowish and hairy; the margin of the thorax is yellowish, its disk has many short rust-coloured hairs, the elytra have longitudinal impressed lines, the spaces between transversely striolated and somewhat scaled. ... calloodes grayianus, white, annals and magazine of natural history, january . stokes, insects. plate , figure . head green, punctured, head shield yellowish, sides rounded, somewhat straight in front, under side of head bronzy ferruginous. thorax narrow, the sides slightly rounded so as to be almost continuous with the lateral line of the elytra; behind it projects in the middle, and is notched over the scutellum: of a lively glossy green, the sides broadly margined with yellow. elytra much depressed, especially on the sides and behind, having a wide but shallow sinus on the sides; surface punctured, the punctures generally running in striae, some of the rows placed in slightly grooved lines: lively glossy green, sides broadly margined with yellow. legs and underside ferruginous, bases of abdominal segments green, as are the tips of the femora and all the tarsi: front edge of tibiae of fore-legs without teeth, hind tibiae moderate. habitat: new holland, north-west coast. ... cetonia (diaphonia) notabilis. insects. plate , figure . head for the most part yellow, the yellow extending in a point to beyond a line drawn between the eyes, behind deep black, margin somewhat thickened, brownish, four small obscure spots in front; antennae and palpi brown. thorax, with many scattered punctures, yellow, with a large black mark occupying the greater part of the upper surface, narrowed and notched in front, sinuated slightly on the sides, and with two notches in the middle behind. elytra with many punctures arranged indistinctly in lines, brownish yellow, the suture, tip and extreme edge of each elytron narrowly margined with brown; scutellum yellowish, black at the base and tip. abdomen beneath yellow, each segment margined with brown, the pygidium yellow, with two largish oblique black spots. legs black, posterior femora edged in front with yellow. length lines. habitat: new holland. this species seems to be allied to schizorhina succinea hope. transactions of the entomological society, .* (*footnote. i may here mention, that in the collection of the british museum there is a female of the diaphonia frontalis, in colour closely resembling the male; and that the d. cunninghami of g.r. gray, regarded by both burmeister and schaum as the female of d. frontalis, is decidedly a distinct species; it was described and figured by m.m. gory and percheron, from a female specimen now in the british museum.) ... stigmodera elegantula. insects. plate , figure . head cleft between the eyes; prothorax above and beneath vermilion, with a greenish black spot in the middle, and two small black dots, one on each side. elytra with four double rows of impressed punctures, united at the end. apex with two sharp points, the outer the longest, a notch between them; the elytra are vermilion, the base has a narrow transverse green band, an angular dark green spot before the middle, with two deep notches in front, and rounded behind, behind this and connected with it by a narrow sutural line of the same colour, is a fascia running quite across the angle in the middle of each elytron, and dilated on the suture, the tip of each elytron is broadly pointed with the same dark green; meso- and metathorax beneath, dark green, as are the legs. abdomen vermilion. length about lines. habitat: north-west coast of new holland. this species comes near conognatha concinnata hope. proceedings of the entomological society annals of natural history . ... stigmodera saundersii. hope transactions of the entomological society . stokes, insects. plate , figure . black, with a bluish green hue. head in front bronzed, deeply punctured. thorax deeply punctured, with three deep black longitudinal lines above, the middle one broadest: elytra orange red, with four keels and two rows of deep punctures between each; edge slightly serrated; end of each tapering so as to leave a notch when both are closed; tip broadly black, inclined to green in some lights; a large roundish black patch common to both elytra on the middle, base narrowly edged with black, the shoulders with a black lineolet and a small round black spot across the suture; legs and under parts of a deep bluish black, with a slight tinge of green. habitat: van diemen's land. ... stigmodera erythrura. insects. plate , figure . head greenish yellow, deeply punctured, a black band, sinuated in front between the eyes, on the back part of the head. thorax above black, sides and a narrow line down the middle yellow. elytra gradually tapering to the end, black with the margin at the base yellow, and a somewhat broader line of the same colour near the suture; on each elytron are three yellow spots, the middle one largest and tipped with red on the outside. legs and under side greenish yellow; three last segments of abdomen beneath of a rust colour with four longitudinal rows of yellow spots. length about lines. habitat: new holland (swan river). clerus ? obesus. insects. plate , figure . head brassy brown; thorax brownish yellow, glossy; elytra with more than the basal half deep blue, with regular deeply pitted punctures, close to each other, an elevated knob at the base in the middle, the apical portion smooth purplish black, the smooth place on the suture running into the pitted part, between the two are four short transverse lines of whitish hairs, two on each elytron; near the tip are two oblique patches of white hairs: head finely punctulate, covered with short hairs. thorax as it were two lobed behind, an angular depression in the middle, and somewhat narrowed in front; legs deep blue with whitish hairs. length lines. habitat: new holland. this curious species bears the above name of mr. newman, in the collection of the british museum, i cannot find his description of it, and not having seen spinola's work, cannot refer it to its particular genus. ... sitarida, white. head broader than long, swollen behind the eyes; antennae -jointed, first joint the longest, bent and gradually thickened towards the tip, second joint thin and cup-shaped, half the depth of third joint which is squarish, fourth joint oblong, dilated anteriorly at the ends, and larger than second and third together, fifth to the tenth joints somewhat lamellate, nearly as long as the other four joints; eyes narrow and notched, the part of the head within the notch prominent; palpi thick, terminal joint oblong. thorax narrowed in front, rounded on the sides and somewhat truncated behind; scutellum triangular, with a notched projection at the base; elytra very short, one-third the length of the body, wide at the base, narrowed at the tip; legs heteromerous, rather short, all the thighs compressed, claws simple. this genus, which at first sight looks like a meloe, is closely allied to sitaris. ... sitarida hopei. insects. plate , figure . black; elytra slightly pitchy; head and thorax thickly punctured; thorax with a cruciform impression on the disk; elytra with three keels meeting before they reach the apex, the intermediate spaces and the apex irregularly punctate. length inch lines. habitat: new holland. ... palaestrida, white. head as long as broad; antennae with all the joints flattened, serrated on each side; -jointed, third to th joints widest. thorax as wide as the head, narrowed in front; sides somewhat angular truncated behind, surface irregular; scutellum large, triangular. elytra longer than the abdomen, sides parallel, ends rounded. legs heteromerous, four claws to each tarsus, two of them larger than the others, and minutely serrulate on the inside. palaestrida bicolor. insects. plate , figure . head, thorax, scutellum, body and legs, entirely black. elytra light orange with three slight keels, the outer somewhat forked. head coarsely punctured. thorax with scattered punctures, and three or four depressions on the upper part. length and lines. habitat: new holland. this new genus comes near palaestra laporte (anim. artic. ) and tmesidera westwood (in guerin's mag. de zool. , plate .) ... tranes vigorsii (hope) schoenh. curc. , . stokes, insects. plate , figure . cinnamon brown, the sides of the thorax with yellowish brown hairs, and patches in the striae of the same coloured hairs. sides of the body beneath covered with yellowish hairs. thorax very minutely punctured. glossy, with a very short deepish groove in the middle behind. length to lines. habitat: new holland. ... cyclodera, white. antennae as long as the body, -jointed, first joint thick knobbed, second very small, terminal longer than third, pointed with a blunt tooth beyond the middle. thorax globular, wider than the body. ... cyclodera quadrinotata. insects. plate , figure . head, antennae, thorax, body and legs, black. elytra yellowish red, tip and a large oblong spot on each black, the spot not reaching either margin of the elytron; under side of abdomen covered with silky hairs. the head is coarsely punctured, the thorax minutely chagrined with a deep indented spot on each side behind the middle. elytra finely chagrined, with faint indications of two or three longitudinal lines on each. length / lines. habitat: new holland, north-west coast. this well marked species seems to be allied to the genera arhopalus and hesperophanes. ... clytus (obrida) fascialis. insects. plate , figure . head black, punctured; antennae black, seventh and eighth joints yellowish. thorax black, punctured and hairy, a short narrow smooth line on the back behind. elytra purplish violet, with three longitudinal keeled lines not extending to the tip, coarsely punctured, except on the lines which are smooth: two first pairs of legs red, tips and bases of the joints darkish; tarsi with brownish hairs, posterior legs deep black; tibiae with longish hairs. length lines. habitat: new holland. ... callipyrga turrita. nemman, entomologist, . stokes' insects. plate , figure . habitat: new holland, near sydney. the figure of this beautiful longicorn beetle, is drawn from the original specimen described by mr. newman; it is now in the collection of the british museum. ... microtragus senex. insects. plate , figure . head ashy, antennae brown. thorax brownish black, punctured and hirsute, a thick blunt spine from the middle on each side. elytra at the base in the middle with a blunt slightly hooked spine, they have two prominent keels, the external the longest, the surface is deeply punctured, in some parts almost pitted, grey, a black line on sides and extending over the back, so as to form an oblong black spot from the middle to near the base, a dagger-shaped spot on the suture behind, and a few black spots on the elevated line. abdomen beneath greyish. legs grey, with short blackish bristles, tarsi narrow not dilated. length about lines. habitat: new holland. this curiously marked longicorn comes near ceraegidion boisduval. ... paropsis scutifera. insects. plate , figure . yellow; head vermilion, with two long black spots between and behind the eyes. elytra yellow with a large squarish spot common to both, outwardly bounded by a dark line, except in front where the yellow of the general surface runs into the square. the ground of the spot is red, with a yellow line near the suture on each side; elytra at the base narrowly edged with black. antennae, legs, and underside yellow. length / lines. habitat: new holland. ... chrysomela (australica ?) strigipennis. insects. plate , figure . brown with a greenish metallic hue. thorax and elytra margined with obscure yellow, thorax with the anterior angles yellow, a few irregular punctures in the middle, and the posterior parts thickly dotted with impressed points; elytra with seven irregular lines of impressed dots, towards the tip they are irregularly dispersed, there are a few irregular yellow streaks near the margins of the elytra; under side blackish brown, tibiae and tarsi yellowish. length about / lines. habitat: new holland. this differs from australica in having the thorax narrower, and the antennae longer and less thickened at the end. ... appendix. descriptions of some new or imperfectly characterized lepidoptera from australia. by edward doubleday, f.l.s. assistant in the zoological department of the british museum. ... genus euschemon, doubleday. maxillae moderately long. labial palpi of moderate length, basal joint very short, compressed, curved, clothed with scales and long hairs, second joint about four times as long as the first, subcylindric, clothed with long scales, third joint clothed with small scales, short, elongate-oval, slenderer than the second, the scales of which almost conceal it. antennae elongate, with a fusiform club much hooked at the extremity. eyes large, forehead broad. anterior wings triangular, the outer and inner margins nearly equal, about two-thirds the length of the anterior. costal nervure two-thirds the entire length of the wing; subcostal nervule slightly deflected towards the end of the cell, throwing off its first nervule at about one-third of its length, the second about the middle of its course, the space between the origins of the second and third nervules not as long as that between the first and second, the fourth arising just before the end of the cell: upper discocellular nervule very short, the second discoidal equidistant from the first discoidal and the third median nervule, the disco-cellular nervules almost atrophied; median nervule throwing off its first nervule not far from the base, the third nervule a little bent where the discocellular joins it, radial nervure running nearly parallel with the inner margin throughout its whole length, reaching the outer margin a little above the anal angle. posterior wings broad, semi-ovate, costal nervure long, sub-costal terminating in only two nervules, discoidal nervule nearly atrophied; discocellular the same, united with the third median nervule; cell rather large. base of these wings in the male with a strong bristle passing behind a strong corneous retinaculum, which arises from the anterior side of the sub-costal nervure. legs rather long; anterior tibiae with a curved spine on the inside, covered by the long scales of the tibiae, anterior tarsi twice the length of the tibiae, basal joint longer than the rest combined, second and third equal; the two combined equal to about two-thirds the length of the first, fourth and fifth very short, together about equal to the third. second pair with the tibiae about two-thirds as long as the tarsi, with numerous minute spines along their sides and two stout ones at the apex; joints of the tarsi having about the same relative proportions as in the anterior pair. posterior tibiae and tarsi nearly as in the second pair. claws of all the tarsi stout, simple. ... euschemon rafflesia. hesp. rafflesia, mcleay, appendix to king's survey of australia, . anterior wings black above, with a transverse macular sulphur-coloured band beyond the middle, and a submarginal one, broadest towards the apex, composed of greenish atoms. posterior wings with a large oval sulphur-coloured spot in the cell, separated only by the median nervure from a smaller one on the abdominal margin near the base, and followed by a sub-trigonate one divided into three parts by the median nervules. below, the markings are nearly as above, with the addition of a greenish line along the costa of the anterior wings, bending downwards at its termination. posterior wings encircled by a marginal band of the same greenish colour. head black, orbits of the eyes and a line across the vertex white. palpi bright crimson except the last joint which is black. antennae black. thorax black. abdomen above black, the base and the edges of four of the segments whitish, last segment bright crimson; below, whitish at the base, crimson beyond the middle. exp. alar. un. lin. habitat: new holland. ... genus synemon, doubleday. head round, eyes large, forehead broad. maxillae rather long. labial palpi short, clothed with dense long scales, first joint short, second more than double the length of the first, tapering towards its extremity, third joint about equal in length to the second, sub cylindric, tapering towards the apex. antennae with a stout, short club, more or less mucronate at the apex, the mucro mostly if not always with a tuft of scales at the point, the club sometimes appearing compressed (perhaps from desiccation). thorax stout, anterior wings triangular, the costal nervure terminating about the middle of the costa, the sub-costal terminating in five nervules of which the first and second one are thrown off before the disco-cellular nervule, the third almost immediately beyond it, the fourth rather further from the third than this is from the second; discoidal nervules almost atrophied at their origin, the first connected with the subcostal nervure, the latter with the third median nervule by a very short discocellular; the discoidal nervule itself almost atrophied, running nearly parallel with and immediately above the median; third median nervule much bent at its origin. posterior wings sub-ovate, costal nervure long, sub-costal terminating only in two nervules, upper discocellular nervule wanting, discoidal nervure distinct and simple throughout its whole course to the outer margin, with a slight bend at its junction with the short disco-cellular which connects it with the median nervule: bristle in the male simple, retained by a corneous retinaculum arising from the posterior side of the sub-costal nervure, compound in the female, retained by a bunch of scales arising from the anterior side of the median nervure. anterior legs short, tibiae with a strong sharp spine about the middle, the first joint of the tarsi about the same length as the tibiae, the four remaining ones equal in length to the first: second pair with the tibiae about two-thirds as long as the tarsi, bi-spinose at the extremity, first joint of the tarsi nearly equal to all the rest: posterior legs with the tibiae about two-thirds the length of the tarsi, bispinose at the apex and furnished also with two spines beyond the middle, first joint of the tarsi longer than the rest combined. claws of all the feet simple, tarsi spiny. abdomen cylindrical, arched in the male, tufted at its extremity, in the female tapering to a point. there seems to be a slight difference in the structure of the antennae in this genus, in the first species the club is rounder and less mucronate than in the two following ones, it seems also destitute of the tuft of scales at the point. ... synemon sophia. hesperia ? sophia, white, appendix to grey's narrative, volume , page , figure . anterior wings of the male brown, clouded with grey and fuscous-brown, a dark cloud near the base, another at the end of the discoidal cell followed by a white dot, the nervures greyish white. posterior wings black, the base with an oval yellow spot, a macular yellow band beyond the middle, followed by a series of yellow spots. cilia yellowish towards the anal angle. head greyish, antennae black varied with white. thorax grey. abdomen black at the base, whitish beyond. female with the anterior wings nearly black, clouded with light bluish grey scales, on the margin arranged into a band divided by a series of black spots; extremity of the cell with a white dot; beyond the cell a short macular band commencing on the costa. posterior wings black, with a large orange spot near the base, followed by a broad abbreviated, transverse band, commencing on the abdominal margin and succeeded by a large rounded spot of the same colour; between these and the outer margin a series of three or four orange spots. head dark grey, palpi nearly white, antennae black, ringed with white. abdomen pale fulvous. exp. alar. un. lines. habitat: new holland. this fine species was first described by mr. white in the appendix to captain grey's narrative. he then expressed the opinion that it was nearly allied to castnia and coronis. the generic characters given above will fully justify this view. in fact we can only regard it as the australian representative of castnia. the under surface of this species is beautifully varied with black and orange, but i may refer for a more detailed account to the work above mentioned. ... synemon theresa. anterior wings above greyish, the disc varied with longitudinal pale and fuscous dashes, beyond the middle the pale dashes almost form a transverse band, followed by a series of dark spots, margin brown slightly varied with white; cilia grey. posterior wings fulvous-brown at the base, marked with a clear fulvous spot, beyond this, fulvous with a transverse macular band, the margin itself black; cilia grey. below, the anterior wings orange, with the outer margin narrowly black, before the apex are three or four black spots. posterior wings greyish in the male, in the female nearly as above, but paler. head, thorax, and abdomen grey above, whitish below; antennae black, ringed with white. the posterior wings of the male are of a somewhat castaneous hue above, and less clearly marked than those of the female. exp. alar. un. lin. ... synemon mopsa. anterior wings pale fuscous or brownish, with two white dashes at the base, the discoidal cell with a white spot, beyond the cell a transverse macular white band, in which are a series of fuscous spots; the margin slightly shaded with pale grey. posterior wings light chestnut brown, with some fuscescent clouds, towards the outer margin. below, light brown, the anterior wings rather fulvescent, all with some darker clouds. head, thorax, and abdomen grey above, beneath paler: antennae black, ringed with white. exp. alar. un. lin. habitat: new holland. ... agarista leonora. all the wings purplish black, anterior with a short bluish white striga close to the base, followed at a short distance by a second curved one, united to the former by a vitta of the same colour, extending along the radial nervure; towards the extremity of the discoidal cell is a white spot, followed by three smaller, not always well defined ones, on the costa below and a little beyond which are four generally more distinct ones, of which the third from the costa is largest, these are followed by a slightly flexuous and bluish white macular striga, beyond which is a series of from three to five spots of the same colour. near the anal angle is a round bluish spot, preceded, in part surrounded by a semicircle of the same colour, between which and the second transverse striga is an irregular spot, also bluish. posterior wings with a macular band, not extending to the anterior margin. cilia of all the wings white, spotted except at the apex of the anterior with black. below, purplish black, the base of all the wings slightly marked with bluish, the anterior with a distinct white spot near the extremity of the discoidal cell, and a macular white band beyond the middle, beyond which near the costa is a bluish spot; posterior wings with a band corresponding to that above, connected with outer margin by a less distinct bluish white band. head yellow-white, forehead and vertex black, antenna black. thorax black, with two transverse lines anteriorly and the sides posteriorly yellowish, legs black, spotted with white, densely clothed with fulvous hairs at the base of the coxae. abdomen black, last segment bright fulvous. female with markings rather more blue than in the male. exp. alar. un. lin. habitat: new holland. ... glaucopis ganymede. all the wings black, the anterior with a small diaphanous spot near the base, below the median nervure; a larger one before the middle extending from the sub-costal to the radial nervure, divided by the median nervure into two unequal portions, the extremity of the cell marked by a crescent-shaped, metallic blue spot, beyond which are two diaphanous spots, one placed just below the origin of the second sub-costal nervule, the other much larger, divided by the last median nervule. posterior wings with a white, partly diaphanous spot, close to the base, and a transverse diaphanous band a little beyond the middle. head black, face and orbits of the eyes white, antennae and palpi black. thorax black, legs black except the coxae which are white. abdomen crimson, the first and second segments both above and below, the third above, of a sooty black, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh margined with black above, anteriorly, eighth entirely crimson. female wanting the small spot near the base of the anterior wings, the third segment of the abdomen slightly bronzed, coxae black. exp. alar. unc. lin. habitat: new holland. ... appendix. list of figures on insects plate . figure . . euschemon rafflesia (macleay). a. b. head of euschemon rafflesia (macleay). c.* base of wings of euschemon rafflesia (macleay) to show the bristle and retinaculum. d. anterior wings of euschemon rafflesia (macleay). figure . glaucopis ganymede, doubleday. figure . agarista leonora, doubleday. e. anterior wing of agarista leonora, doubleday. figure . synemon sophia (white). figure . synemon theresa, doubleday. figure . synemon mopsa, doubleday. f. palpus of synemon. g. head and antennae of synemon (syn. sophia.) h. head and antennae of synemon. i. k. head of synemon. l. base of wings of synemon, to show the bristle and retinaculum in the male. m. base of wings of synemon, to show the bristle and retinaculum in the female. n. anterior wing of synemon. (*footnote. the retinaculum is not correctly represented in this figure, it arises from the anterior side of the sub-costal nervure. the neuration of synemon is not quite correctly given at figure n. these errors were in consequence of my absence from town when the details on this plate were drawn.) end of volume . discoveries in australia; with an account of the coasts and rivers explored and surveyed during the voyage of h.m.s. beagle, in the years - - - - - - . by command of the lords commissioners of the admiralty. also a narrative of captain owen stanley's visits to the islands in the arafura sea. by j. lort stokes, commander, r.n. volume . london: t. and w. boone, , new bond street. . contents of volume . chapter . . leave port essington. clarence strait. hope inlet. shoal bay. ian for observations. explore a new opening. talc head. port darwin. continue exploration. mosquitoes and sandflies. nature of the country. its parched appearance. large ant's nest. return to shoal bay. visit from the natives. remarks. their teeth perfect. rite of circumcision. observations on the migrations of the natives. theory of an inland sea. central desert. salt water drunk by natives. modes of procuring water. survey the harbour. natives on a raft. anecdote. bynoe harbour. well. brilliant meteors. natives on point emery. their surprise at the well. importance of water. anecdote. languages of australia. specimens. remarks. leave port darwin. tides. squall. visit port patterson. leave. examine opening to the south-west. table hill. mcadam range. adventure with an alligator. exploring party. discovery of the victoria. ascend the river. appearance of the country. fitzmaurice river. indian hill. the beagle taken up the river. chapter . . exploration of the victoria. first appearance of sea range. curiosity peak. appearance of country from. whirlwind plains. encounter with an alligator. his capture and description. cross whirlwind plains. white and black ducks. kangaroos. enter hilly country. meet the boats. thunderstorm. carry boats over shoals. new birds. reach hopeless. progress of boats arrested. reconnoitre the river. prospect from view hill. preparation for pedestrian excursion. leave reach hopeless to explore the upper part of the river. native village. squall. mussel bend. meet natives. successful fishing. party distressed. thirsty flat. tortoise reach. singular appearance of the ranges. effect of the great heat. one man knocked up. approach of natives. preparation for defence. appearance of the natives. move further up the river. emu plains. select position for night quarters. upward course of the victoria. commence return. kangaroo shot. wickham heights. new tortoise. lucky valley. race was with a native. meet his tribe. they make off. hard day's work. quarters for the night. return to reach hopeless. chapter . . victoria river. proceed down the river from reach hopeless. meet watering party. one of the men deserts. kangaroo shooting. the writer left to complete survey of river. silk cotton-tree. fertility of whirlwind plains. attempt of one of the crew to jump overboard. reach the ship. suffer from sore eyes. lieutenant emery finds water. geological specimens. bird's playhouse. tides. strange weather. range of barometer. accounted for by proximity of port essington. hurricane. effects of the latter. dreary country behind water valley. fruitless attempt to weigh ship's anchors. obliged to slip from both of them. proceed down the river. complete survey of main channel. visit south entrance point of river. discover a number of dead turtles. cross over to point pearce. mr. bynoe shoots a new finch. the author speared. pursued by natives. escape. flight of natives. armed party pursue them. night of suffering. general description of the victoria. gouty-stem tree and fruit. chapter . . victoria river to swan river. leave point pearce. error in position of cape rulhieres. obtain soundings on supposed sahul shoal. discover a shoal patch on it. ascertain extent of bank of soundings off the australian shore. strange winds in monsoon. see scott's reef. discover error in its position. make depuch island. prevalence of westerly winds near it. sperm whales. tedious passage. death and burial of the ship's cook. anecdotes of his life. good landfall. arrival at swan river. find colony improved. hospitality of colonists. lieutenant roe's account of his rescuing captain grey's party. burial of mr. smith. hurricane at shark's bay. observations on dry appearance of upper swan. unsuccessful cruise of champion. visit rottnest. fix on a hill for the site of a lighthouse. aboriginal convicts. protectors of natives. american whalers. miago. trees of western australia. on the safety of gage roads. chapter . . sail from swan river. search for the supposed turtle-dove shoal. approach to houtman's abrolhos. find an anchorage. view of the lagoon. guano. remnants of the wreck of the batavia. pelsart group. visit the main. geelvink channel. enter champion bay. appearance of the country. striking resemblance of various portions of the coast of australia. leave champion bay. coast to the northward. resume our examination of the abrolhos. easter group. good friday harbour. lizards on rat island. coral formation. snapper bank. zeewyk passage. discoveries on gun island. the mangrove islets. singular sunset. heavy gale. wallaby islands. flag hill. slaughter point. observations of mr. bynoe on the marsupiata. general character of the reefs. tidal observations. visit north island. leave houtman's abrolhos. general observations. proceed to depuch island. drawings on the rocks. native youth. new bird and kangaroo. effects of mirage. examine coast to the turtle isles. geographe shoals. number of turtles. bedout island. scott's reef. approach to timor. pulo douw. scene on entering coepang bay. surprise of swan river native. visit to the resident. his stories. fort concordia. second visit to the resident. the timorees. arrive at pritie. description of the country. muster of the shooting party. success of the excursion. the javanese commandant. character of the timorees. dutch settlement in new guinea. leave coepang. island of rottee. tykal inlet. inhabitants of polo douw. chapter . . sail from rottee. search for shoal. dampier's archipelago. examination of coast. strange weather. natives. passage between delambre and huiy islands. proceed to montebello isles. description of them. barrow's island. tryal rocks. new kangaroo. abundance of turtle. new wallaby. sail for swan river. find ritchie's reef. islands between barrow's and north-west cape. table of soundings. swan river native. anchor under rottnest. vocabulary. erect beacons. bad weather. habits of a native dog. geological observations. sail from swan river. error in position of cape naturaliste. king george's sound. appearance of bald head. princess royal harbour. origin of settlement. town of albany. salubrity of climate. excursion into interior. course a kangaroo. pitfalls. herds of kangaroos. rich country. the hay river. return to albany. departure for south australia. discover an island. death of a seaman. position of neptune isles. kangaroo, althorp and quoin islands. holdfast road. adelaide. description of country. governor gawler's policy. visit the port. mr. eyre's expedition. hardships of overlanders. cannibalism. meet captain sturt. native schools. system of education. sail for sydney. squalls. error in coast. bass strait. arrive at sydney. chapter . . land sales. unsettled boundaries. new zealand. hunter river. midnight alarm. ludicrous scene. changes in officers of ship. leave sydney. port stephens. corrobory. gale at cape upstart. magnetical island. halifax bay. astonish a native. description of country. correct chart. restoration island. picturesque arrival. interview with the natives from torres strait. their weapons. shoal near endeavour river. discover good passage through endeavour strait. booby island. new birds. the painted quail. chapter . . gulf of carpentaria. leave booby island. eastern shore of gulf. van diemen's inlet. exploration of. party of natives. level country. tides. visit bountiful islands. description of them. sail for sweers island. investigator road. natives. locusts. record of the investigator's visit. dig a well. boats explore island and coast to the westward. sweers and bentinck islands. tides. take ship over to the main. another boat expedition leaves. ship proceeds to the head of the gulf. discovery and exploration of disaster inlet. narrow escape. description of interior. wild fowl. explore coast to the eastward. inlets. discover the flinders. the cuckoo. ascent of the river. night scene. burial tree. remarks. return to the ship. exploration of south-western part of gulf. large inlets discovered. chapter . . gulf of carpentaria. boat expedition. explore an opening. discovery of the albert. natives. picturesque scenery. hope reach. birds and fishes. upper branch. beauty of the landscape. land excursion. the plains of promise. halt the party and proceed alone. description of the country. return down the albert. mouth of river. arrive at van diemen's inlet. find mr. fitzmaurice severely wounded. general result of the survey of the gulf. winds and temperature. booby island. endeavour strait. reach port essington. chapter . . indian archipelago. leave port essington. dobbo island. visit from the schoolmaster. church. trade of the arrou islands. their productions. visit from natives. the banda group. penal settlement. adventures of a javanese. captain de stuers. native dance and sports. nutmeg plantations. mode of preserving the fruit. amboyna. visit a natural grotto. sail from amboyna. island of kissa. village of wauriti. missionary establishment. serwatty group. return to port essington. chapter . . port essington and the north-west coast. appearance of settlement. effects of climate. native mother. trade in teeth. macassar proas. lieutenant vallack visits the alligator rivers. interview with natives. prospects of port essington. lieutenant stewart's route. climate. remarks of mr. bynoe. harbour of refuge. sail from port essington. sahul shoal. arrive at coepang. timorees. sail for north-west coast. strong winds. cape bossut. exploration of north-west coast. view of interior. birds. solitary island. visit the shore. amphinome shoals. bedout island. breaker inlet. exmouth gulf. arrive at swan river. chapter . . reported harbour. set out for australind. the grass-tree. correspondence with mr. clifton, etc. sail from gage road. examination of coast. reach champion bay. visit mount fairfax and wizard peak. arid nature of country. want of water. native grave. the greenough river. natives. leave champion bay. koombanah bay. naturaliste reef. reach south australia. port adelaide. proposed railroad. visit mount barker. encounter bay. native fishing. return to adelaide. sail from south australia. portland bay. squatters. tour in the interior. fertile country. view from the sugarloaf. visit cape bridgewater. sail for hobart. liberality of sir john franklin. atmospheric changes. arrive at sydney. chapter . . exploration of interior. twofold bay. survey of bass strait. dangerous situation of the beagle. kent and hogan groups. gipps land. wilson's promontory. the tamar. eastern entrance of strait. steam communication between india and australia. new guinea. straitsmen. north coast of tasmania. aborigines. port phillip. directions for ships passing king island. complete survey of bass strait. farewell to sydney. moreton bay. the comet. state of tasmania, or van diemen's land. lighthouses in bass strait. chapter . . australia to england. sail from tasmania. the south-west cape. monument to flinders. rottnest island. lighthouse. penal establishment. longitude of fremantle. final departure from western australia. rodrigue island. effects of a hurricane at mauritius. the crew and passengers of a foundered vessel saved. bourbon. madagascar. simon's bay. deep sea soundings. arrival in england. take leave of the beagle. the surveying service. ... appendix. winds and weather on the western and northern coasts of australia. by commander j.c. wickham, r.n. list of charts. volume . victoria river. gulf of carpentaria. albert river. part of western australia. port adelaide and holdfast bay. list of illustrations. volume . messrs. fitzmaurice and keys dancing for their lives. l.r. fitzmaurice, del. london, published by t. & w. boone, . first appearance of sea range. head and feet of alligator. killing an alligator, victoria river. g. gore, del. london, published by t. & w. boone, . wickham heights from tortoise reach. captain stokes speared at point pearce. c. martens, del. london, published by t. & w. boone, . gouty-stem tree. fruit of gouty-stem tree. section of fruit, showing the manner in which the seeds are disposed. views of moresby's range, sea range, and cape bedford. moresby's range, west coast, latitude degrees minutes south. sea range, victoria river, north-west coast, latitude degrees minutes south. cape bedford, north-east coast, latitude degrees minutes south. ancient dutch gun. dutch four-pounder, with moveable chamber. native drawings. lithographic impression of the copies made by captain wickham of the native drawings on depuch island. they have already appeared in the royal geographical journal volume . the following list will convey to the reader what the drawings are intended to represent. . a goose or duck. . a bird; probably the leipoa. . a beetle. . a fish over a quarter-moon; which has been considered to have some reference to fishing by moonlight. . a native dog. . a native, armed with spear and wommera, or throwing stick, probably relating his adventures, which is usually done by song, and accompanied with great action and flourishing of weapons, particularly when boasting of his prowess. . a duck and a gull. . a corrobory, or native dance. . a crab. . a native in a hut, with portion of the matting with which they cover their habitations. . a kangaroo. . appears to be a bird of prey, having seized upon a kangaroo-rat. . shark and pilot-fish. coepang from the anchorage. g. gore, del. london, published by t. & w. boone, . passing between bald head and vancouver reef. g. gore, del. london, published by t. & w. boone, . entrance of van diemen's inlet. g. gore, del. london, published by t. & w. boone, . interesting tree. burial reach, flinders river. g. gore, del. london, published by t. & w. boone, . upward view of hope reach, albert river. g. gore, del. london, published by t. & w. boone, . first view of the plains of promise, albert river. g. gore, del. last view of the plains of promise, albert river. g. gore, del. london, published by t. & w. boone, . approach to portland bay. cape nelson, cape grant, lawrence isles east-north-east nine miles. dangerous situation of beagle. a.j. mason sc. devil's tower. feet high, west, two miles. killing a kangaroo. a.j. mason sc. hummock island. highest part feet, bearing south-east miles. ... journal of a voyage of discovery. chapter . . leave port essington. clarence strait. hope inlet. shoal bay. land for observations. explore a new opening. talc head. port darwin. continue exploration. mosquitoes and sandflies. nature of the country. its parched appearance. large ant's nest. return to shoal bay. visit from the natives. remarks. their teeth perfect. rite of circumcision. observations on the migrations of the natives. theory of an inland sea. central desert. salt water drunk by natives. modes of procuring water. survey the harbour. natives on a raft. anecdote. bynoe harbour. well. brilliant meteors. natives on point emery. their surprise at the well. importance of water. anecdote. languages of australia. specimens. remarks. leave port darwin. tides. squall. visit port patterson. leave. examine opening to the south-west. table hill. mcadam range. adventure with an alligator. exploring party. discovery of the victoria. ascend the river. appearance of the country. fitzmaurice river. indian hill. the beagle taken up the river. leave port essington. early on the morning of the th of september, , the beagle was once more slipping out of port essington before a light land wind. we had taken a hearty farewell of our friends at victoria, in whose prosperity we felt all the interest that is due to those who pioneer the way for others in the formation of a new settlement. no doubt the hope that our discoveries might open a new field for british enterprise, and contribute to extend still more widely the blessings of civilization, increased the sympathy we felt for the young colony at victoria. there is always a feeling of pride and pleasure engendered by the thought that we are in any way instrumental to the extension of man's influence over the world which has been given him to subdue. in the present instance, the success of our last cruise and the state of preparation in which we were now in for a longer one, caused us to take our departure from port essington in far higher spirits than on the former occasion. pass through clarence strait. we again shaped our course for clarence strait, the western entrance of which was still unexamined. the wind, however, being light, we passed the night in popham bay; and on leaving next morning, had only six fathoms in some tide ripplings nearly two miles off its south point, cape don. we passed along the south side of melville island, where a large fire was still burning. early in the evening we anchored in seven fathoms, to wait for a boat that had been sent to examine a shoal bay on the north-west side of cape keith. green ant cliffs bore south-west two miles. september . weighing at daylight we hauled up south, into the middle of the channel, crossing a ridge of / fathoms; ant cliffs bearing west-south-west five miles, and three or four from the shore. this ridge appears to be thrown up at the extremity of the flats fronting the shore. on deepening the water to and fathoms, the course was changed to west / south, passing midway between north vernon isle and cape gambier, where the width of the channel is seven miles, though the whole of it is not available for the purposes of navigation, a long detached reef lying three miles from the cape, and a small one two miles from the north vernon isle.* the tide hurried the beagle past between these reefs with some rapidity, the soundings at the time being fathoms. (*footnote. these isles, three in number, lying quite in the centre of the western entrance of the strait, are fringed with extensive coral reefs. there are, however, deep passages between them.) having cleared clarence strait, and found it to be perfectly navigable with common precaution (which in a slight degree enhanced the value of the discovery of the adelaide) our course was directed for a bay to the southward, which captain king had not examined. a very refreshing cool north-westerly seabreeze* had just succeeded a short calm. passing four miles from the western extremity of the vernon isles, we had irregular soundings of ten and seven fathoms. the ripplings and discoloured water are a warning that they should be approached with caution on this side. (*footnote. the seabreeze prevailing from the westward through clarence strait, the passage to port essington from the westward, during the easterly monsoon, might be more easily made by passing through it, instead of working along the north side of melville island.) the mouth of a considerable inlet came in sight at the head of a bay as we advanced towards it, steering south by east. this opening began to appear of consequence as we drew near, although the singularly gradual decrease in the soundings, on a sandy bottom materially diminished the probability of its being the mouth of a river. still, when we anchored as near as we could approach, there remained a hope of its being so. hope inlet. shoal bay. september . early in the morning mr. forsyth and myself started to explore the opening. we soon discovered that it was nothing more than a shallow creek at low-water. the tide here rising twenty feet, gave it the important appearance it had yesterday evening. a tall clump of naked trees was conspicuous at the east entrance point, towering above the insipid mangrove shore. we gave it the name of hope inlet, to commemorate the feelings it excited on its first discovery. from the south point of clarence strait it is distant eleven miles, and the bay in which it lies, from the shallow-water at the head of it, was called shoal bay. the boat being provisioned for four days, we pushed on to explore another opening above fifteen miles to the westward. the seabreeze setting in early, we did not reach it till after dark, when we landed for observations at a cliffy projection near the eastern entrance point: this we found to be composed of a kind of pipeclay, mixed with calcareous matter. we had some difficulty in landing, and then in scrambling up the cliffs by the light of a lantern. if any of the watchful natives happened at the time to be on the lookout, they must have stood fixed with astonishment at beholding such strange persons, who at such a time of night, with no ostensible object were visiting their shores. explore a new opening. september . before the veil of darkness was quite removed, we could faintly distinguish the mouth of the opening; and the sight at daylight was most cheering. a wide bay appearing between two white cliffy heads, and stretching away within to a great distance, presented itself to our view. far to the southward, between the heads, rose a small table-topped hill. as we pulled in towards the eastern entrance point, the river-like appearance began to wear off, more land making its appearance towards the head of the opening. on reaching this point mr. forsyth and myself climbed up the cliff, whilst the breakfast was cooking. from the summit we had a good view of the bay, and were delighted to find large openings in the south-east and south-west corners of it. the table hill before mentioned, stood on the point between them. to see the eastern part of it, however, it was necessary to cross to the opposite point, where some talc slate, pieces of which measured four inches in length, was found imbedded in quartz. the point was called in consequence, talc head. port darwin. the other rocks near it were of a fine-grained sandstone: a new feature in the geology of this part of the continent, which afforded us an appropriate opportunity of convincing an old shipmate and friend, that he still lived in our memory; and we accordingly named this sheet of water port darwin. a few small bamboos grew on this head; the other trees were chiefly white gums. i climbed to the top of one of them, and obtained thence a view of another opening in the eastern part of the harbour. it now being low-water, an extensive shoal was discovered, reaching from abreast of talc head to the point separating the south-east and south-west openings, an extent of nearly five miles. this somewhat diminished the value of our discovery, as it limited the capabilities of the bay as a harbour. we now proceeded to explore the north-eastern and largest opening, distant six miles from our station. a large islet and a reef left the entrance only a mile wide. expanding again, it formed two arms, one running south, the other east-south-east, between small groups of singular isolated haycock-shaped hills, about feet high. following the latter, being the largest, we found that it soon curved round, taking a southerly direction. a bank free from mangroves occurring in this bend, we availed ourselves of it, as the day was closing in, to secure some early stars for latitude and longitude. the intense pleasure afforded by traversing water that had never before been divided by any keel, in some measure compensated us for the annoyance from the mosquitoes and sandflies, that took the opportunity of assailing us while in the defenceless state of quiet necessary in making observations. pushing out into the middle of the stream, and each wielding a beater, our tiny enemies were soon shaken off, and borne back to the shore by a refreshing north-west breeze. we found it necessary to keep a sharp lookout here for the alligators, as they swarmed in dangerous numbers. the scarcity of fish, and the shallowness of the water did not hold out much hope that the arm we were tracing would prove of great extent; still many speculations were hazarded on the termination of it. the temperature in the night was down to degrees, and the dew sufficiently heavy to wet the boat's awning through. continue exploration. anxious to know how far this piece of water was to carry us into the untrodden wilds of australia, we moved off with the first streak of dawn. ten miles in a south by east direction brought us to where the width and depth was not sufficient to induce us to proceed further. besides, as we were then only fifteen miles from a bend of the upper part of the adelaide, which must receive the drainage of all that part of the country, it seemed improbable that any other large river existed in the neighbourhood. six miles from our furthest, which was about thirty miles from the entrance, we passed a small island. the banks on either side of the inlet were, as usual, a thick grove of mangroves, except in one spot, a mile lower down, where we landed on our return for observations. this we found to be a low cliffy projection of slate formation, whilst scattered over the face of the few miles of country, which we are able to explore, were small bits of quartz; large blocks also of which protruded occasionally through a light kind of mould. appearance of the country. the country was a most thirsty-looking level, the low brushwood on which cracked and snapped as we walked through it, with a brittle dryness that testified how perfectly parched-up was everything. a single spark would instantly have wrapped the whole face of the country in one sheet of fire. slight blasts of heated withering air, as if from an oven, would occasionally strike the face as we walked along; sometimes they were loaded with those peculiar and most agreeable odours that arise from different kinds of gums. still the white eucalyptus and the palm, wore in comparison with the other vegetation, an extraordinary green appearance, derived probably from the nightly copious falls of dew, which is the only moisture this part of the continent receives during the present season. the birds we observed were common to other parts of the continent, being a few screaming cockatoos, parrots, and quails, and near the water a small white egret. there was nothing of interest to recall our memories to this first visit to a new part of australia, save a very large ant's nest, measuring twenty feet in height. this object is always the first that presents itself whenever my thoughts wander to that locality. as the boat was not provisioned for the time it would take to explore all the openings we had discovered, and as the capabilities of port darwin were sufficiently great to require the presence of the ship, i determined on returning immediately to shoal bay. visit from the natives. during the time we were absent, some of our people who had been on shore, received a visit from a party of natives, who evinced the most friendly disposition. this verifies what i have before observed, as to the remarkable differences of character that exist between many australian tribes, though living in the immediate neighbourhood of each other; for, it will be remembered, that at no great distance we had experienced a very different reception. those people amounted in number, with their families, to twenty-seven, and came down to our party without any symptoms of hesitation. both men and women were finer than those we had seen in adam bay. the tallest male measured five feet eleven, which is three inches less than a native flinders measured in the gulf of carpentaria. the teeth of these people were all perfect, an additional proof that the ceremony of knocking them out, like others practised in australia, is very partially diffused. the rite of circumcision, for instance, is only performed at king's sound, on the west side of the gulf of carpentaria, and near the head of the australian bight on the south. mr. eyre, who discovered the existence of the rite on the last-mentioned part of the continent, infers that the natives of the places i have mentioned must have had some communication with each other through the interior; but it is possible that at a distant period of time, circumcision may have been very generally practised, and that having become gradually disused, the custom is now only preserved at two or three points, widely separated from each other. i do not advance this as a theory, but simply as a suggestion, as there is some difficulty in supposing communication to have taken place across the continent. migration of the natives. some light may be thrown on the migration of the aboriginal inhabitants of australia, by tracing the parts of the coast on which canoes are in use. it has already been mentioned, that we had not seen any westward of clarence strait, neither were they in use in the bottom of the gulf of carpentaria, nor on the south coast.* by the assistance of these and similar facts, we may hereafter be enabled to discover the exact direction in which the streams of population have flowed over the continent. but i am not prepared to agree entirely with mr. eyre when he concludes, as i have stated, from the fact of the rite of circumcision having been found on the south and north-west coasts, and on the gulf of carpentaria, that there exists any peculiar connection between the tribes inhabiting those several points. this enterprising traveller moreover thinks that the idea he has started goes far towards refuting the theory of an inland sea, another presumption against which he maintains to be the hot winds that blow from the interior. (*footnote. an inference may be drawn from the parts of the shore on which canoes are in use, to show that the migrations of the natives, so far southwards, have been along the coast. the raft they use is precisely the same in make and size on the whole extent of the north-west coast.) theory of an inland sea. i confess that the theory of an inland sea has long since vanished from my mind, though i base my opinion on reasons different from those of mr. eyre. the intercourse between natives of opposite sides of the continent (though it is certainly possible) has never been established, and while it remains hypothetical, cannot be adduced to overthrow another hypothesis. the existence of hot winds also blowing from the interior is not conclusive, as we had, when in the gulf of carpentaria, very cold winds coming from the same direction. we know, however, that the temperature of winds depends much on the nature of the soil over which they sweep, for instance, in a cold clayey soil, the radiation of heat is very rapid. before quitting this subject it may be as well to mention that my own impression, which the most recent information bears out, is that instead of an inland sea, there is in the centre of australia a vast desert, the head of which, near lake torrens, is not more than three hundred feet above the level of the sea. the coast being surrounded by hilly ranges, the great falls of rain that must occasionally occur in the interior, may convert a vast extent of the central and lowest portion, towards the north side of the continent, into a great morass, or lake, which, from the northerly dip, must discharge its waters slowly into the gulf of carpentaria, without possessing sufficient stability to mark either its bed or boundaries. friendly natives. to return to the party of natives which has given rise to this digression. they had clearly never seen a white person before; for they stepped up to one man of fair complexion, who had his trousers turned up over his knees, and began rubbing his skin to see whether it was painted. they came fearlessly to our party, as they were collecting shells at the extremity of a long flat. one of the officers, who happened to be very thirsty, placed such confidence in their friendly manner, that he allowed them to conduct him alone to a small well near the beach, but the water was too salt to be drunk. the force of habit is astonishing: natives drink this brackish fluid and find it very refreshing. the small quantity that suffices them is also surprising, though they will drink enormously when they can get it. modes of procuring water. their mode of procuring this necessary element is singular, and they exhibit in this particular much ingenuity and great fertility of resources. they are never harassed with the idea of being without any; which not only distresses but adds to the horror of thirst with the european explorer, who has not experienced the constant watchfulness of providence, and does not know that he may collect from the leaves, with a sponge, on some mornings, as much as a pint of water. this has, however, been done, even on the south coast, where the dews are not so copious as on the north-west. the natives themselves are never at a loss for that indeed precious article, water. they sometimes procure it by digging up the lateral roots of the small gumtree, a dusty and fatiguing operation: they break them off in short bits, and set them up to drain into a piece of bark or a large shell. by tapping also the knotty excrescences of trees they find the fluid, which they suck out. many of these modes of obtaining water are of course known to experienced bushmen, like mr. eyre, whose deeply interesting narrative of his hardships and perils has already enlisted the sympathy of the public. september . we moved the ship into port darwin, anchoring just within the eastern cliffy head which, to commemorate lieutenant emery's success in finding water by digging, we named after him. survey of the harbour. all the surveying force was now put in instant requisition; captain wickham went to examine an opening in the coast mentioned by captain king, lying about twelve miles further to the westward, whilst the other boats explored the openings at the head of the harbour. that on the eastern part, mr. fitzmaurice traced ten miles in a south-easterly direction, being the greatest distance it was navigable for a boat. the remaining branch in the large opening, in the south-eastern corner of the harbour, mr. forsyth and myself explored south-south-east three miles, and south-south-west five more, the extent to which it was possible to advance. beyond, it was strewed with large blocks of granite; a fact, for which we were in some degree prepared, as in the vicinity of the adelaide river we had proof of the primary formation of this part of the continent. as the boat lay scarcely afloat between two of these lumps of rock, numbers of white ibises, with black necks, kept flying over us from the southward, indicating that a swamp lay in that direction. we also disturbed several alligators, who slid off quietly into the water at our approach. there was no variety in the shores of this inlet, composed like all the others, of an impenetrable network of mangroves. a ridge of the same conical-shaped low hills before alluded to, as existing in this neighbourhood, rose upon our right as we came up, and bore from our furthest north by west two miles; from the highest part up the inlet in the south-west corner, east two miles. the latter we found very tortuous, extending in a general direction south nine miles. no events occurred worthy of any remark during our examination, except one of a trifling character: the mosquitoes taking advantage of the calm, between the high mangroves on the banks, attacked us most cruelly, a circumstance we mention as trifling, as far as the reader is concerned, but of great moment to us. after completing the survey of the southern and western portion of this harbour, we returned to the ship, where soon afterwards captain wickham also arrived, having found patterson bay to be a good port. it trended in south ten miles, and east-south-east the same distance, forming quite an inner haven, which was named after mr. bynoe. natives on a raft. at the turning leading from the outer to the inner harbour they came suddenly in view of a raft making across, a distance of three miles, on which were two women with several children, whilst four or five men were swimming alongside, towing it and supporting themselves by means of a log of wood across their chests. on perceiving the boat they instantly struck out for the land leaving the women on the raft. for some time the latter kept their position, waiting until the boat got quite near, when they gave utterance to a dreadful yell, and assuming at the same time a most demoniacal aspect, plunged into the water as if about to abandon the children to their fate. maternal affection and fear. not so, however; despite the dreadful fear they appeared to entertain of the white man, maternal affection was strong within them, and risking all to save their offspring, they began to tow the raft with all their strength towards the shore. this devotion on the part of the women to their little ones, was in strong contrast with the utter want of feeling shown by the men towards both mothers and children. captain wickham now, no doubt to their extreme consternation, pulled after the men, and drove them back to the raft. some dived and tried thus to escape the boat, while others grinned ferociously, and appeared to hope, by dint of hideous grimaces--such as are only suggested even to a savage by the last stage of fear--to terrify the white men from approaching. at length, however, they were all driven back to the raft, which was then towed across the harbour for them; a measure which they only were able to approve of when they had landed, and fear had quite subsided. doubtless, the forbearance of our party surprised them, for from their terrified looks and manner, when swimming with all their strength from the raft, they must have apprehended a fate at least as terrible as that of being eaten. the raft itself was quite a rude affair, being formed of small bundles of wood lashed together, without any shape or form, quite different from any we had seen before. bynoe harbour was found to terminate in three deep creeks branching off between north-east and south-east, the largest of which led into fresh water, but in small detached pools, which are separated from the salt, by a shelf of red porous sandstone, and which two miles further became entirely lost in the rocks. the green appearance of the gumtrees and an occasional clump of palms, which had pleasingly succeeded the mangroves, as they advanced, assured captain wickham that there was fresh water near. probably, if they had carried their researches further, they would have found these signs reappear again, doubtless proceeding from a swamp, the presence of which the reader will recollect i inferred from seeing the ibis flocking from the south-west up the south inlet in port darwin; the west inlet of which is only one mile distant from the north-east creek in the head of bynoe harbour. doubtless when the country is not in its present parched and thirsty state, all these are fresh at their heads. well at port darwin. the slow progress made in watering, from the soft nature of the soil in the bottom of the well, lengthened our stay considerably in port darwin. the water oozed through the sides, beginning to do so at a depth of twenty-five feet. the strata cut through varied considerably, in part consisting of ironstone mixed with a white kind of marl or pipeclay, for eight feet, then sandstone of a reddish colour and in a state of decomposition, with a darker kind of marl, in which were small bits of mica, for a depth of sixteen feet, the remaining portion of two or three being a sandy mud, apparently of the consistency of clay and of a light grey colour. the position of this well is in a small valley at the east end of the first sandy bay within point emery, in the centre of which the observations were made, placing it in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degree minutes seconds, east of port essington. on this beach several unsuccessful hauls were made with the seine, though a few rare and curious fish were taken, which lieutenant emery added to his collection of coloured drawings of australian fish; some of them will be found in the appendix to this volume. mr. bynoe also obtained specimens of one or two rare birds; the large red-necked vampire of the adelaide river, and the cream-coloured pigeon before alluded to, were also seen by him, being the farthest south the latter was met with by us. brilliant meteors. some brilliant meteors were observed during our stay, one in particular on the evening of the th, in the west-north-west. it fell from the zenith at an angle of about twenty degrees from a vertical line. the descent was marked by a long train of light, visible ten seconds, while others of less brilliancy followed from the same place within an hour. again on the rd, was the dark vault of heaven illumined about the same time in a similar manner, as well as on the th; the number of meteors being the same on each day. we were rather surprised on the th, to experience a squall from the eastward about midnight, a regular occurrence on the north-west coast in january and february only. visited by natives. on the th a party of natives made their appearance on point emery. their voices, shrill like those of all their fellows, were heard before they were seen. with these it was particularly so, though on all occasions the speaking, and hallooing of the aborigines can be heard at a very considerable distance. they were found, when on shore, to be of the party we had before seen in shoal bay, with the addition of five strange men. all appeared actuated by the same friendly disposition, a very strong indication of which was their presenting themselves without spears.* like most others on that coast, they had apiece of bamboo, eighteen inches long, run through the cartilage of the nose. their astonishment at the size of the wells was highly amusing; sudden exclamations of surprise and admiration burst from their lips, while the varied expressions and play of countenance, showed how strongly their feelings were at work within. (*footnote. speaking of natives appearing without spears, reminds me to mention for the information of future explorers, that their arms are always near at hand. they even trail them sometimes between their toes, a fact which travellers should ever bear in mind.) it is very singular, and not very susceptible of explanation, that although they climb tall trees by merely resting their toes in a slight notch cut as they ascend, the natives will hesitate in alarm before looking over the edge of a precipice or height; it was, therefore, some time before this party could be induced to look down the well. at length by stretching their spare bodies and necks to the utmost, they caught sight of the water in the bottom. surprise of natives at the well. the effect upon them was magical, and they stood at first as if electrified. at length their feelings gained vent, and from their lips proceeded an almost mad shout of delight. nothing perhaps could have more decisively shown the superiority of the white men to these savages, than our being thus able to procure this necessary of life from so great a depth, there being moreover no outward appearance of any. perhaps their delight may be considered a sign how scarce is water in this part of the country. i should certainly say from the immense quantity each man drank, which was two quarts, that this was the case. a further corroboration of the extreme importance of this element to the western australian is, that a native, in describing a fine country, always opens his narrative by stating the important fact--plenty water. the deep interest which in the natives always succeeds to the discovery of this necessary article, must strongly impress the explorer, who will ever afterwards look upon streams, even in other countries, with far different feelings from any before experienced. in no land does the presence of water more rapidly enrich the landscape, changing it from a thirsty-looking plain to a rich green spot, than in australia, and it is in journeying through such a country, when one suddenly meets with a luxuriant valley, that the eye naturally dwells with delight on the changing scene, and the impression, not easily forgotten, clings to us even when far away. when gazing on the superabundant water that flows in almost every corner of the earth, we cannot but reflect on the scantily supplied australian, nor fail to wish him a more plentiful supply. blessing of water. naturally we are disposed to reflect but little on the great blessings of the most ordinary things. in the eyes of the civilized man, fire and water are matters scarcely worthy of thought; but it is the traveller who learns to appreciate how great blessings they are in reality. an influenza appeared to be raging among the natives, all having the remnants of colds, coughing severely when we met them. several attempts were made to induce them to come on board, but they proved vain. sometimes, just as the boat was leaving the shore, they would enter the bow of it, as if about to accompany us; no sooner, however, was the boat in motion, than out they jumped, laughing and apparently delighted to deceive us, acting, in fact, exactly the part of noisy children. "irru, irru." our friendly intercourse with these natives sustained a shock, which at first threatened to annihilate it, but which fortunately ended, as it began, in smoke. one of the officers used a common flint and steel, in order to procure a light for his cigar; at this new mode of procuring fire all eyes were open--for doubtless they procure it only by means of friction--but when he proceeded to place the lighted cigar between his lips, and roll forth from thence a thick and perfumed cloud, fright took full possession of them, and exclaiming "irru, irru," with the arm extended, and a slight vertical motion of the hand, they darted off most unceremoniously, clambering up the face of a precipitous cliff, with extraordinary agility. their cry of "irru, irru," and their manner of delivering it, were identical with those of king's sound, under somewhat similar circumstances. in a few days they had forgotten their fright, and had returned to renew the friendly relations this little incident had interrupted. during the short time we passed with this people in port darwin, some words of their language were collected by many of us. those that we all agreed in i have noted down, but the different names for things given by the same person, here and at shoal bay, will at once impress the reader with the conviction of how impossible it is for transient visitors to obtain a correct vocabulary. those first made out at port essington, were found to be half malay words, and of any meaning rather than what they were supposed to convey. the words given below are from mr. earl's vocabulary, the result of four years careful examination and experience. column : english. column : shoal bay. column : port darwin. column : port essington. column : swan river. crab : algaura : - : meir : -. dog : melinga : - : mugki : dudah. ear : bangua : - : alayjar : zungah. eye : ummera : mical : ira : mael. hair : brailma : guarshiel : angbal : cutap. hand : - : guian : - : -. stone : - : lowheil : - : -. tree : urmingua : - : ojalli : boono. teeth : emburge : - : aujije : nalgo. water : - : kararback : - : kaaby. difficulty of understanding the natives. the great difference between the words at shoal bay and port darwin, must now be apparent to the reader; a more extended acquaintance with the aboriginal inhabitants of australia, has shown that many words put down by us as meaning a certain thing, signify in reality, "what do you mean?" "i do not understand"--which shows at once the great difficulty of arriving at the truth. this must often be the case; for what is more natural, than that when a savage is asked the meaning of a thing, and knows not, but that he should express his ignorance? how often this expression of ignorance has been registered as the denomination of some animal or thing, we leave the reader to conjecture. moreover, there are many words totally obliterated from their dialects, which thus undergo constant alteration. this in part arises from the circumstance of their never mentioning the name of a deceased person, who has perhaps been called after a tree, bird, or animal; which then receives another appellation, the old one passing away. from the few words given of the respective dialects of port essington and swan river, they would appear essentially to differ, and from what has since come under my own observation, as well as from facts collected by others, i feel confident that there are many distinct dialects spoken in australia. dialects of australia. it is easy enough for those who hold to the theory that australia produces few dialects, to create for themselves a resemblance in words by mutilation and addition; but on careful examination, the similarity will not be found to exist. the natives we took from swan river, never could understand any of those we met on the north-west coast, though certainly mr. moore recognized a few words spoken by the natives on the west coast, about miles north of swan river, as being identical with the language used at the latter place. it may here be as well to quote strzelecki on this subject, ere we pursue our narrative: "the circumstance of the three natives who accompanied captain flinders and captain p.p. king, in the survey of new holland, and of those who accompanied me amongst the different tribes of new south wales, being unable to understand one word spoken by tribes of other districts, would lead to the belief that the dialects spoken in new holland, are far from possessing those affinities, still less those identities of language, from which a common root might be inferred. those european visitors or explorers who adduce, in support of a common root, some hundred words analogous in sound, construction and meaning, as being spoken all over new holland, have jumped to the conclusion with, i fear, too much haste and eagerness. besides many other insuperable difficulties, which an investigation of such a nature presents, there was one quite sufficient to defeat all attempts to fathom the subject, namely, the syntactic ignorance of the language to which the inquiry related. indeed, to any man who knows and speaks four european languages, it will be at once apparent, that to seize upon, and note from the sound, a word belonging to one country, so as to compare its sound and accentuation with a word belonging to another country, needs a thorough knowledge of the genius of the two languages, and of their alphabet, through which alone the pronunciation can be discriminated." though, however, we may not attain to a knowledge of the truth at once, yet should we never lose an opportunity of making a vocabulary of such words as we know to be correct. this should be the case from one consideration alone; for how gratifying it is, when visiting an uncivilized people, to find that you know a word or two of their language! the satisfaction is mutual--there is at once a sympathetic link between you--you no longer appear as thorough strangers to each other, and this slight knowledge of their dialect may often be the means of making useful acquaintances. to return, however, to the thread of our narrative. leave port darwin. the opening to the westward, visited by captain wickham, requiring further examination, we left port darwin for that purpose, beating out on the morning of the th. before taking leave, however, of this place, it will not be deemed irrelevant if we give some slight description of it. the entrance points, i have already said, are white cliffy projections, and distant from each other three miles. just outside them lies a long four fathom bank, which, together with a very extensive flat of one, and two fathoms, nearly joining it from the eastern side, and another fronting the north side of the west entrance point, comprise all the dangers on entering this port; which, although of considerable size, is much occupied by shoal water, particularly on the western side, commencing from abreast of talc head. the best anchorage is near point emery. the extreme of the latter, and a clump of peaked bushes on the south point of the eastern arm of the harbour, when in one, make a good mark for leading out; passing on the west side of the four fathom bank, where the channel is a mile wide and fathoms deep. irregularity of the tides. the tide is very irregular in port darwin, rising at springs feet, and at neaps sometimes only two; its rate being from one and a half to three knots. the time of high-water at the full and change of moon, was half-past five, which being half an hour earlier than at clarence strait, fully bears out the opinion i have before expressed, that the flood-tide comes from the westward. having to beat out against the seabreeze, the flood-tide made before we could get round the point on the coast lying midway between ports darwin and patterson, and we were compelled to pass the night in the neighbourhood, a circumstance rendered disagreeable by the recurrence of another midnight squall from east-north-east, so severe as to require the use of a second anchor. the rain was so bitterly cold and sudden, as well as violent, acting also on our frames with more severity from the lightness of our clothing, that it had all the effect of a shower-bath, momentarily taking away the power of speech. it caused a rapid fall in the thermometer of ten degrees, bringing it as low as degrees. at port darwin it had been regularly and degrees in the day, and degrees at night. midnight squall. the squall gave but slight warning of its approach, and four hours afterwards the mutinous assemblage of clouds had wholly disappeared from the heavens, leaving nothing to stay the advent of light which came pouring itself in floods of molten glory over the cloudless sky, as the morning broke. this was the signal of our again moving towards port patterson, which we entered, passing on the eastern side of the reef in the mouth, and anchoring close to the eastern shore of the outermost of a chain of sandy islets, forming the west entrance point of the harbour, and extending eight miles in a north-north-east / east direction from the land. this group is based on a great coral ledge that dries in part at low-water, thus affording the natives the means of going over easily to them, a circumstance of which they avail themselves, as we found them on the outer island. they would not, however, come near us, moving off as we landed. doubtless the terror of some of their party, in a great measure arose from a vivid recollection of the raft interview, which was likely to dwell long in their minds; at all events, if not of the same party, they had heard of us, and it will readily be believed, that we had been painted in sufficiently terrible and exaggerated colours to render a second interview, in their minds, very undesirable. quail island. our discovering them in this place, which we named quail island, from that bird being found in great abundance, quite destroyed the hope we had previously entertained of procuring turtle there. it was the season for their incubation, and at that time the island swarmed with them; but our sable friends had abundantly availed themselves of this fact, as we saw the remains of several of their turtle feasts. although low, and composed entirely of sand, we found a native well of excellent water near the middle of the island, which, having been enlarged, afforded an ample supply, a circumstance that at once renders this a spot of importance and value. both on this and others of the group there were a few small trees and a sprinkling of brushwood. we did not notice any of the singular detached hills seen at port darwin, and the greatest elevation any of the land in the neighbourhood attained was feet; neither did we observe any primary rocks. the observations were made at the south-east point of quail island, which by them is placed in latitude degrees / minutes south, and longitude degree / minutes west of port essington. the almost insulated character of this part of the coast, and the quantity of soundings the openings required detained us until the th of october, when we passed out on the western side of the large reef in the centre of the entrance, which is the proper one, and received the name of west channel. the western entrance point of bynoe's harbour, bearing south degrees east, leads through it. this guide is only, however, of service to a certain distance within the entrance, as it leads over a small patch that dries at low-water, distant two and a half miles from the above-mentioned point on the same bearing. to avoid this danger, it is therefore necessary to haul over towards quail island, when the highest hummock on it bears south-west / west. the tides follow the direction of the channel, varying in velocity from one to two knots. the ebb in the offing set west-north-west. port patterson. the reader will be able to have an idea of the large sheet of water these united harbours form, by knowing that port patterson is twelve miles long and seven wide at the entrance; though at the upper part, forming the mouth of bynoe harbour, it is not half that width. the latter winds round to the south-east for a distance of miles, with an average width of two, and a depth of nine fathoms. thus terminated our exploration in this neighbourhood; the result having been to give this part of the coast quite an insulated character. the sheets of water creating this new feature, although monotonous with their mangrove-lined shores, still conveyed us many miles into various parts of the continent that had never before been seen by a civilized being. another opening of far greater magnitude, and promising in all probability to lead far into the interior now lay before us, at a distance of miles further on the coast to the south-west. by the evening we had lost sight of the land near port patterson, and were steering towards the opening that promised so much. a gap in the coastline, miles wide, with a strong tide passing to and fro, failed not to give birth to endless speculation as we approached the spot. i had always looked forward to the examination of this unexplored portion of the north-west coast, as one of the most interesting parts of our survey. reach point pearce. in consequence of light north-west and westerly winds, our approach was tantalizingly slow, and we did not enter the opening until the evening of the th, when we passed four miles from the north point, called by captain king, point pearce. his visit to this part of the coast was in september , and under very adverse circumstances; his vessel had but one anchor left, and the strong easterly winds then prevailing, with thick hazy weather, rendered his progress into the opening both difficult and hazardous: after a trial of two days, and having several narrow escapes from getting on shore, he bore away to examine the coast to the south-west, where he was repaid for his disappointment by the discovery of cambridge gulf. thus did the exploration of this wide and interesting opening fall to our good fortune; as we proceeded inwards, several beautiful medusae passed the ship, and our hopes were roused to the highest pitch by the muddy appearance of the water. at sun set the anchor was dropped in five fathoms; point pearce, a cliffy level projection, bearing north-west by north five miles, and about one and a half from a low rocky point. fossil head. a bluff projection, bearing south degrees east seven miles, bounded our view to the southward, and a range of sugarloaf hills, the highest being feet, rose about eight miles in the rear of it. october . we were naturally very anxious to proceed, and as soon as there was sufficient light to read the division of the bearing compass, the ship was gently stealing onward in the direction of the bluff, and furthest land seen last evening to the south-east. we had not proceeded far before we discovered a distant level range, beginning to show itself to the right of this projection, adding still more to the zest with which we pursued our search. the tide, however, making against us, and the wind gradually failing, we were compelled to anchor abreast, and distant three quarters of a mile from the north-west point of a bay two miles wide. the bluff headland, before alluded to, forms the south-east point of this bay, and to which captain wickham and myself hastened instantly the ship was secured. we found a few fossils on the side of this ridge, as we ascended, which at once induced us to name it, fossil head. our view was decisive of the fact, that all further progress eastward was at an end, but to the south sandbanks and patches of dark-coloured water bounding our view left still great hope. the high land terminated abruptly to the southward, whilst looking to the northward it appeared to subside in an east-north-east direction. the base of this range was fronted by a low piece of land, stretching out on its north-west side, and forming a point which bore south degrees east five miles from fossil head. table hill. but the most remarkable feature in the scene was an isolated flat-topped hill, having all the appearance of a bastion or fortress, rising abruptly from the surrounding plain, to an elevation of feet, the upper part being a line of cliffs, greatly adds to the appearance it presents, that of a complete fortification. it bore north degrees east, fourteen miles from fossil head; and the country between was very low, and intersected by a creek about midway. this remarkable piece of land is called in the chart table hill; an inlet trended in towards the foot of it. we noticed several old traces of natives; the country in the neighbourhood was of a stony desolate character, yet appeared to afford nourishment for a small growth of white gums. after examining two mangrove creeks of no importance, in the north-west corner of the bay fronting the ship, we returned. our hopes of finding a river of some magnitude were not in the least destroyed from what we had seen from fossil head, and the southerly direction of the flood-stream fostered our belief. independent of these signs, we felt that we were again entering upon a new part of the continent, and the thoughts thus engendered acted like a powerful stimulant, so that we were not easily cast down. the tide serving badly, and the day being far advanced, it was decided that we should not move the ship till next morning, when after getting abreast of fossil head, we steered from it on the bearing of the deep-water channel we had seen yesterday. we proceeded cautiously, feeling our way with the boats ahead. after passing some distance along the eastern side of a long dry sandbank, we were obliged again to anchor, both boats signalizing a depth of only two fathoms. find a channel for the ship. table hill bore north degrees east, fifteen miles, and fossil head north degrees west. it was now necessary to find a channel for the ship, which i succeeded in doing the next day, and on that following, the th, captain wickham, mr. bynoe, and myself, went to visit the high table range, while messrs. fitzmaurice and keys were to examine the large inlet running in towards the foot of table hill. by following a creek we almost reached the foot of the high level range in the boat; a line of cliffs stretched along near the summit, beneath which it sloped down rapidly to the plain. we ascended by a slight valley, communicating with a break in the cliffs, but found on reaching the top that instead of being on a level, we were standing amidst a series of undulations or low hills, forming the crest of a platform, but so blended together, and of so nearly the same height as to appear in the distance one continuous plain. it was, therefore, with some difficulty that we could find the highest part, each, until we reached it, appearing to be so. ultimately i was compelled to climb a tree, in order to obtain the necessary angles. view from table hill. the view was very extensive, a wide inlet separating the range we stood on from other high land trending southward, with great irregularity, from the base of which stretched out a long plain, similar to that which lay at our feet. the latter was intersected by creeks that could be traced by the mangrove fringe which marked their course. many parts of the low lands were covered with a salt incrustation, and here and there were scattered trees deposited by the overflows of the water, that still appeared to flow from the southward. the sight of this driftwood and many minor appearances, was indeed most welcome, and added full confirmation to the opinion that we were now within the mouth of a large river. to the south-west, and distant thirteen miles, were two large islands, which from the remarkable shape of two patches of trees on their northern ends, we named quoin and clump islands. a small patch of low land was discovered beyond them, between which and quoin island appeared the proper channel. that, however, lying between the islands seemed sufficiently large for the ship. being moreover within our immediate reach, it was determined that we should proceed by it. macadam range. a remarkable change here occurred in the character of the country, the hills being now composed of a white, and very compact kind of sandstone. in the cliffs the strata were very marked, dipping to the south-east at an angle of about thirty degrees with the horizon. the base and sides of these heights were thickly strewn with small fragments of sandstone. the appearance presented was precisely similar to that of a new road, after it had undergone the improving process invented by mr. mcadam, in whose honour, therefore, we named this mcadam range. a large light-coloured kangaroo was the only living thing we saw. a short green-looking grass was thinly sprinkled over the country, imparting a freshness to it, which, in contrast with the aridity that had of late surrounded us, was quite delightful. crossing the flat on returning to the boat, i was much struck by one particular spot on the border of a creek. i came suddenly upon a number of flat stones placed in rows, one upon the other. though altogether covering about ten yards of ground, there was no appearance of any shape in their arrangement. i am still puzzled, to determine whether they were merely the results of childish amusement, or had performed their part in some magical incantation or religious ceremony of the natives. i am the more inclined to think it was the latter, as there was a native grave near, covered with the same kind of flat stones, to the height of about three feet. we had not before observed anything like it, neither did we afterwards. several flights of large curlews were seen passing over the boat, and resting on the flats in its neighbourhood. whilst endeavouring to procure some of them, i was placed in a sufficiently awkward position, running the risk of becoming myself a fresh meal instead of procuring one. narrow escape from an alligator. i had stripped to swim across a creek, and with gun in hand was stealthily crawling to the outer edge of the flat where my intended victims were, when an alligator rose close by, bringing his unpleasant countenance much nearer than was agreeable. my gun was charged with shot, and the primitive state of nudity to which i had just reduced myself, precluded the possibility of my having a second load. to fire therefore was useless, and to retreat difficult, for i had wandered from the boat some distance across the bank, on which the water was fast rising. thought, there was no time for, and before my companions could have reached me, the tide would have flooded the place sufficiently to enable the alligator to attack me at a disadvantage. my only chance of escaping the monster was to hasten back to the boat, and to cross the last creek before the alligator, who appeared fully aware of my intentions. it was now, therefore, a mere matter of speed between us, and the race began. i started off with the utmost rapidity, the alligator keeping pace with me in the water. after a sharp and anxious race, i reached the last creek, which was now much swollen; while the difficulty of crossing was aggravated by my desire to save my gun. plunging in i reached the opposite shore just in time to see the huge jaws of the alligator extended close above the spot where i had quitted the water. my deliverance was providential, and i could not refrain from shuddering as i sat gaining breath upon the bank after my escape, and watching the disappointed alligator lurking about as if still in hopes of making his supper upon me. waiting till the monster came close, i took a deliberate aim at his eye, which had only the effect of frightening him a little. the wind, which was light, blew from the north-east from sunset last evening until noon, being the first land-wind we had yet experienced. the temperature remained nearly the same as at port patterson, the maximum being here , and the minimum . october . we got on board about noon, and the next day mr. fitzmaurice returned. he had found table hill to be a perfect natural fortress, accessible only at the south-east corner by a slight break in the line of cliffs surrounding it; the large inlet terminated in a creek passing close at the southern foot of the hill, where it branched off in an east and north-east direction, and in the course of three miles, became lost at the western extremity of some low thickly-wooded plains, which extended eastward as far as the eye could reach. to the south lay mcadam range, which declining to the eastward, was at length blended with the plain, the eye finding some difficulty in determining where the hills ended and the plain commenced. hopes of discovering a river. all the soundings and other data for the chart, in the immediate neighbourhood, were collected by the th, when the ship was got underweigh, as soon as the tide, which here rose twenty feet, was high enough. after passing through a channel, six and seven fathoms deep, which the dry extreme of the sandbank fronting the flat, extending off mcadam range, bearing south-south-east led through, we hauled over to the westward for a swash way in the sands, extending off the north-west end of clump island. in crossing the inlet, running under the south end of mcadam range, we found as much as ten fathoms, a depth that led to the hope of its being of great importance, perhaps indeed the mouth of a river. passing between clump and quoin islands, we anchored midway between the latter and driftwood island, a proceeding which the approach of high-water rendered necessary, as from the great fall of the tide we were obliged at that time to have at least seven fathoms. we were now surrounded on all sides by flat shores, and from the masthead, i could trace the low land forming the western side of the principal channel. the high land south of mcadam range, was found to terminate in a remarkable peak, which in the certainty of our search proving successful, we named river peak. it was almost blended in one with a range beyond, yet the fact of the distance which really existed between them, did not escape our anxious observation; and it was indeed in the different shade of these two ranges, one being less distinct than the other, that we found ample confirmation of our hopes. preparations for exploring. it was soon arranged that captain wickham and myself, should at once dispel all doubts, and that next morning, messrs. fitzmaurice and keys should start to explore the river-like opening, under the south end of mcadam range, to which we have above alluded. discovery of the victoria. our preparations were rapidly made, a few days provisions were stowed away in the boat, and as the western sky glowed red in the expiring light of day, the gig was running before a north-west breeze, for the chasm in the distant high land, bearing south degrees east, twelve miles from the ship. as we advanced, the separations in the range became more marked and distinct, as long as the light served us, but presently darkness wrapped all in impenetrable mystery. still we ran on keeping close to the eastern low land, and just as we found that the course we held no longer appeared to follow the direction of the channel, out burst the moon above the hills in all its glory, shedding a silvery stream of light upon the water, and revealing to our anxious eyes the long looked-for river, rippling and swelling, as it forced its way between high rocky ranges. under any circumstances the discovery would have been delightful, but the time, the previous darkness, the moon rising and spreading the whole before us like a panorama, made the scene so unusually exciting, that i forbear any attempt to describe the mingled emotions of that moment of triumph. as we ran in between the frowning heights, the lead gave a depth of eighteen and twenty fathoms, the velocity of the stream at the same time clearly showing how large a body of water was pouring through. "this is indeed a noble river!" burst from several lips at the same moment; "and worthy," continued i, "of being honoured with the name of her most gracious majesty the queen:" which captain wickham fully concurred in, by at once bestowing upon it the name of victoria river. a glance at the map will show that we have not overrated its importance, or acted hastily in calling it the victoria; and it must be admitted that as the murray is to south-eastern australia, so in value and importance is the great river victoria, to the opposite side of the continent. pursuing our course between the rocky heights, in a south-east direction, the outline of a high peaked hill, standing between two ranges, became visible, appearing, even at that time, so remarkable as to be named endeavour hill.* the wind failing, we pushed into a small opening out of the stream, on the right hand, to pass the night. (*footnote. afterwards found to be feet, the highest in the neighbourhood.) view from leading hill. anxious to trace further the course of the river, captain wickham and myself ascended the top of a neighbouring hill before early dawn. the view which presented itself when the day broke, was fraught with every charm of novelty. a rapid stream passing between barren rocky heights, here stealing along in calm silence, there eddying and boiling as it swept past, lay at our feet. by a sudden bend two miles east of where we stood, it was hid from our view; the ranges overlapping, however, still pointed out the further course of the victoria. the boat lay in the mouth of a creek, which communicating with another four miles further down, formed an island on the eastern side of the river, which we called entrance isle. the formation of this part was a sandstone of a reddish hue, and in a state of decomposition. a wiry grass and the never-failing eucalyptus were sparingly scattered over the face of the country, which round the entrance had a most unpromising and dreary appearance, showing at a glance its utterly sterile character. exploration of the river. taking a hasty breakfast, we pulled up the river; the tortuous nature of the first reaches, changing their directions suddenly from north to east-south-east with a depth of seventeen and twenty fathoms, produces violent eddies and whirlpools. passing these, a splendid sheet of water lay before us, trending south-east by south, as far as the eye could reach from the boat, and more than a mile wide. in the first part of this we had a few shoal casts of the lead, but afterwards the depth was eight and ten fathoms, it being near low-water. in order to catch a glance at what was beyond, and to spell the oars, we landed at a point on the east side, from which endeavour hill bore west / south three miles. here the river, by taking a slight turn more to the southward, was again lost sight of. we were sorry to perceive that it was much occupied by shoals, that showed themselves at this time of tide. the first began five miles beyond our station, commencing from abreast of a rugged ridge, on the west bank. the singular manner in which the blocks of sandstone were strewed over this height, caused it to bear a strong resemblance to old ruins. the appearance of the country had not as yet improved, though the sandstone had lost that reddish hue we had noticed in the morning, while preserving the very marked dip to the south-east. continuing we found the change in the direction of the river very slight, and at the end of sixteen miles it suddenly turned off to the eastward, which i was sorry to find, as its diverging from its original south-easterly direction, appeared likely to disappoint our expectation that the victoria would prove a highroad to the interior of the continent. the width had hitherto been almost two miles, but there was not sufficient depth to give us any hope of bringing the ship up thus far. appearance of the country. the country now began to assume a more cheerful aspect. the hills exhibited no longer the same rugged outline, and were better clothed with vegetation. from the top of one of a conical group, forming the north point of the river where it changes to the eastward, i could trace its direction but little further. on the opposite side the hills receded, forming an amphitheatre round a level plain, through which ran a creek. on its banks, for the first time, we saw fires of the natives. here, also for the first time, we noticed the gouty-stem trees; whilst the slope of the hill we ascended was covered with a tolerable sprinkling of grass. kangaroos, likewise, were observed on every side springing along the turf; and a few great alligators passed up the stream, after reconnoitering our boat at the risk of a shot or two. we were now nearly thirty miles from the ship; and a few stations were still necessary to be made to complete the survey so far. our proceeding farther was therefore useless, especially as an exploring expedition must pass up the river; and retracing our steps we reached the ship near midnight on the th. the intelligence of the success of our cruise was received on board with an enthusiasm which explorers only can appreciate. mr. fitzmaurice had not returned, which favoured my surmises that he would find a river. october . mr. forsyth having collected all the necessary material for the survey near the ship, we shifted our berth this afternoon into deeper water, between the south end of quoin island and another small islet to the south-west, which from our operations on its south-eastern corner we called observation island. the weather was very remarkable in the evening--dark patches of clouds appearing in the western horizon, from which vivid lightnings flashed, and loud peals of thunder roared. the frightened stream of the sea-birds evinced how seldom nature puts on such an aspect in this place. captain wickham ascends the victoria. before proceeding further with the ship, it was necessary to feel our way with the boats. whilst this was going on, captain wickham determined on pushing up the river in the gig to ascertain if it was fresh sufficiently near to water the ship from, when she had been taken as far up the victoria as it was possible. he left next morning on this more than interesting trip. fitzmaurice river. the same afternoon mr. fitzmaurice returned, having, as we had suspected, discovered a river that carried his boat thirty miles in an east direction from the south end of mcadam range. towards the upper part it was scarcely half a mile wide; but for an australian stream was remarkably free from bends, pursuing a straight course between rocky heights, with a depth varying from two to seven fathoms. many shoals occurred towards the entrance, where in some places it was more than two miles wide. this river was named fitzmaurice river after its discoverer; and the mouth or inlet of it, after his companion, keys inlet. in sounding the channel, i found that when the hill captain wickham and myself were first on, behind entrance isle, was in a line with the north end of the high land at the south side of the entrance, it formed a good lead up. in consequence we named it leading hill, and the end of the range alluded to, indian hill, from our constantly seeing smoke near it. a flat of three or four fathoms at low-water extended across the channel, with river peak bearing between north east and north east. i visited indian hill, but failed to meet with any of the natives, although i saw their fires not far off in the hills to the south-west. it is a ridge covered with blocks of sandstone, with a few trees here and there. from its summit i had an extensive view of the low land stretching away to the northward, and forming the western side of the channel. it appeared so cut up with creeks as to form a mass of islands and mud flats, which appeared from the quantity of drift timber, to be frequently overflowed, and partially so apparently at high spring tides. the farthest high land i saw bore west about twelve miles. memorial on indian hill. i left here a paper in a bottle, giving an account of our proceedings, and should have been sorry to think, as wallis did when he left a similar document on a mountain in the strait of magellan, that i was leaving a memorial that would remain untouched as long as the world lasts. no, i would fain hope that ere the sand of my life-glass has run out, other feet than mine will have trod these distant banks; that colonization will, ere many years have passed, have extended itself in this quarter; that cities and hamlets will have risen on the banks of the new-found river, that commerce will have directed her track thither, and that smoke may rise from christian hearths where now alone the prowling heathen lights his fire. there is an inevitable tendency in man to create; and there is nothing which he contemplates with so much complacency as the work of his own hands. to civilize the world, to subdue the wilderness, is the proudest achievement to which he can look forward; and to share in this great work by opening new fields of enterprise, and leading, as it were, the van of civilisation, fills the heart with inexpressible delight. it is natural, therefore, as i traced the record of our visit and deposited it on indian hill, that i should look forward in a mood very far different from that of wallis, to the speedy fruition of my hopes. october . the winds for the last few days had been from west-north-west to north-west, light after midnight to near noon, then moderate and sometimes fresh. the tides, as they approached the springs, increased their velocity, occasionally coming down in bores at the rate of four and five knots. return of captain wickham. captain wickham returned this morning, having discovered the river to be fresh about seventy miles above the ship. for some distance it had not decreased in size, which was very delightful news. i had been several times on the point of inquiring on this subject; but fearing an unfavourable reply, hesitated. now my hopes were at their highest pitch, and i was quite impatient to start on an expedition up the river. on the th the ship was taken under my guidance up the river, as far as the commencement of the long southerly reach. as the shoals in that part had not been sufficiently examined, we proceeded to do so in the evening, and two channels were discovered; one between a bank, dry at low-water, and a covered patch of one and a half and two fathoms, and the other between the covered bank and the east shore; the latter, although the narrower, i found to be the better. the tides set direct through it, and to keep close to the bank is a simple and sure guide. the least water is four fathoms, half a fathom more than was found in the other, the direction of which crossed the set of the tide when the bank on the west side became covered. the beagle taken up the victoria. next morning we moved the ship three miles further up into a bight on the east side from which endeavour hill bore west south two miles and a half. the beagle was now nearly fifty miles up the victoria, and might have gone seven miles further, but a valley holding out a hope that we might find water by digging, and the distance at which the river was fresh being too great for us to think of completing our stock from it, we anchored abreast of it. whilst on shore getting observations for the errors of the chronometers in the afternoon, i could not avoid soliloquising as i gazed on the ship lying surrounded by lofty rocky heights, that towered above her masts till they appeared mere sticks. the contrast forcibly presented itself between the comparative insignificance to which she was reduced by the elevation of the hills around, and the majestic appearance she was accustomed to bear when among the low lands of which we had seen so much. the sight reminded me of early years of wandering within the narrow arms of the sea in tierra del fuego, save and except there were not the forests of ages to hide the nakedness of the land, which even there was clothed to the water's edge. my companion reporting the instruments in the boat broke the reverie i was indulging in; and on returning on board i found everyone busily preparing for the expedition up the river. chapter . . exploration of the victoria. first appearance of sea range. curiosity peak. appearance of country from. whirlwind plains. encounter with an alligator. his capture and description. cross whirlwind plains. white and black ducks. kangaroos. enter hilly country. meet the boats. thunderstorm. carry boats over shoals. new birds. reach hopeless. progress of boats arrested. reconnoitre the river. prospect from view hill. preparation for pedestrian excursion. leave reach hopeless to explore the upper part of the river. native village. squall. muscle bend. meet natives. successful fishing. party distressed. thirsty flat. tortoise reach. singular appearance of the ranges. effect of the great heat. one man knocked up. approach of natives. preparation for defence. appearance of the natives. move further up the river. emu plains. select position for night quarters. upward course of the victoria. commence return. kangaroo shot. wickham heights. new tortoise. lucky valley. race was with a native. meet his tribe. they make off. hard day's work. quarters for the night. return to reach hopeless. exploration of the victoria. the expedition, consisting of the two large boats and gig, with captain wickham, who was to show them the watering place, left the ship early on the morning of the st of october. i was to follow in one of the whaleboats, and explore the upper parts in company with captain wickham; and after completing the survey near the ship, i was at last fairly off to explore the victoria with the first glimmer of light the morning following, once more to revel in scenes where all was new. how amply is the explorer repaid by such sights for all his toils! to ascend a hill and say you are the first civilized man that has ever trod on this spot; to gaze around from its summit and behold a prospect over which no european eye has ever before wandered; to descry new mountains; to dart your eager glance down unexplored valleys, and unvisited glens; to trace the course of rivers whose waters no white man's boat has ever cleaved, and which tempt you onwards into the bosom of unknown lands: these are the charms of an explorer's life. mr. forsyth accompanied me. we landed nearly opposite the rugged ridge i have before mentioned, for a few angles and bearings. here we found two native rafts of precisely the same construction as those we had previously seen on the north-west coast, formed out of nine poles. the shape the reader will remember from the sketch in that part of the work, and with the exception of only two instances, where they appeared merely temporary affairs, we have noticed no other kind of rafts in use. wherever this great similarity in their mode of water-conveyance prevails, we may infer the natives have had communication with each other. we passed the night in the end of a crooked reach, near the only rocky islet in the river, lying four miles east-south-east from the furthest point i had before attained. with the exception of a squall from north-east in the afternoon, there was scarcely any wind, and the night was cloudy with some slight showers of rain. as the mosquitoes allowed us little rest, we were glad, when the day broke, to be again moving. we now found the river take a north-east direction for eight miles, averaging in width upwards of three-quarters of a mile, and in depth at low-water two fathoms. a sudden change in the trend of the reaches brought in sight the strange appearance of the country represented in the woodcut annexed. curiosity peak. the peak on the right bank we named, from the passion it assisted us in gratifying, curiosity peak. landing at the foot we were not long reaching the summit, although the thermometer was degrees in the shade. the river formed a remarkable feature in the landscape before us, to the north-east; and behind it rose a high table-range of hills, from five to six hundred feet in elevation. these were capped with low reddish-coloured cliffs. whirlwind plains. at their feet stretched an extensive and seemingly boundless plain in a north-east direction, whilst on the south-east side, and distant about eighteen miles from where we stood, low ranges of hills were visible. here and there over the plains were many small whirlwinds appearing in the distance like streaks of smoke curling upwards through the air. these, though affording relief to the eye in the wide prospect that opened before us, are fraught with danger when occurring on the river; for on one occasion they nearly upset the gig, and threatened to consign its crew to a watery grave. in the present instance they gave an impulse to our invention, suggesting the propriety of designating the level tract of country before us, whirlwind plains. the high land rising suddenly out of it, and bounding it very abruptly on the north-west side, we named sea range. we could trace the river passing along at its foot in an east-north-east direction for nine miles, when it appeared to cross the plain; a large island lying midway changed its course for a short distance. i found a strange kind of fruit growing in a hollow, near the top of curiosity peak; the tree was small and leafless, with the fruit hanging in bunches about the size of a damascene plum, of the colour of a peach, and containing a large stone. i afterwards had a pie made of this fruit, which proved to be by no means bad eating. besides the sandstone of which the peak is composed, i found a kind of slate on the north-west side. several banks showed themselves, leaving at that time of tide scarcely a boat channel, although the river was a mile wide at high-water. a great part of the day was occupied in collecting material for the chart of this part, and we passed the night near the foot of curiosity peak. on the grassy flat opposite, i killed five white ibises at a shot. at sunset, i noticed large flocks of a rather small brown pigeon, constantly flying from whirlwind plains to the north-west, and back again in the morning. the mosquitoes did not give us any peace again this night. encounter an alligator. november . starting early, we had just passed all the shoals in the neighbourhood of curiosity peak, and entered a narrow part of the river, when the leadsman in the bows of the boat reported, "a large alligator coming down the stream, sir." elated by the expectation of sport, we instantly grounded the boat on the right bank to keep her steady, and waited anxiously for the monster's approach. it will readily be believed, that every eye was fixed upon him as he slowly advanced, scarcely disturbing the glassy surface of the water, and quite unconscious of the fate that impended over him. at length he came abreast, and about eighty yards off, only the flat crown of his head, and the partly serrated ridge along his back, appearing in sight. it was a moment of deep excitement for us all, and everyone held his breath in suspense as i pointed my gun at the brute's head. effect of a shot. i felt confident of hitting my mark; but judging from the little effect i had produced on former occasions, scarcely dreamt of the execution my ball actually did. it happened that to-day i was in excellent practice, and had just hit a large wild dog, a long shot, making him jump high off the ground; but this beast is as tenacious of life as a cat, and instead of falling dead, he limped off and escaped. but to resume: i fired, and never heard a ball strike with more satisfaction in my life. it laid the alligator sprawling, feet uppermost. there was no time to be lost in getting him on shore; two or three strokes with the oars brought us alongside of the monster, as he floated on the surface of the stream. the business was to attach a line to one of his legs; and as we knew that he was not dead, but only stunned, this was rather a nervous operation. i noticed indeed a hesitation among the men, as to who should venture, and fearing lest our prize should escape, i seized the line and made it fast to one of his fore-legs, when we proceeded to the shore, dragging him alongside. before reaching it, however, our friend gave signs of reviving animation, and as we could not foresee to what extent he might regain his activity, we dropped him astern, clear of the boat, fearing lest in floundering about he might stave in her broadside. in doing so, moreover, and by way of a sedative, i fired a charge of large shot at his head, the muzzle of the gun not being a yard from it; and yet the only effect produced, was a slight stupor of the intellectual faculties, evinced by a momentary state of quiescence. the alligator on shore. on reaching the shore, the men jumped out to haul the alligator up on the dry land, and began to pull away vigorously. it was a comic scene to witness. they expected to have some difficulty in performing their task; but suddenly they found the rope slacken, and looking round beheld the alligator walking up after them of his own accord, faster than was pleasant. in their haste, endeavouring to keep the rope taut, one fellow tripped up; and it was for a moment a question whether he would not be snapped in two; the feeling of alarm, however, soon gave way to a sense of the ludicrous, at beholding the manner in which he gathered himself up into a ball and rolled out of the alligator's way. i thought it now high time to take decisive measures, and with another shot altered the intentions of the monster, who endeavoured to back towards the water. perhaps if he had been further away from it, i might have been tempted to try waterton's experiment. it was not before he had received six balls in the head, that he consented to be killed. during the operation he exhibited something of his savoir faire, by opening his mouth, that looked like a gigantic man-trap, and suddenly shutting it with a loud snap, which made us shudder, and forcibly recalled to mind the escape i had had a few days before, from having my body embraced by such a pair of jaws. the reader will gather a good idea of their size from the woodcut; and their power of holding will be shown in the description accompanying. the view annexed represents the moment when the alligator received the first shot on shore; the singular character of sea range is also shown, and the small whirlwinds i have alluded to, as having the appearance of smoke. description of the alligator. length of alligator, feet. from base of head to extreme of nose feet inches. across the base of head, feet. length of lower jaw, feet. teeth in both jaws, vary in size, and are variously disposed, as will be seen above; in upper jaw on each side of maxillary bone, , incisors. ditto in lower jaw, , incisors. the largest teeth are / inch in length. the two lower incisors are stronger and longer than the upper, and project through two holes in front part of upper jaw. breadth across the animal, from extreme of one fore foot, across the shoulders to the other side, feet inches. the fore feet have each five perfect toes; the three inner or first, have long horny nails, slightly curved; the two outer toes have no nails, nor are they webbed. the third and fourth toes are deeply webbed, allowing a wide space between them, which is apparent even in their passive state. the hind feet have four long toes; the first two are webbed as far as the first joint, and the others are strongly webbed to the apex of last joint, the last or outer toe has no nail. from the apex of tail, a central highly notched ridge runs up about midway of it, and there splits into two branches, which pass up on each side of the spine over the back, as far as the shoulders, gradually diminishing in height to their termination. a central ridge runs down from the nape of the neck over the spinous processes of the vertebrae (being firmly attached to them by strong ligaments) as far down as the sacrum, diminishing to its termination likewise. contents of its stomach. all the alligator's stomach contained was about fourteen pounds of pebbles, some of them measuring four inches in diameter. we were some time skinning the monster, and after securing a little of the best part of the flesh for eating,* proceeded on our way. (*footnote. the writer supped off alligator steaks, and informs the reader that the meat is by no means bad, and has a white appearance like veal.) the river, as i have already said, ran along the base of sea range for some distance, when it turned off across the plain in a south-east direction. banks of the victoria. the high land quite overlooked the stream, and enhanced the picturesque effect of the trees that rose in rich green masses on the banks, which were here only about half a mile apart. the depth, however, was two fathoms, double what it had been for some distance before. we had now fairly turned our backs on sea range, and were crossing the plains in a south-east direction. on the part of the victoria we had passed were a few white ducks, with black or very dark brown wings. i noticed that the bill and legs were of a very pale pink, and they had a pale yellow eye. they were evidently the same bird that i had seen at port essington.* they were scarce and not met with in other parts of the river. kangaroos were numerous on the banks, as we entered the plain, and during the day were to be seen in numbers under the bushes near the water's edge. i added one to our stock of fresh provisions, which with alligator steaks and ducks, gave us a good supply to share with the other boats. we named this part of the river long reach, from its carrying us nine miles in a direct course, with a general width of a quarter of a mile, and a depth of two and three fathoms. the banks were well defined, in many places being a low line of cliffs six feet high, presenting to our view several feet of brown soil, resting on a compact clay. this is the general character of this extensive plain; and from the small size of the trees, chiefly white gums, that are thinly scattered over it, we may infer that it is land of recent formation. two miles from the end of long reach, we passed a sandy head, where the tide rises from three to ten feet. (*footnote. figured by mr. gould, as tadorna radjah.) the river now took a south by west direction, for nearly two miles, a little narrower, but three fathoms deep throughout. towards the latter part the banks were fringed with mangroves of a small and singularly even growth, resembling a clipped garden shrubbery. our course again changed to south-east, entering the low range of hills bounding the south-eastern side of whirlwind plains. it was long after dark when we reached so far. we had passed the watering boats some distance further down on their way to the ship. our sudden meeting in the dark on the lonely river, had a singular and romantic effect. being anxious to join the gig, we pushed on, and at midnight were surprised by a loud call from captain wickham, who lay beneath the shadow of a high bank. it was a strange sound, this english hail, to hear echoed in these wild hills, where only the shrill cry of the savage had been borne on the blast before! thunderstorm. i was sorry to find, that the tide did not at present rise sufficient to admit the large boats into the fresh water, so that getting a load would have been a very long operation, had it not been for a tremendous fall of rain that followed a thunderstorm, deluging every pool, and at once affording the means of filling the casks. this storm began at south-east and drew round by east to north-west, from which quarter it blew strong for an hour. the torrents of rain lasted two hours, and cooled the air so rapidly, as in that time to reduce the thermometer from to degrees. this change was so sudden, that it made those who felt it shiver as if it were the depth of winter, and rush into the river water to keep themselves warm. november . both boats proceeded up the river at daylight. we started from the end of short reach, trending east-north-east, and about four miles within the range of hills, on the south-east side of the plains. the first reach led us a mile and a half in a south-east direction, and at the end of it a flat of large boulders extended; across this we dragged the boats easily. the river now took a turn from east-north-east to north, and at the end of a mile we came to another extensive flat, quite dry. there was a deep pool below it, with a precipitous hill, feet high, on the eastern side. this we called steep head, and its singular dark cliffy face, frowning over the placid waters, gave an air of grandeur to the scenery. stretched out on the face of these cliffs, we left the skin of our friend the alligator, to be taken to the ship by the watering boats when they returned. shoals in the river. there was now heavy work before us, with the thermometer at degrees in the shade: we had to drag the boats over the large flat that impeded our progress. the way was made as smooth as possible, and plenty of rollers laid, but an unlucky stone found its way through the thin plank of the gig. captain wickham acted as head carpenter in repairing the damage, which occupied so much time that it was dark before the boats were floated in the deep water beyond. we dined on the bank, by the light of a lantern hung on a tree. the tide at this place only rose two feet. scenery on its banks. november . taking advantage of the cool of the morning, we moved off with the early dawn. a fine sheet of water lay before us, and everything promised well. the vegetation looked stronger and richer. above the growth of acacias and drooping gums, that leant over the banks kissing their reflection in the limpid waters, rose on each side high broken ranges. their heights had round summits, just beneath which, in some, could be traced a low line of cliffs, so singularly characteristic of sea range. the very marked dip in the strata did not extend beyond the latter, and here i could not detect any. flights of large vampires, whistling ducks, many-coloured parakeets, and varieties of small birds, made the river quite alive, and their continued cry of alarm gave vivacity to the scene, and disturbed the stillness that had reigned there for years. every living thing is terrified at the sight of man. this reach of the victoria enabled mr. bynoe to add two new birds to his collection; one, a species of pigeon, but resembling a small quail in its habits and size; the cerae of the nose, the beak and the feet, were a pigeon's, but the flight and the manner of running along the ground, where it kept, were those of a quail. it was found in small families of eight or a dozen, very wild and scarce, and was only seen in this part of the river. the only one we were able to get, had a very long pointed crest. the colour was a light red, with a white chin and a black band across the throat; the tips of the wings were slightly bronzed. it is figured in mr. gould's work, from this specimen, as geophaps plumifera. singular bird. the other bird was of a species, that at first sight appeared to be a teal. it went in small flocks, and as it got on the wing made a long shrill plaintive kind of note. the deep glossy rifle-green colour of their back, and the transparent streak of white across the wing, gave them a most beautiful appearance, as the sun's rays lit up their rich plumage in their circuitous flight round the boat. their number did not exceed twenty, and they too were only seen on this part of the river. they were also very wary, which is singular in the inhabitants of a wilderness, almost totally unfrequented by man. we only got one specimen, by which we found that it had the head and bill of a goose. it was indeed quite a goose in miniature. although we never before or afterwards met with this bird, it was seen at port essington, though of inferior plumage, some time in , and a specimen was obtained, from which mr. gould has named it nettapus pulchellas. the whistling duck of the adelaide river, was also only seen on this part of the victoria. after proceeding north-east one mile and a half, and east two miles, we came to a pretty little islet covered with palms and acacias, and rich long grass. numbers of large white waterlilies grew on its banks. the river was now only an eighth of a mile wide, and two fathoms deep. this still promised well. scarcely, however, had we indulged in the hope that the victoria might yet convey the boats many miles into the interior, when a shoal appeared. progress of the boats arrested. over this we got tolerably well, but at the end of two miles in an east-south-east direction from palm island, all hopes were at an end of proceeding farther in the boats, as for a great extent the river was impassable for them. we found there was a large sheet of water beyond, and then another dry patch. it would therefore have been useless labour to attempt dragging the boats over any more of the dry parts. two conical-shaped hills, so much alike that we called them the brothers, bore north by west / west one mile. the thermometer was degrees at noon in the shade. i shot some very large dark-coloured ducks in the afternoon. kangaroos were numerous. the water was fresh soon after passing palm island. that we were thus finally deterred from proceeding farther with the boats, was a source of deep mortification. since the great flat we had experienced so much difficulty in getting over yesterday, all had gone well. each turn in the river appeared more beautiful, and brought something new to increase our interest; and we fondly imagined that great discoveries were in store for us. but the fates had decreed otherwise, and we were compelled to pause, after having ascended in the boats from the ship above miles. we named this reach, in consequence, reach hopeless. november . it being evidently impracticable to proceed higher up in the boats; a small party of us landed at daylight, in order to ascend a neighbouring height, and thence to trace as far as possible the upward course of the river, preparatory to a pedestrian excursion along its banks. before sunrise we reached the summit of a narrow ridge, trending east-south-east / a mile east, from where the boats were lying: in this singular ridge i again noticed the dip to the south-east: it was composed of a variety of rocks, jasper, a greyish kind of flinty indifferent limestone, and greywacke. singular appearance of the river. the view from it was very limited, the valley of the river turning short to the northward, two miles east by south of our position, to which we gave the name of station hill. before i had finished my round of angles, the heat had become so great that some of our party were compelled to return to the boats, whilst myself, with two of the men, pushed on for nearly two miles in an easterly direction, along the foot of some table-topped hills, and were then gratified with another peep at the river, which had a very singular appearance, in some places nearly dry, discovering a wide bed of large pebbles: long narrow islands, whose shape attested the former rapidity of the currents, covered with reeds and acacias, and deep pools of standing water, were its most characteristic features. several kangaroos, alarmed by our approach, hastily quitted their cool hidingplaces, presenting beautiful shots; but as the traces of natives were both recent and numerous, we thought it most prudent to reserve our fire, and shortly after, upon finding a native fire still alight, to keep the open ground as much as possible. we travelled for a long mile over a level flat of good soil, though now quite destitute of vegetation, save some beautiful specimens of the truly evergreen gumtree. prospect from view hill. at length we reached the summit of view hill, and no effervescing draught could have proved more really refreshing than the south-east breeze which greeted us there. it is separated from the ranges to the southward by a deep narrow valley. we noticed from it that the river evidently increased in size, as traced upwards, and i was very glad to find that the delight i experienced in making this discovery, was shared by my companions. we traced it east for two long miles--a deep broad and picturesque stream: beyond that limit it took a more southerly direction, apparently behind some high tableland (table hill) feet high. beyond, and on the eastern side of the valley of the river, rose a high peak, crowned by a remarkable block of stone, to which we gave the name of the tower. i made a sketch of the scenery, and took a round of angles, and then we returned to the boats. on our arrival we found the thermometer had been as high as degrees at one p.m. the afternoon was occupied in selecting a party of five out of the boats' crews, for a pedestrian excursion; and at night, jaded as we were, it was almost impossible to sleep, owing to the screeching noise of the vampires, and the howling of the native dogs. preparations for a pedestrian excursion. november . making slings and packing provisions for an early start to-morrow morning occupied the greater part of the day. mr. bynoe, as he had done yesterday, added to his valuable collection a few rare birds, and strange plants; while i took several readings of the barometer, morning and evening, for the elevation of the bed of the river: the mean gave a resulting height of thirty feet. our bivouac at reach hopeless, was under the shade of a cluster of drooping gumtrees, which secreted in their thick foliage, numbers of a bird figured by mr. gould as tripidorhynchus argenticeps. these kept up a constant amusing chatter, in which we could frequently detect an exact imitation of the words walk up, when spoken sharply. a kangaroo mr. bynoe had shot, and hung on a tree, drew the attention of birds of prey, consisting of two kinds of hawks, one of a dark brown, almost black, and another a lighter shade of the same colour, resembling copper, with a great deal of white about the head; so that we were surrounded with feathered companions. the wind as usual was east-north-east in the morning, and north-west in the evening. the thermometer ranged from to degrees during the day, and fell to degrees at night; during which we noticed several meteors in the north and north-west falling perpendicularly. november . our little band left the boats before daylight, the morning being agreeably cool (temperature degrees). captain wickham had intended heading this most interesting expedition himself, but feeling indisposed, the party was eventually placed under my command, and in addition to myself, consisted of mr. bynoe, surgeon; mr. forsyth, mate; george knox, robert gower, and william willing, seamen; john brown, and richard martin, marines. besides provisions for six days, and arms, we had with us the following instruments: large sextant, small sextant, artificial horizon, chronometer, two compasses, spyglass, watch, lantern, and measuring tape. our route was that of yesterday to view hill, and we reached the river a mile to the eastward by half-past seven a.m. we halted here for ten minutes to skin a kangaroo, which i had shot as we crossed the plain; a piece of good fortune that induced me to determine upon leaving a part of our provisions at the first convenient spot. we found the banks of the river thickly clothed with tall reeds, through which with some difficulty we forced our way. to the north-west the high land receded from the river, having an extensive, and apparently alluvial flat between its base and the course of the stream. after a brief halt, we proceeded in an east degrees south direction. two miles good walking brought us to the head of a deep gully, the banks of which were covered with tall reeds; we followed its course nearly due north to the river, which it joined near the foot of the high land i have before spoken of. the bed of the stream was dry here in patches for half a mile. as none of our party had been recently accustomed to much pedestrian exercise, and we had been travelling for nearly five hours over a broken country, and in a temperature varying from to degrees in the shade, i thought it time to halt and dine. while dinner was being prepared, mr. bynoe and myself shot three brace of rare ducks, of a small light grey kind, in the pools near. i afterwards accompanied mr. forsyth to get some bearings from an elevation on the north side of the river. course of the victoria. towards the south-east we perceived a very decided break in the hills, through which i hoped to trace the course of the victoria, that being the direction of the centre of this vast continent: in this however we were disappointed, for the river turned short round to the north-east. the banks were so high, and so thickly covered with tall reeds, that it was only by the very green appearance of the trees about its banks that its course could be made out. the temperature at one p.m. in the sun was degrees. knowing how impossible it was to avoid being tracked by the natives, should they wish it, even upon the hardest ground, and that in the event of their doing so any buried stores would be forthwith discovered, and yet anxious to disencumber the party of any superfluous load, i directed one of the men to take the -pound canister of preserved meat and throw it into a thick cluster of reeds and palms, about thirty yards distant; and after taking a set of sights for longitude, recommenced our journey to half-past three p.m. in a north-east direction; passing through a lightly timbered plain, that had been evidently at no distant date exposed to the ravages of fire. at half-past four we came to a bend of the river, trending north degrees east and south degrees west. passing several trees still on fire near the river, after another short halt, which the state of the atmosphere no less than the nature of the ground rendered desirable, we resumed our north-east course, but were compelled to make a considerable westerly detour, in order to clear the deep watercourses intersecting the banks at this place, and which, extending nearly to the base of the hills, rendered the fatigues and labours of the march additionally and needlessly heavy. native village. just before dark we came upon a native village, near the foot of a bare rocky hill, having a northern aspect, and lying about one mile south-west of the river. it contained thirteen huts of paper-bark, standing in a bare stony plain, and with no signs of being at this time inhabited. we found here considerable difficulty in forcing our way through the tall and thickly growing reeds which lined the bank. the next reach in the river trended north-west for about a mile, and then turned off north-north-east at the foot of a high rocky range. the next turn in the course brought us upon a yet burning native fire. under ordinary circumstances such an indication of the near presence of natives, of whose intentions, whether hostile or otherwise, i had no means of judging, would have induced me to take up open quarters for the night, which was now closing in upon us; but the threatening aspect of the sky to the south-east led me to prefer a spot sheltered by the luxuriant foliage which here fringed the river's banks. violent squall. the squall reached us at seven. the wind, which had been at south-east, veering to north, and the thermometer falling five degrees; it lasted for about an hour, during which time the harsh screams of the affrighted birds--the moaning of the wind--the awful roll of thunder, and the fearful brilliancy of the lightning, combined to supply all the terrible beauty which invests such scenes; especially when they surprise the startled adventurer upon his unknown path, and add their hostile influence to the unreckoned dangers that await his progress. the only means we had of preserving our only suit of clothes dry from the drenching showers of rain was by taking them off, and stuffing them into the hollow of a tree, which in the darkness of the night we could do with propriety. within an hour the weather had cleared up, and was as fine as before the squall. the change came just in time for me to secure a meridian altitude of achernar, which, with a set of sights for time, completed the requisite observations. we noticed a singular meteor in the east-south-east about o'clock this evening, darting perpendicularly upwards: it lasted for ten seconds: between the hour mentioned and midnight, we saw a great many, passing chiefly from south-east to north-west. at nine, having set the watches for the night, we lay down to sleep, and passed a quiet night with a temperature of degrees, and a north-west wind. november . we started early the following morning, after having obtained a set of bearings, and followed the bank of the river to the north-west for half a mile, then forded it and took a north-easterly direction, passing close to the foot of some hills forming the south side of the valley of the river, which at this place is scarcely a mile wide. high tableland formed the west side of it, and low broken ranges trending east, bounded it in that direction. mussel bend. the bend above where we slept we called mussel bend, from our finding several there: they appeared similar to those found by oxley in the macquarie. the country over which we travelled the first part of the day was exceedingly stony, and wore a most uninviting appearance. while the party halted to skin a kangaroo i had been so fortunate as to shoot; i ascended the top of a neighbouring hill to make a sketch, and get some bearings. from this elevation i traced the river in a north-west direction for three miles, and i gazed with rapture, only known to the discoverer, upon a clear and magnificent expanse of water, yet greatly dismayed at its northerly direction. to the north-east was an extensive and apparently alluvial flat; while to the westward, the high land approached the river. it is worthy of remark, that so far as our observation extended, wherever the hills approach the river on one side they recede from it on the other. discovered by natives. continuing in a more easterly direction in order to avoid the deep watercourses near the banks, we found the country wore a much less arid appearance, and changing our direction to north-north-west in order to ascend some high ranges distant two miles and a half, overlooking the east bank of the river, we came suddenly upon some native tracks, and presently surprised two children, who scampered down the bank in very natural alarm, and were soon lost among the tall reeds. a little further on we passed within yards of three women carrying bundles of bark at their backs; their anxiety for their children had allowed us to approach thus close unseen; but no sooner were we discovered, than they raised a shout which was answered from the heights on our right, and from the banks of the river on our left, by parties evidently too numerous to render it prudent to attempt a nearer meeting. we therefore held on our way without appearing to notice them. they were quite naked, with the exception of a slight covering of bark round their waists. we halted at half-past ten a.m. in an open spot in the dry bed of the river, overlooked by a high table hill. our party looked very much distressed from their half-day's work. the weather had been very close, and a good deal of the walking over broken ground; and these circumstances, coupled with the fact that the thermometer stood at degrees in the shade, and that all had been for a long time cooped up in a small vessel, will fully explain and account for the general fatigue. successful fishing. in a pool of the river near our resting place, i caught, within an hour, some dozen good-sized fish: using a bait of kangaroo flesh. there were two sorts, one of the shape of a trout, and ten inches long; it had a dirty orange-yellow belly, and a muddy bronze back; the lower hole of the nose had a raised margin. the other measured seven inches, and resembled in shape a small fish at home, known to all schoolboys as the prickle-back; it was curiously marked, having five spots nearly black on each side, near the ridge of the back; the ground around them was a dark glossy brown; the belly was a slightly shining white, reaching as far up as the lower line of the eye and the margin of the spots. while mr. bynoe was occupied in making sketches of them, which have been transmitted to dr. richardson, mr. forsyth and myself ascended a neighbouring hillock, and traced the river in a westerly direction for two miles; it then turned round to north-north-east: a deep narrow valley separated it from the higher land to the eastward. the bed of the river at this place, though partly dry, was wider than we had hitherto seen it, and the trees upon its banks still showed evident signs of being washed by a mountain torrent. after making a set of observations for longitude, we started again at o'clock p.m. taking a north-west direction over a flat of tolerably fine light mould. near here a party of natives crossed the river, in the direction of those we had first seen: perhaps to effect a junction of forces and demand the meaning of our strange intrusion. we took an east / north direction across the flat, but finding the ground very broken and stony, intersected by deep watercourses, and rendered additionally impracticable by high grass and thick reeds, we were compelled, after getting half across, to make the best of our way to the river. fatigue of the party. it was intensely hot, not a breath of air stirring, and to add to our misfortunes, we had inadvertently dined off the contents of a canister of salt meat. we reached the river at half-past five, being all of us pretty well knocked up with heat, fatigue, and thirst: one of our party, i heard afterwards, drank nearly two quarts of water at a draught. further on in this reach, i determined to occupy quarters for the night; it was wide and deep, trending east by south, but shut in about a mile above our present position by a dry patch of stones, with clear banks on either side. as we were now in what appeared to be a rather thickly populated district of the country, it was requisite to choose a position beyond the reach of sudden attack. having consulted our security as much as possible in this particular, i took, before dark, the necessary bearings and angles for the survey, and was delighted to observe that the valley of the river again trended away to the southward. we had a cool breeze after dark from the north-west, and the thermometer went down to degrees. i had scarcely secured observations for latitude and longitude, before a squall from the south-east, accompanied by heavy rain, recalled the scene of last night. charm of discovery. the same screams from the same kind of birds, disturbed in their roosting places, and the same mournful howling of the wind, as it swept fitfully through the trees that overshadowed us, broke the silence that had reigned around our solitary fire, and exercised their wondrous power over the imagination. in a few moments my thoughts were borne on to the very heart of this mysterious country, over many a dreary plain, where thirst, fatigue, and hunger were all forgotten. it is impossible to define the exact nature of the charm which particular minds find in the perils and adventures of discovery, whether on the shore or over the wave. certain, however, it is, that scarce any motive of human exertion can compete with it in the powers of endurance it supplies to its votaries. the squall served to clear the air, and was succeeded by a cool breeze from the north-west. the thermometer down to degrees. thirsty flat. yet cool, as comparatively speaking, the nights are here, still i could not but remark that the ground never became so; and this i imagine to be one of the principal causes of that fatigue from which some of our party suffered so much: during my watches i invariably noticed some poor fellow or another vainly trying to secure the rest of which he stood so much in need: rolling with restless anxiety from side to side, and sometimes in absolute despair, starting up on his feet: neither could i fail to note the wearying effect these broken slumbers produced, symptoms of which showed themselves more plainly each morning. having provided myself with the means of calculating the latitude, i worked the observations i had taken during the night. it placed the spot of our bivouac in degrees minutes south. we estimated our distance from the boats, having carefully timed ourselves each march, at miles; in an east, general direction, and north-east by north. november . we pushed onwards in the cool of the morning, taking a south degrees west direction, for three miles, crossing the eastern part of the flat to which we yesterday gave the name of thirsty flat, and found the soil a light mould, covered with long dry grass. this brought us to a bend in the river, trending in rather a tortuous manner east, and passing through a wide valley, with table ranges, varying from to feet on either side. towards their summits there were perpendicular cliffs of some or feet, similar to the high land of sea range. the country just here was so thickly wooded that i was obliged to climb a tree in order to get the bearings. we noticed some very curious black horizontal streaks on the hills in our immediate vicinity. we crossed the river, or rather over its bed--a patch of stones--and found some shells of the water-tortoise at the remains of a native fire on the bank: we named the reach tortoise reach, in consequence. here too mr. bynoe added some rare and beautiful specimens of finches to his collection. enervating effect of the great heat. the cool north-west wind had now deserted us, and though yet scarcely nine o'clock a.m. the thermometer stood at degrees. i had again the good fortune to shoot a kangaroo: it was a long cross-shot, the animal going at speed. our route now lay across a barren stony plain, of which the vegetation it might once have boasted had been burnt off: the blackened ground, heated by the fierce rays of the sun, seemed still to us on fire. in crossing a creek which lay in our path, and which we managed to do by means of a fallen tree, mr. forsyth showed symptoms of being struck with the sun, but a little water, which i was happy enough to get from the creek, revived him. several others of the party also complained of the trying effects of the great heat; after a short rest, i therefore determined on making for the river, which we arrived at in half an hour, near a bed of dry rocks, but with the reaches on either side wide and deep, and shut in by steep banks. by this time one of the men was seriously indisposed; all hopes, therefore, of proceeding much further upon this most interesting expedition i was compelled, though very reluctantly, to abandon. this was still the more a subject of deep regret, because the present width, and the south-easterly direction which the river now appeared to take, gave me just hopes that great progress might be made in the desired direction in the course of another day: while i felt satisfied that we were abandoning the course of a river whose undiminished magnitude made each mile's journey along its banks of increased interest, and which i felt convinced would, if followed out, conduct us far towards the heart of this terra incognita. the weather continued calm and close; temperature at noon, in the shade degrees. i noticed a difference in the bed of the river at the place where we prepared dinner: hitherto the dry spots, which from time to time we passed over, or halted upon, were strewn about with large boulders; here, however, we were encamping near a very remarkable rocky ledge, dipping to the south-east, and of the same character as the rocks on the sea coast, when seen at low-water. approach of natives. scarcely had we disposed of our invalid as comfortably as circumstances would admit, under a bank overshadowed by acacias and gumtrees, when we heard the shrill voices of an evidently large body of natives, concealed by the foliage on the opposite bank of the river, which was just here quite dry, and not more than eighty yards across. preparations for defence. as i had no means of knowing either their number or intentions, it was necessary to make the best preparations that time and place would allow for defence, should it unhappily become necessary: a contingency which, in the debilitated condition of all the party, now too deprived altogether of the aid of one of its members, i could not contemplate without some anxiety. i directed the men to occupy such situations in the long grass as would give the most deceptive appearance to our numbers, and stationed mr. bynoe, mr. forsyth, and myself where, if required, we could act most effectually. these preparations were hardly complete, when two natives, accompanied by a large cream-coloured dog that howled mournfully, came down suddenly, shouting "ho! ho!" upon the opposite bank, as though more clearly to reconnoitre our position. they were fine looking men, with bushy hair and spare limbs, quite naked, and apparently unarmed--a usual indication among the aborigines of australia that their intentions are peaceful. they amused themselves for a time by making all sorts of gestures, shouting still "ho! ho!" to those of their body in concealment, from whom they had probably been detached for observation. what they thought of us, strange intruders as we must have appeared to them, it is not possible fully even to imagine; at any rate they seemed impressed with some sort of respect either for our appearance, jaded as we were, or our position, and forbore any nearer approach. i was of course very glad that no appeal to force was necessary: in the first place i should very reluctantly have resorted to it against those to whom we appeared in the character of invaders of a peaceful country, and in the second, had one of our party been wounded, the consequent delay would have rendered our return to the boats certainly a work of great difficulty, perhaps wholly impossible; for no considerations of expediency would in my mind have justified the abandonment of a defenceless comrade, wounded in the common cause, either to the natural dangers and privations of the country, or the barbarous revenge of its inhabitants. they continued in force, upon the opposite bank, for some time, and then gradually withdrew. i may remark that the condition and appearance of the two who made themselves visible, indicated their residence in a country fitted to supply abundantly all natural wants. i should also state that i could not perceive that extraordinary exaggeration of a certain jewish ceremony, that prevailed in one part of king sound. appearance of the natives. it is to be regretted that our position would not allow us to seek the acquaintance of these people. i could not help comparing the bold, fearless manner in which they came towards us--their fine manly bearing, head erect, no crouching or quailing of eye--with the miserable objects i had seen at sydney. i now beheld man in his wild state; and, reader, rest assured there is nothing can equal such a sight. before me stood two of the aboriginal inhabitants of australia who had never, until then, encountered the hitherto blighting look of a european. after a long rest, we were enabled to move on again slowly in the cool of the evening, along the south bank of the river, followed by one of the native dogs, that differed only from those i had seen on other parts of the coast, in being rather larger. emu plains. two miles further brought us into a fine open plain, over which two emus were going best pace; we therefore named it in their honour: while the valley to the southward was christened after the beagle, and the ranges on either side bore the names of her former and present commander: those to the north-east and south-west were called, after the officers who accompanied me, forsyth and bynoe ranges. the soil on emu plains was far superior to any we had seen since leaving the boat, and was lightly and picturesquely timbered with the white gum. we were very cautious in choosing our sleeping berth for the night, to avoid a surprise during the dark; we therefore selected a friendly hollow beneath the stem of a straggling and drooping old gumtree, large enough to conceal the whole party, near the centre of a great patch of pebbles, with the river, on one side, within a hundred yards of us, and on the other, distant about three hundred. those who are practically conversant with such positions as this, will readily call to mind what a safeguard from any nightly approach was afforded by the loose pebbles that surrounded us, upon which not even the unshod foot of a native could fall without so much of accompanying noise as would serve to put the watch with his ear to the ground upon the qui vive: this was proved to be the case during the night, when we distinctly heard the footsteps of the prowling savages. we had no squall, and except this interruption, the howling of native dogs, and the shrill peculiar whistle of a flock of vampires constantly flying backwards and forwards over our heads, we slept in peace in our comfortable little retreat. upward course of the victoria. our last regretful view of this part of the victoria--for every member of our little band seemed to feel an equal interest in the subject--was taken from a position in latitude degrees minutes and longitude degrees minutes east; miles distant from the sea: but still miles from the centre of australia. its apparent direction continued most invitingly from the southward--the very line to the heart of this vast land, whose unknown interior has afforded so much scope for ingenious speculation, and which at one time i had hoped, that it was reserved for us to do yet more in reducing to certainty. and though from the point upon which i stood to pay it my last lingering farewell, the nearest reach of water was itself invisible, yet far, far away i could perceive the green and glistening valleys through which it wandered, or rather amid which it slept; and the refreshing verdure of which assured me, just as convincingly as actual observation could have done, of the constant presence of a large body of water; and left an indelible impression upon my mind, which subsequent consideration has only served to deepen, that the victoria will afford a certain pathway far into the centre of that country, of which it is one of the largest known rivers. when i had at length most reluctantly made up my mind that all further progress along the banks of the victoria must be abandoned, i left the spot of our temporary encampment, and proceeded alone a short distance in the direction of the interior; as though partly to atone, by that single and solitary walk towards the object of my eager speculation, for the grievous disappointment i experienced at being compelled to return. it was something, even by this short distance, to precede my companions in the exciting work of discovery--to tread alone the solitary glades upon which, till now, no native of the civilized west had set his foot--and to muse in solemn and unbroken silence upon the ultimate results of the work to which the last few days had been devoted--to mark the gradual but certain progression of civilization and christianity--and to breathe forth, unwitnessed and uninterrupted, the scarce coherent words of thankful adoration for the providential care which had hitherto sustained and directed us. return homewards. november . i found our invalid so much recovered to-day, that i determined on making a short march homewards in the cool of the early morning. we reached tortoise reach by o'clock a.m. where we passed the day. during our morning's walk i again had the luck to knock over a kangaroo. it was a female, and had a very young one in its pouch. it is worthy of remark that most of those i killed were does, with young ones of different ages, which afforded mr. bynoe the means of making some interesting observations on the manner in which they are brought forth, which will be found further on in the part of the work relating to houtman's abrolhos, where more opportunities occurred of arriving at a satisfactory result. mr. bynoe added here to his collection of birds, to which also, i was so fortunate as to be able to contribute a beautiful specimen of a rifle-green glossy ibis, common in europe. i tried the water with a very roughly manufactured fly: the fish rose repeatedly at it, though there was scarcely a ripple, and notwithstanding my own want of success under these unpropitious circumstances, i feel perfectly satisfied that with proper tackle, and on a favourable day, this prince of sports might be enjoyed on the victoria. wickham heights. i availed myself of the opportunity of our halt at this place to wash my only suit, piece by piece, and afterwards made a sketch of the north-eastern part of wickham heights from the dry flat in the reach. the woodcut annexed will convey at once to the reader, those singular features in the hills--the low line of cliffs resembling fortifications near their summit, and, still more remarkable, the horizontal black streaks near their base. new tortoise. we here found the back-shell of one of the largest of the water-tortoises, from which the reach was named. it measured ten inches, was very narrow at the fore part, where the continuous line of the margin was broken by an arch where the head protrudes, and was much expanded posteriorly. it resembled greatly the chelidona oblonga, inhabiting western australia, with the exception of the arch and its more oval shape; and as in that kind, the last vertebral plate was divided by a suture. a shell of a victoria river tortoise has been deposited in the british museum. we here noticed many varieties of turbinated shells, and among them a small buccinum; beside mussels. at a native fireplace i saw heaps of the latter, as well as the bones of young alligators; portions of the jaws with teeth were picked up. the temperature during the day ranged from to degrees in the shade. a light breeze from north-west in the evening succeeded a long calm. before sunset i got a peep at the eastern side of a valley, before noticed, in the direction of our route back, and felt convinced that by crossing it we should avoid thirsty flat, and shorten the route to the boats. lucky valley. november . our walk this morning fully realized all my expectations of the preceding evening, for by o'clock a.m. we reached the dining place of the second day. to record the satisfaction we felt in escaping a second journey over thirsty flat, by following the valley we had seen yesterday evening, we named it lucky valley. after a brief halt, we pushed on, and by eleven, were at our old quarters in mussel bend. we heard the voices of natives in all directions, far and near, and as i found the party still astonishingly fresh, and eager to proceed, i thought it best to keep going. we therefore continued our journey, and just before dark reached the spot where we had dined the first day. here, however, the cheerful excitement of our pleasant and shady walk through lucky valley having gone off, the men felt the effects of their long day's march, and were all more or less knocked up. race with a native. near the river, as we were approaching our intended bivouac, we came upon a native walking leisurely across the plain, and so intently occupied in poising and straightening his spear, and fixing it in the throwing stick, that he allowed me, being in advance of the rest, to get within sixty yards of him: i then loudly hailed him. he cast one look of utter and indescribable astonishment at the strange being who thus interrupted his pathway over his native soil, and was off at the top of his speed. little anticipating that i should soon have to test in earnest the fleetness of these people, i tried rates with him for a short distance, and remarked, with surprise, that he had not that superiority of speed which might have been expected. perhaps fright deprived him of his full powers, for what must have been his sensations on finding himself almost cut off by a party of beings whose very existence was till then unknown to him? i have since half regretted that i did not see how much nearer i could have approached without discovery, but at the time i did not wish to frighten him too far. to have got so near as i did will seem almost incredible to those who recollect the wary character, and the peculiarly restless and vigilant eye of the savage: some strong emotion of love or hate had for the time perhaps rendered him quite unconscious of all surrounding objects! we came on the river over a steep bank covered with high reeds, and as a party of natives were distinctly audible below, myself, mr. forsyth, and mr. bynoe led the way. the natives crossed immediately, and were visible for a few moments through the foliage on the other side: however, they appeared but to wait in order to verify the astonishing report just brought in by their breathless countryman; for as the foremost of our party emerged from the tall reeds, our opposite neighbours slowly drew off, and were soon hid in the dense obscurity their position afforded. they had evidently examined our old fireplace very minutely, but the precaution taken to preserve the meat canister had luckily been successful. quarters for the night. i selected the quarters for the night not without some anxiety, for the natives were evidently in force in our immediate neighbourhood, and their shrill cries kept us all awake, though the day's march had been an arduous one. we had made good upwards of twenty miles: the ground, except in lucky valley, was of a most trying character: the thermometer at noon degrees, and with nearly pounds weight among seven of us, for the sick hand was of course relieved as far as possible. i got the requisite observation for latitude during the night; and since necessity is ever the mother of invention, read off my sextant by a torch made for the occasion from pieces of paperbark. it will easily be believed, that i did not needlessly prolong the work; for the light of the torch rendered me a prominent mark for any prowling savage to hurl his spear at: however, his eye, to whom the darkness and the light are both alike, watched over our safety, and we spent the night in security if not in silence. november . the morning broke, and we found ourselves apparently alone in the solitudes of the forest: no sound or sign indicated the presence of its more rightful proprietors. did the savage so soon prepare to yield to the advancing movement of that hitherto fatal civilization before which his name, his race, nay, all traces of his rude existence may ere long pass into oblivion? or did the gathering of the night, and the apparent peaceful aspect of the morn, denote that one gallant struggle would be made ere a strange shout of triumph woke the silent echoes with the glorious name with which we had dignified our new discovery, and which throughout the world sounds as the appropriate title of the fair sovereign of its mightiest people? return to reach hopeless. a rapid walk brought us to our old bivouac by ten o'clock, without anything of particular interest having occurred upon the route. we found only one boat at reach hopeless, captain wickham having gone down the river with the others in order to hasten the watering party. in another chapter will be found some more detailed remarks upon the peculiar and distinctive character of the victoria; they will not be uninteresting to the reader who feels any of that curiosity which is in part an incitement to the discoverer. we learnt from the party at the boat that a large body of the natives had been down watching their movements, and apparently intending if possible to surprise them. though they had approached very near, they would not have been seen but for a shooting party, which got a view of them from an overlooking height, crawling along the ground with evident caution. they were probably the same party we had encountered higher up, and had traced our trail backwards, in order to see whence, and in what force we had entered their territory. little did they imagine, as they gazed upon our small party and its solitary boat, that they had seen the harbingers of an approaching revolution in the fortunes of their country! chapter . . victoria river. proceed down the river from reach hopeless. meet watering party. one of the men deserts. kangaroo shooting. the writer left to complete survey of river. silk cotton-tree. fertility of whirlwind plains. attempt of one of the crew to jump overboard. reach the ship. suffer from sore eyes. lieutenant emery finds water. geological specimens. bird's playhouse. tides. strange weather. range of barometer. accounted for by proximity of port essington. hurricane. effects of the latter. dreary country behind water valley. fruitless attempt to weigh ship's anchors. obliged to slip from both of them. proceed down the river. complete survey of main channel. visit south entrance point of river. discover a number of dead turtles. cross over to point pearce. mr. bynoe shoots a new finch. the author speared. pursued by natives. escape. flight of natives. armed party pursue them. night of suffering. general description of the victoria. gouty-stem tree and fruit. reunion of the boats. november . the day was devoted to fixing the position of several of the surrounding hills; and in the afternoon we obtained observations for rating the chronometers: i found that one by french, which i had worn in my pocket, had gone most admirably. captain wickham joined us in the gig after dark. the evening was cloudy, and we had a sharp squall at midnight from south-east. november . both boats were moved off down the river at daylight, and ere it had passed away, the ford above steep head was left behind. we found that the watering boats had not got over the shallow below, so that we spent the night together; and a merry party we made. we talked over all we had seen, and the hills that rose around echoed back for the first time the laugh and the song of civilized man, and our strange language was repeated as glibly by the rocks of australia as if they were those of our own native land. so true is it that nature is ever ready to commune familiarly with us, whereas by our very brethren we are looked upon as enemies to shun, and are incapable of making ourselves understood by them. a deserter. when the morning of the th broke it was discovered that one of the men belonging to the watering party had deserted during the night. he had been guilty of this offence once before, in order to steal the spirits which had been buried for the use of my exploring party. what however could have induced him to take this step a second time--risking, without any apparent motive, the danger of being left on a strange, and almost uninhabited coast, it would be difficult even to suggest. parties were immediately despatched in quest of him, and at length, after an arduous search, he was found behind a large sandstone rock on the side of a hill; having revisited the spot where the provisions had been concealed for the use of my party, in the hope of obtaining possession of his god the rum-keg. he had evidently prepared for desertion: clothing, biscuit, and fishing-tackle being among the stores with which he had made off. this despicable wretch--for such must everyone consider the man who would steal his shipmates' provisions, when each had only his bare allowance--had nothing to say, either in extenuation or explanation of his conduct. most fortunate for him was it that our humane exertions to discover his retreat were successful; he could not long have subsisted by himself, and even had he been so happy as to fall in with, and receive hospitable welcome from the natives, he must of necessity have lingered out a life of toilsome, cheerless hardship while a companion of their wanderings, and when unfitted for this by old age, he would, according to the custom of the country, have been left to die, unfriended and alone, upon the spot where his last weary efforts failed. the delay occasioned by this extraordinary and unlooked-for event, made it late by the time all the boats were fairly on their way down the river. the wind was light from the north-east, and the temperature about degrees, at o'clock. new kangaroo. i pushed on to gain a station at the commencement of the hills on the eastern side of whirlwind plains, and also, if possible, to shoot a kangaroo to send to the ship:* i was so fortunate as to secure two; one of a new species, very small, and of a dark brown colour, with coarse hair, i found in rocky land, which it appears solely to inhabit, as it was also found near the ship. as, however, like the generality of kangaroos, this species only move of their own accord in the night time, they are rarely seen, and but one good specimen was obtained by lieutenant emery, who brought it to england, and submitted it to mr. gould, who has described it as petrogale concinna. it is now in the british museum. (*footnote. i had now become quite an adept in this kind of sport. my plan was to direct a man to walk along near the river, where they are generally found, whilst i kept considerably above him and a little in advance, so that all those that were started running up from the bank in the curved direction, habitual with all kangaroos, passed within shot.) the height we visited was of coarse sandstone formation, and attained an elevation of feet. as i was left to examine some parts of the river which had been passed in the night, i had a further opportunity of determining the value, and estimating the fertility of whirlwind plains. my examination only confirmed my previous conjectures in favour of the capabilities of the soil. from what i had seen at port essington, as ground considered favourable for the growth of cotton, there can be no doubt that on these plains it would thrive much better; but the soil on the victoria is of too fertile a character to bear any comparison with that of cobourg peninsula. silk cotton-tree. at reach hopeless, and at other points of the important stream i am describing we observed numerous specimens of a kind of silk cotton-tree (bombax): the diameter was sometimes as great as twenty inches; and it not unfrequently rose to the height of twenty or thirty feet, though generally shorter. the pods were of an oval shape, and about two inches and a half in length; each pod was in three divisions and full of a silky cotton, with the seeds not imbedded but held at the extremity of the fibres. i brought home a specimen and presented it to sir william hooker, of the royal botanical gardens at kew, with whom i have since had some correspondence on the subject. he informs me that the plant is one hitherto undescribed; but that sir joseph banks met with it in captain cook's voyage. november . we continued our descent of the river: stopping from time to time to complete the survey. in the end of long reach we noticed that the stream ran up two hours after high-water. after securing some observations for latitude under station peak in the early part of the night, we proceeded further down the river, delighted to escape from that mosquito-haunted neighbourhood. effects of drinking salt-water. november . at day-break i was very much distressed and astonished to see one of the men on a sudden start up under the influence of delirium, and attempt to throw himself into the water, from which the combined strength of three or four of the crew with difficulty restrained him. he was one of the best men i had with me; his sudden and serious illness had doubtless been produced by the draughts of saltwater which he had swallowed during the night. he had been accustomed to indulge in very liberal potations while we were up the river, and now, when from necessity the allowance was restricted to a gallon per day, he had most foolishly attempted in the dark to quench his thirst with the salt waters of the advancing tide. in the afternoon we rejoined the ship, and he was placed under the care of mr. bynoe; but it was some time before he fully recovered from the effects of his rash experiment. the day was very oppressive, the thermometer being degrees in the shade, and there was no wind. we were cordially greeted by our shipmates upon our return, and both mr. forsyth and myself enjoyed the luxury of a night's rest in our hammocks; a most agreeable change after the hot stones upon which we had generally been compelled to court repose during our exploration. we had both suffered much inconvenience from the attacks of flies upon our visual organs, necessarily exposed and undefended as they had been when we were occupied during the observations and in viewing the strange scenes of the last eighteen days. the irritation upon the lids produced a copious discharge, which fairly sealed them up at night; so that, at last, in order to have them ready for immediate use, i found it requisite to sleep with a wet linen cloth covering each eye. we heard with great satisfaction that lieutenant emery's search for water had been completely successful, and that two large wells had been dug in the valley, abreast of which the ship was anchored. during our absence the barometer had ranged between . and . ; the minimum height being always at noon. there had been several sharp squalls from the eastward, beginning at south-east and ending at north-east, with a few showers of rain. north-west, or seabreezes, were regular near the changes of the moon, and of greater duration. no meteors were observed since the th, but between the th and th they were very numerous. geological specimens. november . i went ashore to collect a few geological specimens: the sandstone which prevailed everywhere was in a decomposed state, but there was a very decided dip in the strata to the south-east, of about degrees. on the east side of water valley, i found the same kind of slate, noticed before at curiosity peak: but what most interested me was a bituminous substance found near the bottom of the wells recently dug, and feet from the surface of the ground. it was apparently of a clayey nature when first brought up, but became hard and dark upon exposure to the air, and ignited quickly when put into the flame of a candle. the sides of water valley were very precipitous, and nearly feet high: a growth of palms marked the spot, and served to indicate our wells. we here saw also the same fruit i had noticed on curiosity peak. bird's playhouse. i found matter for conjecture in noticing a number of twigs with their ends stuck into the ground, which was strewed over with shells, and their tops brought together so as to form a small bower; this was / feet long, / foot wide at either end. it was not until my next visit to port essington that i thought this anything but some australian mother's toy to amuse her child: there i was asked, one day, to go and see the bird's playhouse, when i immediately recognised the same kind of construction i had seen at the victoria river: the bird* was amusing itself by flying backwards and forwards, taking a shell alternately from each side, and carrying it through the archway in its mouth. (*footnote. figured in mr. gould's work as chlamydera nuchalis.) november . the moon being full to-day we noticed that the tides were very strong: particularly the flood-stream, which came in bores, and sometimes swept by the ship at the rate of / knots, while the ebb did not exceed / : the greatest rise also to-day was feet. singular change of winds. november . my journal of this day begins with remarking a very extraordinary change that took place in the winds. instead of the usual fresh north-west breeze after ten a.m., there was a moderate one from east-south-east. this drew round gradually by east to north. at sunset the weather was very gloomy; but the barometer indicated nothing, ranging as usual. in the early part of the night the wind was light from north-north-west, changing suddenly at midnight to a fresh breeze from south-east with rain. when the morning broke, it had veered to east-south-east with squalls from east-north-east and heavy rain. dense masses of clouds covered the sky, enveloping everything in gloom; which, though so far agreeable as to reduce the temperature to degrees, had a most singular effect after the constant bright sunny days we had experienced. there was still no unusual change in the barometer, the maximum being . , and the minimum . at two p.m. the night was squally without rain. hurricane at port essington. november . the day broke with an appearance of fine weather; patches of blue sky peeped between the heavy masses of clouds, and expanding as the day advanced, left us at sunset with a cloudless vault of blue overhead. the barometer was lower throughout the whole of this day than it had been at all, being at two p.m. . . when this strange weather first began i was disposed to consider it to be of the same character as that which i had before observed to occur within a few days of the change of the moon. but its duration and occasional violence led me to think otherwise, and i afterwards found my conclusions to be correct; as at this very time a hurricane visited port essington, distant miles, in a north degrees east direction.* (*footnote. the following account of the effects of this hurricane at port essington is from the pen of captain stanley, and has been published in the nautical magazine for september . monday th. a strong breeze set in from the south-east with drizzling rain, but as the barometer remained at . , its usual point, and similar weather had been experienced at the change of the monsoon in , nothing was apprehended, more particularly as the wind moderated (as had been expected) at sunset. between seven and eight o'clock the wind drew round to the southward, and the barometer began to fall rapidly: at ten it blew furiously from the same quarter, and the barometer was as low as . ; many of the trees were blown down at this time. at midnight the wind drew round to the eastward, and blew a perfect hurricane, before which nearly everything gave way; the trees came down in every part of the settlement; the marines' houses were all blown down; the church, only finished a week, shared the same fate: the barometer fell to . . about two a.m. the wind shifted suddenly to the northward, from which point for about half-an-hour, its fury was tremendous; the government-house, built on stone piers, was blown away from them to a distance of nine feet; the sea rose ten feet and a half, by measurement afterwards, above the usual high-water mark. h.m.s. pelorus, having parted her cables, was driven on shore, and thrown over on her beam ends, on the north-east point of the settlement, where heeling over degrees, her starboard side was buried nine feet in the mud, leaving the keel three feet clear of the ground.** at daylight the barometer rose slowly to . , the gale moderated, and the sea went down so fast, that between seven and eight we were able to send a boat to the assistance of the pelorus: after eight the breeze continued to blow strong from the northward for two days, with heavy rain. the occurrence of such a hurricane must be very rare, as the natives were as much astonished as ourselves, and came to beg for shelter: they have no name for it, and no tradition of anything of the sort having happened before: the state in which the very extensive fences at raffles bay were in shortly before, must prove that the trees had never been blown down in the way they were on the th of november, since that settlement was abandoned in . the extent of the hurricane must have been very limited: at coepang a strong gale from the south-west was experienced, and also between java and timor on the th, but the wind did not change. even miles north, at vashon head, the change of wind must have been greater though equal in force. there the first trees fell with the wind from west-south-west; a few fell when the wind was east, and most when the wind was north-west. the malays have an idea that every fifth year the monsoon is stronger than usual, but can give no reason for thinking so. according to them this monsoon ought to have been a strong one. (**footnote. the pelorus was dug out of the mud, and once more got afloat towards the middle of february following. this immense undertaking was accomplished by the indefatigable exertion and mechanical skill of her commander, captain kuper, c.b., assisted by captain stanley. j.l.s.)) course of the storm. the bad weather in the victoria then would appear to have been caused by the proximity of the southern edge of this storm as it passed to the westward. the fact of the time when the weather was the worst, having been the same at port essington, and in the victoria; and of the french discovery ships meeting it in torres strait first, shows the westerly course of the storm. its northern edge did not reach coepang, but a strong gale from the south-west on the th showed that it was passing. most probably it took a more southerly course before reaching timor.* (*footnote. we were informed at timor that hurricanes were never felt there, but occur once in four or five years to the southward of it. it may be added that a vessel lost her top-masts in the port essington hurricane, near sandalwood island, and that to the southward of java hurricanes occur frequently.) i passed the night on shore, making observations for latitude, and in the hope also of being able to obtain another specimen of the new small kangaroo, that being the time when it is generally to be found on the move. but i did not succeed in this object; and failed also in my expectation of knocking over one of a large kind seen in the interior. i left the observation spot for this purpose with the first grey of the morn, taking an east-north-east direction for about four miles. dreary country. the country was most dreary; vast ranges strewn over with huge blocks of sandstone, rose in desolate grandeur around; chasms, ravines, and thirsty stony valleys yawned on every side; all was broken, rugged, and arid, as if the curse of sterility had fallen on the land; in short, the contrast was complete between this desert place and the country we had so lately traversed up the river. i was able, accordingly, to procure nothing in the shape of a fresh meal, save a few black cockatoos and some of the pigeons of a dark brown colour, with a white patch on the extremity of the wing, which i have alluded to in the earlier part of the work relating to king's sound, as always inhabiting rocky districts and making a whirring sound, like a partridge, on the wing. lose two anchors. november . this afternoon and the whole of the next day, when the tide suited, we were endeavouring to weigh the ship's anchors; but they were together with the cables so imbedded in the bottom, which must have been a quicksand, that this proved impossible. had the ship been fitted with captain charles phillips', r.n., capstan, there would have been a better chance of succeeding. as it was, after heaving down the ship nineteen inches by the head, and splitting the hawse pipes, we were ultimately obliged to leave both behind, and thirty fathoms of cable with one and fifteen with the other. this circumstance suggested the appropriate name of holdfast reach for this locality; and perhaps in some future generations, when this part of the world has undergone the changes that seems destined for it, the archaeologist of victoria river may in vain puzzle his wits with speculations concerning the beagle's anchors. whilst at this anchorage, just after dark, flocks of whistling ducks were constantly heard passing over our heads in a south-west by west direction, or towards the head of cambridge gulf, which led to the supposition that there was a river in that neighbourhood. we placed the south point of water valley in latitude degrees / minutes south and longitude degrees minutes west of port essington, variation one degree easterly. our tidal observation made the time of high-water, at the full and change of the moon, o'clock, when the mean rise at springs was sixteen feet, and at neaps ten. the duration of the flood-stream was seven hours, being two greater than the ebb. the former ran minutes after high-water, and the latter minutes after low-water. before leaving holdfast reach, lieutenant emery observed one or two natives, opposite water valley, being the only ones that had been seen from the ship. he endeavoured to obtain an interview, by going up alone towards them, but they drew off when he got near. drop down the river. december . we slipped from our last anchor at daylight, and proceeded down the river. after pirouetting through whirlpool reach, we got as far down as the flats fronting river peak, above which we anchored near noon. after having been shut up among rocky ranges for a month, the sight of the sea horizon was a novelty, and the cool, refreshing breeze, as it came sweeping over the unbroken expanse of waters, created in us very pleasing sensations. next morning we beat down the main channel, which was called the queen's, the deep water varying from five to nine fathoms being on the west side. some shoal patches of a quarter and two fathoms, lying midway between observation island, and the end of the long sand extending off its northern side, prevented our proceeding further. the boats completed the survey of the western side of the channel in the afternoon: the largest creek examined by mr. forsyth received his name. reach the sea. december . dropping down the channel with a light air from the westward, and a boat in advance sounding, no impediment occurred after passing the sands extending off observation island, as a fine deep channel of six and eight fathoms followed the western side of quoin island, and the long sand stretching off its north end. when we had cleared this the anchor was dropped in eight fathoms, and the boats were again employed in sounding. that the beagle was once more anchored outside all the banks--to have touched on any of which, with the great strength of the tides that hurried us along would have been fatal--was a great relief to all of us, especially to me, in whom captain wickham had placed so much confidence as to trust the ship to my guidance, whilst exposed to the dangers i have mentioned. december . moved the ship within three miles and a half of the south extreme point of the river, the highest part bearing south degrees west. a party of us visited it, and, from a rather extraordinary sight we there beheld, it was called turtle point. dead turtles on the shore. behind some very low scattered sandhills that form it, fronting a mangrove flat, we beheld great numbers of dead turtles, that seemed to have repaired thither of their own accord to die. they were lying on their bellies, with their shells for the most part uninjured, though some were turned over, and showed other signs of visits from the natives. a few skeletons of a large bustard* were also seen there, so that the place had quite the appearance of a cemetery, and reminded me of a spot on the river gallegos in patagonia, where the guanacos (a kind of llama) assemble to pay the debt of nature, and leave their bones to whiten the surface of the plain. never before, on any occasion, had we seen dead turtles in any similar position; how they could have got there was a mystery, unless we suppose them to have been thrown up by some earthquake wave. they had evidently not been transported thither by the hand of man, though, as i have observed, some of the natives who thinly inhabit this district, finding them there, ready to their hand, had availed themselves of the gifts of fortune. i could not help, as i gazed on this remarkable scene, calling to mind the marvellous elephant cemetery described by sinbad the sailor. it is possible that the observation of some similar phenomenon may have suggested to the imagination of the authors of the thousand and one nights their romantic fiction. at any rate an air of mystery will always hang round turtle point until the facts i have mentioned shall have been explained. (*footnote. a specimen of one of them was brought away and deposited in the museum at sydney.) the nature of this part of the country i have before described on my visit to indian hill. a ridge of breakers ran off north a couple of miles from our station; a low point, bearing west degrees south about eight or nine miles, with an opening trending in south intervening, with some slightly elevated land bearing south degrees west about four or five leagues, terminated our view to the westward. we found the tide much weaker on this side of the entrance, not exceeding three miles an hour; the stream ran up three-quarters of an hour after high-water. the times of high-water for the last three days had been most unaccountably the same. december . crossed over to point pearce at daylight, but the wind being light all the morning did not reach an anchorage till the afternoon; the extreme of the point bearing north degrees west three-quarters of a mile. a line of ripplings extended a couple of miles off to the south-west of it, in which we found there was only four fathoms. in standing across the entrance we passed first a bank of three fathoms, with six and seven on each side; turtle point bearing south degrees west miles; then two more, one of seven and eight fathoms, with twelve and seventeen on each side, the other of only two fathoms with twelve on the south, and twenty on the north side. mermaid bank. we subsequently found the latter to be a continuation of the bank on which captain king had five fathoms, point pearce bearing north degrees east miles; and in order to record his visit we named it, after his vessel, mermaid bank. visit the shore for observations. december . i left the ship in the morning to make some observations at point pearce for the errors of the chronometers. i was accompanied to the shore by mr. bynoe, who was going on a shooting excursion. it being high-water, i was obliged to select a spot near the cliffs forming the point, for carrying out my intention. that selected was about yards from the wood-crowned cliff which rose behind; thinking such an intervening distance would secure me from the spear of the treacherous native. this caution rather resulted from what had before occurred at escape cliffs, where messrs. fitzmaurice and keys so narrowly escaped, than from any idea that natives might be lurking about. indeed, mr. bynoe had been shooting all over the ground yesterday, and had neither seen nor heard anything to indicate their existence in this neighbourhood; though doubtless, from what followed, they had been very busily watching him all the time, and were probably only deterred from making an attack, by the alarm with which his destructive gun, dealing death to the birds, must have filled them. requiring equal altitudes, i was compelled to revisit the spot in the afternoon for the corresponding observations. the boat in which mr. bynoe returned to the ship, was to carry me on shore. we met at the gangway, and in answer to my inquiry, he informed me that he had seen no traces of the natives. he had shot a new and very beautiful bird of the finch tribe, in which the brilliant colours of verdigris green, lilac purple, and bright yellow, were admirably blended.* the time was short; half an hour would have sufficed for the observations, and we should have left the coast. as it was now low-water, and i had to traverse a coral reef half a mile in width, i resolved to lighten myself of my gun, which i had taken with me in the morning, that i might with greater safety carry the chronometer. on landing i directed mr. tarrant and one of the boat's crew to follow with the rest of the instruments. the walking was very bad, the reef being strewed with coral fragments, and interspersed with large pools. with my mind fully occupied by all we had seen of late, i hurried on without waiting, and reached the observation spot, just glancing towards the cliff, which presented nothing to the view except the silvery stems of the never-failing gumtrees. (*footnote. figured by mr. gould from this specimen as amadina gouldiae.) the author speared. i had just turned my head round to look after my followers when i was suddenly staggered by a violent and piercing blow about the left shoulder:* and ere the dart had ceased to quiver in its destined mark, a loud long yell, such as the savage only can produce, told me by whom i had been speared. (*footnote. see the view annexed. ) pursued by the natives. one glance sufficed to show me the cliffs, so lately the abode of silence and solitude, swarming with the dusky forms of the natives, now indulging in all the exuberant action with which the australian testifies his delight. one tall bushy-headed fellow led the group, and was evidently my successful assailant. i drew out the spear, which had entered the cavity of the chest, and retreated, with all the swiftness i could command, in the hope of reaching those who were coming up from the boat, and were then about halfway. i fully expected another spear while my back was turned; but fortunately the savages seemed only to think of getting down to the beach to complete their work. onward i hurried, carrying the spear, which i had drawn from the wound, and determined if, as i expected, overtaken, to sell my life dearly. each step, less steady than the former one, reminded me that i was fast losing blood: but i hurried on, still retaining the chronometer, and grasping my only weapon of defence. the savage cry behind soon told me that my pursuers had found their way to the beach: while at every respiration, the air escaping through the orifice of the wound, warned me that the strength by which i was still enabled to struggle through the deep pools and various other impediments in my path, must fail me soon. i had fallen twice: each disaster being announced by a shout of vindictive triumph, from the bloodhounds behind. to add to my distress, i now saw, with utter dismay, that mr. tarrant, and the man with the instruments, unconscious of the fact that i had been speared, and therefore believing that i could make good my escape, were moving off towards the boat. i gave up all hope, and with that rapid glance at the past, which in such an hour crowds the whole history of life upon the mind, and one brief mental act of supplication or rather submission to him in whose hands are the issues of life and death, i prepared for the last dread struggle. narrow escape from death. at that moment the attention of the retreating party was aroused by a boat approaching hastily from the ship; the first long, loud, wild shriek of the natives having most providentially apprised those on board of our danger. they turned and perceived that i was completely exhausted. i spent the last struggling energy i possessed to join them. supported on each side i had just strength to direct them to turn towards our savage enemies: who were hurrying on in a long file, shouting and waving their clubs, and were now only about thirty yards off. our turning, momentarily checked their advance, whilst their force increased. during these very few and awfully anxious moments, a party, headed by lieutenant emery, hastened over the reef to our support. another moment, and ours would have been the fate of so many other explorers; the hand of the savage almost grasped our throats--we should have fallen a sacrifice in the cause of discovery, and our bones left to moulder on this distant shore, would have been trodden heedlessly underfoot by the wandering native. at the sight of lieutenant emery's party, the natives flew with the utmost rapidity, covering their flight, either from chance or skill, by my party; in a moment the air, so lately echoing with their ferocious yells, was silent, and the scene of their intended massacre, as lonely and deserted as before! i was soon got down to the boat, lifted over the ship's side, and stretched on the poop cabin table, under the care of mr. bynoe, who on probing the wound gave me a cheering hope of its not proving fatal. the anxiety with which i watched his countenance, and listened to the words of life or death, the reader may imagine, but i cannot attempt to describe. the natives never throw a spear when the eye of the person they aim at is turned towards them, supposing that everyone, like themselves, can avoid it. this was most fortunate, as, my side being towards them, the spear had to pass through the thick muscles of the breast before reaching my lungs. another circumstance in my favour was that i had been very much reduced by my late exertions. night of suffering. the sufferings of that night i will not fatigue my readers by describing; but i can never forget the anxiety with which mr. bynoe watched over me during the whole of it. neither can i forget my feelings of gratitude to the almighty when my sunken eyes the next morning once more caught the first rays of the sun. it seemed as though i could discover in these an assurance that my hour was not yet come, and that it would be my lot for some time longer to gaze with grateful pleasure on their splendour. several excursions were made during our stay in search of the natives, but without success. an encampment was found in the neighbourhood, near a small freshwater swamp, and by the things that were left behind it was evident that a hasty retreat had been made. it would have been as well if we could have punished these people in some way for their unprovoked attack; but to have followed them far into the bush would have been quite useless. a comparison of their conduct with that of the natives of shoal bay, confirms what i have before stated of the extraordinary contrast presented by the dispositions of the aboriginal inhabitants of australia; for in both instances we were the first europeans they had ever encountered. treachery bay. the observations, which nearly cost me my life in endeavouring to obtain, placed point pearce in latitude degrees minutes seconds, south longitude degrees minutes west of port essington. the time of high-water, at the full and change, was seven o'clock, when the tides rose from twenty to twenty-six feet. the cliffs forming it are of a reddish hue, from the quantity of iron the rocks in the neighbourhood contain. to commemorate the accident which befell me, the bay within point pearce was called treachery bay, and a high hill over it providence hill. in the nights of the th and th we had sharp squalls from the eastward, being early in the season for their repeated appearance. there was the usual gathering of clouds, the hard edges of which were lit up by the constant flashing of lightning. it is singular that all these squalls, wherever we have met them, should happen within five hours of the same time, between nine at night and two in the morning. course of the victoria. i have thus detailed the circumstances attending the discovery and partial exploration of the victoria, that new and important addition to our geographical knowledge of one of the least known and most interesting portions of the globe. its peculiar characteristics--for, like all australian rivers, it has distinctive habits and scenery of its own--the nature of the country through which it flows--its present condition, its future destiny, are all subjects, to which, though i may have cursorily alluded before, i am under promise to the reader of returning. of that promise, therefore, i now tender this in fulfilment. the victoria falls into the indian ocean in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east, being at its confluence with the sea, between turtle and pearce points, twenty-six miles wide. the land upon either side as you enter the river is bold and well defined, but from the margin of the western shore, an extensive mud and mangrove flat, not entirely above the level of high-water, and reaching to the base of a range of hills, about seventeen miles from the water's edge, seems to indicate that at one time the waters of the victoria washed the high land on either side. for the first thirty miles of the upward course, the character of the river undergoes but little change. the left side continues bold, with the exception of a few extensive flats, sometimes overflowed, and a remarkable rocky elevation, about twenty-five miles up, to which we gave the name of the fort, as suggested by its bastion-like appearance, though now called table hill in the chart. to the right the shore remains low, studded with mangroves, and still, from appearance, subject to not unfrequent inundations: towards the mouth, indeed, it is partially flooded by each returning tide. thirty-five miles from its mouth its whole appearance undergoes the most striking alteration. we now enter the narrow defile of a precipitous rocky range of compact sandstone, rising from to feet in height, and coming down to the river, in some places nearly two miles wide, in others not less than twenty fathoms deep, and hurrying through, as if to force a passage, with a velocity sometimes not less than six miles an hour. nature of the country. it continues a rapid stream during its passage through this defile, an extent of some thirty miles, and beyond it is found slowly winding its way towards the sea across a rich alluvial plain, fifteen miles in width. above this plain is found a second range of similar character and formation to that before mentioned; the stream, however, having of course somewhat less both of width and depth, and flowing with a decreased rapidity. the elevation of the hills on either side was at first entering considerably less than in the former range; they had also lost much of their steep and precipitous appearance; but as we gradually proceeded up, the former distinctive characteristics returned: the hills rose higher and more boldly, almost immediately from the water's edge, and continued each mile to present a loftier and more rugged front; never however attaining the extreme altitude of the former or sea range. above reach hopeless the width of the alluvial land, lying between the immediate margin of the river and the hills which bound its valley, considerably increased; and just in proportion as the high bold land approached the channel on one shore, it receded from it on the opposite, and left an extensive alluvial flat between that bank and the retreating hills; the whole valley, too, widened out, so that, supposing the stream at one time to have filled it from the bases of the high land on either side, it must have had a breadth above reach hopeless of from three to five miles, and this still increased when i last traced its presumed course beyond mount regret. the extreme altitude of sea range is from to feet, and of the hills last seen, near mount regret, from to . the distinctive formation common to both consists in their level summits, within twenty feet of which a precipitous wall of rock, of a reddish hue, runs along the hillside. vegetable productions. the upper portion of the valley through which the river passes varies in its nature from treeless, stony plains to rich alluvial flats, lightly timbered with a white-stemmed gum. the banks are steep and high, thickly clothed with the acacia, drooping eucalyptus, and tall reeds. the various lake-like reaches had, of course, no perceptible stream, but their banks, no less than the dry patches in the bed of the river, satisfied us that the victoria had recently been, and in all probability would soon again become, a large and rapid river. gouty-stem tree. among the most curious vegetable productions along its banks are the silk cotton-tree and the gouty-stem tree. the latter has been already mentioned by captains king and grey, and here attains a great size: it bears a very fragrant white flower, not unlike the jasmine; the fruit is used by the natives, and found to be a very nutritious article of food, something similar to a coconut. not having previously noticed it in this neighbourhood i conclude this to be the northern limit of its growth. the reader will remember my having before alluded to seeing it near the mouth of fitzroy river, where i have also mentioned the extent of coast on which we found it, and given the limits of its indigenous empire, extending not quite over two degrees of latitude. the peculiar character of the tree i leave the reader to learn from the woodcuts annexed. its fruit. that containing the fruit* is from a specimen obtained near the fitzroy, as it was in flower when i saw it in the month of november on the banks of the victoria. (*footnote. for description of this fruit, see volume .) i may here remind the reader, that among the results of our exploration of the victoria was the addition of a new species of kangaroo, a freshwater tortoise, some fish, and several beautiful birds to the domains of natural history. chapter . . victoria river to swan river. leave point pearce. error in position of cape rulhieres. obtain soundings on supposed sahul shoal. discover a shoal patch on it. ascertain extent of bank of soundings off the australian shore. strange winds in monsoon. see scott's reef. discover error in its position. make depuch island. prevalence of westerly winds near it. sperm whales. tedious passage. death and burial of the ship's cook. anecdotes of his life. good landfall. arrival at swan river. find colony improved. hospitality of colonists. lieutenant roe's account of his rescuing captain grey's party. burial of mr. smith. hurricane at shark's bay. observations on dry appearance of upper swan. unsuccessful cruise of champion. visit rottnest. fix on a hill for the site of a lighthouse. aboriginal convicts. protectors of natives. american whalers. miago. trees of western australia. on the safety of gage roads. sail for swan river. december . by this day mr. bynoe thought i was sufficiently recovered to be able to bear the motion of the ship at sea, and we accordingly sailed in the morning for swan river. standing out from point pearce we had a better view, than on our first approach, of the coast to the north of it; trending in a north degrees east direction. it had a sandy appearance and was fronted with a rocky ledge at low-water, with one or two remarkable bare sand patches, four or five miles from the point. we had a shoal cast of nine fathoms (eight at low-water) ten miles west from point pearce. in the afternoon we stood to the westward, in very even soundings of fathoms. on the th we saw the white cliffs of cape rulhieres, which, like point pearce, we found to be four miles and a half west of its assigned position. on the th and th we were beating to the westward with a light and variable wind. sahul shoal. our progress was slow, the monsoon being light; we therefore stood to the northward, to find a more steady breeze, and in order, whilst making our westing, to get some soundings over a large dotted space in the chart, bearing the name of the great sahul shoal. we desired also to ascertain the extent of the bank of soundings extending off this part of the australian continent, which here approaches to within miles of the south end of timor. the soundings varied, according to the boards we made over it, from to fathoms; the bottom in the lesser depth being a kind of coral, with bits of ironstone mixed with sand; whilst in the greater depth, it was a green sandy mud. on the th at p.m., whilst standing on the north-west, near the centre of the eastern part of the supposed sahul shoal, the water shoaled suddenly to fathoms, from , a mile to the south-east. the helm was put down, and when in stays there were only / . the position of this patch is in latitude degrees / minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east. standing off south by east, in two miles the water deepened to fathoms. it was not until we had gone about ten miles, that we again got into fathoms, on the outer edge of the bank of green sandy mud, fronting the australian shore, and approaching within a hundred miles of the south end of timor. this bank appears to be separated from the collection of coral patches, forming the sahul shoal by a deep gap or gut, in which the depth generally was above fathoms, with a rocky bottom; though in part of it, in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east, there was no bottom with fathoms. dr. wilson, in his voyage round the world, mentions that he crossed several parts of the sahul shoal on his passage from timor to raffles bay, and never found less than fathoms. on the th, at noon, we had no bottom with fathoms, latitude degrees minutes and longitude degrees minutes east. our progress now appeared to improve. strange to say, though apparently in the very heart of the monsoon, we were favoured with a light breeze from the south-east; and, to show how currents are governed by the wind, i may remark that the current experienced this day had changed its direction from north-north-east to west. scott's reef. on the th, several water-snakes were seen, and in the afternoon, with a light north-west wind, we passed about six miles from the north end of scott's reef,* which we placed a few miles to the westward of its position in the chart, and of which we shall take another opportunity of speaking. (*footnote. one of the discoveries of captain peter heywood, r.n.) through god's mercy i was now so far recovered as to be able to crawl on the poop to see this reef, but soon found that i had overrated my strength: my back became affected; all power appeared to have deserted my limbs; and i suffered dreadfully. even to this day i feel the weakness in my back, particularly in cold weather, or when i attempt to lift any great weight suddenly. westerly winds, that increased as we got to the southward, brought us in sight of depuch island, a level lump of land, on the evening of new year's day, and at p.m. we tacked in fathoms, about twelve miles north-west / north from it. we spent a couple of days beating to westward in the neighbourhood of the coast, from which the bank appeared to extend sixty miles, with an equal number of fathoms on its edge. january , . at noon, the same prevailing westerly winds brought us within fifty miles of the north point of sharks bay, bearing south-east by south. on the same evening we saw a herd of sperm whales. from that day we had a southerly wind, which drawing round to the east as we got to the south, forced us away from the land, so that from there our track to swan river described two sides of an acute-angled triangle; the th placing us somewhat further than we were on the th, namely miles west from our destination; but at length we got a favourable wind to take us in. death and burial of the cook. january . i must refer back to this date to record that a gloom was cast over the ship in the morning, in consequence of the rigid hand of death having been laid on one of our men, the cook, by name mitchell, worn out by old age and bodily infirmities. he breathed his last at midnight, and at a.m. we committed his body to the deep. there is perhaps no place where the burial service has a more impressive effect than at sea; and in the present instance the grave demeanour of the whole crew attested that it was so. the day too was gloomy, and in keeping with the solemn scene; while a fresh breeze gave the ship a steady keel. occasionally the beautiful prayers were interrupted by the roar of the foaming waters as the ship plunged onwards; then swelling on the breeze and mingling with its wailings they were wafted, we would fain hope, to that peaceful home to which we were sending our shipmate. a chilling plunge announced his passage into the mighty deep, leaving no trace to mark the spot on the wave, which swept on as before. the wandering and strange life of the deceased became the theme of conversation during the day, and many interesting anecdotes were recalled. on one occasion he had passed a few days in a vessel that had been turned bottom up in a squall, but which, luckily, having a light and shifting cargo, floated. his only companions were two negroes, who, with the apathy of their race, spent the principal part of the time in sleep. it was by boring a small hole through the vessel's bottom, and pushing up a stick with a handkerchief attached, that they were enabled to attract the attention of a passing ship, by whose people they were cut out. old mitchell's propensity for fishing was very singular. almost down to the last, when in his hammock under the forecastle, he would have a line passed to him whenever he heard fish playing about; and he would catch at it as it was drawn through his fingers, until exhausted nature failing he fell into a lethargic sleep. his situation latterly was peculiarly pitiable. worldly affairs and a future state were so painfully mingled, that it was impossible to determine whether or not resignation predominated. he evidently recoiled from the awful contemplation of futurity, and sought refuge in the things of this life. even whilst in the pangs of death he could not conceive why he should be so cold, and why his feet could not be kept up to a heat which nature, in obedience to the dictates of infinite wisdom, was gradually resigning. we arrived at swan river on the st, under circumstances which must forcibly illustrate to a landsman the precision with which a ship may be navigated. we had not seen land for fifty-two days, and were steering through a dense fog, which confined the circle of our vision to within a very short distance round the ship. suddenly the vapour for a moment dispersed, and showed us, not more than a mile ahead, the shipping in gage's road. we found a vast improvement in the colony of western australia since our last visit, and again experienced the greatest hospitality from the colonists. to the assiduous attentions of my much valued friend, the surveyor-general, lieutenant roe, r.n., i in great measure ascribe my rapid recovery. he gave me a painfully interesting account of an excursion he had made in search of the party left behind by captain grey during his exploring expedition in the neighbourhood of sharks bay, with the sufferings and disastrous termination of which the public have already been made acquainted in the vivid language of the last-mentioned officer. lieutenant roe's account of the rescue of captain grey's party. it was on one of those soft beautiful evenings, so common in australia, that i received this narrative from my friend. we had strolled from his cottage, at the western extremity of the town of perth, and had just emerged from the patch of woodland, concealing it from the view of the swan, which now lay at our feet. about a mile below, the broad shadow of mount eliza, nearly extended across the river; and in the darkness thus made, the snow-white sails of a tiny pleasure-boat flitted to and fro. beyond lay the beautiful lake-like reach of the river, melville water, just ruffled by a breeze that came sweeping over its surface with all the delicious coolness of the sea. the beauty of the scene did not divert me from the events of my friend's story, serving rather to impress them the more vividly on my mind. i remember well the animated and affecting manner in which he delivered his narrative, and how his hard features became lit up as he proceeded by an expression of honest pride, fully justified by the fact that he had on that occasion been the means of saving the lives of several of his fellow-creatures. when he found them they were under a headland, which they had not sufficient strength left to ascend, nor were they able to round the sea face of it. one of them, finding all hope of proceeding further at an end, went down on his knees and prayed to the almighty for assistance; and just as another had bitterly remarked on the uselessness of proffering such a request, mr. roe and his party, as if directed by the hand of providence, appeared on the ridge above them. it would be painful to describe minutely the condition to which these poor fellows had been reduced; it will be sufficient to state, that thirst had compelled them to resort to the most offensive substitute for pure and wholesome water. death of mr. frederic smith. one of their party, mr. frederick smith, had been left behind; and so bewildered were they in their despair, that they could give no definite account of what had become of him. mr. roe immediately went in search, and not many miles in the rear, found the poor fellow quite dead in a bush, with his blanket half rolled round him. it appeared that he had tried to scramble up a sandhill and had fallen back into the bush and died--a sad and melancholy fate for one so young. he had laboured under great disadvantages in walking, having cut his feet in very gallantly swimming out to save one of the boats during a hurricane in sharks bay. he was reduced to a perfect skeleton; having, in fact, been starved to death. the sight drew forth a tributary tear of affection even from the native who accompanied the party. mr. roe consigned poor young smith's remains to the earth, and setting up a piece of board to mark the spot, smoothed down his lonely pillow, and moved with his companions in mournful silence towards the south. it must have been an impressive scene; the sun, as if conscious that he was shining for the last time on the remains of the ill-fated young explorer, seemed to linger as if unwilling to descend into the western horizon; and his full red orb painted a number of light airy clouds that floated through the sky in the most brilliant colours, and shed a stream of fire over the water as it rolled with a mournful dirge-like sound on the strand close by. the howl of a wild dog now and then fell on their ears as they performed their melancholy task, and alone broke the stillness that reigned around, as they retreated slowly along the beach. whilst on this humane excursion, mr. roe witnessed a wondrous gift possessed by the natives. the one that accompanied him, perceiving footmarks on the sand, where some of his countrymen had been, was enabled by them to tell mr. roe, not only in what number they were, but the name of each. this account was verified on their return to perth, from whence the natives had been sent during mr. roe's absence on the same errand. hurricane in sharks' bay. the hurricane i have mentioned, as encountered by captain grey in sharks bay, latitude degrees south, occurred on february th, which, corresponding with the hurricane season of the mauritius, leaves little doubt that at the same time the shores of new holland are occasionally visited by more easterly ones, moving in nearly the same direction. the other two instances of hurricanes occurring in the neighbourhood are those of the ceres, in , in latitude degrees south, above miles north-north-west from sharks bay, and of the maguashas towards the end of february,* , in latitude degrees south, about miles north of the same place. ships, therefore, passing along the north-west coast of new holland at the season we have mentioned, should be prepared for bad weather. the hurricane experienced by captain grey began at south-east and ended at north-west. the lull in the centre of it showed that the focus of the storm must have passed over that locality. captain grey does not enter sufficiently into detail to enable us to trace the veering of the wind. (*footnote. in volume will be found mention of the bad weather met with by the beagle in this month on the north-west coast. for further information on this subject see mr. thom's interesting inquiry into the nature and course of storms london .) an observation i made on visiting this time the upper course of the swan, is worth recording. many parts were perfectly dry, more so than any i had seen on the victoria, and yet i was informed that last year those very parts were running with a good stream. it seems reasonable to infer, therefore, that in certain seasons of the year the victoria, though dry in some places when i visited it, is a full and rapid river. during our stay the colonial schooner, champion, returned from an unsuccessful search for the mouth of the hutt river, discovered by captain grey in the neighbourhood of moresby's flat-topped range. near the south end of it, however, they found a bay affording good anchorage. rottnest island. march . we moved the ship to rottnest island, to collect a little material for the chart, and select a hill for the site of a lighthouse. the one we chose lies towards the south-east end of the island, bearing north degrees west (true) twelve miles and a quarter from fremantle gaol. the governor and mr. roe accompanied us to rottnest, where we found that a penal establishment of aboriginal prisoners had been formed during our absence. aboriginal convicts. no one would say that the australian natives cannot work, if they could just see the nice cottages of which this settlement is composed. the superintendent merely gives the convicts a little instruction at first, and they follow his directions with astonishing precision. they take great pride in showing visitors their own work. it is an interesting though sorrowful sight to see these poor fellows--some of them deprived of their liberty for life, perhaps for crimes into which they have been driven by the treatment they receive from those who have deprived them both of their land and of their liberty. many, if not most of them, are in some measure unconscious of guilt; and they are almost incapable of appreciating the relation between what they have committed and the punishment which has fallen on them. their minds are plunged in the darkest ignorance; or if they know anything beyond the means of satisfying their immediate wants, it is that they have been deprived of their rightful possessions by the men whose chains they wear. surely this reflection should now and then present itself to the white man who is accustomed to treat them so harshly, and induce him to judge more leniently of their acts, and instead of confining himself to coersive measures for protection, make him resort to the means which are within his reach of raising the despised and oppressed savage more nearly to a level with himself in the scale of humanity. the native prisoners at rottnest collect salt from the lagoons, cut wood, and at present almost grow sufficient grain to keep them, so that in a short time they will be a source of profit rather than of loss to the crown. some of them pine away and die; others appear happy. generally, however, when a fresh prisoner comes among them, great discontent prevails; they enquire eagerly about their friends and families; and what they hear in reply recalls vividly to their minds their wild roving life, their corrobories, the delights of their homes; and of these, too, they are sometimes compelled to think when a blue streak of smoke stealing over the uplands, catches their restless eye, as it wanders instinctively forth in that direction from their island prison. they will often gaze on these mementos of their former free life, until their eyes grow dim with tears and their breasts swell with those feelings which, however debased they may appear, they share in common with us all. on these occasions they naturally turn with loathing to their food. those who suffer most are the oldest; for they have ties to which the younger are strangers. the rapidity with which the young ones grow up and improve in appearance, in consequence of their regular food and the care taken of them, is astonishing. they are allowed to have a common kind of spear, though without any throwing stick; and sometimes receive permission to go to the west end of the island to endeavour to kill wallaby, which are there rather numerous. we were happy to find that the attention of the public, and the government at home, had been drawn to the wrongs and sufferings of the aborigines of australia; and that a desire of preserving them from deterioration and ultimate destruction, had been evinced. protectors had been sent out for the purpose of attending especially to their interests, so that it was evident that what was wanted was not goodwill towards them. it was easy, however, to perceive that the system was a bad one, and to foretell its failure. the most prominent feature in the plan adopted, was the gathering together of the natives in the neighbourhood of settlers without previously providing them with any means of subsistence, so that they were in a manner compelled to have recourse to depredations. american whalers. to show to what extent whaling is carried on in these seas by foreigners, i may mention that during our stay at swan river, i at one time counted as many as thirteen american whalers at anchor. it was to be regretted that this department of industry had been abandoned by the colonists, who however derived considerable advantage from the barter trade they carried on with the whale ships. at perth we found our old shipmate miago, and were sorry to observe that he was as great a savage as ever. he had got into considerable disgrace among his fellows on account of his having performed one of these feats of which he was so continually boasting on the north-west coast, namely, carrying away a woman. he was hiding about, in momentary fear of being speared by those whom he had injured. botany of western australia. among the information obtained this time at swan river, was the following table, relating to the vegetable kingdom of western australia. column : name commonly given by settlers. column : native name. column : genus. column : remarks. mahogany : jarrail* : eucalyptus : grows on white sandy land. red gum : kardan : eucalyptus : on loamy land. bluegum : co-lort : eucalyptus : on river banks and flooded lands, a sure indication of vicinity of water. white gum : wando : eucalyptus : on stiff clay lands, sometimes tapped for water contained in hollow trunk. york gum : to-art : eucalyptus : abundant in york--on good soil. cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at perth : gnardarup : eucalyptus : like several stems twisted together, abondant in interior. cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at perth : wooruc : eucalyptus : brown glossy stem, smooth. cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at perth : gnelarue : eucalyptus : nankeen-coloured stem. cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at perth : mallat : eucalyptus : tall, straight, rough bark. cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at perth : morrail : eucalyptus : nearly similar. cable gum, these varieties all seen in the interior, not common at perth : balwungar : eucalyptus : glaucus-leaved. honeysuckle : mang-ghoyte : banksia : large flowering cones containing honey. honeysuckle : be-al-wra : banksia : large flowering cones containing honey. black wattle : kile-yung : acacia : indication of good soil--produces gum. broom or stinkwood : cab-boor : - : light sandy loam. holly : tool-gan : hakea : sandy soil--produces gum. cabbage tree : mote yar : nuytsia floribella : gum in abundance. beef tree or the oak : - : casuarina. palm tree : djir-jy or jirjy : zamia media, gl. : red fruit, nut, called baio, ripe in march, is considered a delicacy by the natives. raspberry jam : maug-art : acacia : sweet scented--grows on good gruund. raspberry jam : minnung : acacia : gum very abundant. blackboy : balga : zantha hast : gum on the spear--resin on the trunk. york nut : madda : - : smells like sandalwood. red apple : quonni : - : affects salt grounds. swamp oak : yeymbac : - : name applies rather to the paper-like bark--used to hold water, to cover houses, etc. rough-topped blackboy : barro : zantha : resin makes a powerful cement. native yam : werrang : - : said to grow to a large size to the north. native potato : tubuc : orchis. native turnip : canno. new zealand flax : - : phormium tenax : this grows pretty abnndantly, i forget the native name. (*footnote. the letter a is sounded broad and full as in father.) safety of gage roads. the result of our soundings between rottnest island and the main, showed that a bank extended out to the north-east, from the foul ground off the stragglers, sufficiently to check, in some measure, the vast body of water rolling in from the north-west; and thereby adding to the safety of gage roads, provided vessels anchor in the proper berth, which is in seven or eight fathoms, on sandy mud, about a mile from the gaol, bearing east by north. a quarter of a mile nearer the shore the bottom shoals rapidly to four and three fathoms, on rocky ground slightly coated with sand. it is therefore not likely a ship, well found, can drag her anchor up a bank so steep as that inclination in the bottom forms. the wrecks that have occurred in this anchorage may be traced to vessels not selecting a proper berth. from their desire to be near the shore they get into the shoal rocky ground; a breeze comes on when they are in no way prepared, in the midst of discharging cargo; and in some cases, before a second anchor can be let go, the ship is driven on shore. thus, through the want of judgment exhibited by a few individuals, has a whole community suffered in the manner i have alluded to, when speaking of the loss of the orontes at port essington.* (*footnote. see volume .) chapter . . sail from swan river. search for the supposed turtle-dove shoal. approach to houtman's abrolhos. find an anchorage. view of the lagoon. guano. remnants of the wreck of the batavia. pelsart group. visit the main. geelvink channel. enter champion bay. appearance of the country. striking resemblance of various portions of the coast of australia. leave champion bay. coast to the northward. resume our examination of the abrolhos. easter group. good friday harbour. lizards on rat island. coral formation. snapper bank. zeewyk passage. discoveries on gun island. the mangrove islets. singular sunset. heavy gale. wallaby islands. flag hill. slaughter point. observations of mr. bynoe on the marsupiata. general character of the reefs. tidal observations. visit north island. leave houtman's abrolhos. general observations. proceed to depuch island. drawings on the rocks. native youth. new bird and kangaroo. effects of mirage. examine coast to the turtle isles. geographe shoals. number of turtles. bedout island. scott's reef. approach to timor. pulo douw. scene on entering coepang bay. surprise of swan river native. visit to the resident. his stories. fort concordia. second visit to the resident. the timorees. arrive at pritie. description of the country. muster of the shooting party. success of the excursion. the javanese commandant. character of the timorees. dutch settlement in new guinea. leave coepang. island of rottee. tykal inlet. inhabitants of polo douw. sail from swan river. the improved state of the colony enabling us to get supplies, it was resolved that we should return to the north-west coast, examining on the way, houtman's abrolhos, a coral group that had very rarely been visited, since the dutch ships were lost on them, one and the other years ago, and of which next to nothing was known. not being able to persuade miago to accompany us, he being too much engaged with his new wife, we enlisted the services of a native youth who generally went by the name of tom, and left gage roads on the afternoon of april th. off the west end of rottnest a sail was seen, which we afterwards found, to our mortification, was h.m.s. britomart, from port essington. we had another fruitless search for the bank reported to the northward of rottnest. steering north-north-west from the west end of it, the soundings increased gradually to fathoms, till passing cape leschenault at the distance of twenty-two miles; but afterwards, no bottom with fathoms, till reaching the latitude of degrees minutes south, where the coast projecting, brought us again within twenty miles of it, and into a depth of fathoms. we continued in soundings till in latitude degrees minutes south, varying from to fathoms, seventeen miles from the land with the former, and twenty-five with the latter depth, which shows the extent and steepness of the bank of soundings fronting the coast, between the parallels i have mentioned. the abrolhos group. april . there was unusual weather last night, overcast with a squally westerly wind. just laying our course north-north-west, at noon we were in latitude degrees minutes south, on the position assigned to a reef called the turtle dove. from the masthead i could see nothing indicating a shoal. captain king passed near this position, and also remarks not seeing it. the colonial schooner champion, in beating to the southward, has passed over and near its assigned position, and i think we may fairly infer that there is no such reef as the turtle dove, and that probably it originated from the south end of the abrolhos reef, ten miles north-north-west of it, being seen. we found fathoms on this supposed shoal, with , twelve miles south by east of it, and , twenty-eight miles in the same direction. between it and the south end of the abrolhos group the water deepened to fathoms. in approaching the nearest island we passed close round the south-east end of a reef, running out about a mile from the south point, and then trending away round in a north-west by north direction, so as to form one side of a lagoon, whilst the island i have mentioned--a long narrow strip trending north-east by north--forms the other. the weather looking unsettled, the wind being from the south-west, with slight rain squalls, we were glad to find shelter, so near the commencement of our work, in a bight on the east side of the island, three quarters of a mile from the south point, where we anchored in fathoms, scarcely a quarter of a mile from the shore. a coral patch, of two and a half fathoms, with only two on its northern extreme, confines this anchorage, which affords shelter from south-south-east round by west to north-east by north. the tide rose here inches. from the masthead i got a tolerably good view of the island, in some places scarcely a cable wide, and a number of islets scattered to the north-west. the lagoon at this place was not more than three miles across, though marked twelve in the old charts; and i could trace the long line of white breakers rolling in on the other side in solemn grandeur, contrasting strongly in their foaming turbulence with the placid waters within the protection of the reef and island. i could clearly distinguish the limit of the danger in this direction, and that there was nothing to break the swell beyond. the surface of the lagoon was diversified by blue and grey patches, showing the alternations of shoal and deep water; near the centre there appeared to be a channel, which we afterwards found to be ten fathoms deep. in the head of the bight where we were anchored, there was a narrow low sandy neck, placed by our observations in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degree minutes seconds west of swan river,* over which we hauled a boat to examine the opposite side of the lagoon. (*footnote. as we shall refer all longitudes during this cruise to scott's jetty, swan river, i may here state that the approximate longitude of that place is considered to be degrees minutes east of greenwich.) a few remarkable clumps of mangroves pointed out the position of some lagoons about a mile and a half from the south end of the island, which is fronted by a line of low overhanging cliffs of recent, cream-coloured limestone. upon these rests a layer of a kind of soil, in some places eighteen inches deep, in others four feet, in which the seabirds burrow, and which, from what i have since seen of the much sought after guano, i believe to contain some of the valuable substance. in some of the islands forming houtman's abrolhos which we subsequently examined, i found similar signs of the presence of this manure, which i think worthy of being made the subject of enquiry. on the south part of the island i found a block of scoria measuring three feet by two; which, though not appearing to possess the power of floating, must have been brought by the current from the volcanic island of st. paul's. we saw a few hair-seals on the beach when we landed, and a rich kind of rock oyster was found at low-water. pelsart group. on the south west point of the island the beams of a large vessel were discovered, and as the crew of the zeewyk, lost in , reported having seen the wreck of a ship on this part, there is little doubt that the remains were those of the batavia, commodore pelsart, lost in . we in consequence named our temporary anchorage batavia road, and the whole group pelsart group. it was the wreck of this dutch ship that led to the discovery of this part of the continent of australia, commodore pelsart himself having crossed over to it in a boat in search of water. visit to the main. april . in the afternoon we got underweigh, with a fresh south wind. the low neck over which the boat was hauled, and which appeared like a gap from the offing, bearing west, led clear to the northward of the two fathom patch. we steered across east by south / south for the main, losing sight of the island from the beagle's poop (height feet) at the distance of five miles and a half. three miles further brought us in sight of the land, forming a high level range, with a knob or lump on its south extreme. some five or six miles to the south-east were seen isolated peaks, which we rightly supposed to be the wizard hills of captain king, whilst the lump above spoken of proved to be mount fairfax, the level range being moresby's flat-topped range. as we neared them the menai hills began to show themselves. our soundings, after leaving the island, deepened quickly to and fathoms. six miles from it the depth decreased to fathoms. we stood off and on during the night, the current setting north-north-west a mile an hour. the space between the abrolhos and the main bears the name of geelvink channel, after vlaming's ship, the first that ever passed through (a.d. ). the chief object of the beagle's visit to the main was to ascertain the position of a good anchorage, before spoken of as reported at swan river to be under the south-west end of moresby's flat-topped range. the favourable account which captain grey had given of the country behind the range made the knowledge of a good anchorage in its neighbourhood of vast importance. captain king missed this portion of the coast by crossing over to the abrolhos, which he places some five miles too much to the westward, the lowness of the island deceiving him, as indeed it at first did us. the reef off the south-west end, however, he has rightly fixed. april . at daylight the ship was in fathoms, fifteen miles from wizard hills, bearing south degrees east. as we neared the shore, steering north-east by north we saw a low point, running out west from the south end of moresby's range, fronted by heavy breakers, particularly to the north-west. behind, the water was quite smooth, and promised a snug anchorage. we passed round the reef in / fathoms, at the distance of a half, and three-quarters of a mile; but we did not haul into the bay until some suspicious spots had been sounded over by a boat. finding not less than four and a half fathoms, we stood in, mount fairfax bearing east. the small table hill forming the north-west extreme of the menai hills, bearing north degrees east, leads clear to the westward of the reef. between this and the north point of the bay the water occasionally lifts suspiciously. inside the depth is regular, five and six fathoms, fine white sand. champion bay. to this anchorage was given the name of champion bay; whilst the projection sheltering it from the south-west was called point moore, after the attorney-general at swan river, who visited it in the colonial schooner. we anchored early in the forenoon in four fathoms, mount fairfax bearing north degrees east five miles and three-quarters; point moore south degrees west one mile, the end of the reef north degrees west also one mile, and a bare-topped brown sandhill, south degrees east, three-quarters of a mile. immediately under the last-mentioned the observations were made, placing that spot in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degree minutes seconds west of swan river. a most singular ridge of very white sandhills lay a quarter of a mile to the eastward. elevation of the hills. a plan of the bay was made, and the elevation of the neighbouring heights taken; mount fairfax proving to be feet, and wizard peak feet. i regretted there was not time to visit moresby's flat-topped range, as we might have got a glimpse of the good land reported by captain grey in the neighbourhood. the sides of the high lands look fertile over the sandhills of the bay; but through a spy-glass i found that they had a brown arid appearance and were destitute of timber. i was forcibly struck with the resemblance between moresby's range, sea range on the victoria, cape flattery on the north-east coast, and i may add, from flinders' description, the cliffs forming the coast range at the head of the australian bight. the great similarity in the elevation, all being between and feet, is still more remarkable. to bring this great resemblance between opposite portions of the australian continent before the reader, i have inserted sketches of those parts which were seen in the beagle. the beach in the south corner of champion bay, having the appearance of being seldom visited by a surf, it is possible that a small vessel may be sheltered by the reef in north-west gales, which the anchorage is exposed to, and which, therefore, can only be considered safe in the summer season. five miles to the southward of point moore there is another bay, which appeared much exposed to the prevailing winds. the shore between is rocky with outlying reefs. leave champion bay. april . we left champion bay at daylight, with a moderate south wind and fine weather, and passed over some uneven ground south-west of the north point, soundings varying from five to seven fathoms, sand and rock, which though at a quiet time, almost formed breakers. appearance of the coast. as we ran along to the northward, the coast was lined with sandhills very partially dotted with vegetation. behind these was a margin of brown arid-looking downs, receding to the foot of the uplands. twenty miles of the coastline from champion bay trended north degrees west. at noon we were in latitude degrees minutes south; the menai hills, a group lying just off the north end of moresby's flat-topped range, bearing south degrees east ten miles. a valley or ravine, through which probably a rivulet* runs in the wet season, bore north degrees east two miles, and a singular large patch of sand, feet above the sea, north degrees east two miles and a half. north of this patch the land changes its appearance; the bare sandhills cease, and a steep-sided down, feet high, faces the coastline. our track was from two to three miles from the shore, in and fathoms, fine white sand; a heavy surf washing the beach. south-east of the menai hills the country appeared much broken, with high table ranges of from to feet. (*footnote. this (in latitude degrees minutes south) may have been one of the rivers discovered by captain grey, but which it was impossible for us to determine, as no account of them had been left with the surveyor-general, mr. roe.) it was now necessary to resume our examination of the abrolhos, and thirty-one miles on a west / south course, brought us between two groups of them, where we anchored for the night in fathoms. the soundings in standing across geelvink channel, were and fathoms, fine white sand; the current ran north-north-west, a mile an hour. april . at daylight we found that the summit of a large island, in the centre of the group to the northward, bore north / degrees west about nine miles. good friday harbour. we now beat to the southward in search of a harbour, where the ship might lie in safety whilst we went to work with the boats, and were fortunate enough to discover one close to the north-east point of a large island lying in the centre of the group to the southward; which we named easter group, and the harbour good friday harbour, to commemorate the season of the christian year, at which we visited it. perhaps at some future period, when the light of the gospel shall have penetrated to every part of the vast australian continent, these sacred names, bestowed by us upon some of its outworks, may be pronounced with pleasure, as commemorative of the time when the darkness of ignorance and superstition was just beginning to disperse. good friday harbour, like all coral harbours, requires to be taken by eye, being full of coral knolls, which necessitate the utmost vigilance. in itself, however, it is an excellent port, capable of holding a large number of ships, and with a general depth, between the coral patches, of from to fathoms, with a fine muddy sandy bottom. the eastern extremity of the large island bearing south by east / east led into the harbour. as we threaded our way among the patches of coral, the view from the masthead of the submarine forests through the still pellucid water was very striking. the dark blue of the deep portions of the lagoon contrasted beautifully with the various patches of light colours interspersed. we found to our surprise that the group into which we had penetrated was entirely distinct from that under which we had first anchored to the southward, so that we had already discovered the abrolhos to form three separate groups. rat island. the centre island we named rat island, from the quantity of that vermin with which it was infested. we also saw here a few seals, and numbers of a very pretty lizard (figured in the appendix) with its tail covered with spines. several of these were brought away alive. i had two myself for nine months on board, and afterwards presented them to lady gipps. of those taken by lieutenant emery, he was so fortunate as to bring one alive to england, in . it is still in his possession, and thrives remarkably well. in one of his last letters he writes to me as follows on the subject: "the abrolhos lizard is very docile, and knows mrs. emery quite well, and will eat and drink out of her hand; but is timid with strangers. its habits are rather torpid, but it becomes active when in the sun or before the fire. it eats so very little that a piece of sponge cake about the size of a small bean will satisfy it for three or four weeks. it changes its skin twice a year." the formation of rat island resembles that already noticed in pelsart group; there were the same low overhanging cream-coloured limestone cliffs, to the height of half the island; the greatest elevation of which was feet, with a similar soil, mixed with guano, and filled with burrows of the sooty petrel, or mutton bird. surrounding it is a low coral reef, trending northward to the outer edge of the group. coral formation. this reef afforded me an opportunity of examining the coral formation of the abrolhos, which, with the exception of bermuda, is the place farthest removed from the equator where coral formation is found. the reef on which rat island rests extends off four hundred yards on the inner side, and has fathoms just off it, on a grey sandy mud. the greater portion is composed of a variety of corals intermixed, and forming a consolidated mass, with brain-stones scattered over. it is nearly dry at low-water; but a portion does not rise so high, projecting out so as to form a narrow shelf, from the edge of which a wall descends almost sheer to the depth of feet. the upper feet are formed of a peculiar kind of coral, growing in the shape of huge fans, spreading out from stout stems overlapping each other in clusters, and having angular cavities between. the coral forming the lower feet of the wall is of the common large branch kind. whilst in good friday harbour the quarter-master reported smoke on one of the islands to the north-east. all eyes were instantly turned in that direction, in curiosity to find what could have caused it. and sure enough a long streak of smoke was curling upwards through the air. it soon however appeared that it rose from some fire on the main, distant about thirty-five miles, and that its being visible by us was owing to the extreme clearness of the atmosphere. the observation spot on rat island was on the north-east end, which we placed in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degree minutes seconds west of swan river. having completed our work in the harbour, we left, for the purpose of securing the requisite material for the north-east part of this group, which we found to be a detached cluster with deep-water between, and to be also similarly separated from the extreme of the group--a small isle about five feet high, composed of sand and dead coral. the average depth surrounding the islands was and fathoms, being the same level as that of the great flat or plain on which they rest, and which extends out from the mainland, shelving off at the outer edge of the southern part of the abrolhos almost precipitously to no bottom with fathoms. we now proceeded southward, to examine the opening between easter and pelsart groups, and to complete the extremity of the northern part of the latter. snapper bank. on our way we discovered a coral bank of fathoms, a mile and a half long, seven miles east-south-east from the north-east end of easter group. we called it snapper bank, from the immense quantity of that fish which we found on it. in half an hour we caught more than we could cure, so that it became necessary to stop the sport. this shows what a lucrative trade might be carried on by the people of swan river with the mauritius; for the lake on the island of rottnest affording a large supply of salt, any quantity of fish might easily be caught and cured. the whole group is abundantly supplied, though nowhere so plentifully as at snapper bank. from near the south-east end of this bank the main was visible from the beagle's poop. here we anchored for the night in fathoms, and next morning stood out to sea between easter and pelsart groups to ascertain if there were any more reefs to the westward, though the long unbroken swell was almost sufficient to convince us that there were none. soundings between the groups. in a line between the outer reefs of the two groups the depth was fathoms; a mile and a half further in we had ; but outside it deepened off suddenly to no bottom with , and in two miles and a half to none with . before returning we tried for bottom with ; but, as has been already mentioned, without success. outside the reef we felt a current setting a mile an hour north-north-west. in standing in again we passed close round the north-west end of the reef encircling pelsart group, in fathoms, and anchored in , just without a line of discoloured water, which we found to have fathoms in the outer part, extending across the mouth of the lagoon; the largest island bearing south by west one mile and three-quarters. gun island. dutch remains. april . in the morning the boats were despatched on their ordinary work, and captain wickham and myself landed on the largest island, a quarter of a mile long, forming the north-western extreme of pelsart group, and which we named gun island, from our finding on it a small brass four-pounder of singular construction, now deposited in the united service museum (see the cut annexed) with quantities of ornamental brasswork for harness, on which the gilding was in a wonderful state of preservation; a number of glass bottles and pipes, and two dutch doits, bearing date and . this was a very interesting discovery, and left no doubt that we had found the island on which the crew of the zeewyk were wrecked, in , and where they remained so long, whilst building, from the fragments of their vessel, a sloop, in which they got to sea by the passage between easter and pelsart groups, which has consequently been called zeewyk passage. the scene of their disaster must have been on the outer reef, a mile and three-quarters south-west from gun island, along which ran a white ridge of high breakers. the glass bottles i have mentioned were of a short stout dutch build, and were placed in rows, as if for the purpose of collecting water; some of them were very large, being capable of holding five or six gallons; they were in part buried in the sand, and the portion which was left exposed to the air presented a singular appearance, being covered with a white substance that had eaten away the glaze. a number of seal bones were noticed on this island; and i have no doubt they are the remains of those that were killed by the crew of the zeewyk for their subsistence. on the north end of the island was a hole containing brackish water; when we dug it deeper the salt water poured in. the next small islet to the east-south-east we discovered to be that on which the dutchmen had built their sloop. on the west side of it was a spot free from coral reefs, thus offering them facilities, nowhere else afforded, for launching the bark which ultimately carried them in safety to batavia. a mile and a half to the southward of gun island, opposite a singular-looking indentation in the outer side of the reefs, a small cluster of cliffy islets approaches within half a mile of them. it is rather singular that in another of the group--larger than gun island, lying in the centre of the lagoon, and the only one not visited by the beagle's boats--water should have been found by a party who came from swan river to save the wreck of a ship lost in , close to the spot on which the batavia struck more than two hundred years ago. this island is called in the chart middle island. the well is on the south point, and the water, which is very good, rises and falls with the tide. doubtless this must have been the island on which the crew of pelsart's ship found water, though for some time they were deterred from tasting it by observing its ebb and flow, from which they inferred it would prove salt. the north point of gun island, which our observations placed in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degree minutes seconds west of swan river, is fronted for half a mile by a reef. mangrove islets. the ship was now moved to the north-east extreme of the lagoon, to which we crossed in fathoms--the depth we anchored in, a mile north-west from a cluster of islets covered in places with mangroves, from which they receive their name. to the southward the depth in the lagoon, as far as a square-looking island, was and fathoms. the north extreme of the south island lay three miles to the south east of the mangrove islets, by which we found that its length was nearly ten miles, with a general width of about a tenth of a mile. one of the eastern mangrove islets was a mere cay, formed of large flat pieces of dead coral, of the same kind as that of which i have before spoken as resembling a fan, strewed over a limestone foundation one foot above the level of the sea, in the greatest possible confusion, to the height of five feet. in walking over them they yielded a metallic sound. pelsart, like easter group, is marked by a detached islet lying a mile off its north-east extreme. may . we fetched in under the lee of easter group as the north-west gale of this morning commenced. the barometer did not indicate the approach of the gale, falling with it, and acting as in those we had encountered at swan river. singular sunset. the sunset of the two days preceding had presented a very lurid appearance, and the most fantastically shaped clouds had been scattered over the red western sky. it seemed as though nature had determined to entertain us with a series of dissolving views. headlands and mountains with cloud-capped pinnacles appeared and faded away; ships under sail floated across the sky; towers and palaces reared their forms indistinctly amid the vapour, and then vanished, like the baseless fabric of a dream. the winds since the th had been very easterly; but early on the st became fresh from north-east; a stagnant suspicious calm then succeeded, during the forenoon of the nd. at noon the glassy surface of the water began to darken here and there in patches with the first sighing of the breeze, which soon became steady at north-west, and troubled the whole expanse as far as the eye could reach. heavy gale. it was not, however, as i have said, before daylight of the rd that the gale commenced in earnest, continuing with great violence, accompanied with heavy squalls of rain, till noon next day, when the wind had veered to south-south-west. during this time the whole aspect of the scene was changed; immense dark banks of clouds rested on the contracted horizon; the coral islands by which we were surrounded loomed indistinctly through the driving mist; and the decks were drenched by heavy showers that occurred at intervals. the wind blew hardest from west-north-west, and began to moderate about nine on the morning of the th, when it had got round to south-west. the current during this breeze set a mile and a half east-south-east, changing again to the northward as the wind veered round to the southward. this clearly shows how certainly, in this neighbourhood, the movements of the air influence those of the sea. water-spouts. it was the evening of the th before all was again clear overhead. in the morning, however, we shifted our berth, which had been a mile from the south extreme of the detached cluster of islets forming the north-east end of easter group. several small water-spouts formed near the ship as we were about to weigh, which induced us to wait a little until they passed. on the th we bore away for the northern group in and fathoms; the space between was named middle passage. wallaby islands. passing outside of a patch of breakers, lying two miles to the northward of the eastern islet, we hauled up south-east, and by feeling our way with the boats got the ship into a snug harbour on the south-east side of the highest island of the abrolhos, which was afterwards named east wallaby island; another large one, named west wallaby island, lying two miles to the west-south-west with three small flat islets just between. to these we gave the name of pigeon islands, the common bronze-winged pigeon being found there in great numbers. the harbour we named recruit harbour, from its affording fresh supplies of the small kangaroo, in addition to the fish found everywhere else. like the other ports in the abrolhos, it is full of coral patches; the south point of north pigeon island, in one with a bare sandhill on the south-east point of west wallaby island, bearing south degrees west, leads into the harbour clear of the spit on the north-west side and some coral patches on the east. in entering we had and fathoms, but the depth inside is and ; it is perfectly sheltered on all sides. these islands, after the others, of which the greatest height is feet, appear of considerable altitude; though the loftiest point rising on the north-east extreme of east wallaby island, measures no more than feet. this island is upwards of a mile each way; whilst the west one is two miles and a half long, and one broad. in the centre of the eastern is a low flat, with hills rising all around, with the exception of the south side. flag hill. the loftiest, which is called flag hill, is, as i have mentioned, on the north-eastern extreme, and has a long finger-shaped point running out from its foot in a north-east direction, to which we gave the name of fish point, from the number of snappers we caught there. they were so voracious that they even allowed themselves to be taken with a small bit of paper for a bait. flag hill is a rock formed of sand and comminuted shells; while the flat which stretches to the south-west from its foot is of limestone formation. in it we found a kind of cavern, about feet deep, with a sloping entrance, in which was some slightly brackish water, that in percolating through the roof had formed a number of stalactites. a reef, which dries in patches at low-water, connects the east and west wallaby islands. on the south-west point of the latter are some sandhills feet high; and on that side also is a dense scrub, in which the mutton birds burrow, so that it forms rather troublesome walking. slaughter point. new species of wallaby. the northern end is a level, stony flat, terminating towards the sea in projecting cliffs six or eight feet high; with patches of bushes large enough to serve as fuel here and there, all full of a new species of wallaby, which, being plentiful on both the large islands, suggested their name. the reader will obtain a good idea of the numbers in which these animals were found, when i state that on one day, within four hours, i shot , and that between three guns we killed , averaging in weight about seven pounds each; which gave rise to the name of slaughter point for the eastern extreme of the island. as there is no record of the dutch having visited the northern group, it is impossible to say whether wallaby were then found on it or not. how they could have got there is a mystery, as there were no large floating masses likely to have carried them from the main. the species has been described from a specimen we obtained, as halmaturus houtmannii; it is distinct from halmaturus derbyanis, found on most of the islands on the southern parts of the continent. we shall now fulfil our promise to the reader by laying before him the result of mr. bynoe's interesting observations on the marsupiata, which the number of wallaby killed at houtman's abrolhos afforded him the means of perfecting. i may preface his remarks by stating, that all the information i could gain from the colonists on the subject was, that the young of the kangaroo were born on the nipple, which my own experience appears to corroborate. mr. bynoe's observations on the marsupiata. "my first examination," says mr. bynoe, "of the kangaroo tribe, to any extent, occurred at the abrolhos; there i had an extensive field for ascertaining the exact state of the uteri of the wallaby of those islands. i opened between two and three hundred, and never found even the rudiments of an embryo; but in the pouch i have seen the young adhering to the nipple from the weight of half a dram to eight ounces and upwards. on examination, the only substance found in the womb when the animal was young and full grown, was a cheese-like substance of a straw colour: i likewise found a similar substance in the pouch around the nipples, and in many instances where the nipples were much retracted, it completely covered them, but it was of a darker hue than that in the uterus, and of a saponaceous or greasy feel; the aperture of the pouch so much contracted as scarcely to admit two fingers; wombs with their cornua remarkably small, and nipples in the pouch scarcely pointing, and in many instances retracted. "animals with these appearances, i concluded, had never borne young. examinations frequently took place immediately after they were shot. in those that had recently discarded their young from the pouch, one nipple and frequently two were found much lengthened, and very often one more than the other. i have seen them in the wallaby frequently two inches in length, and with pouches so large, that you could with ease thrust your hand into them; the uteri with their appendages enlarged and apparently very vascular, as well as thickened; but in no one instance at the abrolhos could i detect a gravid uterus; but i have seen the young adhering to the nipples less than half an inch in length, and in a perfectly helpless state. it is generally supposed that the uterus in the adult animal is not supplied with much arterial blood, merely sufficient to nourish that viscus. if such be the case, can it have the power of retaining the germ in the womb, when on the most minute examination of the young, i could not detect, by cicatrice or line of abrasion on any part of the abdomen, that they ever possessed umbilical vessels, or had been in any way nourished by a placenta? let us take into consideration the small size of the animal found in the pouch, its utter helplessness, its slight power of motion, and its firm attachment to the nipple. the more it is in the embryonic state the firmer is its attachment to the mother; to separate it from the nipple requires some force; the surrounding parts of the opening of the mouth, after separation, bleed profusely, and the animal has no power to close it; the opening remains gaping and circular, the animal lies on its side, and if very young, soon dies. on each side of the opening is a line showing the extent of the mouth. when arrived at greater maturity it can make no noise until the mouth is fully developed, and then a faint hissing note; it has no power to stand until very large, and the hair is about to shoot out from the skin. an animal in so helpless a situation could not possibly, with all the aids and contrivances of the mother, attach itself to the nipple and produce adhesion of the oral aperture, when even at a later period it has no motion of life or power to close that opening. the retention in the uterus must be of short duration. i have been led to these conclusions from examinations on the banks of the victoria river. a flying doe, inhabiting the grass flats, of more than ordinary size, was killed. in thrusting my fingers into the pouch, i found that the mammary glands were remarkably enlarged, pressing forcibly into that cavity. i questioned the seaman who took up the animal, immediately after being shot, whether he had taken the young out, and received a negative answer. finding the mammary glands so extremely enlarged, i was induced (although pressed for time) to examine the uterus, and posterior and internal parts of those glands--the cornua as well as the other parts of the uterus were much thickened, and apparently highly injected with blood. on opening the cavity i found it throughout thickly coated with slimy or mucal secretion (the only uterus found by me in this state.) i now extended my examination in front of the womb to the posterior part of the mammae, and in doing so discovered a small gelatinous mass, about twice the size of a pea. on a closer inspection, it appeared to be retained in a thin transparent tube. i watched the substance narrowly and could distinctly perceive the rudiments of an animal. the feet were not developed, but pulsation and motion were not only observed by me, but by two of the men with me, both exclaiming "look at the little animal!" although i feel convinced that they did not know what i was searching for. there was not time to examine further into its state. i carefully removed the uterus, the apparent embryo and the mammae, and put it in a wide-mouthed bottle with some spirits, and gave it in charge of the seaman who was to carry a portion of the animal for the dinner of that day. it was placed in a canvas bag, but on crossing a deep watercourse he had the misfortune to break the bottle, which he never mentioned until the following day. the contents soon dried up and became an uniform mass. the intense heat had rendered it so firm that nothing could be made of it; all the gelatinous parts had adhered so firmly to the bag, that i was compelled to abandon it. my object was to ascertain if there was a communication in a greater state of development between the womb and posterior part of the mammae, during the period of gestation; and i was fancying i had arrived at some conclusion, but all my hopes were destroyed by one fatal smash! so many theories have been formed on that point--that to advance this as a fact, would be treading too firmly on tender ground. at the first view of the gelatinous mass i seriously considered whether it could have been a gland, and whether the pulsation might have been communicated from muscular twitchings; i took my eye off the substance for some time, and on again looking at it, felt more confident than ever, that it was not a glandular substance. its peculiar configuration and want of solidity proved it indeed not to be gland; its motion, on touching it with the point of the finger, was so much that of an embryonic animal, that i at once, without further investigation, pronounced it a kangaroo. "might not the tube i discovered convey the animal to the posterior part of the mammae, where it might become attached to the nipple in an inverted state? at any rate it was not in the body of the uterus. had the mass been saved i should have taken one more look of inquiry without attempting to alter its structure, and left the matter for the judicious decision of some of the professors of comparative anatomy at home." it may here be remarked that the birds met with on houtman's abrolhos, with the exception of one, resembling in shape and colour a small quail,* were known and common on the mainland. the aquatic species were also familiar to us; but the habit of one kind, of a sooty-black colour, generally called noddies, was quite new--that of building their nests, which are constructed of seaweed and contain only one egg, in trees. there were not many varieties of fish, the most abundant being snappers; of those that were rare lieutenant emery made faithful sketches. (*footnote. haemapodicus scintilans, gould.) half a mile west from slaughter point we found two caverns similar to that on east wallaby island, from which we got three tons of excellent water. appearance of the reefs. the reefs surrounding this group appeared very much broken; and even at easter group we had found them to be not so regular as at pelsart's. this suggests the idea, which appears to be borne out by all we saw, that the reefs are compact in proportion to the exposed position of the islands; the shelter afforded by pelsart group, in fact, did not require the reefs to be so united round the other islands to the north. from the highest part of east wallaby island we discovered a patch of land bearing north-west / north eleven miles. the outer reef extended in that direction from the south-west point of west wallaby island, though it could only be traced by detached patches of breakers. to the south-east of its commencement lies evening reef. the observations were made on the north end of the north-east pigeon island, bearing west by south half a mile from our anchorage, in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minute seconds west of swan river, variation degrees minutes westerly. the temperature of houtman's abrolhos is rendered equable by the fact that they lie at the limit of the land breezes; during the month we were there the thermometer averaged degrees. our protracted stay enabled us to get a tolerable series of tidal observations, which present some singular results. the time of high-water at the full and change was six o'clock when the tide rose inches. it appeared that during the night there was a short flood of six hours with a rise of seven inches, and an ebb of two hours with a fall of only five inches; but that during the day the flow and ebb were nearly equal, the former being eight hours and twenty minutes, the latter eight hours and five minutes, and the rise and fall in each being and inches respectively. tidal observations. a difference was also noticed between the day and night tides at rat island, where the time of high-water at the full and change of the moon was ten o'clock, and the rise varied from to inches, from the result of twenty-five observations; by which i found, moreover, that the tides ebbed five hours and a half in the night, and six hours and a half during the day, and the water fell inches with the night, and with the day ebb. the difference between the length of the night and the day floods was an hour; the duration of the former being six hours, whilst that of the latter was seven; whilst the difference in the rise was inches, the greatest general height, which was during the night tides, being inches. we were detained in recruit harbour until may st, determining the position of the number of small islands and detached reefs to the south-east of wallaby islands; but at length, after completing the soundings on the north-east and north side and ascertaining the extent of the reef to the north-west, we proceeded to the isolated patch of land before mentioned as seen from flag hill, and which, from its relative position to the remainder of houtman's abrolhos, we called north island. an anchorage was found in fathoms, three quarters of a mile from a bay on the north-east side, and half a mile from the reef extending to the northward. the island was about a mile across, and nearly circular. it was surrounded by a range of hills, with a flat in the centre, covered with coarse grass, where a great many quails were flushed, affording good sport, but not a single wallaby. record hill. the highest hill on the south-west point, measuring feet, received the name of record hill, from our leaving a paper in a bottle, giving an account of our cruise. a contiguous reef stretched out from the west side of the island for the distance of a mile, beyond which was the open sea. this reef extended two miles and a half to the north-north-west and four miles and a half to the southward. our observations were made on a sandhill feet high, immediately over the bay, which they placed in latitude degrees minutes seconds south longitude degrees minutes west from swan river. leave houtman's abrolhos. may . from record hill we had perceived that the sea was quite clear to the north and west beyond the reef, and being satisfied that we had reached the extremity of houtman's abrolhos,* we weighed in the morning, and passed about a mile and a half from the reef to the north of the island in fathoms; and hauling up south-south-west, along the western side of the reefs, gradually deepened the water to fathoms over a rocky ground, record hill bearing north degrees east six miles and a half. we then had no bottom with and fathoms until noon, when we had fathoms, sand and coral; record hill then bearing north degrees east eleven miles and a half, just barely visible from the poop. it is singular that we should have had bottom at that distance from the group, whereas, when we had not proceeded half so far from the southern portion we had no bottom with fathoms. (*footnote. their extent in latitude therefore nearly corresponded with the old chart; and the apparent confusion in the shape given them, no doubt arose from their extremes only having been seen and then extended towards each other.) to ascertain if there were any more reefs to the westward, we now steered west-south-west, sounding occasionally with and fathoms unsuccessfully. after running thirty-two miles without seeing any indication of further dangers, of which, moreover, the long ocean swell rolling in convinced us, we steered to the northward. general observations. it may be proper to conclude our account of houtman's abrolhos with a few general remarks. they form three groups instead of one, as was formerly supposed; pelsart group being separated from easter group by a channel, the least width of which is four miles, whilst the middle passage between the latter and the northern group is six miles wide. the abrolhos extend in a north-north-west direction forty-eight miles, diminishing in breadth towards the north; the greatest width of easter and pelsart groups being twelve miles in a west-south-west direction. in easter group the outer reefs are most distant from the islands, being there four miles from the nearest, which is rat island. in the northern group the islands are more detached than in the others, and north island is separated from them by a distance of ten miles. we have already alluded to the regularity and sameness in the soundings in these groups, and between them and the main, clearly showing that they are not connected with each other, but rest on the outer extremity of a level or bank, stretching out from the main, and having a slight southerly inclination, the depth ( fathoms) between the southern group and the coast being greater by four fathoms than between the coast and the northern group. on either side of the abrolhos, at the same distance from land, the depth is more than fathoms. the general nature of the bottom, in the quiet places between the reefs, is a fine grey sandy mud or marl, but in more exposed situations this is not so compact, whilst broken shells are more abundant. this bottom bears a striking resemblance to that within the great barrier reefs. after leaving the abrolhos, as i have narrated, our progress to the northward was unusually slow, and between the parallels of degrees minutes south and degrees minutes south we again got into soundings varying from to fathoms, fine grey sand. at the greatest depth the ship was forty miles from the land, and twenty miles at the least, which was off dirk hartog's island, at the south point of sharks bay. in passing round the north-west extremity of the continent we delayed, again endeavouring to get sight of ritchie's reef; but, on this occasion, as on our passage from the victoria to swan river, it was not seen, and as no bottom was obtained with and fathoms in its assigned position on the chart, it must either have a very different one or does not exist. proceed to the coast. the part of the north-west coast that had not been seen by captain king, commencing a short distance to the east of depuch island, it was resolved that our survey of that part should begin there, and on the th of june the beagle reached an anchorage off a sandy bay on the north-east side of that island. as we drew near our progress was impeded by a fierce south-east breeze during the forenoons, which we found to prevail during our stay, being stronger at the full and change of the moon. although coming directly from the land they quite made us shiver, reducing the temperature on one occasion to degrees. these winds began about daylight at south, gradually veering and drawing round to the eastward as the day advanced, and subsiding again as rapidly after noon, leaving the evening and night generally calm. search for water. a search was immediately made for the stream of fresh water reported to have been found by the french, in freycinet's voyage, on depuch island. as our stock was now very much reduced, and as our stay on the coast depended on the supply we could procure here, we were greatly concerned to find that our examination was in vain. everything appeared parched up; wells were forthwith commenced, and we dug as many as eight, but at the depth of twenty-one feet the water that poured into them was salt. fortunately mr. bynoe found a reservoir of water in the main valley leading up from the north end of the sandy beach, and about a mile from the sea. from this we got about six tons of tolerable water, although the labour of carrying it on the men's shoulders in seven-gallon barecas was very great, the only road lying through the valley, which, as may be inferred from the rounded stones it is strewed with, sometimes conveys a torrent to the sea. large columnar blocks of the greenstone of which the island is composed, present, as the sun falls on their iron rusty surface, an appearance as if the sides of the valley were lined with red warriors. the section presented to our view, by the deepest well we sank at the mouth of this valley, consisted of a light kind of mould for six feet, then a layer of sand and shells of the same depth, resting on a coarse soft kind of reddish sandstone. forestier group. depuch is the centre of a string of islands which bears the name of forestier group, fronting the coast at the distance of from one to three miles. it is much larger than the others, being about eight miles in circumference, and reaching an elevation of feet; whereas the smaller islands, some of which are thickly covered with brushwood and coarse grass, are none of them above feet high. they are of a formation totally different, being of a very coarse gritty yellow sandstone, in many places quite honeycombed, with some low sandhills superimposed. depuch island. although depuch island is one vast pile of reddish-coloured blocks, scattered about in the greatest possible confusion, sometimes resembling basaltic columns, its outline from seaward appears even. in the valleys, and on some of the more level spots near the summit, there are occasionally slight layers of soil, affording nourishment to a coarse grass, a few bushes, and several stunted eucalypti; but on the whole the vegetation of the island is extremely scanty. from the highest point we had a view over the main, extending inland for a great distance. it appeared to be flat, with the exception of some isolated rocky hills, of a formation similar to that of depuch, from to feet in height, and about six miles from the shore. we could also see at a distance of twenty-eight miles a very remarkable pyramidal hill, surmounted by a tower-like piece of rock, bearing from our position south degrees west. from the white appearance of many large patches of the level country, we inferred that they were covered with a salt efflorescence; and it is probable that a very great portion of it is occasionally flooded, being cut up by a number of creeks, which must overflow at spring tides, especially when they occur simultaneously with the north-west winds that prevail on this coast during the monsoon. this group of islands is so connected with the main by extensive sandbanks, that at low-water it is possible to walk across to them; and of this facility the natives no doubt avail themselves to procure turtle. it appears indeed to be only on such occasions that they can visit forestier group, as we saw no traces of rafts on this portion of the coast. depuch island would seem to be their favourite resort; and we found several of their huts still standing. they were constructed of boughs and twigs fixed in the ground, and joined overhead in a circular shape. over this was thrown a loose matting of twisted grass. native drawings. the natives are doubtless attracted to the place partly by the reservoirs of water they find among the rocks after rain, partly that they may enjoy the pleasure of delineating the various objects that attract their attention, on the smooth surface of the rocks. this they do by removing the hard red outer coating, and baring to view the natural colour of the greenstone, according to the outline they have traced. much ability is displayed in many of these representations, the subjects of which could be discovered at a glance. the number of specimens was immense, so that the natives must have been in the habit of amusing themselves in this innocent manner for a long period of time. i could not help reflecting, as i examined with interest the various objects represented*--the human figures, the animals, the birds, the weapons, the domestic implements, the scenes of savage life--on the curious frame of mind that could induce these uncultivated people to repair, perhaps at stated seasons of the year, to this lonely picture gallery, surrounded by the ocean-wave, to admire and add to the productions of their forefathers. no doubt they expended on their works of art as much patience and labour and enthusiasm as ever was exhibited by a raphael or a michael angelo in adorning the walls of st. peter or the vatican; and perhaps the admiration and applause of their fellow countrymen imparted as much pleasure to their minds as the patronage of popes and princes, and the laudation of the civilized world, to the great masters of italy. there is in the human mind an irresistible tendency to indulge in a sort of minor creation--to tread humbly in the footsteps of the maker--to reproduce the images that revolve within it, and to form, from its own ideas, a mimic representation of the actual world. this is the source of all art and all poetry; of every thing, in fact, which tends to adorn and refine our nature. it is this uncontrollable desire to work on and fashion the rough materials that lie under our hands that gives the first impulse to civilization, and impels us onward in the progress of improvement. and wherever we discern the faintest indication that such a principle is at work, there we may securely hope that development will ultimately take place. until we find a nation which has never attempted to emerge from the circle of its mere animal wants--which has never exhibited the least inclination to develop the most ordinary arts--which not only rejects clothing, but is absolutely indifferent to ornament--which leaves its weapons uncarved, its skin unpainted, free from tattoo, we must not despair of the general efficacy of civilization. these savages of australia, as we call them, who have adorned the rocks of depuch island with their drawings, have in one thing proved themselves superior to the egyptian and the etruscan, whose works have elicited so much admiration and afforded food to so many speculations--namely, there is not in them to be observed the slightest trace of indecency. (*footnote. see the accompanying lithographic impression of the copies made by captain wickham of the native drawings on depuch island.) during our stay we did not see any of the natives on the island; but on the main several of them were observed, though they would not allow us to communicate, moving off as soon as any attempt was made to get near them in the boats. on one occasion, when mr. fitzmaurice, in a whaleboat, was examining a part of the coast to the eastward of depuch island, he entered a creek, which soon, however, became too confined by the mud-banks for them to use the oars. hostility op the natives. while in this position a shout attracted his attention, and he perceived a party of natives, armed with spears approaching the boat, with evident hostile designs. they of course naturally looked upon us as intruders; and as the point was not worth contesting, the creek being of no importance, mr. fitzmaurice thought it better to withdraw, rather than run the risk of a collision that could have led to no beneficial results. tom's terror of them. the native youth we had brought with us from swan river did not at all approve of these excursions. he was generally taken, with a view of giving confidence to any of his wild countrymen who might be encountered; but he exhibited the greatest possible repugnance to this service. his terror for the northern men fully equalled that of miago, from whom doubtless he had received the most terrific accounts. it was only by giving him a gun that he could be at all induced to go. he evidently felt himself more secure with european arms than with his own rude ones; and appeared to have learnt their superiority by experience, for he was a very fair shot. when i first asked him why he did not prefer his spear, his simple reply was, "can't look out;" meaning that the northern men could not see the contents of a gun coming, whereas if a spear were hurled at them they could avoid it. his bravery was of much the same complexion as that of miago; and he threatened magnanimously to inflict the most condign punishment on the fellows who opposed mr. fitzmaurice's landing. he had a strong impression that these northern people were of gigantic stature; and in the midst of the silent and gaping interest with which he listened to mr. fitzmaurice's account of his adventure, the words big fella often escaped from his lips; and he appeared quite satisfied when assured that his opinion was correct. the agility this native exhibited in spearing fish was astonishing. in shallow water he would actually course the fish till he got them within spearing depth, when, although his prey darted past, he struck it with the most surprising precision. the quiet, splashless manner in which he ran through the water was really singular. when his spear required new pointing, the sole of his foot was turned up and the spear's head pared down upon it with a knife. when the latter was not to be procured the teeth were made use of; and i may here remark that the constant use which some savages make of their teeth may have much to do in producing the projecting jaw. it seems almost evident to common sense that the constant employment of the teeth must have a material effect in causing a change in the facial angle. anchorage at depuch island. we found the anchorage at depuch island to form a tolerable port, being protected from the north-east by one of the group, distant about three miles, from which a reef extends to the west-north-west, leaving the mouth of the harbour exposed only between north-west by north and west-north-west. our observations placed the centre of the sandy beach on the north-east side of the island in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of swan river, variation degrees westerly; and the time of high-water, at the full and change, at half past ten, when the tide rose feet, but only during neaps. new bird and kangaroo. although depuch island had been visited before, there still remained something quite new to reward the diligent search that was made after objects of natural history: namely, a small kind of kangaroo, a land bird, and a shell, a species of helix. the bird was shot by mr. bynoe; it was a finch,* and beautifully marked with stripes of crimson down the breast, on a black ground with white spots; the throat, and a patch round the stump of the tail, were crimson. it is remarkable that all the beauty and brilliancy of colour in this bird is underneath, the back being of a common earthy brown. (*footnote. named by mr. gould from this specimen, emblema picta.) the kangaroo i had myself the good fortune to knock over on the summit of the island; it was the only one shot during many an excursion made over that dreary heap of desolation, the metallic sound the rocks yielded to our step giving ample warning of our approach to their quick ears. the colours of this specimen, the prettiest we had seen, were a dark grey, with a large angular patch of white down the side, extending from the top of the shoulders nearly to the hips. down the centre of the back, ran a streak of black, which was also the colour of the extremity of its slightly bushy tail. the face and belly were likewise darker than other parts of the body, and the feet were black and well cushioned, giving it a firm hold of the rocks over which it bounded with surprising agility, through it never ran very far, always popping into the cavities caused by the loose manner in which the blocks forming the island are thrown together.* (*footnote. mr. gould has figured an animal very like this i have described, as petrogale lateralis, or the stripe-sided rock wallaby, from a specimen he some time afterwards got from western australia; but he has not noticed the beautiful kangaroo of depuch island.) the specimen of the species of helix i have above mentioned was found by mr. dring, one of our most successful collectors in that department. in the appendix are figured some of the new shells discovered during the voyage. leaving depuch island, we examined the coast to the eastward as far as the turtle isles, a distance of eighty-five miles, the first twenty-seven of which trended north degrees east, and the remainder north degrees east curving slightly inwards. as the french had obtained a distant view of this coast, it did not possess to us the interest of being a new portion of the continent. effects of mirage. still the effect of the treacherous mirage, which has often deluded the way-worn thirsty traveller with the false appearance of water, raised many parts of the interior that had not before met the eye of an european. these presented a very level outline. the interior was, for a great distance, a vast plain, so low that we could scarcely see it from the ship's masthead over the sandhills, which did not exceed the height of feet. six or seven miles from the turtle isles this extensive level was interrupted by the presence of a group of hills, from to feet in elevation, apparently of the same character as the heights behind depuch island. as seen through the medium of mirage, they often had a most curious appearance: high continuous ranges, changing again to lofty islands, danced in the tremulous air. i should remark that when the land was subject to this distortion, it was always during the forenoon, and on those days the winds were invariably light. appearance of the coast. the shore, for nearly fifteen miles from depuch island is very low, lined with mangroves, and intersected by creeks, which at high-water, when the tide rises sometimes feet, are of some magnitude, and inundate much of the low land, leaving large portions of it whitened by a salt incrustation. beyond, as far as the turtle isles, the coast is fronted with a ridge of sandhills, scantily covered with vegetation (the highest, as i have already said, rarely exceeding an elevation of feet) forming a barrier between the sea and the low lands behind, which, from the masthead, appeared to be thickly covered with small trees, and slightly raised from three to seven miles from the coast. several of the natives showed themselves at a distance, and from the numerous fires, it appeared to be a well inhabited part of the continent. still we saw no appearance of a stream of fresh water; and, though there were several creeks, the only opening of any consequence was forty-three miles from depuch island. from its abounding with oysters we named it oyster inlet. across the mouth of it lies an islet, just within the north-eastern end of which there was a sufficient depth for the beagle. the formation of the island was a reddish porous sandstone. at a native fire-place i found a piece of quartz and a large pearl oyster-shell. the tide rose here feet near full moon. the geographe shoals. the only outlying dangers on this extent of coast were the geographe shoals, two rocky patches some distance from each other. the outer one was thirteen miles from the main, and bore north degrees east twenty-three miles from depuch island. turtle islands. the shore fronting the north turtle island projects, leaving a space of only ten miles between, of which, on account of the shoals, only a small portion lying near the island is navigable. nearly opposite the latter is another opening, of some extent at high-water; but from the impediments that offered to our examining it, we named it breaker inlet. during spring tides it must carry a large body of water over the very low land it intersects. the south turtle isle is a mere bank of sand and white coral; the northern is about half a mile across, of the same formation precisely as the low isles of forestier group. it is fronted on all sides with a coral reef extending off from a mile to a mile and a half, which dries at low-water, leaving an abrupt wall of from two to three feet at the outer edge, with pools between it and the island, in which several luckless turtles, who had deferred leaving until too late, were found. though we only took what was required for our own consumption, the number that could have been here obtained was enormous. in the course of four hours thirty green turtles were brought on board, one of which, and not the largest, weighed pounds. a small hawk's bill, the first and only one seen, was also taken. on this part of the coast grows a peculiar small kind of weed, on which they feed; it was first seen near depuch island. i have been informed that the turtles at ascension island, when fresh caught, have a large ball of a curious kind of weed in their stomach, and that as soon as it is consumed, they become watery and lose their flavour. though many diligent inquiries have been made after this weed, it appears to be still unknown. a sandhill on the south-east end of the north isle our observations placed in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes seconds east of swan river; variation degree minutes westerly. the tide ran between the island and the shore nearly two knots an hour; the flood stream came from the north-west; and the rise at springs was feet, the time of high-water being o'clock. search for water. a fruitless attempt was made to procure water on this island, by digging; and as we were now reduced to a supply for only ten days, it became necessary that we should immediately proceed to timor in search of some. this was much to be regretted at the present moment, as the coast to the east had never been seen, and therefore possessed the charm of being a new part of the continent. we consoled ourselves for not being able to visit it by the reflection that it would hold out some inducement for us to return to this land of sterility. on turtle island was found a broken jar, probably left by some of the macassar people, who are occasionally blown in upon this part of the coast. july . the unusual fogs that had prevailed for three days dispersing, allowed us to leave our anchorage under the south-east side of north turtle isle, and soon after dark we occupied another near bedout island, having crossed some rocky ledges of seven fathoms on the way. when the beagle was midway between these islands, they were both visible from the masthead. in the night, and during the early part of next day, it blew strong from south-east, causing a high-topping sea. time being precious, we could not wait for a quiet day to land on bedout; its position was therefore determined by observations with the sea horizon, and differs very materially from that given by the french. we weighed early in the afternoon of the th, and passed round the north-west end of bedout, where there is much uneven ground with ripplings. we carried soundings until abreast of the north end of rowley shoals and twenty-five miles from their inner side, in from to fathoms. these shoals, like the abrolhos, appear to stand on the outer edge of a bank projecting off this portion of the coast, as we did not get bottom after leaving their parallel. on the th, in the afternoon, we passed, having no soundings with fathoms, along the western side of scott's reef, at the distance of three miles, and determined its position. it forms a large lagoon, with an opening, not appearing to be a ship passage, midway on its western side; marked by a dry bank just within it, in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds east of swan river. the eastern extreme of the reef was not seen; the southern limit is in latitude degrees minutes south; and the north-west extreme being in degrees minutes south, and longitude degrees minutes east of swan river, gives it an extent of twenty miles in a north and south direction. scott's reef. captain owen stanley, in march, , discovered a shoal about sixteen miles to the north-north-east of scott's reef; he considered its extent from east to west to be about five miles; but from the masthead the south end of it could not be seen. it did not appear to have more than two or three feet water on it. the north point, captain stanley places in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east; or degrees minutes east of swan river.* (*footnote. this reef was seen by the seringapatam merchant ship in .) we now began to feel a westerly current, which increased to a knot and a half as we got near rottee; the winds being moderate, between east and east-south-east. pulo douw. july . the weather was hazy: the high land of rottee was seen in the forenoon, the highest part of the island, a rather pointed hill, bearing north degrees east. at p.m. we saw pulo douw, which we endeavoured to weather, but the current prevented us. it is a remarkable island, with a gap in the centre and a clump of trees, that looks like a sail when first seen, on the north-west end, which terminates in a low sandy point. this is also the case with the south-east extreme, off which a reef extends for about half a mile; indeed, there appeared to be no ship passage between the sandy islets that lie to the east of pulo douw and rottee. we rounded the north-west end of the former at the distance of a mile and a half, passing through some heavy ripplings, apparently an eddy setting to the north-east round the island. pulo douw appeared to be thickly inhabited, and was encircled by a reef, except at its north-north-west point, where there is a cliffy projection. angles were taken for fixing the position of the islets between pulo douw and rottee, which we found to be wrongly placed. the scotch bonnet, a remarkable rocky lump, seen over the south-west end of rottee, and in line with the south side of pulo douw, bore south degrees east. during the night we had a fresh wind from east-south-east and sailed through several ripplings, our first entering suddenly upon which caused some anxiety, though the lead gave no bottom with and fathoms. we passed some distance from the western end of samow island in the morning; but the high peaks of timor were not seen till near noon. the eager eyes of the native whom we had brought with us from swan river were the first to descry them; and he exclaimed in tones of rapturous astonishment, "land! big fella! all the same cloud!" i shall not easily forget the amazement of this savage, accustomed as he was to behold the level plains of his native land, when he saw, towering in alpine grandeur to the sky, the pinnacled heights of timor. he seemed scarcely able to conceive, even when assured by the evidence of his own senses, that it was possible for mountains to be so high and ranges so vast as those that now developed themselves before him. reach timor. in crossing the mouth of coepang bay towards samow, in the evening, the appearance was truly grand. a vast heap of vapour was slowly moving across the mountains, disclosing at intervals their jagged summits towering towards the sky, and occasionally allowing the eye to penetrate for a moment into the depths of mysterious valleys that seemed to stretch for unknown distances into the recesses of the great timoree range. some wild flying clouds that rapidly traversed the heavens imparted a curious alternation of light and shadow to the lowlands that presented themselves to our view--chequering the whole with gloomy patches and light spots, and revealing or hiding in rapid succession the extensive woods and the patches of cultivation that lay within the bosom of the bay. the dazzling white sand beaches, too, strongly marked by the dark blue sea, heightened the beauty of the scene; which to us, who had for some months seen nothing but the monotonous north-west coast of australia, appeared truly enchanting. during the first watch we beat up the bay, and at midnight anchored; the barking of dogs, the crowing of cocks, and the tolling of bells assuring us that we were once again in the vicinity of civilization. in the morning we found ourselves off the town of coepang, when we shifted our berth farther in; the flagstaff of fort concordia bearing south a quarter of a mile. swan river native. our swan river native came up to me after we had anchored, dressed in his best, shoes polished, and buttoned up to the chin in an old uniform jacket. "look," said he, pointing to some malay lads alongside in a canoe, "trousers no got 'um." a toss of the head supplied what was wanting to the completeness of this speech, and said as plainly as words could have done, "poor wretches!" i tried in vain to point out their superiority, by saying, "malay boy, work, have house; swan river boy, no work, bush walk." i then drew his attention to the country, the delicious fruits and other good things to eat (knowing that the surest road to an australian's heart is through his mouth) but all was in vain! my simple friend shook his head, saying, "no good, stone, rock big fella, too much, can't walk." home, after all, is home all the world over, and the dull arid shores of australia were more beautiful in the eyes of this savage than the romantic scenery of timor, which excited in him wonder not delight. it was amusing to see how frightened he was on going ashore the first time. with difficulty could he be kept from treading on our heels, always, i suppose, being in the habit, in his own country, of finding strangers to be enemies. he was instantly recognised by the malays, who had occasionally seen natives of australia returning with the macassar proas from the north coast, as a marega,* much to his annoyance. (*footnote. i have never been able to learn the meaning of this word. they told us at coepang it signified man-eater; which explains the native's annoyance; and may serve as a clue to the discovery that the aborigines of the northern part of the continent occasionally eat human bodies as they do in the south.) land at coepang. being anxious to make the acquaintance of the resident, who bore the reputation of being a most intelligent person, a party of us paid him a visit the second day after our arrival. the narrow streets, lined with chinese shops and pedlars of every description, from the long-tailed chinaman to the thick, crisp-haired, athletic timoree, were soon passed. we then entered a rich green valley, with some fine houses on the left: the sight was strange and new to us in every way. what we most enjoyed was the vegetation--a feast for our eyes, after the dull arid shores of north-western australia: and we gazed with intense pleasure on the rich green spreading leaf of the banana and other tropical fruit-trees, above which towered, the graceful coconut. is it possible, thought i, that timor and australia, so different in the character of their scenery, can be such near neighbours, that these luxuriant valleys, nestling among the roots of these gigantic hills, are only separated by a narrow expanse of sea from those shores over which nature has strewed, with so niggard a hand, a soil capable of bearing the productions characteristic of the latitudes within which they lie? a meagre-looking apology for a soldier, leaning against a tree, suggested to us that we must be near the resident's dwelling: we were so. it soon appeared that it was the last of the large houses before mentioned, and that the soldier was the sentinel. visit the resident. we were speedily ushered into the presence of d.t. vanden dungen gronovius. what sort of person, reader, do you picture to yourself with such a name? great of course; and in truth such was he, not only in height and bulk, but as he soon informed us, in deeds likewise; he talked fast, and smoked faster, and possessed a general knowledge of all the recent discoveries. we learned from him that the zelee and astrolabe were laid on their beam ends for twenty-four hours in the hurricane of last november, when the pelorus was lost at port essington. after listening to some strange and amusing stories about borneo, where the resident had been superintendent for twelve years, we took our leave. i was glad to find that mr. gronovius entertained views more liberal than dutchmen generally do. he had, as he told me, written to the governor-general at batavia, requesting that coepang might be made a free port, and emigration allowed. he most kindly offered us horses and guides for riding or shooting. fort concordia. the observations for latitude, longitude, etc. were made in fort concordia,* near the flagstaff. i was surprised to find this fort so much out of repair; the only guns fit to be fired out of were two brass six-pounders, the carriages indeed of which were not trustworthy. on these guns i noticed the same mark as on that we found at houtman's abrolhos, namely, two sides of a triangle bisecting two small circles. i never see an old fort without thinking of the anecdote of a party from the beagle visiting one at valdivia on the west coast of south america. the guns were very much out of repair, and when the remark was made to the old spaniard who showed the fort, that they would not bear to be fired out of once, with a shrug of his shoulders he replied that he thought they would bear it twice! but to return to fort concordia: it stands on a madreporic rocky eminence, about feet in elevation, commanding the straggling town of coepang, which, certainly, from the anchorage** does not impress the stranger with a favourable opinion of the industry of its inhabitants, though it improves in proportion as you retreat from the beach. the foot of the height on which the fort stands is washed by a small rapid stream that skirts the south side of the town. its course from the eastward is marked by a deep gorge, on the sides of which a stranger might feast his eyes on the riches of tropical scenery. here and there above the mass of humbler vegetation, a lofty tapering coconut tree would rear its graceful form, bowing gently in the passing breeze. on every hill was presented the contrast of redundant natural verdure, clothing its sides and summit, and of cultivated fields along the lower slopes. these by irrigation are turned into paddy plantations, the winds blowing over which give rise to those insidious fevers, intermittent, i am told, in their character, which are so prevalent at coepang, as well as dysentery, from which indeed the crew of the beagle afterwards suffered. (*footnote. latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of swan river.) (**footnote. see the view annexed.) dutch military force. the whole force the dutch have at coepang is sixty soldiers, half of whom, too, are javanese. yet the subjection in which this small force keeps the natives, is beyond belief. a sergeant is the commandant at rottee, and such power has he over the inhabitants, that he can at any time raise a thousand armed men in the course of a few hours. many of the largest ponies used at coepang, are brought from rottee. their origin no one could give me any information about; all agree in saying they were found with the island, and the natives have no traditions. the resident's tales. my second visit to the resident was for the purpose of accepting his offer of a guide, and of making arrangements for a day's shooting. i found him as usual, sitting smoking in a large cool room. we were soon in the interior of borneo, the scene of his former exploits. some of these were of so sanguinary a character, that they do him very little credit; and many of his tales partook of the marvellous. among the dyaks, natives of the interior, it is a custom, he said, that when a man wishes to marry, he must produce a certain number of human heads. he related that he had once seen a very handsome young woman, to whom a number of heads had been delivered, swimming about in some water, and playing with them. at another time he averred that he saw a woman mix human brains with water and drink it! mr. gronovius also informed me that the land on the western sides both of timor and borneo was gaining on the sea, particularly at the latter place; and a report prevailed that on some of the elevated parts of the former chama shells had been found. in answer to my inquiries about earthquakes, i was told that, only the last month the island of ternate in degrees minutes north had been visited by one, which had thrown down all the houses, and that in , the town of coepang had also been destroyed. from the resident also, i received accounts of three ports in rottee, one on the north-west side, another on the south-east, and a third, on the north-east, opening into rottee strait. the timorees. among the fresh information gained from mr. gronovius during this visit, was an account of the natives of timor called timorees. they are very superstitious, and when a person of consequence dies, a number of karabows (buffaloes) pigs, and ponies are killed and placed over his grave, as an offering to the evil spirit. some, in case of sickness, imagine, that by eating a whole buffalo, even the horns and hoofs, by degrees, they can appease the anger of the demon to whom they attribute all their misfortunes. many of the timorees have really handsome features, strikingly different from the malays. their hair, which is neither woolly nor straight, but crisp, and full of small waves, is worn long behind, and kept together by a curiously formed comb. there is altogether a degree of wildness in their appearance that ill accords with their situation; for nearly all the timorees in coepang are slaves sold by the rajahs of the different districts, the value of a young man being fifty pounds. a powerful rajah, commonly called the emperor of timor, visited coepang during our stay there. unfortunately we all missed seeing him. he was attended by a large and well-armed guard, and appeared to be on very good terms with the merchants of the place, who made him several presents, no doubt through interested motives; probably he supplies them with slaves. his character is notoriously bad; it was only the other day that he had one of his wives cut to pieces, for some very trifling offence. a shooting excursion. on taking my leave of the resident, i fixed the day for our shooting excursion. we were to go to a place called pritie, on the northern shore of babao bay, and distant some fifteen miles from the ship, which rendered it necessary therefore to make an early start. daylight on monday morning accordingly found us on the northern shore of the bay, but we soon ascertained that our guide knew very little about the matter; and what was still worse, there was no getting near the shore, a bank of soft mud fronting it for some distance, at this time of tide, and particularly in the vague direction our guide gave us of pritie. the day was fast advancing; so we made our way back to a cliffy projection we had passed before light, where, after some difficulty, we got on shore. whilst the breakfast was cooking, i made a sketch of the bay, and took a round of angles, all the charts and plans i had seen being very erroneous. our guide appeared to take our not going to pritie greatly to heart; but we made the best of our way to some clear spots on the side of the high land seen from the boat. we met a few natives, who all agreed there were plenty of deer close by, which we believed, for we saw numbers of very recent tracks. but the jungle was impenetrable; so, after rambling for an hour or two, at the expense of nearly tearing the clothes off our backs, and emulating the folly of the wise man of thessaly, we again determined to make for pritie, or at least to try and find it. the tide too now served, and after a pull of some hours, carefully examining every creek and bight, we spied at length two canoes hauled up among a patch of mangroves. landing, we soon found some houses, and a person to show us the road to pritie; for we had still a walk of three miles across a well watered flat piece of country. we were highly pleased with this, to us, novel sight; and our enjoyment was heightened by beholding the tricks and grimaces of some impudent monkeys perched on the tops of the lofty trees, out of shot range, and too nimble to be hit with a ball. vale of pritie. we at last reached our destination, on the eastern side of a beautiful stream. immediately to the northward some lofty peaks reared their rugged summits in an amphitheatre round the rich and picturesque vale of pritie, which lay at the feet of their varied slopes, one mass of tropical vegetation. trees of enormous height shot up by the waterside, and between them, as we approached, the little sharp-roofed houses of the village of pritie could be seen scattered here and there amidst their gardens. our old guide, who had by this time recovered his serenity of mind, led us direct to the commandant, a mild and very civil old javanese, to whom orders had been sent by the resident at coepang to show us every attention. his room was adorned by a magnificent pair of antlers which, we were rejoiced to hear, had been lately taken from a deer shot within a hundred yards of the house. after a repast of young coconuts, and gula, a kind of honey; it was arranged that a party should be collected to go with us on the morrow to shoot deer and pigs. our host now took us to see the village, and then conducted us to the house we were to occupy during our sojourn at pritie, which was a large homely-built edifice erected for the resident's use when he visits this neighbourhood. we spent the dusk of the evening in pigeon-shooting, but did not meet with much success; for the birds perched for the most part on the summits of trees so lofty that they were quite out of shot-range. many of these giants of the forest must have attained the height of at least two hundred feet. they formed a grand element in the landscape, especially when their huge trunks rose by the side of the limpid water of the stream that intersects the vale of pritie. between their topmost boughs, to the north, the amphitheatre of hills which i have mentioned lifted up their indistinct forms, round which the shades of night were gathering, towards the heavens, that soon began to glisten with a multitude of faint stars. evening repast. by the time we got within doors, after our unsuccessful stroll, we were quite tired, and well prepared to enjoy our dinner. the dignified air assumed by our guide, evidently for the purpose of showing off, and the ostentatious liberality with which he proffered the goodly viands sent by the commandant, amused us highly. an account of our fare may be acceptable to the gastronomic reader, who will thus be enabled to determine whether he should envy or pity the voyager to the distant shores of timor. first came tea and coffee; then, in the course of an hour, followed fowls, cooked in all sorts of ways, with a proportion of rice. the good things were brought in by a train of domestics some fifty yards long, headed by a paunchy, elderly man, who greatly reminded us of caleb balderston. if there was a word said by any of the lookers-on--for many came to have a gaze at the lions--he was out in a moment, and brought the offender to account. in short, by his officious attention he afforded us much amusement, and greatly contributed to our proper enjoyment of the dinner. our candles were original ones--a few threads of cotton drawn through a roll of bees' wax. dinner being over, we retired to pass as cold a night as we had felt for some time, having only a few coarse mats to cover us; so that long before daylight we were obliged to get up and walk about for the purpose of warming ourselves. the first of the morning we spent again pigeon-shooting; the birds were large and wild, yet we managed to get a few. the hills in a mist. this excursion gave us an opportunity of beholding the mountains of timor under a remarkable aspect. from various openings in the woody plain we could perceive their sides, clothed in grey mist, above which sometimes we caught a glimpse of a pinnacle rising through the clear air, and just touched by the rays of the morning sun. here and there the slopes of the hills were dimly seen through the vapour, which in other places, however, rolled along in thick masses, completely hiding the uplands from view. nearly every gorge and valley was filled with heavy volumes of fog, whilst in some, a slight steam only rising, allowed the trees to be faintly discovered. there is nothing more grand than the aspect of lofty peaks and crags and precipices imperfectly revealed through a morning mist. it seems as though the darkness of night, unwilling to depart, lingers still fondly around them. their hollows and recesses are still wrapt in gloom, when all else around is beaming with light. within the tropics the contrast thus afforded has a startling effect; but the influence of the sun is not long to be resisted; the mist soon begins to disperse; valley after valley opens its depths to the view; the outline of each rocky peak becomes more and more defined against the deep blue sky, and presently the whole scene appears before you clear and bright, with every line sharply drawn, every patch of colour properly discriminated, a splendid panorama of towering hills and waving forests. whilst i was gazing at this picture, the report of a fowling piece behind me drew my attention, and on turning i was surprised to see the old commandant out shooting likewise, and with him no less a person than caleb balderston, as we had christened his faithful domestic. in their company we returned to pritie. muster of the party. soon after breakfast our party began to muster, each man armed with a long-condemned tower musket. on one of them i was surprised to recognize the name of a marine who had belonged to the beagle in . the powder they used was of the coarsest kind, carried in small pieces of bamboo, each containing a charge, and fitted in a case of skin, something like our cartouch boxes. as a substitute for balls they used bolts of stone, from two to three inches long. besides a musket, each had a huge knife or chopper, stuck in his belt. i was much struck with the simple contrivance they had for shoes: a piece of the fan palm plaited together and tied under the foot. the number of uses to which this tree is applied is astonishing--for making water-buckets, for thatching houses, filling up the panel-work of doors, and a variety of others i could mention. it was late before we could muster all our force; but we at length got away, commandant and all. i was much pleased with the respect everyone paid him, especially as he was one of those mild kind persons who require very little. soon after leaving the village we halted in a shady spot, near a stream of water, some of our party being still missing. this gave me a good opportunity of comparing the features of the malay and timoree, for some of both were in attendance. the malay has a much more open countenance than the timoree, but is not so handsome, the latter having a more aquiline nose. the shooting arrangements. when they all arrived i counted fifty armed men. there were some whose grey hairs proclaimed their lengthened years; though there was a keenness in their eyes that revealed that the principle of vitality was strong within them yet; in others all the dash and vigour of youth was perceptible; many had a truly wild appearance, with their long bushy hair and ever restless eye. it was a picturesque sight to behold fifty such fine fellows scattered about in small groups in the deep shade of these solitudes. all the necessary arrangements being made, we once more started. an hour's walk brought us to a rather large plain, where i and my companions were stationed, about a hundred yards asunder, whilst the rest of the party formed a circle, driving all the game in our direction. unfortunately those on the left commenced hallooing before those on the right, in which latter direction the only three deer in the circle ran from the noise, instead of towards us. two of them were shot, and by the stone bolts above mentioned. we now went to fresh ground, when, provoking to say, the same thing happened again, not without our suspicions being raised that this was purposely contrived; so that after all we were obliged to leave without a single shot. each deer, the largest of which, a doe, must have weighed a hundred pounds, was shot standing, for the natives have a peculiar cry, which arrests the animal's progress for a moment, while they fire. the javanese commandant. the deer were all brought up to the commandant, who begged our acceptance of them. we thanked him, and took the two smallest. by the time we reached pritie they were skinned and hung up, ready to be put into the boats. the persons who had shot them had received their stone bolts again very little injured; the hole they make is enormous. we rewarded these people; but to the commandant we were really at a loss how to express our obligations. at length we thought of giving him some powder and shot, which was a present he seemed right glad to receive. i afterwards learnt the history of this excellent old javanese, and was surprised and grieved to hear that a person so universally esteemed had been banished from java and his family for some trifling political offence. his property was sold to purchase his freedom, and the proceeds were entrusted to the captain of a ship, who ran off with the whole, thus at once ruining a most worthy family, and reducing my good friend the commandant to the necessity of remaining in exile. i was glad to hear, on my second visit to timor, that he was still alive and well, though without any prospect of an alleviation to his condition. wishing him farewell, we left pritie with some regret. by dark we had crossed babao bay, and reached the ship at half-past eight. it may be as well to mention that, looking from coepang, the valley of pritie is situated immediately under timor peak, the highest over the northern shore of babao bay. a small hut, on a projecting shingle point, close to the westward, marks the landing place, where several canoes are generally to be seen hauled up. at high tide a boat can get in; but, as we have already said, there is a long mud flat at low-water. the timorees. the timorees do not bear the character of being very industrious; the small portion of land they cultivate is turned up in the following manner: a slight fence is placed round the part required for the purposes of agriculture and a drove of bullocks is driven furiously backwards and forwards over it; which very much resembles the mode adopted for thrashing corn in some parts of south america. the rajahs of the western portion of timor receive their appointment from the resident at coepang; and their installation i am told is rather a grand affair. nearly all the timorees speak malay, a soft pleasant-sounding tongue, apparently easy to be acquired; but there were few of the coepang people that spoke the native language. some of the timor customs are singular: if a woman, for example, dies in childbirth, she is buried on the spot where she breathes her last. dutch settlement in new guinea. during our stay at coepang i met the doctor of the dutch settlement at triton bay, on the west coast of new guinea. he gave me a very poor account of the inhabitants. the dutch settlers, he says, can scarcely venture out of the fort; as the natives have bows and arrows, as well as muskets, with which they are excellent marksmen. their firearms they obtain in exchange for birds of paradise, tortoise-shell and birds-nests, from vessels from the arru, and other islands in the eastern archipelago. when a vessel arrives on the coast they flock down from the interior to trade, which cannot be done without an interpreter. it is even then attended with great risk, owing to the extreme treachery of the natives. knives, stained blue, and cotton goods are in great request; but, although they of aware of the superiority of europeans, they will not on any account allow them to live in their country. the inhabitants, however, are better disposed on the shores of great bay, a deep indentation on the north-east side of the island, where great quantities of nutmeg grow. on the th the mangles arrived from sydney by the outer route through torres strait, having lost all her anchors, and been nearly wrecked in a south-east gale near halfway island. she was commanded by the same master, mr. carr, to whom i have before alluded as having given the first information concerning the survivors of the crew of the charles eaton. island of rottee. the next afternoon we weighed, and the following morning anchored, the water being deep, close in near tykale inlet, on the south-west side of rottee, for observations,* and for the purpose of better determining the position of pulo douw, and the other islands in its neighbourhood. (*footnote. they placed the south point of the inlet in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of coepang.) an extensive coral flat fronts this part of rottee, connecting it with the small islands lying off it. we got from the natives some shells of a kind of small green mussel of a very peculiar shape. the old men from whom i got them was making a meal from some rare shell-fish. he did not understand the value of money; and, strange to say, not a word of the malay language. the same was the case with all his companions. at the part of samow i visited the people all understood it, which is very remarkable, as only a narrow strait separates the islands. in this state of ignorance they may perhaps be purposely kept. i here recognised several australian shrubs and palms. the rock of which this port of rottee is formed appeared of a madreporic nature, scattered about in huge blocks. at a little distance from the water it formed low broken cliffs from twenty to thirty feet in length; these were everywhere undermined by the sea, from which the land here was evidently emerging. i noticed several deserted huts and broken walls or fences, which bore the appearance of having had much labour bestowed on them at some time or other. they added much to the lonely appearance of the place, for there is nothing that imparts so great an air of desolation to a scene as the signs that it has once been inhabited by man. tracts which have never before been trodden by human foot may be gazed on with pleasurable emotions; but there are always melancholy associations connected with a spot which our fellow-creatures have once inhabited and abandoned. the natives we saw belonged to the southern side of tykale inlet. they were occupied in looking after some weirs, from the size and number of which it would appear that they chiefly live on fish. jewellers of pulo douw. the inhabitants of pulo douw are a small wandering tribe from savu, chiefly jewellers, as the resident at coepang informed me. it is a strange place for them to take up their abode in; perhaps they do not like the idea of living under a rajah. they are, i believe, beautiful workmen; but with them all is not gold that glitters. there are plenty of coconuts in the island, but little water; the landing at all times is bad. when at coepang we saw some specimens of the gold, collected after heavy rains from the washings of the hills, and brought down for barter to the merchants in grains enclosed in small lengths of bamboo, containing each from six to eighteen drams. thirty miles south-west of diely, also, are some mines of virgin copper. chapter . . sail from rottee. search for shoal. dampier's archipelago. examination of coast. strange weather. natives. passage between delambre and huiy islands. proceed to montebello isles. description of them. barrow's island. tryal rocks. new kangaroo. abundance of turtle. new wallaby. sail for swan river. find ritchie's reef. islands between barrow's and north-west cape. table of soundings. swan river native. anchor under rottnest. vocabulary. erect beacons. bad weather. habits of a native dog. geological observations. sail from swan river. error in position of cape naturaliste. king george's sound. appearance of bald head. princess royal harbour. origin of settlement. town of albany. salubrity of climate. excursion into interior. course a kangaroo. pitfalls. herds of kangaroos. rich country. the hay river. return to albany. departure for south australia. discover an island. death of a seaman. position of neptune isles. kangaroo, althorp and quoin islands. holdfast road. adelaide. description of country. governor gawler's policy. visit the port. mr. eyre's expedition. hardships of overlanders. cannibalism. meet captain sturt. native schools. system of education. sail for sydney. squalls. error in coast. bass strait. arrive at sydney. leaving rottee we passed, soon after dark, round the western end of pulo douw, and stood for the position of a shoal reported by mr. lewis of the colonial schooner, isabella, to be in latitude degrees minutes south, and longitude degrees minutes east. our inducement to search for this shoal was the fact of its being supposed to lie in the direct route of vessels sailing between timor and the west coast of australia. but after searching from the th to the th, and sounding repeatedly without getting bottom, we came to the conclusion that it did not exist. breakers could have been seen at least ten miles from the beagle's masthead, as there was a considerable swell from the south-west. light winds. on the th we were in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east. after one of those stagnant calms so frequently met with near the equator, we got a light westerly breeze on the morning of the th. towards midnight it freshened, veering from south-west by south to west-south-west with some rather sharp rain squalls. it appears that the westerly winds had already set in, and that the calm we experienced on the th was an unoccupied space between the easterly and westerly winds. there are few parts of the globe where light winds prevail so much as on the north-west coast of new holland, particularly between the latitudes of and degrees, and from one to two hundred miles from the land. they are, however, excepting in the months of january, february, and march, from the eastward, south-east in the morning and east in the afternoon. these winds prevented us from making the coast on the eastward of depuch island; and as we had failed in getting a supply of provisions at timor, we were compelled to relinquish the plan of continuing the examination of that part of the coast between the turtle islands and roebuck bay. bezout island. the beagle was consequently anchored under bezout island, one of the eastern isles of dampier's archipelago, and boats were sent to examine the coast on the southward of cape lambert. it may, perhaps, be worthy of remark, that should a vessel be brought by any chance to this dreary part of the world in may, june, or july, anchorages exposed to easterly winds should be left at or before daylight--that being the time they set in; by noon all is again quiet. bezout island is of the same formation as depuch; and so are many of the broken ridges, with bare stony summits, of a dark brown hue, on the main near cape lambert, trending south-south-west. a more dreary sterile country can scarcely be seen; yet it still maintains inhabitants. august . the weather has been truly strange for the last four days. the winds, instead of being easterly have been from south-west to north-west, light with the former during the mornings, and moderate with the latter in the evenings. on this day they were from all quarters, with distant thunder in the north-west, and several rain squalls. in the night it settled at east, a fresh breeze bringing with it fine weather. in connection with our former remarks on striking vicissitudes in the weather occurring near the change of the moon, we should mention that it was new moon the day following. the material for the chart collected in this part consists of the main from below picard island to nearly twenty miles west of cape lambert, with the neighbouring islands, an extent of nearly forty-five miles. the part near picard island was carefully examined by mr. forsyth. he reported the main to the south-south-west of that island, forming the head of the bay between cape lambert and depuch, to be extensive flats of mud and sand, over which the sea sometimes passed. between picard and cape lambert the shore is cut up by mangrove creeks. on a hill up one of these, several small kangaroos were seen. near the cape mr. forsyth perceived twenty-seven natives, seven of whom were children, in one party. delambre island. on the th we crossed over to delambre island, on which a large party landed in the afternoon. a few turtle were here taken, of a different kind from any we had seen before, and apparently a cross between the hawk's bill and the green turtle; several nests were also found, in one of which were eggs. this island terminates, like bezout island, to the northward, in cliffs about feet high, with deep water close to; on the east and west sides it is fronted by a reef nearly a mile in extent; but we could see no traces of those lying three miles to the north-north-west of the north-west point, laid down by captain king. the passage between huiy island and delambre is five miles wide, though clear for two miles only, and in working out we found that it had a very uneven bottom, over which a two-knot tide causes heavy ripplings. we noticed that a hill, lying nine miles to the south-west of bezout island, called in the chart round-backed hill, bearing between south degrees east, and south degrees east, clears the reefs on either side the channel; and that the same hill bearing south degrees west leads between bezout and delambre, and south degrees west clears the reef off the eastern side of the latter. the montebello group. from delambre we proceeded to the montebello islands, principally in order to set at rest two points of great interest, namely, the position of ritchie's reef, and of the long lost tryal rocks. on the st, in the afternoon, we anchored in fathoms on the eastern side of tremouille island, a cliffy islet off the south-east end of which bore south degrees east two miles. the tide was ebbing and setting to the north-north-east two knots an hour. we found the montebello group to be confined by a coral reef encircling it. the two principal islands are tremouille and hermite islands. the fact that these and their neighbours are not separated in the charts fully evinced the necessity of our visit. leaving a boat to examine them, the ship proceeded towards the northern end of barrow's island, being anxious to avoid the southerly winds to which the anchorage off tremouille is exposed. these usually commenced at midnight, blowing from south-west, freshening and veering to south by a.m., and by about moderating at south-south-east. on our way to barrow's island they were so violent as to cause the ship to drive with two anchors ahead, there appearing to be no holding ground, but simply a coating of sand over a rocky ledge. during the prevalence of these winds the temperature varied from to degrees. near barrow's island, on our passage, i shot (from the quarter-boat) the largest sea-snake ever killed. it is figured and described in the appendix, by mr. j.e. gray, as hydrus major, and measured eight feet one inch in length, by three inches broad; the colour was a dark yellow: several smaller ones striped brown and white were also seen. barrow's island. we found that from the montebello group a long series of reefs and small islands, the largest and most central of which is called lowendal, extends towards barrow's island, leaving a winding channel* along the north side of the latter. near the centre of the western side of the reef is a cluster which proved to be the long-lost tryal rocks; the middle and largest of which is in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes west of swan river.** the reef continues along the eastern side of barrow's island, extending off three miles; our anchorage was consequently little more than that distance from the shore. we examined the northern and eastern sides; the former is composed of red sandstone cliffy projections, separated by sandy bays, fronted for nearly two miles by a coral reef, partly dry at low-water; but the south part of the eastern side becomes very low; and where the cliffs end there is a remarkable valley trending westwards. there were recent marks of the sea many feet above the ordinary reach of the tides, bespeaking occasional strong south-east winds. a number of stony-topped hills, from to feet in height, were scattered over the northern parts of the island. in the valleys was a little sandy soil, nourishing the spinifex, and a stunted kind of wood sufficiently large for fuel. (*footnote. lowendal island, bearing east, leads into it.) (**footnote. we recognised them from a sketch furnished by the admiralty, and made in by a dutch sloop sent in search of them from batavia. they placed them eight degrees west from the coast of new holland. if we take leagues instead of degrees it would bring them near their actual distance from the shore. van keulen says they were seen in the ship vaderland getrouw, and found to be in degrees seconds south. in they were seen by captain joss, of the danish ship frederisberg castel, who places them in degrees minutes south. it was by his description that i recognised them beyond a doubt, although his longitude would place them thirteen degrees more to the westward, and near the position they have occupied for years in the charts. the centre of them bears north by east five miles and a quarter from cape dupuis, the north-west point of barrow's island.) new kangaroo. we found a new kind of kangaroo and wallaby on barrow's island; but the only specimen obtained of the former was destroyed through the neglect of the person in whose charge it was left. it was a buck, weighing fifty pounds, of a cinnamon colour on the back and a dirty white on the belly; the hair was fine and long; the head of a peculiar shape, resembling a dog's, with a very blunt nose; the forearms were very short; the hind feet cushioned like those inhabiting rocky ground. the does appeared to be much lighter; but all were very wary and scarce. from the number of red sandhills, too, scattered over the island, they were difficult to be seen at a distance. from our description of this specimen it has been named osphranter isabellinus. with the wallaby we were more fortunate, mr. bynoe and myself succeeding in knocking over four, weighing from five to eight pounds; they also had blunt noses, and were of a light brown colour, quite different from those on the abrolhos. two iguanas, measuring seven feet in length, and nearly black, striped slightly with white, were also killed here. we did not find any surface water; everything wore a dry parched appearance. no traces of natives were discovered, except some charred pieces of wood. indeed i may remark that we saw signs of fire on every part of the continent we visited. from the south extremity of the island a long reef trended in the direction of the mainland, where captain king traced it extending off some distance, thus connecting with the shore the whole of these islands, which seem to lie in a line with each other, like the various parts of a submerged piece of land. the small isles, especially between the montebello group and barrow's island, have all the same direction; so that it seems fair to conclude that they were once a part of the main, being in fact fragments of a promontory, forming a gulf similar to exmouth gulf, lying on the south-west of it. i had been led to expect this from the fact of our finding the flood-stream coming from the north-east, whereas the direction of it in the offing is north-north-west. supply of turtles. barrow's island, being about twelve miles broad and twenty long, would, in the event of a penal settlement being formed in this neighbourhood, make a good second norfolk island. on leaving we brought away with us seven tons of turtles from the abundant supplies its shores afforded. many of them we gave to our friends at swan river on our arrival. we cannot quit this island without reminding our readers that it was named after the distinguished secretary to the admiralty, who has just retired from office after a period of service of nearly half a century, during which time he was the promoter of all geographical research, and mainly instrumental in founding a society which is of growing importance to great britain, and who has established a lasting reputation both by his travels and his literary productions. on our return to tremouille island mr. fitzmaurice joined us, having completed the examination of the montebello group, a large proportion of chart material, in a very short space of time, considering the number of small islands, which would render it an endless labour to attempt any description, further than that they lie something in the shape of a scythe. ritchie's reef. a hill feet high, the loftiest point of the group, rises near the centre of tremouille, the north-east island, off the north-west end of which a ledge extends in the direction of an out-lying reef, bearing north degrees west (magnetic) nine miles and a half, which places it in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes west of swan river; or degrees minutes east. this could be no other than that which we had so often looked for as ritchie's reef, as our former tracks to the westward had assured us that it did not lie in that direction. in latitude it agreed with the position given to it on the charts, but in longitude it differed considerably, lying full half a degree to the eastward. it therefore appeared not to be a discovery of lieutenant ritchie's, as it had been not only seen previously by the french, who had considered it as a reef extending off tremouille island, but many years before by captain clerke, who placed it in latitude degrees minutes south, nine or ten miles north-west (magnetic) from what he thought to be rosemary island, but which it is very evident was tremouille. the name then of clerke's reef should be given it instead of ritchie's. wallaby shooting. mr. fitzmaurice having seen plenty of wallaby on the larger islands, a party of us went on shore in the evening, after securing observations for the rates of the chronometers on a small islet called flag islet, near the centre of the rocky cluster fronting the eastern side of hermite island. this can be recognised by it alone having a sandy point on the south-west end, which we placed in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of swan river. the time of high-water here at full and change, was about o'clock, when the tide rose fourteen feet; the flood-stream came from the northward. we found that tremouille was as scantily supplied with vegetation as barrow's island; in one or two places was growing a stunted kind of wood, sufficient for fuel for a small-sized ship; but there was no sign of water. the wallaby, which were very numerous, must have got their supply of moisture from the copious dews. they were found lying very close in the wiry prickly grass, allowing us to kick them out, when they went off at speed, affording excellent sport, quite equal to any rabbit shooting; among three guns we managed, in a couple of hours, to bag nearly twenty. it was quite a new kind of wallaby, and has been classed, from a specimen we brought away, as lagorchester conspicillata. it had a blunt nose, similar to those at barrow's island, and was about the same size, though its colour was lighter, and it had a back exactly like a european hare. the tail tapered away like a rat's, and the flesh was by no means good to eat, tasting very strong; this was the only instance in which we found wallaby at all unpalatable. although our exploration in this neighbourhood did not lead to our finding any of the land fertile, yet from the new feature our chart will give to this part of the coast, the necessity of the beagle's visit will be evident. our object had been satisfactorily attained, inasmuch as we had cleared up the doubts respecting ritchie's reef, and the long-lost tryal rocks. we had also been so fortunate as to add to the stores of natural history a new kangaroo and two kinds of wallaby, besides a large water-snake. ritchie's reef. september . we left tremouille island in the morning, and passing round the north side, soon came in sight of clerke's, alias ritchie's reef. it was our intention to have gone round the northern end of it, but the tide setting two knots an hour forced us to the southward. in a line midway between it and tremouille the depth was and fathoms. the reef was nearly three miles long, in a north-east and south-west direction, and one mile and a half wide; the centre being partly dry. two miles and a half south-west by west of it we crossed a patch of fathoms, with and fathoms on each side, the northern part of hermite island bearing south degrees east fourteen miles, soon after which it was lost sight of from the poop. the next afternoon a westerly wind brought us again in with the land; and in the evening we tacked in six fathoms, three miles and a half to the northward of thevenard island, which we found to be connected with a reef we discovered in the morning, lying eleven miles north by east from it; inside this reef the water looked deep and smooth. the island is a narrow strip lying east and west, about three miles; the west end we made in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east. from the number of islands i saw to the south of thevenard, i think the reef continues to maison island, near the north-west cape. the outer one, seen from the beagle, is in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east. i myself believe the whole extent from maison to barrow's island is occupied by islets and reefs, probably all connected. we know, in fact, from captain king, that a reef extends sixteen miles off the south end of barrow's island. result of soundings. seventeen miles in a north-west by north direction from thevenard island we had fathoms, fine white sand, having deepened gradually from six fathoms three miles north of it. in june of this year, working to the north-east we had fathoms three miles west by south of that position, and fathoms six miles north-west of it; beyond this no bottom was found with and fathoms.* (*footnote. the following table is the result of other outer soundings obtained in the beagle, showing how far the bank of soundings extends off the western coast of australia. column : latitude south (degrees, minutes). column : depth in fathoms. column : quality of bottom. column : distance from nearest land. : : fine white sand and rock : rottnest or garden island miles. : : fine grey sand : main abreast miles. : : fine grey sand : main abreast miles. : : fine grey sand : south point of shark's bay miles. : : fine white sand : thevenard island miles. : : fine white sand : tremouille island miles. it would thus appear that a ship in less than fathoms off the west shore of the continent would be within forty miles of the land; and nearly the same distance from the islands fronting it, when in about fathoms between the latitudes of degrees minutes south and degrees minutes south. the bank of soundings extends further off the north-west coast, as eighty-five miles north of depuch island we had only fathoms, fine white sand. in a south direction from that position the water shoaled rapidly to fathoms in fifteen miles; but very gradually afterwards to fathoms in fifty miles. this slope of the bank was determined by several boards in working to the westward.) return to swan river. the glimpse we got of the string of islands lying between barrow's island and the north-west cape, was quite unexpected, as the next land we had intended seeing was swan river. after rounding the north-west cape, we had the usual southerly winds, but a strong breeze from the north-west overtook us in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east, and shortened the passage, bringing us on the th to an anchorage under the east end of rottnest island, where we found a current sweeping round to the southward, at the rate of nearly a knot an hour. there had not been any previously felt; but in latitude degrees south and longitude degrees east, two days before the north-wester, it set two knots to the northward; another instance of how entirely the currents are governed by the winds off this coast. native talent. our swan river native had not obtained so much information of his wild countrymen to the northward as miago. still he had made the most of what he saw; and his visit to timor crowned all. the facility and rapidity with which he could make a song about anyone whom he might choose as the subject of his poetical fancy, was very amusing; he must have equalled many of the italian improvisatori. he had also got a very good idea of where the ship had been since leaving swan river, in his head. the drawings of his countrymen on depuch island had greatly hurt his vanity, whilst they excited his emulation; and always afterwards, whenever he could get hold of paper or pencil, he was trying to excel them, which, from the improvement he made, i have no doubt he would have shortly done. during the time he and his townsman miago were with us, the following vocabulary was made; the words from port essington have been furnished by mr. earl. column : english. column : port essington. column : swan river. crow : - : woordang. emu : angorok : wadye. eggs : olajuk : noorago. shags : - : mere. kangaroo : abbugi : yewart. female kangaroo : - : waroo. wallaby: - : wallyo. bandicoot or rat : - : condee. very small kangaroo, larger than a wallaby : - : goora. ringtail possum : - : gnoorah. large possum : - : goomal. --tailed possum : - : mooroo. native dog : nukakoin : dudah. the tail : - : diar. black swan : - : coolecha. duck : cormoro : oonanah. mountain duck : - : kooracha. wombat : - : koolemah. magpie : - : gooraba. brown chatterer : - : telaho fishhawk : - : undoorah. eagle : - : mulurah. pigeon : - : woodah. quail : windalo : barrabberry. tortoise : - : booye, or boorje. mullett : - : kalkurrie. cobler : - : corallia. small blue bird : - : deldillia. snake : ambeetj : waggile. sun : muree : murgah. moon : allee : magee. stars : argadba : nungarah. clouds : - : marah. wind : mailo : curajahl. a bird : aluk-aluk : walta. sand : onak : coo-yah. head : wokbok : cuttah. eyes : ira : mael. nose : anjinmul : moolyah. ears : alaijar : tungah. mouth : angaikbirig : dah. chin : - : nungah. face : anmarura : yoodah. hair : angbal : cutap. eyebrows : - : mingart. eyelashes : - : cunbah. teeth : anjigi : nalgo. tongue : - : dalang. neck : - : wardo. throat : - : daragert. shoulders : - : wundardah. arms : - : wango. armpit : - : nulyar. collar bone : - : chelee wundardah. arm, upper : - : maraga. arm, lower : - : aye yung. wrist : - : mardalliah. thumb : gamar : marang-unga. first finger : - : mara-mamal. second finger : - : mara-cudejip. third finger : - : mara-cudejip. little finger : - : mara-colun. nails : - : bere. back : - : goon goh. loins : - : moondo. hips : - : corlge. buttocks : - : mooro. hip joint : - : -. thigh : - : dahwool. knee : - : bonnet. leg : adjirt-adjirt : mattah. hams : - : yallee. ankle : - : bilgah heel : - : geenang hooran. foot : ingalmulbil : geenang coongoh. instep : - : geenang guerack. toes : rujut-bullal : chenang ungah. breast : - : undoo. belly : angonidjark : cabollo. breast (woman) : - : bebe. navel : - : bilye. woman : wari-comomo : babelyah. man : iwala : medah. ... to run, stoop, hide, crouch, when about to rain : kiddi kit mya warra. to go a long distance : maran dugon bordeneuk. to cut up an animal of any kind for roasting : dedayah killa, kuirderkan, ki ti kit. to cover up, to keep warm : borga koorejalah kunah. for roasting : ki ti kit. to cut up : kurerkna. give me some water : yahago cabe. i'm very thirsty : gangah. to carry the pickaninee : colanganee wandung. here carry the pickaninee (strong expression) : colang maranga barang wandung. give me some money : anyah (or ana) yunagh, uddah. no money, go away : neundoh barang gerangah. you have money : anyah yungagah uddah. i go to sleep : unyah begang undagah. to sneeze : neyetta. a tree : boono. vegetation generally : jibbah. grass : bobo. long grass : bobo wal-yur-deg. names of snakes of swan river. waggile. noo no. si dubat. wang go. bije modo. cocongorun. beara. poolyar. uur-nah. iguana. aunderah. lizards of abrolhos, as well as swan river. uundung. jinerarah. jeregarah. ... when the weather became fine, we ran over to gage road. erect beacons at rottnest. october . we again visited rottnest in the ship (lieutenant roe the surveyor-general, accompanying us) for the purpose of erecting beacons on the rocks lying off the points of thomson's bay, as marks for leading clear to the eastward of the champion rock. we were happy to have an opportunity of rendering this important service to the colonists, who acknowledged it in a very handsome manner. another object in crossing over to rottnest was to avoid a north-west breeze which came on the next day; on the th we again returned to gage road. anecdotes of a wild dog. whilst we were at swan river this time, a wish i had long entertained of procuring a pup of the wild breed of dogs* of the country, was gratified. it was a bitch, and left in the hollow of a tree by her mother who had just escaped. knowing that they hunt kangaroos in packs, and have excellent noses, i was anxious to try if something useful might not be made out of a cross with the fox-hound; and with this view on my arrival in england, i gave her to my cousin, mr. g. lort phillips; but she died in a fit soon after coming into his possession. whilst with me she had two litters of pups by a pointer, three each time, the first at two years, and the second after an interval of ten months. at these times she was particularly savage, and would take the opportunity of paying off any old grudge she might have against those who had ill-used her--for she never forgot an injury--by stealing after them and snapping at their heels. she was very much attached to her young; one day i took her on shore and she kept catching birds to bring to them, supplying them, as an over-fond mother will do, with a superfluity of good things. (*footnote. i am informed by colonel owen phillips, th b.n.i., formerly assistant-resident at macassar, that he saw four wild dogs brought to sir stamford raffles at java, which bore a very strong resemblance to the animals mentioned in the text.) i was very much interested in this animal, and took a great deal of pains to tame her, though i never fully succeeded. her nose, as i have said, was excellent; and though quite mute she could hunt very well, as i found by repeated trials when out rabbit shooting. she would never leave a hole, working at it with her feet and teeth until she got at the inmate. these qualities confirmed me in my opinion that a cross with the fox-hound would produce a good result. as an illustration of her keenness of smell, i may mention that one day when we were lying in the tamar river, she winded some sheep on the bank, and was instantly overboard and after them, swimming so rapidly that she had reached the land, and, though herself only the size of a large dog-fox, had pulled down a fine ram before a party could get on shore to prevent her. when they landed, instead of trying to make her escape, she slunk into the boat. this freak of hers cost me five pounds. peculiarities of the wild dog. in cold weather her coat was always best, and the brush on her tail most perfect. she was of a light tan colour, with a little white on the tip of the tail, and a few black hairs sprinkled in the brush; there was a little black also about her face. her step was light and stealthy; and in her eye meekness and cunning were curiously blended. though very shy of man, when once taken up in the arms she lay as quiet as a cat; but with all dogs she was very quarrelsome, fighting savagely with a greyhound bitch i had on board, and several times nearly killing a small dog. it was always difficult to catch her, as she would generally manage to escape either between the legs or by springing over the shoulders, except when we were going on shore; then she would allow herself very quietly to be put into the boat; but on our return the difficulty was how to get her off, and it became necessary to pounce upon her suddenly. she was never heard to bark, the only noise she ever made being the dismal howl peculiar to her breed, and this only when tied up, which consequently, for the sake of peace, was but of short duration, and always had to be done with a chain, as she would instantly bite through a rope. her mischievous propensity was remarkable, as she often stole into the officers' cabin and pulled books down from the shelves, tearing the backs off and then destroying the leaves. as an instance of her sure-footedness and activity i may mention that i have seen her leap twice her own height from the stem of the midship boat, in endeavouring to seize fowls or meat that was hung on the mainstay, always alighting on the point she sprang from. at other times she would attempt to crawl up it like a cat, in order to steal what was there. her proneness to thieving was very great; i have frequently seen her eating stolen things when she would refuse what was offered her; it was never safe to take her near poultry. geological observations. whilst in this locality i may take the opportunity of introducing a few notes on the geological formation of the country in the neighbourhood of swan river, furnished by mr. bynoe: the most remarkable feature is the absence or scantiness of the secondary and transition rocks; all the tertiary appears to be of the newest kind, and to lie in juxtaposition with the primary. this character forms the sandy margin from the darling range, or chain of granite hills, nearly feet high to the sea, in the immediate vicinity of which the sand is bounded by a calcareous form of limestone, and, where jutting into the sea and forming perpendicular or overhanging cliffs, the faces are thrown into a beautiful kind of fretwork (see volume ) of more compactness than the surrounding mass. in most places about the neighbourhood of fremantle, shells are found of the existing species along the coast, firmly impacted in its substance, particularly a large species of buccinum, as well as the strombus. this calcareous formation has been traced as far north as shark's bay; it crosses over to the abrolhos group, there frequently lying over a coral formation, and forming in many places cavities of a cylindrical figure, of some few feet in depth. beds of clays, varying in quality and colour, are to be met with on sandy margins, containing particles of gypsum. on the darling range is found a red cellular structure capping the granite, assuming all the appearance of having been subjected to fire; it extends also in the low country about that neighbourhood. slate of a primitive character is found on the canning river. the mountain chain or darling range runs nearly in the direction of north and south. on the eastern side of it, close to the base, are several groups of isolated conical hills, from a half to one mile apart, extending from the william river to the tugee district, a distance of about one hundred and twenty miles, bearing on their summits strong evidences of ignition. the country farther on to the eastward falls into sandy plains, similar to those on the western side, and intersected by watercourses; during the summer, pools remain, and at that time become remarkably salt. on the mountains, as well as on the plains, scattered pebbles in patches are to be met with; they appear to contain iron, being highly magnetic. sail from swan river. from the very debilitated state of some of the crew, from dysenteric affections contracted at timor, we were not able to leave swan river before the th of october. at noon on the th, cape naturaliste bore south degrees east three miles; according to our observations it was in latitude degrees minutes seconds south four miles further south than it is placed in the charts, though in longitude ( degrees minutes seconds west of swan river) it appeared pretty correct. some reefs have been reported three or four miles off the north-east side of it: but we could see nothing of them, and had a depth of and fathoms. we got soundings of and fathoms in passing along a few miles from the coast towards cape leeuwin, in the neighbourhood of which we looked in vain for a rock called the rambler, that had been supposed to be about twelve miles south-west of a remarkable white patch close to the northward of the cape, the locality of which it always serves to show. twenty miles west of cape leeuwin the depth was fathoms. passing along the south coast we found the white-topped rocks near cape chatham to be in longitude degrees minutes seconds east of swan river. they are not only remarkable in themselves, but like the eclipse islands, are admirably situated for showing a ship's position when in with the coast. peaked hill. we entered king george's sound on november nd. i should here observe that bald head is connected with the main by a low piece of land, in the centre of which stands a small peak; this gives the head, from the offing to the southward, the appearance of an island. in the view annexed the reader will perceive a representation of the conspicuous headland called peaked hill, with its peculiar profile outline, lying about five miles south-west of bald head. proceeding up the sound we anchored in princess royal harbour, mount clarence bearing north-north-east, and the south end of michaelmas island just open of point possession. the entrance to this great basin is by a narrow channel in the north-east corner; a long spit extending off the inner western entrance-point forms the chief impediment. few vessels escape touching it; but although the passage is thus contracted the beagle was worked through both ways. inside, there is water sufficient for the largest ship in the navy; but only for a limited space, a short distance within the entrance--merely a hollow scooped out towards the north-west corner of the harbour. albany. here, just above a dazzling white sandy beach, a straggling village points out the township of albany. mounts clarence and melville reared their bare granitic heads on either side, and huge fantastically-shaped boulders were strewn over their slopes. the origin of this settlement may not be generally known: it was first planned, in consequence of a report that the french were about to establish themselves there; which turned out to be the truth, for they had actually formed and abandoned a settlement before major lockyer arrived from sydney, in . the gang of convicts he brought with him was withdrawn, when albany became part of the government of western australia. among the few improvements that had taken place since our visit in , were a jetty and a government storehouse. the latter was close to the spot where the observations were made, and where i noticed some trappean dykes intersecting the granite in a north-north-west direction. i observed the same circumstance at simon's bay, cape of good hope. i was sorry to see that the infant town of albany had made so little progress, especially as it possesses by far the finest harbour in western australia. there is no doubt that ultimately its great natural advantages will be developed; but it is somewhat surprising that they have not already been turned to better account. though there is not a very great extent of good land in the neighbourhood, there is amply sufficient to hold out encouragement to the settler; especially when we consider that this is one of the most healthy portions of the continent, that it is never visited by hot winds, and that the thermometer is rarely below or above degrees. this evenness of temperature at all times of the year is very remarkable, and renders the spot particularly suitable for invalids, many persons coming even from swan river to renovate themselves. if our east indians were aware of what a salubrious climate they might enjoy at king george's sound, they would soon be seen flocking thither to repair the constitutions they have injured on the banks of the ganges and the indus. our object in visiting this place was to obtain a meridian distance; and between the observations for rating the chronometers i availed myself of an offer of lieutenant warburton, commanding the detachment of the st regiment, doing duty there, to accompany him on a visit to the out-stations. we were joined by a person from the settlement, who owned some kangaroo dogs, and by three or four natives. leaving albany, we reached the foot of a large clear piece of land called the great plain, about fifteen miles distant, and a little off the swan river road. burning the bush. on our way we met a party of natives engaged in burning the bush, which they do in sections every year. the dexterity with which they manage so proverbially a dangerous agent as fire is indeed astonishing. those to whom this duty is especially entrusted, and who guide or stop the running flame, are armed with large green boughs, with which, if it moves in a wrong direction, they beat it out. their only object in these periodical conflagrations seems to be the destruction of the various snakes, lizards, and small kangaroos, called wallaby, which with shouts and yells they thus force from their covert, to be despatched by the spears or throwing-sticks of the hunting division. the whole scene is a most animated one, and the eager savage, every muscle in action and every faculty called forth, then appears to the utmost advantage, and is indeed almost another being. i can conceive no finer subject for a picture than a party of these swarthy beings engaged in kindling, moderating, and directing the destructive element, which under their care seems almost to change its nature, acquiring, as it were, complete docility, instead of the ungovernable fury we are accustomed to ascribe to it. dashing through the thick underwood, amidst volumes of smoke--their dark active limbs and excited features burnished by the fierce glow of the fire--they present a spectacle which it rarely falls to our lot to behold, and of which it is impossible to convey any adequate idea by words. course a kangaroo. after tethering out our horses and making our breakwind for the night, we went out in the evening to look for a kangaroo. i had never as yet seen one put fairly at his speed on open ground before a dog, but this evening i was fully gratified; for we soon found a couple lying out on our side of the plain, and by crawling up through the wood we managed to slip the dogs about five hundred yards from them. away they went, leaving a stream of dust in their wake. their habitual curving direction soon gave us a broadside view; and a splendid course it was. they ran horizontally, no leap or hop being perceptible. at first the dogs closed rapidly, but for some time afterwards no change in their relative positions took place, each doing his best. the kangaroos held their own well, until they had reached nearly the other side of the plain, a distance of about two miles, when the dogs began gradually to draw on them, and at length, after a turn or two, the smaller was run into just before entering the wood. it was a fine young buck, weighing about pounds, and made a capital supper for our party. the natives cooked the tail for us in their own way, roasting it with the hair on, the best mode of dressing it, except in soup. next morning we found that our sable friends had eaten so much of the kangaroo that there was great difficulty in getting them to move. however, they at length consented to accompany us, and we proceeded five or six miles further on the swan river road, to a place where a party of soldiers were stationed. here the temptation of a fresh supply of kangaroo proved irresistible, and with the exception of one, who was lieutenant warburton's servant, the natives all left us to resume the pleasant occupation of eating. the gastronomic feats performed by these persons are really surprising; and in the work recently published by mr. eyre the reader will find some curious details on the subject. we now took a westerly direction, for a tract of good country lying about thirty-five miles from the sound, a little to the westward of the road to swan river. pitfalls for kangaroos. on our way we crossed several short trenches, cut by the natives for pitfalling kangaroos, which were here very numerous. they were dug across the runs of the animal, and covered with a slight layer of brush or grass, and were very narrow at the bottom, so that the prey could get no footing to bound out. herds of kangaroos. i have never, at any other place, seen similar contrivances resorted to by the aborigines; in this neighbourhood they have probably been suggested by the great abundance in which the kangaroo is found. i am certain there could scarcely have been less than a hundred in a herd. it was curious to observe them hopping along over the grass or underneath the trees, with the large males bringing up the rear of a certain number of does. we had several very beautiful courses, but the dogs being footsore were beaten on all occasions. i was very much pleased with this portion of the country: it quite resembles the park-like features of port phillip. we heard the kangaroos thumping the ground all night, as they hopped along round our bivouac, the heavier fall of the male being plainly distinguishable. it was now determined to shape a southward course for ungerup, one of lady spencer's farms on the hay river; and after laying down our position by a sort of dead reckoning i had kept to find the course, we started. soon after moving off, lieutenant warburton discovered that he had forgotten to leave some message or other at the station, and determined on sending back his native servant. but as he was out of the limits of his own tribe, it required some persuasion to induce him to go; and he was only prevailed on to do so by being allowed to carry his master's gun for protection. part of our road lay through a thick mahogany scrub; and as the horse i rode was a young unbroken one from the cape, i might perhaps with less trouble have tried to take an elephant straight with a snaffle bit in his mouth. the sameness of the trees in this part being very great it is difficult to hold a direct course; and if, after having chosen one to steer by, my attention happened to be taken off by a kangaroo starting up, i was always obliged to refer to the compass. we made the hay a mile or two above ungerup; it is there a small tortuous rivulet, with rich grassy banks, overhung by wide shady trees. the valley is narrow, sloping gently up on either side. if i had been pleased with the good piece of land just left, i was still more so with this; the mould was rich and fine: i did not believe there was land of such quality near the sound. lady spencer's farms. in passing another of lady spencer's farms, seven miles farther down the same river, we were glad to pocket a large piece of damper for our evening meal, which we made at our old bivouac near the great plain, where we found the native under the break-wind, which he had covered with another bough or two. next evening we got into albany, and on the morning of the th the beagle was running out of king george's sound. it was resolved that we should touch at south australia, to secure a good meridian distance by short stages between swan river and sydney. accordingly, on the morning of the th, we entered investigator strait, having been detained by strong easterly winds about a hundred and fifty miles to the westward of kangaroo island. whilst contending with them we discovered a small high rocky island, the summit of which we found to be in latitude degrees minutes south and in longitude degrees minutes east of swan river; it bore south degrees east nine miles from the high peak on greenly's island. the name of the beagle was bestowed upon it. at noon, as we entered the strait, we committed to the deep the body of nicholas lewis, seaman, who died of sickness contracted at timor. neptune isles. we kept close to the neptune isles, a low rocky group, the southernmost of which we give the position of; captain flinders, who passed too far to the northward, having not exactly determined it: it lies in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds east of swan river. these islands appear well adapted for a light-house. there was a strong indraught of a knot an hour into spencer's gulf. kangaroo island has no remarkable features; whilst althorpe and quoin islands are sufficiently striking to be recognized by anyone who has once seen them. on the morning of the th we anchored in holdfast road, in / fathoms, mount lofty,* a slight excrescence on the highest part of the range of hills eastwards, bearing north degrees east; a flagstaff at a straggling village under it pointed out the township of glenelg. at the foot of this we made our observations, which place it in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of sydney. (*footnote. this hill, bearing east, is a guide to holdfast road.) landing at glenelg we proceeded towards adelaide, which lay about six miles to the northward, in the centre of a rich plain, stretching from the foot of mount lofty to the sea, and contracting gradually to the southward, where beyond glenelg it rises into downs, increasing in height as they approach cape jervis, and ultimately blending with spurs thrown off from mount lofty range. adelaide itself is situated on the banks of the torrens, a very insignificant stream, or rather series of pools, in the dry season. adelaide. i have spoken, in a former chapter, of my astonishment at first seeing sydney; but certainly the same feeling was roused in a still greater degree by the first appearance of adelaide; although i was prepared for something great by what i had heard of the multitudes that had flocked thither from the mother country. in truth a noble city had in the course of four years sprung, as if by magic, from the ground, wearing such an appearance of prosperity and wealth that it seemed almost incredible it could have existed but for so short a time. governor gawler's policy. the fact is that this was mainly owing to the liberal expenditure of the governor, colonel gawler, who saw the policy at the earliest possible opportunity of making adequate preparation for the stream of population that was so rapidly flowing in. every public building was erected on a scale to suit the anticipated splendour of the colony, and in so substantial a manner, that it will be long ere another outlay becomes necessary. that this was the best line of conduct to adopt, most persons, on reflection, will acknowledge. in new zealand, for example, much of the disturbances that have arisen may be attributed to the fact of so many settlers arriving before sufficient preparation had been made for their reception. much fault has been found with colonel gawler's military display, as it is called; in other words, with his raising a corps of volunteers. but the necessity of this may be presumed from the facts, that sir charles napier, the conqueror of scinde, as we learn from his own pen, refused the government, because a military force was not to be sent with him; and that it has been found advisable to place a body of troops at the disposal of colonel gawler's successor. i paid a visit to the port, distant from the town about five miles, made easy by an excellent macadamized road, carried, in some places, on a causeway over a swamp, and forming a great and imperishable monument of the governor's enterprising spirit. the port reminded me of one of the quiet mangrove creeks on the north coast, except that it had only one bend, changing from a northerly to a south-westerly direction, which at certain times of the day renders it navigable, with a fair wind, each way. for instance, the seabreeze will take a vessel out through the northerly part, and next morning she will have the land breeze to carry her the rest of the distance; whilst, alternating, the same breeze serves to take ships in. the mouth of the port is well marked with black and white buoys; and a light vessel is moored off the entrance, with pilots in attendance; a red buoy is on the bar, where at high-water there is sometimes feet, but the tides are very irregular, being much higher with south-west winds; the general rise was about four feet. mr. eyre's expedition. we were very much pleased with the animated description we had of the departure of mr. eyre's expedition to the north; but what gave us particular satisfaction was the evidence afforded of how much the whole colony had the welfare of this enterprising little band at heart. i had not before seen in australia any place where the progress of discovery was so liberally forwarded, as the readers will at once learn from mr. eyre's book. one cause of this we may discover in the fact that the richness of the country immediately surrounding adelaide made them eager to ascertain its extent. indeed until this was known they were necessarily unsettled, as few liked to locate themselves permanently until the extent of the field within which they were to make their choice was determined. to what extent the colonists of south australia are indebted to the sacrifice of property, the loss of time, the bodily fatigue, and unceasing exertions of mr. eyre, i also leave the reader to gather from his own lucid narrative. the country has now been found to be almost hemmed in by sterile districts; and the good lands, contrary to our experience of the rest of the continent, to be nearly all in one spot. a number of enterprising colonists, therefore, concentrated within comparatively narrow limits, could not fail of developing the resources of the country, and of discovering what mineral treasures it may contain. the good encouragement it has lately received has, to a certain extent, assisted in bringing it back to the position of one of the most thriving colonies in australia; though we must attribute much of its present prosperity to the impulse originally given by the policy of colonel gawler, which, though it may have caused a temporary financial embarrassment, is now making its happy effects sensibly felt. the overlanders. the eastern extent of the country of south australia was determined by the overlanders, as they call the gentlemen who bring stock from new south wales. the first that came across were messrs. bonny and horden. an interesting account of them will be found in captain grey's work. many of these pioneers of civilization endure extraordinary hardships during their expeditions; as an example of which i may mention that mr. bonny, in endeavouring to find a new route, was compelled to kill a calf and drink its blood to save his life. on this occasion water was found by the cattle, turned loose for that purpose. another gentleman, who had lost his way in the bush, had recourse to a curious expedient to assuage his burning thirst, namely, to bleed the horse he rode, which was the means of preserving both himself and the quadruped also. on our arrival in adelaide the town was full of the overlanders, and everyone was engaged in buying or selling stock, which gave the place quite an animated appearance. from one of these gentlemen i learned undeniable proofs that the australians indulge in cannibalism. he had seen in a woman's bag the hand of a child that had been partly eaten. since that time the matter has been placed beyond a doubt by the report of the protector, mr. sievewright, who witnessed with his own eyes a most horrible feast off the body of a young woman.* it is extraordinary that a custom so remarkable should have so long wanted confirmation. (*footnote. see mr. eyre's discoveries in central australia.) captain sturt. at adelaide i had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of the intrepid traveller captain sturt, who has since again taken the field, endeavouring to penetrate to the interior of the australian continent, and to remove the veil of mystery that now hangs over it. from him i learnt that the same strange kind of bird, a species of rail, that once visited swan river, also made its appearance in south australia on one occasion. i have already alluded to this remarkable circumstance in a former chapter. during our stay we visited mount lofty, placed by our observations in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of sydney. the cool air of this range, the greatest elevation of which is feet, was very pleasant after a ride over the heated plain. i was agreeably surprised to find in the heart of the hills a most comfortable inn, where our party sat down to a luncheon of lamb chops and green peas, with a beautiful cool bottle of sherry. such is the march of civilization! to the north of our road was a lead mine, which will ultimately be a source of great riches to the colony; for which, indeed, nature has done much in the way of mineral productions. native schools. i was greatly pleased with the apparent success that had attended the schools of the german missionaries; and especially with the aptitude for learning displayed by both boys and girls; but my pleasure would have been much increased had i not felt convinced that the system of education adopted, possessed many serious defects. in the first place, sufficient care did not seem to have been taken to recommend the schools to the natives, and to induce them to send their children voluntarily. that it was necessary to resort to some means of effecting this beyond mere persuasion, will be evident when we recollect how useful even the youngest member of an australian family is to its parents. almost as soon as the child begins to walk, certainly as soon as it is capable of receiving instruction, light tasks, even in the hunting expeditions, are allotted to it; so that, to remove either boys or girls, and take them to school, is, in reality, to deprive their friends of assistance, which to them is valuable. for this reason, some compensating advantage should be offered to the father, to prevail on him to send his children to school. again, when once pupils have been procured, it is exceedingly unwise to allow them to maintain a constant intercourse with their tribe, and be thus subjected to deteriorating influences that must almost irresistibly combat the beneficial effects of their education. but it is needless to dwell further on this subject, as mr. eyre has so completely stated the question in his late work. remarks on the system for civilising the natives. i cannot, however, refrain from alluding to another point in connection with this matter; namely, that when i visited south australia, all instruction was communicated in the native language. my attention had already been drawn to the subject on visiting tahiti, in , when i perceived with regret, that the missionaries, instead of endeavouring to introduce the english tongue, persisted in imparting instruction in a kind of corrupted dialect, of which the words were for the most part native, whilst the syntax and construction were in exact conformity with our own; the observation of the same circumstance at new zealand, had further induced me to reflect on the subject. how much more prudent would it have been to introduce, at once, the language of great britain into the islands of the pacific; as, judging from every indication, it must ultimately prevail over the vast variety of primitive and imperfect dialects now spoken; and which serve as barriers between the various tribes. that the same mistake should have been made in south australia was the more remarkable, as public opinion seems to run completely counter to it. it appears evident indeed, that if the object was to benefit and civilize the aboriginal inhabitant, the right course to take, was to give him an instrument which he could employ to enlarge his mind and extend his experience. it was wrong to expect that much good could be done by confining him within the sphere in which his thoughts had been accustomed to move; or at any rate, to limit the expansion of his knowledge, within the bounds of a dialect which was only imperfectly understood by the masters who taught it. i am aware that the excellent men who adopted this plan, were fearful of allowing the natives to acquire a facility of communicating with the vicious part of the white population; but had they taken a more enlarged view, and considered the absolute impossibility of preventing a certain amount of intercourse--had they had more confidence in the better part of their own race, and reflected on the immense advantage which the inquisitive savage would derive from being enabled to put questions to men who could enlighten him by their answers, they would more speedily have effected their benevolent intentions. i am of opinion that no surer method of raising the australian in the scale of civilization could have been devised, than to put him in possession of the english language; and i am glad to hear that the opinion i so early formed has at length been partially acted upon. the natives will soon be open to an engagement on board a vessel, and may expect to emulate the new zealanders, some of whom have risen to be mates; and to acquire the information and experience of which they stand so much in need. whereas, were their knowledge confined to their own imperfect dialect, not only would they be unable to extend their acquaintance with other parts of the world, and with the arts of civilization, but they would remain, as many of them now are, actually incapable of communicating with many inhabitants of their own districts. for it must be borne in mind, that very frequently, a tribe inhabiting one valley is ignorant of the language spoken in the next. so that to instruct them only in their own forms of speech, is not only difficult, since, on the death of each master someone else has to learn the grammar and vocabulary to supply his place, but absolutely tends to perpetuate the isolation in which the natives now live; and which is the main cause of the little development of their minds, and the inferior position they occupy in the scale of civilization. leave holdfast road. we sailed from holdfast road, on december th, but in consequence of light winds, with occasional very heavy squalls, it was not until the afternoon of the th, that we got out to sea by backstairs passage, between cape jervis and kangaroo island. on the morning of the th, we were obliged to shorten all sail to a very heavy squall from west-south-west, which announced its appearance by a distant roaring, some time before it was seen on the water. these squalls generally succeed the hot winds that prevail at this season in south australia, coming from the interior.* (*footnote. during the hot winds we observed the thermometer, in the direct rays of the sun, to be degrees.) arrive at sydney. easterly winds prevented us from entering bass strait until the th. in reaching in towards the coast, seven or eight miles west of cape otway, we found that it projected three or four miles too much on the charts. bass strait appeared under a different aspect from what it had been accustomed to wear; light winds, by no means in keeping with our impatience, detaining us till the st, when we got a kick out of the eastern entrance from a strong south-wester, and afterwards had a good run up to sydney, where we arrived on the rd. chapter . . land sales. unsettled boundaries. new zealand. hunter river. midnight alarm. ludicrous scene. changes in officers of ship. leave sydney. port stephens. corrobory. gale at cape upstart. magnetical island. halifax bay. astonish a native. description of country. correct chart. restoration island. picturesque arrival. interview with the natives from torres strait. their weapons. shoal near endeavour river. discover good passage through endeavour strait. booby island. new birds. the painted quail. land sales. no improvement had taken place in colonial affairs, and the sales of land, in consequence of the high price, were very limited. the fact was, the regulations that had recently been made gave very little satisfaction. by these the minimum price was fixed at one pound per acre; in consequence of which many predicted that millions of acres would be excluded from the market for ages to come, as it seemed not conceivable that any change could make them worth a quarter that sum, especially as on an average the natural grasses of the country will only support one sheep to four acres. the inevitable consequence was to prevent an augmentation of the emigration fund, which inflicted a serious evil on the colony, though by many the high price was considered a great boon, as it enabled them to enjoy, at a trifling charge, immense back runs, as safe from the intrusion of interlopers as if they had been granted by the crown in perpetuity. it is my impression that the attempt to raise the largest sum of money by the sale of the smallest number of allotments is unwise, as it operates as a discouragement to small capitalists, who wish to occupy the land for themselves; it would in the end be more advantageous almost to give the land away, to a certain extent, in order to encourage people to go there. it may be worth remarking here, that on a rough calculation the pound per acre system would realise, supposing the whole continent were sold, the sum of about , , , pounds. unsettled boundaries. the most curious circumstance connected with the division of land in new south wales, is the uncertainty that prevails respecting the boundary line of estates, which must be the source of endless disputes and expensive litigation among the colonists. the whole arises from the system adopted of laying down the boundaries by the magnetic north instead of by the true. this is in itself no easy matter, owing to the local attraction and the difficulty of finding needles that agree. but the chief cause of endless change is the variation, which has progressively increased at sydney since the colony was first formed, so as to make a difference in the boundary of a grant of land of one square mile in ten. i will suppose a case in order to illustrate my meaning. in the early days of the colony a piece of land is obtained by a person who merely performs the location duties, and does nothing to his estate until the present time, when he or his successor goes to occupy it. when the land was purchased the direction of the boundary line was, by compass north degrees east; but the proprietor finds that in consequence of the increase of variation during the interval, a north degrees east line by compass at this time would differ from what it was when his title deeds were made out, one square mile in ten. as this change has at sydney been progressive, and may indeed take a contrary direction, the boundary lines of grants of lands depending on it will vary accordingly, and afford endless food for the lawyers. a scientific friend of mine, who was once trying to remedy the evil in a particular instance, was entreated by one of that profession not to interfere, for by so doing he would be taking the bread out of the mouths of himself and his brethren. new zealand. since our last visit to sydney the colonisation of new zealand had taken place, but from what i heard of the loose system pursued by the company of obtaining lands from the natives, i could not but form an opinion that those who bought lots of them must in the end be ruined; even their right to sell these lands at all was at the time much questioned. this being the case, the difficulty any governor must have to contend with, who should attempt to solve the intricate problem involved in the land-question, was apparent, and it will be evident also that those who pretend to form a judgment on the conduct of captain r. fitzroy, must take into consideration the character of the people, both white and coloured, with whom he had to deal, and various other circumstances that are usually kept out of sight. during our long stay at sydney i visited the mouth of the hunter, for the purpose of determining the position of newcastle. the courthouse, according to my observations, is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds east of sydney. this is the district from which all the coal used in new south wales is brought, and a good harbour is therefore of importance. a party of convicts were employed in building a breakwater, connecting a cliffy island at the entrance with the south point of the river, for the purpose of deepening the mouth, but i much question whether it will answer, as the silt that is washed down by the stream not finding its former exit may by meeting the sea form a bar. in ascending the valley of the hunter i saw sufficient to convince me that a railroad could easily be carried up from newcastle to maitland, and thence to patrick's plains.* (*footnote. it appears that a company having for its object the realization of this idea has just been formed.) midnight alarm. i cannot at this place resist the temptation of relating an anecdote, which, though it is not exactly connected with the subject of my work, may not be thought uninteresting by the reader. i was one night sleeping at a friend's house; all the family had retired to rest, and i have no doubt that a perfect stillness prevailed around. suddenly, a noise like thunder startled me from my slumbers, and as soon as i was able to collect my scattered thoughts, i distinctly heard a series of violent blows against a door at the foot of the staircase leading up to my bedroom. though the first impression might have been that the disturbance was caused by thieves breaking into the house, it appeared improbable that such characters should make their approach with so much clamour. i instantly leaped out of bed, and arrived in time to see a sight which i shall never forget. ludicrous scene. the owner of the house, who slept on the ground floor, equally astonished with myself at the noise, had also quitted his pillow, and, arming himself with a sword and taper, advanced, in the costumes of iago, when he reappears upon the stage after stabbing cassio and rodorigo, towards the door against which the monotonous thumping still continued at regular intervals. it now appeared that the cause of his alarm was on the inside; and my host who believed that a party of robbers had introduced themselves into his premises, hailed them in a loud voice, promising that if they did not cease their hammering, and surrender, he would put them every one to death. so far from attending to his suggestion the thumps increased in rapidity and violence, and he had scarcely time to put himself in a defensive position when the door burst open and out rushed his assailants--a multitude of round figures of all sizes, without heads, legs, or arms! his first thought was that the supernatural existences of new south wales had now for the first time revealed themselves to his eyes! here was material for a fairytale! the genii of this country in which everything runs into leg were then it appeared all body! such were the fancies that flashed through his mind as he made a desperate lunge at the advancing foe, one of whom he transfixed from breast to back, whilst the rest in an instant overthrew and trampled him under foot, if i may use the expression. and now arose a wild scream--of laughter from myself and the others who had witnessed this mortal combat, for the disturbers of our night's repose were no other than a number of huge pumpkins, which had been placed in a heap upon a press on the landing, and from having been perhaps carelessly piled had given way, and rolled, one by one, downstairs, accumulating at the bottom against the door, until by their weight they forced it open! changes on board the beagle. during our stay at sydney some important changes took place among the officers of the ship, the principal of which were the departure for england of captain wickham, who had never thoroughly recovered from the attack of dysentery he experienced on our first arrival at swan river, and the promotion of the writer to the vacancy thus created. lieutenants emery and eden also left for england; the former was succeeded by lieutenant graham gore. this almost total change in the arrangements of the ship requiring some delay, and the season for passing through torres strait, moreover, not having commenced, it was the rd of june , before the beagle again rounded breaksea spit, having touched on the way for a meridian distance at port stephens.* (*footnote. we ran out of port stephens before a westerly gale. after passing between entrance island and soldier point, we steered for salamander head, and then for tomaree summit, when it was over the centre of the first projection inside nelson head, which led over the south-west corner of the shoal patch lying abreast of red point in fathoms. when nelson head just shut in yacaba extreme, we steered for the former, and passing it hauled over north-east / east for the western part of yacaba head, keeping a white spot on the second point inside nelson head, just open of the latter, until the leading marks for running out (which i have before given in my former visit to port stephens) were on.) singular corrobory. whilst at the latter place, i witnessed a corrobory presenting a peculiar feature. as soon as it was dark, a number of heaps of fuel scattered here and there were simultaneously ignited, and the whole surface of the green was speedily lighted up by the flames. when the illumination was complete, the men, painted with spots and lines of white commenced the dance, which consisted in running sideways or in file, stamping with great violence, and emitting an inharmonious grunt, gesticulating violently all the time, and brandishing and striking together their weapons. the peculiar feature in this corrobory, was the throwing of the kiley, or boomerang, lighted at one end; the remarkable flight and extraordinary convolutions of this weapon marked by a bright line of fire, had a singular and startling effect. as we were rounding breaksea spit, we met four merchant ships, who gladly availed themselves of our convoy. on the th, being anxious to repeat our last meridian distance, and also the magnetic observations, we anchored under cape upstart. we likewise availed ourselves of the visit to complete the examination of the bay on the east side of the cape. the th was a remarkably gloomy day, signalized by a very unusual fall in the barometer between a.m., and p.m., from . to . , when the breeze which had been fresh in the morning, increased to a gale with squalls. at , the wind shifted to the southward, and at when it moderated, the barometer again rose to . . it is these sudden breezes that are so fatal to ships caught off the outer barrier without an opening to get within its shelter. no traces of natives were seen; but the supply of water was as abundant as before, and we took the opportunity of completing our stock. magnetical island. on the th in the evening we left for magnetical island, about half a mile off the west side of which we anchored next day in fathoms. the depth from thence shoals in gradually to the head of the bay. a small rocky islet, to which our observations refer, bore south half a mile, in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of sydney. on this i found a greyish kind of slate; but on magnetical island i discovered no local attraction affecting the needle, so as to warrant the name bestowed by cook. it is a high piece of land, with an ill-defined peak in the centre, feet high. a description and view of it have been given in the first volume. we remained there five days, in order to rate the chronometers, and to examine the head of halifax bay, where a large estuary had been reported by captain king; but of this we could see nothing, and came to the conclusion that he must have been deceived by mirage. the land certainly was low in that direction, and trending in to the southward appeared afterwards to wind round to south-west, offering facilities for getting over the range before spoken of as , feet high, and bounding the shore of halifax bay. we were, however, glad of this opportunity of examining a portion of the continent, that had always excited the attention of those who passed, by its fertile aspect. halifax bay. a party landed in the south corner of halifax bay, on a long flat sandy beach, which at high-water is completely covered. crossing some small sand dunes, bound together by a sort of spinifex, we got into a luxuriant growth of grass, rich and soft, with a springing sort of feel to the feet. a few wallaby were started in this, but we obtained none; and seeing a group of rich-looking eucalypti and tea-trees, some of us bent our steps thitherwards, and found a small stream of fresh water, which filtered itself through the sand towards the beach. there was no time to trace it; but for some distance inland we could follow its course with the eye, from the luxuriant vegetation it nourished. the soil was light and sandy, covered with dense creepers, and innumerable quantities of the angustifolia in splendid flower, many of the clusters occupying a space of three feet in diameter, with a proportionate stem of about five feet from the earth. the hum of insects, and sudden disturbance of rich-coloured parrots, screaming and fluttering through the branches, and the strong, short, rapid flight of the dove, with its melancholy cooing, transported us in imagination a long way inland, whereas we were not three hundred yards from the beach. we now wended our way towards a small eminence, through long grass, in most places interwoven with creepers, compelling us to tear our way through them in the ascent. astonish a native. in doing so mr. bynoe flushed a native; but before the rest of the party could come up, he had taken to flight. the simultaneous cries of "here's a native!" "where!" "here!" "there he goes stark naked," rose; and before all eyes could catch a glimpse, his dark figure insensibly blended with the waving branches of his wild solitude, and without a cry of fear or joy, he was lost to us, perhaps for ever! we burst through the same brushwood he had recently thrown aside, and entered a labyrinth of forest trees, without finding a clue to the direction he had taken. the whole of the country appeared to be granitic; the eminence on which we stood bore that character, and some parts, near the beach, were thrown into massive blocks, at high-water, completely surrounded by the flux of tide. the view inland was intercepted by hills and trees, the former assuming the same appearance as the one we were on, but higher. our game-bag was thinly lined with small curlews, oyster-catchers, and sanderlings. a sandy spit connects magnetical island on the south side with the main, and must be sufficiently shoal at low water to allow the natives to ford over; for we found no canoes with those we met on the island, who were numerous and apparently very well disposed. although not a large race, they were in very good condition; part of their food, is the native yam, called warran in western australia. the birds on the island are common to other parts; and the wallaby, of which mr. bynoe shot three, are light coloured. correct chart. on the evening of the th, we again proceeded on our passage; the night was hazy, with a few slight squalls, much resembling the weather which we had before experienced in the same place. towards the close of the th, we anchored eight miles from cape tribulation, bearing north degrees west. the summit of snapper island, bore south degrees east six miles; by which we found that both it and the coast are placed on the charts too much to the eastward. in passing point barrow i was very much struck with the similarity which the low line of cliffs, running along the summit of the high land, bears to that on the victoria river.* we avoided the reef off cape flinders, by following the directions given in the first volume, and by making a detour to the southward round princess charlotte's bay, were enabled to keep underweigh all night. (*footnote. see sketches.) restoration island. continuing, we reached restoration island soon after dark on the th. it was rather a confined anchorage, to be taken up at that hour with five ships. our arrival was under rather singular circumstances. the night being dark, we could not make out even the outline of the high rocky island, which appeared one dark mass; and the meeting of the land and sea was only occasionally distinguished by patches of white, where the water broke against the steep rocky sides of the island. not a sound came from the shore as we drew near our berth; but no sooner did the heavy splash of the anchor, and the noise of the cable running out, resound among the heights, than one loud yell of startled natives seemed to rise from one end of the island to the other. the discharge of a signal rocket, however, that curved its flight over the island, instantaneously quieted the uproar, and a death-like silence succeeded. natives of torres strait. in the morning we found that the island was occupied by a party of natives from torres strait. their canoes, which were furnished with outriggers, were hauled up on the beach, and their spears were deposited in the bushes around, ready for immediate use; but, although they seemed to suspect our friendly intentions towards them at first, no disturbance occurred, and some were prevailed upon to come on board. their presence forcibly reminded us of the melancholy fate of the crew of the charles eaton; and no doubt they had come to the southward on a wrecking expedition. they were a much finer race of men, than those met with on the shores of the continent; their voices sounded softer, and their language appeared quite different. they instantly recognized the drawing of a murray island canoe, in flinders' voyage, and constantly kept repeating the word toolic, meaning iron, in the murray island language. the lobe of their ears was perforated with a large piece of bone; and their hair was like that which i have before described as crisp. i noticed that their spears were all pointed with bone, and that the shafts in those used for fishing were large, with a coil of line attached, and a string also connecting the head, which came loose when a porpoise or turtle was struck; whilst the wood, floating, acted as a drag. at daylight on the st we proceeded on our passage. about four or five miles to the southward of endeavour river, we passed some discoloured patches near the shore; and thereabouts a shoal has since been discovered. having before expressed an opinion that there was a safe passage through endeavour strait, i resolved to take this opportunity of setting the question at rest. before passing between the possession isles, towards the entrance of it, i acquainted the rest of the convoy with my intentions, to give them the option of taking the chance of a passage with me, or of proceeding by the ordinary route. they chose the former, and we accordingly entered the strait, which we found navigable for vessels drawing feet, by passing about a mile and a half to the northward of the wallis islands, steering a westerly course. in crossing the ridge extending off cape cornwall, the least water was / fathoms at low tide; north wallis island bearing south degrees east seven miles. there still, however, appeared to be more water to the southward, which determined me to examine this passage more minutely on my return from the gulf. a course was now held for booby island, where we anchored in the evening (the rd). passage through endeavour strait. it was my intention, in order that we might commence our exploration of the gulf with a good supply, to have searched for water in port lihou, on the south side of cook island, in endeavour strait; but the ships in company being able to supply us the delay was avoided. since our last visit, the book at the post office, on booby island, had been destroyed by some mischievous visitors, and the box was in a very dilapidated state. we repaired the latter, and left a new book with a supply of pens and ink. a ton or two of water was also procured from some holes in the rocks on the island. i have before spoken of the heaps of stone which captain king concluded were erected by seamen; but dr. wilson, in his voyage round the world, mentions some cairns of stone on certain islands to the northward, not previously visited by europeans, and which must have therefore been the work of natives. the painted quail. mr. bynoe was fortunate enough to procure two pigeons of a new species (ptilinopus superbus) and of beautiful colours; the breast being dark purple, the crown of the head red, and the other parts green; besides one specimen of a bird, of the same genus as one on the abrolhos, generally called a quail, but with this difference, that it only lays four eggs, whereas quails lay fourteen or fifteen. it is known to the colonists as the painted quail; and has been called by mr. gould, from the specimen we got on booby island, haemipodius melinatus. chapter . . gulf of carpentaria. leave booby island. eastern shore of gulf. van diemen's inlet. exploration of. party of natives. level country. tides. visit bountiful islands. description of them. sail for sweers island. investigator road. natives. locusts. record of the investigator's visit. dig a well. boats explore island and coast to the westward. sweers and bentinck islands. tides. take ship over to the main. another boat expedition leaves. ship proceeds to the head of the gulf. discovery and exploration of disaster inlet. narrow escape. description of interior. wild fowl. explore coast to the eastward. inlets. discover the flinders. the cuckoo. ascent of the river. night scene. burial tree. remarks. return to the ship. exploration of south-western part of gulf. large inlets discovered. june . the vessels forming our convoy departed this morning, and soon disappeared in the western horizon, leaving the beagle, that seemed destined to be a solitary roamer, once more alone at anchor under booby island. on the same evening she was herself pursuing her lonely way towards the gulf of carpentaria, the eastern shore of which we saw on the morning of the st of july. in the afternoon we anchored in / fathoms; the north end of a very low sandy piece of coast, which we found to be in latitude degrees / minutes south, longitude degrees east of port essington, bearing south degrees east, six miles and a half. from this place the coast trended south degrees west, and was fringed with mangroves; a few straggling casuarinas grew near the sandy parts, a feature which we constantly afterwards found to recur; their tall broom-like shapes form a remarkable element in the coast scenery of the gulf. singular tidal phenomenon. a fruitless attempt was made to visit the shore, which was fronted for the distance of a mile by a bank of soft mud. we could therefore gain no information respecting the interior; but from the numerous fires, it appeared to be thickly inhabited. it was here that we first observed the singular phenomenon of the tides ebbing and flowing twelve hours. gulf of carpentaria. next day the coast was examined for fifteen miles to the southward; its general character has already been given, which renders it unnecessary to dilate further here. north-east winds now forced us away from the land, and we did not see it again till the morning of the rd; when, finding as much as four fathoms within two miles and a half of a projection, we named it, in consequence, bold point. it is in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east of port essington, and is rendered conspicuous by two clumps of trees. north degrees west two miles from bold point, we observed an opening, and after anchoring the ship as near the entrance as possible, i left with the whaleboats, accompanied by messrs. forsyth, fitzmaurice, and tarrant, to examine it, early in the afternoon. the view annexed, taken by lieutenant gore, just after the boats had shoved off, will give the reader an excellent idea of the appearance of the south-eastern shore of the gulf of carpentaria, from a distance of only two miles. in this view, a gull, resting on the back of a sleeping turtle, will attract the attention of the reader. proceeding, we crossed the bar, extending three quarters of a mile off the mouth of the inlet, on which we found only two feet at low-water. the coast on each side was sandy, with clumps of trees, and to the northward was fronted by an extensive flat of sand. the first reaches of the inlet promised well, having a depth of from / to fathoms, and a width of from two to three hundred yards; but it ultimately became much narrower, and so torturous that, after following its windings for twenty-seven miles, we had only advanced eight miles in a south degrees east direction from the entrance. it then divided--one branch trending south, and the other east; and each being only fifteen yards wide and two feet deep, the water quite salt, and the mangroves on either side, moreover, almost meeting, rendered it impossible to proceed further. our hopes had been buoyed up as we advanced, an impression prevailing that we had discovered a river, from our finding that at low tide the water was simply brackish. i can only account for this by supposing that there was an imperceptible drainage of fresh water through the banks. the highest part of the country we saw was on the south side of one of the reaches, six miles from the mouth; but even there the utmost elevation was only ten feet. this rise was marked by a growth of tolerable-sized eucalypti. elsewhere the banks were scarcely three feet above high-water level, and generally fringed with mangroves, behind which in many places were extensive clear flats, reaching occasionally the sides of the inlet towards the upper parts, and forming at that time the resort of large flights of the bronze-winged pigeon. in many of the reaches we met with flocks of wild ducks, of the white and brown, and also of the whistling kind. the birds we had not before seen were a large dark brown species of rail, so wary that i could never get within shot of it, and a rather small blackbird with a white crest. a few of the large species of crane, called the native companion, were also seen. the only kind of fish taken was the common catfish. party of natives. alligators were very numerous for the first fifteen miles as we ascended; and we saw a party of natives, but did not communicate with them. their astonishment at the appearance of such strange beings as ourselves must have been very great. it could never before have fallen to their lot to behold any of the white race; and until our presence undeceived them, they must have been living in happy ignorance that they were not the only specimens of humanity upon the face of the earth. there was little to interest us in our examination of this inlet, especially as the dutch had probably visited it some two hundred years before; thus destroying the principal charm it would have possessed, namely, that of novelty. we inferred this from there being an opening laid down in this neighbourhood by them as van diemen's river. i, in consequence, continued the name, altering river to inlet; though, probably, at times, it may deserve the appellation of a river, as after heavy falls of rain it must contain fresh water. our finding the water only brackish near the head favours this supposition. the habitations of the natives were of a more substantial kind than we should have expected to meet with in these latitudes, being snug oval-shaped huts, thatched with coarse grass. the extremely low level nature of the country, the reader can imagine, as also how much it surprised us to find that from the boat at high-water our eyes could wander over miles. occasionally on the plains, rendered warm from their colour reflecting the powerful beams of the sun, were to be seen whirling clouds of dust, towering upwards until their centrifugal force became exhausted. the temperature, however, was lower about four in the morning than we had noticed it since leaving sydney, being only degrees, when easterly or land winds prevailed; those in the afternoon were generally from seaward. a slight rise, even of ten feet, in the water beyond the tidal change, must overflow a vast portion of such very low country; many evidences of this having taken place were observed.* (*footnote. at the entrance of van diemen's inlet it is high-water on the full and change of the moon at a quarter to seven; but in the upper part the tides are three hours and a quarter later. the length of both flood and ebb is twelve hours, and the direction of the former stream from the northward, following the eastern shore of the gulf.) native well. the formation of this part of the continent is of very recent date, as we did not observe any rock; and the soil is chiefly alluvial. the only fresh water found was at a native well, half a mile south-east from the eastern entrance point of the inlet. in the morning of the th, the boats reached the ship. during our absence a few natives had made their appearance on the beach, attending some fires, it seemed, on a hunting excursion. several grampuses were seen at the anchorage, also many dugongs and turtles. in the evening the beagle was standing across the gulf towards bountiful islands. i found that with the winds we had experienced the last few days it would be the most expeditious way of completing our survey of the gulf to proceed at once to the head of it, as we should then have a fair wind, to examine the coast back to van diemen's inlet. i also resolved to ascertain if the supply of water that flinders found on sweers island was still to be obtained; and on our way thither determined on visiting bountiful islands, where we arrived accordingly on the morning of the th. the greatest depth we had in crossing the gulf was fathoms, the nature of the bottom being a fine dark sandy mud. bountiful islands form the eastern part of a group called wellesley islands, and were so named by flinders from the great supply of turtle he found there. as, however, it was two months before the season of their visiting the shores, we only caught twelve, for the most part females. near the islands was noticed the same shrubby thick compact kind of seaweed, that had previously been seen on the parts of the north-west coast frequented by the turtle. flinders speaks of finding here in one turtle as many as , eggs; and such is their fecundity that were it not for the destruction of the young by sharks and birds of prey, these temperate seas would absolutely swarm with them. our anchorage was in fathoms, three quarters of a mile south-east from the highest hill, which i called mount flinders; it stands close to the beach, near the east end of the island, and is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degrees minutes seconds east of port essington. bountiful islands. bountiful islands, two in number, are distant a mile and a half in a north-east direction from each other. the northern and largest is two miles and a half long, and three-quarters of a mile wide; whilst the other is rather more than half a mile each way, and has at the northern end a mound with a remarkable casuarina tree on its summit. both are fronted with coral reefs, particularly at the north-east extreme; there are some cliffs on the south-east side of the large island of sand and ironstone formation, the latter prevailing; and over the low north-western parts a ferruginous kind of gravel was scattered. the crests of the hills or hillocks were of a reddish sort of sandstone, and so honeycombed or pointed at the top that it was difficult to walk over them. mount flinders. near the landing-place, at the foot of mount flinders, were a few isolated gum-trees, and small clusters of the casuarina, which were the only trees on the northern island. some drift timber was on the south-east and north-west sides. on the latter was a tree of considerable size, doubtless brought from the shore of the gulf by the north-west monsoon. its whole surface was covered with a long brown kind of grass, interwoven with creepers. there were great quantities of a cinnamon-coloured bittern seen, as well as quails, doves, and large plovers, but not any of the bustards mentioned by flinders. we saw no traces of land animals of any kind; neither did we of the natives. a flock of screaming white cockatoos had taken up their abode on the south island, where also some bulbs of the angustifolia were found. a few small fish, besides sharks, were caught alongside the ship. i was surprised to find the tides an hour later than at van diemen's inlet; their velocity, likewise, was increased to two knots; the flood-stream came from the north-east at the anchorage. fowler island. july . at daylight, we left for sweers island; but owing to light winds, chiefly easterly, did not reach investigator road, between sweers and bentinck islands, before the afternoon of the th. the soundings on the way were generally fathoms, fine sandy mud. a small islet, lying off the south-east side of bentinck island, and forming the immediate eastern side of the road, i named after the first lieutenant of the investigator, now captain fowler. under mount inspection, a hill feet high, and the most remarkable feature hereabouts, on the south-east extreme of sweers island, a party of twelve natives was observed as we passed. they gazed silently at us, making no demonstration of joy, fear, anger, or surprise. it is possible they may have been stupefied by the appearance of that wonderful creation of man's ingenuity--a ship; in their eyes it must have seemed a being endowed with life walking the waters, for purposes to them incomprehensible, on a mission to the discovery of which they could not even apply the limited faculties they possessed. fortunately or unfortunately for them--according as we determine on the value of civilization to the aboriginal races of the south--they did not possess the fatal, or salutary, curiosity that prompts most men to attempt fathoming the depth of whatever is mysterious. restrained by their fears, or by their ignorant, or philosophical indifference, they did not again show themselves: and though when we landed we once or twice thought we heard sounds of life in our vicinity, the natives of the island never again came under our observation. it is remarkable that the same circumstance happened to flinders. he also perceived human beings at a distance; but when he endeavoured to communicate with them, they retired, as he mentions, to some of the caverns that exist on the island, and were seen no more. sweers island. sweers island appeared to be very woody, and bounded by low dark cliffs on the north-east side. we found a long extent of foul ground, with a dry reef near its outer end, extending off two miles in a south degrees east direction from the south-east extreme. our anchorage was in / fathoms, nearly abreast of a remarkable and solitary sandy point on the above-mentioned island. as we beat up, the navigable width between this and fowler island was found to be one mile, and the depth and fathoms. investigator's well. a party was immediately despatched in search of the investigator's well. previous to landing, the whole island appeared to be perfectly alive with a dense cloud of small flying animals, which, on our reaching the shore, proved to be locusts in countless numbers, forming a complete curtain over the island. they rose from the ground in such prodigious flights at each footstep that we were absolutely prevented from shooting any of the quails with which the island abounds. this annoyance, however, was only experienced for the first day or two, as the locusts winged their flight to bentinck island, leaving the trees only laden with them; out of these they started, when disturbed, with a rushing noise like surf on a pebbly beach. flinders' well. the investigator's old well was discovered half a mile eastward of the point, to which i gave the name of point inscription, from a very interesting discovery we made of the name of flinders' ship cut on a tree near the well, and still perfectly legible, although nearly forty years old, as the reader will perceive from the woodcut annexed. on the opposite side of the trunk the beagle's name and the date of our visit were cut. it was thus our good fortune to find at last some traces of the investigator's voyage, which at once invested the place with all the charms of association, and gave it an interest in our eyes that words can ill express. all the adventures and sufferings of the intrepid flinders vividly recurred to our memory; his discoveries on the shores of this great continent, his imprisonment on his way home, and cruel treatment by the french governor of mauritius, called forth renewed sympathies. i forthwith determined accordingly that the first river we discovered in the gulf should be named the flinders, as the tribute to his memory which it was best becoming in his humble follower to bestow, and that which would most successfully serve the purpose of recording his services on this side of the continent. monuments may crumble, but a name endures as long as the world. being desirous of ascertaining if now, in the dry season, water could be obtained in other parts of the island, i ordered a well to be dug on the extreme of point inscription, a more convenient spot for watering a ship, and at a depth of feet met excellent water, pouring through a rock of concreted sand, pebbles, and shells. our success may be attributed, as flinders says, to the clayey consistence of the stratum immediately under the sand, and to the gravelly rock upon which that stratum rests; the one preventing the evaporation of the rains, and the other obstructing their further infiltration. investigator road. this was a very important discovery, as investigator road is the only anchorage for vessels of all sizes at the head of the gulf in either monsoon, and possesses an equal supply of wood, fish, and birds, with turtle close at hand on bountiful islands. moreover, should an expedition be formed for the purpose of exploring the interior from the head of the gulf, it is, as flinders remarks, "particularly well adapted for a ship during the absence of the travellers." in addition to this, it is a point at which an expedition would first arrive to arrange plans for the future; and lastly, i should observe that in case of our being fortunate enough to find rivers or fertile country on the southern shores of the gulf, we at once saw that we might look forward to the time when investigator road* should be the port from which all the produce of the neighbouring parts of the continent must be shipped, and when it should bear on its shores the habitations of civilized man, and the heavenward pointing spires of the christian church. the feeling that we might be the means of bringing about this happy state of things by discovering a country habitable by europeans, greatly added to the zest with which we prosecuted our subsequent researches. (*footnote. this road fully deserves the name of a good port, being four miles in length by one in breadth, with a depth of from to fathoms, and sheltered at all points except from south to south-south-east, in which direction the shoalness of the water prevents any sea from getting up.) survey the anchorage. on duly weighing these considerations in my mind i determined to make an accurate survey of this anchorage, including sweers and the eastern portion of bentinck island; and to despatch two boats to examine the group of islands to the north-west, and the mainland from thence to abreast of the south-west end of bentinck island. on the morning of the th, accordingly, messrs. forsyth and parker proceeded with the whaleboats on this service. near point inscription, i found a native skull on the shore, with forearm, left tibia, and a portion of the inferior maxillary. they must have been exposed some time, as they were very nearly destroyed by the action of the air. how they could have come in this situation was a mystery, as there was nothing indicating a place of burial. on the eastern point of bentinck island a number of rafts were seen, which suggested the name of raft point. we also on one occasion perceived some natives at a distance. mount inspection being the highest land in the neighbourhood, became the principal station of the survey. from it a glimpse was got of the mainland, bearing south degrees west about eighteen miles. the north-eastern end of the island, also, could be seen, fronted with rocky ledges extending three quarters of a mile off. this hill is a mass of calcareous rock, similar to the high parts of bountiful island, with the same honeycombed surface, as if it had been exposed to the action of the sea. in other parts of the island there is a great quantity of ironstone; and the cliffs on the eastern side are mixed with this and pipe-clay; on the northern extreme are some lakes or swamps. soil, etc. of bentinck island. the soil is chiefly a mixture of sand and decomposed vegetable matter; but it cannot boast of fertility. the wood on the island, which consisted for the most part of gums, wattles, a few acacias, palms, and, near the beach, a straggling casuarina or two, bespoke this by its stunted appearance; but as cotton grows well at port essington, there can be little doubt that it will thrive here. several of the bustards spoken of by flinders, were noticed; but too wary to be killed. they were as large as those seen in the neighbourhood of port phillip, but much browner. the other birds, most common, will be found in an extract from the game book, given in a future page. we saw no animals, except some large iguanas. investigator road is sheltered to the northward by shoal water stretching across between sweers and bentinck islands. the latter is slightly elevated, and thickly wooded; it is large in comparison with its neighbours, being about ten miles in extent either way. its south side is much indented, and the projections as well as the extreme of fowler island, are lined with mangroves; they are fronted with coral ledges. near the south-east point, i noticed large patches of the ferruginous sort of gravel, before alluded to in king's sound. on one occasion a party thought they heard a cooey--or cry peculiar to the natives of port jackson--uttered by some of the aborigines in the distance. it would have been exceedingly interesting to ascertain if this actually was the case; as the sound generally emitted by the natives of the northern coasts when they wish to communicate with each other afar off, is the monotonous "oh! oh!" mr. forsyth's report. on the th the boats returned, having completed the work that had been allotted them. mr. forsyth reported their proceedings as follows: leaving the north point of bentinck island, off which a reef extends nearly three miles, they crossed over to the south end of mornington island, bearing north degrees west twenty-three miles, the depth, midway between being and fathoms. the south shore of this island was found to be low and sandy, much indented, and fronted with reefs. from the south extreme, the nearest part of the main, called point bayley, bore south degrees west eleven miles, the intervening space being occupied by four low isles, which i named after mr. forsyth. with the exception of fathoms two miles south-west from the end of mornington island, the space between it and the main is only navigable for boats; and westward of forsyth islands, shoals, partly dry, extend off four miles from the main. point parker. from point bayley,* where we found a native well, the coast trended on one hand north degrees west, in which direction, at the distance of two and four miles, were small openings in the low mangrove shore; whilst, on the other, it trended south degrees east with inlets two, three, and six miles distant, and a point ten miles and a half from point bayley, which was named after the officer in charge of one of the boats, point parker. a hillock elevated about thirty feet, which was great for this part of the continent, rendered it conspicuous. like point bayley, it is fronted with a rocky ledge, and has a sandy beach on the south side. from point parker the coast trended south ten miles, which was the furthest the boats reached; beyond, it appeared to take a more easterly direction. (*footnote. in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes seconds east of port essington. ) the hillock on point parker, afforded mr. forsyth a slight view of the interior: it was a vast plain with clumps of small trees interspersed here and there; a growth of gums rose close behind the fringe of mangroves that lined the coast to the southward, and in other places constituted the only vegetable production of the country that could be seen. although there was little that could be called actually interesting in the vast level that stretched away to an indefinite distance from point parker, yet still, when the reflection presented itself that never before had the eye of a european wandered over it, the feelings of the exploring party were necessarily of a pleasing character. this projection in the coast brought it within thirteen miles of the east end of bentinck island. allen's isle lay between at the distance of three miles and a half; on some ironstone cliffs at the south-east end of it, mr. forsyth, after leaving, saw some natives; he speaks of this island as being more fertile than any other part visited, being clothed with rich grass, and with small trees and shrubs of a very green appearance. appearance of the natives. it was on a little island, two miles to the eastward of it, that flinders succeeded in obtaining an interview with a party of natives; two of whom, he says, were of the great height of six feet three inches, but with features similar to those on the south and east coasts. they were deficient in two front teeth of the upper jaw; their hair was short but not curly; and with the exception of a fillet of network worn round the head of one of them, they had not a vestige of clothing. two of the older men of the party, flinders was surprised to find had undergone the rite of circumcision; they had rafts of precisely the same construction as those in use on the north-west coast. on the th, very unusual gloomy weather was experienced, quite what we should have expected from the opposite monsoon; indeed the wind was light from the westward for a short time. the morning broke, however, with a moderate south-south-east breeze, accompanied by constant heavy rain; the temperature, before daylight, was degrees. (*footnote. our observations place point inscription in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds east of port essington; variation, degrees minutes easterly: the time of high-water at the full and change, was a.m., when the tide rose feet; the stream changes to the northward two hours before high-water. at other times the change takes place about one hour before. the direction of the flood is south by west and that of the ebb north; the strength of the former is from half a knot to one knot an hour, and of the latter, three quarters of a knot to one and a half. near the full and change days there is no slack water; the northerly stream is then longer by two hours: during the neaps they are more equal, each being of twelve hours duration.) our operations were completed by the th, but in consequence of strong winds from the south-south-east we did not leave before the st; when, beating out against a fresh breeze,* we stood over towards the main to the south-west of bentinck island, but found the water so shallow that we could not approach within eight miles. (*footnote. the west point of sweers island, bearing north degrees east and the east point of bentinck island, north degrees east mark the limits of each board. the north-west part of sweers island just shut in with point inscription leads in, and the dry part of the reef off the south-east end of sweers island, bearing south degrees east, clears the reef off the south end of sweers and fowler islands. a white patch of cliff to the northward of point inscription, in one with it, leads over the extreme of the shoal off the south-east end of fowler island.) proceed to survey the main. the boats were again sent, with messrs. fitzmaurice and pasco, to continue the examination of the shore of the gulf, towards the head of it, where they were to meet the ship. we made the best of our way thither, after securing some soundings to the south-west of sweers island and carrying a line eastwards from it, midway across the gulf, where we found a very even dark sandy mud bottom, with a depth of fathoms. the sandhill. strong south and south-east winds, which reduced the temperature, on one occasion, to degrees about a.m., generally prevailed, excepting for a few hours in the afternoon; quite reminding us of the winds we experienced at depuch island on the north-west coast, and preventing us from reaching our destination till the morning of the th, when we anchored two miles and a quarter from a particularly bare sand hillock, bearing south degrees west. this was named the sandhill, par excellence; there being no other on the shore of the gulf. to the eastward there appeared an opening with a remarkable quoin-shaped clump of tall mangroves at the entrance. it being neap tide, we were enabled to take the ship thus close to the shore, and as it was the nearest approach we could make to the head of the gulf, another boat expedition was set on foot to explore it, consisting of the yawl and gig, in which lieutenant gore and myself left the ship the same afternoon. the first spot visited was the sandhill, which we found to be forty feet high, in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degrees minutes seconds east of port essington. from its summit we immediately perceived that our conjecture was right respecting the opening close to the eastward. the shore was sandy to the westward, a remarkable circumstance, considering that nearly everywhere else all was mangrove. whatever we saw of the interior, appeared to be low patches of bare mud, which bespoke frequent inundations. we could also trace a low mangrove shore forming the head of the gulf, without any appearance of a large opening, which was a bitter disappointment; in some measure, however, compensated by the fact that it was all new, flinders having expressed himself doubtful how far back the shore lay. disaster inlet. the point on which the sandhill is situated i called after lieutenant gore, and the inlet, which we entered just before dark, disaster inlet, from a circumstance of what may be called a tragical nature which happened in it. like all the other inlets, as we afterwards found, it had a bar scarcely passable at low-water for boats; but within there was a depth of two and three fathoms. it appears that the streams passing out of these openings groove out a channel in the great flat fronting the shores for from one to three miles; but as the distance from their mouths increased, the velocity and consequent strength of the stream diminished in proportion, and, as we afterwards found, at this season was never strong enough to force a channel the entire way through the flat or bank at the entrance, which was thrown out in consequence further from the shore. the projection thus formed in the great flat indicated the importance of the inlet. we passed the night a mile within the mouth of disaster inlet, and next morning, which was cool and bracing enough for a latitude twenty degrees further south, we followed its upward course, which was more westerly than suited our impatience to proceed direct into the interior. four miles and a half from the entrance, in a straight line, though ten by the distance the boats had gone, we came on a reach trending south. this improvement in the course was equally felt by all, as was shown by the bending of the oars to the eager desire of the crew to push on; but scarcely had the boats glided midway through the hitherto untraversed piece of water, when the tragical event occurred, which the name of the inlet serves to recall, although it is too deeply engraven on the memories of both actors and spectators ever to be forgotten. cockatoos. the mangroves that in patches fringed the banks, whilst all besides was one flat grassy plain, were literally whitened with flocks of noisy cockatoos, giving the trees an appearance as if they were absolutely laden with huge flakes of snow--a somewhat remarkable aspect for a scene in such a clime to wear. it seemed as if the rigid hand of winter had for once been permitted to visit with its icy touch this tropical land; but the verdure of all around, the serenity of the heavens, warm with the fervid beams of the sun that gilded the rippling waters of the reach, dispelled the illusion. and soon the huge masses of white plumage began to float from tree to tree across the reach, whilst their screams as they flew by seemed a fair challenge to the sportsman. mr. gore accordingly resolved to secure a few of them for dinner, and put out his gun for the purpose. narrow escape. the sudden arrest of the birds' flight--the flash of the gun--the volume of smoke--caught the eye as it closed at the explosion; with some of us it might have been for ever! twas the affair of but a second. death came to our sides, as it were, and departed ere the report of the gun had ceased to roll over the waters of the reach. something whizzed past my ear, deafening and stupefying me for a moment--the next i saw my much-valued friend gore stretched at his length in the bottom of the boat, and i perceived at a glance the danger we had incurred and providentially escaped. accident to lieutenant gore. his fowling piece had burst in his hand, and flown away in fragments, leaving only a small portion of the barrel at my feet. how it happened that the coxswain and myself were unhurt seemed a miracle. i was on the right of mr. gore, in the stern-sheets of the yawl, and the coxswain was a little on the left, and over him, steering. our preservation can only be attributed to him whose eye is on all his creatures and who disposes of our lives as it seemeth good in his sight. without intending to be presumptuous, we may be permitted to believe that we were spared partly on account of the service in which we were engaged--so beneficial to humanity, so calculated to promote the spread of civilization, which must ever be the harbinger of christianity. at any rate it is not, in my humble opinion, any impeachment of the wisdom of the almighty, to imagine that he determines the fortunes of men according to the work in which they are engaged. mr. gore's hand was dreadfully lacerated; but no bones were broken; and on recovering from his swoon, the first words he uttered were: "killed the bird!"--an expression truly characteristic of a sportsman, and evincing how exactly the mind, when its perception has been momentarily suspended, reverts, on recovering, to the idea last present to it. my first impulse was to return to the ship; but at the earnest request of mr. gore, who felt somewhat revived after i washed his hand in brandy and tied it up, we continued; but the utter silence and grave demeanour of all showed that each was occupied with thoughts of the danger some of us had escaped of being ushered unprepared into the presence of our maker. a rustling in the bushes on the bank, as we wound round an island of some size at the extremity of this nearly fatal reach, broke the reverie in which we were indulging. fancying it was a kangaroo, i fired at the spot, when a half-grown wild dog came rolling down into the water. it was of a dark brown colour, with large patches of white, differing from any of the kind i had ever seen before. above this island we pursued a general west-south-west direction; but to our great mortification there was water for the yawl only four miles further. in the gig i was able to ascend nearly two miles higher in a south-west by south direction. our position was then nine miles south-west / west from the mouth in a direct line; but thrice that distance by the meandering course of the inlet through this vast level. the width had decreased from three hundred yards at the entrance to scarcely one hundred, and the depth from two fathoms to a quarter. the banks were, at intervals fringed with mangroves, the country behind being very open plains, with patches of dwarf gums scattered here and there. ducks, pigeons, etc. the brown whistling wood-ducks were in great abundance at the yawl's furthest; and in three shots i bagged twenty. the native companions were also numerous, of two kinds, one with black on the back, and the other, which kept more on the plain, of a blue or slate colour. pigeons, too, were abundant; and the rare large brown rail was frequently observed at low-water, running along the edge of the mangroves, too wary, however, as before, to be shot. there were few alligators seen; and the only fish caught was the catfish, common in the adelaide and victoria rivers. where the yawl lay the bank was clear, forming cliffs ten feet high, in which no stone or rock was found; neither had we seen any before. arrange for a pedestrian excursion. in the evening and early part of the night observations were made for our position.* a party was also arranged for a pedestrian excursion in the morning, as i was determined on seeing a few miles more of the interior than it was our good fortune to have obtained by water conveyance. i had ordered a gun to be fired in the evening to inform mr. fitzmaurice and his party of the ship's position; and we distinctly heard it booming over the plain, for the first time awakening the echoes to the sounds of warfare peculiar to civilized man. may many years elapse ere they be once more roused by the voice of cannon fired with a less peaceful intent! (*footnote. latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degrees minutes seconds east of port essington.) july . the first grey streaks of the morning were scarcely visible in the horizon, ere my party were scrambling up the eastern bank, eager to penetrate where no european foot had hitherto pressed. after leaving the inlet some distance behind, we took a south / east direction. the morning was deliciously cool for our purpose, the temperature being degrees; and there was a most delightful elasticity in the air, quite in unison with the buoyant spirits that sustained us, as we stepped out over what we felt to be untrodden ground. appearance of the country. it had often before been my lot to be placed in a similar position, and i have necessarily, therefore, given expression already to identical sentiments; but i cannot refrain from again reminding the reader how far inferior is the pleasure of perusing the descriptions of new lands, especially when attempted by an unskilled pen, to that which the explorer himself experiences. all are here on an equal footing; the most finished writer and the most imperfect scribbler are on the same level; they are equally capable of the exquisite enjoyment of discovery, they are equally susceptible of the feelings of delight that gush upon the heart as every forward step discloses fresh prospects, and brings a still more new horizon, if i may so speak, to view. and it may be added, that to the production of the emotions i allude to, beauty of landscape is scarcely necessary. we strain forward incited by curiosity, as eagerly over an untrodden heath, or untraversed desert, as through valleys of surpassing loveliness, and amid mountains of unexplored grandeur; or perhaps, i should say, more eagerly, for there is nothing on which the mind can repose, nothing to tempt it to linger, nothing to divert the current of its thoughts. onward we move, with expectation at its highest, led by the irresistible charm of novelty, almost panting with excitement, even when every step seems to add certainty to the conviction that all that is beyond resembles all that has been seen. in the present case, with the exception of a clump of trees to the southward, there was nothing to break the vast level that stretched before us, its rim sharply defined against the morning sky. here and there a charred stump, the relic of some conflagration, reared its blackened face, serving to keep us in the direction we had taken at starting, which was over a rich alluvial soil, that seemed to hold out a promise of a future brilliant destiny to this part of the continent. a partially dry lagoon communicating with another that was wet, to the eastward, and with a slight drain from the inlet to the westward, was crossed at the distance of four miles, when the direction we pursued was changed to south by west and a mile further we gained the raised patch of woodland already mentioned, where we put up a small light-coloured kangaroo. descending from this we entered a low plain, the northern part of which is evidently at times under water. it is five miles across, surrounded with trees of small and open growth. continuing over a clayey soil till we had made six miles from the boats, we turned off to the eastward, for the wood on that side, distant two miles, with the hope of getting a better view of the country around from the top of a tree; but there was nothing for my eager eyes to wander over but alternate plain and patches of stunted wood, stretching away in unbroken monotony on every side. the furthest we saw of this new country was in latitude degrees minutes south. it was with great reluctance that we turned our backs on a route so direct to the interior of the continent, now comparatively a proximate point; and the tide of animal spirits that flowed so high during our advance to the southward ebbed rapidly as soon as the retreat commenced; and our return appeared wearisome. we now varied our track, and traced the head of the inlet, where we saw the smokes of the natives and heard them shouting to each other, though they did not come in sight; the prints of their feet also seemed quite recent. near the partially dry lagoon a small freshwater lake was found, and the only rock formation yet seen; it was a sand and ironstone. about two miles south of the boats we discovered another freshwater lake, literally alive with waterfowl, whose varied colours contrasted charmingly with the bright verdure of the banks that seemed to repose on the silent waters, and were reflected on its glassy surface, now and then disturbed by the birds as they winged their way from one part to the other. spoonbills and ibises, some white and some glossy rifle-green, and two kinds of a small grey duck, seen once only before on the victoria, are among those worth enumerating. in the afternoon we got back to the boats. i may here mention, that as in van diemen's inlet, the water appeared to be less salt at low tide. return to the ship. july . at daylight the boats moved off on their return; and soon after the sun's bright orb had sunk into the same vast dead level from which it rose, we reached the entrance. being anxious that the surgeon should see mr. gore's hand, i sent the gig on with him to the ship; next morning, as we crossed the bar, he rejoined us, and i was very happy to find the ablution in brandy had been of great service to his wound. after leaving disaster inlet, the coast was examined to the eastward, and at the distance of fifteen miles, in an east degrees south direction, we came to a projection that we called middle point. the shore between fell back, forming a bight three miles deep, in latitude degrees minutes south, the most southern shore of the gulf. a growth of mangroves prevented our landing at high-water, and at low, soft mud flat fronted the shore for the distance of a mile and more. five miles from disaster inlet there was a small creek; with others, three, four, and six miles westward of middle point. morning inlet. two miles south-east of it was another opening of more importance, almost forming a channel quite through the flat at the entrance, which extended three miles off the north-west side of middle point. i named this morning inlet, from the time at which i entered it; and after proceeding a mile in a southerly direction landed for observations, just within the mangroves that fringe the entire coast. my view of the interior was very limited: for some distance were patches of bare mud, whitened with a salt incrustation, which appeared the character of the country immediately behind the mangroves; afterwards it rose into plains, on which small gum-trees were to be seen in the distance. from morning inlet the coast was slightly waving and trended east degrees north. at the end of twelve miles we found a little opening on the south-east side of a small point which concealed the boats from two natives, who were out on the mud flats, till we got close to them. they gazed for a moment at the strange apparition, and then made off as fast as the nature of the ground would admit; they were quite naked, and we were not a little amused to see them floundering through the soft mud. close to the westward of this opening are two clumps of tall mangroves, the only remarkable objects on the shore of the gulf from disaster inlet. there was another small inlet four miles further on; and what is remarkable for this neighbourhood, a sandy beach midway between them. explore an opening. on the evening of the th we entered a large and promising opening,* distant twenty-one miles from morning inlet; its importance was made manifest by its forming a channel of two feet at low-water through the flat at the entrance, which it threw out considerably. (*footnote. the mouth is in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes seconds east of port essington.) the boats proceeded up the opening at daylight on the th; our hopes were considerably raised by finding a depth of three and, in some places, five fathoms, and a width of about a hundred and twenty yards. the banks were, as usual, lined with mangroves; behind which, on the eastern side, retreated vast plains, with trees of some size scattered over them. they extend to the coast eastward of the entrance, which is sandy for some distance, with casuarinae, acacias, and small gums, which was not only a pleasing change from the monotonous mangrove shore, but had also its utility, serving to show the mouth of the opening from the offing. we pursued a general south-south-east direction, though from the windings, and the tide being against us, our progress was slow; and at the end of eleven miles were obliged to wait its changing. here we landed in the mouth of a small creek at the end of a clear bank on the eastern side; the opposite one also began to wear the same character, and our eyes therefore were permitted to wander over an immense extent of very level open grassy country, dotted with clumps of trees. the tides changing only twice in twenty-four hours presented a great impediment to our exploration, and it was evening before we could again move onwards. australian cuckoo. whilst waiting the tide, the note of a bird resembling the cuckoo broke the deep stillness that prevailed. it was evening; all around was calm: the wide extended plain dimly stretching away on every side, the waters as they imperceptibly swelled between the curving banks, the heavens in which the last rays of the sun still lingered, gilding the few clouds that hovered near the horizon. a pleasing sadness stole over the heart as these familiar sounds--the note of this australian cuckoo, if i may venture to name a bird from its voice--floated through the tranquil air. recollections of the domestic hearth, and the latticed window shaded with vines and honeysuckles, and the distant meadows, and glades, and woodlands, covered with the bursting buds of spring; and--pervading all and giving a charm to all--the monotonous but ever welcome and thrilling note of the cuckoo sounding afar off: recollections of all these things, i say, rushed o'er each fancy, and bore us for a moment back in imagination to our island home. discovery of flinders river. the more rapid flow of the tide and the announcement that there was now sufficient water for the boats to proceed, broke our reverie; and we were soon once more cleaving the moonlit reach. i may here mention that this bird, and another with a more mournful cry, the same before spoken of up the victoria river, were heard again at eventide. avoiding a large shoal, which threatened to arrest our further progress, by a narrow channel close to the west bank, we continued to pursue the upward course of this inlet or river--we were yet uncertain what to call it--in a general southerly direction; though the reaches were singularly tortuous, resembling the folds of a snake. the depth was now only about one fathom, and our progress was much impeded by banks; but by the friendly aid of the moon we were able to proceed, and many of the sudden bends were revealed by the silvery stream of light it shed over the still waters as they lay between banks now overhung by mangrove thickets, now receding in plains dotted with gloomy clumps of gumtrees, as far as the eye, from our low position and by the imperfect light afforded, could reach. as we advanced, the measured plash of the oars frightened from their roosting places in the trees, a huge flock of screeching vampires, that disturbed for a time the serenity of the scene by their discordant notes; and a few reaches further up, noisy flights of our old friends, the whistling-ducks, greeted our ears. their presence and cries were hailed with delight, not exactly because they gave rise to any romantic associations, but because they promised to recruit our victualling department, which had not been supplied with such dainties since leaving disaster inlet. had our taste resembled that of some of the natives of the western coast of africa, the vampires would have answered our purpose. the yawl grounding repeatedly, occasioned so much delay, that after proceeding seven miles i pushed on with the gig alone. our course was still south by east and the reaches were less crooked. four miles further we were delighted to find our progress rendered hazardous by sunken trees, so much so indeed, that i was most reluctantly obliged to wait a few hours for daylight. there could now no longer be a doubt that we were in a river, and i immediately embraced the opportunity of gratifying my earnest and heartfelt desire of paying the promised tribute to our scientific predecessor; and accordingly named this, our first discovery, after him, the flinders. as soon as the blackened heads of the fallen trees, evidences of how fierce a torrent had borne them hither, could be discerned, we proceeded. the reaches became again tortuous, but we still made some progress. the mangroves were no longer to be seen fringing the banks with their garden shrubbery appearance. in a broad easterly reach, some natives were burning the country close to the west bank, but they did not show themselves. at the end of it the river expanded into a beautiful sheet of water a quarter of a mile in width, though only three feet deep. accident to the boat. some low grassy islets were scattered here and there, reposing in emerald verdure on the surface of the stream, which was reverting under the influence of the tide, towards its source, and now hurried the boat so rapidly through a narrow channel between the west side of a large island and a low line of earthy cliffs, as to carry her foul of a submerged tree and half fill and almost capsize her. in order to ascertain the extent of the damage, we landed on a small sandy beach, in which was the fresh print of a native's foot; but we neither heard nor saw him or his companions, although columns of smoke from their fires stole upwards through the calm still air on all sides. a fine sheet of water now lay before us, trending southwards for upwards of two miles, with a width of about a quarter; and it was with increasing interest and anxiety that we pulled up it. appearance of the river. passing a line of cliffs, twenty feet high, the banks became green and grassy, descending with an almost imperceptible slope into the stream, and blending with their vivid reflections so as to render it difficult to determine where was the point of contact. it seemed as if we were gliding through an indefinite expanse of limpid water reposing between two vast plains, that here rose higher than we had before seen the land on this part of the continent. hurrying on with a still favourable tide, but at a rate much too slow for our impatience, we passed two other small grassy islets, and a third was before us. the eastern bank had become steep, overhanging, and clothed with a mass of luxuriant creepers; whilst on the opposite side was a low woody patch, partly immersed by the lake-like glassy water of the river, into which one slender tree dipped its feathery crest, appearing like another narcissus, to admire its own beauty in the stream. in front, the eye could penetrate far down the reach hemmed in as it was by trees that clustered thick on the water's brink. native burial tree. to the right was what might be called an open glade; in the midst of it rose a tree the branches of which were laden with a most singular looking bundle or roll of pieces of wood. struck with its appearance, we rested on our oars to observe it;* but scarcely had we done so, when from a point higher up, that appeared to divide the river into two branches, rose a thick volume of smoke that soon filled the air, as if a huge black cloud had lighted on the earth in that direction. we endeavoured to proceed in order to satisfy our curiosity, but a rocky ledge extending across the river arrested our further progress at this time of the tide. landing, accordingly, i advanced for nearer inspection, towards the huge bundle of sticks before mentioned. it seemed almost like the nest of some new bird, and greatly excited my curiosity. as i approached a most unpleasant smell assailed me; and on climbing up to examine it narrowly, i found that it contained the decaying body of a native. (*footnote. see the view annexed. ) within the outer covering of sticks was one of net, with an inner one of the bark of the papyrus tree enveloping the corpse. according to the singular practice of uncivilized people, of providing for the wants of those who have nothing more to do with earthly things, some weapons were deposited with the deceased in this novel kind of mortuary habitation; and a little beyond was a rill of water. there was an air of loneliness in the spot, perfectly in keeping with the feelings this strange discovery naturally called forth; and from the few recent signs of the natives, it would appear that here, as in other parts of the continent, spots where the dead lie are kept sacred. some dark brown and black hawks were perched on the trees near, looking like so many mutes stationed to show respect to the departed; but their intentions were of a different character, as they were waiting, i imagine, for some friendly gust of wind to shake off the covering of the deceased. extensive conflagration. while we were making these observations, the conflagration on the point above continued to rage with great fury; and i have no doubt that it was kindled in order to attract our attention and prevent us from visiting this sacred spot. though we saw not the form of a living being, i am persuaded that the eyes of the natives were upon us, and that our every movement was watched. the method they adopted to lure us away from the neighbourhood of the dead was simple and ingenious, and might have proved successful had not the interposing ledge of rocks prevented our further progress. to effect their purpose they must have burnt up a very large space, as the smoke that arose obscured all that quarter of the heavens. we observed also that the ground about the burial tree had been submitted to the flames, as if to keep away the few kangaroos that visit this spot. this singular mode of disposing of the dead among the aborigines of australia, extends to the banks of the murray river, on the south coast, as we learn from mr. eyre's vivid narrative; and as we know that it exists in new guinea, we may fairly infer that so far we can trace the migration of the population of the fifth division of the globe.* (*footnote. it is a curious circumstance to observe that the same custom prevailed among the ancient scythians, as we learn from mr. st. john's history of the manners and customs of the ancient greeks volume page .) remarks on native rites. i have always considered that eastern and western australia were originally separated by the sea; and that when they were thus separated (which the narrow space, and as i conjecture, lowness of the country between the gulf of carpentaria and lake torrens fully bears out) the habits of what is now the northern side of the continent found their way to the southern. it is true i have in another place conjectured, that in cases where similar habits are found to prevail at widely distant points, they may be looked upon as relics of a former universal state of things, now preserved only in particular localities; yet without invalidating this general rule, i think that the facts of the mode of burial i have described, and likewise the rite of circumcision, existing in the bottom of the gulf of carpentaria, and on the south side of the continent, strongly support the opinion that there once existed water communication between them. however this may be, the discovery we had made highly interested the whole party, and suggested the name of burial reach for that part of the river. knowing, or at least feeling, that we were narrowly watched by those into whose territories we had penetrated, i did not venture far inland. in the few miles traversed there was little of interest, except that we felt the pleasure which almost surpasses that created by beauty of scenery, of traversing a country totally new to the european. it is astonishing how charming mere plains covered with clumps of trees appear under such circumstances. but this feeling can be enjoyed but once; for it is the explorer alone who can either experience or deserve it. this part of the country, though to all appearance equally level with any other, was higher, and may perhaps have attained to the elevation of thirty-five feet above the level of the sea. over the plains were scattered flocks of beautiful rose-coloured cockatoos, several of which i shot; they were precisely the same as those on the southern parts of the continent. beyond burial reach the river separates into two branches, one taking an easterly and the other a southerly direction; but neither of them, unfortunately, was it at that time in my power to explore. here we again, for the second time only, met with a rocky formation: it was of a red ferruginous character. our furthest position on the flinders was in latitude degrees minutes south in a general south by east / east direction from the entrance, nearly thirty miles by the distance the boats had traversed. move down the river. after noon observations, the gig moved down the river. on passing the large island, i shot an animal resembling a water-rat, of large dimensions, particularly expanded across the loins, with stout hind legs and palmated feet, of a light slate colour and soft fine hair approaching fur, the colour gradually becoming lighter under the abdomen; the head was flatter than that of the usual tribe of water-rats, and resembled an otter.* (*footnote. there is a species of water-rat inhabiting the coast of australia, called hydromys chrysogaster; but this was the first time we met with anything like it.) return to the ship. it was not until long after dark that we reached the mouth, where, meeting the yawl, both boats ran out of the river on their return to the ship, distant thirty-three miles. the prevalence of light winds made it noon before we got on board, when i found that in consequence of the tides approaching the springs and falling instead of feet, it had been necessary to move the ship farther off. during our absence light winds had prevailed; on several days land and seabreezes. the cessation of strong southerly winds kept the temperature about degrees. mr. fitzmaurice had returned and gave the following account of his examination. mr. fitzmaurice's exploration. commencing at mr. forsyth's furthest, he found the southerly trend of the coast change in the course of nine miles to the eastward, forming a large shoal bay, which at low-water had a mud flat extending off nearly two miles. the east point of this bay, named point tarrant,* i had seen from the south-east end of sweers island, bearing south degrees west eighteen miles. it is rendered remarkable by a slight rise in the land behind it, forming low mounds or hillocks. two miles to the westward mr. fitzmaurice discovered an inlet, which he followed a league in a general south-west direction, when it had in no way lost the promising appearance it possessed from its breadth at the mouth, which was further increased by the manner in which the bank was thrown out off it. (*footnote. after one of the officers who had shared all the hard work, a practice generally adopted.) nine miles further westward were two other small openings. mr. fitzmaurice's exploration terminated seventeen miles south degrees east from point tarrrant, where another inlet was found of still greater magnitude and importance. the coast between fell back slightly, forming two shallow bights with the usual low monotonous mangrove shores, and extensive frontage of mud. at the distance of six and ten miles from point tarrant were two other inlets, the latter of which was large and received mr. pasco's name. it was examined for a short distance in a south by west direction, and presented the usual low banks lined with mangroves. near the entrance a native came down to the shore to look at the boat; he was very tall and quite naked, and would not allow our party to approach. chapter . . gulf of carpentaria. boat expedition. explore an opening. discovery of the albert. natives. picturesque scenery. hope reach. birds and fishes. upper branch. beauty of the landscape. land excursion. the plains of promise. halt the party and proceed alone. description of the country. return down the albert. mouth of river. arrive at van diemen's inlet. find mr. fitzmaurice severely wounded. general result of the survey of the gulf. winds and temperature. booby island. endeavour strait. reach port essington. another boat expedition. mr. fitzmaurice reported so favourably of the last opening he discovered, bearing west by south fifteen miles from the ship, that i determined on making up a party to explore it, while another expedition, consisting of the yawl and whaleboat, was to examine the coast to the eastward from flinders river to van diemen's inlet. my party, including lieutenant gore and messrs. forsyth and dring, left the ship with the gig and the other whaleboat on the evening of the day we returned from the flinders. the prospect that lay before us raised our spirits to the highest; and the weather, clear, cool, and bracing, could not have been more favourable, the temperature being degrees. the ripples rolled rapidly, expanding from the boat's bows over the glassy smooth surface of the water, whilst the men stretched out as if unconscious of the exertion of pulling, every one of them feeling his share of the excitement. from the western sky the last lingering rays of the sun shot athwart the wave, turning it, as it were, by the alchemy of light into a flood of gold. overhead, the cope of heaven was gradually growing soberer in hue from the withdrawal of those influences which lately had warmed and brightened it; but in the west a brilliant halo encircled the declining ruler of the day. in these latitudes the sunset is as brief as it is beautiful. night rapidly came on, and presently the masts of the ship could no longer be discerned, and we were pursuing our way in darkness towards the mouth of the opening. after vainly endeavouring to get over the bank extending off the mouth of the opening, in the dark, we anchored the boats outside. the awnings were spread, and the kettle for our evening's meal was soon hissing over a blazing fire. of all things tea is the most refreshing after a day of fatigue; there is nothing that so soon renovates the strength, and cheers the spirits; and on this occasion especially, we experienced a due portion of its invigorating effects. grog was afterwards served out, pipes and cigars were lighted, the jest was uttered, the tale went round; some fished, though with little success; and the officers busied themselves with preparations for the morrow's work. but all things must end; the stories at length flagged; the fishermen grew tired; and getting into our blanket bags, with a hearty good night, we resigned ourselves, with the exception of the look-out, to the arms of slumber. explore an opening. july . the morning broke with a strong breeze from south-south-east and although the temperature was not below degrees, we were all shivering with cold. soon after daylight we entered the opening, which for three miles was almost straight, in a south by west direction, with a width of two hundred yards, and a depth of from / to fathoms. the banks were fringed with mangroves, behind which stretched extensive mud flats, which from being encrusted with salt and glistening in the sun were mistaken at first for sheets of water. the inlet now became slightly tortuous, pursuing a general south-west by south direction; but the width being greater our hopes rose as we proceeded. eight miles from the mouth two islands were passed, and two others four miles further on. the breadth at this point was nearly a mile, but the depth was scarcely two fathoms; one less than we had before found it. the above-mentioned islets, one of which was of some size, lay at the upper end of a reach, trending south, where this inlet or river, as we anxiously hoped it would prove to be, divided into two branches, one continuing in a southerly direction, and the other turning short off to the westward. examine the southern branch. though the latter had a greater volume of water passing through it than the other, i still, from the direction and size of the south arm, decided on ascending it first. for some distance the banks had been less fringed with mangroves, leaving clear patches covered with coarse grass. the trees on the side of the first reach in the southerly arm were laden with the snowy plumage of a large flock of cockatoos. after proceeding about five miles further we rested a few hours, continuing again soon after midnight. as the tides run twelve hours each way, it was necessary that we should take advantage of the favourable stream, whatever might be the hour, though this plan kept the men for a very long time together at the oars. the general direction we pursued was still south, for six miles by the windings of the stream, which was so reduced in breadth and volume, as to be scarcely a hundred yards wide, and not a fathom deep. there was now little hope that it would lead into fresh water, although, from the number of trials that were made, i am sure there was salt water enough drunk to have physicked a whole village. appearance of the country. the banks were still of the same monotonous character. in one of the reaches i was fortunate enough to shoot a specimen of the large wary brown-coloured rail i have before mentioned. from this, the only one obtained, it has been described as eulabeornis castaneoventris. it is doubtless the bird called by the port essington natives, morduggera, the eggs only of which were found there, the bird itself not having been seen. they were equal in size to those of a guineafowl, of a dirty white, finely speckled with reddish brown. our course now changed to south-west, and as the width and tortuousness began to decrease--a sure indication that the country was rising--we soon made another six miles. but after this the boats could no further proceed--the inlet, in short, having become a mere ditch at low-water. the head of a large alligator was found on the bank near the upper part; where might be seen an occasional acacia mingled with the mangroves. behind, the country was very open, consisting of plains covered with coarse grass, interspersed with patches of dwarf gums. about seven miles in an east by north direction the country was thickly wooded, and appeared to be a little higher--the only interruption to the level monotony of the portion of the continent by which we were surrounded. the soil was of a light brown colour void of sand, and of considerable depth. nothing now remained but to retrace our steps and try the other branch; and as our want of success in this case rather heightened our expectation we hurried back with some rapidity. it was dark before we reached the point of separation, where the boat's crew regaled themselves on some large brown hawks, in the absence of better fowl. there was this evening a beautiful eclipse of the moon. the temperature had again fallen to degrees; at noon it was degrees; and at four a.m. degrees. august . as time and tide wait for no man we were obliged to move off at one in the morning. the earth's shadow having passed over the moon, the pale light of her full orb fell in a silvery stream on the tortuous reaches, as the waters swelled in silence between the growth of mangroves fringing the banks. discovery of the albert. at the end of three miles in a west by south direction, nearly double by the windings, we passed an island on the left. the depth at low-water, so far, being nearly fathoms, and the width about yards, promised well. water-tasting had now become rather out of fashion. however, it so happened that one of the whaler's crew put his hand over, and gave us the delightful news that the stream was quite fresh! a general tasting followed, each being anxious to get the first draught of the water of our new-found river; and the agreeable intelligence was confirmed. of the importance of our discovery there could now no longer be any doubt, and the exhilarating effect it produced on all was quite magical, every arm stretching out as if the fatigue they had experienced had suddenly passed away. there could be little difficulty in finding a name for our new discovery. we had already called two rivers, explored by the beagle's officers, the victoria and the adelaide; and we were glad of such an opportunity of again showing our loyalty to her majesty, by conferring the name of her noble consort upon this important stream; it was accordingly christened the albert. the boats now glided rapidly onwards, and west by north another mile brought us to three islands, which we passed on the right; after landing for observations, with the stars achernar and aldebaran, at some earthy cliffs ten feet high on the left bank. the river now wound round a point to the westward, three-quarters of a mile wide; in the first bend we passed four islands on the right, with a creek on either side, and towards the end of the next, two more on the left. change in the vegetation. august . daylight now burst upon us with tropical rapidity. the banks had assumed a very different appearance; the monotonous mangroves had given place to gumtrees and acacias, which drooped over the stream, partly concealing a rich growth of large flags. this change in the character of the foliage was not only in itself a relief, but evinced that we had at length, in some sort, escaped the influence of the sea, and that we were in reality penetrating towards the interior of the continent. our course was now north-west / west for a mile and a half, with an increase in the width, and a depth of nine feet. here we found the river suddenly turn round to the southward and eastward, bringing us back within five hundred yards of where we started from, which was one mile west by south / south from the morning's observation spot. brown whistling wood-ducks now made their appearance, and being unaccustomed to man and his destructive weapons, allowed us to revel in wildfowl for some days afterwards. proceed up the albert. the morning sun was hailed with delight, as sitting cramped up in a boat, with the unusually low temperature of degrees made us very chilly, and brought flushing jackets and trousers into great request, whilst in midday the light clothing natural to the latitude was sufficient. we found the tides rise here four feet, and both flood and ebb ran from one to two knots. after following a reach, trending south-east / east a mile, with a string of islets in the upper part, our westerly progress became more rapid and direct, and with the exception of one bend to the northward we made three miles in a west-south-west direction. but we were once more doomed to be interrupted by the sudden turning of the river short off to the northward, when it wound round a point a mile long, and a quarter wide, the extremity of which is low and sandy, a character only this once observed in the albert; on the opposite side were cliffs thirty feet high. natives. near the sandy point we observed some fires; and on our return, by crawling up the bank, i got a peep at a small party of natives engaged intently in digging for the esculent called warran. as they were few in numbers our abrupt appearance would have too much terrified them to leave any chance of an interview; and we accordingly did not disturb them, but contented ourselves with watching their movements for a while. the spectacle was an interesting one. both men and women were engaged in delving for their food, whilst a little beyond a few more were burning the bush, and looking out for game and snakes. it does not often fall to the lot of the white man to behold the wild people of the earth, engaged in their daily avocations, completely unconscious that the gaze of a superior class of beings is upon them. we have seen savages exhibited to us professedly in all the simplicity of the woods; but how can the children of nature retain their freedom of action and manners under the curious gaze of a civilized multitude? we may depend upon it that we gather nothing but erroneous ideas from such a display. if we would understand, truly, what our savage brethren are like, we must penetrate into the woods and the wilds where they are to be found; we must mingle with them in the exercise of their domestic avocations; we must see them as they are, in all their excusable degradation; and not invested with a fictitious dignity, or a theatrical simplicity; we must observe them, also, unawares, and see how they conduct themselves under the ordinary influences that beset them. it was with great reluctance that i departed without making our presence known; but i could not refrain from leaving, at the place where we landed, the perplexing legacy of a few presents. with what curious anxiety must these people have traced our footmarks, from which alone they could gather evidence that we belonged to a different race! after making two miles in a south and nearly three in a west direction, with but few interruptions from windings, we opened a splendid sheet of water, trending south-west / south. a mile back i had found, in a crooked reach, some native huts, built of sticks and neatly plastered over, with doors so narrow that none of our broad-shouldered fellows could enter. at this place we saw the last whistling-ducks on our way up; further on, other species, to be hereafter mentioned, were found. a large alligator also afforded us sport, although we did not secure him. picturesque scenery. the country was gradually becoming perceptibly higher, and the scenery extremely picturesque. tall palm-trees and bamboos were now to be seen among the rich foliage on the lower slope of the banks, that rose here to an elevation of fifty feet, and were much intersected with watercourses. onwards we hurried; the influence of the tide being scarcely felt, and the river preserving its south-west / south direction, with a width of two hundred yards, and a depth of two fathoms and a half. at the end of three miles no change was perceptible, and we began to congratulate ourselves on, at last, having found a stream that would carry the boats far towards the point it was always the height of my ambition to reach, the centre of the continent. hope reach. to this part of the albert that had given rise to such expectations we gave the name of hope reach. a little higher up we landed on the right bank to cook a meal and examine the country. i shall here attempt, with the aid of lieutenant gore's sketch,* to give the reader some idea of the beauty of the scene that now presented itself to our anxious gaze. (*footnote. see the view annexed.) it was in truth as glorious a prospect as could greet the eye. a magnificent sheet of water lay before us in one unbroken expanse, resembling a smooth translucent lake. its gentle repose harmonized exquisitely with the slender motionless boughs of the drooping gums, palms, and acacias, that clustered on the banks, and dipped their feathery foliage in the limpid stream, that like a polished mirror bore, within its bosom, the image of the graceful vegetation by which it was bordered. the report of our guns, as they dealt destruction among the quails that here abounded, rolled for the first time along the waters of the albert, breaking in on the hush of stillness that appeared to reign over all like the presence of a spirit. the country that stretched away from either bank was an extensive plain, covered with long coarse grass, above which was occasionally seen the head of a kangaroo, listening, with its acute ear, for our approach. no high land presented itself in any direction, and the eye was only relieved by the growth of trees and shrubs that marked the line of the watercourses, the natural drains of the country, which had formed deep channels through the banks. the gumtrees, near the river, were of considerable size, though small on the plains. a light kind of mould of great depth, without a particle of stone of any kind, was the character of the soil. birds and fishes. one of the boats tried the hooks and lines during our rambles over the country, and from the number of catfish and a dark kind of bream that was caught, we are enabled to state that this part of the albert abounds with them. besides quails, pigeons and a beautiful finch, before seen on the victoria, are to be numbered among the land birds. those of the water consisted of large brown, and small grey ducks, spoonbills, black and white geese, and a dark blue kind of rail, bearing a great resemblance to the english moor-fowl, that afforded us excellent sport, as they flew out in great numbers from the long flags that border the banks on the upper part of hope reach. we did not see any black swans, neither were they noticed by us on the north-west coast. i, myself, believe they are not to be found to the northward of latitude degrees minutes south. this part of the river is subject to a tidal influence, producing a slight rise, which takes place about four hours after the time of high-water at the mouth. in our eagerness to proceed we moved off rapidly up the river, after a hasty meal. all beyond was mystery; and it seemed that we were destined to remain long in suspense; for the day soon closed in, leaving only the pale light of the moon to guide us. the depth continued regular, at two and a half fathoms, and the width two hundred yards. we hastened onwards; the night scenery being almost more beautiful than the day. the heavens seemed more deep, the water more glittering, the trees more graceful and feathery; and here and there a tall palm reared its thin and spectral form above the dense foliage through which the moonlight broke at intervals, and fell, as it were, in showers of silver on the placid waters. nearly seven miles had been traversed in the same south-west / south direction, when our hopes of proceeding further were suddenly for a time destroyed, by the appearance of a dense woody mass ahead. a little further on, the moon peering through the matted foliage showed one branch of the river turning off to the southward, whilst another, in the mouth of which we found ourselves, trended west. the lead giving the great depth of six fathoms, we were induced to follow the latter. utter darkness soon surrounded us; the trees, on either side, over-shadowing the river, which in this branch was not eighty yards wide. progress impeded. our progress, also, at length began to be impeded by fallen or sunken trees, which not only rendered the ascent dangerous, but at the end of about two miles fairly brought us to a standstill, and forbade our further advance. this detention was a bitter disappointment to us all, and we crept into our blanket-bags with disgust, but with the hope that in the morning a passage might still be found. august . daylight brought no better hopes of our taking the boats higher up by this branch, as a succession of large trees lay across it a quarter of a mile above. it was a gloomy corner we had got into, and so sheltered that it seemed as though a breath of wind had never swept through it; the leaves of the low-spreading palms that drooped over the water, damp with the morning dew, had unbroken edges, as if an eternal quietude had pervaded the spot. beauty of the landscape. this triste appearance wore off as the sun rose, and the scenery under his smiles was soon clothed with beauty. trees with every variety of foliage overhung each other, connected, as it were, by bowers of creepers depending in festoons and concealing odd-shaped fragments of fallen timber, which here and there reared their blackened heads out of the water, the unruffled smoothness of which was occasionally disturbed by the splash of some wildfowl, and chequered with alternate spots of gold and gloom by the sun's rays, as they pierced through the dense surrounding foliage. returning, we entered the south branch; the opening of which was almost equal in beauty, as the reader will perceive from the view in the beginning of the first volume; but we were again stopped by fallen trees after proceeding about a mile and a half. here we observed driftwood and rushes in the trees, fifteen feet above our heads. it was now quite clear that all hopes of water carriage towards the interior were at an end. the boats were at this time above fifty miles from the entrance, and our provisions only admitting of the remainder of this day being spent in land exploration, a party was immediately selected for this service. land excursion. following up a short woody valley, on reaching the summit of the level a view burst upon me, the nature of which the reader may learn from the accompanying plate. a vast boundless plain lay before us, here and there dotted over with woodland isles. whilst taking the bearings of one of these to guide us in the direction we were to steer, i sent a man up a tree to have a further view; but nothing beyond an extension of the plain was to be seen. the river could be traced to the southward by a waving line of green trees; the latter were larger at this spot than in any other part, and consisted of tall palms, and three kinds of gums. no trace of the western branch could be discovered. time being, as i have before said, very precious, we moved off in a south-south-east direction, at the rate of almost four miles an hour, in spite of the long coarse grass lying on the ground and entangling our legs. the plains of promise. the soil* was still a light-coloured mould of great depth, and according to one so well qualified to judge as sir w. hooker, who kindly examined some that i brought to england, is of a rich quality, confirming the opinion i entertained of it, which suggested for this part of the continent, the name of the plains of promise. (*footnote. my immediate visit to port essington afforded me an opportunity of comparing the qualities of the two soils; and the result was that the richest land i saw there, in spite of the aid of manure, etc. was very inferior to that on the plains of promise.) we were now once more stepping out over a terra incognita; and though no alpine features greeted our eyes as they wandered eagerly over the vast level, all was clothed with the charm of novelty. the feelings of delight which are naturally aroused in those whose feet for the first time press a new and rich country, and which i have so often before endeavoured in vain to express, burst forth on this occasion with renewed intensity. at the end of nearly four miles we turned off to the westward for a rise at a short distance, concealing the line of trees that marked the course of the river, from which we had been gradually receding. we found it to be on the opposite side of a watercourse twenty-five feet deep. from its summit we got a view of the country to the south-west, over the growth of trees at the margin of the river.* (*footnote. see the view annexed. ) on this rise we met an emu, which, after several bad shots, got away from the whole of us. this, in some measure was owing to our over-eagerness, as the bird was at first inclined to approach. proceeding a little farther we observed a small lake bearing north half a mile. attracted by the beauty of the vernal tints on its borders we went to taste the waters. on the same refreshing errand was a luckless beautiful slate-coloured egret, which mr. gore shot. holding our west course we made the river at the end of another mile. its size was reduced to a mere rivulet; being scarcely fifteen yards wide, with a depth of five feet. yet it had greater velocity than we had before observed, running at the rate of a mile an hour, a clear babbling brook, over which, acacias and drooping gums formed a leafy tunnel; its course was still from the south. halt the party and proceed alone. whilst the rest of the party halted i proceeded, with the freshest man,* in a southerly direction; urged on by what was, perhaps, now the unjustifiable hope of discovering some distant point rising above the far horizon as a definite result and reward of my exploration. it seemed, however, almost impossible that this same wearisome monotony could long continue; and i experienced much of that painful depressing excitement which is created by a series of similar impressions when we are longing for variety. (*footnote. a marine, of the name of john brown, possessing great powers of endurance. he died in , in a situation i got him under the trinity house, on his obtaining a pension for long servitude.) we soon gained almost another two miles, when i availed myself of the opportunity to satisfy a second time my ambition of outstripping my companions in approaching towards that land of mystery, central australia. desiring brown to make the river abreast, i ran a short distance further, when i again met the albert, flowing on as before, with undiminished size. even this short distance was something to gain in a new and untrodden country. the line of verdure still pointed out the southerly course of the river across the endless plain; and it became natural to speculate on its source or origin; whether it was the drainage of a swamp, or the outlet of some lagoon, fed by the cordillera to the eastward. but to speculation alone was i reduced, it not being permitted me to clear up this point. all i could do was to give one long lingering look to the southward before i returned. in that direction, however, no curling smoke denoted the presence of the savage; all was lonely and still; and yet even in these deserted plains, equally wanting in the redundance of animal, as in the luxuriance of vegetable life, i could discover the rudiments of future prosperity, and ample justification of the name which i had bestowed upon them. i gazed around, despite my personal disappointment, with feelings of hopeful gratitude to him who had spread out so fair a dwelling place for his creatures; and could not refrain from breathing a prayer that ere long the now level horizon would be broken by a succession of tapering spires rising from the many christian hamlets that must ultimately stud this country, and pointing through the calm depths of the intensely blue and gloriously bright skies of tropical australia, to a still calmer and brighter and more glorious region beyond, to which all our sublimest aspirations tend, and where all our holiest desires may be satisfied. the recent formation of this part of the country was very striking. we met no rocks during our walk; a porphyritic pebble or two being the only stones noticed; they were flattened, evidently showing that the water by which they were carried had a slow motion, which supports the view i have put forward in an early page of this volume, with reference to the gradual northerly discharge of the accumulated waters of central australia. exploration of the interior. my position was in latitude degrees / minutes south longitude degrees / east of port essington, or degrees minutes east of greenwich; and within four hundred miles from the centre of the continent. what an admirable point of departure for exploring the interior! a few camels, with skins for conveying water, would be the means of effecting this great end in a very short time. in one month these ships of the desert, as they have been appropriately called, might accomplish, at a trifling expense, that which has been attempted in vain by the outlay of so much money. when we consider that australia is our own continent, and that now, after sixty years of occupation, we are in total ignorance of the interior, though thousands are annually spent in geographical research, it seems not unreasonable to expect that so important a question should at length be set at rest. return down the albert. in the whole continent there exists no point of departure to be compared with the head of the albert. the expedition should, as i have before remarked, go to investigator road, fulfilling my prediction of the ultimate importance of that port, which lies only twenty-seven miles north-north-west from the entrance. here the flat-bottomed boats, taken out in frame, for the purpose of carrying up the camels, should be put together, and towed from thence to the river. a shout from brown, who, alarmed at my lengthened absence, had come in search of me, roused me from the reverie in which i was indulging, and which had carried me rolling along on the back of a camel, girded round with an anti-pleurisy belt, over many miles of the new lands of australia. returning with him i rejoined the rest of the party, and we all moved back in the silence that usually succeeds great excitement, towards the boats. mr. forsyth having made the necessary observations for latitude, we were soon following the downward course of the albert. kangaroo point. we reached the mouth before daylight on the th. this was the coldest morning we had experienced; the thermometer being at degrees with a strong breeze from south-south-east, which rendered somewhat dangerous the task of collecting the requisite soundings on the bar at the mouth; the gig being once or twice nearly half filled in doing so. behind the eastern entrance point, was seen a large light-coloured kangaroo, which, for want of a better, afforded us a name. our observations refer to this spot, kangaroo point, which they place in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds east of port essington. instead of the usual mangrove shore, the coast to the eastward was sandy; but the most remarkable feature, hereabouts, is a clump of tall mangroves, towering over their fellow evergreens, close to the western entrance point. they are called in the chart the high trees of flinders, having been noticed by that celebrated navigator whilst passing at a distance from the coast. bearing south-west / south they guide a ship to the bar, which can only be taken at high-water springs, when the depth averages eleven feet.* when the eastern part of this clump of trees bears south degrees west, and kangaroo point south degrees west the bar will have been passed, and the depth, at the same time of tide, will be seventeen feet; when the bearing of kangaroo point, given, leads up the channel, which deepens in a quarter of a mile to twenty-three and soon after to thirty feet. the impetus given to the water, from the first reach of the albert, being straight, forces a channel of two miles in extent; with a width of nearly a quarter of a mile, growing gradually shallower towards the outer part, and, ultimately, becoming lost in the great flat fronting the shore, which is thrown out in proportion to the length of the channel, beyond which the bar extends for above a mile. part of its inner side, however, is intersected by a narrow channel of thirteen and seventeen feet; the guide through which, is the eastern edge of the clump of trees before mentioned, bearing south degrees west. the albert is navigable, for vessels of a draught suited to the bar, thirteen miles; and within five of where the water is fresh. (*footnote. the tides in the head of the gulf of carpentaria appear to be a compound of many others, obliterating the common daily difference, and producing only one tide in hours. the direction of the flood stream commences at south-south-east, changing gradually to south-south-west as it terminates; that of the ebb changes from north-west to north-north-east. the strength of each is from a quarter to one knot. the rise at springs is from to feet, and at neaps from to feet.) after observing the latitude, we took advantage of the afternoon's lull to make the best of our way to the ship, which we met underweigh, running down towards us; mr. parker, the master, having become anxious at our lengthened absence. in the evening and next morning, we got more soundings off the mouth of the river; and found that there was only six feet at low-water springs, a mile and a quarter outside the bar. we afterwards carried a line along the south-eastern shore of the gulf; and at noon, on the th, anchored off van diemen's inlet, where i had arranged to meet mr. fitzmaurice's party. accident to mr. fitzmaurice. the whaleboat was soon seen hastening from the shore without the yawl, which made us suspect all was not right; and i was much distressed to hear that mr. fitzmaurice had been seriously wounded in the ankle by the discharge of a gun which had gone off within a few yards of it. mr. bynoe went on shore immediately to assist in bringing him on board. the accident having happened several days ago, and the whole charge of shot being buried in his foot, his sufferings were intense. it was thought for some time that amputation would be necessary; but though this was not the case, he was maimed for life; for which, in some measure, he has been compensated by promotion and a pension. by this melancholy accident the service sustained a great loss, which was at no time felt more than when it occurred. completion of the survey of south shore of the gulf. mr. fitzmaurice had fortunately, before he was disabled, completed his examination of the coast between the flinders and van diemen's inlet, with his usual praiseworthy activity. on leaving the former he found that the shore trended north degrees east, with a large inlet at the end of ten miles. this was only examined a short distance in a south direction; but from the bank being thrown out six miles from its mouth, with a channel nearly halfway through, it evidently disembogues a large volume of water, and we may reasonably infer it to be a river. it is named in the chart bynoe's inlet. seven miles beyond was another inlet, with a sandy beach extending for two miles to the south-west of it. five miles further, the trend of the coast changed to north degrees east, continuing almost straight in that direction to van diemen's inlet, distant twenty-five miles; and, with the exception of the first five, is sandy throughout. thirteen miles from van diemen's inlet is an opening of some magnitude, near the south entrance point of which are ponds of fresh water. two and four miles south of it were small openings; and two and seven miles north of it, two others. during his excursion mr. fitzmaurice had killed one of the rare species of kangaroo, seen for the first time by us at king sound, called macropus unguifer; this was a somewhat important discovery, as it showed the extent to which the animal is diffused over the continent. i may here mention, that the night before we reached van diemen's inlet a flight of rose-coloured cockatoos,* several of which were caught and kept alive for some time, alighted on the rigging. (*footnote. cacatua eos.) thus terminated our exploration of the southern shores of the gulf of carpentaria, nearly two hundred miles of which had been minutely examined in the boats.* twenty-six inlets had been discovered, of which two proved to be rivers, whilst three more were nearly as promising. that all the others may contain fresh water in the rainy season there is every reason for supposing, from the fact of deep channels being found in their banks; from what i have already observed regarding the water being less salt towards the heads at low tides; and from the report we afterwards heard at port essington that malay proas occasionally visit the southern shores of the gulf, and fill fresh water from alongside, some distance off the land. if we receive this statement as correct, we must suppose that at certain seasons the discharge from the various inlets and rivers we discovered is sufficiently powerful to force back the great body of seawater, as is the case at the embouchures of many large rivers. (*footnote. as the reader will perceive by a glance at the chart accompanying this work.) the general appearance of the head of the gulf is that of a low mangrove shore, between ten and thirty feet high, over which the interior is not visible from the offing. observations on the climate and winds in the gulf. during our visit to this part of the continent we found the climate well suited for europeans; but what it might be in the middle of the north-west monsoon we had no opportunity of ascertaining. at its commencement in the month of november, flinders found the thermometer to range on board between and degrees; but on shore, he says, that in the course of the day it might have been about seven degrees higher; the temperature, however, being alleviated by constant breezes either from sea or land, it was seldom oppressive. in july, as i have already stated, the thermometer, on one occasion, at a.m., was down to degrees; and on another, at noon, up to degrees, being, in the first instance, six degrees lower than it was on board, and in the second, seven degrees higher, which gave an excess in the shore range of thirteen degrees. generally on the land it was below degrees before a.m. and after p.m. the range of the barometer in november was from . to . ; whilst with us, in july, its maximum height was . , and minimum . ; the lowest being in both seasons with winds from the land, coinciding with what had been observed on other parts of the continent, that winds from the sea raise the mercury, and those from the land depress it. the winds in july were fresh from south to south-east for about two days before and after the change in the moon. they began at midnight, increasing to almost a strong breeze between five and six in the morning, and dying away again towards noon, when a calm of five hours duration succeeded; at other times light land and seabreezes prevailed. it will appear from this description of the winds in the gulf of carpentaria that they bear a great similarity to those experienced at the same season on the north-west coast, near depuch island; and the circumstance of the temperature being lowest when they were strongest from the land is also the same. this was there supposed to have been occasioned by the great radiation of heat from the land over which they blew; but as the country at the head of the gulf of carpentaria is not of a cold clayey nature, the idea is naturally suggested that there must be a great extent of swampy ground in the interior, which strengthens the opinion i have before expressed. supposed islands. after hoisting in the boats we shaped a course along the eastern shore of the gulf towards booby island. our being obliged to return thither, for a chronometric departure prevented our examining the middle of the upper part of the gulf, where, according to certain vague reports, there exist islands. it is stated, for example, that after the south-west monsoon has set in strongly, numbers of coconuts are thrown on the north-west shore of the gulf of carpentaria. in the year , moreover, a small proa was driven off the coast of timor laut during the north-west monsoon. the wind blowing hard drifted them to the south-east for three days and three nights, when they came to a low island, with no traces of inhabitants, and abounding in coconut trees, upon the fruit of which they lived until the monsoon changed, when they sailed back to timor laut. flinders, when off batavia river, on the north-east side of the gulf, was led to suppose that an island existed to seaward of him, from seeing some flocks of geese coming from that direction one morning. wilson, also, in his voyage round the world, speaks of the macassar people reporting an island in the gulf of carpentaria, with sandalwood growing on it. examine endeavour strait. soon after daylight on the th, we anchored under booby island,* the flagstaff bearing east-south-east half a mile to the south. the weather looked unusually threatening the previous night. between the observations for rating the chronometers i fulfilled my intention of making a cursory examination of the entrance of endeavour strait, and anchored a mile and three quarters off the north wallis island, bearing south degrees east. it is a conical rocky isle, upwards of feet high, of a coarse sandstone formation; an extensive coral reef fronts it on all sides, except the north. the result of a night's observations on shore placed the summit in latitude degrees minutes seconds south; the true bearing of booby island was north degrees minutes west. the natives appear to make a cemetery of this island; for on a small sandy point on the north side we found a large grave, covered with turtle backs, and containing several skeletons. this is a very different mode of burial from that noticed in flinders river. (*footnote. the result of the whole of our observations at this island are as follows: latitude of the west point degrees minutes seconds south, longitude, degrees minutes seconds east; variation, degrees minutes east. the tides are equally strange here and in endeavour strait; the stream setting to the westward (west-south-west to west-north-west) from nineteen to twenty hours, and to the northward and eastward (north to north-east) only from four to five hours. the latter stream commences about an hour before high-water, which takes place at . , on the full and change days, when the rise at springs is feet, and at neaps ; the length of flood and ebb is nearly six hours.) leaving our anchorage, we steered west / north, six miles, in soundings of and fathoms. we then crossed in / and fathoms, north wallis island bearing south minutes east, a ridge which appeared to be an elbow of the spit extending off the latter, and forming the south side of the channel. continuing the same course, the depth soon increased to and fathoms. this was highly satisfactory, as it proved there was water for the largest vessels.* in the afternoon we anchored again under booby island.** (*footnote. captain blackwood's recent survey of this strait confirms my opinion of its being the best passage through this part of torres strait.) (**footnote. the following is the extract from the game book referred to in a former page: booby island (june and august) quails, pigeons, rails, of two kinds, doves; van diemen's inlet (july) doves, pigeons, native companion; bountiful island (july) quails, doves, pheasant, plovers, white cockatoos; sweers island (july) quails, doves, pigeons, pheasants, white and black cockatoos, spurwing plovers; disaster inlet (july) ducks, white cockatoos, native companions, green ibis; on the coast (july) curlews and plovers; flinders river (july) ducks, rose-coloured cockatoos, pigeons, spurwing plovers, rail of a new species, white ibis, spoonbill; albert river (august) ducks, large water rails, pheasants; between van diemen's inlet and flinders' river (august) cockatoos, kangaroo (macropus unguifer); wallis isles (august) quails, doves, pigeon.) look for cape wessel. on the evening of the next day, the th, we weighed, and steered west by south across the gulf; and in the afternoon of the th passed eleven miles from cape wessel, according to the position assigned to it in the chart: but as the weather was tolerably clear, and nothing was seen of it, there appeared to be some truth in the report i had previously heard of its being to the southward of the position given to it. the wind freshened by midnight, and, as usual, became more southerly, that is to say, south-south-east, whilst during the day it was generally east-south-east and east, and very much lighter. the current was steady at north-west by west from half a knot to three-quarters per hour, maintaining about the same direction and strength as in . on the evening of the th we crossed the meridian of the centre of new year island, which our observations placed in degrees minutes west of booby island, one mile less than flinders. return to port essington. it was late in the afternoon of the th before we reached an anchorage off the settlement of victoria, where we met captain stanley, who had just returned in the britomart from a cruise in the arafura sea, of which the reader will find an interesting account, from his own pen, in the following chapter. chapter . . indian archipelago. leave port essington. dobbo island. visit from the schoolmaster. church. trade of the arrou islands. their productions. visit from natives. the banda group. penal settlement. adventures of a javanese. captain de stuers. native dance and sports. nutmeg plantations. mode of preserving the fruit. amboyna. visit a natural grotto. sail from amboyna. island of kissa. village of wauriti. missionary establishment. serwatty group. return to port essington. sail for dobbo. we sailed from port essington on the th of june, and found a very heavy confused sea running outside, which made the topsides leak so much that we were obliged to have recourse to the pump every hour. on the second day we made the south end of the arrou islands, the latitude of which agrees with the position assigned to it in the admiralty chart. on attempting to close the land, which is very low, we shoaled the water suddenly from to fathoms, when at some distance from the shore, and from the heavy sea running, and the appearance of the land, i did not think it prudent to stand in closer, but steered to the northward towards dobbo. at sunset we anchored off the village of maykor, situated at the entrance of a small inlet, and had a visit from an old man who had been lately appointed orangtua by the captain of a dutch frigate, that had touched on the coast. he was very dirty, talked a great deal, and imbibed a considerable quantity of brandy and arrack. we allowed him to remain on board till daylight, when he returned to his village, leaving one of his boat's crew behind to pilot us round to dobbo. after leaving maykor, we had very deep water until we came abreast the island of babi, off which a shoal extends to the eastward two miles. we crossed the end of it in fathoms, and immediately afterwards deepened our water to ; and did not again strike soundings until we were close off the old dutch fort, at the entrance of dobbo harbour. here we anchored, as i wished to see the native village close to it. the anchor was hardly let go, when the monotonous sound of a tom-tom gave notice of the approach of some chief; and shortly afterwards, a boat, carrying a huge dutch flag, was seen pulling towards the brig, with a great many round-bladed paddles. visit from the schoolmaster. seated in state, in the stern sheets, was an old man dressed in a long black serge coat and trousers, with a white shirt and handkerchief. his servant who sat behind him, attempted to protect him from a heavy shower by holding over his head, with very great care, an old chinese umbrella that leaked like a sieve. the old man, on coming on board, introduced himself as the schoolmaster of the village, and gave us a pressing invitation to land and inspect the church, of which he seemed to be very proud. a younger man, who accompanied him, he introduced as the orang kaya of the village. as the rain still continued, i invited them into the cabin, where they were much delighted at all they saw; and, during the conference, they expressed much surprise at being told that all englishmen were christians. the chief of wakan, an island which forms the other side of the entrance to dobbo harbour, also favoured us with a visit. he came to request us to assist him in waging war against the chief of a neighbouring island, and did not at all understand our refusing his petition. church at dobbo. as soon as the rain cleared off, our visitors landed, and mr. earl and myself soon followed them to their village, where they were all drawn up to receive us, and saluted us with one musket. we were conducted to the village in state, and immediately taken to see the church, which had been a nice building, capable of holding all the inhabitants of the place; but it had latterly been allowed to get very much out of repair. in the font they had placed a saucer containing a small coin, as a hint that we should contribute something towards the restoration of the church, which was not thrown away, and most probably led to the largest donation the church had received for some time. after inspecting the church and village, we walked for some distance along the beach, and saw a great many parrots, parakeets, and large wood-pigeons, of varied and beautiful plumage, flying amongst the splendid kanari* trees, which, from all accounts, afford most valuable timber for ship-building. (*footnote. cannarium commune.) june . mr. earl and myself visited the village of dobbo. we found it very little changed since our last visit. the trading vessels had all sailed, but the village was occupied by a few dutch traders from macassar, some dozen chinese, and about bughis and macassars; the greater portion of whom were preparing to visit the eastern side of the group to collect the produce for the vessels expected to arrive at the setting-in of the westerly monsoon. the only sea-going vessels in the harbour were two large macassar proas and a ceramese junk; which were to sail in a few days. whilst i was employed, making astronomical observations to determine the position of the point, mr. earl obtained considerable information from the traders. trade of the arrou islands. the commerce of these islands appears to have increased considerably of late years, four or five ships and brigs, with a number of macassar and bughis proas, whose united crews were said to have amounted to , persons, having sailed with cargoes about two months previous to our visit. the produce of the arrou islands consists chiefly of pearls, mother-of-pearl shell, tortoise-shell, birds of paradise, and trepang; but the trade of dobbo is not dependent on the productions of the arrou islands alone. the bughis proas import large quantities of british calico, iron, hardware, muskets, gunpowder, etc. from singapore, to obtain which dobbo is visited by the natives of ceram, buru, new guinea, and of all the adjacent islands, it being the only spot in this part of the world where british manufactures can at present be procured. the articles brought for sale from new guinea consist of nutmegs, tortoise and mother-of-pearl shell, ambergris, birds-of-paradise, ebony, clove, and massay bark, rosamala (an odoriferous wood) and kayu-buku, a wood much prized for cabinet-work. british calicoes and iron are the principal articles taken in exchange for these by the proas from new guinea. the closeness with which the native traders conceal their commercial transactions, even from each other, rendered it impossible for me to learn the amount of exports and imports. each bughis proa imports to the amount of from , to , dollars, and at least one half of her cargo consists of british goods. taking the yearly average of thirty proas, and the amount of her import cargo at the lowest above stated, this will give , dollars, or , pounds sterling, as the amount of british goods imported annually into dobbo. this appears a large amount; but it will be found, upon examination, that it is rather under than above the actual value. in fact, the greater portion of our cotton manufactures sold at singapore is consumed in the less civilized parts of the indian archipelago, where the natives prefer cheap goods and gaudy patterns; while the people of java, celebes, etc. prefer their own or indian manufactures, which, although dearer, are far more durable than ours. the value of a return cargo of a bughis proa at singapore is about per cent on the outlay. of the timber of the arrou islands there are several varieties, highly spoken of by the bughis (who build and repair their proas there) for their durability, and the ease with which they are worked. although of immense size, the trees are almost invariably sound; and as they can be felled within a few yards of the beach, it is not impossible that at some future period timber may form a valuable article of export. the western islands of this group are very thinly inhabited. wamma, though nearly forty miles in circumference, contains only between and inhabitants, who are scattered along the coast in little villages, each containing about half a dozen houses. the eastern islands are said to be more thickly inhabited. the natives appear to be a harmless race; and though their country is so rich in produce, the greater portion are in a state of poverty. this is to be attributed to the immoderate use of spirituous liquors, large quantities of which are brought by the traders from java and macassar. from their language and personal appearance, the natives appear to be a mixture between the malayan race and the polynesian negro. productions of the islands. we also learnt that the emu and a small species of the kangaroo are found in the islands. from the varieties of birds, insects, butterflies, and parasitical plants, etc. that we saw, these islands promise a rich field to the naturalist and botanist. we were shown some of the pearls that had been collected, some of which were very large, and highly prized by the chinese; though from their irregular form and golden hue, they would not suit the european market. the smaller pearls, about the size of number shot, were very perfect in figure but tinged with colour. as soon as the observations were concluded we returned on board, and got underway to proceed to the ki islands. on the th we passed the north end of the great ki, and along its western side, which appeared to be as steep as the eastern, and to afford no anchorage whatever. at p.m. we were off the lesser ki, and anchored nearly in our old berth, in fathoms. as soon as the brig was secured, mr. hill and myself commenced a survey of the harbour, with which we were rather disappointed, as on further examination the water proved to be too deep for convenient anchorage. natives on board. june . the natives came on board in great numbers, bringing abundance of yams, coconuts, bananas, pumpkins, and a few fowls. as our usual hour for divine service approached, mr. earl explained to them what we were going to do, and that they must go on shore till we had finished; but the chiefs requested so earnestly to be allowed to remain, that i permitted them to do so, upon the condition that they would be quite silent during the service. this they promised, and seating themselves on the hammock nettings all round the ship, remained the whole time most quiet and attentive spectators of the scene before them, which they seemed to understand and appreciate perfectly. in the afternoon we landed, and accompanied by one of the chiefs, walked into the interior of the island for some distance. the country was very low, and covered with an impenetrable jungle, through which a path had been cut with considerable care; on each side, we noticed some patches of ground surrounded by stone walls, very neatly constructed. our guide informed us that they had been farms, but the soil was exhausted. as only the underwood had been cleared away, the crop must have been produced beneath the shade of the large trees, through which the rays of the sun could scarcely penetrate. at ki doulan we saw nothing new. the inhabitants had sold nearly all their canoes to the bughis, who had touched here on their return from arrou to their own country. the banda group. june . as soon as our survey was finished, we sailed for banda, where i hoped to find some vessel in which our shipwrecked passengers* might find their way to a more civilized part of the world. (*footnote. crew of the montreal, lost in torres strait, who reached port essington in their boats.) june . at a.m. we saw banda, and at entered the harbour; which is formed between the two islands of great banda and banda neira; and were here advised by the resident to take the seamen on to amboyna; where the papers requisite for their embarkation, in a dutch merchant vessel, could be procured with less difficulty. the banda group consists of three large islands and two smaller ones. the nutmegs, which form the only export of the place, are all grown upon great banda, the largest of the three islands. it averages feet in height, and is luxuriantly wooded. banda neira. banda neira, the next in point of size, is the residence of the government officers, the troops, and the convicts. it is not so high as great banda, and does not produce a single nutmeg. the third island is called the gounung api, or burning mountain; and is, as its name implies, a volcano, from which more or less smoke, impregnated with sulphur, is constantly issuing; during the westerly monsoon, this smoke is blown over the town, which it renders very unhealthy. one of the small islands is inhabited entirely by lepers, who are sent there to prevent the disease from spreading among the inhabitants. banda is used as a penal settlement by the dutch government, and, at the period of our visit, there were from to convicts, guarded by about soldiers, most of whom were natives of celebes and amboyna, being commanded by european officers. the town of banda is clean, and contains, besides the houses of the government officers, ample storehouses for the reception of the nutmegs grown upon great banda; together with very commodious barracks for the troops, and an airy and well appointed hospital. in addition to the government officers and troops, a considerable number of chinese have settled in banda neira. they reside in a part of the town by themselves; and some of them, judging from the appearance of their houses, seem to be prospering in the world. the harbour is well sheltered in both monsoons, and is easy of access, but it is closed against foreign merchant vessels.* we found two merchant vessels under dutch colours, at anchor; one was commanded by an englishman, and the other, the property of a rich chinaman living in banda, by an old friend, who piloted us last year into dobbo harbour. (*footnote. a shoal extends from great banda towards the gounung api, leaving a deep passage of not more than a quarter of a mile wide. upon this shoal, a considerable portion of which is dry at low-water, extensive bamboo fish-weirs are erected, which seem to be very productive. the natives also use fish-pots formed of bamboo, resembling in principle the common drum-net, which they leave down in shoal water during the night, and generally find a good supply in the morning. on another part of the shoal we observed a number of large stones, which are said to have been projected from the volcano, during a violent eruption some years ago.) adventures of a javanese. his history was a strange one. he was a half-caste, born in java, who, after various adventures in different parts of the world, had been pressed into our naval service, and served some time on board a man-of-war, where he learned the english language. on his discharge from her, he was for some time in distress in london, and eventually he found his way back to his native country, where his enterprise, knowledge of seamanship, and facility in acquiring languages, of which he spoke seven or eight, soon got him employment. the commandant of the troops, captain de stuers, nephew to the governor-general of the moluccas, who had very civilly pointed out the best anchorage to us, and given us every information in his power, on our first arrival, finding that we were interested in the manners and customs of the natives, very kindly invited us to see a menado dance performed by some of the native soldiers of the garrison. we landed with him in his oram-bay, a large native boat, pulled by twelve men, who kept time by striking their round-bladed paddles against the gunwale between every stroke. native dance. on landing, the prettiest sight possible awaited us. the barrack-square, a green grass field of considerable extent, was covered with the native soldiers, all dressed in their gayest holiday costume, and decorated with scarves and handkerchiefs of the brightest colours, which streamed loosely from their elbows. some of the men were armed with narrow bamboo shields, others with wooden swords, and the remainder with the light stems of the sago-palm, which were to be used as javelins. each of these warriors came dancing up to us in turn, to make his obeisance, as we advanced to the spot where seats had been prepared for us. as soon as we were all seated the dance commenced. at first the spear-men advanced towards each other, holding the spear in the right hand, and the bamboo shields in the left, keeping time to the rude music of a couple of drums with very great accuracy, and dancing quite as much with their arms as their legs, in the most graceful manner possible. when they had approached sufficiently near to each other, one threw his spear with great force and dexterity, still keeping time to the music, and the other parried the weapon with his bamboo shield. i only saw one instance of failure, and then the unfortunate man received the blunt spear full on his breast with such force that it sent him rolling head-over-heels, much to the amusement of the spectators, and equally to his own discomfiture. as one of the port essington natives, a very fine active man, had accompanied us on shore, we persuaded him, with some difficulty, to join in the dance, thinking that the quickness of eye, so common to all savages, would enable him to avoid the spear; but in this we were all disappointed, as he was struck nearly every time the spear was thrown. native sports. after the dance was over sundry gymnastics followed, and the evening was wound up by an exhibition of the ombres chinoises, in which the soldiers seemed to take very great delight. the moving figures were very cleverly managed; and, to judge from the shouts of laughter which accompanied the storyteller in his tale, it must have been a very amusing one. july . the resident having invited us to visit the nutmeg plantations on great banda, we accompanied him to the landing-place at lontar, where we found chairs waiting for us, fitted with long poles, like those of a sedan, and were carried by eight men, who placed the poles on their shoulders, thus raising the chair, with its occupant, above their heads, a position which we found at first anything but pleasant. in these conveyances we ascended to the summit of the island by a broad flight of stone steps, leading up from the landing-place, at the top of which we saw a ruined fort, and a church, that still retains traces of having been a fine building, though it had been much shaken by an earthquake. after passing the church, we entered the nutmeg plantations. nutmeg plantations. the scenery was most beautiful. under the shade of large kanari trees, whose luxuriant foliage most effectually excluded the sun's rays, were thousands of nutmeg trees loaded with blossom and fruit in every stage of development. after passing through above a mile of these, we arrived at a house belonging to one of the planters, where we saw the process of curing the nutmeg. in nine months from the opening of the blossom, the fruit, which resembles in appearance and shape an unripe peach, is gathered from the tree, by means of a long stick with an iron hook at the end. the outer covering, a tough fleshy skin which being opened divides in two halves, is then pulled off, and the mace, which is found partly enveloping the nut, is carefully separated and dried for two or three days in the sun. the nutmegs are then placed on long bamboo platforms, under sheds built for the purpose, where they are dried by means of wood fires. when sufficiently dry, they are handed over to the government (who monopolize the whole produce of the island) and are then placed in the government stores, where they are heated with quick-lime, which has the effect of preserving them from insects: they are then ready for exportation. the annual produce of the island is said to average from , to , pounds of nutmegs; and about one-fourth that quantity of mace. nutmegs are the only produce of banda. cloves are grown upon the island, but are considered to be so much inferior in quality to those produced at amboyna, that they are not exported. in returning to the ship, the bearers amused themselves by racing with each other, a proceeding far from agreeable to us who were carried, particularly when we came to the flight of steps, which they descended at full speed, shaking the chairs to such a degree that we had some trouble in keeping our seats. on arriving at the bottom we were most hospitably received by one of the nutmeg planters. on the th july we sailed from banda, passing out through the western entrance, between the shoal extending from great banda and the gounung api; though very narrow, it is quite safe, and by keeping over on the gounung api shore, which is very steep, we found plenty of water. bay of amboyna. july . we entered the bay of amboyna; but light winds prevented our reaching the anchorage till noon on the th. we found a dutch frigate, the bellona, a -gun brig, and several merchant vessels under dutch colours lying in the roads. on landing, i was most kindly received by the governor-general of the moluccas, colonel de stuers, who gave me a most pressing invitation to take up my abode at his delightful residence a short distance out of the town, which was gladly accepted. during our stay at amboyna the rain was almost incessant. this prevented our seeing the clove plantations, which were described as being very beautiful, and the cloves of amboyna are as much prized as the nutmegs of banda. visit a natural grotto. the only fine day was devoted to an excursion some miles inland to visit a curious natural grotto. we started in chairs, borne on men's shoulders, similar to those at banda, and which seem to be the usual conveyance of the country. our party consisted of more than natives, preceded by drums, gongs, and two large dutch flags. the men who were not employed in carrying the chairs, ran by our side, and amused us by their songs and war-cry, which was the most thrilling yell i ever heard. the grotto itself, prettily situated on the side of a well wooded hill, was of considerable length but not otherwise curious. july . having at last succeeded in getting a rate for the chronometers, which the unsettled state of the weather had rendered a matter of some difficulty, we sailed from amboyna, much delighted with the kindness and attention we had all received. during the night we passed a small insulated volcano that was emitting a faint smoke, and in the morning made the north side of wetter, which ranges from to feet in height, is very barren, and apparently thinly inhabited. island of kissa. we were beating to the eastward against a strong breeze and heavy swell from the south-east till the th, when we reached the small island of kissa, off which we anchored, in fathoms, a quarter of a mile from the shore, to the great delight of mr. earl's servant, who was a native of this place. his countrymen, on coming on board, received him with the most extravagant expressions of joy; and kept him up all night, relating the wonders he had seen since he left them; in doing which he talked to such a degree that when he came on board in the morning he could hardly speak from hoarseness. we found the natives had been suffering most severely from famine, occasioned by a long-continued drought that had dried up everything on the island, to such an extent, that the rice crops, upon which they chiefly depend for food, had entirely failed; but of livestock we found no difficulty in obtaining an abundant supply, and at a very moderate price. a couple of fowls were purchased for two feet of thin brass wire, highly prized by the natives for making fishhooks (which they prefer to our steel ones) and bracelets. a large pig was obtained for two fathoms of white calico, and everything else in proportion. village of wauriti. on landing, we were met by a chief who had seen mr. earl on a previous visit. he promised to procure chairs to carry us up to wauriti, the principal village on the island; and, while waiting for them, came on board and dined with us, behaving with great decorum, and appearing much interested in all he saw. after dinner we found the chairs waiting for us on the beach, and proceeded to the village, ascending a deep ravine with a streamlet running down the centre, overshadowed by the most luxuriant foliage. after emerging from this ravine we found ourselves near the highest point of the island, of which we had a good view. every part exhibited abundant signs of industry and cultivation, although parched up from want of rain. the chief of wauriti received us with great hospitality, and offered refreshments of tea, rice cake, and a sort of beer, made from the sago palm. missionary establishment. he then escorted us round the village, which contains a very good church and schoolhouse, constructed under the direction of a dutch missionary, who had been for some years a resident on the island, with his family, and who appeared to have been very successful in converting the natives; but the distress occasioned by the want of rain was too great a trial of their faith; they declared that their old gods had sent the drought upon them as a punishment for deserting them, for they had never had such a visitation before christianity had been introduced into the island. the poor missionary's influence was over; he was obliged to quit the island, and went to amboyna. a mile north of wauriti we visited a smaller village inhabited by the descendants of some dutch families, who had lived upon the island many years ago. they were quite different in appearance from the natives, and some of the women were very goodlooking. in returning to the ship, we examined an old dutch fort built on the beach, but now in a very dilapidated state. it consisted simply of a square building, with bastions at the opposite angles. at sunset we made sail for letti, off which we anchored the next day, in fathoms; half a mile north of the missionary establishment; where we found a resident minister and his family, and two others from another part of the island staying with them. a visit from europeans was, to them, an event of rare occurrence, and must have been an interesting break in their monotonous lives; they had been very successful in their labours, and had converted many of the natives. they had several establishments on the island; the one we visited consisted of a church, schoolhouse, and house for the missionary; the church had been built more than years, and was a very substantial edifice. the school appeared to be well attended by the native children. the island of letti, which is about miles in extent, had also suffered much from the want of rain, but was fast recovering its green appearance. a high ridge of hills extends along the centre of the island from east to west; the sides of which, sloping gradually towards the sea, are covered with trees, and the whole island presents an appearance of great fertility. the anchorage off letti, which we surveyed, is very good during the south-east monsoon, but affords no shelter when the wind blows in an opposite direction. there may be an anchorage on the south side of the island, which we did not visit, that would be available during the north-west monsoon. serwatty group. after completing our survey at letti we worked to the eastward, against the monsoon, keeping as close as possible under the lee of the serwatty group, which enabled us to make a rough survey of the islands composing it. these proved to be very incorrectly laid down in the only chart we had, and from what we saw they require a far more detailed examination than we had time to devote to them; this would, i have no doubt, lead to the discovery of many anchoring-places, where vessels might carry on trade with the natives, with much greater ease and safety than they can do when obliged to stand off and on with the vessel while the boats are sent in to trade; since, by these means, the crew are necessarily divided, are liable to fall an easy prey to the natives, should the latter be inclined to treachery. the various traders we met with, during this, as well as on our former visit to the islands, all agreed in warning us against the inhabitants of timor laut and baba, as people not at all to be trusted. it is much to be hoped that if port essington should ever become a place of much trade, that these people will be more civilized, as from the easy communication, in either monsoon, timor laut will be much frequented by the settlers at port essington, in order to procure the tropical productions abounding there, which they would not find on the australian coasts. the arrou islands, for the same reason, will hold out great inducements to traders, as the timber found there is infinitely superior, for most purposes, to any found on the cobourg peninsula. return to port essington. as our provisions were running short, and the time had arrived when we were expected to return to the settlement, i had not time to stop to examine several places i wished to see, particularly the southern part of the island of timor laut, where from information we received at banda, a very large and secure harbour is said to exist, available in both monsoons. the island of serra was another point, as it is stated to be a very good place for obtaining supplies. in crossing over to australia we saw timor laut, off which we experienced a very fresh south-east breeze and a heavy sea, which continuing to prevail with a strong current setting to leeward, we were in consequence eight days reaching port essington, where we found that all had gone on well during our absence. chapter . . port essington and the north-west coast. appearance of settlement. effects of climate. native mother. trade in teeth. macassar proas. lieutenant vallack visits the alligator rivers. interview with natives. prospects of port essington. lieutenant stewart's route. climate. remarks of mr. bynoe. harbour of refuge. sail from port essington. sahul shoal. arrive at coepang. timorees. sail for north-west coast. strong winds. cape bossut. exploration of north-west coast. view of interior. birds. solitary island. visit the shore. amphinome shoals. bedout island. breaker inlet. exmouth gulf. arrive at swan river. port essington. the period of our arrival at port essington had been looked forward to by all with deep interest, and, i may say, some anxiety. two years had elapsed since our last visit, and various and contradictory were the reports in circulation respecting the welfare of the settlement. we were accordingly truly rejoiced to find it in a state of prosperity that will ever reflect the highest credit on the hardy few who have laboured so earnestly for its welfare. it was an emblem of the rapidity with which, in young countries, it is possible to recover from any disaster, that the trees which had been uprooted, shattered, and riven in fragments by the hurricane of , were for the most part concealed by the fresh foliage of the year; there was scarcely anything left to commemorate that dreadful visitation, but the tombs of twelve brave fellows, of the pelorus, who lost their lives at the time. there was a care-worn, jaundiced appearance about the settlers, that plainly revealed how little suited was the climate for europeans to labour in; and yet there had been, i was told, no positive sickness. the hospital, however, had been enlarged, and rendered a very substantial building. captain macarthur had built a strong and well-contrived blockhouse, of the excellent kind of wood, a species of teak, before alluded to. a new garden also had been laid out, in which the banana and pine, besides many other tropical fruits, were flourishing. the arrow-root and sugar-cane grown here are allowed by those who have seen these plants in the west indies not to be surpassed in excellence; and the cotton from pernambuco, and bourbon seed, has been valued in england at sixpence-halfpenny a pound. the colonists were beginning to understand the seasons; they had taken out of the ground sweet potatoes nearly sufficient to last them until the next crop. this was the first time they had been tried. i have never seen any in south america half the size. in short, i may say that the settlement was fast approaching the state in which was that at raffles bay when it was abandoned. considering the few days given to sporting, our game-book contains a very tolerable list, comprising seven kangaroos, twenty quails, ten ducks, seven pigeons, two pheasants, and two ibises. the natives in the neighbourhood of port essington are, like all others on the continent, very superstitious; they fancy that a large kind of tree, called the imburra-burra, resembling the adansonia, contains evil spirits. here, also, as i have elsewhere observed, they fancy that after death they reappear as whites; the bones of the dead are frequently carried from place to place. the reader will remember the native named alligator, whom i have mentioned on a previous visit to port essington. i witnessed in his family an instance of affection for a departed child, which, though it exhibited itself in this peculiar manner, was extremely touching. the wife had treasured up the bones of the little one, and constantly carried them about with her, not as a memento mori, but as an object whereon to expend her tenderest emotions, whenever they swelled within her breast. at such times she would put together these bones with a rapidity that supposed a wonderful knowledge of osteology, and set them up that she might weep over them. perhaps, in her imagination, as she performed this melancholy rite, the ghastly framework before her became indued with the comely form of infancy; bright eyes once more sparkled in those hollow cells, and a smile of ineffable delight hung where, in reality, was naught but the hideous grin of death. i exceedingly regret that the mother who could feel so finely was some time afterwards over-persuaded to part with the bones of her child. i may here mention that the medical officer of the settlement was in the habit of extracting teeth for the natives, who found the european method much more easy than their own mode of knocking them out. the supercargo of a vessel, learning this fact, was anxious to become a purchaser of teeth to some extent for the london market, being persuaded that they would find a ready sale among the dentists; and it is more than probable that many of our fair ladies at home are indebted for the pearls on which the poets exhaust so much of their fancy to the rude natives of australia. among the information i gained during this stay at port essington respecting the macassar people, who periodically visit the coast, was that of their discovering a strait leading into the gulf of carpentaria, behind english company's islands. passing cape wilberforce, called udjung turu, or bearaway point, they continue their course down the gulf to the wellesley islands, named by them pulo tiga, or the three islands; this is the usual southern limit of their voyage. the macassar proas that visit port essington, amounting in one season to fourteen, usually brought for barter tea, sugar, cloths, salt-fish, rice, etc. several of the nakodhas, or masters, have expressed a wish to abandon fishing, and occupy themselves only in trade, if there is sufficient encouragement held out to them. during our stay a report was brought into the settlement by the natives that there was a large vessel wrecked on the mainland, near the alligator rivers, which was accompanied by so many details of place and circumstance that captain stanley was induced to send lieutenant vallack, of the britomart, away in the decked tender to procure information, and to render all assistance in his power. he was accompanied by several of the port essington natives; and on arriving at the eastern river, found that there was no foundation for the report. but having got so far away from the settlement, he ascended the river some little distance, and towards sunset came on a tribe of natives. the anchor was let go, and signs were made to induce them to approach, for some time without success. at last, however, encouraged by seeing so many of their own countrymen, two or three of the more courageous ventured to draw near. the scene that followed was a curious illustration of the slight communication that exists between natives of different tribes, and also of the great difference in their language, as the strangers could hold no conversation with the people from port essington, who, when they found their own dialect was not understood, tried to explain themselves in such few words of broken english as were then used at the colony, and seemed very much surprised at their want of success. a large mess of boiled rice, which had been prepared by way of a feast for the newcomers, was then produced; but it was not before they saw their countrymen eagerly devouring it that they could be induced to eat, as they evidently did not know what it was. the result of lieutenant vallack's visit is hostile to the idea entertained that clothes given to natives at port essington pass into the interior, which i always much doubted. had the fence before alluded to by me been run across the neck, and an out-station formed there, we should have had further acquaintance with the natives of the main, besides other advantages that would necessarily have accrued. as it seemed extremely probable that the course of events would not again permit the beagle to visit port essington, we naturally experienced some regret on our departure, and were led to speculate, with interest, on its future destiny. a young settlement, so remote and solitary, cannot fail to awaken the liveliest sympathy in the voyager. how small soever may be the circle of its present influence, the experience of the past teaches us confidently to expect that wherever a knot of englishmen locate themselves, there are deposited the germs of future greatness. for port essington, a sphere of action, of great extent and importance, appears marked out by the hand of nature; though, to a careless observer, unskilled in discerning the undeveloped capabilities of geographical positions, it may appear in the light simply of an isolated military post. and, certainly, whatever may be its actual resources, little or nothing has, as yet, been done to ascertain them. we are still reduced to base our opinions on conjecture and hypothesis; we know nothing of the amount of commerce that might be carried on with the islands of the indian archipelago--nothing of the productions of the mainland--nothing of the extent to which colonization might be carried in the neighbourhood. without data of this kind it is impossible, with any pretensions to accuracy, to estimate the probable future importance of our settlement at port essington, the value of which does not depend on the fertility of cobourg peninsula, any more than that of gibraltar on the productiveness of the land within the spanish lines. victoria, if we regard its own intrinsic worth, might be blotted out of the list of our possessions without any material detriment to our interests; but its importance, as a commercial station, is incalculable. it is, indeed, to the country behind--at present unvisited, unexplored, a complete terra incognita--and to the islands within a radius of five hundred miles, that we must look if we would form a correct idea of the value of port essington to the crown. at present it may seem idle, to some, to introduce these distant places as elements in the discussion of such a question; but no one who reflects on the power of trade to knit together even more distant points of the earth, will think it visionary to suppose that victoria must one day--insignificant as may be the value of the districts in its immediate neighbourhood--be the centre of a vast system of commerce, the emporium, in fact, where will take place the exchange of the products of the indian archipelago for those of the vast plains of australia. it may require some effort of the imagination, certainly, to discover the precursor of such a state of things in the miserable traffic now carried on by the macassar proas; but still, i think, we possess some data on which to found such an opinion, and i am persuaded that port essington will ultimately hold the proud position i predict for it. as steam communication, moreover, must soon be established between singapore and our colonies on the south-eastern shores of australia,* this port, the only really good one on the north coast, will be of vast importance as a coal depot. (*footnote. by this arrangement sydney could be brought within nearly sixty days of england.) as i have already observed, however, little pains have been taken to ascertain all the capabilities of the place, and to extend our acquaintance with the country behind. no european has ever yet penetrated any great distance beyond the neck that connects cobourg peninsula with the mainland; and even the report of the existence of the settlement has scarcely travelled farther. at least in , when lieutenant vallack visited one of the alligator rivers he found the natives completely ignorant that we had established ourselves in their neighbourhood. from the account of lieutenant p.b. stewart,* of which i have given a brief abstract above, it appears that there is some good land on the peninsula, though such is decidedly not the case near the settlement. (*footnote. this officer has since forwarded me his route. it appears that on leaving victoria he proceeded to the south-west side of the peninsula, and followed the shore to the neck, when taking an east direction he crossed it, and then pursuing a northerly course made his way to middle head, on the side of the harbour opposite the settlement. the frequent opportunities lieutenant stewart had of determining his positions by cross-bearings of the islands, leave no doubt as to the correctness of his route.) the reports of late sent in respecting the climate have, in some measure, been unfavourable; and, as i have observed, the appearance of the garrison was rather sickly; but may not this arise partly from the indifferent manner in which they are housed? small, low, thatched cottages, in a temperature much too warm for europeans to labour in constantly, are apt to engender disease. there is, besides, a mangrove swamp immediately behind the settlement, which at present decreases its salubrity. with regard to the range of the thermometer, it has been known as low as degrees, and it is never so high, by ten or twenty degrees, as i have seen it in south australia during the hot winds: the average, however, is about degrees. the fact that the site of victoria lies so far from the entrance of the harbour is injurious to its prosperity, as it prevents many vessels from calling, and deprives it of the breezes that constantly prevail on the coast, and would of course conduce to its healthiness.* (*footnote. the following remarks from mr. bynoe, on the climate of northern australia, corroborate the views put forward in the text: i find on a reference to the medical journals, as well as to a meteorological table kept by me during a period of six years, on the coasts of australia, and under every variety of climate, that we had no diseases peculiar to that continent, and i am led to believe it a remarkably healthy country. on the north and north-west coasts, where you find every bight and indentation of land fringed with mangroves, bordering mud flats, and ledges formed by corallines in every stage of decomposition, with a high temperature, no fevers or dysenteries were engendered. our ship's company were constantly exposed, in boats, to all the vicissitudes from wet to dry weather, sleeping in mangrove creeks for many months in succession, pestered by mosquitoes during the hours of repose, yet they still remained very healthy; and the only instance where the climate was at all prejudicial (if such a term can be applied) was in the victoria river, on the north coast, where the heat was, at one period, very great, and the unavoidable exposure caused two of the crew to be attacked with coup de soleil. our casualties consisted of two deaths during our stay on the australian coast, one from old age; and the other, a case of dysentery, contracted at coepang. it may not be uninteresting to state, that from the time that port essington was settled in , up to the period of our last visit to that military post, and for some time after, no endemial form of disease had manifested itself, and the only complaints that the men had been suffering from were diseases such as were usually to be met with in a more temperate clime, and those were few. but we must take into consideration their isolated position, the constant sameness of their life, their small low thatched cottages, mostly with earthen floors; their inferior diet, and also the absence or scantiness of vegetables. most of the men, moreover, experience a constant yearning for home, which, yearly increasing, terminates in despondency, and leaves them open to the attacks of disease. scorbutic symptoms were at one period very prevalent, arising principally from the poor form of diet; similar cases occurred in a former settlement on that part of the coast, from the same causes; but although port essington has been of late visited by sickness, i do not consider it by any means an unhealthy spot.) considering port essington as a harbour of refuge for the crews of ships wrecked in torres strait, it is certainly far removed from the scene of distress; and looking upon it in this light only, a military station at cape york would probably be attended with greater benefit and less expense, though, as it might be expected to meet with annoyance from the natives of the islands in torres strait, who are badly disposed and wander over a great space in search of plunder, the party should not be very small. there is, moreover, no real harbour; but, at the same time, as the post would be on a low narrow projection, with a seabreeze sweeping over it in either monsoon, it would doubtless be cooler than at port essington. i may observe that the only instance that came under my immediate notice of the benefit of a harbour of refuge on the north coast, was that of a vessel wrecked too far to the westward to reach cape york, the crew of which arrived at port essington in their boats. it was in some measure at the request of the surgeon, in order to alleviate mr. fitzmaurice's great sufferings by a little rest, that our stay was lengthened to september th, when we left in the morning.* (*footnote. while steering north by east / east for point record, we discovered a bank of / fathoms, with and on each side. when just off it, to the northward, in fathoms, the west extreme of point record bore north / east, and its east extreme north / east, and the north-east end of spear point north degrees west.) sahul shoal. by noon we had cleared the heads of port essington, and a course was then shaped for the supposed sahul shoal, the northern and central parts of which we passed over without finding any remarkable decrease in the soundings.* (*footnote. this clearly proved that our knowledge of the extent of the sahul bank was very imperfect. it appears that between the latitudes degrees minutes south and degrees minutes south, and the longitudes degrees minutes east and degrees minutes east, there are no less than six patches of coral known, of and fathoms. it is my belief that the whole of this shoal, if it merit the name, lies between the latitudes of degrees minutes south and degrees minutes south, and the longitudes of degrees minutes east and degrees minutes east.) arrive at timor. the winds were singularly light from the eastward, until we approached timor, the south-west end of which we saw in the morning of the th,* when, after passing through samow strait,** we anchored in fathoms off coepang; the flagstaff of fort concordia bearing south-south-east a quarter of a mile. (*footnote. in passing the north-east end of rottee a good lookout was kept for a -fathom patch, laid down in the admiralty chart as lying four miles east of it. nothing, however, could be discovered of it; and close to the place we had fathoms. in flinders' atlas we find fathoms marked on this spot; and it is probable that the mistake has occurred in copying, the being left out, and the space dotted round, to draw attention to the supposed shoal-water.) (**footnote. the tides in samow strait run from one to two knots an hour, eight hours to the northward, and four in the opposite direction. the time of high-water at coepang at the full and change is half-past eleven, when the rise is twelve feet. on the north side of timor, between it and ombaye, the current sets to the westward at the rate of from two to four knots an hour, in the south-east monsoon; but close to the timor shore it sets to windward. ships make the passage to the eastward during its prevalence by keeping close to the north sides of the lomblen, pantar, and ombaye islands, where they find a favourable current, and winds from the southward drawing through the straits separating the islands. there is no anchorage between pantar and ombaye; but on the south side of timor, at the mouth of the naminie river, and twenty-five miles further eastward, and also at the east point, inside the small island of pulo jackie, there are good anchorages in from to fathoms. the southern coast of timor is washed by heavy surf in either monsoon.) arrangements were immediately made for watering the ship, by having the barecas filled and carried to the boats by persons from the shore, thereby saving our crew from exposure in this, i believe at all times, unhealthy climate. when our stock was completed, with the additional casks procured at port essington, we had sufficient for eighty days. we found the resident, mr. gronovius, as usual, very communicative; he was much astonished at the size of some bananas i gave him from port essington. timorees. i may take this opportunity of giving some additional information respecting the timorees. it appears that after killing an enemy they, like the new zealanders, preserve the head by baking it; and, during meals, place food in the mouth of their bodiless foe. on the death of a rajah, a favourite slave or two is killed and buried with him; some weapons, also, are laid in the grave, in order that the deceased may not want for anything in the next world; this clearly shows that they have an idea of a future state. the mode in which trade is carried on with the wild natives of timor is extremely singular. the goods intended for barter are left in parcels on the shore; the natives come down and place against them, generally, bees' wax, and a kind of cotton cloth, to the amount which they conceive to be the value, when they also retire. the trader returns, and if satisfied, takes the native's goods, leaving his own; if not, he goes away without touching either. the natives again come down and weigh the relative value of the heaps of merchandize, and either consent to the proffered bargain or take away their own property. neither party ever comes in sight of the other; and the strictest honour is preserved in the transaction. most of my readers will recollect that a similar method of trading is attributed to one of the nations of antiquity. a tribe of sumbawa,* who call themselves the danga people, have a custom worth mentioning. they are the only tribe on that island not mahomedans, and worship the evil spirit, to appease whom they frequently leave a roasted pig, with rice, at a well near a tree, a species of wild mango; the priest, of course, reaps the benefit of this pious offering. a similar custom prevails among the natives of eastern patagonia. (*footnote. i may here mention, that when the great eruption took place on this island, the report of it was heard at macassar, nearly three hundred miles distant, and the motion was felt by the ships at anchor there.) sail from coepang. by the morning of september th the rough charts were completed, and tracings, with other despatches, being deposited with the resident, to be forwarded to england, we sailed from coepang. on the th the first lieutenant, the surgeon, and the master, were seized with a violent attack of cholera, which lasted twenty-four hours--another evidence of the unhealthiness of timor. the work that now lay before us was, perhaps, one of the most interesting features of the north-west coast--a remarkable indentation, south of roebuck bay, many parts of which had never been seen. its peculiar configuration naturally suggested the idea that a river must exist there; and it was accordingly with great anxiety that we looked forward to the result. i had intended to examine the eastern part of scott's reef in the way; but westerly winds, which were, however, favourable for reaching our destination, prevented us. the track we pursued was entirely new, and in order to see if any shoals existed, we sounded every twenty miles, without, however, getting bottom, at nearly fathoms, until the st, when in latitude degrees minutes south, and longitude degrees minutes east we had fathoms.* (*footnote. from the result of our soundings on the passage to the coast, it would appear that a ship in or fathoms would be about the same number of miles from the land between the latitude of or degrees south--quality of bottom, a greyish sand, which becomes coarser as the depth increases.) after midnight on the rd and th we had strong breezes of short duration from south-east, and although a hundred miles from the nearest land to windward, a fine kind of dust was found on the rigging, which, on examination by a microscope, proved to consist of sand and wood ashes. reach the north-west coast. we saw the land to the southward of roebuck bay on october th, and at noon passed four miles from cape bossut, which we found to be in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east.* on the south side opened a bay two miles deep, with a small high-water inlet at its head. from thence we held a general south by west / west course, passing along the land at the distance of from three to four miles, in soundings of and fathoms, and at sunset anchored four miles from a low sandy coast, on which the sea broke heavily. cape joubert,** distant sixteen miles, was the last projection of any kind we passed. (*footnote. the longitudes depend on the meridian of coepang. which has been considered in degrees minutes seconds east.) (**footnote. in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east. it is crested with bare white sand, and although only forty-five feet high is a remarkable headland on this low coast.) appearance of north-west coast. from that headland commenced a low, wearisome, sandy shore, which we traced for sixty-five miles in a south-west by west direction, looking in vain for some change in its character. nothing beyond the coast sand-dunes, sprinkled with vegetation, and only twenty feet high, could be seen from the masthead, although the ship was within three miles of the beach. this cheerless aspect was heightened by the total absence of native fires, a fact we had never before observed in such an extent of country, and truly significant of its want of fertility. still, in our sight it possessed a greater charm than it may, probably, in that of others; as every fresh mile of coast that disclosed itself, rewarding our enterprise whilst it disappointed our expectations, was so much added to the domains of geography. that such an extent of the australian continent should have been left to be added to the portion of the globe discovered by the beagle was remarkable; and although day by day our hopes of accomplishing any important discovery declined, a certain degree of excitement was kept alive throughout. it was the th before we had made good the distance i have above mentioned, when a reddish hillock, of fifty-six feet in elevation, in latitude degrees minutes south, and longitude degrees minutes east, promising a view of the interior, we went to visit it. there was less surf on the beach than we expected, and we landed without much difficulty. our old friend, the black and white red-bill, or oyster-catcher, was in readiness to greet us, accompanied by a few families of sanderlings, two or three batches of grey plovers, and a couple of small curlews. crossing the beach, a line of reddish sandstone cliffs, twelve feet in height, was ascended, and found to face a bank of sand, held together by a sort of coarse spinifex. this bank, which ran parallel to the coast, was narrow, subsiding into a valley three quarters of a mile wide, on the opposite side of which rose a hummocky ridge of coarse ferruginous sandstone formation. the valley was covered with brown grass and detached stunted bushes. water had recently lodged in it, as appeared from the saucer-like cakes of earth broken and curled up over the whole surface. the nature of the soil was shown by the heaps of earth thrown out at the entrances of the holes of iguanas, and other burrowing creatures; it was a mixture of sand, clay, and vegetable matter. view of interior. from the highest hillock beyond the valley a view of the interior was obtained: it presents, like most of the portions of the continent we had discovered, the aspect of a dreary plain, clothed with grass and detached clumps of green brushwood. "what a strange country!" was the exclamation that naturally burst from us all, on beholding this immense and apparently interminable expanse, with no rise to relieve the tired eye. as we gazed, our imaginations transported us to the pampas of south america, which this vast level greatly resembled, except that the motions of no startled deer or ostriches scudding over the country, and leaving a train of dust behind, gave life and animation to the scene. no trace of kangaroos, or of natives, not even the sign of a fire, greeted us on this inhospitable coast. the evidences of animal were as scanty as those of vegetable life. birds. two brown bustards rose out of the grass; they were of the same size and colour as those seen in the gulf of carpentaria, and quite as wary, which was very singular. a couple of specimens of land birds were shot; one of them resembled a meliphagus, although its stomach was filled with small beetles, finely broken up;* its head was covered with yellow pollen, out of a flower resembling the mallow, which is frequently resorted to by small beetles during the heat of the day, when the petal closing over them they are extracted, with some difficulty, by the bird. the other specimen was a brown grain-feeding kind; it invariably rested on the ground, where in its habits, head erect, tail down, and short, sudden run, it greatly resembled a tit-lark. (*footnote. usually observed in the specimens of this species procured by dr. bynoe.) at daylight on the th we continued our exploration from the spot where we visited the shore, marked on the chart as red hill; and found that the coast trended west by south to the part fronting the amphinome shoals, and that instead of the continued sandy beach were occasional low rocky projections. eleven miles from red hill, a detached rocky ledge extended two miles from the shore, and at the end of twenty, commenced a line of low red sandstone cliffs five miles in extent. here we, for the first time, saw native fires; and the country was evidently higher. solitary island. october . in the evening the ship was anchored five miles from a small island, bearing south-south-east, which we found to be in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east; and which, from its lonely situation, was named solitary island. six and nine miles north by east from it we had crossed several lines of ripplings and shoal patches of and fathoms. on visiting it next morning ( th) it was found to be of red sandstone formation, thirty feet high, and devoid of vegetation. although lying a mile from the shore it is connected at low-water by a flat of sand. from its summit the view of the interior presented a slight change. at the distance of six miles there was a bank or rise in the country having rather a fertile aspect, above a hundred feet high, trending south-west with dense woodland intervening. on the same afternoon the ship was moved fourteen miles further on. the many patches of ripplings we now saw in every direction westward, assured us that the amphinome shoals were close at hand; on patches one and two miles west and south of the ship there was only six and nine feet. visit the shore. october . in the morning another party visited the shore, landing under a low sandhill, sixty feet high, bearing south by east six miles, called mount blaze, in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east. this was found to stand on a projection, with two small rocky islets on either side. eastward from it cliffy points separating shoal mangrove bays, formed the character of the coast; whilst in the opposite direction extended a bay, fifteen miles wide, over the western point of which we recognised the sandhills seen on our visit to this part in july, ; the shores of this great bay were fronted for some distance by shoal water. behind mount blaze the country was swampy, with mangroves, for a few miles; it then gradually rose, and on the bearing of south degrees east, distant nearly fifteen miles, were seen conical-sided flat-topped hills about two hundred feet high. this was the first remarkable elevation in the country we had seen during the two hundred miles of the coastline traced by the beagle; it appears to be the north-east termination of the high land seen southward from the turtle isles. some small burrowing animal had so excavated the ground in the vicinity of mount blaze, that at each step we sunk in knee-deep; a few quails were shot, but no varieties of birds were seen beyond what had been already observed at the other points of the coast visited. weighing, we stood to the westward, after making a short stretch to the north-east; but shoal water, at the end of six miles, obliged us to go on the other tack. the change in the direction of the flood- tide, from westerly to northerly, did not leave much hope of our finding a passage to the westward. at sunset the anchor was dropped in fathoms, with a shoal patch of fathoms two miles to the eastward, mount blaze, just visible from the masthead, bearing south sixteen miles. during the afternoon we had crossed no less than five lines of ripplings, on which, at low-water, there was only from to fathoms. october . after the noon observation another attempt was made to find a passage to the westward; but at the end of eighteen miles we found ourselves embayed among patches of ripplings and breakers. the western sandhills, seen yesterday, bore at this time south by east fifteen miles. two-thirds of the distance from the shore was a continued line of broken water. finding, by sounding with the boats, that there was no passage for the ship, we retraced our track east; and in the evening anchored again in fathoms, between two ridges of . amphinome shoals. the outer breaker of the amphinome shoals bore north degrees west three miles, which placed it in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees minutes east; and as these shoals extend eighteen miles off such low land, they may fairly be considered dangerous. bedout island. next evening we anchored off the east side of bedout island, having, in the morning, nineteen miles to the east of it and twenty-two from the mainland, passed over a ridge of fathoms. october . we spent the day on bedout, the centre of which we found to be in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degrees minutes seconds east. it is a circular sand islet twenty feet high, and half a mile in extent. off its western side ripplings and rocks extend nearly three miles; in other parts it is fronted by a circular reef a mile in extent, and of a different kind from the turtle isle reefs, being composed of live corallines and fan-like leaves, which giving way readily to the feet, we suddenly found ourselves immersed almost up to our necks; within fifty yards of the island this became worse. the reefs and beaches abounded with turtles of two kinds, the mydas and a species of the imbricated. we were in time for the noddy's eggs; but the other birds had hatched theirs, and left for sea, returning only at night. from their great abundance and constant visits they had formed a kind of guano on the island. among the varieties of the feathered tribe was the golden plover. on the following afternoon we stood over, south-south-east for the main; but were again prevented by shoal water from approaching within twelve miles of the nearest part, which was the western point of the bay seen from mount blaze. broken water and dry sands extended between south and east, and to the south-west the entrance of breaker inlet and other parts of the last year's survey were readily distinguished. october . during the forenoon the boats completed the soundings, and in the evening the ship was anchored under the north turtle isle. thus terminated the examination of this hitherto unexplored part of the coast, which had been the field of many years' speculation. one of the most remarkable points, is the great rise of twenty-eight feet in the tide, which can only be accounted for by the fact of the water being heaped up in the concavity formed by the coast; on the first part of the bight the direction of the flood was from west, and on the latter from west-north-west. we had found that no river or other interesting feature existed; and that it was the most dull and uniform portion of the continent we had seen, or that could possibly be imagined. breaker inlet. while i have no reason to believe that an examination of breaker inlet, which, from the numerous sandbanks forming the amphinome shoals, has probably a considerable outlet, would lead to a discovery of any importance, nevertheless, i regret that the heavy surf which breaks across its entrance at this season of the year entirely prevented my exploring it. the winds we had experienced on this part of the coast were light, from the eastward, during the night, and moderate from north-north-west to west-south-west towards the latter part of the day, the morning being frequently calm. on one or two occasions in the night we had slight squalls from south-east accompanied by lightning; but, commonly speaking, the weather was very fine, the temperature on board being generally , the maximum being and the minimum degrees. on shore it was about five degrees higher. exmouth gulf. the necessary chronometric and magnetic observations were completed, and a supply of turtles taken on board by the evening of the th, when after leaving a paper in a bottle, recording our visit and describing the nature of the coast eastwards, we left with the intention of exploring exmouth gulf, which was the only remaining portion of the north-western shore of the continent that had not been visited by captain king or ourselves. but as we were forced away from the land by southerly winds as we approached the north-west cape, and as there was no certainty of procuring water, i have been obliged to content myself with the report of a whaler who went in there and found it to be the mouth of a large inlet conveying a vast body of water into the interior, occasionally, i imagine, even as far as the neighbourhood of the north-east shore of shark's bay, as captain grey speaks of finding there extensive plains of mud and sand, at times evidently flooded by the sea and presenting no limit in a north-east direction. continuing our passage we arrived at swan river on november rd. chapter . . reported harbour. set out for australind. the grass-tree. correspondence with mr. clifton, etc. sail from gage road. examination of coast. reach champion bay. visit mount fairfax and wizard peak. arid nature of country. want of water. native grave. the greenough river. natives. leave champion bay. koombanah bay. naturaliste reef. reach south australia. port adelaide. proposed railroad. visit mount barker. encounter bay. native fishing. return to adelaide. sail from south australia. portland bay. squatters. tour in the interior. fertile country. view from the sugarloaf. visit cape bridgewater. sail for hobart. liberality of sir john franklin. atmospheric changes. arrive at sydney. reported harbour. among the news that most interested us on our arrival at swan river, was the report of the discovery of a harbour on the west coast, near moresby's flat-topped range. in the surveyor general's office i was shown a map of that portion of western australia by mr. arrowsmith, "from the surveys of captain grey," whose name the port bore; and the united authorities of this talented explorer, and this celebrated geographer, would have removed all doubt from my mind as to the correctness of the report to which i have alluded, even if the alleged discovery had not taken place on a portion of the coast unvisited by captain king or myself. in the colony, however, very different opinions were held; and it was confidently maintained that port grey, although placed, by accident or otherwise, twelve miles to the southward, was no other than the bay we had previously visited, called by us champion bay. it is true i could trace a resemblance between their southern parts; but they differed so widely in their northern--port grey being represented in the chart, and printed description, to be perfectly safe, and sheltered in that quarter by a point and a reef--that i saw no grounds for giving credence to the opinion industriously circulated at swan river, that the reef and point, or perhaps the whole port, had been fabricated by the land-jobbers at home. such an opinion, however, was quite a disinterested one on their part; as an extension of the colony northwards, and the establishment of a settlement near moresby's flat-topped range, would have led to a result much desired by them, the occupancy, namely, of the intervening country. it was in the neighbourhood of the harbour, the existence or identity of which was thus called in question, that captain grey had reported to have seen a fertile district; and a company had actually arrived from england for the purpose of forming a settlement there. mr. clifton, the chief commissioner, however, on hearing the opinion prevalent in the colony, did not think proper to risk the lives of the people under his charge, by conveying them to a port that might be fabulous, and to a country the fertility of which was absolutely denied; and the destination of the new settlement was, accordingly, provisionally changed to the shores of the leschenault inlet, which held out a prospect of solid, if not brilliant, success, and possessed advantages, which, if not dazzling, were at least exempt from the suspicion of being visionary. anxious to have further information on this subject through a personal interview with mr. clifton, i accompanied his excellency governor hutt and the surveyor general on a tour in the direction of the new settlement, whilst the ship underwent a slight refit, and the men had a run ashore. the survey of the swan, from the entrance to perth, was, meanwhile, undertaken by mr. forsyth. the grass-tree. leaving fremantle, the first part of the road lay between low ranges of limestone hills, and through quite a forest of grass-trees, gums (xanthorroea) some knobby, old and crooked, others erect and reaching the height, occasionally, of perhaps seventeen feet, with their tufted and overarching crests towering above those of smaller growth that were scattered over the earth around.* (*footnote. these trees, called blackboys by the colonists, from the resemblance they bear, in the distance, to natives, attain, it is said, a great age, and there is a vague report that when fifty years old they are only a foot above ground.) road to australind. the road passes through the township of pinjarra, on the fertile banks of the murray. where it crosses the river, the first and only great affray took place with the natives, whose blood on that unfortunate occasion stained the waters of the reach that now slept in peaceful beauty, as if strife had never polluted its banks.* here we met mr. clifton, who accompanied us to his new township of australind, to plant the germs of which, in the wilds of western australia, he and his worthy family had left england and all the comforts of society. this interesting spot is situated on the east side of leschenault inlet; the approach is laid out with much taste, the road leading along the foot of a hill covered with wood, whilst on the right is an open growth of trees, affording every now and then a glimpse of the beautiful estuary, with its surface just ruffled and glittering in the rays of the setting sun. i was much struck with the beauty of the scenery during this evening's and the morrow's excursion, having had no idea that there was such a fertile, well watered, and heavily timbered district so near the coast in western australia.** (*footnote. a spirited painting of this encounter i saw ornamenting the walls of captain mears' cottage at guildford.) (**footnote. her majesty's dockyards are now availing themselves of this supply of excellent timber; and its proximity to the sea must greatly enhance the value of this part of the continent.) correspondence with mr. clifton, etc. having conversed with mr. clifton on the subject of the settlement he had intended to make near port grey, and been made acquainted with his reasons for doubting the existence of the harbour, and the fertility of the surrounding country, as well as with his desire to have the question satisfactorily set at rest, i requested him to write to me on the subject; and on the receipt of his letter,* i communicated, also in writing, with his excellency, governor hutt, and the surveyor-general, mr. roe; the result of which correspondence was, that i determined to examine that portion of the coast; and to afford mr. clifton the opportunity of accompanying me, and with his own eyes convincing himself of the policy or impolicy of the course he had adopted. (*footnote. from which the following is an extract: your arrival at gage roads, in her majesty's surveying vessel, beagle, under your command, affords me an opportunity of soliciting your able assistance towards the solution of a question of great interest, not only to the western australian company, whom i represent, but to this colony at large; and i feel assured that your known zeal in the cause of geographical and hydrographical research will induce you, if it be within your power, to comply with the request which i now take the liberty to make. under these feelings i proceed to state to you, that the western australian company, after all their plans had been formed for founding their intended colony of australind, in leschenault inlet, were led under circumstances which occurred, and information which reached them, to abandon that intention and to determine to fix their settlement at a port discovered by captain grey, designated in england by the appellation of port grey, and lying on the north-west coast of this colony, in or about the latitude of degrees south, within the limits of the district between gantheaume bay and the river arrowsmith, in which district her majesty's government had permitted the company to take possession of extensive tracts of land in lieu of their property in other parts of western australia. upon my arrival, however, in march last, at port leschenault, with the intention of conveying in the parkfield, with the first body of settlers and emigrants to the new district, the company's surveying establishment already employed in this neighbourhood, i received such communications from his excellency the governor, and such information respecting the supposed port grey, and the country in its vicinity, together with a tracing of the partial survey made by you in champion bay, lying in latitude degrees minutes south which is presumed to be identical with port grey, that i was induced, after full consultation with his excellency, to unite with him in opinion, that it would be proper for me to depart from my instructions, and to found the colony under my charge on the spot originally contemplated in leschenault inlet, instead of at port grey, which determination i accordingly carried into effect under the governor's sanction. it naturally was my most anxious wish, as it would have been my duty, if it had been practicable, to visit myself the supposed port, before i took, in conjunction with his excellency, a step involving so great a personal responsibility, and so seriously affecting all the predetermined plans of the company, settlers, and emigrants. i have since made every practical endeavour, but without success, to obtain means of proceeding to the district in question, in order to establish the fact by actual observation and research, whether that district does or does not afford a proper site for the establishment of a new settlement on an extensive scale, or is totally inapplicable for it, according to the information which led to the decision come to. and as the result of such examination involves measures which may prove of very great importance to the local interests of this colony, and even to the interests of the mother-country, i venture to submit to your consideration, whether you would not deem that inquiry of sufficient importance to justify your proceeding to champion bay, in her majesty's sloop, beagle, under your command, to ascertain fully the capabilities of the country in its immediate vicinity, and to determine whether there be another harbour or not at the place assigned to port grey on the map recently published by arrowsmith. if your proceeding to that part of this coast should be within the scope of the service assigned to you by the lords commissioners of the admiralty, or the importance of the solution of these questions, on which such extensive interests and operations depend, should induce you to take upon yourself the responsibility of going there, i earnestly request you will allow me the honour of accompanying you, for the purpose of fulfilling my duty to the directors of the company, and to the very numerous body of persons interested in the formation of the intended settlement under them.) examination of coast. on the th, accordingly, we sailed from gage roads, and next morning closed with the land in latitude degrees minutes south being thirteen miles south of the position assigned to port grey in arrowsmith's map, before alluded to. from thence we followed the shore at a distance of between three and five miles, in soundings of and fathoms; the first part trended north by west two miles, and then north-west / west to point grey, lying five miles south by east of point moore (a bight of that width being formed between) without any sign of the sought-for harbour. the general appearance of the coast was that of high sandhills, partly covered with vegetation; immediately in the rear of which there appeared a range rather higher, and of a less barren appearance; behind these again, at a distance of eight or nine miles, rose a series of singular table-topped broken ranges, terminating southwards in about latitude degrees minutes south. mount fairfax and wizard peak are the most conspicuous objects in this range. reach champion bay. owing to the water being very smooth, we found ourselves embayed on approaching the point of the above mentioned bight, by a reef, the outer part of which bore south degrees west fifteen miles from mount fairfax. the delay caused in clearing this danger, made it evening by the time we reached champion bay, in latitude degrees minutes south, from whence we had previously examined the coast northward for nearly thirty miles. we had, therefore, now satisfactorily ascertained that, excepting champion bay, there was no good anchorage on the coast between the latitudes of degrees minutes south and degrees minutes south.* (*footnote. for a description of champion bay, see above.) from what i have said it will appear, that the point represented in arrowsmith's map, as sheltering the north side, has no real existence. it is probable, that the following passage from mr. moore's journal, may have had some share in suggesting the contrivance. "to the south of the tongue of land which forms the bay, there is also another bay, which would be completely sheltered from all northerly winds, so as to combine, between the two bays, perfect shelter at all seasons of the year." visit mount fairfax. this point being set at rest, we proceeded with a large armed party at daylight on the morning of the th, to examine the country. landing, we took an east by south direction for mount fairfax, the nearest and most commanding point. about one mile and a half from the beach, we crossed the dry bed of a stream, trending south by east about twenty yards wide, with banks from twenty to thirty feet high, composed of reddish earth and sand, having considerable portions of ironstone in it. a few small tea-trees of the colonists grew in the sand that formed the dry bed of the stream. our course continued afterwards uninterrupted, over a gradually rising plain, of a sandy scrubby nature, until reaching the foot of mount fairfax, when we crossed another small watercourse, trending south by west where, for the first time, we noticed a solitary stunted casuarina. mount fairfax is the southern and most elevated part of an isolated block, forming moresby's flat-topped range. it rests on a reddish, sandy, sloping plain, on which were occasionally noticed fragments of quartz and ironstone, which latter formation is the character of mount fairfax, and apparently of the neighbouring heights. having completed our observations, which place mount fairfax feet above the level of the sea, we continued our journey to the south-east, in the direction of wizard peak. two miles, over a scrubby sandy plain, brought us again to the chapman or greenough. here, for the first time, there was an appearance of fertility; but only in the valley of the river, which was about a quarter of a mile wide. with the exception of a few brackish pools, the bed, as where we before crossed it, was dry, and formed of white sand, growing in which was a small crooked kind of drooping gum, besides a species of wattle and tea-tree. its course was about south by west and appeared to come from the valleys, formed by the ranges in the rear of mount fairfax, and north of wizard peak. continuing our journey, we proceeded over an undulating plain, on the higher parts of which a reddish sand and ironstone gravel universally prevailed; in the lower parts, and near the watercourses, the soil approached a light mould, and produced the warran, so much sought after by the natives. in all this district the vegetation was of the worst description--the trees, which grew only in the valleys, were small kinds of banksia, wattles, and drooping gums--not large enough to furnish building materials. ascend wizard peak. in the course of the afternoon we reached the summit of that remarkable and almost solitary pyramidal hill, wizard peak,* which we found composed of large blocks of ironstone, having a most powerful effect on the needle, and changing its direction in different places ten degrees. here we noticed two or three stunted xanthorrhoeas growing on the south-west side of the hill; and a few small casuarinas, and wattles were thinly scattered on its summit, which, by barometric measurement, was found to be feet above the level of the sea. part of the range lying immediately north was absolutely a mass of bare ironstone. this view was very commanding--to the north-north-west and north-east lay extensive valleys, all of which appeared through a spy-glass to be of the same arid nature; for a few miles to the eastward, and a great many to the northward, the formation of the country was of the same flat, broken, and irregular character, but no part visible appeared to be of greater elevation than that on which we stood; to seawards the appearance of the country was that of an undulating plain, with patches of stunted woodland widely scattered. (*footnote. distant eleven miles from champion bay.) appearance of country from wizard peak. after attentively examining with my glass, resting on the ground, all that lay within the extensive range of vision afforded by wizard peak,* i could not help congratulating mr. clifton on his display of judgment, in taking the responsible step i have mentioned; and it is to be deeply regretted, that one so energetic, and so well adapted for the duty he had undertaken, should have been totally abandoned by those who sent him out. it was now clear that this part of the country was not fit for the settler, being deficient in the three most necessary articles, water, timber for building, and food for stock.** it was also now clear that the opinion expressed at swan river, regarding both the harbour and the quality of the country was substantially correct. but it was not until it became apparent to my own eyes, that i could believe anyone could be so reckless as to induce a large number of individuals, including women and children, by false, or at least exaggerated representations, to sever the ties of kindred and of friendship, and become voluntary exiles to a far country, in search of a new and more prosperous home; whilst in lieu of the promised streams and fertile plains, nothing in reality awaited them but sterility--the certain loss of property, and the imminent risk of their lives. (*footnote. the reader will see my position, at this time, together with the track of the beagle's party, and that of captain grey's, laid down in one of the charts accompanying this work.) (**footnote. mr. moore's description of the country near champion bay, is as follows: "judging by the eye at that distance, the entire space, as far as we had any opportunity of seeing, after going a little way back from the coast, on the slope to the hills, upon the hills, among the hills, beyond the hills, and, in short, everywhere, as far as the eye could discern, appeared a grassy country, thinly sprinkled with some low trees or shrubs, perhaps acacias. if this be the case, and there be water sufficient, of which there is no reason to doubt, this may certainly turn out to be the finest district for sheep pasture that this colony can possess." this testimony, one would have thought, was much too vague to justify the expression of any decided opinion as to the capabilities of the country. mr. moore judged entirely from a distant view with the naked eye: he could not discern the nature of the trees, does not assert positively that the land was grassy, is unable to speak with certainty as to the existence of sufficient water, and ventures only to draw the conditional conclusion that this district may turn out to be the finest the colony can possess. mr. bynoe, who accompanied me in my excursion over this part of the continent, writes as follows respecting it: "there can be but one opinion of the country in the vicinity of the supposed port grey, namely, that it is comparatively sterile. all the soil passed over, during our two days' journey, was of a sandy nature; and the gumtrees, particularly in the open country, were stunted and gnarled. isolated clumps, however, of a taller, straighter, and smoother character, were met with in the dried watercourses. near wizard peak, the warran, or native yam seemed to grow in great abundance, and to some considerable depth. there the soil could be pretty well judged of; and the deeper the holes had been dug by the natives to obtain the root, the more pure was the sand; it was only the surface soil that held decayed vegetable matter. twice during the trip, near the bases of cliffs, i saw a few acres of alluvial deposit, two very circumscribed beds, which were lost in the bottom of a watercourse, sliding, as it were, gradually under the sand. near moresby's range, where the soil became freely mixed with ironstone and pebbles, the vegetation was more stunted, consisting principally of a prickly bush, mingled with coarse brown grass. during the whole time of our ramble, we saw only three kangaroos, and five emus; and in some parts of the tall scrub were wallaby tracks.") descending, we found the party left below in the dry bed of a watercourse had failed in their endeavour to procure water by digging; we, therefore, as we supposed, had no resource but to return, exhausted as we were, to the brackish water-pools we had seen in the chapman or greenough. native well and burial place. happily, however, our dog discovered a deep hole under a drooping gum, which proved to be a native well, and after clearing and digging deeper, afforded our thirst relief. the soil through which this well was sunk was a light alluvial deposit, based on sand six feet below the surface. numerous native paths and deep holes, from which the warran root had been extracted, encircle this spot; some neighbouring huts of a superior structure gave us snug quarters for the night; wizard peak bearing south seconds east about a mile distant. at break of dawn we resumed our exploration. the morning was dull and cloudy, thermometer degrees; on the previous day its greatest height had been degrees. two miles from our bivouac, we fell in with a recent native grave--a circular pit three yards in diameter, filled within a foot of the surface with sand, carefully smoothed over. small sticks, some with red horizontal marks painted on them, and others scraped, with the shavings tastefully twisted round, ornamented the edge of the grave; a large semicircular fence fronted the south-east side; and the neighbourhood bore evidence, in the shape of several destroyed huts, of its having been deserted by the companions of the dead. after walking at least five miles, we again made the chapman or greenough, above a mile south of the point at which we before met it, and pursuing its usual course between south and south-south-west. the bed was still dry sand, but we found a small hole of brackish water in a hollow. crossing, we continued our west direction, and were surprised to find ourselves again on the river; a line of red cliffs thirty feet high, forming the south bend, had changed its course to the northward. we subsequently again crossed two dry parts of it; from an elevation on the south-west side of the last, mount fairfax bore north degrees east and wizard peak south degrees east. recognition bend. hitherto i had been in doubt whether this was the chapman or greenough of captain grey; but here finding that a branch trended southwards, i was convinced it was the latter, and gave this part the name of recognition bend, as it further led to my discovering that captain grey had mistaken the hills in captain king's chart,* and that, therefore, his description of the country refers to another portion; and it is only justice to him to state, that considering he was travelling for his life, and the great hardships he endured, it is surprising how the information collected was obtained. (*footnote. this error captain grey candidly acknowledged in the following letter to me, afterwards published by his authority in the south australian register. government house, adelaide, january th, . my dear sir, i have attentively read your letter to the honourable the surveyor-general of western australia; i have also considered the observations made by you to me, relative to the error you suppose i have fallen into in mistaking the wizard peak of captain king for the hill named by him mount fairfax; and i find that i have certainly fallen into this error, a by no means unlikely one, considering the very similar character of the singular group of hills, called moresby's flat-topped range, and the circumstances under which i was journeying. consequently the country i have described as lying near mount fairfax, lies near some other hill to the north of mount fairfax, and the country i have described as lying near wizard hill lies near mount fairfax, being placed from ten to twelve miles south of its true latitude. the mistake arose thus: i carried captain king's chart, and having only a kater's compass with me, on recognizing what i considered to be mount fairfax, i assumed the latitude of that hill as laid down on the chart to be my true latitude, and made an entry in my journal accordingly. on substituting the name of mount fairfax for wizard hill, the description of the small portions of the country traversed by us in common, will be found to coincide almost exactly...i am, my dear sir, yours faithfully, g. grey. i need scarcely add, that captain grey having been obliged to assume his latitude, none of his positions, during this harassing journey, can be expected to be accurate.) mouth of the greenough. from this point we proceeded one mile west over a dry, arid plain, covered with yellow and white everlasting flowers of small growth: a little patch of woodland, consisting of a species of wattle and a very small kind of gum, here delayed our progress. the ground beneath these trees was entirely barren of vegetation; but emerging from them, we came upon the only piece of grass of a useful nature seen in the route; it was, however, quite parched, and occupied a space only of three or four acres. from thence to the coast dunes, to reach which we made a detour to the south-west walking over about six miles of country, all was scrub and sand. on the low ridge, lying immediately behind the coast range of sandhills, limestone occasionally cropped out. embarking, we proceeded in a boat to examine a small estuary, seen from mount fairfax, at the northern part of the bay. this we found to be separated from the sea by a low bank of sand, thirty feet wide and five high, over which the sea appeared in gales to enter; but from the manner in which the sandhills overlapped at the mouth, it was not possible to detect the entrance from seawards. we landed and traced it for a mile in an east direction, until we proved it to be the mouth of the greenough; the water was entirely salt, and the banks, in some places seventy feet high, were composed of limestone. near the head of this estuary we discovered the place where captain grey crossed it, as described in the following extract from his notes communicated to lord john russell, then secretary for the colonies. character of country. "the character of the country again changed, and for the next two miles and a half the plains were sandy, and covered with scrub. at the end of another mile we reached a river, about twenty-five yards wide; it was salt where we made it, and it was so shallow, that we soon found a place where, by jumping from rock to rock, we could cross it. this river discharged itself into a bay;* it ran rather from the south of east. [east of south?] four miles further, south by east, were sandy plains, with scrub, etc." (*footnote. this was doubtless champion bay; but in our examination of the coast, we did not see anything of the bay or harbour which captain grey speaks of in his work (volume page ) about nine miles north of the greenough, and which he supposed to be champion bay, "since denominated," he says, "port grey." according to the true latitude of champion bay, the bay in question would be in about degrees minutes south or nearly twenty-two miles north of the position assigned to port grey in arrowsmith's map, before alluded to.) thus terminated our exploration of this part of the country, called, by captain grey, the province of victoria; and certainly all we had seen of it deserved the character of sterility, which in some measure it appears to retain further northward, as we learn from the report of lieutenant helpman, who has recently visited it in the colonial schooner champion. we did not, on our route, fall in with any native, but on reaching the boat, found that a party of five men had approached the beach, and held friendly communication with mr. pasco, who, in exchange for a handkerchief or two, had obtained from them a hunger belt, composed of wallaby furs, a throwing stick, and a nose-piece of kangaroo bone. they were entirely naked, and slightly scarred, but were not smeared with the red pigment called wilgy, and had their hair knotted upon the crown of their head, like the natives of the neighbourhood of king's sound. sail from champion bay. on the morning of the th we were again on our way southwards, with, strange to say at that season of the year, westerly winds, which prevailed for the three succeeding days. koombanah bay. after touching at swan river (where, finding his excellency the governor still absent, an account of our cruise was left with the surveyor-general) we reached koombanah bay on the th. mr. forsyth, whom i had sent overland, had completed the survey of this anchorage, and leschenault inlet, which it joins in the south corner by a narrow boat channel. the wreck of a large whale ship in the head of the bay shows the folly of attempting to ride out the winter gales to which it is exposed; but this may be remedied by a breakwater thrown out from point casuarina, of which nature has laid the foundation in the reef that extends out across the bay in the desired direction. the strong outset from the estuary during the rainy season materially lessens the strain upon the cables of ships caught there by a gale. the peculiarity in the formation of this neighbourhood consists in some basaltic columns on the coast close to point casuarina. we devoted the th to making observations,* etc.; and i was surprised to find that this part of the coast was laid down four miles too much to the northward. (*footnote. these observations were made on the beach, midway between point casuarina and the mouth of the estuary, which spot they place in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of swan river. from a sandhill, feet high, bearing south degrees west, six-tenths of a mile from that spot, i found that the highest part of the darling range, mount william, bore north degrees minutes east thirty-three miles, and was in height feet; and that mount leonard, another excrescence on this range bore south degrees minutes east distant thirteen miles and seven-tenths, and was of an elevation of feet; whilst the summit of cape naturaliste bore south degrees west and the visible extreme south degrees minutes west which confirmed the error i had before remarked in the position assigned it in the chart, being four miles too far north. all the above bearings are true. the rise of the tide, and the time of high-water, are the same as at swan river. arrive at south australia. daylight, on the th, found us outside koombanah bay, running to the westward before a light land breeze. from the offing, this part of the western shore of the continent was much more prepossessing than any we had before seen. the outline of the darling range, here approaching within fourteen miles of the sea, and broken only by mount leonard and the gorge of the harvey, was sharply pencilled against the eastern sky that glowed with the pure light of morning; whilst the country between was clothed with trees of such magnitude that their verdant summits could be seen, over the coast sandhills, stretching away in one sea of foliage as far as the eye could reach. the course we held led us within five miles of the north side of naturaliste reef,* in fathoms; the depth we found sixteen miles west of it was fathoms, and half a mile south of it fathoms. it partakes of the error in latitude previously discovered in cape naturaliste, which is distant sixteen miles, and bears, when over the centre of it, south / degrees west (true). (*footnote. a circular patch of breakers half a mile in extent, with, according to report, six and nine feet water on it.) being desirous of confirming our meridian distances along the south coast, we visited for the purpose king george's sound and south australia, at which latter place we arrived on the morning of january th, . since our former visit, a change had taken place in the governorship of the colony; and though it was with great regret that we learnt colonel gawler had left for england, we were glad he had found a worthy successor in our brother explorer captain grey. his excellency and the merchants expressing a wish that the beagle should visit the port, no man of war having yet done so; and being anxious myself to examine the capabilities of the place, as well as to complete our survey of twenty-three miles of the eastern shore of spencer's gulf, on the afternoon of the th the beagle was running into port adelaide.* the ladies of the governor, the surveyor-general, and others, honoured us with their presence on the passage round.** (*footnote. besides the light vessel off the bar at port adelaide, a flagstaff close to the southward at the pilot station serves to point out the entrance to strangers.) (**footnote. i have already given some account of this port; and here, therefore, i need do no more than refer the reader to the accompanying chart.) proposed railroad. it was the examination i made on this occasion of colonel gawler's excellent road between the port and adelaide, which convinced me that a portion of it might easily be converted into a railroad, as there is sufficient width for a single line of rails without detracting from its present value. that such an undertaking would prove of great advantage to the colony there can be no doubt; and it is equally certain that it would be profitable to those engaged in it. the exports and imports of south australia are, year by year, rapidly increasing; and now that its vast mineral resources have been discovered, and are in progress of development, no bounds can be set to its probable wealth and prosperity. a railroad would be sure to attract a large amount of traffic even at present. as, however, the port of adelaide only admits vessels of moderate draught, large ships must discharge part of their cargo outside, or at holdfast roads; between which place and adelaide a railroad might also be carried without any difficulty, there being a complete level the whole way. visit mount barker. being desirous of seeing a little more of this fertile part of the continent, i left adelaide accordingly, after sunset, on january st, for mount barker,* and before sunrise next day visited its summit, nearly feet high, in order, if possible, to obtain a view in the clear atmosphere of early morning of lake alexandrina, or victoria, and the river murray. in this, however, i was disappointed, the weather being hazy in that direction, so that nothing could be seen but the extensive scrub on the eastern side of the river, stretching away like a brown-coloured sea. mount barker, which may be recognised by a saddle-shaped hill to the south of it, lies about thirty miles south-east by east from adelaide; the latter part of the road between is hilly; from its foot a strip of very rich land, about one mile wide and three long, extends to the south-west, in the direction of willunga, on our way to which i noticed several similar blocks. following the southerly course of the finnis, at that time a dry rich flat, we entered a hilly picturesque country with deep fertile valleys. tracks of wild cattle were numerous on the ridges, but we saw none, and were again disappointed by the haze that prevailed throughout the day, of a view of the surrounding country. in the evening we reached willunga, distant thirty-five miles from mount barker; though sight-seeing had taken us, during the day, over fifty miles of country. this township is prettily situated at the western foot of the hills on a woodland slope, bordered by the waters of the gulf, at a distance of about six miles. (*footnote. named after the unfortunate captain barker by his friend captain sturt.) encounter bay. our party was to have been here joined by governor grey, who, however, did not arrive till late next morning; when, after examining the slate quarries in the neighbourhood, where the cleavage and quality equalled any i have seen in wales, we left for encounter bay, bearing nearly south-east. the first three miles of the road lay over stony ridges; and the next eighteen traversed the worst part of the province, a sandy, scrubby, slightly undulating country, about five hundred feet above the sea. we were glad to find ourselves descending from this wearisome sterile tract upon some rich flats at the head of the river hindmarsh, named after the first governor of the colony. these we followed four miles in a south-south-east direction, where meeting the river, its tortuous course led to the southward for about five miles. where it joins the sea, in the north-western corner of encounter bay, a township, also named hindmarsh, had been laid out, which will, doubtless, be a pleasant summer residence, as we felt a great change in the temperature; indeed the evening was quite bleak, with a moderate breeze from seaward. i was naturally much interested in this part of my journey, being anxious to see if the shelter here existing merited the name, given in the chart, of victor harbour; but the only protection, excepting for a small vessel in the north-west corner, and from northerly and westerly winds, is under a little island, where it is possible one or two vessels may lie. from hindmarsh i saw the entrance of lake alexandrina, among some sandhills at the entrance of which captain barker was murdered by the natives; a circumstance which gave rise to the name of encounter bay, and attached a melancholy interest to the spot. native mode of fishing. here for the first time, i met a murray river native among a party of others. he was certainly the finest australian in make i had ever seen, being robust and stout, like a south sea islander. a german missionary, who had a native school at hindmarsh, took us to see a curious method of catching fish resorted to at this place, which, as it has not been noticed by mr. eyre, i shall describe. a party of natives, each provided with a large square piece of net, rolled up, with a stick at either end, swam out to a certain distance from shore, and spread themselves into a semicircle. every man then relinquished one of the sticks round which his piece of net was rolled, to his right-hand neighbour, and received another from his left; when, bringing the two together, a great seine was formed. they now swam in, followed by other natives, who, by throwing stones and splashing the water, frightened the fish, and prevented them from getting out. visit rapid bay. leaving encounter bay, we for some distance followed the left bank of the inman, when the road turned off to the westward. the country was good in patches, till we made a cattle-station of mr. hacks, near yankalilla bay; when, instead of a succession of forested hills and dales, we passed over extensive treeless downs, contrasting strikingly in appearance with the woody country around. here we pitched our tents for the night: and next morning were deprived of the company of his excellency, who was obliged to return to adelaide; whilst messrs. macfarlane, burr, and myself, who were mounted from the station, went to rapid bay, lying about fifteen miles south-west by west. as there was some difficulty in catching the horses, it was a.m. before we got away. i was by no means pleased with my mount; i had suspected that all was not right by an exchange of looks, i caught the overseer and stockman indulging in, as i threw my leg over as ugly a hammer-headed, standing-over brute as ever man crossed; but with the aid of a severe bit and a sharp pair of spurs i kept him alive, and he only came down twice during the journey, which, although over a very hilly country, was performed in four hours. after taking some refreshment, we started at p.m. for adelaide, distant nearly sixty miles. mount terrible. we crossed the myponga; and led our horses down a winding path on the almost precipitous side of mount terrible, well worthy its name, just as the sun was shedding his last rays over the waters of the gulf, that stretched away westward, apparently, from our feet; the white sails of a coaster here and there dotting the blue expanse. hitherto the road had been over a succession of hills and dales, with occasionally a patch of pretty scenery; but from the foot of mount terrible a level, lightly-timbered piece of country extended to the unkaparinga, which we crossed, passing through the township of noarlinga, on its north bank. after stopping to bait the horses, we continued our ride; but it was now so very dark that i lost all the beauty of this part of the country, and from the undulations in the road i could easily imagine that many a pretty glen was veiled from us by the darkness. getting off the track, we became entangled among some high five-railed fences, from which we were extricated by the sagacity of my horse, belonging to the mounted police; on being given his head, he soon brought us back upon the road to adelaide, where we arrived about midnight, having ridden, since a.m., nearly ninety miles. we had scarcely reached the town before a hot wind set in, which lasted forty-eight hours, when a squall from seaward relieved the gasping inhabitants: at one time the thermometer at the public offices was degrees. sail from south australia. we sailed from south australia on february th, but it was not until the forenoon of the th that we cleared backstairs passage, passing half a mile from the reef fronting the east end of kangaroo island, in fathoms; the south-eastern part of this island is a steep rocky shore, with few sinuosities. southerly winds brought us in sight of the land at daylight on the th. the most remarkable features were mounts gambier and schanck; the summit of the latter, the least conspicuous, is flat, with a hollow in the centre. according to my observations, it is in longitude degrees minutes west of sydney. the ship's position, just before dark, was ten miles north degrees west from cape bridgewater, which is a hummocky cliff-faced point of land, separated from the main by a low neck. arrive at portland bay. february . finding ourselves still off this part of the coast, which was laid down three miles too much to the northward, i resolved, for the better means of determining this fact by observations on shore, to go to the nearest anchorage, portland bay, where we arrived in the evening. i had another object in visiting this place, namely, that of helping to determine the st meridian, which had been fixed on as the western boundary of the colony of new south wales. the approach to this anchorage is remarkable, and cannot escape the memory of anyone who has seen it; for the information of those who have not, i give a woodcut.* (*footnote. lawrence isles lie off the point forming the south side of portland bay.) our anchorage was in fathoms, midway between the bluff on either side of the settlement, which we were surprised to find had already assumed the appearance of a town, lying in the western corner of the bay, on a sloping grassy bank. here i met mr. c.j. tyers, government surveyor, who had laid out the township of portland. as he had also made an accurate survey of the bay, little remained for us except to test its qualities, which the prevalence of easterly winds gave us an opportunity of doing. they at first caused a little anxiety, as the anchorage was exposed in this quarter; but this feeling rapidly subsided on our discovering the excellence of the holding ground--mud with a coating of sand, out of which we had some difficulty in weighing our anchors. new south wales boundary. squatters. at portland i had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of mr. stephen henty,* the leader of an enterprising family who had been the hardy pioneers of civilization, in discovering and laying open the fertile districts of this part of the continent, and under whose fostering care portland has risen from a mere whaling station to its present prosperity. such being the case, it is with regret that i am obliged to say that mr. henty received no consideration from government when the land was put up for sale, being obliged to bid against the public for ground he had brought under notice, and spent years of labour in getting into cultivation.** (*footnote. my observations refer to this gentleman's new house, which they place in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of sydney, by satisfactory meridian distances to the latter place, and from south australia. preferring mr. tyers' difference of longitude by triangulation to the east entrance point of the glenelg river, minutes seconds, which is minute seconds more than his chronometric measurement; the mouth of the glenelg will be degrees minutes seconds west of sydney. by mr. tyers' triangulation, calculated by captain owen stanley from port phillip, batman's hill, with my longitude of the latter degrees minutes seconds west of sydney, the glenelg is west of sydney degrees minutes seconds, which is seconds less than mr. tyers' calculation. the longitude of sydney, by different observers, ranges between degrees minutes seconds and degrees minutes seconds; but, as i myself believe degrees minutes to be within a minute of the truth, the glenelg will, accordingly, by my observations be in degrees minutes seconds east and therefore within the new south wales territory, the limit of which it had been supposed to mark. if the st degree had been selected as the boundary of the colony, with reference to the longitude of sydney, there would not be much difficulty attending its determination.) (**footnote. the squatter, who often at great risk locates himself in a remote spot, and renders such essential service to the mother country by finding new lands, yea new homes, for the surplus population, merits much greater encouragement than he receives, particularly in instances similar to that of mr. henty, whose station at portland was, for years, hundreds of miles removed from other occupied parts. this gentleman's case makes it clear at once that something ought to be done for the squatter. his comfortable house and garden he was obliged to leave to make room for a street of the new township; but this would not have been very hard had he been given an allotment in lieu; which, however, as i have stated, was not done; and he was compelled to witness the labour of his hands entirely swept away, and found himself, after years of toil, placed exactly in the same position with those who came to enjoy the fruits of his enterprise. but the greatest hardship sustained by the squatter is the special survey system, according to which, anyone desirous to become a purchaser to the extent of twenty thousand acres may choose his land where he pleases. a party clubs together and finds out spots, that have been improved by squatters, with a view of purchasing them when able; many of these are often included in one special survey block: and even if the squatter is able to purchase the rich and hardly-won small patch he occupies, the special survey party, generally a knot of jobbers, have the preference. this is apparently for the benefit of the crown, twenty thousand pounds being thus added to the revenue under the pound per acre system; but it is certainly not advantageous to the country, as the large purchasers seldom buy for occupation, but for sale; and the smallholder, the squatter, is driven from the land in distress. i have seen instances of persons being utterly ruined in this way. my own opinion is, that the squatter ought to be allowed to purchase the land he occupies by private contract from government; or that an allowance should be made him, equivalent to his improvements.) the detention we had experienced afforded me an opportunity of visiting the country; and having just seen between two and three hundred miles of the province of south australia, i was glad of the chance of comparing these two parts of the continent. accordingly, after making a series of magnetical observations, and others for the errors of the chronometers, i left portland one morning in company with mr. tyers. taking mr. henty's road to the northward we soon passed the rich land surrounding portland, and entered a stringybark forest, eight miles in extent. then crossing a heathy tract we came to the fitzroy, distant fifteen miles from portland. here, as elsewhere, the presence of water improves the soil, for along the banks of the river there was some good land. this was also the case near a hill just beyond it, called mount eckersley. where i saw sir thomas mitchell's initials cut in a tree at the time when he explored this country, and found to his surprise that mr. henty had a station in portland bay. excursion into the interior. with the exception of the flats near the crawford, twenty miles from the fitzroy, the road lies through a poor country, until it approaches mr. j. henty's station, fifteen miles further. here we appeared to have turned our backs on the bad land; and entered a tract of country in which the herbage is so excellent that an acre is capable of feeding one sheep, whereas in other parts three or four are required. from a pointed hill, called the sugarloaf, fifty-eight miles from portland, i had an extensive view of this fertile district: the outlines of those magnificent mountains, the victoria and grampian ranges, that completed the distant part of the landscape, to the eastward, were distinctly defined against the clear morning sky; whilst, in the foreground, grassy round-topped hills, rose on either side of wide valleys sparingly dotted with trees, marking the course of the streams that meander through them, and the margin of the singular circular waterholes, with sides so steep as to render it necessary to cut through them to enable the cattle to drink, that were distributed around as if formed by art, rather than by nature. westward, i saw the winding course of the glenelg, and was told that some of the squatters had located themselves on its banks, and that others were even talking of stations (which they have since made) as far as the volcanic mountains, schanck and gambier, where there is some rich country, recently visited from adelaide, by governor grey, who has discovered that the barrier of desert between new south wales and south australia, is less marked than was supposed; there being patches of good land intervening, so that at no very distant day, we may hope to see the whole of the coast, from port phillip to spencer's gulf, supporting a scattered white population. i noticed that there was a vast superiority in the soil on the north-west side of the hills; but saw none equal in richness to the five-mile patch at mount eckersley. the steep sides of a part of the valley of the wannon, however, a few miles to the eastward of the sugarloaf, are very fertile, and being clothed with patches of woodland, form extremely pretty scenery. the rocks of this part of the country are chiefly trappean; in the immediate neighbourhood of portland, they consist of limestone, ferruginous sandstone, and trap. cape bridgewater. after having extended our ride to above seventy miles, we returned, having satisfied ourselves, from what we had seen and heard, that there was a greater extent of good land here, than at south australia; though it was more scattered, and farther from the sea. on our way, we met a party of natives; and seeing a bundle of spears leaning against a tree, i rode up to examine them, but the owner instantly ran and seized them, in a manner that confirmed the report i had before heard, to the effect, that the settlers and the aborigines of this part, either through the mismanagement of the one, or the evil disposition of the other, are not on very good terms. february . i went this day to cape bridgewater, to make a sketch of the coast, and visit some caves lying four miles north of it. these we found to be from forty to fifty feet high, and of the same depth; the ceilings were encrusted with stalactites and the mouths overlooked some pretty freshwater lakes, three miles in extent separated from the sea by a narrow chain of sandhills; upon these were a few swans, and a black and white kind of goose, one of which mr. bynoe shot; it resembled the species we had seen flying over the albert in the gulf of carpentaria. arrive at hobart. february . a slight cessation of the easterly wind allowed us to leave portland bay in the morning; but scarcely had we got outside, when it blew strong again from the same quarter: accordingly, it being highly desirable that i should consult with his excellency, sir john franklin, before we commenced the survey of bass strait, we proceeded direct to hobart, where we arrived on the th. the latitude of the south-west cape was determined on the passage to be degrees minutes south: and a running survey was made of the south coast of tasmania. our stay in the derwent, during which land and seabreezes prevailed, afforded me an opportunity of comparing our compasses at the magnetic observatory, established since our last visit by the antarctic expedition, and left in charge of lieutenant key and messrs. dayman and scott, officers belonging to it. this place his excellency, who took part in the observations made there, named after the leader of the expedition, ross bank observatory: i found it to be seconds west, and minute seconds, north of the beagle's observation spot in fort mulgrave. sir john franklin, who has always taken great interest in the beagle's voyage, testified every wish to afford me assistance: and in the most liberal manner placed at my disposal the colonial cutter, vansittart, to assist in the survey of the strait. messrs. forsyth and pascoe were selected for the service, the former being in command. after giving the vansittart a slight refit, and a few alterations which were expedited in a most praiseworthy manner by captain booth, commandant at port arthur, she was to proceed to the scene of operations near banks strait. in the meantime the beagle sailed for sydney to receive the stores we expected from england. atmospheric changes. march . this was our second day from the derwent; but owing to the prevalence of north-east winds we had not made further progress than to be at noon, thirty miles east from cape pillar. the atmospheric changes during this day were curious. the morning broke hazy, with a moderate breeze from north-north-east, which gradually subsiding and veering at the same time to east-south-east, left us becalmed for three or four hours; thick impenetrable fogs meanwhile passed at intervals to the south-west; and whenever this obstruction to our vision was removed, could be seen a dark heap of clouds collecting, some of which detaching themselves passed rapidly over our heads. about three p.m. there was the sighing of a breeze from that quarter. the barometer, also, at this time, ceased falling and stood at . , being as much as two-tenths lower than what it was an hour before, and having fallen since eight a.m. four-tenths. the rapid depression of the mercury was quite perceptible to the eye. under reduced sail the ship, like the petrel with closed wing, waited the coming blast. a dense fog enveloped us; but an hour after the barometer had ceased falling, it lifted up and revealed a long sheet of hissing foam crowning the troubled waters that were rolling, urged by the tempest, tumultuously towards us from the south-west. return to sydney. for a while the heavy reduced canvas still flapped with a lazy swag against the masts; but suddenly it was filled by a violent gust; and the beagle was hurried swiftly onwards, careering over the waves like the misty spectre in a storm. two hours after (six p.m.) the barometer had risen a tenth. we now expected our passage to sydney to be short: but the ill luck of foul winds again attending us, it was the fifteenth before we arrived. chapter . . exploration of interior. twofold bay. survey of bass strait. dangerous situation of the beagle. kent and hogan groups. gipps land. wilson's promontory. the tamar. eastern entrance of strait. steam communication between india and australia. new guinea. straitsmen. north coast of tasmania. aborigines. port phillip. directions for ships passing king island. complete survey of bass strait. farewell to sydney. moreton bay. the comet. state of tasmania, or van diemen's land. lighthouses in bass strait. exploration of interior. the most interesting topic of conversation on our arrival at sydney was the projected expedition into the interior. two candidates for this important and deeply interesting undertaking had presented themselves--mr. e.j. eyre and sir thomas mitchell, both experienced australian explorers. the latter proposed to start from fort bourke on the darling; and the former from moreton bay. in my own humble opinion, strengthened by recent experience, neither of these are practicable routes;* or at any rate, they are not the best that could be selected. the centre of the continent must be reached by the shortest possible journey; it being advisable to avoid the despondency that seizes on a party during a protracted expedition, and to keep up throughout a certain degree of excitement. as, therefore, the greatest indentation on the shores of the continent is the gulf of carpentaria, the head of the albert river, which discharges its waters into the bottom of it, is unquestionably the best point of departure that could be selected, being one-half the distance of fort bourke from the centre, and two-thirds nearer than moreton bay. (*footnote. whilst this sheet was going through the press, the report of our greatest australian traveller, captain sturt, reached england; wherein he writes, speaking of his furthest (february ) in latitude degrees south and longitude about degrees minutes east having apparently entered the central desert, as follows: "i could see no change in the terrible desert to which i had penetrated. the horizon was unbroken by a single mound, from north round to north again, and it was as level as that of the ocean. my view to the north extended about eight miles, but i did not venture to compass that distance, only perhaps to have overlooked a similar heart-rending and desolate scene." this bears out the opinion expressed in the text. i do not hesitate, however, in the face of the interesting evidence brought forward by captain sturt, still to doubt the existence of an inland sea. i think the high temperature he experienced contradicts such an hypothesis; and i believe the large expanse of water, reported by the natives, to be the gulf of carpentaria, which bore about north (true) six hundred miles from his position, moreton bay being nearly equidistant on an east bearing, whilst adelaide bore south by west / west about four hundred and thirty miles. suggested route. i have before recommended the use of camels, with skins for carrying water, in an undertaking of this kind; and i may here add, that they might be procured in the neighbourhood of the gulf of cutch,* which place the vessel should leave in the north-east monsoon, in time to have the latter end of the north-west monsoon to take her to the gulf of carpentaria, where at sweers island the final arrangements for disembarking, before alluded to,** could be made. (*footnote. camels are to be procured in this neighbourhood, when they are not required for war service, for about five pounds a head. besides, the natives of that part are more easily to be obtained as attendants than arabs. (*footnote. see above.) in a country like australia, with so varied a surface, it is certainly impossible to indicate with confidence anything beyond the point of departure for an exploring party. their direction must, of course, depend on the country they find; but i think it may be said from the most recent, and i much fear melancholy, experience, that the routes from neither moreton bay nor fort bourke are practicable. that from the head of the albert is, i believe, much superior, and i consider, after mature deliberation, that the plan i have recommended is at once the most expeditious and the most economical way of solving a question of daily increasing interest, and of removing an imputation on english enterprise which is daily becoming more serious. the other routes of exploration which appear to me both practicable and useful are from halifax bay to the albert,* a distance of above four hundred miles, and from limmens bight to the victoria, about three hundred. these will be found marked in the chart accompanying this work. (*footnote. this route i suggested to his excellency sir george gipps, in march, .) twofold bay. after leaving sydney we had a succession of south-easterly gales, of three or four days' duration, and equal in severity to any we had experienced since leaving england. to avoid one from the westward we put into twofold bay;* a remarkable high-peaked hill, mount imlay, lying behind the head of it, bearing south-west / west, leads in. (*footnote. this we found to be a very convenient anchorage; and the constant resort of coasters. from its proximity to the southern parts of the manero country, it is likely to become a very thriving place, under the auspices of mr. boyd, who is erecting a town there. this gentleman, i am happy to say, employs the natives as part of the crew of his yacht; they are also constantly engaged in the boats of the whaling station, where their excellent eye renders them extremely useful in seeing and harpooning the fish; and being particularly well-disposed, they might he made something of.) i was surprised to find by my observations* here that this part of the coast is laid down ten miles too much to the eastward of sydney, an error i subsequently found to be continued to jervis bay; so that the course from thence to sydney, instead of being, according to the chart, north / east magnetic is north by east, a fact that should be borne in mind by masters of vessels, until this part of the coast is properly surveyed. (*footnote. which placed point brierly in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degree minutes seconds west of sydney; or degrees minutes seconds east of greenwich, according to what i consider the meridian of sydney.) the error i found in the position of twofold bay induced me to commence our survey there, for the purpose of ascertaining the position of cape howe," which i discovered to be rather more out in longitude; while the islet, instead of lying off it, lies four miles to the south-west. (*footnote. this cape, in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degree minutes seconds west of sydney, although rather low, is of bold approach, and admirably situated for a lighthouse. others erected on montague island and point perpendicular, would light the whole coast as far as sydney.) flinders island. leaving, we again spent several days under a close-reefed main-topsail and a reefed fore-sail; but at length reached an anchorage on the eastern shore of flinders island within the north-east side of a granitic lump called babel islet. the flood tide came from the north-east at this anchorage, which can only be used in easterly winds. there is a curious dome on the inner side of babel, which is connected by a sandy spit with the large island. within the eastern point of the latter are the remarkable pyramidal hills, called the patriarchs, rising out of a scrubby plain, much cut up with lagoons, which forms the character of this side of flinders. we were enabled to fix the eastern shore of the island, from babel islet and the outer patriarch, whence the view was commanding. a range of bare-topped hills lies to the west, whilst to the south-west, through a mass of clouds, we occasionally caught glimpses of some high peaks, which i named after my friend count strzelecki. a heathy valley stretches across the island to the westward, through which i saw the sea on the opposite side; on the northern part the hills are more rounded and lower. to kent group. from babel islet we proceeded towards kent group, passing, in or fathoms, along the eastern shore of flinders island, where we discovered a dangerous sandy spit extending five miles off; from its extreme the eastern part of the outer sister bore north degrees west, six miles and a half. after rounding the latter the wind changed in a violent squall to the westward, and gave us a long beat of a day to reach kent group, during which we discovered a reef,* just awash at high-water, and bearing east degrees south, five miles and a half from wright's rock.** (*footnote. beagle's reef.) (**footnote. a pyramidal lump, three hundred feet high, resembling a cutter under sail.) this, endeavour reef, and a sunken rock, about a mile east of craggy island, constitute the chief dangers between kent group and flinders. the extremes are marked to the north and south by wright's rock and craggy island, between which ships should not pass, although there is a channel close to the south side of the former. it should also be particularly borne in mind that the tides, which here sometimes run two knots, set rather across the channel south-west by south and north-east by north. the north-easterly stream beginning a quarter before noon at the full and change of the moon. dangerous situation the beagle passed half a mile from the north-west side of wright's rock, in fathoms, in the evening; and having spent the night standing to-and-fro between it and kent group, in the morning was abreast of the opening between the islands called murray pass, when we steered towards it. the weather, for the season, was fine; and the sun, although weak, shone brightly from a clear wintry sky--it well-nigh happened for the last time--upon the poor old beagle! the sea, still vexed and chafing from the breeze of yesterday, rolled in with solemn grandeur on the storm-beaten sides of the islands; each heaving swell carrying the ship nearer towards the almost fatal opening. her motions, however, as if she was conscious of the fate that threatened her, were sluggish and slow, and she seemed unwillingly to obey the impulse of the light southerly breeze that aided her progress. indeed there appeared to be an opposing tide until we drew in between the high rocky sides of the channel, when suddenly the ship was hurried onwards with such rapidity that to prevent our being swept past a cove on the right it was necessary to close with its outer point, towards which a merciless eddy flung the ship's head so rapidly, that before the thrown-aback sails checked her way, her jib-boom was almost over the rocks.* during the few awful moments that succeeded, a breathless silence prevailed; and naught was heard but the din of waters that foamed in fury around, as if impatient to engulf us in their giddy whirl. still, it must be confessed, that our hearts sickened within at the thought that our little bark, after having braved so many storms, and done so much good service to the state, might be left to whiten a foreign shore with her timbers. providence, however, decreed it should be otherwise; and the next moment the beagle's head was slowly paying off from the shore. but her broadside becoming exposed to the swell, she was again driven in towards the point, and so close, that before the well-trimmed sails gave her way, as her stern went down with the swell, the assurance that she must strike, pervaded every shuddering frame. to myself, the sensation was just as if my feet were under the keel; and i almost expected to feel the bones crushing. still we clung to hope, which can find a place even in the narrowest interval of danger; and our eyes and hearts were lifted up in supplication to him who had already so miraculously reprieved us. scarcely, however, had the prayer been formed and preferred, when the peril was past: in the course of an hour we were safely moored in east cove, kent group. (*footnote. see the view annexed.) lighthouse hill. in this wild and confined anchorage we were detained by constant westerly gales for a fortnight, during the whole of which there was only one really clear day, when i got angles to all the distant points from a hill near the south-east extreme of the group, nine hundred and ten feet high and quite precipitous on its seaward face. we named it lighthouse hill, its admirably conspicuous situation suggesting the purpose to which it might be devoted; the materials for building, moreover, are all at hand. deal island. the principal islands of kent group have been named deal and erith; they occupy a square of four miles, and are separated by murray pass, a channel half a mile wide. conical granitic hills, in some cases clothed to their very summits with an impervious scrub, are scattered over them. on deal, the eastern isle, there are charred stumps of a few large eucalypti: but otherwise the trees are small, the largest being a few casuarinas over the head of east cove. the valleys on the north side are rich; and in one leading from garden cove we found a quantity of fine carrots, planted by some sealers; their seed had been carried by the wind until the whole valley was filled with them; fresh water also is abundant on that side of deal island; and as limestone crops out at the head of east cove, a small party of convicts might be kept here and advantageously employed in erecting the lighthouse and cultivating the soil. by holding out to them a slight reward, many of the islands in bass strait might be brought under cultivation, and supply grain, potatoes, etc., for the consumption of the prisoners in tasmania. this plan of dispersing the convicts would also be beneficial in producing a change for the better in themselves; for whilst together they are certainly more likely to brood mischief. erith island. besides east cove there are others on the north-east and south-east sides of deal island; whilst on erith there is only one called west cove, in the north part of murray pass; it is subject to violent gusts that do not reach east cove. the formation of this group is a little singular, the calcareous limestone on deal occurring two hundred feet above the sea and between granite; whilst on erith vesicular lava was found. these islands are connected with flinders by a sand ridge, on which the depth is and fathoms; but the islets and rocks between would appear, from the evidence of upheaval we have just cited, to be elevated portions of a submerged piece of land about to disclose itself.* (*footnote. the observations on the tides at these islands make the time of high-water on the full and change of the moon a quarter past eleven, when it rises eight feet. the stream in murray pass, which runs from two to five knots, changes to the northward twenty minutes after high-water.) in a valley behind east cove there was a stream of water, which strange to say was quite salt and came from the middle of the island. in the same neighbourhood i turned loose about a dozen rabbits for the benefit of any unfortunate voyagers who might be thrown hungry ashore in this locality. during the few days that we were there they appeared to thrive very well, and i have no doubt that if not disturbed the island will soon be overrun with them, there being no wallabies to offer molestation. hogan group. we were not sorry to find ourselves one fine morning turning our backs on the scene of one of the beagle's many narrow escapes; so favourable did the weather continue, that, although in the first week in june, we were able to pass both the following nights at anchor in the middle of the strait;* on the first occasion between the devil's tower and curtis's island;** and on the second, five miles to the southward of hogan group. (*footnote. i gladly seized these opportunities of ascertaining exactly the set of the tides. at the first anchorage they ran east-north-east and south-east only from half to a quarter of a knot, the latter beginning half an hour before low-water at kent group; at the second the tide set north-east by east, one knot, and south-south-west a knot and a half; the southerly stream began one hour and a half after low-water at kent group: on both occasions there was a light westerly wind. (**footnote. the central position of this island renders it quite a finger-post for ships passing through the strait. it has at the south end a square summit feet high, in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of sydney; towards the north it slopes away something in the shape of a shoe, from which it is called by the sealers the slipper. two sugarloaf rocks, each feet high, lie two miles and a half off its southern end.) i landed on the largest island;* which i found to be a mile and a half in extent, inhabited by a number of dogs left by sealers, that had become quite wild; in a cave on the south-east point were some fur seals. two small islets front a boat-cove on the north-east side, where there is fresh water; and outside these there is a rock just awash. the summit of the large island was a most important station; and with lighthouse hill at kent group, formed an astronomical base for the survey. (*footnote. the highest point i found to be in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of sydney; and feet high.) corner inlet. from hogan group we stood to the northward, and were able to pass another night at anchor six miles from a low sandy shore, and fourteen to the eastward of corner inlet, which we found on examination had a bar extending off six miles from the entrance, on which at low tide there is water for vessels drawing sixteen and eighteen feet. a group of islets, named from their utility direction isles, lies in the fairway, a few miles outside the bar. during the examination of this great useless sheet of water, the ship lay near a small islet close to the promontory about seven miles from the entrance, which, from the abundance of rabbits, we called rabbit island;* i have since learnt that these animals had multiplied from a single pair turned loose by a praiseworthy sealer six years before; and the sight of their number did not a little encourage me to expect a similar result from the gift i had bestowed on kent group. (*footnote. the outer extreme of this island, in one with cape wellington, forms a leading mark into corner inlet, but vessels should get them on within a mile of the island. these marks are of use until the eastern and highest of the direction isles opens out just clear of the others, when by keeping it in that position, or steering for the middle of the entrance, a ship may be taken safely in. the tide rises eight feet at springs, when the time of high-water is twenty minutes before noon.) gipps' land. from the highest hill on the south-eastern point i had obtained a most excellent view of corner inlet, which bore a great resemblance to a basin. i have before called it useless, from its being only navigable a mile or two within the entrance and that chiefly on the northern side, the rest being occupied by mud flats. it was a bitter cold day; but between the sleet squalls i was able to trace the coast westward as far as cape liptrap over the low neck connecting wilson's promontory with the main, and forming the south-western shore of corner basin; and eastward beyond shallow inlet,* where the clonmel steamer was lost. about six miles to the north-east the masts of some vessels pointed out the approach to alberton. the intervening space was filled with islands and mud banks; which character the shore appeared to retain further eastward, being fronted by a margin of low sandy land, sometimes broken by the pressure of the sea from without or of the waters from within, when the streams that add to the fertility of gipps' land are swollen by the melting of the snows on the australian alps. (*footnote. vessels bound to alberton, the capital of gipps' land, generally pass through this inlet, but as the water is shallow, and breaks across the entrance, if there is any swell, it is more prudent to enter by corner inlet, and take the second opening on the right within the entrance.) strzelecki. to commemorate my friend count strzelecki's discovery of this important and valuable district, which he named in honour of his excellency the governor, i called the summit of a woody range feet high, over the north shore of corner inlet, mount fatigue.* the only vegetation this part of the promontory supports is a wiry grass, stunted gums and banksias in the valleys, and a few grass-trees near the crests of the hills which are generally bare masses of granite. behind a sandy beach on the east side beneath where i stood were sinuous lines of low sandhills, remarkable for their regularity, resembling the waves that rolled in on the shore. (*footnote. it was in the rear of this range that count strzelecki and his companions, on their way to western port, experienced the sufferings related in the port phillip herald, june , from which i extract the following: "the party was now in a most deplorable condition. messrs. macarthur and riley and their attendants had become so exhausted as to be unable to cope with the difficulties which beset their progress. the count, being more inured to the fatigues and privations attendant upon a pedestrian journey through the wilds of our inhospitable interior, alone retained possession of his strength, and although burdened with a load of instruments and papers of forty-five pounds weight, continued to pioneer his exhausted companions day after day through an almost impervious tea-tree scrub, closely interwoven with climbing grasses, vines, willows, fern and reeds. here the count was to be seen breaking a passage with his hands and knees through the centre of the scrub; there throwing himself at full length among the dense underwood, and thus opening by the weight of his body a pathway for his companions in distress. thus the party inch by inch forced their way; the incessant rains preventing them from taking rest by night or day. their provisions, during the last eighteen days of their journey, consisted of a very scanty supply of the flesh of the native bear or monkey, but for which, the only game the country afforded, the travellers must have perished from utter starvation...on the twenty-second day after they had abandoned their horses, the travellers came in sight of western port.") sealer's cove. water and fuel are abundant on the point abreast of rabbit island. southward from this projection a sandy beach extends five miles, with a rivulet at either end, and separated from a small deep bay* open to the east, by a remarkable bluff, the abrupt termination of a high-woody ridge. the trees on the south-west side were large and measured eight feet in diameter. in the humid shelter they afforded the tree and a variety of other kinds of fern were growing in great luxuriance, with a profusion of creepers matted together in a dense mass of rich foliage. from thence southwards the shore is rocky and the water deep. (*footnote. this bay is evidently sealer's cove in the old charts; but this part of the strait is so much in error that it is hardly possible to recognize any particular point.) refuge cove. refuge cove, lying seven miles south / west from rabbit island, was our next anchorage. it was so named from its being the only place a vessel can find shelter in from the eastward on this side of the promontory. of this we ourselves felt the benefit; for although in the middle of june east winds prevailed the first few days we stayed there, with thick hazy weather, whilst at rabbit island we had constant westerly gales with a great deal of hail and sleet. this small cove, being only a cable wide at the entrance may be recognized by kersop peak, which rises over the south part, and from its lying between cape wellington and horn point,* and also from its being the first sandy beach that opens north of the former. (*footnote. this projection has two pointed hummocks on it resembling horns.) such of us as had been in tierra del fuego were particularly struck with the resemblance of the scenery in refuge cove; the smooth quiet sand beaches, and dense forests reaching the water's edge, the mist-capped hills, and the gusts that swept down the valleys and roared through the rigging, forcibly recalled to our recollection that region of storms. we found a whaling establishment in the south-east corner,* and the houses for the boats and their crews formed quite a little village. the person in charge, with one or two others, remains during the summer. these people had a novel safeguard against the attacks of the natives: a horrible looking figure, dressed so as to represent the evil spirit, of which the australian aborigines are so much afraid, was placed in a conspicuous place; but whether it would have had the desired effect was not proved, as the natives had never been seen in those parts. there can, indeed, be little to tempt them to wander thither; for there are neither kangaroos nor wallabies, and but few birds. among the most curious of those belonging to the land, is a kind of finch, with a black head, yellow beak, a dark brown back, and dirty white belly; across the wings and arching over the back, at the stump of the tail, was a stripe of white. (*footnote. our observations made this spot in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of sydney. high-water on the full and change of the moon, takes place at hours minutes when the tide rises eight feet; a mile in the offing the northern and ebb stream, which runs from one to two knots, begins at hours minutes. past the south end of the promontory the same stream sweeps round from the westward, sometimes at the rate of two knots and a half.) waterloo bay. cape wellington, the eastern projection of the promontory, forms the north point of waterloo bay, which is wide and spacious. these names were suggested by the fact that the day of our anchoring there was the anniversary of one of the greatest triumphs ever achieved by british arms. at the head of the bay, lies the low valley, three miles in length, which stretches across the promontory and forms a very conspicuous break in the high land. on the northern side of it, the highest hill, mount wilson, rises abruptly until its woody crest reaches an elevation of feet. on the southern, was a ridge strewn over with immense boulders of granite, one, near where i stood, measuring eighty feet in height, and resting with such apparent insecurity, that little seemed required to send it rolling and crashing into the valley below, along which a rivulet winds, and falls into the sea at the north end of a sandy beach, forming the head of waterloo bay. the depth in the middle of the latter is fathoms, muddy bottom; it lies four miles from the south end of the promontory, and there is no good anchorage between. sail for port dalrymple. from a small flattened sugarloaf, forming the summit of cape wellington, i got an angle to the crocodile rock,* and with others from the south-west end of the promontory, and from the ship on passing, i determined the position of this danger most satisfactorily. (*footnote. this rock, in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of sydney, lies in a line midway between the western extremities of curtis and rodondo islands, nearly nine miles from each. it is a smooth round-topped granite boulder, just protruding above the surface; and in fine weather the sea runs over it without breaking. the depth being fathoms close to it, if the waters of the strait were drawn off the shape of it would be that of a column nearly feet high.) as we had not, as i expected, met the vansittart, i was anxious to learn something of her, and crossing over to the south side of the strait, for the purpose, entered port dalrymple, where i found that mr. forsyth and his party had preceded our arrival by a day or two. the vansittart's employment had been the examination of the north-east extreme of tasmania, some portions of which were found to be nine miles out in latitude; the greater part was fronted with kelp and rocky patches. the work, also, included a portion of banks' strait, and the southern part of the western side of flinders island, among the islets fronting which were discovered several good anchorages: the best in westerly winds being under goose or western chappell island, where a lighthouse was in course of construction. york town. his excellency, sir john franklin, requesting that i would send the vansittart round to macquarie harbour, on the west coast, after a party of runaway convicts, we were for a time deprived of her services. as the rise of the tide in the tamar was sufficient for laying the ship ashore, i took the opportunity of doing so on the west bank, just above garden island, to examine her bottom, and found it so defective that sheets of copper were required to make good the damage; in some places the two-inch sheathing was completely destroyed. the original settlement, york town, was at the head of a shoal bight just above us; i found it almost quite in ruins, though there were one or two of the original settlers there; the chief part of the inhabitants were a lawless set, who were said to live, chiefly, by plunder. launceston. whilst the ship underwent these repairs, the triangulation was extended to launceston,* at the head of the tamar, thirty miles from the sea. large vessels are prevented from approaching close to the town by a bar. the greatest difficulty found in navigating the river is whirlpool reach; near the middle of this lies a rock, an attempt to remove which, by blasting, was made; the top was blown off, so that now vessels are liable to be carried upon it, whereas, before, when it broke the surface, such was not the case. (*footnote. the latitude of the port office i found to be degrees minutes seconds south longitude degrees minutes seconds west of sydney. high water hours minutes; springs rise feet. during the winter, after rains, the stream sets down for days together at the rate of from one to three knots.) the valley, through which the tamar winds, is narrow, with sides generally steep and densely wooded; in some places, the reaches are wide, and the hills recede; on their lower slopes, near launceston, are situated many pretty villas, peeping through garden shrubberies; whilst further down are the straggling habitations of the more recent settlers, surrounded by clear patches, with difficulty won from the forest by the axe and the firebrand. on the whole, therefore, it may be said that art and nature combine to render beautiful the scenery on the banks of this important stream. the first view of launceston, the second town in tasmania, is very pretty. the valley of the river expands as you approach, and over a low tract of land on the east bank, the straggling mass of buildings forming the town is descried. though very healthy it lies on a kind of flat, backed with open woodland undulations at the junction of the north and south esks; and, during the winter, is subject to fogs so dense that many persons well acquainted with the town frequently lose themselves. where the streams unite, they become the tamar, one of the principal rivers in tasmania. at the distance of half a mile from the confluence, the north esk makes a by no means insignificant waterfall. this forms one of the first sights to which strangers arriving at launceston are conducted, by a path which, winding along the face of a precipice, suddenly brings the cataract in sight, tumbling and roaring over the rocks into the pool, which seethes like a cauldron below, and sends up a steaming mist into the air. from the waters of the south esk, the country around launceston derives its fertility; and perhaps there is no part of our southern colonies that more resembles england. the number of gentlemen's seats, before alluded to, thickly scattered over an undulating country cleared of all timber, save a few monumental trees, and well cultivated, strongly suggested thoughts of home. george town. when the weather permitted, the boats were employed in continuing the survey of port dalrymple. observations were made at the flagstaff in george town,* which we found to be in latitude degrees minutes seconds south and longitude degrees minutes seconds west of sydney; variation / east. this place is only a straggling village, situated on the east bank, about three miles and a half from the mouth of the tamar, upon a flat, forming the north side of a snug cove at the western foot of a group of conical hills; on one of them is a signal station, by means of which, with another intervening, communication is kept up with launceston. (*footnote. the geological formation in the neighbourhood of this place will be found in volume .) craggy island. the entire month of july was occupied by the repairs of the ship, and the surveying operations; when we sailed from the tamar and examined the passage at the eastern entrance of the strait, between craggy island and flinders, which we found perfectly free from danger--a fact of great importance, as it had, hitherto, been reported full of sunken rocks. the beagle passed a mile and a half from the south side of craggy island in and fathoms. this passage has a depth of and fathoms, and is six miles wide, whilst between wright's rock and kent group the width is nearly eleven miles. there appears, by the ripplings, to be foul ground between craggy island and endeavour reef, and the space intervening has, accordingly, been marked as one shoal in the chart. the beagle ordered home. leaving the eastern entrance of the strait, we ran up to sydney, for the supplies that had not arrived from england on our last visit; we now found them waiting for us, together with orders for the beagle to return to england. fortunately, however, the survey of bass strait was in such a forward state, thanks to sir john franklin's kind assistance in lending the vansittart, that i could take upon myself the responsibility of waiting a few months to complete it.* i was, however, compelled by the brief interval of time allowed me, and the urgent demand that existed for a correct chart of the whole strait, to work on a smaller scale than i could have wished. it seemed to me that detached portions on a very large scale would be of far inferior utility to a complete survey on a comparatively small one. (*footnote. this step was approved of by the commander in chief.) it was not, however, my being prevented from completing bass strait in the manner most satisfactory to myself that occasioned the greatest part of the regret that accompanied this summons for the old beagle to wend her way homewards; for we were thus also deprived of the opportunity of gratifying our desire to explore the southern parts of new guinea, which we had always looked forward to as one of the most interesting parts of our voyage, containing elements of excitement sufficient to cheer the hearts that were yearning for home, and a character of novelty that would have amply compensated for whatever fatigue and exertion we might have experienced. on many occasions, during the heavy and monotonous part of our labours, the anticipated delights of discovery refreshed our imaginations and elevated our spirits, imparting to our most irksome occupations an interest that did not belong to them, but was borrowed from those hoped-for scenes of adventure on the unvisited shores of new guinea to which we believed that each dull day's hard work brought us nearer. but it was not destined to be our lot to add any more new lands to the geography of this part of the world; and h.m.s. fly and bramble had been commissioned at home for surveying service in australasia. this expedition, under the command of captain f.p. blackwood, arrived at sydney on the th of october, whilst we were there, and sailed soon after our departure, to commence tracing the outer barrier reefs, a service attended with no ordinary risk, but which has been happily completed, and a beacon erected to show vessels the best entrance, without a mishap. since the early part of this work was written this valuable addition to the survey of new holland has induced an enterprising master of a merchant vessel to try the eastward passage through torres strait. as a proof of the practicability of this route i may state, that the above vessel passed through torres strait in january, went to sydney, and returned for another cargo to ballytown, in allas strait, by the may following. this passage, an account of which has been published in the nautical magazine, was made through the barrier reef by captain blackwood's beacon on raines islet; but as this is out of the limits of the westerly monsoon, a better passage, doubtless, would have been effected by following a more northerly route, as recommended by captain blackwood.* (*footnote. see nautical magazine for december .) steam communication between india and australia. with reference, however, to the anticipated steam communication* between india and australia, which will bring sydney within nearly sixty days of england, i think with captain blackwood that steamers should at all times use captain king's inner route;** and much of the delay occasioned by anchoring at night would be obviated by cautiously approaching, at reduced speed, the reefs, the position of which might be distinguished by means of a powerful light at the vessel's head or bowsprit end; when a course might be shaped for the next and so on. as the smooth water within the shelter of the great barrier reefs affords facilities for steering with great nicety, a steamer, with care, might effect a saving of fuel as well as time by passing through torres strait without anchoring. (*footnote. steam communication between sydney and singapore would require three vessels of six hundred tons, one of which should leave sydney and singapore on the st of each month. their engines should be of horse-power, and furnished with tubular boilers, which consume a fifth less fuel than the others; they must carry at the least tons, which, at the rate of tons per diem, is sufficient for fourteen days fullspeed steaming, in which time, at the rate of knots an hour, , miles will have been traversed, which is about miles more than the distance between sydney and port essington, and about miles more than between the latter place and singapore. this clearly shows that port essington is, as i have before stated, the best place for a coal-depot; and that one there would suffice for the whole line of communication. as, moreover, it is necessary that such a station should have protection against the natives, it further enhances the value of the settlement at port essington. this depot might be economically made, from the cheapness and abundance of coals in new south wales; and the number of ships that are constantly passing port essington in ballast would be glad of the freight so far. the cost of steam vessels of the size mentioned would be about , pounds, if built of wood, and , pounds, if of iron; and the annual expense of running one would be between , and pounds.) (**footnote. on this inshore track steamers would be able to replace with wood any deficiency in their fuel. i take this opportunity of saying that vessels carrying troops from sydney to india should be compelled to use it, the chances of the loss of life being much less. on one occasion a ship called the ferguson sailed from sydney with part of a regiment, whilst we were there. the master ridiculed the advice given him by one of the beagle's officers, to take the inner passage. the next news we heard of her was, that she had been wrecked on the outer barrier at four in the morning; no observation having been taken since the previous noon, by which they might have found a current drifting them to the northward. fortunately, another ship was in company, and saved the loss of life, but that of property was great. the fact that the lives of so many souls should be placed at the mercy of careless masters of ships, who run such risks, in spite of the warnings of experience, deserves the serious attention of government.) new guinea. the part of new guinea above alluded to, which had often afforded us the materials of interesting speculation, also formed part of the survey of captain blackwood, who writes as follows: "on the coast of new guinea we found a delta of fine rivers, and a numerous population, all indicating a rich and fruitful country. it is true that we found the inhabitants very hostile; but it must be considered that we were the first europeans that they had ever seen; and i have no doubt that, on a further acquaintance, and convinced of our power, they might be easily conciliated. their houses, arms, and cultivation, all indicate a considerable degree of civilization, and no small intelligence in the construction of their canoes; and i think it probable that a trade might be opened with this hitherto perfectly unknown people and country."* the people inhabiting the islands fronting the coast, captain blackwood found to be highly inclined to trade, readily bartering a valuable species of tortoise-shell for european articles of hardware. (*footnote. see nautical magazine for december .) h.m.s. favourite. during our stay at sydney we also met h.m.s. favourite, captain t.r. sullivan, just returned from visiting the eastern polynesian isles, having succeeded in rescuing the guns that were lost from the ship in a melancholy and much to be lamented affray with the natives of tongataboo, previous to the command of captain sullivan, whose adventure in this affair was very interesting, and cleverly managed. hurricane. the favourite had experienced a hurricane* off mangaia island, the natives of which gave notice of its approach; and at tahiti captain sullivan was also told that he might expect a hurricane before long. from this, and the experience of other navigators, it appears that rotatory gales are prevalent in the pacific as well as in the indian ocean. (*footnote. although this hurricane has been noticed, and the favourite's log published in the nautical magazine, i think it will be useful to continue the practice of entering into some detail respecting every hurricane that came under my observation. this storm, it appears, was encountered off mangaia, one of the harvey isles, lying about midway between the society and hapai groups. the favourite was in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes west, five miles south-west by west from mangaia, at noon on the th december, , steering west by south / south before a moderate gale from east-north-east, with cloudy rainy weather. at p.m. she had gone miles, when the wind, which had increased to a strong gale, veering to north-east, the course before it was now south-west; but at the end of another hour, having run eight miles, the wind increased to a storm, and veering again to the eastward, the ship was brought to the wind on the port tack under a main trysail. for the hours and , she headed from south to south-west, which would give for the direction of the wind about south-east by east. at . a man was washed away with the lee quarter-boat. at , the wind had veered to south by west, having blown a hurricane, with constant rain for the last hour; at most of the half-ports were washed away, the sea making a clean sweep over the decks. by midnight the wind had subsided to a whole gale; but still veering had reached the west-south-west point, and at the next morning it was blowing only a moderate breeze from west-north-west, with tolerably clear weather. sail was now made, and a south-west by south course held for miles, when by the noon observation the latitude was degrees minute south, longitude, by chronometer, degrees minutes west. the day following the hurricane the wind was moderate from the westward; and on that previous to it of about the same strength from the northward. the ship's position at noon of the latter day was about miles to the north-east by east of mangaia island. the duration of this storm, then, may be considered to have been from p.m. to midnight, in which eight hours the wind had veered gradually from east round by south to west-south-west. the veering being much more rapid between and p.m. when the storm was at its height, the ship must at that time, have been nearer the focus. the tack on which the favourite was hove to carried her into the course of the hurricane, or rather placed her in a position to be overtaken by it, as it passed along to the southward and westward; but as the ship broke off to the westward and northward, she fell out of its north-western edge. doubtless, if a west-north-west course had been pursued in the first instance, or at noon on the th, the favourite would have avoided the storm. it is to be regretted that the barometer was broken in the commencement of the hurricane, when it was unusually low, having been falling for some time before. besides this, there was ample warning in the unusually gloomy lurid appearance of the sky; the weather also was misty, with showers of rain as the ship approached the course of the storm.) banks strait. leaving sydney, we resumed our work to the southward; and towards the end of october anchored under swan island, lying midway on the south side of banks strait, which trends west by north, with a width of twelve miles, a length of seventeen, and a depth of from to fathoms; it is formed by the north-east point of tasmania and the islands lying to the south of flinders. barren island, one of the latter, has a remarkable peak at its south-eastern end, and some high rounded hills on the north-western; it is twenty-two miles in extent, lying in an east and west direction. it is separated from flinders by a channel, which i named after sir john franklin, four miles wide, thickly strewed with islands and shoals. the eastern entrance is almost blocked up by sandbanks, extending off five miles and a half from a large island (called by us after the vansittart, but known to the sealers by the name of gun-carriage island) and leaving only a narrow, shifting passage of and fathoms between their northern side and flinders island. the anchorages which lie in the western part of franklin channel are not so sheltered as those between barren and clarke islands. the latter has two rounded summits, the highest feet, resembling a saddle, either from west or east. the rugged peaks of strzelecki, reaching an elevation of , feet, rise immediately over the northern point of the west entrance of franklin channel. black reef. the north-east extreme of tasmania is singularly low, with a coastline of sandhills. out of this level tract rise mounts william and cameron; the latter, , feet high, is the highest of a group of peaks, cresting a ridge, whilst the former is a solitary pyramidal hill, feet high, used as a guide for craft in working through the strait. when it bears south by west, vessels may close with the south shore, being then past the black reef,* and the rocks that lie off the coast to the eastward, as far as eddystone point. the most outlying and remarkable are the st. george's rocks, a cluster of grey granite boulders, feet high; a patch of moored kelp, however, on which the water sometimes breaks, lies three miles east-south-east from the black reef. the principal danger on the northern side of the eastern entrance of the strait is moriarty bank, which extends off four miles and a half east from the south-east point of clarke island; there is, however, a narrow passage of fathoms close to the latter. this bank, which has a couple of rocks near its north-eastern part, is steep to, and may be avoided by keeping the south point of clarke island, to bear to the southward of west degrees north. mount william, also, bearing south degrees west clears the outer end of it. (*footnote. this reef is a low, dark, rocky islet, with reefs extending off north degrees west three quarters of a mile, and south degrees east, one mile. there is a passage of fathoms, a mile wide, between it and the main, through which the highest st. george's rock, bearing south degrees east, leads. black reef bears from the latter north degrees west, six miles and a half, and from the summit of swan island, south degrees east, eight miles and three-quarters. mount william, also, bears from it south degrees west.) i may here mention, that the importance of banks strait is great, as all the trade between hobart, launceston, and port phillip, passes through it. swan island. swan island is a narrow hummocky strip of land, a mile and a half long, trending south-west by west; the loftiest part, feet high, near the north end,* was selected by sir john franklin for the site of a lighthouse, the foundation of which he laid, after resigning the reins of government; it was the last benefit he was able to confer on the colony. (*footnote. in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degrees minutes seconds west of sydney, and degrees minutes seconds east of greenwich; variation, east.) a well of indifferent water was found near the north-west end of the island; and some sealers had recently turned loose a couple of pigs, to which i added a third. two small islets lie one mile and a half west-north-west from swan island, and a dangerous patch of rocks, one and a quarter north-west by west from the summit; they are all connected with the large island by shoal water. tides. we found the best anchorage to be a quarter of a mile off the south point of a sandy bay, near the outer end of the island. during the time we lay here for the purpose of obtaining a series of tidal observations,* and verifying a few of the principal points of messrs. forsyth and pasco's survey, constant strong westerly gales prevailed; and from all the local information obtained it appeared that such was generally the case. (*footnote. the result of these observations makes the time of high-water at the full and change of the moon hours minutes when the rise of the tide is six feet and three at neaps. the flood-stream comes from the eastward; and both it and the ebb is of hours minutes duration at springs; but during neaps the flood runs hours minutes and the ebb hours minutes. the interval of slack-water never exceeded a quarter of an hour, and the western stream begins hours minutes after low-water at springs, and hours minutes after it at neaps; whilst the eastern begins hours minutes after high-water at springs, and hours minutes before it at neaps. the velocity of the stream was from one to three knots, the strongest being the ebb, which at springs and with a strong westerly breeze attains a strength in the middle of the strait of nearly four knots, and causes, when opposed to the wind, a high-topping sea, dangerous for small craft. whilst in other respects the tides are the same, the time of high-water at preservation island, though only at the northern side of the strait, is hour minutes later than at swan island. this great difference is caused by the influence of the flood-stream out of franklin channel and from the northward along the west side of flinders island. the flood-streams setting to the westward through banks strait, and to the south-westward past the north-west end of flinders, meet about ten miles to the westward of the chappell isles, when their united stream curves round by south to west, becoming gradually weaker, and soon after passing the mouth of the tamar ceasing to be felt at all, leaving in the middle of bass strait a large space free from tidal influence as far as the production of progressive motion is concerned, that given to it from the entrances being neutralized by their mutual opposition. there is, however, an easterly current of nearly a knot an hour, in strong westerly winds. the meeting of the tides on the west side of flinders also leaves a space, close to the shore near the centre, free from any stream. at the eastern entrance of franklin channel there is also a meeting of the flood-streams, one coming from north-north-east and the other from south-east.) whilst at this anchorage two boats belonging to the whaling station on wilson's promontory passed on their way to hobart, which they reached in safety. they made the passage, hazardous for boats, across the strait by touching at hogan and kent groups and so over to flinders island. cape portland. leaving, we beat through between swan islands and the main, which we found to be a good channel,* a mile and a half wide, with an average depth of ten fathoms. after passing the western islet the south side of the strait should be given a wide berth, particularly on approaching cape portland, off which some islets with foul ground and a sunken rock at their extreme, extend two miles and a half. the summit of swan island, bears south degrees east and mount cameron south degrees east from the outer edge of this danger; which masters of vessels should remember, both in reaching to the southward in the strait, and in running for it from the westward. (*footnote. mount william bearing south degrees east leads into the western entrance.) preservation island. crossing banks strait we anchored under preservation island, lying between the western extreme of clarke and barren islands; it owes its name to the preservation of the crew of a ship run ashore upon it in a sinking state. the value of the shelter this anchorage affords is in some measure destroyed by the presence of a sandbank extending off three miles from the eastern side of preservation island. two small rocky islets lie a mile and a half off the western side of the latter, and several ugly rocks are scattered along the face of barren island, and as far as chappell group; on the outer isle of this group, which is low and level, the lighthouse bearing north degrees west fifteen miles and a half forms a very conspicuous object, and is visible to the eye in clear weather from the top of preservation island. over the northern point of the latter, towers the summit of barren island, forming a sort of double mount feet high. straitsmen. i found preservation island inhabited by an old sealer of the name of james monro, generally known as the king of the eastern straitsmen. another man and three or four native women completed the settlement, if such a term may be applied. they lived in a few rude huts on a bleak flat, with scarce a tree near, but sheltered from the west by some low granite hills; a number of dogs, goats and fowls constituted their livestock. in this desolate place monro had been for upwards of twenty-three years; and many others have lived in similar situations an equally long period. it is astonishing what a charm such a wild mode of existence possesses for these men, whom no consideration could induce to abandon their free, though laborious and somewhat lawless state. the term sealers is no longer so appropriate as it was formerly; none of them confining themselves to sealing, in consequence of the increasing scarcity of the object of their original pursuit. straitsmen is the name by which those who inhabit the eastern and western entrance of bass strait are known; they class themselves into eastern and western straitsmen, and give the following account of their origin: between the years and , the islands in bass strait and those fronting the south coast of australia, as far westward as the gulfs of st. vincent and spencer were frequented by sealing vessels from the old and the new country, if i may use this expression for england and australia. many of their crews became so attached to the islands they were in the habit of visiting, that when their vessels were about to leave the neighbourhood, they preferred to remain, taking with them a boat and other stores as payment for their work. there can be no doubt, however, that their numbers were afterwards recruited by runaway convicts. native wives. on one island reside seldom more than two families. the latter word will at once satisfy the reader that these people were not deprived of the pleasures of female companionship: man was never born to be satisfied with his own society; and the straitsmen of course found beauties suitable to their taste in the natives of the shores* of bass strait. it appears that a party of them were sealing st. george's rocks when a tribe came down on the main opposite and made a signal for them to approach. they went, taking with them the carcasses of two or three seals, for which the natives gave as many women. these, perhaps, were glad of the change, as the aborigines of tasmania often treat them shamefully. the sealers took their new-bought sweethearts to an island in banks strait, and there left them to go on another sealing excursion. returning one day, they were surprised to find their huts well supplied with wallaby by the native women. interest cemented a love that might otherwise have been but temporary. visions of fortunes accumulated by the sale of wallaby skins flashed across the minds of the sealers; who, however, to their credit be it spoken, generally treated their savage spouses with anything but unkindness; though in some instances the contrary was the case. it must be confessed, at the same time, that having once discovered the utility of the native women, they did not confine themselves to obtaining them by the lawful way of barter; making excursions, principally to the shores of australia, for the express purpose of obtaining by violence or stealth such valuable partners. (*footnote. the islands were never inhabited by the aborigines until the remnant of the original population of tasmania was sent by government to flinders.) half-caste children. thus commenced a population likely to be of great service to shipping, particularly as they make excellent sailors, and excel as headsmen in whalers, where the keenness of their half-savage eyes, and their dexterity in throwing the spear, render them most formidable harpooners. the young half-castes i saw were very interesting, having a ruddy dark complexion, with fine eyes and teeth. on preservation, and the islands in the neighbourhood, there were twenty-five children; among whom were some fine-looking boys. had the survey just been commenced i should have taken one of them in the beagle. their fathers, i am happy to say, give them all the instruction in their power: many can read the bible, and a few write. the common native belief in the transmigration of souls did not extend, i was glad to find, beyond the mothers, whom nothing could induce to think otherwise. when we were at preservation island, there was a young woman on her way, in company with her father, to port dalrymple, to be married to a european; and i afterwards learned from the clergyman there, that he had not for some time seen a young person who appeared to be so well aware of the solemn vow she was making. mutton birds. the principal trade of the straitsmen is in the feathers of mutton birds (sooty petrels) which annually visit the islands, between the th and th of november, for the purposes of incubation. each bird lays only two eggs, about the size of that of a goose, and almost as good in flavour. the male sits by day and the female by night, each going to sea in turn to feed. as soon as the young take wing they leave the islands. their nests are two or three feet underground, and so close that it is scarcely possible to walk without falling. the collection of the eggs and birds, which is the business of the women, is frequently attended with great risk, as venomous snakes are often found in the holes. when the sealers wish to catch them in large quantities they build a hedge a little above the beach, sometimes half a mile in length. towards daylight, when the birds are about to put to sea, the men station themselves at the extremities, and their prey, not being able to take flight off the ground, run down towards the water until obstructed by the hedge, when they are driven towards the centre, where a hole about five feet deep is prepared to receive them; in this they effectually smother each other. the birds are then plucked and their carcasses generally thrown in a heap to waste, whilst the feathers are pressed in bags and taken to launceston for sale.* the feathers of twenty birds weigh one pound; and the cargoes of two boats i saw, consisted of thirty bags, each weighing nearly thirty pounds--the spoil of eighteen thousand birds! i may add, that unless great pains are taken in curing, the smell will always prevent a bed made of them from being mistaken for one composed of the orkney goose feathers. some of the birds are preserved by smoking, and form the principal food of the straitsmen, resembling mutton, according to their taste, though none of us could perceive the similarity. (*footnote. they now fetch pence a pound; formerly the price was shilling.) produce of islands. the habitations of these people are generally slab and plaster, of very rude and uninviting exterior, but tolerably clean and comfortable within. they generally take what they may have for the market to launceston twice in the year, lay in stores for the next six months, and return home, never, i believe, bringing back any spirits, so that while on the islands, they lead, from necessity, a temperate life. it is sometimes in the power of these men to be of infinite service to vessels who are strangers in the strait, when driven into difficulties by westerly gales. portions of the islands on which they reside are brought into cultivation; but at gun carriage they complain of their crops having been very backward since they were disturbed by the natives, with mr. robinson, as they destroyed with fire all the shelter that was afforded. the water throughout the islands is not always very good; grain, however, thrives tolerably, and potatoes do very well indeed. the latter are taken, with peas and other garden produce, to port dalrymple. this is an evident proof of what these islands are capable of producing, and is worthy the attention of government, in case the idea, which i have suggested, is entertained, of sending convicts thither from tasmania. waterhouse island. taking advantage of a very unexpected breeze from the eastward we left preservation island for port dalrymple, which was made after a night's run, on the morning of the th november. eighteen miles from the entrance of banks strait, and as far as abreast of waterhouse island,* and nine miles from it, we had soundings of from to fathoms; afterwards the depth was and ; whilst in the fairway nine miles from the opposite entrance of the strait we had . (*footnote. this island lies about a mile and a half from the main, and affords shelter for ships in westerly winds. they should anchor in fathoms, midway in a line between the north points of the island and of the bay lying to the south-east. this anchorage being not so far to leeward as those on the western side of flinders, is the best place of refuge for strangers arriving in a westerly gale off port dalrymple, where, as they can get no assistance from the pilots, they may not like to run in, on account of its treacherous appearance. tenth island (a mere white rock) and ninth island, are admirably situated for guiding a ship to waterhouse; the first, bears north-east / east, twelve miles from the entrance of port dalrymple; the course from it to ninth island (which should be passed on the outside) is north degrees east, fourteen miles; and from ninth island to waterhouse, north degrees east, seventeen miles. the latter islands are very much alike in the distance, being both rather low, with cliffy faces to the westward, and sloping away in the opposite direction. mount cameron, bearing south degrees east, is also a distant guide for waterhouse island. the great advantage of running for this place, instead of for an anchorage on the western side of flinders, is that, in the event of missing it, banks strait will be open to run through; and should the anchorage under swan island not be tried, shelter will be found in about fathoms under the main to the southward.) mr. forsyth. mr. forsyth, in the vansittart, had again preceded our arrival in the river tamar by a few days. his visit to the west coast had been attended with considerable risk.* still, with his usual zeal, he had not lost sight of the important branch of the service in which he was employed, and had made a survey of port davy and the coast to the south-west cape, which completed our chart of the south-western shores of tasmania. (*footnote. mr. forsyth entered and examined macquarie harbour in his boat, and found on an island, in the head of it, two men in a state of starvation. these he took with him and returned to the mouth of the harbour; but a gale of wind having set in in the meantime, the vansittart had sought shelter in port davy, lying ninety miles to the southward. day after day passed away without any sign of the cutter. the increase of two, requiring much more than could be afforded, to their small party, soon consumed their stock of provisions, sparingly dealt out; so that, to preserve the lives of his party, mr. forsyth was obliged to risk a boat-passage, in the depth of winter, and along a storm-beaten coast, to port davy, which he most providentially reached in safety; though, at one time, in spite of the precaution taken to raise the gunwale by strips of blanket, the sea was so great that they expected each moment would be their last.) the coast on either side of the tamar still remained to be surveyed, and accordingly i undertook the examination of that to the eastward, whilst mr. fitzmaurice, although even now scarcely convalescent, proceeded to the westward. description of coast. without entering into details, i may briefly say, that to the eastward the coast trended north degrees east to cape portland, distant fifty-eight miles; and that at the distance of eight, eighteen, twenty-nine, forty-eight, and fifty-three miles, the rivers currie, piper, forestier, tomahawk, and ringarooma, empty themselves into wide bays, which increase in depth as they advance eastwards. that formed by the point opposite waterhouse island and cape portland,* which receives the two last-mentioned rivers, and bears the name of the larger ringarooma bay, is seven miles deep and fifteen miles wide. mount cameron lies behind the head of it, where there is a vast extent of boggy land; this is also the case in the next bay to the westward, anderson bay, which receives the waters of the forestier river.** the only good soil seen was on the large piper river, so that the disproportion of land fit for cultivation on this part of the northern shore of tasmania, with that which is not, is very great. behind the coast the eye wanders over interminable woody ranges of various heights, thrown together in irregular groups, called by the colonists tiers. they are seldom separated by valleys of any width, but rather by gullies, and are generally covered with an impervious scrub. the most conspicuous points, in addition to mount cameron, are mounts barrow and arthur, two peaks about , feet high, very much alike, and lying nine miles in a north-west direction from each other. mount barrow bears, from launceston, east-north-east, thirteen miles. (*footnote. small vessels anchor behind an island on the west side of this cape, to take away the wool from the sheep-stations in the neighbourhood. the rivers mentioned in the text are only navigable for boats, and by them only at high-water.) (**footnote. a small bay, with some outlying rocks off its points, bearing south-south-east, seven miles from ninth island, affords shelter for small vessels in its north-west corner. the passage inside that island should be used with caution.) don tomas. at the large piper river i passed a night at the station of a gentleman of the name of noland, whom i found to be the nephew of a person of remarkable talent and great influence with the peruvian government, known only, at lima, by the name of don tomas. there was a good deal of mystery about his character and position, nobody being able to explain who he was, whence he came, or what was the source of his influence; and it was rather a curious circumstance that i should learn the explanation of what had so much puzzled me in south america, at a solitary sheep-station in van diemen's land. shortly before we crossed the great piper river a party of convicts had run away with a fishing boat. although only three in number they made the fishermen take them to banks strait, where they forced a party of sealers to pass them over to wilson's promontory. notwithstanding they were several weeks on the passage, waiting for fine weather at the different islands (the sealers, too, being twice their number) such was their vigilance that they never allowed them a chance of escape. these men were afterwards seen near sydney. convicts' story. the most remarkable coast-feature, between waterhouse island and the tamar, is stony head, a bluff three hundred feet high,* lying twelve miles from port dalrymple. a small sandy bay separates it from a point to the westward, and it is the nearest part of the main to tenth island. in the neighbourhood of this headland i was induced to enter a hut at a sheep-station, by seeing stuck round a fence a number of the heads of an animal called by the colonists a hyena, from the resemblance it bears in shape and colour, though not in ferocity, to that beast.** my object was to obtain a few of these heads, which the hut-keeper, who was the only inmate, instantly gave, along with an unsolicited history of his own life. in the early part we instantly discovered that this loquacious personage was, what he afterwards mildly confessed to be, a government man, in other words a convict, sent out of course, according to the usual story, through mistake. it appears that he had been a drover, and that a few beasts were one morning found (quite by accident) among a herd he was driving through the west of england. he had spent the early part of his servitude at circular head, where he was for some time in charge of the native woman caught stealing flour at a shepherd's hut, belonging to the van diemen's land agricultural company--a fact mentioned in a former chapter.*** (*footnote. of basaltic formation; whilst the rocks that prevail to the eastward are of primary character. but as strzelecki has written so largely on the geology of tasmania, it will be needless for me to enter further into the subject, except to say, that the raised beaches found on the western side of flinders, are evidences of an upheaval having recently taken place.) (**footnote. this is the only animal the tasmanian sheep-farmer is annoyed with; and from its paucity, they have not, as in new south wales, the trouble of securing their flocks in yards or folds every night.) (***footnote. see volume .) inhuman conduct. i was curious to know how he managed to procure the obedience of this aboriginal victim; and the inhuman wretch confessed, without a blush--which must rise instead to the cheeks of my readers, when they hear of what barbarities their countrymen have been guilty--that he kept the poor creature chained up like a wild beast; and whenever he wanted her to do anything, applied a burning stick, a fire-brand snatched from the hearth, to her skin! this was enough. i could listen to no more, and hurried from the spot, leaving my brutal informant to guess at the cause of my abrupt departure. it is possible that the emotion i allowed to appear may have introduced some glimmering of the truth into his mind, that he may have faintly perceived how disgusted i was with his narrative; but such is the perversion of feeling among a portion of the colonists, that they cannot conceive how anyone can sympathize with the black race as their fellow men. in theory and practice they regard them as wild beasts whom it is lawful to extirpate. there are of course honourable exceptions, although such is a very common sentiment. as an instance, i may mention that a friend of mine, who was once travelling in tasmania, with two natives of australia, was asked, by almost everyone, where he had caught them? this expression will enable the reader better to appreciate the true state of the case than many instances of ferocity i could enumerate. it shows that the natives occupy a wrong position in the minds of the whites; and that a radical defect exists in their original conception of their character, and of the mode in which they ought to be treated. capture of natives. soon after i returned to the ship at port dalrymple, a party of natives was sent on board, with a request that i would allow the vansittart to take them to flinders island; it consisted of an elderly woman and man, two young men, and a little boy. these were the remainder of the small tribe to which belonged the woman who received, as i have related, such cruel treatment from her keeper. i should here state, that when she was removed to flinders island, none of the natives there could understand her--a fact somewhat hostile to the theory of those who hold that there is little or no variety in the aboriginal languages of australasia. the party of natives in question were taken by some sealers on the western coast, near arthur's river, and not far from the van diemen's land agricultural company's station at point woolnorth, to which place they were first brought. a reward of pounds had been offered for their apprehension, on account of some depredations they were said to have from time to time committed. a countrywoman of their own, the wife of one of the sealers, was instrumental in their capture. pretence was made that the boat would carry them to some good hunting ground; but when they were all afloat, and prostrated by sea-sickness, the sealers made sail for the company's station at point woolnorth, with a freight more valuable than seal-skins. the last man. these were supposed to be the last of the aboriginal inhabitants of tasmania; though a report at one time prevailed that a solitary young man had been left behind. if this be the case, his position must be truly lamentable. alone of all his race on that vast island, belonging to a people against whom the deepest prejudices are entertained, who have been hunted down like wild beasts by the new population, professing a religion which should teach them to act otherwise towards their brethren, no resource must have been left to him but to fly to the most inaccessible fastnesses, to hide in the gloomiest forests and darkest caverns, and to pass the remainder of his miserable life in constant struggles to prolong it, and in ceaseless endeavours to stave off that final consummation which could alone ensure him peace, and safety, and rest. whether or not the report of the existence of this last man was true i cannot say; but, certainly, his story, imaginary or real, suggests numerous reflections, and opens a wide field for conjecture and speculation. what was the character of his thoughts, what importance he attached to the prolongation of his life, cut off as he was from the world, a solitary being, with no future prospect of the enjoyment of society, with no hope of seeing his race continued, we cannot tell. but his fate, at least, must force upon us the questions--have we dealt justly by these wild people? have we nothing to answer for, now that we have driven them from their native land, leaving no remnant, save one single individual, whose existence even is problematical? without wishing to press too hard on any body of my countrymen, i must say i regret that that page of history which records our colonization of australia must reach the eyes of posterity. the woman, whose capture i have more than once alluded to, was, doubtless, the wife of one of the young men taken by the sealers, and mother of the boy who accompanied him. the prospect of meeting her probably lightened the hours of his captivity. but what a tale of suffering she had to relate! what had she not undergone as the penalty of an attempt to procure food for her family. with the narrative of her sorrows fresh in my memory, i could not but sympathize deeply with the last five of the aboriginal tasmanians that now stood before me. characteristics and removal of natives. these natives differed even more than others i had seen as the wives of sealers, from the inhabitants of the australian continent, possessing quite the negro cast of countenance, and hair precisely of their woolly character. these characteristics are nowhere to be found on the continent, natives from every part of which have come under my observation. the difference existing is so great, that i feel warranted in pronouncing them to be a distinct race. excellent likenesses of tasmanian natives will be found in strzelecki's work on new south wales, where the truth of these remarks will be perceived at a glance. having thus been engaged in the removal of the last of the natives to flinders island, i feel that it is incumbent on me to give a short account of the causes which led to it. in the first place, history teaches us that whenever civilized man comes in contact with a savage race, the latter almost inevitably begins to decrease, and to approach by more or less gradual steps towards extinction. whether this catastrophe is the result of political, moral, or physical causes, the ablest writers have not been able to decide; and most men seem willing to content themselves with the belief that the event is in accordance with some mysterious dispensation of providence; and the purest philanthropy can only teach us to alleviate their present condition, and to smooth, as it were, the pillow of an expiring people. for my own part i am not willing to believe, that in this conflict of races, there is an absence of moral responsibility on the part of the whites; i must deny that it is in obedience to some all-powerful law, the inevitable operation of which exempts us from blame, that the depopulation of the countries we colonize goes on. war of extermination. there appear to me to be the means of tracing this national crime to the individuals who perpetrate it; and it is with the deepest sorrow that i am obliged to confess that my countrymen have not, in tasmania, exhibited that magnanimity which has often been the prominent feature in their character. they have sternly and systematically trampled on the fallen. i have before remarked that they started with an erroneous theory, which they found to tally with their interests, and to relieve them from the burden of benevolence and charity. that the aborigines were not men, but brutes, was their avowed opinion; and what cruelties flowed from such a doctrine! it is not my purpose to enter into details; i will only add that the treatment of the poor captive native by her inhuman keeper was in accordance with the sentiments prevailing, at one time, in the colony, and would not have received the condemnation of public opinion. the natural consequence of such conduct by the whites, commenced in the very infancy of the colony, was a system of frightful retaliation on the part of the natives. these led to counter-reprisals, every year accumulating the debt of crime and vengeance on either hand, until the memory of the first provocation was lost, and a war of extermination, the success of which was, in the end, complete, began to be carried on. attempted capture of natives. it was not until exasperation, on either side, rose to its highest, that measures were taken to prevent the complete destruction of the aborigines. the first method selected was not characterized by prudence; being the result of the passionate counsels of the great body of colonists, who were smarting under evils entailed upon them by their own violent conduct. as is natural in all these cases, they looked only to the necessity of protecting their property and their lives; and did not take into account the massacres, the cruelties of every description, which had been at one time encouraged, or at least not condemned by the general voice. the casuistry of the human heart, in most instances, concealed the true state of the case, and many, if not the majority, felt the virtuous indignation which some only affected. at any rate, they set about the hunting down and capture of the aborigines, as a duty which they owed to themselves and their families. government, with the best intentions, lent them every assistance in its power. the whole colony rose to a man; and military operations on a most extensive scale were undertaken. cordons were established, marches and countermarches performed, complicated manoeuvres planned and executed, and every method resorted to, which in a different country and against a different enemy must have been rewarded with complete success. but in this instance, the impenetrable forests of tasmania baffled the generalship and the tactics that were displayed; and an expedition attended with immense expense, and carried on with the greatest enthusiasm, ended in the capture of a single native. removal of aborigines to flinders island. it was now evident that means of another character must be tried, and the plan which mr. robinson had laid before government for the capture of the natives in the meshes of persuasion was adopted. this enterprising person, accordingly, went alone and unattended among the aborigines, endured great privations, ran much risk, but finally, partly by his eloquence, partly by stratagem, contrived to bring in the tribes one by one, and to transport them quietly to the islands in the eastern entrance of bass strait. mr. bateman, commanding the colonial brig, tamar, who took them across, describes them as reconciled to their fate, though during the whole passage they sat on the vessel's bulwark, shaking little bags of human bones, apparently as a charm against the danger to which they felt exposed. they were first taken to swan island, but that not being found convenient, they were landed on the west side of flinders island, under the superintendence of mr. robinson. this place, also, was discovered to be ill-adapted for a permanent settlement; and a removal again took place to vansittart or gun-carriage island, at the eastern extremity of franklin channel, where a number of sealers had been resident for some years; as, however, they could not show any title to the land they cultivated, except that of original occupancy--a title which i think should be respected, as it is the only true basis of the right of property--they were obliged to vacate, leaving their huts and crops to be laid waste. in the course of a few weeks, when considerable mischief had been effected, this position, likewise, was abandoned, and a location made once more on the west side of flinders, about sixteen miles to the northward of franklin inlet. settlement. the home government directed that in this their place of banishment every attention should be paid to the wants of the aborigines, and a liberal scale of necessaries provided. the officers of the establishment originally consisted of the superintendent, medical officer, catechist and storekeeper; but when the buildings, etc. for the settlement, were completed, the convicts were withdrawn, which diminished the number so much, that it was deemed practicable to reduce the staff of officers, and the whole duties of the four departments above alluded to devolved on one person, under the name of surgeon-superintendent. the combination of so many duties has, unfortunately, necessitated the neglect of some portion or another, possibly of the most material. the sabbath afternoon is the only time that can be set apart for the religious instruction of the natives. this is to be regretted, as we have ample evidence of how capable they are of receiving it, in the lasting effects produced by mr. clarke, who sometime since filled the office of storekeeper; and for whom they all continue to feel great veneration, and to exhibit that respect which is due to a parent. on our visit in we heard all the natives of both sexes, old and young, sing several hymns, taught them by this excellent person. a few comprehended the full meaning of the words they uttered; and all, no doubt, might be brought to do so if proper instructions were again granted them. walter and mary ann, a married couple, who had recently returned from port phillip, where they had been living in the family of the former superintendent, mr. robinson, were so civilized, and proficient in all the plain parts of education, that they possessed great influence over their countrymen, who, incited by the contemplation of their superiority, were apparently desirous of acquiring knowledge. the barracks in which the natives dwell form a square of good stone buildings; but walter and his wife have a separate cottage, with a piece of land attached. mary ann is a very tolerable needlewoman, and capable of teaching the others; some of whom, encouraged by the prizes that are awarded to industry, already assist in making their own dresses. mortality among natives. the men, to whom inducements are also held out to labour in farming, etc., are, however, generally indolent. they still retain a taste for their original wild habits, taking to the bush, occasionally, for several days together; and in order to enjoy all the freedom of limb to which they had been accustomed, throwing off their european clothing. this practice has been expressly prohibited, as from the sudden resumption of savage habits, and the abandonment of the covering to which they had become accustomed, severe illness resulted. to this may in part be attributable the rapid mortality which exists among them, and which leads us to suppose that at no distant period their utter extinction must take place. out of two hundred who were originally taken to flinders island, more than one hundred and fifty had perished in , to replace which loss, an addition of only fourteen by births, besides seven brought in the vansittart, had been made. it seems, in truth, impossible that a race transported from their country, suddenly compelled to change all their habits and modes of life, kept under restraint, however mild and paternal, obliged to repress all the powerful instincts which lead them to desire a renewal of their wild and unfettered life, tormented by the memory of the freedom they once enjoyed, and galled by the moral chain which they now wear, constantly sighing in secret for the perilous charms of the wilderness, for their hunts, and their corrobberies, for the hills and mountains and streams of their native land--it is impossible, i say, that a people whose life has undergone such a change, who cherish such reminiscences and such regrets, should increase and multiply and replenish the face of the land. treatment of natives. their destiny is accomplished. in obedience to a necessity--of man's creating certainly, but still a necessity--they have been expatriated for their own preservation; to restore them, would be but to ensure their speedier destruction; and all we can do is to soothe their declining years, to provide that they shall advance gently, surrounded by all the comforts of civilization, and by all the consolations of religion, to their inevitable doom; and to draw a great lesson from their melancholy history, namely, that we should not leave, until it is too late, the aborigines of the countries we colonize exposed to the dangers of an unregulated intercourse with the whites; that, without giving them any undue preference, without falling into the dangerous extreme of favouritism--an error of which the most high-minded and generous are susceptible in the case of a depressed race--we should consider, that in entering their country we incur a great responsibility, and that it behoves us at once to establish distinctly the relation in which they stand to the government, the colonists, and the soil! coast from the tamar to emu bay. mr. fitzmaurice's examination of the coast to the westward extended to dial point, distant twenty-nine miles from the tamar. in this space there are no less than five rivers, all with very short courses, and not navigable except by boats and small craft; and by these only, on account of the surf on their bars, in fine weather. the first empties itself into an estuary, called port sorel; but it is difficult to detect the mouths of the others in the low sandy shore, which is deceptive, as the hills rising immediately in the rear give the coast a bold striking appearance from the offing. these rivers, namely, the sorel, the mersey,* the don, the frith, and the leven, are distant from the tamar, eleven, eighteen, twenty, twenty-three and twenty-seven miles. (*footnote. a horse-shoe reef, extending nearly two miles from the shore, lies two miles to the eastward.) a range of hills, nearly feet high, in which asbestos is found, lies midway between port sorel and the tamar; and immediately over dial point rises a peaked range, of the same name; whilst valentine peak,* feet in height, is situated twenty-three miles south degrees west from the above point. this peak is a bare mass of granite, and as it glistens in the first beams of the morning sun like an immense spire, forms the most remarkable hill-feature in the north side of tasmania. high level ranges extend to the eastward of it for some distance. (*footnote. in latitude degrees minutes south and longitude degrees / minutes west of sydney, and when bearing south by west is a distant guide to emu bay.) from dial point to circular head the coast trends north degrees west, and as far as rocky point the shore is steep and woody. emu bay* lies at the end of the first ten miles; it is a confined anchorage, affording shelter in westerly winds. a river of the same name runs into it, and another called the blyth joins the sea a mile and a half on the tamar side of the east point, which has a remarkable round hill on it: nearly four and five and a half miles to the westward of this bay are other small streams. an islet lies at the mouth of the eastern one; and in its neighbourhood only the shore, which falls back a little, is sandy and faced with rocks. (*footnote. the north-west or blackman's point is low, and in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degrees minutes seconds west of sydney.) rocky cape. the river inglis is of a good size; but a reef extends off the mouth and some distance to the eastward; it is two miles and a half to the south-south-east of a headland, called table cape, the distances between which, rocky cape, circular head, and emu bay, are equal, namely, eleven miles and a half. rocky cape has a high pointed summit, with other peaks in the rear; a sunken rock is said to lie a mile and a half north of it; and the coast from thence to circular head falls back, forming a bight; five miles to the south-east of it is a sandy bay with a small rivulet running into it. the sisters, two round hills, feet high, renders the east point remarkable; an islet with a reef of considerable extent fronts it for some distance. escaped convicts. one of the pilots at port dalrymple, i found, had travelled along the west coast of tasmania, from macquarie harbour to point woolnorth. he crossed four or five small rivers; but the country was covered with a low scrub, growing in an impenetrable network along the surface of the soil, so that he could only make progress by keeping the shore. he was landed from a colonial vessel, by a party of convicts who had taken possession of it, and afterwards succeeded in reaching valdivia, on the west coast of south america. they scuttled the vessel off the harbour's mouth, and came in in the boat, reporting it to have foundered. being useful artificers in such an out of the way place, few inquiries were made about them, and they were received by the governor as a very acceptable addition to the population. singular to say, when at valdivia in , i saw some of these men; they were married, and continued to be regarded as a very great acquisition, although a kind of mystery was attached to them. however, their enjoyment of liberty and repose was destined to be but short. their whereabouts became known, and a man of war was sent to take them. all but one again effected their escape, in a boat they had just finished for the governor; and they have not since been heard of. the remaining delinquent was afterwards hanged at hobart, where he gave a detailed and interesting narrative of the whole affair. directions for the navigation of the mouth of the tamar. the few quiet days we had during our stay at port dalrymple, enabled us satisfactorily to complete the soundings at the entrance. beacons were also erected on the shore by the beagle's crew, for guiding vessels through the channels; they, however, require to be kept white, in order to show well against the dark ground behind. i furnished lieutenant m. friend, r.n. the port officer, with a few notes on the navigation of the tamar, which, for the sake of the nautical reader, i give below.* (*footnote. the most formidable shoal in the mouth of the tamar, bearing the name of the middle ground, is a rocky patch, with, according to report, only feet on one spot at low-water, spring tides, but the least depth found on it by the (beagle's) boats was feet. the north extreme of low head, in one with the first black cliffy projection to the eastward of it, or the flagstaff on low head, open northward of the lighthouse, clears the northern edge of it. the leading marks for entering eastward of the middle ground, generally called the eastern channel, are the shear and west beacons. the latter stands in front of dr. browne's house, which is the first inside point friend, the western entrance point. the shear beacon must be kept a little open to the left or eastward of the west beacon, until you get abreast of the lighthouse; after which, both beacons should be kept in one. when within two cables and a half of the shear beacon, the course should be changed in the direction of the red beacon on the barrel rock, the first on the eastern side, to avoid a patch of kelp, extending one cable and a half in an easterly direction from the shear beacon, the depth, there, at low-water is fathoms, and the least in the channel is fathoms, on a ledge, apparently extending from low head to the middle ground. the western channel is two cables wide, with a depth, in the shoalest part, of fathoms; it is formed by the middle ground on the eastern side, and the yellow rock reef on the western; the latter is an extensive patch of kelp, with a double light-coloured rock near its extremity. the least water on it at low-water is feet; from the shear beacon, it bears north degrees west five-tenths of a mile, and from the lighthouse, south degrees west eight-tenths of a mile. the shear beacon and the flagstaff at george town in a line lead over the outer extreme. there is generally a white buoy in its vicinity, and a black one on the western edge of the middle ground. the barrel rock red beacon, and the high and low white beacons, erected by the beagle's crew on the shore over lagoon bay, kept in one, lead through the western channel. when abreast of the shear beacon, steer for the next beyond on the west side of the channel, to avoid a long patch of kelp, with three and five fathoms in it, extending two cables and a half to the south-south-west of the barrel rock. the high part of the western reef, bearing south by east leads into the fairway of the western channel, when will be seen the white beacons over lagoon bay. the latter is the second sandy beach inside the lighthouse on the eastern shore. the western reefs are those fronting point friend; the part above-mentioned, the only spot uncovered at high-water, is a black patch of rocks near their northern extreme. the only danger near the entrance of the tamar is the hebe reef, named after a ship lost on it in ; it occupies a space of a quarter of a mile, chiefly in an east direction. a small portion of its centre is nearly dry at low-water; this part bears south degrees west, three miles and three-tenths from the lighthouse on low head; inside it there is a channel of fathoms. the guide for passing northward of it, is a white spot on the north-west extreme of low head in one with the lighthouse; the latter will then bear east degrees south. the shoals, on either side, within the entrance of the river, are marked with beacons. those on the western shore, have a letter v sideways with a vertical bar on the top; and those on the eastern a dagger. shoals marked with chequered buoys, may be passed on either side; a red or black buoy, signifies that the danger extends from the eastern shore; and a white one, that it extends from the western. the result of tidal observations, taken three miles within the entrance, gives hours minutes for the time of high-water on the full and change day. the rise of tide was irregular, the least being , and the greatest feet. the highest noticed in the beagle was during the neaps, caused by a strong north-west gale forcing the water into the river. the tides flow hours minutes, and ebb hours minutes, with a velocity varying from two to five miles an hour, according as the river is confined or open. the ebb-stream setting round low head into the bay to the eastward, is apt to drift vessels in that direction. three miles in the offing the flood-stream runs from one to two knots to the west-north-west. the position of the lighthouse on low head is as follows: latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degrees minutes seconds west, of sydney; or degrees minutes seconds east of greenwich, variation degrees minutes easterly. the light is elevated feet above the sea-level, and may be seen, in clear weather, sixteen miles from the decks of small vessels, revolving once in fifty seconds.) the glennie isles. on december th both vessels left the tamar; the vansittart for flinders island, to land the unfortunate natives; whilst the beagle crossed the strait to wilson's promontory, anchoring behind an island two miles long, trending north and south, with a hollow in the centre, forming a saddle, the highest part being feet high. it is the northernmost of a group called the glennie islands, fronting the south-western face of the promontory; and is strewn over with blocks of granite, which give it a castellated appearance. we did not find this anchorage very good, the depth being fathoms, and the bottom sand over rock. three small islets lie close to the south-west point, and a reef extends a cable's length off the northern. there is a passage nearly four miles wide, and fathoms deep, between this part of glennie's group and the promontory. the singular break in the high land on the latter, bearing east / north is a distant guide to the anchorage, in which the flood-tide sets to the northward, and when aided by the current, attains a strength of a knot and a half; the time of high-water, is a quarter of an hour later than at refuge cove. we found on this, the largest of the group, a small black dog, that had been left behind by some visitor, recently i should say, from his anxiety to be taken on board, which was done. it was, also, on this island that the intrepid bass met a number of runaway convicts, who had been treacherously left by their companions one night when asleep, the party being too large for the boat they had run away with from sydney, with the intention of plundering the wreck of the sydney cove, at preservation island in banks strait. thus they were actually the first to traverse this part of the strait, which has received its name from the enterprising mr. bass. cape liptrap. leaving the glennie isles we examined the coast beyond cape liptrap;* and from thence made the best of our way to western port. there i availed myself of the kind offer of mr. anderson--a settler on the bass river, who was going to cape patterson, to shoot wild cattle, the produce of the stock left behind when the old settlement was abandoned--to give mr. fitzmaurice, and a small party, conveyance in his bullock dray to that projection, for the purpose of determining its position. a party was also landed on the eastern entrance of grant island, to collect tidal observations. (*footnote. the next headland to wilson's promontory, from the extreme of which it bears north-west by west, twenty-four miles; the shore between recedes, forming a bay nine miles deep. the cape lies in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes west of sydney, degrees minutes east, and is the extreme of a tableland three hundred and fifty feet high. a small islet lies close to the shore, about two miles northward from the extreme, where there is a boat cove. where the rocky coast ceases to the eastward, the shore falls back, affording shelter for vessels in north-west winds; a rock lies off the southern point of this anchorage.) corio harbour. having made these arrangements, we left for port phillip, where, after landing another party at shortland's bluff, also to make tidal observations, we pursued our course round indented head towards corio harbour, anchoring off point henry--where no less than four vessels were lading with wool for england--early on the morning of the th. we devoted the remainder of this day and the next to making a plan of the harbour; and from the result of our survey i feel more than ever convinced that the bar (through the northern part of which a channel winds for vessels of eight feet at low-water) might be removed, and the entrance rendered fit for vessels of any draught. there is deep water in the south-western part, close to the northern side of geelong, where, by erecting wharfs, large ships might discharge alongside, an advantage which can never be obtained at melbourne,* and of so great importance that i am induced to believe geelong will ultimately be the capital of australia felix. in this event communication will be held with melbourne by railroad, for which the country intervening is admirably adapted, being a complete level the entire way. at present a steamer plies daily between the two places; and when we consider that on our last visit, only two years before, geelong consisted of a few sheds at its north end only, and now stretched across from corio harbour to the river barwon, a space of more than a mile, the belief seems warranted that at no distant period the line of rail i allude to must be laid down. the township is now divided into north and south geelong; the latter lies on a slope, reaching the river's edge. (*footnote. corio harbour is in fact the best anchorage in port phillip, that at hobson's bay being very confined, and scarcely affording any shelter from southerly winds for large ships. moreover, corio harbour lies more convenient for the western districts, there being no other place where the sheep-farmers of those parts can, with safety, ship their wool, except portland bay.) captain fyans. located in a snug house, with a garden teeming with flowers, that reminded one of home, and overlooking a still reach of the barwon, i found captain fyans, of whom i have before spoken. encounter with a native. in the course of conversation, pointing to a weapon used by the natives, called a lliangle, resembling a miner's pick, he said, "i had that driven through my horse's nose, a short time since, by a native, of whom i was in pursuit." as i expressed a desire to be made acquainted with the circumstance, he informed me, that being out with a party of mounted police, in search of some natives who had been committing depredations on the flocks of the settlers, in the neighbourhood of port fairey, he suddenly, whilst crossing a valley in advance of his men, came upon the chief of those of whom he was in chase. he, too, was alone; an attack immediately commenced. the native threw his spears, but without effect; and captain fyans, finding that the rain had wetted the priming of his pistols, charged to cut him down; but such was his antagonist's dexterity in defending himself with his shield, only a narrow piece of wood, that beyond a few nicks on the fingers, captain fyans' sword-cuts were of no avail. several times he attempted to ride over the native; who, however, doubled himself up in a ball under his shield, and was saved by the natural reluctance of a horse to trample on a prostrate man in going over him. after having been apparently more than once ridden down, the chief managed to drive his lliangle through the horse's nose, and so firmly that he was unable to withdraw it. the wound inflicted bled so freely that captain fyans was obliged to pull up, and the native made his escape. he was not only a fine fellow in conduct, but in person, having a chest, as captain fyans expressed it, like a bullock's. i afterwards learned that he displayed the sword-cuts upon his shield in triumph at some of the sheep-stations. from corio harbour* we proceeded to hobson's bay, for a meridian distance, the result of which was highly satisfactory, differing from our former measurement only five seconds. the longitude, therefore, of batman's hill, degrees minutes seconds west of sydney, or (approximately) degrees minutes seconds east of greenwich, may be relied on. (*footnote. the approach to this harbour would be vastly improved by a buoy placed at the end of the spit extending nearly across from point wilson on the north shore.) melbourne. a great improvement had been made since our last visit in the approach to the anchorage, by the erection of a light on point gellibrand.* this we found to be a small lamp fixed at the top of a kind of wooden framework, thirty feet high, suggested by the superintendent, mr. latrobe; and for a temporary economical affair, until a more expensive light can be afforded, it is certainly a clever contrivance. (*footnote. this light may be seen from a ship's deck, in clear weather, seven miles off. vessels intending to anchor in hobson's bay should keep the light bearing north-west by north until the water shoals to fathoms; then steer north by west. when the lights of william town open out, bearing south-west by west, haul in west-south-west for the anchorage. the best berth is in / fathoms, with the light bearing south / east and the jetty at william town south-west / west.) the last three years had also made great additions to the buildings of william town; but melbourne had so increased that we hardly knew it again. wharfs and stores fronted the banks of the yarra-yarra; whilst further down, tanners and soap-boilers had established themselves on either side, where, formerly, had been tea-tree thickets, from which the cheerful pipe of the bell-bird greeted the visitor. very different, however, were now the sights, and sounds, and smells, that assailed our senses; the picturesque wilderness had given place to the unromantic realities of industry; and the reign of business had superseded that of poetry and romance. manna. near melbourne i again noticed the manna mentioned above, but had no opportunity of making further observations upon it. mr. bynoe, however, having since visited australia, has turned his attention to the subject, and the result of his experience, which will be found below, tends to overthrow the opinion i have previously expressed, to the effect, that this substance is the exudation of a tree, not the deposit of an insect.* (*footnote. there is a prevailing opinion in some parts of new holland, particularly on the east side, that the gumtrees distil a peculiar form of manna, which drops at certain seasons of the year. i have heard it from many of the inhabitants, who, on a close investigation, could only say, that it was to be found adhering to the old and young bark of the trees, as well as strewed on the ground beneath. in the month of december, about the warmest period of the year, during my rambles through the forest in search of insects, i met with this manna in the above-mentioned state, but could never find in any part of the bark a fissure or break whence such a substance could flow. wherever it appeared, moreover, the red-eyed cicadae were in abundance. i was inclined to think that the puncture produced by these suctorial insects into the tender shoots for juice, would in all probability give an exit for such a substance; but by wounding the tender branches with a sharp-pointed knife, i could never obtain a saccharine fluid or substance. it was the season when the cicadae were abundantly collected together for reproduction; and on warm, clear, still days, they clung to the more umbrageous parts, particularly to trees that, having been deprived of old limbs, shot forth vigorous stems, thickly clustered with leaves. to one of these, in which the male insects were making an intolerable noise, i directed my steps, and quietly sheltered myself from a hot wind that was crossing the harbour, bringing with it a dense column of smoke, which for a short time shut out the powerful rays of the sun. i found that the ground about the root of the tree was thinly covered with the sugar-like substance, and in a few minutes i felt that a fluid was dropping, which soon congealed on my clothes into a white substance. on rising cautiously to ascertain from whence it came, with a full determination not to disturb the insects but to watch their pursuits, i observed that it was passing of a syrup-like consistence per anum from the cicadae. as it ran down the smooth branches of the gumtree and over the leaves it gradually congealed, and formed a white efflorescence. whilst ejecting this fluid, the insect raised the lower part of the abdomen and passed off three or four drops in sudden jets, which either streamed down the stem, or fell on the leaves or ground. i watched them for nearly half an hour, and in that space of time observed between twenty and thirty distil this fluid, which gradually concreted into a white substance. i collected above three ounces, some of which i still have in my possession. the natives gather it in their rush baskets and use it as a part of their food.) red bluff. leaving hobson's bay we passed along the east shore of port phillip in search of a ledge of rocks, reported to lie about three miles off red bluff, which is eight miles to the southward of the above-mentioned bay. we, however, found this danger to be nothing more than the extreme of the reef fronting that bluff for a distance of half a mile, in a west by north direction, and which has three feet on it at low-water, with three fathoms just outside. as the soundings gradually decrease to this depth, the lead will always keep a ship clear of it. anchoring under arthur's seat, i delivered the letters with which mr. powlett, commissioner of crown lands at melbourne, had kindly furnished me, to the different settlers in the neighbourhood, requesting them to afford me every assistance in my contemplated visit to cape shanck, for the purpose of determining its position. dr. barker. one of them was addressed to a gentleman residing close to the cape, dr. barker, to whom it was forwarded, and who returned with the messenger to welcome me to his station, and in the most liberal manner placed at my disposal, his horses and his services. arthur's seat. early the following morning, a well mounted party of us started for arthur's seat. i wished to get a few angles from its summit, and to show to captain bunbury, r.n., superintendent of water police at melbourne, the banks at the eastern entrance of the south channel. dr. barker had brought his dogs over with him, to show us some sport on our way to cape shanck. they formed quite a pack; and among them were two bloodhounds of a celebrated duke's breed at home. their deep rich notes as they wound round the foot of arthur's seat, after a kangaroo, were quite cheering to the heart; but the ground was too hilly for the fast dogs, and too dry for the scent to lie. i was disappointed in not seeing port western from arthur's seat, which had one of those unsatisfactory woody summits, of which it is difficult exactly to ascertain the highest part. we passed a spring of water near the south-eastern foot, and in a level beyond were some large lagoons. our course was now bent towards cape shanck, lying eight miles to the south. the first part lay over a level open woodland country; low hills then made their appearance, becoming more numerous as we neared our destination. at their commencement we turned off the road to look for a kangaroo; a herd was soon found; but all, after a sharp burst of a few miles, got away from us. killing a kangaroo. when both horses and dogs had regained their wind we went to better ground, and came suddenly on a fine herd. a large male, called an old man by the colonists, loitering to protect the does under his care, was singled out by the fastest dog; and a splendid run ensued; the country, however, being rather woody, and strewed with fallen timber which was concealed by long grass, only those who risked the pace over it enjoyed the sport. the dogs stuck well to their game, and coming at last to an open piece of ground, the fleetest began to close with the old man, who was covering an immense space in each bound. at length the dog reached the kangaroo's quarters, and burying his teeth in them, made him face about, cutting at his pursuer, who kept out of reach, with his hind feet, and then turning round and endeavouring to escape. but the same liberty being again taken with his haunches he was once more brought to bay. the rest of the pack now came up, and a fine half-bloodhound rushed in and seized the kangaroo* by the throat; whilst the latter, in return, fiercely clutched the dog round the neck; a violent struggle ensued, each trying to choke the other. although the dog that had first reached the old man was biting his quarters, the danger that the game hound would be laid open by a cut from the kangaroo's hind feet, determined dr. barker and myself to watch an opportunity of creeping up behind a tree to assist in the struggle. we accordingly did so, and managed to seize the animal by his monstrous tail, so that by keeping a strain on it he was prevented from lifting his hind leg, as if he had we should have pulled him over. (*footnote. although these animals have a most innocent countenance, the large males are very dangerous when brought to bay. i know an instance of a gentleman, who was endeavouring to assist his dog in killing one of them, having his clothes severed in front and the skin of his body just scratched by a cut from the hind leg. had this person been any nearer the kangaroo, his bowels would have been torn open. the middle toe projecting and being armed with a strong nail, enable them to inflict dreadful wounds, and frequently to kill dogs. it is seldom, indeed, that they will attack a kangaroo in front; old dogs never do, but have a very clever way of throwing the smaller kind by the stump of the tail when running.) the dogs, thus protected from injury, were at last victorious; and the kangaroo, a great beast, weighing nearly two hundred pounds, was soon stretched on the ground. cape shanck. having secured the tail and hind feet we continued our road to dr. barker's station, situated in one of the rich valleys i have spoken of, in an early part of the work, as lying a mile and a half to the north-east of cape shanck. on account of the state of the weather we were obliged to tax this gentleman's hospitality for two nights, both the early parts of which were passed on cape shanck, watching between the clouds for observations. this cape is a narrow projection of calcareous formation, rendered remarkable by a pulpit-shaped rock lying close off it. about a mile to the north is a hill feet high, which has been selected for the site of a lighthouse for showing vessels their position off the entrance of port phillip. being so distant, however, it is of more service for port western. from dr. barker i received some curious information respecting the aborigines. it appears that there is great hostility between the port phillip and gipps' land natives, who occasionally visit each other's territory for the purposes of war. so great is the feeling of enmity between them, that they will frequently take a piece of the flesh of their foes and pass it through the skin of their thighs or arms, where they leave it until it withers. south channel. returning to the ship we placed a buoy* on the five-fathom bar at the eastern entrance of the south channel, the bearings from which are whale head south degrees west, and arthur's seat south degrees east; points nepean and lonsdale being a little open. passing through this channel,** we spent an afternoon within the heads for the purpose of visiting the lighthouse just built on shortland's bluff.*** this i found to be feet high; the lantern, to contain a fixed light, had not been established. the position of this light being so far within the entrance it is only visible between south-west / west, and south / west; and a light placed at the extremity of the rocky ledge off point nepean would be of infinitely more service in showing vessels the entrance of the port. (*footnote. another buoy at the east extremity of the bank on the north side of the channel, which is very steep to, and one at the west end of the bank on the south side, would render the navigation free from difficulty, as the banks on either side can be readily made out.) (**footnote. the directions for entering by this line-of-battle ship channel are as follows. after passing point nepean steer for arthur's seat, keeping point flinders open south of lonsdale point until the last cliffy projection is passed and bears south / west. then steer half a point to the left of arthur's seat, shutting in point flinders with point nepean, and keeping point lonsdale a little open of the latter. the buoy at the eastern entrance will now soon be made out, and should be kept in line with arthur's seat. pass on the north side of the buoy and then haul up south-east until the water shoals to five fathoms, or until whale head bears south-west by west; then steer north-east by east for mount martha, the next hill north of arthur's seat, until the latter bears south-east, when a course may be shaped for hobson's bay.) (***footnote. the patch of dark bushes, breaking the sand beach to the northward, and forming one of the leading marks in, had been so thinned that it was very indistinct. mr. latrobe, however, was going to remedy this evil by erecting a beacon on that spot.) whilst we were at port phillip this time, a schooner left in a somewhat mysterious manner, on board of which was the honourable mr. murray, who fell afterwards in a conflict with the pirates at borneo. the particulars of this gallant affair must be fresh in the recollection of my readers. tides at port phillip. leaving port phillip,* we returned to port western to pick up the party we had left there. mr. fitzmaurice found cape patterson, of which i have before spoken, to lie fourteen miles south-west by west / west from the eastern entrance of port western,** and twenty-one miles north degrees west from cape liptrap, the next headland to the eastward. (*footnote. the result of the tidal observations made at shortland's bluff, gives hours minutes for the time of high-water on the full and change days. the simultaneous ones made in other parts of this great sheet of water during our stay, gave the times of high-water later as follows: at william town: hour minutes. under arthur's seat: hour minutes. at corio harbour: hours minutes. at the entrance of port phillip the rise at springs is only three feet and a half, when the stream makes in at hours minutes. it also continues to run out from one to two hours after the water begins to rise by the shore. the outward and inward streams differ considerably; the latter being from to / hours' duration, whereas the former is from to / and . the outward stream between the heads sometimes attains a strength of nearly knots, and when opposed to a southerly gale, causes a sea dangerous to small craft; these gales heap the water up in all parts of the bay, particularly at william town in the northern corner. on such occasions there is scarcely any fall of tide perceptible near the entrance; the outward stream is then also much weaker. in the west channel the flood and ebb-streams have a velocity of from to / knots; but in the south it seldom exceeds two. above the banks or in the inlet leading to corio harbour there is scarcely any stream of tide perceptible; but through the channel over the bar at the latter the flood runs nearly three quarters of a knot. outside the entrance the ebb sets between south by east and south-south-west for seven miles, when its strength is weakened to about a knot; from thence it trends more westerly towards the mouth of the strait.) cape patterson. five and seven miles to the westward of cape patterson there are two rivulets, near the former of which an inferior kind of coal crops out; it occurs in beds of the carboniferous series. between the two headlands above mentioned the shore falls back, forming a bight six miles deep, at the head of which is anderson's inlet, six miles in extent, full of mud banks, and available for boats only. a river, called toluncan by the natives, empties itself into the head of it. (*footnote. the observations on the tides at this place make the time of high-water at the full and change days hour minutes, when the rise is feet. the stream in the main channel runs upwards of knots, and off the north-east end of grant island it makes to the eastward about two hours before the time of high-water; this difference is to be attributed to the flood entering round both ends of the island.) from port western we carried a line of soundings across the strait to circular head,* the greatest depth midway between being fathoms. here, according to arrangement, we met the vansittart. bad weather had prevented mr. forsyth from completing the work allotted the cutter. we found the management of the van diemen's land agricultural company in the hands of mr. gibson, from whom we received great attention. the new system of letting lands, recently adopted by this company, was working well; and it certainly appeared to be a very fair mode of getting their lands occupied. directions for the western entrance of bass strait. (*footnote. my intention of getting some more soundings in the western entrance of bass strait was frustrated; but as i have entered into detail respecting the eastern entrance, i am induced to devote some space to a few directions, which may aid in averting a repetition of such terrible catastrophes as the late wreck of the cataraqui on the western side of king island. the western entrance, formed by the islands off the north-west point of tasmania and the projection on the australian continent called cape otway, is miles wide. king island, lying nearly midway, occupies miles of this space, and leaves to the north of it a passage of miles in width, and to the south one of miles. the latter, however, is impeded by reid's rocks, the conway and bell sunken rocks, with albatross island and the black pyramid; the tide also sets across it at the rate of from one to three knots, as i have already mentioned in the first volume; consequently, the entrance between king island and cape otway is much safer, the chief danger being the harbinger rocks, two granite boulders, with deep water between, one lying north degrees west three miles and a half, and the other north degrees west, nearly four miles and a half from the north point of king island, cape wickham, which may be recognized by a round hill, feet high, over it. the southern harbinger is a few feet only out of the water, and the other scarcely awash. these, with the navarin rock, lying north degrees west, one mile and a half from the same cape, and the reef lying half a mile off cape otway, constitute the sole dangers in this entrance. masters of vessels should endeavour, if possible, to make the land in the neighbourhood of cape otway; but if the weather be thick they may know they are in the fairway of the strait when they get into sixty fathoms, fine grey sand; in the same depth, with a rocky bottom, ships will be to the southward, and off the west side of king island, which, as i have before described, is a rocky dangerous coast. there is a doubtful position of a sunken rock, ten miles west / north of the south point, which is low and rocky, and in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east; whilst cape wickham is in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees / minutes, east; and cape otway in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees / minutes east of greenwich, considering sydney, to which these longitudes refer, to be in degrees minutes east. various opinions have been expressed as to the best position for a lighthouse at this entrance of the strait, some recommending cape wickham; others, cape otway. i, however, hold to the latter, for this simple reason, that it will avoid bringing ships in the neighbourhood of the harbinger rocks and the western side of king island. if a light were erected on cape wickham, and a vessel running for it should be to the southward of her position, she would risk sharing the fate of the cataraqui,* unless more caution were used than is generally the case, i regret to say, in merchant vessels. whereas, if the light were on cape otway, a ship to the southward of her position would have the strait open to run through, and to the northward, would discover her error, by falling in with the land. the lead, also, would inform the master that his ship was near it, there being fathoms ten miles from the land thirty-five miles to the westward of cape otway; the trend of the coast besides is too westerly to make it a lee shore. (*footnote. in consequence of a letter of mine that appeared in the times, the owners of the cataraqui have communicated with me, stating that they have reason to believe the beagle's chart of bass strait was among those with which the ship was furnished, and that with regard to leads and lines she was well supplied.) from the middle of the entrance between cape wickham and cape otway, in fathoms, fine grey sand, and in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east, the course to the entrance of port phillip, is north-east / north seventy miles; the soundings will be found, at first, to decrease rapidly, and in the parallel of cape otway the depth will be fathoms, fine sand and shells. further particulars respecting the quality of the bottom off this part of the coast will be found in the first volume. a south-east / east course miles, from the same position, will take a ship to port dalrymple. in the first twenty-nine miles of this distance, the soundings will have decreased to nearly fathoms, and the ship's place should be then abreast of the north-east end of king island, distant ten miles. the sight of this and, further on, of the hunter group, which should be passed at a distance of miles to the south-west, will show if the right allowance has been made for the set of the tides. in the courses given in this note, the tidal influence has not been noticed; but i have above noticed the direction of the streams, and the allowance to be made will of course depend on what stream the ship enters or leaves the strait with. again, from the same position, an east course, miles, will place a ship four miles to the south of the curtis isles. the soundings will be found to decrease to fathoms thirty miles to the eastward of king island, and will continue within a fathom or two of that depth for the remainder of the distance. two hundred and four miles from the above position, on a north-east / east course, will take a ship to abreast of cape howe, distant twenty miles; passing midway between hogan and kent groups, distant nearly nine miles from each, at which time twenty-eight miles will have been run on the above course. in passing the latter group, attention should be paid to the set of the tides; as with the flood-stream and a northerly wind vessels may be obliged to pass on the south side of it. cape howe bears from kent group, north degrees east, miles. when a ship gets into fathoms she will be within miles of the north-east side of these islands; and on the opposite she will have that depth half the distance off. it only now remains to notice the tides in the passage north of king island. it is high-water on the full and change days at o'clock; the stream begins to set to the south-west three hours and a half before high-water, running with a velocity of from to knots; past the harbinger rocks, however, it sweeps round to the south-south-west, sometimes at the rate of nearly two knots and a half. having alluded to the entrance south of king island in an earlier part of the work, and as it is a passage i do not recommend, i shall not here enter into many details respecting it, further than to say that if a ship is obliged to enter bass strait by that entrance, she should keep to the southward of reid's rocks, passing close to the black pyramid, a dark rocky lump, feet high, in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees / minutes east. this should be made bearing north-east / east, which would keep ships clear of the conway and bell sunken rocks, the former and outermost of which lies fifteen miles north degrees west from it. the cross set of the tides should be particularly borne in mind, and likewise their strength, which is sometimes knots. the stream to the south-west by south begins at p.m. on the full and change days, or three hours and a half before high-water. the depth in the south entrance varies from to fathoms. i shall perhaps make this note more useful by stating that january and february are the best months for making a passage to the westward through bass strait; although easterly winds blow on some rare occasions at other times, but these are mostly gales, and generally terminate in a breeze from the opposite quarter, having much the character of a rotatory gale, one of which i have described in an early part of the work. the gales that chiefly prevail in this strait begin at north-north-west, and gradually draw round by west to south-west, at which point they subside; but if the wind, before it has so much southing, veer again to the northward of west--or backs, as it is expressed--the gale will continue; but its duration may be told by the barometer, as it is seldom fine when it registers less than . , and bad weather is certain if it falls to . . n.b. the courses recommended in this note are marked in the chart accompanying the work.) our anchorage this time was on the south side of the singular natural fortification i have before described; and whilst there we were placed in some anxiety by being caught in a gale from the eastward. the holding-ground, however, being very good, and a strong outset sweeping out of the bay round the south side of the head, lessened the strain on the cables. the sudden appearance of this breeze, and the manner in which it was succeeded by another from the westward, afforded additional evidence of how necessary it is for anchorages in this strait to be sheltered from both quarters. a jetty, which has been run out by the company, forms available shelter at high-water for vessels of nine and ten feet draught. on the th of january, having made a valuable set of tidal* and other observations, and arranged with mr. forsyth to meet him at hobart, we sailed in the afternoon, and next morning passed half a mile from the south side of the pyramid, in fathoms. it is a light-coloured mass, worthy of its name, feet high. from thence we steered towards cape frankland, the north-west point of flinders island, which we had still to examine, decreasing the soundings gradually to fathoms within two miles and a half to the west-north-west of it. we could see nothing of the sunken rock said to lie two miles west from the above headland; yet, as we have not exactly gone over the spot, it has been marked in the chart with a p.d. against it. (*footnote. the line of high-water at the full and change is hours minutes, when the rise is feet.) hummock island. i was also anxious to obtain a distant seaward view of hummock island,* which affords the best shelter for ships in westerly winds. (*footnote. this island, which affords a plentiful supply of fuel, is between five and six miles long, and scarcely half a mile in width, with a north by east trend. the anchorage lies abreast of the middle hummock, where the depth is six fathoms, and may be approached by passing round either the north or south end of the island. some low islets lie a mile and a half off the latter, with a narrow passage between; and a reef extends three quarters of a mile off the north point, which is in latitude degrees minute south, longitude degrees minutes west of sydney, or degrees minutes east. it is distant three miles and a half from the nearest point of flinders, where is situated the settlement of tasmanian natives. a tide of from half to one knot sets through between, and the flood-stream comes from the northward. the outline of hummock island is so remarkable that it cannot fail of being recognised. in thick weather the navigator may know he is approaching this, and the other islands fronting the western side of flinders, by having a depth of less than thirty fathoms.) the north-west part of flinders island has a bold rugged outline. from our position off cape frankland, we carried a line of soundings across the passage south of craggy island, passing two miles to the eastward of it in twenty-seven fathoms. we then ran out of the strait and up to sydney, to leave what stores were not absolutely required during the passage to england, for the use of the ships on the station. railroads from sydney. having spoken of the feasibility of railroads in other parts of new south wales, i cannot leave sydney without suggesting what appear to me to be the most practicable directions for lines leading from that capital. as the country between parramatta and sydney is very hilly, i would recommend that part of the journey should be performed in a steamer; and that the railroad should commence on the right bank, about seven miles from the town. an extension of this line would lead into the north-western interior. towards the south, and in the direction of the manero district, the line ought to pass round the head of botany bay, and by following some of the valleys trending southwards, might reach nearly to illawarra, the garden of new south wales. in this manner, the rich manero corn country, and the coalfields of illawarra, might be brought into connection with sydney, and a prodigious development imparted to the whole colony. moreton bay. i regretted being obliged to leave this part of australia without visiting moreton bay, as a survey of the mouth of the brisbane river would have enabled the settlers of that district, now rapidly increasing, to have sent their produce direct from thence to england; whereas, until a chart of it is published, masters of large ships do not like to go there. the residents are in consequence obliged to submit to the expense of first shipping their merchandise to sydney. the moreton bay district is perhaps one of the most fertile on the continent, combining the advantages of great partial elevation and of proximity to the equator, so that, within a comparatively short distance, the productions of both the tropical and the temperate zones may be found. corn grows on the high plains; bananas, raisins, etc., on the lowlands; in short, as in mexico, the traveller finds, in ascending from the sea-coast to the summit of the hills, almost the same successive gradations of climate as in passing from the tropics towards the poles. farewell to sydney. our final arrangements were soon made; and on the th of february, the beagle was turning out between the heads.* i cannot for the last time bid adieu to a place, which had become to us as it were a second home, without once more alluding to the reception i had experienced from its inhabitants. to enumerate any particular instances would be invidious; space forbids me to pay due acknowledgments to all. in general, therefore, i must say, that every attention which kindness and hospitality could suggest, was paid to the officers of the beagle, and a debt of gratitude accumulated which it will be difficult to repay. (*footnote. it is worthy of mention, that vessels working in against the ebb-tide, should get close under the inner south head before making a board across the entrance, as the stream sets round the north head a knot an hour to the northward, but has a southerly direction from one to two miles off.) fresh easterly winds in the first instance, and light northerly ones latterly, carried us rapidly to the southward, and towards midnight of the st, we crossed the parallel of degrees minutes south,* steering south by west / west. (*footnote. in this latitude a shoal was reported to have been seen by a vessel bound to sydney, from banks strait, in . the master of her states, that he sounded on it in seven fathoms, and saw moored kelp occupying the space of about half a mile. as this vessel's latitude, by her run from banks strait, was twenty miles further south, we cannot place much confidence in this report, in which it is stated, that when cape barren bore west eight miles, they steered north-east for sixty miles, when finding themselves, near noon, close to broken water, they wore the vessel's head round to the southward, and sounded in seven fathoms in kelp; the latitude by observation being degrees minutes south. as it was blowing strong at the time from the north-west with a high sea, and as there was only one cast of the lead taken, in the confusion of wearing, it is possible they might have been deceived. the kelp might have been adrift, and the sea, in that neighbourhood, often breaks irregularly as if on foul ground. the position of this supposed shoal, by the run from banks strait would be, latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east; but as this gives a difference of twenty miles in the latitude by observation, and as the beagle has crossed those parallels ten times between the meridians of degrees minutes and degrees minutes, and, moreover, as the position assigned this shoal lies so much in the track of vessels running between hobart and sydney, there is every reason to doubt its existence.) east coast of tasmania. on the rd, we passed along the east coast of tasmania, at the distance of eight miles. the weather being fine and the water smooth, we had frequent opportunities of testing the accuracy of the present chart, which we found to be about three miles in error both in latitude and longitude; the latter with respect to the meridian of fort mulgrave.* (*footnote. strange to say, the position assigned this place in the chart, degrees minutes east is much in error with regard to longitude, as fort mulgrave is degrees minutes seconds west of sydney, or degrees minutes seconds east; this, with the error i have already alluded to in the east coast of tasmania, the most available one for shipping, points out the necessity of having the survey of that island completed.) journey to launceston. next afternoon we entered the derwent and anchored off hobart. finding that his excellency sir john franklin had just left for launceston, i proceeded thither to wait on him. our stay in the derwent depending on a favourable change in the weather, it was necessary that we should be always in readiness to leave, and accordingly i travelled by the fastest conveyance, the mail-cart, a sort of gig drawn by one horse, which, however, by means of frequent changes and good cattle, manages to average nine miles an hour. it leaves hobart, at half-past seven p.m., and reaches launceston a little before eleven the following morning. it was a cold, bleak night; but as the road was excellent, and i was well muffled up, with my feet in a bag, the time passed cheerily. the general topic of conversation during the journey was about some three desperate bushrangers,* who appeared to keep all the innkeepers in dread of a visit. at one place we stopped at, the host came up with a rueful countenance, and told us that it was only the previous night that he had been stuck up, with a pistol at his head, while they took what they wanted from his larder. (*footnote. the most notorious of these characters was one michael howe, who became a bushranger in . in he separated from his party, taking with him a native girl, whom he shot when hotly pursued, because he imagined she might occasion delay. he twice surrendered on condition that his life should be spared; but soon resumed his predatory habits. in he was killed by three men who had planned his capture; having been nearly seven years in the bush, part of the time entirely alone. he committed several murders, and robberies innumerable. his head was conveyed to hobart. in his knapsack was found a sort of journal of his dreams written with blood, and strongly indicative of the horrors of his mind.) the first half of the journey was over a rather hilly and gradually rising country; the road then winds through almost one continued vale, bounded on either side by broken ranges of mountains. the noble ben lomond appears quite close on the right as you approach launceston. i was much pleased with the comfortable inns on this line of road, the greater part of which is as smooth as a gravel walk. railroads in tasmania. i could not avoid, during this journey, being forcibly struck with the great facilities afforded by the road from hobart to launceston for a railway; and i have since heard and seen enough to convince me, that not only would such an undertaking be practicable, but that it would greatly conduce to the prosperity of tasmania. at present, most of the productions of the northern part of the island are necessarily, on account of the expense of land-carriage, shipped at launceston or port dalrymple, whereas the derwent affords such superior facilities for the purposes of commerce, that if a means of cheap and rapid intercourse with it existed, nearly the whole export and import traffic of the coasts would be drawn thither. i have already observed that large vessels at launceston cannot discharge alongside the wharfs. besides, on the whole of the northern coast, with the exception of the hunter islands, there is no place of safety for a ship in all winds that a stranger would like to run into, the mouth of the tamar being too much occupied with shoals. on the other hand, hobart lies on that part of the island which may be approached with the greatest safety, being on a weather shore, whereas the northern side is partly a lee one. in saying thus much, i do not mean to imply that a private company, under ordinary circumstances, could construct a line with immediate advantage to itself, though i will go so far as to say, that in a very few years, comparatively, an ample remunerative return might be expected. what i especially desire to insist upon, is the fact, that a railroad traversing tasmania from north to south would be a great benefit to the community, would stimulate trade, and consequently production, and would aid in restoring the prosperity which it once enjoyed. labour market. this being granted, let us take into consideration the condition of the labour market in that country, and observe what an opportunity now presents itself of executing a work of prodigious magnitude at a comparatively trifling cost. it will be seen at once that i allude to the population of probationers, pass-holders, ticket-of-leave men, who now compete with the free inhabitants, and cause the whole land to throng with people in want of work, with paupers and with thieves. the great evil at present complained of by the settlers of tasmania, is the superabundance of labour. in most other colonies the contrary complaint is made; and were it not for peculiar circumstances, the great demand in one place would soon relieve the pressure in the other. but it must be remembered, that the glut in the tasmanian labour market is produced by the presence of crowds of convicts, in various stages of restraint, all prevented from leaving the island, and forced to remain and seek employment there; so that as soon as the demand for labour falls off, or the supply of it becomes disproportionately large, it is the free population that is necessarily displaced. the effect, therefore, of the gradual pouring of a superabundance of convict labour into this island, must naturally be, first, to check free immigration; and secondly, to drive away those who have actually established themselves on it as their second home, and may perhaps have abandoned comfort in england in hopes of affluence there. so great is the number actually leaving the place every year, that it is calculated that in six years, at the same ratio, there will be absolutely none left. commercial distress. and yet, no further back than , the legislative council voted , pounds to encourage immigration, thus needlessly taxing the colony to aid in producing a disastrous result, which certainly, however, no one seems to have foreseen. who, indeed, four years ago, could have believed that, above all other things, there should arrive a glut in the labour market? such an event was looked upon as absolutely impossible in the full tide of prosperity that covered the island. everything wore a smiling aspect. the fields were heavy with harvests, the roads crowded with traffic; gay equipages filled the streets; the settler's cottage or villa was well supplied with comfort, and even with luxuries; crime, in a population of which the majority were convicts or their descendants, was less in proportion than in england; in short, for the first time, in the exports exceeded the imports; trade was brisk, agriculture increasing, new settlers were arriving; everything betokened progress; no one dreamed of retrogression or decay. in four years all this has been reversed. we now look in vain for the signs of prosperity that before existed. in their place, we hear of complaints loud and deep; of insolvency, of reduction in the government expenditure; of a falling off of trade; of many beggars, where none before were known; of large agricultural estates allowed partially to return to their natural wildness; of cattle and all stock sold at half their original cost, and of every symptom of agricultural and commercial distress. i may further add, that the funds derived from the sale of crown lands in tasmania in the year , amounted to , pounds; in , to pounds; and in , to nothing. the revenue, in the same time, has decreased one half; and, to close the financial account, at the end of the colony was in debt to the treasury, , pounds. remarks on convict discipline. though many other causes may have co-operated in producing this change, it seems acknowledged by most persons, that the result is chiefly traceable to the disproportionate increase of the convict population, acting in the manner i have already described; and this is itself encouragement to reconsider the system of . but if, as some maintain, this plan has inflicted serious evils, in a moral point of view, both on the free population and on the convicts themselves, there is still greater inducement to examine whether some better mode could not be devised. i do not intend, however, to enter into the question of convict discipline. it would be beside my purpose to do so; and want of space, moreover, forbids it. but i cannot refrain from observing, that one feature in the new plan--that of congregating criminals during one period of their punishment in probation gangs, almost isolated from the free settlers--seems productive of anything but good. under the system of assignment, whatever other objections there may have been to it, the convict had at least an excellent chance of becoming a better man, especially when drafted to a pastoral or agricultural district. whereas, now that the well-disposed and the irreclaimably bad are often brought constantly together in the same class, it is much more difficult for them to regain that self-command and those moral sentiments, the loss of which brought them to their degraded position of prisoners. having constantly before their eyes the garb and stamp of their infamy, reformation, if not impossible, is extremely difficult. pass them on the highways at any time; and, in obedience to an irresistible impulse, they will leave off their work to look at you, and the comparison of your dress and condition, with their own distinctive costume and forced occupation, instead of awakening a spirit of hope and a determination to regain freedom, induces melancholy and despair. a dogged and sullen silence soon becomes the characteristic of these men; their features are stamped with the worst passions of our nature; and in many cases despondency is triumphant, and they make no proper or continued efforts to reclaim themselves. even when a probation pass has been obtained, it is grievous to reflect that, in numerous instances, except in the single quality of industry, not only has no improvement taken place in the character of the prisoner, but that he has become more hardened and corrupt than when he left england. the horrible scenes of depravity he has witnessed in the barracks whence he has emerged, must have produced their natural effect on his mind. i cannot help thinking that this system of concentration is extremely impolitic. we all know what a detrimental influence the associating of men, punished for an offence comparatively trifling, with others convicted of the most flagrant outrages upon society, exerts upon the former. the experience of our prisons testifies to the fact. can it be expected, then, that the same agglomeration of bad characters in tasmania should be harmless? i foretell that this part of the new system will be shortly abandoned, and that at any rate the men will be provided with separate cabins for sleeping berths. the granting the prisoners occasional holidays of a week, would have a great effect in whetting their desire to finally obtain their liberty; and a change or improvement in their apparel, in proportion to their good conduct, would also be very beneficial. in my opinion, however, the system of concentration is radically defective. it supposes the existence in the breasts of criminals of a principle of action, and a desire of improvement and of a change in their condition sufficiently powerful to enable them to resist the temptations to vice held out by habitual intercourse with the depraved. no doubt there are individuals to be found, even among those who have incurred the penalty of banishment from their native country, of firm character and strong sympathy for virtue; but the majority must of course consist of men almost incapable of resisting momentary impulses, of weak or perverted understandings, of strong animal passions, naturally or from habit averse to what is good, and prone to that which is bad. in such cases association must inevitably be pernicious; and pardon can only be obtained by comparative, not absolute reformation. by the dispersion of convicts, under the assignment system or otherwise, the effects of evil communication will be guarded against, and those of intercourse with the virtuous and the honest substituted. i am not of course, as i have said, prepared here even to sketch a new plan of convict discipline; but i think that the suggestion i have made with reference to the employment of prisoners in the construction of railroads, the capital to be supplied by a private company, would afford a temporary relief to the labour market, whilst it would confer a lasting benefit on the colony. during the diversion thus created, time would be afforded for digesting a plan of convict discipline, which should be consistent with economy, with a due regard to the interests of the settlers, and with the moral improvement of the prisoners. lighthouses in bass strait. i would also suggest another mode of employing the probationers. they might be dispersed through the islands in bass strait, and engaged in constructing the lighthouses which are so much wanted there. six years ago his excellency sir john franklin drew the attention of the government of new south wales to the necessity existing for these lighthouses. on this occasion a mass of evidence was given before the legislative council as to which would be the most eligible sites; but up to this period only two have been founded, both by the tasmanian government, one on the chappell isles, another in banks strait. the important ones for the eastern and western entrances of the strait have been neglected, although the fullest information was obtained on the subject. opinions concur in representing kent group as the best position for a light at the eastern entrance, where certainly one is most required, the strait being there so much impeded with rocks and islands. i gave my opinion to this effect before the legislative council, in september, . at the same time, for the western entrance, i recommended cape otway in preference to the north end of king island, for reasons already assigned.* the melancholy wrecks that have of late occurred in bass strait will, it is to be hoped, direct immediate attention to the construction of these lighthouses, and i think that the collateral benefits to be derived from the dispersion of the convicts ought to be given their due weight. the expense would, in consequence of the ample supply of labour, be small; some of the islands afford stone in abundance; and the convicts might raise part of their food in the vicinity of the proposed buildings. i cannot but think that this, in the end, will prove a lucrative undertaking for government; as on the number of vessels that pass, light-dues of about a penny a ton might be levied. (*footnote. the following is the report of the committee of the legislative council of new south wales, on lighthouses proposed to be erected in bass strait: your committee have the honour to report, that having been favoured with the attendance of captain stokes, of her majesty's ship beagle, lately returned from a survey of bass strait, and ascertained his ideas as to the best position for placing a lighthouse at the western entrance thereof, they are induced to change their opinion as set forth in their report of the st september, , and to coincide with him in thinking that cape otway would be a better site for a lighthouse than king island, as being equally advantageous to the trade at large, and much more so to that of port phillip. it would appear, too, that no danger could accrue to vessels endeavouring to make the former, while much mischief might arise in trying to sight the latter, should there be any error in their reckoning; and that it is therefore desirable to keep them as far as possible to the northward of king island, instead of inducing them to risk the danger of approaching it, to ascertain their true position. captain stokes perfectly coincides with the committee, in the opinion formerly expressed by them, that the eastern island of kent group, is the best position for a light at the eastern entrance of bass strait; and they beg leave respectfully to recommend to your excellency and honourable council, that immediate steps may be taken for commencing so desirable an undertaking as the erection of a lighthouse on that spot. (signed) j. gibbes, chairman. council chamber, th september, .) in another part of this work i have adverted to the desirability of forming other convict establishments than those at present existing, particularly on the north-west and north-east coasts; and i would especially recommend the neighbourhood of hanover bay on the former, and halifax bay on the latter.* by these means many hitherto untrodden lands may speedily be adapted to the purposes of colonization, and reclaimed from their present unprofitable state. in a country like australia, where the proportion of bad land predominates, it is almost necessary, in the first instance, to force settlements by means of convict labour. a number of buildings is always a cheering sight to a settler on his first arrival, and gives him encouragement to exertion; whereas, if the country wears its natural arid, desolate, uninviting appearance, dejection and despondency ensue. (*footnote. we have just learned that it is the intention of government to form a settlement of the kind mentioned in the text on the north-east coast; and that the province is to be called north australia, the southern boundary of which is to be the th parallel. i have already expressed my opinion, that convicts should not be sent to port essington, as the proximity of the islands would afford them facilities of escape.) comet. during our stay in the derwent, perhaps one of the most splendid comets that has ever appeared, illuminated the southern hemisphere for several nights. we did not see it until the evening of the th of march; but it was observed on the nd at launceston; and by a ship at sea, off cape leeuwin, on the th of february. several observations were made with it, when the nucleus, which was of a deep red colour, somewhat resembling the planet mars, was visible.* the length of the tail (on the th) measured forty degrees; but was afterwards ten degrees longer. towards its centre it showed great intensity of light, becoming visible in the crepusculum before stars of the second magnitude. through its more attenuated extremity, the stars were plainly seen, the coma seeming to be much less dense, showing the sky through the centre like a dark line. (*footnote. on the evening of the th its right ascension was found to be about hours minutes seconds, and declination about degrees minutes south. the following evening it was observed to have had a motion of above three degrees and a half in the direction of the constellation orion; the right ascension being hours minutes seconds, and the declination degrees minutes south. on the following night it was found to have had a further motion in the same direction, and with much the same velocity. its position, shortly before setting, was as follows: right ascension hours minutes seconds, declination degrees minutes south.) colonial corn. whilst we were in the derwent, a ship was loading with corn for england; and i could not help regretting that, although grain from these colonies, on account of its dry nature, is well adapted for a long voyage, the heavy duty almost shut it out from the english market. it was impossible not to feel, that justice as well as policy should have dictated the admission of australian wheat on the same terms as canadian. the injury inflicted by the exclusive system pursued, is, that less land is put under cultivation, and fewer people are encouraged to go there; both the colony and the mother country are sufferers thereby. chapter . . australia to england. sail from tasmania. the south-west cape. monument to flinders. rottnest island. lighthouse. penal establishment. longitude of fremantle. final departure from western australia. rodrigue island. effects of a hurricane at mauritius. the crew and passengers of a foundered vessel saved. bourbon. madagascar. simon's bay. deep sea soundings. arrival in england. take leave of the beagle. the surveying service. the barometer, which had been rising gradually within the last three days, now standing at . , showed that the opportunity of getting round the south-west cape, had at length arrived. we therefore left sullivan cove on the morning of the th; and by the following midnight passed the above-mentioned storm-beaten headland with a fine northerly wind. previous, however, to so doing, we had soundings in fathoms, six miles south-west of the mew stone. from the result of others we had obtained at different times off the south coast of tasmania, it appears that soundings of a moderate depth extend out only a short distance, and that a ship in fathoms will be within ten miles of the land. monument to flinders. it had been my intention, on our passage to the westward, to have examined the south and west sides of kangaroo island, with the rocks lying off the former. i was also anxious to visit south australia for another meridian distance, those already obtained not being satisfactory, i wished, moreover, to comply with sir john franklin's desire, that we should set up a monument, dedicated to the memory of poor flinders, which he had sent to port lincoln, the centre of his honoured commander's most important discoveries on the south coast of australia.* the performance of such a task would have constituted an appropriate conclusion to our labours on the shores of this great continent; and certainly nothing could have been more agreeable to our feelings than to be instrumental in paying a tribute of respect to our distinguished predecessor in the career of discovery. i shall always regret that we were prevented from doing so. at the same time i must say, that it will reflect great discredit on the colony of south australia, if some portion of its wealth be not devoted to the erection of a suitable monument to the memory of flinders in one of the squares of adelaide. (*footnote. sir john franklin was a midshipman with captain flinders when he discovered this part of australia.) strong northerly winds prevented us, as i have above hinted, from closing with the land, we consequently continued our course to the westward; and on the twenty-third day arrived at king george's sound, whence, after completing our wooding and watering, we sailed on the morning of the st of april. at noon we passed between bald head and vancouver reef.* (*footnote. see plate.) rottnest lighthouse. in the forenoon of the rd we saw the lighthouse of rottnest; and regarded it with great interest, as the work of the aborigines imprisoned on the island. i could not avoid indulging in melancholy reflections as i gazed upon this building, erected by the hands of a people which seemed destined to perish from the face of the earth without being able to leave any durable monuments of their existence, except such fabrics as this, constructed under the control of a conquering race. the time indeed, if we may judge from past experience, seems not far distant when the stranger, on approaching the shores of western australia, and asking who erected that lighthouse to guide him in safety to the shore, will be told it was the work of a people that once were and are now no longer. passing over the foul ground extending off the stragglers, we ran into owen's anchorage during the first watch. whilst waiting to rate the chronometers several soundings were added to our plan of this place, and a three-fathom patch, about a quarter of a mile in extent, was discovered, with nine on either side of it, lying nearly two miles and a quarter north degrees west from fremantle gaol. penal establishment. we also visited rottnest to inspect the establishment. it had now been a penal settlement for four years; besides erecting the buildings, the aboriginal labourers had cleared thirty-four acres of land, chiefly in detached valleys. these grew thirty-five bushels of wheat to the acre (in the port phillip district the return is about five more to the acre) and from thirty-four to forty bushels of barley. there are about two thousand acres of available land in the whole island. the average number of native convicts is about seventeen, and the expense of the whole establishment to government is about pounds per annum; but, under the good management of superintendent vincent, it has realized pounds by the sale of corn and salt, and allowing for the value of the buildings erected. his excellency governor hutt had done a great deal for the improvement of the natives; the schools established for their instruction work exceedingly well; and i am happy to see that a most important step towards civilizing them has since been made, a white having taken a native woman as his wife. this may be regarded as in a great measure the result of the notice bestowed on them. no opportunity occurred during our stay of adding to the observations i had previously made for the longitude of fremantle (scott's jetty); which, however, is the only part of the continent absolutely determined during the beagle's voyage. it is considered to be in longitude degrees minutes seconds east. before leaving we received a letter of thanks from his excellency and the members of the legislative council for the services we had rendered the colony. my friend lieutenant roe presented me, also, with two specimens of the spined lizard moloch horridus, which i intended to present to her majesty; but, unfortunately, i did not succeed in bringing either of them alive to england; one, however, lived beyond the western islands. departure from western australia. we left swan river on the evening of the th of may, , running out with a moderate north-east breeze. everything seemed auspicious. the water was smooth, and the sails, as they slept in the breeze, echoed back the sounds of the well-known song, we are homeward bound, that was sung with an earnestness that could not be mistaken. i fancied i could discern, in the rough tones of the crew under my command, the existence of the same emotions that swelled in my own breast at this moment. for seamen, high and low, though content to pass the greater portion of their lives upon the world of waters, can never entirely suppress that yearning for home, which, perhaps, after all, is one of the finest traits in human nature. and now that it might be legitimately indulged, i was not sorry to see such strong evidences of its existence. ere the last vestige of day had passed, the coast of australia had faded from our sight, though not from our memory; for, however much thoughts of the land to which we were returning crowded on our minds, they could not as yet entirely obliterate the recollection of that we were quitting. the swan river colony--its history, its state, its prospects--naturally occupied much of our mind. what a change had come over it even since our visit! from a happy little family, if i may use the expression, it had grown into a populous colony, in which all the passions, the rivalries, the loves and the hates of the mother country were in some sort represented. and yet there remained still much of that old english hospitality, which rendered our first stay so pleasant, and which almost made us desire to prolong our last. the alteration that had taken place was rather to be referred to the increasing number of settlers, which rendered inevitable the formation of circles more or less exclusive, and which, with the forms of european society, promised to introduce many of its defects. but our thoughts wandered, from time to time, over the whole of this extraordinary continent, which we saw for the first time in november , at the point from which we took our departure, in may, . the strange contrasts to the rest of the world which it affords were enumerated and commented upon--its cherries with their stones growing outside--its trees, which shed their bark instead of their leaves--its strange animals--its still stranger population--its mushroom cities--and, finally, the fact that the approach to human habitations is not announced by the barking of dogs, but by the barking of trees!* (*footnote. the trees in the vicinity of houses are generally barked to obtain a covering for the roofs.) westerly winds carried us into the south-east trade by the th, in latitude degrees minutes south four hundred miles from the north-west cape, when our course was directed for the mauritius. we found the trade very squally, and on one or two occasions managed to screw as much as eleven knots out of the old craft. rodrigue island. a little after noon on the th we saw rodrigue island sooner than we expected, in consequence of our finding it placed seven miles to the westward of its true position, even with reference to the meridian of the mauritius. our observations, in passing to southward, made the eastern end of it degrees minutes east of port louis, and degrees / east of greenwich, latitude degrees minutes south. i was rather surprised to find this error in the position of rodrigue, as it is quite a finger-post for ships on their voyage from india to great britain. it trends east and west for seventeen miles, and is in width about six. for a volcanic island its features are not very remarkable; the highest part is a peak or excrescence, feet high, rising towards the eastern end out of a rather level ridge. on the morning of the th, the high land of the mauritius was seen breaking through the mass of clouds. passing round the north end of the island, in the evening we reached port louis, where we found a french man-of-war that had just brought in the crew of a vessel foundered at sea. their escape had been one of the most remarkable on record. the ship was from liverpool, and was rounding the south-eastern point of africa with a strong north-west wind, when she sprang a leak, which increased so fast, that the crew were ultimately obliged to abandon her and take to the boats. the sea was so great that they were compelled to run before the wind, with the prospect only of prolonging their lives for a brief space, no land lying in that direction. providential escape. providentially, the morning following they found themselves alongside a french frigate; but the boats were so low in the water that for some time they escaped observation, and were nearly passed. at length, by waving a lady's shawl in the air, they attracted the attention of the frenchmen, and were taken on board, and treated with an attentive kindness, which entitled their preservers to the thanks of all who would wish to be so received under such circumstances. i regret that the name of the captain of the ship has escaped me; though i remember it being said, that he had himself been saved on a previous occasion by a liverpool ship in the china sea. not long before the arrival of the beagle in port louis, a fleet of crippled vessels, the victims of a recent hurricane, might have been seen making their way into the harbour, some dismasted, others kept afloat with difficulty, firing guns of distress, or giving other signs of their helpless condition. the monotony of colonial life was suddenly disturbed, by no means disagreeably to some, as the telegraph told off a succession of lame ducks, as they were jocularly called, such as seldom or ever had been witnessed, even at that place. it required but a visit to the bell buoy, to see at a glance the destructive effects of the storm on the unfortunate ships. effects of hurricane at mauritius. on the tranquil surface of the harbour lay a group of shattered vessels, presenting the appearance of floating wrecks. in almost all, the bulwarks, boats, and everything on deck had been swept away; some, that were towed in, had lost all their masts, others more or less of their spars; one had her poop and all its cabins swept away; many had four or five feet water in the hold, and the clank of the pumps was still kept up by the weary crew. such was the description given me of the circumstances under which the crowd of vessels that lay at anchor in port louis had arrived. i had anticipated that i should here be enabled to make some important additions to the notices of hurricanes that have occasionally appeared in this work; and certainly ample opportunity now presented itself. but i found that this interesting subject was in more able hands, those, namely, of mr. alexander thom, of h.m. th regiment, whose valuable observations have been laid before the public, in a work called, an inquiry into the nature and course of storms; a volume that embraces many important considerations for seamen, to whom, indeed, and to the ship-owner, mr. thom, by his scientific investigations, has proved himself a true friend. it is curious that military men should have been the first to study the causes of hurricanes, and to tell sailors how to avoid their effects; but that such is the case, the works of colonel reid and of my friend mr. thom will testify. i had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of the latter gentleman in port louis. what he considered to be the grand sources of rotatory storms--winds charged with opposite kinds of electricity and blowing in opposite directions--appeared to account satisfactorily for the occurrence of hurricanes in the pacific, where there are no continents or chains of mountains to produce them and guide their courses. as so much has been already written about this interesting island, the mauritius, and as, moreover, space forbids, i do not here make use of the mass of information with which mr. thom has kindly furnished me, respecting its history and resources, and the subject of coolie labour; but on some future occasion i may be able to lay it before the public. during my stay at port louis i received much hospitality, particularly from the family of colonel staveley, commander of the forces, which i take this opportunity of acknowledging. we sailed from the mauritius on the th of june, and on the following day passed about miles south-east of the island of bourbon. it resembles a large cone emerging from the water; and its features are strikingly different from those of the mauritius; the outline is not softened by luxuriant vegetation, but is sudden and steep and massive. madagascar. southerly and westerly winds brought us in sight of madagascar on the th, and on the same evening, aided by a southerly current of knots an hour, we were just able to weather its south-east extreme. the features of this great island that were presented to our view approached the alpine, and from a passing glimpse of the small hills near the shore, it appeared to be a fertile country. this portion of the globe is one of great interest to the world at large, especially when we know that, if considered as a naval or military station, it is scarcely equalled by any in the indian ocean; besides having a soil of the best description, and abounding also in mineral wealth, with timber fit for any purposes, and thousands of cattle running wild in its valleys. on the afternoon of the th we were within seven or eight miles of the land, near the great fish river, on the south-eastern coast of africa, having apparently got within the eddy of the westerly current, which sweeps round that part of the coast at the distance of thirty miles with a velocity of from two to five miles an hour, which we entirely lost after passing algoa bay. within thirty miles of the latter place we had a strong gale from the southward of twenty-four hours duration; and on the morning of the st of july arrived at simon's bay, in company with her majesty's ship belleisle, which sailed two days before us from the mauritius. nearly six years had elapsed since our last visit, and little improvement had taken place in colonial affairs. (*footnote. the little difficulty that strangers found in recognizing this anchorage at night, is now overcome by a light-vessel being placed near the roman rocks; but the streaks of sand, resembling snow, down the sides of the hills over simons bay, and the remarkable break in the high land over another bay, just to the northward, are sufficient guides of themselves in clear weather.) on the th we were again on our way homeward. touching at st. helena* and ascension, we crossed the equator on the forenoon of the th, in longitude degrees minutes west, where we endeavoured to obtain soundings with fathoms of line, which parted at fathoms. respecting deep-sea soundings, there are some sceptical persons who, in consequence of the bottom not being brought up from the great depths reported to have been found, are inclined to doubt that soundings were actually obtained on those occasions. (*footnote. this place is famed for its large flying-fish, of which some are from to inches in length: and not a little so, for those monsters of the finny tribe called sharks. in the admiralty book of directions, the fact is related of an artillery-man being found fully accoutred in the stomach of one taken there.) arrival in england. on the th a continuation of westerly winds* brought us in sight of st. jago and bravo, of the cape de verd group; on passing which we got the north-east trade, and, after staying a part of the th and th at fayal, where we met her majesty's steamer styx, captain vidal, who, on parting, gave us three hearty farewell cheers, we did not, in consequence of easterly winds, arrive at spithead until the th day of september, after an absence of upwards of six years. during this period we only lost two men, and preserved throughout almost the same spars** and boats,*** we left plymouth with in . from portsmouth we proceeded round to woolwich, where the ship was paid off on the th of october, . (*footnote. ships availing themselves of these winds, when, also, the westerly current ceases near the equator, might, by running away to the eastward in them, shorten the passage to either ascension or st. helena.) (**footnote. i have already mentioned that the beagle was fitted with mr. snow harris's lightning conductors; the fact mentioned in the text is ample proof that they do not weaken even the smallest spars.) (***footnote. it is in justice due to say, that the boats were chiefly built by mr. johns, of plymouth dockyard.) take leave of the beagle. after giving the men their certificates, i loitered a short time to indulge in those feelings that naturally arose on taking a final leave of the poor old beagle at the same place where i first joined her in . many events have occurred since my first trip to sea in her: i have seen her under every variety of circumstances, placed in peculiar situations and fearful positions, from nearly the antarctic to the tropic, cooled by the frigid clime of the extreme of south america, or parched by the heats of north australia; under every vicissitude, from the grave to the gay, i have struggled along with her; and after wandering together for eighteen years, a fact unprecedented in the service, i naturally parted from her with regret. her movements, latterly, have been anxiously watched, and the chances are that her ribs will separate, and that she will perish in the river* where she was first put together. she has made herself as notorious as during the war did her namesake, that reaped golden opinions from her success in prize-making; while my old friend has extensively contributed to our geographical knowledge. (*footnote. the beagle, now employed in the preventive service, is moored in crouch creek, near south end.) the surveying service. conclusion. there was only one drawback to the pleasure i experienced on arriving in england--namely, that lieutenant g. gore did not obtain his promotion, but was compelled to seek it by a second voyage to the north pole. all the mates were, in the course of a short time, promoted, and the ship's company received the favour of having half of their slop bill deducted, an indulgence which the lords of the admiralty, from the kindest and most considerate motives, have in some instances bestowed upon the crews of surveying vessels, on their return from distant voyages. this boon, however, in some instances, operates unfairly. in the first place, it often happens, in spite of the strictest surveillance, that the worst characters will, if they can, take up the greatest quantity of slops, which they convert either into money or grog, whenever an opportunity presents itself. the really steady men generally look clean and neat as long as possible, without much assistance from the purser. then again, the boats' crews of all surveying vessels are necessarily so much more exposed, that they not only the sooner wear out their ordinary clothing, but absolutely require additional comforts in that way. i am therefore strongly of opinion that, in this department (and i speak from experience) the captain should be allowed a certain portion of slops, to be placed at his disposal, and distributed under his sole authority; or might not he be enabled to recommend a certain number of the best men for a small increase upon their regular pay? this judicious exercise of discretion would be the means of retaining in this important branch of the service, a class of men who would become most valuable to their officers when engaged in the arduous and responsible duties of a survey. as in the royal engineers, a great deal of the superior talent of the officers might be better bestowed, by abandoning to the petty officers the rougher part of the surveying work, in which calculation is not required. for this purpose, a kind of instruction might be imparted, which that class of men, if encouraged by extra pay, is capable of receiving, particularly those who have had the advantage of a greenwich education. to strengthen the suggestions i have made regarding the surveying service, i cannot refrain from alluding--and i do so with honest pride--both to the actions in china, and the very recent gallant destruction of the argentine batteries in the river parana, as instances of the importance of this branch of the profession in time of war. during peace the new countries that are explored, and the new fields of commerce that are opened to the world, will speak for themselves. ... appendix. winds and weather on the western and northern coasts of australia. by commander j.c. wickham, r.n. the winds on the western coast of australia, are, for the most part, from some southern point--chiefly between south-south-west and south-south-east. during the summer, or from the early part of october to the beginning of april, they are almost constant from this quarter; but in the winter their regularity is broken in upon by occasional winds between north and west that at times blow with great violence, and are accompanied by heavy rain, and thick dirty weather. near the shore, land and seabreezes appear to be regular, the former generally dying away towards the middle of the day, after having reached as far as east from about south-east at sunrise; then follows a short interval of calm, after which, the seabreeze sets in, mostly at south-south-west, and draws to the eastward of south in the evening. at times the land wind veers round the compass, and is then generally stronger than usual; blowing fresh for a short time from north-east, and bringing a parching heat from the land; upon these occasions the seabreeze comes in from a more western point, and is lighter. at swan river, in the months of december, january, and february, the seabreezes are very strong, for intervals of from three to five days; during which time they blow fresh throughout the night--drawing to the southward after midnight, and towards sunrise to south-south-east and south-east, but more moderate. in the middle of the day, they back again to the southward, and soon to south-south-west, from which quarter they blow very fresh until midnight. intervals of such weather are from three to five days' duration, and are followed by the like number of days of moderate weather, with winds mostly off the land; sometimes strong gusts from the east, for a few hours, with oppressively hot weather. i have noticed, that when the seabreeze sets in from a point to the westward of south-west, it does not blow so strong, and generally lulls at sunset; but if more southerly, or from south-south-west, it is a fiery breeze, and often lasts until midnight. during the prevalence of these strong seabreezes, communication between gage road and the shore is very inconvenient--particularly for laden boats. in march, the seabreezes are not nearly so strong, but are generally moderate, and not unfrequently bring in thick misty weather from southwards, with drizzling rain. generally speaking, when the seabreezes are the strongest, the land winds are light, and vice versa. i cannot speak from experience of the winds or weather during the month of april, at swan river, but have been told that the seabreezes are moderate, and the land winds of longer duration; calms are frequent--and the weather altogether seems to indicate the breaking up of the summer season; light winds are occasionally felt from the northward, with a dull, gloomy appearance between that point and south-west. may is the month in which the winter weather fairly sets in, and it rarely happens that the middle of this month passes without the rains having commenced. this season seems to vary but little as to the time and manner of setting in--it is ushered in by blowing weather, from about north-north-east, the wind gradually veering round to the westward, as it increases in strength. the first of this weather usually lasts from a week to fourteen days; then comes an interval of fine weather, generally of a fortnight's duration, and sometimes a month; after which the rains set in more constant, and the intervals of fine weather are shorter; this weather lasts until october, and at times throughout that month. during the intervals of fine weather the climate is delightful, and the country has a fresh and pleasing appearance; land and seabreezes are as regular as in summer, with the exception, that the latter are much more moderate. the north-west gales that occasionally occur during the winter months, on the southern parts of the west coast of australia, are probably felt as far north as shark's bay. they blow with great violence, and are accompanied by dark, gloomy weather, and rain. it is then unsafe to be near the land--as the gale that commences at north-north-east, invariably veers to the westward, making a lee shore of the whole line of coast, and between west-north-west and west-south-west blows the hardest. fortunately these gales give ample warning; the barometer always foretells their approach, and generally begins to fall three or four days before the commencement of the gale--besides which, there are other never-failing indications of a northerly wind, such as, the change of the current, which (owing to the prevailing southerly winds) usually sets to the northward, but runs strong to the southward during northerly winds--frequently preceding them, and giving more timely notice than the barometer. a rising of the water is likewise a certain prognostic of a northerly wind; and has been invariably noticed, at swan river, to precede all gales from that quarter--this, of course, can only be observed while at anchor on the coast. another, and perhaps equally certain sign of approaching bad weather, during the winter season (and which is almost certain to be from the northward) is the strength of the north-east winds--as it has been observed, that when the land winds blow strong, particularly from the north-east and the seabreezes are light, with a falling barometer, a gale from the northward will follow. perhaps these latter remarks, are only applicable to that distance from the shore, where a ship will be within the influence of the land and seabreezes; but as i conceive the limit of that distance to be full miles off shore, a notice of such a symptom of approaching bad weather, may not be altogether useless. i am of opinion, that land winds are at times felt as far off shore as the edge of soundings, which is not less than miles, and generally between that and . (in latitude degrees minutes south and miles from the land, soundings were got from the beagle, with fathoms of line, upon a coral bottom. between swan river and houtman's abrolhos, soundings may be had at a greater distance from the land, than off any other part of the west coast.) the north-west gales are of longer duration, in the latitude of swan river, and south of that, than they are to the northward; they do not appear to be entirely confined to the winter months, as i am told that a very heavy one was experienced at swan river, early in march, , and on the th december, , the beagle experienced a strong breeze from the northward, while at anchor in gage road, in consequence of which, it was considered necessary to let go an extra anchor. as it may be satisfactory to know more particularly the progress of these gales, and the effect they have upon the barometer and sympiesometer, i give the details of two that were experienced in h.m.s. beagle, one at swan river, in the beginning of june , the other at houtman's abrolhos, in the beginning of may ; they may be taken as fair criterions of the strength and duration of these gales, the latter having been experienced, probably, within degrees of their northern limit, and the former near the southern extreme of the west coast. as our barometer had been broken in march , the register of a sympiesometer will be given in describing the gale of june in that year; but as this instrument had been found (by comparison with the barometer) to act exceedingly well, it will be sufficient for our purpose; the general use of a marine barometer being merely that of a weather glass, for which purpose a sympiesometer is equally good, and more sensitive. for the gale of , the register of a barometer is shown, which, although . too low, will serve to show the effect upon the mercury. at swan river, on the th of may, , the wind was strong and squally from north-east by north; sympiesometer standing at . . during the day the oil commenced to fall, and continued falling slowly until the th, when it was . ; during the greater part of this interval, the winds were light, generally from some eastern point in the morning, and going round the compass, by north and west, during the day; the nights were mostly calm, a heavy bank of clouds was collecting between north-north-east and south-west and the whole western horizon had a gloomy appearance. on the evening of the th, the water had risen considerably at the anchorage, and the stream ran to the southward; a fresh breeze also set in from north-east and gradually veered to the northward, as it increased in strength. on the st it blew hard all day, between north-north-east and north-north-west, with dark squally weather, much lightning in south-west and heavy rain, that continued all night. on june the st, the gale was at its height, and at a.m. (the sympiesometer having fallen to . ) was blowing a hard gale, with heavy squalls and rain, from north-west; towards noon the wind veered to west, but still blew very hard; the sympiesometer now began to rise, and in the evening the wind was west-south-west and had moderated considerably, the weather was also clearer, although heavy clouds still hung on the western horizon. the next morning (the nd) the sympiesometer had risen to . ; but this was much too sudden a rise ( . in hours) to allow us to suppose, that the favourable change in the weather was to be of long continuance; during the day the oil began to fall again, and the wind veered to west and north-west and on the rd blew harder than ever, with heavy rain, thunder, and lightning; and, with the exception of occasional intervals, when the wind moderated, this weather continued until the th. the wind during this time was variable, between north-north-west and west-south-west, the sympiesometer between . and . --falling with the north-west winds, and rising as the wind veered to west and west-south-west. this gale, which may be said to have been of ten days' continuance, caused a very heavy sea upon the coast; the oldest residents at swan river said they had never experienced so heavy a sea before. on the th the glass commenced to rise steadily, and the weather was fine, with light variable winds, until the beagle sailed (on the th). owing to the security of owen's anchorage, and the good quality of the bottom, the beagle rode out this bad weather, without causing the slightest apprehension to anyone on board; but had a merchant vessel been in gage road, in all probability, she would have added one more to the list of wrecks, that have already done too much in prejudicing strangers against the swan river settlement. the gale of may, , at houtman's abrolhos, commenced in a similar manner with that already described, but being in a lower latitude, was of shorter duration, and the indications did not precede it such a length of time; still they were in every respect similar. this gale commenced on the nd of may, in the evening, and lasted until the evening of the th. on april the th, the barometer stood at . (having been some days steadily high); it then commenced to fall, and on the evening of may the nd, was . ; during this interval we daily experienced strong east-north-east and north-east winds; they generally commenced after midnight, and lasted until noon; a bank of clouds was also collecting in the north-west and there was occasional lightning in that quarter; the early part of may the nd was nearly calm, and there was a heavy bank of clouds between north and south-west. after noon a light breeze sprang up from north-west which gradually freshened; and during the night the barometer fell -hundredths. at sunrise on may the rd, there was a fresh breeze from north-north-west and the weather had a very dull and gloomy appearance, the wind increasing rapidly, and by noon it blew a heavy gale at west-north-west; the barometer had fallen to . , at which it continued until midnight, when the wind drew to the southward of west, and the mercury began to rise. the gale continued unabated, with squalls and rain, until noon of the th, although the barometer had been rising since the previous midnight; in the afternoon the wind moderated, and the weather became fine. from this it would appear that the barometer gives ample warning of an approaching north-west gale, as it had been falling nearly four days before the commencement of the bad weather, this alone ought to be sufficient to put a man upon his guard if near the shore. between april the th (the first day of the fresh north-easterly winds) and may the rd (when the gale was at its height, and the wind began to draw to the southward of west) the mercury had fallen -tenths. the change of current did not precede the wind, but changed with it; when the gale was strong from north-west and west-north-west the current ran a knot an hour to the south-east, and when the wind changed to south-west it ran with the same velocity to the north-east. the west coast of new holland is at times visited by sudden squalls, resembling hurricanes. i was told by the master of an american whaler, that in march , when in company with several whalers off sharks' bay, he experienced some very bad weather, which came on suddenly, without having given any previous warning, but it was not of long continuance; the gusts of wind were very violent, shifting suddenly to all points of the compass. some of the ships suffered considerable damage, in loss of topmasts, etc. others in sails, but all more or less. i think the first squall was from north-east off the land. the american whalers that resort to the west coast of australia, are upon different parts of it at all seasons of the year; their range is between the parallel of and degrees of south latitude. in the summer they fish to the southward, and at that season visit swan river and king george's sound, for refreshments; but during the winter months they are rarely to the southward of sharks' bay; numbers are to be met off the north-west cape. between the parallels of and degrees they meet much bad weather, as it is generally blowing strong with a heavy sea; but between and degrees the weather is much more settled, and finer. november is said to be generally the finest of the summer months, the winds are mostly moderate, and the weather more settled than at other periods. two gales that were experienced by the beagle in november , between the islands of st. paul and amsterdam and swan river, will serve to show the different effects upon the barometer by gales from opposite quarters, one being from north-west and the other from south-east. on november the st, the barometer stood at . , having been gradually rising for some days previous to that, and the wind had been fresh between north and west. after p.m. on the st, the mercury began to fall, and on the nd, the wind was strong from north-north-west--barometer falling all day. during the night it blew a heavy gale, and the barometer fell to . . on the morning of the rd the wind veered to the westward, and the mercury began to rise, the weather also became more moderate, and gradually fine. on the th of the same month, the barometer was . at p.m. with fine weather, wind south-east by east, it then commenced to fall, and at p.m. on the th was . , and blowing a heavy gale at south-east, which continued all night, and until p.m. on the th, at which time it became more moderate, and the barometer began to rise. what a different effect these gales had on the barometer; that from the north-west causing the mercury to fall nearly -tenths, whereas, the last, from south-east only lowered it -tenths, and -hundredths; they were of equal strength and duration, and both accompanied by heavy rain. ... on the north-west coast of australia. the great extent of the north-west coast of australia, lying as it does between the parallels of and degrees of south latitude, no doubt subjects it to a variety of winds and weather, that is not experienced on the north coast; although, on that part of it north of the parallel of degrees, there is probably much similarity. as i cannot speak with certainty of the winds and weather that prevail on this extent of coast, at all seasons of the year, the following remarks will be confined to such portions of it as were visited by the beagle, and will apply only to the particular seasons in which she was employed there. to the eastward of the meridian of degrees east longitude, and at a short distance from the land, the east and west monsoons will be found regular; but the easterly monsoon is very light to the southward of degrees latitude. between clarence straits and cambridge gulf, and during the months of september, october, november, and december, the wind during the day is a seabreeze between north-west and west. in september, and until the middle of october, we found the wind as follows: about sunrise, a light breeze sprang up from south-east or east which gradually drew to the northward towards the middle of the day, in the afternoon, a seabreeze from north-west or west, becoming light towards sunset, but freshening again soon after that, and blowing a moderate and pleasant breeze between north-west and south-west all night. during the latter part of the period (november and december) the winds were more constantly from the west or west-north-west, blowing from that quarter throughout the twenty-four hours, but much more moderate at night than during the day; at full and change of the moon, the breezes were much stronger than at other times, and upon one or two occasions, at the time of the moon's quartering, there was a light breeze from south-east in the morning. during the month of november, the ship was at anchor, twelve miles within the entrance to victoria river, and sixty-five from point pearce, on the sea coast. for the first three weeks of this time, the seabreeze was regular from north-west or west-north-west, generally setting in about noon, and lasting the greater part of the night; in the mornings, and until noon, it was mostly calm, or very light winds from the northward. in the last week of this month the weather was very unsettled and squally, with much thunder and lightning, and rain, the wind mostly between south-east and north-east; after which, the westerly breezes set in again, and continued until we left the coast in the middle of december. during the whole of this period the westerly winds did not appear to come from any distance, but to be merely local seabreezes, as they did not cause any sea upon the coast, nor did they reach far in shore; as we frequently observed smoke at no great distance from the coast, rising perpendicularly, or influenced by a light south-easterly wind, and this at times when the seabreeze was strong. from this it would appear, that the westerly monsoon had not reached so far to the southward, nor did we find, after sailing from point pearce, that the winds were at all steady from the westward, until we had reached to the northward of cape londonderry, which is in latitude degrees minutes south. to the northward of this, the winds were from the westward, accompanied by fine weather during the day to the southward of that point--sometimes as far as south-west--and at night inclining to the northward of west, but generally speaking, we found the wind to the southward of west, and the current running from half a mile to a mile an hour to the north or north-north-east. the currents between new holland and timor, are said to run to the westward, during the easterly monsoon--and in the opposite direction with the westerly; but they seem to be influenced by every trifling change of wind--as on the th, st, nd, and rd of december (when the westerly monsoon might be supposed at its height) we experienced light, variable winds, between south-east and east-north-east--during which period the current ran to the westward--at times, a knot an hour. we were then between the parallels of / and degrees, south of which we experienced winds between south-south-west and west until we were to the southward of the north-west cape, when they became more southerly, and at times south-south-east (in january). throughout all this period, the weather was fine, and different from what was expected during the westerly monsoon. all that part of the north-west coast of new holland, between the north-west cape, and cape londonderry, appears to be very much subjected to light winds, particularly during the easterly monsoon, the strength of which is not felt to the southward of or degrees of south latitude. during the westerly monsoon, strong winds and gales from the north-west at times blow upon the coast, but they do not appear to be frequent. the strongest winds at this season, are the heavy squalls between east-south-east and north-east (and which may with propriety be termed hurricane squalls); fortunately they are not of long duration, rarely lasting over two hours. they give ample warning of their approach, by the gathering of a heavy bank of clouds between north-east and south-east, and much lightning in that quarter. appearances such as these frequently precede the squall some days, but coming gradually nearer (to the westward). the barometer shows no indication of approaching bad weather, being only acted upon by the immediate change; these squalls mostly occur in the night, or between sunset and sunrise. during the latter part of the westerly monsoon, on that part of the coast between cape villaret and point swan, we found the weather remarkably fine, with the exception of an occasional short, but severe squall, from the eastward. during the day there was generally a moderate seabreeze between north-west and south-west commencing in the forenoon, and lasting sometimes nearly until midnight--on which occasions it blew strongest during the night); during the other part of the twenty-four hours the wind was light from the eastward or calm. captain king experienced similar weather in august. it was not until we had reached point swan, in latitude degrees minutes south that we experienced any of the bad weather that is usually met with, at this season of the year, a few degrees to the northward; it commenced in the last week of january, and continued until the middle of february, during which period, there were some strong gales from the westward, between north-west and south-west accompanied by heavy rain, thunder and lightning; but although there was a good deal of dirty weather, it was by no means constant, as there were occasional intervals of fine weather, with moderate westerly winds. this was the only bad weather on this part of the coast, during the season, that could be said to be caused by the westerly monsoon, if we except the east-south-east squalls, that do not occur in the easterly monsoon. while this weather lasted, the easterly squalls were quite suspended, and the heavy bank of clouds that had generally been noticed in the south-east had dispersed for the time; but after the strong westerly winds had ceased, the weather was generally fine, and the wind mostly from some western point; there were occasional showers, and the clouds in the eastern horizon resumed their threatening appearance, bringing some hard squalls, and rain from that quarter. in the middle of march (being the time when equinoctial gales are looked for in most parts of the world) there were two or three days of squally, unsettled weather, with rain, that seemed to terminate the season of the westerly monsoon. after the st of april, the weather was invariably fine, and the easterly squalls had ceased to trouble us; land and seabreezes became regular, and the easterly monsoon had no doubt set in to the northward; the strongest breezes now were from south-east but, generally speaking, the winds were very light near the land. it does not appear that the westerly monsoon blows with any degree of regularity, to the southward of the th degree of south latitude; although for some degrees south of that, the weather is influenced by it, and winds between west-north-west and south-west will be experienced, and from the appearances on many parts of the coast, there are no doubt strong gales at times from the westward, that send in a very heavy sea. during the easterly monsoon, the weather is fine on the north-west coast, particularly in the months of may, june, july, and august; this is undoubtedly the best time for visiting it; land and seabreezes are regular, and the temperature is very agreeable. the average range of the thermometer on that part of the coast, between the north-west cape, and the meridian of degrees east longitude, during the above-mentioned period, was between degrees in the middle of the day, and degrees at night, on board the ship, and the general course of the wind as follows, viz. about sunrise, or sometimes a little before that, a breeze springs up between south and south-south-east and draws to the eastward as the sun rises, rapidly increasing in strength, and between and a.m. often blows a fiery breeze; towards noon it moderates, and rarely lasts until p.m., after which there is a light breeze from north-east which at times reaches to north; the nights are mostly calm, or a light breeze from the south-westward; at the full and change of the moon, we found the south-easterly winds stronger than at other times; dews at times very copious. all this part of the coast is subject to the effects of mirage, by which its outline is at times very much distorted, but generally speaking it ceases with the strength of the breeze, and as the sun attains a little altitude. when the effects of mirage was observed in the morning, i noticed that the winds were much lighter throughout the day, than usual. during this part of the year, the atmosphere is clear, with a cloudless sky, and the coast is exempted from the violent east-south-east squalls, that are of frequent occurrence, while the sun is in the southern hemisphere, and the land consequently very much heated. towards the latter end of august, and in september, the winds are not quite so regular, and there are occasional intervals of two or three days of westerly winds. that part of the north-west coast between the north-west cape, and the th degree of east longitude, seems to be subject to westerly winds at all times of the year. the prevailing southerly winds that blow along the west coast, appear to draw round the cape, and follow the direction of the land. between april and october (when the easterly monsoon is blowing to the northward) they are generally to the southward of west, or between that point and south-west, but during the westerly monsoon between west and north-west. upon getting to the westward of the north-west cape, the wind becomes more southerly, and draws to the eastward of south as the distance from the land increases, and will be found varying between south-south-east and east-south-east, generally speaking as far south as the parallel of degrees of south latitude, after which it is mostly to the westward of south, so that ships making a passage to the southward, along the west coast of new holland, will rarely be able to make any easting, before reaching that latitude, particularly during the summer months. in the winter a ship may occasionally make a quick passage to the southward, if happening to be upon the coast during a northerly gale; and as all these gales are preceded by north-east winds, a sufficient offing may be gained to enable her to run on, when the wind gets to the southward of west. ... on the north coast of australia. that part of the coast of new holland from cape york to cape van diemen, and extending as far south as the parallel of degrees south latitude, may be said to be within the limit of the east and west monsoons, as at a short distance from the coast, these periodical winds will be found to blow with great regularity. near the land, the easterly monsoon sets in between the st and middle of april, and the westerly monsoon in october, and sometimes not until november. at a distance from the land they are probably more regular, as the changes of the monsoons are said to take place about the first week in april and october. in the month of july, we found the winds between booby island and port essington, fresh from the eastward, veering at times to east-south-east and occasionally to south-east but rarely to the northward of east. close to the land these winds are not so constant, but take more the character of land and seabreezes, and the nights are mostly calm; this we found to be the case during part of the months of july and august, while at anchor in port essington. the general course of the winds during that period was as follows. a little before sunrise, a breeze sprang up from south or south-south-east which gradually became more easterly as the sun approached the meridian; sometimes in the middle of the day, it was light from the eastward, or calm, and at other times veered gradually to north-east, from which quarter there came a fresh seabreeze every afternoon; this breeze lasted until sunset, and at times later, but the nights were always calm. we experienced similar winds between melville island and port essington, but being a short distance from the land, the nights were not calm, although the winds were very light. during the easterly monsoon, it is difficult to get to the eastward, as at a few miles from the land the current is always running to the westward, and runs strong past the projecting points; but by contriving to be near the land at daylight, at which time the wind is always more southerly, something may be gained. at port essington, the rainy season can scarcely be said to set in before the middle of november; there is then, squally, dirty weather, with rain from the westward and north-west, and at this season, there are at times heavy squalls from south-east accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightning. in , the westerly monsoon set in at port essington, in the first week in november; there had been no rain before that. the end. [frontispiece: "the rescue of dick and bobby." (page .)] dick lester of kurrajong by mary grant bruce ward, lock & co., limited london and melbourne printed in great britain by butler & tanner ltd., frome and london contents chapter i.--how holidays came suddenly ii.--dick goes west iii.--dick goes to sea iv.--aboard the "moondarra" v.--how dick practised high diving vi.--westralia vii.--the "ohio" comes in viii.--the journey north ix.--narrung homestead x.--the narrung tribe xi.--something old and quiet xii.--the ten-mile hut xiii.--how conqueror bolted xiv.--"buck up, school!" xv.--under sentence xvi.--the long trail xvii.--how merle jumped from a tram xviii.--how dick lester took his chance xix.--when the world came right again dick lester of kurrajong chapter i. how holidays came suddenly. "lester!" a small boy, red-faced and puffing after a hard run with his message, paused at the wicket gate of the playground of a great school. he wore an anxious look, for he had been bidden to hurry; and to pick out one boy from two or three hundred seems a rather overwhelming task, especially with most of the number vigorously kicking practice footballs. he gave up the idea of plunging into the throng, sighed, drew a long breath, opened his mouth to its fullest extent, and shrilled again: "lester! hi, lester!" there was no response, except from two youngsters near, who kindly advised him to call loudly, adding that there was no sense in whispering. the injured messenger turned a shade redder, glared, and renewed his shriek. "lester! you're wanted!" "why not telephone?" asked one of his tormentors, lazily. "it's much easier." "besides you'll hurt yourself if you make awful noises like that," commented the other. "the last chap who did it busted. and nobody wants to gather up your pieces." "beasts!" said the small boy; and again, desperately: "lester!" "he's somewhere over in that corner," said a senior boy, who was standing against a tree, sheltering from the nipping wind while he knitted his brows over a virgil--unpleasantly conscious that the doctor would demand heart-to-heart intercourse concerning it within half an hour. "clear out, for goodness' sake, and stop behaving like a motor siren." the small boy trotted away in the direction indicated, dodging the footballing groups as best he could, and keeping a sharp look out for the object of his search. presently his anxious face lightened, and he hurled himself against a boy who, being just about to kick at a spinning ball, turned upon him, justly indignant. "can't you look out where you're going, you silly young ass!" "lester, you're wanted!" said the messenger breathlessly. "who by?" demanded dick lester, ungrammatically. "the doctor. and he said you were to hurry." "now, i wonder what i've been doing." lester knitted his brows. "was he in a wax?" "oh, much the same as usual," returned the messenger--to whom the doctor, even in his most benevolent moments, was a being of terror and thunderbolts. "you'd better hurry up, or you'll know all about it." dick trotted off across the playground, meeting friendly salutations on the way from some who desired to know what had been his latest iniquity, and from others who counselled a pillow beneath the jacket as an aid to the coming interview. he hoped--rather faintly--that his face was clean, knowing for certain that his hands were not. it seemed prudent not to waste time in going to clean up, so he ran on, and presently tapped at the door of the doctor's study, having as yet been unable to guess why he should be sent for. there was a little matter of a highly-unauthorised ride on a pony belonging to a milkman near the school; another item of a sketch on the blackboard, which had proved very diverting to his form, but had not been effaced quite quickly enough to escape the eagle eye of the science master. it had represented the doctor, full-fledged in cap and gown, careering along st. kilda beach on a donkey. without any doubt, one might prophesy that the doctor would not find in it the undiluted delight it had given to the form. "all the same, old stinks potted me himself for it," dick pondered, referring to the science master aforesaid. "i don't believe he's beast enough to have me carpeted as well. and nobody knew about the pony except bottles. at least i hope not!" he shrugged his shoulders, and renewed his delicate tap at the study door. "come in!" said a deep voice, and dick entered. dr. gurdon glanced round from his writing table. "oh, you, lester. go into the room across the hall." wondering greatly, dick withdrew, closing the door behind him. the opposite door belonged to mrs. gurdon's drawing-room; presumably he was merely to wait there until the doctor had time to attend to his case. he went in, still lost in conjecture. "dickie!" someone little and slight and dainty sprang to meet him, and with an inarticulate cry dick fled to her. "mother! oh, you blessed old darling!" "i couldn't resist taking you by surprise," mrs. lester said, still holding him closely. "it was only yesterday that i knew that i was coming. oh, dick, you've grown ever so!" "have i?" he said, laughing. "yes, i believe i have--my trousers are a mile shorter. oh, and i thought it meant a licking when the old doc. sent for me; and it was--you!" "what have you been doing to deserve a licking, you bad boy?" said his mother, smiling. "oh, lots. tell you all about it afterwards." dick said cheerfully. "nothing very awful, though, mother-est, how long are you going to be down?" "two days. and you're coming away with me until to-night, because we've got lots to talk about. run and change your clothes--yes, and you might wash your face, too, my son." "right-oh! back in two jiffs." he went upstairs three steps at a time, unbuttoning as he went. in the room which he shared with three other boys a very fat youth was laboriously endeavouring to remove sundry stains from an eton collar. "my last collar," grumbled he. "i guess the laundry eats 'em. and i've got to go to the dentist, and matron'll eat me if she sees me in this. wish you had a decent neck, skinny, and i'd borrow one from you." "seventeens, isn't it, that you take?" queried dick, grinning. "never mind, bottles, you're the pride of the school." "oh, am i?" rejoined his plump friend sourly. "i don't know about the pride of the school, but i'm a fortune to the man who makes my clothes--i bust out of 'em once a fortnight. why on earth anyone wanted to be fat beats me." "did anyone?" dick grinned--and dodged a hair-brush, hurled by bottles with an agility that was surprising, considering his bulk. "steady, you playful old elephant--i'm busy." "you seem a bit rushed," remarked bottles, observing his friend's movements with some amazement, as dick flung off his school suit hurriedly, dived at the wash-stand, emerged from the basin, dripping, and after a brief towelling plunged at his locker for his sunday clothes. "going to have lunch at government house, by any chance?" "no--something better," dick knotted a blue tie carefully. "mother's turned up suddenly, and i'm off for the day." "some people have all the luck," bottles said, enviously. "things don't get sorted out equally at all--some get mothers and some get dentists. jolly glad, all the same, lester. you didn't expect her down, did you?" "no, and when the old doc. sent for me i made sure it was the milkman's pony," dick said, grinning. "that's what it is to have a guilty conscience," laughed bottles, whose name, by the way, happened to be glass. "great scott, you're dressed; and i'm still pounding at this beastly collar, and it only gets worse. what on earth am i going to do?" "dodge matron, and buy some new ones at the stores when you get in," counselled dick, giving his hair a furious brushing. he dived into his locker for a new cap. "so long, old man; hope the dentist won't be very beastly. see you to-night." he clattered down the corridor, leaving mr. glass gazing ruefully at his murky collar. mrs. lester was standing at the window of the drawing-room, looking out upon the rather dismal shrubs of the school garden. she turned to meet dick, with the delightful smile that made her look only old enough to be his sister. "ready? and so spruce!" she said. "did you bring your overcoat, dick?" "it's outside," dick answered. his eyes dwelt upon her lovingly. "i say, mother, you do look stunning!" other people had had the same thought that morning, looking at the dainty figure in the plain suit of dark brown. her little face, with its wild-rose colouring, looked out from a great collar of brown furs, under a big hat; and pinned in her muff was a knot of violets and boronia that lent their fragrance to her sweetness. dick could not have told you what she wore, only he knew that everything about her, from the curly hair under her brown hat to the dainty feet in the brown suede shoes, was perfection. "not one of the chaps has a mother like you," he told her, stumbling over the eager words. "some of 'em have awful old squaws of mothers----" she put a hand over his mouth, smiling into his eyes. "and if i were the most awful old squaw alive you wouldn't think it, and neither do they," she said. "you'd be just as glad to see me if i were ugly and dowdy, dickie-boy." "i would, but i'm jolly glad you're not," returned her son. "i'm just frightfully proud when you come to school, and you should hear what the fellows say about you. so there!" he tucked her hand into his arm--she had blushed like a girl at his words--and half pulled her out of the room. "come along, or someone'll come and talk to you, and that would waste an awful lot of precious time." there were a thousand questions to ask as the train whisked them towards melbourne. dick's father had been for a year in england; there was a letter from him, mrs. lester said, rather vaguely. dick could read it presently. apart from father there was home--the big station up north, with its myriad interests; dogs and horses--all old friends--cattle, and the prospects of the season ahead; dick's pet wallaby and rabbits and pigeons, and all the station people who made up the little circle in which his life had been spent until school claimed him; overseer, stockman, boundary riders; cook, with her big heart and her amazing capacity for sending wonderful hampers; old nurse, who had a somewhat disconcerting way of still regarding him as her baby, but who came very close in his affections for all that. dick had not found out half that he wanted to know when the short journey came to an end, and they found themselves at the familiar hotel. "we'll have lunch," said mrs. lester. "it must be nearly one o'clock. then we'll go up to my room and talk before we go out." dick shot a quick glance at her. they were very close friends, these two; during all his thirteen years they had never been apart for more than a few days until he went to school, and he knew every intonation of her voice, every changing shade of expression on her face. now he suddenly understood that something new was to be manifested in that talk; and therefore he ate his lunch with some impatience, though without anxiety, seeing that his mother was far too cheerful for any trouble to be hovering near. this was as well, since the lunch was something of an event to a small boy at the end of a long term of the "plain and wholesome" food of boarding school; and as his mother was very merry, and the rooms crowded with people all more or less interesting, and a good string band was playing lively music in a palm-fringed gallery at the end of the room, the moment was sufficiently enthralling to keep dick from much speculation as to the mystery. "nothing more, sonnie?" "no thanks." dick regarded with affection a dish that had held trifle. "that was a topping lunch, mother. have you finished?" his mother nodded, gathering up her furs. "come upstairs--i want to consult you about something." the lift flashed them up several storeys, and presently they found themselves in mrs. lester's room, overlooking the calm stateliness of the eastern end of collins street. mrs. lester took off her hat and tossed it upon the bed. "sit down, dickie. i want to read you father's letter." dick gave a sudden little shiver. "do you remember last time you said that?" he asked. she met his eyes. "before you went to school?" "yes. you read me father's letter, saying i ought to go. and it was awful, 'cause he left it to us, and i felt such a sweep, 'cause i couldn't make myself say i would." "but you did say it, dick." "yes--but it took me a bit to make up my mind." "well, it isn't always easy to swallow a nasty dose off-hand," said the little mother philosophically. "and now you've got another dose. is it as bad, mother?" "ah, you must judge that for yourself," she said. "listen--and, first of all, remember that we have evidently missed a letter. there is quite a gap between this and the last one we had from him, and he speaks of a letter he posted us from edinburgh--but it hasn't come. however, i don't know that it matters much." "not matter? why, we may never get it!" cried dick, wide-eyed. english mail day was the chief day of all to them. to miss one of father's letters was a calamity not lightly to be borne. yet here was this mother smiling over it. "no--nothing matters much," she said, and rumpled his hair suddenly. "listen, old son." "... so it's nearly over, the long, hard separation from you two dear ones, and i needn't worry that this time i've only a moment to send a note. i've booked my berth in the _ohio_, and have none too much time now to attend to all sorts of odds and ends before i sail----" "mother!" exploded dick. "when?" "be quiet!" said his mother, laughing. "there's more yet." "----and fix up business finally. i can't realise that i'll see you and the boy so soon; it's too good to be true. and i don't mean to wait for it one day longer than i have to. we're due at fremantle on th august. i think you said dick's term ended about the end of august, and then he'll have three weeks' holiday for me to make his acquaintance. (snort from dick.) well, it would mean cutting into school a bit, but the boy is only a youngster after all, and i don't think it would matter"--here the little mother suddenly began to read very fast, and the words tumbled out of her mouth so quickly that dick could hardly have caught them if he had not been listening with all his ears and his eyes as well, listening, kneeling at her feet, with his gaze fixed on her face, with its rose-flush, and its dancing eyes and lips that trembled ever so little--"if he missed a few classes; what do you say to hurrying off to town, kidnapping him from dr. gurdon, and bringing both my belongings across to fremantle to meet me?" "ow!" said dick faintly, his mouth and eyes round circles of amazement and delight. "fremantle! oh, mother-est, are we going?" his mother rumpled his hair all over again. "going!" said she. "do you think we could refuse an invitation like that, dickie?" she found herself suddenly hugged with a vehemence that left her breathless. "oh, isn't he just the very best person ever!" gasped dick. "mother--when?" "to-morrow," said his mother calmly. "and even so, we'll have to go overland to adelaide. the boat that will get us to western australia in time to meet the _ohio_ leaves melbourne to-day. i knew i couldn't catch it in melbourne; but it doesn't matter." dick sat down on the floor, looking at her with a kind of solemn bewilderment. "do you mean to tell me," he asked, "that to-morrow you and i go to adelaide and catch a steamer to meet father at fremantle?" "to-morrow as ever is," said his mother as solemnly. "and that in less than a week we'll see father?" she nodded. her sweet mouth quivered suddenly and her eyes dimmed. dick, suddenly flinging his arms round her, felt her trembling. "oh, dickie, it's been so long," she whispered brokenly. "and i've been so lonely." she put her face against his smooth, sunburnt cheek, and he patted her very hard. presently she sat up and smiled at him again. [illustration: "it was almost a relief when they met a 'sundowner' slouching along."] "now, isn't that ridiculous, when we're going to get him back so soon! and there's more letter yet, dick." "it would be a little change for you--you've been alone on the place so many months now. dick won't refuse, i know; and as for me--well, the voyage will be long enough, even if i do shorten it by a week. i'll leave the _ohio_ at fremantle and we'll come back together on an inter-state boat. the _ohio_ is packed, and there might be a difficulty about getting berths for us all. besides, we shan't be hurried then, and we can show dick a glimpse of the west. i want to get home badly enough; but, after all, that can wait. i just feel that when i once get you two back i shall never want to hurry again." the low voice paused and they looked at each other. "mother, is it all fixed?" dick demanded. "did you square the doc.?" "i represented the case to dr. gurdon," said his mother, with a dignity that was belied by the twinkle in her eyes. "and he kindly agreed to excuse you, in the special circumstances. anticipating this courtesy on his part, i----" "oh, mother," said dick reproachfully. "----went to the shipping office and bought tickets before going out to the school," finished his mother, laughing. "if you think, master richard lester, that i'm going to let any head master, or any other old thing, stand in our way when we're going to meet father after he has been away a year, you are sadly mistaken." she sprang up suddenly and began to dance--a quaint, elfish dance of quick, swaying movements like a brown leaf fluttering before the breeze. dick watched her, laughing, until presently her steps changed to something more definite, and she swooped and caught him by the hands and pulled him up, and together they pranced up and down the big room like a pair of young horses, too full of joy of living to keep still. dick's mother had taught him to dance when he was little more than a baby, so that he was not quite as stiff-legged as you might expect from a muscular schoolboy of thirteen. it was not the first time he had suddenly been called upon to take part in what he called "one of his mother's war dances." so they pranced together until a crusty old gentleman in the room below found his chandelier rattling, and was on the point of ringing for the waiter to demand angrily the reason, when mrs. lester ceased for lack of breath and fell into an arm-chair. "dear me, and i an old married woman," she gasped, fanning herself and looking far more like a flushed child. "whatever would father say? i must think more of my dignity." "he'd say you were just a kid, like he always does," said dick, who had collapsed upon the hearth-rug. "it would be an awful shock to father if he found that you'd got prim and grown up." "i misdoubt he'll never find that, the poor man," said his mother tragically. "dickie, i'll never forget how terrible it was when i first found myself married and settled down at kurrajong, with a house and several servants. you see, i was only seventeen when i married, and though seventeen may seem a lot to you, it isn't so much of an age when you come to it. and i had always been at boarding school and i didn't know a thing about keeping house. i used to like stock very much as a child, but i remember that for a while after i was married i used to look at a bullock or a sheep with horror, as unpleasant beasts that got cut up into a number of joints, of which i never could remember the names." "poor old mummie!" said dick, laughing. "how did you manage to learn things?" "cook pulled me through; i found her six months after my marriage. before that there was a terrible cook who scorned me and my ignorance, and gave me a very bad time, and father very bad meals. of course, he never grumbled." "no, he never would," said dick. "it was only one day when he found me crying in my room that he discovered that i was really unhappy--and you should have seen how angry he was. he sent away the terrible cook, and we went to melbourne and hunted for a really nice one--and got her. and dear old cookie taught me all the things i ought to have learned before i got married. but i made up my mind that if ever any daughters came to me i would have them taught very thoroughly at school how to run their houses. but they never did come--only one little ragamuffin of a son!" she rumpled his hair, and leaning forward, dropped a butterfly kiss on his nose. "now you look like a golliwog," she said, "and we have no time to spare, because we must go and buy deck shoes, and cures for sea sickness, and other interesting things. we have got to look our very smartest when we board that big mail-boat to get father. tidy yourself, beloved, and we'll go out." dick brushed his hair with her long-tailed hairbrush, which he despised very much; and after his mother had pulled his coat here and there and settled his tie with deft fingers, she pronounced him fit to accompany her, and they fared forth into the busy streets. shopping with his mother generally resolved itself, for dick, into waiting at the doors of big drapery houses, where she was swallowed up into mysterious regions that had no charms for her son. he preferred to stand in the doorway, tucked into a corner out of the way of the hurrying throng of eager women passing in and out--there was fun in watching the crowd, the clanging tram-cars, the beautiful horses--it was before the days of many motors, and good carriage horses were still to be seen in the city streets. like most bush-bred boys--and girls, for that matter--dick thought there was no sight to equal that of a good horse. he was staring at a big, taking chestnut, driven by a man in a light buggy, when a voice said, "hullo, young lester!" and he turned to greet master glass, resplendent in a new collar, and no longer melancholy in appearance. "hullo, bottles!" dick rejoined. "how did the dentist treat you?" "oh, not too badly," bottles answered. "finished me up in pretty quick time, too, so i've got the rest of the afternoon to play in. what are you up to?" "mother's shopping," said dick. "oh, i say, bottles, such a lark! i'm off to western australia to-morrow!" "whew-w!" whistled bottles. "what for?" dick unfolded his news. "well, of all the lucky young kids," was bottles' comment. "so you'll be gone until after the holidays? anyhow, you'll have your father at home to keep you in order, so it's to be hoped that you'll come back well licked." "i hope you don't think i have failed in my duty in that respect, bottles," said a laughing voice; and the abashed master glass turned quickly to greet mrs. lester, blushing to the roots of his close-cropped hair. "you don't give him half enough, mrs. lester," he mumbled. "i have to attend to him myself, or he'd get too bumptious." "you!" said dick, with huge scorn. "i'd like to see you, old fatty!" which loathed insult caused the irate bottles to vow to take deep vengeance no later than that very night. mrs. lester restored tranquillity. "leave him to me, bottles; i'll keep him severely in order," she laughed. "meanwhile, come and have some tea with us; i'm sure you need some." the boys followed her into a big restaurant, so crowded that they found some difficulty in finding a table. a band was playing softly, and somewhere near them a little fountain plashed gently under a clump of tree-ferns, catching rays of rosy light from some concealed source overhead. a waitress brought them tea and muffins, with a dish of cakes so attractive that the only problem was which to choose; and their satisfaction was heightened presently by the spectacle of three senior boys from their own school wandering helplessly about in a vain attempt to find a resting place. bottles and dick nodded kindly to them, and felt intensely superior, selecting cakes with a calm enjoyment that brought murderous feelings to the three prefects, who propped themselves against a pillar and waited dismally for someone to vacate a table, which no one seemed inclined to do. indeed, they were still standing when mrs. lester called for her bill. "we might as well give those three boys this table," she said. "i suppose you know them, dick?" dick knew them as the cabin boy may be expected to know the captain and chief officer of his ship, as superior and mighty beings, too far above him to dream of more than the curtest recognition. one of them had cuffed him for getting in his way in the playground no later than yesterday. it was therefore somewhat soothing to have the opportunity of sauntering across to these lords of creation and remarking; "care to have our table, landon?" and soothing, too, to see how meekly the famished ones accepted the invitation, and how the lordliness of demeanour that seemed part of them at school fell from them when mrs. lester spoke to them. landon, indeed, blushed like any junior, and stammered in his answer, which gave unmitigated joy to bottles and dick, and formed the subject of much merry jest in the dormitory that night. bottles said good-bye after tea, and took himself back to school, while dick and his mother, their shopping finished, boarded a tram that landed them near the fitzroy gardens, where the flowers were beginning to show promise of their spring blaze of glory, and the splendid stretches of turf under the great trees made a haven of refuge to tired city dwellers. they found a quiet seat in a sheltered corner--there was still something of winter in the breeze--and talked, filling in all the gaps that even the longest letters must leave when the smallest detail is eagerly treasured. dick heaved a great sigh when at length they rose and strolled slowly across the lawns towards the street. "i feel almost as if i'd been home again," he said. "my word, mother, won't it be gorgeous to go back to kurrajong--and to take father!" chapter ii. dick goes west. spencer street station, and the long line of the adelaide express glittering beside the long grey platform, the great carriages brave with polished and shining glass and nickel. people were hurrying to and fro, looking for seats, hurrying porters with trucks of luggage, raiding the bookstall for bundles of magazines and papers, and the fruit stall for oranges and bananas and baskets of early queensland strawberries. the express conductors, who are chosen for their good manners, among other qualifications, stood near the entrance to the saloon carriages, good to look on in their blue and silver uniforms; quick to render aid to real passengers, or gently to head off idle folk who merely wished to stroll through the train and look curiously at the travellers. boys, laden with bundles of evening papers, rent the air with shouts of "_'erald_--penny _'erald_!" snatched at coppers held towards them through the windows, or impatiently sought for change for anxious ladies who insisted on tendering half a crown for a paper, and craned their necks anxiously after the boys as they rushed to the bookstall for the money. people hurried along outside the carriages, peering in through the wide, nickel-barred windows for friends whom they wished to farewell. a theatrical company occupied several compartments, and occasioned a solid block of people outside their windows, through which their admirers thrust offerings of sweets and flowers. there were snatches of song from this section of the train, shouts of "good-bye!" "good luck!" and "come back again!"--and many of the newly-arrived bouquets were pulled to pieces by their owners in response to the clamorous demand for souvenirs. dick lester and his mother arrived in the wake of a porter laden with hand-baggage, and fought their way through the throng until they reached one of the blue and silver conductors. he glanced at the number of mrs. lester's ticket, and then, ushering them into the carriage, led them along a wide corridor until he came to an empty compartment. "this is yours, madam." he offered any other assistance, while the porter placed their possessions in the rack and departed to see to their heavy baggage. "all this ours!" dick queried, looking round the compartment. it was fitted with a seat on one side only--a wide, comfortable seat, upholstered in grey. a folding nickel wash-basin was near the window, with towels overhead. everything was solid and comfortable and compact. "yes, it's ours," smiled his mother. "but you said it was a sleeper?" "yes; the conductor will wave his magic wand and produce your bed out of that wall later on." "oh!" said dick, and fell to examining the wall, to find out its mechanism. meanwhile the clamour about them redoubled; people hurried along the corridor, peeping in, and withdrawing again impatiently at sight of the occupied compartment. others peered from the platform through their windows, and a heated lady asked anxiously, "is that you, willie dear?" and then fled without waiting for an answer. bells rang, somewhere afar the engine gave a furious whistle, and slowly the great train slid out of the station, while the theatrical people and their friends sang "for he's a jolly good fellow" with immense enthusiasm. gathering speed, they whisked through the packed streets of north melbourne and newmarket, and out beyond to the wide keilor plains. "off at last, dickie!" said his mother. "yes." they looked at each other, very content. daylight held until they had flashed past bacchus marsh, with its deep green of fertile farms, where the willows were beginning to wave their long feathery arms; and soon after came dinner, which in itself was an event to dick. a white-jacketed waiter summoned them, and they followed the long corridor, which seemed to swing under their feet, until they came to a carriage fitted as a dining-room, with little tables for two or four people, sparkling with polished glass and silver-plated fittings on snow-white linen. the theatrical people filled many of the tables; they were very merry, and rather loud-voiced, calling to each other across the car. dick privately thought them rather entertaining, but he saw his mother wrinkle her pretty nose two or three times in a way he knew meant disapproval. one of the actresses came in a few minutes later, and, disregarding shouted invitations to "come and sit here," finally paused by mrs. lester's table, where there were two vacant seats. she hesitated. "may i?" "of course," mrs. lester answered, making room. the woman sat down in a tired way. she was tall and rather pretty, but her face, seen closely, was lined and worn. she gave her order to the waiter listlessly, and when her dinner came she only toyed with it. but she stared at dick in a way that would have embarrassed that young man had he not been too hungry to pay attention to anything until the meal was half over. then he met her eyes so many times when he glanced up that he became quite uncomfortable, and wished heartily that she had chosen to sit at any other table. "i sure do beg your pardon for looking at you," said the actress suddenly. "it's vurry rude of me, i know. but the fact is, i sat at this table just so's i could look at you!" she turned to mrs. lester. "i've a boy in the states just about his size, ma'am; i've not seen him for two years." "oh, you poor soul," said mrs. lester. "fact. he's at boarding school, and he writes every mail--never misses. but that don't make up for wanting him. there's times when i've just to get close to a boy and make believe he's my jimmy." "are you going back to him soon?" "not for a good piece yet," said jimmy's mother with a sigh. "we're tourin' round a lot; business is good, and we keep extending our dates. it's a long time--jimmy's fourteen, and he'll be 'most grown up when i get him again. boys in amurrica grow up terrible quick." "we haven't seen my father for a year, and i thought that was pretty bad," dick said. "we're going to meet him now." "that's real nice, isn't it?" the actress's big dark eyes lit with quick interest. "i guess your father's wonderin' what sort of a boy his son's grown into, same's i am." "and i guess your jimmy will be as glad to see you as we shall be to see father," said mrs. lester, smiling. "what is he going to be?" "wa-al, of course he thinks he's going to be a sailor--all boys do, don't they?" said the actress. "but he's got bitten with motors now, so i shouldn't wonder if it's something engineering, after all. jimmy's got plenty of brains. that's one thing. not that you care much, when he's your only boy, whether he's got brains or not, do you, ma'am?" "i hope she doesn't, 'cause i'm her only boy, and goodness knows i've got none!" said dick, grinning. mrs. lester laughed, rising. "brains aren't everything, certainly," she said. "we're slowing down. i think this must be ballarat. come on, dick, and stretch your legs on the platform--we wait here for awhile." she nodded kindly to the american, and dick followed her out of the car. it was ballarat. they ran into a big, crowded platform, with a domed, lofty roof, that glimmered mysteriously far above them. they went outside and strolled up a quiet street, but were too nervous about their tram to go far, since an adelaide express waits for no man. "some day," mrs. lester said, "we'll come here and hear the bands play." "have they got many?" asked dick. "they collect them from all over australia once a year, and they play all the time for big prizes. that is, when they are not playing for prizes, they are practising. so it goes on all day; you wake in the morning to band music and you go to sleep at night to the tune of a quickstep; and when you go out during the day you generally find yourself keeping in step with a band marching beside you, playing for dear life. then each instrument has its own tune. i was once inveigled into a hall where i heard forty-nine euphoniums play 'there's a flower that bloometh.'" "forty-nine!" said dick, laughing. "it sounds a bit tall. did you like it, mother?" "i think it is necessary to be a specialist to enjoy that sort of thing thoroughly," his mother said. "i fled at the nineteenth, and that weary old tune beat in my brain for a week. but the other music is lovely. we'll go some day, dickie." they came back to the station, and, finding the crowd too dense for comfort, sought their own compartment, where a transformation awaited them. the bare wall opposite the seat had been let down and now a comfortable bed with snowy sheets was ready on each side of the aisle. the conductor hovered near. "will you require anything further, madam?" "no, thank you," mrs. lester said. "but we shall want morning tea, conductor." "the coffee and rolls at murray bridge are excellent, madam," murmured the conductor. "i remember them of old," said mrs. lester laughing. "very well. good night, conductor." "now i'm going to bed, dick," mrs. lester remarked, as the tall, uniformed figure disappeared. "so you can run and get a wash and brush up, and come back in twenty minutes, when i should recommend you to go to bed too." dick thought the idea a good one, especially when he returned, to find his mother comfortably tucked up, reading by a shaded electric light. he slipped into bed quickly, and enjoyed a magazine, while the train roared on its way, stopping occasionally with a great grinding of brakes, and then gathering way again slowly as it left a wayside station behind, and went swinging on through the night. the swinging motion made him sleepy; he put down the magazine and lay drowsily listening to the roar of the train. once his mother glanced across and smiled at him; later, he had a drowsy fancy, half a dream, that she was bending over him, tucking him in. but he did not see the tired face of the american actress later on. she tapped gently at the door, looking apologetic when mrs. lester, in a hastily-donned dressing gown, opened it. "were you in bed?" she asked contritely. "well, now, i'm real sorry--it's early, and i thought you'd be up still." she hesitated, and a dull flush came into her cheeks. "is the boy asleep?" "yes." something in mrs. lester responded to the hunger in the other mother's eyes. "would you care to look at him?" "i came to ask if i could. you see--it's two years since i had the chance of tucking up jimmy." she came in noiselessly, and looked down at the sleeping dick. he lay with one arm flung up above his head; a very ordinary, healthy boy, sunburnt and clear skinned, with just a hint in his close cropped hair of the curls of his boyhood, and only a baby still to the two women who watched him. the american stooped suddenly, and brushed his forehead with her lips. dick stirred, and said, sleepily, "mother." "i sort of had to," said the actress, turning in the corridor to say good night. "you--you get kinder desperate for them after two years. thanks, ma'am, ever so." she glided away, leaving mrs. lester with tears in her eyes. all night long the train, with its sleeping freight, rushed and roared through the desert country, passing over dreary leagues of sand and sparse scrub. sometimes the unfamiliarity of his surroundings woke dick, to lie drowsily for a moment in the dim light that filtered through the fanlight from the corridor; then to float back lazily through the gates of sleep. he woke in earnest about six o'clock and, slipping out of bed, peeped through the window. the train was standing in a wayside station. "tailem bend," read dick. "what a rummy name. i say, we must be in south australia. great scot! there's a camel!" [illustration: "'great scot! there's a camel!'"] there was a string of camels tied to the station fence, all scientifically packed with bales and bundles, their heads drooping sleepily. the unfamiliar sight made the morning more than ever like a dream. a tall, weather-beaten man in moleskins and a red shirt was knotting the halter of the leading camel; his mate was wrangling with the station-master about some parcel that should have been awaiting him, but had failed to turn up. dick heard the official say angrily, "well, you'll have to wait till the express goes out, anyhow. i'm busy." "and ain't i busy?" demanded the man. "ain't i got the camels waiting, an' high time we was on the track? blow yer old express." but the railway man had fled, and the man of camels could only glare after his retreating back and mutter what he felt. the conductor came past as the train gathered way, and nodded a civil "good morning" to dick, who had ventured into the corridor in his pyjamas to see if any other queer sights awaited him on that side of the line. "sleep well?" "yes, thanks," dick answered. "why do they call it tailem bend?" "lots of people ask me that," remarked the conductor. "some folks say it's a shot at an old native name, but more believe it's because cattle used to be tailed at the bend in the river here in the overlanding days." "pity they don't stick to native names when they go christening places in australia," remarked a man close by. "murray bridge used to be mobilong, and it would have been more sense if they had left it at that. murray bridge, indeed. what's the good of a name like that? here's the murray, of course, and there's a bridge; so they stick them together and cut out the pretty native name." "there's some people," said the conductor, nodding assent, "who'd sooner see their own silly names on a signboard than the best native name you could get. that's why you get names like harrisville and smithtown, and wilkins's view all over the map of australia. take belalie now--that's a pretty-sounding native name for you, and it was the name of a town all right. then comes along some jolly old governor or something with swelled head and calls it after himself." "what's that?" queried the other man. "jamestown," said the conductor with deep disgust; "jamestown. and it might have been belalie. right, sir, i'm coming." he fled in answer to a fierce call from a sleeping bunk. dick realised that he was a little chilly, and peeped into the compartment. his mother was still asleep, and he slipped into his clothes as noiselessly as possible and then went in search of soap and water. returning presently, he found her sitting up, with a dressing-jacket round her pretty shoulders. "what, dressed, old man?" she said. "rather." dick seized his brush and made an onslaught upon his wet hair. "we're getting near murray bridge, mother--aren't you going to have a look at the murray?" "i've seen the murray before," said mrs. lester severely. "it's a nice, wide river, but i'm very comfy, dick." "lazy old thing!" said her son. "well, i haven't, so i'm going out to look at it." he dived for a clean collar, and presently hurried back to the corridor. the train was skirting a wide flat, across which he could see the line of a river. they swung round soon to run over a very long bridge, beneath which the big river ran sluggishly--wide and yellow, with low banks. below the bridge was moored one of the murray steamers, a white paddle boat with two decks; he could see no one on her, but a faint curl of blue smoke was lazily rising from the funnel that marked the cook's galley. there were fishing boats against the banks, and a bare-legged boy of his own size was pulling a heavy rowing boat slowly down stream. then the train swung round from the bridge, and in a few moments slowed into a station. dick hopped out on the platform. very few people were in sight; a few passengers left the train and hurried towards the refreshment room. the conductor appeared presently, bearing, in a mysterious manner, many trays. "coffee and rolls?" he said. "is your mother awake?" "yes. i'll take her tray," dick said. "i'll see you to the door," said the conductor grimly. "you don't realise how people dart out and cannon with you in the corridor until you've carried trays round. nearly turns your hair grey." this dick found to be true, for a very stout gentleman dashed from his sleeper without warning, and would certainly have demolished all the trays had not the conductor avoided him with a dexterity born of long practice. dick left his mother to her coffee, and went off to explore the platform, nibbling his roll as he trotted along. it was early, and a chill wind blew from the river. there was not much to look at, so dick found his way along the train to the huge engine, and stood looking at her and admiring her. the engine driver was also eating his breakfast, which consisted of chops, fried scientifically on a red-hot coal shovel. he nodded in a friendly way to the small boy, and they chatted until dick's roll was finished, and a craving for coffee took him back to the sleeper. "i was beginning to wonder where you were," said his mother, who was up and brushing her hair energetically. "take the tray out, dickie. i want to get as much dressing done as possible before we start again." she joined him presently in the corridor, fresh and dainty. they were rushing along again between miles of grey fencing. ploughs were already busy in the paddocks, where flocks of white cockatoos settled on the newly-turned brown earth in search of grubs. past trim dairy farms, with the herds slowly stringing away from the sheds after milking; by little townships, where the air was blue with the smoke of a hundred breakfast fires; by creek and gully, towering hill and stretching plain, the express roared. people in the carriages were beginning to wake up; heads, more or less in undress appearance, peeped from the doors of the sleepers, and voices were heard demanding the conductor and hot water. the summons to breakfast came presently, to dick's great joy, for the keen air had made him hungry, and when they came back from the meal they found that their beds had disappeared, and the sleepers once more bore the air of an ordinary compartment. "we're in the hills now," mrs. lester said, glancing out. "come to the doorway, dickie; this is the loveliest bit of any railway journey i know." they went along the corridor to the big doorway. the door was open, and through it they could see that the train was rushing through hills, steadily mounting all the time. the gum trees that clothed everything with green waved feathery heads quite close to them, and, far as the eye could see, golden wattle blazed through the scrub. up and up they went. white roads led away through the hill slopes; now and then could be seen an early motorist spinning along in the joy of their perfect surface. then came the very summit of the climb, and the train ran into a trim little station, gay with flowers, perched on top of the highest hill. "mount lofty," said mrs. lester. "my word, what jolly houses!" was dick's comment. they looked from the doorway down into the green heart of the scrub. here and there, half buried in the trees, were the homes to which happy people of adelaide fly when the summer heat lies scorching on the plains; red houses, with terraced lawns and gardens ablaze with blossoms; grey houses, with roses climbing over high trellises. they perched on terraces cut out of the sides of the hills, or nestled in nooks in the gullies, their gardens gleaming like jewels in the dull green of the eucalyptus. the curve of a road showed here and there, white level, diving down into some unseen hollow. dew yet hung on the gum trees, and little wreaths of mist floated upwards from the gullies; the bush scents filled the air. everywhere birds sang and twittered in the branches; everywhere the gold of the wattle gleamed through the dull green of the scrub. then the train moved on, slipping quietly down, each moment revealing some new turn of beauty; until at last the plains opened out below, and they could see adelaide lying just where the land seemed to end, and the blue rim of the sea widened, with the smoke of the steamer making a long trail across the water. "wonder if that's our boat?" dick said. "no, it can't be, because it's coming the wrong way--amn't i stupid! oh, mother, isn't it all jolly!" he pranced gaily back to the sleeper, to lend a hand in collecting their hand baggage. they were running now through trim, flat suburbs, and presently, with a grinding of the brakes, they stopped in a big station--adelaide at last. a helpful porter--brought them, as a kind of offering, by their friend the conductor--collected their luggage and put them on a train bound for port adelaide; a place of grimy wharfs and dusty streets, where, after some search, they discovered their boat, the _moondarra_, spic and span in her dingy surroundings. dick's heart bounded as he followed his mother up the gangway. he had never before been on anything but a bay paddle steamer; to him, even the seven-thousand ton inter-state boat seemed a mighty ship, and he longed to explore her from stem to stern. it was with a feeling of disappointment that he learned they were not to sail until the evening. "it's really hardly worth your while to remain on board," an officer told mrs. lester. "we've a rush lot of cargo coming at the last moment, and the ship won't be comfortable before six o'clock--nothing but noise and dust. i should advise you to go up to adelaide for the day. why not have a run in the hills? is your luggage on board?" "it is on the wharf," mrs. lester said, glancing towards a laden truck in charge of a porter. "give me the number of your cabin and i'll see that your steward takes charge of it." he took them down the gangway, probably relieved, in his heart, that they were going, since passengers are not beloved of sailor folk when loading cargo is in progress. "glorious day--too good to spend down in this place," he said, wistfully, looking at the dark masses of the hills. they found a train about to start, and were soon back in adelaide itself; little city of wide streets, girdled with a four-square belt of park lands. wandering, somewhat aimlessly, up king william street, a tall man suddenly detached himself from a group at a corner and came quickly to meet them. "why, mrs. lester--what luck?" he shook hands vigorously. "and the kid--he's grown up!" "oh, billy, how nice to see you!" said mrs. lester. billy cathcart had gained "colonial experience" on the lesters' station for two years before his father, a rich englishman, had bought him a property of his own in south australia. they were very fond of him; he had made himself a kind of big son of the house, and when he went away they missed him sorely. "but what are you doing here? and is the boss back?" mrs. lester explained. "and you never told me you were going through!" said billy reproachfully. "my dear boy, i knew you were nearly two hundred miles from adelaide--and i had about two minutes' warning that i was coming. i never dreamed of any possibility of seeing you. why aren't you in the wilds, earning your living?" billy cathcart laughed. "i've been earning it at a great rate lately," he said. "made a lucky deal in cattle, and cleared quite a lot--so i came down to buy a car. i've been driving one a good bit, and it made me keen to have one of my own. i say---if you've got the day to do nothing in, do let me take you out. she's a beauty, really." "why, it would be lovely!" mrs. lester said. "but are you doing nothing yourself?" "only killing time. it would be ripping to take you; and there are first-rate runs about adelaide. as for roads--well, they can teach road-making to any other state i've been in. like to come, dick?" "rather!" dick was hopping on one foot. "i say, mr. cathcart, how's old danny?" "oh, fitter than ever!" danny, as a pup, son of a noted cattle dog, had been a farewell present to the departing jackeroo on leaving the lesters' station. "he's an absolute wonder with cattle. i believe if i sat in a buggy and cracked my whip and told old danny to go ahead, he'd muster my roughest paddock and not leave a beast behind." "father will be jolly glad to hear that," said dick, solemnly. "he always said danny would turn out a clinker." "so you're going to school?" mr. cathcart said, glancing at his hat-band and badge. "you'll have to tell me about it presently. well, mrs. lester, may i get the car now?--or, wait a minute, you look a bit tired; how about a cup of tea first? yes, come along." he led them to a café across the street, and plied them energetically with food. "not like the cakes you used to make us at kurrajong--still, they're better than nothing," he remarked. "finished already, dick? well, shall we go and get the car, and come back here for your mother?" that seemed a good plan to dick. he followed the tall figure out into the street, where they dodged precariously round two of adelaide's flying electric trams, which hurtle down king william street in fevered haste, and presently found themselves in rundle street, a thread-like thoroughfare where the footpath is so narrow that people are forced to walk in large numbers in the roadway. "looks as if they'd used all the land for that big street we were in, and found they hadn't left themselves enough over for this," commented dick. "it does; and they put all their biggest shops in this tiny lane, so that it's always packed with people. quaint system," billy cathcart said. "rundle street generally looks like a sheep race to me--and you fight your way out of it into a street like a hundred-acre paddock." "rummy," remarked dick. "i say--what jolly fruit carts!" "oh, they're the pride of adelaide--amongst other things," laughed his companion. "they take some beating, don't they?" they were drawn up in line along the kerbstone, in the shade of the buildings; carts as spic and span as shining paint and gleaming brass and spotless cleanliness could make them, each in charge of a boy in a white jacket. their gay little awnings fluttered in the breeze over piles of many-coloured fruit--oranges, red and yellow apples, dark masses of passion fruit, bunches of bananas, strawberries gleaming redly in little baskets lined with leaves. a boy near them was polishing his apples, and the cloth he used was as clean as the apples themselves. "well, i'm blessed!" dick ejaculated. "they don't have carts like that in melbourne." "no, you have awful men with barrows that look only fit for pig food, and they tip about fifteen cases of fruit out in a heap, and wheel it about in the sun with the flies sitting on it. seems a pity," said the englishman, reflectively. he stopped at a barrow and bought fruit largely, piling up bags in dick's arms. "can you manage all those? come along." the garage was not far off; a great shed-like building full of odours of petrol and lubricating oil, which are heartsome smells to any boy. dick poked about among motors big and little while his friend's car was being prepared; and soon they were in it, and worming their way through the crowd in rundle street. "can you really take a car along here?" "oh, it's possible," said billy. "i'll admit it doesn't look probable. you push people out of the way gently and politely with the bonnet. but it pays to dodge up a side street, if you can, and get into something wider." he slewed round as he spoke, and presently they were running along the broad pavement of north terrace, and so into king william street again and to where mrs. lester stood awaiting them under a verandah near the café. they slipped away from the city, along well-kept streets, lined with blossoming gardens, until, after a few miles of a dusty road, the hills drew suddenly near, and they turned into a gully where the road ran by the bed of a little creek, following all its windings. the hills towered above them, and they climbed up and up. here and there came an open stretch, where orchards laden with blossom fell away below them. now and then the creek made a sudden, sharp bend, enclosing a little flat, gay with tall bulbs. indeed, all the banks of that little creek were bright with flowers, because when it ran rapidly in the winter it washed down a freight of seeds and roots from the gardens of the houses on the summit. sometimes tall poplars stood, with their feet in the gurgling water; sometimes a little cottage by the wayside displayed a sign asking wayfarers in for tea, and you could cross the creek by a rustic bridge and sit in a cool summer-house hung with creepers, and eat strawberries and cream in the midst of a delightful garden. the road was steep, and yet so well graded that the car took it without an effort. even stray cyclists whom they overtook seemed to be climbing its twists and turns without undue exertions. so they came to the top of a long rise called montacute, where a lonely little tin church perches among the gum trees; and there they sat in its shade, with a myriad birds twittering about them, looking down over the tree-clad slopes to the plains beyond, where adelaide lay like a chess-board, a network of regular lines and squares. they ate fruit and talked. billy cathcart had to learn of a hundred happenings at kurrajong, and to tell of more than a thousand that had befallen him in his first attempts at running a station unaided. he was a light-hearted person; it afforded him huge amusement to tell of his own mistakes. "goodness knows, there would have been plenty more of them," he added, "if it hadn't been for the gruelling mr. lester gave me on kurrajong." "was it very bad, billy?" mrs. lester laughed. "oh, he never meant it to be bad. but the first six months were pretty awful, because i felt such a perfect fool all the time. the trouble was," he grinned, "that i came out from home with an idea that i knew quite a good bit. after i realised that i was mistaken i got on better. but i never thought i would arrive at being a full-blown squatter myself. it seemed to me i'd never get any higher than keeping goats." "that also has its difficulties, i believe," said mrs. lester smiling. "i believe it has--a chap near me has a flock of angoras, and they seem to worry him more than his babies." he got up lazily. "shall we go on? there are so many places in these hills i want to show you that i mustn't let you stay too long anywhere." they came down from the hills at the end of a run that had been a long succession of beauties, on such smooth roads, winding among the tree-clad crests, plunging into deep gullies, finding little townships hidden here and there, and coming out upon summits where, below the ridges, the plains swept for miles before them, pink and pearly-white with great stretches of almond orchards. evening was drawing near as the big car purred smoothly alongside the wharf. billy cathcart had insisted on bringing them back to the boat at port adelaide. "well," he said, "it's been glorious to have you. and you'll let me know when you're coming through?" "indeed, yes," said mrs. lester. "but you'll be two hundred miles away then, earning your living." "i'll let the station run itself and come down again," he said. "do you think i'd miss a chance of seeing you and the boss again--to say nothing of the nipper?" he gave dick's ear a friendly tweak. "just you make your father stay here for a while, and i'll teach you to drive the car, old son"--a promise that left dick no words but a gasp of delight. they stood watching as the car swung round, threading its way between lorries, laden with beer barrels, and cabs, hurrying down with passengers. billy turned once to wave his cap to them, and narrowly escaped collision with a huge coal waggon, the driver of which loudly expressed the lowest possible estimate of his powers as a chauffeur. then he passed out of sight, and dick and his mother turned towards their ship. chapter iii. dick goes to sea. all was bustle and hurry aboard the steamer. cargo was still being loaded; the creak and rattle of the great crane, as it swung back and forth, the crash of cases, dumped into the yawning mouth of the hold, mingled with the confusion of arriving passengers and the shouts of sailors and dock hands. on the decks people were hurrying about, seeking stewards and cabins, and the doorways were blocked with little groups saying good-bye. overhead a harsh whistle shrilled out--so suddenly that everyone jumped, and horses on the wharf danced nervously. someone in uniform shouted: "everyone for the shore!" good-byes filled the air. women hurried towards the gangway, as if fearful of being carried off to the "wild and woolly west," followed more slowly by those more experienced. passengers hastened up from the wharf; cab drivers, trotting in leisurely, whipped up their horses in response to nervous appeals from their anxious fares. the big crane went on, creaking and swinging, dumping in its cases as though there were no such item on the ship's programme as starting. dick watched the late arrivals curiously. men formed the greater number; there were smart and brisk commercial travellers, and others, less prosperous, evidently off to seek their fortune in that west which, to much of the rest of australia, is still an unknown land. tearful wives and children hung about the necks of some of these, saying the last hard good-byes; but in some cases the wives and children were coming too, and they trooped on board, shabby little flocks, with the tired mothers trying to keep the stragglers together. the whistle sounded again, and there was a second summons, a peremptory one this time, for strangers to leave the ship. they hurried down the gangway, and then the great ladder was hauled up the ship's side, the deck-railing swung in across the gap, and in a few moments the _moondarra_ began to back slowly from the wharf. the people below grew smaller, their upturned faces white dots in the evening gloom. from everywhere came shouts of "good-bye." a young bride, off to the west with a huge, bronzed bushman, leaned over the side, holding the ends of long streamers of ribbon, of which the other ends were held by her friends on shore. her face was happy and yet tearful; she looked wistfully towards adelaide. the ribbons lengthened out, gradually tightened as the ship drew further away, and finally, released by the people on the wharf, sprang in the air. the girl gathered them up to her quickly, a gay, fluttering bundle, and dick heard her give a little sob. just as the ship gathered way, they saw a motor suddenly turn in to the wharf from the street, hooting as it came. mrs. lester peered at it through the gloom. "isn't that billy's car?" she said. "my word, yes!" dick cried. "he's standing up and trying to see us. i wonder what he wants." "oh--he has remembered something he didn't tell us; and of course, it's just like billy to come racing back," mrs. lester said, laughing. "at all events, he is too late." she waved her handkerchief towards the car, though she knew that it would be impossible to distinguish anyone in the long row of passengers crowding to look over the ship's rail. "there--he has given it up as a bad job." they saw billy sit down again, after waving his hat in a kind of general salutation towards the ship. then the car turned slowly, and slipped away. the dusk swallowed it up. somewhere near them a bugle blared, so suddenly, that everyone jumped. the bugler, a very fat steward, finished a long trill carefully, and then moved off to repeat the performance elsewhere. someone hailed him. "what's that for, steward?" "dressing bugle, sir," responded the fat player, stolidly. "dinner in half an hour, sir." there was a general move from the deck. dick and his mother found themselves in a crowd going down the first staircase. dick was too much of a landsman yet to call it a companion. at the foot they encountered another steward, who directed them to their cabins, along an alley-way; dick's was opposite his mother's. it was a two-berth cabin, and he found that he was not the only occupant---indeed, so big was his fellow passenger that it seemed unlikely that there would be any room for dick at all. he paused uncertainly, just inside the doorway. an enormous man, who was unstrapping a leather suit-case, swung round suddenly. "hullo, youngster," he said. "do you belong in here?" "well--the steward said so," dick answered with some uncertainty. "then you probably do," said the big man. "what's your number, sonny? thirty-seven? yes, that's your bunk. got anyone with you?" "my mother," dick nodded. "she's in the opposite cabin." "i see. and i've a wife and small son and daughter somewhere about. well, there's not a whole heap of room in these cabins, so it's luck for me that i haven't struck a mate of my own size. but i expect you don't look at it in that way." dick grinned. he rather liked this big, friendly person, but was much too shy to talk. indeed, it was rather dreadful to think of sharing a cabin with him--with any stranger, for that matter. "we won't worry each other very much," said his companion, as if guessing his thoughts. "you'll be asleep long before i come to bed, and i'm not as early as i might be in the mornings." he was unpacking swiftly, distributing his belongings in shelves and on hooks. "i'll leave space for you--those drawers are handy for your height, so i'll take the upper ones. i see you've got the berth with the porthole--lucky kid." "i'll change, if you like," dick said. it seemed the only thing to say, but he didn't feel a cheerful giver. the little round window just over his bed looked very inviting. the big man laughed. "oh, not much!" he said. "thanks, all the same, sonny, but i wouldn't take it from you. now, i'm pretty straight, so i'll clear out, for it's quite evident that we can't move about together. so long." dick squeezed himself against his bunk to leave room for the great form as he moved to the door. his mother was a little inclined to be sympathetic on the subject a little later. "oh, he might be worse," dick said. "he's really quite a good sort. and we shan't see so much of each other in the cabin, 'cause i'm going to get up awfully early. you see, i don't want to waste a single minute of my time on board ship." "well, you could nearly always take refuge in here if you were very crowded," mrs. lester said. "thanks very much, mummie." dick glanced round her cabin; it was the same size as his own, but looked, somehow, immeasurably larger. the second bunk was not made up, and looked inviting as a sofa. already his mother had unpacked, and her dainty belongings made the tiny place homelike. "it is jolly, isn't it?" the small boy said. "yes, it's quite comfy. we'll use it together as a sitting-room, dickie. there's the bugle for dinner--come along." there were many people in the long alley-way, hurrying towards the dining saloon. smooth water was certain for the first few hours of the journey while they steamed down the gulf. what sort of weather might await them when they turned into the bight--that place of many storms--no one could say. therefore, there was a general determination to have at least one meal in comfort. people trooped up from their cabins and down from the deck, crowding into the big saloon. the stewards were busy directing all to their places, and delicately shepherding new-comers from seats already reserved. mrs. lester and dick found themselves at a table presided over by the ship's doctor, who promptly made himself known to all the passengers, found out their names and saw to it that all under his wing felt at home. he was a plump, cheery man, full of anecdotes and chatter. dick felt that it would be jolly to sit at his table. opposite the lesters were four vacant places. already at the table were a thin and angular lady, whose name they found out was miss simpson; a very pretty girl of eighteen, with her mother, a mrs. merritt, and a tall, silent man, mr. dunstan, who looked as though he hailed from the bush, and made but the briefest of responses to the doctor's jokes. close at hand was the captain's table, where, as the doctor remarked, "emperors and pontiffs" might be found. there were no emperors aboard this time; the nearest approach to a pontiff was an english bishop, who, with his wife, was touring australia. he was a pink and pleasant person, who rather gave the impression that he was curate to his wife--a very tall woman, stout, dignified and extremely english. dick rejoiced inwardly that he did not sit near this dignitary. he went as far as to feel sympathy for the captain himself, who made heavy weather in his efforts to entertain her, and used to look slightly exhausted towards the close of a meal. a famous singer--a tall, handsome woman--was also at his table; and a noted actor, whom the bishop's wife snubbed whenever possible. there was a chief justice from an eastern state, he had a keen, clever face, at which dick liked to look when he spoke. the other people included a ship's captain going to take command of a vessel at fremantle; a member of parliament and his wife, a riverina squatter, a german wool buyer and one or two others less distinguished. dick eyed them with awe, and was glad that he sat at another table. just as the soup appeared, a quiet-looking young man slipped into one of the vacant seats at the doctor's left; and presently a party of three arrived to complete the table--dick's enormous cabin mate, with his wife and little girl. they sat down opposite, and immediately the little girl made a face at dick. now, dick did not know much of the ways of girls, little or big. he was thirteen, and at thirteen girls are the last things a boy worries about. therefore, this pleasantry on the part of the new-comer merely puzzled him slightly. he wrinkled his nose a little and went on with his soup. the doctor was greeting them boisterously. "good evening, mrs. warner. had a good run round adelaide?" "oh, delightful," said the lady vaguely. her husband laughed. "much she knows of adelaide," he said. "she's been to a tea-party at the club, and merle and i have been running round like good tourists. haven't we, merle?" the little girl muttered something that sounded like "horrid place!" and again mr. warner laughed. "merle is in the stage of disliking everything outside her own boundary fence," he said, attacking his dinner. "i've shown her all the beauties of eastern australia, and she still says there's no place like the sandy west, so we'll go back for another ten years or so before coming this side again." his eye fell on dick, and he nodded in a friendly way. "why, there's my cabin mate," he said. "i say, doctor, don't you think it's a trifle hard on a boy of that size to find he has drawn me in the lucky bag?" "distinctly," agreed the doctor, "but great luck for you." he made the warners and lesters known to each other, and the elders chatted through dinner. merle, after another grimace at dick, did not look his way again, for which he was mildly thankful. he decided that she was a cheeky kid, and thought no more about her--save that whenever he chanced to look across he saw the square little face, surrounded by a shock of dark hair and crowned with an enormous butterfly bow of black ribbon. the warners, it seemed, were station owners north of coolgardie, and they were returning from a trip east. "our first for over twelve years," mrs. warner said. "we had a run over just after we were married." "and we've never had any time since," ejaculated mr. warner. "no, what with babies and hard work," mrs. warner's face saddened. later, mrs. lester learned that two of the babies had failed to pull through a very bad summer. they had begun with a very little place, but gradually luck had come their way, and now they owned a big run. "thanks to our being willing to go out-back," said mr. warner. "people nowadays forget what the first settlers did--our grandparents, who went cheerfully out into the wilds and thought themselves lucky if they got a mail and stores twice a year. there's any amount of room yet for men and women with pluck enough to go into the back-country. but most of them nowadays want a place two minutes from a township, with a post office and a picture theatre round the corner. it makes me tired." "are you far out?" mrs. lester asked. "oh, not so far. now that we have a car we get a mail once a fortnight, and that has made us feel very civilised. we used to have trouble with the blacks, but they're tame enough now." "it was lonely enough at times," mrs. warner said. "one used to long to see another white woman. but now that the children are bigger things are better." "your little girl is old enough to be a companion to you now," mrs. lester said, smiling at merle, who merely scowled. "more of a companion to me, i'm afraid," said mr. warner, laughing. "merle isn't a domesticated person; she thinks horses and dogs are the only real things that matter." "so they are," said merle, suddenly, in a kind of small explosion. everyone laughed and she flushed to the roots of her black hair. "oh, merle will become domesticated soon enough--she isn't twelve yet," her mother said, comfortably. "she is to have a governess when we get back." "i pity the poor governess who is to teach merle all the useful domestic arts," said mr. warner. "she will have an uphill game." the angular lady, miss simpson, spoke suddenly. "do you not think," she asked, "that the tuition of the useful arts should begin at a very much earlier age?" her voice, like herself, was angular; she glared at merle, who returned the glare with interest. "much more was expected of little girls when i was young." mr. warner gave one of his great laughs. "oh, much more, i'm sure," he said. "but surroundings count for something; perhaps you weren't brought up on a lonely run, where your only playmates were horses and dogs." "certainly not," said miss simpson. "i was brought up in london. and in my day young ladies learned decorum." "what's decorum?" asked merle bluntly. "something you haven't got, my little savage," said her father. "well, what is it, anyhow?" "decorum is refined and ladylike behaviour," said miss simpson severely. "must be beastly," said merle and went on with her dinner. "that's enough, merle," said her father, looking annoyed. he turned back to the thin lady. "life in london has not many of the problems that beset small australians," he said. "merle found a cow bogged in a swamp once. i was away, so she had to gallop in to the homestead, collect a few rubbishy blacks, the only men about, and get them on to the job of rescue. i believe she had to wade in herself and hold up the poor brute's head while they tugged her out. of course, it was only a very ordinary thing for a bush-bred child; no particular credit to merle. but it wouldn't have fitted in with your ideal of decorum, would it?" "most certainly not," said the angular lady. "it seems a fearful thing for a little girl to do." "but it saved the cow." "then you place a cow before your daughter's welfare?" "it never did me any harm," said merle, fiercely. "and a cow's a cow!" mr. warner's crack of laughter made heads turn in his direction. "beyond doubt a cow is a cow," he said. "we rank 'em high out back. seriously, miss simpson, you wouldn't see an animal choke to death rather than upset decorum, would you? "i am glad that such incidents have not come my way," said the spinster, vinegarishly. "i cannot but think a little girl would be better at a good boarding school than exposed to influences of the kind you describe. what, may i ask, will be your daughter's future?" "oh, she'll be pretty useful, i hope," said the squatter, cheerfully. "there, merle, go on with your pudding," for the subject of the discussion showed imminent signs of bursting with wrath. "we'll take you in hand yet and make a young lady of you. all the same, i'll be disgusted if you ever turn your back on a cow in a bog!" the silent young man spoke. "i reckon," he said in a slow drawl, "that some of our old hands would have been in a bit of a hole if their womenfolk hadn't been willin' to lend a hand outside. my old grandmother talked half a dozen languages, and played three or four instruments, and sang in italian and painted on satin, and all that sort of thing, and before she came out from england she'd never so much as made a bed. then she came to sydney with her father's regiment, and married and went up into the never-never country. after that there wasn't anything she didn't do, from fightin' blacks and bush fires and floods to helpin' clear the land and build the house. did it all well too. didn't hurt her, either, she said; she liked it. great old sort. lots like her, of course. reckon they made australia." "yes, and we're proud of 'em," said mr. warner. he grinned. "but what about their decorum, miss simpson?" "i think the dear bishop is rising," said the spinster, acidly. "if you will excuse me----" she left the table in the wake of the "pontiffs." "all the same," said mr. warner, when the laugh had subsided, "it isn't quite the same thing. those old grandmothers of ours had decorum--stacks of it. they never lost it, even when they did a man's work. i suppose it was because they had so much of it ground into them when they were young. and it never did them any harm. but somehow nowadays it doesn't seem an easy matter to put on the decorum layer first. i don't know how it is." he looked across the table. "got any little girls, mrs. lester?" "no, only one bad boy," replied dick's mother. "just as well for your peace of mind. girls are a great responsibility, especially when they persist in thinking they're boys." he tweaked his small daughter's hair. "finished? then suppose we go up on deck, and you can make friends with my cabin mate." but merle looked across at dick scornfully. "i'm going to see the engines," she said, with her nose tilted. "the chief engineer said he'd take me, an' mother said i could." "oh, all right," said her father, easily. "you can make friends with dick to-morrow." to which dick, smarting under the double injury of her scorn and the fact that she--a scrap of a girl--was about to revel in the engine room, for which his whole soul hankered, registered a vow that he'd see her farther first. his nose was as tilted as merle's own as he passed her on his way to the deck. chapter iv. aboard the "moondarra." dick woke early next morning, and looked about him for a minute in bewilderment before he remembered where he was. he had been dreaming that he was in the dormitory at school, with bottles snoring as he always snored. it was confusing to awaken in a narrow berth, with white-panelled walls creaking close by. the ship gave a lurch, and a cabin trunk slid half-way out from under the opposite berth, then it went back again, and dick experienced a peculiar feeling of hollowness and discomfort that he could not classify, coupled with a longing for fresh air. he hopped up on his bed, and put his head out of the open porthole. the sun had just risen, and stared him in the face across a long stretch of heaving sea--grey, tossing water, broken here and there by a "white horse." a keen breeze swept by; dick drank in a great draught of it, and from that moment forgot his first and last hint of seasickness. it was too cold to stay, however, he shivered in his thin pyjamas, and returned to the shelter of the blankets. the snoring that had put bottles into his dream was still going on, though louder than bottles had ever snored. it came from the berth where mr. warner slumbered peacefully, lying on his back, with his mouth wide open. dick reflected enviously upon the chance such an attitude on the part of bottles would have afforded his interested dormitory mates, though master glass had grown cunning, even in repose, since his friends, having caught him snoring open-mouthed, had filled up the yawning cavity with soap shavings. the memory of the victim foaming at the mouth returned to dick and he chuckled--at which, to his great alarm, mr. warner half roused and said, "eh, merle?" dick refrained from answering, and in a moment there was audible evidence that the huge man, waked, like the lobster, too soon, was slumbering again. the ship was beginning to stir. overhead could be heard trampling feet and the swish of hoses, as the decks were washed down; in the passages the stewards were busy with mops and brooms. dick decided that bed had lost its charms, and, seizing a towel, went forth in search of a bath. a friendly steward directed him to a bath-room, and gave him a big, rough towel, remarking that the smooth and shiny one he carried was merely for "moppin' yourself up in the cabin," and dick presently revelled in a huge bath of hot sea-water, followed by an icy shower. he returned glowing, and finished dressing rapidly, while mr. warner slumbered and snored in calm majesty. then he seized his cap and ran out. in the alleyway he met his own cabin steward, who greeted him cheerfully. "morning, you're up early. like a cup of tea?" "rather!" said dick, who, like all bush boys, could drink tea a dozen times a day if opportunity occurred. "right-oh!" said the steward. "wait half a jiff." he dived into a passage, and presently reappeared with a cup of tea, the saucer encumbered with two biscuits and a banana. "like to take it up on deck?" "good idea," said dick. "thanks, awfully." he mounted the stairs with care--the ship was lurching a little, and he was not used to carrying liquids on a floor that rose and fell beneath him. still, he reached the deck, although with not more than a quarter of the tea in the saucer--he had prudently pocketed the biscuits and fruit--and sat down near the rail to dispose of his load. this over, he took back his cup and saucer and was greeted with astonished thanks by the bewildered steward, who said, "lor', you could 'a lef' it up on deck--someone or other'd take it down." dick ran up again quickly. the wet decks glistened in the morning sunshine. a few of the men passengers were astir; some still in pyjamas; but no women were visible. an officer coming by gave him a pleasant greeting. he went forward until he could look down on the lower deck, where sailors were busy mopping, coiling ropes and generally stowing everything in ship-shape fashion for the uninterrupted run west. land was still in sight on the starboard, a faint blue line of hills; ahead and to port there was nothing but the grey waste of heaving sea, brightened to blue wherever the sunlight sparkled on it. the air was full of sea birds, circling round the ship on the alert for any scrap of food that might be thrown over. as he watched a flock of gulls pounced, screaming, on the contents of a refuse tin from the galley, and fought over the spoil. to port, half a mile away, a little steamer wallowed along, her smoke making a black trail in her wake. it was too cold to stand still, so dick joined the steady march round the deck, taken by the few passengers who were about. turning a corner presently he almost ran into someone coming rapidly in the opposite direction--merle warner, with her shock of hair flying in the wind, and her hands digging deeply into the pockets of a rough blue serge overcoat. "can't you look where you're goin', silly," she demanded. "didn't see you," dick responded cheerfully. he had had ideas of apologising, but they vanished hurriedly. they glared at each other. "is my daddy up?" she demanded. "he wasn't when i left," dick said. "don't think he meant to be, either, by the way he was snoring." she flamed into anger. "you're cheeky. my daddy never snores!" "oh, doesn't he?" returned the bewildered dick. "well, you go down to the cabin and listen, that's all, if you don't believe me." "i don't need to go--i know he doesn't," she said loftily. "i expect you were snoring yourself, and thought it was my daddy. i think he's jolly good to let you sleep in his cabin." the amazing effrontery of this made dick gasp. "well--you have a nerve!" he said. "his cabin, indeed. i like that. it's mine just as much." "no it isn't---my daddy had it before you came." "well, we've paid for half, anyhow," said dick, practically. "and even if your father is big, he can't sleep in two bunks." "i don't care--you're just a horrid little nuisance, getting into a gentleman's cabin," declared merle, endeavouring to tilt a rather snub nose. the speech was meant to crush--as dick remarked, later, to his mother, it might have been employed in describing a cockroach; but it had the wrong effect on dick. he broke into a shout of laughter. "i say," he cried, "it's as good as a play to hear you talk. you weren't behind the door when they served out bad tempers, anyhow, were you?" it was ordinary schoolboy repartee, but it reduced merle to impotent fury. she glared at him, speechless, her face flushing from brow to chin; and just then a friendly, boisterous presence swung round the corner. "hullo, children." the doctor greeted them cheerily. "out for an early walk, eh?" something in their demeanour made him look more keenly. "why, i believe you're quarrelling! fie now, for shame." "not we!" declared dick laughing. "i am," merle exploded. "he's just a beastly little boy." she turned, wriggled from the hand the doctor dropped on her shoulder, and fled, leaving the two bewildered males staring after her. "now that's a firework in petticoats!" ejaculated the doctor. "what's annoyed her, dick?" "blest if i know," dick replied, grinning. "you wouldn't have said she was in a good temper from the start, and then she went off like a packet of crackers 'cause i said her father snored. and he does snore, too!" "snore--why, man alive, he's like an engine!" said the doctor. "he went to sleep in the smoking-room the other day, and before long he'd cleared the room. snored 'em clean out. how could a man of his build fail to snore, may i ask?" "well, he doesn't fail to," said dick laughing. "that is so, certainly. but i suppose that square-faced small daughter of his thought you were insulting him. never mind, she'll get over it. come for a walk. you ought to do a mile round the deck three times a day at least. passengers who do that never develop livers!" "i don't think i have one," dick grinned. "continue in that belief, if you can, my son, and then you won't make any doctor's fortune. there's disinterested advice for you!" the doctor set off round the deck with long strides, so that to keep up gave dick no little exertion. they pounded along, too fast for conversation. the deck was sprinkled with passengers now, and at every moment new heads appeared, coming up the companion ladders. there was no sign of merle, but presently they encountered mrs. warner, with a five-year-old boy, and stopped to greet her. "good morning," said the doctor. "and how's my friend bobby?" "vezzy well," said bobby, solemnly. he looked at dick with interest. "is you the new boy?" "i expect so," dick replied. "merle says you is a beast. is you?" "never mind merle," mrs. warner said hastily. "she's just an old stupid. of course dick isn't a beast, bobby." "i don't fink you looks like one," bobby pronounced, solemnly, after inspecting him. dick grinned, somewhat confused. he was never a person of many words, except with his mother; it was somewhat disconcerting to be dissected in public. "you come along, and i'll show you the gulls," he said, and bobby tucked a fat little hand into his hard paw and trotted off ecstatically. they made great friends over the swooping gulls, and dick learned that there were two little warners younger than bobby--"twinses," the small boy said. being but three, they were considered too young to travel; they stayed in perth with grannie. "we's goin' back to find the twinses now," bobby finished. "are you glad?" "wather! they's troublesome kids, but they's nice. i've got a pony at home." "so have i," said dick. "is yours a good one?" "he's lovely," bobby said solemnly. "his name's micky. can yours jump?" "can he--what!" said dick, with a sudden homesick vision of tinker and the great galloping stretches at home, of the log fences over which they loved to fly. it was believed that dick would take tinker across anything over which the pony could lift his nose. "yes, he can jump a bit." speech fell upon him with that beloved subject, and he talked of tinker, with his eyes dancing, while the little boy hung upon his words and spurred him whenever he paused with, "tell me more about him." "we lost him once when he was a two-year-old," dick said. "some ass of a swagman burned some of our boundary fence--didn't put his camp fire out properly---and a lot of our horses got out through the gap and into the ranges. we got most of 'em back, but tinker and a little bay mare joined a mob of wild horses, and we never saw them for six months." "never any more?" bobby's eyes were round with horror. "yes, we did. father said he'd get tinker back if it took him a year, and he took all the men out with him to hunt the mob down. he took me, too, on old pivot. and we found the wild horses in a big gully in the ranges, and the men managed to get nearly round 'em before they smelt us. then they went off like smoke. i was on top of a hill and i could see tinker going with them. the men headed them back towards the plains, but they found a way up another gully, and i don't believe we'd ever have seen them again if it hadn't been for father." "what did your faver do?" "he just set sail across country--up the hill between the two gullies--you never saw such a hill to ride up--and down the other side. if it was bad going up, it was simply awful going down--all overgrown with trees and scrub, and great rocks sticking out of the ground. and father went down it at a gallop, as if he was on one of the plains. you never saw anything like it. the men said, 'well the boss can break his neck if he likes--we're not going!'" "oo-oh!" said bobby. "the mob came up the gully at an awful bat--it was just a race between them and father. but he got down first, and he swung round down the gully, and, my aunt! you should have heard his stockwhip. it was just like rifle shots. he met the mob coming up in a narrow place, and they wouldn't face him--they pulled up and looked at him for a moment, and then they wheeled and went tearing back, and father after them. and of course the men were ready enough then--they kept 'em going down, never gave 'em a chance to wheel back into the ranges--got em out on the open plain and across through the gap into our run--and we yarded the whole blessed lot!" "and tinker, too?" "yes, tinker too, of course. father never would have come back if we hadn't got tinker. my word, that was a gallop!" dick's eyes were dancing. "i don't know how i got down the hill--old pivot did it--he's the best stock horse you ever saw. he just did what he liked. i hadn't a say in it. you see, the only chance was to keep the mob going, never giving them a second to turn or break. all the men were using their stockwhips and yelling like fury, and father was riding out on the wing, near the big chestnut that was leading the mob---he knew that was the horse to watch. he did try to wheel too, but father was always there with his whip. i guess that chestnut found out who was boss that day!" [illustration: "'i don't know how i got down the hill--old pivot did it.'"] "i say--your faver must be splendid." "of course he's splendid." dick brushed away so superfluous an observation. "that chestnut's his best hack now. father lassoed him in the yards, and broke him in himself, and you should have seen him buck. the men swore he'd always be an outlaw, but father said he wouldn't, and he beat him in the end. he wouldn't let another soul touch him, and though he goes quietly enough with father, no one else can ride him now. i guess father will have to break him in again now, 'cause he's been turned out for a year since father went to england." "was tinker all right?" asked bobby eagerly. "tinker just came up to me in the yards when they cut him out from the mob and put his old head down to my pocket, looking for an apple. he always did that from the time he was a foal." someone behind them--they were leaning over the rail, the ship forgotten--put a hand on dick's shoulder, and the boy jumped round, his face flushing. mr. warner stood laughing at him--near him, merle, her face a curious mixture of interest and sullenness. "that was pretty exciting," said mr. warner. dick's colour deepened. he muttered incoherently something about "just telling the kid a yarn." "you come to breakfast, bobby," merle said crossly. "mother wants you." she seized the unwilling bobby's hand and led him away. chapter v. how dick practised high diving. many people find the run across the great australian bight a dull matter; and, indeed, if you should ever find yourself returning from the other side of the world, it is apt to be the longest part of all the long six weeks at sea. but to little dick lester, afloat for the first time, it was a voyage full of marvel and delight. dick did not give his masters at school an especially easy time; there was, i fear, nothing of the saintly little boy about him; nor did any of them ever have reason to suspect him of any especial cleverness. he was a very ordinary, healthy youngster, unencumbered by much brain power. but he did respectably at school and more than respectably at sports, because he was quite unable to take things easily. there was in his nature a streak of keenness that made the pursuit of the moment the most interesting thing possible. he flung himself heart and soul and generally with all his alert young body, too, into all he did. naturally, his very keenness often made him make mistakes; but at least it saved him from dullness. "he's a provoking little animal," a tired form-master once said of him; "but, thank goodness, he's no slug!" being so designed, partly by nature and partly by parents who had themselves that strong quality of keenness, it may readily be imagined that a ship opened up to dick a storehouse of novelty and opportunity. he made his way into every permitted corner, and since he did not do it bumptiously, he found a welcome where a cheeky youngster would have been promptly ejected. the chief engineer succumbed to the longing face at the entrance to his mysterious domain, and let him spend hours in the engine room, where the roar and beat of the mighty machinery was the purest music in dick's ears. he penetrated even to the stokehold, where, stripped of his outer garments, he toiled eagerly with a stoker's shovel, flinging great lumps of coal into the yawning mouths of the furnaces, where the flames leaped redly. there was something in feeling that, even for a moment, he was helping the onward rush of the ship that brought him nearer to fremantle and his father. he stopped only when he could no longer hold the heavy shovel, and the fourth engineer, laughing, hustled him from the stifling stokehold into the not particularly fresh air of the engine room, which seemed to dick an ozone bath by comparison. the men made him free of their quarters, and spun him long yarns of the sea, more or less true, while they taught him intricacies of splicing and knotting that are generally hidden from the landsman. they made him highly technical in speech, so that he would have shuddered at calling the companion a staircase, or in misusing such ordinary expressions as "abaft the binnacle." he saw their dim and smellful sleeping accommodation, and came away with his small soul full of wrath that men so admirable should be herded in dens so uninviting. they took care of him in more ways than one; he saw a sturdy apprentice roundly cuffed on the head for having made some remark in his presence of which the older men did not approve. dick had not caught the remark--which was as well. it made him rather uncomfortable to see the boy cuffed, but having great respect for the cuffer, a boatswain of wonderful ability where knots were concerned, he took it for granted that everything was all right. he told them stories of station life in return for their sea yarns, and altogether spent some of his happiest hours in the fo'c'sle. the baggage officer took him into the upper hold and held forth learnedly on the art of handling cargo; the cook showed him the galley, with its rows of shining copper pots and pans, its contrivances for washing and peeling potatoes by the hundred, and other strange devices--which so enthralled dick that he obtained permission to come again, and to bring his mother, who was no less interested than he. he even penetrated into the mysterious regions where the stewards lurk when off duty, and had no small hand in the fun behind the scenes, when the stewards gave a concert in aid of the funds for seamen--a christy minstrel entertainment, at which the performers appeared with faces so well and truly blacked that for the remainder of the voyage they had a murky look sadly out of keeping with their otherwise spic and span appearance. but the crowning point of dick's voyage was when the captain found him on deck very early one morning--so early that no other passengers were astir, and, first swearing him to secrecy, took him to his state-room under the bridge where they hob-nobbed over an early cup of tea, and afterwards showed him chronometers and sextants, chart-room and navigating room, and the forbidden glory of the bridge itself; a condescension that left dick gasping with delight and amazement. he did not know that the captain had a little son in perth; another boy with an eager face, for whose sake the great man had a soft corner in his heart for all small boys. with so many distractions, it was natural that the days should fly quickly. but in addition there was the sea itself, which dick loved; an australian sea at its best, with bright sunshine, dancing blue water, and a long, easy swell that barely rocked the _moondarra_ as she steamed westward. they passed but few ships. a great english liner overtook them one morning, passing so close that greetings could be shouted from deck to deck; a p. and o. boat, her black and tan painting and her winking brasswork making her a heartsome sight. beside her, the _moondarra_, which had seemed to dick enormous, became quite a small affair. the liner was outward bound, most of the people on her decks were australians, off on the long trip to the old countries that every son and daughter of the southern cross longs to see some day. once there passed another inter-state boat, like themselves; now and then a little tramp steamer, red with rust and generally grimy. and one day came the most beautiful sight of the sea, a great four-master, with every sail set, swinging by to sydney for wheat. she came down towards them, until she was quite close--then, tacking suddenly, she swung away, the sunlight, as she went about, turning every sail to glittering silver. dick had no breakfast that morning--he remained glued to the rail until the beautiful ship was only a tall shadow on the horizon. at all odd moments during the day there were games; deck-tennis, bull-board, quoits, cricket. dick was handicapped in being the only boy of his age on board, so that he found it hard to get a suitable partner, but some of the elder girls took him into their games, and on the whole he had a good time, though, to dick, girls were curious beings, with mysterious and incomprehensible ways. he told his mother one day that he could not imagine why any fellow ever wanted to get married--"unless it was to you, of course," he added, gallantly. to which mrs. lester listened gravely, and did not even make the annoying rejoinder that some day he would think differently--to which species of remark grown-ups are so prone. merle warner remained the most incomprehensible female of all. circumstances conspired to throw the two children together, for the elders quickly made friends; the warners were pleasant, kindly people, and, as table companions, they were a good deal brought into association with mrs. lester. mr. warner and dick had struck up a great friendship; the big man liked his small and unobtrusive cabin-mate and felt for him something of the protective feeling he would have experienced had it been his own little lad who lay asleep in the opposite bunk each night when he came to bed. they used to tramp the deck together in the early mornings and after dinner, and "yarn" of station matters, of the ways of bullocks--and most inexhaustible theme of all--of horses. dick had been his father's constant companion until mr. lester sailed for england; he had learned a good deal of station affairs, and where his knowledge failed his love of the subject was enough to make him a good mate. he used to beg for stories of the western life, that held so many differences from his own, and mr. warner was ready enough to tell of his early days, with their struggle and adventure. dick thought him a very wonderful man. he told his stories very simply; they were, indeed, very commonplace happenings to him, and on the rare occasions that he became enthusiastic it was in speaking of the part his wife had played. "you take it from me, son, women are pretty wonderful," he said. "she's plump and placid and comfortable enough now--but i've seen her holding off a crew of yelling blacks with only an old shot gun. she never was afraid--or if she was, she never showed it; and that's the most wonderful of all." dick agreed, and thereafter looked at mrs. warner with eyes of awe, which considerably puzzled the cheery, motherly woman. possibly it was her father's friendship for dick that made merle so definitely unfriendly. she was devoted to him; her mother and bobby counted for something to her, but her father ranked before the whole world. it hit her hard to see him make a companion of this new boy. she was a child of a queer, silent nature--her own worst enemy, for she struggled against her better impulses. something in her made her rude, unfriendly, unforgiving. so much was evident, and led to punishments and unpopularity. what was not so apparent was that the queer streak made her very unhappy as well. "i know jolly well i'm a pig," she had said once to her father, "only i don't seem to be able to be anything but a pig. why do people get born like that?" to which mr. warner, not understanding in the least, had replied, laughing, that the sooner she left off being a pig the better for everyone. merle knew that very well. but the bad fairy who had dealt her the wrong kind of temper at her christening was as yet too strong for her. she could not make friends freely; not like bobby, whom she sometimes almost hated for the ease with which he fell in love with everyone. everyone liked bobby, too. he was so merry, so full of quaint chatter, so ready to make the best of the world. their trip to sydney had been as complete joy to bobby as it had meant misery to merle. they had stayed with a big family of boy cousins; town boys, knowing nothing of the country that merle loved, and wildly keen on swimming, yachting and school sports--all of them sealed books to merle. her shyness and sullenness had meant rare fun to them, and they had teased her with all the thoroughness of public school boys. she hated them all, with an intensity that almost frightened her; for their sake she was ready to hate all boys, and dick was merely another member of the abhorred species. that her father should take to him instantly was almost more than she could bear. dick was civil to her, in his off-hand boy fashion. he was too busy and too happy to worry about a cross-grained little girl. if she had cared to be friendly he would have met her half-way, but as she showed him very definitely that she did not want him, he was quite willing to let her alone. it was sometimes a little awkward to be paired off with her--to have an elder say cheerfully, "run away, merle, and play with dick." a ship, however, is a place of many corners, and after rounding the nearest it was an easy matter to go off in different directions. merle would say, "i'm not comin' with you!" dick would reply, "right oh!" and that would end the matter. "you know," mrs. lester said to dick--they were talking in her cabin one evening--"i'm really sorry for that little girl. she gives herself such a bad time. and if she would only let herself be nice, she would be quite nice." "you always think people are nice, mother-est," said dick. he was lying on the spare bunk, his hands crossed under his head, glad to keep still after a hard set of tennis. "but why shouldn't she behave decently? no one does anything to annoy the poor thing!" "n-no." mrs. lester hesitated; she did not choose to hint to dick that merle might be jealous. "i think she feels herself out in the cold--bobby is so attractive, and everyone likes him, and of course she is different." "she's a silly ass, then," said dick, unexpectedly. "nothing's wrong with her looks, is there, if only she didn't seem so jolly cross?" "why, no--nothing, of course," mrs. lester answered. a vision of merle's face, square and defiant, came to her. "only, of course, bobby is such a friendly little man. i wish she would chum up with you, dick. you wouldn't mind, would you?" "well, a fellow doesn't always want a girl at his heels," dick said. "she's only a kid, too"--with the condescension that thirteen feels for eleven. "but, of course, she could come along if she liked--if you want her to, mother." he grinned all over his sunburnt face. "but what's the good of talking?--a team of bullocks wouldn't bring her!" and that seemed so far beyond argument that mrs. lester held her peace. nevertheless, despite merle's attitude, the friendship between the warners and the lesters flourished. bobby frankly adored dick, and as dick didn't mind admitting that he "liked small kids," bobby trotted at his heels and, if he could not actually be with him, remained glued to the spot if he could watch him playing games. mrs. warner, relieved from a good deal of attendance on her small son, found mrs. lester a congenial spirit; the lester deck-chairs were pitched near the warner encampment, in a sheltered angle of the deck, and they grew to know each other with the swiftness of board-ship friendships--a week at sea having the curious faculty of making perfect strangers better acquaintances than if they had lived in the same township for a year. mr. warner hovered about like a large guardian angel, glad to see his wife enjoying the most restful portion of her trip. even merle fell a little under the spell of mrs. lester's charm. she was so used to people who found fault with her that it was almost amazing to know someone who never seemed to notice bad temper or black looks. mrs. lester's attitude was that no one--not even merle--could possibly mean to be rude or unpleasant. it somehow made merle feel that rudeness and unpleasantness were cheap and nasty. their fellow passengers were, on the whole, a pleasant set. miss simpson and the "dear bishop's" wife were apt to be a little overpowering; the bishop himself made elephantine efforts at being jolly, because of a peculiar belief that only by so doing could he succeed in understanding australians, and thereby puzzled very much the australians themselves, who liked him far better on the rare occasions when he forgot to be playful and was just plain bishop. there was enough musical talent on board to provide excellent concerts each evening, after which energetic people danced on the deck until an unfeeling quarter-master came along relentlessly to extinguish the lights. the captain and his officers made friends with everyone and kept things moving with the quiet tact that seems part of the training of a passenger boat's officers--and answered questions innumerable concerning the ways of the _moondarra_ and the wonders of the deep, such questions being an unfailing part of the routine of each voyage. so the quiet days passed swiftly enough, too swiftly for dick, who, but that fremantle meant his father, would willingly have had it twice as far away. he came on deck one afternoon, after an hour spent in the fo'c'sle; it was their last day at sea, and he had been saying good-bye to his friend the boatswain, who had presented him with a marvellous trophy--a full-rigged ship, built in the most astounding fashion, inside a bottle. dick had inspected this curiosity with bewildered awe, never dreaming that it might actually become his own; and when the boatswain gave it to him as a farewell gift he was speechless with gratitude. he carried it carefully to his cabin, and stowed it away. then he ran up in search of his mother. he came out on the starboard side, where a keen wind whistled that had driven nearly everyone away in search of shelter on the port deck. the only people in view were bobby warner and miss simpson; and it was evident that bobby was very naughty. he was perched on the top of the rail, holding lightly to a stanchion, his handsome little face glowing with delighted mischief. miss simpson--who had the faculty of arousing all that was worst in him--was lecturing him severely. "are you not ashamed, bobby? come down at once, you naughty little boy!" "s'an't," said bobby calmly. "come down, or i shall bring your father to whip you." "he won't," said bobby, unmoved. "he never does." "so i should think," said miss simpson, with bitterness. "it is high time he began. come down immediately." "you go 'way, ole fing," bobby said, unmoved. "don't like you." "no one likes naughty boys like you," returned the lady, severely, "will you come down, or must i pull you down?" "don't 'oo touch me," said bobby, meeting her eyes fearlessly, as she stood angry and irresolute. "dis is my pony--i'm goin' to ride it." he threw one leg over the rail as he spoke, balancing his slender body easily. miss simpson uttered a muffled shriek, and sprang to hold him, gripping at his knee. "'oo get away!" bobby threatened. he twisted himself from her grasp, bending outwards, just as dick came upon the scene. dick gave a low whistle. "come down out of that, bob, you silly ass!" bobby started at the voice. simultaneously the ship rolled, and then a shriek from miss simpson rent the air and she clutched at him unavailingly as he lost his balance and fell. the list of the ship sent him clear of her, down to the lazy green swell, flecked with foam from the bow. he gave one cry--a frightened baby's scream for help. the water choked it almost unheard. dick did not hesitate. he reflected afterwards with shame that he did not even shout, "man overboard!" as do all well-conducted rescuers; instead he gave an incoherent cry of, "coming, old chap!" as he swung himself up by the stanchion and dived outwards. it did not seem far--he had often dived from the top of the gallery round the swimming baths near his school. what he was not prepared for was the icy coldness of the water. it caught his breath--he came up blinded and gasping, unable for a second to see anything. then, just as despair seized him, he caught sight of a white jersey a few yards away on the crest of a wave, and flung himself through the water towards it. his fingers closed on it, and the wave swallowed them both. they came up again after what seemed an eternity. dick's head was bursting, and his whole body numb. mechanically his training in life-saving came back to him, and he turned on his back, still gripping bobby, from whose little body the breath had been knocked so effectually by the fall that he was merely a log in the water, unable to struggle. it was as well for dick, for there was no fight left in him. the icy water chilled him, body and soul; he could only keep afloat, with his fingers twisted into bobby's jersey. his mother's face seemed to float before his tired eyes. back on the _moondarra_ miss simpson's despairing shrieks had been drowned by the long hoot of the steamer's siren. the officer on duty on the bridge had seen dick's dive; almost before he had struck the water the steamer's engines were reversed, life-belts had gone skimming overboard, and a boat's crew was working desperately at the davits swinging the boat outboard. quicker still two others had flung themselves after the boys--dick's friend, the boatswain, and the thin, silent man who sat at their table. it was he who reached them first; his voice came to dick as though muffled in wool, like the voice of a person very far away. "keep still, old chap; i'll take the kid." bobby's weight was lifted, but dick could not detach his clutching fingers from his jersey. he saw, as in a mist, a face near him in the water, but the cruel cold held him, choked him, gripped his very heart. he moved his free hand feebly, resisting, as he knew he must, an overpowering instinct to grasp at the new-comer. another voice came, even further away. "i can manage this one," it said. there was comfort in that, since dick knew he could not manage anything more. the waves seemed to be swinging him in a great cold bed--up and down, up and down. a hand was under his head, more restful than the softest pillow he had ever known; he let himself sink back with a little sigh, just as the blue sky above him flickered suddenly and turned black. close, very close, was the sound of oars working furiously in rowlocks, but he did not hear them. the _moondarra_ was turning in a great circle, her railing black with people. women were clustering round the two mothers, who stood silently watching the sea that was fighting out beyond for the little lives; and there were men holding back mr. warner, who could swim scarcely at all, but had been in the very act of flinging himself over the rail when an officer caught him. "if flanagin and the other fellow can't get them, no one can," the crisp voice said. "you'll only complicate matters if you go in." and after that bobby's father stood still, gripping at the rail, not feeling the hands that held him mechanically. the long moments dragged themselves away--how long they seemed, first from the time that the two little heads had been a tiny speck together on the sea, and then until the other heads and the long, clean overarm strokes had forged through the water towards them! then, longest of all came the terse waiting while the boat, lowered with swift dexterity, reached the water--the waiting oars ready to pull the instant she touched--the straining muscles flinging themselves into each stroke that sent her flying across the long green swells. a sudden, broken cheer came from the ship, mingled with a woman's sobbing cry. "oh, they have them, they have them!" the two mothers, silent yet, caught at each other's hands. beyond, strong arms were lifting the boys together into the boat; then, strain their eyes as they might, they could see nothing, for two sailors were working over the little figures, wrapping them in rugs; they had to loosen dick's fingers by force from bobby's jersey. others were hauling the rescuers on board, the boat turning even as they were pulled in; and then she came racing back to the ship. on the bridge the captain glanced at his watch, with a flash of professional pride. "seven minutes from the time of the alarm--not bad going!" he said. the cheering broke out again as the boat swung alongside, and then died out uncertainly. was it a time to cheer? the little muffled figures lay still and stiff, white faces upturned to the towering ship. mr. warner's heart seemed to stand still as the doctor suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. "bring your wife and mrs. lester to the hospital," he said. "i have everything ready." a hush seemed to fall upon the ship, long after the boat had been hauled slowly upwards, and waiting arms had received the motionless bundles and borne them swiftly to the hospital. the steady beat of the re-awakened engines bore the _moondarra_ westward; but on the decks passengers stood about in little knots, with their eyes ever wandering to the doorway behind which the dripping procession had disappeared. the captain came out once, shaking his head at the eager inquiries. "both unconscious," he said. "i'm afraid----" and stopped. there was a sick hush on the decks as the bishop--no longer playful--came forward, holding up his hand for silence. "if you will come with me to the saloon," he said, "we can do our best for the children. they need our prayers." the people flocked after him--card-playing men and half-grown girls, and women who sobbed as they went. there were sobs round the saloon as the bishop prayed--simple, manly words that asked for help and mercy. he finished, and there was silence, and then a cheer from the deck and a steward burst in. "doctor says they're all right!" in the sick bay, mrs. warner held bobby to her like a baby--a bundle of hot blankets, in which his sleeping face nestled peacefully. dick lay in a cot, also a mound of blankets. he opened his eyes and a smile flickered weakly on his lips as he saw his mother's face. "mother-est!" he whispered. she put her head down beside him, trembling--one arm across him, holding him to her. he gave a half sigh of utter contentment, nestling to her, as he fell asleep. chapter vi. westralia. it was many hours later that dick woke up, at an unfamiliar noise, feeling stiff and tired and extremely puzzled as to where he was. bobby, who had awakened him with a dismal little howl, was sitting up in his cot. the two mothers had been dragged away to dinner by the doctor, who had brutally remarked that the boys would sleep just as well if they didn't sit and stare at them, with other wise observations as to the necessity of over-strained people taking nourishment. the steward, who had been left on guard at the hospital, was gossiping placidly outside on the deck. dick regarded bobby sleepily. "hullo, kid," he said. "don't howl." "isn't howlin'," returned bobby, untruthfully. "wants my muvver." his lips quivered. "i tumbled into the water," he said, his blue eyes suddenly misty. "so you did," said dick, memory coming back to him. "weren't you an ass? never mind, you got out all right." "it wasn't nice," said bobby, miserably. the eyes brimmed over. "don't like this funny place. want to come an' 'nuggle on your bed." "come on, then," dick said. bobby made an effort to clamber out, but relapsed into his blankets. "my legs is all funny and horrid," he said. "they--they won't work." tears were in his voice. "wants to 'nuggle wiv you--wants my muvver!" "well, you stay there--i'll come," dick said, hurriedly. he climbed out, realising fully the moment he moved bobby's accusation against his legs. his own felt as though they belonged to someone entirely different--mr. warner for choice, for they felt enormous. he found himself glad to hold on to the cot after he was on the floor, and his progress across to bobby was slow and painful. "what's the matter?" bobby asked. "is your legs funny, too?" "jolly funny," dick returned. he climbed in beside the tearful bobby, who clung to him vehemently--and somehow dick was not sorry for the warm, comforting touch. he was desperately stiff and weary; he, also, wanted his mother every bit as much as the small boy who snuggled against him. he put his arm round him. "just you go to sleep, old chap," he said--and in a moment followed his own advice. "ain't never stirred, mum," was the calm assurance of the steward at the door, ten minutes later, when the anxious mothers came hurrying back from dinner. "i been sittin' in there near 'em--they----" his jaw dropped and the mothers gave a stifled exclamation at sight of the two heads on bobby's pillow--both boys fast asleep. the steward, when taken outside for purposes of discussion, found difficulty in inventing a suitable explanation, cut short by the arrival of the doctor, who remarked that he would attend to him later, and went to inspect the patients. "well, they're all right, anyhow," he said. "but i'd like to know how young dick felt on his journey across." it was a journey of which dick had no recollection when he woke for the second time, four hours later; and he was sufficiently astonished at finding bobby beside him. the mothers were close by; at dick's first movement mrs. lester came swiftly to the side of the cot. presently, just as bobby too awoke, came the doctor; and close on his heels, the repentant steward, bearing hot soup, which seemed to the boys the most heavenly thing they had ever tasted. they ate it, and asked for more, and would have made a gallant effort at that, too, had not sleep overcome them again. bobby tumbled asleep almost over his bowl, and his father, coming in, carried him off to his mother's cabin; and presently, just as dick was settling to a dream, the big man was back, and this time it was dick whom he picked up like a baby and carried down the long alleyways; not to their own cabin, but to the spare bunk in mrs. lester's, which had been made ready for dick. she was waiting for him, ready to tuck him up. it was comforting to think she would be near him. he was very sleepy--too sleepy to do more than wonder when, as he put him down, bobby's father said, huskily, "god bless you, old chap," and brushed his forehead with his lips--and then went hurriedly out. it was all like a dream when dick woke next day, still a little stiff, but otherwise feeling his usual self. mrs. lester was asleep, which was not unnatural, seeing that she had been up at ten-minute intervals throughout the night, to bend over him and make sure that he was still breathing. he got up softly, and slipped out for his bath; somewhat embarrassed, on his return, by the necessity for hunting out fresh clothing in his own cabin--though he had long ceased to have any fear of waking mr. warner, which, indeed, was a task beyond the average small boy. he managed to get dressed at last, and went up on deck. a steward gave him tea, and asked feelingly "how he was keeping?" a quarter-master came over to him and inquired, "all right, this morning, after your swim?" the third officer, very busy with landing preparations, tossed him a greeting across the deck, and asked if he thought the water would be nice for bathing. dick began to feel rather hot, and moved away to another part of the deck, where there might be people who had failed to notice yesterday's adventure. there, however, he met the captain, who patted him on the head, and said, "good kid; where did you pick up high diving?" and just after he had escaped from this encounter, who should come along, stately and tall, but the bishop's wife, who made a kind of run at him, grasped his hands, and said, "my child, how can we express our feelings of gratitude and admiration?" which so terrified dick that he broke away without ceremony, and, muttering something incoherent, fled as he would never have fled from the most infuriated bullock. he went round a deck house at a run, and cannoned into merle warner, who scowled and said, exactly as she had said on the first morning at sea, "can't you look where you're going, silly?" dick burst out laughing. "i wish you'd say that again," he said. "why?" demanded merle, blankly. "'cause it sounded quite decent. everybody else on this blessed ship is talking such bosh!" "what sort of bosh?" dick turned red. "oh, nothing," he said. there was a moment's pause, and then merle flushed in her turn. "i say--thanks for goin' in after bobby," she said awkwardly. dick gave a kind of howl of disgust. "oh, you, too!" he cried. "i say, do chuck it. if you knew how sick i am of hearing about it!" "oh, all right," said merle, plainly comprehending this point of view, and relieved to find that no more politeness was expected of her. somewhat to her surprise, however, she found herself making further conversation: "you glad we're gettin' in to-day?" "oh, rather!" dick's face suddenly lit up. "i like the ship--but i'm awfully keen to see father." "whose father?" "mine, of course. he's coming out from england--we're going to meet him at fremantle." "oh, i didn't know," merle said. "has he been long away? "over a year," dick said. "seems about ten." "a year!" merle's eyes grew round. life without a father seemed an impossible thing. "'m," dick nodded. "it's been jolly nice to be with your father on this ship. a fellow misses his father a bit, i can tell you." "'spect you do," merle said. "when's yours coming?" "to-morrow, some time, his boat gets in," dick answered. "he's on the _ohio_." his eyes were dancing; somehow, as merle met their glance, she smiled in spite of herself. "i guess mother and i will be on the old pier pretty early." there was a moment's pause, while they looked at each other like two awkward young puppies. "i better go an' see if mother wants me," merle said at length. "right oh!" dick answered with alacrity. they parted with a glance that, at any rate, was semi-friendly. merle went away with a feeling that she had been, as usual, a pig. she had been grudging her father, for a few days, to a boy who had not seen his own father for over a year--twelve whole months! it was a bit low down. and on top of this, he must go into the sea after bobby, which made her feel more of a pig than ever, especially as he did not seem inclined to make a fuss about it. merle was accustomed to put an end to such uncomfortable thoughts by shrugging her shoulders and reflecting that, after all, no one expected her to be anything but a pig, so what did it matter? but this time she found herself unexpectedly troubled about it. dick made his way swiftly to the companion, in the vain hope of eluding his fellow-passengers. but the ship was getting up for breakfast--everyone was coming on deck, or going along the alleyways in search of baths, and he met a string of inquiries, congratulations and compliments that reduced him to the lowest pitch of shy discomfort. the bishop, extraordinarily human in pyjamas and a short dressing-gown, patted him on the back and said, "feel all right, old man?" which was easier to bear than most of the greetings. but the flappers fairly oozed over him, the men pumped his hand, while he tried vainly to edge past them, and miss simpson, holding him tightly by the arm, made him a speech, in which dick vaguely recognised quotations from the prayer book. he escaped, scarlet cheeked, and ran with his head down, darting round the corner towards his own cabin, and there ran into mrs. warner, who said nothing at all, but only looked at him piteously, with her mouth trembling, just as bobby's had trembled the night before, and then put out her hands to him suddenly and kissed him. somehow, to his own astonishment, dick did not mind it at all. he found himself patting her very hard, and saying, "never you mind, he's all right." he felt so terribly sorry for her that he forgot all about himself, and they went to breakfast with mrs. lester, while mr. warner remained with bobby, whose legs were still refusing duty, though his appetite was unimpaired. land was in sight--the coast of western australia, and there was much bustle of packing and preparing to leave the ship. "it isn't a very interesting-looking coast," mrs. warner said, looking at the low line of sandy hills. "but i remember what it meant to me when i came back from two years in england when i was nineteen. i had been desperately home sick all those two years, and when at last the homeward voyage was nearly over it almost seemed to kill me with joy. i couldn't sleep the night before, and i got up before dawn to see the land--it was like heaven, as it came slowly out of the mist. west australia!" "but you weren't a 'sand groper' yourself?" said the doctor. "oh no; i was a sydneysider. but you don't worry about inter-state differences when you're coming home--australia is all that matters." "i wonder if father's thinking that," dick said. "most certainly--as you're going to meet him at fremantle!" said the doctor, laughing. "otherwise i fancy he'd be stretching out his neck towards port phillip bay, and regarding anything between as an annoying interlude." "well--that may be," admitted mrs. lester demurely. "come on, dickie, we must finish our packing." the _moondarra_ slipped quietly into fremantle harbour while they were still in their cabins; dick's first intimation of the fact being a shadow across the port-hole as a yacht's tall masts slipped by, followed by the blackened smoke stack of a collier. he jumped up on his bunk to peer out. the land was very close; a confused jumble of uninteresting red-brick houses met his eyes, and a mass of shipping of all sorts and sizes. the western sea gate of australia is busy, but unbeautiful. dick remarked, "h'm--about up to port melbourne!" and got down again to finish locking a suit-case. "can i help you, dick? we're nearly in." "just finished, mother, thanks. did the steward strap up your trunks?" "he's doing them now. dick, i have been talking to mr. warner; they are going to an hotel in perth, and he suggests that we should go there too; it is the best, he says." "right oh, mother. and where's perth?" "what do i send you to school for?" demanded mrs. lester laughing. "oh, i know it's on the swan," said dick, grinning in his turn. "but is it far?" "only a few miles. mr. warner advises us to go up by motor." "that would be jolly!" dick exclaimed. "i say, mother--can we go to the orient office and ask about father's boat?" "we'll go there at once," said mrs. lester. "dick, are you sure you feel all right?" "right as pie," dick answered, unpoetically. "don't you worry about me, old mother." he got up, putting his arm into hers. "come on deck and see new things." there was not much new, save that anything is a change to eyes that for several days have seen nothing but sea and sky. the _moondarra_ was slowly warping into the wharf, amidst a mass of shipping. a knot of interested people stood watching her come, some of them exchanging signals with her passengers; but the centre of attraction, ashore and afloat, was the big p. and o. liner that had passed them in the bight. she was on the point of sailing, her gangways already drawn up; and a big crowd was watching her go. somewhere a band was playing "auld lang syne"; the sweet notes came dreamily across the water. slowly she drew out from the pier. there were confused sounds--shouts of farewell, cheering, long coo-ees shrilling a last australian call. her wash set the _moondarra_ rocking. "isn't she splendid!" dick breathed. she was very splendid, as she moved slowly out past the breakwater, fronting the wide sweep of western seas that tossed between her and the old world whither she was bound. a german submarine was to send her to the bottom years later--without warning, leaving her freight of helpless souls to the mercy of an angry sea. but the veil of the future was drawn yet: stately and secure, the great ship went out, scarcely rocking to the great ocean swells that rolled in to meet her. the cheering and the long cries of farewell died away. simultaneously the gangway of the _moondarra_ went down, and people poured on board, friends meeting passengers, hotel and motor touts, carriers, shipping agents. mr. warner's deep voice boomed behind the lesters. "been looking for you," he said. "not in a hurry, are you? it's pleasanter to wait until the first rush has gone. then i can get you a good car from an hotel if you like." mrs. lester thanked him, and they stood chatting until merle arrived to say that bobby was ready. his father disappeared hastily, presently returning, carrying his small son, whose extremely cheerful face showed only amusement at being unable to walk. mrs. warner followed. they deposited bobby in a deck-chair, and smiled down at him. "how are the legs now, bobby?" mrs. lester "they's nearly all right, only they wobbles," said bobby. "doctor says they'll stop wobbling to-morrow." he grinned delightedly. "i is just awful funny when i tries to walk!" "he is too," echoed his father, laughing. "he'd make his fortune in a circus. bobby, man, do you see we're nearly home?" "'m," nodded bobby. "where's the twinses?" "oh, we'll get the twinses soon--grannie has them." "and when do we go to own-truly home?" "in a few days. will you be glad, old son?" "wather!" said bobby. "micky's there!" "and when he gets on micky's back nothing else in the world matters," said his mother, with a half sigh. "i sometimes wonder if either of the twinses will be domesticated--there's no sign of my two eldest being anything but stock riders!" the crowd on the ship had almost cleared away, swallowed up by motors and cabs, and the business of unloading cargo was beginning, with its rattle of cranes and winches. "well there'll soon be too much noise here to be pleasant," said mr. warner. "are you ready, mrs. lester? shall i go after cars?" "quite ready--my luggage is all on deck," she told him. "then, come on, dick, and we'll go car hunting." they went together down the gangway--there was a new stab of the old jealous pain in merle's heart as she watched them go. mrs. lester called her to her side with a question about fremantle--her keen eyes had noticed the shadow on the little girl's face. "i am shockingly ignorant of this part of the world," she said, laughing. "you are an old inhabitant, so you must tell me all about it"; and she kept her near, making her talk, until merle had forgotten her troubles. dick followed mr. lester along the wharf, and up a wide and dusty street, until they came to one rather wider and a little less dusty, where trams rattled and business seemed brisk. there were big shops and fine buildings, and people moved about as though they had no time to dawdle. there is always a kind of feverish activity about a city that lives by shipping. other places may doze sleepily between trains, waking now and then to send off or receive mails, but a seaport knows no time-table, and is busy all the time, as the big ships come and go, and the blue-clad sailors hurry along its streets. so perth lies dreamily on the borders of its wide river, and, but a few miles off, fremantle, like a busy watchdog, never seems to rest. they found a garage that readily supplied mr. warner with two cars, in one of which they were soon back at the _moondarra_, where they found the others waiting on the wharf. carriers had taken their heavier luggage; lighter effects were quickly packed in, and presently they were gliding along a well-kept road, where sparse gum trees fringed bungalow houses set in gardens flaming with many unfamiliar flowers. the motors made short work of the distance; soon they could see the buildings of perth, and then a gleam of silver, and a turn in the road brought them out beside the swan, a wide, shining expanse, dotted with the white sails of many little yachts. dick uttered a delighted whistle. "i say! did you know it was such a big river, mother?" "no, i didn't," admitted his mother. "why it is almost a lake! what an ideal place for yachting!" perth seemed to think so, for the boats were legion; fairy-like yachts, little rowing skiffs, motor-boats chugging across the rippled surface, and even canoes, their broad paddles flashing in the sunlight as they dipped and fell. boat-houses were thick along the banks: here and there the big buildings of yachting clubs, with wide verandahs and balconies overhanging the water. all the river was full of the stir of moving boats. "i think this is a jolly place," dick pronounced, solemnly. the car turned from the river and ran along a wide, tree-fringed road, and in a moment they were in the heart of perth itself, winding in and out of the traffic until they stopped before a big hotel. mr. warner was before them. their rooms were already engaged, and a boy in buttons took them up and brought their luggage. dick was kneeling on the floor in his mother's room unstrapping her dressing-case, when a knock came to the door. mrs. lester opened it. mr. warner stood there, his enormous bulk seeming to fill the corridor. "i ran out to the orient office, it's no distance from here," he said, beaming at them. "the _ohio_ comes in at ten o'clock to-morrow morning. and there's a wireless for you!" he held out a thin brown envelope. then he was gone, and the door shut, and mrs. lester was tearing at the envelope with fingers that shook. "all well. love to you both." "dickie!" she said, catching at the boy; "dickie." they clung together for a moment, and the flimsy paper that was like a dear voice speaking after twelve months of silence fluttered to the ground between them. chapter vii. the "ohio" comes in. dick lester and his mother never had any very clear idea of how they passed that day in perth. lunch filled up an hour; then they took a hansom and drove to the beautiful public gardens, and wandered about them, and at intervals took out their precious wireless and read it again, as if expecting to find some new remark tucked in among its six brief words. in the evening mr. warner took them to a theatre--mrs. warner declining to be again separated from the twinses. presumably it was a good play, for mr. warner and merle seemed to enjoy it, but neither mrs. lester nor dick could have told you what it was about. the wireless also went to the theatre, in dick's pocket. he had asked his mother if he might keep it. "rather a curio, when you've never seen a wireless before, you see," he explained, in an elaborately off-hand manner. mrs. lester had nodded comprehendingly, a little sad at heart, for she would certainly have liked to keep it herself. dick went to bed, declaring that he could not sleep; his eyes so bright that mrs. lester was half afraid that his belief was true, but when, half an hour later, she peeped into his room he was lying peacefully with his head on his arm, already far away in the land of dreams. she sat down in a chair near his open window, feeling the need of companionship, if only that of a sleeping little son. it was moonlight; from the high window she could catch a glimpse of the river, a streak of silver. beyond it her mind flashed out to sea, where a great ship ploughed landwards, and on its deck a man paced up and down, gripping his pipe in his teeth, and striving with his mind to bridge the few miles that yet lay between him and his dear ones. possibly he succeeded, for thoughts often fly further than we know. after an hour mrs. lester's wakefulness left her, and she stole to bed, drowsy and content. breakfast in the morning was a scramble, for they woke late, and were both quite unable to think of anything so ordinary as food. dick put salt into his tea and sugar on his fish, and would probably have consumed both without noticing anything amiss had not the waiter intervened in horror. mr. warner ordered a car for them, and very soon they were flying down the road, that seemed oddly familiar. it was early; but then, as dick said, the _ohio_ might be early too. dick was not acquainted with the clock-work methods of mail steamers. he dashed breathlessly on to the wharf at fremantle to ask if the _ohio_ were in, and was met with bored surprise by a man in a blue jersey, who said, "the _ohio_? but she don't come in till ten"--much as a railway porter might answer if you demanded the sydney express an hour too soon. dick returned ruefully to the car. "no sign of her, mother. it really will be ten o'clock." "i was afraid so," said his mother, laughing, while the chauffeur grinned broadly. "jump in and we'll go for a spin while we wait." dick would have preferred to stay on the wharf, straining his eyes to the horizon. but he obeyed, and they went careering over strange roads that neither saw, though the sense of swift motion helped them in a measure. still, it was a relief when at length the car turned, and again they spun towards the pier. the chauffeur had judged his time well; the wharf was crowded now, and, just beyond the breakwater, a great ship loomed through a little drifting mist. "that's her," said the chauffeur, half-turning. "steady--it'll take her a quarter of an hour to get aside yet." this to dick, who was wrestling with a stiff door-handle before the car could stop. they edged through the throng on the pier to where a dock-hand told them the mail steamer's gangway would come down. she was close in now, they could see sailors on board getting the great gangway ready. the passengers were crowding along every yard of the deck railing; it was impossible to pick out one face amidst the mass, no matter how hard they might strain their eyes. everywhere, people were waving to their friends ashore, shouting, coo-eeing; dick coo-ee'd too, but with a kind of helpless irritation at being unable to see the only face that mattered. the minutes dragged on, while the ship edged her way in, yard by yard; and still they scanned her decks in vain. "oh, mother, isn't it awful?" dick's voice had a quiver in it. "do you think he's really there?" "of course he's there, son." the voice was little more than a whisper. suddenly, and together, they saw him. the crowd was densest on the deck near the gangway, but he must have taken up his position very early, for he was in front of everyone, talking to the officer in charge of the landing operations. he towered over the other people; six foot three of lean, muscular activity, with a clean-shaven face, bronzed and keen. dick heard his mother catch her breath, and he slipped his hand through her arm. then, as if their upward gaze drew him, john lester turned and looked down, straight into their eyes. his cap was pulled low on his brow, but they saw the sudden light that sprang into his face--the quick smile that was a caress, singling them out from the crowd. he took off his cap with a swift movement, and stood bareheaded, his eyes never moving from his wife and son. so they stood, until, with a rattle, the gangway came down--and while it still shook from the impact, john lester ran down it lightly, the first man to leave the _ohio_. he put an arm round them both, hustling them gently towards the gangway. "come up," he said, a little breathlessly. "i've squared the man on top." the officer greeted them with a smile as they mounted--it was against rules, but john lester had a way of getting what he wanted. he edged a way for them through the crowding passengers with courteous little apologies; somehow they found themselves in the clear space behind the throng, hurrying along the deck--and in a moment they were in a single-berth deck-cabin, and the door was shut, and he was holding them as if he could never let them go. "a year!" he said. "well, don't let either of you think you're ever going to get rid of me again!" he scanned his wife deliberately. "a bit thin, i think," he said. "but you haven't let her get any older, dick. she hasn't grown up yet." "not she!" said dick. "to read her letters you might almost think she had--sometimes. i used to be a little anxious about it. i wouldn't know her if she grew up!" his arm tightened round her, and the keen eyes turned to dick, dwelling on the well-knit, active figure. "it's you who have done the growing up, old son," he said. "i left a little kiddie--but you aren't that now. is he too big to be hugged, do you think, mother?" "he's not!" said dick, and proved that he was not. "well, that's all right," said mr. lester, with a great sigh. he sat down on the sofa, and drew one down on each side, holding them closely. the time flew by unheeded; they talked, more or less incoherently, occasionally falling into silence that was as satisfying as talk, since they were together again. a tap came to the door an hour later--a steward, with telegrams. mr. lester glanced over them. "just greetings," he said. "i must answer them, though. dick, can you find a telegraph office here?" "rather," said dick. "i can go in the car." "good gracious!" said his mother, faintly. "i forgot the car!" "what--have you one waiting? well, it's a nice day for it!" said her husband placidly. he was scribbling answers. "here you are, old chap, and here's the money. sure you can manage?" "of course he can," said mrs. lester. "hasn't he been looking after me ever since you went away?" "i'll take up my job again," he said, as the door closed behind dick. the chauffeur welcomed the boy with some relief. "thought you were never comin'," he remarked. "well, did 'e get here all right?" "rather!" dick answered. "so i should think, by your face," quoth the chauffeur. "beamin's no name for it. well, where to now?" "telegraph office," said dick, getting in beside him. they whirred up through the busy streets, while the chauffeur discoursed learnedly on the ways of motors, in terms which were greek to dick though he tried to conceal the fact. he tried once to divert the conversation to horses, but the chauffeur said loftily, "oh, 'orses is out of date, unless it's on a racecourse!"--which made dick gasp with disgust. "i'd sooner have my tinker than all your jolly old cars!" said he. to which the chauffeur responded, "oh, you'll grow out of that!" in a manner so intensely superior that dick writhed beneath it. he was glad when they reached the telegraph office, and he could dash in and write out his telegrams. there were dozens of other people on the same errand, most of them from the mail steamer. dick had to wait his turn, and, as he was a slow writer, it was some time before he could finish; after which a very fat lady blocked him at the counter until he was almost dancing with impatience. he got through at last, and hurried the chauffeur back to the wharf. his father and mother did not seem to notice that he had been long away. they were still sitting together on the sofa. john lester looked at his son with a glance at once tender and proud. "come here, old chap," he said. he put his hand on dick's shoulder, gripping it tightly. "mother has been telling me," he said, and stopped; something seemed to make speech not easy. "about your swim after that small boy. i'm proud of my son, dick." dick reddened furiously. "oh, it wasn't anything," he mumbled. "a chap couldn't see the poor kid go in, and not go after him." "no, of course you couldn't. still i'm glad you thought quickly--and moved quickly. was it very cold? "oh, beastly!" said dick, with a reminiscent shiver. "you couldn't imagine how cold, father! i didn't seem to be able to kick or do anything, after the first minute. i thought i could just swim back to the ship with him, as easy as wink, but my word, i couldn't!" "a good thing you didn't have to try," said john lester, his grip on dick's shoulder tightening. "well, all's well that ends well, anyhow. now how about getting up to perth?" dick hesitated. "could i have a look round the ship first, father?" "why, of course you can. come along." they explored the great mail steamer thoroughly--meeting, on their tour, the captain himself, who took them over his quarters and up on the towering bridge. behind dick's back he asked mr. lester in an undertone: "is that the small boy who's been diving off the _moondarra_?" "yes, that's the culprit," mr. lester answered in some surprise. "how did you know?" "why, there's half a column about him in the perth morning papers." "good gracious!" ejaculated mr. lester. "i trust he won't hear about it." "well, you ought to be proud," said the captain severely. "if i had a kid like that----" "i'm proud enough," said john lester. "but i don't make a song about it to dick. he takes it as the most ordinary thing--only beastly cold!" he shuddered. "good lord--when i think how nearly i might never have seen him again!" "yes," said the captain, staring at dick. "great kid. rough on his mother, too--paper said she was looking on." he opened a cupboard and solemnly presented dick with a little ebony elephant. "there's an indian beastie, for luck," he said. "you can teach him to swim----" at which dick turned scarlet, and fled, cutting short his thanks. he had hoped to leave such annoying reminders on the _moondarra_. but there was a more substantial reminder in store for him that night, when he was dressing for dinner in the hotel. a tap on his door heralded bobby warner, very pink and important, bearing a little parcel. "daddy said i was to give you this myself," he said. "and he and mummy send veir love wiv it, cause you jumped into the water after me. i say, can i open ve parcel for you? i does love opening parcels!" "right oh!" said the puzzled dick, vigorously towelling his face and head. "it's a tick-tick, but you has to be vewy sp'rised," explained bobby, kindly, fumbling with the string. "i fink i ought to have one, too, 'cause i was in the water wiv you. oo-oh, it's tumbled!" it had, but no further than the hearthrug on which he was sitting. dick, who had had a vague idea that the small boy was carrying sweets, suddenly made a jump towards a little glittering heap that had slipped from its white tissue paper a beautiful gold watch and chain--no boy's watch but a man's; inside the hunting case his own name, with a brief inscription: "to remember the _moondarra_." the date followed, and the warners' initials. dick stared at it blankly. "it's a pwetty tick-tick, isn't it?" bobby remarked, placidly. "daddy has one like it, only ve twinses gave it to ve goat. i wouldn't let vem have yours, if i was you." "i say, they oughtn't to," murmured dick, still blankly looking at the watch. he did not refer to the twinses, but bobby was satisfied. "vat's what daddy said when he got his back from ye goat," he remarked. "she had nearly etted it--it's all funny wiv her toof marks now. where's you goin', dick?" dick had plunged out into the hall in his shirt-sleeves, his wet hair standing on end, the watch and chain in his hand. there he ran into mr. warner, whose memories of the twinses' methods with watches possibly made him a little anxious at having made bobby a messenger. "i say, sir, you shouldn't!" blurted dick miserably. "shouldn't what?" "this." dick held out the watch, looking very much as if he had received a beating. "i--i didn't do anything." "well, you can look at it that way if you like, old man," said bobby's father. "i look at it another--it seems to me i'd have no bobby to-night but for you. and i have a value for bobby. don't you worry, anyhow. just remember that you spoiled a good suit of clothes on his account, and got jolly wet and cold; and that we're goin' to be good friends always." he patted dick's wet head, reassuringly. "i say, what about this father of yours? am i going to meet him?" "rather!" said dick. "he's in his room. i ought to be getting ready, i suppose." "i'll come with you and rescue bobby," said mr. warner. they found bobby gloriously happy over the forbidden joy of dick's pocket knife, and presently, leaving him with the twinses and their nurse, went downstairs together. at the foot of the staircase stood john lester, smoking. dick's confused introduction was scarcely necessary. the two men gripped hands over his head. "i owe your boy a heap," mr. warner said. "i'm glad he was handy," dick's father answered. which was all that either said upon the matter. instead, they talked stock and station, crops and weather, horses and dogs; all the bush talk of australia, from which john lester had been exiled. the talk began in the hall before dinner--they sat at adjoining tables, and continued in the lounge afterwards. dick sat near, blissfully content; it was the talk that he, too, loved to hear, and mrs. lester lay back in a great easy-chair, watching her husband's face. it lit up wonderfully when he talked; he leaned forward, asking eager questions, drinking in the other man's slow speech. after a time he turned to mrs. warner, apologetically. "i shouldn't let you in for so much 'shop,' should i?" his smile was as boyish as dick's. "but you have no idea what it means to hear australian talk again. i haven't enjoyed anything so much for ages." "you are very glad to be back?" "glad!" he gave an expressive shrug of his broad shoulders. "well, i knew i was homesick, but i didn't know how badly until i got here." "he has lain flat on the grass in the wildest corner of the gardens all the afternoon, looking at the gum trees," mrs. lester said, laughing. "so would you, if you hadn't seen one for a year." his eyes dwelt on her tenderly. "of course, i did see blue gums now and then; they grow them in big gardens--funny leggy things, that never look quite healthy or quite right, somehow. they let them get too tall and spindly, and then the winter gales break them to pieces. i used to preach the advantages of lopping their tops when young, but the english can't bring themselves to do it. it's good to come back and see the old things growing as they were meant to grow." "so australia is still good enough for you?" mr. warner asked. "quite good enough. i'll go back some day, and take my wife and dick; i want to show them everything on the other side--and possibly then i shan't be so homesick. but we'll come back again. and i don't want to think of starting for a very long while!" he finished with a little smile at his wife. "you don't know the west?" mr. warner said. "no--not at all. i've only passed through on my way to england." "well, look here----" mr. warner leaned forward eagerly. "my wife and i were thinking how delightful it would be for us if you three would come up with us to narrung downs. we could show you some unfamiliar country--the wild flowers should be at their best now, mrs. lester--and i think you'd be interested in the working of a western place. there are some fairly decent horses that dick might try. what do you think of our plan?" john lester hesitated, looking at his wife. "it sounds delightful--many thanks," he said. "but i don't know about inflicting such a party upon you." "oh--!" mrs. warner brushed this aside. "we have such a barrack of a house; and servants of a kind, even if they are mostly blacks. we know you would make allowances for the shortcomings of the bush, wouldn't you, mrs. lester?" "i don't think they would exist for me," mrs. lester said. "it's a lovely plan, mrs. warner; i don't know how to thank you." "would you like to come up into the back country, dick?" inquired mr. warner. dick's eyes were round. "my word, wouldn't i!" he uttered. everyone laughed. "well, think it over," mr. warner said. "we don't leave for three days; that would give you time to look round perth and the country near here. we shall be more than pleased if we can take you back with us." they drifted away, murmuring something about writing letters. "what do you think, jean? shall we go?" mrs. lester smiled up at her husband. "you must decide," she said. "i'm just like an absolutely contented and placid old cow at the moment----" "i never saw you look less like anything," he said. "go on, however." "but i am, john. i have everything i want in the world; you aren't in england, and dick isn't drowned, and nothing can possibly matter. whereever we may be doesn't seem to signify in the least. would you like to go?" "yes; i think so," he said. "they're nice people, and it would be good experience for the boy. you'd like it, dick?" "i think it would be ripping, father," said dick eagerly. "after all, once we get back to victoria we'll be a long time there, won't we?" "that's a highly philosophic remark," said his father, laughing. "all right, old son; we'll go." chapter viii. the journey north. after all, they did not go north with the warners. mrs. lester's housewifely soul realised that am woman who had been away for six weeks from a home principally staffed with black servants would prefer to be without guests for at least a few days after her return, and accordingly it was arranged that they should follow mr. warner's party within the week. the plan suited the lesters very well. they were, as dick's mother said, in a state of absolute content at being together again. it was delightful enough to explore perth, to go yachting on the swan with a friend of mr. warner's who had a beautiful little cutter; to take a motor-boat for the day, exploring up the river, or to go out into the country in a car. wherever they went they only seemed to want to talk. there was so much to tell and to hear; so many details of the long separation to remember, to discuss, to laugh over. dick's memory of that first happy week was that they seemed to have laughed all the time. the warners left in a huge motor, heaped confusedly with luggage and passengers, the twinses occupying precarious positions whenever they could escape from their mother's anxious eye. "see you next week!" shouted mr. warner. "be sure you bring some rough clothes!" was mrs. warner's farewell, as she clutched at a twin who threatened to dive over the wheel. "thick boots, mind!" "mind you come, old dick!" this from bobby. only merle said nothing. she sat beside her father, looking stiffly ahead, as the car slowly slid away from the little group on the hotel steps. "i don't see why they want to come," she had said to her father. "why not?" "oh, i don't know. i hate visitors." "i suppose you'll get sense some day," was all mr. warner's rejoinder. he did not know that the curt remark hit her more sharply than a whole volume of remonstrance. merle was the one fly in the ointment in dick's cheerful anticipations of his visit to the warners' station. on the _moondarra_ and in the hotel it had been easy enough to avoid being much with her, since she so clearly showed that she did not desire his company; but in her own home it would be different. they were too near in age, and too similar in tastes, not to be thrown together. that in itself was painful enough, since girls, to dick, were rather boring creatures, full of queer whims and notions--not plain, straightforward people like teddy raine and bottles and nugent. but a girl who would not even take the trouble to be civil--that, in dick's language, was "over the odds." he hoped that her governess would make regular demands upon her time, and grinned to think what would have been merle's opinion of him, had she guessed at that particular hope. however, life was too joyful at the moment to allow him to worry over merle's whims. he began each day with a walk before breakfast with his father; long, brisk walks outside perth, and long talks that bridged the year of silence that lay behind them. they swung along together, dick rejoicing that he could now keep in step with his father--a year ago he had to jog if mr. lester lengthened his stride; and the father noting the development of his boy's mind as well as of his body, and meeting his questions and his crudely expressed views with a ready sympathy that knitted them more closely together than anything else could have done. "he's only a baby yet, of course," john lester said to his wife. "his mind is clean and open and honest; just a child's mind still. but his body--well, he's going to be something of a man, i believe." "he is, i think," agreed dick's mother. "and so good looking, john!" "oh, that!" he laughed down at her. "you women only think about handsome faces!" "indeed, i don't," mrs. lester defended herself. "i've been just as keen about his physical training as you have. i wanted him to be strong first of all. but he might have been strong and ugly--and he isn't. and you're just as proud of it as i am!" "well--perhaps." he smiled down at her. "but physique comes first; and he certainly has that. his muscles are extraordinarily good for such a kid." "fresh air and cold water," said mrs. lester solemnly. "that has been dick's treatment since he was a baby, and it certainly has paid. he hardly knows what medicine is, and he looks the very picture of strength and fitness." "thank god!" said her husband hastily. "yes, thank god," she agreed. "why do you say it in that way, john?" "oh, i don't know." he gave a short, half-embarrassed laugh. "they say in ireland that if you don't add 'thank god' after you praise anyone it brings bad luck. the peasantry there never omit it; you'll hear, ''tis a fine child, thank god!' or 'she have lovely eyes, thank god!'--and you'll worry a peasant woman badly if you admire her baby without giving god the credit. i got into the way of it, i suppose." "well, it's a pretty good habit to cultivate," said his wife thoughtfully. "look at dick now!" they had motored far out into the country, and had camped in the bush for lunch; after which dick had stripped to his shirt and knickerbockers, and had begun to climb trees. nine months of hard training in the gymnasium at school had put a finish on lifelong practice, a steady eye and a cool head. dick had always loved climbing--before he had discarded frocks for knickerbockers he had been found by his horrified nurse some distance up a pepper tree. now he was almost like a monkey in the swift agility of his movements. as his father and mother watched him, he swung himself cleanly across a wide gap between two trees; caught a bough with one hand, and came dropping down from branch to branch until he reached one about ten feet from the ground--a smooth, straight limb, that tempted him with its likeness to a horizontal bar. he swung head downwards, hanging by his knees, and then circled round and round with such swiftness that the slender bough bent and quivered. finally, he turned a quick somersault in the air and came down on the grass, landing lightly on his feet. "good man!" said his father approvingly. "it's a pity that the gentleman who derived us all from tree-apes couldn't see you. you'd have been great support to his theory." dick grinned. "can't climb decently in boots," he said, casting a disparaging glance at his feet. "but it's jolly to get up a tree again." "no trees at school?" "oh, some," admitted dick. "we're not supposed to climb them, of course, but----" he grinned again. "but, anyhow, they're not like good bush trees, like these. i don't suppose anyone ever climbed here much, but the trees at school--well, they're just polished with climbing!" "being a forbidden luxury," said his father, laughing. "well, i think i was one of the early polishers of those same trees, so i can't say anything to you." "but you never do jaw a chap, father," said dick comfortably. that was one of the points that made their early morning walks so satisfactory--that there was never any "jawing." john lester encouraged his boy to tell him each little detail of his life at school. he learned all about his friends--teddy raine, the captain of the junior eleven, who was easily the leader of the lower school; bottles, fat and cheery and honest, whom everybody liked; nugent, the homeless boy, with a father in india and no mother; these were the chief, but there were a host of others. mr. lester knew them all fairly well now. he learned about their scrapes and their pranks, their midnight suppers, half-holiday escapades, and--not in such details--their schoolroom life. dick was a little shy of talking at first; but, finding only ready sympathy and interest, his tongue became loosened, and he chattered away as freely as he would to the irrepressible teddy raine. mr. lester never preached. his eye generally held a twinkle; his sharpest criticism was, once or twice, "i don't know that that's altogether the thing." there the matter ended, for him; but dick made up his mind that the incidents in question should not happen again. they would come back to breakfast; glowing and hungry, and make a raid on mrs. lester in her room, declaring that she was the laziest person alive, and did not know how much she missed; at which mrs. lester smiled quietly, and would go down to breakfast arm in arm between them. not for worlds would she have made a third--even a beloved third--in those walks. dick had lived in her pocket long enough; it was his turn for his father now, and she rejoiced in each day's new evidence of how completely they were becoming mates. they visited the great limestone caverns at yallingup, making a three days' expedition of it, and coming back to perth full of the weird charm of the glistening underground world. at the hotel they found a two-days' old telegram from mr. warner. "can you start thursday obliged to take car westown with sick governess like meet you same trip don't worry if inconvenient can arrange anything suit you had good trip up." mr. lester glanced at the date. "h'm; and thursday is to-morrow. the train starts at five o'clock." "in the morning?" gasped mrs. lester. "oh, no--don't be anxious!" he laughed at her. "five in the afternoon; and we get to kalgoorlie at ten next morning." "and after that?" "after that a little train that wobbles north to westown at its own sweet will, i suppose," said her husband. "i don't know anything about it; but it's believed to put us off at westown some time in the afternoon, and warner will be there with his car. we must go, if possible. i don't want to give him the long journey in from narrung downs again." "oh, we couldn't do that, of course," said mrs. lester hastily. "and there is no reason why we should not get away to-morrow." "no more shopping?" asked he, smiling down at her. "of course, there's always shopping!" returned his wife with dignity. "but not more than we can get through to-morrow. oh, and the packing i must do! don't let me think of that to-night, john--take us to the theatre instead!" "indeed, i think it would be wiser if you went early to bed and had a good night's sleep," he said. "was there ever such an irresponsible young person!" "don't want to be responsible!" said she. "i'm having a holiday. if you telephoned for seats, now----" "you know you'll have to, father!" said dick, capering. "better give in nicely." "this is what it is to be meek--you get systematically bullied!" said his father, with mock despair. "all right; i suppose i shan't get any peace if i don't." he departed whistling. "mother, it is nice of you not to grow up!" said dick solemnly. they followed their last gay night in perth by a busy day; there was a rushed visit to shops, collecting the last odds and ends of country kit that had seemed so unnecessary when packing in melbourne--riding gear, chiefly, with thick boots and the cooler clothes that might be found necessary up north. then came packing, with much sorting out of luggage; most of their baggage was to be left at the hotel until their return. they were glad to get into their train at five o'clock, and its jolting failed to keep them awake during the long night while it rattled into the north-east towards coolgardie and kalgoorlie. they breakfasted on the train, arriving at kalgoorlie soon afterwards; and after a wait too short to allow them to do more than peep at the busy gold-fields capital they were off again, travelling slowly into the north. soon the mullock heaps and poppet heads of the mines thinned out and they found themselves running through country covered with sparse scrub, with mulga and saltbush mingling with stunted gum trees and she oaks; a dreary enough land, dry and desolate, where many a gold seeker had perished from thirst in the days when every yard of earth was turned up in the search for nuggets. now and then the train pulled up at a little township, built of weatherboard and corrugated iron, where the people crowded the narrow gravelled platform to look at the train and peer curiously in at the passengers. it seemed to dick that as they travelled farther and farther into the country these bush folk grew more and more lean and bronzed; tall men, in blue shirts and moleskin trousers, wrinkled about the eyes, as men grow early when they live in wild spaces under a hot sun; women, in faded blouses and skimpy skirts, with print sun-bonnets or men's felt half pulled down over their eyes. such lonely women! they stood in the doorways of little isolated homesteads watching the train wistfully as it roared past them; generally with a baby tucked into one arm, and three or four older children playing near them, or perched on the railway fence, shouting greetings to the train. indeed, all through that lonely country, as the train sped north, came appealing shouts--from the isolated cottages, from children evidently sent a mile or two to be at the line when the train was due, or rising almost from under the wheels, from navvies working on the line. just one word--"papers! papers!"--and people would jump up, and sleeping travellers rouse themselves, to hurl newspapers and magazines from the windows. dick used to lean out to watch them flutter down like great white birds, to be pounced on by eager hands before they touched the ground. it did not much matter who got them, for they were sure to be passed round and read by every family and every camp within five miles. here and there, as they rattled over stony ridges or wide sandy plains, were mines; the big mullock heaps and towering poppet heads seemed to dot all the country. some were working still; others derelict; with hardy bushes trying to find a footing in every corner where men had toiled in the feverish hunt for gold. sometimes they saw long strings of camels slouching along in their sulky fashion, laden with wood for the mines; there were afghans in charge of some of the teams, tall, dirty-looking natives, whose dark faces, under grimy turbans, scarcely turned to glance at the train. donkey teams came into view, hauling waggons along the sandy tracks; it was curious to watch them sneaking in and out of the sparse mulga scrub. the carriage grew hotter and hotter, and ever more full of dust. there was a halt for a meal at a wayside station, where the food in the refreshment room also seemed to have acquired a liberal coating of dust, and the tea was stewed to an inky blackness. mrs. lester fled from the meal, and lunched frugally on bananas, which, she remarked, were at least dust-proof. then they rattled on into country that became wilder and yet more sandy, until, about the middle of the afternoon, they found themselves standing on a rough gravel platform, surrounded by their luggage, while the train vanished in a belt of kurrajong trees. a motor hooted outside, and in a moment mr. warner appeared, looking huger than ever in an enormous wide-awake hat, and very red-faced and hurried. "it's splendid to see you all--welcome to out back!" he shook hands vigorously all round. "had a good trip? but i needn't ask. i've done it too often myself. i was nearly late for you. a dog insisted on trying to commit suicide under the car as i was coming from the hotel, and i had no end of trouble getting him out. wasn't hurt, only pretty badly frightened. i don't think he'll choose a motor next time he feels tired of life. come along--we'll get your stuff loaded up, and then have a cup of tea at the hotel before we start. i told them to have hot scones ready!" "hot scones!" said mrs. lester faintly. "it sounds too good to be true!" "i know that refreshment room on the way up," said mr. warner, laughing. "you all look starved; however, we'll have you home in time for dinner. getting off here saves you two hours in the train. of course, it's a longer run in the car, but not so wearying." "and the governess?" asked mrs. lester. "oh, poor soul, she's pretty bad. the wife of the doctor here is her sister, and nothing would do but she must come to her. i didn't think she was fit for the journey myself. however, she wept until we had to let her go. so merle's at a loose end again, as far as education is concerned. i've no doubt she'll find occupation enough." he was scientifically fitting luggage on the steps of the car, and lashing it firmly. "you people are wonders; i thought you'd have twice as much baggage as this. sure you haven't lost a trunk or two?" "why, we were afraid you would have heart failure when you saw the amount we were bringing," said mr. lester, laughing. "bless you, this is nothing; my wife's sister came up last year with three times as much for her lone self," mr. warner answered. "we get accustomed to carrying luggage on the car in a way that would horrify a melbourne or sydney motorist. i believe i'll come home some day with a few trunks perched on the bonnet. there, that's all right." he stood back, opening the door. "now, mrs. lester, i'm sure you're needing those hot scones!" the scones proved all that hungry travellers could wish, and twice they exhausted the hotel's largest teapot. mr. warner hurried them over the meal, and soon they were in the car again, and the iron roofs of the little township a grey blur in the distance. the road was good firm sand, with a few softer patches where bullock teams had cut up the surface; but on the whole they made good time over it, slipping through the scented scrub that bordered the track. wild flowers, unfamiliar and beautiful, gleamed among the trees in every clear patch; wild arums and asters and clumps of dwarf yellow cassia. they passed a wide swamp, where red legs and sand pipers stalked among the sparse rushes on the edge, and further out pelicans swam lazily, with a host of lesser fowl. "great shooting here," said mr. warner--"or would be if it were not for the blacks. any amount of teal and musk duck and wild geese. but the blacks fairly live in the swamp when the birds are here." "do they shoot them?" dick asked. "oh, no--they're not allowed guns. but they're very useful with spears and throwing sticks; our blacks are fairly uncivilised, you see. later on i suppose they'll lose all their old darts and become utterly useless; that's what has happened in the eastern states." "do you find them faithful?" asked mr. lester. "well--sometimes. you never can tell. a woman or a boy may have every appearance of being thoroughly settled down, and of responding to training, and then some fine morning you find one 'gone bush'--back to the tribe. possibly you never see that one again; possibly he or she will turn up six months later, quite prepared to go back to work. on the other hand, we have a few who have been for years with us. children are their best tie; if they once become attached to your youngsters they're much less likely to go." he talked on, telling stories of the blacks and of the wild life of the early days, leaning back in his seat with one careless hand on the wheel, while the car seemed to find its own way along the noiseless sandy track. the scattered farms that spread out a few miles from the township gave place to wide plains, partly covered with scrub, where only an occasional house was to be seen; and the road grew more and more lonely. at first they had met buggies, bullock wagons, and one or two other motors, but after a time they seemed to be the only people on the plain, and it was almost a relief when they met a "sun-downer" slouching along under a heavy swag, his felt hat pulled low over his eyes, and a battered quart pot in his hand. the sun sank lower and lower, and a keen breeze made the travellers glad to put on heavier coats. it was almost dusk when they emerged from a dense belt of gum trees and saw ahead of them a fence, stretching apparently for miles east and west, and a gate that stood open, held by a solemn black boy. mr. warner nodded to him, and they swept through. the track curved round a plantation of pines, and they saw a homestead so large that it looked like a village. white-painted roofs gleamed among the trees, and scattered buildings fringed the main block until there seemed no end to them, while the tall, spidery outlines of windmills towered above the green. the deep emerald of a lucerne paddock stretched down to a little creek. "i didn't know you could grow lucerne here," remarked mr. lester. "in fact, i had a vague idea that nothing but sand and mulga really flourished in the west. but your place doesn't suggest that!" "you can do a heap with irrigation," his host answered. "between the windmills and a hydraulic ram down at the creek i can get as much water as i want; and with water you can grow anything in this climate. i'll show you all the place to-morrow." he gave a long coo-ee, bringing the car more slowly round a fence that bordered a great garden. there seemed a dense crowd waiting for them: mrs. warner first, her kind face alight with welcome. merle beside her; close at hand the twinses, struggling against control; and then a few white faces amidst a mass of black ones, all striving to have a good look at the new arrivals. the car came to a standstill, and suddenly bobby hurtled through the throng and flung himself at the step. "hallo, dick! oh, i's so glad you came!" willing hands, black and white, seized upon their luggage. they drifted in through the gate, and found themselves on a very wide verandah, which completely surrounded a long, one-storied house, almost hidden by creepers. the architecture of that house was simple. it had begun by being two rooms, opening out of each other; than a room had been added at each end; then more, as need arose; until at last there were fourteen rooms, all in a long row, and all opening upon the verandahs. kitchen, storerooms and other offices had been built across a little space from the main building, and at a later date a wing had been thrown out connecting the two; and now the space was a great sandy courtyard, with shrubs and palms growing in enormous tubs, and seats scattered here and there. the living rooms--dining and drawing rooms, mrs. warner's workroom, and a big man's "den" were in this new wing; the long side of the house was principally given up to bedrooms. mrs. warner led them inside. two strapping black girls were putting trunks into a big airy bedroom. "this is your room, with the dressing-room opening from it. dick's is next door," she told them. "bobby, you take dick to his room." bobby tugged at his friend's hand. the room into which he ushered dick was long and bright, with two little beds in opposite corners, and windows at each side. "muvver said i wasn't to ask you somefing," bobby began and hesitated. "how's that?" asked dick. the small boy cast an appealing look at the second bed. "vat's not your bed," he said. "the uvver one has ve sheets and fings. nobody sleeps in vat bed. 'course, i could easy bwing up my sheets from my howwid silly bed in the nursewy, if----" he stopped, round-eyed. "o-o-oh, i nearly wented and asked you, after all!" dick laughed. "i believe you nearly did," he said. "better not, or mother might be cross with you. i say, i'll ask you something instead. how'd you like to come and sleep in this spare bed? i'd rather like a mate!" bobby was out like a flash. "muvver! muvver! dick wants me to sleep in his room." came mrs. warner's voice reproachfully: "oh, bobby, you asked!" "no, i didn't--i only nearly did. true, mother!" "he really didn't, mrs. warner. i asked him," said dick, appearing. "and do you really want him, dick?" "oh, rather!" but bobby waited for no more. he fled down the verandah like a rabbit to its burrow, his voice coming faintly as he ran: "i'm goin' to ask nanna--for--my--sheets--an'--fings!" chapter ix. narrung homestead. "merle! where are you?" "here," said a sulky voice. "make haste, then," said her father. "i want you." merle emerged from the shrubbery slowly. the expression on her face was not inviting, but her father was too preoccupied to notice it. "look after dick, will you?" he said. "a man is sick in one of the huts in the far paddocks, and mr. lester is going with me to have a look at him. show dick round a bit and keep him entertained." merle scowled. "can't bobby?" she asked. her father stared at her. "you can't leave a boy of dick's age to a kid like bobby," he said. "whatever is the matter with you? one would think you would be only too glad of the chance of a mate. behave yourself, and remember the boy is our guest." a black boy called from the gate. "horses ready, boss!" "all right. now, mind what i told you, merle." he strode away across the garden. merle stood watching his retreating form, her heart seething with rebellion. she had not wanted dick; she did not like him. why should she be saddled with his entertainment? she had kept out of the way the night before, and her absence had not been noticed in the excitement of their arrival. to-day she had planned to climb up a favourite tree with a book and remain there until they were all out--she was sure her father meant to take them on a tour of the place. to have this cheerful plan frustrated, and to find herself responsible for dick, was a heavy blow. she made her way inside, her scowl darker than ever. dick was with his mother, watching mrs. warner ordering her household for the day. her cook was a middle-aged scotchwoman, whose husband was storekeeper to the station; but all her other maids were black gins, and, with a native, nothing can be indefinite--orders have to be repeated daily, supplies doled out as they are needed, and only constant watchfulness ensures any comfort. she was at the moment interviewing the laundress, a big lubra, whose scanty attire was already soaked from splashing in the tubs. "but i gave you plenty soap last night, julia." julia rolled her great eyes wildly. "not this pfeller, missis. mine thinkit that very little picaninny soap you bin gib. all bin tumble down (die) in water." "havers!" broke in mrs. macleay, the housekeeper briskly. "'twas the usual quantity, and the wash no bigger than usual. julia, you bin give soap to that feller ben." "no, no, missis, julia no gib ben good pfeller soap. that ben no good." julia's air of virtuous surprise and indignation was perfect. mrs. warner pondered, and then turned to a little girl. "mary, you go and bring me julia's bag." julia heard the order unmoved--a circumstance that did not escape mrs. macleay's keen eye. she slipped away, as the little girl, returning with the lubra's woven grass bag, tipped the contents out on the floor for mrs. warner's inspection. there were a few lumps of sugar, half a stick of coarse tobacco, some string, a half-eaten chop, a cup handle and a strip of bright print. but no soap. "i bin tell you truth, missis," said julia smugly. "now, you gib it more soap?" mrs. warner hesitated. then came the whisk of mrs. macleay's starched skirt, and a large and capable hand deposited part of a bar of yellow soap on the table before her. "you bin no good, julia," said mrs. macleay severely. "carefully planted under a tub of clothes, ma'am. i know julia." julia's eyes rolled anew, and her lips parted in a childlike grin. "i bin put 'em there by mistake," she said airily. "mine thinkit you very good woman, missis mac." "i don't doubt it," said the scotswoman dourly. "suppose you get on with the washing, julia?" julia grasped the soap and disappeared, while mrs. warner turned to her guest. "julia's husband is very fond of soap." "rather unusual in a black fellow, isn't it?" asked mrs. lester, laughing. "quite. he eats it." "oh," said mrs. lester blankly. mrs. warner was attending to another case. a tall young black answered to a call of "jacky," and stood before her, looking sheepish. "jacky," said mrs. warner sternly, "i bin give you boss's washing to carry down to julia, and one fellow pair of trousers gone. you tell me what you do with 'em." "mine gibit all that pfeller clothes to julia, missis," said jacky stolidly. "mine thinkit she steal 'em that pfeller t'ouser for ben." julia suddenly reappeared, with the briskness of a pantomime artist. "nebber mine see that white pfeller t'ouser," she screamed angrily. "i good lubra--nebber steal!" she paused and added a convincing proof. "boss's t'ouser no good for ben--he too big!" "and that's true," said mrs. macleay. "what's more, ma'am, you sent four pairs down by jacky and i counted them over to julia, and there was only three." "what you done with 'em, jacky?" mrs. warner asked severely. "mine gibit all them things to julia," reiterated jacky. "she no good." mrs. warner knitted her brows. "you not telling me truth, jacky," she said. "i send you to boss unless you do." "mine thinkit always tell truth," said jacky. "that pfeller god him kill jacky if not tell truth. jacky very good black pfeller." he beamed on his mistress in a childlike fashion. a tall man strode into the kitchen verandah--a stockman, so bronzed that he might almost have been taken for a native. he carried in his hand a begrimed and crumpled pair of flannel trousers. "morning, missus!" he said. "glad you've got that chap on the carpet." he nodded wrathfully at jacky, who suddenly assumed the air of a hurt baby. "i seen him last night doin' the grand in these down at the camp--reckon he got lost if he tried to put 'em on, so he was wearin' 'em tied round his dirty neck! i wasn't able to stop just then--i was after a bullock--but i turned out his hut this mornin' and got 'em from his gin. good pants, too. they'll take a bit of washin' now." "i go wash 'em, missis," said julia, in a voice of oil. "i tell you that pfeller jacky no good." she seized the trousers and departed. "jacky!" said mrs. warner sternly. jacky rolled his eyes and said nothing. possibly from his point of view, there was nothing to say. "no baccy for you this week," said his mistress. "i tell boss, too; very like he send you back alonga camp." "no, missis--i not go back alonga camp!" cried jacky. "i be good boy!" "then you not steal again! i give you one chance," said mrs. warner. "now you go work in garden." jacky withdrew, crestfallen, and mrs. warner proceeded to deal with each native in turn, giving instructions, seeing, where necessary, to the weighing out of supplies; and, so far as possible, guarding against any chances of household matters going wrong. "of course, they do go wrong," she remarked, as the last lubra left the verandah. "no matter how careful one may be there is always to be taken into consideration the airy nature of the black. you can't count on them; however contented and docile they may sometimes seem, they will always yield to the merest impulse--to steal anything that takes their fancy, to drop any job they may be at, generally at the most inconvenient moment, or to clear out altogether to the tribe. i have known my best housemaid leave a room half-scrubbed, bucket and brush in the middle of the floor, and be found up to her armpits in the lagoon looking for lily pods!" "it must lend great variety to housekeeping," said mrs. lester, laughing. "it does. of course, it's funny enough--one is always laughing at them--but it can be rather awful as well. i had some bad times before i got mrs. macleay as second in command." her eye fell on her daughter. "oh, there you are, merle. take dick round the place--mrs. lester and i are having a morning indoors." "all right," said merle. "thanks," said dick. they looked at each other like two distrustful puppies, and moved off together. "i say," said dick, "don't come if it bothers you. i can easy poke round by myself." "oh, it doesn't matter," said his entertainer--with a sudden determination that he should do no such thing. conversation flagged after that. they went down a wide path, bordered with flowering shrubs, which opened out into a broad, sanded yard behind the kitchen. here were a series of small buildings, made fly-proof with wire sides, and kept cool by thick roofs projecting so far that they almost formed verandahs. they stood in the shadow of some huge trees. "what are all these for?" dick asked. "oh, that's the meat house, and that's the dairy, and that's the bacon-curing house. they make salt beef and corned beef there too. that new place is for a 'frigerator thing daddy's just bought." dick peeped in through the wire. rows of hams and sides of bacon hung from whitewashed beams, and there were great tubs and vats where, presumably, many a good bullock found a last resting place in brine. at one end was a kind of table with a ledge all round, where the salting of the meat was done. the floor was cemented; so was that of the dairy, where stood a separator, a churn and a complicated apparatus for cooling milk. cream and milk, in enamelled buckets, stood on big slate slabs, and all the woodwork was scrubbed to a snowy whiteness. "we can keep water dripping all round the dairy in the summer, and running over the floor," merle said proudly. "daddy fixed it. could your father do that?" "i don't know--don't suppose he ever tried," answered dick, much impressed. "how d'you get the water!" "it's all pumped up from the big dam by a windmill. when it's cooled the dairy, it runs away down that little channel to the vegetable garden." "that's a jolly good idea," said dick. "i say, don't the blacks ever try to steal the meat? they could break that light wire as easy as wink." "they did try once, but daddy was all ready for them--he had some big fireworks, and he let them off just as they were coming on a dark night. you ought to have seen them run!" and for the first time merle permitted herself to smile. "now they say, 'big pfeller debbil-debbil live here,' and none of them would go within a hundred yards of the meat-house after dark." dick's eyes danced. "my word. i wish i'd been here!" he exclaimed. "do you?" said merle coldly--and dick felt as if he had suddenly received a ducking with icy water. "oh, well, these old houses aren't up to much--we'll go and see the stables." and dick followed meekly, not because he felt meek, but because he did not know what else to do. he was conscious of a wholly unchivalrous desire to smack her. but the stables were a spot so near to the heart of each that it was impossible to keep up coldness. they were large and roomy, with great lofts full of sweet-smelling hay, where the sunlight flickered in dusty shafts from cracks in the walls. there were big loose boxes and comfortable stalls, and a large harness-room, where the saddles and bridles were so beautifully kept that dick lingered lovingly over them, feeling the supple, glossy leather with all a country boy's delight. merle pointed out her own saddle proudly--a splendid little english hunting model. "i s'pose you'll use one of the stock saddles when you go out," she said carelessly. "can you ride?" dick's heart swelled within him, but he kept his temper. "oh, a little," he said. he could not remember any time that he had not ridden; but there was no need to say so to this small, scornful person with the tilted nose. anyway, he reflected, she knew that he lived on a station; she was probably only trying to get a rise out of him. school had taught him not to rise to such easy baits. "dad has lots of quiet old horses you could try," went on merle. "thanks," replied her guest. "you don't feel anxious on a quiet horse, do you?" "i don't know," she answered. "i never ride 'em." and this time the desire to smack her was so strong that dick was obliged to take down a bridle and examine it to keep his hands out of harm's way. they found o'mara, the head groom, busy in a yard behind the stables, helping a black boy to bathe the hock of a fine bay mare that had managed to get entangled with some barbed wire. the mare was young and half-broken, and could understand neither her throbbing leg nor the hands that were dealing with it; and the boy was stupid and rough, with the result that she was plunging and kicking violently, and resisting every attempt to touch the injured part. o'mara was rapidly losing patience. "ye have no more gumption than a cow," he told the boy angrily. "take her aisy, will ye? remember her laig is sore, an' don't touch it as if ye were scrubbin' a brick floor." the boy dabbed at the swollen hock, and the mare kicked furiously and danced away on three legs and o'mara uttered pungent comments. "that you, miss merle? take care, now, an' keep back; that one'd kick the eye out of a mosquito, she's that bothered with this black omadhaun. 'tis all i wish the boss hadn't gone before he helped me to do her; this boy's no good either to hould her or to bathe her. whisht now, my beauty--no one's going to hurt you at all." "can i hold her?" dick asked. "better keep back, sir. she's gentle enough, only she don't understand why she's hurt." "poor old girl!" said dick gently. he went up to the mare's head, all his horse-loving soul eager to touch her. the wild eyes softened under his quiet hand. he stroked her nose, and then slid his fingers up quietly, rubbing her neck and talking to her under his breath. it was months since he had handled a horse, except the forbidden luxury of the milkman's pony. the very feel of the rippling muscles under the satin skin of her neck was a delight to him. he put his cheek against hers and the mare stopped trembling and muzzled against him. dick looked up at o'mara half shyly. "isn't she a beauty?" he said. "seems a shame to hurt her." "we'll try not to," said o'mara happily. "sure, 'tis yourself has the way with you, with a horse. keep talkin' to her, now, and i'll do her hock that gentle she won't know she's touched." he took the sponge from the black boy, who stood aside thankfully, and softly bathed the injured leg, keeping away from the hock at first, until she had grown used to his touch. the mare started a little when she felt the sponge, but dick's caressing voice and fingers steadied her, and presently she stood quietly, only flinching when the sponge finally rested on the worst place. "there now--'tis nice an' comfortin' against that hot place, isn't it, my beauty?" said o'mara wheedlingly. "begob, she'd say 'thank you,' if she could spake. 'is it kick?' says she. 'i'll not kick at all if only i'm treated like a lady,' she says. divil a bit of vice have she in her, only she couldn't see why we'd want to hurt her, an' she havin' done no harrm to anny wan of us. whist then, me jewel, let me hould it on ye just a wee bit now." the soft irish voice ran on coaxingly, and dick's hand never ceased fondling, and finally the mare stood quietly, submitting to the gentle handling of her hock with perfect confidence. it was finished at last, and dick led her to the gate of a shady little paddock close by. "this is the hospital paddock," o'mara told him. "'tis only invalids goes in here, where we can keep an eye on them. she have not much company, only ould druid, an' he's nearly well afther stakin' himself." he indicated a big bay clydesdale grazing in the corner. "but they're the best of friends entirely." "where are the other horses?" dick asked. "they're all out in the home paddock; there's just a few gets stabled at night since the boss came home. pretty fresh, most of 'em; nearly the whole mob was turned out for a spell while he was away, barrin' a few needed about the place, and they're all kicking up their heels. and have you many, sir, at your own place?" dick told him, and they stood by the gate talking of horses--both forgetting merle, who stood still in the yard, looking after them sullenly. she had experienced only a new pang of jealousy over dick's handling of the bay mare. o'mara need not have called to her to stand back, she reflected angrily; she knew the mare, and she was certain she could have quietened her just as well as any strange boy who had never seen her before. it was just the way in everything, she thought; whenever dick was about she was not wanted. now o'mara and he stood talking as if she did not exist. well, if she was not wanted, at least she did not mean to stay. she had been told to entertain dick, but to stand waiting while he talked to the groom was quite a different matter. her book was still where she had left it in the tree. thus it was that when dick suddenly remembered his guide and turned from the entrancing company of o'mara, who was telling him stories of horses he had managed as head-groom in a big hunting stable in county cork, there was no merle to be seen. "is it miss merle?" asked the irishman. "i seen her streakin' across to the garden five minutes ago. that's the queer little gerrl entirely. she's that short in her temper you'd hardly hould her at times." "i suppose she's all right," said dick uncomfortably. "you can be very sure miss merle's all right," said o'mara. "she do be getting all she wants, most times--herself is the wan to make sure of that. well, as i was sayin', captain keogh had a big brown horse----" and merle and everything else faded from dick's mind. it was an hour later that mr. warner and mr. lester, riding home, perceived, in a tree in the front garden, the flutter of a blue print frock. "that looks like merle," mr. warner said. "i wonder if dick is with her." he gave a short whistle. it was merle's signal from him, and she responded to it promptly, running to the fence. "where's dick?" queried her father. "i don't know." mr. warner's face darkened. "how's that, merle? i left you to look after him." "well, he doesn't want me--he started talking to o'mara," merle said sulkily. "h'm," said her father, giving her a keen look. they rode on. "for goodness' sake, don't worry about my urchin," said mr. lester, laughing. "he's well able to look after himself." "i assure you i'm more worried about my own," said his friend. "if i could only inculcate some ordinary good manners into her----" "why, she's a nice little soul. i think you worry unduly," said mr. lester. "and she's only a baby yet." he gave a short laugh. "dick is happy enough, at any rate." they had come into view of dick and o'mara--the former perched on the gate-post of the little paddock, while the old man, leaning against the gate, was talking so earnestly that he failed to see his master approaching. dick's intent face suddenly beamed, and a shout of delighted laughter rang out. "oh, that was ripping!" he cried. "my word, i'll tell father that!" then his eye fell on his father, and he slid from the post and ran to meet the riders. "i say, what a lovely horse!" his glance dwelt for a moment only on his father's mount--a useful black--and then lingered on mr. warner's. indeed, there was excuse for looking at that horse. he was a great iron grey, all of seventeen hands in height, and built on perfect lines. he carried mr. warner's huge bulk as if it were a feather weight, and his beautiful head and mild eye showed both spirit and good temper. as he stood there, arching his powerful neck, he was a picture to delight any horse lover. mr. warner laughed. "not bad, is he?" he said. "i bred him myself, and he's carried me through many a long day and never seemed tired--and i've never been able to say that of any other horse. good old conqueror!" he swung to the ground and patted the grey's neck, and conqueror put his head against him. "well, young man, and how have you been getting on? did merle desert you?" "i'm afraid she may have thought i deserted her, mr. warner," dick said, reddening a little. "i got talking here, and i clean forgot she had stayed behind. i hope she isn't offended." "he was helping me with the mare beyant, sir," said o'mara. "an' 'tis the fine help he was--that black imp jimmy had me an' the mare desthroyed with his clumsiness." "good man!" said mr. warner, nodding at dick approvingly. "i'm glad merle didn't leave you alone. we'll soon make it all square with her. did she show you all round?" dick grinned. "we didn't get very far," he said. "we just came by the meat houses here, and then we stopped. you see, the bay mare was very interesting." "i see," said mr. warner, inwardly wondering why the mare seemed to have failed to interest his daughter. "well, shall we have a look round now?" they left the horses to o'mara, and went down the hill to the creek, where an hydraulic ram conserved the flow of the water and ensured an ample supply for the household. there was a great storage dam--a miniature lake, indeed, whereon swam many strange waterfowl. a dinghy was moored to a tiny landing stage, and there was a bathing box, with a good spring-board projecting over the deepest part. the lake was fringed with trees. beyond them was the vegetable garden, where a stolid chinaman gave them a friendly greeting, as he worked among his well-tended beds; and then came a high green hedge, through a gateway in which they passed to the wide lawns and gay flower beds surrounding the house itself. everywhere there were great trees, and the whole impression was of space and shade and beauty. a tennis court, where the twinses and bobby were playing a tennis of their own, with forgotten balls, lay to the east; the players uttered loud shrieks of joy at the sight of the new-comers, and fled to meet them, pursued by their protesting black nurse. thereafter the tour continued, with bobby clinging to dick's hand, and with mr. warner and mr. lester each in undisputed possession of a twin, while nanna followed disconsolately in the rear. "it's a rambling old place," mr. warner said. "we began with two rooms, and every drop of water had to be carried up from the creek in buckets. the windmills do it all now, and i've an oil engine that pumps our supply if the wind fails us." "you added a good bit to your two rooms," said mr. lester, laughing. "well--rather. of course, there's no architecture about it; we just planted rooms wherever we needed them. that big shed is for the black girls; the men have a camp on the other side of the creek. that"--he pointed with his pipe stem--"is macleay's cottage; the store is close by. the building connecting with the house by that covered gallery is the children's special preserve--school-room, play-room and den. they can make as much noise there as they like--and they generally do! that's the barracks--the bachelors' quarters--beyond the tennis court. i've generally two or three jackeroos on the place, and there are beds there for any stray man who happens along. the stock yards are on the far side of the stables; i'm a bit proud of my yards. the forge and blacksmith's store are near them. the new-looking building is, of course, the garage; the car is a recent toy." "do you like it better than horses, mr. warner?" queried dick. "no," said his host, explosively. "i wouldn't give my old conqueror for a dozen cars! still, it makes a tremendous difference; we really were pretty well cut off from civilisation before we had it. as it is we seldom get a mail more than once a fortnight, and our stores come up twice a year, by bullock wagons or donkey teams. but we can get down to the railway fairly easily now, if we want to, and we can get a doctor in eight or ten hours. that feeling makes life much easier to a woman." mr. lester pulled at his pipe. "do you reflect, dick," he said, "that we've been accustomed to think ourselves quite in the country at kurrajong?" "my word, yes!" said dick. "three miles out--and we reckon we're bush whackers! makes you feel small, doesn't it, father?" "it makes me feel suburban," said his father, laughing. "and that's a thing i never expected to feel." mr. warner gave his big, comfortable laugh. "come and see old macleay's domain," he said. they found the storekeeper busy supplying the wants of the two stockmen; men camped in huts five miles from the homestead. a red blanket--"burned the best one, goin' to sleep with the pipe alight," explained one--shirts, boots, a dog-collar, tobacco, tinned fish and fruit, cartridges, boiled sweets, writing-paper, for the younger--"engaged, 'e is!" was the explanation from his mate--a comb, a jack-knife, a box of pills, and some hair-oil. the pile on the counter grew, and the brown, silent men gazed at it with the satisfaction of children; finally wandering round the store and selecting various articles that they did not want at all, for the mere pleasure of buying. finally they sauntered off, asking mr. macleay to send out their purchases by the ration-cart. "first time those laddies have been in for three months," said the storekeeper, after greeting the new-comers. "they canna get whisky, and they must knock down their cheque somehow. 'tis a harrmless enough dissipation--bullseyes and hair-oil! but these mouth-organs were their greatest finds. there'll be great serenading of the dingoes and 'possums wi' those!" "there'll be a split in the camp, i should think," said mr. warner, laughing. "one will want to play 'swanee river,' and the other 'camptown races,' and it will end in a fight!" "aweel, there's country enough where they are for them to get out o' hearin' of each ither," macleay said. "happen they'll agree to play duets. what do you think of our store, maister lester?" "i think it's ripping," said dick, with enthusiasm. "i had no idea you had such a stock as this," mr. lester remarked, looking round the big building. "oh, it's necessary," mr. warner said. "we're a kind of outpost of civilisation--even for the station wants, and for the blacks we need to stock a lot of goods, and the men are far more contented if they can get the oddments they need--and some that they don't need! there are lots of things here that ordinarily we wouldn't dream of keeping, but that some of the men ask for them--mouth organs, for example. they get the things almost at cost price, and they can pick up some dainties that aren't included in the station rations." "why, you've a regular chemist's shop in this corner," said mr. lester. "that's the maist popular corner of the store," said macleay. "pills--ye've no idea how the bushman loves pills; any new brand tempts them. i think they eat them for dessert! patent medicines of every kind--hair oil--soap; 'tis as much as my life is worth not to have everything on hand. there's a few likes books--i keep a lot of cheap novels; and they're fair terrors for a bulletin, or any ither weekly paper. sweets are low at the moment, but the stores wagons will be up soon and then there'll be a rush in from the out stations! if you're here then, maister lester, i'll tak' ye on as junior clerk and salesman!" "if it's sweets, i'd like that!" grinned dick. "do you let the blacks in here?" asked mr. lester. "no; they have their own store for baccy, cheap cloth and a few other things. you see, they don't deal in money at all; they get goods as wages. and it's no good dangling temptation before their thieving eyes. also, even with an honest and quiet tribe like this, there's risk of information leaking to tribes that are not so quiet." "do you ever have any trouble?" "hardly ever. sometimes a raiding party comes down to the out station from the north, and we get a few cattle speared. but they've a wholesome fear of us; every stockman is armed in that part of the run, and cartridges are part of the regular ration issue. i don't let any man work alone in a lonely place, and indeed i like three to camp together if possible. but it's two years since we had any bother," finished mr. warner, "and i think the blacks have come to regard us as too far south to be good hunting ground." a bell rang loudly from the house--so suddenly that dick jumped. "did you think that was a raiding party?" queried his host. "well, it used to be the signal for that; only then you wouldn't forget hearing its ring. it can make a very tolerable din in the hands of an active person. now it's reduced to a polite tinkle, and it means lunch. come along, or we shall have mrs. warner sending a search party for us; so long, macleay!" he hurried them hospitably towards the house. chapter x. the narrung tribe. "coming down to see the blacks' camp, mother?" dick put a head in at the open window of the room where his mother sat talking to mrs. warner. "do," said the latter, putting down her sewing. "are the others going, dick?" "mr. warner and father are waiting. they sent me in." "well, we'll all go, if you are not too tired, mrs. lester," mrs. warner said. "it isn't a long walk." "i should like it of all things," said mrs. lester. "run for my hat, dick, please. may we take that nice fat bobby?--and merle?" "bobby, certainly--he adores the camp. but merle had better stay--she's in an unfortunate kind of mood," said her mother, with a little sigh. "i tried to get her to go out for a ride with dick, but she wouldn't. she's very difficult at times." "oh, she will grow out of it," mrs. lester said, comfortably. "some children don't like strangers--and i honestly think that a good deal of merle's trouble is shyness. don't worry about her, mrs. warner." "i try not to, but she's rather a problem"; and mrs. warner's kind face was clouded. "dick is so nice with her that it is a shame for her to treat him badly." "oh, dick is all right----" mrs. lester broke off as her son came running back with her hat, and with bobby in close attendance. he swung the little fellow upon his back and galloped off with him, bobby drumming his heels delightedly on his sides, and the two mothers following. the well-worn footpath they took led them away from the homestead, on the far side from the lake. it snaked through the grass of the home paddock--no black fellow ever makes a straight track--and then turned down a hill towards a bend of the creek, where, half a mile below the house, the camp was situated. the place looked sleepy enough as the visitors came down to it in the afternoon sunshine. most of the men were away hunting, and a good many of the lubras were in the scrub looking for yams and berries, or gathering lily pods in the lagoon, a wide swamp with stretches of deeper water, that gleamed a mile down the creek. the miserable-looking dogs that always hang about a blacks' camp woke the echoes with sharp barking as the visitors approached; and from the tumble-down wurleys of bark and interlaced boughs came the blacks, men and women, while children of every age suddenly swarmed into view. "there's old tarwan--he's the chief," remarked mr. warner. a tall old fellow came to meet them, giving them a courteous enough greeting in his own language, which the warners spoke as well as they did their own. they shook hands with him, and the lesters followed suit. "he says you are welcome," translated mr. warner. mr. lester smiled and said, "thank you," and produced a large parcel of coarse tobacco which he had brought from the store. it made a great impression upon the tribe, who uttered guttural ejaculations of pleasure, and expressed the opinion that he was a great chief. from his pockets came a few handfuls of sweets for a scramble for the children--but it was a scramble in which the entire camp joined, even old tarwan finding it impossible to refrain from diving for a brandy-ball that rolled to his very feet; while the other men pursued the sweets as whole-heartedly as any picaninny. when the hunt was over the camp was on very good terms with the new-comers. the wurleys were pitched here and there, with no attempt at order, tarwan's standing a little apart from the others. there was no attempt at architecture either--most of them were lean-tos, affording scarcely any protection and looking as though a gust of wind would blow them away. here and there smouldered the embers of a fire, over which crouched a few very old men and women. mr. warner had brought a little tobacco for them, and their bleared old eyes lit with something like delight as they grasped at the gifts. some concealed the tobacco hurriedly in their bags. a few brought out short black pipes and prepared happily to smoke. "you can't do much for an old black fellow," mr. warner said. "they have only three wants--warmth, food and baccy. the government grant of blankets supplies most of the warmth, and this tribe lives well enough not to let its old folk be hungry. baccy is the one real luxury, and there's no doubt it eases old age enormously. i generally carry a few bits for the old folk." "money is no good to them, i suppose?" asked mrs. lester. "no, thank goodness, so you don't get the perpetual whine of 'gib it tickpen,' that is always on the lips of more civilised blacks. if they get an occasional coin it's only valued as an ornament," and he pointed to a young lubra who proudly wore a penny as a locket. "and do they stay here always?" "oh, no. they go off, perhaps in the summer, or if game gets scarce. you don't get any warning. one day they'll be here as usual, the next the camp will be deserted and the tribe 'gone bush.' but they always come back, especially when it's near 'blanket time.' then the women go fairly far afield for the rushes and grasses they want for their weaving. these women are quite industrious--we can get you anything you'd like in the way of woven mats or baskets or bags." "they won't do much of that work in the eastern states," said mr. lester. "it is becoming a lost art." "yes--a pity; for much of it is beautiful work. but the civilisation of cities kills every decent impulse in them. to like the aboriginal you want him as we have him here--neither civilised nor wild. once he gets to know the meaning of either money or drink he's done for." there was a cluster of picaninnies round bobby, staring at him with great, wondering eyes. the little fellow, rosy cheeked and fair haired, in his white linen suit, was a curious contrast to the black babies, most of them innocent of a rag of clothing. bobby was enjoying himself hugely--making occasional dashes at them, at which they would scatter in every direction, shrieking with laughter. "the twins were a particular source of interest to them," mrs. warner said. "they used to come to the house in flocks, begging to be allowed to see the 'two-pfeller picaninny'--and so many wanted to touch them that we had to make an absolute rule against it for fear the poor babies would be poked to death. even now i hardly dare to bring them near the camp--not that they will touch them without leave, but they make a ring round them, everyone trying to see them, and blackfellow in the mass is rather overpowering." "that's so," said mr. warner, with feeling. "'possum fat is one of the chief toilet articles of the camp." "ugh," said mrs. lester, and shuddered. "what do the men do?" asked dick. "mighty little. they hunt, of course, whenever necessary, but they're lazy even over hunting. if a gin will keep one supplied with any other food he won't go hunting until he actually craves for meat. they make their weapons--spears, throwing sticks and boomerangs--but they are by no means as skilful with them as they used to be. they like to get a job on the station, but only a few manage to keep their jobs. they can't stand the regular employment. still, even if they go back to the tribe, they don't forget all their teaching, and we can always count on them for odd help in a time of stress--a big muster, a bush fire, or any other emergency." "i have one as a stockman," said mr. lester. "very good boy, too." "yes. when you get a good boy with stock he's a treasure. it's the work they like best, and they are born riders--but apt to be cruel with horses. we have to keep a sharp eye on them in that respect." he turned to the old chief, and spoke to him in his own language. "can any of your young men show us how they throw their weapons, tarwan?" tarwan hesitated. "nearly all my young men are away," he answered. "but there's one who can throw the boomerang." "all right; let's see him." there was a little delay before a tall young fellow appeared from one of the wurleys, with three or four boomerangs in his hand. he walked to the edge of the camp, where the green of the creek bank gave place to tussocky plain, and then, poising himself suddenly, flung one of his weapons, apparently with little effort. the boomerang seemed to move slowly at first--then it appeared to gather way in mid air, whirling round and round until it turned and came back with a low, dropping flight, falling almost at its thrower's feet. before it had returned he flung the remaining weapons, one after another, so that they seemed to be leaping and pursuing each other in the air, making amazing circles and dives. two came back to the black fellow so truly that he caught them in his hand. a crow flew slowly across to a tree; he watched it for a moment, and then flung a boomerang that caught it just as it alighted, and brought it like a stone to the ground. a chorus of delight arose from the camp, and half a dozen small boys dashed to pick up the bird. the visitors applauded energetically, and complimented tarwan. "well, i've seen a lot of boomerang throwing, but it always beats me," said mr. warner. "some of these fellows seem to be able to make the blessed thing do anything they like after it leaves the hand. kind of wireless, i believe! well, mrs. lester, have you seen enough of the gentle aborigine for to-day?" they bade good-bye to old tarwan, whose extremely hideous face relaxed into a toothless smile as they shook hands with him. an escort of small boys accompanied them half-way up the hill, until sent back by mr. warner, who evidently was a great and terrible being in their eyes, for they scuttled like rabbits when he spoke to them. tea awaited them on the wide verandah, with mrs. macleay anxiously watching for their arrival, lest her hot cakes should be toughened by waiting. presently three jackeroos drifted in, tall and brown and silent--two of them young englishmen gaining colonial experience, and the third a perth boy, not long emancipated from school. they had been camping at an out station, helping to muster some young stock. "the black boys out there are keeping pretty close to camp," drawled one of the english lads. "they won't talk, but old bill summers says he believes some of the northern blacks aren't far off." "is he taking any extra precautions?" mr. warner asked. summers was an old hand, and could be trusted to deal with any emergency. "well, he can't hear anything definite, so he isn't really bothering. but you can be sure he's keeping a wary eye on the cattle." "yes. i'm very sure bill is," said mr. warner laughing. "bill's jumpiness is a family joke where anything black is concerned; the men have a story that he found a black beetle once among some stores and fired his gun at it before they could stop him! these rumours of blacks are always cropping up, but, as i told you, it's two years since we had any trouble." "all the same, it's a good thing to have a man constantly on the jump," commented mr. lester. "oh, the best thing possible. bill's so jumpy that i never have to be jumpy at all!" mr. warner answered. "he saves me any amount of worry. how are the cattle looking, downes?" "first rate, bill says. i thought you'd rather have his evidence than mine!" answered the jackeroo, who had a lively sense of his own limitations. "he's awfully pleased with them. the feed out there is better than usual; even the men's horses are in great form. we had some good shooting, too; bill was anxious that we should fire as many cartridges as possible, as a warning to possible trespassers." "very sound," commented his employer. "no," he added hastily. "i don't mean that for a pun! you needn't look as though you suspected me, dick. have some more cake?" "no, thank you," said dick, laughing. "when i was a boy i wanted more cake all the time," mr. warner said. "well, if you won't, how about some tennis? you three boys ought to be ready for a game after a week in the wilds." the jackeroos were very ready, and said so as one man. they trooped off to the court, taking dick with them. "you're not really worried about the blacks, robert?" his wife asked. "my dear, no! old bill will send a boy in to me long before there's any need to worry. of course i'll keep in touch with him, but my own impression is that the northern tribes have long ago given us up as too hot to handle." he rose, stretching his great form; like many very big men he was constitutionally restless. "come on, lester, and we'll go and see if these youngsters have learned as much tennis as you and i have forgotten!" chapter xi. something old and quiet. the horses were mustered in the homestead yard--twenty or thirty, ranging from conqueror, towering over the mob, to the children's ponies--merle's fiery little black, bobby's quieter bay, and a diminutive sheltie of ten hands, whose mission in life at present was to draw a tiny carriage sacred to the twinses. it was not yet seven o'clock, and the sun was slowly mounting into a sky of cloudless blue. mr. warner stood by the rail, looking over the restless horses. he glanced round, hearing a step. "hullo, my daughter!" he said cheerfully. "coming out with the crowd?" "oh, yes, i s'pose so," merle answered. "where are we going, daddy?" "oh, just for a ride round, to show the lesters something of the place," he said. "we might send the cart out to meet us at gaffney's lagoon, and have lunch there--it's as good a place as any, isn't it?" "yes, i think so," merle answered. "will you ride conqueror, daddy?" "no, i'll give bayard a turn. he's pretty fresh, and needs riding. so does agility, by the way. i think i'll let young downes go to give the horse exercise; he bucked with one of the black boys on monday, but downes can handle him. you'll ride olaf, of course, and we'll put mr. lester on the horse he had yesterday--he liked him; and mrs. lester on delight. what shall we give dick?" merle hesitated. "well, he said yesterday he couldn't ride much," she said. mr. warner looked surprised. "really?" he said. "i should have thought he'd be pretty useful on a horse--he must have had plenty of riding. are you sure?" "well, i asked him, and he said, 'a little,' and afterwards he was saying he didn't feel anxious if he was on anything old and quiet." merle's eyes did not meet her father's. she affected to be very interested in a black mare near her. "oh, if that's the case, he'd better have something of that kind," said her father, looking disappointed. "i wouldn't have thought he was like that. let's see--he'd better have old sergeant; he won't play any tricks with him, unless indeed he goes to sleep." he whistled to a man in the stable yard, who came across to them, and gave him the orders for o'mara. "nine o'clock sharp, mind," the squatter finished. "come on, merle. i want to go round the new ayrshires before breakfast." merle trotted off beside her father, completely happy for the first time since they had left the station on their eastern trip. this was like old times, when he had always wanted her for his mate; before other places and other people--especially dick lester--had come between him and his well-worn routine. he talked away to her cheerily, pointing out the various beauties of the new ayrshire heifers, and discussing station matters generally, just as he had been always wont to do. merle's face lost its scowl, and became almost merry. as they turned back to breakfast she felt even charitable to dick. after all, he would soon be gone back to victoria, and then she and her father would settle down to the good old ways again. it did not worry her at all that she had arranged a dull ride for dick. sergeant did not shine as a hack, she knew; he had been "general utility" horse so long, ridden by all sorts and conditions of people, black and white, that his paces had become curiously jumbled, and his one ardent desire was to pause and sleep. in her own heart merle knew quite well that dick could ride; he had talked to her of tinker, his own beloved pony, and no one who had seen him handling the maddened bay mare the day before could have imagined that his preference was really for "something old and quiet." partly she meant to "pay him out" for openly preferring o'mara's company to hers; partly she wanted to keep him from mounting any further in her father's regard. "daddy's quite silly enough about him as it is," was her mental comment. "he won't think half as much about him if he thinks he can't ride." therefore she went cheerfully to breakfast, certain that dick was not likely to shine on a horse on which merle herself would have remarked that she would not be seen dead at a pig fair. o'mara meanwhile was puzzled. certain questions put to dick the day before had satisfied him that the boy could ride! he whistled in astonishment when the message came to him that dick's mount was to be the ancient sergeant. he rubbed the horse down himself, and saddled him, still pondering the matter. there was something he did not understand. the horses stood ready saddled, tied to a fence in the shade of a row of grevillea trees, when dick came out after breakfast. he was aching to be in the saddle; the milkman's pony had been his one means of a ride during the long winter term at school, and he longed to feel the creak of the leather and the movement of a good horse under him again. meeting a stable-boy, he stopped him. "do you know which i'm to ride?" the boy jerked his head towards the horses. "bay 'orse there, under the tree," he said casually; and added with a grin, "look out 'e don't sling yer orf, mind." "right-oh," said dick, grinning. he walked towards the horses; and it never occurred to him that the "bay 'orse under the tree" meant old sergeant. that ornament to his species, with drooping head and slumbrous eye, was probably waiting to go on a station errand; he looked like it. but the boy's description equally applied to agility, and dick went over to him without hesitation. the stirrups were too long, and he shortened them while agility tried to walk round himself in a way that made it sufficiently clear that he was very fresh. he was a light bay, half thorough-bred; not more than fifteen hands in height and very compact. at the moment he was like a restless mass of steel springs enclosed in a satin skin. dick slipped off his halter and talked to him for a moment, patting his neck. then he put the reins gently over his head and was in the saddle with a movement so quick that the horse had not time to realise it. it was just at that moment that mr. warner and mr. lester, with merle beside them, came strolling across from the house. the big man was in the midst of a sentence when his eye fell on the line of horses, and he broke off with a startled exclamation. "good god--is o'mara mad! that horse will throw the boy!" "where?--throw dick?" mr. lester gave a little laugh. "oh, i don't think so." mr. warner did not hear him. he broke into a run, calling agitatedly: "steady, dick--hold him! let me get to his head!" the words were lost on dick. agility, feeling the light weight on his back, was dancing sideways, giving playful little kicks and trying to get his head down. dick's hands gave to the strain on the bit to a certain point; then they were steel, and the horse knew it. he reared suddenly, striking out with his forefeet, so nearly upright that even mr. lester, who had no nerves where his son's horsemanship was concerned, caught his breath. agility came down, with all his hoofs firmly planted; stood motionless for a moment, and then began to buck. dick sat him lightly, giving to the furious plunges just enough to save himself from jar. he knew quite well how the horse felt--he felt rather like it himself, on this beautiful spring morning, when the very air was like a draught of wine. it was not the first time he had sat on a buck; it would not be the last, if dick knew anything about it. so he sat quietly, his hands well down and his shoulders back. mr. warner broke into a sudden shout of laughter. "oh, merle, you duffer! so you thought he couldn't ride!" "who? dick?" asked mr. lester, in a voice of utter amazement. merle said nothing. she stood with her black brows drawn together, watching the slight, erect figure on the plunging bay. agility had nearly bucked himself out; it was evident to him that dick did not mean to leave the saddle, so he came gradually to a standstill, while the boy patted his neck and spoke to him soothingly. dick glanced over and caught mr. warner's eye. "may i take him round the paddock? he's just spoiling for a gallop!" "anywhere you like," said mr. warner, resignedly, still laughing. dick gave agility his head, and the horse went off with a flying bound. the gentle slope of the hill ended in a long stretch of flat--good galloping ground, firm and sound, with the spring grass like a carpet underfoot. they swept round it at a hard gallop, keeping near the fence. then a fallen tree tempted dick, and he put the bay at it. agility asked for nothing better. his ears pricked daintily; he shortened his stride, and flew the log like a bird. o'mara, watching from the stable yard, gave a hoarse cackle of laughter. [illustration: "his ears pricked daintily; he shortened his stride, and flew the log like a bird."] "is it that one you'd be putting on old sergeant, now?" he demanded. "yerra, ye might do worse than take him on as horsebreaker!" "i might, indeed," laughed mr. warner. "oh, merle, aren't you easily taken in!" but merle had disappeared. endurance, for her, ended when dick put agility at the big log; she turned and scurried indoors, her heart hot with shame and disgust. she had been made to look and feel a fool--and it was dick lester's fault! dick, who was always in her way. she hid her burning face in her room, and did not reappear until all the party had mounted, and her father was shouting for her with angry impatience. it was the final touch that she passed old sergeant, hastily let go, and slumberously cropping the grass; while mr. downes, on a fresh horse, capered airily in the distance beside agility, to whose back dick was still glued. nobody bothered about merle. bobby was as close as he could get to dick, while mr. warner and mr. lester were riding beside mrs. lester. there was nothing for merle to do but fall in behind them, where she had the doubtful pleasure of hearing her father tell the story of the morning, and of his careful plans for dick. it was mrs. lester who looked round after a time and took pity on the unhappy face, checking her mare that she might ride beside her. the charm of her voice chased away some of merle's ill-humour; but the sting of the morning remained. they passed a number of young blacks from the tribe, coming in after a night's hunting, laden with game--wallaby, 'possum, bandicoot and gerboa, all speared or killed with the throwing stick. one man had got three or four bright-coloured parrots with his boomerang, as well as a beautiful black cockatoo. mr. warner stopped to talk to them, complimenting them on their good luck, and one opened a skin bag and showed him other prizes in the shape of a fat, stumpy-tailed lizard, a young iguana, and--greatest delicacy of all--half a dozen of the big tree grubs that the black will go far out of his way to secure. "people say they're quite good--but i don't feel like experimenting on them," remarked mrs. lester, wrinkling her pretty nose as she looked at the plump insects. "i've been very glad to eat them when i ran short of tucker in the bush," mr. warner said. "they're really good, too--if you grill them they're very like chicken. but i'll admit that their appearance is against them." the blacks were in a hurry to get back to camp; it was long since they had brought with them such promise of solid feasting. they said good-bye, and set off with their long, noiseless stride--ball of the foot down first and then the heel, as is the way of natives nearly all the world over. "those fellows could go through the bush, with dead leaves and bark and dry sticks lying all over the place, and you'd never hear them," mr. warner said. "i've watched 'em sometimes stalking musk duck in the lagoons. they tie a bundle of rushes over their heads and faces, and wade neck-deep in the water, zig-zagging here and there, perhaps taking half an hour to cover fifty yards. sometimes they get near enough to grab the ducks under water. sometimes they have to straighten up in a hurry and get them with the throwing stick. but it's mighty seldom they fail to get them." "do they supply you with game?" mr. lester asked. "yes, to a great extent. we can nearly always depend on them for certain things--fish, wild geese, and duck and teal and quail. of course there are a good many of their delicacies that we don't touch--and we had some difficulty in persuading them that we really prefer game fresh! payment is in goods or baccy, and they soon become pretty shrewd at driving a bargain. we've had to adopt a regular tariff for ordinary things." "they are good-looking fellows, as aborigines go," remarked mr. lester. "yes, far before the eastern tribes. they're taller and stronger, and their standard of intelligence is higher. many of the piccaninnies are quite pretty little chaps--you saw them yesterday. of course they all become abominably ugly as they grow old. their features spread and thicken until they are positively repulsive. i don't believe there's any human being less attractive than an ancient australian black gin!" ahead, dick and young downes were galloping, picking out a natural steeplechase course over fallen tree trunks, while bobby followed as best he could on his pony, delighted when he could make him hop over smaller obstacles. merle looked at them enviously. she knew her pony, olaf, could jump anything in the paddock, and yet she was out of it, condemned by her own ill-temper to ride sedately with the elders. her father glanced down at her curiously. "what's up, merle? why don't you join in?" "don't want to, thanks," merle muttered. "well, you are turning into an old woman," he said contemptuously. merle flushed and said nothing. "i believe i'm not too old to jump," said mrs. lester. "those logs are very tempting. can delight manage them, mr. warner?" "she'll jump whatever you ask her to," he said. "if you'd really like a few jumps, mrs. lester, we'll give you a lead." "then come on, merle, and we'll show them we're not the inferior sex," laughed mrs. lester. "i can't let dick get superior!" the two big horses thundered off ahead, and close behind them came olaf and delight, each capering with joy at the sudden gallop. in and out they went among the trees, finding natural jumps everywhere and an occasional clear space where they could put on speed. the noise of the hoofs came to dick and the other boys as they circled round the great paddock, so wide that the fences were out of sight. dick shouted with joy, and bore across until he was riding abreast of his mother, yelling encouragement at each big log. he was more than ever sure that nobody had ever had a mother like her! merle shot ahead of them suddenly, and set to work to overhaul her father and mr. lester. her pony was a beautiful black, full of fire and breeding; he jumped like a deer, and took his logs almost at racing pace. merle sat him as though she were part of him--leaning forward a little at each leap, and lifting him at the log with little inarticulate words of encouragement. gradually he lessened the distance between him and the great horses in front, making up by quickness in jumping more than the handicap of his shorter stride. he forged ahead at last, so stealthily that they did not realise they were being left behind, and then merle sat down to ride him in earnest, and soon was far in the lead. agility put an end to the steeplechase by bolting. his feelings became too much for him altogether, and he suddenly swerved from a log, and dashed through the timber at such a pace that dick was only saved from overhanging boughs by lying flat on his neck--in which position he could do little to check him. the others pulled up, in some anxiety, to watch him. he emerged from the trees safely, and shot across the tussocky plain beyond, where dick at length got him in hand, and he returned more sedately, except for an occasional irrepressible caper. on the way they overtook merle, walking olaf back to the other horses. "my word, that pony's a beauty!" said dick, looking at olaf with open respect. "and i say, you can ride!" the black dog that had sat so long on merle's shoulders was gone for the moment--routed by the joy of the gallop. she gave the boy something like a smile. "he's a darling, isn't he?" she said, patting olaf's arching neck. "he can beat any horse on the place at jumping--you ask dad if he can't." "well, i guess i've seen for myself this morning," dick answered. "this chap's not too bad, either, is he? he can't beat your pony, though." he grinned. "didn't we have a ripping go! i'm jolly glad i wasn't on old sergeant." the brightness suddenly faded from merle's face. her eyes dropped before dick's merry ones. to her own amazement, a lump came in her throat. "i say, what's up?" blurted dick. she managed to meet his eyes with a great effort. "it was my fault," she said, speaking very low. "i mean, i worked to get you put on sergeant. i told dad you couldn't ride." "well, i'm blessed!" said dick, in utter astonishment--too amazed to be indignant. "but why?" "i don't know." she flushed hotly. "oh, because i'm a pig, i suppose. i'm sorry." it would have taken more than dick's easy-going nature could assume to be stern. "well, it doesn't matter, anyhow," he said. "you only made a mistake." "no. i didn't make a mistake," merle said shrilly. "i knew you could ride all right. i--i told you i was a pig!" a large tear rolled down her cheek, to her intense shame. she felt for a handkerchief, and, finding none, rubbed her cheek on olaf's mane. dick pondered the situation gravely. "i guess, if you're a pig, it hurts yourself more than anyone else," he said at length. "i say, why don't you knock off being one and be pals? i'll help." at the moment he forgot altogether that he had no real desire to be "pals" with her at all. but no boy could help being rather sorry for this small, incomprehensible person, with the miserable face. and there was no doubt she could ride! merle swallowed twice before she could command her voice. then she merely managed to mumble "all right"--and immediately found her hand shaken in a manly fashion. "well, i guess we'd better canter," said dick, thankfully putting an end to the situation. "those other people are getting too far ahead." they cemented their bargain in the way most acceptable to both of them, by a quick sprint across the plain, to join the main body of the expedition. the paddocks immediately surrounding the homestead were comparatively clear, except for belts of timber left standing for shelter for the cattle. the soil was good, and long ago, when the ground had been cleared and burnt off, english grasses had been sown, making a firm sward. but as the riders went further, the country gradually assumed more and more of a bush aspect, and the good soil changed. they passed over stony ridges, with red rock outcropping from the short, sparse grass and ironstone rubble that necessitated careful riding. the trees grew smaller in character; there were patches of mulga, tall whip-trees with slender tops curving beneath their load of little green flowers like berries; banksias covered with honey-laden blossoms and all a-flutter with the wings of honey-eaters, whose long, curved beaks plunged deep into the sticky flowers. everywhere there were flowers. they passed swampy patches, full of the fragrance of wild boronia, and murmurous with the hum of innumerable wild bees; near at hand, ti-tree, with flowers of many colours--some scarlet, some pink, and some of tender green and white. there were curious plants with leaves apparently made of flannel, and others bearing blossoms like balls of red and blue down. later, mr. warner said, the plains would blaze with a dozen kinds of everlastings, the crimson seeds of the native hop would vie with the trailing black and scarlet of sturt's desert pea, and the cottonwool berries, with their white eye would be everywhere. rose-coloured mesembryanthemums would trail a gorgeous blanket over the loose granite on the stony ridges--"beastly stuff it is to slip on when you're galloping after kangaroo," added the squatter, with a callous disregard of beauty. there were birds in every belt of timber; parrakeets, their brilliant colours flashing in the sun as they went screaming overhead; parrots, more brilliant still; cockatoos, black and white, and a host of tiny feathered people, twittering among the blossoms that garlanded the bare earth. now and then a curlew stepped daintily away, out of sight like a grey shadow, but sure to be ceaselessly watching the intruders from its hiding place. wild turkeys passed overhead, in swift flight, or black swans, spread fan-like in the sky, the leader ahead, winging their way to some distant lagoon. they saw a group of emu out on a plain--the great birds made off at their approach, their heavy feet sounding almost like a horse's hoofs on the hard ground. it was after midday when they came in sight of gaffney's lagoon, a broad stretch of water named after a stockman who had been attacked by blacks while camping near the shore. "a good man, gaffney," said mr. warner; "one of the best hands i ever had. he was looking for some lost cattle, and the blacks got round him quietly one night. poor old gaffney--he must have put up a good fight, for they didn't get him until he had used up all his ammunition. he had been in canada, in the north-west mounted police, and he could shoot quicker than any man i ever saw." "they killed him?" asked dick, wide-eyed. "oh, yes, poor old chap. there were nearly twenty spears in him. but there were dead blacks all round him--he had a good escort to the next world. i don't think he'd missed a single shot." "a pity to lose a man like that," said mr. lester. "yes, it was bad luck, though it was the sort of finish he had always hoped to get. i used to have great yarns with gaffney, and the one end he didn't want was to die in his bed. that fellow stevenson would have appealed to him, with his 'under the wide and starry sky.' and he did good, even in his death, for his last fight gave the blacks such a wholesome dread of the white man's capabilities that they sheered off for a long time. that was fifteen years ago, and i don't think they ever came so close in again." mr. warner pointed ahead with his whip. "do you see our camp fire, mr. lester?" a trail of blue smoke was lazily rising under some trees near the head of the lagoon. near it was a cart, with a couple of donkeys hobbled close by, and across the rough grass came a light buggy, drawn by a fine pair of browns. "the missus is just on time," said mr. warner. "let's get there to welcome her." they put their horses to a canter, and arrived at the camp fire just before the buggy came up, mrs. warner driving herself, while the twinses, spotless in white, were with difficulty restrained by nanna, whose smile was like a streak of ivory across an ebony surface, as she clung to each wriggling small body. "the sight of you has a most demoralising effect on them," said mrs. warner to her husband, laughing. "they have been quite good until they saw you, and since then nanna has her hands full. be quiet, twinses, and sit still!" it was noticeable that nobody ever thought or spoke of the warner babies either singly or by name; being inseparable both in companionship and wickedness, it was not necessary to allude to them as anything but "the twinses." dick had an idea that they were boy and girl, but as they were always dressed alike, and resembled each other so closely that he was quite unable to tell one from the other, even that was uncertain. mr. warner lifted his restless infants out of the buggy, holding them tightly until nanna was on the ground, and able to resume at least partial control. "there--keep away from the horses' heels," he said. "go over and see what old harry is cooking." the twinses fled tumultuously. "harry's an old soldier," mr. warner told mrs. lester, "and, like most old soldiers, the handiest man on the place. he has a wooden leg, which was interfering very badly with his career as a swagman, when i found him ten years ago; but it never affects his usefulness now. there's nothing he can't or won't tackle, but his particular accomplishment is camp cooking, so i sent him out to fix up lunch for us to-day." they gave the old man full credit as a cook presently, when they ate the wild turkey, roasted in the ashes, in a jacket of clay, which he had prepared. there were potatoes, also roasted in their jackets, to be followed by flapjacks of surpassing lightness. "do you always have banquets like this when you come out on the run?" demanded mr. lester. "i'm accustomed to a packet of sandwiches and creek water!" "my lunches vary," said mr. warner, laughing. "they range from turkey, like to-day--but you'll admit this is a special occasion---to yams and grubs, and i've been more thankful for the yams than for the turkey! you see, you're exceedingly hungry before you take to black fellows' tucker, and when you're really hungry you're glad to get anything." after lunch they went to compliment old harry, a courtesy he received unmoved, standing stiffly to attention, but inwardly very proud. then they explored the shores of the lagoon, when the twinses created a diversion by falling into a pool, in an effort to catch fish which were not there. mrs. lester marvelled at the calmness with which mrs. warner received her soaked offsprings from the rescuers. "you might as well wash the mud off them while they're wet, nanna," she told the black nurse, who was agitatedly proclaiming her opinion that "that two-pfeller mas' twinses bad babies." "but, good gracious! how will you manage?" ejaculated mrs. lester. "they'll catch their deaths of cold! you must be five miles from home." mrs. warner had risen leisurely. "oh, but we know the twinses," she said, laughing. "their amazing capacity for getting into trouble developed before they could crawl; we never come out without a complete change of clothing for each. if there is fire, or water, or mud--preferably mud--the twinses will get into it. i'll go over to the buggy and help nanna." "let me come, too," said mrs. lester, jumping up. that refitting the twinses was no new thing was amply demonstrated by their mother. a clump of bushes, reinforced by the buggy rug as an additional windbreak, formed a dressing-room; from under the seat of the buggy appeared a flat basket with fresh raiment. nanna appeared presently with her charges, and they were stripped and rubbed down--creating a diversion by contriving to elude even the vigilance of their mother, and, all unclad, making a dash for liberty. the mothers pursued the gleaming little white bodies and brought them back, wriggling and protesting, to be clothed anew. "you can't have many dull moments," said mrs. lester, hugging a twin. "i haven't," said mrs. warner, dryly. "but then, i never had before they came, so really it doesn't matter much. when you have fifteen or twenty grown-up black babies under you, a couple of small white ones really don't signify!" the twinses, restored to dry clothes, proved unexpectedly docile, and consented to be taken by nanna to visit an enormous anthill, towering in the distance, a column of dried mud. the elders explored the lagoon and gathered wild flowers, until there seemed some doubt as to whether there would be any room in the buggy for its passengers. old harry presently produced tea, with old-time damper, perfectly baked. they gathered near the camp fire again, and back across the paddock, scenting the banquet, came nanna and the twinses. merle came up to dick just as they were preparing to go home. "i say," she said, speaking with an effort, "you can ride olaf home if you like." "thanks awfully," dick returned in astonishment. "but i'm all right on agility--and i know you like olaf better than anything." she hesitated, flushing. "i'd like you to try him." suddenly it came to dick that it would hurt her to be refused. "all right, it's jolly good of you," he said awkwardly. "come on, and i'll change the saddles." merle helped at that, slipping her saddle off her own pony, and bestowing upon him a surreptitious little pat. no one but herself ever rode him; she knew every inch of him, even, she herself believed, to his thoughts. nothing would have made merle agree that horses did not think. she wondered, rather miserably now, what his views were on being handed over to a stranger. "i've got to," she whispered to him, "for being a pig!" dick did not understand anything of this; boy-like, he rather fancied that merle was offering him her pony to show off his perfections. it would have interested him more to ride agility; but, being as good-natured as he was dense in these fine matters, he got up on olaf good temperedly, and had to admit that he was a far more finished hack than his previous mount. merle looked pleased at his praise. "he is lovely, isn't he?" she asked. "daddy bought him at the perth show; he's won lots of prizes. he and i are awful good mates." "i'm sure you are," dick said. "jolly good of you to let me ride him." across the grass mr. warner had suddenly gaped in astonishment. "well, i'm blessed!" he ejaculated to his wife. "i believe merle is repenting in style; she's actually put dick on olaf. that's in amends for the ride he might have had on old sergeant, i suppose!" "making amends isn't much in merle's line," said merle's mother. "no, so i suppose we should be thankful for any sign of grace. at least, they seem happy enough now--look at them!" two small figures on galloping horses dipped down into a grassy hollow, flashed up again on the further side, made for a big log ahead, flew it together, and fled on again across the plain at full speed. "that's all right," said mrs. warner, comfortably. "they can't possibly be bad friends now." "no. but isn't it characteristic of merle that although even the fact that he'd saved bobby's life didn't make her treat him decently, she's reduced to penitence and friendliness by nearly giving him a ride on a bad horse!" chapter xii. the ten-mile hut. a week went by, and the lesters found themselves dropping so completely into the life of the western station that it might almost have seemed to be their own home. they applied insistently for work, and got it; dick and his father were constantly out on the run with mr. warner and his men, while mrs. lester lent a willing hand within the house, plying a busy needle at mrs. warner's perennially overflowing mending basket, and, by way of recreation, embroidering linen smocks for the twinses. "they'd be happier in sugar bags!" said their father, looking at the dainty garments. "but i wouldn't get any fun out of sugar bags," protested mrs. lester. "it's mere selfishness!" the twinses adored her, and constantly impeded her work by climbing over her and piling themselves upon her; at which times the matter would generally end by the disappearance of all three into the garden, where, under a big tree, she would tell them stories of fairies and leprechauns until their big eyes grew round with delight. merle often formed a third listener. she and mrs. lester had become great friends, albeit the friendship on merle's side was a silent one. speech was never easy to her; her father was the one person to whom she could talk without constraint; and yet he knew less of her heart than did this woman who had known her but a few weeks. "i'm really sorry for her," mrs. lester said to her husband. "she's just like a chestnut burr; quite sound inside that hard, prickly exterior. it's very bad luck to be born with a shell like that!" so she was unceasing in her efforts to be friends with merle, and had the satisfaction of seeing the prickles visibly decrease. as for dick, nothing troubled him. he bathed at daybreak each morning in the lake with the jackeroos, and added to his learning in the matter of fancy diving, for the perth boy was a swimmer of note. with them, too, he rode and shot and fished and played tennis, since mr. warner gave them a few slack days after their time in camp--"to put on condition," said he. in the long blue days there were expeditions to the out stations, mustering of the cattle, marking and branding clean skins, picnics in the scrub and by the lagoons, and motor runs wherever the roads would allow the big car to go. dick took lessons in driving from mr. warner, and, though his allegiance to horses never wavered, was obliged to admit that there was more in motoring when you happened to be the man at the wheel. there were no dull moments, largely because there were no empty ones; no day was half long enough for all that he wanted to pack into it. the jackeroos took kindly to the new-comer; he was "only a kid, but a decent kid," downes said; and he brought a breath of the outer world, with his cheery stories of life at school. he was keen to learn, too, and enjoyed everything so intensely that it was rather fun to have him with them. so they made him one of them, both in the work and play of the long clear days, and in the star-lit nights when they fished in the lagoon, or went 'possum hunting in the belt of scrub that fringed the creek, or came back from a visit to another station, racing through the long grass with all the nameless thrill and leap of the blood that catches alike horses and riders in a night gallop. afterwards, when galloping days are over, it is the night rides that come back to us most clearly; memories of scented darkness, with only the clear stars overhead; memories of the moonlight, when the ring-barked gums stood ghost-like, throwing long shadows across the track--shadows over which the racing horses plunged, half-shying, too excited to be more than half afraid. they come back to us, and with them come the sounds of the night: the long howl of a dingo in the ranges, a mopoke's weird cry, or a fox's bark; mingled with the tinkle of a bell on a working bullock, grazing fitfully, the creak of saddle leather and the jingle of bit and stirrup-iron; and over all the hot scents of the dew-wet bush. dick lester, being a very ordinary boy, did not talk of these things; did not even frame them into thoughts. but a night ride left him glowing, in mind and body; so that his mother, seeing his shining eyes, understood. the child in dick was fast giving way to the manhood stirring in him; and mrs. lester--bring an ordinary mother--found herself looking ahead, proud and yet regretful, clinging to her baby, and yet eager for all that she hoped for him. dick came in one night with the jackeroos to find the elders discussing plans. "we're going to be civilised to-morrow," mr. warner told him. "that is, we're going to put on our best clothes and take the car and go calling--the harrisons at mernda have asked us all over. means starting at eleven and not home until dark." "oh," said dick, his face falling involuntarily calls--in best clothes--did not appeal to him; always they seemed to him waste of time, and here in the free western life, with so many new things to do daily, to go calling was little short of sacrilege. moreover, the ration cart, escorted by the jackeroos, was to go to the out-stations next day, and he had hoped to accompany it. good manners came to his aid--but his "that will be jolly!" was like flat sodawater. mr. warner laughed. "yes, you look as if you thought so!" he said, at which dick reddened, grinning. "well, we meant to give you your choice, old man; there's room for you in the car, if you're hankering after society, but if you have such queer taste as to want to stay and take rations out to old bill summers, i've no doubt downes and stephens and m'leod will be glad of your company." "oh truly?" dick brightened visibly. "i'd rather stay, if you don't mind." "i suspected as much," mr. warner said, turning to mrs. lester. "no use to offer him flesh-pots; old agility and a job on the run have them beaten every time! all right, then, dick; you four can get away early. send your tucker by the cart, downes, and you can pick it up in time to lunch at the ten-mile." "i don't fancy we need take any, sir," downes said, smiling. "last time we were out with dick, old bill made us promise we'd have dinner with him next visit; and billy fox was in from his camp three days ago, so we sent him word we'd be there on thursday." "oh, that's all right," said the squatter. "you won't miss the flesh-pots so much after all, dick, for bill is safe to have got a wild turkey." dick laughed. damper and corned beef were to him better than any feast which had to be eaten in "best clothes," and inside four walls; it puzzled him to imagine why people should drive south in a cushioned motor-car when they could mount good horses and ride north over the saltbush plains and into the forests of whispering gums. however, it was merciful that no such sacrifice was expected of him. he had been once to the ten-mile, and had instantly made friends with old bill summers, who, having watched him helping to bring in an unruly bullock, had decided that there was something useful in "the melbourne kid," and had shown his favour by spinning him long yarns of the bush. it would have troubled dick to be unable to fulfil his promise to go to see him again. later, mr. warner talked to the jackeroos in the office. "fox reported that the scare had died away; i don't think it ever existed, except in old bill's imagination," he said. "still, there's never any harm in being on the safe side, and, though a revolver is a nuisance to carry, it's better to be sorry you have one than sorry you haven't. so you'll each take one; you needn't say anything about it to dick. not that he's at all likely to be scared, but he'd probably want to carry one himself, and then the scare would be on my side!" "i don't think he'd do any harm with it," macleod said. "we've been teaching him to use one." "i daresay not--still, he's only a kid, and kids and guns are best apart, especially on a horse that may buck. tell bill he can come in with the cart for a couple of days if he likes; a spell at the homestead won't hurt him, and i want to talk to him about his cattle." he went on with other directions, concise and curt, and the lads nodded comprehendingly. dawn found them in the lagoon; an alarum clock near macleod's bed had shrilled its clamorous summons ten minutes before, and he had dragged the others out, awakening them by the simple process of first hauling them, bed clothes and all, to the floor, and then dividing the contents of the water jug impartially between them. he fled, pausing on his way to collect dick; and the drenched and injured downes and stephens pursued them, and took their revenge by ducking macleod very thoroughly in a muddy corner near the bank, so that it took him some time to get clean. they they dived and swam, and skylarked like four healthy young porpoises, getting back to the homestead with gigantic appetites for the gigantic breakfast which mrs. macleay had ready for them. it was quickly disposed of, and they clattered down the verandah and out to the stable yard. as they passed mrs. lester's window she called dick softly. he went in to her room. she was in a dressing-gown, looking very little and sweet. "i just wanted to say good morning to you, dickie," she said. her eyes dwelt on him restfully--tall and bronzed and eager-eyed, in his soft shirt, breeches and leggings. "take care of yourself, old man." "rather," dick answered. "you, too, mummie. have a good day." "oh, yes." she kissed him, her hand lingering wistfully on his arm--she could feel the hard muscles under the shirt sleeve. "i'd rather be going with you, dick." "then why ever don't you come?" dick ejaculated. "because it wouldn't be manners," she said, and laughed. "never mind, i'll hear all about your adventures to-night." she kissed him again suddenly. "now go on; you mustn't keep the others waiting." from her window she watched him racing across to the stables. presently they all came out, and went down the paddock helter-skelter, agility reefing and plunging in the lead. she watched them until the trees swallowed them up. early as they were the ration cart had been earlier still. drawn by two stout mules, and driven by old harry, it had set out more than an hour before, for it had to visit a number of camps and huts, and the tracks between them were rough and sandy. and, whatever may happen, the ration cart must not fail. to the men in the lonely huts on the out stations it is the one link with civilisation, and the food it brings does not count so much in their longing for its monthly visit as its cargo of mental "tucker"--news, letters, papers, the sound of a fresh voice, the chance of a little new companionship for men who have lived together so long that there is often little between them but silence. "i don't know how these fellows stick it," said downes, as they rode along. "most of 'em come in to the homestead about once in three months; between those times all they see is the ration cart once a month, and an occasional visit from the boss or some of us. you'd want to be awfully keen on your mate to be able to live with another fellow like that." "do they ever fight?" queried dick. "oh, sometimes. not often, though. of course there are plenty of stories of fellows who have gone off their heads and murdered their mate, but we haven't had them going in for those capers on this station. now and then a man comes in and asks for his cheque--says he can't stand bill or jim, or whoever he is, any more. then the boss has to hustle to get bill or jim another mate." "like the old story of two mates who couldn't agree about the bird," said stephen. "what's that?" asked dick. "oh, it's a chestnut. they were going back to their hut one night and one man said, 'there's a magpie up in that tree.' the other chap said nothing till a long while after, and then he said, 'that wasn't a magpie--it was a crow.' the first man didn't answer; but next morning his mate saw him rolling up his swag. he said, 'where y' goin' bill?' the other fellow slung his swag up on his shoulder. 'too much bloomin' argument about this camp,' he said--and went." the boys laughed. "well, if you once began to argue, i guess you'd go mad," observed downes. "most of 'em know that, and they hold their tongues rather than start any subject that may lead to a quarrel." "there's one old man at the three crows. well, who prefers to live alone--won't have a mate," stephens told dick. "he says it's better to be a hatter than to have the wrong man with him and that he doesn't believe the right one exists. so he goes on being a hatter, and he seems to like it all right." "he writes poetry in his spare time," said macleod with a grin. "i camped in his hut one night and he showed me stacks of it. awful rum stuff. there was one poem that i thought was to his girl. it began: "ader, she can't be licked by much, and i have often told her such, she has the neatest little head, from horns to hoofs she is clean bred!" at which point i recognised that ada was a cow!" there was a howl from the boys. "i believe you made it up yourself," downes accused him. "it sounds like the drivel you'd write!" which led to retaliation on the part of the injured macleod, and they wrestled until their horses ended the matter by going off in opposite directions--the combatants, refusing to separate, being left on the ground still wrestling. the horses were restored by dick and stephens, weak with laughter, and they resumed progress. they crossed a belt of timber fringing a creek that in summer dwindled to a few muddy waterholes, and struck across a sandy plain, where saltbush and spinifex grew among outcrops of ironstone. the grass was harsh and scanty, and the breeze brought with it loose particles of sand. "glad we haven't much of this country," macleod said. "and it gets worse the further you go in this direction--no water, except native wells, and you can't always rely on them; and no grass except dry sticks." "can stock live on it at all?" dick asked. "they'll eat the salt bush sometimes--in a bad year. but it isn't a white man's country, this sort of stuff, unless you can get gold out of it. i think it must have been intended for that," macleod said. "further out in the desert they used to say that at the creation that part must have been meant for the bottom of the sea, only the sea wouldn't lob there!" "my father used to prospect in that country," said stephens, the perth boy. "he never found any gold worth picking up, and then he struck two dry wells and 'did a perish,' and he wouldn't have got back alive if some other prospectors hadn't found him. he says that where the early miners used to camp for any time they used to cut a spiral ringbark in the big trees, from as high as they could reach to the ground. then, if it rained--not that it often did--the water running down the tree would get caught in this spiral cut, and flow down the tree to the ground. they nailed a bit of tin there to lead it into a bucket." "seems a complicated way of getting a drink," remarked downes. "the only other way was to condense--and condensed water wasn't up to much," stephens answered. "i guess those old prospectors earned all the gold they got." "any gold on this place?" asked dick. stephens shook his head. "they've hunted for it, of course," he said. "where haven't they hunted for it in western australia? this little old state is dotted all over with poppet-heads and mullock-heaps like plums in a pudding. mr. warner reckons if you could go down deep enough you'd get gold; but there'll never be the water available for deep mining." near the boundary of narrung they came upon a frowsy camp, where half a dozen afghans were cutting timber for the mines. they were eating as the boys rode up, and their greeting was not over-cordial; swarthy, hook-nosed fellows in dirty clothes that were a mixture of east and west. two or three half-starved dogs flew out to yelp at the horses. "wouldn't have them on the place, if it was my say," remarked stephens. "dirty, lazy brutes, and look at their poor wretches of starved camels. they haven't had a decent feed for a month. i told the boss they'd start a lively fire on the run some day, but he reckons they can't do any harm in this sandy corner. well, i wouldn't trust 'em." he rode on, muttering, and shaking an anxious young head. they had reached the eastern boundary line; a fence had to be mended half a mile beyond the afghan camp, and when it was finished, they turned north, riding fast until they came to more fertile country. they passed the hut where lived macleod's poetical "hatter," pausing for five minutes' chat with the old man, who was seated on a stump outside his door under a big belar, devouring papers left him by the ration cart; and then on, across a wide, grassy plain, until they came into the belt of timber that extended beyond the out-station, where bill summers and his mate spent their lonely existence. the wheels of the ration cart had left a recent mark upon the grass. "harry must have hurried a bit," said downes. "of course he goes straight from point to point, and we go round all the corners--still, he must have made his mules travel. he's going to have dinner with old bill, too; it's a great day for bill. he'll be awfully sick if he hasn't managed to get a turkey and has to give us salt horse." "much we care!" said stephens. "no, but he does. bill's what my mother calls 'house-proud,' and he's also jealous of harry's cooking. he's a great old chap!" said downes, enthusiastically. they came into sight of the hut. the cart was standing near it, the mules contentedly cropping the grass; but there was no sign of any of the men. "harry's inside advising bill as to the last stages of the turkey," laughed stephens. "helping him light up his fire, i should think," said downes, glancing keenly at the hut. "there's no smoke." he looked puzzled. "wonder if the old chap is out after cattle--let's give him a coo-ee." they shouted, and as there was no response they shook their horses into a canter. the mules looked up at them uninterestedly as they dashed up; then they resumed feeding. something in the utter stillness of the place caught at the boys' hearts and stilled their merry voices. "hold my horse a minute, dick." downes flung his bridle across. "i'm going in." he ran up to the hut. as he did so old harry limped out, with a face so ashen that the boy cried out in alarm. "harry! what's wrong?" the old man was looking at dick. "don't let that kid come," he said. "get him home--quick. they've got bill and fox." "got them? who? what do you mean?" "the blacks. they're there--in their bunks--speared." [illustration: "'they're there in their bunks--speared.'"] downes reeled back. "dead?" "yes; both dead." the old man's voice broke in a quavering sob. "they couldn't've known, that's the only thing--both of 'em must have bin asleep. the brutes! the brutes! the brutes! poor old bill summers, that never hurt man, woman or child in his life! my god, if i could get my hands on them!" the other boys were round them now, leaving dick with the four horses. they stared at each other, white-faced; and stephens looked into the hut, to stagger back, hiding his eyes. "they couldn't've suffered," harry repeated. "that's the only thing. but it's hard on old bill, to go out without a chance to hit back. and fox, too--a decent young chap as ever stepped. got an old mother, and a girl in geraldton." "what are we to do?" downes gasped. "get the kid there home, and warn the other out stations. for all we know they're in the timber here now; not that they're likely to attack five or six men together and in daylight. i must take the--the bodies in in the cart. one of you must help me--you're the eldest, mr. downes, you'd better stay--and then you'll have to ride with me; 'cause i can't keep a lookout from the cart, and we must go round by the five mile and warn 'em there. mr. stephens can go to the eastern stations--not likely to be trouble there, but they must get in their cattle. mr. macleod can take the little chap home and warn the other huts on his way. mr. warner must hear as quick as you can get home to tell him, mr. macleod." "he's over at mernda," macleod said, his voice husky. "won't be home until after dark." the old soldier's keen face darkened. "you'll have to go after him, then. the news has got to get to westown, and he'll do it quickest in the car. get a fresh horse when you go in. the police and the black trackers'll have to come out from westown. ride as hard as you can, every one of you. and keep your eyes skinned all the time--you don't know where the black fiends may be." "we'd better wait on guard until you--until you start," macleod said. "you can't keep a watch while you get them----" the words stuck in the boy's throat. "they could rush you from the trees if we left you alone." "yes, that's right," harry said. "well, take the little chap off for a minute, mr. macleod--poor lad, he doesn't know what's up, and he's looking like a ghost--and we'll get a start." macleod went over and took two of the horses from dick, leading him off behind the hut while he told him of the tragedy. dick stared at him blankly; evident as it had been to him that something was terribly wrong it was impossible to realise that the old man who had been kind to him lay dead in his hut, foully murdered with his sleeping mate. "i don't think we've anything to be scared about," macleod said. "i've a revolver, and, besides, i don't think the brutes would attack any of us in broad daylight." "i'm not scared," dick said dully. "i say, do you--do you think it--hurt them much?" "harry says not," said macleod, with a gulp--he was only a boy himself. "he says they couldn't have known. bill must have been very sound asleep or they would never have got in--i don't expect he ever woke, poor old chap." "that's something," dick said. his eyes blazed suddenly. "can't we do anything? can't we fight?" "we'll raise the whole country when we get home," macleod answered savagely. "i only hope the boss will let us go out with our guns, and not wait for the police. but our job is to warn the out stations, and then to get the news to the boss." he wheeled round, and suddenly took off his hat. "here they are." the cart came by, its pitiful burden covered with the dead men's blankets; old harry, tight-lipped, driving, and the white-faced boys following. downes made two efforts to speak before his voice would come. "that's all right, mac," he said. "get to the huts and home as quick as ever you can. keep close together, mind, while you're in the timber, and go like smoke!" stephens had gone off at a hand gallop already. macleod nodded, and he and dick gave their horses their heads, taking the track through the trees where the cart wheels had left their print on the soft grass. they were out of sight in a moment, galloping side by side, with keen eyes searching through the timber on either hand. once dick fancied that he saw a shadowy black form, and it was easy enough to think he heard, above the pounding hoofs, the whistle of a spear; but the moment passed and they were racing onward, only checking their speed when they came to another lonely hut. a few words, and they were off again, leaving the amazed and infuriated men to look to their guns and muster their cattle out of harm's way. another hut, and another; and then, their work half done, they turned their horses towards home. the trees were left behind them now, and they came out upon the wide plain where scattered clumps of timber, easy to dodge in their gallop, gave shade to the lazy bullocks. "we can get a move on now!" macleod said, between his teeth. "and every minute we save means more chance of catching those fiends!" they leaned forward in their saddles to ease the horses, and urged them to racing speed. mile after mile, trees flashing by them, cattle lumbering, affrighted, out of their way, with no word between them, and only the dull thud of the hoofs to break the silence. not until they reached the gate of the paddock near the homestead did they draw rein. macleod, leaning across his horse's dripping neck to open it, glanced at dick. "tired?" he asked. "you've had nothing to eat, poor kid." "i'm not tired," dick said; "and i feel as if i never wanted to eat again." "same here!" macleod nodded. "but it isn't sense. we'll have to get something at the house. no use in cracking up just when we're wanted." they were galloping again, across the last stretch of grass. suddenly agility faltered in his stride and half pulled up, limping heavily. dick was off in a flash. "he's picked up something," he cried. "don't wait; i'll lead him in." macleod had checked his horse, but at the words he shook his bridle and shot forward. dick patted agility's neck, and lifted his forefoot. he whistled softly. "you poor old beggar!" he said. a scrap of barbed wire was embedded in the frog by two cruel teeth. the horse flinched from the touch. dick soothed him a moment, and then, with a quick movement, drew out the torturing steel, dodging back as agility plunged wildly. "there!" he said. "all over, old chap. now come and get doctored." he led him slowly across the grass, agility on three legs. near the gate o'mara, wide-eyed with horror from macleod's story, met him. "barbed wire, is it? i dunno why they have the misfortunate stuff on anny decent place," he said, taking the horse's foot up to examine it. "h'm--'twill be a while before he gets that to the ground. could ye bathe him now, master dick? i'd do it meself, only i must drive mr. macleod to mernda; the browns are ready in the stable, an' 'twill be quicker than riding. and there's not another man about the place; they're all out at some job or other. sure i'm only in meself ten minutes, and that's why the browns are handy; i drove mr. macleay over to andrews's for the day." "i'll bathe him, of course," dick said, taking agility's bridle. "don't you worry about him." "i'd have worried ten minutes ago, but it don't seem to matter much now," the old groom said. "poor old bill summers! well, i hope them murdherin' fiends will find it the worst day's work ever they did. masther dick, will ye keep a lookout, an' the first man that comes in, send him over to andrews's for mr. macleay--he'd betther be home. there'll be guns and cartridges wanting out of the store." "all right," dick nodded. "better let me help you put the browns in." the light buggy was still in the yard, and the horses harnessed. they put them back, and o'mara drove out just as macleod came running over. "good man!" he said, swinging himself up. "you all right, dick? mind you get something to eat. let 'em go, o'mara!" the buggy dashed away down the hill, the browns resenting the unaccustomed touch of the whip. dick bathed agility and rubbed him down, finally putting him into loose box and giving him a feed. he glanced into the other boxes; they were empty, until he came to the last one, where conqueror's iron-grey head poked over the half-door. dick patted the long nose as he passed. "you'd better take a rest while you can," he said. "i guess you'll be wanted pretty soon." but just how soon he did not dream. chapter xiii. how conqueror bolted. the day had gone slowly for merle warner. from her room she had watched the boys ride off in the early morning, sore and resentful that she was not one of the party. it was her favourite ride: of all the station jobs there was none merle loved like going out to the ten-mile. bill summers and she were great friends; he always expected to see her when the ration cart went out. and just because her father was not going, she also must remain at home, since long rides were only permitted her under his wing. she had begged that the rule might, for this once, be relaxed, but her father had been adamant. "don't be stupid, merle," he had said sharply, at last. "apart from the fact that i wouldn't let you go without me, you might have the sense to realise that the boys really wouldn't want you. boys don't want a little girl always hanging round." then--a little sorry for her quick flush, "you can come with us to mernda in the car, if you like." "i wouldn't go a yard to mernda!" merle had flashed. "very well, then, stay at home," mr. warner had responded cheerfully. "after all, it's the best place for you. run off to bed, i'm busy." he had turned to his writing-table and forgotten all about her. the memory did not tend to make merle amiable at the breakfast-table, which seemed curiously empty without the cheery presence of the four boys. she hurried through her breakfast, and then retreated with a book to her nest in the big pine tree in the garden, turning a deaf ear to occasional calling of her name. from her hiding-place she watched the car drive off after a while, her father at the wheel. she did not descend until the luncheon gong boomed out its summons; and then strolled in, rather hoping that her absence had caused anxiety. it was rather crushing to learn from mrs. macleay that yet on, the chinese gardener, had seen her climb the tree and had mentioned the fact to the first person he had heard calling her. lunch, with bobby and the twinses, had been both dull and irritating; bobby, who was mourning dick's absence, was in a provoking mood, and the twinses insisted on emptying their soup into a vase, and howled dismally when nanna, returning after a short absence, checked this interesting diversion. the pudding, too, was one merle did not happen to like; she refused to eat any, and, pushing her chair impatiently away, left the table. bobby pursued her, presently demanding that she should play with him; she locked herself in her room to avoid him, declining to come out until the sound of little voices, dying away in the distance, told her that nanna had taken the children for their afternoon walk. she opened her door and strolled out upon the verandah. it was a glorious afternoon; the sun, shining through the trailing masses of tecoma on the posts, was enough to charm away even bad temper. a sudden thought came to her, and she turned back into her room, to emerge presently dressed for riding. olaf was in the stable, she knew. why should she not take him out? mrs. macleay was the only person likely to interfere with her, and she was safely in the kitchen. merle ran across to the stable yard, almost cheerfully. she called o'mara, but received no answer; and then remembered that she had seen him go out, driving mr. macleay. well, it did not matter. it was easy enough to saddle olaf without help. she mounted and rode down towards the lake, looking out for the children. they were playing with nanna near the bank, and she trotted along to them. "where's you goin', merle?" demanded bobby. "i'm going to meet the boys," merle said. "you can tell mrs. macleay, nanna, if she asks for me." the black nurse looked uneasy. "boss, him be cross this pfeller if you go far," she protested. "mine thinkit baal you go all by you'se'f, missy merle." "oh, rubbish, nanna," merle said. "dad'll be jolly wild wiv you--an' so'll mummy," said bobby warningly. "i don't care. i'm not going far, anyhow. the boys'll be home soon. i'm sure to meet them in the middle plain." "boss him say baal you go out on yarraman (horse) 'less he go longa you," said nanna. "mine thinkit better you get off." she put out a hand to the bridle. but merle was too quick for her; a touch of her heel, and olaf sprang aside. she cantered off along the track, turning to laugh at them. bobby's woeful little face touched her a little. "never mind, old chap," she called to him. "i'll bring dick home, and we'll have a game." she cantered across the first two paddocks. the boys should be home soon now, she thought; better fun not to meet them too near the home stead, in the smaller paddocks, where they could not have a good gallop. out on the plain they might put up a hare, and a racing spin over the grass would be some compensation for the disappointment of her day. olaf was very fresh; she gave him his head when she had shut the last gate, and soon was far out in the open. once she thought she caught sight of the boys in a clump of trees, and rode away from the track to see; but, though she beat through the trees, thinking they were hiding from her, she found only a big shorthorn bullock, which lumbered off at her approach. there was still no sign of the boys as she emerged again upon the plain; she stared ahead fruitlessly. had she glanced back she might have seen two racing figures making for the homestead: dick and macleod, getting the last ounce they could out of their horses. but it did not occur to merle to look back. she touched olaf impatiently, and again cantered forward. the green line of the timber ahead beckoned her. she knew well that she would never have been allowed to enter it alone; but she was in the reckless, defiant mood that considers it as well to be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb. after all, she thought, she must certainly meet the boys very soon; every moment she paused, thinking she heard their voices. it would be cooler to wait in the shade, even if she only went just within the edge of the belt of trees. but once there, she strayed further and further in, tempted by the leafy green alleys that she loved. olaf loved them as much as she; he paced along, daintily arching his beautiful neck. the sunlight, filtering through the gum leaves, made dappled patterns on the black satin of his skin. once or twice he pricked his ears questioningly, as though listening to some sound merle could not hear--surely, she thought, the boys' horses coming through the trees from the ten-mile. so she went slowly on. * * * * * dick came across to the homestead from the stables, feeling suddenly very tired. he had not eaten since breakfast; and morning, with its early start and the fun and laughter of the ride out, seemed to belong to another age altogether. then, cruelty and murder had been things that people talked about, without realising their existence; now they had suddenly come close enough to be touched, and the whole world was altered. his heart was heavy for the old man who had been kind to him; dead now, and without the chance of striking a blow in his own defence. dick's fists clenched in helpless anger. the great bell of the station crashed out suddenly, in such thunderous clamour that he jumped and then stood still. what mr. warner called its "tinkle"--the daily summons to dinner--had seemed to dick violent enough; but this was a new sound altogether, a resonant, brazen din that clanged furiously, sending its strident clashing far out across the paddocks. the squatter's words came back to him--"it can make a very tolerable din in the hands of an active person." well, that was no exaggeration--surely its wild clamour must reach every man working out on the run. he went across to the high stand from which the bell hung. it was swaying back and forth in a kind of mad dance, and below stood mrs. macleay, her muscles swelling under her thin blouse as she tugged at the rope. "i'd nearly forgot the bell," she panted. "'tis two years since we had to ring it--and then 'twas for a bush fire. go in, laddie--there's food waiting for ye in the dining-room, and mr. macleod said ye were to eat." dick turned away heavily. the black girls were gathered round, staring and chattering. at the moment even their friendly ebony faces were horrible to him, and he brushed past them as quickly as he could. the food in the dining-room seemed to choke him at first; he gulped down a cup of strong tea, and then found it easier to swallow. the clanging of the bell never ceased; he felt as though it were beating inside his head, paralysing him. and he was suddenly terribly lonely. a great longing for companionship came over him, and he went out again. mrs. macleay had given the bell rope to a black girl, and was speaking hurriedly to nanna, who had run to the house with the children when the bell began to ring. her kind face was white. "think what you're saying, nanna! miss merle gone out on her pony! where?" bobby piped up. "merle's gone to meet dick and the boys," he said. "out over the miggle plain towards the ten-mile. we tole her dad would be jolly angwy, but she would go." "that missy merle bad pfeller, mine thinkit," said the black gin, stolidly. "ball she let me stop her--she kicking yarraman, all same jump away quick." "bobby!" mrs. macleay's voice was a wail. "are you sure she went towards the ten-mile?" bobby nodded decidedly. "dead certain. she was awful cwoss 'cause dad wouldn't let her go wiv 'em this morning. she said she'd meet 'em comin' home." his eye fell on dick, and he sprang to meet him with a gay little shout. "oh, dick! didn't you meet merle?" over the fair head dick's eyes met the scotchwoman's, and there was dread in both. "how long ago, bobby?" "since merle went? oh, ages!" said bobby airily. "didn't you see her?" dick shook his head. mrs. macleay gripped his shoulder suddenly, pulling him aside. "can you go after her?" her voice was thick. "i can't ride, and there's not a man on the place. is there a horse in? mr. macleod said yours was lame." "conqueror's in the stable," dick said. "of course i'll go; most likely i'll catch her up before she gets to the timber. anyhow, she'll never go into the timber by herself, and no black fellow would go near her in the open on olaf." "are you fit to go, child?" the woman wrung her hands. "you look dead beat now. but what am i to do?" dick forced a laugh. "don't you worry; i'm all right," he said. "ten to one she'll have turned back and i'll meet her coming home. i'd better scoot, hadn't i?" turning, he ran, pursued by an indignant wail from bobby. conqueror was fresh and impatient, and to saddle a horse of seventeen hands is not an easy task for a boy of thirteen, even if that horse be inclined to stand still. dick was struggling with him when mrs. macleay appeared. "i'll hold him," she said, briefly. she helped to saddle the great horse, and then gave dick an awkward leg-up. still holding the bridle she took something from her pocket. "is this any good to you?" it was a small automatic pistol, and dick's heart leaped at the sight of it. "i can't hit a haystack," he admitted. "but i know how to use it--we've been practising every evening--and at least i can fire it off. is it loaded?" she nodded. "yes--but i can't find any more cartridges." "well, i mightn't need even these, but i'd better take it," dick said. he slipped it into his pocket. "can you open the gate, mrs. macleay?" "ay," she said. "and there's black girls ahead at the next two gates for ye. ride fast, laddie, and god keep ye!" dick needed no telling. conqueror was already reefing and dancing with impatience. he went through the gate in a flash and settled into his stride across the next two paddocks, in a way that would have been impossible but for mrs. macleay's forethought in sending the gins ahead to open the gates. the wide middle plain spread before him, and he gave his head a little shake, taking the bit in his teeth. this featherweight on his back was as nothing; and the stretching plain, with its soft grass, was a galloping ground that he loved. dick had never ridden such a horse. on his father's station, while at odd times he might ride anything, as occasion demanded, his favourite mount was his pony, tinker; here, he had ridden agility, a horse full of fire and speed, but not big. conqueror's huge bulk beneath him made him feel like an insect on an elephant. there seemed miles of great neck before him--iron-grey in colour, and hard as iron; and to pull at the huge head was like pulling at the side of a mountain. the massive hoofs seemed to fling themselves out, pounding the grass with earth-shaking thuds. dick tried to get the horse in hand once, but realised that he had no chance whatever, conqueror merely shook his head and galloped on. well, after all, to gallop was all dick wanted. luckily, the great horse kept to the faint wheel track, and that, presumably, was the line that merle had taken. he ceased to try to steady conqueror or to guide him, realising that all his energies would be needed for sitting still on the mighty, plunging bulk beneath him. leaning forward, he scanned the plain eagerly for a glimpse of a little figure on a black pony; but there was nothing save open grass and blue sky, except for the scattered clumps of trees to right and left. she would not be in one of those, he thought, or if she were, the noise of thundering hoofs would make her show herself. he could do nothing but gallop ahead towards the long-blurred line of timber. but he was cruelly tired. each great bound under him seemed to shake him from head to foot. the spring had gone out of him; between hard riding and shock, his nerves had tightened almost to breaking point. yesterday, riding out to revolver practice with the jackeroos, he had fancied himself almost a man; to-day he knew himself for a little boy, and a tired one at that. the thought of his mother came to him, and a sob rose in his throat. yet, when the line of timber grew near, and he knew that he must enter it, with all its stealthy peril, something of the clean pluck that was his inheritance came back to him. he sat erect, and tried to steady conqueror; and to his surprise the mighty horse gave to the light fingers on his bit, and the stretching gallop steadied to the slow canter that his master declared was the easiest pace in the world. with the slackening of the pounding gallop relief came to dick's overtaxed senses. had it gone on, he had known that he must fall; now, that fear left him, and with it some of his weariness. he reined conqueror to a walk as they reached the trees, peering into their dark recesses. nothing seemed stirring there. the wheel tracks lay before him, faint, yet clear enough; he was not bushman enough to say if other hoof-prints had stirred the soft grass. with a sudden impulse he coo'ee'd loudly, wondering immediately if he had done the wrong thing. there was no answer. he took his courage in both hands and rode into the forest. everything there was very quiet. not even a bird seemed awake among the trees. so still was it that when a long trail of bark came fluttering down conqueror jumped, and dick felt himself turn cold. he realised that he was very badly afraid, and the knowledge brought with it an angry disgust of himself that did more to steady him than anything else could have done. he tried to keep himself from thinking of the hut ... of what had lain in it that the men had not let him see; but the thought came over him like a wave. the utter stillness of the bush was like a cold hand upon his heart. he rode on, deeper and deeper into the green silence. then, ahead, something crashed over some dry sticks; and conqueror flung up his head and whinnied loudly. he thought he heard a cry. then came galloping hoofs, and suddenly, down a long aisle of the trees, olaf came into view, riderless and mad with fear. conqueror plunged aside shivering with some sense more keen than dick's; and the black pony flashed past them, his head low, his eyes glazed with terror, and right through his neck a long spear that hit the trees as he galloped. a moment and he was gone, and the silence of the bush was more profound than ever. "merle! merle!" dick's cry shrilled through the forest. he took conqueror by the head, and sent him at a sharp trot down the open space whence olaf had come, glancing keenly from side to side, peering into the scrub. again and again he shouted, as much in the hope that the blacks, hearing, might imagine that he was not the only new-comer as to warn merle herself. but indeed, though he rode on desperately, he had but little hope. surely, when the black pony lost his rider it was because the spears had found her first. the glade ended in a dense thicket so overgrown with creepers that to force a way through would have been difficult. dick pulled up, thinking hard. someone was near, he felt--and there came a queer, pricking sensation in his skin as he wondered what it felt like to be speared. then he saw an opening on his right hand, and pushing through, found himself on the edge of a long gully, fringed with ferns and thick with sarsaparilla and clematis. here was where olaf had come; the pony's hoof marks were clearly visible among crushed flowers and leaves in the rich soil. and then his heart gave a great bound, and stood still. merle was running desperately towards him, dodging in and out of the trees that grew on the bank of the gully. she was hatless, and there was a long smear of mud on her face that looked like blood. and behind her, running swiftly and silently, were half a dozen men--slender black figures with horrible patterns on their bodies in black and red, and in their hands bundles of spears. dick saw one flash in the air past merle, burying its point in a tree. he shouted, sending conqueror forward. something hard knocked against his side with the sudden movement, and he gasped with relief as he remembered mrs. macleay's pistol. there was no aiming, with merle between him and the racing black figures; he fired twice in the air, shouting with mingled joy and excitement when he saw them pause and dodge behind cover. then he was beside merle, and she was clinging to his stirrup. he found himself praying desperately. "oh, god! keep conqueror steady!" the great horse stood like a rock. dick kicked his feet out of the stirrup and slid to his back behind the saddle. "jump up!" he said sharply. "you've got to be in front." somehow, with his help, she managed it. her boot caught him in the face as she gained the saddle and almost knocked him off. she gathered up the reins, and dick caught her belt with one hand. the blacks showed again on both sides of the gully. he fired wildly among them, and thought he saw one man drop. but there was no time to see anything. conqueror was off, and they were tearing up the long glade. a spear whistled by them, and dick flung his arms around merle, sheltering her as best he could. "lie down on his neck," he gasped. "he'll take us home if they don't hit him." right ahead a knot of blacks showed, fiercely barring the way, and a flight of spears came whirring through the air. dick fired his last shot, with a feeling of numb despair. conqueror would never face them, and once he turned, wheeling back among the trees, what chance had they? for the bush was alive with blacks. he could see their fierce forms slipping in and out among the timber; could hear their guttural shouts. he forced merle down yet further, vainly trying to shield her with his body. a spear caught the tip of conqueror's ear, and another grazed his flank. he plunged so violently that his riders were almost unseated; and then, mad with pain and terror, the great horse charged forward, pounding the glade with outstretched neck and nostrils flecked with foam. the blacks stood for an instant, and then wavered and fled, and conqueror swept by them, shaking the earth in the might of his stride. a few spears flew harmlessly past, and then dick felt a sudden red-hot pain in his shoulder; but it did not seem to matter--nothing mattered save the wild exultation of that race with death. he shouted triumphantly, "good old conqueror!" and heard a sound from merle that was half laugh, half sob. [illustration: "then, mad with pain and terror, the great horse charged forward."] the plain danced before their tired eyes. they were out of the timber, and galloping towards home, with no hideous lurking dangers ahead--only the long stretch of thick grass over which the wheel-tracks made a pathway. conqueror was settling down to a steady gallop--the reins were loose on his neck, for merle had no strength left to guide him; she could only cling to the pommel, her breath coming in short gasps. the pain in dick's shoulder suddenly flashed into burning life; he put up one hand, and could feel the haft of a spear. there was blood on his hand when he took it away; he looked at it curiously, as if wondering if it could be really his own. then a sick faintness came over him, and he could only cling to merle's belt and struggle for self-command. ahead, a blur showed on the grass--the ration cart, which had come out of the trees at a different angle, and was now jogging slowly homeward, with downes riding beside it. he turned at the sound of the galloping hoofs; and then shouted in horror, as conqueror came up, drew level, and then thudded past. it was as though neither horse nor riders saw them. "harry--it's the kids! and did you see dick's shoulder? there's a spear in it!" "keep as close as you can without racing them," the old man cried. "the boy may fall off any minute." downes set off in pursuit. conqueror was still galloping hard, but without his first terror--only with his smarting ear and flank, and the memory of the yelling black figures to spur him on. the reins flapped on his neck; he missed the light touch of a hand on his bit, the sensitive pressure of the knees--all that makes horse and rider seem as one. this dead weight on his back, that neither spoke, nor moved, nor guided him--what was it? something was all wrong; there was nothing to do but gallop forward, since ahead lay home and his stable, and behind was the yelling, hideous terror of the scrub. a clump of trees was before him. he rounded them in his gallop, and then shied violently at a new horror--the black pony, lying dead across the track, with the cruel spear still sticking in his neck. the sudden movement was too much for dick. the sick faintness had been creeping steadily over him, and the quick wrench, twisting the spear in his wound, brought an agony beyond endurance. consciousness slipped from him as his fingers loosed their hold. he had a sudden vision of the earth rushing up to meet him. then he was falling--falling--through an eternity of space, and the world was blotted out in blackness. chapter xiv. "buck up, school!" it was night, and everything was very dark. somewhere, a million miles away, was a pinpoint of light. he kept his eyes fixed upon it, because it seemed the one thing in the world where there was any hope. someone was swinging him backwards and forwards through space, sometimes bringing him near the light and then drawing him steadily back until it seemed that he would never reach it. he could not put out a hand to touch it, even when it drew near, and he knew that the pain that wrapped him round would be gone if he could but grasp it. there were sharp cords holding him tightly, cutting into him; and all the time the ceaseless swinging, swinging. he tried to cry out, but no sound would come. then a hand came on his brow, so cool, so gentle, that the formless blackness wavered and melted, and the light grew stronger. the utter helplessness was still there; but the sense of being gripped by something mercilessly cruel faded, and it was as though something infinitely pitiful was holding him quietly. he gasped, "don't let me swing!" and the soft touch held him closer until he was still and quiet. the light came nearer. pain was there yet, but pain was as nothing compared to the relief of stillness. nothing mattered, if only those soft hands would hold him--would keep him from swinging into space again. gradually the darkness melted. things took shape in a kind of dim twilight; he looked long at a strange silver ball, floating in space, before he knew that it was but the knob on his bed-post. the window of his room came out of the dimness; through it he could see gum leaves on boughs that fluttered softly in the breeze. these things he saw because they were in front of him; to turn his head was a task much too hard to be thought of, no matter what might be there. it troubled him that he could not, because he felt something beside him that he wanted desperately to see--something soft that nestled close to his cheek. if it moved, he grew afraid, and cried to it to come back, and it always came quickly and gently, so that he was not afraid any more. still nestling to it, he drifted into sleep. "you can get up." the doctor was bending over mrs. lester, whispering, "he's asleep." "he might wake if i moved." her lips formed the words almost without sound. she could not bear him to cry to her again, in his agony, for the help that only the touch of her lips against his cheek had seemed able to give. "he won't--yet. the medicine has taken effect." the doctor's face was almost as ghastly as her own; together they had fought death in the little room for thirty-six hours. he helped her to her feet gently. john lester slipped an arm about her, putting her into a chair. her eyes asked the question that her lips could not frame. "good, as far as it goes," the doctor answered. "that the sleep has come at all is a big thing; now, we can only hope that it will last long enough to rest him. he wants it, poor little chap." "you want it, too," her husband said gently. "come and lie down while he sleeps." "i won't leave him." she shrank back pitifully. "you needn't, dear. lie down on the sofa. i'll call you if he stirs. i promise, jean." she let him put her on the sofa, wrapping a rug about her, and taking off her slippers. the doctor went out, after whispering a few directions, and john lester sat down beside his son. he did not know much about the outside world since they had come racing home in the car on thursday evening, to find dick's broken body, mercifully unconscious, awaiting them. the car had turned back within five minutes, breaking speed records to bring a doctor from the nearest town, sixty miles away; and since that they had never left the boy's side. to the stupor of unconsciousness had succeeded delirium, when he had struggled with unseen enemies and urged on unseen horses, fighting blindly with pain that robbed him of all sense. the doctor, a young country practitioner, acknowledged his helplessness; the thing was beyond him, and until a surgeon and nurses could arrive from perth he could only administer narcotics and opiates, that had until now been of little effect. there was injury to the head, that was certain; beyond that he feared that the spine was affected. the spear wound, once relieved of the terror that the barb might have been poisoned, was comparatively simple. but john lester's face was old and haggard as he stared at his son. out in the bush, north of the run, infuriated men were scouring the ranges for the flying blacks, dealing out swift justice without waiting for black trackers and police, whose slower methods were little satisfaction to a district that clamoured for revenge. from fifty miles around men had come to help to hunt down the slayers, until narrung resembled a huge camp when night brought the hunters home to the head station. in another room lay merle, ill from shock and exhaustion. she had clung to conqueror's mane until the grey horse came to a standstill at the gate of the home paddock. downes and old harry had found them there, and had had to use force to unclasp her fingers. but the lesters knew nothing of these things. the world, for them, began and ended round dick's bed. the slow hours passed, and still dick and his mother slept. now and then mrs. warner, as haggard as they, tiptoed to the door, bringing food or offering help; but john lester would not leave the room. he ate mechanically, knowing that he must eat; but his eyes scarcely wandered from the dark head on the pillow, half hidden in its ice-pack. he prayed, desperately, muttering thanks for every moment of the blessed sleep that meant freedom from pain---that might bring healing in its wings. all the while he watched for any change--for any shade of colour to creep into the still, white face. but no change came; and the day dragged on to evening. mrs. lester woke with a start, trembling. her husband was beside her in a flash, holding her, whispering. "no change--and he has slept all this time! oh, thank god!" her pale lips quivered--and then she clung to him, starting up. "john--you are sure it is really sleep?" "it's really sleep," he told her. "now you go--get a bath and some food. no, you must do it, jean--remember, this isn't going to be a short business, and you will need all your strength. i'll call you if he moves." mrs. warner came in answer to his finger on the electric bell, and took her away. it was an hour later that dick's eyes opened, and he looked at his mother wearily. "mother," he said. the voice was weak, but his eyes were clear. she kissed him gently. "don't worry, old son." the doctor was beside him, raising his head ever so little. "take this, lad." dick drank obediently and lay without speaking while they busied themselves over him. when he spoke again his voice was steady, but his lips were grey with pain. "what's up, father? am i going to die?" "not you!" said the doctor hastily. the boy's glance went past him, to his father. "am i, father?" "no, my son, i think not. but you're badly hurt. you have got to help us to get you better, dick." dick pondered that, his fingers closed round his mother's. then memory came back to him with a flash. "did we get in all right? is merle hurt?" "no; only knocked up. you brought her in." "i?" said dick. there was a sorry little ghost of his old smile. "i didn't have any say in it. conqueror bolted." "well, you went out for her, and you brought her back," the doctor said. "and now you mustn't talk any more. go to sleep, if you can." but sleep was gone for dick. he lay in silence, with his eyes closed; so quietly that after a while his father gave way to entreaties and went off to find the rest he so badly needed. twilight gave place to darkness, and only a shaded lamp lit the little room. the doctor moved in and out, presently coming to whisper that he was going for a walk. mrs. lester nodded, glad that he should have the opportunity. silence brooded everywhere. it was a little later that she saw that dick's eyes were open. his fingers moved towards her, on the counterpane. she bent over him swiftly. "what is it, my son? a drink?" "no." the word came with difficulty. "if i--if i could hold your hand." she put her hand in his, and felt hot fingers close round it tightly. so he lay, and then a stifled moan broke from him. "is the pain bad, dick?" "pretty stiff," he said. "i'm--i'm sorry, mother." she saw his lips tighten, and he clutched at her fingers desperately. "my aunt!" he gasped presently; and then she heard a whisper, as if to himself--"buck up, school!" she bent over him, murmuring broken words of love and pity. it was almost more than she could bear to see the motionless struggle. he lay, unable to stir; and agony gripped him until his hair lay dark on his wet forehead, and great drops of sweat ran down his grey face. and no cry came. he clung to her hand as if it were the one thing left him in the world, and his lips moved in the school call that surely went straight to god as a prayer for courage and endurance--"buck up, school!" she slipped her hand away presently. "just a second, dick--i want to send a message." she pressed the bell until she heard someone running to answer it, and then sprang to the door. "the doctor, quick! find him--he's in the paddock." dick's eyes were looking for her desperately as she ran back to him. he clutched at her hand. "i thought you'd gone," he gasped, "don't let me go, mother--mother!" "i won't, my darling," she said. "hold tight to me. oh, dick, cry out--it may help you." she saw his head move in the ghost of what had been his old, decided shake. "can't do that," he muttered. his voice died away to an anguished whisper. "buck up!" was all she could hear; and once he carried her hand to his mouth, holding it against his lips as though with it he might hold back the cries to utter which would have been crueller to him than pain itself. it seemed an eternity before she heard the gate of the yard bang, and quick strides across the verandah. the doctor came in, switching on another light. his eyes dwelt pityingly for a moment on the boy's ravaged face. "having a bad time, old man?" he said quietly. "let's see if we can help you." he asked a few questions, his hands busy with dick's arm. there was a prick with a hypodermic needle, and presently it was as though a merciful hand had sponged the lines of agony from dick's face. his lips relaxed their grim line, and the torment died out of his eyes. mrs. lester felt his clutching fingers curl themselves loosely in her palm. "that's ripping!" he murmured sleepily. "thanks, ever so!" his eyelids drooped and closed. mrs. lester's head went down on the bed-side. she was shaking with suppressed sobs. "the trouble is, i haven't enough of the stuff," the doctor told mr. warner presently on the verandah. "i'd had a sudden run on my stock--unusual series of cases, and a fool of a maid smashed a bottle in dusting the surgery. i wired perth for more just before your car came, but i hadn't much to bring up here with me. brereton will bring some with him, of course, but he can't get here before morning." "and you haven't enough to keep the boy out of pain?" the doctor shook his head. "not nearly. i've been using it most cautiously all the time; there'd be none left now but for that splendid sleep he had during the day. now--well, we can only hope that he may sleep again." in the early dawn john lester came out on the verandah, staggering as he walked. mr. warner, who had sat there throughout the night, jumped up, catching him by the arm, but the father shook him off blindly, dropping into a chair a little way off, his whole frame shaking with tearless, rending sobs. mr. warner watched him for a moment, and then hurried away noiselessly. he was back almost instantly, a glass of brandy in his hand. "drink this," he said authoritatively john lester took the draught at a gulp. "he's asleep," he said. "it will only be for a moment, of course--the pain will wake him. my god, warner, it would be easier to see him dead!" "i know," robert warner said. "if he'd cry out!" the father groaned. "he lies there and holds on to us--i tell you my hand is sore from his poor fingers; and his eyes ask us for help, and we can't do a thing. and he will not give in. just 'buck up, school!' when the pain is almost beyond endurance. it's too much strain for him--it would ease him, i believe, if he would scream. we've begged him to let himself go, but he won't." "and his mother?" "she just kneels there and holds his hand, and tries to help him through. i don't know how she stands it. it's been ghastly for the last half-hour--poor little son, he asked for pity at last. 'can't you put me to sleep, doctor?' he said. and there's not a drop of stuff left. it cut the doctor to the heart to tell him." "and then?" "he didn't say anything---only tried to smile. and then i suppose god had pity, for he fell asleep suddenly." he stopped, sitting erect to listen. "there's his mother's voice--he's awake again." he stumbled back into dick's room, and mr. warner heard him speaking, his deep tones wrung with pity and love: "hold on to me, old son." the big man went out with hasty strides across the yard, with tears running unheeded down his cheeks. to and fro he paced; and then, as though the yard were not big enough, he opened the gate with a gesture of helpless impatience, and went down the track. dawn was breaking after the endless night; the trees were black against a sky that began to turn to palest primrose. half way down the paddock mr. warner stopped suddenly, listening to a sound from very far away--only a bushman's ear could have heard the dull whirr. then, as he looked, far across the dim plain came a flash--the twin lamps of a motor. he began to run, uttering a great gasp of relief, thankful to be able to help by even so little as opening a gate. the lights grew in size, speeding across the plain to meet him as he ran down the track, until they were great eyes of fire. he swung the gate open as the car came up, slowing down. a keen-eyed man looked out at him from beside the driver. in the tonneau he could see two nurses in uniform. "this is narrung downs? hullo, is that you, warner?" "don't stop!" robert warner uttered, panting. "room with the light, off the verandah. and for god's sake, brereton, have something ready to put him to sleep." dr. brereton spoke to the chauffeur, and the car whizzed on. they heard it in the sick room; and the westown doctor, with a gesture of relief, went out hurriedly. presently dick, in the grip of pain, almost beyond endurance, saw a new face by his side--dark eyes that looked into his weary ones with compassion, and a voice with a ring of quiet strength. he felt again the divinely merciful prick on his arm. agony and fear slowly slipped away from him. his fingers grew limp in his mother's clasp. she put her cheek against his, and, with a little contented sigh, he fell asleep. chapter xv. under sentence. "i wish i could give you better hope, mr. lester." "is there any loophole?" john lester's face was white and drawn as he leaned against the fence, staring at dr. brereton. there were streaks of grey in his hair that had not been there before the night of dick's agony. the doctor shrugged his shoulders. "there is always a loophole where the patient has youth and strength on his side. but i would not be justified in telling you to hope. i have known no case of the kind that recovered more than a measure of power. these spinal cases are terribly difficult; i suppose in the future we may find out more about them." "but the operation was successful?" mr. warner put in. "the operation was entirely successful--so far as it could go. if it had not been the boy could only have lived a few hours--i was only just in time. indeed, how he lived through what he must have borne is rather a mystery." "and now--tell me again what the sentence is. i want to get it clearly," said the father. "he may outlive you both--though these cases sometimes don't last more than a few years. your boy is so strong that i should not anticipate any change for the worse, however. he should have a fair measure of health and strength--given every possible chance, as he will be, with skilled nursing. but--it would only be false kindness to mince matters, mr. lester--he will never walk again." the world was going black about john lester. mr. warner caught at his arm. "you can do a great deal for him," the doctor's steady voice went on. "fill his life with all the interests you can; get hold of nurses who know how much incurable cases can be trained to do. keep an atmosphere of happiness about him--remember, always, how strongly the mind acts upon the body. he has more pluck than anyone i ever saw, and he will respond." the deep voice was wrung with pity. "i'm sorry for you, lester, from my heart--i've sons myself." "i had only one," said john lester, with dry lips, "and i was too proud of him, i suppose. i was proud of every inch of him, mind and body--his pluck, his strength, his manliness and his clean, straight mind. even as a baby he was always such a plucky kid. i used to say he was ordinary enough, even to his mother, but in my heart i thought no one ever had a son like him. and now--well, i suppose i've got my punishment for being too proud." "you have his pluck still," the doctor said. "he'll need it, as he never needed it before; and your pride in him, too. you can't let yourself get down, mind; dick will need every ounce of help you can give him. don't let him ever feel he is less your son because he can't be the son you've hoped for. you've got to put every personal feeling aside for him and his mother." "his mother! oh, my god!" said john lester desperately. he turned from them and went across the paddock with his head down. "no--don't go after him. he's got to work it out alone, poor chap!" said the surgeon, pityingly. "you haven't told the mother yet?" "no. he wants to tell her himself. but she won't feel it as much." "she! why, she adores the boy!" "yes, but women are different, which is something to be thankful for," said the doctor. "she has the boy still, and the relief of his being alive is so intense that the other part will be secondary. he'll be her baby again; she'll be able to attend him ceaselessly; to spend her whole life on him. that's always going to help a mother. lester won't have as much comfort that way, and he has all a father's broken pride and thwarted ambitions. it's a hard sentence for a man with an only son." from the shadow of a great clump of desert pea a little figure crept--merle, her lank black hair hanging about her tear-stained face. she caught at her father's coat with shaking fingers. "daddy! it isn't true--dick won't be a cripple! say it, daddy!" robert warner looked down at her gloomily. "i wish to god i could," he said. "and i wish i'd never asked them on this unlucky visit." his face hardened as he looked at his daughter. "you'd better go inside, merle--and remember you're not to talk about it." she went obediently, not crying, but with her childish face set in a look of horror that was not good to see. the doctor looked after her. "poor child!" he said. "she came to me last night, and knelt down in front of me and begged me to make dick well. someone has told her it's all her fault." "and so it is," robert warner said heavily. "no good telling a baby that--and she's little more." the doctor lit a cigarette. "and it was only a bit of childish disobedience." "well, its consequences will darken my house as long as i live," mr. warner said. out in the paddocks dick lester's father tramped up and down, trying to realise the thing that had befallen them, and praying for courage to tell his wife. how could he tell her? how to find words to shatter the hopes and the joy that thirteen years had built up so happily? she had always known his love of physical perfection, and from the very first days of dick's dimpled babyhood she had seconded his efforts to make the boy's body splendidly fit. together they had trained him, proud of every fresh step of physical achievement and muscular development. and now--the body they had gloried in lay a helpless log for ever. never to walk, never to ride through the bush and the paddocks that he loved; never to spring to meet them with all his happy soul in his eyes. he groaned aloud in his misery. "i won't tell her to-day," he said. "to-morrow will do." then he saw her coming towards him across the grass, fresh and dainty in her white gown. he went to meet her. "mrs. warner saw you going over here," she said, slipping her hand into his arm. "dick's asleep, and the nurse bullied me into coming out for some fresh air. he's so well this afternoon, the darling! no pain to speak of, and he's quite merry. the nurse says he's doing splendidly." "that's something to be thankful for," her husband said. "are you rested, dear?" "i? oh, it's rest just to see dick out of pain, and to know that he'll be all right soon," she said happily. he tried to answer, and could not. suddenly she turned, looking keenly at his face. "john, there is something wrong!" she went white. "is it dick? tell me quickly!" "dick is doing well," he said hastily. for she trembled so that he was afraid she would faint. "but there is something. sit down on this log." he put her down gently, and stood looking at her, and then in broken words he told her of the doctor's sentence. she heard him almost in silence, uttering now and then a quick question. the colour died even from her lips, but she took the blow without flinching. "are we to tell him?" "no--not until we must." "he was asking the nurse this afternoon when he could get up," she said with a pitiful little smile. "i--i do not know how one could ever tell him. dick--my dick--a cripple! it doesn't seem the sort of thing that could possibly happen." suddenly she stood erect, facing him. "i don't believe it," she said fiercely. "it may seem so now, and i suppose dr. brereton knows as much as most men; but, beloved, we'll never give up hope. he's so young, so strong, so perfect! i don't believe that science won't find the way to cure him. we'll make him as well and strong as we can, and take him to melbourne--to england, to america, to germany, if necessary. thank god, there's money enough! you mustn't believe it, either. we've got to keep happy thoughts all round him; to be certain in our own minds that he'll get well. if we let ourselves despair we make ourselves less able to help him." "you haven't talked to brereton," he said sadly. "no, and, if necessary, i won't talk to him!" she flashed back. "i won't do anything to lessen my faith that dick will get well. doctors have made mistakes before; and you know he said himself that they don't understand spinal trouble yet, john!"--she caught at him fiercely--"don't believe it! god never meant our boy to be a cripple all his life!" "i haven't your pluck," he said. "warner tells me brereton's about the best man in perth; he should know. but there's nothing to be gained, at any rate, by giving way to despair. we'll do all we can to fight the verdict. brereton did say there was always a loophole where there was youth and strength." he took her hands, looking at her. "well, thank god for you, anyhow," he said. "i wonder if there are any depths you wouldn't draw a man from. i came out wondering how i could ever tell you; picturing your despair as black as my own; and instead, you've given me--well, if not hope, at least something to fight for. and that is always something. come home, and we'll see if dick's awake." he wondered often, in the long, hard days that followed, if there were secret moments when her splendid faith and courage did indeed waver. if there were, she did not show them. to dr. brereton she listened calmly, taking in all he said, trying in vain to gather from him a shred of encouragement. at the end she thanked him for saving the boy's life. "i wish i could have given him health as well as life," the doctor said pityingly. "that will come--some day," she told him. "please don't try to make me believe anything else." he shook his head. "it would not be fair to let you hope." "it would not be fair to take hope from me," she said. "that's not going to help dick. perhaps, in ten years, if everything fails, i might believe you. but we're never going to cease believing and trying." "you are a brave woman," he said. "brave! why, i am not brave enough to do without hope," she answered. "if i once believed that dick would never walk again, i would not know how to face life. but he will walk--i know it!" the doctor went back to perth when it was safe to leave dick to the care of the two nurses--experienced, matter-of-fact women, who settled down to the care of an incurable case with a calm professional certainty as to the future that often goaded their patient's mother to the limit of endurance; a fact which they never suspected. dick himself gave little trouble. he was very weak; so tired that it was happiness to lie still, now that there was no longer pain to dread. "i'm jolly lazy," he said--"but if i move i know the pain will come back, so i don't try." he did not dream that movement was impossible. gradually his clean youth triumphed over the minor injuries, and his wounds healed quickly. the westown doctor, who came out twice weekly, professed himself delighted with him; the nurses allowed themselves a touch of pride over his fast-disappearing scars. a faint tinge of colour crept back into his white face. he had no inclination but to lie still; but interest in the outer world awoke once more, and he liked to hear the station talk; the daily stories of work among the cattle--to hear what horses were in use, and how the young ones were shaping in their work. his room, as he grew stronger, became a kind of centre for the household, and everybody drifted there throughout the day--bobby and the twinses, with queer offerings of flowers and such curiosities as stick insects and blue-tongued lizards; mr. warner solemnly asking advice on station matters; macleay, the storekeeper, with dry scots stories. each evening the three jackeroos came to him with the history of the day; tip-toeing at first, with exaggerated caution, and gradually forgetting it, at dick's quick questions, so that the sickroom would become a babel of cheery voices, until the nurse on duty would plead over-excitement for her patient, and turn them all out. dick hated to see them go, although he would be too tired to want them to stay. "makes you nearly forget you're lying on your back," he would say. but there were long hours when he did not seem to want to talk; lying quietly, his eyes always on the patch of sky outside his window, where the gum leaves made a wavering pattern against the blue. hours when he wanted nothing, he said; neither reading nor stories, nor any of the hundred devices with which they sought to make his day less long. what did he think of? his mother wondered wretchedly, watching the still face against the white pillows. were there fears in his brave heart? unknown terrors of the future, that he would not tell even to her? she would ask him if he were in pain, and he would shake his head with a little smile--the smile that never failed for her. but if there were times when mrs. lester's own courage wavered, it was in those quiet hours when something beyond her knowledge seemed to be drawing dick away from her into a silence where she might not enter. one shadow haunted the verandah outside the room--merle, white-faced and wretched, haunted by self-reproach too agonising for a child's mind. whatever bitterness might have been in dick's mother vanished at the dumb misery in her eyes. she put her arm about the little girl, holding her tightly, while merle clung to her, shaken with dry sobs. "i wish i was dead!" she had gasped. "you mustn't say that," mrs. lester said. "dick would hate to hear you. and you must help us to get him well!" "but they say he'll never be well!" "hush!" the mother's hand was across her mouth. "i don't believe that. you must come to see him when he is stronger, and help to cheer him up." curiously, it became apparent after a time that dick liked to have merle in the room. she never talked much, and it did not seem that she knew how to smile; but a queer sympathy sprang up between them, for which words were not necessary. she developed an instinct, almost uncanny, for knowing what he wanted. at all times he was slow to voice any need--his sturdy independence was one of the hardest sacrifices he had to make on the altar of his helplessness, and it died hard. merle divined needs almost before they shaped themselves in his mind. he would find a book, a fresh handkerchief, a piece of fruit, within reach of his hand, put there with a silence that wished to avoid thanks. she saw him feeling awkwardly for his watch, and presently a little clock from her own room was placed at an angle where he could always see it. if the blind flapped, or the door creaked, or the light fell too strongly on his eyes, it was merle who saw it first, and went quietly to mend matters. "i think she sits there just trying to imagine what dick may want, so that she may do it for him," mrs. lester said to her husband. "that child's a born nurse, if only she had a decent bedside manner," said one nurse to the other. but dick liked her manner. it was "not fussy," he said. she did things quietly, and he soon learned that she hated to be thanked by anything but a glance and a nod. a silent comprehension drew them together, until, after his mother and father, he preferred merle to any other attendant. so the weeks went by; and at last one day the westown doctor declared his part of the work done. "i can't do any more for him," he said to mr. lester. "he has a clean bill of health now, except for the one big thing." "and that is no better?" the other man shook his head. "it can't be any better, mr. lester. i wish i could think otherwise." "what about moving him?" the father asked. "we can't quarter ourselves at narrung for ever--even if we wished. and i want to get the boy to melbourne." "it's a brute of a journey," the doctor said. "still, it must be faced some time, and the hot weather will make it worse, the longer you wait." he thought deeply. "the train is vile; and the drive to it, even in the warners' big car, would be a strain." "my own idea," john lester said, "was to get a motor ambulance from perth, and do the whole journey by road. do you think it's workable?" "it's your best plan, i believe," the doctor said, with relief. "brereton would fix it up for you." "we can make the stages what we choose, according to dick's strength," said mr. lester. "i should take tents, and, if necessary, we could camp on the road. dick would be better off in the ambulance than in some of the wayside hotels. if it took us a fortnight or more it would be easier for him than that jolting, grinding train." "there's no risk to the boy," the doctor said. "only weariness, and you want to spare him as much of that as you can." a week later mrs. lester sat on the verandah outside dick's room. her husband had been reading to dick; the boy had fallen asleep under the spell of the low, deep voice, and now the father sat watching him. she looked wearily across the garden to the wide paddocks beyond. two months ago they had driven over them for the first time, radiant in the happiness, still a new thing, of being all together; to-night she looked at them for the last time, and there was bitterness in her soul. they were to take dick away in the morning, the wreck of what he had been; that had been fate's gift to them at narrung, the sorry end of the visit that had promised such brightness. before them lay new happiness or despair--which? a soft step roused her. merle stood there, with a kind of trembling determination in her face. "mrs. lester," she said, "will you take me with you?" "take you, merle? my dear child, how could we?" merle suddenly slipped to the floor beside her, catching at her skirt. "i'll slave for you," she said wildly. "i'll do any mortal thing i can. if you leave me here i'll go mad. i 'spect you must hate me, but dick doesn't, though i don't know why he doesn't. nobody can hate me like i do myself." "nobody hates you at all, merle." "people must. d'you think i don't know what i've done?" the child stammered. "wouldn't you let me come, just for a bit, to work for you--to help you to look after dick? i'd never be any trouble. i can do my own hair and everything. i'd just be legs for dick!" "legs?" queried mrs. lester, puzzled. "yes. it's all my fault he can't use his. if i came i could just be there to hand him things and run his errands. he doesn't mind telling me to do things, but he won't ask you, 'cause he hates you to get tired. oh, couldn't i come, just as dick's legs?" mr. lester appeared in the doorway. "take care--dick is awake." they heard dick's voice, "mother." "yes, sonnie." mrs. lester put merle aside and went in. "don't let that poor kiddie cry," he said. "i say, couldn't we take her?" "you want her, dick?" said his mother, amazed. "oh, she's not a bad kid," dick said. "i give you an awful lot of work now, and she'd save you a bit. and she wants to come ever so. might as well let her, don't you think?" mrs. lester looked at her husband uncertainly. "if you want her i expect you can have her, old son," he said. "i'll see what her father and mother say." he went out, leaving dick and his wife alone. a small, sobbing figure crept after him. dick looked at his mother steadily. "i say, mother--am i getting better?" "why, of course you are, old man," she said brightly. "when am i going to sit up?" it was the question she had long dreaded, and she was ready for it. "when your back strengthens sufficiently. you must give it time, beloved." "it's not the spear wound? nurse says that's all right." "oh, the spear wound was nothing--beyond being painful at first. you see, when conqueror threw you, you fell on an outcrop of ironstone, and that is what has given you the real trouble." she forced a smile. "you know, you can't bounce about on ledges of rock as if you were india-rubber!" he was silent a moment, and then spoke suddenly; and there was terror in his eyes. "mother--my back isn't broken?" "no!" she said quickly. "you'd tell me--straight?" "on my honour, dick." he heaved a big sigh. "i've been wondering ... lying here," he said, "i'd heard about fellows with broken backs, and i do feel so queer and helpless. of course i knew i couldn't get well all in a hurry; but i thought it was about time i could move my legs." he looked at her with the absolute trust that all his life she had seen in his eyes. twice she tried to speak before words would come. "will you just go on being patient, dick?" she said at last. "i know it is hard--and you have been wonderfully good. try not to get impatient yet." "i can stick it all right if i know i'm going to get better," dick said. "and you say i am, mother." she met his eyes. "i believe you are, dick--with god's help." "well, that's all right--mother-est," he said; and he took her hand and carried it to his cheek. so they stayed together while darkness crept into the room. she would have stirred once to switch on the light, but he said, "ah, don't go away," and she drew closer to him. through the open windows the kind stars looked down in pity as her lips moved, praying. chapter xvi. the long trail. it was a queer procession that moved away from narrung homestead in the early morning. a great motor ambulance, with a bed for dick that was a marvel of cushions and springs, went first, his mother and a nurse with him. mr. lester and the second nurse followed in another car that had come up from perth; and, last of all, mr. warner, in his own motor, with merle's little white face beside him. for merle had got her wish--not because it was hers, but because of dick's few words. "if dick wants merle, or my house, or every penny i have in the world, he has only got to say so," mr. warner had said. "if she's in the way, or whenever dick is tired of her, you can consign her to her grandmother in perth." he looked at merle as if she were a bale of goods. if the words stung her she made no sign. both the cars were piled high with baggage. where possible they would stay in towns on the way, but since dick's fatigue might demand that they should stop at any moment, there were tents to be carried, food, cooking utensils--all that was necessary for his comfort. the driver of the ambulance was a skilled man, trained to steer his great car so gently as to avoid the slightest jolt, if the roads were reasonably good--and there were favourable reports of the condition of the tracks. the westown doctor had arrived the night before on his motor cycle to see his patient start; he helped to carry him out, with the nurses, when it was time to go. dick was a little flushed with excitement, and his eyes very bright. he smiled at the people who thronged round to say good-bye to him, and his weak hand had a special pat for bobby--bobby, who wailed because he was going, and refused to be comforted. the doctor and nurses hurried the farewells; their patient must not have any more fatigue than was necessary. indeed, the doctor heaved a sigh of relief when he was safely in the ambulance, and it moved slowly away down the paddock. the two mothers clung together for a moment at the last. "i would give up my own son if i could give yours back to you," mrs. warner murmured. tears were running down her kind face. "i will have him back," mrs. lester said steadily. "some day you must come to see him--straight and well again." but mrs. warner had no words. the day passed more easily than they had dared to hope. if the tracks were sandy, at least they were in good order; the ambulance passed over them gently, and the fresh air acted as a sedative to dick, who slept calmly during the warmest hours of the morning. they pitched a camp early in the afternoon, afraid to make the first stage a long one. it was an ideal spot--a grassy clearing, ringed round with tall trees and low bushes, full of birds that had never learned to be afraid of humans. dick begged to be taken out, and they lifted his stretcher into the shade, where he could lie watching the business of camping. mr. warner and mr. lester were old hands at the business; the tents went up, firewood was brought in, and the camp-fire lit, and their evening meal prepared, long before it was time to put dick back to bed and make him comfortable for the night. he put off the moving as long as he could. "i've been in bed so jolly long--i'm sick of four walls," he pleaded. so they let him wait until their meal was over and dusk came down; and the nurses, fearing the chill of the evening air, became adamant, and carried him off. [illustration: "they pitched a camp early in the afternoon."] mrs. lester woke when the first rays of the sun came into her tent. she slipped on a coat and hurried across to the ambulance, peeping in. already the nurse was busying herself about nourishment, and dick's eyes, clear and merry, peeped at her over the edge of his blankets. "isn't it jolly, mother! did you sleep well?" "ever so well," she told him. "and you?" "oh, we've had a beautiful night!" the nurse said, cheerfully. "my patient snored serenely, while the 'possums and wombats and things kept me awake. this boy of yours thrives on the bush, mrs. lester!" "but, of course; isn't he a bush baby?" she laughed. not since his illness had there been such a ring of health in dick's voice. looking at his face, with its touch of colour, it seemed impossible that presently he would not leap up to join her in the old way, to ramble through the trees, exploring the new world. her thoughts flew back to their last day near perth, when he had gone climbing, swinging from bough to bough with all his lithe young body like a steel spring, supple and strong. now--she choked back the sigh that came to her lips. "can he get up to breakfast, do you think, nurse?" "oh, i think so, as he's so good!" "well, rather!" dick stated. "wash me quick, nurse, dear, and take me out. i want to see trees and scrub, and bacon frying, and everything. oh--cocoa? well, all right!" he submitted to be fed, more or less meekly. so the days passed, one like the other. they left the main roads as they came near civilisation, finding good camping places, since dick showed that he had a dread of being taken to hotels. "i don't want to be carted in and out, with people staring at me," he pleaded. "and the bush is so lovely. you don't mind camping, mother?" she would have lain on the bare earth to keep the ring of happiness in his voice. they made each day's journey short, so that the vibration, however softened, should not affect him. it never tired him to be in the open, watching them move about the camp. his old keen interest awoke again. they made a point of consulting him about everything, so that he should feel himself an active part of each day's life, his father desiring his opinion about the set of a tent rope with earnestness equal to that of mr. warner when he carried a pan of bacon to his side to find out if it were properly cooked. the motor driver entered into the spirit of it, and discoursed to him learnedly on the finer parts of his car's anatomy; and no one thought of watching the billy, since it was dick's job to attend to it, and to call out when the steam poured from the lid. merle had a task all her own. from the moment they halted each day she sought through the bush tirelessly bringing to his bedside whatever treasures she could gather--flowers, deserted nests, curiously marked stones, gorgeous beetles; all that keen eyes could find. dick grew to look for her collections with delighted interest. "my word, you are a brick, the way you find things!" he told her. as she had begged mrs. lester, so her desire came to her--she was indeed "legs" to him. he could not shake off his innate distaste for asking older people to run about for him. even with the nurses he would go without something he wanted rather than send one on an errand. somehow, merle was different. he began to look on her rather as a younger brother; to find it easy to employ one whose eagerness to be employed was evident in every look. he never omitted thanks, but she did not want them. her gratitude was for being used--thanks did not matter. with everyone else she was as silent as ever. sometimes mrs. lester would manage to make her talk a little; but for the most part she rarely spoke, and when she was not watching dick her eyes followed her father about like a hungry dog's. she knew that he no longer wanted her. in his way he was sorry for her; but his overmastering feeling was angry disgust and impatience that through one of his children so bitter a calamity had befallen his friends. he had said to his wife, "when i look at that boy, remembering what he was, and then think it is merle's fault that he lies there, i feel as if i never wanted to see her again." the journey might have been accomplished much more quickly than it was. there was no need to hurry, for there was no doubt that the open-air life was doing dick good. he was as helpless as ever, but his appetite was keener; he slept better and he had fewer attacks of pain. they watched him hungrily, snatching at each hopeful sign. supplies ran out, but it was easy for one of the cars to run ahead into a town and lay in a store of all that they needed. the weather held good, with calm, starry nights, that made sleeping in the open delightful. they were all better for the trip when at last they rolled into perth late one afternoon. dr. brereton had made all arrangements for them. his big private hospital was on the outskirts of the city, and there dick was installed with his nurses in a room with a balcony overlooking the swan, where he might be wheeled to pass the day. they found a corner also for mrs. lester, since she flatly refused to be parted from dick; and there was a hotel not far off for the others. dr. brereton whistled with delight when he came in to see his former patient. "well, young man! why, you look as fit as a fiddle!" he ejaculated. "what have you been doing with him, mrs. lester? he's brown as a berry." "camping suits him, and we have been over a fortnight on the road," she said, smiling. "i don't know how he is going to stand being inside walls again." "we'll keep him on the balcony, then," responded the doctor. "feel strong, old man?" "pretty good," dick nodded. "i'll be all right once i can sit up. when will that be, doctor?" "oh, some day. we've got to get you thoroughly fit first," the doctor evaded. dick's face fell. what he had hoped from his meeting with dr. brereton only he knew. "don't you think i'm well enough to try now?" he pleaded. "you don't know how jolly well i feel." "i'm going to bring another man to see you to-morrow," the doctor said. "too late to-night to overhaul you; but i want to see how my job looks." "oh, your job was all right long ago--you did it awfully well," dick assured him kindly. "dr. carter took the stitches out at narrung." "hurt you?" "well--everything hurts a bit," dick admitted. "it didn't hurt more than other things. i'd be lonely now if i didn't have an ache or two!" "poor old chap!" "oh i'm all right. at least, i would be, i know, if you'd let me sit up. no one could get well, always lying flat. why you couldn't keep me flatter if my silly back was broken!--and you said it wasn't, didn't you, mother?" his eyes were like a pleading animals. mrs. lester smiled at him with stiff lips. "and it isn't, old son. but you must be patient--give us time." dick saw her mouth quiver, and was seized with swift penitence. "i didn't mean to be a brute, mother. i won't worry you." he gave a little laugh. "you see, dr. brereton was someone new for me to worry, so i had to." "h'm!" said the doctor. "we poor wretches are supposed to be able to stand anything. never mind--just wait until you're up, and able to fight----" he was interrupted by a quick cry from dick. the boy's eyes were shining, his voice shaking with excitement. "doctor! you mean that! you mean i'll t-truly be up--able to f-fight--i won't lie here always! you did m-mean it----!" mrs. lester turned to the window, unable for a moment to command her face. the doctor patted the boy's head with swift remorse. "of course i meant it, old man," he spoke soothingly. "only you must give us time." "i'll wait any time, if i know it's all right," dick muttered. a shade of weariness passed over his face. then he looked at his mother, and put out a hand to her. "been a beast again," he said apologetically. "didn't mean to, mummie--only he sort of surprised me." she dropped a butterfly kiss on his brow. "here's nurse with your tea," she said, thankful for the diversion. "i wonder how you will like food cooked in a respectable oven again?" "there's no food anywhere like the food you cook over a camp fire," dick declared. "you can't have lost the camp appetite yet," said the nurse warmly. "so don't tell me." she tucked a napkin under his chin with a deft movement. "please, we would like people to run away--my lion doesn't like to be watched while he's fed!" "i'm sorry i said it," dr. brereton confessed out in the corridor. "one says things hurriedly--anything to soothe a patient. and you know i strongly advised that he should not be told his case was hopeless." "no, and of course we have not told him so. but i think he looked on any statement from you as coming with special authority. i'm sorry, too; he has never been so excited." "poor little chap! i wouldn't have given him false hope for anything." "and you are sure it is false?" he shrugged his shoulders. "i haven't any hope, mrs. lester. it wouldn't be fair to you to tell you otherwise. mind, i would leave no stone unturned; i want another surgeon, the best man in perth, to examine him with me to-morrow. but i think his verdict will be the same as my own." they told it to the parents gently next morning trying to soften the cruel words. no hope, so far as they could see, that dick would ever walk again. in time, with special treatment and massage he might sit up; but further than that they could promise nothing. "he's wonderfully strong," dr. brereton said. "everything is in his favour, to a limited extent; there's no reason why he should not have a long and happy life, because he has pluck enough to face the future when once it becomes necessary to tell him." "you would not tell him yet?" mr. lester said. the doctor shook his head. "he's too young--too full of hope. later on, when lying still has become second nature"--mrs. lester shivered suddenly--"it will be easier for him to bear the telling. now, if you take hope from him, he might slip back." "what did you say to him this morning? he asked you, of course?" "oh, yes, he asked, poor laddie. we put him off; told him--it's the truth, too--that he was getting on well, but that he must be patient and put up with the massage. it will be painful, you know, mrs. lester. he was very good--extraordinarily patient under our handling this morning. after it all he was dog-tired, so we have put him to sleep. the nurse is with him." "when do you think we can move him to melbourne?" mr. lester asked. "oh--almost any time. let him have a few days' rest. i should advise you to get passages on one of the big mail steamers; the inter-state boats are more apt to kick about if there's bad weather in the bight. not that you should have bad weather now." "the _occident_ is due next week," the second doctor put in. "she's one of their newest boats--you should be able to get a deck cabin on her for the boy. i know the manager here, mr. lester; would you care to go round with me and arrange matters?" so dick, lying wearily on his balcony that afternoon, still stiff and sore from the morning's handling, heard with relief that they were to be homeward bound. "that's jolly," he said. "i'd like to see melbourne again--and the fellows at school. will the old doc. let bottles and nuge and teddy come to see me, do you think, mother?" "of course he will," mrs. lester said. "they will be wild to hear about your adventures--think of the untold sums they have spent on wiring to you!" the story of the northern blacks' raid upon narrung had been sent to the papers in the eastern states, and dick had been inundated with telegrams from his school. "well, it will be great to see them," he said. "perhaps one of them would come up to kurrajong next holidays, mother; i expect i'll be sitting up by then, so it wouldn't be so very dull for them." he grinned. "old bottles is going to be a doctor--it would be handy for him to practise on me!" "thank you," said the nurse hurriedly; "i'd rather not!" "so would i," agreed dick. "just you keep your eye on him, though, nurse; he's safe to have some patent pill of his own that he'll be mad keen to give me!" "i will be there," said the nurse, with a grim determination not to quit her patient's side during any invasion by bottles. "mother," dick said, "will there be more doctors in melbourne?--more overhauling like to-day?" "there may be, my son. you won't mind, dick, if it's to make you better?" "oh, no," he said. "anything's better than lying still. i didn't seem to mind it so much at narrung, but since we began to move about, and i feel stronger, i just feel that i'd be all right if i could only get up. but these silly asses of doctors won't let me try." "never mind," said his father hastily. "we'll see what the melbourne men say. meanwhile, i've got you such a jolly deck cabin on the _occident_, dick, with one for mother and me next door. you'll be able to be out on deck every day. it's her first trip out, and she's one of the finest boats that ever came to australia. it will be something to tell the boys that you came in her." "yes, that'll be ripping," said dick, with interest. "i say, father, what about merle?" "well, i don't know," mr. lester said, pondering. "i know she wants to come with us; and if you would like to have her, of course she can come." "oh, i don't think i could do without my old 'legs,' could i?" said dick, laughing. "do let her come--she just hates the idea of going back to narrung. and let me tell her, father, will you--she'll be no end bucked!" chapter xvii. how merle jumped from a tram. merle was waiting at the street corner for a tram. it was the day before they were to sail for melbourne, and she had been to say good-bye to her grandmother; the distance was not great, and she was allowed to make the little trip to and from the hotel by herself. she was impatient, for she was to go on to the hospital to see dick; and the only part of merle's day worth consideration to her was the part she spent in being "legs" to the boy. she looked up the long road, fidgeting and frowning to see no tram in sight. two men came strolling along and stopped near her, also glancing up the tram track. they went on chatting, without noticing the small figure by the lamp post. "----won't be out here long," one said, completing a sentence. "no, he's not coming out to practise; just on a visit to melbourne to see his mother. he's been away four years, and she is getting old." "he was always a very devoted son, wasn't he?" the other said. "yes, very. my brother died when the boy was at school, and he's been everything to his mother. of course he would have done remarkably well in the ordinary course of things; he had a big practice before he went to germany. but his mother was as keen as he was about his becoming a specialist, and he has always been determined to keep himself abreast of the latest discoveries in spinal treatment." "the spine was always neil's pet subject." "yes--he used to say there ought to be another big war, because then surgeons had a chance of finding out things they would never find in ordinary practice. true enough, too. anyhow, he has been at extended research work in america and germany these four years, and when he finally comes out he will practise only as a spine specialist. that won't be for another two years, however; this is only a flying visit, as i said." the word "spine" had caught merle's idle ears, and she was listening, with parted lips, her breath coming quickly. "there's the tram," the first man said. "lunch with us at the club to-morrow, won't you, onslow? i'd like you to meet my nephew again. the _occident_ gets in in the morning, and i'm going to run down in the car to meet him, and bring him up for the day." "thanks, i'll be delighted," his friend said. he nodded good-bye as the tram rattled up. the first man stood aside courteously to let merle in, and then sat down in a seat across the aisle. the tram banged its way down the hill. the conductor said, "fares, please!" three times, each with mounting impatience, before merle realised that he was speaking to her. then she took out her purse and paid him mechanically, with an air so distracted that the conductor reported later to the motorman that there was a kid back there quite cracked. her heart was thumping furiously. someone was on the _occident_--someone who knew all about spines--who might cure dick! someone who would not practise; but if he only saw dick, he might relent. she did not think anyone could possibly see dick and not relent. anyway, if he were asked. and then she realised with a kind of horror that she did not know his name. she looked across the aisle at the man who had talked about his nephew. he was kind-looking, she thought; short and plump, with a grey beard and nice eyes. he surely would not mind being asked. but to speak to a stranger was a stupendous task to merle, who found it difficult enough to speak to anyone she knew quite well. the very thought was enough to make her trembling and tongue-tied. perhaps, if he got off when she did. and just then she looked again, and almost cried aloud in her dismay. the tram had stopped, unnoticed by her, and the man had got off and was walking briskly up a side street. the conductor's bell had rung, and the tram was already under way as she started up, springing to the side. a woman caught at her dress with an alarmed exclamation; from his end of the car the conductor uttered an angry shout of warning; but merle did not heed them. she swung herself to the roadway, spinning round as she alighted, and finally falling heavily. the tram was stopped, people were shouting. her one thought was to get away. she scrambled to her feet, brushing the dust from her dress, and, bruised but determined, raced up the side street. "it's the cracked kid," reported the conductor gloomily, ringing his car on again. "wonder why they let her out without a keeper. that's the sort as makes us chaps get bad marks on our tickets!" he stared wrathfully after merle as long as she was in sight. the stout gentleman heard running feet behind him, but he was in a hurry, and did not turn until a breathless voice addressed him. "oh, please!" merle panted. "bless my soul!" said the man, looking at the dishevelled figure. "are you hurt? what's the matter?" "you were talking," merle choked--and then took a long breath--"about a man on the _occident_--somebody who knows all about the spine." "well--if i was?" said the amazed westralian. "oh, please, would you tell me his name?" "why on earth----?" merle cut him short. "oh, tell me! there's a boy going on the _occident_ with a hurt spine--he might look at him! it wouldn't hurt you." "well----" began the man, staring at her. "my nephew won't practise, if that's what you mean. but his name is neil fraser, if you must know. better not tell him i told you, for he's on a holiday, and doesn't want to think about spines!" "he couldn't help it if he knew dick!" said merle solemnly. "thanks, very much." she turned. "i must go and catch another tram." "i think you had better let me brush you down a bit first," said the westralian, suiting the action to the word. "i've got daughters myself, and if your mother sees the state your frock is in----!" merle submitted to his ministrations more or less gratefully. at the moment it would not have mattered to her if she had no frock at all. she was seething with excited hope. each night she prayed blindly, desperately, to some god she did not in the least realise that he would make dick well--that he would let her work out her wickedness by taking dick's pain, if he only could. perhaps god was really there, after all--perhaps he really meant to help! she said good-bye to the fatherly westerner, and managed to get back to the hotel--how, she never knew. a great thought had come to her. she had heard of cases of skin-graft--taking skin from a sound person to heal another's wound. perhaps this wonderful new man could take a piece of her spine and put it into dick's. she knelt down by her bed, and prayed wildly to god that he would arrange it. "it doesn't matter what becomes of me," she said. "daddy has two sons, and i'm only a girl--and they've only dick. and it's all my fault. if you can fix it so's he'll be able to walk soon, before he gets any discourageder, i don't care what you do to me. oh, god, won't you let this fraser man know all about spines like dick's!" it was a queer prayer; but who shall say that it did not go straight upwards? the burden of merle's secret was heavy upon her as she climbed the gangway of the _occident_ next day. she had not dared to speak to anyone, in a childish fear of being ridiculed; and the temptation to speak to dick was so strong that in resisting it she became entirely silent, until dick grew worried, and said finally, "look here, legs, old girl, are you really sure you want to come?" "want to come?" she looked at him in a dazed way. "oh, i never wanted anything so much in my life! you don't want to leave me behind, do you?" "rather not!" dick said, relieved. "you're jolly good to me, you know, old legs! only i thought you were a bit down in the mouth at leaving your father. sure you're not?" she shook her head emphatically. "no. he wants me to go with you. you can send me back any time, you know, to grannie. but even if you send me back at once, i want to go on the _occident_." dick, being a gentleman, was indignant. "you make me feel like a perfect beast!" he said warmly. "i don't want to send you back at all--and i wish you wouldn't talk as if you were a beastly parcel! you're coming up to kurrajong with us, and you'll have to ride tinker for me until i can ride him myself." until he could ride himself! the words were in her ears as she climbed the gangway, up which two sailors had carried dick's stretcher carefully a moment before. she went to the side of the ship, scanning the faces of the passengers as they came along the pier, wondering which could be "neil fraser," and hoping that any man with a specially kind face would be he. the time passed, and the cry of "visitors ashore!" startled her. then she heard her father's voice behind her. "that you, merle? i'm going." his big face was sadder than she had ever seen it, and he kissed her gently. she flushed; he had not often kissed her since dick's accident. "be a good girl, and do all you possibly can for that poor boy. remember, none of us can ever make up what we have cost him. if--if you see anything he would like, buy it for him--you can have all the money you want." he half turned, and she heard him say miserably under his breath, "if one were not so helpless!" then he put his hand on her shoulder. "it's something--just a little--if you can be legs for him. don't spare yourself." "i won't," she said. "oh, i won't, daddy!" he kissed her again, and went down the gangway. she watched his huge form threading its way along the pier. his head was bent down, and he did not look back again. dick did not leave his cabin that evening. he was tired with the excitement of starting, and was, moreover, developing an invalid's dread of being stared at. the nurses kept him very quiet; even merle was not allowed inside the cabin, and she wandered about miserably, handicapped by her shyness, and wondering how, in the crowded mail steamer, she was ever going to find a man she did not know. she went to bed with the problem still unsolved, slept badly, and got up early in the morning, dressing as noiselessly as possible in order not to disturb the nurse whose cabin she shared. in the alleyway she met a steward, and a sudden thought came to her. "steward," she said, "do you know which is mr. fraser's cabin?" "not in my lot," said the steward carelessly. "you don't know 'is number, by any chance?" "no." "well, i dunno. ask some of the other stewards--or the purser'd tell you, of course." merle's courage was fast oozing away; to tackle the purser, a mysterious and terrible individual of great power, was a task beyond her. she dived into her pocket and produced a bright half-crown. "you find out for me," she said, proffering the coin, which the steward pocketed with an adroitness born of long habit. "it's very important; i've got to know soon. i'll come down after breakfast, and you tell me and i'll give you another." "right-oh!" said the steward, with a new respect for a small girl who could distribute half-crowns with such large ease. "i'll 'ave 'is number ready for you, miss." dick was better; a good night had made him inclined for breakfast, and he was longing to get out into the fresh air, even if people did look at him. he kept merle busy, running errands and telling him all about the passengers; and it was not until the nurses were ready to prepare him for going out that she was able to slip away and hurry down to her own cabin. the steward met her, rather aggrieved. "nice little jig-saw puzzle you set me, miss!" he said. "mr. fraser, you says; well, there's seven frasers on board! now which is it?" merle's face fell. "seven!" she exclaimed. "how will i ever--oh, but, of course, his name's neil!" "ah, that's something like," said the steward, cheering up. he consulted a paper in his hand. "neil--that's n. well, there's two n. frasers, apparently, miss; n. f. fraser in , and n. h. fraser in . now, which is your mark, i wonder?" "i don't know," merle said hopelessly. "couldn't you find out for me?" a sudden cry of "smithers!" smote upon the ear of the steward. "that's me," he said hurriedly. "'fraid i'll 'ave to go, miss--that's my chief 'owlin'. you won't 'ave any difficulty in findin' your man--just try each in turn." he put the paper into her hand, and almost mechanically merle parted with her second half-crown, and watched him rush off in response to another call. merle stood looking at the paper for a helpless moment. to track these mysterious frasers to their lairs seemed a task beyond her courage. still, there was nothing to be gained by putting it off--and the sooner she set about finding her man, the sooner would her suspense about dick be relieved. so she set her lips firmly and went off along the alleyways, hunting for one of the numbers she wanted. she found one presently-- . no one was about, and she knocked at the door timidly. there was no response at first; but presently awful sounds arose, and merle realised with a shudder of horror that the inmate of was extremely seasick! she took to her heels, rushing wildly along the corridor until she considered herself at a safe distance--scarcely realising that nothing was further than pursuit from the mind of the unfortunate . then she stopped to consider the position; what she should do if the terrible man she had heard was indeed the object of her quest; what, if, as might well be, was in no better case. there seemed nothing to be gained by standing still, however, so she wandered up companions and along alleyways until she found herself confronting the second cabin on her list. the door was shut, and she stood trying to summon up her courage to knock; and feeling the said courage rapidly oozing from her. but before she had time to make up her mind, the door opened suddenly, and a man came out, so quickly that he nearly knocked her over. "i beg your pardon!" he said, stepping back. "i didn't know anyone was there." he looked mildly surprised; but his voice was pleasant and his clean-shaven face was so keen and alert, and his eyes were so kindly, that merle was suddenly no longer afraid. "did you knock?" he went on. "were you looking for anyone?" "i'm looking for someone called neil fraser," merle stammered. "i do hope you're him!" "well--i am!" he said, and laughed. "why did you want me?" twice she tried to speak, and could not. he saw the struggle in her face and patted her shoulder. "is anything wrong?" he asked. "i am a doctor--can i help you? come in and tell me." he drew her into the cabin. merle made a tremendous effort, and her words came with a rush. "i know all about you," she said. "you've been all over the world finding out all about spines, and now you've got to cure dick's!" "dick's?" he said. "what's wrong with dick's?" "it's all wrong--broken or something. i don't know what. it's all my fault, anyhow; cause i went out and the blacks nearly got me, only dick came after me--and they speared him, and he fell off conqueror when he was galloping, and lobbed on some rocks, and now they say he'll never walk again. and he must walk--you don't know how splendid he is! he's only thirteen, and you couldn't let a boy like that be a cripple all his life if you could cure him!" suddenly she went down on her knees before him, catching at his hand. "can't you do what they do with skin when they graft it?" she prayed. "can't you take a bit of my spine? you can have every bit of it, if it'll make dick's all right. i know it's quite a good spine, if you'll only use it!" if he wanted to laugh he did not show it. he pulled her to her feet gently. "i can't do that," he said; "we're not clever enough yet. but i'll do what i can, though, of course, i can't promise to cure him. tell me more about dick. where is he?" "he's on the ship. we came on yesterday. his father and mother--and two nurses, and me. he's in a deck cabin; i'll take you to see him if you'll come; he'll be out on deck now." "how long is it since he was hurt?" "over two months. it was up on our station. they got dr. brereton from perth up to him first, and then they took him to perth in an ambulance now they're taking him to melbourne, and they'll take him all over the world to try and get him cured. and--" her voice broke into sobs, and tears ran down her face--"he doesn't know they say he'll always be a cripple. he lies so still, but he's always planning for when he's going to get up and ride again." "poor lad!" said dr. fraser. "and are you his sister?" "me?" said merle. "no; i'm just his legs!" "are you?" he said, and laughed for the first time. "well, you're a plucky little girl, anyhow. shall we come up and see dick?" they went up together. dick was lying in the shade of a deck house, a nurse beside him. he opened his eyes as merle came up, and grinned at her. "hullo, old legs!" he said. "where have you been? i've been out ever so long." "oh, just about," said merle vaguely. "dick this is--er--neil fraser." she flushed scarlet, conscious of the peculiar nature of the introduction. dr. fraser sat down near the stretcher, apparently unconscious of anything unusual. dick had shrunk into his shell at the idea of speaking to a stranger, but this man proved to be a very decent sort of person, with no tactless ways of looking at a fellow's stretcher, or of making silly inquiries as to how long a fellow had been ill. he chatted away, in a low pleasant voice, and actually of horses! he had been, it seemed, in the western states of america, and had the queerest stories of cowboys and their ways and their horses, told in a quaint american drawl that made them irresistibly funny. the nurse slipped away. a little way off mr. and mrs. lester were talking to the captain; they glanced round once or twice, hearing dick laugh as he had not laughed since his accident. the poor mother flushed with pleasure. "listen to my boy," she said. "who is his new friend, captain?" the captain looked round. "a nice fellow, and a clever one," he said. "dr. neil fraser, of melbourne. i believe he's a spine specialist, but i don't know for certain. wonder if he could do your boy any good, mrs. lester? he can make him laugh, that's certain." the father and mother stared at each other. "a spine specialist!" mrs. lester murmured. "so our doctor says. he's a quiet fellow, with i don't know how many letters after his name; but he's out for a holiday, and doesn't mix much with the other passengers. i should say someone must have told him about your boy." "one of the nurses, perhaps," mr. lester said. "i wonder----" he paused, and looked long at neil fraser's face, and came to dick's conclusion that it was a face to invite confidence. the captain strolled off to talk to other passengers. john lester put his hand on his wife's arm. "shall we go and speak to him?" "no, don't go," she said. "he and dick are getting on famously--let us leave them to make friends. john, do you think----" "i don't know," he said slowly. "somehow when i saw him beside dick a queer wave of hope came over me. i'd almost forgotten what hope was like. he looks clever, jean." "and kind," she said. "let us go and find the ship's doctor, and ask him about him." the ship's doctor, a grizzled old scot, had only good words to say of neil fraser. "he's going to be a great man," he said. "i heard of him in london from my brother--a doctor in harley street. he did some great work at munich, did fraser, and i knew of a case he tackled in london with extraordinary results. oh, i'd certainly advise you to talk to him, mr. lester. he's not practising, of course, but i'm certain he wouldn't refuse to give you an opinion, at least." "does he only doctor spines?" asked mrs. lester. "from all i hear," said the scot drily, "he's disinclined to recognise any part of the body but the spine! he's spine mad." he hesitated. "i tell you this, mrs. lester; whatever opinion he gives you i don't think you need go past it. if neil fraser can't cure your boy there is no one, in australia at any rate, who can." outside the surgery the lesters looked in each other's eyes. "jean!" he said. "take care, dearest; don't let yourself hope too much." "i shouldn't, i suppose," she said, trembling. "but--we've prayed, john; who knows if god has not sent us on this ship to answer us!" "come and we'll find him," her husband said. neil fraser was still talking to dick. the boy called them eagerly as they came up. "that's father and mother!" he said. "do come here; this is mr. fraser, and he has been telling me most gorgeous yarns. tell them about the pony and the rattlesnake, mr. fraser--i'd love to hear it again." neil fraser told the story, and they were all laughing when the nurse came up with a steaming cup in her hand. "more nourishment!" said dick, disgustedly. "my word, i'll be glad when i'm well and can have just food to eat and not nourishment! why do you have to be nourished when you're ill, and not fed?" "that's one of the great problems we've never solved," said fraser, laughing. "never mind, dick--it looks good." "oh, it's always good," said dick, grinning up at the nurse. "it's only its name i'm grumbling at." "indeed, i'd call it anything you like, so long as you leave me an empty cup," she said with spirit, pulling his hair. "we'll leave him; he doesn't like an audience," said mr. lester, as the second nurse appeared. they strolled out of sight, and then he turned to fraser suddenly. "will you come to our cabin for a little?" he said. in the cabin they looked at each other. "they tell us you are a specialist in such cases as our boy's," john lester said. "will you undertake dick?" fraser hesitated. "i'll examine him, and give you an opinion, if you wish," he said. "i can't say more until we see the result of the examination." "will you do it on the ship?" the doctor shook his head. "i'd rather not. the slightest roll, or vibration of the screw might make a difference." "i'm glad," said mrs. lester. "dick is happy--let him have his time on board in peace." "yes, that's so," fraser agreed. he looked at her eager face pityingly. "don't build up false hopes," he said. "these cases are very difficult; there are a hundred reasons why i should not succeed where other men fail. the little girl told me the perth men had pronounced against your boy's recovery." "the little girl!" john lester echoed. "yes; the one dick calls 'legs.' she came to my cabin and dragged me up to see dick. i don't know how she knew anything about me, but she begged me, on her knees, to take out her spine and use it for dick." "poor little soul!" said john lester huskily. he put his arm around his wife. she had broken down as, even in those hard days, she had not done before. over her bent shoulders he looked at the doctor. "i don't want to build up hopes," he said, "and the perth men certainly did give us none. but they admitted there was a loophole; that no one understood everything about the spine. they tell us you know more than most men." "well, i have studied nothing else for four years," fraser said. "and fresh discoveries are bound to take place. we cure things now that ten years ago would certainly have been hopeless. but i'm only a learner, as any honest doctor must admit himself. i shall be a learner all my life. it may be--it is possible--that i may find some solution of your son's trouble. i'll do my best. only don't be too hopeful." he got up, clenching his hand. "and still, never give up hope," he said. "more cases are lost through hopelessness than you would dream of. we're only beginning to know the power of thought; but this i can assure you, that if you surround your boy with an atmosphere of hope and courage you go far towards helping him, just as you help to drag him down if your heart is full of despair. he's a boy to fight for, too. well--i don't even know your name yet--but i'll do my best to help you fight!" chapter xviii. how dick lester took his chance. there is a quiet street in a melbourne suburb--a street lined with big trees, where in the long, hot days you can hear the soft cooing of wood pigeons; and yet so near the great highway of st. kilda road that the clang of the tram bells comes clearly. there are queer wild creatures there yet; the mopokes call at night in fawkner park, undisturbed by the racing motors along toorak road, and some quick-eyed people declare that they have seen 'possums dart across the tram lines. if you sleep out on a balcony, as wise folk do, you may see owls flit by, even while in the small hours the string of market carts from the country creeps into melbourne, the horses plodding along steadily, while the tired drivers curl up on the seats asleep. but the carts do not come up the quiet street. it lies dreaming until the magpies in the grammar school trees carol their morning song. back from the road in the quiet street stands a big house, girdled with wide verandahs. it is the quietest place of all, though at all hours of the day and night there are motors before its gate. its wide lawns and gardens shelter behind tall pittosporum hedges; climbing roses and tecoma have clambered up the posts, making a screen to shield the balconies. it never sleeps, although it is so quiet; white-uniformed nurses flit here and there about it by night and day, and often the big glass dome of a room at the back blazes with light throughout the night, as busy surgeons fight death over an unconscious form. in the daytime there are beds and stretchers under the trees on the lawns, or sheltered by gaily-striped tents; and people pass in and out, taking sheaves of flowers to the people within, or leading pale-faced convalescents home, to take up life anew. but it is a cheery place, as a house of healing should be; it had seemed to smile to dick lester when they brought him there from the ship, so brown and merry, after a week on deck, that it was hard to understand why he should lie so still. neil fraser gave his verdict next day. "it's for you to decide," he told dick's parents. "there is a chance; i'll admit it's a slender one. if you decide to have no operation he will probably live a long time, as they told you before--always a cripple. will he suffer? yes, probably, at intervals--a good deal; and there is always a chance of worse trouble developing." "and the operation?" john lester said. "it is a risk. i've done it successfully; i've seen as good a man as i am fail. should it fail, it means a worse condition; possibly hastening the end. if it should succeed--well, dick will walk out of the hospital." mrs. lester drew a long breath. "will you tell me," she begged, "if you would advise us to have it done?" "ah, that's too much to ask me," he said gently. "that is surely only for you and his father to say. i can only tell you the chances." there was silence for several minutes. then the mother spoke, quickly. "then i say--do it!" she said. "i can't look dick in the face if we do not give him every possible chance. i can't tell him he's a cripple for life without having a fight to save him. it isn't fair--it's like caging some wild, free thing. i know what dick would say, if we gave him his choice." her husband took her hand and held it tightly. "yes, dick would always choose the fight--he never yet lay down to anything," he said. "we'll give him his chance, dear. can you get it over quickly, fraser?" "in two days," neil fraser said. he looked at them pityingly. "and you know i'll do my best." they knew it on this sunny november morning as they wandered blindly up and down the quiet street; over to the roaring traffic of st. kilda road and back again; ever back to the big house where, with two surgeons to aid neil fraser, dick was taking his last chance. they could hear nothing yet, they knew; it was too soon to look for any word from the glass-domed theatre at the back. of that john lester tried to keep his wife from thinking. they talked of dick--of his merry baby days; of his first pony, of the happy years when life at kurrajong had centred about him while he slipped from childhood into boyhood. he had looked only a little child when they kissed him that morning. "we're going out for a little while," they had said. "you won't mind?" "oh, no!" dick had answered, faintly surprised. there were several surprising things that morning, the worst being that no one had seemed to have time to bring him any breakfast. the nurse had laughed when he said he was hungry, telling him the cook had gone on strike; but he was nearly sure he saw one of them put her handkerchief to her eyes as she left the room. perhaps she was worried over something, he had thought; he would not bother her any more about breakfast, anyway. then his father and mother had come for that queer early visit, leaving again very soon. they had gone out quickly--but his mother had turned back from the door and kissed him again. "god bless you, my darling!" she had whispered--and was gone. he was thinking over it when dr. fraser had appeared beside him. they were great friends, and he grinned up at him. "i say, is mother all right?" "quite all right," the doctor had said. "we've got to poke round you again a bit, dick, old man, but we're not going to hurt you like we did last time--we'll put you to sleep instead. just smell this--deep breaths, now." something light had been slipped over his face; he had felt the doctor's hand over his, holding it in a firm, comforting clasp, while a sudden roaring filled his ears, and the world slipped away. that was an hour ago--an hour since a nurse had run hastily to mrs. lester to whisper, "he's taken the anæsthetic beautifully, and the doctor says you're not to worry." and since then minutes had been ages to the man and woman who waited for another messenger. they set themselves walks, at first, round a block of streets, once, twice; all the time with a listening ear for hurrying feet that might be sent to fetch them; and when they came back to the end of the quiet street they found themselves walking more and more quickly, straining to catch the first glimpse of the gate where, perhaps, someone might be standing, ready to beckon them to hasten. and at last they could keep away no longer. they came to the hospital and walked up and down a quiet path, that had seen many other people tramp in just such suspense as theirs. mrs. lester gave in at last. there was a garden seat under a flaming mass of bougainvillea; she sank upon it suddenly, and hid her face in her hands, not weeping, but shuddering from head to foot with convulsive tremors. her husband put his arm round her, holding her closely, almost welcoming any sign of emotion after long weeks of unnatural calm. she pulled herself together after a while. "it won't do--he may need us at any moment," she said. "john, how long is it?" "nearly two hours. they can't be much longer, dear heart." "i can't walk any more--my knees have turned stupid," she said. "if i had something to do--anything----" a woman turned in at the gate near them pushing a perambulator, in which the baby cried angrily. they had seen her before; a young mother whose little girl was in the hospital recovering from pneumonia. she came to see her each morning, leaving the baby boy asleep in the garden. but this morning the boy was considering a tooth that would not come through; he declined to sleep, and woke the echoes with his protests at being left. the poor young mother stood rocking him, her face furrowed with perplexity. "ah, you naughty boy!" they heard her murmur. "how am i going to see winnie?" john lester took a quick stride forward. "lend my wife your baby," he said. "we'll look after him." he picked up the child with a deft movement that made it clear that dick's thirteen years had not been long enough to make him forget how to handle a baby. mrs. lester held out her hands for the crying bundle and held it to her, rocking it backwards and forwards and crooning brokenly. the baby struggled for a moment, and then gave in, putting out a dimpled hand to catch the lace at her breast; and she leaned down to him, holding him until she could touch the velvet-soft cheek. her husband stood looking at them, a lump in his throat; the years slipped away, and she was a child-mother again, holding dick to her, singing the little sleepy song he loved. he had been so proud of them both--his two babies, he had called them; and he had boasted that she had never grown up. there were lines in her face now, graven in the last three months; and in the glass-domed room his other baby lay, taking his last fighting chance; and he could help neither. he shut his lips on a groan, turning away. neil fraser was coming across the grass, taking the flower-beds in his stride. he was pale and tired, but his eyes blazed with triumph. john lester stared at him, and no words would come. "it's all right!" fraser said. he put out a hand to each, and suddenly grabbed the borrowed baby, for mrs. lester trembled so violently that he feared she would faint. "it's all right, i tell you! he's splendid--sleeping peacefully." "and the operation?" john lester uttered. "don't i tell you it's all right?" he threw back his head, with a laugh like a boy's. "there were complications, as well as what i thought, and i had to take chances--but dick will be as fit as ever he was. he'll walk out of the hospital, mrs. lester--ah, poor soul!" they caught her between them as she swayed forward. the baby was dumped unceremoniously on the grass, where, in sheer perversity, he lay kicking fat legs and chewing a clover blossom contentedly. mrs. lester came back to consciousness to find herself on the garden seat, the silver cup of a flask at her lips. "tell me again!" she whispered. "i could tell you all day, for i don't mind admitting i'm a proud man!" fraser said. "i don't think it's been done before. i had a case much the same in munich, but there were, as i said, complications in dick's case; but it worked out splendidly. he stood it well--not that i ever had any doubt about that; he's so tremendously fit, physically. and next year, unless you go hunting for scars on him, you won't need to remember that he was ever hurt!" "when can we see him?" the father uttered. "you can look at him whenever you like; he's back in bed, fast asleep, with a nurse watching him. and you can see him for five minutes this evening. i'll ring up to see how he is after lunch, and if you like i'll meet you here at five o'clock. now i'm going to tell my old mother--you've no idea how keen she has been about dick. she's coming to see him as soon as i'll let her!" he wrung their hands in turn. "we can't thank you," john lester said huskily. "there's no need; i've had the most entirely successful case i've ever handled. i ought to thank you for giving me such a chance. and i'm more glad than i can say--he's no end of a boy!" his steps died away on the gravel. mrs. lester looked up at her husband. "will you go and just look at him?" she said. "i can't--my silly knees won't do as they're told, and i can't risk making a fuss. just look at him for me, and come and tell me every little thing about him!" "sure you're all right if i leave you?" "quite sure." there was only the baby in sight. he stooped suddenly and kissed her; they clung together for a moment, without speaking. then he went away across the lawn. mrs. lester sat still for a moment; then she stooped, still trembling, and picked up the baby. she was holding him silently, her face against his, when the other mother came back. across the little face they looked at each other. "they told me your boy has come through all right," the baby's mother said. "oh, i'm so glad! and my little girl is better." "i'm so glad, too, for you," mrs. lester said. suddenly the tears she had not shed for three months began to rain down her face, but she did not hide them. she looked through the mist of them at the other mother--who, being a mother, was crying too. a big tear fell, presently, on the nose of the baby, who roared disapproval; whereupon they both fell to consoling him apologetically. "i must take him away--he's so big, he'll make you tired," his mother said, gathering her son up proudly. "thank you for lending him to me," mrs. lester said. "i think he kept me from going mad. he's such a dear, comfortable baby--just what dick was. how many teeth has he?" the baby's mother told her, with other thrilling details--so engrossing that they did not hear mr. lester's step until he was beside them. "he's just as peaceful as that baby is going to be in two minutes," he said, smiling at the little sleepy face. "and you're going to lie down as peacefully, too, the moment i can get you home. come on, we must go and tell merle that she need be 'legs' no longer!" chapter xix. when the world came right again "good man!" said teddy raine. "great action!" said bottles. "do you think," queried nugent thoughtfully, "that there's any tendency to string-halt? bit of a kick about that off leg." "do you realise, young man, that you're jesting with my professional reputation!" said neil fraser severely. "not to mention with my best leg!" put in dick. he flung a cushion with a quick movement that found nugent unprepared. it took him in the face, and he subsided on top of teddy, who received him without any gratification. "get off, young nuge!" he said, hurling him away. "trot up and down again, lester; i want to see." "not if i know it," said dick, lowering himself gently on a couch. "when you haven't used your legs for about seven ages they don't make exercise exactly a joke. and that's my third walk to-day. trot bottles up and down; he needs it." "don't you; the balcony won't stand it," grinned nugent. "there's a notice somewhere that nothing over ten tons is allowed to trot on this floor!" "don't listen to them, bottles," said mrs. lester, laughing. "these skinny people are always jealous of good, honest weight!" "bless 'em, i don't mind," bottles answered cheerfully. "keeps 'em happy and good, and then they're no trouble, the pretty dears!" he grinned in a fatherly way at dick and nugent. "when i can put on the pace a bit," said dick with emphasis, "i'll teach you to call me a pretty dear! pound him to-night in the dormer for me, nuge, will you? he's got horribly above himself since i've been away." they were all on the hospital balcony, where, on a table, were the remains of afternoon tea. mrs. lester sat near dick's couch--he still liked to feel that she was within reach of his hand. on a cushion beside her chair merle was curled up; she held jealously to her position as "legs," and looked forward with some dismay to the day when dick would need her no longer. the three boys had come racing across from school directly the unfeeling claims of education ceased to hold them. afternoon tea with dick had become an institution that was seriously threatening the claims of cricket, insomuch that melville, the school captain, was endeavouring to screw himself to the point of exercising his authority in the matter. he found it difficult to be authoritative. it was not so very long since the day when mr. and mrs. lester had kept their vigil in the quiet street, when, in the school chapel, the boys had gathered while the chaplain prayed for dick lester, whose feet were in the valley of the shadow. melville himself had been to tea on the balcony since then, and it is safe to say that at no time had dick been so near pride as when the great man, rather shy and tongue-tied at first in the presence of mrs. lester, had sat on his couch and talked to him, a scrubby junior, as an equal! "you've got to look sharp and well, you know, lester," he had said, at parting. "we want all our men badly; the wesley and scotch juniors are going to take a heap of beating next term!" which had left dick speechless, yet glowing. he astonished the nurse that evening by demanding two eggs for tea! neil fraser had brought his mother this afternoon--a sweet-faced old lady, who sat beaming alternately on her tall son, and on the "case" that had already made his name a household word among surgeons. and john lester leaned against the balcony rail, smoking, and looking contentedly at his son. dick's feet were very uncertain still. he had discarded crutches after a few days' use, declaring that they hurt him more than they helped him. then he had hobbled, with a stick or between two helpers; only the day before had he suddenly declared that he would walk alone--and had walked! a few steps, at first, from his couch to his mother; subsiding on her, flushed and laughing, while she caught him to her and held him, as she had done when, twelve years before, his baby feet had first carried him to her across the nursery floor. she remembered yet the pride of that long ago day. it was a small thing beside the utter thankfulness of this. the hospital was keenly interested in dick's convalescence. it was not often that they had a patient so doggedly determined to get well. he demanded instructions as to working his muscles, and struggled with them as soon as he was permitted, rubbing himself, moving limbs that no longer seemed to belong to him, and performing the limited amount of "physical jerks" possible to one who lies flat in bed. the scope of his energies widened as he was allowed to sit up; he learned from neil fraser and from the masseur who visited him daily how to second their efforts, and the nurses found him, at regular intervals, exercising solemnly, grimacing with pain at the creaking of his unused muscles, and working the harder the more he grimaced. the pretty girl in room five, who had just lost her appendix, and the stout old gentleman in three, very bad-tempered with the gout, used to ask their nurses each morning how many inches young lester had moved since breakfast, and send him messages of congratulation; the matron, tall and beautiful in snowy white, would stand at the end of his bed, cheering him on, with an eye wary for signs of fatigue. and when he sat up--and when he first hobbled on his crutches--the word ran from room to room, and the nurses left their work to peep in at him and applaud. even the bad-tempered old gentleman, who was wont to drive his nurse almost to tears if a stray sound penetrated his room, was found only smiling on the morning that dick, forgetting his surroundings in the triumph of his first steps, sat on the end of his bed and woke the echoes with a shout of "buck up, school!" in the intervals of exercising there came over him a great peace; something altogether different from the weary patience of the months when he had lain helpless. he seemed to want nothing if his mother were near; looking at her, he would lie quietly, his happy face so peaceful that a tired night nurse, peeping in, declared to a comrade that only to look at that lester boy made you feel as if you'd had a night's sleep and a cold swim! not until long after did he confide to his mother what the dread and terror of those first months had been. "it was only you who kept me going," he said. "i knew the others thought i was always going to lie there; only you told me my back wasn't broken--that i'd be better some day. i just hung on to that, when everything else in the world was black, 'cause i knew you'd never tell me a lie!" peace too, had come to merle. something of her burden lifted upon the ship--when dick's father and mother had heard from her stumbling lips the story of how she had found neil fraser, and had thanked her as best they might. the rest had rolled away on the day of the operation. she had known nothing of it until it was over; they had agreed that she had already borne sufficient strain. she only knew that heaven had suddenly come out of darkness when mrs. lester, her worn face smiling through tears, had taken her in her arms and told her that dick would walk again. they did not want her to go back to narrung for a year. so much of shock and horror and bitter self-reproach hung over the vision of her home that they dreaded what might be the effect of returning too soon; besides which, dick declared that he wanted old "legs" at kurrajong--and nobody just then denied dick anything, which made it fortunate that he was a sweet-natured and unexacting person. so mrs. lester had written to ask if merle might be her daughter for a year--to go to a good boarding-school, returning to kurrajong, with dick and his mates, for the holidays. already bottles and teddy and nugent had unknowingly done much to convince merle that she might have been wrong in believing that all boys were beasts! she was beginning to laugh naturally; to make, occasionally, remarks that were more than curt monosyllables. "she's getting quite human!" dick's nurses said. they were planning the return to kurrajong that afternoon on the hospital balcony. in a few days they were to go down to a hotel by the sea, where dick could lie in the sand and let sun and ozone have a share in completing his cure. mr. and mrs. lester would leave him there with a nurse in charge, while they paid a flying visit to their home, to make sure that everything was in readiness for the real return. they would come back for dick and merle. "and that will make it just about breaking-up time," dick said. "so you three chaps can join up, and we'll all go home in a bunch. glory, won't it be a day!" "and mrs. fraser and the doctor will come for christmas," mrs. lester said, smiling at them over dick's head. "i think you had better arrange to travel with us, fraser," mr. lester said. "i'll need some support if i have to take all these young people home. four--five of them; and a wife who always forgot to grow up! you can't expect a man to handle an unbroken team like that single-handed!" "don't you worry, sir," said bottles ponderously. "i can sit on any two of 'em at once--except mrs. lester!" he added hastily, with a furious blush. the others roared unkindly. "i'd hate you to try, bottles dear!" said mrs. lester--whereat the unfortunate master glass reddened yet more painfully. "it'll be jolly dull for you chaps, i'm afraid," dick said. "they won't let me ride or play tennis, or do anything, for a bit. you'll just have to find your way about, and get busy on the station. there'll be plenty of work for them, won't there, father?" "any amount," said his father. "i'll start a bush fire, if necessary, to prevent their feeling bored. merle, how are you at fire fighting?" "had too much, thanks," said merle. "then i can't entertain you that way. how is your tennis?" "rotten," said merle, with emphasis. "so's mine, merle," said bottles. "never mind--you and i'll go out together and kill snakes!" "right," said merle, unusually cheerful. "i'd like that!" "there's something unexpected about you; but give me guests who are willing to entertain themselves," said mr. lester, laughing. "we had a man out from scotland once who turned down all our schemes for his amusement. but he never gave us any trouble; whenever we missed him he was sure to be down in the pig paddock looking at my berkshires! queer taste, but it kept him happy." "when you begin to tell calumnious stories about my nation, it's time we went, isn't it, mother?" said neil fraser. "pigs, indeed! are you sure your scot wasn't an irishman, lester?" "he was not--and i never saw an irishman who would look at a pig when a horse was about," mr. lester remarked. "not that i think there was any love of my pigs, as pigs, on m'glashan's part; he was a confirmed mathematician, and he was merely calculating the amount of bacon those berkshires would cut into! must you really go?" "i must--apart from the painful nature of your conversation," fraser said, laughing. "i'm taking this young mother of mine to the theatre to-night, and she must have a rest first." they said good-bye, and disappeared through the long window. teddy raine rose. "come on, you fellows," he said. "i must take 'em back, mrs. lester, or poor old melville'll be throwing fits. cricket practice has slumped since you people came here." he patted dick's head, his merry face gentle. "going to have a mighty supper in the dormer to-night, old thing!" he said. "wish you were going to be there." "i wish i was!" said dick ruefully. "never mind, there'll be lots next term!" "and we'll drink more power to your old back," said teddy, "in raspberry vinegar!" "out of a soap-dish lid?" queried mrs. lester demurely. "now, you know too much, mrs. lester," teddy reproached her. "'spose this fellow revealed all our black secrets when he was delirious. you ought to be ashamed, anyhow, lester. no chap in our form was ever delirious before!" "why, i thought it was your normal condition!" said mr. lester. "that's one below the belt!" murmured bottles, amidst the laughter. "come on, chaps, we're not appreciated here--or anywhere else! it doesn't matter!" they clattered downstairs, to the profound wrath of the bad-tempered old gentleman. dick propped himself on one elbow to wave to them as they raced down to the gate. "want to be going with them, old son?" his father asked. dick shook his head contentedly. "no," he said. "next term i will, i s'pose--when my silly old back is in going order again. but just now"--his eyes lingered on his father and mother--"between you two and old 'legs,' and learning to walk--well, i've just got jolly well all i want." the end. * * * * * stories by mary grant bruce published by ward, lock & co., ltd. of which more than , copies of the original editions have been sold "these books should find a place amongst english stories; they bring a touch of something strange and yet akin to their readers here, and may help to awaken new interests."--the times. a little bush maid mates at billabong timothy in bushland glen eyre norah of billabong gray's hollow from billabong to london jim and wally 'possum dick captain jim dick lester of kurrajong back to billabong the stone axe of burkamukk the twins of emu plains billabong's daughter the houses of the eagle the tower rooms billabong adventurers golden fiddles the happy travellers the kangaroo hunters; or, adventures in the bush. by anne bowman, author of "esperanza," "the castaways," "the young exiles," etc., etc. "light and limber, upwards driven, on the hoar crag quivering; or through gorges thunder-riven, leaps she with her airy spring! but behind her still, the foe-- near, and near the deadly bow!" schiller, _translated by bulwer_. philadelphia: porter & coates. [illustration: "he faced round, and with his fore-feet--his arms i should say--he seized me, and gave me a heavy fall."] preface. the rapid spread of education creates a continual demand for new books, of a character to gratify the taste of the young, and at the same time to satisfy the scruples of their instructors. the restless, inquiring spirit of youth craves, from its first development, food for the imagination, and even the simplest nursery rhymes owe their principal charm to their wonderful improbability. to these succeed the ever-interesting tales of fairies and enchanters; and the ardent boy only forsakes ali baba and sindbad for the familiar and lifelike fictions of "robinson crusoe," and the hundred pleasant tales on the "robinson crusoe" model which have succeeded that popular romance. it is the nature of man to soar above the common prose of every-day life in his recreations; from the weary school-boy, who relieves his mind, after arithmetical calculations and pages of syntax, by fanciful adventures amidst scenes of novelty and peril, and returns to his labors refreshed, to the over-tasked man of study or science, who wades through his days and nights of toil, cheered by the prospect of a holiday of voyaging or travelling over new scenes. this spirit of inquiry has usually the happiest influence on the character of the young and old, and leads them-- "to know the works of god, thereby to glorify the great work-master." in this belief, we are encouraged to continue to supply the young with books which do not profess to be true, though they are composed of truths. they are doubtless romantic, but cannot mislead the judgment or corrupt the taste; their aim being to describe the marvellous works of creation, and to lead the devout mind to say with the divine poet,-- "great are thy works, jehovah, infinite thy power; what thought can measure thee, or tongue relate thee?" a. b. richmond, _october_, . contents. chapter i. page - the rector and the soldier.--the mayburn family.--a mission to india.--the orphans of wendon.--ruth the unlucky.--jack's project.--the addition to the mayburn establishment chapter ii. - departure from wendon.--embarkation in the _amoor_.--ruth's adventures in london.--the deverell family.--the pleasures of the voyage.--tropical wonders.--the flying-fish.--the stormy petrel.--the albatross.--deverell's plans.--the indian ocean.--a storm chapter iii. - melbourne.--the squatters.--the two convicts.--a painful separation.--the _golden fairy_.--ruth's misfortunes.--a nocturnal alarm.--ruth's confession.--the ship on fire. chapter iv. - insubordination of the sailors.--rapid progress of the fire.--the boats lowered.--ruth's prize.--a man saved.--black peter.--the adventure of a reprobate crew.--a dangerous comrade chapter v. - afloat on an unknown sea.--the insubordinate sailor.--the coral reefs.--an island in view.--the perilous landing.--peter's rebellion.--the first night on shore.--ruth among the crockery.--a valuable prize.--the march from the first encampment chapter vi. - a pleasant resting-place.--the turtle.--a knavish trick.--destitution.--an exploring expedition.--lake scenery.--a wrecked vessel.--strange footsteps.--a prudent retreat.--return of the explorers chapter vii. - the results of the expedition.--the long vacation.--removed from the landing-place.--birds and their nests.--fishing.--tapping a cask of potatoes.--tent-making.--the shell spades.--digging a tank.--a grand attempt at boat-building chapter viii. - the launch of the boat.--an alarming catastrophe.--disappointed hopes.--jack's perseverance.--a peep at the old encampment.--black peter again.--the loss of the boat.--canoe-building.--the luggage-van chapter ix. - the foray.--young potatoes.--more intruders.--ruth's introduction to the savages.--the sailing of the fleet.--the desert shore.--the giant ant-hill.--once more at sea.--a storm, and the loss of the catamaran chapter x. - a total wreck.--an unknown coast.--the green ants.--the white cockatoo.--waifs.--the gourd tree.--the fresh-water rivulet.--a river voyage projected chapter xi. - the voyage up the river.--the way to china.--the note of a strange bird.--a hasty flight.--a tropical storm.--the loss of the canoes.--the cave of the bats.--a toilsome pilgrimage chapter xii. - alligators.--the giant's staircase.--access to a new region.--the pheasant cuckoo.--wild oats.--the unequal contest.--the first kangaroo.--scenes of arcadia.--a hint at cannibalism.--the cockatoo watch.--the enemy put to flight chapter xiii. - rope-making.--the cavern of illustrations.--ruth at the water-pools.--victualling the fortress.--the blockade.--assault and battery.--bloodshed.--the close siege.--prospect of famine chapter xiv. - rambles through the caves.--fairy bower.--a rough path to freedom.--preparations for flight.--the use of the rifle.--a case of conscience.--departure.--travelling among the bogs.--a view of the river.--making an axe.--a new plant chapter xv. - the tea-shrub.--another canoe.--a skirmish with the natives.--wounded heroes.--an attempt at voyaging.--a field of battle.--the widowed jin.--wilkins's sorrows.--baldabella in society.--the voyage resumed chapter xvi. - the mother and child.--the interior of the country.--another cataract.--the pilgrim troop.--the difficult ascent.--the frilled lizard.--the mountain-range.--the kangaroo-chase.--the pass of erin chapter xvii. - the dangerous pass.--the coupled travellers.--the mountain labyrinth.--the emancipation of ruth's chickens.--a combat _à l'outrance_.--the ornithorhyncus.--the forest in the mountains.--singing birds.--the laughing jackass chapter xviii. - the tunnel through the mountains.--the chase of the emu.--an encounter with the natives.--the rescue of baldabella and her child.--making a bridge.--canoes again.--the fishing of baldabella chapter xix. - a _cache_.--the black forest.--a site for the hut.--the eagles.--gerald's accident.--a subterranean grotto.--the pitcher plant.--a potato ground.--the fig-tree.--australian jumbles.--the hungry guest chapter xx. - the reservoir.--the rains.--the native companion.--the employments of prison life.--the unlucky chase.--jack's tale of trouble.--black peter's temptations.--the release of the eagle.--the rescue party chapter xxi. - the approach to the prison.--baldabella's stratagem.--the release of the captive.--wilkins's tale of trials.--a well.--the potato crop.--the flying opossum.--the salt plant.--preparations for a siege chapter xxii. - peter's last stratagem.--firing the fortress.--the watch-tower.--the welcome rain.--the close siege.--the conflict.--the defeat of peter.--the fortress abandoned.--once more on the road.--resting in the wilds chapter xxiii. - a bark sledge.--the friendly tribe.--the wild melon.--a nocturnal alarm.--the wombats.--the bivouac on the heath.--the savages again.--away to the south chapter xxiv. - the dry wilderness.--despair.--the coming-down of the waters.--the discomfited savages.--hunger and thirst.--the footsteps in the mud.--a pond.--the talegalla and its nest.--the valley of promise.--the river to the south chapter xxv. - boat-building again.--unlucky ruth.--the woods on fire.--dangers on land and water.--the wounded girl.--a home among the mountains.--the bottle-tree.--the bee-hunt.--bean-coffee.--the lost hunters chapter xxvi. - the search for the lost.--the fig-tree.--signals.--the wanderers found.--the wounded boy.--the sufferings of the thirsty.--the rescue and return.--the kangaroo conflict.--a strange meeting.--the bush-rangers.--the miraculous escape chapter xxvii. - the eagle's eyrie.--the chaotic solitude disturbed.--the voluntary prisoners.--the report of the spy.--the foe at the gates.--a traitor in the camp.--dispersion of the invaders.--a lucky escape.--a pleasant voyage chapter xxviii. - the cookery disturbed.--a signal-rocket.--a surprise and capture.--pillage.--the taste of gunpowder.--a fatal explosion.--the contrivances of necessity.--a region of famine.--renewed hopes.--an unfair advantage chapter xxix. - a seasonable supply.--visitors in the night.--captivity.--an old acquaintance.--the ranger's settlement.--an embassy to daisy grange.--jack in a new office.--the grateful native woman.--davy's compunction.--bush-ranging life chapter xxx. - a proposal of marriage.--bill's rejection and revenge.--pocket-picking.--jack's return.--black peter again.--bush-ranging merriment.--a flight in the dark.--an emu-chase.--the disappointed hunters.--pursuit.--a stratagem chapter xxxi. - the sentinels in the trees.--the end of bill the convict.--the bush-rangers deceived.--a strange new animal.--a bloody conflict.--the mountain-pass.--the fruit of the acacia.--the travellers in custody.--the court of justice chapter xxxii. - travellers' wonders.--the detective force.--a trap for the rangers.--the skirmish and the victory.--daisies in australia.--the constancy of susan raine.--the trial and sentence of the natives.--peter and his colleagues chapter xxxiii. - a chase over the mountains.--the frightful end of the bush-ranger.--ruth's opinion.--the cereopsis.--a description of the colony.--the dingo.--the cattle at home.--the park.--the arrival at daisy grange chapter xxxiv. - the comforts of civilization.--susan raine.--the hamlet and the church.--plans for the future.--mrs. edward deverell.--the beauties of daisy grange the kangaroo hunters. chapter i. the rector and the soldier.--the mayburn family.--a mission to india.--the orphans of wendon.--ruth the unlucky.--jack's project.--the addition to the mayburn establishment. "i am a selfish creature, o'brien," said mr. mayburn, the rector of wendon, to his invalid friend. "i cannot forbear from coming once more to annoy you with my lamentations, and to ask your counsel, for i am most unhappy. every object i behold, every word i hear, recalls to my mind my bereavement. i cannot remain in this place after the loss of my beloved wife. she was the moving power of my household. it was she, in fact, who was the pastor and director of the parish, the skilful tutor of her children, the guide and the guardian of her weak and erring husband. alone, i am unfit for my responsible office; i shudder over the conviction that i am faithless to my vows; i know, o'brien, that i do not fulfil my duty." "there is an easy remedy for your distress, my good friend," answered captain o'brien; "my advice is, do your duty, and be comforted." "it is physically impossible, o'brien," said the mourner. "my nerves are shattered; my health is completely destroyed. i shrink from communion with society; and though i exert myself to give my boys their daily lessons, i would afterwards gladly enclose myself in my study, and live amongst my books." "no doubt you would," replied o'brien; "but god did not send us into this world to vegetate in solitude, and bring forth no fruit. act, mayburn, i beseech you, man; power comes with action, you know well; and whatever man has done, may be done. work! work! is the counsel of the worn-out dying soldier to him who has yet the labors of life spread before him." "but you have no idea how feeble my bodily powers are," groaned the rector. "i can form a very tolerable idea of your strength," said the captain; "for the last time i was out i saw you plunged up to the knees in the green marsh, regardless of a cold north-east march wind." "i remember the day well," answered mr. mayburn, with animation, "for i was fortunate enough to obtain the eggs of the crested grebe in the marsh. you will not have forgotten that the preceding summer i got a fine specimen of the bird." "very well," said his friend; "now, if you were able thus to toil and to endure to save the eggs of a bird, you may surely exert yourself still more to save the soul of a christian. go more among your poor; talk to them, help them with your knowledge, and teach them to live happily and die happily. i am not without experience in such work, mayburn; as long as i was able, i had a little flock of my own; and in secular matters at any rate, was a sort of parish priest among my soldiers. i felt an interest in the history and in the daily life of every man in my company, and was never more at home than in the nooks and corners where my poor fellows dwelt. it was this pleasant and profitable work that mrs. mayburn ably accomplished for you, and i see margaret is treading in her steps; go with her, mayburn, support her in her virtuous course, and you will discover that life has still its pleasures for you." "not here! not here! my dear o'brien," answered mr. mayburn. "sometimes i determine to relinquish this parish, and accept one of smaller population, where the responsibility would be less; at other moments i am prompted to adopt an entirely opposite course, and to make up for my past wasted life by devoting my remaining days to missionary labors in distant lands, where i might be more stimulated to exertion, in the necessity of action. give me your advice, o'brien, on which of these two plans to decide. on the one hand, i have the temptation offered me to exchange for a small living on the north-eastern coast, where i should meet with many ornithological novelties; on the other hand, i know i have still sufficient interest among my old friends to obtain the appointment to some mission in the colonies. i should prefer northern india or south australia, both affording rich fields to the naturalist." "a matter of secondary consideration," said o'brien, smiling. "but wait a month or two, my good friend; we must not decide hastily on such an important step; and before that time has elapsed, you will have fulfilled the last pious offices for me. do not be agitated, mayburn. i know that i am dying; these old wounds have slowly, but successfully, undermined the fortress; it cannot hold out long. but be comforted; i am resigned and calm, nay, i am happy, for i know in whom i trust. now, mayburn, to you and to your sweet daughter i must bequeath my wild, half-taught boy. give him all the book-lore he can be made to imbibe; above all, mayburn, make him a christian. to margaret i intrust his physical education. i should wish him to be fitted to perform such work in this world as it may please god to call him to. i am thankful that i must leave him poor, as he will thus be exempt from the grand temptation, and forced into healthy action. may god direct his labors to the best and wisest end." the words of his dying friend had for some time a salutary influence over the amiable but vacillating mayburn. with remorse and shame he looked on his own discontent, and with a brief gleam of energy he turned to the duties of his office; but long habits of self-indulgence in literary pursuits and literary ease were not to be suddenly overcome; and when the grave closed over his faithful friend and wise counsellor, o'brien, he soon shrunk back into morbid, solitary musings, and gradually sunk into his accustomed indolence. but a waking of remorse induced him to write to his old college friend, the bishop of ----, to pray that he might be allowed to resign his living, and be appointed to some distant mission. mr. mayburn, though upright in principle and amiable in disposition, was yet unfitted, from his deficiency in firmness, for the responsibilities of his office; but his constitutional timidity and indolence had escaped notice during the lifetime of his valuable and energetic wife, who had directed his actions and concealed his feeble nature. but it was the will of god that she should be suddenly called from him; and, stunned with his loss, he abandoned himself to sorrow and inaction. the death of his valuable friend and counsellor, captain o'brien, cut away the last prop of the feeble man, who was now alternately sunk in useless grief or haunted with the horrors of neglected duties. pious and eloquent, his people declared he was an angel in the church; but in their humble dwellings his visits, like those of angels, "were short and far between." in his family, it was his pleasure to communicate to his children the rich treasures of learning that he possessed; but the lessons of life, the useful preparation for the battle of the world, he had not the skill or the energy to teach. his daughter, now sixteen years of age, had been ably instructed by her excellent mother, and possessed good sense and prudence beyond her years. arthur, the eldest son, one year younger, had benefited by his mother's advice and example equally with his sister, whom he resembled in disposition. his brother hugh, not yet thirteen years old, was too young to have profited much by instruction, and was more volatile than margaret and arthur. but the children were all frank, true, and conscientious; and had yet escaped the temptations and perils of the world. gerald, the orphan son of the faithful and attached friend of mr. mayburn, captain o'brien, was the most weighty charge of his timid guardian; though but twelve years old, he was bold, independent, and forever in mischief; and hourly did mr. mayburn groan under his responsibility, for he had solemnly promised to fulfil the duties of a father to the boy, and he trembled to contemplate his incapacity for the office. "margaret," said he to his daughter, "i request that you or jenny will never lose sight of that boy after he leaves my study. i am continually distracted by the dread that he should pull down the old church tower when he is climbing to take the nests of the harmless daws, or that he should have his eyes pecked out by the peacocks at moore park, when he is pulling the feathers from their tails." "do you not think, papa," answered margaret, "that you are partly responsible for his mischievous follies? you have imbued him with your ornithological tastes." "he has no taste, margaret," replied her father hastily. "he has no judgment in the science. he has never learned to distinguish the _corvidæ_ from the _columbidæ_; nor could he at this moment tell you to which family the jackdaw he makes war with belongs. he is negligent himself, and, moreover, he allures my son hugh from his serious studies, to join him in rash and dangerous enterprises. he is totally deficient in the qualities of application and perseverance. i have a dim recollection, margaret, of a childish hymn, written by the pious dr. watts, who was no great poet, but was really an observer of the habits of the animal creation. this hymn alludes prettily to the industry of the bee, and if you could prevail on gerald to commit it to memory, it might suggest reflections on his own deficiencies." "papa," said margaret laughing, "gerald could repeat 'how doth the little busy bee,' when he was four years old, and i do not think that a repetition of it now would make any serious impression on him." "he has no taste for the higher range of poetry," said his distressed guardian; "and has too much levity to seek knowledge in the direct paths. what would you think of giving him to learn an unpretending poem by mrs. barbauld, which describes the feathered tribes with tolerable accuracy. it commences, 'say, who the various nations can declare, that plough, with busy wing, the peopled air!'" "gerald is not lazy, papa, he is only thoughtless," said margaret. "let us hope that a few years will bring him more wisdom; then he will learn to admire homer, and to distinguish birds like his good guardian." mr. mayburn sighed. "but what shall i do with the boy," he said, "when my duties summon me to distant lands? i am bewildered with doubts of the future. will it be right, margaret, to remove you and my promising boys from country, society, and home, perhaps even from civilization?" "no, no, papa, you are not fitted for a missionary to savages," answered margaret, "you must choose some more suitable employment. and if you are bent on quitting england, surely you cannot suppose, whatever may be your destination, that we should consent to be separated from you." "god forbid that it should be so!" exclaimed the father. "but i cannot but feel, my child, that i have been selfish and negligent. give me some consolation--tell me that you think i may yet do some good in a strange land. i am persuaded that i shall be better able to exert myself among complete heathens than i am among these cold, dull, professed christians." "if you feel this conviction, papa," said margaret, "it is sufficient. when we earnestly desire to do right, god always provides us with work. we must all try to aid you. and gerald is now our brother, papa; he must accompany us in our wanderings. the boys anticipate with great delight the pleasures of a sea-voyage, and i myself, though i regret to leave my poor people, enjoy the idea of looking on the wonders of the world." "then, margaret," added mr. mayburn, "i must trust you and jenny to watch that giddy boy, gerald. warn him of the dangers that surround him. i should never survive if he were to fall overboard. i promised o'brien much; but, alas! i have done little." margaret engaged to use all needful watchfulness, though, she assured her father, arthur would care for the young boys; and being now convinced that her father's resolution to leave england was earnest and unchangeable, the young girl, assisted by jenny wilson, the old nurse, set about the serious preparations for this important change; and when a mission to a remote part of india was proposed to mr. mayburn, he found the whole of his family as ready as he was himself to enter into this new and hazardous undertaking. "i looked for nothing better, miss marget, my darling," said nurse jenny; "and my poor mistress, lying on her death-bed, saw it all plainly. says she to me, 'nurse,' says she, 'your good master will never settle after i'm gone. he'll be for shifting from this place; but mind this, nurse, you'll stick to my childer.' and then and there i said i would never leave ye; 'specially you, miss marget; where you go, i must go, and i hope god will spare me to nurse childer of yours. though where you are to meet with a suiting match i cannot see, if master will choose to go and live among black savages." "not so bad as that, nurse," said margaret, smiling. "i trust that our lot may be cast on a more civilized spot, where we may find many of our own countrymen living among the benighted people we are sent to teach; and even they, though ignorant and degraded, are not absolutely savage, neither are they blacks, my dear nurse." "well, my child, you know best," answered jenny. "but there's a sore task laid out for you, that will have all the work to do. not but what master is a grand hand at preaching, and can talk wonderful, nows and thens, to poor folks; but he cannot get round them as you can. he never seems to be talking to them as it were face to face, but all like preaching to them out of his pulpit; and somehow he never gets nigh hand to them. but it's god will, and, please him, we must all do our best; we shall be missed here; and oh, miss marget, what will come of poor ruth martin? and we promising to take the lass next month, and make a good servant of her. here's jack, too; just out of his time, a fair good workman, and a steady lad, and none but you and master to look up to, poor orphans." "do not be distressed, nurse," replied margaret, "i have thought of all my scholars; i have prepared a list of those i wish papa especially to recommend to his successor; and perhaps mrs. newton will take ruth on trial." "she won't do it, miss marget," answered jenny. "i tried her before, and she flounces, and flames, and says all sorts of ill words again the lass, as how she's flappy and ragged, and knows nothing; and when i asked her what she could expect from childer as was found crying over their poor father and mother lying dead under a hedge; she said outright, she should expect they would turn out vagabonds, like them they belonged to. yes, she said that; after you had given the poor things schooling for six years." it was not the least of margaret mayburn's pangs, on leaving wendon, that she must be compelled to abandon the poor children of the parish, whom she had long taught and cared for; and she sighed over the incapacity of the rough orphan girl that she now set out with her faithful nurse to visit. ruth and jack martin had been found one cold morning of winter in a lane leading to the village of wendon, sitting by the side of the hedge, weeping over the dead bodies of their parents, who had perished from famine and fever, exposed to the storm of the previous night. the children were conveyed to the workhouse, and from their story, and further inquiries, it was made out that their mother had left a tribe of gipsies to marry a railway _navvy_, as the children called their father. he was a reckless, drunken profligate; and after losing his arm from an accident which originated in his own carelessness, was dismissed from his employment, and driven to wander a homeless vagrant. the children said they had lived by begging, and had often been nearly starved; but their mother would never let them steal or tell a lie, and she had often cried when their father came to their lodging very drunk, speaking very bad words, and holding out silver money, which their mother would not touch. but at last he was seized with a bad fever on the road, and, houseless and penniless, they crept under a haystack; from thence the children were sent to the road-side to beg from passengers, or to seek some farmhouse, where charity might bestow on them a little milk or a few crusts of bread; but the poor wife sickened of the same disease which was carrying off her husband, and in their desperation the wretched sufferers dragged themselves to the road which led to the village, in hopes of reaching it, and finding shelter and aid. but it was too late. in the midst of the beating snow, and in the darkness of a winter's night, the man sank down and died. the wretched woman cast herself down beside him, and, overcome by sorrow and long suffering, did not survive to see the morning light. the sympathy created by this melancholy event procured many warm friends for the orphans. they were fed and clothed, sent to school, and carefully instructed in that pure religion of which they had formerly had but vague notions. jack, the boy, who was about eleven years of age when they were orphaned, was a thoughtful, industrious lad; for three years he made useful progress at school, and in the last three years, under a good master, he had become a skilful carpenter. ruth, who was two years younger than her brother, had inferior abilities; she was rough, boisterous, and careless; and was ever the dunce of the school, till at length the schoolmistress begged she might be put to something else, for she declared she made "no hand at learning." she was then placed with an old woman, who daily complained that "the lass was of no use; she was willing enough; but if she was set to wash the cups, she broke them; and she could not even stir the fire but she would poke it out." at fifteen years old, ruth was a strong, active girl, extremely good-natured, true, and honest, fondly attached to her brother, and devoted to her kind friends at the rectory; yet, certainly, ruth was no favorite with the wives of the neighboring farmers, who unanimously agreed that she must have "two left hands," she was so awkward in all her undertakings. under these untoward circumstances, it had been arranged that ruth should undergo an apprenticeship in the rectory establishment, to fit her for household service. this event was looked forward to by the girl with great delight, and it was with much regret that margaret set out to announce to her their plan of leaving wendon, which must necessarily extinguish her hopes of preferment. there was still another who would deeply feel their loss; and margaret was accompanied by her brothers, who were anxious to see their untiring assistant, jack. it was he who gave his useful aid to them in the construction of bows, bats, leaping-bars, and all the wooden appliances of school-boy sports; and above all the people of the village, the boys murmured most that they must part with jack. they found the industrious lad busily engaged in making a new crutch for nanny, the old woman with whom the orphans lived. "you see, master hugh," said he, "poor ruth happened to throw down nanny's crutch, and then the careless lass fell over it, and snapped it. i reckon it had been a bit of bad wood; but this is a nice seasoned stick i've had laid by these two years for another purpose, and it comes in nicely; for nanny was cross, and poor ruth was sadly put about, and this will set all straight." at this moment, ruth, who had been sent out to milk nanny's cow, entered in woful plight. she had neglected to tie brindle's legs properly, and the animal, irritated by the teasing bark of an ill-taught little dog, had struggled to extricate itself, kicked ruth into the mud, and the milk-pail after her, and then run off, pursued by its tormentor; and the girl returned with her dress torn and dirty, and her milk-pail empty. nanny scolded, jack shook his head, margaret gently remonstrated with her for her carelessness, and, worst cut of all, the young gentlemen laughed at her. then ruth fairly sat down and cried. "well, nanny," said margaret, "you must look over ruth's fault this time, for we have some sad news for you all. we are going to leave wendon." jack threw down his work, and ruth, forgetting her own vexation, held up her hands, crying out, "not without me, please, miss marget. you promised to try and make me good for something; please do, miss marget, and i'll pray god to make me of some use to you." "but, ruth," said hugh, "we are going far away from here, across the wide sea, and among people who neither talk, nor look, nor live as we do." "how many legs have they, master hugh?" asked the awe-struck girl. "only two legs, and one head, ruth," answered he, laughing; "and we feel pretty sure that they will not eat us; but, for all that, i am afraid they are a little bit savage, if they be roused." "will you be so kind as to tell me, mr. arthur," said jack, "where you may be going really." arthur then explained to jack the plans of mr. mayburn, and assured him they all felt a pang at leaving wendon; and especially they regretted the parting from the children they had themselves assisted to teach. "then let us go with you," cried ruth vehemently. "cannot we both work and wait on you? if i stay here i shall be sure to turn out a bad lass. jack, honey, we'll not be left behind, we will run after miss marget and mr. arthur." jack was thoughtful and silent, while margaret said to the weeping girl,--"if we had only been removing to any part of england, ruth, we would have taken you with us, if it had been possible; but we dare not propose such an addition to the family in a long voyage, which will cost a large sum of money for each of us; besides this, we are going to a country where your services, my poor girl, would be useless; for all the servants employed in cooking, house-work, and washing, are men, who bear the labor, in such a hot climate, better than women could." "if you please, miss margaret," said jack, eagerly, "i have thought of something. will you be kind enough to tell me the name of the ship you are to go in, and i will get my master to write me out a good testimonial, and then i will seek the captain, to offer to work for my passage and for that of poor ruth, if you will agree to try her; for you see, miss margaret, we must never be parted. and when once we're landed, please god, we'll take care to follow you wherever you may go." margaret was deeply affected by the attachment of the orphans; and though she felt the charge of ruth would be a burden, she promised to consult her father about the plan, and the brother and sister were left in a state of great anxiety and doubt. as they walked home, margaret and arthur talked of jack's project till they satisfied themselves it was really feasible; and arthur believed that, once landed in india, the lad might obtain sufficient employment to enable him to support himself and his sister. "oh, jack will be a capital fellow to take with us," said hugh. "i know papa will consent, for he could always trust jack to find the birds' nests, and bring away the right eggs, as well as if he had gone himself. then he is such an ingenious, clever fellow, just the man to be cast away on a desolate island." "i trust we shall never have occasion to test his talents under such extreme circumstances," said arthur; "but, if we can manage it, i should really like jack to form a part of our establishment. as to that luckless wench, ruth, i should decidedly object to her, if we could be cruel enough to separate them, which seems impossible. but i shall always be haunted with the idea that she may contrive, somehow, to run the ship upon a rock." "oh! do let us take ruth, meggie," exclaimed gerald; "it will be such fun. isn't she a real irish girl, all wrong words and unlucky blunders. won't she get into some wonderful scrapes, hugh?" "with you to help her, pat wronghead," replied hugh. "but mind, meggie, she is to go. papa will say what you choose him to say; and i will cajole nurse out of her consent." and serious as the charge was likely to become, it was at length agreed that jack and ruth should be included in the party with the mayburns; and the girl was immediately transferred to the rectory, to undergo a short course of drilling previous to the momentous undertaking. chapter ii. departure from wendon.--embarkation in the _amoor_.--ruth's adventures in london.--the deverell family.--the pleasures of the voyage.--tropical wonders.--the flying-fish.--the stormy petrel.--the albatross.--deverell's plans.--the indian ocean.--a storm. finally the successor of mr. mayburn arrived, was initiated in his office, introduced to his new parishioners, and had promised to supply, as well as he was able, the loss which the mourning poor must sustain in the departure of the charitable family. mr. mayburn's old friend, the bishop of ----, himself accompanied the family to london, directed them in the mode of fitting out for the voyage, and for their new residence, and supplied them with letters of instruction as well as of introduction before he left them. some weeks of delay followed, and several disappointments; but at length they were induced to embark, with nurse wilson, ruth, and jack, on board the _amoor_, a good sailing vessel bound to melbourne, with many passengers; and from thence to calcutta, with cattle and merchandise; captain barton, who commanded the ship, being an old acquaintance of mr. mayburn. established in a large and commodious cabin, margaret begged that nurse would keep ruth always with them, for the girl was distracted with the strange objects around her. "sit ye down, lass, and hem that apron," said jenny, in a tone of authority. "truly, miss margaret, i wouldn't go through the last week again to be queen victoria herself, god bless her; and all owing to that unlucky lass. jack is a decent lad, and it's unknown what a help he was about getting the things here safe; but all the folks in london seemed of one mind that _she_ was fitter for a 'sylum than for a creditable gentleman's family. it's no good blubbering about it now, girl; just see and mind what you are about, for there's no police here to look after you." "did the police really get hold of her, nurse?" asked gerald. "what fun!" "i never took her out for a walk, master o'brien," answered jenny, "but they had their eye on her; they marked her at once as one that needed watching--a simpleton! why, it was no later than yesterday morning when she worked on me, fool-body as i was, to go with her to see st. paul's; and what did she do then but start from my arm and run right across a street thronged with cabs, and wagons, and omnibuses. i just shut my eyes and screamed, for i never thought to see her again living; and there was such a hallooing among coachmen and cabmen, and such screaming of women, as was never heard. how they got all them horses to stop is just a miracle; but when i looked again, there was a lot of police holding horses' heads, and one man was hauling ruth right across; and he had his trouble, for when she heard all that hullabaloo, she was for turning back to me through the thick of it. oh! miss marget, wasn't i shamed out of my life when they fetched her back to me at last, and one fine fellow said i had better lead my daughter in a string." ruth giggled hysterically at the recital of her adventure, and when margaret said to her gravely,--"you behaved very improperly, ruth, why did you leave your kind friend, mrs. wilson?" "please miss marget," sobbed the girl; "it was a window full of bonnie babbies." "she's just a babby herself, miss marget," said jenny, wrathfully. "it was a fine toyshop she saw, and she had no more sense but run among carriages to it. she's hardly safe shut up here; see if she doesn't tumble into the sea some of these days." but when ruth's curiosity and astonishment had somewhat subsided, the quiet and firm government of margaret, and the watchful care of jack, had great power over her; though still the wild boys hugh and gerald sometimes tempted her to pry into forbidden places, or to join them in some mischievous frolic. the greater part of the accommodation of the _amoor_ was given up to a gentleman of good birth and property, who was emigrating to australia. he had obtained a grant of an immense tract of land in the very midst of the country, further north than the steps of the colonists had yet reached. to this remote district he was taking his mother, his young sister, and a younger brother who had studied medicine; and besides these, a number of male and female servants, carpenters, smiths, builders, drainers, shepherds, and various workmen likely to be useful in a new colony. these men were accompanied by their wives and children, forming a considerable clan, all depending on their worthy and energetic chieftain. the vast amount of goods brought out by all these emigrants, much that was useless, as must ever be the case, among the useful, had heavily laden the vessel. the mayburns and deverells were drawn together as much by kindred taste as by inevitable circumstances, and they soon became as true friends as if they had been intimately acquainted for years. edward deverell, with promptness and practical knowledge, managed the affairs and smoothed the difficulties of the mayburns; while mr. mayburn instructed the ignorant, and, at the desire of the captain, a right-minded man, daily read the morning and evening services publicly--a most beneficial practice, producing order and decorum, and implanting in the minds of the young the seeds of future blessing. "how truly i should rejoice, dear margaret," said deverell, "if we could induce your excellent father to join our expedition. i would then undertake to build a church; and might hope for a blessing on my new colony, if the foundation were so happily laid. the climate is declared to be exceedingly salubrious, much more likely to suit you all than the unhealthy air of india. it would be an inestimable advantage to my dear sister emma; she has never known the care and tenderness of a sister; she needs a more cheerful companion than her good mother, who has delicate health; and you, margaret mayburn, are the model i should wish her to imitate." "i need a sister quite as much," answered margaret, "to soften my rough points, and your gentle, gay little emma charms and interests me; but, alas! papa has accepted a duty which he must not relinquish without a trial to fulfil it. i regret that it should be in such a locality for the sake of my brothers." "you are right, my dear friend," replied he; "observe how happily they are now engaged. arthur has looked over the dried plants, and he is now dissecting rabbits with my brother. hugh and your ingenious jack are at work with my carpenters, making models of broad-wheeled travelling-wagons and canoes for the rivers. even the mischievous urchin o'brien is out of danger when he is engaged with my grooms and herdsmen, in attendance on my valuable horses and cattle. what can these ardent boys find to interest and amuse them in the arid and enfeebling plains of india?" margaret knew that if her father heard these arguments, they would certainly agitate him, and might even shake his determination to proceed in the undertaking, which she and arthur were of opinion he was bound to complete. she therefore begged deverell to use no further persuasions; but she promised him, that if the indian mission was beyond the physical or mental strength of her father, she would try to induce him to return to melbourne, and from thence they would endeavor to make their way to the station of mr. deverell, who had promised to leave directions for their progress with his banker at melbourne, which he proposed to make his mart for business. it was truly the fact, that in pleasant employment no one found the long voyage tedious. jack was especially charmed with his increase of knowledge. "you see, sir," said he to arthur, "i was qualified to make a four-post bedstead, or a chest of drawers, as well as the best of these chaps; but they tell me them sort of things isn't much needed in them forrin parts. but what they've brought along with them is quite another thing: frames for wooden houses, ready to nail up in no time; mills and threshing machines; great, broad-felloed wagons for their rough roads, and boats of all makes. just look, mr. arthur, i've made bits of models of all them things, you see. we can't say but they may turn up useful some day." even ruth the unlucky lost her cognomen, and became popular among the emigrant women; for when kept quietly at regular employment, she could be steady and useful; it was only when she was hurried, or thrown upon her own responsibility, that she lost her head, and blundered into mischief. she nursed the babes tenderly and carefully, helped the poor women to wash their clothes, and for the first time in her life began to believe she might be of some use in the world. gerald, who always insisted on it that ruth was not half so bad as she was represented, assured jenny that all the girl's errors arose from improper management. "you do not appreciate her talents justly, nurse," said he. "she is quite a genius, and ought to have been irish, only she was born in england. you have wronged poor ruth; you see she has never drowned a _babby_ yet." "well, master o'brien, wait a bit, we're not through our voyage yet," said jenny, oracularly. "the ides of march are not gone, she would say," said hugh. "i didn't mean to say no such thing, master hugh," replied she; "you're so sharp with one. i'm not so daft, but i know march is gone, and may-day ought to be at hand; not that we can see any signs of it, neither leaves nor flowers here, and i cannot see days get any longer. how is it, master arthur? is it because we're atop of the water?" arthur endeavored to make jenny comprehend the natural consequences of their position, now within the tropics, and daily drawing nearer to the equator; but he only succeeded in agitating the mind of the old woman, without enlightening her. "god help us!" she exclaimed. "nigher and nigher to the sun! it's downright temptation and wickedness, my dears; and my thought is, one ought to stay where it has pleased him to plant us. and think ye, master arthur, we shall all turn black, like them niggers we saw in london streets." "no; certainly not, nurse," answered arthur. "it requires hundreds of years, under a tropical sun, to change the color of europeans. besides, the negroes, although we are all children of adam, are of a distinct race from us. we are certainly not, like the thick-lipped negroes, the descendants of ham." "likely he had been the plainest of noah's family," said jenny, "for beauty runs in the blood, that i'll stand to," continued the attached nurse, looking round with complacency on her handsome young nurslings. to the young voyagers there was an indescribable charm in the novelties which the sea and the air offered to them in the tropical region they had now entered. now for the first time they beheld the flying-fish rise sparkling from the waves, to descend as quickly; escaping for a short time from its enemies in the waves to expose itself to the voracious tribes of the air, who are ready to dart upon it. and sometimes the elegant little stormy petrel, with its slender long legs, seemed to walk the waters, like the fervent st. peter, from whom it derives its name. "but is not this bird believed to be the harbinger of storms?" asked margaret of her father, as he watched with delight the graceful creature he had so often desired to behold. "such is the belief of the sailors," answered he, "who have added the ill-omened epithet to its name. it is true that the approach, or the presence, of a gale, has no terror to this intrepid bird, the smallest of the web-footed tribe. it ascends the mountainous wave, and skims along the deep hollows, treading the water, supported by its expanded wings, in search of the food which the troubled sea casts on the surface: 'up and down! up and down! from the base of the wave to the billow's crown, amidst the flashing and feathery foam, the stormy petrel finds a home,' as a poet who is a true lover of nature has written. yet it is not always the harbinger or the companion of the storm, for even in the calmest weather it follows a vessel, to feed on the offal thrown overboard, as fearless and familiar in the presence of man as the pert sparrow of london." "here, papa!" cried hugh, "here is a new creature to add to your collection. i know him at once,--the huge albatross." with the admiration of a naturalist, mr. mayburn looked on the gigantic bird, continuing its solemn majestic flight untiringly for hours after the ship, its keen eye ever on the watch for any floating substance which was thrown from the vessel, and then swooping heavily down to snatch the prize voraciously, and circling round the ship, again to resume its place at the wake. "i see now," said he, "why coleridge wrote,-- 'the albatross did follow, and every day, for food or play. came to the mariner's hollo!' but the poet mistook the habits of the bird entirely when he added, that 'on mast or shroud it perched.' the difficulty of expanding its wing of five joints, so immensely long, would impede its rising from the mast of a ship; it scrambles along the waves before it can rise above them; and it has been well said, 'the albatross is the mere creature of the wind, and has no more power over itself than a paper kite or an air balloon. it is all wing, and has no muscle to raise itself with, and must wait for a wind before it can get under sail.'" the family were assembled on deck in the close of the evening, after the fervid heat of an equatorial sun, and they beheld with enjoyment the wonders of the deep; but the old nurse seemed disturbed and awe-struck. "every thing seems turned topsy-turvy here," said she. "days far hotter nor ever i mind them, and may-day not come; fishes with wings, flying as if they were birds, and birds walking atop of the water, as if it were dry land. it's unnatural, miss marget, and no good can come on it, i say." "ah! if you were but going with us, mrs. wilson," said charles deverell; "then i would engage you should see wonders. you should see beasts hopping about like birds, and wearing pockets to carry their young ones in; black swans and white eagles; cuckoos that cry in the night, and owls that scream by day; pretty little birds that cannot sing, and bees that never sting. there the trees shed their bark instead of their leaves, and the cherries grow with the stone outside." "now, just hold your tongue, mr. charles," answered nurse, angrily. "your brother would scorn to talk such talk; but you're no better than master gerald, trying to come over an old body with your fairy stories." "it is quite true, mrs. wilson," said emma deverell, "and i wish you were all going with us into this land of enchantments. then, margaret, dear margaret, how happy we should be. you should be queen, and we all your attendant sylphs, and 'merry it would be in fairy-land, where the fairy birds were singing.'" "merry for you, little wild goose," said her brother edward; "but charles has told you the fairy birds do not sing; and our sylph-life will be one of hard labor for many months before we make our fairy-land and court lit to receive our queen. then we must try and lure her to us. how shall we contrive it, emma?" margaret smiled and shook her head. "too bright a dream," said she, "to be safely indulged in. but you must tell us all you propose to do, and we will watch your progress in fancy." "oh, do tell us all about it, edward," said hugh. "but, first of all, make a dot upon my map, that we may know where you are when we come to seek you." "very prudent, hugh," answered edward, "though i doubt the accuracy of my dot on this small map; but i suppose i shall not be more than a hundred miles wrong, and that is nothing in the wilds of australia." "but i see you will be close on this great river that falls into the darling," said hugh; "so if we only follow up the rivers, we must find you." "you would not find that so easy a task as it seems, my boy," replied edward. "neither are we, as you suppose, close on that river, but fifty miles from it; but we have a charming little river laid down on our plan, which we must coax and pet in the rainy season, that it may provide us with water in the drought." "you have a most extensive tract," said arthur, looking on the plan. "oh, yes," said charles, "we propose, you know, to build a castle for ourselves, and a town for our vassals." "there lies my castle," said edward, pointing to some large packages which contained the frame of his future abode. "as for the town, i am not without hopes to see it rise some time, and do honor to its name." "deverell, i conclude?" observed arthur. "so my mother wishes the station to be called," replied he; "but my own 'modest mansion,' i should wish to name daisy grange." "i never understood that the daisy was indigenous in australia," said mr. mayburn. "certainly it is not, sir," answered edward; "but we have fortunately brought out a number of roots of this dear home flower, and will try to domesticate them in our new country; though i fear they will be apt to forget their native simplicity, and learn to flaunt in colors." "i know why you wish to call your house daisy grange, edward," said emma, nodding sagaciously at margaret, and the general laughter showed the little girl had surmised correctly. "a very pretty and delicate compliment," said mr. mayburn: "our own glorious chaucer speaks of the daisy as-- 'la belle marguerite, o commendable flower, and most in minde;' and the noble margaret of valois, a christian and a scholar, had the daisy, or _marguerite_, worn in honor of her name, and is herself remembered as the 'marguerite of marguerites'." and thus they amused themselves till, without storm or delay, they had crossed the equator, and entered the south sea, when a new source of enjoyment was opened to mr. mayburn, who had long desired to view the constellations of the south; and favorable weather enabled them to study astronomy every night. never for a moment did the voyage seem tedious in the cheerful society of the happy families, and all things concurred to render it agreeable. the provisions were excellent, fresh meat and bread, with milk in abundance, prevented them from suffering from change of diet; and constant employment made the moments fly. in the morning the young mayburns, with emma deverell, read with mr. mayburn, and studied hindostanee; and in the evening they walked on deck, listening to the pleasant anecdotes told by edward deverell, who had been a great traveller. then they had music, and occasionally dancing; and if sometimes a light gale tossed the vessel, or swept the dinner from the table, the _contretemps_ caused mirth rather than wailing. mr. mayburn himself, busily engaged in teaching, lecturing, or in writing and delivering simple sermons to the poor emigrants, recovered his cheerfulness, and once more began to confide in himself. and so, in good time, they reached the cape, and jenny discovered that now, "when may-day was turned," it was far colder than any may-day in england, and put on her warm shawl to land with her young charge to see the town, and to look after that "feckless ruth." it was a great pleasure to the ardent young people to set their feet on the shores of africa, to see the vessels of many nations crowding the harbor, and the people of many countries thronging the busy streets, to make excursions to the mountains and vine-covered hills around, and to collect the botanical treasures of a new and fertile region. mr. deverell was more usefully engaged with his herdsmen and shepherds, in completing his stock of cattle and sheep, and in making other purchases for his great undertaking; and thus many days were spent pleasantly and profitably. once more embarked, a shade of melancholy was perceptible--among the young especially--as they daily approached nearer to the shores where they must be separated; for the two families, so kindred in taste and disposition, had become truly attached during their long voyage; and notwithstanding the pleasant prospect of new scenes and pursuits, they were less cheerful every day. even edward deverell, with his mind crowded with plans for clearing, draining, cultivating, sheep-shearing, and tallow-melting, felt deep regret at the prospect of separation from the lively, intelligent boys, and their amiable and sensible sister; and margaret herself, usually so composed and contented, sighed to think she must lose the valuable counsel of edward, the friendly protection of his mild invalid mother, and the warm affection of the sprightly emma; and every evening, as they walked on deck, they indulged hopes, and sketched plans of meeting again. after they had entered the indian ocean, they had no longer the favorable and pleasant breezes they had so long enjoyed, and while hugh and gerald were anxiously looking out for pirates, and talking of malays, of prahus, and of kreeses, the sailors were watching the signs of the sky, wrestling with contrary winds, and guarding against sudden gales. "how vexatious," said hugh, "to be drifted about every way but the right way, and to have all this noise and splashing and dashing, and yet nothing to come of it. now if we had a grand regular storm, and a shipwreck, and were all cast away on an uninhabited island, it would be an adventure; there would be some life in that." "more likely there would be death in it," said margaret. "do not be so presumptuous, unthinking boy!" "i should enjoy the thing amazingly myself, margaret," said gerald; "so don't you look grave about it. or what would you think, hugh, if a great fleet of prahus were to surround us and try to board us, while we, armed and ready for them, were to pour our shots into them, and put the rogues to flight. but first we would take care to capture the fierce pirate captain, and take possession of all his treasures. then wouldn't we enter melbourne in triumph, and have the robber hauled up to the gallows." "pirates do not usually carry their treasures about in their prahus," said arthur; "nor do i think it is at all desirable that we should encounter a piratical fleet. where are your guns to pour down destruction on the foe, master gerald?" "oh, murther!" cried the wild boy, "wasn't i forgetting the guns! now, what for did we come in a merchantman, as quiet and dull as a quaker? well, well, arty, we have plenty of brave fellows, and our own rifles and pistols, besides knives and dirks. we should defend ourselves like britons, i'll be bound." but the next day there was no cause to complain of dulness, for a real gale came on, and all was confusion. the wind roared, the waves rose tremendously, the ship rolled fearfully in a heavy sea, and before night the maintop-gallant was carried away. then sail was reduced; but louder and stronger grew the tempest amid the darkness of night. mast after mast was rent away, and the crippled vessel continued to drift helplessly for twenty-four hours, when the violence of the gale began to abate. signals of distress were made, but long in vain. at length a vessel appeared in sight, and distinguishing their signals, made up to them. it was bound to melbourne, which was now within a few days' sail, and, with as much kindness as difficulty, the stranger succeeded in taking the disabled _amoor_ in tow, and bringing her into port in safety. chapter iii. melbourne.--the squatters.--the two convicts.--a painful separation.--the _golden fairy_.--ruth's misfortunes.--a nocturnal alarm.--ruth's confession.--the ship on fire. weary, distressed, and suffering, the passengers on the _amoor_ gladly landed on the busy wharf, and were conveyed to melbourne, where mr. mayburn and his daughter, mrs. deverell and emma, were settled in a handsome hotel; but mr. deverell and his people, with the young mayburns, remained at the port to land the cargo and inspect the damage done by the storm. it was soon ascertained that the loss must be considerable--a number of sheep and cattle, besides a valuable horse, had been swept into the sea; and all that had been saved were in bad condition; but it was to be hoped a short rest at melbourne might restore these, and fit them for their long journey into the interior. then deverell had to search for experienced drovers to guide and assist his own men; and finally, he undertook to inquire for the first vessel to calcutta that could accommodate mr. mayburn and his family, as some months must elapse before the disabled _amoor_ could be prepared to resume the voyage. the girls looked out from the windows of the hotel with admiration at the broad and peopled streets, the handsome churches, and the european aspect of a town on the spot which, but a few years before, had been a lonely wilderness; but the pious mr. mayburn called them away to unite with him in thanksgiving for this their first experience of the progress of divine and social knowledge, even into the farthest regions of the earth. "the spirit which has clothed the desert with the blessings of peace and abundance," said he, "and has planted the gospel of life in a newly-discovered world, will by god's blessing spread onwards like a fertilizing river till the word of the lord be accomplished; for the blessed day draweth nigh when the scattered people of god shall be gathered into one fold, and the great shepherd shall say, 'well done.'" "god speed the day, dear papa," said margaret. "but we must not be mere watchers; we must all be workers. wherever we go, we shall find an untilled field, and we must all put our shoulders to the plough." "you are right, my child," replied he, with a sigh; for though ever willing to fulfil the duty lying before him, mr. mayburn wanted resolution to seek out the hard work of the fervent missionary of christianity. evening brought to them the fatigued young men with satisfactory news. a vessel, the _golden fairy_, which had landed a party of gold-diggers from england, was going forward to calcutta with sheep and merchandise. the captain, very glad to obtain passengers, readily agreed to accommodate mr. mayburn's family; he was to sail in three days, so no time must be lost in making preparations. "as to my own affairs," added edward deverell, "i have succeeded in finding quarters for all my live-stock. the cattle, horses, pigs, and sheep were certainly somewhat unruly; but the women and children ten times more troublesome. such an amount of bundles, bags, baskets, cradles, and cats as they have brought! how we have housed them all is a miracle; and how we are to get them up the country is a puzzling problem. finally, i have bought a train of wagons, and engaged two gentlemen as guides, who are her majesty's prisoners, released on _parole_; in fact, two ticket-of-leave convicts." a scream from emma, and a groan from her mother, followed this information. "surely you have not been so rash, edward," said mrs. deverell. "let us make our way rather with our own people only. consider the contamination of such society for our poor virtuous followers. besides, it is but too probable we may be robbed and murdered by such wretches." "it is an inevitable evil, mother," answered edward, "for we cannot attempt the journey without guidance. these men have behaved well since their transportation; they are brothers--poachers--who, like many in their situation, have erred rather through ignorance and weakness than depravity. at least, such is the report of the overlooker who recommended them. they have been out before in the interior with squatters, and know the valleys of the murray and the darling, beyond which our ultra-frontier tract is spread. i have been to the colonial office, and have obtained the necessary forms for taking possession of fifty thousand acres of _waste land_, as it is called, for a long lease of years. and now, mother, we are, according to the legalized and elegant form, _squatters_." "_colonists_, my son; i cannot bear the strange, uncouth word _squatters_," said mrs. deverell. "nevertheless, mamma," said edward, laughing, "it is official language. we may call ourselves, if we choose, landed gentry; but the world of australia will rank us only as part of the _squattocracy_." "am i a squatter?" asked little emma, in dismay; and great was the mirth of her favorite friends, hugh and gerald, when emma was pronounced to be legally a squatter. early next morning the two convict guides were admitted to receive their final directions from mr. deverell, and were regarded with some uneasiness and much curiosity. one was a rough country lad, dressed in a fustian suit and a fur cap, rude in manner, but of pleasing, open countenance: the other, who was older, had a shabby-genteel appearance; he had discarded his convict's habit, and had expended the earnest-money received from mr. deverell in an old suit of black clothes, and a very bad english hat, which he had placed on his head in a jaunty style. "please to show me your district by map, sir," said he, bowing at the same time in a very conceited manner to the ladies. "you must look to me, _cartee blank_, sir; for you see, sir, my brother is not intelligible; he has not had the blessing of eddication." "and your education, my friend," said edward deverell, "has not been a blessing to you, i fear. have you not rather turned it to evil?" "quite the _contrairy_, sir," said the man. "i look forrard to its helping me up-hill in this free country. why, sir, a man born anunder an hedge may top over quality and ride in his carriage here, if he can only come round his parts of speech rightly. but davy will stick where he is, for he never could tell an x from an _anpassy_." "it's all true," said the rough rustic, "i'se no scholar like bill, master, but i'se do my best for ye, and glad to get out from amang yon rogues. it's hard for a lad to be sorted with such company for just sniggling a hare." "_ensnaring_, david," said his brother, pompously; "_sniggling_ is colloquial." "sniggling, you know, bill," answered david, "our lads call it in t' north country; and little harm is there in't i say, that they should send a poor lad amang thieves and cut-throats. but, please god, i'se out of their way, and it will be mony a day afore i come nigh them again." "you seem a simple, though ignorant youth," said mr. mayburn, "and i cannot understand how it happened you were so severely punished for poaching; though doubtless it is an offence against the law." bill laughed contemptuously as he replied for his brother,--"you see, sir, davy was always a fool, or we need not both have been expostulated to this place. our master always called him david simple, and sure enough, if it had not been for his downright idiosyncrasy, we might have got clear off; but nothing would serve him but to show fight." "now, just be quiet, bill, man," said david; "it was for thee i stood out. you'se hear all, master; i'se tell t' truth. bill had his gun, and brought down a few birds, and i were knocking a few rabbits over, and it chanced to be a moonshiny night, when out pops a keeper, and fells bill down with a club; and i heard him shout out to me, as how his arm was broken. that aggravated me bitter, and up i ran, and leathered t' fellow well with my stick. then bill got up and ran off, but i was fain to stop, and give t' keeper a hiding; but he roared out so loud that two more chaps came up, and first took me, and then went off after bill. when they got to our lodging, he made as how he knew nought about it, but they found birds and his gun underneath t' bed; and there was his arm all black and blue, but not broken, as he said. so off they carried us to prison, and bill wanted me to say as how he that were with me were jack kay, an auld poacher; but i couldn't swear away a man's _charackter_, and t' keeper took his oath bill wanted to shut him, and i were no better; so they sent us both over t' water. it's a thousand pities for bill, for he's a scholar, cute as he is about sniggling." david was the favorite of the family, who did not admire the flowery language and cunning look of _cute_ bill; but among a horde of lawless men, edward deverell congratulated himself that he had been fortunate enough to obtain two men less depraved than might have been expected. it was with a sinking heart, oppressed with strange forebodings, that margaret looked on the large, dark, dirty and gloomy ship honored by the inappropriate name of the _golden fairy_. she grieved for the separation from the new friends that the whole family had learned to love so well, and she shrunk from the prospect of unknown difficulties and dangers, when all decision and responsibility would be thrown upon her, from the helpless character of her beloved but irresolute parent. during the first voyage, the powerful and energetic character of edward deverell had swayed the judgment of mr. mayburn; but in future, margaret felt she could only look to her young brother arthur for aid. "yet have i not a greater aid?" she repeated to herself. "forgive me, my heavenly father! thou art my friend and my counsellor! let me ever turn to thee in my trials, and i must be in safety." and thus, with a heart ever recognizing the presence and relying on the love of a watchful god, margaret mayburn walked on her way steadily and fearlessly. the parting of the two families was very painful, yet they cheered themselves with the hope so unquenchable in the young. they talked confidently of their future meeting, the boys traced over and over again on the map the route they proposed to take to daisy grange; and, but for margaret's firmness, even mr. mayburn, at the last moment, would have relinquished his hopes of spreading the gospel in the east, to follow the new colonists into the dreary untrodden deserts. there was an appearance of neglect and disorder in the _golden fairy_ that was repugnant to the taste of the mayburns, after being accustomed to the trim, orderly arrangements of the _amoor_; edward deverell pointed out to captain markham several necessary changes which must be made for the comfort of passengers who paid him so handsomely, and was annoyed to perceive that his suggestions were received slightingly and almost contemptuously. he himself procured more conveniences for the cabin of his friends, and he besought margaret and arthur to be firm and determined with markham, who seemed careless, and, he suspected, addicted to drinking. now, when too late, he regretted that he had not induced the family to remain at melbourne for the sailing of the mail packet; but arthur had been anxious for his father to hasten to his mission, lest his vacillating nature should lead him to relinquish it. besides which, the throng of gold-diggers made the cost of living at melbourne a serious consideration. finally, with tears and sorrowful hearts, the friends took leave of each other, with the remote chance that favorable circumstances might bring them together again; and it was not till the fair sunny shores of australia had faded from their sight, that the voyagers retired to their cabin to endeavor to resign themselves to their changed circumstances. the want of order in their new home was particularly trying to the scarcely-reclaimed ruth. she had learned to be useful among the emigrant women in the neatly-ordered _amoor_; but she soon relapsed into her usual heedless habits, amidst the scattered packages and general confusion in the _golden fairy_. she stumbled over boxes which were not stowed in their proper places, she was thrown down by some terrified sheep that had escaped from its pen, she trod to death some rambling chicken that had found its way into the cabins, or she destroyed the cups and plates by officiously spreading the table in the midst of a gale, though she had been warned of the consequences. "margaret," said mr. mayburn, who had been uneasily watching the girl's unlucky movements, "i am of opinion that poor ruth should be subjected to some restraint i observe that the inevitable result of her undertakings is destruction. she is a curious study; nor can i solve the mystery why she should always do wrong when she designs to do right i am alarmed, margaret; i eat my food in terror, lest she should have poured laudanum into the curry, or scattered arsenic over the pudding." "have no fear, papa," answered margaret. "ruth is never intrusted with culinary preparations: the cook is too cross to allow her to touch any of his dishes, nor has she the means of procuring any of those dreaded poisons. i do not fear that she will harm any one but herself with her heedlessness; but, poor girl, she is covered with bruises and cuts from falls. nor is she entirely to blame, for the cabins are filled up with packages which arthur says ought to be stowed in the hold. we must, however, make up our minds to be inconvenienced for the short time i trust we shall be shut up in this prison." "that i could do, my child," answered he; "but i fear markham is not a man of understanding to depend on in emergency. this is a sea of perils, of storms and pirates. what would become of us if any of these dangers assailed us? arthur, you look disturbed; you think with me, that markham is unfit for his situation." "truly, papa, i have some doubts of him," replied arthur. "i think he must be an experienced sailor, for he has made this voyage many times; and i should not have lost confidence in him, if i had not actually seen him intoxicated. and i fear he is utterly unprincipled, for he wanted us to join him in his nightly revels. now, margaret, if a storm should come on in the night, i feel assured that he would be incapable of giving orders." "and a pretty set of queer-looking boys he has fished up at melbourne," said gerald, "to man the ugly ship. hugh and i have marked our men, and haven't they _rogue_ written on their black brows!" "but, gerald, is it not somewhat unkind to form so hasty a judgment?" said margaret. "these sailors are strangers; why do you class them as rogues?" "because, meggie," said hugh, "gerald saw with his own eyes a lot of fellows in their yellow convict dress brought up for markham to choose a crew from, for all his own men had deserted to go to the diggings. and we both agree that he must have picked out the most villanous-looking of the lot. now, just come up with us, meggie, and take a look at the fellows, and you shall hear what jack says." margaret went on deck with her brothers, to walk round the disorderly place; and, under the pretext of examining the various parts of the ship, she carefully marked the faces of the men she encountered, and could not deny that they were not only coarse and bold, but that most of them had the fierce, sinister, lowering expression which usually distinguishes the convict. she stopped to speak to jack, who was busily engaged finishing a model he had begun at melbourne, of one of the light-hung, commodious, broad-wheeled travelling wagons mr. deverell had bought at that place. "i could easily make one for you, miss margaret," said jack, "if it were needed; but they tell me you'll want no wheeled-carriages yonder. more's the pity. i wish master had been persuaded to stay with mr. deverell. i don't half like this, for, oh! miss margaret," added he, looking around, "we've got among a bad lot." "what have we to fear, jack?" asked she, pale with fear. "don't be down-hearted, miss," said the lad; "but i doubt we may have awkward work; for when captain markham is in his cups, everybody's master. but please god to send us fair winds, we shall soon get through the voyage." "we must pray for his help, jack," said margaret; "and let us avoid these men as much as possible. you, jack, as well as my brothers, must remain below; better endure confinement than encounter wickedness." "and please, miss margaret," continued jack, "would you ask mrs. wilson to mind and keep ruth close; for these saucy fellows amuse themselves with sending her on some foolish errand, and getting her into mischief. i near had a fight with that big brute, the mate, for pitching her over a hencoop; but wilkins, that little sharp fellow at the masthead, got me away." margaret and arthur had many long and serious conversations on their uncomfortable position, particularly when their voyage was retarded by the contrary winds of that uncertain sea. then the family secluded themselves in the two crowded cabins appropriated to their use, and endeavored, by prayer and regulation of the mind, to prepare themselves for the dangers into which such an ill-ruled vessel might be hurried. after a day of great vexation, occasioned by the carelessness of ruth, who had, by some mischievous device of the sailors, let all the poultry loose, and had been compelled by the violent captain to hunt them up from every corner of the vessel, the girl had been summoned before margaret and jenny, to be rebuked for her thoughtless conduct. she wept, and promised to improve, and was sent to her berth, nurse declaring that she had made up her mind never to lose sight of her all the next day. then, after meeting for prayers in mr. mayburn's cabin, they returned, to seek such repose as their close, uncomfortable berths afforded. it might have been two or three hours after this, when margaret awoke with a strange feeling of oppression and fear, which she vainly attempted to shake off. at length, she called out from her berth, "nurse, are you awake? will you go on deck with me for a few minutes? i long for the refreshment of the night air, for the cabin is more suffocating than usual to-night. surely a storm must be at hand, for the air is positively scorching." jenny yawned and murmured, till at length, becoming aware of the request of her young mistress, she scrambled from her awkward berth; but no sooner was she on her feet, than, thoroughly awakened, she exclaimed, "god have mercy on us! for there must be something on fire. i smell and feel it must be so!" margaret sprang up, trembling in every limb, but firm in heart, to rush through the door that separated the cabins, and arouse her father and brothers. jenny, in the mean time, opened the outer door, and then the smell of burning wood was plainly perceptible. while mr. mayburn and his sons hastily got ready, margaret proceeded to the cabin of capt. markham, and knocked loudly in her fright, crying out almost unconsciously as she knocked, "fire! fire!" "who calls fire?" cried markham, with a bitter oath. "who dares to say that?" and his head appeared from the cabin door. his voice was husky and broken, and margaret feared he was intoxicated and might not comprehend her, as she rapidly narrated her observations and her fears. deep and horrible were the curses of the wicked man, as he staggered forward, screaming and yelling for the watch. that there was any watch in this disorderly establishment, margaret doubted. she hurried back to her father; and they were soon alarmed by the sounds of dreadful curses, the trampling of many feet, the ringing of bells, and the cries of the disturbed and terrified sheep. arthur and hugh were sent up to ascertain the fact of danger, and they found the lazy crew effectually roused to action; lanterns were flying about in different directions; and at length the fatal cry was heard, "fire in the after-hold!" chapter iv. insubordination of the sailors.--rapid progress of the fire.--the boats lowered.--ruth's prize.--a man saved.--black peter.--the adventure of a reprobate crew.--a dangerous comrade. then the harsh voice of markham was heard pouring out orders, loud, but almost inarticulate with rage and drunkenness; while, regardless of his awful situation, with fearful blasphemy he imprecated curses on the negligence which had caused the accident, and on the tardiness of action among his insubordinate crew. at length the fire-engine was got to work; lengths of leather hose were stretched down to the burning hold; buckets were rapidly passed from hand to hand; and the splashing of water was followed by the hissing of the flames. the four young men joined the sailors and worked manfully at the engine or with buckets, while mr. mayburn, alternately trembling, weeping, and despairing, and then, in earnest prayer, regaining his firmness and resignation, occupied the care and attention of margaret almost entirely. jenny, with practical good sense, was collecting the most valuable part of their property. "if we be not burnt to death first, miss marget," she said; "jack tells me we shall be took off in boats, god help us! so it's time to be making ready. come, lass!" to ruth, "and tie this bag. what ails ye, you simpleton? what are you staring round in that fashion for?" ruth was gazing about with a wild expression of terror in her eyes, and, unmindful of the injunctions of mrs. wilson, she suddenly threw down the bag, and fell on her knees before mr. mayburn, crying out, "ah, master, will they hang me? i didn't think it would burn us all alive! i couldn't find it again, try all i would." "unfortunate girl," said mr. mayburn, "have you lost your senses, or what have you done? speak the truth." "i will tell truth, master," sobbed the girl. "it was when i were lating up them bonnie chickens as had got out, and big peter tied a rope across in yon passage for me to tummel ower, and i rolled down t' ladder into that big, dark place where they keep great bales and barrels, and all manners of things; my lantern was broken and my candle was lost. i got mysel' gathered up, and i groped about for t' candle, but i couldn't find it, and i got sadly flayed in that dark hole, so i climbed up and said nought to nobody; but, oh, master, i couldn't get to sleep, for it came into my head, may be my candle might have set some of them bundles in a low, and we might all be burned in our beds, and me not saying a word alike, for fear." "god forgive you, ruth," said her master. "pray for mercy; and if it please him to save us in this fearful hour of peril, never forget the misery and destruction your carelessness has caused." the penitent and affrighted girl shook in every limb, and margaret kindly soothed and prayed with her till she calmed her agitation. then the young and thoughtful daughter said,-- "papa, we must not remain inclosed in this suffocating cabin. let us go on deck, and if no other hope remains, we will demand a boat, that we may escape from a horrible death." "lead the way, my child," said mr. mayburn, "and i will follow you, as i ever do; for i feel utterly helpless alone." they proceeded to the deck, followed by jenny and ruth loaded with packages; and when they reached the scene of terror and confusion, they were embarrassed among piles of boxes, barrels, and bales, which were continually drawn up from below, the bales which were blazing being immediately thrown overboard. by the light of the torches, margaret discovered among the throng her young brothers, busily employed in hauling ropes and carrying buckets; they were heated with exertion and blackened with smoke. o'brien had even got his hair singed with the flames. still untired, they would have continued their efforts, but all seemed ineffectual, from the total want of subordination and unanimity among the sailors. mr. mayburn walked up to captain markham, who stood aloof from the rest, in a perfect state of frenzy, from fear, anger, and intoxication. he continued to shout aloud contradictory and absurd orders, which were utterly unheeded by the lawless crew; each man doing what he chose, and nothing being done effectually. "the fire is certainly progressing, captain markham," said mr. mayburn. "let me entreat you to issue orders for some means of providing for the safety of so many human beings all unfit for death. we, who are your passengers, demand the means of escape." with a fearful oath, the wretch said his passengers might care for themselves; he had enough to do to save his ship; and save it he would, if it cost him half the crew. "i'll pitch the dogs into the fire," said he, "if they do not soon extinguish it; and not a man shall leave the _golden fairy_ living." "there's not many will do that," cried the audacious mate, "if they do not look sharp. the fire has just reached the tallow hogsheads, man, and where will your ship be then? come along, lads, we can do no more; so let every fellow lay his hands on what he likes best, and lower the boats now or never." the call was readily responded to, in spite of the threats of the infuriated captain; and though the flames were now heard roaring below, and were even visible in some parts, the after-deck was still uninjured; and from thence the boats were lowered. arthur and jack went up to the men to request that a boat, or at all events seats in one of the boats, might be given to their party, who would be willing to reward the men for any trouble they occasioned. the insolent mate, who seemed to have assumed the command of the rest, laughed at the request. "charity begins at home!" cried he. "we have no places to spare. come on, my lads! lower the biscuit and the brandy casks. i'll manage the strong box. out of my way, gentry. if you say another word we'll pitch you all into the sea--men and women." "there's no hope of our getting a boat to ourselves, mr. arthur," said jack, "for they 're all afloat now, and they'll soon have them off; so i would say, if you'd help a bit, we should set about getting up a raft as fast as we can--here are plenty of spare spars about." when markham saw the men preparing to forsake the vessel, he became more furious than ever, and seizing the mate by the collar, he swore he would have him put in irons. but his attempts were useless against the powerful villain, who flung him on one side like a noxious reptile; and the rest of the remorseless wretches, to rid themselves at once of the opposition of the violent drunkard, hurled him down into the flames, which were already bursting through the crevices of the deck. "i can't stand that," cried wilkins, one of the sailors, coming up to jack; "i'se not the chap to turn my back on my comrades; but i've never committed wilful murder, and i'll just cut away from a gang of such deep-dyed rogues, and join ye, my honest fellow. come, i'se ready to lend a hand." a helping hand was truly desirable in their extremity of distress; but mr. mayburn shrank from the fierce, rough aspect of the convict sailor, and besought arthur, in a low tone, to reject any association with crime and infamy. "be satisfied, my dear father," answered he, "i will do nothing unadvisedly; but if this man shrinks from evil and turns to good, how shall we excuse ourselves if we force him back to destruction? besides, it is now too late; see, the first boat has already deserted the ship." with loud cheers, the most daring of the crew headed by the mate, rowed off in the long boat, and were soon lost in the darkness that shrouded all except the fearful space around the burning ship. the second boat followed, the hardened men turning a deaf ear to the entreaties of the passengers whom they had abandoned on the wreck. they refused even to aid them in lowering their hastily-constructed and unsafe raft, but laughed and sneered at the rude workmanship. but the flames, fed by the hogsheads of tallow in the hold, now blazed up through the cabin windows, and bursting through the decks, ran along with fatal rapidity, momentarily threatening the distressed family with a dreadful fate. it was now that the cool prudence and skill of their faithful friend jack rescued them. his observing eye had noted the means adopted by the sailors; he had tools and appliances; he arranged and divided the labor, of which even the women had their share; and the rude raft was at length successfully lowered. a few necessaries were hastily thrown upon it, including a cask of biscuit and one of water, which wilkins at great hazard had obtained; he had also brought up a small barrel of rum, but arthur peremptorily refused to take it, and, to end all discussion, flung it into the sea, and firmly told wilkins, he would rather leave him to perish on the burning ship, than carry him away with such a temptation to evil. the man grumbled unavailingly, but at last returned to his duty. nothing more could be secured, except a few ropes, and spars, with some tools to repair the raft. then a spare sail was cast over the stowage, and, one after another, mr. mayburn and the trembling women were let down; the active boys quickly followed. jack and wilkins were the last to descend from their perilous position, where they had been so surrounded by the flames, now crawling up the masts, that margaret dreaded every moment they should fall victims; but they happily alighted on the lumbering raft in safety. then oars were taken up, and no time was lost in pushing off as far as possible from the ill-fated _golden fairy_; nor did they pause even to look round till they were at a safe distance, when they stood off for a few minutes to contemplate the splendid and frightful spectacle. wilkins now confessed to them that there were some barrels of gunpowder concealed in the vessel, which the reckless sailors had smuggled from melbourne for their own purposes; for it had been their fixed intention, at a favorable opportunity, to murder the captain and passengers, or land them on some desert island; and to take possession of the ship for piratical enterprises in the indian ocean. the knowledge that this powder was in the ship had hastened their flight from the certain consequences, and wilkins was surprised that the catastrophe had been so long averted. but now, as they watched the blackened ribs of the vessel, through which the intense flame glowed, while clouds of smoke, myriads of sparks, and burning flakes, rose from the wreck, a loud explosion almost deafened them; another and another succeeded; then blazed up a mass of flame, which seemed to rise to the very clouds for a few minutes, followed by utter darkness and silence. "may god, in his infinite mercy, still preserve the weak creatures he has so miraculously delivered," said mr. mayburn, devoutly. "we were face to face with death, and never, my children, can the crackling, roaring sound of that fierce and unconquerable conflagration fade from my recollection. we had not the consolation of the martyrs who suffered for the faith, and who could look on the flames as the brief path to eternal glory. we were summoned in the midst of life's cares and frailties, unwillingly, fearfully, to be dragged to doom; and he spared us, that we might better prepare to appear before his tribunal. blessed forever be his holy name!" solemnly and earnestly rose the amen from the rescued. even the hardened convict lowered his voice as he said, with levity, to jack, "that was a canny bit prayer; will 'it help us ony, think ye?" "yes, wilkins," said jack, "i do believe that god never fails to help them who pray to him. and some day, my man, you will be glad to believe it too." wilkins said no more, but he often remembered the new, strange words he had heard poured out amidst that horror of darkness. "now, captain arthur," cried out hugh, "please to say where we are, and whither we are to go?" "i wish i could determine where we are," answered arthur; "but we have been so tossed about for the last two days, that i have no idea of our position. certainly we are out of our regular course." "if bully dan were right," said wilkins, "we ought to be now a good bit north of swan river, and among islands and reefs puzzling enough at noonday; and in this black darkness it's odd that we ever see land again. if any on ye had thought of an anchor, we might have laid off till day." there was nothing but patience and resignation for the voyagers. the sea was less agitated than it had been during the day, and they drifted steadily over the waves; but in what direction they could not determine; for such was the confusion of their embarkation, and such the darkness that enveloped them, that no one could pronounce from what point the wind was blowing. "what is that fluttering sound i hear?" asked mr. mayburn, in a voice of alarm. a moment's silence followed, then every one distinctly heard the fluttering. at length ruth said, "oh! if you please, master, it was only me. i couldn't bide that they should be burned alive, bonnie things; it were not their fault! it's them bits of chickens as i were hunting up when all this bad work were done--god forgive me!--and i gathered them into a basket; and if ye please, miss marget, dinnot let them be eaten, they're so bonnie." margaret readily granted the noisy little prisoners their life, and applauded the humanity of ruth, whose struggles to keep her restless charge in order created some mirth, and diverted them for a time from the contemplation of their own troubles. but another sound was now heard above the monotonous rumbling of the unquiet ocean. it was surely, they thought, a human cry! it was again repeated; and wilkins said very coolly, "it'll be some of our chaps. like enough they'll have capsized yon big crazy boat. they'd a keg of brandy to fight about; and i'll be bound they'd never settle as long as there were a drop left in't." "can we not show them a light?" said mr. mayburn: "that was a cry of distress, and humanity calls on us to aid them." "there's no room here for any more hands," muttered wilkins. "drunken rogues! they'd kick these few shaking clogs to bits in no time: and then where are we?" "nevertheless, margaret, we must do our duty. arthur, what do you say?" asked mr. mayburn anxiously. a loud and dismal scream, at no great distance, decided the question without further discussion. gerald produced a match-box; and though the wind had got up rather boisterously, they succeeded in lighting and displaying a long splinter of wood. then a voice was heard to cry, "help! help!" and wilkins, with a suppressed curse, said, "it's that desp'rate rogue, black peter, and no mistake. better let him drown, i tell ye, comrades; but i've heared 'em say, water won't haud him. they're all alike bad dogs to let loose among us; they've guns and powder, and they're up to ony sort of bloody work." mr. mayburn groaned at this speech, and said, "what shall we do, arthur?--we are wholly defenceless against those bad men." "don't you think of that, sir," said o'brien; "hugh and i looked after that. we brought off a pair of first-rate rifles, with lots of powder and shot. we are the boys to manage the defences. we left the nautical matters to our captain, arthur; jack sought up the spars and hammers, and such matters; and margaret did the commissariat. division of labor, you see, sir--all regular." "i did not think your giddy brain could have arranged so well," said mr. mayburn: "i am ashamed to say i have not been so thoughtful." "no, no, papa," said hugh; "gerald is taking more credit than is due to us. it was margaret who arranged what each should do, and allowed us to add to our duties as we chose; in consequence of which, you see, gerald and i thought of destroying life, and ruth of preserving it." while thus talking, the young rowers had been endeavoring laboriously to force the heavy raft, against the wind, towards the spot from whence the cries seemed to proceed. the darkness was so intense that it was in vain the eye sought to penetrate it; but the cry, still heard at intervals, seemed to approach nearer, probably directed by the light. still it was not without an involuntary shudder, and a half-uttered shriek, that they felt and saw a hand grasp the raft, and heard a hoarse voice demand help. this was immediately given; arthur and jack, with much difficulty, drew upon the raft the almost lifeless form of a tall, powerful man, who lay gasping many minutes before he was able to reply to the anxious inquiries of his preservers if any of his companions yet survived. "every rogue among 'em gone to his reckoning," said he, with a diabolical laugh. "a good riddance! if we'd only saved the gold and the brandy! but hand me a sup of something, good folks." "we have nothing but water," said arthur gravely. the man made a wry face, and said, "i've had more nor enough of that. well, then, what are ye bound after in this queer craft? it'll not stand much weather, i take it. and," with an oath, "wilkins, man, how came you to drop in among these saints?" wilkins gave the man a fiery glance, as he answered, "it were a bit safer to-night among saints nor amang sinners, it's like; and i guess ye were thinking so a bit sin' yersel'." "never heed that that's gone, man," said the careless villain: "i'm in as good a place as they are now." "ay, peter," said wilkins, "it's all true as how neither fire nor water will touch thee. we'se see what thou was born to." "keep a civil tongue in thy head," replied peter, "for thou and me must chum together, and see what we can pick up." "what was the cause of your accident, unhappy man?" said mr. mayburn, coming up to him. "none so unhappy now," answered the surly fellow; "better off nor i have been for a few years past, if it were not for want of brandy. i'se free and idle, and can have plenty of grub, i reckon," looking at the casks; "so i'se do now. we might have kept together; but, ye see, we began ower soon with our brandy, and had only one drinking-cup among us, and everybody wanted it first; and so we chaps got to words, and then to hard hits, and then out came our knives. we were badly crowded; and, somehow, in our scrimmage, we all fell atop of one another, and capsized our boat, and away we all went down. then, when we came up, such cursing and yelling never was heard on earth or sea, and, dark as it was, none could catch hold on aught to save him. it was soon settled, however; for all our chaps were over far gone in drink to help themselves, and they went down, shouting out, one after another. i had the luck to catch hold of the brandy-keg, and i took care to keep hold; but i could not stop it from leaking, and it vexed me sore that so much good liquor should be made into salt-water grog, and no time to get a sup. i shouted as loud as i could, and let myself float, till i got sight of your signal, and then i thought there was a bit of a chance; so i managed to swim a few strokes, keeping one hand on my barrel; but i made little way, if the sea and the wind hadn't brought me right up to you. when my barrel bumped again the raft, i lost hold, and i hardly know how it was i clutched the spars; but here i be snug and safe in harbor." "thank god for your preservation, reckless man," said mr. mayburn. "he, who is all mercy to his sinful creatures, has granted you a respite, that you may learn to know and serve him. cast not away the precious boon, but in this awful hour, turn to him, repent, and pray." the good man kneeled down beside the reprobate, and offered up an earnest prayer for the wretched sinner, who was sound asleep before mr. mayburn had concluded; and it was with a sigh he turned from the man, sorrowful, but not hopeless. chapter v. afloat on an unknown sea.--the insubordinate sailor.--the coral reefs.--an island in view.--the perilous landing.--peter's rebellion.--the first night on shore.--ruth among the crockery.--a valuable prize.--the march from the first encampment. as the morning light dawned on the distressed voyagers, they became aware of their perilous situation. around them lay the wide restless ocean, now agitated by a south-west wind, which drove them onward, washed and drenched by the waves, which threatened destruction to their frail vessel, in the midst of which the little knot of united friends were now gathered, their unwelcome guest still lying asleep apart from them. as soon as the light permitted him, jack began steadily and carefully to repair and strengthen the raft. the spare spars he now lashed round to form a sort of gunwale, to protect them from the spray; and after taking out a supply of biscuit for use, he nailed over the whole of the packages the large sail they had brought away, to steady and preserve them from any injury from the waves. the man they had rescued from death now awoke, and joined the rest: he was a tall, powerful, savage-looking man, still wearing the convict uniform, so offensive to the taste of the civilized; and his manners were rude and insolent. "have you no better prog than this poor stuff?" said he, as his portion of biscuit and cup of water were offered to him. "the queen allows us better rations nor this, after your grand laws have made us out to be rogues." "you fare as we do," answered arthur, mildly. "as long as we have biscuit, you are welcome to share it. we make no distinctions in our common distress." "you were a pack of fools," said the man, "not to bring away something worth freightage, when you had space enough. had you sense to fetch a compass?" "we had no opportunity to secure chart or compass," replied arthur. "besides, we were too thankful for the means god gave us to save our lives, to have many thoughts or cares about where we should go. we are in his hands, and i trust, by his mercy, may reach some safe harbor." "it's as well to tell you beforehand," said the sailor, "that you'd better not get it into your heads that you are going to give me up to hard labor and irons again. wherever i set my foot on land i mean to be my own master, and the first among you that peaches on me shall rue it." here the man drew from his breast a brace of pistols, and added,--"you see i managed to keep my barkers safe. what would you say, man, to a ball right through your ugly head?"--and he presented the muzzle of the pistol to wilkins, who shrank behind arthur. "you must mean that threat for a jest, peter," said arthur, in a tone of displeasure. "if you are in earnest, i can only remind you that we also have arms. i am commander here, and the first man on the raft that shows any signs of insubordination, i shall certainly shoot dead." peter stared scornfully and vindictively at arthur, but seeing his unmoved countenance, he turned off with a sort of laugh, and withdrew to the stern of the raft. "what a capital fellow arty is, hugh!" whispered gerald. "see how he has cowed that huge bully. are we not proud of our captain?" towards noon the heat of the sun became excessive, and was most distressing to the voyagers exposed to its beams; margaret and her father especially suffered from it, till jack contrived an ingenious canopy for them by raising some spars, over which he spread the boat-cloaks, which the boys had fortunately worn to protect them from the flames in the burning ship. as evening came on, the wind increased alarmingly, and they looked round anxiously to obtain some idea of their position, till at last wilkins pointed out some hazy dots on the wide ocean desert, which he pronounced to be small islands. "o arthur," said margaret, "if it be possible, let us land on an island; i long to feel my feet on firm ground. have you any idea what islands these are?" "i ken'em," said wilkins, "and can tell ye they're all alike quite dissolute." "then i pray, arthur," said mr. mayburn, "that we may avoid them. we had better continue to float on the solitude of the ocean, than seek the haunts of the wicked." the boys laughed; they understood better than their father the peculiarities of wilkins's language, and arthur said,--"i have read, papa, that these north-western islands of australia are generally small, barren, and uninhabited. if we could safely land on one of them, it would be desirable, that we might rest and improve our raft before we sought the mainland; but i fear they will be difficult of approach, from the coral reefs that surround them." "which i long to behold, arthur," said mr. mayburn; "and i beseech you to endeavor to reach one of these reefs. i have ever desired to look upon the work of those toiling, wonderful insects; minute agents of the omniscient for mighty purposes, laboring incessantly to carry out the plans of creative wisdom. 'as the kings of the cloud-crowned pyramid their noteless bones in oblivion hid, they slumber unmarked 'mid the desolate main, while the wonder and pride of their works remain.'" wilkins stared at the enthusiastic naturalist, and, turning to arthur, said, "does he want us to land among them reefs, think ye? a bonnie clash we should have with this log float. if we'd had a few of them bark boats as them black fellows has up country, we might have made a shift; but, ye see," indicating the fair sex by a finger pointed towards them, "they'd make no hand of swimming among breakers." "indeed, they would not," answered arthur; "we must contrive some safer method for them, wilkins. but if we could, by using our oars, draw near to these isles, i should like to inspect them." "ye cannot suspect 'em, sir," answered wilkins, "without ye were right atop on 'em. why, they're all dry and bare, and clear of aught but a few birds but i'se willing to use an oar, if ye'd like to see 'em." it was hard work rowing that heavy raft, and the ungrateful peter refused to assist, but sat apart, smoking cigars, of which, it appeared, he had contrived to bring a box about his person; still before night they had approached within a mile of a rocky island. then the sudden darkness of a tropical region surprised them, and compelled them to wait for day, uneasy at the dangerous proximity of the coast, towards which, wilkins pointed out, a current seemed to be urging them. "we must have all hands at work, captain," said he, "to keep off them ugly rocks. come, peter, man, take up an oar." "not i," said the savage, "i'se take a snooze; and when we're drifted a bit nigher hand, rouse me up, and i'll make a swim to shore. i've no mind for another capsize." it was a service of toil and danger, and the active young men plied the oars vigorously for hours, trusting they were standing safely off the dangerous reefs, till at last, worn out with fatigue, one after another they dropped asleep. jack and wilkins held out till a pale light showed them breakers close at hand, and they felt the current carrying them into the danger. it was a moment of deep anxiety. "see," said wilkins, "yon uncovered reef--let's try to get a bit nigher to it; then we'll knot a rope to our raft, and i'll swim off and find a way to moor it. if three on us were atop on yon reef we might haul up t' rest on 'em." all the youths were now roused, and anxious to share this service of peril, for all could swim: but wilkins was strong, and the most experienced; so while he tied one end of the rope round him, arthur and jack secured the other end to the raft, and then they continued to hold off against the current as they watched the bold swimmer till they saw him standing safely on the dry reef. in five minutes more they felt, by the strain, that the rope was fast to the rock. then arthur went off with a second rope, secured from danger by having the first to hold by if necessary. when he reached will, he found the reef was broader and safer than he had dared to hope, while beyond it the water was not more than a foot deep to a shingly beach. "if we had 'em all here, ye see," said wilkins, "they could easy wade out." "then what shall we do, wilkins? what is our next step?" asked arthur. "we must get more hands," answered he. "and here's a canny opening, clear of breakers; we'll try to bring her in here." then, after he had, with sailor's skill, secured the ropes to two huge fragments of rock, he continued,--"now, let's be off again, and see how we can manage it. if we could get that big lubberly black peter to lend a hand, he's a powerful chap at a tug." "then he shall work or starve," said arthur, firmly. "that's the text, captain; stick to that," said wilkins, as they plunged into the water again. their return to the raft was easier than they had expected, for the tide was ebbing, and already some of the rocks were bare which an hour before had been covered with breakers; besides, the stretched ropes afforded a rest for the hands when they needed it. arthur explained his plan to his friends on the raft, and called on all hands to aid in propelling or hauling the raft towards the smooth opening in the reef. "you must assist in hauling the ropes," said arthur to peter. the man swore violently that he would never submit to be ordered by a boy. "i have the management of the party," answered arthur, "and all are willing to obey me except you. take your choice: if you refuse to share the work, most assuredly you shall not share the rations." the wretch darted a furious glance at arthur, and put his hand into his breast; but observing the little band had their eyes on him, he muttered with a sneer, "a parcel of fools!" and plunged after wilkins and arthur to the reef, to tug at the ropes. the raft had drifted among scattered rocks, and there was much difficulty in preventing it from being dashed against them; but those left upon it used long poles to push off from these dangers, while the men on the reef continued to haul the ropes, in hopes of drawing the raft to the opening they wished it to enter, belaying the rope anew as they gained a few yards. slowly and painfully the work progressed; sometimes they snatched a moment for food and rest; sometimes the faint-hearted threw down an oar or pole, as a strong wave cast them back, after they hoped they had made some way. at length, wedged between two reefs that ran out to sea, they found they could make no further progress, though there was yet a hundred yards of deep water between the raft and the dry rocks to which the ropes were attached. when arthur saw this, he called out, "haul taught and belay the ropes; and now, how shall we convey the weak to the shore, wilkins?" "bad job!" growled he. "we might swim out and trail 'em after us; but likely they'd be flayed." "halloo! arthur," called out hugh, "come over and see what we are about." when arthur had reached the raft, he saw that jack, with the help of the boys, had lashed together three or four light spars to form a sort of _catamaran_, large enough for one person to sit upon. to each end of this they had attached a long rope, with one end of which jack proposed to swim to the reef of refuge, ready to draw over in this float, one at a time, those who were unable to swim; and he engaged, if the voyager only kept quiet, there would be no danger; and though the raft was now firmly fixed, it was probable it would be dashed to pieces at high-water, so no time must be lost to make the trial, that the lading as well as the passengers might be saved; and jack set off with the rope round him. now the question was, who would venture on this frail float the first? the water looked dark and deep, and all shrunk back. at length it was arranged that they should test the safety of it by first sending over a part of the freightage of the raft, as less valuable than human life. still, these slender necessaries were precious to them, and they firmly lashed a part of the packages to the float, and anxiously launched and watched the light raft until they saw it safely drawn to the reef and unladed by jack. it was then hauled back, and margaret, to encourage her father, ventured next, her brothers having lashed her firmly down, and charged her to be calm and motionless. after her safe arrival, mr. mayburn gained courage to follow her, and was succeeded by nurse wilson. ruth begged to carry her basket of fowls; but was not permitted, which was fortunate for the chickens, for the terrified and restless girl, attempting to change her position, capsized the frail bark; but wilkins and arthur swam out to her assistance, and soon righted it, and, half-dead with fright and the salt water she had swallowed, she was turned over to jenny, and the young men returned to the raft to assist at the removal of the most valuable part of the cargo--the provisions, guns, and ammunition. in the mean time peter had roused himself to take a trip to the raft, and when arthur and wilkins reached it, they found the ferocious man holding hugh by the throat, and threatening to shoot him if he did not give up one of the guns, which the boy held in the case firmly grasped in his hand, while gerald was releasing the other gun from the covering, that he might defend hugh, and protect the powder and shot, which he guarded behind him. as soon as wilkins and arthur stepped out on the raft, the savage relinquished his grasp of the boy; but called out in an insolent manner, "give me one of the guns, and my share of the powder and shot you brought off. they are as much mine as yours, and i claim my right." "you are mistaken, peter," said arthur; "the guns are our own private property. the powder is not legally yours or ours; but the necessity of the occasion caused us gladly to save it from destruction; at some future day we may be able to account for it to the owners. in the mean time, i choose to keep possession of such a dangerous material; nor will i allow you to commit deeds of violence. we have saved your life, and supplied you with food. if your nature does not prompt you to be thankful, at least be neutral; do not return evil for good." the man did not answer, but there was a dogged look of ferocity in his eyes, that plainly spoke his feelings; and wilkins whispered to arthur, as they were tying on the packages,-- "would you mind our twisting a rope round his arms and legs, and giving him a shove overboard? he's dangerous." "no, wilkins," answered arthur. "let the man live; we have no right to be his executioners, though i believe he deserves death. if we all reach land safely, we must watch and guard against him; and, above all, wilkins, do you take care that he does not tempt you back to evil courses." "we'se see," answered the man, "i'se not to reckon on; but i fancy i'd as lief take service with ye, as turn rogue again, with a cut-throat dog like him." arthur earnestly hoped that they might be able to reclaim this good-natured but ignorant man. he conversed kindly with him, as they carefully and successfully managed the transit of the whole lading, including ruth's chickens; and then, wilkins taking the charge of the two young boys as they swam to the reef, arthur remained a few minutes to cut away the ropes, which were too valuable to be abandoned, after which he signified to the apparently careless peter that he must look to his own safety. "i see all that," said the man in a surly tone; "depend on't, i shall not stay here; you haven't got rid of me yet. so mind your own business, young fellow, and i'll mind mine." arthur left him and soon rejoined his friend; and peter, drawing his knife and severing the cords that had lashed together the spars of the raft, he allowed them to float, and grasping one piece to support himself, he swam to the dry reef. the tide having now left the beach uncovered as far as this reef, the family went forward to the lofty cliffs which rose from the narrow shingly strand, and immediately began to remove their property to a secure place above high-water mark. "we may surely find a better spot for a night's encampment than this," said the indefatigable arthur, when, resting from his labors, he looked up at the rocky heights. "there appears to be a belt of trees further north, that might possibly afford more shelter. can you walk as far, papa?" "i cannot exert myself more, my son," answered mr. mayburn. "let us remain here; in this delicious climate, from what i have read, the night will produce no noxious vapor to harm us. let us therefore offer our evening prayer to god, and rest calmly under the canopy of his skies, after this day of trial and toil." the word of the father was the law of his children; and after they had made a sort of tent of the poles and sail from the raft, under which the boat-cloaks were spread, they joined in prayer and lay down to rest; but still apprehensive of the evil disposition of peter, each took an hour of watching to guard the packages till daylight. the brilliant light of a tropical sun disclosed to the thoughtful castaways a smooth sea but a barren coast, and they looked round in vain for the means of subsistence or escape. they saw peter at some distance, dragging out of reach of the tide the timbers of the raft, which had been thrown upon the beach. "i am glad he is so usefully employed," observed mr. mayburn. "i trust he feels ashamed of his ingratitude, and means to build us a hut with these planks." "not he," replied wilkins; "i ken him better nor that. he'd never fash to pick up them spars; but he wants 'em to use for his own purposes. but let him be, let him be. chaps like him is always twining a rope for their own necks." "then, wilkins," answered margaret, "we ought not to 'let him be;' we ought to try and induce him to undertake some happier and more profitable undertaking; do, arthur, speak to the man." arthur and jack walked down to the beach, while ruth made a fire and boiled some water from the casks, to make tea, a supply of which, and a considerable quantity of sugar, being among the provisions they had saved. "come, peter," said arthur, "you will need some breakfast, and such as we have, we offer to you. what are you going to do with these spars?" "they are my property, by the laws of wrecking," grumbled the man, "so keep your mouth shut about them. i'll come to your breakfast, if i can get nought better nor your poor stuff." finding all their approaches to intimacy with this sullen creature repelled, they returned to the tent, where they found nurse in a state of great anger with ruth the unlucky, who had literally _walked into_ the china breakfast service, which the considerate jenny had herself brought away from the ship, guarded on the wreck, and had just spread out on a clean napkin on the beach, when the girl being sent to summon mr. arthur, had rushed through the midst of the crockery, of which only the teapot and two cups escaped destruction. it was not in the nature of an irish boy to be serious at such an accident, and o'brien had laughed so provokingly, that jenny was roused almost to distraction. "a vagabond lass, as she is!" she exclaimed. "i blame myself, miss marget; i knew what was in her, and i ought to have seen to have had her shut up in one of them union prison-houses. nothing's safe where she comes; and see now, we may just drink tea, sup and sup round." "and we may be thankful we have tea, nurse," said margaret. "and see, here is a tin cup we used for the water, may do duty instead of our pretty staffordshire ware." "and we may meet with a china-shop before long, nurse," said hugh. "we are not so very far from the great empire." "well, master hugh," replied nurse, "i don't pretend to know where we may be; but there's little signs of shops or houses round us.----if that doesn't beat all!" exclaimed she, as peter took up the cup of tea she had prepared for her master, drank it scalding hot at once, and then coolly sat down, drew out his knife and began to open and swallow oysters, with which he had filled his cap. "shares!" cried wilkins, good-humoredly, holding out his hand. "seek them for yourself," said the churl, continuing his repast; on which wilkins, calling on o'brien to follow him, took his biscuit, and set out to search along the rocks. margaret felt alarmed to see gerald accompany this man; but arthur assured her he believed wilkins might be trusted. in a short time gerald came running up to them, and throwing down a cap filled with oysters, he cried out, "give us a rope, jack! we have got a turtle, and turned him on his back, that he may not get back to the water; but he is such a monstrous fellow that i don't know how we shall get him dragged all the way to this place." "then our best plan will be to go to him," answered arthur; "we have no temptation to remain in this barren spot; and you seem to have found a land of plenty; therefore i propose we should march at once." each took up some burthen to carry, leaving the casks and heavy packages for the present, and moved forward to encamp in a new spot. chapter vi. a pleasant resting-place.--the turtle.--a knavish trick.--destitution.--an exploring expedition.--lake scenery.--a wrecked vessel.--strange footsteps.--a prudent retreat.--return of the explorers. after walking about a quarter of a mile towards the north, they reached a nook, surrounded by mangrove-trees, which, like the banyan-tree, formed bowers propped by pillars of successive trunks and stems, and interwoven with roots and branches. at the part nearest to the sea, the lower branches were without leaves, and had been evidently laid bare by the visits of the sea. these branches were now at low tide uncovered, and clustered with oysters. the mangrove-wood, spreading up the steep cliff, was backed by some loftier trees; and it appeared as if an impenetrable barricade was formed by nature to forbid approach to the interior. a niche formed by the up-rooting of some aged tree, of which few remnants remained, offered a shady retreat, much more attractive than their late exposed encampment. then jenny was shown the enormous turtle lying on its back, waiting for execution, the innumerable oysters clinging to the mangroves, the crabs crawling on the uncovered rocks, and the clouds of sea-birds sailing overhead or sitting stupidly on the rocks fishing; and, charmed with the promise of plenty, she said: "we may do a bit here, miss marget, while this fine weather lasts, if we can light on any fresh water. birds and fish may serve us well enough." "where all those tall green trees grow," said arthur, pointing to the heights, "there must be water to be found; and, in the mean time, we have a large cask, which we must bring up if we make an encampment here." "i have brought the kettle full," said jenny, "and a bag of biscuits too. we might have got more here, but nought would serve ruth but hug them weary chickens with her." "they will die, shut up in that basket, ruth," said gerald. "come, hugh, while jack and wilkins are killing that poor turtle, let us make a poultry-coop under the roots of the mangrove." "above high-water mark, remember, gerald," said arthur. "oh, botheration! arty," answered he; "and you fancy i can't make a hencoop without a blunder; but you shall see." the boys selected a space among the arched roots, out of reach of the tide, and interwove the sides with branches, making a snug and airy dwelling for the fowls, which rejoiced in their emancipation from the basket; and the tropical shades were startled with the novel sound of the crowing of a cock. in the mean time, jack and wilkins had killed the turtle, cut the flesh into pieces, and cleaned the strong back shell, which they proposed should be useful; and, after a fire had been made, a portion of the turtle was cooked in its recent habitation, to the wonder and delight of jenny, who was in despair for cooking-vessels. then the rest of the meat was placed under the trees, in the most shady situation, and scattered over with the portion of salt they could spare from the small store they had brought; but, in that sultry climate, they feared they should not be able to preserve it more than one day. "we could easily knock down a few of those boobies, if you would like them, nurse," said hugh. "certainly not, hugh," said his father; "with the abundance of food we possess, it would be merciless to destroy more life; and i am able to study the form and habits of the sluggish bird as conveniently while it is seated on that rock as if it lay dead on the beach." the mosquitoes were so numerous among the trees in their new resting-place, that mr. mayburn, who suffered remarkably from the attacks of insects, was greatly distressed; and margaret said to her brothers: "it will be impossible for papa to remain among these mosquito-haunted trees; we must either try to penetrate further into the island, or we must return to the bare and quiet rocky strand we have quitted. at all events, we must have the sail brought to make a tent." it was finally decided that after their dinner they would, for one night at least, return to their landing-place; and the turtle being cooked as well as turtle could be cooked under such adverse circumstances, with nurse wilson as _chef de cuisine_, they sat down to enjoy it. knives and forks they possessed; plates they had not; but the shells of some of the large oysters tolerably well supplied the want. after they had dined, sultry as it was, they were glad to resume their burdens, and flee from the venomous mosquitoes which followed them for some distance; but, unwilling to forsake the trees, their tormentors abandoned them when they reached the bare cliffs. a cry of dismay from hugh and gerald, who had preceded the rest, announced some vexatious catastrophe, and hurried them forward to see with bitter mortification the disappearance of the casks and the various packages they had left on the spot where they landed. "i mistrusted that rogue," exclaimed wilkins, "specially when he didn't turn up to his dinner. he's a deep un, and no mistake." the boys went to the sea, now flowing over the reefs, and saw that the spars of the broken-up raft, which had been thrown on shore, were also gone. it was plain the artful villain had constructed another raft, and set out on it, carrying off their provisions, one of the guns, and the powder and shot. "and worst of all," said jack, "my tool-chest, and my axe, which he borrowed from me this morning." "more fool you to lend it to him," said wilkins, furiously enraged. "it seems to me as how roguery thrives better nor aught, say what ye will otherwise." "do not speak so foolishly, wilkins," said margaret. "wickedness can never thrive, even on this earth. this bad man has probably run into greater distress than he has left, with the added torment of a bad conscience. it is only when we walk in truth and honesty that we can hope for the protection of god." "where can the fellow mean to steer to?" asked hugh. "with a light raft," answered arthur, "he may perhaps work round to the east of the island, if it be an island, and from thence he probably hopes to reach the mainland. we have sustained a heavy loss from his knavery; but we shall sleep sounder to-night from the knowledge that he is not near us." after a good night's rest, they arose to look round them and consider what was the best course in their destitute situation. mr. mayburn was dejected, margaret was anxious, but the boys were full of hope and energy. "hugh and gerald," said arthur, "i call on you to listen seriously to me. it is all very well to hunt turtles, and i do not object to your knocking down a few boobies, for we must have the means of supporting life; but we have a great object in view at present. we must ascertain where we are, and what step we are next to take. we cannot yet be sure that this is, as we suspect, an island." "it seems a desolate spot," said margaret, shuddering. "worse than robinson crusoe's island, meggie," said hugh, "for we have not even the goats. not a four-footed animal have i set eyes on yet, and the bipeds are few and ugly." "i wish we may not find some bipeds," said arthur, "that are more offensive than the gulls and boobies." "oh, botheration!" said gerald. "sure you won't mean the savages, arty. what jolly fun if we had an invasion! wouldn't we drub them like british heroes as we are?" "and pray, most valiant knight of ireland," answered arthur, "where are your weapons of warfare?" "oh, murder! what a blunderer i am!" replied the boy; "i had forgotten the state of our armory. let us consider. we have one rifle, with a small amount of ammunition, one bowie-knife, two penknives, one capital stick-knife, the table-knives, and----has anybody else any dangerous weapons?" "i have a silver fruit-knife and a pair of scissors," said margaret. "quite useless," replied he. "now, nurse, turn out your pockets." jenny produced a housewife, containing needles, thread, and scissors, thimble, a nutmeg-grater, a cork-screw, and the half-dozen useful forks. jack, always prudent, still retained in his pockets a large clasp-knife, a hammer, and a few nails. mr. mayburn had a small microscope, forceps, a case of delicate instruments of surgery, some blotting-paper, and a sketching-book and pencils; all of which were regarded with contempt by the warrior gerald. "well," said he, "we must just set to work to make bows and arrows, pikes and clubs. those trees we saw yesterday will supply us with materials." "we will trouble you, then," said arthur, "to take your axe and cut down a tree." "there you are caught again, pat," said hugh. "another blunder! poor unhappy fellows we are; destitute of means, we can neither fight nor run away, if this be an island we have been thrown on." "that brings us to the point again," said arthur. "that is the thing necessary to be known; so, without further delay, we three will set out and make a careful inspection of the coast. we will leave wilkins and jack to guard the encampment; i will carry the rifle and the few charges we have left, but i trust i may not be called on to use them, for i should grudge them exceedingly." "shed no blood, i beseech you, my son," said mr. mayburn. "we are intruders; do not let us become invaders. if we can obtain immunity for ourselves, let us be satisfied. even if we should be attacked, we have no right to retaliate, but should rather take to flight." "but, dear papa," answered hugh, "we cannot fly without wings. we are at bay here, and must fight or fall. but, depend on it, we shall be cautious, with arthur the prudent to lead us; and remember, this is only an exploring and foraging expedition." the bold little party then set out towards the mangrove-wood, through which, with much toil and many windings, they forced their way, and gained more open ground. they crossed the bed of a river, which was now, however, but a series of muddy pools, from which, though anxious to have a draught of fresh water, they felt no inclination to drink. beyond this spot some low bare sandhills rose, which they crossed, and thence to a steep eminence. they climbed up this, and found themselves among vast piles of rocky fragments mixed with tall wiry grass. they looked round; all was silence and desolation, the barren chaotic scenery being varied only by the tall bare trunks of a species of acacia, which here and there broke the monotony of the prospect; and now the boys felt convinced that they were placed on a truly desert island. still they moved forwards, though depressed and silent, over the dismal wilderness; till at length they were cheered by the sight of vegetation, and hailed with pleasure some tall trees. arthur recognized the cabbage-palm, the slender stem sixty feet in height, with the round tuft of edible leaves at the summit. hugh would willingly have tried to climb the tree to procure the leaves, but his brother persuaded him to defer the exploit till a more favorable opportunity, and pointed out to him a fringe of the graceful casuarina, which promised the blessing of water. they made up to it, and found it bordered a broad and glittering lake, in the clear waters of which they distinguished multitudes of large fish, while on the banks the noisy water-fowl were building their nests. the edge of the lake was stuck over with fresh-water mussels; and but for the flies and mosquitoes which haunted the trees, this spot appeared a terrestrial paradise compared with the dreary bay they had left. "this is the place for our camp and fortress," said hugh; "let us bring up our rear-guard at once. we shall have the lake for our water-tank, and its feathered and finny inhabitants for our rations." "and these winged monsters for our besieging foes," added gerald, striking a mosquito from his nose. "it is a pleasant and tempting situation, certainly," said arthur; "and we might select a spot sufficiently distant from the water to avoid these bloodthirsty insects. but we must be certain that we shall have no neighbors more dangerous than the mosquitoes. we had better explore to the coast." hugh and gerald had contrived to knock down two pairs of ducks, which they slung across their shoulders, and marched forward towards more fertile plains, where high grass and low bushes spread a verdant covering over the soil, till they reached a thick wood, sloping downwards, through which they penetrated, and found themselves on a narrow strand, similar to that on which they had landed. a rocky promontory ran out to the sea at a little distance; the broken, rugged, rocky sides were clothed with brushwood, and a lofty headland jutted out at the summit. their further progress would have been cut off had it been quite high water; but the tide was still low enough to permit them, with some care, to turn round the promontory, and gain a broader strand, which was strewed with huge fragments of rock, amongst which they saw, with great astonishment, the wreck of a large vessel lying. the hull was divided; the forecastle-deck was in one place, and at a distance lay part of the quarter-deck. at first the boys were struck speechless with this unexpected sight; then they began to climb over the rocks to reach the wreck, and gerald breathlessly asked: "will we find any of them alive?" "alive, man!" exclaimed hugh. "you may see at once this is no recent affair; look at this chain, the sea must have washed over it some hundreds of times, for it is covered with rust." the sea was even now breaking over the scattered rocks, making the approach to the wreck at once difficult and dangerous; but the boys made out that the vessel must have been first thrown on the rocks, and afterwards broken up by the sea. it now remained a melancholy spectacle; timbers, decks, masts, and yards, scattered or piled in confused heaps, apparently untouched by man for weeks or months. the upper parts of the stern and hull as far forward as the mizen chains were entire, lying on the stern-frames; but no bodies were found, and the boats being missing, arthur suggested that the crew must have got off, carrying with them the useful articles they might need; for little could be seen except the mere timbers, except that where the marks of an axe were found on the mizen-mast, the axe itself, though much rusted, was lying near, and gladly seized by the boys. "margaret will become alarmed," said arthur, "if we delay our return; but to-morrow we must examine this wreck more closely. much has doubtless been carried off by the boats or the waves; but even the yards and chains may be useful to us." "i wish we could find any thing to eat," sighed gerald. "depend on it, gerald," said hugh, "the greedy sea will have devoured the provisions. i cannot even see an empty cask which might be useful. but, halloo! captain, our retreat is cut off; the sea is washing the headland, and we may be glad to use the old hull as an ark now." "i think we may be able to turn the next point," said arthur, pointing to another jutting rock of the indented coast which stood out about a hundred yards in the opposite direction, and where a sort of shelf a few feet from the water afforded an unsafe pass. "be quick, boys; we must beat the waves if we would escape before next tide." away the daring boys darted among the windings and over the barriers of broken rock, till they reached the second promontory, and with the waves dashing close below them, rounded it, coming out on an almost impassable narrow hem of encumbered beach, which stretched before them for several hundred yards. crawling close to the cliffs, they found at length the strand grew broad and level, and they sprang forward to enjoy more freedom, when they were suddenly startled by the sight of the shell of a turtle, which they could not but suspect the hand of man had removed from the back of the rightful proprietor. they looked intently on it, then arthur said, "this shell has undoubtedly been roughly cut from the animal. the important question is, who cut it?" "perhaps the crew of the wrecked vessel," suggested hugh. "it may have been so," answered arthur, somewhat relieved. then o'brien shouldered the large shell, and they moved forward thoughtfully for a few minutes; till a dark spot at some distance from the water attracted the attention of arthur; they hastened towards it, and saw to their great consternation, not only the traces of a recent fire, but the naked footmarks of men, the head of a turtle still bloody, a long wooden spear, plainly hardened by fire, and an instrument which arthur recognized from description to be a throwing-stick for the spear, as it had a hook at one end which fitted a notch at the heel of the spear, which the holders were thus enabled to project with great force. "we must carry away these curious arms," said hugh. "certainly not, i think," replied arthur. "in the first place, we have no right to take them, since they have been left here in good faith, as we might have left our spades in our own grounds at home; and next we should thus place ourselves in the position of invaders and marauders, and incur the enmity of dangerous foes. we had better obliterate all traces of our visit, and, like prudent fellows, retreat quietly." "run away! arthur," exclaimed o'brien. "you may as well speak plainly. and won't margaret think us a set of poltroons?" "we will talk of that as we retreat," said arthur, laughing; "but we must carefully examine the way we came, that we may leave no footsteps." as it happened, the vivacity and restless curiosity of the boys had induced them to keep close to the cliffs, leaping from rock to rock, peeping into crannies for nests, so that no traces were left, except where the tide would soon wash them away, and arthur resolved now to ascend the cliffs at once, instead of going round the island, to escape any risking of meeting the savages. he calculated that they had reached a part of the shore nearly opposite to that on which they had first landed; and by directly crossing the island, which he felt could not be more than three miles over, they might safely and speedily rejoin their friends. "i do not think it probable," he said, "that this barren island has any permanent inhabitants. the people who have left their traces on the coast may come over from some more productive soil, solely to catch the turtles." "do you think they came from the mainland?" asked hugh; "i fancied from the heights of the east cliffs, i could make out a gray line, which was doubtless australia." "i scarcely can fancy," answered arthur, "that a people whom we have seen described as so deficient in intelligence should be able to construct canoes to come such a distance. it is more likely they are inhabitants of one of the hundred dangerous islands of this sea. it will be prudent, at all events, to avoid them if we can." as they rapidly made their way directly across the island, o'brien wished there had been a boat left on the wreck, and hugh said, "couldn't we build a boat, arthur? jack is up to any work of that sort." "we have not tools or time, hugh," answered arthur. "only consider how long it would take, even if we had the means, to complete a boat to be useful to us. no; at present we must content ourselves to make the best of our situation; and as i do not think the savages have found the bay of the wrecked vessel, i shall propose that we move our encampment into that snug nook." "what capital fun," cried gerald. "we will bring them off directly." "softly, good youth!" said arthur. "we must hold a council on such an important matter. but see jack perched on yon tall tree, to watch for us and give notice; and here comes meggie to meet us and hear the news." chapter vii. the results of the expedition.--the long vacation.--removed from the landing-place.--birds and their nests.--fishing.--tapping a cask of potatoes.--tent-making.--the shell spades.--digging a tank.--a grand attempt at boat-building. "get all into marching order, meggie," said hugh. "we have found out a better site for a settlement than our present encampment, and gerald and i mean to build a shealing." "and not a mangrove or a mosquito to be seen near it," added gerald; "nothing but a ship at anchor." "a ship!" exclaimed margaret, in astonishment. "what does the wild boy mean, arthur?" "you will only see the remains of a ship, meggie," answered arthur; "and though you may think the scene of a shipwreck a melancholy spot to select, yet it seems a convenient, sheltered cove, and a desirable retreat for a short time, till we arrange our plans for the future." when they arrived at the encampment, and the adventures of the day had been told, jack heard with especial interest the account of the wrecked vessel; and as he examined the rusty axe, he planned great undertakings with the aid of his new tool; while jenny looked with much satisfaction on the ducks, which she declared were "more christian meat than them slimy, fat turtles;" and ruth, smoothing the beautiful plumage with her hands, and thinking, with foreboding dread, of the fate of her favorites, said-- "bonnie things! what a sham' to kill 'em." "and see what papa and i have found," said margaret, producing a basket half-filled with the eggs of the turtle, while jenny served up to them some roasted in the ashes, which the hungry ramblers thought delicious. then a consultation was held on the project of removal. margaret shrunk from any risk of meeting with the savage islanders; but arthur considered they should be safer from any encounter with them in the secluded nook they had discovered, which was guarded by coral reefs, dangerous even to such light canoes as these people usually had, and hidden by the jutting promontories, than they should be to remain in their present exposed encampment, or even in the more fertile regions of the interior. mr. mayburn had some shadowy fancies of civilizing and converting the whole horde at once; but arthur argued that the time was not favorable for the undertaking, and that they must try to establish themselves in a more independent position before they indulged any hopes of reclaiming a large body of heathens. "besides, papa," added he, "we must look forward to some plan of leaving this dull and desolate island, and we may have an opportunity of signalling some passing sail if we establish ourselves on the beach." "ye'll not see mony ships amang yon reefs," said wilkins, "barring they're drove there in a gale, and then, as ye've seen, there's poor chance of they're getting off again." "but we might build a boat with the remains of the wreck," suggested jack. "there's some sense in that," answered the man; "but when ye've gotten your boat fettled up, what port would ye be making for?" "i am pledged to go to india, wilkins," said mr. mayburn. "pledged to a fiddlestick," replied he, with contempt. "think ye now ye can sail to indy in a crazy bit boat like what we chaps can put together. ye'll have to make right across for t' mainland; and mind what i tell ye: i'se stick to ye, and work for ye, and fight for ye, but ye're not to be 'liv'ring me up at sydney yonder to be shackled and drove like a nigger slave." "i fear, wilkins," answered arthur, "there is little probability of our reaching sydney; but we are all too grateful for the services of a faithful adherent, to think of returning evil for them; and you may be satisfied we shall continue to protect you to the utmost of our power. and, my dear father, you must no longer distress yourself with the idea of fulfilling your appointment in india. we shall be reported lost in the _golden fairy_, and the mission will be filled up. you must resign yourself to accept any safe refuge that is accessible, and wait for happier circumstances." "in the mean time, papa," said margaret, "god will surely provide us with work. and till we have more extended opportunities our own hearts require our labor. we must not neglect our duty at home." "i thank you, my child," answered he, "for reminding me of my wasted hours. it is indeed full time that i should resume the active duties of my profession. i have a weighty responsibility. do you not think that i should begin at once, by recalling my boys to their daily studies?" o'brien looked piteously at hugh, who laughed at his mournful countenance, and margaret replied, "the boys are not idle, papa. they are studying in the great book of nature. every hour shows to them some new wonder of creation, and raises their thoughts to the mighty creator. every sight and sound develops a new idea; and all you are called on to do, papa, is to watch and to water." "that is all i am fit to do," answered he. "i want the energy and firmness that you possess--a blessed boon from god. the deep sorrow that ever haunts me is, that my life has been spent in vain purposes, never accomplished." "my dear, conscientious father," said margaret, "be comforted; i trust the hour may yet come when you will have a field for your pious labors: till then, have no remorse in following your simple and blameless amusements. i have no merit in my duties of attending, governing, and lecturing these wild boys. i love the office; i was certainly not born for any sphere more elevated. but you, papa, whose sole enjoyment is to sit in an easy-chair before a table laden with books and a cabinet filled with eggs and wings, were wrenched violently from your nature when you were doomed to pass days in forcing these unwilling boys to learn the rules of syntax, or the crabbed mysteries of euclid. we are shaken from our proprieties here; you cannot teach latin or work out problems without books; so you must take your ease, and consider this the long vacation." "you are the girl for knowing a few things, meggie!" said o'brien, admiringly. "be sure, sir, hugh and i will work to any amount to help you in your ornithology and oology, if you will spare us the philology a bit. there's no running about with a conjugation in one's mouth." "and as arthur has demonstrated his problem on the best position for the encampment," said hugh, "i conclude we had better move at once. no occasion to send forward notice about well-aired beds." "and no occasion, hugh harebrain," said arthur, "to be overtaken by darkness on our journey. let us be deliberate. jenny must roast the ducks for our breakfast in the morning, jack must collect his valuable work-tools, ruth must again imprison those luckless chickens, and then we must all have a night's rest. it will be time enough to set out in the morning, and we must take care to start before the sun blazes out in all its fervor." all obeyed orders; and, with the first ray of light, the whole camp was alive. it was very important this time that nothing should be left behind. peter had relieved them from the charge of biscuit and water, which he had carried off with the tool-chest and gun; but there was still a little tea and sugar, which was carefully preserved. the sail-cloth was rolled up; even the oars used for tent-poles were taken; and, after morning prayers, they set out slowly along the beach, and through the mazy, ascending woods, till they reached the table-land of the rocky isle. they crossed it this time at the head of the lake which they had discovered the preceding day, and found this part of the island still more fertile and lovely than any they had yet seen. mr. mayburn was in ecstasy; he stopped continually to point out some new and beautiful grass, some bright nameless flower, or some strange tree; while the notes, harsh, musical, or merry, of thousands of birds, filled him with amazement and delight. "from this moment, my boys," said he, "i release you from the severe studies which, margaret truly observes, are unfitted to our circumstances and the relaxing climate. i merely require from you to obtain me specimens--single specimens only--of the eggs and nests of these birds; and, if it were not cruel, i should long to possess some of these rare creatures in all their beauty." "i fear, papa," observed margaret, "that you have no means of preserving birds; therefore it would be useless to take them." "you are right, margaret," he answered. "i will be content with a nest and an egg of each species." "would you mind about having the nest and egg of that fellow, sir?" asked o'brien, pointing to a majestic black swan sailing on the lake. "_rara avis!_" exclaimed he; then added, with a sigh, "no, no, gerald, we have no means. the animal is weighty, therefore the nest must be large, and not of a portable nature. i relinquish the precious possession. but let us linger on the borders of the lake, to examine its wild charms. would that i had saved my botanical library, that i might have made out the species of these broad flags and thick bamboos!" "these round reeds will make capital arrows," said hugh, cutting down a bundle of them; "and i doubt not but some of them would be elastic enough for the bows. we may surely, with all our learning, succeed better in making them than untaught savages. then we may bring down our birds noiselessly, and defy the thievish tricks of black peter." "but first, hugh," said o'brien, "we must have a trial with some of these big fellows in the lake," pointing to some large perch-shaped fish. jack sharpened some of the reeds to a point, and the boys were soon plunging about in the clear bright lake, pursuing and striking the fish; and after fifty vain attempts, they succeeded at length in spearing two, which, though young, were of large size, and arthur concluded they must be the river cod (_grystes peelii_), so much praised by australian travellers. then, regardless of wet garments, which the hot sun soon dried, the boys triumphantly proceeded on with their spoil. jack, in the mean time, had struck off from the edge of the lake a cluster of fresh-water mussels of various sizes, and emptied them, to serve for spoons and drinking-cups. thence they moved forward, anxious now to seek some shelter from the increasing heat of the day, and gladly entered the wood, from which, with some difficulties in the descent, they reached the wreck-encumbered bay. all were at once attracted to the side of the vessel; jack, especially, examined it with intense interest, considering its future service to him. margaret and her father were moved to tears, as they contemplated the shattered fabric, and thought on the brave but probably unprepared men who might have been hurried into eternity before the final catastrophe. while hugh and gerald climbed the sides to explore the interior of the wreck, arthur observed that some of the timbers had been carried away by the tide even since the previous day, and he consulted with jack about the possibility of breaking up and endeavoring to save such parts as might be useful to themselves; and in order to lose no time they grasped a loosened plank, to draw it away beyond the reach of the tide. no sooner had they removed it, than a large cask rolled from the opening, which they concluded led into the hold. the cask broke open with the fall, and a number of potatoes ran out. every hand was quickly summoned to collect and save the valuable contents; the cask was righted and carefully removed up the beach, and it was great amusement to the boys to pursue the straggling potatoes, and save them from being swept away by the next tide. "i say, o'brien, my boy, i wonder your irish nose did not scent the _pratees_ yesterday," said hugh. "now isn't it luck, arty," said gerald. "will we plant some? and then we shall never want as long as we stay here." margaret looked alarmed at the plan of planting potatoes for future provision; but arthur replied, he hoped they should be able to leave the island before the potatoes were exhausted; nevertheless, he approved of the provident project of gerald, and promised to seek a favorable spot to plant some, for the benefit of future visitors to this unproductive island. "but do not be afraid, nurse," added he, "to boil us a large _shell_ of potatoes to-day; we have abundance; and in our scarcity of bread, we could not have found a more valuable prize." ruth had been in the wood to seek for a convenient place for a hencoop, and now rushed out with torn garments, exclaiming,--"oh! miss marget, come and see what a bonnie beck there is." a _beck_, or stream of water, was, indeed, a valuable discovery; and, conducted by ruth, arthur and jack forced their way through entangled roots and brushwood, till they reached a narrow rivulet of clear water, probably flowing from the lake by some unseen channel beneath the grassy region they had crossed; and after trickling down the rocks, it again disappeared in the sand and shingles of the beach. "this is but a slender supply, jack," said arthur; "i fear it might fail us in a drought." "we must dig a tank, mr. arthur," he answered; "that is, if we can raise a spade." jack considered for a few minutes. he was not to be checked by apparent difficulties in his undertakings. "what do you think, mr. arthur, of one of those big oyster or mussel shells? i could tie one to a stick with some of these stringy fibres of creeping plants; or, better far, there's a tree up above, that seems to have a bark you might ravel out into strings; and there's another tree, with a stiff, regular sort of gum, as good as glue, oozing out of it. now, with all these, i'll be bound to make a spade or two that will turn up this light soil fast enough." "then the sooner we set about it the better, jack," answered arthur. "we cannot do better than remain in this spot, if we meet with no disturbance, until we can make some canoe or raft to take us off; and it is absolutely necessary to secure a supply of water. let us go and choose our shells." but when they returned to the beach, they found mr. mayburn so much overcome by the scorching heat of the sun, that their first care was to get up a tent or shelter of some kind for him. they selected a deep niche in the cliff, where the rocks formed a complete angle, and having procured from the wreck some suitable spars, they fixed them in the crevices of the rocks, to form the rafters of the roof, which they covered with the long grass which grew above the cliffs. the sail was thrown over the front, as a curtain, and they were thus provided with a shady and convenient apartment. at low tide, hugh and gerald amused themselves with searching for nests in the extremity of the promontory, and finding an opening, they had penetrated into a spacious cave, the mouth of which would be covered at high-water; but as it shelved upwards to a considerable distance in the rocks, the back part was safe and dry. "just think, hugh, my boy," said o'brien, "what a fortress this would be for us if we were invaded. one man could defend the entrance with the gun, even at low-water; and how we should defy the rogues when the tide was up." "but it would be horribly dismal, gerald," answered hugh. "we could never bear to live in it long; and, you know, we need no sleeping-rooms or houses to cover us in this fine climate; so we will leave it uninhabited, at least in peaceful times. but we will show it to arthur, and ask him if it would not make a good storehouse." arthur congratulated the boys on their discovery, and the timid father was highly gratified at the thoughts of such a secure retreat; after he had satisfactorily ascertained that it could always be accessible at low-water, and never dangerous at the highest tide; and margaret proposed that the cookery should be accomplished within the cave, that the smoke might not attract the observation of the dreaded natives. so jenny established her kitchen here, and prepared an excellent dinner of fish, and potatoes boiled in the shells of the turtle, while margaret kept watch for the returning tide, though jenny said, "it's all little use, miss marget; it has to be, i feel. ruth's sartain to be catched and fastened up in this eerie place." jack made a careful inspection of the remains of the vessel, and from the stern cabin, which was still uninjured, he drew out, with the help of the boys, a rough bench and a table,--useful acquisitions; and still better, a good-sized empty cask, which had contained brandy, and was now conveniently employed as a water-cask. then, after a long survey of the state of the timbers, jack announced that, with the help of wilkins's strong arm, and arthur's judgment and perseverance, he would undertake to build a sort of boat. wilkins shrugged up his shoulders at the prospect of hard work under a burning sun, and said, "why, one had as lief be working in irons down yonder; where one was safe of full rations, and bacca, and rum into t' bargain." "and ruin to body and soul, you may add, unhappy man," said mr. mayburn. "be not discontented that the mercy of god has rescued you from evil, and cast you among true friends, who ask you to do no more than they do themselves; to fare simply, and to work. you were not placed in this world to live like the beasts, who eat, and drink, and perish for ever. your life is here but the beginning of eternity; the hour of death is close at hand to all, when those who have done evil shall receive their punishment, and those who have listened to god shall find a blessed home in a new and glorious world." wilkins never replied to any of mr. mayburn's _preachings_, as he called these admonitions; but he scoffed less than formerly, and margaret observed that his manners were somewhat softened; and she daily prayed to god that they might be permitted to aid in reclaiming, at least, one sinful soul. the next day jack succeeded in binding two large shells to stout handles, and fixing them with gum; then, while he left them to harden, he set to work to clean the rusty axe with sand and stones, and at length rendered it serviceable. he was thus enabled to break up the wreck, and to select such timber as would be useful for his projected undertaking; he extracted all the large nails that were uninjured, and after many days' labor, had accumulated materials to begin his great work. but the first employment of the youths was to be digging the well; they went every morning to the lake to procure fish, birds, or eggs, for the provision of the day, and then returned to assist in digging, the spades being now available, as the gum had become as hard as the shell. after they had sunk the tank sufficiently deep, they lined it with flat stones; and saw with great satisfaction, that they need never be without a supply of fresh water, if they remained at this cove. some time passed, and they saw no more traces of visitors to the island, and they ventured to ramble to some distance along the beach, bringing in occasionally a turtle, or a basket of turtles' eggs, to vary their diet. they also used daily a small quantity of potatoes, but they were economical with these valuable roots, of which they hoped to raise a crop in the island, and, should they ever reach it, on the main land as well. after the tank was completed, jack selected a spot conveniently near high-water mark, and seriously set about boat-building. he had carefully examined the boats during their voyages, and while in the _amoor_ he made many inquiries of the obliging ship-carpenter; but though bold and sanguine in all his enterprises, he did sometimes feel that he had undertaken a stupendous task. the planks that would best have suited his purpose were more or less injured by the sea; he had no means of forming iron bolts or screws, yet the indefatigable youth persevered; but the month of august, the early spring of that climate, was advanced before the boat assumed a form of promise. it was then caulked with matted cordage found in the vessel, and with gum, of which they had abundance. now, though rough and clumsy, jack declared it "looked like work;" and after two pair of oars had been made with little difficulty, to the great delight of the young workmen, a day was fixed for launching the boat. chapter viii. the launch of the boat.--an alarming catastrophe.--disappointed hopes.--jack's perseverance.--a peep at the old encampment.--black peter again.--the loss of the boat.--canoe-building.--the luggage-van. it was necessary to carry the boat fairly out to deep water, to test its perfect security; but the reefs were impassable before the cove, and they were aware they should be compelled to row to some distance within them till they found an opening. a roller, left in the wreck, enabled them at high-water to run out the boat, and wilkins and arthur volunteered to make the first trial in it. jack was detained on shore, where he was always usefully employed, and the two boys were considered too wild to be risked in the first trip--an arrangement which they would gladly have rebelled against. the anxious watchers stood on shore to mark the boat first float on the water, and then the strokes of the oars, which carried it round the promontory at the south out of their sight. then jack and the two boys ascended through the wood to the heights, and crossed the cape, to watch the further progress of the precious vessel. but what was their consternation to see no traces of it. they hurried down to the beach beyond the promontory, and gazed wildly around, uttering cries of distraction. a few minutes of horror succeeded: then they saw the heads of the two swimmers, who appeared to be struggling violently against the receding waves. the two boys would have plunged at once into the water; but jack, in a tone of authority, commanded them to remain still, and throwing off his own light frock, he rapidly cut a long branch of mangrove, and swam out, holding it out towards arthur, who seemed nearly exhausted, and who eagerly clutched the branch as soon as it was within his reach. then jack turned round, and swimming with one hand, drew the almost senseless arthur, still firmly grasping the branch, after him into shallow water, where hugh was waiting to receive him. still fresh and unfearing, jack set out again towards wilkins, who had grasped an oar and was supporting himself with it, when, just as he saw his friend coming up to aid him, he either dropped the oar from exhaustion, or some unseen rock dashed it from his hand, and he immediately disappeared. a great cry rose from the boys on the beach; but the minute after, he rose again, lying on his back, and apparently insensible. this enabled jack to approach him with greater safety, and catching hold of his long hair, he drew the senseless body of the poor man towards the shore. but hugh perceived jack could not long hold out, and throwing off his clothes, he struck out to meet him, compelled him to relinquish the charge of wilkins; and thus they were all enabled at length to reach the shore. but all were greatly exhausted, and wilkins was apparently dead when they drew him on the beach. o'brien hastened through the woods, and by cries and signals brought margaret and jenny to their assistance, by whose prudent care and applications the poor man was restored to consciousness. no sooner was he recovered, than, trembling excessively, he looked wildly round, and said,-- "good lord! it is a terrible thing to die in one's sins!" "how glad i am to hear you say these words, wilkins!" said margaret; "and now let all our words and thoughts be thanks to him who has given you time to turn from these sins, and lead a new life. pray to him openly. we are all your friends, and we will join you;" and kneeling down by the side of the convict, margaret offered up a simple and short thanksgiving for the two men happily rescued from death, and a prayer for continued mercy for their souls. for the first time the lips of wilkins moved in prayer, and he audibly uttered "amen." in order to remove the anxiety of mr. mayburn, they returned to the encampment as soon as the exhausted swimmers were able to walk. then arthur related to his friends that as soon as they had got the boat into deep water, they suspected there was something wrong about her, and were endeavoring to make to shore, when she whirled round and was swamped in a moment, and the labor of weeks and the hopes of escape were at once lost. the whole party were greatly dejected; but jack, who was at first deeply mortified, was the first to shake off his chagrin, and to declare boldly that he would make another experiment. "we have plenty of materials quite handy," said he; "and it cannot be so far to the coast of the main land. if you will let me try again, sir, i feel quite certain i could make two bark canoes that would take us all, and, if we were once fairly over the reefs, could be paddled across without danger." "my good boy," said mr. mayburn, "i am but an indifferent judge of nautical affairs; but you must allow your first adventure has been signally discouraging. nevertheless, i admire that perseverance which must in the end subdue obstacles and command success, and i do not object to your continuing your experiments; but i would advise you to try your next boat on the lake, where, in case of accidents, no fatal consequences need be feared." "i will make a canoe at once," answered he; "but i will risk no lives. i will paddle it across to the mainland myself, and then return to convince you of its security. this time i have no fears, provided we do not overload our vessels. i will set out to seek a tree immediately." "you will eat your dinner first, my man," said nurse; "and if you had a bit of sleep after your swimming, before you set off to cut down trees, there would be more sense in it. here's some good roast duck for you; a grand dinner it might have been if we had only had sage and onions." jack found jenny was right. he was not equal to a long walk after his exertions and vexations; so he sat down to eat his roast duck, and then set about making models of canoes, prahus, and catamarans, from the recollection of what he had seen or read of. but next morning, leaving wilkins, who was much bruised, and still weak, and subdued by mental and bodily suffering, in the care of margaret and her father, the young men set out to explore the island for a tree of proper height and girth to make use of for their first attempt at a canoe. "after all, mr. arthur," said jack, "if this should fail, we could try catamarans. that would be easy enough, and we have mangroves close at hand that would answer exactly for making them. but then i have my doubts if the master, or miss margaret, could be brought round to trust themselves on such bits of floats for a voyage that far. here's a grand tree! now, if we can only peel it clean, it will set us up." it was a tall fine tree of the _eucalyptus_ or gum species, with a thick rough bark, which seemed as if it might be easily removed. arthur began by making a deep incision round the trunk at the bottom, and also in a perpendicular line as high as he could reach. by standing on a fragment of rock, he was able to carry it up to the height of twelve feet, and to finish it by another circular incision. hugh and gerald stood at the foot of the tree to receive the bark, which, when gently raised from the trunk, was easily separated, and let down in one piece without any injury, to the great delight of the boys. jack was anxious to have it transported to the cove immediately; but the boys wished to take a peep at their first landing-place before their return, and they all turned their steps in that direction. hugh and gerald had distanced the two elder youths, who had not reached the cliffs, when they saw the two boys returning in haste, with dismay on their faces. "oh! arthur," cried gerald, "such a vexation! we are in for a battle, and we have no arms! the savages are ready for us on the beach." "but we are not ready for them," replied arthur, "and must therefore keep out of sight. do you two hasten homewards with the bark, while jack and i reconnoitre." then cautiously creeping along to the edge of the cliffs, they looked down on the narrow strand below, and saw a number of the dark natives gathered round some object close to the water, which seemed to have excited their curiosity. jack, with a muttered exclamation of vexation, recognized this to be his unfortunate boat which had doubtless drifted on shore here. "oh! mr. arthur," whispered the lad, in great agitation; "as sure as you are living, i see that rogue, black peter, that got all my tools, among the savages; depend on it he has brought them here to seek for us." "to seek for the remainder of our property, i suspect, jack," replied arthur. "they are probably not very anxious to encounter our fire-arms; and we should be no prize to them, even if they could capture us. but we had best decamp now, as we are quite unarmed, and it might be dangerous to be detected; and, jack, we must set to work directly. i am anxious now to get away as soon as possible, for these fellows will be constantly in our way on this small isle." they withdrew with the same caution with which they had approached, and then hurried to overtake the boys, who were moving slowly along, carrying the bark; and with the additional hands they soon brought it safely into harbor, to the admiration of mr. mayburn, who was, however, greatly distressed to hear of another visit of the savages. then, as they measured and arranged the work, they discussed with wonder the appearance of black peter among the natives, and the cause of his disturbing their quiet seclusion. "peter's in his reet place amang 'om," said wilkins, "and it's time for us to be off when he shows his black, ugly face. as sure as we're here, master, if he cannot 'tice me off to join his crew, and start bush-ranging, he'll take my life. he's a reg'lar black-hearted un for a bit of vengeance." "but, surely, wilkins," said margaret, "there can be no fear that you, who have now learnt to know good from evil--you, who have seen the wickedness of your past life, should ever go back to such sin." "why, ye see, miss," answered the man, "it's little that such as ye know, what a queer tempting a chap feels for a free, roving life. why! half of our biggest rogues _did_ know good from evil; and what of that? they liked evil better nor good. i reckon there's a bad spirit as is always tugging at a fellow's heart." "you are right, wilkins," replied mr. mayburn. "it is the power of the prince of darkness that you feel in your heart, dragging you to the pit of perdition. but if you pray to god, my poor man, he will send you strength to resist the evil one." wilkins groaned, and his friends felt true pity for the unfortunate man, who was sensible of his own weakness; and while all deeply regretted that the infamous peter had chosen to pursue them, they resolved continually to watch and pray for the complete reformation of wilkins. neither could the family feel in safety while they believed the savages remained on the island; it was therefore arranged that arthur and jack--the most prudent heads--should return to the cliffs above the landing-place of these unpleasant visitors, to watch their proceedings, and endeavor, if possible, to discover their plans, and the motives that brought them to the island. in the mean time, the other boys transferred the bark to the capacious cave; the tent was also stowed there, with every other trace of their habitation; and it was arranged that, if there was likely to be any danger of detection, the two sentinels were to announce it by a sharp whistle, when the whole family would be ready to take shelter in the gloomy but secure fortress. concealing themselves as much as possible among the tangled mangroves, arthur and jack went round to the spot from whence they had previously seen the strangers, and beneath the abundance of brushwood above the cliffs they made for themselves a complete hiding-place, with loopholes for observation. they saw the men still assembled round the boat, but the sound of the hammer induced them to conclude that peter was engaged repairing some damage in it; and, to the great vexation of jack, he saw his own tool-chest, which he valued so highly, standing on one side, and at a little distance lay the boughs of a large mangrove tree, and the axe with which they had been felled. arthur suggested that peter had brought these men to the island, hoping to find the remainder of their property, and bringing the tools to cut down a tree and make a raft to carry away the spoils; for the light canoes which were lying on the beach were only fit to contain one person, or, at the most, two in each; and that, finding the boat, peter had thought it more convenient than a raft for the purpose. "do you think, mr. arthur," said jack, "they will be leaving any of the canoes behind them? i should like to see how they finish them off at the ends. but surely they'll never start off in that unlucky boat; i could hardly bide to see them enter her, knowing what we know." but arthur was of opinion that they were not called upon to risk their own lives and the lives of their friends, by going forward to report the character of the boat. besides, peter, the only person who would be able to understand their language, would probably not believe them. so they continued to watch till peter had completed his work, and then, by the efforts of the natives, the boat was launched, the whole party celebrating the event by dancing, singing, and flinging about their arms with childish delight. peter selected three of the men to accompany him in the boat, which, with the aid of some long poles and paddles from their canoes, they pushed off and forced over the rocks. the rest of the natives leaped into their canoes, and followed with shouts of admiration. in deep anxiety the two young men continued to watch the boat, which they expected every moment to see disappear; but whether peter had found out its defects and remedied them, or the water had swelled the wood and rendered it fit for service, it was impossible to say. one thing only was clear, that as long as they could observe it, till it had passed towards the south, out of their view, it continued to move slowly, but with apparent security. leaving their position, they crossed over to a high point at the south of the island, from whence they could perceive the little fleet--the canoes now diminished to mere specks--proceeding towards a dark object, which they judged to be a distant island. satisfied that the people had all departed, they descended to the beach to inspect the scene of their visit, jack remaining for some time silent from the mortification of seeing the product of his labors appropriated so successfully by the unscrupulous peter; and almost disappointed that he had not witnessed the boat go down, as he expected. but when they reached the strand, he recovered his spirits at the sight of a canoe which they had not been able to carry off conveniently after manning the boat. it was not useful as a prize, for it would only contain one person in comfort; but he was able, as he wished, to examine the workmanship. "shall we carry it off, mr. arthur?" he said. "a fair exchange is no robbery; and you know, sir, this is poor payment for my good boat." "i think we had better leave it, jack," answered arthur. "the blacks will certainly return for it; and when they find it removed, they will be convinced that we are still concealed on the island. if we remain unsuspected, peter will naturally conclude from the sight of the wrecked boat, that we are all drowned; and will then think no more about us. you see the simple construction of the canoe, closed at the ends by the stringy bark, which we can easily procure; or better still, we can use hempen ropes, of which we have still some; and we must strengthen the bottom by an extra layer of bark, or by thin planks." "it's not badly put together," said jack, with a critical air; "but it will be strange if a regular taught english carpenter cannot beat it. i'm not daunted, mr. arthur, after all my vexations. and here's something that pleases me better; and, say what you will, sir, this is my own, and i'll take it." this was a small saw, which had been left beneath the lopped branches of the mangrove; and arthur, prudent as he was, not only agreed that jack had a perfect right to carry away his own property; but he thought he might do it with safety; for, in the place where it was lying, it would certainly be washed away by the next tide, if it was left behind; and, charmed with their prize, they hastened home to report that the intruders had departed. hugh and gerald were in a high state of indignation at the audacity of peter in carrying off their boat; and wilkins was furious, upbraiding jack for his professional unskilfulness; when a fellow like black peter could make the boat fit to stand a voyage. "we do not know yet how the voyage ended," said margaret. "it may be the boat has again foundered where help could not be had." "god send it may!" said wilkins. mr. mayburn reproved the thoughtless man for the exclamation, telling him he ought rather to pray that the sinful man might be long spared, that he might have opportunity to repent. "him repent!" cried wilkins; "bless you, master, ye might as lief look to miss here turning bush-ranger! it's not in him. he were just born for nought but to die a rascal, and that he'll do, and no mistake!" "it is a mistake, rash man!" replied mr. mayburn. "god sent no man into the world marked for perdition. there is ever a door open that the vilest may enter. let us all pray that he may find that door; and if god permit me, i would gladly use my humble efforts to reclaim the wretched sinner." "well, all i can say is, sir," answered wilkins, "god send ye may never have a chance. ye're a deal ower good to be thrawn away in running efter such a rogue, and ten to one he'd twist yer neck if ye said a word to him." wilkins could not be convinced that there was any hope for black peter; and margaret besought her father henceforth to talk to the ignorant man of his own peril, rather than of that of his worthless comrade; of whom he was not yet in a frame of mind to tolerate the mention. the bark canoe was now begun in earnest. it was twelve feet in length, and broad enough to admit two persons seated on the bottom, for benches they did not venture to introduce. the ends were closed firmly with the stringy fibres of the tree named the "stringy bark tree," as the tough fibres of this bark seemed more suitable for the purpose than the hemp-twisted ropes found in the ship. ten days completed the first canoe, and hardened the gum used to coat it. paddles and oars were added, and then the workmen fondly looked upon it as a success, and jack was sanguine in his expectation that in fair weather it must reach the mainland safely. but it was not large enough to contain the whole party, and a second visit to the interior was necessary, and a second gum-tree was barked. at this visit, and on several occasions, the younger boys looked out on the coast for traces of the natives, but all continued so tranquil that they began to hope they should not again be disturbed. before they began to make the second canoe they made a trial of the first, by carefully conveying it over the reefs, and launching it beyond them. wilkins offered to take it alone; but jack chose to accompany him, that he might note any imperfection and correct it. it floated beautifully, was easily governed, and the workmen were full of pride and hope as they deposited their canoe in the cave, and turned to work at another. "if we can but succeed as well with the next," said jack, "we shall have nothing to dread but a gale, or too heavy a loading. let us consider, mr. arthur; we shall be four in the first boat, and five in the second. five will be too many for it, sir." "and my clothes," said margaret, "the gun, knives, and axe, with all our table utensils, besides necessary provisions. how are they to be stowed?" all were silent; for to stow all these things besides the four passengers, would be more dangerous than even the fifth person. "i say, jack, my lad," said wilkins, "ye'll have to rig up a catamaran, like them they have down yonder, to land folks over a high surf. i'se see and manage it myself, and then ye'll be shot of me. ye ken i'se a good-to-nought; and maybe i'd be bringing down a storm on ye all, like that jonah as master was reading on." though mr. mayburn assured wilkins god would not pour his vengeance on them for protecting a man who had shown some hopes of amendment, the suggestion of wilkins was fully approved. a catamaran was obviously desirable, and as soon as the second canoe was completed, they set to work, lopped the stems of the mangrove, and lashed them together to form as large a raft as they required. this they surrounded with a frame of thin wood, and the catamaran was completed to the satisfaction of the workmen, ready for the cargo to be tied to it. gerald named it the luggage-van, and declared he would certainly take his passage on it. when all was finished, it became an object of consideration what might be the nature of the coast they should land upon. they had read that many parts of the west coast of australia were mere deserts, arid and barren, without food or water, and they knew not but they might be driven on such an inhospitable shore. it was therefore advisable, before they abandoned the plenty that now surrounded them, that they should collect stores for possible contingencies. the brandy cask they had found in the wreck was large; this, before they embarked, they proposed to fill with fresh water from the tank, the most important provision for the voyage. and for the rest, one fine morning the whole party set out with bags and baskets on a foraging expedition to obtain food to victual their fleet. chapter ix. the foray.--young potatoes.--more intruders.--ruth's introduction to the savages.--the sailing of the fleet.--the desert shore.--the giant ant-hill.--once more at sea.--a storm, and the loss of the catamaran. when they arrived at the lake, they found the margin crowded with the nests of aquatic birds, built among the reeds, and a dozen fine ducks were soon taken. ruth filled a large basket with eggs, and finally a quantity of fish was procured. with this ample provision they turned homewards; but passing the plot they had sowed with potatoes on their first arrival at the cove, they were astonished to see how forward the plants were; and on digging they found young potatoes, of which they carried away a small bag; but as they still had a large supply of those found in the wreck, they left the greater part for the benefit of succeeding visitors. when they came near the height above the beach, on which they had first seen the footsteps of the natives, hugh and gerald went to the cliff to look over once more on the well-remembered spot, but started back immediately, for, to their deep distress, they beheld a considerable number of naked savages, painted with white chalk in a most frightful manner, dancing, singing, and throwing up their arms as if they were frantic. the boys made a signal of silence to the rest; but ruth, who was always, as jenny said, in the wrong place, had followed the boys to the cliff, and, curious to know what they had seen below, she leaned forward to look down through an opening in the bush. o'brien, alarmed lest she should be seen darted forward to seize her arm and draw her back; but startled by the action, and terrified by the scene below, she lost her balance, and, encumbered with the heavy basket, tottered over the edge, rolled down the steep cliff through the crackling, thorny brushwood, and alighted amidst the strange wild crew on the beach. springing up and looking round, the distracted girl uttered a succession of shrill screams, and the natives, in equal terror and amazement, gazed on the strange creature that had so suddenly descended amongst them. her hair, which was very long, and of a fiery red color, was flying loose over her scarlet cloak, her wild eyes were starting from her head, and her pallid face was streaming with blood from the scratches she had received in her descent. for a moment the savages appeared paralyzed; then, without looking round, they fled to their canoes; and the next minute were seen paddling with all speed from the shores haunted by such a frightful spectre. by this time, jack, in great alarm about his sister, had descended to the beach, and was immediately followed by the rest of the young men; and the distressed, woe-begone aspect of ruth, who continued to sob and groan even after her fears were subdued, made gerald laugh heartily, in spite of the tragic consequences that might have ensued from the accident. "come along, girl," said jack, kindly. "thank god you are not much worse; so what have you to cry about now?" "it's the eggs, jack," she sobbed out. "what must i do? they're all broken, and what will jenny say to me?" "never mind that," answered he; "take up your basket, and come away with me to the lake, where you can wash your face and fill your basket again, and make the best of a bad job." jack's practical philosophy consoled the weeping girl, who collected more eggs, and soon recovered from the distress of her adventure. the boys found that the timid natives had left behind them in their fright spears, boomerangs, and some excellent cordage, twisted of the fibres of the stringy bark tree. wilkins would gladly have carried off these, and unwillingly relinquished them at the command of mr. mayburn. "what matters," said he, "standing on ceremony with them there black fellows. why, they would niver ax your leave to snatch t' bite out of yer mouth!" which observation drew down on wilkins a rebuke from mr. mayburn, and an exposition of the law of honesty, as established by god and man. all the property of the natives was therefore left untouched, and the family returned to their own quiet nook, now more anxious than ever to leave a place to which curiosity, or the desire to recover their weapons, might at any moment bring back the late undesirable visitors. every one was now busily employed: a small number of potatoes were again planted, and the remainder of their store packed in sail-cloth bags. the ducks and fish were cooked; the eggs of the wild-fowl, as well as a quantity which ruth's poultry had produced, were boiled hard, and packed with soft grass in a box. the water-cask was filled; and then all the packages and provisions were lashed securely to the raft, which they had finished by a mast and sail made from some rent remains of canvas on the masts of the wreck. the large sail which had formed the tent cover was spread over the whole of the freightage and nailed down. then the bottoms of the canoes were spread with fine grass for seats, and after a thanksgiving to god, who had given them the power and the means to accomplish this important undertaking, the family lay down in the balmy, dry, spring air of that delicious climate, to take their last night's rest on the friendly isle. the first dawn of morning roused them to action. spies were sent to the heights to ascertain that the coast was quiet; then the first canoe, containing mr. mayburn and margaret, arthur and hugh, was launched, and carried safely over the reefs. jack and o'brien, with jenny and ruth, filled the second, and wilkins followed, paddling the heavy raft. "i'm not easy in my mind, jack," said nurse, "for master gerald is up to any mischief; and if he sets ruth on, we'se all be drowned." "keep your eyes on her, mrs. wilson," answered jack; "and if she will not sit still, we'll have her tied upon wilkins's catamaran." o'brien's laughter at the idea of ruth being stowed with the luggage, made the poor girl shed tears; but she was comforted with the care her chickens required, she having persisted in retaining the charge of her pets. for an hour they labored steadily, without any rest, till a westerly breeze got up, and wilkins, to his great relief, was able to hoist his sail; for he had previously been crying out for a helping hand. then the catamaran floated briskly over the waves, which were, however, a little more raised by the wind than was pleasant for the slender canoes. but even the most timid took courage when the long line of low coast became plainly visible. no threatening rocks or foaming breakers appeared to create terror; and all seemed so favorable to the voyage of the unskilled mariners, that they began to be fastidious in their choice of a landing-place. "let us coast awhile, arty," said hugh, "till we come to the mouth of a river, which will insure us a fertile coast. there is no occasion for us to land on a desert." "there would only be one danger in such a choice," replied arthur,--"the natives may also prefer the fertile coast, and would be likely to oppose the landing of intruders. i think i should prefer to land at first on an uninhabited spot. we could then examine the country, and determine our future course. it appears to me, as we draw nearer, and can observe the low coast opposite to us, that the landing would suit our canoes. what do you say, papa?" "i think you are right, arthur," answered he. "i see trees above the beach; and surely i distinguish large birds on the shore, a still more encouraging prospect." margaret looked intently for some time in silence; then, turning to her brother, she said, "are those figures we see really birds, arthur?" arthur looked round once more towards the coast, and then, calling out to the other boats, "south! south!" he altered the direction of the canoe, and said,-- "after all, papa, we must coast a few miles, at least; for those figures are the natives, who are, as i now see, armed with spears, and will probably resist our landing, regarding us as foreign invaders. we must not begin our pilgrimage by going to war." "do you think peter is with them?" asked hugh. "i do not suspect that he is," said arthur. "i fancy peter's associates were islanders; but we must avoid all intercourse with the natives as long as we can." "how glad i am, brother," said margaret, "that we are sailing south. how happy we should all be if we could ever reach the dear deverells." "my dear sister," answered arthur, laughing, "you surely do not expect that we can voyage along the whole coast of west australia in these shells. if we ever purpose to meet the deverells again, we must have stout vessels for the sea, and wagons and horses for the land journey; which could only be obtained by the influence of some powerful fairy in our present desolate position." "nevertheless, arthur," said his father, "if god permits us to set our feet on that continent in safety, my aim shall be to discover, if possible, the estate of that estimable young man; and to offer myself to undertake the church of his new colony. i now despair of ever reaching my destination in india, and my heart and my wishes point to daisy grange." the eyes of his children sparkled as they listened to the speculations of their father; though arthur smiled and shook his head, and margaret sighed, as they thought on the difficulties of so prodigious an attempt. "never despair, meggie," said hugh; "we'll do it. we are all strong fellows, in sound health, and i flatter myself tolerably ingenious. i feel full of resources, and jack is a mine of wealth. if we succeed in crossing the sea in these slender toy boats, i do not see why we should not traverse the whole continent of australia, with our stout frames and bold hearts." "to me," said mr. mayburn, "it would be the realization of a long-indulged dream to set my foot in a new and lovely world, 'to slowly trace the forest's shady scene, where things that own not man's dominion dwell, and mortal foot hath ne'er or rarely been.' yes, my children, i also believe that, by god's help, we may penetrate the wilderness, and look on wonder hidden since the day of creation. i am content to encounter hardships. let us go on." "but, papa," answered arthur, "_c'est le premier pas qui coûte_; and this first step we have yet to make--the step upon _terra firma_. margaret thinks that must be very easy; but we poor mariners, who know 'the dangers of the seas,' have some notion of the difficulties of landing a bark canoe on an unknown coast, without rudder, lead, anchor, or any nautical appliance; and not one amongst us, as you know, papa, far advanced in the study of the grand science of navigation." "that is wholly my fault, my boys," answered mr. mayburn. "i ought to have arranged that the charming science of navigation should form one of your mathematical recreations; but i never dreamed that you would be called upon to make use of a branch of knowledge so rarely cultivated in the quiet life of retirement to which we were called. but are we not some miles from those threatening savages now, arthur?" "not quite far enough, sir," said arthur. "they may have watched, and intend to follow us. we will put a dozen miles between us before we make for the shore. but i see poor wilkins is quite worn out, and, as his sail is useless now, i must spare you to help him, hugh, and papa will take an oar." they approached near enough to mark the variations of the coast, now flat and sandy, then rugged, and occasionally bristling with rocks, which would have torn their little bark to shivers if they had encountered them. at last every arm was exhausted, and the opposite coast being low and untenanted, they rowed up to it with caution, looked keenly round for reefs and hidden rocks, of which they were in great dread. "let us run in first," shouted wilkins from his raft. "we can bide a shock better nor ye, and likely we may help ye out of yer troubles a bit, when we've gotten this ugly craft landed." margaret felt some alarm for hugh; but arthur reminded her that wilkins was, in fact, the only sailor amongst them; besides, rough as he was, he was too much attached to the boy to lead him into any danger. so the canoes lay to, watching the clumsy catamaran paddled into shallow water. then they saw wilkins wade to shore, towing in his raft with a rope, till at length, by the aid of hugh, it was safely drawn on a low, broad, sandy beach. wilkins then hailed arthur, pointed out the mode of bringing in the canoes; and wading out breast-high in the water to assist him, finally all were happily landed. "there's an ugly sand-bank just out yonder," said wilkins, "and i were feared ye might run atop on it. now ye niver thought, master, these bits of cockle-shells should turn out grand sailers as they are. i say, jack, man, ye'll try a three-decker next, i reckon." wilkins was in high good-humor, tired as he was, with his successful voyage; and declared hugh was a clever little chap, and he liked him better than any other lad he had ever seen. and now margaret saw, with a hopeful heart, that the man was really changed; his rough and lowering countenance began to look brighter; and the desperate convict was thus providentially led into the path of reformation. "now that we are really landed," said mr. mayburn, "i would ask what we are to do." "i should answer, papa," said hugh, "let us eat, and rest; for you have no idea how tired and hungry wilkins and i are." all declared the suggestion was excellent, and while the provisions were got from the catamaran, arthur walked a little way from the beach to inspect the country, and saw before him only a wide bare plain, skirted towards the sea by a few mangroves, and apparently devoid of all inhabitants, rational or brute. this was not a promising prospect; all that could be said of it was, that it was quiet; though they were dreadfully annoyed by the mosquitos when they sat down to dinner under the shade afforded by the mangroves. as they ate their wild duck, they seriously discussed the future. they were reluctant to set out over the plains and abandon their little fleet, lest circumstances should render it necessary to resume their voyage. "what say you, hugh, my boy," said gerald, "if you and i were to take a run across these downs, and look out for a pleasant place for an encampment, out of the way of these rascally stinging beasts?" "what say you, arthur," asked hugh, "will your excellency permit two of your humble servants to set out on an exploring expedition?" "i think it would be more prudent for his excellency to command the expedition in person," said arthur; "i dare not trust you, my thoughtless lads, and we can leave a safe protection for the garrison in our two heroes, jack and wilkins; therefore let us march at once. take the gun out of its case, and give it into my charge; and you can carry the spears and throwing-sticks." the young men had completed, while in the island, a number of spears and throwing-sticks, from the models of those left behind by the natives; they had even successfully imitated the boomerang,--that mysterious weapon of warfare, so eccentric in its movements, and so remarkable in its effect; but they had not yet attained the art of casting it. bows and arrows had been commenced, and these jack undertook to employ himself in completing during their absence. though arthur was a prudent and safe protector for his young brothers, and wilkins and jack were powerful defenders to leave behind, the family did not separate without considerable anxiety. the young men crossed the plains directly from the beach, satisfied that they were in safety on that vast open waste, on which not even a growth of brushwood offered concealment for a foe. a loose, sandy soil, covered with thin, brown grass, gave to these sterile downs the appearance of a perfect desert. to crown all, they could not see in any direction the indication of water; and, thankful that they had brought a supply of this precious necessary of existence from the island that would last them for many days, arthur still felt every moment more convinced that it would be folly to linger on this inhospitable coast, where, unfurnished with any means of hastening their progress to a more fertile region, they should be in danger of perishing with famine. "we shall have to try the canoes again, hugh," said he. "it would be all very good fun," said gerald, "if it was not such hard work. and it's little use hoisting a sail, for ten to one we shall have a contrary wind." "i hardly think the odds are so great as that against a fair wind my boy," answered arthur; "but at all events hard work is better than hard fare. so we must just get such a night's rest as the mosquitos will permit us, and then try a bit of coasting in the morning. we can hardly come on a more cheerless coast than this." "what in the world is that before us, arthur?" exclaimed hugh. "this coast must be inhabited, for this erection is certainly the work of man's hand. it is one of the pyramids of egypt in miniature." "no, hugh, man's hand has never meddled with this structure," replied arthur. "i recognize it from description as one of the marvels of insect industry--an ant-hill. observe the skill and ingenuity that must have been displayed to construct this huge abode for a countless nation. this firm yellow clay is now so hardened that without some tools we could scarcely overthrow it." "i see no entrance," said hugh, "is it possible that it is inhabited?" "look here, close to the ground," answered arthur, "at this tiny speck of an aperture, from which i have just seen a diminutive insect emerge! and it has been remarked, that these creatures, the smallest of their species, erect themselves the most lofty abodes. this must be eight feet in height, and wonderful as it appears externally as the work of that minute creature, the interior, we read, is still more astonishing--a miracle of perfection in art." "let us open it, arthur, and have a peep at the curious little nation," said gerald. "and thus destroy the labor of thousands!" answered arthur. "no, gerald, you would surely never wish to be so wantonly destructive. we had better remember the advice of solomon, 'consider its ways, and be wise.'" "margaret will laugh at our exploits as foragers," said hugh. "we have certainly seen an ant-hill, but we have not even found an egg to carry home. i wish we could pick up any token of life or vegetation in this desert. let us make a little tour, arthur. i have my eye on our land-mark, that tall, bare, spectral mangrove." arthur did not object to walk a short distance towards the south, anxious to obtain a more extensive view of the coast; but they went over the bare, uninteresting soil for two hours without any satisfaction. a single dry, withered acacia spread its thin branches before them; and arthur was glad to climb it to extend his view along the coast line. but all appeared desolation: not a hill, a rock, or a green fringe to denote vegetation or water. he descended, much disappointed, and silently and thoughtfully they directed their steps to the boats. it was night before they reached their anxious friends, who saw in their jaded and melancholy countenances the disappointment of their hopes. "didn't i tell ye all along," grumbled wilkins, "as how north were yer point, and ye'll have to make a north course, after all. i've run along this here coast long afore this, and i say again, ye'll find neither meat nor water for hundreds of miles down south." "i must allow, wilkins," answered arthur, "that voyagers have ever stated that this coast from the eighteenth to the twenty-fifth degree of latitude is certainly desert; and that in the lower latitudes it is fertile and well watered; but by returning north we are flying from the aim of our hopes, and must necessarily risk encounters with the natives." margaret sighed as she thought of removing still further from the deverells, and wilkins said,-- "never ye heed them black fellows; they're nought but a set of reet down cowards, to be fled away by that silly bit lass. we're six clever chaps again 'em, and if we bully a bit at first, we'se drive 'em afore us like sheep." mr. mayburn shook his head, and arthur had some doubts of such an easy victory; but it was expedient to keep up the spirit of the party, and he made no answer. then, mortifying as it was to retrace their course, it was finally agreed they should sail north next morning, keeping in sight of the coast, and avoiding the landing-place where they had seen the natives the previous day. they proposed to seek the mouth of a river, if they could possibly discover one, which might form an easy mode of access to the interior. jack had during the day carefully examined the canoes, added a fresh coating of the gum, which he had brought with him, and lashed the timbers of the raft tight and firm. then, after an uneasy night of vexatious contentions with the mosquitos, they breakfasted, prayed for god's blessing on their perilous enterprise, and once more committed themselves to the ocean. since they first landed on their little island, the weather had continued to be invariably calm and beautiful, and even the thoughtless ruth and the rude convict seemed to be struck with the "witchery of the clear blue sky," while the more intelligent did not forget to thank their bounteous creator, who had tempered their little trials with this blessing. now, cheered by the bright sky and the fresh sea breeze, the young rowers plied their oars with willing hands, singing merrily as they urged their fragile barks over the light curling waves. hugh had joined wilkins, as on the previous day, and, favored by a south wind they spread the sail. wilkins, however, augured no good of this favorable breeze, declaring the south wind was always the fore-runner of a storm; but they might as well make the best of a bad job, by easing their arms a bit. but for many hours they sailed on favorably and uninterruptedly, for margaret had taken care that each canoe should be amply provisioned for the day. when they passed that part of the coast where the natives had been assembled on the previous day, they saw that it was now untenanted; but they felt no inclination to visit a locality so frequented, so continued their voyage; and on passing a hilly shore about a mile further north, they not only saw the people collected in numbers and waving their spears, but could hear their yells as they ventured to approach within a mile of the shore. "i say, wilkins, my man," said hugh. "do you fancy our little troop could drive all that lot of fellows before us like a flock of sheep? i should hardly like to make the experiment, unless each of us was armed with a good rifle." "that's just what we want, master hugh," replied wilkins. "it were just that there gun, as i grudged that rogue peter a vast deal more nor bags of bread and such like. if we'd had a few more guns, we might have defied every black fellow alive atween here and perth. they've not that sense to make out what it is, as makes all that clatter and smoke; and it's just because they ken nought about it as makes 'em so soft.... but, halloo! master hugh, i don't half like yon sky, we'se have some weather afore long." hugh hailed the canoes, to announce to arthur the meteorological observations of wilkins; and as the man had certainly more experience than any of the party, they could not help feeling a little alarmed. arthur looked anxiously towards the coast for a favorable landing-place, but here, only high bare cliffs ran along the shore, against which the waves dashed with a fury that warned them they must not approach near. gradually, the sky grew dark with clouds, the wind was heard before it was felt; and before hugh and wilkins could tear down their rude sail, the raft was whirled round, and hurried furiously past the canoes towards a sort of eddy which was dashing and foaming not a quarter of a mile before them. with all the speed they could make, arthur and his father rowed forward to rescue hugh and wilkins, regardless, at that moment, of the fate of the raft itself. the two men had now got the sail lowered; the raft was dashed amongst the breakers, but arthur's canoe gained on them, and he could hear wilkins hailing them, "keep clear of the eddy; and send us a rope." fortunately the mooring rope was still attached to the canoe, and arthur endeavored, though many times ineffectually, to fling it within reach of the doomed catamaran. at length wilkins secured the rope, and binding it firmly round hugh, he flung the boy clear of the tossing raft. arthur and the half-distracted father hauled the rope gently, as long as the poor lad seemed able to contend against the waves, and when he seemed to have yielded to their violence, they drew him, senseless, to the canoe. the cares of margaret soon restored him, and in the mean time wilkins had plunged into the boiling waves, and though a good swimmer, he with much difficulty reached the canoe, which they saw, with distress, was now far too much laden in such a sea. chapter x. a total wreck.--an unknown coast.--the green ants.--the white cockatoo.--waifs.--the gourd tree.--the fresh-water rivulet.--a river voyage projected. "the catamaran is lost, master," said wilkins, as soon as he could speak. "but life afore property any day, and somehow i've had thoughts of late as how i'se hardly fit to die.... now then; look about ye, young man. that there eddy's a _freshet_; there's a river comes in there, and that's where as we should be, if we can make land cannily. here, auld master, lend me them oars, and sit ye down and look after that young chap." arthur agreed with wilkins; but it was a perilous undertaking to carry the canoes over the foaming breakers, the hidden rocks of that frowning coast. his own experience rendered him hopeless of ever accomplishing the task, and he was now thankful for the advice and assistance of wilkins. "then we must tow them in the other canoe," said arthur. "remember, wilkins, whether we be saved or lost, we must have them with us." "ay! ay!" answered he. "let them fling us their tow-rope, and do you see to belay it cannily; and if we be swamped, look sharp and clutch miss here, and make a swim with her. we're nigh shallow water now, and we may drive in, barrin' rocks." it was only by clinging to each other, that margaret and her father, as well as the two women in the second canoe, were able to keep their seats, as the waves tossed up, whirled, and washed over their frail barks. sometimes they seemed to be thrown upon land, and the next wave carried them back with it. "now then!" cried wilkins, holding up his oar, and signalling to jack to follow his example. "now, when we ground again, you, master, jump out and hold her hard for yer life." the next moment the canoe did ground with a shock, and wilkins plunged the oar into the sandy shore, and held his ground firmly till arthur and mr. mayburn leaped out of the canoe and held the prow; he followed their example, and though still up to the waist in water, they grasped their charge, standing close to each other, and bravely withstood the returning wave. then rapidly retreating to the shore, they easily drew after them the lightened canoe, and placed it high and dry on the beach before the next wave overtook them. jack and o'brien, though they at last happily reached the same haven, had not escaped without mishap. the canoe had been capsized by the shock of grounding, and, but for the assistance of wilkins, ruth must have been lost. she was dragged out senseless, but still holding her basket on her arm; and her first words on her recovery were loud lamentations at the discovery that two of her fowls were drowned. in the mean time the second canoe was whirling wildly among the breakers, and arthur called out that, if possible, it must be saved; and all hands were soon engaged in catching the towing-rope, by which they soon succeeded in drawing the shattered bark to the beach. "i think that is a useless labor, arthur," said mr. mayburn, "for i trust that none here may ever again be compelled to tempt the dangers of the ocean in such a frail and imperfect bark. by god's mercy, our feet are once more upon the earth, the natural and ordained locality of man. byron, the wondrous poet who apostrophized the ocean, says:-- 'his steps are not upon thy paths,--thy fields are not a spoil for him,--thou dost arise and shake him from thee!' "i feel, arthur, that i am in my proper place, and desert or fruitful, lonely or populous, i would still remain on land." "so you shall, dear papa, if god permits it," answered arthur; "but not on this bare and comfortless strand. we must penetrate to a more hospitable region. it was to render this journey less toilsome to you that i meditated to secure and fit up the canoes, in order to use them in ascending the river which we see pouring into the sea, and which must be our guide to the interior." "ay," said wilkins, "rivers is rivers in this queer, dry country; and other folks ken that as well as us; and when ye light on a sup of water, make sure of finding a lot of them black fellows gathered round it. but they're no better nor brute beasts, and we're a match for 'em any day." "we shall have to risk encountering them," said arthur, "for the sake of providing ourselves with food, for i fear we are now reduced to absolute destitution." "we have ruth's plump chickens," said the mischievous o'brien. "oh, master gerald!" exclaimed ruth, weeping; "and could you have a heart to kill the poor dumb creatures as have lived wi' us so long? i would hunger sooner nor eat a bit of one of them, not if we had fried ham to it." the volatile boy laughed heartily at ruth's visionary fancy of chicken and ham; and margaret assured the sorrowful girl that only the fear of starvation should compel them to slay her pets, though the two drowned chickens must certainly be cooked, and not left on the beach for the gulls. they had landed not far north of the mouth of what they now found to be a considerable river, to the banks of which they soon made their way, and found that it ran between high cliffs, leaving a narrow pathway at the side, almost impassable, with huge fragments of rock scattered along it. but they remained fixed in their intention of following up its course, as the safest guide in their expedition. but first they must rest, and have such refreshment as they could obtain, the provisions in the canoes being washed out in the struggle to land. they sat down under an overhanging cliff, where curtains of drooping creeping plants shielded them from the sun, the boys having brought up stones for seats; and, after fervent thanks for their safety, they all felt a peace and tranquillity scarcely to be hoped for in their destitute condition. "it was most fortunate that the rifle was with me in the canoe," said arthur, "and safe in the case. it is no worse for the immersion. the charges i always carry in my belt in the water-proof case; so we are provided for defence. but the raft and its precious contents, margaret!" "have trust in god, my son," said mr. mayburn. "look up at that magnificent snow-white bird, one of the eagle tribe, which is even now soaring over our heads. why should we doubt? he who feeds the fowls of the air will not forget his children on earth." "here are lots of oysters, papa," said hugh, "and gerald has run after a large crab. there will certainly be turtles on the beach, and birds and eggs in the cliffs, and then we have water in the river." "but there's not a kettle, nor a toasting-fork," said ruth dejectedly. "i'll provide you with both," answered the boy. then from the roots of a mangrove, which spread below the cliffs, he tore down an enormous mussel, the shells of which were at least six inches in length, and, drawing an arrow from his belt, he gave both to the girl, saying, "here, ruth, are your kettles and toasting-fork." a plentiful, but strangely cooked, repast was soon prepared, consisting of the limbs of the drowned chickens, toasted or broiled over a fire of drift-wood, and served on oyster shells. knives they had fortunately preserved, but nothing more, and they could not help feeling the want of the common necessaries of social life. after dinner the young men cleared the canoes from the accumulated weed and water, drew them under the shelter of the cliff, spread their boat-cloaks in them, and persuaded margaret and their father to rest, while they held council what course to pursue next; but they found themselves so overcome with fatigue and anxiety, that at the first approach of darkness they all sought rest under the canopy of heaven before they should commence their labors. "are all assembled?" called gerald, at the first gleam of daylight. "hugh and i have already been at the beach, and collected a hat-full of turtles' eggs and some wood for a fire. and now, arthur, we are off on another excursion; we want to climb the cliffs, to see what sort of country we have been thrown upon." "then you must accept me for a third in your enterprise," answered arthur, "for papa would not approve of two such wild fellows setting out alone. now, nurse, hugh has made a fire to roast us some eggs, and with a shell of cold water from that jar we saved in the canoe, we have our breakfast complete." "if you could but light on a few leaves of tea, mr. arthur," said jenny, "i could manage without milk and sugar; but i shall miss my drop of tea." arthur could give jenny no hopes of any tea-leaves, or even of any substitute for that agreeable shrub, but he was sanguine about procuring eggs, and even birds, for dinner. then promising to return in an hour or two, and taking the gun with them, each of the hardy boys cut down a strong stick, and then marched off along the narrow pathway at the foot of the high cliffs which enclosed the guiding river. after walking some distance, the shelving rocks, covered with rich tropical creeping shrubs, appeared accessible, and they climbed to the summit, shaking down upon them, as they forced their way through the bushes, multitudes of stinging green ants. then they walked first to the edge of the cliffs that overhung the sea, and looked round to observe their position. it was plain that they were now upon the mainland, and that they had been driven into a wide bay, with headlands running out on each side, while the entrance was barred by coral reefs which it seemed miraculous that they should have escaped. beyond the reefs they distinguished shadowy dots, which they concluded were small islets, probably similar to that which had sheltered them so long, and which they now congratulated themselves they had exchanged for a wider field and more promising prospect of reaching a permanent resting-place. "how i wish papa was here," exclaimed hugh. "do look at those curious birds, and tell me what they are, arthur. oh, now i know they must be cockatoos, from their odd cry. would it be right to kill them?" "i shall have a shy at one," said gerald, who had luckily brought his bow slung on his back; and he directly brought down with an arrow a fine large bird about eighteen inches in length, with snowy plumage and a bright orange crest. "what will margaret say?" exclaimed hugh. "but it is a handsome creature, and papa will be delighted to preserve it." "it must help to preserve us," replied arthur, "for we are in true need. we must try to find some nests in the cliffs, and at least procure eggs to increase our rations; for a cockatoo, which has a large amount of feather upon it, will be but a small dinner for nine hungry people." they examined the crevices of the rocks, and found many nests of gulls and cockatoos, containing eggs and even tolerable-sized young birds, of which they brought away half a dozen, and filled their pockets with eggs, and then turned from the coast to take a glance inland. the view before them was wild, and scattered over with rocks, but seemed well wooded; and from the curious mingled cries from the bushes, they judged that the feathered tribes were abundant. then they commenced their perplexing descent through the tangled bushes, shaking off, as they proceeded, the tormenting ants, which ran over them in countless numbers, each little creature seeming determined to make its presence felt. "after our observations," said arthur, "i am still of opinion that, if the canoes can be repaired, we must try to make them useful in ascending the river, the banks of which promise to afford us abundant food; while the waters supply us with their precious refreshment. we may encounter the natives, certainly; but we shall be able to escape from them more easily in the canoes, than if we were dragging slowly on by land. we must begin immediately to fit them for the voyage." "i saw a fine gum-tree above," said hugh, "that will supply us with materials for mending or making. we must bring jack here; but oh! arty, i quite forgot--his tools would be all swept away with that unlucky catamaran." "it is a most unfortunate loss," replied arthur; "but we must not despair. if we have not the best means, we must take the next best; we must consider and contrive, and not care for hard work." they returned with their booty, and found jack standing with a pensive and disturbed countenance over the canoes; while wilkins and margaret, the tide being now low, had wandered down to the sea; where gerald quickly followed them, and found that their object was to watch, in hopes that any part of the cargo of the catamaran might be thrown on the shore. their first prize was a locker filled with potatoes, which jack had fortunately nailed up to prevent the water coming in, and thus the contents were quite uninjured. but they found a greater treasure still, in the estimation of margaret; a portmanteau of linen, which the thief peter had either overlooked or despised, and which had been one of the greatest comforts left them in their bereaved condition. they were fortunately all wearing good stout boots, and their outer clothing, in that charming climate, was of minor importance. the waifs were speedily removed from the beach to the encampment, where they found jenny and ruth in great distress. "this is worse than all, miss marget," said nurse. "with that bright bonnie river running in sight of us, we have not a sup of water fit for a christian to drink. it's as salt as pickle; enough to poison one, and can sarve for nothing that i can think on, but just to boil fish in." "i had not considered, arthur," said mr. mayburn, "till nurse made her experiment, that the tide naturally rises up the river, probably for many miles, thus cutting us off from one of the most important necessaries of life. now, perilous as it may be to leave the coast, it is imperative on us to move, or we must perish." arthur reflected for a few minutes, and then said, "let us have some eggs, meggie; then jack will accompany us, and we will set out to trace the river up the ravine; and i cannot but think we shall certainly meet with tributary streams from the hills, of perfectly fresh water." "but how shall we bring back the supplies to the camp?" asked hugh. "we have no vessels except mussel-shells, or our cups." "oh, warra!" exclaimed gerald, "if the sea would only be civil enough to give us back our water-cask! could we not go out to the reefs, arthur, and look for it?" "it was too heavy to be easily thrown on shore," answered arthur. "it is most likely fixed in some sand-bank, whence it will require a storm to move it. we must each choose one of the largest of the mussels we saw this morning clinging to the banks, and bring them in filled with fresh water--provided we meet with the water--carrying it as steadily as we are able. if we only had the canoes in working condition, we would move at once above the influence of the tide. can we possibly repair them, jack? we can procure bark and gum." jack turned out the contents of his pockets--neatly tied knots of small cords, a clasp knife, a hammer, and about a pint of nails. "i always have a hammer and a few nails about me, you see, mr. arthur," said he, "and if i had but an axe and a saw, i'd not fear any work. but it's a sin to be drowned; something will be sure to turn up; so with god's help we'll manage these bits of boats, and then, thank god, master o'brien saved his bow." "and here you see the remains of mine, jack," said hugh. "i have picked it up on the beach. you must try and fit me out again, and then neither storm nor savage shall tear it from me. only think, papa, if i had had my bow, we might have brought down a splendid white-headed hawk!" "would that you had succeeded, my boy," answered his father. "a white-headed hawk would indeed have been a gem in my collection, an anomaly in the known feathered race. but, indeed, every living creature in these regions is an anomaly to all naturalists. this cockatoo is obviously of an antipodean race. its form, habits, and peculiar notes, mark it to be of a distinct and modern family, having even little relation to the _psittacidæ_ of the ancient race. i am pleased with this remarkable bird, my dear boys, and feel no inclination to have it cooked and eaten like a common barn-door fowl." "for my part," said margaret, "i should feel less remorse in devouring this stranger than one of our old familiar friends, ruth's beloved pets." there was a common outcry against this household homicide, or gallicide, as hugh called it; but there were young birds and eggs sufficient for the day's provision; so the cockatoo was reprieved, and mr. mayburn carefully preserved the bird in all the glories of its white plumage and yellow crest, so curiously movable at the will of the bird. once more the young men set out for the very important object of discovering fresh water; and the tide being down, they walked up the margin of the river with less difficulty than in the morning, but it was not till after they had gone two or three miles beneath the thickly covered cliffs, which were perfectly alive with multitudes of strange birds, that they came to a narrow ravine, opening at the north, from which a low cascade poured a clear but slender rill into the river. they at once decided to ascend this branch stream. its narrow bed was guarded by lofty rocks, which hid from their eyes every prospect but that of the clear blue sky above them, and their voices sounded hollow as if from below the ground; but, to their great satisfaction, the water was fresh, clear, and cool, and no sparkling champagne was ever enjoyed more truly than the draughts they quaffed from the shells of the fresh-water mussels which were abundantly clustered on the banks and strewed around. "don't you feel, gerald," said hugh, "as if we were passing through some gloomy glen to arrive at a grand old moorish castle--full of enchantments of course?" "that's a capital idea, hugh," answered he. "then there will be a beautiful princess shut up in the steel tower, with a hideous black enchanter keeping guard over her, and a fiery red dragon at the gate, and we have to conquer him with one rifle and half a dozen cartridges, that we may release the princess." "why, you irish blunderer," replied hugh, "whoever heard that either dragon or enchanter could be overcome by powder and shot? if you have not fairy patronage, you must have valor and prudence, and resolution; and there's arthur, though he looks so meek and quiet, would be the conquering hero." "we will leave the siege of the enchanted castle for a more convenient opportunity," said arthur, "and be content to carry home such valuable trophies of conquest as a few shells of fresh water. but why has hugh climbed that almost perpendicular cliff?" "he fancied he saw a palm-tree on the height," answered gerald; "but if it really be a palm, i must say it is an ugly tree; and, for my part, i would much rather have found an apple-tree, only, as i suppose september is spring in this antipodean world, the apples could not be ready." "moreover, apples are not indigenous in australia," said arthur; "nor shall we, i fear, meet with any equivalent fruit. some of the palms are really useful, but i cannot think what species of palm that can be." a voice was heard from above, commanding them to clear the way, and a huge gourd was hurled down, rolling to the very edge of the stream. it was plainly not fresh plucked, but must have lain long on the ground; and when hugh descended, disappointed that he had not been able to find any fruit on the tree, arthur explained that the gourds that were known were not generally edible, but most useful as vessels for holding water. then jack cut a hole in the shell, which they cleansed from all the decayed matter, and washed frequently to remove the bitter taste of the contents. the gourd was slung by a cord, which arthur himself placed over his shoulders, and filled with the fresh water for their friends. jack having found the _eucalyptus_ or gum-tree that he required, they stripped it of the bark, and, having filled a mussel-shell with the fresh oozing gum, they returned to the encampment, well pleased with their successful, though very tedious expedition; for the flowing tide made their return along the banks most difficult. in fact, arthur was of opinion that if they waited for a spring tide, the river would entirely flood the ravine, and render their progress impossible except by boat. "i was not aware," said mr. mayburn, "that the wide-spreading but fastidious genus _cucurbita_ extended to these strange regions; yet this gourd surely belongs to it i am curious to see the tree, to ascertain if it is of any known species." "at all events," said margaret, "it will be very useful to us. its contents are truly precious, and we are most grateful to our persevering and active purveyors. and we welcome them heartily to their dinner of broiled ducklings, or whatever else these delicate little birds may be named, with one potatoe for each person, which has been boiled with salt water in a mussel-shell." the potatoes were pronounced to be improved by their saline immersion, and the ducklings had no fault except youth and leanness. but oysters were plentiful, and the report of the explorers announced abundance in the regions up the river; so that it was with thankful hearts the family sought repose after their labors, to fit them for the renewed toil of the next day. jack commenced his work at daylight. he fixed large patches of bark with gum over the weak or damaged part of the canoes, and left them to harden in the sun. then, with immense labor, they cut down with their knives some boughs for poles to propel the vessels. a single oar had been thrown ashore by the last tide, and some broken spars, from which a pair of short oars were rudely formed. hugh and gerald had been employed in the mean time in the search for turtles' eggs, and had been fortunate enough to meet with a quantity, as well as with a small turtle. none of the party had much taste for the rich food, but nothing eatable was to be despised in their situation; so the turtle was sacrificed, and another kettle provided for the cooks. "the gum seems already hardened on the boats," said arthur, "and i do not see, papa, that we have any temptation to remain on this mosquito-haunted coast longer than necessary. in another hour the tide will be flowing up the river, and will assist our voyage greatly. shall we then at once set out on our important expedition?" "i see the necessity of it, my son," answered mr. mayburn, "and am satisfied. let us implore a blessing on our undertaking, and then go forth, confiding in the protection of the most high." wilkins attended the family devotions with decorum now; but what effect was produced in his heart was yet to be developed. hugh and margaret, to whom he listened more patiently than to the rest, were satisfied that some change was taking place in the sinful man, and earnestly believed that he would, by god's grace, be turned to the truth. chapter xi. the voyage up the river.--the way to china.--the note of a strange bird.--a hasty flight.--a tropical storm.--the loss of the canoes.--the cave of the bats.--a toilsome pilgrimage. after the fervent heat of noon had somewhat subsided, the party arranged themselves in the two canoes, and, aided by the tide, swept up the river, which now extended to the cliffs on both sides, and effectually cut off any passage by land. occasionally the fallen masses of the sandstone rocks, which lay shelving or sloping to the water, were covered with a rich growth of low entangled shrubs, now bursting into flowers of many a brilliant hue; amongst which numbers of pert, noisy, little green or variegated parrots hopped about, chattering over these strange disturbers of their wonted tranquillity. "charming! charming!" exclaimed mr. mayburn. "this is the sublime solitude of which i have dreamed all my life. how glorious it would be 'to hold with heaven communion meet, meet for a spirit bound to heaven,-- and, in this wilderness beneath, pure zephyrs from above to breathe.' what a completion of all my hopes it would be, my children, if you could find some quiet spot where we might land, and be content to pass our lives upon it." this desire of mr. mayburn was received by his children with some consternation, while ruth, though she but vaguely understood the proposal, looked round at the prison-like rocky walls, the sombre twilight, and the dashing waters, and began to cry. even wilkins, who heard all that was said in mr. mayburn's canoe, cried out, "nay, nay, master, that would upset all; i'se not flinch to sail wi' ye, or to tramp wi' ye; but to bide here for good, among oysters and poll-parrots, is what i can't stand. it would soon set me off bush-ranging." "we must move onward, papa," said arthur, "but doubtless we shall find, as we proceed, scenes that will interest you even more than this. we may even encounter peaceful tribes; and though our ignorance of their language will prevent our holding any beneficial intercourse with them, we may at all events give them an example of kindness and forbearance." "and remember, papa," said margaret, "we have a definite aim in our travels. we must look forward to the pleasure of joining our friends, the deverells." "but, margaret," replied he, "how can you hope that we shall ever be able to traverse the vast space that must separate us? how can you and i penetrate forests, climb mountains, or cross mighty rivers?" "few of them last to signify, master," said wilkins, "by yer leave; and better for us if we had more. i kenned some of our chaps down yonder as tired of slavery, and what would serve 'em but be off to chinee, which they heared say lay to t' north; and reet glad were they to sneak back to hard work and full rations. why, they'd gone miles and miles over dry sand, wi' niver a tree to shelter 'em or a sup of water to drink. where rivers ought to have been, there were just dry mud and wet mud, and that were all. we'se want no boats in them there rivers." "pray, dear papa," said arthur, "do not look so much alarmed at wilkins's exaggerated reports. i have read the travels of scientific and experienced explorers, who certainly agree that large portions of the coast are desert, but give strong reasons for hope that the interior may be fruitful and well-watered. to these fertile regions, i am of opinion, we should endeavor to penetrate; for we have not means nor nautical skill to attempt a sea-voyage, even to the inhabited islands of the indian ocean. but it is for you to decide, papa." "i leave it to you, my boy," answered his father. "i rely on your energy and judgment, under heaven." "are we to turn up our watering-river?" called hugh, from the forward boat. "here is a niche in the rocks," answered arthur, "secure from the tide, where we will rest to-night, as we shall have our fresh water near at hand." the nook was as convenient as any roofless place could be for a night abode; and even margaret had now become accustomed to this wild life, and rested her head on a pillow of rock, in the open air, with the peace and comfort of a tranquil and pious spirit. early in the morning the boys went up the fresh-water rivulet to enjoy the luxury of a bath; and such was the profusion of fish that filled the clear water, that they succeeded without difficulty in spearing two of the large species of river-cod that they had found in the island lake; and as these weighed ten or twelve pounds each, they returned very triumphant with their spoil. "i know it has been familiarly named the river-cod," said hugh; "but you know, papa, the cod is strictly a sea-fish; besides, this ugly fellow, if he were not so large, is not unlike a perch." "it is like the productions of australia," said mr. mayburn; "unclassed and strange. it seems to blend the distinctive features of the cod and the perch,--the salt-water and fresh-water tribes." "but it's safe to eat?" asked jenny, anxiously. "we have already tried it with impunity, nurse," answered arthur; "all travellers praise it as delicate and nutritious, and, from its abundance in the rivers, it must be a great boon to the natives." the fish was boiled in the salt-water. but before night they had rowed beyond the influence of the tide; and had now to labor hard to ascend the river, the high banks of which continued to be shaded by mangroves, which were weighed down with clusters of oysters and fresh-water mussels, looking like some strange fruits of this new country. there was something so sublime and awe-inspiring in the novelty of the scenery, that the whole party long contemplated it in silence, till an exclamation from ruth, about the "bonnie ducks," roused them to observe the flocks of wild-fowl; and jenny thanked god that there could be no famine here; while mr. mayburn noted with admiration the varieties of water-fowl, beautiful and unknown, which sailed over the river or clamored noisily among the mangroves. the labor of ascending the river in the heat of the day soon fatigued all the rowers, and they were thankful to seek refuge and rest in a narrow ravine which ran out north, and which, after the rains, would be a rivulet. at present, all that proved its existence were a few narrow channels, with here and there a pool of clear water. the rapidly springing tropical vegetation had already spread and matted itself in the very bed of the river, forming a picturesque jungle, amidst the dark foliage of which the tiny rills sparkled like diamonds. on each side towered lofty cliffs, hung gracefully with luxuriant creepers, and a thick belt of tall gum-trees and wild nutmeg-trees, covered with greedy, noisy parrots, ran along the base. every thing was new and charming; and having drawn the canoes up in safety beneath the roots of a mangrove, they wandered slowly up the ravine, to find, if possible, a grassy spot on which to rest and eat their dinner. as they walked along, they found on each side openings in the cliffs, smaller ravines or river-beds; all similar in rich vegetation, and all equally lonely. it was a perfect labyrinth of nature; a scene of enchantment that filled the minds of the educated with admiration and holy thoughts, but shook the ignorant with all the tremor of supernatural terrors. "i wonder much," said margaret, "that we should find these beautiful scenes unpeopled." "ye'll see people soon enough, miss," said wilkins. "what would they do here? queer fellows as they be, they cannot perch atop of trees like them howling poll-parrots, nor lie under water like oysters. wait till we come on a bit of bare common, and ye'll see folks enough." "wilkins is right enough, margaret," said arthur, "this lovely spot, happily for the free inhabitants of the air and the water, is unfit for the dwelling of man. i do not think it would be prudent to wander far among these bewildering ravines, our safest guide will be the broad river; and as we cannot meet with a convenient dining-room here, i propose that we should return to eat our dinner under the mangroves, in defiance of the troublesome inhabitants around us." but jenny contrived to smoke away the mosquitos with her cooking-fire, though the green ants still contrived to annoy her by falling as garnish on the beautiful fish which she served on a turtle's shell. the hungry group only laughed at the petty vexation, as they gathered round the feast with oyster-shell plates and mussel-shell cups, to eat heartily, though they wanted forks, spoons, and, as jenny declared, all christian comforts. with renewed vigor they resumed their oars, and pursued their voyage on the pleasant highway, which the young and ardent believed would forward them towards the distant home they hoped to reach. and when absolute fatigue compelled them to desist, they found a convenient landing-place for the canoes on a broad patch of bare sand. they drew them on shore, and, to stretch their cramped legs, walked forward till they reached a spot where a slip of the rocks had formed a gradual ascent. though encumbered with trees and brushwood, they were all desirous to attempt this ascent to search for nests and eggs, and, above all, to attain, if possible, the heights above, that they might survey the country through which they were passing. they found innumerable nests of ducks, geese, and swans, and of a large bird which distracted mr. mayburn by its resemblance to the pelican. they found also some well-grown young birds, but contented themselves with carrying off a couple of fine cygnets. "hark, arthur!" said hugh; "what a strange cry. it must be the note of some new bird. let us follow the sound, that we may obtain it, if possible, for papa." "bird, indeed!" exclaimed wilkins; "fiddlestick! ye'll bide where ye are, master hugh. ye little ken what sort on a bird that is. ye'd better keep quiet, for them sort of birds is awkward customers. i reckon i ken that 'coo-ee! coo-ee!' better nor either ye or t' auld master. it's nought else but them black fellows hailing one another." "i fear it is but too true, hugh," said arthur. "i have heard of the curious cry of the natives." "let us flee," said mr. mayburn, turning hastily back. "let us not seek scenes of discord and bloodshed." "couldn't i steal among the trees and get a peep at them?" said o'brien. "the wood is so thick, they would never see me, and then i could let you know what we had to fear." "i wouldn't have ye to be over sure," said wilkins, "that there's not half a hundred blackies skulking underneath this here scrub as we're trailing through. they're cute rogues, and like enough, they've been tracking us all along. we'se be better looking after our boats, nor after them. we'se see plenty on 'em afore long." it was plainly prudent to retreat, wherever the unseen enemy might be; and having secured their boats beneath a spreading mangrove, they roasted and ate some eggs, and then discussed calmly the prospect of meeting the natives, which now seemed inevitable. "i have finished another bow," said jack; "we have arrows and spears, and a throwing-stick. and then mr. arthur has his rifle." "that's worth all t' rest put together," replied wilkins. "they can beat us out and out with spears, and them queer crookt boomerangs; but give 'em a shot, and they'll fly off like sparrows. we'll have to mind, for, ye see, they'll never come on us boldly like men, but they'll sneak and cower, and spy, to see what we're made on. and i'd like to see t' auld master there keep up his heart; for if they see a fellow among us show a white feather, we're all done." "but i should never think of carrying a white feather, wilkins," said mr. mayburn. "i confess that i have harbored the thought of holding out to them a green branch, which, i have understood, ever signifies a flag of truce among savage nations." "a fig for yer flags!" cried wilkins contemptuously. "show 'em a stout heart and a long rifle, and they'll understand 'em better nor a green flag. there goes the _coo-ee_ again! will you put out that fire, lass. is there any sense in sending up a smoke to let 'em see where we are?" ruth extinguished the fire, trembling with fright, and then crept close to margaret and jenny. as it was now quite dark, the women, as usual, lay down in the canoes, and the men watched and rested alternately till daylight dispelled the fear of a nocturnal attack. then, not liking their neighborhood, they launched the canoes again, resolving to breakfast on a more secure spot; and after proceeding many miles up the river, they disembarked on a flat rock that ran out from the cliffs, where they cooked eggs for their breakfast, and the cygnets to take with them for the next meal. but on embarking again, they found, with some uneasiness, that the navigation of the river was becoming difficult. the breadth of the bed gradually contracted; the rocks on each side overhung the water, into which large blocks had fallen from above, among which the stream rushed in strong eddies, or poured over the masses in cascades; thus rendering their progress perilous, if not impossible. suddenly, before they had observed any premonitory signs, a terrific storm of thunder and lightning burst upon them, accompanied by a violent wind and a deluge of rain. the peals of thunder, repeated again and again among the towering cliffs, were tremendous. ruth shrieked with terror, and margaret, with all her firmness, trembled to hear the voice of the tempest. the little canoes, whirled round and dashed against the rocks, seemed doomed to inevitable destruction. wilkins, in this fearful emergency, succeeded in securing a rope to one canoe, then leaping out upon a shelving rock, he held it till, with hugh's assistance, the three women were snatched out, one after another, to the rock, where they clung to the trees to keep themselves from being swept away by the wind; but they tried in vain to save the canoe, as wilkins had relinquished the rope to assist the women, and they were mortified to see it hurried down the impetuous river beyond all hopes of recovery. the river was already raised by the pouring rain, but wilkins boldly plunged in with an oar, which he extended to the men in the second canoe, and assisted them to reach the shore; but their boat, which had been previously damaged, was whirled against a rock, and went to pieces. "thank god no lives are lost," murmured mr. mayburn, as, exhausted and drenched with rain, he crouched under the trees, the light foliage of which afforded very insufficient shelter from the torrents of rain which descended on them; and for some time they were so stunned with their fears and their desolate condition, that they could not command their thoughts sufficiently to consider where they should turn to search for a better protection. at length arthur pointed out that a little higher up the river a slab of rock ran out and formed a sort of canopy over the narrow hem of beach beneath. thither, therefore, the distressed party removed, and they found even a more convenient shelter than they had hoped; for the hollow beneath the slab was raised about four feet from the ground, and extended backwards into the sandstone rock, forming a cavern impervious to wind and rain. their entrance dislodged hundreds of bats, of strange and frightful forms, and mr. mayburn half forgot his fears and miseries while he looked with admiration on a huge, imp-like creature, which he asserted must be the animal distinguished by travellers as the "flying fox." after these hideous inhabitants were dispersed, margaret and the two distressed women gladly took possession of this gloomy retreat, which was dry and secure. piles of dead wood lay scattered round it, which enabled them to make a fire and dry their dripping garments. to their great joy, they had been able to preserve their bows, spears, and rifle, and ruth had grasped firmly her precious basket of chickens. at the moment when the danger was imminent, wilkins had had presence of mind to throw on shore the locker of potatoes, and also the portmanteau, from which they all were now glad to procure changes of clothes. the cooked provisions were lost; but they roasted some potatoes, and enjoyed their simple repast, while the thunder rolled loudly over their heads, and the rain poured like a deluge into the swollen river. "we can go no farther to-day," said hugh, looking out with a melancholy air. "what can we do, gerald?" jack was already at work in a retired nook, making arrows from the bamboos which were plentifully scattered round; and, roused by his example, the boys joined him to sharpen spears and shape bows, which were to be completed when they met with gum to cement them, and stringy bark to form the bowstrings. arthur cleaned his valuable rifle, margaret wove some reeds into a basket for eggs, mr. mayburn lectured; wilkins alone seemed weary and out of his element, his good properties only came out when roused to action by difficulties, and as margaret watched him lazily rolling a piece of bark for a cigar, and then lying down to smoke it, she longed for some settled habitation, that this unfortunate man, now but half reclaimed, might have useful occupation and acquire regular habits. but even the most industrious of the party could not but find that wild, stormy day long and tedious in this damp and dismal shelter. nor was it without alarm that they saw the river gradually rise, till the level was within a foot of the floor of their retreat; and if it should rise high enough to overflow the cave, they were aware there could be no possibility of escape, for the waters already dashed against the cliffs on each side of them. they watched anxiously. at length, with thankfulness, they saw the rain cease; and before darkness shut out observation, the water had fallen a few inches. then, free from their usual nightly torment of the bush-haunting mosquitos, they enjoyed a calm night's rest in the cool cavern. morning brought new cares. the casual storm had passed away, and it was too early for the usual tropical rainy season; but, alas! they had no means of voyaging onward, and the waters blockaded them. there was no path along the beach. they waited another day, in terror of famine or another storm. a very slight decrease of the waters was seen next morning. the cliffs were too high and precipitate for even the boldest to climb, the river too deep and impetuous to be crossed except in a boat, and the narrow hem of sand now left at the edge was barely sufficient for the passage of one person; and even it seemed to them that in some places the rocks ran out so far that all progress must be cut off. they might, perhaps, with great risk, have made their way along the beach back to the sloping ascent to the cliffs which they had visited two days before, and thus gain the heights; but that would probably bring them into contact with the wild natives from whom they had fled in such haste. besides, they were unwilling to leave the banks of the river, which insured them fresh water, while, at the same time, it prevented them from being bewildered in a strange and perplexing country. arthur asked his father to decide on what they should do in this dilemma. "i leave all to you, arthur," answered he, "as usual. i am distracted with sinful doubts and fears. we cannot, i am aware, continue to live in a cave, as men were wont to do in the early and barbarous ages; and the prospect of perilous wanderings in an unknown wilderness shakes my weak nerves. but i will trust in him, my children, and pray for this blessed boon; may 'israel's mystic guide, the pillared cloud, our steps decide!'" "well, then, make up your mind, general arthur," said hugh. "call up the forces and arrange the march. gerald, my boy, you can make no objection to carry the _pratees_, i'm certain." "we must each take a share in the toil of carrying off our slender possessions," said margaret. "let arthur divide and portion this duty." "then, margaret," said arthur, "i determine that nurse and you should unpack that portmanteau and tie up the contents in bundles, for the better convenience of division." "never ye fash to open it out, miss," said wilkins. "i reckon i'se qualified to take that leather box on my back without breaking 't." but arthur would not suffer the good-natured fellow to be overloaded; and margaret lightened the trunk by filling some pillow-covers with part of the contents, and these were suspended across the shoulders of arthur, hugh, and jack. two of these useful bags were also filled with potatoes, to be carried by mr. mayburn and gerald. ruth would not leave her basket of poultry, and margaret and jenny collected the shells and small articles remaining. the locker was unwillingly left behind, as too heavy for carriage; and then, each carrying, in addition to his burden, some weapon, they set out in single file, headed by arthur, wilkins following close behind him, along the narrow sandy path, which was encumbered by masses of sandstone fallen from the rocks; and occasionally rendered still more difficult by the roots of a mangrove, twisted with creepers, spreading even into the river, or a drooping acacia, or casuarina, which it was necessary laboriously to cut away, or to tear down, before they could force a passage. chapter xii. alligators.--the giant's staircase.--access to a new region.--the pheasant cuckoo.--wild oats.--the unequal contest.--the first kangaroo.--scenes of arcadia.--a hint at cannibalism.--the cockatoo watch.--the enemy put to flight. the cliffs which rose above their path were about three hundred feet in height; these were almost perpendicular, and even, in some places, overhung the river; which had again spread out to about a mile in width, while rocky masses in the midst, covered with vegetation, formed innumerable little islets, among which, even if they had saved their canoes, they would have found it perilous to navigate. "hugh! hugh!" cried gerald, who was at the end of the long line. "i see our canoe; if you will join me, we will swim to it, and bring it in." all eyes were directed to the dark floating object he had pointed put, when suddenly ruth screamed out, "they're alive! master hugh, there's a lot on 'em. they'll eat us all up." "i perceive now indeed," said mr. mayburn, in much agitation, "what these huge masses are. observe, margaret, on that island where the tall mangrove is so conspicuous, those dark moving forms; they are alligators stretched in the sun, while some of the dangerous creatures are floating on the river. see, my children, how providentially we have been snatched from peril. one of these monsters might have capsized our little boat, and we should have been abandoned to be devoured by these frightful creatures." at these words, ruth shrieked out, and endeavored in her distraction to force her way past the rest; but was held back by jack, who followed her in the line, and who tried to convince her of the folly of her fears. nevertheless, they all felt more comfortable, when they lost sight of the islets and their hideous inhabitants. again the river narrowed, and now they became alarmed as a strange rumbling noise gradually increased before them. they paused for consideration; this was totally unlike the usual sounds of the wilderness, where the varied notes of the birds, and the continued humming of the insects, alone disturbed the silence. "it resembles the roaring of waters," said arthur. "i trust that now, when the river has obviously fallen, we need not fear that another flood should overtake us. but follow me quickly--let us lose no time in endeavoring to reach the security of a wider strand." as they proceeded, the roaring and rumbling grew louder and louder; they knew it was the voice of a torrent, and it was with beating hearts they wound round a bend in the course of the greatly narrowed river, and saw at a short distance before them a majestic cataract, pouring its foaming waters into the river, which bounded and dashed onward like a troubled sea, even to the spot where the wanderers stood, transfixed with wonder and admiration at the spectacle. "this is indeed the majesty of nature!" exclaimed mr. mayburn. "how feeble seem all the labors of man, when compared with this stupendous work of god! 'how profound the gulf! and how the giant element from rock to rock leaps with delirious bound, crushing the cliffs!'" "ay! ay! it's a grand thing to see, master," said wilkins; "but how are we to get out on our fix? we're not made wi' wings, like them big fellows, clamoring and diving at t' top yonder." a row of large birds were perched on fragments of rock at the very summit of the fall, plunging their heads into the rushing waters, and seeming to rejoice in the grand commotion. "they look like pelicans, papa," said hugh; "i can see the red pouch under their throat." "the bird is one of the family, i apprehend, my son," answered mr. mayburn. "it is commonly called the frigate pelican, and is peculiar to the tropics, fishing in rivers as well as in the sea. its wings and tail are immensely long, but the body, if stripped of the feathers, is much smaller than you would expect to find it. but observe now, hugh, a nobler bird. see, far above us soars a superb black eagle, which seems to look down with equal scorn on the noisy birds, the dashing waters, and the helpless men so far below it." as they slowly drew near, they calculated that the height of the cataract must be a hundred and fifty feet at least, and saw that the waters poured over horizontal strata of the sandstone rocks, each layer projecting beyond the one above, and forming a series of steps, which rose from four to eight feet in height. the water did not descend in a volume, but in courses, which left parts of the rocks uncovered, and on these parts moss and even grass had sprung up. amidst the admiration and enjoyment which all felt in the contemplation of this novel spectacle, an unpleasant conviction crossed the minds of even the most enthusiastic, that they were indeed, as wilkins had remarked, "in a fix." it was impossible to proceed unless they could ascend the formidable brush-covered cliffs, where the weight of a man clinging to the bushes might bring down an avalanche of the crumbling sandstone rock to bury him in its fall; or, still more perilous, that they should attempt to ascend what gerald called "the giant's staircase"--the mighty cataract itself. the voice of the torrent drowned the weaker voice of man; arthur could not understand that gerald was calling out to hugh to follow him; and before he could proclaim any interdiction, the two light-footed, active boys, by clinging to the firmly-rooted grass in the crevices, had gained a resting-place on the first step of the rocks at the extreme edge of the fall, and were calling on the rest to follow them. at this extremity about four feet of the rocks remained dry from the summit to the base, and certainly this must be the ladder they must mount if they hoped to escape; but how difficult, how perilous, was the attempt! jack surveyed the ground attentively, then producing from his pocket a large roll of cord, he tied one end to a mangrove-tree on the beach, and unrolling it as he went up, followed the boys, holding the line tight to support mr. mayburn and margaret, jenny and ruth, who, assisted by arthur and wilkins, were one after another raised to the first resting-place. arthur soon joined them; but wilkins remained to see the whole ascent completed before he would leave the strand. distracted by the noise of the torrent, the dashing of the spray, and the terror lest the slippery stone or the supporting clump of grass should fail them, it was a fearful struggle for the timid women, and for mr. mayburn, quite as timid and much less light than they, to be raised from step to step, assisted always by arthur below and jack above; but finally they were placed in safety on the heights of the cataract. then jack waved his handkerchief, for his voice would have been inaudible, as a signal for wilkins to follow; and he, more accustomed than they to climbing, loosed and leisurely wound up the cord, as he sprang from rock to rock, till he joined the grateful and happy family. the first sentiment of all was thankfulness to god, poured forth in earnest prayer. their next feeling was curiosity to look upon a new, open country, after being so long imprisoned in the gloomy ravine below. they saw that the river was no longer a broad, navigable stream, but was flowing through many narrow channels from the east and south-east, which united above the cataract. an open and lovely glade lay before them, thinly wooded, and covered with tall grass, and flowers of the most brilliant dyes. birds of rare beauty and strange notes hovered about the rivulets, and the air was darkened with insects; but they saw no trace yet of man. far away to the south-east lay a gray line of mountains, towards which the wishes of all the anxious travellers turned. "that range of mountains must be our first aim, papa," said arthur. "thank god, we seem yet to be in a land of plenty; nor need we have any fear of destitution so long as we continue in a well-watered district. if you are now able to proceed, margaret, we must endeavor to bivouac on some spot less exposed to the rays of the sun and the observation of the natives than this. let us follow the nearest channel of the river; if we wish to diverge further south, it will not be difficult to cross it." a sharp twang startled mr. mayburn, and a beautiful bird fell at his feet. "just as i wished it, sir," said gerald. "i meant the bird to be laid at your feet. wasn't it a capital shot, hugh?" "lucky, at any rate, gerald," answered hugh. "well, papa, what bird is it?" "it is perfectly new to me, hugh," answered his father, "as, indeed, all the strange creation around me seems to be. the toes, like those of the _scansores_, are placed two forward, and two backward, to facilitate the running up trees, and in form it so much resembles our cuckoo, that doubtless it is the bird we have read of as the pheasant-cuckoo. see, there are more running among the grass, like pheasants--and hark how they _whirr_ as they take to flight, now that they have been startled by that mischievous boy." the pheasants were tempting game, and several brace were bagged before margaret could restrain the ardent sportsmen, and remonstrate on the wanton cruelty of destroying more than their necessities required. then, bending their course to a low hill, on which stood a wild nutmeg-tree, they saw that it was covered with beautiful white pigeons. on this spot a fire was made, and the pheasants prepared for cooking, and then spitted on slender peeled bamboos, which were set up with one end in the ground, round the fire. gerald would gladly have added to the feast by shooting some of the confiding pigeons, which continued to feed on the green fruits of the nutmeg-tree, without any fear of their dangerous neighbors; but even nurse reproved the boy for his destructive inclinations, declaring it would be very unlucky to shoot a white pigeon. though they hoped this resting-place would have proved pleasant, they soon found it would be impossible to remain near the water, so intensely vexatious was the plague of flies. thick clouds of these teasing creatures buzzed round, settling in black bunches on the meat; filling eyes, nose and mouth, and irritating the skin with their continual attempts to pierce it with their thin, tiny proboscis. the boys declared the flies were ten times worse than the mosquitos; and to escape these lilliputian foes, arthur decided that they should cross some of the narrow rills, which now ran wide apart, and deviate towards the south, where a rising ground promised to introduce them to new scenery. when they reached the hills, they found them steeper than they expected; but on ascending to the height, they were gratified to see before them a beautiful country. lofty trees adorned the plain, and high grass rose even to their shoulders, as they passed through it. on several spots, vast fragments of the sandstone-rock, grown over with beautiful flowering creepers, lay in picturesque confusion; and the eucalyptus, with its spicy flowers, the pandanus, loaded with fragrant blossoms, and the cabbage-palm, were also encircled by the parasitic plants which add such a grace to tropical scenery. wearied with forcing their way through the tall, sharp, wiry grass, they stopped before a high, broken rock which overhung and flung a shade over the spot they had selected for their resting-place. then the boys cleared the ground, by laboriously cutting down the long grass, which they spread to form beds, a luxury to which they were unaccustomed. "we'd better have fired it," said wilkins. "our bush-ranging chaps always sets it in a low; it saves trouble." "i should be grieved to destroy the luxuriant vegetation that god has spread over these plains," said mr. mayburn. "besides we could not calculate where such a conflagration might end." "little matter where it ended," answered the man. "there's lots of this stuff, such as it is; but ruth, lass, ye've gotten hold on a better sample." ruth usually released her unfortunate chickens at each resting-place, that they might have air, and seek food, and she had herself been running about for grubs, seeds, or any thing they could eat, and she now returned with a perfect sheaf of some kind of bearded grain, suspended on the ear by slender filaments like the oat, but still unripe. "this surely should be an edible grain," said mr. mayburn, "and will probably be ripe as early as november, in a climate which produces two harvests. how richly laden is each ear, and the straw cannot be less than six feet in length. i conclude it is an _anthistiria_. feed your fowls, ruth; the food is suitable, and happily abundant. had we but a mill to grind it, we might hope in due season to enjoy once more the blessing of bread." "there's not likely to be any mills handy hereabout," said wilkins; "but when folks is put to it, it's queer what shifts they can make. just hand us over a handful of that there corn, my lass." wilkins soon found two flat stones suited to his purpose, spread the shelled grains on the larger stone and bruised the soft corn into a paste, which he handed over to jenny, saying, "here's yer dough, mother! now see and bake us a damper, bush fashion; it's poor clammy stuff yet a bit, but a bad loaf's better nor no bread." then wilkins showed jenny that slovenly mode of bread-making, common even among the civilized colonists of australia, the product of which is a sort of pancake baked in the ashes. but this substitute for the staff of life was thankfully received by those who had been so long deprived of the genuine blessing; but the green paste was stringy and dry, and jenny proposed to blend a boiled potato with the next damper, to make it more like bread. "nevertheless," said arthur, "if we only boil it as a green vegetable, this acquisition will be an agreeable addition to our roast birds. suppose we each reap a bundle of the ears to carry onwards: at all events the grains will feed the fowls." the boys soon cut down a quantity of the heads of the corn, and early next morning they rubbed out the grains, with which they filled several bags, ruth herself collecting a store for the poultry. then, resolving to wait till the heat of the day was over before they marched on their journey, margaret employed herself in making useful bags of grass, while the young men sauntered about, observing the novelties around them, and procuring from one of the clear rivulets a large provision of fish for the day's consumption. "and see, margaret," said gerald, "would you not have been proud, in england, of such a magnificent bouquet as this," presenting to her a brilliant assemblage of flowers. "now, papa, come to our assistance," said margaret, "and name these 'illustrious strangers.' surely i scent among them our own delicious jasmine." "it certainly resembles the jasmine, as well in form, as in perfume," answered mr. mayburn. "yet, like all australian productions, it differs essentially from the species it resembles. we will, however, name it jasmine. this golden flower of the ranunculus race, might represent the butter-cup of our meadows, yet it certainly is not the butter-cup. and this might be a rose, with its slender stem, and pale-pink wax-like petals--is it not a _boronea_, arthur? this crimson flower resembles the sweet-pea, of which it has the scent, and the papillonaceous form. but it is vain to attempt to class, at once, a strange and marvellous new flora. well might dr. solander honor the first spot discovered of this lovely country with the name of botany bay, thus prophetically anticipating the rich harvests naturalists should reap in its wealth of plants. this is truly a tour of pleasure, my children, and i care not how long i linger on the flowery road." "if it were not for the flies and mosquitos, papa," added hugh, rubbing his tortured nose, which being rather prominent, was a favorite resort of the insects. "what an advantage it is, in this country, to have a snub nose!" said gerald. "oh! my boy, it is my turn to laugh now. but i say, arthur! wilkins! what is yon fellow? see, papa, what a splendid spectacle!" not twenty yards from where they stood, and on part of the ground they had cleared from the tall grass, they saw, with admiration mingled with fear, an immense bright yellow and brown serpent slowly winding among the low stubble. no one seemed to know exactly how to act on seeing this strange visitor, except gerald, who sprung forward, armed with a stout stick; but arthur forcibly held him back, and wilkins said,-- "let him be! let him be! ye'd best not mell on him. i ken his sneaking ways; he never bites; but he squeezes like a millstone. now then; he's after his own business. see what he's at." an elegant brownish-grey animal, which, though they now saw for the first time, they recognized at once, bounded from the grass; and while the boys were crying out in ecstacy, "the kangaroo! the kangaroo!" they saw the wily serpent raise itself, and envelope the terrified animal in its coils; and they knew well the doom of the poor kangaroo, for the embrace of its foe was certain death. "now come on, all on ye; we're safe enough now," cried wilkins; and all the young men, armed with sticks, and undeterred by the shrieks of the women, ran up to the animals, and attacked the serpent by striking the head with repeated blows. when, roused to defence, it began to uncoil itself from its victim, knives were produced; and with many wounds, they succeeded at length in putting an end to a creature at the very sight of which man instinctively shudders. "be sartin he's dead," said wilkins. "i'd niver trust them fellows; i've seen one on 'em march off two ways when he's been cut in two pieces. they do say they niver die outright. but blacky has a way to settle and keep him quiet: he just eats him." to eat a serpent was an exploit at which the civilized stomach revolted; and the creature was abandoned to take its chance of reviving to commit more destruction in the world, after mr. mayburn had examined it with as much interest as he could feel for a creature so abhorred. it was about twelve feet long, and certainly one of the boa family, but resembling more the boa of africa and asia, than that of america. mr. mayburn earnestly desired to preserve the skin; but any additional incumbrance in the long pilgrimage that lay before them was not to be thought of, and he reluctantly relinquished the idea. "i'd scorn to mell wi' such a foul beast," said wilkins, "for t' sake of his bonnie skin; but by yer leave, i'se uncoil him, 'cause, ye see, a bit of kangaroo meat will suit us as well as he. it's canny fair meat, specially about t' broad stern." the kangaroo, which was but a young one, not standing more than four feet in height, was extricated from the murderous grasp of the boa; but was almost flattened by the powerful pressure. the boys gathered round the strange animal with great curiosity, lost in admiration of its graceful form, powerful hind legs, and pretty small head. the long ears, divided upper lip, like that of the hare, long tapering tail, and remarkable pouch, in which a very young animal was found, were all remarked before it was skinned and turned over to the cooks. the skin was then washed, and spread to dry, to be converted into boots when those useful articles of clothing should be needed. before they set out, part of the kangaroo flesh was roasted, or rather broiled, to be in readiness for supper, and the rest of the meat carried off by the willing wilkins. then, delighted with the novelties of the day, they went on in the same direction as before, walking cheerfully along, uninterrupted by any alarm, through the wild and charming scenery, where bright skies, and birds and flowers, might have given a fanciful mind the idea of an arcadia. the sudden darkness of the tropics compelled them to rest at the foot of some steep hills covered with brushwood, and opening on more forest-like scenery than any they had yet passed. tiny rills trickled down the crevices in the hills, and the rich emerald green of the turf proclaimed a moist soil, and assured them they were yet far from the dreaded deserts. their night's rest was again painfully disturbed, for, though at a great distance, the peculiar _coo-ee_ of the natives was several times distinctly heard; nor would mr. mayburn and margaret venture to sleep till a watch was arranged, of two persons, who were instructed to converse loudly the whole time; for, according to the report of wilkins, the natives would never venture to attack a party who were prepared to receive them. "they'll be tracking us all along, master arthur," said wilkins, as he and arthur kept watch together. "that's their way. then they think to run down on us unawares, to pick, and steal, and murder, and eat us up into t' bargain, if they get a chance." "surely not, wilkins," answered arthur. "i know that the new zealanders were, in their original wild state, cannibals; but i never heard such an abominable character given of the australian aborigines." "if ye have to rove long about t' bush," answered the man, "ye'll come on many a picked bone that niver was that of a kangaroo or a 'possum. why, they'll not mind telling ye as how man's flesh is twice as tender as 'possum's. there's no dealing wi' 'em, master. they're just a mean lot. it were a bad job our losing them guns." "it was a loss, wilkins," said arthur; "but i should not feel that i had the same right to shoot a native that i had to shoot a kangaroo." "there's nought to choose atween 'em," replied wilkins, "but just this--we can make a good meal of a kangaroo, and a christian must be sore set afore he could stomach a black fellow." "but even a black man has a soul, wilkins," said arthur. "i question if these dogs have much of that," answered he; "and if they have oughts of soul, it's all given to him that's bad. lord help us, mr. arthur, they're all, as one may say, lost; like them creaturs as old master reads on, full of devils." "and yet those unhappy men, so possessed, you remember, wilkins," answered arthur, "were not lost beyond redemption. our blessed lord not only banished the evil spirits, but forgave the men their sins. so might these ignorant natives, if they were taught and received god's holy word, yet be saved." "i'se not set on gainsaying ye, mr. arthur, in that," said the man, "for i were nigh as bad as them mysel'; and is yet, for what i ken, if i'd a chance to fall back. i'd like not, if i could help it; now when i ken reet fra' wrong; and pray god keep me fra' black peter and his crew." "hark wilkins! did you hear a rustling?" asked arthur. "nay, but i tell you what i heared," replied he. "i heared them cockatoos flacker and cry out, on yon trees; and depend on't they hear a strange foot." "then they are better watchmen than we are," said arthur. "what shall we do, wilkins?" "just ye tell your folks not to be fleyed at nought," said he, "and we'll set them rogues off in no time." arthur warned margaret and his father not to be alarmed at any noise they might hear, and the other young men, roused at the report of an assault, were soon in the ranks. then, at a signal agreed, they raised their voices in a simultaneous halloo! that rang against the rocky hills. a loud rustling succeeded, and a dozen dark figures, visible in the moonlight, emerged from the bushes, and fled swiftly across the plain. "saved!" cried hugh: "for this time at least. but, i say, arthur, we must not sleep in the bush every night, or they'll catch us at last. i saw several fine roomy caves in the rocks as we came along. we must take possession of the next we fall in with, and then we shall only have the entrance to guard." "they held spears in their hands, i saw," said gerald; "i wonder why they did not send a few among us?" "they're ower sly for that, master gerald," said wilkins. "they'd like to come on us all asleep, and butcher us. now they'll dog us, day after day; but if we hold on steady-like, we'se wear 'em out at last." "if we could but put a good broad river between us," said jack, "we might feel safe. did you see that stringy bark tree just at hand, mr. arthur? i marked it in my mind, and if master hugh, and you, and master o'brien will help me, we will twist some long ropes, on our road to-morrow, and then, i fancy, if we came to a river we could not ford, we might contrive a ferry-boat." chapter xiii. rope-making.--the cavern of illustrations.--ruth at the water-pools.--victualling the fortress.--the blockade.--assault and battery.--bloodshed.--the close siege.--prospect of famine. mr. mayburn was uneasy till they set out next morning; for the thick bush-covered hill was a convenient spot for concealment. they left their sleeping-place, therefore, at the earliest dawn, and continued their progress, while the young men found several trees of the stringy bark; the strips of the bark, measuring twenty or thirty feet, were hanging from the trunk raggedly, but very conveniently for the purpose of the workmen, who collected a quantity of the rolls of bark, and carried it on their shoulders, till a singular isolated column of rock attracted them to examine it; and as it afforded a little shade, and stood in an open glade, where they need not fear hidden enemies, they rested at the foot of it, and eat their breakfast of kangaroo steaks. then jack, fixing short poles into the ground to tie the bark to, soon set all the youths to work to twist strong ropes of considerable length. they spent some hours in this labor, and completed so heavy a burden of ropes, that when they set out again they looked anxiously for an opportunity of relieving themselves by putting the ropes to profitable use. they directed their steps towards a rocky range before them, which held out a prospect of protection for the night; and bending under the weight of their burden, they were glad to reach the straggling, mountainous, sandstone rocks which, running east and west, interrupted their direct course. it was always easy in these ranges to find caves or hollow grottos, convenient for a retreat, and the bright moon showed them a low opening, which admitted them into a spacious and lofty cave. it was large enough to have contained fifty persons, dry and clean--for the floor was of fine sand; and when they had lighted a fire, they discovered that they were not the first who had inhabited the cave, for the walls were covered with rude, colored paintings of men and animals--the men and animals of australia. with great amusement and astonishment the boys looked on the kangaroo, the opossum, many curious lizards, and heads of men, colossal in size, and imperfect in execution, somewhat resembling the ambitious child's first attempts at high art. "i think i couldn't draw so good a kangaroo as that myself," said gerald; "but i could make something more like the head of a man. do look, margaret; that fellow has crimson hair and a green nose." "they have not, certainly," said mr. mayburn, "attained perfection in the art of coloring; nevertheless, the uninstructed men who could accomplish these drawings cannot be so deficient in abilities as we have been taught to believe these aborigines are. i wish we could, with safety to ourselves, hold intercourse with a small number of them. could it not be attempted, arthur?" "if they would approach us openly, we would endeavor to meet them amicably, my dear father," answered arthur; "but when they steal on us treacherously, we must conclude their intentions are hostile. even now we must prepare for defence; and though we might keep watch at the opening, i think we had better build it up." they soon secured the entrance with slabs of stone, and then eat their supper, and slept with less uneasiness than usual. "who has moved them stones?" asked wilkins, sharply, as, roused by the light streaming in, he sprung from the nook he had chosen for his lair. "it's that fidgety lass," answered jenny. "she's been scuttling about this hour, feeding her poultry, and setting things to rights as if we were living in a parlor; and then she roused me up to help her to make a bit of way to get out to fetch water. you see, wilkins, she's a hard-working lass, but it's her way to make a fuss." "a fuss, indeed!" replied he, indignantly; "and a nice fuss she would have made if she'd let a hundred black fellows in on us. halloo, jack! it would be as well if we were off to see after that unlucky sister of thine." the rest of the family were soon aware of ruth's errantry, but they did not expect she would be far from the cave, as the water was spread in pools and rills, abundantly, at the foot of the rocks. the next minute, however, they were startled by a succession of shrieks, and snatching up their weapons, the young men rushed out, and then saw, to their great vexation, ruth running wildly towards them, pursued by six of the natives, in their usual unclothed state; and it was plain their swift steps would soon overtake the affrighted girl, unless they were promptly checked. "shout as loud as ye like," cried wilkins, "but mind not to send a single arrow without hitting, or they'll not care a dump for us. see and aim to do some damage--d'ye hear?" the natives were yelling and waving their spears, and their opponents answered by hallooing and brandishing their glittering knives, at the sight of which the savages stopped suddenly, and looked anxiously round, as if expecting reinforcement; then discharging a volley of spears, they turned round and rapidly fled out of sight. ruth was left lying prostrate on the ground, and when jack got up to her, he found a spear had struck her on the shoulder, but fortunately stuck in her wide cloak, without injuring her, though her terror and distress were great. "they'll eat me up," she cried out. "they'll eat us all, jack; and, oh, what will jenny say? they've gotten my water-can!" in her great fear, the poor girl had thrown away the useful gourd-bottle--a serious loss; and gerald was intrusted to convey her back to the cave, while the rest went forward to the pools, in hopes of recovering the gourd and procuring water. the vessel was, happily, found, and filled with water, and the youths returned to the cave, where they found great alarm prevailing. "had we not better flee without delay?" asked mr. mayburn. arthur looked significantly at wilkins, and the man said,--"ay, ay, mr. arthur! ye have a head; ye can see a bit afore ye. why, master, a bonnie figure we should cut running ower yon bare grounds--men folks and women folks, all like a pack of scared rabbits, wi' a pack of a hundred or so of these naked black dogs at our heels." "but, my good man, if we stay here we shall be slain," said mr. mayburn, in great agitation. "no, no, dear papa," answered arthur. "i conclude that wilkins's plan is, that we should remain here, and hold our impregnable castle till the foe grows tired of the hopeless siege." "that's the best thing," said wilkins; "they're a set of stiff hands, and we'se be put to it to tire 'em out; but we'll try what we can do. and, i say, master, we must give a look round for stores; we'll never let 'em starve us out. it takes good rations to get up one's heart." "and if we have to be shut up some time," said margaret, much distressed, "we must have, especially, a supply of water." "in course, miss," answered wilkins; "that's a thing we cannot want, barring we had beer, which isn't to be had, more's the pity. let's see; if we'd a bit of a tub or barrel, we'd easy fill't now, afore they're back on us. nay, nay, jenny, woman; let that meat be just now, and bring us all your shells, or aught that'll hold water." the gourd was emptied into the large turtle-shell, and wilkins took it back to be refilled at the pools, the rest following with the largest of the mussel-shells; and as they went on, they carefully looked out for any available article of food that could be easily attained before the return of the enemy. the air was thronged with birds, and every tree was an aviary. they might soon have brought down a quantity with their arrows, but arthur urged on them the necessity of first obtaining the water. after they had filled all their water-vessels, they found they should only have a supply for two days, even if carefully husbanded. thankful even for this boon, they had yet time to shoot a dozen pheasants, before the _coo-ee_ of the natives, gradually getting nearer, made it necessary that they should seek the cave, and make ready their defences. their first care was to fortify strongly the opening which formed their entrance, and which they hoped was the only weak point. but as it was evident, from the paintings, that this cave was well known to the natives, it was expedient to search it thoroughly, lest there should be other outlets. many branches ran from the main cave, but all seemed equally impregnable; and the only openings were small gaps far above the ground, from which the decomposed sandstone had fallen, and lay scattered in fragments over the ground. there were traces of fires, showing that the cave had been previously inhabited, but no remains of fuel; and a few withered sticks that they had brought in the preceding day were all the provision they had made for cooking their food. "after all our wild and savage life," said hugh, "we are not yet come down to eat uncooked meat, i really think; and by your leave, captain arthur, we will make a sally to pick up sticks." "look through this cranny, hugh, and tell me if you think this is a time for throwing open our gates," said arthur. "i give in! i give in!" answered the boy. "look out, gerald; see what a swarm of dark wretches, all in earnest too, for they have sheaves of spears in the left hand, while the right hand is raised to do battle. keep back, ruth! you simpleton. you have certainly seen enough of these ugly monsters." "oh miss marget!" shrieked the girl, "they'll come in and eat us. stone walls is nought to 'em. they're not christian folks, they're spurrits! they 're skellingtons; i ken 'em by their bones. oh! send them back to their graves, master!" within thirty yards of the rock, and immediately before it, were gathered crowds of fierce savages; their dark skins marked with a white substance like pipe-clay, in fantastic figures; most of them were painted to represent skeletons. and while, with wild and demoniac yells, they were leaping and whirling round with graceful agility, they poised their spears, ready to cast them as soon as a victim appeared in sight. there was a painful expression of surprise and vexation on every face; and jack, usually so indulgent to his sister's foibles, could not help saying: "oh, ruth, lass! this is thy doing." "why, jack, honey!" sobbed she, "what could i think, when i seed that big grinning black face glouring at me fra' t' middle on a bush, and none nigh hand me: and oh! honey, i'd setten out afore i said my prayers. what could i do but just skirl and run? and i did it." "that you did, ruth, and no mistake," said o'brien. "but, after all, it's better to have our enemies before our face than at our back. will i send an arrow among them, arty?" "certainly not, gerald," answered arthur; "we may need all our arrows, and we had better not be the first to commence an aggression. if we had had plenty of powder and shot, i have no doubt we might have dispersed them without bloodshed; but i am loth to waste a single cartridge of our small store. what are they about now, hugh?" one tall savage had mounted a mass of rock about thirty yards from them; and now, with wonderful dexterity, he sent a spear whirling through the air directly through a small gap in the rock, about twenty feet from the ground. most fortunately, arthur had ordered the whole party to gather close to the entrance, and the weapon passed on one side of them, and falling upon a shell of water tilted it over. "good-for-nothing rascals!" cried jenny. "see what a mischief they've done." "be thankful, nurse," said arthur, "that we saw the intention of the fellow, and were able to escape the spear. we now know our weak points, and may keep out of harm's way." but gerald, who thought the first aggression was committed, no longer scrupled to draw his bow, and sent an arrow, which he had barbed with skill, into the shoulder of the warrior on the rock, with such force, that he was hurled to the ground. in an instant all his companions crowded around him; he was raised from the ground, and the whole party disappeared in the bush, with every symptom of terror. wilkins was in an ecstasy of delight. he patted gerald roughly on the back, saying, "that's the thing, my brave lad; ye're of the right sort; ye've let the rogues see what we can do. but if ye'd missed him we'd every soul been done. they'd have reckoned nought on us." "it was a rash act, gerald," said mr. mayburn; "but i hope the poor man is not seriously injured." wilkins made a grimace as he said, "them there arrows is made o' purpose to injer, master. they're a bit sharpish to bide when they bang in among a fellow's bones, and no doctor at hand to hack 'em out." "didn't i tell you, master gerald," said ruth, "that it were a sin and a shame to make them things as would rive folks' flesh?" "you are the girl that said that," answered gerald, wild with his exploit; "and weren't you right, ruth, _astore_! i meant them to _rive_; and see how the cowards have scampered off from them. couldn't we go out now, arthur? you know we want firewood." "do not be impatient, gerald," replied arthur, "we have fuel sufficient for one day, and we do not know how far our foes may have fled." "depend on't, mr. arthur," said wilkins, "there's not a bush or a rock we see but has its man. we'll have to make shift to live on what we have for a bit. they'll soon be trying another dodge." but though the usual _coo-ee_ rang through the distant woods, mingled with the soft low wailing of the voices of women, the people were not seen again during a day which seemed unusually long to the anxious prisoners. the women cooked the pheasants with the last firewood, while margaret filled a pillow-cover with the feathers for her father's head; but they had all become so accustomed to the hard earth, or at best to a bed of wiry grass, that even mr. mayburn regarded this pillow as a useless luxury, and an undesirable addition to the baggage, which rendered their journey so tedious. "i will undertake to carry the light pillow," said margaret, "and i trust we may again meet with a river to lighten the toil of our pilgrimage." "if we found a wagon drawn by oxen, like them mr. deverell bought," said jenny, "it would be fitter for my master and you, miss marget." "and a few good horses for the rest of us, nurse," said hugh; "but say what you will, papa, of the beauty and excellence of this new country, it is a great vexation that there are no beasts of burden. neither elephant nor camel; not even a llama or a quagga which may be reduced to servitude. no four-footed creature have we yet seen but the kangaroo; and one never read, even in the fairy tales, of a man hopping along, mounted on a kangaroo." "nothing for it but trudging, hugh," said gerald, "unless we could meet with an ostrich to tame." "i fear," replied mr. mayburn, "that the emu, which is the ostrich of australia, is not formed for carrying burdens, nor tractable enough to submit to the dominion of man. i am anxious to see the bird, though i fear we may obtain no advantage from meeting with it." in rambling among the caves to fill up the tedious hours, the boys discovered, in a distant branch cavern, a heap of dry wood which had fallen through an opening in the rock, at least fifty feet above them. if this opening were even known to the natives, it could not avail them as a means of descent to the cave, and, much to the mortification of the adventurous boys, it was totally inaccessible from the interior. "but we can comfort nurse's heart," said hugh, "by the report that we have found fuel enough for an english winter. and see, gerald, some of these strong straight sticks will make us a sheaf of arrows, and we can barb them with the fish-bones we preserved. here's our work for the day." it was a comfort to margaret to have the two most restless of the party quietly employed; though mr. mayburn objected to the barbing of the arrows, so unnecessary for destroying birds, so cruel if meant for the savages. wilkins sat down to make a pair of shoes of the skin of the kangaroo, and jack made more ropes with the remains of the stringy bark. and thus the day of anxiety passed without more alarm. another morning dawned through the chinks of the rocky walls, and for some time all was so still, that they began to hope the natives had withdrawn; but before the middle of the day the whole troop presented themselves so suddenly, that they were close to the rocks, and thus, secure from the arrows of the besieged, before they could prevent their approach. they had come armed with heavy clubs, with which they began violently to batter the walled entrance. this was a formidable mode of attack, and the only mode of defence was to accumulate more stones to strengthen the barrier. still the men persevered, fresh parties relieving those who were tired; but the defence seemed already shaking; while margaret, always resolute in difficulties, had herself almost lost the power of consoling her more timid father. wilkins seemed watching for an opportunity, placed before a narrow crevice in the rock, which was shaded outside by brush, and suddenly they saw him plunge his long knife through the opening against which he had seen one of the natives leaning. the knife entered the back of the man, who uttered a groan, and fell. he was immediately surrounded by the rest, who examined the wound, and then gazed round, apparently unable to comprehend the nature of this attack from an invisible enemy. some of the men fled at once, many of them pierced by the arrows the young men sent after them, while others remained to bear away, with care and tenderness, the bleeding body of their companion, who appeared to be mortally wounded. these humane men were respected, even by their opponents, and permitted to retire unmolested; and for the remainder of the day, except for the sounds of mourning from the native women, which, however, gradually became more faint and distant, all continued still and peaceful. the next morning broke on the besieged party with the melancholy conviction that their fortress was no longer tenable. the spring was already advanced, the air had become hot and parching, and the water was exhausted. "we must endeavor, under any circumstances," said arthur, "to procure water, or we must die. i propose that three of us should set out to the nearest pool for a supply, leaving the rest to guard the entrance; and if we are successful, to re-admit us. if the savages should attack and overcome us, then it will be the duty of those left here to close the barrier, leaving us to our fate, and to use every exertion in their power to protect and save the feeble." sad as was this necessity, it was imperative, and now the question was, who were to have the honor of joining the "forlorn hope," as hugh termed the expedition. arthur decided that the party should consist of hugh, wilkins, and himself. jack was too useful to be risked, gerald too rash to be trusted. arthur would not even take with him the valuable rifle, their prime reliance, but left it in the charge of jack. then, with bows and arrows slung over their backs, and such water-vessels as they could command in their hands, they cautiously went out, leaving orders to the garrison, that each man should stand before his slab of stone, to be ready to replace it before the opening, if necessary. they reached the pool without interruption, satisfied their own thirst, filled the vessels, and then, with joy and triumph, turned homewards. but before they had proceeded many yards, a loud "_coo-ee_," not far from them, proved they had not escaped notice. the cry was echoed from many distant spots, and the water-carriers redoubled their speed, till a spear, whizzing close to the ear of wilkins, induced arthur to call a halt. they faced round, set down their water-buckets, and handled their bows. they saw that they were pursued by about a dozen men, who were thirty or forty yards behind them, amongst whom they discharged arrows, two or three times in rapid succession, with some effect, it would seem, from the confusion and irresolution which they observed had taken place among the natives; of which they took advantage, and snatching up their valuable burdens, they reached the cave before the savages rallied, and, being joined by a reinforcement, were quickly following them. "up with the defences," cried arthur, breathlessly. "and now, thank god! we shall be able to hold out two or three days longer." "then we shall have to live on potatoes and these few green oats," said jenny, "for we have only six pheasants left, and they spoil fast in this hot place. but, to be sure, there's them greedy hens, that can eat as much as a man, and are no good, unless we eat them." "oh no, jenny, please don't!" cried ruth. "see, here's six eggs they've laid; isn't that some good? poor bit things! oh, miss marget, dinnot let 'em be killed!" margaret willingly granted the fowls their lives, the eggs being considered equivalent to the oats the animals consumed; and she begged jenny to have more trust in god, who had till now continued to supply their "daily bread." chapter xiv. rambles through the caves.--fairy bower.--a rough path to freedom.--preparations for flight.--the use of the rifle.--a case of conscience.--departure.--travelling among the bogs.--a view of the river.--making an axe.--a new plant. after they had dined with strict economy, and ascertained that their savage foes had for the present withdrawn into the bush, they resumed their usual occupations. hugh and gerald, impatient under their confinement, chose to ramble through the mazy windings of the various hollows which existed in the sandstone rock, searching for a long time in vain for novelty or adventure; at length they wound along a branch passage, which terminated, to their astonishment, in a wall, hung, like a bower, with garlands of flowery creeping plants, from which the notes of various birds greeted the ears of the delighted boys. "sure enough, hugh, this is fairy bower," said gerald. "it is open to the day," said hugh, "and we must find out what lies beyond it." a slab of rock, which had fallen inwards, lay close to the wall; it was six feet in height, but by making a staircase of other fragments which were lying round, they mounted the fallen slab, and putting aside the leafy curtains which hid the opening, they looked out on a complete wilderness of rocky masses and green thickets, which appeared at once impervious and interminable. the temptation to be once more under the open sky could not be resisted, and without much difficulty the boys descended among the matted bushes. "we will follow out the adventure," said gerald, "till we reach the enchanted castle. had we not better cut some spears as we make our way, that we may be prepared to slay the dragons?" "we had better have had one of jack's balls of cord," replied hugh, "that we might have tied one end here before we set out, or we shall never be able to find our way back through such a labyrinth." "couldn't we drop pebbles, as hop-o'-my-thumb did?" asked gerald. "where are we to get the pebbles?" answered hugh, "and how could we find them again, man, among this brush? but what is this white, chalky-looking material by the pool? i cannot help thinking it must be the clay which the savages use for painting their bodies. let us get some; i have a use for it." they collected some of this moist pipe-clay on a large leaf, and climbing again to the opening, they cut away a portion of the creepers to uncover the rock, upon which they marked, as high as they could reach, a large white cross. "we cannot miss that holy and propitious sign," said hugh, "so let us venture forward, gerald. it is such a charming novelty to be able to walk fearlessly in the open air. you observe we are now facing the south; so if we can discover an outlet from this thicket, we shall be on the direct track to continue our journey." it was not easy, however, to preserve any direct course through the tangled brake, which was occasionally broken by patches of fine grass and rills of water, and diversified by tall trees; the various kinds of eucalyptus, the wild nutmeg with its spicy odor, and the acacia covered with golden blossoms, the whole being mingled with masses of rock fallen from the regular range, broken into fragments and scattered far and wide; some grown over with the vegetation of years, and others freshly rent from the soft decaying mountains. threading their way through this lovely wilderness, not forgetting to look back frequently at their guiding signal, the boys now hailed with pleasure and admiration the sight of thousands of birds springing from their nests, while each, in its own peculiar language, seemed to deprecate the intrusion of the presumptuous strangers. "won't we carry back birds and eggs enough to victual the fortress for a week!" said gerald. "no need for that, gerald," answered hugh, "when we have the preserve in our own private grounds. we can just bag a brace or two, to prove the truth to our people. but, now, my boy, we must try to find the end of this wonderful maze--who knows but what it may lead to liberty?" "it is a rough road anyhow," said gerald. but they struggled through thick bushes, leaped over rocks, or waded through pools or rills for more than an hour, and then, fearful of alarming their friends, they proposed to return. but just as they had made this resolve, hugh declared that he heard the sound of rolling water, and they continued their toilsome exertions till they reached at length the side of a rapid river, which poured through a narrow gorge in the mountains, and flowed towards the west. the river seemed about fifty yards across, and too deep to be forded; the banks were overgrown with tall bamboos mingled with fine rushes; but beyond the south banks, the country appeared more open. "if we could only cross this river," said hugh, "we should completely escape from those cowardly blacks, who have, i believe, no canoes. we will bring jack here; he can find bark in abundance for his use, and if we help him, i have no doubt he can make a canoe that will carry us across. at any rate, let us take him a piece of the bark to tempt him to come." they soon stripped from the stem a piece of flexible bark, and, with some of the fibres of the stringy bark, they tied this into a bag, which they filled, as they returned, with eggs and four brace of good-sized young pheasants. they kept in the track they had made in coming, and having the white cross before them as a guide, they had much less difficulty in their homeward course than they expected, and in very great spirits presented themselves before their greatly anxious friends. "we have been out on a sporting expedition," said gerald, flinging down the birds. "what do you think of our game-bag, general arthur?" "i must think that you have been very rash and imprudent," answered arthur. "i conclude, boys, that you have found some other outlet from the cave; but how could you risk discovery for the sake of these birds?" "we have discovered an outlet," replied hugh; "but i think even margaret and my father will agree that there was no risk, when they see the place. now you must all listen to our wonderful adventure." they did listen with great pleasure and thankfulness. the earnest desire of every heart was to escape from the constant dogged and depressing pursuit of their savage and artful foes, and the account of the unsuspected path to the river filled them with the hopes which they had nearly abandoned. "can we not set out now?" asked mr. mayburn eagerly. "certainly not, my father," answered arthur. "it will first be necessary that we have some means arranged for crossing the river; besides, the day is too far advanced for us to make such an important movement before night; and we must try to divert the suspicions of the savages from our flight, by letting them believe we still intend to hold the fortress." "if you're not knocked up, master hugh," said jack, "i should like well to see with my own eyes what there is to do, and whether i can do it or not. would you mind guiding me; and wilkins, may be, will go with us, to help me to carry down my ropes?" wilkins was always ready and willing; he shouldered a coil of rope, and the two unwearied boys, followed by him and jack, set out to show their marvellous discovery to the two practical men, who looked round at the charming wilderness with an eye to the usefulness rather than to the beauty of all they saw. "birds is poor feeding, and eggs is worse," said wilkins; "but if we iver get free fra' them dowly stone walls, we'se see if we can't get a shot at them kangaroos. ay, ay! master hugh, any sky over head's better nor a jail; not but i've been shut in worse prisons nor yon, god forgive me; but ye see i were reet sarved then. but it is aggravatin, i say, to bar oneself up wi' one's own will like." "see here, wilkins," exclaimed jack; "what a grand stock of all kinds of wood, if we had but a few good tools. i noticed that a black fellow that was fighting yesterday had a capital axe in his hand; it seemed to be made of a sort of flint stone, and i only wish we could meet with a piece fit for such a job." "it's not a time to be felling trees," replied wilkins, "when we've a troop of black rogues at our heels. now come, we're here, it seems, at t' river they telled on, and a canny river it is; if we can manage to put it atween us and them, we'se have a clear coast, i reckon; for they always keep at their own side." "then help me to bark this tree," said jack; "and if we cannot manage a canoe, we'll try a ferry-boat." the tree was barked in one long sheet, the ends were tied up with cords, and this was jack's extempore canoe. but as soon as it was hastily completed, they were compelled to speed homeward to prevent themselves being bewildered in the darkness; and even now, but for the visible white cross, they would have been unable to distinguish the entrance. "now, nurse, darling," cried gerald, dancing round jenny, "pack up your pots and pans and bundles, and you, ruth, call up your precious chicks, and make ready. then, at daybreak, when you hear me whistle the _réveille_, fall into your ranks, to march." "we do not know how far the ground beyond the wilderness may be exposed," said arthur, "and we had better look out before we leave in the morning, to observe if all continues still." "that's all just as it ought, mr. arthur," said wilkins; "ye're a sharp chap at a drill. and we'd as well puzzle 'em a bit, and rattle out a few arrows just afore we start, to make 'em believe we mean to haud our own." in the morning, when all was ready for setting out, and they had laid the foundation of a good breakfast, the scream of ruth, who had climbed to an aperture to obtain a look-out, announced that the objects of her antipathy were in sight. all flocked to the crevices to ascertain what they had to fear, and observed that a number of the natives were laden with bundles of dry wood, which they had piled before the rock, and made up a fire, having apparently chosen to establish themselves there, and keep a perpetual watch, and yet keep too close to the rock to be in danger from the arrows of the besieged. this was vexatious, and wilkins said,--"ye're tied to waste a shot on 'em, or here they'll sit and watch and listen, and sure enough they'll make out we're away, if they hear nought stirring inside, and they'll be off to stop us. look at yon fellow, painted red, quavering about, and banging t' stones wi' his axe. that's t' chap as sent his spear close to my ears, and i owe him yet for that job. just let me have a chance, mr. arthur. i ken ye're all soft-hearted, so i'se not kill him outright." arthur was very reluctant to waste one cartridge or spill one drop of blood; but the fierce gestures of the powerful savage, and his violent blows against the walled entrance, rendered him a dangerous antagonist; and on the promise of wilkins that he would not mortally wound the man, arthur resigned the loaded rifle to one he knew to be well skilled in fire-arms. wilkins carefully selected his position and his time, and when the savage raised his arm for the stroke, he fired into his shoulder. with a horrible yell, the man threw down the axe, and fell upon his face. in a moment the whole troop, with cries of terror, were flying towards the woods; two only remaining, who hastily lifted and carried away the wounded man, with loud wailings. "there! we'se be clear on 'em for one bit," said wilkins. "now's our time to be off." "but i should like much to have the axe," said jack. "surely, mr. arthur, there could be no harm in our taking the axe." "and sure we will take it," exclaimed gerald. "all fair, you know, general; the spoils of battle. the axe we may consider as prize-money." "what does papa say? i leave the affairs of justice to him," said arthur, smiling. "then, i think," said mr. mayburn, deliberately--"margaret, tell me if i am right--i think we, as christians, should set a bad example to heathens, if we carried off their property." jack sighed, as he looked wistfully at the axe through an opening in the rock, and said,--"it is tied to the handle with the stringy-bark, and then it seems fixed with gum. i'm sure i could manage it, mr. arthur, if we could only meet with the right stone; but this soft sandy rock is good for nothing." but now no more time was to be wasted. all marched along, more or less laden, headed by the two proud pioneers, and with their various packages were safely got through the opening, and, to their great joy, once more tasted the blessing of fresh air. the pleasure of mr. mayburn, among the variety of strange birds, was unbounded; and he was with difficulty prevailed on to move forwards, by the promise that, under more favorable circumstances, they would all assist him in obtaining specimens of the curious new species. but now expedition was prudent, and even imperative, and over the twice-trodden track they moved silently and speedily till they reached the river. there lay the frail bark jack had contrived for crossing the river, and to each end of which he now attached one of his long coils of cord. then, taking up two pieces of bark he had prepared for paddles, he called out,--"now, master hugh, just take hold of the coil at the prow; step in, and we'll try her. mr. arthur and wilkins must run out the stern-rope, and when we're over, miss need have no fear." hugh, pleased to be selected for the first enterprise, leaped upon the slender canoe, and assisted jack to paddle it across the rapid river; and when they safely reached the reedy bank, they unrolled their rope and secured the end, allowing the bark to be drawn back for margaret, who was the first single passenger. she accomplished her short voyage happily, and, one at a time, the party were ferried over, bringing their packages with them. then the ropes were cut away to be preserved, and the light boat was suffered to drift down the stream; while the thankful, emancipated prisoners forced their way through the jungle of reeds and canes, and saw before them a bright-green luxuriant plain, spreading as far as the eye could reach. "musha!" cried the irish o'brien, laughing joyfully. "sure i have come on my own dear native bogs! the emerald plains of old hibernia. no want of water now, my boys! don't i hear it trickling beneath that bright turf, and won't we soak our boots well, my dears?" "they're bogs, sure enough," said wilkins, "and there's nought for it but making a run. slow and sure would be all wrong here, mr. arthur, where, if ye don't skip, ye must sink. here, give me hold of yer hand, old woman, and lope on wi' me." jenny, to whom this invitation was addressed, was not accustomed to _lope_; but, half dragged and half lifted by wilkins, she followed the rest, who were plunging, wading, running, or leaping, from one dry spot to another, over the luxuriant reedy marsh. the ground was thronged with thousands of wild fowls, especially with numbers of a graceful, bright-colored bird of the crane species, very attractive to mr. mayburn. clouds of troublesome insects filled the air; but life and liberty were in view, and small annoyances were disregarded; and, in the strength of their substantial breakfast, the travellers pursued their toilsome course across the marshy ground, till towards the end of the day, completely worn out, they cast themselves down to rest on the side of a firm hillock, beneath the shade of a lofty spreading tree, which had the rare quality, in australia, of a thick foliage of large leaves, and seemed to be a species of chestnut. then the boys were put in requisition, and wild ducks procured for supper; and, after this needful refreshment, they united in thanks to god for their escape, and for the plenty that surrounded them, in a region where the air was pure and healthy, and the animals innocuous; and this night they slept in the open air, fearless of disturbance. next morning they proceeded on their way, after the boys had cut a strong staff for each traveller; likening themselves to a party of pilgrims with their long crooks. still the same luxuriant vegetation lay before them, and still they continued the same arduous toiling over the soft yielding soil, in which every footstep was buried; but their stout staves and cheerful spirits carried them on for hours. they continually saw the kangaroo bounding over the ground, and the active opossum running up the tall gum-tree, or the pandanus, and were sorely tempted to pursue them. "but only reflect, boys," said arthur, "on the imprudence of attempting to chase or shoot these animals now. it would be impossible for us to carry more than our usual burdens over this heavy ground. wait till we arrive at our resting-place; and in the profusion of food around us, i trust we shall not want. but observe, papa, we no longer see the range of sandstone hills lying to the east: we are certainly entering a new region. that ridge before us will probably lead us from these tedious marshes. we must try to toil up the ascent before we rest." it was really a toil, in the heated atmosphere, to climb the bush-encumbered hills; but on reaching the summit, they were repaid by looking down on a lovely valley. it was on a lower level than that they had left, dotted over with green hills, and adorned with a forest-like scattering of majestic trees, beneath which the grass was as rich as that of a cultivated meadow, and enamelled with brilliant flowers; while the scented jasmine blossoms clung round the taller trees, and filled the air with perfume. parrots of every bright color played in the sunbeams, chattering in the most distracting manner; while at intervals the discordance of their harsh cries was broken by the clear, bell-like notes of a musical warbler. numerous silver streams might be seen at a distance, threading the plains, all on their way, arthur observed, to swell some large river. "which we shall have to cross, most likely," said hugh; "so, jack, we must look about for materials for canoes again." "i am almost afraid to suggest it," said mr. mayburn; "but why should we leave this lovely, tranquil valley? why should we not erect a simple hut, and dwell here in peace, abundance, and contentment, without toil and without care? what say you, margaret?" "would it not be an idle and useless existence, papa?" answered she. "with not even wild beasts to hunt," added gerald. "no books to read, or horses to ride," said hugh, sadly. "ay, it would be dowly enough a bit at first," said wilkins, "and then them rogues would somehow make us out, and lead us a bonnie life." "and it isn't fit, master," said nurse, indignantly, "that decent women, let alone miss margaret, should live their lives among heathens without a rag to their backs. here's poor ruth breaking her heart to think of them savages." "i believe, papa," said arthur, laughing, "the votes are against your resolution. for my own part, i cannot believe this rich and well-watered spot should be neglected by the natives. depend on it, there are tribes not far distant, that might annoy us if we were stationary, though i trust we may not meet with many so ferocious as our last acquaintances." "i am wrong, my son," replied mr. mayburn. "i know my own weakness of judgment, and you see i have grace to acknowledge my blunder." "we will descend into the valley now," said arthur, "and have a pleasant rest among this rich scenery. i hope that in a few days more we may reach some important river, which, if we can cross, we may at all events be satisfied that we have left our old enemies behind us, though we cannot tell what new ones we may encounter." after many days' pleasant travelling over the well-watered and plentiful plains, they passed over a succession of green ridges, from the highest of which they had a view of a large river, certainly too wide to be crossed by jack's bark ferry-boat; and now speculations were awakened of boats, canoes, and easy voyaging. "i'm sure you could make a bark canoe, jack," said hugh, "that might be paddled well enough on a fair open river like that. let us push forward and reconnoitre our chances of changing trudging for voyaging." "i'd have ye look about ye," said wilkins, "and mind yer steps. yon's just t' place for 'em to gather. there'll be fish, and slugs, and snakes, and all that sort of varmint. why, bless ye, jenny, woman, ye needn't make such a face; i've seen 'em gobbling for hours at worms and grubs, and then they'll suck lots of stuff out of them gum-trees. but i say, what's yon black bit?" the "black bit" was a circle where a fire had been made not long before; near the scorched spot lay half-finished spears, headed with sharp hard stones, of which some large slabs were piled near the place, and a finished axe made from the same flint-like stone. "i will not take their axe, mr. arthur," said jack, "because they have manufactured it, and of course it is property like; but stones are nothing but stones all the world over, and free to anybody. so if you'll wait i'll sit down now and try to make an axe the model of that, and it will be a shame if i cannot improve on it." he was not denied the trial, and the result was, that jack's axe was a capital tool. hugh had cut a handle from one tree, while gerald collected the gum oozing from another into a mussel-shell, and jack selected the stone, and sharpened the edge on a block of sandstone, for the blade. then cutting a cleft in the handle, he inserted and tied the blade first, covering the joining with gum, and finally placing it in the sun to dry. this success induced him to make a second axe, while the whole party sat down to watch the interesting work. but the uneasiness of mr. mayburn compelled them at length to leave a spot which was evidently a haunt of the natives. they continued to walk towards the river over rich undulating ground covered with soft grass and the wild oats, the spring crop of which was here nearly ripe, and was eagerly reaped to increase the provision store. then they came on a swampy soil, which had been apparently overflowed by the river after the rains, and which was grown over by a perfect forest of mangroves, thickly peopled by mosquitos. it was with difficulty they could force their way through the trees to the river, which they judged to be about three hundred yards across, flowing towards the west, and certainly too deep to be forded. high cliffs shut out all view of the country on the opposite bank; and, much as it would have been desirable, arthur feared they would not be able to cross it except in canoes. "i think it would be still better to sail up it," said hugh. "we have no canoes ready for such a purpose," answered arthur, "nor can we yet begin to make one till our axes are sufficiently hardened to use with safety. i propose that we should draw back beyond the marshy ground, and follow up the course of the stream for one day at least. we can all be at work collecting materials for boats." any thing that gave them employment was acceptable to the boys, and they scampered from one tree to another to examine the quality or try to discover the species. the names they did not know, but were content to distinguish the varieties as palm, oak, ash, cedar, or box, as they fancied they resembled those well-known trees. there were also the various gum-trees, the cabbage-palm, and a new and interesting object to mr. mayburn, which he recognized from description,--the grass-tree, _xanthorrhoea arborea_, the rough stem of which was ten feet in height and about two feet in circumference, and which terminated in a palm-tree form, with a cluster of long grass-like foliage drooping gracefully; while from the midst of the cluster sprang a single stamen of ten feet in height. mingled with the loftier trees was a sort of shrub, called by wilkins the _tea shrub_, the leaves of which, he told them, were used in the colony as tea "by them as liked such wishwash;" and as jenny and ruth declared that they especially did like this "wishwash," they gathered a quantity of the leaves to make the experiment of its virtues. "it certainly belongs to a family of plants," said mr. mayburn, "which are all-important to the comfort and health of man; and though i do not know the species, i should judge that an infusion of these leaves would produce a wholesome, and probably an agreeable, beverage. the delicate white flowers are not unlike those of the tea-plant, certainly. but pray, nurse, do not load yourself with too great a burden of the leaves, for the shrub seems abundant, and we have already too much to carry in this burning climate." chapter xv. the tea-shrub.--another canoe.--a skirmish with the natives.--wounded heroes.--an attempt at voyaging.--a field of battle.--the widowed jin.--wilkins's sorrows.--baldabella in society.--the voyage resumed. "when are we to dine--or sup, rather--commander?" said hugh; "i am so famished, that i could eat one of those noisy cockatoos half-cooked, and margaret looks very pale and weary." "we must try to reach one of those green hills before us," said arthur; "we shall there be pretty certain to meet with some cave or hollow, where we can at least, stow our luggage; and then our cares and our sleep will be lighter; and as we go along, we will plunder some nests, that margaret may have eggs for her supper." they took as many eggs and young birds as they required, and went on till they found, among the hills, a hollow, capacious enough for a night's lodging, and here they made a fire to cook the birds and to boil the tea in a large mussel-shell. ruth bemoaned again her awkwardness in breaking the tea-cups; for now they had to sip the infusion of leaves from cockle-shells. wilkins declined the luxury; but the rest enjoyed it, and declared that it not only had the flavor of tea, but even of tea with sugar, which was an inestimable advantage. "the plant is certainly saccharine," pronounced mr. mayburn. "if it had only been lacteal too," said hugh, "we might have had a perfect cup of tea; but, papa, don't you think it has a little of the aroma of the camomile tea with which nurse used to vex us after the christmas feasts?" "it is certainly not the genuine tea," answered mr. mayburn, "the peculiar _théa_ of china; but, doubtless, custom, would reconcile us to its peculiar flavor. we are surrounded with blessings, my children; and, above all, have reason to be thankful for this sweet tranquillity." but, just as he spoke, a distant _coo-ee_ from the woods proclaimed that they were not out of the reach of the usual cares of life; and they hastily extinguished the fire and retired into the rocky shelter, trusting that the darkness would prevent any discovery. as soon as the daylight permitted him, jack commenced to make the canoes, which the dangerous vicinity of the natives rendered immediately necessary. he roused his young masters, and hugh and gerald readily agreed to assist him; while arthur made his way through the marsh to the side of the river, to select a convenient place for crossing it. but he could see no possibility of landing on the opposite side, which was guarded by perpendicular cliffs; and with much uneasiness he proceeded up the river in hopes of seeing an opening, to which they might venture to cross. but after walking some distance, he thought it best to return to the family, to propose that they should take a hasty breakfast, and then move at once higher up the river, with watchfulness and caution, till they found the south banks more favorable for their attempt. there was no time to prepare tea, to the disappointment of the women: cold pheasant and cockatoo formed the breakfast. then every one shouldered his burden, and the half-finished canoe was carried off, to be completed under more favorable circumstances. they had walked without interruption for about two miles, when margaret observed to her brother arthur, that an opening in the mangrove belt, that ran along the banks of the river, would allow them to pass through, and afford them a safer and more advantageous track than their present exposed road. they could then select at once a shallow ford, or a flat strand, on the opposite banks, to facilitate their crossing. "let us hasten over the swamp," said she, "and secure this important advantage. dear papa is in continual alarm on these open plains, and i am quite losing my usual courage." but as they drew near the opening to the water, arthur, always thoughtful, felt a distrust of this singular interruption of the close entangled belt of the river. "see here, margaret," said he. "beneath the roots of this mangrove you have a perfect leafy arbor, with walls of brilliant and fragrant creepers. in this pleasant bower i propose that we should leave you and your maidens, my father, and all our property, while i lead my brave little band forward to reconnoitre before we proceed farther." the tears stood in the eyes of the affectionate sister as she submitted to this prudent arrangement, and saw her dearly-loved brothers and their faithful attendants prepare to set out on this service of danger. "you can keep ruth tied to one of these root columns," said gerald, "and gag her if she opens her mouth for a scream." then making a grimace at the trembling girl, the laughing youth followed his friends. "gerald is not in earnest, my poor girl," said mr. mayburn; "but it is nevertheless important--nay, it is even imperative--that you should preserve absolute silence and immobility." "that is, ruth," said margaret, interpreting the order, "you must sit quite still and hold your tongue, whatever may happen." the little band marched on till they came to the opening of the road, and they now saw that the trees had been burned down, and the space purposely cleared. this was a startling sight, and before they could determine whether they should retreat or go forward, two natives appeared, approaching from the river-side, who no sooner set eyes on the formidable strangers, than they turned back hastily, and fled out of sight. "let us be prepared for defence," said arthur; "but, if possible, we will meet them amicably. we will stand abreast in a line, and look as bold as we can." loud yells were now heard, and soon a number of men confronted the small band, armed, as usual, with spears and throwing-sticks. they were apparently much excited, though not painted for war. arthur held out a green bough, and made friendly signs to them, continuing slowly to approach with his companions. for a minute or two the savages seemed struck dumb and motionless with astonishment; then at once, they resumed their yells, leaping and whirling their spears in a threatening manner. still undeterred in their wish for peace, the bold youths walked forward till a spear flew amongst them and wounded wilkins in the shoulder; who then rushed forward, uttering a loud execration, and, with a huge club he carried, struck the man who had thrown the spear senseless to the ground. with frightful cries the natives flung more spears, while two of them seized wilkins; but he shook them off, as if they had been infants, and a volley of arrows from his friends directed the attention of the assailants from him; for every arrow had done execution. wilkins then drew back into the ranks and cried out, "the rifle, sir! the rifle i say, or we're all dead men!" there could indeed be no hesitation now, and arthur fired one of his barrels, intending the charge to pass over the heads of the enemy; but one tall savage, who was leaping at the moment, received the shot in his cheek and head, and fell back into the arms of his companions, who bore him off with dismal lamentations, and the rest followed hastily, carrying away the senseless body of the man struck down by wilkins. they saw the savages force their way among the mangroves higher up the river, and flee to the hills at the north; and, confident that they were at present in safety, arthur anxiously reviewed his forces. wilkins looked very pale, and the spear was still sticking in his shoulder. hugh was stretching out a bloody hand, grazed somewhat severely, while gerald was waving triumphantly a large sombrero hat, woven of rushes by margaret, and which now bore the noble crest of a spear which had pierced, and carried it from his head, without injuring him. "sure, and won't the lady margaret bestow her glove on me," cried the wild boy, "when she sees the honors i have brought away upon my knightly helmet?" "it's been a close shave, young fellow," grumbled wilkins, as he succeeded with a groan, in drawing out the spear, which was followed by such a flow of blood, that arthur thought it expedient to send the two boys with him to margaret, that his wound might be dressed; while jack and he hastily surveyed the field for which the party had fought and bled. a wide cleared space, sloping gradually to the river, was covered with various articles hastily abandoned. clubs, boomerangs, heaps of wild oats, with shells of the fresh-water mussel, and bones of fish. large sheets of bark were placed round the spot, lined with grass, and apparently used as beds. on these jack cast a longing eye and said, "bark is cheap enough for them that have arms and knives, mr. arthur, and these come quite convenient for our boats just now; and no harm at all, i think." "well, jack," answered arthur, "i think my father's scruples would not oppose such an appropriation. but can we cross at once? there seems a tolerable landing-place nearly opposite." "we must get the canoes ready for launching as fast as we can," replied jack; "for we cannot do better than cross, to get out of the way of those fellows, who will be sure to come back for their things. i'll just borrow this handy axe a bit: we can leave it behind us when we go." jack did not lose time; two of the bark beds were nearly transformed into canoes by the time that arthur had gone to the mangrove bower and brought up all the party, with the unfinished canoe and the luggage. wilkins had his arm in a sling; but, though he certainly was suffering much, he made light of his wound, and hugh had his hand bound up. "this is a bad job, mr. arthur, for two to be laid off work when we're so sharp set," said wilkins. "i say, master, ye'll be forced to lend a hand," addressing mr. mayburn. "my good man," replied he, "i am willing to undertake any labor suited to my capacity; but i fear that i am but an indifferent mechanic." hugh and gerald laughed heartily at the idea of papa with a hammer or an axe in his hand. "nay, nay, master," continued wilkins, "ye'll turn out a poor hand wi' yer tools, i reckon; but we'll learn ye to paddle these floats. i'se be fit for a bit work, 'cause, ye see, i've gettin my right arm; but that poor lad's quite laid off wi' his right hand torn. gather up some of them bits of bark to make paddles, master gerald." "but no spears or weapons, gerald," added mr. mayburn. "we must not carry off the property of these men, however inimical they are to us." "why, begging yer pardon, master," replied wilkins; "there's them there spears as was stuck into us, we'se _surelie_ keep. ye couldn't expect on us to send them things as rove our flesh off our bones back to 'em wi' our compliments and we were obliged to 'em." "that would certainly be an excess of honesty," said arthur; "and i think with you, wilkins, that we are entitled to the three spears that injured us. for oars and paddles we have abundance of materials; i only grieve that we have so few hands; but those are able and willing to work; so let us hasten to get ready for the water." two hours elapsed, however, before the three sound workmen were able to get all ready for the launch. in the mean time wilkins and hugh had searched for the nests of the water-fowl, and taken a supply of young birds, which the women had roasted for present and future provisions. finally, three bark canoes were launched, each containing three persons, and the river was crossed in safety. finding they could manage their little barks satisfactorily, they then agreed to row up the river as long as it was practicable, which would, at all events, be less laborious than walking with heavy burdens. without any alarms, except from seeing the smoke of distant fires on the shore they had left, they had passed through beautiful and diversified scenery for many miles, before the rapid close of the day warned them to land; and under an overhanging cliff on the south bank of the river, they drew their canoes on shore, and encamped for the night. satisfied with their pleasant and expeditious mode of travelling, they resumed their route next morning, and with the necessary interruptions of landing for supplies of the plentiful food that surrounded them, and for needful rest, they continued for many days to voyage on the same broad river; and though they occasionally saw smoke rising on the north side, they never met with any of the natives. but at length this desirable tranquillity was disturbed; for one day they were alarmed by sounds which they recognized as the angry yells of the savages in their fury, and they knew some fearful contention was taking place. the sounds proceeded from the south shore, and the river being at least two hundred yards broad at this part, they rowed to the north bank, in order to place a wide barrier between themselves and the contending savages. loud and louder grew the yells and cries when they drew near the scene of action, and curiosity induced them to rest on their oars, though they could not see the combat; but gradually the sounds died away, and it was plain the contending parties had shifted their field of battle. after all had been quiet for some time, the boys begged earnestly that they might be allowed to land and view the scene from whence these discordant cries arose; and, at last, leaving jack, hugh, and mr. mayburn in charge of the canoes, arthur with gerald and wilkins stepped on shore, and making their way through the jungle, came on a widely-spread, woody country, and saw, at no great distance, the scattered spears and clubs, which indicated that they were really upon the field of battle. cautiously drawing near, they were shocked to meet with the bodies of native men, transfixed by spears or destroyed by clubs. they gazed with deep distress upon this sad sight, and were preparing to return, when they were startled by hearing a low sobbing sound, followed by a shrill faint cry, and searching round among the low bushes, they found a native woman mourning over the body of one of the slain, while clinging to her was a child about four years old. they approached hastily; but no sooner did the woman see them, than she caught up her child, and would have fled, but wilkins caught her arm, and pointing to the dead body, spoke a few words to her in a jargon he had acquired during his residence in the colony, which she seemed to understand, for she replied by some words in a low, musical voice. "it's the poor fellow's _jin_, ye see," said he. "his _jin_!" said gerald, laughing. "what is a _jin_, wilkins?" "why, all one as we should say his wife," replied wilkins; "and there's nought to laugh at, master gerald, for she seems, poor body! like to die hersel'. i'se a bad hand at talking in their way; ye see its mair like a bird chirruping nor our folks rough talk. my big tongue cannot frame to sing out like a blackbird. now there was peter----" the woman uttered a scream of terror as wilkins pronounced the name, and looking wildly round, she clasped the child, repeating distinctly, in accents of fear, "peter! peter!" "she knows the rogue, i'll be bound!" exclaimed wilkins, endeavoring by words and signs to obtain some information from her. the woman pointed to the bleeding body at her feet, made a sign of stabbing, and again uttered in a vindictive tone, "peter!" and on examining the wounds of the corpse, wilkins pointed out to arthur that they were not inflicted by the spear; for the man had been evidently stabbed to the heart by a sharp long-bladed weapon. "that's been peter's knife, i'd swear," said he, "and the sooner we take off, the better, for he's an ugly neighbor;--poor body! she may well have a scared look!" as they turned away, the woman, it appeared, had read pity in their eyes, for she put her child into the hands of arthur, and pointing towards the west, again murmured the name of peter, and signified that he would return to murder her child and herself. then lying down by the body of her husband, she closed her eyes, indicating that she must die there. "what are we to do, mr. arthur?" said wilkins, with tears on his rough cheeks; "my heart just warks for her. but ye see--maybe as how master and miss wouldn't be for havin' such an a half dementet, ondecent body amang 'em. what are we to do? will ye just say? sure as we're here, if we leave her, that rascal will kill her; for ye see this dead fellow, he's a big 'un, and likely he'd been again peter, for he'd be like a head amang 'em." "oh, let us take both the woman and her child," said gerald. "i will run forward to carry the child to margaret and bring back some clothes for the unhappy mourner;" and without waiting for any sanction to his proceedings, he set off to the canoes with his prize. the alarmed woman started up, and looked anxiously after her child; but wilkins made her understand she should also follow it, and she appeared satisfied. it was not long before o'brien returned, accompanied by jenny, who brought a loose garment for the astonished woman, on whose scanty toilet the neat old woman looked with unqualified disapprobation, as she assisted in arraying her more consistently with civilized customs; or, as she termed it, "made her decent." somewhat uncertain of the prudence of making this addition to their party, arthur led the way to the boats, determined to consult his father and margaret before the matter was determined. when the poor widow saw her child, dressed in a temporary costume of silk handkerchiefs, and holding margaret's hand, in great contentment, her eyes glistened with pleasure, and going up to mr. mayburn and margaret, she threw herself down on the strand, with her face to the ground, in an attitude of submission to her protectors. "poor creature," said mr. mayburn; "can we not restore her to her people, wilkins? you know something of her language--inquire her wishes." "i can partly make out what she says, master," answered he; "but i frame badly in hitting on them singsong queer words. i take it, all her friends have been killed right away, and she wants to stay wi' us." "she's not a fit body to be company to miss marget," said nurse. "you're like to see that yourself, wilkins." "and if i did see that, mrs. jenny," answered wilkins, in a sharp tone, "and i can't say i did see 't, it's wiser heads nor yours and mine as ought to settle that. they say god made us all akin, and it's, maybe, true; but there's a strange deal of difference among us, nowadays, i consate. now, i'd not like to say that monkey-like, dark-avised poor creater were born sister to my bonnie susan raine, as i ought to have wed, mrs. jenny, if i hadn't turned out a graceless." "it is strange, wilkins," said margaret, "that there was a fine, well-behaved young woman, named susan raine, came over with us in the _amoor_. she was with one of the emigrant families that mr. deverell brought over from england." "it's now better nor two years sin' i got a letter wrote to her, miss," said wilkins, greatly moved; "but, like me, ye see, she's no scholar, and i heared nought from her, and i judged she'd wed another. then i cared nought what came on me; and i consorted wi' black peter, and such chaps, and took any job of work to get away from yon gallows hole, when i found as how she'd not look at me. what like was she ye talked on, miss?" "she was a fair, blue-eyed woman," answered margaret, "with yellow hair, and a bright color; and she spoke with a north-country accent." "god forgive me all my sins, and bring me to that lass," said wilkins, "for i'se clear on 't, it was just my sue. mind ye tie me up, mr. arthur, if that bad fellow, black peter, comes nigh us; i ken he'll want to nab me, and make a rogue on me again." "you must ask god to give you strength to resist the temptations of such a wretch," said mr. mayburn, "and your prayers will be heard. a great and good man has said of prayer, that it is 'a stream, which from the fountain of the heart issuing, however feebly, nowhere flows without access of unexpected strength.'" "ay, it seems a grand hymn," answered wilkins; "but i mind short prayers best, and i'se try, master, to stick to 'em; for ye ken i'se but a soft good-to-nought. but it may please god to make summut out on me yet; and wi' my own will, i'se niver leave ye." the question of admitting the unfortunate woman among them was soon decided. she crouched down in the stern of one of the canoes, holding the child on her lap; and the river being fortunately very smooth, they were enabled, though much crowded, to row off with the additional weight, being anxious to leave the spot before the natives should return to collect their spears. besides, from the woman's words and signs they comprehended that the victorious combatants would come back to take her life and that of her child. chapter xvi. the mother and child.--the interior of the country.--another cataract.--the pilgrim troop.--the difficult ascent.--the frilled lizard.--the mountain-range.--the kangaroo-chase.--the pass of erin. but it was not till they had left the bloody field many miles behind them that the woman recovered so far from her fear and stupefaction as to be able, by signs and half-understood words, to indicate to them that she was friendless and homeless; and that peter would kill her, the last of her family; and from the report of wilkins, and other sources of information, mr. mayburn concluded that it was the custom of these northern people to live in families, or _clans_, rather than in tribes of many, one man being the head of the house, if we may so speak of those who rarely have a house; but who live, like the beasts of the field, in the open air, unless driven by the rains to take shelter in caves. from the woman they learnt that her name was baldabella, and that of her child was nakinna. she was young, and her features were not unpleasant; her eyes were brilliant, and her voice soft and musical; nor was she disfigured in any way, except that through the gristle of her nose she wore a fish-bone. the only garment she wore when she was discovered, was a short cloak of the skins of opossums, sewed neatly together and pinned round her neck with a pointed bone. when they drew the canoes ashore at the close of the day, on a narrow strand, baldabella looked with wonder on the arrangements made for the night, and the process of broiling birds and roasting eggs at the fire, and drew away when invited to partake of the strangely-cooked food. then she plunged her fingers into the mud at the edge of the water, and soon went up to margaret, and put into her hand some small gray reptiles resembling slugs. margaret shrank from the feast, shaking her head; but the woman put one into her own mouth, and swallowed it living with great relish, crammed one into the mouth of the child, and then returned to hunt for more. jenny held up her hands to express her abhorrence; ruth stared at the woman with terror, evidently looking on her as a kind of sorceress; and o'brien laughed, as he said, "well, nurse, you need not be so much disgusted; i dare say these snails taste as well as the ugly oysters which we are cannibals enough to swallow alive." "oysters, master gerald," answered nurse, reprovingly, "are eat by decent christian people; and i see no harm in them, specially with pepper and vinegar; but these things are varmint. our ducks in england would hardly touch them." "a duck is not a fastidious feeder, nurse," said margaret, "and i would not answer for its nicety in this matter. but this poor stranger prefers the food she has been accustomed to, and we have no right to scoff at her taste. if she remain with us, no doubt, in time, she will conform to our habits." for many days longer they continued their uninterrupted voyage up the river, the widow becoming daily more at home with her protectors. margaret clothed her in one of her old dresses, with which she was much delighted, and in other respects she began to adopt the customs of her strange protectors. she voluntarily discarded her nose ornament; she bathed herself and her child daily; she at length ate the same food, and imitated the manners of her friends. margaret made light dresses for the little nakinna, who rapidly caught the english names for the objects around her, and from her the mother learnt many words. but it was with deep concern that mr. mayburn saw the perfect indifference with which baldabella regarded the religious worship of the family. she looked at first much astonished to see men and women kneel down, and to hear the solemn prayers pronounced by mr. mayburn; but she soon turned carelessly away to dig for worms, or to collect sticks for the fire. not so the little nakinna; for, after observing the devotions two or three times, she walked up to margaret, knelt down by her, lifted up her little hands, and seemed to listen with interest, though she could not yet understand. this act of docility and obedience was very gratifying to her kind instructress, who anxiously wished for the time when a mutual understanding might render it possible to communicate to these heathens a knowledge of the truth. "can it be possible, wilkins," said mr. mayburn, "that these wretched natives are so lost as not even to acknowledge a supreme being! not even to 'see god in clouds, and hear him in the wind!' not to feel that there must be a spiritual ruler of the universe?" "why, to my fancy, master," answered wilkins, "t' men folks isn't altogether dull chaps; but them poor jins just get all their sense knocked out on their heads. poor bodies! they're no better off nor dogs nor asses. they work fra' morn to night, and hug heavy loads, and get kicks and short allowance for their pains." there was a crushed, subdued look about the woman that rendered wilkins's assertion not improbable; but margaret hoped that, by kind treatment, the dormant intellect of the native might be developed. at length the river became more difficult of navigation, the stream more rapid, and encumbered with fallen rocks, while rapids and falls compelled them to land continually among thick jungles, or on the narrow strand below precipitous cliffs. a mountain range was now visible before them, and they concluded that they must soon reach the source of the friendly river, when they should have to abandon the canoes for a less safe and convenient mode of travelling. "we cannot stand walking again," said gerald. "couldn't we carry the canoes forward awhile? and perhaps we might have the luck to fall in with another river. what a grand thing it would be if we could find one flowing to the east or the south, that we might run easily down the stream without any hard work." "that is not very probable, gerald," said arthur, "when we are yet so far from the central part--what we may strictly term the interior of the country. but we will certainly spare ourselves the labor of carrying away our canoes when we leave the water; for there can be no difficulty, in such a richly-wooded region, in procuring materials for making canoes, if we should need them. the noise of the waters seems to grow louder, and i fear we are again approaching some great cataract, which will probably, like the last we encountered, terminate all hopes of boating. i propose that we should at once make for yonder niche in the cliffs, and unlade the canoes. wilkins and i will then row up as high as we can in a lightened canoe, to endeavor to find out a mode of ascending from this deep gully." "if we are to land," said gerald, "it will be easy enough to climb these wooded heights." "easy for you, my boy," said arthur, "especially if you had no encumbrances; but think of papa, and margaret, baldabella and her child, and all the bags and bundles which constitute our wealth. we must endeavor to discover an easier road, and in the mean time we will disembark at this convenient spot." mr. mayburn and margaret remonstrated with arthur for exposing himself and wilkins to more danger than the rest, but were at length persuaded that the expedition could be executed with more safety and success by a small party; and two of the canoes, with all the stowage, were therefore landed in a shady nook, while the two men rowed on in the third boat. margaret and her father waited uneasily, but the two boys amused themselves by penetrating into the woods, to seek birds; jack cut down branches of trees, and formed them into spears, arrows, or forks; jenny and ruth cooked some birds, and baldabella, armed with a spear, waded into a shallow creek of the river near them, and speared two large fish, of the species they called the fresh-water cod. still everybody thought the hours went slowly, and were truly glad to see the light canoe gliding swiftly down the stream with arthur and wilkins, who drew it ashore; then arthur said,-- "if possible, we must make our way along the banks, for the river is even now dangerous of ascent, and at no great distance our voyage would be entirely arrested by a cataract, similar to that we encountered soon after our reaching the mainland. wilkins and i, after mooring our canoe to the mangroves, climbed to the heights, and found we were then only at the base of successive ranges of hills, which terminated in high-peaked mountains, apparently inaccessible. from these hills flowed many rivulets, which unite at the grand cataract and form this river." to make further progress in their journey, it was therefore necessary that they should reach the country above the high rocky banks of the river, and arthur said that on their return they had noticed one place where it might be possible for the whole party to ascend; though the path must necessarily be one of difficulty. they dined on roast birds and broiled fish, and then began an active preparation for walking. every thing that was worth transporting was reduced to as small a compass, and made as portable as possible; the canoes were reluctantly abandoned, and then the long train, headed, as usual, by arthur, set out; baldabella quietly taking her place in the line, bearing her child on her shoulder, and resting on her long fish-spear. "i could fancy we were the israelites, wandering in the wilderness," said gerald. "you will please to recollect, gerald," said hugh, "that the israelites exceeded us in number in a _trifling_ degree, extending to hundreds of thousands, we are told; and then, though arthur is doubtless a clever fellow, he cannot be such a guide as the wise and gifted moses." "the israelites had a more infallible guide," said mr. mayburn, "than even their great leader moses, until by discontent and disobedience, they rejected the holy one. let us take warning, my children, lest we should, in like manner, forget the certain protection which our heavenly father extends to all his faithful people." they slowly wound along the narrow strand, sometimes sunk in mud, sometimes climbing over mounds of pebbles or piles of drift-wood, anxiously examining the thick matted woods which covered the precipitous cliffs, and even occasionally intercepted their path. for some time they despaired of finding any spot favorable for the purpose of reaching the level ground; till arthur pointed out the place which he had previously noticed, where the banks had given way, and a great fall of rocks had formed a sort of sloping staircase, less encumbered with the brushwood, and less abrupt than they had expected. "if we ever succeed in reaching the height," said arthur, "this must be our path. the strong must lead the way, and aid in drawing up the feeble. these drooping creepers will be convenient to cling to, that we may not lose the ground we have made. give me your hand, meggie." with many a slip downwards, a scream, and a rending of garments, the women were dragged up through the almost perpendicular wood. baldabella alone, erect and firm in foot, despised assistance. she disencumbered herself of all loose drapery, and clasping her child, she stepped among, under, or over the bushes, with speed and safety; and long before the men had reached the height, she had quietly resumed the garb of her sex, and was seated to wait for the arrival of the less-practised climbers. they were scarcely all assembled, weary and tattered, at the head of the cliff, when ruth, who was the last, suddenly uttered a piercing shriek, and rushed down into the matted bush again, pursued by jack, who captured and brought her back, struggling and exclaiming against his interference. "oh, jack, man, let me be," cried she; "didn't thou see 't? it's an uncanny place, this. i seed it mysel', jack; it were a little auld fairy, grinning at me, wi' a long tail." jack was too enlightened to have any dread of a fairy, even with a long tail; and he persisted in bringing up ruth, pale and trembling, to the rest of the party, though she continued to cry out, "yonder she sits! jack, honey! keep out on her way; she'll charm thee." as soon as the boys heard ruth's story of the tailed fairy, they ran with great glee to the spot she pointed out, and there, perfectly calm and immovable, they beheld the old fairy, in the form of a very extraordinary lizard. it was seated on its tail, apparently undismayed by the presence of observers; and mr. mayburn was called to the spot to examine the new discovery. the length of the body might be five inches, but the tail was twice that length; the color yellowish brown and black. it was scaly and frightful, and its human-like face, prominent eyes, long claws, and plaited ruff, might well terrify the ignorant and superstitious. "i recognize the creature," said mr. mayburn, "from the description given by more than one traveller, to be the _chlamydosaurus kingii_, peculiar to australia. the frill which surrounds its head, extending even to the chest, and folded in plaits, points out the distinct species. this ruff is a curious membrane, which can be expanded, by means of slender transverse cartilages, at the will of the animal, when it is roused to anger." "then observe, papa," said gerald, "how indignant it is at our impertinent remarks. see how it spreads its broad frill, and shows its sharp teeth, as if it wished to bite us. must i knock it down?" "truly, gerald," answered mr. mayburn, "my curiosity would overcome the feelings of humanity, and i should be tempted to desire to obtain the creature; but i see arthur shakes his head at the suggestion. and, after all, we have no right to slaughter the unoffending animal." baldabella, on whose ears mr. mayburn's words fell in vain, looked with glittering eyes on the reptile, and raising her spear said in her new language, "baldabella eat him." but the lizard, with an instinct of danger, ran swiftly up the tree, assisted by its hooked claws, and escaped the blow. when far above any fear of attack, it again calmly sat down, looking down on the baffled woman with a frightful sarcastic grin. "there now!" said ruth, "didn't i tell ye she were uncanny? she heard all 'at were said, as sure as we're here." for ruth's conviction of its supernatural rank was not to be shaken by mr. mayburn's scientific demonstration. after satisfying their curiosity in looking at the frilled lizard, arthur called on his forces to resume their march. before them now lay rich green hills, rising gradually above each other, and intersected by clear streams, flowing into the river they had left. these hills were the first steps to mountains which rose, high and rugged, even to the clouds. the hills, though tedious, would not be very difficult to ascend; but how to pass the mountains they could not yet judge. the mountain-range ran, as far as the eye could reach, from north-east to south-west, and completely intercepted them in the road they desired to pursue. to pass them, if possible, must therefore be their aim; or a vast deal of time must be lost in making a circuitous course. "we will ascend the hills, at all events," said arthur, "and look round us. we may, perhaps, find some natural pass. we might even try a kangaroo-path, which must be found, for, see what herds of the animals are bounding along under the lofty trees on the hills." "oh, do let us have a kangaroo-hunt, arthur!" exclaimed hugh. "we are hungry, and kangaroo meat would fill us; and therefore, papa, we have a right to kill and eat." "let's see ye set about it," said wilkins. "they're sharper fellows nor ye think on, them kangaroos, my lad. they're a match for most folks, barrin' ye have dogs, or follow them up till they fall tired, and that'll maybe, not be for half a day. i ken a good deal of kangaroo-hunting; but i'se not clear that them there chaps is so shy as down-country beasts; ye see, they'll niver like have clapped eyes atop on a man, and they'll not ken man's crafty ways." "to the disgrace of human nature," said mr. mayburn, "what wilkins suggests is true: wherever he is recognized by the brute creation, they instinctively 'shun the hateful sight of man.'" "well, sir," said gerald, "that is, i suppose, because the ignoble fears the noble--the coward the brave." "and you may add, gerald, the slave his tyrant," continued mr. mayburn. "it is ever thus with 'man, proud man! dressed in a little brief authority.'" "but, papa," said hugh, "we are in need of food, and you must allow that it is more humane to destroy one kangaroo than a dozen cockatoos or pheasants." "i agree with hugh, papa," said margaret. "we will, if possible, content ourselves to-day with taking one life." armed with spears and throwing-sticks, bows and arrows, and one boomerang which baldabella had found, and which no one but herself could yet use, the hunters preceded mr. mayburn and margaret. by the directions of the experienced wilkins, they spread along in a line, to guard the foot of the hill; for he said the animal always took a downward course when it was alarmed, for, as its fore-feet never touch the ground in its greatest speed, it has more time in a descent to draw up the hind legs, to make the immense spring, than it could have with an ascent before it. no sooner had the timid animals seen the strange forms of the hunters than they started off with such incredible speed, that no one unacquainted with their habits could have believed that their flight was a series of jumps, and that their fore-feet never touched the ground. in their confusion, some of the animals tried to penetrate the rank of the hunters, while some fled to the right or to the left. the spears and arrows showered amongst them, and more than one beast carried off the weapon sticking in him. but it was the boomerang of baldabella which, after complicated and mysterious evolutions, struck and stunned a large animal, which wilkins presently despatched with his knife. arthur then recalled the hunters, saying, "we will have no more slaughter. this large animal will supply us with as much meat as we can consume while it remains fresh, and it would be wanton to slay more." the rear rank then joined them. the body of the kangaroo, suspended on a long pole, was shouldered by wilkins and jack, and the march was resumed. they ascended and descended several hills, till night and fatigue compelled them to rest in a little hollow, where a cooking-fire was made, and they supped with great enjoyment on venison steaks; and, like the early inhabitants of the world, before luxury and artificial wants had enervated them, they slept beneath the canopy of heaven, among the everlasting hills. "get up, arthur," cried hugh, early next morning. "get up, and come to see our mountain-pass. gerald discovered it, and therefore we propose to name it the 'pass of erin.'" chapter xvii. the dangerous pass.--the coupled travellers.--the mountain labyrinth.--the emancipation of ruth's chickens.--a combat _à l'outrance_.--the ornithorhyncus.--the forest in the mountains.--singing birds.--the laughing jackass. arthur was soon alert, and followed the boys, who led him up the side of the next high hill and along the ridge for about three hundred yards to the south west, and then pointed out to him a narrow rent or gorge in the mountain, lying far below the hill on which they stood; but from this hill a gradual ascent, formed by fallen rocks, made a rude path to a narrow shelf or terrace which they now saw far above them, and which ran along the precipitous side of the rocky wall. arthur shuddered as he said, "is that narrow terrace passable, do you think, gerald?" "oh, yes," answered he; "hugh and i had a run along it before we woke you, and it is not half so bad as it looks. we shall manage very well if we go 'goose-walk;' but i think it would not be safe for two abreast. to be sure, it is rather confusing to look down into the depths below; but we must give them all a caution, and i think it would be better to blindfold ruth." "there is nothing for us but to try it," said arthur. "let us return to breakfast before we set out." "yes, we might as well reduce the bulk of the kangaroo," said hugh, "for it will be awkward to carry it along our pass." but when the plan was fully arranged, it was judged expedient to cut up the kangaroo, and only carry away sufficient for another day's consumption. even the useful skin was reluctantly abandoned, as arthur knew well they must have no unnecessary encumbrance. ruth could not, however, be persuaded to leave her pet fowls, but resolutely set out with her basket on her arm. then, after beseeching a blessing on their perilous journey, they marched forward, and gradually ascending the hills, they reached the narrow path that skirted the mountain. this natural shelving was scattered over with loose stones, and occasionally broken away till a ledge of only about five or six feet was left for them; but the creeping plants that covered the rock enabled the timid to grasp a kind of support on one hand, as they moved cautiously along the unequal and perilous path. below this terrace yawned a deep gully, that formed the bed of a stream, which at all seasons washed its sides. this stream was now shallow, and moved sluggishly; but rugged crags, and torn-up trees, lying in the bed, showed that raging torrents must pour into it after the rainy season. from the interstices of the bush-covered rocks sprang the gray-leaved gum-tree, the elegant casuarina, and a bright-leaved tree resembling the box, but lofty and strong. among these trees parrots and cockatoos chattered incessantly, and on the gum-trees hundreds of little active opossums sported with all the playfulness of monkeys; and mr. mayburn was so interested in watching them hang from the branches, suspended by their curved tail, to rifle the nests of the birds, or feed on the numerous insects round them, that arthur, in alarm, stepped back to hold his father by the arm. "i tell you what we must do, arthur," said gerald; "we must be linked in couples, as the travellers on the alps are; then, if one makes a false step, there's a chance for his mate to draw him up." "no bad plan, gerald," answered arthur; "but we must take care to couple with judgment. the prudent or brave must take charge of the rash or the timid. i will take papa; jack, his unlucky sister; hugh, margaret, or, more correctly, margaret must take hugh; wilkins will take charge of nurse; and you, the neglected proposer of this wise measure, cannot profit by it, unless you will submit to be guided by baldabella, who seems to trip along with her lively burden unapprehensive of danger." hugh preferred to walk unfettered; and arthur had no fears for the native woman, whose firm and steady step showed that she had been accustomed to such rough and scrambling paths. arthur, who was the first of the line, now became uneasy, as, on looking before him, he remarked that, as far as the eye could reach, there appeared to be no termination to the mountain wilderness. he could have fancied that a labyrinth of broken, precipitous, lofty, and interminable rocks shut them completely from the world. it was a bewildering prospect, and even the strong heart of arthur almost failed him, and his head whirled at the sight of such stupendous and uncertain difficulties. a scream from ruth recalled him to his immediate duties, and on turning round he saw her much-valued basket of poultry bound down the precipice over the bushes, till it rested on a lower ledge, some hundreds of feet beneath them, where it flew open, and the fowls, uninjured by their involuntary flight, fluttered from their prison, and began calmly to peck about for food; while the little bantam cock proclaimed his liberty by shaking his plumes and uttering his conceited hoarse crow. "they are settlers now, ruth," cried gerald, laughing; "the first colonists--regular squatters. how astonished future travellers will be when they make the curious discovery: a species of bird remarkably like _gallus barndoorii_. what grand names they will bestow on them! and write long papers, and puzzle ornithologists." but the patriarch of this new species was not allowed to squat among the aborigines with impunity; his triumphant notes were answered by a crow of defiance in a less familiar tone from a splendid cock pheasant, which pounced down on the new comer with a furious peck, that the true-trained english bird, notwithstanding his foreign ancestry, could not brook. the brave little bantam retaliated boldly, and a furious combat ensued, causing even the english hens to raise their heads from their pleasant feast, and appear somewhat interested in the event; while ruth shrieked, "he'll kill him! jack, honey! throw a stone at him! drive him off! chuck! chuck!" but though ruth's familiar cry failed to separate the combatants _à l'outrance_, the pleased hens recognized the well-known call, and responded to it by fluttering and scrambling up the mountain side, to partake of the scattered grain; and in the fulness of their feast, they were easily captured, and stowed in separate bags and pouches, till a new dwelling could be made for them. then the little feathered hero below, having vanquished and left his antagonist for dead, perched for a moment on the pinnacle of a shattered rock, and crowed triumphantly, as if to defy the whole race of native birds; after which demonstration, he leisurely followed his female friends up the steep, to share their feast and their captivity. notwithstanding the alarm and delay caused by this accident, there was something amusing about it that was not without its beneficial effects. ruth continued to lament the loss of her basket; but jack scolded her seriously for her foolish fears and awkwardness, which were the sole cause of the loss. he declared the fowls were absolute pests, and wholly useless in a region where birds and eggs dropped into your hands; but his remonstrances having produced tears of penitence and promises of amendment, he relented, and promised to make for her a coop, or cage, of cane, which would be easier to carry than the basket, and afford more air to the unfortunate prisoners. after wandering for two days along their frequently dangerous, and always difficult, aerial pathway, resting only when they came to some rocky hollow, they began to pine for a less-hazardous road; and they now perceived that, with the usual caprice of australian rivers, the stream in the narrow bed below them had disappeared, though slender rills continually fell from the mountains, but subsided into bogs, or formed pools below. they therefore resolved, if they could safely accomplish it, to descend to the bed of the river; and endeavor to extricate themselves from the rocky maze in which they seemed hopelessly involved. after another day's travelling, they fancied the descent appeared more practicable than it had yet been since they set out on the shelving terrace, and it was decided to make the trial. the first step would decidedly be the most difficult. about twelve feet below them another shelf of rock projected, wider than that on which they now stood; but how to reach it was a puzzling question, for the descent was perpendicular, and quite overgrown with thorny bushes. "if you will help me, master hugh," said jack, "i think we may manage it. we must just cut down the bushes into steps like for them that feel timid." employment was the grand need of the active boys, and to clear a passage as low as they could reach, and then step down on the bushes to work below, was a pleasant amusement. the stone axes were now found to be perfectly serviceable, and they soon cut six clearances, each two feet deep, graduating like a staircase, of which the matted brush formed the steps, which reached to the lower terrace; and down the staircase the agitated females were, one after another, assisted, and safely placed on the broad shelf. this was a decided victory, and they now saw, to their great satisfaction, that the lower descent sloped so much, from accumulated rocks and drift-wood, that by clearing the way with the axes, they easily reached the comparative security of the muddy bed of the vanished river. they looked round on the immense walls which inclosed them with some dismay; then gerald said,-- "now, meggie, we only want the great rains to come on, and then we shall have some notion of the situation of sinful man in the deluge." "i trust, my dear boy," said mr. mayburn, "that you do not allude to that fearful judgment with levity. and surely, arthur, we are not near the time of the terrific tropical rains." "usually, papa, i believe the heaviest autumnal periodical rains are in february and march," said arthur. "we are now in the midst of summer; still i must confess i have read of continued rains, even at this season; but i trust we shall be in a safer locality before such trying weather comes on. we are certainly progressing in the way we wish to go; but the immense extent of the mountain-range is extraordinary. fortunately, we are not in a desert, we are surrounded by plenty, and as far as we have yet penetrated, ferocious animals seem unknown; and more, ferocious man rarely encountered. i only fear for your strength, dear papa, and for that of dear meggie." "fear not for us, arthur," answered margaret; "you know i am naturally strong; and god has given renewed life and health to dear papa. his delight in these new and varied scenes of nature makes every toil light to him. observe him now, pausing and contemplating something at yon large pond; let us join him. now, papa! what is the new discovery?" "wonderful, my children," said he. "behold this marvellous new creature. undoubtedly it must be the _ornithorhyncus paradoxus_, the duck-billed platypus, which i should have recognized, from the numerous sketches i have seen; and my warmest hopes are fulfilled in the happiness of really looking on the rare animal in its native wilds." "is't a duck, think ye, miss marget?" asked ruth, with a kind of awe. "has a duck four legs, ruth?" asked gerald. "has it fur on its back, and a broad finny tail? no, ruth, this is not a strange fowl, but a strange beast." "nevertheless," said mr. mayburn, "there are irreconcilable circumstances in such a decision. this animal, if we rank it among the mammalia, belongs to no order yet named, but stands alone. quadruped it is, certainly; web-footed, certainly; ovo-viviparous, certainly, as the eggs are hatched before birth, and the young then suckled, like the mammalia. feeding on worms and grubs, like the duck; sleeping rolled up, like the hedgehog; playful as the monkey, and harmless as the dove;--we cannot but look with astonishment and admiration on this remarkable caprice of nature." "they're ugly beasts, that i'll say," was jenny's remark, "and not half so good as a duck for such as us; but i'se warrant them poor heathens eat 'em as we would a roast goose." leaving the platypus, which they now saw at every pool as they proceeded, they walked on till the ravine gradually became wider, but the mountain-line still spread on each side. soon after, the pools disappeared, and rich grass supplied their place. wild and wonderful was now their daily journey, for before them lay immense untrodden forests, inclosed between lofty cliffs, which rose to the clouds, and the travellers felt inspired with awe as they looked round on the majesty of nature. yet the softer features of loveliness were not absent; every step was on some beautiful, usually some quite new, plant, and the lofty forest trees were of species now first seen, and were garlanded round with flowering creepers of the most brilliant dyes; while the rich perfume of the jasmine, and the heliotrope-like odor of the golden-blossomed acacia filled the air. bright _orchidæ_, unnamed and unknown, masses of ferns of unexampled beauty, were scattered round this vast conservatory of nature; and amidst all this profusion, thousands of birds whistled, chattered, warbled, and uttered the startling foreign notes which assure you that you are in a strange land. there was the sweet-voiced bell-bird, a pretty little creature, whose notes ring with a silver sound; there was the pert pied bird, which might seem really a magpie, if it were not tailless, which has a low flute-like song, swelling like the organ; whence it is named by the colonists the organ-magpie; and as each strain of these warblers died away, the loud, hoarse, derisive notes of a curious bird, resembling none of the known species of the world, seemed to ridicule the musical performers. "no doubt, papa," said hugh, "this must be the 'laughing jackass,' of which we have read an account. do you hear the regular 'ha! ha! ha!' from which he derives his name, and which sounds so strangely when mingled with the notes of the warblers? but now he has roused all the cockatoos and parrots, who are screaming their jargon above all other sounds." "just listen, hugh," said gerald, "those jackass birds are surely blowing a penny trumpet. did you ever hear such a noise--laughing, braying, trumpeting? you might fancy you were at a country fair. how ruth does stare! i say, ruth, what do you think of them?" "will they be christians, master gerald?" asked the trembling girl. "hopeless heathens, ruth," answered the wild boy; "feathered donkeys, flying punches, instinctive mocking-birds, repeating sounds which they have never heard. see, papa, there is one of the jolly fellows, perched on yon gum-tree. what a monstrous beak he has!" "i contemplate the bird with great interest, my boy," answered mr. mayburn. "it has been classed with the halcyons by naturalists, and named _dacelo gigantea_; yet, in its social habits, and flexible and apt organs of voice, it seems rather to resemble the jay. it is somewhat remarkable that amidst the gorgeously-attired birds that surround it, this rarely-gifted bird wears a garb so simple and unadorned. you observe that it frequents the gum-tree, and its sombre plumage, assimilating so happily with the gray foliage of the tree, is at once a protection and a distinction. how rejoiced i should be, my dear boy, if we could make a complete collection of these rare creatures; but the difficulties of transporting them safely in our journey are insurmountable." "wait, sir," replied gerald, "till we catch our quaggas; then jack will make us a wagon, which we can convert into a menagerie, filled with curious animals, and drawn by our own beasts." "the quagga is not a native of australia, gerald," replied mr. mayburn; "nor does the country, happily, produce any of the large and fierce quadrupeds. we must not dare to think of any vehicle for travelling; yet many hundred miles separate us from the useful animals of our dear friends the deverells; and my heart fails me when i reflect on the improbability of our ever reaching them." margaret sighed as she said, "and i too, dear papa, cannot help many idle wishes that we were come to open plains, and more direct paths. these lovely wilds of nature, forests and mountains, are very charming; but they seem too romantic and unreal to be satisfactory. if we were to keep a journal, and publish it hereafter, we should, i fear, be ridiculed for inventing fairy tales." "in truth, margaret," answered her father, "fairy tales were not originally mere inventions of the imagination. they were the offspring of the experience of observing travellers over lovely untrodden wilds like these. and what are the miraculous transformations they describe but such as might really happen--the ingenious contrivances of man when destitute of all the resources of civilized life? has not jack transformed a flint-stone into an axe? and have we not cups and plates which were once the abodes of the shell-fish? difficulties originate miraculous efforts, and man is indebted to the good fairies, necessity and ingenuity, for many of his comforts." "very true, dear papa," said arthur; "and the fairy necessity now calls on us peremptorily to escape from these forests, where i have twice during this day heard the _coo-ee_ of the natives, though at a considerable distance before us. i have been for some time anxiously examining the south side of the gorge for any outlet which may enable us to turn away from their haunts." they had been making their way for some hours along the southern extremity of the forest, still hemmed in by the high rocks, when gerald, creeping into a narrow cleft, declared that he had found a tunnel, and called on hugh to assist him in exploring it. fearful that they should bewilder themselves in the recesses of the mountains, arthur proposed that all the party should enter the opening, which was a cavern of great height and space, where they might remain till he and his brothers penetrated further into the rocks. they lighted some dry branches for torches, and set out, satisfied that the rest would be in safety in this secure retreat. the boys found this tunnel descend gradually: sometimes it was narrow and low, sometimes wide and encumbered with fallen fragments of rock; still, it was airy, and they were able to pass on, till they concluded they must have walked half a mile. they were then so desponding that they thought of turning back, but at length a glimmering of light satisfied them that there must be another outlet, and they took courage to proceed, till they reached a matted thicket of brushwood through which they forced their way, and then had the pleasure of seeing the sky above their heads, though they were still in a very narrow gully. it seemed to be the dry bed of a rivulet, choked up with stones and torn-up bushes. before them rose another line of bush-covered mountains, but not so lofty or precipitous as those they had left behind. "is it worth while," said hugh, "to drag the whole party through that gloomy subterranean passage, to bring them into this glen, which seems perfectly barren and lifeless? i am of opinion that we were better in our old forest." "wait for my decision," said gerald, springing up the side of the opposite mountains, regardless of the rending of his light blouse, and his scratched hands; and before long he stood on the summit. "this will do for us capitally," he cried out. "wide plains below, but an awkward step down to them. jack will have to cut a staircase again." this account of the country satisfied arthur, and they hastened back at once to relieve the anxiety of their friends, whom they found in a state of great alarm. the cries of the savages had gradually approached so near to them, that margaret induced wilkins and jack to close the opening by which they had entered with a large piece of rock. then they had heard voices close to the rocks, and baldabella, who was now able to speak many english words, said--"many bad black fellows! much bad! see white man foot-walk.--black fellow come--slow, slow--catch all--eat master--eat miss--eat old jin--eat nakinna--all! all!" it was with much difficulty they restrained the cries of ruth, when she comprehended that she was in danger of being eaten; and though mr. mayburn doubted and disputed the existence of cannibalism in australia, wilkins and jack succeeded in inducing the whole family to move on in the track of the pioneers, rather than risk the danger of discovery at the mouth of the cave. chapter xviii. the tunnel through the mountains.--the chase of the emu.--an encounter with the natives.--the rescue of baldabella and her child.--making a bridge.--canoes again.--the fishing of baldabella. the report of the boys decided the movement of the family, and they hastened through the long tunnel to the cheerless glen. they then sought the easiest ascent, that they might escape from these widely-spread mountains, and a herd of kangaroos in the bush, disturbed by strange voices, just then appeared, and bounded up the steep wood at a place which the travellers who followed them found had been selected with a happy instinct, for it was less abrupt and less matted with brush than that which gerald had ascended. the strong assisted the weak, and with some difficulty all were brought to the ridge, and looked down with mingled feelings of relief and alarm on the widely-spread, thinly-wooded plains so far below them. the descent was much more tedious and laborious. axes and ropes were put in requisition; but finally all planted their feet thankfully on the green sward, and looked round on a new region, where their progress would be less retarded, but their exposure to observation would necessarily be greater than before. "and i see neither meat nor water," said jenny, despondingly. "we have still potatoes left," said margaret; "and though we have not yet seen much animal life, i trust there is no fear of famine. i certainly see some creature moving beneath yon golden acacia." "huzza! papa!" cried gerald. "there's the emu at last! i saw one at the zoological gardens, and i know the fellow at once. now, how are we to get hold of him? i fear his skin is too tough for a spear or an arrow to do much harm, and arthur is so careful of his charges." "i have but four left," answered arthur, with a sigh, "and i am unwilling to waste my shot, and perhaps attract the attention of the wandering natives. we will try arrows and spears, and, if we can, the boomerang." "be canny, lads!" cried wilkins, in great excitement. "keep at his back, i tell ye; he can see half a mile afore him, but he's as deaf as a post; and if he once gets a sight on us he'll be off like voltigeur, and he'll be a smart chap as sets eyes on him again. stand here, we'll try a throw now; and _jin_, woman, gie us a touch of yer boomerang." baldabella was as much excited as any of the party, and perfectly understood the rules of emu-hunting. they fixed themselves at a proper distance, and then, seeing that the bird, which had been feeding on some root or herbage, had raised its head, as if about to move, they flung their spears and discharged their arrows with some effect, as a spear and an arrow were left in its side; baldabella at the same time threw her boomerang, which struck it with such force that it staggered, and uttered a deep, booming cry; but, rallying again, it began to run very swiftly, till a second flight of spears and arrows brought it to the ground. all the party then went up to it; and o'brien had approached, and was about to touch it, when wilkins seized his arm, and drew him back just in time; for the animal struck out its powerful leg, and shattered the bow which the boy held in his hand. "he would have sarved your leg as bad," said wilkins, "if he could have hitten ye. he has a leg like a sledge hammer for a hit. we'se be forced to give him a few more spears afore it will be safe to come nigh him." but a blow on the head stunned the huge creature; and it was then quickly dispatched and cut up. they contented themselves with carrying off the two hind quarters, which wilkins assured them afforded the most palatable meat, and which would be ample provision for two days. "there are some eggs, too," said hugh, "which we might carry off for papa; but they are so tremendously large and heavy." "the egg is, i believe, excellent food," said arthur; "but with food we are abundantly supplied. i think we must take two, however; one for papa, the other to form into that very useful vessel, a water-bottle or bucket." delighted with the immense dark green egg, and the examination of the curious, fur-like plumage of the emu, mr. mayburn no longer regretted the forest scenery he had left, but cheerfully went forward over the green and flowery plain, till, after walking many miles, they encamped beneath a gum-tree, made a fire, and broiled some emu-steaks, which all pronounced would have been better than beef-steaks if they could have had a little salt to eat with them; but they were gradually becoming reconciled to this privation. no one dared to murmur, amidst their blessings, because they had been a day without water; but they trusted in god to provide them with this boon, too, in his good time. the large egg was carefully cleaned out through a small opening made by jack at one end, and then slung with cords, to make it convenient to carry next day, before they took their rest. but the next day they had travelled for many hours, till, faint and weary, their steps were feeble and languid, when the sight of a line of casuarina-trees directed them to the bed of a river, now quite dry; and while the most exhausted sat down to rest, the young and active proceeded up the hard bed till it became mud, and a little higher, muddy pools. into these pools they, at once, plunged their faces, and drank, and moistened their burning skin, and then each laughed at the crust of dirt left on his neighbor's face. but by persevering in walking on, they met with a pool of clearer water, from which they filled their water buckets and mussel-shells, and returned to take the refreshment to their friends, and then to conduct them to the moister region. they continued to pursue the course of the chain of pools which must in a short time be really a river, when the periodical rains came on. the prospect of these approaching rains rendered all the thoughtful of the party anxious and uneasy; for the pleasant open air life to which they had become habituated would then be intolerable. for two days the emu-flesh was eatable, and the pools amply supplied them with water. then they again reached a line of low hills from which the river had its source; and through the shrubs and brushwood that covered them they forced or cut their way, and descended on a more fertile and pleasant plain. but, to their great annoyance, they beheld before them several natives gathered round a fire, employed in making spears and arrows, which they were hardening in the fire. on one side sat two women, bruising some grain or nuts between two stones: these women wore cloaks of opossum fur; but the men were almost entirely naked, and had their bodies marked with frightful cicatrices. though it was plain these natives must have seen the approach of the strangers, and probably now, for the first time beheld white men, they preserved a dignified composure, pursuing their labors, without any apparent notice of the intruders. arthur drew up the forces abreast in a long line, saying, "walk on firmly, and imitate the indifference of the natives. i entreat you, above all, not to show the least fear." they marched slowly forward till they were close to the savages, when the little nakinna, attracted by the sight of a child about her own age, which was playing near the women, broke from her mother and ran up to the child. the tallest of the men then stepped from the rest and caught up the child in his arms. the distracted mother darted forward to rescue her, and was also seized and detained by two natives, while she called out piteously to her white friends to assist her. arthur was much vexed at this incident, which he feared would form a pretext for a quarrel; but it was impossible to abandon poor baldabella, who seemed very repugnant to return to savage life. he therefore called wilkins to follow him, and going up to the man who held the child, made an effort to remove her gently from his arms. the man resisted and held her firmly; then arthur, assuming a threatening expression of countenance, uttered some words in a loud, stern tone, and at the same time pointed to his rifle. the savage stared at him and his weapon with a countenance half of fear, half of wonder. he then pointed to the complexion of the mother and the child, and also to his own, and to arthur's, as if he questioned the right of the white people to detain those who certainly were not of their race. arthur then made baldabella comprehend that she must tell the men that if they did not release her and nakinna, the white men would kill them all. the woman at once understood and repeated the message; and was answered by the tall savage. she shook with terror as he spoke, and turning to arthur said,-- "black fellow say, peter want baldabella. baldabella must go. no, no! good white man! bad peter kill baldabella! kill nakinna!" it was doubly annoying to find these troublesome natives were acquainted with the villanous bush-ranger; but it was certain baldabella must not be left in the power of the wretch, at any cost. while he hesitated what steps to take, one of the women, roused by the cries of nakinna, went up to the savage who held her, and spoke to him in soft, persuasive accents, at the same time attempting to take the child from him. the hardened wretch put down the child at his feet, and snatching up a club, struck the woman to the earth, senseless, if not dead. no longer able to control his indignation, arthur, seeing a herd of kangaroos bounding along within reach of a shot, directed the attention of the man to them, and then fired his rifle, and shot a large animal dead. astonishment and terror overcame the usual assumed calmness of the natives, and several of them fled in confusion. arthur then, pointing to the kangaroo, and then to baldabella, indicated his wish for the exchange, and the two men who still held her readily resigned their captive, and ran up to take possession of the more valuable spoil, followed by the inhuman chief; after he had, with a vindictive countenance, spurned the poor child from him with his foot. the mother caught up her child and fled to her friends, prostrated herself before arthur, and placed his foot on her neck; then rising, she resumed her usual dignified and graceful step, and fell into the rank with the rest of the party, who lost no time in moving forward, after margaret had seen that the unfortunate victim of the chief's cruelty was kindly attended to by the woman who was her companion. "it were a burning shame," grumbled wilkins, "to let them saucy niggers take off with that fine beast, and have to fast ourselves. for ye see, master hugh, that shot's flayed away all on 'em, and it may be long enough afore we light on 'em again." "have some faith, my good man," said mr. mayburn. "we have been fed like the prophet in the wilderness, by miracle, let us not fear, god will still provide us with food." "at the present moment," said arthur, "it would be imprudent to delay even to seek provisions. our first consideration must be to move away from this part as quickly as possible, for i suspect these people will keep us in sight as long as they can." "ay, master," said wilkins, "they'll need ye to shoot beasts for 'em! depend on't they'll dog us." this was an uncomfortable suspicion, and margaret and arthur talked and pondered deeply on plans and arrangements, almost regardless of the brilliant buds and blossoms that enchanted mr. mayburn. they walked on with regular and rapid steps over the flower-strewed ground, amidst the rich smell of the foliage and the flowers and the strange music of the woods. kangaroos and emus were seen at some distance, but prudence forbade any delay for the chase, and they made no halt till extreme fatigue compelled them to rest on the side of a grassy hill, where the least wearied set out to search the bushes for nests. some fine young birds supplied them with a good supper; eggs were now rarely found, but with these ruth's fowls frequently supplied them. "where next?" asked margaret. "i think, arthur, i can distinguish a deep-green line far distant to the south-east. may we not hope it indicates the situation of another river?" "we have ever been cheered, thank god," said mr. mayburn, "through all our pilgrimage, with continued benefits. we have never yet experienced the perils and privations of the desert, which has ever been supposed to exist in the interior of australia." "travellers in south australia," replied arthur, "have certainly met with those barren regions; but in this tropical country we have, indeed, enjoyed all the plenty which nature can bestow. at present we need water; but in the morning we will, if god permits, direct our course to the green belt we have seen. if we can again resume our canoe voyaging, it will be a great relief to us; and even if the river be dried up at present, we can take the bed for our guide, and may find pools of water for our daily use. but, my dear margaret, i am ashamed to say i feel despondent when i reflect that this is january; the autumn rains may soon come on, and we have no idea where we can shelter you and dear papa from the fury of tropical storms." "i could soon run up a bit of a hut, with bark roofing," said jack, briskly. "i am quite aware of that, jack," answered arthur, "and have much reliance on your skill and promptness. the great difficulty seems to be the selection of a site out of the observation of the treacherous and vindictive natives; or of one whom i dread still more, that vile bush-ranger, who appears to be tracking us for some evil purpose." "he has a spite again me, that's sartain, mr. arthur," said wilkins. "then, he'd like to put his hands on that gun; and there would be, likely, some pickings of things as would suit him, let alone money, that, like enough, ye'll have amang ye." "but what possible use can the misguided man have for money in a wilderness among savages?" asked mr. mayburn, in astonishment. "why, not a deal of use just hereabouts," answered wilkins; "but ye ken nought about bush-rangers, and all their rounds and changes. if peter had cash, he'd be off to some of them far away bush publics; and there he'd have a grand tuck out, till he'd spent every rap, and be fresh to set out on a new hook. that's bush-ranging life, master." "and a fearful life it is in this world, wilkins," said mr. mayburn; "but still more fearful as a preparation for the world to come. thank god that you are rescued from it, my poor man." "ay, i'se clear on't now," replied he, "thanks to ye, master; and, god be praised, there's no shame can stick to a fellow for turning round when he's got into a slough." "not at all, wilkins," said his good teacher; "the best christians have sinned and repented; and to all it is said that they must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of god." the heart of wilkins was enclosed in a rough husk, but the soil was not bad; the seed that was sown in it was not unfruitful, but was slowly coming to maturity. early in the morning the pilgrims took the road towards the green belt they had observed the previous day; and though many tedious hours intervened before they reached it, they were rewarded by discovering that the belt of trees hung over the banks of a considerable river, narrow, but deep, with high rocky banks, so far above the level of the stream on the side on which they stood, that the water which they so much required was unattainable. this disappointment was vexatious, and they continued to pass along the edge of the cliff for some time in melancholy silence, till, at a very narrow part of the river, jack stopped, and, pointing to a tall tree on the edge, proposed that they should cut it down, so that it should fall across the river and form a bridge. this would be an undertaking at once tedious and hazardous; but the advantage of placing the river between themselves and the inimical savages was obvious, as it was improbable that they should have the means of crossing. it was therefore agreed that they should make the experiment. they had found abundance of the wild oats on the plain, which were now quite ripe; and ruth was busily employed in bruising the grain to make biscuits, while jenny roasted potatoes in the ashes, and looked down on the river with longing eyes, for the tea-shrub was abundant round them, and nurse pined for her cup of tea again. leaving the women thus engaged, the young woodcutters commenced their operations with their stone axes, though they had failed to render them very sharp, relieving each other at intervals; for in truth the cutting down a stout tree was not a little tiresome. but perseverance subdues great difficulties; at last the tree fell majestically, and rested securely on the opposite bank. then the proud young workmen proceeded to lop the branches which stood in the way, levelling and smoothing the trunk as much as they were able, and running over it to prove its security; and, finally, jack carried a rope across, attached to some of the erect boughs, to form a sort of hand-rail to satisfy the timid. with some persuasion, mr. mayburn was so far satisfied of the safety of the rude bridge, that he suffered himself to be led across; then margaret and the two women were safely conducted over; baldabella followed, looking with astonishment at their timidity, and tripping lightly along with her child upon her shoulder. when all had crossed, the rope was withdrawn and coiled up again, and, with the aid of levers and axes, the bridge was broken and cast down, to be floated away by the stream, that the savages might not have the advantage of it in their pursuit. the banks on which the travellers now stood were less precipitous than those they had left; they were clothed with bamboos and rushes, and in many places open down to the river, where they gladly procured the water of which they were so much in need. then they continued to walk along a narrow muddy strand, looking with longing eyes at the smooth water, on which a canoe might have been paddled with so much less exertion than the continued labor of walking. it would soon be made, jack declared; and, after a night's rest, all were ready to work, if the work were provided for them--the great point, as jack said, being "to fall on the right sort of tree." before they had finished another weary day's walk, they had "fallen on the right tree," barked it, and, uniting their efforts, formed and gummed two canoes. these required a day to be hardened for service, during which they made paddles, cut down the oat grass to serve for lining the canoes, after they had thrashed out the ripe grain. the women baked biscuits and boiled fish, with which the river abounded, collected some tea-leaves, and finished provisioning the boats. next morning they were again seated in these very commodious canoes, delighted to rest after all their fatigues; for the labor of paddling on the smooth river was comparatively easy. they continued an uninterrupted voyage of many days, though they several times saw the smoke of fires rising from the brush on the north bank, and sometimes even heard the _coo-ee_ of the natives, which made them apprehensive that they were not unnoticed; but they satisfied themselves that their mode of travelling defied pursuit. they rarely landed more than once a day, usually on the south bank, where they often met with some small tributary stream, abounding in fish, and the adroit spearing of baldabella always provided them with an abundant supply, sufficient for supper and breakfast. this fish was principally the fresh-water cod, as they named it, of very large size. every morning after breakfast, before they embarked, they walked out to look round for some favorable spot to which they might retire during the approaching rains, but in vain. still the high cliffs continued on one side of the river; and on the side where they wished to remain they still saw spread before them marshy plains. chapter xix. a _cache_.--the black forest.--a site for the hut--the eagles.--gerald's accident.--a subterranean grotto.--the pitcher plant.--a potato ground.--the fig-tree.--australian jumbles.--the hungry guest. they began at last to be weary of the monotonous voyaging, and were glad, one morning, on ascending the banks, to see a change of scenery. the reedy swamps were replaced by rich grassy slopes, where tall trees and bright creeping blossoms, the fragrant golden flower of the _acacia_ and the balmy odor from various trees of the _eucalyptus_ kind, encouraged them to hope that they might find a retreat in such a pleasant region. "halloo!" cried wilkins. "just all on ye step here, and take a good look at this here tree. we're not the first white folks as has had a look round hereabout. as sure as you're there, mr. arthur, there's a _catch_, as they call 't, under this same tree. look ye, i kenned it all as soon as ever i set eyes on that there criss-cross, cut wi' an honest steel blade, i'se warrant it; and says i to mysel', our own folks has been here, and we'll just try a bit at their diggings; that's wi' yer leave, mr. arthur." arthur hesitated; he certainly neither wished to commit, nor to connive at, a robbery; but he considered some information worth knowing might be found in the _cache_. he therefore sent to the canoes for shells, spades, and knives; and all the young men began to dig with as much earnestness and anxiety as if they had been the gold-diggers in the south of the country. "if we were to find a great nugget of gold," said gerald. "i would rather find a good saw," said jack. "or an iron kettle," suggested margaret. "i should like a telescope," said hugh. "now, nurse, what will you have?" asked arthur. "well then, mr. arthur, honey, if i must speak," answered nurse, "i would say a barrel of flour; but just as god pleases." "i feel it! i feel it!" cried gerald, flinging away his knife in his ecstasy. "it is something hard." "be very careful," said arthur. "we must not damage the hidden stores. whatever can it be? here are canisters and bags." "it'll be tea and sugar," cried ruth, clapping her hands with delight. "nay, nay, lass, what need for folks to bury tea and sugar?" said wilkins. "here's summut a deal better--powder and shot. and see here, mr. arthur, ye're a scholar; this'll be like her majesty's ship's name on 'em." "there is, indeed," replied arthur, "and the date when they were placed here, which is three years ago. i fear the owners will never return to claim them now." "all the better for us," said wilkins. "there's nought here a bit worse, and it's all fair, ye ken, mr. arthur. finders, keepers, all t' world round." arthur looked inquiringly at his father. "the wisdom of the world, wilkins," said mr. mayburn, "is not always the wisdom of god. but, in the case of this treasure-trove, arthur, as the ammunition is certainly the property of her majesty, lying useless here, i do think--margaret, am i right?--i am of opinion that we may appropriate a part of this valuable deposit; leaving in the place a written acknowledgment of the loan. then, if god spares us to have the opportunity, we must report our trespass to the government." "i think you are right, dear papa," said margaret; "but the temptation is so great, that perhaps we are none of us in a state to give impartial judgment." wilkins, without listening to a word of the discussion, had taken on himself the responsibility of the offence, and was already actively engaged in moving off the bags and canisters to the boats. "not more than we may need, remember, wilkins," said margaret. "and who's to say what we may need, miss," answered the man. "we've mony a hundred mile to trot yet, and some uglier customers than t' black fellows to come on afore we've done, and that's them hang-gallows bush-rangers." "we will compromise with our conscience," said arthur, "by taking away half the store; and papa's portable writing-case will supply us with the means of making a brief statement and an apology." the note was written, enclosed in a bark case, and attached to one of the bags left in the hole; the soil was then restored, and the turf carefully replaced, so that no trace of the _cache_ might attract the natives. "they'd make a bonny kettle of fish, if they did come on 't," said wilkins; "for ten to one they'd fling t' powder on t' fire, and then there'd not be mony on 'em left to talk about it." "we must take especial care to guard our cargo against fire," said arthur; "and we have also another enemy to fear--the water--which might soon render our treasure useless. therefore, the sooner we leave the boats, and 'take to the bush,' as wilkins says, the better. this country certainly looks pleasant; but i should prefer a more woody and sheltered spot." "if you look directly south, arthur," said hugh, "you will see a black spot, which, i take it, must be a thick forest. it would make a good land-mark for us, if we leave the river. what do you say? must we aim for it?" arthur directed his attention to hugh's black forest, which certainly stood in the way they wished to go; and as there was no appearance of smoke, or even of former fires on the plains, there was some reason to think the district might not be frequented by the savages. these considerations decided them to abandon once more the easy canoe-voyaging, and, with the weighty addition to their burdens of the ammunition from the _cache_, they slowly set out. the plain was covered with rich high grass that would have fed thousands of cattle, but was now only tenanted by herds of graceful kangaroos and small detachments of tall stalking emus. the trees were populated with swarms of parrots, cockatoos, pheasants, and small warblers, and the air rang with their mingled notes, cheerful at least, if not harmonious. when the dark wood became fully visible to them, margaret observed that baldabella seemed startled and uneasy, and frequently paused as if reluctant to proceed. but when, after an hour's walk, the sombre thick forest spread before them, half a mile across, the woman turned round to margaret with trembling limbs, and said in a faltering voice, pointing to the forest, "good miss, no go; bad spirit kill all people; good master, baldabella, all die. bad spirit very angry, say no people go here." margaret tried to reason with the terrified woman, who had now turned round to flee with her child; she appeared to be agitated in the highest degree, and when the child clung to margaret, who turned to follow the rest, the distressed mother, wringing her hands, wailed in the most pathetic manner; till at length, with an air of sudden resolution, she drew herself up, with her usual dignity, and said,-- "baldabella die, not leave good friends," and walked calmly on by the side of margaret. arthur had learned previously that the natives regarded a dark wood with superstitious awe; but he now concluded that baldabella had some acquaintance with this particular spot, and that it was an object of fear to the natives. this was a circumstance which would render it still more desirable to the travellers as a place of seclusion; and when they came up close to the gloomy forest, they did not wonder at the superstitious dread of the ignorant savages. it seemed as if neither man nor beast, nor even the light of heaven, could penetrate the mysterious spot. lofty trees, resembling the pine, the chestnut and the cypress, as closely ranged as it was possible for nature to plant them, were so interwoven and matted together, for the height of eight or ten feet with coiled thorny shrubs and creeping plants, that they formed an impenetrable fortress that seemed to defy the impotent attacks of man. "i wonder which of us is the favored prince who is to 'cut his bright way through,' this enchanted wood," said gerald. "here's an adventure, hugh! now for knives and axes!" "do not be too hasty, boys," said arthur. "it would be prudent to make the circuit of the wood first, in order to select the most accessible point. besides," continued he, as they walked on, "i think we must proceed with caution. we will cut a low tunnel, the entrance to which can be easily closed, if we find it possible to remain here for a short season; and thus we shall leave no trace of our presence." "i shall be well content to remain here," said mr. mayburn, "amidst these noble and curious trees and shrubs. to study their varieties will sufficiently occupy and amuse me." "and i shall be satisfied to live in a hut," said margaret, "however rude it may be, where we can have rest and peace; where we can repair our tattered garments, and perhaps make new boots to replace these worn fragments. but i fear our abode in the forest must be gloomy and depressing." "we can build a nest in the trees," said gerald, "as the people did in the swiss family robinson, and live in the cheerful society of parrots and cockatoos. that looks like the very fig-tree the family inhabited; let us choose it. see, it is covered with ripe figs that look very tempting. i should like to climb for some." "the fig-tree will not fly away, gerald," said arthur, "and just now we must all have more important employment. we must immediately commence our tunnel, for the air is more sultry than ever, and i have fancied more than once that i have heard the distant roll of thunder. i sincerely wish we had a shelter at hand. i must call on you, my friends, to halt at once. we will try this point." the part of the wood before which they had arrived, though quite impervious, was less thorny than any part they had yet passed, and therefore more easy to work, and they began to cut down the entangled brushwood for about four feet in height, and wide enough to admit the passage of one person only. the lopped branches were carefully collected, to be removed to the interior of the wood, when the path was completed; but their labor was long and tedious, for the forest could not be less than fifty yards in breadth. fortunately after piercing it for twenty yards, they found the underwood less rank and entangled, and were satisfied with trampling it down to make the road smoother for the women. this wood terminated finally in a glade of extraordinary beauty, richly clothed with grass and studded with the gorgeous flowers of the tropical regions. this glade spread before them level for some distance, then gradually sloped upwards, thickly grown with wild oats, and then with brush, to a great height, the whole forming an isolated mountain, which was apparently flat at the summit. the young boys declared this must be the very abode of enchantment; and as the ascent was a succession of green terraces, they were all able, with some fatigue, but with little difficulty, to attain the highest ridge, when they saw, with some astonishment, that a few feet below them lay a basin or crater, covered with verdure--tall grass mingled with the usual thick brush. after gazing on it for a few minutes, hugh said, "what a capital place for our hut. margaret cannot call this height gloomy, for, by mounting the ridge, we can look over the forest and survey the whole country round us. then the flowers are so gay and pleasant, and we shall see multitudes of birds. do look, papa, at those two superb eagles that are soaring above our heads, and that doubtless have their eyrie somewhere in this mountain." but while they were gazing at the birds, o'brien, who stood at some distance from them, was making ready his bow, and before they were aware of it he had skilfully sent an arrow into one of the eagles, which fell fluttering and screaming among the brushwood. "victory! victory!" he cried, looking round for mr. mayburn. "did you see me shoot the eagle, papa?" "i saw and admired the magnificent creatures, gerald," answered mr. mayburn; "and i deeply grieved to see one fall by your hand. it was no victory, but a wanton cruelty. you have destroyed the noble bird for no useful purpose, and my heart is afflicted to observe the distress of the attached mate. see how he circles round the spot which has left him bereaved and lamenting. i am forcibly reminded of the powerful words of one of our modern classical poets, who, in describing such a tragical bereavement, writes,-- 'she whom he mourns lies dying, with the arrow in her side, in some far stony gorge, out of his ken, a heap of fluttering feathers: never more shall the lake glass her flying over it; never the black and dripping precipices echo her stormy scream as she sails by!'" "i thought you would have liked to possess the bird, papa," said gerald, "and i am really sorry for the widowed mate. i feel quite uncomfortable to see the old fellow soaring round me and uttering, i have no doubt, violent abuse. but i may as well recover my game, that you may gratify your curiosity by examining an australian eagle." "i saw it fall just behind yon yellow-flowered shrub, which looks so like our own english furze," said hugh. gerald dashed forward into the bush to search for his prize, while margaret and her father examined with great satisfaction the rich table-land, and jack pointed out a favorable site for a wattled, bark-roofed hut, which, he asserted, might be easily constructed in a couple of days. but while they were discussing this important affair, they were alarmed by a loud cry from gerald, "help, help! the enchanter has got me! come, arthur, by yourself, and throw me a rope!" all were in alarm, and where to throw the rope was the question, for the boy was not to be seen. arthur and jack, with a pole and ropes, stepped lightly over the bushes, expecting to find gerald plunged in a marsh. his cries directed them to a spot, where they saw only his head and one arm clinging to a bush. "take care what you are about," said he; "i have slipped into a hole, and perhaps there may be more like it. you had better just slide the pole along till i can catch it, and then, perhaps, i may manage to raise myself. the worst is, i hear that furious eagle, fluttering and hissing just below me, and i am every moment in fear lest she should attack me, and peck my legs to revenge her wrongs." with the aid of the rope and the pole, and the exertions of his friends, gerald scrambled to a safe spot in the bushes, and then they all took a survey of the cave, or grotto, that lay below; and were so much interested by it, that they resolved to explore it at once. jack volunteered to make the first expedition, and began by attaching the rope to a stout bush to facilitate his descent, and taking with him the pole to test the security of the ground below. the floor of the cave was not more than twelve feet below the opening, and jack looked round to find himself in a large grotto, floored with dry white sand; the rocky sides were garlanded with creeping plants, and it was lighted by many apertures above, similar to that through which gerald had fallen, and, like that, almost covered with brushwood. dark branch-caves ran from this airy grotto, into which they penetrated for a few yards, to satisfy themselves that it was uninhabited; and, from the observations he made, arthur could not but believe the whole was of volcanic origin, and, in fact, a portion of the crater of an exhausted volcano. "we may find a capital magazine here for the powder," said jack; "and this light part will make a kitchen for the women folks while we are building the hut think you, mr. arthur, i should make them a ladder? they'll hardly like swinging down by a rope." arthur thought they would certainly not like such a mode of descent, and the ladder was decided on. then he ventured to draw near the screaming eagle to endeavor to extract the arrow from his wing, but the bird made such fierce returns for his kindness, that he was compelled to retreat, and wait for a more favorable moment for the operation; and in the mean time, the youths ascended to report the discovery of the cave. wilkins had been employed in cutting down and bringing up the ascent a quantity of the wild oats, and margaret and her father were found standing by a pool of clear water, which, though now somewhat shallow, would doubtless contain an abundant supply after the rain. around this pond mr. mayburn had found many new and beautiful flowers, and, as soon as he was satisfied of o'brien's safety, he hastened to point out one of his most valued acquisitions. "observe, my dear children," said he, "one of the most curious plants ever discovered, _cephalotus follicularis_, one of the pitcher-plants, so named from the peculiar-form of the delicate white blossoms. you perceive that these _pitchers_ on the strong footstalk contain water--in this are some drowned insects. hence, some writers have asserted that these flowers are used by the larger insects of prey as receptacles for their food. but we must see that this accumulated moisture is to preserve the plant in its beauty during the long dry season." "could we not plant potatoes here?" asked margaret. "in this genial climate we might soon raise a crop, and our stock is now very low." "of course we can, meggie," said hugh. "i understand the habits of our _solanum_. this light, dry, fresh soil will exactly suit it. come, gerald, let us lose no time in marking off and clearing our potato-ground, before the rains stop us. that will be more useful than shooting eagles." they were all gratified with the discovery of the cave, and anxious to see it, but were induced to wait till a ladder was made, which was to be commenced as soon as a party had returned to the wood to fill up the mouth of the tunnel. for this purpose they used part of the lopped branches, which they arranged so artfully, that no one could suspect a breach had been made. the remainder of the brushwood was to be conveyed up the mountain for firewood. after this, hugh and gerald made a foray in an immense fig-tree, dispersing the feathered tenants, and carrying off a large stock of the ripe fruit. the rest returned, laden with firewood and wild oats. then jenny made them some tea, and cakes of bruised oats, mixed with the plentiful but insipid juice of the figs. these cakes were baked in the ashes, and much enjoyed by the ever keenly hungry boys, who named the dark hard biscuits australian jumbles. before night should put an end to their labors, jack and the young boys cut down a slender tree, resembling the pine, to make a ladder; and margaret, with the help of wilkins, pared off the turf, dug a large plot of ground, and planted it with potatoes. then, worn out with a day of extreme toil, the wayfarers rested beneath a threatening sky, in the heated atmosphere which indicated an approaching storm. a few drops of rain at daybreak roused up the whole family to prompt activity. "it's no time to start and build to-day," said wilkins. "wait a bit; here's a storm ower our heads; or, if ye want work, what say ye to sinking yon bit pond a foot deeper? it holds nought, and when t' rain falls it'll overflow and half drown us, if we don't mind." arthur thought it was a more prudent plan to dig another pond or reservoir, rather deeper than the original one, and make a channel between the two. they should thus secure a supply of water, and prevent their potato ground from being washed away by a sudden flood. "and, now that the ladder is finished," said margaret, "it would be better that papa and i should descend at once into this subterranean grotto, and make it ready for our temporary abode, till you are able to build a hut; for there is certainly a prospect of rain falling to-day." "come along," cried gerald, "that i may usher you into my newly-discovered dominions. now, ruth, we shall have you safe; you will have few opportunities of committing mischief when you are below the earth. come and descend into the burning mountain, and take care you don't fight with my eagle." "oh! master, is't true--is't a burning mountain?" asked ruth, in terror. "it has been a volcano," answered mr. mayburn, "but, in all probability, exhausted, hundreds of years ago. it is now, as you see, a beautiful wilderness." ruth did not regard the beauty of the spot; she saw only, in her mind's eye, the red flames pouring from mount vesuvius, as depicted in a gaudy picture-book she had seen in her childhood. "oh, please, miss marget," she exclaimed, "stay up here! don't go down into that hole; it'll, maybe, break out again, and we'll all be burnt alive." but margaret remonstrated, the boys laughed and jenny scolded; and, finally, jack brought ruth down to the range of subterranean apartments, where margaret and jenny soon planned dormitories, kitchen, and store-rooms. a large alcove was to be the chapel, and the light bowery grotto beneath the entrance was to be the drawing-room,--at least, till the heavy rains should compel them to seek more effectual shelter. here they collected stones for seats, and rolled into the midst a large piece of rock for a table, upon which was spread the breakfast of tea and oat-cakes, at present their only provision. mr. mayburn was delighted to have the opportunity of inspecting so nearly the wounded, but still fierce eagle, with its shining black plumage; and he judged it was that known as _aquila fucoso_. it was in vain, however, to attempt a close examination till wilkins and jack, after some struggling, and a few severe pecks, succeeded in holding it till arthur extracted the arrow from the wing, and saw that nature would probably heal the wound in a few days. in the mean time the bird was starving, for it rejected with disdain the farinaceous food offered to it; and hugh and gerald promised, as soon as the reservoir was completed, to set out and shoot some small birds or opossums, for their hungry guest. chapter xx. the reservoir.--the rains.--the native companion.--the employments of prison life.--the unlucky chase.--jack's tale of trouble.--black peter's temptations.--the release of the eagle.--the rescue party. the reservoir was six feet deep and ten feet in diameter, and was lined with flat stones from the interior of the cave, where large slabs were scattered round. this was not completed in one day, and on the second morning, while wilkins and jack finished the work, and, after digging a trench, laid down a spout of bark between the ponds, hugh and gerald went down to the wood below, to shoot birds. but before the end of the day the workmen were driven to shelter by the violent rain; and the two boys returned, drenched to the skin, and laden with pheasants, cockatoos, and a wild turkey, as large as an english christmas turkey, and resembling that bird so much, that the name was considered not inappropriate. they had, thus, a handsome dinner for themselves, and abundance of food for the hungry and somewhat tamed eagle. they were seated at their late repast when the storm began in earnest; tremendous peals of thunder rolled through the immense hollows of the mountain, and seemed to shake the very rocks from their foundation. ruth screamed and looked round in distraction, expecting the eruption of the volcano was at hand; and even the proud eagle trembled to hear the voice of the skies. then the rain came down in torrents, showering through the leafy coverings of numerous apertures above them, and driving them back into the gloomy security of the solid rocks; grateful for even that dismal retreat in the sudden storm. "we need not remain in the dark, though we are in the crypt," said hugh. "come, gerald, let us light some flambeaux, and fix them on the walls; then, with all these trailing garlands suspended from above, we may fancy ourselves in a ball-room." the caverns were lighted up, and then every one found employment. mr. mayburn produced the head and neck of the turkey, which he contemplated with much interest. "it certainly must be the bird described as the _wattled talegalla_, arthur," said he, "and which is considered to represent the turkey in australia; the red skin of the head, bright orange wattle, and large disproportionate feet, prove the fact; and i am gratified that you have obtained a specimen of it." "we are all gratified, papa," said margaret, "for it is the most useful and delicious bird we have yet found in this ornithological paradise." the boys employed themselves in thrashing the wild oats, storing the grain in bags, and then arranging the straw for mattrasses--a perfect luxury to them, after they had for so long slept on the bare ground. they had their knives and axes, and abundant material in the boughs and spare pieces of the tree that was cut down for the ladder; and, to fill up the time, jack presided over a school of art, where the ingenious and active employed heads and hands, and produced some articles of great use. margaret took the opportunity to teach lessons of civilization and religion to the lively little nakinna, and, through the child, poured the words of truth into the heart of the mother. wilkins, who was miserable when unemployed, good-naturedly assisted jenny and ruth in various household matters, made a stone hearth for the fire, helped to cook, piled up the dry fuel, contrived a wattled niche for the fowls, and went out through the rain to bring in water, when needed. three or four days were thus passed in contented seclusion, the storm still continuing unabated; then, though the rain fell incessantly, the prisoners began to be weary, and to have a great desire to visit the world above. they engaged to bring in fresh provisions, if jenny would provide dry clothes for them on their return from their foraging expedition; and with bows, arrows, axes, and game-bags, wilkins, jack, and the three boys set out, delighted to return to the light, and to the pure air of heaven, and enjoying even the cool rain. "do, arthur, look at those tall birds with the crimson crest and huge wooden-looking beak," said hugh. "one of them would be as useful as the turkey was, for a dinner dish. i suppose we must call them storks; though they are really, to us, among the anonymous creatures of this strange new world." "ye may find t' like of them all over," said wilkins. "folks down at t' colony calls 'em 'native companions;' they trust ye, poor rogues, as if ye were their brother; ye might just walk up to yon fellows, and wring their necks." "which i should certainly object to do, wilkins," answered hugh. "i could not make up my mind to wring the neck, or to feed on, 'mine own familiar friend.' we will be content to reduce the multitude of the noisy impertinent cockatoos and parrots; or suppose, arthur, we descend to the glade below, where we can cut more wood, and shoot some opossums for our aquiline guest. the skins will make us splendid cloaks to wear this rainy season." and, careless of the wet plunge, the joyous youths descended through the brushwood, and reaching the verdant glade, they shot as many opossums as they wished; filled some bags with ripe figs, and finally, after a long chase, and many a fall on the moist slippery ground, they secured a wandering kangaroo of large size, which, in distress of weather, had by some means found its way into this enclosed retreat. jack had in the mean time barked a tree of the _eucalyptus_ species, and tying the cumbrous spoil with a rope, he drew it after him up the mountain. wilkins shouldered the kangaroo, and the rest, equally laden, toiled through the bushy, moist, sloping wood, and arrived safely at the cave, to diffuse amusement and contentment among their expecting friends, and to furnish more employment for their enforced leisure time. they were all invested in dry garments; then jack examined his prize, and said,-- "just look at this bark, mr. arthur. i have seen none yet so firm and hard; it is completely an inch plank, fit for any sort of work. i could make a light wagon of it, if we had any animals to draw it; and, anyhow, i'll set about a table and some seats, directly, and then i'll try some buckets, and dishes, and such-like things. now's the time for work, when there's no walking." for many days the ample supply of provisions, and the amusement of occupation, reconciled the young men to the gloomy seclusion of their retreat. during this time a square piece of bark, flattened and smoothed with sharp stones, was placed on four posts, for a table; long slips similarly supported, formed stools and benches. trenchers, dishes, buckets, and bowls, certainly somewhat rude in form, were next finished, the gum which exuded from many trees near them supplying them plentifully with an admirable cement. there is a charm to civilized minds in being surrounded with the appliances and arrangements of domestic life; and the women became reconciled, and even attached to their monotonous existence--especially when an occasional cessation of rain permitted them to live in the front portion of the cave, which was rendered pleasant and cheerful by the subdued light through the foliage. a day of fair weather tempted the young men to leave their confinement, and not only to descend to the enclosed glade below, but to venture to break through the charmed circle of the wood, and have a scamper over the plains after the kangaroos and emus which frequented it. and on the margin of a chain of pools, newly filled by the recent rains, they once more saw the tall native companion, amid swarms of wild ducks; while, from among the wild oats whirred flocks of small beautiful birds resembling the quail, but with an elegant crest. they filled their game-bags with birds, and a troop of kangaroos appearing in sight, they were tempted to pursue them for a considerable time. at last the animals sought refuge in a spreading thick wood, into which wilkins and jack, with axes and spears, followed them. the young boys in the mean time were engaged in chasing a pair of emus; till, weary and unsuccessful, they turned away in disappointment, to join the kangaroo hunters. but just at that moment they were struck with the vexatious sound of the _coo-ee_ of the natives, which proceeded from the wood where the kangaroos had sheltered. this alarming cry decided them--especially as arthur was without his rifle--to return without delay, that they might close the tunnel entrance of their abode. keeping as much as possible under the shelter of the trees, they quickly made their way over the plains to the black forest, gerald frequently looking back; at last he said, "jack and wilkins are not yet in sight, shall i turn back to seek them, arthur, or must i give them a halloo?" "neither, my dear fellow," answered arthur. "however unkind it may seem, we must not risk the discovery of our retreat by attracting the natives to our heels. wilkins and jack must have heard the _coo-ee_ as well as we; and have most likely hid themselves till the savages have passed and they can return to us safely. we must keep open, but guard, the entrance till we see them return. now, go on, boys; take the game-bags to the cave, and then quietly bring away my rifle and cartridge-case, without saying a word about this vexatious incident. till you return i will conceal myself behind the bushes, and watch for the return of our two absentees." the boys hastened to the cave, to fulfil their mission; and leaving their bags, which contained some of the pretty quails, to divert the attention of mr. mayburn and margaret, they returned to watch silently and anxiously, ready to close the entrance as soon as their friends returned, or if they should be alarmed by the approach of the natives. gerald climbed a tree, that he might command the plains more effectually, and, from this elevated situation, he startled arthur by crying out,-- "oh, arthur! he is killed! i know he is killed! dear old fellow, we shall never see him more! there is only jack." "who is killed? what do you see? do speak plainly, gerald," said arthur, hastily. "i see him coming by himself," answered the distracted boy. "i mean i see jack; not wilkins. it's quite sure they must have killed him; jack never would have left him, if he was living." the two boys below were now almost as much agitated as gerald, for they plainly saw jack hurrying across the plain alone, and when he drew near, arthur was quite sure, from his pale and sorrowful countenance, that some heavy misfortune had occurred. he plunged into the open tunnel, and then said, "close it directly if you please, mr. arthur; i am so bad, i can do nothing." "but wilkins! where is wilkins, jack?" asked hugh. jack burst into tears as he said, "oh, master hugh! the bad rogues have got him; and all i could think on, i couldn't help him." "are there any hopes? do you think they will murder him?" asked arthur, trembling. "i think not, mr. arthur," answered jack; "but i'll tell you all about it as soon as we've closed up this gap, and tried to keep them safe that are left." the distressed boys hastened to restore the barrier with particular care; and then, as they slowly proceeded homeward, jack related his melancholy adventure. "we had got quite into the thick of the wood after that unlucky capering beast, when all at once that queer call of the black fellows rung into our ears. 'we're in for it now, and no mistake, my lad,' said wilkins to me. 'just you thrust yourself into that cover, and i'll listen a bit, to make out their whereabouts.' i forced myself into a thicket, matted together, for about six feet upwards, as thick as this wood round us. you had to fight for every inch of way; and i kept thinking all along that he was following me, but he was not. you know, mr. arthur, he is a good bit stouter than i am, and my fancy is that he had fought and rustled among the bushes till he'd been found out; for first i heard a dog growl, and then i heard his voice, speaking such words as he has never said of late--an oath, mr. arthur; then followed such yells! and i knew they had got him. "well, my first thought was to make my way out, that i might help him; but just then i got a sight of all the gang of them through the bushes. there could not be less than a hundred; and, worst of all, though he was naked, and painted like a savage, i made out at once that bad fellow, black peter, among them. four men had hold of wilkins. they had taken away his knife and spears, and peter was taunting him, as they pulled him along. i heard him say, 'thou wast a fool, wilkins, to stop so long with them preaching folks; i thought thou'd a bit more spirit--thou, that aimed to take a spell at bush-ranging, like a man. but thou'll come along with us now, and thou'lt find we're a bit jollier than yon smooth, long-faced dogs.' "then wilkins spoke out and said, 'i reckon my comrades were somewhat better than thine, peter. anyhow, we managed to keep clothes to our backs.' "the sly rogue tried to get round poor wilkins then, and went on, 'that's just to please those black rogues, wilkins; but, man, we're off down south just now, to pick up stock, and cash too. then we'll get good clothes; and as soon as we've done with them, we'll rid ourselves of these black fools, and have a grand jollification out of our money. there'll be some fun in that, man. and have these comrades of thine any cash or stuff worth lifting? i'd like that other gun they carried, and, anyhow, some powder and shot. i hav'n't a grain left--all blazed away after such game as that,'--and the good-for-nothing fellow pointed to the poor black natives, that didn't understand a word he had been saying. "wilkins muttered some words, very low, that i couldn't catch; but i fancy he didn't tell truth, for peter went on to say and swear that he would soon be on our track, for we couldn't get far in these rains; and that wilkins needn't think to join us, for he would take care and keep him in a safe place--a snuggery, he called it. "i made up my mind that i would see what and where this snuggery was; and when the men had passed on, and were out of hearing, i cautiously tracked them to a place in the midst of the wood, which they had cleared by burning down the trees, for there lay the blackened stumps; and a crying sin it was, mr. arthur, to waste so much good timber. on one side there was a great rock, into which they dragged poor wilkins, through a small opening, and i saw no more of him; but i think they meant to do him no harm, for there's little doubt peter wants him to be useful to him. wilkins is a shrewd fellow, moreover; and i feel sure he'll try to get away from them. but if they have him, as it were, in prison, what do you say, mr. arthur, shouldn't we help him?" "certainly, i think we are bound to do so," said arthur. "but we must hold a council, for we shall have to act with consideration and caution if we venture to leave our fortress." there was great distress in the family, and many tears were shed when the adventure was communicated to them; for, notwithstanding the former errors of wilkins, and his yet unsubdued passions, he was much beloved for his kind nature and his attachment to his true friends. mr. mayburn himself even gave his sanction to an expedition for the purpose of attempting the rescue of wilkins, if he did not return to them in a day or two. but for many days after this the rain fell so incessantly that it was impossible to leave their shelter, even though all their provisions were exhausted except the valuable grain, and a scanty supply of eggs from the domestic fowls. to these they were able occasionally to add the fruit of a large tree which grew in the glade below, bearing huge pods; each pod contained several almond-shaped seeds, which were enclosed in shells. these nuts were now ripe; they tasted like filberts, and were a very agreeable and nutritious addition to their spare diet. the wounded eagle, now quite sound, was an object of great interest to the prisoners: its nature was so fierce, that arthur despaired of its ever becoming tamed; but it submitted to their approach when their object was to bring it food--usually the entrails of the birds, which had been reserved for it. but seeing the untamable nature of the bird, and margaret, especially, having great compassion on its mate, it was agreed to restore it to liberty; though o'brien declared the royal bird would doubtless, before this, have chosen another queen. one morning there was an intermission of rain; and the opportunity was taken to release the captive from the bonds which secured its legs. the leafy covering was at the same time removed from the opening above, and the glorious light allowed to stream into the cave. the sight of the sky and the sensation of freedom roused the energy of the bird, and, with a joyous fluttering of the wings, it raised itself from the ground, soared round the confined spot for a minute, then, bursting through the opening, rose proudly to a height above, and after some gyrations, as if to test its recovered powers, it sailed away beyond the sight of its hospitable protectors, of whom two--jenny and ruth--rejoiced greatly at the departure of a guest so voracious. "my bonnie hens had to be pinched for that great ugly creature," said ruth, "when now two are laying every day, and one has been sitting this fortnight; and she's sure to be lucky, miss marget, for i set her on thirteen eggs; two of 'em, to be sure, were not her own; master hugh fetched 'em in to make up a lucky cletch." "yes," said hugh, "i should think it was perhaps the first time that an english hen has had the honor of hatching the eggs of the _cuculus phasianus_." in due time ruth's chickens were hatched, to the great amusement of the inmates of the cave; they were carefully tended and out of reach of danger, and seemed likely to be reared prosperously, the english family fraternizing with the australian intruders most agreeably. a second day of fair weather determined the anxious young men to set out in search of poor wilkins, lest the savages should have left their fastnesses in the rock, to follow their leader in his bush-ranging excursions. day after day they had mounted high trees to scan the plain, in hopes of seeing their lost companion, or observing the departure of his captors; but no human form was seen, and arthur felt assured that if wilkins had effected his escape, nothing would have prevented him from making his way through the black forest to join them. it was resolved to take the rifle, with sufficient ammunition to disperse the savages, and also all the weapons they possessed for, in all probability, it would be necessary to storm the fortress. jack and the three boys were intended to be the whole force; but baldabella so earnestly entreated that she might accompany them that they were induced to admit her into the train. she could throw a boomerang or spear better than any of them; her sympathy was excited for wilkins, who had always been her protector; and her knowledge of the habits and the language of the people might make her very useful to them. chapter xxi. the approach to the prison.--baldabella's stratagem.--the release of the captive.--wilkins's tale of trials.--a well.--the potato crop.--the flying opossum.--the salt plant.--preparations for a siege. cautiously and quietly the party wound, under the cover of the trees and bushes, across the plain, till they reached the wood that enclosed the abode of the savages. then the peril increased. jack led the way, and one after another they followed, step by step, through, under, or over the matted brush; and, finally, the leader placed his party in a position where they could all command a view of the rocky cave, though they stood at a short distance from each other. on the cleared ground before the cave two women were seated, bruising nuts between two stones; and several children were playing round them. the anxious young men watched for some minutes, but none of the men appeared; then baldabella proposed to go forward to introduce herself to the women, her friends promising to rescue her if they attempted to detain her. disencumbering herself from the light robe she condescended to wear in civilized life, and retaining only her cloak of furs, she took her fish-spear in her hand, and penetrated to a distant part of the wood, from whence she made her appearance on the charred glade, many yards from the ambush of her friends, and with slow steps, counterfeiting great fatigue, she walked up to the women, to demand, as she had arranged with her friends, food and repose. as soon as they perceived her, the women rose and looked round anxiously, and the young men expected every moment to hear the signal call for them; but the solitary feeble form of baldabella seemed to re-assure them. she drew near and talked for some minutes to her dark sisters; and the soft and pathetic inflections of her voice convinced the concealed party that she was appealing to that compassionate feeling which is ever so strong in the heart of woman. the women listened, and invited the stranger to sit down by them; they fed her with the rich kernels of the nuts, and, the rain beginning to fall again, they took her with them into the cave for shelter. how anxiously the young men waited, at one moment prompted to burst out and free the captive, who seemed to have no gaoler but the women, and then resolving to leave the whole affair to the shrewd management of baldabella. arthur was anxiously examining the state of his rifle and ammunition, which he had carefully shielded beneath his fur cloak, when they were roused to force their way through the bush by the loud and triumphant voice of wilkins, the low and apparently smothered _coo-ee_ of the women, and, finally, by the appearance of baldabella, rushing wildly from the cave, followed by wilkins, excited, tattered, and emaciated. he carried a gun in his hand, and staggered up to his friends as if intoxicated. "take this, and load it directly," said he, giving hugh the gun. "my hands are so cramped wi' them tough bands, that it'll be long afore i have any use on 'em. rascals! rogues! come on, i say; march while we can; yon screeching jins will soon bring a wasp's-nest round us." not caring for caution now, they hacked and burst through the thick wood, till they reached the plain; and then the _coo-ee_ of the duped women rang alarmingly on their ears, and was soon answered by a faint and distant cry from the absent men. poor wilkins, whose legs had been bound till they were numbed, made but slow progress; and arthur ordered o'brien and jack, with baldabella, to move rapidly forward, to guard, or, if necessary, to close the pass, while hugh and he protected the slow retreat of wilkins. they made no use of their arms till they saw the whole body of the savages appear outside the wood, and spears were falling round them. then hugh and arthur fired their guns simultaneously into the midst of the foes, who plunged screaming into the woods. two men lingered outside, but another volley from the second barrel, struck down one, and his companion disappeared in a moment. "now, mr. arthur," cried wilkins, as he hurried forward, "now don't ye trust 'em. they're watching us; we'se be done if we make straight to our cutting. they're sharp-eyed chaps; we'se have to bubble 'em a bit." wilkins was right; and though it occupied some time, they made the circuit of the forest, before they ventured to enter; after which, they lost no time in closing up the opening with great art and care. then the rescued prisoner was conducted to the cave, welcomed with great joy, fresh clad, and fed with pheasant, biscuit, and the unfailing tea; and his friends gathered round him to hear the tale of his hardships and trials. "ay, ay! this is all as it ought to be," said he; "and god be thanked i'se out on t'clutches of them unnat'ral dogs. they tied me hand and foot, all 'cause i couldn't be made to swear as how i'd turn bush-ranger, and start by robbing and murdering them as had cared for me and given me meat and claithes and good advice. that brute peter bullied me, and kicked me when he knew i was tied fast; and he'd have put a knife into me, but likely he thought to bring me into his ways; and he were feared his blackeys might turn round on him, for they'd no ill blood again me. then he ordered as how i were to have nought given me to eat, and sure enough i'd been starved afore this; but them poor jins, 'whiles, popped a few bites into my mouth, and brought me a sup of water, when i were like to go mad for want on't. a hempen rope wouldn't have held me, afore i lost my strength; but them stringy bark cords are like iron. "it were dowly wark, and mony and mony a time, master, i thought over your words, and all my bad life, and my coward's death, and god's judgment to come. and then and there i settled it in my mind, if he pleased to set me free again, i'd niver swear another oath, i'd niver tell another lie, and i'd niver miss praying for strength, when bad thoughts came into my mind. i see, miss, ye'r crying over my black sins, and well ye may, god help me. after this, i felt a bit more cheery, and i were sure some on ye would see after me; but i niver reckoned on her to be t'first, and were quite stunned when i saw her come in with t'other jins. but i plucked up my heart; i kenned she'd mind my words, and i just said,-- "'yer knife--cut these ropes!' and as sharp as a needle she was up to me, pulled out a knife from under her cloak, and cut me loose. but poor creaters as we are, i couldn't move arm or leg for a good bit, and her there, hauding a hand on one woman's mouth, and a hand on t' others, flayed as how they'd shrike out, till i come round a bit, and got my arms worked round from behind me, and my feet to shuffle on. then i thanked god in my heart, and off we came, and here we are; god bless ye all. i'se niver leave ye, whiles i have life. but, mr. arthur, we're not safe; peter's a cunning fish." "there's one comfort, wilkins," said arthur; "they do not like to face the heavy rain, which is now very welcome; and before it ceases, we must make ready for a siege; unfortunately, we want provisions." ruth placed herself uneasily before her poultry hutch, and wilkins said, "there's lots of pigeons amang yon trees; i can soon trap a lot, and fetch 'em down here alive, and we'll fit up a dove-cote, and have tame birds to eat. we'se be forced to care nought for a drop of rain, but set off and forage about inside of t' wood." to be besieged in a subterranean cave, from whence there was no retreat, was truly an alarming prospect; and several plans of fortification and defence were projected during the continuance of the heavy rain; while, regardless of the weather, the active youths left the cave to forage for stores, and to survey the plains that divided them from their enemies. "do look at our potatoes, arthur," said hugh; "how they have sprung up the last month. in another week they will be fit to eat, and we shall have a plentiful crop of these useful roots." though they saw all was still on the moist plain, they did not venture beyond the wood, but easily procured birds, figs, and oats in abundance; and after wilkins had placed his traps for pigeons, and hugh had taken up a root of the still small potatoes, they returned to the cave, heavily laden with good things. day after day they brought in fruit and grain to add to the stores, and captured a number of fine pigeons, for which jack wattled off a niche in the cave, and they were supplied with grass and brushwood for nests, and grain for food, to induce them to settle quietly. it was impossible in this climate to keep animal food eatable for more than two days; but so long as they had grain and potatoes they knew that they could live, provided they could secure a constant supply of water. this was their most perplexing difficulty; and even amidst the rain the stony lining of the reservoir was taken up that they might bore the ground beneath it with long poles. up to the waist in water, they bored ineffectually for an hour, the pole always striking against the solid rock. at length the pole passed through, there was an accidental opening in the rock, and the party who watched in the caves below, saw, with delight, the water trickle through into a recess some distance from the entrance. then they all descended, to sink a well in the soft sandy floor of the cave, which they lined with slabs, and looked on with pleasure as this little reservoir gradually filled from the pool above, which the continual rains kept constantly filled with water. it was ten days before all these labors were fully accomplished; then a dry day succeeded, and every hand was actively employed in digging up, carrying off, and storing the potatoes, which were of good size, and an abundant crop. they had made a number of bags of a flexible bark for containing stores; but now so many were filled that margaret was afraid, if they had to set out soon, they should be unable to carry all off. then, after ascertaining the undisturbed solitude of the plain beyond the wood, arthur and wilkins set out in hopes of procuring a change of food; but no kangaroos or emus were in sight, and they feared to venture far from their place of refuge. they shot some opossums, filled one bag with the leaves of the tea-shrub, at the particular request of jenny, and another with the leaves of a salt plant, which seemed to have sprung up after the rain, and which arthur was glad to carry off, that he might try an experiment of which he had read. "but, i say, mr. arthur," said wilkins, "we've gone and made a bad job of it; just look ye here, we've niver thought that we were leaving a track, and here it is on this plashy bog, and no mistake. we might just as well have hung out a sign-post, to ask blacky to walk in." arthur was much vexed at his own carelessness, but he saw nothing could now be done but to endeavor to confuse the track as much as possible, and he arranged with wilkins that they should separate, branch off in different directions, and finally they made a circuit opposite to each other round the wood, that the weak point might not be discovered. "ye see, mr. arthur," said wilkins before they separated, "if peter has an inkling that we're aback of these trees, he'd soon cut his way through, with a bit of help. but then, them fools of black fellows are as bad as our fond lass ruth; they're flayed out of their wits of this wood, and they'll be shy of coming nigh hand it. i ken a good bit of their talk, ye see, but i'se a bad hand at framing their queer chirruping words. i heard 'em tell of bad sperrits as haunted this wood. but black peter's set on getting haud of t' master's money, and guns, and powder, and such like, and he's not good to put down. i seed master hugh's rifle as soon as they pulled me into that hole, and kept an eye on't. it were no use to them, for they'd no powder; and i said to myself, if god please to loose me, that gun goes wi' me." they then parted to move round the dark forest, and during his walk, arthur was alarmed to see smoke from the wood in which the cave of the savages lay; and before he reached the opening, he heard their curious and unwelcome cry, which proclaimed that the foe was near, and he feared, watching their movements, and now deeply regretted that they had left their retreat. gladly they returned to it, and doubly secured the entrance, determining to keep an incessant watch, lest they should be surprised in their citadel. on their return they found that jack, assisted by hugh and gerald, had formed an oven, lined with slabs, on the hearth where the cooking-fire was usually made, and jenny was preparing cakes of bruised oats, and a pigeon-pie made in a large oyster-shell, and covered with potatoes, to be baked in the new oven. the flesh of the opossum was not relished by any of the party. jenny declared she would just as soon eat a monkey; ruth was afraid to touch one, even before it was cooked; and mr. mayburn, after a long lecture to prove that the flesh must certainly be wholesome, from the habits and the vegetable diet of the class of animals to which it belonged, concluded by declining, himself, to eat of it. "nevertheless," he said, "i am not prejudiced by the vulgar error of confounding this little creature with the ugly opossum of america, to which it bears no resemblance, except in its marsupial formation and its playful habits. in fact, the graceful form, delicate color, and extraordinary agility of this beautiful animal, seem to rank it rather with the squirrels; and from the lateral folds of membrane, which it has the power to expand, in order to support its flying leaps through the air, it has been named by some travellers the 'flying squirrel,' though distinct from the american squirrel, and, like all the quadrupeds of the country, exclusively australian." the pretty delicate gray skins were carefully preserved, to be sewed together for cloaks; and the hungry boys did not disdain a stew of opossums, which they declared was quite as good as rabbit. but previous to the cookery, arthur showed his father the new salt-shrub; and the large and peculiar form of the leaves enabled them to decide that it must be brown's _rhagodia parabolica_, the leaves of which are edible. anxious to make the experiment, the leaves were boiled for some time, strained, and the liquor filtered and evaporated several times, and at length the exposure to great heat produced some crystals of salt, to the delight of the young chemists, and still more to the content of jenny, who treasured the precious salt, which had so long been the grand deficiency in her cookery. the leaves themselves were added to the stew, and not only communicating a salt flavor to the insipid meat, but formed a tender vegetable, tasting like spinach; and it was determined to omit no opportunity of searching for this valuable plant. in the preparation and enjoyment of their abundant food, they did not neglect the necessary precautions for concealing their retreat. all the potato stalks were thrown into the cave, for fuel, and the ground was smoothed over as much as possible, and strewn with stones, that the traces of cultivation might haply escape observation; a watch was continually kept on the heights, and every opening that lighted the cave, with the exception of some narrow crevices, was carefully covered with a slab of stone beneath the brush, lest an accident similar to that which befell o'brien should lead their enemies to discover the subterranean hollow. this precaution rendered their abode gloomy, though they left the principal opening--the entrance--uncovered till any serious cause of alarm should render it prudent to enclose themselves entirely; and when a cessation of the rain permitted them, they all gladly remained in the open air, enjoying the perfume of the revived vegetation, and the joyful notes of thousands of birds which sported in the air, fluttered on the trees, or clamored noisily round the pools of water, plunging their beaks into the mud for the worms and reptiles on which they fed. these creatures supplied the family with unfailing food, and afforded mr. mayburn constant amusement in studying their various habits. but a cessation of rain brought to them also a certain increase of peril. the natives were seen spreading over the plain below, hunting the kangaroo or opossum; and _black_ peter, himself, easily distinguished, as gerald said, because he was _white_, was observed stooping down, as arthur suspected, to scrutinize the track, which he feared the rain had failed to obliterate. still, occasionally heavy showers fell, and dispersed the people, who shrink from rain; and it was not till one morning, when none was actually falling, though dark clouds hid the sun, that the whole force of the savages, certainly exceeding fifty men, appeared crossing the plain; following slowly, and it seemed reluctantly, their debased chief, black peter. when they had approached within a hundred yards of the forest, the natives halted at once, and peter, after speaking some words to them, began again to examine the perplexed track, and drawing close to the trees, followed it round the whole boundary, apparently puzzled and enraged. at length he paused not far from the real entrance, and swinging round his axe above his head, he called out loudly to the people. they answered by throwing their axes on the ground, and remaining erect and motionless. the watchers above distinctly heard repeated strokes of the axe on the hard pine-trees; but they were well convinced that the efforts of one man alone could not accomplish an entrance, even for many days, and therefore felt comparatively tranquillized. still there was the absolute conviction that they were in a state of siege; that this man was of indomitable determination, of cruel and depraved nature, and that ultimately his obstinacy might bend even the timid savages to his will. and at this thought, fear and anxiety stole over every heart. mr. mayburn was persuaded to remain in the cave with margaret and the three women, the sentinels promising to send reports of the progress of affairs to them, while, with tears and prayers they waited the result. "now, mr. arthur," said wilkins, "just let me say my say. we've t' best on't yet: let's keep yon pass again all them rogues, and see which side tires first. we'll cut a canny hole to fire through at 'em, and load one gun after another; and as ye 're a bit soft-hearted yersel', ye maun just let me be front-rank man, and i'se pick off my chaps, reet and left, till there's not a rogue can stand again us. folks say as how peter's charmed; but i'se have a blaze at him, onyhow, and see if i can't stop his mischief." "that will be capital!" cried gerald. "and let us dig trenches, arthur, and then won't we pepper the rascals snugly." "but these savages are not rascals, gerald," said arthur; "they are only ignorant wretches, misled by a rascal. to fire on them from an ambush would be cold-blooded murder, which papa would never sanction. we have no right deliberately to destroy so many human lives." "ye're a real soft un, master," said wilkins. "what's a few savages? bless ye, t' country round about teems with 'em; they'll niver be missed!" nevertheless, arthur could not be persuaded that it was expedient or excusable to destroy the surplus population of savages; and he preferred to reserve his charges for absolute defence. chapter xxii. peter's last stratagem.--firing the fortress.--the watch-tower.--the welcome rain.--the close siege.--the conflict.--the defeat of peter.--the fortress abandoned.--once more on the road.--resting in the wilds. but now they observed that peter had returned to his party, and was talking to them with violent gesticulation; continually pointing to the wood, and waving them forward. the men drew nearer, and gathered round a thicket of low bushes, where they appeared busily engaged for a few minutes. then the watchful sentinels saw, to their great dismay, many burning brands, one after another, flame up in the hands of the natives, who now rush boldly forward to cast them among the underwood of the forest. this was indeed a fearful sight, and no time was lost in retreating to the cave, where, after arthur had carefully observed that no track was left to the spot, they all entered; a slab was introduced over the opening, beneath the brushwood, and now only small interstices were left to admit air and faint gleams of light to the agitated party below. when the terrific mode of penetrating their fortress was told to mr. mayburn, and the reality of the obstinate siege burst upon him, stunned with horror, he remained speechless and motionless till margaret roused him, by entreaties that he would pray for them. "i will pray, my child," said he, "i will pray for speedy death; for death is inevitably our doom, and, alas! in its most frightful form." "will they burn us alive, miss marget?" shrieked ruth; "and my bonnie hens, and them poor pigeons?" "be silent, ruth," said margaret. "god is great in power. it may be his will yet to save us, if we pray to him." "there are caves within caves here, meggie," said hugh. "gerald and i know some queer corners, and we may escape beyond their discovery; and i make no doubt we may even cut our way through in some other part of the hollow, if we can only hold out long enough, and puzzle these fellows." but the temporary depression of mr. mayburn had now left him; he had recovered his firmness and faith in god; and he summoned round him his agitated family, to join him in fervent prayer for help and protection in this hour of extreme need. he spoke to them long and earnestly, not denying his own weakness; and besought each to contend with his besetting sin: the strong must yield to his will; the weak must ask for fortitude; the erring must resolve to forsake his sins; and the desponding must trust wholly to him who was mighty to save and merciful to the oppressed. "we are now, my children," he added, "wanderers, as were his chosen people in the wilderness. let us, then, remember the marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth." composed and hopeful, after their religious exercise the besieged began to examine their defences and their resources. the powder had been carefully preserved in a solid rocky niche, where no stray spark could possibly reach it. the provision, though simple, was abundant--the store of potatoes alone seemed inexhaustible. "we can surely live," said o'brien, "like thousands of my careless, healthy countrymen, on the _pratee!_ and defy famine. and, please, general arthur, to come and see the watch-tower that hugh and i have found out." arthur followed the restless boys, who carried off the ladder with them, through many a narrow winding, till they reached a very lofty hollow. here the boys rested their ladder, and ascended as high as they could with its assistance, after which they climbed the rugged wall till a projecting ledge enabled them to stand; and when arthur joined them, they pointed out to him some horizontal crannies between the strata of the stone, through which he looked down upon the table land of the mountain; and he perceived that this rock formed the parapet, or boundary wall of the crater. they were thus enabled to survey their own hitherto peaceful domain, as well as the surrounding wood, from which a dense smoke was now rising. the moist and green trees had long refused to blaze, but at length, as the boys were silently and anxiously watching, they saw the red threads crawl through the black clouds; they heard the loud crackling of dried branches; and finally the broad flames rose majestically above the dark trees, and spread rapidly towards the east side of the mountain, urged by a west wind. the roaring of the flames, the noise of falling timber, the screams and discordant cries of hundreds of disturbed and affrighted birds, which continued to wheel, as if fascinated, over the flames, prevented any sound of human voices being audible; and the actors in the frightful devastation were alike unseen and unheard. hugh sobbed with grief as he watched numbers of his favorite birds, suffocated with the thick smoke, fall down senseless; gerald exclaimed against the destruction of the ripe oats in the glade below, which were now blazing fiercely; and arthur, pale and agitated, saw the fearful conflagration rapidly spreading up the side of the mountain, and dreaded the moment when, the brushwood being consumed above the cave, the slabs that covered the entrance must inevitably be detected, and they must submit to be baited in their last hold. "arthur, what shall we do?" exclaimed hugh, "for the fire is running up the brush at the side of the mountain. see, now, it blazes over the edge; it has caught a heap of potato stalks that i was so careless as to leave there. gerald, there are margaret's favorite parterres all blazing,--the scarlet geranium, the blue convolvulus, and the sweet, home-like jasmine. how she will grieve! but, i forget, we have more to grieve for; already the sparks are falling on the bush over our grotto! what will become of margaret and papa?" "we must go to them," replied arthur. "we have seen the worst that can happen; it is useless remaining here. let us comfort them, and lead them into the deepest recesses of the mountain. we may, at least, escape the fearful effects of the conflagration." "and then, arthur," said hugh, "we may surely defend them with our guns. it will be a just cause." "it will! it will!" answered arthur. "god send that we may not be called on to shed blood; but i believe we should be justified in doing it. do you yet see the enemy, gerald?" "no, arthur; but god is good to us," said gerald. "the rain is falling again, and our dear black forest will not be entirely consumed; and perhaps we may have opportunity to escape." the rain re-commenced suddenly, and so heavily, that in a short time the blazing conflagration was extinguished, and the progress of the invaders arrested; for, when the boys joined their trembling friends, wilkins said,-- "depend on 't they've crept into some hole or other; they're just downreet cowards about a drop of rain, for all their running about without a rag to their backs." "but we cannot exist long in this state of misery," said mr. mayburn. "what would you advise, arthur?" "i should say, dear papa," answered he, "that we must defend our position as long as it is tenable, and then have all prepared, and attempt a retreat--a dangerous but inevitable measure. jack will point out the most convenient mode of making up packages for carrying away. we must, if possible, take our potatoes, for we may meet with a sterile region." "and the hens and chickens," added ruth, imploringly. "we had certainly better release them," he replied, with a smile, "and introduce a new race into the country; or else roast them and make them useful." but ruth so pathetically and earnestly begged to be allowed to carry her "bonnie bit chicks," that, on the promise that the young ones should be given up to be eaten, in case of need, she was permitted to encumber herself with her favorites. jack made her a light basket for them, of a portable form; he then proceeded to pack, compress, and arrange the baggage in convenient burdens for each; while jenny baked in the oven, which she greatly regretted having to abandon, a sufficient quantity of biscuits to fill two large bags. the boots had all been thoroughly repaired during the rains; and, as it was probable they would have to set out before the weather was settled, the skins of the opossums were sewed into cloaks, to protect them. thus, during one day of continuous rain, when no signs of the savages were seen, they were able to make all ready for the flight, which was now become absolutely necessary; and it was proposed that the next morning, though the clouds still threatened a continuance of rain, they should make a last substantial breakfast in their secure sanctuary, and then set out at once. the breakfast was eaten, and the burdens apportioned; but, before they ventured to emerge, the boys ran off to take a survey of the plains from their watch-tower, and hastily returned to announce the vexatious intelligence that the whole body of the savages had passed through the devastated forest, and were already ascending the side of the mountain. "now for the defence!" exclaimed hugh, seizing his gun, and placing the ladder at the opening. "remove the ladder, hugh," said arthur. "remember that papa has given all authority to me. do nothing but what i command." hugh made a grimace, and touched his cap. "you, gerald, had better go to the watch-tower," continued arthur. "margaret and papa, jenny, ruth, baldabella, and the child, will accompany you. we shall have sufficient force to defend the cave here." "but margaret can watch. do let me have some work, arthur," said gerald. "very well, then, you shall be _aide-de-camp_, and bring me the reports of sentinel margaret. away! away!" said arthur. margaret was placed on the ledge, to watch, and reported that peter, followed by the unwilling savages, was already on the height. she saw the keen-eyed convict examine the ground, and take up a scorched potato-stalk, with some of the bulbs hanging to it, which had been imprudently left. he then went forward to the stone-lined reservoir, which was plainly the work of man; and pointed it out to his followers, as well as some tracks on the soft earth. the natives, however, looked sullen, did not reply, but gazed anxiously round, as if expecting some unusual appearance; and all shrunk together beneath the rocky wall in which the watchers were concealed. when margaret communicated her observations, baldabella said, "black fellow look for _bayl-yas_--bad spirit; they not know good white man pray, send _bayl-yas_ away." "now, meggie," said gerald, springing up the ladder to her side; "i'll give them a fright, and disperse them;" and the imprudent boy uttered a deep unearthly groan. in a moment the men darted forward, and were springing down the steep, when the commanding voice of their leader recalled them; and margaret, with much vexation, saw that he was explaining the cause of their alarm, for he pointed to the spot where she stood, in a menacing manner. he continued to speak to the men in a tone of exultation, waving his arms, till he induced them to return and accompany him in his search. "away, at once, foolish boy," said margaret; "and tell arthur all we have seen, and your imprudent act. they will not leave the spot now, till they have found our hiding-place." poor gerald, completely crest-fallen, hastened to make his report and his confession; and arthur saw plainly they should now be obliged to have recourse to arms. he ordered hugh to wait till he should have fired off his two barrels, and then to take his place till he should have time to reload. the ammunition was put in charge of wilkins and jack to serve out; and cruel as was the necessity, arthur trusted they might thus defend their position, and weary out even the malignant and stubborn convict. there could be no doubt discovery must soon take place, as the light by degrees poured into the cave, through the small openings which the savages uncovered one after another. still peter saw none of these could possibly be the entrance to any concealment; but at length he stepped on the large slab; it was immediately removed, and a shout of exultation arose, as the large chasm pointed out the retreat of the persecuted family. for a moment there was a pause: even if the descent had been easy, the men were not so rash as to throw themselves into the clutches of their foes below, and spears directed against an unseen enemy would be wasted. then peter leaned over the opening, and called out,-- "come on, ye cowards, and fight fairly if ye can, or else hand up them guns, wi' yer powder and cash, and then cut off, vagabonds as ye are, or i'll make this den ower hot to haud ye." arthur made a sign of silence, for he saw wilkins was impatient and very much inclined to indulge in pouring out invectives against his former companion. then a few spears and stones were flung down at random, which were easily avoided by the besieged, who had ensconced themselves in niches of the rock, and the light-hearted boys could scarcely restrain their laughter at the futile attempts. but the resolute convict was not to be baffled; he was heard speaking to his followers in their own language, and baldabella was placed near enough to hear and interpret. when she had listened a few minutes, she turned to arthur with a look of terror, and said,--"bad peter say, 'burn all! burn white jin! black jin! nakinna! good master! all burn!'" the next moment confirmed the woman's report, for flaming brands thrown into the cave announced the desperate plan of the besiegers. arthur called for water, and buckets of water were brought to quench each brand as it fell; but the suffocating smoke in that confined spot was intolerable. "we must end this nuisance, or we shall be stifled," said arthur; and as peter himself, with an armful of kindled brushwood, bent over to cast it below, arthur fired on him, and the man fell back beneath the flaming branches, which were scattered over him; then calling for the ladder, which had been brought near, the intrepid youth mounted to the opening, fired again into the midst of the assembled savages, and, rapidly descending, removed the ladder. the yells and groans they heard from above afforded sufficient proof that the shots had taken effect, and hugh and gerald were sent to the watch-tower to make observations. they saw that peter was able to stand, supported by two men, but his right arm appeared to be powerless; a wound in the shoulder was bleeding, and he was raging and stamping with agony, evidently from the burns he had received, for the savages were applying some leaves to his breast and face. "i have never had a shot yet," said hugh, when he returned. "it is very hard, arthur--pray let me run up the ladder and scatter a few of the rascals." "no, no! my dear hugh," answered arthur; "such a measure would be wanton and inhuman at this moment. these wretched savages are mere machines in the hands of the villain whose own cruel designs have recoiled on himself. if they had never met this man, they might perhaps have been troublesome and annoying to us, but a little experience of our superior knowledge and power would have relieved us from them. now even, they are not detained near us from choice, for they evidently abhor and dread the place, but they stay to fulfil the duties of humanity to this wretch who has so unaccountably beguiled them." "i'll tell ye how he came round 'em, mr. arthur," said wilkins. "i heared 'em say when i were chained up yonder, as how that good-to-nought were a head man, and husband to one of their jins, and he'd been speared and killed outreet by some black fellows down south, and now he were sent back to 'em wi' a white skin. peter made 'em swallow all that rigmarole, cunning dog as he is." "i have read," said mr. mayburn, "that some of these ignorant tribes have such an extraordinary superstition: believing that the souls of the departed revisit the earth in the form of white men. there is blended with this faith a strange recognition of the doctrine of immortality, and, we might hope, of regeneration; but the crimes of this wretch in that which they believe to be his second life must have startled even the untaught heathens whom he has thus deceived." "they're off, mr. arthur," said wilkins, who had ascended to the opening to look round; "there's not a soul left. i reckon they'd be right glad to quit; and that rogue peter's not in a way to trouble us for one bit; so, what say ye, master, if we were to bolt afore they'd settled what to do? here's t' mistress seems all ready." "i am quite ready, wilkins," said margaret, "and agree with you. it appears to me, arthur, that our best hope is, to snatch this opportunity to get the advantage of a few hours' start, that we may not be easily overtaken when that wicked man is sufficiently recovered to take the field again." "and mind, mr. arthur, sharp's t' word," said wilkins, "if we want to beat him. he let me into his schemes a bit, as how he meant to get them fellows after him down south to join a lot of bush-rangers as was to meet him. ye see, we're not top walkers, at no time; and wi' all this stuff to hug, we'd better be trotting." "make ready!" cried gerald, tying on his knapsack of bark, and putting into one pocket a canister of powder, and into the other a bag of shot; "we must trot, as wilkins says, as well as fellows can trot carrying such burdens as ours. i say, arty, haven't i got my share?" "you have indeed, my boy," answered arthur. "i fear you will not be able to get on long under such a heavy burden; but we must try, at first however, to carry as much away as we can bear. take your bow to support you, and mount the ladder. now, hugh." hugh was similarly laden, but carried a gun instead of a bow. ruth would not resign her fowls, and had in addition the serious weight of a large bag of potatoes. margaret, jenny, and baldabella carried the bread and the remainder of the potatoes, the poor native having in addition the charge of her child. mr. mayburn was laden with the shells and buckets which constituted their household furniture; and arthur, wilkins, and jack cleared off all the rest of the weapons and bags. the descent to the plains had been rendered easy by the conflagration, which had almost entirely destroyed the forest, and the travellers chose their path in a direction opposite to the wood which was the abode of the natives. they toiled on with swift feet and anxious hearts, scarcely conscious of their heavy burdens, for two hours; in which time they had left their desolated sanctuary far away to the north. the ground was level and fertile, and the weather favorable; for the sun was overclouded, though no rain was falling; and relaxing their extreme speed, they still continued to walk on, till downright fatigue and hunger pointed out the necessity of rest. the best place for their encampment that they could select was in the midst of a thicket of the tea-shrub and other low brushwood. the young men with their axes cleared a spot for a fire, and niches for sleeping-places; they plucked the fresh leaves from the plants to make tea, and enjoyed their coarse biscuit, soothed by the silver tones of the bell-bird, the musical piping of the organ-magpie, and the soft cry of an invisible bird, the curious notes of which resembled those of the curlew. night fell on them with all the beauty of the tropical regions; the soft breeze loaded with fragrance from the luxuriant flowers revived by the recent rains, the bright stars above their heads, the brilliant fire-flies floating round them, the dying notes of the half hushed birds, the incessant hum of the restless insect tribes; all was harmony, inspiring devout and holy thoughts; and the weary travellers slept happily and trustfully till morning awoke them to resume their labors. chapter xxiii. a bark sledge.--the friendly tribe.--the wild melon.--a nocturnal alarm.--the wombats.--the bivouac on the heath.--the savages again.--away to the south. the women had prepared breakfast, and arthur was becoming impatient, before jack and the two young boys appeared, dragging after them a large sheet of bark, to which they had attached ropes. "it was jack's thought!" exclaimed gerald. "is it not a capital plan?--the baggage-wagon! off with your knapsack, arty; jenny, bring your pots and pans. every thing must be tied on our sledge, and we will draw it in turns--two men to form a team." "it will be a great relief, certainly," said arthur, "so long as the plains continue tolerably clear and level; but, i fear, over the matted brush or the rugged mountain we shall find it useless." "why then, mr. arthur," said jack, "it will only be taking up our loads a bit, and leaving the sledge. we can soon cut another sheet when the road gets smoother." the sledge answered admirably, and, relieved from their burdens, they went on for several days, over well-watered and well-wooded plains, without interruption, and without delay, except when the disengaged youths lingered behind to shoot a few pheasants or cockatoos, that the bread might not be too soon exhausted. in a week after they had left the cave, they saw kangaroos again, and even the sledge was abandoned, that all might join in the chase. after a long hunt, they succeeded in killing one; and the weather being now less sultry, they were able to preserve the meat for two days. the skin was cleaned and dried, and then converted into bags for the biscuit, for showers of rain still fell occasionally, and they had been compelled to take off their cloaks to protect their valuable food. one evening, an unwelcome return of the heavy rain induced them to look anxiously round for some shelter, and turning round a clump of tall bushes, they came suddenly on a cluster of scattered huts, formed of green boughs and open in front. beneath these canopies several women, wearing cloaks of fur, were employed in pounding grain or nuts between two stones, while they sung some song in a low, musical tone, and in perfect harmony. outside the huts stood several tall men. they had a single loose garment of fur cast round them, but the bust was wholly uncovered, and marked by many raised cicatrices. they were engaged in making arrows or spears, and never raised their heads from their employment; but, with the usual dignified indifference of the savage, did not appear to notice the approach of the strangers, though probably they had never before seen the white man. even the women continued their work and their song; and it was only when baldabella, who had been introduced by her protectors, went forward, holding her child, to ask the women to give some good white people shelter from the rain in their huts, that the men turned to listen, and the women suspended their labor. the head of the family, pointing out an empty hut, spoke to baldabella, and said, as she interpreted his words, "that very good for white man; for black man; plenty rain make much cold." glad of the refuge, while baldabella remained to talk to the women of the tribe, the rest took possession of the slight hut, and prepared their supper of the remains of the kangaroo, of which they invited their friendly hosts to partake. the natives now assembled round them with some curiosity, tasted the seethed kangaroo, and seemed to relish it; rejected the roasted potatoes with disgust, but greedily enjoyed the biscuit, especially the jumbles, as the boys called them, which were flavored with the juice of the figs. then the women in return for this hospitality, brought to them some pods, which arthur recognized to be the fruit of the _acacia stenophylla_, the seeds, or nuts, resembling in flavor the cachou-nut. they brought also a small melon, or cucumber, now ripe and sweet, with which the plains that the travellers had crossed this day had been covered; but they had not ventured to eat it till now, when they saw how the natives enjoyed it. "it certainly belongs to one of the most useful orders of plants considered as the food of man," said mr. mayburn; "and, as far as i can determine from recollection, i believe it to be the _cucumis pubescens_. this is truly a country of rich and abundant resources; wanting but the light of civilization and religion to render it a paradise." "surely, papa," said margaret, "our countrymen acted unwisely when they suffered the first steps into these lovely and untrodden wilds to be made by the vilest of criminals. alas! alas! what must the ignorant natives think of such christian missionaries!" "it was an error, margaret," answered her father, "wide in its mischief, fatal in its results; and generations must pass away before the error can be rectified. but a purer and holier influence is at work; and, in his own good time, god will assuredly enlighten the people, through the efforts of his faithful servants. would that i were able to take my share in the great work! but, alas! i am but the barren fig-tree, and continually i hear that awful sentence ringing in my ear, 'cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?'" the earnest father then called on his family to kneel in prayer, while the natives stood round in silent wonder, especially when they remarked the devout demeanor of baldabella, and heard the little child murmuring in english the responses, in imitation of her kind teachers. after prayers the women seemed to be earnestly questioning baldabella; and margaret was pleased to hear the woman speak long and earnestly to the questioners, for she was convinced that baldabella was truly a christian in faith, so far as her simple mind could comprehend the faith. though they considered it prudent to keep a watch, the sleep of the family was not disturbed by any fears, for these natives seemed quiet and inoffensive; and through baldabella they learnt that they had ever shunned the restless and destructive tribes to the north, and a still more dangerous people, whom they spoke of with terror, as the tribes of the "great river," to the south. but, the interpreter added, they did not like the white people who came to kill the _menuah_, as they named the kangaroo; and the emu, and to carry off their weapons. but they were satisfied that these white strangers were peaceful like themselves, and they wished them well, and would show them the way through the mountains. the weary travellers gratefully accepted this offer, for the prospect of having to ascend, without guidance, a line of mountains which cut off their progress to the south, and of being compelled to resume their heavy burdens, was alarming. early in the morning they sought the women, to present them with some biscuit and with a pair of fowls, of which baldabella undertook to explain the great usefulness, and the domestic habits and proper mode of feeding. then they once more set out, guided by the chief among the natives; and having skirted the mountains for three or four miles to the east, found a narrow gorge, through which a shallow rill ran towards the south, along the flowery margin of which they passed till they came upon another wide plain, less wooded and fertile than that which they had left, but grown over with the _cucumis_ laden with fruit. this plain was perforated with dangerous holes, which their guide told them were the dens of a large animal, very fierce, which he called the wombat, and which the boys were filled with a great desire to encounter and vanquish. once on the plains, the native pointed out the direction which they were to follow, greatly to the east of south. he shook his head when they intimated their wish to proceed due south, and, according to baldabella, declared there was "no water"--a most important objection to the route. arthur gave the man one of the table-knives, much to the discontent of jenny and the great delight of the receiver; and the gratified native stood watching them for some time, and then slowly returned to his people. "now for the wombats!" exclaimed gerald, looking anxiously down into one of the dens of these unknown animals. but all was still and dark; and arthur begged that there might be no delay, as, in all probability, the animals could only be drawn from their retreats by dogs, or be surprised by long watching, and time was now too precious to be spent on such an uncertain pursuit. continuing, therefore, to follow the course of the slender rivulet, which, however, soon became but a chain of pools, they travelled for several miles, eating, as they went on, the juicy melons, as they called the _cucumis_, till the sight of a smoke in the direction of the pools induced them reluctantly to forsake even this small supply of water, and to diverge directly to the south, till they should have passed the danger of encountering another tribe, who might prove less friendly than their late hosts. the sudden fall of night compelled them to rest at a spot where no water was to be discovered, and, too late, they regretted that they had not brought a supply from the pools. reluctantly they made their only meal of the day on bread; fortunately they were able to add melons; still the privation was felt; they were unsatisfied and much depressed, till calmed by the blessed influence of prayer. then all anxiety was hushed by a sound sleep on the wide, treeless plain. they had slept some hours, when arthur was awaked by a startling cry, and, springing up in alarm, he seized his gun, and called hastily to jack to follow him. the moon was shining brightly, and they were enabled to see some moving objects at no great distance, towards which they quickly directed their steps, and, on drawing near, they heard the voice of o'brien crying out, "arthur! arthur! come and kill these frightful beasts! i shall be worried!" they now saw the head of o'brien, who, supported only by his hands, had sunk into a hole or den, and was surrounded by a troop of hideous large animals, with the form of a bear and the nose of a badger. they were actually running over the boy, and apparently very uneasy at his intrusion. jack's spear soon despatched one of the animals; the rest fled to their dens at the sight of more invaders of their homes; and o'brien was dragged from the hole he had accidentally taken possession of, and scolded by arthur for his imprudence. it appeared that he had, while lying awake, seen one of the wombats roaming about in search of food, and while pursuing it with his spear he had fallen into the den, and by his cries raised the whole community of these social and harmless beasts, which, powerful and numerous as they were, had attempted no injury against the rude invader. the wombat jack had killed was about the size of a sheep; they divested it of its smooth thick fur skin, which was hung up to dry immediately. in the morning they had an opportunity of examining the curious, clumsy animals, which were still busily feeding. wilkins declared their flesh to be delicate and excellent food; but, without water, no one felt any appetite for meat. "doubtless," said mr. mayburn, "this creature is the _phascolomys ursinus_, partaking of the form of the bear and the hog; but, like the great majority of australian animals, marsupial." "he is an ugly fellow," said hugh, "with his huge body and short legs; but his skin is capital; we will clean it to make a mattrass for papa, and we must have another skin for margaret. after all, jenny, a wombat-steak will be more juicy than this dreadful dry, husky biscuit; and i suppose we must try to eat, or we shall never have strength to get out of this desert." the steaks were really excellent with sliced melon, if the travellers could have relished food without water; and after breakfast they set out, again eagerly watching for signs of water; but no one feeling sufficient energy to execute another wombat before they departed. they continued to struggle on over a loose sandy soil, covered with a bush resembling the heath, so dear to the northern people of great britain; the very sight of which cheered the thirsty wanderers in the dry desert; and they talked of the moors of home till their steps grew lighter. but the toil of dragging the light sledge over or through the bushes became hard labor; and at length mr. mayburn, exhausted with thirst, was so overcome that two of the young men had to support him, as they slowly moved on to escape from this desert. "keep up your heart, master," said the attached wilkins; "and jenny, woman, be getting yer cans ready; we'se have a sup of rain afore long, depend on't. now some of ye light-heeled young uns, run on, and seek out a shelter for t' master." the sky was dark, the thunder rumbled at a distance, and the young people looked round in happy anxiety for some shelter; but in vain,--not even a tree was to be seen; and at last they were obliged to content themselves with a little cleared spot, backed by a low brush-covered hill, and surrounded by the tea-shrub mingled with the graceful heath. there they hollowed out a sort of recess in the soft sandy hill-side, before which they hung the skin of the wombat, that mr. mayburn and margaret, at least, might be sheltered. by this time the rain had begun to fall in torrents, and every vessel they had brought away was placed to catch the precious drops. then the boys made _forms_ as they called them, beneath the brushwood, into which they crept, to escape, as far as they could, the deluge of rain. but ever and anon a hand was stretched out to obtain a draught of the long-pined-for water; and though they declared it tasted warm, they felt so refreshed that there succeeded a great appetite for wombat-steak, which could not, however, be gratified; for to attempt to make a fire was hopeless. "what charming dormitories we have!" said gerald. "the rain dripping through these narrow-leaved shrubs and dabbling your face all night long, will be so comfortable. i don't think a wombat's den would be such a bad thing to-night. ruth, how do the cocks and hens like this weather?" "i keeps 'em covered an' under my cloak, master gerald," answered she; "but, bonnie things, they tremmel and cower all of a heap. you see, birds and such-like, are all for sunshine." "and sunshine enough they've had here, ruth," replied he; "and now we must not be unthankful for the rain we wanted much. pleasant dreams to you all, my friends!" called out the lively boy, as he dived under the bushes, to scratch himself out a den, as he said. but the rain and the thunder prevented much sleep, and at the first gleam of light, the boys issued from their comfortless dens, with some dry twigs which had formed their beds, and with which they proposed, though the rain was still falling, to make a fire to cook some meat. but before they could accomplish their plan, they were disturbed by a trampling among the bushes, and the sound of human voices. "the savages! the savages!" whispered hugh; "i think i can distinguish the voice of black peter." "scatter the twigs," said arthur; "put the water-vessels underneath the bushes. draw these skins into your form, margaret, and crouch out of sight. now! now! to cover, all of you!" they had scarcely given the place the appearance of being unvisited, and drawn themselves securely under the scrub, when the voices were so close to them that they could distinguish, though they could not understand the words. only black peter, who pronounced the language slowly, was sufficiently distinct for them to make out the words signifying "mountains" and "plenty of water." the party passed close to them, but without pausing, and when the steps and voices sounded sufficiently distant, arthur looked out, and saw the same men who had besieged them in their mountain retreat, still headed by peter. all the men were outrageously painted white and red, though they were partially covered with opossum cloaks to shelter them from the rain. arthur observed that they moved on towards the east, where, at a great distance, appeared a dark line, which he concluded was the mountain-range peter had alluded to. one after another the alarmed family appeared from their hiding-places; baldabella was eagerly questioned about their discourse, and she replied that she had heard peter say, "white men go to mountain, find much water. peter go to mountain, find plenty water, plenty white fellow, plenty gun, knife. kill white man, kill bad fellow wilkins." "she's reet! i'll uphold her," said wilkins. "depend on 't peter's heared of some bush-rangers out ower yonder, and he'll want to join 'em. we'se have to keep clear of their track, master. just look round ye, what chance should we have again a lot of them desp'rate rogues, wi' guns in their hands, and blood in their hearts; and when they're fairly set on, them blacks is as bad; they reckon nought of a dozen lives to get haud on a gun." "whither shall we flee?" cried mr. mayburn, in a distracted tone. "speak, margaret--arthur--and you, my good man, who, steeped in evil, had yet strength given you to turn away from it, guide and save us! alas! it is but too true; man, civilized or savage, preserves his innate and original depravity. 'there is none good; no, not one.' men have spoken of the simple and pure life of the desert; we see what it is in truth." "yes, dear papa," said margaret, "we must bid adieu to the fallacious dreams of poetry, the romance of that golden age when men were virtuous because they were ignorant. these are men to whom the temptations of the world are unknown; men who have never looked on the brilliant decorations of vice; yet they are harsh, cruel, selfish, and faithless. is this truly human nature, papa?" "i fear, my child, it is too truly human nature," answered mr. mayburn,--"fallen, degraded, unredeemed human nature. well does a great and wise writer on the natural depravity of man picture the ignorant savage as 'a compound of pride and indolence, and selfishness, and cunning and cruelty; full of a revenge which nothing could satiate, of a ferocity which nothing could soften; strangers to the most amiable sensibilities of nature.' then what weight of sin must rest on the souls of those who, having been taught the way of truth themselves, take advantage of the frailty of humanity to lead these heathens into the gulf of crime. woe to those men 'who know the best, and yet the worst pursue.'" while they watched the gradual disappearance of their enemies, the rain ceased, and jenny summoned the party to the enjoyment of tea to their dry biscuit, before they resumed their journey, the prospect of which was still unpromising. "we must now, defying all the threatened deserts, go on towards the south," said arthur, "and evade, if we possibly can, our implacable and inveterate pursuers. the temptation to cross the eastern mountains is great, but i fear, wilkins, we should hardly be safe, even in the rear of such dangerous company." "nay, nay! mr. arthur, keep out of their way," said wilkins. "ye heared what baldabella said about their going to rondessvowse ower yonder wi' them roguish bush-rangers; and i see no sense in running into t' thick on 'em." "certainly not, wilkins," answered arthur. "then we will decide on a route due south. so, forward, my brave men, and let us carefully carry away the water we have preserved, for i fear much we have not yet passed the wilderness." chapter xxiv. the dry wilderness.--despair.--the coming-down of the waters.--the discomfited savages.--hunger and thirst.--the footsteps in the mud.--a pond.--the talegalla and its nest.--the valley of promise.--the river to the south. it was indeed on a wilderness they now entered, where low entangled brushwood spread as far as the eye could extend, unvaried by the appearance of a single tree rising above it; and as they toiled through or over this perplexing ground, carrying the bark sledge, which it was impossible to draw over the bush, they were often deceived by the sight of a line of tall reeds, the border of the bed of some river, now wholly dry, or merely muddy with the rain of the previous day. they saw no animals, except two or three emus, which swiftly fled from pursuit; and they were too eager to escape from the dry desert to waste time in the chase. for two days, successive morning suns showed them the same trackless and unwatered heaths spread before them; then the water was exhausted, and they turned away with loathing from the dry bread and potatoes. slowly and languidly they dragged on their weary way, still watching and hoping in vain. another day of suffering dawned on them; and now the scorching air, the dry food, the fatigue, and the consuming thirst overcame them one after another, and before evening mr. mayburn said, "let us lie down here, arthur. god has chosen, in his wisdom, to put this termination to our efforts. nature is exhausted; let us lie down and prepare for death." "not so, my dear father," answered arthur. "god wills that we should be active, and strive to surmount difficulties, or he would not have bestowed on us the bounteous gifts of thought and action. margaret, i know your faith and resolution; encourage my father." "you look to me in vain, my dear brother," said margaret. "i am unable to think or to move. save our beloved father, and leave me beneath these bushes to die. i feel that death must be near at hand." "i beseech you to rally your energy, my darling meggie," said her brother, in a broken voice. "surely, after the rain that fell yesterday, we must soon find some pools. we must not be so weak as to remain here, with our pursuers so near to us, and drought and death around us. let us try at least to cross this muddy and deceitful gorge, and be thankful; for remember, my dear sister, if this had been now a foaming river, we should have been unable to ford it, and must have been lost in this desert." margaret was too weak to reply, and arthur, lifting her with difficulty in his enfeebled arms, descended the banks, and crossed the wide bed of a river which was scarcely moist enough to leave the traces of his footsteps. wilkins and jack supported mr. mayburn across, and the rest languidly followed. they crawled slowly up the rocky banks of the opposite side, which were covered with thick scrubby bushes; and then beneath a spreading acacia, they sat down to rest a few moments, and endeavored to nerve themselves to endurance and exertion. "surely, wilkins," said arthur, "that lofty line of mountains which we can still see at the east, though so distant, ought to supply springs and streams to these plains, and there must be water at no great distance. you and i are pretty stout; can we not leave these feeble folks here, and go on to search for some relief for them?" "look yonder, mr. arthur," answered wilkins, "just atween us and them mountains, and say if we ought to leave 'em behind us." arthur beheld with dismay, at about a mile's distance, a dark mass moving over the bare plain. he saw that the savages were returning, and even his firm heart failed, for here was no shelter--no hope of escape. he remained struck dumb for a minute; then he whispered to his brothers the dreadful fact, adding, "they must be nearer than they appear to be, for i surely hear them as well as see them. certainly, some sound breaks the stillness of this solitary desert. it must be the murmur of many voices." "it seems to me like men felling wood," said jack. "it is more like the blessed sound of water," said o'brien, springing up. still the mass of figures, though now more defined and plainly recognized to be the savage host, approached slowly; and they could not produce the strange rumor, which momentarily grew louder, crackling, tearing, roaring, like the mighty elephant, forcing its way through the thicket. all the party now heard in trembling fear this unaccountable phenomenon, and the weeping women knelt down to pray for aid amidst accumulated distresses. "father," murmured the almost unconscious margaret, "i smell water. oh, give me some, or i die." "it is water!" shouted o'brien "i said it was water. it is the river coming down. come on, hugh, let us meet it;" and he leaped down into the bed of the stream. "stop the lad!" cried wilkins, following and dragging him up the bank again. "we'se ha'e water enough, and more nor we want soon. look ye! look ye!" and they saw a slender thread of water come crawling over the bed like a silver snake. "sharp! sharp! hand us a bucket!" called wilkins; and, provided with a bucket, he descended and quickly procured a small quantity of water to relieve the worst sufferers; but before a second supply could be obtained, he was compelled to retreat in haste, and an amazing spectacle burst on the eyes of the beholders. a mighty tower of water was seen to approach, rushing, pouring, foaming; casting up from it trunks of trees, drenched garlands of creeping plants, and showers of pebbles. in an incredibly short space of time the resistless torrent had filled the deep gorge, and was splashing over the rocky banks. gradually the torrent subsided into a smooth, deep, and flowing river, from which the pining sufferers obtained the refreshment they had so long sought, and then, with bended knees, offered up a thanksgiving to that great power who had by this providential event rescued them from a painful death, and interposed an insurmountable barrier between them and their vindictive enemies, who, having now approached near enough to be aware of this unexpected obstacle, saw, with evident wrath, their prize snatched from their grasp. at the command of their implacable and well-known chief, peter, some of the most skilful threw their spears; but the river was not less than fifty yards across, besides which, the strong east wind drifted away the weapons from their intended aim; and the invigorated and uninjured family lost no time in leaving the dangerous spot, and were soon beyond sight of the stubborn natives, and the malicious bush-ranger. "it is plain they have no means of crossing the river," said arthur; "but, wilkins, what can have induced them to return from the mountains?" "i reckon they'll have somehow missed their comrades as was to be," answered wilkins. "maybe they'd an inkling as how we were behind 'em and not afore 'em; and they'd niver reckon on t' water coming down; and not a soul among 'em can swim, barring peter, and he knew better nor trust hisself among us alone. we've stopped 'em a bit now, master." "not we, wilkins, but god," said mr. mayburn. "it was 'the lord that brought again the waters upon them,' and saved us. to his name be the glory." "we have still before us a long struggle through these sterile wilds," said arthur; "but this deliverance must give us renewed courage for labor and privation. now we may afford to eat our supper, and take our rest without fear." the strongest of the party, before they left the river, had filled all the vessels with water, and brought them off, and very soon, almost within hearing of the noisy savages, they made a fire, and enjoyed again the luxury of tea to their potatoes, before weary nature sought repose. but as soon as it was light, they set out, after again having tea to fit them for another day of toil. the march was resumed with renewed health and spirits, but still the monotony of the matted rough desert, which rarely afforded a clear spot for them to draw the sledge, fatigued and depressed them before the day was over. and when they rested for the evening, and jenny produced the scanty remainder of potatoes, and the still smaller portion of grain, dismay sat on every countenance, and jack was the first to demand that ruth's basket might be lightened, and the contents given up to satisfy the hungry and healthy appetite of the public in general. it was found on inspection that besides three full-grown fowls, the girl was still carrying six good-sized chickens, the rest of the brood having perished, from accident or scanty food. immediately, as a matter of expediency to save the oats, to lessen the burden they had to carry, and to feed the hungry, sentence was passed that two chickens should be executed each day, and it was hoped, before all were eaten, some region of more plenty might be attained. with great reluctance, and floods of tears, ruth relinquished her pets, and at the end of the three days, only the old fowls were left, and every potato, grain, and drop of water was gone. then, indeed, they realized the misery of famine; strength and cheerfulness left them, and they tottered reluctantly forward, slowly and in mournful silence. sometimes an emu was seen at a distance, but none had energy or strength to chase it, and arthur, whose mental vigor supported him, when all were sinking round him, tried in vain to rouse them from their apathy. "let us struggle on a little longer," he said. "once more i see a tall line of reeds, and by god's mercy, we may not be disappointed this time. come, jack, you and i will make a forced march in search of succor for those who are weaker than ourselves; and if we succeed we will return to refresh and bring them forward." with buckets slung over their shoulders, and leaning on their long spears, the two young men strained every nerve to reach the reeds like those which had so frequently disappointed them, and, cutting or forcing their way through the tall canes, they came again on the bed of a river--moist and muddy, indeed, but not a pool of water was to be seen. "let us ascend higher; we may find a little," said arthur. "but, surely, jack, here are footsteps on the soft earth. some one has been here before us." "sure enough there has," replied jack. "men have been here; booted chaps, too; none of the savages; anyhow, not them that we reckon savages, but like enough, they'll be little better. ay, their track runs upward; what say ye, mr. arthur, are we to follow it?" "we must follow it, jack," answered arthur; "we must find water, or death is inevitable to us; and we are better in the rear of suspected foes than before them. and yonder are pools before us, god be thanked. let us drink and then we will carry life back to those who are in greater need than ourselves." the pools afforded ample supplies. the young men drank, and bathed their burning faces and heads, and then hastened back, refreshed and vigorous, bearing full buckets for the anxious party who awaited their return, and after they had drunk, and were able to converse, they were informed of the appearance of the footsteps. "i'd like to see 'em wi' my own eyes," said wilkins. "if it be ony of our chaps from t' colony, run-a-way fellows, i ken t' make of their boots at t' first sight. but it's a long step for 'em to have marched, poor rogues. what think ye if we stirred from here? for i'd like to tell ye what i ken about them tracks." the whole party went forward more briskly than before, and reached the bed of the river, where wilkins carefully examined the marks, and then said,--"bush-rangers, as sure as ye stand there, mr. arthur. here's been four on 'em; and look ye here, what call ye them tracks? i say, beasts and horses. i ken their game: they'll have druv' off a lot of stock, and they'll reckon to squat here somewhere north. but they'll find they'll have to seek out a cannier bit nor this. like enough, master, it'll be them chaps as black peter was lighting on finding." by this time the two younger boys had ascended considerably higher up the bed of the river, and reached a large pond covered with water-fowl. they were fortunate enough to shoot four ducks, and came back laden with this grateful relief to their utter destitution. they dined as soon as the birds could be cooked; and this rest, and abundant food, invigorated and cheered them to set out once more. they would gladly have continued to travel along the bed of the river, where they might certainly have depended on a constant supply of water, as well as wild ducks; but, on consideration, it was decided that to follow the steps of lawless robbers was a dangerous experiment, and that it was advisable still to continue the southern course over the dreary desert. their progress was, however, rendered more tolerable, by the knowledge that they carried with them water for two days, at least; and they began to perceive there was beauty, even in that wide, solitary wilderness, though it appeared unknown to all the living world. yet it was not altogether without living inhabitants; for, the second day, gerald surprised them by crying out, "a turkey! a turkey!" and spears, arrows, and boomerang, were speedily sent after the luckless bird, though the sight and the cries of the strange multitude had caused it to spring from the bush where it was feeding, to the lowest branches of a tree somewhat taller than the unvaried dwarf bushes; and from thence, rather by leaps than by flight, it ascended to the high branches, where it only exposed itself more to the weapons of the inveterate sportsmen, and was speedily brought down. it was beyond the usual size of the english turkey, to which it bore a strong resemblance, and delighted ruth with the idea that they were coming among poultry again. the young naturalists had more opportunity of observing this specimen than the last they had killed, and they agreed that this curious bird belonged to a family peculiar to this strange country, the _megapodidæ_, but so nearly allied to the family of _meleagrinæ_, that it might familiarly be called the australian turkey. "there can be no doubt that it is, as i formerly believed," said mr. mayburn, "the _talegalla_ of the prince of ornithologists, gould. the massy claw is a striking characteristic, so conformable to the habits and haunts of the bird, enabling it to run amongst the bush, or climb trees to escape its enemies, the chief of which is the _dingo_, or native dog, which has been rather troublesome to us from its nocturnal yelping than from its appearance. now, concluding this to be the _talegalla_, we must endeavor to discover the remarkable nest of this bird, which, like the ostrich, leaves its eggs to be hatched by the sun. these eggs we are told are delicious; but above all, the sight of the peculiar nest would gratify my curiosity." they had not proceeded far, when they saw, a little out of their course, a curious mound or pyramid, which they all went up to examine. it might have been the work of man's hand, so regularly and artfully the ground, for a considerable space round it, was entirely cleared of vegetation, and the decayed grass and brushwood thus removed formed the remarkable mound. the lower part seemed to have been erected some years, the decay being complete; the upper part was fresher, as if recently renewed. "it is apparent that this pile must be the work of years," said mr. mayburn, "and is probably accomplished by numbers laboring in common to raise this vast hatching oven. i am reluctant to disturb a work which has cost so much labor; but i think we might partially uncover it, to observe the internal arrangement." the boys mounted the pile, which was six feet in height, and carefully unpacked the upper layer of the hot-bed, when they soon discovered a vast number of large white oval eggs, nearly four inches in length, which were buried standing on end, with the broad end uppermost, about ten inches apart from each other. one of the eggs was partially hatched; and the young bird might be seen, covered, not with down, but with feathers. at the sight of the feathered bird in the shell ruth turned away with disgust from the long-desired poultry. "nay, master gerald," said she, as the boy held out the egg to her; "ye'll not catch me touching an egg like that, niver sitten on as it ought to be, and t' bird chipping ready-feathered. it's unnat'ral, and they're uncanny creaters, they are." "why, one of these unbroken eggs would make a custard, ruth, as good as that of an english turkey," said gerald. "that's what i'se niver credit, sir," answered she. "not a custard fit for christians. them black folks 'll eat aught 'at falls in their way. oh! miss marget, this is a queer, awesome country!" they did not take any of the eggs, which appeared to be in an advanced state for hatching; but they roasted the talegalla, and found it delicious meat, though it must be remembered appetite was keen and turkey a rarity. "now, to-morrow morning," said arthur, "we must make for yon distant green hills; and i trust we shall find a pleasanter region. if we could but meet with one of the rivers that flow towards the south, we might try boating again, and make our journey on an easier plan. surely we ought to have reached the division between the northern and southern waters." "it would be a rare hit to light on a good river," said wilkins, "for we're gettin fearfully into t' midst of a nest of bush-rangers, and we'll ha'e little chance of slipping 'em, trailing on in this way." the morning view of the green hills was so flattering that they indulged in the luxury of tea for breakfast, though the water was nearly expended, and then proceeded hopefully over the scrub, now diversified with various species of acacia, a stenochylus bending under its large scarlet blossoms, and a boronia laden with lilac flowers. cheerfully hailing the fertile regions once more, they soon reached the steep wooded ascent of the hills, where the lively notes of the birds again gave life to the solitude; while their brilliant plumage lighted up the gray foliage of the acacia and the dark gloom of the evergreens. after an hour's laborious ascent they reached the table-land, where the fresh breeze and the balmy fragrance announced a pleasanter region. they rested, and looked round with admiration and delight on the glorious prospect below them. on the east and on the west distant ranges of mountains were visible, between which lay a rich valley studded with lofty forest trees, while here and there arose green hills crowned with rocky masses resembling towers and fortresses, or ruined castles, in picturesque beauty. from the western range of mountains might be seen a long, dark-green line, stretching to the south-east, which they decided must be the boundary of some large river. this line they impatiently desired to reach; and, after a short rest, they continued their march over a plain rich with rare shrubs and many new and curious grasses now in seed, amongst which they hailed with pleasure their old friend the oat-grass, with which they filled the emptied bags as they passed through it. a dark and luxuriant wood formed the green line they had seen from the heights, and crossing it, they stood on the rocky banks of a rapid river which flowed to the south-east. for a few moments they stood silently contemplating this pleasant sight, beneath a graceful _acacia pendula_. then mr. mayburn turned to his family, with tears in his eyes, and said, "my children, let us give thanks where thanks are due. we are again rescued from famine, captivity, or death. let us praise his name who has brought us from the dark valley of the shadow of death, to life and hope." all kneeled down, and the little nakinna was the first to raise her infantine voice, saying "our father;" and to that simple and sublime expression of heavenly trust, mr. mayburn added the prayers of humility, hope, and gratitude. "to-night we must rest," said arthur, when the prayers were concluded; "but to-morrow we must, if possible, make two canoes." "we will bark the trees to-night, mr. arthur, if you please," said jack. "the bark will dry, and i'd like all ready to start. to-morrow's never so safe as to-day." "jack's right," said wilkins. "i were feeling a bit idle mysel', but there's no sense in't; so lend us hand on an axe, and i'se be none the worse for a stroke of work." while the young men were engaged in cutting away the bark for the shells of the canoes, and the fibres of the stringy bark for tying them, and collecting the strong gum for cement, baldabella descended to the river, and soon speared two immense fish, which seemed to be a species of mullet; and she also brought in a quantity of the fresh-water mussels, the shells of which were so useful for domestic purposes. the broiled fish and hastily prepared oat-cake--or damper, as wilkins called it--formed an excellent supper; and though the nights had now become cold, even in that tropical region, they slept on beds of heath, covered with opossum cloaks, without injury or disturbance. chapter xxv. boat-building again.--unlucky ruth.--the woods on fire.--dangers on land and water.--the wounded girl.--a home among the mountains.--the bottle-tree.--the bee-hunt.--bean-coffee.--the lost hunters. at the first merry cry of the laughing jackass, which announced the dawn as regularly as the english cock-crow, the workmen rose to labor at their hopeful undertaking; and before many hours were passed the canoes were nearly finished, and the women were busy cutting down grass for seats; when ruth, who had left them, came rushing back through the wood, with her wildest look of distraction, crying out, "they seed me! miss marget, they seed me!" "thou unlucky lass!" exclaimed jenny. "where hast thou been? and who's seen thee?" "them black men, they seed me!" answered she. "i were cutting some oats for my hens; and i heared 'em shouting out their _coo-ee_, and when i looked round i seed a lot of 'em, a long way off, and i skriked out; i couldn't help it, miss marget, and then they _coo-eed_ again, and off i ran. but i'se feared they heared me skrike, onyhow." margaret, in deep dismay, communicated this unfortunate event to her brothers, and arthur went through the wood to reconnoitre. from a hidden retreat he observed a troop of men, still at a great distance, who appeared to be stooping down to mark some track on the ground, from which he judged ruth's cries had been unnoticed. he returned in haste to report his observations. "they've tracked us, sure enough," said wilkins. "sharp's the word, lads, we may distance 'em yet, if we work hard. we'se run down t' water at a bonnie rate." "i will watch and report their approach, while you all work at the boats," said margaret. "where shall i stand, wilkins?" "just here, miss," answered he, "aback of this thick bush. there's yer peep-hole; and shout when they get close up." margaret's first shout was a terrific one. "arthur! wilkins!" she cried in a frantic voice. "oh! god help us! whither shall we flee? the wretches are firing the wood." the savages, taking advantage of a north wind, had fired the long dry grass--a common practice with the natives. it was already fiercely blazing, and rushing towards the wood with resistless fury. the ground on which the travellers had encamped, and the spot where the young men were working, they had fortunately cleared for beds, and for seats in the boats; and now, while jack and arthur finished the canoes, the rest cut down the brushwood round, and flung it into the river, leaving a space of twenty or thirty yards wide quite cleared. but beyond that rose the lofty trees, that, once blazing, must shower down destruction on them. already the crackling of the trees announced that the conflagration was begun in the woods, and that no time must be lost, if they hoped to escape from it. flights of white cockatoos, of bright-colored parrots, and glittering bronze pigeons, rose screaming from their desolated homes, and affrighted opossums sprang from their nests, swung on the trees, or fell senseless with the smoke on the ground. but in this time one canoe was completed and launched, with the women, all the baggage, and mr. mayburn and hugh to direct it. they had been swept down the river to a considerable distance from the fire before the second canoe, imperfectly completed, whirled off with the rest of the family, who reached their friends at a point of safety, with wild looks and scorched hair. then they all rested a moment, to look back on the terrific and still spreading conflagration, by the red light of which they saw the frightful outline of the dark forms, among whom, though now naked, and scarcely less dark than the rest, they distinguished the muscular and ungraceful form of peter, which strangely contrasted with the stately, slender, and agile forms of the natives. "he's not lit on them t' other rangers yet," said wilkins. "that's a good job, onyhow; for, ye see, they'd horses, and we'd fairly been hunted down like foxes." augmented by the recent rains, the river flowed in an uninterrupted course, and before the evening and the calls of hunger induced them to arrest their flight, the grateful family believed they must have progressed twenty-five or thirty miles to the south-east, with very slight exertion, through new and lovely scenes of hill, vale, rocky mountains, and rich forests. then, on the margin of the river, beneath the shelter of a thick wood, they landed, to thank god for their escape, and to take rest. mussels, a sort of cray-fish, and the river-cod, formed their supper, which was cooked in fear and trembling, lest the smoke of their fire should bring on them the savages, or the flames should spread to the brushwood, a catastrophe they now regarded with horror. before they set out the following morning, the canoes were completely finished, and oars and paddles added: thus their progress was safe and easy, and for three days no accident arrested their course; but on the fourth day they were compelled to land, to repair a rent in one of the canoes, and were startled at their labor by the sound of the "_coo-ee_" and an alarming rustling among the trees. without delay the canoes were carried to the water, and all embarked; nor had they proceeded twenty yards before a large opening appeared in the wooded bank, which had evidently been cleared by fire. here they beheld the first permanent settlement of the natives they had yet met with. many large huts stood round, formed of boughs, and thatched with bark. several fires were burning, around which the women and children were gathered, and a number of men, armed with spears and clubs, advanced to the bank with threatening aspect, when they saw the canoes. loud and angry words were heard, which baldabella interpreted to be,--"what for white men come here? go away! go away!" and the way in which they waved their clubs and stone tomahawks was very intimidating. "best take no notish of their antics, mr. arthur," said wilkins; and, all agreeing in the wisdom of the counsel, they rowed forward, the men still uttering defiance against the strange invaders, and apparently amazed that their threats were received with indifference. but ruth, whom jenny had been ineffectually endeavoring to calm, at last could no longer control her terror, and poured forth such a succession of shrieks, that the savages seemed encouraged, and immediately directed a volley of spears against the canoes. the swift motion happily discomfited their attempt, and but one spear took effect, seriously wounding the right arm of ruth, which she had held up to shield her face. a few moments carried the boats beyond the reach of the weapons, and they continued their voyage, till they believed themselves safe from the pursuit of the assailants. mr. mayburn and margaret bound up the wound of ruth, which bled profusely, and was very painful, and she could not be persuaded that she should ever recover. she declared that she was killed, and she earnestly begged that she might be buried in a church-yard, till jenny, out of patience with her cowardice, said,-- "be quiet, ye silly wench; where think ye we're to find a church-yard among these heathens?" "then they'll eat me, jenny!" she cried, in great horror. "be comforted, ruth," said margaret; "you are under the protection of a merciful god; and as long as we are spared, we will take care of you, and even bury you if it be his will that you die before us. but, believe me, ruth, though your wound must be painful, there is no danger for your life, unless you cry and fret yourself into a fever; so pray be patient." "i will, miss marget," sobbed she. "indeed i will, if you will feed my hens, and gather corn, whiles, for 'em. shame on them black savages as burned down all that good corn." the fretfulness and timidity of ruth, however, inflamed the wound greatly; and before the next day ended, they thought it prudent to disembark at some quiet spot, where she could have shelter and rest. the banks of the river had now become rocky, gradually sloping upwards to rugged and irregular mountains, amongst which they trusted to find the shelter they desired. a sloping bank offered them a landing-place, and they disembarked, and the men bearing the light canoes on their shoulders, they left the river. jack carried ruth, now quite unfit for exertion, in his arms, and they were soon plunged into a maze of mountains, cut apart by narrow ravines, some of which were choked with fallen stones, and through others clear streams of water poured between rocks covered with new and graceful ferns, some of which were of gigantic size. the further they penetrated into this maze, the more they became perplexed and embarrassed. at length, o'brien, who had forced his way through a narrow, stone-encumbered crevice, called on them to join him in a lovely little valley, of three or four hundred yards across, encompassed with precipitous, overhanging rocks, and inaccessible, except by the narrow opening through which they had entered. it was overgrown with tall grass, amongst which they saw the useful wild oats; in one corner was a deep clear pool of water, while the surrounding rocks were covered with brushwood, from which were heard the pleasing notes of the beautiful pigeon, which the naturalists judged to be _geophaps scripta_, and which all agreed was the most delicious bird ever placed before gormandizing man. there were numerous caves in these rocks, and they had only to choose one dry and light for the sick woman, and then, enjoying the luxury of many apartments, the young men selected their own bed-chambers, the boats were safely stowed into one hollow, and the ammunition placed carefully in another rocky cave; and once more the family rejoiced in a temporary resting-place. one of the caves was chosen for a kitchen, and again the active young men dug, and lined with stones, an oven, in which jenny baked cakes of the fresh-gathered oats, a dozen pigeons were despatched, tea was made for the invalid, and all was festivity and peace. still, ruth's wound, which was torn by a jagged spear, showed no appearance of healing, and it was resolved to spend some days in this beautiful and untrodden solitude, to allow the poor girl to recover, and to recruit the strength of all. but it was not possible to confine the active boys to the narrow valley, and they daily found a pretext for some expedition. one day they set out to search for the _tea shrub_, and brought home a large quantity of leaves. another day they scaled some of the lower rocks, to obtain gum from the numerous trees from which it exuded, and brought out all the family to see a curious tree, the trunk of which, formed like a barrel, was in the thickest part not less than thirty feet in circumference. "it is one of the _sterculiads_," said mr. mayburn, "and is, i conclude, that wonder of australia popularly known as the bottle tree, or, more scientifically, this peculiar species is named _delabechea rupestris_. it appears to be full of gum, and is, doubtless, a great blessing to the natives." baldabella seemed rejoiced to see the tree, which she declared was "good, very good," chewing the branches with great enjoyment; and they found there was so much mucilage in the wood, that they cut some shavings, and poured boiling water over them, when a clear, sweet jelly was formed, most agreeable to the palate, and highly relished by the whole party. the next expedition was suggested by baldabella, who pointed to some bees humming among the trees, and said, "make very good dinner--very good supper; baldabella find his nest." margaret taught the woman the name, honey, which she concluded was the good dinner she alluded to. then the woman caught a bee, appearing to have no fear in handling it, and catching a piece of white down which had fallen from the breast of some bird, and was floating on the air, she touched it with gum, and stuck it upon the captive bee; she now called on the rest to follow her, and leaving the valley, she stood on an elevated rock, released the bee, and kept her keen eye fixed on the white down as it sailed away, following the flight of the insect, till she saw it settle in a tree. then she stopped, and pointing to the trunk, ordered jack to cut it. his axe was soon at work; the bark was stripped, and the hollow laid open: they found the tree quite filled with honey, and cutting away a considerable quantity, they carried it off on pieces of bark. the bees, which were very small, either careless in the midst of plenty, or powerless to injure, did not molest the robbers. the honey was much mingled with wax, and looked and tasted like gingerbread; but, kneaded with the bitter oat-paste, it rendered the biscuits pleasanter and more palatable. "we really seem to have all we want here, miss marget," said jenny one day. "isn't it a pity to hurry t' poor master over these weary commons and fells? we'se be sure to have winter at some end; and hadn't we better bide here a bit till it's past?" "it is really near the beginning of winter now, nurse," said margaret; "it is more than a year since we left england; for it is now the end of april. i felt the air a little cold during last night, though now it is mild and balmy; and the evergreen shrubs, continual successions of flowers, noisy birds, and humming insects, make it more like an english summer than the end of autumn. this is truly a charming climate." "it's very nice, miss marget," answered jenny; "but don't you think we should be better of a change of meat? one tires of pigeons always." "very right, jenny," said o'brien; "though the observation is not new. i'll tell you what we will do: we will stalk a kangaroo for you." "no easy task, i should think, gerald," said arthur, "if the kangaroo be as difficult to tire out as wilkins tells us." "he'll lead ye a bonnie chase," said wilkins, "that will he. ye'll tire afore him. ye'd better wait till baldabella makes an end of that net she's shaping to catch 'em. she's a long time about it." "and we may wait another week," said gerald, "to obtain the ignoble means of snaring the poor fellow. no; i say, let us have a regular stalking-day. arthur, what do you say?" "i cannot have arthur leave us for a day," said mr. mayburn. "i should not feel it safe for margaret. i can rely on his judgment and discretion." a few days after this jack was engaged in putting the canoes in repair, and wilkins had gone off to the river with baldabella, to spear fish, when the two boys entreated that they might be allowed to take spears and bows--guns being prohibited, unless arthur was of the party,--and set out after a kangaroo; for the woods and grassy hollows among the mountains abounded in game. on the promise to mr. mayburn that they would not ramble far from home, they were allowed to go; while margaret was employed in teaching little nakinna to read, by tracing letters and words on the sand, and mr. mayburn and arthur were searching the crevices of the rocks for the rare birds and the brilliant plants which, even at that late season, were to be found in profusion. in the middle of the day baldabella and wilkins returned with baskets filled with large fish, and a bag of pods filled with small beans, which they had plucked in a sandy nook near the river. each pod contained ten or twelve beans; and baldabella's exclamations of delight showed they were considered a prize. "i fear," said arthur, "that these beans are too dry at this season to be useful as good vegetables, but i fancy we might roast them, and use them as a substitute for coffee, to surprise our sportsmen when they return from their expedition." with great satisfaction, jenny heated the oven and roasted the beans, which were not larger than those of coffee, till they became the proper deep-brown color. they were then bruised between two stones, and boiled with a little honey, and the brown liquid wanted but milk to represent indifferent coffee. the partakers of the beverage declared it to be perfect; and wilkins was sent back to the river to procure an abundant supply, to be roasted for future occasions. when the evening drew near, and the family, leaving their several occupations, assembled together as usual, great anxiety filled every breast, for the two hunters had not returned. they had taken no provision with them; but this was a minor consideration, for no one could starve in this region of plenty. nor could the chase itself lead them into danger; but there remained the ever-existing terror of the treacherous and cunning natives, or still worse, of an encounter with the lawless bush-rangers. the fears of mr. mayburn soon amounted to deep distress, and at length arthur and wilkins set out to a high point of the mountains, where they could command an extensive view, hoping to see the wanderers. but before they reached the pinnacle, sudden darkness veiled the prospect, and arthur reluctantly adopted the only means he could then use to recall the boys. he fired his rifle, and the echoes, flung from mountain to mountain, thundered like a charge of artillery; and it seemed impossible that this report should not reach the ears of the thoughtless ramblers. after waiting a few minutes, in the vain hope of hearing some answering shout, arthur and wilkins retraced their steps to the caves, depressed with the ill-success of their mission. yet such was the deep distress of the father, that his children endeavored to conceal their own sorrow, that they might console him. he mourned as lost, not only his own brave boy, but the not less dear son of his lamented friend; and long refused to be comforted. arthur represented to him that no more could be effected till morning; but that the youths, when they had gone astray would have probably taken refuge in one of the numerous caves in the mountains, where they would be safe during the night; and he promised that at the first gleam of light, he, wilkins, and jack, would set out in different directions to search for them. "and remember, dear papa," said margaret, "this is, happily, not a country of fierce beasts; they may enter a cave boldly, secure that they shall not disturb a lion or a bear in his den. nor need they fear the snowstorm or the hurricane. this is a pleasant land! god seems to have created it for the abode of peace. is it not, then, fearful wickedness that civilized man, the professed christian should scatter the seeds of evil rather than the seeds of truth among the simple inhabitants?" "this is, truly, a calm and blessed region," answered mr. mayburn. "we seem to have been heaven-directed towards it; and if my two dear boys were again safely at my side, i confess that i should feel reluctant to leave it. in this vast and lovely solitude, where man has never before planted his destroying foot, where neither storms nor wild beasts appall, and where god himself provides our food, even as he fed the prophet in the wilderness, we seem to be brought face to face with him. here we see and hear him alone in his glorious works so richly scattered around us. such may have been eden, before the sin of man polluted it. in this sublime solitude, consecrated to devotion and peace, would i willingly remain conversing with my god. here would i,-- 'sustain'd and soothed by an unfaltering trust, approach my grave, like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.'" "it is a charming vision," said margaret. "but look round you, papa; the fresh, the restless, the aspiring spirit of youth must be exercised and disciplined by the duties and trials of life. we may not dare to rest, dear father, till we have done our work." "you are always rational, margaret, and i am but a selfish visionary," answered mr. mayburn. "even now my idle dreams have turned away my thoughts from my heavy and real calamity--the loss of my children." "depend on't we'se find t' lads all right, master," said wilkins; "and they'll tell us what a good laugh they had when they heared that grand salute we gave 'em amang these rattling hills." chapter xxvi. the search for the lost.--the fig-tree.--signals.--the wanderers found.--the wounded boy.--the sufferings of the thirsty.--the rescue and return.--the kangaroo conflict.--a strange meeting.--the bush-rangers.--the miraculous escape. sleep fled from all the sorrowful family, and they gladly saw the morning light which would enable them to set out to track the unlucky boys. the three men chose the high pinnacle from whence arthur had fired the preceding evening for a rendezvous, and fixed a white cross of peeled rods against the dark foliage of a gum-tree, that stood tall and conspicuous on the summit, as a land-mark. from thence arthur proceeded directly north amidst the intricacies of the mountains, while jack went off at the right-hand, and wilkins at the left. it was agreed that they should meet at the same spot in the evening, if the search was not successful before then. arthur carried one of the guns; the other being left with mr. mayburn, that he might fire it as a signal, in case of alarm; while arthur proposed, if he succeeded in discovering the fugitives, to recall the other two men by firing his gun. arthur's share of the work was certainly the most toilsome. at one moment he was climbing over some lofty rock; the next, he was searching for a pass amidst inaccessible heights; then winding through tortuous gorges, till his head became so bewildered that it was only when he observed the course of the sun, or caught sight of the happy signal of the white cross, that he was able to determine his position. several times, from some elevation, he shouted loudly the names of the absent boys, but none answered. the day wore away, and he gladly rested for a short time beneath a fig-tree, still bearing a quantity of ripe fruit, while the ground was strewn with the decayed figs, on which flocks of bronze pigeons, yellow cockatoos, and rose-colored parrots, were busily feeding. these birds seemed to confide in arthur's forbearance, for they continued to enjoy their feast without evincing any alarm, except by a vehement greeting, in their several notes, as if they inquired his business at their board. the arched roots of the fig-tree afforded him an easy mode of access to the upper branches, where he filled his straw hat with the fruit, and then continued his walk, enjoying the refreshment; for the figs, though not luscious, were ripe and juicy. "i will give one more shout," thought he; and his voice, cleared and strengthened by his refreshment, rang through the echoing mountains. he waited for five minutes; still there was no reply; but his eye caught a light smoke among the mountains. it might be the fires of the natives he thought; but even were it so, the boys might have fallen into their hands, and no time must be lost in rescuing them. he made ready his gun, and, still bearing his load of figs, he directed his course briskly towards the suspected spot. but it was most difficult to attain the place from whence the smoke seemed to proceed, and he wandered for an hour amidst intricate windings, making many unsuccessful attempts to penetrate to the spot, till at length he came to a small hollow, surrounded by dungeon-like walls, where a fire of dry wood was smouldering, but no one was near it. "hugh! gerald!" he shouted; and at the sound of his voice his brother appeared, crawling feebly from a hole in the rocks. "hugh, my boy, are you hurt?" asked arthur, in a hurried tone: "and where is gerald?" hugh pointed to the hole from whence he had issued, and in a hoarse, weak voice, said, "water! water!" scarcely conscious what he did, arthur pressed the juice of a fig into the parched mouth of the boy, who murmured, "thank god! but, oh, arty! can you get any water for poor gerald?" putting more figs into his hand, arthur stooped down to the low entrance, and passed into a small dark hollow, where gerald was stretched out, almost insensible, and near him lay dead a huge kangaroo. arthur gave the poor boy the only refreshment he had to offer, the juice of the figs; but he seemed in a much more feeble state than hugh, and when his kind friend with difficulty got him out into the open air, he saw with consternation that his leg was bound up with a handkerchief, through which the blood was oozing. "how did this happen, hugh?" asked arthur, before he ventured to examine the wound. "it was the kangaroo," answered he; "and then, when we had killed it, we were far too ill to eat it, though we have had no food since we left home." "i cannot tell what i must do," said arthur. "it will be impossible to get you home to-night, feeble as you are; and papa will now be in alarm at my absence." "but you will not leave us again, arty," said hugh, sobbing. "i fear dear gerald will die. i dare not remain alone any longer." "i must leave you for a short time," answered arthur. "i think i shall be able to summon wilkins and jack to us; then they can search for water, and carry gerald home." hugh burst into tears, and said, "but the bush-rangers--i cannot tell you all, arthur, my head is so bad. there are bush-rangers; we have seen them; they will meet you, and they will come and kill us. at least, carry gerald back to the cave." in increased alarm, arthur conveyed gerald into the dismal cave, and leaving them all the remainder of the figs, he waited to hear no more, but hurried off with all speed towards the rendezvous, looking round as he went on, for some spring or pool from which he could procure water for the suffering boys. when he reached a high rock, not far from the rendezvous, he ventured to fire his gun, and was immediately answered by the shouts of the men, who, following the sound and flash of the gun, soon came up to him. "where are they? oh, mr. arthur, have you not found them?" said jack. arthur, in a few words, told the distressing story; and night being now at hand, it was agreed that jack should return to appease the uneasiness of the family, while wilkins should accompany arthur back to the two anxious boys, with whom they would remain till daylight, and then bring them home. wilkins undertook to procure water for them from a pool at a little distance, where jack and he rested, and where they had cleaned out two large gourds they had found, and converted them into water-bottles. these gourds were a great treasure; they carried them to the pool, filled them with fresh-water, and, after drinking themselves, hastened forward with all the vigor that remained to them after the day's fatigue, towards the spot where the boys were lying, but did not reach it till night had made it most difficult to discover it. the joy of the poor wanderers was excessive when they saw their friends arrive, bringing the refreshment they so much desired. gerald was already somewhat revived by the figs; and after he and hugh had drunk some water, they began to desire more substantial food; and it was not long before wilkins had cut off, and broiled, some steaks of kangaroo venison, of which all the hungry party partook with great enjoyment. still the boys were too much weakened and exhausted to enter into any details of their adventure that night; and when arthur and wilkins had collected heath for beds and covering--for the nights were now chill,--they all crept into the cave, and slept soundly till awakened by the rude, early greeting of the laughing jackass. then, after more kangaroo steaks, arthur made an examination of gerald's lacerated and bruised leg, which hugh had previously bandaged to the best of his skill. they could now spare water to wash the wound, and the bandages were replaced by some made from arthur's handkerchief; and wilkins having cut down the spreading bough of a fig-tree, gerald and the kangaroo were placed side by side upon it, and borne by arthur and wilkins. the procession moved slowly and silently, hugh looking round anxiously as he preceded the litter, in dread of the terrible bush-rangers. the rugged mountain-road tired the bearers greatly, but long before they reached the rendezvous, they saw a figure standing before the dark gum-tree, and a loud "halloo!" brought jack to meet and assist them. he had considerately brought with him a bucket of water; and they rested and refreshed themselves, before they completed their toilsome journey. but fatigue was forgotten when they all met again in the quiet valley; mr. mayburn and margaret wept for joy, and though nurse did not fail to chide them as "bad boys," she fondled and nursed the wanderers, and produced for their comfort cockatoo-stew, flavored with wild herbs that resembled parsley and marjoram, and mixed with the beans they had got on the banks of the river. "keep a sentinel at the pass, arthur," said hugh. "we shall be watched and tracked; there will be scouts all around us. it is a miracle that we have arrived here safely." "oh! master hugh, honey, is it that good-to-nought black peter?" asked jenny. "worse than that, i am sorry to say, nurse," answered he; "for there are dozens of black peters ready to snap us up. but don't look so sorrowful, meggie, and i'll just tell you how it all happened. that big old fellow," pointing to the kangaroo, "kept us trotting after him for hours and hours, and always when we got him within reach of a spear or an arrow, he bounded off like a race-horse, and you could not say whether he hopped, or galloped, or flew. it was a beautiful sight, but very vexatious. at last we got desperate; we were tired and hungry, and we determined to have him; so we parted, that we might attack him on both sides, and force him to stand at bay. it was a capital plan, and turned out very well. we chased him into that queer little dungeon-like hollow where you found us. he flew round and round, but we guarded the entrance, and he could not escape, and at last we drove him into a corner, pierced mortally with our spears. i wanted gerald to wait till the beast was weakened with loss of blood; but he was in a hurry to finish, so he rushed on with his drawn knife, and i followed to help him. but when the brave old fellow found he had not a chance, he faced round, and with his fore-feet--his arms, i should say--he seized me, and gave me a heavy fall. gerald was then behind, and plunged his knife into him, on which the desperate creature struck out with his powerful hind claw, and tore and bruised poor gerald, as you see. "i was soon on my feet again, and then i speedily despatched the beast; but i should never like to kill another in that way; it was just like murdering one's grandfather. then i turned to poor gerald. oh, margaret! if you had seen how he bled! and how frightened i was till i got his wounds tied up! he was very thirsty, and begged me to get him some water, or he thought he must die. so off i set, keeping a sharp eye on our den, that i might find it again. i mounted a crag, and looked about me till i saw flocks of birds, all hovering over one place, a good stretch from me. 'that's my aim,' thought i, and on i dashed, over rocks and valleys, straight forward, till i saw before me a grand silver-looking lake, covered with ducks and swans; while regiments of birds, like cranes and pelicans, with other unknown species, were drawn up round it. "i could look at nothing else but the birds for some time, i was so charmed, and i planned directly to bring papa to the place the very next day; but remembering poor gerald's condition, i went forward, and looking round to scan the grassy plains between the mountains and the lake, i was astonished to see a number of large animals grazing, which were certainly not kangaroos, but real, downright quadrupeds, walking on their four legs. 'here's a grand new field of natural history,' thought i. 'yes, we must certainly take up our quarters here.' but, halloo! what did i see that moment, hobbling ungracefully up to me, but our old friend charlie grey!" "charlie grey! edward deverell's favorite horse!" exclaimed margaret. "you have been dreaming, hugh; it could not be!" "it could be, meggie, for it really was he," answered hugh. "do you remember how we used to feed the handsome fellow with bits of bread on the voyage? it came into my mind just then, and i plucked a handful of oats, and held them out, calling 'charlie! charlie!' poor, dear old fellow! he could not trot up to me as his heart wished, but he limped forward as well as his hobbles would allow him." "hobbles!" exclaimed wilkins; "then he'd been nabbed by them bush-rangers." "sure enough he had, wilkins," continued hugh; "and there were five or six strong black draught-horses, besides a herd of bullocks and cows; every beast, i'll venture to say, stolen from our friend edward deverell. well, i had forgot all about poor gerald and the water, and was feeding and stroking charlie, when i saw he had a halter on his neck; and i thought i might as well just cut the hobbles, mount him, ride off to take gerald behind me, and away we would gallop home. but the water!--i had forgotten that we had no vessel to contain water; but, fortunately, at the edge of the lake, near a place where a fire had been kindled, i saw piles of large mussel-shells. i filled two, placed them in my hat, and slung it round my neck. then i pulled out my knife, and stooped down to cut charlie's bonds; but just then such yells fell on my ears that i started up, and saw on one of the heights a line of fierce looking men, attired in the conspicuous yellow dress of the convicts. their guns were directed towards me, and there was no longer time to release and mount charlie; in fact, i had not presence of mind to decide on doing it, but ran off as fast as my legs would carry me, just in time to escape a volley of shots from the wretches. thankful that i had escaped unhit, i fled desperately, never looking behind me till i reached poor gerald, whom i found very ill and restless, parched with thirst; and there was scarcely a teaspoonful of water left in the shells, from my rapid flight. i was telling him my story, when we heard a tremendous report of fire-arms, and we trembled to think the villains were pursuing me; but now i conclude it must have been your signal-shot, an idea which never occurred to me in my distracted state. i then got gerald into that little hole, and dragged the great kangaroo after him, that nothing suspicious might be in sight if they followed me; though i hardly dared to hope that our den should escape their observation. dear gerald groaned and tossed about all night. how much i did grieve that i had not succeeded in bringing him the water! nor was our condition improved next morning, for i was afraid to venture out beyond the hollow, round which i sought in vain for any fruit or juicy herb to cool our parched mouths. gerald, in all his agony, was twice as brave as i was; and if he had been the sound one, i know he would have risked any danger to obtain help for me." "botheration! hugh, my boy," said gerald, "didn't i know all the time that it was my moans and groans that made you turn soft and sob like a girl? i couldn't help grunting out like a pig shut out of a cabin on a rainy night; and then you grunted and cried too, for company. we were a pair of pleasant, jolly fellows all day, meggie, as you may easily suppose. day, indeed, do i say! why, we thought it must be a week, at least! as night came on, it grew very cold, and hugh scrambled out to gather a few sticks together to make a fire before our cave. before he came back, i heard the crack! crack! of a gun running from rock to rock; and when i saw hugh, i tried to speak to him; and then i know no more till i felt the cold fig-juice on my dry tongue. won't i like figs as long as i live; and won't i have an alley of fig-trees in my garden when i locate--squat, i mean, and build a mansion, and marry." "mrs. o'brien may possibly object to the _ficus_ in her garden, gerald," said arthur;--"it is not a comely tree in its proportions; but the question may safely rest awhile. now, hugh, after you heard the gun?" "then i threw more wood upon the fire," answered he, "that the smoke might be seen, and crept back into the cave; for i could not get over the fear that the shot might have come from the bush-rangers; and i had thus given them a signal to our hiding-place. think of my joy when i heard the voices which i never expected to hear again!" jenny had wept abundantly at the tale of suffering, and she now endeavored to show her sympathy by placing before the fatigued and hungry boys another collation, consisting of bean-coffee sweetened with honey, and sweet oat-cakes; and certainly, if mr. mayburn had not interfered with grave sanitary admonitions, the boys were in danger of eating themselves into a fever. "i have thought much on this unfortunate adventure," said mr. mayburn, when they met together the next morning. "it is a fearful reflection to know that we are in the midst of a horde of banditti, ready to intercept our least movement. what shall we do? we appear to be in safety here; but this lovely spot would become a prison to you all, if you were forbidden to move from it. arthur, what do you say? wilkins, my good man, do you think we are quite safe?" "not ower and above, i say, master," answered wilkins; "they're just ranging hereabouts, to pick up recruits among them fools of black fellows, and to keep out of t' way of them as they've pillaged; and they're ripe for any thieving or ill-doing as falls in their way. but they'll not sattle long; they'll range off down south to turn their beasts into brandy, and we'se be better at their heels nor afore 'em." "i think, papa, wilkins is right," said arthur. "we may rest a good time here without any sacrifice of comfort. we have grain and water at hand; pigeons and cockatoos in our own preserve, asking us to roast them; an excellent store of honey, coffee, and tea, as we are pleased to name the australian representatives of these luxuries; spacious and dry lodgings, and fresh air. certainly, with occasional forays, conducted with due prudence, we shall have abundant and excellent provision for any length of time. this monstrous kangaroo ought to supply us with meat for many days; and i think we might dry part of it in the sun, to resemble the south-american _charqui_." "it is an admirable idea, arthur," said mr. mayburn; "we shall thus avoid the sin of wasting the good gifts of providence. i have read a description of the process; i know the meat must be cut in slices, and i should like to assist you in carrying out the plan, though, practically, i am inexperienced. the first difficulty appears to be, how to avoid the destruction of the skin in slicing it." "why, papa, we skinned him this morning," replied hugh. "the skin is already cleaned and spread to dry; we shall rub it with a little fat, to render it pliable, and then we shall have a blanket or a cloak of inestimable value." "true, my son; i had forgotten that preliminary operation," said mr. mayburn. "but still i cannot understand how we shall obtain the large slices;--the bones, the form of the animal, present great obstacles." "leave it to the experienced, papa," said margaret. "wilkins knows how to slice up a kangaroo." it was capital employment and amusement for the active to cut up the huge animal into thin slices, which were spread out on the bush, and the ardent sun of the climate, even at this late season, soon dried the meat perfectly; and margaret wove grass bags to pack it in; and thus several days passed without alarm or annoyance; and with due care and attention the wound of gerald was perfectly healed. chapter xxvii. the eagle's eyrie.--the chaotic solitude disturbed.--the voluntary prisoners.--the report of the spy.--the foe at the gates.--a traitor in the camp.--dispersion of the invaders.--a lucky escape.--a pleasant voyage. after a few days more had elapsed, the close confinement became irksome to all. baldabella, accustomed to a free, roving life, pleaded her great desire to fish by moonlight; and as there was less danger for her than for the white men, this was permitted, and she returned safely with abundance of fish to increase the store of provisions. then hugh and gerald, unlucky as their last expedition had been, begged humbly that they might be allowed to put their noses out beyond the bars of their cage. "no, no! unruly boys," answered margaret; "you have a spacious _pleasaunce_ around you; be content and thankful to enjoy it." "then surely we may climb the woods at the side?" said hugh. "we want to find the nests of the strange birds we hear above us. no harm can befall us in our own domain; it will be only like running up a ladder, the brush is so thick and low. come along, gerald, and let us inspect the wonders of our aviary." mr. mayburn would really have liked himself to have a peep into the many holes and crannies of the rocks, which sent forth such multitudes of birds, and he could not object to the expedition. the agile boys made no delay, but, clinging to the bushes, sprung up the almost perpendicular side of the mountain, disturbing the domestic peace of the tender pigeons, provoking the voluble abuse of the noisy cockatoos, and finally, at the summit, regarding with awe, at a respectful distance, the eyrie of the dark eagle, which, with the fire of its fierce eyes, defied their approach. "we will avoid any offence to _aquila_," said hugh. "we might come to the worse again, gerald. but where are you mounting now?" "only to the peak, hugh," answered he. "i should like to have a peep round, to find out what our neighborhood is." and the active boy soon gained the highest point, and stood there, an australian mercury, on the "heaven-kissing hill." "what a wonderful sight!" he cried out. "do come up, hugh, to see these heights, and hollows, and windings,--a rocky chaos! it is like the beginning of a new world!" then turning round to observe the scene at his left hand, he suddenly cried out, in a tone of alarm,--"halloo! i'm in for it now!" and as he hastily descended from his elevated position, the report of fire-arms, multiplied as usual among the mountains, proved that the chaotic solitude was not free from the visitation of man. "down! down! hurry to them, hugh!" continued gerald, now safe from the shots. "tell them to gather in the charqui, and the firewood, and all things scattered about. above all, let ruth carry off the poultry, and gag that noisy cock; the rangers are at our heels. i shall take up my abode in this darling little oven behind the bushes, and if they should mount the ramparts, i shall be able to act spy. no words about it, but be off. it is safer here than down below." there was indeed no time for hugh to delay, for many traces of habitation were scattered over the valley. buckets stood at the well; linen was spread to dry; the charqui was exposed on the bushes; knives and axes were lying about, and the hens and chickens, and men and women, were all out, enjoying the open air. when hugh dropped among them, breathless and pale, to tell his vexatious tale, they had somewhat anticipated the danger, from hearing the report of the fire-arms; and all hands were already employed to endeavor to restore to the busy valley the wild and solitary aspect of undisturbed nature. the fowls were collected into their coop, which was placed in a dark hollow; and though they did not follow gerald's advice, and gag the tell-tale cock, they threw a large cloak over the coop, and chanticleer, duped into the belief that it was night, folded his wings, and, mounted on his perch, resigned himself to repose amidst his family. when they had restored to the lately populous vale as natural an appearance as circumstances would allow, they all withdrew into the largest cave, and filled up the entrance, with an appearance of artful disorder, with rocky fragments, very impatient for gerald's return to report the extent of the danger to which they were exposed, and the best mode of escaping from it. but after waiting a considerable time in their gloomy prison, weary of compelled inaction, every heart was filled with anxiety at the protracted absence of the adventurous boy. three hours elapsed, and after listening and looking through the crevices of the rock in vain, arthur was on the point of venturing out to ascend the cliffs himself, when gerald's voice was heard whispering through a narrow opening, "is it a serpent or a genie you think i am, to glide through this peep-hole? open sesame!" there was no time lost in admitting the welcome visitor. "now, then!" said he; "quick! quick! the foe is at the gate. now, my boys, do the thing nately, as we irish say. we mustn't build it up like a wall you see, jack." it was not built like a wall; but by the united strength of the party, an immense mass of rock was rolled before the opening, which nearly closed it, the pendent branches from above concealing the fissures, and affording light and a means of making observations in safety. "now, gerald," said margaret, "i beseech you to tell me what is the meaning of all this alarm?" "all my fault; my ill luck again, meggie," answered he. "i would erect myself like a statue at the very summit of the mountains; and from thence i saw on a plain below half a dozen fellows mounted on horseback, whom i recognized, by their canary-colored garments, to be those wicked convicts. i sank down from my eminence in a moment, but not before the hawk-eyed rogues had seen me and fired. i was not hit; but i expected they would be after me if they could climb through the brush, so i crept into a snug little hollow just below the peak, arranged my leafy curtains in an elegant manner, and waited to receive my company so long that i had really dropped asleep, and was only awaked by the rough, coarse voices of men swearing and using language which i have done my best to forget altogether. "they seemed to be in a great rage, and one wicked wretch swore dreadfully and said, 'it's the same ugly little cove as we blazed at afore. he's a spy sent out by them p'lice, and he's off to inform against us. we'll burn him alive if we lay hands on him.' "i didn't want to be burnt alive, so i crept into a corner, and lay still as a mouse. "'t' other chap were bigger, i say,' growled another fellow. "'haud yer jaw,' answered the first; 'think ye they keep a pack of young hounds like this to point free rangers? but where's he slunk?' "'i say, bill,' called out a third voice, 'look ye down here. it's a snug, cunning hole; will 't be t' p'lice office, think ye?' "'how'd they get at it, man?' replied bill. 'dost thee think they've got wings to flee down?' "'i'se warrant ye, we'll somehow find a road into it,' said the first voice. 'we'se try, at ony end; for we'll have to clear our way afore we set out on another spree. i'se about tired of eating flesh, now t' brandy's all swallowed; and if we could light on black peter, we'd be off on some grand job to set us up again.' "'halloo! lads! what's this?' "then i heard oaths, and strange screams, and blows, and something heavy flopped past my den, screaming; and wasn't i in a grand fright to think that one of these rogues had found such a ready road down to our grounds. but i soon heard the men above me again, cursing the venomous bird; and i guessed then that they had fallen in with our friend _aquila_, and, perhaps, been worsted. i ventured cautiously to look down, and saw the poor eagle fluttering and hopping about below, half killed by the brutes no doubt; but by degrees i heard their voices dying away, and was sure they were withdrawing. then i took courage, and slipped down my rude ladder as briskly as a lamp-lighter, and was with you, only pausing a moment to look at the poor eagle as i passed, lying crouched in a corner covered with blood, and extending a broken wing. and now, arthur, don't you think our citadel is in danger?" "indeed i do, gerald," answered arthur. "all we can do is to keep closely hidden as long as we can, and then to fight for our dear friends who cannot fight for themselves. we have weapons,--spears, arrows, and two rifles; and we have a capital position for defending the weak. if there be no more than six men, we will defy them." "that will be capital," said gerald,--"a regular siege. how is the castle provisioned, jenny?" "why, lucky enough, master gerald," answered she, "we fetched in here, because it was nighest at hand, all the dried meat, and the skin, and we filled the buckets before we brought them from the well; and that's just what we have, barring a few cakes; for one never looked for being shut up here like. there's all the oats, and the tea and coffee, and the firewood, are left in what we called our kitchen." "we'se do," said wilkins, "we'se soon sattle their business, i reckon," looking grimly at the edge of his knife as he sharpened it upon a stone; adding, "and how and about them guns, captain? who's to work 'em?" "i shall take one myself," answered arthur; "and if i thought i could trust to your discretion, wilkins, i would put the other into your hands." "you may trust me for bringing down my bird," said the man; "that's what i were always up to, or i hadn't been here." "what i mean you to understand by discretion, wilkins," said arthur, "is, that you are not to fire till i order you; and then to _wing_, not to bring down your bird." "why, what's the good of that?" remonstrated wilkins; "it's like giving a rogue a ticket of leave, just to turn a thief into a murderer; that's what ye'll get for being soft. i ken my chaps: ye'd better make an end on 'em." "it would be unjust and inhuman," said mr. mayburn. "these mistaken men may not intend to hurt any of us." "except to burn me alive, sir," said gerald. "that, i apprehend, my boy," answered mr. mayburn, "was but an exaggerated form of speech. but, hark! what noise do i hear?" sounds were heard like the rolling of stones. arthur commanded silence, as every thing depended on their remaining watchful and still. then voices were distinguished, and, through the green pendent branches, men were seen in the tranquil valley,--men in the felon's marked dress of grey and yellow, ferocious in aspect, coarse and blasphemous in language. mr. mayburn shuddered as he heard, for the first time, the oaths and defiant words of hardened infidels; and the good man kneeled down to pray that god would visit with a ray of grace these lost sinners. "ay! ay!" cried one, "here are the tracks of the gentry coves: and look ye, jem, here's a woman's bit of a shoemark. what will they be acting here, i'd like to know. if we could fall on that saucy lad now, i'd just wring his neck about for him." gerald made up a queer face at hugh, but they did not dare to laugh. "will they have oughts of cash with them?" growled another man. "what do we want with women and lads?" "to trade with 'em, man," answered the other; "to swop 'em yonder among t' squatters for cash down. we'll thrust some of them black fellows forward to bargain for us; they're easy wrought on to do a job like that. but where can their den be? they're surely flitted." examining every open cave and hollow in the surrounding rocks, the men, using the most violent and abusive language, searched the little valley in vain; and the anxious prisoners began to hope that they would soon be wearied out and retire, when suddenly they were appalled by a shrill triumphant crow from the little bantam cock, which had probably discovered the deception practised on him. a momentary silence was followed by shouts and loud laughter, as the invaders rushed to the prison-house of the impatient fowls. wilkins muttered unspeakable words, and darted a furious glance at ruth; and gerald, with a deep low groan, whispered, "a traitor in the camp!" while ruth climbed up to an opening, in great alarm, to observe the fate of her beloved pets. that was soon determined. the voice of the unlucky bird had plainly pointed out its abode; the stony prison was forced open; a crowing, a screaming, and a fluttering were heard; two of the fowls were seen to fly awkwardly to the bushes, above the reach of the marauders, and chanticleer was beheld by his distracted mistress, swung round lifeless, with his head grasped by his destroyer. at this cruel spectacle, the simple girl could no longer control her feelings. she uttered a piercing shriek; jenny sprang on her too late to stop the indiscretion, and dragged her from the opening, shaking her violently, and even provoked so far as to administer a little sound boxing of the ears, declaring that the girl ought to be hanged; while wilkins, with ill-repressed fury, shook his hand at the unfortunate offender, and then said, "it's all up now! stand to yer guns, my hearties; we'se have a tight bout on 't." "ay, man the walls!" cried gerald,-- "'hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit to his full height! on, on, ye noble english!'" "quieter ye are, t' better, mr. gerald," said wilkins. "what say ye, mr. arthur, if we fix on our port-holes; and then, if we pick out our chaps, we'll soon thin 'em." "by no means," said mr. mayburn. "such a proceeding would be unfair; the men would not even see their enemies." "an ambush is always fair in the strategy of war," said hugh. "these men are invaders, papa, and we have a right to drive them off." the affair soon came to a crisis; the cry of ruth had not passed unnoticed. the men rushed up to the fortress, and with stones and clubs endeavored to force an entrance. a volley of shots and arrows drove them back, wounded, and furious in their language; but when the firing ceased, they took courage, and again advanced to renew the attempt. this time aim was taken, and two men fell dead, or desperately wounded; and they retired once more, and entered into some consultation unheard by their opponents. then a villainous-looking fellow cried out, in a taunting manner, "i say, ye cowardly chaps, show yer faces, and 'liver yersel's up afore yer forced to it; we'se use ye well, and keep ye till ye raise cash to pay yer ransom. else, mark my words, if ye send any more of yer murdering shots, we'll take ye at last, and twist all yer necks while yer living." "mistaken man!" cried mr. mayburn, "why will you provoke the wrath of god by causing desolation and slaughter among his glorious works? know you not that for all these things god will bring you to judgment?" "halloo!" cried the wretch; "what! ye've gotten a missioner amang ye. he'll do precious little harm." "his only desire is to do good," said arthur. "but you are mistaken if you think us cowards. we have brave men among us, who will not submit to any treaty with convicts. we have nothing to give you; we are shipwrecked voyagers, who have only saved our guns, and with them we will defend our lives and liberty. we do not wish to injure you if you will leave us in peace; and you have neither means nor numbers to overcome us." "we'se see about that," answered the man. "we'se soon raise force to burn or starve ye out." another consultation succeeded; and finally they departed, leaving the besieged under the disagreeable impression that they had only departed to procure a reinforcement. "what a different set of fellows robin hood's free rangers were," said hugh. "gerald and i have many a time longed to have lived in merry sherwood." "lawlessness inevitably leads to crime," said mr. mayburn. "i fear the halo of chivalry and romance blinds us as to the real character of those outlaws." "yes, hugh," said arthur; "if your bold archers of sherwood were to attempt their troublesome frolics in these days, the police would soon arrest their course, and we should see robin hood and his merry men placed on the treadmill." "there's no time to talk about treadmills, mr. arthur," said wilkins. "t' boats is safe; and what say ye if we be off? they'll not be back yet a bit; for they'll have to gather up them black fellows and talk 'em ower wi' lots of lies; but if we were out of this queer hole and just free-like on t' water, we'd manage to distance yon awkward scamps yet. but we ought to start off-hand." "my good man," said mr. mayburn, "i feel in greater safety here than if i were wandering through the labyrinths of these mountains, where we might any moment be surprised and captured." "we must send out a scout," said arthur. "who will be the safest? i object to no one but gerald, who would inevitably rush into the camp of the enemy." gerald bowed to the compliment, and wilkins said, "i've a sort of notion, mr. arthur, as how baldabella would suit better nor ony of us. ye see, these jins are used to spying work." when baldabella fully understood the important service required of her, she started up, ready at once to undertake it, and as soon as the heavy barrier was moved, glided through the aperture, and fled lightly on her errand. during her absence, the rest made ready all their burdens again for recommencing their pilgrimage; and the time seemed incredibly short till the woman returned with a bright countenance, saying,--"bad men go much far; smoke for black fellows come. white man go away now; very hush; no see he be gone." reassured by her words, the family emerged from their stronghold. the men pulled down the stones they had piled to conceal the canoes, brought them out, and then, heavily laden, commenced their march. but at the moment of departure a loud clucking of the escaped fowls arrested the weeping ruth, who summoned, by calls and scattered grains, the small remainder of her charge,--two fowls; which she placed once more in their coop, and with a lightened heart, disregarded this addition to her burden, and followed the procession, which was now led by baldabella, who had discovered the shortest road through the windings of the mountains to the banks of the river. when the welcome stream was seen before them, the boats were once more launched and laden, and on the smooth but rapid river they were quickly carried from the scene of danger. "that rogue who argued with you, arthur," said gerald, "was the very fellow that threatened to burn me alive, and sure enough, if we had surrendered to them, we should all have been piled up for a bonfire. don't you think so, wilkins?" "why, master gerald," answered he, "i'll not say that, 'cause as how they could have made nought of our dead bones. money's what they look to: they'd sell us, plunder us, strip us of every rag we have, but, barrin' we went again 'em, and wrought 'em up, mad-like, they'd hardly trouble to burn us. but i'll not say how it might be if they turned us ower to them hungry black fellows; they'd likely enough roast and eat us, but white chaps has no stomach for meat of that sort." "whither can we flee to avoid these desperate cannibals?" said mr. mayburn. "do you conceive, wilkins, that the river is really the safest course?" "safe enough, master," answered the man, "so long as we stick to our boats, and can keep our jaws at work. but we'se want meat, and them black fellows gets thicker farther south. we'se fall in with mony an ill-looking lot on 'em as we run down; and likely enough, we'se have to rattle a shot at 'em nows and thens." "god forbid that we should be compelled to shed more blood," said mr. mayburn. "i feel my heart oppressed with sorrow when i behold the sin and ignorance of these people, and, alas! i know not how to alleviate it: i can only pray for them." "we will trust that our prayers may avail with a merciful god," said margaret; "and if we should be permitted to reach the estate of edward deverell, we will all labor, papa, to diffuse instruction around us; and in his own good time, i trust, god will spread the light of his truth to the remotest corner of these yet barbarous regions. i feel already as if i saw daisy grange plainly before us." "there's mony a hundred mile atween us and them ye talk on," said wilkins, morosely; "and i'se be cast away sure enough when ye turn in among them squatters. they're all sharp enough to put their claws on an idle vagabond like me, and send him back to chains and hard commons." "that shall never be, wilkins," replied hugh. "it is settled that you and i are never to part; and if edward deverell should refuse to receive you, we will squat by ourselves; like robinson crusoe and his man friday, build a hut, and shoot kangaroos." arthur laughed at the plan of a separate establishment, and assured wilkins of certain protection in that home they pined to reach; and a calm and pleasant hope now filled every heart, as hours and days passed easily while they sailed down the broad river undisturbed by cares or dread, till the failure of provisions and a great change in the scenery roused them from their pleasant dream. "this is a melancholy and desert-like heath," said arthur, as he looked beyond the low banks upon a wide extent grown over with the low entangled brush; "but we must make a foraging party to replenish our baskets. i can see on some marshy patches a scattering of wild oats, and we may hope to find some of the feathered gluttons that feed on them." "and please to bring some tea-leaves, if you can find them, mr. arthur," said jenny; "i get on badly without a drop of tea, such as it is." "now, boys," said arthur, "get out the axes. we must clear a place among the reeds for margaret and my father; then we will moor the canoes safely, and leave a guard to watch them, while we go off on our exploring expedition." chapter xxviii. the cookery disturbed.--a signal-rocket.--a surprise and capture.--pillage.--the taste of gunpowder.--a fatal explosion.--the contrivances of necessity.--a region of famine.--renewed hopes.--an unfair advantage. a nook was soon cleared, where the family landed, and the light canoes were drawn close to shore, and moored to the canes. then the fine rushes were cut down and spread to form seats for margaret and her father; and arthur, with wilkins and jack, set out with guns and bows, leaving hugh and o'brien to guard the encampment. baldabella then went off with her spear, and soon pierced several large fish; and while mr. mayburn took out his book, and margaret talked to nakinna, jenny and ruth made a fire to broil the fish. already the cooking began to smell temptingly, and the hungry little girl was dancing joyfully about the fire, watching till the repast was ready, when baldabella suddenly threw down her spear, started forward, and laying her hand on margaret's arm, she held up her finger in an attitude of warning, and bent forward as if listening. then drawing a deep sigh, she whispered through her closed teeth--"baldabella hear him, missee; black fellow come--one, two, many--eat missee--eat nakinna--burn all!" then snatching up her child, she gazed wildly round, and her fears were confirmed a minute after, by the fatal cry ringing through the reeds, which announced the proximity of the dreaded natives. the boys, who were rambling about among the bamboos, searching for nests, at the vexatious sound of the _coo-ee_, left their spoil to hurry to the encampment, and entreat their father and sister to embark at once and seek safety; but mr. mayburn could not be persuaded to leave the absent. "then let us make a sally to bring them up," said gerald; "no time should be lost; we have our bows to defend ourselves, though they carried the guns with them." "but they must have heard the _coo-ee_ as well as we did," replied hugh, "and, depend on it, they are on the road back to us. i say, nurse, we must eat our fish cold; just pull that fire to pieces." ruth the unlucky, always officious, took a bucket of water and threw it over the blazing sticks; on which a dark, dense smoke rose up from them like a column, and the cries of the natives were now heard loud and triumphant. "oh! ruth, ruth!" said hugh, "you have sent up a signal-rocket to them. margaret and papa, do step into the canoe; there is more safety on the river than here." "i do not see that, hugh," answered mr. mayburn; "the water is so shallow here, that they could wade to us, and we must not run down the stream and leave our kind foragers." a loud rustling and crackling among the reeds prevented more words; the boys would have sent their arrows into the thicket, but margaret besought, and mr. mayburn commanded, that they should not begin aggression, and a few minutes rendered these weapons absolutely useless, for they were closely surrounded by a numerous tribe of natives, carrying spears. but the anxious voyagers soon discovered that the people were peacefully inclined, for they made no attempt to injure the strangers, but with loud cries and rapidly-uttered words, seemed to express astonishment rather than anger. one man took margaret's large sun-hat from her head and placed it on his own, which so much delighted the rest, that all the hats of the party were coolly and speedily appropriated, without any opposition from the rightful owners, except from ruth, who tied her bonnet so firmly under her chin, that the rough attempts of the man to tear it from her head nearly strangled her, till margaret stepped forward to relieve her by loosing the strings. o'brien, also, was so indignant when one of the savages came to claim his hat, that he flung it into the river, but the man leaped in and rescued it, and at the same time he discovered the canoes, and summoned his friends vociferously to look on these new treasures. in the mean time the fish already cooked was devoured by some of the natives, and the rest revived the fire to cook the remainder of baldabella's spoil. jenny's shawl was next discovered, and appropriated by a bold marauder, who threw it, in not ungraceful drapery, over his uncovered shoulders. another savage stripped from ruth a large cloak which she had hastily put on to conceal the basket which contained her last two fowls, which she held on her arm. this basket was a new prize, and the fowls were regarded with much curiosity. "oh! tell 'em not to twine their necks about, mistress baldabella," cried ruth. "tell 'em what bonnie creaters they are, laying every day, too." but baldabella, shy and fearful, had slunk behind the rest, and margaret undertook to point out to the robber the value of the fowls, by showing him the eggs and caressing the birds. the man grinned, to express that he understood the explanation, sucked the eggs, and then walked off with basket and fowls, leaving ruth in complete despair. just at that moment, arthur issued from among the reeds, and started back, overcome with amazement and dismay, at the sight of the dark crowd which thronged the little clearance. he was immediately surrounded, and before he could offer any effectual resistance, his gun and hat were taken away, as well as a bag of pigeons that was hung over his arm. "baldabella," said he, "ask the chief of the tribe what he wants from us. we will give him the birds, and some knives and axes; but his people must then go away, and leave us our canoes and our guns." baldabella reluctantly came forward, and bending her head down as she approached the chief, repeated her message in a submissive tone, and the savage replied in a long harangue which made the poor woman tremble, and which she interpreted to her friends, greatly abridged, saying:--"black fellow say, he take all: he very angry. good white friend all run--fast--go away! meny, much meny, black fellows come--all very hungry--eat fish--eat bird--eat all white friend. go fast, massa;--missee, good friend, go away!" this was decidedly sound advice; but under the present circumstances it was no easy task for the large party to run away. wilkins and jack had joined them, and were immediately seized by the savages, disarmed, and held fast by their captors. the attack was too sudden to allow them any opposition, and jack looked deeply distressed, while wilkins was absolutely furious, till a few words from arthur induced them to submit with quietness to have their game and their hats taken away from them. then the robbers paused, evidently lost in admiration of the complicated dress of their captives, which they seemed desirous to possess, but were puzzled how to separate the garments from the wearer, or probably doubtful whether they did not actually form a part of that anomalous creature, a white man. it was plain, however, that baldabella and her child were of their own race, and the chief went up to her, and commanded her to follow him, and become one of his jins. the poor woman, in terror and indignation, refused his request, and turned to flee from him; the savage immediately seized the child, and the alarmed mother, supported by arthur and hugh, tried in vain to rescue the screaming girl, till the man, in a violent rage, sprung forward to the river, and flung the child into the water. but in a moment hugh leaped in after it, and brought the half-senseless child to the distracted mother, who had plunged in after him herself. but now the chief's attention was diverted from baldabella to the spoils of his victims; and some of the men were sent off with baskets, portmanteaus, knives, axes, guns, and all the precious possessions of the unfortunate travellers, who momentarily expected to be murdered as well as pillaged. when the canoes had been completely ransacked, four of the men carried them off, while the rest were collected round a skin bag which contained their valuable ammunition. one of the natives drew out a canister of gunpowder, forced it open, and filled his mouth with the powder. with ludicrous grimaces, he spat out the nauseous mixture, and raised his hand to fling the rest upon the fire. arthur saw the motion, and calling on his friends to escape, he rushed up, hoping to arrest the arm of the ignorant man; but he was too late, and though he retreated the moment he saw the canister flying through the air, he was prostrated senseless by the fearful explosion that followed. the very earth shook beneath their feet, and such of the natives as were not actually stunned by the shock, fled, with cries of horror, into the bush, which was already blazing in several places from the burning fragments of the fire cast in all directions. the emancipated prisoners had all, with the exception of arthur, reached in safety the edge of the river; and though trembling and much shaken, they had not sustained any injury. arthur was brought to them perfectly insensible; but in a few minutes, when water had been plentifully poured over him, he recovered, and except a nervous tremor that lasted many hours, and the loss of his hair, which was completely scorched off, no serious consequences succeeded his perilous accident. but though temporarily relieved from the presence of the savages, they were still in the midst of great dangers. the dry blazing reeds rendered further progress impossible; and they gratefully thanked god that the little spot they had cleared for their landing now afforded them a secure refuge. the wind carried the flames rapidly down the east bank of the river towards the south; and they waited in great agitation till a path should be opened for them to proceed. their anxious silence was interrupted by the sound of a low musical wail, so expressive of sorrow that it pained every heart; and on looking round, they saw the dirge proceeded from baldabella, who was bending over the body of the native who had perished in the explosion caused by his own ignorance, and now lay a blackened corpse on the spot from whence he had flung the canister. the little girl was kneeling by her mother, seeming to be conscious of the solemnity of the ceremony, and raising her feeble voice, in imitation of her mother. much affected, mr. mayburn drew near them, and briefly and simply explained to the tender-hearted woman the uselessness of mourning over the hapless dead, and the lesson his sudden fate afforded to the living; and he begged her to join him in the prayer that they might all live so watchfully, that the hour of death might never surprise them unprepared. the plain truths of christianity had fallen with good effect on the mind of the grateful and gentle woman, and mr. mayburn hoped earnestly that she and her child had been, by god's mercy, rescued from darkness. "and now, let us turn away from this sad spectacle, my good woman," continued mr. mayburn, "and endeavor to escape from this burning wilderness, for we all have work to do in the world. arthur, will you, with your usual prudence, decide which way we shall turn? the flames are raging before us, and these savage natives may, at any moment, beset us from behind. my judgment fails to point out any escape; but, arthur, i will pray for god's assistance, that you may be enabled to save us all." "we may retrace our path up the river--a discouraging journey!" said arthur; "or we may wait till the devouring flames have cleared a road for us; but the delay is perilous. even should we try to force our way east, into yon barren desert, destitute as we now are, we should only obtain a change of evils; and i am reluctant to leave the friendly river, where alone we can hope to obtain food and water." baldabella pointed across the broad river, and said, "go quick there, find many root, many nut, no black fellow. bad black fellow come back soon, paint all white; very angry, see brother dead; kill all white man, eat nakinna, carry away baldabella! god never come to black fellow." to cross the river did certainly seem the most desirable plan; but how to effect the transit was a perplexing question. it was about a hundred yards across, but, as far as they could judge, not more than from four to five feet deep at any part; so that the young men would have no difficulty in wading across; but to the women, and even to mr. mayburn, such an undertaking would be very difficult, if not impossible. jack looked round in despair; there were no trees, and even if there had been any, he had no axe. they examined carefully the field of plunder, in hopes some tool or utensil might have been overlooked by the plunderers; but, except the spear of the fallen native, and the fishing-spear of baldabella, nothing had been left behind. wilkins had fortunately preserved a long knife which he wore under his blouse; and, from the mysterious form of the dresses, the pockets had escaped being rifled. jack looked joyfully at the knife, and said, "we might cut some of these thick tall reeds, and make a float for them, mr. arthur. i have a few loose nails in my pocket, and here's a stone with a hole through it; we can fix a reed handle to it, and then it will make shift for a hammer. we could easily guide them over on a float of this sort, it's my opinion." it was at least desirable to make the experiment; so without delay the strong bamboos were cut, broken, or torn down; a range of them placed flat, close together on the ground, connected by transverse bars, which were fastened somewhat imperfectly with jack's precious "loose nails." a quarter of an hour completed this slight frame; in which time the conflagration, which had run to some distance down the banks of the river, had left a scorched and smoking clearance, disclosing the bodies of three more victims, who had not been able to escape the rapid flames. the boys found also several nests of half-roasted water-fowls, which they snatched away at some risk from the heated ground, and brought forward for a needful repast. "if we had but saved the ropes!" exclaimed jack. but ropes were not attainable, nor even that excellent substitute for them, the stringy bark; and the raft was launched on the river, to be drawn or urged across by the strong arms of the men. margaret, at her own request, was the first to venture on the frail machine, guided on one side by jack, and on the other by wilkins, who waded, and in some places swam, and brought their charge in safety to the opposite bank, which was covered with reeds like that which they had left. in this way the strong men successively brought over mr. mayburn and the two women. baldabella, with her child on her shoulder and her fishing-spear in her hand, plunged at once into the water, followed by arthur, who insisted on her holding his hand through the deepest part. finally, after a sorrowful look at the scene of their losses, and a vain search for any trifling article of their property, the two boys followed their friends. then the disconsolate travellers, forcing their way through the reedy thicket, stood to gaze with consternation on the wild barren region that spread before them. "god has pleased to cast us feeble and destitute into this wide wilderness," said mr. mayburn; "of ourselves, we can do nothing, but he is mighty to save. he rescued us from the murdering savage, from flood, and from fire, and he will not suffer us to perish from famine, if we pray and trust. let us lift up our hands and voices in thanksgiving and submission." the rough convict, the ignorant baldabella, and the simple child joined earnestly in the devotions of their more enlightened friends; and refreshed and hopeful, they rose from their knees, "to walk in faith the darkling paths of earth." "if we can but keep near the river," said margaret, "we cannot perish for want; and, besides, it seems to lead us in the very path we wish to follow." "fish is better nor starving," said wilkins; "but i reckon we'se soon tire on't, if we come on nought better. what's come to t' lass now?" addressing ruth, who was weeping. "i've gone and roven a hole in my boot," sobbed she, "and i don't know how ever i'se to git it mended." the boys laughed at the small distress of ruth; but, after all, it was no laughing matter for her. to walk over the brush-covered plain, or among the dry reeds, was a trying exertion even for the well-shod, and margaret was dismayed when she considered how this could be accomplished when their boots should fail. "yet why dare i doubt?" she said. "see, ruth; baldabella, and even little nakinna, walk as well as we do, and they are barefooted. we must not shrink from such small trials as this." just then a pair of the splendid bronze pigeons, so unequalled in beauty by any of their race, winged their flight from the water above the heads of the travellers; and though they no longer had the means of obtaining these birds, as delicious in taste as they are lovely in plumage, they were satisfied to see there were animals in the waste around them. "these thin bamboos would make capital arrows," said hugh; "and i have no doubt we can bend one of these tall canes for a bow, if we had but the means of stringing it." "we might, at all events, sharpen some of the canes for spears," said arthur, "not only for defence in need, but to be useful if we should be so fortunate as to encounter a kangaroo, or meet with the burrows of the wombats." "what has become of our raft?" asked margaret "you had there a good stock of bamboos ready cut." "with all my nails in them," exclaimed jack. "what a fool i was not to remember that in time; now it will be far enough down the river." it was too true: the raft had already been carried away by the stream out of their sight; and all deeply regretted their negligence, as they moved slowly through the entangled scrub, frequently compelled to walk actually over the low bushes. on the opposite shore of the river they could still discover the wild flames flying down before the wind, and leaving behind a black smoking surface. when wearied with the excitement and toil of the day, they were compelled to seek rest among the comfortless reeds, they sat down and looked at each other for some time rather sorrowfully, for the pressure of hunger had fallen on all. it was baldabella who first relieved their distress; with untired energy she went to the river with her spear, and returned very soon with a large river-cod, and an apron filled with the fresh-water mussels, now truly prized for their useful shells. a fire was soon made, the fish was spitted on a sharpened reed, and while it was roasting, hugh, with wilkins's invaluable knife, cut a number of short thin reeds into chopsticks, as he called them, to enable them to convey the roasted fish from the reeds on which it was dished to their mouths. rude as the contrivance was, and laughable as were the failures made in using their new utensils, they managed to make a satisfactory supper, and were content to sleep among the reeds in the open air, though the nights now felt exceedingly cold. for several days they continued to toil on along the reedy banks of the river, over the same cheerless bush, and subsisting on the same unvarying fish diet. then the banks became rocky and precipitous, and the river so difficult of access that it was only at rare openings they were able to obtain water or fish. but soon after the landscape was enlivened once more by tall trees. their path was over the grassy plains, which were even now, in the winter of the year, gay with bright flowers. more than once they remarked with thankfulness the track of the kangaroo, and the chattering of birds gave them hopes of new food, and they anxiously sought the means of obtaining them. with what joy they recognized the stringy-bark tree, and gathered the fibres to twist into bowstrings, and with what triumph did hugh, the first who finished the rude weapon, draw his rough string and bring down pigeons and cockatoos sufficient for an ample meal even to the half-starved, but which taxed the ingenuity of the women to cook in any way. they were finally made into what gerald called a meg merrilies stew, which was cooked in a very large mussel-shell, and even without salt or vegetables was fully enjoyed by the dissatisfied fish-eaters. then they all sat down earnestly to make a complete stock of bows and arrows; even baldabella worked hard in twisting the bark for strings, and when they set out to continue their journey, they felt more confidence, for they were now provided with the means of obtaining food, and of defending themselves against hostile attacks; and in another day they again met with wild oats, and, to the joy of the women, with the tea-bush. the fig-trees no longer bore fruit, but they were still covered with their usual inhabitants, flocks of brilliant pigeons, chattering cockatoos, and the satin-bird, distinguished by its flossy plumage and dazzling bright eye. occasionally they still met with the cucumber melon, a pleasant refreshment when they were weary; and now, strong in hope, they went on their way, still keeping within sight of the river. "every hour must bring us nearer to some of the most remote settlements of enterprising squatters," said margaret, as they rested beneath a fig-tree one evening; "and all our trials would be forgotten if we could once more feel the blessing of a roof over our heads and hear the language of civilized life." "it'll be a gay bit yet afore we come on 'em, miss," said wilkins. "folks is not such fools as to squat on bare commons; and there's another thing ye'll find,--we'se meet a few more of them black dogs yet, specially if we come on a bit of good land; they're up to that as well as we are. and now, as things look a bit better, i'd not wonder if they're nigh at hand." "i agree with you, wilkins," said arthur. "we are now certainly in danger of encountering tribes of natives, especially as we are on the track of the kangaroos, a great temptation to them." "i wish we could see one of the mountebank beasts," said gerald; "wouldn't i send an arrow or a spear into him. take notice, all of you, i intend to bag the first old fellow that shows his long nose." a sudden spring from a thicket behind them brought a large kangaroo into the midst of the circle, and before they had recovered the surprise sufficiently to take up bows or spears, a succession of rapid bounds had carried the animal completely beyond their reach. a burst of laughter from his friends somewhat disconcerted o'brien, but with his usual good-humor he said, "very well; i allow you to laugh to-night. the fellow took an unfair advantage of me; but wait till to-morrow." chapter xxix. a seasonable supply.--visitors in the night.--captivity.--an old acquaintance.--the ranger's settlement.--an embassy to daisy grange.--jack in a new office.--the grateful native woman.--davy's compunction.--bush-ranging life. next morning, when the broiled fish was ready for breakfast, gerald and hugh were missing. with some uneasiness the rest watched and waited for an hour, when a shout announced the approach of the wanderers, and arthur and jack set out to meet them, and were glad to assist them in dragging in a kangaroo. "it is the same impudent fellow that defied me last night," said gerald. "i tracked his curious boundings to a wood three miles from here; and then hugh and i beat the bushes and shouted till we drove him out of cover; but he cost us lots of arrows and spears before we could dispatch him; and a weighty drag he has been for us this winter morning of june, when the sun is as hot as it is in our summer june at home. now, wilkins, help to skin him; we mean to have all our boots mended with his hide." "but, arthur, we must tell you," said hugh, "that when we were in the wood we saw a smoke at a considerable distance to the south-west. do you think it could possibly be from some station? gerald wished much to go on and ascertain whence it arose, but i persuaded him to wait till we consulted you; besides, i knew you would be all uneasy if we were long absent. have we got so near the squatters, wilkins?" "not a bit of chance on 't, master hugh," replied he. "we're far enough from t' squatters yet. depend on 't it's just another lot of them good-to-nought black rogues. they'll be thick enough here where there's aught to get, i'se warrant 'em." "it is most natural and just, wilkins," said mr. mayburn, "that the true proprietors of the soil should participate in its fruits. i fear it is we who are, in fact, the rogues, robbing the wretched aborigines of their game, and grudging them even a settlement in their own land." "but we have not robbed them, papa," said hugh. "kangaroos and pigeons abound here enough for all; and we do not wish to hurt the poor wretches if they would not annoy us. here is margaret quite ready to open a school for them, if they would come and be taught." "margaret has done more good than any of us," said mr. mayburn; "she has labored incessantly to instruct baldabella and her child, and to open to them the way of salvation. it is thus by scattered seeds that the great work of diffusing the truth is to be accomplished; and i fear, hugh, we have been too much engrossed with the cares of this life to think seriously." "now, boys," said arthur, "we had better not linger; the kangaroo is skinned, and the meat is cut up into convenient portions for carriage; let us walk on briskly till we are hungry enough to enjoy it." onward they moved over the extensive grassy plains, recognizing with pleasure various tall trees of the varieties of _eucalyptus_, the grass-tree with its long weeping branches, the pandanus with its slender palm-like stem, and the fig-tree with its spreading roots. beneath one of these trees they encamped to cook kangaroo steaks, and to enjoy once more what wilkins called "a decent, nat'ral dinner." there, with strips of skin for thread and a fish-bone for a needle, wilkins repaired the worn and tattered boots, while margaret and baldabella made netted bags of the stringy bark, and jenny and ruth bruised the wild oats which the young men had cut down as they came along. "the rest of the skin i mean to make into a bag," said jack; "for we must carry with us a good stock of oats; we may, probably, again come to some spot where they are not to be found." mr. mayburn looked with pleasure on the busy hands round him; and though he deeply regretted the irreparable loss of his books, wasted on the plundering savages, his composed mind soon submitted to the trial. his retentive memory supplied the place of books, and, from the rich treasures of his reading he delighted to repeat to his attentive listeners pleasant and instructive lectures. cheered and invigorated by labor and amusing conversation, the united party forgot all their cares, offered up their devotions with calm and happy hopes, and slept among the sheltering roots of the fig-tree without fear. some unaccustomed sounds suddenly roused the sleepers, and they looked round to behold through the dim light of breaking day the grim visages of a numerous band of tall savages, with rough heads and beards, who were armed with spears, and who looked on their surprised captives with a sort of scornful indifference, as they beckoned them to rise and follow them. hugh and gerald sprung up to seize their spears and bows, but arthur, with more prudence, ordered them to forbear making any hostile demonstration. "we are in the power of these strangers," he said; "our only hope must be in conciliation and treaty. i will try to make the best of it." then turning to the native who stood nearest to him, he endeavored, in the few words he had learnt from baldabella, to make him understand their poverty and inoffensive disposition, and their desire to be permitted to proceed on their journey. the man looked round, as if to call on another to reply, and, to the astonishment of arthur, a voice from the crowd answered in english. "we are open to a fair reg'lar treatise, young man, perdoose yer swag, which is the vulgar country word for what we english terminate _tin_, and then we will sign your disfranchisement." the voice and the extraordinary phraseology were familiar to the mayburns, and hugh cried out, "what, bill, is that you? how came you here? is david simple with you? and where is mr. deverell?" the man, who had now come forward, dressed in the remnants of his formerly seedy foppery, looked annoyed at the recognition. he stared impudently at hugh, and said, "you have mistaken your man, young master. i have no convalescence of you." "it is in vain for you to affect ignorance of us, bill," said arthur; "we know you to be a ticket-of-leave man, engaged as a servant at melbourne by mr. deverell. i am grieved to find you in such unsuitable company, and would advise you to join us, and guide us to your master's station, where we shall be able to reward you liberally." "thank you, sir," said the man, laughing scornfully; "but mr. deverell and i did not part good friends, and i have no innovation to visit him again. his ways is percoolar, and a gentleman as has had a deliberate eddication looks higher nor waiting on cattle; so davy and i came to a dissolution to abrogate the place, and set out on a predestinarian excrescence." "he means, master," said davy, with a downcast look, interpreting his brother's difficult language; "he means as how we took to t' bush. i was bad to win round to 't; but bill, he'd collogued with a lot of black fellows, and had 'em all in a wood hard again our boundaries; and they thranged me round, and threaped as how they'd cut my throat if i stayed after them to peach; and, graceless dog as i were, i joined 'em to drive our best stock, when we knew as how master was off for a week. it were a sore day's work, and little good do i see in living among a set of raggles like them. i warn ye, master, if ye've gotten any cash about ye, just pay 't down, and make no words about it, afore they get aggravated, for they're a bloody set, that are they." "but, my poor mistaken man," said mr. mayburn, "what in the world can these savages do with money in this houseless wilderness?" "that's our affair," answered bill. "so open your bank, old fellow, and leave it to intelligible fellows like me to transact your gold into brandy." "in the first place, bill," replied arthur, "i think it is my duty to remind you of the fatal consequences of highway robbery, and to beseech you to return to your duty, and endeavor to retrieve your error. in the next place, you cannot possibly benefit by your extortion, for we are literally and truly without money. we have letters of credit on calcutta, and we could certainly obtain money at melbourne, but only by our personal application at that place. we have been already stripped by one of the black tribes, of every article of property we possessed, and we are now wholly destitute. this is the exact truth. now i suggest to you that your wisest plan would be to leave us to pursue our way unmolested; unless you or your misguided brother will accompany us to the settlement of mr. deverell, with whom, i think, we have sufficient influence to induce him to pardon your offence." "who would be the fools then?" answered the man. "no, sir, your oratorio makes no depression on me. if you haven't got money, you're worth money. you must march in the arrear of your captivators to our quarters. you shall then write a letter, which i shall dedicate to you. i never travel without my writing impediments; and one of my 'cute black fellows, as is conservant in english, shall be dispersed away to your friend mr. deverell, who must confiscate to me cash or stuff for your ransom; and when i see my brandy and cigars, you are disfranchised." it was useless to attempt opposition to the mandates of the imperious and conceited bush-ranger, and the disconsolate captives reluctantly followed the man, surrounded by such a troop of natives as precluded all hopes of escape, and exposed to the insults and plunder of these savages, who wrested from them their spears and bows. wilkins had contrived to secret his knife under his vest, and thus saved it. they had not proceeded far before they were joined by a band of women, revolting in appearance and manner, who crowded round them, rudely examined their garments, and freely possessed themselves of such as they could conveniently snatch away. margaret looked round for baldabella to assist her in remonstrating with these harpies, and was surprised to see that she had disappeared. margaret then remembered that, on the previous night, the woman had selected a thicket considerably apart from the rest, as a sleeping-place for herself and her child, and she concluded that at the first alarm of the invaders, the poor woman had escaped, her dread of her fellow-countrymen overcoming even her allegiance to her friends. after all, margaret considered it was as well; there were two less to be anxious for, and she had no fears for the native on her own soil: she would certainly find food, and would probably wait and watch for the release of the captives. the unpleasant march of the prisoners extended to nearly three miles; then, descending a low hill, they arrived at a lovely wooded valley, where, on the banks of a little creek, or streamlet, stood a number of rough bark huts. a herd of cattle were feeding on the grassy plain, and some horses, hobbled, to prevent them straying, were mingled with them. naked children were rolling on the grass, shouting and laughing; women were busy bruising nuts, or making nets; and some aged men were seated in the sun with their knees raised to their heads, looking stupid and half dead. it was the first scene of pastoral life that the travellers had beheld in australia, and would have had a certain charm to them had they been in a position to enjoy it. but the thoughts of their captivity engrossed their minds, and they contemplated with uneasiness the fierce and threatening countenances of the lawless men who surrounded them, and who drove them forward like the cattle they had so villainously obtained, and lodged them in a large bark hut which stood at the extremity of the scattered hamlet. this rude shelter was wholly open in front, and filthily dirty inside; but they were thankful for any shelter that divided them from the coarse and abandoned robbers; and, flinging themselves on the ground, the disconsolate captives reflected silently on their perilous situation, while their captors, assembled before the rude prison, seemed earnestly discussing, as arthur concluded, the means of making the most profit of their destitute prisoners. after some minutes had elapsed, they were favored with a visit from the audacious and ignorant convict bill, who addressed them with his usual pompous air, saying,-- "gentlemen, we have dissented on dispersing one of your gang along with our embarrasser to deverell, that he may be incensed into the right of the thing. we set you up as worth a hundred pound, hard cash, for the lot; but if we concentrate to take stuff, we shall exhort two hundred. things is bad to sell in the bush. we expectorate a chap in a day or two as is intentionable to buy our stock, and then you must keep close quarters, for when my colloquies get their brandy they are always a bit umbrageous." when mr. mayburn comprehended the meaning of this elaborate nonsense, he declared positively that he would not allow one of his children to depart on such an unjust errand, accompanied by an abandoned reprobate. "i should like nothing better than to start off on such a trip," said gerald. "what a surprise it would be at daisy grange when they saw my brown face; and wouldn't pretty emma say, with tears in her eyes, 'oh, gerald! what has become of arthur?' and grave edward deverell would fall into heaps of confusion, and say, 'margaret! why is not margaret with you?'" arthur laughed, but shook his head, and refused to abet any plan of subjecting the thoughtless boy to such risk. "but might not wilkins go?" asked hugh. "not i, thank ye, master hugh," answered the man, hastily; "we'd like enough fall in with some of them hot-headed black pollis when we got nigh to t' station, and they're all so set up wi' their guns, that afore i could get out a word they'd sure to pick me out for a runaway, and shoot me dead; and, more nor that, i'll not say if i were let loose among them care-nought rangers, as i mightn't fall into their ways, and take to t' bush like 'em; and then, ye see, all yer good work would be flung away." "wilkins might be useful to you here, master arthur," said jack; "but i don't see why i shouldn't go. i'm no ways feared; and i could put mr. deverell up to getting hold of these vagabonds and their own cattle; and then, you know, sir, i should find timber and tools enough, and i could soon knock up a bit of a wagon to bring up for miss margaret and the master, and the other poor things. what think you, sir, about it?" "i must confess, papa," said arthur, "that i feel satisfied that jack is the right man. but can we make up our minds to part with our tried and faithful friend? i leave it to you to decide." "my dear son," answered mr. mayburn, much agitated, "i cannot decide such an important question. only consider; should his savage companion prove treacherous, our dear jack may be sacrificed, and his blood fall on our heads. i shrink from the responsibility." "nevertheless, dear papa," said margaret, weeping bitterly, "i fear we must consent. jack will be accompanied by only one man, whose policy it will be to be careful of his life till the transaction be completed. on his return, rely on it, edward deverell will take care he has arms and protection. jack is sagacious, brave, and prudent. i grieve to part with him; but i believe it may be for the benefit of all. we must resign him, and pray for god's blessing on our brave deliverer." "and i say, jack, my man," said wilkins, "if ye should chance to light on a bonnie bit lass, called susan raine, down yonder, just ye say as how wilkins is not altogether that graceless she counts him. he's bad enough, god knows; but he oft thinks on days of lang syne; and he's true, tell her, come what may." it was then communicated to the vile dictator of the dark band that a messenger was ready to set out to procure the ransom from mr. deverell; and the next day, amidst the loud sobs of ruth and the silent grief of the rest, jack took leave, and set forward towards the south, accompanied by a tall, crafty-looking savage, who had evidently been accustomed to traffic with the bush-rangers, and had acquired sufficient english to serve his purpose. one of their ablest defenders was thus severed from the unfortunate captives, who hourly became more alarmed about their position. forbidden to leave the hut, they were merely fed, like the dogs, with the disgusting remains of the untempting food of their savage captors; and but for the secret good offices of davy, they must have perished of thirst. he brought them every night a bark bucket of water from the creek, which saved their lives. but mr. mayburn and margaret, who could not touch the decomposed fish and gnawed bones that were thrown to them, gradually sunk into a state of weakness that distracted their helpless friends. four days elapsed after jack's departure, and margaret was reclining, weak and weary, yet unable to sleep, against the back wall of the hut, when about midnight, she was startled by a scratching sound outside the bark. much alarmed, but too weak to move, she trembled, and feebly called to jenny, who was sleeping near her. but just at that moment the low, sweet voice of baldabella greeted her, through an opening made in the bark near the ground. "missee, good dear missee!" murmured the woman; "baldabella see all, look in all _gunyoes_. baldabella come, all sleep now; bring bread, bring fish for missee and good master." then through the opening jenny received cakes of pounded oats, such as she herself had taught baldabella to make, broiled fish, and a bark vessel filled with hot tea, a plentiful and luxurious repast. when she had given up her store, the grateful woman whispered, "baldabella go make more bread, come again dark night. pray god bless white friends." the prayer of baldabella was gratefully acknowledged and responded to by her much affected friends, who blessed the hour they were so happy as to snatch the poor widow from the death which hung over her body and soul, and to win her affections and sympathy. invigorated by the wholesome and clean food, mr. mayburn and margaret again began to hope for better days, and to plan their pleasant journey south. for three nights baldabella returned with her abundant and seasonable gifts; while the sordid wretch who detained them, plainly cared only for the ransom he hoped to obtain for them. but davy continued to steal in every night with the welcome supply of fresh water, and remained to listen to their prayers and hymns, with a softened and mournful countenance. "ye see, sir," said the poor fellow to arthur, "our bill, he's up to all sorts of things; he's had a grand eddication, and knows reet fra' wrong better nor me; and he orders me, like, and i cannot say him nay; he reckons i'se but a simple chap." "did you ever learn your catechism, davy?" asked margaret. "they did get that into me, miss," answered he, "and little good it's done me. i niver like to think on 't nowadays; it's just awesome, it is." "thou shalt not steal!" said mr. mayburn, emphatically. "please, master, not to talk on't," said the agitated young man; "it's about them beasts as ye're meaning on. but our bill says, says he, 'it stands to reason as them as has ower mony ought to sarve them as has none.' now what think ye of that, sir?" "i think and know, david," said mr. mayburn, "that it is god's will that all men should obey his commandments, and do their duty in the station where he has placed them. you had no more right to take mr. deverell's cattle than these poor savages have to strip you naked and leave you to die alone in the desert, and in the eyes of god you are more guilty than they would be, for you have been taught his law. you know that god has said that the thief shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. now, david, death is near to us all, young or old: think what will be your dreadful fate when you wake in another world, forsaken by god. then turn to him now, while there is yet time, and pray for repentance and pardon through the blessed saviour, that your sins may be forgiven, and you may be brought to dwell with him forever." "well, master, i can tell ye if 't were to do again," answered the man, "bill s'ould niver talk me ower to put my hands to t' job. and, after all, a poor set we've made on 't. ye see, this is how we did it; we darked and kept quiet till t' master was off down t' country, then we marked off our beasts, and picked out our saddle-horses, and a gun a-piece. i ought to have had warning plenty about me'ling wi' a gun. then off we set at midnight, driving our beasts and a flock of sheep, and were soon up till them black fellows as was watin' us. first we druv' our sheep till a bush public, where a sly auld hand took 'em, and gave us a lot of bad brandy and worse tobacco for 'em, and sin' that we've run and rode about t' country, up and down, hereaway and thereaway, like wild beasts. then we're feared of t' pollis, and we're feared of all ther' black fellows, as can turn rusty when they like, and it's nought but drinking, cursing, and fighting all day long, brutes as we are. i'se fairly tired, master, and i'd fain be back among christians; but then, i'd niver be t' fellow to peach; and, ower that, i know there's a rope round my neck, as is sartain to be tightened if i show my face at our station again." chapter xxx. a proposal of marriage.--bill's rejection and revenge.--pocket-picking.--jack's return.--black peter again.--bush ranging merriment.--a flight in the dark.--an emu-chase.--the disappointed hunters.--pursuit.--a stratagem. simple davy, the whole family believed, would not prove irreclaimable, and they used every persuasion to bring the poor man to a knowledge of his faults, and to a desire to reform them; but his blind submission to his "_eddicated_" brother proved a formidable obstacle, till his heart became enlightened by the truths of religion. the cunning villain bill was a great annoyance to the family: he continually visited them, and his absurd speeches no longer afforded them amusement, for he had now signified his intention of becoming a candidate for the hand of margaret. "not that miss would aggress," said the convict, "to live with these low _ignis fatuus_ men, that we eddicated men terminate flea-beings, seeing she is not customary to their ways. but you see, miss, i preponderate setting up a bush tavern, quite illimitable to the beat of the imperious pollis; quite a genteel hottle, where you might prorogue like a lady, and i'd not reject to adapt these lads, and give them a job at waiting; and we might revive an opening for the old governor, if you mattered having him." hugh and gerald would have seized the impudent rascal and flung him out of the hut, but arthur restrained them, and arresting his father's indignant remonstrance, he said, "bill, my sister must never again hear such absurd and offensive language; she is too young even to think of such things, and quite unfitted by education and religion for mingling with lawless bush-rangers." "we'll see about that, young fellow," answered bill with a diabolical grin. "you might have permeated the young woman to speak for herself; she's old enough to be deciduous. but wait a bit till i touch your ransom, and then we'll considerate about her. she was not secluded in my bargain, and you'll find as how i'm empirical here." the terror and distress of margaret were very great, and but for the absence of jack, who was always ingenious in affairs of difficulty, arthur would have yielded to her wish, and attempted their escape, which by the aid of baldabella in the out-works, and of david, who was much ashamed of his brother's audacious proposal, in the citadel, they did not think would be extremely difficult. the bark hut which was their prison, was situated at the extremity of the range of huts, and close to a thick wood, from which baldabella made her nightly visits without disturbance. david had supplied the young men with some sheets of bark to partition off the back part of the hut for margaret and her servants, and from this apartment it would be easy to cut open the bark, and escape into the wood, the savages usually sleeping on the ground before the hut. still, unless they were driven to extremities, they desired to defer their flight till the return of jack, as, besides the hope that he might bring them efficient aid from mr. deverell, they did not wish to abandon him to the wrath of the disappointed rangers; but they explained their intention to baldabella, and begged her to be prepared; and they hoped that they were prevailing on david to become their companion and guide. several days passed in the same dreary and distressing seclusion. if any of the prisoners ventured to breathe the air outside the hut, they were assailed with rude language, pelted and insulted by the rangers or the blacks. jenny and ruth had gone out to cut some grass to spread over the ground on which they slept, and were seized by the women, their clothes torn, their hair pulled, and the contents of their pockets discovered and torn from them. "ragged i am, and ragged i may be, now," said jenny. "i wonder what good my bit housewife will do them ondecent hussies; and neither thread, needle, nor scissors have i left. and miss marget, my honey, there was my silver thimble that you bought me in london, and my prayer-book from master arthur,--god bless him!--and my spectacles that master gave me; but that's little matter, i don't need them when i've nothing left to read or sew." ruth sobbed out incoherently, "my bonnie purse; oh dear! oh dear! and my two shillings, and my lucky crook't sixpence, and my sunday ribbons and cotton gloves, and my bonnie little testament! oh dear! where's i to get mair?" mr. mayburn consoled the women, and showed them his pocket bible, which he had still preserved, and from which he could daily read to them the words of comfort and hope; and margaret encouraged jenny with the prospect of one day reaching daisy grange, when she felt assured that the orderly and prudent mrs. deverell would have needles and thread to bestow on them. one evening some very unusual sounds tempted gerald who was always restless in his confinement, to steal out of the hut. he was absent some time, and arthur had become very uneasy lest he should have been arrested and punished for this disobedience of orders, when, with a face full of news, he rushed back into the hut, exclaiming, "jack is brought back! there are three or four more of those ugly convicts; and, oh, arthur, there is black peter amongst them!" this was really melancholy news, and mr. mayburn in deep distress looked appealingly to arthur. "margaret must be taken away," he said; "i cannot have her remain among these reprobates. then there is wilkins, poor fellow! that wicked wretch has ever persecuted and hated him; he is not safe with us; we must care for him, and send him away. but ought we not all to depart? i feel that i am unable to judge the matter calmly; decide for us, my son." "i shall be better able to do that, papa," answered arthur, "when i learn what extraordinary circumstance has induced jack to return. it is quite impossible that he can have executed his mission; and i cannot imagine that these robbers have relinquished their desire for the ransom-money. i am very anxious to see him." the sounds of riot and discord were now heard through the hamlet; the prisoners concluded that more brandy had been brought in, and it was producing its usual delusive and fatal effects among men and women. the intoxication proceeded to madness; horrid oaths and blasphemy were the only words to be distinguished; first uttered by the white man, erroneously named a christian, and then eagerly imitated by his heathen brother. in the midst of the confusion, jack stole in unnoticed by the savages to his anxious friends. he was pale with fatigue, disappointment, and alarm; for he saw that the frenzy of the intoxicated wretches might at any moment lead them to murder. "mr. arthur," said he, hurriedly, "i have got hold of a gun and a few charges, and david will follow me here with another, as soon as the fellows drink themselves into stupor; then we must make off without delay, or we are lost. black peter has determined to have his own way, and you know what his way is; and depend on it, if he had not been led off with the brandy, he would have been here to bully and threaten before now." "alas! alas!" said mr. mayburn, "how did it happen, my good lad, that you fell into the hands of that abandoned man?" "we met him on our way, sir," answered jack, "mounted on a handsome horse that he'd stolen from somebody's station; he was dressed like a gentleman, and three more fellows, all bush-rangers, i'll be bound, were along with him, well mounted too. they were carrying kegs of liquor and bales of tobacco to barter for the stolen cattle, which they mean to drive down the country to sell. peter knew me as soon as he set eyes on me, and hailed me to know what had become of my comrades. then the sulky black fellow that rode with me took on him to tell, in his lingo, what we were after. it would have made your blood run cold, master, to hear how that brute peter cursed bill; he said he was nought but a poor, pitiful, long-tongued fool, to swap such a prize for a hundred pounds; and he swore he would have ten times as much for the bargain, and have it for himself too. 'i've got shot of my cowardly troop, ye see,' he said to my guide; 'they didn't suit me; they ran away at the sight of blood. i'll see now if i can't put that set-up fellow, bill, down a peg, and manage your folks a bit better, blackey.' then he went back to his white colleagues, and said, 'you might make a penny of these two runaways; there's money on their heads; what say ye to carrying them off?' "i cannot tell how they settled their treacherous plan; but as they had arms, they forced us to turn back with them; and bill looked so cowed when he saw black peter, that i make no doubt the craftier rogue of the two will be master by to-morrow; and there will be a poor chance for us, if we do not overreach him to-night. well, davy, how are they getting on?" he added, as the simple fellow entered cautiously. "they'll not be lang fit for wark," answered he. "some's down now, and bill and peter had come to fighting; but them new chaps, as corned with you, parted 'em; and i seed 'em wink at peter, and they said as how it could be settled to-morrow. but it would hardly be safe to stop for that; and if ye're ready and willing, i'se get ye off cannily afther it's dark." "we are willing and ready, david," said arthur, "and most thankful to have you for our guide. i will engage that mr. deverell will pardon and protect you, if we are fortunate enough to reach daisy grange; but how my father and sister are to accomplish the journey, i cannot think." "it's all pat, sir; see to me for that," answered david. "not a chap amang 'em was fit to hobble t' horses but me, i had it all my own way, and i brought our two, and their four, all round to t' back of this here wood, and tied 'm up ready saddled. afore midnight, light on me to be there, and all fettled and ready. i'se get baldabella to warn ye at t' reet minute, and then ye can make yer way out backwards, and she'll bring ye through t' wood, and we'se get a good start afore day-leet. they've no more horses fit for t' saddle, if they were fit themselves; but it will be a fair bit afore they sleep off their drunken fit." the yells and screams of the mad drunkards grew louder and more discordant, and the trembling women clung fearfully to each other in the back apartment of the hut, where they had already cut an opening large enough to allow them to escape; but they were anxious to defer the attempt till davy thought the moment favorable. at length they heard the oaths and curses muttered in fainter tones; and, one after another, the voices died away. gladly the anxious captives marked the deep silence that succeeded, which was finally broken by david whispering through the opening behind the hut,-- "come along; be sharp, and tread soft. there's a lot of chaps lying afore t' hut: ye cannot come out that way. mind ye dinnot waken 'em. here's baldabella; she'll trail ye through t' bush, and i'll on afore, and make ready." trembling and breathless, one after another they followed baldabella, forcing their way through the thick underwood, scarcely conscious of bruises, scratches, and rent garments, till, by the faint light of the moon through a gathering mist, they saw david holding the harnessed horses outside the tangled wood. "manage as ye like," said he; "there's twelve on us, reckoning t' babby, but some on ye is leet weights." baldabella refused to mount, and, giving her child to wilkins, she walked on; and so light and swift was her pace, that she kept up well with the doubly-laden horses, though they proceeded as speedily as they could over the grassy plains. for six hours they continued to travel due south, silently and uninterruptedly; then the morning light cheered their spirits, they realized the fact of their freedom, and they rejoiced as they rested on a rich plain while the horses fed, and lifted up their voices in praise and thanksgiving that they were once more free in a savage land; and even poor david, with tears of penitence, united humbly with them in prayer. all the party needed the refreshment they knew not where to seek, when baldabella produced a netted bag of cakes and nuts, with which they were obliged to content themselves; and hoping that they might meet with water before they were again compelled to rest, they set forward with gratitude and cheerfulness. but they were somewhat disheartened as they proceeded; for though herbage and trees were plentiful, water was rarely to be met with. hollows in the earth, which contained a muddy remnant of the well-filled pools of the rainy season, were their sole dependence--a scanty and unpleasant supply. they had long ago lost sight of the river, from which they had designedly diverged in order to mislead their pursuers, leaving it on their left hand. fig-trees were common on the plains, but no longer bearing fruit; still, they continued to be frequented by the cockatoos and pigeons, and having made bows and arrows, they procured as many as they wished for food. on the fourth day, baldabella, who was before them, summoned them by the welcome cry, "_yarrai! yarrai!_--water! water!" and they saw a narrow full streamlet, rushing to the south-east, probably to swell some large river; a consideration very tempting to the travellers, who could not venture on the direct track which david was acquainted with, lest they should be overtaken. they resolved, therefore, to continue by the water, so necessary to preserve their own strength and that of their horses; and though the approach towards a large river might place them amongst the black tribes again, they would still be on the highway which led to civilization. they now selected their resting-places close by the refreshing stream, and without adventure, till it happened that one day they had indulged for some hours in a noonday repose under the shelter of some trees. then the young men set out to beat the wood for birds; but gerald soon cried out, "to horse! to horse! bold hunters. emus are in view!" and, on skirting the wood, the whole family had a view of a flock of those huge birds, at some distance on the plain, grazing with all the tranquillity of domestic cattle. "we are not in want of emus, gerald," said mr. mayburn. "these creatures are as free to live as we are ourselves. why will men become hunters from mere wantonness?" "we could do cannily with one, master," said jenny. "they're fair good eating, and ye see, sir, great strong men gets tired of these bits of birds." mr. mayburn sighed at the necessity of disturbing the peace of the happy creatures, and duly impressed on arthur his wish that only one bird should be killed. all the young men, roused at the thoughts of the chase, sprang upon their horses, and, armed with spears and bows, galloped off to the field. crafty and swift as these birds are, they were not entirely able to elude their mounted enemies, who attacked them with spears and arrows, and at last succeeded in separating from the rest and surrounding one large bird, in which several arrows had been previously lodged. infuriated with pain and fright, the bird ran frantically round the circle, in fruitless endeavors to escape between the horses; and gerald, piercing it with his long spear to oppose its retreat, it turned suddenly round, and, striking out backwards with its powerful leg, inflicted such a blow on the horse he was riding, that it staggered and fell. alarmed at the accident, the hunters all rode up to assist gerald; and the wounded emu profited by the opportunity, and effected a retreat to its companions, to the great vexation of the sanguine young men. they soon raised the horse and his rider. gerald had escaped unhurt; but the horse was so bruised by the kick of the powerful creature, that arthur saw with consternation that their journey must be delayed some time, till it recovered from the blow; if, indeed, it was not rendered entirely incapable of further service. mortified and dejected, the discomfited hunters returned to the encampment, where they were received by mr. mayburn with a lesson on humanity to animals, by margaret with friendly raillery, and by jenny with ill-repressed murmurs; but all were grieved at the sufferings of the poor horse. "that beast must just lie where he is for one day, however," said wilkins; "and i question whether that'll sarve to mend a bad job. i say, some of ye slips of lads, run up them trees, and take a look round, to see if t' coast's clear." it was at once employment and amusement for the active boys, hugh and gerald, to climb two tall fig-trees that grew in front of the wood, and scan the wide scene around. "now, sentinels," cried margaret from below, "please to report what you have observed." "i can see our little rivulet," said hugh, "winding like a silver thread over the plains to the south-east, even to the very horizon, where a gray line terminates the view. that may be the hem of the large river arthur has planned." "i say, arthur, come up," cried gerald; "i want you to look at a dark mass far away north. i could almost fancy i saw it moving." arthur was soon by his side, and, after examining the object pointed out, he said with a sigh, "you are right, gerald, it does move; and i fear we are pursued at this unlucky moment, when we cannot, i fear, continue our flight. you, boys, remain to watch, while i descend to hold a council about our perilous situation." "hand us up the guns, then, arthur," answered gerald, "and see if we will not guard the pass. not a single rogue shall advance, but we will mark him and bring him down from our watch-tower." "that plan will not do, gerald," said arthur. "your office is to watch, and, as soon as you can, to ascertain their strength." then the distressed youth descended to report his lamentable tidings to the tranquil party below, and great was the dismay felt by the timid. "we might send off master and miss margaret," said jack. "what think you of that, mr. arthur? we could hold out here a good bit, to let them have a good start down south; and then, if god helped us, we might get after them." "margaret, what do you say to this plan?" asked mr. mayburn. "there is davy, who seems honest, could we not trust him to conduct us and our two poor women to our friends the deverells?" "it must not be so, dear papa," answered margaret; "we must live or die together. think how unhappy we should be to leave them exposed to dangers for our sakes. but could we not hide in this thick wood? it might be that the pursuers would not discover us." "but the trail, margaret," answered arthur,--"the trail would betray us. is there any mode left us to escape, do you think, wilkins?" "ay, ay, mr. arthur, ye fancy it's best to set one rogue to cheat another," replied wilkins. "keep up your heart, miss; i'se thinking we can lead 'em on a wrong scent yet." the wood behind them spread for a considerable way along the side of the rivulet, from which it was about a hundred yards distant. the opposite banks were hemmed up to the water with a broad growth of reeds, beyond which lay a vast entangled scrub. "we'll see if we cannot manage to send 'em ower yonder," continued wilkins, pointing to the opposite side; "so bring t' horses here, and come along wi' ye." by the orders of wilkins the men mounted the five sound horses, having first led the lame one, with margaret, mr. mayburn, and the women, into the intricacies of the wood, and left them, carefully arranging the bush, so that no trail could be seen. then the horsemen, making a broad track, by riding abreast, proceeded to the shallow rivulet, crossed it, and breaking down the reeds before them, forced a pass to the scrub. here it was unnecessary to proceed, as on the brush-covered ground it was easy to suppose the trail might be lost; they therefore returned, carefully retracing their steps to the river, and riding the horses in the water about a hundred yards down the stream, from which, at distant intervals, they brought them up singly to the wood, obliterating the trail with scrupulous care; and, finally, through several convenient openings, they introduced them into the heart of the wood, where a small grassy spot enabled them to leave the animals to graze, after carefully securing them. here all the party assembled, to wait the event, except the three boys, who, taking guns and bows, returned to the fig-trees from whence they had first perceived the pursuers, re-ascended, and concealed themselves in the thick foliage, to watch the foe, and, if necessary, to defend the fortress. the pursuers were now plainly visible, and the watchers discovered that the party consisted of the bush-rangers, driving before them a herd of cattle, and accompanied by a band of the natives. the procession certainly formed an imposing body, but the men were on foot, and must necessarily proceed slowly with the cattle; and if all the horses had been fit for the road, arthur saw they might easily have escaped pursuit, and he bitterly regretted the imprudent and unprofitable chase of the emu. he now considered that the most advisable plan would be, if possible, to allow the men to pass, and then to follow them. chapter xxxi. the sentinels in the trees.--the end of bill the convict.--the bush-rangers deceived.--a strange new animal.--a bloody conflict.--the mountain-pass.--the fruit of the acacia.--the travellers in custody.--the court of justice. every moment increased the anxiety of the young sentinels, who were scarcely able to speak for agitation. at last hugh said,-- "isn't it a capital chance for us, arthur, that the great drove of cattle are before the keen-eyed rangers? they will trample down our trail effectually." this was certainly an advantage to the fugitives, especially as they remarked the cattle followed the exact track they had made. they were now able to distinguish the powerful figure of black peter, who was accompanied by the three strange bush-rangers whom jack had met with him, and followed by about fifty of the natives whom they had seen with bill the convict. these men were painted white, as if for battle, and were armed with spears and boomerangs; but bill was not with them,--a circumstance that gave great satisfaction to arthur, for the sake of poor david. the whole body drew up beneath the very trees in which the young men were hidden; and whilst the cattle plunged into the river with great enjoyment, peter was examining the trail which led to the water, and had been purposely made to mislead them. he then pointed out to his companions the broken reeds on the opposite bank, and after pouring out a volley of curses, he said,-- "they've crossed here, and not very long sin', that's clear. we're close at their heels, and we mustn't bide long dawdling here; and, jem, see ye keep that brandy out of t' way of them black and white bugaboos, or we'se have 'em, when their blood's up, knocking out our brains, and we haven't a gun left to learn 'em manners with. let me lay hold on my gun again, and t' first job i'll put it to will be to shoot every soul of them sneaking, preaching thieves but t' girl, and i'll set her up as a bush-ranger's jin. she's mine by right, sure enough, now that i've put an end to t' palavering of that sneaking fool bill." "but, peter, man," was the answer of one of the men, "i fancy them black fellows didn't half like yer putting a knife into their leader; and down t' country folks would call it a murder." "it saved government a good rope," said peter, "for that was his due. he was a bigger rogue than me, and that's saying a deal." the fearful oaths that these abandoned men mingled with their conversation perfectly appalled the listening boys, and they felt great relief when they rose; and each drinking a cup of brandy, peter said,-- "now come on, and let's get our work done. them fools will be forced to slacken their pace soon, for the beasts will never hold out over yon scrub; and when we've got our guns and horses, and made an end of the lot of thieves, we'll push on and see if we can't do a stroke of business among any new squatters." then the man made a speech to his black troop, in their own language, which seemed to give them pleasure, for they danced and clashed their spears, and started up to continue their route. thankfully the watchers saw the wretches cross the river, and fall into the snare of continuing over the scrub; but they did not venture to descend for half an hour, when they had lost sight of the rangers, and concluded they must be separated by a distance which rendered them safe. "what rascals!" exclaimed gerald. "it was well i had not one of the guns, arthur; i don't think i could have helped shooting black peter, when he boasted that he had murdered bill. i think i had a right." "no you hadn't, gerald," said hugh. "it would not have been english justice. the worst criminal has a right to a trial by jury. what do you say, arthur?" "we should have some trouble in summoning a jury here, hugh," answered arthur; "nevertheless, i should not have liked to take on myself the office of executioner. besides, you must remember, such an act would have brought destruction on ourselves, and on all who depend on us. god will bring the villain to justice." the boys made their way through the thick wood till they reached the little glade where their anxious friends were watching for them. "all right!" cried gerald; "we need not call over the roll. now you must all be content to form the rear-guard of the bush-rangers. i suppose, arthur, there is no need to hurry; we are not particularly desirous to overtake the rogues." "but, my dear boys!" exclaimed mr. mayburn; "arthur, do you speak. is it safe to venture from this quiet retreat yet? consider these lawless men might, at any moment, turn round; and it seems they would not scruple to commit murder." "was bill with 'em, sir?" asked david, looking very much ashamed. with much kindness and consideration, arthur gently broke to the poor lad the melancholy fate of his vile brother; and david shed many tears for the unhappy convict. "i were auld enough to have known better, sir," said he; "he couldn't have gettin' me into bad ways, if i'd thought on my prayers and turned again' him; and if i'd held out, things mightn't have turned out so bad wi' him. them that lets themselves be 'ticed to do bad deeds, is worse nor them that 'tices 'em. god forgive me for niver speaking out like a man to poor bill!" margaret spoke kindly to the sorrowful man, showing him the fearful warning sent in this sad catastrophe, and beseeching him never to forget it; but to pray continually that he might be kept strictly in the right path. wilkins was much shocked at the violent death of the convict; but, nevertheless, he whispered to jenny, "he's well ta'en out of t' way; for he were a bigger scoundrel nor peter hisself, for all his grand rigmarole talk." as the lame horse was unfit for work yet, it was led after the rest; and arthur, who chose to walk, selected david for his companion, and took the opportunity, while he consoled him under his heavy affliction, to direct his softened heart to good and holy aspirations. they continued their journey along the right bank of the rivulet; the country being more fertile, and the grassy plains more favorable for the horses than among the brushwood. for three days they proceeded undisturbed, and with revived hopes. then the scenery became still more beautiful; the ground was covered with lofty trees, on which already the young buds were forming. these trees were tenanted by thousands of lovely birds; and their cheerful notes enlivened the solitude. in the distance before them rose a pile of scattered rocky mountains, which, as they drew nearer, they saw were covered with brushwood, and might have formed a barrier to their path, but they seemed to be pierced by innumerable narrow winding gorges. "we must proceed with great caution and watchfulness here," said arthur; "for it is not improbable that we may have fallen unhappily upon the track of our enemies, and we must have gained ground on them, now that we are all mounted again. we must be careful to avoid an encounter among these perplexing mountains." "we have two guns," said gerald, "and we should have no difficulty in keeping one of these narrow passes against the whole undisciplined gang; then we could have our bowmen hid in the brushwood above, to shower down destruction on the foe. it is a grand spot for a skirmish!" "god forbid that we should be called on to make this lovely solitude a field of blood!" said mr. mayburn. "how dare proud and disobedient man profane the sanctity of nature, and desecrate her grand and marvellous works. does not the contemplation of these mighty mountains, spreading as far as the eye can reach, broken into fantastic forms, and apparently inaccessible and impassable, startle and humiliate the presuming pride of fallen man?" "there is a voiceless eloquence in earth telling of him who gave her wonders birth." "keep in the rear, papa," said arthur; "we must reconnoitre secretly, before we venture into these mazes." "choose a narrow pass, arthur," cried gerald. "it will suit best for our manoeuvres, if we come to a battle. halloo! what wild beast can that be i hear roaring. no australian animal that we have met with yet has such a sonorous voice." "oh, jack!" cried ruth, clinging to her brother, behind whom she was mounted. "jack, honey, stop a bit, hear ye; yon's a bear, and i'se feared of my life; it's a bear like them 'at dances about at t' fairs!" "a bear growls," said hugh; "but that is decidedly a roar; it is more like the voice of the royal lion, and we shall have some sport at last. to arms! to arms!" jack and ruth were some yards in advance of the rest, when suddenly from a thicket just before them, a wild bull rushed furiously upon their path, tossing his head, as if enraged that his solitude had been invaded, or probably expecting to encounter the powerful opponent which had banished him in disgrace from his own herd. he was a huge, dark-red animal, with short sharp horns and broad forehead, and his fierce and fiery eye, and loud threatening bellow, denoted him to be a dangerous antagonist. he stopped for a moment and eyed the horse, then tore round and round, throwing up the earth with his horns, and uttering continually a deep sullen roar. jack was turning round to avoid the unpleasant meeting, when suddenly the infuriated animal arrested his whirling course, and before jack could extricate himself from ruth's arms, to use his spear, the beast had rushed impetuously on the horse, and gored it frightfully. the terrified horse immediately reared, and flung both his riders off. jack, though considerably bruised, sprang up, dragged the senseless ruth out of the path of the mad creature, and placed her under the bushes, and then returned with his spear ready to defend himself; but he found to his great grief his poor horse thrown down, trampled on, and gored by the frenzied animal, which continued to repeat its merciless attacks, regardless of the many wounds inflicted by wilkins and hugh, who had galloped up in haste to aid jack. at length, tired with goring the horse, the bull turned on jack, who faced him with his uplifted spear; but before he could strike, arthur called out to them all to draw back, and, riding up himself, he shot the beast through the head. it fell heavily, and wilkins dismounted, drew out his knife, and went up to finish the execution; but he was too early, for the powerful animal rose again to his legs, caught the man on his strong brow, and flung him over his head to a considerable distance. a second shot, however, despatched the bull, and then all went up to wilkins, whom they found insensible; but, though much bruised and stunned by the fall, he was providentially unwounded by the horns of the formidable animal. the exertions of his distressed friends soon restored the poor man to his senses, and he was able to take little nakinna, to look at the "big dingo," which astonished her so much, and even baldabella deigned to express some interest at the sight of an animal so much larger than any she had ever beheld. wilkins declared it was a shame to leave so much good meat lying to waste on the high road; but they were now in a land of plenty; besides, the dark coarse flesh of the bull was not of a tempting quality, and it was agreed that it might as well be abandoned. but the question arose, "where did this bull come from?" it was certainly not an australian animal; and should it have wandered from any settlement, they might hope that they were not so very far from civilization; and as they discussed the probability, and continued their journey, they looked out carefully lest they should encounter any more wild cattle. a very narrow passage, between two high wood-covered rocky walls, offered a convenient pass, and even suitable to the warlike plan of o'brien; and arthur taking the lead, with gerald behind him, they ventured to leave the rest at the entrance of the pass, till they had first ascertained the safety and direction of the road. "arthur," said gerald, in a suppressed voice, "i am certain that i hear a rustling in the bushes over our heads. do stop a moment, and let me send an arrow into the bush." "pray forbear, my boy," answered arthur; "if it should be another wild bull, your arrow would only irritate it; and if, as it is probable, the bush-ranger should be some harmless pigeon or parrot, let it live, we are well provided with food. let us rather turn our thoughts to these perplexing passages, which strike out on all sides of us, and which will bewilder us till we shall never find our way back to our friends, if we go much further. now, which of these roads shall we take? after all, gerald, i think we had better turn back for the rest, and take our chance altogether. which of these puzzling alleys did we come through?" "not that dismal hole, arthur," answered he, laughing. "we came along here, i remember this beautiful overhanging acacia." just as he spoke, some stones fell from above on them; and gerald, seizing the pendent branch of the acacia, leaped from his horse, and before arthur could interfere was swinging and climbing up the rock. "gerald, you rash fellow," cried arthur, "what has induced you to such a wild frolic? what are you about to do? do come down." "not before i make out the meaning of the acacia showering down stones on my head, instead of fruit," answered gerald; and then arthur heard him say in a tone of astonishment, "halloo! my friend, what will you please to be looking after?" in utter amazement and alarm at hearing the boy address any being in that strange solitude, arthur tied the horses to the tree, and, armed with his gun, climbed the rock so expeditiously, that he arrested gerald's spear, as he was about to strike a tall, rough-looking man, with whom he was struggling, and who turned round as arthur appeared, saying, "how many more on ye may there be? we can match ye all, rogues as ye are. have ye fetched our beast back?" "my good man," said arthur, "it seems to me that we have been both mistaken. you take us for bush-rangers, and we thought you belonged to the same thievish community. now, we are poor travellers, robbed by those rangers, who have, with difficulty, made our escape from the plunderers, destitute of all property." "ye'll surelie, not have a face to tell me that, young fellow," answered the man, "when i seed ye mysel' atop of one of our horses." "that certainly is a suspicious circumstance," answered arthur, laughing; "and i must tell the truth; we did borrow the horses from our jailers, that we might have the means of making our escape." "that's likely all flam," said the man. "howsomever, ye mun come afore our master, and make out yer story. i'se not soft enough to let ye off this like." "we shall be very glad indeed to see your master," replied arthur; "especially if he is of our country, and near at hand. who is he? and where is he?" "he's a squatter," grumbled the man, "and he's down yonder, seeking out a road to get through these in-and-out walls fit to puzzle a conjuror." "if you will show us an easier mode of descent than that by which we reached you," said arthur, "we will not only willingly accompany you; but we will take with us the whole of our party, and the stolen horses into the bargain." the man looked very suspiciously at the free and easy strangers, but, anxious to recover his master's property, he led them by an easy descent to the pass, and then suffered o'brien to go and bring up the rest of the party, retaining arthur as a hostage. but the astonishment of the stranger was very great, when he saw the long line of the travellers filling up the narrow pass; and struck by the venerable appearance of mr. mayburn, who rode first, his hard features relaxed, he touched his cap with respect, and rode before the travellers, to be the first to announce to his master this wonderful encounter. keeping their guide in sight, they followed him through many narrow and intricate paths, gradually ascending, till they came on a wide and level grass-covered spot, still surrounded by high mountainous walls. a number of horses were feeding on the grass, and at the foot of a majestic and almost perpendicular cliff, clothed with a thick forest, were reposing a party of men, eating their repast, which was spread out upon the grass. one of the party looked round, and, with a cry of joy, the wanderers recognized their friend edward deverell. "arthur! hugh!" he exclaimed, "my dear and reverend friend mr. mayburn! margaret too! what pleasure! and what miracle can have brought us together once more in these strange and wild mountains?" "your man has brought us up before your worship on a charge of stealing," said arthur, laughing; "and he certainly did not exceed his duty; he had good grounds for apprehending us, for it seems we are actually travelling on your horses." "i am glad they are in such good hands," answered deverell; "but however did my shepherd meet with you?" "why, sir," said the man, "ye see, i heared summut like a shot, and off i set, for i was curious like to see what it might be; and i clomb and crambled about, till all at once i hears talking, and i peers through t' bushes, and there i sees one of these here young gents atop of our sallydun, and says i to myself, 'them's rangers, they are;' and when young master there clomb up, and defied me like, i thought it were nat'ral that they were rangers, and i laid hands on 'em." as soon as the man had finished his narrative, repeated and joyful greetings passed between the friends, and edward deverell explained that his appearance at such a distance from his home originated in his desire to pursue and capture the audacious bush-rangers who had robbed him of so much property. "i have brought with me three of my own stock-keepers to identify the cattle," he said; "the rest, as you may see from their complexion and uniform, are of that useful body, the native police." these dark-complexioned officials were of very striking appearance; their dress was light and scanty, bristling with pistols and sabres; their feet bare, and their hair long and flowing. their keen, glittering eyes ran over the strangers in a most professional manner, very embarrassing to wilkins and david, who both held down their heads before the searching glances. david seemed afraid to appear before his injured master, who looked much surprised to see him attached to mr. mayburn's party; but discreetly deferred any investigation into the affair, till he should be informed what strange chance had brought the voyagers to india into the very heart of australia. "don't you remember, edward deverell," said hugh, "that gerald and i always wished to be here, instead of broiling among the hindoos, and being carried about in palanquins? and i believe arthur and margaret longed for it in their hearts, only they conceived it was papa's duty to fulfil his engagement. yet, after all, it is not our own will, but a happy ordination of providence, that has at length united us; and now, i suppose, we must follow your example and _squat_ in australia." "but consider the risk, my dear hugh," said mr. mayburn. "even our experienced friend deverell has not escaped being plundered by these savages, who are too frequently in union with unscrupulous murderers. i should live in continual dread in these wild regions." "why, papa," said gerald, "there are robbers and murderers even in happy and civilized britain." "doubtless there are, gerald," said edward deverell. "no civilization can eradicate the black spot of our fallen nature; it is only the grace and mercy of god that can keep the evil spirit in subjection. but have no fears, my dear mr. mayburn; we must not alarm margaret when we hope to persuade her to visit our lonely retreat. we have an excellent police staff; and when our servants are properly drilled, and our fences made secure, we shall be as safe as we should be in europe. now give the horses to the servants; sit down and eat; and then let me hear your strange adventures." chapter xxxii. travellers' wonders.--the detective force.--a trap for the rangers.--the skirmish and the victory.--daisies in australia.--the constancy of susan raine.--the trial and sentence of the natives.--peter and his colleagues. arthur was the narrator, and his long and wonderful story produced much sympathy and astonishment in his friendly hearer. at the earnest request of margaret, the delinquent davy was pardoned, and reinstalled in his office of stock-keeper; and mr. deverell promised to interest himself to obtain the emancipation of wilkins. "i must enlist you all to join my small force," said edward deverell; "for it is my intention to persevere in my attempt to recover my cattle and punish the robbers. my black allies are of opinion that the men who drove off the cattle will dispose of them to some of those unprincipled dealers who range the interior to pick up such bargains, and who can again sell them for large profits to the macquarie gold-diggers, who make no inquiries how they were obtained. they must necessarily bring the cattle through the direct pass of these mountains, which is not quite so perplexing as that you had selected; and we are encamped here to watch for and intercept them. from your report, the party will be more numerous than we expected; but the hungry blacks who swell their train, in the hopes of receiving a share of the brandy and tobacco, are no heroes. i think, hugh, we shall be able to give them a drubbing." "as if there could be a doubt of it!" said hugh, contemptuously. "we are all ready to enlist into the ranks, captain, i will engage to say--that is, with the exception of papa and the womankind; the chaplain to the regiment, and the sisters of charity who are to attend on the wounded." "most useful members of the army they will be," answered deverell, "if we come to close quarters; for, greatly as i abhor warfare, i do not expect to settle this vexatious matter without bloodshed." "if ye did, sir," said wilkins, "ye'd be wrong; and, depend on't, ye'd soon have plenty more such-like customers. if a mad dog were to bite a man, and he let it run off, he'd be safe to bite other folks, and that's not fair. i say, knock him on t' head at first." "the cases will hardly bear comparison, wilkins," replied mr. mayburn; "and it has ever been a question among reasoning men whether the destitute ought to be subjected to capital punishment for seizing a share of the abundance of the prosperous." "robin hood law!--rob the rich to feed the poor," cried gerald. "only think of papa encouraging bush-ranging!" "my dear mr. mayburn, spare your compassion for these rogues," said deverell, laughing. "these men are not destitute--they are worthless, idle vagabonds, and, according to the by-laws of squatters and settlers, they are amenable to justice. i shall certainly reclaim my own property, give the scoundrels a sound thrashing, and, if they show fight, we are prepared for actual service, and they must take the consequences." it was long before the party were tired of conversation, and settled to take a secure night's rest; while the watchful police relieved each other, lest the rangers should pass during the night. in the morning they placed themselves in convenient posts on the mountains, where they could command all the approaches; but the day was somewhat advanced when notice was given that objects were seen approaching at a distance. then the work of preparation actually began; along the heights of the pass were placed the rifle-rangers, as hugh termed them, consisting of arthur, gerald, and himself, mr. deverell, and six of the police. margaret and mr. mayburn, with the women, were left in perfect security in the little glen where the encampment was formed; and the rest of the party guarded the end of the pass, to secure any of the enemy who might succeed in reaching it. "we conclude," said mr. deverell, "that the rangers, who doubtless are well acquainted with the pass, will drive the cattle on before them. now we propose to secure these as they issue from this walled passage, and when they are all again in our possession, the stock-keepers must be ready to drive them off; while the rest of our troop must intercept and capture the drivers, to prevent pursuit. and now, davy, i will test your fidelity again. will you take up your whip and set off with our beasts to the station?" "if ye'd not object, master," said davy, humbly, "i'd as lief have a shot among 'em afore i set out, specially at that deep, black-hearted rogue peter, as put an end to our bill. i can't say, master, bill didn't get far wrang; but peter's out and out a worse chap, and it wasn't his place to kill a better fellow nor hisself." "you will obey my orders, davy," said his master, "and leave the punishment of peter in our hands. i will take care he shall suffer for his misdeeds; and you will do your duty best by looking after your old four-footed friends. have the rogues spared poor lily, david? she was of a fine breed, gerald, and i was deeply incensed at the rogues for selecting her to carry off." "bless ye, master, they count nought of breeds," answered davy; "all they want is to kill plenty for beef, and to swop all they've left for spurrits and backy; lily was to t' fore when i cut off from 'em, bonnie cretur, but she'll be hard up, if they've brought her this far. she always kenned me, master, and let me milk her; but she niver could bide them black fellows nigh hand her." "very good, davy," answered deverell. "then your duty is to drive off lily, and as many more beasts as you can manage, to this glen; and to remain here with mr. mayburn till we come up, as we hope, with our prisoners. then we shall set out in good spirits on our long journey to daisy grange." in a quarter of an hour all the arrangements were made, the brave defenders were all ready: by this time the procession was close to the mountains; the bush-rangers were driving the cattle before them, followed by peter, with his black troop. he now appeared painted like his men with the peculiar insignia of war and defiance, his body being marked in red lines in the form of a skeleton, a decoration he had probably adopted to conciliate the natives. the weary cattle were slowly urged into the narrow rock-bound path, one of the rangers heading them, to lead them along the right pass, the rest following them closely. the confined path rung with the lowing of the alarmed and reluctant cattle, forced onward cruelly by the spears of their drivers, whose wild and terrific oaths completed the discordant tumult. at length, when the cattle-leader emerged from the narrow part of the pass to a more open space, and had his face turned back to see that the line of animals was properly brought forward, he was easily seized, gagged, and bound by the dexterous police. then, as the animals one after another appeared, they were driven off by the stock-keepers to the glen. the rest of the party were prepared to capture the rangers as they followed the cattle; but the sudden cry of the leader, who had been seized, and which was easily distinguished amidst the clamor of the noisy cattle, was heard by peter. the shrewd man at once comprehended the opposition that awaited them, and calling on his black fellows to wield their spears and follow him, he rushed on, with his men behind him, to the scene of conflict. the police on the heights allowed him and some of his black followers to proceed a little forward, and then fired a volley down into the midst of the blacks that were left behind, who, surprised and bewildered, and ever terrified at the effects of fire-arms, turned back tumultuously and fled. in vain the desperate black peter shouted to rally his followers, and fought desperately against the men at the end of the pass with the few supporters he had brought on. he and his troops were soon overpowered, and all captured and bound, with very little bloodshed. "huzza!" cried gerald; "a glorious victory! arthur, you must write the despatch; naming the superior force of the enemy, the cool and determined bravery of the little body of defenders, the desperate resistance of the furious bush-rangers, their complete discomfiture; and, finally, you must particularly mention the prudent, vigorous, and successful support of the young lieutenant o'brien, who is recommended for promotion." "margaret will consider us all heroes," said hugh; "and we must hasten on as speedily as possible to allay her anxiety for us. but, captain deverell, whatever are we to do with these prisoners?" "we are bound to convey or send the dangerous bush-rangers to sydney," answered deverell, "there to be dealt with according to law. as for the cowardly, treacherous, and ignorant natives, we must devise some punishment for them; but, if possible, we will not encumber ourselves with them, nor be obliged to feed them on our journey. for the present we must contrive to keep them in some place of security till the police return from their useless chase of the unhappy blacks who have fled." "and who will, i hope, escape," said arthur; "for they are but tools in the hands of these abandoned convicts, and are scarcely themselves responsible for their deeds of evil." "see here," said gerald; "this large cave would make a good jail, and we might build up the entrance." "then ye'll have to look about for a lot of caves, master gerald," said wilkins, "and lodge 'em, as they say down t' country, on t' separate system, or we'se find all our birds flown to-morrow morning, i'll engage. why, bless you, if that there black peter was shut up for a day wi' a new-born babby, he'd make 't a rogue for life. he'd make a parson into a bush-ranger, give him a bit of time; and my fancy is as how he's helped by that bad 'un as is his master; god save us!" "there is no doubt, wilkins," said mr. mayburn, "that the great spirit of evil does readily and unfailingly stretch forth his hand to aid his wicked followers, and we should all join in your prayer, my good man. may god save us in the hour of temptation!" around the little hollow where the encampment was found, and where the young heroes were joyfully welcomed, were many small caves in the rocks, in which the prisoners, black and white, were separately enclosed. one of the stock-keepers had received a spear-wound in his arm; and one of the misguided natives was killed by a rifle-shot. these were all the casualties. when the police returned from the pursuit of the black fugitives, who had taken refuge in a thick wood, after many of them had been severely wounded, mr. deverell requested that all further pursuit should be relinquished, as the cattle were recovered and the ringleaders were now in confinement, which he knew would be a terrible punishment to them, even though it were only for one night. margaret and mr. mayburn paid every care and attention to the wounded man, and when all their duties were fulfilled, the united friends sat down, to rest on the green turf, and to talk of the hopeful future. "now, we are all anxious to know, edward deverell," said hugh, "if you have got your house built, or if you are all dwelling in tents; and, above all, what kind of place is daisy grange?" "i have got my house built, hugh," answered he, "and daisy grange i will leave undescribed, only assuring you that it will be completely a paradise in my eyes when i see you all there, which i trust will be before many days are passed." "and the daisies?" inquired margaret. "the daisies were at first coy and capricious in their new home," answered he, "but finally they have yielded to care and perseverance, and consented to adorn my small lawn, in sufficient numbers to justify me in retaining the dear name for my much beloved home." "and what does emma do in the wilderness?" asked hugh. "she cultivates flowers," replied deverell, "sews on buttons, and performs other needful female occupations, plays, sings, reads, and is not ashamed to assist her mother, and susan the dairy-maid, to make the butter and cheese." "is that susan raine?" asked margaret, anxiously, for she saw wilkins looking at mr. deverell with much agitation. "is that the pretty, modest susan, that was our fellow-voyager?" "it is the same girl," answered deverell. "poor susan, we are all very sorry for her; she had to endure a grievous disappointment, for she had taken the opportunity of accompanying us, as our servant, in order that she might join her betrothed, a wild fellow that had been transported for some venial offence; and when we reached melbourne, and instituted the regular inquiry, we found the man had made his escape in an india vessel, with some vile wretches who had been working with him. i fear he is wholly unworthy of the good girl, who still mourns so deeply for him." "he's nought but a reg'lar scoundrel," said wilkins, impetuously, "he is; and she'd sarved him right if she'd gone and wed another; that's what she has done likely, sir?" "that is what i certainly wished her to do," said deverell, looking surprised at the free interference of wilkins; "but the silly girl is still haunted by the wild hope of reclaiming the unfortunate man who was the companion of her childhood. she has refused the young herdsman who is so kindly attended by miss margaret; a worthy fellow, and has determined to remain unmarried for the sake of the convict who has so cruelly neglected her." "that's like my bonnie true-hearted lass," said wilkins, much excited. "scamp as i were to lose her! but now please, miss margaret, to put in a word like for me. tell t' master i'se nought like so bad but that there's some hopes of me, if sue will take up wi' me; but how can i look for't?" margaret undertook to explain wilkins's position to deverell, and to plead for him to susan; and the rough convict turned away with a tear in his eye, as the recollection of youthful and innocent days shone through the mist of evil deeds that had darkened his mature life. mr. deverell was pleased with the story of wilkins, and as he would be far removed from temptation at the settlement, and would be carefully watched by his good friends, he promised to bestow susan on him; and now they prepared to break up the encampment, and to pursue their journey under pleasant auspices. "but before we set out," said mr. deverell, "it will be necessary to come to some, arrangement about our troublesome prisoners. we must hold a court of justice, as imposing as circumstances will permit, and endeavor to alarm them, and make a salutary impression on them." "there is a handsome rocky throne for the bench," said hugh. "please to ascend to the elevation, mr. judge deverell, and look as grave as you possibly can; papa will sit by you in the character of mercy, to mitigate the severity of justice. arthur and gerald must take that hill, and jack and i will remain here to represent counsel. we will not take the trouble to call a jury, because i know my lord judge has made up his mind about the sentence. now, all you people stand round, and leave a passage for the police to bring up the prisoners. will this do, my lord?" "i am content, hugh, provided you all look serious," answered deverell. "you must make the most of our strength, and display your arms to advantage. with these ignorant natives, in their present condition, intimidation is the only mode of subjection. i hope the time is not very distant when milder measures may be used to win them to civilization. we are commencing the work by educating the children." the glen was first cleared by sending the stock-keepers forward with the cattle, as their progress must necessarily be slow; then, one after another, the police released the trembling, crouching savages from the caves, and brought them before the judge. the poor wretches, at the sight of the array of guns and spears before them, endured all the terrors of death. deverell, who had acquired some facility in speaking their language, made a long address to the terrified men; reproaching them with their folly and ingratitude in robbing him, who had never refused to assist them in their days of destitution, and who earnestly desired their welfare. he warned them of the danger of dealing with the bush-rangers, who always deceived them, and of frequenting the bush taverns to obtain the poisonous liquor which would in the end destroy their whole nation. he threatened them with instant death if they dared to transgress again; and then, satisfied with the fright he had given them, he relieved them from their misery by giving them leave to depart; a permission which they did not delay a moment to make use of; but sprung up the rocks, and speedily disappeared to seek the concealment of the bush. there remained now only the four vile bush-rangers to dispose of; but these men, all escaped convicts, mr. deverell declined to punish, proposing to commit them to the charge of four of the mounted police, who were to conduct them, or, as these officials appropriately expressed it, to drive them to sydney, and there deliver them into the hands of justice. these ruffians were therefore brought from their respective dungeons, and manacled two together; their persons were searched, lest they should have any concealed arms; and their legs were then released from the fetters. peter, who obstinately refused to submit to the incumbrance of clothing, required no search, and was coupled to one of his bush ranging friends, loudly showering curses on his conquerors. "do you mean us to set out fasting with these malignant scoundrels?" he yelled out. "ye're fine christians, to hunger folks. and ye know as well as we do these greedy black rascals will prig all our rations on t' road." mr. deverell did know that the black police were scandalously harsh with their white prisoners, and he therefore ordered that these wretched criminals should sit down for half an hour, and be supplied with a plentiful breakfast of cold meat, which they began to devour ravenously, watched curiously by ruth, who concealed herself in a thicket, that she might look in safety at these terrible bush-rangers. all the rest of the party, glad to avoid the sight of the wretches, wandered off to another little glen which opened from their encampment, except mr. deverell and arthur, who had called the police to one side to give them a strict charge to be watchful and determined, but at the same time to treat their prisoners with humanity. while they were conversing, they were startled and alarmed by a scream from ruth, who, they believed, had left the encampment with the rest of the party, and on turning round they saw, to their great vexation, the ranger who had been linked with peter galloping off on the horse of one of the police, which, ready for starting, had been tied to a tree near the prisoners. the police mounted the other three horses that were ready, and speedily pursued the fugitive; while deverell and arthur went up in haste, and found, to their extreme mortification, that the villain peter was also missing. the remainder of the party, recalled from their ramble by the shriek of ruth, had now joined them; and when the agitated girl was able to give an account of the occurrence, she said:-- "he reached out, and took a cloak off t' horse, and groped in t' pockets till he fetched out summut, maybe a key, for i heard a click; and then peter jumped up and laid hands on t' horse; but t' other fellow was sharp after him, and pushed him off, and loped atop on his back hisself, and galloped off like mad, and left peter standing. oh master! how awful he swore and stamped about, and took off right up to me, and i shrieked out; and then he scrambled up yon wood." and ruth pointed to the precipitous wood-covered wall of the glen. chapter xxxiii. a chase over the mountains.--the frightful end of the bush-ranger.--ruth's opinion.--the cereopsis.--a description of the colony.--the dingo.--the cattle at home.--the park.--the arrival at daisy grange. they had not time to consider what steps to take, when wilkins cried out, "yon's the rogue;" and they caught a glimpse of the painted figure of the fugitive among the trees, at a height which seemed almost impossible to reach, for they all considered this precipitous rock inaccessible. "we must not let the villain escape us," cried jack, "or he will be sure to lead more poor wretches astray. some of you follow me." and, without further delay, he caught hold of the branches of the lowest tree, and swung himself up, grasping the overhanging boughs, and forcing his way through the entangled bushes with toil and danger, while ruth continued to cry out like a distracted creature. it was strange, that in this dilemma the usual cool presence of mind of the fearless and determined ruffian seemed to forsake him. if he had sought the labyrinthine passages of the widely-spread mountain, he might easily have bewildered his pursuers; but he continually exposed himself to observation through the trees on the mountain-side. wilkins and one of the herdsmen of mr. deverell soon followed jack, their whole mind bent on capturing this treacherous and sanguinary villain. behind them, urged by curiosity, anxiety for her brother, and detestation of black peter, the excited girl ruth, notwithstanding the efforts of her friends, plunged through the bushes to follow them, shouting wildly to her brother when she caught glimpses of the spectral figure of the convict, with the red lines painted on his body. onward up that tedious ascent the practised bush-ranger proceeded, not even pausing for breath; and his half-exhausted pursuers began to fear he would escape them; but, after half an hour's struggle, a light gleamed through the trees. they believed they were coming to a more open space, when, rather than allow the convict to escape, the men resolved to use their guns. the next minute they emerged from the wood, and the whole party shrunk back, astonished at the magnificent scene that lay before them. a few feet from the wood a vast abyss opened. the eye could not penetrate its depths: it appeared fathomless and dark, for on all sides it was bounded by the perpendicular cliff which descended from the verge of the forest. for a moment only could the dizzy sight regard that terrific descent, from which only three feet of solid earth separated them; and they clung to the trees, as they looked round to search for the fugitive. to their great horror, they beheld the desperate man, making his way along the narrow hem of earth, supported by a spear he had caught up on one hand, and holding by the trees on the other, and apparently seeking for a convenient spot where he might again descend into the wood. he stopped and turned round, and observing his pursuers, who feared even to use their guns in such a perilous position, the vindictive wretch poised and flung the spear. but before it had even reached its destination, a yell of mortal terror was heard; the shelf of rock on which he stood, gave way under the impetuosity of his movement; and the doomed wretch was hurled into that vast space, beyond the reach of human eyes, his shrieks of horror growing fainter as he sank into death. while at the same time, from the tree which he had grasped, and which shook as he fell, rose a flight of black cockatoos, mocking with their loud strange cries his fearful fate. "lord have mercy on him!" exclaimed jack, covering his face, and struck with awe. "it's a judgment, man," said wilkins. "just see how this poor fellow is bleeding with the rogue's last will and deed." the spear of peter had entered the breast of the herdsman, who was bleeding profusely. wilkins drew out the weapon, and jack, seeing ruth at his side, who had succeeded in reaching him in time to see the catastrophe, despatched her in haste to the encampment, to send aid for the wounded man. fearful of looking any longer at that dark and terrible grave of the sinful wretch, the girl tumbled down through the steep wood, and rushing up to mr. mayburn and margaret, said, "he's carried off alive! them bad spirits,--them! them!--have flown away with black peter;" and the distracted girl positively shrieked as she pointed to a pair of harmless black cockatoos perched on a fig-tree, which were curiously peering down on the strange creatures below; and most assuredly the coal-black plumage, lofty crest, and fan tail, striped with bars of fiery scarlet, gave to the birds an unearthly and fiend-like appearance. "can anybody extract sense from the exclamations of this wild girl?" asked mr. mayburn, much distressed. "ascertain, margaret, how the wretched man has escaped." "i tell ye," continued ruth, with decision, "i seed them black creaters, wi' my own eyes, take him up, and flee away wi' him, down into a black pit; and poor tom atkinson's hit wi' a spear, and ye're to clamber up t' wood to doctor him." on the whole, the deduction drawn from ruth's incoherent narrative was, that the presence of some of the party was needed; and mr. deverell and mr. mayburn, supplied with cold water and linen bandages, set out to climb through the wood, on the beaten track of the pursued and the pursuers; but before they had half ascended, they met with wilkins and jack, bearing the wounded man with difficulty through the matted and steep wood. when they were relieved by additional assistance, they soon reached the glen, and satisfied the anxiety of the perplexed family by a correct recital of the awful fate of the villanous bush-ranger. "it's just what might have come to me, and i'd been but reet sarved," said wilkins, "if it hadn't been for ye all. i reckon it pleased god to send ye, just o' purpose to bring round a good-to-naught chap, as not a soul else would notish, or hauld out a finger to save. poor reprobate! ye ken a deal of things, miss marget; can ye say what peter was seeing afore him, when he yelled out, fleeing down into that black hole?" "god be merciful to the sinner!" said margaret. "it is not for us, wilkins, to speak of that which god hides from us; but rather to prepare, that we may be ready for a sudden call to judgment." it was not long before the police returned with the fugitive, whom they had overtaken and captured. he was now secured with the other two rangers, and peter being disposed of, there was nothing to prevent the police from proceeding with their prisoners to sydney; and the guards and captives set out on their long journey, leaving the united party very thankful for their separation from the wretched delinquents. the next morning, after praying for a blessing on their expedition, the happy friends set forward cheerfully, now safely guided by edward deverell, and hoping, before long, to reach the long-desired haven of peace and rest. but many a day of toil and anxiety still succeeded: the privations of the barren and dry desert, the perils of rude mountain-passes, and the fording deep and foaming rivers, besides the subtle and vindictive pursuit of various unfriendly tribes of natives. at length they attained in safety the fertile banks of a broad and rapid river, which mr. deverell and his followers greeted with shouts of joy. "my good mr. mayburn," said edward deverell, "i call on you now to offer up a thanksgiving to him who has led us in safety through the wilderness. this river is our guide and highway; it flows on to our own much-loved home; it is the blessing and ornament, dear margaret, of daisy grange." all joined with christian earnestness in a thanksgiving for the mercies which even the lately awakened and reformed criminals could appreciate and understand; and edward deverell rejoiced to see that the two convicts, wilkins and davy, would not be a dangerous addition to his little christian community. "now, my dear friends," said edward deverell, "we may trust that our progress may be unimpeded. this fertile soil, watered by the river, will restore our enfeebled cattle; then we shall have milk with our flour cakes, which, prepared by the skilful hand of jenny, disdain fellowship with the heavy 'damper' of the australian traveller. if this abundant food does not satisfy us, the trees will give us birds, and the river fish, to diversify our diet. ought we not to rejoice?" "if you please, mr. deverell," said jenny, "yon's a bonnie flock of geese; couldn't ye get us one for a roast?" "we must have more than one for our large party, jenny," said deverell, laughing. "come, boys, let us have a shot at jenny's geese, and secure one specially for mr. mayburn's new museum." delighted with the prospect of sport, the boys were soon ready, and returned from the banks of the river with two pair of these large birds. edward deverell held out one of them to jenny, saying, "now, my good woman, can you tell me what this fowl is?" "a gray goose, mr. deverell, sure enough," answered jenny. then regarding it closely, she added, "but it has a queer short neb, sir; it's like all things in this country, it's just unnat'ral." "nurse, it is no more a goose than you are," said hugh; "it is _rara avis_, papa, that is,--a bird of australia." "i recognize it with delight," said mr. mayburn, "from the description of latham and later ornithologists, who class it as a new genus; and from the curious _cere_ which envelopes the base of the bill, he names it _cereopsis_. still it belongs to the swimming birds, though the legs are naked above the joint, and the membrane between the toes does not form the web foot. it is, therefore, less fitted for the water than the goose or swan, and is more strictly a wader, living, not on fish, but vegetable food. in fact, it is a much handsomer bird than the goose, and i would gladly preserve it, if i had the means." "you will have means and opportunity at the deverell station, my dear mr. mayburn," said edward. "my brother charles will supply the means, and assist you to form a museum; and emma has domesticated a flock of these birds, which in common parlance are known as the short-billed geese; and i can assure you the flesh is most delicate, very unlike that of the common water-fowls which live on fish." "i rejoice much, edward deverell," said mr. mayburn, "that you concur with me in admiring the works of nature,--a taste which i have endeavored to implant in my children. i remember the words of a clever writer. 'to look on the creation with an eye of interest and feeling, must be ever acceptable to the creator. to trace out the several properties of his works, and to study with diligence and humility their laws, their uses, and operations, is an employment worthy the immortal mind of man; since it is one of those studies which we may reasonably hope will survive beyond the grave.'" "how delighted i am that dear little emmy is taking the first steps of study in ornithology, by setting up a poultry-yard," said hugh. "we had many disputes about waste of time in such useless pursuits, in which i did not escape without much contumely for my bird lore. my generous retaliation shall be to improve her collection. i will get her the black swan, the talegalla, the apteryx...." "and the emu and ornithorhynchus would look well in the poultry-yard, hugh," said gerald, laughing. "that would be a great error, my dear boys," said mr. mayburn. "the habits of the ornithorhynchus are directly opposed to the domestic arrangements of the poultry-yard: it is not even a fowl; it is an unclassed animal, of burrowing and diving propensities, and would be a troublesome, if not a dangerous, inmate among domestic fowls." "i will leave it to hugh and emma to arrange the foreigners as they may judge best," said mr. deverell; "but i know all our english fowls are furiously national, and would resent the introduction of strangers, even to bloodshed. even the civil wars of the community tax the patience of emma and her handmaid susan greatly; and she has threatened to reduce their numbers, now become enormous." "i can supply her with an assistant poultry-maid," said margaret; "my poor ruth is devotedly attached to fowls, and can manage them better than she can do any thing else in the world. ruth, would you not like to be mr. deverell's poultry-woman?" "i would like to be amang 'em, bonnie creaters!" answered ruth, with great joy, "if you be there miss marget, and if they be cocks and hens; and if them black fellows will not run off wi' them." "our black neighbors are all tame, ruth," answered mr. deverell. "we employ those who can be taught to work, clothe the women, and teach the children; and in times of scarcity or sickness, we feed and attend them. as far as their ignorant and dull nature will allow, we have reason to think that gratitude or policy would prevent them from injuring us or our property." "but the bush-rangers," said margaret; "are you not ever in fear of the crafty, vindictive bush-rangers?" "during our journey," answered mr. deverell, "it is necessary that we should be watchful; but our black police have reduced the number of these vagabonds greatly, and our party is too formidable to be openly defied. we must necessarily pass, now and then, one of those infamous, lonely, road-side bush-taverns, as they are called, at which these villains are in the habit of congregating, that they may exchange their plunder for spirits and tobacco with the men at the station, who then forward the cattle to sydney or to the gold-diggings. but our police-followers are well acquainted with these detestable stations, and are always prepared for any assault. above all, dear margaret, we have a precious charge, and think ourselves a band of brave fellows; every day diminishes our danger, for it brings us nearer to our own inhabited grounds, where the villains might venture to plunder secretly, but would certainly not dare to show themselves." "but are your retainers spread about the estate?" said hugh. "i thought you intended to build a town." "i scarcely aim so high, hugh," replied deverell. "my stock-keepers are scattered over the cleared land in huts, to look after the cattle. i live in my castle, like a feudal lord, surrounded by my vassals, who have erected rude temporary huts. but if you will all agree to settle round me, we will really found a colony. i will make an application to purchase, instead of leasing, my immense tract of land. we will divide and cultivate it, which i never could do alone; and we will begin to build a handsome village, or perhaps two villages--one named mayburn, and the other deverell." "please, sir, have you plenty of timber?" asked jack, roused at the prospect of work. "you will see my woods and forests soon, jack," answered mr. deverell. "then i have inexhaustible quarries of stone in the mountains, and some good quarrymen and stonecutters on my establishment. we will have a regular english village, with a green for sports, and pleasant gardens to the cottages." for a few days more they travelled pleasantly over the grassy turf; then they came on almost impenetrable brushwood; and as this formidable obstacle to their progress would require vigor to overcome it, they encamped to spend the night, and commence their fatigue with the morning light. but they found conversation and repose equally impossible, from the disturbance caused by the restless movements and incessant bellowing of the cattle, which struggled to escape from the pens in which their attendants had confined them. hugh went up to them with some curiosity, to know what was the cause of this unusual excitement amongst the quiet creatures. the herdsmen were all grinning and rubbing their hands with great glee. "well, patrick," said deverell to one of the men, "what is the jest that you seem to enjoy so much?" "it's the bastes, master," answered the man exultingly; "they know where they are, the craters! don't they smell the smell of their own comrades, sinsible darlings! and it isn't the brush they'd mind if we were giving them lave to it. isn't it a short cut they'd make to come at them as is of their own blood! true old irish they are, and illegant bastes. arrah, didn't them rogues see that when they came kidnapping? and didn't they choose them out, in regard that there were no bastes to be seen like them! bad luck to the rappareens!" "can it be possible," asked margaret, "that we are really so near to daisy grange that the animals scent it?" "we are a long day's journey yet from daisy grange," answered deverell; "but it is true that we are not far from the borders of my extensive estate. this formidable thorny brushwood forms, in fact, the boundary and defence on this side, neither easy nor desirable to penetrate. a very large portion of the interior of my land is not only uncultivated, but is even unknown to me. we take care, however, to have cattle-stations and hut-keepers round the boundaries, that our rights may be recognized and preserved; and doubtless these weary wanderers have been stolen from one of the border stations, and now scent with great satisfaction their old companions, and their old quiet, luxurious homes." "then i suppose we may conclude," said gerald, "that if we understood the vaccine gamut, we should hear that big old red cow bellowing 'home! sweet home!' and don't i wish we could join her, for i don't like the look of that ugly scrub we shall have to carry our horses through." "not altogether ugly," said margaret; "look at this curious and interesting banksia, with its stiff yellow robe; the white star-like blossoms of this shrub, which resembles our myrtle; and here is our old friend the tea-shrub." "which jenny will have to relinquish now," said deverell, "for the real tea of china, of which we have a goodly store. but, jem, or some of you men over there, be pleased to fire a shot or two to chase away those intolerable noisy dingoes, which, doubtless, like the ogre, smell fresh meat, and would like to make a foray on our game." "let us shoot a dingo, edward," said hugh; "i should like to look at the fellow closely." "it is scarcely consistent with humanity," answered deverell, "to destroy an animal that can be of no use to us; but we have an excuse in the wolfish character of the dingo, which destroys our sheep in numbers, if not closely watched; and nothing affords my shepherds and herdsmen more gratification than to trap or shoot one of these marauders." hugh had the gratification of shooting the _dingo_, or _warragle_, as baldabella named it, and bringing it in for arthur and his father to inspect. margaret retired in disgust, the intolerable smell of the fierce-looking little animal was so offensive. "from its destructive habits," said mr. mayburn, "i should have expected to see a larger animal; but of its wolfish ferocity there seems no doubt. it is remarkable that it is, unlike the land quadrupeds yet found in australia, carnivorous, and not marsupial; thus confirming the theory that the race of dogs is to be found in every known region of the world. this dingo is a degraded representative of the noble animal, crafty, bloodthirsty, and untamable. i am satisfied with seeing this specimen, but i cannot admire the creature." before the first gleam of day, while the moon yet lighted up the heavens, the impatient travellers set out to cross the bush; and for more than two hours the long cavalcade wound with toil and difficulty through the tangled thorny bush. at length the lowing of other cattle than their own greeted their ears, and the fresher breeze that came over the cleared ground announced that they had passed the boundary, and were now actually entering the domain of mr. deverell. in a short time the mingled and familiar cries of the drovers and their charge roused the first stock-man in his hut, who rushed out in great joy to welcome the return of the expedition. "ay, ay, sir!" said the man, "i see they've picked out and made an end of the choicest of the stock; it's like their ways;" and he grumbled out his wishes that certain evil consequences might attend their unlawful feasts on his chosen favorites, and concluded by caressing those which had happily escaped being devoured by the robbers. he then proposed to send forward one of the shepherds to announce the good news; but the travellers, now relieved from the charge of the cattle, and having passed through the greatest difficulties of their journey, agreed to proceed forward without delay, and announce in their own persons the success of the expedition at head-quarters. they crossed a vast tract of wild and beautiful forest ground, which was still uncleared, but at this season bright with rich flowers, and noisy with the birds that thronged the tall trees; and continued to ride forward till the heat of the noonday sun compelled them to rest two hours most reluctantly in a shady grove. then, once more mounting, they rode forward to enter on a new region. before them lay spread large, well-cultivated, fenced lands, stocked with sheep and cattle, and dotted here and there with the snug neat huts of the shepherds and stock-keepers; while the lowing and bleating of the animals, and the distant barking of dogs, and sound of english voices, were music to the charmed ears of the weary travellers. "his name be praised!" said mr. mayburn, reverently uncovering his head, "who has led us through the dry and barren wilderness to a land of plenty and peace." the whole party were deeply affected at the first glimpse of home scenery and home sounds; but deverell looked round with much anxiety till he caught sight of a respectable-looking man riding among the cattle at a distance, whom he hailed, and the man rode forward in haste, calling out, "welcome home, master." "thanks, harris; but tell me, is all well at the grange?" asked deverell. "charming, sir," answered he; "saw them all this morning. old mistress quite brisk, asking after the lambs; and miss, throng with her poultry, and telling me to look after some grain for them. and here comes mr. edward, sir, to answer for himself." "halloo! charley," cried edward, riding up to shake hands with his brother, "my good fellow, what have you been about, and what in the world has induced you to bring the prisoners with you?" and he looked with suspicion and annoyance at the large party of distressed and ragged followers, who had purposely turned away from him. at last margaret looked round and smiled, and the delighted young fellow laughed with joy at seeing his old friends, and with amusement at their miserable condition. "my dear margaret! my good friends!" he exclaimed, "i am quite wild with surprise and pleasure. never mind your ragged furbelows; little emma is a capital needlewoman, and will sew up all those great rents." "it will be a great blessing to me," said margaret, laughing, "to see a needle again." "a needle, margaret!" exclaimed charles, "we have millions of needles; edward has a storehouse crammed with every thing that everybody can want, under every circumstance. he could supply a large english country town with goods; chests of needles, walls built up of paper, acres of that muslin stuff you wear, so suitable to the thorny bush. ask for what you will, you can have it at edward's grand bazaar." "if you please, mr. charles," said jack, "do you think mr. edward has any tools?" "you have only to speak, jack," answered he; "we can supply you with the appliances of the arts, from a steam-engine to a delicate lancet. i am a clever shopman, and shall be happy to do the honors of the bazaar." "indeed, charles, you are a very troublesome and disorderly shopman," said his brother, "as my store-keeper declares, creating vast confusion among his neatly-arranged shelves. allowing for some exaggeration, my dear friends, charles has told you the fact. i found my poor people had to pay so extravagantly for the little luxuries and necessaries of life they required, either from the extortions of itinerant dealers, who are dangerous visitors to admit into a settlement, or from the expense of journeys to sydney or melbourne to make their purchases, that i resolved to supply them at moderate prices myself, which i am enabled to do by bringing wagon-loads of goods from sydney, and furnishing a large storehouse which i had built for the purpose." "but are you not afraid of the bush-rangers being attracted by your valuable storehouse?" asked mr. mayburn. "i have a clever-managing store-keeper, who, with his assistant, sleeps in the place, where they have arms, two fierce dogs, and an alarm-bell loud enough to rouse the whole hamlet. besides, our bush-rangers prefer highway robbery, or raids on the cattle, to the more dangerous attempts at house-breaking. you need fear no bush-rangers, my dear mr. mayburn, if you were once within the walls of my castle, where i trust to welcome you speedily. now i wish you to look at the beautiful variety of timber trees which i have left standing as ornaments to my spacious park." it was amongst these varied and extraordinary trees that the cavalcade were now passing. several varieties of the _eucalyptus_ and the palm tribe, with their bare tall trunks and crested heads, were mingled with white or golden-blossomed acacias; the _hibiscus_, peculiar to australia; the drooping grass-tree; and one spreading fig-tree stood like a natural temple, with its pillar-like roots entwined with elegant creeping plants, with a grace beyond the reach of art. beneath these trees the turf was resplendent with spring flowers, on which were quietly grazing flocks of white sheep, supplying the place of the aristocratic deer. as they issued from the woodland upon a grassy glade, sloping gently to the banks of the river, charles rode forward to announce the glad tidings at daisy grange, which was now in sight on a pretty eminence, backed by higher hills, which stretched beyond into gray mountains. as they rode slowly forward on their worn-out horses, mr. mayburn was lost in admiration of the curious and happily-blended trees, and edward deverell said,-- "the names given by the colonists to these new and remarkable trees are puzzling and inapplicable. this tree, named by them the red cedar, is certainly not a cedar; though it is very useful, being our best timber tree, the wood resembling mahogany. the apple-tree bears no fruit, and has no claim whatever to the tantalizing name. the rose-wood, so called from its delicate perfume, is a kind of _meliaceæ_, the fruit of which is uneatable. then we have the cherry, _exocarpus_, the fruit of which is useless, and peculiarly unlike the dear old cherry of england, with which, however, i trust to regale you in a few months. i can already discover the white blossoms of the tree peeping over my garden walls; and i propose that we give these tired horses to the men, and walk up the hill, that you may contemplate leisurely the imposing appearance of my baronial hall." but however edward deverell might depreciate his mansion, the distressed wanderers regarded its appearance with admiration and delight as they passed over the sloping lawn, laid out with excellent taste in _parterres_ of gay-colored flowers rising from the green turf, which was enamelled with the daisies of england; and saw the pretty house which offered them shelter after fifteen months of wandering. the building, though entirely of wood, was picturesque and spacious. it was surrounded by a large garden, beyond which were raised the large storehouse; stables, and farm-buildings. along the front of the house was a broad veranda, supported by columns, entwined with roses, honeysuckles, and the well-loved creeping flowers of england, now bursting into blossom; while the large portico was curtained with draperies of the rich flowering climbers of australia--the convolvulus, the curious passion-flower, and other graceful unknown plants, to stimulate the curiosity of the botanists. but it was not at this moment that all the beauties of the grange were observed, for the hospitable doors stood open, and the agitated party were hurried into the cool and spacious hall, where mrs. deverell and her smiling daughter waited to welcome edward and his unexpected companions. chapter xxxiv. the comforts of civilization.--susan raine.--the hamlet and the church.--plans for the future.--mrs. edward deverell.--the beauties of daisy grange. the excitement of the reception was great: such screams of wonder and delight! so many tears at the thoughts of the trials and sufferings of the wanderers and so much laughter at their tattered condition! then succeeded such haste and bustle to procure immediate aid to restore to them the comforts of which they had been so long deprived, and to spread the hospitable board with the refreshments so long untasted. it was only by interjections and extorted answers that any details of their trials were known at first. it was necessary that they should be restored to the likeness of civilized beings; and the servants vied with their master and mistress in providing food and raiment for the needy. "tell me, dear emma," said margaret, as she brushed her dishevelled hair and arrayed herself in a clean muslin dress belonging to her friend,--"tell me if you have still, and unmarried, the pretty dairy-maid, susan raine, who accompanied you from england. one of our faithful attendants, though rude and unpolished, will be broken-hearted if he does not find his susan here." "but surely, margaret," answered emma, "you are not speaking of the graceless convict, wilkins? you alarm me, for the good girl has told me her whole history; and, though she is unwilling to allow it, there is no doubt the man behaved basely in inducing her to come over from england to join him, only to find the worthless fellow had absconded." "but let me explain his conduct to you, emma," said margaret; "let me tell you his story of sins and repentance and then i hope you will consent to be his mediator and friend." then, before they descended to join the rest, margaret told her friend all the circumstances of wilkins's temptation, fall, and happy reformation after having been thrown amongst them; and this was the first part of the adventures of the travellers that was related at daisy grange. and when the girls told mrs. deverell this tale of trials, she promised that susan, who was now engaged in the dairy, should have the unexpected event properly revealed to her before she was introduced to her much-lamented friend. the travellers scarcely recognized each other in their amended appearance, for which they had been indebted to the wardrobes of their friends; and they now proceeded to the large dining-room, where the table was spread with the plenty of an english home. beef and mutton from the fields; fowls from the poultry-yard; pastry made by emma; fruit and vegetables from the garden, and cream from the dairy. to these homely luxuries was added home-brewed ale from the barley grown on the settlement, which edward deverell said must satisfy his guests for some time, till his vines produced him grapes fit to make wine. in the mean time jenny and ruth, with baldabella and her child, had been properly cared for by the maid-servants of the establishment, who were in exuberant spirits at the novelty of visitors, and especially such wonderful and amusing visitors, who could tell them such strange tales of their travels; and even baldabella in time got over her shyness, under the pressing hospitality of the reception; and little nakinna was in ecstasies at the novelties she beheld and the dainties which she now first tasted. wilkins moped in a corner in deep distress till his friend hugh came to him, who insisted on his shaving and dressing himself neatly, and who then accompanied him to the dairy, where susan, already acquainted with his story by emma, was sitting weeping, but quite ready to receive and pardon the repentant man; and the mirth and festivity of the servants' hall were complete when the reunited pair joined the party. it was late before the wanderers had recounted their adventures; and they all fully enjoyed the luxury of beds, after being so long accustomed to the open air, though the boys declared sleeping in an enclosed room was rather confining. next morning, after a breakfast of coffee and cream, with all the other good things of the farm, they set out to see the hamlet, which was to become in time the town of deverell. this hamlet stood about a quarter of a mile from the grange, and consisted of a long row of wooden huts, thatched with bark, and painted green; each stood apart in a pretty garden, and each had behind it about an acre of land fenced round, where a cow, and sometimes a sheep or two, were grazing; every thing looked clean, orderly, and prosperous. from the cottages to the river it was not more than three or four hundred yards, and before them was a green, in the midst of which was an enclosure that contained a neat stone-built church, with its low tower and bell to summon the congregation to church. mr. mayburn was moved even to tears at the sight of this temple of god in the remote wilds; he seized the hand of deverell, and said, "may heaven bless you, my son! tell me whom you expect to fulfil the duties of this holy place." "we have but just completed the most difficult and important work we have yet undertaken," answered deverell. "the stone has been brought from our own quarry; but the labor of cutting and building was great and tedious. our people are, however, pious and industrious, and they gladly worked extra hours to raise the place of worship they pined for. i have ever proposed to wait for you to be our priest, my good father; and month after month i have expected letters from you. for some of the graceless crew of the _golden fairy_, who escaped in the boats, reached adelaide; and when they reported the vessel to be destroyed by fire, they asserted that you and your family had been taken up by an indiaman. my plan was, as soon as i had heard from you where you were settled, to write to beseech you to join me. it is only during the last month that, afflicted and disappointed by your long silence, i have reluctantly turned my thoughts to the necessity of searching for another minister; and i was on the eve of setting out on a long journey to consult our worthy bishop, when the raid of the bush-rangers called me away to recover my property. now heaven has sent you to us, may i not, then, venture to hope that you are ours for life?" "for life, edward deverell," answered mr. mayburn. "i am content and happy to remain with you; and i feel sure my children are determined to do the same. teach them to be useful and happy as you are; and allow us to form part of your new colony." "huzza!" cried hugh; "but you must grant us allotments to build cottages on, governor deverell." "you shall hear all my plans," answered deverell. "in the first place, you must all be our guests till dwellings are provided; the grange is large enough for a city hotel. we will begin by building a handsome manse for our worthy pastor, with a large and convenient museum, which everybody must try to furnish with wonderful birds and eggs, and all the natural curiosities of australia. i can spare volumes of my own to fit up the library, till we can procure all that are needed from sydney." "delightful!" said margaret. "i long to see you begin." "then we must have a house and workshop for our friend jack," continued deverell; "and constitute him head carpenter of deverell. on your recommendation, i will venture to employ wilkins as a stock-keeper; he shall be placed at the dairy-house, which the prudent susan shall manage; and they shall have a good allotment, with cows and pigs of their own, to encourage them to prudence and industry. as for your female followers, nurse wilson, ruth, and the native woman and child, they must remain with us, at least till the parsonage-house is completed, and mr. mayburn wishes to found his household." "i propose, edward," said margaret, "that, if you do not object, i should teach some of the little girls of the hamlet--i see you have a number who are peeping at us from the cottages; then nakinna will learn with them, and soon be a little english girl in all but complexion." "that is just what i expected from you, margaret," answered deverell; "and emma will be delighted to have such an associate. on this pretty spot, my brother charles proposes to build a good house for himself, that he may be near his patients, who, i am happy to say, are few. he intends, when his house is ready, to go down to sydney, and bring thence a wife to preside over it. he has fixed on a very charming young orphan girl, who, with her two young sisters that will accompany her, will form a most agreeable addition to our society." "that is quite right," said mr. mayburn. "i rejoice to hear of his intention. and you, my dear edward--would it not be also desirable that you should bring some lady suitable to you to this pleasant abode? if you have really resolved to pass your days here, it is your duty to marry." "do you think so, my very dear friend?" answered deverell. "then i leave the affair in your hands; you must kindly select a bride for me." "i, my dear edward!" exclaimed mr. mayburn. "i that have ever lived so much out of the world, and that am now a perfect solitary. i am actually acquainted with no young ladies in the world but your sister and my own child." "perhaps, papa," said gerald archly, "edward would be satisfied to take margaret." "how exceedingly absurd you can be, my dear boy," said mr. mayburn; then, after a few minutes' consideration, he added: "the thought never occurred to me before; it is not an absurd idea. i really do not see why such a pleasant arrangement might not be." margaret fled from the delicate discussion, and edward deverell then assured mr. mayburn, that not only he should be satisfied to take margaret, but that he had never thought of any other person; as everybody but mr. mayburn understood long ago. then margaret had to be asked if she would consent to be the mistress of that comfortable and happy household, to which she agreed, providing mrs. deverell and emma would still continue to share the pleasures and duties of her home. and edward told her all his plans for extending the population of his colony, and regulating it according to the laws of england and the commands of god. the great hall was, when needed, a hall of justice, and his people knew they were amenable to the law as much as if they lived in england. "you should see how grave i look when i am seated on my throne of office, margaret," said deverell: "i must have mr. mayburn and arthur on the bench in future, to give more dignity to my court. and now i must show you a domain which will be especially your own--my gardens, orchards and vineyards." no labor or expense had been spared to enrich the gardens with all the fairest products of australia and england. conservatories and hot-houses were not needed in this charming climate, where the most delicate flowers and choicest fruits reached perfection in the open air. the rich blossoms of the apple, peach, apricot, and nectarine were now glowing on every side, and the trees, though so young, gave promise of abundant fruit; and the fragrance of the strawberry beds proclaimed the fruit to be ripe. margaret was delighted with all she saw, and astonished at the thought of the labor and perseverance that must have been used. a long avenue was shaded with the broad and luxuriant leaves of the vine, on which small bunches of grapes were already formed, a young crop, but giving promise of the rich vintage future years would bring. "when my vines have reached maturity," said deverell, "i shall require all the heads and the hands i can command, in order to make good wine from my own vineyard, of which, if god spare me, i have no fear. and i hope, margaret, you are pleased with the delicate and fragrant blossoms of my orange-trees. they are yet but low shrubs; but i trust we shall live to see them tall and productive trees." but it required many pleasant days, and many rambles about the domain, to see all that had been done, and all that it was proposed to do. mr. mayburn's new dwelling was planned and immediately commenced, orchards and gardens were marked out, and a list of fruit-trees and seeds made out. jack was in his element, superintending the cutting down of timber trees, and then manufacturing them into tables and chairs, and other useful furniture, to his heart's content. "it's a great comfort, mr. arthur," said he, as his three young friends stood near him in his new workshop. "it's a great comfort to have a good chest of tools again, and that thief, peter, no longer here to make off with them; and to be working at good jobs that we shall not have to run away and leave behind us, as we had to do when those ugly black fellows were always hanging at our heels." "but, jack," answered hugh, "do you know that mr. deverell has a number of those black fellows employed on his estate, who not only wear clothes and live in huts, but speak english, behave quietly and honestly, and attend prayers regularly with the other work-people. baldabella is very glad to meet with the native women, who are not _jins_ here, but wives; she certainly holds herself a little above them, but she condescends to teach them decorum and the manners of society. we are all to be employed in the schools immediately, and then you will see what wonders papa and arthur and margaret will effect among these poor natives." "well, master hugh," answered jack, with a certain air of incredulity, "i hope, by god's help, it may turn out as you say; but you'll not get wilkins to believe such a thing. he hates blacks like toads, and always did. there's susan, however, she is a quiet, good lass; but she has a good spirit, and maybe she may win her good man to think better of them. but, mr. arthur, now you are at your proper work among books, and master hugh and master gerald, they'll be riding about on the land, i shall not see much of you; there's no need for any of you to take up a hammer now." "your workshop will always be a favorite resort, depend on it, jack," said arthur; "but i am going to read hard for the next year, to make up for lost time. then papa intends me to go to england, to be entered at one of the universities." "and to return to us the reverend arthur mayburn," said gerald, "ready to help papa, and, i should say, to marry little emma." "but i shall always come and help you, jack, when i have time," said hugh; "we should all be mechanics here, in case of vicissitudes. my particular pursuit will be to study medicine with charles deverell, to be fitted for the second doctor when our colony shall be so much increased that two are required. gerald is to be farmer, and hunter, and game-keeper, and ornithological assistant to papa; and then, i think, jack, we shall form such a pleasant, cosy family circle, that we shall none of us feel any inclination 'to take to the bush.'" "farewell to the cowardly bush-rangers," said gerald. "they never dare face such a band of heroes. i shall be head ranger myself; and on grand occasions i shall call you all around me for a field-day, to beat the bushes, and keep up our character of successful kangaroo hunters." end. standard and popular books published by porter & coates, philadelphia, pa. waverley novels. by sir walter scott. *waverley. *guy mannering. the antiquary. rob roy. black dwarf; and old mortality. the heart of mid-lothian. the bride of lammermoor; and a legend of montrose. *ivanhoe. the monastery. the abbott. kenilworth. the pirate. the fortunes of nigel. peveril of the peak. quentin durward. st. ronan's well. redgauntlet. the betrothed; and the talisman. woodstock. the fair maid of perth. anne of geierstein. count robert of paris; and castle dangerous. chronicles of the canongate. household edition. vols. illustrated. mo. cloth, extra, black and gold, per vol., $ . ; sheep, marbled edges, per vol., $ . ; half calf, gilt, marbled edges, per vol., $ . . sold separately in cloth binding only. universe edition. vols. printed on thin paper, and containing one illustration to the volume. mo. cloth, extra, black and gold, per vol., cts. world edition. vols. thick mo. 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and the artist's pencil has been called into requisition to graphically illustrate its well-written pages. there are illustrations, prepared in the highest style of the engraver's art, while the book itself is one of the most attractive ever presented to the american public. its method of construction is systematic, following the most convenient routes taken by tourists, and the letter-press includes enough of the history and legend of each of the places described to make the story highly interesting. its pages fairly overflow with picture and description, telling of everything attractive that is presented by england and wales. executed in the highest style of the printer's and engraver's art, "england, picturesque and descriptive," is one of the best american books of the year. history of the civil war in america. by the comte de paris. with maps faithfully engraved from the originals, and printed in three colors. vo. cloth, per volume, $ . ; red cloth, extra, roxburgh style, uncut edges, $ . ; sheep, library style, $ . ; half turkey morocco, $ . . vols i, ii, and iii now ready. the third volume embraces, without abridgment, the fifth and sixth volumes of the french edition, and covers one of the most interesting as well as the most anxious periods of the war, describing the operations of the army of the potomac in the east, and the army of the cumberland and tennessee in the west. it contains full accounts of the battle of chancellorsville, the attack of the monitors on fort sumter, the sieges and fall of vicksburg and port hudson; the battles of port gibson and champion's hill, and the fullest and most authentic account of the battle of gettysburg ever written. "the head of the orleans family has put pen to paper with excellent result.... our present impression is that it will form by far the best history of the american war."--_athenæum, london._ "we advise all americans to read it carefully, and judge for themselves if 'the future historian of our war,' of whom we have heard so much, be not already arrived in the comte de paris."--_nation, new york._ "this is incomparably the best account of our great second revolution that has yet been even attempted. it is so calm, so dispassionate, so accurate in detail, and at the same time so philosophical in general, that its reader counts confidently on finding the complete work thoroughly satisfactory."--_evening bulletin, philadelphia._ "the work expresses the calm, deliberate judgment of an experienced military observer and a highly intelligent man. many of its statements will excite discussion, but we much mistake if it does not take high and permanent rank among the standard histories of the civil war. indeed that place has been assigned it by the most competent critics both of this country and abroad."--_times, cincinnati._ "messrs. porter & coates, of philadelphia, will publish in a few days the authorized translation of the new volume of the comte de paris' history of our civil war. the two volumes in french--the fifth and sixth--are bound together in the translation in one volume. our readers already know, through a table of contents of these volumes, published in the cable columns of the _herald_, the period covered by this new installment of a work remarkable in several ways. it includes the most important and decisive period of the war, and the two great campaigns of gettysburg and vicksburg. "the great civil war has had no better, no abler historian than the french prince who, emulating the example of lafayette, took part in this new struggle for freedom, and who now writes of events, in many of which he participated, as an accomplished officer, and one who, by his independent position, his high character and eminent talents, was placed in circumstances and relations which gave him almost unequalled opportunities to gain correct information and form impartial judgments. "the new installment of a work which has already become a classic will be read with increased interest by americans because of the importance of the period it covers and the stirring events it describes. in advance of a careful review we present to-day some extracts from the advance sheets sent us by messrs. porter & coates, which will give our readers a foretaste of chapters which bring back to memory so many half-forgotten and not a few hitherto unvalued details of a time which americans of this generation at least cannot read of without a fresh thrill of excitement." expedition into central australia in volumes. (both in this one ebook) sturt, charles ( - ) production notes: . notes have been placed in square brackets[] where indicated in the published text or at the end of the paragraph, as appropriate. . italics in the published text have been capitalised in the ebook, with the exception of common and scientific names appearing in the appendices at the end of volume , which appear in the ebook as normal text. . plates and maps have not been included. plates to both volumess have been listed in the table of contents. . errata have been corrected. original text has been placed in the ebook between braces{}. narrative of an expedition into central australia performed under the authority of her majesty's government, during the years , , and , together with a notice of the province of south australia in . in volumes. to the right honorable the earl grey, etc. etc. etc. my lord, although the services recorded in the following pages, which your lordship permits me to dedicate to you, have not resulted in the discovery of any country immediately available for the purposes of colonization, i would yet venture to hope that they have not been fruitlessly undertaken, but that, as on the occasion of my voyage down the murray river, they will be the precursors of future advantage to my country and to the australian colonies. under present disappointment it must be as gratifying to those who participated in my labours, as it is to myself to know that they are not the less appreciated by your lordship, because they were expended in a desert. i can only assure your lordship, that it has been my desire to give a faithful description of the country that has been explored, and of the difficulties attending the task; nor can i refuse myself the anticipation that the perusal of these volumes will excite your lordship's interest and sympathy. i have the honour to be, my lord, your lordship's most obedient humble servant, charles sturt. london, november , . notice. it might have been expected that many specimens, both of botany and ornithology, would have been collected during such an expedition as that which the present narrative describes, but the contrary happened to be the case. i am proud in having to record the name of my esteemed friend, mr. brown, the companion of flinders, and the learned author of the "prodromus novae hollandiae," to whose kindness i am indebted for the botanical remarks in the appendix. to my warm-hearted friend, mr. gould, whose splendid works are before the public, and whose ardent pursuits in furtherance of his ambition, i have personally witnessed, i owe the more perfect form in which my ornithological notice appears. i have likewise to acknowledge, with very sincere feelings, the assistance i have received from mr. arrowsmith, in the construction of my map, to whose anxious desire to ensure correctness and professional talent i am very greatly indebted. i hope the gentlemen whose names i have mentioned will accept my best thanks for the assistance they have afforded me in my humble labours. it is not the least of the gratifications enjoyed by those who are employed on services similar to which i have been engaged, to be brought more immediately in connection with such men. london, november , . contents volume i. chapter i character of the australian continent--of its rivers-- peculiarity of the darling--sudden floods to which it is subject--character of the murray--its periodical rise--bounty of providence--geological position of the two rivers-- observations--results--sir thomas mitchell's journey to the darling--its junction with the murray--anecdote of mr. shannon--captain grey's expedition--captain sturt's journey--mr. eyre's second expedition--voyage of the beagle--mr. oxley's opinions--state of the interior in -- character of its plains and rivers--junction of the darling--fossil bed of the murray--former state of the continent--theory of the interior. chapter ii preparations for departure--arrival at moorundi--native guides--names of the party--sir john barrow's minute--reports of laidley's ponds--climate of the murray--progress up the river--arrival at lake bonney--grassy plains--camboli's home--tragical events in that neighbourhood--pulcanti-- arrival at the rufus--visit to the native families--return of mr. eyre to moorundi--departure of mr. browne to the eastward. chapter iii mr. browne's return--his account of the country--change of scene--continued rain--toonda joins the party--story of the massacre--leave lake victoria--accident to flood--turn northwards--cross to the darling--meet natives--toonda's haughty manner--nadbuck's cunning--abundance of feed--sudden floods--bad country--arrival at williorara--consequent disappointment--perplexity--mr. poole goes to the ranges-- mr. browne's return--food of the natives--position of williorara. chapter iv toonda's tribe--disposition of the natives--arrival of camboli--his energy of character--mr. poole's return--leave the darling--remarks on that river--cawndilla--the old boocolo--leave the camp for the hills--reach a creek--wells-- topar's misconduct--ascend the ranges--return homewards-- eave cawndilla with a party--reach parnari--move to the hills--journey to n. west--heavy rains--return to camp-- mr. poole leaves--leave the ranges--descent to the plains-- mr. poole's return--his report--flood's creek--aquatic birds--ranges diminish in height. chapter v native women--sudden squall--journey to the eastward--view from mount lyell--increased temperature--mr. poole's return-- his report--leave flood's creek--entangled in the pine forest--drive the cattle to water--extricate the party--state of the men--mr. poole and mr. browne leave the camp--proceed northwards--capt. sturt leaves for the north--rapid disappearance of water--muddy creek--geological formation-- gypsum--push on to the ranges--return to the creek--again ascend the ranges--find water beyond them--proceed to the w.n.w.--return to the ranges--ants and flies--turn to the eastward--no water--return to the camp--mr. poole finds water--mack's adventure with the natives--move the camp. chapter vi the depot--further progress checked--character of the ranges--journey to the north-east--return--journey to the west--return--again proceed to the north--interview with natives--arrive at the farthest water--the party separates-- progress northwards--continue to advance--sufferings of the horse--cross the th parallel--rejoin mr. stuart--journey to the westward--character of the country--find two ponds of water--the grassy park--return to the rang--excessive heat-- a singular geological feature--regain the depot. chapter vii migration of the birds--journey to the eastward--flooded plains--native family--proceed south, but find no water-- again turn eastward--sterile country--salt lagoon--distant hills to the east--return to the camp--intense heat--officers attacked by scurvy--journey to the west--no water--forced to return--illness of mr. poole--visited by a native--second journey to the eastward--story of the native--kites and crows--erect a pyramid on mount poole--preparations for a move--indications of rain--intense anxiety--heavy rain-- mr. poole leaves with the home returning party--break up the depot--mr. poole's sudden death--his funeral--progress westward--the jerboa--establishment of second depot--native gluttony--distant mountains seen--reach lake torrens-- examination of the country n.w. of it--return to the depot-- visited by natives--preparations for departure again into the northwest interior. chapter viii leave the depot for the north-west--scarcity of water--fossil limestone--arrive at the first creek--extensive plains-- succession of creeks--flooded character of the country--pond with fish--sterile country--grassy plains--intrepid native-- country apparently improves--disappointments--water found-- appearance of the stony desert--night thereon--the earthy plain--hills raised by refraction--recommencement of the sand ridges--their undeviating regularity--conjectures as to the desert--relative position of lake torrens--concluding remarks. chapter ix flood's quick sight--forest full of birds--native well-- birds collect to drink--dangerous plain--flood's horse lost--scarcity of water--turn northward--discover a large creek--bright prospects--sudden disappointment--salt lagoon-- scarcity of water--salt water creek--character of the interior--forced to turn back--risk of advancing--the furthest north--return to and examination of the creek-- proceed to the westward--dreadful country--journey to the north--again forced to return--natives--station on the creek--concluding remarks. plates to volume i. chaining over the sandhills sketch of the route sunset on the murray colonel gawler's camp on the murray ana-branch of the darling mus conditor parnari lower put of the rocky glen geological formation of the ranges put of the northern range general appearance of the northern ranges at their termination native village the depot glen milvus affinis water hole red hill, or mount poole mr. poole's grave lake torrens pond with fish native well * * * * * mr. arrowsmith, has prepared a large map of captain sturt's routes into the centre of australia, from the original protractions and other official documents, now in his hands. on this map are delineated the whole of the details resulting from his numerous route,--the dates marking his daily progress--the description of the country--its dip-the depressed stony desert, which is probably the great northern prolongation of the torrens basin of mr. eyre,--&c. &c. &c. this map in two sheets may be had in a cover, price shillings. volume ii. chapter i reflections on our difficulties--commence the retreat--eyre's creek--pass the native well--recross the stony desert--find another well without water--natives--successful fishing-- value of sheep--decide on a retreat--propose that mr. browne should leave--his refusal to desert the party--mr. browne's decision--prepare to leave the camp--remarks on the climate-- again leave the depot--singular explosion--discover a large creek--proceed to the north--recurrence of sand ridges--salt water lake--again strike the stony desert--attempt to cross it. chapter ii the horses--ascend the hills--irresolution and retreat-- horses reduced to great want--unexpected relief--try the desert to the n.e.--find water in our last well--reach the creek--proceed to the eastward--plague of flies and ants-- surprise an old man--sea-gulls and pelicans--fish--pool of brine--meet natives--turn to the n.e.--cooper's creek tribe, their kindness and appearance--attempt to cross the plains-- turn back--proceed to the northward--effects of refraction-- find natives at our old camp and the stores untouched-- cooper's creek, its geographical position. chapter iii continued drought--terrific effect of hot wind--thermometer bursts--death of poor bawley--find the stockade deserted-- leave fort grey for the depot--difference of seasons-- migration of birds--hot winds--embarrassing position-- mr. browne starts for flood's creek--three bullocks shot-- commencement of the retreat--arrival at flood's creek--state of vegetation--effects of scurvy--arrive at rocky glen-- comparison of native tribes--halt at carnapaga--arrival at cawndilla--removal to the darling--leave the darling--state of the river--oppressive heat--visited by nadbuck--arrival at moorundi. chapter iv remarks on the season--dry state of the atmosphere-- thermometrical observations--winds in the interior--direction of the ranges--geological observations--non-existence of any central chain--probable course of the stony desert--whether connected with lake torrens--opinions of captain flinders-- no information derived from the natives--the natives--their personal appearance--disproportion between the sexes--the women--customs of the natives--their habitations--food-- language--conclusion. an account of the sea coast and interior of south australia; with observations on various subjects connected with its interests. chapter i duties of an explorer--geographical position of south australia--description of its coast line--sea mouth of the murray--entered by mr. pullen--risk of the attempt-- beaching--rosetta harbour--victor harbour--nepean bay-- kangaroo island--kingscote--capt. lee's instructions for port adelaide--port adelaide--removal to the north arm-- harbour master's report--yorke's peninsula--port lincoln-- capt. lee's instructions--boston island--boston bay-- coffin's bay--mr. cameron sent along the coast--his report-- position of port adelaide. chapter ii plains of adelaide--bridges over the torrens--site of adelaide--government house buildings and churches--schools-- police--roads--the gawler--barossa range--the murray belt-- moorundi--natives on the murray--distant stock stations-- mount gambier district--its richness--ascent to mount lofty-- mount barker district--scene in hindmarsh valley--proportion of soil in the province--pastoral and agricultural-- port lincoln--climate of south australia--range of the thermometer--salubrity. chapter iii seasons--cause why south australia has fine grain--extent of cultivation--amount of stock--the burra-burra mine--its magnitude--abundance of minerals--absence of coal--smelting ore--immense profits of the burra-burra--effect of the mines on the labour market--reluctance of the lower orders to emigrate--difference between canada and australia--the australian colonies--state of society--the middle classes-- the squatters--the germans--the natives--author's interviews with them--instances of just feeling--their bad qualities-- personal appearance--young settlers on the murray-- conclusion. mr. kennedy's survey of the river victoria appendix animals birds no. i. list of specimens, and the names of the various rocks, collected during the expedition no. ii. localities of the different geological specimens, collected by the central australian expedition botanical appendix, by r. brown, esq., d.c.l., f.r.s., f.l.s, &c. plates to volume ii. view from stanley's range native grave cooper's creek geophaps plumifera strzelecki's creek mr. eyre's house at moorundi piesse's knob king william street, adelaide port adelaide mount bryan murray river cinclosoma cinnamoneus errata errata have been corrected. original text has been placed in the ebook between braces{}. * * * * * * * volume i preface. the prominent part i have taken in the furtherance of geographical discovery on the australian continent, and the attention, it will naturally be supposed, i have paid to the subject generally, will lead the reader perhaps to expect that i should, at the commencement of a work such as this, put him in possession of all the facts, with which i myself am acquainted, as to the character of those portions of it, which had been explored, before i commenced my recent labours. this may reasonably be expected from me by my readers, not only to enable them to follow me into the heartless desert from which, it may still be said, i have so lately returned, with that distinctness which can alone secure interest to my narrative; but, also, to judge whether the conclusions at which i arrived, and upon which i acted, were such as past experience ought to have led me to adopt. it has struck me forcibly that such information would undoubtedly be desirable, not only to render my own details clearer, but to explain my views, since i should exceedingly regret that any imputation of rashness or inconsistency were laid to my charge; or if it was thought, i had volunteered hazardous and important undertakings, for the love of adventure alone. the field of ambition, professionally speaking, is closed upon the soldier during the period of his service in new south wales. had it been otherwise, however, no more honourable a one could have been open to me, when i landed on its shores in , than the field of discovery. i sought and entered upon it, not without a feeling of ambition i am ready to admit, for that feeling should ever pervade the breast of a soldier, but also with an earnest desire to promote the public good, and certainly without the hope of any other reward than the credit due to successful enterprise. i pretend not to science, but i am a lover of it; and to my own exertions, during past years of military repose, i owe the little knowledge i possess of those branches of it, which have since been so useful to me. it will not be deemed presumptuous in me, i trust, to express a belief that the majority of my readers will find much to interest them in the perusal of this work; which i publish for several reasons--firstly, in the hope, that a knowledge of the extremities to which i was driven, and of the unusual expedients to which i was obliged to resort, in order to save myself and my companions from perishing, may benefit those who shall hereafter follow my example; secondly, that as i published an account of my former services, my failing to do so in the present instance might be taken as evidence that i lacked the moral firmness which enables men to meet both success and defeat with equal self-possession; and thirdly, because, i think the public has a right to demand information from those, who, like myself, have been employed in the advancement of geographical knowledge. i propose, therefore, to devote my preliminary chapter to a short review of previous expeditions of discovery on the australian continent, and so to lay down its internal features, that my friends shall not lose their way. i propose, also, to give an account of the state of south australia when i left it in may last, for, as the expedition whose proceedings form the subject matter of these volumes, departed from and returned to that province, such an account appears to me a fitting sequel to my narrative. travels in australia chapter i. character of the australian continent--of its rivers--peculiarity of the darling--sudden floods to which it is subject--character of the murray --its periodical rise--bounty of providence--geological position of the two rivers--observations--results--sir thomas mitchell's journey to the darling--its junction with the murray--anecdote of mr. shannon--captain grey's expedition--captain sturt's journey--mr. eyre's second expedition--voyage of the beagle--mr. oxley's opinions--state of the interior in --character of its plains and rivers--junction of the darling--fossil bed of the murray--former state of the continent--theory of the interior. the australian continent is not distinguished, as are many other continents of equal and even of less extent, by any prominent geographical feature. its mountains seldom exceed four thousand feet in elevation, nor do any of its rivers, whether falling internally or externally, not even the murray, bear any proportion to the size of the continent itself. there is no reason, however, why rivers of greater magnitude, than any which have hitherto been discovered in it, should not emanate from mountains of such limited altitude, as the known mountains of that immense and sea-girt territory. but, it appears to me, it is not in the height and character of its hilly regions, that we are to look for the causes why so few living streams issue from them. the true cause, i apprehend, lies in its climate, in its seldom experiencing other than partial rains, and in its being subject to severe and long continued droughts. its streams descend rapidly into a country of uniform equality of surface, and into a region of intense heat, and are subject, even at a great distance from their sources, to sudden and terrific floods, which subside, as the cause which gave rise to them ceases to operate; the consequence is, that their springs become gradually weaker and weaker, all back impulse is lost, and whilst the rivers still continue to support a feeble current in the hills, they cease to flow in their lower branches, assume the character of a chain of ponds, in a few short weeks their deepest pools are exhausted by the joint effects of evaporation and absorption, and the traveller may run down their beds for miles, without finding a drop of water with which to slake his thirst. in illustration of the above, i would observe that during the progress of the recent expedition up the banks of the darling, and at a distance of more than miles from its sources, that river rose from a state of complete exhaustion, until in four days it overflowed its banks. it was converted in a single night, from an almost dry channel, into a foaming and impetuous stream, rolling along its irresistible and turbid waters, to add to those of the murray. there can be no doubt, but, that this sudden rise in the river, was caused by heavy rains on the mountains, in which its tributaries are to be found, for the darling does not receive any accession to its waters below their respective junctions, of sufficient magnitude to account for such an occurrence. [note . below] [note . the principal tributaries of the darling, are the kindur, the keraula, the namoy, and the gwydir. they are beautiful mountain streams, and rise in the hilly country, behind moreton bay, in lat. degrees, and in longitude degrees e.] when, on the return of the expedition homewards the following year, some two months later in the season than that of which i have just been speaking, oct. , there had been no recurrence of the flood of the previous year, but the darling was at a still lower ebb than before, and every lagoon, and creek in its vicinity had long been exhausted and waterless. [note . below] now, it is evident, as far as i can judge, that if the rains of australia were as regular as in other countries, its rivers would also be more regular in their flow, and would not present the anomaly they now do, of being in a state of rapid motion at one time, and motionless at another. [note . it may be necessary to warn my readers that a creek in the australian colonies, is not always an arm of the sea. the same term is used to designate a watercourse, whether large or small, in which the winter torrents may or may not have left a chain of ponds. such a watercourse could hardly be called a river, since it only flows during heavy rains, after which it entirely depends on the character of the soil, through which it runs, whether any water remains in it or not.] a lagoon is a shallow lake, it generally constitutes the back water of some river, and is speedily dried up. in australia, there is no surface water, properly so called, of a permanent description.] but, although i am making these general observations on the rivers, and to a certain extent of climate of australia, i would not be understood to mean more than that its seasons are uncertain, and that its summers are of comparatively long duration. in reference to its rivers also, the murray is an exception to the other known rivers of this extensive continent. the basins of that fine stream are in the deepest recesses of the australian alps--which rise to an elevation of feet above the sea. the heads of its immediate tributaries, extend from the th to the nd parallel of latitude, and over two degrees of longitude, that is to say, from the degrees to the degrees meridian, but, independently of these, it receives the whole westerly drainage of the interior, from the darling downwards. supplied by the melting snows from the remote and cloud-capped chain in which its tributaries rise, the murray supports a rapid current to the sea. taking its windings into account, its length cannot be less than from to miles. thus, then, this noble stream preserves its character throughout its whole line. uninfluenced by the sudden floods to which the other rivers of which we have been speaking are subject, its rise and fall are equally gradual. instead of stopping short in its course as they do, its never-failing fountains have given it strength to cleave a channel through the desert interior, and so it happened, that, instead of finding it terminate in a stagnant marsh, or gradually exhausting itself over extensive plains as the more northern streams do, i was successfully borne on its broad and transparent waters, during the progress of a former expedition, to the centre of the land in which i have since erected my dwelling. as i have had occasion to remark, the rise and fall of the murray are both gradual. it receives the first addition to its waters from the eastward, in the month of july, and rises at the rate of an inch a day until december, in which month it attains a height of about seventeen feet above its lowest or winter level. as it rises it fills in succession all its lateral creeks and lagoons, and it ultimately lays many of its flats under water. the natives look to this periodical overflow of their river, with as much anxiety as did ever or now do the egyptians, to the overflowing of the nile. to both they are the bountiful dispensation of a beneficent creator, for as the sacred stream rewards the husbandman with a double harvest, so does the murray replenish the exhausted reservoirs of the poor children of the desert, with numberless fish, and resuscitates myriads of crayfish that had laid dormant underground; without which supply of food, and the flocks of wild fowl that at the same time cover the creeks and lagoons, it is more than probable, the first navigators of the murray would not have heard a human voice along its banks; but so it is, that in the wide field of nature, we see the hand of an over-ruling providence, evidences of care and protection from some unseen quarter, which strike the mind with overwhelming conviction, that whether in the palace or in the cottage, in the garden, or in the desert, there is an eye upon us. not to myself do i accord any credit in that i returned from my wanderings to my home. assuredly, if it had not been for other guidance than the exercise of my own prudence, i should have perished: and i feel satisfied the reader of these humble pages, will think as i do when he shall have perused them. an inspection of the accompanying chart, will shew that the course of the murray, as far as the degrees meridian is to the w.n.w., but that, at that point, it turns suddenly to the south, and discharges itself into lake victoria, which again communicates with the ocean, in the bight of encounter bay. this outlet is called the "sea mouth of the murray," and immediately to the eastward of it, is the sand hill, now called barker's knoll--under which the excellent and amiable officer after whom it is named fell by the hands of the natives, in the cause of geographical research. running parallel with its course from the southerly bend, or great n.w. angle of the murray, there is a line of hills, terminating southwards, at cape jarvis; but, extending northwards beyond the head of spencer's gulf. these hills contain the mineral wealth of south australia, and immediately to the westward of them is the fair city of adelaide. on gaining the level interior, the murray passes through a desert country to the degrees meridian, when it enters the great fossil formation, of which i shall have to speak hereafter. in lat. degrees, and in long. degrees, the darling forms a junction with it; consequently, as that river rises in latitude degrees, and in long. degrees, its direct course will be about s.w. there is a distance of nine degrees of latitude, therefore, between their respective sources, and, as the darling forms a considerable angle with the murray at this junction, it necessarily follows, as i have had occasion to remark, that the two rivers must receive all the drainage from the eastward, falling into that angle. if i have been sufficiently clear in explaining the geographical position and character of these two rivers, which in truth almost make an island of the s.e. angle of the australian continent, it will only remain for me to add in this place, that neither the murray nor the darling receive any tributary stream from the westward or northward, and at the time at which i commenced my last enterprise, the darling was the boundary of inland discovery, if i except the journey of my gallant friend eyre, to lake torrens, and the discovery by him of the country round mount serle. sir thomas mitchell had traced the darling, from the point at which i had been obliged from the want of good water to abandon it, in , to lat. degrees minutes, and had marked down some hills to the westward of it. still i do not think that i detract from his merit, and i am sure i do not wish to do so, when i say that his having so marked them can hardly be said to have given us any certain knowledge of the cis-darling interior. more than sixteen years had elapsed from the period when i undertook the exploration of the murray river, to that at which i commenced my preparations for an attempt to penetrate central australia. desolate, however, as the country for the most part had been, through which i passed, my voyage down that river had been the forerunner of events i could neither have anticipated or foreseen. i returned indeed to sydney, disheartened and dissatisfied at the result of my investigations. to all who were employed in that laborious undertaking, it had proved one of the severest trial and of the greatest privation; to myself individually it had been one of ceaseless anxiety. we had not, as it seemed, made any discovery to gild our enterprise, had found no approximate country likely to be of present or remote advantage to the government by which we had been sent forth; the noble river on whose buoyant waters we were hurried along, seemed to have been misplaced, through such an extent of desert did it pass, as if it was destined thus never to be of service to civilized man, and for a short time the honour of a successful undertaking, as far as human exertion could ensure it, was all that remained to us after its fatigues and its dangers had terminated, as the reader will conclude from the tenour of the above passage; for, although at the termination of the murray, we came upon a country, the aspect of which indicated more than usual richness and fertility, we were unable, from exhausted strength, to examine it as we could have wished, and thus the fruits of our labours appeared to have been taken from us, just as we were about to gather them. but if, amidst difficulties and disappointments of no common description, i was led to doubt the wisdom of providence, i was wrong. the course of events has abundantly shewn how presumptuous it is in man to question the arrangements of that allwise power whose operations and purposes are equally hidden from us, for in six short years from the time when i crossed the lake victoria, and landed on its shores, that country formed another link in the chain of settlements round the australian continent, and in its occupation was found to realize the most sanguine expectations i had formed of it. its rich and lovely valleys, which in a state of nature were seldom trodden by the foot of the savage, became the happy retreats of an industrious peasantry; its plains were studded over with cottages and corn-fields; the very river which had appeared to me to have been so misplaced, was made the high road to connect the eastern and southern shores of a mighty continent; the superfluous stock of an old colony was poured down its banks into the new settlement to save it from the trials and vicissitudes to which colonies, less favourably situated, have been exposed; and england, throughout her wide domains, possessed not, for its extent, a fairer or a more promising dependency than the province of south australia. such, there can be no doubt, have been the results of an expedition from which human foresight could have anticipated no practical good. during my progress down the murray river i had passed the junction of a very considerable stream with it [note . the darling], in lat. degrees minutes and long. degrees. circumstances, however, prevented my examining it to any distance above its point of union with the main river. yet, coming as it did, direct from the north, and similar as it was to the darling in its upper branches, neither had i, nor any of the men then with me, and who had accompanied me when i discovered the darling in , the slightest doubt as to its identity. still, the fact might reasonably be disputed by others, more especially as there was abundant space for the formation of another river, between the point where i first struck the darling and this junction. it was at all events a matter of curious speculation to the world at large, and was a point well worthy of further investigation. such evidently was the opinion of her majesty's government at the time, for in accordance with it, in the year , sir thomas mitchell, the surveyor-general of the colony of new south wales, was directed to lead an expedition into the interior, to solve the question, by tracing the further course of the darling. this officer left sydney in may, , and pushing to the n.w. gradually descended to the low country on which the macquarie river all but terminates its short course. in due time he gained the bogan river (the new year's creek of my first expedition, and so called by my friend, mr. hamilton hume, who accompanied me as my assistant, because he crossed it on that day), and tracing it downwards to the n. w., sir thomas mitchell ultimately gained the banks of the darling, where i had before been upon it, in latitude degrees. he then traced it downwards to the w.s.w {s.s.w. in published text} to latitude degrees seconds. at this point he determined to abandon all further pursuit of the river, and he accordingly returned to sydney, in consequence, as he informs us, of his having ascertained that just below his camp a small stream joined the darling from the westward. the surveyor-general had noticed distant hills also to the west; and it is therefore to be presumed that he here gave up every hope of the darling changing its course for the interior, and of proving that i was wrong and that he was right. the consequence, however, was, that he left the matter as much in doubt as before, and gained but little additional knowledge of the country to the westward of the river. in the course of the following year sir thomas mitchell was again sent into the interior to complete the survey of the darling. on this occasion, instead of proceeding to the point at which he had abandoned it, the surveyor-general followed the course of the lachlan downwards, and crossing from that river to the murrumbidgee, from it gained the banks of the murray. in due time he came to the disputed junction, which he tells us he recognised from its resemblance to a drawing of it in my first work. as i have since been on the spot, i am sorry to say that it is not at all like the place, because it obliges me to reject the only praise sir thomas mitchell ever gave me; but i mention the circumstance because it gives me the opportunity to relate an anecdote, connected with the drawing, in which my worthy and amiable friend, mr. shannon, a clergyman of edinburgh, and a very popular preacher there, but who is now no more, took a chief part. i had lost the original drawing of the junction of the murray, and having very imperfect vision at the time i was publishing, i was unable to sketch another. it so happened that mr. shannon, who sketched exceedingly well with the pen, came to pay me a visit, when i asked him to try and repair my loss, by drawing the junction of the darling with the murray from my description. this he did, and this is the view sir thomas mitchell so much approved. i take no credit to myself for faithfulness of description, for the features of the scene are so broad, that i could not but view them on my memory; but i give great credit to my poor friend, who delineated the spot, so as that it was so easily recognised. it only shews how exceedingly useful such things are in books, for if sir thomas mitchell had not so recognised the view, he might have doubted whether that was really the junction of the darling or not, for he had well nigh fallen into the mistake of thinking that he had discovered another river, when he came upon the darling the year before, and had as much difficulty in finding a marked tree of mr. hume's upon its banks, as if it had been a needle in a bundle of straw. fortunately, however, the surveyor-general was enabled to satisfy himself as to this locality, and he accordingly left the murray, and traced the junction upwards to the north for more than eight miles, when he was suddenly illuminated. a ray of light fell upon him, and he became convinced, as i had been, of the identity of this stream with the darling, and suddenly turning his back upon it, left the question as much in the dark as before. neither did he therefore on this occasion, throw any light on the nature and character of the distantinterior. in the year the royal geographical society, assisted by her majesty's government, despatched an expedition under the command of lieuts. afterwards captains grey and lushington--the former of whom has since been governor of south australia, and is at the present moment governor in chief of new zealand--to penetrate into the interior of the australian continent from some point on the north-west or west coast; but those gentlemen were unable to effect such object. the difficulties of the country were very great, and their means of transport extremely limited; and in consequence of successive untoward events they were ultimately obliged to abandon the enterprise, without any satisfactory result. but i should be doing injustice to those officers, more particularly to captain grey, if i did not state that he shewed a degree of enthusiasm and courage that deserve the highest praise. as, however, both sir thomas mitchell and capt. grey [note . journals of expeditions of discovery in north-west and western australia, during the years - - , by captain george grey.] have published accounts of their respective expeditions, it may not be necessary for me to notice them, beyond that which may be required to connect my narrative and to keep unbroken the chain of geographical research upon the continent. in the year , i myself determined on leading a party overland from new south wales to south australia, along the banks of the murray; a journey that had already been successfully performed by several of my friends, and among the rest by mr. eyre. they had, however, avoided the upper branches of the murray, and particularly the hume, by which name the murray itself is known above the junction of the murrumbidgee with it. wishing therefore to combine geographical research with my private undertaking, i commenced my journey at the ford where the road crosses the hume to port phillip, and in so doing connected the whole of the waters of the south-east angle of the australian continent. in this instance, however, as in those to which i have already alluded, no progress was made in advancing our knowledge of the more central parts of the continent. in the year mr. eyre, now lieutenant-governor of new zealand, fitted out an expedition, and under the influence of the most praiseworthy ambition, tried to penetrate into the interior from mount arden; but, having descended into the basin of lake torrens, he was baffled at every point. turning, therefore, from that inhospitable region, he went to port lincoln, from whence he proceeded along the line of the south coast to fowler's bay, the western limit of the province of south australia. he then determined on one of those bold movements, which characterise all his enterprises, and leaving the coast, struck away to the n.e. for mount arden along the gawler range; but the view from the summit of that rugged line of hills, threw darkness only on the view he obtained of the distant interior, and he returned to adelaide without having penetrated further north than degrees minutes, notwithstanding the unconquerable perseverance and energy he had displayed. in the following year, the colonists of south australia, with the assistance of the local government, raised funds to equip another expedition to penetrate to the centre of the continent, the command of which was entrusted to the same dauntless officer. on the morning on which he was to take his departure, from the fair city of adelaide, colonel gawler, the governor, gave a breakfast, to which he invited most of the public officers and a number of the colonists, that they might have the opportunity of thus collectively bidding adieu to one who had already exerted himself so much for the public good. few, who were present at that breakfast will ever forget it, and few who were there present, will refuse to colonel gawler the mead of praise due to him, for the display on that occasion of the most liberal and generous feelings. it was an occasion on which the best and noblest sympathies of the heart were roused into play, and a scene during which many a bright eye was dim through tears. some young ladies of the colony, amongst whom were miss hindmarsh and miss lepson, the one the daughter of the first governor of the province, the other of the harbour-master, had worked a silken union to present to mr. eyre, to be unfurled by him in the centre of the continent, if providence should so far prosper his undertaking, and it fell to my lot, at the head of that fair company, to deliver it to him. when that ceremony was ended, prayers were read by the colonial chaplain, after which mr. eyre mounted his horse, and escorted by a number of his friends, himself commenced a journey of almost unparalleled difficulty and privation [note . journals of expeditions of discovery into central australia, and overland from adelaide to king george's sound, in the years and , by e. j. eyre, esq.]--a journey, which, although not successful in its primary objects, yet established the startling fact, that there is not a single watercourse to be found on the south coast of australia, from port lincoln to king george's sound, a distance of more than miles. to what point then, let me ask, does the drainage of the interior set? it is a question of deep interest to all--a question bearing strongly on my recent investigations, and one that, in connection with established facts, will, i think, enable the reader to draw a reasonable conclusion, as to the probable character of the country, which is hid from our view by the adamantine wall which encircles the great australian bight. on this long and remarkable journey, mr. eyre again found it impossible to penetrate to the north, but steadily advancing to the westward, he ultimately reached the confines of western australia, with one native boy, and one horse only. neither, however, did this tremendous undertaking throw any light on the distant interior, and thus it almost appeared that its recesses were never to be entered by civilized man. from this time neither the government of south australia, or that of new south wales, made any further effort to push geographical inquiry, and all interest in it appeared to have past away. it remains for me to observe, however, that, whilst these attempts were being made to prosecute inland discovery, her majesty's naval service was actively employed upon the coast. captain wickham, in command of the beagle, was carrying on a minute survey of the intertropical shores of the continent, which led to the discovery of two considerable rivers, the victoria and the albert, the one situated in lat. degrees minutes s. and long. { in published text} degrees minutes e., the other in lat. degrees minutes and long. degrees minutes; but in tracing these up to lat. degrees minutes and degrees minutes, and long. degrees minutes and degrees minutes respectively, no elevated mountains were seen, nor was any opening discovered into the interior. captain wickham having retired, the command of the beagle devolved on lieut. now captain stokes, to whose searching eye the whole of the coast was more or less subjected, and who approached nearer to the centre than any one had ever done before [note . below], but still no light was thrown on that hidden region; and the efforts which had been made both on land and by water, were, strictly speaking, unsuccessful, to push to any conclusive distance from the settled districts on the one hand, or from the coast into the interior on the other. reasoning was lost in conjecture, and men, even those most interested in it, ceased to talk on the subject. [note . discoveries in australia, and expeditions into the interior, surveyed during the voyage of h.m.s. beagle, between the years and , by captain j. lort stokes.] it may not be of any moment to the public to be made acquainted with the cause which led me, after a repose of more than fourteen years, to seek the field of discovery once more. it will be readily admitted, that from the part, as i have observed in my preface, which i had ever taken in the progress of geographical discovery on the australian continent, i must have been deeply interested in its further developement. i had adopted an impression, that this immense tract of land had formerly been an archipelago of islands, and that the apparently boundless plains into which i had descended on my former expeditions, were, or rather had been, the sea-beds of the channels, which at that time separated one island from the other; it was impossible, indeed, to traverse them as i had done, and not feel convinced that they had at one period or the other been covered by the waters of the sea. it naturally struck me, that if i was correct in this conjecture, the difficulty or facility with which the interior might be penetrated, would entirely depend on the breadth and extent of these once submarine plains, which in such case would now separate the available parts of the continent from each another, as when covered with water they formerly separated the islands. this hypothesis, if i may so call it, was based on observations which, however erroneous they may appear to be, were made with an earnest desire on my part to throw some light on the apparently anomalous structure of the australian interior. no one could have watched the changes of the country through which he passed, with more attention than did i--not only from a natural curiosity, but from an anxious desire to acquit myself to the satisfaction of the government by which i was employed. when mr. oxley, the first surveyor-general of new south wales, a man of acknowledged ability and merit, pushed his investigations into the interior of that country, by tracing down the rivers lachlan and macquarie, he was checked in his progress westward by marshes of great extent, beyond which he could not see any land. he was therefore led to infer that the interior, to a certain extent, was occupied by a shoal sea, of which the marshes were the borders, and into which the rivers he had been tracing discharged themselves. my friend, mr. allan cunningham, who was for several years resident in new south wales, and who made frequent journeys into the interior of the continent as botanist to his late majesty king george iv. and who also accompanied captain p. p. king, during his survey of its intertropical regions, if he did not accompany mr. oxley also on one of his expeditions, strongly advocated the hypothesis of that last-mentioned officer; but as mr. cunningham kept on high ground on his subsequent excursions, he could not on such occasions form a correct opinion as to the nature of the country below him. his impressions were however much influenced by the observations made by captain king in cambridge gulf, the water of which was so much discoloured, as to lead that intelligent and careful officer to conclude, that it might prove to be the outlet of the waters of the interior, and hence a strong opinion obtained, that the dip of the continent was in the direction of that great inlet, or to the w. n. w. i therefore commenced my investigations, under an impression that i should be led to that point, in tracing down any river i might discover, and that sooner or later i should be stopped by a large body of inland waters. i descended rapidly from the blue mountains, into a level and depressed interior, so level indeed, that an altitude of the sun, taken on the horizon, on several occasions, approximated very nearly to the truth. the circumference of that horizon was unbroken, save where an isolated hill rose above it, and looked like an island in the ocean. when i reached the point at which mr. oxley had been checked, i found the macquarie, not "running bank high," as he describes it, but almost dry; and although ten years had passed since his visit to this distant spot, the grass had not yet grown over the foot-path, leading from his camp to the river; nor had a horse-shoe that was found by one of the men lost its polish. in this locality there are two hills, to which mr. oxley gave the names of mount harris and mount foster, distant from each other about five miles, on a bearing of degrees to the west of south. of these two hills mount foster is the highest and the nearest, and as the macquarie runs between them to the westward, it must also be closer than mount harris to the marshes. i therefore naturally looked for any discovery that was to be made from mount foster, and i according ascended that hill just as the sun was setting. i looked in vain however for the region of reeds and of water, which mr. oxley had seen to the westward; so different in character were the seasons, and the state of the country at the different periods in which the surveyor-general and i visited it. from the highest point i could gain i watched the sun descend; but i looked in vain for the glittering of a sea beneath him, nor did the sky assume that glare from reflected light which would have accompanied his setting behind a mass of waters. i could discover nothing to intercept me in my course. i saw, it is true, a depressed and dark region in the line of the direction in which i was about to go. the terrestrial line met the horizon with a sharp and even edge, but i saw nothing to stay my progress, or to damp my hopes. as i had observed the country from mount foster, so i found it to be when i advanced into it. i experienced little difficulty therefore in passing the marshes of the macquarie, and in pursuing my course to the n. w. traversed plains of great extent, until at length i gained the banks of the darling, in lat. degrees. s. and in long. degrees. e. this river, instead of flowing to the n. w. led me to the s. w.; but i was ultimately obliged to abandon it in consequence of the saltness of its waters. i could not, however, fail to observe that the plains over which i had wandered were wholly deficient in timber of any magnitude or apparently of any age, excepting the trees which grew along the line of the rivers; that the soil of the plains was sandy, and the productions almost exclusively salsolaceous. their extreme depression, indeed their general level, since they were not more than or feet above the level of the sea, together with their general aspect, instinctively, as it were, led the mind to the conviction that they had, at a comparatively recent period, been covered by the ocean. on my return to the blue mountains, and on a closer examination of the streams falling from them into the interior, i observed that at a certain point, and that too nearly on the same meridian, they lost their character as rivers, and soon after gaining the level interior, terminated in marshes of greater or less extent; and i further remarked that at certain points, and that too where the channels of the rivers seemed to change, certain trees, as the swamp oak, casuarina, and others ceased, or were sparingly to be found on the lower country--a fact that may not be of any great importance in itself, but which it is still as well to record. the field, however, over which i wandered on this occasion was too limited to enable me to draw any conclusions applicable to so large a tract of land as the australian continent. on this, my first expedition, i struck the darling river twice, st, as i have stated in latitude degrees s. and in long. degrees; and seconndly, in lat. degrees minutes seconds s., and in long. degrees minutes e. from neither of these points was any elevation visible to the westward of that river, but plains similar to those by which i had approached it continued beyond the range of vision or telescope from the highest trees we could ascend; beyond the darling, therefore, all was conjecture. at the close of the year , i was again sent into the interior to trace its streams and to ascertain the further course of the darling. i proceeded on this occasion to the south of sydney, and intersecting the murrumbidgee, a river at that time but little known, but which mr. hume had crossed, in lat. degrees minutes, and long. degrees minutes seconds e., on his journey to the south coast, at a very early period of discovery, and which thereabouts is a clear, rapid and beautiful stream. i traced it downwards to the west to lat. degrees minutes, and to long. degrees minutes seconds e. or thereabouts, having taken to my boats a few miles above the junction of the lachlan with it, in lat. degrees minutes seconds and in long. degrees minutes e.; having at that point left all high lands miles behind me, and being then in a low and depressed country, precisely similar to that over which i had crossed the previous year. as on the first expedition, so on the present one, i descended rapidly into a country of general equality of surface; reeds grew in extensive patches along the line of the river, but beyond them sandy plains extended, covered with salsolae of various kinds. from the murrumbidgee, i passed into the murray, the largest known river in australia, unless one of greater magnitude has recently been discovered by sir thomas mitchell to the north. in lat. degrees and in long. degrees, i arrived, (as i have already had occasion to inform my readers), at the junction of a very considerable stream with the murray. at this point, being then miles distant from the south coast in a direct line, i was less than feet above the level of the sea; circumstances prevented my examining this new river however for many miles above its junction with the main stream, but coming, as i have elsewhere remarked, direct from the north, and possessing, as it did, all the character and appearance of the upper darling, i had no doubt as to its identity; in which case no stronger fact could have been adduced to prove the southerly fall or dip of the interior as far as it had been explored. proceeding down the murray, i reached at length the commencement of the great fossil formation, through which that river flows. this immense bed rose gradually before me as i pushed to the westward, until it gained an elevation of from to feet, but on my turning southward, it presented an horizontal and undulating surface, until at the point at which the river enters the lake victoria, it suddenly dipped and ceased. the lower part of this formation was entirely composed of serritullae, but every description of shell with the bones and teeth of sharks and other animals, have subsequently been found in the upper parts of the bed, the summit of which is in many places covered with oyster shells so little changed by time, as to appear as if they had only just been thrown in a heap on the ground they occupy. the general appearance of the country through which i had passed, and the numerous deposits of fine sand upon the face of it, like sea dunes, still more convinced me, that, when the events which had produced such a change in the physical structure of the continent took place, a current of some description or other must have swept over the interior from the northward; and that this current had deposited the great fossil bed where it now rests; for i cannot conceive that such a mass and mixture of animal remains could have been heaped together in any other way. from the outline of this bed, it struck me that some natural obstacle or other had checked the detritus, brought down by the current, as sand and gravel are checked and accumulated against a log or other impediment athwart a stream, presenting a gradual ascent on the side next the current and a sudden fall on the other. such, in truth, is the apparent form of the great fossil bed of the murray. this idea, which struck me as i journeyed down the river, was strengthened, when at a lower part of it i observed a ridge of coarse red granite, running across the channel of the river, and disappearing under the fossil formation on either side of it. it appeared to me to be probable that this ridge of granite might rise higher in other places, and that stretching across the current as it did, that is to say from west to east, the great accumulation of fossil and other remains had been gradually deposited against it, forming a gradual ascent on the northern side of the ridge, and a precipitous fall upon the other. i have already observed that at a particular point the rivers of the interior, which i had traced on my first expedition, appeared to lose their character as such, and that they soon afterwards ceased in some extensive marsh, the evaporation and absorption over such extensive surfaces being greater than the supply of water they received. this point is about or feet above the level of the sea, and if we draw a line eastward, from the summit of the fossil formation, and prolong it to the western base of the blue mountains, we shall find that it will pass over the marshes of the several rivers falling into the interior, and will strike these rivers where their channels appear to fail, as if that had been the former sea-level. the impressions i have on this interesting subject are clear enough in my own mind, but they are difficult to explain, and i fear i have but ill expressed myself so as to be understood by my readers. i only wish however to record my own ideas, and if i am in error in any particular, i shall thank any one of the many who are better versed in these matters than myself to correct me. i have stated in a former part of this chapter, that i undertook a journey to south australia in . i advert to the circumstance again because it is connected with the present inquiry. after i had turned the north-west angle of the murray, and had proceeded southwards to latitude degrees minutes (moorundi), where mr. eyre has built a residence, i turned from the river to the westward, along the summit of the fossil formation, which, at the distance of a few miles, was succeeded by sandstone, and this rock again, as we gained the hills, by a fine slate, and this again, as we crossed the mount barker and mount lofty ranges, by a succession of igneous rocks, of a character and form such as could not but betray to a less experienced geologist even than myself the abundant mineral veins they contained. on descending to the plains of adelaide i again crossed sandstone, and to my surprise discovered that the city of adelaide stood on the same kind of fossil formation i had left behind me on the banks of the murray, and it was on the discovery of this fact that the probability of the australian continent having once been an archipelago of islands first occurred to me. a more intimate acquaintance with the opinions of flinders, as to the probable character of the interior of the continent, from the character and appearance of the coast along the great australian bight; the information i have collected as to the extent of the fossil bed, and my own past experience, have led me to the following general conclusions. that the continent of australia has been subjected to great changes from subigneous agency, and that it has been bodily raised, if i may so express myself, to its present level above the sea; that, as far as we can judge, the north and n.e. portions of the continent are higher than the southern or s.w. parts of it, and that there has consequently been a current or rush of waters, from the one point to the other--that this current was divided in its progress into two branches, by hills, or some other intervening obstacle, and that one branch of it, following the line of the darling, discharged itself into the sea, through the opening between the western shores of encounter bay and cape bernouilli; that the other, taking a more westerly direction, escaped through the great australian bight. from what i could judge, the desert i traversed is about the breadth of that remarkable line of coast, and i am inclined to think that it (the desert) retains its breadth the whole way, as it comes gradually round to the south, thus forming a double curve, from the gulf of carpentaria, on the n.e. angle of the continent, to the great bight on its south-west coast; but my readers will, as they advance into my narrative, see the grounds upon which i have rested these ideas. if such an hypothesis is correct, it necessarily follows, that the north and north-west coasts of the continent were once separated from the south and east coasts by water; and as i have stated my impression that the current from the north, passed through vast openings, both to the eastward and westward of the province of south australia, it as necessarily follows, that that province must also have been an island. i hope it will be understood that i started with the supposition that the continent of australia was formerly an archipelago of islands, but that some convulsion, by which the central land has been raised, has caused the changes i have suggested. it was still a matter of conjecture what the real character of central australia really was, for its depths had been but superficially explored before my recent attempt. my own opinion, when i commenced my last expedition, inclined me to the belief, and perhaps this opinion was fostered by the hope that such would prove to be the case, as well as by the reports of the distant natives, which invariably went to confirm it, that the interior was occupied by a sea of greater or less extent, and very probably by large tracts of desert country. with such a conviction i commenced my recent labours, although i was not prepared for the extent of desert i encountered--with such a conviction i returned to the abodes of civilized man. i am still of opinion that there is more than one sea in the interior of the australian continent, but such may not be the case. all i can say is, would that i had discovered such a feature, for i could then have done more upon its waters tenfold, than i was enabled to accomplish in the gloomy and burning deserts over which i wandered during more than thirteen months. my readers, however, will judge for themselves as to the probable correctness of my views, and also as to the probable character of the yet unexplored interior, from the data the following pages will supply. i have recorded my own impressions with great diffidence, claiming no more credit than may attach to an earnest desire to make myself useful, and to further geographical research. my desire is faithfully to record my own feelings and impulses under peculiar embarrassments, and as faithfully to describe the country over which i wandered. my career as an explorer has probably terminated for ever, and only in the cause of humanity, had any untoward event called for my exertions, would i again have left my home. i wish not to hide from my readers the disappointment, if such a word can express the feeling, with which i turned my back upon the centre of australia, after having so nearly gained it; but that was an achievement i was not permitted to accomplish. chapter ii. preparations for departure--arrival at moorundi--native guides--names of the party--sir john barrow's minute--reports of laidley's ponds--climate of the murray--progress up the river--arrival at lake bonney--grassy plains--camboli's home--tragical events in that neighbourhood--pulcanti-- arrival at the rufus--visit to the native families--return of mr. eyre to moorundi--departure of mr. browne to the eastward. entertaining the views i have explained in my last chapter, i wrote in january, , to lord stanley, at that time her majesty's principal secretary of state for the colonies, tendering my services to lead an expedition from south australia into the interior of the australian continent. as i was personally unknown to lord stanley, i wrote at the same time to sir ralph darling, under whose auspices i had first commenced my career as an explorer, to ask his advice on so important an occasion. immediately on the receipt of my letter, sir ralph addressed a communication to the secretary of state, in terms that induced his lordship to avail himself of my offer. in may, , captain grey, the governor of south australia, received a private letter from lord stanley, referring to a despatch his lordship had already written to him, to authorise the fitting out of an expedition to proceed under my command into the interior. this despatch, however, did not come to hand until the end of june, but on the receipt of it captain grey empowered me to organise an expedition, on the modified plan on which lord stanley had determined. aware as i was of the importance of the season in such a climate as that of australia, i had written both to the secretary of state, and to sir ralph darling, so that i might have time after the receipt of replies from europe, in the event of my proposals being favourably entertained, to make my preparations, and commence my journey at the most propitious season of the year, but my letter to sir ralph darling unfortunately miscarried, and did not reach him until three months after its arrival in england. the further delay which took place in the receipt of lord stanley's despatch, necessarily threw it late in the season before i commenced my preparations for the long and trying task that was before me. by the end of july, however, my arrangements were completed, and my party organised, and only awaited the decision of mr. john browne, the younger of two brothers who were independent settlers in the province, whose services i was anxious to secure as the medical officer to the expedition, to fix on the day when it should leave adelaide. on the th of the month (august), i saw mr. w. browne, who informed me that his brother had determined to accept my proposals, and that he would join me with the least possible delay; upon which i felt myself at liberty to make definitive arrangements, and to direct that the main body of the expedition should commence its journey on saturday, the th. on the morning of that day i attended a public breakfast, to which i had been invited by the colonists, at the conclusion of which the party, under the charge of mr. l. piesse (who subsequently acted as storekeeper) proceeded to the dry creek, a small station about five miles from adelaide. at that place he halted for the night. mr. browne not having yet joined me, i kept davenport, one of the men, who was to attend on the officers, with a riding horse for his use, and the spring cart (in which the instruments were to be carried), for the purpose of forwarding his baggage to the murray, on the banks of which the party was to muster. i have said that on the th of august i attended a public breakfast, to which i and my party had been invited by the colonists, on the occasion of our quitting the capital. i may be permitted in these humble pages to express my gratitude to them for the kind and generous sympathy they have ever evinced in my success in life, as well as the delicacy and consideration which has invariably marked the expression of their sentiments towards me. if, indeed, i have been an instrument, in the hands of providence, in bringing about the speedier establishment of the province of south australia, i am thankful that i have been permitted to witness the happiness of thousands whose prosperity i have unconsciously promoted. wherever i may go, to whatever part of the world my destinies may lead me, i shall yet hope one day to return to my adopted home, and make it my resting-place between this world and the next. when i went into the interior i left the province with storm-clouds overhanging it, and sunk in adversity. when i returned the sun of prosperity was shining on it, and every heart was glad. providence had rewarded a people who had borne their reverses with singular firmness and magnanimity. their harvest fields were bowed down by the weight of grain; their pastoral pursuits were prosperous; the hills were yielding forth their mineral wealth, and peace and prosperity prevailed over the land. may the inhabitants of south australia continue to deserve and to receive the protection of that almighty power, on whose will the existence of nations as well as that of individuals depends! not having had time as yet to attend to my own private affairs, i was unable to leave adelaide for a few days after the departure of mr. piesse. a similar cause prevented mr. james poole, who was to act as my assistant, from accompanying the drays. on the th mr. browne arrived in adelaide, when he informed me that he had remained in the country to give over his stock, and to arrange his affairs, to prevent the necessity of again returning to his station. he had now, therefore, nothing to do but to equip himself, when he would be ready to accompany me. when i wrote to mr. browne, offering him the appointment of medical officer to the expedition, i was personally unacquainted with him, but i was aware that he enjoyed the respect and esteem of every one who knew him, and that he was in every way qualified for the enterprise in which i had invited him to join. being an independent settler, however, i doubted whether he could, consistently with his own interests, leave his homestead on a journey of such doubtful length as that which i was about to commence. the spirit of enterprise, however, outweighed any personal consideration in the breast of that resolute and intelligent officer, and i had every reason to congratulate myself in having secured the services of one whose value, under privation, trial, and sickness, can only be appreciated by myself. the little business still remaining for us to do was soon concluded, and as mr. browne assured me that it would not take more than two or three days to enable him to complete his arrangements, i decided on our final departure from adelaide on the th of the month; for having received my instructions i should then have nothing further to detain me. that day, therefore, was fixed upon as the day on which we should start to overtake the party on its road to moorundi. the sun rose bright and clear over my home on the morning of that day. it was indeed a morning such as is only known in a southern climate; but i had to bid adieu to my wife and family, and could but feebly enter into the harmony of nature, as everything seemed joyous around me. i took breakfast with my warm-hearted friend, mr. torrens, and his wife, who had kindly invited a small party of friends to witness my departure; but although this was nominally a breakfast, it was six in the afternoon before i mounted my horse to commence my journey. my valued friend, mr. cooper, the judge, had returned to adelaide early in the day, but those friends who remained accompanied us across the plain lying to the north of st. clare, to the gawler town road, where we shook hands and parted. we reached gawler town late at night, and there obtained intelligence that the expedition had passed angus park all well. i also learnt that mr. calton, the master of the hotel, had given the men a sumptuous breakfast as they passed through the town, and that they had been cheered with much enthusiasm by the people. on the th we availed ourselves of the hospitality of mrs. bagot, whose husband was absent on his legislative duties in adelaide, to stay at her residence for a night. nothing however could exceed the kindness of the reception we met from mrs. bagot and the fair inmates of her house. on the th we turned to the eastward for the murray, under the guidance of mr. james hawker, who had a station on the river. at the white hut, mr. browne, who had left me at gawler town, to see his sister at lyndoch valley, rejoined me; and at a short distance beyond it, we overtook the party in its slow but certain progress towards the river. at the dust hole, another deserted sheep station on the eastern slope of the mountains, i learnt that flood, an old and faithful follower of mine, whom i had added to the strength of the expedition at the eleventh hour, was at the station. he was one of the most experienced stockmen in the colonies, and intimately acquainted with the country. i had sent him to receive over sheep i had purchased from mr. dutton, which i proposed taking with me instead of salt meat. he had got to the dust hole in safety with his flock, and was feeding them on the hills when i passed. the experiment i was about to make with these animals was one of some risk; but i felt assured, that under good management, they would be of great advantage. not however to be entirely dependent on the sheep, i purchased four cwt. of bacon from mr. johnson of the reed beds, near adelaide, by whom it had been cured; and some of that bacon i brought back with me as sweet and fresh as when it was packed, after an exposure of eighteen months to an extreme of heat that was enough to try its best qualities. i was aware that the sheep might be lost by negligence, or scattered in the event of any hostile collision with the natives; but i preferred trusting to the watchfulness of my men, and to past experience in my treatment of the natives, rather than to overload my drays. the sequel proved that i was right. of the sheep i lost only one by coup de soleil. they proved a very valuable supply, and most probably prevented the men from suffering, as their officers did, from that fearful malady the scurvy. i had them shorn before delivery, to prepare them for the warmer climate into which i was going. and i may here remark, although i shall again have to allude to it, that their wool did not grow afterwards to any length. it ceased indeed to grow altogether for many months, nor had they half fleeces after having been so long as a year and a half unshorn. i did not see flood at the dust hole; but continuing my journey, entered the belt of the murray at p.m., and reached moorundi just as the sun set, after a ride of four hours through those dreary and stunted brushes. my excellent friend, mr. eyre, had been long and anxiously expecting us. altogether superior to any unworthy feeling of jealousy that my services had been accepted on a field in which he had so much distinguished himself, and on which he so ardently desired to venture again, his efforts to assist us were as ceaseless as they were disinterested. whatever there was of use in his private store, whether publicly beneficial or for our individual comfort, he insisted on our taking. he had had great trouble in retaining at moorundi two of the most influential natives on the river to accompany us to williorara (laidley's ponds). mr. eyre was quite aware of the importance of such attachees, and had spared no trouble in securing their services. their patience however had almost given way, and they had threatened to leave the settlement when fortunately we made our appearance, and all their doubts as to our arrival vanished. nothing but jimbucks (sheep) and flour danced before their eyes, and they looked with eager impatience to the approach of the drays. these two natives, camboli and nadbuck, were men superior to their fellows, both in intellect and in authority. they were in truth two fine specimens of australian aborigines, stern, impetuous, and determined, active, muscular, and energetic. camboli was the younger of the two, and a native of one of the most celebrated localities on the murray. it bears about n.n.e. from lake bonney, where the flats are very extensive, and are intersected by numerous creeks and lagoons. there, consequently, the population has always been greater than elsewhere on the murray, and the scenes of violence more frequent. camboli was active, light-hearted, and confiding, and even for the short time he remained with us gained the hearts of all the party. nadbuck was a man of different temperament, but with many good qualities, and capable of strong attachments. he was a native of lake victoria, and had probably taken an active part in the conflicts between the natives and overlanders in that populous part of the murray river. he had somewhat sedate habits, was restless, and exceedingly fond of the fair sex. he was a perfect politician in his way, and of essential service to us. i am quite sure, that so long as he remained with the party, he would have sacrificed his life rather than an individual should have been injured. i shall frequently have to speak of this our old friend nadbuck, and will not therefore disturb the thread of my narrative by relating any anecdote of him here. it may be enough to state that he accompanied us to williorara, even as he had attended mr. eyre to the same place only a few weeks before, and that when he left us he had the good wishes of all hands. in the afternoon of the day following that of our arrival at moorundi, mr. piesse arrived with the drays, and drew them up under the fine natural avenue that occupies the back of the river to the south of mr. eyre's residence. shortly afterwards davenport arrived with the light cart, having the instruments and mr. browne's baggage. flood also came up with the sheep, so that the expedition was now complete, and mustered in its full force for the first time, and consisted as follows of officers, men, and animals:-- captain sturt, leader. mr. james poole, assistant. mr. john harris browne, surgeon. mr. m'dougate stuart, draftsman. mr. louis piesse, storekeeper. daniel brock, collector. george davenport,) servants joseph cowley, ) robert flood, stockman. david morgan, with horses. hugh foulkes, ) john jones, ) ---- turpin, ) bullock drivers william lewis, sailor, ) john mack ) john kerby, with sheep. horses; bullocks; boat and boat carriage; horse dray; spring cart; drays. sheep; kangaroo dogs; sheep dogs. the box of instruments sent from england for the use of the expedition had been received, and opened in adelaide. the most important of them were two sextants, three prismatic compasses, two false horizons, and a barometer. one of the sextants was a very good instrument, but the glasses of the other were not clear, and unfortunately the barometer was broken and useless, since it had the syphon tube, which could not be replaced in the colony. i exceedingly regretted this accident, for i had been particularly anxious to carry on a series of observations, to determine the level of the interior. i manufactured a barometer, for the tube of which i was indebted to captain frome, the surveyor-general, and i took with me an excellent house barometer, together with two brewer's thermometers, for ascertaining the boiling point of water on sykes' principle. the first of the barometers was unfortunately broken on the way up to moorundi, so that i was a second time disappointed. it appears to me that the tubes of these delicate instruments are not secured with sufficient care in the case, that the corks placed to steady them are at too great intervals, and that the elasticity of the tube is consequently too great for the weight of mercury it contains. the thermometers sent from england, graduated to degrees only, were too low for the temperature into which i went, and consequently useless at times, when the temperature in the shade exceeded that number of degrees. one of them was found broken in its case, the other burst when set to try the temperature, by the over expansion of mercury in the bulb. the party had left adelaide in such haste that it became necessary before we should again move, to rearrange the loads. on monday, the th, therefore i desired mr. piesse to attend to this necessary duty, and not only to equalize the loads on the drays, and ascertain what stores we had, but to put everything in its place, so as to be procured at a moment's notice. the avenue at moorundi presented a busy scene, whilst the men were thus employed reloading the drays and weighing the provisions. morgan, who had the charge of the horse cart, had managed to snap one of the shafts in his descent into the moorundi flat, and was busy replacing it. brock, a gunsmith by trade, was cleaning the arms. others of the men were variously occupied, whilst the natives looked with curiosity and astonishment on all they saw. at this time, however, there were not many natives at the settlement, since numbers of them had gone over the nile, to make their harvest on the settlers. on monday i sent flood into adelaide with despatches for the governor, and with letters for my family, as well as to bring out some few trifling things we had overlooked, and as mr. piesse reported to me on that day that the drays were reloaded, i directed him, after i had inspected them, to lash down the tarpaulines, and to warn the men to hold themselves in readiness to proceed on their journey at a.m. on the following morning--for, as i purposed remaining at moorundi with mr. eyre until flood should return, i was unwilling that the party should lose any time, and i therefore thought it advisable to send the drays on, under mr. poole's charge, until such time as i should overtake him. the spirit which at this time animated the men ensured punctuality to any orders that were given to them. accordingly the bullocks were yoked up, and all hands were at their posts at early dawn. as, however, i was about to remain behind for a few days, it struck me that this would be a favourable opportunity on which to address the men. i accordingly directed mr. poole to assemble them, and with mr. eyre and mr. browne went to join him in the flat, a little below the avenue. i then explained to them that i proposed remaining at moorundi for a few days after their departure. i thought it necessary, in giving them over into mr. poole's charge, to point out some of the duties i expected from them. that in the first place i had instructed mr. poole to mount a guard of two men every evening at sunset, who were to remain on duty until sun-rise; that i expected the utmost vigilance from this guard, and that as the safety of the camp would depend on their attention, i should punish any neglect with the utmost severity. i then adverted to the natives, and interdicted all intercourse with them, excepting with my permission. that as i attributed many of the acts of violence that had been committed on the river to this irritating source, so i would strike the name of any man who should disobey my orders in this respect off the strength of the party from that moment, and prevent his receiving a farthing of pay; or whoever i should discover encouraging any of the natives, but more particularly the native women, to the camp. i next drew the attention of the men to themselves, and pointed out to them the ill effects of discord, expressing my hope that they would be cheerful and ready to assist one another, and that harmony would exist in the camp; that i expected the most ready obedience from all to their superiors; and that, in such case, they would on their part always find me alive to their comforts, and to their interests. i then confirmed mr. piesse in his post as store-keeper; gave to flood the general superintendence of the stock; to morgan the charge of the horses, and to each bullock-driver the charge of his own particular team. to brock i committed the sheep, with kirby and sullivan to assist, and to davenport and cowley (joseph) the charge of the officers' tents. i then said, that as they might now be said to commence a journey, from which none of them could tell who would be permitted to return, it was a duty they owed themselves to ask the blessing and protection of that power which alone could conduct them in safety through it; and having read a few appropriate prayers to the men as they stood uncovered before me, i dismissed them, and told mr. poole he might move off as soon as he pleased. the scene was at once changed. the silence which had prevailed was broken by the cracks of whips, and the loud voices of the bullock-drivers. the teams descended one after the other from the bank on which they had been drawn up, and filed past myself and mr. eyre, who stood near me, in the most regular order. the long line reached almost across the moorundi flat, and looked extremely well. i watched it with an anxiety that made me forgetful of everything else, and i naturally turned my thoughts to the future how many of those who had just passed me so full of hope, and in such exuberant spirits, would be permitted to return to their homes? should i, their leader, be one of those destined to remain in the desert, or should i be more fortunate in treading it than the persevering and adventurous officer whose guest i was, and who shrank from the task i had undertaken. my eyes followed the party as it ascended the gully on the opposite side of the flat, and turned northwards, the two officers leading, until the whole were lost to my view in the low scrub into which it entered. i was unconscious of what was passing around me, but when i turned to address my companions, i found that i was alone. mr. eyre, and the other gentlemen who had been present, had left me to my meditations. in the afternoon kusick, one of the mounted police, arrived with despatches from the governor, and letters from my family. he had met flood at gawler town, whose return, therefore, we might reasonably expect on the friday. amongst the first purchases that had been made was a horse for the service of the expedition, which had not very long before been brought in from lake victoria, nadbuck's location, distant nearly miles from adelaide, where he had been running wild for some time. this horse was put into the government paddock at adelaide when bought, but he took the fence some time during the night and disappeared, nor could he be traced anywhere. luckily, however, kusick had passed the horses belonging to the settlers at moorundi, feeding at the edge of the scrub upon the cliffs, and amongst them had recognised this animal, which had thus got more than miles back to his old haunt. he had, however, fallen into a trap, from which i took care he should not again escape; but we had some difficulty in running him in and securing him. prior to the departure of the expedition from adelaide, a considerable quantity of rain had fallen there. since our arrival at moorundi also we could see heavy rain on the hills, although no shower fell in the valley of the murray. kusick informed us that he had been in constant rain, and it was evident, from the dense and heavy clouds hanging upon them, that it was still pouring in torrents on the ranges. we feared, therefore, and it eventually proved to be the case, that flood would not be able to cross the gawler on his return to us. he was, in fact, detained a day in consequence of the swollen state of that little river, but swam his horse over on the following day, at considerable risk both to himself and his animal. he did not, in consequence, reach us until saturday. in anticipation, however, of his return on that day, we had sent kenny, the policeman stationed at moorundi who was to accompany mr. eyre, up the river in advance of us at noon, with tampawang, the black boy i intended taking with me, and had everything in readiness to follow them, as soon as flood should arrive. he did not, however, reach moorundi until p.m. it took me some little time to reply to the communications he had brought, but at seven we mounted our horses, and leaving flood to rest himself, and to exchange his wearied animal for the one we had recovered, with tenbury in front, left the settlement. the night was cold and frosty, but the moon shone clear in a cloudless sky, so that we were enabled to ride along the cliffs, from which we descended to one of the river flats at a.m. and, making a roaring fire, composed ourselves to rest. it may here be necessary, before i enter on any detail of the proceedings of the expedition, to explain the general nature of my instructions, the object of the expedition, and the reasons why, in some measure, contrary to the opinion of the secretary of state, i preferred trying the interior by the line of the darling, rather than by a direct northerly route from mount arden. as the reader will have understood, i wrote, in the year , to lord stanley, the then colonial minister, volunteering my services to conduct an expedition into central australia. it appeared to his lordship as well as to sir john barrow, to whom lord stanley referred my report, that the plan i had proposed was too extensive, and it was therefore determined to adopt a more modified one, and to limit the resources of the expedition and the objects it was to keep in view, to a certain time, and to the investigation of certain facts. after expressing his opinion as to the magnitude of the undertaking i had contemplated, "there is, however," says sir j. barrow, in a minute to the secretary of state, "a portion of the continent of australia, to which he (captain sturt) adverts, that may be accomplished, and in a reasonable time and at a moderate expense. "he says, if a line be drawn from lat. degrees minutes and long. degrees, n.w., and another from mount arden due north, they will meet a little to the northward of the tropic, and there, i will be bound to say, a fine country will be discovered. on what data he pledges himself to the discovery of this fine country is not stated. it may, however, be advisable to allow mr. sturt to realize the state of this fine country. "this, however, is not to be done by pursuing the line of the darling to the latitude of moreton bay, which would lead him not far from the eastern coast, where there is nothing of interest to be discovered, nor does it appear advisable to pursue the darling to the point to which he and major mitchell have already been, for this reason. his preparations will, no doubt, be made at adelaide; from thence to the point in question is about miles, and from this point to the fine country, a little beyond the tropic, is miles, which together make a journey of miles. now a line directly north from adelaide, through mount arden, to the point where it crosses the former in the fine country, is only miles, making a saving, therefore, of miles, which is of no little importance in such a country as australia. "but mr. sturt assigns reasons for supposing that a range of mountains will be found about the th parallel of latitude, and mr. eyre, whilst exploring the lake he discovered to the northward of the gulf of st. vincent, adelaide, notices mountains to the n.e., in about the latitude of degrees. supposing, then, a range of mountains to exist about that parallel, their direction will probably be found to run from n.e. to s.w., which is that generally of the river darling and its branches; and in this case it may reasonably be concluded that these mountains form the division of the waters, and that all the branches of the several rivers (some of them of considerable magnitude) which have been known to fall into the bays and gulfs on the w. and n.w. coasts, between the parallels of degrees and degrees, have their sources on the northern side of this range of mountains; but, even if no such range exists, it is pretty evident, from what we know of the southern rivers, adjuncts chiefly of the darling, that somewhere about the latitudes of degrees or degrees the surface rises to a sufficient height to cause a division of the waters, those on the northern side taking a northerly direction, and those on the southern side a southerly one. "to ascertain this point is worthy of a practical experiment in a geographical point of view, as the knowledge of the direction that mountains and rivers take, the bones and blood vessels of bodies terrestrial give us at least a picture of the body of that skeleton. to these mr. sturt will no doubt direct his particular attention, as constituting the main object of such an expedition, and these, with the great features of the country, its principal productions in the animal and vegetable part of the creation, the state and condition of the original inhabitants, will render a great service to the geography of the southern part of australia." on this memorandum the secretary of state observes, in a private letter to captain grey, that came to hand before the receipt of lord stanley's public despatch:-- "in considering sir john barrow's memorandum, enclosed in my public despatch, you will see that a strong opinion is expressed against ascending the darling in the first instance, and in favour of making a direct northerly course from adelaide to mount arden. i do not wish this to be taken as an absolute injunction, because i am aware that there may be local causes why the apparently circuitous route may after all be the easiest for the transport of provisions, and may really facilitate the objects of the expedition. in like manner i do not wish to be understood as absolutely prohibiting a return by moreton bay, extensive as that deviation would be, if it should turn out that the exploration of the mountain chain led the party so far to the eastward as to be able to reach that point by a route previously known to captain sturt or to major mitchell, more easily than they could return on their steps down the darling. what captain sturt will understand as absolutely prohibited, is any attempt to conduct his party through the tropical regions to the northward, so as to reach the mouths of any of the great rivers. the present expedition will be limited in its object, to ascertaining the existence and the character of a supposed chain of hills, or a succession of separate hills, trending down from n.e. to s.w., and forming a great natural division of the continent; to examining what rivers take their source in those mountains, and what appears to be their course; to the general lie of the country to the n.w. of the supposed chain; and to the character of the soil and forests, as far as can be ascertained by such an investigation as shall not draw the party away from their resources, and shall make the south the constant base of their operations." i presume, from the tenor of sir john barrow's memorandum, that he was not fully aware of the insurmountable difficulties the course he recommends presented. valuing his judgment as i did on such an occasion, and anxious as i was to act on the suggestions of the secretary of state, the strongest grounds could alone have made me pursue a course different to that which had been recommended to me. certainly the fear of any ordinary difficulty would not have influenced me to reject the line pointed out, but i felt satisfied that if lord stanley and sir john barrow could be made aware of the nature of the country to the north of mount arden, and the reasons why i considered it would be more advantageous to take the line of the darling, they would have concurred in opinion with me. i would myself much rather have taken the line by mount arden, since it would have been a greater novelty, and i would have precluded the chance of any collision with the natives of the darling, more especially at that point to which i proposed to go, and at which sir thomas mitchell had had a rupture with them in . the journeys of mr. eyre had, however, proved the impracticability of a direct northerly course from mount arden. such a course would have led me into the horseshoe of lake torrens; and although i might have passed to the westward of it, i could hope for no advantage in a country such as that which lies to the north of the gawler range. on the other hand, the surveyor-general of south australia had attempted a descent into the interior from the eastward, and had encountered great difficulties from the want of water. local inquiry and experience both went to prove the little likelihood of that indispensable element being found to the north of spencer's gulf. it appeared to me also that sir john barrow had mistaken the point on the darling to which i proposed going. it was not, as he seems to have conjectured, to any point to which i had previously been, but to an intermediate one. it is very true that if i had contemplated pushing up the darling to fort bourke, the distance would have been miles, and that, too, in a direction contrary to the one in which i was instructed to proceed; but to laidley's ponds, in lat. degrees minutes seconds s. and long. degrees minutes w., (the point to which i proposed to go) the distance would have been a little more than miles. it was from this point that sir thomas mitchell retreated after his rupture with the natives in ; because, as he himself informs us, he just then ascertained that a small stream joined the darling from the westward a little below his camp, and he likewise saw hills in the same direction. in consequence of the inhospitable character of the country to the north, i had turned my attention to the above locality, and had been assured by the natives, both of the murray and the darling, that the williorara (laidley's ponds) was a hill stream, that it came far from the n.w., that it had large fish in it, and that its banks were grassy. it struck me, therefore, that it would be a much more eligible line for the expedition to run up the darling to lat. degrees minutes, and then to trace the williorara upwards into the hills, with the chance of meeting the opposite fall of waters, rather than to entangle myself and waste my first energies amidst scrub and salt lagoons. as i understood my instructions and the wishes of the secretary of state, i was to keep on the th meridian (that of mount arden) until i should reach the supposed chain of mountains, the existence of which it was the object of lord stanley to ascertain, or until i was turned aside from it by some impracticable object. lake torrens being due north of mount arden would, if i had taken that line, have been direct in my way, and i should have had to turn either its eastern or its western flank. the surveyor-general, captain frome, had tried the former, but although he went considerably to the eastward into the low and desert interior before he turned northwards, he still found himself entangled in that sandy basin, so that it appeared to me that i should do little more than clear it on the course i proposed to take. as the reader, however, will learn in the perusal of these pages, i was wholly disappointed in the character of the williorara. where that channel joins the darling, the upward course of that river is to the north-east; and as that was a course directly opposite to the one i felt myself bound to take, i abandoned it and took at once to the hills. at my depot prison, in lat. degrees minutes, and in long. degrees minutes e., i hoped that we had sufficiently cleared the north-east limit of lake torrens; but when on the fall of rain we resumed our labours, we measured / miles with the chain before we arrived on the shore of a vast sandy basin, which i could not cross, and to the northward of which i could not penetrate. thus disappointed in my attempt to gain the th meridian on a westerly course, as well as in my anticipation of finding lake torrens connected with some more central feature, it appeared to me that i could not follow out my instructions better than by attempting to penetrate towards the centre of the continent on a north-west course, for it was clear that if there were any ranges or any mountain chains traversing the interior from north-east to south-west i should undoubtedly strike them; but that if no such chains existed the proposed course would take me to the tropic on the meridian of degrees, and would enable me to determine the character of the interior, and more central regions of the continent. in this attempt i succeeded in gaining the desired meridian, but failed in reaching the tropic. my position was about miles north of mount arden, miles from the tropic, and somewhat less than to the eastward of the centre of the australian continent. forced back to my depot a second time, from the total failure both of water and grass, in the quarter to which i had penetrated with the above objects in view, having passed the centre in point of latitude, i again left it on a due north course to ascertain if there were any ranges or hills between my position and the gulf of carpentaria, as well as to satisfy myself as to the character and extent of a stony desert i had crossed on my last excursion. that iron region however again stopped me in my progress northwards, and obliged me to fall back on a place of safety. for fourteen months i kept my position in a country which never changed but for the worse, and from which it was with difficulty that i ultimately escaped; but as the minuter details of the expedition will be given in the subsequent pages of this work, any mention of them here would be superfluous. i shall only express my regret that we were unable to make the centre or to gain the tropic. as regards the objects for which the expedition was fitted out, i hope it will be granted that they were accomplished, and that little doubt can now be entertained as to the non-existence of the mountain chains, the supposed existence of which i was sent to ascertain. it would, however, have gratified me exceedingly to have crossed into the tropic, to have decided my own hypothesis as to the fine country i ventured to predict would be found to exist beyond it. my reasons for supposing which i thought i had explained in my first letter to the secretary of state, but as it would appear from an observation in sir john barrow's memorandum, that i had not done so, i deem it right briefly to record them here. i had observed on my first expedition to the darling, in , when in about lat. degrees minutes s. that the migration of the different kinds of birds which visit the country east of the darling during the summer, was invariably to the w. n. w. cockatoos and parrots that whilst staying in the colony were known to frequent elevated land, and to select the richest and best watered valleys for their temporary location, passed in flights of countless number to the above-mentioned point. i had also observed, during my residence in south australia, that several of the same kind of birds annually visited it, and that they came directly from the north. i had seen the psytacus novae hollandiae and the shell parroquet following the line of the shore of st. vincent gulf like flights of starlings in england, and although intervals of more than a quarter of an hour elapsed between the passing of one flight and that of another, they all came from the north and followed in the same direction. now, although i am quite ready to admit that the casual appearance of a few strange birds should not influence the judgment, yet i think that a reasonable inference may be drawn from the regular and systematie migration of the feathered races. now, if we were to draw a line from fort bourke to the w. n. w., and from mount arden to the north, we should find that they would meet a little to the northward of the tropic, and as i felt assured of two lines of migration thus tending to the same point, there could be little doubt but that the feathered races migrating upon them rested at that point, for a time, so i was led to conclude that the country to which they went would in a great measure resemble that which they had left--that birds which delighted in rich valleys, or kept on lofty hills, surely would not go into deserts and into a flat country; and therefore it was that i was led to hope, that as the fact of large migrations from various parts of the continent to one particular part, seemed to indicate the existence either of deserts or of water to a certain distance, so the point at which migration might be presumed to terminate would be found a richer country than any which intervened. on the late expedition, i accidentally fell into the line of migration to the north-west, and birds that i was aware visited van diemen's land passed us, after watering, to that point of the compass. cockatoos would frequently perch in our trees at night, and wing their way to the north-west after a few hours of rest; and to the same point wild fowl, bitterns, pigeons, parrots, and parroquets winged their way, pursued by numerous birds of the accipitrine class. from these indications i was led still more to conclude that i might hope for the realization of my anticipations if i could force my own way to the necessary distance. during our stay at moorundi, the weather had been beautifully fine, although it rained so much in the hills. a light frost generally covered the ground, and a mist rose from the valley of the murray at early dawn; but both soon disappeared before the sun, and the noon-day temperature was delicious--nothing indeed could exceed the luxury of the climate of that low region at that season of the year, august. we had directed kenny, the policeman, and tampawang, to bivouac in the valley in which we ourselves intended to sleep, but we saw nothing of them on our arrival there. the night was bitter cold, insomuch that we could hardly keep ourselves warm, notwithstanding that we laid under shelter of a blazing log. as dawn broke upon us, we prepared for our departure, being anxious to escape from the misty valley to the clearer atmosphere on the higher ground. at eight a.m. we passed the great bend of the murray, and i once more found myself riding over ground every inch of which was familiar to me, since not only on my several journeys down and up the river had i particularly noticed this spot, but i had visited it in with colonel gawler, the then governor of south australia; who, finding that he required relaxation from his duties, invited me to accompany him on an excursion he proposed taking to the eastward of the mount lofty range, for the purpose of examining the country along the shores of lake victoria and the river murray, as far as the great bend. it was a part of the province at that time but little known save by the overlanders, and the governor thought that by personally ascertaining the capabilities of the country contiguous to the murray, he might throw open certain parts of it for location. being at that time surveyor-general of the province, i was glad of such an opportunity to extend my own knowledge of the province to the north and northeast of adelaide, more especially as this journey gave me an opportunity to cross from the river to the hills westward of the great bend. not only was the land on the murray soon afterwards occupied to that point, but colonel gawler and i also visited the more distant country on that occasion. since my return, indeed, from my recent labours, the line of the murray is occupied to within a short distance of the remoter stations of the colony of new south wales, and there can be no doubt but that in the course of a few years the stock stations from the respective colonies will meet. i was afraid, when i came the second time down the murray, that i had exaggerated the number of acres in the valley, but on further examination, it appears to me that i did not do so; for as the traveller approaches lake victoria the flats are very extensive, but more liable to inundation than those on the higher points of the river, for being so little elevated above the level of the water, especially those covered with reeds, the smallest rise in the stream affects them. lake victoria, although it looks like a clear and open sea, as you look from the point of pomundi, which projects into it to the south, is after all exceedingly shallow, and is rapidly filling up from the decay of seaweed and the deposits brought into it yearly by the floods of the murray. no doubt but that future generations will see that fine sheet of water confined to a comparatively narrow bed, and pursuing its course through a rich and extensive plain. when such shall be the case, and that the strength of the murray shall be brought to bear in one point only, it is probable its sea mouth will be navigable, and that the scenery on this river will be enlivened by the white sails of vessels on its ample bosom. i can fancy that nothing would be more beautiful than the prospect of vessels, however small they might be, coming with swelling sails along its reaches. it may, however, be said, that it will be a distant day when such things shall be realized. there is both reason and truth in the remark; but time, with his silent work, has already raised the flats in the valley of the murray, and as we are now benefiting by his labours, so it is to be hoped will our posterity. however that may be, for it is a matter only of curious speculation, nothing will stay the progress of improvement in a colony which has received such an impulse as the province of south australia. as men retain their peculiarities, so, i believe, do communities; and where a desirable object is to be gained, i shall be mistaken if it is lost from a want of spirit in that colony. purposing, however, to devote a few pages to the more particular notice of the state of south australia, and the prospects it holds out to those who may desire to seek in other lands more comforts and a better fortune than they could command in their native country, i shall not here make any further observation. the morning, which had been so cold, gradually became more genial as the sun rose above us, and both mr. eyre and myself forgot that we had so lately been shivering, under the influence of the more agreeable temperature which then prevailed. as we turned the great bend of the murray, and pursued an easterly course, we rode along the base of some low hills of tertiary fossil formation, the summits of which form the table land of the interior. we were on an upper flat, and consequently considerably above the level of the water as it then was. in riding along, tenbury pointed out a line of rubbish and sticks, such as is left to mark the line of any inundation, and he told us, that, when he was a boy, he recollected the floods having risen so high in the valley as to wash the foot of these hills. he stated, that there had been no previous warning; that the weather was beautifully fine, and that no rain had fallen; and he added that the natives were ignorant whence the water came, but that it came from a long way off. according to tenbury's account, the river must have been fully five and twenty feet higher than it usually rises; and judging from his age, this occurrence might have taken place some twenty years before. as we proceed up the darling, we shall see a clue to this phenomenon. but why, it may be asked, do not such floods more frequently occur? is it that the climate is drier than it once was, and that the rains are less frequent? there are vestiges of floods over every part of the continent; but the decay of debris and other rubbish is so slow, that one cannot safely calculate how long it may have been deposited where they are so universally to be found. after passing the great bend, as i have already stated, we turned to the eastward and overtook mr. poole at noon, not more than eight miles distant. some of the bullocks had strayed, and he had consequently been prevented from starting so early as he would otherwise have done. the animals had, however, been recovered before we reached the party, and were yoked up; we pushed on therefore to a distance of nine miles, cutting across from angle to angle of the river, but ultimately turned into one of the flats and encamped for the night. we passed during the day through some low bushes of cypresses and other stunted shrubs, but they were not so thick as to impede our heavy drays, by the weight of which every tree they came in contact with was brought to the ground. a meridian altitude of vega placed us in lat. degrees minutes seconds s., by which it appeared that we had made four miles of southing, the great bend being in lat. degrees. kenny and tampawang had joined the party before we overtook it, and flood arrived in the course of the afternoon. the cattle had an abundance of feed round our tents, and near a lagoon at the upper end of the flat. the thermometer stood at degrees at p.m., with the wind at west. on the morning of the th we availed ourselves of the first favourable point to ascend from the river flats to the higher ground, since it prevented our following the windings of the river and shortened our day's journey. in doing this we sometimes travelled at a considerable distance from the murray--the surface of the country was undulating and sandy, with clumps of stunted cypress trees, and eucalyptus dumosa scattered over it. low bushes of rhagodia, at great distances apart, were growing on the more open ground; the soil, consisting of a red clay and sand, only superficially covering the fossil formation beneath it. at a.m. we entered a dense brush of cypress and eucalypti growing in pure sand. fortunately for us the overlanders had cut a passage through it, so that we had a clear road before us, but the drays sunk deep into the loose sand in which these trees were growing, and the bullocks had a constant strain on the yoke for six miles. we then broke into more open ground, and ultimately reached the river in sufficient time to arrange the camp before sunset, although we had / miles to travel on a s.w. course before we found a convenient place to stop at. our course during the day having been s.s.e., we had thus been obliged to turn back upon it, but this was owing to the direction the river here takes and was unavoidable. at p.m. the thermometer stood at degrees of farenheit, the barometer at . , and the boiling point of water by two thermometers with a difference of degrees minutes and minutes, respectively, our distance from the sea coast being about { in published text} miles as the crow flies. it was generally thought in adelaide that having started so late in the season, i should experience some difficulty in getting feed for the cattle. from my experience, however, of the seasons in the low region through which the murray flows, i had no such anticipation. the only fear i had, was, that we should be shut out from flats of the river by the floods, as i knew it would be on the rise at the time we should be upon it. to this point, however (and i may add, with few exceptions), we found an abundance of feed, both along the line of the murray and the darling, but at our present encampment our animals fared very indifferently, in consequence of the poor nature of the soil. our tents were pitched at the northern extremity of a long flat, between the river and a serpentine lagoon, which left but a narrow embankment between itself and the stream. the soil of the flat was a cold white clay, on which there was scarcely any vegetation, so that the cattle wandered and kept us about an hour after our appointed hour of starting. there had been a sharp frost during the night, and the morning was bitterly cold. at sunrise the thermometer stood at degrees, the dew point being degrees, and the barometer at . . when we left this place, our course, for the first three miles, was along the embankment separating the river from the lagoon, and i remarked that although there was so little vegetation on the ground, there were some magnificent trees on the bank of the river itself, which gradually came up to the north-east. at three miles, however, our further course along the flats was checked by the hills of fossil formation, which approached the river so closely as to leave no passage for the drays between it and them. we were, therefore, obliged to ascend to the upper levels, in doing so we were also obliged to put two teams, or sixteen bullocks, to each dray, and even then found it difficult to master the ascent. referring back to a previous remark, i would observe that the murray river is characterised by bold and perpendicular cliffs of different shades of yellow colour, varying from a light hue to a deep ochre. these cliffs rise abruptly from the water to the height of and occasionally feet. they occur first on one side of the river, and then on the other, there being an open or a lightly-timbered flat on the opposite side, with a line of trees almost invariably round it, especially along the river. these flats are backed, at uncertain distances, by the fossil formation, as by a natural inclosure--sometimes it rises perpendicularly from the flats, but more generally assumes the character of sloping hills. the cliffs occasionally extend, like a wall, along the river for two or three miles, and look exceedingly well; but their constant recurrence, at length fatigues the eye. at the point at which we had now arrived this remarkable formation ceases, or, as we are going up the river, i should perhaps be more correct if i said, begins. above it a long line of hills, broken by deep and rugged stony gullies, and with steep sides, extends to the eastward (that also being the upward course of the river). on gaining the crest of these hills we found ourselves, as usual, on a flat table land, notwithstanding the broken faces of the hills themselves. there was only a narrow space between them, and a low thick brush of eucalyptus to the north. the soil was, as usual, a mixture of clay and sand, with small rounded nodules of limestone. from this ground, the view to the south as a medium point, was over as dark and monotonous a country as could well be described. there was not a single break in its sombre hue, nor was there the slightest rise on the visible horizon; both to the eastward and westward we caught glimpses of the murray glittering amidst the dark foliage beneath us, but it made no change in the character of the landscape. we kept on the open ground, just cutting the heads of the gullies, and advanced eight miles before we found a convenient spot at which to drive the cattle down to water, and feed in the flats below, and into which it appeared impracticable to get our drays. i halted, therefore, on the crest of the hills, and sent flood and three other men to watch the animals, and to head them back if they attempted to wander. in the afternoon we went down to the river, and on crossing the flat came upon the dray tracks of some overland party, the leader of which had taken his drays down the hills, notwithstanding the apparent difficulty of the attempt. but what is there of daring or enterprise that these bold and high-spirited adventurers will shrink from? i had hoped that the more elevated ground we here occupied, would have been warmer than the flats on which we had hitherto pitched our tents, but in this i was disappointed. the night was just as cold as if we had been in the valley of the murray. at sunrise the thermometer stood at degrees, and we had thick ice in our pails. at five miles from this place, having left the river about a mile to our right, we arrived at the termination of this line of hills. they gradually fell away to the eastward and disappeared; nor does the fossil formation extend higher up the murray. it here commences or terminates, as the traveller is proceeding up or down the stream. a meridian altitude on the hill just before we descended, placed it in lat. degrees minutes seconds, so that we had still been going gradually to the south. at the termination of the hills, the murray forms an angle in turning sharp round to that point, and after an extensive sweep comes up again, so as to form an opposite angle; the distance between the two being or miles, and from the ground on which we stood the head of lake bonney bore e. degrees s., distant six miles. on descending from these hills we fell into the overland road, but were soon turned from it by reason of the floods, and obliged to travel along a sandy ridge, forming the left bank of a lagoon, running parallel to the river, into which the waters were fast flowing; but finding a favourable place to cross, at a mile distant, we availed ourselves of it, and encamped on the river side. in the afternoon we had heavy rain from the west. during it, mr. james hawker, a resident at moorundi, joined us, and took shelter in our tents. he had, indeed, kept pace with us all the way from the settlement in his boat, and supplied us with wild fowl on several occasions. we had showers during the night, but the morning, though cloudy, did not prevent our moving on to lake bonney, distant, according to our calculation, between four and five miles. to determine this correctly, however, i ordered mr. poole to run the chain from the river to the lake. we had seen few or no natives as yet; but expecting to find a large party of them assembled at lake bonney, mr. eyre went before us with kenny and tenbury, leaving nadbuck and camboli to shew us the most direct line to the mouth of the little channel which connects lake bonney with the murray, at which i purposed halting. the greater part of our way was through deep sandy cypress brushes, so that the cattle had a heavy pull of it. we reached our destination at p.m., where we found mr. eyre, with eight or nine natives, all, who were then in the neighbourhood. the back-water of the murray was fast flowing into the lake, which already presented a broad expanse of water to the eye. it was covered with wild fowl of various kinds, and there were several patches of reeds in which they were feeding. as i purposed stopping for a day or two, to rest the bullocks, i directed mr. poole to survey the lake, whilst i undertook to lay down the creek or channel connecting it with the river, in which service i enlisted mr. hawker, who had formerly been on the survey, and whose name i gave to the creek on the completion of our work. lake bonney is a shallow sandy basin, which is annually filled by the murray; and as it rises, so, to a certain extent, it falls with the river, until at length, being left very shallow, it is soon dried up. the hawker being too small to discharge the water equally with the fall of the river, has a current in it after the river has lowered considerably, for which reason i thought, when i passed it on my second expedition, that it had been a tributary; but such is not the case--lake bonney receiving no water save from the murray. to the south of it, or next the river, the ground is low, grassy, and wooded; but on every other side the lake is confined by a low sand hill, of about fifteen feet in height, behind which there is a barren flat covered with salsolaceous plants, and exactly resembling a dry sea marsh, if i may say so. the more distant interior is alternate brush and plain, and exceedingly barren. the day after we arrived, however, tenbury, with the dogs, killed four large kangaroos and as he saw many more, it is to be presumed that thereabouts they are pretty numerous. the lake is ten miles in circumference. hawker's creek, taking its windings, is nearly six in length. the latitude of our camp was degrees minutes seconds s.; its longitude degrees minutes seconds. on september st. the thermometer, at a. m. and at noon, stood at degrees and degrees respectively; the barometer at . , and the boiling point was degrees nearly, thus indicating that we had risen but a few feet above the level of the sea. we left lake bonney on the rd of september, and crossing the bank of sand by which it is confined, traversed the flat behind it for about three miles, when we ascended some feet, and entered a low brush that continued for nearly nine miles, with occasional openings in it to that angle of the river which is opposite to the one at the end of the fossil formation. our camp at this place was on one of the prettiest spots on the murray. our tents were pitched on some sloping ground, sheltered from the s.w. wind. the feed was excellent, and the soil of better quality than usual. we had a splendid view of the river, which here is very broad and flanked on the right by a dark clay cliff, which is exceedingly picturesque. on the opposite side of the stream there is an extensive, well wooded and grassy flat of beautiful and park-like appearance. altogether it was a cheerful and pleasant locality, and we were sorry to leave it so soon. our observations placed us in lat. degrees minutes seconds s. and in long. degrees minutes seconds e. from this point the general course of the murray is much more to the north than heretofore, so that on leaving it we had more of northing in our course than anything else. some strange natives brought up our cattle for us, to whom i made presents; but although so kindly disposed, they did not follow us. indeed, the natives generally, seemed to regard our progress with suspicion, and could not imagine why we were going up the darling with so many drays and cattle. our sheep had now become exceedingly tame and tractable; they followed the party like dogs, and i therefore felt satisfied that i had not done wrong in bringing them with me. we travelled on the th, over harder and more open ground than usual, having extensive polygonium flats to our right. there were belts of brush however on the plains, the soil and productions of which were sandy and salsolaceous. at / miles we struck a lagoon, and coming upon a creek at miles, we halted, although the feed was bad, as the cattle were unable to get to the river flats in consequence of the flooded state of the creek itself. on the th we travelled through a country that consisted almost entirely of scrub on the poorest soil. however, we were now approaching that part of the river at which the flats (extensive enough) are intersected by numerous creeks and lagoons, so that our approach to the murray was likely to be cut off altogether. at / miles we again struck the creek on the banks of which we had slept, and as it was the point at which the native path from lake bonney also strikes it, i halted to take a meridian altitude, which placed it in degrees minutes seconds s. we had allowed our horses to go and feed with their bridles through the stirrups, and were sitting on the ground when we heard a shot, and a general alarm amongst them, insomuch that we had some difficulty in quieting them, more especially mr. poole's horse. it was at length discovered that one of that gentleman's pistols had accidentally gone off in the holster, to the dismay of the poor animal. fortunately no damage was done. after noon, we pushed on, and at a mile crossed a creek, where we found a small tribe of scrub natives, one of whom had a child of unusual fatness: its flesh really hung about it; a solitary instance of the kind as far as i am aware. we then traversed good grassy plains for about two miles, when we fell in with another small tribe on a second creek: our introduction to which was more than ordinarily ceremonious. the natives remained seated on the ground, with the women and children behind them, and for a long time preserved that silence and reserve which is peculiar to these people when meeting strangers; however, we soon became more intimate, and several of them joined our train. our friend nadbuck was very officious (not disagreeably so, however), on the occasion, and shewed himself a most able tactician, since he paid more attention to the fair than his own sex, and his explanation of our movements seemed to have its due weight. we soon passed from the grassy plains i have mentioned, to plains of still greater extent, and still finer herbage. nothing indeed could exceed the luxuriance of the grass on these water meadows, for we found on crossing that the floods were beginning to incroach upon them. these were marked all over with cattle tracks, many of them so fresh that they could only have been made the night before, but independently of these there were others of older date. the immense number of these tracks led me to inquire from the natives if there were any cattle in the neighbourhood, when they informed me that there were numbers of wild cattle in the brushes to the westward of the flats, and that they came down at night to the river for water and food. the grass upon the plain over which we were travelling was so inviting, that i determined to give the horses and bullocks a good feed, and turning towards the river with mr. eyre, i directed mr. poole and mr. browne to try the brushes with flood and mack, for a wild bullock, whilst we arranged the camp. we scarcely had time to do this, however, when mr. browne returned to inform me that soon after gaining the brush they had fallen in with a herd of about fifty cattle, out of which they had singled and shot a fine animal, and that on his way back to the camp the dogs had killed a large kangaroo. upon this i sent morgan with the cart to fetch in the quarters of the animal, and desired the natives to go with him to benefit by what might be left behind, and to feast on the kangaroo. the beast the party had killed fully justified mr. browne's account of it, and its fine condition proved the excellent nature of the pastures on which it had fed. we had not killed many of the sheep, as i was anxious to preserve them, since they had given us little or no trouble, so that i was led to hope that by ordinary care they would prove a most valuable and important stock. we were here unable to approach the river, and therefore encamped near a creek, the banks of which were barren enough; however, as we had stopped for the benefit of the cattle it was of no consequence. but although on this occasion they were absolutely up to their middles in the finest grass, the bullocks were not satisfied, but with a spirit of contradiction common to animals as well as men they separated into mobs and wandered away; the difficulty of recovering them being the greater, because of the numerous tracks of other cattle in every direction around us. we recovered them, however, although too late to move that day, and it is somewhat remarkable to record, that this was the only occasion on which during this long journey we were delayed for so long a time by our animals wandering. had it not been for tampawang, whose keen eye soon detected the fresher tracks, we might have been detained for several days. as mr. browne had been on horseback the greater part of the day, i left him in the camp with mr. poole, both having been after the cattle, and in the afternoon walked out with mr. eyre, to try if we could get to the river, but failed, for the creeks were full of water, and our approach to it or to the nearer flats was entirely cut off. so intersected indeed was this neighbourhood, that we got to a point at which five creeks joined. the scene was a very pretty one, since they formed a sheet of water of tolerable size shaded by large trees. the native name of this place was "chouraknarup," a name by no means so harmonious as the names of their places generally are. we had not commenced any collection at this time, there being nothing new either in the animals or plants, but i observed that everything was much more forward on this part of the river than near lake bonney, although there was no material difference between the two places in point of latitude. a meridian altitude of the sun gave our latitude degrees minutes seconds s., and one of altair degrees minutes seconds s. the night of the th sept. was frosty and cold, and we had thick ice in the buckets. we left our camp on a n. by e. course, at o'clock on the morning of the th, and at miles struck the river, where its breadth was considerable, and it looked exceedingly well. the flooded state of the creeks however prevented our again approaching it for several days. shortly after leaving the river we turned more to the eastward, having gained its most northern reach. about noon we fell in with a few natives, who did not trouble themselves much about us, but we found that their backwardness was rather the result of timidity at seeing such a party than anything else. we traversed large and well-grassed flats almost all day long, and ultimately encamped on the banks of a creek of some size, opposite to our tents the floods had made an island, on which we put our cattle for security during the night. mr. eyre and i were again disappointed in an attempt to gain the banks of the murray, but we returned to the camp with a numerous retinue of men, women, and children, who treated us to a corrobori at night. the several descriptions which have been given by others of these scenes, might render it unnecessary for me to give my account of such here; but as my ideas of these ceremonies may differ from that of other travellers, i shall trespass on the patience of my readers for a few moments to describe them. however rude and savage a corrobori may appear to those to whom they are new, they are, in truth, plays or rather dramas, which it takes both time and practice to excel in. distant tribes visiting any other teach them their corrobori, and the natives think as much of them as we should do of the finest play at covent garden. although there is a great sameness in these performances they nevertheless differ. there is always a great bustle when a corrobori is to be performed, and the men screw themselves up to the acting point, as our actors do by other means than these poor creatures possess. on the present occasion there was not time for excitement; our's was as it were a family corrobori, or private theatricals, in which we were let into the secrets of what takes place behind the scenes. a party of the darling natives had lately visited the murray, and had taught our friends their corrobori, in which, however, they were not perfect; and there was consequently a want of that excitement which is exhibited when they have their lesson at their fingers' ends, and are free to give impulse to those feelings, which are the heart and soul of a corrobori. we had some difficulty in persuading our friends to exhibit, and we owed success rather to mr. eyre's influence than any anxiety on the part of the natives themselves. however, at last we persuaded the men to go and paint themselves, whilst the women prepared the ground. it was pitch dark, and ranging themselves in a line near a large tree, they each lit a small fire, and had a supply of dry leaves to give effect to the acting. on their commencing their chanting, the men came forward, emerging from the darkness into the obscure light shed by the yet uncherished fires, like spectres. after some performance, at a given signal, a handful of dry leaves was thrown on each fire, which instantly blazing up lighted the whole scene, and shewed the dusky figures of the performers painted and agitated with admirable effect, but the fires gradually lowering, all were soon again left in obscurity. but, as i have observed, for some reason or other the thing was not carried on with spirit, and we soon retired from it; nevertheless, it is a ceremony well worth seeing, and which in truth requires some little nerve to witness for the first time. we had now arrived at camboli's haunt, and were introduced by him to his wife and children, of whom he seemed very proud; but a more ugly partner, or more ugly brats, a poor benedict could not have been blessed with. whether it was that he wished to remain behind, for he had not been very active on the road, or taken that interest in our proceedings which nadbuck had done; or that our praises of his wife and pickaninnies had had any effect i know not, but he would not leave his family, and so remained with them when we left on the following morning. the neighbourhood of our camp was, however, one of great celebrity--since in it some of the most remarkable and most tragical events had taken place. it was near it that the volunteers who went out to rescue mr. inman's sheep, which had been seized by the natives to the number of , , were driven back and forced to retreat; not, i would beg to be understood, from want of spirit, but because they were fairly overpowered and caught in a trap. the whole of the party, indeed, behaved with admirable coolness, and one of them, mr. charles hawker, as well as their leader, mr. fidd, shewed a degree of moderation and forbearance on the occasion that was highly to their credit. here also was the hornet's nest, where the natives offered battle to my gallant friend, major o'halloran, whose instructions forbade his striking the first blow. i can fancy that his warm blood was up at seeing himself defied by the self-confident natives; but they were too wise to commence an attack, and the parties, therefore, separated without coming to blows. here, or near this spot also, the old white-headed native, who used to attend the overland parties, was shot by miller, a discharged soldier, i am sorry to say, of my own regiment. this old man had accompanied me for several days in my boat, when i went down the murray to the sea coast in , and i had made him a present, which he had preserved, and shewed to the first overland party that came down the river, and thenceforward he became the guide of the parties that followed along that line. he attended me when i came overland from sydney, in , on which occasion he recognised me, and would sleep no where but at my tent door. he was shot by miller in cold blood, whilst talking to one of the men of the party of which unfortunately he had the charge; but retribution soon followed. miller was shortly afterwards severely wounded by the natives; and, having aneurism of the heart, was cautioned by his medical attendant never to use violent exercise; but, disregarding this, when he had nearly recovered, he went one day to visit a friend at the gaol in which he ought to have been confined, and in springing over a ditch near it, fell dead on the other side, and wholly unprepared to appear before that tribunal, to which he will one day or other be summoned, to answer for this and other similar crimes. about a dozen natives followed us from our camp, on the morning of the th. we again struck the creek, on which we had rested, and which had turned to our right at / miles on an east by south course, and followed along its banks, until it again trended too much to the south. we crossed alluvial flats of considerable extent, on which there was an abundance of grass. just at the point at which we turned from the creek, we ascended a small sand hill, covered with the amaryllis, then beautifully in flower. the latitude of this little hill, from which the cliffs on the most northern reach of the murray bore n. degrees e. distant four miles, was degrees minutes seconds; so that the murray does not extend northwards beyond latitude degrees minutes or thereabouts. we again struck the creek, the course of which had been marked by gum-trees, at six miles, and were forced by it to the n.e., but ultimately turned it and descended southwards to the river; but as we were cut off from it we encamped on a lagoon of great length, backed by hills of a yellow and white colour, the rock being a soft and friable sandstone, slightly encrusted with salt. we had, shortly before we halted, passed a salt lagoon in the centre of one of the grassy flats, but such anomalies are not uncommon in the valley of the murray. that part of the river which i have described, from the point where we shot the bullock to this lagoon, appeared to me admirably adapted for a cattle station, and has since been occupied as such. as i have observed, the lagoon on which we encamped was backed by hills of or feet elevation, which were covered with thick brush wood. the flat between us and these hills was unusually barren, and all the trees at the side of the lagoon were dead. whether this was owing to there being salt in the ground or to some other cause, there was here but little grass for the cattle to eat, so that, although they were watched, twenty of them managed to crawl away, and we were consequently delayed above an hour and a half after our usual hour of starting, and commenced our day's journey wanting two of our complement, but we stumbled upon them in passing through the brush, in which they were very comfortably lying down. we travelled for about six miles through a miserable undulating country of sand and scrub. at noon we were abreast of a little sandy peak that was visible from our camp, and is a prominent feature hereabouts. this peak mr. browne and i ascended, though very little to our gratification, for the view from it was as usual over a sea of scrub to whatever quarter we turned. the peak itself was nothing more than a sandy eminence on which neither tree or shrub was growing, and the whole locality was so much in unison with it, that we called it "mount misery." after passing this hill, and forcing through some stunted brush, we debouched on open plains and got once more on the overland road, which was distinctly marked by a line of bright green grass, that was springing up in the furrows the drays had left. this road took us to the edge of a precipitous embankment, from which we overlooked the river flowing beneath it. this embankment was or feet high, and presented a steep wall to the river; for although the murray had lost the fossil cliffs it was still flanked by high level plains on both sides, and cliffs of or feet in height, composed of clay and sand, rose above the stream, the faces of which presented the appearance of fretwork, so deeply and delicately had they been grooved out by rains. the soil of this upper table land was a bright red ferruginous clay and sand. the vegetation was chiefly salsolaceous, but there was, notwithstanding, no want of grass upon it, though the tufts were very far apart. if our cattle had fared badly at our last camp, they had no reason to complain at this; for we encamped on a beautifully green flat, about seven miles short of the rufus, and about eight from the nearest point of lake victoria. there were now seventeen natives in our train, amongst whom was one of remarkable character. this was "pulcanti," who was engaged in, wounded and taken prisoner at an affair on the rufus, to which i shall again have to allude. whilst the police were conveying this man handcuffed to adelaide, he threw himself off the lofty cliffs at the great bend into the river beneath, and attempted to escape by swimming across it, but he was recaptured and taken safe to adelaide, where subsequent kind treatment had considerable influence on his savage disposition. his attempt to escape was of the boldest kind, and was spoken of with astonishment by those who witnessed it, but so desperate an act only proved how much more these people value liberty than life. i am sure that bold savage would have submitted to torture without a groan; he was the most repulsive native in aspect that i ever saw, and had a most ferocious countenance. the thick lip and white teeth, the lowering brow, and deep set but sharp eye, with the rapidly retiring forehead all betrayed the savage with the least intellect, but his demeanour was now quiet and inoffensive. mr. eyre again preceded us to the rufus, with kenny and tenbury; for although we had been disappointed in seeing any natives at lake bonney, it was hardly to be doubted but that we should find a considerable number at lake victoria. we joined mr. eyre about noon at the junction of the rufus with the murray, and which serves like hawker's creek as a channel of communication between that river and the murray. here mr. eyre had collected natives, who were about to go out kangarooing when he arrived. they had their hunting spears and a few waddies, but no other weapons. we had now arrived at nadbuck's native place, and he left us to join his family, promising still to accompany us up the darling. a principal object mr. eyre had in joining me had been to distribute some blankets to those natives who, living in the distance, seldom came to moorundi to benefit by the distribution of food and clothing there. in the position we now occupied we were flanked by the rufus to our left, and had the murray in front of us. the ground in our rear and to our right was rather bushy, and numerous fusani, covered with fruit, were growing there; lake victoria being about four miles to our rear also. considering the spirit of the natives on this part of the murray, the position was not very secure, as we were too confined; but i had no apprehension of any attack from them, they having for some time shewn a more pacific disposition, and against whom we were otherwise always well prepared. as soon, therefore, as the tents were pitched, we walked together along the bank of the rufus to its junction with the lake, but not seeing any of the native families we turned back, until observing some young men on the opposite side of the channel we called to them, and one of them ferried us over in a canoe. we had then a long round of visits to make to the different families of the natives, since they were all encamped on the eastern or opposite side of the rufus. the first huts to which we went happened to be that of our friend nadbuck, and he introduced us, as camboli had done, to his wives and children, of whom the old gentleman was very proud. we then visited eleven other huts in succession, after which we returned to the place where the canoe had been left, with twelve patriarchs, to whom mr. eyre (wisely selecting the oldest) intended making some presents. we were again ferried across the rufus, the current setting strong into lake victoria at the time, and had well nigh gone down in our frail bark, to the infinite amusement of our charon. we had just time, however, to reach the bank and to get out of her when she went down. it was at this particular spot that the natives sustained so severe a loss when pulcanti was taken. they got between two fires, that of mr. robinson's party of overlanders, with whom they had been fighting for three days; and a party of police who, providentially for mr. robinson, came up just in time to save him from being overwhelmed by numbers. astonished at finding themselves taken in flank, the blacks threw themselves into the rufus, and some effected their escape, but about forty fell, whose grave we passed on our way back to the camp. the natives who accompanied us pointed out the mound to mr. eyre and myself as we walked along, and informed us that thirty of their relatives laid underneath; but they did not seem to entertain any feelings of revenge for the loss they had sustained. on the morrow, my worthy friend left me, on his return to moorundi, together with kenny and tenbury, and a young native of the rufus. we all saw them depart with feelings of deep regret; but mr. eyre had important business to attend to which did not admit of delay. a little before mr. eyre mounted his horse, i had sent mr. browne, with flood and pulcanti, to the eastward, to ascertain how high the backwaters of the murray had gone up the ana-branch of the darling, since that ancient channel laid right in our way, and i was anxious if possible to run up it, rather than proceed to the river itself, as being a much nearer line. in the afternoon mr. poole and i moved the camp over to the lake, and on the following day i directed him to ascertain its circumference, as we should be detained a day or two awaiting the return of mr. browne. chapter iii. mr. browne's return--his account of the country--change of scene--continued rain--toonda joins the party--story of the massacre--leave lake victoria--accident to flood--turn northwards--cross to the darling--meet natives--toonda's haughty manner--nadbuck's cunning--abundance of feed--sudden floods--bad country--arrival at williorara--consequent disappointment--perplexity--mr. poole goes to the ranges--mr. browne's return--food of the natives--position of williorara. lake victoria is a very pretty sheet of water, miles in circumference {diameter in published text}, very shallow, and at times nearly dry. as i have previously observed of lake bonney, it is connected with the murray by the rufus, and by this distribution of its waters, the floods of the murray are prevented from being excessive, or rising above a certain height. the southern shore of lake victoria is very picturesque, as well as the line of the rufus. the latter however is much wooded, whereas the s.w. shore of the lake is low and grassy, and beautiful umbrageous trees adorn it, in number not more than two or three to the acre. as mr. poole was engaged near me, i remained stationary on the th, but on the following day moved the camp seven miles to the westward, for his convenience. on the th i again moved so as to keep pace with him, and was highly delighted at the really park-like appearance of the scenery. this pretty locality is now occupied as a cattle run, and must be a place of amusement as well as profit. we met mr. browne and flood on their return to the camp from the journey on which i had sent them, about an hour before we halted. mr. browne informed me that the day he left me he rode for some miles along the shore of the lake, and that after leaving it he encamped in the scrub, having travelled about seventeen miles. the brush was very dense, although there were open intervals; it consisted of trees and shrubs of the usual kind, the soil was very sandy, and there was a good deal of spinifex upon it. the next day, still on a due east course (that on which he had travelled from the lake), and at five miles from where he had slept, mr. browne came on a salt lake, about yards in circumference. a third of the bed was under water, and half of the remainder was white with crystallized salt, that glittered in the sun's rays, and looked like water at a distance. at about five miles farther on there were two other lakes of the same kind, but both were dry and without any salt deposits in their beds. at five miles beyond these lakes mr. browne intersected the ana-branch of the darling, which i had detached him to examine. to within a short distance of the ana-branch the country was similar to that through which he had passed the day before, but on nearing it he crossed an open plain. this old channel of the darling had been crossed by mr. eyre on a recent journey to the north, but at that time was dry. where mr. browne struck it the banks were rather high, and its course was n.w. by w. it was about eighty yards wide, with a strong current running upwards, caused by the back waters of the murray. its general course for miles was n. by e. the country was very open, and high banks, similar to those on the murray, occurred alternately on either side. the channel maintained the same appearance as far as mr. browne; rode and as he found the waters still running upwards, he considered that the object of his journey was attained, and that we should find no difficulty in pursuing our route northwards along this new line. it may be necessary for me to inform the reader that no water ever flows down the ana-branch from the north. when mr. eyre first arrived on its banks it was dry, and he was consequently obliged to cross the country to the darling itself, a distance of between and miles. pulcanti, the native i sent with mr. browne, however, made a rough sketch of the two channels, by which it appeared that the ana-branch held very much to the eastward, in proof of which he pointed to a high line of trees, at a great distance, as being the line of the river darling. considering from this that, even if water failed us in the ana-branch, we should have no difficulty in crossing to the main stream, and that however short our progress might be, it would greatly curtail our journey to laidley's ponds, i decided on trying the new route. mr. browne saw a great many red kangaroos (foxy), some very young, others very large; and he chased a jerboa, which escaped him. he also saw a new bird with a black crest, about the size of a thrush. the morning of the th had been cloudy, but the day was beautifully fine; so that we had really enjoyed our march, if so it might be called. from our tents there was a green and grassy slope to the shore of the lake, with a group of two or three immense trees, at distances of several hundred yards apart, and the tranquil waters lay backed by low blue hills. on the morning of the th the barometer fell to . , the thermometer standing at degrees, at a.m. the air was heavy, the sky dull, and the flies exceedingly troublesome. all these indications of an approaching change in the weather might have determined me to remain stationary, but i was anxious to push on. i therefore directed mr. poole to complete the survey of the lake, and at eleven moved the whole party forward. the picturesque scenery which had, up to this point, adorned the shores of lake victoria ceased at two miles, when we suddenly and at once found ourselves travelling on sand, at the same time amidst reeds. the rich soil disappeared, the trees becoming stunted and low. as the travelling was also bad, we went along the margin of the lake, where the sand was firm, although marked with ripples like those left on the sea-shore by the tide, between the water and a line of rubbish and weeds inside of us, so that it appeared the lake had not yet risen so high as the former year. we had moved round to its eastern side, which being its lea side also, the accumulation of rubbish and sand was easily accounted for. we traversed about eight miles of as dreary a shore as can be imagined, backed, like lake bonney, by bare sand hills and barren flats, and encamped, after a journey of thirteen miles, on a small plain, separated from the lake by a low continuous sand ridge, on which the oat-grass was most luxuriant. the indications of the barometer did not deceive us, for soon after we started it began to rain, and did not cease for the rest of the day, the wind being in the n.e. quarter. it continued showery all night, nor on the morning of the th was there any appearance of a favourable change. at nine a steady and heavy rain setting in we remained stationary. the floods in the rufus had obliged us to make a complete circuit of the lake, so that we had now approached that little stream to within six miles from the eastward. our friend nadbuck, therefore, thinking that we were about to leave the neighbourhood, rejoined the party. with him about eighty natives came to see us, and encamped close to our tents; forty-five men, sixteen women, and twenty-six children. i sent some of the former out to hunt, but they were not successful. amongst the natives there were two strangers from laidley's ponds, the place to which we were bound. the one was on his way to moorundi, the other on his return home. pulcanti had given us a glowing account of laidley's ponds, and had assured us that we should not only find water, but plenty of grass beyond the hills to the n.w. of that place. this account the strangers confirmed; and the one who was on his way home expressing a wish to join us, i permitted him to do so; in the hope that, what with him and old nadbuck, we should be the less likely to have any rupture with the darling natives, who were looked upon by us with some suspicion. i was, in truth, very glad to take a native of williorara up with me, because i entertained great doubts as to the reception we should meet with from the tribe, on our arrival there, in consequence of the unhappy occurrence that took place between them and sir thomas mitchell, during a former expedition; and i hoped also to glean from this native some information as to the distant interior. both the darling natives were fine specimens of their race. one in particular, toonda, was a good-looking fellow, with sinews as tough as a rope. it also appeared to me that they had a darker shade of colour than the natives of the murray. nadbuck turned out to be a merry old man, and a perfect politician in his way, very fond of women and jimbuck (sheep), and exceedingly good-humoured with all. he here brought davenport a large quantity of the fruit of the fusanus, of which he made an excellent jam, too good indeed to keep; but if we could have anticipated the disease by which we were afterwards attacked, its preservation would have been above all price. the natives do not eat this fruit in any quantity, nor do i think that in its raw state it is wholesome. they appeared to me tol ive chiefly on vegetables during the season of the year that we passed up the murray, herbs and roots certainly constituted their principal food. i had hoped that the weather would have cleared during the night, but in this i was disappointed. on the th we had again continued rain until sunset, when the sky cleared to windward and the glass rose. we were however unable to stir, and so lost another day. about noon nadbuck came to inform me that the young native from laidley's ponds, who was on his way to moorundi, had just told him that only a few days before he commenced his journey, the darling natives had attacked an overland party coming down the river, and had killed them all, in number fifteen. i therefore sent for the lad, and with mr. browne's assistance examined him. he was perfectly consistent in his story; mentioned the number of drays, and said that the white fellows were all asleep when the natives attacked them amongst the lagoons, and that only one native, a woman, was killed; the blacks, he added, had plenty of shirts and jackets. doubtful as i was of this story, and equally puzzled to guess what party could have been coming down the darling, it was impossible not to give some little credit to the tale of this young cub; for he neither varied in his account or hesitated in his reply to any question. i certainly feared that some sad scene of butchery had taken place, and became the more anxious to push my way up to the supposed spot, where it was stated to have occurred, to save any one who might have escaped. i felt it my duty also before leaving lake victoria to report what i had heard to the governor. as the barometer fell before the rain, so it indicated a cessation of it, by gradually rising. the weather had indeed cleared up the evening before, but the morning of the th was beautifully fine and cool; we therefore yoked up the cattle and took our departure from lake victoria at a.m. at first the ground was soft, but it soon hardened again. shortly after starting we struck a little creek, which trended to the south, so that we were obliged to leave it, but we could trace the line of trees on its banks to a considerable distance. we traversed plains of great extent, keeping on the overland road until at length we gained the river, and encamped on a small neck of land leading to a fine grassy enclosure, into which we put our cattle. one side of this enclosure was flanked by the river, the other by a beautiful lagoon, that looked more like a scene on virginia water than one in the wilds of australia. as we crossed the plains we again observed numerous cattle tracks, and regularly beaten paths leading from the brushes to the river, to the very point indeed where we encamped. the natives had previously informed us, as far back as the place where we shot the first bullock, that we should fall in with other cattle hereabouts; we did not however see any of them during the day. our tents were pitched on the narrow neck of land leading to an enclosure into which we had turned our animals. it was so narrow indeed that nothing could pass either in or out of it without being observed by the guard, so that neither could our cattle escape or the wild ones join them. it was clear, however, that we had cut off the latter from their favourite pasture, for at night they were bellowing all round us, and frequently approached close up to our fires. we had no difficulty in distinguishing the lowing of the heifers from that of the bullocks; of which last there appeared to be a large proportion in the herd. some of our cattle were getting very sore necks, and our loads at this time were too heavy for me to relieve them. flood therefore suggested our trying to secure two or three of the bullocks running in the bush. we therefore arranged that a party should go out in the morning to scour the wood, and drive any cattle they might find towards the river, at which i was to be prepared to entice them to our animals. accordingly mr. poole and mr. browne, with flood and mack, started at sunrise. it was near twelve, however, when mr. browne returned with flood, who had met with a sad accident, and had three of the first joints of the fingers of his right hand carried off by the discharge of his fusee whilst loading. he had incautiously put on the cap and was galloping at the time, but kept his seat. mr. browne informed me they had seen a great many cattle, but that they were exceedingly wild, and started off the moment the horsemen appeared, insomuch that they could not turn them, and it was with a view to drive them towards the river that flood fired at them. however none approached the camp. mr. poole returned late in the afternoon equally unsuccessful. mr. browne dressed flood's hand, who bore it exceedingly well, and only expressed his regret that he should be of no use on the darling in the event of any rupture with the natives. i remained stationary, as mr. browne thought it would be necessary to keep flood quiet for a day or two. on the following day we resumed our journey, and reached the junction of the ancient channel of the darling with the murray about . the floods were running into it with great velocity, and the water had risen to a considerable height, so that many trees were standing in it. i remained here until noon, when a meridian altitude placed us in lat. degrees minutes seconds. we then bade adieu to the murray, and turned northwards to overtake the party, which under nadbuck's guidance had cut off the angle into which we had gone. with the murray we lost its fine trees and grassy flats. the ana-branch had a broad channel and long reaches of water; but was wholly wanting in pasture or timber of any size. the plains of the interior formed the banks, and nothing but salsolae grew on them. we encamped at eight miles from the junction, where there happened to be a little grass, but were obliged to keep the cattle in yoke and the horses tethered to prevent their wandering. as we advanced up the ana-branch on the following day, its channel sensibly diminished in breadth, and at eleven miles we reached a hollow, beyond which the floods had not worked their way. here we found a tribe of natives, thirty-seven in number, by whom the account we had heard of the massacre of the over-landers at the lagoons of the darling was confirmed. nadbuck now informed me that we should have to cross the ana-branch and go to the eastward, and that it would be necessary to start by dawn, as we should not reach the darling before sunset. nadbuck had now become a great favourite, and there was a dry kind of humour about him that was exceedingly amusing, at the same time that his services were really valuable. toonda, on the other hand, was a man of singular temperament. he was good-looking and more intelligent than any native i had ever before seen. his habit was spare, but his muscles were firm, and his sinews like whipcord he must indeed have had great confidence in his own powers to have undertaken a journey of more than miles from his own home. he was very taciturn, and would rather remain at the officers' fire than join his fellows. the country we had passed through during the day had been miserable. plains of great extent flanked the ana-branch on either side, on which there were sandy undulations covered with stunted cypress trees or low brush. flood had from the time of his accident suffered great pain; but as he did not otherwise complain, mr. browne did not entertain any apprehension as to his having any attack of fever. on the morning of the th, the natives paid us an early visit with their boys, and remained at the camp until we started. at the head of the water they had made a weir, through the boughs of which the current was running like a sluice; but the further progress of the floods was stopped by a bank that had been gradually thrown up athwart the channel. crossing the ana-branch at this point, we struck across barren sandy plains, on a n.n.e. course. from them we entered a low brush, in which there were more dead than living trees. at four miles this brush terminated, and we had again to traverse open barren plains. at their termination we had to force our way through a second brush, consisting for the most part of fusani, acaciae, hakeae, and other low shrubs, but there were no cypresses here as in the first brush. on gaining more open ground, the country gradually rose before us, and a ferruginous conglomerate cropped out in places. we at length began our descent towards the valley of the darling. the country became better wooded: the box-tree was growing on partially flooded land, and there was no deficiency of grass. mr. browne went on a-head with toonda and flood, whilst i and mr. poole remained with the party. from the appearance of the country, however, i momentarily expected to come on the river; but the approach to it from the westward is extremely deceptive, and we had several miles of box-tree flats to traverse before the gum-trees shewed their white bark in the distance. we reached the darling at half-past five, as the sun's almost level beams were illuminating the flats, and every blade of grass and every reed appeared of that light and brilliant green which they assume when held up to the light. the change from barrenness and sterility to richness and verdure was sudden and striking, and nothing certainly could have been more cheering or cheerful than our first camp on the darling river. the scene itself was very pretty. beautiful and drooping trees shaded its banks, and the grass in its channel was green to the water's edge. evening's mildest radiance seemed to linger on a scene so fair, and there was a mellow haze in the distance that softened every object. the cattle and horses were up to their flanks in grass and young reeds, and plants indicative of a better soil, such as the sowthistle, the mallow, peppermint, and indigofera were growing in profusion around us. close to our tents there was a large and hollow gum-tree, in which a new fishing net had been deposited, but where the owner intended to use it was a puzzle to us, for it was impossible that any fish could remain in the shallow and muddy waters of the darling; which was at its lowest ebb, and the current was so feeble that i doubted if it really flowed at all. whether the natives anticipated the flood which shortly afterwards swelled it i cannot say, although i am led to believe they did, either from habit or experience. so abundant had been the feed that none of the cattle stirred out of sight of the camp, and we should have started at an early hour, but for the visit of an old native, the owner of the net we had discovered. it was with some hesitation that he crossed the river to us, but he did so; and as soon as he saw me he recognised me as having been in the boat on the murray in , though fourteen years had passed since that time, and he could only have seen me for an hour or two. he was not, however, singular in his recollection of me, since one of the natives of the ana-branch also recollected me; and tenbury, the native constable at moorundi, not only knew me the moment he saw me, but observed that a little white man sat by my side in the stern of the boat, and that i had something before me, which was a compass. there was a suspicious manner about our visitor, for which we could not very well account; but it arose from doubts he entertained as to the safety of his net, for after he had seen that it had not been taken away, his demeanour changed, and he expressed great satisfaction that we had not touched it. we commenced our journey up the darling at nine o'clock, on a course somewhat to the westward {eastward in published text} of north. we passed flat after flat of the most vivid green, ornamented by clumps of trees, sufficiently apart to give a most picturesque finish to the landscape. trees of denser foliage and deeper shade dropped over the river, forming long dark avenues, and the banks of the river, grassed to the water, had the appearance of having been made so by art. we halted, after a journey of fourteen miles, on a flat little inferior to that we had left, and again turned the cattle out to feed on the luxuriant herbage around them. the darling must have been in the state in which we found it for a great length of time, and i am led to infer, from the very grassy nature of its bed, that it seldoms contains water to any depth, or length of time, since in such case the grass would be killed. its flats, like those of the murray, are backed by lagoons, but they had long been dry, and the trees growing round them were either dead or dying. with the exception of the tribe at the ana-branch, and the old man, we had seen no natives since leaving the murray; but, from the reports we had heard of the recent massacre of the overland party at williorara, and the character of the darling blacks, i was induced to take double precautions as i journeyed up the river, and had the camp so formed that it could not be surprised. two drays were ranged close to each other on either side, the boat carriage formed a face to the rear, and the tents occupied the front; thus leaving sufficient room in the centre to fold the sheep in netting. the guard, augmented to six men, occupied a tent at one angle. my own tent was in the centre of the front, and another tent at the angle opposite the guard tent. so that it would have been difficult for the natives to have got at the sheep (which they most coveted), without alarming us. still, although we had no apprehension of the natives, both nadbuck and toonda were constantly on the watch, and it was evident the former considered himself in no mean capacity at this time. he put on an air of great importance, and shewed great anxiety about our next interview with the natives; but toonda took everything quietly, and there was a haughty bearing about him, that contrasted strangely with the bustling importance of his companion. we here heard that there was a large encampment of natives about three miles above us, but none of them ventured to our camp; nor, it is more than probable, were the people aware of our being in the neighbourhood; but our friend nadbuck, as i have stated, was in a great bustle, and shewed infinite anxiety on the occasion. neither were his apprehensions allayed on the following morning when we started. he went in advance to prepare the natives for our approach, and to ask permission for us to pass through their territory, but returned without having found them. not long afterwards it was reported that the natives were in front. on hearing this the old gentleman begged of me to stop the party, and away he went, full of bustle and importance, to satisfy himself. in a few minutes he returned and said we might go on. we had halted close to the brow of a gentle descent into a small creek junction at this particular spot, and on advancing a few paces came in view of the natives, assembled on the bank of the river below. men only were present, but they appeared to have been taken by surprise, and were in great alarm. they had their spears for hunting, and a few hostile weapons, but not many; and certainly had not met together with any hostile intention. some of the men were very good looking and well made, but i think the natives of the darling generally are so. they looked with astonishment on the drays, which passed close to them; and i observed that several of them trembled greatly. at this time nadbuck had walked to some little distance with two old men, holding each by the hand in the most affectionate manner, and he was apparently in deep and earnest conversation with them. toonda, on the other hand, had remained seated on one of the drays, until it descended into the creek. he then got off, and walking up to the natives, folded his blanket round him with a haughty air, and eyed the whole of them with a look of stern and unbending pride, if not of ferocity. whether it was that his firmness produced any effect i cannot say, but after one of the natives had whispered to another, he walked up to toonda and saluted him, by putting his hands on his shoulders and bending his head until it touched his breast. this toonda coldly returned, and then stood as frigid as before, until the drays moved on, when he again resumed his seat and left them without uttering a word. nadbuck had separated from his friends, after having as it seemed imparted to them some important information, and coming up to myself and mr. browne, whispered to us, "bloody rogue that fellow, you look after jimbuck." the contrast between these two men was remarkable: the crafty duplicity of the one, and the haughty bearing of the other. but i am led to believe that there was some latent cause for toonda's conduct, since he asked me to shoot the natives, and was so excited that he pushed his blanket into his mouth, and bit it violently in his anger. on this i offered him a pistol to shoot them himself, but he returned it to me with a smile. of course it will be understood that i should not have allowed him to fire it. two of the old men followed when we left the other natives, to whom i made presents in the afternoon; but it is remarkable that many of them trembled whilst we staid with them, and although their women were not present, they hovered on the opposite bank of the darling all the time. we kept wide of the river almost all day, travelling between the scrub and lagoons, but we had occasionally to ascend and cross ridges of loose sand, over which the bullock-drivers were obliged to help each other with their teams. there was not the slightest change in the character of the distant interior, but the vicinity of the darling was thickly timbered for more than three-quarters of a mile from its banks, but the wood was valueless for building purposes. i was exceedingly surprised at the course of the river at this point. we had gone a good deal to the eastward the day before, but on this day we sometimes travelled on a course to the southward of east, and never for the whole day came higher up than east by north. the consequence was, that we proceeded into a deep bight, and made no progress northwards up the river. at our camp it had dwindled to a mere thread, so narrow was the line of water in its bed. its banks were as even and as smooth as those of a fortification, and covered with a thick, even sward. there was no perceptible current and the water was all muddy; but the scenery in its precincts was still verdant and picturesque, grassy flats with ornamental trees succeeding each other at every bend of the stream. the dogs killed a large kangaroo on the plains, the greater part of which we gave to the natives, all indeed but a leg, which jones, whose duty it was to feed them, reserved for the dogs. yet this appropriation excited toonda's anger. "kangaroo mine, sheep yours," said he, threatening jones with his waddy; but he soon recovered his temper, and carried off his share of the animal, subduing his feelings with as much apparent facility as he had given vent to them. about this time the weather had become much warmer, although we had occasional cold winds. we started early on the morning of the th, without the intention of making a long journey, because the bullocks had been kept in yoke all night. we travelled for six miles over firm and even plains, but soon afterwards got upon deep sand, through which the teams fairly ploughed their way. i therefore turned towards the river, and encamped on the first flat we reached, having run about ten miles on an east-north-east course. we here found the darling so diminished in size, and so still, that i began to doubt whether or not we should find water higher up. its channel, however preserved the appearance of a canal, with sloping grassy sides, shaded by trees of drooping habit and umbrageous foliage, but the soil of the flats had become sandy, and they appeared to be more subject to inundation than usual. about this time i regretted to observe that many of the bullocks had sore necks, and i was in consequence obliged to make a different distribution of them; an alternative always better if possible to avoid, as men become attached to their animals, and part even with bad ones reluctantly. on counting our sheep at this camp, i found that we had remaining. toonda came as usual to take his share of one that had just been killed; but i said, no! that, according to his own shewing, he had no claim to any--thinking this the best way of speaking to his reason. he seemed much astonished at the view i took of the matter, but on his acknowledging himself in error, i forgave his recent ebullition and allowed him his wonted meal; for, although i was always disposed to be kind to the natives, i still felt it right to shew them that they were not to be unruly. neither is it without great satisfaction that i look back to the intercourse i have had with these people, from the fact of my never having had occasion to raise my arm in hostility agianst them. the cattle fared well on the luxuriant grass into which they had been turned when we halted, and as they had no inducement to wander, so they were close to the camp at daybreak, and we started at on an east-north-east course, which at a mile we changed to a northerly one; but soon afterwards finding that a pine ridge crossed our course, and extended to the banks of the river, i turned to the north-west to avoid it, but the country becoming generally sandy i again turned towards the stream, and by going round the sandy points instead of over them, lessened the labour to the cattle, although i increased the distance. we were glad to find that the darling held a general northerly course, or one somewhat to the westward of that point, for we had during the last three or four days made a great deal of easting, and i had thus been prevented making the rapid progress i anticipated to laidley's ponds. i had observed for more than twenty miles below us that the immediate precincts of the river were not so rich in soil, or the flats so extensive as at first; they now however began to open out, and assumed the character and size of those of the murray. the state of the two rivers however was very different, for the darling still continued without breadth or current, (i speak of its appearance in lat. degrees minutes s.) whilst the murray ever presents its bright and expanded waters to the view. we had communicated with a native tribe the day before that of which i am now speaking, and again this day fell in with another, which we evidently took by surprise. all the men had their spears, but on seeing us approach they quietly deposited them under a tree. amongst these people there was another native who recognised me as an old acquaintance of fourteen years' standing; but i began to doubt these patriarchs, to whom i generally made a present for old acquaintance sake. this tribe numbered forty-eight. all of them were handsome and well-made men, though short in stature, and their lower extremities bore some proportion to their busts. for the first time this day we observed a ferruginous sandstone in the bed of the darling, and saw it cropping out from under the sand hills on the western extremity of the flats. shortly after leaving the natives we arrived at a small plain, where they could only just have killed a kangaroo that was lying on the ground partly prepared for cooking. on seeing it i ordered the dogs to be tied up, and left it untouched. indeed if i had been fortunate enough to kill a kangaroo at this place, i would have given it to these poor people. three of them, who afterwards came to our camp, mentioned the circumstance, and seemed to be sensible of our feelings towards them. there can be no doubt but that the australian aboriginal is strongly susceptible of kindness, as has been abundantly proved to me, and to the influence of such feeling i doubtlessly owe my life; for if i had treated the natives harshly, and had thrown myself into their power afterwards, as under a kind but firm system i have ever done without the slightest apprehension, they would most assuredly have slain me; and when i assure the reader that i have traversed the country in every direction, meeting numerous tribes of natives, with two men only, and with horses so jaded that it would have been impossible to have escaped, he will believe that i speak my real sentiments. equally so the old native, (to whom the net we discovered in the hollow of a tree where we first struck the darling belonged), evinced the greatest astonishment and gratification, when he found that his treasure had been untouched by us. the flats of the darling are certainly of great extent, but their verdure reached no farther than the immediate precincts of the river at this part of its course. beyond its immediate neighbourhood they are perfectly bare, but lightly wooded, having low and useless box-trees (the gobero of sir thomas mitchell), growing on them. their soil is a tenacious clay, blistered and rotten. these flats extend to uncertain distances from the river, and vary in breadth from a quarter of a mile to two miles or more. beyond them the country is sandy, desolate, and scrubby. pine ridges, generally lying parallel to the stream, render travelling almost impracticable where they exist, whilst the deep fissures and holes on the flats, into which it is impossible to prevent the drays from falling, give but little room for selection. our animals were fairly worn out by hard pulling on the one, and being shaken to pieces on the other. some days prior to the th, mr. browne and i, on examining the waters of the river, thought that we observed a more than usual current in it; grass and bark were floating on its surface, and it appeared as if the water was pushed forward by some back impulse. on the th it was still as low as ever; but on the morning of the th, when we got up it was wholly changed. in a few hours it had been converted into a noble river, and had risen more than five feet above its recent level. it was now pouring along its muddy waters with foaming impetuosity, and carrying away everything before it. whence, it may be asked, come these floods? and was it from the same cause that the murray, as tenbury stated, rose so suddenly? such were the questions that occurred to me. from the natives i could gather nothing satisfactory. we were at this time between three and four hundred miles from the sources of the darling, and i could hardly think that this fresh had come from such a distance. i was the more disposed to believe, perhaps, because i hoped such would be the case, that it was caused by heavy rains in the hills to the north-west of laidley's ponds, and that it was pouring into the river through that rivulet. the natives who had accompanied us from the last tribe left at sunset, as is their custom, after having received two blankets and some knives. being anxious to get to laidley's ponds, i started early, with the intention of making a long journey, but circumstances obliged me to halt at six miles. we crossed extensive and rich flats the whole of the way, and found as usual an abundance of feed for our cattle. it would perhaps be hazardous to give an opinion as to the probable availability of the flats of the darling: those next the stream had numerous herbs, as spinach, indigoferae, clover, etc., all indicative of a better soil; but the out flats were bare of vegetation, although there was no apparent difference in their soil. one peculiarity is observable in the darling, that neither are there any reeds growing in its channel or on the flats. our journey on the last day of september terminated at noon, as we arrived at a point from which it was evident the river takes a great sweep to the eastward; and nadbuck informed me that by going direct to the opposite point, where, after coming up again, it turned to the north, we should cut off many miles, but that it would take a whole day to perform the journey. i determined therefore to follow his advice, and to commence our journey across the bight at an early hour the following morning, the st of october. i availed myself of the remainder of the day to examine the country for some miles to the westward, but there was no perceptible change in it. the same barren plains, covered sparingly with salsolae and atriplex, characterised this distant part of the interior; and sandy ridges covered with stunted cypress trees, acaciae, hakeae, and other similar shrubs, proved to me that the productions of it were as unchanged as the soil. as we had arranged, we broke up our camp earlier than usual on the st of october, for, from what nadbuck had stated, i imagined that we had a long journey before us; but after going fifteen miles, we gained the river, and found that it was again trending to the north. it had now risen more than bank high, and some of its flats were partly covered with water. we had kept a n.n.w. course the whole day, and crossed hard plains without any impediment; but, although we kept at a great distance from the stream, we did not observe any improvement in the aspect of the country. our specimens, both of natural history and botany, were as yet very scanty; but we found a new and beautiful shrub in blossom, on some of the plains as we crossed the bight; and mr. browne discovered three nests of a peculiar rat, that have been partially described by sir thomas mitchell. mr. browne was fortunate enough to secure one of these animals, which is here figured. the nests they construct are made of sticks, varying in length from three inches to three feet, and in thickness from the size of a quill to the size of the thumb. they were arranged in a most systematic manner, so as to form a compact cone like a bee-hive, four feet in diameter at the base, and three feet high. this fabric is so firmly built, as to be pulled to pieces with difficulty. one of these nests had five holes or entrances from the bottom, nearly equi-distant from each other, with passages leading to a hole in the ground, beneath which i am led to conclude they had their store. there were two nests of grass in the centre of the pyramid, and passages running up to them diagonally from the bottom. the sticks, which served for the foundations of the nests, were not more than two or three inches long, and so disposed as to form a compact flooring, whilst the roofs were arched. the nests were close together, but in separate compartments, with passages communicating from the one to the other. in a pyramid that we subsequently opened, there was a nest nearly at the top; so that it would appear that these singular structures are common to many families, and that the animals live in communities. the heap of sticks, thus piled up, would fill four large-sized wheel-barrows, and must require infinite labour. this ingenious little animal measures six inches from the tip of the nose to the tail, which is six inches long. the length of the head is two and a half inches, of the ears one and a quarter, and one inch in breadth. its fur is of a light brown colour, and of exceedingly fine texture. it differs very little in appearance from the common rat, if i except the length of its ears, and an apparent disproportion in the size of the hind feet, which were large. the one figured is a male, which i obtained from one of the natives who followed us to the camp. at this period of our journey the weather was exceedingly cold, and the winds high. we were about miles from laidley's ponds; but could not, from the most elevated point, catch a glimpse of the ranges in its neighbourhood. it appeared to me that the river flats were getting smaller on both sides of it, the river still continuing to rise. it was now pouring down a vast body of water into the murray. there was, however, an abundance of luxuriant pasture along its banks. late in the afternoon the lubras (wives) of the natives, at our camp, made their appearance on the opposite side of the river, and nadbuck, who was a perfect gallant, wanted to invite them over; but i told him that i would cut off the head of the first who came over with my long knife--my sword. the old gentleman went off to mr. browne, to whom he made a long complaint, asking him if he really thought i should execute my threat. mr. browne assured him that he was quite certain i should not only cut off the lubra's head, but his too. on this nadbuck expressed his indignation; but however much he might have ventured to risk the lubra's necks, he had no idea of risking his own. one of the natives who visited us at this place was very old, with hair as white as snow. to this man i gave a blanket, feeling assured it would be well bestowed; although a circumstance occurred that had well night prevented my behaving with my usual liberality to the natives who were here with us. the butcher had been killing a sheep, and carelessly left the steel, an implement we could ill spare, under the tree in which he had slung the animal: and it was instantly taken by the natives. on hearing this, i sent for nadbuck and toonda, and told them that i should not stir until the steel was brought back, or make any more presents on the river. on this there was a grand consultation between the two. toonda at length went to the natives, who had retired to some little distance, and, after some earnest remonstrances, he walked to the tree near which the sheep had been killed, and, after looking at the ground for a moment, began to root up the ground with his toes, when he soon discovered the stolen article, and brought it to me. the thief was subsequently brought forward, and we made him thoroughly ashamed of himself; although i have no doubt the whole tribe would have applauded his dexterity if he had succeeded. the day was exceedingly cold, as the two or three previous ones had been, but still the temperature was delightful. we travelled, on this day, across the river flats, which again opened out to a distance of two or three miles; the ground, however, was of a most distressing character, and we had to cross several sandy points projecting into them, so that the poor animals were much jaded. this, however, was only the beginning of their troubles, for we were, in like manner, obliged to travel for several successive days over the same kind of ground--land on which floods have gradually subsided, and which has been blistered and cracked by solar heat. travelling on this kind of ground was, indeed, more distressing to the cattle than even the hard pull over sand; for it was impossible for the bullock-drivers to steer clear of the many fissures and holes on these flats, and the shock, when the drays fell into any of them, was so great, that it shook the poor brutes almost to pieces. from this period to the th there was a sameness in our progress up the darling. on the rd we crossed a small creek, into which the waters of the river were flowing fast; and which both nadbuck and toonda informed us joined yertello lake, and that the ana-branch was on the other side of the lake. this explanation accounted to us for a statement made by toonda, shortly after he first joined us, that the ana-branch hereabouts formed a great lake. on the th a little rain fell, but not in such quantity as to interfere with our travelling. on the th we passed a tribe of natives, in number about thirty-four. we were again led by nadbuck across the country, to avoid the more circuitous route along the river. we passed through a more pleasing country than usual, and one that was better timbered and better grassed than it had been at any distance from the river. i have mentioned that toonda was attended by a young lad, his nephew, who, with another young lad, joined us at lake victoria. these two young lads used to keep in front with myself or mr. poole, or mr. browne, and were quite an amusement to us. this day both of them disappeared, not very long after we passed the last tribe. on making inquiries i ascertained, to my surprise, that they had been forcibly taken back by three men from the last tribe, and that both cried most bitterly at leaving the party. the loss of his nephew greatly afflicted poor toonda, who sobbed over it for a long time. we could not understand why the natives had thus detained the boys; but, i believe, they were members of that tribe, between which and a tribe higher up the river some ground of quarrel existed. after the departure of these boys we had only three natives with us, who had been with the party from lake victoria, i. e. nadbuck, toonda, and munducki, a young man who had attached himself to kirby, who cooked for the men. the latter turned out to be a son of old boocolo, a chief of the williorara tribe, whom i shall, ere long, have occasion to introduce to the reader. mr. browne, with the assistance of nadbuck, gathered a good deal of information from the natives then with us, as to the inhospitable character of the country to the north-west of the williorara, or laidley's ponds, that agreed very little with the accounts we had previously heard. they stated that we should not be able to cross the ranges, as they were covered with sharp pointed stones and great rocks, that would fall on and crush us to death; but that if we did get across them to the low country on the other side, the heat would kill us all. that we should find neither water or grass, or wood to light a fire with. that the native wells were very deep, and that the cattle would be unable to drink out of them; and, finally, that the water was salt, and that the natives let down bundles of rushes to soak it up. such was the account the natives gave of the region into which we were going. we were of course aware that a great deal was fiction, but i was fully prepared to find it bad enough. from the opinion i had formed of the distant interior, and from my knowledge of the country, both to the eastward and westward of me, i had no hope of finding it good within any reasonable distance. prepared, however, as i was for a bad country, i was not prepared for such as the natives described. it was somewhat strange, that as we neared the supposed scene of the slaughter of the overlanders, we should fail in obtaining intelligence regarding it; neither were the natives, who must have participated in it, so high up the river as we now were, afraid of approaching us, as they undoubtedly would have been if they had been parties to it. i began, therefore, to suspect that it was one of those reports which the natives are, unaccountably, so fond of spreading without any apparent object in view. as we approached williorara the course of the river upwards was somewhat to the westward of north. the country had an improved appearance as we ascended it, and grass seemed to be more generally distributed over the flats. we passed several large lagoons, which had already been filled from the river, and were much pleased with the picturesque scenery round them. on the th jones broke the pole of his dray, and morgan again broke his shaft, but we managed to repair both without the loss of much time--and made about ten miles of northing during the day. we hereabouts shot several new birds; and the dogs killed a very fine specimen of the dipus of mitchell, but, unfortunately, in the scuffle, they mangled it so much that we could not preserve it. on the th the weather was oppressively hot, but we managed to get on some fifteen miles before we halted. our journey up the darling had been of greater length than i had anticipated, and it appeared to me that i could not do better than reduce the ration of flour at this early stage of the expedition to provide the more certainly for the future. i accordingly reduced it to eight pounds a week, still continuing to the men their full allowance of meat and other things. nadbuck had assured me on the th that if the bullocks did not put out their tongues we should get to laidley's ponds that day, but i hardly anticipated it myself, although i was aware we could not be many miles from them. we had a great many natives in the neighbourhood at our encampment of the th, but they did not approach the tents. their families generally were on the opposite side of the river, but one man had his lubra and two children on our side of it. my attention was drawn to him, from his perseverance in cutting a bark canoe, at which he laboured for more than an hour without success. mr. browne walked with me to the tree at which he was working, and i found that his only tool was a stone tomahawk, and that with such an implement he would hardly finish his work before dark. i therefore sent for an iron tomahawk, which i gave to him, and with which he soon had the bark cut and detached. he then prepared it for launching by puddling up its ends, and putting it into the water, placed his lubra and an infant child in it, and giving her a rude spear as a paddle pushed her away from the bank. she was immediately followed by a little urchin who was sitting on the bank, the canoe being too fragile to receive him; but he evidently doubted his ability to gain the opposite bank of the river, and it was most interesting to mark the anxiety of both parents as the little fellow struck across the foaming current. the mother kept close beside him in the canoe, and the father stood on the bank encouraging his little son. at length they all landed in safety, when the native came to return the tomahawk, which he understood to have been only lent to him. however i was too much pleased with the scene i had witnessed to deprive him of it, nor did i ever see a man more delighted than he was when he found that the tomahawk, the value and superiority of which he had so lately proved was indeed his own. he thanked me for it, he eyed it with infinite satisfaction, and then turning round plunged into the stream and joined his family on the opposite bank. we journeyed as usual over the river flats, and occasionally crossed narrow sandy parts projecting into them. from one of these mr. poole was the first to catch a glimpse of the hills for which we had been looking out so long and anxiously. they apparently formed part of a low range, and bore n.n.w. from him, but his view was very indistinct, and a small cone was the only marked object he could distinguish. he observed a line of gum-trees extending to the westward, and a solitary signal fire bore due west from him, and threw up a dark column of smoke high into the sky above that depressed interior. a meridian altitude placed us in latitude degrees minutes seconds s., from which it appeared that we were not more than eight or ten miles from laidley's ponds, but we halted short of them, and received visits from a great many of the natives during the afternoon, who came to us with their families, a circumstance which led me to hope that we should get on very well with them. poor toonda here heard of the death of some relative during his absence, and had a great cry over it. he and the native who communicated the news sat down opposite to one another with crossed legs, and their hands on each other's shoulders. they then inclined their heads forward, so as to rest on each other's breasts and wept violently. this overflow of grief, however, did not last long, and toonda shortly afterwards came to me for some flour for his friend, who he said was very hungry. as it appeared to me that we should have to remain for some time in the neighbourhood of laidley's ponds, i had directed my inquiries to the state of the country near them, and learnt both from nadbuck and toonda, that we should find an abundance of grass for the cattle. i was not however very well satisfied with the change that had taken place within a few miles, in the appearance of the river, and the size of the flats, these latter having greatly diminished, and become less verdant. on the th we started on a west course, but at about a mile changed it for a due north one, which we kept for about five miles over plains rather more than usually elevated above the river flats. from these plains the range was distinctly visible, now bearing n. degrees e., and n. degrees and degrees w., distant miles. it still appeared low, nor could we make out its character; three cones marked its southern extremity, and i concluded that it was a part of scrope's range. with the exception of these hills there were none other visible from laidley's ponds. the ground whereon we now travelled was hard and firm, so that we progressed rapidly, and at five miles descended into a bare flat of whitish clay, on which a few bushes of polygonum were alone growing under box-trees. at about two hundred yards we were stopped by a watercourse, into which the floods of the darling were flowing with great velocity. it was about fifty yards broad, had low muddy banks, and was decidedly the poorest spot we had seen of the kind. this, nadbuck informed me, was the williorara or laidley's ponds, a piece of intelligence at which i was utterly confounded. i could not but reproach both him and toonda for having so deceived me; but the latter said he had been away a long time and that there was plenty of grass when he left. nadbuck, on the other hand, said he derived his information from others, and only told me what they told him. be that as it may, it was impossible for me to remain in such a place, and i therefore turned back towards the darling, and pitched my tents at its junction with the williorara. for three or four days prior to our arrival at laidley's ponds, the upward course of the river had been somewhat to the west of north. the course of laidley's ponds was exceedingly tortuous, but almost due west. the natives explained to us that it served as a channel of communication between two lakes that were on either side of it, called minandichi and cawndilla. they stated that the former extended between the darling and the ranges, but that cawndilla was to the westward at the termination of laidley's ponds, by means of which it is filled with water every time the darling rose; but they assured me that the waters had not yet reached the lake. it was nevertheless evident that we were in an angle, and our position was anything but a favourable one. from the point where we had now arrived the upward course of the darling for miles is to the n.e., that which i was anxious to take, was to the w.n.w. it was evident, therefore, that until every attempt to penetrate the interior in that direction had proved impracticable, i should not have been justified in pushing farther up the river. my hopes of finding the williorara a mountain stream had been wholly disappointed, and the intelligence both mr. eyre and i had received of it from the murray natives had turned out to be false, for instead of finding it a medium by which to gain the hills, i now ascertained that it had not a course of more than nine or ten miles, and that it stood directly in my way. we were as yet ignorant what the conduct of the natives towards us would be, having seen none or very few who could have taken part in the dispute between sir thomas mitchell and the williorara tribe in . expecting that they might be hostilely disposed towards us, i hesitated leaving the camp, lest any rupture should take place between my men and the natives during my absence; much less could i think of fortifying the party in a position from which, in the event of an attack, they would find it difficult to retreat. i thought it best therefore to move the camp to a more distant situation with as little delay as possible, and send mr. poole to visit the ranges, and ascertain from their summit the probable character of the n.w. interior. having come to this decision, i procured a guide to accompany that officer to the hills, who accordingly started for them, with mr. stuart, my draftsman, the morning after our arrival at the ponds. some of the natives had informed us that there was plenty of feed at the head of cawndilla lake, a distance of seven or eight miles to the w.s.w.; but we could not understand from them how far the waters of the darling had passed up the creek, although it was clear from what they said that they had not yet reached cawndilla. my instructions to mr. poole were framed with a view to our removal from our present position nearer to the ranges, and i therefore told him to cross the creek at the head of the water, and if he should find grass there, to return to the camp, if not, to continue his journey to the hills, and use every effort to find water and feed. we had had a good deal of rain during the night of the th; the morning of the th was hazy, with the wind at s.w., and there appeared to be every prospect of continued wet. under less urgent circumstances, therefore, i should have detained mr. poole until the weather cleared, but our movements at this time were involved in too much uncertainty to admit of delay. i had hoped that the morning would have cleared, but a light rain set in and continued for several days. we had seen fewer natives on the line of the darling than we had expected; but as we approached williorara they were in greater numbers. our tents were hardly pitched at that place, when, as i have observed, we were visited by the local tribe, with their women and children, who sat down at some little distance from the drays, and contented themselves with watching our motions. i had tea made for the ladies, of which they seemed to approve highly, and gave the youngsters two or three lumps of sugar a-piece. the circumstance of the women and children thus venturing to us, satisfied me that no present hostile movement was contemplated by the men; but, not-withstanding that there was a seeming friendly feeling towards us, there was a suspicious manner about them, which placed me doubly on my guard, and caused me to doubt the issue of our protracted sojourn in the neighbourhood. i had several of the natives in my tent, and with mr. browne's assistance questioned them closely as to the character of the country to the north west, but we could gather nothing from what they said. they spoke of it in terror, as a region into which they did not dare to venture, and gave me dreadful accounts of the rocks and difficulties against which i should have to contend. they agreed, however, in saying that there was both water and grass at the lake; in consequence, i sent mr. browne with nadbuck to examine the locality on the morning of the th, as the distance was not greater than from six to seven miles. he returned about one p. m., and informed me that there was plenty of feed for the cattle, and water also; but that the water was at least a mile and a half from the grass, which was growing in tufts round the edge of the lake. it appeared that the williorara made a circuitous and extensive sweep and entered cawndilla on the opposite side to that of the river, so that he had to cross a portion of the lake, and thus found that the floods had not reached it. mr. browne also stated that the extent of the lake was equal to that of lake victoria, but that it could at no time be more than eighteen inches deep. it was indeed nothing more than a shallow basin filled by river floods, and retaining them for a short time only. immense numbers of fish, however, pass into these temporary reservoirs, which may thus be considered as a providential provision for the natives, whose food changes with the season. at this period they subsisted on the barilla root, a species of rush which they pound and make into cakes, and some other vegetables; their greatest delicacy being the large caterpillar (laabka), producing the gum-tree moth, an insect they procure out of the ground at the foot of those trees, with long twigs like osiers, having a small hook at the end. the twigs are sometimes from eight to ten feet long, so deep do these insects bury themselves in the ground. mr. browne communicated with a tribe of natives, one of whom, a very tall woman, as well as her child, was of a copper colour. from the information he gave me of the neighbourhood of cawndilla, i determined, on the return of mr. poole, and in the event of his not having found a better position, to move to that place; for it was evident from his continued absence that he must have crossed the creek at a distance from the lake, and not seeing any grass in its neighbourhood, had pushed on to the hills. i was now anxious for his return, for we had had almost ceaseless though not heavy rain since he left us. on the th, the day he started, we had thunder; on the th it was showery, with wind at n.w., and the thermometer at degrees at p. m., and the barometer at . ; the boiling point of water being . . assuming sir thomas mitchell's data to be correct, my position here was in long. degrees minutes e., and in lat. degrees minutes s. chapter iv. toonda's tribe--disposition of the natives--arrival of camboli--his energy of character--mr. poole's return--leave the darling--remarks on that river--cawndilla--the old boocolo--leave the camp for the hills--reach a creek--wells--topar's misconduct--ascend the ranges--return homewards--leave cawndilla with a party--reach parnari--move to the hills--journey to n. west--heavy rains--return to camp--mr. poole leaves--leave the ranges--descent to the plains--mr. poole's return--his report--flood's creek--aquatic birds--ranges diminish in height. toonda left us on our arrival at this place, to go to his tribe at cawndilla, but returned the day mr. poole left us, with the lubras and children belonging to it, and the natives now mustered round us to the number of sixty-six. nadbuck, who the reader will have observed was a perfect lady's man, made fires for the women, and they were all treated as our first visitors had been with a cup of tea and a lump of sugar. these people could not have shewn a greater mark of confidence in us than by this visit; but the circumstances under which we arrived amongst them, the protection we had given to some of their tribe, and the kind treatment we had adopted towards the natives generally, in some measure accounted for this, nevertheless there was a certain restlessness amongst the men that satisfied me they would not have hesitated in the gratification of revenge if they could have mustered sufficiently strong, or could have caught us unprepared. it was clear that the natives still remembered the first visit the europeans had made to them, and its consequences, and that they were very well disposed to retaliate. it was in this matter that nadbuck's conduct and representations were of essential service, for he did not hesitate to tell them what they might expect if they appeared in arms. mr. poole was short and stout like sir thomas mitchell, and personally very much resembled him; moreover, he wore a blue foraging cap, as, i believe, sir thomas did; be that as it may, they took mr. poole for that officer, and were exceedingly sulky, and nadbuck informed us that they would certainly spear him. it was necessary, therefore, to explain to them that he was not the individual for whom they took him, and we could only allay their feelings by the strongest assurances to that effect; for some time, indeed, they were inclined to doubt what we said, but at length they expressed great satisfaction, and to secure himself still more mr. poole put on a straw hat. nevertheless, there were manifestations of turbulence amongst the younger men on several occasions, and they certainly meditated, even though, for particular reasons, they refrained from any act of violence. the constant rain had made the ground in a sad state. there was scarcely any stirring out of the tents into the tenacious clay of the flat in which they were pitched; and the darling, continuing to rise, overflowed its banks, drove our cattle from their feed, and obliged us to send them to a more distant point. in the midst of all this we were, on the th, most agreeably surprised by the appearance of our friend camboli, with two other natives from lake victoria. camboli brought despatches and letters in reply to those i had sent from the lake. it is impossible to describe the unaffected joy this poor native evinced on seeing us again. he had travelled hard to overtake us, and his condition when he arrived, as well as that of his companions proved that they had not spared themselves; but neither of them shewed the same symptoms of fatigue as camboli. his thighs and ancles, and the calves of his legs were much swollen, and he complained of severe pain in his back and loins; but he was excited beyond measure, and sprang about with surprising activity whilst his comrades fell fast asleep. "papung," he exclaimed, meaning paper or letters. "i bring papung to boocolo," meaning me; "to sacoback," meaning doctor browne; "and mr. poole, from gobbernor," the governor; "hugomattin," mr. eyre; "merilli," mr. scott of moorundi; "and bullocky bob. papung gobbernor, boocolo, hugomattin." nothing could stop him, nor would he sit still for a moment. there were, at the fire near the tents, a number of the young men of the williorara tribe; and it would appear, from what occurred, that they were talking about us in no friendly strain. certain it is that they made some remark which highly offended our lately arrived envoy, for he suddenly sprang upon his feet, and, seizing a carabine, shook it at them in defiance, and, pointing to the tents, again shook it with all the energy and fearlessness of a savage, and he afterwards told us that the natives were "murry saucy." the scene was of a kind that is seldom if ever witnessed in civilized life. the reader may be assured we took good care of him and his companions; but his excitement continued, even after he had laid down to sleep; yet, he was the first man up on the following morning, to cut a canoe for mr. browne, who wished to cross the river, with a young lad of the name of topar, a native of the place, who had been recommended to me by mr. eyre, a fine handsome young man, about eighteen years of age, and exceedingly prepossessing in appearance; but i am sorry to say with very few good qualities. he was a boy about eight when sir thomas mitchell visited the neighbourhood, and, with his mother, was present at the unfortunate misunderstanding between his men and the natives on that occasion. the bark was not in a fit state to be stripped from the tree, so that camboli had a fatiguing task, but he got the canoe ready in sufficient time for mr. browne to cross the river and visit sir thomas mitchell's last camp, which i had intended doing myself, in order to connect it with my own, if circumstances had not, at that time, prevented me. mr. poole returned on the th, after an absence of four days and a half. he informed me that he had crossed the creek, as i had imagined, where there was little or no vegetation in its vicinity. he then took up a north-west course for the hills, and rode over flats of polygonum for nine miles, when he crossed the bed of a large lagoon; arriving at a round hill, somewhat detached from the main range, at half-past one, and searched about for water, but found none, neither could the native point out any to him. he therefore descended to the plains, and encamped. on the following morning mr. poole again crossed the hill he had ascended the day before, but at half-past one changed his course for a high peak on the same range, on the summit of which he arrived at p.m.; but the day was unfavourable, and the bearings from it consequently uncertain. the following morning being clear he again ascended the hill, and took the following bearings:--to the point of a distant range n. degrees w.; to a very distant cone, or due north; to a peak in a distant range, s. degrees w.; to a lake, s. degrees w.; and to another distant range, s. degrees w. the country between the ranges mr. poole had ascended and the more distant ones, appeared to be flat, and covered with brush and speargrass. there was an appearance of water between the ranges, and they looked like islands in an immense lake. he did not think he could have been deceived by the effect of mirage; but felt satisfied, according to his own judgment, that he had seen a large body of water to the n.w. mr. poole did not succeed in finding any convenient place to which to remove the party, and his guide persisting in his statement that there was no water in the hills, he thought it better to return to the camp. however doubtful i might have been as to the reality of the existence of water in the direction to which mr. poole referred, it was clear that there were other and loftier ranges beyond those visible from the river. taking everything into consideration, i determined on moving the camp to cawndilla, and on proceeding myself to the north-west as soon as i should have established it in a secure place. i was employed on the th in reporting our progress to the governor, as nadbuck and camboli were to leave us in the afternoon on their return to lake victoria. both were exceedingly impatient to commence their journey, but when i came out with the bag old nadbuck evinced great emotion and sorrow, nor could we look on the departure of our old and tried guide without regret. he had really served us well and faithfully, and if he had anything to do in propagating the several reports by which we had been deceived in our progress up the darling, i believe it was with a view to prevent our going into a country from which he thought we should never return. we rewarded him as he deserved, and sent both him and his companions away with provisions sufficient to last them during the greater part of their journey, but we afterwards learnt that with the improvident generosity of the savage, they had appointed to meet a number of their friends in the bush, and consumed their whole supply before sunset. the weather had cleared, and as we were enabled to connect the darling with the hilly country, i directed mr. poole to measure a base line from a point at the back of our camp to the westward. this base line ran along the sandy ridge above the flats of laidley's ponds towards cawndilla, so that we had no detention, but left the darling on the th. the drays started early in the forenoon, but i remained until two, to take some lunars with mr. browne. at that hour we rode along the dray tracks, and at six miles descended into the bed of the lake, and crossing a portion of it arrived at the camp at half-past five. the floods were just crossing the dray tracks as we passed, and gradually advancing into the basin. the ground was cracked and marked with narrow but deep fissures into which the waters fell as they rolled onwards, and it was really surprising to see the immense quantity these chasms required to fill them. having taken leave of the darling, it may be as well that i should make a few general remarks upon it. the reader will have observed from my description, that the scenery on the banks is picturesque and cheerful, that its trees though of smaller size than those on the murray, are more graceful and have a denser foliage and more drooping habit, and that the flats contiguous to the stream are abundantly grassy. i have described the river as i found it, but i would not have the reader suppose that it always presents the same luxuriant appearance, for not many months before this period my persevering friend mr. eyre, on a journey up its banks, could hardly find grass sufficient for his horses. there was not a blade of vegetation on the flats, but little water in the river, and the whole scenery wore a most barren appearance. countries, however, the summer heat of which is so excessive, as in australia, are always subject to such changes, nor is it any argument against their soil, that it should at one season of the year look bare and herbless. that part of the darling between laidley's ponds and its junction with the murray, a distance of about miles in a direct line, had not been previously explored, nor had i time to lay it regularly down. i should say from the appearance of its channel that it is seldom very deep, frequently dry at intervals, and that its floods are uncertain, sudden, and very temporary. that they rise rapidly may be implied from the fact that in two days the floods we witnessed rose more than nine feet, and that they come from the higher branches of the river there can be no doubt, since the darling has no tributary between laidley's ponds and fort bourke. i have no doubt but the whole line of the river will sooner or later be occupied, and that both its soil and climate will be found to suit the purpose both of the grazier and the agriculturist. be that as it may, i regretted abandoning it, for i felt assured that in doing so our difficulties and trials would commence. our camp at cawndilla was on the right bank of the williorara, about half a mile above where it enters the lake. without intending it, we dispossessed the natives of the ground which they had occupied before our arrival, but they were not offended. our tents stood on a sand bank close to the creek, and was shaded by gum-trees and banksias; behind us to the s.w. there were extensive open plains, and along the edge of the basin of cawndilla, as well as to some distance in its bed, there was an abundance of feed for our cattle: the locality would be of great value as a station if it were near the located districts of south australia. the term boocolo is i believe generally given to the chief or elder of the tribe, and thus was applied by the natives to me, as chief of the party. the boocolo of the cawndilla tribe was an old man with grey hairs and rather sharp features, below the ordinary stature, but well made and active. of all the race with whom i have communicated, his manners were the most pleasing. there was a polish in them, a freedom and grace that would have befitted a drawing-room. it was his wont to visit my tent every day at noon, and to sleep during the heat; but he invariably asked permission to do this before he composed himself to rest, and generally laid down at my feet. differing from the majority of the natives, he never asked for anything, and although present during our meals kept away from the table. if offered anything he received it with becoming dignity, and partook of it without displaying that greedy voracity which the natives generally exhibit over their meals. he was a man, i should say, in intellect and feeling greatly in advance of his fellows. we all became exceedingly partial to this old man, and placed every confidence in him; although, as he did not understand the language of the murray natives, we gained little information from him as to the remote country. the boocolo of cawndilla had two sons; but as the circumstances under which they were more particularly brought forward occurred on the return of the expedition from the interior, i shall not mention them here; but will conclude these remarks by describing an event that took place the day after our removal from the darling. the men who had been out chaining left the flags standing after their work, and came to the camp. when mr. poole went out the next morning he found that one of them had been taken away. the natives, when charged with the theft, stoutly denied it, and said that it had been stolen by one of the darling tribe in returning to the river. i therefore directed him, as he generally superintended the issue of presents and provisions to the natives, to stop all further supplies. the old boocolo failed in his endeavours to recover the flag, and the natives who visited the camp were evidently under restraint. on the following day the boocolo came to my tent, and i spoke angrily to him. "why," i asked, "has the black fellow taken that which did not belong to him? i do not take anything from you. i do not kill your kangaroos or take your fish." the old man was certainly much annoyed, and went out of the tent to our fire, at which there were several natives with whom he had an earnest conversation; this terminated by two of them starting for the darling, from whence, on the following day, they brought back the flag and staff, which they said had been taken by three of the darling natives as they had stated already. probably such was the case, and we admitted the excuse. the base line was completed on the th, and measured six miles. i was anxious to have made it of greater length, but the ground would not admit of it. the angles were necessarily very acute; but the bearings were frequently repeated, and found to agree. i was the less anxious on the point because my intention was to check any error by another line as soon as i could. the position we had taken up was a very favourable one, since being on the right or northern bank of the creek, we were, by the flooding of the lake, cut off from the darling natives. i now therefore determined on making an excursion into the interior to the n.w., to examine the ranges seen by mr. poole, and to ascertain if, as he supposed, there was a body of water to the westward of them. with this view i engaged topar to accompany us, and on the st left the camp, with mr. browne, flood, and morgan, taking the light cart with our provisions and some water-casks. during the recent rains the weather had been very cold, but excessive heat succeeded it. the day before we started the thermometer rose as high as degrees during a violent hot wind; and certainly if the following day had been equally warm we could not have proceeded on our journey. fortunately for us, however, the wind shifted to the s.w. during the night, and the morning was cool and refreshing. i should have commenced this trip two or three days earlier, but on the th we were surprised by the reappearance of old nadbuck, who had turned back with some natives he met on the way to our camp, with letters from moorundi. the old man was really overjoyed to see us again. he said he had left camboli well advanced on his journey, and that he would have reached lake victoria before he (nadbuck) had reached us. some of the letters he brought requiring answers, i was unable to arrange for my intended departure on the th. the th being a day of excessive heat, we could not have ventured abroad; but as i have stated, on the st we commenced the journey under more favourable circumstances than we had anticipated. the old boocolo took leave of mr. browne and myself, according, i suppose, to the custom of his people, by placing his hands on our shoulders and bending his head so as to touch our breasts; in doing which he shed tears. topar, seated on the cart, was followed by his mother who never expected to see him again. i had given topar a blanket, which he now gave to his parent, and thus set off with us as naked as he was born. i mention this the more readily because i have much to detail to his discredit, and therefore in justice, i think, i am bound to record anything to his advantage. at a quarter of a mile from the camp we crossed the little sand hill which separates the two basins of cawndilla and minandichi, from which we descended into the flats of the latter, but at a mile rose, after crossing a small creek, to the level of the great plains extending between us and the ranges. our first course over these plains was on a bearing of degrees to the west of south, or n.n.w. nearly. they were partly covered by brush and partly open; the soil was a mixture of clay and sand, and in many places they resembled, not only in that but in their productions, the plains of adelaide. a good deal of grass was growing on them in widely distributed tufts, but mixed with salsolaceous plants. the trees consisted of a new species of casuarina, a new caparis, with some hakea, and several species of very pretty and fragrant flowering shrubs. at twelve miles we changed our course to degrees to the west of south, or n.w., and kept upon it for the remainder of the day, direct for a prominent hill in the ranges before us. [note . coonbaralba station, no. .] the hills mr. poole had visited then bore a few degrees to the east of north, distant from twelve to fourteen miles, and were much lower than those towards which we were going, continuing northwards. the country as we advanced became more open and barren. we traversed plains covered with atriplex and rhagodiae, in the midst of which there were large bare patches of red clay. in these rain water lodges, but being exceedingly shallow they soon dry up and their surfaces become cracked and blistered. from the point at which we changed our course the ground gradually rose, and at miles we ascended a small sand hill with a little grass growing upon it. from this hill we descended into and crossed a broad dry creek with a gravelly bed, and as its course lay directly parallel to our own, we kept in the shade of the gum-trees that were growing along its banks. at about four miles beyond this point topar called out to us to stop near a native well he then shewed us, for which we might in vain have hunted. from this we got a scanty supply of bad water, after some trouble in cleaning and clearing it, insomuch that we were obliged to bale it out frequently during the night to obtain water for our horses. this creek, like others, was marked by a line of gum-trees on either side; and from the pure and clean gravel in its bed, i was led to infer that it was subject to sudden floods. we could trace the line of trees upon it running upwards to the n.w. close up to the foot of the ranges, and down southwards, until the channel seemed to be lost in the extensive flats of that depressed region. topar called this spot "murnco murnco." as the horses had fared indifferently during our stay, and he assured us there was a finer well higher up the creek, we pushed on at an early hour the next morning, keeping on the proper right bank of the creek, and having an open barren country to the south, with an apparent dip to the south-west; to our left, some undulations already noticed by us, assumed more the shape of hills. the surface was in many places covered with small fragments of white quartz, which together with a conglomerate rock cropped out of the ground where it was more elevated. there was nothing green to meet the eye, except the little grass in the bed of the creek itself, and a small quantity on the plains. at two miles on our former bearing topar stopped close to another well, but it was dry and worthless; we therefore pushed on to the next, and after removing a quantity of rubbish, found a sufficiency of water both for ourselves and the horses, but it was bitter to the taste, and when boiled was as black as ink from the decoction of gum leaves; the water being evidently the partial and surface drainage from the hills. we stopped here however to breakfast. whilst so employed, topar's quick and watchful eye caught sight of some smoke rising from the bed of the creek about a mile above us. he was now all impatience to be off, to overtake the party who had kindled it. nothing could exceed his vehement impetuosity and impatience, but this was of no avail, as the natives who had probably seen our approach, kept in front of us and avoided a meeting. we rode for five miles on our original bearing of degrees to the west of north, or n.w. the direct bearing of the hill for which we were making, coonbaralba. at five miles topar insisted on crossing the creek, and led us over the plains on a bearing of degrees to the west of north, thus changing his purpose altogether. he assigned as a reason that there was no water in the creek higher up, and that we must go to another place where there was some. i was somewhat reluctant to consent to this, but at length gave way to him; we had not however gone more than two and a half miles, when he again caught sight of smoke due west of us, and was as earnest in his desire to return to the creek as he had been to leave it. being myself anxious to communicate with the natives i now the more readily yielded to his entreaties. where we came upon it there was a quantity of grass in its bed, but although we saw the fire at which they had been, the natives again escaped us. mr. browne and topar ran their track up the creek, and soon reached a hut opposite to which there was a well. on ascending a little from its bed they discovered a small pool of water in the centre of a watercourse joining the main branch hereabouts from the hills. round this little pool there was an unusual verdure. from this point we continued to trace the creek upwards, keeping it in sight; but the ground was so stony and rough, and the brush approached so close to the banks that i descended into its bed, and halted at sunset after a fatiguing day's journey without water, about which we did not much care; the horses having had a good drink not long before and their feed being good, the want of water was not much felt by them. topar wished to go on to some other water at which he expected to find the natives, and did not hesitate for a moment in thus contradicting his former assertion. this however i would not allow him to do alone, but mr. browne good-naturedly walked with him up the creek, and at less than a mile came up on a long and beautiful pond he informed me that it was serpentine in shape and more than eighty yards long, but as there was no grass in its neighbourhood i did not move to it. it was evident that topar had intended leading us past this water, and it was owing to his anxiety to see the natives that we had now discovered it. on the following morning i determined to take the direction of our movements on myself, and after we had breakfasted at the long water-hole, struck across the plains, and took up a course of degrees to the west of south for a round hill which i proposed ascending. topar seeing us determined, got into a state of alarm almost bordering on frenzy; he kept shouting out "kerno, kerno," "rocks, rocks," and insisted that we should all be killed. this however had no effect on us, and we continued to move towards a spur, the ascent of which appeared to be less difficult than any other point of the hills. we reached its base at a.m., and had little trouble in taking the cart up. on gaining the top of the first rise, we descended into and crossed a valley, and ascending the opposite side found ourselves on the summit of the range, the surface being much less broken than might have been anticipated, insomuch that we had every hope that our progress amongst the hills would be comparatively easy; but in pushing for the one i wished to ascend, our advance was checked by a deep ravine, and i was obliged to turn towards another hill of nearly equal height on our left. we descended without much difficulty into a contiguous valley, but the ascent on the opposite side was too rough for the cart. we had pressed up it along a rocky watercourse, in which i was obliged to leave morgan and topar. mr. browne, myself, and flood, with our horses reached the top of the hill at half-past twelve. although the position commanded a considerable portion of the horizon there was nothing cheering in the view. everything below us was dark and dreary, nor was there any indication of a creek to take us on to the north-west. we could see no gum-trees in that direction, nor indeed could we at an elevation of feet above the plains distinctly make out the covering of the ground below. it appeared to be an elevated table land surrounded by hills, some of which were evidently higher than that on which we stood. the descent to the westward was still more pre cipitous than the side we had ascended. the pass through which the creek issued from the hills was on our left, coonbaralba being between us and it, but that hill was perfectly inaccessible; i thought it better therefore to return to sleep at the water where we had breakfasted, with a view to running the creek up into the ranges on the following morning. after taking bearings of the principal objects visible from our station, we rejoined morgan and descended to the plains. there was a little water in the creek leading from the hill i had at first intended to ascend, to the s.w., which was no doubt a branch of the main creek. on our return we saw that beautiful flower the clianthus formosa, in splendid blossom on the plains. it was growing amidst barrenness and decay, but its long runners were covered with flowers that gave a crimson tint to the ground. the principal object i had in view during the excursion i was then employed upon, was if possible to find a proper position to which the party might move; for i foresaw that my absence would be frequent and uncertain, and although my men were very well disposed towards the natives, i was anxious to prevent the chance of collision or misunderstanding. i had now found such a position, for on examining the water-hole i felt satisfied that it might be depended upon for ten days or a fortnight, whilst the grass in its neighbourhood although dry was abundant. wishing, however, to penetrate the ranges by the gap through which the creek issued from them, i still thought it advisable to prosecute my intended journey up it. accordingly on the th we mounted our horses and rode towards the hills. a little above where we had slept we passed a small junction from the westward, and at miles entered the gap, the coonbaralba, on the bearing of which we had run across the plains, being on our right. we had already passed several small water-holes, but at the entrance of the gap passed some larger ones in which the water was brackish, and these had the appearance of being permanent. topar had shewn much indignation at our going on, and constantly remonstrated with us as we were riding along; however, we saw two young native dogs about a third grown, after which he bounded with incredible swiftness, but when they saw him they started off also. it was soon evident, that both were doomed to destruction, his speed being greater that that of the young brutes, for he rapidly gained upon them. the moment he got within reach of the hindmost he threw a stick which he had seized while running, with unerring precision, and striking it full in the ribs stretched it on the ground. as he passed the animal he gave it a blow on the head with another stick, and bounding on after the other was soon out of our sight. all we knew further of the chase, was, that before we reached the spot where his first prize lay, he was returning to us with its companion. as soon as he had secured his prey he sat down to take out their entrails, a point in which the natives are very particular. he was careful in securing the little fat they had about the kidneys, with which he rubbed his body all over, and having finished this operation he filled their insides with grass and secured them with skewers. this done he put them on the cart, and we proceeded up the pass, at the head of which we arrived sooner than i expected. we then found ourselves at the commencement of a large plain. the hills we had ascended the day before trended to the north, and there was a small detached range running perpendicular to them on our right. to the south there were different points, apparently the terminations of parallel ranges, and westward an unbroken line of hills. the creek seemed to trend to the s.w., and in that direction i determined to follow it, but topar earnestly entreated us not to do so. he was in great consternation; said here was no water, and promised that if we would follow him he would shew us water in which we could swim. on this condition i turned as he desired, and keeping along the western base of the main or front range, took up a course somewhat obtuse to that by which i had crossed the plains of cawndilla. the productions on the ground were of a salsolaceous kind, although it was so much elevated above the plains, but amongst them there was not any mesembryanthemum. at about three miles we passed a very remarkable and perfectly isolated hill, of about feet in height. it ran longitudinally from south to north for about yards, and was bare of trees or shrubs, with the exception of one or two casuarinas. the basis of this hill was a slaty ferruginous rock, and protruding above the ground along the spine of the hill there was a line of the finest hepatic iron ore i ever saw; it laid in blocks of various sizes, and of many tons weight piled one upon the other, without a particle of earth either on their faces or between them. nothing indeed could exceed the clean appearance of these huge masses. on ascending this hill and seating myself on the top of one of them to take bearings, i found that the compass deviated degrees from the north point, nor could i place any dependance on the angles i here took. at about nine miles the main range turned to the n.n.e., and topar accordingly keeping near its base changed his course, and at five miles more led us into a pass in some respects similar to that by which we had entered the range. it was however less confined and more open. steep hills, with rocks in slabs protruding from many parts, flanked it to the south, whilst on its northern side perpendicular rocks, varying in height from to feet, over which the hills rose almost as perpendicularly more than feet higher, were to be seen. close under these was the stony bed of a mountain torrent, but it was also evident that the whole pass, about yards broad, was sometimes covered by floods. down this gully topar now led us, and at a short distance, crossing over to its northern side, he stopped at a little green puddle of water that was not more than three inches deep. its surface was covered with slime and filth, and our horses altogether rejected it. some natives had recently been at the place, but none were there when we arrived. i was exceedingly provoked at topar's treachery, and have always been at a loss to account for it. at the time, both mr. browne and myself attributed it to the machinations of our friend nadbuck; but his alarm at invading the hilly country was too genuine to have been counterfeited. it might have been that nadbuck and toonda expected that they would benefit more by our presents and provisions than if we left them for the interior, and therefore tried by every means to deter us from going: they certainly had long conversations with topar before he left the camp to accompany us. still i may do injustice to them in this respect. however, whether this was the case or not, we had to suffer from topar's misconduct. i turned out of the pass, and stopped a little beyond it, in a more sheltered situation. here topar coolly cooked his dogs, and wholly demolished one of them and part of the other. in wandering about the gorge of the glen, mr. browne found a native well, but there was no water in it. our camp at cawndilla now bore s.s.e. from us, distant odd miles, and having determined on moving the party, i resolved to make the best of my way back to it. on the following morning, therefore, we again entered the pass, but as it trended too much to the eastward, i crossed a small range and descended at once upon the plains leading to the camp. at about miles from the hills, topar led us to a broad sheet of water that must have been left by the recent rains. it was still tolerably full, and water may perhaps be found here when there is none in more likely places in the hills. this spot topar called wancookaroo; it was unfortunately in a hollow from whence we could take no bearings to fix its precise position. we halted at sunset on the top of a small eminence, from which the hills mr. poole had ascended bore e.n.e., and the hill at the pass n.w. we were suddenly roused from our slumbers a little before daylight by a squall of wind that carried away every light thing about us, hats, caps, etc. all went together, and bushes of atriplex also went bounding along like so many foot-balls. the wind became piercing cold, and all comfort was gone. as morning dawned the wind increased, and as the sun rose it settled into a steady gale. we were here about forty miles from cawndilla, nor do i remember having ever suffered so severely from cold even in canada. the wind fairly blew through and through us, and topar shivered so under it that morgan gave him a coat to put on. as we seldom put our horses out of a walk, we did not reach the tents until late in the afternoon, but i never was more rejoiced to creep under shelter than on this occasion. every thing had gone on well during our absence, and mr. poole had kept on the most friendly terms with the natives. i should have mentioned, that, as we descended from the hills, the quick eye of topar saw a native at a great distance to our left, and just at the outskirt of a few trees. we should have passed him unperceived, but i requested mr. browne to ride up to and communicate with him. the poor fellow had dug a pit, for a talperos [note . a native animal about the size of a rabbit, but longer in shape.], big enough to hide himself in, and as he continued to work at it, did not see mr. browne approach, who stood mounted right over the hole before he called to him. dire was the alarm of the poor native when he looked up and saw himself so immediately in contact with such a being as my companion must have appeared to him; but mr. browne considerately retired until he had recovered from his astonishment, and topar, whom i sent to join them, coming up, he soon recovered his composure and approached the cart. as we had prevented the old man from securing his game, i desired topar to give him the remains of the dog; but this he refused to do. i therefore ordered morgan to take it from him, and told topar i would give him an equivalent when we reached the camp. this native did not seem to be aware that the darling was up, a piece of news that seemed to give him much joy and satisfaction. i kept my promise with mr. topar, but he deserved neither my generosity nor consideration. mr. poole informed me that the fluctuations of temperature had been as great at cawndilla as with us; that the day before, the heat likewise had been excessive, the thermometer having risen to degrees, on the day of our return it was down to degrees. the natives appeared really glad to see us again, for i believe they had given us up for lost. my old friend shed tears when he embraced us, and nadbuck, who still remained with toonda, shewed the most unequivocal signs of joy. cawndilla bears about w.s.w. from the junction of the williorara with the darling, at a distance of from six to seven miles. we broke up our camp there on the th of october , but, however easily mr. browne and i had crossed the plains to the north-west, it was a journey that i felt assured would try the bullocks exceedingly. the weather had again changed, and become oppressively hot, so that it behoved me to use every precaution, in thus abandoning the darling river. at early dawn mr. browne started with flood, cowley, and kirby, in the light cart, to enlarge the wells at curnapaga, to enable the cattle to drink out of them. naturally humane and partial to the natives, he had been particularly kind to toonda, who in his way was i believe really attached to mr. browne. this singular man had made up his mind to remain with his tribe, but when he saw the cart, and mr. browne's horse brought up, his feelings evidently overpowered him, and he stood with the most dejected aspect close to the animal, nor could he repress his emotion when mr. browne issued from the tents; if our route had been up the darling, i have no doubt toonda would still have accompanied us, but all the natives dreaded the country into which we were going, and fully expected that we should perish. it was not therefore surprising that he wavered, more especially as he had been a long time absent from his people, and there might be objections to his leaving them a second time. the real cause, however, was, i think, the overflowing of the darling, and the usual harvest of fish, and incessant feasting the natives would have in consequence. their god certainly is their belly, we must not therefore be surprised that toonda wished to partake of the general abundance that would soon be at the command of his tribe, and probably that his assistance was required. however his heart failed him when he saw mr. browne mount his horse to depart, and he expressed his readiness to accompany us to the hills, but no farther. the boocolo's son had also volunteered to go so far with his friend the cook: when therefore at a.m. i followed mr. browne with the remainder of the party, he and toonda got on the drays. we took a kind leave of the boocolo, who put his two hands on my head, and said something which i did not understand. it was however the expression of some kind wish at parting. the cattle got on very well during the early part of the day, and at noon we halted for two hours. after noon our progress was slow, and night closed in upon us, whilst we were yet some distance from the creek. we reached the little sand hill near it, to which we were guided by a large fire flood had kindled at midnight, for it appeared that the horses had given in, and that mr. browne had been obliged to halt there. on leaving cawndilla i sent mr. poole to scrope's range, to verify his bearings, and to enable mr. stuart to sketch in the hills, but he had not at this time rejoined me. at early dawn on the th, i accompanied mr. browne to the wells, leaving mr. piesse with the horse-cart and drays. we arrived there at nine, and by twelve, the time when the oxen came up, had dug a large pit under a rock on the left bank of the creek, which filled rapidly with water. the horses however were still in the rear, and i was ultimately obliged to send assistance to them. at p.m. mr. poole and mr. stuart rejoined us. two of our kangaroo dogs had followed them from cawndilla, but one only returned, the other fell exhausted on the plains. mr. poole informed me that he had seen, but lost sight of flood's signal fire, and had therefore slept higher up on the creek. the animals, but the cart horses in particular, were still very weak when we left curnapaga, on the th, nor is it probable we should have got them to the long water-hole if we had not fortunately stumbled on another little pool of water in a lateral creek about half way. after breakfasting here, we moved leisurely on, and reached our destination at half-past five, p.m. sullivan shot a beautiful and new hawk (elanus scriptus, gould), which does not appear to extend farther south than where we here met it, although it wanders over the whole of the north-west interior as far as we went. there were some beautiful plants also growing in the bed of the creek; but we had previously met with so few things that we might here be said to have commenced our collection. at this water-hole, "parnari," we surprised three natives who were strangers. they did not betray any fear, but slept at the tents and left us the following day, as they said to bring more natives to visit us, but we never saw anything more of them. they were hill natives, and shorter in stature than the river tribes. the day succeeding that of our arrival at parnari was very peculiar, the thermometer did not rise higher than degrees, but the barometer fell to . degrees, and the atmosphere was so light that we could hardly breathe. i had hoped that this would have been a prelude to rain, but it came not. the period from the st to the th of november was employed in taking bearings from the loftiest points of the range, both to the northward and southward of us; in examining the creek to the south-west, and preparing for a second excursion from the camp. the rock formation of curnapaga was of three different kinds. a mixture of lime and clay, a tufaceous deposit, and an apparently recent deposit of soapstone, containing a variety of substances, as alumina, silica, lime, soda, magnesia, and iron. the ranges on either side of the glen were generally varieties of gneiss and granite, in many of which feldspar predominated, coarse ferruginous sandstone, and a siliceous rock with mammillary hematite and hornblende. these, and a great mixture of iron ores, composed the first or eastern line of stanley's barrier range. it will be remembered that in tracing up the creek on the occasion of our first excursion from cawndilla, that topar had persuaded me, on gaining the head of the glen to go to the north, on the faith of a promise that he would take us to a place where there was an abundance of water, and that in requital he took us to a shallow, slimy pool, the water of which was unfit to drink. mr. browne and i now went in the direction we should have gone if we had been uninfluenced by this young cub, and at less than a hundred yards came upon a pretty little clear pool of water, that had been hid from our view by a turn of the creek. what motive topar could have had in thus deceiving us, and punishing himself, is difficult to say. on our further examination of the creek, however, there was no more water to be found, and from the gravelly and perfectly even nature of its bed, i should think it all runs off as fast as the channel filled. whilst i was thus employed, mr. poole and mr. stuart were on the ranges, and both, as well as the men generally, continued in good health; but i was exceedingly anxious about mr. browne, who had a low fever on him, and was just then incapable of much fatigue; nevertheless he begged so hard to be permitted to accompany me on my contemplated journey, that i was obliged to yield. i had been satisfied from the appearance of the williorara, that it was nothing more than a channel of communication between the lakes cawndilla and minandechi and the darling, as the rufus and hawker respectively connect lakes victoria and bonney with the murray, and i felt assured that as soon as we should leave the former river, our difficulties as regards the supply of water for our cattle would commence, and that although we were going amongst hills of or feet elevation, we should still suffer from the want of that indispensable element. many of my readers, judging from their knowledge of an english climate, and living perhaps under hills of less elevation than those i have mentioned, from which a rippling stream may pass their very door, will hardly understand this; but the mountains of south-east australia bear no resemblance to the moss-covered mountains of europe. there that spongy vegetation retains the water to give it out by degrees, but the rain that falls on the australian hills runs off at once, and hence the terrific floods to which their creeks are subject. in the barren and stony ranges through which i had now to force my way, no spring was to be found. during heavy rains, indeed, the torrents are fierce, and the waters must spread over the plains into which they descend for many miles; but such effects disappear with their cause; a few detached pools only remain, that are fed for a time by under drainage, which soon failing, the thirsty sun completes his work, and leaves that proscribed region--a desert. fully satisfied then that the greatest obstacle to the progress of the expedition would be the want of water, and that it would only be by long and laborious search that we should succeed in gaining the interior, i determined on taking as much as i could on my proposed journey, and with a view to gaining more time for examining the country, i had a tank constructed, which i purposed to send a day or two in advance. the little pond of which i have spoken at the head of the pass, had near it a beautiful clump of acacias of a species entirely new to us. it was a pretty graceful tree, and threw a deep shade on the ground; but with the exception of these and a few gum-trees the vicinity was clear and open. our position in the creek on the contrary was close and confined. heavy gusts of wind were constantly sweeping the valley, and filling the air with sand, and the flies were so numerous and troublesome that they were a preventative to all work. i determined, therefore, before mr. browne and i should start for the interior, to remove the camp to the upper part of the glen. on the th we struck our tents and again pitched them close to the acacias. early on the morning of the th, i sent flood with lewis and sullivan, having the cart full of water, to preserve a certain course until i should overtake them, being myself detained in camp with mr. browne, in consequence of the arrival of several natives from whom we hoped to glean some information; but in this we were disappointed. toonda had continued with us as far as "parnari;" but on our moving up higher into the hills, his heart failed him, and he returned to cawndilla. at eleven, mr. browne and i took leave of mr. poole, and pursuing a course of degrees to the west of south, rode on to overtake the cart. at about four miles from the camp we crossed a small ironstone range, from which we saw flood and his party nearly at the foot of the hill on which i had directed him to move, and at which i intended to cross the ranges if the place was favourable. in this, however, we were disappointed, for the hills were too rugged, although of no great breadth or height. we were consequently obliged to turn to the south, and in going over the rough uneven ground, had the misfortune to burst our tank. i therefore desired lewis to stop, and gave the horses as much water as they would drink, still leaving a considerable quantity in the tank, of which i hoped we might yet avail ourselves. although we had found it impracticable to cross the ranges at the proposed point, mr. browne and i had managed to scramble up the most elevated part of them. we appeared still to be amidst broken stony hills, from which there was no visible outlet. there was a line of gum-trees, however, in a valley to the southwest of us, as if growing on the side of a creek that would in such case be tributary to the main creek on which our tents were pitched, and we hoped, by running along the base of the hills to the south and turning into the valley, to force our way onwards. at about three and a half miles our anticipations were verified by our arriving opposite to an opening leading northwards into the hills. this proved to be the valley we had noticed. a line of gum-trees marked the course of a small creek, which passing behind a little hill at the entrance of the valley, reappeared on the other side, and then trended to the n.w. entering the valley and pursuing our way up it, at two miles we crossed another small creek, tributary to the first, and at a mile beyond halted for the night, without having found water. although there was a little grass on the plains between the camp and the ranges, there was none in the valley in which we stopped. low bushes of rhagodia and atriplex were alone to be seen, growing on a red, tenacious, yet somewhat sandy soil, whilst the ranges themselves were covered with low brush. the water had almost all leaked out of the tank when we examined it, so that it was no longer of any service to us. on the morning of the th, therefore, i sent lewis and sullivan with the cart back to the camp, retaining flood and morgan to attend on mr. browne and myself. when we started i directed them to follow up the creek, which did not appear to continue much further, and on arriving at the head of it to cross the range, where it was low, in the hope that they would strike the opposite fall of waters in descending on the other side, whilst i went with mr. browne to a hill from which i was anxious to take bearings, although lewis, who had already been on the top of it, assured me that there was nothing new to be seen. however, we found the view to be extensive enough to enable us to judge better of the character of the country than from any other point on which we had yet been. it was traversed by numerous rocky ridges, that extended both to the north and south beyond the range of vision. many peaks shewed themselves in the distance, and i was enabled to connect this point with "coonbaralba," the hill above the camp. the ridge i had directed flood to cross was connected with this hill, and appeared to create a division of the waters thereabouts. all however to the north or northwest was as yet confused. there was no visible termination of the ranges in any direction, nor could we see any feature to guide us in our movements. the rock formation of this hill was a fine grained granite, and was in appearance a round and prominent feature. although its sides were covered with low dark brush, there was a considerable quantity of oat-grass in its deep and sheltered valleys. we soon struck on flood's track after leaving this hill, which, as lewis had been the first to ascend, i called "lewis's hill;" and riding up the valley along which the men had already passed, at six miles crossed the ridge, which (as we had been led to hope) proved to be the range dividing the eastern and western waters. on our descent from this ridge we proceeded to the north-west, but changed our course to north in following the cart tracks, and at four miles overtook flood and morgan on the banks of a creek, the channel of which, and the broad and better grassed valley through which it runs, we ourselves had several times crossed on our way down, and from the first had hoped to find it the main creek on the west side of the ranges. at the point where we overtook flood it had increased greatly in size, but we searched its hopeless bed in vain for water, and as it there turned too much to the eastward, for which reason flood had stopped until we should come up, we left it and crossed the low part of a range to our left; but as we were going too much to the south-west, i turned shortly afterwards into a valley that led me more in the direction in which i was anxious to proceed. the country had been gradually improving from the time we crossed the little dividing range, not so much in soil as in appearance, and in the quality of its herbage. there was a good deal of grass in the valleys, and up the sides of the hills, which were clear and open on the slopes but stony on their summits. after proceeding about two and a half miles, we got into a scrubby part of the hills, through which we found it difficult to push our way, the scrub being eucalyptus dumosa, an unusual tree to find in those hills. after forcing through the scrub for about half a mile, we were suddenly stopped by a succession of precipitous sandstone gullies, and were turned to the eastward of north down a valley the fall of which was to that point. this valley led us to that in which we had rejoined flood, but lower down; in crossing it we again struck on the creek we had then left, much increased in size, and with a row of gum-trees on either side of it, but its even broad bed composed of the cleanest gravel and sand, precluded the hope of our finding water. at about a mile, however, it entered a narrow defile in the range, and the hills closed rapidly in upon it. pursuing our way down the defile it gradually narrowed, the bed of the creek occupied its whole breadth, and the rocks rose perpendicularly on either side. we searched this place for water with the utmost care and anxiety, and i was at length fortunate enough to discover a small clear basin not a yard in circumference, under a rock on the left side of the glen. suspecting that this was supplied by surface drainage, we enlarged the pool, and obtained from it an abundance of the most delicious water we had tasted during our wanderings. mr. browne will i am sure bear the rocky glen in his most grateful remembrance. relieved from further anxiety with regard to our animals, he hastened with me to ascend one of the hills that towered above us to the height of feet, before the sun should set, but this was no trifling task, as the ascent was exceedingly steep. the view from the summit of this hill presented the same broken country to our scrutiny which i have before described, at every point excepting to the westward, in which direction the ranges appeared to cease at about six miles, and the distant horizon from s.w. to n.w. presented an unbroken level. the dark and deep ravine through which the creek ran was visible below us, and apparently broke through the ranges at about four miles to the w.n.w. but we could not see any water in its bed. it was sufficiently cheering to us however to know that we were near the termination of the ranges to the westward, and that the country we should next traverse was of open appearance. i had hoped from what we saw of it from the top of the hill above us, on the previous afternoon, that we should have had but little difficulty in following down the creek, but in this we were disappointed. we started at eight to pursue our journey, and kept for some time in its bed. the rock formation near and at our camp was trap, but at about a mile below it changed to a coarse grey granite, huge blocks of which, traversed by quartz, were scattered about. the defile had opened out a little below where we had slept, but it soon again narrowed, and the hills closed in upon it nearer than before. the bed of the creek at the same time became rocky, and blocked up with immense fragments of granite. we passed two or three pools of water, one of which was of tolerable size, and near it there were the remains of a large encampment of natives. near to it also there was a well, a sure sign that however deep the water-holes in the glen might now be, there are times when they are destitute of any. there can be no doubt, indeed, but that we owed our present supply of water both at this place and at the coonbaralba pass, to the rains that fell in the hills during the week we remained at williorara. soon after passing the native camp, our further progress was completely stopped by large blocks of granite, which, resting on each other, prevented the possibility of making a passage for the cart or even of advancing on horseback. in this predicament i sent flood to climb one of the hills to our left, to see if there was a leading spur by which we could descend to the plains; but on his return to us he said that the country was wholly impracticable, but that he thought we should see more of it from a hill he had noticed about three miles to the north-east. we accordingly left morgan with the horses and walked to it. we reached the summit after a fatiguing walk of an hour, but neither were we repaid for our trouble, nor was there anything in the view to lead us to hope for any change for the better. the character of the country had completely changed, and in barrenness it far exceeded that through which we had already passed. the line of hills extended from s.e. by s. to the opposite point of the compass, and formed a steep wall to shut out the level country below them. one might have imagined that an ocean washed their base, and i would that it really had been so, but a very different hue spread between them and the distant horizon than the deep blue of the sea. the nearer plains appeared of a lighter shade than the rest of the landscape, but there were patches of trees or shrubs upon them, which in the distance were blended together in universal scrub. a hill, which i had at first sight taken to be mount lyell of sir thomas mitchell, bore degrees to the east of north, distant miles, but as our observations placed us in degrees minutes seconds s. only, it could not have been that hill. to the south and east our view was limited, as the distant horizon was hid from our sight by higher ground near us, but there was a confused succession of hills and valleys in those directions, the sides of both being covered with low brush and huge masses of granite, and a dark brown sombre hue pervaded the whole scene. we could not trace the windings of the creek, but thought we saw gumtrees in the plains below us, to the n.e., indicating the course of a creek over them. some of the same trees were also visible to our left (looking-westward), and the ranges appeared less precipitous and lower in the same direction. we cast our eyes therefore to that point to break through them, and returned to morgan with at least the hope of success. in the view i had just then been contemplating, however, i saw all realized of what i had imagined of the interior, and felt assured that i had a work of extreme difficulty before me in the task of penetrating towards the centre. on our return to the cart, i determined on again taking up my quarters at the little rocky water-hole, and sending mr. browne and flood to the westward to find a practicable descent to the plains, before i again moved from the glen. in the evening, mr. browne went with flood down the creek, but the road was perfectly impracticable even for led horses, so that the only hope of progressing rested on the success that might attend his endeavours on the following day. he accordingly started with flood at an early hour, proposing to return by the way of the creek, if he should succeed in finding a descent to the plains. i and morgan remained in the glen. my observations placed this well-remembered spot in lat. degrees minutes seconds s. i had plenty of occupation during my officer's absence, whilst morgan was engaged looking over the harness and filling up the water-casks. at four, mr. browne returned, having succeeded beyond our most sanguine expectations, not only in finding an uninterrupted descent to the plains, but an abundance of water in the creek at the gorge of the glen; yet he was of opinion that we should not find any water below that point, as the creek there had a broad and even bed of sand and gravel. he said that the aspect of the plains was better than he had expected to find them, and he distinctly saw from the ranges, as he descended, the hills of whose existence we had had some doubt the day before, bearing n.n.w. thus, then, fortune once more befriended our movements, by enabling us to push on another day in advance, without being dependent on our own resources. morgan was too glad to empty the casks again, and to lighten the cart-load, with which, on the morning of the th, we left the glen, and gradually turned to the westward, until the hill we had walked to on the th, and which bore west by north from the place where we had left morgan with the cart, now bore w.n.w. pushing up a narrow valley, we found little difficulty in our way, and leaving the above hill somewhat to our right, we gradually descended by a long and leading spur to the cis-darling interior. we could now look back on the ranges from the depressed region into which we had fallen, nor could the eye follow their outline and glance over the apparently boundless plain beyond them, without feeling a conviction that they had once looked over the waters of the ocean as they then overlooked a sea of scrub. as soon as we had got well into the plains, we pursued a course of half a point to the eastward of north, nearly parallel to the ranges, until we reached the glen from which the creek issues, and formed our little camp on its banks. the water however was not good, so that we were obliged to send for some from a pool a little above us. in the bed of this creek we found beautiful specimens of solani, and a few new plants. i halted at this place in consequence of the resolution i had taken to push into the interior on the following morning. i was therefore anxious that the horses should start as fresh as possible, as we could not say where we should again find water. the direction of the hills was nearly north and south, extending at either hand to a distance beyond the range of vision or telescope. our observations here placed us in latitude degrees minutes seconds s., so that we were still nearly half a degree to the south of mount lyell, and a degree to the south of mount serle. i had little prospect of success, however, in pursuing a direct westerly course, as it would have led me into the visible scrub there; on the other hand i did not wish to move exactly parallel to the ranges, but, in endeavouring to gain a knowledge of the more remote interior, to keep such a course as would not take me too far from the hills in the event of my being obliged to fall back upon them. we started on the th, therefore, on a n.n.w. course, and on the bearing of the low hills we had seen to the westward, and which were now distinctly visible. for the first five miles we travelled over firm and open plains of clay and sand, similar to the soil of the plains of the murray. at length the ground became covered with fragments of quartz rock, ironstone, and granite. it appeared as if m'adam had emptied every stone he ever broke to be strewed over this metalled region. the edges of the stones were not, however, rounded by attrition, or mixed together, but laid on the plains in distinct patches, as if large masses of the different rocks had been placed at certain distances from each other and then shivered into pieces. the plains were in themselves of undulating surface, and appeared to extend to some low elevations on our left, connecting them with the main range as outer features; although in the distance they only shewed as a small and isolated line of hills detached about eleven miles from the principal groups, from which we were gradually increasing our distance. this outer feature prevented our seeing the north-west horizon until we gained an elevated part of it, whence it appeared that we should soon have to descend to lower ground than that on which we had been travelling. there was a small eminence that just shewed itself above the horizon to the n.n.w., and was directly in our course, enabling us to keep up our bearings with the loftier and still visible peaks on the ranges. we found the lower ground much less stony and more even than the higher ground, and our horses got well over it. at p.m. we observed a line of gum-trees before us, evidently marking the line of a creek, the upper branch of which we had already noticed as issuing from a deep recess in the range. at the distance we were from the hills, we had little hope of finding water; on approaching it, however, we alarmed some cockatoos and other birds, and observed the recent tracks of emus in the bed of the creek. flood, who had ridden a-head, went up it in search for water. mr. browne and i went downwards, and from appearances had great hopes that at a particular spot we should succeed by digging, more especially as on scraping away a little of the surface gravel with our hands, there were sufficient indications to induce us to set morgan to work with a spade, who in less than an hour dug a hole from which we were enabled to supply both our own wants and those of our animals; and as there was good grass in the creek, we tethered them out in comfort. this discovery was the more fortunate, as flood returned unsuccessful from his search. the gum-trees on this creek were of considerable size; and many of the shrubs we had found in the creek, at the glen, were in beautiful flower in its broad and gravelly bed, along which the clyanthus was running with its magnificent blossoms; a situation where i certainly did not expect to find that splendid creeper growing. it was exceedingly curious to observe the instinct which brought the smaller birds to our well. even whilst morgan was digging, and mr. browne and i sitting close to him, some diamond birds (amandina) were bold enough to perch on his spade; we had, in the course of the day, whilst passing over the little stony range, been attracted to a low banksia, by seeing a number of nests of these little birds in its branches, and of which there were no less than fourteen. in some of them were eggs, and in others young birds; so that it appeared they lived in communities, or congregated together to breed. but we had numberless opportunities of observing the habits of this interesting little bird, whose note cheered us for months, and was ever the forerunner of good, as indicating the existence of water. we placed the cart under a gum-tree, in which the cockatoos we had alarmed when descending into the creek had a nest. these noisy birds (plyctolophus leadbeaterii) kept incessantly screeching to their young, which answered them in notes that resembled the croaking of frogs, more than anything else. on the th we left the creek, well satisfied with our night's occupation of it, as also, i believe, to the still greater satisfaction of our noisy friends. for about two and a half or three miles there was every appearance of an improving country it was open, and in many places well covered with grass; and although at three miles it fell off a little, still the aspect on the northern side of the creek was, to a considerable distance, preferable to that on the south side. at a.m. we gained the crest of the little stony hill we had seen the day before to the n.n.w., and from it were enabled not only to take back bearings, but to carry others forward. we were fast losing sight of the hills, whose loftier summits alone were visible, yet we now saw fresh peaks to the north, which satisfied me that they continued in that direction far beyond the most distant one we had seen. from this circumstance i was led to hope that we might fall on another creek, and so gradually, but surely, work our way to the n.w. on descending from the little hill, however, we traversed an inferior country, and at two miles saw a few scattered pine-trees. shortly afterwards, on breaking through a low scrub, we crossed a ridge of sand, on which numerous pine-trees were growing. these ridges then occurred in rapid succession, separated by narrow flats only; the soil being of a bright red clay covered with rhagodiae, and having bare patches on them. the draught over this kind of country became a serious hindrance to our movements, as it was very heavy, and the day excessively hot, the horses in the team suffered much. i therefore desired morgan to halt, and, with mr. browne, rode forward in the hope of finding water, for he had shot a new and beautiful pigeon, on the bill of which some moist clay was adhering; wherefore we concluded that he had just been drinking at some shallow, but still unexhausted, puddle of water near us: we were, however unsuccessful in our search; but crossed pine ridge after pine ridge, until at length i thought it better to turn back to the cart, and, as we had already travelled some miles, to halt until the morning; more especially as there was no deficiency of grass on the sand ridges, and i did not apprehend that our horses would suffer much from the want of water. whatever idea i might have had of the character of the country into which we had penetrated, i certainly was not prepared for any so singular as that we encountered. the sand ridges, some partially, some thickly, covered with pine-trees, were from thirty to fifty feet high, and about eighty yards at their base, running nearly longitudinally from north to south. they were generally well covered with grass, which appeared to have been the produce of recent rains; and several very beautiful leguminous plants were also growing on them. i did not imagine that these ridges would continue much longer, and i therefore determined, the following morning to push on. our position was in lat. degrees minutes s. and in longitude degrees minutes e. nearly. on the morning of the th we commenced our day's journey on a n.w. course, as i had proposed to mr. browne. flood had been about half a mile to the eastward, in the hope of finding water before we rose, but was disappointed; the horses did not, however, appear to have suffered from the want of it during the night. on starting i requested mr. browne to make a circuit to the n.e. for the same purpose, as we had observed many birds fly past us in that direction; and i sent flood to the westward, but both returned unsuccessful. nevertheless, although we could not find any water, the country improved. the soil was still clay and sand, but we crossed some very fine flats, and only wanted water to enjoy comparative luxury. both the flats and the ridges were well clothed with grass, and the former had box-trees and hakeas scattered over them; but these favourable indications soon ceased. the pine ridges closed upon each other once more, and the flats became covered with salsolaceous plants. the day was exceedingly hot, and still more oppressive in the brushes, so that the horses began to flag. at p.m. no favourable change had taken place. our view was limited to the succeeding sand hill; nor, by ascending the highest trees, could we see any elevated land at that hour; therefore i stopped, as the cart got on so slowly, and as the horses would now, under any circumstances, be three days without water, i determined on retracing my steps to the creek in which we had dug the well. i directed mr. browne, with flood, however, to push on, till sunset, in the hope that he might see a change. at sunset i commenced my retreat, feeling satisfied that i had no hope of success in finding water so far from the hills. turning back at so late an hour in the afternoon, it was past midnight when we reached the sand ridge from which we had started in the morning; where we again stopped until dawn, when proceeding onwards, and passing a shallow puddle of surface water, that was so thick with mud and animalculae as to be unfit to drink, we gained the creek at half-past p.m. mr. browne and flood joined us some little time after sunset, having ridden about miles beyond the point at which we had parted, but had not noticed any change. the sandy ridges, mr. browne informed me, continued as far as he went; and, to all appearance, for miles beyond. the day we returned to the creek was one of most overpowering heat, the thermometer at noon being degrees in the shade. i had promised to wait for mr. browne at the shallow puddle, but the sun's rays fell with such intense effect on so exposed a spot that i was obliged to seek shelter at the creek. it blew furiously during the night of the th, in heated gusts from the north-east, and on the morning of the th the gale continued with unabated violence, and eventually became a hot wind. we were, therefore, unable to stir. the flies being in such myriads around us, so that we could do nothing. it is, indeed, impossible for me to describe the intolerable plague they were during the whole of that day from early dawn to sunset. on the night of the th it rained a little. about a.m. the wind blew round to the north-west, and at dawn we had a smart shower which cooled the air, reducing the temperature to something bearable. the sun rose amidst heavy clouds, by which his fiery beams were intercepted in their passage to the earth's surface. before we quitted our ground i sent flood up the creek, to trace it into the hills, an intention i was myself obliged to forego, being anxious to remain with the cart. the distance between the two creeks is about miles, but, as i have already described the intervening country, it may not be necessary to notice it further. i was unable to take many back bearings, as the higher portions of the ranges were enveloped in mist. we reached the glen at half-past p.m., and took up our old berth just at the gorge, preparatory to ascending the hills on the following day. flood had already arrived there, and informed me that he had not followed the creek to where it issued from the ranges, but had approached very nearly, and could see the point from which it broke through them. that he had not found any surface water, but had tried the ground in many places, and always found water at two or three inches depth, and that where the water was the most abundant the feed was also the most plentiful. as i had anticipated, we had heavy rain all night, and in the morning continual flying thunder-storms. we started, however, at eight, and, leaving the cart to push on for the rocky gully, mr. browne and i proceeded to ascend some of the higher peaks, which we had not had time to do in our advance. we accordingly turned into a narrow valley, in the middle of which was the bed of a rocky watercourse, and on either side of it were large clusters of the clematis in full flower, that, mixed with low bushes of jasmine, sent forth a most delicious perfume. after winding up this valley for about a mile and a half, we were stopped by a wall of rock right across it, and obliged to turn back. we were, however, more fortunate in our next attempt, and succeeded in gaining the summit of one of the loftiest hills on the range, on the very top of which we found large boulders of rocks, imbedded in the soil. they varied in size, from a foot in diameter to less, and were rounded by attrition, just like the rounded stones in the bed of a river, or on the sea shore. the hill itself was of schistose formation, the boulders of different kinds of rocks, and very sparingly scattered through the soil. we had scarcely reached the summit of this hill, when it was enveloped in thick clouds, from which the lightning flashed, and the thunder pealed close to us, and crack after crack reverberated along the valleys. it soon passed away, however, and left us well drenched, but the western horizon was still black with clouds. from this hill we proceeded to another, which at first sight i had thought was of volcanic origin, but proved to be like the first, of schistose formation, and was covered with low scrub. about p.m. we had finished our work, and the sun shone out. on looking back towards the plains we now saw them flashing in the light of waters, and i regretted that we had been forced to retreat before the rains set in. however, seeing that the country was now in a fitter state to travel over, i determined on returning with all speed, to give mr. poole an opportunity to pass to the point where i had been, whilst i should move the party over the hills. we struck across the ranges, direct for the rocky gully, from the last hill we ascended, and rode past some very romantic scenery, but i had not time to make any sketch of it. flood and morgan had already arrived in the glen, and tethered out the horses in some long grass. at this place we were about miles distant from the camp; but, as the cart could not travel so far in one day, i directed the men to bring it up, and on the morning of the th left them for the camp, with mr. browne, where we arrived at sunset. but little rain had fallen during the day, still it was easy to foretell that it had not ceased. the wind, for the last three days, had been blowing from the n.w., but on the th flew round to the s.e., and although no rain fell during the day, heavy clouds surrounded us. considering, however, the rapidity of evaporation in such a climate, and the certainty that the rains would be followed by extreme heat, i was anxious that mr. poole should proceed on his journey without delay, he accordingly prepared to leave us on the th. the reader will have inferred, from what i have said on the subject, that my object at this particular time was to attain the meridian of mount arden, as soon as circumstances should enable me. had not this intention influenced me, on my recent journey, i should have kept nearer to the ranges; but i hoped, by taking a westerly course, that i should strike the n.e. angle of lake torrens, or find that i had altogether cleared it; added to this mr. eyre had informed me that he could not see the northern shore of that lake; i therefore thought that it might be connected with some more central body of water, the early discovery of which, in my progress to the n.w., would facilitate my future operations. this was a point whereon i was most anxious to obtain information; but, as my horses were knocked up, it appeared to me, that mr. poole, with fresh horses, would find no difficulty in gaining a distance sufficiently great to enable me to act on the knowledge he might acquire of the distant interior. in my instructions to that officer therefore, i directed him to pursue a general n.w. course, as the one most likely to determine the questions on the several points to which i called his attention. "should you," i said, "reach the shores of lake torrens, or any body of water of unknown extent, you will endeavour to gain every information on that head; but if you should not strike any basin of either description, you will do your uttermost to ascertain if a westerly course is open to us, after you shall have reached lat. degrees to enable me to gain the degrees meridian, as soon as circumstances will permit. should the supply of water which the recent rains will ensure for a time, be likely to fail, or if the rains should not have extended so far as you would desire to go, and your advance be thus rendered hazardous, it will be discretionary with you to return direct to the camp, or turn to the eastward, and proceed along the western flanks of the ranges, but you are on no account to endanger either yourself or party by an attempt to push into the interior, to a distance beyond that which prudence might reasonably justify. should you return along the ranges you will examine any creek or water-course you may intersect, and bring me the fullest information as to the supply of water and feed. should you, on the other hand, discover any very extensive sheet of water, you will, after ascertaining its extent and direction, as far as your means will allow, return immediately to the camp; as, in the event of our requiring the boat, many necessary preparations will have to be made, that will take a considerable length of time to complete, during which the examination of the country to the north can be carried on with advantage. "you will select the men you would wish to accompany you, and will provide as well for your comfort as safety; for although these regions do not seem to be inhabited at the present moment, at least in that part from whence i have just returned, it will be necessary for you to be always on your guard, even although no apparent danger may be near." mr. browne had greatly recovered from his late indisposition, and as mr. poole intimated to me that he had expressed his willingness to accompany him, i had several reasons for giving my assent to this arrangement. on the morning of the th it still continued to rain, insomuch that i was anxious mr. poole should postpone his departure, but clearing up at noon, he left me and proceeded on his journey. in the evening, however, we had heavy and violent showers; all night it poured in torrents with thunder and lightning, but the morning of the st was clear and fine. a vast quantity of rain however had fallen. the creek was overflowing its banks, and the ground in such a state that it would have been impossible to have moved the drays. the temperature was exceedingly cold, although the thermometer did not fall below degrees at half-past p.m. the hottest part of the day. such a temperature i am aware would be considered agreeable in england, but in a climate like that of australia, where the changes are so sudden, they are more severely felt. only a few days before the thermometer had ranged from degrees to degrees in the shade, thus at once causing a difference of degrees and degrees, and i am free to say that it was by no means agreeable. on the nd i commenced my advance over the ranges, although the ground was hardly then in a condition to bear the weight of the drays. we were indeed obliged to keep on the banks of the creek as they were higher and firmer than the plains, but after all we only made seven miles and halted, i had almost said without water, for notwithstanding the recent rains, there was not a drop in the bed of the creek, nor could we get any other than a scanty supply by digging; jones, however, one of the bullock drivers, found a shallow pool upon the plains to which the cattle were driven. on the way i ascended a small hill composed of mica slate, and on its summit found two or three specimens of tourmaline. the boiling point of water on this hill was degrees, the thermometer stood at degrees. on the th we crossed the little dividing range connected with lewis's hill, which last i again ascended to verify my bearings, as we had erected three pyramids on the coonbaralla range that were visible from it. i also availed myself of the slow progress of the drays, to ascend a hill at some little distance from our line, which was considerably higher than any of those near it, and was amply rewarded for my trouble by the extensive view it afforded. our specimens and collections were at this period exceedingly limited, nor did there appear to be any immediate chance of increasing them. the most numerous of the feathered race were the owls, (strix flameus.) these birds flew about in broad daylight, and kept the camp awake all night by their screeching, it being at that time the breeding season. the young birds generally sat on a branch near the hole in which they had been hatched, and set up a most discordant noise about every quarter of an hour, when the old ones returned to them with food. on trying the thermometers, one on lewis's hill, and the other on the black hill, i found that they boiled at degrees and degrees respectively. on the th jones was unfortunate enough to snap the pole of his dray, and i was consequently detained on the th repairing it. i was the more vexed at the accident, being anxious to push over the ranges and gain the plains, in order to prevent mr. poole the necessity of re-ascending them. i felt satisfied that i should find a sufficiency both of water and feed at the gorge of the rocky glen, to enable me to rest until more thorough knowledge of the country could be gained, whilst by encamping at that place i should save mr. poole a journey of miles. as we descended from the ranges i observed that all the water i had seen glittering on the plains had disappeared; i found too that the larger water-hole in the glen had rather fallen than increased during the rains. the fact however was, that the under-drainage had not yet reached the lower part of the gully. we were now about miles from the second creek mr. browne and i had crossed on our recent excursion, and from flood's examination of it afterwards, i felt assured that unless a party was sent forward to dig a large hole for the cattle i could not prudently advance any farther for the present; but being anxious to push on, and hoping that the late rains had increased the supply of water in the creek, i sent flood on the th with two of the men (joseph and sullivan) to dig a tank in the most favourable spot he could select, and followed him with the drays on the th. wishing however to examine the country a little to the westward, i desired the men to keep on the plains about two miles from the foot of the ranges, until they should strike the creek or flood should join them, and did not reach the encampment before eight o'clock. flood then told me that he had been to the place where he had before found most surface water; but that, notwithstanding the rains, it was all gone. he had tried the creek downwards, and had at length sunk a tank opposite to a little gully, thinking that it might influence the drainage. the tank was quite full, and continued so for two or three days after, when, without any great call upon it from the cattle, it sensibly diminished, and at length dried up, and we should have been obliged to fall back, if in tracing up the little gully we had not found a pond that enabled us to keep our ground. it often happened that we thus procured water in detached localities when there was not a drop in the main channels of the creeks. at this place the boiling point of the thermometer was degrees; thus bringing us again pretty nearly on a level with the ocean, although we were at the time distant from it more than miles. at this period we had frequent heavy winds, with a heated temperature: yet our animals, if i except the dogs, did not suffer much. the sheep, it is true, would sometimes refuse to stir, and assemble in the shade, when on the march, whilst the dogs took shelter in wambut holes, and poking their heads out, would bark at their charge to very little purpose. it was evident, indeed, that the heat was fast increasing, and what we had already experienced was only an earnest of that which was to follow. mr. poole had now been absent thirteen days, and i began to be anxious for his return. our march to the second creek had again shortened his homeward journey miles, and as i felt assured he would cross the creek at the point where we had dug the well, i stuck a pole up in it, with instructions, and on the nd december he rode into the camp with mr. browne, both much fatigued, as well as their horses. i had been engaged the greater part of the day fixing the points for another base line, as i was fearful that the angles of our first were too acute, and found that the party had got back on my return to the camp. mr. poole informed me that as soon as the weather cleared, after leaving me on the range, he had pushed on. that on the th he left my cart tracks as they turned to the n.w., and continued the n.n.w. course as i had directed. on that day he encamped early at a good water-hole, as the horses had travelled fast; the country thereabouts had become more open, but water was exceedingly scarce. on this day he ascended a small sandstone hill, from which some high peaks on the range bore s.s.e. on the th he had not advanced miles, when the pack-horse fell exhausted by heat. mr. poole then consulted with mr. browne, and it was thought better by both to travel at night, and they accordingly did so. the country by moonlight appeared more open, and the water seemed to be in greater abundance, as if much more rain had fallen thereabouts than to the south. they continued a n.n.w. course until daylight, when they halted, and mr. browne ascended a sand hill, from whence he saw peaks on the range bearing to the north of east, and the mount serle range, bearing due west, distant miles. the latter circumstance induced mr. poole, when he again resumed his journey, to change his course to west, in the hope that as he had passed the th parallel he should find lake torrens between himself and the ranges. accordingly, on starting at p.m. they went on that course, and halted at dawn on a swampy flat, under a gum-tree. mr. poole subsequently ascertained that the swamp was the head of a little creek falling into the sandy lake, where he afterwards terminated his journey. the country had now assumed a very barren appearance. at sunrise mr. poole and mr. browne ascended another sand hill, from whence they again saw the hills to the westward, seemingly very high and steep; but there was no sign of an intermediate basin, the country towards the ranges bearing a most sterile aspect. here mr. browne saw a new pigeon, which had a very singular flight. on the afternoon of the th the party moved on a course of degrees to the south of west, down a leading valley, the country becoming still more barren, the sand ridges quite bare, and only an occasional hakea on the flats. at eight miles on the above course, and from the top of a sandy ridge at the distance of two miles, they saw a sheet of water about a mile and a half in length, in a sandy bed extending to the north, without any visible termination. there was another sheet of water to the south of this in the same kind of bed, connected with the larger one by a dry channel. it appeared from the lay of the country that these sheets of water were formed by drainage from the barren ranges from which mr. poole calculated he was to miles distant. the lakes were about three miles in length, taking the two together, the water was slightly brackish, and in mr. poole's opinion they might during the summer season be dry. he again ascended the sandy ridge and observed that he was immediately opposite to three remarkable peaks, similar to those marked down by mr. eyre. the party then turned homewards, and encamped on the creek at the head of which they had slept the night before, where they could hardly rest for the swarms of mosquitos. pursuing their journey towards the camp on the following morning, keeping some few miles to the westward of their former line, they passed through a similar country. at noon, on the st of december, they were still amongst the pine ridges; after noon the country began to improve, and they rode across large plains well grassed and covered with acacia trees of fine growth, but totally destitute of water; they were in consequence obliged to tether the horses all night. they reached the creek in which i had erected the pole, early on the following morning, and there found the paper of instructions informing them of the removal of the camp to within a mile of where they then were. it was evident from the result of this excursion, and from the high northerly point mr. poole had gained, that he had either struck the lower part of the basin of lake torrens or some similar feature. it was at the same time, however, clear that the country was not favourable for any attempt to penetrate, since there was no surface water. i felt indeed that it would be imprudent to venture with heavily loaded drays into such a country; but although i found a westerly course as yet closed upon me, i still hoped that we should find larger waters in the north-west interior, from the fact of the immense number of bitterns, cranes, and other aquatic birds, the party flushed in the neighbourhood of the lakes. whence could these birds (more numerous at this point than we ever afterwards saw them) have come from? to what quarter do they go? they do not frequent the murray or the darling in such numbers, neither do they frequent the southern portion of the coast. if then they are not to be found in those localities, what waters do they inhabit in the interior? on the th i sent flood to the north in search of water, directing him to keep at a certain distance from the ranges, with especial instructions not to proceed beyond or miles, but in the event of his finding water within that distance to return immediately to the camp. during his absence i was abundantly occupied, and anxious that mr. poole and mr. browne should have a little rest after their late journey. both those gentlemen were however too interested in the service in which they were engaged to remain idle when they could be usefully employed. mr. poole went out with me on the th and th to assist in the measurement of the new base line i had deemed it prudent to run, for the purpose, as i have said, of correcting any previous error. mr. piesse examined the pork, and according to my instructions made out a list of the stores on hand, when i found it necessary to make a reduction in the allowance of tea and sugar, in consequence of the loss of weight. the former from oz. to oz. per week, the latter from lb. to / lb. the heat had now become excessive, the thermometer seldom falling under degrees, and rising to degrees and degrees in the shade. the surface of the ground never cooled, and it was with difficulty that we retained any stones in our hands that had been exposed to the sun; still we had not as yet experienced a hot wind. the existing heat was caused by its radiation from the earth's surface and the intensity of the solar rays. the horses mr. poole had out with him, had suffered a good deal, and considering that if the country should continue as heretofore, and we should be obliged to hunt incessantly for water, we should require relays, i thought it advisable to do away with the horse-team, as the consumption of provisions now enabled me to divide the load the horses had drawn equally amongst the bullocks. we finished the base line on the th, and i was glad to find that it was of sufficient length to ensure a favourable result, it being rather more than miles. all drainage in the creek had now ceased, and we were therefore dependent on the water in the gully, which, although invaluable as a present supply, would soon have been exhausted, where our total consumption could not have been less than from to gallons a day, for the horses and bullocks drank a fearful quantity. had flood been unsuccessful in the object of his journey, therefore, i should in the course of a few days have been obliged to fall back, but he returned on the th, bringing news that he had found a beautiful little creek, in which there were long deep water-holes shaded by gum-trees, with an abundance of grass in its neighbourhood. this creek he said was about miles in advance, but there was no water between us and it. he also confirmed an impression i had had on my mind from our first crossing the barrier range, that it would not continue to any great distance northwards; flood said that from what he could observe the hills appeared to be gradually declining, as if they would soon terminate. he saw three native women at the creek, but did not approach them, thinking it better not to excite their alarm. these were the first natives we had seen on the western side of the hills. on the th we again moved forward, on a course a little to the eastward of north, over the barren, stony, and undulating ground that lies between the main and outer ranges. the discovery of this creek by flood, so much finer than any we had hitherto crossed, led me to hope that if the mountains should cease i might fall in with other ranges beyond them coming from the north-east, as forming the northwest slope of the valley of the darling. i was anxious, therefore, to examine the ranges as we advanced, and leaving the party in mr. poole's charge, rode away to ascend some of the hills and to take bearings from them to some particular peaks, the bearing of which had already been taken from different elevations; but from no hill to which i went could a view of the south-west horizon be obtained, so much lower had the hills become, and from their general aspect i was fully satisfied that we should soon arrive at their termination. from the last point i ascended, as from others, there was a large mountain bearing n.e. by n. from me, distant or miles, which i rightly judged to be mount lyell. it was a bold, round hill, without any particular feature, but evidently the loftiest connected with the barrier range. mount babbage bore n. by e. and was only just visible above the dark scrubs between me and it. the teams were keeping rather nearer the hills than flood had gone, and were moving directly for a line of trees apparently marking the course of a creek. on my way to overtake the party, i met mr. browne and flood on the plains, with whom i rode back. as we crossed these plains we flushed numerous pigeons--a pair, indeed, from under almost every bush of rhagodia that we passed. this bird was similar to one mr. browne had shot in the pine forest, and this was clearly the breeding season; there were no young birds, and in most of the nests only one egg. we should not, however, have encumbered ourselves with any of the young at that time, but looked to a later period for the chance of being able to take some of that beautiful description of pigeon home with us. the old birds rose like grouse, and would afford splendid shooting if found in such a situation at any other period than that of incubation; at other times however, as i shall have to inform the reader, they congregate in vast flocks, and are migratory. fortunately, at that part of the creek where the party struck it, there was a small pool of water, at which we gladly halted for the night, having travelled about miles; our journey to flood's creek on the following day was comparatively short. flood had not at all exaggerated his account of this creek, which, as an encouragement, i named after him. it was certainly a most desirable spot to us at that time; with plenty of water, it had an abundance of feed along its banks; but our tents were pitched on the rough stony ground flanking it, under cover of some small rocky hills. to the north-west there was a very pretty detached range, and westward large flooded flats, through which the creek runs, and where there was also an abundance of feed for the stock. although, as i have observed, the heat was now very great, the cereal grasses had not yet ripened their seed, and several kinds had not even developed the flower. everything in the neighbourhood of the creek looked fresh, vigorous, and green, and on its banks (not, i would observe, on the plains, because on them there was a grass peculiar to such localities) the animals were up to their knees in luxuriant vegetation. we there found a native wheat, a beautiful oat, and a rye, as well as a variety of grasses; and in hollows on the plains a blue or purple vetch not unusual on the sand ridges, of which the cattle were very fond. in crossing the stony plains to this creek we picked up a number of round balls, of all sizes, from that of a marble to that of a cannon ball; they were perfect spheres, and hollow like shells, being formed of clay and sand cemented by oxide of iron. some of these singular balls were in clusters like grape-shot, others had rings round them like saturn's ring; and as i have observed, the plains were covered with them in places. there can be no doubt, i think, but that they were formed by the action of water, and that constant rolling, when they were in a softer state, gave them their present form. the day succeeding that of our arrival at flood's creek was one of tremendous heat; but in the afternoon the wind flew round to the s.w. from the opposite point of the compass, and it became cooler. on the th, i detached mr. poole and mr. browne, with a fortnight's provisions, to the n.e. in search of water. it may appear that i had given these officers but a short respite from their late labours; but the truth is that a camp life is a monotonous one, and both enjoyed such excursions, and when there was no necessity for other arrangements, as they evinced a great interest in the expedition, i was glad to contribute to their pleasures, and should have rejoiced if it had fallen to their lot to make any new and important discovery. my instructions to mr. poole on these occasions were general. to keep a course somewhat to the eastward of north, but to be guided by circumstances. i thought it better to give him that discretionary power, since i could not know what changes might take place in the country. i sent flood at the same time to ride along the base of the ranges; but desired him not to be absent more than three or four days, as i myself contemplated an excursion to the eastward, to examine the country on that side as i passed up it. the reader will observe, that although slowly, we were gradually, and, i think, steadily working our way into the interior. at that time i hoped with god's blessing we should have raised the veil that had so long hung over it, more effectually than we did. up to that period we had been exceedingly fortunate; nothing had occurred to disturb the tranquillity of our proceedings; no natives to interrupt our movements; no want either of water or grass for our cattle, however scarce the parties scouring the country might have found it; no neglect on the part of the men, and a consequent efficient state of the whole party. but time brings round events to produce a change in all things; the book of fate being closed to our inspection, it is only from the past that we discover what its pages before concealed from us. chapter v. native women--sudden squall--journey to the eastward--view from mount lyell--increased temperature--mr. poole's return--his report--leave flood's creek--entangled in the pine forest--drive the cattle to water--extricate the party--state of the men--mr. poole and mr. browne leave the camp--proceed northwards--capt. sturt leaves for the north--rapid disappearance of water--muddy creek--geological formation--gypsum--push on to the ranges--return to the creek--again ascend the ranges--find water beyond them--proceed to the w.n.w.--return to the ranges--ants and flies--turn to the eastward--no water--return to the camp--mr. poole finds water--mack's adventure with the natives--move the camp. i was much surprised that the country was not better inhabited than it appeared to be; for however unfit for civilized man, it seemed a most desirable one for the savage, for there was no want of game of the larger kind, as emus and kangaroos, whilst in every tree and bush there was a nest of some kind or other, and a variety of vegetable productions of which these rude people are fond. yet we saw not more than six or seven natives during our stay in the neighbourhood of flood's creek. one morning some of the men had been to the eastward after the cattle, and on their return informed me that they had seen four natives at a distance. on hearing this i ordered my horse to be saddled, with the intention of going after them; but just at that moment tampawang called out that there were three blacks crossing from the flats, to the eastward, i therefore told him to follow me, and started after them on foot. the ground was very stony, so that the poor creatures, though dreadfully alarmed, could not get over it, and we rapidly gained upon them. at last, seeing there was no escape, one of them stopped, who proved to be an old woman with two younger companions. i explained to her when she got calm, for at first she was greatly frightened, that my camp was on the creek, and i wanted the blackfellows to come and see me; and taking tampawang's knife, which hung by a string round his neck, i shewed the old lady the use of it, and putting the string over her head, patted her on the back and allowed her to depart. to my surprise, in about an hour and a half after, seven natives were seen approaching the camp, with the slowness of a funeral procession. they kept their eyes on the ground, and appeared as if marching to execution. however, i made them sit under a tree; a group of seven of the most miserable human beings i ever saw. poor emaciated creatures all of them, who no doubt thought the mandate they had received to visit the camp was from a superior being, and had obeyed it in fear and trembling. i made them sit down, gave them a good breakfast and some presents, but could obtain no information from them; when at length they slunk off and we never saw anything more of them. the men were circumcised, but not disfigured by the loss of the front teeth, perfectly naked, rather low in stature, and anything but good looking. on the th, about midnight, we had a violent squall that at once levelled every tent in the camp to the ground. it lasted for about half an hour with terrific fury, but gradually subsided as the cloud from behind which it burst passed over us. a few drops of rain then fell and cooled the air, when i called all hands to replace the tents. i was up writing at the time, and of a sudden found myself sitting without anything above me save the blue vault of heaven. my papers, etc. were carried away, and the men could scarcely hear one another, so furiously did the wind howl in the trees. on the th i left the camp in charge of mr. piesse my store-keeper, and with mr. stuart and flood crossed the ranges to the eastward, intending to examine the country between us and the darling. immediately on the other side of the range there was a plain of great width, and beyond, at a distance of between and miles, was a range of hills running parallel to those near the camp. they terminated however at a bold hill, bearing e.n.e. from me, it was evidently of great height; beyond this hill there was another still higher to the north-east, which i believe was mount lyell. the first portions of the plain were open, and we could trace several creeks winding along them, but the distant parts were apparently covered with dense and black scrub. descending to the eastward towards the plains we rode down a little valley, in which we found a small pool of water; at this we stopped for a short time, but as the valley turned too much to the north i left it, and pursuing an easterly course over the plains halted at seven miles, and slept upon them, under some low bushes. the early part of the day had been warm, with the wind at n.e., but in the evening it changed to the south, and the night was bitterly cold. on the morning of the th we were obliged to wrap ourselves up as well as we could, the wind still blowing keenly from the south. we travelled for more than five miles over grassy plains, and crossed the dry beds of several lagoons, in which not very long before there might have been water. at nine miles we entered a dense brush of pinetrees, acacia and other shrubs growing on pure sand. through this we rode for more than miles, to the great labour of our animals, as the soil was loose, and we had constantly to turn suddenly to avoid the matted and fallen timber. in this forest the temperature was quite different from that on the plains, and as we advanced it became perfectly oppressive. at about miles we ascended a small clear sandy knoll, from whence we had a full view of mount lyell. i had expected that we should have found some creek near it, but the moment my eye fell on that naked and desolate mountain my hopes vanished. we had now approached it within five miles, and could discover its barren character. although of great height ( feet), there did not appear to be a blade of vegetation, excepting on the summit, where there were a few casuarinae, but the pines grew high up in its rugged ravines, and the brush continued even to its base. i still however hoped that from the top we should see some creek or other, but in this expectation we were also disappointed. the same kind of dark and gloomy brush extended for miles all round, nor could we either with the eye or the telescope discover any change. again to the eastward there were distant ranges, but no prominent hill or mountain to be seen. one dense forest lay between us and them, within which i could not hope to find water, and as we had been without from the time we left the little creek in the ranges near the camp, i determined on retracing my steps, my object in this journey having been fully gratified by the results. the country through which we had passed was barren enough, but that towards the darling was still worse. i should, however, have pushed on to mount babbage, which loomed large and bore a little to the eastward of north; but i did not see that i should gain anything by prolonging my journey. we were now about miles from the camp, and there was little likelihood of our finding any water on our way back; when we descended from the hill, therefore, i pressed into the pine forest, as far as i could, and then halted. on the following morning we crossed the plains more to the north than we had before done. about a.m. we struck a creek, and startled a native dog in its bed which ran along the bank. in following this animal we stumbled on a pool of water, and stopped to breakfast. wishing to examine the country there as far to the north as possible on my way back, i passed over the northern extremity of the ranges. they there appeared gradually to terminate, and a broad belt of pine scrub from the westward stretched across the country, below me, to the east, until it joined the forest, through a lower part of which we had penetrated to mount lyell; but beyond this scrub nothing was to be seen. on my return to the camp i examined the drays, and found that the hot weather had had a tremendous effect on the wheels; the felloes had shrunk greatly, and the tyres of all were loose. i therefore had them wedged and put into serviceable condition. the heat at this period was every day increasing, and it blew violently from whatever point of the compass the wind came. on the th i examined the stock, and was glad to find they were all in good condition, the horses fast recovering from their late fatigues, the cattle in excellent order, and the sheep really fat. mr. stuart was generally employed over the chart, which now embraced more than miles of a hilly country, and i was happy to find that our angles agreed. as i have already observed, there were a great variety of the cereal grasses about flood's creek, but they merely occupied a small belt on either side of it. all the grasses were exceedingly green, and there was a surprising appearance of verdure along the creek. beyond it, on both sides, were barren stony plains, on which salsolaceous plants alone grew. about miles to the westward the pine ridges commenced, and between us and these were large flats of grassy land, over which the waters of the creek spread in times of flood. the white owl here appeared, like other birds, at noon-day; but there were also numerous other night birds. here too the black-shouldered hawk collected in flights of thirty or forty constantly on the wing, but we never saw them take any prey; nor, (although we invariably examined their gizzards,) could we discover upon what they lived. our lunars placed us in long. degrees minutes seconds e. and lat. degrees minutes seconds s. up to this point we had traversed nothing but a desert, which, as far as our examinations had extended, was worse on either side than the line on which we were moving; how much further that gloomy region extended, or rather how far we were destined to wander into it, was then a mystery. the heat now became so great that it was almost unbearable, the thermometer every day rose to degrees or degrees in the shade, whilst in the direct rays of the sun from degrees to degrees. i really felt much anxiety on account of mr. poole and mr. browne, who did not return to the camp until the th. so great was the heat, that the bullocks never quitted the shade of the trees during the day, and the horses perspired from their exertions to get rid of the mosquitos. on the nd the natives fired the hills to the north of us, and thus added to the heat of the atmosphere, and filled the air with smoke. at a.m. on the morning of that day the thermometer stood at degrees; at noon it had risen degrees, and at p.m., the hottest period of the day, it rose to degrees in the shade. the wind was generally from the e.s.e., but it drew round with the sun, and blew fresh from the north at mid-day, moderating to a dead calm at sunset, or with light airs from the west. a deep purple hue was on the horizon every morning and evening, opposite to the rising and setting sun, and was a sure indication of excessive heat. on the rd i sent flood and lewis to the n.e., with instructions to return on christmas-day. at this time the men generally complained of disordered bowels and sore eyes, but i attributed both to the weather, and to the annoyance of the flies and mosquitos. the seeds were ripening fast along the banks of the creek, and we collected as many varieties as we could; but they matured so rapidly, and the seed-vessels burst so suddenly that we had to watch them. the comet, which we had first noticed on the th of the month, now appeared much higher and brighter than at first. its tail had a slight curve, and it seemed to be rather approaching the earth than receding from it. on the morning of the th, about a.m., i was roused from sleep by an alarm in the camp, and heard a roaring noise as of a heavy wind in that direction. hastily throwing on my clothes, i rushed out, and was surprised to see jones's dray on fire; the tarpaulin was in a blaze, and caused the noise i have mentioned. as this dray was apart from the others, and at a distance from any fire, i was at a loss to account for the accident; but it appeared that jones had placed a piece of lighted cowdung under the dray the evening before, to drive off the mosquitos, which must have lodged in the tarpaulin and set it on fire. two bags of flour were damaged, and the outside of the medicine chest was a good deal scorched, but no other injury done. the tarpaulin was wholly consumed, and jones lost the greater part of his clothes, a circumstance i should not have regretted if he had been in a situation to replace them. flood returned on the th, at p.m., having found water in several places, but none of a permanent kind like that in the creek. he had fallen on a small and shallow lagoon, and had seen a tribe of natives, who ran away at his approach, although he tried to invite them to remain. about an hour before sunset mr. poole and mr. browne returned, to the great relief of my mind; for, with every confidence in their prudence, i could not help being anxious in such a situation as that in which i was placed, my only companions having then been many days absent. they had nearly reached the th parallel, and had discovered an abundance of water, but mr. poole was more sanguine than mr. browne of its permanency. the first water they found at the commencement of their journey, was at a distance of miles and upwards, and as i felt assured we should have great difficulty in taking the cattle so far without any, i sent flood, on the th, to try if he could find some intermediate pool at which i could stop. mr. poole informed me that the ranges still continued to the north, but that they were changed in character, and he thought they would altogether terminate ere long. he also reported to me that the day he left the camp he pursued a n.n.e. course, skirting an acacia scrub, and that arriving at a small puddle of water at miles, he halted. that on the th he started at six, and after travelling about three miles first got a view of distant ranges to the north; he soon afterwards entered an acacia scrub, and at miles crossed a creek, the course of which was to the s.w., but there was no water in it. at five the party reached the hills, the acacia scrub continuing to within a mile of them; and as the day had been exceedingly warm, mr. poole encamped in a little gully. he then walked with mr. browne to the top of the nearest hill, and from it observed two lines of gum-trees in the plains below them to the north, which gave them hopes of finding water in the morning, as they were without any. saw two detached ranges bearing degrees and degrees respectively, and a distant flat-topped hill, bearing degrees from them, the country appearing to be open to the north. on the th, the party pushed on at an early hour for the gum-trees, but found no water. observed numerous flights of pigeons going to the n.w. traced the creek down for two miles, when they arrived at a place where the natives had been digging for water; here mr. poole left mr. browne and went further down the creek, when he succeeded in his search; but finding, on his return, that mr. browne and mack had cleared out the well and got a small supply of water, with which they had relieved the horses and prepared breakfast, he did not return to the water he had discovered, but proceeded to the next line of gum-trees where there was another creek, but without water in it; coming on a small quantity in its bed at two miles, however, they encamped. a meridian altitude of aldebaran here gave their latitude degrees minutes seconds s. on the following morning mr. poole started on a w.n.w. course for a large hill, from whence he was anxious to take bearings, and which he reached and ascended after a journey of miles. from this hill, which he called the magnetic hill (mount arrowsmith), because on it the north point of the compass deviated to within degrees of the south point, he saw high ranges to the north and north-east; a hill they had already ascended bore degrees minutes, and the flat-topped hill degrees minutes. from the magnetic hill, mr. poole went to the latter, and ascended the highest part of it. the range was rugged, and composed of indurated quartz, and there was a quantity of gypsum in round flat pieces scattered over the slopes of the hills. the country to the w. and w.n.w. appeared to be very barren. the range on which they were was perfectly flat at the top, and covered with the same vegetation as the plains below. from this point mr. poole went to the north, but at miles changed his course to the n.e. for three miles, when he intersected a creek with gum-trees, and shortly afterwards found a large supply of permanent water. their latitude at this point was degrees minutes s., and up to it no change for the better had taken place in the appearance of the country. on monday, the th, mr. poole ascended several hills to take bearings before he moved on; he then proceeded up the creek to the north-west, and passed from fifteen to twenty large water-holes. at about three miles, mr. poole found himself on an open table land, on which the creek turned to the west. he, therefore, left it, and at two miles crossed a branch creek with water and grass. at / miles farther to the north crossed another creek, followed it for a mile, when it joined a larger one, the course of which was to the north-east. in this creek there were numerous large pools of water. crossing it, mr. poole ascended a hill to take bearings, from which he descended to a third creek, where he stopped for the night. on the following morning he continued his journey to the north, being anxious to report to me the character of the ranges. at miles over open plains he intersected a creek trending to the eastward, in which there was an abundant supply of water; but this creek differed from the others in having muddy water, and but little vegetation in its neighbourhood. passed some native huts, and saw twenty wild turkeys. at miles from this creek mr. poole struck another, the ranges being still miles distant. the horses having travelled for the last miles over barren stony plains, had lost their shoes, and were suffering greatly. mr. poole, therefore, stopped at this place, and on consulting with mr. browne, determined to return to the camp without delay. accordingly on the following morning he rode to the hills with mr. browne, leaving mack with the other horses to await his return, and at a.m. ascended the range. the view from it was not at all encouraging. the hills appeared to trend to the n.e., and were all of them flat-topped and treeless. the country to the west and north-west was dark with scrub, and the whole region barren and desolate. after taking bearings, mr. poole descended, returned to the creek on which he had left mack, and as i have already stated, reached the camp on the evening of the th. it will be obvious to the reader that the great danger i had to apprehend was that of having my retreat cut off from the failure of water in my rear; or if i advanced without first of all exploring the country, of losing the greater number of my cattle. it may be said that my officers had now removed every difficulty; but notwithstanding that mr. poole was sanguine in his report of the probable permanency of the water he had found, i hesitated whether to advance or not; but considering that under all circumstances the water they had found would still be available for a considerable time, and that it would enable me to push still further to the north, i decided on moving forward at once; but the weather was at this time so terrifically hot, that i hardly dared move whilst it continued, more especially as we had so great a distance to travel without water. i kept the party in readiness, however, to move at a moment's notice. on the th we had thunder, but no rain fell, and the heat seemed rather to increase than to decrease. on the th, at p.m., the wind suddenly flew round to the south, and it became cooler. in hopes that it would continue, i ordered the tents to be struck, and we left flood's creek at half-past . as soon as i had determined on moving, i directed mr. poole to lead on the party in the direction he thought it would be best to take, and mounting my horse, rode with mr. browne and mr. stuart towards the ranges, to take bearings from a hill i had intended to visit, but had been prevented from doing in consequence of the extreme heat of the weather. i did not, indeed, like leaving the neighbourhood without going to this hill. the distance, however, was greater than it appeared to be, and it was consequently late before we reached it; but once on the top we stood on the highest and last point of the barrier range; for although, as we shall learn, other ranges existed to the north, there was a broad interval of plain between us and them, nor were they visible from our position. we stood, as it were, in the centre of barrenness. i feel it impossible, indeed, to describe the scene, familiar as it was to me. the dark and broken line of the barrier range lay behind us to the south; eastward the horizon was bounded by the hills i had lately visited, and the only break in the otherwise monotonous colour of the landscape was caused by the plains we had crossed before entering the pine forest. from the south-west round to the east northwards, the whole face of the country was covered with a gloomy scrub that extended like a sea to the very horizon. to the north-west, at a great distance, we saw a long line of dust, and knowing it to be raised by the party, after having taken bearings and tried the point of boiling water, we descended to overtake it. in doing this we crossed several spurs, and found tolerably wide and grassy flats between them. following one of these down we soon got on the open plains, and about half-past seven met mr. poole, who had left the party to go to a fire he had noticed to the eastward, which he thought was a signal from us that we had found water; but such had not been our good fortune. i now halted the party until the moon should rise, and we threw ourselves on the ground to take a temporary repose, the evening being cool and agreeable. at we again moved on, keeping a north course, under mr. poole's guidance, partly over stony plains, and partly over plains of better quality, having some little grass upon them, until a.m. of the morning of the th, when we stopped for an hour. as day dawned, mr. poole had caught sight of the hill, as he thought, to the base of which he wished to lead the party, and under this impression we continued our northerly course at , until by degrees we entered a low brush, and from it got into a pine forest and amongst ridges of sand. mr. poole had crossed a similar country; but the sandy ridges had soon ceased, and in the hope that such would now be the case he pushed forward until it was too late to retreat, for the exertion had already been very great to the animals in so heated and inhospitable a desert. in vain did the men urge their bullocks over successive ridges of deep loose sand, the moment they had topped one there was another before them to ascend. seeing that they were suffering from the heat, i desired the men to halt, and sending mr. poole and mr. stuart forward with the spare horses and sheep to relieve them as soon as possible, i remained with the drays, keeping mr. browne with me. we had not travelled more than half a mile, on resuming our journey, when we arrived at a dry salt lagoon, at which the sheep had stopped. i here determined on leaving two of the drays, in the hope that by putting an additional team into each of the others we should get on, although before this we had discovered that mr. poole had mistaken his object, and had inadvertently led us into the thickest of the pinery. the drivers, however, advanced but slowly with the additional strength i had given them, and it was clear they would never get out of their difficulties, unless some other plan were adopted. i therefore again stopped the teams, and sent mr. browne to the eastward to ascertain how far the ridges extended in that direction, since mr. poole's track appeared to be leading deeper into them. on his return he informed me that the ridges ceased at about a mile and a quarter; in consequence of which i turned to the north-east, but the bullocks were now completely worn out and refused to pull. to save them, therefore, it became necessary to unyoke and to drive them to water, and as mr. browne felt satisfied he could lead the way to the creek, i adopted that plan, and telling the men with the sheep to follow on our tracks, we left the drays, at p.m., taking two of the men only with us, and clearing the sand ridges at dusk, entered upon and traversed open plains. we then stopped to rest the cattle until the moon should rise, and laid down close to them; but although we kept watch, they had well nigh escaped us in search for water. at half-past ten we again moved on, and at midnight reached a low brush, in which one of the bullocks fell, and i was obliged to leave him. about two hours afterwards another fell, but these were the total of our casualties. we reached the creek at in the morning of the th, and rode to a fire on its banks, where we found davenport and joseph with the cart; they had separated from mr. poole, who was then encamped about a quarter of a mile to the westward of them, although davenport did not know where he was, nor had he found water. our situation would have been exceedingly perplexing, if mr. browne, who had led me with great precision to this point, had not assured me that he recognised the ground, and that as soon as day dawned he would take me to the water. just at this moment we saw another fire to the eastward, to which i sent morgan on horseback, who returned with mr. poole, when we were enabled to give the poor animals the relief they so much required. having thus secured the horses and bullocks, i turned my attention to the men in the forest, with regard to whom i had no occasion to feel any alarm, as i had left ten gallons of water for their use, and strictly cautioned them not to be improvident with it. however, as soon as he had had a little rest, i sent morgan with a spare horse for their empty casks to replenish them. at o'clock i sent flood with four gallons of water to the nearest bullock that had fallen. about brock came up with the sheep all safe and well. flood returned at , with information that the bullock was dead, but night closed in without our seeing anything of morgan, and having nothing to eat we looked out rather anxiously for him. the water on which we rested was at some little distance from the creek, in a long narrow lagoon, but we had scarcely any shade from the intense heat of the sun, the water being muddy, thick, and full of frogs and crabs. i have observed upon the extreme and increasing heat that prevailed at this time. notwithstanding this, however, the night was so bitterly cold that we were glad to put on anything to keep us warm. our situation may in some measure account for this extreme variation of temperature, as we were in the bed of the creek which might yet have been damp, as its surface had only just dried up; perhaps also from exposure to such heat during the day we were more susceptible of the least change. be that as it may, certain it is that as morning dawned on this occasion, when the thermometer stood at degrees, we crept nearer to our fires for warmth, and in less than six hours afterwards were in a temperature of degrees. as we passed through the acacia scrub, we observed that the natives had lately been engaged collecting the seed. the boughs of the trees were all broken down, and there were numerous places where they had thrashed out the seed, and heaped up the pods. these poor people must indeed be driven to extremity if forced to subsist on such food, as its taste is so disagreeable that one would hardly think their palates could ever be reconciled to it. natives had evidently been in our neighbourhood very lately, but we saw none. at this time i was exceedingly anxious both about mr. poole and mr. browne, who were neither of them well. the former particularly complained of great pain, and i regretted to observe that he was by no means strong. about o'clock on the morning of the last day of the year , i was with tampawang at the head of the lagoon, trying to capture one of the building rats, a nest of which we had found under a polygonum bush. we had fired the fabric, and were waiting for the rats to bolt, when we saw morgan riding up to us. he stopped when he got to the water, and throwing himself on the ground drank long at it. seeing that he came without anything for which he had been sent, i began to apprehend some misfortune; but on questioning him i learnt that he had been at the drays, and was on his return, when, stopping on the plains to let his horses feed, he fell fast asleep, during which time they strayed, and he was obliged to leave everything and walk until he overtook his horse near the creek. he said the men had consumed all the water i had left with them, and were in great alarm lest they should die of thirst; i was exceedingly provoked at morgan's neglect, more particularly as the comfort of the other men was involved in the delay, although they deserved to suffer for the prodigal waste of their previous supply. but it is impossible to trust to men in their sphere of life under such circumstances, as they are seldom gifted with that moral courage which ensures calmness in critical situations. i made every allowance too for their being in so hot a place, and it only remained for me to relieve them as soon as i could. i sent the ever ready flood for the casks and provisions morgan had left behind him, but it was necessarily late before he returned; i then directed him to get up two teams of the strongest bullocks, and with him and another of the men left mr. poole and mr. browne to go myself to the pine forest for two of the drays. about seven miles from the creek we met lewis, who was on our tracks. he said he apprehended that morgan had lost himself, and that he came on to ensure relief to the other men, who he said were suffering greatly from the want of water. at p.m. we rounded up the cattle until the moon should rise, and made fires to prevent their escape. at she rose, but it was behind clouds, so that it was before we could move on. about two miles from the drays we saw kirby wandering away from the track and called to him. this man would infallibly have been lost if we had not thus accidentally seen him. on reaching the party i found that lewis had somewhat exaggerated the state of affairs, still the men were bad enough, although they had not then been hours without water. notwithstanding that the moon had risen behind clouds, the first sun of the new year ( ) rose upon us in all his brightness, and the temperature increased as he advanced to the meridian. as jones was with the hindmost drays, i sent sullivan on my horse with some water for him, and ordered flood to precede me with two of the drays along a flat i had noticed as i rode along, by which they would avoid a good many of the ridges. sullivan returned with jones about half-past ten, who, he told me, so far from wanting water had given all i had sent him to the dogs. as there were twelve bullocks to each dray i was obliged to give the drivers assistance, and consequently had to leave jones by himself in the forest. i allowed him however to keep two of the dogs, and gave him four gallons of water, promising to send for him in two days. i then mounted my horse to overtake the teams, which by the time i came up with them had got on better than i expected. but the heat was then so intense that i feared the bullocks would drop. i therefore ordered the men to come slowly and steadily on, and as i foresaw that they would want more water ere long, i rode ahead to send them some. on my arrival at the creek i was sorry to find both mr. poole and mr. browne complaining, and very much indisposed. during the short time we had been at this spot, the water in the lagoon had rapidly diminished, and was now not more than a foot deep and very muddy. fearing that the quality of the water was disagreeing with my officers, i ordered a well to be dug in the bed of the creek, from which we soon got a small quantity both clearer and better. having despatched joseph with a fresh supply for the party with the drays, i sat down to break my own fast which i had not done for many hours. in speaking to mr. browne of the intense heat to which we had been exposed in the pine forest, he informed me that the day had not been very hot with them, the thermometer not having risen above degrees at p.m. the drays reached the creek at a.m. on the morning of the nd, both men and cattle fairly worn out. i had hoped they would have arrived earlier, but the men assured me that shortly after i left them the heat was so great they could hardly move onwards. the ground became so heated that the bullocks pawed it to get to a cool bottom, every time they stopped to rest. the upper leathers of mack's shoes were burnt as if by fire, and lewis's back was sadly blistered. the dogs lost the skin off the soles of their feet, and poor fingall, one of our best, perished on the road. amidst all the sufferings of the other animals the sheep thrived exceedingly well under tampawang's charge who was a capital shepherd. their fleeces were as white as snow, and some of them were exceedingly fat. on the rd i sent mr. stuart to the magnetic hill, mount arrowsmith, to verify mr. poole's bearings, in consequence of the great deviation of the compass from its true point, and also to sketch in that isolated group of hills; but as he found the same irregularity in his compass, i did not trust to the bearings either he or mr. poole had taken. the rock of which that hill was composed is a compact sandstone, with blocks of specular iron ore scattered over it, highly magnetic. in the hope that a ride would do both my officers good, i sent them on the th to trace the creek up, and to fix on our next halting place. i also despatched flood to the pine forest for the remaining drays, sending an empty one to lighten the other loads; a precaution that proved of great advantage, as the bullocks got on much easier than on the former occasion, but the day also was much cooler. mr. poole and mr. browne returned at on the th, but i was sorry to observe that mr. browne looked very unwell, and mr. poole continued to complain. they had however succeeded in their mission, and as i was very anxious to get them to better water, our lagoon being all but dry, i determined on moving northward on the th. flood re-crossed the creek on the morning of the th, when the bullocks completed a task of about miles in eight days. as i had determined on moving on the th, it became necessary to examine the drays, and i was vexed to find that they wanted as much repair as they had done at flood's creek. the men were occupied wedging them up, and greasing them on the th, and finished all but that of lewis, the repair of which threw it late in the day on the th, before we proceeded on our journey. independently, however, of my anxiety on account of my officers, several of the men were indisposed, and i was glad to break up our camp and fix it in a healthier spot than this appeared to be. we started at p.m., but as we had only about eight miles to go, it was not a matter of much consequence. we arrived at our destination at p.m., but had some difficulty in finding the water, nor do i think we should have done so if we had not been guided to it by the hoarse and discordant notes of a bull-frog. i had sent mr. stuart in the morning to some hills on our left, and mr. browne had ridden in the same direction to collect some seeds of a purple hibiscus, and neither had joined the party when it reached the creek, as soon therefore as the cattle were unyoked, i fired a shot which they fortunately heard. our collection of natural history still continued scanty. a very pretty tree, a new species of grevillia, out of flower, however, and which i only concluded to be a grevillia from its habit, and the appearance of its bark, had taken the place of the gum-trees on the creeks, and the jasmine was everywhere common, but, with the exception of a few solani and some papilionaceous plants, we had seen nothing either new or rare. of birds the most numerous were the new pigeon and the black-shouldered hawk; but there was a shrike that frequented the creeks which i should have noticed before. this bird was about the size of a thrush, but had the large head and straight-hooked bill of its species; in colour it was a dirty brownish black, with a white bar across the wings. whilst we were staying at flood's creek, one of these birds frequented the camp every morning, intimating his presence by a shrill whistle, and would remain for an hour trying to catch the tunes the men whistled to him. his notes were clear, loud, metallic and yet soft; their variety was astonishing, and his powers of imitation wonderful; there was not a bird of the forest that he did not imitate so exactly as to deceive. i would on no account allow this songster to be disturbed, and the consequence was that his rich note was the first thing heard at dawn of day, during the greater part of our residence in that neighbourhood. we passed several native huts shortly after leaving the creek that were differently constructed from any we had seen. they were all arched elliptically by bending the bough of a tree at a certain height from the ground, and resting the other end on a forked stick at the opposite side of the arch. a thick layer of boughs was then put over the roof and back, on which there was also a thick coating of red clay, so that the hut was impervious to wind or heat. these huts were of considerable size, and close to each there was a smaller one equally well made as the larger. both were left in perfect repair, and had apparently been swept prior to the departure of their inmates. on the th we started at a.m., and reached our destination (a place to which mr. poole had already been) at . we crossed barren stony plains, having some undulating ground to our left, and the magnetic hill as well as another to the south of it shewed as thunder clouds above the horizon. on our arrival at the creek we found about fires of natives still burning, whom we must have frightened away. we did not see any of them, nor did i attempt to follow on their tracks which led up the creek. as i have already stated the fall of flood's creek was to the west. the creek from which we had just removed, as well as the one on which we then were, fell in the opposite direction or to the eastward, terminating after short courses either in grassy plains or in shallow lagoons. on the th i remained stationary, and thus gave mr. piesse an opportunity to examine a part of our stores. he reported to me that the flour had lost weight nearly per cent., some of the bags not weighing their original quantity by upwards of sixteen pounds. as the men had their full allowance of meat, i thought it advisable, in consequence of this, to reduce the ration of flour to lb. per week, and i should be doing an injustice to them if i did not give them credit for the readiness with which they acquiesced in this arrangement. the th of the month completed the fifth of our wanderings. we left our position rather late in the day, and halted a little after sunset at the outskirt of a brush, into which i was afraid to enter by that uncertain light, and as the animals had been watered at a small creek we crossed not long before, i had no apprehension as to their suffering. we started at a.m. on the morning of the th, and soon passed the scrub; we then traversed open plains thickly covered in many places with quartz, having crossed barren sandy plains on the other side of the scrub. we now found the country very open, and entirely denuded of timber, excepting on the creeks, the courses of which were consequently most distinctly marked. keeping a little to the eastward to avoid the gullies connected with some barren stony hills to our left, we descended to the ground mr. poole had fixed upon as our next temporary resting place. to the eye of an inexperienced bushman its appearance was in every respect inviting; there was a good deal of grass in its neighbourhood; the spot looked cheerful and picturesque, with a broad sheet of water in the creek, which when mr. poole first saw it must have been much larger and deeper; but in the interval between his first and second visit, it had been greatly reduced, and now presented a broad and shallow surface, and i felt assured that it would too soon dry up. convinced therefore of the necessity of exertion, to secure to us if possible a supply of water, on which we could more confidently rely, i determined on undertaking myself the task of looking for it without delay. both mr. poole and mr. browne were better, and the men generally complained less than they had done. on sunday, the th, we had thunder with oppressive heat, but no rain. on monday the wind, which had kept with the regularity of a monsoon to the e.s.e., flew round to the n.w., the thermometer at noon standing at degrees in the shade. from the period at which we left flood's creek we had not seen any hills to the eastward, the ranges having terminated on that side. the hills we had passed were detached from each other, and to the westward of our course. the fall of the creek on which we were at this time encamped was consequently to the eastward, but there was a small hill about five miles to the e.n.e., under which it ran; that hill was the southern extremity of the ranges mr. poole and mr. browne had lately visited. i left the camp on the th of the month, in the anxious hope that i should succeed in finding some place of more permanent safety than the one we then occupied, for we could almost see the water decrease, so powerful was the evaporation that was going on. i was accompanied by mr. browne and mr. poole, with flood, joseph, and mack; but mr. poole only attended me with a view to his returning the next day with mack, in the event of our finding water, to which he might be able to remove during my absence. we traced the creek upwards to the north-west, and at about four miles came to another, joining it from the westward. there was no water, but a good deal of grass about its banks, and it was evidently a tributary of no mean consequence. crossing this we traced up the main creek on a more northerly course, having the red hill, subsequently called mount poole, on our left. we were obliged to keep the banks of the creek to avoid the rough and stony plains on either side. a little above the junction of the creek i have noticed, we passed a long water-hole, at which mr. poole and mr. browne had stopped on their excursion to the north; but it was so much diminished that they could hardly recognise it. the fact however shewed how uncertain our prospects were at this period. the bed of the creek was grassy, but broad, level, and gravelly. at almost every turn to which we came mr. poole assured me there had been, when he passed, a large sheet of water; but not a drop now remained, nor could we by scratching find the least appearance of moisture. yet it was evident that this creek was at times highly flooded, there being a great accumulation of rubbish at the butts of the trees on the flats over which its waters must sweep, and the trunks of trees were lodged at a considerable height in the branches of those growing in its bed. following its general course for miles, we were led somewhat to the eastward of north, towards some hills in that direction, from which the creek appeared to issue, and then halted for the night, after a vain search for water. the red hill bore s. degrees w., and some hills of less elevation were seen more to the westward of it, but beyond the last towards the north there were vast open and stony plains, destitute of timber and with very little vegetation upon them. on the morning of the th, at p.m., we traversed these plains on a north course, and at miles struck the creek of which mr. poole had spoken as containing muddy water, and found it precisely as he described. there were long water-holes about twenty-five feet broad, and three or four deep; but the water was exceedingly muddy. the banks were of a stiff, light-coloured clay, without any vegetation either on them or the contiguous flats, except a few bushes of polygonum growing under box-trees. we here stopped to breakfast, although there was but little for the horses to eat. we then proceeded on a north-east {south-east in published text} course down the creek, keeping close upon its banks to avoid the macadamized plains on either side. to our left there were some undulating hills, and beyond them the summits of some remarkable flat-topped hills were visible. after leaving the place where we had breakfasted, we did not find any more water in the bed of the creek, but halted late in the afternoon at a small lagoon, not far from it. this lagoon was surrounded by trees; but like those of the creek its waters were muddy and not more than inches deep. our latitude at this point was degrees minutes s., and our longitude degrees minutes e.; the variation being degrees minutes e. not wishing to keep mr. poole any longer away from the party, i sent him back to the camp on the th, with mack, directing him to examine the creek we had crossed on his way homewards; as it appeared to me to break through some hills about three miles from its junction with the main creek, and i thought it probable he might there find water. i also directed him during my absence to trace the creek on which the camp was established downwards, to ascertain if there was water in it below us. in the mean time mr. browne and i pushed on for the ranges, which presented a very singular appearance as we surveyed them from the lagoon. the geological formation of these hills was perfectly new, for they were now composed almost exclusively of indurated or compact quartz. the hills themselves no longer presented the character of ranges, properly so called, but were a group of flat-topped hills, similar to those figured by flinders, king, and other navigators. some were altogether detached from the main group, not more than two-thirds of a mile in length, with less than a third of that breadth, and an elevation of between three and four hundred feet. these detached hills were perfectly level at the top, and their sides declined at an angle of degrees. the main group as we now saw it appeared to consist of a number of projecting points, connected by semicircular sweeps of greater or less depth. there was no vegetation on the sides either of the detached hills or of the projecting points, but they consisted of a compact white quartz, that had been split by solar heat into innumerable fragments in the form of parallelograms. vast heaps of these laid at the base of the hills, and resembled the ruins of a town, the edifices of which had been shaken to pieces by an earthquake, and on a closer examination it appeared to me that a portion of the rock thus scaled off periodically. we approached these hills by a gradual ascent, over ground exceedingly stony in places; but as we neared them it became less so, the soil being a decomposition of the geological structure of the hills. it was covered with a long kind of grass in tufts, but growing closer together than usual. there were bare patches of fine blistered soil, that had as it were been raised into small hillocks, and on these, rounded particles, or stools, if i may so call them, of gypsum rested, oval or round, but varying in diameter from three to ten inches or more. these stools were perfectly flat and transparent, the upper surface smooth, but in the centre of the under surface a pointed projection, like that in a bull's eye in window glass was buried in the ground, as if the gypsum was in process of formation. on leaving the lagoon, we crossed the creek, riding on a north-east course over stony plains, and at five miles struck another creek in which we found a good supply of water, coming direct from the hills, and continuing to the s.s.e., became tributary to the one we had just left. i had taken bearings of two of the most prominent points on the ranges from the lagoon, and directing flood to go to one of them with joseph, and wait for me at the base, i rode away with mr. browne to ascend the other; but finding it was much farther than we had imagined, that it would take us out of our way, and oblige us to return, we checked our horses and made for the other hill, at the foot of which flood had already arrived. the ascent was steep and difficult, nor did the view from its summit reward our toil. if there was anything interesting about it, it was the remarkable geological formation of the ranges. the reader will understand their character and structure from the accompanying cut, better than from any description i can give. they were, in fact, wholly different in formation from hills in general. to the westward there was a low, depressed tract, with an unbroken horizon and a gloomy scrub. southwards the country was exceedingly broken, hilly, and confused; but there was a line of hills bounding this rugged region to the eastward, and immediately beyond that range were the plains i had crossed in going to mount lyell. from the point on which we stood there were numerous other projecting points, similar to those of the headlands in the channel, falling outwards at an angle of degrees, as if they had crumbled down from perpendicular precipices. the faces of these points were of a dirty white, without any vegetation growing on them; they fell back in semicircular sweeps, and the ground behind sloped abruptly down to the plains. the ranges were all flat-topped and devoid of timber, but the vegetation resembled that of the country at their base, and the fragments of rock scattered over them were similar: that is to say, milky quartz, wood opal, granite, and other rocks (none of which occurred in the stratification of these ranges), were to be found on their summits as on the plains, and in equal proportion, as if the whole country had once been perfectly level, and that the hills had been forced up. such indeed was the impression upon mr. poole's mind, when he returned to me from having visited these ranges. "they appear," he remarked, "to have been raised from the plains, so similar in every respect are their tops to the district below." our eyes wandered over an immense expanse of country to the south, and we were enabled to take bearings of many of the hills near the camp, although there was some uncertainty in our recognition of them at the distance of miles. the red hill, however, close to the camp bore south, and was full that distance from us. we could also see the course of the creeks we had been tracing, ultimately breaking through the range to the eastward and passing into the plains beyond. behind us to the north there were many projecting points appearing above the level of the range. these seemed to be the northern termination of these hills, and beyond them the country was very low. the outline of the projecting points was hilly, and they were so exactly alike that it would have been impossible to have recognised any to which we might have taken bearings; but there were two little cones in a small range to the north upon which i felt i could rely with greater certainty. they respectively bore and from me; and as they were the only advanced points on which i could now keep up bearings, although in the midst of hills, i determined as soon as i should have examined the neighbourhood a little more, to proceed to them. from our first position we went to the next, a hill of about feet in height, perfectly flat-topped, and detached from the main group. in crossing over to this point the ground was stony, but there was a good deal of grass growing in tufts upon it, and bare patches of blistered earth on which flat stools of gypsum were apparently in process of formation. immediately to the left there were five remarkable conical hills. these we successively passed, and then entered a narrow, short valley, between the last of these cones and the hill we were about to ascend. the ground was covered with fragments of indurated quartz (of which the whole group was composed), in parallelograms of different dimensions. the scene was like that of a city whose structures had been shaken to pieces by an earthquake--one of ruin and desolation. the faces of the hills, both here and in other parts of the group, were cracked by solar heat, and thus the rock was scaling off. we were here obliged to dismount and walk. the day being insufferably hot, it was no pleasant task to climb under such exposure to an elevation of nearly feet. we had frequently to take breath during our ascent, and reached the summit of the hill somewhat exhausted. the view was precisely similar to that we had overlooked from the opposite point, which bore w. by n. from us. again the two little peaks were visible to the n.n.w., and after taking bearings of several distant points, we descended, as i had determined on returning for the night to the creek we had passed in the morning, and tracing it into the hills on my way to the westward. accordingly, on the following morning we commenced our journey up it at an early hour, not knowing where we should next find the water. at about six miles we had entered a valley, with high land on either side, and at a mile beyond reached the head of the creek, and had the steep brow of a hill to ascend, which i thought it most prudent first to attempt on foot. mr. browne and i, therefore, climbed it, and on looking back to the north-east, saw there was a declining plain in that direction. over the level outline the tops of the projections of this range were to be seen all exactly alike; but there was an open space to the north-east, as if the fall of waters was to that point. there were also some low scattered trees upon the plain, seeming to mark the course of a creek. anxious to ascertain if we had been so fortunate, i looked for a practicable line for the horses to ascend, and having got them up the hill, we pushed forward. on arriving at the first trees, there was a little channel, or rather gutter, and a greener verdure marked its course along the plain to the next trees. gradually it became larger, and at last was fully developed as a creek. after tracing it down for some miles, having stony barren plains on both sides, we turned to look for the hill we had so lately left, and only for a red tint it had peculiar to itself, should we again have recognised it. we now pushed on in eager anticipation that sooner or later water would appear, and this hope was at last gratified by our arrival at a fine pool, into which we drove a brood of very young ducks, and might, if we had pleased, shot the mother; but although a roast duck would have been very acceptable, we spared her for her children's sake. this was a nice pond, but small. it was shaded by gum-trees, and there was a cavernous clay bank on the west side of it, in which gravel stones were embedded. here we staid but for a short time, as it was early in the day. we had flushed numerous pigeons as we rode along, and flights came to the water while we stopped, but were not treated with the same forbearance as the duck. we shot two or three, and capital eating they were. about , we had left the creek, as it apparently turned to the eastward, and was lost on the plain, and crossing some stony ground, passed between two little ranges. we then found ourselves on the brow of a deep valley that separated us from the little cones we purposed ascending. the side of it which trended to the north-west was very abrupt and stony, and it was with some difficulty we descended into it; but that done, we left morgan and flood with the cart, and ascended the nearer peak. from the summit of the highest of the cones we had a clear view round more than one half of the horizon. immediately at the base of the ranges northwards, there was a long strip of plain, and beyond it a dark and gloomy scrub, that swept round from s.w. to e., keeping equi-distant from the hills, excepting at the latter point where it closed in upon them. on the n.w. horizon there was a small low undulating range, apparently unconnected with any other, and distant about miles. no change had taken place in the geological formations of the main range. the same abrupt points, and detached flat-topped hills, characterised their northern as well as the southern extremity. we had now however reached their termination northwards, but they continued in an easterly direction until they were totally lost in the dark mass of scrub that covered and surrounded them, not one being of sufficient height to break the line of the horizon. to the s.w. a column of smoke was rising in the midst of the scrub, otherwise that desolate region appeared to be uninhabited. on descending from the peak, we turned to the n.w. along the line of a water-course at the bottom of the valley, tracing it for about four miles with every hope of finding the element we were in search of in its green bed, but we gained the point where the valley opened out upon the plains, and halted under disappointment, yet with good grass for the horses. our little bivouac was in lat. degrees minutes seconds s. the above outline will enable the reader to judge of the character of the hills, that still existed to the eastward of us, and the probability of their continuance or cessation. i must confess that they looked to me as if they had been so many small islands, off the point of a larger one. they rose in detached groups from the midst of the plains, as such islands from the midst of the sea, and their aspect altogether bore such a striking resemblance to many of the flat-topped islands round the australian continent described by other travellers, that i could not but think they had once been similarly situated. on the th i passed into the plains until we had cleared the hills, when we rode along their base on a course somewhat to the east of north. we kept about half a mile from the foot of the ranges, with the brush about three miles to our left, and a clear space between us and them. i had been induced to take this direction in the hope that if there were any creeks falling from the hills into the plains we should intersect them, and accordingly after a ride of about seven miles we observed some gum-trees, about two miles ahead. on a nearer approach we saw flights of pigeons, cockatoos, and parrots winging round about them, and making the air resound with their shrill notes. the anticipations these indications of our approach to water raised, were soon verified by our arrival on the banks of a small creek coming from the hills. under the trees there were two little puddles, rather than pools of water. the one had been reduced to its last dregs, and smelt offensively, the other was very muddy but drinkable, and such as it was we were most grateful for it. the horses requiring rest here, i halted for the night, more especially as the day was unusually hot, and as we could see the creek line of trees extending to the n.w., towards the low range we had noticed in that direction from the little peak, i determined therefore to run it down in the morning, and to make for them, in the hope that something new would develop itself. on the other side of the creek from that on which we remained, there was a new but unfinished hut. round about it were the fresh impressions of feet of all sizes, so that it was clear a family of natives must have been engaged in erecting this simple edifice when we were approaching, and that we must have frightened them away. under this idea mr. browne and i tried to find them, perhaps hid in some low brush near us, but we could not. the plains were exceedingly open on both sides, so that they must have seen us at a great distance, and thus had time for flight. on the th we started at daylight, as i proposed if possible to gain the hills before sunset, that being as much as the horses would do. running the creek down at three and a half miles we were again attracted by a number of birds, pigeons, the rose cockatoo, the crested paroquet, and a variety of others flying round a clump of trees at no great distance from us, but they were exceedingly wild and watchful. we found a pool under, or rather shaded by the trees, of tolerable size, and much better than the water nearer to the hills. close to it also, on a sloping bank, there was another more than half finished hut from which the natives could only just have retreated, for they had left all their worldly goods behind them; thus it appeared we had scared these poor people a second time from their work. i was really sorry for the trouble we had unintentionally given them, and in order to make up for it, i fastened my own knife with a glittering blade, to the top of a spear that stood upright in front of the hut; not without hopes that the owner of the weapon seeing we intended them no harm, would come to us on our return from the hills. below this water-hole the creek sensibly diminished. crossing and abandoning it we struck away to the n.w. at about half a mile we entered the scrub, which had indeed commenced from the water, but which at that distance became thick. we were then in a perfect desert, from the scrub we got on barren sandy flats, bounded at first by sandy ridges at some little distance from each other, but the formation soon changed, and the sand ridges succeeded each other like waves of the sea. we had no sooner descended one than we were ascending another, and the excessive heat of so confined a place oppressed us greatly. we had on our journey to the westward found an abundance of grass on the sand ridges as well as the flats; but in this desert there was not a blade to be seen. the ridges were covered with spinifex, through which we found it difficult to force a way, and the flats with salsolaceous productions alone. there were no pine trees, but the brush consisted of several kinds of acacia, casuarina, cassia, and hakeae, and these were more bushes than shrubs, for they seldom exceeded our own height, and had leaves only at the termination of their upper branches, all the under leaves having dropped off, withered by the intensity of the reflected surface heat. at one we stopped to rest the horses, but mounted again at half-past one, and reached the hills at p.m. the same dreary desert extended to their base, only that as we approached the hills the flats were broader, and the fall of waters apparently to the east. the surface of the flats was furrowed by water, and there were large bare patches of red soil, but with the exception of a flossy grass that grew sparingly on some of them, nothing but rhagodia and atriplex flourished. i had tried the temperature of boiling water at the spot where we stopped in the rocky glen, and found it to be degrees and a small fraction; and as we descended a little after leaving the creek, we could not have been much above the sea level at one period of the day, although now more than miles from the coast. our ascent to the top of the little range was very gradual; its sides destitute alike of trees and vegetation, being profusely covered with fragments of indurated quartz, thinly coated with oxide of iron: when on the summit we could not have risen more than feet. it extended for some miles to the n.e., apparently parallel to the ranges from which we had come, whose higher points were visible from it, but to the north and west the horizon was as level as that of the ocean. a dark gloomy sea of scrub without a break in its monotonous surface met our gaze, nor was there a new object of any kind to be seen indicative of a probable change of country. had other hills appeared to the north i should have made for them, but to have descended into such a district as that below me, seemed to be too hazardous an experiment at this stage of our journey. i determined therefore to return to the main range, and examine it to the north-east. i could not but think, however, from the appearance of the country as far as we had gone, that we could not be very far from the outskirts of an inland sea, it so precisely resembled a low and barren sea coast. this idea i may say haunted me, and was the cause of my making a second journey to the same locality; but on the present occasion, as the sun had set, i retraced my steps to a small flat where we had noticed a little grass, and tethering our horses out laid down to rest. the desert ridden through the day before, seemed doubly desolate as we returned. the heat was intolerable, in consequence of a hot wind that blew upon us like a sirocco from the n.w., and the air so rarified that we could hardly breathe, and were greatly distressed. to our infinite relief we got back to the creek at half-past two, after a ride of about miles. the first thing we did on arriving, was to visit the hut of the natives to see if they had been there during our absence, but as my knife still dangled on the spear, we were led to conclude they had not. on examining the edifice, however, we missed several things that had been left untouched by us, and from the fresh footsteps of natives over our own of the day before, it was clear they had been back. the knife which was intended as a peace-offering, seems to have scared them away in almost as much haste as if we had been at their heels. there can be no doubt but that they took it for an evil spirit, at which they were, perhaps, more alarmed than at our uncouth appearance. be that as it may, we departed from the creek without seeing anything of these poor people. at a little distance from the creek to the n.w., upon a rising piece of ground, and certainly above the reach of floods, there were seven or eight huts, very different in shape and substance from any we had seen. they were made of strong boughs fixed in a circle in the ground, so as to meet in a common centre; on these there was, as in some other huts i have had occasion to describe, a thick seam of grass and leaves, and over this again a compact coating of clay. they were from eight to ten feet in diameter, and about four and a half feet high, the opening into them not being larger than to allow a man to creep in. these huts also faced the north-west, and each had a smaller one attached to it as shewn in the sketch. like those before seen they had been left in the neatest order by their occupants, and were evidently used during the rainy season, as they were at some little distance from the creek, and near one of those bare patches in which water must lodge at such times. at whatever season of the year the natives occupy these huts they must be a great comfort to them, for in winter they must be particularly warm, and in summer cooler than the outer air; but the greatest benefit they can confer on these poor people must be that of keeping them from ants, flies, and mosquitos: it is impossible to describe to the reader the annoyance we experienced from the flies during the day, and the ants at night. the latter in truth swarmed in myriads, worked under our covering, and creeping all over us, prevented our sleeping. the flies on the other hand began their attacks at early dawn, and whether we were in dense brush, on the open plain, or the herbless mountain top, they were equally numerous and equally troublesome. on the present occasion mr. browne and i regretted we had not taken possession of the deserted huts, as, if we had, we should have got rid of our tormentors, for there were not any to be seen near them. from the fact of these huts facing the north-west i conclude that their more inclement weather is from the opposite point of the compass. it was also evident from the circumstance of their being unoccupied at that time (january), that they were winter habitations, at which season the natives, no doubt, suffer greatly from cold and damp, the country being there much under water, at least from appearances. i had remarked that as we proceeded northwards the huts were more compactly built, and the opening or entrance into them smaller, as if the inhabitants of the more northern interior felt the winter's cold in proportion to the summer heat. our position at this point was in latitude degrees minutes s., and in longitude degrees minutes e., the variation being degrees minutes east. i had intended pushing on immediately to the ranges, and examining the country to the north-east; but i thought it prudent ere i did this to ascertain the farther course of this creek, as it appeared from observations we had just made that the fall of waters was to the eastward. we accordingly started at daylight on the th, but after tracing it for a few miles, found that it turned sharp round to the westward and spread over a flat, beyond which its channel was nowhere to be found. i therefore turned towards the ranges, and arriving at the upper water-hole at half-past two, determined to stop until the temperature should cool down in the afternoon before i proceeded along the line of hills to the n.e., for the day had been terrifically hot, and both ourselves and our horses were overpowered with extreme lassitude. at a quarter past , p.m. on the st of january, the thermometer had risen to degrees in the shade, and to degrees in the direct rays of the sun. in the evening however we pushed on for about ten miles, and halted on a plain about a mile from the base of the hills, without water. on the nd we continued our journey to the north-east, through a country that was anything but promising. although we were traversing plains, our view was limited by acacias and other trees growing upon them. notwithstanding that we kept close in to the ranges, the water-courses we crossed could hardly be recognised as such, as they scarcely reached to a greater distance than a mile and a half on the plains, before they spread out and terminated. as we advanced the brush became thicker, nor was there anything to cheer us onwards. in the afternoon therefore i turned towards the hills, and ascended one of them, to ascertain if there was any new object in sight, but here again disappointment awaited us. the hills were more detached than in other places, and much lower. the brush swept over them, and we could see it stretching to the horizon on the distant plains between them. excepting where the nearer hills rose above it, that horizon was unbroken; nor were the hills, although detached groups still existed to the north-east, distinguishable from the dark plains round them, as the brush extended over all, and the same sombre hue pervaded everything. i should still, however, have persevered in exploring that hopeless region; but my mind had for the last day or two been anxiously drawn to the state of the camp, and the straits to which i felt assured it would have been put, if mr. poole had not succeeded in finding water in greater quantity than that on which the people depended when mr. browne and i left them. having been twelve days absent, i felt convinced that the water in the creek had dried up, and thought it more than probable that mr. poole had been forced to move from his position. under such circumstances, i abandoned, for the time, any further examination of the north-east interior, and turning round to the south-west, passed up a flat rather than a valley between the hills, and halted on it at half-past p.m. on the rd, we continued on a south-west course, and gradually ascended the more elevated part of the range; at p.m. reached the water-hole we discovered the day we crossed the hills to the little peaks. our journey back to the camp was only remarkable for the heat to which we were exposed. we reached it on the th of the month, and were really glad to get under shelter of the tents. all the water in the different creeks we passed in going out, had sunk many inches, and as i had feared, that at the camp had entirely vanished, and mr. poole having been obliged to dig a hole in the middle of the creek, was obtaining a precarious supply for the men, the cattle being driven to a neighbouring pond, which they had all but exhausted. as the reader will naturally conclude, i was far from satisfied with the result of this last excursion. it had indeed determined the cessation of high land to the north and north-east; for although i had not reached the termination of the ranges in the latter direction, no doubt rested on my mind but that they gradually fell to a level with the plains. we had penetrated to lat. degrees minutes s., and to long. degrees minutes seconds; but had found a country worse than that over which we had already passed--a country, in truth, that under existing circumstances was perfectly impracticable. yet from appearances i could not but think that an inland sea existed not far from the point we had gained. as i have already observed, the fall of all the creeks from flood's creek had been to the eastward, and from what we could judge at our extreme north, the dip of the country was also to the eastward. i thought it more than probable, therefore, that we were still in the valley of the darling, and that if we could have persevered in a northerly course, we should have crossed to the opposite fall of waters, and to a decided change of country. we had hitherto made but few additions to our collections. a new hawk and a few parrots were all the birds we shot; and if i except another new and beautiful species of grevillia, we added nothing to our botanical collections. the geological formation was such as i have already described--a compact quartz of a dirty white. of this adamantine rock all the hills were now composed. a remarkable feature in the geology of the hills we had recently visited was, as i have remarked, that they were covered with the same productions and the same stones as the plains below, of which they seemed to have formed a part. milky quartz was scattered over them, although no similar formation was visible; of manganese, basalt, and ironstone, with other substances, there were now no indications. none of these fragments had been rounded by attrition, but still retained their sharp edges and seemed to be little changed by time. mr. poole informed me, that the day he returned to the party he proceeded towards the little range i had directed him to examine; in which, i should observe, both he and mr. browne thought there might be water, as they had passed to the westward of it, on their last journey towards the hills, and had then noticed it. mr. poole stated, that on approaching the range he arrived at a line of gumtrees, under which there was a long deep sheet of water; that crossing at the head of this, he entered a rocky glen, where there were successive pools in stony basins, in which he considered there was an inexhaustible supply of water for us; but that although the water near the camp had dried up, he had been unwilling to move until my return. the reader may well imagine the satisfaction this news gave me; for had my officer not been so fortunate, our retreat upon the darling would have been inevitable, whatever difficulties might have attended such a movement--for we were in some measure cut off from it, or should only have made the retreat at an irreparable sacrifice of animals. mr. poole had also been down the creek whereon the camp was posted, and had found that it overflowed a large plain, but failing to recover the channel, he supposed it had there terminated. he met a large tribe of natives, amounting in all to forty or more, who appeared to be changing their place of abode. they were very quiet and inoffensive, and seemed rather to avoid than to court any intercourse with the party. foulkes, one of the bullock drivers, had had a sharp attack of illness, but was in some degree recovered. in all other respects everything was regular, and the stock at hand in the event of their being wanted. i was exceedingly glad to find that the natives had not shewn any unfriendly disposition towards mr. poole and his men; but i subsequently learnt from him a circumstance that will in some measure account for their friendly demonstrations. it would appear that sullivan and turpin when out one day, during my absence, after the cattle, saw a native and his lubra crossing the plains to the eastward, with some stones for grinding their grass seed, it being their harvest time. sullivan went after them; but they were exceedingly alarmed, and as he approached the woman set fire to the grass; but on seeing him bound over the flaming tussocks, they threw themselves on the ground, and as the lad saw their terror he left them and returned to his companion. no sooner, however, had these poor creatures escaped one dreaded object than they encountered another, in the shape of mack, who was on horseback. as soon as they saw him they took to their heels; but putting his horse into a canter, he was up with them before they were aware of it; on this they threw down their stones, bags, net, and fire-stick, and scrambled up into a tree. the fire-stick set the grass on fire, and all their valuables would have been consumed, if mack had not very properly dismounted and extinguished the flames, and put the net and bags in a place of safety. he could not, however, persuade either of the natives to descend, and therefore rode away. mack happened to be with mr. poole at the time he met the tribe, and was recognised by the man and woman, who offered both him and mr. poole some of their cakes. had the behaviour of my men been different, they would most likely have suffered for it; but i was exceedingly pleased at their strict compliance with my orders in this respect, and did not fail to express my satisfaction, and to point out the beneficial consequences of such conduct. mr. poole having thus communicated with the natives, i was anxious to profit by it, and if possible to establish a friendly intercourse; the day after my arrival at the camp, therefore, i went down the creek with mack in the hope of seeing them. i took a horse loaded with sugar and presents, and had every anticipation of success; but we were disappointed, since the whole tribe had crossed the plains, on the hard surface of which we lost their tracks. on this ride i found a beautiful little kidney bean growing as a runner amongst the grass, on small patches of land subject to flood. it had a yellow blossom, and the seed was very small and difficult to collect, as it appeared to be immediately attacked by insects. the fact of the natives having crossed the plain confirmed my impression that the creek picked up beyond it, and i determined on the first favourable opportunity to ascertain that fact. it now, however, only remained for me to place the camp in a more convenient position. to do this we moved on the th, and whilst mr. browne led the party across the plains, i rode on ahead with mr. poole to select the ground on which to pitch our tents. at the distance of seven miles we arrived at the entrance of the little rocky glen through which the creek passes, and at once found ourselves on the brink of a fine pond of water, shaded by trees and cliffs. the scenery was so different from any we had hitherto seen, that i was quite delighted, but the ground being sandy was unfit for us, we therefore turned down the creek towards the long sheet of water mr. poole had mentioned, and waited there until the drays arrived, when we pitched our tents close to it, little imagining that we were destined to remain at that lonely spot for six weary months. we were not then aware that our advance and our retreat were alike cut off. chapter vi. the depot--further progress checked--character of the ranges--journey to the north-east--return--journey to the west--return--again proceed to the north--interview with natives--arrive at the farthest water--the party separates--progress northwards--continue to advance--sufferings of the horse--cross the th parallel--rejoin mr. stuart--journey to the westward--character of the country--find two ponds of water--the grassy park--return to the rang--excessive heat--a singular geological feature--regain the depot. as the reader will have learnt from what i have stated at the conclusion of the last chapter, we pitched our tents at the place to which i have led him, and which i shall henceforth call the "depot," on the th of january, . they were not struck again until the th of july following. this ruinous detention paralyzed the efforts and enervated the strength of the expedition, by constitutionally affecting both the men and animals, and depriving them of the elasticity and energy with which they commenced their labours. it was not however until after we had run down every creek in our neighbourhood, and had traversed the country in every direction, that the truth flashed across my mind, and it became evident to me, that we were locked up in the desolate and heated region, into which we had penetrated, as effectually as if we had wintered at the pole. it was long indeed ere i could bring myself to believe that so great a misfortune had overtaken us, but so it was. providence had, in its allwise purposes, guided us to the only spot, in that wide-spread desert, where our wants could have been permanently supplied, but had there stayed our further progress into a region that almost appears to be forbidden ground. the immediate effect, however, of our arrival at the depot, was to relieve my mind from anxiety as to the safety of the party. there was now no fear of our encountering difficulties, and perhaps perishing from the want of that life-sustaining element, without which our efforts would have been unavailing, for independently of the beautiful sheet of water, on the banks of which the camp was established, there was a small lagoon to the s.e. of us, and around it there was a good deal of feed, besides numerous water-holes in the rocky gully. the creek was marked by a line of gum-trees, from the mouth of the glen to its junction with the main branch, in which, excepting in isolated spots, water was no longer to be found. the red hill (afterwards called mount poole), bore n.n.w. from us, distant / miles; between us and it there were undulating plains, covered with stones or salsolaceous herbage, excepting in the hollows, wherein there was a little grass. behind us were level stony plains, with small sandy undulations, bounded by brush, over which the black hill, bearing s.s.e. from the red hill, was visible, distant miles. to the eastward the country was, as i have described it, hilly. westward at a quarter of a mile the low range, through which depot creek forces itself, shut out from our view the extensive plains on which it rises. this range extended longitudinally nearly north and south, but was nowhere more than a mile and a half in breadth. the geological formation of the range was slate, traversed by veins of quartz, its interstices being filled with magnesian limestone. steep precipices and broken rugged gullies alternated on either side of this creek, and in its bed there were large slabs of beautiful slate. the precipices shewed the lateral formation with the rock split into the finest laminae, terminating in sharp points. but neither on the ranges or on the plains behind the camp was there any feed for the cattle, neither were the banks of the creek or its neighbourhood to be put in comparison with flood's creek in this respect, for around it there was an abundance as well as a variety of herbage. still the vegetation on the depot creek was vigorous, and different kinds of seeds were to be procured. i would dwell on this fact the more forcibly, because i shall, at a future stage of this journey, have to remark on the state of the vegetation at this very spot, that is to say, when the expedition was on its return from the interior at the close of the year. a few days after we had settled ourselves at the depot, mr. browne had a serious attack of illness, that might have proved fatal; but it pleased god to restore him to health and reserve him for future usefulness. at this time, too, the men generally complained of rheumatism, and i suspected that i was not myself altogether free from that depressing complaint, since i had violent pains in my hip joints; but i attributed them to my having constantly slept on the hard ground, and frequently in the bed of some creek or other. it eventually proved, however, that i had been attacked by a more fearful malady than rheumatism in its worst stage. there being no immediate prospect of our removal, i determined to complete the charts up to thepoint to which we had penetrated. i therefore sent mr. stuart, on the nd february, to sketch in the ranges to the eastward, and connect them with the hills i had lately crossed over. i directed lewis, who had been in the survey, to assist mr. stuart, and sent flood with them to trace down the creek i had noticed from several of our stations on the northern ranges, as passing through a gap in the hills to the eastward. they returned to the camp on the th, mr. stuart having been very diligent in his work. flood had also obeyed my orders; but could find no water in the lower branches of the creek, although there was so much in it nearer the hills. the party had fallen in with a small tribe of natives, for whom flood had shot an emu. mr. stuart informed me that they were very communicative; but their language was unknown to him. he understood from them that they intended to visit the camp in a couple of days; but as i had some doubts on this head, and was anxious to establish a communication, and induce them to return with me to the camp, i rode on the th with mr. browne across the plain, at the farther extremity of which they were encamped near a little muddy puddle. flood and joseph in the light cart accompanied us. great as the heat had been, it appeared rather to increase than diminish. the wind constantly blew from the e.s.e. in the morning, with the deep purple tint to the west i have already had occasion to notice. it then went round with the sun, and blew heavily at noon; but gradually subsided to a calm at sunset, and settled in the west, the same deep tint being then visible above the eastern horizon which in the morning had been seen in the west. the thermometer ranged from degrees to degrees in the shade at p.m.; the barometer from . degrees to . degrees. water boiled at degrees and a fraction; but there was no dew point. i should have stated, that both whilst mr. browne and i were in the hills and at the camp, there was thunder and rain on the rd, th, and th, but the showers were too light even to lay the dust, and had no effect whatever on the temperature. the morning we started to pay a visit to the blacks was more than usually oppressive even at daybreak, and about it blew a hot wind from the n.e. as we rode across the stony plain lying between us and the hills, the heated and parching blasts that came upon us were more than we could bear. we were in the centre of the plain, when mr. browne drew my attention to a number of small black specks in the upper air. these spots increasing momentarily in size, were evidently approaching us rapidly. in an incredibly short time we were surrounded by several hundreds of the common kite, stooping down to within a few feet of us, and then turning away, after having eyed us steadily. several approached us so closely, that they threw themselves back to avoid contact, opening their beaks and spreading out their talons. the long flight of these birds, reaching from the ground into the heavens, put me strongly in mind of one of martin's beautiful designs, in which he produces the effect of distance by a multitude of objects gradually vanishing from the view. whatever the reader may think, these birds had a most formidable aspect, and were too numerous for us to have overpowered, if they had really attacked us. that they came down to see what unusual object was wandering across the lonely deserts over which they soar, in the hope of prey, there can be no doubt; but seeing that we were likely to prove formidable antagonists, they wheeled from us in extensive sweeps, and were soon lost to view in the lofty region from whence they had descended. when we reached the place where the natives had been, we were disappointed in not finding them. they had, however, covered up their fires and left their nets, as if with the intention of returning. nevertheless we missed them, and reached the tents late in the evening, after a ride of miles. after my return from this excursion, i was busily employed filling-in the charts; but the ink in our pens dried so rapidly, that we were obliged to have an underground room constructed to work in, and it proved of infinite service and comfort, insomuch that the air in it was generally from degrees to degrees cooler than that of the outer air. our observations and lunars placed us in latitude degrees minutes seconds s., and in longitude degrees minutes seconds e. mount hopeless, therefore, bore w. by s. {n.n.w. in published text} of us, as we were still miles to the north of it { miles to the south of it in published text}, the difference of longitude being about { in published text} miles, and our distance from the eastern shore of lake torrens about { in published text}. the result of our lunars, however, placed us somewhat to the westward of the longitude i have given; and when i came to try my angles back from the depot to williorara, i found that they terminated considerably to the westward of sir thomas mitchell's position there. my lunars at williorara, however, had not been satisfactory, and i therefore gave that officer credit for correctness, and in the first chart i transmitted to the secretary of state assumed his position to be correct. there was a small range, distant about miles to the westward of the stony range connected with the depot creek. it struck me that we might from them obtain a distant view of mount serle, or see some change of country favourable to my future views. under this impression, i left the camp on the th of the month, with mr. poole and two of the men. the ranges were at a greater distance than i had imagined, but were of trifling elevation, and on arriving at them i found that the horizon to the westward was still closed from my view, by rising ground that intervened. i should have pushed on for it, but mr. poole was unfortunately taken ill, and i felt it necessary to give him my own horse, as having easier paces than the one he was riding. it was with difficulty i got him on his way back to the camp as far as the upper waterhole, just outside the rocky glen, at which we slept, and by that means reached the tents early on the following morning. i had anticipated rain before we should get back, from the masses of heavy clouds that rose to the westward, after the wind, which had been variable, had settled in that quarter; but they were dispersed during the night, and the morning of the th was clear and warm. we had felt it exceedingly hot the day we left the camp--there the men were oppressed with intolerable heat, the thermometer having risen to degrees in the shade. we had not ourselves felt the day so overpowering, probably because we were in motion, and it is likely that a temporary change in the state of the atmosphere, had influenced the temperature, as the eastern horizon was banded by thunder clouds, though not so heavy as those to the westward, and there was a good deal of lightning in that quarter. i have said that i was not satisfied with the result of my last excursion with mr. browne to the north. i could not but think that we had approached to within a tangible distance of an inland sea, from the extreme depression and peculiar character of the country we traversed. i determined, therefore, to make another attempt to penetrate beyond the point already gained, and to ascertain the nature of the interior there; making up my mind at the same time to examine the country both to the eastward and westward of the northern ranges before i should return to the camp. mr. poole and mr. browne being too weak to venture on a protracted excursion of such a kind, i took mr. stuart, my draftsman, with me. i should have delayed this excursion for a few days, however, only that i feared the total failure of the creeks in the distant interior; i proposed, in the first place, to make for the last and most distant water-hole in the little creek beyond the ranges. thence to take the light cart with one horse, carrying as much water as he could draw, and with one man, on foot, to pursue a due north course into the brush. i hoped by this arrangement to gain the th parallel, and in so doing to satisfy myself as to the point on which i was so anxious. i selected a fine young lad to accompany me, named joseph cowley, because i felt some confidence in his moral courage in the event of any disaster befalling us. on this occasion i had the tank reconstructed, and took all the barrels i could, to enable me to go as far as possible, and the day after i returned to the camp with mr. poole, again left it with mr. stuart, joseph, and flood, in whose charge i intended to leave my horse during my absence--during which i also proposed that mr. stuart should employ his time tracing in the hills. we reached the muddy creek at the foot of the hills at p.m., after a ride of miles, over the stony and barren plains i have described, and as the distance to the next water was too great for us to attempt reaching it until late, we stopped here for the night. some natives had been on the creek in the early part of the day, and had apparently moved down it to the eastward. the water had diminished fearfully since the time we passed on our return from the north. the day was cool and pleasant, as the wind blew from the south, and the thermometer did not rise above degrees. we had not ridden four miles on the following morning, when we observed several natives on the plain at a little distance to the south, to whom we called out, and who immediately came to us. we stopped with these people for more than two hours, in the hope that we should gain some information from them, either as to when we might expect rain, or of the character of the distant interior, but they spoke a language totally different from the river tribes, although they had some few words in common, so that i could not rely on my interpretation of what they said. they were all of them circumcised, and all but one wanted the right front tooth of the upper jaw. when we left these people i gave them a note for mr. poole, in the faint hope that they would deliver it, and i explained to them that he would give them a tomahawk and blankets, but, as i afterwards learnt, they never went to the camp. when mr. browne and i were in this neighbourhood before, he had some tolerable sport shooting the new pigeon, the flesh of which was most delicious. at that time they were feeding upon the seed of the rice grass, and were scattered about, but we now found them, as well as many other birds, congregated in vast numbers preparing to migrate to the north-east, apparently their direct line of migration; they were comparatively wild, so that our only chance of procuring any was when they came to water. on the th we slept at the water in the creek at the top of the ranges; but, on the th, instead of going through the pass, and by the valley, under the two little peaks, through which we had entered the plains on the first journey, we now turned to the westward in order to avoid that rugged line, and discovered that the creek, instead of losing itself in the flat to the eastward, continued on a westerly course to our left; for being attracted by a flight of pigeons, wheeling round some gum-trees, we might otherwise have overlooked it; i sent flood to examine the ground, who returned with the pleasing information that the creek had reformed, and that there was a pool of water under the trees, nearly as large as the one we had just left. i was exceedingly pleased at this discovery and determined to send mr. stuart back to it, as it would place him nearer his work. we reached the farthest water, from which we had the second time driven the poor native, late in the afternoon, and on examining the hut, found he had ventured back to it and taken away his traps; but the water in the creek was almost dried up; thick, muddy, and putrid, we could hardly swallow it, and i regretted that we had not brought water with us from the hills, but i had been influenced by a desire to spare my poor horse, as i knew the task that was before him, although the poor brute was little aware of it. about sunset an unfortunate emu came to water, and unconsciously approached us so near that flood shot it with his fusee. this was a solitary wanderer, for we had seen very few either of these birds or kangaroos in these trackless solitudes. on the morning of the th we were up early, and had loaded the cart with gallons of water before breakfast, when joseph and i took our departure, and mr. stuart with flood returned to the hills. i had selected one of our best horses for this journey, an animal i had purchased from mr. frew of adelaide. he was strong, powerful, and in good condition, therefore well qualified for the journey. i had determined on keeping a general north course, but in the kind of country in which i soon found myself it was impossible to preserve a direct line. at about four miles from the creek the brush became thick, and the country sandy, and at six miles the sand ridges commenced. wishing to ease the horse as much as possible, joseph endeavoured to round them by keeping on the intervening flats, but this necessarily lengthened the day's journey, and threw me more to the eastward than i had intended. a noon i halted for two hours, and then pushed on, the day being cool, with the wind as it had been for the last three or four days from the south. had the country continued as it was, we might have got on tolerably, but as we advanced it changed greatly for the worse. we lost the flats, on a general coating of sand thickly matted with spinifex, through which it was equally painful to ourselves and poor punch to tread. we crossed small sandy basins or hollows, and were unable to see to any distance. the only trees growing in this terrible place were a few acacias in the hollows, and some straggling melaleuca, with hakeae and one or two other common shrubs, all of low growth; there was no grass, neither were the few herbs that grew on the hollows such as the horse would eat. we stopped a little after sunset, having journeyed about miles, on a small flat on which there were a few acacias, and some low silky grass as dry as a chip, so that if we had not been provident in bringing some oats poor punch would have gone without his supper. a meridian altitude of capella placed us in lat. degrees minutes seconds. our longitude by account being degrees minutes e. when i rose at daylight on the following morning, i observed that the horse had eaten but little of the dry and withered food on which he had been tethered; however, in consequence of our tank leaking, i was enabled to give him a good drink, when he seemed to revive, but no sooner commenced pulling than he perspired most profusely. we kept a more regular course than on the previous day, over a country that underwent no change. before we started i left a nine gallon cask of water in a small flat to ease the horse, and as the water in the tank had almost all leaked out, his load was comparatively light. still it was a laborious task to draw the cart over such a country. fortunately for us the weather was cool, as the wind continued south, for i do not know what we should have done if we had been exposed to the same heat mr. browne and myself had experienced on our return from the little stony ranges now about miles to the westward of us. a little before noon the wind shifted to the n.e.; i had at this time stopped to rest the horse, but we immediately experienced a change of temperature, and the thermometer which stood at degrees rose before we again started to degrees, and at half-past three had attained degrees. we were then in one of the most gloomy regions that man ever traversed. the stillness of death reigned around us, no living creature was to be heard; nothing visible inhabited that dreary desert but the ant, even the fly shunned it, and yet its yielding surface was marked all over with the tracks of native dogs. we started shortly after noon, and passed a pointed sand-hill, from whence we could not only see the stony range but also the main range of hills. the little peak on which mr. browne and i took bearings on our last journey bore degrees, the pass through which we had descended into the plains degrees, when i turned however to take bearings of the stony range it had disappeared, having been elevated by refraction above its true position. it bore about n.w. / w., distant from eight to nine miles. it was again some time after sunset before we halted, on a small flat that might contain two or at the most three acres. there was some silky grass upon it, but this i knew the horse would not eat, neither had i more than a pint of oats to give him. our latitude here was degrees minutes seconds. on the morning of the th we still pushed on, leaving, as before, a cask of water to pick up on our return. i had been obliged to limit the horse to six gallons a day, but where he had been in the habit of drinking from to , so small a quantity would not suffice. we had not gone many miles when he shewed symptoms of exhaustion, and rather tottered than walked. he took no pains to avoid anything, but threw joseph into every bush he passed. the country still continued unchanged, sand and spinifex were the universal covering of the land, and only round the edges of the little flats were a few stunted shrubs to be seen. it was marvellous to me that such a country should extend to so great a distance without any change. i could at no time see beyond a mile in any direction. several flights of parrots flew over our heads to the north-west, at such an elevation as led me to suppose they would not pitch near us; but not a bird of any kind did we see in the desert itself. the day being exceedingly hot i stopped at one, rather from necessity than inclination, having travelled or miles. both joseph and myself had walked the whole way, and our legs were full of the sharp ends of the spinifex, but it was more in mercy to poor punch than to ourselves that i pulled up, and held a consultation with joseph as to the prudence of taking the cart any further, when it was decided that our doing so would infallibly lead to punch's destruction. according to my calculation we were now in latitude degrees minutes seconds or thereabouts. i had hoped to have advanced some miles beyond this point, but now found that it would be impossible to do so. there was no indication of a change of country from any rising ground near us, and as it was still early in the day i resolved on pushing forward until i should feel satisfied that i had passed into the th parallel; my reason for this being a desire to know what the character of the country, so far in the interior from, and in the same parallel as moreton bay, would be. i had intended tethering punch out, and walking with joseph, but as he remonstrated with me, and it did not appear that my riding him would do the horse any harm, i mounted, though without a saddle, and taking our guns, with a quart of water, we commenced our journey. we moved rapidly on, as i was anxious to return to the cart whilst there was yet daylight, to enable us to keep our tracks, but no material change took place in the aspect of the country. we crossed sand-ridge after sand-ridge only to meet disappointment, and i had just decided on turning, when we saw at the distance of about a quarter of a mile from us, a little rounded hill some few feet higher than any we had ascended. it was to little purpose however that we extended our ramble to it. at about a mile from where we left the cart, we had crossed two or three small plains, if pieces of ground not a quarter of a mile long might be so termed, on which rhagodia bushes were growing, and i had hoped that this trifling change would have led to a greater, but as i have stated such did not prove to be the case. from the top of the little hill to which we walked (and from which we could see to a distance of six or eight miles, but it was difficult to judge how far the distant horizon was from us), there was no apparent change, but the brush in the distance was darker than that nearer to us, as if plains succeeded the sandy desert we had passed over. the whole landscape however was one of the most gloomy character, and i found myself obliged to turn from it in disappointment. as far as i could judge we passed about a mile beyond the th parallel. our longitude by account only being degrees minutes e. the boiling point of water was degrees / . the evening had closed in before we got back to the cart, but our course was fortunately true, and having given poor punch as liberal a draught as reason would justify we laid down to rest. it was with great difficulty that we got our exhausted animal on, the following morning, although i again gave him as much water as i could spare. his docility under urgent want of food was astonishing. he was in fact troublesomely persevering, and walked round and round the cart and over us as we sat drinking our tea, smelling at the casks, and trying to get his nose into the bung holes, and implored for relief as much as an animal could do so by looks. yet i am satisfied that a horse is not capable of strong attachment to man, but that he is a selfish brute, for however kindly he may be treated, where is the horse that will stay, like the dog, at the side of his master to the last, although hunger and thirst are upon him, and who, though carnivorous himself, will yet guard the hand that has fed him and expire upon its post? but, turn the horse loose at night, and where will you find him in the morning, though your life depended on his stay? we reached the creek on the morning of the th, about half-past , having still a gallon of water remaining, that was literally better than the water in the muddy puddle from which we had originally taken it. i had thought it probable that we might find either flood or mr. stuart awaiting our return, but not seeing any trace of recent feet i concluded they were in the ranges, and as the distance was too great for the horse to travel in a day, in his exhausted state, i pushed on at p.m., and halted on the plains after having ridden about miles. it was well indeed that i did so, for we did not gain the ranges until near sunset on the following day. our exhausted horse could hardly drag one leg after the other, although he pricked up his ears and for a time quickened his pace as he fell into the track of the cart coming out. both mr. stuart and flood were astonished at the manner in which he had fallen off, nor did he ever after recover from the effects of that journey. mr. stuart had completed his work with great accuracy, and had filled in the chart so much that he saved me a good deal of trouble. the th being sunday, was a day of rest to us all, but one of excessive heat. mr. stuart had stationed himself in the bed of the creek, which sloped down on either side, and was partially shaded by gum-trees. the remains of what must have been a fine pond of water occupied the centre, and although it was thick and muddy it was as nectar to myself and joseph. i was surprised and delighted to see that the creek had here so large a channel, and flood, who had ridden down it a few miles, assured me that it promised very well. during my absence he had shot at and wounded one of the new pigeons, which afterwards reached my house alive. i had intended proceeding to the eastward on my return from the north, but was prevented by the total failure of water. i therefore determined to trace the creek down, in the hope that it would favour my advance with the party into the interior. on the th, therefore, leaving joseph to take care of punch, i mounted my horse, and with mr. stuart and flood, rode away to the westward. at first the creek held a course between s. w. and w. s. w. occasionally spreading over large flats, but always reforming and increasing in size. it ran through a flat valley, bounded by sand hills, against which it occasionally struck. the soil of the valley was not bad, but there was little or no vegetation upon it. at miles we arrived at the junction of another creek from the south, and running down their united channels, at three miles found a small quantity of water in a deep and shaded hollow. it was but a scanty supply however, yet being cleaner and purer than any we had for some time seen, i stopped and had some tea. there was a native's hut on the bank, from which the owner must have fled at our approach; it was quite new, and afforded me shelter during our short halt. the fugitive had left some few valuables behind him, and amongst them a piece of red ochre. from this point the creek trended more to the north, spreading over numerous flats in times of flood, dividing its channels into many smaller ones, but always uniting into one at the extremity of the flats. at miles the creek changed its course to degrees to the west of north, and the country became more open and level. there were numerous traces of natives along its banks, and the remains of small fires on either side of it as far as we could see. it was, therefore, evident that at certain seasons of the year they resorted to it in some numbers, and i was then led to hope for a favourable change in the aspect of the country. the gum-trees as we proceeded down the creek increased in size, and their foliage was of a vivid green. the bed of the creek was of pure sand, as well as the plains through which it ran, although there was alluvial soil partially mixed with the sand, and they had an abundance of grass upon them, the seed having been collected by the natives for food. at about miles from the place where we stopped, the creek lost its sandy bed, and got one of tenacious clay. we soon afterwards pulled up for the night, at two pools of water that were still of considerable size, and on which there were several new ducks. they must, indeed, have been large deep ponds not many weeks before, but had now sunk several feet from their highest level, and, however valuable to a passing traveller, were useless in other respects, as our cattle would have drained them in three or four days. from this place also the natives appeared to have suddenly retreated, since there was a quantity of the grass [note . "panicum laevinode" of dr. lindley.] spread out on the sloping bank of the creek to dry, or ripen in the sun. we could not, however, make out to what point they had gone. the heat during the day had been terrific, in so much that we were unable to keep our feet in the stirrups, and the horses perspired greatly, although never put out of a walk. it was singular that we had no moisture on our skin; the reason why, perhaps, we were at that time much distressed by violent headaches. at about a quarter of a mile below the ponds the creek spreads over an immense plain, almost as large as that of cawndilla. a few trees marked its course to a certain distance, but beyond them all trace of its channel was lost, nor was it possible from the centre of the plain to judge at what point its waters escaped. the plain was surrounded by sand hills of about thirty feet in elevation, covered with low scrub. when we started in the morning we crossed it on a west course, but saw nothing to attract our notice from the tops of the sand hills. we then turned to the northward, and at about two miles entered a pretty, well wooded, but confined valley, in the bottom of which we once more found ourselves on the banks of the creek. running it down in a north-west direction for seven miles, we were at length stopped by a bank of white saponaceous clay, crossing the valley like a wall. as we rode down the creek we observed large plains of red soil, precisely similar to the plains of the darling, receding from it to a great distance on either side. these plains had deep water-worn gutters leading into the valley, so that i conclude the lateral floods it receives are as copious as those from the hills. on arriving at the bank running across the channel there were signs of eddying waters, as if those of the creek had been thrown back; but there was a low part in the bank over which it is evident they pour when they rise to its level. mr. stuart and flood were the first to ascend the bank, and both simultaneously exclaimed that a change of country was at hand. on ascending the bank myself, i looked to the west and saw a beautiful park-like plain covered with grass, having groups of ornamental trees scattered over it. whether it was the suddenness of the change, from barrenness and sterility to verdure and richness, i know not; but i thought, when i first gazed on it, that i never saw a more beautiful spot. it was, however, limited in extent, being not more than eight miles in circumference. descending from the bank we crossed the plain on a south course. it was encircled by a line of gum-trees, between whose trunks the white bank of clay was visible. we crossed the plain amidst luxuriant grass; but the ground was rotten, and the whole area was evidently subject to flood. it was also clear that the creek exhausted itself in this extensive basin, from which, after the strictest search, we could find no outlet. on reaching the southern extremity of the plain, we crossed a broad bare channel, having a row of gum-trees on either side, and ascending a continuation of the clay bank, at once found ourselves in the scrub and amidst barrenness again; and at less than a mile, on a north-west course, beheld the sand ridges once more rising before us. i continued on this course, however, for eight miles, when i turned to the north-east, in order to cut any watercourse that might be in that direction, and to assure myself of the failure of the creek. after riding for five miles, i turned to the south, with the intention of ascending a sand hill at some distance, that swept the horizon in a semicircular form and was much higher than any others. mr. poole had informed me that he noticed a similar bank just before he made lake torrens, and i was anxious to see if it hid any similar basin from my view; but it did not. sand hills of a similar kind succeeded it to the westward, but there was no change of country. although we had travelled many miles, yet the zigzag course we had taken had been such that at this point we were not more than sixteen miles from the pools we had left in the morning; and as the day had been intolerably hot, and we had found no water, i determined on returning to them; but i was obliged to stop for a time for flood, who complained of a violent pain in his head, occasioned by the intense heat. there was no shelter, however, for him under the miserable shrubs that surrounded us; but i stopped for half an hour, during which the horses stood oppressed by languor, and without the strength to lift up their heads, whilst their tails shook violently. being anxious to get to water without delay, i took a straight line for the water-holes, and reached them at half-past p.m., after an exposure, from morning till night, to as great a heat as man ever endured; but if the heat of this day was excessive, that of the succeeding one on which we returned to joseph was still more so. we reached our destination at p.m., as we started early, and on looking at the thermometer fixed behind a tree about five feet from the ground, i found the mercury standing at degrees; on removing it into the sun it rose to degrees. only on one occasion, when mr. browne and i were returning from the north, had the heat approached to this; nor did i think that either men or animals could have lived under it. on the th we again crossed the ranges, and after a journey of miles, reached the lateral creek at their southern extremity, where i had rested on my former journey. there was more water in it than i expected to have found; but it was nevertheless much reduced, and in a week afterwards was probably dry. on the st we gained the muddy creek, but had to search for water where only a few days before there had been a pond of more than a third of a mile in length. here, on the following day, i was obliged to leave flood and joseph, as the wheels of the cart had shrunk so much that we could not take it on. i should have gained the camp early in the day, but turned to the eastward to take bearings from some hills intermediate between mount poole and the northern range, as the distance between these points was too great. our ride was over a singularly rugged country, of equally singular geological formation, nor can i doubt but that at one time or other there were currents sweeping over it in every direction. at one place that we passed there was a broad opening in a rocky but earth covered bank. through this opening the eye surveyed a long plain, which at about two miles was bounded by low dark hills. along this plain the channel of a stream was as distinctly marked in all its windings by small fragments of snow-white quartz as if water had been there instead. on either side the landscape was dark; but the effect was exceedingly striking and unusual. from the hills we ascended i obtained bearings to every station of consequence, and was quite glad that i had thus turned from my direct course. it was dark, the night indeed had closed in before we reached the tents; but i had the satisfaction to learn that both mr. poole and mr. browne were better, though not altogether well, and that every thing had gone on regularly during my absence. on the following morning, i sent lewis and jones with a dray to fetch the cart, and for the next three or four days was occupied charting the ground we had travelled over. the greatest distance i went northwards on this occasion was to the th parallel, and about { in published text} miles to the eastward of the st meridian. our extreme point to the westward being lat. degrees minutes, and long. degrees minutes. from what i have said, the reader will be enabled to judge what prospects of success i had in either quarter; for myself i felt that i had nothing to hope either in the north or the east; for even if i had contemplated crossing eastward to the darling, which was more than miles from me, the dreadful nature of the country would have deterred me; but such an idea never entered my head--i could not, under existing circumstances, have justified such a measure to myself; having therefore failed in discovering any change of country, or the means of penetrating farther into it, i sat quietly down at my post, determined to abide the result, and to trust to the goodness of providence to release me from prison when he thought best. chapter vii. migration of the birds--journey to the eastward--flooded plains--native family--proceed south, but find no water--again turn eastward--sterile country--salt lagoon--distant hills to the east--return to the camp--intense heat--officers attacked by scurvy--journey to the west--no water--forced to return--illness of mr. poole--visited by a native--second journey to the eastward--story of the native--kites and crows--erect a pyramid on mount poole--preparations for a move--indications of rain--intense anxiety--heavy rain--mr. poole leaves with the home returning party--break up the depot--mr. poole's sudden death--his funeral--progress westward--the jerboa--establishment of second depot--native gluttony--distant mountains seen--reach lake torrens--examination of the country n.w. of it--return to the depot--visited by natives--preparations for departure again into the northwest interior. the three last days of february were cool in comparison to the few preceding ones. the wind was from the south, and blew so heavily that i anticipated rough weather at the commencement of march. but that rough month set in with renewed heat, consequent on the wind returning to its old quarter the e.s.e. there were however some heavy clouds floating about, and from the closeness of the atmosphere i hoped that rain would have fallen, but all these favourable signs vanished, the thermometer ascending to more than degrees. when we first pitched our tents at the depot the neighbourhood of it teemed with animal life. the parrots and paroquets flew up and down the creeks collecting their scattered thousands, and making the air resound with their cries. pigeons congregated together; bitterns, cockatoos, and other birds; all collected round as preparatory to migrating. in attendance on these were a variety of the accipitrine class, hawks of different kinds, making sad havoc amongst the smaller birds. about the period of my return from the north they all took their departure, and we were soon wholly deserted. we no longer heard the discordant shriek of the parrots, or the hoarse croaking note of the bittern. they all passed away simultaneously in a single day; the line of migration being directly to the n.w., from which quarter we had small flights of ducks and pelicans. on the th of march i sent mr. browne to the s.w., to a small creek similar to that in the rocky glen and in the same range, in the hope that as we had seen fires in that direction he might fall in with the natives, but he was unsuccessful. on the th i sent flood to the eastward to see if he could recover the channel of the main creek on the other side of the plain on which mr. poole had lost it; he returned the following day, with information that at miles from the depot he had recovered it, and found more water than he could have supposed. the day of flood's return was exceedingly hot and close, and in the evening we had distant thunder, but no rain. in consequence of his report, i now determined on a journey to the eastward to ascertain the character of the country between us and the darling, and left the camp with this intention on the th instant. i should have started earlier than that day had not mr. poole's illness prevented me, but as he rallied, i proceeded on my excursion, accompanied by mr. browne, flood, and another of the men. we observed several puddles near our old camp on the main creek as we rode away, so that rain must have fallen there though not at the depot. after passing the little conical hill of which i have already spoken, we traced the creek down until we saw plains of great extent before us, and as the creek trended to the south, skirting them on that side, we rode across them on a bearing of degrees or n.w. / n. they were or miles in breadth, and full miles in length from east to west; their soil was rich and grassed in many places. at the extremity of the plains was a sand hill, close to which we again came on the creek, but without water, that which flood had found being a little more to the eastward. its channel at this place was deep, shaded, and moist, but very narrow. i was quite surprised when we came to the creek where flood had been to find so much water; there was a serpentine sheet, of more than a quarter of a mile in length, which at first sight appeared to be as permanent as that at the depot. the banks were high and composed of light rich alluvial soil, on which there were many new shrubs growing; the whole vegetation seemed to be more forward on this side of the hills than on that where the depot was. just as we halted we saw a small column of smoke rise up due south, and on looking in that direction observed some grassy plains spreading out like a boundless stubble, the grass being of the kind from which the natives collect seed for subsistence at this season of the year. early on the morning of the th march we again saw smoke in the same direction as before, but somewhat to the eastward, as if the grass or brush had been fired. in hopes that we should come upon some of the natives on the plains, through which the creek appeared to run, i determined on examining them before i proceeded to the eastward. we accordingly crossed its channel when we mounted our horses after breakfast, and rode at some little distance from it on a course of degrees or nearly east, over flooded lands of somewhat sandy soil, covered with different kinds of grass, of which large heaps that had been thrashed out by the natives were piled up like hay cocks. at about two and a half miles we ascended a sandy rise of about fifty feet in elevation, whence we obtained bearings of the little conical hill at the western termination of the plain, and of the hill we had called the black hill. these bearings with our latitude made the distance we had travelled miles. from the sand hill we overlooked plains of great extent to the n.e.; partly grassed and partly bare, but to the eastward there was low brush and a country similar to that we had traversed before the commencement of the sandy ridges. there were low sandy undulations to be seen; but of no great height. i now turned for the smoke on a bearing of degrees, or nearly south, traversing a barren sandy level intermediate between the sand hill and the plains now upon our right, at length we entered upon the flooded ground, it was soft and yielding, and marked all over with the tracks of the natives; at miles arrived at a large clump of gum-trees, and under them the channel of the creek which we had lost on the upper part of the plains was again visible. it was here very broad, but quite bare, except a belt of polygonum growing on either side, which had been set on fire, and was now in flames. we were fortunate enough soon after to find a long shallow sheet of water, in the bed of the creek, where we rested ourselves. it was singular enough that we should have pulled up close to the camp of some natives, all of whom had hidden themselves in the polygonum, except an old woman who was fast asleep, but who did not faint on seeing mr. browne close to her when she awoke. with this old lady we endeavoured to enter into conversation, and in order to allay her fears gave her five or six cockatoos we had shot, on which two other fair ones crept from behind the polygonum and advanced towards us. finding that the men were out hunting, and only the women with the children were present, i determined to stop at this place until the following morning, we therefore unloaded the horses and allowed them to go and feed. a little before sunset, the two men returned to their families. they were much astonished at seeing us quietly seated before their huts, and approached us with some caution, but soon got reconciled to our presence. one of them had caught a talpero and a lizard, but the other had not killed any thing, so we gave him a dinner of mutton. the language of these people was a mixture between that of the river and hill tribes; but from what reason i am unable to say, although we understood their answers to general questions, we could not gather any lengthened information from them. i gave the elder native a blanket, and to the other a knife, with both of which they seemed highly delighted, and in return i suppose paid us the compliment of sending their wives to us as soon as it became dusk, but as we did not encourage their advances they left us after a short visit. the native who had killed the talpero, skinned it the moment he arrived in the camp, and, having first moistened them, stuffed the skin with the leaves of a plant of very astringent properties. all these natives were very poor, particularly the men, nor do i think that at this season of the year they can have much animal food of any kind to subsist on. their principal food appeared to be seeds of various kinds, as of the box-tree, and grass seeds, which they pound into cakes and bake, together with different kinds of roots. on the th we started at a.m., and crossing at the head of the water, pursued a south course over extensive flooded plains, on which we again lost the channel of the creek, as, after winding round a little contiguous sand hill, it split into numberless branches; but although the plains hereabouts were well grassed, the soil was not so good as that on the plains above them. at six miles we ascended a sand hill, from which we could see to the extremity of the plain; but it had no apparent outlet excepting to the e.s.e. i therefore proceeded on that course for three miles, when we lost sight of all gum-trees, and found ourselves amongst scrub. low bushes bounded the horizon all round, and hid the grassy plains from our view; but they were denser to the south and east than at any other point. mount lyell, the large hill south, bore degrees to the east of north, distant between forty and fifty miles. a short time after we left the grassy flats we crossed the dry bed of a large lagoon, which had been seen by mr. poole on a bearing of degrees from the magnetic hill. in the richer soil, a plant with round, striped fruit upon it, of very bitter taste, a species of cucumber, was growing. we next proceeded to the eastward, and surveying the country from higher ground, observed that the creek had no outlet from the plains, and that it could not but terminate on them. as i had no object in a prolonged journey to the south, i turned back from this station, and retracing my steps to the water where we had left the natives, reached it at half-past six. all our friends were still there; we had, therefore, the pleasure of passing another afternoon with them, during which they were joined by two other natives, with their families, who had been driven in from the south, like ourselves, by the want of water. they assured us that all the water in that quarter had disappeared, "that the sun had taken it," and that we should not find a drop to the eastward, where i told them i was going. all these men, excepting one, had been circumcised. the single exception had the left fore-tooth of his upper jaw extracted, and i therefore concluded that he belonged to a different tribe. i had hoped to have seen many more natives in this locality; but it struck me, from what i observed, that they were dispersed at the different water-holes, there being no one locality capable of supporting any number. the low and flooded track i have been describing must be dreadfully cold during the winter season, and the natives, who are wholly unprovided for inclemency of any kind, must suffer greatly from exposure; but at this time the temperature still continued very high, and the constant appearance of the deep purple tint opposite to the rising and setting sun seemed to indicate a continuance of it. as our horses had had some long journeys for the last three days, we merely returned to our first bivouac on the creek, when we left the natives, with whom we parted on very good terms, and a promise on their part to come and see us. on the th started at quarter-past six for the eastward, with as much water as we could carry in the cart, as from the accounts of the natives we scarcely hoped to find any. for the first five miles we kept a course rather to the north of east, nearly e.n.e. indeed, to round some sand-hills we should otherwise have been obliged to cross. there were very extensive plains to our left, on which water must lie during winter; but their soil was not good, or the vegetation thick upon them. we could just see the points of the northern flat-topped ranges beyond them. at five miles we turned due east, and crossed several small plains, separated by sandy undulations, not high enough to be termed ridges; the country, both to the south and east, appearing to be extremely low. at about fifteen miles, just as we were ascending a sand hill, mr. browne caught sight of a native stealing through the brush, after whom he rode; but the black observing him, ran away. on this mr. browne called out to him, when he stopped; but the horse happening to neigh at the moment, the poor fellow took to his heels, and secreted himself so adroitly, that we could not find him. he must, indeed, have been terribly alarmed at the uncouth sound he heard. a short time before our adventure with the native we had seen three pelicans coming from the north. they kept very low to the ground, and wheeled along in circles in a very remarkable manner, as if they had just risen from water; but at length they soared upwards, and flew straight for the lagoon where we had left the natives. with the exception of these three birds, no other was to be seen in those dreary regions. both mr. browne and i, however, rode over a snake, but our horses fortunately escaped being bitten; this animal had seized a mouse, which it let go on being disturbed, and crept into a hole; it was very pretty, being of a bright yellow colour with brown specks. arriving at the termination of the sand hills, we looked down upon an immense shallow basin, extending to the north and south-east further than the range of vision, which must, i should imagine, be wholly impassable during the rainy season. there was scarcely any vegetation, a proof, it struck me, that it retains water on its surface till the summer is so advanced that the sun's rays are too powerful for any plants that may spring up, or that the heat bakes the soil so that nothing can force itself through. there was little, if any grass to be seen; but the mesembryanthemum reappeared upon it, with other salsolaceous plants. the former was of a new variety, with flowers on a long slender stalk, heaps of which had been gathered by the natives for the seed. of the timber of these regions there was none; a few gum-trees near the creeks, with box-trees on the flats, and a few stunted acacia and hakea on the small hills, constituted almost the whole. water boiled on this plain at degrees; that is to say at our camp were we slept, about two miles advanced into it, but the plain extended about five miles further to the eastward. after crossing this on the following morning, we traversed a country which mr. browne informed me was very similar to that near lake torrens. it consisted of sand banks, or drifts, with large bare patches at intervals: the whole bearing testimony to the violence of the rains that must sometimes deluge it. we then traversed a succession of flats (i call them so because they did not deserve the name of plains) separated from each other by patches of red sand and clay, that were not more than a foot and a half above the surface of the flats. at nine miles the country became covered with low scrub, and we soon after passed the dry bed of a lagoon, about a mile in circumference, on which there was a coating of salt and gypsum resting on soft black mud. about a mile from this we passed a new tree, similar to one we had seen on the cawndilla plain. from this point the land imperceptibly rose, until at length we found ourselves on some sandy elevations thickly covered with scrub of acacia, almost all dead, but there was a good deal of grass around them, and the spot might at another season, and if the trees had been in leaf, have looked pretty. we pushed through this scrub, the soil being a bright red sand for nine miles, when we suddenly found ourselves at the base of a small stony hill, of about fifty feet in height. from the summit we overlooked the region round about. to the eastward, as a medium point, it was covered with a dense scrub, that extended to the base of a range of hills, distant about miles, the extremities of which bore degrees and degrees respectively from us. but although the country under them was covered with brush, the hills appeared to be clear and denuded of brushes of any kind. our position here was about miles from the darling, and about from the depot. my object in this excursion had been to ascertain the characteristic of the country between us and the darling, but i did not think it necessary to run any risks with my horses, by pushing on for the hills, as i could not have reached them until late the following day, when in the event of not finding water, their fate would have been sealed; for we could not have returned with them to the creek. they had already been two days without, if i except the little we had spared them from the casks. i had deemed it prudent to send joseph and lewis back to the creek for a fresh supply, with orders to return and meet at a certain point, and there to await our arrival, for without this supply i felt satisfied we should have great difficulty as it was in getting our animals back to the creek. we descended from the hill therefore to some green looking trees, of a foliage new to me, to rest for an hour before we turned back again. there were neither flowers or fruit on the trees, but from their leaf and habit, i took them to be a species of the juglans. at sunset we mounted our horses and travelled to the edge of the acacia scrub to give our horses some of the grass, and halted in it for the night, but started early on the following morning to meet joseph. we reached the appointed place, about , but not finding him there continued to journey onwards, and at five miles met him. we then stopped and gave the horses gallons of water each, after which we tethered them out, but they were so restless that i determined to mount them, and pushing on reached the creek at half-past , a.m. the animals requiring rest i remained stationary the next day, and was myself glad to keep in the shade, not that the day was particularly hot, but because i began to feel the effects of constant exposure. having expressed some opinion, however, that there might have been water to the north of us, in the direction whence the pelicans came, mr. browne volunteered to ride out, and accordingly with flood left me about , but returned late in the afternoon without having found any. he ascertained that the creek i had sent flood to trace when mr. stuart went to sketch in the ranges, terminated in the barren plain we had crossed, and such, the reader will observe, is the general termination of all the creeks of these singular and depressed regions. we returned to the camp on the st, and from that period to the end of the month i remained stationary, employed in various ways. on the th and th we took different sets of lunars, which gave our longitude as before, nearly degrees minutes, the variation of the compass being degrees minutes east. the month of april set in without any indication of a change in the weather. it appeared as if the flood gates of heaven were closed upon us for ever. we now began to feel the effects of disappointment, and watched the sky with extreme anxiety, inso-much that the least cloud raised all our hopes. the men were employed in various ways to keep them in health. we planted seeds in the bed of the creek, but the sun burnt them to cinders the moment they appeared above the ground. on the evening of the rd there was distant thunder, and heavy clouds to the westward. i thought it might have been that some shower had approached sufficiently near for me to benefit by the surface water it would have left to push towards lake torrens, and therefore mounted my horse and rode away to the westward on the th, but returned on the night of the th in disappointment. time rolled on fast, and still we were unable to stir. mr. piesse, who took great delight in strolling out with my gun, occasionally shot a new bird. on the th the wind blew strong from the south; but although the air was cooled, no rain fell, nor indeed was there any likelihood of rain with the wind in that quarter. still as this was the first decided shift from the points to which it had kept so steadily, we augured good from it. on the th a very bright meteor was seen to burst in the south-east quarter of the heavens; crossing the sky with a long train of light, and in exploding seemed to form numerous stars. whether it was fancy or not we thought the temperature cooled down from this period. on this day also we had a change of moon, but neither produced a variation of wind or weather of any immediate benefit to us. on the th we tried to ascertain the dew point, but failed, as in previous instances. the thermometer in our underground room stood at degrees of farenheit, but we could not reduce the moist bulb below degrees; nor was i surprised at this, considering we had not had rain for nearly four months, and that during our stay at the depot we had never experienced a dew. the ground was thoroughly heated to the depth of three or four feet, and the tremendous heat that prevailed had parched vegetation and drawn moisture from everything. in an air so rarified, and an atmosphere so dry, it was hardly to be expected that any experiment upon it would be attended with its usual results, or that the particles of moisture so far separated, could be condensed by ordinary methods. the mean of the thermometer for the months of december, january, and february, had been degrees, degrees, and degrees respectively in the shade. under its effects every screw in our boxes had been drawn, and the horn handles of our instruments, as well as our combs, were split into fine laminae. the lead dropped out of our pencils, our signal rockets were entirely spoiled; our hair, as well as the wool on the sheep, ceased to grow, and our nails had become as brittle as glass. the flour lost more than eight per cent of its original weight, and the other provisions in a still greater proportion. the bran in which our bacon had been packed, was perfectly saturated, and weighed almost as heavy as the meat; we were obliged to bury our wax candles; a bottle of citric acid in mr. browne's box became fluid, and escaping, burnt a quantity of his linen; and we found it difficult to write or draw, so rapidly did the fluid dry in our pens and brushes. it was happy for us, therefore, that a cooler season set in, otherwise i do not think that many of us could much longer have survived. but, although it might be said that the intense heat of the summer had passed, there still were intervals of most oppressive weather. about the beginning of march i had had occasion to speak to mr. browne as to certain indications of disease that were upon me. i had violent headaches, unusual pains in my joints, and a coppery taste in my mouth. these symptoms i attributed to having slept so frequently on the hard ground and in the beds of creeks, and it was only when my mouth became sore, and my gums spongy, that i felt it necessary to trouble mr. browne, who at once told me that i was labouring under an attack of scurvy, and i regretted to learn from him that both he and mr. poole were similarly affected, but they hoped i had hitherto escaped. mr. browne was the more surprised at my case, as i was very moderate in my diet, and had taken but little food likely to cause such a malady. of we three mr. poole suffered most, and gradually declined in health. for myself i immediately took double precautions, and although i could not hope soon to shake off such a disease, especially under such unfavourable circumstances as those in which we were placed, i was yet thankful that i did not become worse. for mr. browne, as he did not complain, i had every hope that he too had succeeded in arresting the progress of this fearful distemper. it will naturally occur to the reader as singular, that the officers only should have been thus attacked; but the fact is, that they had been constantly absent from the camp, and had therefore been obliged to use bacon, whereas the men were living on fresh mutton; besides, the same men were seldom taken on a second journey, but were allowed time to recover from the exposure to which they had been subjected, but for the officers there was no respite. on the th the wind, which had again settled in the s.e. changed to the n.e., and the sky became generally overcast. heavy clouds hung over the mount serle chain, and i thought that rain would have fallen, but all these favourable indications vanished before sunset. at dawn of the morning of the th, dense masses of clouds were seen, and thunder heard to the west; and the wind shifting to that quater, we hoped that some of the clouds would have been blown over to us, but they kept their place for two days, and then gradually disappeared. these distant indications, however, were sufficient to rouse us to exertion, in the hope of escaping from the fearful captivity in which we had so long been held. i left the camp on the st with mr. browne and flood, thinking that rain might have extended to the eastward from mount serle, sufficiently near to enable us to push into the n.w. interior, and as it appeared to me that a w. by n. course would take me abreast of mount hopeless, i ran upon it. at miles i ascended a low range, but could not observe anything from it to the westward but scrub. descending from this range we struck the head of a creek, and at six miles came on the last dregs of a pool of water, so thick that it was useless to us. we next crossed barren stony undulations and open plains, some of them apparently subject to floods; and halted at half-past six, after a journey of between thirty and forty miles without water, and with very little grass for our horses to eat. although the course we kept, had taken us at times to a considerable distance from the creek, we again came on it before sunset, and consequently halted upon its banks; but in tracing it down on the following morning we lost its channel on an extensive plain, and therefore continued our journey to the westward. at seven miles we entered a dense scrub, and at fifteen ascended a sand hill, from which we expected to have had a more than usually extensive view, but it was limited to the next sand hill, nor was there the slightest prospect of a change of country being at hand. at four miles from this position we came upon a second creek seemingly from the n.e., whose appearance raised our hopes of obtaining water; but as its channel became sandy, and turned southwards, i left it, and once more running on our old course, pulled up at sunset under a bank of sand, without anything either for ourselves or our horses to drink. during the latter part of the evening we had observed a good deal of grass on the sand hills, nor was there any deficiency of it round our bivouac; but, notwithstanding that there was more than enough for the few horses we had, a herd of cattle would have discussed the whole in a night. it was evident from the state of the ground that no rain had fallen hereabouts, and i consequently began to doubt whether it had extended beyond the mountains. comparing the appearance of the country we were in, with that through which mr. browne passed for miles before he came upon lake torrens, and concluding that some such similar change would have taken place here if we had approached within any reasonable distance of that basin, i could not but apprehend that we were still a long way from it. the horses having refused the water we had found in the creek, i could hardly expect they would drink it on their return, so that i calculated our distance from water at about miles; and i foresaw that unless we should succeed in finding some early in the day following, it would be necessary for us to make for the depot again. close to where we stopped there was a large burrow of talperos, an animal, as i have observed, similar to the rabbit in its habits, and one of which the natives are very fond, as food. the sandy ridges appeared to be full of them, and other animals, that must live for many months at a time without water. whilst we were sitting in the dusk near our fire, two beautiful parrots attracted by it, i suppose, pitched close to us; but immediately took wing again, and flew away to the n.w. they, no doubt, thought that we were near water, but like ourselves were doomed to disappointment. during the evening also some plovers flew over us, and we heard some native dogs howling to the south-west. at daylight, therefore, we rode in that direction, with the hope of finding the element we now so much required. at three miles a large grassy flat opened out to view upon our right, similar to that at the termination of the depot creek. it might have contained acres, but there was not at the first glance, a tree to be seen upon it this flat was bounded to the s.w. by a sand bank, lying at right angles to the sand ridges we had been crossing. the latter, therefore, ran down upon this bank in parallel, lines, some falling short of, and others striking it; so that, as the drainage was towards the embankment, the collected waters lodged against it. after crossing a portion of the plain we saw some box-trees in a hollow, towards which we rode, and then came upon a deep dry pond, in whose bottom the natives had dug several wells, and had evidently lingered near it as long as a drop of water remained. it was now clear that our further search for water would be useless. i therefore turned on a course of degrees to the north of east for the muddy water we had passed two days before, and halted there about an hour after sunset, having journeyed miles. we fell into our tracks going out about four miles before we halted, and were surprised to observe that a solitary native had been running them down. on riding a little further however, we noticed several tracks of different sizes, as if a family of natives had been crossing the country to the north-west. it is more than probable that their water having failed in the hills, they were on their way to some other place where they had a well. although we had ourselves been without water for two days, the mud in the creek was so thick that i could not swallow it, and was really astonished how mr. browne managed to drink a pint of it made into tea. it absolutely fell over the cup of the panakin like thick cream, and stuck to the horses' noses like pipe-clay. they drank sparingly however, and took but little grass during the night. as we pursued our journey homewards on the following day, we passed several flights of dotterel making to the south, this being the first migration we had observed in that direction. these birds were in great numbers on the plains of adelaide the year preceding, and had afforded good sport to my friend torrens; we also observed a flight of pelicans, wheeling about close to the ground, as they had before done to the eastward, as well as a flight of the black-shouldered hawks hovering in the air. our day's ride had been very long and fatiguing, as the horses were tired, but we got relieved by our arrival at the camp a little before sunset on the th: and thus terminated another journey in disappointment. we regretted to find that mr. poole was seriously indisposed. his muscles were now attacked and he was suffering great pain, but, as the disease appeared inclined to make to the surface, mr. browne had some hopes of a favourable change. both mr. browne and myself found that the sameness of our diet began to disagree with us, and were equally anxious for the reappearance of vegetation, in the hope that we should be able to collect sow-thistles or the tender shoots of the rhagodia as a change. we had, whilst it lasted, taken mint tea, in addition to the scanty supply of tea to which we were obliged to limit ourselves, but i do not think it was wholesome. the moon entered her third quarter on the th, but brought no change; on the contrary she chased away the clouds as she rose, and moved through the heavens in unshrouded and dazzling brightness. sometimes a dark mass of clouds would rise simultaneously with her, in the west, but as the queen of night advanced in her upward course they gradually diminished the velocity with which they at first came up; stopped, and fell back again, below the horizon. not once, but fifty times have we watched these apparently contending forces, but whether i am right in attributing the cause i will not say. at this time (the end of april) the weather was very fine, although the thermometer ranged high. the wind being steady at south accounted for the unusual height of the barometrical column, which rose to . . on the night of the th we had a heavy dew, the first since our departure from the darling. on the morning of the th it thundered, and a dense cloud passed over to the north, the wind was unsteady, and i hoped that the storm would have worked round, but it did not. at ten the wind sprung up from the south, the sky cleared and all our hopes were blighted. notwithstanding that we treated the natives who came to the creek with every kindness, none ever visited us, and i was the more surprised at this, because i could not but think that we were putting them to great inconvenience by our occupation of this spot. towards the end of the month, it was so cold that we were glad to have fires close to our tents. mr. poole had gradually become worse and worse, and was now wholly confined to his bed, unable to stir, a melancholy affliction both to himself and us, rendering our detention in that gloomy region still more painful. my men generally were in good health, but almost all had bleeding at the nose; i was only too thankful that my own health did not give way, though i still felt the scurvy in a mitigated form, but mr. browne had more serious symptoms about him. the th of may completed the ninth month of our absence from adelaide, and still we were locked up without the hope of escape, whilst every day added fresh causes of anxiety to those i had already to bear up against. mr. poole became worse, all his skin along the muscles turned black, and large pieces of spongy flesh hung from the roof of his mouth, which was in such a state that he could hardly eat. instead of looking with eagerness to the moment of our liberation, i now dreaded the consequent necessity of moving him about in so dreadful a condition. mr. browne attended him with a constancy and kindness that could not but raise him in my estimation, doing every thing which friendship or sympathy could suggest. on the th about p.m. i was roused by the dogs simultaneously springing up and rushing across the creek, but supposing they had seen a native dog, i did not rise; however, i soon knew by their continued barking that they had something at bay, and mr. piesse not long after came to inform me a solitary native was on the top of some rising ground in front of the camp. i sent him therefore with some of the men to call off the dogs, and to bring him down to the tents. the poor fellow had fought manfully with the dogs, and escaped injury, but had broken his waddy over one of them. he was an emaciated and elderly man, rather low in stature, and half dead with hunger and thirst; he drank copiously of the water that was offered to him, and then ate as much as would have served me for four and twenty dinners. the men made him up a screen of boughs close to the cart near the servants, and i gave him a blanket in which he rolled himself up and soon fell fast asleep. whence this solitary stranger could have come from we could not divine. no other natives approached to look after him, nor did he shew anxiety for any absent companion. his composure and apparent self-possession were very remarkable, for he neither exhibited astonishment or curiosity at the novelties by which he was surrounded. his whole demeanour was that of a calm and courageous man, who finding himself placed in unusual jeopardy, had determined not to be betrayed into the slightest display of fear or timidity. from the period of our return from the eastward, i had remained quiet in the camp, watching every change in the sky; i was indeed reluctant to absent myself for any indefinite period, in consequence of mr. poole's precarious state of health. he had now used all the medicines we had brought out, and none therefore remained either for him or any one else who might subsequently be taken ill. as however he was better, on the th, i determined to make a second excursion to the eastward, to see if there were any more natives in the neighbourhood of the grassy plains than when i was last there. wishing to get some samples of wood i took the light cart and tampawang also, in the hope that he would be of use. although the water in the creek had sunk fearfully there was still a month's supply remaining, but if it had been used by our stock it would then have been dry. close to the spot where we had before stopped, there were two huts that had been recently erected. before these two fires were burning, and some troughs of grass seed were close to them, but no native could we see, neither did any answer to our call. mr. browne, however, observing some recent tracks, ran them down, and discovered a native and his lubra who had concealed themselves in the hollow of a tree, from which they crept as soon as they saw they were discovered. the man, we had seen before, and the other proved to be the frail one who exhibited such indignation at our rejecting her addresses on a former occasion; being a talkative damsel, we were glad to renew our acquaintance with her. we learnt from them that the second hut belonged to an absent native who was out hunting, the father of a pretty little girl who now obeyed their signal and came forth. they said the water on the plain had dried up, and that the only water-holes remaining were to the west, viz. at our camp, and to the south, where they said there were two water-holes. as they had informed us, the absent native made his appearance at sunset, but his bag was very light, so we once more gave them all our mutton; he proved to be the man mr. browne chased on the sand hills, the strongest native we had seen; he wanted the front tooth, but was not circumcised. in the evening we had a thunder storm, but could have counted the drops of rain that fell, notwithstanding the thunder was loud and the lightning vivid. we returned to the depot on the th, and on crossing the plain mr. browne had well nigh captured a jerboa, which sprang from under my horse's legs, but managed to elude him, and popped into a little hole before he could approach sufficiently near to strike at it. on reaching the tents we had the mortification to find mr. poole still worse, but i attributed his relapse in some measure to a depression of spirits. the old man who had come to the camp the day before we left it, was still there, and had apparently taken up his quarters between the cart and my tent. during our absence the men had shewn him all the wonders of the camp, and he in his turn had strongly excited their anticipations, by what he had told them. he appeared to be quite aware of the use of the boat, intimating that it was turned upside down, and pointed to the n.w. as the quarter in which we should use her. he mistook the sheep net for a fishing net, and gave them to understand that there were fish in those waters so large that they would not get through the meshes. being anxious to hear what he had to say i sent for him to my tent, and with mr. browne cross-questioned him. it appeared quite clear to us that he was aware of the existence of large water somewhere or other to the northward and westward. he pointed from w.n.w. round to the eastward of north, and explained that large waves higher than his head broke on the shore. on my shewing him the fish figured in sir thomas mitchell's work he knew only the cod. of the fish figured in cuvier's works he gave specific names to those he recognised, as the hippocampus, the turtle, and several sea fish, as the chetodon, but all the others he included under one generic name, that of "guia," fish. he put his hands very cautiously on the snakes, and withdrew them suddenly as if he expected they would bite him, and evinced great astonishment when he felt nothing but the soft paper. on being asked, he expressed his readiness to accompany us when there should be water, but said we should not have rain yet. i must confess this old native raised my hopes, and made me again anxious for the moment when we should resume our labours, but when that time was to come god only knew. it had been to no purpose that we had traversed the country in search for water. none any longer remained on the parched surface of the stony desert, if i except what remained at the depot, and the little in the creek to the eastward. there were indeed the ravages of floods and the vestiges of inundations to be seen in the neighbourhood of every creek we had traced, and upon every plain we had crossed, but the element that had left such marks of its fury was no where to be found. from this period i gave up all hope of success in any future effort i might make to escape from our dreary prison. day after day, and week after week passed over our heads, without any apparent likelihood of any change in the weather. the consequences of our detention weighed heavily on my mind, and depressed my spirits, for in looking over mr. piesse's monthly return of provisions on hand, i found that unless some step was taken to enable me to keep the field, i should on the fall of rain be obliged to retreat. i had by severe exertion gained a most commanding position, the wide field of the interior lay like an open sea before me, and yet every sanguine hope i had ever indulged appeared as if about to be extinguished. the only plan for me to adopt was to send a portion of the men back to adelaide. i found by calculation that if i divided the party, retaining nine in all, and sending the remainder home, i should secure the means of pushing my researches to the end of december, before which time i hoped, (however much it had pleased providence to stay my progress hitherto,) to have performed my task, or penetrated the heartless desert before me, to such a distance as would leave no doubt as to the question i had been directed to solve. the old man left us on the th with the promise of returning, and from the careful manner in which he concealed the different things that had been given to him i thought he would have done so, but we never saw him more, and i cannot but think that he perished from the want of water in endeavouring to return to his kindred. i have repeatedly remarked that we had been deserted by all the feathered tribes. not only was this the case, but we had witnessed a second migration of the later broods; after these were gone, there still remained with us about fifty of the common kites and as many crows: these birds continued with us for the offals of the sheep, and had become exceedingly tame; the kites in particular came flying from the trees when a whistle was sounded, to the great amusement of the men, who threw up pieces of meat for them to catch before they fell to the ground. when the old man first came to us, we fed him on mutton, but one of the men happening to shoot a crow, he shewed such a decided preference for it, that he afterwards lived almost exclusively upon them. he was, as i have stated, when he first came to us a thin and emaciated being, but at the expiration of a fortnight when he rose to depart, he threw off his blanket and exhibited a condition that astonished us all. he was absolutely fat, and yet his face did not at all indicate such a change. if he had been fed in the dark like capons, he could not have got into better condition. mr. browne was anxious to accompany him, but i thought that if his suspicions were aroused he would not return, and i therefore let him depart as he came. with him all our hopes vanished, for even the presence of that savage was soothing to us, and so long as he remained, we indulged in anticipations as to the future. from the time of his departure a gloomy silence pervaded the camp; we were, indeed, placed under the most trying circumstances; every thing combined to depress our spirits and exhaust our patience. we had gradually been deserted by every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air. we had witnessed migration after migration of the feathered tribes, to that point to which we were so anxious to push our way. flights of cockatoos, of parrots, of pigeons, and of bitterns, birds also whose notes had cheered us in the wilderness, all had taken the same high road to a better and more hospitable region. the vegetable kingdom was at a stand, and there was nothing either to engage the attention or attract the eye. our animals had laid the ground bare for miles around the camp, and never came towards it but to drink. the axe had made a broad gap in the line of gum-trees which ornamented the creek, and had destroyed its appearance. we had to witness the gradual and fearful diminution of the water, on the possession of which our lives depended; day after day we saw it sink lower and lower, dissipated alike by the sun and the winds. from its original depth of nine feet, it now scarcely measured two, and instead of extending from bank to bank it occupied only a narrow line in the centre of the channel. had the drought continued for a month longer than it pleased the almighty to terminate it, that creek would have been as dry as the desert on either side. almost heart-broken, mr. browne and i seldom left our tents, save to visit our sick companion. mr. browne had for some time been suffering great pain in his limbs, but with a generous desire to save me further anxiety carefully concealed it from me; but it was his wont to go to some acacia trees in the bed of the creek to swing on their branches, as he told me to exercise his muscles, in the hope of relaxing their rigidity. one day, when i was sitting with mr. poole, he suggested the erection of two stations, one on the red hill and the other on the black hill, as points for bearings when we should leave the depot. the idea had suggested itself to me, but i had observed that we soon lost sight of the hills in going to the north-west; and that, therefore, for such a purpose, the works would be of little use, but to give the men occupation; and to keep them in health i employed them in erecting a pyramid of stones on the summit of the red hill. it is twenty-one feet at the base, and eighteen feet high, and bears degrees from the camp, or degrees to the west of north. i little thought when i was engaged in that work, that i was erecting mr. poole's monument, but so it was, that rude structure looks over his lonely grave, and will stand for ages as a record of all we suffered in the dreary region to which we were so long confined. the months of may and june, and the first and second weeks of july passed over our heads, yet there was no indication of a change of weather. it had been bitterly cold during parts of this period, the thermometer having descended to degrees; thus making the difference between the extremes of summer heat and winter's cold no less than degrees. about the middle of june i had the drays put into serviceable condition, the wheels wedged up, and every thing prepared for moving away. anxious to take every measure to prevent unnecessary delay, when the day of liberation should arrive, i had sent mr. stuart and mr. piesse, with a party of chainers, to measure along the line on which i intended to move when the depot was broken up. i had determined, as i have elsewhere informed the reader, to penetrate to the westward, in the hope of finding lake torrens connected with some more extensive and more central body of water; and i thought it would be satisfactory to ascertain, as nearly as possible, the distance of that basin from the darling, and in so doing to unite the eastern and western surveys. i had assumed sir thomas mitchell's position at williorara as correct, and had taken the most careful bearings from that point to the depot, and the position in which they fixed it differed but little from the result of the many lunars i took during my stay there. as i purpose giving the elements of all my calculations, those more qualified than myself to judge on these matters, will correct me if i have been in error; but, as the mean of my lunars was so close to the majority of the single lunars, i cannot think they are far from the truth. be that as it may, i assumed my position at the depot to be in lat. degrees minutes seconds s. and in long. degrees minutes seconds e., the variation being degrees minutes east. allowing for the variation, i directed mr. stuart to run the chain line on a bearing of degrees to the west of north, which i intended to cut a little to the west of the park-like and grassy plain at the termination of the creek i had traced in that direction. by supplying the party with water from the camp, i enabled them to prolong the line to miles. on the th of june i commenced my preparations for moving; not that i had any reason so to do, but because i could not bring myself to believe that the drought would continue much longer. the felloes and spokes of the wheels of the drays had shrunk to nothing, and it was with great difficulty that we wedged them up; but the boat, which had been so long exposed to an ardent sun, had, to appearance at least, been but little injured. as it became necessary to point out the drays that were to go with the home returning party, i was obliged to break my intentions to mr. poole, who i also proposed sending in charge of them. he was much affected, but, seeing the necessity of the measure, said that he was ready to obey my orders in all things. i directed mr. piesse to weigh out and place apart the supplies that would be required for mr. poole and his men, and to pack the provisions we should retain in the most compact order. on examining our bacon we found that it had lost more than half its weight, and had now completely saturated the bran in which it had been packed. our flour had lost more than per cent., and the tea in a much greater proportion. the most valuable part of our stock were the sheep, they had kept in excellent condition, and seldom weighed less than lbs. or lbs.; but their flesh was perfectly tasteless. still they were a most valuable stock, and we had enough remaining to give the men a full allowance; for the parties employed on detached excursions, could only take a day or two's supply with them, and in consequence a quantity of back rations, if i may so term them, were constantly accumulating. mr. poole's reduced state of health rendered it necessary that a dray should be prepared for his transport, and i requested mr. browne to superintend every possible arrangement for his comfort. a dray was accordingly lined with sheep skins, and had a flannel tilt, as the nights were exceedingly cold, and he could not be moved to a fire. i had also a swing cot made, with pullies to raise him up when he should feel disposed to change his position. whilst these necessary preparations were being forwarded, i was engaged writing my public despatches. in my communication to the governor of south australia, i expressed a desire that a supply of provisions might be forwarded to williorara by the end of december, about which period i hoped i should be on my return from the interior. i regretted exceedingly putting her majesty's government to this additional cost, but i trust a sufficient excuse will have been found for me in the foregoing pages. i would rather that my bones had been left to bleach in that desert than have yielded an inch of the ground i had gained at so much expense and trouble. the th of june completed the fifth month of our detention at the depot, and the prospect of our removal appeared to be as distant as ever; there were, it is true, more clouds, but they passed over us without breaking. the month of july, however, opened with every indication of a change, the sky was generally overcast, and although we had been so often disappointed, i had a presentiment that the then appearances would not vanish without rain. about this time mr. poole, whose health on the whole was improving, had a severe attack of inflammation, which mr. browne subdued with great difficulty. after this attack he became exceedingly restless, and expressed a desire to be moved from the tent in which he had so long been confined, to the underground room, but as that rude apartment was exceedingly cold at night, i thought it advisable to have a chimney built to it before he was taken there. it was not until the th that it was ready for him. as the men were carrying him across the camp towards the room he was destined to occupy for so short a time, i pointed out the pyramid to him, and it is somewhat singular, that the first drops of rain, on the continuance of which our deliverance depended, fell as the men were bearing him along. referring back to the early part of the month, i may observe that the indications of a breaking up of the drought, became every day more apparent. it was now clear, indeed, that the sky was getting surcharged with moisture, and it is impossible for me to describe the intense anxiety that prevailed in the camp. on the morning of the rd the firmament was again cloudy, but the wind shifted at noon to west, and the sun set in a sky so clear that we could hardly believe it had been so lately overcast. on the following morning he rose bright and clear as he had set, and we had a day of surpassing fineness, like a spring day in england. the night of the th was the coldest night we experienced at the depot, when the thermometer descended to degrees. on the th a south wind made the barometer rise to degrees minutes, and with it despair once more stared us in the face, for with the wind in that quarter there was no hope of rain. on the th it still blew heavily from the south, and the barometer rose to degrees minutes; but the evening was calm and frosty, and the sky without a cloud. i may be wearying my reader, by entering thus into the particulars of every change that took place in the weather at this, to us, intensely anxious period, but he must excuse me; my narrative may appear dull, and should not have been intruded on the notice of the public, had i not been influenced by a sense of duty to all concerned. no one but those who were with me at that trying time and in that fearful solitude, can form an idea of our feelings. to continue then, on the morning of the th it again blew fresh from the south, the sky was cloudless even in the direction of mount serle, and all appearance of rain had passed away. on the th, to give a change to the current of my thoughts, and for exercise, i walked down the depot creek with mr. browne, and turning northwards up the main branch when we reached the junction of the two creeks, we continued our ramble for two or three miles. i know not why it was, that, on this occasion more than any other, we should have contemplated the scene around us, unless it was that the peculiar tranquillity of the moment made a greater impression on our minds. perhaps the death-like silence of the scene at that moment led us to reflect, whilst gazing on the ravages made by the floods, how fearfully that silence must sometimes be broken by the roar of waters and of winds. here, as in other places, we observed the trunks of trees swept down from the hills, lodged high in the branches of the trees in the neighbourhood of the creek, and large accumulations of rubbish lying at their butts, whilst the line of inundation extended so far into the plains that the country must on such occasions have the appearance of an inland sea. the winds on the other hand had stripped the bark from the trees to windward (a little to the south of west), as if it had been shaved off with an instrument, but during our stay at the depot we had not experienced any unusual visitation, as a flood really would have been; for any torrent, such as that which it was evident sometimes swells the creek, would have swept us from our ground, since the marks of inundation reached more than a mile beyond our encampment, and the trunk of a large gum-tree was jambed between the branches of one overhanging the creek near us at an altitude exceeding the height of our tents. on the th the wind shifted to the east, the whole sky becoming suddenly overcast, and on the morning of the th it was still at east, but at noon veered round to the north, when a gentle rain set in, so gentle that it more resembled a mist, but this continued all the evening and during the night. it ceased however at a.m. of the th, when the wind shifted a little to the westward of north. at noon rain again commenced, and fell steadily throughout the night, but although the ground began to feel the effects of it, sufficient had not fallen to enable us to move. yet, how thankful was i for this change, and how earnestly did i pray that the almighty would still farther extend his mercy to us, when i laid my head on my pillow. all night it poured down without any intermission, and as morning dawned the ripple of waters in a little gully close to our tents, was a sweeter and more soothing sound than the softest melody i ever heard. on going down to the creek in the morning i found that it had risen five inches, and the ground was now so completely saturated that i no longer doubted the moment of our liberation had arrived. i had made every necessary preparation for mr. poole's departure on the th, and as the rain ceased on the morning of the th the home returning party mustered to leave us. mr. poole felt much when i went to tell him that the dray in which he was to be conveyed, was ready for his reception. i did all that i could to render his mind easy on every point, and allowed him to select the most quiet and steady bullocks for the dray he was to occupy; together with the most careful driver in the party. i also consented to his taking joseph, who was the best man i had, to attend personally upon him, and mr. browne put up for his use all the little comforts we could spare. i cheered him with the hope of returning to meet us after we should have terminated our labours, and assured him that i considered his services on the duty i was about to send him as valuable and important as if he continued with me. he was lifted on his stretcher into the dray, and appeared gratified at the manner in which it had been arranged. i was glad to see that his feelings did not give way at this painful moment; on my ascending the dray, however, to bid him adieu, he wept bitterly, but expressed his hope that we should succeed in our enterprise. as i knew his mind would be agitated, and that his greatest trial would be on the first day, i requested mr. browne to accompany him, and to return to me on the following day. on mr. poole's departure i prepared for our own removal, and sent flood after the horses, but having an abundance of water everywhere, they had wandered, and he returned with them too late for me to move. he said, that in crossing the rocky range he heard a roaring noise, and that on going to the glen he saw the waters pouring down, foaming and eddying amongst the rocks, adding that he was sure the floods would be down upon us ere long. an evident proof that however light the rain appeared to be, an immense quantity must have fallen, and i could not but hope and believe that it had been general. before we left the depot flood's prediction was confirmed, and the channel which, if the drought had continued a few days longer, would have been perfectly waterless, was thus suddenly filled up to the brim; no stronger instance of the force of waters in these regions can be adduced than this, no better illustration of the character of the creeks can be given. the head of the depot creek was not more than eight miles from us, its course to its junction with the main creek was not ten, yet it was a watercourse that without being aware of its commencement or termination might have been laid down by the traveller as a river. such however is the uncertain nature of the rivers of those parts of the continent of australia over which i have wandered. i would not trust the largest farther than the range of vision; they are deceptive all of them, the offsprings of heavy rains, and dependent entirely on local circumstances for their appearance and existence. having taken all our circumstances into consideration, our heart-breaking detention, the uncertainty that involved our future proceedings, and the ceaseless anxiety of mind to which we should be subjected, recollecting also that mr. browne had joined me for a limited period only, and that a protracted journey might injure his future prospects, i felt that it was incumbent on me to give him the option of returning with mr. poole if he felt disposed to do so, but he would not desert me, and declined all my suggestions. on the morning of the th i struck the tents, which had stood for six months less eleven days, and turned my back on the depot in grateful thankfulness for our release from a spot where my feelings and patience had been so severely tried. when we commenced our journey, we found that our progress would be slow, for the ground was dreadfully heavy, and the bullocks, so long unaccustomed to draught, shrunk from their task. one of the drays stuck in the little gully behind our camp, and we were yet endeavouring to get it out, when mr. browne returned from his attendance on mr. poole, and i was glad to find that he had left him in tolerable spirits, and with every hope of his gradual improvement. as we crossed the creek, between the depot and the glen, we found that the waters, as flood predicted, had descended so far, and waded through them to the other side. we then rode to the glen, to see how it looked under such a change, and remained some time watching the current as it swept along. on our return to the party i found that it would be impossible to make a lengthened journey; for, having parted with two drays, we had necessarily been obliged to increase the loads on the others, so that they sank deep into the ground. i therefore halted, after having gone about four miles only. about seven o'clock p.m. we were surprised by the sudden return of joseph, from the home returning party; but, still more so at the melancholy nature of the information he had to communicate. mr. poole, he said, had breathed his last at three o'clock. this sad event necessarily put a stop to my movements, and obliged me to consider what arrangements i should now have to make. it appeared, from joseph's account, that mr. poole had not shewn any previous indications of approaching dissolution. about a quarter before three he had risen to take some medicine, but suddenly observed to joseph that he thought he was dying, and falling on his back, expired without a struggle. early on the morning of this day, and before we ourselves started, i had sent mr. stuart and mr. piesse in advance with the chainers, to carry on the chaining. on the morning of the th, before i mounted my horse to accompany mr. browne to examine the remains of our unfortunate companion, which i determined to inter at the depot, i sent a man to recall them. the suddenness of mr. poole's death surprised both mr. browne and myself; but the singular fairness of his countenance left no doubt on his mind but that internal haemorrhage had been the immediate cause of that event. on the th the whole party, which had so lately separated, once more assembled at the depot. we buried mr. poole under a grevillia that stood close to our underground room; his initials, and the year, are cut in it above the grave, "j. p. ," and he now sleeps in the desert. the sad event i have recorded, obliged me most reluctantly to put mr. piesse in charge of the home returning party, for i had had every reason to be satisfied with him, and i witnessed his departure with regret. a more trustworthy, or a more anxious officer could not have been attached to such a service as that in which he was employed. the funeral of mr. poole was a fitting close to our residence at the depot. at the conclusion of that ceremony the party again separated, and i returned to my tent, to prepare for moving on the morrow. at a.m. accordingly of the th we pushed on to the n.w. the ground had become much harder, but the travelling was still heavy. at three miles we passed a small creek, about seven miles from the depot, at which i intended to have halted on leaving that place. we passed over stony plains, or low, sandy, and swampy ground, since the valleys near the hills opened out as we receded from them. on the th i kept the chained line, but in consequence of the heavy state of the ground we did not get on more than / miles. the character of the country was that of open sandy plains, the sand being based upon a stiff, tenacious clay, impervious to water. with the exception of a few salsolae and atriplex, the plains were exceedingly bare, and had innumerable patches of water over them, not more than two or three inches deep. at intervals pure sand hills occurred, on which there were a few stunted casuarina and mimosae, but a good deal of grass and thousands of young plants already springing up. as the ground was still very soft, i should not have moved on the th, but was anxious to push on. early in the day, and at less than miles from the hills, we encountered the sandy ridges, and found the pull over them much worse than over the flats. the wheels of the drays sank deep into the ground, and in straining to get them clear we broke seven yokes. two flights of swans, and a small flight of ducks, passed over our heads at dusk, coming from the w.n.w. the brushes were full of the calodera, but being very wild we could not procure a specimen. the chainers had no difficulty in keeping pace with us, and on the th we found ourselves in lat. degrees minutes, having then chained miles on a bearing of degrees to the west of north, as originally determined upon. finding that i had thus passed to the south-west of the grassy plain, i halted, and rode with flood to the eastward; when at seven miles we descended into it, and finding that there was an abundance of water in the creek (the channel we had before noticed), i returned to mr. browne; but as it was late in the afternoon when we regained the tents, we did not move that evening, and the succeeding day being sunday we also remained stationary. we had halted close to one of those clear patches on which the rain water lodges, but it had dried up, and there was only a little for our use in a small gutter not far distant. whilst we were here encamped a little jerboa was chased by the dogs into a hole close to the drays; which, with four others, we succeeded in capturing, by digging for them. this beautiful little animal burrows in the ground like a mouse, but their habitations have several passages, leading straight, like the radii of a circle, to a common centre, to which a shaft is sunk from above, so that there is a complete circulation of air along the whole. we fed our little captives on oats, on which they thrived, and became exceedingly tame. they generally huddled together in a corner of their box, but, when darting from one side to the other, they hopped on their hind legs, which, like the kangaroo, were much longer than the fore, and held the tail perfectly straight and horizontal. at this date they were a novelty to us, but we subsequently saw great numbers of them, and ascertained that the natives frequented the sandy ridges in order to procure them for food. those we succeeded in capturing were, i am sorry to say, lost from neglect. on monday i conducted the whole party to the new depot, which for the present i shall call the park, but as i was very unwilling that any more time should be lost in pushing to the west, i instructed mr. stuart to change the direction of the chained line to degrees to the west of south, direct upon mount hopeless, and to continue it until i should overtake him. in this operation mr. browne kindly volunteered to assist mr. stuart, as the loss of mr. piesse had so reduced my strength. by the th i had arranged the camp in its new position, and felt myself at liberty to follow after the chainers. before i left, however, i directed a stockyard to be made, in which to herd the cattle at night, and instructed davenport to prepare some ground for a garden, with a view to planting it out with vegetables--pumpkins and melons. i left the camp with flood, at a.m. on the above day, judging that mr. browne was then about miles a-head of me, and stopped for the night in a little sheltered valley between two sand hills, after a ride of miles. the country continued unchanged. valleys or flats, more or less covered with water, alternated with sandy ridges, on some of which there was no scarcity of grass. we had not ridden far on the following morning when a partial change was perceptible in the aspect of the country. the flats became broader and the sand hills lower, but this change was temporary. we gradually rose somewhat from the general level, and crossed several sand hills, higher than any we had seen. these sand hills had very precipitous sides and broken summits, and being of a bright red colour, they looked in the distance like long lines of dead brick walls, being perfectly bare, or sparingly covered with spinifex at the base. they succeeded each other so rapidly, that it was like crossing the tops of houses in some street; but they were much steeper to the eastward than to the westward, and successive gales appeared to have lowered them, and in some measure to have filled up the intervening flats with the sand from their summits. the basis of the country was sandstone, on which clay rested in a thin layer, and on this clay the sandy ridges reposed. we overtook mr. browne about half an hour before sunset, and all halted together, when the men had completed their tenth mile. on the st of august we did not find the country so heavy or so wet as it had been. it was indeed so open and denuded of every thing like a tree or bush, that we had some difficulty in finding wood to boil our tea. in the afternoon when we halted the men had chained miles on the new bearing, but as yet we could not see any range or hill to the westward. about two hours before we halted mr. browne and i surprised some natives on the top of a sand hill, two of them saw us approaching and ran away, the third could not make his escape before we were upon him, but he was dreadfully alarmed. in order to allay his fears mr. browne dismounted and walked up to him, whilst i kept back. on this the poor fellow began to dance, and to call out most vehemently, but finding that all he could do was to no purpose he sat down and began to cry. we managed however to pacify him, so much that he mustered courage to follow us, with his two companions, to our halting place. these wanderers of the desert had their bags full of jerboas which they had captured on the hills. they could not indeed have had less than from to of these beautiful little animals, so numerous are they on the sand hills, but it would appear that the natives can only go in pursuit of them after a fall of rain, such as that we had experienced. there being then water, the country, at other times impenetrable, is then temporarily thrown open to them, and they traverse it in quest of the jerboa and other quadrupeds. our friends cooked all they had in hot sand, and devoured them entire, fur, skin, entrails and all, only breaking away the under jaw and nipping off the tail with their teeth. they absolutely managed before sunset to finish their whole stock, and then took their departure, having, i suppose, gratified both their appetite and their curiosity. they were all three circumcised and spoke a different language from that of the hill natives, and came, they told us, from the west. as we advanced the country became extremely barren, and surface water was very scarce, and the open ground, entirely denuded of timber, wore the most desolate appearance. if we had hitherto been in a region destitute of inhabitants it seemed as if we were now getting into a more populous district. about noon of the nd, as mr. browne and i were riding in front of the chainers, we heard a shout to our right, and on looking in that direction saw a party of natives assembled on a sand hill, to the number of fourteen. as we advanced towards them they retreated, but at length made a stand as if to await our approach. they were armed with spears, and on mr. browne dismounting to walk towards them, formed themselves into a circle, in the centre of which were two old men, round whom they danced. thinking that mr. browne might run some risk if he went near, i called him back, and as i really had not time for ceremonies, we rejoined the chainers, beng satisfied also that if the natives felt disposed to communicate with us, they would do so of their own accord; nor was i mistaken in this, for, judging, i suppose, from our leaving them that we did not meditate any hostility, seven of their number followed us, and as mr. browne was at that time in advance, i gave my horse to one of the men and again went towards them, but it was with great difficulty that i got them to a parley, after which they sat down and allowed me to approach, though from the surprise they exhibited i imagine they had never seen a white man before. they spoke a language different from any i had heard, had lost two of the front teeth of the upper jaw, and had large scars on the breast. i could not gather any information from them, or satisfactorily ascertain from what quarter they came; staying with them for a short time therefore, and giving them a couple of knives i left them, and after following abreast of us, for a mile or two, they also turned to the north, and disappeared. the night of the nd august was exceedingly cold, with the wind from the n.e. (an unusual quarter from which to have a low temperature) and there was a thick hoar frost on the morning of the rd. why the winds should have been so cold blowing from that quarter, whence our hottest winds also came, it is difficult to say; but at this season of the year, and in this line, they were invariably so. near the flat on which we stopped on the evening of the nd there was a hill considerably elevated above the others; which, after unsaddling and letting out the horses, mr. browne and i were induced to ascend. from it we saw a line of high and broken ranges to the s.s.w. but they were very distant. at three and a half miles from this point we crossed a salt water creek, having pools in it of great depth, but so clear that we could see to the bottom; and wherever our feet sank in the mud, salt water immediately oozed up. there were some box-trees growing near this creek, which came from the north, and fell towards the ranges. at half a mile further we crossed a small fresh water creek, and intermediate between the two was a lagoon of about a mile in length, but not more than three inches in depth. this lagoon, if it might so be called, from its size only, had been filled by the recent rains; but was so thick and muddy, from being continually ruffled by the winds, that it was unfit for use. the banks of the fresh water creek were crowded with water-hens, similar to those which visited adelaide in such countless numbers the year before i proceeded into the interior ( ). they were running about like so many fowls; but, on being alarmed, took flight and went south. the fresh water creek (across which it was an easy jump) joined the salt water creek a little below where we struck it, and was the first creek of the kind we had seen since we left the depot, in a distance of more than miles, and up to this point we had entirely subsisted on the surface water left by the rains. the country we now passed through was of a salsolaceous character, like a low barren sea coast. the sand hills were lower and broader than they had been, and their sides were cut by deep fissures made by heavy torrents. from a hill, about a mile from our halting place on this day, we again saw the ranges, which had been sighted the day before. south of us, and distant about a mile, there was a large dry lagoon, white with salt, and another of a similar kind to the west of it. these changes in the character of the country convinced me that we should soon arrive at some more important one. on the th we advanced as usual on a bearing of degrees to the west of south, having then chained miles upon it. at about three miles we observed a sand hill in front of us, beyond which no land was to be seen, as if the country dipped, and there was a great hollow. on arriving at this sand hill our further progress westward was checked by the intervention of an immense shallow and sandy basin, upon which we looked down from the place where we stood. the hills we had seen the day before were still visible through a good telescope, but we could only distinguish their outlines; in addition to them, however, there was a nearer flattopped range, more to the northward and westward of the main range, which latter still bore s.s.w., and appeared to belong to a high and broken chain of mountains. the sandy basin was from ten to twelve miles broad, but destitute of water opposite to us, although there were, both to the southward and northward, sheets of water as blue as indigo and as salt as brine. these detached sheets were fringed round with samphire bushes with which the basin was also speckled over. there was a gradual descent of about a mile and a half, to the margin of the basin, the intervening ground being covered with low scrub. my first object was, to ascertain if we could cross this feature, which extended southwards beyond the range of vision, but turned to the westward in a northerly direction, in the shape in which mr. eyre has laid lake torrens down. for this purpose mr. browne and i descended into it. the bed was composed of sand and clay, the latter lying in large masses, and deeply grooved by torrents of rain. there was not any great quantity of salt to be seen, but it was collected at the bottom of gutters, and, no doubt, was more or less mixed with the soil. at about four miles we were obliged to dismount; and, tying our horses so as to secure them, walked on for another mile, when we found the ground too soft for our weight and were obliged to return; and, as it was now late, we commenced a search for water, and having found a small supply in a little hollow, at a short distance from the flag, we went to it and encamped. the length of the chain line to the flag staff was / miles, which with the we had measured from the depot, made / miles in all; the direct distance, therefore, from the depot to the flag staff, was about miles, on a bearing of / degrees to the north of west or w. / n. my object in the journey i had thus undertaken, was not so much to measure the distance between the two places, as to ascertain if the country to the north-west of lake torrens, on the borders of which i presumed i had arrived, was practicable or not, and whether it was connected with any more central body of water. it behoved me to ascertain these two points with as little delay as possible, for the surface water was fast drying up, and we were in danger of having our retreat cut off. whether the country was practicable or not, in the direction i was anxious to take, it was clear that i could not have penetrated as far as i then was, with the heavy drays, with any prudence. to be more satisfied, however, as to the nature of the country to the westward, i rode towards the n.e. angle of the sandy basin, on the morning of the th, sending mr. stuart southwards, to examine it in that direction; but, neither of these journeys proving satisfactory, i determined on fixing the position of the hills in reference to our chained line, and then return to the depot, to prepare for a more extensive exploration of the n.w. interior. i found the country perfectly impracticable to the n.w., and that it was impossible to ascertain the real character of this sandy basin. on the other side of it the country appeared to be wooded; beyond the wood there was a sudden fall; and, as far as i could judge, this singular feature must have been connected with spencer's gulf, before the passage that evidently existed once between them, was filled up. on the th i ran a base line from the end of the chained line to the north-west, on a bearing of degrees, to the only prominent sand hill in that direction, distant from the staff / miles, from the extremities of which the ranges bore as follow:-- bearings from the flag staff at the termination of the chained line. to a bluff point in the main range . to the north point of the south range . to the north point . to the highest point in south range . to the flat-topped hills . to the north-west point of the lake . to the south point . bearings from the north-west extremity. to the bluff . to the north point of south range . to the south . to the flat-topped hills . to the north-west extremity of lake . the angles given by these bearings were necessarily very acute, but that could not be avoided. with the bearings, however, from a point in our chain line, miles to the rear, they gave the distance of the more distant ranges as miles, that of the nearer ones as . our latitude, by altitudes of vega and altair, on the night of the th of august, was degrees minutes seconds, and degrees minutes seconds; by our bearings, therefore, the flat-topped hills were in lat. degrees minutes, and the bluff, in the centre of the distant chain, where there appeared to be a break in it, in degrees minutes, and in long. degrees minutes. presuming our depot to have been in lat. degrees minutes seconds, and in long. degrees minutes e., and allowing / miles to a degree, our long. by measurement was degrees minutes e. i had ascertained the boiling point of water at our camp, about feet above the level of the basin to be / ; which made our position there considerably below the level of the sea: but in using the instrument on the following morning in the bed of the basin itself, i unfortunately broke it. as, however, the result of the observation at our bivouac gave so unusual a depression, and as, if it was correct, lake torrens must be very considerably below the level of the sea, i can only state that the barometer had been compared with one in adelaide by capt. frome, and that, allowing for its error, its boiling point on a level with the sea had been found by him to be / . on the th i left the neighbourhood of this place, and stopped at miles to verify our former bearings. the country appeared more desolate on our return to the camp than when we were advancing. almost all the surface water had dried up, or now consisted of stagnant mud only, so that we were obliged to push on for the park, at which we arrived on the th. on the th we completed the year, it being the anniversary of our departure from adelaide. i found that every thing had gone on regularly in the camp during my absence, and that the cattle and sheep had been duly attended to. davenport had also dug and planned out a fine garden, which he had planted with seeds, but none had as yet made their appearance above the ground. the day after our return to the camp we were visited by two natives, who were attracted towards us by the sound of the axe. they were crossing the plain, and were still at a considerable distance when they observed davenport pointing a telescope, on which they stopped, but on my sending a man to meet them, came readily forward. we were in hopes that we should see our old friend in the person of one of them, but were disappointed; nor would they confirm any of his intelligence, neither could they recognise any of the fish in the different plates i had shewn him. in truth, we could get nothing out of these stupid fellows; but, as we gave them plenty to eat, they proposed bringing some other natives to taste our mutton, on the following day; and, leaving us, returned, as they said, with their father and brother, the latter a fine young lad. but neither from the old man could we gather any information, as to the nature of the country before us. these people were circumcised, like many others we had seen, but were in no way disfigured by the loss of their teeth or cuts. i can say as little for their cleanliness as for their information, since they melted the fat we gave them in troughs, and drank it as if it had been so much oil, emptying what remained on their heads, rubbing the grease into their hair, and over their bodies. i felt satisfied on mature reflection that if the country continued to any distance either to the northward or westward, such as we had found it on our recent journey, it would be highly imprudent to venture into it with the whole party. setting aside the almost utter impossibility of pulling the drays over the heavy sand ridges by which our route would be intersected, little or no surface water now remained. the ground was becoming as dry and parched as it had been before the fall of rain. i determined therefore before i again struck the tents to examine the country to the north-west, and not incautiously to hazard the safety of the party by leading it into a region from which i might find it difficult to retreat. as soon therefore as i had run up the charts, i prepared for this journey. our position at the new depot was in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and in longitude degrees minutes seconds, it therefore appeared to me if i ran on a bearing of degrees to the west of north, i should gain the th meridian about the centre of the continent, and at the same time cross into the tropics at the desired point, and i felt certain that if there were any mountain chains or ranges of hills to the westward of me connected with the north-east angle of the continent i should be sure to discover them. in preparing for this important journey, on which it was evident the success of the expedition would depend, i took more than ordinary precautions. i purposed giving the charge of the camp to mr. stuart.--i had established it on a small sandy rise, whereon we found five or six native huts. this spot was at the northern extremity of the park, but a little advanced into it. immediately in front of the tents there was a broad sheet of water shaded by gum-trees, and the low land between this and the sand hills was also chequered with them. the position was in every way eligible. the open grassy field or plain stood full in view, and the men could see the cattle browsing on it, but i directed mr. stuart never to permit them to be without one of the men as a guard, and to have them secured nightly in the stockyard. in order to provide for the further security of the camp, i marked out the lines, for the erection of a stockade, wherein i directed mr. stuart to pitch one of the bell tents. in this tent i instructed him to deposit the arms and ammunition, and to consider it as the rallying point in the event of any attack by the natives, in which case i told him his first step would be to secure the sheep. i desired that the stockade might be commenced as soon as i left, and that it should be built of palisades / feet above the ground, and arranged close together. in such a fortification i considered that the men would be perfectly safe, and as the stockyard was in a short range of the carbines i felt the cattle would be sufficiently protected. i selected flood, lewis, and joseph to accompany me, and took weeks provisions. this supply required all the horses but one, for although they had so long a rest at the old depot they were far from being strong, since for the last three months they had lived on salsolaceous herbs, or on the shoots of shrubs, so that although apparently in good condition they had no work in them. my last instructions to morgan were to prepare and paint the boat in the event of her being required. chapter viii. leave the depot for the north-west--scarcity of water--fossil limestone--arrive at the first creek--extensive plains--succession of creeks--flooded character of the country--pond with fish--sterile country--grassy plains--intrepid native--country apparently improves--disappointments--water found--appearance of the stony desert--night thereon--the earthy plain--hills raised by refraction--recommencement of the sand ridges--their undeviating regularity--conjectures as to the desert--relative position of lake torrens--concluding remarks. on the morning of the th mr. browne and i mounted our horses, and left the camp at a.m., followed by the men i had selected, and crossing the grassy plain in a n.w. direction, soon found ourselves amidst sand hills and scrub. as i have stated i had determined to preserve a course of degrees to the west of north, or in other words a north-west course, but the reader will readily believe that in such a country i had no distant object on which to rely. we were therefore obliged to take fresh bearings with great precision from almost every sand-hill, for on the correctness of these bearings, together with our latitude, we had to depend for our true position. we were indeed like a ship at sea, without the advantage of a steady compass. throughout the whole day of our departure from the camp we traversed a better country than that between it and lake torrens, insomuch that there was more grass. sand ridges and flats succeeded each other, but the former were not so broken and precipitous or the latter so barren, as on our line to the westward, and about four miles from the camp we passed a pool of water to our right. at five miles we observed a new melaleuca, similar to the one i had remarked when to the north with joseph, growing on the skirts of the flats, but the shrubs for the most part consisted of hakea and mimosae with geum and many other minor plants. for a time the ridges were smooth on their sides, and a quantity of young green grass was springing up on them. at nine miles we crossed some stony plains, and halted after a ride of miles without water. on the th a strong and bitterly cold wind blew from the westward as we passed through a country differing in no material respect from that of the day before. spinifex generally covered the sand ridges, which looked like ocean swells rising before us, and many were of considerable height. at six miles we came to a small pool of water, where we breakfasted. on leaving this we dug a hole and let the remainder of the water into it, in the hope of its longer continuance, and halted after a long journey in a valley in which there was a kind of watercourse with plenty of water, our latitude being degrees minutes seconds. before we left this place we cut a deep square hole, into which as before we drained the water, that by diminishing its surface we might prevent the too speedy evaporation of it, in case of our being forced back from the want of water in the interior, since that element was becoming more scarce every day. we saw but little change in the character of the country generally as we rode through it, but observed that it was more open to the right, in which direction we passed several extensive plains. there were heaps of small pebbles also of ironstone and quartz on some of the flats we crossed. we halted at the foot of a sand hill, where there was a good deal of grass, after a vain search for water, of which we did not see a drop during the day. the night of the th, like the preceding one, was bitterly cold, with the wind at s.w. during the early part of this day we passed over high ridges of sand, thickly covered with spinifex, and a new polygonum, but subsequently crossed some flats of much greater extent than usual, and of much better soil, but the country again fell off in quality and appearance, although on the whole the tract we had crossed on our present journey was certainly better than that we traversed in going to lake torrens. we halted rather earlier than usual, at a creek containing a long pond of water between two and three feet deep. the ground near it was barren, if i except the polygonum that was growing near it. the horses however found a sufficiency to eat, and we were prevented the necessity of digging at this point, in consequence of the depth of the water. we observed some fossil limestone cropping out of the ground in several places as we rode along, and the flats were on many parts covered with small rounded nodules of lime, similar to those i have noticed as being strewed over the fossil cliffs of the murray. it appeared to me as i rode over some of the flats that the drainage was to the south, but it was exceedingly difficult in so level and monotonous a region to form a satisfactory opinion. we saw several emus in the course of the day, and a solitary crow, but scarcely any other of the feathered tribe. there was an universal sameness in the vegetation, if i except the angophora, growing on the sand hills and superseding the acacia. on the th the morning was very cold, with the wind at cast, and a cloudy sky. we started at eight; and after crossing three very high sand ridges, descended into a plain of about three miles in breadth, extending on either hand to the north and south for many miles. at the further extremity of this plain we observed a line of box-trees, lying, or rather stretching, right across our course; but as they were thicker to the s.w. than at the point towards which we were riding, i sent flood to examine the plain in that direction. in the mean time mr. browne and i rode quietly on; and on arriving at the trees, found that they were growing in the broad bed of a creek, and were overhanging a beautiful sheet of water, such as we had not seen for many a day. it was altogether too important a feature to pass without further examination; i therefore crossed, and halted on its west bank, and as soon as flood returned, (who had not seen any water,) but had ascertained that just below the trees, the creek spreads over the plain, i sent him with mr. browne to trace it up northward, the fall of the country apparently being from that point. in the meantime we unloaded the horses, and put them out on better grass than they had had for some time. on the opposite side of the creek, and somewhat above us, there were two huts, and the claws of crayfish were scattered about near them. there were also a few wild fowl and haemantopus sitting on the water, either unconscious of or indifferent to our presence. this fine sheet of water was more than yards broad by about long, but, as far as we could judge, it was shallow. mr. browne returned to me in about three hours, having traced the creek upwards until he lost its channel, as flood had done on a large plain, that extended northwards to the horizon. he observed the country was very open in that direction, and had passed another pond of water, deeper but not so large as that at which we had stopped, and surprised an old native in his hut with two of his wives, from whom he learnt that there were both hills and fish to the north. whilst mr. browne was away, i debated within myself whether or not to turn from the course on which i had been running to trace this creek up. the surface water was so very scarce, that i doubted the possibility of our getting on; but was reluctant to deviate from the line on which i had determined to penetrate, and i think that, generally, one seldom gains anything in so doing. from mr. browne's account of the creek, its character appeared to be doubtful, so that i no longer hesitated on my onward course; but we remained stationary for the remainder of the day. the evening of this day was beautifully fine, and during it many flights of parrots and pigeons came to the water. of the latter we shot several, but they were very wild and wary. there was on the opposite side of the creek a long grassy flat, with box-trees growing on it, together with a new bauhinia, which we saw here for the first time. on this grassy flat there were a number of the water-hens we had noticed on the little fresh-water creek near lake torrens. these birds were running about like fowls all over the grass, but although they had been so tame as to occupy the gardens and to run about the streets of adelaide, they were now wild enough. mr. browne remarked that the females he had seen were, contrary to general custom as regards that sex, deficient in the two front teeth of the upper jaw, but that the teeth of the man were entire, and that he was not otherwise disfigured. i was anxious to have seen these natives, and, as their hut was not very far from us, we walked to it in the cool of the afternoon, but they had left, and apparently gone to the n.e.; we found some mussel shells amongst the embers of some old fire near it. our latitude at this point was degrees minutes s., at a distance of miles from the park. we left on the morning of the th at an early hour, and after crossing that portion of the plain lying to the westward, ascended a small conical sand hill, that rose above the otherwise level summit of the ridge. from this little sand hill we had our anticipations confirmed as to the low nature of the country to the north as a medium point, but observing another and a much higher point to the westward, we went to, and found that the view extended to a much greater distance from it. the country was very depressed, both to the north and northwest. the plains had almost the character of lagoons, since it was evident they were sometimes inundated, from the water mark on the sand hills, by which they were partly separated from one another. below us, on our course, there was a large plain of about eight miles in breadth; but immediately at the foot of the hill, which was very abrupt (being the terminating point of a sandy ridge of which it was the northern extremity), there was a polygonum flat. we there saw a beautiful parrot, but could not procure it. the plain we next rode across was evidently subject to floods in many parts; the soil was a mixture of sand and clay. there was a good deal of grass here and there upon it, and box-trees stunted in their growth were scattered very sparingly round about; but the country was otherwise denuded of timber. there were large bare patches on the plains, that had been full of water not long before, but too shallow to have lasted long, and were now dry. we found several small pools, however, and halted at one, after a journey of miles, near some gum-trees. the morning of the th was exceedingly calm, with the wind from the west, but it had been previously from the opposite point. the channel of the creek was broad, and we traced it to some distance on either hand, but it contained no water, excepting that at which we stopped; but at about two miles before we halted, mr. browne found a supply under some gum-trees, a little to the right of our course, where we halted on our return. the bauhinia here grew to the height of to feet, and was a very pretty tree; the ends of its branches were covered with seed-pods, both of this and the year before: it was a flat vessel, containing four or six flat hard beans. i regretted, at this early stage of our journey, that the horses were not up to much work, although we were very considerate with them, but the truth is, that they had for about two or three months before leaving the depot, been living on pulpy vegetables, in which there was no strength, they nevertheless looked in good condition. they had become exceedingly tractable, and never wandered far from our fires; flood, however, watched them so narrowly that they could not have gone far. since the three days' rain in july, the sky was but little clouded, but we now observed, that from whatever quarter the wind blew, a bank of clouds would rise in the opposite direction--if from the east, in the west, and vice versa--but these clouds invariably came against the wind, and must consequently have been moving in an upper current. on the th we commenced our journey early, that is to say, at a.m.; the sky was clear, the temperature mild, and the wind in the s.e. quarter. we crossed plains of still greater extent than any we had hitherto seen; their soil was similar to that on the flats of the darling, and vegetation seemed to suffer from their liability to inundation. the only trees now to be seen were a few box-trees along their skirts, and on the line of the creeks, which last were a perfectly new feature in the country, and surprised me greatly. the tract we passed over on this day was certainly more subject to overflow than usual. large flats of polygonum, and plains having rents and fissures in them, succeeded those i have already described. at ten miles we intersected a creek of considerable size, but without any water; just below where we crossed its channel it spreads over a large flat and is lost. proceeding onwards, at a mile and a half, we ascended a line of sand hills, and from them descended to firmer ground than that on which we had previously travelled. at six miles we struck another creek with a broad and grassy bed, on the banks of which we halted, at a small and muddy pool of water. the trees on this creek were larger than usual and beautifully umbrageous. it appeared as if coming from the n.e., and falling to the n.w. there were many huts both above and below our bivouac, and well-trodden paths from one angle of the creek to the other. all around us, indeed, there were traces of natives, nor can there be any doubt, but that at one season of the year or other, it is frequented by them in great numbers. from a small contiguous elevation our view extended over an apparently interminable plain in the line of our course. that of the creek was marked by gum-trees, and i was not without hopes that we should again have halted on it on the st, but we did not, for shortly after we started it turned suddenly to the west, and we were obliged to leave it, and crossed successive plains of a description similar to those we had left behind, but with little or no vegetation upon them. at about five miles we intersected a branch creek coming from the e.n.e., in which there was a large but shallow pool of water. about a mile to the westward of this channel we ascended some hills, in the composition of which there was more clay than sand, and descended from them to a firm and grassy plain of about three and a half miles in breadth. at the farther extremity we crossed a line of sand hills, and at a mile and a half again descended to lower ground, and made for some gum-trees at the western extremity of the succeeding plain, on our old bearing of degrees to the west of north. there we intersected another creek with two pools of water in it, and as there was also a sufficiency of grass we halted on its banks. the singular and rapid succession of these watercourses exceedingly perplexed me, for we were in a country remote from any high lands, and consequently in one not likely to give birth to such features, yet their existence was a most fortunate circumstance for us. there can be no doubt but that the rain, which enabled us to break up the old depot and resume our operations, had extended thus far, but all the surface water had dried up, and if we had not found these creeks our progress into the interior would have been checked. in considering their probable origin, it struck me that they might have been formed by the rush of floods from the extensive plains we had lately crossed. the whole country indeed over which we had passed from the first creek, was without doubt very low, and must sometimes be almost entirely under water, but what, it may be asked, causes such inundation? such indeed was the question i asked myself, but i must say i could arrive at no satisfactory conclusion. that these regions are subject to heavy rains i had not the slightest doubt, but could the effect of heavy rains have produced these creeks, short and uncertain in their course, rising apparently in one plain, to spread over and terminate in another, for had we gone more to the westward in our course than we did, it is probable we should never have known of the existence of any of them. i was truly thankful that we had thus fallen upon them, and considering how much our further success depended on their continuance, i began to hope that we should find them a permanent feature in the country. about this period and two or three days previously, we observed a white bank of clouds hanging upon the northern horizon, and extending from n.e. to n.w. no wind affected it, but without in the least altering its shape, which was arched like a bow, it gradually faded away about p.m. could this bank have been over any inland waters? at the point to which i have now brought the reader, we were in lat. degrees minutes s., and in long. degrees minutes by account, and here, as i have observed, as in our journey to lake torrens, the n.e. winds were invariably cold. on the nd we crossed the creek, and traversed a large plain on the opposite side that was bounded in the distance by a line of sand hills. on this plain were portions of ground perfectly flat, raised some or inches above its general level; on these, rhagodia bushes were growing, which in the distance looked like large trees, in consequence of the strong refraction. the lower ground of these plains had little or no vegetation upon it, but bore the appearance of land on which water has lodged and subsided; being hard and baked in some places, but cracked and blistered in others, and against the sides of the higher portions of the plain, a line of sticks and rubbish had been lodged, such as is left by a retiring tide, and from this it seemed that the floods must have been about a foot deep on the plain when it was last inundated. at / miles we reached its western extremity, and ascending the line of sand hills by which it is bounded on that side, dropped down to another plain, and at six miles intersected a creek with a deep broad and grassy bed, but no water. a high row of gum trees marked its course from a point rather from the southward of east to the north-north-west. crossing to the opposite side we ascended another sand hill by a gradual rise, and again descended to another plain, at the farther extremity of which we could indistinctly see a dark line of trees. arriving at these after a ride of six miles, we were stopped by another creek. its banks were too steep for the cart, and we consequently turned northward and traced it downwards for four miles before we found a convenient spot at which to halt. the ground along the creek side was of the most distressing nature; rent to pieces by solar heat, and entangled with polygonum twisted together. we passed several muddy water-holes, and at length stopped at a small clear deep pond. the colour of the water, a light green, at once betrayed its quality; but fortunately for us, though brackish it was still tolerable, much better than the gritty water we had passed. there was however but little vegetation in its neighbourhood, the grass being coarse and wiry. both on this creek and some others we had passed, we observed that the graves of the natives were made longitudinally from north to south, and not as they usually are from east to west. the evening we stopped at this place was very fine. we had descended into the bed of the creek, and mr. browne and i were reclining on the ground, looking at the little pond, in which the bank above was clearly reflected. on a sudden my companion asked me if i had brought a small hook with me, as he had taken it into his head that there were fish in the pond. being unable to supply his wants, he got a pin, and soon had a rough kind of apparatus prepared, with which he went to the water; and, having cast in his bait, almost immediately pulled out a white and glittering fish, and held it up to me in triumph. i must confess that i was exceedingly astonished, for the first idea that occurred to my mind was--how could fish get into so isolated a spot? in the water-holes above us no animals of the kind could have lived. how then were we to account for their being where we found them, and for the no less singular phenomenon of brackish waters in the bed of a fresh water creek? these were exceedingly puzzling questions to me at the time, but, as the reader will find, were afterwards explained. mr. browne succeeded in taking no less than thirteen fish, and seemed to think that they were identical with the silver perch of the murray, but they appeared to me to be a deeper and a thinner fish. although none of them exceeded six inches in length, they were very acceptable to men who were living on five pounds of flour only a-week. the night we stayed here was very dark, and about p.m. the horses which had been turned down the creek by flood, rushed violently past our fire, as if they had been suddenly alarmed. they were found at a distance of five miles above us the next morning, but we could never discover why they had taken fright. their recovery detained us longer than our usual hour, but at nine we mounted, and, crossing the creek at three-quarters of a mile, ascended a hill, connected with several others by sandy valleys, and saw that the creek, a little below where we crossed it, turned to the west. we could trace its course, by the trees on its bank, for several miles. from the hills we descended to a country of a very different character from that which i have been describing. as we overlooked it from the higher ground it was dark, with a snow-white patch of sand in the centre; on traversing it we found that its productions were almost entirely samphire-bushes growing on a salty soil. the white patch we had seen from a distance was the dry bed of a shallow salt lagoon also fringed round with samphire bushes, and being in our course we crossed it. there was a fine coating of salt on its surface, together with gypsum and clay, as at lake torrens. the country for several miles round it was barren beyond description, and small nodules of limestone were scattered over the ground in many places. after leaving the lagoon, which though moist had been sufficiently hard to bear our weight, we passed amidst tortuous and stunted box-trees for about three miles; then crossed the small dry and bare bed of a water-course, that was shaded by trees of better appearance, and almost immediately afterwards found ourselves on the outskirts of extensive and beautifully grassed plains, similar to that on which i had fixed the depot, and most probably owing, like them, their formation to the overflow of the last, or some other creek we had traced. the character of the country we had previously travelled over being so very bad, the change to the park-like scene now before us was very remarkable. like the plains at the depot, they had gum-trees all round them, and a line of the same trees running through their centre. entering upon them on a north-west course, we proceeded over the open ground, and saw three dark figures in the distance, who proved to be women gathering seeds. they did not perceive us until we were so near to them that they could not escape, but stood for some time transfixed with amazement. on riding up we dismounted, and asked them by signs where there was any water, to which question they signified most energetically that there was none in the direction we were going, that it was to the west. one of these women had a jet black skin, and long curling glossy ringlets. she seemed indeed almost of a different race, and was, without doubt, a secondary object of consideration with her companions; who, to secure themselves i fancy, intimated to us that we might take her away; this, however, we declined doing. one of the women went on with her occupation of cleaning the grass seeds she had collected, all the time we remained, humming a melancholy dirge. on leaving them, and turning to the point where they said no water was to be found, they exhibited great alarm, and followed us at a distance. soon after we passed close to some gum-trees and found a small dry channel under a sand hill on the other side, running this down we came suddenly on two bough huts, before which two or three little urchins were playing, who, the moment they saw us, popped into the huts like rabbits. directly opposite there was a shallow puddle rather than a pool of water, and as joseph had just met with an accident i was obliged to stop at it. i was really sorry to do so, however, for i knew our horses would exhaust it all during the night, and i was reluctant to rob these poor creatures of so valuable a store, i therefore sent flood to try if he could find any lower down; but, as he failed, we unsaddled our horses and sat down. the women who had kept us in sight were then at the huts, to which mr. browne and i walked. in addition to the women and children, there was an old man with hair as white as snow. as i have observed, there was a sand hill at the back of the huts, and as we were trying to make ourselves understood by the women a native made his appearance over it; he was painted in all the colours of the rainbow, and armed to the teeth with spear and shield. great was the surprise and indignation of this warrior on seeing that we had taken possession of his camp and water. he came fearlessly down the hill, and by signs ordered us to depart, threatening to go for his tribe to kill us all, but seeing that his anger only made us smile, he sat down and sulked. i really respected the native's bravery, and question much if i should have shewn equal spirit in a similar situation. mr. browne's feelings i am sure corresponded with my own, so we got up and left him, with an intention on my part to return when i thought he had cooled down to make him some presents, but when we did so he had departed with all his family, and returned not to the neighbourhood again. we had preserved two or three of the fish, and in the hope of making the women understand us better, produced them, on which they eagerly tried to snatch them from us, but did not succeed. they were evidently anxious to get them to eat, and i mention the fact, though perhaps telling against my generosity on the occasion, to prove how rare such a feast must be to them. as i had foreseen, our horses finished all the water in the puddle during the night, and we left at seven in the following morning, taking up our usual n.n.w. course, from which, up to this point we had not deviated. we passed for about eight miles through open box-tree forest, with a large grassy flat, backed by sand hills to the right. the country indeed had an appearance of improvement. there was grass under the trees, and the scenery as we rode along was really cheerful. i began to hope we were about to leave behind us the dreary region we had wandered over, and that happier and brighter prospects would soon open out, to reward us for past disappointment. mr. browne and i even ventured to express such anticipations to each other as we journeyed onwards. at eight miles however, all our hopes were annihilated. a wall of sand suddenly rose before us, such as we had not before seen; lying as it did directly across our course we had no choice but to ascend. for miles we toiled over as distressing a country as can be imagined, each succeeding sand ridge assumed a steeper and more rugged character, and the horse with difficulty pulled the cart along. at miles we crossed a salt lagoon similar to the one i have described to the s.e. of the plains on which we had last seen the natives, but larger. near it there was a temporary cessation of the fearful country we had just passed, but it was only temporary, the sand ridges again crossed our path, and at five or seven miles from the lagoon we pulled up for the night in a small confined valley in which there was a little grass, our poor horses sadly jaded and fatigued, and our cart in a very rickety state. we could not well have been in a more trying situation, and as mr. browne, and lewis (one of the men i had with me), went to examine the neighbourhood from a knoll not far off, while there was yet light, i could not but reflect on the singular fatality that had attended us. i had little hope of finding water, and doubted in the event of disappointment whether we should get any of the horses back to the fish-pond, the nearest water in our rear. mr. browne was late in returning to me, but the news he had to communicate dispelled all my fears. he had, he told me, from the summit of the knoll to which he went, observed something glittering in a dark looking valley about three miles to the n.w., and had walked down to ascertain what it was, when to his infinite delight he found that it was a pool of water, covering no small space amongst rocks and stones. it was too late to avail ourselves, however, of this providential discovery; but we were on our way to the place at an early hour. there we broke our fast, and i should have halted for the day to repair the cart, but there was little or no grass in the valley for the horses, so that we moved on after breakfast; but coming at less than a mile to a little grassy valley in which there was likewise water, we stopped, not only to give the animals a day of rest, and to repair the cart, but to examine the country, and to satisfy ourselves as to the nature of the sudden and remarkable change it had undergone. with this view, as soon as the camp was formed, and the men set to repair the cart, mr. browne and i walked to the extremity of a sandy ridge that bore n.n.w. from us, and was about two miles distant. on arriving at this point we saw an immense plain, occupying more than one half of the horizon, that is to say, from the south round to the eastward of north. a number of sandy ridges, similar to that on which we stood, abutted upon, and terminated in this plain like so many head lands projecting into the sea. the plain itself was of a dark purple hue, and from the elevated point on which we stood appeared to be perfectly level. there was a line of low trees far away upon it to the n.e.; and to the north, at a great distance, the sun was shining on the bright point of a sand hill. the plain was otherwise without vegetation, and its horizon was like that of the ocean. in the direction i was about to proceed, nothing was to be seen but the gloomy stone-clad plain, of an extent such as i could not possibly form any just idea. ignorant of the existence of a similar geographical feature in any other part of the world, i was at a loss to divine its nature. i could not however pause as to what was to be done, but on our return to the party prepared to cross it. i was fully aware, before leaving the old depot, that as soon as we got a few miles distant from the hills, i should be unable to continue my angles, and should thenceforth have to rely on bearings. so long as we were chaining there was no great fear of miscalculating position; so far then as the second depot, it would not be difficult for any other traveller to follow my course. from that point, as i have already stated, i ran on a compass bearing of degrees to the west of north, or on a n.n.w. course, and adhered to it up to the point i have now led the reader, a new bearing having been taken on some object still farther in advance from every sand hill we ascended. this appeared to me to be the most satisfactory way of computing our distances and position, for the latitude necessarily correcting both, the amount of error could not be very great. i now found, on this principle, that i was in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, and in longitude, by account, degrees minutes east. on reaching the cart i learnt that lewis, while wandering about, had stumbled on a fine sheet of water, in a valley about two miles to the south of us, and that joseph and flood had shot a couple of ducks, or i should have said widgeon of the common kind. on the th i directed flood to keep close under the sandy ridge, to the termination of which mr. browne and i had been, and to move into the plain on the original bearing of degrees to the west of north until i should overtake him; mr. browne and i then mounted and went to see the water lewis had discovered, for which we had not had time the previous evening. it was a pretty little sequestered spot surrounded by sand hills, excepting to the n.w. forming a long serpentine canal, apparently deep, and shaded by many gum-trees; there were a numbers of ducks on the water, but too wild to allow us within shot. both mr. browne and i were pleased with the spot, and could not but congratulate ourselves in having such a place to fall back upon, if we should be forced to retreat, as it had all the promise of durability for some weeks to come. we overtook the drays far upon the plains, and continued our journey for twenty miles, when i halted on a bare piece of sandy ground on which there were a few tussocks of grass, and a small puddle of water. on travelling over the plain we found it undulating, with shining hollows in which it was evident water sometimes collects. the stones, with which the ground was so thickly covered as to exclude vegetation, were of different lengths, from one inch to six, they had been rounded by attrition, were coated with oxide of iron, and evenly distributed. in going over this dreary waste the horses left no track, and that of the cart was only visible here and there. from the spot on which we stopped no object of any kind broke the line of the horizon; we were as lonely as a ship at sea, and as a navigator seeking for land, only that we had the disadvantage of an unsteady compass, without any fixed point on which to steer. the fragments covering this singular feature were all of the same kind of rock, indurated or compact quartz, and appeared to me to have had originally the form of parallelograms, resembling both in their size and shape the shivered fragments, lying at the base of the northern ranges, to which i have already had occasion to call attention. although the ground on which we slept was not many yards square, and there was little or nothing on it to eat, the poor animals, loose as they were, did not venture to trespass on the adamantine plain by which they were on all sides surrounded. on the th we continued onwards, obliged to keep the course by taking bearings on any prominent though trifling object in front. at ten miles there was a sensible fall of some few feet from the level of the stony desert, as i shall henceforth call it, and we descended into a belt of polygonum of about two miles in breadth, that separated it from another feature, apparently of equal extent but of very different character. this was an earthy plain, on which likewise there was no vegetation; resembling in appearance a boundless piece of ploughed land, on which floods had settled and subsided--the earth seemed to have once been mud and then dried. it had been impossible to ascertain the fall or dip of the stony desert, but somewhat to the west of our course on the earthy plain there were numerous channels, which as we advanced seemed to be making to a common centre towards the n.e. here and there a polygonum bush was growing on the edge of the channels; and some of them contained the muddy dregs of what had been pools of water. over this field of earth we continued to advance almost all day, without knowing whether we were getting still farther into it, or working our way out. about an hour before sunset, this point was settled beyond doubt, by the sudden appearance of some hills over the line of the horizon, raised above their true position by refraction. they bore somewhat to the westward of north, but were too distant for speculation upon their character. it was very clear, however, that there was a termination to the otherwise apparently boundless level on which we were, in that direction, if not in any other. our view of these hills was but transient, for they gradually faded from sight, and in less than ten minutes had entirely disappeared. shortly afterwards some trees were seen in front, directly in the line of our course; but, as they were at a great distance, it was near sunset before we reached them; and finding they were growing close to a small channel (of which there were many traversing the plain) containing a little water, we pulled up at them for the night, more especially as just at the same moment the hills, before seen, again became visible, now bearing due north. to scramble up into the box-trees and examine them with our telescopes was but the work of a moment, still it was doubtful whether they were rock or sand. there were dark shadows on their faces, as if produced by cliffs, and anxiously did we look at them so long as they continued above the horizon, but again they disappeared and left us in perplexity. they were, however, much more distinct on the second occasion, and mr. browne made out a line of trees, and what he thought was grass on our side of them. there was not a blade of anything for our horses to eat round about our solitary bivouac, so that we were obliged to fasten them to the trees, only three in number, and to the cart. there was, however, a dark kind of weed growing in the creek, and some half dozen stalks of a white mallow, the latter of which flood pulled up and gave to the horses, but they partook sparingly of them, and kept gnawing at the bark of the trees all night long. in reference to our movements on the morrow, it became a matter of imperative necessity to get the poor things to where they could procure some food as soon as possible; i determined, therefore, to make for the hills, whatever they might be, at early dawn. the night was exceedingly cold, the thermometer falling to freezing point. at day-break there was a heavy fog, so we did not mount until half-past six, when the atmosphere was clearer, the fog having in some measure dispersed. we then proceeded, and for the first time since commencing the journey turned from the course degrees, or one of n.n.w. to one due north, allowing degrees for easterly variation. my object was to gain the trees mr. browne had noticed, as soon as possible, but did not reach them until a quarter to ten. we then discovered that they lined a long muddy channel, in which was a good deal of water, but not a blade of vegetation anywhere to be seen. i turned back, therefore, to a small sandy rise, whereon we had observed a few tufts of grass, and allowed the animals to pick what they could. at this spot we were about a mile and a half from the hills, which now stood before us, their character fully developed, and whatever hope we might have before encouraged of the probability of a change of country on this side of the desert, was at one glance dispelled. had these hills been as barren as the wastes over which we had just passed, so as they had been of stone we should have hailed them with joy. but, no!--sandy ridges once more rose up in terrible array against us, although we had left the last full miles behind, even the animals i think regarded them with dismay. from the little rising ground on which we had stopped, we passed to the opposite side of the creek, which apparently fell to the east, and traversing a bare earthy plain, we soon afterwards found ourselves ascending one of the very hills we had been examining with so much anxiety through a glass the evening before. it was flanked on either side by other hills, that projected into and terminated on this plain, as those we had before seen terminated in the stony desert; and they looked, as i believe i have already remarked, like channel head-lands jutting into the sea, and gradually shutting each other out. the one we ascended was partly composed of clay and partly of sand; but the former, protruding in large masses, caused deep shadows to fall on the faces and gave the appearance of a rocky cliff to the whole formation, as viewed from a distance. broad and striking as were the features of the landscape over which the eye wandered from the summit of this hill, i have much difficulty in describing them. immediately beneath was the low region from which we had just ascended, occupying the line of the horizon from the north-east point, southwards, round to the west. southward, and for some degrees on either side, a fine dark line met the sky; but to the north-east and south-west was a boundless extent of earthy plain. here and there a solitary clump of trees appeared, and on the plain, at the distance of a mile to the eastward, were two moving specks, in the shape of native women gathering roots, but they saw us not, neither did we disturb them,--their presence indicated that even these gloomy and forbidding regions were not altogether uninhabited. as the reader will, i have no doubt, remember, the sandy ridges on the s.e. side of the desert were running at an angle of about degrees to the west of north, having gradually changed from the original direction of about degrees to the eastward of that point. i myself had marked this gradual change with great interest, because it was strongly corroborative of my views as to the course the current i have supposed to have swept over the central parts of the continent must have taken, i. e. a course at right angles to the ridges. it is a remarkable fact that here, on the northern side of the desert, and after an open interval of more than miles, the same sand ridges should occur, running in parallel lines at the same angle as before, into the very heart of the interior, as if they absolutely were never to terminate. here, on both sides of us, to the eastward and to the westward, they followed each other like the waves of the sea in endless succession, suddenly terminating as i have already observed on the vast plain into which they ran. what, i will ask, was i to conclude from these facts?--that the winds had formed these remarkable accumulations of sand, as straight as an arrow lying on the ground without a break in them for more than ninety miles at a stretch, and which we had already followed up for hundreds of miles, that is to say across six degrees of latitude? no! winds may indeed have assisted in shaping their outlines, but i cannot think, that these constituted the originating cause of their formation. they exhibit a regularity that water alone could have given, and to water, i believe, they plainly owe their first existence. it struck me then, and calmer reflection confirms the impression, that the whole of the low interior i had traversed was formerly a sea-bed, since raised from its sub-marine position by natural though hidden causes; that when this process of elevation so changed the state of things, as to make a continuous continent of that, which had been an archipelago of islands, a current would have passed across the central parts of it, the direction of which must have been parallel to the sandy ridges, and consequently from east to west, or nearly so--that also being the present dip of the interior, as i shall elsewhere prove. i further think, that the line of the stony desert being the lowest part of the interior, the current must there have swept along it with greater force, and have either made the breach in the sandy ridges now occupied by it, or have prevented their formation at the time when, under more favourable circumstances, they were thrown up on either side of it. i do not know if i am sufficiently clear in explanation, finding it difficult to lay down on paper all that crowds my own mind on this subject; neither can i, without destroying the interest my narrative may possess, now bring forward the arguments that gradually developed themselves in support of the foregoing hypothesis. although i had been unable to penetrate to the north-west of lake torrens, that basin appeared to me to have once formed part of the back waters of spencer's gulf; still i long kept in view the possibility of its being connected with some more central body of water. having however gained a position so much higher to the north, and almost on the same meridian, and having crossed so remarkable a feature as the stony desert (which, as i suppose, was once the focus of a mighty current, to judge from its direction passing to the westward), i no longer encouraged hopes which, if realized, would have been of great advantage to me, or regretted the circumstances by which i was prevented from more fully examining the north-east and northern shores of lake torrens. i felt doubtful of the immediate proximity of an inland sea, although many circumstances combined to strengthen the impression on my mind that such a feature existed on the very ground over which we had made our way. i had assuredly put great credit on the statements of the solitary old man who visited the depot, but his information as far as we could judge had turned out to be false; and i was half angry with myself for having been so credulous, well aware as i was of the exaggerations of the natives, and how little dependence can be placed on what they say. chapter ix. flood's quick sight--forest full of birds--native well--birds collect to drink--dangerous plain--flood's horse lost--scarcity of water--turn northward--discover a large creek--bright prospects--sudden disappointment--salt lagoon--scarcity of water--salt water creek--character of the interior--forced to turn back--risk of advancing--the furthest north--return to and examination of the creek--proceed to the westward--dreadful country--journey to the north--again forced to return--natives--station on the creek--concluding remarks. reflecting on the singular character of the country below me, as i stood on the pointed termination of the ridge the party had just ascended, i could not but think how fortunate it was we had not found it in a wet state, for in such a case to cross it would have been impossible. i felt assured indeed, from the moment we set foot on it, that in the event of rain, while we should be in the more distant interior, return would be altogether impracticable, but we had neither time to pause on, or provide against, the consequences of any heavy fall that might have set in. i do not think that this flashed across the minds of any of the party excepting my own, who would not have been justified in leading men forward as i was doing, without weighing every probable chance of difficulty or success. as the line of the sand ridges was nearly parallel to that of our course, we descended to a polygonum flat, and keeping the ridge upon our left, proceeded on a bearing of degrees, or on a n.n.w. course, up a kind of valley. whilst thus riding leisurely along, flood, whose eyes were always about him, noticed something dark moving in the bushes, to which he called our attention. it was a dark object, and was then perfectly stationary; as flood however insisted that he saw it move, mr. browne went forward to ascertain what it could be, when a native woman jumped up and ran away. she had squatted down and put a large trough before her, the more effectually to conceal her person, and must have been astonished at the quickness of our sight in discovering her. we were much amused at the figure she cut, but as she exhibited great alarm mr. browne refrained from following her; after getting to some distance she turned round to look at us, and then walked off at a more leisurely pace. at the distance of about four miles, the sandy ridge made a short turn, and we were obliged to cross over to the opposite side to preserve our course. on gaining the top of the ridge, we saw an open box-tree forest, and a small column of smoke rising up from amongst the trees, towards which we silently bent our steps. our approach had however been noticed by the natives, who no doubt were at the place not a minute before, but had now fled. we then pushed on through the forest, the ground beneath our horses' feet being destitute of vegetation, and the soil composed of a whitish clay, so peculiar to the flooded lands of the interior. the farther we entered the depths of the forest, the more did the notes of birds assail our ears. cockatoos, parrots, calodera, pigeons, crows, etc., all made that solitude ring with their wild notes, and as (with the exception of the ducks on the southern side of the stony desert) we had not seen any of the feathered race for many days, we were now astonished at their numbers and variety. about an hour before sunset we arrived on the banks of a large creek, with a bed of couch grass, but no water. the appearance of this creek, however, was so promising that we momentarily expected to see a pond glittering before us, but rode on until sunset ere we arrived at a place which had attracted our attention as we approached it. somewhat to the right, but in the bed of the creek, there were two magnificent trees, the forest still extending back on either side. beneath these trees there was a large mound of earth, that appeared to have been thrown up. on reaching the spot we discovered a well of very unusual dimensions, and as there was water in it, we halted for the night. on a closer examination of the locality, this well appeared to be of great value to the inhabitants. it was feet deep and feet broad at the top. there was a landing place, but no steps down to it, and a recess had been made to hold the water, which was slightly brackish, the rim of the basin being also incrusted with salt. paths led from this spot to almost every point of the compass, and in walking along one to the left, i came on a village consisting of nineteen huts, but there were not any signs of recent occupation. troughs and stones for grinding seed were lying about, with broken spears and shields, but it was evident that the inhabitants were now dispersed in other places, and only assembled here to collect the box-tree seeds, for small boughs of that tree were lying in heaps on the ground, and the trees themselves bore the marks of having been stripped. there were two or three huts in the village of large size, to each of which two smaller ones were attached, opening into its main apartment, but none of them had been left in such order as those i have already described. it being the hour of sunset when we reached the well, the trees were crowded with birds of all kinds coming for water, and the reader may judge of the straits to which they were driven, when he learns that they dived down into so dark a chamber to procure the life-sustaining element it contained. the wildest birds of the forest were here obliged to yield to the wants of nature at any risk, but notwithstanding, they were exceedingly wary; and we shot only a few cockatoos. the fact of there being so large a well at this point, (a work that must have required the united labour of a powerful tribe to complete), assured us that this distant part of the interior, however useless and forbidding to civilized man, was not without inhabitants, but at the same time it plainly indicated, that water must be scarce. indeed, considering that the birds of the forest had powers of flight to go where they would, i could not but regard it as a most unfavourable sign, that so many had collected here. had this well contained a sufficiency of water, it would have been of the utmost value to us, but there was not more than enough for our wants, so that, although i should gladly have halted for a day, as our horses were both ill and tired, necessity obliged me to continue my journey, and accordingly on the th we resumed our progress into the interior on our original course. at about a mile we broke through the forest, and entered an open earthy plain, such as i believe man never before crossed. subject to be laid under water by the creek we had just left, and to the effects of an almost vertical sun, its surface was absolutely so rent and torn by solar heat, that there was scarcely room for the horses to tread, and they kept constantly slipping their hind feet into chasms from eight to ten feet deep, into which the earth fell with a hollow rumbling sound, as if into a grave. the poor horse in the cart had a sad task, and it surprised me, how we all at length got safely over the plain, which was between five and six miles in breadth, but we managed it, and at that distance found ourselves on the banks of another creek, in the bed of which there was plenty of grass but no water. i was however exceedingly anxious to give the horses a day's rest; for several of them were seriously griped, and had either taken something that disagreed with them, or were beginning to suffer from constant work and irregularity of food. mr. browne too was unwell and lewis complaining, so that it was advisable to indulge ourselves if possible. i therefore determined to trace the creek downwards, in the hope of finding water, and at a mile came upon a shallow pond where i gladly halted, for by this time several of the horses had swollen to a great size, and were evidently in much pain. after arranging the little bivouac our attention was turned to the horses, and mr. browne found it necessary to bleed flood's horse, to allay the inflammatory symptoms that were upon him. still however he got worse, and no remedy we had in our power to apply seemed to do him good. the poor animal threw himself down violently on the ground, and bruised himself all over, so that we were obliged to fasten him up, but as there appeared to be no fear of his wandering, at sunset he was allowed to be loose. he remained near me for the greater part of the night, and was last seen close to where i was lying, but in the morning was no where to be found, and although we searched for a whole day, and made extensive sweeps to get on his track we never saw him more, and concluded he had died under some bush. this was the horse we recovered on the murray, the same that had escaped from the government paddock in adelaide. the other animals had in some measure recovered, and the additional day of rest they got while we were searching for flood's horse, enabled me to resume my journey on the last day of august. our course being one of degrees to the west of north, or nearly n.n.w., and that of the sandy ridges being degrees we necessarily crossed them at a very acute angle, and the horses suffered a good deal. in the afternoon we travelled over large bare plains, of a most difficult and distressing kind, the ground absolutely yawning underneath us, perfectly destitute of vegetation, and denuded of timber, excepting here and there, where a stunted box-tree was to be seen. while on the sand hills, the general covering of which was spinifex, there were a few hakea and low shrubs. on such ground as that whereon we were travelling, it would have been hopeless to look for water, nevertheless our search was constant, but we were obliged to halt without having found any, and to make ourselves as comfortable as we could. all the surface water left by the july rain had entirely disappeared, and what now remained even in the creeks was muddy and thick. it was indeed at the best most disgusting beverage, nor would boiling cause any great sediment. every here and there, as we travelled along, we passed some holes scooped out by the natives to catch rain, and in some of these there was still a muddy residuum; we moreover observed that the inhabitants of this desert made these holes in places the best adapted to their purpose, where if the slightest shower occurred, the water falling on hard clay would necessarily run into them. the circumstances under which we halted in the evening of the st of august were very embarrassing. it was evident that the country into which we were now advancing, was drier and more difficult than the country we had left behind. it was impossible, indeed, to hope that the animals would get on, if it should continue as we had found it thus far. there were numerous high ridges of sand to the westward, in addition to those on the plains, and so full of holes and chasms were the latter, that the horses would soon have been placed hors de combat, if they had continued to traverse them. moreover, i could not but foresee that unless i used great precaution our retreat would be infallibly cut off. whatever water we had passed, since the morning we commenced our journey over the stony desert, was not to be depended upon for more than four or five days, and although we might reckon with some certainty on the native well in the box-tree forest, the supply it had yielded was so very small that we could not expect to obtain more from it than would suffice ourselves and one or two of the horses. taking all these matters into consideration, i determined on once more turning to the north for a day or two, in order that by keeping along the flats, close under the ridges, i might get firmer travelling for the cart, and in the expectation, that we should be more likely to find water in thus doing, than by crossing the succession of ridges. accordingly, on the st of september, we started on a course of degrees to the west of north, or a n. / w. course, that allowing for variation, being within / points of a due north course. on this we went up the flat where we had slept. by keeping close to the ridges we found, as i had anticipated, firmer ground, though the centre of the flat was still of the worst description. there were a few small box-trees to be seen as we passed along, but scarcely any minor vegetation. at about nine miles we were attracted by the green appearance of some low polygonum bushes, to which we went, and under them found two small puddles of water, that we might easily have passed. they must have been three feet deep after the rains, but were now barely five inches, and about the size of a loo table. however, we had no choice, and as the horse had suffered so much from the rickety motion of the cart, caused by the inequalities of the ground, and there was a silky kind of grass growing sparingly around, i stopped here for the rest of the day to effect necessary repairs. when, however, we came to examine the wheels, we found that so many of the spokes were shivered and had shrunk, that lewis got on but slowly, renewing only such as were found absolutely useless; we were consequently detained at this point another day, but on the rd resumed our journey up the flat, and at two miles crossed a small sandy ridge into the opposite flat, and at five miles stopped at a second ridge of some height for lewis and joseph, who were a good way behind with the cart. on coming up, they informed us that they had fallen in with a tribe of natives, twelve in number, shortly after starting, and had remained some time with them. they were at a dirty puddle, such as we had left, and were at no great distance from our little bivouac. joseph good-naturedly gave one of them his knife, but he could not understand a word they said. after crossing the sand ridge, we kept on the edge of the flats, as i have said, for the sake of the horses. the ridges had now become very long, and varied in breadth from a few hundred yards to a mile. box-trees were scattered over them, and, although generally bare, they were not altogether destitute of grass or herbage; the ridges of sand, on the contrary, still continued unbroken, and several were covered with spinifex; but on the whole the country appeared to be improving, and the fall of waters being decidedly somewhat to the eastward of south, or towards the stony desert, i entertained hopes that we had crossed the lowest part of the interior, and reached the southerly drainage. we were again fortunate in coming on another pond at miles, where we halted, the country round about us wearing an improved appearance. still our situation was very precarious, and we were risking a great deal by thus pushing forward, for although i call the hollows (in which we found the water) ponds, they were strictly speaking the dregs only of what had been such, and were thick, black, and muddy; but the present aspect of the country led us to hope for a favourable change, and on the morning of the th we still held our northerly course up the flat, on which we had travelled the greater part of the day before. as we advanced, it became more open and grassy, and at three miles we found a small supply of very tolerable water in the bed of a shallow watercourse. we had ridden about ten miles from the place where we had slept, and mr. browne and i were talking together, when flood, who was some little distance a-head, held up his hat and called out to us. we were quite sure from this circumstance that he had seen something unusual, and on riding up were astonished at finding ourselves on the banks of a beautiful creek, the bed of which was full both of water and grass. the bank on our side was twenty feet high, and shelved too rapidly to admit of our taking the horses down, but the opposite bank was comparatively low. immediately within view were two large sheets of water around the margin of which reeds were growing, but nevertheless these ponds were exceedingly shallow. the direction of this fine watercourse was n. by w. and s. by e., coming from the first and falling to the last point, thus enabling us to trace it up without changing our own. a little above where we intersected its channel two small tributaries join it, or, i am more inclined to think, two small branches go from it; for we had apparently been rising as we came up the valley, but more especially as the direction from which they appeared to come (the s.w.), was almost opposite to the course of the creek itself. on proceeding upwards we observed that there were considerable intervals, along which the channel of the creek was dry; but where such was the case, it was abundantly covered with couch grass, of which the horses were exceedingly fond. we passed several sheets of water, however, some of which had a depth of two feet, although the greater number were shallow. after following it for ten miles, we halted with brighter prospects, and under more cheering circumstances than we had any right to anticipate; but, although the creek promised so well, the valley on either side of it was more than usually barren and scrubby, and was bounded in, as usual, by high ridges of sand, that still continued to head us in unbroken lines, and were the most prominent and prevailing feature of the interior; and although we were now within two degrees of the tropics, our latitude at this point being degrees minutes seconds, we had not as yet observed the slightest change in the vegetation, or anything to intimate our approach to a tropical country. on the th we started on a course of degrees, the upward course of the creek. at two miles it turned to the n. e, but soon came round again to n.w., and afterwards kept a general course of degrees to the west of north. its channel gradually contracted as we advanced, and the polygonum grew to the size of a very large bush upon its banks. at nine miles we arrived at a creek junction from the s.w. and traced it over grassy plains, on which some bauhimia were growing, but finding that it took its rise in a kind of marsh occupying the centre of the plain into which it had led us, we turned away to the main creek. the country now became more open, and tertiary limestone shewed itself on the plains, and at a short distance from the creek a vein of milky quartz cropped out near a pretty sheet of water. as we proceeded upwards sandstone traversed its bed in several places; in some degree contracting its channel. a short time before we halted we passed a very large and long sheet of water, on which there were a good many wild fowl, so very shy, that although the brush grew close to the banks of the creek, so as to favour our creeping upon them, we could not shoot any. notwithstanding that the creek had thus changed its appearance from what it was where we first came upon it (its waters being muddy with less grass in its channel), we had no reason to suppose that it would disappoint our hopes; we therefore resumed our journey on the morning of the th, without any idea that we should meet with any check in the course of the day. as the immediate neighbourhood of this creek had become scrubby, we kept wide of it and travelled for miles, on a bearing of , over flats destitute of all manner of vegetation, but thinly scattered over with the box, acacia and the bauhimia. these flats were still bounded on either side by high sandy ridges, covered with spinifex, excepting on their summits, which were perfectly bare. the view from them both to the eastward and westward was, as it were, over a sandy sea; ridge after ridge succeeding each other as far as the eye could stretch the vision. to the north the flat appeared to terminate at a low sand hill bearing degrees or n.n.w. / w. when we again came on the creek, there was an abundance both of water and grass in its bed, but just above, the channel suddenly turned to the n.e. and in again keeping wide of it to avoid the inequalities of the ground, we arrived at the little sand hill that had previously bounded our view, and on ascending it, found that immediately beneath us, there was a clear small lake, covered with wild fowl. the colour of the water immediately betrayed its quality, and we found on tasting that it was too salt to drink. an extensive grassy flat extended to the westward of the lake, bounded by box-trees, and the channel of the creek still held its course to the n.e. i could not therefore but suppose, that this was a junction from that point, and therefore determined on passing to the opposite side, in anticipation that i should again come on our old friend amidst the trees. we accordingly crossed at the bottom of the little lake, and in so doing found amidst the other herbage two withered stalks of millet. the grassy woodland continued for several miles, and as it was evidently subject to flood, we were in momentary expectation of seeing a denser mass of foliage before us, as indicating the course of the creek, but we suddenly debouched upon open plains, bounded by distant sand hills. there was not now a tree to be seen, but samphire bushes were mixed with the polygonum growing round about; as the changes however in this singular and anomalous region had been so sudden and instantaneous, i still held on my course, but the farther i advanced into the plains the more did the ground betray a salt formation. we halted an hour after sunset, under a sand hill about miles distant from the creek, without having succeeded in our search for water, for although we passed several muddy pools at which the birds still continued to drink they were too thick for our animals. the prospect from the top of the sand hill under which we had formed our bivouac, was the most cheerless and i may add the most forbidding of any that our eyes had wandered over, during this long and anxious journey. to the west and north-west there were lines of heavy sand ridges, so steep and rugged as to deter me from any attempt to cross them with my jaded horses. to the north and north-east a dark green plain covered with samphire bushes (amidst which the dry beds of small salt lagoons, as white as snow, formed a singular and striking contrast) was to be seen extending for about eight miles. this plain was bounded by distant hills, the bright red tops of which gleamed, even in the twilight. i was here really puzzled what course to pursue, one only indeed was open to me--the north--unless i should determine to fall back on the creek; but i thought it better to advance, in the hope of being able to maintain my ground, and with the intention of halting for a few days at the first favourable point at which we should arrive, for my mind was filled with anxiety. it had pained me for some time, to see mr. browne daily suffering more and more, and although he continued to render me the most valuable assistance, a gloom hung over him; he seldom spoke, his hands were constantly behind him, pressing or supporting his back, and he appeared unfit to ride. my men were also beginning to feel the effects of constant exposure, of ceaseless journeying, and of poverty of food, for all we had was lbs. of flour and oz. of tea per week; it is true we occasionally shot a pigeon or a duck, but the wildness of the birds of all kinds was perfectly unaccountable. the horses living chiefly on pulpy vegetation had little stamina, and were incapable of enduring much privation or hardship. no rain had fallen since july, nor was there any present indication of a change. much as i desired it, i yet dreaded having to traverse such a country as that into which i was now about to plunge, in a wet state. with a soil of stiff tenacious clay, already soft from the moisture produced by the mixture of salt in it, i foresaw that in the event of heavy rain, i should be involved in almost inextricable difficulties, but there was no alternative. on the morning of the th i sent mr. browne to the westward, to ascertain the nature of the country, and if by any chance he could again find the creek, and in case i had inadvertently mistaken the real creek for a tributary, i myself pushed on to the north, in the hope of intersecting it. mr. browne had not, however, been absent more than three-quarters of an hour, when he returned to inform me that he had been stopped by a salt creek, coming direct from the north, the bed of which was too soft for him to cross. he said that its channel was white as snow, and that every reed and blade of grass on its banks, was encrusted with salt. under an impression that as long as i should continue in the neighbourhood of, and on a course nearly parallel to this creek, i could not hope for any favourable change, i decided on crossing it, and with that view turned to the west; but finding the bed of the creek still too soft to admit of our doing so, i traced it upwards to the north, along a sandy ridge. as mr. browne had informed me, its channel was glittering white, and thickly encrusted with salt, nor was there any water visible, but on going down to examine it in several places where the salt had the appearance of broken and rotten ice, we found that there were deep pools of perfect brine underneath, on which the salt floated, to the thickness of three or four inches. the marks of flood on the side of the sand hill shewed a rise of feet above its ordinary level. at about a mile and a half we descended the sand hill on which we had previously kept, and ascended another, when we saw the basin of the creek immediately below us, but quite dry, and surrounded by sand hills. crossing just below it, we proceeded on a course of degrees over extensive plains, covered with samphire, excepting where the beds of dry salt lagoons occurred. the ground was spongy and soft, and the cart wheels consequently sank deep into it. the plain was surrounded on all sides by sand hills, and that towards which we were advancing appeared to run athwart our course instead of nearly parallel to it as heretofore. on gaining the summit, we found that other ridges extended from it in parallel lines, the ridge on which we stood forming the head of the respective valleys. a line of acacia, a species we had never found near water, was growing down the centre of each, and the fall of the country seemed again to be to the n.n.w. pushing down one of the valleys, the descent of which was very gradual, and keeping on such clear ground as there was, the ridges rose higher and higher on either side of us as we advanced, all grass and other vegetation disappeared, and at length both valley and sand ridge became thickly coated with spinifex. at noon i halted, in the hope of obtaining a meridian altitude, but was disappointed, as also at night, the sky continuing obscured. at half-past two i pulled up, to consider whether or not it would be prudent to push on any farther. i calculated that we were now miles from the creek, our only place of refuge. the horses had not tasted water from the early part of the day before, and we could not reasonably expect to get back to the salt lagoon under a day and a half. our poor animals were not in a condition to endure much fatigue, although by going on steadily we had managed to get over a good deal of ground. it is, however, probable that i should not have had much consideration for them on this occasion, if other matters had not weighed on my mind and influenced my decision. my men were all three unwell, and had been so for some days prior to this, and mr. browne's sufferings were such that i hesitated subjecting him to exertions greater than those he was necessarily obliged to submit to, and by which i felt assured he would ultimately be overcome. the treacherous character of the disease by which he had been attacked was well understood. i had no hope of any improvement in his condition until such time as he could procure change of food. so far from this i dreaded every day that he might be laid prostrate as mr. poole had been, that i should have to carry him about in a state of helplessness, and that he would ultimately sink as his unfortunate companion had done. had other considerations, therefore, not influenced me, i could not make up my mind to persevere, and see my only remaining companion perish at my side, and that, too, under the most trying, i had almost said the most appalling circumstances, for no one who has not seen the scurvy in its worst character can form an idea of it. i could not run the risk of being obliged to lay and leave one, in that gloomy desert, whose attention and kindness to me had been uniform, and whose life i knew was valuable to very many. the time has now passed, and i thank god that mr. browne, who embarked in this expedition in reliance on my discretion, is now restored to health and strength; but although he has regained his elasticity of spirits, and would, i have no doubt, again encounter even the same risks, he will yet remember central australia, and all that both of us there suffered. the question for me however was, how far i should be justified in pushing forward under the almost certainty of inextricable embarrassment. i was now within reach of water, but another fifteen miles would have put it out of my reach; and though i felt i had the power, i did not see the advantage of perseverance, with so many difficulties staring me in the face. our distance from the creek may appear to be short; but it will be borne in mind that our horses had now been more than a year living upon dry grass and salsolaceous plants; that from the time of our leaving the depot, they had been ridden from sunrise to sunset; and that at night they had been tethered and confined to a certain range, within which there was not sufficient for them to eat. they had already been too long without water or food, and therefore that which would have been a trifling journey to them under ordinary circumstances, under existing ones was beyond their strength. nevertheless, though thus convincing my understanding, i felt that it required greater moral firmness to determine me to retrace my steps than to proceed onwards. regarding our situation in its most favourable point of view, my advancing would have been attended with extreme risk. if i had advanced, and had found water, all would have been well for the time at least--if not, the extent of our misfortunes would only have been tested by their results. the first would have been the certain loss of all our horses, and i know not if one of us would ever have returned to the depot, then more than miles distant, to tell the fate of his companions to those we had left there. on mature deliberation then, i resolved to fall back on the creek, and as my progress was arrested in this direction, to make that the centre of my movements, in trying every other point where i thought there might be a chance of success. i saw clearly indeed that there was no help for this measure. we had penetrated to a point at which water and feed had both failed. spinifex and a new species of mesembryanthemum, with light pink flowers on a slender stalk, were the only plants growing in that wilderness, if i except a few withered acacia trees about four feet high. the spinifex was close and matted, and the horses were obliged to lift their feet straight up to avoid its sharp points. from the summit of a sandy undulation close upon our right, we saw that the ridges extended northwards in parallel lines beyond the range of vision, and appeared as if interminable. to the eastward and westward they succeeded each other like the waves of the sea. the sand was of a deep red colour, and a bright narrow line of it marked the top of each ridge, amidst the sickly pink and glaucous coloured vegetation around. i fear i have already wearied the reader by a description of such scenes, but he may form some idea of the one now placed before him, when i state, that, familiar as we had been to such, my companion involuntarily uttered an exclamation of amazement when he first glanced his eye over it. "good heavens," said he, "did ever man see such country!" indeed, if it was not so gloomy, it was more difficult than the stony desert itself; yet i turned from it with a feeling of bitter disappointment. i was at that moment scarcely a degree from the tropic, and within miles of the centre of the continent. if i had gained that spot my task would have been performed, my most earnest wish would have been gratified, but for some wise purpose this was denied to me; yet i may truly say, that i should not thus have abandoned my position, if it had not been a measure of urgent and imperative necessity. after what i have said, the feelings with which, on the morning of the th, we unloosed our horses from the bushes, to which they had all night been fastened, will easily be imagined. just as we were about to mount, a flight of crested parroquets on rapid wing and with loud shriek flew over us, coming directly from the north, and making for the creek to which we were going--it was a singular occurrence just at that moment, and so i regarded it, for i had well nigh turned again. it proved, however, that to the very last, we had followed the line of migration with unerring precision. what would i not have given for the powers of those swift wanderers of the air? but as it was i knew not how long they had been on the wing, or how far it was to the spot where they had last rested. we passed the salt lagoon about a.m. of the th, and stopped at a shallow but fresh water pond, a little below it, no less thankful than our exhausted animals that we were relieved from want, and the anxiety attendant on the last few days. on passing the lagoon we saw two natives digging for roots, but did not disturb them. in the afternoon, however, joseph and lewis saw twenty, who exhibited some unfriendly symptoms, and would not allow them to approach. they were not armed, but carried red bags. the food of the natives here, as in other parts of the interior, appeared to be seeds of various kinds. they had even been amongst the spinifex gathering the seed of the mesembryanthemum, of which they must obtain an abundant harvest. the weather, a little before this time, had been very cold, but was now getting warmer every day. as we had been advancing northwards towards the tropics, i was not surprised at this. the sky also was clear, generally speaking, but we had observed for the last two or three months that it was invariably more cloudy at the full of the moon than at any other period. as our recent journey proved that in going to the westward on the th inst., we had wandered from the creek, and that instead of holding on in that direction, it had changed its course considerably to the eastward of north, i determined, after we should all have had a day of rest, to trace the channel upwards, in order to satisfy myself as to what became of it. on the th, therefore, mr. browne and myself with flood, mounted our horses, with the intention of tracing it up until we should have ascertained to what point it led. we passed through some very pretty scenery in the proximity of the lagoon where it was lightly wooded, with an abundance of grass; and i could not help reflecting with how much more buoyant and pleasurable feelings we should have explored such a country, when compared with the monotonous and sterile region we had wandered over. the transition however from the rich to the barren, from the picturesque to the contrary, was instantaneous. from the grassy woodland we had been riding through, we debouched upon a barren plain without any vegetation, and after crossing a small channel, intersected a second much larger, a little beyond it. both creeks evidently traversed different parts of a large plain to the north, to which they had no apparent inlet. there was a long tongue of sand, rather elevated, and running up into the plain, to the termination of which we rode, and then found ourselves, as it were, in the centre of an area, that was of great extent, and appeared to be bounded on all sides, excepting that by which we had entered, by sand hills. unconnected lines of trees marked the courses of the channels traversing it in different directions, but as the evening had far advanced, and my object had been rather to look round about me than to make any lengthened excursion, we returned to our little bivouac, with the intention of devoting another day to the fuller examination of the neighbourhood. on the following day i proceeded with the whole party to the westward, anticipating that the salt formation existing to the north-west was merely local, and that by thus turning a few degrees from the course on which we had before gone, we should altogether avoid it. i should not, however, have taken joseph and lewis with the cart, if i had not been somewhat apprehensive that the natives might visit the camp during my absence, and some misunderstanding be the consequence; for as we had hitherto found the country to the westward worse than at any other point, i was after all doubtful how far i should be able to push on. we left the creek on a w. by n. course, the direction of the sandy ridges being to the n.n.w., so that we were obliged to cross them successively. i soon found that the country was infinitely worse than i expected. we had scarcely passed a kind of marsh at some little distance from the creek, when we once more crossed salty valleys, between high sandy ridges. the wind blowing fresh from the south, peppered us with showers of sand as we ascended the last, and carried the salt in the valleys like drifting snow from one end of them to the other, filling our eyes and entering the pores of the skin, so as to cause us much annoyance. before noon we had crossed eighteen of these sandy undulations, and were on the top of another, having fairly tired the horses in the ascent, and i consequently pulled up, to wait for the cart, but the heavy nature of the country had so shaken it, that the men were obliged to stop; and on examining the spokes of the wheels, i really wondered how they could have got on so far, and expected that in another half mile every one of them would be shaken out, and the cart itself fall to the ground. the spokes had shrunk to such a degree that they did not hold in the felloes and axles by more than two or three ths of an inch. i felt it necessary therefore to turn back to the creek, to get new spokes of such wood as we could procure, there not being a tree of any kind visible near us; but it was late ere we got back to water, and once more took up our position on the same ground we had quitted in the morning. the country we had passed was certainly such as to deter me from making a second attempt in the same quarter, and to confirm my impression that from some cause or other the interior to the westward was worse than anywhere else. lewis, the moment we got back to the creek, set to work in good earnest, with joseph's assistance, to repair the cart, but it necessarily delayed us longer than prudence would have allowed; in the meantime, however, we were at least deriving benefit from rest. on mature consideration, i thought the quarter in which we should have most chance of success would be a course a little to the east of north, for the day mr. browne and i rode up the creek it appeared to me that the country was more open in that direction. i thought it better, however, to make for the sandy tongue of land in the centre of the plain, in which the creek appeared to take its rise, and to be guided by circumstances both in the examination of that plain, and the course i should ultimately pursue. the cart being fit for use on the morning of the th we again left the creek, and at four miles on an east by north course arrived at the sand hill to which i desired to go; from that point i proceeded to the n.n.w., that appearing to be the general direction of the creek upwards; but as there were lines of box-trees on both sides of us, those to our left being denser than the right, i moved for them over a plain of about five miles in breadth, but so full of cracks and fissures that we had great difficulty in crossing it. not-withstanding, however, that the cart fell constantly into them, we got it safely over. not finding any water under or near the trees i turned a little to the north, keeping wide of the creek; but, coming on its channel again at five miles, i halted, because there happened to be a little grass there, and we were fortunate enough, after some perseverance, to find a muddy puddle that served the horses, however unfit for our use. from the appearance of the plain before us, i hardly anticipated success in our undertaking. we had evidently arrived near the head of the creek, and i felt assured that if the features of the country here, were similar to those of other parts of the interior, we should, between where we then were, and some distant sand hills, again find ourselves travelling over a salt formation. the evening had closed in with a cloudy sky, and the wind at w.n.w., and during the night we had two or three flying showers, but they were really in mockery of rain, nor was any vestige of it to be seen in the morning, which broke with a clear sky, and the wind from the s.e. as soon as morning dawned we saddled our horses and made for the head of the plain, crossing bare and heavy ground until we neared the sand hills, when observing that i was leaving the creek, which i was anxious to trace up, we turned to the north-east for a line of gum-trees, but the channel was scarcely perceptible under them, and we had evidently run it out. there were only two or three solitary trees to be seen to the north, at which point the plain was bounded by sand hills. to the s.e. there was a short line of trees, from the midst of which the natives were throwing up a signal smoke, but as it would have taken me out of my way to have gone to them, i held on a n.n.w. course, and at the termination of the plain ascended a sand hill, though of no great height. from it we descended a small valley, the sides of which were covered with samphire bushes, and the bottom by the dry white and shallow bed of a salt lagoon. from this valley we passed into a plain, in which various kinds of salsolaceous productions were growing round shallow salty basins. at a little distance from these, however, we stumbled upon a channel with some tolerable water in it, hid amongst rhagodia bushes, but the horses refused to drink. this plain communicated with that we had just left, round the n.e. point of the sand hill we had crossed but there were no box-trees on it to mark the line of any creek or water; but the sand ridge forming its northern boundary was very high, and contrary to their usual lay, ran directly across our course, and as the ascent was long and gradual, so was it some time before we got to the top. the view which then presented itself was precisely similar to the one i have already described, and from which we had before been obliged to retreat. long parallel lines of sandy ridges ran up northwards, further than we could see, and rose in the same manner on either side. their sides were covered with spinifex, but there was a clear space at the bottom of the valleys, and as there was really no choice we proceeded down one of them, for miles, and then halted. at this point the open space at the bottom of the valleys had all closed in, and the cart, during the latter part of the journey, had gone jolting over the tufts and circles of spinifex to the great distress of the horse; grass and water had both failed, nor could i see the remotest chance of any change in the character of the country. it was clear, indeed, that until rain should fall it was perfectly impracticable; and with such a conviction on my mind, i felt that it would only be endangering the lives of those who were with me, if i persevered in advancing. i therefore once more determined to fall back upon the creek, there to hold my ground until such time as it should please god to send us rain. we re-entered the plain in which the creek rises at p.m., and made for the trees, from whence the signal smoke was rising, and there came on a tolerable sized pond of water, at which we stopped for a short time, and while resting, ascertained that some natives were encamped at a little distance above us; but although we went to them, and endeavoured by signs and other means to obtain information, we could not succeed, they either did not or would not understand us; neither, although our manner must have allayed any fear of personal injury to themselves, did they evince the slightest curiosity, or move, or even look up when we left them. i cannot, however, think that such apparent indifference arises from a want of feeling, for that, on some points, they possess in a strong degree; but so it was, that the natives of the interior never approached our camps, however much we might encourage them. on leaving these people, of whom, if i recollect, there were seven, we tried to avoid the distressing plains we had crossed in the morning, and it was consequently late before we got to the creek and dismounted from our horses, after a journey of about miles. the th thus found us beaten back by difficulties such as were not to be overcome by human perseverance. i had returned to the creek with the intention of abiding the fall of rain, and was not without hopes that it would have gladdened us, for the sky about this time was very cloudy, and anywhere else but in the low country in which we were, rain most assuredly would have fallen. as it was, the clouds passed over us without breaking. a lunar we here obtained placed us in longitude degrees minutes seconds e., our latitude being degrees minutes seconds s. computed from these data i deem i may fairly assume we were in degrees minutes seconds s., and on the th meridian, when we stopped on the th; being then geographical miles to the north of mount arden, about from mount hopeless, and rather more than midway between the first of those hills and the gulf of carpentaria. my readers will perhaps bear in mind, that the object of this expedition was limited "to ascertaining the existence and the character of a supposed chain of hills, or a succession of separate hills, trending down from n.e. to s.w. and forming a great natural division of the continent." i hope i do not take too much credit to myself; if i say that i have set that question at rest; and that, considering the nature of the country into which i penetrated, no such chain can reasonably be supposed to exist. if, indeed, any mountains had really been in the direction specified, it appears to me that i must have discovered them, but, as far as my poor opinion goes, i think the sandy ridges, both i and my readers have so much reason to hold in dread, are as extensive on one side of the stony desert as the other. in truth, i believe, that not only is such the case, but that the same region extends with undiminished breadth even to the great australian bight, which occupies a space along the south coast of the continent, as nearly as may be of equal breadth with the sea-born desert itself; and i cannot but conclude that that remarkable wall, shewing a perpendicular front to the ocean, but sloping inwards from the coast, was thrown up simultaneously with the fossil bed of the murray, during the time those convulsions, by which the changes in the central parts of the continent, to which i have already called attention, were going on. but i venture to give these opinions with extreme diffidence; they may be contrary to general views on the subject. i merely record my own impressions from what i have observed, in the hope that i may assist the geologist in his inferences. the ideas i would desire to convey are clear enough in my own mind, but i must confess that i feel a great difficulty in placing them so forcibly and so clearly before my readers as i could desire. end of volume i volume ii travels in australia chapter i. reflections on our difficulties--commence the retreat--eyre's creek--pass the native well--recross the stony desert--find another well without water--natives--successful fishing--value of sheep--decide on a retreat--propose that mr. browne should leave--his refusal to desert the party--mr. browne's decision--prepare to leave the camp--remarks on the climate--again leave the depot--singular explosion--discover a large creek--proceed to the north--recurrence of sand ridges--salt water lake--again strike the stony desert--attempt to cross it. to that man who is really earnest in the performance of his duty to the last, and who has set his heart on the accomplishment of a great object, the attainment of which would place his name high up in the roll of fame; to him who had well nigh reached the topmost step of the ladder, and whose hand had all but grasped the pinnacle, the necessity must be great, and the struggle of feeling severe, that forces him to bear back, and abandon his task. let any man lay the map of australia before him, and regard the blank upon its surface, and then let me ask him if it would not be an honourable achievement to be the first to place foot in its centre. men of undoubted perseverance and energy in vain had tried to work their way to that distant and shrouded spot. a veil hung over central australia that could neither be pierced or raised. girt round about by deserts, it almost appeared as if nature had intentionally closed it upon civilized man, that she might have one domain on the earth's wide field over which the savage might roam in freedom. i had traced down almost every inland river of the continent, and had followed their courses for hundreds of miles, but, they had not led me to its central regions. i had run the castlereagh, the macquarie, the lachlan, the murrumbidgee, the hume, the darling, and the murray down to their respective terminations, but beyond them i had not passed--yet--i looked upon central australia as a legitimate field, to explore which no man had a greater claim than myself, and the first wish of my heart was to close my services in the cause of geography by dispelling the mists that hung over it. true it is that my friend eyre had penetrated high up to the north of mount arden, and there can be no doubt but that his ardent and chivalrous spirit would have carried him far beyond the point he attained, if he had not met unconquerable difficulties. i thought that a cooler and more leisurely progress would enable me to feel my way into a country, whose inhospitable character developed itself more the more it was penetrated. i had adopted certain opinions, the correctness of which i was anxious to test, and i thought the investigations i desired to make, were not only worthy the pursuit of private ambition, but deserving the attention of her majesty's government. with these feelings i could not but be grateful to lord stanley, for having entertained my proposition, and given me an opportunity to distinguish myself. it is not because his lordship is no longer at the head of the colonial office, that i should refrain from making my acknowledgments to him, and expressing the sense i entertain of the obligation under which he has laid me. it so happened that the course pointed out to me by lord stanley, and that in which i desired to go, were the same, and i had hoped that in following up my instructions, i should ultimately have gained the spot i so ardently desired to reach, and to have left the flag of my native country flying over it. the feelings then with which i returned to the creek after the failure of our last attempt to penetrate to the north may well be imagined. i returned to it, as i have said, with perhaps a sullen determination to stand out the drought; but, on calm reflection, i found that i could not do so. i could not indeed hide from myself that in the course of a few days my retreat to the depot would unavoidably be cut off if rain should not fall. looking to the chance of our being delayed until our provisions should be consumed, and to the fact that we could not expect to get back to the depot in less than three weeks, and that i could not hope for any amendment either in mr. browne or my men, so long as they were confined to the scanty diet we then had. i determined on my return to the park, thence to take out fresh hands, and to make another attempt to penetrate across the desert in some other direction; but, as this measure, like our detention at the depot, would involve a great loss of time, i proposed to myself again to divide the party, and to send mr. browne home with all the men, except mr. stuart and two others. i saw no objection to such a course, and certainly did not anticipate any opposition to it on the part of my companion. i resolved then, with a due regard to his state, to retrace my steps with all possible expedition; and, accordingly, directed that everything should be prepared for our retreat on the morning of the th, for the sky had cleared, and all prospect of rain had again vanished. although we were here so close to the tropic, the climate was not oppressive. the general temperature after noon was degrees, the morning degrees. the prevailing wind was from s.s.e. to e.s.e. and it was invariably cold; at least we felt it so, and i regretted to observe, that in mr. browne's case it caused a renewed attack of violent pains in the muscles and joints, from which he had before been somewhat free. it is also remarkable, that up to this distant point, no material change had taken place in the character of the vegetation; with the exception of the few trees and plants i have mentioned the herbage of these sterile regions, and of the darling were essentially the same, only with this difference, that here they were all more or less stunted, whereas, in the month of october, when we passed up the darling, they were only just flowering, now in the month of september they had ripened their seed. before we commenced our journey back to the depot, i named this "eyre's creek." no doubt it is an important feature in the country where it exists. like the other creeks, however, it rises in plains, and either terminates in such or falls into the stony desert. there can be no doubt, however, that to any one desiring to cross the continent to the north, eyre's creek would afford great facilities; and if the traveller happened fortunately to arrive on it at a favourable moment he would have every chance of success. for twelve miles below the salt lagoon there is not a blade of grass either in the bed of the creek or on the neighbouring flats, the soil of both being a stiff cold clay. we passed this ungenial line, therefore, and encamped near a fine pool of water, where both our own wants and those of our horses, as far as feed and water went, were abundantly supplied. in going along one of the flats, before we discovered the creek, mr. browne and i had chased a dipus into a hollow log, and there secured it. this pretty animal we put into a box; but as it appeared to eat but little grass, we gave it some small birds, which it always devoured at night. our dogs had killed one on the banks of the darling, but had so mutilated it, that we could not preserve it. we hoped, however, to keep this animal alive, and up to the present time there was every chance of our doing so. it was an exceedingly pretty animal, of a light grey colour, having a long tail, feathered at the end, insectivorous, and not marsupial. on the th we turned from the creek to the south, and passed down the long flat up which we had previously come. on the following day we passed several of the hollows scraped by the natives, and in one of them found a little water, that must have accumulated in it from the drizzly showers that fell on the night of the th, and which might have been heavier here than with us. on the th we arrived at the creek where flood's horse was lost, but could not make out any track to betray that he had been to water, and as there was not enough remaining in the pond for our use, we crossed the plain, over which we had had so much difficulty in travelling, and halted for a short time at the native well, out of which numbers of birds flew as we approached. from the box-tree forest we pushed on down the polygonum flat, where we had seen the native woman who had secreted herself in the bush. a whole family was now in the same place, but an old man only approached us. we were, indeed, passing, when he called to us, expressly for the purpose of telling us that the horse (flood's) had gone away to the eastward. this native came out of his way, and evidently under considerable alarm, to tell us this, and to point out the direction in which he had gone, our stock of presents being pretty nearly exhausted, mr. browne, with his characteristic good nature, gave him a striped handkerchief, with which he was much pleased. as it was evident the poor horse had kept along the edge of the desert, and as he was a wandering brute, not caring for companions, it was uncertain to what distance he had rambled, i did not, therefore, lose time by attempting to recover him. we were all of us sure that he would not face the stony desert, but he may still be alive, and wandering over that sterile country. we stopped for the night on the long channel near the sandy rise where we had before rested, about ten miles short of our camp, and the trees on the muddy plain; and having effected our passage across that plain and the stony desert, over which it was with extreme difficulty that we kept our track, found ourselves on the nd, in the little grassy valley, from which we had entered upon it; little water was remaining, however, at the place where we had then stopped, so that i sent over to the sequestered spot lewis had discovered, but the water there had entirely disappeared. flood managed to shoot a couple of ducks (teal), of which there were four or five that flew away to the south-east. these two birds were, i may truly say, a god-send, and i beg to assure the reader they were uncommonly good. from this valley we had to cross the heavy sand ridges which had so fatigued our horses before, and i hardly expected we should find water nearer than the fish pond. we therefore started early to get over the distance as soon as possible, and, as on the outward journey, had a most severe task of it. the ridges were certainly most formidable, although they were not of such size as those from which we had retreated. at six miles we crossed the salt lagoon, and late in the afternoon descended to the box-tree forest before mentioned, having the grassy plains now upon the left-hand side. the sandy ridges overlooked these plains, so that in riding along we noticed some natives, seven in number, collecting grass seeds upon them, on which alone, it appears to me, they subsist at this season of the year. however, as soon as they saw us, they all ran away in more than usual alarm, perhaps from the recollection of our misunderstanding with mr. popinjay. their presence, however, assured us that there must be water somewhere about, and as on entering the plain, more to the west than before, we struck on a track, i directed mr. browne to run it down, who, at about half-a-mile, came to a large well similar to that in the creek on the other side of the stony desert, but not of the same dimensions. we had lost sight of him for some little time, when suddenly his horse made his appearance without a rider, and caused me great anxiety for the moment, for my mind immediately reverted to our sulky friend, and my fears were at once raised that my young companion had been speared; riding on, therefore, i came at length to the well, down which, to my inexpressible relief, i saw mr. browne, who was examining it, and who came out on my calling to him. there was not sufficient water to render it worth our while to stop; but the well being nine feet deep, shewed the succession of strata as follows: four feet of good alluvial soil; three feet of white clay; and two feet of sea sand. i should perhaps have been more particular in the description of our interview with the old man and his family on the northern side of the earthy plain. as i have stated, he called out to us, and in order to discover what he wanted, i held mr. browne's horse, while he dismounted and went to him. the old native would not, however, sit down, but pointed to the s.e. as the direction in which, as far as we could understand, the horse, "cadli" (dog), as he called him, the only large four-legged brute of which he knew any thing, had gone. the poor fellow cried, and the tears rolled down his cheeks when he first met mr. browne, and the women chanted a most melancholy air during the time we remained, to keep the evil spirits off, i suppose; but they had nothing to fear from us, if they could only have known it. this confusion of tongues is a sad difficulty in travelling the wilds of australia. both the old man and the women wanted the two front teeth of the upper jaw, and as the former had worn his down almost to a level with his gums like an old horse, he looked sadly disfigured. we halted about three miles short of the place at which we had before stopped, but as joseph followed some pigeons to a clump of trees across the plain at about a mile distance, and there found a small pond of water, we moved over to it, and remained stationary on the following day to rest our wearied animals. the th again saw us at the fish pond, where mr. browne again exhibited his skill in the gentle craft, and caught a good dish of the finny tribe. the mystery as to how these fish could have got into so isolated a spot, was not yet cleared up, and i was really puzzled on the subject. on the th, as we were crossing the country between the creeks, some natives came in from the north and called out to us, in consequence of which mr. browne and i rode up to them. they were in a sad state of suffering from the want of water; their lips cracked, and their tongues swelled. they had evidently lingered at some place or other, until all the water, intermediate between them and the creeks had dried up. the little water we had was not sufficient to allay their thirst, so they left us, and at a sharp trot disappeared over the sand hill. on the th our journey over the sandy ridges was very distressing. they appeared to me to be much more numerous, and the valleys between them much more sandy than when we first passed over them, and were thickly covered with spinifex, although grass was also tolerably abundant in the flats. at this stage of our journey, i was the only one of the party who was not ill; mr. browne and all the men were suffering, added to which, the men were fairly knocked up. their labours were now, however, drawing to a close, and i was only too thankful, that i retained my strength. we had crossed the first or strzelecki's creek on the th, and had halted that night without water. during it some of the horses broke loose and wandered back; but flood and joseph soon overtook and brought them back. we should have had a distance of miles to travel without water, but fortunately the precaution we had taken of digging wells in going out, insured us a supply in one of them, so that our return over this last long and dry tract of country was comparatively light, and we gained the park and joined mr. stuart at the stockade on the evening of the nd of october, after an absence of seven weeks, during which we had ridden more than miles. had it not been for the precaution of digging these wells, i do not think that two or three of the horses would have reached their journey's end. we only found water in one, it is true, but that one was of the most essential service, inasmuch as it saved several of our animals; and this is a point, i hope future travellers in such a country will bear in mind. mr. browne found it necessary to put all the men on the sick list, and their comrades made them as comfortable as they could, after their late fatigues. it was a great satisfaction to me to learn that everything had gone on well at the camp during my absence; mr. stuart had a good report to make of all. the cattle had been duly attended to, and had become exceedingly tame and quiet. the sheep were in splendid condition, but their flesh had a peculiar flavour--and that, too, not a very agreeable one, still their value was unquestionable, for if we had been living on salt provisions, it is more than probable that half of the party would have been left in the desert. the practicability of taking a flock of sheep into the interior, had now been fully proved in our case, at all events; but i am ready to admit that they are, notwithstanding, a precarious supply, and that unless great care be taken, they may be lost. the men, however, appeared to consider them of far too great importance to be neglected, and i think that when taken, they will for that very reason be well looked after. the stockade had been erected and really looked very well; it was built just as i had directed, with the flag flying at the entrance. i availed myself of the opportunity, therefore, to call it "fort grey," after his excellency the then governor of south australia. mr. stuart informed me that a few natives only had visited the camp; but that on one occasion some of them appeared armed, being as they said on their way to a grand fight, four of their tribe having been killed in a recent encounter. only the day before, however, a party had visited the camp, one of whom had stolen davenport's blanket. he was pretty sure of the thief, however, so we did not despair of getting it back again. i observed that when we were on eyre's creek, the climate and temperature were cool and agreeable. from that period the heat had considerably increased, and the thermometer now ranged from to degrees. the wind having settled in its old quarter the e.s.e., in this latitude was not so cold as we had felt it in a more northerly one. why it should have been so, it is difficult to say: we know the kind of country over which an e.s.e. wind must pass between the coast and the latitude of fort grey, and could not expect that it should be other than hot, but we are ignorant of the kind of country over which it may sweep higher up to the north. can it be that there is a large body of water in that quarter? we shall soon have to record something to strengthen that supposition. about this period the sky was generally cloudy, and, as i have before remarked, in any other region it would have rained, but here only a few drops fell, no signs of which remained half an hour afterwards; the barometer, however, was very low, and it was not unreasonable to have encouraged hopes of a favourable change. on the rd the natives who had visited the camp before our return, again came, together with the young boy who davenport suspected had stolen his blanket. he charged him with the theft, therefore, and told him not to return to the tents again without it, explaining at the same time what he had said, to the other natives. the boy went away before the rest, but all of them returned the next day, and he gave up the blanket. on hearing this, i went out and praised him, and as he appeared to be sorry for his offence, i gave him a knife, in which i believe i erred, for we afterwards learnt, that the surrender of the blanket was not a voluntary act, but that he had been punished, and forced to restore it by his tribe. i cannot help thinking, however, that if the theft had not been discovered, the young rogue would have been applauded for his dexterity. i had, during my journey back to the depot, sat up to a late hour writing, that no delay might take place in my intended arrangements on our arrival at fort grey. in revolving in my own mind the state of the country, i felt satisfied that, although the water had decreased fearfully since the july rain, the road was still open for mr. browne to make good his retreat, but it was quite uncertain how long it might continue so. it was evident, indeed, that neither he nor myself had any time to lose, but i waited for a few days before i broke the subject to him, reluctant as i was to hasten his departure, and feeling i should often have to regret the loss of such a companion. the varied reverses and disappointments we had encountered together, and the peculiar character of the expedition, had, as far as mr. browne and myself were concerned, removed all restraint, and left to ourselves in that dreary wilderness, we regarded each other as friends only, who were united in a common cause, in the success of which we were almost equally interested. i knew, therefore, that the proposal i was about to make would give him pain; but i counted on his acquiescence, and as time would not admit of delay, i availed myself of an opportunity that presented itself the third day after our return, to break it to him. as we were sitting in the tent after dinner, with our tea still before us, i said to him, "i am afraid, browne, from what i have observed, that you have mistaken the object for which i have returned to the depot, and that you have been buoying yourself up with the hope that it is done preparatory to our return to adelaide; for myself i cannot encourage any such hope for the present, at least. so far indeed from this, i have for some time been reflecting as to the most prudent course to be pursued under our present circumstances; for, i would not conceal from you the pain i have felt at the failure of our endeavours to penetrate farther than we have been able to do into the interior, neither can i conceal from myself the fact, that whatever our personal exertions, the results of our labours have not been commensurate with our expectations, and that however great our perseverance or however difficult the task we have had to perform, the world at large will alone judge of its merits by its success. in considering how we can yet retrieve our misfortunes, one only step occurs to me, and whatever pain our separation may cost us, i am sure, where the interests of the services call for it, you will readily comply with my wishes. i propose, then, your return to adelaide, with all the party but three; that you should leave me five horses, and take with you only such provisions as you may absolutely require upon the road. by such an arrangement i might yet hold out against the drought, and ultimately succeed in doing something to make up for the past." my young friend was evidently unprepared for the proposition i had made. "you have done all you were sent out to do," he observed, "why then seek to penetrate again into that horrid desert? it is impossible that you can succeed during the continuance of the dry weather. if you now go you will never get back again; besides, have you," he asked, "made any calculations as to the means both of provisions and carriage you will require?" "that," i replied, "is for my consideration, but i have done so, and it appears to me that both are ample." "well," said mr. browne, "it may be so, i do not know, but i can never consent to leave you in this dreadful desert. ask me to do anything else, and i will do it; but i cannot and will not desert you." it was in vain that i assured him, he took a wrong view of the matter. that, as i had sent mr. poole home to increase my means, so i wished to send him, and that he would be rendering me as valuable, though not such agreeable service, as if he continued with me. "you know, browne," i added, "that the eyes of the geographical world are fixed on me, and that i have a previous reputation to maintain; with you it is different. if i hoped to make any discovery i would not ask you to leave me. believe me, i would that you shared the honour as you have shared the privations and anxieties of this desert with me; but i entertain no such hope, and would save you from further exposure. i have not seen enough of this dreary region to satisfy me as to its present condition. how then shall i satisfy others? that stony desert was, i believe, the bed of a former stream, but how can i speak decidedly on the little i have observed of it. no! as we have been forced back from one point, i must try another,--and i hope you will not throw any impediment in the way. there is every reason why you should return to adelaide: your health is seriously impaired,--you are in constant pain,--and your affairs are going to ruin; on all these considerations i would urge you to comply with my wishes." mr. browne admitted the truth of what i said, but felt certain that if he left, it would only be to hear of my having perished in that horrid desert,--that my life was too valuable to others to be so thrown away,--that he owed me too much to forsake me, and that he could not do that of which his conscience would ever after reproach him;--that his brother would attend to his interests, and that if it were otherwise, it would be no excuse for him to desert his friend,--that he would acquiesce in any other arrangement, but to leave me he could not. "well," i said, "i ask nothing unreasonable from you, nothing but what the sternness of duty calls for; and if you will not yield to friendly solicitations, i must order you home." "i cannot go," he replied; "i do not care for any pecuniary reward for my services, and will give it up: i want no pay, but desert you i will not." the reader will better imagine than i can describe, such a scene passing in the heart of a wilderness, and under such circumstances i may not state all that passed; suffice it to say, that we at length separated, with an assurance on mr. browne's part, that he would consider what i had proposed, and speak to me again in the morning. the morning came, and after breakfast, he said he had endeavoured to force himself into a compliance with my wishes, but to no purpose;--that he could not leave me, and had made up his mind to take the consequences. it was in vain that i remonstrated, and i therefore ceased to importune him on a point which, however much i might regret his decision, i could not but feel that he was influenced by the most disinterested anxiety for my safety. but it became necessary to make some other arrangements; i had already been four days idle, and it was not my intention to let the week so pass over my head. mr. browne was too ill to accompany me again into the field. i sent, therefore, for mr. stuart, and told him to put up ten weeks provisions for four men,--to warn morgan and mack that i should require them to attend me when i again left the camp,--and to hold himself and them in readiness to commence the journey the day but one following; as i felt the horses required the rest i should myself otherwise have rejected. i then sent for mr. browne, and told him that i proposed leaving the stockade in two days, by which time i hoped the horses would in some measure have recovered from their fatigues,--that as he could not attend me, i should take mr. stuart with two fresh men,--that in making my arrangements i found that i should be obliged to take all the horses but two, the one he rode and a weaker animal; to this, however, he would by no means consent--entreating me to take his horse also, as he felt assured i should want all the strength i could get. no rain had as yet fallen, but every day the heat was increasing: the thermometer rising, even thus early in the season, to degrees and degrees in the shade, and the wind keeping steadily to the e.s.e. the country was so dry, and the largest pools of water had so diminished in quantity, that i doubted whether or not i should be able to get on, since as it was i should have to travel the first miles without water, there being none in any other direction to the north of us. even the large sheet in the first creek, to which i proposed going, had fearfully shrunk. but what gave me most uneasiness, was the reduced state of water on which the men and animals depended. from a fine broad sheet it was now confined within the limits of its own narrow channel, and i felt satisfied that if i should be absent many weeks, mr. browne would be obliged to abandon his position. foreseeing this contingency, i arranged with him that in the event of his finding it necessary to retire, he should fall back on the little creek, near the old depot. that before he finally broke up the camp, he should dig a hole in some favourable part of the creek into which the water he might leave would drain, so as to insure on my return as much as possible, and we marked a tree under which he was to bury a bottle, with a letter in it to inform me of his intended movements. nothing could have been more marked or more attentive than mr. browne's manner to me, and i am sure he saw me mount my horse to depart with sincere regret; but the interval between the conclusion of these arrangements and the day fixed on to resume my labours soon passed over, although i deferred it to the th, in consequence of flood's assuring me that the horses required the additional rest. i had, indeed, been the more disposed to postpone the day of my departure, because i hoped, from appearances, that rain would fall, but i was disappointed. on the th it was very close, and heavy clouds passed over us from the n.e., our rainy quarter, towards the mount serle ranges, but still no rain fell on the depressed and devoted region in which we were. at eight, however, it rained slightly for about a quarter of an hour, and the horizon was black with storm clouds; all night heavy thunder rolled in the distance, both to the west and east of us; my ear caught that joyful sound as i laid on my mattress, and i fervently prayed that it might be the precursor of a fall. i could not but hope, that, in the ordinary course of events, to revive and to support nature, the great author of it would have blessed the land, desert as it was, with moisture at last, but i listened in vain for the pattering of rain, no drops, whether heavy or light, fell on my tent. the morning of the th dawned fair and clear; the sun rose in unshrouded splendour; and crossed the heavens on that day without the intervention of a cloud to obscure his disc for a moment. if then i except the rain of july, which lasted, at intervals, for three days, we had not had any for eleven months. under the withering effects of this long continued drought, the vegetable kingdom was again at a stand; and we ourselves might be said to have been contending so long against the elements. no european in that respect had ever been more severely tried. the day before we commenced our journey to the north it was exceedingly hot, the thermometer rose to degrees in the shade, and thus early in the season were we forewarned of what we might expect when the sun should become more vertical. in the afternoon the old man who had visited us just before we commenced our late journey, arrived in the camp with his two wives, and a nice little girl about eleven, with flowing curly hair, the cleanliness and polish of which would have done credit to the prettiest head that ever was adorned with such. they came in from the s.w., and were eagerly passing our tents, without saying a word, and making for the water, when we called to them and supplied all their wants. the poor things were almost perishing from thirst, and seized the pannikins with astonishing avidity, when they saw that they contained water, and had them replenished several times. it happened also fortunately for them, that the lamb of the only ewe we had with us, and which had been dropped a few weeks before, got a coup de soleil, in consequence of which i ordered it to be killed, and given to the old man and his family for supper. this they all of them appeared to enjoy uncommonly, and very little of it was left after their first meal. the old man seemed to be perfectly aware that we had been out, but shook his head when i made him understand that i was going out again in the morning. i determined, on the journey i was about to commence, to run on a due north course from the first "strzelecki's creek," as soon as i should reach it, and to penetrate the interior in that direction as far as circumstances might justify. as the reader will have concluded from the observations i have made, it had occurred to me that the stony desert had been the bed of a former stream, and i felt satisfied that if i was right in that conclusion, i should certainly strike it again. my object, therefore, was to keep at such a distance from my last course, as should leave no doubt of that fact upon my mind; it appeared to me that a due northerly course would about meet my views, and that if the stony desert was what i supposed it to have been, i should come upon it about two degrees to the eastward of where i had already crossed it. in pushing up to the north i also hoped that i might find a termination to the sandy ridges, although i could not expect to get into any very good country, for from what we saw to the north it was evidently much lower than that over which we had passed, and i therefore looked for a cessation of the sandy ridges we had before been so severely distressed on passing. i shook hands with mr. browne about half-past eight on the morning of the th of october, and left the depot camp at fort grey, with mr. stuart, morgan and mack, taking with me a ten-weeks' supply of flour and tea. i once more struck into the track i had already twice traversed, with the intention of turning to the north as soon as i should gain strzelecki's creek. as we rode over the sand-hills, they appeared as nothing to me, after the immense accumulations of sand we had crossed when mr. browne and i were out together. we stopped short of the flat in which we had sunk the largest well on that occasion, to give the horses time to feed a little before sunset, and not to hurry them too much at starting. the day was exceedingly warm, and the wind from the n.e. a few heat-drops fell during the night, but the short thunder shower at the depot on the sunday did not appear to have extended so far as where we then were. nevertheless it would appear, that these low regions are simultaneously affected by any fall of rain; for there can be no doubt as to that of july having extended all over the desert interior, and the drizzling shower we had at the head of the northern eyre's creek, just as we were about to retrace our steps, having been felt the same day at the camp. i have just said that the day had been exceedingly hot, with the wind from the n.e., a quarter from whence we might naturally have expected that it would have blown warm; but i would observe, that before mr. browne and i passed the stony desert on our recent excursion, the winds from that point were unusually cold, and continued so until after we had crossed the desert, and pushed farther up to the north, when they changed from cold to heat. i will not venture any conjecture as to the cause of this, because i can give no solution to the question, but leave it to the ingenuity of my readers, who are as well able to judge of such a fact as myself. i would also advert to a circumstance i neglected to mention in its proper place, but which may be as forcibly done now as at the time it occurred. when mr. browne and i were on our recent journey to the north, after having crossed the stony desert, being then between it and eyre's creek, about nine o'clock in the morning, we distinctly heard a report as of a great gun discharged, to the westward, at the distance of half a mile. on the following morning, nearly at the same hour, we again heard the sound; but it now came from a greater distance, and consequently was not so clear. when i was on the darling, in lat. degrees, in , i was roused from my work by a similar report; but neither on that occasion, or on this, could i solve the mystery in which it was involved. it might, indeed, have been some gaseous explosion, but i never, in the interior, saw any indication of such phenomena. we were obliged to fasten up our horses to prevent them from straying for water, and had, therefore, nothing to do but to saddle them on the morning of the th, and started at six. our journey the day before had been miles: this day we rode about , to the little muddy creek the the reader will, i have no doubt, call to mind. in it, contrary to my expectation, we found a small supply of water, though difficult to get; and i halted at it, therefore, for the night, and reached the strzelecki creek about half-past ten on the morning of the th, in which i was rejoiced to find that the water was far from being exhausted. turning northwards up the creek, i halted about half-past one at the upper pool, about seven miles from the first. as far as this point the lay of the sand ridges was n.n.e. and s.s.w. as mr. browne had stated to me, the country to the north was much more open from the point at which we now were than to the west. a vast plain, indeed, met the horizon in the first direction, and as we rode up it on the th, we observed that it was bounded at irregular distances, varying from three to six miles, on either side of us, by low sand hills. the whole plain was evidently subject to flood, and the travelling in some places was exceedingly heavy. we had ridden from early dawn until the sun had sunk below the horizon, without seeing any apparent termination to this plain, or the slightest indication of water. just as it was twilight we got on a polygonum flat; there being a little sand hill on one side of it, under which i determined to stop for the night. while the men were tethering the horses on the best part of the flat, where there happened to be a little green grass, mr. stuart and i walked up the sand hill; but in the obscure light then prevailing, we could not see any thing distinctly. it appeared, however, that the country before us was traversed by a belt either of forest or of scrub; there was a long dark line running across the country, but we could not make out what it was, so that we descended to our little bivouac full of hope, and anxious for the morning dawn to satisfy ourselves as to what we had been looking at. day had scarcely broke when we were again on the hill; and as objects became clearer, saw a broad belt of gum-trees extending from the southward of east to the north-west. it was bounded on either side by immense plains, on which were here and there ridges of sand, but at a great distance from each other. there was another small sand hill distant four miles, and an apparently high and broken chain of mountains was visible to the n.e., distant more than miles. the trees were not more than three miles from us, and were denser and seemingly larger than any we had seen; and although we could not see any water glittering amidst the foliage, yet i could not but hope that we were on the eve of some important discovery. there were likewise mountains in the distance, with broken lofty peaks, exactly resembling the mount serle chain, and i ventured to hope that i had at length found a way to escape from the gloomy region to which we had been so long confined. descending from our position we pushed for a dark mass of foliage to the n.e., and shortly after crossing the dry bed of a lagoon, found ourselves riding through an open box-tree forest, amidst an abundance of grass. at half a mile further we were brought up by our arrival on the banks of a magnificent channel. there was a large sheet of water to our left, covered with wild fowl. flooded gum-trees of large size grew on its banks, and its appearance was altogether imposing. i stood looking in admiration on the broad mirror so close to me, and upon a sight so unusual; and i deeply regretted at that moment that mr. browne was not with me to enjoy the gratification of such a scene. we dismounted and turned our horses out to feed on the long grass in the bed of this beautiful creek, and whilst morgan prepared breakfast, mr. stuart and mack took their guns and knocked over three ducks, that were, i suppose, never used to be so taken in; but the remainder would not stand fire long, and flew off to the eastward. as they passed, however, i snatched up a carbine, and, without taking any aim, discharged it into the midst of them, and brought one of their number down--the only bird i had shot for many years. after giving the horses a good feed and a good rest, i crossed the channel of the creek to ascend the little hill i had seen from our morning position, that by taking bearings of the distant ranges from both, i might arrive at their approximate distance from me. from this little hill the prospect was much the same as from the first, only that the distant ranges seemed to be still higher, and there was a long line either of water or mirage at their base, and we now appeared to be in a belt of wood, for the hill on which we stood, rose in the midst of the trees, and our eyes wandered over the tops of them to the distant plains. we descended from it northwards, but had not gone half a mile, when we were again stopped by another creek, still broader and finer than the first. the breadth of its channel was more than yards, its banks were from fifteen to eighteen feet high, and it had splendid sheets of water both above and below us. the natives, whose broad and well beaten paths leading from angle to angle of the creek we had crossed on our approach to it, had fired the grass, and it was now springing up in the bed of the most beautiful green. i determined, therefore, to stay where i was until the following day, to give my animals the food and rest they so much required, and myself time for reflection. we accordingly dismounted, and turned the horses out, and it was really a pleasure to see them in clover. the whole bed of the creek was of a vivid green, excepting where gravel had been deposited in it, but the animals kept on the grass, close to the water's edge. as we had approached the creek through a belt of wood, so it extended on the other side for a considerable distance into the plains, but the soil was not so good as in the neighbourhood of the first channel we had crossed, since bushes of rhagodia were growing underneath the trees, as indicative of a slight mixture of salt in the earth. the appearance of the creek, however, embosomed as it was in wood, was very fine, more especially the upward view of it, where there was a splendid sheet of water, in the centre of which the branches of a huge tree appeared reflected, the trunk being completely hid. about a quarter of a mile above us a tributary joins the main branch from the eastward, that when flooded must have a fall of three or four feet, and something of the character of a canadian rapid. when i sat down beside the waters of the beautiful channel to which providence in its goodness had been pleased to direct my steps, i felt more than i had ever done in my life, the responsibility of the task i had undertaken. when i left the depot i had determined on keeping a northerly course into the interior, for the reasons i have already assigned; but knowing the state of the country as i did, and the little chance there was of finding water on its parched and yawning surface, i now hesitated whether i should persevere in my first determination, or proceed in the examination of this new feature, and of the mountain ranges to the n.e. both of which i had every reason to hope would lead me out of the present fearful desert into a better country. any one perhaps less experienced than myself in the treacherous character of the most promising river of the australian continent, would have acted differently. it would in all probability have occurred to them to trace the creek, either upwards or downwards, in the hope of its leading to something better. it was clear, however, that the first channel i had crossed, was a branch only of that upon which i was resting, and by which the plains i had traversed on approaching it were laid under water, and i felt assured that if my conclusion as to the stony desert was correct, i should derive no advantage in tracing the creek downwards, since i knew it would either terminate in extensive grassy plains as i had found other creeks to do, or be lost on the broad surface of the stony desert. taking every thing into consideration, i had resolved on turning to the eastward, to examine the upward course of the creek, believing it more than probable that it would lead me into the hills, but, as i was weighing these things in my mind, the sky became suddenly overcast and a thunder-storm passed over us, which for the short half hour it continued was of unusual violence, filling all the little hollows on the plains, and chequering them over with sheets of water. the road northwards being thus thrown open to me, i returned to my original purpose, and determined on the morrow to pursue a northerly course directly into the interior, in the hope that ere the surface water left by the thunder-storm should be dried up, i might reach such another creek as the one i was about to quit, or find some other such permanent place of safety; leaving the examination of the upper branches of the creek, and of the mountain ranges to the period of my return. accordingly on the morning of the th, we left our position, crossing to the proper right bank of the creek, and breaking through the nearer box tree forest, traversed open plains, the soil of which was principally sand, but there was an abundance of grass upon them, and they were somewhat elevated above the more alluvial flats near the creek. at / miles we crossed a large tributary from the n.e., the main branch trended to the n.w., and we kept the belt of trees in view as we rode along, during the greater part of the day. at seven miles we descended a little from the grassy plains to a flooded plain of considerable extent, but again rose from it to the sandy level, and finding a small puddle of rain water at miles i halted. as i was about to trust entirely to the supply of water left by the recent storm, and knew not to what distance it had extended, i felt it necessary to take every precaution to insure our retreat. we worked, therefore, by the light of the moon, and dug a square pit, into which we drained all the water that remained after the horses had satisfied themselves in the morning, but the quantity was so small that i scarcely hoped to derive any advantage from it on our return; and it was really the zeal of morgan and mack that induced me to allow them to finish it. warm as the weather had been at fort grey, the night was bitterly cold, with the wind from the s.s.e. we left this, our first well, at early dawn, riding across a continuation of the same grassy and sandy land as that we had journeyed over the day before, only that it had many bare patches upon it full of water, the undersoil being a red clay. the same kind of tree we had seen to the eastward, between the old depot and the darling, and which i had there taken to be a species of juglans, prevailed hereabouts in sheltered places. the creek line of trees was was still visible to our left, so that it must have come up a little more to the north. we crossed several native paths leading to it: the impression of an enormous foot was on one of them. at eight miles we descended to a flooded plain, scattered over with stunted box-trees, the greater number being dead, and i may remark that we generally found such to be the case on lands of a similar description; a fact, it appears to me, that can only be accounted for from the long-continued drought to which these unhappy regions are subject. these flooded plains are generally torn to pieces by cracks of four, six, and eight feet deep, of a depth, indeed, far below that at which i should imagine trees draw their support; but the box-tree spreads its roots very near the surface of the ground, having, i suppose, no prominent tap root, and can therefore receive no moisture from such a soil as that in which we so often found it in premature decay; the excess of moisture at one time, and the want of it at another, must be injurious to trees and plants of all kinds, and this circumstance may be a principal cause of the deficiency of timber in the interior of australia. from the level, we ascended to sandy and grassy plains as before, but they were now bounded by sandy ridges of a red colour, and partly covered with spinifex. i really shuddered at the re-appearance of those solid waves which i had hoped we had left behind, but such was not the case. at six miles we arrived at the base, and ascending one of them, found that it was flanked on both sides by others; the space between the ridges being occupied by the white and dry beds of salt lagoons. the reader will, i am sure, sympathise with me in these repeated disappointments, for the very aspect of these dreaded deposits, if i may so call them, withered hope. to whatever point of the compass i turned, whether to the west, to the north, or to the east, these heart-depressing features existed to damp the spirits of my men, and irresistibly to depress my own; but it was not for me to repine under such circumstances, i had undertaken a task, and in the performance of it had to take the country as it laid before me, whether a desert or an eden. still whatever moral convictions we may have, we cannot always control our feelings. the direction of the ridges was nearly north and south, somewhat to the westward of the first point, so that at a distance of more than two degrees to the eastward they almost preserved their parallelism. we rode along the base of a ridge for about three miles, but as on ascending it to take a survey, i observed that at about a mile beyond, it terminated, and that the dry bed of the lagoon to our right passed into a plain of great breadth immediately in front, the character and appearance of which was very doubtful, and as it was now sunset, and we had journeyed upwards of miles, i halted for the night at another puddle, rather larger than the last, but with sorry feed for the horses. at this place we dug our second well, by moonlight, as we had dug the first, and laid down on the ground to rest, fatigued, i candidly admit, both in mind and body. the day had been exceedingly cold, as was the night, and on the following morning with the wind at s.s.e., and a clear and cloudless sky, the temperature still continued low. at about a mile from where we had bivouacked, we arrived at the termination of the sandy ridge, and descended into the plain i had been reluctant to traverse in the uncertain light of evening. it proved firm, however, though it was evidently subject to floods. samphire, salsolae, and mesembryanthemum were growing on it, and one would have supposed from its appearance that it was a sea marsh. mr. stuart shot a beautiful ground parrot as we were crossing it, on a bearing of degrees, or little more than a n. and by w. course. at / miles we ascended some heavy sandy ridges, without any regularity in their disposition, but lying in great confusion. toiling over these, at seven or eight miles farther we sighted a fine sheet of water, bearing n. and distant about two miles. at another mile i altered my course to degrees, to pass to the westward of this new feature, which then proved to be a lake about the size of lake bonney, that is to say from to miles in circumference. the ridge by which we had approached it terminated suddenly and directly over it; to our right there were other ridges terminating in a similar manner, with rushy flats between them; eastward the country was dark and very low; to the north there was a desert of glittering white sand in low hillocks, scattered over with dwarf brush, and on it the heat was playing as over a furnace. immediately beneath me to the west there was a flat leading to the shore of the lake, and on the western side a bright red sand hill, full eighty feet high, shut out the view in that quarter. this ridge was not altogether a mile and a half in length, and behind it there were other ridges of the same colour bounding the horizon with edges as sharp as icebergs. i did not yet know whether the waters of the lake were salt or fresh, although i feared they were salt. looking on it, however, i saw clearly that it was very shallow; a line of poles ran across it, such as are used by the natives for catching wild fowl, of which there were an abundance, as well as of hematops on the water. as soon as we descended from the sand ridge we got on a narrow native path, that led us down to a hut, about yards from the shore of the lake. as we approached the water, the effluvia from it was exceedingly offensive, and the ground became a soft, black muddy sand. on tasting it we found that the water was neither one thing or the other, neither salt or fresh, but wholly unfit for use. close to its margin there was a broad path leading to the eastward, or rather round the lake; and under the sand ridge to the west, were twenty-seven huts, but they had long been deserted, and were falling to decay. nevertheless they proved that the waters of the lake were sometimes drinkable, or that the natives had some other supply of fresh water at no great distance, from whence they could easily come to take wild fowl, nor could i doubt such place would be the creek. notwithstanding that the water was so bad, i tried several places by digging, but invariably came to salt water, oozing through black mud, and i there fore presumed that a good deal of rain must have fallen hereabouts, to have tempered the water of the lake so much; which it struck me would otherwise have been quite saline. from the point where we first came down upon it, we traversed a flat beach covered with a short coarse rush, having the high red sand hill, of which i have spoken, to our left; before us a vast extent of low white sand, and to the eastward an extremely dark and depressed country. i was really afraid of entering on the scorching sands in our front, for we were now full miles from the creek, and it was absolutely necessary, before i should exceed that distance, to find a more permanent supply of water than the wells we had dug on our way out. in order to ascertain the nature of the country more satisfactorily, however, i ascended the rugged termination of the sandy ridge, close to which we had been riding, and was induced, from what i then saw, to determine on a course somewhat to the west of north, since a due north course was evidently closed upon me; for i now saw that the country in that direction was hopeless, as well as in an easterly direction; but although i stood full feet above the lake, i could not distinguish any thing like a hill on the distant horizon. to the westward, as a medium point, there were a succession of sandy ridges, similar to that on which i stood; but to the s.w. there seemed to be an interval of plain. as the thunder storm had reached as far as the place where we last slept, i did not doubt but that it had also reached the lake, and on consideration determined to keep as northerly a course as circumstances would permit, in pushing into a country in which i was meeting new difficulties every hour. descending, therefore, on a bearing of degrees, i went to a distance of six miles before coming to a small puddle at which i was glad to halt, it being the only drinkable water we had seen. here we dug a third well, although, like the first, there was but little chance of benefiting by it. it behoved me therefore to be still more careful in increasing my distance from the creek, so that on the morning of the th i thought it prudent to search for some, and as the country appeared open to the south, i turned to that point in the hope of success. we crossed some low sand hills to a swamp in which there was a good deal of surface water, but none of a permanent kind. we then crossed the n.w. extremity of an extensive grassy plain, similar to those i have already described, but infinitely larger. it continued, indeed, for many miles to the south, passing between all the sandy points jutting into it; and so closely was the desert allied to fertility at this point, and i may say in these regions, that i stood more than once with one foot on salsolaceous plants growing in pure sand, with the other on luxuriant grass, springing up from rich alluvial soil. at two miles and a quarter from the swamp, striking a native path we followed it up to the s.w., and, at three-quarters of a mile, we reached two huts that had been built on a small rise of ground, with a few low trees near them. our situation was too precarious to allow of my passing these huts without a strict search round about, for i was sure that water was not far off; and at length we found a small, narrow, and deep channel of but a few yards in length, hid in long grass, at a short distance from them. the water was about three feet deep, and was so sheltered that i made no doubt it would last for ten days or a fortnight. grateful for the success that had attended our search, i allowed the horses to rest and feed on the grass for a time; but it was of the kind from which the natives collect so much seed, and though beautiful to the eye, was not relished by our animals. the plains extended for miles to the south and south-east, with an aspect of great luxuriance and beauty; nor could i doubt they owed their existence to the final overflow of the large creek we had all along marked trending down to this point. such, indeed, i felt from the first, even when i looked on its broad and glittering waters, would sooner or later be its termination, or that it would expend itself, less usefully, on the stony desert. as yet, however, there was no indication of our approach to that iron region. the plains were surrounded on all sides by lofty ridges of sand, and the whole scene bore ample testimony to the comparative infancy, if i may so express myself, of the interior. we next pursued a n.n.w. course into the interior, and soon left the grassy plains, crossing alternate sand ridges and flats on a bearing of degrees, the whole country having a strong resemblance to that between sydney and botany bay in new south wales. on one of the ridges we surprised a native, who ran from us in great terror, and with incredible speed. about noon we crossed a plain, partly covered with stones and partly bare, and at the further extremity of it passed through a gorge between two sand hills into another plain that was barren beyond description, with only salsolaceous herbs. it had large white patches of clay on it, the shallow receptacles of rain water, but they were all dry. the plain was otherwise covered with low salsolae, excepting on the higher ground, on which samphire alone was growing. it was surrounded on all sides by sand hills of a fiery red, and not even a stunted hakea was to be seen. from this plain we again crossed alternate sand hills and flats, the former covered with spinifex, the latter being quite denuded of all vegetation; but one of the horses at last knocking up, i was obliged to halt in this gloomy region, at the only puddle of rain water we had seen since leaving the grassy plain. i was sure, however, from the change that had taken place, and the character of the country around us, that we were approaching that feature, the continuance of which, in order to elucidate its probable origin, it had been a principal object in my present journey to ascertain. i felt so convinced on this point, that i could not have returned to adelaide without having satisfied my mind on the subject. i might, indeed, have had general ideas as to the past state of the depressed interior, from what i had already seen of it; but the stony desert was the key to disclose the whole,--and although i feared again to tread its surface, its existence so far away to the eastward of where i had first been on it, would at least tend to confirm my impressions as to what it had been. it was clear, indeed, from the character of the country through which we had just passed, that we were again approaching the salt formation; more especially when, from the highest ground near us, i observed its generally dark aspect, and that there was the dry bed of a large salt lagoon directly in our course. we here dug a fourth well: the water was extremely muddy and thick, for the basin in which it was contained was very shallow, and the wind constantly playing on its surface raised waves that had stirred up the mud; but as there was more water than usual, i hoped that by deepening, it might settle. this was nothing new to us, for not only on our journey to lake torrens and to the n.w., had we subsisted on similar beverage, but the water at the depot at fort grey was half mud, and perfectly opaque. however, it was a matter of necessity to retain it here if possible, and we therefore took the best measures in our power to do so. on the th we resumed our journey on the former bearing, the wind blowing keen from the south. at about a mile and a half we reached the salt lagoon, as it appeared to be in the distance, but which proved to be rather a flooded plain. it was about two miles broad, and three and three-quarters long, and was speckled over rather than covered with salt herbs. at this time, also, we had an immense barren plain to our left, bounded all around, but more particularly to the north, by sand hills; over these we toiled for nine miles, when at their termination the centre of the plain bore degrees to the east of north, or nearly south. at five miles and a half further, having previously crossed a small stony plain, succeeded by sand ridges and valleys, both covered with spinifex, we ascended a pointed hill that lay directly in our course, and from it beheld the stony desert almost immediately below our feet. i must acknowledge, that coming so suddenly on it, i almost lost my breath. it was apparently unaltered in a single feature: herbless and treeless, it occupied more than one half of the visible horizon, that is to say, from degrees east of north, westward round to south. as to the eastward, so here the ridges we had just crossed abutted upon it, and as many of them were lower than the line of the horizon, they looked like sea dunes, backed by storm clouds, from the dusky colour of the plain. after surveying this gloomy expanse of stoneclad desert we looked for some object on the n.w. horizon upon which to move across it, but none presented itself, excepting a very distant sand hill bearing degrees, towards which i determined to proceed. we accordingly descended to the plain, and soon found ourselves on its uneven surface. there was a narrow space destitute of stones at the base of the sand hill, stamped all over with the impressions of natives' feet. from eighty to one hundred men, women, and children must have passed along there; and it appeared to me that this had been a migration of some tribe or other during the wet weather, but it was very clear those poor people never ventured on the plain itself. descended from our high position, we could no longer see the sand hill just noticed, but held on our course by compass like a ship at sea, being two hours and forty minutes in again sighting it; and reaching it in somewhat less than an hour afterwards, calculated the distance at thirteen miles. as we approached, it looked like an island in the midst of the ocean; but we found a large though shallow sheet of water amongst the stones under it, for which we were exceedingly thankful. from this point we crossed to another sand hill that continued northerly further than we could see, having the desert on either hand. our horses beginning to flag, i halted at five on the side of the ridge, near a small puddle that had only water enough for them to drink off at once. the morning of the th was bitterly cold, with the wind at s.s.e., and i cannot help thinking that there are extensive waters in some parts of the in terior, over which it came: the thermometer stood at degrees. we started on a course of degrees for a distant sandy peak rising above the general line of the horizon. at a mile, one of the horses fortunately got bogged in a little narrow channel just like that in the grassy plain; i say fortunately, for we might otherwise have passed the water it contained without knowing it, so completely was it shaded. in looking along the channel more closely, we discovered a little pool about three yards long and one broad, but deep. at this we breakfasted and watered the horses, and then pushed on. the lodgment of this water had been caused by local drainage, and was evident from the green feed round about. here again it appeared we had occasion to be thankful, for on this supply i hoped we might safely calculate for a week at least, so that we still held on our course with more confidence, keeping at the base of the ridge, and passing an extent of five miles through an open box-tree forest, every tree of which was dead. the whole scene being one of the most profound silence and marked desolation, for here no living thing was to be seen. at nine miles we ascended the ridge, and from it the desert appeared to be interminable from n. to n.e., but a few distant sand hills now shewed themselves to the eastward of the last mentioned point. we then descended into a valley of sand and spinifex, and at four miles and a half ascended an elevated peak in a sandy ridge lying in our way. from this, the view to the north-west was over a succession of sand hills. the point we stood upon, as well as the ridge, was flanked southwards by an immense plain of red sand and clay, and to the n.e. by a similar but smaller plain. crossing a portion of the great plain, at four miles and a half we ascended another peak, and then traversed a narrow valley crossing from it into a second valley, down which we travelled for six miles. at that distance it was half a mile in breadth, and there was a little verdure near some gum-trees, but no water. as we were searching about, a cockatoo, (cacatua leadbeateri) flew over the sand hill to our right, and pitched in the trees; we consequently crossed to the opposite side and halted for the night, where there was a good deal of green grass for the horses, but no water in the contiguous valley. chapter ii. the horses--ascend the hills--irresolution and retreat--horses reduced to great want--unexpected relief--try the desert to the n.e.--find water in our last well--reach the creek--proceed to the eastward--plague of flies and ants--surprise an old man--sea-gulls and pelicans--fish--pool of brine--meet natives--turn to the n.e.--cooper's creek tribe, their kindness and appearance--attempt to cross the plains--turn back--proceed to the northward--effects of refraction--find natives at our old camp and the stores untouched--cooper's creek, its geographical position. i had taken all the horses, with the exception of one, out with me on this journey, and as they will shortly bear a prominent part in this narrative, i will make some mention of them. my own horse was a grey--for which reason i called him duncan,--i had ridden him during the whole period of my wanderings, and think i never saw an animal that could endure more, or suffered less from the want of water; he was aged, and a proof, that in the brute creation as well as with mankind, years give a certain stamina that youth does not possess. this animal, as the reader will believe, knew me well, as indeed did all the horses, for i had stood by to see them watered many a time. mr. stuart rode mr. browne's horse, a little animal, but one of great endurance also; mack used a horse we called the roan, a hunter that had been mr. poole's. morgan rode poor punch, whose name i have before had occasion to mention, and who, notwithstanding subsequent rest, had not recovered from the fatigues of his northern excursion. besides these we had four pack horses:--bawley, a strong and compact little animal, with a blaze on the forehead, high spirited, with a shining coat, and having been a pet, was up to all kind of tricks, but was a general favourite, and a nice horse;--the other was traveller, a light chesnut, what the hunter would call a washy brute, always eating and never fat;--the colt, so called from his being young, certainly unequal to such a journey as that on which he was taken;--and slommy, another aged horse. during the summer, traveller had had a great discharge from the nose, and i was several times on the point of ordering him to be shot, under an apprehension that his disease was the glanders; but, although the colt and my own horse contracted it, i postponed my final mandate, and all recovered; however, he continued weak. at this time they were unshod, and had pretty well worn their hoofs down to the quick, insomuch that any inequality in the ground made them limp, and it was distressing to ride them; but, notwithstanding, they bore up singularly against the changes and fatigues they had to go through. from a small rising ground near where we stopped in the valley, on the occasion of which i am speaking, and in the obscure light of departing day we saw to the n.n.w. a line of dark looking hills, at the distance of about ten or twelve miles, but we could not discover tree or bush upon them, all we could make out was that they were dark objects above the line of horizon, and that the intervening country seemed to be as dark as they were. the weather had changed from cold to hot, the wind having flown from s. to the n.e., and the day and night were exceedingly warm. i was sorry to observe, too, that the horses had scarcely touched the grass on which, for their sakes, i had been tempted to stop, and that they were evidently suffering from the previous day's journey of from to miles, that being about the distance we had left the water in the grassy valley. before mounting, on the morning of the st, mr. stuart and i went to see if we could make out more than we had been able to do the night before, what kind of country was in front of us, but we were disappointed, and found that we should have to wait patiently until we got nearer the hills to judge of their formation. about half a mile below where we had slept, the valley led to the n.n.e., and on turning, we found it there opened at once upon the stony desert; but the hills were now hid from us by sandy undulations to our left, and even when we got well into the plain we could hardly make out what the hills were. as we neared them, however, we observed that they were nothing more than high sand hills, covered with stones even as the desert itself, to their tops. that part of it over which we were riding also differed from any other portion, in having large sharp-pointed water-worn rocks embedded in the ground amongst the stones, as if they had been so whilst the ground was soft. there was a line of small box-trees marking the course of a creek between us and the hills, and a hope that we should find water cheered us for a moment, but that ray soon vanished when we saw the nature of its bed. we searched along it for about half an hour in vain, and then turned to the hills and ascended to the top of one of the highest, about feet above the level of the plain. from it the eye wandered hopelessly for some bright object on which to rest. behind us to the south-east lay the sand hills we had crossed, with the stony plain sweeping right round them, but in every other direction the dark brown desert extended. the line of the horizon was broken to the north-west and north by hills similar to the one we had ascended; but in those directions not a blade of grass, not a glittering spot was to be seen. at this point, which i have placed in lat. degrees minutes and in long. degrees minutes, i had again to choose between the chance of success or disaster, as on the first occasion; if i went on and should happen to find water, all for the time would be well, if not, destruction would have been inevitable. i was now nearly miles from water, and feared that, as it was, some of my horses would fall before i could get back to it, yet i lingered undecided on the hill, reluctant to make up my mind, for i felt that if i thus again retired, it would be a virtual abandonment of the task undertaken. i should be doing an injustice to mr. stuart and to my men if i did not here mention that i told them the position we were placed in, and the chance on which our safety would depend if we went on. they might well have been excused if they had expressed an opinion contrary to such a course, but the only reply they made was to assure me that they were ready and willing to follow me to the last. after this, i believe i sat on the hill for more than half an hour with the telescope in my hand, but there was nothing to encourage me onwards; our situation, however, admitted not of delay. i might, it is true, have gone on and perished with all my men; but i saw neither the credit nor the utility of such a measure. i trust the reader will believe that i would not have shrunk from any danger that perseverance or physical strength could have overcome; that indeed i did not shrink from the slow fate, which, as far as i could judge, would inevitably have awaited me if i had gone on; but that in the exercise of sound discretion i decided on falling back. the feeling which would have led me onwards was similar to that of a man who is sensible of having committed an error, yet is ashamed to make an apology, and who would rather run the risk of being shot, than of having the charge of pusillanimity fixed upon him; but i have never regretted the step i took, and it has been no small gratification to me to find that the noble president of the royal geographical society, lord colchester, when addressing the members of that enlightened body, in its name presenting medals to dr. leichhardt and myself, for our labours in the cause of geography, alluded to and approved "the prudence with which further advance was abandoned, when it could only have risked the loss of those entrusted to my charge." we slowly retraced our steps to the valley in which we had slept, and i stopped there for half an hour, but none of the horses would eat, with the exception of traveller, and he certainly made good use of his time. the others collected round me as i sat under a tree, with their heads over mine, and my own horse pulled my hat off my head to engage my attention. poor brute! i would have given much at that moment to have relieved him, but i could not. we were all of us in the same distress, and if we had not ultimately found water must all have perished together. finding that they would not eat, we saddled and proceeded onwards, i should say backwards--and at p.m. we were on the sand ridges. at the head of the valley traveller fell dead, and i feared every moment that we should lose the colt. at one i stopped to rest the horses till dawn, and then remounted, but morgan and mack got slowly on, so that i thought it better to precede them, and if possible to take some water back to moisten the mouth of their horses, and i accordingly went in advance with mr. stuart. i thought we should never have got through the dead box-tree forest i have mentioned, however we did so about a.m., and made straight for the spot where we expected to relieve both ourselves and our horses, but the water was gone. mr. stuart poked his fingers into the mud and moistened his lips with the water that filled the holes he had made, but that was all. we were yet searching for water when morgan and mack appeared, but without the colt; fortunately they had descended into the valley higher up, and had found a little pool, which they had emptied, under an impression that we had found plenty; and were astonished at hearing that none any longer remained. in this situation, and with the apparent certain prospect of losing my own and mr. browne's horse, and the colt which was still alive when the men left him, not more than a mile in the rear, we continued our search for water, but it would have been to no purpose. suddenly a pigeon topped the sand hill--it being the first bird we had seen--a solitary bird--passing us like lightning, it pitched for a moment, and for a moment only, on the plain, about a quarter of a mile from us, and then flew away. it could only have wetted its bill, but mr. stuart had marked the spot, and there was water. perhaps i ought to dwell for a moment on this singular occurrence, but i leave it to make its own impression on the reader's feelings. i was enabled to send back to the colt, and we managed to save him, and as there was a sufficiency of water for our consumption, i determined to give the men a day of rest, and to try if i could find a passage across the desert a little to the eastward of north, and with mr. stuart proceeded in that direction on the morning of the th; but at p.m. we were out of sight of all high land. the appearance of the desert was like that of an immense sea beach, and large fragments of rock were imbedded in the ground, as if by the force of waters, and the stones were more scattered, thus shewing the sandy bed beneath and betwixt them. the day was exceedingly hot, and our horses' hoofs were so brittle that pieces flew off them like splinters when they struck them against the stones. we were at this time about sixteen or seventeen miles from the sand hill where we had left the men. the desert appeared to be taking a northerly direction, and certainly was much broader than further to the westward, making apparently for the gulf of carpentaria; nor could i doubt but that there had once been an open sea between us and it. we reached our little bivouac at p.m. both ourselves and our horses thoroughly wearied, and disappointed as we had been, i regretted that i had put the poor things to unnecessary hardships. perhaps i was wrong in having done so, but i could not rest. our latitude here was degrees minutes and our long. by account degrees minutes. in the morning we crossed the remaining portion of the desert, as i had determined on making the best of my way to the creek, and passing the sandy ridges reached our first water (the th going out), about sunset or a little before. water still remained, but it was horridly thick, and in the morning smelt so offensive that it was loathsome to ourselves and the animals. our great, indeed our only, dependence then was on the water in the little channel on the grassy plain; at this we arrived late on the afternoon of the th. another day and we should again have been disappointed: the water on which i had calculated for a fortnight was all but gone. in the morning we drained almost the last drop out of the channel. we were now about miles from the creek, without the apparent probability of relief till we should get to it, for it seemed hopeless to expect that we should find any water in the wells we had dug. crossing the grassy plains on an east-north-east course, we passed the salt lake about a.m. to our left, and ran along the sandy ridges between it and our encampment of the th, where we had made our second well, at p.m., but it was dry and the bottom cracked and baked. i would gladly have given my poor horses a longer rest than prudence would have justified, but we had not time for rest. at we again mounted, and went slowly on; and when darkness closed around us lit a small lamp, and one of us walking in front led the way for the others to follow; thus tracking our way over those dreary regions all night long, we neared our last remaining well, miles distant from the creek, just as morning dawned. objects were still obscure as we approached the spot where our hopes rested, for our horses could hardly drag one foot after the other. mr. stuart was in front, and called to me that he saw the little trees under whose shade we had slept; soon after he said he saw something glittering where the well was, and immediately after shouted out, "water, water." it is impossible for me to record all this without a feeling of more than thankfulness to the almighty power that guided us. at this place we were still miles from fort grey; and if we had not found this supply, it is more than probable the fate of our horses would have sealed our own. as it was we joyfully unsaddled, and, after watering, turned them out to feed. singular it was that the well on which we had least dependence, and from which we had been longest absent, should thus have held out--but so it was. at we resumed our journey, there being about half a gallon a-piece for the horses just before we started; but although this, and the short rest they had, had relieved them, they got on slowly; and it was not until after midnight of the th, a.m. indeed of the th, that we reached the creek, with two short of our complement of horses, the roan and the colt both having dropped on the plains, but fortunately at no great distance, so that we recovered them in the course of the day. it will naturally be supposed that, arrived at a place of safety, we here rested for a while; but my mind was no sooner relieved from one cause for anxiety, than it was filled with another. if i except the thunder-storm which had enabled me to undertake my late journey from the creek, no rain had fallen, the weather had suddenly become oppressively hot, with a sky as clear as ether. i had still the mountain range to the n.e. to examine, and the upper branches of the creek, and in this necessary survey i knew no time was to be lost. indeed i doubted if my return to the depot was not already shut out, by the drying up of the water in strzelecki's creek, although i hoped mr. browne still held his ground; but not only was i anxious on these heads, but as to our eventual retreat from these heartless regions. i would gladly have rested for a few days, for i was beginning to feel weak. from the th of july, and it was now the last day but two of october, i had been in constant exercise from sunrise to sunset; and if i except the few days i had rested at the depot, had slept under the canopy of heaven. my food had been insufficient to support me, and i had a malady hanging upon me that was slowly doing its work; but i felt that i had no time to spare, and, as i could not justify indulgence to myself, so on the th we commenced our progress up the creek, but halted at six miles on a beautiful sheet of water, and with every promise of success. in the course of the day we passed a singularly large grave. it was twenty-three feet long, and fourteen broad. the boughs on the top of it were laid so as to meet the oval shape of the mound itself, but the trees were not carved, nor were there any walks about it, as i had seen in other parts of the continent. before we commenced our journey up the creek, i determined to secrete all the stores i could, in order to lighten the loads of the horses as much as possible, for they were now almost worn out; but it was difficult to say where we should conceal them, so as to be secure from the quick eyes of the natives. at first i thought my best plan would be to dig a hole and bury them, and then to light a fire, so as to obliterate the marks; but i changed my purpose, and placed them under a rhagodia bush, a short distance from the creek, and arranged some boughs all round it. in this place i hoped they would escape observation, for there were one or two things i should have exceedingly regretted to lose. the weather had been getting warmer and warmer, and it had at this time become so hot that it was almost intolerable, worse indeed than at this season the previous year. the th was a day of oppressive heat, and the flies and mosquitoes were more than usually troublesome. i have not said much of these insects in the course of this narrative, for after all they are secondary objects only; but it is impossible to describe the ceaseless annoyance of these and a small ant. the latter swarmed in myriads in the creek and on the plains, and what with these little creatures at night, and the flies by day, we really had no rest. i continually wore a veil, or i could not have attended to our movements, or performed my duties. it is probable that being in the neighbourhood of water they were more numerous, but here they were a perfect plague, and in our depressed and wearied condition we, perhaps, felt their attacks more than we should otherwise have done. we commenced our journey at seven, and crossing the creek at three-quarters of a mile, ascended a small sand hill upon its proper left bank. where we had crossed the channel was perfectly dry, but from the sand hill another magnificent sheet of water stretched away to the southeast as far as we could see. from this point the creek appeared to be bounded by forest land, partly scrubby and partly grassed. to the south there were flats seemingly subject to floods, and lightly timbered, and beyond these were low sand hills. to the s.w. a high line of trees marked the course of a tributary from that quarter. to the north the country was exceedingly sandy and low, as well as to the east; and the direction of the sand ridges was only degrees to the west of north, so that from this point to our extreme west they gradually alter their line degrees, as in degrees of longitude they ran degrees to the west of north. i was not able to take more than one bearing from the hill i had ascended, to a remarkable flat-topped hill nearly n.e. i now crossed the creek on an east course, and traversed sandy plains, and low undulations, there being a tolerable quantity of grass on both; and at four miles changed the route a little to the northward for a small conical sand hill, from which the flat-topped hill bore degrees, and from it some darker hills were visible, somewhat more to the eastward, and as they appeared to be different from the sand ridges, i again changed my course for them, and crossing the bed of the creek at four miles, ascended a small stony range trending to the eastward, the creek being directly at their base. following up its proper left bank i ascended another part of the range at three miles and a half, from which the flat-topped hill bore degrees, and the last hill i had ascended degrees. the channel of the creek had been dry for several miles, but we now saw a large sheet of water bearing due east, distant two miles, to which we made our way, and then stopped. from the top of this range the creek seemed to pass over extensive and bare plains in many branches, southward there were some stony hills, treeless and herbless, like those nearer to us. i was fairly driven down to the valley by the flies, as numerous on the burning stones on the top of the hill as any where else, and i left a knife and a pocket handkerchief behind me. notwithstanding the magnificent sheet of water we were now resting near, i began thus early to doubt the character of this creek. it had changed so often during the day, at one place having a broad channel, at another splitting into numerous small ones, having a great portion of its bed dry, and then presenting large and beautiful reaches to view, that i hardly knew what opinion to form of it; i also observed that it was leading away from the hills and taking us into a low and desolate region, almost as bad as that to the westward; however, time alone was to prove whether i was right in my surmises. in the afternoon two natives made their appearance on the opposite side of the water, and i walked over to them, as i could not by any signs induce them to come to us. they were not bad looking men, and had lost their two front teeth of the upper jaw. to one i gave a tomahawk, and a hook to the other, but when i rose to depart, they gave them both back to me, and were astonished to find that i had intended them as presents. seeing, i suppose, that we intended them no injury, these men in the morning went on with their ordinary occupations, and swimming into the middle of the water began to dive for mussels. they looked like two seals in the water with their black heads, and seemed to be very expert: at all events they were not long in procuring a breakfast. notwithstanding the misgivings i had as to the creek, the paths of the natives became wider and wider as we advanced. they were now as broad as a footpath in england, by a road side, and were well trodden; numerous huts of boughs also lined the creek, so that it was evident we were advancing into a well peopled country, and this circumstance raised my hopes that it would improve. as, however, our horses had no longer a gallop in them, we found it necessary to keep a sharp look out; although the natives with whom we had communicated, did not appear anxious to leave the place as they generally are to tell the news of our being on the creek to others above us. on the st we started at a.m., and at a mile and a half found ourselves at the termination of the stony ranges to our left. they fell back to the north, and a larger plain succeeded them. at two miles we crossed a small tributary, and passed over a stony plain, from which we entered an open box-tree forest extending far away to our left. at five miles and a half we found ourselves again on the banks of the creek, where it had an upper and a lower channel, that is to say, it had a lower channel for the stream, and an upper one independently of it. in the lower bed there was a little water, and we therefore stopped for a short time, the day being exceedingly hot. while here we saw a native at some water a little lower down, mending a net, but did not call to him. on resuming our journey we kept in the upper channel, and had not ridden very far when we saw a native about yards ahead of us, pulling boughs. on getting nearer we called out to him, but to no purpose. at the distance of about yards, we called out again, but still he did not hear, perhaps because of the rustling of the boughs he was breaking down. at length he bundled them up, and throwing them over his shoulder, turned from us to cross to the lower part of the creek, when suddenly he came bolt up against us. i cannot describe his horror and amazement,--down went his branches,--out went his hands,--and trembling from head to foot, he began to shout as loud as he could bawl. on this we pulled up, and i desired mr. stuart to dismount and sit down. this for a time increased the poor fellow's alarm, for he doubtless mistook man and horse for one animal, and he stretched himself out in absolute astonishment when he saw them separate. when mr. stuart sat down, however, he stood more erect, and he gradually got somewhat composed. his shouting had brought another black, who had stood afar off, watching the state of affairs, but who now approached. from these men i tried to gather some information, and my hopes were greatly raised from what passed between us, insomuch that one of the men could not help expressing his hope that we were now near the long sought for inland sea. on my seeking to know, by signs, to what point the creek would lead us, the old man stretched out his hand considerably to the southward of east, and spreading out his fingers, suddenly dropped his hand, as if he desired us to understand that it commenced, as he shewed, by numerous little channels uniting into one not very far off. on asking if the natives used canoes, he threw himself into the attitude of a native propelling one, which is a peculiar stoop, in which he must have been practised. after going through the motions, he pointed due north, and turning the palm of his hand forward, made it sweep the horizon round to east, and then again put himself into the attitude of a native propelling a canoe. there certainly was no mistaking these motions. on my asking if the creek went into a large water, he intimated not, by again spreading out his hand as before and dropping it, neither did he seem to know anything of any hills. the direction he pointed to us, where there were large waters, was that over which the cold e.s.e. wind i have noticed, must have passed. this poor fellow was exceedingly communicative, but he did not cease to tremble all the while we were with him. after leaving him, the creek led us up to the northward of east, and we cut off every angle by following the broad and well beaten paths crossing from one to the other. at three miles i turned to ascend a conical sand hill, from whence the country appeared as follows: to the north were immense plains, with here and there a gum-tree on them; they were bounded in the distance by hills that i took to be the outer line of the range we purposed visiting; to the eastward the ground was undulating and woody; and southward, the prospect was bounded by low stony elevations, or a low range. the course of the creek was now north-east, in the direction of two distant sand hills. we now ran along it for seven miles, under an open box-tree forest, varying in breadth from a quarter of a mile to two miles; the creek frequently changed from a broad channel to a smaller one, but still having splendid sheets of water in it. at length, as we pushed up, it became sandy, and the lofty gum-trees that had ornamented it, gradually disappeared. nevertheless we encamped on a beautiful spot. the st of november broke bright and clear over us. started at seven, the poor horses scarcely able to draw one leg after the other, the roan having worn his hoof down the quick was exposed and raw, and he walked with difficulty. at a mile and a half we ascended an eminence, and to the eastward, saw a magnificent sheet of water to which we moved, and at five miles reached a low stony range, bounding the creek to the north; having ridden along a broad native path the whole of that distance, close to the edge of the above mentioned water. there were large rocks in the middle of it, and pelicans, one swan, several sea-gulls, and a number of cormorants on its bosom, together with many ducks, but none would let us within reach. we next ran on a bearing of degrees, or nearly east, along a large path, crossing numerous small branches of the creek, with deep and sandy beds, and occasionally over small stony plains. at noon we were at some distance from the creek, but then went towards it. the gum-trees were no longer visible, but melaleucas, from fifteen to twenty feet high, lined its banks like a copse of young birch. we now observed a long but somewhat narrow sheet of water, to which we rode; our suspicions as to its quality being roused by its colour, and the appearance of the melaleuca. it proved, as we feared, to be slightly brackish, but not undrinkable. near the edge of the water, or rather about four or five feet from it, there was a belt of fine weeds, between which and the shore there were myriads of small fish of all sizes swimming, similar to those we had captured to the westward, in the fourth or o'halloran's creek. here then was not only the clue as to how fish got into that isolated pond, but a proof of the westerly fall of the interior, since there was now no doubt whatever, but that the whole of the country mr. browne and i had traversed, even to the great sand hills on this side the stony desert, was laid under water, and by the overflow of this great creek filled the several creeks, and inundated the several plains that we had crossed. by so unexpected a fact, was this material point discovered. the roan, at this time, could hardly walk, and not knowing when or at what distance we might again find water, or what kind of water it would be, i stopped on reaching the upper end of this pool, but even there it had a nasty taste, nor were any fish to be seen; a kind of weed covered the bed of the creek, and it looked like an inlet of the sea. i was exceedingly surprised that we had not seen more natives, and momentarily expected to come on some large tribe, but did not, and what was very singular, all the paths were to the right, and none on the southern bank of the creek. the weather continued intensely hot, and the flies swarmed in hundreds of thousands. the sky was without a cloud, either by day or night, and i could not but be apprehensive as to the consequences if rain should not fall; it was impossible that the largest pools could stand the rapid evaporation that was going on, but i did not deem it right to unburden my mind, even to mr. stuart, at this particular juncture. on the morning of the nd of november the horses strayed for the first time, and delayed us for more than two hours, and we were after all indebted to three natives for their recovery, who had seen them and pointed out the direction in which they were. it really was a distressing spectacle to see them brought up, but their troubles and sufferings were not yet over. the roan was hardly able to move along, and in pity i left him behind to wander at large along the sunny banks of the finest water-course we had discovered. starting at a.m. we crossed the creek, and traversed a large sandy plain, intersected by numerous native paths, that had now become as wide as an ordinary gravel walk. from this plain we observed a thin white line along the eastern horizon. the plain itself was also of white sand, and had many stones upon it, similar in substance and shape to those on the stony desert, but there was, not withstanding, some grass upon it. a little above where we had slept, we struck a turn or angle of the creek where there was a beautiful sheet of water, but of a deep indigo blue colour. this was as salt as brine, insomuch that no animal could possibly have lived in it, and we observed water trickling into it from many springs on both sides. at four miles when we again struck the creek, after having crossed the plain, the water was perfectly fresh and sweet in a large pool close to which we passed. here again there were several sea-gulls sitting on the rocks in the water, and a good many cormorants in the trees, yet i do not think there were any fish in this basin; i have no other reason for so thinking, however, than that we never saw any, either swimming in the water or rising to its surface in the coolness of evening on the sheets of fresh water. there might, however, have been fish of large size in the deep pools of this creek, although i would observe that i had two reasons for believing otherwise. the first was, that, the meshes of the nets used by the natives, of which we examined several hanging in the trees, were very small, and that among the fish bones at the natives' fires, we never saw any of a larger size than those we had ourselves captured, and it was evident that at this particular time, it was not the fishing season. i was led to think, that the water in which we noticed so many swimming about, was sacred, and that it is only when the creek overflows, that the fish are generally distributed along its whole line, that the natives take them. certainly, to judge from the smooth and delicate appearance of the weeds round that sheet of water the fish were not disturbed. we had been riding for some time on the proper right {left in published text} bank of the creek, but i at length crossed to the right and altered my course to e.s.e., but shortly afterwards ran due east across earthy plains covered with grass in tufts and very soft, but observing that i had got outside of the native tracks, and that there was no indication of the creek in front, i turned to the s.e. and at five miles struck a small sandy channel which i searched in vain for water; i therefore left it, crossing many similar channels still on a s.e. course; but observing that they all had level sandy beds, i gave up the hope of finding water in them and turned to the south, as the horses were not in a condition to suffer from want. at about two miles i ascended a sand hill, but could not see any thing of the creek; it was now getting late and two of the horses were hardly able to get along. had we halted then, there was not a tree or a bush to which we could have tethered our animals, anxious too to get them to water i turned to the west, and at a mile got on a native path, that ultimately led me to the creek, and we pulled up at a small pond, where there was better feed than we had any right to expect. we had hardly arranged our bivouac, when we heard a most melancholy howling over an earthen bank directly opposite to us, and saw seven black heads slowly advancing towards us. i therefore sent mr. stuart to meet the party and bring them up. the group consisted of a very old blind man, led by a younger one, and five women. they all wept most bitterly, and the women uttered low melancholy sounds, but we made them sit down and managed to allay their fears. it is impossible to say how old the man was, but his hair was white as snow, and he had one foot in the grave. these poor creatures must have observed us coming, and being helpless, had i suppose thought it better to come forward, for they had their huts immediately on the other side of the bank over which they ventured. we gave the old man a great coat, as the most useful present, and he seemed delighted with it. i saw that it was hopeless to expect any information from this timid party, so i made no objection to their leaving us after staying for about half an hour. our latitude here, by an altitude of jupiter, was degrees minutes s.; our longitude by account degrees minutes e. the plains we had crossed during the day were very extensive, stretching from the north-west, to the south-east, like an open sea. they were thinly scattered over with box-trees, and comprised hundreds of thousands of acres of flooded grassy land. it is worthy of remark that none of these plains existed to the south of the creek, in which quarter the country was very barren, neither were there any native paths. we were at this time in too low a position to see any of the mountain ranges of which i have spoken. as the old native with the boughs had told us, the creek led us to the southward of east, and consequently away from them, and i feared that his further information would prove correct, and that we should soon arrive at its commencement. the morning of the rd of november was as cloudy as the night of the nd had been, during which it blew violently from the n.w., and a few heat-drops fell, but without effect on the temperature. one of the horses got bogged in attempting to drink, and mack's illness made it nine before we mounted and resumed our journey up the creek, on a n.n.e. course, but it gradually came round to north. at six miles we crossed the small and sandy bed of a creek coming from the stony plains to the south, and beneath a tree, near two huts, observed a large oval stone. it was embedded in the ground, and was evidently used by the natives for pounding seeds. we now proceeded along a broad native path towards some gum-trees, having stony undulating hills upon our right. underneath the trees there was a fine deep pool in the channel of the creek, which had again assumed something of its original shape; but as we were in an immense hollow or bowl, and the view was very limited, i branched off to the hills, then not more than half a mile distant. from their summit the country to the south and south-west appeared darkly covered with brush; to the west, there were numerous stony undulations; northward and to the east were immense grassy plains, with many creeks, all making for a common centre upon them. in the near ground to the south-east, the surface of the country was of fine white sand, partly covered with salsolaceous plants, with small fragments of stone, and patches of more grassy land. there was no fixed point on which to take a bearing, nor could we see anything of the higher ranges, now to the north-west of us. in returning to the creek, we observed a body of natives to our left. they were walking in double file, and approaching us slowly. i therefore pulled up, and sent mr. stuart forward on foot, following myself with his horse. as he neared them the natives sat down, and he walked up and sat down in front of them. the party consisted of two chiefs and fourteen young men and boys. the former sat in front and the latter were ranged in two rows behind. the two chiefs wept as usual, and in truth shed tears, keeping their eyes on the ground; but mr. stuart, after the interview, informed me that the party behind were laughing at them and sticking their tongues in their cheeks. one of the chiefs was an exceedingly tall man, since he could not have measured less than six feet three inches, and was about years of age. he was painted with red ochre, and his body shone as if he had been polished with warren's best blacking. his companion was older and of shorter stature. we soon got on good terms with them, and i made a present of a knife to each. they told us, as intelligibly as it was possible for them to do, that we were going away from water; that there was no more water to the eastward, and, excepting in the creek, none anywhere but to the n.e. i had observed, indeed, that the native paths had altogether ceased on the side of the creek on which we then were (the south or left bank), and the chief pointed that fact out to me, explaining that we should have to cross the creek at the head of the water, under the trees, and get on a path that would lead us to the n.e. on this i rose up and mounting my horse, riding quietly towards it, descended into the bed of the creek, in which the natives had their huts, but their women and children were not there. the two chiefs and the other natives had followed, but, the former only crossed the creek and accompanied us. we almost immediately struck on the native path which, as my tall friend had informed me, led direct to the n.e. i was not at first aware, what object our new friends had in following or rather accompanying us; but, at about a mile and a half, we came to a native hut at which there was an old man and his two lubras. the tall young man introduced him to us as his father, in consequence of which i dismounted, and shook hands with the old gentleman, and, as i had no hatchet or knife to give him, i parted my blanket and gave him half of it. we then pro ceeded on our journey, attended as before, and at a mile, came on two huts, at which there were from twelve to fifteen natives. here again we were introduced by our long-legged friend, who kept pace with our animals with ease, and after a short parley once more moved on, but were again obliged to stop with another tribe, rather more numerous than the last, who were encamped on a dirty little puddle of water that was hardly drinkable; however, they very kindly asked us to stay and sleep, an honour i begged to decline. thus, in the space of less than five miles, we were introduced to four different tribes, whose collective numbers amounted to seventy-one. the huts of these natives were constructed of boughs, and were of the usual form, excepting those of the last tribe, which were open behind, forming elliptic arches of boughs, and the effect was very pretty. these good folks also asked us to stop, and i thought i saw an expression of impatience on the countenance of my guide when i declined, and turned my horse to move on. we had been riding on a sandy kind of bank, higher than the flooded ground around us. the plains extended on either side to the north and east, nor could we distinctly trace the creek beyond the trees at the point we had crossed it, but there were a few gum-trees separated by long intervals, that still slightly marked its course. when we left the last tribe, we rode towards a sand hill about half a mile in front, and had scarcely gone from the huts when our ambassadors, for in such a light i suppose i must consider them, set off at a trot and getting a-head of us disappeared over the sand hill. i was too well aware of the customs of these people, not to anticipate that there was something behind the scene, and i told mr. stuart that i felt satisfied we had not yet seen the whole of the population of this creek; but i was at a loss to conjecture why they should have squatted down at such muddy puddles, when there were such magnificent sheets of water for them to encamp upon, at no great distance; however, we reached the hill soon after the natives had gone over it, and on gaining the summit were hailed with a deafening shout by or natives, who were assembled in the flat below. i do not know, that my desire to see the savage in his wild state, was ever more gratified than on this occasion, for i had never before come so suddenly upon so large a party. the scene was one of the most animated description, and was rendered still more striking from the circumstance of the native huts, at which there were a number of women and children, occupying the whole crest of a long piece of rising ground at the opposite side of the flat. i checked my horse for a short time on the top of the sand hill, and gazed on the assemblage of agitated figures below me, covering so small a space that i could have enclosed the whole under a casting net, and then quietly rode down into the flat, followed by mr. stuart and my men, to one of whom i gave my horse when i dismounted, and then walked to the natives, by whom mr. stuart and myself were immediately surrounded. had these people been of an unfriendly temper, we could not by any possibility have escaped them, for our horses could not have broken into a canter to save our lives or their own. we were therefore wholly in their power, although happily for us perhaps, they were not aware of it; but, so far from exhibiting any unkind feeling, they treated us with genuine hospitality, and we might certainly have commanded whatever they had. several of them brought us large troughs of water, and when we had taken a little, held them up for our horses to drink; an instance of nerve that is very remarkable, for i am quite sure that no white man, (having never seen or heard of a horse before, and with the natural apprehension the first sight of such an animal would create,) would deliberately have walked up to what must have appeared to them most formidable brutes, and placing the troughs they carried against their breast, have allowed the horses to drink, with their noses almost touching them. they likewise offered us some roasted ducks, and some cake. when we walked over to their camp, they pointed to a large new hut, and told us we could sleep there, but i had noticed a little hillock on which there were four box-trees, about fifty yards from the native encampment, on which, foreseeing that we could go no farther, i had already determined to remain, and on my intimating this to the natives they appeared highly delighted; we accordingly went to the trees, and unsaddling our animals turned them out to feed. when the natives saw us quietly seated they came over, and brought a quantity of sticks for us to make a fire, wood being extremely scarce. the men of this tribe were, without exception, the finest of any i had seen on the australian continent. their bodies were not disfigured by any scars, neither were their countenances by the loss of any teeth, nor were they circumcised. they were a well-made race, with a sufficiency of muscular development, and stood as erect as it was possible to do, without the unseemly protrusion of stomach, so common among the generality of natives. of sixty-nine who i counted round me at one time, i do not think there was one under my own height, feet / inches, but there were several upwards of feet. the children were also very fine, and i thought healthier and better grown than most i had seen, but i observed here, as elsewhere amongst smaller tribes, that the female children were more numerous than the males, why such should be the case, it is difficult to say. whilst, however, i am thus praising the personal appearance of the men, i am sorry to say i observed but little improvement in the fairer sex. they were the same half-starved unhappy looking creatures whose condition i have so often pitied elsewhere. these were a merry people and seemed highly delighted at our visit, and if one or two of them were a little forward, i laid it to the account of curiosity and a feeling of confidence in their own numbers. but a little thing checked them, nor did they venture to touch our persons, much less to put their hands into our pockets, as the natives appear to have done, in the case of another explorer. it is a liberty i never allowed any native to take, not only because i did not like it, but because i am sure it must have the effect of lowering the white man in the estimation of the savage, and diminishing those feelings of awe and inferiority, which are the european's best security against ill treatment. the natives told us, that there was no water to the eastward, and that if we went there we should all die. they explained that the creek commenced on the plains, by spreading out their fingers as the old man had done, to shew that many small channels made a large one, pointing to the creek, and they said the water was all gone to the place we had come from; meaning, to the lower part of it. on asking them by signs, if the creek continued beyond the plains, they shook their heads, and again put their extended hand on the ground, pointing to the plain. they could give us no account of the ranges to which i proposed going, any more than others we had asked. on inquiring, if there was any water to the north-west a long discussion took place, and it was ultimately decided that there was not. i could understand, that several of them mentioned the names of places where they supposed there might be water, but it was evidently the general opinion that there was none. neither did they appear to know of any large waters, on which the natives had canoes, in confirmation of the old man's actions. on this interesting and important point they were wholly ignorant. the smallness of the water-hole, on which these people depended, was quite a matter of surprise to me, and i hardly liked to let the horses drink at it, in consequence. at sunset all the natives left us (as is their wont at that hour), and went to their own encampment; nor did one approach us afterwards, but they sat up to a late hour at their own camp, the women being employed beating the seed for cakes, between two stones, and the noise they made was exactly like the working of a loom factory. the whole encampment, with the long line of fires, looked exceedingly pretty, and the dusky figures of the natives standing by them, or moving from one hut to the other, had the effect of a fine scene in a play. at all was still, and you would not have known that you were in such close contiguity to so large an assemblage of people. when i laid down, i revolved in my own mind what course i should pursue in the morning. if the account of the natives was correct, it was clear that my further progress eastward, was at an end. my horses, indeed, were now reduced to such a state, that i foresaw my labours were drawing to a close. mack, too, was so ill, that he could hardly sit his animal, and although i did not anticipate any thing serious in his case, anything tending to embarrass was now felt by us. mr. stuart and morgan held up well, but i felt myself getting daily weaker and weaker. i found that i could not rise into my saddle with the same facility, and that i lost wind in going up a bank of only a few feet in height. i determined, however, on mature consideration, to examine the plain, and to satisfy myself before i should turn back, as to the fact of the creek commencing upon it. accordingly, in the morning, we saddled and loaded our horses, but none of the natives came to us until we had mounted; when they approached to take leave, and to persuade us not to go in the direction we proposed, but to no purpose. the pool from which they drew their supply of water, was in the centre of a broad shallow grassy channel, that passed the point of the sand hill we had ascended, and ran up to the northward and westward; we were, therefore, obliged to cross this channel, and soon afterwards got on the plains. they were evidently subject to flood, and were exceedingly soft and blistered; the grass upon them grew in tufts, not close, so that in the distance, the plains appeared better grassed than they really were. at length, we got on a polygonum flat of great size, in the soil of which our horses absolutely sunk up to the shoulder at every step. i never rode over such a piece of ground in my life, but we managed to flounder through it, until at length we got on the somewhat firmer but still heavy plain. it was very clear, however, that our horses would not go a day's journey over such ground. it looked exactly as i have described it--an immense concavity, with numerous small channels running down from every part, and making for the creek as a centre of union; nor, could we anywhere see a termination to it. had the plain been of less extent, i might have doubted the information of the natives; but, looking at the boundless hollow around me, i did not feel any surprise that such a creek even as the one up which we had journeyed, should rise in it, and could easily picture to myself the rush of water there must be to the centre of the plain, when the ground has been saturated with moisture. the day being far advanced, whilst we were yet pushing on, without any apparent termination to the heavy ground over which we were riding, i turned westward at p.m., finding that the attainment of the object i had in view, in attempting to cross the plain, was a physical impossibility. we reached the water, at which the blind native visited us, a little after sunset, and were as glad as our poor animals could have been, when night closed in upon us, and our labours. on the th, we passed the old man's camp, in going down the creek, instead of crossing the plains as before, and halted at the junction of a creek we had passed, that came from the north, and along the banks of which i proposed turning towards the ranges. on the morning of the th we kept the general course of this tributary, which ran through an undulating country of rocks and sand. its channel was exceedingly capacious, and its banks were high and perpendicular, but everything about it, was sand or gravel. its bed was perfectly level, and its appearance at once destroyed the hope of finding water in it. the ground over which we rode, was, as i have stated, a mixture of gravel and rocks, and our horses yielded under us at almost every step as they trod on the sharp pointed fragments. at eight miles we reached the outer line of hills, as they had appeared to us in the distance, and entered a pass between two of them, of about a quarter of a mile in width. at this confined point there were the remains and ravages of terrific floods. the waters had reached from one side of the pass to the other, and the dead trunks of trees and heaps of rubbish, were piled up against every bush. there was not a blade of vegetation to be seen either on the low ground or on the ranges, which were from to feet in height, and were nothing more than vast accumulations of sand and rocks. at a mile, we arrived at the termination of the pass, and found ourselves at the entrance of a barren, sandy valley, with ranges in front of us, similar to those we had already passed. i thought it advisable, therefore, to ascend a hill to my left, somewhat higher than any near it, to ascertain, if possible, the character of the northern interior. the task of clambering to the top of it however, was, in my then reduced state, greater than i expected, and i had to wait a few minutes before i could look about me after gaining the summit. i could see nothing, after all, to cheer me in the view that presented itself. to the northward was the valley in which the creek rises, bounded all round by barren, stony hills, like that on which i stood; and the summits of other similar hills shewed themselves above the nearer line. to the east the apparently interminable plains on which we had been, still met the horizon, nor was anything to be seen beyond them. westward the outer line of hills continued backed by others, in the outlines of which we recognised the peaks and forms of the apparently lofty chain we first saw when we discovered the creek. thus, then, it appeared, that i had been entirely deceived in the character of these hills, and that it had been the effect of refraction in those burning regions, which had given to these moderate hills their mountain-like appearance. satisfied that my horses had not the strength to cross such a country, and that in it i had not the slightest chance of procuring the necessary sustenance for them, i turned back to cooper's creek, and then deemed it prudent to travel quietly on towards the place at which we first struck it, and had subsequently left our surplus stores. in riding amongst some rocky ground, we shot a new and beautiful little pigeon, with a long crest. the habits of this bird were very singular, for it never perched on the trees, but on the highest and most exposed rocks, in what must have been an intense heat; its flight was short like that of a quail, and it ran in the same manner through the grass when feeding in the evening. we reached our destination on the evening of the th, and were astonished to see how much the waters had shrunk from their previous level. such an instance of the rapid diminution of so large a pool, made me doubt whether i should find any water in strzelecki's creek to enable me to regain the depot. as we descended from the flats to cross over to our old berth, we found it occupied by a party of natives, who were disposed to be rather troublesome, especially one old fellow, whose conduct annoyed me exceedingly. however, i very soon got rid of them; and after strolling for a short time within sight of us, they all went up the creek; but i could not help thinking, from the impertinent pertinacity of these fellows, that they had discovered my magazine, and taken all the things, more especially as they had been digging where our fire had been, so that, if i had buried the stores there as intended, they would have been taken. as soon as the natives were out of sight, mr. stuart and i went to the rhagodia bush for our things. as we approached, the branches appeared just as we had left them; but on getting near, we saw a bag lying outside, and i therefore concluded that the natives had carried off everything. still, when we came up to the bush, nothing but the bag appeared to have been touched, all the other things were just as we left them, and, on examining the bag, nothing was missing. concluding, therefore, that the natives had really discovered my store, but had been too honest to rob us, i returned to the creek in better humour with them; but, a sudden thought occurring to mr. stuart, that as there was an oil lamp in the bag, a native dog might have smelt and dragged it out of its place, we returned to the bush, to see if there were any impressions of naked feet round about it, but with the exception of our own, there were no tracks save those of a native dog. i was consequently obliged to give mr. stuart credit for his surmise, and felt somewhat mortified that the favourable impression i had received as to the honesty of the natives had thus been destroyed. they had gone up the creek on seeing that i was displeased, and we saw nothing more of them during the afternoon; but on the following morning they came to see us, and as they behaved well, i gave them a powder canister, a little box, and some other trifles; for after all there was only one old fellow who had been unruly, and he now shewed as much impatience with his companions as he had done with us, and i therefore set his manner down to the score of petulance. at a.m. on the th we prepared to move over to the branch creek, as i really required rest and quiet, and knew very well that as long as i remained where i was, we should be troubled by our sable friends, who, being sixteen in number, would require being well looked after. before we finally left the neighbourhood, however, where our hopes had so often been raised and depressed, i gave the name of cooper's creek to the fine watercourse we had so anxiously traced, as a proof of my great respect for mr. cooper, the judge of south australia. i am not conversant in the language of praise, but thus much will i venture to say, that whether in his public or private capacity, mr. cooper was equally entitled to this record of my feelings towards him. i would gladly have laid this creek down as a river, but as it had no current i did not feel myself justified in so doing. had it been nearer the located districts of south australia, its discovery would have been a matter of some importance. as it is we know not what changes or speculations may lead the white man to its banks. purposes of utility were amongst the first objects i had in view in my pursuit of geographical discovery; nor do i think that any country, however barren, can be explored without the attainment of some good end. circumstances may yet arise to give a value to my recent labours, and my name may be remembered by after generations in australia, as the first who tried to penetrate to its centre. if i failed in that great object, i have one consolation in the retrospect of my past services. my path amongst savage tribes has been a bloodless one, not but that i have often been placed in situations of risk and danger, when i might have been justified in shedding blood, but i trust i have ever made allowances for human timidity, and respected the customs and prejudices of the rudest people. i hope, indeed, that in this my last expedition, i have not done discredit to the good opinion sir c. napier, an officer i knew not, was pleased to entertain of me. most assuredly in my intercourse with the savage, i have endeavoured to elevate the character of the white man. justice and humanity have been my guides, but while i have the consolation to know that no european will follow my track into the desert without experiencing kindness from its tenants, i have to regret that the progress of civilized man into an uncivilized region, is almost invariably attended with misfortune to its original inhabitants. i struck cooper's creek in lat. degrees minutes, and in long. degrees minutes, and traced it upwards to lat. degrees minutes, and long. degrees minutes. there can be no doubt but that it would support a number of cattle upon its banks, but its agricultural capabilities appear to me doubtful, for the region in which it lies is subject evidently to variations of temperature and seasons that must, i should say, be inimical to cereal productions; nevertheless i should suppose its soil would yield sufficient to support any population that might settle on it. chapter iii. continued drought--terrific effect of hot wind--thermometer bursts--death of poor bawley--find the stockade deserted--leave fort grey for the depot--difference of seasons--migration of birds--hot winds--embarrassing position--mr. browne starts for flood's creek--three bullocks shot--commencement of the retreat--arrival at flood's creek--state of vegetation--effects of scurvy--arrive at rocky glen--comparison of native tribes--halt at carnapaga--arrival at cawndilla--removal to the darling--leave the darling--state of the river--oppressive heat--visited by nadbuck--arrival at moorundi. by half past eleven of the th november we had again got quietly settled, and i then found leisure to make such arrangements as might suggest themselves for our further retreat. to insure the safety of the animals as much as possible, i determined to leave all my spare provisions and weightier stores behind, and during the afternoon we were engaged making the loads as compact and as light as we could. it was not, however, the fear of the water in strzelecki's creck having dried up, that was at this moment the only cause of anxiety to me, for i thought it more than probable that mr. browne had been obliged to retreat from fort grey, in which case i should still have a journey before me to the old depot of miles or more, under privations, to the horses at least, of no ordinary character; and i had great doubts as to the practicability of our final retreat upon the darling. the drought had now continued so long, and the heat been so severe, that i apprehended we might be obliged to remain another summer in these fearful solitudes. the weather was terrifically hot, and appeared to have set in unusually early. under such circumstances, and with so many causes to render my mind anxious, the reader will believe i did not sleep much. the men were as restless as myself, so that we commenced our journey before the sun had risen on the morning of the th of november, to give the horses time to take their journey leisurely. slowly we retraced our steps, nor did i stop for a moment until we had got to within five miles of our destination, at which distance we saw a single native running after us, and taking it into my head that he might be a messenger from mr. browne, i pulled up to wait for him, but curiosity alone had induced him to come forward. when he got to within a hundred yards, he stopped and approached no nearer. this little delay made it after sunset before we reached the upper pool (not the one mr. browne and i had discovered), and were relieved from present anxiety by finding a thick puddle still remaining in it, so that i halted for the night. slommy, bawley, and the colt had hard work to keep up with the other horses, and it really grieved me to see them so reduced. my own horse was even now beginning to give way, but i had carried a great load upon him. as we approached the water, three ducks flew up and went off down the creek southwards, so i was cheered all night by the hope that water still remained at the lower pool, and that we should be in time to benefit by it. on the th, therefore, early we pushed on, as i intended to stop and breakfast at that place before i started for the depot. we had scarcely got there, however, when the wind, which had been blowing all the morning hot from the n.e., increased to a heavy gale, and i shall never forget its withering effect. i sought shelter behind a large gum-tree, but the blasts of heat were so terrific, that i wondered the very grass did not take fire. this really was nothing ideal: every thing, both animate and inanimate, gave way before it; the horses stood with their backs to the wind, and their noses to the ground, without the muscular strength to raise their heads; the birds were mute, and the leaves of the trees, under which we were sitting, fell like a snow shower around us. at noon i took a thermometer, graduated to degrees, out of my box, and observed that the mercury was up to degrees. thinking that it had been unduly influenced, i put it in the fork of a tree close to me, sheltered alike from the wind and the sun. in this position i went to examine it about an hour afterwards, when i found that the mercury had risen to the top of the instrument, and that its further expansion had burst the bulb, a circumstance that i believe no traveller has ever before had to record. i cannot find language to convey to the reader's mind an idea of the intense and oppressive nature of the heat that prevailed. we had reached our destination however before the worst of the hot wind set in; but all the water that now remained in the once broad and capacious pool to which i have had such frequent occasion to call the attention of the reader, was a shining patch of mud nearly in the centre. we were obliged to dig a trench for the water to filter into during the night, and by this means obtained a scanty supply for our horses and ourselves. about sunset the wind shifted to the west, a cloud passed over us, and we had heavy thunder; but a few drops of rain only fell. they partially cooled the temperature, and the night was less oppressive than the day had been. we had now a journey of miles before us: to its results i looked with great anxiety and doubt. i took every precaution to fortify the horses, and again reduced the loads, keeping barely a supply of flour for a day or two. before dawn we were up, and drained the last drop of water, if so it could be called, out of the little trench we had made, and reserving a gallon for the first horse that should fall, divided the residue among them. just as the morning was breaking, we left the creek, and travelled for miles. i then halted until the moon should rise, and was glad to see that the horses stood it well. at seven we resumed the journey, and got on tolerably well until midnight, when poor bawley, my favourite horse, fell; but we got him up again, and abandoning his saddle, proceeded onwards. at a mile, however, he again fell, when i stopped, and the water revived him. i now hoped he would struggle on, but in about an hour he again fell. i was exceedingly fond of this poor animal, and intended to have purchased him at the sale of the remnants of the expedition, as a present to my wife. we sat down and lit a fire by him, but he seemed fairly worn out. i then determined to ride on to the depot, and if mr. browne should still be there, to send a dray with water to the relief of the men. i told them, therefore, to come slowly on, and with mr. stuart pushed for the camp. we reached the plain just as the sun was descending, without having dismounted from our horses for more than fifteen hours, and as we rode down the embankment into it, looked around for the cattle, but none were to be seen. we looked towards the little sandy mound on which the tents had stood, but no white object there met our eye; we rode slowly up to the stockade, and found it silent and deserted. i was quite sure that mr. browne had had urgent reasons for retiring. i had indeed anticipated the measure: i hardly hoped to find him at the fort, and had given him instructions on the subject of his removal, yet a sickening feeling came over me when i saw that he was really gone; not on my own account, for, with the bitter feelings of disappointment with which i was returning home, i could calmly have laid my head on that desert, never to raise it again. the feeling was natural, and had no mixture whatever of reproach towards my excellent companion. we dismounted and led our horses down to water before i went to the tree under which i had directed mr. browne to deposit a letter for me. a good deal of water still remained in the channel, but nevertheless a large pit had been dug in it as i had desired. i did not drink, nor did mr. stuart, the surface of the water was quite green, and the water itself was of a red colour, but i believe we were both thinking of any thing but ourselves at that moment. as soon as we had unsaddled the horses, we went to the tree and dug up the bottle into which, as agreed upon, mr. browne had put a letter; informing me that he had been most reluctantly obliged to retreat; the water at the depot having turned putrid, and seriously disagreed with the men; he said that he should fall back on the old depot along the same line on which we had advanced, and expressed his fears that the water in strzelecki's creek would have dried, on the permanence of which he knew our safety depended. under present circumstances the fate of poor bawley, if not of more of our horses, was sealed. mr. stuart and i sat down by the stockade, and as night closed in lit a fire to guide morgan and mack on their approach to the plain. they came up about p.m. having left bawley on a little stony plain, and the colt on the sand ridges nearer to us, and in the confusion and darkness had left all the provisions behind; it therefore became necessary to send for some, as we had not had anything for many hours. the horses morgan and mack had ridden were too knocked up for further work, but i sent the latter on my own horse with a leather bottle that had been left behind by the party, full of water for poor bawley, if he should still find him alive. mack returned late in the afternoon, having passed the colt on his way to the depot, towards which he dragged himself with difficulty, but bawley was beyond recovery; he gave the poor animal the water, however, for he was a humane man, and then left him to die. we had remained during the day under a scorching heat, but could hardly venture to drink the water of the creek without first purifying it by boiling, and as we had no vessel until mack should come up we had to wait patiently for his arrival at p.m. about we had a damper baked, and broke our fast for the first time for more than two days. while sitting under a tree in the forenoon mr. stuart had observed a crow pitch in the little garden we had made, but which never benefited us, since the sun burnt up every plant the moment it appeared above the ground. this bird scratched for a short time in one of the soft beds, and then flew away with something in his bill. on going to the spot mr. stuart scraped up a piece of bacon and some suet, which the dogs of course had buried. these choice morsels were washed and cooked, and mr. stuart brought me a small piece of bacon, certainly not larger than a dollar, which he assured me had been cut out of the centre and was perfectly clean. i had not tasted the bacon since february, nor did i now feel any desire to do so, but i ate it because i thought i really wanted it in the weak state in which i was. perhaps a physician would laugh at me for ascribing the pains i felt the next morning to so trifling a cause, but i was attacked with pains at the bottom of my heels and in my back. although lying down i felt as if i was standing balanced on stones; these pains increased during the day, insomuch that i anticipated some more violent attack, and determined on getting to the old depot as soon as possible; but as the horses had not had sufficient rest, i put off my journey to p.m. on the following day, when i left fort grey with mr. stuart, directing mack and morgan to follow at the same hour on the following day, and promising that i would send a dray with water to meet them. i rode all that night until p.m. of the th, when we reached the tents, which mr. browne had pitched about two miles below the spot we had formerly occupied. if i except two or three occasions on which i was obliged to dismount to rest my back for a few minutes we rode without stopping, and might truly be said to have been twenty hours on horseback. sincere i believe was the joy of mr. browne, and indeed of all hands, at seeing us return, for they had taken it for granted that our retreat would have been cut off. i too was gratified to find that mr. brown was better, and to learn that everything had gone on well. davenport had recently been taken ill, but the other men had recovered on their removal from the cause of their malady. when i dismounted i had nearly fallen forward. thinking that one of the kangaroo dogs in his greeting had pushed me between the legs, i turned round to give him a slap, but no dog was there, and i soon found out that what i had felt was nothing more than strong muscular action brought on by hard riding. as i had promised i sent jones with a dray load of water to meet morgan and mack, who came up on the th with the rest of the horses. mr. browne informed me that the natives had frequently visited the camp during my absence. he had given them to understand that we were going over the hills again, on which they told him that if he did not make haste all the water would be gone. it now behoved us therefore to effect our retreat upon the darling with all expedition. our situation was very critical, for the effects of the drought were more visible now than before the july rain,--no more indeed had since fallen, and the water in the depot creek was so much reduced that we had good reason to fear that none remained anywhere else. on the th i sent flood to a small creek, between us and the pine forest, but he returned on the following day with information that it had long been dry. thus then were my fears verified, and our retreat to the darling apparently cut off. about this time too the very elements, against which we had so long been contending, seemed to unite their energies to render our stay in that dreadful region still more intolerable. the heat was greater than that of the previous summer; the thermometer ranging between degrees and degrees every day; the wind blowing heavily from n.e. to e.s.e. filled the air with impalpable red dust, giving the sun the most foreboding and lurid appearance as we looked upon him. the ground was so heated that our matches falling on it, ignited; and, having occasion to make a night signal, i found the whole of our rockets had been rendered useless, as on being lit they exploded at once without rising from the ground. i had occasion--in the first volume of this work--to remark that i should at a future period have to make some observations on the state of the vegetation at this particular place; there being about a month or six weeks difference between the periods of the year when we first arrived at, and subsequently returned to it. when we first arrived on the th of january, , the cereal grasses had ripened their seed, and the larger shrubs were fast maturing their fruit; the trees were full of birds, and the plains were covered with pigeons--having nests under every bush. at the close of november of the same year--that is to say six weeks earlier--not an herb had sprung from the ground, not a bud had swelled, and, where the season before the feathered tribes had swarmed in hundreds on the creek, scarcely a bird was now to be seen. our cattle wandered about in search for food, and the silence of the grave reigned around us day and night. was it instinct that warned the feathered races to shun a region in which the ordinary course of nature had been arrested, and over which the wrath of the omnipotent appeared to hang? or was it that a more genial season in the country to which they migrate, rendered their desertion of it at the usual period unnecessary? most sincerely do i hope that the latter was the case, and that a successful destiny will await the bold and ardent traveller [note . dr. leichhardt had started to cross the continent some time before.] who is now crossing those regions. on the th i sent flood down the creek to ascertain if water remained in it or the farther holes mentioned by the natives, thinking that in such a case we might work our way to the eastward; but on the rd he returned without having seen a drop of water from the moment he left us. the deep and narrow channel i had so frequently visited, and which i had hoped might still contain water, had long been dry, and thus was our retreat cut off in that quarter also. there was apparently no hope for us--its last spark had been extinguished by this last disappointment; but the idea of a detention in that horrid desert was worse than death itself. on the morning of the nd the sky was cloudy and the sun obscure, and there was every appearance of rain. the wind was somewhat to the south of west, the clouds came up from the north, and at ten a few drops fell; but before noon the sky was clear, and a strong and hot wind was blowing from the west: the dust was flying in clouds around us, and the flies were insupportable. at this time mr. stuart was taken ill with pains similar to my own, and davenport had an attack of dysentery. on the rd it blew a fierce gale and a hot wind from west by north, which rendered us still more uncomfortable: nothing indeed could be done without risk in such a temperature, and such a climate. the fearful position in which we were placed, caused me great uneasiness; the men began to sicken, and i felt assured that if we remained much longer, the most serious consequences might be apprehended. on the th, mr. browne went with flood to examine a stony creek about miles to the south, and on our way homewards. we had little hope that he would find any water in it, but if he did, a plan had suggested itself, by which we trusted to effect our escape. it being impossible to stand the outer heat, the men were obliged to take whatever things wanted repair, to our underground room, and i was happy to learn from mr. stuart, who i sent up to superintend them, that the natives had not in the least disturbed mr. poole's grave. on the th mr. browne returned, and returned unsuccessful: he could find no water any where, and told me it was fearful to ride down the creeks and to witness their present state. we were now aware that there could be no water nearer to us than miles, i. e. at flood's creek, and even there it was doubtful if water any longer remained. to have moved the party on the chance of finding it would have been madness: the weather was so foreboding, the heat so excessive, and the horses so weak, that i did not dare to trust them on such a journey, or to risk the life of any man in such an undertaking. i was myself laid up, a helpless being, for i had gradually sunk under the attack of scurvy which had so long hung upon me. the day after i arrived in camp i was unable to walk: in a day or two more, my muscles became rigid, my limbs contracted, and i was unable to stir; gradually also my skin blackened, the least movement put me to torture, and i was reduced to a state of perfect prostration. thus stricken down, when my example and energies were so much required for the welfare and safety of others, i found the value of mr. browne's services and counsel. he had already volunteered to go to flood's creek to ascertain if water was still to be procured in it, but i had not felt justified in availing myself of his offer. my mind, however, dwelling on the critical posture of our affairs, and knowing and feeling as i did the value of time, and that the burning sun would lick up any shallow pool that might be left exposed, and that three or four days might determine our captivity or our release, i sent for mr. browne, to consult with him as to the best course to be adopted in the trying situation in which we were placed, and a plan at length occurred by which i hoped he might venture on the journey to flood's creek without risk. this plan was to shoot one of the bullocks, and to fill his hide with water. we determined on sending this in a dray, a day in advance, to enable the bullock driver to get as far as possible on the road, we then arranged that mr. browne should take the light cart, with gallons of water, and one horse only; that on reaching the dray, he should give his horse as much water as he would drink from the skin, leaving that in the cart untouched until he should arrive at the termination of his second day's journey, when i proposed he should give his horse half the water, and leaving the rest until the period of his return, ride the remainder of the distance he had to go. i saw little risk in this plan, and we accordingly acted upon it immediately: the hide was prepared, and answered well, since it easily contained gallons of water. jones proceeded on the morning of the th, and on the th mr. browne left me on this anxious and to us important journey, accompanied by flood. we calculated on his return on the eighth day, and the reader will judge how anxiously those days passed. on the day mr. browne left me, jones returned, after having deposited the skin at the distance of miles. on the eighth day from his departure, every eye but my own was turned to the point at which they had seen him disappear. about p.m., one of the men came to inform me that mr. browne was crossing the creek, the camp being on its left bank, and in a few minutes afterwards he entered my tent. "well, browne," said i, "what news? is it to be good or bad?" "there is still water in the creek," said he, "but that is all i can say. what there is is as black as ink, and we must make haste, for in a week it will be gone." here then the door was still open,--a way to escape still practicable, and thankful we both felt to that power which had directed our steps back again ere it was finally closed upon us; but even now we had no time to lose: to have taken the cattle without any prospect of relief until they should arrive at flood's creek, would have been to sacrifice almost the whole of them, and to reduce the expedition to a condition such as i did not desire. the necessary steps to be taken, in the event of mr. browne's bringing back good tidings, had engaged my attention during his absence, and with his assistance, that on which i had determined was immediately put into execution. i directed three more bullocks to be shot, and their skins prepared; and calculated that by abandoning the boat and our heavier stores, we might carry a supply of water on the drays, sufficient for the use of the remaining animals on the way. three bullocks were accordingly killed, and the skins stripped over them from the neck downwards, so that the opening might be as small as possible. the boat was launched upon the creek, which i had vainly hoped would have ploughed the waters of a central sea. we abandoned our bacon and heavier stores, the drays were put into order, their wheels wedged up, their axles greased, and on the th of december, at p.m., we commenced our retreat, having a distance of miles to travel to the darling, and under circumstances which made it extremely uncertain how we should terminate the journey, since we did not expect to find any water between flood's creek and the rocky glen, or between the rocky glen and the darling itself. the three or four days preceding our departure had been quite overpowering, neither did there seem to be a likelihood of any abatement of the heat when we left the depot. at a.m. of the morning of the th, having travelled all night, i halted to rest the men and animals. we had then the mortification to find one of the skins was defective, and let out the water at an hundred different pores. i directed the water that remained in the skin to be given to the stock rather than that it should be lost; but both horses and bullocks refused it. during the first part of the night it was very oppressive; but about an hour after midnight the wind shifted to the south, and it became cooler. we resumed our journey at , and did not again halt until half past p.m. of the th, having then gained the muddy lagoon, at which the reader will recollect we stopped for a short time after breaking through the pine forest about the same period the year before; but as there was nothing for the animals to eat, i took them across the creek and put them upon an acre or two of green feed along its banks. i observed that the further we advanced southwards, the more forward did vegetation appear; mr. browne made the same remark to me on his return from flood's creek, where he found the grasses ripe, whereas at the depot creek the ground was still perfectly bare. about a.m. we had a good deal of thunder and lightning, and at the wind shifted a point or two to the eastward of south. notwithstanding the quarter from which the wind blew, heavy clouds came up from the west, and about we had a misty rain with heavy thunder and lightning. the rain was too slight to leave any puddles, but it moistened the dry grass, which the animals greedily devoured. on leaving the creek we kept for about eight miles on our old track, but at that distance turned due south for two hills, the position of which mr. browne had ascertained on his recent journey, and by taking this judicious course avoided the pine ridges altogether. we were, however, obliged to halt, as the moon set, in the midst of an open brush, but started again at day-break on the morning of the th. before we left the creek, near the muddy lagoon, all the horses and more than one half of the bullocks had drank plentifully of the water in the hides, in consequence of which they got on tolerably well. on resuming our journey we soon cleared the remainder of the scrub, and got into a more open sandy country, but the travelling on it was good; and at minutes to two we halted within a mile of the hills towards which we had been moving, then about miles from flood's creek. being in great pain i left mr. browne at half-past three p.m., and reached our destination at midnight. two hours afterwards mr. browne came up with the rest of the party. so we completed our first stage without the loss of a single animal; but had it not been for the slight rain that fell on the morning of the th, and the subsequent change of temperature, none of our bullocks could have survived the journey thus far. as it had occupied three nights and two days, it became necessary to give both men and animals a day of rest. i could not however be so indulgent to mr. browne or to flood. the next place at which we hoped to find water, was at the rocky gully at the foot of the ranges, distant miles, if water failed us there, neither had mr. browne or flood any reasonable expectation that we should procure any until we gained the darling itself, then distant miles. mr. browne was himself suffering severely from attacks of scurvy, but he continued with unwearied zeal to supply my place. on the th, at one p.m., he left me for the hills, but before he started we arranged that he should return and meet me half way whether he succeeded in finding water or not, and in order to ensure this i proposed leaving the creek on the th. as mr. browne had informed me, we found the vegetation much more forward at this place than we had hitherto seen it, still many of the grasses were invisible, not having yet sprung up, but there was a solitary stool of wheat that had been accidentally dropped by us and had taken root, which had fine heads upon it quite ripe. these mr. browne gathered, and, agreeably to my wishes, scattered the seed about in places where he thought it would be most likely to grow. there was also a single stool of oats but it was not so fine as the wheat. on the th, at p.m., flood suddenly returned, bringing information that mr. browne had unexpectedly found water in the lower part of a little rocky creek in our way, distant miles, and that he was gone on to the rocky gully. on receiving this intelligence i ordered the bullocks to be yoked up, and we started for the creek at which we had left the cart on our outward journey, at p.m. it was blowing heavily at the time from the s.w. and large clouds passed over us, but the sky cleared as the wind fell at midnight. we reached our destination at a.m. of the th. here i remained until half-past six when we again started and gained the horse-cart creek at half-past twelve. here, as at flood's creek, we found a large plant of mustard and some barley in ear and ripe, where few of the native grasses had more than made their appearance out of the ground. stopping to rest the animals for half an hour, i went myself to the little branch creek, on which the reader will recollect our cattle depended when we were last in this neighbourhood, and where i had arranged to meet mr. browne, who arrived there about half an hour before me. he had again been successful in finding a large supply of water in the rocky gully, and thought that rain must have fallen on the hills. at the teams again started, but i was too unwell to accompany them immediately. i had in truth lost the use of my limbs, and from the time of our leaving the depot had been lifted in and out of the cart; constant jolting therefore had greatly fatigued me, and i found it necessary to stop here for a short time after the departure of the drays. at half-past six however, we followed and overtook the party about five miles from the gully, where we halted at a m. of the th. mr. browne had found a large party of natives at the water, who had been very kind to him, and many of them still remained when we came up. he had observed some of them eating a small acid berry, and had procured a quantity for me in the hope that they would do me good, and while we remained at this place he good-naturedly went into the hills and gathered me a large tureen full, and to the benefit i derived from these berries i attribute my more speedy recovery from the malady under which i was suffering. we were now miles from the darling, and although there was no longer any doubt of our eventually reaching it, the condition in which we should do so, depended on our finding water in the coonbaralba pass, from which we were distant miles. in the evening i sent flood on ahead to look for water, with orders to return if he succeeded in his search. in consequence of the kindness of the natives to mr. browne i made them some presents and gave them a sheep, which they appeared to relish greatly. they were good-looking blacks and in good condition, speaking the language of the darling natives. it was late on the th before we ascended the ranges; but, as i had only a limited distance to go it was not of much consequence, more especially as i purposed halting at the little spring, in the upper part of the rocky gully, at which morgan and i stopped on a former occasion, when mr. browne and flood were looking for a place by which we could descend from the hills to the plains of the desert interior. mr. browne took the short cut up the gully with the sheep; but when i reached the glen he had not arrived, and as he did not make his appearance for some time i became anxious, and sent after him, but he had only been delayed by the difficulty of the road, along which he described the scenery as very bold and picturesque. we had not up to this time experienced the same degree of heat that prevailed at the depot. the temperature since the thunder on the th had been comparatively mild, and on ascending the hills we felt a sensible difference. i attributed it, however, to our elevated position, for we had on our way up the country experienced the nature of the climate of the darling. we could not decidedly ascertain the fact from the natives, but as they were at this place in considerable numbers, both mr. browne and myself concluded that the river had not been flooded this year; neither had the season been the same as that of the former year, for it will be remembered that at the period the party crossed the ranges, a great deal of rain had fallen, in so much that the wheels of the drays sunk deep into the ground; but now they hardly left an impression, as they moved over it; and although more rain might have fallen on the hills than in the depressed region beyond them, it was clear that none had fallen for a considerable length of time in this neighbourhood. mr. browne saw five or six rock wallabies as he was coming up the glen, and said they were beautiful little animals. he remarked that they bounded up the bold cliffs near him with astonishing strength and activity; in some places there were basaltic columns, resting on granite, and feet high. flood returned at a.m. having found water, though not of the best description, in the pass. his horse had, however, drank plentifully of it, so that i determined on pushing from that point to cawndilla, hoping by good management to secure the cattle reaching it in safety. considering the distance we had to go we started late, but the bullocks had strayed down the creek, and it took some time to drive them over such rugged ground. i preceded the party in the cart, leaving mr. browne in charge of the drays, and crossing the ranges descended into the pass two hours after sunset. we passed a brackish pool of water, and stopped at a small well, at which there were two native women. the party came up about two hours after midnight, the men and animals being greatly fatigued, so that it was absolutely necessary to remain stationary for a day. our retreat had been a most harassing one, but it admitted of no hesitation. though we had thus far, under the blessing of providence, brought every thing in safety, and had now only one more effort to make, cawndilla was still distant miles, between which and our position there was not a drop of water. one of the women we found here, came and slept at our fire, and managed to roll herself up in mr. browne's blanket, who, waking from cold, found that his fair companion had uncovered him, and appropriated the blanket to her own use. the natives suffer exceedingly from cold, and are perfectly paralysed by it, for they are not provided with any covering, neither are their huts of a solidity or construction such as to protect them from its effects. about noon a large tribe joined us from the s.w. and we had a fine opportunity to form a judgment of them, when contrasted with the natives of the desert from which we had come. robust, active, and full of life, these hill natives were every way superior to the miserable half-starved beings we had left behind, if i except the natives of cooper's creek. during the day they kept falling in upon us, and in the afternoon mustered more than one hundred strong, in men, women, and children. as they were very quiet and unobtrusive i gave them a couple of sheep, with which they were highly delighted, and in return, they overwhelmed our camp at night with their women. i mentioned in a former part of this work, that mr. browne and i had succeeded in capturing a dipus, when journeying to the n.w. we had subsequently taken another, and had kept them both for some time, but one died, and the other springing out of its box was killed by the dogs. from the habits of this animal i did not expect to succeed in taking it home, but i had every hope that some jerboas, of which we had five, would outlive the journey, for they thrived well on the food we gave them. i was, however, quite provoked at this place to find that two of them had died from the carelessness of the men throwing the tarpauline over the box, and so smothering them. the survivors were all but dead when looked at, and i feared we should lose them also. as the morning of the th dawned, and distant objects became visible, the plains of the darling gradually spread out before us. we commenced our journey to cawndilla at half-past , and travelled down the creek until p.m., when we halted for two hours during the heat of the day at carnapaga. at we resumed our journey, and again stopped for an hour on the little sand hill at the lower part of the creek, to enable the men to take some refreshment. at quarter-past we turned from the creek and travelled all night by the light of a lamp, and at daylight were miles from cawndilla. we had kept upon our former tracks, on which the cattle had moved rapidly along, but they now began to flag. mr. browne was in front of the party with mr. stuart, but he suddenly returned, and coming up to my cart gave me a letter he had found nailed up to a tree by mr. piesse. this letter was to inform me of his arrival on the banks of the williorara on the th of the month, of his having been twice on the road in the hope of seeing us, and sent natives to procure intelligence of us, who returned in so exhausted a state, that he had given up all expectation of our being able to cross the hills. he stated that we should find a barrel of water a little further on, together with a letter from head quarters, but had retained all other letters until he should see me; nevertheless, he had the gratification to tell me that he had seen mrs. sturt the day before he left adelaide, and that she was well. about a mile further on, we found the barrel of water, and relieved our suffering horses, and thus benefited by the prudent exertions of mr. piesse. nothing, indeed, appeared to have escaped the anxious solicitude of that zealous officer to relieve our wants. i reached cawndilla at a.m. and stopped on the banks of the williorara at the dregs of a water-hole, about six inches deep, it being all that remained in the creek, but i was too much fatigued to push on to the darling, a further distance of seven miles, where mr. piesse then was. the drays came up a little after noon; the cattle almost frantic from the want of water. it was with difficulty the men unyoked them, and the moment they were loose they plunged headlong into the creek and drank greedily of the putrid water that remained. amongst the letters i now received was one from the colonial secretary, informing me, that supplies had been forwarded to the point i had specified, according to the request contained in my letter of july; that my further suggestions had been acted upon, and that the governor had availed himself of mr. piesse's services again, to send him in charge of the party: thus satisfied that he was on the darling, i sent mr. browne and mr. stuart in advance, to apprise him of our approach. on their arrival at his camp mr. piesse lost no time in repairing to me, and i shall not readily forget the unaffected joy he evinced at seeing me again. he had maintained a friendly intercourse with the natives, and had acquitted himself in a manner, as creditable to himself, as it had been beneficial to me. mr. piesse was the bearer of numerous letters from my family and friends, and i was in some measure repaid for the past, by the good intelligence they conveyed: that my wife and children were well, and the colony was in the most flourishing condition,--since, during my absence, that stupendous mine had been discovered, which has yielded such profit to the owners--and the pastoral pursuits of the colonists were in an equally flourishing condition. mr. browne, too, received equally glad tidings from his brother, who informed him of his intention to meet the party on its way homewards. on the st i moved over to the darling; and found a number of natives at the camp, and amongst them the old boocolo of williorara, who was highly delighted at our return. mr. piesse had constructed a large and comfortable hut of boughs--which was much cooler than canvass. in this we made ourselves comfortable, and i hoped that the numerous and more generous supplies of eatables and drinkables than those to which we had been accustomed would conduce to our early restoration to health. i could not but fancy that the berries mr. browne had procured for me, and of which i had taken many, were beginning to work beneficially--although i was still unable to move. as i proposed remaining stationary until after christmas day, i deemed it advisable to despatch messengers with letters for the governor, advising him of my safety, and to relieve the anxiety of my family and friends. mr. browne accordingly made an agreement with two natives, to take the letter-bag to the anabranch of the darling, and send it on to lake victoria by other natives, who were to be rewarded for their trouble. for this service our messengers were to receive two blankets and two tomahawks, and the bag being closed they started off with it. i had proposed to mr. browne to be himself the bearer of it, but he would not leave me, even now. in order, therefore, to encourage the messengers, i gave them in advance the tomahawks they were to have received on their return. our tent was generally full of natives; some of them very fine young men, especially the two sons of the boocolo. topar made his appearance two or three days after our arrival, but toonda was absent on the murray: the former, however, having been detected in attempting a theft, i had him turned out of the tent and banished the camp. the old boocolo came daily to see us, and as invariably laid down on the lower part of my mattrass. on the rd i sent mr. stuart to verify his former bearings on scrope's range, and mr. browne kindly superintended the chaining of the distance between a tree i had marked on the banks of the darling and sir thomas mitchell's last camp. this tree was about a quarter of a mile below the junction of the williorara, and had cut on it, (g. a. e., dec. , ,) the distance between the two points was three miles and chains. the th being christmas day, i issued a double allowance to the men, and ordered that preparations should be made for pushing down the river on the following morning. about p.m. we were surprised at the return of our two messengers, who insisted that they had taken the letter-bag to the point agreed upon, although it was an evident impossibility that they could have done so. i therefore evinced my displeasure and refused to give them the blankets--for which, nevertheless, they greatly importuned me. mr. browne, however, explained to the boocolo why i refused, and charged the natives with having secreted it somewhere or other. on this there was a long consultation with the natives, which terminated in the boocolo's two sons separating from the others, and talking together for a long time in a corner of my hut; they then came forward and said, that my decision was perfectly just, for that the men had not been to the place agreed upon, but had left the bag of letters with a tribe on the darling, and therefore, that they had been fully rewarded by the present of the tomahawks. this decided opinion settled the dispute at once, and the parties quietly acquiesced. i had, as stated, been obliged to turn topar out of my tent, and expel him the camp for theft, but at the same time mr. browne explained to the natives why i did so, and told them that i should in like manner expel any other who so transgressed, and they appeared fully to concur in the justice of my conduct. there is no doubt indeed but that they punish each other for similar offences, although perhaps the moral turpitude of the action is not understood by them. the darling at this time had ceased to flow, and formed a chain of ponds. the williorara was quite dry from one end to the other, as were the lagoons and creeks in the neighbourhood. the natives having cleared the river of the fish that had been brought down by the floods, now subsisted for the most part on herbs and roots of various kinds, and on the caterpillar of the gum-tree moth, which they procured out of the ground with their switches, having a hook at the end. i do not think they could procure animal food in the then state of the country, there being no ducks or kangaroos in the neighbourhood, in any great quantity at all events. i thus early began to feel the benefit of a change of diet in the diminished rigidity of my limbs, and therefore entertained great hopes that i should yet be able to ride into adelaide. the men too generally began to recover from their fatigues, but both mr. browne and mr. stuart continued to complain of shooting pains in their limbs. the party and the animals however being sufficiently recruited to enable us to resume our progress homewards, we broke up our camp at the junction of the williorara on the th of the month as i had proposed, under more favourable circumstances than we could have expected, the weather being beautifully fine and the temperature pleasant. when i was carried out of my tent to the cart, i was surprised to see the verdure of that very ground against the barrenness of which i had had to declaim the preceding year; i mean the flats of the williorara, now covered with grass, and looking the very reverse of what they had done before; so hazardous is it to give an opinion of such a country from a partial glimpse of it. the incipient vegetation must have been brought forth by flood or heavy rains. we passed two tribes of natives, with whom we staid for a short time as the old boocolo was with us. amongst these natives we did not notice the same disproportion in the sexes as in the interior, but not only amongst these tribes but with those of williorara and cawndilla, we observed that many had lost an eye by inflammation from the attacks of flies. i was really surprised that any of them could see, for most assuredly it is impossible to conceive anything more tormenting than those brutes are in every part of the interior. on the th we passed two of our old encampments, and halted after a journey of miles in the close vicinity of a tribe of natives, about fifty in number, the majority of whom were boys as mischievous as monkeys, and as great thieves too, but we reduced them to some kind of order by a little patience. the darling had less water than in the previous year before the flood, but its flats were covered with grass, of which hundreds of tons might have been cut, so that our cattle speedily began to improve in condition. about this time the weather was exceedingly oppressive, and heavy thunder-clouds hung about, but no rain fell. our journey on the th was comparatively short. we passed the location of another tribe during the day, and recovered our letter-bag, which had been left by our messengers with a native belonging to it. here the old boocolo left us and returned to williorara. the last days of and the few first of were exceedingly oppressive, and the heat was almost as great as in the interior itself. on the th of january we crossed over from the darling to its ancient channel, and on the th mr. browne left for adelaide. on the th i reached lake victoria, where i learnt that our old friend nadbuck had been speared by a native, whose jealousy he had excited, but that his wound was not mortal. he was somewhere on the rufus, which i did not approach, but made a signal fire in the hope that he would have seen it, and, had they not been spoiled, i should have thrown up a rocket at night. however nadbuck heard of our return, and made a successful effort to get to us, and tears chased each other down the old man's cheeks when he saw us again. assuredly these poor people of the desert have the most kindly feelings; for not only was his reception of us such as i have described, but the natives one and all exhibited the utmost joy at our safety, and cheered us on every part of the river. it blew very heavily on the night of the th, but moderated towards the morning, and the day turned out cooler than usual. the lagoons of the murray were full of fish and wild fowl, and my distribution of all the hooks and lines i had brought back enabled my sable friends to capture an abundance of the former without going into the water, and they very soon appreciated the value of such instruments. on the th i left mr. piesse in charge of the party, and pushed on to moorundi, and arrived at the settlement, into which i was escorted by the natives raising loud shouts, on the th. here my kind friends made me as comfortable as they could. mr. eyre had gone to england on leave of absence, and mr. nation was filling his appointment as resident. on the th i mounted my horse for the first time since i had been taken ill in november, and had scarcely left moorundi when i met my good friends mr. charles campbell and mr. a. hardy in a carriage to convey me to adelaide. i reached my home at midnight on the th of january, and, on crossing its threshold, raised my wife from the floor on which she had fallen, and heard the carriage of my considerate friends roll rapidly away. chapter iv. remarks on the season--dry state of the atmosphere--thermometrical observations--winds in the interior--direction of the ranges--geological observations--non-existence of any central chain--probable course of the stony desert--whether connected with lake torrens--opinions of captain flinders--no information derived from the natives--the natives--their personal appearance--disproportion between the sexes--the women--customs of the natives--their habitations--food--language--conclusion. having thus brought my narrative to a conclusion i shall trespass but little more on the patience of the reader. it appears to me that a few observations are necessary to clear some parts, and to make up for omissions in the body of my work. i have written it indeed under considerable disadvantage; for although i have in a great measure recovered from the loss of sight consequent on my former services, i cannot glance my eye so rapidly as i once did over such a voluminous document as this journal; and i feel that i owe it to the public, as well as to myself, to make this apology for its imperfections. there were two great difficulties against which, during the progress of the expedition, i had to contend. the one was, the want of water; the other, the nature of the country. that it was altogether impracticable for wheeled carriages of any kind, may readily be conceived from my description; and in the state in which i found it, horses were evidently unequal to the task. i cannot help thinking that camels might have done better; not only for their indurance, but because they carry more than a horse. i should, undoubtedly, have been led to try those animals if i could have procured them; but that was impossible. certain however it is, that i went into the interior to meet with trials that scarcely camels could have borne up against; for i think there can be no doubt, from the facts i have detailed, that the season, during which this expedition was undertaken, was one of unusual dryness; but although the arid state of the country contributed so much to prevent its movements, i question whether, under opposite circumstances, it would have been possible to have pushed so far as the party succeeded in doing. certainly, if the ground had been kept in a state of constant saturation, travelling would have been out of the question; for the rain of july abundantly proved how impracticable any attempt to penetrate it under such circumstances would have been. it is difficult to say what kind of seasons prevail in central australia. that low region does not, as far as i can judge, appear to be influenced by tropical rains, but rather to be subject to sudden falls. that the continent of australia was at one time more humid than it now is, appears to be an admitted fact; the marks of floods, and the violence of torrents (none of which have been witnessed), are mentioned by every explorer as traceable over every part of the continent; but no instance of any general inundation is on record: on the contrary the seasons appear to be getting drier and drier every year, and the slowness with which any body exposed to the air decomposes, would argue the extreme absence of moisture in the atmosphere. it will be remembered that one of my bullocks died in the pine forest when i was passing through it in december, . in july, , when mr. piesse was on his route home from the depot in charge of the home returning party, he passed by the spot where this animal had fallen; and, in elucidation of what i have stated, i will here give the extract of a letter i subsequently received from him from india. speaking of the humidity of the climate of bengal, he says: "it appears to me that heat alone is rather a preservative from decomposition; of which i recollect an instance, in the bullock that died in the march through the pine scrub on the st of january, . when i passed by the spot in the following july, the carcase was dried up like a mummy, and was in such a perfect state of preservation as to be easily recognised." no stronger proof, i apprehend, could have been adduced of the dryness of the atmosphere in that part of the interior, or more corroborative of the intensity of heat there during the interval referred to; but the singular and unusual effects it had on ourselves, and on every thing around was equally corroborative of the fact. the atmosphere on some occasions was so rarified, that we felt a difficulty in breathing, and a buzzing sensation on the crown of the head, as if a hot iron had been there. there were only two occasions on which the thermometer was noticed to exceed the range of degrees in the shade, the solar intensity at the same time being nearly degrees. the extremes between this last and our winter's cold, when the thermometer descended to degrees was degrees. i observe that sir thomas mitchell gives the temperature at the bogan, in his tent at degrees and when exposed to the wind at degrees; but i presume that local causes, such as radiation from stones and sand, operated more powerfully with us than in his case. whilst we were at the depot about may, the water of the creek became slightly putrid, and cleared itself like thames water; and during the hotter months of our stay there, it evaporated at the rate of nearly an inch a day, as shewn by a rod mr. browne placed in it to note the changes, but the amount varied according to the quiescent or boisterous state of the atmosphere. it will readily be believed that in so heated a region the air was seldom still; to the currents sweeping over it we had to attribute the loathsome and muddy state of the water on which we generally subsisted after we left that place, for the pools from which we took it were so shallow as to be stirred up to the consistency of white-wash by the play and action of the wind on their surfaces. during our stay at the depot the barometer never rose above . , or fell below . . from december, , to the end of april of the following year, the prevailing winds were from e.n.e. to e.s.e., after that month they were variable, but westerly winds predominated. the south wind was always cold, and its approach was invariably indicated by the rise of the barometer. the rain of july commenced in the north-east quarter and gradually went round to the north-west; but more clouds rose from the former point than from any other. the sky generally speaking was without a speck, and the dazzling brightness of the moon was one of the most distressing things we had to endure when out in the bush. it was impossible indeed to shut out its light which ever way one turned, and its irritating effects were remarkable. it will be observable to those who cast their eyes over the chart of south australia that the range of mountains between st. vincent's gulf and the murray river runs up northwards into the interior. in like manner the ranges crossed by the expedition also ran in the same direction. the black rock hill, so named by captain frome, is in lat. degrees minutes and in the th meridian, and is the easternmost of the chain to which it belongs. mount gipps on the coonbaralba range is in lat. degrees minutes and in long. degrees minutes, but from that point the ranges trend somewhat to the westward of south, and consequently, may run nearer to that (of which the black rock hill forms so prominent a feature) than we may suppose, but there is a distance of nearly miles of country still remaining to be explored, before this point can be decided. nevertheless, it is more than probable the two chains are in some measure connected, especially as they greatly resemble each other in their classification. they are for the most part composed of primary igneous rocks, amongst which there is a general distribution of iron, and perhaps of other metals. the iron ore, however, that was discovered during the progress of the expedition, of which piesse's knob is a remarkable specimen, was of the purest kind. it was, as has been found in south australia, a surface deposit, protruding or cropping out of the ground in immense clean blocks. this ore was highly magnetic; the veins of the metal run north and south, the direction of the ranges, as did a similar crop on the plains at the s.e. base of the ranges. generally speaking there was nothing bold or picturesque in the scenery of the barrier range, but the rocky glen and some few others of a similar description were exceptions. as the barrier range ran parallel to the coast ranges, so there were other ranges to the eastward of the barrier range, running parallel to it, and they were separated by broad plains, partly open and partly covered with brush. the general elevation of the ranges was about feet above the level of the sea, but some of the hills exceeded . mount lyell was ; mount gipps ; lewis's hill : but the general elevation of the range might be rather under than over what i have stated. it appears to me that the whole of the geological formation of this portion of the continent is the same, and that all the lines of ranges terminate in the same kind of way to the north, that is to say, in detached flat-topped hills of compact or indurated quartz shewing white and abrupt faces. so terminated the coonbaralba range, and so mr. eyre tells us did the mount serle range, and so terminated the range we saw to the westward of lake torrens. that they exhibit evidences of a past violent commotion of waters, i think any one who will follow my steps and view them, will be ready to admit. that the range of hills i have called "stanley's barrier range," and that all the mountain chains to the eastward and westward of it, were once so many islands i have not the slightest doubt, and that during the primeval period, a sea covered the deserts over which i wandered; but it is impossible for a writer, whatever powers of description he may have, to transfer to the minds of his readers the same vivid impressions his own may have received, on a view of any external object. from the remarks into which i have thus been led, as well as those which have escaped me in the course of this narrative, it will be seen that the impressions i had received as to the past and present state of the continent were rather strengthened than diminished, on my further knowledge of its internal structure. it is true, that i did not find an inland sea as i certainly expected to have done, but the country as a desert was what i had anticipated, although i could not have supposed it would have proved of such boundless extent. viewing the objects for which the expedition was equipped, and its results, there can, i think, be no doubt, as to the non-existence of any mountain ranges in the interior of australia, but, on the contrary, that its central regions are nearly if not quite on a sea level, and that the north coast is separated from the south as effectually as if seas rolled between them. i have stated my opinion that that portion of the desert which i tried to cross continues with undiminished breadth to the great australian bight, and i agree with captain flinders, in supposing that if an inland sea exists any where, it exists underneath and behind that bank, (speaking from seaward). it would, i think, be unreasonable to suppose that such an immense tract of sandy desert, once undoubtedly a sea-bed, should immediately contract; considering, indeed, the sterile character of the country to the north of gawler's range, to the westward of port lincoln, and along the whole of the south coast of australia, nearly to king george's sound, i must confess i have no hope of any inland fertile country. i am aware it is the opinion of some of my friends that the stony desert may communicate with lake torrens. such may have been and still may be the case--i will not argue the contrary, or answer for the changes in so extraordinary a region. i only state my own ideas from what i observed, strengthened by my view of the position i occupied, when at my farthest north; we will therefore refer to that position, and to the position of lake torrens, and see how far it is probable, that a large channel, such as i have described the stony dessert to be, should turn so abruptly, as it must do to connect itself with that basin; the evident fall of the interior, as far as that fact could be ascertained, being plainly from east to west. the western shore of lake torrens, as laid down by mr. eyre, is in degrees minutes or thereabouts. its eastern shore in degrees of longitude. its southern extremity being in lat. / degrees. my position was in degrees of long. and degrees minutes of latitude. i was therefore within miles as far to the westward of the westernmost part of lake torrens, and was also geographical miles due north of it. to gain lake torrens, the stony desert must turn at a right angle from its known course, and in such case hills must exist to the westward of where i was, for hills alone could so change the direction of a current, but the whole aspect of the interior would argue against such a conclusion. i never lost sight of the probability of lake torrens being connected with some central feature, until my hopes were destroyed by the nature of the country i traversed, nor do i think it probable that in so level a region as that in which i left it, there is any likelihood of the stony desert changing its direction so much as to form any connection with the sandy basin to which i have alluded. nevertheless it may do so. we naturally cling to the ideas we ourselves have adopted, and it is difficult to transfer them to the mind of another. in reference however to what i had previously stated, i would give the following quotation from flinders. his impressions from what he observed while sailing along the coast, in a great measure correspond with mine when travelling inland, the only point we differ upon is as to the probable origin of the great sea-wall, which appeared to him to be of calcareous formation, and he therefore concluded that it had been a coral reef raised by some convulsion of nature. had capt. flinders been able to examine the rock formation of the great australian bight, he would have found that it was for the most part an oolitic limestone, with many shells imbedded in it, similar in substance and in formation to the fossil bed of the murray, but differing from it in colour. "the length of these cliffs from their second commencement is leagues, and that of the level bank from new cape paisley, where it was first seen from the sea, no less than leagues. the height of this extraordinary bank is nearly the same throughout, being nowhere less by estimation than feet, not anywhere more than . in the first leagues the rugged tops of some inland mountains were visible over it, but during the remainder of its long course, the bank was the limit of our view. "this equality of elevation for so great an extent, and the evidently calcareous nature of the bank, at least in the upper feet, would bespeak it to have been the exterior line of some vast coral reef, which is always more elevated than the interior parts, and commonly level with high water mark. from the gradual subsiding of the sea, or perhaps from some convulsion of nature, this bank may have attained its present height above the surface, and however extraordinary such a change may appear, yet when it is recollected that branches of coral still exist, upon bald head, at the elevation of feet or more, this supposition assumes a degree of probability, and it would farther seem that the subsiding of the waters has not been at a period very remote, since these frail branches have yet neither been all beaten down nor mouldered away by the wind and weather. "if this supposition be well founded, it may with the fact of no other hill or object having been perceived above the bank in the greater part of its course, assist in forming some conjecture as to what may be within it, which cannot as i judge in such case, be other than flat sandy plains or water. the bank may even be a narrow barrier between an interior and the exterior sea, and much do i regret the not having formed an idea of this probability at the time, for notwithstanding the great difficulty and risk, i should certainly have attempted a landing upon some part of the coast, to ascertain a fact of so much importance." had there been any inland ranges they would have been seen by that searching officer from the ocean, but it is clear that none exists; for mr. eyre in his intercourse with the natives, during his journey from south australia to king george's sound, elicited nothing from them that led him to suppose that there were any hills in the interior, or indeed that an inland sea was to be found there; even the existence of one may reasonably be doubted, and it may be that the country behind the great australian bight is, as captain flinders has conjectured, a low sandy country, formed by a channel of or miles in breadth, separating the south coast of the continent from the west and north ones. although i did not gain the direct centre of the continent there can be very little doubt as to the character of the country round it. the spirit of enterprise alone will now ever lead any man to gain it, but the gradual development of the character of the yet unexplored interior will alone put an end to doubts and theories on the subject. the desert of australia is not more extensive than the deserts in other parts of the world. its character constitutes its peculiarity, and that may lead to some satisfactory conclusion as to how it was formed, and by what agent the sandy ridges which traverse it were thrown up. i would repeat that i am diffident of my own judgment, and that i should be indebted to any one better acquainted with the nature of these things than i am to point out wherein i am in error. it remains for me, before i close this part of my work, to make a few observations on the natives with whom we communicated beyond the river tribes. mr. eyre has given so full and so accurate an account of the natives of the murray and darling that it is needless for me to repeat his observations. i would only remark that i attribute our friendly intercourse with them to the great influence he had gained over them by his judicious conduct as resident protector at the murray. i fully concur with him in the good that resulted from the establishment of a post on that river, for the express pur pose of putting a stop to the mutual aggression of the overlanders and natives upon each other. i have received too many kindnesses at the hands of the natives not to be interested in their social welfare, and most fully approved the wise policy of captain grey, in sending mr. eyre to a place where his exertions were so eminently successful. in another place i may be led to make some remarks on the condition of the natives of south australia, but at present i have only to observe upon that of the natives of the distant interior with whom no white man had ever before come in contact. if i except the tribe upon cooper's creek, on which they are numerous, the natives are but thinly scattered over the interior, as far as our range extended. the few families wandering over those gloomy regions may scarcely exceed one hundred souls. they are a feeble and diminutive race when compared to the river tribes, but they have evidently sprung from the same parent stock, and local circumstances may satisfactorily and clearly account for physical differences of appearance. like the tribes of the darling and the murray, and indeed like the aborigines of the whole continent, they have the quick and deep set eye, the rapidly retiring forehead, and the great enlargement of the frontal sinus, the flat nose and the thick lip. it is quite true that many have not the depression of the head so great, but in such cases i think an unusual proportion of the brain lies behind the ear. in addition, however, to the above physiognomical resemblances, they have the same disproportion between the upper region of the body and the lower extremities, the same prominent chest, and the same want of muscular development, and in common with all the natives i have seen, their beards are strong and stand out from the chin, and their hair the finest ornament they possess, only that they destroy its natural beauty by filth and neglect, is both straight and curly. their skins are nearly of the same hue; nor did we see any great difference, excepting in one woman, whose skin was of a jet black. two young women, however, were noticed who had beautiful glossy ringlets, of which they appeared to be exceedingly proud, and kept clean, as if they knew their value. both mr. browne and myself observed a great disparity of numbers in the male and female children, there being an excess of the latter of nearly two to one, and in some instances of a still greater disproportion. this fact was also obvious both to mr. stuart and myself in the tribe on cooper's creek, in which the number of female children greatly exceeded that of the male, though there were more adult men than women. the personal appearance of the men of this tribe, as i have already stated, was exceedingly prepossessing--they were well made and tall, and notwithstanding that my long-legged friend was an ugly fellow, were generally good looking. their children in like manner were in good condition and appeared to be larger than i had remarked elsewhere, but with the women no improvement was to be seen. thin, half-starved and emaciated they were still made to bear the burden of the work, and while the men were lounging about their fires, and were laughing and talking, the women were ceaselessly hammering and pounding to prepare that meat, of which, from their appearance, so small a proportion fell to their share. as regards the treatment of their women, however, i think i have observed that they are subjected to harsher treatment when they are members of a large tribe than when fewer are congregated together. both parents are very fond of and indulgent to their children, and there is no surer way of gaining the assistance of the father, or of making a favourable impression on a tribe than by noticing the children. i think that generally speaking the native women seldom have more than four children, or if they have, few above that number arrive at the age of puberty. there are, however, several reasons why the women are not more prolific; the principal of which is that they suckle their young for such a length of time, and so severe a task is it with them to rear their offspring that the child is frequently destroyed at its birth; and however revolting to us such a custom may be, it is now too notorious a fact to be disputed. the voices of the natives, generally speaking, are soft, especially those of the women. they are also a merry people and sit up laughing and talking all night long. it is this habit, and the stars so constantly passing before their eyes, which enables them to know when they are likely to have rain or cold weather, as they will point to any star and tell you that when it shall get up higher then the weather will be cold or hot. these primitive people have peculiar customs and ceremonies in their intercourse with strangers, and on first meeting preserve a most painful silence; whether this arises from diffidence or some other feeling it is difficult to say, but it is exceedingly awkward; but, however awkward or embarrassing it may be, there can be no doubt as to the policy and necessity of respecting it. the natives certainly do not allow strangers to pass through their territory without permission first obtained, and their passions and fears are both excited when suddenly intruded upon. to my early observation of this fact, and to my forbearing any forced interview, but giving them time to recover from the surprise into which my presence had thrown them, i attribute my success in avoiding any hostile collision. i am sure, indeed, whatever instances of violence and murder may be recorded of them, they are naturally a mild and inoffensive people. it is a remarkable fact that we seldom or ever saw weapons in the hands of any of the natives of the interior, such as we did see were similar to those ordinarily used by natives of other parts of the continent. their implements were simple and rude, and consisted chiefly of troughs for holding water or seeds, rush bags, skins, stones, etc. the native habitations, at all events those of the natives of the interior, with the exception of the cooper's creek tribe, had huts of a much more solid construction than those of the natives of the murray or the darling, although some of their huts were substantially built also. those of the interior natives however were made of strong boughs with a thick coating of clay over leaves and grass. they were entirely impervious to wind and rain, and were really comfortable, being evidently erections of a permanent kind to which the inhabitants frequently returned. where there were villages these huts were built in rows, the front of one hut being at the back of the other, and it appeared to be a singular but universal custom to erect a smaller hut at no great distance from the large ones, but we were unable to detect for what purpose they were made, unless it was to deposit their seeds; as they were too small even for children to inhabit. at the little hut to the north of the ranges, from which the reader will recollect we twice frightened away a poor native, we found a very large spear, apparently for a canoe, which i brought to the camp. this spear could not possibly have been used as a weapon, for it was too heavy, but on shewing it subsequently to some natives, they did not intimate that it was a canoe spear. it may be thought that having been in the interior for so many months i ought to have become acquainted with many of the customs and habits of the people inhabiting it, but it will have been seen that they seldom came near us. the custom of circumcision generally prevailed, excepting with the cooper's creek tribe, but you would meet with a tribe with which that custom did not prevail, between two with which it did. as regards their food, it varies with the season. that which they appeared to me to use in the greatest abundance were seeds of various kinds, as of grasses of several sorts, of the mesembryanthemum, of the acacia and of the box-tree; of roots and herbs, of caterpillars and moths, of lizards and snakes, but of these there are very few. besides these they sometimes take the emu and kangaroo, but they are never so plentiful as to constitute a principal article of food. they take ducks when the rains favour their frequenting the creeks and lagoons, exactly as the natives of other parts of australia do, with nets stuck up to long poles, and must procure a sufficiency of birds during the summer season. they also wander among the sand ridges immediately after a fall of rain, to hunt the jerboa and talperoo, (see nat. hist.,) of which they procure vast supplies; but all these sports are temporary, particularly the latter, as the moment the puddles dry up the natives are forced to retreat and fall back on previous means of subsistence. with regard to their language, it differed in different localities, though all had words common to each respectively. my friend mr. eyre states, that they have not any generic name for anything, as tree, fish, bird; but in this, as far as the fish goes, i think he is mistaken, for the old man who visited our camp before the rains, and who so much raised our hopes, certainly gave them a generic name; for placing his fingers on such fish as he recognised, he distinctly mentioned their specific name, but when he put his fingers on such as he did not recognise, he said "guia, guia, guia," successively after each, evidently intending to include them under the one name. with respect to their religious impressions, if i may so call them, i believe they have none. the only impression they have is of an evil spirit, but however melancholy the fact, it is no less true that the aborigines of australia have no idea of a superintending providence. in conclusion: i have spoken of mr. browne and mr. piesse throughout my narrative, in terms such as i feel they deserved. i should be sorry to close its pages without also recording the valuable and cheerful assistance i received from mr. stuart, whose zeal and spirit were equally conspicuous, and whose labour at the charts did him great credit. to flood i was indebted for having my horses in a state fit for service, than whom as a person in charge of stock, i could not have had a better; and i cannot but speak well of all the men in their respective capacities, as having always displayed a willingness to bear with me, when ever i called on them to do so, the fatigues and exposure incidental to such a service as that on which i was employed. before closing my narrative i would make a few observations on the conduct of such an expedition as the one the details of which i have just been giving. it appears to me then that discipline is the first and principal point to be considered on such occasions; unless indeed the leader be implicitly obeyed it is impossible that matters should go on regularly. for this reason it is objectionable to associate any irresponsible person in such an undertaking. when i engaged the men who were to accompany me, i made them sign an agreement, giving me power to diminish or increase the rations, and binding themselves not only to the performance of any particular duty, but to do everything in their power to promote the success of the service in which they were engaged, under the penalty of forfeiture of wages, in whole or part as i should determine. i deemed it absolutely necessary to arm myself with powers with which i could restrain my men even in the desert, before i left the haunts of civilized man, although i never put these powers in force,--and this appears to me to be a necessary precaution on all such occasions. equally necessary is the establishment of a guard at night, for it is impossible to calculate on the presence of natives--they may be close at hand, when none have been seen or heard during the day. had dr. leichhardt adopted this precaution his camp would not have been surprised, nor would he have lost a valuable companion. equally necessary is it to keep the stock, whether horses or bullocks, constantly within view. in all situations where i thought it probable they might wander i had them watched all night long. unless due precaution however is used to ensure their being at hand when wanted, they are sure to wander and give ceaseless trouble. as regards the consumption of provisions, i had both a weekly and a monthly statement of issues. in addition to this they were weighed monthly and their loss ascertained, and their consumption regulated accordingly, and i must say that i never found that the men were disposed to object to any reasonable reduction i made. i found the sheep i took with me were admirable stock, but i was always aware that an unforeseen accident might deprive me of them, and indeed they called for more watchful care even than the other stock. the men at the depot were never without their full allowance of mutton. it was only the parties out on distant and separate services who were reduced to an allowance scarcely sufficient to do their work upon. the attention of a leader is no less called to all these minutiae than his eye and judgment to the nature of the country in which he may happen to be. i would observe that in searching for water along the dry channel of a creek, he should watch for the slightest appearance of a creek junction, for water is more frequently found in these lateral branches, however small they may at first appear to be, than in the main creek itself, and i would certainly recommend a close examination of them. the explorer will ever find the gum-tree in the neighbour hood of water, and if he should ever traverse such a country as that into which i went, and should discover creeks as i did losing themselves on plains, he should never despair of recovering their channels again. they invariably terminate in grassy plains, and until he sees such before him he may rest assured that their course continues. should the traveller be in a country in which water is scarce it will be better for him to stop at any he may find, although early in the day, than to go on in the chance of being without all night, and so entailing fatigue on his men. i trust that what i have said of the natives renders it unnecessary for me to add anything as to the caution and forbearance required in communicating with them. kindness gains much on them, and their friendly disposition eases the mind of a load of anxiety--for however confident the leader may be, it is impossible to divest the minds of the men of apprehension when in the presence of hostile natives. he who shall have perused these pages will have learnt that under whatever difficulties he may be placed, that although his last hope is almost extinguished, he should never despair. i have recorded instances enough of the watchful superintendence of that providence over me and my party, without whose guidance we should have perished, nor can i more appropriately close these humble sheets, than by such an acknowledgment, and expressing my fervent thanks to almighty god for the mercies vouchsafed to me during the trying and doubtful service on which i was employed. an account of the sea coast and interior of south australia with observations on various subjects connected with its interests. chapter i. duties of an explorer--geographical position of south australia--description of its coast line--sea mouth of the murray--entered by mr. pullen--risk of the attempt--beaching--rosetta harbour--victor harbour--nepean bay--kangaroo island--kingscote--capt. lee's instructions for port adelaide--port adelaide--removal to the north arm--harbour master's report--yorke's peninsula--port lincoln--capt. lee's instructions--boston island--boston bay--coffin's bay--mr. cameron sent along the coast--his report--position of port adelaide. no mariner ever shook the reefs from his sails, on the abatement of the storm, under the fury of which his vessel had been labouring, with more grateful feelings than those with which i turn from the dreary and monotonous wastes i have been describing, to the contemplation of fairer and more varied scenes. my weary task has been performed, and however uninteresting my narrative may have proved to the general reader, i would yet hope, that those who shall hereafter enter the field of australian discovery, will profit from my experience, and be spared many of the inconveniences and sufferings to which i was unavoidably exposed. they may rest assured, that it is only by steady perseverance and unceasing attention, by due precaution and a mild discipline, that they will succeed in such an undertaking as that in which i was engaged. that unless they are fortunate enough to secure such an assistant as i had in mr. browne, their single eye must be over every thing, to study the features of the country through which they are passing, to keep their horses and cattle always within view, to prevent disputes in their camp, and to husband their provisions with the utmost care, to ascertain from time to time the quantity they may have on hand, and to regulate their consumption accordingly. few difficulties present themselves to the explorer in journeying down a river, for that way is smooth before him; it is when he quits its banks, and traverses a country, on the parched surface of which little or no water is to be found, that his trials commence, and he finds himself obliged to undergo that personal toil, which sooner or later will lay him prostrate. strictly speaking, my work should close here. i am not, however, unmindful of the suggestion i made in my preface, that a short notice of south australia at the close of my journal would not be out of place. in the following pages, therefore, it is proposed to give some account of that province, from whence, as the reader is aware, i took my departure, before commencing my recent labours. its circumstances and prospects have, i know, of late, been frequently brought before the public, but, i trust, nevertheless, that my observations will carry something of novelty, if not of interest, and utility with them. south australia, then, the youngest of the colonies that have been established round the shores of the australian continent, is situate, as its name would imply, upon its southern coast. it extends from the nd to the st degree of longitude east from greenwich, and runs up northwards into the interior to the th parallel of latitude. the district of port phillip bounds it on the east, for which reason, the fixing of the eastern boundary line between those two fine provinces has of late been a point of great interest and importance. mr. tyers, an able and intelligent officer, was employed by the government of new south wales, primarily to determine the longitude of the mouth of the glenelg, and from his triangulations and observations it would appear that the st meridian falls on the coast about a mile and a half to the eastward of it. subsequent observations, taken by captain stokes, in command of her majesty's surveying ship, the beagle, differ slightly from the result of mr. tyers' observations, but they prove beyond doubt, the care and accuracy with which the latter officer carried on his survey. the point, has since, i believe, been finally recognised by the governments of sydney and adelaide, and the boundary line been marked to the distance of miles from the coast. the party employed in this useful undertaking, however, was obliged to relinquish it for a time, in consequence of heavy rains; but it is not probable that any dispute will hereafter arise on the question. if the line could have been extended to the murray river, it would have been as well, but the desert country beyond it is valueless to civilised man. taking it for granted, then, that the s.e. angle of the province of south australia has been fixed, we shall in the first instance proceed along its sea line, and notice any thing worthy of observation, before we enter into a detail as to the character of the country itself. from the mouth of the glenelg the coast of south australia trends to the westward as far as cape northumberland in long. degrees minutes and in lat. degrees; [note . the reader will be good enough to bear in mind that the longitudes in this work are all east of greenwich, and that the latitudes are south.] from cape northumberland it turns to the n.n.w., keeping that general direction for more than miles. between the last mentioned cape and cape morard des galles in lat. / degrees, there are several bays, two only of which, rivoli bay, immediately to the north of cape lannes, and guichen bay, a little to the south of cape bernouilli, have more particularly drawn the attention of the local government, rendered necessary in consequence of the rapid settlement of the back country. recent surveys have enhanced the value of these two bays, and townships have been laid out at each. that at rivoli bay being called grey town, that of guichen bay robe town. at the latter, there is a resident magistrate and a party of mounted police. many allotments have been sold in both towns, and although the bays offer but little protection to large vessels, they are of great importance to the colonial trade and to the settlers occupying the beautiful and fertile country in the neighbourhood of mounts gambier and shanck. from cape morard des galles, a low dreary and sandy beach extends for five leagues beyond the sea mouth of the murray, a distance of more than miles. this beach, which varies in breadth from one to three miles, conceals the waters of the coorong, and the depressed and barren country beyond it is completely hid from view by the bright sand-hills on this long and narrow strip of land. the sea mouth of the murray, famous for the tragical events that have occurred near it, and which give a melancholy interest to the spot, is in long. degrees minutes and in lat. degrees minutes. no one could, i am sure, look on the foaming waters of that wild line of sand-hills through which it has forced a channel, without deep feelings of awe and emotion. directly open to the southern ocean, the swell that rolls into encounter bay, is of the heaviest description. the breakers rise to the height of fifteen or eighteen feet before they burst in one unbroken line as far as the eye can see, and as the southerly is the most prevailing wind on that part of the australian coast, it is only during the summer season, and after several days of northerly wind that the sea subsides, and the roar of breakers ceases for a time. the reader will perhaps bear in mind that the channel of the goolwa connects lake victoria with encounter bay, the sea mouth of the murray being the outlet through which its waters are discharged into the ocean. the channel of the goolwa (now called port pullen, in compliment to an officer of that name on the marine survey staff of the province, who succeeded, after several disappointments, in taking a small cutter through that narrow passage, and navigating her across the lake into the murray river, as high as the settlement of moorundi) is to the westward of the sea mouth as the coorong is to the eastward. [note . below] [note . the compliment thus paid to mr. pullen, who is now employed on the expedition to the north pole, in search of sir john franklin, by col. gawler, the then governor, was well merited, as a reward for the perseverance and patience he had shewn on the occasion--for those only who have been at the spot can form an idea of the disturbed and doubtful character of the place, and the risk there must have been in the attempt to enter such a passage for the first time.] but although mr. pullen succeeded in getting into the goolwa, it was only under the most favourable circumstances, nor will the sea mouth of the murray ever, i fear, be available for navigable purposes. how far it may be practicable to steamers, i would not hazard an opinion, nor is the subject at the present moment one of much importance, for the country to the eastward of the ranges is not yet sufficiently located to call for such a speculation. the sea mouth of the murray is about the third of a mile in breadth, and when the river is flooded a strong current runs out of it with such rapidity, that the tide setting in at the same time causes a short and bubbling sea. it took captain barker nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds to swim across it on the fatal occasion on which he lost his life--but he was obliged to go somewhat above the outlet, as the stream would otherwise have carried him amidst the breakers. the western shore is very low, but the eastern one is marked by a large sandhill, now called barker's knoll, after that talented and amiable officer. from seaward, nothing but a wild line of sand-hills meets the view, such as few mariners would venture to approach, and through which fewer still could hope to find a passage into the calmer waters of lake victoria, so completely hidden is the entrance. it was only by patient watching indeed, that mr. pullen seized the opportunity by which he entered the goolwa. he was not the first, however, who did so, as captain gill, the master of a small cutter that was unfortunately wrecked on the strand at some distance to the eastward of the outlet, was the first to come down the coorong in his boat, in which he ultimately reached victor harbour, but he also had to remain three weeks under the sand-hills before he could venture forth. some years prior to this, however, sir john jeffcott, the first judge of south australia, and captain blenkensorf, the head of the fishery, both found a watery grave in attempting to pass from the goolwa into encounter bay. i speak more particularly on the point, however, because, in , during my first visit to the province, i went with a party of hardy seamen, with the intention, if possible, of passing into the goolwa from seaward. at encounter bay, captain hart, who had the superintendence of the fishery there, gave me his most experienced steersman, and a strong whale-boat. in this i left victor harbour for freeman's nob, a small rocky point in the very bight of encounter bay, where i remained until three a.m. of the next morning, when i started for the outlet under the most favourable auspices. a northerly wind had been blowing off the land for several days, and the sea was so tranquil that i had every hope of success. i had five leagues to pull, and keeping about a mile from the shore, swept rapidly along it. we were still about four miles from the inlet when the sun rose over it, as if encouraging us onwards. on approaching it at low water, i tried in vain to enter. the sea was breaking heavily right across the entrance from one side to the other, and after several ineffectual attempts to run in, i came to an anchor, close to the outer line of breakers, hoping that the sea would subside at high water and that we should then have less difficulty. we had not, however, been in this position more than half an hour, when a heavy southerly swell set in; from a deep blue the water became green, and the wind suddenly flew round to the s.w. before we could weigh and stand out from the shore, several seas had broken outside of us, and in less than ten minutes the whole coast, to the distance of more than a mile from the shore, was white with foam, and it seemed clear that a gale was coming on. under these circumstances i determined on returning to the little harbour from which we had started in the morning, but the wind being directly against us, we made very little head. "we shall never get to the nob," said mr. witch, who had the steer oar, to me; "it blows too hard, sir." "what are we to do, then?" said i. "why, sir," he replied, "we must either beach or run out to sea," "we will beach, then," i said; "it is better to try that than to do any thing else." mr witch evinced some surprise at my decision, but made no remark. "you had better select your place," i observed, "and be careful to keep the boat's head well on to the seas." "you need not fear me, sir," said the hardy seaman; "i am accustomed to such work. it looks worse than it really is." the sea, however, was now breaking full a mile and a half from the shore, and in looking towards it i observed a solitary horseman riding slowly along, as if watching our movements. at length mr. witch said that he thought we were opposite to a favourable spot, on which i directed him to put the boat's head towards the shore, and to keep her end on as he went in. round we flew, and in a moment after we were running at railway speed on the top of a heavy wave. "steady, men," said mr. witch: "steady all," and on we went; but looking round him a moment after--"back, all. back, all," he cried. the men did as they were ordered, and the boat's way was stopped. her stern rose almost perpendicularly over the prow, and the next moment fell into the trough of the sea. the wave, transparent as bottle glass, rushed past us, and topping, as it is called, burst at our very bow, in a broad sheet of foam. "give way, my lads," was the next order of the watchful steersman, as he again cast his eyes behind him. "give way, my lads. give way, all." "steady, men," he called, as if doubtful of the result of the coming wave. i thought i saw paleness on the face of the rowers, but they pulled regularly and well, and a thundering sound soon told us we had escaped the threatening sea that had come so rapidly up. i do not know if i am doing justice to the occurrence. there was more of apparent than real danger in it, and i myself was less nervous, because i had not long before been accustomed to the heavy surf of norfolk island. it was, however, a moment of great excitement. we had literally shot towards the shore, and were now within fifty yards of it, when mr. witch said to me, "take care of yourself, sir; we shall catch it at last." i turned round, and saw a large roller close upon us, just on the point of topping--i had scarcely time to stoop and give my back to it when it came upon us, and i never had such a thump in my life. the boat was filled in a moment and we were all thrown out--mr. witch, who had been standing, was hurled to a great distance, but the men were up in a moment, the water being about four feet deep, and with admirable dexterity ran her on the beach. i do not remember ever having been in so strong a breeze. the reader may form some idea of it when i assure him that the wind rolled the boat over and over as if she had been as light as a carpenter's chip, and the sand and pebbles came with such violence in our faces, that we were obliged to retreat behind the sand hills until it moderated. it was my friend mr. strangways who had accompanied me from adelaide, whose figure we had seen on the beach, and he assured me that we seemed to fly as we approached him. the wind having apparently flown permanently round to the south, and it being hopeless to expect that the sea would subside for many days, i hauled the boat over the sand hills, and launching her in the goolwa, tried to row through the outlet to sea, but after remaining for eight days, and having my boat four times swamped, i was forced to give up the attempt as i had no time to spare. the distance between my outer and inner points might have been a cable's length. in endeavouring to pass out i shoaled to a quarter less one, having kept the lead constantly going. i abandoned the task therefore under an impression that the outlet was not navigable, yet mr. pullen succeeded in taking a small cutter into the goolwa with perfect safety. i cannot but conclude therefore that it has a shifting bar, and that it will present difficulties to regular navigation that will only be surmounted by a better knowledge of its locality, and in all probability by artificial means. from freeman's nob the coast line turns southwards to rosetta head, a bold and prominent conical hill, from the summit of which the whalers look for their game. under the lea of rosetta head there is a small harbour called rosetta harbour. it is separated by a rocky island called granite island, and a reef that is visible at low water, and connects granite island with the main land from victor harbour, so called after h.m.'s ship victor, when surveying in that quarter. neither of these harbours however are considered secure, although they are protected from all but south-east winds. it was in rosetta harbour, that during the early settlement of the colony the south australian company's ship south australian, was driven on shore and lost. the john pirie, a strongly built schooner, also belonging to the company, had well nigh shared her fate. this little vessel was lying astern of the australian when she went ashore, with the reef close astern of her. in this fearful position her anchors began to drag, and her destruction appeared inevitable, when her commander, captain martin, determined on attempting to take her over the reef, it being high water at the time. he accordingly cut his cable, set his sails, and ran his vessel on the rocks. four times she struck and was heaved as often over them, until at length she floated in the deeper water of victor harbour, and found her safety under the lea of the very danger from which she expected destruction. it was a bold resolve and deserved the success that attended it. i always feel a pleasure in recording such events, not only from feelings of admiration, but because they are examples for men to follow when placed in equally hazardous circumstances, and shew that firmness and presence of mind are equal to almost every emergency. the anchorage in victor harbour is under the lea of granite island, but i believe it is foul and rocky, and until both it and rosetta harbour shall be better known, the seaman will enter them with caution. encounter bay indeed, is not a place into which the stranger should venture, as he would find it extremely difficult to beat out to sea with a contrary wind. still no doubt vessels may find refuge at these places from strong west and south-west winds, but i have always understood that it is better for a ship encountering a gale at the entrance of backstairs passage rather to keep at sea, than seek shelter in any contiguous harbour. there is room for two or three tolerably sized vessels in victor harbour, which is in longitude { in published text} degrees minutes seconds and in latitude degrees minutes, and in certain seasons of the year it may be deemed secure, if it were not liable to other objections, but i have heard it stated by an experienced seaman, one whose intimate knowledge of this part of the coast of south australia is indisputable, that there is anchorage under the lea of freeman's nob, and a small island off it, sufficient for two or three vessels of or tons, altogether preferable to either of those i have mentioned, as being more sheltered, and having better holding ground--but we must not forget that it is deeper in the bay, and there would consequently be a greater difficulty in beating out; but the truth is that the importance and capabilities of these harbours will only be developed as the wants of the colonists render it necessary for them to have ports in this vicinity. when the country to the eastward of the mountains shall be more thickly peopled, and when the rich and fertile valleys of the inman, the hindmarsh and currency creek, and the available country between the two last, be more generally cultivated, and when the mines at the reedy creek and other places are at full work, the want of a harbour at encounter bay will be sufficiently apparent. the principal whale fishery on the coast of south australia is in encounter bay, and has, i believe, of late years proved as advantageous a speculation to those who have carried it on as could be expected; profits are of course dependent on contingencies, as the nature of the season and the number of whales that may visit the coast: but the fishery at encounter bay has certainly been as successful as any other on the coast, and would have been more so if the ground had not been intruded upon. as a source of colonial industry, and as a proof of commercial enterprise, i should regret to see this bold and hardy occupation abandoned. see appendix. from rosetta head the line of coast again trends for a short distance to the west, and forms, together with the opposite shore of kangaroo island, the backstairs passage, or eastern entrance into st. vincent's gulf, of which cape jervis is the n.w. point. it is here that the more important navigation of the south australian seas commences. the line of coast i have already described is not sufficiently known to be approached by the stranger without caution, nevertheless the several bays and harbours i have mentioned may offer better shelter and greater convenience than i am able to point out. one of the first establishments, if not the very first, of the south australian company was on kangaroo island, on the shores of nepean bay. here the town of kingscote was laid out, and some very good houses built, which are now falling to dilapidation and decay, since it has been abandoned by the company's servants for some years. nevertheless kingscote is a very pretty sea-port town, and the harbour is undoubtedly good. the bay is large enough to hold a number of ships, and is secure from all winds, being almost completely land-locked. the water inside moreover is smooth, since the bay is protected by a long spit of sand, whereby the roughness of the outer sea does not affect it, and vessels consequently lie there during heavy weather without any apparent motion. it is to be regretted, that, with such advantages, kingscote harbour should have any drawback, but when we have given credit for its capabilities as a harbour, we have done all, and even as a harbour, sailors are divided in opinion, whether or not american river, or a small bay, five miles to the south-east of it, are not to be preferred. in nepean bay there is a deficiency of water, which is not the case in either of the last mentioned places. the soil is equally good in the neighbourhood of all three, but kingscote having been occupied, the ground has been cleared of the dense brush that grew on it in a state of nature, and some of the most productive gardens in the province are to be found there. it is astonishing what quantities of the finest onions are sent from kingscote, with other produce, to adelaide. the island is, however, so generally and so heavily covered with brushwood, that although the soil is good in many places, it has been found impracticable to clear. on the general character of kangaroo island, i would observe, that, from the reports of those best acquainted with it, nine-tenths of the surface is covered with dwarf gum-trees, or heavy low brush, that there are no plains of any consequence, no harbours excepting those i have already mentioned,--that water is generally scarce, and the best land is most heavily wooded and perfectly impenetrable; but, if it is thus useless and unavailable for pastoral and agricultural purposes, kingscote, being so short a distance from adelaide, holds out every inducement as a watering-place to those who, desiring change of air and sea-bathing, would wish to leave the heated neighbourhood of the capital during the summer months. it is a disadvantage to them that there are few places on the shores of st. vincent's gulf, on which bathing places could be established, but the change of air at kingscote would be as great a benefit as sea-bathing itself, for hot winds are not felt there, but a cool and refreshing breeze is almost constantly blowing. as a watering-place therefore, it may, one day or other, be of importance, when the convenience of steam-boats shall render the passage from adelaide to kangaroo island, like a trip across the channel. but it is to be observed that whatever disadvantages the island may possess, its natural position is of the highest importance, since it lies as a breakwater at the bottom of st. vincent's gulf, and prevents the effects of the heavy southerly seas from being felt in it. there is, perhaps, no gulf, whether it is entered by the eastern or western passage, the navigation of which is so easy as that of st. vincent, and so clear of dangers, that it can only be by the most fortuitous circumstances, or the most culpable neglect, that any accident can befal a ship in its passage up to adelaide. anxious to make this portion of my work as useful as possible, and feeling assured that the remarks i have hitherto made will only lead the seaman to adopt those measures of precaution in approaching any of the harbours and bays i have mentioned, our knowledge of which is still limited, i shall here quote a passage from a small book of sailing instructions for south australia, published some years ago by captain lee, an experienced mariner, for the guidance of commanders of vessels bound to port adelaide. i shall only observe that, in running up the gulf it is extremely difficult to recognise the peak of mount lofty; but a pile of stones has been erected upon it, which is easily visible through a good telescope, and that the pilot station spoken of by captain lee as being five miles from glenelg has been abandoned, and the pilots now board ships from the light vessel moored off the bar. "vessels from england bound to port adelaide, should, after leaving the cape of good hope, run to the eastward in degrees or degrees south latitude, until they arrive in longitude degrees east, when they may haul to the northward, so as to get into latitude degrees minutes, in longitude degrees minutes; then steer to the north-east, and make kangaroo island, passing between which and a small island named althorpe's island, they will enter investigator's straits. these straits form the western entrance to st vincent's gulf, and are so free from danger, that it seems almost wonderful how any vessel can get on shore without gross negligence. the only danger that can possibly affect a vessel is the troubridge shoal, and this, by a little attention to the lead, may be easily avoided, as on the south side of the shoal the water deepens gradually from four to seventeen or eighteen fathoms. the shores on the side of kangaroo island are bold and rocky, whilst on the north side, on yorke's peninsula, they are low and sandy. in working up in the night, stand no nearer to the north shore than nine fathoms, or to the southward than twelve fathoms. you will have from sixteen to twenty fathoms in the fair way--fine grey sand, mixed with small pieces of shell. in working up st. vincent's gulf, you may stand to the eastward in six fathoms, and towards the troubridge shoal in nine fathoms. the prevailing winds are from the south-west to south-east, especially in the summer months, when the sea breeze sets in about nine o'clock. the strength of tide in the gulf is very irregular, with a strong south-west wind, the flood runs up at the rate of about two miles an hour, whilst with a northerly wind it is scarcely perceptible. the anchorage in holdfast bay is hardly safe in the winter months, as it is quite open to north-west, west, and south-west winds, which, when blowing hard, raise a short tumbling sea. the ground is a fine sand, almost covered with weeds, so that when the anchor once starts, the weeds being raked up under the crown, will in a great measure prevent its again holding. in the summer months it may be considered a perfectly safe anchorage, if due caution is exercised in giving the vessel cable in time. the best anchorage for a large vessel is with the summit of mount lofty, bearing east in six fathoms. a small vessel will lay better close in, just allowing her depth of water sufficient to ride in. "the pilot station for port adelaide is about five miles north of holdfast bay. in running up keep in five fathoms, until abreast of the flag-staff on the beach, when a pilot will come on board. it is always high water in port adelaide morning and evening, and consequently low water in the middle of the day. in the present state of the harbour, no vessel drawing more than sixteen feet water ought to go into the port. several very serious accidents have befallen vessels in this port, for which the harbour itself ought certainly to be held blameless." "vessels," he adds, "from sydney, or from the eastward, bound to port adelaide, having arrived at cape howe, should shape a course for hogan's group in bass' straits, when off which, with a northerly wind, the best passage through the straits is between redondo and wilson's promontory, because should a gale of wind come on from the north-west, as it almost invariably does commence in that quarter, they would have more drift to the south-east than if they passed through near kent's group or sir r. curtis's island. it is also a great saving in distance. having arrived off king's island, with a north wind, stand well out to the west or south-west, so as to keep well to the southward of cape northumberland, as the heavy gales from the north-west seldom last more than forty-eight hours, when they veer to the south-west, and fine weather ensues. being abreast of cape northumberland, a south-west wind will be a favourable wind to proceed to adelaide. steer directly for the east end of kangaroo island, which you may pass at a distance of one mile; and if the wind is from the south or south-east, you may then steer across backstairs passage to cape jarvis; having arrived off which, proceed as directed before: should the wind be strong from south-west or west-south-west, keep kangaroo island close on board until abreast of cape jarvis, when you will have the gulf open. should it be night time or thick weather, and you have sighted cape willoughby at the entrance after passing that cape, steer north-west fifteen miles, and you may lay to or run up north-east by east under snug sail until daylight. there are four rocks at the entrance of this passage, called the pages; with a beating wind, you may pass on either side of them, but with a leading wind there is no necessity to approach them at all, as it is best to pass close round cape willoughby. should the wind be so strong that a vessel could not carry sufficient canvas to fetch through the passage, it would be better for a stranger to stand out to the southward, rather than attempt to run into encounter bay. the anchorage in encounter bay is close round granite island, where a vessel may lay sheltered from all winds, save from south-east. there are several good anchorages where a vessel may run to, should she be caught in a gale of wind in bass' straits: one behind wilson's promontory, the corner inlet of flinders; another in western port; two under king's island, besides several on the van diemen's land side, as circular head, george town, preservation island, &c., the whole of which may be attained by a proper consideration of the chart; but it is always better, provided a vessel has sufficient sea room, to keep at sea than to run for an anchorage, as the sea will seldom hurt a good ship properly managed, and she is always ready to take advantage of any change that may take place. "should a gale of wind come on when a vessel is far to the westward of king's island, she may run for portland bay. in going in, you pass to the eastward of the st. lawrence islands, and haul directly in for the land west-north-west; keep along the south shore of the bay, at a distance of one mile, until you see the flag-staff at mr. henty's; bring that to bear west, and you will have six fathoms water about three-quarters of a mile from shore." from cape jarvis the coast line tends to the north along the eastern shore of st. vincent's gulf. the scenery, as you turn the point, is extremely diversified. dark cliffs and small sandy bays, with grassy slopes almost to the water's edge, succeed each other, backed by moderate hills, sparingly covered with trees, and broken into numerous valleys. thus you pass yankelilla, rapid bay, and aldingis; but from brighton the shore becomes low and sandy, and is backed by sand hummocks, that conceal the nearer country from the view, and enable you to see the tops of the mount lofty range at a distance of from eleven to twelve miles. port adelaide, a bar harbour, is about nine miles from glenelg, and situate on the eastern bank of a large creek, penetrating the mangrove swamp by which the shore of the gulf is thereabouts fringed. this creek is from ten to eleven miles in length. its course for about two miles after you cross the bar is nearly east and west, but at that distance it turns to the south, and runs parallel to the coast; and there is an advantage in the direction it thus takes, that would not be apparent to the reader unless explained. it is, that, as the land breeze blows off the shore in the evening, and the sea breeze sets in in the morning vessels can leave the harbour, or run up to it as they are inward or outward bound. the landing-place of the early settlers was too high up the creek, and was not only the cause of great inconvenience to the shipping, but of severe loss in stores and baggage to the settlers; but at the close of the year , mr. mclaren, the then manager of the south australian company commenced and finished a road across the swamp to a section of land belonging to his employers, that was situated much lower down the creek, and on which the present port now stands. the road, which is two miles in length, cost the company , pounds. it has, however, been transferred to the local government, in exchange for , acres of land, that were considered equivalent to the sum it cost. the removal of the port to this place was undoubtedly a great public benefit; and whatever perspective advantages might have influenced mr. mclaren on the occasion, he merited all due praise for having undertaken such a work at a time when the government itself was unable to do so. both the wharf and the warehouse belonging to the company are very creditable buildings, as is the custom house and the line of sheds erected by the government; but the wharf attached to them is defective, and liable to injury, from the chafing of the tide between the piers, which are not placed so as to prevent its action. mr. phillips' iron store is also one of a substantial description; but there was not, when i left the province, another building of any material value at the port. numerous wooden houses existed in the shape of inns, stables, etc.; but the best of these were unfortunately burnt down by a fire a few days before i embarked for europe. whether it is that a misgiving on the minds of the public as to the permanency of the port has been the cause of, and prevented the erection of more substantial and better houses at port adelaide, it is difficult to say; but any one might have foreseen, that as the colony progressed, and its commerce increased, the port would necessarily have to be moved to some part of the creek where there was deeper and broader water, for the convenience of the shipping. i felt assured, indeed, that the removal of the port would take place sooner than was generally supposed. the following extract from the south australian gazette of the th of december last, will prove that i judged truly:-- "new road to the north arm.--this road was commenced last tuesday week; and at the rate at which the work is progressing, will be completed (except as regards the subsequent metalling and ballasting) within four months from the present time. the line adopted is the one which was proposed by mr. lindsay in , as requiring less outlay in the original construction than either of the other lines proposed. taking adelaide as the starting point, the course will be either along the present port road between hindmarsh and bowden as far as section no. , thence along the cross track between that section and section no. (preliminary), as far as the southeast corner of mr. mildred's section, no. ; then in a straight line through the last named section and mr. gilles's, no. , after leaving which it passes through an opening in the sand-hills, and then winds along the highest ground between the creeks, leaving the south australian company's road about a mile on the left, till it joins the main road or street running through section g. at the north arm; or through north adelaide and along the road at the back of bowden, parallel with the main port road as far as mr. torrens' residence, to the south-east corner of mr. mildred's section, thence through that section as before. the soil of the so-termed swamp, or rather marsh, is of the most favourable description for embanking and draining operations, consisting at the part of the line where the work has been commenced, of a good loam for the first spit, and then clay to the depth of eighteen inches or two feet, resting upon a stratum composed for the most part of shells of numberless shapes and sizes, which extends to the bottoms of the drains (four feet), being the level of high water at spring tides, and at about the same above the low-water level. the shelly stratum continues below the bottoms of the drains to an uncertain depth. from the commencement of the 'swamp' to the great square or public reserve at the junction of the north arm with the main channel of the creek, the distance along the line of road is yards, or nearly two miles and three-quarters. the breadth of the road between the ditches will be feet, or between three and four times the breadth of the company's road." if there is anything more justly a subject of congratulation to the province than another, it is the commencement of the work thus notified. the road is now, in all probability, finished, and that part of the creek rendered available where these permanent improvements may be made, without the fear of any future change; and when the shores of the north arm shall be lined by wharfs, and the more elevated portions of torrens' island shall be covered with houses, few harbours will be able to boast of more picturesque beauty. there was something dreary in sailing up the creek with its dense and dark mangroves on either side, and no other object visible beyond them save the distant mountains; but the approach to the new port will not fail to excite those pleasurable feelings in the heart of the stranger which give a colouring to every other object. the removal of the port to the proposed locality will bring it within three miles of the bar, and will be of incalculable advantage to the shipping, since there will no longer be any delay in their putting to sea. the following letter, addressed by captain lipson, the harbour-master, to the colonial secretary, in reference to the improvements that have been effected at the bar, will best explain its present state, and the description of vessels it will admit into the port. "port, th july, . "sir,--in answer to your letter of this day's date, requesting that i would report to you, for the information of the legislative council, what beneficial effects have been produced by the use of the mud barge in deepening the bar at the entrance of port adelaide, since the commencement of its operation, in the year , up to the present date, also what additional depth of water, if any, has been obtained by the work alluded to. "i have the honour to state, that at the commencement of the colony, her majesty's storeship 'buffalo' was brought out by the then governor, captain hindmarsh, to be detained here nine months for the protection and convenience of the colonists. it was, therefore, much wished to have her inside the bar; but after attending and carefully watching successive spring-tides, it was given up as impracticable, she drawing fifteen feet. the governor then appointed a board to examine the bar, consisting of the masters of the 'buffalo,' 'john renwick,' and another, who, in their report, stated as their opinion, that no vessel above tons ought to be brought into the harbour; however, last week two vessels exceeding tons have been brought up to the wharf. but the most beneficial effect is now felt from a ship being able to cross the outer bar so much sooner on the tide than before, thereby having sufficient time to take her round the bar, and, if moderate, to beat up and anchor at the north arm the same tide. ships may now be brought in on the springs in winter, drawing seventeen or eighteen feet, as the time of high water is in the day, and the wind generally fair to beat in, but not so in going out, from the difficulty of reaching the bar at the time required, and the tide leaving so quickly after the ebb is made great care is required; and i find it unsafe to allow any vessel to load deeper than or . inches at most. with a tug, there would be less difficulty and danger in loading to feet than there now is to . "there is now three feet more water on the bar than there was previous to its being deepened, and if the work be continued next summer, to enlarge a cut which has been made, there will be five feet. "i have the honour to be, sir, your obedient servant, "thomas lipson, harbour master. "the honourable colonial secretary." it is not clear to me, however, that the admission of larger class shipping into the port will be of any great advantage. i am led to believe that ships of smaller tonnage than those drawing to feet, have been found to be most convenient for the ordinary purposes of commerce. however, it is evident, that if captain lipson continues the same praiseworthy exertions he has hitherto used, he will deepen the bar for vessels of any tonnage. under existing circumstances, it may be as well to state that any ship arriving off the bar when there is not sufficient water on it for them to enter the port, will find good anchorage all round the lightship, particularly a little to the westward of it. the whole gulf, indeed, from this point, may be considered as a safe and extensive roadstead. as regards port adelaide itself, i cannot imagine a securer or a more convenient harbour. without having any broad expanse of water, it is of sufficient width for vessels to lie there in perfect safety, whether as regards the wind or the anchorage. the head of st. vincent's gulf is in latitude / degrees. between that point and port adelaide, the shore is either lined by mangroves, or is low and sandy. there are, nevertheless, several inlets similar to, but much smaller than port adelaide, and other commodious anchorages for small craft along it. the principal of these is the inlet connected with the gawler, of which i shall hereafter speak. york peninsula forms the western shore of st. vincent's gulf, and separates it from that of spencer. it is a long, low tongue of land--cape spencer, its southern extremity, being in degrees minutes, and in long. degrees minutes. though embracing a considerable area, the character of the peninsula is unfavourable to the growth of nutritive herbage; the surface soil is a species of calcareous limestone, the rock formation of a tertiary description, although, at the lower extremity, granite and trap rock are known to exist. the surface of the country is undulating, covered in many places by scrub, and the trees being very short-lived, the whole is matted with dead timber, and difficult of access. a deficiency of water renders york peninsula still more unfavourable for location; nevertheless, several sections of land have been purchased on that part which is immediately opposite to port adelaide, and it is said that indications of copper have been found there, a fact i should be inclined to doubt. in , a company applied for a special survey on the shores of the peninsula to the southward of point pearce, and gave the name of victoria harbour to the locality; but the survey was subsequently abandoned in consequence of the unfavourable character of the interior, from the great deficiency of water. if we except the results of a survey made by the late lieut.-governor, colonel robe, of the upper part of spencer's gulf, during which, as is the case in the same part of the neighbouring gulf, his excellency found convenient bays and inlets, but little is known of the eastern shore of that splendid gulf, beyond this point. double the size of st. vincent's gulf, it runs up to the / parallel, and was at one time or other very probably connected with lake torrens. the higher part is backed by a range of mountains, the more prominent of which were named by captain flinders--mount remarkable, mount browne, and mount arden. on the first of these there were so many indications of copper, that a special survey of , acres was taken by a company for the purpose of working any lodes that might be found. the country round about mount remarkable is stated to be exceedingly picturesque and good; so that independently of any value it may possess as a mineral survey, it possesses both agricultural and pastoral advantages. after passing the mount remarkable range, however, the country falls off in character. a dreary region extends round the head of the gulf, and, it is to be feared, to a much greater distance. the description given by mr. eyre, and the reports of those who have endeavoured to penetrate to the westward of lake torrens both agree as to the sterile and inhospitable character of the remote interior. little improvement takes place in it on following down the western shore of the gulf. several individuals, indeed, have perished in endeavouring to take stock round the head of the gulf to port lincoln, either from the want of water, or from having wandered and lost themselves amidst the low brush with which it is covered. the whole of the country, indeed, lying to the westward of spencer's gulf is, as far as i have been able to ascertain, of very inferior description. there are, it is true, isolated patches of good land, and a limited run for sheep, but the character of the country corresponds but little with the noble feature for which spencer's gulf is so justly celebrated. in reference to this magnificent basin, captain lee, from whom i have already quoted, observes-- "the harbour of port lincoln, including boston bay, is situated near the extremity of the peninsula, which forms the west side of spencer's gulf in the province of south australia, and from its great extent, and the number of its safe anchorages, is capable of containing the largest fleets, and as a depot, is not, perhaps, to be surpassed by any port in the world. vessels from england, bound to port lincoln, should run along in about degrees minutes south latitude, until they arrive in degrees minutes east longitude, when they may haul up to the north-east, and make cape catastrophe. after arriving near the cape, they may then shape a course to pass between it and williams' island. there are strong tide ripplings here, which, to a stranger, would present the appearance of reefs; but as the channel is perfectly clear, no danger need be apprehended. having passed through the channel, should night be approaching, it would be advisable for a stranger to keep the main land aboard, leaving another island (smith's island), on the starboard hand, and bring up in memory cove, a perfectly safe anchorage, in about five fathoms, and wait for day-light. proceeding then along shore to the northward, he will arrive at taylor's island, which may be passed on either side; after which he may run along shore at a distance of one mile, until he arrives at cape donnington. this cape may be known by its having a small islet laying about half a mile from the point. rounding this islet, at half a cable's length, in about nine-fathoms' water, and hauling to the westward, he will open the magnificent harbour of port lincoln, stretching to the south-west as far as the eye can reach. should the wind be fresh from the south or south-west, it would be better if bound to boston bay, to beat up between boston island and the promontory of cape donnington. the shores are steep on both sides, so that a vessel may stand close in on either tack. should the wind be so strong as to prevent a vessel beating in, she may run up under easy sail to a bay on the north-east end of boston island, and bring up in seven fathoms opposite a white sandy beach, three-quarters of a mile off shore. there is also excellent anchorage at the entrance to spalding cove, bringing the western point of the promontory of cape donnington to bear north by east, and the northernmost of bicker's island west by north, you will lay in seven fathoms, muddy bottom. having arrived at bicker's island and bound for boston bay, stand directly over to the westward, passing the south end of boston island, until you open the bay, when you may choose a berth according to circumstances, and in any depth from ten to four fathoms. "the positions of the various points and islands are so correctly laid down on flinders' chart, that the skilful navigator will at once know his exact situation by cross-bearings. "the anchorage in port lincoln itself is not so safe as in boston bay, and more difficult of access, especially in the winter months, when the winds are strong from the south-west, and in the summer months it is quite open to the north-east. in working up, a vessel may stand close in to the eastern shore, and to within half a mile of the western, but should not attempt to pass between the two bicker's islands, as there is a reef running from the northernmost island nearly across to the other. "vessels from adelaide, bound to boston bay, after arriving at althorpe's island, should shape a course so as to pass between the gambier islands and thistle's islands. there is a small island bearing west five miles from the south end of wedge island, the largest of the gambier group, which is not laid down in flinders, which should be left on the starboard hand. bring the highest part of thistle's island to bear west, distant about six miles, and in twenty-two fathoms water, and a north-west half-west course will carry you through midway between the horse-shoe reef and the rocks which lay off the north-west end of thistle's island, and in the direct track for cape donnington. the passage between the reefs is about three miles wide, and ought not to be attempted in the night, as the tides set directly across the channel. there is very good anchorage on the north-east side of thistle's island, well sheltered three-fourths of the year. bring the rocks before-mentioned to bear north-north-west, and two remarkable sand hills south by west, and you will lay in five fathoms, one mile off shore--north end thistle's island west by south. should the wind be so strong from southwest or west-south-west, so that a vessel from the eastward cannot carry sail sufficient to fetch up to cape donnington, or under thistle's island, it would be advisable to bear up for hardwick bay; passing to the eastward of wedge island, come no nearer to the shore of york's peninsula than two miles, until you arrive within five miles of corny point, when you may haul in for that point, rounding it a distance of half a mile, you may bring up in five fathoms, one mile from shore: corny point bearing west. vessels from sydney, bound to port lincoln, may pass through backstairs passage, and proceed according to the foregoing directions, or by keeping well to the southward, pass outside kangaroo island, until they arrive in longitude degrees e., when they may shape a course either to pass between gambier's and thistle's islands, or else for cape catastrophe, taking care to give the neptune islands a wide berth, and then proceed according to either of the foregoing directions." to this extract which refers exclusively to the navigation of spencer's gulf, i may add, that boston island lies immediately opposite to the bay, and that there are two channels of entrance round the island, through which vessels of the largest size can pass with any wind or in any weather, for the harbour is so sheltered by the headlands forming the entrance, that the swell of the sea is broken before reaching it. the high ground which almost surrounds boston bay, protects it in like manner from the winds, more especially those coming from the west and southwest, in which directions some of the hills attain the height of several hundred feet. the depth of water in the central parts of the bay is about twelve fathoms, varying from five to seven at the distance of less than a quarter of a mile from the shore all round; whilst at boston point, where the town of boston has been laid out, there is a depth of two, three, and four fathoms, at about a boat's length from the land. the bottom consists in some places of mud, in others of shells and sand, so that the anchorage is safe. the tide sometimes rises seven feet, but that is considered a high tide, the ordinary rise not being more than five; this depends, however, on the outward state of the gulf, and the quarter from which the wind may happen to be blowing. in the summer season, the land and sea breezes blow very regularly, for three weeks or a month at a time. they are then succeeded by strong winds from the south-west, that last for three or four days, and are sometimes very violent. in winter these interruptions to the usual calm state of the weather are more frequent, but the harbour is little influenced by them; taking it altogether, indeed, as a harbour, it is unquestionably as safe and commodious as any in the world, and it is deeply to be regretted, that its position, of which i shall have to speak, and the nature of the country behind it, should be any drawbacks to its becoming one of the most important ports on the australian continent. in the vicinity of port lincoln, the land is of very varied character. to the west and south-west it is poor and scrubby, covered with a diminutive growth of she oak (casuarinae) or dwarf gumtrees (eucalypti), or it is wholly destitute of timber; but along the line of hills, stretching to the north, at a short distance from the shores of the gulf, there is an improvement in the soil. the pasture is well adapted for sheep, and there are isolated valleys in which the soil is very good and fit for cultivation; but this kind of country only occupies a narrow strip of about ten miles, and although tracts of available land have been found in the interior, and it has been ascertained that water is not deficient, it must still, i fear, be considered as a very inferior district. as regards port lincoln itself, the inhabitants procure their water from a spring, on the sea-shore, which is covered by every tide. this spring does not appear to undergo any sensible diminution, even in the height of summer, and is stated to be so copious, that it would yield a most abundant supply. it has been reported, that strong indications of the presence of copper have been found in the neighbourhood of port lincoln, and this report may be correct. the discovery of mines there, would at once raise the harbour to importance, and make it the resort of shipping. mines might be worked at port lincoln with more advantage perhaps to the province, than where they have been already in operation, for it admits of great doubt whether the benefit from the distribution of wealth from mining speculations, makes up for the interference of such speculations with other branches of industry. unless some local advantage, of the kind to which i have alluded, should give this noble harbour an impulse however, it would appear to have but little prospect of becoming a place of importance, for although spencer's gulf penetrates so deep into the northern interior, the country is altogether unprofitable, and although there is depth of water sufficient for the largest ships to the very head of the gulf, yet, as far as our present knowledge extends, it is not probable that it will be the outlet of any export produce. it is to be remembered, however, that if there should be minerals in any abundance found on the mount remarkable special survey--the ore must necessarily be shipped, from some one of the little harbours examined by the lieutenant-governor during his survey of that part of spencer's gulf--in such case, port lincoln will be brought more immediately into notice. from port lincoln, the shore of the gulf still trends to the south, as far as cape catastrophe, in lat. degrees. it then turns with an irregular outline to the n.n.w., and several bays succeed each other. the first of these is sleaford bay, sometimes occupied as a whaling station, but of no other importance. coffin's bay, almost immediately behind port lincoln, is rather an inlet than a bay, and runs so far into the interior, as to approach boston bay, to within miles. coffin's bay is exceedingly wide, and objectionable for many reasons, but as it is a whaling station of some importance, and visited by numerous whalers, i shall quote captain lee's remarks upon it, and give his directions for going to it. "this is a very large bay, perfectly secure from all winds, save from north to east, but unfortunately a great portion of it is rendered useless by the shallowness of the water. the best anchorage is with point sir isaac, bearing north-north-west, about one mile and a half from the western shore in four or five fathoms. in working in with a southerly wind, you may stand to the eastward until you bring the above point to bear south-west by west, after which it would be better to make short tacks along the western shore. you must be careful to keep the lead going, as the water shoals from five and four fathoms to one and a half at a single cast. this bay seems well adapted for a fishing station. the inner part of the bay extends a long way back into the country, at least thirty miles from point sir isaac, and contains two or three secure harbours and excellent anchorages, a new chart of which is in course of publication. "vessels from sydney bound to coffin's bay, should proceed as if bound to port lincoln until arrived off the neptune islands, when they should steer for perforated island, having passed which, steer for point whidbey, giving it a berth of at least two miles. in running along shore from point whidbey to point sir isaac, come no nearer the shore than two miles, until you get the latter point to bear east-south-east as the rocks lay a long way from the shore. having arrived at point sir isaac proceed as directed before. "althorp's island is of moderate height, situated at the entrance of investigator's straits; may be passed close to on the south side. several other islands and reefs lay between it and york's peninsula, rendering that passage highly dangerous. "wedge island, one of the gambier group, may easily be known by its wedge-like form, sloping from south-east to north-west. there are two peaked rocks off the south-east end, one mile off shore, also a small island, bearing west five miles from the south end, not laid down in flinders' charts. "thistle's island, is low at each end but high in the middle, it lays in a north-west and south-east direction. there are some rocks which lay off the northern point about three miles, which being connected with the island itself, forms a good anchorage behind, secure from all but north and east winds, another good place for a fishing party. see port lincoln directions. "neptune's islands are low, three in number, and having numerous rocks and reefs amongst them; ought not to be approached too closely, there being generally a strong swell from the south-west, the sea breaks over them with great violence. "liguanea island is of moderate elevation, and may be passed on the south side at a distance of two miles. "perforated island, as its name imports, may be known by its having a hole through it near the north end and close to the top of the island, it may be passed close on any side. four hummocks may easily be known from their appearance answering to their name. "greenly island, this is a peaked island, rather high, and may be seen ten leagues off. there is another island laying south and by west, seven miles, not laid down in flinders', and two other reefs between them, rendering the passage unsafe. "proceeding along shore to the northward you will fall in with flinders' island. this is a large island, covered with wood, with plenty of fresh water, possessing a secure anchorage on the northern side, and is admirably adapted for a whaling station. in going on from the southward, keep outside the top gallant {gall's in published text} island, and steer directly for the north-east point, rounding which, you will open the anchorage, and as there is no danger, but may be seen, you may choose a berth according to circumstances. "waldegrave's island, close to the main land, has good anchorage on the northern side, secure from south-east and south-west winds. "the shore, from waldegrave's island to point weyland is low and sandy. there is a large body of water running in a direction parallel to the coast, all the way from point weyland to the northward of cape radstock, having an entrance at both points. it appears as if the action of the sea from the south-west, had broken through the coast range and filled up the valley immediately behind. indeed the whole coast from kangaroo island to as far to the north-west as has been visited by the author, bears evident marks of the encroachments of the sea. in some places marked down as small islands in flinders', there are now only reefs, other places which were formerly points of land, are transformed to islands." in the year , i was instructed by the then governor of south australia, to send an officer of the survey in a small vessel, with a supply of provisions for mr. eyre, who was at that time supposed to have reached fowler's bay, during the first of his expeditions; i accordingly selected mr. john cannan, in whose zeal and ability i had every confidence. this officer left port adelaide the th september, , with instructions from me, in addition to the immediate object he had in view, to survey such parts of the coast along which he was about to sail, as had only been partially examined by captain flinders. unfortunately it was during the winter time, and the task i had assigned him would, i knew, be attended with considerable risk in beating along that dangerous and stormy coast. mr. cannan arrived at streaky bay on the th september, but was disappointed in finding mr. eyre, or a letter he had buried for him under cape bauer, he therefore proceeded to the examination of the coast, as i had instructed him to do; and the following extract from his report will not only enable the reader to judge how he performed that service, but will give him the best information as to the character of the several bays and inlets he examined. "i send you a chart of streaky, smoky, and denial bays, by which you will be better able to judge of the capabilities of the harbours they contain, than by any description i can give. i may mention however, that the entrance to smoky bay, between the shoals of st. peter's and eyre's islands, is dangerous, for with any swell on the sea breaks right across. in the inlet, on the west side of denial bay, there is a salt water creek with two fathoms of water; and adjoining some high sand-hills, among which we found fresh water by digging. our vessel being the first, i believe, that ever entered smoky bay, on finding an island at its southern end, i named it after that enterprising traveller mr. eyre. i also found an island and reef not laid down by flinders, to the southern of st. francis islands. there is also an island miles west of the rocky group of whidbey's isles, and about miles from greenly's isles. the captain of a french whaler also informed me, that a sunken rock lays miles n.w., off point sir isaac, on which the sea breaks in heavy weather. "the desert country surrounding these bays has been sufficiently explored, and so correctly described by mr. eyre, as not to require to be mentioned. the absence of any rise that can be called a hill, from mount greenly to mount barren, the eternal limestone cliffs, the scarcity of water and grass, surely prove this coast to be the most miserable in the world, whilst the harbours are as good as could be wished for, and it must be owing to the deficiency of charts, that whalers do not frequent these bays, for there are generally two or three french or american vessels in the neighbourhood during the season. i found no bones or carcases of whales in streaky, denial, or smoky bays, but the shores of fowler's and coffin's bays, i found strewed with their remains. in the latter place, captain rossiter, of the mississippi shewed me his chart, and told me there was no shelter for a vessel on this side of the bight, except at fowler's bay, and that was indifferent. the great extent of smooth water at denial and streaky bays, and a well of water on st. peter's, dug by a sealer who lived on it many months, afford more advantages for fishing, and more especially to a shore party, than are to be found any where else in the province. "from the general flatness of the country, it may be presumed that its character does not alter for a great distance inland. i observed nothing in the formation of the island, differing from the mainland, and i may mention that the rocks of the isles of st. francis presented the same appearance as the murray cliffs." it will appear from the above, that mr. cannan did not proceed farther to the westward than fowler's bay, and that he did not therefore prolong his survey to the western limits of the colony, by a distance of about five leagues, since the degrees meridian falls on that coast a little to the westward of cape adieu, and between and leagues from the bottom of the great australian bight. although some of the bays and harbours i have described in running along its coast, are not so good as might be desired, yet it is evident that, as a maritime country, south australia is particularly favoured, not only in having anchorage of the safest description, but also in possessing two or three known harbours, capable of containing ships in any number or any size, and as safe and capacious as any in the world. looking indeed at port adelaide, one cannot but admire its appropriate and convenient position. had such a harbour not existed there, the produce of that fertile portion of the province would hardly have been available to the inhabitants in the shape of exports, so difficult would it have been to have found another harbour of equal security, or of equal size, for the commercial wants of the settlers. added to this, it has the double advantage of being close to the capital, being so easy of access, and in so central a position, as to be able to communicate with the neighbouring colonies with the greatest ease. it will be remembered that i stated in the former part of my work, that the remarkable wall forming the great australian bight, was thrown up simultaneously with the great fossil bed of the murray. as the principal object of the expedition into central australia was to ascertain the past and present structure of the continent, i have been led to allude to the subject again, in consequence of two or three remarks in mr. cannan's letter, which has been quoted above, bearing strongly upon it, and corroborative of the hypothesis i have entertained as proving a striking uniformity in the rock formation of those two localities. to those remarks i would beg to call the attention of my readers. they will be found at the commencement and termination of the last paragraph. chapter ii. plains of adelaide--bridges over the torrens--site of adelaide--government house buildings and churches--schools--police--roads--the gawler--barossa range--the murray belt--moorundi--natives on the murray--distant stock stations--mount gambier district--its richness--ascent to mount lofty--mount barker district--scene in hindmarsh valley--proportion of soil in the province--pastoral and agricultural--port lincoln--climate of south australia--range of the thermometer--salubrity. having, in the preceding chapter, run along the coast of south australia, and noticed such parts as have been sufficiently examined to justify our observations, it remains for me to give an account of its interior features, of its climate, soil, mineral, and other sources of wealth, and lastly of its fitness as a colony for the peculiar habits of an english population. the city of adelaide, the capital of south australia, stands on the eastern shore of st. vincent's gulf, and is about six miles from the coast. any one landing either at the old or new port, and proceeding to the capital for the first time, would perhaps be disappointed at the description of country through which he would pass. it consists indeed of extensive level plains, over the eastern extremity of which the mount lofty range is visible. they are bounded southwards by a line of trees, marking the course of the river torrens across them, but extend northwards for many miles without any visible termination. their monotony however, is, at the present date, in some measure broken by belts of wood, and the numerous cottages that have been built upon them, with their adjoining corn-fields, have changed their aspect, and removed the appearance of loneliness which they first exhibited. still neither the gloomy swamp over which the stranger has in the first instance to travel, on landing at the port--or the character of the plains themselves, are calculated to raise his anticipations, as to the beauty or fertility of the interior. the first town through which he will pass after leaving the port, is albert town, which has been laid out on the first available ground near the swamp. when i left the colony in may last, several tolerable buildings had been erected in albert town, but it was nevertheless a wretched looking and straggling place, and will never perhaps advance beyond its present state. on his nearer approach to the capital the traveller will pass between the villages of boden and hindmarsh, in both of which he will observe numerous kilns of bricks. he will then enter on the park lands, by which north and south adelaide are separated from each other. on this land the scene at once changes, and he will find himself riding through an open forest, shading rich, alluvial, and grassy flats; and, strictly speaking, will then be traversing the valley of the torrens. in may, , there were four bridges over that little river. the company's bridge a little above the city. the frome bridge, a light wooden structure, built by the sappers and miners, under the direction of captain frome, the surveyor-general, after whom it was called. the city bridge, constructed of stone, but then incomplete, and a rude wooden bridge between adelaide and hindmarsh, erected by an innkeeper, with a view of drawing the traffic from the port past his door. the city bridge, which was undertaken by contract, promised to grace the approach to adelaide, and was intended to be the principal bridge to connect the north and south portions of the city, as well as to form the chief line to the port and to the north. the occurrence of an unusual flood, however, in the latter part of the year deprived the good citizens of adelaide of these necessary means of communication with the country on the right bank of the torrens, by the injury it did to them. the company's bridge suffered less than any other, but was so shaken as to be impassable for several days. aware, as i am, of the general character of the australian streams, and seeing no reason why the torrens should differ from others, taking into consideration, too, the reports of the natives as to the height to which the river had been known to rise in former years, and the fact that no rain had fallen since the establishment of the colony to cause any very great or sudden flood, it appeared to me, that the place selected for the city bridge was too low. ordinary floods so completely change the channel of the river, and make such devastation in its bed, that it is hardly to be recognised when the water subsides, so that unless the banks are high, and the soil of which they may be composed stiff enough to resist the impetuosity of the stream, i fear no bridge across the torrens will be permanently safe. the position and ground chosen by the first surveyor-general of south australia, as the site of its future capital is a remarkable instance of the quick intelligence of that officer. for although he had but little time to make his selection, a more intimate knowledge of the coast has proved that no more eligible point could have been found. fault has, i am aware, been found with colonel light in this matter, but without just grounds, i think, for in no other locality could the same quantity of water have been found, or the same facility offered for the construction of those reservoirs and other works so necessary to the health and comfort of a large metropolis. a principal objection raised to the situation of adelaide is its distance from the port, but that we must remember is a disadvantage common to many other large and mercantile cities. the surveyor-general seems to have been fully aware of the responsible duty that devolved upon him, and to have acted with great judgment. port lincoln, indeed, is a splendid harbour, one with which port adelaide, as far as size goes, cannot be compared, but having said this nothing farther can be advanced in its favour, for it is not only deficient in its supply of water, but the contiguous country is far from rich, whereas adelaide is backed by one of undoubted fertility. established where it is, the city of adelaide stands on the summit of the first elevated ground, between the coast and the mountain ranges. it is separated, as the reader will have learnt, by the valley of the torrens, and occupies the northern and southern slopes and brows of the hills on either side. the view to the westward from the more elevated parts of the city commands the whole of the plains of adelaide, and st. vincent's gulf; to the eastward, it extends over the rich and dark wooded valley of the river, the lighter wooded country at the base of the mount lofty range, and the peaks and elevations of that beautiful mountain chain. south adelaide is on flat ground and twice the size of the northern part of the town. it has also been more extensively built upon, and is the established commercial division of the city. the government house and all the public buildings and offices are in south adelaide, and the streets in the vicinity of the north terrace, have assumed a regularity and uniformity greater than any street in north adelaide. hindley and rundle streets, indeed, would do no discredit to any secondary town in england. every shop and store that is now built is of a substantial and ornamental character, and those general improvements are being made which are the best proofs of increasing prosperity and opulence. there is scarcely any article of european produce that cannot be obtained in adelaide, at a very little advance on home prices, nor is it necessary, or indeed advisable that emigrants should overload themselves in going out to any of the australian colonies. experience, the best monitor, leads me to give this advice, which, however, i am bound to say, i did not adopt when i went out to new south wales; but the consequence was, that i purchased a great many things with which i could have dispensed, and that i should have found the money they cost much more useful than they proved. king william street divides hindley from rundle street, and is immediately opposite to the gate of government house, which is built on a portion of the park lands, and is like a country gentleman's house in england. it stands in an enclosure of about eight or ten acres; the grounds are neatly kept, and there is a shrubbery rapidly growing up around the house. the public offices are at the corner of king william street and victoria square, facing into the latter. the building is somewhat low, but a creditable edifice, to appearance at all events, although not large enough for the wants of the public service. i am not aware that there is any other public building worthy of particular notice, if i except the gaol, which is a substantial erection occupying the north-west angle of the park land, but is too low in its situation to be seen to advantage at any distance. like government house, it was built with a view to future addition, but fortunately for the colony, government house is the first which seems to call for completion. the number of episcopalian churches in adelaide is limited to two, trinity church and st. john's. the former was originally built of wood, and may be said to be coeval with the colony itself. it has of late however been wholly built of stone, and under the active and praiseworthy exertions of mr. farrell, the colonial chaplain, an excellent and commodious school-room has been attached to it. trinity church stands on the north terrace, and is a prominent object as you ascend from the park lands. st. john's is situated on the east terrace at a greater distance, but it has a commanding view of the mount lofty range, and the intervening plains. perhaps considering that the city has not extended much in the direction of east terrace, it may be a little too far for public convenience, but this is a question that admits of doubt. it is a neat and unostentatious brick building, at which the rev. mr. woodcock performs service, whose exertions amongst the natives in the west indies have stamped him both as a christian and a philanthropist. the two churches are calculated to hold about sittings, and the average attendance is about . it may appear to the reader that the number of churches in adelaide, where there is a population of between and , souls, is not sufficient, as is the case. ere this however, a third church, to be called "christ's church," will have been erected in north adelaide, where such a place of worship was much required. pounds had been subscribed for the purpose in december last, and it was confidently anticipated that the further contributions of the colonists would enable the committee to commence and finish it. the arrival of the bishop on the th of the above month, of which accounts have been received had given great satisfaction, and his lordship was to begin his useful ministry on the following day (christmas day), by preaching at trinity church. however few the episcopalian churches in the capital of south australia, we cannot accuse the dissenters of a similar want of places of public worship, of which there are , the whole number throughout the province being ; whilst the number of churches is . the congregational chapels are calculated to accomodate communicants, the average attendance being about , and are, generally speaking, good looking and ornamental buildings, and do no discredit to those who superintended their erection, and approved the places. there is a roman catholic bishop of south australia, but he had, during the latter period of my residence in the province, been absent in europe. the catholic church stands on the west terrace, and is, perhaps, in one of the most healthy situations that could have been chosen. there is an excellent school attached to the church, which is equally open to all denominations of christians, and is, i have understood, more numerously attended than any other in the capital. the total number of sunday-schools in the province, in , was , at which boys and girls attended. the average number of sunday and other schools in was , at which males and female children attended. in the year , when his excellency colonel robe laid the estimates on the table of the legislative council, its attention was drawn to the state of education and religion in the province, and after a long discussion on the subject, a grant of s. per head was voted to the different sects in aid of religion and education. it was left to the ministers of the protestant church, and to the proper officers of the other persuasions to appropriate the sum received by each, according to the last census, as they deemed best, for the promotion of one or the other of the above purposes, with the sole condition that they should render an account yearly to the council of the manner in which the several sums had been appropriated. yet this provision, which without interfering in the slightest degree with any religious sect, gave to the heads of each the greater power of doing good, caused very great dissatisfaction. all i can say is, that it was an instance of liberal and enlightened views of government, of which the council of south australia in having set the example ought to be proud. the legislative council of new south wales has since, i believe, followed its example, and i sincerely trust the good that is anticipated, will result from this proof on the part of both governments to raise the moral and social character of the people. in addition to the schools already noticed, there is a school for the natives on the park lands. at this school there were in , thirty-five boys and twenty-nine girls. the establishment being entirely under the superintendence of the government, is kept in the very best order; the apartments are neat and clean, the master is patient and indulgent, and if we could hope for any improvement in the moral and social habits of the aborigines, it would be under circumstances so promising, but as i propose, in another place, to make some observations on the natives generally, it may not be necessary for me to add to the above remarks at the present moment. of other public buildings not under the immediate controul of the government, the bank of south australia is certainly the first. it stands on the north terrace and is a prominent and pleasing object from whatever point of view it is seen. there are, however, several other very creditable buildings in different parts of the city. had the city of adelaide been laid out in the first instance on a smaller plan, it would now have been a compact and well-built town, but unfortunately it was planned on too large a scale, and it will necessarily have a straggling appearance for many years to come. north and south adelaide are, as i have already stated, separated from each other by the valley of the torrens, than which nothing can be prettier. its grassy flats are shaded by beautiful and umbrageous trees, and the scenery is such as one could not have expected in an unimproved state. the valley of the torrens is a portion of the park lands which run round the city to the breadth of half a mile. nothing could have been more judicious than the appropriation of this open space for the amusement and convenience of the public, and for the establishment of those museums and institutions which tend so much to direct the taste, and promote the scientific improvement of a people. beyond the park lands, the preliminary sections, of acres each, extend to a certain distance--many of which have been laid out into smaller sections, and the city is surrounded by numerous villages, few of which add to its appearance. this certainly may be said of thebarton, hindmarsh, boden, and several other villages, but those of richmond, and kensington, embosomed in trees, and picturesque in scenery, bear a strong resemblance to the quiet and secluded villages of england. in hindmarsh, mr. ridley, whose mechanical genius has been of such public utility, and whose enterprise is so well known, has established his steam flour-mill, which is the largest in the province. in addition to this, the south australian company has a steam-mill at the upper bridge; there are several of a smaller size in the city, and the total number of flour-mills in the colony, including wind and water mills is twenty-two. this general description of the capital of south australia will perhaps suffice to shew its rapid growth during the eleven short years since the first wooden dwelling was erected upon its site. it may be necessary for me to state that its peace and order are preserved by a body of police, whose vigilance and activity are as creditable to them as their own good conduct and cleanliness of appearance; and whilst the returns of the supreme court, and the general unfrequency of crime, prove the moral character of the working classes generally, the fewness of convictions for crimes of deeper shade amongst that class of the population from whose habit of idleness and drinking we should naturally look for a greater amount of crime, as undoubtedly proves the vigilance of the police. from the return of convictions before mr. cooper the judge, it is clear that the majority of those who have been brought before him are men who have already suffered for former breach of the laws, and who, having escaped from the neighbouring colonies, have vainly endeavoured to break themselves of former evil habits. the eyes of the police are however so steadily kept on such men, that they have little chance of escaping detection if they commit themselves, and they consequently level their aim at those who encourage them in vice, and who, in reality, are little better than themselves in morals, as knowing that, in many instances, they will not dare to bring them to punishment. there are five principal roads leading from adelaide; three into the interior, and two to the coast. of the three first, one leads to the north, through gawler town, one as the great eastern road leads to mount barker and the murray, and the third running southwards, crosses the range to encounter bay. of the roads leading to the coast, the one goes to the port, the other to glenelg. in endeavouring to give a description of the country, and enabling the reader to judge of it, i would propose to take him along each of these roads, and to point out the character and changes of the country on either side, for the one is peculiar and the others are diversified. my desire is to present such a view of the colony to the minds of my readers, as shall enable them to estimate its advantages and disadvantages. i would speak of both with equal impartiality and decision. the grounds of attachment i entertain for this colony rest not on any private stake i have in its pastoral or mineral interests, and i hope the reader will believe that my feelings towards it are such as would only lead me to speak as it really and truly should be spoken of. there is no country, however fair, that has not some drawback or other. there are no hopes, however promising, that may not be blighted; no prospects, however encouraging, that may not wither. unfitness for the new field of enterprise on which a man may enter--unpropitious seasons, the designs of others, or unforeseen misfortunes; one or more of these may combine to bring about results very opposite from those we had anticipated. i would not therefore take upon myself the responsibility of giving advice, but enter upon a general description of the province of south australia as a tourist, whose curiosity had led him to make inquiries into the capabilities of the country through which he had travelled, and who could therefore speak to other matters, besides the description of landscape or the smoothness of a road. if we take our departure from adelaide by the great northern road, we shall have to travel miles over the plains, keeping the mount lofty range at greater and less distances on our right, the plains extending in varying breadth to the westward, ere we can pull up at calton's hotel in gawler town, where, nevertheless, we should find every necessary both for ourselves and our horses. that township, the first and most promising on the northern road, is, as i have stated, miles from adelaide; and occupies the angle formed by the junction of the little para and the gawler rivers; the one coming from south-east, and the other from north-north-east; the traveller approaching from the south therefore, would have to cross the first of these little streams before he can enter the town. still, in its infancy, gawler town will eventually be a place of considerable importance. through it all the traffic of the north must necessarily pass, and here, it appears to me, will be the great markets for the sale or purchase of stock. from its junction with the little para, the gawler flows to the westward to the shores of st. vincent's gulf. it has extensive and well wooded flats of deep alluvial soil along its banks, flanked by the plains of adelaide--the river line of trees running across them, only with a broader belt of wood, just as the line of trees near adelaide indicates the course of that river. if i except these features, and two or three open box-tree forests at no great distance from albert town, the plains are almost destitute of timber, and being very level, give an idea of extent they do not really possess, being succeeded by pine forests and low scrub to the north from gawler town. the gawler discharges itself into a deep channel or inlet, which, like the creek at port adelaide, has mangrove swamps on either side; still the inlet is capable of great improvement, and the anchorage at its mouth, so high up the gulf is safe, and if it were only for the shipment of goods, for tran-shipment at port adelaide, port gawler as it is called, would be of no mean utility, but it is probable that ships might take in cargo at once, in which case it would be to the interest of the northern settlers to establish a port there. captain allen and mr. ellis, two of the most independent settlers in the province, are the possessors of the land on both sides the gawler, and i feel confident it is a property that will greatly increase in value. the alluvial flats along this little stream, are richer and more extensive than those of the torrens, and they seem to me to be calculated for the production of many things that would be less successfully cultivated in any other part of the province. apart, however, from any advantages gawler town may derive from the facilities of water communication, it will necessarily be in direct communication with port adelaide, as soon as a road is made between them. at present the drays conveying the ore and other exports are obliged to keep the great northern line to within a few miles of the city, before they turn off almost at a right angle to the port; but there can be no doubt as to the formation of a direct line of communication with the port from gawler town, if not of the establishment of a railway, ere many years shall elapse, for not only are the principal stock stations of the province, but the more valuable mines to the north of this town. up to this point the traveller does not quit the plains of adelaide, the mount lofty range being to the eastward of him and the plains, bounded by the mangrove swamps extending towards st. vincent's gulf. generally speaking, for their extent the soil is not good, but there are patches of alluvial soil, the deposits of creeks falling from the hills, that are rich and fertile. yet, notwithstanding the quality of the soil, a great portion of the adelaide plains have been purchased and are under cultivation. there is a great deficiency of surface water upon them, but it is procurable by digging wells; and mr. ellis i believe has rendered those parts of them contiguous to the gawler available as sheep stations, by sinking wells for the convenience of his men and stock; neither can there be a doubt but that many other apparently unavailable parts of the province might be rendered available by the adoption of similar means, or by the construction of tanks in favourable situations. this is a point it is impossible to urge too much on the attention of the australian stock holder. there is generally speaking a deficiency of water in those colonies, and large tracts of country favourable to stock are unoccupied in consequence, but the present liberal conditions on which leases of crown lands are granted will make it worth the sheep farmer's while to make those improvements which shall so conduce to his prosperity and comfort. in proof of this, i would observe that i had several capacious tanks on my property at varroville, near sydney, for which i was indebted to mr. wells the former proprietor, and not only did they enable me to retain a large quantity of stock on my farm, when during a season of unmitigated drought my neighbours were obliged to drive their cattle to distant parts of the colony--but i allowed several poor families to draw their supplies from, and to water some of their cattle at my reservoirs. beyond gawler town the country changes in character and appearance, whether you continue the northern road across the river, or turn more to the eastward, you leave the monotonous plain on which you have journeyed behind, and speedily advance into an undulating hilly country, lightly wooded withal, and containing many very rich, if not beautiful valleys. the barossa range and the districts round it are exceedingly pretty. here, at bethany, the germans who have fled from the religious persecution to which they were exposed in their own country have settled, and given the names of several places in their fatherland to the features around them. the keizerstuhl rises the highest point in the barossa range, the outline of which is really beautiful, and the rhine that issues from its deep and secluded valleys flows northwards through their lands. in this neighbourhood mr. angas has a valuable property, as also the south australian company. angas park is a place of great picturesque beauty, and is capable of being made as ornamental as any nobleman's estate in england. the direct road to the murray river passes through angas park, but a more northerly course leads the traveller past the first of those valuable properties to which south australia is mainly indebted for her present prosperous state. i mean the copper mines of kapunda, the property of captain bagot, who, with mr. francis dutton, became the discoverer and purchaser of the ground on which the principal lode has been ascertained to exist. there has been a large quantity of mineral land sold round this valuable locality, but although indications of copper are everywhere to be seen, no quantity sufficiently great to justify working had i believe been found up to the time i left the colony. as however i shall have to give a more detailed account of the mines of south aust ralia, it may not be necessary for me to speak of them at length in this place. captain bagot is anxious to establish a township in the vicinity of kapunda, and he will no doubt succeed, the very concourse of people round such a place being favourable to his views. beyond this point to the north the coast range of mount lofty, which thus far preserves a northerly direction, throws off a chain to the westward of that point, but the main range still continues to run up into the interior on its original bearing, rather increasing than decreasing in height. upon it, the razor back mount brian, to the south of which is the great burra burra mine, and the black rock hill, rise to the height of , and respectively. on the more western branch of the chain, mount remarkable, mount brown, and mount arden, so named by captain flinders, form the principal features. this chain has been traced by mr. eyre to mount hopeless, in lat. / , and has been found by him to terminate in the basin of lake torrens. the main range on the contrary has only been followed up to lat. degrees minutes, beyond which point it cannot extend to any great distance, as if it did, i should necessarily have seen something of it during my recent expedition. it is a remarkable fact that the further the northern ranges have been followed up, the more denuded of trees they have become. immense tracts of land, through portions of which the wakefield flows, rich in soil and abundant in pasture, have scarcely a tree upon them. the scenery round mount remarkable on the contrary is bold and picturesque, and much diversified by woodland. here again the indications of copper were so abundant, that , acres were taken as a special survey a short time before i left the colony. the occupation of this land will necessarily extend the boundaries of location, but up to the period when the survey was taken, mr. white, formerly a resident at port lincoln, was the most distant stockholder to the north. proceeding eastward from angas park, the road to the murray river leads through a hilly country of an inferior description, portions only of it being occupied as sheep stations. from the brow of the last of these hills, the eye wanders over the dark and gloomy sea of scrub, known as the murray belt, through which the traveller has to pass before he gains the bank of the river or the station at moorundi. he descends direct upon the level plain over which he has to go, and after passing some pretty scenery on the banks of a creek close to which the road runs, and crossing an open interval, he enters the belt, through which it will take him four hours to penetrate. this singular feature is a broad line of wood, composed in the lower part of eucalyptus dumosa, a straggling tree, growing to an inconsiderable height, rising at once from the ground with many slender stems, and affording but an imperfect shade. about the latitude of degrees the character of the murray belt changes--it becomes denser and more diversified. pine trees on sandy ridges, acacia, hakea, exocarpi, and many other shrubs form a thick wood, through which it is difficult to keep a correct course. occasionally a low brush extends to the cliffs overlooking the valley of the murray, but it may be said, that there is an open space varying in breadth from half a-mile to three miles between the murray belt and the river. it is a flat table land about or feet above the level of the sea, the substratum being of the tertiary fossil formation. the surface is a mixture of red sand and clay, mixed with calcareous limestone in small rounded nodules. the very nature of this soil is heating, and the consequence is that it has little herbage at any one time. there is however a succession of vegetation, especially during the spring months, which, from the fact of the cattle being particularly fond of it, must i should imagine be both sweet and nutritious. any one who has ever been on the banks of the murray will admit that it is a noble river. the description i have already given supersedes the necessity of my dwelling on it here. in another place i shall have to speak of it, not in a commercial point of view, but as a line of communication between two distant colonies, and the important part it has acted in the advancement of the province of south australia. as a commercial river, i fear it will not be of practical utility. to prove this, it may be necessary for me to observe that the murray runs for more than five degrees of latitude through a desert. that it is tortuous in its course, and is in many places encumbered with timber, and its depth entirely depends on the seasons. the difficulties, therefore, that present themselves to the navigation of the central murray are such as to preclude the hope of its ever being made available for such a purpose, even admitting that its banks were located at every available point. moorundi, the property of mr. eyre, the present lieutenant-governor of new zealand, is ninety miles from adelaide, and twenty-six from the n.w. bend of the murray. it is part of a special survey of four thousand acres taken by mr. eyre and mr. gilles on the banks of the river, and in consequence of its appropriate position, was selected by captain grey, the then governor of south australia, as a station for a resident magistrate and protector of the aborigines, to fill both which appointments he nominated mr. eyre. there can be no doubt, either as to the foresight which dictated the establishment of this post on the banks of the murray, or the selection of mr. eyre as the resident. at the time this measure was decided on, the feelings of the natives on the river were hostile to the settlers. the repeated collisions between them and the overlanders had kindled a deep spirit of revenge in their breasts, and although they suffered severely in every contest, they would not allow any party with stock to pass along the line of the river without attempting to stop their progress; and there can be no doubt but that, in this frame of mind, they would have attacked the station next the river if they had been left to themselves, and with their stealthy habits and daring, would have been no mean enemy on the boundaries of location. the character and spirit of these people is entirely misunderstood and undervalued by the learned in england, and the degraded position in the scale of the human species into which they have been put, has, i feel assured, been in consequence of the little intercourse that had taken place between the first navigators and the aborigines of the australian continent. i have seen them under every variety of circumstances--have come suddenly upon them in a state of uncontrolled freedom--have passed tribe after tribe under the protection of envoys--have visited them in their huts--have mixed with them in their camps, and have seen them in their intercourse with europeans, and i am, in candour, obliged to confess that the most unfavourable light in which i have seen them, has been when mixed up with europeans. that the natives of the interior have made frequent attacks on the stations of the settlers i have no doubt; very likely, in some instances, they have done so without any direct provocation, but we must not forget their position or the consequences of the extension of boundaries of location to the aborigines themselves. the more ground our flocks and herds occupy, the more circumscribed become the haunts of the savage. not only is this the inevitable consequence, but he sees the intruder running down his game with dogs of unequalled strength and swiftness, and deplores the destruction of his means of subsistence. the cattle tread down the herbs which at one season of the year constituted his food. the gun, with its sharp report, drives the wild fowl from the creeks, and the unhappy aborigine is driven to despair. he has no country on which to fall back. the next tribe will not permit him to occupy their territory. in such a state what is he to do? is it a matter of surprise that in the confidence of numbers he should seek to drive those who have intruded on him back again, and endeavour to recover possession of his lost domain? it might be that the parties concerned were not conscious of the injury they were inflicting, but even that fact would not lessen the fancied right of the native to repossess himself of his lost territory. yet on the other hand we cannot condemn resistance on the part of the white man; for it would be unjust to overlook the fearful position in which they are placed, and the terrible appearance of a party of savages working themselves up to the perpetration of indiscriminate slaughter. no doubt many parties have gone to take up stations in the interior, with the honest intention of keeping on good terms with the natives, and who in accordance with such resolution have treated them with hospitality and consideration; but, it unfortunately happens that a prolonged intercourse with the europeans weakens and at length destroys those feelings of awe and uncertainty with which they were at first regarded. the natives find that they are men like themselves, and that their intrusion is an injury, and they perhaps become the aggressors in provoking hostilities. in such a case resistance becomes a matter of personal defence, and however much such collisions may be regretted, the parties concerned can hardly be brought to account; but, it more frequently happens, that the men who are sent to form out-stations beyond the boundaries of location, are men of bold and unscrupulous dispositions, used to crime, accustomed to danger, and reckless as to whether they quarrel, or keep on terms with the natives who visit them. thrown to such a distance in the wild, in some measure out of the pale of the law, without any of the opposite sex to restrain their passions, the encouragement these men give to their sable friends, is only for the gratification of their passions. the seizure of some of their women, and the refusal to give them up, provokes hostility and rouses resentment, but those who scruple not at the commission of one act of violence, most assuredly will not hesitate at another. such cases are gene rally marked by some circumstances that betray its character, and naturally rouse the indignation of the government. if the only consequence was the punishment of the guilty, we should rejoice in such retributive justice; but, unfortunately and too frequently, it happens, that the station belongs to a stockholder, who, both from feelings of interest and humanity, has treated the natives with every consideration, and discountenanced any ill-treatment of them on the part of his servants, but whose property is nevertheless sacrificed by their misconduct. i have been unintentionally led into this subject, in the course of my remarks on the policy of captain grey, in establishing the post at moorundi. the consequences have been equally beneficial to the settlers and aborigines. the eastern out-stations of the province have been unmolested, and parties with stock have passed down the murray in perfect safety. if any act of violence or robbery has been committed by the natives, the perpetrators have been delivered up by the natives themselves, who have learnt that it is their interest to refrain from such acts; and instead of the murray being the scene of conflict and slaughter, its whole line is now occupied by stock-stations, and tranquillity everywhere prevails. about seventy {fifteen in published text} miles below moorundi is wellington, where a ferry has been established across the murray, that township being on the direct road from adelaide to mount gambier, and rivoli bay. a little below wellington, lake victoria receives the waters of the murray, which eventually mingle with those of the ocean, through the sea mouth. the country immediately to the eastward of the murray affords, in some places, a scanty supply of grass for sheep, but, generally speaking, it is similar in its soil and rock formation, and consequently in its productions to the scrubby country to the westward. the line of granite i have mentioned, in the former part of my work, as traversing or crossing the murray below wellington, continues through the scrub, large blocks being frequent amongst the brushes on a somewhat lower level than the tertiary fossil limestone in its neighbourhood. round these blocks of granite the soil is considerably better, and there is a coating of grass upon it, as far as the ground consists of the decomposed rock. about sixty miles to the e.s.e. of wellington is the tatiara country, once celebrated for the ferocity and cannibalism of its inhabitants, but now occupied by the settlers, who have of late crossed the murray in considerable numbers to form stations there. the distance from wellington to the district of mount gambier, said to be the fairest portion of south australia, whether as regards its climate or its soil, is more than miles. the first portion of the road, to almost the above distance, is through a perfect desert, in which, excepting during the rainy season, water is scarcely to be found, so that the journey is not performed without its privation. after passing lake albert the traveller has to journey at no great distance from the coorong over a low country, once covered by the waters of the ocean, the noise of whose billows he hears through the silence of the night. the first elevation he reaches is a continuation of the great fossil bed, through which the volcanic hills, where he will ultimately arrive, have been forced up. mount gambier, the principal of these, is about miles from the glenelg, and from rivoli bay. the country from either of these points is low for many miles, but well grassed, of the richest soil, and in many places abundantly timbered. mount gambier is scarcely visible until you almost reach its base--nor even then is its outward appearance different from other hills. on reaching its summit, however, you find youself on the brink of a crater, standing indeed on a precipice, with a small sheet of water of about half-a-mile in circumference, two hundred feet below you; the water of which is as blue as indigo, and seems to be very deep; no bottom indeed has been found at fathoms. the ground round the base of mount gambier is very open, and you may ride your horse along it unchecked for many miles. at the lower parts, and at some distance from it, the ground is moist, and many caverns have been found in which water of the very purest kind exists, no doubt deposited in the natural reservoirs by percolation from the higher ground. the whole formation of the district, these capacious caverns, and the numerous and extensive tea-tree swamps along the coast, plainly demonstrate that they are supplied by gradual filtration, or find their way through the interstices, or cells of the lava to the lower levels. it is generally admitted that the greater part of the land in the neighbourhood of mount gambier is equal to the richest soil, whether of van diemen's land or of port phillip, the general character indeed of this district, and the fact of its being so much farther to the south than adelaide, its perpetual verdure and moister climate would lead to the supposition that it is capable of producing grain of the very finest quality, and there can, i think, be but little doubt that it will rival the sister colonies in its agricultural productions, and considering the nature of the soil is similar to that round the volcanic peaks in the mediterranean, it will also produce wine of a superior description. settlers both from the province of south australia and neighbouring colonies have vied with each other in securing stations in this fertile, but remote district, and it would appear from the number of allotments that have been purchased in the townships which have been established on the coast that settlers are fast flocking to it. from what has been stated it would seem that the district of mount gambier is adapted rather for agricultural than pastoral pursuits, and that it is consequently favourable for occupation by a rural population. tea-tree swamps (melaleuca) are a feature, i believe, peculiar to south australia, and generally indicate the presence of springs, and always of moisture. the soil is of the very richest quality, and there is, perhaps, no ground in the world that is more suitable for gardens, and as these swamps are both numerous and extensive in the lower country, behind rivoli and guichen bays, this portion of the province promises equally fair for the growth of those european fruits which are less advantageously cultivated in the more northern parts of the province. returning to adelaide, and proceeding from thence to the eastward, along the great eastern or mount barker line, we cross, in the first instance, the remaining portion of the plains lying between the city and the hills, to the base of which the distance is about three miles, the whole is laid out in farms, and is extensively and carefully cultivated. as you approach the hills, the country becomes lightly wooded and undulating, affording numerous sites for villas, on which many have already been erected, both by settlers and the more opulent tradesmen. individuals indeed, residing in england, can form but a faint idea of the comforts and conveniences they enjoy, at such a distance from their native country. being at sufficient elevation to catch the sea breeze, which passes over the plains of adelaide, without being felt, they have almost the advantage of living near the sea coast, and the cool winds that sweep down the valleys behind them, and constitute the land breeze, ensure to them cool and refreshing evenings, when those dwelling at a lower elevation are oppressed by heat. on the first rise of the mountains is the glen osmond lead mine, which will be noticed hereafter. the mount barker district being more numerously settled than most other parts of the province, and being one of its most important and fertile districts, more labour has been expended on the road leading into it, than on any other in the colony. from the level of the glen osmond mine, it winds up a romantic valley, with steep hills of rounded form, generally covered with grass, and studded lightly with trees on either side, nor is it, until you attain the summit of the mount lofty range, that any change takes place in the character of the hills or the vegetation, you then find yourself travelling through a dense forest of stringy barks, the finest of which have been levelled to the ground, with the axe, for the purpose of being sawn into planks for building, or split into rails for fencing. from crafer's inn, situated under the peak of mount lofty, the road to mount barker passes through a barren country for some miles, and crosses several steep valleys, in the centre of which there are rippling streams; the summit of the ranges still continues to be thickly wooded, the ground underneath being covered with shrubs and flowers of numberless kinds and varied beauty. in illustration of this, i may observe, that the first time i crossed the mount lofty range, i amused myself pulling the different kinds of flowers as i rode along, and on counting them when i reached adelaide for the purpose of arranging them in a book, found that i had no less than ninety-three varieties. the majority of these, however, consisted of papilionaceous plants, and several beautiful varieties of orchideae. on descending to a lower level, after crossing the onkaparinga, the scenery and the country at once change, you find yourself upon rich alluvial flats, flanked by barren rocky hills, the air during the spring being perfumed by the scent of the tetratheca, a beautiful hill flower, at that time in splendid blossom, and growing in profusion on the tops of the hills, mingled with the chyranthera, with its light blue blossoms; both these plants it has always appeared, are well adapted for the edges of borders, but there are not many plants in australia that would be fit for such a purpose. it does not appear necessary, in a work like this, to trouble the reader with an account of every village or of every valley in the districts through which i lead him; my object is to give a general and faithful description of the country only, reserving the power of drawing attention to any thing i may deem worthy of notice. taking the district of mount barker therefore in its full range, i would observe, that it is one of the finest agricultural districts in the province. it abounds in very many beautiful alluvial valleys, which, when i first crossed, had grass that rose above the horses middles as they walked through it, and looked luxuriant beyond description. these valleys are limited both in length and breadth, but are level and clear; their soil is a rich alluvial deposit, and the plough can be driven from one end to the other without meeting a single obstacle to check its progress. independently of these valleys, there are other portions of good grazing land in the mount barker district, but there are, nevertheless, very many stony ranges that are entirely useless even to stock. the mount barker district may be said to extend from the village of nairne to strathalbyn, on the river angas, the latter place being miles from the shores of lake victoria. within the range of this district, there are also the villages of hahansdorf and macclesfield, the former being a german village, at no great distance from mount barker. immediately to the north of the village of nairne is mount torrens, the river of that name has several branches to the north-east of it as high up as mount gould. the first of the company's special surveys, and perhaps some of the finest soil in the province is in this locality. the surveys on the sources and tributaries of the torrens are splendid properties, and the company may well consider them as amongst the most valuable of its acquisitions; beyond the heads of the torrens the country is more hilly and less available. there are, nevertheless, isolated spots sufficiently large for the most comfortable homesteads. from this point, a west-south-west course will soon lead the traveller into the plains of adelaide, and at less than miles after entering upon them, he will again find himself in the metropolis. again departing from it for the southern parts of the province, he will keep the mount lofty range upon his left, and will really find some difficulty in passing the numberless fences which now enclose the plains. the land indeed in this line of road is more fenced than in any other direction, a reason for this may be that the road runs nearer the base of the hills, and the land is consequently better than that on the lower ground. many very excellent farms are to be found on the banks of the sturt and the onkaparinga, on the latter of which the village of noorlunga has been established, at the point where the road crosses it. the sturt has a tortuous course, somewhat to the northward of west, and falls into the gulf at glenelg, after spreading over the flats behind the sand-hills at that place. the direction of the road is parallel to that of the ranges, or nearly south-south-west as far as the village of noorlunga, when it turns more to the eastward of south, for willunga, which is miles distant from adelaide. the banks of the onkaparinga, above the crossing place, are extremely inaccessible, insomuch that stock can hardly be driven down to water for many miles above that point. the hills however are rounded in form, grassy, and clear of trees, consequently well adapted for grazing purposes. it was at noorlunga, which is not more than two miles from the gulf, and can be approached in boats, as high as the bridge there, that captain barker first landed on the south australian shore. the country between it and willunga is generally good, portions of it are sandy and scrubby, but morphett's vale is a rich and extensive piece of land, and i can well remember before it was settled seeing several large stacks of hay that had been cut, as it then lay in a state of nature. willunga is close under the foot of the hills, which here, trending to the south-south-west, meet the coast line extremity of the southern aldinga plains. close to this point is a hill, called mount terrible, almost of a conical shape, over the very summit of this, in the early stages of the colony, the road led to encounter bay; and i shall not forget the surprise i experienced, when going to that place, on finding i could not by any possibility avoid this formidable obstacle. on the other side of mount terrible the country is very scrubby for some miles, until, all at once, you burst upon the narrow, but beautiful valley of mypunga. this beautiful valley, which had scarcely been trodden by the european when i first encamped upon it, was then covered with orchideous plants of every colour, amidst a profusion of the richest vegetation. a sweet rippling stream passed within five yards of my tent-door, and found its way to the gulf about a mile below me to the west. it was on the occasion of my going to the sea mouth of the murray, that i first stopped at this spot. amongst the boat's crew i had brought with me from adelaide a young lad, of not more than twenty-one, who had, for some weeks before, been leading a very hard life. at mypunga he was seized with delirium tremens, and became so exceedingly outrageous, that i was obliged to have his feet and hands tied. in the morning he was still as frantic as ever, but the policeman, under whose charge i had placed him, having imprudently loosened the cord from his ankles, he suddenly started upon his feet, and gaining the scrub, through which we had descended into the valley, with incredible swiftness, secreted himself amongst it. nor could we, by the utmost efforts during that and the succeeding day, discover his hiding place. i was accompanied by a man of the name of foley, a bushranger of great notoriety, who had been captured by the adelaide police, and was sent with my party in the hope that his knowledge of the coast would be of use to me, but neither could he discover the unfortunate runaway, who, there is no doubt, subsequently perished. beyond mypunga, to the south, are the valleys of yankalilla and rapid bay, but very little, if in any respect inferior to the first mentioned place. the country between them is, however, extremely hilly, and contains some beautifully romantic spots of ground. the rock formation of this part of the ranges is very diversified; the upper part of rapid valley is a fine grey limestone; a little to the southward veins both of copper and lead have been discovered, and i have good reason for supposing that quicksilver will one day or other be found in this part of the province. at willunga there is a small stream, which issues from a valley close behind the township, and appears in former times to have laid many hundred acres of the flats below under water. their soil is composed of the very richest alluvial deposit, and has produced some of the finest crops of wheat in the province. aldinga plains lie to the south-west of willunga, and are sufficiently extensive to feed numerous sheep, but unavailable in consequence of the deficiency of water upon them, and are an instance of a large tract of land lying in an unprofitable state, which might, with little trouble and expense, by sinking wells in different parts, be rendered extremely valuable. on ascending the hills above willunga, in following up the southern line of road to encounter bay, it leads for several miles through a stringy-bark forest, and brings the traveller upon the great sandy basin, between willunga and currency creek. this gloomy and sterile feature bears a strong contrast to the rich and fertile valleys i have described, and is really a most remarkable formation in the geology of the province. at an elevation of between and feet this basin is surrounded on all sides by rugged stony hills, excepting to the south and south-east, in which direc tion it falls into the valley of the hindmarsh and currency creek respectively. mount magnificent, mount compass, and mount jagged, rise in isolated groups in different parts of the basin, the soil of which is pure sand, its surface is undulating, and in many parts covered with stunted banksias, through which it is difficult to force one's way in riding along. the finniss rises behind mount magnificent, and is joined by a smaller branch from mount compass, as it flows from the eastward. at about miles from willunga the traveller descends into the valley of currency creek, and finds the change from the barren tract over which he has been riding as sudden as when he entered upon it from the rich flats of willunga. the valley of currency creek is not, however, the same as those i have already described in other parts of the colony; it is prettily wooded and grassy, but continues narrow for some distance after you have entered it; a small running stream, with a rocky bed, occupying the centre of the valley, which ultimately escapes from the hills by a kind of gorge, and discharges itself into an arm of the goolwa. the extent of good land in currency creek is not very great, and is bounded both to the north and south by barren scrub. due south, at the distance from to miles, is encounter bay, the country intervening between the two points to the shores of the goolwa is very level, the soil is light but rich, and there appeared to me to be many thousand acres that were adapted for agricultural purposes, better adapted indeed than the richer soils. whether that view be correct or not, the valleys of the inman and hindmarsh immediately behind encounter bay would fully make up for the want of agricultural land in this part of the province. hindmarsh valley is not of any great extent, but the soil is good, and its scenery in my humble opinion surpasses any other i remember in south australia. i shall never, indeed, forget the beautiful effect of sunset, on a fine bold mountain at the head of it, called the black hill. the glowing orb was fast descending behind it to the west, and the black hill was cast into deep shade, whilst the sun's rays shooting down two valleys on either side gave the grass the appearance of young wheat. the extent of arable land in the valley of the inman is very considerable, but in point of scenery bears no comparison with the first. i do not know whether i have made it sufficiently clear that there is a high range at the back of the coast hereabouts. if not, i would observe that it runs uninterruptedly from mount lofty to cape jarvis. opposite to encounter bay it occupies nearly the centre of the promontory, and consequently forms a division of the eastern and western waters, there being a considerable breadth of barren stringy-bark forest between the heads of the opposite valleys, here as on the higher parts of the ranges near mount lofty, from the ascent of the great eastern road to the valley of the onkerparinga. it is a remarkable fact, but one that i believe i have already adverted to, that the farther north, towards the valley of the wakefield, the more denuded of timber the country becomes, until at last not a tree of any kind can be seen. these extensive and open downs are, nevertheless, well grassed, and covered with a profusion of orchideous plants. whether, however, there is any salt present in the soil, to check the growth of the trees, it is impossible to say. undoubtedly many of the ponds in the wakefield, as well as other parts of the province are brackish, but the same denuded state of the country exists not any where else. these districts are far too valuable to be overlooked, and are therefore extensively occupied by cattle and sheep. my most worthy friend, mr. charles campbell, and my companion mr. john browne, and his brother, both occupy the most distant stations to the north. mr. campbell has one of the finest cattle runs in the province, and my comrade, i believe, is perfectly satisfied with his run. the condition of their cattle and sheep would at all events lead to the conclusion, that neither suffer from the nature of the water they drink or the pasture on which they feed. as regards the general appearance of the wooded portion of the province, i would remark, that excepting on the tops of the ranges where the stringy-bark grows; in the pine forests, and where there are belts of scrub on barren or sandy ground, its character is that of open forest without the slightest undergrowth save grass. the trees are more or less numerous according to the locality, as well as more or less umbrageous, a character they generally have on river flats, but the habit of the eucalyptus is, generally speaking, straggling in its branches. in many places the trees are so sparingly, and i had almost said judiciously distributed as to resemble the park lands attached to a gentleman's residence in england, and it only wants the edifice to complete the comparison. the proportion of good to bad land in the province has generally been considered as divisible into three parts; that is to say, land entirely unavailable--land adapted for pastoral purposes only, and land of a superior quality. on due consideration, i am afraid this is not a correct estimate, but that unavailable country greatly preponderates over the other two. if, in truth, keeping the distant interior entirely out of view, and confining our observations to those portions of the colony into which the settlers have pushed in search for runs, we look to the great extent of unavailable country between the murray and the mount gambier district, along the line of the murray belt, and the extensive tracts at the head of the gulfs, we shall find that south australia, from the very nature of its formation, has an undue proportion of waste land. those parts, however, which i have mentioned as being unavailable, were once covered by the sea, and could hardly be expected to be other than we now see them, and it may, therefore, be questioned how far they ought to be put into the scale. in this view of the matter, and taking the hilly country only into account, the proportion of unavailable and of pastoral land may be nearly equal; but that of the better description will still, i think, fall short of the other two. taking south australia in its length and breadth, the quantity of available land is, beyond doubt, very limited, but i regard it as exceedingly good, and believe that its capabilities have by no means been ascertained. i feel satisfied, indeed, that necessity will prove, not only, that the present pastoral districts are capable of maintaining a much greater number of stock upon them than they have hitherto borne, but that the province is also capable of bearing a very great amount of population; that it is peculiarly fitted for a rural peasantry, and that its agricultural products will be sufficient to support masses of the population employed either in its mining or manufactures. in this view of the subject it would appear that providence has adapted the land to meet its new destinies, and that nothing we can say, either in praise or censure of its natural capabilities, will have the effect of concealing either the one or the other, as time shall glide on. on the better soils the average crop of wheat is rather over than under twenty-five bushels to the acre. in many localities, and more especially when the ground is first cropped, it exceeds forty; and on some lands, once my own, in the reed beds, at the termination of the torrens' river, five acres, which i sold to mr. sparshott, averaged fifty-two bushels to the acre. the reed beds may be said to be on the plains of adelaide, and their very nature will account to the reader for the richness of their soil; but the soil of the plains is not generally good, excepting in such places where torrents descending from the hills have spread over portions, and covered them with an alluvial deposit to a greater or less depth. the average crop of wheat on the plains does not exceed twelve or fifteen bushels to the acre, and depends on the time when the hot winds may set in. barley on the light sandy soil of the plains is much heavier than wheat. in the description i have thus endeavoured to give of south australia, i have omitted any mention of the district of port lincoln, chiefly because sufficient was not known of it when i sailed for england to justify my hazarding any remark. recent advices from the colony state that a practicable line of route from adelaide has been discovered along the western shore of spencer's gulf, and therefore, the disasters that overtook early explorers in that quarter, are not likely again to occur. it is farther said, that the number of sheep now depastured on the lands behind port lincoln, amounts to , --a proof of the utility, if not the richness of the country--as far, however, as i am aware, the soil must be considered of an inferior description--in other respects, the port has advantages that will always render it an agreeable, if not altogether a desirable residence. it appears to be gradually improving, but the amount of its population is still low, not more than sixty. it is frequented by american and other whalers, but the duties collected add little to the revenues of the province. port lincoln, however, could hardly now be abandoned, since there are considerable interests at stake there. it has been stated that copper has been found in the interior, and i see no reason why it should not exist in the mountain formation of the gawler range, in such case an impulse will be given to the whole district, that would even change its prospects, and increase the mercantile operations of the province. it does not appear to be the disposition of the english settlers to try experiments on the growth of intertropical productions. it must be admitted, however, that there are not many places in south australia where they could be cultivated with advantage; for although both the plains of adelaide and the valley of the murray are warm in summer, the frosts, which are sufficient to blight potatoes, would necessarily injure, if they did not destroy, perennials, whilst in the hills the cold is adverse to any plants the growth of a tropical climate, if we except those which, as annuals, come to maturity in the course of a summer; but the true reason why the growth of extraneous productions is neglected in south australia, is the expense consequent on the state of the labour market--for no doubt many pursuits might be followed there that would be remunerative. it is exceedingly difficult, however, to lead the pursuits of a community out of their ordinary course, and it is only where direct advantages are to be gained, that the spirit of enterprise and speculation breaks forth. the climate of south australia is admirably adapted for the growth of fruit trees of the hardier tropical kinds, for although the tenderer kinds grow there also, they do not arrive at perfection. the loquat, the guava, the orange, and the banana, are of slow growth, but the vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and others, flourish beyond description, as do english fruit trees of every kind. it is to be observed, that the climate of the plains of adelaide and that of the hills are distinct. i have been in considerable heat in the former at noon, and on the hills have been in frost in the evening. the forest trees of europe will grow in the ranges, but on the plains they languish; in the ranges also the gooseberry and the currant bear well, but in the gardens on the plains they are admitted only to say you have such fruits; the pomegranate will not mature in the open air, but melons of all kinds are weeds. yet, such trees as are congenial to the climate arrive at maturity with incredible rapidity, and bear in the greatest abundance. the show of grapes in mr. stephenson's garden in north adelaide, and the show of apples and plums in mr. anstey's garden on the hills are fine beyond description, and could not be surpassed in any part of the world--it may readily be imagined, therefore, that the intermediate fruit trees, such as the peach, the nectarine, the pear, the cherry, the greengage, and others, are of the most vigorous habits. all of them, indeed, are standards, and the wood they make during one season, is the best proof that can be given of their congeniality to the soil and climate of the province. there are in south australia two periods of the year which are equally deceptive to the stranger. the one is when the country is burnt up and suffering under the effects of summer heat--when the earth is almost herbless, and the ground swarms with grasshoppers--when a dry heat prevails in a calm still air. the other when vegetation is springing up under the early rains and every thing is green. arriving at adelaide during the first period, the stranger would hardly believe that the country, at any other season of the year, would be so clothed with herbage and look so fresh; arriving at the other, he would equally doubt the possibility of the vegetable kingdom being laid so completely prostrate, or that the country could assume so withered and parched an appearance; but these changes are common to every country under a similar latitude, and it would be unjust to set them down to its prejudice, or advantage. the following mean of heat at p.m. throughout the year, will give the reader a correct idea of the range of the thermometer. i have taken p.m. as being the hottest period of the day, and, therefore, nearest the truth. january / february march / / april / / may june july august september / / october / / november december the west and south-west winds are the most prevalent, blowing for or days in the year. during the summer months the land and sea breezes prevail along the coast, but in the interior the wind generally commences at e.n.e., and going round with the sun settles at west in the afternoon. i need not point out to the reader, that the above table only shews the mean of the thermometer during a certain hour of the day; the temperature during the night must necessarily be much lower; the coolness of the night, indeed, generally speaking, makes up for the mid-day heat. there are some days of the year when hot winds prevails, which are certainly very disagreeable, if not trying. their occurrence, however, is not frequent, and will be easily accounted for from natural causes. they sometimes continue for three or more days, during which time clouds of dust fill the air, and whirlwinds cross the plains, but the dryness of the australian atmosphere considerably influences the feelings on such occasions, and certainly produces a different effect upon the system from that which would be produced at a much lower temperature in a more humid climate; for, no doubt, it is to the united effects of heat and moisture, where they more or less exist, that the healthiness or unhealthiness of a country may be ascribed. in such countries, generally speaking, either teaming vapours, or malaria from dense woods or swamps naturally tries the constitution, but to its extreme dryness, and the absence of all vegetable decay, it appears to me that the general salubrity of south-east australia is to be attributed. so rarified, indeed, is the atmosphere, that it causes an elasticity of spirits unknown in a heavier temperature. so the hot winds, of which i have been speaking, are not felt in the degree we should be led to suppose. like the air the spirits are buoyant and light, and it is for its disagreeableness at the time, not any after effects that a hot wind is to be dreaded. it is hot, and that is all you can say; you have a reluctance to move, and may not rest so well as usual; but the spirits are in no way affected; nor indeed, in the ordinary transactions of business does a hot wind make the slightest difference. if there are three or four months of warm weather, there are eight or nine months of the year, during which the weather is splendid. nothing can exceed the autumn, winter, and spring of that transparent region, where the firmament is as bright as it would appear from the summit of mount blanc. in the middle of winter you enjoy a fire, the evenings are cold, and occasionally the nights are frosty. it is then necessary to put on warmer clothing, and a good surtout, buttoned across the breast, is neither an uncomfortable nor unimportant addition. having said thus much of the general salubrity of the climate of south australia, i would observe, in reference to what may be said against it, that the changes of temperature are sudden and unexpected, the thermometer rising or falling degrees in an hour or two. whether it is owing to the properties i have ascribed, that the climate of this place as also of sydney should be fatal to consumptive habits, i do not know, but in both places i have understood that such is the case, and in both i have had reason to regret instances. it has been said that influenza prevailed last year in adelaide to a great extent, and that it carried off a great many children and elderly persons. an epidemic, similar in its symptoms, may have prevailed there, and been severe in its progress, but it hardly seems probable that the epidemic of this country should have been conveyed through constant change of air, the best cure for such a disease, to so distant a part of the world. with all its salubrity, indeed, i believe it may be said, that south australia is subject to the more unimportant maladies like other countries, but that there are no indigenous disorders of a dangerous kind, and that it is a country which may strictly be called one of the healthiest in the world, and will, in all probability, continue so, as long as it shall be kept clear of european diseases. having thus endeavoured to give a description of the general character and climate of this limited but certainly beautiful portion of the australian continent, without encumbering my description with any remark on the principal and particular sources of wealth it possesses, which not being usual, could not, or rather would not, have been considered applicable. i hope the object i have had in view will be sufficiently clear to the reader. i have endeavoured to point out with an impartial pen, the real capabilities of the province, and the nature of those productions which are most congenial to her soil. without undue praise on the one hand, or unjust depreciation on the other, it has been my desire to present a faithful picture of her to my readers, and i hope it will appear from what i have said, as is really and truly the case, that both in climate and other respects it is a country peculiarly adapted to the pursuits and habits of my countrymen. that its climate so far approaches that of england, as to be subject to light and partial frosts, which render it unfit for the cultivation of tropical productions, but make it essentially an agricultural country, capable of yielding as fine cereal grain as any country in the world, of whatever kind it may be--that at the same time the greater mildness of the climate makes it favourable to the growth of a variety of fruits and vegetables, independently of european fruit trees and culinary herbs, which put it in the power of the settler to secure the enjoyment of greater luxuries and comforts, than he could possibly expect to have done in his own country, except at a great expense, and that as far as the two great desiderata go, on which i have been dwelling, it is a country to which an englishman may migrate with the most cheerful anticipations. chapter iii. seasons--cause why south australia has fine grain--extent of cultivation--amount of stock--the burra-burra mine--its magnitude--abundance of minerals--absence of coal--smelting ore--immense profits of the burra-burra--effect of the mines on the labour market--reluctance of the lower orders to emigrate--difference between canada and australia--the australian colonies--state of society--the middle classes--the squatters--the germans--the natives--author's interviews with them--instances of just feeling--their bad qualities--personal appearance--young settlers on the murray--conclusion. it was my object in the last chapter, to confine my observations strictly to the agricultural and pastoral capabilities of the province of south australia, which i thought i could not better do than by describing the nature of its climate and soil, for on these depend the producing powers of every country. in speaking of the climate, however, i merely adverted to its temperature, leaving its seasons out of question for the time, intending to close my remarks on these heads, by a short review of the state of the agricultural and pastoral interests of the colony at the present date. it will be borne in mind that the seasons of australia are the reverse of our own; that when in england the ground is covered with snow, there the sun is hottest, and that when summer heats are ripening our fruits, in australia it is the coldest season of the year, december, january, february, and march being the summer months; june, july, august, and september the winter ones. an experience of ten years has shewn that the seasons of south australia are exceedingly regular, that the rains set in within a few days of the same period each successive year, and that during the winter the ground gets abundantly saturated. this regularity of season may be attributed to the almost insular position of the promontory of cape jarvis, and may be said to be almost local, in elucidation of which, i may refer to what i have stated in the former part of my work, of the state of the weather in the valley of the murray when the expedition was proceeding up its banks in the month of august, . for some time before there had been heavy rains in the hills, and it was with some difficulty the drays crossed them. during our stay at moorundi, the ranges were covered with heavy clouds, and the mountain streams were so swollen as to stop one of my messengers; but the sky over the valley of the murray was as clear as crystal, morning mists it is true curled up at early dawn from the bosom of its waters, but they were soon dissipated, and a sharp frosty night was succeeded by a day of surpassing beauty. the regularity, however, both in its commencement and in the quantity of moisture that falls during the rainy season in the colony, enables the agriculturist to calculate with certainty upon it, and the only anxiety of the farmer is to get his grain into the ground sufficiently early, if possible, to escape the first hot winds. in a region, portions of which are subject, it must be confessed, to long continued drought, this is no inconsiderable advantage, although south australia is not singular in this respect, for the rainy seasons in the port phillip districts are, i believe, equally regular and more abundant, whilst the climate of van diemen's land almost approaches to that of england; neither, indeed, fairly speaking, is south australia more favoured than those of her immediate neighbours in the quality of her soil. van diemen's land is the granary of the southern seas, and there is unquestionably a very great proportion of the very best soil in the port phillip district. nevertheless that of south australia has yielded a finer and a heavier grain than has ever been produced in those colonies, but the reason of this is, that with a naturally rich soil to work upon, the agriculturists of south australia have spared no pains in cultivating their lands, but there can be no doubt that with equal care and attention both the vandemonians and the settlers of port phillip would produce an equally fine sample. the farmers of south australia have enhanced the value of their colony by their energy and skill in cultivating it, and can boast of having sent the finest sample of wheat to england that has ever been exhibited in her market. south australia, in its length and breadth, contains about , square miles, or in round numbers more than , , acres. the limits of location, however, do not exceed miles, or , , acres. in this area, however, a great portion of desert country is included, or such, at least, as at the present moment is considered so. of the more available land, , acres have been purchased, but the extent of country occupied by sheep and cattle stations is not known. it may be necessary here to observe, that the returns of the land under cultivation last year were published after i left the colony; but the comparison between the two previous years will shew the increase and decrease of the different grains, sufficiently to establish the progress of agricultural pursuits in the colony. in the year , the number of acres of wheat sown was , . in it was , . of barley, there were in the former year , acres, in the latter only , . of oats, there were , in the first year, which, in , increased to , . it would thus appear, that the increase of cultivated land in the course of one year amounted to between and acres, and that more than agriculturists were added to the list of landed proprietors. the necessary consequence of such extensive farming operations is that the produce far exceeds the wants of the settlers, and that there is a considerable surplus for exportation; the price of the best flour being from pounds to pounds per ton, whereas for a short period in it was pounds!!! whilst the agriculturists have been so earnest in the development of the productive powers of the colony, another class of its inhabitants were paying equal attention to its pastoral interests. the establishment of stock stations over its surface followed its occupation, and a mild climate and nutritive herbage equally contributed to the increase of cattle and sheep that had been introduced. in the number of sheep assessed was , , in the following year that number had increased to , , or an addition of , . at the present moment there cannot be far short of a million of sheep in the province, with an increase of , annually, at a moderate computation. the number of other kinds of stock in the possession of the settlers, at the close of last year, was as follows:--of cattle, , ; , having been imported during the two previous years from new south wales. the number of horses was estimated at , and of other smaller stock, as pigs and goats, there were supposed to be more than , . it is impossible to contemplate such a prosperous state of things in a colony that has only just completed the eleventh year of its existence, without feeling satisfied that some unusually favourable circumstances had brought it about. had south australia been as distant from the older colonies on the continent as swan river, the amount of stock she would have possessed in an equal length of time, could not have amounted to a tenth of what they now number. it is to the discovery of the darling and the murray that south australia owes the superabundance of her flocks and herds, and in that superabundance the full and complete establishment of her pastoral interests. i stated in the course of my preliminary observations on the progress of australian discovery, that when i was toiling down those rivers, with wide spread deserts on either side of me, i had little idea for what purposes my footsteps had been directed into the interior of the australian continent. if i ever entertained even a distant hope that the hilly country from which i turned back at the termination of the murray, after having floated on its broad waters for eighty-eight days, might ever be occupied, i certainly never hoped that the discoveries i was then making would one day or other prove of advantage to many a friend, and that i was marking the way for thousands of herds and flocks, the surplus stock of new south wales, to pass into the province of south australia. if then such consequences have resulted from enterprises, apparently of almost as hopeless a character as the one from which i have so recently returned, why, i would ask, should i despair, as to its one day or other being instrumental in benefiting my countrymen. there may yet be that in the womb of time which shall repay me for all i suffered in the performance of that dreary task--when i shall have it in my power to say, that i so far led the way across the continent as to make the remainder of easy attainment, and under the guidance and blessing of providence have been mainly instrumental in establishing a line of communication between its northern and southern coasts. i see no reason why i should despair that such may one day be the case. the road to the point which may be termed my farthest north is clear before the explorer. that point gained, less probably than miles--a week's journey with horses less jaded than mine unfortunately were, and with strength less reduced--would place him beyond the limits of that fearful desert, and crown his labours with success. i believe that i could, on my old route, make the north coast of australia, to the westward of the gulf of carpentaria, before any party from moreton bay. if it is asked what practical good i should expect to result from such an undertaking, i would observe, that nothing would sooner tend to establish an intercourse with the inhabitants of the malay archipelago, than the barter of cattle and sheep, that in truth there is no knowing what the ultimate results would be. the malays who visit the northern coasts of australia to collect the sea slug, have little inducement to keep up an intercourse with our settlements in torres straits, but there can be no doubt of their readiness to enter into commercial intercourse with us, which, if torres straits are to be navigated by steamers, would be doubly important. when the stock from new south wales was first brought down the murray, the journey occupied from three to four months. latterly it did not take half that time. in less than fifty days, from the murray, on his way to the north, the stock-holder would find that he had passed the centre, and an equal number of days from that point would, it appears to me, take him to his journey's end. this, however, would depend on the nature of the country beyond where it is at present known, and the nature of the season during which it was undertaken, but experience alone, as in the instance of the journey down the murray, would be the best guide and the best instructor. in the early part of the year , i had occasion to address a number of the colonists at the conclusion of a public entertainment and availed myself of the opportunity to state that whatever prospects of success the pastoral capabilities of the province appeared to hold out, i felt assured it was to the mountains, the colonists would have to look for their future wealth, for that no one who pretended to the eye of a geologist could cross them as i had done, without the conviction that they abounded in mineral veins. there is something, in truth, in the outline and form of the mount lofty chain that betrays its character. rounded spurs, of very peculiar form, having deep valleys on either side, come down from the main range, the general outline of which bears a strong resemblance to that of the ural chain. in the year , the first discovery of copper was made, but even this was scarcely sufficient to rouse the colonists to a full sense of its importance, and it was only by degrees, as other mines were successively discovered, that the spirit of speculation burst forth, and the energies of the settlers were turned for a time from their legitimate channels. a short time before this, their circumstances had been reduced to the lowest ebb. there was no sale for agricultural produce, no demand for labour, the goods in the shops of the tradesmen remained unsold, and the most painful sacrifices of property were daily made at the auction mart. the amount of distress indeed was very great and severe, but such a state of things was naturally to be expected from the change that had taken place in the monetary affairs of the province. it was a change however which few anticipated, and for which few therefore were prepared. it is a painful task to advert to past scenes of difficulty and distress, such at least i feel it to be, more especially where there is no immediate object to be gained by a reference to them; let me therefore turn from any inquiry into the causes which plunged south australia into difficulties that threatened to overwhelm her, to those which raised her from them. notwithstanding the spirit and firmness with which the colonists bore their reverses, there could not but be a gloom over the community where every thing seemed to be on the brink of ruin. men's minds became depressed when they saw no relief in the present, and no hope in the future. but time, with a rapid wing, brought about changes that appear permanently to have altered the circumstances of the colony, and to have placed it at once as one of the most flourishing of the british possessions. the first circumstance, i have understood, which partially cheered the drooping spirits of the settlers, was a slight rise in the price of wool, in the year i have mentioned. the discovery of the mines following soon upon this, the sun of prosperity burst at once upon the province, and gladdened every heart. from this period, mine after mine of copper and lead continued to be discovered. every valley and hill-top was searched for hidden treasures, and the whole energies of the colonists seemed to be turned to this new source of wealth. i was absent in the interior when the burra burra mine was secured, but the excitement it created had not subsided when i reached adelaide. i do not know whether the presence of mineral veins is indicated in other countries as in south australia by means of surface deposits. the opinion i formed that ores would be discovered in the mount lofty ranges did not rest upon the discovery of any such deposit myself, but on the peculiar form of the hills, which appeared to me to have settled into their present state from one of extreme fusion. the direction of the ranges being from north to south, these deposits lie also in the same direction. those of iron are greater than those of copper, and it is impossible to describe the appearance of the huge clean masses of which they are composed. they look indeed like immense blocks, that had only just passed from the forge. the deposits at the burra burra amounted, i believe, to some thousand tons, and led to the impression that where so great a quantity of surface ore existed, but little would be found beneath. in working this gigantic mine, however, it has proved otherwise. i was informed by one of the shareholders just before i left the colony, that it took three hours and three-quarters to go through the shafts and galleries of the mine. some of the latter are cut through solid blocks of ore, which glitter like gold where the hammer or chisel has struck the rock, as you pass with a candle along them. it would be out of place in me, nor indeed would it interest my readers, were i to enter into a statistical account of the profits of the burra burra mine. a general notice will convey every necessary information on that head, and enable the public to judge as well of its value and importance as if i entered into minuter details. it will give the reader some idea of the scene of bustle and activity the burra mine and road must present, and the very great amount of labour it requires. the quantity of ore sent weekly from the mine to the port is from to tons, employing from to drays, and more than double that number of men. the total quantity of ore received at the port in december last was , tons, the average value of which at pounds per ton, amounts to , pounds, and the price of shares, originally of pounds, had, by last advices, reached pounds. considering the gigantic scale of the burra burra mine, it was supposed that few other mines would be found in the colony that would at all approach it, that indeed, it had been the principal deposit, and that whatever indications other mines might give, they would soon cease in working, or produce so little as to be valueless. i confess that such was my own opinion--surprised at the immense size of this magnificent mine, i hardly thought it possible that in mountains, after all of limited range, mines of great value would still be found, and that discoveries of new mines were frequently taking place, and that too in situations where no such feature would be supposed to exist. on york's peninsula for instance, immediately across st. vincent's gulf, opposite to port adelaide, and directly on the sea shore, there are two sections, on which copper ore is abundant. the position of this mine can at once be determined by the reader, on a reference to the map. the land is very low, and the rock formation, tertiary fossil, but the various and anomalous positions in which copper is found in south australia, baffles all ordinary calculations--as likely to exist in the valley, as on the hill--at the sea side as well as inland: there is not a locality in which it may not be looked for and found. the whole of the mountain chain indeed, is a mass of ore from one end to the other, and it is impossible to say what quantity, or how many of the richer metals will ultimately be found in a country through which the baser metals are, without doubt, so abundantly diffused. the quantity of gold hitherto discovered has not been important, but it is reasonable to suppose, that where a small quantity has been found, large deposits must be at no great distance. this gold however, like the baser metals of south australia, is very pure, there being few component parts mixed with it. from the various examinations of the hills that have at different times been made, it would appear that precious stones, as well as metals, exist amongst them. almost every stone, the diamond excepted, has already been discovered. the ruby, the amethyst, and the emerald, with beryl and others, so that the riches of this peculiar portion of the australian continent may truly be said to be in their development only. with such prospects before it, there can be but little doubt that the wealth of south australia will, one day or other, be very great, neither can there be any doubt but that the discovery of the mines at the critical period, made a complete revolution in the affairs of that colony, and suddenly raised it from a state of extreme depression to one of independence, even as an individual is raised to affluence, from comparative poverty by the receipt of an unlooked-for legacy. the effect, however, which the discovery had on its present prospects, and the effect it must have on the future destinies of that colony, can hardly, it appears to me, be placed to the credit of any ordinary process of colonization. it has rather been in the shape of an unexpected auxiliary, that this immense and valuable supply of ore has been brought to bear upon its fortunes, for the condition to which the colony was reduced at one time, was such, that it would have taken many years to have acquired the appearance of returning prosperity, but the discovery of the mines was like the coming up of a rear-guard, to turn the tide of battle, when the main army had apparently been all but defeated. the assistance the colony received was complete and decisive, and has seemingly placed her beyond the hazard of failure or reverse: but, admitting the state of depression to which it was reduced, and the length of time it would have taken to bring about a healthy change, i yet believe, that the favourable position of the province as regards its connection with the other colonies, the character of its climate and soil, and the energies of its inhabitants, would have ensured its ultimate success. before the depression in , south australia had become a pastoral country, in consequence of the number both of cattle and sheep that had been imported. in , the city of adelaide had scarcely been laid out, no portion of it had yet been sold, when flocks and herds were on their way to the new market, and from that period, even to the present, there has been no cessation to their ingress--first of all, as i have stated, the murray, and then the darling, became the high roads along which the superfluous stock of port phillip and new south wales were driven to browse on south australian pastures, and to increase the quantity and value of her exports. however low therefore the price of wool might have kept, the natural increase of stock would still have gone on, and if we may judge from the unflinching energies of the agricultural portion of the community, their efforts to develop the productive powers of the soil, would rather have been stimulated than depressed by the misfortunes with which they were visited. i do them nothing more than justice when i assure the reader, that settlers in the province from the neighbouring colonies, could not help expressing their surprise at the state of cultivation, or their admiration of the unconquerable perseverance, that could have brought about so forward and creditable a state of things. i have already stated that the general outline and form of the mount lofty chain, bears a strong resemblance to the outline and form of the ural mountains. but it is of trifling elevation, running longitudinally from north to south, with a breadth of from to miles. the metalliferous veins crop out on the surface of the ground, preserving the same longitudinal directions as the ranges themselves, and the rock in which the ores are imbedded, generally speaking, is a compact slate. as the mount lofty ranges extend northwards, so does the barrier or stanley range, over which the recent expedition crossed on leaving the darling; no copper ores were found amongst those hills, but an abundance of the finest ore of iron, running, as the out-croppings of the copper ores, from north to south, and occurring in depressed as well as elevated situations, the rock formation being very similar to that of the more western ranges. if we are to judge from these facts, it is very evident that strong igneous action has influenced the whole, nor can i help thinking, from general appearances, that the continent of australia has been subjected to a long subterranean process, by which it has been elevated to its present altitude, and it appears to me that that action, though considerably weakened, is still going on. the occurrence of two slight shocks of earthquake felt at adelaide, since the establishment of the colony, would further strengthen this opinion. the copper ores of south australia fetch a higher price at the swansea sales than those from any other part of the world, not only because they are intrinsically rich, but because they are generally composed of carbonates, which are necessary to facilitate the smelting of the ores of sulphuret of copper from cuba and other places. the necessity for sending the ores from adelaide to some foreign port to undergo the process of smelting, will probably exist for a considerable length of time; until such time, indeed, as the electric process shall be found to answer on a sufficiently large scale to be profitable, or, until smelting works are established; but, the great difficulty to be apprehended in carrying on such operations would be the want of fuel, which scarce even at the present moment, would soon be more so--for there is not sufficient wood in the vicinity of any of the mines to keep up the supply for such a consumption as that which would be required; besides which, the cartage of the wood, and the expenses attending its preparation for the furnace, would materially diminish any profits arising from the smelting of the ores. in such a view of the case i cannot but think that the establishment of works at the mines will be found to be as unprofitable to their proprietors as to the smelter, and that such works will only be remunerative when carried on under more favourable circumstances--for it would appear that coal is the only mineral south australia does not possess, and i am apprehensive that no bed of it will ever be found in the colony. i have ever thought the geological formation of the country unfavourable to the presence of coal, but, still, it is said to exist as a submarine formation close to aldingi bay. the discovery of this mineral in the province would immediately give to it, within itself, the means of the most unbounded wealth, and would undoubtedly fill up the measure of its prosperity to the brim. by a late report of the directors of the burra burra mine, it would appear, that they had made several successful attempts to smelt the ore, but, that the cost, having exceeded that of cartage to the port, and freight, the process has been abandoned. parties, however, had offered to enter into an engagement to smelt the whole of the ore from the mine at about swansea prices; notwithstanding the unfavourable circumstances under which such smelting would necessarily be carried on. as i understand the nature of this arrangement, the ore will be smelted at the mine, and the remuneration to the smelter will be between fifty and sixty shillings per ton perhaps, by way of "return charges," or we will say between sixty and seventy shillings, which is a sum exactly equal to the cartage of the ore to the port. if then the directors abandoned their intentions, because they found they could not smelt at so low a sum as the price of cartage and freight, how will the contractor make it pay under more unfavourable circumstances? no doubt, if he should find it remunerative, the shareholders of the burra burra would find it still more so, and it would be the interest of the proprietors of the larger mines to enter into similar engagements; but, on a due consideration of this important subject, i am led to believe that to make smelting works successful in south australia, companies must purchase the ore, and carry it off to localities suitable for the operation. such an arrangement would still considerably increase the profits to the proprietors of the mine, nor would there be any difficulty in determining the value of the ore, by processes similar to those adopted at swansea, by which the interests of both parties are equally protected. in the south australian register of the th of november of last year, it is stated that a mr. hunt, one of the auctioneers in sydney, offered for sale thirteen tons of pure copper ore of colonial manufacture, from ore the produce of the burra burra, in ingots weighing lbs. each; the ore having been smelted by mr. james at mr. smith's foundry at newtown. this copper was however bought in at pounds, the limit being pounds per ton. it will give the reader some idea of the character of this prodigious mine, and of the profits arising from it, to know, that during the four months preceding the rd october, , the directors declared and paid three dividends, amounting to per cent. on the subscribed capital, and that the credits of the association on the th september were , pounds shillings pence. the burra burra mine however is not the only one of importance. several others have of late been discovered, and south australia may be said to be a thriving country in every sense of the word, and one in which those profitable interests will rapidly increase. we have hitherto been speaking of the mines of south australia as the sources of wealth, and as the sudden, if not the remote cause of the prosperity of that province. it now becomes our duty to consider how far the discovery of the mines has benefited or interfered with the other branches of industry and sources of wealth; and as regards both these, it must be admitted that their discovery has had an injurious effect. the high rate of wages given by the proprietors of mines, not only to the miners, but to all whom they employ, draws the labourers from every other occupation to engage with them. the consequence has been a general want of labourers throughout the whole colony, still more severely felt by reason of the previous want of labour in the labour market. every man who could obtain sufficient money to purchase a dray and team of bullocks, hurried to the mines for a load of ore to take to the port, and disdained any ordinary employment when by carting ore he could earn or pounds in a fortnight. the labourer was quite right in going where he received the best remuneration for his services; but the consequences were in many instances fatal to their former employers. many farmers were unable to put in seed or to cultivate their land; many, after having done so, were unable to gather it, and had it not been for the use of mr. ridley's machine, the loss in the crops would have been severely felt. not only did the farmers suffer, but the stock-holders, and the colonists generally. the want of hands, indeed, was felt by all classes of the community, since the natural consequence of the high wages given by the mining proprietors to the men they employed, tended still more to depress the labour market, and to increase the demand upon it by leading many of the more frugal labourers to purchase land with the money they were enabled to save. as landed proprietors they not only withdrew their labour from the market, but in their turn became employers; but i feel called upon to say at the same time, that equal distress was felt in the neighbouring colonies for working hands, where no mines had been discovered, and where they could not therefore possibly have interfered. from what has been said of the province of south australia, and setting its mines entirely out of the question, the description that has been given of its pastoral and agricultural capabilities, of its climate, and of the prospects of success which present themselves to the intending emigrant, it will naturally be inferred that the impression i have intended to convey is, that, as a colony, it is most peculiarly adapted for a british population, whether rural or other. the state of the colony is now such, that the way of the emigrant in landing is straight before him, for with honesty, sobriety, and industry, he cannot lose it. when i stated, in a former part of my work, that i would not take upon myself to give advice, which if followed, and not successfully, might subject me to the reproach of any one, i referred to those who have similar means of acquiring information to myself, and whose stakes, being considerable, make the responsibility of giving advice the greater. with the lower orders--the working classes--the case is different. they have not the means of acquiring information on these matters, and it becomes the duty of those who can promote their welfare to do so. i am quite aware that there are many of my poor countrymen who would gladly seek a better home than they possess at this moment, but who, clinging to the spot where they were born, disheartened at the thought of abandoning their hearth, and bound by early recollections to their native country, cannot make up their minds to turn their backs on the companions of their youth, and the haunts of their childhood. such a feeling undoubtedly claims our sympathy and respect. it is that very feeling,--the love of home,--the belief that they can no where be happier, which has been the strength of england, and has given her sons the heart to love, and the spirit to defend her. but the period however, when those feelings were so strong, has passed away,--more general ones have taken their place, and the circumstances of the times have so changed, that neither hearth nor home have the same attractions; a restlessness pervades the community, and a desire to escape from those scenes, and that spot which they or their forefathers once thought the most hallowed upon earth. but two circumstances have militated against the migration of the rural population in this country, to the australian colonies, at all events. the one has been an apprehension as to the length and nature of the voyage; the other the expense, more especially to a family man. had it not been for these causes, the australian colonies would not have had to complain of the want of labour. the truth is, that the ignorance which prevails in the inland counties as to any matters connected with foreign parts, and the little means the labouring classes possess of defraying their own expenses, has kept them, except in a few instances, from seeking to go to that distant part of the world, which assuredly holds out to them the brightest prospect, and is most like their own home. they may however rest satisfied that the voyage to australia is as safe as that to new york, that it is far more pleasant as regards the weather, and that little or no sickness has ever thinned the number of those who have embarked for the australian colonies. the expense of the voyage is certainly greater than that of a passage to the canadas, or to the united states, but it is to be hoped that the means of transport will soon be at their command. i would only in this place offer the remarks i conscientiously think the case requires, as one who, having witnessed the happiness of thousands in the land of which he is speaking, would gladly be instrumental in opening the way for thousands more of his countrvmen to the same happy destiny. having been both to canada and the australian colonies, if i were asked which of the two i preferred, i should undoubtedly say the latter. i do not desire to disparage the canadas by this assertion, for i know that they have advantages in their soil and in the magnificence of their rivers beyond comparison, but australia, on the other hand, has advantages over our transatlantic possessions, such as her increased distance from england, cannot counterbalance. her climate, in the first place, is surpassing fine. there the emigrant is spared the trouble of providing against the severities of a canadian winter. that season passes over his head almost without his knowledge, and the ground, instead of being a broad sheet of snow, is covered with vegetation. her lands, unencumbered by dense forests, are clear and open to the plough, or are so lightly wooded as to resemble a park, rather than a wild and untouched scene of nature. instead of having to toil with the saw and the axe to clear his ground before he can cultivate it, and instead of consuming a year's provisions before he can expect any return, he can there run the plough from one end to the other of his enclosures, without meeting a stone or a root to turn its point, and at once reap the produce of the soil. these surely are advantages of no ordinary kind, and, if the expense of a voyage to the australian colonies is greater than that to america, i cannot but think that the contingent expenses to which the canadian or union emigrant is put, before he can consider himself as finally settled down, must necessarily exceed those of the australian. as before observed, the aspect of south australia, and indeed of many parts of the neighbouring colonies, is essentially english. there, as in england, you see the white-washed cottage, and its little garden stocked with fruit trees of every kind, its outward show of cleanliness telling that peace and comfort are within. to sever oneself from our kindred, and to abandon the dwelling of our fathers, is a sacrifice of no imaginary magnitude, whether we are rich or poor, and the prospects of reward should be bright indeed to compensate for it. i conclude that it has been to combat the reluctance in the lower orders to leave their homes, that inducements too highly coloured in many instances, have been held out to them, the consequence of which has been that many, whose expectations were excited, suffered proportionate disappointment at the outset of their career as emigrants. convinced of the injurious tendency of such a practice, and regarding it as a culpable and cruel mockery of misfortunes, which, having been unavoidable, claim our best sympathies, i should not have said so much as i have done on this important subject, had i not felt justified in so doing. the reader may rest assured that to the sober, the honest, and the industrious, the certainty of success in south australia is beyond all doubt. an individual with these qualities may experience disappointment on landing, but he must recollect that this is always a period of anxiety, and the circumstances in which he first finds himself placed, may not come up to his expectations; his useful qualities and regular habits cannot be immediately known, and we seldom alter our condition, even for the better, without some trouble or vexation. i have, in the course of my remarks, in my recommendation of the australian colonies as being favourable to the views of emigrants, given a preference to south australia. i have done so because i am better acquainted with its condition than with that of either of the other settlements. of it i have spoken as to what i know; but, of the others, to a great extent, from hearsay. the character however of those colonies needs no recommendation from me. as far as its pastoral and agricultural capabilities go, i believe port phillip to be as fine a district as any in the world. the advantages indeed of the australian colonies must be nearly equal, from the fact that the pursuits of their respective inhabitants are so nearly the same. local circumstances may give some parts of the continent a preference over others, but, as points of emigration there is little choice. the southern portions are not subject to the withering droughts to which parts of the eastern coast are liable, and may be preferred on that account, but still there are districts in new south wales as unexceptionable as any in port phillip or south australia. it now remains to make some observations on the present state of society in the last-mentioned colony; for it appears to me, that in order to give a correct picture of it, some notice on that head is required. i think too, i am the more called upon to do so, because many very mistaken notions are held of it. as in most of her majesty's possessions, so in south australia, the government officers form a prominent, and i may say, distinct class. colonel robe, the late governor of the province, made government house the seat of the most unmeasured hospitality, which he exercised beyond the point to which there was any public call upon him. his table was covered with every delicacy the season could afford, his wines were of the very best, and there was a quiet but effective manner about him, which gained universal esteem. as a soldier, he was exceedingly particular in the order and appearance of his establishment, nor was there anything wanting to complete the comfort of it. the number of the colonists who assembled round him occasionally, was from to ; on more public festive occasions they exceeded , and i may add, that on both, the scene differed not in the slightest degree from that of similar parties in this country, save that there was less of formality in the interchange of friendly communications between the visitors. except also in giving a tone to society, and setting an irreproachable example to the community, the officers of the government are exceedingly retired, their salaries are too limited to enable them to follow the example of their chief. they live quietly, and as gentlemen, are ever happy to see their friends, but public parties are seldom given by any of them. prudence indeed calls upon them to refrain from those displays, which they cannot reasonably afford, and the consequence was, that a warmer intimacy existed in their quiet intercourse with each other, than could have sprung from more formal entertainments. the truth is, the salaries of the government officers, bear no proportion to the means of the majority of the settlers, who have risen into affluence from a combination of circumstances, that have been unprecedented in the history of colonization. there are few private individuals in the province, who have not, at one time or other, benefited by some speculation, but i am not aware that any one of the government officers have any private interests in the colony, if i except the possession of a section or two of land, on which they have built and reside, nor do i know that any of them have allowed a spirit of speculation to interfere with public duties. amongst the leading or upper classes of society, there are many very estimable persons. i do not mention names, but my recollection will bear me back to the many happy days i have spent with them, and certainly any one not desiring an extended circle of acquaintance could no where, whether amongst gentlemen or the ladies, find individuals more worthy of his regard or friendship than in the still limited society of south australia. many of the tradesmen having succeeded in business, or acquired an independence from their interests in the mines, have retired, and live in suburban residences, which they have built in well selected situations, and with considerable taste. attached to the customs of home, many of the citizens of adelaide possess carriages of one kind or another, and are fond of devoting their sunday evenings to visiting places in the neighbourhood. as regards the lower classes, i do not think there is in any of her majesty's possessions, a greater amount of mechanical genius and enterprise than amongst the mechanics of south australia. i speak confidently on this head, since i have had very many points referred to me, which have long satisfied me of this fact. there are many societies in south australia, of which the lower orders are members, all of them tending to promote social interests. the order of odd fellows is prominent amongst these, and spreads a feeling throughout all classes which cannot fail of doing good, for the charities of this order are extensive, and it supports a well-attended school. taking then the lower orders of the province in the aggregate, they may be said to be thoroughly english, both in their habits and principles. in speaking of the upper classes i did not notice a portion of them included under the denomination of the "squatters." it is a name that grates harshly on the ear, but it conceals much that is good behind it; they in truth are the stockholders of the province, those in whom its greatest interests would have been vested if the mines had not been discovered. generally speaking, the squatters are young men who, rather than be a burthen on their families, have sought their fortunes in distant lands, and carried out with them almost to the antipodes the finest principles and feelings of their forefathers. with hearts as warm as the climate in which they live, with a spirit to meet any danger, and an energy to carry them through any reverse of fortune, frank, generous, and hospitable, the squatters of the australian colonies are undoubtedly at the head of their respective communities, and will in after days form the landed, as they do now the pastoral interests, from whom every thing will be expected that is usually required of an english country gentleman. circumstanced as they are at the present moment, most of them leading a solitary life in the bush, and separated by such distances from each other as almost to preclude the possibility of intercourse, they are thus cut off as it were from society, which tends to give them feelings that are certainly prejudicial to their future social happiness, but i would fain hope that the time is coming round when these gentlemen will see that they have it very much in their own power to shorten the duration of many of the sacrifices they are now called upon to make, and that they will look to higher and to more important duties than those which at present engage their attention. the views taken by the late sir george gipps of the state of society in the distant interior of new south wales is perfectly correct, nor can there be any doubt but that it entails evils on the stock-holders themselves which, on an abstract view of the question, i cannot help thinking they have it in their power to lessen, or entirely to remove, when an influx of population shall take place; but, however regular their establishments may be, they cannot, as single men, have the same influence over those whom they employ, or the settlers around them, as if they were married; for it is certainly true, that the presence of females puts a restraint on the most vicious, and that wherever they are, especially in a responsible character, they must do good. i do not know anything, indeed, that would more conduce to the moral improvement of the settlers, and people around them, than that squatters should permanently fix themselves, and embrace that state in which they can alone expect their homes to have real attractions. that they will ultimately settle down to this state there cannot, i think, be a doubt, and however repugnant it may be to them at the present moment to rent lands, on the occupation of which any conditions of purchase is imposed, i feel assured that many of the squatters will hereafter have cause to thank the secretary of state for having anticipated their future wants, and enabled them to secure permanent and valuable interests on such easy terms. nothing, it appears to me, can be more convincing in proof of the real anxiety of earl grey for the well being of the australian provinces than the late regulations for the occupation of crown lands. i believe i am right in stating that every word of those regulations was penned by earl grey himself, and certainly, apart from local prejudices, i am sure a disinterested person would admit the care and thought they evince, and how calculated they are to promote the best interests of the squatters, and the future social and moral improvement of the people under their influence. there seems to me to run throughout the whole of these regulations an earnest desire to place the stockholder on a sure footing, and to remove all causes of anxiety arising from the precarious tenure upon which they formerly held property. there is another division of the population of south australia i have hitherto omitted to mention, i mean the german emigrants. they now number more than , and therefore form no inconsiderable portion of the population of the province. these people have spread over various districts, but still live in communities, having built five or six villages. the germans of south australia are quiet and inoffensive, frugal and industrious. they mix very little with the settlers, and, regarded as a portion of the community, are perhaps too exclusive, as not taking a due share in the common labour, or rendering their assistance on occasions when the united strength of the working classes is required to secure a general good--as the gathering in of the harvest, or such similar occasions. their religious observances are superintended by different pastors, all of them very respectable persons. the oldest of these is mr. kavel, to whom the germans look with great confidence, and hold in deserved esteem. many of the germans have been naturalized, and have acquired considerable property in various parts of the province, but very few have taken to business, or reside in adelaide as shopkeepers. the women bring their market or farm produce into the city on their backs, generally at an early hour of the morning, and the loads some of them carry are no trifle. here, however, as in their native country, the women work hard, and certainly bear their fair proportion of labour. the houses of the germans are on the models of those of their native country, and are so different in appearance from the general style, as to form really picturesque objects. there is nowhere about adelaide a prettier ride than through the village of klemzig, on the right bank of the torrens, that having been the first of the german settlements. the easy and unmolested circumstances of these people should make them happy, and lead them to rejoice that in flying from persecution at home they were guided to such a country as that in which they now dwell, and i have no doubt that as a moral and religious people, they are thankful for their good fortune, and duly appreciate the blessings of providence. my anxiety to raise the character of the natives of australia, in the eyes of the civilized world, and to exhibit them in a more favourable light than that in which they are at present regarded, induces me, before i close these volumes, to adduce a few instances of just and correct feeling evinced by them towards myself, which ought, i think, to have this effect and to satisfy the unprejudiced mind that their general ideas of right and wrong are far from being erroneous, and that, whatever their customs may be, they should not, as a people, occupy so low a place in the scale of human society, as that which has been assigned to them. i am quite aware that there have been individual instances of brutality amongst them, that can hardly be palliated even in savage life--that they have disgusting customs--that they are revengeful and addicted to theft. still i would say they have redeeming qualities; for the first, i would fain believe that the horrors of which they have been guilty, are local; for the last, i do not see that they are worse than other uncivilized races. treachery and cunning are inherent in the breast of every savage. i question, indeed, if they are not considered by them as cardinal virtues; but, admitting the australian native to have the most unbridled passions, instances can be adduced of their regard for truth and honesty, that ought to weigh in any general estimate we may form of their character. no european living, not even mr. eyre, has seen so many of the aborigines of the australian continent as myself; and that, too, under circumstances when strife might have been expected; and no man certainly has had less reason to complain of them. if my party has ever been menaced by these people, if we have ever had their spears raised in hundreds against us, it has been because they have been taken by surprise, and have acted under the influence of fear. if i had rushed on these poor people, i should have received their weapons, and have been obliged to raise my arm against them, but, by giving them time to recover from their surprise, allowing them to go through their wonted ceremonies, and, by pacific demonstrations, hostile collisions have been avoided. if i had desired a conflict, the inclination might have been indulged without the fear of censure, but i saw no credit, no honour to be gained by such a course, and i therefore refrained. i can look back to my intercourse with the australian aborigines, under a consciousness that i never injured one of them, and that the cause of humanity has not suffered at my hands;--but, i am travelling out of my proper course, and beg the reader to excuse me, it is for him, i allow, not for me, to draw such conclusions. i have said, that i thought i could adduce instances of a regard for justice and honesty that would weigh in favour of the australian native. as one instance, let me ask, if anything could have been more just, than the feeling which prompted the native to return the blanket one of his tribe had stolen from the camp on the banks of the castlereagh, as detailed in my former work, vol. i. page . the man who restored the lost property was apprehensive of danger, from the fact of his having come armed, and from his guarded and menacing attitude when the soldier approached to ascertain what he wanted. had he been the father of the thief, we could only have said that it was a singular proof of honest pride by a single individual, but such was not the case, the whole tribe participated in the same feeling, for we learnt from them, that the thief had been punished and expelled their camp. could anything have been more noble than the conduct of the native, who remained neuter, and separated himself from them, when the tribes attempted to surprise my camp on the murrumbidgee, because i had made him presents as i went down that river, vol. ii. page . on the other hand, could anything have been more just than the punishment inflicted on the boy who stole my servant davenport's blanket at fort grey? as mentioned in the present work; or the decision of the two sons of the boocolo of williorara, as regarded the conveyance of our letter-bag to lake victoria? here are broad instances of honesty that would do credit to any civilized nation. surely men, who can so feel, should not be put lowest in the scale of the human race? it is true that all attempts to improve the social condition of the australian native has failed, but where is the savage nation with which we have succeeded better? the natives of new zealand will perhaps be the only instance, in modern times, of a barbarous race surviving the introduction of civilization amongst them. without venturing to compare the natives of australia, to a people so much superior, i would only claim for them a due share of consideration. all i can say is that they have submitted to our occupation of their country with a forbearance that commands our best sympathies. it will be borne in mind, that i have not here spoken of their personal appearance. that that generally is against them, cannot be doubted. if there is any truth in phrenology, they must have their share of the brutal passions. the whole appearance of the cranium indeed, would lead to the conclusion that they possess few of the intellectual faculties; but, in a savage state, these are seldom called forth. they are, nevertheless, capable of strong attachment, are indulgent parents, and certainly evince a kindly feeling towards their relations, are improvident and generous, having no thought for the morrow. on the other hand, they are revengeful and crafty, and treat their wives with much harshness, imposing on them the burthen of almost everything: that man being considered the richest who has the greatest number, because he can sit in his hut, and send them out to procure food. i think it is agreed on all hands that the natives of australia are sprung from the same parent stock. their personal appearance and customs, if not their dialects, shew this. from what race they originally sprang it is more difficult to determine, for there is not one of the great families into which the human race has been divided, with which they may properly be classed. with such features as they generally possess, in the flattened nose, thick lip, and overhanging brow, one can hardly fancy that they would be good looking, but i certainly have seen very good looking men amongst them--i may say tribes, indeed, on the darling for instance, and on the murrumbidgee, (see page , vol. ii. of my last work.) the men on cooper's creek were fine rather than handsome. generally speaking, the natives have beautiful teeth, and their eye, though deep sunk, is full of fire. although their muscular development is bad, they must have a very remarkable strength of sinew, or they could not otherwise raise themselves, as they do, on so slender a footing in climbing up the trees, and in many other occupations. i have read in several authors that the natives of australia have woolly hair. this is a mistake; their hair is as fine and as curly as that of an european, but its natural beauty is destroyed by filth and neglect. nothing can prove its strength more than the growth of their beards, which project from their chins, and are exceedingly stiff. in many places the natives have but a scanty and precarious subsistence, which may in some measure account for the paucity of their numbers in some localities. in many parts of the country in which i have been i feel satisfied they can seldom procure animal food, as they would not otherwise resort to the use of some things which no time could, i should imagine, make palateable. their dexterity at the chase is very great, although in hunting the kangaroo they become so nervous that they frequently miss their mark. i have seen them sink under water and bring up a fish writhing on the short spear they use on such occasions, which they have struck either in the forehead, or under the lateral fin, with unerring precision. still some of our people come pretty close to them in many of their exercises of the chase, and the young settlers on the murray very often put them to the blush. at the head of them is mr. scott, mr. eyre's companion, who has now succeeded him in the post at moorundi. there is not a native on the river so expert in throwing the spear, in taking kangaroo or fish, or in the canoe, as he is. his spear is thrown with deadly precision, and he has so mixed with the natives, that he may be said to be one of themselves, having the most unbounded influence over them, and speaking their language as fluently as themselves. mr. scott is at the same time very firm and decided, and is exceedingly respected by the settlers on the murray. under such circumstances it is to be hoped he will emulate mr. eyre and effect much good among his sable friends. their devotion and attachment to him is very remarkable, and every native on the murray knows "merrili," as he is called. one great cause of the deaths amongst the aborigines is their liability to pulmonary diseases from being constantly in the water. they are much annoyed by rain, nor will any thing induce them to stir during wet weather, but they sit shivering in their huts even in the height of summer. there is no people in the world so unprovided against inclemency or extremes of weather as they are. they have literally nothing to cover them, to protect them from the summer heat or the winter's cold; nor would any charity be greater than to supply these poor people with clothing. a few blankets, a few guernsey shirts, and woollen trowsers, would be to them a boon of the first importance, and i would that my voice in their favour could induce the many who are humane and charitable here to devote a small portion of that which they bestow in works and purposes of charity to think of these children of the desert. it is only by accustoming them to comforts, and to implements which they cannot afterwards do without, to supersede as it were their former customs, that we can hope to draw them towards civilized man and civilization; for what inducement has the savage with his wild freedom and uncontrolled will, to submit to restraint, unless he reap some advantage? the yearly and monthly distribution of blankets and of flour to the natives at moorundi is duly appreciated. they now possess many things which they prefer to their own implements. the fish-hooks they procure from the europeans are valued by them beyond measure, since they prevent the necessity of their being constantly in the water, and you now see the river, at the proper season, lined by black anglers, and the quantity of fish they take is really astonishing, and those too of the finest kinds. i once saw mr. scott secure a murray cod, floating on the top of the water, that weighed lbs. this beautiful and excellent fish is figured in mitchell's first work. it is a species of perch, and is very abundant, as well as several others of its own genus, that are richer but smaller; the general size of the cod varying from lbs. to lbs. the manners and customs of the natives have been so well and so faithfully recorded by mr. eyre that i need not dwell on them here. my views have been philanthropic, my object, to explain the manner in which i have succeeded in communicating with such of them as had never before seen europeans, in order to ensure to the explorer, if possible, the peaceable results i myself have experienced. there are occasions when collisions with the natives are unavoidable, but i speak as to general intercourse. i feel assured no man can perform his duty as an explorer, who is under constant apprehension of hostility from the people through whose country he is passing. the province of south australia could never at any time have been thickly inhabited. there are some numerous tribes on the sea-coast at the head of the gulfs and in encounter bay, as well as on the murray river, but with the exception of a few scattered families on the northern hills, and in the scrub, the mountain ranges are, and it appears to me have been, almost uninhabited. there are no old or recent signs of natives having frequented the hills, no marks of tomahawks on the trees, or of digging on the flats. the mount lofty ranges, indeed, are singularly deficient of animal life, and seem to be incapable of affording much subsistence to the savage, however luxuriant and beneficial the harvest they now yield. the adelaide tribe is not numerous; they occupy a portion of the park lands, called the native location, and every encouragement has been given them to establish themselves in comfort on it, but they prefer their wild roving habits to any fixed pursuit. nevertheless, they are variously employed by the townspeople, in carrying burthens, in cutting up wood, in drawing water, and similar occupations; and, independently of any assistance they may receive from the government, earn an immense quantity of food from the citizens. the natives properly belonging to the adelaide tribe are all more or less clothed, nor are they permitted by the police to appear otherwise, and as far as their connection with the settlers goes, they are fast falling into habits of order, and understand that they cannot do any thing improper with impunity. the murray tribe, as well as the tribes from the south, frequently visit their friends near the capital, and on such occasions some scene of violence or dispute generally ensues. frequently the abduction of a lubra, or of an unmarried female of another tribe, brings about a quarrel, and on such occasions some angry fighting is sure to follow; and so long as that custom remains, there is little hope of improvement amongst them. the subject of ameliorating their condition is, however, one of great difficulty, because it cannot be done without violating those principles of freedom and independence on which it is so objectionable to infringe; but when a great ultimate good is to be obtained, i cannot myself see any objection to those restraints, and that interference which should bring it about. there is nowhere, not even in sydney, more attention paid to the native population than in south australia, and if they stand a chance of improvement it is there. whilst every kindness is shewn to the adult portion, the children are under the direct care of the government. there is, as i have elsewhere stated, a school, at which from thirty to forty boys and girls attend. nothing can be more regular or more comfortable than this institution. the children are kindly treated, and very much encouraged, and really to go into it as a visitor, one would be disposed to encourage the most sanguine expectations of success. as far as the elementary principles of education go, the native children are far from deficient. they read, write, and cypher as well as european children of their own age, and, generally speaking, are quiet and well behaved; but it is to be regretted that, as far as our experience goes, they can advance no farther; when their reason is taxed, they fail, and consequently appear to be destitute of those finer qualifications and principles on which both moral feeling and social order are based. it is however questionable with me whether this is not too severe a construction to put on their intellect, and whether, if the effect of ancient habits were counteracted, we should find the same mental defect. at present, the native children have free intercourse with their parents, and with their tribe. the imaginations of the boys are inflamed by seeing all that passes in a native camp, and they long for that moment, when, like their countrymen, they will be free to go where they please, and to join in the hunt or the fray. the girls are told that they are betrothed, and that, at a certain age, they must join their tribe. the voice of nature is stronger even than that of reason. why therefore should we be surprised at the desertion of the children from the native schools? but it will be asked--what is to be done? the question, as i have said, is involved in difficulty, because, in my humble opinion, the only remedy involves a violation, for a time at all events, of the natural affections, by obliging a complete separation of the child from its parents; but, i must confess, i do not think that any good will result from the utmost perseverance of philanthropy, until such is the case, that is, until the children are kept in such total ignorance of their forefathers, as to look upon them as europeans do, with astonishment and sympathy. it may be argued that this experiment would require too great a sacrifice of feeling, but i doubt this. besides which, it is a question whether it is not our duty to do that which shall conduce most to the benefit of posterity. the injury, admitting it to be so, can only be inflicted on the present generation, the benefit would be felt to all futurity. i have not, i hope, a disposition for the character of an inhuman man, and certainly have not written thus much without due consideration of the subject, but my own experience tells me we are often obliged to adopt a line of conduct we would willingly avoid to ensure a public good. it will not then, i trust, be thought that i have ventured to intrude this opinion on the public, with any other views than those which true philanthropy dictates. i am really and sincerely interested in the fate of the australian aborigine, and throw out these suggestions, derived from long and deep practical experience, in the ardent hope that they may help to produce the permanent happiness of an inoffensive and harmless race. mr. kennedy's survey of the river victoria. whilst i was endeavouring to penetrate into the heart of the australian continent, there were two other expeditions of discovery engaged in exploring the country to the eastward of me. dr. leichhardt, an account of whose successful and enterprising journey from moreton bay to port essington is already before the public, was keeping the high lands at no great distance from the coast, and sir thomas mitchell, the surveyor-general of new south wales, was traversing the more depressed interior, between my own and dr. leichhardt's tracks. the distance at which dr. leichhardt passed the extreme westerly point gained by me was geographical miles, and his distance from my extreme easterly one was miles; sir thomas mitchell's distance from my extreme west, being about miles, and that from my last position, (on cooper's creek), about . he had been traversing a country of great richness and fertility, a country, indeed, such as he had never before seen, and in a despatch addressed to the governor of new south wales, thus describes it and the river he discovered on the occasion:-- "on ascending the range early next morning, i saw open downs and plains with a line of river in the midst, the whole extending to the n.n.w., as far as the horizon. following down the little stream from the valley in which i had passed the night, i soon reached the open country, and during ten successive days i pursued the course of that river, through the same sort of country, each day as far as my horse could carry me, and in the same direction again approaching the tropic of capricorn. in some parts the river formed splendid reaches, as broad and important as the river murray; in others it spread into four or five branches, some of them several miles apart. but the whole country is better watered than any part of australia i have seen, by numerous tributaries arising in the downs. "the soil consists of rich clay, and the hollows give birth to numerous water-courses, in most of which water was abundant. i found at length that i might travel in any direction, and find water at hand, without having to seek the river, except when i wished to ascertain its general course, and observe its character. the grass consists of panicum and several new sorts, one of which springs green from the old stem. the plains were verdant indeed, the luxuriant pasturage surpassed in quality, as it did in extent, any thing i had ever seen. the myall-tree and salt bush, (acacia pendula and salsolae), so essential to a good run, are also there. new birds and new plants marked this out as an essentially different region from any i had previously explored; and although i could not follow the river throughout its long course at that advanced season, i was convinced that its estuary was in the gulf of carpentaria; at all events the country is open and well watered for a direct route thereto. that the river is the most important of australia, increasing as it does by successive tributaries, and not a mere product of distant ranges, admits of no dispute; and the downs and plains of central australia, through which it flows, seem sufficient to supply the whole world with animal food. the natives are few and inoffensive. i happened to surprise one tribe at a lagoon, who did not seem to be averse that such strangers were in that country; our number being small, they seemed inclined to follow us. i crossed the river at the lowest point i reached, in a great southerly bend in long. degrees minutes east, lat. degrees minutes south, and from rising ground beyond the left bank, i could trace its downward course far to the northward. i saw no callitris (pine of the colonists) in all that country, but a range, shewing sandstone cliffs appeared to the southward, in long. degrees and lat. degrees minutes south. the country to the northward of the river, is, upon the whole, the best, yet, in riding ninety miles due east from where i crossed the southern bend, i found plenty of water, and excellent grass, a red gravel there approaches the river, throwing it off to the northward. ranges extending n. n. w. were occasionally visible from the country to the northward." sir thomas mitchell's position at his extreme west was more than miles from the nearest part of the gulf of carpentaria; he was in a low country, and on the banks of a river which had ceased to flow. whatever the local appearances might have been, which led the surveyor-general to conclude that it would reach the northern coast, i do not know, but notwithstanding the favourable report he made of it, i never for a moment anticipated that this river would do so; i felt assured, indeed, that however promising it might be, it would either enter the stony desert or be found to turn southward, and be lost amongst marshes and lagoons. the appearance of cooper's creek might have justified my most sanguine expectations, but i was too well aware of the character of australian rivers, and had seen too much of the country into which they fall, to trust them beyond the range of sight. my natural course on the discovery of cooper's creek would have been to have traced it downwards, but i was not unmindful that i should keep it between myself and the track on which mr. browne and i had last returned from the north-west interior, in pursuing the northerly course i intended, and i consequently felt satisfied, after a little consideration, that if it continued northerly, i should strike it again; if not, that it would either spread over the stony desert, or fall short of it altogether. on making this discovery, therefore, my hopes were centered in its upward, not its downward course, for judging that in crossing the stony desert, i had crossed the lowest part of the interior, my anticipations of finding any important river in the central regions of australia were destroyed. my endeavour had been, not only to examine the country through which i was immediately passing, but to deduce from it, what might be its more extended features, and to put together such facts as i reasonably could, to elucidate the past and present state of the continent. in the course of my investigations, i saw grounds for believing that the fall of the interior was from north to south and from east to west. however much the more northerly streams might hold to the northward and westward, whilst in the hilly country, i felt assured, that as soon as they gained the depressed interior, they would double round to the southward, and thus disappoint the explorer. sir thomas mitchell himself tells us, that every river he traced on his recent journey, excepting the victoria, disappointed him, by turning to that point and entering a sandy country. it is evident, indeed, upon the face of sir thomas mitchell's journal, that there are no mountains in that part of the interior, in which the basins of the victoria must lie, or from which a river could emanate, of such a character, as to lead even the most sanguine to expect, that after having ceased to flow, it would continue onwards for another miles through such a country. from the favour able nature of the surveyor-general's report, however, it was deemed a point of great importance to ascertain the further course of the river, and mr. kennedy, a young and intelligent officer, who had accompanied sir thomas mitchell into the interior, was ordered on this interesting service. before i make any observations, however, on the result of his investigations, i shall give the following extract from his letter to the colonial secretary, on his return from the interior. "having reached the lowest point of the victoria attained by the surveyor-general, i was directed to pursue the river, and determine the course thereof as accurately as my light equipment, and consequent rapid progress, might permit. accordingly, on the th of august we moved down the river, and at / miles crossed over to its proper right bank; the victoria is there bounded on the south by a low sand-stone ridge, covered with brigalow; and on the north by fine grassy plains, with here and there clumps of the silver leaf brigalow; at seven miles we passed a fine deep reach, below which the river is divided into three channels, and inclines more to the southward; at thirteen miles we encamped upon the centre channel; the three were about half a mile apart, the southern one under the ridge being the deepest; we found water in each, but i believe it to be only permanent in the southernmost, which contains a fine reach, one mile below our encampment, in latitude degrees minutes seconds; an intelligent native, whom we met there with his family on our return, gave me the name of the river, which they call barcoo. i also obtained from him several useful words, which he seemed to take a pleasure in giving, and which i entered in my journal. "between the parallels of minutes seconds and minutes seconds, the river preserves generally a very direct course to the south-south-west, and maintains an unvaried character, although the supply of water greatly decreases below the latitude of degrees minutes. it is divided into three principal channels, and several minor watercourses, which traverse a flat country, lightly timbered by a species of flooded box; this flat is confined on either side by low sand-stone ridges, thickly covered with an acacia scrub. in latitude degrees minutes we had some difficulty in finding a sufficiency for our own consumption, but after searching the numerous channels, the deep (though dry) lagoons and lakes formed there by the river, we at length encamped at a small water-hole in latitude degrees minutes seconds and longitude degrees minutes seconds. "being aware that the principal view of the government in sending me to trace the victoria, was the discovery of a practical route to the gulf of carpentaria, i then began to fear that i should be unable, with my small stock of provisions, to accomplish the two objects of my expedition. my instructions confined me to the river, which had now preserved almost without deviation a south-south-west course for nearly a hundred miles; the only method which occurred to me, by the adoption of which i might still hope to perform all that was desired, was to trace the river with two men as far as latitude degrees, which the maintenance of its general course would have enabled me to do in two days, and then to hasten back to my party, to conduct them to the extreme northern point attained by the victoria, and endeavour to prolong the direct route carried that far, from sydney towards the gulf of carpentaria, by sir thomas mitchell. "with this intention i left the camp on the th of august, and at twelve miles found several channels united, forming a fine reach, below which the river takes a turn to the west-south-west, receiving the waters of rather a large creek from the eastward, in latitude degrees minutes seconds. in latitude degrees minutes, the river having again inclined to the southward, impinges upon the point of a low range on its left, by the influence of which it is turned in one well watered channel to the west and west by north, for nearly thirty miles; in that course the reaches are nearly connected, varying in breadth from to yards; firm plains of a poor white soil extend on either side of the river; they were rather bare of pasture, but they are evidently in some seasons less deficient of grass. in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude about degrees minutes, a considerable river joins the victoria from the north-east, which i would submit may be named the "thomson," in honour of e. deas thomson, esquire, the honourable the colonial secretary. it was on one of the five reaches in the westerly course of the victoria that i passed the second night; the river there measured yards across, and seemed to have a great depth; the rocks and small islets which here and there occurred in its channel giving it the semblance of a lasting and most important river; this unexpected change, however, both in its appearance and course, caused me to return immediately to my camp for the purpose of conducting my party down such a river whithersoever it should flow. "on the th august, we resumed our journey down that portion of the victoria above described, and made the river mentioned from north-east three miles above its junction; following it down we found an unbroken sheet of water in its channel, averaging fifty yards in breadth; we forded it at the junction, and continued to move down the victoria, keeping all the channels, into which it had again divided, on my left. at about one mile the river there turns to the south-south-west and south, spreading over a depressed and barren waste, void of trees or vegetation of any kind, its level surface being only broken by small doones of red sand, resembling islands upon the dry bed of an inland sea, which, i am convinced, at no distant period did exist there. "on the st september, we encamped upon a long, though narrow, reach in the most western channel, at which point a low sandstone ridge, strewed with boulders, and covered with an acacia scrub, closes upon the river. this position is important, as a small supply of grass will, i think, in most seasons, be found on the bank of the river, when not a blade, perhaps, may be seen within many miles above or below: my camp, which i marked k/iv was in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes. beyond camp iv the ridge recedes, and the soil becomes more broken and crumbling; our horses struggled with difficulty over this ground to my camp, at a small water-hole, in latitude degrees minutes seconds, where i found it necessary to lighten some of their loads by having buried lbs. flour, and lbs. sugar, still retaining a sufficient supply to carry us to captain sturt's farthest, on cooper's creek, to the eastward, (to which point i was convinced this river would lead me) and from thence back to the settled districts of new south wales; which was all i could then hope to accomplish. at about sixteen miles further, the ground becoming worse, so that our horses were continually falling into the fissures up to their hocks, i was compelled to leave lbs. more of flour and sugar at my camp of the th september, in latitude degrees minutes, at another small water-hole, found in the bed of a very dry and insignificant channel; here a barren sandstone range again impedes the river in its southerly course, and throws it off to the westward, thus causing many of its channels to unite and form a reach of water in latitude degrees minutes; this, the lowest reach we attained, i did not discover until my return, having found a sufficient supply in a channel more to the westward. in latitude degrees minutes, and longitude, by account, degrees minutes, the river, having rounded the point of the range which obstructs it, resumes its southerly course, spreading in countless channels over a surface bearing flood marks six and ten feet above its present level; this vast expanse is only bounded to the eastward by the barren range alluded to, which, ending abruptly, runs parallel with the river at a distance varying from four to seven miles. on the th september, i encamped upon a small water-hole in degrees minutes seconds, in the midst of a desert not producing a morsel of vegetation; yet so long as we could find water, transient as it was, i continued to push on with the hope of reaching, sooner or later, some grassy spot, whereon by a halt i might refresh the horses; however, that hope was destroyed at the close of the next day, for although i had commenced an early search for water when travelling to the southward, with numerous channels on either side of me, i was compelled at length to encamp in latitude degrees minutes seconds, and longitude, by account, degrees minutes, on the bank of a deep channel, without either water or food for our wearied horses. the following morning, taking one man and harry with me, we made a close search down the most promising watercourses and lagoons, but upon riding down even the deepest of them, we invariably found them break off into several insignificant channels, which again subdivided, and in a short distance dissipated the waters, derived from what had appeared the dry bed of a large river, on the absorbing plain; returning in disappointment to the camp, i sent my lightest man and harry on other horses to look into the channels still unexamined, but they also returned unsuccessful. we had seen late fires of the natives at which they had passed the night without water, and tracked them on their path from lagoon to lagoon in search of it; we also found that they had encamped on some of the deepest channels in succession, quitting each as it had become dry, having previously made holes to drain off the last moisture. my horses were by this time literally starving, and all we could give them was the rotten straw and weeds which had covered some deserted huts of the natives. seeing, then, that it would be the certain loss of many, and consequently an unjustifiable risk of my party to attempt to push farther into a country where the aborigines themselves were at a loss to find water, i felt it my imperative duty to at once abandon it. i would here beg to remark, that although unsuccessful in my attempt to follow it that far, from the appearance of the country, and long-continued direction of the river's course, i think there can exist but little doubt that the "victoria" is identical with cooper's creek, of captain sturt; that creek was abandoned by its discoverer in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees minutes, coming from the north-east, and as the natives informed him, "in many small channels forming a large one;" the lowest camp of mine on the victoria was in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude degrees minutes; the river in several channels trending due south, and the lowest point of the range which bounds that flat country to the eastward, bearing south degrees east; captain sturt also states that the ground near the creek was so blistered and light that it was unfit to ride on; but that before he turned, he had satisfied himself that there was no apparent sign of water to the eastward. "having marked a tree ek/ , we commenced our return journey along the track at two p.m. of the th of september; at eight miles i allowed one of the horses to be shot; for being an old invalid, and unable to travel further, he must have starved if left alive. at thirteen miles we reached the water. some while after dark the following day we made our next camp; but it was with much difficulty that my private horse and two or three others were brought to water, one being almost carried by three men the latter part of the day. upon discovering the reach, in latitude degrees minutes, near the range, and finding a little grass in the channel about the water, i gave the horses two days' rest. my camp on the reach is marked k/iii.; it is in latitude degrees minutes seconds, longitude, by account, degrees minutes; the variation of the compass degrees east; water boiled at degrees, the temperature of the air being degrees. on the th september we proceeded on our journey, and reached the firm plains beyond the desert. on the nd, having halted a day, we again moved on, and arrived within five miles of the carts; on the th october, leaving my party on the south channel, i rode to the spot, and found them still safe, although a native had been examining the ground that very morning. lest he should have gone to collect others to assist him in his researches, i brought my party forward the same evening, had the carts dug out during the night, and at sunrise proceeded to our position of the th august on the south channel." from the above account, which is equally clear and distinct, it would appear, that, just below where the river alice joins the victoria, the latter river had already commenced its south-west course, and that the last thirty miles down which the surveyor-general traced this river was a part of the general south-west course, which it afterwards maintained to the termination of mr. kennedy's route, and consequently the latter traveller never had an opportunity of approaching so near the gulf of carpentaria as the surveyor-general had done. here its channel separates into three principal branches, at half-a-mile apart, and, notwithstanding the promise it had given down to the point, at which he had now arrived, (latitude degrees minutes, and longitude degrees minutes,) having then travelled nearly miles along its banks, mr. kennedy had great difficulty in finding water. in consequence indeed, of the unfavourable changes that had taken place in the river, he determined on leaving the party stationary, and proceeding down it with two men to the th parallel, whence, if he found that it still held to the south, he proposed returning with the intention of trying to find a practicable route to the gulf of carpentaria, in compliance with his instructions, and under an impression, i presume, that the fate of the victoria would then have been fully determined. in latitude degrees minutes, the river having changed its course to the w. s. w. was joined by a large creek from the "eastward." in latitude degrees minutes it was turned by some low sandstone ranges on its left, and trended for thirty miles to the west, and even to the northward of that point, having almost connected ponds of water for that distance, varying in breadth, from to yards, and being bounded on either side by firm plains of white soil. about degrees minutes and degrees minutes the river was joined by a large tributary stream from the north-east, to which mr. kennedy gave the name of the "thomson," and encouraged by the favourable changes which had now taken place, he returned for his party with the determination of following so fine a river to the last. we shall now see how far his anticipations were confirmed, and how far his further investigation of the victoria river, and his account of the country through which it flows, accords with the description i have given of the dreary region into which i penetrated. on the th of september, mr. kennedy having brought down his party, resumed his journey, and crossing the victoria, struck the n. e. tributary about three miles above its junction with the main stream, and fording at that point, kept on the proper right bank of the victoria. "at about a mile," says mr. kennedy, "it (the victoria) there turns to the s.s.w. and south, spreading over a depressed and barren waste, void of trees or vegetation of any kind, its level surface being only broken by small doones of red sand, like islands upon the dry bed of an inland sea, which i am convinced at no distant period did exist there." there cannot, i think, be any reasonable doubt, but that mr. kennedy had here reached the edge of the great central desert. both the river he was tracing, and the country were precisely similar in character to cooper's creek, and the country i had so long been wandering over. the former at one point having a fine deep channel, at another split into numberless small branches, and then spreading over some extensive level without the vestige of a water-course upon it. the country monotonous and sterile, its level only broken by low sandstone hills, or doones of sand, the whole bearing in its general appearance the stamp of a submarine origin. mr. kennedy's last camp on the victoria was in lat. degrees minutes seconds s. and in long. degrees minutes e.; the most eastern point of cooper's creek gained by me was in lat. degrees minutes s. and long. degrees minutes e. this longitude, however, was by account, and i may have thrown it some few miles to the eastward; in like manner mr. kennedy's longitude being also by account, i believe he may have placed his camp a little to the west of its true position; but, as the two points are now laid down, there is a distance of geographical miles between them, on a bearing of degrees to the east of north. admitting the identity of the victoria with cooper's creek, of which i do not think there is the slightest doubt, the course of the former in order to join the latter would be south, degrees w. the very course mr. kennedy states it had apparently taken up when he left it. "the lowest camp on the victoria," he says, "was in lat. degrees minutes seconds, and in long. degrees minutes, the river in several channels trending due south." if such is the case i must have misunderstood the signs of the natives, and been mistaken in my supposition that the vast basin into which i traced it, was the basin of cooper's creek, but i had so frequently remarked the rapid and almost instantaneous formation of such features in similar localities, that, i confess, i did not doubt the meaning the natives intended to convey. there are several facts illustrative of the structure and lay, if i may use the expression, of the interior unfolded to us, in consequence of the farther knowledge mr. kennedy's exploration has given of that part through which the victoria flows, which strike myself, who have so deep an interest in the subject, when they might, perhaps, escape the general reader; i have therefore thought it right to advert to them for a moment. he will not, however, have failed to observe, in the perusal of mr. kennedy's report, that excepting where small sandstone ranges turned it to the westward, the tendency of the victoria was to the south. the same fact struck me in reference to the murray river, as i proceeded down it in . i could not fail to observe its efforts to run away in a southerly direction when not impeded by cliffs or sand-hills. this would seem to indicate, that the dip of the continent is more directly to the south than to the west. there is a line of rocky hills, that turn cooper's creek to the latter point immediately to the south-west of the grassy plains on which i supposed it took its rise. from that point its general direction is to the westward for about eighty miles, when it splits into two branches, the one flowing to the north-west, and terminating in the extensive grassy plains described at page , vol. ii. of the present work, the other passing to the westward and laying all the country under water during the rainy season, which mr. brown and i traversed on our journey to the north-west; the several creeks we discovered on that occasion, being nothing more than ramifications of cooper's creek, which thus, like all the other interior rivers of australia, expends itself by overflowing extensive levels; but instead of forming marshes like the lachlan, the macquarie, and the murrumbidgee, terminates in large grassy plains, which are as wheat-fields to the natives, since the grass-seed they collect from them appears to constitute their principal food. i have observed in the beginning of this work, that the impression on my mind, before i commenced my recent expedition, was, that a great current had passed southwards through the gulf of carpentaria which had been split in two by some intervening obstacle, that one branch of this current had taken the line of the darling, the other having passed to the westward. now, it would appear, that the sources of the victoria are in long. degrees minutes, and we are aware, that the course of that river is to the w.s.w. as far as the th meridian; unless, therefore, there is a low and depressed country between the sources of the victoria, and the coast ranges traversed by dr. leichhardt, through which the southerly current could have passed, my hypothesis, as regards it, is evidently wrong; and such, on an inspection of sir thomas mitchell's map, appears to be the case, as he has marked a line of hills, connecting the basins of the victoria with the higher ranges traversed by doctor leichhardt, nearer the coast. my object being to elicit truth, i have deemed it necessary to call the attention of the reader to this point, because it would appear to argue against the general conclusions i have drawn, since, if there is no apparent outlet, there could not have been any southerly current as i have supposed; whereas, if the features of the country could have justified such a conclusion, the general ones i have formed would have been very considerably strengthened. mr. kennedy's survey of the victoria establishes the fact, that there is not a single stream or water-course falling into the main drainage of the continent, from the northward or westward, between the th and th parallels of latitude, a distance of more than geographical miles--a fact which strongly proves the depressed nature of the north-west interior, and would appear to confirm the opinion already expressed, that the stony desert is the great channel into which such rivers as have a sufficiently prolonged course, are ultimately led, and towards which the northerly, and a great portion of the easterly drainage tends. how that singular feature may terminate, whether in an in land sea, or as an arid wilderness, stretching to the great australian bight, it is impossible to say. from the general tendency of the rivers to fall to the south, it may be that the stony desert, as mr. arrowsmith supposes, has some connexion with lake torrens, but i think, for reasons already stated, that it passes far to the westward. it may not be generally known, that dr. leichhardt is at this moment endeavouring to accomplish an undertaking, in which, if he should prove successful, he will stand the first of australian explorers. it is to traverse the continent from east to west, nor will he be able to do this under a distance of more than miles in a direct line. he had already started on this gigantic journey, but was obliged to return, as his party contracted the ague, and he lost all his animals; but undaunted by these reverses, he left moreton bay in december last, and has not since been heard of. one really cannot but admire such a spirit of enterprise and self-devotion, or be too earnest in our wishes for his prosperity. dr. leichhardt intends keeping on the outskirts of the desert all the way round to swan river, and the difficulties he may have to encounter as well as the distance he may have to travel, will greatly depend on its extent. we can hardly hope for intelligence of this dauntless explorer for two years; but if such a period should elapse without any intelligence of him, i trust there will not those be wanting to volunteer their services in the hope of rendering him assistance. our best feelings have been raised to save the wanderer at the pole--should they not also be raised to carry relief to the wanderer of the desert? the present exploration of dr. leichhardt, if successful, will put an end to every theory, and complete the discovery of the internal features of the australian continent, and when we look at the great blank in the map of that vast territory, we cannot but admit the service that intrepid traveller is doing to the cause of geography and natural history, by the undertaking in which he is at present engaged. it is doubtful to me, however, whether his investigations and labours will greatly extend the pastoral interests of the australian colonies, for i am disposed to think that the climate of the region through which he will pass, is too warm for the successful growth of wool. as i stated in the body of my work, the fleece on the sheep we took into the interior, ceased to grow at the depot in lat. degrees minutes, as did our own hair and nails; but local circumstances may account for this effect upon the animal system, although it seems to me that the great dryness of the australian atmosphere, where the heat is also excessive, as it must be in the interior and juxta-tropical parts of it, would prevent the growth of wool, by drying up the natural moisture of the skin. nevertheless, if dr. leichhardt should discover mountains of any height or extent, their elevated plateaux, like that of the darling downs, which is one of the finest pastoral districts of new south wales, and is in lat. / degrees, would not be liable to the same objections; for i believe no better wool is produced than in that district, and that only there, and in port phillip, has the sheep farmer been able to clear his expenses this year. were it not, therefore, for the almost boundless and still unoccupied tracts of land within the territory of new south wales, we might look with greater anxiety, as regards the pastoral interests of australia, to the result of dr. leichhardt's labours. at present, however, there seems to be no limit to the extent either of grazing or of agricultural land in new south wales. the only thing to be regretted is, that the want of an industrious population, keeps it in a state of nature, and that the thousands who are here obtaining but a precarious subsistence, should not evince a more earnest desire to go to a country where most assuredly their condition would be changed for the better. appendix. animals. but few mammalia inhabit central australia. the nature of the country indeed is such, that we could hardly expect to find any remarkable variety. the greater part is only tenable after or during heavy rains, when the hollows in the flats between the sandy ridges contain water. on such occasions the natives move about the country, and subsist almost exclusively on the hapalotis mitchellii, and an animal they call the talpero, a species of perameles, which is spread over a great extent of country, being common in the sand hills on the banks of the darling, to the s.e. of the barrier range, as well as to the sandy ridges in the n.w. interior, although none were met with to the north of the stony desert. the hapaloti feed on tender shoots of plants, and must live for many months together without water, the situation in which we found them precluding the possibility of their obtaining any for protracted intervals. they make burrows of great extent, from which the natives smoke them, and they sometimes procure as many as twelve or eighteen from one burrow. this animal is grey, the fur is exceedingly soft; although the animal is in some measure common, i could not procure any skins from the natives. very few kangaroos were seen, none indeed beyond the parallel of degrees. all that were seen were of the common kind, none of the minor description apparently inhabiting the interior, if i except some rock wallabi, noticed on the barrier range. the last beautiful little animal always escaped us in consequence of its extreme agility and watchfulness. the native dog was not seen beyond lat. degrees. nor was it found in a wild state beyond fort grey, to the best of my recollection; these miserable and melancholy animals would come to water where we were, unconscious of our presence, and would gain the very bank of the creek before they discovered us, rousing us by as melancholy a howl as jackal ever made; their emaciated bodies standing between us and the moon, were the most wretched objects of the brute creation. the first choeropus castanotus seen, was on the banks of the darling, in the possession of the natives, but it was too much injured to be valuable as a specimen. a second was also killed there, but torn to pieces by the dogs. none were afterwards seen until after the barrier range had been crossed, when about lat. degrees several were captured alive, as detailed under the head dipus. in like manner the first nest of the "building rats" (mus conditor, gould) was found in the brushes on the darling, where they were numerous. the last nest of these animals was on the bank of the muddy lagoon to the north of the pine forest, in which the party were so embarrassed, at the end of . the first hapalotis, seen was in lat. / degrees on some plains to the eastward of the depot, where it was nearly captured by mr. browne. a second was taken by mr. stewart, at the tents, but in neither places were they found inhabiting the same kind of country as that in which they were subsequently found in such vast numbers. mr. gould thinks there were two species amongst those brought home, and it may be that these two were different from those inhabiting the sand hills: they only differed, however, in a darker shade in the fur, and a reddish mark on the back of the ears. there were both rats and mice in the n.w. interior, numbers of which took up their abode in our underground room at the depot, but there was no apparent difference between them and the ordinary rat or mouse. there was only one opossum killed, or indeed seen to the westward of the barrier range, nor do they appear to inhabit the interior in any numbers. since there were no signs of the trees having been ascended by the natives in search of them. * * * * * . canis familiaris, var. australasiae.--dingo. this animal was not very numerous in the interior, more especially towards the centre, for it was not noticed to the north of the stony desert. wherever seen it was in the most miserable condition, and it is difficult to say on what they lived. this animal was of all colours. it appears to me that if these dogs are indigenous, nature has departed from her usual laws as regards wild beasts, in giving them such a variety of colours. . macropus major.--great kangaroo. this animal did not extend beyond degrees. six or seven were there seen on a small stony range, but very few were observed to the westward of the barrier range. . macropus laniger.--red kangaroo. this fine animal did not extend beyond the neighbourhood and plains of the murray, where it is not numerous. several of the smaller kangaroos were taken during the progress of the expedition up the murray and darling rivers; but as they have been frequently described, it is not thought necessary to insert them in this list. . choeropus castanotus, gray. this animal was first killed on the darling, but the specimen was destroyed by the dogs. two or three were afterwards taken alive in latitude / degrees. they were found lying out in tufts of grass, and when roused betook themselves after a short run, to some hollow logs where they were easily cut out. the choeroups is a beautiful animal, about eight inches long in the body, with a tail of considerable length, having a tuft at the end. the fur is a silvery grey, and very soft. when confined in a box they ate sparingly of grass and young leaves, but preferred meat and the offal of birds shot for them. the choeropus is insectivorous, and i was therefore not surprised at their taking to animal food, which, however, not agreeing with them, they died one after the other. they squat like rabbits, laying their broad ears along their backs in the same kind of way. . hapalotis mitchellii. this beautiful little animal was, as i have observed in the introduction to this notice, first seen in the vicinity of the depot. it was subsequently found in vast numbers, inhabiting the sandy ridges from fort grey to lake torrens. those immense banks of sand were in truth marked over with their footprints as if an army of mice or rats had been running over them. they are not much larger than a mouse, have a beautiful full black eye, long ears, and tail feathered towards the end. the colour of the fur is a light red, in rising they hop on their hind legs, and when tired go on all four, holding their tail perfectly horizontal. they breed in the flats on little mounds, burrowing inwards from the edge; various passages tending like the radii of a wheel to a common centre, to which a hole is made from the top of the mound, so that there is a communication from it to all the passages. they are taken by the natives in hundreds, who avail themselves of a fall of rain to rove through the sandy ridges to hunt these little animals and the talpero, perameles, as long as there shall be surface water. we had five of these little animals in a box, that thrived beautifully on oats, and i should have succeeded in getting them to adelaide if it had not been for the carelessness of one of the men in fastening a tarpauline down over them one dreadful day, by which means they were smothered. . mus conditor, gould.--the building rat. inhabits the brushes in the darling, in which it builds a nest of small sticks, varying in length from eight inches to three, and in thickness, from that of a quill to that of the thumb. the fabric is so firm and compact as almost to defy destruction except by fire. the animals live in communities, and have passages leading into apartments in the centre of the mound or pyramid, which might consist of three or four wheelbarrows full of the sticks, are about four feet in diameter, and three feet high. the animal itself is like an ordinary rat, only that it has longer ears and its hind feet are disproportioned to the fore feet. it was not found beyond latitude degrees. see page , vol. i. . acrobates pygmaea.--flying opossum mouse. this beautiful and delicate little animal was killed in a box tree, whence it came out of a hole, and ran with several others along a branch, retreating again with great swiftness. it was so small that if the moon had not been very bright it could not have been seen. it is somewhat less than a mouse in size and has a tail like an emu's feather, its skin being of a dark brown. . lagorchestes fasciatus (l. albipilis, gould?).--fasciated kangaroo. one only of this animal was seen on the plains of the interior. it is peculiar in its habits, in that it lies in open ground and springs from its form like a hare, running with extreme velocity, and doubling short round upon its pursuers to avoid them. the lagorchestes is very common on the plains to the north of gawler town, but is so swift as generally to elude the dogs. it is marsupial, and about the size of a rabbit, but is greatly disproportioned, as all the kangaroo tribe are, as regards the hind and fore quarters. in colour this animal is a silvery grey, crossed with dark coloured bars on the back. . phalangista vulpina.--the opossum. like the preceding, only one of these animals was seen or shot during the expedition; it was in one of the gum-trees, taking its silent and lonely ramble amongst its branches, when the quick eye of tampawang, my native boy, saw him. it does not appear generally to inhabit the n.w. interior. the present was a very large specimen, with a beautifully soft skin, and as it was the only one noticed during a residence of nearly six months at the same place, it was in all probability a stray animal. . vespertilio.--little black bat. this diminutive little animal flew into my tent at the depot, attracted by the light. it is not common in that locality, or any other that we noticed. it was of a deep black in colour and had smaller ears than usual. * * * * * * * birds. i have observed that a principal reason i had for supposing that there was either an inland sea, a desert country, or both in the interior, was from observations i had made during several expeditions, and in south australia, of the migration of certain of the feathered tribes to the same point--that is to say, that in lat. and in long. , i observed them passing to the n.w. and in lat. , long. , to the north. seeing, on prolonging these two lines, that they would pass over a great portion of the interior before they met, about a degree beyond the tropic, i concluded that the nature of the intervening country was not such as they could inhabit, and that the first available land would be where the two lines thus met. it so happened that at the depot, in lat. / and in long. , i was in the direct line of migration to the n.w., and that during our stay at that lonely post, we witnessed the migration of various birds to that quarter, though not of all. this was more particularly the case with the water-birds, as ducks, bitterns, pelicans, cormorants, and swans,--we saw few of the latter, but generally heard them at night passing over our heads from n.w. to s.e. or vice versu; but we never afterwards found any waters which we could suppose those birds could frequent in the distant interior. on strzelecki's creek a small tern was shot, and on cooper's creek several seagulls were seen, but beyond these we had no reason to anticipate the existence of inland water from any thing we noticed as to the feathered races. on our first arrival at the depot there was a bittern, ardetta flavicollis, that frequented the creek in considerable numbers. this bird was black and white, with a speckled breast and neck. every evening at dusk they would fly, making a hoarse noise, to the water at the bottom of the red hole creek, and return in the morning, but as winter advanced they left us, and went to the n.w. about february and the beginning of march, the epthianura tricolor and e. aurifrons, and some of the parrot tribe, collected in thousands on the creeks, preparatory to migrating to the same point to which the aquatic birds had gone. it was their wont to fly up and down the creeks, uttering loud cries, and collecting in vast numbers, but suddenly they would disappear, and leave the places which had rung with their wild notes as silent as the desert. the euphema elegans then passed us, with several other kinds of birds, but some of them remained, as did also the euphema bourkii, which the reader will find more particularly noticed under its proper head. the range of the speckled dove (geopelia cuneata), so common on the darling, extended to the depot, and two remained with us during the winter, and roosted two or three times on the tent ropes over my fire. there were always an immense number of raptores following the line of migration, and living on the smaller birds; nor was any thing more remarkable than the terror they caused amongst them. the poor things would hardly descend to water, and several of the euphema came to the creek in the dark, when we could not see to fire at them, and several killed themselves by flying against our tent ropes. the range of the rose cockatoo was right across the continent as far as we went--as well as that of the crested parroquet, which was, as i have observed, the last bird we saw, just before mr. browne and i turned homewards from our first going to the n.w. the cacatua sanguinea, gould, succeeded the sulphur crested cockatoo to the westward of the barrier range, and was in flocks of thousands on evelyn's plains, near the depot, but i am not certain as to the point to which it migrated. it is remarkable, however, that the sulphur crested cockatoo, though numerous along the whole line of the darling, was never seen near the depot, or to the westward of the barrier range. the amadina lathami, to which we always looked as the harbinger of good, was met with in every part of the interior--where there was water--and frequently at such vast distances from it, when migrating, i suppose, that vast numbers must have perished. i have noticed the pigeons in their proper place, and stated my opinion as to the point to which they went on leaving us; and i would refer my reader to my remarks on that head: he will find their habits and localities fully described there. we fell in with the water-hen, tribonyx, on one of the creeks on our journey to lake torrens, and again on strzelecki's creek, apparently migrating to the south. these birds ran along the banks likefowls, as they did in the located districts of adelaide, as described by mr. gould, and that too in great numbers, and when disturbed took wing to the south. in like manner we observed the eudromias australis, migrating southwards in may. from these facts it would appear that the great line taken by the feathered tribes in migrating from the southern or southeastern parts of the province is in a direction between the east and south points of the compass, and i cannot still help thinking that about a degree to the north of the tropic, and about the meridian of , a more fertile country than any hitherto discovered will be found. it may be necessary for me to observe that on our advance to fort grey, in august, we observed numerous caloderae, and other smaller birds in the brushes, apparently on the move whilst there was water for them, that had been left by the then recent rains. we did not again see these birds until we had passed the stony desert and entered the box-tree forest to the north of it, in which was the creek with the huge native well. there a variety of birds had congregated--the rose cockatoo, the piping magpie, the calodera, various parrots and parroquets, bronze-wing pigeons, and numerous small birds. at cawndilla, mr. poole shot a euphema splendida, gould. it was in company with several others; but this bird was not again seen until we passed the th parallel, in september, when it was met by mr. browne and myself coming from the north. the following is a list of the birds seen during the expedition. * * * * * . aquila fucosa, cuvier.--the wedge-tailed eagle. two of these birds frequented the depot glen, in degrees minutes seconds and in longitude degrees, one of which was secured. they generally rested on a high pointed rock, whence their glance extended over the whole country, and it was only by accident that the above specimen was killed. this powerful bird is common both on the murray and the darling, and is widely, perhaps universally distributed over the australian continent, although the two birds in the glen were the only ones seen in the interior to the n.w. of the barrier, or stanley's range. . haliastur sphenurus.--the whistling eagle. this species of eagle is considerably smaller than the first and has much lighter plumage. it is a dull and stupid bird, and is easily approached. it was shot at the depot, in the month of april, . several others were seen during our stay there. . falco hypoleucus, gould.--the grey falcon. this beautiful bird was shot at the depot, at which place, during our long stay, mr. piesse, my storekeeper, was very successful with my gun. a pair, male and female, were observed by him one sunday in may, whilst the men were at prayers, hovering very high in the air, soon after which he succeeded in killing both. they came down from a great height and pitched in the trees on the banks of the creek, and on mr. piesse firing at and killing one the other flew away; but returning to look for its lost companion, shared its fate. nothing could exceed the delicate beauty of these birds when first procured. their large, full eyes, the vivid yellow of the ceres and legs, together with their slate-coloured plumage, every feather lightly marked at the end, was quite dazzling; but all soon faded from the living brightness they had at first. the two specimens were the only ones seen during an interval of seventeen months that the party was in the interior, and these, it appears probable to me, were on the flight, and were attracted down to us. . falco melanogenys, gould.--the black-cheeked falcon. a single specimen of this bird was shot at the depot, when just stooping at a duck on some water in the glen. the strength of limb, and muscle of this fine species of falcon were extremely remarkable, and seemed to indicate that he despised weaker or smaller prey than that at which he was flying when shot. he had been seen several times before he was killed. his flight was rapid and resistless, and his stoop was always sure. this must be a scarce bird, as the specimen was the only one seen. . falco subniger, g. r. gray.--the black falcon. the colour of this fine bird is a sooty black, but his shape is beautiful, and his flight, as his sharp pointed wings indicate, rapid. he was shot in some brushes behind the depot, where he had been spreading alarm amongst a flight of parroquets, (euphema bourkii). this must also be a scarce bird, as he was the only one seen. . falco frontatus.--the white-fronted falcon. this is both a smaller and a more common bird; its range being very wide. this species followed the line of migration, and made sad havoc among the parroquets and smaller birds. he was generally hid in the trees, and would descend like an arrow when they came to water, frequently carrying off two of the little amadina castanotis, a favourite bird of ours, one in each talon. . tinnunculus cenchroides.--nankeen kestril. like the last, small and swift of wing, following also the line of migration. this bird is generally distributed over the continent and is known by the nankeen colour of his back. . astur approximans, vig. and horsf. australian goshawk. this bird was occasionally seen during the journey. . milvus affinis, gould.--allied kite. this bird is common over the whole continent of australia. they are sure to be in numbers at the camps of the natives, which they frequent to pick up what may be left when they go away. they are sure also to follow any party in the bush for the same purpose. about fifty of these birds remained at the depot, with about as many crows, when all the other birds had deserted us; and afforded great amusement to the men, who used to throw up pieces of meat for them to catch in falling. but although so tame that they would come round the tents on hearing a whistle, they would not eat any thing in captivity, and would have died if they had not been set at liberty again. it was this bird which descended upon mr. browne and myself in such numbers from the upper regions of the air, as we were riding on some extensive plains near the depot in the heat of summer. there can be no doubt but that in the most elevated positions where they are far out of the range of human sight, they mark what is passing on the plains below them. this bird is figured, see page , vol. . . elanus scriptus, gould.--the letter-winged kite. this beautiful bird was first seen on a creek to the eastward of the barrier or stanley's range, and before the party had crossed that chain of hills. one was shot on the advance of the expedition from the darling in the early part of november , in latitude degrees, and on the return of the party from the interior, in december , several specimens were seen as low as cawndilla, and ranging along the banks of the darling. in the interval they were seen in flocks of from thirty to forty, either soaring in the air or congregated together in trees. they were never seen to stoop at any thing, nor could we detect on what they fed, but i am led to believe that it was mice. they are fond of hovering in the air, and in such a position look beautiful, the black bar across the wing underneath them appearing like a w, and contrasting strongly with the otherwise delicate plumage of the bird. they left us for a time whilst we remained at the depot, and the first that were afterwards seen by us were on the return of mr. browne and myself from our first northern journey. these birds are widely distributed over that part of the interior traversed by the expedition. like elanus notatus, it has a bright full eye, the iris inclined to a light pink. its shoulders are black, and its back like a sea-gull, slate-coloured. . circus jardinii, gould.--jardine's harrier. this bird, with its spotted plumage, was not common. a specimen was shot on the banks of the darling, between williorara and the junction with the murray. none of the same bird were seen in the n.w. interior, or to the westward of the barrier range. . strix personata, vig.--masked barn owl. this fine night bird was very rare in the interior, and only one specimen was procured. its plumage is characterised by that softness so peculiar to the genus to which it belongs, and in consequence of which its flight is so silent and stealthy that, like the foot-fall of the cat, it is unheard. this owl was shot on the darling, after having been startled out of a tree. . strix delicatulus, gould.--delicate owl. nearly allied to the strix flammea, or barn owl of england. this bird, widely spread over the continent of australia, inhabits the interior in great numbers, wherever there are trees large enough for it to build in. their young were just fledged when the expedition descended into the western interior, and at sunset came out on the branches of the gum-trees, where they sat for several hours to be fed, making a most discordant noise every time the old birds came with a fresh supply of food, which was about every quarter of an hour. it was frequently impossible to sleep from the constant screeching of the young owls. their food is principally mice, bats, and large moths. . athene boobook.--boobook owl. so called from its whoop resembling that sound. like others of its genus it comes from its hiding place at sunset, and its note in the distance is exactly like that of the cuckoo, but the sound changes as you approach it. this bird has a dark brown plumage, spotted white, and differs in many respects from the genus strix, although very closely allied to it. . aegotheles novae-hollandiae, vig. and horsf.--owlet night jar. this small bird, although a night bird, is very frequently seen in the day time, sleeping on the branch of a casuarina, to which they appear to be partial. it is very common in the brushes of the murray belt, and when disturbed has an awkward flight, as if it knew not where to go. its plumage is very downy and soft, and it weighs exceedingly light. . podargus humeralis, vig. and horsf.--tawny-shouldered podargus. this singular bird is an inhabitant of the distant interior, and was seen on several occasions, but invariably near hills. the appearance of this uncouth bird is very absurd, with his enormous mouth that literally reaches from ear to ear, and his eyes half shut. mr. browne surprised five of these birds on a stone, on the summit of mount arrowsmith, about half a degree to the southward of the depot. they were all sitting with their heads together, and all flew in different directions when roused. . eurostopodus guttatus.--spotted goat-sucker. this rapid-winged night bird is widely distributed over south-eastern australia, if not over every part of the continent. i have often watched the motions of this light and airy bird round a pond of water close to which i have been lying, with the full bright moon above me, and been amazed at its rapid evolutions; and admired the wisdom of that providence which had so adapted this little animal for the part it was to act on the great stage of the universe. so light, that it had no difficulty in maintaining a prolonged flight, with its noiseless wing, making its sweeps to greater or lesser distances, and seeming never to require rest. the habit of this goat-sucker is to lie under any tree or brush during the day, from which it issues in great alarm on being roused. . chelidon ariel, gould. the brown-headed swallow, a common bird in the interior during the summer. gregarious, and building clay nests, like bottles stuck against a tree, in rows one above the other. instinct guides these little birds to select a tree that slopes and is concave, in which the nests will be protected from rain or storms. a white-headed swallow was also frequently seen, but it was always under circumstances that prevented our procuring a specimen. . merops ornatus, lath.--australian bee-eater. this beautiful little bird, with its varied plumage, is migratory, and visits the southern parts of the continent during summer, when its locality is near any river, or chain of ponds, although it is also found in other places. i first shot this pretty bird on the banks of the macquarie in , where it was in considerable numbers. it visits adelaide, and we saw it in the interior almost to our extreme north. . halcyon sanctus, vig. and horsf.--sacred halcyon. this ill-proportioned bird in shape and general appearance is like the kingfisher. instead however of living on fish, he contents himself with lizards, beetles, grasshoppers, etc., and amongst these he makes a great havoc. the range of this bird did not extend beyond the lat. of the depot. . halcyon pyrrhopygia, gould.--red-backed halcyon. similar in shape and figure to the last, but differing in plumage and in size, having dull red feathers over the rump, the blue being also of a duller shade. it ranges far north. . artamus sordidus.--wood swallow. the flight and habits of this bird are very like those of the swallow tribe. they huddle together to roost: selecting a flat round stump, round the edge of which they sit with their heads inwards, so presenting a singular appearance: or else they cling together to the number of thirty or forty on a branch like a swarm of bees. they were seen in every part of the interior over the whole of which they appear to range. . artamus personatus, gould.--masked wood swallow. so called because of a black mark on the throat and cheek resembling a mask in some measure. the plumage of this bird is light, the breast of the male almost approaching to a white, for size and shape there is little difference between this and the last. both are equally common, and are seen together, ranging the brushes at a great distance from water. . artamus superciliosus, gould.--white eyebrowed wood swallow. a white line over the eye is the distinguishing mark of this bird. one or other species of artamus was found when no other birds were to be seen. they generally sat on dead branches, and their flight extended no farther than from the one to the other. . pardalotus striatus, temm.--striated pardalote. there are several species of this beautiful tribe of little birds, but the above was the only kind procured. the species under consideration occupies the higher branches of the gum-trees, and is so small that it is seen with difficulty. . gymnorhina leuconota, gould.--the white-backed crow shrike. this bird is somewhat larger than, and very much resembles a magpie, but the proportion of white is greater, and there is no metallic or varied tint on the black feathers as on the european bird. in south australia it is a winter bird, and his clear fine note was always the most heard on the coldest morning, as if that temperature best suited him. all the species of this genus are easily domesticated, and learn to pipe tunes. they are mischievous birds about a house, but are useful in a garden. i had one that ranged the fields to a great distance round the house, but always returned to sleep in it. . cracticus destructor. this bird has the strong, straight, and hooked bill. he is an ugly brute in shape and plumage, but is a magnificent songster. his own notes ring through the wilds, and there is not a bird of the forest that he does not imitate. one of these birds regularly visited the camp at flood creek every morning to learn a tune one of the men used to whistle to him, and he always gave notice of his presence by a loud note of the most metallic sound. it breeds on the hills, and is generally found wherever there is shade and water. . grallina australis.--pied grallina. this harmless bird, somewhat larger than a field-fare, is found near water, where the banks are muddy. it is common on all the river flats, and lives on insects. its pied plumage is very pretty, but its note is a melancholy one. very few were seen to the westward of the barrier range, and those always close to lagoons. . graucalus melanops.--black-faced graucalus. the colour of the plumage of this bird is that of slate, and it has a black throat. its range is very extensive, but we did not see it in the distant north-west interior. . pteropodocys phasianella, gould.--ground grauculus. there were not more than six or seven of this bird seen during the progress of the expedition, and that only at the depot. they were exceedingly wild and wary, keeping in the centre of open plains and feeding on locusts and grasshoppers. they always kept together, and flew straight from and to the trees on the banks of the creek. this bird is long in shape, and has a peculiar rise over the rump. it is elegantly formed. the head and back are slate-coloured; the rump white, with scollops, as also is the breast; the wings and tail being black and long. it was with great difficulty that we procured any specimen of this bird from its shyness. it apparently came from the n.e. and departed in the same direction when winter approached. . campephaga humeralis, gould.--white-shouldered campephaga. an insectivorous bird, frequenting the brushes of the interior, and of wide range; visiting the southern districts in summer, but evidently being a bird of a warm climate. a species very similar to the present inhabited norfolk island. . pachycephalus gutturalis.--guttural pachycephala. the strong bill of this bird indicates its character as living on insects. it is common, and has been so often described as to require no notice here. . pachycephalus pectoralis, vig. and horsf.--banded thick-head. similar in habits to the last; and is abundant in all parts of south america. . colluricincla harmonica.--harmonious colluricincla. a bird of dull plumage, with the habits of a thrush, keeping in the bushes or young sapling gum-trees, near water, and living on insects of various kinds. its note is sweet, and amongst australian birds it may be considered a good songster. its range is extensive. it was numerous on cooper's creek, in lat. / degrees and long. degrees. . oreoica gutturalis.--crested piping thrush. i found this bird common on the plains eastward of the darling, and also in the western interior. it visits the south-eastern parts of the continent, and is common in south australia; frequenting open forests, and betraying its presence by its monotonous notes. it is a strong built bird, with a dull plumage, but its crest adds much to its beauty, and it has a deep yellow iris. . erythrodryas rhodinogaster.--pink-breasted wood robin. this pretty little bird is, like our own native robin, fond of woodlands, and is generally found amongst thick brush, issuing from it to perch on dead branches. its breast is a fine bright pink; its plumage is otherwise black and white, and it has a spot of white over the nostrils. the range of this bird is extensive, and it is common to many localities. . petroica goodenovii.--red-capped robin. similar in shape to the last, and essentially with the same plumage, with this exception, that the feathers over the nostril in this bird are a fine deep red, as well as its breast. it is found in south australia, and was not uncommon in the interior. . petroica phoenicea, gould.--flame-breasted robin. similar in general appearance, but larger than either of the last; it is grey where it is black in the others, and is without any frontal mark. it has, like the others, a breast of red, approaching to a flame colour. this species is not common in the interior. none of the three described are songsters, and cannot therefore rival our own sweet bird in that respect. . drymodes brunneopygia, gould.--scrub robin. this bird is considerably larger than the last described, and is an inhabitant of scrubs. . sphenostoma cristata, gould.--crested wedge bill. the note of this bird is generally heard when all the other birds are silent, during the heat of the day. its range does not extend to the westward of the barrier range, or beyond / degrees of latitude. . malurus cyaneus.--blue wren. this beautiful little warbler, so splendidly illustrated in the work of mr. gould, is common in south-australia. there are six or seven species of the genus, all equally beautiful. . malurus melanotus. this beautiful description of malurus, common in the brushes of south australia, was frequently met with, particularly in scrubby places. . malurus leucopterus.--white-winged. the habits of this bird are exactly similar to those of a wren. it delights in being on the top of bushes, whence after singing for a minute or two it flies into the centre and secretes itself. the rich-coloured males of this family are generally followed by a number of small brown birds, their late offspring. this peculiarity has been mentioned fully by mr. gould in his splendid work on australian birds. . epthianura aurifrons, gould.--orange-fronted epthianura. the general appearance of this beautiful little bird is very different from that of australian birds in general. a few years ago a specimen came accidentally into my hands, and it was so unlike any bird i had seen that i doubted its having been shot in australia, but concluded that it was a south american specimen. two or three however were procured by the expedition, in latitude degrees, longitude / degrees. . epthianura tricolor, gould.--tricoloured epthianura. this beautiful little bird was procured, both on the summit of the barrier range, and on the plains to the westward of it, generally inhabiting open brush. it was conspicuous amongst the smaller birds on account of its bright red plumage, but it was by no means uncommon. this bird evidently migrates from the north-west, and the second time, when it was seen so far to the westward of the ranges, it was most likely on its return from that point. . pyrrholaemus brunneus, gould.--brown red-throat. a small and common brush bird, and a good warbler, more remarkable indeed for the sweetness of its song than for the beauty of its plumage. . cincloramphus rufescens. a good songster, and generally distributed over the country. . amadina lathami.--spotted-sided finch. this is, i believe, the largest of its genus, and is a beautiful little bird. it was not seen to the westward of stanley's barrier range. its range is, however, extensive, as it is found in most parts of new south wales, as well as south australia. . amadina castanotus, gould. this pretty little bird is perhaps more numerous than any other in the interior of australia. never did its note fall on our ears there but as the harbinger of good, for never did we hear this little bird but we were sure to find water nigh at hand, and many a time has it raised my drooping spirits and those of my companions, when in almost hopeless search for that, to us, invaluable element. the amadina castanotus is gregarious, collecting together in hundreds on bushes never very far from water, to which they regularly go at sunset. they build in small trees, many nests being together in the same tree, and hatch their young in december. it was met with in every part of the interior wherever there was water, but hundreds must perish yearly from thirst, for the country must frequently dry up round them, to such a distance as to prevent the possibility of their flying to another place of safety. the hawks make sad havoc also amongst these harmless little birds, generally carrying off two at a time. . cinclosoma castanotus, gould.--chesnut-backed ground thrush. this is a bird of the great murray belt, and was first shot by my very valued friend mr. gould, when in a bush excursion with me in south australia. it is by no means a common bird, and is exceedingly wary. . cinclosoma cinnamoneus, gould.--cinnamon-coloured ground thrush. this third species of cinclosoma appeared at the depot in latitude / degrees, longitude degrees, during the winter months in considerable numbers, and a good many specimens were procured. mr. gould tells me this is the only new species procured during my recent expedition, a proof, i think, of his indefatigable exertions in the prosecution of his researches. indeed i can bear abundant testimony as to the perseverance and ability he displayed whilst with me, and the little regard he had to personal comfort, in his ardent pursuit of information as to the habits of the feathered tribes in the singular region where he was sojourning. . zanthomyza phrygia.--warty-faced honey-eater. this honey-eater, with alternate black and yellow plumage, frequented all the sand hills where banksias grew, but as none of those trees are to be found to the westward of stanley's barrier range, so these birds were confined to the country eastward of it. they are found both in new south wales and in south australia; and most probably came to the latter place from the eastward. a. acanthorhynchus-rufo-gularis, gould.--shiny honey-eater. a larger honey-eater, with grey mottled plumage, generally found on the banksia, and not very common. . zosterops dorsalis.--grey-backed white-eye. seen in many parts of the country through which the expedition passed, but more common in the settled districts of the colony. it is exceedingly mischievous amongst the grapes, and frequents the gardens in such numbers as to be formidable. . crysococcyx lucidus.--the shining cuckoo. this is the smallest of the cuckoo tribe, and is known by the metallic lustre of its wings. it is beautifully figured in mr. gould's work. it was frequently seen in the interior. . climacteris scandens, temm.--brown tree-creeper. this creeper was, with another climacteris picumnus, common in the pine forests and on the open box-tree flats all over the interior. it is not a showy bird in any way, but is very active and indefatigable in its search for insects. it is remarkable that no picus has been found in australia. . acrocephalus australis.--the reed singing bird. this beautiful warbler is common in south-eastern australia, wherever there are reeds by the banks of the rivers or creeks, but where they were wanting its voice was silent. on the banks of the murray and the darling its note was to be heard during the greater part of the night, almost equal to that of the nightingale, and like that delightful bird, its plumage is any thing but brilliant, it is however somewhat larger, and although its general shade is brown, it has a light shade of yellow in the breast that makes it brighter in its plumage than the european songster. . hylacola pyrhopygia. a common species inhabiting scrubs. . hylacola cauta, gould. a small bush bird, common to the belts of the murray and other similar localities. . cysticola exilis, gould.--exile warbler. this little bird has a varied note, indeed it is not a bad songster. it inhabits grass beds and scrubby lands, but its range does not extend beyond the degrees parallel. the barrier range appearing to form a limit to the wanderings of many of the smaller birds. . acanthiza pyrrhopygia.--red-rumped acanthiza. a small bush bird of brown plumage on the back, with a reddish spot over the rump. . acanthiza chrysorrhaea.--yellow rumped acanthiza. this bird is similar to the last in every thing but the colour of the feathers over the rump, which in the present specimen is yellow. very common on the plains and open glades of woods. . xerophila leucopsis, gould.--white-faced xerophila. it is singular, as mr. gould relates in his work, that this bird should not have been known or procured until he shot it, almost on the steps of government house in adelaide. it was occasionally seen in the interior, but not to the westward of the barrier range. it keeps generally on the ground. mr. gould has distinguished it in consequence its having a front of white. it is short and compact in form, and like the preceding bird keeps a good deal on the ground. . calamanthus campestris, gould.--field reed lark. this bird is smaller than the regular lark, and differs from it in many respects: indeed it more resembles the tit lark than the sky lark, and altogether wants the melodious song of the latter. it is a very common bird all over such parts of australia as i have visited; frequenting open ground. . cincloramphus cantillans, gould. great singing lark. this bird, both in its habits and song, resembles the bunting of europe, rising like it from the top of one bush, with a fine full note, and descending with tremulous wing to another. its range, as far as i can judge, is right across the continent, since we fell in with it at our most distant northern points. it is much larger than the above, has a stronger bill, and a dark breast. this bird is good eating. . cincloramphus rufescens.--singing lark. this is also a good songster. . corcorx leucopterus.--white-winged chough. this bird has a dirty black plumage, excepting a white bar across the wings. it is generally seen in groups of six or seven, flying from tree to tree, and is widely distributed all over the continent. . corvus coronoides, vig. and horsf. white-eyed crow. this bird approaches somewhat to the raven. its plumage is black and glossy, its neck feathers like a cock's hackle, and the iris white, the latter peculiarity giving it a singular appearance. many of these birds remained with us at the depot after we had been deserted by most of the other kinds, and served to fatten an old native who had visited the camp, on whose condition they worked a perfect miracle. i suppose indeed that there never was such an instance of an individual becoming absolutely fat in so short a time, from a state of extreme emaciation, as in that old and singular savage, from eating the crows that were shot for him, and which constituted his chief, i might say, his only food. . pomatorhinus superciliosus. a bird that frequented the cypress and pine forests; running along the branches of the trees like rats, and chasing each other from one to the other. this bird is about the size of a thrush, but is very different in other respects. it has dark brown plumage, with a rufous breast. . pomatorhinus temporalis. a bird very similar in plumage and habits to the last, but smaller and quicker in its motions. i shot these birds on a former expedition to the eastward of the darling, and both are figured in my former work, page , vol. ii. . glyciphila fulvifrons.--fulvous-fronted honey-eater. a bird common amongst the honey-suckles (banksias), in the sandy rises or mounds in the neighbourhood of the darling. it appears in south australia in similar localities, and has all the characters of its genus in the curved bill, pencilled tongue, and other points. . glyciphila albifrons, gould.--white-fronted glyciphila. this bird is about the size of a chaffinch, and was first killed by me on the darling. . ptilotis cratitius, gould. this honey-eater is remarkable in having a narrow lilac skin on the cheek, with a light line of yellow feathers beneath it. it is long both in the body and tail, and is of graceful form. its colour is grey, but the breast is of a lighter shade and is slightly mottled. first shot by mr. gould in south australia, from whose searching eye, and persevering industry, few things escaped. it was not common in the interior, but was occasionally seen in favourable localities. . anthochaera carunculata.--wattle bird. frequents banksias, and is common wherever those trees are to be found. the anthochaera carunculata is the largest of the wattle birds in south australia. it has a grey plumage, mottled with white, and is by no means inelegant in its shape, being a long, slender, well proportioned bird. the whole of the honey-suckers have curved bills and pencilled tongues. . anthochaera mellivora.--brush wattle bird. this honey-eater is of very limited range, and was so seldom seen during the progress of the expedition up the darling, that it may almost be said to be confined to the located district of south australia. its range, however, is as far as to the parallel of degrees, beyond which point, as the majority of the honey-bearing trees cease, the larger honey-suckers are not to be found. like all the birds of the same genus, it is quick in its movements. . melithreptus gularis, gould.--black-throated honey-eater. this bird is distinguished by its black throat, and a white lunate mark on the nape of the neck. it is to be found in most places where honey-bearing flowers or trees are to be seen. the general plumage is a dull green. . melithreptus lunulatus.--lunulated honey-eater. this species partakes of all the characters of the genus, but is much smaller. the range of the honey-eaters does not extend beyond the th parallel--towards the n.w. interior, or central australia; as there are few honey-giving trees in that desert region. they are found all along the summits of the barrier range, however, in considerable numbers; and are always known by their loud wild note. . myzantha garrula.--the old soldier. a very sociable and tame bird. its range is over the whole of south-eastern australia, and we saw nests of these noisy birds at fort grey, in degrees. the general colour is grey; their bill, and some portion of the head being yellow. they are fond of being near habitations, and frequent the trees round a stock station in great numbers. . sittella pileata, gould.--black-capped sittella. a creeper, with a black head, and grey brown plumage. not very common, though often seen in the interior. it is larger than the s. chrysoptera. . cacatua galerita.--sulphur-crested cockatoo. this cockatoo, the most common in australia, is snow-white, with the exception of its crest, which is of a bright sulphur. it is also the most mischievous of australian birds, and not only plays sad havoc amongst the wheat when ripe, but soon clears a field that has been sown. they are in immense flocks, and when in mischief always have sentinels at some prominent point to prevent their being taken by surprise, and signify the approach of a foe by a loud scream. they build in the hollows of trees, and in vast numbers in the murray cliffs, making them ring with their wild notes; and in that situation are out of reach of the natives. they are abundant along the line of the darling as high as fort bourke, but do not pass to the westward of that river, nor do they inhabit the interior. . cacatua leadbeaterii.--leadbeater's cockatoo. this beautiful cockatoo is, like the first, of white plumage, with a light red shade under the wings. he has a large sulphur and scarlet crest, which he erects to the best advantage when alarmed. this cockatoo frequents the pine forests near gawler town, and is seen wherever that tree abounds; but he is not common, although widely distributed over the interior; his range extending to the latitude of fort grey, in degrees; far beyond where any pinetrees were to be found. . cacatua sanguinea, gould.--blood-stained cockatoo. this is a smaller bird than either of the preceding; it is also of white plumage, with a light red down under the feathers; and, although it has the power of erecting the feathers on its head, it may be said to be crestless. this bird succeeded cacatua galerita, and was first seen in an immense flock on the grassy plains at the bottom of the depot creek, feeding on the grassy plains or under the trees, where it greedily sought the seeds of the kidney bean. these cockatoos were very wild, and when they rose from the ground or the trees made a most discordant noise, their note being, if anything, still more disagreeable than that of either of the others. they left us in april, and must have migrated to the n.e., as they did not pass us to the n.w., nor were they any where seen so numerous as at this place. . cacatua eos.--rose cockatoo. this beautiful bird, seen in the depressed interior in such great numbers, has a slate-coloured back, wings and tail, whilst its breast and neck are of a beautiful rose-pink colour. it has a trifling crest, but not one like the two first described cockatoos. we carried this bird with us to the farthest north, as high up as the th parallel. there were several nests at fort grey, from which the men procured several young; one of which i brought alive to adelaide. they hatch in the end of october, and build in the hollows of the box-trees. a flock of these cockatoos, turning their red breasts together to the sun in flying, look very beautiful. . licmetis nasicus.--long-billed licmetis. this cockatoo is very like cacatua sanguinea in colour and shape. it is white, with a dirty shade of yellow under the wing. the upper mandibula is much longer than the lower, overhanging it considerably. this it uses to grub up roots and other things on which it lives. these cockatoos were very numerous on the murray, and are altogether distinct from the genus to which i have compared them; but their note is very similar, and, excepting to a naturalist, the difference is difficult to observe. the skin round the eye of both species is much larger than the cere round that of the common cockatoo. . calyptorhynchus funereus?--black cockatoo. this fine bird was widely distributed over the brushy land of the interior, but was never seen in any considerable numbers. its plumage is black, and the broad feathers in the tail are of a light yellow underneath. there is a supposition that when these cockatoos fly across the country uttering their hoarse note, it is a prelude to rain; but unfortunately i can bear testimony to the contrary, having often seen them so fly over my head when i would have given my right arm for water. i am not aware that the black cockatoo will survive captivity, i believe they always pine and die. . polytelis melanura.--black-tailed parroquet. the murray parrot, with a bright yellow body and neck, the feathers at the back of the neck having a greener tinge. the long feathers of the wing are of a blue black, as also the tail, but in the wings there are three or four desultory red feathers. this bird visits the valley of the murray in great numbers in the summer months, where its young are taken in great numbers, and easily tamed in cages. i was unable to make out where this bird comes from, or the point to which it migrates. their place of abode during the winter is entirely unknown. it is a beautiful and a showy bird, making a noise something like the green leak, and was first shot by me on my return up the river, in . . platycercus barnardii, vig. and horsf. barnard's parroquet. this fine bird is found in the murray belt as well as in other localities, and is thence termed the parrot of the murray belt. it is one of the most beautiful of the parrot tribe, has a generally blue-green plumage on the back and neck, with a yellow crescent on the breast, and a purple below. this family are all distinguished by having long tails. . platycercus adelaidiae, gould.--the adelaide parroquet. this fine and beautiful bird is common in south australia, where it usurps the place of the lory (platycercus penantii) in new south wales, and does equal mischief to the stack-yard. its general plumage is yellow, but it has a dull red head, and blue cheeks. its wings and tail, which is very long, are also blue, the longer feathers being almost black. its back is marked with black scollops, and in size exceeds many of the platycerei. . psephotus haematogaster, gould.--the crimsonbellied parroquet. this parroquet is a bird of the interior, and was spread over the whole of it in greater or less numbers. always numerous where box-trees were growing in the vicinity of water. the psephotus haematogaster is essentially a bird of the central parts of australia, or else its range is confined between the th and th parallels of latitude. it is not a bird of bright plumage; it is distinguished by a bright crimson belly. it has likewise feathers of a peculiar bronze and yellow on the wings; the rest of the plumage being a dull blue green, excepting that over the bill it has some light blue feathers. . psephotus haematonotus, gould.--red-rumped parroquet. this is a bird of the interior, and was found on the most distant creeks, amongst the gum-trees. it was, however, fond of being on the ground, from whence it would rise and hide itself on being alarmed. it is a wild bird, and a noisy one. it colours are generally dull. . euphema elegans.--grass parroquet. this beautiful euphema is seen in great numbers on the sea-skirts of the plains of adelaide, feeding on grass seeds. it was in course of migration when we were at the depot in lat. degrees minutes; but after the other birds, and remained stationary for some time. it was never seen by us in the day time, but came regularly to water night and morning, when it was so dark that they could hardly be seen. the plumage of this bird is very beautiful. its back and neck are green, as well as the crown of the head; its wings blue black; the breast and under tail feathers are of a bright yellow, with a blue and yellow band in the front. . euphema bourkii.--bourke's parroquet. this elegant little bird was also a visitant at the depot, and remained throughout the winter; keeping in the day time in the barren brushes behind the camp, and coming only to water. the approach of this little bird was intimated by a sharp cutting noise in passing rapidly through the air, when it was so dark that no object could be seen distinctly; and they frequently struck against the tent cords in consequence. this euphema has a general dark plumage, but with a beautifully delicate rose-pink shade over the breast and head, by which it will always be distinguished. . melopsittacus undulatus.--warbling grass parroquet. called "bidgerigung" by the natives. this beautiful little euphema visits south australia about the end of august or the beginning of september, and remains until some time after the breeding season. it is perhaps the most numerous of the summer birds. i remember, in , being at the head of st. vincent's gulf, early in september, and seeing flights of these birds, and nymphicus novoe-holl. following each other in numbers of from to along the coast line, like starlings following a line of coast. they came directly from the north, and all kept the same straight line, or in each other's wake. both birds subsequently disperse over the province. the plumage of this bird is a bright yellow, scolloped black, and three or four beautiful deep blue spots over each side the cheek. . nymphicus novae-hollandiae.--the crested parroquet. one of the most graceful of the parrot tribe, coming in, as i have stated above, with the melopsittacus, and remaining during the summer. the general plumage is grey, with a white band across the wings. it has also a sulphuryellow patch on the cheek, in the centre of which is one of scarlet. it has also a long, hairy crest, which it keeps generally erected. both birds passed the depot in migrating, and nymphicus was the last bird we saw to the north of the stony desert, in lat. / degrees and long. degrees, on its return to the province in september. . tricholossus porphyrocephalus, diet.--porphyry-crowned parroquet. this pretty bird has a green plumage, but is distinguished by a deep blue patch on the crown of the head; from which it derives its name. . pezoporus formosus.--the ground parrot. this bird was only twice seen in the interior, but on both occasions in the same scrubby and salty country it is known to frequent in new south wales and other places. a specimen was shot by mr. stuart, in the bed of a salt lagoon in / degrees of latitude, and / degrees of longitude, but none of these birds were seen to the west of that point. it has dark green plumage mottled with black, and has a patch of dull red over the bill. . phaps chalcoptera.--common bronze-wing. this fine pigeon, so well known in the located parts of the continent, was also generally spread over the interior. its habits are peculiar, insomuch that it goes to water at so late an hour that it is almost impossible to see them. they were rather numerous at the depot, but very few were shot there. in the more distant interior, when we should frequently have been glad of one of these birds to give a relish to our monotonous diet, they were equally as difficult to be shot, and although we sat at the edge of any pond near which we happened to be, and watched with noiseless anxiety, they would get to the water, and the sharp flap of their wings in rising, alone told us we had missed our game. the natives of the murray set nets across any gully down which they fly to water on the banks of the murray, and so catch them in great numbers. the bronze-wing is strong in his flight, and is a plump bird, and capital to eat. its general colour is brown lightly mottled, it has a dirty-white crown, and the wing feathers are a beautiful bronze. . phaps elegans.--small brush bronze-wing. this is much smaller than the above, and not so common. it inhabits close brushes, and is flushed like a woodcock, there seldom being more than two together. its plumage is darker than phaps chalcoptera, nor is there any white about it except on the crown of the head, the secondary wing feathers being of a bronze colour, without any shade of blue and green, so prominent in the first described of these birds. . phaps histrionica, gould.--the harlequin bronze-wing. this beautiful pigeon is an inhabitant of the interior. its range was between the parallels of / degrees and degrees, but it was never seen to the south of stanley's barrier range, if i except a solitary wanderer on the banks of the murray. these birds lay their eggs in february, depositing them under any low bush in the middle of open plains. in the end of march and the beginning of april, they collect in large flats and live on the seed of the rice-grass, which the natives also collect for food. during the short period this harvest lasts, the flavour of these pigeons is most delicious, but at other times it is indifferent. they feed on the open plains, and come to water at sunset, but like the bronze-wing only wet the bill. it is astonishing indeed that so small a quantity as a bare mouthful should be sufficient to quench their thirst in the burning deserts they inhabit. they left us in the beginning of may, and i think migrated to the n.e., for the farther we went to the westward the fewer did we see of them. this bird has a white and black head, the crown being white, and its back is a rusty brown, the long feathers of the wings of a slate colour, with a white spot at the end of each as well as at the end of the tail feathers; the belly being a beautiful deep slate colour. see page , vol. ii. . geophaps plumifera, gould. it was on the return of the party from the eastern extremity of cooper's creek, that we first saw and procured specimens of this beautiful little bird. its locality was entirely confined to about thirty miles along the banks of that creek, and it was generally noticed perched on some rock fully exposed to the sun's rays, and evidently taking a pleasure in basking in the tremendous heat. it was very wild and took wing on hearing the least noise, but its flight was short and rapid like that of a quail, which bird it resembles in many of its habits. in the afternoon this little pigeon was seen running in the grass on the creek side, and could hardly be distinguished from a quail. it never perched on the trees, but when it dropped after rising from the ground, could seldom be flushed again, but ran with such speed through the grass as to elude our search. the plate, to which i may refer the reader at page , vol. ii. in which he will see it figured, will supersede the necessity of any description. the geophaps plumifera was found, i believe, in considerable numbers on the lind and the burdekin by doctor leichhardt, during his journey from moreton bay to port essington. . ocyphaps lophotes.--crested pigeon of the marshes. the locality of this beautiful pigeon is always near water. it is a bird of the depresed interior, never ascending to higher land where there are extensive marshes covered with the polygonum geranium. in river valleys, on the flats of which the same bramble grows, the ocyphaps lophotes is sure to be found. it was first seen by me on the banks of the macquarie, in lat. degrees during my expedition to the darling, but there is no part of the interior over which i have subsequently travelled where it is not, and it is very evident that its range is right across the continent from north to south. the general colour of this bird is a light purple or slate colour, and its form and plumage are both much more delicate than that of the bronze-wing, but it is by no means so fine a bird, its flesh being neither tender nor well-flavoured. this bird is figured in my former work, page , vol. i. it has a crest, and is marked on the back and wings very similar to geophaps plumiferus. this bird builds in low shrubs in exposed situations, and lays two eggs on so few twigs that it is only surprising how they remain together. . geopelia cuneata.--speckled dove. all that we read or imagine of the softness and innocence of the dove is realised in this beautiful and delicate little bird. it is very small and has a general purple plumage approaching to lilac. it has a bright red skin round the eyes, the iris being also red, and its wings are speckled over with delicate white spots. this sweet bird is common on the murray and the darling, and was met with in various parts of the interior, but i do not think that it migrates to the n.w. two remained with us at the depot in latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees, during a greater part of the winter, and on one occasion roosted on my tent ropes near a fire. the note of this dove is exceedingly plaintive, and is softer, but much resembles the coo of the turtle-dove. . geopelia tranquilla, gould.--ventriloquist dove. this bird, somewhat larger than the preceding, is not by any means so delicate in appearance. the colour of its plumage is similar in some respects, but has close black scollops on the breast and neck without any spots on the wings. this bird also frequents the banks of the darling and the murray, but is not so common as geopelia cuneata. i first heard it on the marshes of the macquarie, but could not see it. the fact is that it has the power of throwing its voice to a distance, and i mistook it for some time for the note of a large bird on the plains, and sent a man more than once with a gun to shoot it, without success. at last, as mr. hume and i were one day sitting under a tree on the bogan creek, between the macquarie and the darling, we heard the note, and i sent my man fraser to try once more if he could discover what bird it was, when on looking up into the tree under which we were sitting we saw one of these little doves, and ascertained from the movement of its throat that the sound proceeded from it, although it still fell on our ears as if it had been some large bird upon the plain. i have therefore taken upon me to call it the "ventriloquist." . pedionomus torquatus, gould.--the plain wanderer. this singular bird, in plumage and habit so like the quail, was first discovered on the plains of adelaide by mr. gould, where it appeared in considerable numbers in the year - . it was afterwards procured by a persevering collector in that colony, mr. strange, who is now in sydney. although in many respects resembling a quail, this bird has long legs like a bustard, but has a hind toe which that bird has not. we fell in with several in the n.w. interior, but they were all solitary birds. how far therefore we might conclude that they migrate northwards may be doubtful, although, it is impossible to suppose they would proceed in any other direction. the pedionomus is a stupid little bird, and is more frequently caught by the dog than shot. its general colour is a light brown, speckled with black like a quail. its neck is white, spotted thickly with black, and has a white iris. . hemipodius varius.--varied quail. this bird is the prettiest of its tribe, and is very common in many of the located parts of south-eastern australia, but is not a bird of the interior, and was not observed beyond the flats of the darling, where it was occasionally flushed from amongst the long grass. . coturnix pectoralis.--quail. this bird is very common on the better description of plains in south australia, and two or three specimens were shot during the early progress of the expedition, but it was not seen to the north of stanley's range. it is to be observed, indeed, that few quails of any kind were seen in the interior. this variety is a very pretty bird, with bright brown plumage, mottled like that of the ordinary quail, and is characterized by a black spot on the breast. . synoicus australis.--swamp quail, or partridge. synoicus australis is a smaller bird than those just described, but the colour of the plumage is much the same. it is generally found in marshes, or marshy ground, and frequently in bevies. . synoicus chinensis. this beautiful little quail is generally found in marshes, or in high rushy ground. it is not a common bird. in size this quail is not larger than a young guinea fowl that has just broken the shell. it has dark plumage on the back and head--a deep purple breast and belly, and a white horse-shoe on the upper part of the neck. the female has general dark plumage, speckled black. . dromaius novae-hollandiae.--the emu. this noble bird ranges over the whole of the continent, although we did not see any to the north of the stony desert. a good many were killed by the dogs at fort grey. they travel many miles during a single night to water, as was proved by a pack of thirteen coming down to the depot creek to drink, that we had seen the evening before more than miles to the north. those we saw in the distant interior did not differ from the common emu. . otis australasianus.--the bustard. this fine and erectly walking bird is also common over the whole of the interior, migrating from the north in september and october. several flights of these birds were seen by us thus migrating southwards in august, passing over our heads at a considerable elevation, as if they intended to be long on the wing. i have known this otis weigh lbs. its flesh is dark and varied in shade. the flavour is game and the meat is tender. . lobivanellus lobatus.--the wattled peewit. this bird is most abundant over all south-east australia, on plains, marshes, and rivers, its cry and flight are very like that of our peewit at home, and it adopts the same stratagem to draw the fowler from its young. it is a pretty bird, with bright yellow eye and a singular wattle coming from the bill along the cheek. it is also remarkable for a spur on the shoulder which it uses with much force in fighting with any crow or hawk. . edicnemus grallarius.--the southern stone plover. there are few parts in the located districts of australia in which this bird is not to be found. its peculiar and melancholy cry, ran through the silence of the desert itself, and wherever rocks occurred near water they were also seen but not in any number. we caught a fine young bird at flood's creek, but as it was impossible to keep it, we let it go. this bird very much resembles the stone plover of england, but there are some slight differences of plumage. . sarciophorus pectoralis.--black-breasted dottrel. this bird is remarkable for a small red wattle protruding from the bill, with a grey back and wings. it takes its name from its black breast. . eudromias australis, gould.--aust. dottrel. this singular bird like several others of different genera, made its appearance in suddenly on the plains of adelaide, seeming to have come from the north. it occupied the sand hills at the edge of the mangrove swamps and fed round the puddles of water on the plains. this bird afforded my friend mr. torrens, an abundant harvest, as they were numerous round his house, but although some few have visited south australia every year, they have never appeared in such numbers as on the first occasion. the plumage is a reddish brown, with a dark horseshoe on the breast. it has a full eye, and runs very fast along the ground, mr. browne and i met or rather crossed several flights of these birds in august of , going south. they were in very large open plains and were very wild. . hiaticula nigrifrons.--black-fronted dotrell. much smaller than the preceding. a pretty little bird with a plaintive note, generally seen in pairs on the edge of muddy lagoons. its plumage is a mixture of black, white, and brown, the first colour predominating on the head and breast. it runs with great swiftness, but delights more in flying from one side of a pond to the other. . chladorhynchus pectoralis.--the banded stilt. this singular bird, with legs so admirably adapted by their length for wading into the shallow lakes and sheets of water, near which it is found, is in large flocks in the interior. it was in great numbers on lepson's lake to the northward of cooper's creek, and on strzelecki's creek was sitting on the water with other wild fowl making a singular plaintive whistle. it is semipalmated, has black wings, and a band of brown on the breast, but it is otherwise white. its bill is long, straight and slender, and its legs are naked for more than an inch and half above the knee. . himantopus leucocephalus, gould.--the white-headed stilt. the present bird is about the size of chladorhynchus pectoralis, and in plumage is nearly the same. this bird was not found in the distant interior but in the shallow basin and round the salt lagoons of lake torrens. . schoeniclus australis.--australian sand-piper. a bird very much resembling the british dunlin. general plumage, grey with a white breast. a quick runner, and fond of low damp situations as well as open plains. common on the banks of all rivers and lagoons. . scolopax australis, lath.--snipe. considerably larger than the snipe of england. common in south australia but very scarce in the interior. in the valley of the mypunga there are great numbers of snipe which build there, but it is only in such localities, where the ground is constantly soft that they are to be found. their flesh is delicate and their flavour good. . rhynchaea australis, gould.--painted snipe. this beautiful bird was also very scarce in the interior, having been seen only on one occasion. it is not a common bird indeed any where. some three or four couple visit my residence at grange yearly, and remain in the high reeds at the bottom of the creek. as they are with us during the summer they doubtless build, but we never found one of their nests. they lay basking in the shade of a tree on the sand hills during the day, and separate when alarmed. it is full as large as scolopax australis, but its plumage is black-banded on the back with a general shade of green. its head is black and brown. it has a black horse-shoe on the breast, the belly being white, and the quill feathers are grey with a small brown spot on each. . grus australasianus.--crane, or native companion. this large sized crane is common near the waters of the interior, but he is a wary bird, and seldom lets the fowler within shot. when seen in companies they often stand in a row, as they fly in a line like wild fowl. their general plumage is slate colour, but they have a red ceres or skin on the head. one of these birds was tame in the government domain at paramatta in , and a goose used daily to visit it and remain with it for many hours. i have frequently seen them together, and the goose has allowed me to approach quite close before he flew. at last i suppose the poor bird was shot, as he suddenly ceased to visit his friend, and the native companion died some little time afterwards. . herodias sermatophorus, gould.--white heron. this beautiful heron is common all over the inhabited parts of the australian continent, and is seen at a great distance in consequence of its snow-white plumage. it was not however seen in the interior, although it was frequently seen on the line both of the darling and the murray. . nycticorax caledonicus.--nankeen bird. a night heron with a nankeen-coloured back and wings, and white breast, with a black crown to the head from which three long fine white feathers project. it is altogether a bird frequenting water, building in trees as the heron does. it is about the size of a well grown young fowl, but is not good eating. . botaurus australis.--the bittern. is well known with its dark brown mottled plumage and hoarse croaking note. these birds are very numerous in the reedy flats of the murray, whence they call to one another like bull frogs. it is a higher bird than the above, with a ruff down the neck, which behind is naked. he has a fine bright eye, and darts with his bill with astonishing rapidity and force. . botaurus flavicollis.--spotted bittern. this bird was very numerous at the depot creek, remaining during the day in the trees in the glen. there was, as the reader may recollect, a long sheet of water at the termination of the depot creek distant about thirty miles. it was the habit of these birds to fly from the glen across the plains to this lower water, where they remained until dawn, when they announced their return to us by a croaking note as they approached the trees. they collected in the glen about the end of april, and left us, but, i am not certain to what quarter they passed, although i believe it was to the north-west, the direction taken by all the aquatic birds. this bird had a black body, and white neck with a light shade of yellow, and speckled black. . porphyrio melanotus, temm.--the black-backed porphyrio. this bird is very common on the murray, where birds of the same kinds have such extensive patches of reeds in which to hide themselves. although dark on the back their general plumage is a fine blue, and their bills and legs are a deep red as well as the fleshy patch on the front of the crown. it was not seen by us to the westward of the barrier range, nor is it an inhabitant of any of the creeks we passed to the n.w. this coote is of tolerable size, but is not fit to eat, its flesh being hard, and the taste strong. . tribonyx ventralis, gould.--the black-tailed tribonyx. this bird, like the eudromias australis or australian dottrel appeared suddenly in south australia in . it came by the successive creeks from the north, fresh flights coming up to push those which had preceded them on. it was moreover evident that they had been unaccustomed to the sight of man, as they dropped in great numbers in the streets and gardens of adelaide, and ran about like fowls. at last they increased so much in numbers as to swarm on all the waters and creeks, doing an infinity of damage to the crops in the neighbourhood. they took the entire possession of the creek near my house, and broke down and wholly destroyed about an acre and a quarter of wheat as if cattle had bedded on it. these birds made their first appearance in november, and left us in the beginning of march, gradually retiring northwards as they had advanced. the plumage of this bird is a dark dusky green, and it has a short black tail which it cocks up in running. its bill is green and red, and it has all the motions and habits of a water rail, and although it has visited the province annually, since its first visit, it has never appeared in such vast numbers as on the first occasion. the line on which this bird migrates seems to be due north. it was never seen at the depot or on any of the creeks to the west excepting strzelecki's creek, and a creek we crossed on our way to lake torrens, when on both occasions they were migrating southwards. . rallus pectoralis, cuvier.--water rail. this bird could hardly be distinguished from the english rail in shape and plumage. it is admirably adapted for making its way through reeds or grass, from its sharp breast. there are numbers of this rail on the murray, but not many on the darling; the natives can easily run it down. it was seen on two or three ponds in the interior and must have considerable powers of flight to wing its way from the one to the other as they successively dry up. . bernicla jubata.--mained goose, wood duck. there are two varieties of this beautiful goose, one bird being considerably larger than the other, but precisely the same in plumage. in the colony they are called the wood duck, as they rest on logs and branches of trees, and are often in the depth of the forest. they have an exceedingly small bill characteristic of their genus, and a beautifully mottled neck and breast, the head and neck being a light brown. the smaller species is very common all over south-eastern australia, but the larger bird is more rare. three only were shot during the progress of the expedition. their range did not extend beyond degrees. . cygnus atratus--the black swan. a description of this bird is here unnecessary. i may merely observe that the only swan seen on the waters of the interior was a solitary one on cooper's creek. they frequently passed over us at night during our stay at the depot, coming from and going to the n.w., being more frequently on the wing when the moon was shining bright than at any other time. . casarca tadornoides.--chesnut-coloured sheldrake. this beautiful duck, the pride of australian waters, is a bird of the finest plumage. he is called the mountain duck by the settlers, and may be more common in the hills than the low country, since he is seldom found in the latter district. this bird builds in a tree, and when the young are hatched, the male bird carries them in his bill down to the ground. strange, whose name i have already mentioned, had an opportunity to watch two birds that had a brood of young in the hollow of a lofty tree on the gawler; and after the male bird had deposited his charge, he went and secured the young, five in number, which he brought to me at adelaide, but i could not, with every care, keep them alive more than a month. this bird is very large as a duck; his head and neck are a fine green in colour, and he has a white ring round his neck, as also a white band across his wings. it is not a good eating bird, however, as is often the case with the birds of finer plumage. . anas superciliosa, gmel.--the wild duck. unlike the preceding, this bird is one of the finest eating birds of australia, being the wild duck of that continent. it is a fine bird in point of size, but cannot boast the plumage of our mallard. it is a bird of dark, almost black plumage, with a few glossy, green, secondary feathers, characteristic of the genus. it is spread over the whole of the interior, even to the north of the stony desert, but was there very wild, and kept out of our reach. . spatula rhynchotis.--australian shoveller. not quite so large as the wild duck, but extremely good eating. this bird is not common in the interior, and was only seen once or twice amongst other ducks. its plumage is a dark brown, and it has a light dull blue band across the wing. it takes its name from its peculiar bill, and may be termed the shoveler of australia. the specimens we procured in the interior are precisely the same as those of the southern coast of the continent. . malacorhynchus membranaceus.--membrane duck. a beautiful duck, of delicate plumage, but little fit for the table. it is very common on most of the australian creeks and streams, and is called the whistling duck. this duck is rather larger than our teal. it has a grey head, with a brown tinge, and is mottled in the breast something like the woodcock. its eye is dark and clear, and it has a line of rose-pink running longitudinally behind it. . anas punctata, cuv.--common teal. somewhat larger than the english teal, and equally good for the table. the plumage of this little bird is dark, like that of the wild duck, from which, in this respect, it hardly differs. it is the most numerous of the water birds of the interior, and was sure to be in greater or less numbers on any extensive waters we found. a pair had a brood on one of the ponds in the depot glen; but the whole were taken off by a kite, milvus affinis, that watched them land and then flew at them. so long as they kept in the water they were safe, but on land soon fell a prey to the kite. . leptotarsis eytoni, gould.--eyton's duck. this new and fine bird was first shot on strzelecki's creek by mr. browne; and was subsequently seen by me in considerable numbers on cooper's creek. its range was not to the westward, nor was it seen north of the stony desert. i believe i am wrong in stating that the first was killed at the place above mentioned; for, if my memory does not deceive me, we had already secured a specimen at the depot. in its general plumage it is of a light brown, with a mottled breast and neck. it has long white feathers crossing the thighs, with a fine black line along them, and altogether it is a handsome bird. under ordinary circumstances we might have fared well on this duck at cooper's creek; but it was so wild as to keep out of our reach, being evidently hunted by the natives of the creek. . biziura lobata.--musk duck. this ugly bird was common on the murray, and was seen by me in hundreds on lake victoria; but it is seldom seen on the darling--never to the westward of stanley's range. it is an oxford grey in colour, with a light shade of brown; he flaps only, not being able to do more than skull along the top of the water. it trusts therefore for its safety to diving; and is so quick as to be shot with difficulty. the peculiarities of this bird are two-fold: first its strong, musky smell, and secondly the large appendage the male bird has attached to the under part of the bill. . xema jamesonii.--jameson's gull. this bird was seen only on cooper's creek in lat. degrees, long. degrees; where three or four were sitting on some rocks in the middle of the water, and far out of gun's reach. they appeared to be similar to the english gull, with a slate-coloured back and wings, and white breast. on firing a shot, they rose and followed the ducks which rose at the same time up the creek, and when flying they seemed exactly to resemble the common gull. the only swan we saw was on this sheet of water, with eight or ten cormorants. . hydrochedidon fluviatilis, gould.--the marsh tern. the only specimen seen during the expedition, was shot by mr. stuart on strzelecki's creek. it was flying up and down the creek, plunging into the water every now and then. this light and airy bird had a slate-coloured back, with black neck and breast; the crown of the head was black, delicately spotted white. . phalacrocorax sulcirostris.--groove-billed cormorant. of a fine dark glossy green plumage; common on all the creeks and rivers of the interior. these birds were very numerous at the depot, and were constantly coming in from, and flying to the n.w. but although we afterwards penetrated some hundreds of miles in that direction, we never discovered any waters to which they might have gone. . pelecanus conspicillatus, temm.--the pelican. like the swans, these birds frequently passed over us, coming from, and going to that point to which all the aquatic, as well as many of the ordinary birds winged their way. we sometimes saw them low down, sweeping over the ground in circles, as if they had just risen from the water; but in neither instance could such have been the case. on several occasions we might have shot them, but they were useless, and would have encumbered us much. . podiceps gularis.--grebe. the common diver; frequenting the pools and rivers of the interior: of dark brown plumage and silver-white belly. there are two or three varieties of this bird, that i have seen on other occasions; but none, with the exception of the present specimen, during the recent expedition. no. i. list of specimens, and the names of the various rocks, collected during the expedition. ) ) tertiary fossil, or limestone, (opalescent) from above ) the fossil cliffs. ) ferruginous sandstone. soapstone, apparently a recent deposit. gneiss. hornstone, a variety of. specular iron ore, lamellar with quartz. granite, with mammillary hematite--hornstone. specular iron ore, and iron ore highly magnetic. granite, white, a variety of. soapstone or clay, schorl, and slate with mica and chlorite. gneiss, a variety. granite, grey, both fine and coarse. granite, white, fine grained. hornstone, and mica slate (waved). clay. magnesian limestone, and limestone slaty and impure. white conglomerate rock, appearing a binary granite. indurated clay. silicious pebbles. silicious rock, with veins of quartz. silicious rock. rock composed principally of silica and alumen forming sandstone. milky quartz. ) rounded balls, composed of sand and clay, cemented by oxide of iron; ) hollow, but without crystals; rounded by the action of water. hornstone. granite, grey, a variety. ferruginous sandstone. silicious rock, with veins of quartz. mica slate. quartz, indurated with red veins. silicious rock, dusky. silicious rock, white. gypsum, or sulphate of lime. quartz veins from slate; trap rock, containing hornblende and feldspar; limestone, recent, with clay and slate imbedded. impure and slaty limestone; hornslate, a variety. hemaetite, a silicious oxide of iron; quartz veins in slate; silicious rock; chalcedony; sandy clay. indurated and dusky quartz. quartz, a hard, fine-grained dusky variety. ditto ditto ditto silicious rock, appearing a knob, from a slate formation limestone (fibrous). silicious rock. horn slate. silicious rock; iron-stone pebbles. hornstone. quartz. quartz. trap rock. quartz. hornstone. white rock. white sandstone. sandstone. sandstone. silicious oxide of iron. gypsum. it will be seen, by an inspection of the map, that there is a large interval of low depressed country, between stanley's and grey's ranges. the rock formation on the latter being almost exclusively of one kind. beyond grey's range, no elevation in the interior, on the n.w. line traversed by the expedition, was seen; but on the stony desert the fragments of rock, with which it was covered, were composed of indurated quartz, rounded by attrition, and coated with oxide of iron. north of the stony desert, sandstone occurred in the bed of eyre's creek, and milky quartz cropped out of the ground, in lat. degrees minutes, and in long. degrees minutes. the valley of cooper's creek was, however, bounded in by low quartzose hills, covered with sand. the general level of the interior was otherwise ferruginous clay, on which the long sandy doones or ridges rested, excepting where their regularity was broken by flooded plains. the clay rested on sandstone, which, with a few exceptions, where fossil tertiary limestone occurred, similar to that of the murray cliffs, was ferruginous sandstone, at the depth of two feet and a half or three feet. no. ii. localities of the different geological specimens, collected by the central australian expedition. ) from the cliffs of the murray river, both above and below the great ) north-west bend, bounding the valley of that river, with an average ) height of or feet. ) from the sandstone hills on the murray. from carnapaga, on the first creek to the n.w. of the darling river. from station no. , on the barrier or stanley's range, mount darling. from the glen of yancowinna. from the iron ridge, south of the glen of yancowinna. from mount bourke, on stanley's range, no. station. from the iron stone hill on the range (piesse's knob). from a central hill on the range. from a central hill. from lewis's hill. from the black hill mount robe. from a valley in the range. from the bed of the creek. from the rocky glen. from the outer range to the westward of the barrier, station no. . from the same, station no. . from the stony creek. gathered from the plains between the creeks to the west of the ranges. from a distant hill in stanley's range--the base. from the summit of the same. from a rugged detached hill. from a small hill near the range. from the nearer plains. ditto ditto. from a water-worn hill near flood's creek. from station no. , mount wood. from the summit of the range, station no. . from station no. . mount lyell, fifty miles east. from some low hills, near flood's creek. from the last hill on stanley's barrier range. from the magnetic hill, mount arrowsmith. from the table hill, mount browne. from the white hill. from the depot glen. from the black hill, mount robe. ditto ditto ditto from the summit of grey's range. from the last hill to the north, lat. degrees minutes. from the most distant hill to the north-east. ) ) from the depot glen. ) }} from the plains to the north of the red hill, mount poole. }} ) from various parts of the depot glen, and the range with which it is ) connected. this range is separated from the main ranges, but still ) occupies the eastern side of the high land, running between the eastern ) and western waters. ) ) from the summit of the red hill, mount poole. ) from the base of the same hill. ) from the summit ( nd specimen). from the plains north of the depot. from the plains. botanical appendix robert brown, esq., d.c.l., f.r.s., f.l.s., &c. my friend, captain sturt, having placed at my disposal the collection of plants formed in his recent expedition into the southern interior of australia, i am desirous of giving some account of the principal novelties it contains. the collection consists of about one hundred species, to which might be added, if they could be accurately determined, many other plants, chiefly trees, slightly mentioned in the interesting narrative, which is about to appear, and to which the present account will form an appendix. i may also observe, in reference to the limited number of species, that captain sturt and his companion, mr. brown, seem to have collected chiefly those plants that appeared to them new or striking, and of such the collection contains a considerable proportion. in regard too to such forms as appear to constitute genera hitherto undescribed, it greatly exceeds the much more extensive herbarium, collected by sir thomas mitchell in his last expedition, in which the only two plants proposed as in this respect new, belong to genera already well established, namely, delabechia to brachychiton, and linschotenia to dampiera. in captain sturt's collection, i have been obliged, from the incomplete state of the specimens, to omit several species, probably new, from the following account, in which the plants noticed, chiefly new genera and species, are arranged according to the order of families in the prodromus of de candolle. blennodia. cruciferarum genus, prope matthiolam. char. gen.--calyx clausus, foliolis lateralibus basi saccatis. petala aequalia, laminis obovatis. stamina: filamentis edentulis. ovarium lineare. stylus brevissimus. stigma bilobum dilatatum. siliqua linearis valvis convexiusculis, stigmate coronata, polysperma. semina aptera pube fibroso-mucosa tecta! cotyledones incumbentes! herba (v. suffrutex) erecta ramosa canescens, pube ramosa; foliis lato-linearibus remote dentatis; racemis terminalibus. . blennodia canescens. loc. in arenosis depressis. desc. suffruticosa, sesquipedalis, caule ramisque teretibus. folia vix pollicaria paucidentata. racemi multiflori, erecti, ebracteati. flores albicantes. calyx incano-pubescens. petalorum ungues calyce paulo longiores. stamina , tetradynama, filamentis linearibus membranaceis apice sensim angustato. obs. this plant has entirely the habit, and in many important points the structure of matthiola, near which in a strictly natural method it must be placed; differing, however, in having incumbent cotyledons, and in the mucous covering of its seeds. the mucus proceeds from short tubes covering the whole surface of the testa, each containing a spiral fibre, which seems to be distinct from the membrane of the tube. a structure essentially similar is known to occur generally in several families: to what extent or in what genera of cruciferae it may exist, i have not ascertained; it is not found, however, in those species of matthiola which i have examined. sturtia. malvacearum genus, proximum gossypio, affine etiam senrae. char. gen.--involucrum triphyllum integerrimum. calyx -dentatus, sinubus rotundatis. petala cuneatoobovata, basi inaequilatera. columna staminum polyandra. ovaria , polysperma. styli cohaerentes. stigmata distincta linearia. pericarpia . . . semina . . . suffrutex orgyalis glaber; foliis petiolatis obovatis integerrimis; floribus pedunculatis solitariis. . sturtia gossypioides. loc. "in the beds of the creeks on the barrier range."--d. sturt. desc. suffrutex orgyalis glaber. folia ramorum alterna, diametro unciali, trinervia; petiolo folium subaequanti, basi in stipulam subscariosam adnatam dilatato. pedunculi vel potius rami floriferi suboppositifolii nec vere axillares uniflori, juxta apicem folio nano petiolato stipulis distinctis stipato instructi. involucrum foliaceum venosum, foliolis distinctis, cordatis, punctis nigricantibus glandulosis conspersis. calyx dentibus acutis, sinubus rotundatis. petala sesquipollicaria, uti calycis tubus glanduloso-punctata glandulis nigricantibus semi-immersis, purpurea basibus atro purpureis margine barbatis. columna staminum e basi nuda super ad apicem usque antherifera: antheris reniformibus, loculis apice confluentibus. pollen hispidum. obs. sturtia is no doubt very nearly related to gossypium, from which it differs in the entire and distinct leaves of its foliaceous involucrum, in the sharp teeth and broad rounded sinuses of the calyx, and possibly also in its fruit and seeds, which are, however, at present unknown. they agree in the texture and remarkable glands of the calyx, and in the structure of the columna staminum. senra, which like sturtia, has the foliola of its three-leaved involucrum distinct and entire, differs from it in having its calyx -fid with sharp sinuses, in the absence of glands, in the reduced number of stamina, and in its dispermous ovaria. . tribulus (hystrix) lanatus, foliis - -jugis, fructibus undique tectis spinis subulatis longitudine inaequalibus: majoribus sparsis longitudinem cocci superantibus. loc. "in collinis arenosis. lat. degrees." d. sturt. desc. herba diffusa, sericea, incana. folium majus cuiusque paris - jugum, foliolis ovatis. flores magni. calyxaestivatione leviter imbricata. petala calyce duplo longiora. stamina decem, antheris linearibus. obs. i. a species nearly related to t. hystrix, found on the west coast of australia, or on some of its islands, in the voyage of the beagle, may be distinguished by the following character. tribulus (occidentalis) sericeolanatus, foliis suboctojugis, coccis undique dense armatis: spinis omnibus conico-subulatis longitudine invicem aequalibus. these two species differ from all others in the uniform shape of the spines, which equally cover the whole external surface of the fruit. obs. ii. the american species of the linnean genus tribulus are distinguishable from the rest of the published species, by having ten monospermous cocci, by their persistent calyx, and the absence of glands subtending the filaments opposite to the sepals. this tribe was originally separated as a genus by scopoli, under the name of kallstroemia, which has been recently adopted by endlicher. another tribe exists in the intratropical part of the australian continent, to which, nearly years ago, in the banksian herbarium, i gave the generic name of tribulopis, and which may readily be distinguished by the following characters. tribulopis. calyx -partitus deciduus. petala . stamina decem (nunc .) filamenta quinque, sepalis opposita, basi glandula stipata. ovaria , monosperma. cocci, praeter tubercula v. baseos, laeves. herbae annuoe prostratoe; foliis omnibus alternis! tribulopis (solandri.) foliis bi-trijugis, foliolis subovatis inaequilateris, coccis basi quadrituberculatis. loc. in ora orientali intratropica novae hollandiae prope endeavour river, anno . d.d. banks et solander. tribulopis (angustifolia), foliis - jugis (raro bijugis), foliolis linearibus, tuberculis baseos coccorum abbreviatis. loc. ad fundum sinus carpentariae annis et . r. brown. tribulopis (pentandra), foliis bijugis, foliolis oblongo-lanceolatis pari superiore duplo majore, floribus pentandris, petalis lanceolatis. loc. in insulis juxta fundum sinus carpentariae anno . r. brown. . crotalaria (sturtii) tomentosa, foliis simplicibus ovalibus utrinque sericeo-tomentosis, petiolis apice geniculatis, racemis terminalibus multifloris. loc. "on the top of the ridges in pure sand, from s. lat. degrees to degrees." d. sturt. desc. frutex . -pedalis (d. sturt). folia alterna, ovata passim ovalia, obtusa, sesquipollicem longa, utrinque velutina; petiolus teres basi vix crassiore apice curvato. racemus terminalis; pedicellis approximatis calycem vix aequantibus apice bibracteatis. flores sesquipollicares. calyx -fidus; laciniis lanceato-linearibus acutis subaequalibus tubum paulo superantibus. corolla sordide flava, calyce plus duplo major. vexillum magnum, basi simplici nec auriculata, late ovatum, acutum. alae vexillo fere dimidio breviores, basi semicordata. carina longitudine vexilli, acuminata, basi gibbosa, ibique aperta marginibus tomentosis. stamina diadelpha, simplex et novemfidum. antherae quinque majores lineares, juxta basin affixae; quinque reliquae ovatae, linearibus triplo breviores, incumbentes. ovarium lineare, multi-ovulatum. stylus extra medium et praesertim latere interiore barbatum. stigma obtusum. legumen desideratur. obs. a species very nearly related to c. sturtii, having flowers of nearly equal size, and of the same colour and proportion of parts, found in , by mr. cunningham, on the north-west coast of australia, and since in captains wickham and stokes' voyage of the beagle; may be distinguished by the following character:--crotalaria (cunninghamii) tomentosa, foliis simplicibus ovali-obovatis utrinque sericeo-tomentosis, petiolis apice curvatis, pedunculis axillaribus unifloris. . clianthus (dampieri) herbaceus prostratus sericeovillosissimus, foliolis oppositis (rarissime alternis) oblongis passim lineari-oblongis obovatisve, pedunculis erectis scapiformibus, floribus subumbellatis, calycibus -fidis sinubus acutis, ovariis (leguminibusque immaturis) sericeis. clianthus oxleyi a. cunningham in hort. soc. transac. ii. series, vol. . p. . donia speciosa don, gen. syst. vol. . p. . clianthus dampieri cunningham, loc. cit. colutea novae hollandiae, &c. woodward in dampier's voy. vol. . p. . tab. . f. . loc. "in ascending the barrier range near the darling, about feet above the river." d. sturt. obs. in july, , mr. allan cunningham, who accompanied mr. oxley in his first expedition into the western interior of new south wales, found his clianthus oxleyi on the eastern shore of regent's lake, on the river lachlan. the same plant was observed on the gawler range, not far from the head of spencer's gulf by mr. eyre in , and more recently by captain sturt, on his barrier range near the darling. i have examined specimens from all these localities, and am satisfied that they belong to one and the same species. in march (not may) , mr. cunningham, who accompanied captain king in his voyages of survey of the coasts of new holland, found on one of the islands of dampier's archipelago, a plant which he then regarded as identical with that of regent's lake. this appears from the following passage of his ms. journal:-- "i was not a little surprised to find kennedya speciosa, (his original name for clianthus oxleyi), a plant discovered in july , on sterile bleak open flats, near regent's lake, on the river lachlan, in lat. degrees minutes s. and long. degrees minutes e. it is not common, i could see only three plants, of which one was in flower. this island is the isle malus of the french." mr. cunningham was not then aware of the figure and description in dampier above referred to, which, however, in his communication to the horticultural society in , he quotes for the plant of the isle malus, then regarded by him as a distinct species from his clianthus oxleyi of the river lachlan. to this opinion he was probably in part led by the article donia or clianthus, in don's system of gardening and botany, vol. . p. , in which a third species of the genus is introduced, founded on a specimen in mr. lambert's herbarium, said to have been discovered at curlew river, by captain king. this species, named clianthus dampieri by cunningham, he characterises as having leaves of a slightly different form, but its principal distinction is in its having racemes instead of umbels; at the same time he confidently refers to dampier's figure and description, both of which prove the flowers to be umbellate, as he describes those of his clianthus oxleyi to be. but as the flowers in this last plant are never strictly umbellate, and as i have met with specimens in which they are rather corymbose, i have no hesitation in referring dampier's specimen, which many years ago i examined at oxford, as well as cunningham's, to clianthus dampieri. this specimen, however, cannot now be found in his herbarium, as mr. heward, to whom he bequeathed his collections, informs me: nor can i trace mr. lambert's plant, his herbarium having been dispersed. since the preceding observations were written, i have seen in sir william hooker's herbarium, two specimens of a clianthus, found by mr. bynoe, on the north-west coast of australia, in the voyage of the beagle. these specimens, i have no doubt, are identical with dampier's plant, and they agree both in the form of leaves and in their subumbellate inflorescence with the plant of the lachlan, darling, and the gawler range. from the form of the half-ripe pods of one of these specimens, i am inclined to believe that this plant, at present referred to clianthus will, when its ripe pods are known, prove to be sufficiently different from the original new zealand species to form a distinct genus, to which, if such should be the case, the generic name eremocharis may be given, as it is one of the greatest ornaments of the desert regions of the interior of australia, as well as of the sterile islands of the north west coast. clidanthera. char. gen.--calyx -fidus. petala longitudine subaequalia. stamina diadelpha: antheroe uniformes; loculis apice confluentibus, valvula contraria ab apice ad basin separanti dehiscentes! ovarium monospermum. stylus subulatus. stigma obtusum. legumen ovatum, lenticulari-compressum, echinatum. herba, v. suffrutex, glabra, glandulosa; ramulis angulatis. folia cum impari pinnata; foliolis oppositis, subtus glandulosis. stipulae parvoe, basi petioli adnatoe. flores spicati, parvi, albicantes. obs. subgenus forsan psoraleae, cui habitu simile, foliis calycibusque pariter glandulosis; diversum dehiscentia insolita antherarum! . clidanthera psoralioides. loc. suffrutex bipedalis in paludosis. d. sturt. desc. herba, vel suffrutex, erecta, bipedalis, glabriuscula. ramuli angulati. folia cum impari pinnata, - -juga; foliola opposita, lanceolata, subtus glandulis crebris parvis manifestis, marginibus scabris. spicae densae, multiflorae. calyx -fidus, parum inaequalis, acutus, extus glandulis dense conspersus. corolla: vexillum lamina oblonga subconduplicata nec explanata, basi simplici absque auriculis; ungue abbreviato. aloe vexillo paulo breviores, carinam aequantes, laminis oblongis, auriculo baseos brevi. carinoe petala alis conformes. stamina diadelpha, simplex et novemfidum; antherae subrotundae v. reniformes, valvula ventrali anthera dimidio minore subrotunda. ovarium hispidum ovulo reniformi. legumen basi calyce subemarcido cinctum, echinatum. semen reniforme, absque strophiola; integumento duplici. embryo viridis; cotyledones obovatae, accumbentes. obs. this plant, which in some respects resembles certain species of glycyrrhiza, appears to be not unfrequent in the southern interior. it was found in one of the early expeditions of sir thomas mitchell, and mrs. (capt.) grey, observed it on the flats of the murray. . swainsona (grandiflora) suffruticosa pubescens, foliis - -jugis inexpansis incano-tomentosis; foliolis oblongis obtusis retusisve: adultis semiglabratis: rachi subincana, racemo multifloro folium superante, bracteolis lanceato-linearibus acutis aequantibus tubum calycis albo lanati quinque fidi: laciniis acutissimis longitudine fere tubi, vexillo bicalloso. loc. "common on the rich alluvial flats of the murray and darling." d. sturt. obs. this plant is, perhaps, not specifically distinct from s. greyana lindl. bot. regist. , tab. , of which the figure is a good representation of s. grandiflora in every respect, except in the form and proportions of the teeth of the calyx and lateral bracteae. in these points it exactly agrees with complete specimens, for which i am indebted to mrs. grey, from the banks of the murray, and mr. eyre's station (moorundi), about miles from adelaide, where it was first found in november, . the following characters, if constant, will sufficiently distinguish it from s. grandiflora. swainsona (greyana) suffruticosa pubescens, foliis - -jugis inexpansis incano-tomentosis; foliolis oblongis obtusis retusisve: adultis semiglabratis: rachi subincana, racemis multifloris folio longioribus, bracteis lateralibus lanceato-linearibus brevioribus tubo calycis albo-lanati quinque-dentati: dentibus obtusiusculis tubo dimidio brevioribus, vexillo bicalloso. in the second edition of hortus kewensis, (vol. . p. ), i excluded from the generic character of swainsona the calli of the vexillum, having observed two australian species where they were wanting, but which in every other respect appeared to me referable to this genus; for the same reason i continue to introduce the calli, where they exist, into the specific characters, as was done in hortus kewensis, . c. in the generic character of swainsona, given in de candolle's prodromus, (vol. . p. ), the calli of vexillum are transferred to the calyx; this can only be regarded as an oversight, which perhaps has been corrected by the author himself, and which, so far as i know, has never been adopted in any more recent work in which the generic character of swainsona is given. . swainsona? (laxa) glabra, caule ramoso, foliis - -jugis; foliolis oblongo-ovalibus obtusis, racemis elongatis laxis, pedicellis calyce glabro quinquedentato brevioribus, bracteolis subulatis, vexillo ecalloso. loc. statio nulla indicata, in herb. d. sturt. obs. there is something in the aspect of this plant not entirely agreeing with the other species of the genus; and as the fruit is unknown, and the flowers yellow, i refer it with a doubt to swainsona. pentadynamis. char. gen.--calyx -fidus subaequalis. vexillum explanatum, callo baseos laminae in unguem decurrenti. carina obtusa, basin versus gibba, longitudine alarum. stamina diadelpha; antheris majoribus linearibus, reliquis ovatis. ovarium polyspermum. stylus e basi arcuata porrectus, postice barbatus. legumen compressum. herba (suffrutex sec. d. sturt), bipedalis sericeo-incana; caule angulato erecto. folia ternata; foliolis sessilibus, linearibus, obtusis. flores racemosi, flavi. . pentadynamis incana. loc. "on sand-hills with crotalaria sturtii." d. sturt. desc. herba erecta, ramosa, sericeo-incana. folia alterna, ternata; petiolo elongato, teretiusculo, foliolo terminali longiore vix unciali. racemi multiflori, erecti; pedicelli subaequantes calycem. bracteolae subulatae, infra apicem pedicelli, basin calycis attingentes. calyx -fidus; laciniis acutis tubum aequantibus. corolla flava, calyce plus duplo longior. vexillum explanatum, basi absque auriculis sed callo in unguem decurrenti ibique barbato auctum. carina infra medium gibba pro receptione baseos styli. staminum antherae majores lineares, basi vel juxta basin affixae; minores ovatae, incumbentes. ovarium lineare, pubescens. stigma terminale, obtusum. legumen immaturum incanum, stylo e basi arcuata porrecto terminatum, calyce subemarcido subtensum. obs. in the collection of the plants of his last expedition, presented to the british museum by sir thomas mitchell, there is a plant which seems to belong to the genus pentadynamis, which is probably, therefore, one of the species of vigna, described by mr. bentham. . cassia (sturtii), tomentoso-incana, foliis -jugis foliolis lanceolato-linearibus planis: glandula depressa inter par infimum, racemo corymboso paucifloro cum pedunculo suo folium paulo superante v. aequante, calyce tomentoso. loc. "in sandy brushes of the western interior." d. sturt. obs. species proxima c. artemisiaefoliae de cand. prodr. quae cassia glaucescens cunningh. mss. , cui foliola teretiuscula, et racemus corymbosus cum pedunculo suo folio brevior. . cassia (canaliculata), cinerascens pube tenuissima, foliis -jugis (raro -jugis) foliolis angustato-linearibus canaliculatis: glandula inter par inferius et dum unijuga inter terminale, calycibus glabriusculis, racemis corymbosis paucifloris folio brevioribus. loc. "in the bed of the creeks of the barrier range, about thirty-six miles from the darling, in lat. degrees s." d. sturt. obs. proxima c. eremophilae cunningh. mss. quae sequentibus notis a cassia phyllodinea et c. zygophylla, benth. facile distinguenda. cassia (eremophila), glabra, foliis unijugis raro passim bijugis; foliolis linearibus canaliculatis latitudine racheos linearis aversae, corymbis paucifloris folio brevioribus. loc. in desertis prope fluvium lachlan, anno , detexit. d. cunningham. cassia (zygophylla), glabra foliis unijugis; foliolis linearibus planis rachi duplo latioribus, corymbis paucifloris folio brevioribus. cassia zygophylla, benth. in mitch. trop. austr. p. . another species nearly related to c. zygophylla is readily distinguished by the following character. cassia (platypoda), glabra, foliis unijugis; foliolis linearibus apiculo recurvo duplo angustioribus rachi aversa lanceolato-lineari. loc. juxta fluvium murray, anno , detexit domina grey. . cassia (phyllodinea), canescens pube arctissime adpressa, phyllodiis aphyllis linearibus planis falcatis aversis, calycibus glabris, legumine plano-compresso. loc. in herbario d. sturt specimen exstat nulla stationis aut loci indicatione, sed eandem speciem ad fundum sinus spencer's gulf dicti in sterilibus apricis anno legi. desc. frutex quadripedalis, ramosissimus. phyllodia semper aphylla, aversa, linearia, acuta, basi attenuata, plus minusve falcato-incurva, biuncialia, / circiter unciae lata, exstipulata, paginis pube arctissime adpressa canescentibus, margine superiore glandula unica depressa obsoleta. flores flavi, in umbella axillari - flora. obs. cassia phyllodinea is one of the very few species of the genus, which, like the far greater part of new holland acaciae lose their compound leaves, and are reduced to the footstalk, or phyllodium, as it is then called, and which generally becomes foliaceous by vertical compression and dilatation. a manifest vertical compression takes place in this species of cassia. a second species, cassia circinata of benth. in mitch. trop. austr. p. , is equally reduced to its footstalk, but which is without manifest vertical compression. to this species may perhaps be referred cassia linearis of cunningham ms., discovered by him in , but which appears to differ in having a single prominent gland about the middle of its phyllodium: bentham's plant being entirely eglandular. these two, or possibly three species, belong to the desert tracts of the south australian interior. in the same regions we have another tribe of cassiae closely allied to the aphyllous species; they have only one pair of foliola which are caducous, and whose persistent footstalk is more or less vertically compressed. along with these, and nearly related to them, are found several species of cassia, having from two to four or five pairs of foliola which are narrow, but their footstalks are without vertical compression, and their foliola are caducous, chiefly in those, however, which have only two pairs. petalostylis. caesalpinearum genus, labicheae proximum. char. gen.--calyx -phyllus, aequalis. petala subaequalia, patentia. stamina: filamenta quinque sepalis opposita, quorum tria antherifera, antheris basifixis linearibus, duo reliqua castrata. ovarium oligospermum. stylus maximus, petaloideus, trilobus, lobo medio longiore axi incrassata desinente in stigma obtusum simplex! frutex glaber, erectus. folia alterna, pinnata cum impari, foliolis alternis. racemi axillares, pauciflori. flores flavi. . petalostylis labicheoides. loc. "in the bed of a creek along with sturtia." d. sturt. obs. eadem omnino species exstat inter plantas in insulis archipelagi dampieri juxta oram septentrio-occidentalem novae hollandiae in itinere navis beagle dictae lectas. desc. frutex facie fere cassiae et labicheae. folia alterna, cum impari pinnata, foliolis alternis brevissime petiolatis oblongolanceolatis cum mucronulo terminali paulo majore. stipulae parvae caducae. racemi pauciflori, axillares, folio breviores. alabastrum ovali-oblongum acutiusculum. calyx viridis, sepalis subaequalibus oblongis acutis, aestivatione imbricatis. petala quinque subaequalia, oblonga, flava aestivatione imbricata, sepalis sesquilongiora. stamina antherifera aequalia, filamentis abbreviatis, antheris acutis bilocularibus, loculis sulco longitudinali insculptis; reliqua rudimenta parva subfiliformia. ovarium sessile, lineare, - -spermum. stylus lobo medio triplo longiore, oblongo-lanceolato, lobis lateralibus auriculiformibus semiovatis obtusis. stigma imberbe. obs. the structure of the style, which forms the only important character of this genus, so far as the specimens enable me to judge, is so remarkable and peculiar, as to render it necessary to state, that i have found it quite uniform in all the flowers i have examined; namely, in four immediately before, and in three after expansion. podocoma. char. gen.--involucrum imbricatum, foliolis angustis acutis. liguloe pluriseriales, angustissimae, femineae. flosculi pauciores hermaphrodito-masculi. ligularum pappo capillari, stipitato, denticulato. receptaculum epaleatum. herba humilis, setosa; caule dense, foliato; folia petiolata, cuneata, incisa, setis albis conspersa. . podocoma cuneifolia. loc. in herbario d. sturt absque ulla indicatione loci vel stationis. obs. this plant appears to be generically distinct from erigeron, particularly in its stipitate pappus. the specimens, however, are so incomplete, that i am unable to determine whether what i have considered stem, may not be a branch only. leichardtia. char. gen.--calyx -partitus. corolla urceolata; tubo intus imberbi; fauce annulo integerrimo incrassata. corona staminea -phylla, foliolis antheris oppositis, iisque brevioribus, indivisis. antheroe membrana (brevi) terminatae. massoe pollinis erectae basi affixae. stigma vix divisum. suffrutex volubilis; foliis linearibus, fascicularibus, extraalaribus; folliculis ventricosis ovato-oblongis. . leichhardtia australis. doubah mitchell, trop. austr. p. . loc. "common on the murray and in the interior." d. sturt. desc. suffrutex pubescens, subcinereus; ramis striatisnec omnino teretibus. folia sesquipollicaria, linearia, acuta. fasciculi multiflori. calycis foliola obtusa, pube tenui cinerascentia. corolla glabra; tubo absque squamulis denticulisve, ventricoso; limbovix longitudine tubi, laciniis conniventibus sinistrorsum imbricatis. coronae foliola e basi dilatata adnata linearia, indivisa. massae pollinis (pollinia) lineares. obs. doubah was originally found by sir t. mitchell, but with fruit only, in one of his journeys, and also in his last expedition; and, according to him, the natives eat the seed-vessel entire, preferring it roasted. captain sturt, on the other hand, observes, that the natives of the districts where he found it, eat only the pulpy seed-vessel, rejecting the seeds. . jasminum lineare. br. prodr. . p. . jasminum mitchellii. lindl. in mitch. trop. austr. p. . obs. in captain sturt's collection there are perfect specimens of this plant, on which a few remarks may be here introduced, chiefly referring to its very general existence in the sterile regions of the interior of southern australia, and even extending to the north-west eoast. the species was established on specimens which i collected in , in the sterile exposed tract at the head of spencer's gulf. with these i have compared and found identical mr. a. cunningham's specimens gathered in the vicinity of the lachlan, in ; captain sturt's, in his earlier expeditions, from the darling; those of sir thomas mitchell, in his different journeys; and specimens collected in one of the islands of dampier's archipelago. in this great extent of range, it exactly agrees with a still more remarkable plant, and one much less likely to belong to a desert country, namely, clianthus dampieri. i have considered jasminum mitchellii as hardly a variety of j. lineare, the character of this supposed species depending on its smooth leaves, and its axillary nearly sessile corymbi or fasciculi, which are much shorter than their subtending leaves; but even in the specimen contained in the collection presented to the british museum by sir thomas mitchell, the young branches, as well as the pedunculus and pedicelli, are covered with similar pubesceuce, and in the same degree as that of j. lineare; the specimens from dampier's archipelago have leaves equally smooth, but have the inflorescence of j. lineare; and i have specimens of j. lineare in which, with the usual pubescence of that species, the inflorescence is that of mitchellii. among sir thos. mitchell's collection at the museum, there is a jasminum not noticed by professor lindley, which, though very nearly related to j. lineare, and possibly a variety only, may be distinguished by the following character. jasminum (micranthum) cinereo-pubescens, foliis ternatis; foliolis lanceato-linearibus, pedunculis axillaribus - floris, corollae laciniis obtusis dimidio tubi brevioribus. . goodenia (cycloptera) ramosissima pubescens, foliis radicalibus serrato-incisis; caulinis lanceolato-ellipticis obsolete serratis in petiolum attenuatis, pedunculis axillaribus unifloris folia subaequantibus, seminibus orbiculatis membrana angusta cinctis. loc. indicatio nulla stationis in herb. d. sturt. . scaevola (depauperata), erecta ramosissima, ramis alternis; ultimis oppositis divaricatis, foliis minimis sublinearibus: ramorum alternis ramulorum oppositis, pedunculis e dichotomiis ramulorum solitariis unifloris. loc. "in salt ground, in lat. degrees s." d. sturt. desc. herbacea, vix suffruticosa, adulta glabriuscula, erecta, ramosissima. rami ramulique angulati; ultimi oppositi, indivisi, divaricati, apice diphylli, foliis minimis et rudimento minuto floris abortivi. folia sessilia, linearia, acuta, brevissima, ramos subtendentia alterna, ramulos ultimos brachiatos opposita. pedunculi e dichotomiis ramulorum ultimorum penultimorumque solitarii, uniflori, ebracteati. calyx: limbo supero quinquepartito; laciniis lineari-lanceatis, aequalibus, pubescentibus. corolla: tubo hinc ad basin usque fisso; limbo unilabiato, -partito; laciniis lanceolatis, aequalibus, marginibus angustis induplicatis, extus uti tubus pubescentibus, intus glabris trinerviis, nervo medio venoso. stamina: filamenta distincta, anguste linearia, glabra, axi incrassata; antherae liberae, lineares, imberbes, basi affixae, loculis longitudinaliter dehiscentibus. ovarium biloculare? loculis monospermis, ovulis erectis. stylus cylindraceus, glaber. stigmatis indusium margine ciliatum et extus pilis copiosis longis strictis acutis albis tectum v. cinctum. . eremophila (cunninghamii) arborescens, foliis alternis linearibus mucronulo recurvo, sepalis fructus unguiculatis eglandulosis, corolla extus glabra. eremophila? arborescens, cunningh. mss. . eremodendron cunninghami, de cand. prodr. xi. p. . delessert ic. select. vol. v. p. . tab. . (ubi error in num. ovulorum.) loc. "in the sandy brushes of the low western interior, not beyond lat. degrees s." d. sturt. obs. the genus eremophila was founded on very unsatisfactory materials, namely, on two species, e. oppositifolia and alternifolia, which i found growing in the same sandy desert at the head of spencer's gulf in , the only combining character being the scariose calyx, which i inferred must have been enlarged after flowering. this, however, proves not to be the case in e. alternifolia, which mrs. grey has found in flower towards the head of st. vincent's gulf: and from analogy with other species since discovered, it probably takes place only in a slight degree in e. oppositifolia, whose expanded flowers have not yet been seen. in , mr. cunningham, in oxley's first expedition, discovered a third and very remarkable species in flower and unripe fruit, which he referred, with a doubt, to eremophila, and which m. alphonse de candolle has recently separated, but as it seems to me on very insufficient grounds, with the generic name of eremodendron, established entirely on mr. cunningham's specimens. a fourth species has lately been described by mr. bentham, in sir thos. mitchell's narrative of his journey into tropical australia; and some account of a fifth is given in the following article. these five species may be arranged in four sections, distinguished by the following characters: a. folia opposita; sepala unguiculata. eremophila oppositifolia. br. prodr. . p. . b. folia alterna; sepala unguiculata, eglandulosa; antherae exsertae. e. cunninghamii. c. folia alterna; sepala breve unguiculata, eglandulosa; stamina inclusa. eremophila mitchelli. benth. in mitch. trop. austr. p. . eremophila sturtii. d. folia alterna glanduloso-tuberculata, sepala cuneato-obovata, sessilia, glandulosa. e. alternifolia. br. prodr. i. p. . this last species might be separated from eremophila; it is not however referable to stenochilus, with some of whose species it nearly agrees in corolla, but from all of which it differs in its glandular scariose calyx. . eremophila (sturtii), pubescens, foliis anguste linearibus apiculo recurvo, corollis extus pubescentibus limbo intus barbato, staminibus inclusis. loc. "on the darling; flowers purplish, sweet-scented." d. sturt. desc. frutex orgyalis (d. sturt.). calyx -partitus, aequalis; sepalis obovato-oblongis, basi angustioribus sed in unguem vix attenuatis, membranaceis, uninerviis, venosis. corolla bilabiata, tubo amplo recto, labiis obtusis, extus pubescens, intus hinc (inferius) barbata. labium superius tripartitum; lobo medio bifido (e duobus conflato); laciniis omnibus obtusis; inferius obcordatum bilobum lobis rotundatis, densius barbatum. stamina quatuor didynama, omnino inclusa. filamenta glabra. antherae reniformes, loculis apice confluentibus. ovarium dense lanatum. stylus glaber. stigma indivisum, apice styli vix crassius. obs. species proxima e. mitchelli benth. in mitch. trop. austr. p. . . stenochilus longifolius. br. prodr. i. p. . stenochilus pubiflorus. benth. in mitch. trop. aust. p. . stenochilus salicinus. benth. in mitch. trop. austr. p. . loc. nulla stationis indicatio. . stenochilus maculatus, ker in bot. regist. tab. . cunningh. mss. . b stenochilus curvipes. benth. in mitch. trop. austr. p. . varietas s. maculati, sepalorum acumine paulo breviore. obs. m. alphonse de candolle, in prodr. xi. p. . refers s. ochroleucus of cunningh. mss. , as a variety to s. maculatus; it is however very distinct, having a short erect peduncule like that of s. glaber, to which it is much more nearly related, differing chiefly in its being slightly pubescent. . grevillea (eugrevillea) sturtii, foliis indivisis (nonnullis raro bifidis) auguste linearibus elongatis uninerviis: marginibus arcte revolutis, racemis oblongis cylindraceisve: rachi pedicellis perianthiisque inexpansis glutinoso-pubescentibus, ovario sessili, stylo glabro. loc. "on sand-hills in lat. degrees s." d. sturt. desc. arbor -pedalis (sturt.) rami teretes, pube arcte adpressa persistenti incani. folia - -pollices longa, vix tres lineas lata, subter pubescentia incana, super tandem glabrata. thyrsus terminalis, - uncialis, rachi pedicellisque pube erecta nec appressa secretione glutinosa intermista. flores aurantiaci. obs. in the collection presented to the british museum by sir thomas mitchell, of the plants of his last expedition, there is a very perfect specimen, in flower, of grevillea sturtii. the following observations respecting the grevilleae of the same collection may not be without interest. grevillea mitchellii, hooker, in mitch. trop. austr. p. , proves to be gr. chrysodendron, prodr. fl. nov. holl. p. , the specific name of which was not derived from the colour of the under surface of the leaves, which is, indeed, nearly white, but from the numerous orange-coloured racemes, rendering this tree conspicuous at a great distance. grevillea longistyla and g. juncea of the same narrative, both belong to that section of the genus which i have named plagiopoda. a single specimen, in most respects resembling gr. longistyla, of which possibly it may be a variety, but which at least deserves notice, has all its leaves pinnatifid, instead of being undivided. it may be distinguished by the following character:--grevillea (plagiopoda) neglecta, foliis pinnatifidis subtus niveis; laciniis linearibus, stylis glabris. a single specimen also exists of grevillea (or hakea) lorea, prodr. flor. nov. holl. p. , but without fructification. . grevillea (cycloptera?) lineata, foliis indivisis lineari-ens formibus enerviis subter striis decem paucioribus elevatis uniformibus interstitia bis-terve latitudine superantibus, cicatrice insertionis latiore quam longa utrinque obtusa, racemis terminalibus alternis, pistillis semuncia brevioribus stigmate conico. loc. "it takes the place of the gum-tree (eucalyptus) in the creeks about lat. degrees minutes s." d. sturt. obs. it is difficult to distinguish this species, which, according to captain sturt, forms a tree about feet in height, from grevillea striata. i have endeavoured to do so in the above specific difference, contrasted with which the leaves of g. striata have always more than striae, which are hardly twice the breadth of the pubescent interstices, and the cicatrices of whose leaves are longer than broad, and more or less acute, both above and below. this is a source of character which in the supplement to the prodr. florae novae hollandiae, i have employed in a few cases both in grevillea and hakea, but which i believe to be important, as it not only expresses a difference of form, but also in general of vascular arrangement. . ptilotus (latifolius) capitulis globosis, bracteis propriis calycem superantibus, foliis ovatis petiolatis. loc. "in lat. degrees s."--d. sturt. desc. herba diffusa, ramosa, incana. folia alterna, petiolata, lateovata, integerrima. capitula ramos terminantia, solitaria vel duo approximata. bracteae laterales scariosae, sessiles, late ovatae, enerviae. perianthium; foliolis subaequalibus, lana implexa alba basi tectis, ante expansionem ungue nervoso tunc brevissimo, post anthesin laminam scariosam enervem fere aequante. stamina antherifera; filamenta basi in cyathulum edentulum connata. antherae biloculares, loculis utrinque distinctis medio solum conjunctis. ovarium monospermum, glabrum. stylus filiformis, glaber. stigma capitatum, parvum. utriculus evalvis, ruptilis. obs. i was at first inclined to consider this plant as a genus distinct from ptilotus, more, however, from the remarkable difference in habit than from any important distinction in the flower, for its character would have chiefly consisted in the great size of its lateral bracheae, and in the form of its antherae. in a small collection formed during the voyage of captains wickham and stokes, there is a plant very nearly related to, and perhaps not specifically distinct from ptilotus latifolius, but having narrower leaves. it was found on one of the islands of dampier's archipelago. . neurachne (paradoxa) glaberrima, culmo dichotomo, foliis rameis abbreviatis, fasciculis paucifloris, glumis perianthiisque imberbibus valvula exteriore cujusve floris septemnervia. loc. nulla indicatio loci v. stationis, in herbario. d. sturt. desc. gramen junceum, facie potius cyperaceae cujusdam. folia radicalia in specimine unico viso defuere; ramos subtendentia abbreviata, vagina aperta ipsum folium superante; floralia subspathiformia sed foliacea nec membranacea. fasciculi pauciflori: spiculae cum pedunculo brevissimo articulatae et solubiles, et subtensae bractea nervosa carinata ejusdem circiter longitudinis. gluma bivalvis biflora, nervosa, acuta, mutica; valvulae subaequales septemnerviae; exterioris nervis tribus axin occupantibus sed distinctis reliquis per paria a marginibus et axilibus subaequidistantibus; interioris nervis aequidistantibus, externis margine approximatis. perianthium inferius (exterius), bivalvis, neuter; valvula exterior septemnervis, exteriori glumae similis textura forma et longitudine; valvula interior (superior) angustior pauloque brevior, dinervis, nervis alatis marginibus veris latis induplicatis. perianthium superius hermaphroditum, paulo brevius, pergamineo-membranaceum, nervis dilute viridibus; valvula exterior quinquenervis, acuta, concava; interior ejusdem fere longitudinis, dinervis. stamina , filamentis linearibus. ovarium oblongum, imberbe. styli duo. stigmata plumosa, pallida? obs. neurachne paradoxa, founded on a single specimen, imperfect in its leaves and stem, but sufficiently complete in its parts of fructification, differs materially in habit from the original species, n. alopeuroides, as well as from n. mitchelliana of nees, while these two species differ widely from each other in several important points of structure. * * * * * in undertaking to give some account of the more remarkable plants of captain sturt's collection, it was my intention to have entered in some detail into the general character of the vegetation of the interior of australia, south of the tropic. i am now obliged to relinquish my original intention, so far as relates to detail, but shall still offer a few general remarks on the subject. these remarks will probably be better understood, if i refer, in the first place, to some observations published in , in the botanical appendix to captain flinders's voyage. from the knowledge i then had of new holland, or australian vegetation, i stated that its chief peculiarities existed in the greatest degree in a parallel, included between degrees and degrees s. lat. which i therefore called the principal parallel, but that these peculiarities or characteristic tribes, were found chiefly at its western and eastern extremities, being remarkably diminished in that intermediate portion, included between degrees and degrees, e. long. these observations related entirely to the shores of australia, its interior, being at that period altogether unknown; and the species of australian plants, with which i was then acquainted, did not exceed . since that time great additions have been made to the number, chiefly by mr. allan cunningham, in his various journeys from port jackson, and on the shores of the north and north-west coasts during the voyages of captain king whom he accompanied; by messrs. william baxter, james drummond, and m. preiss, at the western extremity of the principal parallel, and by mr. ronald gunn in van diemen's land. it is probable that i may be considered as underrating these additions, when i venture to state them as only between two and three thousand; and that the whole number of australian plants at present known, does not exceed, but rather falls short of species. these additions, whatever their amount may be, confirm my original statement respecting the distribution of the characteristic tribes of the new holland flora; some additional breadth might perhaps be given to the principal parallel, and the extent of the peculiar families may now be stated as much greater at or near its western, than at its eastern extremity. with the vegetation of the extra-tropical interior of australia, we are now in some degree acquainted, chiefly from the collections formed by the late mr. allan cunningham, and charles fraser, in oxley's two expeditions from port jackson into the western interior, in and ; from captain sturt's early expeditions, in which the rivers darling, murrumbidgee, and murray, were discovered; from those of sir thomas mitchell, who never failed to form extensive collections of plants of the regions he visited; and lastly, from captain sturt's present collection. the whole number of plants collected in these various expeditions, may be estimated at about or species; and the general character of the vegetation, especially of the extensive sterile regions, very nearly resembles that of the heads of the two great inlets of the south coast, particularly that of spencer's gulf; the same or a still greater diminution of the characteristic tribes of the general australian flora being observable. of these characteristic tribes, hardly any considerable proportion is found, except of eucalyptus, and even that genus seems to be much reduced in the number of species; of the leafless acaciae, which appear to exist in nearly their usual proportion; and of callitris and casuarina. the extensive families of epacrideae, stylideae, restiaceae, and the tribe of decandrous papilionaceae, hardly exist, and the still more characteristic and extensive family of proteaceae is reduced to a few species of grevillea, hakea, and persoonia. nor are there any extensive families peculiar to these regions; the only characteristic tribes being that small section of aphyllous, or nearly aphyllous cassiae, which i have particularly adverted to in my account of some of the species belonging to captain sturt's collection; and several genera of myoporinae, particularly eremophila and stenochilus. both these tribes appear to be confined to the interior, or to the two great gulfs of the south coast, which may be termed the outlets or direct continuation of the southern interior; several of the species observed at the head of spencer's gulf, also existing in nearly the same meridian, several degrees to the northward. it is not a little remarkable that nearly the same general character of vegetation appears to exist in the sterile islands of dampier's archipelago, on the north-west coast, where even some of the species which probably exist through the whole of the southern interior are found; of these the most striking instances are, clianthus dampieri, and jasminum lineare, and to establish this extensive range of these two species was my object in entering so minutely into their history in the preceding account. a still greater reduction of the peculiarities of new holland vegetation, takes place in the islands of the south coast. the end +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | transcriber's note: | | | | inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original | | document has been adjusted. | | | | obvious typographical errors have been corrected. for | | a complete list, please see the end of this file. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ down under with the prince by the same author signs and portents in the far east [illustration: h.r.h. on deck: an interruption] down under with the prince by everard cotes with twenty-three illustrations methuen & co. ltd. essex street, w.c. london _first published in _ this book attempts to be a gangway to the _renown_ for the reader who would travel by battle-cruiser, by train, on horseback, by motor, and on foot, the forty-five thousand miles of his australasian tour with h.r.h. the prince of wales. it is built by one who travelled, as a correspondent, with him all the way. contents page i at sea ii barbados iii panama iv southern california v honolulu vi neptune boards the _renown_ vii fiji viii auckland ix north island x south island xi enterprise in new zealand xii victoria xiii new south wales xiv some commonwealth affairs xv western australia xvi wheat, gold, and logging xvii the nullarbor plain xviii south australia xix tasmania xx queensland xxi the jackaroo and others xxii amongst the sheep xxiii eastward ho xxiv the west indies xxv the bermudas xxvi the significance of the tour list of illustrations h.r.h. on deck: an interruption _frontispiece_ facing page panama canal: a sharp corner surf-boarding at honolulu excitement grows in auckland harbour new zealand: the prime minister takes charge _from a photograph by guy, dunedin_ wellington: a canoe in the petone pageant _from a photograph by guy, dunedin_ "the maori people will be true till death" westport children: a tumult of flags and flowers dunedin's welcome _from photographs by guy, dunedin_ with australia's most distinguished citizen _from a photograph by the central news agency, ltd._ jutland day at melbourne government house gardens, new south wales perth, from the king's park crossing the nullarbor plain aboriginal dance leaving port adelaide mount wellington, hobart the backblocks: an unofficial fixture his favourite mount emu on a sheep-run good-bye to sydney harbour samoa makes merry trinidad: in the dragon's mouth the thanks of the writer are due to those who have contributed photographs for the illustrations, and especially to sir godfrey thomas, bart. down under with the prince i at sea one march morning of last year, an ordinary train moved out of waterloo station for portsmouth, and among the ordinary people it carried were at least two or three who were going further. they sat together and smoked, and exchanged experiences and speculations. as the train slowed down at portsmouth harbour they looked from the carriage windows and saw the fighting tops of a big battle-cruiser lifted grey against the sky above the houses of the foreshore, and one said to another "there she is." there she was, the _renown_, in alongside, waiting to sail with his royal highness the prince of wales to australasia. it was the day before and already the function was in the quickened air. scraps of coloured bunting fluttered and flew on the wharf sheds. dockyard officials gave orders with more responsibility than ever immediately under their caps. the travellers from waterloo went up the gangway to the quarter-deck, successfully passed the officer of the watch, and found their quarters. they were the journalists of the tour, there on behalf of the people at home, that multitudinous "public" which, for lack of accommodation on the _renown_, must see the prince's tour in the convex mirror of the daily press. next day the function flowered. the royal train rolled in. the red carpet was spread and the chief passenger went up the gangway, with every sign and circumstance by which his country could mark the occasion of his going. gently the grey turrets slid out from the crowded wharf into the leaden expanse of harbour. "auld lang syne" rang into the chill wind that rocked the rowing-boats lining the fairway. ant-like figures swarmed into the tall rigging of nelson's flagship, which lay, bedecked all over, her old oak sides stiff in checkered squares of black and white, while her ancient muzzle-loaders banged off a smoky salvo--the senior ship of the british navy wishing godspeed to her fighting junior on royal service starting. the hundred and twenty thousand horse-power steam turbines of the battle-cruiser quickened their rhythmic throb. the still shouting crowds ashore faded to dark stains on the southsea beach. the red and gold of the royal standard fluttered down from the main, and the _renown_ put out to sea, starting on this pleasant commission with the same certitude and the same cheeriness, the same discipline and the same lightness of heart, the same directness of purpose, and above all things the same absence of fuss, with which she had often gone upon errands perilous. the voyage, so much anticipated and chronicled, had begun, and the convincing thing was that it was going to be, from the _renown's_ point of view, precisely like other voyages. that impression came with the first turn of the propeller and remained, it may be said at once, until the last. the circumstance and ceremonial of the departure, the pomp of royalty and the glitter of an imperial mission had all merged, before the sun set in the cloud-bank of that march afternoon, in the sense of function and routine, detached and disregarding, that controls life in his majesty's ships at sea. the _renown_ is the most recent, the fastest, and the best armed battle-cruiser in the world. she received at her christening the proud traditions, extending over three hundred years, of the battles of the british navy, having had no less than seven fighting predecessors of the same name, beginning with the gallant little wooden frigate _renommée_, captured in from the french and transferred to the british squadrons where she became the first of the famous _renowns_. the present vessel was built as lately as , when british need was great. she remains a record of what those strenuous times could do. for all her thirty-two thousand tons and gigantic armament of mammoth guns this great battle-cruiser slides through the water with the smoothness of the otter. she moved steadily at eighteen knots an hour from the time she left portsmouth, a pace which, for this last word in fighting machines, is mere half-speed, though it is as fast as most suburban trains can travel. she is so big that surprisingly little motion is noticeable at sea, though waves wash freely over forecastle and quarter-deck, contracting the space available for the exercise and training of the large fighting crew she carries. this intimacy with the ocean is an impression acquired early and vividly by the civilian on board a fighting ship. a voyage on a big liner is a quite super-marine experience by comparison, with a picturesque and phosphorescent basis some distance below a sleepy deck-chair, and not necessarily observed at all. a battleship penetrates rather than sails the sea, and takes very little interest in keeping any part of herself dry. it is impossible to ignore the ocean on such a vessel. the _renown_ was no less amphibian than others of her class. the accommodation contrived for the prince was itself liable to ruthless visitation, and even the cabin on the superstructure, which held the chroniclers of his odyssey, and was the highest inhabited spot beneath the bridge, occasionally took considerably more than enough water to dilute the ink. naturally there was nothing in her mission to interfere with the _renown's_ ordinary routine at sea. training, gun-drill and inspections went on as usual and it was impossible not to be penetrated with the fact that these things were admirably done. for the passengers the day began with breakfast in the ward-room at eight. soon after nine the whole ship's company assembled in divisions, in different parts of the vessel. kits were inspected and the day's duty commenced. one realized, as one watched the proceedings, how completely the war has abolished the old navy methods of stiffness and pipeclay. the relations between officers and men are of the pleasantest and most human character. nobody is asked to do anything not of definite importance to the welfare of the ship, or to the training and the making fit of the men. the navigation, the keeping of the watches, the working of the complicated machinery by which the vessel is driven, steered and lighted, the handling of the gigantic guns, and the running of such supplementary services as those of supply and wireless, proceed upon simple matter-of-fact business principles, under the direction of the captain, who controls the organization as a whole. immediately under the captain are the navigation commander, the administration commander, the engineer commander, the gunnery lieutenant-commander, the torpedo lieutenant-commander, the principal medical officer, and the paymaster, each an expert in the particular branch he is responsible for. unquestionably an expert too is the ship's parson who, himself belonging to the upper deck, is related, by his duties, so closely to the lower, as to afford a personal link between the two, which no less sympathetic or more official intermediary could supply. each of the departments i have named is manned by its own staff of officers and men, who are all trained to carry out definite functions with cheerfulness, confidence and goodwill. on the _renown_ the same healthy spirit was to be found in every one aboard, from the flag-lieutenant down to the humblest stoker. it is an early inoculation of osborne and exmouth and apparently expands in the system with promotion. at general divisions on sundays, the entire ship's company assembled for inspection on the decks, each officer at the head of his respective contingent. a finer sight than these divisions it would be impossible to find, the men well-set-up, and bearing decorations won in every naval engagement during the war, from zeebrugge to the falkland islands, and from the dardanelles to jutland, wearing too in many cases the red triple stripe upon the sleeve which tells of fifteen years of good service under the white ensign. a battle-cruiser has many aspects. it is a fortress with parade grounds and cricket pitches, a monastery with divagations in port, a school of many things besides arithmetic, and a community that could teach social law to mr. hyndman. it is above all from this point of view the home, the castle and the club of the officers and men who inhabit it, and the centre of these significances is the ward-room. the _renown's_ had an ante-room which enshrined the files, not greatly disturbed, of a few newspapers, and was a most comfortable smoking-room, but it was about the tables and chairs, the mess president's mallet and the unwearied piano of the ward-room itself that the hoariest traditions of his majesty's navy most conspicuously flourished and the atmospheric essence of the senior service most happily clung. there is a variety of the game of patience played with cards called "knock." it was plainly invented, in a moment of drowsy leave, by a sub-lieutenant to whom had arrived the felicity of ordering, by a stroke upon the table, commander x or lieutenant-commander y to "pass the wine" in penalty for having read an urgent signal from the bridge and omitted to excuse himself to him, the said sub-lieutenant, and mess president for the week, though youngest officer present. various were the offences thus visited across the field of the repast, which had a goal at each end, kept, so to speak, by the chaplain, with his grace before and after meat. in that consecrated interval no lady's name may be pronounced, and nothing of any sort may be perused. the spell with which the ward-room guards its daily history at once paralyses the pen. there is really no way of learning much about these things except by entering the navy or persuading a battle-cruiser to give you a berth in her, opportunities which occur but seldom to any of us. the relaxations of that genial and athletic place form a tempting theme, but it is better for the publishers that a modest number of these volumes should reach the libraries than that a whole edition should be sunk at sea. all this announced and admitted however, this was the voyage to australasia of h.r.h. the prince of wales, and the _renown_, at least in the public eye, must be subordinated to her duty. the prince was to be met quite often, going about the ship, like anybody else, with always an unaffected word and pleasant smile for those he ran up against. he did a good deal of reading and other work in his state-room in the morning, but in the afternoon he often shared in the recreations of the officers, playing squash racquets in a small court that had been rigged up upon the superstructure, shooting at clay discs thrown out from the ship's side by means of a spring trap, or running and doing swedish exercises on the poop. h.r.h. ordinarily messed with the captain and the members of the royal staff, in the cuddy, which had been enlarged and pleasantly decorated in ivory and green for the purpose; but he was also an honorary member of the ward-room and gun-room messes and sometimes dined with one or other of them. on other nights he often had officers or passengers to dine with himself and his staff, in the simplest and most informal way, his guests coming away with the pleasantest impressions of unpretentious good fellowship and cheery company. on these occasions the prince himself proposed the health of the king, and about this ceremony, simply and modestly as it was observed, hung an odd little imperial thrill. republics are worthy forms of government, but they impose upon no man the duty of toasting his own father. it was a gesture that somehow placed the youthful host momentarily apart--one imagines his having to reconquer the effect of it as often as he makes it. the prince is keen upon naval affairs and soon knew the ship from one end to the other. he often accompanied the captain on inspections and took a hand in all sorts of duties, down to those of the oil furnaces. he sampled the men's food, tasted their grog and would often have a cheery chat with them. there was no attempt to sequester the chief passenger. he shared and contributed to the life of the ship. ii barbados gloom was cast over the _renown_, the day before reaching barbados, by the falling overboard, in rough weather, of a fine young gunner of marines, who was sitting on the taffrail gaily talking to his mates when a roll came that sent him into the sea. the poor fellow had hardly stopped falling when patent life-buoys, which sent out white clouds of smoke, easily visible in the bright afternoon sunshine, were dropped. the big ship swung round. the man was swimming, when lost to view amongst white-topped waves. a boat was smartly lowered, and within fifteen minutes of the cry "man overboard," the rowers had reached the buoys and were carefully searching the precise spot where the speck which had been one of our company had disappeared. the prince was much concerned at the accident, and came upon deck the moment he heard of it. but our hearts grew heavy as the minutes went by and the search proved vain. it had eventually to be recognized that the unfortunate man had sunk before reaching the life-buoys, close as they had been dropped to him in the water. a funeral service was afterwards held on the forecastle, the entire ship's company and all the officers attending to pay respect to the memory of their shipmate. the prince also sent a personal message by wireless to the relations of the deceased. it was one of those accidents that no amount of care can entirely prevent, upon the necessarily low, and but slightly fenced decks of a modern battle-cruiser in a heavy sea. the following evening the _renown_ arrived off barbados. the light-cruiser _calcutta_, flagship of the west indian squadron, met her at sea and escorted her in to the anchorage half a mile from shore. a dozen sailing barques, mostly american, also three or four steamers of various nationalities, were lying at anchor, all of them decked with bunting in honour of the royal visit. the usual salutes were fired and formal exchange of calls between the prince and sir charles o'brien, governor of the island, and admiral everett, commanding the west indian station, took place. it was the first pause for the purpose of the tour, the first official touch. the feeling of function, of standing at attention, which was soon to clothe the enterprise as with a garment, fell upon all concerned. the silk hat for the first time bobbed in the visiting steam-launch, and the address came out of the breast pocket of the municipal morning coat. bridgetown, the capital of barbados, as seen from the _renown_ through the soft warm muggy atmosphere of the end of march, was a tumbled mass of white and red buildings embowered in emerald foliage, and fringed by the masts of anchored sailing vessels, themselves reflected in the broken amethyst of the open roadstead. the narrow streets had been decorated by the wives and daughters of the residents, headed by lady carter, wife of a late governor of the island, who had expended an immense amount of labour upon the work. gigantic sago-palm leaves had grown into royal emblems wherein the fronds took the place of feathers. the broad street of the city might have been a cantonese bazaar, so thick was it with coloured banners. nelson's statue, in the local trafalgar square, looked out of a mass of brilliant floral designs. an imposing triumphal arch of flowers had also been erected. even the tiny wooden huts of the negroes, on the outskirts, carried paper decorations that must have cost much labour to make. a well-set-up company of volunteers furnished a guard-of-honour at the landing. the members of the barbados house of assembly, headed by the governor in white political uniform, received the prince. bands and salutes added to the formality of the occasion. complimentary addresses were presented in the old assembly house, where the prince shook hands with a remarkably long line of returned military and naval officers and men, for barbados sent an extraordinary large proportion of her sons to the war. a fleet of motor-cars then turned up and the prince was taken for a drive through the island. the procession was headed by that veteran planter and member of assembly, mr. graham yearwood, who seemed to have at his finger-ends every local romance of the past three hundred years, from the story of the "rendezvous" on the coast, where loyalist planters repelled the onslaught of cromwellian squadrons, to that of a certain cavernous gully which we also saw, where, for long months, was hidden the body of a swashbuckling moss-trooper slain in single combat by a barbadian planter. the prince was also conducted over the buzzing machinery of an immense, up-to-date sugar-factory, fitted with the latest appliances, and learnt something of the vicissitudes of the sugar industry, an enterprise which was doggedly operated through years of low prices, bad crops, and hurricanes, and only narrowly saved from complete bankruptcy by a grant obtained from the british parliament by mr. joseph chamberlain. at the time of the royal visit, it was in a state of abounding prosperity with prices at twelve times their pre-war level. even with the year's by no means favourable season the current crop was valued at eight times the average of five years previously, which meant ease and comfort to all connected with this premier industry of the island. the whole of the city portion of the route was lined--in places ten deep--with cheering, laughing, bowing coloured people and their women and piccaninnies; the folk of the cane fields and factories. in the country portion of the route, negroes rushed to the roadside from their work in the fields the moment the royal car appeared in sight. "god bless you!" they cried to the prince. "come! come! lookee here, he too sweet boy!" "god bless my old eyes that have seen him," mingled with laughter and the clapping of hands, while old men bowed low, with dignified, wide-armed, slow gesticulation, and women and girls, sometimes smartly got-up with head-kerchiefs made of union jacks, and always with strong, free hip-gait, and the widest of white-toothed smiles, came running to drop a curtsy or bend in salute. it was real contagious joy and excitement, like the overflowing froth of a bottle of guinness, and as for the noise only a jazz band could describe it. the road was sometimes crowded with four-wheeled mule-drawn carts, piled high with fresh-cut, yellow sugar-cane, on its way to the presses, each stem the thickness of a rolling-pin and the length of a cavalryman's lance, for the harvesting was in full swing. the negroes take the crop, which looks much like sorghum or indian corn, with cutlasses, primitive work done by primitive people. the luscious growth needs a good deal of fertilizing and care the year round, and generations of these simple folk have thriven upon it since the middle of the seventeenth century. seventy-four thousand acres of it there are and probably a hundred thousand negroes producing it, all, so far as we could observe, delighted to see the prince of wales. the road wound sometimes through pillared aisles of stately sago-palms, past dense groves of green mahogany and bread-fruit trees or brilliantly red flowering devil-trees, hibiscus, and silk-cotton. sometimes one saw brown heaps of sweet potatoes, as large as turnips, just dug from the earth. the procession climbed through open fields of uncut sugar-cane and sorghum, getting a fine view of rolling cultivation, bordered with blue sea and white surf-swept beach. ancient windmills swung black, droning sails on the hill-tops. tall brick chimneys told of long-established crushing mills close to the cane fields. cheerful villages of flimsy wooden shacks and solid stone houses followed one another in quick succession, each with its inhabitants lined up in holiday clothes to cheer. again and again the prince alighted to inspect boy-scouts, girl-guides, and war-workers, or to say a pleasant word to assemblies of school-children. one gathering proved a community of "red-legs," descendants, now of mixed race, of scotch and irish prisoners of war and "unruly men" exiled and sold for seven years as white servants to the colony in . it was easy to pick out in the white-clad crowd individuals with negro features and pale celtic skins. later in the day, the prince attended a formal state dinner, and evoked a storm of applause by contradicting emphatically a rumour, which had been causing a good deal of anxiety in the island, to the effect that there was a possibility of some of the west indies being disposed of to america. "i need hardly say," said his royal highness, downrightly, "that the king's subjects are not for sale to other governments. their destiny, as free men, is in their own hands. your future is for you yourselves to shape, and i am sure barbados will never waver in its loyalty, three centuries old, to the british crown." it would thus appear that cromwell's experiment is not likely to be developed by the present government. the assurance was noteworthy as the first of the pleasant and telling things the prince had to say during his progress, opportunities which he never missed and which, in the aggregate, enhanced so greatly the success of his mission. iii panama at dawn, in hot, soft, hazy weather, the _renown_, followed by the _calcutta_, left the blue, transparent waters of the caribbean sea and entered the green, muddy channel, fringed with dense, verdant forest, which is the beginning of the panama canal. three aeroplanes, each bearing the stripes of the american air service, droned overhead in noisy welcome. resonant concussions and white, fleecy puffs of smoke amidst low wharves and jetties where colon lay in the forest, spread a royal salute upon the vibrating air. music arose upon the _renown_, while staff-officers arrayed themselves in gold-lace and helmets, ready to receive the prince's guests. launches arrived at the ship bringing the british minister to panama, mr. percy bennett, accompanied by captain blake and major-general bethell, respectively naval and military attachés at the british embassy at washington. an hour's quiet steaming, thereafter, brought us to the giant gatun locks, which stand in three black tiers of steel, the gates rising, one above another, in a massive setting of grey, rounded concrete, a severing gash in the high, green hill which is the gatun dam. here, señor lefevre, president of the panama republic, admiral johnston and colonel kennedy, commanding the american naval and military forces in the panama zone, also engineer colonel harding, governor of the canal, and monsieur simonin, french chargé d'affairs, came on board. the formality attending these official arrivals, so often to be repeated throughout the tour, was practically always the same. the visitor who came up the gangway from the dock or the launch, as the case might be, saluted the quarter-deck--a survival this from the days when it bore a crucifix--and was saluted in turn by the officer of the watch, who, with his telescope tucked under his arm, conveyed the stranger past the row of marines drawn up at attention to the captain and the equerry in waiting, who brought him up the starboard companion to the mezzanine deck. here he would be received by the prince attended by his staff. the visit seldom exceeded twenty minutes. when h.r.h. left the ship for the shore the captain awaited him on the quarter-deck and conducted him past the marines presenting arms to the gangway. on these occasions the junior members of the party were the first to step off, finishing with the admiral and last of all the prince, both admiral and prince being "piped over the side" to the shrill music of the bos'n's whistle. there was as little variation about the arrival on shore. always the guard-of-honour, the band, the stunting aeroplanes, always six bars of "god save the king" and the pause at attention, always the hand-shaking with the officer commanding the guard-of-honour, the inspection, and so to the business and pleasure of the visit. [illustration: panama canal: a sharp corner] [illustration: surf-boarding at honolulu] on this occasion the guard of american soldiers in white uniforms and the familiar wide-brimmed hats was drawn up upon the lawn beside the topmost lock. thence, past some thousands of prosperous-looking employees of the canal, and their families, who had turned out to see the reception, the prince was taken to the control house, whence the whole of the operations of the locks are regulated, from the manipulating of the little, black, towing mule-engines, which ran busily, like scarabaeid beetles, up and down rails set in concrete slopes on the top of the lock walls, to the opening and closing of the seventy-foot high gates, and the letting in and letting out of the green sluggish water. from the veranda of the control house we got our first striking impression of the dramatic achievement of the canal. we were on the level of the wide island dotted expanse of the gatun lake. the enormous _renown_ and the tiny _calcutta_ lay, side by side, in thousand-feet-long pools, at our feet, in a turmoil of waves of rushing water, out of which, from time to time, some frightened fish would leap, a silver gleam that disappeared before one had made out its shape or kind. the great design was in action before our eyes. the locks opened and closed with extraordinary speed and almost noiseless efficiency, and by the time the prince had returned from inspecting the monster spillway and power-house, to which he was carried in a tiny train that was in readiness alongside the locks when we arrived, the _calcutta_ was already entering the lake, while the _renown_ had surmounted the locks and was only waiting to take on the royal party before following in her wake. the route thereafter lay at first through the green water of the lake, past islands covered with densest jungle. about the middle of the lake, we passed masses of bare tree-trunks, standing erect in the water, on either side of the broad track that is kept clear for the passage of ships. these trees are what remain of a forest that covered the bottom of the valley before the building of the dam which converted it into a lake. the trunks, though standing in some seven fathoms of water, still keep their branches and project many feet above the surface; and have to be avoided by passing ships. this dismal avenue has kept its place for ten years. it must have been green once. like a forest after a great burning it stands in skeleton and carries no leaf now, a curious reminder that water can be as pitiless as fire. in the afternoon we entered the culebra cut. here man has been at grips with nature in her least amiable mood. the channel becomes a winding gorge through steep, rugged crags and rounded hills. the stupendous cutting shows treacherous alternating layers of red gravel, yellow sand, brown crumpled rock, and soft, slippery blue clay. a number of mammoth floating steam dredgers were here at work, a fresh slip having occurred a few days previously. progress, therefore, had to be of the slowest. a climax was reached near the end of the cutting, where, at a sharp curve in the channel, a whole hillside, half a mile each way, had commenced to move, the débris extending right into the canal, which was also impeded by a small island, apparently squeezed up from the bottom by the terrific pressure of the slipping hill. the place looked almost impossible, the great length of the _renown_ making the manoeuvring of her in what remained of the channel one of the trickiest pieces of navigation imaginable. naval officers are not easily put off, however, and by the most delicate handling, the vessel ultimately crawled past the obstruction. the cheerful little red-roofed township of pedro miguel was reached soon afterwards. here the entire population had turned out to see the prince, the girls in brilliant costumes, amongst which one might sometimes see the black mantilla of spain; the men in anything, from working overalls and slouch hats, to the leisured fashions of new york. at pedro miguel began the slow process of descending to the level of the pacific. the first lock dropped us some thirty feet into the picturesque lake of miraflores, surrounded by rounded grass-grown hills, emerald in the setting sun. two more locks followed at the end of the lake, and we entered a stretch of water at ocean level, which took us to the docks at balboa, upon the pacific, close to the city of panama. [illustration: excitement grows in auckland harbour] [illustration: new zealand: the prime minister takes charge] at panama the prince had the most friendly and hospitable reception, banquets and balls succeeding one another on shore, while on the _renown_ several ceremonies took place, including the receiving and replying to addresses from british, west indian and east indian residents. some of the local cordiality was quaintly worded. "in frantic supplication we fling ourselves at the feet of almighty god to shower his blessings upon your highness." more, it may be imagined, could not be done. "if we be allowed another paragraph may we then be permitted, in this final gasp, to express our desire that your royal highness will greatly enjoy your short visit to this port." it is understood that the desire of the permitted paragraph and the final gasp was not denied. another picturesque ceremony was when the prince drove in procession to pay a formal visit to the president of panama. the motor-cars first traversed the wide american zone of the canal region, speeding over smooth, asphalt roads, past well-built verandahed houses, with white walls and dark-coloured jutting roofs, the windows and doors meshed with fine wire-gauze, an arrangement which gives them the appearance of prosperous meat-safes. these houses are part of the wonderful sanitary arrangements which have turned panama, from being a yellow-fever camp, into one of the most healthy regions in the world. they are inhabited by the engineering, traffic and administrative staffs, and the police and military establishments of the canal zone. they stand in spacious gardens with beautifully-kept lawns and flower-borders, and are supplied with up-to-date electric-light and fans, good drinking-water, and perfect installations of sewers. there are also carefully thought out clubs and institutes, which supply the canal employees with entertainment for their spare hours, alcoholic liquor alone excepted, for the zone is strictly "dry." smart american sentries saluted at the barbed wire boundary, whence the route wound past conical hills which may well have been the range that gave to drake the first white man's view of the pacific ocean. thereafter the procession plunged into the narrow streets of panama city, which were lined with cheering, laughing crowds of gaily dressed negroes, mexicans and spaniards. bunting fluttered from every window in the high tiered houses. an escort of picturesque mounted police, with rough peaked saddles and undocked horses, closed in on either side. immense, decorated barouches, drawn by fine pairs of mexican horses, were substituted for the canal zone motor-cars, and the procession moved on in state, the prince alighting, _en route_, to inspect a fine body of about a hundred returned soldiers of the west indian regiment who had assembled in his honour. the president and his entire council, in black frock-coats and shining top-hats, welcomed the party upon the steps of the presidential house, a pleasant residence, with garden quadrangle, overlooking the sunny harbour. the prince was conducted upstairs to a large reception-room, hung with yellowing paintings of previous presidents, where compliments were exchanged and refreshments offered. later in the day an official dinner was given, at which the president proposed the royal health in flowing spanish, mentioning the large number of residents, in the chief cities of panama, who are british subjects from the west indian islands, and emphasizing the gratitude felt by all panamanians towards great britain for having taken up the cause of the smaller nations in the world war. the reference filled several eyes in the company with conscious rectitude, and they were not all british. iv southern california in passing the culebra cut landslide, in the panama canal, one of the propellers of the _renown_ touched a submerged rock which had escaped the notice of the surveyors. when balboa harbour was reached the ship's divers went down to see what the damage amounted to; and as poking about the cruiser's bottom, thirty-three feet below the surface, in muddy water infested with sharks, is, to say the least, an unpleasant task, it was characteristic of the ship that one of the first to don diving-dress and go over the side was the engineer-commander himself. the result was to ascertain that one of the blades of one of the propellers had had a small piece broken off, but that the damage was so slight that it would not be necessary to dock the vessel for repair. a start was therefore made for san diego, our next port of call. the course skirted the mountainous coast of mexico, which showed mistily on the starboard horizon. the water was of the smoothest and clearest, and of tint so blue as to be almost azure. the temperature was tropical, and we found surprising abundance of sea-life. yellow turtles, as big as footballs, with their little pointed heads stuck out to watch us, floated by in scores. schools of glistening porpoises leapt in the sun besides a couple of big, slow-moving, log-like blackfish. you can travel from london to bombay and see hardly a creature, but here the sea teemed. birds too were plentiful--quantities of duck, white, wheeling gulls, and black, slender, frigate-birds that sailed past like kites. a few days later, in an amethyst sea, off the green slopes of loma point, the _renown_ cast anchor. the houses and towers of san diego, seven miles off, across the harbour of the sun, glistened pearl-like in soft morning light, above the golden setting of the coronada sand. out at sea, at dawn that day, six grey, business-like american destroyers had met the _renown_ and escorted her in, a score of united states flying-boats and aeroplanes hovering in well-kept formations overhead. at the mouth of the harbour was lying that fine battleship the _new mexico_, flagship of the united states pacific squadron, which fired a welcoming salute. after the anchor was down, admiral williams, acting naval commander-in-chief in the pacific, who flew his flag on the _new mexico_, visited the prince. mayor wild, of san diego, and other local residents also arrived from the shore to pay their respects. the morning was taken up with the receiving and returning of these visits. in the afternoon the prince landed at the municipal pier in the heart of the city. here he found governor stephens, of california, at the head of a large deputation, waiting to welcome him. every avenue to the wharf was blocked with motor-cars. well-dressed crowds pressed upon the ropes that fenced in a central space reserved for british veterans, to whom had been given the place of particular honour in the town's reception of its visitor. the veterans were some hundred and fifty strong, and gave the prince the heartiest of cheers. they proved to be residents of california, about half of them being from san diego itself. they had all served in the forces of the british empire in the great war. at their head was general carruthers, lately chief-of-the-staff with the australian expeditionary force in france. it was a wonderful spectacle of colour and cheerfulness, as the prince went down the line, shaking hands with his old comrades in the field, while mites in pinafores pushed to the front to present him with bouquets, and pretty girls in highland costume sang "god save the king." the crowd broke through the barriers, before the motor-cars, provided to convey the party to the stadium, had been reached, but everybody was in the friendliest of humours, and did their utmost individually to make space for the procession to start. the first three or four cars, containing the prince, the governor, the mayor, and a few of the staff, eventually got through. the rest extricated themselves gradually from the press of people and vehicles, and made their way by more or less devious routes, the road marked out for the procession having by this time become so crowded as to be almost impassable. the procession reformed at the stadium, a mile or so distant. on the way, prosperous suburbs of extraordinary attractiveness were passed, the houses often of spanish-colonial type, with deep verandas set in spacious gardens and well-kept lawns, with masses of roses, geraniums, hibiscus, and purple salt-grass in full bloom. the ground here was high, and one looked down upon the city, with palm-trees in the foreground, and the harbour and its shipping in the middle distance, while on the horizon were piled the rugged mountains of southern california, pink in the evening light. the stadium proved to be a massive open-air amphitheatre of cream-coloured stone, capable of seating fifty thousand spectators, of whom some ten thousand were present. here complimentary addresses were presented and replied to, the gathering applauding, with equal energy, the heart-to-heart statement of mayor wild that the prince was a "regular fellow," and the impressive periods of governor stephens, who dwelt upon the importance of the royal visit as strengthening the connexion between the two great branches of the anglo-saxon race. another feature of the occasion was the playing of a gigantic open-air organ, the largest of its kind in the world. the organist sat by the roadside and the pipes of his instrument pointed unprotected to the sky. an official dinner and a ball followed later in the day at the big hotel on coronada beach. innumerable motor and other parties had meanwhile been organized by individual residents, every one of the thirteen hundred sailors and marines on the _renown_ who could in any way be spared from duty, being given a delightful outing and the kindest and most hospitable of entertainment. in this way numbers of them were able to see something of the wonderful country around san diego, with its incomparable mountains and valleys, and its hundreds of square miles of fertile peach-orchards, just then one gorgeous mass of coral blossom. san diego, with its famous bathing beach, its clear air, dry balmy climate, and seventy thousand prosperous white inhabitants, thus took to its generous western heart not alone the prince himself, but also every british soul aboard the ship by which he travelled. a year before, the _renown_ had become acquainted, in new york, with american kindness and hospitality which seemed, at the time, to be impossible to equal. the ship now had experience, on the other side of the american continent, of a similar reception, in every way as warm and spontaneous, accorded too by people as representative of the western states of the union as new york is of the eastern. this inclusion of the battle-cruiser's men was one of the pleasantest features at almost every port of call upon the voyage, but it was nowhere more general or more genial than in this american city of the far south. v honolulu in warm, moist atmosphere, and the tropical light that glares beneath a cloudy sky, the _renown_ dropped anchor in the open roadstead off the rocky coast of honolulu. around the ship were depths of clear, iridescent blue, with streaks of brilliant green where the water shallowed inshore. further on, a line of low, white breakers bounded a green patchwork of undulating cultivation which sloped upwards, with occasional ploughed fields of red, volcanic soil, towards a cloud-topped horizon of mountains in the interior of the island. immediately overhead, showing black against the clouds, half-a-dozen flying boats and aeroplanes rattled a cheery american welcome. the smoke of the light-cruiser and dozen destroyers which had met the _renown_ at sea and escorted her to anchorage, drifted in the heavy air, blurring the cranes and derricks of the inner harbour. salutes banged off. flags dipped and rose. words of command rang through the battle-cruiser. a guard-of-honour of marines, lined up in white uniforms on the quarter-deck, came with a clank to attention. the notes of the united states national anthem floated out, as the american governor and other local authorities came aboard to pay visits of ceremony to the prince. it was our second glimpse of imperial america. it is just twenty-two years since the united states, after some preliminary coquetting with queen liliuokalani, took up this white man's burden in the pacific under the style of a territory; and her guests, more familiar with the conception, looked with interest at the fringe of the experiment. it seemed immensely prosperous and contented. its obvious aspects were those of a principal base of america's naval power and the bourn of an endless tide of tourists, for whom alone the place might exist with profit. these naturally exposed a social life almost exclusively american. hotels, newspapers, warehouses, factories, and stores were managed by americans. only on the beach among the bobbing craft of the breakers were the island originals conspicuous, at home in an element they love. elsewhere they seemed to form a brown undercurrent of the hawaiian world, content, in their polynesian way, with a little so it was easily come by. they are still, one gathers, much governed and influenced by the missionaries to whom they owe their christian faith. like the north american indians they are fast dying out. like the burmese they are content to be supplanted in their own labour market by others--japanese, chinese, portuguese, and filipinos. doubtless there are hawaiian boys at american universities, hawaiian professional men, hawaiian merchant princes, cultivated hawaiians who read bergson and bernard shaw and are the product of a generation of progress; but our opportunity was too brief to find them. it is hardly surprising that the hawaiian was not greatly in evidence, when one was told that there are but , of pure race, against , japanese for example, , americans and british and , chinese, with a considerable filipino element, and more than a flavouring of spanish. on a large open space upon the wharf, surrounded by the substantial stone buildings of a prosperous modern harbour, the prince landed to receive his welcome to the island. on one side of the square was an up-to-date guard-of-honour of united states infantry at attention, every button gleaming, every uniform stitch identical, with that felicity of neatness so characteristic of american kit, as his royal highness shook hands with its commanding officer, and walked down the line. on the other side was a motley gathering of his own fellow-countrymen and women, residents of the island, who had served with the british forces during the war, and had now gathered, in varying costumes much mingled with khaki bearing many a worn decoration, to do honour to their king's eldest son, whom they cheered lustily. on the third side of the square the indigenous element was represented by pleasant, brown-faced young men in blue uniforms of modern cut, over which they wore brilliant red and yellow tippets of priceless "oo" and "iiwi" feathers, handed down from days gone by, when they were insignia of hawaiian royalty. their function, on behalf of the remaining representatives of the ancient dynasty, was to garland the british prince with "lais," ropes of close-strung pink carnations and scarlet ilima flowers, bringers of good-luck, and to present him with a polished brown calibash, the size of a foot-bath, adze-hewn, a hundred years ago, from hard-wood felled in the interior, and now filled with a luscious assortment of bananas, mangoes, loquats, paw-paws, water-lemons, pineapples, bread-fruit, and crimson mountain-apples, symbols which made him free of the good things of the island. subsequently the prince returned the official visits paid to him, and was introduced to various local institutions. his reception by the american governor was in the spacious, many-windowed hall of the iolani palace, where an elected assembly of hawaiian representatives now prosaically meets in what were once such picturesque places of authority as the king's bed-chamber and the queen's boudoir. on the walls a number of mellowing oil-portraits, depicting stout, brown, benevolent monarchs, uncomfortable but doubtless impressive in the tight fashions of the victorian age, mutely testified to the splendours of the past. they seemed to look down at the function with mingled sorrow and superiority, as those who could have given an entertainment committee points on such an occasion as this. famous the world over is the surf-riding of honolulu's wide waikiki beach. to surf-ride with the joy of confidence it is necessary to have an acute sense of balance; it is even more necessary to be able to swim. the base of the exercise is a flat surf-board, the shape of a snow-shoe, with which the rider swims out to meet the approaching breaker. this, with bewildering agility, he then mounts and strides, and the breaker carries him poised and dramatic to the beach. the adventure was most graceful when it succeeded, but it often ended in a considerable tumble in which the swimmer was lucky to escape a bang upon the head from his own capsized means of support. the prince was naturally enthusiastic for an initiation, and came off in the end passing well, to the delight of the heterogeneous crowd that had assembled in bathing costumes appropriate to the warmth of the occasion to see him undergo it. cinematograph men, in swaying surf-boats, made a valiant effort for pictures alongside the swimmers, but, for once upon the tour, were handsomely discomfited, for the rollers of the waikiki beach are no respecters of public purposes. in the evening, h.r.h. was taken to an official ball, given by the governor, in the spacious town armoury, where the principal white residents, now costumed in the garments of civilization, were formally presented beneath a forest of national flags, amongst which predominated the stars and stripes of the united states and the combined union jack and tricolor of honolulu. the ball was much as other balls, but it had an unusual pendant. before midnight struck the prince was spirited away ten miles across the island, through long shadowy aisles of pillared cabbage-palms, shining ghost-like in dim starlight, beneath dense foliage of bread-fruit, mango, and coco-nut trees, where sweet-scented aloes perfumed the warm, still night, and on through grey cuttings in volcanic rock, to the country-house of mr. robert atkinson, to whom had occurred the excellent idea of affording him an opportunity of seeing a real "hookupu" gathering, now a very rare event amongst the dwindling race of hawaiians. stout, white-robed, brown-faced ladies, bearing the coloured, feather-tipped sticks of royal state, and chanting the "aloa" of welcome, lined the path leading to the deep-foliaged "ouhani" tree of happiness which shaded the front of the bungalow, a self-sown visitant that every hawaiian prizes, provided only that it has not been artificially planted, and that it is not at the back of the residence. here, in a large and reckless hole in the well-kept lawn, the entire carcases of four pigs, quantities of chickens, fish, and sweet potatoes, wrapped closely in green "ti" leaves, were in process of being roasted by hawaiian cooks, the heat being provided by boulders, previously made red-hot, with which the sides and bottom of the pit had been lined. fruit was piled high in golden profusion, upon low, wooden platforms around which, upon mats on the ground, the prince and other guests took their seats. princess kawananakoa, a lady of fine figure, in middle life, dressed in the conventional garments of bond street, representative of the hawaiian royal house, was given a place of honour next to the guest of the occasion. hawaiian soldiers in yellow robes, with scarlet head-pieces that might have been patterned on the helmet of achilles, and gold-tipped "tabu" staves, the size of broom-sticks, which represented life-and-death authority under the old régime, took up stations in the background. immense flower-garlands were hung round the visitors' necks and they were served, upon plates of "ti" leaves, with savoury viands from the still smoking pit. then from gourd-lutes of a weird band of musicians, tinkled out a soft refrain. suddenly, from the dim shelter of an aerial-rooted banyan tree, human voices reinforced the chant, and four hawaiian damsels, voluminously clad in flaming yellow feather-mantles, ending in deep ruffs over the ankles, leapt gracefully upon a mat in front, where they were joined by two similarly caparisoned and equally agile male partners with whom they proceeded to dance. the performance was like an indian _nautch_ run mad. the heads and busts of the dancers remained almost stationary, thus forming a fulcrum around which the rest of their persons seemed to gyrate, with serpentine arms, india-rubber hips, and racing feet, the dancers, all the time, pouring out doleful melodies to which the gourd-lutes twanged in solemn harmony. one could almost see, as the weird notes rose and fell, polynesian folk, in frail, palm-wood canoes, blown out to sea by fierce eastern typhoons, from fisheries on the far coasts of the malay, to perish mournfully and alone, in the vast empty spaces of the pacific, only an occasional wanderer, through the centuries, finding refuge in some rare isle, and there building up a race of mingled blood, whose high cheek-bones, soft tongue, swaying dances and outrigged boats, speak of a mongolian origin and an eastern home. another expedition, on which the prince was taken before leaving honolulu, was to a grass-grown hill, once the scene of human sacrifice, where a pageant was being held in honour of the centenary of the arrival in honolulu of the christian missionaries, who have played so important a part in the history of the island. here he saw half-naked folk, with conch-shell trumpets, similar to those in use to-day at festivals at the mouth of the ganges, also processions of queer idol images that would not have jarred the decorative scheme of a durga-puja celebration in hindustan. scenes were here enacted, in which shapely brown maidens, clad in ancient, indigenous paper garments, reminiscent of japan, took part. european missionaries, some of them lineal descendants of those who landed in honolulu from the brig _thaddeus_ in , also appeared in the garments of their predecessors of a hundred years ago. one of the incidents depicted was the historical breaking up and burning of the island idols in the days of queen kaahumanu, widow of king kamshamcha, "the lonely one." there was a tense moment in the audience when the first image had to be flung upon the ground, for superstition dies hard even after a century's banning; but the image was flung and went into fifty pieces, at the feet of civilization. christianity is now the only religion actively practised in the island, but the hawaiian prefers to be on the safe side in case the old powers of darkness should not be altogether dead. he is not a whole-hearted iconoclast. vi neptune boards the _renown_ the relations between the royal navy and h.m. king neptune are known to partake of the spirit of compromise which so happily characterizes the british empire elsewhere. neptune permits the suzerainty but demands a certain ceremonial which acknowledges his ancient rights. the function has a date and a determination and is observed by all king george's vessels on crossing the equatorial line. it is in the nature of an initiation and lends itself to gruesome and alarmist description. for days before the _renown_ reached the specified spot our feelings were harrowed and our dreams disturbed by foretellings of the unescapable ordeal of all novices. there was no immunity in being a passenger, even in being the chief passenger. neptune was not aware of passengers. the wardroom was horrid with boding. mercifully we were preserved from the imagination of the snotties. the royal navy does nothing by half. elaborate preparations were made long in advance. active brains in wardroom, gunroom, warrant officers', petty officers', engineers' and stokers' messes and in the lower deck, found a morning and an evening occupation inventing rhymed patter, designing and making the weirdest of costumes, in which oakum, canvas, ship's-paint, and stove-soot all largely figured. an extensive stage was erected on the forecastle with a sail forty feet long, containing four feet of sea water, convenient for the "baptizing" of all those on the ship, of whom there must have been at least five hundred, who had not previously crossed the line. wooden razors the size of cutlasses, barrels of lather made of coloured flour and water, whitewash brushes for applying the same to the countenance were provided, also a gauge-glass for a clinical thermometer, a cutlass for a lancet, and quantities of dough-pills, the size of marbles, well flavoured with bitter quinine, for physicking the victim before his ablution. the prince himself was one of the most active of the conspirators. to an inquiry sent "up top" (i.e. to the prince's quarters) a reply signed by captain dudley north, r.n., was received by the "father of the ship" (i.e. the commander), upon whose broad shoulders falls responsibility of every kind. it ran: "his royal highness the prince of wales has not yet crossed the line. i am desired by h.r.h. to say that he is looking forward with interest to his meeting with his majesty king neptune and amphitrite, his wife, and also to his initiation as a freeman of his majesty's domains. the following members of the staff have crossed the line, and are entitled to wear the various classes of the order of the bath bestowed on them by his majesty:-- rear-admiral sir lionel halsey has crossed the line on upwards of occasions; in fact, for some time this officer is understood to have supported himself on it. it is understood that he has been strongly recommended for the order of the 'old sea dog.' captain dudley north has crossed the line nine times, and has been personally decorated by his majesty. lieut.-colonel grigg and lord claud hamilton have already crossed the line--the former twice, the latter four times. these officers have, however, stated that owing possibly to some special favour, or else to some serious preoccupation on the part of his majesty, they were not privileged to undergo the full ceremony of initiation. they are all the more anxious, therefore, on this account, to pay every respect to his majesty, and not to presume on his former graciousness. in expressing their humble duty to his majesty they await, with great humility, the verdict of his most excellent court as to whether they will be required to be initiated or not. the following members of h.r.h.'s staff have not yet crossed the line or had the honour of an audience with his majesty:-- sir godfrey thomas, bart. captain the hon. piers leigh. the bears will, no doubt, attend to these gentlemen." each novice upon the ship meanwhile received a notice summoning him to present himself at noon on the th april: "before our court, at the equator, in order that we may confer upon you the freedom of the seas, and our permission to enter the other hemisphere." the proceedings began after dinner over-night when the prince and his staff accompanied the captain to the bridge. the lights were turned off and in the darkness one could feel the presence of the entire ship's company crowded upon every vantage point. out of the blackness from in front came the shout "ship-ahoy!" with the captain's deep "aye, aye," in reply, as searchlights swept the sea. _neptune_: "what ship are you?" _captain_: "his britannic majesty's battle-cruiser _renown_." _neptune_: "i wish to come on board." _captain_ (to officer of watch): "stop both." (to neptune, shouting). "my engines are stopped. i am sending an officer to conduct your majesty to my bridge." rockets went up, and in a falling shower of sparks a procession of strange figures climbed into the ship from over the side. neptune, amphitrite, judge, barber, and doctor, with attendant imps, bears, and policemen were there in the most realistic of scales, fins, mermaids' hair and ursine fur. they carried brobdingnagian batons, razors, shaving brushes and trident. their appearance was terrific. the party was escorted with much formality to the bridge, where neptune and amphitrite were presented to the prince and drinks were stood to their majesties and the court party, neither were there any heel-taps. _pourparlers_ were exchanged in ceremonial verse, captain taylor making the following frank explanation: "our business is to take a royal prince to see a portion of our empire's land. the prince of wales, he is our passenger who hopes to meet your bears and clasp your hand." it seemed impossible for the spirits of the deep to communicate in anything less metrical than this, and neptune acknowledged his reception and announced his intention to hold an investiture as well as a few other things, the following day, in the same fashion. next morning the circumstance was even more elaborate. proceedings began upon the quarter-deck, where the "companionship of the royal order of the equatorial bath" was solemnly conferred upon the prince, and a "knight commandership of the ancient order of the old sea dog" upon admiral halsey. h.r.h. responded in lyrical strains which concluded:-- "i know i'm for it, king; so, boys, don't let me keep the party waiting"-- a touch of _panache_ that was duly applauded. the court-martial of two selected prisoners came next to a roar from neptune: "and if they drown i do not care a fig. arrest mountbatten and the man called grigg!" for the moment these unhappy persons were roped and bound, while the investiture went forward. captain dudley north was made a knight commander of the aged cod in these terms: "dudley dear, i'm pleased to meet you once again. now let me treat you to the old established order of the very ancient cod. its privilege is this, that you may daily kiss the most beauteous of my mermaids if you catch her on the nod." a move was finally made to the forecastle where was duly performed the physicking, shaving and ducking of the novices, beginning with the prince and members of his staff and going down to the youngest seamen on the lower deck. the novices were marched up and seated, one after another, in the barber's chair, where a pill was squeezed into each one's mouth, despite the most lively struggles; the lather was laid on, a rough scrape with the wooden razor followed, the chair was upset and the now seasoned novice was sent head over heels into the swimming bath, where the bears ducked him handsomely to the cheerful rhyme: "shave him and bash him, duck him and splash him, torture and smash him, and don't let him go!" the prince underwent a full share of the horse-play; and that he took a "three-times-three ducking" with the best, was the opinion of every one of the thirteen hundred sailor-men who looked on, and would have been candour itself if the ritual had been in any way reduced or evaded. it was a spectacle impossible to imagine anywhere but in the british navy, and helped hilariously to relieve the monotony of the voyage. the cost of the material employed was probably less than a hundred shillings. the labour and artistry voluntarily bestowed by the ship's company to make it what it was, cost nothing at all; the preparations, from the elaborate embroidering of amphitrite's scales and the careful scenting of her golden hair, to the fine turning and engraving of the insignia of the equatorial order of the royal bath, were all the work of off-duty hours when the sailor ordinarily would have been asleep. we are but children of a larger growth and happy are the traditions that keep us so in his majesty's navy. vii fiji fiji was the next place of call. warm rain drove blusterously into our faces, while dense grey mist enveloped the land and shut out the sun, as the _renown_ felt her way between wreck-strewn barrier reefs, over which the surf was breaking heavily, and dropped anchor, to the tick of the appointed time, in the sheltered water of suva bay. as the ship cleared the harbour entrance, a fleet of sailing craft, including a number of decked, outrigged war-canoes, with pear-shaped mat-sails and half-naked crews, tore dipping through the waves to escort her in. these war-canoes tacked, in the stiff breeze, by a simple expedient. the sail was reversed. the rudder, a big movable oar, was then carried from one end of the canoe to the other, so that what had just been the prow became the stern, the floating log, that served as outrigger, remaining always to windward--apparently an attempt at realizing the historic account of the bow-sprit that "got mixed with the rudder sometimes." the little craft were identical with those that tasman may have seen when his brig cast anchor off these islands three hundred and seventy years ago. but everything else has changed. generations of wesleyan missionaries have transformed snake-worship into universal christianity. sixty thousand coolies from india have rendered it possible for the sugar-cane to replace unproductive forest. the ninety thousand fuzzy-headed fijians who have survived successive epidemics of measles and influenza have given up the savoury heresies of roast long pig and have taken on trousers, education, and wealth. the substantial maroon-coloured roofs of their dwellings upon the shore, which emerged from a tumbled background of cloud-topped mountain when the mist lifted, were indicative of the prosperity and civilization which have been steadily growing in the forty-six years since the british government took over the administration from king thakombau. sir cecil rodwell, high commissioner of the western pacific, and mr. scott, mayor of suva, representatives of the present system of rule, came out by launch to the _renown_, to pay their respects as soon as the anchor was down. there was no official landing till the following morning, when in hot sunshine alternating with warm, driving rain the prince went ashore at suva. the entire population of the town, a place of some six thousand inhabitants, was there to welcome him. in front, the principal european residents, with a contingent of leading fijian chiefs, and representatives of the large indian community, all in western dress, were lined up to be presented. behind stood a well-drilled guard-of-honour of fijians, in khaki, with heads protected from the fierce rays of the sun by hair that might be the despair and envy of the boulevards, twelve inches _en brosse_, and of a ferocity! further on were a number of european returned soldiers, with hospital nurses, and other war workers, also returned members of a fijian labour corps which had done good service in france and italy. the whole assemblage was surrounded by a polyglot crowd of islanders and indians in all the picturesqueness of polynesian and oriental garb. municipal, fijian, indian, and missionary addresses were afterwards presented, and inspections, investitures, and receptions held, a state dinner and a ball being amongst the functions provided. fijian national ceremonies took place in the afternoon, the principal being the solemn presentation by the chiefs and headmen of "tahua" (the whale's tooth) in token of fealty. this was celebrated, immediately after heavy rain, on a meadow crowded with aborigines. the actors were half a hundred well-fed, semi-naked fijians, clad in nothing but sooty face-paint, white cloth bustles, and loin-robes of green, pink, and white fibre-ribbons. the general effect produced was that of an animated contingent of frilled ham-bones that waved, leapt, swayed and chanted, sometimes upright, sometimes squatting upon the sodden turf, a scene of almost disconcerting gaiety. the whale teeth were handed to the prince by a white-robed hereditary courtier, and were the size and shape of yellow cucumbers, strung together with coloured thread. the acceptance produced a chorus of deep resonant grunts of "daweha"--"it is taken." there followed the no less solemn ceremony of preparing and drinking the "kava," the produce of the yaqona root, to cement the bonds of friendship. the emptying of the last coco-nut cup of this sharp-flavoured, cloudy liquid was greeted with loud cries of "mada"--"it is dry." the yaqona root, from a twig or two of which the kava drink was brewed, might have been an enormous ash-tree stool, with partly-grown ground-shoots, uprooted from an english copse. the stripping of the bark, the pounding it with stones, the macerating it with water in a big carved wooden bowl, and its presentation to the prince and other guests in coco-nut shells, was performed with solemn chanting. the ceremony included the stretching of a coco-nut fibre string, strung at intervals of a few feet with cowrie-shells, in token of royal authority, between the prince's chair and the men preparing the kava. to cross this string, in days gone by, while the proceedings were in progress, would have involved nothing less than to be clubbed to death. those were doubtless days when such functions were less chronicled and more respected. timed clapping, which sounded like the thuds of successive buckets of water thrown from an upper window upon the pavement, completed the first part of the performance. a "meke"--dance--by three hundred gorgeously caparisoned fijian warriors, wielding each an ancient battle-axe, which followed, was a marvel of well-timed movement. the muddy ground shook as the men stamped in unison, their bodies swaying in perfect rhythm as they acted the spirited paddling of canoes, the hauling at ropes, the pointing at the enemy, the leaping from the boat to the attack, and, after the fight was over, the sad breaking of the waves upon the shore. their deep "dua-ho," or grunt of welcome to the prince, might have been the roll of many drums. the final stage in the performance came with the marching up of some hundreds of white-garbed bearers, each carrying a locally woven mat. these mats, some of them of a texture that challenged the fineness of a panama straw hat, were deposited upon the ground in front of the prince in a heap that grew to the dimensions of a small haystack before the last had been laid upon it, and this, although special steps had been taken to reduce the number of the offerings by restricting the issue of permissions to contribute. the size of the haystack indicated the prosperity, as well as the loyalty, of the fijian chiefs, who still own much of the land in the islands. the rule of these hereditary potentates dates through centuries prior to the advent of the missionaries and the taking on of civilization. their dislike of live intruders, combined with their appreciation of them dead and roasted, kept their own papuan stock remarkably pure-blooded. the race to-day thus presents characteristics of its own not found in other pacific island groups. the only other outside races, in addition to a few thousands of europeans, now found in fiji, are coolies, of mixed descent, from india. these coolies were originally imported under a system of indenture requiring them to work for a definite number of years for planter masters. they have been the means of developing sugar and copra industries which would not otherwise have been established upon anything like their present scale. of late years the indenture system has been discontinued, and some trouble has arisen in connexion with the question of wage-rates, riots having occurred in which several lives were lost. the gradual appreciation of the possibilities of peaceful bargaining, however, combined with the enlightened efforts of the present administration to understand grievances and to remedy them, is reducing the unrest, which is, in some ways, a healthy one, since it connotes conditions of prosperity enabling the coolie to assert claims he was not previously strong enough to press. the rich soil of the islands, and the equitable climate, which is much like that of the rice-growing districts of the south of india, promise enhanced prosperity as the years go by, fiji being a locality especially suitable for the indian immigrant. it is a place that, during the war, sent a remarkably large proportion of its manhood to fight for the allies, those who remained at home also keeping up their end with spirit. the visitor is told a story, which has the virtue of being authentic, of an occasion when suva was without any naval protection. its wireless installation picked up signals sent out by the german raider _scharnhorst_, showing that this vessel was on its way to attack the place. sir bickham scott, at that time high commissioner, rose to the situation and sent a message into the air for the _scharnhorst_ to pick up. it was addressed to admiral patey, aboard h.m.s. _australia_, the only allied warship which, as the commander of the _scharnhorst_ knew, might conceivably have been within call. it ran: "thanks for your message. will expect you in the morning." the _scharnhorst_ presumably read this and pondered, for fiji was left alone. viii auckland a still, sun-filled autumn morning, with crisp sharp air that made it a pleasure to be alive, on wide, sheltered mother-of-pearl waters, bounded by grassy hills, with frequent hummocks and white gleaming cliffs, greeted the _renown_ as she neared new zealand on the morning of the th of april, . dotted over the hills, like sheep at grazing, were numerous red-roofed country houses, which developed pleasant gardens with green fields between as the distance decreased. out of shadowy bays and inlets crept motor-boats in ones and twos and threes, the numbers growing as township and village each contributed its quota, so that, by the time the _renown_ was amongst them, there had assembled a fleet of very considerable dimensions decorated with flags and filled with cheerful men, women and children, soldiers in khaki, wounded in hospital blue, pretty girls in smart frocks, all clapping, cheering, and laughing in the most inspiring welcome imaginable. the prince climbed to his look-out above the bridge, and waved back a cheery acknowledgment. bands struck up in half a dozen of the boats. flags leapt up like wind-swept flowers in a herbaceous harbour. the hubbub grew. numbers of sailing yachts joined the assemblage. rowing boats chipped in, and, by the time the first harbour buoy was reached, the _renown_ was sliding along with some hundreds of small craft racing beside her, in imminent danger of collision alike with her and with one another. the last headland turned, auckland itself came into view, a red-and-white city climbing up the sides of a beautiful, sheltered cove, with clear, deep water in front, and a green, conical extinct volcano behind. coloured bunting fluttered from the rigging of all the vessels in port, and long vistas of greenery and flags led up the volcano from the water's edge. one caught glimpses of wide wharves, black with clustering crowds, and of dark masses of people on the slopes of rangitoto, all on the look-out for the arrival of the prince from mother england. we had arrived at the first of the island continents which had drawn us all, battle-cruiser, prince and passengers, half-way round the world. the ports of call behind us faded into instructive entertainments by the way. here was another home of the race, another place in the sun where the breed throve and multiplied, and developed, under conditions fresh and far from the source, the man and womanhood we are proud to call british. auckland was an appropriate starting point for the royal tour. the city was the capital of the dominion until and now has over a hundred thousand inhabitants. it was founded in by captain hobson, r.n., when he added new zealand to the empire, the british government having characteristically disavowed the action of captain cook who set up the union jack in . the place had its godfather in lord auckland, the most distinguished first lord of the admiralty in hobson's time, and thus a suitable sponser for the second city of a dominion which owes its being to the empire's sea-power. auckland now has a fine harbour and a shipping trade of - / million tons per annum. it is a place to which the prosperous sheep farmer looks forward to retiring, as it has educational opportunities, social amenities, and one of the most genial climates in the whole dominion. the _renown_ was brought alongside one of the wharves, on which black top-hats and brilliant uniforms guided the eye to groups which proved to include the prime minister of the country, the leader of the opposition, the members of the cabinet, the general officer commanding, the mayor of auckland, and the president of the harbour board. thus new zealand waited to greet the prince. at the appointed moment the governor-general drove up in a motor-car. the ship was dressed. bands played, guards on the quarter-deck presented arms, his excellency was duly conducted aboard, where the prince as duly received him. later on, with more saluting, a full brass band for the governor, and bos'n's whistling for the prince, the royal party went ashore, and new zealand welcomed her future king. it was a little bit of england that had gone on board to make a call of ceremony. it was the whole of new zealand, heart and hand, that took charge of his royal highness ashore. out of a multitude of motors the procession to government house was formed. the cars proceeded through wide, well-built streets of stone business houses, smothered in wreaths and flags. crowds of cheering people lined the pavement. upstanding soldiers and cadets in smart khaki uniforms kept the roadway. the prince, by now, was standing on the seat of his motor-car, waving greetings to the crowds, who responded vociferously. two equerries, on the front seats, clung to his coat-tail to prevent his falling out of the vehicle. the governor-general sat back with a smiling face alongside. the route led through the city, and out amongst solid residential houses, standing in gardens brilliant with variegated chrysanthemums, flaming red salvias, purple bougainvilleas, and the greenest of shaven lawns, with cedars and palms together spreading the shade of the north and the south. old government house, which still serves an excellency from wellington on tour, where the dominion's address was read by the hon. mr. massey, prime minister, with his cabinet standing by, is a spacious, georgian building surrounded by an old-world garden of lawns, shrubs and flowers. it has a homely charm and beautiful views; it made one think of surrey, and must have been left with regret when new zealand changed her capital. thence the route led back through the city to the town hall, which was packed to its utmost capacity with well-dressed people who gave the prince a rousing reception. here more addresses were presented, and an informal levée was held, everybody present filing past. large crowds, meanwhile, waited patiently outside for his reappearance. later in the day the prince was taken to the domain cricket-ground, where he reviewed five thousand returned soldiers and cadets and again received an ovation. this cricket-ground is at the bottom of a shallow valley, grassy hills forming a natural amphitheatre. looked at from the central stand while the review was in progress, the slopes of the amphitheatre were as if covered with a fine persian carpet, so thick was the crowd upon the ground. it was a carpet that had frequent spasms of agitation, the cheering and hat-slinging, whenever the prince came near to it, being exceedingly lively. h.r.h. first went down the lines of the troops and had a friendly word for every officer and a number of the men. later on every man who had been wounded or disabled was presented to him individually, the prince going round to search them out himself. when this had been completed he presented war decorations to those who had won them at the front. it was nearly dark by the time the last hand had been shaken and the last word said. the cheering, when it was over, was something to remember. the following day was anzac sunday, and was taken up with religious war-services, h.r.h. attending those at st. mary's cathedral in the morning, and at the town hall in the afternoon. the town hall service was especially impressive. the prince, slender in the world-familiar khaki, stood in the crowded gathering, and as the dead march was played, and the last post sounded in memory of sons who had fallen, the people knew him the empire's symbol of their sacrifice. perhaps there, where the women sobbed to see him, he touched the supreme height of his mission. the cricket-ground, on the following day, was again the scene of an enormous gathering. eight thousand children were here assembled and went through pretty evolutions and drill. in the terminal figure some two thousand little girls, attired respectively in red, white and blue frocks, so grouped themselves as to form, first the word "welcome," and afterwards the union jack, which waved and rustled as the children bent and swayed to time given by a mite mounted on an eight-foot stool in front. the crowd which surrounded the enclosure, on this occasion, was estimated at thirty thousand. from auckland the prince went south on a train, every part of which, from the engine to the brake-van, had been built in new zealand workshops. the first thing one realizes starting for anywhere in new zealand is the thing that has been a geography wonder since the age of nine, the queer inversion of the climate. the experience is curious, notwithstanding all one's submission to the fact since that time, so potent a governor of associations is a little word. we had arrived at the north island, where the climate was warm and sunny like that of italy. people coming with more permanent intentions had a way of settling in the south island to be under home conditions of temperature, many of them gradually moving across the strait to the north island in pursuit of balmier airs. we saw the late autumn apples of april here and there ungathered on the trees about auckland, and were grateful to escape the imaginative dislocation of a midsummer christmas, with sunstroke as the punishment of over-indulgence. it would be interesting to know in what period of residence new zealand undertakes to change one's dreams. a green, rolling land, homely turnip fields, orchards, pasture containing fine cattle and sheep, pleasant, red-roofed farm-houses, comfortable country residences, and thriving market towns at frequent intervals, sped past the train. at ngaruawahia, two thousand brown-faced, high-cheekboned maoris, in european dress, greeted the prince from outside the railway fence, men, women and children, hand in hand, repeatedly bowing to the ground, to slow rhythmic soft-voiced singing, as the train steamed by. at the same time, a dozen pretty maori girls, in flowing white frocks, bare feet, and raven masses of waving fillet-bound hair, swayed, undulated and step-danced upon a mat upon the side of the track. these folk were maori, as often as not, by courtesy rather than by strict racial description. few pure-bred maoris indeed are now to be found in new zealand, and it is said that the mixture of brown and white is here more successful than anywhere else in the world. at all events one received the impression of a people plastic to the print of a new civilization, and developing happily in it. at hamilton, a town of ten thousand inhabitants, more formal ceremonies were gone through. the whole place was decorated. the people assembled in the streets, where they cheered most vigorously. several hundred returned soldiers, and a very large number of children, stood in lines upon the racecourse where they were inspected by the prince. several addresses of welcome were read, that from the local municipality being presented by mayor watt, a prominent hamilton solicitor and a man of much influence, also of dramatic instinct it appeared, since he discarded for this occasion the chains and ermine of his official garb, in favour of the private's uniform he had worn at the front. a few stations further on, five hundred children were upon the platform, singing "god bless the prince of wales," as the train went past. they had come in from a neighbouring mining-camp to catch a glimpse of the royal visitor, who waved to them from his carriage. the flourishing coal-mining centre of huntley, where a valuable brown lignite, capable of being coked, is being raised in large quantities from shafts, some of which are only three hundred feet deep, was also passed, the inhabitants assembling along the railway line and cheering as the train went through. a large experimental farm, where the secret of converting barren land into fruitful by means of basic slag has been discovered; cold storage factories where incredible masses of new zealand mutton are being preserved for export; and extensive works where pumice, here found in the scoria of long-extinct volcanoes, is turned into material for the insulating of boilers, passed in procession before the train. we saw also peat-swamps, in process of profitable reclamation by means of drainage, in the valley of the wide waikato stream. presently a second engine was attached to the train, which now crept slowly upwards, through a tangled wilderness of dense-forested gorge and mountain canyon, the scenery being of the wildest. the imported spruce, oak, willow, and ash of the more settled region gave place to feathery green _punga_ tree-ferns, and stiff brown _tawa_ of indigenous growth. clearings were seen at intervals where cultivation struggled with the grey, bushy _manuka_ scrub; well-kept fields, in the hands of white settlers, alternating with unkempt jungle, where the easy-going communal _hapu_ tenure of maori ownership is still in force. suddenly, the scenery opened up, and we saw, in the soft rays of the setting sun, a wide panorama of blue lake, and olive-green headland, round the dark, conical mokoia island, famous in maori tradition as the trysting-place to which princess hinomaa and her lover tutanekai swam across the lake. here, almost in the shadow of the tarawera volcano, which blew up with terrific results to the countryside thirty years ago, we found the pleasant little station of rotorua, where an address was presented and the prince shook hands with a long line of returned maori soldiers. visits to the wonderful spouting geysers of this famous neighbourhood, with maori receptions and national dances, occupied the next two days, some of the party also taking advantage of the holiday to catch a number of very fine lake-trout, creatures which have thriven and multiplied amazingly since their importation from great britain a few years ago. the maori dances are a thing by themselves. they are performed by warriors and maidens in phalanxes. the men, often stout and sometimes elderly, who in ordinary life may be lawyers, landlords, doctors, or retail dealers, put patches of black paint on their faces, array themselves in tassellated _pui-pui_ mat loin-clothes and arm themselves with slender feather-tufted spears. then, bare-footed, bare-legged, bare-backed, and bare-headed, they line up in battalions, and leap and stamp, stick their tongues out, grimace, slap their knees, emit volleys of sharp barking shouts, and thrust and swing their spears, in wonderful time to the music of full string bands. the ladies, many of them good-looking, with melting brown eyes, well-developed figures, and graceful carriage, are more restrained in their performances. they are bare-headed, with long waving hair down their backs, kept in place by a coloured ribbon round the forehead. they may be dressed in voluminous brown cloaks of soft _kiwi_ feathers, or in loose, embroidered draperies of every colour, their feet and ankles, sometimes bare, sometimes encased in high-heeled american shoes and black lace stockings. they stand or sit in long lines, singing the softest of crooning songs, the while swaying, posturing, undulating, or step-dancing in perfect unison, to represent the movement of paddling, spinning, weaving, swimming, or setting sail. at the same time they swing white _poi_-balls, the size of oranges, attached to strings, which form in their swift gyrations gauzy circles of light around each hand, a charming performance worthy of leicester square. in the case of rotorua ceremonies, performances took place, first on the lake shore, on ground which emitted clouds of steam in the very face of the dancers, and afterwards, on a much larger scale, on a wide grassy plain adjoining, where six thousand maoris, brought from all parts of new zealand, the south island as well as the north, were encamped in military bell-tents, a legacy of the war. here, battalion after battalion, first of men, then of girls, and finally of the two combined, performed in quick succession, at least a thousand dancers taking part, while ten thousand spectators, about half of whom may have been maoris or half-castes, and the balance europeans, looked on and applauded. here i suppose if anywhere we saw the pure-blooded maori, though it seems a distinction with little difference. unlike most orientals, the children of mixed ancestry continue the traditions of the pure-breeds, put on their clothes, speak their language and boast their ancestry. one of the most striking of the figures was where the warriors stole out between ranks of dancing maidens, to take an enemy unawares, who was supposed to have been beguiled into believing that he had only women to deal with. sir james carrol and the hon. mr. a. t. ngata, both maori members of the new zealand parliament, and both distinguished speakers, took a prominent part in the ceremonies. the address presented to the prince by these loyal and attractive people was characteristically picturesque. it was read, first in english, and afterwards in maori, by one of the chiefs, an elderly gentleman of reverend appearance in fine kiwi robe, who spoke in a pleasant, resonant, well-rounded voice. "you bring with you," he said, "memories of our beloved dead. they live again who strove with you on the fields of tu in many lands beyond seas. your presence there endeared you to the hearts of our warriors. your brief sojourn here will soften the sorrows of those whose dear ones have followed the setting sun. royal son of an illustrious line, king that is to be, we are proud that you should carry on the traditions of your race and house. for it is meet that those who sit on high should turn an equal face to humble as to mighty. walk, therefore, among your own people sure of their hearts, fostering therein the love they bore queen victoria and those who came after her. welcome and farewell. return in peace without misgivings, bearing to his majesty the king, and to her majesty the queen, the renewal of the oath we swore to them on this ground a generation ago. the maori people will be true till death, and so farewell." the history of the maoris is one long record of chivalry and courage, and their promise is one they will perform. ix north island among the telegrams which met the royal train on its way from auckland to rotorua was one of a character which differed from the rest. the message was addressed to rt. hon. william massey, that embodiment of notable ability, kindly good sense and unquenchable spirit whom this dominion is so fortunate as to have as prime minister, who was on the train. it announced a general railway strike unless certain demands of drivers and men, some time pending, were agreed to by the government. it was in the form of an ultimatum which expired at midnight, an hour which found the tour at rotorua. against the extreme and humiliating public inconvenience of the moment thus selected must be placed the immediate offer of the strikers, to complete the schedule of the royal train, to take the prince in fact wherever he wished to go. while the offer was declined in the main it was accepted as far as a return journey to auckland, where the prince thus spent several unforeseen days while matters were being adjusted. the time had to be cut out of later dispositions. it was spent in private engagements, in the much qualified sense of the word as it applied to any of the royal arrangements. the strike was ultimately settled through the efforts of mr. massey, who, being denied the service of the railroad, drove several hundred miles over sodden mountain roads, in the worst of weather, from rotorua to wellington to discuss the matter with the men's leaders there. the settlement did much credit to the forbearance of both sides. it did not go into the merits of the immediate question, which was as to the rate of compensation to be paid to the men in consideration of the increased cost of living, but provided a tribunal, on which the strikers and the railway management should be equally represented, with a co-opted neutral chairman, to report upon the merits of the demand, and suggest the best way of doing justice to all concerned. the acceptance of this sensible arrangement was largely aided by the new zealand amalgamated society of railway servants, this important organization putting pressure upon the drivers and firemen to return to work while the tribunal was taking evidence. the incident afforded interesting proof, not only of the confidence inspired by mr. massey himself, but also of the reasonableness of the attitude of labour in this part of the world. industrial discontent is a more manageable thing in a country where the great majority of the men own their homes and the half-acre that surrounds them. the struggle for better conditions is sweetened by the air of gardens, and every operative has the interest in the general prosperity that comes of a private stake in it. the royal party left auckland in three railway trains, a pilot, a main, and an emergency, the prince and staff travelling in the middle one. the new zealand government was represented by sir william fraser, minister of the interior, a highland scotchman from the south island. official appointments to accompany the tour were happily made throughout, but never more than in this instance, where the extraordinary kindliness and charm of the minister of the interior enhanced the great volume of his experience, to the pleasure and profit of every member of the party. another of those present was general sir edward chaytor, commanding the forces in new zealand, a soldier whose world reputation has not in any way interfered with the simplest manner and the most delighted directness of mind. it was his function to present to the prince the military side of new zealand life, a side which was represented at every centre visited, alike by surprisingly large numbers of returned soldiers from the forces which gave such splendid account of themselves in the great war, and by considerable bodies of smartly turned-out territorials and cadets. accompanying general chaytor was colonel sleeman, also a remarkable personality, to whose initiative is largely due the system of cadet-training now in force in new zealand, a system which is doing wonders in the matter of infusing the best public-school spirit into previously unkempt national schoolboys and larrikins, teaching them to play the game, giving them a pride in themselves, and interesting them in physical culture, and in the duties of citizenship, so that their parents have become as keen as themselves that they should go through the courses. another of the party was mr. james hislop, permanent under-secretary of the interior, one of the ablest members of that fine body, the new zealand civil service, who organized the arrangements of the tour, and whose irrepressible humour, good fellowship, and infinity of resource, in disposing of what seemed to most of us an utterly overwhelming burden of work, were a continual wonder to everybody upon the train. no less important amongst those outstanding figures of the new zealand party, was mr. r. w. mcvilly, general manager of the railways of the country, a man who with his predecessor, mr. e. h. hiley, has succeeded in doing in new zealand what proved impossible, in england and in the united states. under their direction the railway system of the dominion was carried on throughout the war without break in management and without making any loss. it did not take travellers long to discover the affection and respect in which the director-general was held, not only by his colleagues, but by all who came in contact with him. the british pressmen with the tour were particularly happy in their new zealand newspaper associates. amongst these gentlemen were professor guy scholefield, who holds the chair of english literature at the university of dunedin and who knows new zealand inside and out, from the historic as well as the modern point of view; and mr. f. h. morgan, representing that business-like organization the new zealand press association, a practical journalist, a helpful colleague, and one of the best of good fellows. although the main train journey was only decided upon a few hours before a start was made from auckland, all the arrangements worked with extraordinary smoothness, and the number of people assembled at even the smallest wayside stations to cheer the prince was astonishing. at frankton, the first stopping-place after leaving auckland, the gathering around the station consisted largely of the very railway men who had just been on strike. their reception of the prince had the special cordiality that carries a hint of apology. one of their number indeed, acting as spokesman, explained in a speech which could not be considered inopportune, how much they all regretted having been the cause of delay to the royal tour. at tekuiti, another small station, a more formal reception took place, in which some five hundred children, collected from the schools in the neighbourhood, participated with characteristic fervour. through the night the royal train traversed the red-pine waimarino forest, mounted two thousand feet up the raurimu spiral, passed the still smoking summit of the ngauruhoe volcano, and emerged at daylight upon the rolling plains of the rich taranaki dairying country. here pastoral land, though still dotted with the blackened stumps of bygone forest, is worth to-day anything up to one hundred and fifty pounds sterling per acre. thence, passing beneath the snow-streaked cone of the extinct volcano mount egmont, the train rolled out upon the open western coast, and entered the gorse-encircled city of new plymouth. here the prince was given a picturesque reception beneath spreading _insignis_ pines, in a natural grass-covered amphitheatre, of beautiful pukikura park. conducted by general melville, commanding the district, he inspected a large gathering of returned sailors, soldiers, nurses, and cadets. he also went through the ranks of masses of school-children, who waved long wands topped with white and red feathery _toi-toi_ grass, and sang patriotic songs. in the course of a reply, later on, to a civic address, read by mr. f. bellringer, general manager of the borough, the prince referred to the splendid prospects of the north-west coast, also to its fine war record, adding: "when i look at the development of this wonderful dairying country, i am amazed at the enterprise and energy which have achieved so much in little more than two generations." it is indeed amazing. taranaki does much with butter, sending to such a competitive country as canada nearly , cwts. in , and even more with cheese, producing a particularly delectable stilton. there are fifty-seven butter factories and one hundred and eleven devoted to cheese. to carve these conditions out of virgin forest in two generations is a feat that well deserved its recognition. the route thereafter lay through a land of spacious, green sheep-downs, overlooking a blue, sun-lit sea, as idyllic as a pasture of the eclogues. on the way, at stratford, hawera and patea, the prince received and replied to addresses and inspected gatherings of returned soldiers, sailors, nurses, and cadets, besides incredible numbers of fat, red-cheeked children, assembled with their teachers to do him honour. speaking at hawera, the scene of fighting in days gone by, between _pakeha_--white strangers--and maori natives, "nothing," said his royal highness, "has impressed me more in new zealand than the evidence i have found everywhere that pakeha and maori are now one people in devotion to the dominion, the empire and the king." [illustration: wellington: a canoe in the petone pageant] [illustration: "the maori people will be true till death"] proceeding afterwards to wanganui, a more imposing welcome awaited him, ten thousand enthusiastic people being found assembled in a big grass-covered stadium. here, some of the territorials he inspected insisted upon drawing his motor-car round the grounds. in the course of a reply to an address read by the mayor, the prince put into words what was so plain in his actions. "i value," he said, "more than anything the opportunity this journey gives me of making the acquaintance of the people of new zealand, many of whose gallant sons i knew on active service in the great war." a visit followed to the wanganui college, a fine institution where three hundred of the sons of the settlers of the dominion are receiving up-to-date education upon british public-school lines. later in the evening the prince attended a concert, also a democratic supper-party of the heartiest description, held in enormous marquees, at which three thousand people were present. the prince and his staff were served at a table on a raised platform in the middle of the biggest of the marquees, so that as many people as possible might see him, a distinction which apparently caused his royal highness no loss of appetite. from wanganui the prince motored twenty-five miles through undulating fields of grass, turnips and rape, alternating with patches of yellow gorse, the last introduced from the old country by sentimental but ill-advised settlers, and now a most troublesome field-pest, special legislation having had to be introduced requiring owners of land, under penalty, to prevent its spreading. crossing the wooded valleys of the beautiful wanganui and turakina rivers, the ruahine mountains shining through the morning mists upon the left, while spacious sheep-farms sloped seawards upon the right, the prince reached the township of marton, where the usual inspections and addresses took place. thence the party started by train to cross the country to the east coast port of napier. receptions were held, _en route_, at the townships of feilding and palmerston-north. in the course of the day the prince received a number of presents, including, from maori chiefs, an ancient and possibly unique greenstone _mere_ or battle-axe, and a fine _wharikiwoka_--a mat-cloak lined with feathers. at palmerston-north there was handed into his keeping the shot-torn colours actually carried by the third british foot guards at the battle of alexandria as along ago as . these colours had been handed down, from generation to generation, by new zealand descendants of colonel samuel dalrymple, who commanded this distinguished regiment in that engagement. they were presented to the prince by mrs. j. h. hankins, _née_ dalrymple. the colours were said to be the only ones, belonging to a guards regiment, hitherto preserved elsewhere than in the british islands. leaving palmerston-north, the prince proceeded through the gorge of the rushing, turgid manawatu river, alighting at the small wayside station of woodville, where a number of the inhabitants had assembled and where he shook hands with a territorial officer, who, with the gay adventurous spirit of the dominion, had taken considerable risks in keeping pace with the royal train in a motor-car all the way from marton, though part of the route was along an unfenced winding mountain road on the side of a cliff where the slightest obstruction or miscalculation might have hurled the car and its occupants into the torrent below. from woodville the prince went on, through wide grass-covered plains, dotted with pleasant homesteads, standing amidst thousands of browsing sheep, along the broad, shallow, shingly reaches of the waipawa river, and past sunny apple-orchards, and coppices of oak, poplar and pine, at times skirting breezy uplands where he saw shepherds and their families, often from long distances in the interior waiting to cheer the train. the arrival at napier, on the east coast of the island, was late in the afternoon, in threatening weather. yet the entire town of twelve thousand inhabitants seemed to have assembled in the streets, and the turn-out of returned sailors, soldiers, nurses, and cadets, at the beautiful nelson park, on the seashore, where a reception was held and an address presented by the mayor, mr. vigor brown, was most impressive. in the course of his reply, in this centre, the prince once more referred to the quick coming prosperity of the land he had been traversing. "it is amazing," he said, "to think that all the homely, happy country i have seen on my journey here has been cleared, cultivated and civilized in the life of two generations. the measure of that splendid achievement is well reflected in this flourishing port and town." the following morning the prince was early afoot, yet the inhabitants made a fine showing in the streets, as the procession of motor-cars passed through to the station, where the royal train was waiting to convey the party on the long run southwards to wellington, the capital. the weather had cleared in the night and it was a lovely autumn morning as we skirted the waters of hawkes bay, which washed against the steep, white cliffs of kidnappers' island, still the home of thousands of strong-winged gannets the size of geese. arrived at hastings, a solid market town of ten thousand inhabitants, the prince was conducted, through lanes of cheering people, to the racecourse. here yet another large gathering of returned men, also territorials, cadets, nurses, and children, had assembled, and yet another civic address was presented and replied to. similar experiences awaited the party at further stopping-places, including waipukurau, dannevirke, woodville, and pahiatua--the "place of god"--the number of the motor-cars, drawn up in the rear of the crowds, testifying to the prosperity of the farmer-folk, many of whom had been making fortunes out of the high prices of the mutton, wool and dairy-produce they raise. at dannevirke--dane church--the scandinavian origin of the township was reflected, not only in the name, but in the faces of whiskered vikings who were to be seen amongst those who came forward to shake hands with the prince. they contrasted quite obviously with the conventional anglo-saxons around them, and recalled in their persons the fact that the settlement of dannevirke was originally made by a ship-load of government-aided immigrants from schleswig, holstein. after leaving dannevirke, the prince took a turn on the foot-plate of the engine of the train, which he drove at something like fifty miles an hour to woodville, where he had halted the day before. at woodville the track turned southwards through wilder country, including a certain amount of still uncleared bush. even here, however, the land is being opened up, and i heard of farms changing hands at as much as seventy pounds per acre. as the afternoon progressed halts were made at various stations, including featherston, where the prince was received by cheering crowds from a military training camp near by. at dusk the train skirted the wide wairarapa--lake of shining water--where wild swans still breed in some numbers. here we seemed to have reached the end of the track, as high hills closed in on either side, and there was no sign of a tunnel. the big single engine, however, was replaced by three smaller ones of special make for mountain climbing, one of them being attached at either end of the train and the third in the middle. a start was then made up a zigzag track consisting of three rails, the third so fixed in the middle, between the other two, that pulley wheels beneath the body of the engines can get a purchase below it, thus completely wedging the train and preventing its too sudden descent in case of accident. slowly then the train crawled up the gradient, which, in places, is no less than one in fifteen. on the way we passed heavy timber-fences erected to break the force of the wind, which has been known so strong, at times on this part of the line, as to overturn a train. in the darkness we crossed the rimutaka--ridge of fallen trees--and slid smoothly down to the other side into the rich hutt valley in which wellington stands. a fairy city of lights, outlining spires, roofs and street lines, lay by reflection in the black water of a broad still harbour, as the train skirted the low coast of petone, landing-place of the first white settlers, eventually passing through extensive suburbs and coming to a standstill in the station of wellington. here the reception was a climax to the demonstrations along the journey from auckland. mayor luke, supported by the city councillors, in ermine and gold chains, received the prince, as he alighted from the train. mr. massey, and other members of the dominion government, were waiting at the entrance. outside, one of the smartest captain's guards-of-honour imaginable was standing to attention, with band and colours. beyond, restrained by a rope barrier, an enormous crowd cheered and cheered. the eye travelled over the heads of the nearer people, and then further away, and there was no thinning off. one then began to realize that one was looking up a broad street which climbed a hill, and that the entire hill was a palpitating mass of shouting humanity, dimly seen in the half-light of the illuminations. eventually the royal procession got off in motor-cars, which took an hour to traverse the two miles of decorated route to government house, where the prince was to stay, so dense was the crowd along the route, so anxious were the people to get near him. there was no bad crushing, however, and nothing could exceed the good temper of the shouting, flag-flapping, clapping, laughing men, women and children, who pressed upon the motor-cars, formed a solid mass to the walls of substantial business houses on either hand, and crowded every window, balcony and roof commanding a view from above. similar scenes marked subsequent days of the prince's visit to wellington. proceeding to parliament buildings on the morning after he arrived, the pressure along the route was extraordinary. the town hall, where addresses were presented, on the way, was filled by all the most distinguished people of the country. the platform was occupied by the members of the legislature, headed by the prime minister, and including the leader of the opposition, the mayors of the principal cities, and other representatives from all parts of new zealand. proposing the prince's health, at the official luncheon later in the day, mr. massey, speaking in his capacity of prime minister, said everybody in new zealand took personal happiness and satisfaction in the magnificent reception the prince had had at all the centres in the north island. "and i want to tell him," he continued, "that his experiences in the north island will be repeated in the south." one of the expeditions made from wellington was across the harbour to petone, where a well-staged pageant was held representing the landing of captain cook and his fellow adventurers from the barque _endeavour_ in , also that of the reverend samuel marsden and other missionaries from the merchant-ship _tory_ thirty-five years later. naked warriors in war-canoes escorted each of the boat processions to the beach, and painted maori chiefs received the white strangers hospitably on the sandy shore. the occasion of the pageant was taken with happy appropriateness to present the prince with samples of the finished product of the great industry with which the descendants of the early settlers have endowed new zealand. the articles selected were rugs of beautiful softness and delightful warmth, made of wool grown in the interior, and carded, spun, dyed, and woven in mills close to the beach where the original missionaries landed. "a field which the lord hath blessed" in every sense of the term. petone is the parent of the capital city of wellington where the governor, legislative council and elected house of representatives together make up the "general assembly" which governs new zealand. x south island the still, crisp, autumn morning of the nd of may brought the _renown_ into the silver inland sea of charlotte sound, with sunny hills sloping to the water's edge on either side--a great grey bird she looked, reflected in a jade-framed mirror. rounding a steep guarding islet, the big ship anchored in view of the inner harbour, the pleasant little red-roofed whaling station of picton climbing up the slope at the further end, the houses gay with familiar flowers, and homely with pecking fowls, amenities which one does not associate with the wild work of the whaler. the industry as a matter of fact has declined from the status of its early days, though last year the blubber of forty-eight "humpbacks" was brought into port. the entire population--typical british folk of any country town in england--had assembled and gave the prince a rousing welcome with the usual address. from picton the route was by train through a rich pastoral plain, past tuamarina, scene of a long-past tragedy in new zealand history, where a misunderstanding resulted in whites being massacred by their maori neighbours, one of those lamentable episodes which the now united dominion is advisedly engaged in forgetting. at blenheim, a prosperous township, eighteen miles from picton, which was the next stopping-place, the train was exchanged for motors, and a visit was paid to the local racecourse, where the inhabitants of the town of blenheim and most of the surrounding country had come together. amongst them was a fine gathering of returned sailors, soldiers and cadets, also some fifty maoris with painted faces, dressed in feather-covered mats, who gave one of their grave, shouting, stamping, grimacing national _hakas_ in honour of the royal guest. from blenheim the party started on a seventy-mile motor-drive to nelson, an expedition enlivened by similar scenes, though the solemn gaieties of the maoris did not occur again. the road, which was of macadam in excellent repair, ran first through the green, open valley of the pelorus river, the fields dotted with sheep, with many a row of tall poplar trees, yellowing in the still autumn air. wooded hills closed in, on either side, as the cars progressed, until we found ourselves speeding along a winding, unfenced shelf on the side of a precipice, primeval forest covering the sides of the gorge, to which the procession clung, like a string of flies to a window-pane, as it swung round corners, often with a wall of rock on one side and a sheer drop of hundreds of feet upon the other, a few inches of macadamized shelf all that interposed between the outer wheels and eternity. the driver of the prince's car, a grey-headed anglo-saxon, was descended from men who had driven mail coaches along this road seventy years ago, when the route was anything but the tourist trip it has become to-day. the prince was shown corner after corner where early settlers and their vehicles had gone over the edge, to be gathered together at the bottom in an advanced state of disunion. he heard also the oft-told tale of the maungatapu highwaymen, white desperadoes, who once made these rai and wangamoa hills their home, until they were rounded up and hanged by indignant gold-miners and settlers for iniquities which included the murdering of a wayfarer, after stripping him of his purse, though all that it contained was a solitary shilling. no allowance seemed to have been made by his avengers for a certain natural disappointment. from the rai and wangamoa highlands the road led downwards, through a gradually flattening land of apple-trees, still laden with masses of enormous yellow and red fruit, past hundreds of acres of bare poles, where hops had recently been reaped, amongst fields of peach trees set in ordered ranks, through villages of red-roofed, verandahed wooden houses, where well-dressed women and extraordinarily chubby and sunburnt children strewed the chrysanthemums of autumn as the prince went by. the white macadam of the country ultimately gave place to the dark asphalt of the town. tram-lines appeared in the track, and the procession found itself amongst hurrahing crowds in nelson city. nelson is built round a central hill. driving up the main street, the prince was in a lane of people, a waving mass of union jacks extending up the business street on either side, while in front was a natural grand-stand surmounted by the gothic windows of a pink, wooden structure which rose out of the top of a variegated pyramid and was the cathedral. it looked as if balanced upon a hunched-up, gaily-coloured paisley shawl. as we approached, the base resolved itself into school-children in white, soldiers and cadets in khaki, with a phalanx of returned men in their habit as they lived. a grey stone platform, with steps leading up to it, was occupied by nelson's officials, one of whom read an address of welcome. the remainder of the variegated colour scheme seen from the bottom of the street was due to the costumes of ladies who stood so close to one another that no peep of the green background came through. here the prince performed the usual ceremonies that awaited him. he inspected guards-of-honour, clasped the hands of returned soldiers and pinned on their coats decorations won at the front. he also expressed to the mayor and the crowd thanks for the reception and for the loyal sentiments of the address, which would be communicated to his majesty the king, as well as hearty appreciation of the wonders of the country, and of the good service of its people in the war, with sympathy for those who had been disabled or had lost friends or relations. he demanded a whole holiday for the school-children, with the immense approval of the beneficiaries. the national anthem was played and everybody went off to dinner. on the following and subsequent days very similar experiences were encountered. the route from nelson, after leaving the level country where more receptions were held at wayside townships, was along the steep rocky upper gorge of the buller river, a clear stream which flows in a series of cascades through a narrow winding cleft in the mountains. the slope on either side is covered with dense forest of tree ferns and birches, broken by areas where the undergrowth has been cut down and fired. quantities of blackened tree-trunks and half-burnt logs, upon a carpet of newly sprouted grass, told of the conversion of the impenetrable primeval forest into productive dairying fields--grass-seed having only to be scattered broadcast over the ashes after a shower to bring a quick and copious emerald crop. the way grass develops in new zealand is a continual wonder. the winters are so mild, and the rainfall so abundant, that growth goes on right through the year. maturity comes so rapidly that it is said to be quite a common thing for the farmer to plough up pasture and re-sow it simply in order to get rid of weeds, a heavy hay-crop being reaped the very next season. large areas of permanent, original pasture were also seen, especially in the southern island--tussock grass, which, as its name suggests, grows in knobby tufts, but is not on that account to be despised as fodder, enormous numbers of sheep and cattle growing fat enough to kill for the market without any other nourishment. turnips are raised, to help out the grass in the winter months, but this is only on a comparatively small scale. the greater part of the stock is entirely grass-fed. lambing, calving and milking take place in the open, and steers go straight to the packing establishments, without previously seeing the inside of a building of any kind. this accounts for the profits that are being made out of sheep-farming, stock-raising and dairying in new zealand, in spite of the enormous prices paid for land which, in good districts, is now changing hands at figures ranging up to £ per acre. the prince learnt, also, in his long drives through the forest, of the nature of the timber; of the virtues of the tawny-foliaged _rimu_, or red pine, used for the interiors of houses; of the light, easily worked _kahikatea_, or white pine, for which such large demand has sprung up in new zealand and australia for making packing-cases for butter, that fears are felt lest forests, hitherto considered inexhaustible, should become worked out; also of the _matai_, or silver pine, which seems to last for ever, even when exposed on such hard service as that of railway sleepers, without any creosoting or other artificial protection. about noon, the cars emerged upon an open valley, and the prince was given a public reception at murchison, a village of wooden houses, which were found in holiday array, the decorations including masses of holly in the fullest christmas glory of ripe scarlet berries, a curious contemporary of the orchards, still loaded with unpicked apples, that we had seen in the nelson valley only a few hours before. in the murchison district alluvial gold-washing still goes on, but it is only a small survival of what once was a flourishing industry, the yellow metal that filled the west coast with diggers, fifty years ago, having almost entirely given out. beyond murchison, the gorges again contracted. the river became a white torrent, rushing through a dark, winding channel, hedged with big, grey rocks, above which rose sage-green, forested mountains. about six in the evening we emerged on the inangahua--"mother of whitebait"--tributary. here the valley widened out, and we saw a wonderful west-coast sunset. the mountains took on vivid aquamarine blue and imperial purple, shading into palest pink, as they faced towards the light or away from it. against this background, yellow-frosted poplars and scarlet-leaved wild cherries stood out in sharpest contrast, the whole, with a pearly sky, producing an effect of exquisite fantasy. a soft brown owl, fluttering into our staring faces, recalled the fact that night had come, and that shelter was still far off. the prince traversed the inangahua marshes in the dark, reaching the west-coast township of reefton late at night. the streets, nevertheless, were thronged with people. illuminations and fireworks were in full swing, and his royal highness had a reception in no way inferior to his daylight greetings elsewhere. at reefton he was in westland of the warm heart, the wales of new zealand, a land of collieries, lumbering, gold-mining, and fishing, home of the late richard seddon, whose eloquence did so much, in the long years of his prime ministership, to bind new zealand in that close alliance with great britain which bore such gallant fruit when the great call came. with reefton i should class inangahua, greymouth, westport, and last, but most important of them all, hokitika, head-quarters of the province, which is represented in the new zealand government by mr. thomas seddon, son of the late prime minister, and one of the first members of parliament to volunteer for active service when the war began. in all of these centres the prince was most warmly received, hokitika particularly distinguishing itself by the size of its gatherings, and the good taste bestowed on the decorations of its streets. the prince's journey from reefton to westport was by motor through the lower gorges of the buller river, where the scenery was again magnificent. much of the route was along a narrow winding shelf, a precipice dropping to the water beneath, while above the rocks overhung the road, sometimes, as at a spot appropriately named the devil's eye, to the extent of completely over-arching. the steep mountain-sides around were covered with dense vegetation, gaunt rimu trees smothered in the embrace of flame-flowered rata vines, and green lance-leaved _kiakia_ creepers, with a thick undergrowth of tree-ferns standing erect like pirouetting dancers in stiff green skirts and long black legs, amongst a lesser crowd of gorse and bracken. the silence of the gorge was broken only by the ripple of water and the sweet flute-notes of grey tui birds, a delicate contrast with the clangour of the church bells, rung in honour of the prince's visit, when the procession of motor-cars emerged upon the open coast, and reached the mining township of westport. here the reception was on the level, within sight of an inclined road down which is brought what claims to be the best admiralty coal in the world. this coal is mined high up in the hills above westport, and was burnt upon h.m.s. _calliope_ when she thrilled the world by beating out of the hurricane off samoa in . the prince returned in the evening to hokitika. in an open square in this city next morning, where the snows of mount cook shone out on the horizon, he was presented with a digger's leather bag containing nuggets of west-coast gold. [illustration: westport children: a tumult of flags and flowers] [illustration: dunedin's welcome] from hokitika the route was by train, via the labour-controlled township of greymouth, and up the fine brunner valley, passing a number of winding-shafts of mines producing good steam-coal, where miners were making £ _s_. daily, and more of them were urgently needed. in the afternoon otira was reached, where new zealand's longest railway tunnel, which when finished will complete the hitherto broken connexion across the island, was in active course of construction. here the prince left the railway and travelled partly by a four-horsed coach, and partly on foot, amidst heights and glaciers, over the magnificent arthur's pass, which overlies the tunnel, itself two thousand feet above sea level. the tunnel is one of the big engineering achievements of the century. it is five and a quarter miles long, and has been so accurately laid out that when, a few months since, the excavations from the two ends met in the middle, they were out only by three-quarters of an inch in alignment and one and a half inches in level, a minuteness of error of which mr. holmes, engineer-in-chief, and his technical staff may rightly be proud. cheers, every few minutes, from people it was too dark to see, broke in upon the rattle of the royal train speeding to reach christchurch by dinner-time. jolts at intervals informed us that we were crossing sidings in the suburbs of a considerable city. presently light shone into the windows from outside, and we came to a standstill in a railway station that might have been that of oxford. upon a red carpet, stretched from the entrance to where the prince's saloon drew up, was standing mayor thacker, with ermine, chain and cocked hat, also members of the corporation, waiting to welcome the royal guest. by the time one could get through the throng upon the platform from the front of the train, the prince, who was in the rear where a lane had been kept, was inspecting a captain's guard of men and colours in the presence of the dense, cheering crowd that pressed on the rope-barriers. a procession followed, through two miles of decorated, illuminated, cheering, flag-waving streets, the route kept with difficulty by police and territorials. the cars soon separated from one another in the press. those who were towards the tail of the procession lost sight of the prince. small boys waved paper flags in their faces, and had to be discouraged from climbing on the radiator. larrikins decided that one correspondent was the prince's doctor and christened him "pills." another, the substantial representative of the "daily telegraph," was found to resemble mr. massey, and was cheered as "bill." presently the procession came to a standstill altogether, the crowd being squeezed tight up all round, in front, as well as on the steps and mud-guards. horn-tooting and endeavours to move forward an inch at a time, coupled with the vigorous assistance of the police, gradually got us on the move again, and amid a din of laughing and cheering we saw the prince being got out of his car and carried into the club where he was to stay, to reappear a few moments later on the balcony and wave acknowledgments to the people, by this time squeezed solid once more. similar scenes occurred on the following day, the same cheerful, friendly, british crowd assembling in the streets and blocking the wide latimer square, where the prince received a number of formal addresses, inspected a fine body of boy-scouts, and was serenaded, first in welsh, and afterwards in gaelic, by groups of nice-looking girls in the quaintness of chimney-pot hats and kilts. proceeding afterwards to hagley park, the prince reviewed some four thousand territorials, and shook hands with two thousand returned men. later in the evening he held an informal levée at the civic hall, where he shook hands with another two thousand people. by this time, if there is a scientific way of accomplishing the gesture of friendship, his royal highness had probably learned it. christchurch is the third biggest city of new zealand. a larger proportion of the inhabitants is said to be of english extraction than in any other city of the world outside the british islands. certainly it is one of the most home-like places we saw upon the tour with its well-paved, well-lighted streets, fine business quarter, and pleasant residential suburbs full of comfortable houses, each standing in its own grounds. in christchurch clear water courses down the gutter on one side of many of the streets. this is from subterranean springs, tapped by artesian borings, by means of which the entire city is supplied. the water is supposed to be derived from the snows of the southern new zealand alps as they soak into the valley of the waimakariri--"freezing water"--river which flows into the canterbury plain. a fine harbour, with water so deep that even the _renown_ was able to lie alongside the wharf, exists eight miles off, at lyttleton. until one goes over the ground it seems strange that a large city should have been built so far away as eight miles from the harbour connected with it. the lie of the hills explains this however. the harbour of lyttleton is so hedged in by steep slopes that it has been considered impossible to build a city around it, and christchurch occupies the nearest level ground across the range. connexion is facilitated by a mile-long railway tunnel, one of the oldest undertakings of its kind in new zealand. although so close to the hills, christchurch stands upon almost absolutely level ground, a corner indeed of the big canterbury plain, _par excellence_ the farming country of the dominion. the city contains cold-storage plant, a biscuit factory, and wool and hide establishments, all of which proved their imperial value during the war. it also possesses one of the best high schools in the country, run on the lines of a british public school. being also the distributing centre for a large and flourishing farming community, christchurch is going ahead rapidly, and has an excellent future before it, its south-of-england climate making it a favourite place of residence. farming is not in new zealand an occupation penalized by the dread of hardship or burden as one is apt to find it elsewhere, largely because of the real love the new zealander has for the land. the mayor of one of the larger cities we visited in the northern island, himself a prosperous wholesale grocer, told me that neither of his two sons, when they returned to new zealand from france, would look at his business, though he had kept it going longer than he would otherwise have done, with the express purpose of handing it on to them, there being no one else in his family to whom to leave it. they both insisted upon being set up as farmers. the reason they gave was that farming life was pleasanter and less exacting than any kind of business, and this although they had, with farming, to begin all over again, whereas in the wholesale grocery trade they had a long established and flourishing concern ready to step into. the fifteen-year-old son of a prominent official said to his mother, who passed on the irreverent observation to me, "isn't father a loony to do office work when he might have a farm of his own?" the boy's mind was typical. i met refined women who said they wouldn't live anywhere in the world but on a farm, and never once did i come across anyone who was on the land and wanted to get off it. this attitude of mind has the qualification that it is sheep and cattle-farming that is referred to, and not dairy-farming, which is infinitely more exacting, though, at present prices, and especially since the discovery of the possibilities of the dried milk-trade, definitely more profitable. this is because the sheep and cattle-farmer is not continually tied, and, while he has to work hard at times, can also often get away, whereas the dairy-farmer must be on hand all the year round, to see that the milking is attended to, and that the milk is promptly disposed of at the creameries, of which numbers are springing up, mostly run, upon a co-operative basis, by groups of farmers themselves. this passion of the new zealander for the land is a trait of the most far-reaching significance. it accounts for the largeness of the rural, as opposed to the urban, population in this dominion. it has much to do, also, with the splendid physique of the average new zealander, and the amazing healthfulness and longevity he appears to enjoy. this applies especially to the middle classes, amongst whom there is extraordinary immunity from such city diseases as consumption. the death-rate from tuberculosis of new zealand is less than half that of england and wales. it affects also the whole political outlook of the dominion. the farmer everywhere tends to be conservative in his views, for he has a stake in the country. his farm may be small or large. the individual holding, on the average, is probably not more than from thirty to eighty acres, an area which even the most unskilled of labourers may hope, in the end, to own; and one which, under the favourable agricultural and climatic conditions prevailing, is sufficient to keep both the man himself and his family. the number of holdings is therefore rapidly increasing, and the effect which this has upon the whole political atmosphere is incalculable. nominally, the government of the day may be conservative or it may be liberal, but the voter's choice is one of men, rather than of policy. labour itself, as has already been pointed out, has become conservative. it thus comes about that, in spite of the possession of both manhood suffrage and womanhood suffrage, there is probably no country in the world less open to subversive social theories than is new zealand. xi enterprise in new zealand it is impossible to travel through new zealand and to meet the men it sends into public life, without being impressed by the high character, moderation and conservativeness which characterize politics in this dominion. there is no country where the spirit of live and let live is more fully operative, none where charges of political corruption are less common, and none where the spirit of co-operation for public ends is more general. the "ins" at present call themselves reformers, he "outs" liberals, but, so far as i have been able to make out, mr. massey's government retains its majority far more on account of the popularity of himself and his colleagues than because the general policy for which they stand differs very materially from that which would be adopted if sir joseph ward and his liberal supporters were to return to power. in consequence, again, of practically all voters having a stake in the country, of one kind or another, whether in the form of house-property, land or money, the administration they elect is intensely individualistic, and probably there is no spot on earth where property is more respected, or personal rights more secure. the financial position of the dominion is also relatively good, for although new zealand's public debt bears a proportion to its population not far different from the corresponding proportion in england, there are two factors which make the situation of the dominion definitely more favourable. one of these is the larger potential margin of taxability in new zealand, owing to the greater individual prosperity of its inhabitants and the extent of its still undeveloped resources. the other is that so much of new zealand's public debt has been invested in remunerative public works. out of a total debt of £ , , no less than £ , , has been put into the acquisition or construction of the three thousand five hundred miles of railway existing in the country, an investment which itself pays the whole of the interest charges concerned. indeed, at present rates for labour and materials, this happy country possesses a property worth probably more than twice what it has cost to obtain. the railway factor in new zealand is thus a very important one. it is one also of special interest, as the new zealand government not only owns but manages the whole of the lines, an arrangement not found in other parts of the world to conduce to either efficiency or economy in working. it seemed so impossible to believe that a democracy could be keeping politics out of business that i fear i asked a great many very impertinent questions on the subject of political graft in connexion with railways. the map of new zealand offered an invitation to inquisitiveness. it showed that the country possesses a remarkably large number of small unconnected railway lines running inland from the various ports. even to-day there is no complete through line in the south island, though progress is being made in linking up branches to obtain it. one was at first inclined to attribute this state of things to political pressure brought to bear upon the government to supply individual political constituents with more than their share of transport facilities at the expense of the general traffic requirements of the country. on going over the ground, however, two perfectly innocent reasons leapt to defend the lines. the first is that in a country as well supplied as is new zealand with harbours round the coasts, the natural main artery of traffic is by sea and not overland. the second is that the mountain backbone of new zealand is so tremendous that the cost of through railways which, owing to the lie of the land, must necessarily cross this backbone is enormous. this is exemplified by the stupendous works, culminating in a five-mile tunnel, now under construction to link the west coast with the east in the south island. the same applies to the north island, it being impossible to traverse the central railway from auckland to wellington without being impressed by the difficulties that have had to be overcome, alike on the raurimu spiral in the middle, and at the famous one-in-thirteen incline near the southern terminus. mistakes have, no doubt, been made sometimes, and it is quite possible that in some cases local influence may have bettered public utility, both in the routes chosen for new lines, and in the order of their construction. upon the whole, however, the public works department of the new zealand government, which is responsible for the building of the railways, is to be most warmly congratulated upon the lay-out as well as upon the standard of excellence attained in the matter of the work. the three-feet-six-inch gauge adopted in new zealand may possibly have to be changed eventually to the standard four-feet-eight-inch gauge in use in europe and america. the decision to adopt the narrow gauge, however, was come to at a time when there was much to recommend the selection, since it enabled railway facilities to be afforded very much sooner than would have been possible had the more expensive standard gauge been chosen. the new zealand government has also pursued a sound policy in doing renovations, even where they have involved considerable structural improvements, out of revenue. i was informed that original cost has, all along, been replaced out of working expenses, where changes in the lines have been made on capital account, and that since about all relaying of lines and replacing of bridges and rolling-stock has been charged to working expenses. again, a considerable length of line has been relaid each year, with heavy rails and new sleepers. the people of new zealand in consequence now own the entire railway system of their country at a cost far below its present market value, and that too in a state of structural efficiency, which, especially after five years of a war to which the railways sent seven thousand of their trained men, is very remarkable. the royal train could testify to that, running as it did over difficult country, from one end of new zealand to the other, at a pace which was seldom less than forty, and sometimes went as high as sixty miles an hour, fast travelling on a narrow gauge anywhere. the railways are under a general manager responsible to a minister-in-charge, at present the prime minister, and independent of the public works department, whose responsibilities end with construction. in order to minimize political interference with traffic charges, a rule is enforced that all rates must be published, thereby facilitating discussion of them. no special local tariff also can be sanctioned without public notice being first given. all rates are thus subject to criticism in parliament. again, at present, ninety per cent. of the traffic of the country, including both passengers and goods, is carried on a flat-rate basis applicable to all lines, and all places. of the remaining ten per cent., all but a small proportion is carried on concession rates designed to help the development of backward areas, it being recognized that the railways are only adjuncts to the opening up of the country and its resources. the fractional proportion which remains is carried at special enhanced rates, but this does not affect the general position, as it applies only to a few isolated sections of not more than twenty miles apiece, where construction has been unusually expensive, and where high rates have been adopted to cover interest on the cost. a further safeguard is provided by the fact that a rate can only be changed on the recommendation of the general manager, who is a member of the public service, and therefore debarred from taking part in politics. very much the same safeguards apply to the appointments. the personnel of the railways in new zealand is permanent, no new government having so far ventured to make any wholesale changes. the great majority of the men now in the service have begun at the bottom, either as unskilled apprentices or as cadets admitted after passing a qualifying examination. i was unable to hear of either promotions or fresh appointments for political reasons. that the above are real, and not merely theoretical conditions, is strikingly shown by the financial results obtained. the dominant fact is that, whereas in the united states and in england, government control of railways has been accompanied by heavy loss during the war, in new zealand the railways have remained on a paying basis throughout, though the war rise in new zealand traffic-rates has only been twelve and a half per cent. in the case of passengers, and twenty-one per cent. in that of goods, as compared with from fifty to seventy per cent. in the case of the railways in great britain. at the same time the basic wage for the employees has been increased in new zealand by thirty-three per cent., to which eight per cent. has recently been added, making a total wage rise on new zealand railways of forty-one per cent. as regards the cost of the carriage of goods on new zealand railways, as compared with british, the claim is made by the new zealand railway authorities that their rates are the lower. i was unable to obtain any conclusive evidence upon this point, during the short time available, owing to the difficulty of extracting average figures capable of being fairly compared. as regards passenger rates, i understand that the present new zealand flat-rate is twopence per mile for "upper class" passengers, and one and one-third pence per mile for "lower class," rates which certainly compare not unfavourably with those obtaining in england. the gross annual revenue of new zealand railways is now about five and three-quarter million sterling per annum. of this sum two million is allotted to payment of interest at four per cent. upon the forty million sterling of capital cost. the balance of three and three-quarter million goes to working expenses, which before the war averaged sixty-four per cent. of gross revenue, and are now sixty-six per cent. government goods consignments are carried at full rates, and troops at a concession rate of one penny per mile return. there is no paper inflation, therefore, in the figures. i have given the above particulars at some length, as the management of so big a business organization as the entire railway system of the country is obviously a good criterion of the nature of the political administration as a whole. i may add two further instances of new zealand methods. the first is that the government has embarked upon a seven-million-sterling scheme for the development of hydro-electric power for industrial purposes, the country being remarkably provided with facilities for this class of enterprise. the installations, several of which are already well advanced, are situated in widely separated localities spread over both of the islands, so that a large proportion of the country will benefit. the total power which this scheme is expected ultimately to develop amounts to something like half a million horse-power. the work was to be proceeded with as fast as labour, which was very scarce at the time of the prince's visit, became available. the second point concerns the resettlement of returned soldiers upon the land and their restarting in business. upon this object the new zealand government had expended a million sterling, of which the bulk consisted of loans on easy terms. the feature that seems significant of the general situation of new zealand, was that practically all the fifty thousand men demobilized had been found employment, and that the loans were being rapidly repaid, one-eighth (£ , ) having already been refunded, while less than six per cent. of the ten thousand men who had received advances were reported as irregular with their instalments. travelling as the party did from end to end of new zealand, such national enterprises as the working of the railways, the development of hydro-electric power and the restarting of the men returned from the war, were often discussed. the considerations which emerged are certainly encouraging, not only from the point of view of those already settled in the dominion, but also to that wider community throughout the empire that looks to australasia as a future home. the prince left christchurch by train on the morning of the th may, on his journey to the southern end of the south island and passed once more through the canterbury plain, a well-watered land of pleasant homesteads and wide flat fields just then white with stubble from a recently reaped wheat crop. his first stopping-place was the thriving town of ashburton, where an address of welcome was read by major galbraith, at one time one of the best football players in new zealand. in the course of his reply his royal highness mentioned that he was a farmer in a small way himself, which made him specially interested in the splendid farming country through which he had been passing. the prince's colonial farm is in alberta; he added it to the trophies of his canadian tour in . he has already stocked and improved it and there is not a canadian from halifax to vancouver who does not look confidently to this holding to bring him back there at an early date. temuka, famed for its trout-fishing, and timaru, a rising watering-place, came next upon his itinerary. timaru is a port for the shipment of chilled meat, in connexion with which several substantial cold-storage works could be seen from the train. in this centre the prince was given a picturesque reception on the wide sands of charlotte bay, a popular bathing-resort in the summer months. the cliffs here form an amphitheatre from which twenty thousand people, including two thousand children from the schools around, witnessed the usual reading of a civic address, and march past of returned soldiers, red cross nurses, and other war workers. in the afternoon the train traversed a fine bridge over the waitaki river, which is here the dividing line between the scotch settlers of otago and the english of canterbury. the prince also stopped off at oamaru, and inspected a collegiate school, one of the foremost in new zealand, where an exceedingly smart cadet corps paraded before him, and he was conducted by the headmaster, doctor f. milner, over buildings and grounds comparable to those of a first-class public school in england. one of the features of the institution was unenclosed dormitories, in which the lads sleep out of doors, in all weathers, with wonderfully beneficial results to their health and endurance. dusk fell when the train was some twenty miles from dunedin, the edinburgh of new zealand, but the sky was lighted throughout the whole of this distance by enormous bonfires, every village and every homestead along the line competing as to which could make the biggest flare against the forest and hills behind. around these bonfires the local inhabitants had assembled and cheered the prince as the train ran through. the night was alive with enthusiasm. little old weary england, at anchor far in her north sea, might have been glad to feel it. port chalmers, the rosyth of dunedin, was a wonderful sight. coloured flares were simultaneously lighted in all parts of the town, as the train passed along the top of the cliffs. the harbour was thus shown up like an inland lake, in a setting of hills, against which houses, shipping and docks stood out in brilliant relief. at dunedin the train climbed down into a fairyland of electric illuminations, beginning at the railway station, where mayor begg and the members of the civic council were assembled. a procession in cars, through princes street and stuart street, to the dunedin club, where quarters had been arranged for the prince, showed him half a mile of decorated, illuminated route, kept in absolute order by boy-scouts, cadets and school-children, though every one of dunedin's sixty thousand inhabitants appeared to be participating in an orgy of cheering, flag-waving and flower throwing behind this slender barrier. on the following day his royal highness attended an open-air reception, in the presence of an immense gathering in the city octagon, beneath the cathedral, the steps of which were occupied by a big chorus of girls from secondary schools. here he received nine addresses of welcome. in replying, he told dunedin that the part she played in the life of new zealand was fully worthy of the noble traditions which her pioneers brought from the schools and colleges of the old country. later on the prince visited the hospital, whence he drove over the heights overlooking the shore, and down a steep winding track to port chalmers, where, amidst more decorations and cheering crowds, the harbour board and local borough council presented addresses. on another day, in the presence of twenty thousand people, grouped amongst green olearia bushes on grassy sandhills by the bay, the prince inspected seven thousand children representing two hundred and fifty schools. a pretty incident occurred in the march past when the wide ranks of the children opened, and a score of white-clad, black-stockinged maidens trooped up and curtsyed before the prince to the strains of the march of athol played by a drum and fife band in gordon plaids. the biggest and the littlest girl in the deputation then stepped forward and presented the royal visitor with a tiny greenstone memento, purchased for him by the school-children themselves. a further event of the visit of dunedin was a march past by lamplight in the drill hall. five thousand tickets to this ceremony were issued to returned men, each of whom came accompanied by relations or friends, so the numbers present must have been considerable. from dunedin the prince went by train to invercargill, the fifth city of new zealand. on the way he passed, in a snow-storm, the woollen mills of mosgiel, also the mount wallace and kaitangata coal-mines. receptions were given in the towns of balclutha, an active farming centre; gore, the head-quarters of flourishing flour-mills, and mataura, the location of hydro-electric works, paper-mills and cold-storage plant. invercargill was reached in cold wind and rain, yet the whole population was found assembled in the streets. from the station the route led to the racecourse, where in the presence of an immense gathering, undismayed by the weather which had turned the whole place into a quagmire, addresses were presented from the city of invercargill and from the southland county. in the course of his reply the prince referred to invercargill as being the last stopping-place on his new zealand tour, and added that fate would be unkind if it prevented his renewing his recent experiences at some future time. the return journey of four hundred miles by train to lyttleton, where his royal highness re-embarked upon the _renown_ for australia, was done in record time. the earl of liverpool, governor-general; mr. massey, prime minister, and mr. macdonald, leader of the opposition, travelled to lyttleton to say good-bye. the prince gave a farewell dinner on the _renown_, at which he conferred knight-commanderships of the victorian order upon sir william fraser, and sir edward chaytor, who had accompanied him throughout the new zealand tour. junior rank in the same order was conferred upon lt.-colonel sleeman, director of military training; mr. gavin hamilton, of the governor-general's staff; mr. james hislop, under-secretary for internal affairs; mr. r. w. mcvilly, general manager of railways; mr. o'donovan, chief of police, and mr. tahu rhodes, of the governor-general's staff--all of whom had been actively connected with the tour. the prince at the same time handed to mr. massey, for publication throughout new zealand, a farewell message, in which he expressed his thanks to the government and people of the dominion for the splendid reception given to him. the message continued: "two things particularly impressed me. new zealand is a land not merely of opportunity for some but for all. i have never seen such well-being and happiness so uniformly evident throughout the population of country and town alike. this dominion is also a living example of the fact that a european race may take over a new country without injustice to the original inhabitants, and that both may advance in mutual confidence and understanding along a common path. new zealand is one of the greatest monuments to british civilization in the world, and i have felt, from end to end of the dominion, that there is nowhere a british people more set in british traditions or more true to british ideals. i have found the strength of your loyalty to the empire and its sovereign as keen and bracing as mountain air, and i know you will never weaken in your devotion to british unity and british ideals." in conclusion the prince referred to the journeys still to be taken before he could say he had seen the british empire as a whole, adding that he still hoped to pay new zealand another visit some day, a hope cordially echoed by both press and people throughout the dominion. xii victoria the voyage from lyttleton to melbourne was rough but uneventful. the _renown_ did the , miles in three days, and very uncomfortable days they were. she carried a new passenger in the fine bulldog presented to the ward-room mess by the mayor of gisborne, but it languished so grievously that it had to find a new home in the commonwealth. it had joined the navy too late in life. the prince had his first view of australia by moonlight. the sea had then gone down and mist hung in the narrow strait as the _renown_ passed between the dark shadowy hills of wilson's promontory and the grey rounded cone of rodondo island. the following morning, however, found the _renown_ still outside the confined entrance to port phillip, enveloped in a clinging fog, that shut out everything from view. the tide was then high, so the ten-knot current, that rushes through the entrance when the water is low, had subsided, but this favourable condition could not be taken advantage of to bring in the _renown_ as neither buoys nor lights could be seen. impatiently the ship's company waited for the fog to clear, but hour after hour went by and it seemed to grow only denser. tired navigating officers, in sopping overalls, descended gloomily from the bridge, and it was realized that there would be no crossing the bar that tide. the wireless meanwhile had crackled a message through to the australian fleet, lying within port phillip, asking destroyers to come out and fetch the prince, so that he might not disappoint the enormous crowds waiting in the streets of melbourne to welcome him. the destroyers had forty miles of intricate navigation to negotiate, but were speedily in the neighbourhood. the _renown_ meanwhile had been carried by the currents out of her original position, but the firing of guns and the tooting of syrens eventually discovered her. that fine boat h.m.a.s. _anzac_, recently attached to the australian navy, came smartly alongside, and took off the entire party. steaming at twenty-eight knots, with a following wave so high as nearly to conceal the accompanying destroyers from the _anzac's_ quarter-deck, soon brought her through the heads, in spite of the ten-knot tide then running full against her. the fog thinned off, and showed the _anzac_ in still autumn sunshine, pushing through a misty expanse of grey landlocked bays. yellow sandy hills, dotted with soft-toned buildings, receded on either side as she advanced and the bay widened out, to reappear later on as she approached melbourne harbour, which first presented itself as a forest of gaunt black cranes, with a background of roofs and chimneys emerging mistily from a low foreshore. the destroyer was cheered again and again, as she approached amongst launches and steamers crammed with holiday-makers out to see the prince. she made fast to a red-carpeted wharf, in front of goods sheds flaming with decorations, where waited a smartly turned out naval guard-of-honour, and all the port authorities in full dress. greetings and salutes accomplished, the party transhipped to a shallow-draft steamer--the _hygeia_--which carried the prince to the st. kilda pier, in front of the residential quarter, through a fleet of yachts and launches filled with cheering people. on the pier four figures stood out prominently--the governor-general, the prime minister of the commonwealth, the lieutenant-governor of victoria, and the premier of victoria. behind them were staffs in uniform, scores of dignitaries in top-hats and frock-coats, and a guard-of-honour in khaki. long lines of marines and sailors kept a lane down the pier, and out into the crowd beyond. the prince landed, and shook hands with the governor-general and the prime minister, who afterwards presented to him the premiers of new south wales, queensland, south australia, western australia, and tasmania, besides numerous members of their respective governments, most of whom had travelled long distances to attend. the civic address gone through, a procession was formed, the prince, the governor-general, the prime minister, and other bigger officials in barouches, the rest of the party following in motors behind. the mounted escorts included a fine squadron of police on grey horses, each of which was a picture. the procession traversed eight miles of wide, well-kept streets, with swarms of well-dressed, well-nourished people, applauding, laughing and chaffing on either side. the crowds were enormous. the streets were crammed. thousands were accommodated upon stands against the sides of the buildings. every balcony, window, roof, and parapet, whence, in any way, a glimpse could be caught of the procession, was filled with people. commonwealth troops, cadets in khaki, and police in black uniform, though stationed only sparsely along the line, maintained excellent order. the crowds were as full of good-humour as could be, despite having been kept waiting by the fog for more than an hour after the advertised time. a wave of clapping and cheering went down the street alongside the prince, and tailed off into chaff and criticism, at the expense of mr. hughes and other members of the government, at the end of the procession. the cheering grew stronger as the business quarter of melbourne was reached, and the procession passed through its spacious thoroughfares. "generous" seemed to be the adjective most appropriate alike to the broad outlines of the architecture, for melbourne despises sky-scrapers, to the width and dignity of the well-paved streets, and to the profusion of costly motor-cars and horses seen on the way. those who accompanied the party were soon to discover for themselves that it applies equally to the quick-witted, outspoken, hospitable, kindly people of melbourne. the following day was a busy one for the prince. it began with a levée at government house, where he invested a number of returned officers and men with decorations won at the front. the reception of a score of addresses came next and the replying to the more important of them, including those from both houses of the commonwealth legislature. the functions finished with a banquet at parliament buildings, at which the right honourable mr. hughes proposed the prince's health. the toast was seconded, in the warmest terms, by mr. frank tudor, leader of the opposition. the keynote of the occasion was sounded by mr. hughes when he said to his guest: "the people of australia see in you the things in which they believe." there followed a bewildering week in which the prince was carried from one public function to another, through extraordinary masses of people, composed largely of women and children, but also comprising a very considerable number of men, who waited in the streets for hours at a time, sometimes in chill wind, fog or rain, on the chance of catching a glimpse of the royal visitor. many of them, when he appeared, made such efforts to approach and shake him by the hand, that the police had difficulty in getting his car through. his progress was so delayed in many cases that it became almost impossible for him to fulfil engagements at the hour appointed, in spite of the most liberal allowance of time for delays upon the road. eventually appeals were made through the press for some abatement of this personal demonstration. the police arranged for a wider lane to be kept for his car, and the difficulty gradually disappeared. the melbourne newspapers, meanwhile, day after day, made the prince's visit their almost exclusive business. the smallest details of his doings were chronicled with minuteness, and long poems and articles about him were published. photographs, in every attitude and at every function, appeared prominently amongst the news of the day. the prince was "featured" inexhaustibly. scenes of enthusiasm also characterized the naval review, where every fighting ship belonging to the commonwealth of australia was paraded. a special agricultural show was held to which landholders from distant parts of victoria sent breeding stock so valuable that no previous exhibition had been able to attract it. a public reception was given in the exhibition buildings, where people stood from eleven in the morning to four in the afternoon to secure front places. an entertainment was organized at the cricket-ground where ten thousand school-children went through marvellously trained evolutions, and fifty thousand spectators cheered when the prince appeared. when one asked folk in the street what they thought of him, enthusiasm found various expressions, but it was always enthusiasm. i have heard a stout, middle-aged and presumably sane gentleman in the smoking-room of a melbourne hotel declare in the most bellicose tone to all and sundry that he would like to fight for him. i never heard a word of criticism. certainly melbourne, and all the great interests it represents, took the prince to a generous heart. from melbourne his royal highness made a two-days' trip by train into the rich districts of western victoria, through the werribee plain, where land fetches up to £ per acre. stone-walled fields of oats just rising above ground, with pleasant farm-houses amidst sparse white gum-trees, spread on either side of the track. low, blue hills bounded the view. country folk waved greetings from many homesteads, as the train sped onward. the first stopping-place was geelong, on the sheltered coast of port phillip, once a rival to melbourne for the honour of being the capital of victoria, now a marine base, and prosperous shire town. it is known throughout australia as the home of the doctrine of the one man vote, and eight-hour day, first promulgated in the 'seventies, by sir graham berry, who represented geelong in the commonwealth legislature. here the prince found himself in the midst of an agricultural, manufacturing and shipping community. the guard-of-honour was composed of naval cadets. he was shown thousands of bales of finest merino wool from mills which not only clean and sort it, but also, upon a smaller scale, manufacture it into blankets and cloth. pupils were presented to him from geelong's famous grammar school, which draws its students from all parts of australia, and had a larger proportion of casualties, in the great war, than any other educational institution outside the british islands. here also he visited a big wool-shed, that of messrs. dennys lascelles ltd., with a ferro-concrete roof weighing two thousand tons, so large that the sales-room it shelters covers an acre of floor, yet there is not a single pillar in support, the necessary stiffness being given by means of reinforced girders, built upon cantilever principles, above the roof. the streets were crowded with people, and the prince had a very fine reception alike at the reading of the municipal address, and at the functions of shaking hands with returned soldiers, and inspecting school-children. a large number of schools from townships in the interior were represented, each with one pupil elected by its fellows to shake hands with the prince. the selected mites stood shyly out, in front of the lines of scholars, as the prince went by to honour the promise given. from geelong the prince went on to colac, shire centre of one of the richest districts in victoria. here he was shown what claims to be the second largest dairying factory in the commonwealth. it is run on co-operative lines, and makes, in addition to such products as butter and cheese, large quantities of dried milk, a comparatively new preparation, for which increasing demand is springing up in all parts of the world. it is an enterprise to which all may wish good luck, as a long step toward solving the important problem of rendering milk easily transportable, without loss of essential properties. in entering, and again in leaving colac, the train passed quite close to a number of low conical hills and circular lakes, remains of comparatively recent volcanic action, which has given the soil over a wide area properties that enable it to grow spanish onions in extraordinary profusion. in a favourable season, fabulous profits are made out of this crop. one man, with twenty acres, in one year cleared £ , , of which £ , was net profit, after paying all cost of cultivation and harvesting. the prince also saw some of the outlying trees of the famous otway forest, home of the blue gum and blackwood timber used not only in australia but also in america and europe for decorative work. in colac, the streets had been elaborately decorated. flags covered alike the stone and reinforced-concrete houses of business, and the brick and wooden residences. the accommodation of the place had been supplemented for the royal visit, by encampments of tents, one large marquee flaunting the imposing title of the "café de kerbstone." choirs, in welsh and scottish costumes, serenaded the procession. there was much cordial cheering, especially about the shire-hall, where the civic address was read. the next halting-place was camperdown, another farming centre, where again a surprisingly large gathering of country folk had assembled to welcome the prince. motor-cars, often of the most expensive british makes, in which the owners had come from their holdings, stood about in the streets. the royal party here transferred to motors, in which the prince drove out to the residence of mr. stuart black, one of australia's great landholders, descendant of settlers from tasmania, who opened up this part of the country some eighty years ago. these settlers bore many distinguished names, including those of the gladstone family and the mackinnons. the following day his royal highness went by train to ballarat, past a fine stone memorial to members of the neighbourhood who had fallen in the great war, subscribed for by the residents of the district, and designed by mr. butler, of sydney. the route lay through undulating agricultural country, past big heaps of white, pink, or yellow tailings, which mark the sites of now worked-out gold-mines. some of the fields around were pitted with what looked very much like shell-holes, dug by early prospectors for the gold that made ballarat famous. the prince found the last-named place a prosperous market town, with substantial public buildings, and quantities of marble statues, dating from the days of easily made fortunes in the 'seventies. it contains also wool, and other factories, including that of messrs. lucas and company, for the production of underclothing, with which the prince became acquainted under circumstances worthy of the creditable history of this firm. during the war, some five hundred girls employed by messrs. lucas conceived the idea of planting an avenue, in which each tree should be connected with the name of one of ballarat's large contingent of fighting men at the front. at the head of this avenue, which is now a dozen miles in length, a substantial masonry arch of victory has been set up. the prince opened this arch in the presence of the entire establishment of the lucas factory, which presented him with an embroidered set of underclothing--yellow silk pyjamas, to be exact--in the making of which every employee of the firm had taken part. rain had been falling heavily, but the girls faced it cheerily at the head of their avenue, many a tree of which bore the flag that told that the soldier it commemorated had been killed. the presentation was made to the prince by two ladies, one of whom was mrs. lucas, the founder of the firm, which she had started on a very small scale, at a time when the miners were beginning to desert the ballarat goldfield, leaving, in many cases, families behind them. mrs. lucas gathered these families around her, and by a system of profit-sharing, attached them to her firm, which is now well known throughout australia. this was not the only function at ballarat. the prince also received an address standing out in the rain, on a platform in the main street, in the midst of a crowd so large that those in the rear could neither hear nor see very clearly what was going on in front. as the result, both the reading and the reply to the address were much interrupted, a patriotic cornet on the outskirts playing "god bless the prince of wales" part of the time while the prince himself was speaking. the prince got hold of his audience, after two false starts, however, and to such purpose that the latter part of his speech was listened to with an interest that the rain, which plastered his hair and flattened out his collar, appeared to enhance. the cheering at the end was most hearty. the crowd did not disperse when the speeches were over, but waited in the rain until after the completion of a further ceremony, which took place inside the town hall, where the prince shook hands with numbers of returned men and nurses. he was again loudly cheered when he came out and got into his car _en route_ to the train to melbourne. the rain that was so insistent during the visit to ballarat was of dramatic importance to the country at large. it broke a long and serious drought, extending over an enormous area--a drought so severe that we passed, on the road to ballarat, way-worn sheep that had been driven three hundred miles in search of fodder and water. they were browsing, on their homeward way, on one of the farmer's stock-routes which traverse australia from end to end. these cattle-tracks are generously bordered by pastures fenced off from the surrounding country, so as to conserve food for flocks and herds in movement. two days later, just three weeks from australia's mid-winter, the prince crossed, by train from melbourne, the chill slopes of the great dividing range, which separates the basin of the murray river, flowing westward through central australia, from that of the streams which pour their waters southwards to the coast. on the way, he received addresses at kyneton and castlemaine, once gold-mining camps, now not less prosperous dairying and woollen-working centres, the entire countryside turning out to receive him. thence the train climbed down to a pleasant plateau on which stands bendigo, city of flowers and dry, healthful breezes, and a centre of large and still exceedingly productive quartz gold-mining. enormous heaps of grey "mullick" shale, and yellow and white tailings here stand amongst beautiful avenues of shady eucalyptus trees, and substantial buildings of stone and brick. one of the cheeriest civic luncheons of the tour was a feature of the day--the mayor toasting the royal guest as duke of cornwall, prince of the "cousin jacks," to whom the development of the bendigo gold industry is so largely due. a novelty also appeared on the triumphal arches in the streets, which, in place of wreaths and patriotic texts, carried whole bevies of the prettiest girls the city could find. these arches had been built in the form of bridges connecting the porticoes on one side of the street with those on the other. the girls occupied the middle and dropped flowers as the prince passed in his car. intensive small culture is so successful about bendigo, that we were told as much as £ has been made out of an acre of tomatoes in a single year. bendigo may thus look forward to a future of agriculture when her reefs are exhausted. gold-mining brought her population, but her fields and gardens will probably keep it. later in the afternoon the prince, accompanied by the prime minister, in overalls, descended the shaft of one of the gold-mines that amongst them keep the mints of the country busy turning out sovereigns that bear on the reverse the effigy of the kangaroo. the prince thus made the acquaintance of the gold industry which has played so dramatic a part in the history of the commonwealth. the output has been falling off gradually since when the value produced was over sixteen million sterling. it still averages over ten million sterling annually however, and is likely long to remain a very important source of wealth. it was on this expedition that newspaper men accompanying the tour had their first opportunity of becoming acquainted with a number of distinguished australians with whom they were so fortunate thereafter as to travel extensively. i have already mentioned that the rt. hon. mr. william hughes, prime minister of the commonwealth, was one of them, his outspoken frankness and caustic humour illuminating and diverting long stretches of the railway journeys. another member of the commonwealth government, closely associated with the tour, was the hon. mr. pearce, minister of defence, who was supported, whenever the prince was in naval ports, by the hon. sir joseph cook, minister for the navy, and rear-admiral grant, senior member of the naval board, authorities who were able to afford the prince first-hand information about the training and equipment of the forces that have given an account of themselves at once so memorable and so recent. major-general sir brudenell white, commonwealth organizer of the visit, brigadier-general h. w. lloyd, brigadier-general dodds, commodore j. s. dumaresq, were also outstanding figures of the party. the commonwealth arrangements, extensive though they were, represented only a small portion of the organization connected with the australian part of the tour. every state had also its own organizer, besides numerous committees--committees for decoration and illuminations, reception committees, committees for dinners and dances, school committees, committees to guide and instruct the british press. these last-named bodies, to whom the debt of the visiting newspapermen was considerable, consisted not of delegated correspondents but of the editors and proprietors of the leading journals themselves. these gentlemen also took upon themselves the duty of making known throughout each state the story of the prince's doings, thus giving to the business of publicity the best and most influential brains available, and placing at the disposal of the overseas pressmen a constant reference to experience and local knowledge of the utmost value. [illustration: jutland day at melbourne] [illustration: with australia's most distinguished citizen] with the commonwealth prime minister an ex-labour member, and with labour governments in power in several of the australian state legislatures, no one can visit melbourne, seat of the commonwealth government, without coming up against some of the industrial problems and prospects in this country. it has already been mentioned that, at the dinner given to the prince by the commonwealth government, in parliament buildings, mr. frank tudor, leader of the labour party in opposition to mr. hughes' government, warmly seconded the toast of the prince's health. i repeat this fact, as it seems to be indicative of the general attitude of victorian labour towards the royal visit. the british pressmen had the opportunity of meeting some of the labour leaders, amongst them mr. e. j. holloway, secretary of the melbourne trades hall, and mr. d. l. macnamara, labour member of the victoria upper house. they are men of moderate views, while full of schemes for bettering the conditions of labour on this continent. mr. macnamara is the author of proposals, now forming part of the australian labour party's platform, for revising the commonwealth constitution, upon lines designed to make the will of the people supreme. he would abolish existing state governments, and divide the states into provinces administered by councils exercising only such functions as might, from time to time, be conferred upon them by the commonwealth government, the upper chamber in the latter to be done away with, thereby leaving the lower federal house a free hand to put through legislation beneficial to the masses. this scheme, whatever may be its intrinsic merits, is rather of theoretic than practical interest, as there is not much probability of any proposals for increasing the powers of the commonwealth government being accepted by the states, which are after all in paramount authority for the time being. it is nevertheless important as showing the constructive nature of problems with which labour men in this part of australia concern themselves. mr. holloway's activities have been chiefly connected with organizing proposals for the immediate advantage of workers, reducing their hours of work, and increasing their pay. australian labour is watching developments in england, and a tendency is growing to substitute friendly round-table conferences between workers and employers for the less elastic processes of strikes and lock-outs which have so often been resorted to in the past. there was no lack of evidence in melbourne to show how closely the community, as a whole, is affected by the new distribution of political power. smoke-room assertions that industry was being destroyed by the frequency of strikes need not be taken too seriously, since the manifest prosperity of the crowds and the well-ordered activities of the factories did not at the time confirm any such mournful supposition. it is apropos to mention, however, that in melbourne places of business much capital is locked up in purely emergency apparatus for doing without such public utilities as water-supply, electricity and gas, these arrangements being designed to enable industry to continue during periods of municipal inactivity, a fact which is certainly significant of the frequency of strikes in the past. another noticeable feature is the far-reaching nature of the activities of the unions. in the sub-editorial rooms of the leading newspapers may be seen labour forms, to be filled up even by men holding well-paid appointments upon the staff, giving detailed particulars of hours of duty, overtime and emoluments. friendly personal interest, rather than anything deeper, was perhaps apparent in what some of the labour men said about the prince. friendly personal interest was always there, however. even those who were inclined to ascribe the wonderful reception in the streets to the prince being "a good sport, and well advertised," readily admitted the desirability of the british connexion, and their own cordial wish to keep up old relationships in this new land. at the time of the prince's visit correspondence appeared in the melbourne press on the subject of alleged catholic lukewarmness in regard to royalty, and it must be said that political trouble in ireland has not been without its echo of difficulty in victoria, though the extent of anything of the kind might be very easily exaggerated. the wonder is, however, not that isolated exceptions should be found, but that, with all the divergent political ideals, and conflicting social conditions, necessarily met with in a large city of such recent growth as melbourne, so generous a measure of warm-hearted loyalty should have been manifested, loyalty in which all sections of the community, including labour, showed themselves to be in warm accord. xiii new south wales towards the end of the visit to melbourne it became plain that the tension of repeated functions and strenuous journeys had begun to tell upon the prince. he held out manfully, but was clearly overtired. this was by no means surprising, at all events to any member of the tour party, for all had begun to feel a strain which fell in a degree vastly multiplied upon his royal highness. that well-informed journal, "the melbourne argus," referring to the matter, said: "when the programme was arranged, before the arrival in melbourne, the opinion was expressed in these columns that it was proposed to place too great a strain upon the prince, and since his arrival it has become every day more evident that human strength is unequal to the tasks which have been set. the prince has not made any complaint, but has most generously and courageously met all engagements. only those in close association with him know the expenditure of nervous force which this conscientious discharge of duty has entailed." eventually the programme was altered so as to give h.r.h. an additional week in melbourne, free from public engagements. the hope that he would rest, however, was not in any literal sense fulfilled, as he spent his holiday in riding and golf, hardly less tiring than the public functions which the doctor had forbidden him. his staff were lucky if, after a long day spent in the saddle, he could be persuaded not to dance into the small hours. this strenuousness is characteristic. in the _renown_ he spent much of his spare time exercising on deck or playing squash racquets. a mile run was his not infrequent preparation for a long day of public engagements. it is an attractive habit, but in the case of one subjected as the prince is, at short intervals, to emotional as well as physical strain it hardly carries the recuperative benefit that it might in ordinary circumstances. the rest in melbourne, such as it was, enabled him to carry on throughout the remainder of the tour. he seemed occasionally to take every ounce out of himself, but he "carried on." melbourne's send-off, when the prince ultimately left to proceed to sydney, was, if possible, even more demonstrative than its reception when he arrived. nine aeroplanes, soaring round the ionic columns of parliament buildings, as dusk was falling, created the first stir in the immense crowd which waited along the road he was to take. presently distant cheering was heard gradually coming nearer, as his car made its way from the moone valley racecourse, where he had spent the afternoon, to the top of collins street, where the official portion of the route commenced. slowly the procession extricated itself from the mass of people who rushed up to say farewell, and assailed his car with offerings of flowers and wax kewpie dolls for luck. a real horse-shoe, tied up in ribbon, was thrown by an admirer unable to get near enough to present it. it was perhaps owing to the good luck it brought that it dropped harmlessly into the bottom of the prince's car. eventually, the procession was able to go forward along a barricaded lane kept by the police in the middle of the street. in this space children raced alongside, and a ripple of waving hats and handkerchiefs kept pace with the cars as they advanced, while the evening air rang with cries of "good-bye, digger": "come again!" interspersed with clapping and cheering. the prince stood upon the seat of the car waving his hat through some miles of these demonstrations. on the wharf at port melbourne a farewell address was presented by the local authorities beneath a gigantic arch inscribed "australia is proud of you." here the state premier and other notables attended, also a guard-of-honour of the royal australian naval brigade. the reverberation of boots upon the wharf, as the crowd rushed afterwards to catch a last view of the prince as he went up the gangway of the _renown_, drowned the sound of a fife and drum band, operated by ladies in mackenzie tartans, which banged on cheerfully alongside. the _renown_ sailed at daylight, escorted out of harbour by a flotilla of australian destroyers. the voyage was along a hilly shore for the most part covered with forest. the first port of call was in the wide, sheltered harbour of jervis bay, the dartmouth of australia. here sir joseph cook and rear-admiral grant, with captain walters, dr. wheatly and other senior members of the naval college, received the prince, who inspected a smart guard-of-honour of cadets, and was subsequently shown over the institution, which is well arranged and up to date. the buildings include airy dormitories, comfortable study rooms, convenient lecture halls, commodious laboratories, and spacious gymnasium and gun-room, and are built round a roomy grass "quarter-deck," on which the cadets in the course of the afternoon handsomely defeated the best rugby football team that the _renown_ could produce. nothing could exceed the pleasantness and wholesomeness of the atmosphere of this fine naval training college. the life by the cadets is an open-air one, and a more healthy and promising body of youngsters it would be impossible to find anywhere. they are being given a sound education amongst surroundings calculated to impress upon them the beauty and attractiveness of the land whose service they are about to enter. the harbour, at the foot of the college playing-fields, is to be the port of entrance to the federal territory of canberra. the site of the new capital itself is only some seventy miles inland, a distance which is thought nothing of in this country of magnificent spaces. a railway has been surveyed to connect the two places, and a corridor of federal territory had been marked out, so that the entire line, including the port, may be out of reach of any state influence. the jervis bay college is a step in the direction of making the fine fighting ships, which australia already possesses, independent of the help of the mother country. boys are growing up there who will hereafter command them, and perhaps build the big naval graving docks, that are so badly wanted in australian waters, to enable the modern battleships of great britain to reinforce effectually those of australia in any trouble that may arise in the pacific. "what do you think of our harbour?" is as inevitable a question in sydney as "what do you think of america?" is in new york. it was soon countered by the demand of the blue-jackets on the _renown_, "and what do you think of our ship?" but its relevance was easy enough to understand, when, in the misty dawn, of what was mid-winter in australia, but might have been a fine june day in england, we reached the high rocky headlands which guard the entrance to these wonderful inland waters. a flotilla of war-vessels, including two australian cruisers and a number of destroyers, escorted the prince's ship into an aquatic amphitheatre. on all sides were beautiful wooded promontories sloping down to the edge of still pearly water. the slopes were studded with home-like villas, each gay in its own garden. bays and inlets made shaded alleyways in all directions from the central expanse. slowly the battle-cruiser threaded her way through the deep water marked but by buoys into the inner harbour. hundreds of decorated motor-boats and dozens of double-decked ferry-steamers crowded round, each one of them a cheerful bouquet of brilliant parasols and fine-weather millinery. well-groomed men, opulently dressed women, and smartly turned out boys and girls, on one boat after another waved handkerchiefs and union jacks, clapped, cheered, laughed, and sang. brass bands banged out the national anthem, and the usual petition to the almighty to bless the prince of wales. the prince waved and smiled in return, from his eyrie above the bridge, while fresh boats raced alongside, and continually restarted the hubbub. as the _renown_ advanced up the harbour droves of rowing-boats and flocks of sailing craft added themselves to the now slow procession. gatherings of people became visible as dark patches on the white foreshore of every promontory. in the case of the rocky headland overlooking the middle harbour, the patch must have been many acres in extent. the _renown_ dropped anchor half a mile from farm cove, a sheltered gap in the encircling hills. the prince went ashore in his launch, through a decorated cheering sea-lane of tugs, ferry-steamers, rowing-boats and yachts. he landed on a shaded beach, the slope behind solidly crammed with people, while beside the water, in a grove of bunting and greenery, were assembled the most distinguished men to be found in this part of australia. those present included the governor-general, the prime minister, the state governor, the state premier, members of the commonwealth government resident in new south wales, the whole of the state legislature, ministers, judges in robes and wigs, admirals and generals in the last inch of permitted gold-lace. immediately behind was a decorated marquee in which were the civic officials, including the lord mayor of sydney in municipal robes and ermine, who presented an address. a naval guard-of-honour was drawn up on one side of the marquee, and a military guard-of-honour on the other. salutes were fired, bands played, the guards-of-honour were inspected, the principal people were presented. the address was replied to, and amidst much cheering the prince was conducted up a decorated staircase to the top of the cliff where a number of four-in-hands with large mounted escorts of "diggers" were in waiting to convey him through the city. the proceedings differed from those on the occasion of the entry into melbourne in that they took place in bright morning sunshine, instead of in the fading light of evening. the route, including as it did long straight stretches of undulating ground, enabled the brilliant pageant of flags, escorts and pennants to be seen as a whole as the procession jingled through five miles of densely packed people. the way was kept by returned soldiers and cadets. triumphal arches, constructed throughout of such characteristic australian products as wool-bales, corn-sheaves, or balks of timber, dotted it at intervals. avenues of white colonnades supported flags and bunting which stretched continuously for miles. sightseers festooned the parapets, crowded the balconies, tapestried the windows with eager faces, and formed a solid mass between the wooden barriers of the processional lane and the plate-glass show-fronts of the business houses. in substantial macquarie street the prince stopped to greet a terribly large community of crippled soldiers, who sat patiently in motors and bath-chairs by the wayside, attended by nursing sisters. further on a no less touching spectacle awaited him, in a great gathering of black-garbed mothers, widows and orphans of diggers killed at the front, a pathetic reminder that, of the four hundred thousand soldiers raised by voluntary enlistment in australia during the war, only one in two escaped wounds or death. here the pressure was dense; and spectators, we heard, paid a shilling a minute to stand on packing-cases to look over one another's heads. the route ended on the shady lawns of admiralty house, where the prince inspected a great company of war-workers, who stood in ranks of variegated colour, including the red and grey of sisters who served in hospitals overseas, and the white and black of those whose no less devoted labour kept public utilities active at home while the manhood of the nation was in the field. before entering the building where he was to stay the prince shook hands with no less than ten wearers of the victoria cross. the reception was over. perhaps the feature in it which struck the visitor most, next to its magnificence and enthusiasm, was the light-heartedness of the crowds. after the prince had passed, and had been everywhere cheered, mr. hughes, the commonwealth prime minister, mr. storey, the state premier, and other ministers who were further back in the procession were subjected to volleys of chaff and counter-chaff from supporters and opponents, in which they themselves joined with the utmost goodwill. even the crashing into the harbour, close alongside the reception wharf, of one of the aeroplanes employed on escort duty, upset the equanimity of nobody. a motor-launch promptly picked up the soused aviators, who seemed to find the accident the greatest of larks. the country round was as much interested in the visit as the city itself. for days before the prince's coming special trains, crowded to their utmost capacity, had followed one another in quick succession into sydney from localities sometimes hundreds of miles away in the back blocks. one heard of a father who squeezed his family of tiny children into one of these special trains, and was then unable to get a foothold on it for himself. the mites went to sydney unaccompanied, but lacked for nothing, either upon the way or when they arrived, for every soul upon the train was prepared to father and mother them. the ten days which followed were crowded with public functions in which what seemed to be the entire population of sydney participated outside, if not inside, the place of occurrence. one of the principal was the state banquet in the enormous town-hall. seven hundred and twenty diners here sat down. three thousand of sydney's maids and matrons watched the proceedings from the galleries on either side, and at a given signal after the dinner, when the prince proposed "the ladies," there was a sound like a vast flight of pigeons and three thousand union jacks fluttered into the air. the ladies had responded for themselves. crowds blocked the wide streets for half a mile round the building, throughout the whole of the proceedings, and took up the cheering again and again. the toasts of the evening were honoured, not only in the banquet hall itself, but by some hundred of thousands outside as well. mr. storey, the premier of the labour government in power in new south wales, made a most cordial speech in proposing the prince's health. he described the royal guest as a democrat in whose presence he felt no embarrassment in speaking frankly. he welcomed him on behalf of new south wales, and declared that the royal family had always shown sympathy with the ideals for which labour men everywhere stood. in the course of his reply, the prince said: "i realize to the full the great part which new south wales and sydney have played, and must always play, in the history of australia. this wonderful city is the cradle of the magnificent development which has made the australian commonwealth. the whole thing started here, and in later days you were foremost in the movement of ideas which led to federation. the greatest of all the statesmen who first worked for federation, henry parkes, was a sydney man, and a premier of new south wales. the first australian prime minister, sir edmund barton, also came from new south wales. it is amazing to think that new south wales holds two-fifths of the population of the whole commonwealth and that sydney holds more than half of the population of new south wales. that fact alone shows the vast importance, not only to the commonwealth, but to the future of the whole empire, of this state and its lovely capital. sydney is indeed the london of the southern hemisphere." it is characteristic of australia that the commonwealth banquet in sydney, at which the prince subsequently made what was probably his principal speech during the tour, was an outwardly less imposing function than was the state dinner i have just described. the commonwealth banquet was given in one of the upper stories of a fine building in martin's place erected under the direction of sir denison miller, founder of that great national organization the commonwealth bank, which now handles the entire finances of the central government, including the raising of loans and the issue of currency. at the commonwealth dinner the governor-general presided and mr. hughes made one of those felicitous speeches which have won him a european reputation, though they are themselves surpassed by his lightning humour and uncompromising common sense in the cut and thrust of debate. "time," he said, "circumstances, and the age-long struggles for freedom by men who held liberty dearer than life, have fashioned the constitution under which we live. the monarchy is an integral part of it. if britain decided to adopt a republican form of government that would be the end of the empire as we know it to-day. the empire has grown. it is, if you like, the most illogical of institutions. it is composed of many free nations very jealous of their own rights, and brooking no interference with these. yet, to the outside world, it is, in time of danger, one. and the institution which binds all these together is the monarchy of england." the prince in reply declared that there was no finer body of men than those which australia sent to represent her in the various theatres of the war. he went on to sum up the aspirations of australia in the words of sir edmund barton, "a continent for a nation, and a nation for a continent," and evoked a storm of cheering when he declared, "i am quite sure of one thing, that as australia stands by the empire, so will the empire stand by australia for all time." the enthusiasm that characterized the prince's entry into sydney, and the state and commonwealth banquets given there in his honour, became if possible more and not less accentuated as his visit wore on. outstanding everywhere was the tumultuous cordiality with which he was greeted by enormous crowds. the same thing occurred at the races, at the gala performance at his majesty's theatre, at the parade of returned men, at a wonderful display by state school-children, also when he entered the chief military hospital beneath an arch of crutches, and when fifty thousand people passed before him in the town-hall. the whole was an experience which can never be forgotten by any of those who had the good fortune to be there. the popular reception in the town-hall was especially impressive. here, standing on the dais in the centre of this fine building, the lord mayor of sydney alongside, and a number of ministers, judges and soldiers, grouped about him, the prince, in plain grey jacket suit and soft brown hat, received the salutes of a great multitude of men, women and children--the blind man led by friends, the old lady who must see the prince before she died, the baby who would be able to say in years to come that it was present. the people were shepherded past by members of the local police, for whose patience and courtesy it is impossible to express too great admiration, in one long, smiling, curtsying, hat-doffing stream. numerous barriers had been erected, but there was no crushing whatever. it was a demonstration of orderliness and public spirit of the very best. another picturesque function was where, under the twinkling pendants of the big chandeliers in the ballroom of sydney's government house, beneath the portrait of his ancestor george iii, and before a brilliant assemblage of naval and military officers, judges, ministers, civic authorities, and members of consular bodies, the prince shook hands with several hundreds of representative men belonging to all sections and communities of the australian continent. interesting also was the day he spent amongst the young folk. it began with a visit to the sydney cricket-ground where twelve thousand children of the local government primary schools, headed by mr. mutch, minister for education, mr. board, director of education, and colonel strong, chairman of the executive committee, organized and supervised a picturesque exhibition of physical drill. the children deployed upon the grass in the centre, where they went through evolutions and exercises, and arranged themselves so as to form patriotic emblems and messages of welcome. fifty thousand parents and relations occupied gigantic stands around the ground and added a bass to the treble of the children's cheering. later on the prince proceeded to the university. on the way he passed through some of the less fashionable quarters of sydney, where he was warmly received by crowds consisting largely of artisans, amongst whom his popularity seemed to grow each day he remained in australia. at the university, a place with fine buildings, in pleasant country surroundings, on the outskirts of the city, he was cheered by some two thousand undergraduates, five hundred girl students, and a big gathering of graduates and members of their families. the great hall, with stained-glass mullioned windows, dark grained timber roof and grey stone walls, broken by a long array of mellowing oil portraits, where the chancellor, sir william cullen, read an address, recalled the beautiful precincts of christchurch, oxford, upon which it appears to be designed. the feeling of home was heightened, alike by stained-glass portraits of cardinal wolsey and other famous founders of oxford and cambridge colleges, and by the presence in the assemblage of a number of red and black oxford hoods amongst the grey ones worn by graduates of the sydney university. the gathering included a fine body of students in uniform, many of them wearing war-decorations won overseas. the blue and gold flag of the university corps occupied a place of honour at one end. replying to the address, the prince referred to the profoundly important work the sydney university was doing, and its splendid record in the war, and went on to say: "the generation which faced the war ennobled your traditions, fine as those already were, and left a great example of personal service to the king and empire for the present generation to pursue." [illustration: government house gardens, new south wales] [illustration: perth, from the king's park] replying later to an undergraduate address read by captain allen, m.c., the prince said: "you have referred to my comradeship with your own two thousand fellow students who went to the front in the great war, and i assure you there is no part of my experience which i value more than my long association with those gallant troops, both officers and men." concluding he said: "many of you are now completing or beginning a university course after service in the field. i hope that these will not find themselves handicapped by the time they spent overseas." it was a hope that perhaps the easier conditions and nearer prospects of young life in australia may well fulfil. in any case its expression was one of the many graceful gestures of consideration that did so much to bring the prince close to the hearts of the people of that country. xiv some commonwealth affairs "one heritage we share though seas divide" surmounted one of the decorated arches on the route traversed by the prince on the day of the military review at the centennial park, sydney--a phrase no doubt, but one that expressed the sentiment which pervaded this striking occasion. major-general sir charles rosenthal commanded the parade, which included a naval detachment under lt.-commander patrick, a body of light horse under major-general ryrie, and portions of five divisions respectively under brigadiers bennett, martin, jobson, herring, and christian. the command was made up entirely of demobilized men, who, despite cold grey weather on a full working day, had donned service uniform and assembled--many of them from long distances--to do honour to the heir to the throne. the numbers present were not precisely ascertainable, as the men were not under discipline, but had turned up of their own accord. estimates of how many attended therefore varied considerably, but any number up to twenty thousand may have been there. when the prince reached the ground he found the units drawn up in formation about half a mile in length in front of him. long lines of bath-chairs and motors were on his left, filled with disabled men who had been brought from sanatoria and hospitals in the districts around. behind him some thirty thousand spectators joined in the cheering. the prince went down the lines, shook hands with all the officers and spoke to a number of the men. he also shook hands with every disabled soldier present. the proceedings terminated with a general march past in column, so arranged that the disabled men could see their old regiments go by. a sequel to the military review was a visit a few days later to duntroon college, the sandhurst of australia. daylight on the shortest day in the australian mid-winter found the royal train, now on the standard four-feet-eight-inch gauge of new south wales, speeding through dry, rolling country, dotted with occasional blue gums beneath whose tattered foliage sheep were picking a wholesome meal. bright sunshine reminded one that it was australia, though the cold wind, which drove clouds of dust and grit into our faces, might have been from a march east in england. at the township of queanbeyan, where the prince changed into a motor-car, the entire population had assembled and the usual ceremonies of welcome were gone through. the country beyond queanbeyan was open, and barbed wire fences bounded the road on either side most of the way to duntroon, which proved to be a pleasant garden township of white-walled houses, set upon a low hill amongst many trees. senator pearce, commonwealth minister for defence, and general legge, commandant of the college, with a group of red-tabbed field officers, received the prince on a sheltered lawn overlooking a wide grassy plain reserved for aeroplane manoeuvres. those presented included a number of the professors whose rank between soldier and pedagogue was quaintly expressed by their black mortar-boards and college gowns which only partially concealed service uniforms and war-decorations. the prince afterwards saw the cadets at exercise in the gymnasium, and took the salute of one hundred and twenty of them as they marched smartly past on the parade ground. addressing them afterwards in the big mess-hall at the dinner-hour, he recalled the fine war history of the college, which had lost no less than forty-eight of its students in battle, and was cheered when he repeated the story of that gallant soldier general bridges, who had found his way from the kingston military college, in canada, to make a new kingston in duntroon, and to lead duntroon's first contingent of trained officers to gallipoli, where he himself was killed. it was dinner-time and "carry on" was the word passed round to the cadets, when h.r.h. had finished his speech, and the cheering had momentarily died down. the soup was then served at all the tables, but it must have grown cold while cheer after cheer followed the prince as he left the hall and re-entered his motor _en route_ for canberra, a place only a few miles distant. the way from duntroon climbed slowly through undulating, park-like country, dotted with blue gums, two thousand feet above sea level. freshly made roads, with water-pipes and sewers laid on, presently indicated that the site of the much debated new capital of the commonwealth had been reached. the scene continued to be rural, however. the pleasant stream, which meandered amongst willow trees and grassy solitudes at the foot of the hill--where the prince subsequently added a foundation-stone to the already considerable number of these expressions of hope and faith--might have been a hundred miles from civilization of any kind. the little river gave to the scene that touch of verdure so grateful in the dry and dusty bush, and one day will doubtless be spanned by the arched bridges of the commonwealth's capital. at present it must be confessed that the metropolis is hardly more than a sketch of itself, and a sketch that presents no very distinctive features. the importance of canberra, however, is not to be judged from the present condition of the site. as the prince pointed out in his speech at the ceremony, although the city still consists largely of foundation-stones, this is chiefly because the war has delayed progress with the scheme of construction. mr. groom, commonwealth minister for public works, who presided, summed up the position when he said, "victory having been happily achieved, once more the mind of the nation is reverting to the provision of a national seat of government where australia will be mistress in her own house, and where there will be no room for the complaint of provincial influence in pursuit of national aims." the idea thus expressed that the commonwealth administration should have a territory of its own, away from the influence of any individual state, holds the imagination of the majority of australians. it is an idea that has worked out satisfactorily alike in canada and the united states, where the circumstances, which justified the building of ottawa and washington in the past, are essentially similar to those of australia to-day. the fact that india's endeavours at capital building at delhi may not yet have met with corresponding success, does not affect the matter, since the conditions in a bureaucracy differ essentially from those obtaining in the democratic association of self-determining dominions. public opinion in sydney supports the canberra scheme on the practical ground that it will bring the commonwealth capital nearer to itself. melbourne is naturally lukewarm, since the present arrangement whereby the central legislature meets there, so long as canberra does not materialize, is one that local pride desires to see continue as long as possible. the remainder of the states, while not very actively enthusiastic about a scheme which must necessarily divert a large sum of public money from railway and other useful local projects, recognizes that the atmosphere surrounding the commonwealth government would be none the worse for being removed from the wire-pullings of state politics. scenic beauty, healthfulness, a good water-supply, and accessibility to the two principal commonwealth centres of population and industry, combine to justify the choice of canberra for the purpose concerned, and the fact that a sum of some two million sterling of public money has already been sunk in preparing the site, increases the probability that the scheme will eventually be brought to completion. one of the party accompanying the prince on his visit to canberra was a minister of state, who loved to tell how he had left his home in the canberra district on a push-bike to seek his fortune twenty years before, now to return, in company with the prince of wales and as the responsible head of an important government department. like every one else who knows this part of the country, he overflowed with enthusiasm as to the healthful prospects of its future. it was from him, i believe, that the prince first heard the ancient tale of the cemetery for which, after long and infructuous waiting upon local necessity, the inhabitants were driven to import a corpse from outside. that cemetery has served many a rising town. it must be closed by now except for purposes of historical research, but no doubt canberra's claim to it will be justified when the time comes. another expedition from sydney was by train and launch, up the hawkesbury river, and on to newcastle. on this occasion the prince was accompanied by the entire new south wales labour cabinet, including premier storey. one of the features of the trip was a remarkable demonstration on the part of the men working in the sydney railway sheds, who assembled in large numbers along the line, and shouted good wishes as the prince's train went out. every engine in the big station yard at the same time blew a shrill accord on its whistle, a choral accompaniment which was as convincing as it was deafening. addresses were presented, on the way, at the towns of parramatta and windsor, while the residents, along fifty miles of the river traversed by the royal launch, assembled at the water's edge and waved flags and cheered as the prince went through what is probably one of the most beautiful water-ways in the world. at hawkesbury river landing, where the prince rejoined the train and met a number of mothers and widows of men fallen in the war, the entire station had been decorated by the unpaid labour of those working upon the line. at fassifern, which he went through after nightfall, the entire valley was lighted up by bonfires, and the station and wharf at the small township of toronto, where the prince spent a night at the house of mr. duncan mcgeachie, was a fantasy of chinese lanterns. the following morning the prince received and replied to an address on the local pier which juts out into the beautiful macquarie lake. here, waving over his head, was a canadian flag, presented to this australian namesake by the capital city of ontario. from toronto the prince was taken by train past a number of the pit-heads of one of the richest mining districts in australia, at that time supplying coal at the very reasonable price of seventeen shillings per ton f.o.b. on the seaboard. every heap of slack and every railway truck, as the prince's train went by, had upon it a contingent of miners who cheered in a way to warm the coldest heart. newcastle, the second city of new south wales, was reached at noon. the prince, on alighting, was received by the mayor and corporation, supported by a smart guard-of-honour of naval cadets and an immense crowd of spectators. he crossed the harbour by launch and landed on the low marshy foreshore of walsh island. here he shook hands with a long line of returned men, employed in the shipbuilding yards, who gave him a most cordial reception. similar scenes were repeated, at least half a dozen times in the course of the day, at the entrance to each set of works. at walsh island, over which he was conducted by mr. estell, state minister of works, and mr. cutler, general manager, new south wales shipbuilding, he launched a fine six-thousand-ton freight steamer, built by state enterprise on behalf of the commonwealth government. the launching was to have taken place at flood tide, but, owing to postponement of the prince's visit, had to be done at the ebb. a strong west wind on the ship's quarter added to the difficulty of the undertaking which was entirely overcome, the ship taking the water beautifully. these vessels are an interesting example of state enterprise in new south wales. they are designed to carry produce away from australia, and to bring british emigrants back. there was at the time plenty of demand for their services, as thousands of would-be settlers were awaiting passages in the old country, and wheat was rotting in australian granaries that was badly wanted to reduce prices of bread in europe. the claim was made for them that they were being built at rates materially lower than those offering for the construction of similar vessels in any dockyard in the world at the time the contracts were given out. the cost, i was told, ranged from £ per ton until the last rise in wages took place, which brought the rate up to about £ . at the time of the prince's visit no workman employed in the yard was receiving less than fourteen shillings and fourpence daily, the average being very much higher than this figure. the vessel launched was the fifth of six uniform steamers under state construction. the four previously completed had been rated "a " at lloyds. after leaving the government dockyard, the prince was taken over works of private enterprise of even larger significance, the steel-furnaces, rolling-mills and rod-mills of the broken hill proprietary company, which are also located in newcastle. here he was conducted by mr. delprat, general manager, and mr. baker, local manager, and saw the whole of the processes, from the emptying of three open-hearth blast furnaces, to the conversion of glowing molten steel into -lb. railway rails, of which these works claim to have manufactured, last year, some hundred and sixty thousand tons. the capacity of the works is very much larger even than this amount, two separate strikes having reduced out-turn in this period. the price paid for these rails by the various state railways in australia, which now depend almost entirely upon this source of supply, was thirteen pounds per ton. i learnt also that the average pay of the labour employed in the works was about one pound sterling daily per man. the profit upon the £ , , capital of the concern is such that its one-pound shares were quoted in the sydney stock exchange the day the prince went over the works at sixty-four shillings apiece. after seeing the steel-works, the prince was conducted by mr. macdougall over a neighbouring wire and nail factory, which claims to be now filling the entire demand of australia for plain-wire fencing. the firm was preparing to set up additional machinery upon a large scale to make barbed wire which australia has hitherto bought in europe. the significance of this development is considerable, since barbed wire forms the top, as smooth wire does the lower strands, of fences of which hundreds of thousands of miles are already in existence in australia, and millions of miles more have still to be built. after leaving the wire-works, the prince drove in procession, through decorated, crowded, cheering streets, to a sheltered park overlooking the pacific, where thirty thousand people had assembled and mayor gibson read a civic address. in the course of his reply the prince dwelt upon the remarkable industrial development of newcastle. "your harbour," he noted, "your shipping facilities and your manufactures have greatly enhanced the importance this district has possessed from the earliest date on account of its rich deposits of coal." leaving newcastle in the afternoon by train, the prince returned to sydney through a pleasant land of tidy orange plantations and ragged blue-gum bush. on the way he held a reception in the city of gosford, and saw further reaches of the beautiful hawkesbury river. a record crowd cheered him at sydney railway station, and along the route to the harbour where he rejoined the _renown_. xv western australia the prince went from sydney two thousand miles by sea to western australia, a state as large as the combined areas of england, france, germany, austria, spain, and holland, with a population of less than half a million people to develop this stupendous territory. on the way, in traversing the australian bight, that borders the southern coast of the continent, the _renown_ encountered weather remarkably bad even for this region of frequent gales. green seas swept over forecastle and quarter-deck alike. the engines were slowed down. the big ship strained, clanked, and groaned, but proved her seaworthiness magnificently. the waves were still high in king george's sound outside albany, where owing to shallow water the _renown_ had to lie four miles from land in a wide and but partially sheltered bay. where the shore could be seen it lay in rocky grass-grown hummocks, on which the surf beat heavily. a picket boat conveyed the prince and his staff through a narrow entrance into the small landlocked harbour, where they landed on a desolate pier, wet decorations flapping dismally in cold wind and spray. the entire population had turned out, however, despite the weather. the governor of western australia, sir francis newdegate, the state premier, mr. mitchell, and a number of other members of the government awaited the prince upon the pier. the mayor of albany read an address from a wind-swept platform in front of a town hall prominently situated on a low hill facing a wide street that led down to the harbour. the crowd here was a varied one. it included traders, merchants, commission-agents, and manufacturers belonging to albany itself, also large numbers of fruit-growers and farmers from stations in the interior of this prosperous land of orchards and wheatfields. gatherings of returned soldiers and school children, also nurses and other war-workers flanked the general assemblage. a night train journey followed through rolling country and bush, with arable fields, apple orchards and orange gardens which looked most attractive next morning in brilliant sunshine in the freshest of rain-washed air. the prince was cheered by gatherings at many wayside stations, including parkerville, where a number of children, in charge of gentle-faced sisters in black robes, sang patriotic songs in the chill morning air as the train went through. about noon he alighted at perth, capital of western australia, an extraordinarily beautiful city, with wide streets and solid masonry houses, situated on the low banks of the picturesque swan river--here so wide as to be almost a lagoon. the streets were decorated and lined with cheerful people. those who received the prince included the governor, the state premier, the mayor, mr. lathlain, the chief justice, sir r. macmillan, the leader of the state opposition, mr. p. collier, the chairman of the reception committee, general sir talbot hobbs, also most of the other members of the local houses of parliament and of the perth municipal corporation. the prince went through the usual inspection of naval and military guards-of-honour, and then proceeded by motor-car through the city, which looked delightfully fresh in bright winter sunshine. the crowd was lined up behind wooden barriers on either side of a lane kept by blue-jackets from h.m.a.s. _sydney_, also men of the royal australian naval reserve, and returned soldiers, cadets and scouts. the route taken was some two miles in length. it lay through the principal business and residential streets, the crowd extending the entire distance, clapping, cheering, laughing and flag-waving as the prince went by. the procession disappeared inside the shady grounds of government house, a place of green lawns and rose-bushes blossoming in the shade of banana-trees and insignis pines. later on h.r.h. visited the principal theatre, where he addressed several thousand returned sailors, soldiers and nurses. he congratulated them on their services, alike during the war and since their return home, where they had shown that they stood for the maintenance of law and order. from the theatre the prince went on to a big civic luncheon in the town hall, where mayor lathlain told an appreciative audience of their guest's keen personal interest in the welfare of the people of the dominions. he also mentioned the fact that the prince had come as representing "the dear old motherland, the heart of the empire, the land upon whose navy so largely depends australia's ability to carry on her peaceful avocations." h.r.h. was loudly cheered when he rose to reply, and his pleasant little speech evoked the greatest enthusiasm. he felicitated perth and western australia generally upon their wonderful progress, of which much had been achieved within the memory of the present generation. he said he knew western australia's record in the great war, and desired also to congratulate its women--alike those who had gone abroad and those who had worked at home. an investiture at government house and a state ball completed the day's work. the visit to perth lasted about a week. it had several memorable features, among them a review, when, in a wide thoroughfare bordered by pleasant residences bearing such british names as ilfracombe, warwick house, and st. george's terrace, the prince stood, framed in a background of crowded grandstands, taking the salutes of a number of thousands of australians, including a solid contingent of blue-jackets, a yet larger one of returned soldiers, some in khaki, some in mufti, cohorts of cadets and boy scouts, both naval and military, phalanxes of red cross nurses in smart white dresses, and girl guides in a dense column of blue, followed by what seemed an endless procession of children, every school within ten miles of perth being represented. from the review the prince went to mayor lathlain's "people's garden-party" in the national park. here upon a dais beneath a statue of his great grandmother, queen victoria, in the shelter of big timber-trees, commanding a magnificent view of the city and the river, he stood for an hour while the people of perth streamed past in column. babies were carried pick-a-back on their fathers' shoulders, men doffed hats, mothers and daughters waved hands, handkerchiefs or flags, as they passed. one old lady delayed the line to shake hands with him, but accepted the admiral's clasp as a makeshift, the prince being too busy taking off his hat and returning eight smiles at a time to have a hand to spare. everybody was so engrossed gazing at the visitor, every head turning on its neck for a long backward glance after the dais had been passed, that hardly an eye was drawn off when a noisy aeroplane, which had been stunting unnoticed in the prince's honour overhead, suddenly swooped out of intolerable oblivion to within a hundred feet of him. a further notable function was the state banquet at perth government house. here were present all the leaders of thought and enterprise in western australia, politicians, administrators, squatters, settlers, traders, naval and military commanders, ministers, judges, ten v.c.'s, and everybody else who counted. grace was said by that soldierly episcopal, archbishop riley, who, as a chaplain-in-chief of the australian forces in the field, is known and loved from one end of australia to the other. the prince's health was proposed by premier mitchell. after it had been drunk with the usual cheering and waving of napkins, h.r.h. made a speech. "your policy," he said, "is to draw settlers from the old country, at the same time ensuring that they shall not suffer from lack of experience when they are first put upon the land of their adopted country. i am delighted to hear that you are giving to imperial ex-service men the same chance of starting life upon the land when they arrive in this state, as you give your own diggers. i can think of no more admirable way than this of continuing the splendid traditions of the war and maintaining our united british spirit." it was a note which has often been sounded since to appreciation and applause throughout the empire. one of the expeditions made from the state capital was by launch down the wide placid reaches of the swan river, still the haunt of the black swan, emblem of western australia, to hold a reception at the port of fremantle, some ten miles distant, where the river joins the sea. no black swans graced the occasion, only an occasional porpoise leapt alongside the launch as it entered the estuary. the entire population of the countryside lined the banks as the vessel went past, every village, settlement, and factory _en route_ contributing its quota, which in the case of saw-mills, cold-storage plant and electricity works, consisted almost entirely of workmen. arrived at fremantle the entire city was found awaiting the prince, crowding the pier and lined up along the streets. naval and military guards-of-honour, with bands, saluted. the chairman and members of the harbour trust and the mayor and members of the city council stood bare-headed as he made his landing. from the pier he was conducted in procession, first to a picturesque display by thousands of children, and afterwards to the big "anzac" military hospital where convalescent patients were drawn up with doctors and nurses outside, and where the warmth of the cheers that came from the wards, where he went round the beds of those too ill to move, was more than touching. speaking later at a civic luncheon, the prince looked forward to fremantle's eventually becoming one of the leading harbours in the empire, the importance of its position as the first port of call on the western seaboard being emphasized by the completion of the trans-continental railway. returning to perth later in the afternoon by motor-car, he was taken through the magnificent national park, a well-kept forest upland, full of fine timber, including a whole avenue, each individual tree dedicated to some west australian soldier fallen in the war. just before entering this park, the prince passed some thousands of children drawn from schools in the cottesloe, claremont and subiaco municipal areas, who stood hardily in the rain in the open to wave their flags and sing their patriotic songs. still another rewarding expedition was by car to some of the fruit gardens near perth. orange groves in the dips and apple orchards on the rising slopes made odd neighbours. the apple-trees were bare, but oranges hung in the golden profusion of malta or seville. fifty acres of this fruit in some cases meant a clear income of over a thousand pounds per annum to the fortunate owner after paying for all labour other than his own. the orchard zone was near the coast. further inland is one of the wide wheat-belts which feed australia and furnish a surplus for great britain. beyond this again begin the cattle-stations of the great north-west. perth was buzzing with the great north-west. a commission composed of parliamentarians and publicists had just returned, loaded with information and optimism, from a two-thousand mile expedition through it by motor. in addition the highways were blocked and the views were obscured by mountainous men, full of deep cocktails and deliberate conversation, who had descended from this region for the occasion of the prince's visit. some of these genial giants worked, as private pasture, areas ranging to over two million acres. they seemed in themselves a sufficient indication of what the country could produce, and an adequate reason for railway enterprise in their direction. in this state land nationalizes may note the character of the movement towards small holdings. it has recently been laid down that no peasant or other proprietor shall obtain a fresh grant of more than one million acres. not a long step toward communistic property, but possibly a beginning. xvi wheat, gold, and logging the state saw-mills and logging-camps of pemberton, about a hundred miles southward along the coast, made an important fixture from perth. on this occasion the prince was accompanied by the premier and other members of the west australian state government and was conducted by mr. humphries, state saw-mills manager. he was taken over mills where the enduring karri trees in trunks sixty feet long and seven feet through were being sliced by revolving saws into uniform railway sleepers for export. he also made his way, in heavy rain, partly by railway and partly on foot, up gorges of great natural beauty in the heart of a dripping forest, himself took a hand with sinewy axe-men and sturdy sawyers, in the felling of these giant trees, and saw their subsequent extraction from swampy thickets by teams each comprising, in some cases, twenty-four splendid locally bred clydesdale horses, in others a score and a half of equally fine australian bullocks. in the presence of a gathering of the entire logging force and their wives and children, who gave him the most cordial reception, the prince afterwards presided at a local log-chopping contest in which champion woodmen from all parts of western australia competed. the excitement of the forest community of onlookers was intense, and considerable sums changed hands upon the result. the men were given trunks of as nearly as possible equal thickness and hardness to hew through. the less proficient received a certain number of seconds' start. axes fell with marvellous rapidity and precision, slices rather than chips flew incredible distances in pre-ordained directions--it was a remarkable exhibition of muscle rivalling machinery. one of the long-handicap men eventually won from the scratch competitor, a magnificent young giant who was about a second behind. the logs cut through were about fifteen inches in diameter. most of the axes used bore the names of american manufacturers, and had edges still razor-like after the contest was over. a fine exhibition of table-vegetables, grown in pockets in the neighbouring hills, was also shown to the prince. rich land close to the railway suitable for market-gardening and already cleared is to be had in this region, it seems, at £ per acre. it is claimed to produce per acre from six to nine tons of potatoes, which were fetching on the spot £ per ton. the principal prize-winner was a scotch gardener, who told the prince he had come but six years previously without any capital whatever, and that his holding was now clear of debt and valued at £ , . on the way back to perth the prince had his first and only experience during the tour of a railway accident. speaking of it in a reply to the toast of his health at a public dinner at perth, a few days after it occurred, premier mitchell expressed thankfulness that the prince had escaped unhurt. his royal highness in reply treated the matter from a humorous point of view. he did not regret, he said, to have been able to add a harmless railway accident to his australian experiences. the mishap was very much nearer to being a disastrous one, however, than this would suggest. it occurred on a single-track, three-foot-six-inch line, in swampy westralian forest, some ten miles from the township of bridgetown. the royal train was a heavy one, consisting of some nine corridor sleeping coaches. it had passed over the spot, which was on a curve, the same morning on the way to pemberton. heavy rain fell in the course of the day, and on the return journey at about three o'clock in the afternoon, the track had become so soft that the rails gave way. the train was, fortunately, only going at about fifteen miles an hour at the time, having had to slow down owing to cattle on the lines. the rear saloon, which was occupied by h.r.h. and admiral halsey, seems to have been the first to leave the line. the saloon immediately in front, which contained the remainder of the royal staff and most of the state party, afterwards followed it. the derailed wheels then bumped along over the sleepers, which they cut up in the most complete manner, the line for two hundred and thirty yards being converted into a tangled mass of twisted rails and broken splinters. the engine-driver felt the jolting and applied the brakes. this happily took the way off the train, for a moment later the two derailed vehicles rolled over the soft embankment, here a couple of feet high, and lay on the ground below, all their wheels in the air. the train came to a standstill, the coupling between the wrecked and the unwrecked portions remaining intact. the prince and his staff were still inside. heads quickly appeared through windows now pointing to the sky, and the occupants of the front saloons, who had hastily jumped out, learnt to their relief that nobody had been seriously hurt. one after another the members of the royal party, including the premier and other state ministers, were extricated through the windows, now the only means of egress. while this was happening smoke began to issue from the first of the two overturned saloons. investigation showed that this was from the cooks' galley, which, in falling, had set the saloon on fire. the flames were promptly extinguished with water brought from the portion of the train still upon the rails. ten minutes later the prince, who had declined to move till he had collected his overturned papers, cheerfully climbed out, being thus, sailor-like, the last to leave the wreck. he had been talking to admiral halsey when the derailment took place, and was pinned between overturned pieces of furniture when the coach rolled over, thus escaping falling through the plate-glass window, a thing which occurred to several members of the party, including the premier. the only person at all materially hurt, however, was surgeon-commander newport, the prince's doctor, who cut his shin rather badly when he went through the window, an incredibly small casualty list for the nature of the accident. all the fittings that were movable flew through the air when the upset took place. a large mirror in the prince's compartment was amongst the articles which crashed to the ground. the mix-up and disorder of broken furniture, crockery and luggage inside was most complete. the prince himself, at the time as later, made nothing of the matter. he caught up a cocktail-mixer as he climbed through his overturned dining saloon, and waved it out of the window by which he extricated himself. he congratulated the chief of the staff, with mock seriousness, at having at last arranged something for him that was not on the official programme. he laughed away the anxious expressions of regret of the railway and other state officials responsible in the affair, and did his utmost to convey the impression that the overturning of the royal train was an occurrence so trifling as to be hardly worth mentioning. the party were soon transferred to the front portion of the train which was still upon the rails. the wreckage was cut loose, and the journey was continued to bridgetown, the next halting place on the programme. here the prince carried through, in the most undisturbed manner, the whole of the prearranged ceremonial of inspecting guards-of-honour, shaking hands with returned soldiers, greeting relations of the fallen, receiving war-workers, reviewing assemblies of children, and replying to a municipal address. he made no mention of the railway accident in his speech, but excused himself for having arrived late, as if this had been due to a fault of his own. it was not possible, however, to prevent the circulation of news of the occurrence, and it made a sensation throughout australia. telegrams of congratulation at his escape poured in from every state and principal town. thanksgiving services were held in the leading churches, and everywhere it was recognized that what might have been a disaster had been very narrowly avoided, and that the prince had shown much spirit in a situation of no little danger. his return to perth was a triumphal procession. every wayside station was crowded with cheering people as the train ran through. perth received him with open arms. a bigger assemblage than ever welcomed him as he drove from the railway station to government house, and the crowd plainly showed its impression that he had taken a bit of rough luck in the best australian manner. finally departing from perth, a few days later, the prince was sped on his way by large cheering crowds which not only lined the streets as he drove to the railway station, but every wayside platform as well. the route soon left the plain by the seashore and entered foothills clothed with shady _jarrah_ forest. thence it mounted to the spacious uplands of the green rolling wheat-zone, where the young crop carpeted the expanse for a hundred miles along the way. west australia raises some twelve million bushels of wheat annually, of which nine millions are exported. it is estimated that the out-turn could be increased to forty million bushels if more population were available, as thirty-four million acres have been reported suitable for wheat growing in this state, and eleven bushels per acre are looked upon as an average yield. a thousand acres, which can be secured on very easy terms, is an average holding. such a farm worked by one man would ordinarily have three hundred acres under wheat, and would also support two hundred and fifty sheep. many properties of this kind are in the hands of owners who began without either capital or education, yet have paid off all mortgages and are living in very substantial comfort. the children start under infinitely more favourable circumstances than their parents, for not only are savings usually available to establish them in business on their own account, but they have the advantage of an excellent system of state-aided education which provides a school wherever a minimum of ten children can be brought together. public help is also given to pay for qualified resident teachers in localities too isolated to enable the minimum school to be assembled. a mileage allowance is paid by the state for children who have to travel any considerable distance to school. education department correspondence courses are also conducted with surprisingly satisfactory results for the benefit of youngsters on farms out of reach of any of the other aids to learning. it is not only the children who benefit. their parents often learn much themselves in endeavouring to help their families to assimilate the lessons that the correspondence teacher at a distance is sending by post to the schoolroom under the hayrick or by the evening fire. an hour after leaving perth the track picked up the kalgoorlie water main, which thereafter ran beside the rails, a half-buried steel conduit thirty inches thick, all the way to the goldfields. this water main is one of the most wonderful in the world. it daily delivers at the mines five million gallons of pure water, after conveying it miles from the mundaring reservoir. this reservoir has a masonry weir a hundred feet high, which has been built right across a river-valley, thereby impounding the water and forming a lake seven miles long, holding four seasons' supply. the difficulty of building the works was much increased by the height up which the water has to be forced in the course of its journey. in all, the pipe-line climbs , feet between mundaring reservoir and bulla bulling, the highest point upon the circuit, a lift which requires some of the most powerful pumps in the world to negotiate. the installation is essential for the people of kalgoorlie, whose city is in the midst of the desert, with no other source of supply fit for human consumption, as the water that accumulates in the mine workings is definitely brackish, though cattle will drink it in some cases. fine rain shaded off into showers as the train proceeded eastward. further on grey skies were replaced by brilliant sunshine. the country grew continually drier; wheatfields changed into scraggy forest. the forest thinned out and was succeeded by vast expanses of nondescript scrub and desolate bluish salt bush, through which the train sped throughout the night. when the prince awoke the following morning he was in desert country. coolgardie, his first stepping-off place, proved to be a dying city. its original sixteen thousand inhabitants are now represented by only a few hundreds. the majority have moved to the still active mines of kalgoorlie. many lie in france, for no community enlisted more freely or fought more bravely than did the men of this far-off town. all that were left had turned out to meet the prince. it was a curious assemblage, largely consisting of men past work and women and children, who still cling to wooden shanties fast falling into decay, amidst spoil heaps and ruins of fine public buildings, a great place once but a sad spectacle now. the big water main enters coolgardie, and is sparingly tapped there, but its contents are too precious to be used for irrigation by the way, and without water for this purpose it was impossible for coolgardie to follow the example of ballarat in turning its miners into cultivators when the gold gave out. the shy buzzard of the desert now perches fearlessly where once was heavy traffic. the wild dingo has come in from the plains, and makes its home in what were once busy crushing mills and palatial business houses. soon sand will cover what remains, and the salt bush will be supreme as aforetime. kalgoorlie, where the prince next alighted, proved to be a very different place. here twenty-four thousand people were living in prosperity, and are likely to continue in this position so long as their reef goes on yielding its harvest of yellow ore. the visitor was welcomed by a big crowd, including a large body of returned soldiers, of whom two wore the victoria cross. he was given a cheerful luncheon by the chamber of mines, at which the large company present were waited on by daughters of the principal residents, who prepared, cooked and served a banquet which could not have been surpassed anywhere. in the course of his reply to a civic address later on, "i am looking forward," the prince said, "to my stay in this wonderful goldbearing area. i have heard with admiration of the pioneering pluck and engineering skill which have enabled this great city to be built and provided with all the necessary services of a large population in country where water is so scarce. i particularly prize the opportunity of making acquaintance with the people who have placed this miracle of development to the credit of british industry and enterprise. i am also much interested in the terminus of the great trans-australian railway which links you with the eastern states of the commonwealth." before leaving kalgoorlie the prince visited workings on the forty-foot thick reef of the "golden mile" which is being gradually nibbled away. this reef, since its discovery a quarter of a century ago, has produced seventy-four million sterling of gold. the profit of working it has not kept pace with the increased cost of labour and machinery, but continues to be appreciable, and large masses of paying quartz are still in sight. xvii the nullarbor plain at kalgoorlie the prince left the simply equipped three-feet-six-inch gauge of the west australian state railway, and continued his journey, at forty miles an hour, on a luxuriously fitted and smooth-running train on the standard gauge of the trans-australian line. in charge of the train was mr. norris bell, the eminent engineer who controlled the construction of the line, and is now running it in such a way that, despite almost total absence of local traffic, it is nearly paying its working expenses, a remarkable achievement considering the desolate nature of the country through which it passes. the railway connects the populous states of victoria, new south wales and south australia, with the vast and potentially rich, but presently undeveloped, western territories. it is one of those imaginative national enterprises undertaken by young countries, and is bound to be justified by the generous policy of land development which usually accompanies, though at present it draws its dividends from the future. the nullarbor plain through which it passes is so devoid of rain that it not only possesses no streams, but its level expanse is unscarred by even a dry water-course. it is almost absolutely flat for several hundreds of miles, after which it undulates slightly, the folds being in some cases occupied by lakes or tanks, most of which are so salt that they are useless for either drinking or irrigation. their banks form desolate patches of gleaming white on the horizon, owing to the crystallization of masses of salt upon them. in places where fresh water is obtainable, it has usually to be pumped up from some depth below ground. wells are so far between that the train has to carry tanks large enough to water the engine for two hundred miles without replenishment. the portion of the plain in which the prince found himself, the morning after leaving kalgoorlie, was of red earth thickly sprinkled with white stones of irregular shape, shaded by bunchy grey salt-bushes the size of cabbages. these salt-bushes, dry and dusty as they appear, afford quite good fodder for sheep. the plain, therefore, almost entirely rainless as it is, only requires the provision of drinking-water to enable it to be put to profitable use. sheep-stations already exist upon it, wherever it has been found possible to tap subsoil water sweet enough for the sheep to drink, and with growing knowledge of this remarkable region, and improved methods of purifying saline springs, it is hoped gradually to convert much of what is now unproductive into sheep-raising areas. as the train rushed onward through the day, the stones became smaller and eventually disappeared, and the salt-bushes grew gradually larger. one lost the impression of moving through an interminable cabbage patch, and felt as on a ship. the salt-bushes rippled over a calm expanse of ocean extending on all sides to a far horizon. in the afternoon a halt was made and the prince alighted and paid a visit to a rude encampment of aborigines, who had travelled a hundred miles on foot to meet him. they performed a number of weird ceremonial dances before him, and gave an exhibition of their skill in the throwing of boomerangs and spears. the performers were almost completely naked men and boys, painted all over with red and other brilliant patches on a whitish ground, whose only garment was a scanty rag of dirty cotton cloth that could hardly be said even to encompass the waist. the dances were slow, the performers sometimes stealing in single file round a circle, sometimes springing as if to the attack, the while incantations were chanted by miserable bundles of savage humanity, feminine as well as masculine, who squatted upon the ground. the boomerang-throwing was a much more lively affair. the air hummed with sharp wooden blades the size and weight of reaping-hooks. about a dozen performers operated simultaneously and each threw quite a number of these blades in quick succession to immense heights, where they hovered like hawks, eventually to descend with uncanny speed in a series of crooked swirls and side-long rushes. the circles described were such that quite a wide area was swept by flying blades each of which travelled on a complicated orbit of its own, of extraordinary speed, the sharp edge continually leading. it was explained that these boomerangs were of the hunting type, and were used in practice chiefly against flights of duck, the birds taking them for hawks and keeping low and thus within range when they were in the air. the spear-throwing was also interesting. the spears consisted of straight wooden shafts, like slim but heavy bean-sticks, with a tapering charred point sharpened to acuteness, and tail winged with a thin wooden slip the size of a biggish paper-knife. these spears were thrown with marvellous force and precision, with an action like that of overhand bowling, a sack stuffed with salt-bush branches and crudely painted to represent a human face, being transfixed again and again, in the centre, at sixty yards. these wretched people appear to be rapidly dying out despite liberal grants from the commonwealth and state governments to educate and feed them. in the south they seem to be entirely incapable of learning even how to cook or wash or build themselves shelters. in the north they are less degraded and find employment on cattle-stations where some of them make excellent stock-drivers, learning to ride well and handle animals. [illustration: crossing the nullarbor plain] [illustration: aboriginal dance] the camp visited by the prince was typical of the lowest amongst them. it was being looked after by a cultivated australian lady who was devoting herself to the services of these poor creatures, who seemed to be entirely dependent upon her, so incapable were they of fending for themselves in any practical manner beyond that of adding to the larder by the killing of a limited number of small animals. when left to themselves, we were told, they seldom had more than twenty-four hours' food supply within sight. their intelligence does not even extend to the keeping of provisions when supplied with them in any quantity beyond what they can devour upon the spot. another picturesque incident occurred about sunset, when the train stopped at an artesian boring to take in a fresh supply of water. here some twenty well-conditioned camels were grazing upon the salt-bushes, in charge of two intelligent natives of rawalpindi, india. these turbaned punjabis, who spoke hindustani with a distinct australian accent, so long had they been in the country, were marching the camels overland to western australia, where they hoped to sell them at a good price for transport work in the bush. the men had evidently prospered. they said they had found australia a good country, though they looked forward to retiring eventually to their own land. several eurasian children were with them. it was a reminder of those racial problems of which the people of australia take constant thought when they determine to develop the natural resources of their wonderful land, as far as may be, by white labour alone. it is no disparagement of the oriental to say that he is at his best when he is entirely of the east, just as the white man is at his best when he mates with those of his own country and race, a point upon which australia, at all events, is thoroughly convinced. xviii south australia the prince alighted at sundown at the shipping centre port augusta, at the head of spencer gulf, and was welcomed to south australia by mr. barwell, state premier, and other members of the cabinet. a civic reception was held, and the party changed over from the standard gauge train of the trans-australian railway, into a train on the narrow gauge of south australia, which was standing in the station profusely decorated for the occasion. a start was then made on the two hundred and sixty miles that lay between that point and adelaide, throughout the whole of which distance, we afterwards learnt, a guard had been placed on every bridge and culvert. the people of south australia were in no mind that the prince should run the risk of further accident. civic receptions, at which numbers of returned men and other war workers were drawn up, and all the inhabitants turned out, were given at various places _en route_, including quorn, peterborough, terowie, and gawler. the first part of the way was over the picturesque pichirichi pass, thirteen hundred feet above sea level. after descending on the other side the narrow gauge gave place to the broad five-feet-three-inch track, which connects adelaide with melbourne. sir archibald weigall, governor of south australia, soon afterwards joined the train. the latter part of the route was through flat and extraordinarily fertile farming country. adelaide was reached about noon. here a large proportion of the inhabitants of the province had assembled to welcome the prince. a procession was formed at the railway station, where guards-of-honour were drawn up. the prince shared a motor with sir archibald weigall. mr. barwell and other members of the south australian government occupied cars behind. a well-mounted escort of light horse, in khaki, jingled on either side. the entire route, some three miles in length through the principal streets, had been elaborately decorated, and was lined ten deep the whole way with cheerful crowds. entering the spacious and solidly built king george's street, where magnificent bodies of flying corps, engineers, naval reserve, and other returned men kept the barricades, the prince was greeted by numbers of lady war-workers, in fresh white uniforms, who had public-spiritedly reopened, for the benefit of the blue-jackets and marines on the various visiting war-vessels, the "cheer-up club" which did such good service during the war. cadets, red cross workers, and masses of medalled returned men lined the space opposite the town hall, where mayor moulder read a civic address, to which the prince replied, describing his now nearly half-completed travels in the commonwealth as a most memorable experience, a statement heartily endorsed by all who shared them. from the town hall the procession went on to the working-men's quarter, where the reception was as enthusiastic as anywhere. it was also noticeable that although only school-children, of whom there were incredible numbers, lined the route for at least half a mile in this part of the city, order was as well kept as in thoroughfares elsewhere, where regulars or volunteers were lined up. outside the big market in rendal street, beneath a wide arch built on one side with vegetables, and on the other with apples and oranges, a pretty function occurred, a little girl, daughter of the oldest gardener doing business with the market, presenting the prince with a bouquet, and a small boy, the son of the oldest packer, with a basket of fruit, offerings that symbolized pleasantly enough the very considerable business done in south australia in garden produce. further on, in north terrace, a more touching spectacle was presented where hundreds of beds from the hospitals, each with a nurse in attendance, lined the route, and the prince paused for a word of greeting with the patients. medical students, apprentices, and yet more cadets, were lined up near the fine stone buildings of the art gallery, the university and the exhibition, which are here grouped together. the procession ultimately entered and ended in the quiet gardens of government house, where h.r.h. was to spend the week of his visit. amongst functions which took place at adelaide during the next few days, was a state dinner at the leading hotel, at which three hundred sat down, including everybody of importance in the south australian government. mr. barwell proposed, and mr. gunn, spokesman of the labour party, and leader of the opposition in the state legislature, seconded the toast of the prince's health. the prince replied and the proceedings throughout were of the usual cordial nature. a climax was reached after the dinner was over, and it was time for the royal guest to get home to bed. it was then discovered that the streets outside were so solidly packed with people that it was quite impossible either for the motor-cars to reach the door or for the party to walk to where they were posted. the prince was brought back into the building, whence he addressed the crowd, at first from an upper window, and afterwards from a roof on which he climbed so as to be nearer the throng. in the end, a way out was found through a side street, by a door much affected by bridal couples. in the course of his speech at this dinner, the prince referred sympathetically to the recent death of premier peake. he went on to express appreciation of the welcome given him by adelaide, "the garden city of the commonwealth," and dwelt upon the fine war-services of south australia, and the magnificent opportunities which this state offers for development. he also mentioned the extent to which the future of australia, as a whole, depends upon a broad far-seeing railway policy, a railway policy in fact "that is continental in scope." continuing he expressed regret at having been compelled to omit his originally proposed overland journey from south australia to queensland, and announced that, to make this up, it had now been decided, in consultation with the queensland government, to substitute at least one week in the back-blocks or interior of australia, for the proposed visit to the new mandated territory at rabaul. "i am very sorry," the prince added, "to have had to cut out rabaul, but as i had to choose between the two i am delighted to think i shall now be able to spend some days in seeing bush and station life for myself in the real heart of australia." this decision met with general approval. rabaul stands for the mandated territory of tropical new guinea, formerly in german possession, and now allocated to the commonwealth. it is a territory bigger than england and wales but only sparsely inhabited, partially developed, and with no specially outstanding features. no interest it offers could compare with that of australia itself. the next few days were busy ones, public functions succeeding one another almost continuously, and acres of close-packed crowds assembling wherever it was announced that the prince was to be present. on one occasion he unveiled a fine bronze statue of the late king edward. on another he conversed with an assemblage of blinded soldiers. one of the most picturesque of his experiences was when four thousand women war-workers, including nurses, members of cheer-up clubs, motor-ambulance drivers, comforts workers, and members of the mothers' league marched past him in solid battalions, many of them bearing stripes indicative of five years' public service, and some the badge which stood for son or husband killed at the front. the scene of enthusiasm will long be remembered when he told them he hoped that they, like the diggers, would all look upon him as a comrade. it was a thing he said often but never too often. the prince also made expeditions into the surrounding country, which has a climate like that of italy, the vineyards climbing the terraced hills around adelaide enhancing the resemblance. he here made the acquaintance of the australian wine industry, which continues to prosper and expand, despite the new and devastating form of drought that threatens it throughout the world. the difficulties of the trade are considerable. the australian is not himself a wine-bibber. his intoxicant is whisky and his stimulant is tea. withal he is a very temperate person. no great home market, therefore, is at hand for the native wines, and in spite of an excellence in many brands which must in the long run establish them, the european importer still shows only a modified confidence in stocking them to the displacement of the better known labels of southern europe. six million gallons annually, however, are being drunk somewhere. on the day of the prince's departure from adelaide, eight thousand state school-children and forty-five thousand spectators said good-bye to him in brilliant sunshine, on the adelaide cricket-ground. from the cricket-ground he proceeded to the university, where the degree of d.c.l. was conferred upon him. thence through large crowds, which had waited hours for his passing, and greeted him when he appeared with friendly shouts of "good-bye, digger," he went to the railway station, and proceeded by train to port adelaide. here a local civic address was presented, and yet another large gathering of children, returned men and war-workers cheered him. the royal train eventually went on, down the port adelaide main street, which was black with people, to the outer harbour wharves, where sir archibald weigall, mr. barwell, mr. moulden, and other leading men of south australia went on the _renown_ and said good-bye, the prince ultimately sailing for tasmania. xix tasmania the prince's reception at hobart, tasmania, was a great popular occasion. decorations had been kept up and renewed since the preceding month, when the visit was originally to have taken place, and were still imposing, while the crowds along the processional route, which was several miles in length, were enormous. the governor, sir william allardice, paid a ceremonial visit to the prince immediately the _renown_ anchored off ocean pier. on landing the prince was received by sir walter lee, state premier, major-general sir john jellibrand, and members of the tasmanian government. on the pier he inspected guards-of-honour of seamen and cadets, and shook hands with five of tasmania's eleven v.c.'s, including sergeant mcdougall, who had been an inmate of a pulmonary hospital when war broke out, yet managed to get to the front and came back with the most coveted distinction in the army. from the pier the prince was taken to one of the big dockyard sheds, which he found filled with returned men, nurses and other war-workers, including the venerable mrs. roberts, a well-known local figure, who stood, a bent old lady in black, waving the union jack beside the commandant. many were the mrs. robertses, under different names, that these ceremonial occasions produced. one learned to look for them, figures full of years and honour, spirits erect in failing bodies, dim eyes lit by the old torch, frail arms carrying on the old tradition. homage to mrs. roberts, war-worker, be her style married or single. she is a symbol of the race. [illustration: leaving port adelaide] [illustration: mount wellington, hobart] in this place the prince was cheered in the lustiest manner, and was presented with an illuminated copy of the tasmanian muster-roll, also with the gold badge of the twelfth battalion. thereafter he was taken in procession through the streets, where the crowd was so dense and anxious to get near to him, that the pace had to be of the slowest. nothing could exceed the good nature of those who were pressing in upon the route, however, which was well kept after the first quarter of a mile. a civic address was read outside the town hall, where the prince, whose voice had given out, wisely abstained from straining it further by any attempt to make it heard beyond the platform occupied by the mayor and councillors. later on he attended a big state luncheon. the speakers included the premier, who dwelt upon tasmania's loyalty and warm-hearted devotion to the empire. he also referred to developments that will eventually revolutionize the industrial and commercial future of the island, no less than a quarter of a million horse-power being in course of being tapped by hydro-electric installations. mr. ogden, the labour party chairman and leader of the opposition in the state legislature, also spoke. he said the loyalty of tasmania was not to be measured by the population of this beautiful island, but was a loyalty that extended to an empire wherein the great gulf between rich and poor would eventually be narrowed. the prince was by this time too hoarse to reply at any length. he managed to tell his enthusiastic audience, however, that the chief thing he would have liked to be able to say to them was how much he appreciated the reception given to him. the prince's engagements during the two days he spent at hobart included a civic ball and races, an investiture and a big outdoor popular reception, and witnessing the electric illumination of the city. the last was especially interesting, not only as exhibiting what is probably one of the most beautiful ports in the world, but also as an illustration of one of the uses to which tasmania's new hydro-electric power can be put. the installation, which is connected with the overflow of an impounded lake in the centre of the island, is rapidly transforming this sleepy little state of the commonwealth into a busy industrial centre. copper mines on the west coast are doing all their smelting by this means. hobart and launceston drive their trams and light their street lamps with the new power. before the war the whole of the zinc ore won from the broken hill mines in south australia went to germany as a matter of course to be converted. tasmania now handles much and will presently handle all of it. hitherto australian downs have grown the wool and yorkshire looms have woven it. presently tasmanian mills will perform the latter process, and so far as the commonwealth is concerned her fleeces will no longer make the journey across two oceans and back, on their way to adorn and comfort the persons of her population. from the manufacturer's point of view there are advantages in isolation. power, sugar and a liberal market have drawn the cadbury firm to hobart, and foundations are already laid which will ultimately prosper upon the sweet tooth of the polynesian belle. the old arcadian days of tasmania are gone with its colonial status. its climate will always draw seekers of ease in retirement, and its orchards will remunerate their leisure, but the future of the state, under the protection of the commonwealth tariff, is industrial. the humorous inhabitants of its larger fellow states have a way of calling the island a "flyfleck," but its importance in the commonwealth is out of all proportion to its size. the amenities it offers have from the beginning attracted the settler with some liberty of choice, with the result that tasmania has contributed a large proportion of leading men to the commonwealth. it is also remarkable for the number of retired members of the military and civil services of india amongst its settlers, men who in their prime have borne heavy responsibilities, and in their declining years are giving still commanding abilities to the development of the land they have chosen to be their home. the prince crossed tasmania by rail at night, arriving the following morning at launceston, another seaport city of extraordinary scenic beauty. here he added to his tour one more experience of the entire population turning out to welcome him in a city decorated from end to end in honour of his coming. he stayed the night at the "brisbane" hotel, and attended a number of ceremonies. in the course of the afternoon he inspected masses of school-children. the physical impossibility of shaking hands with all the teachers in attendance suggested the idea of inviting those of them who were returned soldiers to do so, and it was surprising what a large proportion were able to claim the honour. another function was his meeting disabled men at the principal hospital. these poor fellows gave him the wildest reception, and the whole assemblage laughed most heartily when, on the invitation of one of them, he flicked halfpennies in a "two up" game. later on the prince climbed the beautiful cataract gorge afoot, at a pace with which the members of the cabinet who were with him had all they could do to keep up. he finished a long day with a visit to the launceston races, followed by a popular reception at the town hall, where ten thousand people passed in procession before him. the following day h.r.h. returned to hobart, the state premier and other members of the government, including the ministers of lands and railways, accompanying him on the train. the inhabitants assembled and cheered him at every passing station, while at the more important, including tunbridge, parallah and brighton, he alighted and participated in civic receptions. the region traversed included a rich farming and orcharding district, on which numbers of returned soldiers, some of them belonging to the british army, who are being given by the government precisely the same treatment as their australian comrades, are being started as farmers. the state not only supplies them with already cleared and fenced holdings and necessary buildings, but finances them on terms calculated to enable men without a penny of their own, beyond their war gratuity, to become independent freehold proprietors within ten years. one of the features of this admirable scheme is that the settlement has attached to it an expert instructor, who is in government employ. those settlers who have so far moved in have found a portion of the holdings allotted to them already under crop, and some one at hand to teach them how to apply their own labour to the best advantage. they are being inducted into agricultural prosperity, in one of the most perfect climates in the world, close to a railway, and in surroundings comparable to those of devonshire. one of them brought to show to the prince two prize sheep-dogs he had reared which he valued at a hundred and fifty pounds. the royal party left this spot regretfully, so full of fair prospects for men who deserve all that can be done for them did it seem. the number so far settled is not very large, but the minister for lands, to whose initiative, resource and enthusiasm the success already achieved is largely due, is hopeful that it will be possible to extend it to all suitable returned men who present themselves. in this case tasmania should receive a signal increase in population, for nowhere in the world have i seen a more cheerful outlook for the soldier who is of the right type to become a farmer. the prince was booked to spend the evening of his return to hobart at the soldiers' club, before going on board the _renown_, which was to sail at midnight. it was characteristic of the tasmanians that the men themselves remembered how trying this would be for him after his long and strenuous day. they proposed, therefore, of their own motion, that they should say good-bye to him on the wharf, and this was the course ultimately adopted. it was a graceful act which fittingly terminated one of the pleasantest visits of the tour. xx queensland accompanied by his majesty's australian ship _australia_, and two destroyers, the _renown_ made a fine weather voyage to sydney from tasmania. after crossing the bass strait the course was close inshore along the beautifully wooded hills of new south wales, and boats laden with people put out from the small whaling port of eden to greet the prince. loyal messages were also flashed from homesteads further up the coast when the _renown_ came in sight, transmitted by men, now back in their homes, who had learnt to signal in france or gallipoli. entering sydney harbour, numbers of yachts and launches were found waiting in the fairway to welcome the flotilla, the scene being almost as gay as when the prince first arrived at this wonderful port. the wharf also demonstrated the interest felt in the arrival. it was loaded with people whose cheers were undiminished as the prince went his way to the station, where he proceeded at once to entrain for queensland. the rail journey northwards produced some of the most remarkable experiences of the tour, experiences the more notable for occurring in states where public sentiment is perhaps more markedly democratic than anywhere else in australia. the first stop of any consequence was at the coal-mining town of high street. here the prince was taken by car in procession through decorated streets, lined with people twenty deep the whole way. the objective was the neighbouring railway station of west maitland, where h.r.h. was to rejoin the train, and where he found an enormous crowd of miners and their wives and children, who gave him a rousing welcome. he shook hands with three hundred returned men, also with a pathetically long line of mothers, widows, and orphans of fallen soldiers, and he inspected a big gathering of school-children. a picturesque figure occupied a place in the crowd on the road between high street and west maitland, a native australian woman in flowing robes, with a golden crown on her head, who was the head of a local tribe of blacks. standing beside her was a full-blooded son, who had lost a leg in france, whither he had gone in company with white squatters, amongst whom, prior to this, he had presumably been a stockman. she added to her memories and her dignities a word with the prince of wales. beyond west maitland the route passed through fine park-like country, with wooded hills and cultivated valleys, plainly visible in the bright moonlight which had succeeded a typically balmy new south wales winter's day. the train stopped and receptions were held at various minor centres, including murrurundi, a place full of the romantic associations of a bygone generation, when this part of australia was still a land of bush, broken only by very occasional squatters' cabins and mining camps. as the prince stood on a gaily decorated platform outside the station with orderly lines of returned men and neatly dressed lady war-workers beside him, one's mind went back to wilder scenes, enacted many years ago. a grey-headed man told how, on almost exactly this spot, a bush-ranger had been shot, after long eluding capture with the help of his sister, who was a waitress at the local drinking saloon, whence she used to ride out to his hiding-place at night in the hills, upon a horse borrowed from race-stables near by. in this way information and supplies were communicated to him, the midnight journeyings upon the borrowed thoroughbred not being brought to light until the time came round for the annual race-gathering, when the mud and sweat of its condition attracted attention. what became of the girl, my informant did not know, but she was honoured in the story if not in the incident. wallangarra, the border station between new south wales and queensland, was reached the following morning, when the prince again had the modified excitement of changing gauges. here he bade farewell to mr. hodgson, who had acted throughout the tour in charge of the railways of new south wales. he was welcomed by a distinguished group of officials representing queensland, who came on board the train. the premier, the hon. mr. e. g. theodore, was at that moment on public business in london on behalf of the queensland government; the governor, sir hamilton gould adams, had recently retired. their places were filled by mr. fihelly, acting premier, and mr. lennon, acting governor, pending the arrival of sir matthew nathan from england. from the border the track climbed steadily to the top of a pleasant wooded plateau, three thousand feet above sea level, dotted with rich orchards and gardens, which are being opened up in increasing numbers and of late at rapidly advancing land prices. it is difficult to realize at first sight how the fruit-trees manage to take root. some of the very richest and most sought after plots are a mass of tumbled rocks amongst which there seems room for nothing to grow, yet it is just amongst these rocks that the very finest peaches and apples are raised. a newly constructed branch line carried the party to the returned soldiers' settlement of amiens. here a cheerful crowd of some two hundred australians and british had assembled, accompanied by wives and babies, the wives in a surprisingly large percentage of cases from england, and the babies some of the healthiest looking imaginable. the prince would have liked to spend some time in this settlement, but an inexorable programme hurried him away. he had time, however, to hear a great deal about the felling, burning and clearing up of string-bark forest, the fencing and ploughing of the land, also the planting of it with fruit-trees of the finest stocks. he also saw a number of comfortable bungalows each with the amenity of a roomy veranda, in which the settlers live. ten acres of good soil were considered a sufficiently large holding to keep one man employed, and each place is arranged to include this area, apart from rocky or water-logged portions. the average out-turn of such a holding, when planted with suitable trees of six years' growth, is estimated, with prevailing fruit prices, at £ per annum. returned men, accepted by the local agricultural authorities as likely to succeed on such properties, and irrespective of whether they are from australian or british units, are able to obtain advances, as they may require them, up to a total of £ , against work done upon their places. these advances are repayable in easy instalments, spread over long series of years, at about five per cent. interest, which is less than the money at present costs to provide. most of the holdings, when seen by the prince, were only partially cleared and planted. the men were hopeful of pulling through, however, until the trees should come into bearing, their pensions and advances, eked out by the growing of tomatoes, potatoes and other vegetables, for which there appeared to be considerable local demand at remunerative prices, being considered sufficient to keep them. once the trees come into bearing their owners can reasonably expect to do quite well. the authorities estimated that, in the ordinary course, a man should be able to pay off all indebtedness within ten years, after which he would find himself the absolute owner of an unencumbered property, capable of indefinite expansion by taking up more land, and even without any expansion, sufficient to support the settler and his wife and children in conditions of comparative comfort. the life on these holdings is in the open air, in a sunny climate, without any extremes of temperature, amongst beautiful natural surroundings, and in an atmosphere so bracing that these well-watered uplands have long been utilized as a health resort. the breaking in of the holdings is, no doubt, very hard work, and here the government advances make it possible to pay for help in the case of men unequal to do the whole of it themselves. once this has been done, the work that remains, of cultivating, manuring, pruning, and spraying the trees, and of picking and packing the fruit, is very much less strenuous; and for those prepared for a life in the open air where country pursuits replace the feverish interests of the city, the prospect seems almost ideal. certainly those we saw entering upon it gave the very pleasantest impression. the man will, of course, do best who possesses those qualities which make him the lender, instead of the borrower, of the stump-puller, and the purveyor, instead of the buyer, of tinned luxuries at the co-operative shop and packing establishment. for all, however, there seems to be a living under conditions which must certainly be considered favourable. the sun was getting low when the royal train pulled up at warwick, a prosperous city in the breezy uplands of the darling downs two thousand feet above the sea level, home of sheep, mixed farming and white-stemmed forest trees. here in the central park, commanding a beautiful view of blue distant mountains, the entire population had assembled and the usual civic address was presented. i talked with two of the residents, both men from the thames valley, one a doctor, and the other a chauffeur. they agreed in not even considering the idea of going back to the old country. this part of queensland, they said, was a place where it was easy to make a living, an its warmth and sunshine were delightful after the english winters of which so little can be safely predicted. they would not admit that the summer was too hot, or that the drought from which this part of australia had only recently suffered had been more than a very temporary setback in the steady growth of continually increasing prosperity. the train halted for the night in open upland country, with delightful bracing air, one of the most beautiful sunsets i have ever seen painting a clear evening sky. the following morning, in warm brilliant sunshine, the track crept down the wooded slopes that gird in the darling downs, and emerged in the rich cultivated lockyer plain below. here fine red cattle were feeding down magnificent crops, six inches up, of green luscious oats, the settlers considering that this somewhat remarkable procedure increases the ultimate harvest of grain, by causing the young plants to stool out. beyond the lockyer plain the route lay through the liverpool hills whence it descended, by easy gradient, to brisbane and the sea. not a station, a village or a house upon the way, but was gay with decorations. the inhabitants were out upon all sides, on horseback, in buggies, in cars, or seated upon fence rails, every man of them hat in hand, every woman and girl a-smile, every child wide-eyed with excitement. operatives cutting down trees, navvies shovelling ballast upon the railway track, farmers plowing their fields, husbandmen pruning their orchards, stopped work and saluted or shouted a welcome as the train went by. boys raced beside the royal saloon in youthful endeavour to keep up. not a churlish glance, nor an indifferent face, was seen for a hundred miles. brisbane first presented itself in the shape of pleasant garden suburbs full of wooden houses on stilts, each surrounded by a garden of flowers. it developed, as the train rushed on, into the solid masonry of a closely built city. the heartsome sound of cheering accompanied all the way. arrived at the railway station, h.r.h. was welcomed with every formality. the state premier, the whole of the cabinet, the mayor and the city council, received him on the platform. naval and military guards-of-honour were in attendance. the usual procession of motor-cars was ultimately in motion, and carried the visitor through several miles of streets, in which elaborately decorated arches, made of wool bales, fruit, vegetables, and corn-sheaves, gave homely, delightful, convincing character to their setting. crowds lined the entire route and gave the prince a welcome the warmth of which was equal to that of any he had previously received. the way was kept by returned men, and long lines of women war-workers, including nurses and helpers of every kind, formed a solid wall of white on either side of the route for at least a quarter of a mile. in the albert square mayor maxwell read an address of welcome. at the university pretty girl-students, in black caps and gowns, raced one another across the grounds to get a second view of the prince after they had stood demurely at attention as he went past. on the grassy slopes of the wide domain beside the river, backed by an assemblage of ten thousand delighted school-children, the prince reviewed the men who had been keeping the route through the city. to render this possible every detachment had closed up and followed the procession after the cars had passed. in this way were gathered some two thousand men representing every arm of the service. the designations of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth australian divisions were in evidence on the flags carried past the saluting point. another interesting occasion during the visit to brisbane was the local agricultural exhibition, which never, in the long history of this popular institution, had been so crowded, the principal stores and other business establishments having all been closed in honour of the occasion. the proceedings began with a procession through the wool, wheat, sugar-cane, fruit, butter, cheese, pig, and cattle exhibitions halls, the prince and members of the committee making slow progress in the crowds of cheering spectators. the afternoon was devoted to a parade of prize-winning cattle and horses. this was held in a big amphitheatre--seventy years ago the crude "bora," sacred initiation ground, of queensland savages, now the beautifully turfed show-ring of the national agricultural association. here, in the presence of some seventy thousand spectators, the prince saw some very fine jumping, not devoid of minor mishaps. he himself ran to help to pick up a girl whose mount came down at one of the fences. by this time it will be noted that it was impossible to keep h.r.h. out of any kind of incident not strictly arranged for. he also assisted at an attempt, not the less interesting because it just failed of success, to lower the mile trotting-record of the track. leaving the show in the afternoon, the prince proceeded, in company with the acting premier and the lieutenant-governor, to farm park, where he took tea upon the grass with the mayor and aldermen of brisbane, in the midst of thousands of spectators. so closely was the civic tea-table surrounded that the red cross nurses, to whom fell the duty of waiting on the royal party, scarcely had room to perform their functions. the number of cups and spoons and other articles that became heirlooms in for the benefit of australasian posterity must be considerable. the prince was eventually extracted from the crush, and embarked, amidst much cheering and hand-clapping, upon one of numerous decorated motor-boats which took him, attended by a flock of yachts, across the wide brisbane river, in the yellow sunset, on a visit to invalid soldiers in the fine "anzac" hospital on the other side. another notable function in brisbane was the state dinner, at which representative men from every part of queensland were present, some four hundred sitting down. the prince was between the acting premier and the lieutenant-governor. the papal representative, monsignor cattaneo, occupied a seat on the other side of the lieutenant-governor. others present included the anglican bishop, the members of the state cabinet and the legislative council, and the chief justice. the streets outside were densely packed with people, who became so insistent in cheering after the prince had got inside that he left the banquet to wave to them from the balcony. mr. fihelly, in proposing the toast of the evening, emphasized that their royal guest had endeared himself to all with whom he had come in contact, and had been found to be "a man of parts, a man of ability, able to take his place amongst men, and one who would carry away with him the goodwill of all the people of queensland." mr. vowles, nationalist leader of the opposition, spoke in similarly loyal tone. the prince rose to reply amidst cheers, and developed his points in a voice which his hearers noticed had now recovered its clearness and resonance. in the course of a long and enthusiastically received speech he dwelt upon the wonderful reception he had had, the pleasure his visit had given him, and especially on the large part taken in the receptions by returned sailors, soldiers and women war-workers. referring to the soldier settlement he had visited on his way to brisbane, he congratulated the queensland government on the foresight and energy with which they had tackled the repatriations problems. "you cannot do too much," he said, "for your diggers, who played such a big part in saving the empire, and who should be looked upon as the backbone of the commonwealth.... my tour in australia, alas!" he continued, "is nearly over. it is particularly to the future of the commonwealth that my thoughts turn. my visit to australia has taught me that the spirit wherein your diggers volunteered, and fought and won, is not something unique or out of the way, which will never happen again, but the natural outcome of a national spirit which is going to make australia one of the great progressive nations of the world. their free and gallant services in the war have shown to yourselves, to the empire and to the world what you are and what you can do. with such a spirit in its men and women australia has a splendid future in its grasp. i came to australia already feeling a strong bond of comradeship with your troops: i shall leave it feeling even a stronger bond of comradeship with the australian people as a whole, and my heart will always be with them in their mighty task of building up the solid british fabric of freedom, justice and security with fair play for all upon this vast continent." another of the brisbane functions was a popular reception in the public gardens overlooking the river. here some thousands of people passed before the prince, who stood upon a dais, the acting premier beside him. girls presented bouquets of flowers. men and women stopped to wish him good luck on his homeward voyage, or to photograph him at close quarters. here and there an old-fashioned curtsy would be dropped, or cheering or hand-clapping started. the great majority of the people expressed themselves in a simple nod or smile, or waved hand or hat or handkerchief as they went by. one could not help recognizing, not only that they had taken the prince to their hearts, but that while paying him the great compliment of ceasing to treat him with formality, there was no diminution in the deference that was shown. when he left the reception he went back to his quarters in parliament buildings, where, marching up and down, were armed cadets in full service kit, volunteers from districts it had not been possible for the prince to visit, their expenses all paid by local subscriptions. there was no serious necessity for the services of these young warriors, but they represented the universal determination of north-eastern australia that "our prince," as by this time he had begun to be called, should lose nothing of pomp or royal circumstance while he remained the guest of their state. before the prince left, monsignor cattaneo, apostolic delegate, and the very reverend m. duhig, catholic archbishop of queensland, asked and obtained an interview at which they formally presented "the homage and devotion to the throne of the whole catholic community of australia." they dwelt upon the deep loyalty of this community and declared that the prince had won all their hearts. in the course of his visit to brisbane h.r.h. was shown state factories, state shops, state insurance offices, and state markets in full operation, a class of enterprise under experiment in natural conditions so favourable as to give it at least a sporting chance. he also heard much of the sugar-cane, coco-nut-palm and banana plantations, and the enormous cattle ranges of the northern territories where queensland rolls away into the tropics and there is rich land and to spare for a population as large as that of france. leaving brisbane one day during his visit to that city, the prince proceeded by train through a well-wooded country of rich black soil, just then a quagmire from heavy but welcome rain. he touched at a number of centres, including ipswich, head-quarters of woollen mills and coal-mines, and harrisville and boonah, country towns where farming and pastoral communities predominate. every stopping-place had been converted by unpaid local labour into a beflagged forest of greenery, in the midst of which the inhabitants of the entire neighbourhood, also many from far distant stations, had assembled. at ipswich the streets were lined by operatives and miners, and the welcome of this important place included a car procession through decorated streets, a popular reception, a mayoral address, and a civic luncheon served to the strains of one of the largest and best trained choirs in the state. vocal music as the accompaniment of food was an unaccustomed luxury to many of those present, but it did not appear to interfere with the general appetite. at boonah the proceedings were simpler but not on that account less impressive, although they took place in a pelting rainstorm. the prince waded through an ankle-deep stream of flood-water to an exposed platform, where, surrounded by a crowd of squatters, stockmen, farmers and their families, including large numbers of women and children, all standing in the downpour with streaming mackintoshes and umbrellas, he unveiled a fine marble war-memorial bearing three hundred names. he also shook hands with relatives of the fallen, and with numbers of returned men, nurses and other war-workers. on the way back to brisbane further centres were visited. amongst them were maryborough, a manufacturing and coal-mining city, where the steel skeletons of two twelve-thousand-ton steamers, under construction for the commonwealth government, towered amidst the decorations. one of the arches was surmounted by a group of blacks in native costume, armed with bows, arrows and spears, which they wielded realistically. another carried a dozen diggers in uniform. other places visited were tiaro, where the assemblage that greeted the prince consisted chiefly of agriculturalists; gympie, where the returned men, assembled in a war-memorial park, included gold-miners as well as farmers; cooroy, where the prince made the acquaintance of a large logging community; landsborough, where sugar-cane planters, and banana and orange-growers preponderated, and beerburrum, queensland's biggest soldier settlement, where he shook hands with a large number of returned men engaged in growing pineapples. the prince finally left brisbane amidst unforgettable scenes of national enthusiasm and emotion. the entire population of the city seemed to be in the streets. the neighbourhood of the railway station was blocked by masses of cheering men, women and children. the railway station buildings were besieged, the more influential folk, including the members of the state government, and their families, thronged the platform. the general public crowded windows, balconies, culverts, overbridges, and fences, wherever a glimpse of the train could be obtained. the start had to be three times postponed, so many were the prince's personal farewells. after the train got into motion, motor-cars raced beside the track, school-children were found lined up at wayside crossings, stumps and telegraph poles were perching places for daring climbers. everybody waved something, if it were not a handkerchief, a flag or a hat, it was the nearest thing to hand. i saw a vegetable hawker wildly flourishing his biggest cabbage, a housewife excitedly using a tablecloth as a signal of affection, a company of railway carriage-cleaners throwing their dusters upon the wind. workmen in overalls, carters with teams of horses, stockmen riding to their duties stopped and doffed hats as the train went by. "old lang syne" was taken up, again and again, by thousands of voices, to be itself drowned in a chorus of shouted "goodbyes." all the members of the cabinet travelled upon the royal train as far as the border of the state. the acting premier had to stay behind for urgent public reasons, but was so determined not to be left out of the proceedings that he attempted to follow the train in an aeroplane, and was only stopped by crashing heavily. the demonstration was so remarkable that even the queenslanders themselves were astonished at it. enthusiasm had taken possession of this democratic people, and there seemed to be no length to which they were not prepared to go. here was a country where the people are as sovereign as anywhere on earth. yet wayside villages and towns on the southward journey, one after another, took up and repeated brisbane's farewell demonstrations. the crowds at the railway stations, where addresses were presented, included in many instances definitely more people than the entire population of the immediate centre, this being due to farmers, squatters, and settlers bringing their families incredible distances by train, by motor, in buggies, or on horseback, so that they might not miss the occasion. in one case four well-mounted girls galloped astride nearly a mile, keeping abreast with the train, and arriving at the next station, where an address was to be read, just as the prince alighted. their spirited ride secured them a handshake and a compliment. the train halted for the night at toowoomba, in the heart of a wonderful agricultural region, which was found smiling under splendid crops. here the countryside had long been preparing for the prince's coming, and the celebrations were of the liveliest, everything, including decorations, gathering of returned men, civic banquet, and ball, being planned to create a record. the following morning the prince recrossed the border, over a carpet woven of yellow wattle flowers. it was a pretty thought and offered him much. xxi the jackaroo and others when the prince left queensland he had practically completed his official tour of the australian states. there remained for him the improvised series of visits to the back-blocks of new south wales, which took the place of the abandoned journey to new guinea. here he stayed in the houses of squatters, some of them controlling sheep-runs hundreds of thousands of acres in extent, and mingled in the most informal manner in country life and country pastimes. in the wonderful air of this region he regained much of the spring and energy he had lost in the preceding months of strenuous official touring. the government officers on the royal train meanwhile returned to sydney. the route taken by the prince after leaving wallangarra for the interior lay through beautiful scenery across the famous blue mountains. one looked out, as the train climbed upwards, across vast stretches of green-forested gorges and grey crags of fluted limestone, with purple and aquamarine ridges on the far horizon--a land filled only with the colour and the form of wild nature. the prince started on the foot-plate of the engine, which he drove himself up a one-in-thirty-three grade slope. although his journey was now entirely unofficial, numbers of people assembled and cheered him at the principal stations. at lawson he alighted and shook hands with returned men, including private duncan allan, the oldest soldier in the australian forces. later on, crossing the open bathurst sheep-downs, a halt was made at the wayside station of kelso, where horses were in waiting and he took, in the rain, a brisk ride across country, rejoining the train that evening at bathurst. [illustration: the backblocks: an unofficial fixture] [illustration: his favourite mount] the following morning the train reached coonamble, terminus of the railway, a township of wooden houses, situated on a vast grassy plain, in the heart of sheep-raising country, two hundred and sixty miles from sydney. here mr. oliver, president of the shire, accompanied by the local mayor and members of his council, received the prince upon the platform, and conducted him in a motor-car procession to a grassy park in the middle of the town, where he found awaiting him a large assemblage of people, including the usual contingents of returned men and school-children, also nurses and other war-workers. an address was presented, and thereafter the procession was continued to the racecourse, where horses had been collected. the prince and his staff mounted and set off across recently flooded country for wingadee, thirty miles distant, where the week-end was to be spent at one of the stations of the australian and new zealand land company. lunch was served in the open at one of the artesian bore-holes that furnish this country with water, even the severe drought which preceded the recent floods not having affected the supply. the prince here visited a typical bush saloon and in bush fashion called for drinks for all the settlers he found there. later in the afternoon he reached wingadee, where he was received by mr. mcewan, general manager of the company. he spent the afternoon riding about this up-to-date station and going over the wool-sheds. the host of his visit was mr. fechan, the superintendent. in the next few days the prince rode a number of horses, inspecting the wool-sheds and flocks, chasing kangaroos and emus, and had the opportunity of forgetting the formalities of public receptions. on the day of departure from wingadee he rode thirty miles back to the little country racecourse at coonamble, where he remained throughout the afternoon watching the racing in the casual mud-splashes of his own ride. the enclosure was crowded with squatters from all parts of northern new south wales, who gave him the most cordial reception, and followed him afterwards to the railway station to cheer the train by which he left for myowera, another small station sixty miles distant in the same great plain. here the prince stayed on the canoubar run in the house of mr. and mrs. mcleod, mr. niall, managing director of the company, supervising the arrangements for his entertainment, which were on the most hospitable scale. at canoubar he saw the working of a big sheep station in full operation, including shearing, sheep-drafting, wool-packing, and the driving of flocks by wonderfully trained dogs, also the handling and breaking-in of station horses. one of the merino rams shown to him had recently been bought for two thousand five hundred pounds sterling. as to the performances of the dogs, the confiding correspondents were told that they could drive a fowl into a jam tin, but i am not aware whether h.r.h. was asked to believe this. on the afternoon of his arrival he rode nine miles, much of it along natural avenues of gum-trees, to the country town of nyngan. his host accompanied him, mounted on his fine steeple-chaser bullawarra, once sent to england to run in the grand national. at nyngan the entire countryside was found assembled and the prince met a large company of returned men, besides relatives of those who would not return, nurses and other war-workers. all the school-children of the neighbourhood were also there. the programme included the laying of a foundation-stone, after which he rode home escorted by a bodyguard of light-horsemen, who gave a display of bush-galloping a mile outside the station. next day h.r.h. was made acquainted with the jackaroo. the jackaroo is neither a crow nor a parrot nor any kind of quadruped. he is a young gentleman of australia who desires to become a squatter, and who gives his services on a sheep-run for the opportunity of picking up the business. he was living, where the prince encountered him, with, half a dozen of his fellows, in a comfortable building with roomy sleeping quarters and an old soldier in charge of the mess. his food is plain but substantial and appetizing, a leading feature of it, the slab of "brownie" bread, full of currants, which tells its own tale of his age and digestion. the jackaroo spends most of his day in the saddle, riding long distances to outlying parts of the run, on the hunt for bogged sheep, or in supervising lambing or moving flocks from one paddock to another. often he will not see a living soul from the time he starts out in the morning until he returns at night, and he may even lose his way. he then makes a bee-line in the likeliest direction until he comes to the wire fence of the boundary, which he may follow for miles before he reaches a landmark he knows. the speedometer of one car which had been out on fence inspection the day before the prince arrived, marked miles, travelled in a single day, so it may be presumed that the jackaroo's bump of locality develops early. the squatter is generally glad to take on likely boys, as he finds them, when the first fecklessness is worn off, on the whole more conscientious than paid labour, an important point for work that has to be so largely delegated. the life is healthy and interesting, and on up-to-date runs like the ones seen, looked exceedingly pleasant. the young fellows come as a rule from families of good class and generally have means of their own--a combination which should make the life history of the jackaroo not unrewarding to the student of the fauna of these parts. his own point of view would have been worth obtaining, but being young he was modest and said little. he rode buck-jumpers for the prince. he buck-jumped rather specially well, as might be expected of a jackaroo. his name is a felicity that will outlive much topography. one wonders who invented it. the prince on several occasions shared in the sport of kangaroo chasing, which leaves fox-hunting standing. on one occasion he rode all day guided by sons of his hosts through vast paddocks fenced with wire, over an even carpet of young green grass, which was then just springing up after floods following three years of drought, and took many a jump over fallen trunks of trees killed by systematic ringing to make way for fodder raising. on the way thirty or forty kangaroos were seen and five of them were chased over formidable obstacles which the "old men"--the male kangaroos--cleared with extraordinary ease in their long hopping stride, at a pace that took greyhounds all they could do to overtake. these kangaroos eat sometimes by no means an inconsiderable amount of pasture needed for the sheep, and some years ago were being so extensively shot down that they were in danger of being exterminated. a close season was introduced and now they are increasing to the extent, in some localities, of again becoming troublesome. they are much the colour of the tree trunks, and until startled are easily overlooked in the bush. they are off with most wonderful grace and agility the moment they are disturbed and can even clear the high barbed wire fences by which the runs are bounded provided they approach at a right angle. when running parallel to the fence they cannot get the necessary foothold for a big enough spring. this is sometimes taken advantage of by the rider, who, being of course unable to put his horse over so formidable an obstacle, endeavours to head off the kangaroo in such manner that it may reach the fence at a slanting angle. in this case the chase continues alongside instead of being finished by the kangaroo's escape over the fence. when overtaken by dogs, which are often used in the chase, the kangaroo makes a gallant fight for life, and many a hound has been ripped open and killed by a well-directed kick from its powerful hind feet, before it can be shot. the emu also lent itself to the excitement of the chase during the tour. the big brown wingless bird much the size and shape of the ostrich, is quite unable even to jump, but runs as fast as a horse can gallop, and when pursued will charge a barbed wire fence so hard as to break its way through, its feathers protecting it from being seriously torn. it is on this account not beloved by the squatter, but it is seldom shot. the prince brought away with him two newly hatched emu chickens, creatures the size of ducks and prettily marked in shades of black and fawn. their quarters on the _renown_ were in a roomy cage on the superstructure, where they soon established a reputation as quiet, sober and well-behaved members of the ship's company. on several of his expeditions the prince was given a meal in the bush camp fashion. one of these was on the shady banks of a stream twenty-five miles from a station, from which he had ridden out in the morning accompanied by sons of his hosts. here quantities of dead gum-tree trunks were quietly burning, and were made use of for grilling chops and making billy tea. the latter is quite unlike and, to the hungry rider, infinitely preferable to the teapot variety. a tin-can is filled at the nearest water-hole and is carried to a burning tree trunk, on which it is gingerly balanced, usually with the aid of a stick, the tree trunk being as a rule too hot to reach without one. the water boils with extraordinary rapidity and the pot is quickly hooked off the fire. a generous handful of tea is thrown into the water before it ceases to boil and the resultant brew is drunk from any utensil that happens to be handy. nobody inquires what becomes of the tea leaves. one of the sights on the canoubar run was sixty thousand sheep recently returned from stations in well-watered districts, in one case five hundred miles distant by rail, whither they had been sent to stay over the years of drought. these sheep had all been carried by the state railways of new south wales, at extraordinarily low rates, and with surprisingly few casualties. they offered a concrete example of what had been done on a very large scale throughout the state, where the railways were able to save for the squatters hundreds of thousands of valuable sheep, which must otherwise have perished when the fodder supply gave out. the prince was so interested in what he saw that there was no getting him away before dark. by the time he was back in the station he had ridden over sixty miles without leaving the run. xxii amongst the sheep within the memory of men who have not yet reached middle age, sheep-rearing in australia was a gamble. at one time large fortunes might be made, at another the fruits of long years of thrift and labour might be swept away by causes which appeared to be outside human control. now the industry has become a science. the settler may make more or he may make less, according as the world price for wool is high or low. he has his welfare in his own hands, however, and has only to go the right way to work to make certain of a living. the removal of the rabbit-pest has been particularly complete. the prince saw wire fencing, extending in some cases in unbroken stretches for thousands of miles, which is at once so high and so deeply embedded in the ground that rabbits can neither burrow beneath nor climb over it. once a paddock, fenced in this way, has been cleared it remains permanently free. the principal measures for clearing are the systematic ploughing of every warren, which effectually stops the burrows, and thereafter the driving by dogs and horsemen of such rabbits as are above ground to the fences, where covered pits, led up to by long converging lines of wire netting, have been prepared in advance. the rabbits follow one another through drop entrances into these pits, thousands being sometimes captured in one night on a single run. the operation has only to be repeated, in one paddock after another, to free an estate completely. the value of the rabbits and their fur covers most of the cost involved. one may meet gigantic crates on wheels, each drawn by a dozen horses and sometimes containing twenty thousand rabbits, _en route_ to factories where the skins are cured and the flesh prepared for export. by these means many runs have been completely cleared, while others are in course of being similarly dealt with. as regards methods of fighting drought, in addition to the help given by the railways in moving sheep from drought-infected areas, to regions where the grass has not dried up, the storage of fodder in good years to make up for deficiency in bad ones, is a further measure adopted. artesian borings, even where they are inadequate for irrigation purposes, will water millions of sheep where the surface supply is defective. it was at one time feared that the tapping of the subsoil water over tens of thousands of square miles in new south wales, where the geological formations are such as to render this class of enterprise remunerative, would gradually exhaust the supply. experience over a number of years, including prolonged periods of drought, however, has not confirmed this apprehension. the prince was shown wells which had been running for twenty years without intermission. in some cases, it is true, fresh borings have had to be made, but it has been discovered that the failure of the old ones is almost always due, not to any deficiency in water-pressure below ground, but to the silting up or the corroding of the pipe itself. fresh bores yield full supplies, close alongside those that have given out. restrictions are rightly imposed by government upon the sinking of more than what is considered a reasonable number of wells in any one area, and up to the present, in the entire sheep region visited by the prince, this arrangement has allowed sufficient supplies to be forthcoming for the watering of all stock, even in such periods of prolonged drought as that from which this part of australia had very recently emerged. minor enemies of the squatter are the black carrion crows, creatures justly execrated by every back-block man. they are not unlike english rooks, but have the diabolical habit of attacking sick sheep and newly-born lambs, not infrequently pecking out their eyes. they are also charged with poisoning the wounds they make, so that a sheep may die which appears to have been only very slightly pecked. the harmless looking galahs, white parrots with pink breasts, make themselves only one degree less objectionable by eating the grain. both of these pests, however, are being got under, with the growth in the number of sportsmen with scatter guns in each district. the prince shot several galahs, and if his bag did not include any carrion crows this was chiefly because the good work of shooting them had already been so efficiently done. another trouble of the squatter, the silting up of his fences with leaves and dust in the hot weather, until they disappear and sheep and cattle stray over them unimpeded, is also being successfully overcome. on one estate enormous machines like snow-ploughs were shown, which were periodically pulled by horses along the windward side of fences subject to this mishap. floods come only occasionally, but the squatter has declined to allow himself to be defeated by them. the prince saw the bones of many a stray sheep that had been drowned in the last visitation of this kind. it is indeed extraordinary that such a thing should occur upon a table-land two thousand feet above sea level, where rain is ordinarily so scanty that drought is continually feared. the very rarity of heavy rain, however, makes the conditions such that the water-courses may be inadequate to carry off any sudden downpour, with the result that the flooding, when it does occur, may easily be very extensive, as the country for hundreds of miles on end is almost absolutely level. motor-cars have been used successfully to convey thousands of sheep, three or four at a time, from flooded areas to banks where they could exist until the water subsided. in other cases boats have been brought from incredibly distant rivers to carry stock to safety. much has also been done upon men's backs, for the squatter does not allow his sheep to perish if anything within human strength can help them. in this part of australia the grass is so thin that from two to five acres are required to support each sheep. this accounts for the immense size of the runs, which extend in some cases to hundreds of thousands of acres. one of the results of so much grazing space is that epidemics are almost unknown. on one of the runs the prince took a hand, with power-driven clippers in sheds, where one man shears, on the average, more than a hundred sheep in a single day, the wool fetching up to twenty-two pence a pound. fleeces so ticketed indicate the neighbourhood of the wool millionaire, and he was to be met in all stages of opulence. a run carrying fifty thousand sheep, each yielding a profit of ten shillings in the year for wool alone, is by no means uncommon in this part of australia, men who had established themselves in pre-war days, in quite a modest way, upon land leased from the state, not infrequently finding their incomes multiplied a number of times over as the rates for wool increased. the greater part of these profits has remained in the country, and much of it has been put into the development of the runs, and the improvement of the breeds of sheep, horses and cattle on them. in one of the stations a five-thousand-pound bull had recently been bought, and cows were valued at a thousand pounds apiece. on another, three rams were shown to the prince which were considered to be worth six thousand pounds, being an average of two thousand each. the methods of development adopted varied according to the financial position of the owners. a squatter with a long-established run who had paid off his mortgages, and had money in hand, would ordinarily keep more sheep upon a given area than his less prosperous neighbour, for the reason that he could afford to move them by rail in years of drought. the man more recently established, with whom money was not so plentiful, would keep his land more sparsely stocked. in one case only six thousand sheep were being raised, though the run would have supported twice that number in an ordinary season. here the owner did the whole of the routine work of the place, with the assistance only of his two eldest sons, lads in their 'teens, and occasional hired hands for shearing and fencing. the run possessing the five-thousand-pound bull was worked upon more expensive principles. it employed highly paid managers, overseers and stockmen all the year round, and was regarded as so up to date in its methods as to be quoted as a state model of efficiency and a sort of competitive elysium for jackaroos. both methods of working seemed to be successful, and both estates were making money. the heavy drop in wool prices that is now taking place will no doubt reduce the amount of the profits presently to be made. there is no reason to apprehend, however, that the industry will not adjust itself successfully to the new state of things. fortunes in the future may be harder to make than in the past, but the necessaries of life are assured to all engaged in an industry so self-supplying as is that of sheep-farming. the area suitable for it is still practically unlimited, and the open-air life it offers will continue to attract young fellows anxious to get away from the confinement of the town and the office. as regards the climate, all that i can say is that as far north as the prince's travels extended, the winter conditions then prevailing were delightful. the nights were sharp, and the days full of sunshine, and of a temperature that induced to outdoor work of every kind. never have i seen healthier looking people than those who make this part of the world their permanent home. the children that the prince found assembled in surprising numbers at every stopping-place, were sturdy and well developed. that the summers on these breezy uplands are sometimes hot was testified to by occasional underground chambers constructed so as to afford shelter in the middle of the day. every one agreed, however, that the nights were cool, and the health and longevity of the community phenomenal. the interesting claim was also made that the very warmth of the sun in summer was itself an important factor in keeping down disease alike in men and sheep. the lowlands along the coast of northern queensland, where such tropical staples as sugar-cane, plantains and coco-nuts are grown in quantity, were hardly reached, though brisbane, the most northerly seaport visited by the prince, was upon the outer fringe of this important region. in brisbane the climate was distinctly hot, though the inhabitants looked strong and full of health. further north, where the temperatures grow higher, we were told that numbers of italians are settling in and doing well. they have found conditions not altogether dissimilar from those of their own country, and are developing labour able to deal to some extent with the difficult problem of sugar-growing. on leaving myowera the prince proceeded by train to sydney. on the way civic receptions were held in his honour at a number of centres. he stopped off at dubbo, where white-dressed v.a.d.'s, each with a wand of yellow-flowering wattle, made a bower over his head as he passed from the railway station on the usual inspection of returned men. at wellington he found a crowd waiting to cheer him beneath flowering orchards shivering in wintry rain. blayney, although situated upon the chill slopes of the canobolas mountains and said to be the coldest place in new south wales, produced amongst its guard-of-honour a cavalry officer from india in the turbaned uniform of the fifteenth lancers, who had returned to his home in australia when peace was declared. another place visited was bathurst, where a procession through the town took place, and where the decorations and receptions were on a very extensive scale. in the course of his reply to a civic address, presented in this city, the prince said his visit in the interior had given him a glimpse of real australia. he had seen the richness of the country and had learnt the desolation that drought and floods could produce. "many," he added, "have suffered losses, and while sympathizing with their hard fortune, i trust the next few years may be years of plenty and bring them all they desire." on arrival at sydney the prince went at once to the _renown_. later in the day, his official tour having ended, he drove unescorted to the races, which he enjoyed like any private individual. the courtesy of the large gathering of race-goers was such that, although everybody wanted to see him, and much cheering took place, the stewards had no difficulty in preventing any inconvenience. before finally sailing, the prince spent four days in sydney, saying good-bye to his friends, and receiving them in the _renown_, which he made his home. amongst those he entertained were the commonwealth governor, the prime minister, the new south wales governor, the state premier, and the principal commonwealth and state officials. his staff, meanwhile, was kept busy receiving and dispatching his replies to a mountain of warm-hearted farewell messages, of which the following, from m. fihelly, acting premier of queensland, and head of the most advanced labour government in australia, may be taken as a sample:-- "your royal highness's visit will always be gratefully and affectionately remembered by the government and people here, who found the greatest delight in your presence amongst them, and who will henceforward regard you as a new link uniting the british peoples. we hope your royal highness will have a safe and pleasant homeward voyage, and that long life and uninterrupted happiness and good health will be yours. you came to our land as his majesty's most effective ambassador to us and we ask you to be our envoy to him, bearing renewed assurances that the lofty ideals which inspire our race are a living active force in australia to-day." amongst the individual replies dispatched by the prince perhaps one of the happiest went to the royal australian navy, which, after expressing thanks for escorts and other services, and wishing good luck to all, ended with the characteristic request that the main-brace might be spliced. in his general farewell message his royal highness said:-- "i am very sorry that my first visit to australia is at an end, and i wish on leaving to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to the government and people of the whole commonwealth for the pleasure and happiness which they have given me during my all too short stay. i have been deeply touched by the open-hearted affection shown to me everywhere, and i hope that australians have realized how much the warmth of their welcome has meant to me. it has made my first visit an experience which i can never forget and which will always bind me to australia as a real southern home. "throughout the commonwealth i have been impressed by the fact that the australian people as a whole have just the same free and gallant british spirit at home which the diggers showed so splendidly during the war. australia has appealed to me intensely as a land where british men and women may make a new nation as great as any nation of the past, and i shall be heart and soul with them in their aims and efforts all my life." [illustration: emu on a sheep-run] [illustration: good-bye to sydney harbour] "i refuse to say good-bye. i have become so fond of australia now that she can never be far from my thoughts, wherever i may be; and i look forward most keenly to the time when i shall be able to return." "my affectionate best wishes to her people, one and all." the last official function attended by the prince in australia was an investiture at government house, sydney, at which he conferred the following decorations on behalf of the king:-- on major-general sir c. b. white, commonwealth organizer of the visit, and rear-admiral grant, senior officer of the commonwealth naval board, the k.c.v.o.; on brigadier-general f. h. w. lloyd, brigadier-general dodds, commonwealth assistant organizer, and commodore dumaresque, commanding the australian fleet, the c.v.o.; on captain the hon. b. clifford, military secretary to the governor-general, the m.v.o. the following officers, who were in attendance during the royal tour, also received the m.v.o.: colonel f. b. heritage, lieutenant-colonel lionel robinson, captain j. g. duncan hughes, and captain r. james, and it was also conferred upon the following organizers of the prince's visit in various states: mr. clifford hay (new south wales), mr. whitehead (victoria), mr. blinman (south australia), mr. steer (queensland), mr. shapcott (west australia), and mr. addison (tasmania). royal victorian medals were also conferred upon seven motor-drivers who had been in attendance throughout the tour. every newspaper throughout australia meanwhile made the prince's departure its leading theme, the illustrated journals teeming with pictures connected with his going. the sydney "daily telegraph," on the day of his leaving, said: "at high water the _renown_ will carry the prince through the heads, on the first stage of his homeward journey. the prince himself goes away on another high tide--of popularity and goodwill." "if ever there was danger," the sydney "morning herald" said, "of australian opinion being misinterpreted through the utterances of a few noisy and churlish malcontents, it has been dissipated once and for all by the prince's experiences." on the th august the _renown_ weighed anchor in brilliant sunshine, to the sound of music, cheers, and salutes, every headland lined with people. flotillas of crowded steamboats raced alongside her as she made her way to the heads where the prince's letters overtook him in a fast australian destroyer, which had picked them up from aeroplanes dispatched especially from adelaide. as a final courtesy it was a happy touch, and if the _renown_ had been a sailing ship would have cheered her on with airs from home. the prince's visit was over. the unanimity and cordiality of his welcome everywhere had been a revelation even to the people of the land, who in the clash of local political creeds had hardly realized before how deep and universal was their feeling of citizenship in the empire, or how warmly this feeling would manifest itself towards one who came to them standing for that empire and asking only to learn the glory of australia's part in it. xxiii eastward ho after leaving sydney the _renown_ made a record run, much of it at twenty knots an hour, to catch up time. the prince thus arrived at fiji punctually to his programme, in spite of having been delayed at sydney waiting for the mail. he landed at suva, where he was received as cordially and by as large and picturesque a gathering as had greeted his first arrival at this port. his visit was informal, but he attended a civic reception in the beautiful botanical gardens, followed by a ride across country which was not without excitement. the party at one point were on a narrow hill road, with a bank on one side and a steep drop on the other. the prince was in front when they reached a tree-trunk which had fallen across the way, leaving no room to get past. h.r.h. dismounted and scrambled over with his horse in lead. the secretary to the governor, who was immediately behind, endeavoured to get across without leaving the saddle, but his animal slipped in landing and went over the edge. its rider, although crippled by the loss of one leg, managed to throw himself off upon the brink, where he clung precariously while his horse went crashing through the bushes thirty feet beneath him, rolling over and over as it fell. the prince was the first to get hold of his companion and help to pull him back unhurt into safety. oddly enough, the horse was able to carry him home, when eventually it had scrambled back to the road. the prince rode for some hours after this incident, dismounting on the way back, and doing the last eight miles on foot at a swinging pace. a dinner and dance at government house finished up the day. the _renown_ sailed from fiji the following day. on reaching samoa she lay in the open roadstead, facing misty hills, among which rose steep green cones of long-dead volcanoes. in the middle distance white-crested waves flicked their tails with a vicious curl in a leaden rain-flogged sea, which ended in a white line of breakers where the red roofs of the town of apia met the beach. the prince went off in a bounding launch, accompanied by colonel r. w. tate, the administrator. a mile of rough and tumble brought the friendly shelter of the reef. here a number of long low samoan canoes, with some forty semi-naked paddlers apiece, met the launch and escorted it with shouting and beating of wooden drums, as big as bath-tubs, past the rusty skeleton of the german _see adler_, wrecked upon the bar in the hurricane of , to a quiet wharf, where the prince landed in a bower of greenery and bunting. he was received by the principal people of the island, including the chief judge and other officers of the new zealand administration, also a number of missionaries. addresses of welcome were presented and the prince was conducted on foot over carpets of brown mulberry bark to the reception by the islanders themselves. lines of smiling samoans, naked save for loin-cloths of mat and bark and necklaces of crimson pandanus pods the size of fingers, lined the route and brought deep cries of "aue!"--"welcome!"--from the bottom of their lungs. the procession was slow and imposing. it ended in a grassy space beneath green coco-nut palms and white-flowering leva trees. the prince took the seat of honour in a decorated booth, surrounded by thousands of samoans, many of whom had travelled long distances from their homes by canoe. the ceremonies began with the presentation of a series of samoan chiefs, including the "high intercessor," malietoa tanumafili, brother of the late king malietoa laupepa, and the venerable tuimale fana, friend of robert louis stevenson. he is a sturdy, upstanding figure in the photograph in "vailima letters," broad-faced and well covered and content. that was a quarter of a century ago. now the years have bent and dulled him. the years, and perhaps the loss that dulls the world, for tusitala tells no more tales to any of us in this south sea island where he lived and where he knew so well he would die. one thought, if he had been living now, how glad a hand and how rich a memory would have been added to this journey, and how brimming a cup of imperial romance the _renown_ would have lifted to stevenson's lips. but tusitala could not come to the prince; so the prince went to tusitala, where he lies on the hill-top that meets the winds from the sea, and stood there for a while beside him. this was later. the samoan ceremony of welcome was long. the presentations extended to a bevy of island ladies garbed in frilled creations of bark, relieved with hibiscus blossoms, as scanty at both ends as a ball dress out of bond street. the high chief intercessor afterwards read an address of welcome in which he declared that god had been the prince's helmsman in bringing him to samoa. a move was afterwards made--there is no other way of describing the respectful suggestion, the start, the progress to an official fixture--a move was afterwards made to a thatched hut where the prince tasted samoan dainties spread out upon mats upon the floor. he also saw articles of samoan manufacture, including delicately carved wooden kava bowls, mats so fine that some of them were valued at a hundred pounds, and _tappas_, lengths of soft mulberry-bark cloth painted with many patterns, worn by the men, quite decorative in effect though not exactly pliable enough to suit a west end tailor. returning later on to the booth further ceremonies were successfully encountered, including the preparing and drinking of king's kava. semi-naked warriors, in head-dresses like hay-trusses ornamented with variegated berlin wool and pieces of looking-glass held in place by skewers, chopped and pounded white kava root, macerated the resultant pulp in a beautifully carved hard-wood bowl the size of a foot-bath, with water brought up in solemn procession in a galvanized iron housemaid's bucket, strained the concoction in a samoan mat, and carried it to the prince in a carved cup of coco-nut. national dances, participated in by both men and women, followed and a one-legged chief from one of the neighbouring islands read a further address of welcome. offerings were here presented, green coco-nuts, pigs roasted whole, masses of bark _tappas_ and mats. the sea had gone down when the prince re-embarked, and except that the war-canoes accompanied the launch right out to the _renown_, the ceremonies of departure were much like those of arrival. the visit occurred opportunely at a time when these rich islands of coco-nut and banana plantations were slowly settling down under new zealand administration after a long period of uncertainty during the war, followed by a much-dreaded influenza epidemic, which had swept away a terribly large proportion of their attractive and easy-going inhabitants. european residents said the prince's coming was having an excellent effect. it was already looked upon as fulfilling the samoan prayer that great britain should "remember this small branch of the great tree of empire." it was treated as an omen. "healthy are the travellers," declared one of the addresses, "we now meet with success"--and in islands so swayed by emotion, picturesque expressions of this kind no doubt indicate some corresponding reality in feeling. after leaving samoa the _renown_ called at honolulu, where the prince spent three days quietly, surf-riding and golfing, his experiences being largely a repetition of those of his visit to the island on his outward voyage, except that there were no official ceremonies. he stayed at the moana hotel as an ordinary visitor, dividing his time between the beautiful waikiki beach and the country club. nothing could exceed the kindness, hospitality, and consideration extended not only to the prince, but also to the entire ship's company of the _renown_ by governor mccarthy and other hawaiian residents, who, while scrupulously respecting the prince's desire that the visit should be without functions, did everything imaginable to render it as enjoyable as possible. the arrangements included drives around the island and other entertainments for every officer and man of the _renown_. on leaving, the prince issued a press note expressing his appreciation. "i was delighted with honolulu on my outward voyage," he said, "and most grateful for the kind welcome and generous hospitality given me by the governor, mr. mccarthy, and every one. i always feel happy amongst americans and in american territory, because american life appeals to me greatly, and i have many american friends--especially since my short visit to the united states last year, when i was deeply touched by the most friendly reception accorded me." the whole white population of honolulu assembled on the wharf when the _renown_ cast off. before leaving the prince had been presented with the usual farewell offering of ropes of flowers, which he duly flung overboard, in accordance with immemorial hawaiian custom, as the ship left the shore, in token that his friendship remained with this pleasant island though he himself was compelled to depart. as the ship cleared the harbour searchlights were played upon the waikiki beach where so many enjoyable hours had been spent. crossing the northern pacific the _renown_ touched mexico, where acapulco harbour, a deep, sheltered pool amongst hills of ferruginous rock and verdant jungle, held the ship for a day. on one side were the square, flat-topped bastions of the fort, with ancient muzzle-loaders pointing black mouths out of stone embrasures, muzzle-loaders which were fired quite recently at the late president carranza's gunboat, the _gerriro_, when it was shelling revolutionaries ensconced in the red-tiled city that climbs up the steep slope behind the wharf. the fighting was described to us in broken english by mexican traders doing business in dark verandahed houses opening out of the narrow streets. it had surged up and down the town in the form of desultory rifle-fire between the followers of carranza, who were in occupation, and those of the insurgent rebel leader, avaro obregon, who eventually drove them into the interior. carranza's gunboat simultaneously disappeared to sea. no great damage was done in the town. all that we heard of was the looting of shops, which did not appear to have been on any very considerable scale. after the firing had ceased, the civilians, who had mostly hidden themselves in the hills, returned and reopened their places of business. at the time of the prince's visit the walls of acapulco were plastered with rough zincograph prints of avaro obregon, a soldierly looking mexican, whose election for president was voted upon the sunday before the _renown_ put in to that port. nobody doubted that he would be declared elected (as has since been the case) for the excellent reason that no other candidate had been even heard of at acapulco. in the disorder so long in the ascendant the entire port has fallen into decay. dark-skinned loungers, in white cotton shirts and trousers, bare feet, and gigantic straw sombrero hats, smoked cigarettes upon benches beneath plantain trees in the central square. in the market-place were tethered mules with high-peaked saddles, also doing nothing and enjoying it. a couple of small bells rang out intermittently from a big catholic church with corrugated iron roof, but the only worshipper inside this draughty place of worship was a guide, who seemed to be returning thanks for unaccustomed profits brought to him by the royal visit. the planks of the empty wharf were so rotten that one had to walk warily to avoid mischance. on the beach were a few light fishing boats, one of which was engaged in taking out three of the governor's a.d.c.'s through the fine but deserted harbour to pay his respects to the prince. the governor, these gentlemen explained, was ill or would have been with them. the british and united states consuls came to the ship, where they were entertained to lunch. the prince afterwards landed and went for a walk ashore, while the _renown_ took in oil-fuel. bumboats with scarlet sails, presided over by dusky ladies in black robes and tumbled hair, hawked bananas, melons, earthen pots, sombrero hats, mexican swords, coloured blankets, and other locally manufactured articles, to the blue-jackets. an old missionary in the faded uniform of a captain of the royal navy, a rank he once had held, also visited the _renown_. he had recently arrived by mule from mexico city, some six hundred miles distant. the road is steep and rocky, but by no means unsafe. the railway, which is ultimately to connect acapulco with mexico city, though partly torn up, is still in working order for nearly half the way. it may some day shorten the mail route materially between europe and australia. the bags would be carried overland from some american port on the atlantic and re-shipped at acapulco for the trans-pacific voyage. business had not been altogether suspended in mexico city, banks remaining open and motor-cars plying in the streets. little was known in acapulco of the personality of avaro obregon, except that he had been a successful revolutionary leader. it was hoped he would prove strong enough to hold his own and put down disorder, thereby enabling prosperity to return to this much-vexed country, but fighting in mexico, as in ireland, is a temperamental gift and hard to lose. the _renown_ put out to sea in a sharp electric storm. warm tropical rain came down with insistent hammer, and lightning from all sides at once threw up the coast in brilliant outline, and illuminated an enormous crucifix upon one of the headlands, by which drake may have steered in his pursuit of spanish galleons three hundred years ago. the passage from the pacific to the atlantic, on the return journey, was quickly accomplished. the _renown_ arrived at panama at daylight, after an uneventful voyage from acapulco. she was received by the american authorities, who fired a salute of welcome. the canal was entered without a stop, and was traversed smoothly and in record time for so big a vessel. every lock was clear and every possible facility was afforded. dredgers were still at work at the slip which had delayed the _renown_ on her outward voyage, but an almost magical change had been effected in the interval by the removal of a million cubic yards of rock and earth. what had been a narrow, tortuous channel in june, had been converted by september into a spacious pool, where to the casual glance six _renowns_ could lie side by side. the hillside above looked as unstable as ever, but no fresh land-slips were visible, and even if they occur hereafter, as is to be expected, the canal has space to accommodate considerable subsidence without interfering with vessels getting through. at the gatun locks the prince went off by launch, in company with mr. markham, the pisciculturist of the canal, who succeeded in showing him some tarpon fishing. he got back at a late hour, muddy but radiant, with quite a catch, and re-embarked upon the _renown_, which was then moored alongside the christobal wharf at colon, taking in oil. h.m.s. _calcutta_ was also there, and the two vessels put out to sea the following morning. xxiv the west indies an epidemic in jamaica abridged the west indian part of the tour, but the _renown_ visited several of the other islands, beginning with trinidad, where the flotilla anchored three days after leaving colon in the quiet roadstead off port of spain. here sir john chancellor, governor of the island, came on board to pay his respects to the prince, who shortly afterwards landed. the entire city of port of spain had been effectively decorated. sugar-cane-stalks, cocoa-pods, and coco-nuts, were worked in cleverly upon arches, spanning its substantial streets, to represent the agriculture of the colony. the other main trinidad industries, asphalt and oil, were well in evidence in the smooth surface found upon the roads along which the royal procession passed. the crowds lining the route were made up in fairly equal proportions of negroes, east indians, and persons of mixed or "coloured" race. few europeans were seen until the legislative council building and the town hall were reached, where they were in considerable numbers. those presented to the prince included messrs. de b. best, colonial secretary, h. b. walcott, controller general, a. g. bell, director of public works, l. elphinstone, solicitor-general, colonel mui, commandant of the local forces, major rust, acting president of the civic council, rev. dowling, catholic archbishop, dr. ansley, anglican bishop, sir alfred smith, chief justice, also justices russell and deane, and father de caignai, head of the tunapuna monastery. the official address, read by the governor, made special mention of how much the island owes to the british navy, and the prince in the course of his reply also dwelt upon this matter: "you have well referred," he said, "to the security enjoyed by trinidad during the great war, in which the people of this colony contributed in worthy measure to the victory of british arms. i am particularly glad to have this opportunity of congratulating the colony upon its fine services, and of meeting some of the gallant men whom it sent overseas. i am also much pleased to hear the colony appreciates how much it owes to the royal navy for its tranquil prosperity during those terrible years." touching upon more local matters, the prince said the colony had given a high measure of prosperity to those whose forbears had made it their home. it had also provided new opportunities for progress and well-being for a large immigrant population from his majesty's indian empire. "i feel sure," he added, "that all its people, not only long established but recently arrived, will do all in their power to maintain its good traditions of law-abiding progress and loyalty to british ideals." the prince spent several days in trinidad, driving through its thickly wooded hills, past shady cocoa plantations, well-ordered coco-nut groves, and fields of sugar-cane. he also visited the old-time spanish capital of st. joseph, where an address was presented to him. he attended in port of spain a state dinner and various other official functions, besides inspecting a big gathering of children. in the course of his remarks, replying to the toast of his health at the state dinner, he said, "i saw a suggestion, before i left england, that the british empire might be willing to part with one or more of the british west indian islands to a foreign power, and i should like to say here again what i said in barbados in march, that british subjects are not for sale. i can assure you that the king and all of us in the old country have very much at heart the welfare of trinidad and all the british west indies, also of all other british possessions," a statement which cannot be too often repeated in sentiment or exemplified in fact. visits were paid to some of the oil-wells, which are already a source of much wealth to trinidad, and promise to become still more important in the future. the famous pitch lake was a sight along the coast, forty-five miles out. it is a semi-solidified deposit, lying in a shallow hollow, a quarter of a mile in diameter, close to the sea, where men have been digging out black slabs of asphalt for years without making a perceptible hole. the lake is so near the coast that ships sail practically up to it to carry away a product which is ultimately spread over the streets of the world. fifty thousand tons have been taken out of it every year for a generation, and the level is estimated to have sunk only about nine inches. oil underlies the pitch in the vicinity and a forest of derricks rises a quarter of a mile away. from trinidad the prince made a side trip to demerara, british guiana, in the _calcutta_, the _renown_ being too big to cross the bar into georgetown harbour. all the sunny richness of this steamy sugar and rice-growing corner of south america was in evidence when he landed at georgetown, immediately after the ceremonial visit of the governor, sir william collet. a fine west indian guard-of-honour saluted him upon the pier, and mixed crowds of anglo-saxons, negroes, east indians and portuguese cheered in the decorated streets as he proceeded to the government buildings. here more guards-of-honour were inspected, including armed constabulary and militia. the prince also shook hands with a long line of returned men. entering the building he found the leaders of the local community assembled, including the principal officials and their families. an address of welcome was read by mr. brown, a coloured west indian, senior elected member of the court of policy. archbishop parry and general rice were amongst those presented. in the course of his reply the prince referred to the great potential wealth of british guiana and to the determination of its inhabitants to develop their inheritance to the full. it was essential, he added, that all parts and sections of the community should pull together loyally, in order that their future might be assured, and particularly that the great inland wealth of the colony might be laid open for the benefit of all. he hoped their ex-service men would prove themselves as public-spirited and useful citizens in time of peace as they had on active service in the field. two days passed in demerara in the enjoyment of the hospitality of the governor and other leading residents. visits were paid to a largely-attended race meeting, to sugar and rice estates in the swampy flats around the city, and to some very beautiful botanical gardens, where the schools of the colony were assembled, and the prince passed down dense lines of negro, east indian, and european children. [illustration: samoa makes merry] [illustration: trinidad: in the dragon's mouth] as the _calcutta_ put out to sea ten thousand musical west indian voices on the georgetown wharves joined with the light cruiser's band in the strains of "auld lang syne." probably never in the history of this important british outpost in south america has patriotic sentiment held more undivided sway or the fact been made more clear that the hearts of its flourishing inhabitants still turn faithfully to the old country. its people are looking to england at the moment with some hope, as well, of that co-ordination of imperial resources of which british guiana stands so much in need. the labour question has never before been so acute. the recent abolition of the long-established indian indentures system, and therewith the cessation of immigration from india, has synchronized with enormous increases in world prices and world demand for the sugar which demerara is so pre-eminently qualified to provide, and for this more labour is wanted. the same question arises in connexion with new industrial developments, now on the eve of fruition, which must add enormously to the position that agricultural produce has already won for this colony. these will come with the exploitation of vast deposits of bauxite-alumina, that promise expansion of world-wide significance in connexion with steel manufacture, into which this comparatively new mineral is entering increasingly. the position, at the time of the prince's visit, appeared to be that a million sterling had been spent by an american company upon machinery and shipping and railway facilities for handling the ore, and that its effectual arrival upon the market was only a matter of time. that an american company should be spending such a large sum in the development of natural resources in british territory, was not the least interesting feature of the situation. it is to anglo-american co-operation that demerara and also the british west indies must look increasingly for brains, initiative, and capital for the development of natural resources which are as yet by no means fully utilized. the prince returned to trinidad through still steamy seas. dawn on the day after leaving demerara found the _calcutta_ passing the rocky portals of the narrowest of the three channels which make up the famous "dragon's mouth" entrance to the roadstead of port of spain. the shore on the landward side of this entrance was dotted with pleasant verandahed villas and fresh-tilled fields, signs of the civilization which is pushing back the forest in all parts of the island. on reaching port of spain the prince visited h.m.s. _calliope_, a light cruiser just arrived from the north. he also paid a farewell visit to the governor, and inspected the local fire brigade. in the evening he returned to the _renown_, which shortly afterwards heaved up her anchors and left harbour for grenada. at st. george's, the principal town of grenada, the prince landed on the sheltered cove of carenage, upon a decorated wharf on which was drawn up a guard-of-honour of the west indian regiment beneath the stone bastions of an old french fort. he was received with every formality by the principal officials, headed by sir george haddon-smith, governor of the windward islands, mr. joyce thomas, acting administrator of st. vincent, mr. herbert fergusson, colonial secretary, mr. e. laborde, colonial treasurer, and sir thomas haycroft, chief justice, also the heads of the local anglican, presbyterian, methodist and catholic churches. thereafter, up steep streets decorated with flowery arches, beneath the clanging bells of numerous churches, through smiling, bowing, cheering crowds of cheerful west indians and their gaily dressed women and piccaninnies, he was taken by car to the colonial court-house, where the leading residents were assembled. he entered through a shaded courtyard, where he shook hands with a number of returned men and officers. the address was read in a low-ceilinged legislative assembly room, with wide french windows commanding a wonderful view of city and harbour. in the course of his reply the prince said the strength and spirit of the british commonwealth could not be fully grasped by anyone without first-hand knowledge of the british dominions and colonies. "the more i see of the king's world-wide possessions," he added, "the more deeply i am impressed by the strength of the sentiment which binds them to the empire and the throne"--the truth of which was testified to by every street he had passed through. the prince was afterwards taken by motor into the interior, through some of the most luxuriant vegetation in the world, past cocoa and nutmeg plantations, up two thousand feet into the mountains, about the forest-shaded depths of the circular lake of grand etang, the crater of an extinct volcano. an official lunch and a garden-party at government house filled up the day, which ended with a reception given by the prince on the _renown_ to the principal residents of the island. leaving grenada at daylight the _renown_ threaded her way through the clustering grenadine islands and past the steep twin green cones of the inaccessible piton peaks, and anchored near the pigeon rock--admiral rodney's eighteenth-century naval base. the prince, accompanied by sir george haddon-smith, who had come on with him from grenada, landed at castries at noon, where he was received by colonel davidson-houston, administrator of st. lucia, supported by mr. anthony de freitas, chief justice, and other members of the executive council. st. lucia's special arch was of coal, token of the colony's importance as a west indian coaling-station. from under it his royal highness proceeded through decorated streets, the entire population of which had assembled to welcome him. the first stopping-place was in columbus square. here, in the warm shade of big coco-nut palms and mango trees, a thousand children were drawn up, each school flanked by teachers, many of whom wore the black cassock of the catholic church. the prince afterwards climbed a hill overlooking the town, and wandered through the deserted barracks of historic fort charlotte, where his great-great-grandfather, the duke of kent, father of queen victoria, hoisted the british flag in , after the capture of the island by forces under sir charles grey and sir john jervis. here, standing amidst luxuriant tropical vegetation, he looked northward to the rocky vigie promontory, on which he could descry lines occupied by sir william medow's thirteen hundred british, who in hurled back invading enemies twelve thousand strong. westward he looked over the muddy cul-de-sac bay, where sir samuel barrington, in the same year, fought a desperate engagement with the french fleet under count destaing. eastward also the scene was full of historic interest, for here, beyond the red roofs of castries city, was visible a distant palm-shaded beach, where moore and abercromby effected their landing in . descending the steep grassy morne, the prince afterwards attended a popular reception at government house, and thence went back to the _renown_. the still hot dawn of the following day found the ship passing the green hills of the island of martinique, birthplace of the empress josephine, also the bare sea-girt diamond rock off its coast, where, a hundred years ago, for eighteen lurid months, gallant lieutenant maurice and a hundred and twenty men with five guns from h.m.s. _centaur_ beat off attack and themselves threatened all approach to the important harbour of the enemy in fort-de-france. here also, towering into the clouds, were visible the dim slopes of mount pelee, the eruption of which, eighteen years before, had brought death in a few hours to forty thousand people. thereafter, through summer seas, crossing the place of the decisive battle of the saints, the _renown_ pushed on, anchoring before noon off the pleasant town of roseau, capital of dominica island, and head-quarters of the lime-juice industry of the world. as she neared the shore, the ship was met by the sound of cheerful bells, reflected out to sea from church towers backing upon green hills that rose into peaks, extending tier beyond tier in the interior, in such tumbled form that columbus, describing it to his queen, compared the island to a fistful of crumpled paper. here the light cruisers _calcutta_ and _cambrian_ joined the _renown_, the three vessels making a fine show as they lay together, decked with bunting, in the brilliant sunshine of the roadstead. the prince landed at a decorated pier jutting out into the harbour. he was welcomed by sir edward merewether, governor of the leeward islands, mr. robert walter, a descendant of the founder of "the times," administrator of dominica, dr. nichols, senior member of the senate, and other leading residents. a guard-of-honour of the local defence force was in attendance, and a crowd of gaily-dressed west indians. a little group of yellow malay-faced caribs, representing the survivors of these now nearly extinct aborigines, stood on one side. their chief, an old man in top-hat and black coat, was one of those with whom the prince shook hands. the scene as the prince proceeded inland from the wharf, with cheering west indians racing alongside his car, was one of much quaint excitement and enthusiasm. he was taken in procession through decorated streets, masses of coloured dominicans and their womenfolk clapping, shouting and laughing as he passed. "than' god i not die las' week," was one pious cry, to the accompaniment of the widest grin. some beautiful botanical gardens, containing big trees, all grown in the space of twenty-seven years, were inspected, and a visit paid to government house, which stands in pleasant, shady grounds. the prince re-embarked in the _renown_ at sunset. unlike most of the other west indian islands, which did well out of sugar during the war, dominica, when the prince visited it, was recovering only slowly from war depression which had hit its previously flourishing lime industry hard. this very depression, however, had increased the available openings for newcomers, good land offering at very reasonable rates. as the result, we were told, increasing numbers of returned men were settling there, with bright hopes of making good amongst beautiful surroundings and in a climate which is one of perpetual summer. at monserrat, a small island with open, cultivated fields contrasting with the dense tropical jungle of dominica, the prince was received by mr. condell, the commissioner, and other leading inhabitants of the colony, which is prospering in the good prices at present offering for its sea-island cotton. boiling sulphur springs, in a vast rocky cauldron of steam, upon a mountain-side covered with aromatic cinnamon gardens and flourishing fields of sea-cotton and potatoes, were things to see if not to smell. the prince was cheered by crowds of coloured folk, who, in their broken english, still retain distinct traces of a brogue inherited from one side of an ancestry which dates back to , when irish immigrants were taken to the island by sir thomas warner. it was a quaint mixture. the _renown_ put out to sea in still murky weather, with a yellow ring round the moon, signs significant to all sailor eyes, and not rendered more cheerful by the knowledge that a wireless message had reached the ship, reporting one hurricane in the gulf of mexico and another off the coast of texas. the _renown_ slipped through a smooth sea, however, to antigua, completely escaping bad weather. antigua proved to be another open island, not unlike monserrat. the ship anchored five miles at sea off st. john's, a small sheltered harbour in which, three centuries ago, prince rupert successfully attacked two of cromwell's ships. here a number of wooden fishing boats, of half a dozen different nationalities, formed a lane of many-coloured bunting through which the prince's picket-boat was conducted to a decorated wharf. sir edward merewether, governor of the leeward islands, who had come on in the _renown_, mr. johnston, colonial secretary, mr. griffith, colonial treasurer, very rev. shepherd, dean of antigua, and members of the local executive and legislative councils welcomed the prince at the landing-stage. thereafter, through decorated streets of dazzling white wooden houses, reflecting back the tropical sun, and alive with cheering coloured folk, the prince went in procession to the old colonial court-house. here, in the presence of an assemblage of the leading citizens and their families, an address of welcome was read by mr. griffin, chief justice of antigua. the prince replying, referred to nelson's having refitted his ships in this island before the trafalgar campaign. he once again testified that his own travels had been a wonderful experience and that he hoped to have many opportunities of repeating and extending them in the future. a pretty function followed on the breezy cricket ground, where a surprisingly large gathering of white school-children, besides masses of coloured mites, cheered the prince enthusiastically. a state luncheon was afterwards given by the governor, followed by a popular reception in government house grounds. the _renown_ then sailed for the bermudas, and the royal visit to the west indies, during which the prince's cheery presence had produced the happiest impression, was over. the pleasure of the europeans at seeing him in their isolated corner of the globe was almost pathetic. for those of west indian blood the occasion was also a memorable one. it certainly revived feelings of solidarity with great britain which have sometimes been strained by that preaching of race-prejudice from which no people situated as these are can ever be completely exempt, be the white administration never so tactful. never, perhaps, has there been greater occasion for tact, as well as strength and sympathy, in the political guidance of the islands than exists to-day. at the moment the west indians are exceedingly prosperous on the whole, owing to the phenomenal war-prices their sugar, cotton and other produce have been fetching in the markets of the world. but the quarter of century or so of lean years that preceded the last half-dozen fat ones, have limited their outlook and retarded their development in all directions. they have become isolated. they lie between two worlds, with a tendency to take their ideas from their neighbour the united states rather than from the distant mother country or from canada. the only public information of any interest reaching them by cable of happenings throughout the world is supplied through new york. american capital is displacing british for the development of their mineral and other resources. their agricultural produce tends more and more to find its way to the united states. their visitors from great britain and the dominions are few compared with those arriving from america; yet that this state of things can be changed is proved by the partial revival in relations with the british empire that has followed the conclusion of the recent admirable west-indian-canadian agreement. this agreement, however, is only one step in the right direction, and requires to be followed by many more. direct steamers and direct cable communication with great britain are specially needed. the growing demand of the west indian population for progress towards self-government, within the empire, is also a matter of which the importance cannot be too strongly emphasized, though self-government cannot be realized without local readiness to face additional taxation and expenditure. the splendid colonial civil service, sent out from london, has governed the british west indies faithfully and well for many years, despite inadequate remuneration, and often discouraging deficiency in recognition from public opinion at home; but the day when rectitude in administration and efficiency in maintaining security and justice were sufficient by themselves to satisfy the imagination of a coloured people is passing away. the time is coming for new developments, in the interests alike of the west indies and of the empire as a whole. the direction these developments must take is indicated by the nature of the situation that stands so plainly in view. its evolution upon practical lines, in relation to the all-important question of the raising of funds necessary to pay for direct steamers and cable services and the attraction of settlers and capital from the british empire, is a matter that, though difficult, is no longer impossible as in the past, for the reason that the recent growth in material prosperity in the islands has removed the bar hitherto existing to proposals for new taxation. in all consideration of the matter, of course, the fact has to be envisaged that the post-war conditions, which are affecting the world as a whole, are potent also in the british west indies, and that no policy which does not take them into account can remain at all permanently in force in these important islands. the position of the negro population in the united states necessarily reacts upon that of the corresponding people under british rule. propaganda is undoubtedly passing from negro organs in the republic to all the british islands. this propaganda takes into consideration the political conditions in cuba and puertorico, which differ constitutionally from those obtaining in the british west indian colonies. it has also to be remembered that the constitutions of the various individual british islands differ amongst themselves, and that the formulation of a uniform policy for their development may reasonably be looked for in the near future. such a policy must recognize the interests of the labouring classes as well as of the old planter families. it would seem, at present, that the governments have some difficulty in reconciling these two points of view, towards which they have equal responsibilities. xxv the bermudas the picturesque islands of bermuda, in the north atlantic, the last halting-place upon the prince's tour, put up a brave show in honour of the royal visitor. the _renown_ anchored at daylight on st october in the open sea off what is known as "five fathom hole," where the cobalt of the deeper sea shaded into greenish patches above treacherous coral reefs. through tortuous channels the _calcutta_, to which the prince had transhipped, felt her way, skirting on her left a prominent rock celebrated as the "ducking stool," testing-spot of seventeenth-century witches and place of punishment of scolds, where a battery of artillery fired a salute. a little inland of the ducking stool a green hummock rose, topped by government house. admiralty house also stood out pre-eminent amongst smaller villas. on the right, as the _calcutta_ passed on, curved a long sickle-shaped arm of rock forming the other side of the harbour, and terminating in the white sheds and fortifications of the naval dockyard. in the middle were tiny rocky islets between which the _calcutta_ steered with margin only of a few feet on either side. upon the way the u.s.a. battleship _kansas_, under rear-admiral hughes, a vessel sent to bermuda by the united states government in honour of the prince's visit, fired a welcoming salute. coral-rock houses are a characteristic feature of bermuda. they are built of squared blocks sawn out of the hillside, and have sloping roofs of similar stone rendered watertight with cement. one finds them everywhere. in the country their grey walls and roofs are surrounded by wildernesses of brilliant flowers, including purple bougainvilleas, the aptly named "flamboyants," and pink oleanders, with smooth lawns, terraced vineyards, and overgrown vegetable gardens sheltered by sombre conifers. in the city one finds sky-scraper hotels and substantial offices, workshops of bermuda's principal industry, which is that of catering for the american tourist, who flies to this sunny spot to escape the new york winter, and dine where he may still drink. the prince's visit took place in the off-season of hot weather when the principal hotels are closed. the entire city had nevertheless been decorated, and a large proportion of the twenty thousand inhabitants the islands boast, assembled along the club wharf in hamilton city, where the landing took place. they consisted, for the most part, of cheerful negroes and coloured folk, with a considerable proportion of well-dressed whites, including many americans. a guard-of-honour of the royal sussex regiment, in familiar khaki, stood to attention on the landing-stage, rifle-barrels gleaming in the fierce sun. here also waited sir james willcocks in white uniform ablaze with war medals, also admirals hughes and everett and their staffs, and the principal civilian officials in the perspiring black morning dress of more temperate zones. the prince and his staff landed unostentatiously in white naval kit from a brass-funnelled steam picket-boat. the usual procession of carriages was formed, after the reception formalities, each drawn by a fine pair of horses, and the prince was taken through decorated streets to the house of assembly, where he inspected a guard-of-honour composed of seamen from h.m.s. _calcutta_. within were assembled members of the executive and legislative councils and other leading residents and their families, in the garb with which civilized ceremony defies temperatures the world over. the governor read an address of welcome, in the course of which he reminded the prince of their having met in france, where he, sir james, was in command of the indian army corps. the prince, in the course of his reply, referred to the celebration of the tercentenary of the establishment of representative institutions in bermuda, then taking place in the island, having been postponed for a month to coincide with his own visit. he also acknowledged the courtesy of the united states government in sending the u.s.s. _kansas_ to meet him. in conclusion he touched upon the impressions left upon himself by his tour and its lesson of the unity, strength and devotion which bind all parts of his majesty's dominions to british ideals. later on in the garden of the public buildings the prince laid the foundation-stone of a war-memorial, the bermuda volunteer rifle corps and militia artillery furnishing guards-of-honour, and relatives of fallen men being presented. on the following day the prince inspected the royal navy dockyard, and placed a wreath upon the grave of the late admiral napier, until recently in command of the royal west indian squadron, who was one of the victims of an outbreak of typhoid in these islands. he also paid a farewell visit to h.m.s. _calcutta_, flagship of the royal west indian squadron, which had been his escort throughout the tour in these waters, and said good-bye to its officers and men, at the same time conferring the knight commandership of the victorian order upon admiral everett, and the companionship on captain noble, r.n. the final day of the prince's visit to bermuda found him at st. george, the quaint coral-built old capital, to which he drove himself from government house, hamilton, in a high-seated mail phaeton, with two horses, sir james willcocks beside him. the drive was twelve miles along the coast, through most beautiful country, a fresh sea-breeze mitigating the heat, which had previously been trying. much of the way the road was shaded by feathery lignum-vitæ trees, here known as cedars, which have deliciously scented wood and were once a rich asset for shipbuilding. flowering groves of pink oleander, dense thickets of scarlet, pink and yellow hibiscus, purple masses of bougainvilleas bordered the way, which was past garden after garden of the wonderful rich red loam which has won for bermuda potatoes, bermuda onions and bermuda bananas a reputation almost world-wide. _en route_ the prince alighted to look into the shadowy depths of the devil's grotto, a deep rock-bound pool of clearest water connected with the sea, in which big fish of brilliant colours swim lazily. he also wandered hundreds of yards underground, through an extraordinary rift in the coral formation known as the crystal cave, from hundreds of thousands of semi-transparent stalactites, many of them reaching from floor to ceiling, in some cases overhanging still pools of clear salt water, or forming grotesque figures, with which the electric lamps, that light the place, played the most fantastic tricks. the cave is one of a number in different parts of the islands, and claims to be of extraordinary antiquity, the stalactites growing at so slow a rate that a hundred thousand years are believed to be represented by a mere fraction of their length. the entire route from hamilton to st. george had been decorated, the arches representing an immense amount of willing labour. one of them had been solidly constructed of square blocks of sawn coral rock by coloured volunteers, who had built it at night after their ordinary working hours were over. another, which had been put up by members of the garrison, was a wonderfully worked-out reproduction of the sailing ship _patience_ built near by, over three hundred years ago, by which the shipwrecked crew of sir george somer's ship _sea venture_ made their way to virginia. this arch was entirely constructed of the local cedar, which was the wood used in building the _patience_. at st. george the prince was entertained by mayor boyle and members of the local town council, the mayor's tiny but very self-possessed grand-daughter presenting a bouquet, the last local attention of the tour. he was given a great send-off when he finally embarked by launch to rejoin the _renown_ waiting for him beyond the reefs with the end of her mission in sight and her blunt grey nose pointing toward home. eight days later, on the th october, early in the morning, the heart of england turned for a moment to her old harbour of portsmouth, where, through one of her own october fogs, her great battle-cruiser was drawing majestically into port, bringing home from his second journey to kinsfolk the eldest son of her royal house. perhaps the heart of england felt a certain pride.... xxvi the significance of the tour this chapter is, by kind permission, largely reproduced from an article by the writer published in the "nineteenth century" of december, . "the tumult and the shouting dies," and what, now that it is over, remains to britain of the enterprise? what treasure came back in the _renown_ to make this royal adventure worth while? the word may be disputed. the nation's heir, it may be said, does not adventure in travelling to the hearths of kinsfolk. there is no adventure in a voyage surrounded by every means of safety and comfort that modern science can devise, a voyage backed by the blessing and sped by the hope and pride of this sound old mother country. yet in the fluid state of social and political emotion to-day it was an adventure, a challenge in the very teeth of those unbridled forces that are so blatant and busy in the disservice of the british empire, and a challenge before which not one of them raised its head. the constantly recurring scene of the prince making acquaintance with overseas audiences is long since familiar. it has been depicted in the columns of hundreds of newspapers and actually thrown before the eyes of thousands in cinemas. it is far more than a twice-told tale that his royal highness was everywhere received with enthusiasm which was altogether phenomenal, that he was everywhere able to draw the whole of the inhabitants of the places he visited away from their business, their occupation or their pleasure, to concentrate during the time he was amongst them, the whole of their attention and interest upon himself, and the idea of race, empire and loyalty for which he stands. in so far as the hackneyed words of newspaper reports can produce that effect, their reiteration must by now have turned the remarkable scenes of his progress into a kind of royal commonplace, and retired them into the back of the popular imagination as matters to be taken for granted. it is difficult to put into terms of flags and decorations, patriotic songs and calculated multitudes, however gay and hoarse and unexampled, anything of the fine essence discharged from men's hearts and minds that made the soul of these occasions. only perhaps to those who actually saw them will they survive conventional description, as experiences of the rare sort that baffle it. it did not seem to matter who his audiences were. keen, sharp american business men with square jaws and shrewd eyes, to whom a prince would necessarily hover somewhere between a figure of mediaeval romance and a comic anachronism, proved no less susceptible to the something he has to offer than the crowds of our own family in new zealand, tasmania or new south wales. queensland, with its advanced labour government, its public ownership of utilities and enterprises, its schedules of progress in which at least no conspicuous place is allotted to royal personages, proved just as enthusiastic as did conservative new zealand. centres of culture, learning and wealth like sydney and melbourne, showed exactly the same spirit as did rough mining and logging camps, and lonely sheep stations in the far interior. cornish gold diggers of bendigo and ballarat rivalled the cordial welcome of the welsh coal-miners of westport and greymouth. catholic irishmen newly arrived in cattle stations in northern and western australia mustered as keenly in honour of the prince as presbyterian farmers in settled tasmania. fuzzy-headed fijians, dignified samoans, polynesians of honolulu, negroes of demerara and trinidad seethed and bubbled with like enthusiasm. there was more than the personal factor in an appeal so widely honoured, more than the touch of romance upon imaginations untravelled along royal roads, yet recollection harks back irresistibly to the spectacle of the human equation as between the prince and his audiences. there is no other way of explaining their quick pleasure at the sight of him and their instant and unerring formulas for his relation to themselves and to the world. anything mechanical, anything perfunctory, would have worn out with the first gratification of curiosity; but a point which struck the onlooker was that enthusiasm grew instead of cooling off, as the prince's visit to each place continued and as acquaintance with him ripened. "yes, but only once," was a little australian girl's wistful answer when asked if she had seen the prince. nor were children of a larger growth content with only once. their eyes could not be too well filled with this young symbol of their race and empire, whose person pleased them and whose negligence of the pomp and privileges their minds had given him upset their preconceptions with a thrill of delight. to be of the imperial present, with its dignity and untarnished splendour, to come of the royal past with its long discipline of duty and decoration of anointed names, and to let it all sink as the prince lets it sink into the simplest background of his personality, is an achievement--or should it be called just a habit--which makes at once the happiest appeal to human nature, the world over. he does not even appear to be aware that these things should do anything for him. he is as diffident as, say, the naval officer who blocked zeebrugge harbour or the flight-lieutenant who brought down the first zeppelin over london. the touch is british and of the essence. it is an odd inconsistency of race consciousness which makes us recognize and take pride in it, but we do. another characteristic almost as immediately perceived by an audience is the prince's plain delight in giving pleasure, his obvious satisfaction in doing the thing that he has to do and doing it well. there are endless stories of his disregard of physical fatigue in the desire to take out of himself every ounce that could be given to the gratification of public gatherings. there is never a hint of boredom in his face or bearing. thus the bond of sympathy is complete. the people are there and he is there for the same purpose, and nothing breaks the circuit of goodwill. there was something naïve and touching in the constantly possessive note that hailed him "ours" from the wharfs of sydney to the string-bark avenues of perth; and to this claim also something in the prince responds with an unselfishness that might be the supreme lesson of kings. the prince's personality is greatly deepened and broadened by his speeches, which in their simplicity and directness are perfectly the expression of himself. they never exaggerate, and they never fall short. they are pervaded by a sincerity that is perhaps more than anything the secret of their instant appeal. there is no forcing of the note, no effort at elaboration, no sacrifice to rhetorical points. withal he says the things that people instinctively expect and want to hear, and he says them with a happy grace and a plain belief in the message that underlies them all, the assurance of the strength and solidarity of the empire for which he speaks. the whole projection of this royal personality upon the world is extraordinary. look at the circumstances under which it is made. the passionate under-trend of society towards the dogmas of democracy, the tragic extinction, within the last five years, of more than one dynasty, the perpetual tendency of privilege, royal as well as any other, to liquesce into the common stream of human rights, are all against him. one would have supposed that roses strewn in the path of a prince, at this point of the world's history, if strewn at all, would be none of nature's growing. yet this prince seems to prove that the king and the king's heir are far more a part of the people and bred from the nation, than any president. the prince stands for the people. his character has been formed, his ideals fostered by healthy english training. it may possibly not be far-fetched to say that he is the product of intensive cultivation along national lines. thus he appeals to the nation's pride of possession, and his place in their hearts is ready before he occupies it. it is no depreciation of the personal magnetism of the heir to the throne to say that he brought to light and stimulated imperial enthusiasm already existing below the surface, and waiting only to be evoked, rather than that he created anything not already in being. nevertheless, it must be remembered that the idea of the empire as a union of sister nations co-operating and sharing ideals and hopes in a future they are bound together to bring about, is a young idea, as young as the prince. it is not long since the dominions and india had little beyond domestic affairs to exercise their powers of administration upon; their share in the imperial idea was largely commercial, and chiefly concerned with the attraction of capital for the development of their natural resources. they had no voice in the world policy of the anglo-saxon race, and no apparent prospect of getting it. the prince and his youth happily blend in the new partnership and the new prospect, making for all of us a very potential figure. beside the charm, the buoyancy of youth, he has the romance of an epoch of world history full of possibilities for the peoples who live under the british flag. to this romance he contributes all that he is, and he contributes it in the most whole-hearted manner. the prince was never tired of referring in his speeches to the bond created by common service in the great war. wherever he went it was the returned soldier that he must see and greet, wounded or whole--how often has this chronicle had to dwell upon the long lines of them. "returned sailors and soldiers, relations of the fallen, nurses and war-workers," backed by the shouting school-children--they have risen perhaps with some iteration before the eye of those who have followed the tale. but, looking back, the splendour fades out of the tropic sky and the opulence out of the great city, the whole panorama of sheep-run and factory, orchard and mine rolls up into a decoration; and the meaning of all we saw abides in those men and women and children working out their lot and their lives far from the home of the race, but standing, and ready to stand again, for its flag and its ideals. "one heritage we share though seas divide," declared the citizens of sydney with the emphasis of a triumphal arch. the claim rang true. distance cannot weaken this tie, nor oceans wash it out. no one undervalues the picturesqueness of the emotion the prince has evoked amongst members of other races living under anglo-saxon tutelage and protection, but the real significance is in what it has drawn from peoples of our own stock. supreme among the values that come out of it is the enduring quality of the british portion in the things of the mind and of character, in ideals, and standards. it is no vague sentiment that binds together the various branches of our people, but a unity that lives. the part of the prince of wales has been to waken a new consciousness throughout the anglo-saxon world. he stands for all that joins us and for all that we can do when we are together. index acapulco, adams (sir hamilton g.), addison (organizer, tasmania), adelaide, albany, allan (pte. duncan), allardice (sir wm.), allen (captain m. c.), american kindness, , american-west-indian relations, amiens, anglo-american co-operation, ansley (bishop, trinidad), antigua, _anzac_ (h.m.a.s.), arthur's pass, ashburton, atkinson (mr. robert), auckland, _australia_ (h.m.a.s.), , australian bight, avaro obregon, baker (broken hill co.), balboa, , balclutha, ballarat, barbados, barton (sir edmund), barwell (premier, s. australia), , , bass strait, bathurst, beerburrum, bell (mr. norris), bell (mr. a. g.), bellringer (mr. f.), bendigo, bennett (brig.-general), bennett (mr. percy), bermuda, berry (sir graham), best (mr. de b.), bethell (major-general), black (mr. stuart), blake (captain, r.n.), blayney, blenheim, blinman (organizer, s. australia), blue mountains, board (director education, n.s.w.), boonah, boyle (mayor, st. george), bridges (general), bridgetown, , brighton, brisbane, brisbane river, , broken hills proprietary co., brown (mayor, napier), brown (member, court of policy), brunner valley, bulla bulling, buller river, , butler (architect), _calcutta_ (h.m.s.), , _calliope_ (h.m.s.), , _cambrian_ (h.m.s.), camperdown, canadian-west-indian agreement, canberra, , canobolas mountains, canoubar, canterbury plain, carroll (sir james), carruthers (general), carter (lady), casino, castlemaine, castries, cattaneo (monsignor), , chancellor (sir john), charlotte sound, charlotte bay, chaytor (general sir e.), , christchurch, , christian (brig.-general), claremount, clifford (capt. hon. b.), colac, collier (mr. p.), colon, condell (commissioner, monserrat), cook (sir joseph), , coolgardie, coonamble, cooroy, coronado beach, cottisloe, culebra cut, cullen (sir william), cutler (n.s.w., shipbuilding), dalrymple (colonel s.), dannevirke, davidson-houston (colonel), deane (judge, trinidad), de caignai (father), de freitas (mr. anthony), delprat (broken hills co.), demerara, dodds (brig.-general), , dominica, dragon's mouth, dubbo, dowling (archbishop, trinidad), duhig (archbishop, queensland), dumaresq (commodore), , duncan-hughes (capt. j. g.), dunedin, duntroon, eden, elphinstone (solicitor-general, trinidad), estell (minister of works, commonwealth), everett (admiral), , farm park, farm cove, fassifern, father of the ship, featherston, fechan (australian new zealand co.), feilding, fergusson (mr. herbert), fihelly (acting premier, queensland), , , , . fiji, , frankton, fraser (sir william), , fremantle, galbraith (mayor, ashburton), gatun locks, gawler, geelong, georgetown, gibson (mayor, newcastle), gisborne, gore, gosford, grand etang, grant (rear-admiral), , , great dividing range, great north west, grenada, greymouth, , griffin (ch. justice, leeward is.), griffith (colonial treasurer, antigua), grigg (lt.-colonel sir e.), groom (minister works, commonwealth), gunn (s. australian labour party), gympie, haddon-smith (sir george), , hagley park, halsey (admiral sir lionel), , hamilton, , hamilton (mr. gavin), hamilton (lord claud), hankins (mrs. j. h.), hapa tenure, harding (engineer-colonel, panama canal), harrisville, hastings, hawaii, hawera, hawkes bay, hawkesbury river, hay (mr. clifford), haycroft (sir thomas), heritage (colonel f. b.), high street, hinemoa (princess), hislop (mr. james), , hobart, hobbs (general sir talbot), hobson (captain, r.n.), hodgson (n.s.w. railways), hokitika, holmes (otira tunnel), holloway (mr. e. j.), honolulu, , huntley, hughes (rt. hon. william), , hughes (rear-admiral), humphries (w. australian saw mills), hutt valley, _hygeia_ (s.s.), inangahua, , invercargill, ipswich, jackaroo (the), james (capt. r.), jellibrand (major-gen. sir j.), jervis bay, jobson (brig.-gen.), johnston (admiral), johnston (colonial secretary, leeward is.), kaahumanu (queen), kaitangata, kalgoorlie, kamshamcha (king), _kansas_ (u.s.s.), kawananakoa (princess), kelso, kennedy (colonel), kidnappers' island, king's kava, , kyneton, laborde (mr. e.), landsborough, lascelles (messrs. & co. etc.), lathlain (mayor, perth), , , launceston, lawson, lee (sir walter), lefevre (señor), legge (general), leigh (capt. hon. piers), lennon (hon. mr.), liliuokalani (queen), liverpool (earl of), liverpool hills, lloyd (brig.-general h. w.), , lockyer plain, loma point, lucas (messrs. & co.), luke (mayor, wellington), lyttleton, mcdougall (sergeant, v.c.), macdougall (wire factory), mcewan (australian and n.z. land co.), mccarthy (governor, hawaii), , , macdonald (opposition, n.z. govt.), mcgeachie (mr. duncan), mcleod (canoubar run), macmillan (justice), macnamara, (mr. d. l.), macquarie lake, mcvilly (n.z. railways), , malietoa laupepa, malietoa tanumafili, manawatu river, markham (panama canal officer), martin (brig.-general), martinique, marton, maryborough, massey (rt. hon. william), , mataura, maungatapu, maxwell (mayor, brisbane), melbourne, mereweather (sir edward), , miller (sir dennison), milner (dr. f.), miraflores, mitchell (premier, w. australia), , , moana hotel, mokoia, monserrat, moonee valley, morgan (mr. f. h.), mosgiel, moulder (mayor, adelaide), , mountbatten (lord louis), mount egmont, mount wallace, mui (colonel), mundaring weir, murchison, murray river, mutch (education minister, n.s.w.), myowera, napier, napier (admiral), nelson park, nelson, , neptune on the _renown_, newcastle, , newdegate (sir francis), _new mexico_ (u.s.s.), new plymouth, newport (surgeon, commander), new south wales, new york hospitality, ngata (hon. mr. a. t.), ngaruawahia, ngauruhoe, niall (canoubar estate), nichols (senator, dominica), noble (captain, r.n.), north (captain, r.n.), north island, nullarbor plain, nyngan, oamaru, o'brien (sir charles), o'donovan (n.z. police), ogden (tasmanian govt., opposition), oliver (shire president, coonamble), otira, otway forest, pahiatua, palmerston-north, panama, , parallah, parramatta, parkerville, parry (archbishop, demerara), patea, patrick (lt.-commander, r.n.), port adelaide, port augusta, port chalmers, , port melbourne, port of spain, port phillip, portsmouth, , president of panama, pukikura park, queanbeyan, queensland, quorn, rai hills, railways (n.z.), rangitoto, red-legs, _renown_ (h.m.s.), reefton, rhodes (mr. tahu), rice (general), riley (archbishop, perth), rimutaka, roberts (mrs.), robinson (lt.-colonel), rodondo island, rodwell (sir cecil), rosenthal (major-general sir c.), rotorua, ruahine, russell (judge, trinidad), rust (mayor, port of spain), ryrie (major-general), st. george's, st. joseph, st. hilda, st. lucia, sale of west indies, saluting the quarterdeck, samoa, san diego, scholefield (professor guy), scott (mayor, suva), scott (sir bickham), seddon (late prime minister, n.z.), seddon (mr. thomas), shapcott (organizer, w. australia), simonin (monsignor), sleeman (lt.-colonel), , smith (sir alfred), south australia, southern california, south island, spencer gulf, stephens (governor, california), storey (premier, n.s.w.), , , stratford, steer (organizer, queensland), strong (colonel), subiaco, suva, swan river, , sydney, , _sydney_ (h.m.a.s.), tahua ceremony, taranaki, tarawera, tate (colonel r. w.), taylor (captain, r.n.), tekuiti, temuka, terowie, thacker (mayor, christchurch), thakombau (king), theodore (premier, queensland), thomas (sir godfrey), thomas (mr. joyce), tiaro, timaru, toowoomba, toronto, trinidad, tuamarina, tuimale fana, tudor (leader opposition, victoria), , tunbridge, turakina river, victoria, visiting the ship, vowles (leader opposition, queensland), waikiki beach, , waimarino forest, waipukurau, wairarapa, waitaki river, walcott (mr. h. b.), wallangarra, , walsh island, walter (mr. robert), walters (captain, r.n.), wangamoa, wanganui, ward (sir joseph), ward-room mess, warwick, watt (mayor, hamilton), weigall (sir archibald), , wellington, , werribee plain, western australia, west maitland, westport, wheatley (dr.), white (major-gen. sir brudenell), , whitehead (organizer, victoria), yearwood (mr. graham), _printed in great britain by_ butler & tanner, _frome and london_ a selection from messrs. methuen's publications this catalogue contains only a selection of the more important books published by messrs. methuen. a complete catalogue of their publications may be obtained on application. =bain (f. w.)=-- a digit of the moon: a hindoo love story. the descent of the sun: a cycle of birth. a heifer of the dawn. in the great god's hair. a draught of the blue. an essence of the dusk. an incarnation of the snow. a mine of faults. the ashes of a god. bubbles of the foam. a syrup of the bees. the livery of eve. the substance of a dream. _all fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. an echo of the spheres. _wide demy_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =balfour (graham).= the life of robert louis stevenson. _fifteenth edition. in one volume. cr. vo. buckram_, _s_. _d_. _net_. =belloc (h.)=-- paris, _s_. _d_. _net_. hills and the sea, _s_. _net_. on nothing and kindred subjects, _s_. _net_. on everything, _s_. _net_. on something, _s_. _net_. first and last, _s_. _net_. this and that and the other, _s_. _net_. marie antoinette, _s_. _net_. the pyrenees, _s_. _d_. _net_. =bloemfontein (bishop of).= ara coeli: an essay in mystical theology. _seventh edition. cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. faith and experience. _third edition. cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. the cult of the passing moment. _fourth edition. cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. the english church and reunion. _cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. scala mundi. _cr. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =chesterton (g. k.)=-- the ballad of the white horse. all things considered. tremendous trifles. alarms and discursions. a miscellany of men. _all fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. wine, water, and song. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. the uses of diversity. _s_. _net_. =clutton-brock (a.).= what is the kingdom of heaven? _fourth edition. fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. essays on art. _second edition. fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. essays on books. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. more essays on books. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. =cole (g. d. h.).= social theory. _cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. =conrad (joseph).= the mirror of the sea: memories and impressions. _fourth edition. fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. =einstein (a.).= relativity: the special and the general theory. translated by robert w. lawson. _third edition cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. =eliot (t. s.).= the sacred wood: essays on poetry. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. =fyleman (rose.).= fairies and chimneys. _fcap. vo. eighth edition_. _s_. _d_. _net_. the fairy green. _third edition. fcap. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =gibbins (h. de b.).= industry in england: historical outlines. with maps and plans. _tenth edition. demy vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. the industrial history of england. with maps and a plan. _twenty-seventh edition. cr. vo_. _s_. =gibbon (edward).= the decline and fall of the roman empire. edited, with notes, appendices, and maps, by j. b. bury. illustrated. _seven volumes_. _demy vo_. illustrated. _each_ _s_. _d_. _net_. _also in seven volumes. cr. vo. each_ _s_. _d_. _net_. =glover (t. r.).= the conflict of religions in the early roman empire. _ninth edition. demy vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. poets and puritans. _second edition. demy vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. from pericles to philip. _third edition. demy vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. virgil. _fourth edition. demy vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. the christian tradition and its verification. (the angus lecture for .) _second edition. cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. =grahame (kenneth).= the wind in the willows. _eleventh edition. cr. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =hall (h. r.).= the ancient history of the near east from the earliest times to the battle of salamis. illustrated. _fifth edition. demy vo_. _s_. _net_. =hawthorne (nathaniel).= the scarlet letter. with illustrations in colour by hugh thomson. wide royal vo. _s_. _d_. _net_. =holdsworth (w. s.).= a history of english law. _vols. i., ii., iii. each second edition. demy vo_. _each_ _s_. _net_. =inge (w. r.).= christian mysticism. (the bampton lectures of .) _fourth edition. cr. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =jenks (e.).= an outline of english local government. _fourth edition_. revised by r. c. k. ensor. _cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. a short history of english law: from the earliest times to the end of the year . _second edition, revised. demy vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =julian (lady) of norwich.= revelations of divine love. edited by grace warrack. _seventh edition. cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. =keats (john).= poems. edited, with introduction and notes, by e. de sÉlincourt. with a frontispiece in photogravure. _fourth edition. demy vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =kidd (benjamin).= the science of power. _ninth edition. crown vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. social evolution. _demy vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =kipling (rudyard).= barrack-room ballads. _ th thousand. cr. vo. buckram_, _s_. _d_. _net_. _also fcap. vo. _cloth_, _s_. _net_; _leather_, _s_. _d_. _net_. also a service edition. _two volumes_. _square fcap. vo_. _each_ _s_. _net_. the seven seas. _ th thousand_. _cr. vo. buckram_, _s_. _d_. _net_. _also fcap. vo. cloth_, _s_. _net_; _leather_, _s_. _d_. _net_. also a service edition. _two volumes_. _square fcap. vo_. _each_ _s_. _net_. the five nations. _ th thousand_. _cr. vo. buckram_, _s_. _d_. _net_. _also fcap. vo. cloth_, _s_. _net_; _leather_, _s_. _d_. _net_. also a service edition. _two volumes_. _square fcap. vo_. _each_ _s_. _net_. departmental ditties. _ th thousand_. _cr. vo. buckram_, _s_. _d_. _net_. _also fcap. vo. cloth_, _s_. _net_; _leather_, _s_. _d_. _net_. also a service edition. _two volumes_. _square fcap. vo_. _each_ _s_. _net_. the years between. _cr. vo. buckram_, _s_. _d_. _net_. _also on thin paper. fcap. vo. blue cloth_, _s_. _net_; _limp lambskin_, _s_. _d_. _net_. also a service edition. _two volumes_. _square fcap. vo_. _each_ _s_. _net_. hymn before action. illuminated. _fcap. to_. _s_. _d_. _net_. recessional. illuminated. _fcap. to_. _s_. _d_. _net_. twenty poems from rudyard kipling. _ th thousand. fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. =lamb (charles and mary).= the complete works. edited by e. v. lucas. _a new and revised edition in six volumes_. _with frontispieces. fcap. vo_. _each_ _s_. _net_. the volumes are:-- i. miscellaneous prose. ii. elia and the last essay of elia. iii. books for children. iv. plays and poems v. and vi. letters. the essays of elia. with an introduction by e. v. lucas, and illustrations by a. garth jones. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. =lankester (sir ray).= science from an easy chair. illustrated. _thirteenth edition. cr. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. more science from an easy chair. illustrated. _third edition. cr. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. diversions of a naturalist. illustrated. _third edition. cr. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. secrets of earth and sea. _cr. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =lodge (sir oliver).= man and the universe: a study of the influence of the advance in scientific knowledge upon our understanding of christianity. _ninth edition. crown vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. the survival of man: a study in unrecognised human faculty. _seventh edition. cr. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. modern problems. _cr. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. raymond; or life and death. illustrated. _twelfth edition. demy vo_. _s_. _net_. =lucas (e. v.).=-- the life of charles lamb, _ vols_., _s_. _net_. a wanderer in holland, _s_. _d_. _net_. a wanderer in london, _s_. _d_. _net_. london revisited, _s_. _d_. _net_. a wanderer in paris, _s_. _d_. _net_ and _s_. _net_. a wanderer in florence, _s_. _d_. _net_. a wanderer in venice, _s_. _d_. _net_. the open road: a little book for wayfarers, _s_. _d_. _net_ and _s_. _d_. _net_. the friendly town: a little book for the urbane, _s_. _net_. fireside and sunshine, _s_. _net_. character and comedy, _s_. _net_. the gentlest art: a choice of letters by entertaining hands, _s_. _d_. _net_. the second post, _s_. _net_. her infinite variety: a feminine portrait gallery, _s_. _net_. good company: a rally of men, _s_. _net_. one day and another, _s_. _net_. old lamps for new, _s_. _net_. loiterer's harvest, _s_. _net_. cloud and silver, _s_. _net_. a boswell of baghdad, and other essays, _s_. _net_. 'twixt eagle and dove, _s_. _net_. the phantom journal, and other essays and diversions, _s_. _net_. specially selected: a choice of essays, _s_. _d_. _net_. the british school: an anecdotal guide to the british painters and paintings in the national gallery, _s_. _net_. travel notes. =mcdougall (william).= an introduction to social psychology. _sixteenth edition. cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. body and mind: a history and a defence of animism. _fifth edition_. _demy vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =maeterlinck (maurice)=-- the blue bird: a fairy play in six acts, _s_. _net_. mary magdalene; a play in three acts, _s_. _net_. death, _s_. _d_. _net_. our eternity, _s_. _net_. the unknown guest, _s_. _net_. poems, _s_. _net_. the wrack of the storm, _s_. _net_. the miracle of st. anthony: a play in one act, _s_. _d_. _net_. the burgomaster of stilemonde: a play in three acts, _s_. _net_. the betrothal; or, the blue bird chooses, _s_. _net_. mountain paths, _s_. _net_. the story of tyltyl, _s_. _net_. =milne (a. a.).= the day's play. the holiday round. once a week. _all cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. not that it matters. _fcap vo_. _s_. _net_. if i may. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. =oxenham (john)=-- bees in amber; a little book of thoughtful verse. all's well: a collection of war poems. the king's high way. the vision splendid. the fiery cross. high altars: the record of a visit to the battlefields of france and flanders. hearts courageous. all clear! winds of the dawn. _all small pott vo_. _paper_, _s_. _d_. _net_; _cloth boards_, _s_. _net_. gentlemen--the king, _s_. _net_. =petrie (w. m. flinders).= a history of egypt. illustrated. _six volumes_. _cr. vo_. _each_ _s_. _net_. vol. i. from the ist to the xvith dynasty. _ninth edition_. ( _s_. _d_. _net_.) vol. ii. the xviith and xviiith dynasties. _sixth edition_. vol. iii. xixth to xxxth dynasties. _second edition_. vol. iv. egypt under the ptolemaic dynasty. j. p. mahaffy. _second edition_. vol. v. egypt under roman rule. j. g. milne. _second edition_. vol. vi. egypt in the middle ages. stanley lane poole. _second edition_. syria and egypt, from the tell el amarna letters. _cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. egyptian tales. translated from the papyri. first series, ivth to xiith dynasty. illustrated. _third edition_. _cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. egyptian tales. translated from the papyri. second series, xviiith to xixth dynasty. illustrated. _second edition_. _cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. =pollard (a. f.).= a short history of the great war. with maps. _second edition_. _cr. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =price (l. l.).= a short history of political economy in england from adam smith to arnold toynbee. _tenth edition_. _cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. =reid (g. archdall).= the laws of heredity. _second edition_. _demy vo_. £ . _s_. _net_. =robertson (c. grant).= select statutes, cases, and documents, - . _third edition_. _demy vo_. _s_. _net_. =selons (edmund).= tommy smith's animals. illustrated. _nineteenth edition_. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. tommy smith's other animals. illustrated. _eleventh edition_. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. tommy smith at the zoo. illustrated. _fourth edition_. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _d_. tommy smith again at the zoo. illustrated. _second edition_. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _d_. jack's insects. _popular edition_. _cr. vo_. _s_. _d_. jack's other insects. _cr. vo_. _s_. _d_. =shelley (percy bysshe).= poems. with an introduction by a. clutton-brock and notes by c. d. locock. _two volumes_. _demy vo_. £ _s_. _net_. =smith (adam).= the wealth of nations. edited by edwin cannan. _two volumes. second edition_. _demy vo_. £ _s_. _net_. =stevenson (r. l.).= the letters of robert louis stevenson. edited by sir sidney colvin. _a new rearranged edition in four volumes. fourth edition_. _fcap. vo_. _each_ _s_. _net_. =surtees (r. s.).= handley cross. illustrated. _ninth edition_. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. mr. sponge's sporting tour. illustrated. _fifth edition_. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. ask mamma: or, the richest commoner in england. illustrated. _second edition_. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. jorrocks's jaunts and jollities. illustrated. _seventh edition_. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. mr. facey romford's hounds. illustrated. _fourth edition_. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. hawbuck grange; or, the sporting adventures of thomas scott, esq. illustrated. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _net_. plain or ringlets? illustrated. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. hillingdon hall. with coloured plates by wildrake, heath, and jellicoe. _fcap. vo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =tilden (w. t.).= the art of lawn tennis. illustrated. _cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. =tileston (mary w.).= daily strength for daily needs. _twenty-seventh edition_. _medium mo_. _s_. _d_. _net_. =underhill (evelyn).= mysticism. a study in the nature and development of man's spiritual consciousness. _eighth edition_. _demy vo_. _s_. _net_. =vardon (harry).= how to play golf. illustrated. _thirteenth edition_. _cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. =waterhouse (elizabeth).= a little book of life and death. _twentieth edition_. _small pott vo. cloth_, _s_. _d_. _net_. =wells (j.).= a short history of rome. _seventeenth edition_. with maps. _cr. vo_. _s_. =wilde (oscar).= the works of oscar wilde. _fcap. vo_. _each_ _s_. _d_. _net_. i. lord arthur savile's crime and the portrait of mr. w. h. ii. the duchess of padua. iii. poems. iv. lady windermere's fan. v. a woman of no importance. vi. an ideal husband. vii. the importance of being earnest. viii. a house of pomegranates. ix. intentions. x. de profundis and prison letters. xi. essays. xii. salomÉ, a florentine tragedy, and la sainte courtisane. xiii. a critic in pall mall. xiv. selected prose of oscar wilde. xv. art and decoration. a house of pomegranates. illustrated. _cr. to_. _s_. _net_. =yeats (w. b.).= a book of irish verse. _fourth edition_. _cr. vo_. _s_. _net_. part ii.--a selection of series =ancient cities= general editor, sir b. c. a. windle _cr. vo_. _s_. _net each volume_ with illustrations by e. h. new, and other artists bristol. canterbury. chester. dublin. edinburgh. lincoln. shrewsbury wells and glastonbury. =the antiquary's books= general editor, j. charles cox _demy vo_. _s_. _d_. _net each volume_ with numerous illustrations ancient painted glass in england. archÆology and false antiquities. the bells of england. the brasses of england. the castles and walled towns of england. celtic art in pagan and christian times. church-wardens' accounts. the domesday inquest. english church furniture. english costume. english monastic life. english seals. folk-lore as an historical science. the gilds and companies of london. the hermits and anchorites of england. the manor and manorial records. the mediÆval hospitals of england. old english instruments of music. 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'yagona' should be 'yaqona', changed. p. . 'bougainvillias' should be 'bougainvilleas', changed. p. . 'hinomaa' should be 'hinemoa', changed in text and index. p. . 't seems' should be 'it', changed. p. . 'wanganoa' should be 'wangamoa'. changed. p. . 'reformerst' should be 'reformers', changed. p. & index. 'paramatta' should be 'parramatta', changed. p. . 'billee' tea should be 'billy' tea, changed. p. . 'gulahs' should be 'galahs', but also known as 'gallahs' changed. p. & index. 'canoblas' should be 'canobolas', and the index should be 'p. .' changed. p. . 'dubho' should be 'dubbo', changed. p. . taken out dash from 'sugar-'. p. & p. . 'bougainvilliers' should be 'bougainvilleas', changed. p. . 'graymouth' should be 'greymouth', changed. p. , index. 'dubho' in index should be 'dubbo', changed. in text version: italics is displayed as _second editions_. bold is displayed as =williamson=. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- the book of the bush containing many truthful sketches of the early colonial life of squatters, whalers, convicts, diggers, and others who left their native land and never returned. by george dunderdale. illustrated by j. macfarlane. london: ward, lock & co., limited, warwick house, salisbury square, e.c. new york and melbourne. [illustration ] contents. _____________ purging out the old leaven. first settlers. wreck of the convict ship "neva" on king's island. discovery of the river hopkins. whaling. out west in . among the diggers in . a bush hermit. the two shepherds. a valiant police-sergeant. white slavers. the government stroke. on the ninety-mile. gippsland pioneers. the isle of blasted hopes. glengarry in gippsland. wanted, a cattle market. two special surveys. how government came to gippsland. gippsland under the law. until the golden dawn. a new rush. gippsland after thirty years. government officers in the bush. seal islands and sealers. a happy convict. list of illustrations. illustration . "joey's out." illustration . "i'll show you who is master aboard this ship." illustration . "you stockman, frank, come off that horse." illustration . "the biggest bully apropriated the belle of the ball." * * * "the best article in the march ( ) number of the 'austral light' is a pen picture by mr. george dunderdale of the famous ninety-mile beach, the vast stretch of white and lonely sea-sands, which forms the sea-barrier of gippsland."--'review of reviews', march, . * * * "the most interesting article in 'austral light' is one on gippsland pioneers, by george dunderdale."--'review of reviews', march, . * * * "in 'austral light' for september mr. george dunderdale contributes, under the title of 'gippsland under the law,' one of those realistic sketches of early colonial life which only he can write."--'review of reviews', september, . * * * the book of the bush. --------------------- purging out the old leaven. while the world was young, nations could be founded peaceably. there was plenty of unoccupied country, and when two neighbouring patriarchs found their flocks were becoming too numerous for the pasture, one said to the other: "let there be no quarrel, i pray, between thee and me; the whole earth is between us, and the land is watered as the garden of paradise. if thou wilt go to the east, i will go to the west; or if thou wilt go to the west, i will go to the east." so they parted in peace. but when the human flood covered the whole earth, the surplus population was disposed of by war, famine, or pestilence. death is the effectual remedy for over-population. heroes arose who had no conscientious scruples. they skinned their natives alive, or crucified them. they were then adored as demi-gods, and placed among the stars. pious aeneas was the pattern of a good emigrant in the early times, but with all his piety he did some things that ought to have made his favouring deities blush, if possible. america, when discovered for the last of many times, was assigned by the pope to the spaniards and portuguese. the natives were not consulted; but they were not exterminated; their descendants occupy the land to the present day. england claimed a share in the new continent, and it was parcelled out to merchant adventurers by royal charter. the adventures of these merchants were various, but they held on to the land. new england was given to the puritans by no earthly potentate, their title came direct from heaven. increase mather said: "the lord god has given us for a rightful possession the land of the heathen people amongst whom we dwell;" and where are the heathen people now? australia was not given to us either by the pope or by the lord. we took this land, as we have taken many other lands, for our own benefit, without asking leave of either heaven or earth. a continent, with its adjacent islands, was practically vacant, inhabited only by that unearthly animal the kangaroo, and by black savages, who had not even invented the bow and arrow, never built a hut or cultivated a yard of land. such people could show no valid claim to land or life, so we confiscated both. the british islands were infested with criminals from the earliest times. our ancestors were all pirates, and we have inherited from them a lurking taint in our blood, which is continually impelling us to steal something or kill somebody. how to get rid of this taint was a problem which our statesmen found it difficult to solve. in times of war they mitigated the evil by filling the ranks of our armies from the gaols, and manning our navies by the help of the press-gang, but in times of peace the scum of society was always increasing. at last a great idea arose in the mind of england. little was known of new holland, except that it was large enough to harbour all the criminals of great britain and the rest of the population if necessary. why not transport all convicts, separate the chaff from the wheat, and purge out the old leaven? by expelling all the wicked, england would become the model of virtue to all nations. so the system was established. old ships were chartered and filled with the contents of the gaols. if the ships were not quite seaworthy it did not matter much. the voyage was sure to be a success; the passengers might never reach land, but in any case they would never return. on the vessels conveying male convicts, some soldiers and officers were embarked to keep order and put down mutiny. order was kept with the lash, and mutiny was put down with the musket. on the ships conveying women there were no soldiers, but an extra half-crew was engaged. these men were called "shilling-a-month" men, because they had agreed to work for one shilling a month for the privilege of being allowed to remain in sydney. if the voyage lasted twelve months they would thus have the sum of twelve shillings with which to commence making their fortunes in the southern hemisphere. but the "shilling-a-month" man, as a matter of fact, was not worth one cent the day after he landed, and he had to begin life once more barefoot, like a new-born babe. the seamen's food on board these transports was bad and scanty, consisting of live biscuit, salt horse, yankee pork, and scotch coffee. the scotch coffee was made by steeping burnt biscuit in boiling water to make it strong. the convicts' breakfast consisted of oatmeal porridge, and the hungry seamen used to crowd round the galley every morning to steal some of it. it would be impossible for a nation ever to become virtuous and rich if its seamen and convicts were reared in luxury and encouraged in habits of extravagance. when the transport cast anchor in the beautiful harbour of port jackson, the ship's blacksmith was called out of his bunk at midnight. it was his duty to rivet chains on the legs of the second-sentence men--the twice convicted. they had been told on the voyage that they would have an island all to themselves, where they would not be annoyed by the contemptuous looks and bitter jibes of better men. all night long the blacksmith plied his hammer and made the ship resound with the rattling chains and ringing manacles, as he fastened them well on the legs of the prisoners. at dawn of day, chained together in pairs, they were landed on goat island; that was the bright little isle--their promised land. every morning they were taken over in boats to the town of sydney, where they had to work as scavengers and road-makers until four o'clock in the afternoon. they turned out their toes, and shuffled their feet along the ground, dragging their chains after them. the police could always identify a man who had been a chain-gang prisoner during the rest of his life by the way he dragged his feet after him. in their leisure hours these convicts were allowed to make cabbage-tree hats. they sold them for about a shilling each, and the shop-keepers resold them for a dollar. they were the best hats ever worn in the sunny south, and were nearly indestructible; one hat would last a lifetime, but for that reason they were bad for trade, and became unfashionable. the rest of the transported were assigned as servants to those willing to give them food and clothing without wages. the free men were thus enabled to grow rich by the labours of the bondmen--vice was punished and virtue rewarded. until all the passengers had been disposed of, sentinels were posted on the deck of the transport with orders to shoot anyone who attempted to escape. but when all the convicts were gone, jack was sorely tempted to follow the shilling-a-month men. he quietly slipped ashore, hurried off to botany bay, and lived in retirement until his ship had left port jackson. he then returned to sydney, penniless and barefoot, and began to look for a berth. at the rum puncheon wharf he found a shilling-a-month man already installed as cook on a colonial schooner. he was invited to breakfast, and was astonished and delighted with the luxuries lavished on the colonial seaman. he had fresh beef, fresh bread, good biscuit, tea, coffee, and vegetables, and three pounds a month wages. there was a vacancy on the schooner for an able seaman, and jack filled it. he then registered a solemn oath that he would "never go back to england no more," and kept it. some kind of government was necessary, and, as the first inhabitants were criminals, the colony was ruled like a gaol, the governor being head gaoler. his officers were mostly men who had been trained in the army and navy. they were all poor and needy, for no gentleman of wealth and position would ever have taken office in such a community. they came to make a living, and when free immigrants arrived and trade began to flourish, it was found that the one really valuable commodity was rum, and by rum the officers grew rich. in course of time the country was divided into districts, about thirty or thirty-five in number, over each of which an officer presided as police magistrate, with a clerk and staff of constables, one of whom was official flogger, always a convict promoted to the billet for merit and good behaviour. new holland soon became an organised pandemonium, such as the world had never known since sodom and gomorrah disappeared in the dead sea, and the details of its history cannot be written. to mitigate its horrors the worst of the criminals were transported to norfolk island. the governor there had not the power to inflict capital punishment, and the convicts began to murder one another in order to obtain a brief change of misery, and the pleasure of a sea voyage before they could be tried and hanged in sydney. a branch pandemonium was also established in van diemen's land. this system was upheld by england for about fifty years. the 'britannia', a convict ship, the property of messrs. enderby & sons, arrived at sydney on october th, , and reported that vast numbers of sperm whales were seen after doubling the south-west cape of van diemen's land. whaling vessels were fitted out in sydney, and it was found that money could be made by oil and whalebone as well as by rum. sealing was also pursued in small vessels, which were often lost, and sealers lie buried in all the islands of the southern seas, many of them having a story to tell, but no story-teller. whalers, runaway seamen, shilling-a-month men, and escaped convicts were the earliest settlers in new zealand, and were the first to make peaceful intercourse with the maoris possible. they built themselves houses with wooden frames, covered with reeds and rushes, learned to converse in the native language, and became family men. they were most of them english and americans, with a few frenchmen. they loved freedom, and preferred maori customs, and the risk of being eaten, to the odious supervision of the english government. the individual white man in those days was always welcome, especially if he brought with him guns, ammunition, tomahawks, and hoes. it was by these articles that he first won the respect and admiration of the native. if the visitor was a "pakeha tutua," a poor european, he might receive hospitality for a time, in the hope that some profit might be made out of him. but the maori was a poor man also, with a great appetite, and when it became evident that the guest was no better than a pauper, and could not otherwise pay for his board, the maori sat on the ground, meditating and watching, until his teeth watered, and at last he attached the body and baked it. in the church missionary society sent labourers to the distant vineyard to introduce christianity, and to instruct the natives in the rights of property. the first native protector of christianity and letters was hongi hika, a great warrior of the ngapuhi nation, in the north island. he was born in , and voyaging to sydney in , he became the guest of the rev. mr. marsden. in the rev. gentleman bought his settlement at kerikeri from hongi hika, the price being forty-eight axes. the area of the settlement was thirteen thousand acres. the land was excellent, well watered, in a fine situation, and near a good harbour. hongi next went to england with the rev. mr. kendall to see king george, who was at that time in matrimonial trouble. hongi was surprised to hear that the king had to ask permission of anyone to dispose of his wife caroline. he said he had five wives at home, and he could clear off the whole of them if he liked without troubling anybody. he received valuable presents in london, which he brought back to sydney, and sold for three hundred muskets and ammunition. the year was the most glorious time of his life. he raised an army of one thousand men, three hundred of whom had been taught the use of his muskets. the neighbouring tribes had no guns. he went up the tamar, and at totara slew five hundred men, and baked and ate three hundred of them. on the waipa he killed fourteen hundred warriors out of a garrison of four thousand, and then returned home with crowds of slaves. the other tribes began to buy guns from the traders as fast as they were able to pay for them with flax; and in , at wangaroa, a bullet went through hongi's lungs, leaving a hole in his back through which he used to whistle to entertain his friends; but he died of the wound fifteen months afterwards. other men, both clerical and lay, followed the lead of the rev. mr. marsden. in mr. fairbairn bought four hundred acres for ten pounds worth of trade. baron de thierry bought forty thousand acres on the hokianga river for thirty-six axes. from to one million acres were bought by settlers and merchants. twenty-five thousand acres were bought at the bay of islands and hokianga in five years, seventeen thousand of which belonged to the missionaries. in the rev. henry williams made a bold offer for the unsold country. he forwarded a deed of trust to the governor of new south wales, requesting that the missionaries should be appointed trustees for the natives for the remainder of their lands, "to preserve them from the intrigues of designing men." before the year , twenty millions of acres had been purchased by the clergy and laity for a few guns, axes, and other trifles, and the maoris were fast wasting their inheritance. but the titles were often imperfect. when a man had bought a few hundreds of acres for six axes and a gun, and had paid the price agreed on to the owner, another owner would come and claim the land because his grandfather had been killed on it. he sat down before the settler's house and waited for payment, and whether he got any or not he came at regular intervals during the rest of his life and sat down before the door with his spear and mere* by his side waiting for more purchase money. [footnote] *axe made of greenstone. some honest people in england heard of the good things to be had in new zealand, formed a company, and landed near the mouth of the hokianga river to form a settlement. the natives happened to be at war, and were performing a war dance. the new company looked on while the natives danced, and then all desire for land in new zealand faded from their hearts. they returned on board their ship and sailed away, having wasted twenty thousand pounds. such people should remain in their native country. your true rover, lay or clerical, comes for something or other, and stays to get it, or dies. after twenty years of labour, and an expenditure of two hundred thousand pounds, the missionaries claimed only two thousand converts, and these were christians merely in name. in the rev. henry williams said the natives were as insensible to redemption as brutes, and in the methodists in england contemplated withdrawing their establishment for want of success. the catholic bishop pompallier, with two priests, landed at hokianga on january th, , and took up his residence at the house of an irish catholic named poynton, who was engaged in the timber trade. poynton was a truly religious man, who had been living for some time among the maoris. he was desirous of marrying the daughter of a chief, but he wished that she should be a christian, and, as there was no catholic priest nearer than sydney, he sailed to that port with the chief and his daughter, called on bishop polding, and informed him of the object of his visit. a course of instruction was given to the father and daughter, poynton acting as interpreter; they were baptised, and the marriage took place. after the lapse of sixty years their descendents were found to have retained the faith, and were living as good practical catholics. bishop pompallier celebrated his first mass on january th, , and the news of his arrival was soon noised abroad and discussed. the methodist missionaries considered the action of the bishop as an unwarrantable intrusion on their domain, and, being protestants, they resolved to protest. this they did through the medium of thirty native warriors, who appeared before poynton's house early in the morning of january nd, when the bishop was preparing to say mass. the chief made a speech. he said the bishop and his priests were enemies to the maoris. they were not traders, for they had brought no guns, no axes. they had been sent by a foreign chief (the pope) to deprive the maoris of their land, and make them change their old customs. therefore he and his warriors had come to break the crucifix, and the ornaments of the altar, and to take the bishop and his priests to the river. the bishop replied that, although he was not a trader, he had come as a friend, and did not wish to deprive them of their country or anything belonging to them. he asked them to wait a while, and if they could find him doing the least injury to anyone they could take him to the river. the warriors agreed to wait, and went away. next day the bishop went further up the river to wherinaki, where laming, a pakeha maori, resided. laming was an irish-protestant who had great influence with his tribe, which was numerous and warlike. he was admired by the natives for his strength and courage. he was six feet three inches in height, as nimble and spry as a cat, and as long-winded as a coyote. his father-in-law was a famous warrior named lizard skin. his religion was that of the church of england, and he persuaded his tribe to profess it. he told them that the protestant god was stronger than the catholic god worshipped by his fellow countryman, poynton. in after years, when his converts made cartridges of their bibles and rejected christianity, he was forced to confess that their religion was of this world only. they prayed that they might be brave in battle, and that their enemies might be filled with fear. laming's christian zeal did not induce him to forget the duties of hospitality. he received the bishop as a friend, and the europeans round tatura and other places came regularly to mass. during the first six years of the mission, twenty thousand maoris either had been baptised or were being prepared for baptism. previous to the year some flax had been brought to sydney from new zealand, and manufactured into every species of cordage except cables, and it was found to be stronger than baltic hemp. on account of the ferocious character of the maoris, the sydney government sent several vessels to open communication with the tribes before permitting private individuals to embark in the trade. the ferocity attributed to the natives was not so much a part of their personal character as the result of their habits and beliefs. they were remarkable for great energy of mind and body, foresight, and self-denial. their average height was about five feet six inches, but men from six feet to six feet six inches were not uncommon. their point of honour was revenge, and a man who remained quiet while the manes of his friend or relation were unappeased by the blood of the enemy, would be dishonoured among his tribe. the maoris were in reality loath to fight, and war was never begun until after long talk. their object was to exterminate or enslave their enemies, and they ate the slain. before commencing hostilities, the warriors endeavoured to put fear into the hearts of their opponents by enumerating the names of the fathers, uncles, or brothers of those in the hostile tribe whom they had slain and eaten in former battles. when a fight was progressing the women looked on from the rear. they were naked to the waist, and wore skirts of matting made from flax. as soon as a head was cut off they ran forward, and brought it away, leaving the body on the ground. if many were slain it was sometimes difficult to discover to what body each head had belonged, whether it was that of a friend or a foe, and it was lawful to bake the bodies of enemies only. notwithstanding their peculiar customs, one who knew the maoris well described them as the most patient, equable, forgiving people in the world, but full of superstitious ideas, which foreigners could not understand. they believed that everything found on their coast was sent to them by the sea god, taniwa, and they therefore endeavoured to take possession of the blessings conferred on them by seizing the first ships that anchored in their rivers and harbours. this led to misunderstandings and fights with their officers and crews, who had no knowledge of the sea god, taniwa. it was found necessary to put netting all round the vessels as high as the tops to prevent surprise, and when trade began it was the rule to admit no more than five maoris on board at once. the flax was found growing spontaneously in fields of inexhaustible extent along the more southerly shores of the islands. the fibre was separated by the females, who held the top of the leaf between their toes, and drew a shell through the whole length of the leaf. it took a good cleaner to scrape fifteen pounds weight of it in a day; the average was about ten pounds, for which the traders gave a fig of tobacco and a pipe, two sheets of cartridge paper, or one pound of lead. the price at which the flax was sold in sydney varied from pounds to pounds per ton, according to quality, so there was a large margin of profit to the trader. in sixty tons of flax valued at , pounds, were exported from sydney to england. the results of trading with the foreigners were fatal to the natives. at first the trade was in axes, knives, and other edge-tools, beads, and ornaments, but in the maoris would scarcely take anything but arms and ammunition, red woollen shirts, and tobacco. every man in a native hapu had to procure a musket, or die. if the warriors of the hapu had no guns they would soon be all killed by some tribe that had them. the price of one gun, together with the requisite powder, was one ton of cleaned flax, prepared by the women and slaves in the sickly swamps. in the meantime the food crops were neglected, hunger and hard labour killed many, some fell victims to diseases introduced by the white men, and the children nearly all died. and the maoris are still dying out of the land, blighted by our civilization. they were willing to learn and to be taught, and they began to work with the white men. in i saw nearly one hundred of them, naked to the waist, sinking shafts for gold on bendigo, and no cousin jacks worked harder. we could not, of course, make them englishmen--the true briton is born, not made; but could we not have kept them alive if we had used reasonable means to do so? or is it true that in our inmost souls we wanted them to die, that we might possess their land in peace? besides flax, it was found that new zealand produced most excellent timber--the kauri pine. the first visitors saw sea-going canoes beautifully carved by rude tools of stone, which had been hollowed out, each from a single tree, and so large that they were manned by one hundred warriors. the gum trees of new holland are extremely hard, and their wood is so heavy that it sinks in water like iron. but the kauri, with a leaf like that of the gum tree, is the toughest of pines, though soft and easily worked--suitable for shipbuilding, and for masts and spars. in twenty-eight vessels made fifty-six voyages from sydney to new zealand, chiefly for flax; but they also left parties of men to prosecute the whale and seal fisheries, and to cut kauri pine logs. two vessels were built by english mechanics, one of tons, and the other of tons burden, and the natives began to assist the new-comers in all their labours. at this time most of the villages had at least one european resident called a pakeha maori, under the protection of a chief of rank and influence, and married to a relative of his, either legally or by native custom. it was through the resident that all the trading of the tribe was carried on. he bought and paid for the flax, and employed men to cut the pine logs and float them down the rivers to the ships. every whaling and trading vessel that returned to sydney or van diemen's land brought back accounts of the wonderful prospects which the islands afforded to men of enterprise, and new zealand became the favourite refuge for criminals, runaway prisoners, and other lovers of freedom. when, therefore the crew of the schooner 'industry' threw captain blogg overboard, it was a great comfort to them to know that they were going to an island in which there was no government. captain blogg had arrived from england with a bad character. he had been tried for murder. he had been ordered to pay five hundred pounds as damages to his mate, whom he had imprisoned at sea in a hencoop, and left to pick up his food with the fowls. he had been out-lawed, and forbidden to sail as officer in any british ship. these were facts made known to, and discussed by, all the whalers who entered the tamar, when the whaling season was over in the year . and yet the notorious blogg found no difficulty in buying the schooner 'industry', taking in a cargo, and obtaining a clearance for hokianga, in new zealand. he had shipped a crew consisting of a mate, four seamen, and a cook. black ned tomlins, jim parrish, and a few other friends interviewed the crew when the 'industry' was getting ready for sea. black ned was a half-breed native of kangaroo island, and was looked upon as the best whaler in the colonies, and the smartest man ever seen in a boat. he was the principal speaker. he put the case to the crew in a friendly way, and asked them if they did not feel themselves to be a set of fools, to think of going to sea with a murdering villain like blogg? dick secker replied mildly but firmly. he reckoned the crew were, in a general way, able to take care of themselves. they could do their duty, whatever it was; and they were not afraid of sailing with any man that ever trod a deck. after a few days at sea they were able to form a correct estimate of their master mariner. he never came on deck absolutely drunk, but he was saturated with rum to the very marrow of his bones. a devil of cruelty, hate, and murder glared from his eyes, and his blasphemies could come from no other place but the lowest depths of the bottomless pit. the mate was comparatively a gentle and inoffensive lamb. he did not curse and swear more than was considered decent and proper on board ship, did his duty, and avoided quarrels. one day blogg was rating the cook in his usual style when the latter made some reply, and the captain knocked him down. he then called the mate, and with his help stripped the cook to the waist and triced him up to the mast on the weather side. this gave the captain the advantage of a position in which he could deliver his blows downward with full effect. then he selected a rope's end and began to flog the cook. at every blow he made a spring on his feet, swung the rope over his head, and brought it down on the bare back with the utmost force. it was evident that he was no 'prentice hand at the business, but a good master flogger. the cook writhed and screamed, as every stroke raised bloody ridges on his back; but blogg enjoyed it. he was in no hurry. he was like a boy who had found a sweet morsel, and was turning it over in his mouth to enjoy it the longer. after each blow he looked at the three seamen standing near, and at the man at the helm, and made little speeches at them. "i'll show you who is master aboard this ship." whack! "that's what every man jack of you will get if you give me any of your jaw." whack! "maybe you'd like to mutiny, wouldn't you?" whack! the blows came down with deliberate regularity; the cook's back was blue, black, and bleeding, but the captain showed no sign of any intention to stay his hand. the suffering victim's cries seemed to inflame his cruelty. he was a wild beast in the semblance of a man. at last, in his extreme agony, the cook made a piteous appeal to the seamen: [illustration ] "mates, are you men? are you going to stand there all day, and watch me being flogged to death for nothing?" before the next stroke fell the three men had seized the captain; but he fought with so much strength and fury that they found it difficult to hold him. the helmsman steadied the tiller with two turns of the rope and ran forward to assist them. they laid blogg flat on the deck, but he kept struggling, cursing, threatening, and calling on the mate to help him; but that officer took fright, ran to his cabin in the deckhouse, and began to barricade the door. then a difficulty arose. what was to be done with the prisoner? he was like a raving maniac. if they allowed him his liberty, he was sure to kill one or more of them. if they bound him he would get loose in some way--probably through the mate--and after what had occurred, it would be safer to turn loose a bengal tiger on deck then the infuriated captain. there was but one way out of the trouble, and they all knew it. they looked at one another; nothing was wanting but the word, and it soon came. secker had sailed from the cove of cork, and being an irishman, he was by nature eloquent, first in speech, and first in action. he reflected afterwards, when he had leisure to do so. "short work is the best," he said, "over he goes; lift the devil." each man seized an arm or leg, and blogg was carried round the mast to the lee side. the men worked together from training and habit. they swung the body athwart the deck like a pendulum, and with a "one! two! three!" it cleared the bulwark, and the devil went head foremost into the deep sea. the cook, looking on from behind the mast, gave a deep sigh of relief. thus it was that a great breach of the peace was committed on the pacific ocean; and it was done, too, on a beautiful summer's evening, when the sun was low, a gentle breeze barely filled the sails, and everybody should have been happy and comfortable. captain blogg rose to the surface directly and swam after his schooner. the fury of his soul did not abate all at once. he roared to the mate to bring the schooner to, but there was no responsive "aye, aye, sir." he was now outside of his jurisdiction, and his power was gone. he swam with all his strength, and his bloated face still looked red as the foam passed by it. the helmsman had resumed his place, and steadied the tiller, keeping her full, while the other men looked over the stern. secker said: "the old man will have a long swim." but the "old man" swam a losing race. his vessel was gliding away from him: his face grew pale, and in an agony of fear and despair, he called to the men for god's sake to take him on board and he would forgive everything. but his call came too late; he could find no sureties for his good behaviour in the future; he had never in his life shown any love for god or pity for man, and he found in his utmost need neither mercy nor pity now. he strained his eyes in vain over the crests of the restless billows, calling for the help that did not come. the receding sails never shivered; no land was near, no vessel in sight. the sun went down, and the hopeless sinner was left struggling alone on the black waste of waters. the men released the cook and held a consultation about a troublesome point of law. had they committed mutiny and murder, or only justifiable homicide? they felt that the point was a very important one to them--a matter of life and death--and they stood in a group near the tiller to discuss the difficulty, speaking low, while the cook was shivering in the forecastle, trying to ease the pain. the conclusion of the seamen was, that they had done what was right, both in law and conscience. they had thrown blogg overboard to prevent him from murdering the cook, and also for their own safety. after they had done their duty by seizing him, he would have killed them if he could. he was a drunken sweep. he was an outlaw, and the law would not protect him. anybody could kill an outlaw without fear of consequences, so they had heard. but still there was some doubt about it, and there was nobody there to put the case for the captain. the law was, at that time, a terrible thing, especially in van diemen's land, under colonel arthur. he governed by the gallows, to make everything orderly and peaceable, and men were peaceable enough after they were hanged. so secker and his mates decided that, although they had done nothing but what was right in throwing blogg over the side, it would be extremely imprudent to trust their innocence to the uncertainty of the law and to the impartiality of colonel arthur. their first idea was to take the vessel to south america, but after some further discussion, they decided to continue the voyage to hokianga, and to settle among the maoris. nobody had actually seen them throw blogg overboard except the cook, and him they looked upon as a friend, because they had saved him from being flogged to death. they had some doubts about the best course to take with the mate, but as he was the only man on board who was able to take the schooner to port, they were obliged to make use of his services for the present, and at the end of the voyage they could deal with him in any way prudence might require, and they did not mean to run any unnecessary risks. they went to the house on deck, and secker called the mate, informing him that the captain had lost his balance, and had fallen overboard, and that it was his duty to take charge of the 'industry', and navigate her to hokianga. but the mate had been thoroughly frightened, and was loth to leave his entrenchment. he could not tell what might happen if he opened his cabin door: he might find himself in the sea in another minute. the men who had thrown the master overboard would not have much scruple about sending an inferior officer after him. if the mate resolved to show fight, it would be necessary for him to kill every man on board, even the cook, before he could feel safe; and then he would be left alone in mid-ocean with nobody to help him to navigate the vessel--a master and crew under one hat, at the mercy of the winds and the waves, with six murdered men on his conscience; and he had a conscience, too, as was soon to be proved. the seamen swore most solemnly that they did not intend to do him the least harm, and at last the mate opened his door. while in his cabin, he had been spending what he believed to be the last minutes of his life in preparing for death; he did his best to make peace with heaven, and tried to pray. but his mouth was dry with fear, his tongue clave to the roof of his mouth, his memory of sacred things failed him, and he could not pray for want of practice. he could remember only one short prayer, and he was unable to utter even that audibly. and how could a prayer ever reach heaven in time to be of any use to him, when he could not make it heard outside the deck-house? in his desperate straits he took a piece of chalk and began to write it; so when at last he opened the door of his cabin, the four seamen observed that he had nearly covered the boards with writing. it looked like a litany, but it was a litany of only three words--"lord, have mercy"--which were repeated in lines one above the other. that litany was never erased or touched by any man who subsequently sailed on board the 'industry'. she was the first vessel that was piloted up the channel to port albert in gippsland, to take in a cargo of fat cattle, and when she arrived there on august rd, , the litany of the mate was still distinctly legible. nothing exalts a man so quickly in the estimation of his fellow creatures as killing them. emperors and kings court the alliance of the conquering hero returning from fields of slaughter. ladies in melbourne forgot for a time the demands of fashion in their struggles to obtain an ecstatic glimpse of our modern bluebeard, deeming; and no one was prouder than the belle of the ball when she danced down the middle with the man who shot sandy m'gee. and the reverence of the mate for his murdering crew was unfathomable. their lightest word was a law to him. he wrote up the log in their presence, stating that captain blogg had been washed into the sea in a sudden squall on a dark night; vessel hove to, boat lowered, searched for captain all night, could see nothing of him; mate took charge, and bore away for hokianga next morning. when these untruthful particulars had been entered and read over to the four seamen, they were satisfied for the present. they would settle among the maoris, and lead a free and happy life. they could do what they liked with the schooner and her cargo, having disposed of the master and owner; and as for the mate, they would dispose of him, too, if he made himself in any way troublesome. what a wonderful piece of good luck it was that they were going to a new country in which there was no government! the 'industry' arrived off the bar at hokianga on november th, , and was boarded by a captain young, who had settled seven miles up the estuary, at one tree point, and acted as pilot of the nascent port. he inquired how much water the schooner drew, noted the state of the tide, and said he would remain on board all night, and go over the bar next morning with the first flood. the mate had a secret and wanted to get rid of it. while looking round at the shore, and apparently talking about indifferent subjects, he said to the pilot: "don't look at the men, and don't take any notice of them. they threw blogg, the master, overboard, when he was flogging the cook, and they would murder me, too, if they knew i told you; so you must pretend not to take any notice of them. what their plans may be, i don't know; but you may be sure they won't go back to the tamar, if they can help it." if the pilot felt any surprise, he did not show it. after a short pause he said: "you go about your business, and don't speak to me again, except when the men can hear you. i will think about what is best to be done." during the night captain young thought about it to some purpose. being a master mariner himself he could imagine no circumstances which would justify a crew in throwing a master mariner overboard. it was the one crime which could not be pardoned either afloat or ashore. next day he took the vessel up the estuary, and anchored her within two hundred yards of the shore, opposite the residence of captain mcdonnell. it is true there was no government at that time at hokianga, nor anywhere else in new zealand; there were no judges, no magistrates, no courts, and no police. but the british angel of annexation was already hovering over the land, although she had not as yet alighted on it. at this time the shores of new zealand were infested with captains. there was a captain busby, who was called british resident, and, unfortunately for our seamen, captain mcdonnell had been appointed additional british resident at hokianga a few weeks previously. so far he had been officially idle; there was no business to do, no chance of his displaying his zeal and patriotism. moreover, he had no pay, and apparently no power and no duties. he was neither a governor nor a government, but a kind of forerunner of approaching empire--one of those harmless and far-reaching tentacles which the british octopus extends into the recesses of ocean, searching for prey to satisfy the demands of her imperial appetite. mcdonnell was a naval lieutenant; had served under the east india company; had smuggled opium to china; had explored the coasts of new zealand; and on march st, , had arrived at hokianga from sydney in the 'sir george murray', a vessel which he had purchased for , pounds. he brought with him his wife, two children, and a servant, but took them back on the return voyage. he was now engaged in the flax and kauri pine trade. the 'industry' had scarcely dropped her anchor before the additional resident boarded her. the pilot spoke to him and in a few words informed him that blogg, the master, had been pitched into the sea, and explained in what manner he proposed to arrest the four seamen. mcdonnell understood, and agreed to the plan at once. he called to the mate in a loud voice, and said: "i am sorry to hear that you have lost the master of this vessel. i live at that house you see on the rising ground, and i keep a list in a book of all vessels that come into the river, and the names of the crews. it is a mere formality, and won't take more than five minutes. so you will oblige me, mate, by coming ashore with your men at once, as i am in a hurry, and have other business to attend to." he then went ashore in his boat. the mate and seamen followed in the ship's boat, and waited in front of the additional resident's house. he had a visitor that morning, the pakeha maori, laming. the men had not to wait long, as it was not advisable to give them much time to think and grow suspicious. mcdonnell came to the front door and called the mate, who went inside, signed his name, re-appeared directly, called secker, and entered the house with him. the additional resident was sitting at a table with the signature book before him. he rose from the chair, told secker to sit down, gave him a pen, and pointed out the place where his name was to be signed. laming was sitting near the table. while secker was signing his name mcdonnell suddenly put a twisted handkerchief under his chin and tightened it round his neck. laming presented a horse-pistol and said he would blow his brains out if he uttered a word, and the mate slipped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. he was then bundled out at the back door and put into a bullet-proof building at the rear. the other three seamen were then called in one after the other, garrotted, handcuffed, and imprisoned in the same way. the little formality of signing names was finished in a few minutes, according to promise. if such things could be done in new zealand, where there was neither law nor government, what might happen in van diemen's land, where one man was both law and government, and that man was colonel arthur? the prisoners had plenty of time to make a forecast of their fate, while the mate engaged a fresh crew and took in a cargo of flax and timber. when he was ready to sail, he reshipped his old crew in irons, returned with them to the tamar, and delivered them to the police to be dealt with according to law. for a long time the law was in a state of chaos. major abbott was sent from england in as the first judge. the proceedings in his court were conducted in the style of a drum-head court martial, the accusation, sentences, and execution following one another with military precision and rapidity. he adjudicated in petty sessions as a magistrate, and dealt in a summary manner with capital offences, which were very numerous. to imprison a man who was already a prisoner for life was no punishment; the major's powers were, therefore, limited to the cat and the gallows. and as the first gallows had been built to carry only eight passengers, his daily death sentences were also limited to that number. for twenty years torture was used to extort confession-- even women were flogged if they refused to give evidence, and an order of the governor was held to be equal to law. major abbott died in . in the court consisted of the judge-advocate and two of the inhabitants selected by the governor, colonel arthur, who came out in the year , and had been for eleven years a terror to evil-doers. his rule was as despotic as he could possibly make it. if any officer appointed by the home government disagreed with his policy he suspended him from his office, and left him to seek redress from his friends in england--a tedious process, which lasted for years. disagreeable common people he suspended also--by the neck. if a farmer, squatter, or merchant was insubordinate, he stopped his supply of convict labour, and cruelly left him to do his own work. he brooked no discussion of his measures by any pestilent editor. he filled all places of profit with his friends, relatives, and dependents. everything was referred to his royal will and pleasure. his manners were stiff and formal, his tastes moral, his habits on sundays religious, and his temper vindictive. next to the articles of war, the thirty-nine articles claimed his obedience. when his term of office was drawing to a close he went to church on a certain sunday to receive the lord's supper. while studying his prayer book he observed that it was his duty if his brother had anything against him to seek a reconciliation before offering his gift. the ex-attorney-general, gellibrand, was present, a brother christian who had had many things against him for many years. he had other enemies, some living and some dead, but they were absent. to be reconciled to all of them was an impossibility. he could not ask the minister to suspend the service while he went round hobart town looking for his enemies, and shaking hands with them. but he did what was possible. he rose from his knees, marched over to gellibrand, and held out his hand. gellibrand was puzzled; he looked at the hand and could see nothing in it. by way of explanation colonel arthur pointed out the passage in the prayer-book which had troubled his sensitive conscience. gellibrand read it, and then shook hands. with a soul washed whiter than snow, the colonel approached the table. amongst the convicts every grade of society was represented, from king jorgensen to the beggar. one governor had a convict private secretary. officers of the army and navy, merchants, doctors, and clergymen consorted with costermongers, poachers, and pickpockets. the law, it is sad to relate, had even sent out lawyers, who practised their profession under a cloud, and sometimes pleaded by permission of the court. but their ancient pride had been trodden in the dust; the aureole which once encircled their wigs was gone, and they were often snubbed and silenced by ignorant justices. the punishment for being found out is life-long and terrible. their clients paid the fees partly in small change and partly in rum. the defence of the seamen accused of murdering captain blogg was undertaken by mr. nicholas. he had formerly been employed by the firm of eminent solicitors in london who conducted the defence of queen caroline, when the "first gentleman in europe" tried to get rid of her, and he told me that his misfortunes (forgeries) had deprived him of the honour of sharing with lord brougham the credit of her acquittal. many years had passed since that celebrated trial when i made the acquaintance of nicholas. he had by this time lost all social distinction. he had grown old and very shabby, and was so mean that even his old friends, the convicts who had crossed the straits, looked down on him with contempt. he came to me for an elector's right, as a vote in our electorate--the four counties--was sometimes worth as much as forty shillings, besides unlimited grog. we were conservatives then, true patriots, and we imitated--feebly, it is true, but earnestly--the time-honoured customs of old england. mr. nicholas had been a man of many employments, and of many religions. he was never troubled with scruples of conscience, but guided his conduct wholly by enlightened self-interest. he was a broad churchman, very broad. as tutor in various families, he had instructed his pupils in the tenets of the church of england, of the catholics, of the presbyterians, and of the baptists. he always professed the religion of his employer for the time being, and he found that four religions were sufficient for his spiritual and temporal wants. there were many other sects, but the labour of learning all their peculiar views would not pay, so he neglected them. the wesleyans were at one time all-powerful in our road district, and nicholas, foreseeing a chance of filling an office of profit under the board, threw away all his sins, and obtained grace and a billet as toll-collector or pikeman. in england the pike-man was always a surly brute, who collected his fees with the help of a bludgeon and a bulldog, but nicholas performed his duties in the disguise of a saint. he waited for passengers in his little wooden office, sitting at a table, with a huge bible before him, absorbed in spiritual reading. he wore spectacles on his roman nose, had a long grey beard, quoted scripture to chance passengers, and was very earnest for their salvation. he was atoning for the sins of his youth by leading the life of a hermit by praying and cheating. he has had many followers. he made mistakes in his cash, which for a while were overlooked in so good a man, but they became at length so serious that he lost his billet. he had for some time been spoken of by his friends and admirers as "mr. nicholas," but after his last mistakes had been discovered, he began to be known merely as "old nick the lawyer," or "old nick the liar," which some ignorant people look upon as convertible terms. i think lizard skin, the cannibal, was a better christian than old nick the lawyer, as he was brave and honest, and scorned to tell a lie. the convict counsel for the four seamen defended them at a great expenditure of learning and lies. he argued at great length:-- "that there was no evidence that a master mariner named blogg ever existed; that he was an outlaw, and, as such, every british subject had an inchoate right to kill him at sight, and, therefore, that the seamen, supposing for the sake of argument that they did kill him, acted strictly within their legal rights; that blogg drowned himself in a fit of delirium tremens, after being drunk on rum three days and nights consecutively; that he fell overboard accidentally and was drowned; that the cook and mate threw him overboard, and then laid the blame on the innocent seamen; that blogg swam ashore, and was now living on an unchartered island; that if he was murdered, his body had not been found: there could be no murder without a corpse; and finally, he would respectfully submit to that honourable court, that the case bristled with ineradicable difficulties." the seamen would have been sent to the gallows in any case, but nicholas' speech made their fate inevitable. the court brushed aside the legal bristles, and hanged the four seamen on the evidence of the mate and the cook. the tragedy of the gallows was followed by a short afterpiece. jim parrish, ned tomlins, and every whaler and foremast man in hobart town and on the tamar, discussed the evidence both drunk and sober, and the opinion was universal that the cook ought to have sworn an oath strong enough to go through a three-inch slab of hardwood that he had seen captain blogg carried up to heaven by angels, instead of swearing away the lives of men who had taken his part when he was triced up to the mast. the cook was in this manner tried by his peers and condemned to die, and he knew it. he tried to escape by shipping on board a schooner bound to portland bay with whalers. the captain took on board a keg of rum, holding fifteen gallons, usually called a "big pup," and invited the mate to share the liquor with him. the result was that the two officers soon became incapable of rational navigation. off king's island the schooner was hove to in a gale of wind, and for fourteen days stood off and on--five or six hours one way, and five or six hours the other--while the master and mate were down below, "nursing the big pup." the seamen were all strangers to the coast, and did not know any cove into which they could run for refuge. the cook was pitched overboard one dark night during that gale off king's island, and his loss was a piece of ancient history by the time the master and mate had consumed the rum, and were able to enter up the log. ex-attorney-general gellibrand sailed to port philip to look for country in australia felix, and he found it. he was last seen on a rounded hill, gazing over the rich and beautiful land which borders lake colac; land which he was not fated to occupy, for he wandered away and was lost, and his bones lay unburied by the stream which now bears his name. when colonel arthur's term of office expired he departed with the utmost ceremony. the st fusiliers escorted him to the wharf. as he entered his barge his friends cheered, and his enemies groaned, and then went home and illuminated the town, to testify their joy at getting rid of a tyrant. he was the model governor of a crown colony, and the crown rewarded him for his services. he was made a baronet, appointed governor of canada and of bombay, was a member of her majesty's privy council, a colonel of the queen's own regiment, and he died on september th, , full of years and honours, and worth , pounds. laming was left an orphan by the death of lizard skin. the chief had grown old and sick, and he sat every day for two years on a fallen puriri near the white man's pah, but he never entered it. his spear was always sticking up beside him. he had a gun, but was never known to use it. he was often humming some ditty about old times before the white man brought guns and powder, but he spoke to no one. he was pondering over the future of his tribe, but the problem was too much for him. the white men were strong and were overrunning his land. his last injunction to his warriors was, that they should listen to the words of his pakeha, and that they should be brave that they might live. when the british government took possession of new zealand without paying for it, they established a land court to investigate the titles to lands formerly bought from the natives, and it was decided in most cases that a few axes and hoes were an insufficient price to pay for the pick of the country; the purchases were swindles. laming had possession of three or four hundred acres, and to the surprise of the court it was found that he had paid a fair price for them, and his title was allowed. moreover, his knowledge of the language and customs of the maoris was found to be so useful that he was appointed a judge of the land court. the men who laid the foundations of empire in the great south land were men of action. they did not stand idle in the shade, waiting for someone to come and hire them. they dug a vineyard and planted it. the vines now bring forth fruit, the winepress is full, the must is fermenting. when the wine has been drawn off from the lees, and time has matured it, of what kind will it be? and will the lord of the vineyard commend it? first settlers. the first white settler in victoria was the escaped convict buckley; but he did not cultivate the country, nor civilise the natives. the natives, on the contrary, uncivilised him. when white men saw him again, he had forgotten even his mother tongue, and could give them little information. for more than thirty years he had managed to live--to live like a savage; but for any good he had ever done he might as well have died with the other convicts who ran away with him. he never gave any clear account of his companions, and many people were of opinion that he kept himself alive by eating them, until he was found and fed by the blacks, who thought he was one of their dead friends, and had "jumped up a white fellow." while buckley was still living with the blacks about corio bay, in , gellibrand and batman applied for a grant of land at western port, where the whalers used to strip wattle bark when whales were out of season; but they did not get it. englishmen have no business to live anywhere without being governed, and colonel arthur had no money to spend in governing a settlement at western port. so australia felix was unsettled for eight years longer. griffiths & co., of launceston, were trading with sydney in . their cargo outward was principally wheat, the price of which varied very much; sometimes it was s. d. a bushel in launceston, and s. in sydney. the return cargo from port jackson was principally coal, freestone, and cedar. griffiths & co. were engaged in whaling in portland bay. they sent there two schooners, the 'henry' and the 'elizabeth', in june, . they erected huts on shore for the whalers. the 'henry' was wrecked; but the whales were plentiful, and yielded more oil than the casks would hold, so the men dug clay pits on shore, and poured the oil into them. the oil from forty-five whales was put into the pits, but the clay absorbed every spoonful of it, and nothing but bones was gained from so much slaughter. before the 'elizabeth' left portland bay, the hentys, the first permanent settlers in victoria, arrived in the schooner 'thistle', on november th, . when the whalers of the 'elizabeth' had been paid off, and had spent their money, they were engaged to strip wattle bark at western port, and were taken across in the schooner, with provisions, tools, six bullocks and a dray. during that season they stripped three hundred tons of bark and chopped it ready for bagging. john toms went over to weigh and ship the bark, and brought it back, together with the men, in the barque 'andrew mack'. wreck of the convict ship "neva," on king's island. she sailed from cork on january th, , b. h. peck, master; dr. stevenson, r.n., surgeon. she had on board female prisoners and thirty-three of their children, nine free women and their twenty-two children, and a crew of twenty-six. several ships had been wrecked on king's island, and when a vessel approached it the mate of the watch warned his men to keep a bright look out. he said, "king's island is inhabited by anthropophagi, the bloodiest man eaters ever known; and, if you don't want to go to pot, you had better keep your eyes skinned." so the look-out man did not go to sleep. nevertheless, the 'neva' went ashore on the harbinger reef, on may th unshipped her rudder and parted into four pieces. only nine men and thirteen women reached the island; they were nearly naked and had nothing to eat, and they wandered along the beach during the night, searching amongst the wreckage. at last they found a puncheon of rum, upended it, stove in the head, and drank. the thirteen women then lay down on the sand close together, and slept. the night was very cold, and robinson, an apprentice, covered the women as well as he could with some pieces of sail and blankets soaked with salt water. the men walked about the beach all night to keep themselves warm, being afraid to go inland for fear of the cannibal blackfellows. in the morning they went to rouse the women, and found that seven of the thirteen were dead. the surviving men were the master, b. h. peck, joseph bennet, thomas sharp, john watson, edward calthorp, thomas hines, robert ballard, john robinson, and william kinderey. the women were ellen galvin, mary stating, ann cullen, rosa heland, rose dunn, and margaret drury. for three weeks these people lived almost entirely on shellfish. they threw up a barricade on the shore, above high water mark, to protect themselves against the cannibals. the only chest that came ashore unbroken was that of robinson the apprentice, and in it there was a canister of powder. a flint musket was also found among the wreckage, and with the flint and steel they struck a light and made a fire. when they went down to the beach in search of shellfish, one man kept guard at the barricade, and looked out for the blackfellows; his musket was loaded with powder and pebbles. three weeks passed away before any of the natives appeared, but at last they were seen approaching along the shore from the south. at the first alarm all the ship-wrecked people ran to the barricade for shelter, and the men armed themselves with anything in the shape of weapons they could find. but their main hope of victory was the musket. they could not expect to kill many cannibals with one shot, but the flash and report would be sure to strike them with terror, and put them to flight. by this time their diet of shellfish had left them all weak and emaciated, skeletons only just alive; the anthropophagi would have nothing but bones to pick; still, the little life left in them was precious, and they resolved to sell it as dear as they could. they watched the savages approaching; at length they could count their number. they were only eleven all told, and were advancing slowly. now they saw that seven of the eleven were small, only picaninnies. when they came nearer three out of the other four were seen to be lubras, and the eleventh individual then resolved himself into a white savage, who roared out, "mates ahoy!" the white man was scott, the sealer, who had taken up is abode on the island with his harem, three tasmanian gins and seven children. they were the only permanent inhabitants; the cannibal blacks had disappeared, and continued to exist only in the fancies of the mariners. scott's residence was opposite new year's island not far from the shore; there he had built a hut and planted a garden with potatoes and other vegetables. flesh meat he obtained from the kangaroos and seals. their skins he took to launceston in his boat, and in it he brought back supplies of flour and groceries. he had observed dead bodies of women and men, and pieces of a wrecked vessel cast up by the sea, and had travelled along the shore with his family, looking for anything useful or valuable which the wreck might yield. after hearing the story, and seeing the miserable plight of the castaways, he invited them to his home. on arriving at the hut scott and his lubras prepared for their guests a beautiful meal of kangaroo and potatoes. this was their only food as long as they remained on king's island, for scott's only boat had got adrift, and his flour, tea, and sugar had been all consumed. but kangaroo beef and potatoes seemed a most luxurious diet to the men and women who had been kept alive for three weeks on nothing but shellfish. scott and his hounds hunted the kangaroo, and supplied the colony with meat. the liver of the kangaroo when boiled and left to grow cold is a dry substance, which, with the help of hunger and a little imagination, is said to be as good as bread. in the month of july, , heavy gales were blowing over king's island. for fourteen days the schooner 'elizabeth', with whalers for port fairy, was hove to off the coast, standing off and on, six hours one way and six hours the other. akers, the captain, and his mate got drunk on rum and water daily. the cook of the 'industry' was on board the 'elizabeth', the man whom captain blogg was flogging when his crew seized him and threw him overboard. the cook also was now pitched overboard for having given evidence against the four men who had saved him from further flogging. at this time also captain friend, of the whaling cutter 'sarah ann', took shelter under the lee of new year's island, and he pulled ashore to visit scott the sealer. there he found the shipwrecked men and women whom he took on board his cutter, and conveyed to launceston, except one woman and two men. it was then too late in the season to take the whalers to port fairy. captain friend was appointed chief district constable at launceston; all the constables under him were prisoners of the crown, receiving half a dollar a day. he was afterwards collector of customs at the mersey. in november, the schooner 'elizabeth' returned to launceston with tuns of oil. the share of the crew of a whaling vessel was one-fiftieth of the value of the oil and bone. the boat-steerer received one-thirtieth, and of the headmen some had one-twenty-fifth, others one-fifteenth. in this same year, , batman went to port phillip with a few friends and seven sydney blackfellows. on june th he returned to van diemen's land, and by the th of the same month he had compiled a report of his expedition, which he sent to governor arthur, together with a copy of the grant of land executed by the black chiefs. he had obtained three copies of the grant signed by three brothers jagga-jagga, by bungaree, yan-yan, moorwhip, and marmarallar. the area of the land bought by batman was not surveyed with precision, but it was of great extent, like infinite space, whose centre is everywhere, and circumference nowhere. and in addition he took up a small patch of one hundred thousand acres between the bay and the barwon, including the insignificant site of geelong, a place of small account even to this day. batman was a long-limbed sydney native, and he bestrode his real estate like a colossus, but king william was a bigger colossus than batman--he claimed both the land and the blacks, and ignored the crown grant. next, john fawkner and his friends chartered the schooner 'enterprise' for a voyage across the straits to australia felix. he afterwards claimed to be the founder of melbourne. he could write and talk everlastingly, but he had not the 'robur' and 'as triplex' suitable for a sea-robber. sea-sickness nearly killed him, so he stayed behind while the other adventurers went and laid the foundation. they first examined the shores of western port, then went to port philip bay and entered the river yarra. they disembarked on its banks, ploughed some land, sowed maize and wheat, and planted two thousand fruit trees. they were not so grasping as batman, and each man pegged out a farm of only one hundred acres. these farms were very valuable in the days of the late boom, and are called the city of melbourne. batman wanted to oust the newcomers; he claimed the farms under his grant from the jagga-jaggas. he squatted on batman's hill, and looked down with evil eyes on the rival immigrants. he saw them clearing away the scrub along flinders street, and splitting posts and rails all over the city from spencer street to spring street, regardless of the fact that the ground under their feet would be, in the days of their grandchildren, worth , pounds per foot. their bullock-drays were often bogged in elizabeth street, and they made a corduroy crossing over it with red gum logs. some of these logs were dislodged quite sound fifty years afterwards by the tramway company's workmen. discovery of the river hopkins. "know ye not that lovely river? know ye not that smiling river? whose gentle flood, by cliff and wood, with 'wildering sound goes winding ever." in january, , captain smith, who was in charge of the whaling station at port fairy, went with two men, named wilson and gibbs, in a whale boat to the islands near warrnambool, to look for seal. they could find no seal, and then they went across the bay, and found the mouth of the river hopkins. in trying to land there, their boat capsized in the surf, and smith was drowned. the other two men succeeded in reaching the shore naked, and they travelled back along the coast to port fairy, carrying sticks on their shoulders to look like guns, in order to frighten away the natives, who were very numerous on that part of the coast. on this journey they found the wreck of a vessel, supposed to be a spanish one, which has since been covered by the drifting sand. when captain mills was afterwards harbour master at belfast, he took the bearings of it, and reported them to the harbour department in melbourne. vain search was made for it many years afterwards in the hope that it was a spanish galleon laden with doubloons. davy was in the sydney trade in the 'elizabeth' until march, ; he then left her and joined the cutter 'sarah ann', under j. b. mills, to go whaling at port fairy. in the month of may, captain mills was short of boats, and went to the hopkins to look for the boat lost by smith. he took with him two boats with all their whaling gear, in case he should see a whale. david fermaner was in one of the boats, which carried a supply of provisions for the two crews; in the other boat there was only what was styled a nosebag, or snack--a mouthful for each man. on arriving off the hopkins, they found a nasty sea on, and captain mills said it would be dangerous to attempt to land; but his brother charles said he would try, and in doing so his boat capsized in the breakers. all the men clung to the boat, but the off-sea prevented them from getting on shore. when captain mills saw what had happened, he at once pushed on his boat through the surf and succeeded in reaching the shore inside the point on the eastern side of the entrance. he then walked round towards the other boat with a lance warp, waded out in the water as far as he could, and then threw the warp to the men, who hauled on it until their boat came ashore, and they were able to land. all the provisions were lost. the water was baled out of the boat that had been capsized, and she was taken over to the west head. all the food for twelve men was in the nosebag, and it was very little; each man had a mere nibble for supper. in those days wombats were plentiful near the river, but the men could not catch or kill one of them. captain mills had a gun in his boat which happened to be loaded, and he gave it to davy to try if he could shoot anything for breakfast next morning. there was only one charge, all the rest of the ammunition having been lost in the breakers. davy walked up the banks of the river early in the morning, and saw plenty of ducks, but they were so wild he could not get near them. at last he was so fortunate as to shoot a musk duck, which he brought back to the camp, stuck up before the fire, and roasted. he then divided it into twelve portions, and gave one portion to each of the twelve men for breakfast; but it was a mockery of a meal, as unsubstantial as an echo--smell, and nothing else. the two boats were launched, and an attempt was made to pass out to sea through the surf, but the wind was far down south, and the men had to return and beach the boats. the sails were taken ashore and used as tents. in the evening they again endeavoured to catch a wombat, but failed. on the next day they tried again to get out of the river, but the surf half filled the boats with water, and they were glad to reach the camp again. captain mills was a native of australia, and a good bushman; he told the men that sow thistles were good to eat, so they went about looking for them, and having found a quantity ate them. on the third day they tried once more to get out of the river, but without success. on the fourth day mills decided to carry the boats and whaling gear overland to a bight in the bay to the west. the gear was divided into lots among the men, and consisted of ten oars, two steer-oars, two tubs of whale line each fathoms in length, two fifty-pound anchors, four harpoons, six lances, six lance warps, two tomahawks, two water kegs, two piggins for balers, two sheath knives, and two oil-stones for touching up the lances when they became dull. these were carried for about a quarter of a mile, and then put down for a rest, and the men went back to the camp. the boats were much lighter than the gear, being made of only half-inch plank. one boat was capsized bottom up, and the men took it on their shoulders, six on each side, the tallest men being placed in the middle on account of the shear of the boat, and it was carried about half a mile past the gear. they then returned for the other boat, and in this way brought everything to the bight close to the spot where the bathing house at warrnambool has since been erected. there they launched the boats, and got out to sea, pulling against a strong westerly breeze. the men were very weak, having had nothing to eat for four days but some sow thistles and a musk duck, and the pull to port fairy was hard and long. they landed about four o'clock in the afternoon, and captain mills told them not to eat anything, saying he would give them something better. at that time there was a liquor called "black strap," brought out in the convict ships for the use of the prisoners, and it was sold with the ships' surplus stores in sydney and hobarton. mills had some of it at port fairy. he now put a kettle full of it on the fire, and when it was warmed gave each man a half a pint to begin with. he then told them to go and get supper, and afterwards he gave each of them another half pint. rum was in those days a very profitable article of commerce, and the trade in it was monopolised by the government officers, civil and military. like flour in the back settlements of the united states, it was reckoned "ekal to cash," and was made to do the office of the pagoda tree in india, which rained dollars at every shake. the boat that was lost by smith at the hopkins was found in good condition, half filled with sand. joe wilson went for it afterwards, and brought it back to port fairy. he was a native of sydney, and nephew of raibey of launceston, and was murdered not long afterwards at the white hills. he was sent by raibey on horseback to hobarton to buy the revenue cutter 'charlotte', which had been advertised for sale. he was shot by a man who was waiting for him behind a tree. he fell from his horse, and although he begged hard for his life, the man beat out his brains with the gun. the murderer took all the money wilson had, which was only one five-pound note, the number of which raibey knew. a woman tried to pass it in launceston, and her statements led to the discovery and conviction of the murderer, who was hanged in chains at the white hills, and the gibbet remained there for many years. whaling. "i wish i were in portland bay, oh, yes, oh! harpooning whales on a thirtieth lay, a hundred years ago." in the year , j. b. mills had charge of the portland fishery, and davy went with him in the 'thistle' schooner as mate and navigator, and they were over a month on the passage. charles mills was second in command at the station at portland, and peter coakley, an irishman, was third; the remainder of the crew required for whaling was on board the 'thistle'. among them was one named mccann, a sydney native, a stonemason by trade, and father of the mccann who was afterwards member of parliament for geelong. during a westerly gale the schooner ran to western port for shelter. in sailing through the rip, mccann, who was acting as steward, while going aft to the cabin, had to cross over a colonial sofa which was lashed on deck. instead of stepping over it gently, he made a jump, and the vessel lurching at the same time, he went clean overboard. davy, who was standing by the man at the helm, told him to put the helm down and let the vessel come to. he then ran forward and got a steer-oar from underneath the boots, and threw it overboard. mccann, being an expert swimmer, swam to the oar, a boat was launched, four men got into it, picked him up, and brought him aboard again none the worse. there was too much sea on to hoist in the boat, as there were no davits, and while she was being towed in she ran ahead of the vessel, which went over her and filled her with water. on arriving in western port the boat was found to have been not much damaged. there was on board the 'thistle' an apprentice whom davy had stolen in sydney after he had served four years of his time to a boat-builder named green. this apprentice repaired the boat, which afterwards proved to be the fastest out of forty-one boats that went out whaling in portland bay every morning. there were in eight parties of whalers in portland bay, and so many whales were killed that the business from that year declined and became unprofitable. mills' party in the 'thistle' schooner, of which davy was mate and navigator, or nurse to mills, who was not a trained seaman, had their station at single corner; kelly's party was stationed at the neck of land where the breakwater has been constructed. then there were dutton's party, with the barque 'african'; nicholson's, with the barque 'cheviot', from hobarton; chamberlain's, with the barque 'william the fourth', of hobarton; the 'hope' barque, and a brig, both from sydney. the hentys also had a whaling station at double corner, and by offering to supply their men with fresh meat three times a week, obtained the pick of the whalers. their head men were johnny brennan, john moles, and jim long, natives of sydney or tasmania, and all three good whalers. when the 'thistle' arrived at portland bay every other party had got nearly one hundred tuns of oil each, and mills' party had none. he started out next morning, choosing the boat which had picked up mccann at western port, and killed one whale, which turned out six tuns of oil. he did not get any more for three weeks, being very unlucky. after getting the schooner ready for cutting in, davy went to steer the boat for charles mills, and always got in a mess among the whales, being either capsized or stove in among so many boats. at the end of three weeks captain mills got a whale off the second river, halfway round towards port fairy. she was taken in tow with the three boats, and after two days' towing, she was anchored within half-a-mile of the schooner in portland bay, and the men went ashore. during the night a gale of wind came on from the south-west, and the whale, being a bit stale and high out of the water, drove ashore at the bluff, a little way past henty's house. in the morning mills said he would go and see what he could get from her on the beach, and ordered his brother, charles mills, and coakley to go out looking for whales. all the boats used to go out before daylight, and dodge one another round the bay for miles. it was cold work sitting in the boats. the men stayed out until ten or eleven o'clock, and went ashore that day on the convincing ground, which was so-called because the whalers used to go down there to fight, and convince one another who was the best man. in the afternoon, about two o'clock, it was davy's turn to go up a tree to look for whales. in looking round the bay towards the bluff, he saw a boat with a whiff on. he jumped down, and told charles mills, who said: "come on." there was a great rush of all the boats, but mills' boat kept well forward of the lot. when they arrived off the bluff they found captain mills had fastened to a whale, two other loose whales being near. they pulled up alongside him, and he pointed out a loose whale, to which they fastened. mansfield, of the hobarton party, fastened to the third whale. davy came aft to the steer-oar, and charles mills went forward to kill his whale. he had hardly got the lance in his hand when the whale threw herself right athwart the nose of the boat. he then sent the lance right into her and killed her stone dead. mansfield, in hauling up his whale got on top of captain mills' whale, which stove in mansfield's boat, and sent all his men flying in the air. there was a rush then to pick up the men. charles mills, finding his whale dead, struck a whiff in the lance-hole he had made when he killed her, cut the line that was fast to her, and bent it on to another spare iron. mansfield's whale then milled round and came right on to charles mills' boat, and he fastened to her. this gave him a claim of one half of her, so that mills and his men got two and a half out of the three whales. the men were all picked up. mills' whales were anchored about half-a-mile from the schooner, and the boats went out next morning and took them in tow. the whales tow very easily when fresh killed, but if they are allowed to get stiff their fins stand out and hinder the towing. when the two whales were brought alongside the schooner, the boats of kelly's party were seen fast to a whale off black nose point. charles mills pulled over, and when he arrived he found a loose whale, mansfield and chase being fast to two other whales. mills fastened to the loose whale, and then the three whales fouled the three lines, and rolled them all together like a warp, which made it difficult to kill them. after the men had pulled up on them for some time with the oars, two of them began spouting blood and sickened, and chase's boat got on to them and capsized. then the whales took to running, and mansfield cut his line to pick up chase and his crew. mansfield's whale being sick, went in a flurry and died. mills' whale and chase's worked together until mills killed his whale; he then whiffed her and fastened to chase's whale, which gave him a claim for half, and he killed her; so that his party got one and a-half out of the three whales. chase and his crew were all picked up. from that day the luck of mills and his party turned, and they could not try out fast enough. in four months from the time the 'thistle' left launceston she had on board two hundred and forty tuns of oil. in the year , the hentys had a few cattle running behind the bluff when major mitchell arrived overland from sydney, and reported good country to the north. they then brought over more cattle from launceston, and stocked a station. the first beast killed by the hentys for their whalers was a heifer, and the carcase, divided into two parts, was suspended from the flagstaff at their house. it could be seen from afar by the men who were pulling across the bay in their boats, and they knew that henty's men were going to feed on fresh meat, while all the rest were eating such awful stuff as yankee pork and salt horse. the very sight of the two sides of the heifer suspended at the flagstaff was an unendurable insult and mockery to the carnivorous whalers, and an incitement to larceny. davy fermaner was steering one of the boats, and he exclaimed: "there, they are flashing the fresh meat to us. they would look foolish if they lost it to-night." there was feasting and revelry that night at single corner. hungry men were sharpening their sheath-knives with steel, and cutting up a side of beef. a large fire was burning, and on the glowing coals, and in every frying-pan rich steaks were fizzing and hissing. it was like a feast of heroes, and lasted long through the night. they sang responsively, like gentle shepherds--shepherds of the ocean fields whose flocks were mighty whales: "mother, the butcher's brought the meat, what shall i do with it? fry the flesh, and broil the bones, and make a pudding of the su-et." next morning the hentys looked for the missing beef up the flagstaff, and along the shore of the ever-sounding ocean, but their search was vain. they suspected that the men of kelly's party were the thieves, but these all looked as stupid, ignorant, and innocent as the adverse circumstances would permit. there was no evidence against them to be found; the beef was eaten and the bones were burned and buried. mills' men were the beef lifters, and some of kelly's men helped them to eat it. the whales killed at the portland fishery were of two kinds, the right or black whale, and the sperm whale. the right whale has an immense tongue, and lives by suction, the food being a kind of small shrimp. when in a flurry--that is, when she has received her death-stroke with the lance--she goes round in a circle, working with her head and flukes. the sperm whales feed on squid, which they bite, and when in a flurry they work with the head and flukes, and with the mouth open, and often crush the boats. after the crew of the 'thistle' had spent their money, they were taken back to port fairy for the purpose of stripping bark, a large quantity of wattle trees having been found in the neighbouring country. sheep were also taken there in charge of mr. j. murphy, who intended to form a station. john griffiths also sent over his father, jonathan, who had been a carpenter on board the first man-of-war that had arrived at port jackson, three old men who had been prisoners, four bullocks, a plough, and some seed potatoes. a cargo of the previous season's bark was put into the 'thistle', and on her return to launceston, was transferred to the 'rhoda' brig, captain rolls, bound for london. more sheep and provisions were then taken in the 'thistle', and after they were landed at port fairy, another cargo of bark was put on board. for three days there was no wind, and a tremendous sea setting in from the south-east, the schooner could not leave the bay. on the night of december th a gale of wind came on from the south-east; one chain parted, and after riding until three o'clock in the morning of christmas day, the other chain also parted. the vessel drew eight feet, and was lying in between three and four fathoms of water. as soon as the second chain broke, davy went up on the fore-yard and cut the gaskets of the foresail. the schooner grounded in the trough of sea, but when she rose the foresail was down, and she paid off before the wind. the shore was about a mile, or a mile and a half distant, and she took the beach right abreast of a sheep yard, where her wreck now lies. the men got ashore in safety, but all the cargo was lost. a tent was pitched on shore near the wreck, but as there was no vessel in the bay by which they could return to launceston, the four men, captain mills, d. fermaner, charles ferris, and richard jennings, on december st, , set sail in a whaleboat for port philip. davy had stolen jennings from the 'rhoda' brig at launceston, when seamen were scarce. he was afterwards a pilot at port philip, and was buried at williamstown. the whaleboat reached port philip on january rd, , having got through the rip on the night of the nd. ferris was the only man of the crew who had been in before, he having gone in with batman, in the 'rebecca' cutter, captain baldwin. baldwin was afterwards before the mast in the 'elizabeth' schooner; he was a clever man, but fond of drink. the whaleboat anchored off portsea, but the men did not land for fear of the blacks. at daylight davy landed to look for water, but could not find any; and there were only three pints in the water-bag. the wind being from the north, the boat was pulled over to mud island, and the men went ashore to make tea with the three pints of water. davy walked about the island, and found a rookery of small mackerel-gulls and a great quantity of their eggs in the sand. he broke a number of them, and found that the light-coloured eggs were good, and that the dark ones had birds in them. he took off his shirt, tied the sleeves together, bagged a lot of the eggs, and carried them back to the camp. mills broke the best of them into the great pot, and the eggs and water mixed together and boiled made about a quart for each man. after breakfast the wind shifted to the southward, and the 'henry' brig, from launceston, captain whiting, ran in, bound to point henry with sheep; but before mills and his men could get away from mud island the brig had passed. they pulled and sailed after her, but did not overtake her until she arrived off the point where batman first settled, now called port arlington; at that time they called the place indented heads. when the whaleboat came near the brig to ask for water, two or three muskets were levelled at the men over the bulwarks, and they were told to keep off, or they would be shot. at that time a boat's crew of prisoners had escaped from melbourne in a whale boat, and the ship-wrecked men were suspected as the runaways. but one of the crew of the 'henry', named jack macdonald, looked over the side, and seeing davy in the boat, asked him what they had done with the schooner 'thistle', and they told him they had lost her at port fairy. captain whiting asked macdonald if he knew them, and on being informed that they were the captain and crew of the schooner 'thistle', he invited them on board and supplied them with a good dinner. they went on to point henry in the brig, and assisted in landing the sheep. batman was at that time in melbourne. davy had seen him before in launceston. after discharging the sheep the brig proceeded to gellibrand's point, and as captain whiting wanted to go up to melbourne, the men pulled him up the yarra in their whaleboat. fawkner's hotel at that time was above the site of the present customs house, and was built with broad paling. mills and whiting stayed there that night, davy and the other two men being invited to a small public-house kept by a man named burke, a little way down little flinders street, where they were made very comfortable. next day they went back to the brig 'henry', and started for launceston. in may, , davy was made master of the schooner 'elizabeth', and took in her a cargo of sheep, and landed them at port fairy. the three old convicts whom griffiths had sent there along with his father jonathan, had planted four or five acres of potatoes at a place called goose lagoon, about two miles behind the township. the crop was a very large one, from fifteen to twenty tons to the acre, and davy had received orders to take in fifty tons of the potatoes, and to sell them in south australia. he did so, and after four days' passage went ashore at the port, offered the potatoes for sale, and sold twenty tons at pounds shillings per ton. on going ashore again next morning, he was offered pounds per ton for the remainder, and he sold them at that price. on the same day the 'nelson' brig, from hobarton, arrived with one hundred tons of potatoes, but she could not sell them, as davy had fully stocked the market. he was paid for the potatoes in gold by the two men who bought them. he went up to the new city of adelaide. all the buildings were of the earliest style of architecture, and were made of tea-tree and sods, or of reeds dabbed together with mud. the hotels had no signboards, but it was easy to find them by the heaps of bottles outside. kangaroo flesh was s. d. a pound, but grog was cheap. davy was looking for a shipmate named richard ralph, who was then the principal architect and builder in the city. he found him erecting homes for the immigrants out of reeds and mud. he was paid pounds or pounds for each building. he was also hunting kangaroo and selling meat. he was married to a lady immigrant, and on the whole appeared to be very comfortable and prosperous. davy gave the lady a five-shilling piece to go and fetch a bottle of gin, and was surprised when she came back bringing two bottles of gin and s. change. in the settlement the necessaries of life were dear, but the luxuries were cheap. if a man could not afford to buy kangaroo beef and potatoes, he could live sumptuously on gin. davy walked back to the port the same evening, and next day took in ballast, which was mud dug out among the mangroves. he arrived at launceston in four days, and then went as coasting pilot of the barque 'belinda', bound to port fairy to take in oil for london. the barque took in head of cattle, the first that were landed at port fairy. he then went to port philip, and was employed in lightering cargo up the yarra, and in ferrying between williamstown and the beach now called port melbourne. he took out the first boatman's licence issued, and has the brass badge, no. , still. vessels at that time had to be warped up the yarra from below humbug reach, as no wind could get at the topsails, on account of the high tea-tree on the banks. out west in . i did not travel as a capitalist, far from it. i went up the mississippi as a deck passenger, sleeping at night sometimes on planks, at other times on bags of oats piled on the deck about six feet high. the mate of a mississippi boat is always a bully and every now and then he came along with a deck-hand carrying a lamp, and requested us to come down. he said it was "agen the rules of the boat to sleep on oats"; but we kept on breaking the rules as much as possible. above the mouth of the ohio the river bank on the missouri side is high, rocky, and picturesque. i longed to be the owner of a farm up there, and of a modest cottage overlooking the father of waters. i said, "if there's peace and plenty to be had in this world, the heart that is humble might hope for it here," and then the very first village visible was called "vide poche." it is now a suburb of st. louis. i took a passage on another boat up the illinois river. there was a very lordly man on the lower deck who was frequently "trailing his coat." he had, in fact, no coat at all, only a grey flannel shirt and nankeen trousers, but he was remarkably in want of a fight, and anxious to find a man willing to be licked. he was a desperado of the great river. we had heard and read of such men, of their reckless daring and deadly fights; but we were peaceful people; we had come out west to make a living, and therefore did not want to be killed. when the desperado came near we looked the other way. there was a party of five immigrant englishmen sitting on their luggage. one of them was very strongly built, a likely match for the bully, and a deck-hand pointing to him said: "jack, do you know what that englishman says about you?" "no, what does he say?" "he says he don't think you are of much account with all your brag. reckons he could lick you in a couple of minutes." uttering imprecations, jack approached the englishman, and dancing about the deck, cleared the ring for the coming combat. "come on, you green-horn, and take your gruel. here's the best man on the river for you. you'll find him real grit." the stranger sat still, said he was not a fighting man, and did not want to quarrel with anybody. jack grew more ferocious than ever, and aimed a blow at the peaceful man to persuade him to come on. he came on suddenly. the two men were soon writhing together on the guard deck, and i was pleased to observe the desperado was undermost. the englishman was full of fear, and was fighting for his life. he was doing it with great earnestness. he was grasping the throat of his enemy tightly with both hands, and pressing his thumbs on the wind-pipe. we could see he was going to win in his own simple way, without any recourse to science, and he would have done so very soon had he not been interrupted. but as jack was growing black in the face, the other englishmen began to pull at their mate, and tried to unlock his grip on jack's throat. it was not easy to do so. he held on to his man to the very last, crying out: "leave me alone till i do for him. man alive, don't you know the villain wants to murder me?" the desperado lay for a while gulping and gasping on his bed of glory, unable to rise. i observed patches of bloody skin hanging loose on both sides of his neck when he staggered along the deck towards the starboard sponson. there was peace for a quarter of an hour. then jack's voice was heard again. he had lost prestige, and was coming to recover it with a bowie knife. he said: "where's that britisher? i am going to cut his liver out." the englishman heard the threat, and said to him mates: "i told you so! he means to murder me. why didn't you leave me alone when i had the fine holt of him?" he then hurried away and ran upstairs to the saloon. jack followed to the foot of the ladder, and one wild-eyed young lady said: "look at the englishman [he was sitting on a chair a few feet distance]. ain't he pale? oh! the coward!" she wanted to witness a real lively fight, and was disappointed. the smell of blood seems grateful to the nostrils of both ladies and gentlemen in the states. a butcher from st. louis explained it thus: "it's in the liver. nine out of ten of the beasts i kill have liver complaint. i am morally sartin i'd find the human livers just the same if i examined them in any considerable quantity." the captain came to the head of the stairs and descended to the deck. he was tall and lanky and mild of speech. he said: "now, jack, what are you going to do with that knife?" "i am waiting to cut the liver out of that englishman. send him down, captain, till i finish the job." "yes, i see. he has been peeling your neck pretty bad, ain't he? powerful claws, i reckon. jack, you'll be getting into trouble some day with your weepons." he took a small knife out of his pocket. "look here, jack. i've been going up and down the river more'n twenty years, and never carried a weepon bigg'n that, and never had a muss with nobody. a man who draws his bowie sometimes gets shot. let's look at your knife." he examined it closely, deciphered the brand, drew his thumb over the edge, and observed: "why, blame me, if it ain't one of them british bowies--a free-trade brummagen. i reckon you can't carve anyone with a thing like this." he made a dig at the hand-rail with the point, and it actually curled up like the ring in a hog's snout. "you see, jack, a knife like that is mean, unbecoming a gentleman, and a disgrace to a respectable boat." he pitched the british article into the river and went up into the saloon. as jack had not yet recovered his prestige, he went away, and returned with a dinner knife in one hand and a shingling hammer in the other. he waited for his adversary until the sun was low and the deck passengers were preparing their evening meal. two of the englishmen came along towards the stairs and ascended to the saloon. presently they began to descend with their mate in the middle. jack looked at them, and for some reason or other he did not want any more prestige. he sauntered away along the guard deck, and remained in retirement during the rest of the voyage. he was not, after all, a very desperate desperado. during the next night our boat was racing with a rival craft, and one of her engines was damaged. she had then to hop on one leg, as it were, as far as peoria. the illinois river had here spread out into a broad lake; the bank was low, there were no buildings of any kind near the water; some of the passengers landed, and nobody came to offer them welcome. i stood near an english immigrant who had just brought his luggage ashore, and was sitting on it with his wife and three children. they looked around at the low land and wide water, and became full of misery. the wife said: "what are we boun' to do now, samiul? wheer are me and the childer to go in this miserable lookin' place?" samiul: "i'm sure, betsy, i don't know. i've nobbut hafe a dollar left of o' my money. they said peoria was a good place for us to stop at, but i don't see any signs o' farmin' about here, and if i go away to look for a job, where am i to put thee and the childer, and the luggage and the bedding?" "oh!" said betsy, beginning to cry; "i'm sorry we ever left owd england. but thou would come, samiul, thou knows, and this is the end on it. here we are in this wild country without house or home, and wi' nothin' to eat. i allus thowt tha wor a fool, samiul, and now i'm sure and sartin on it." samiul could not deny it. his spirit was completely broken; he hung down his head, and tears began to trickle down his eyes. the three children--two sturdy little boys and a fair-haired little girl-- seeing their dad and ma shedding tears, thought the whole world must be coming to an end, and they began howling out aloud without any reserve. it was the best thing they could have done, as it called public attention to their misery, and drew a crowd around them. a tall stranger came near looked at the group, and said: "my good man, what in thunder are you crying for?" "i was told peoria was a good place for farmin'," samuel said, "and now i don't know where to go, and i have got no money." "well, you are a soft 'un," replied the stranger. "just dry up and wait here till i come back." he walked away with long strides. peoria was then a dreary-looking city, of which we could see nothing but the end of a broad road, a few frame buildings, two or three waggons, and some horses hitched to the posts of the piazzas. the stranger soon returned with a farmer in a waggon drawn by two fine upstanding horses, fit for a royal carriage. the farmer at once hired the immigrant at ten dollars a month with board for himself and family. he put the luggage into his waggon, patted the boys on the head and told them to be men; kissed the little girl as he lifted her into the waggon, and said: "now, sissy, you are a nice little lady, and you are to come along with me, and we'll be good friends." never was sorrow so quickly turned into joy. the man, his wife, and children, actually began smiling before the tears on their cheeks were dry. men on every western prairie were preparing their waggons for the great rush to california; new hands were wanted on the lands, and the immigrants who were then arriving in thousands, took the place of the other thousands who went westward across the plains. there was employment for everybody, and during my three years' residence on the prairies i only saw one beggar. he was an italian patriot, who said he had fought for italy; he was now begging for it in english, badly-broken, so i said: "you are a strong, healthy man; why don't you go to work? you could earn eight or ten dollars a month, with board, anywhere in these parts." but the italian patriot was a high-class beggar; he was collecting funds, and had no idea of wasting his time in hard work. he gave me to understand that i had insulted him. besides this patriot, there were a few horse-thieves and hog duffers on the prairies, but these, when identified, were either stretched under a tree or sent to texas. in those days the prairie farmers were all gentlemen, high-minded, truthful, honourable, and hospitable. there were no poor houses, no asylums. all orphans were adopted and treated as members of some family in the neighbourhood. i am informed that things are quite different now. the march of empire has been rapid; many men have grown rich, to use a novel expression, beyond the dreams of avarice, and ten times as many have grown poor and discontented. the great question for statesmen now is, "what is to be done for the relief of the masses?" and the answer to it is as difficult to find as ever. but i have to proceed up the illinois river. the steamboat stopped at lasalle, the head of navigation, and we had then to travel on the illinois and michigan canal. we went on board a narrow passenger boat towed by two horses, and followed by two freight barges. we did not go at a breakneck pace, and had plenty of time for conversation, and to look at the scenery, which consisted of prairies, sloughs, woods, and rivers. the picture lacked background, as there is nothing in illinois deserving the name of hill. but we passed an ancient monument, a tall pillar, rising out of the bed of the illinois river. it is called "starved rock." once a number of indian warriors, pursued by white men, climbed up the almost perpendicular sides of the pillar. they had no food, and though the stream was flowing beneath them, they could not obtain a drink of water without danger of death from rifle bullets. the white men instituted a blockade of the pillar, and the red men all perished of starvation on the top of it. the conversation was conducted by the captain of the canal boat, as he walked on the deck to and fro. he was full of information. he said he was a native of kentucky; had come down the ohio river from louisville; was taking freight to chicago; reckoned he was bound to rake in the dollars on the canal; was no dog-gonned abolitionist; niggers were made to work for white folks; they had no souls any more than a horse; he'd like to see the man who would argue the point. mrs. beecher stowe was then writing "uncle tom's cabin," at too great a distance to hear the challenge, but a greenhorn ventured to argue the point. "what about the mulatto? half black, half white. his father being a white man had a whole soul; his mother being black had no soul. has the mulatto a whole soul, half a soul, or no soul at all?" the captain paused in his walk, with both hands in his pockets, gazed at the argumentative greenhorn, turned his quid, spat across the canal, went away whistling "old dan tucker," and left the question of the mulatto's soul unsolved. when i arrived at joliet there was a land boom at chicago. the canal company had cut up their alternate sections, and were offering them at the usual alarming sacrifice. a land boom is a dream of celestial bliss. while it lasts, the wisest men and the greatest fools walk with ecstatic steps through the golden streets of a new jerusalem. i have been there three times. it is dreadful to wake up and to find that all the gold in the street is nothing but moonshine. i proceeded to the lake city to lay the foundation of my fortune by buying town lots. i laid the foundation on a five-acre block in west joliet, but had to borrow seven dollars from my nearest friend to pay the first deposit. chicago was then a small but busy wooden town, with slushy streets, plank sidewalks, verandahs full of rats, and bedrooms humming with mosquitoes. i left it penniless but proud, an owner of real estate. while returning to joliet on the canal boat my nearest friend, from whom i had borrowed the seven dollars, kindly gave me his views on the subject of "greenhorns." (the australian equivalent of "greenhorn" is "new chum." i had the advantage of serving my time in both capacities). "no greenhorn," he observed, "ever begins to get along in the states until he has parted with his bottom dollar. that puts a keen edge on his mind, and he grows smart in business. a smart man don't strain his back with hard work for any considerable time. he takes out a patent for something--a mowing machine, or one for sowing corn and pumpkins, a new churn or wash-tub, pills for the shakes, or, best of all, a new religion--anything, in fact, that will catch on and fetch the public." i had parted with my bottom dollar, was also in debt, and therefore in the best position for getting along; but i could not all at once think of anything to patent, and had to earn my daily bread some way or other. i began to do it by hammering sheets of iron into the proper curves for an undershot water-wheel. after i had worked two days my boss suggested that i should seek other employment--in a school, for instance; a new teacher was wanted in the common school of west joliet. i said i should prefer something higher; a teacher was of no more earthly account than a tailor. the boss said: "that might be so in benighted britain, but in the great united states our prominent citizens begin life as teachers in the common schools, and gradually rise to the highest positions in the republic." i concluded to rise, but a certificate of competency was required, and i presented myself for examination to the proper official, the editor and proprietor of 'the true democrat' whose office was across the bridge, nearly opposite matheson's woollen factory. i found the editor and his compositor labouring over the next edition of the paper. the editor began the examination with the alphabet. i said in england we used twenty-six letters, and i named all of them correctly except the last. i called it "zed," but the editor said it was "zee," and i did not argue the point. he then asked me to pick out the vowels, the consonants, the flats, the sharps, the aspirates, the labials, the palatals, the dentals, and the mutes. i was struck dumb; i could feel the very foundation of all learning sinking beneath me, and had to confess that i did not know my letters. then he went on to spelling and writing. my writing was barely passable, and my spelling was quite out of date. i used superfluous letters which had been very properly abolished by webster's dictionary. at last the editor remarked, with becoming modesty, that he was himself of no account at figures, but mr. sims would put me through the arithmetic. mr. sims was the compositor, and an englishman; he put me through tenderly. when the examination was finished, i felt like a convicted impostor, and was prepared to resume work on the undershot water-wheel, but the two professors took pity on me, and certified in writing that i was qualified to keep school. then the editor remarked that the retiring teacher, mr. randal, had advertised in the 'true democrat' his ability to teach the latin language; but, unfortunately, father ingoldsby had offered himself as a first pupil; mr. randal never got another, and all his latin oozed out. on this timely hint i advertised my ability to teach the citizens of joliet not only latin, but greek, french, spanish, and portuguese. my advertisement will be found among the files of the 'true democrat' of the year by anyone taking the trouble to look for it. i had carelessly omitted to mention the english language, but we sometimes get what we don't ask for, and no less than sixteen germans came to night school to study our tongue. they were all masons and quarrymen engaged in exporting steps and window sills to the rising city of chicago. when goldsmith tried to earn his bread by teaching english in holland, he overlooked the fact that it was first necessary for him to learn low dutch. i overlooked the same fact, but it gave me no trouble whatever. there was no united germany then, and my pupils disagreed continually about the pronunciation of their own language, which seemed, like that of babel, intelligible to nobody. i composed their quarrels by confining their minds to english solely, and harmony was restored each night by song. the school-house was a one-storey frame building on the second plateau in west joliet, and was attended by about one hundred scholars. in the rear was a shallow lagoon, fenced on one side by a wall of loose rocks, infested with snakes. the track to the cemetery was near, and it soon began to be in very frequent use. one day during recess the boys had a snake hunt, and they tied their game in one bunch by the heads with string, and suspended them by the wayside. i counted them, and there were twenty-seven snakes in the bunch. the year ' was the 'annus mirabilis' of the great rush for gold across the plains, and it was also an 'annus miserabilis' on account of the cholera. in three weeks fourteen hundred waggons bound for california crossed one of the bridges over the canal. i was desirous of joining the rush, but was, as usual, short of cash, and i had to stay at joliet to earn my salary. i met the editor of the 'true democrat' nearly every day carrying home a bucket of water from the aux plaines river. he did his own chores. he sent two young men who wished to become teachers to my school to graduate. one was named o'reilly, lately from ireland; i gave him his degree in a few weeks, and he kept school somewhere out on the prairie. the other did not graduate before the cholera came. he was a native of vermont, and he played the clarionet in our church choir. the instrumental music came from the clarionet, from a violin, and a flute. the choir came from france and germany, old england and new england, ireland, alsace, and belgium. it was divided into two hostile camps, and the party which first took possession of the gallery took precedence in the music for that day only. there was a want of harmony. one morning when the priest was chanting the first words of the gloria, the head of a little french bugler appeared at the top of the gallery stairs, and at once started a plaint chant, gloria, we had never rehearsed or heard before. he sang his solo to the end. he was thirsting for glory, and he took a full draught. i don't think there was ever a choir like ours but one, and that was conducted by a butcher from dolphinholm in the anglican church at garstang. one sunday he started a hymn with a new tune. three times his men broke down, and three times they were heard by the whole congregation whispering ferociously at one another. at length the parson tried to proceed with the service, and said: "let us pray." but the bold butcher retorted: "pray be hanged. let us try again, lads; i know we can do it." he then started the hymn for the fourth time, and they did it. after the service the parson demanded satisfaction of the butcher, and got it in a neighbouring pasture. the cholera came, and we soon grew very serious. the young man from vermont walked with me after school hours, and we tried to be cheerful, but it was of no use. our talk always reverted to the plague, and the best way to cure it or to avoid it. the doctors disagreed. every theory was soon contradicted by facts; all kinds of people were attacked and died; the young and the old, the weak and the strong, the drunken and the sober. every man adopted a special diet or a favourite liquor--brandy, whiskey, bitters, cherry-bounce, sarsaparilla. my own particular preventive was hot tea, sweetened with molasses and seasoned with cayenne pepper. i survived, but that does not prove anything in particular. the two papers, the 'joliet signal' and the 'true democrat', scarcely ever mentioned the cholera. it would have been bad policy, tending to scare away the citizens and to injure trade. many men suddenly found that they had urgent business to look after elsewhere, and sneaked away, leaving their wives and families behind them. on sunday father ingoldsby advised his people to prepare their souls for the visit of the angel of death, who was every night knocking at their doors. there were many, he said, whose faces he had never seen at the rails since he came to joliet; and what answer would they give to the summons which called them to appear without delay before the judgment seat of god? what doom could they expect but that of damnation and eternal death? the sermon needed no translation for the men of many nations who were present. irishmen and englishmen, highlanders and belgians, french and germans, mexicans and canadians, could interpret the meaning of the flashing eye which roamed to every corner of the church, singling out each miserable sinner; the fierce frown, the threatening gesture, the finger first pointing to the heaven above, and then down to the depths of hell. some stayed to pray and to confess their sins; others hardened their hearts and went home unrepentant. michael mangan went to belz's grocery near the canal. he said he felt pains in his interior, and drank a jigger of whisky. then he bought half-a-gallon of the same remedy to take home with him. it was a cheap prescription, costing only twelve and a half cents, but it proved very effective. old belz put the stuff into an earthenware bottle, which he corked with a corncob. michael started for home by the zigzag path which led up the steep limestone bluff, but his steps were slow and unsteady; he sat down on a rock, and took another dose out of his bottle. he never went any further of his own motion, and we buried him next day. we were of different opinions about the cause of his death; some thought it was the cholera, others the pangs of conscience, some the whisky, and others a mixture of all three; at any rate, he died without speaking to the priest. next day another neighbour died, mr. harrigan. he had lost one arm, but with the other he wrote a good hand, and registered deeds in the county court. i called to see him. he was in bed lying on his back, his one arm outside the coverlet, his heaving chest was bare, and his face was ghastly pale. there were six men in the room, one of whom said: "do you know me, mr. harrigan?" "sure, divil a dog in lockport but knows you, barney," said the dying man. barney lived in lockport, and in an audible whisper said to us: "ain't he getting on finely? he'll be all right again to-morrow, please god." "and didn't the doctor say i'd be dead before twelve this day?" asked harrigan. i looked at the clock on the mantelshelf. it was past ten. he died an hour later. one day the young man from vermont rose from his seat and looked at me across the schoolroom. i thought he was going to say something. he took down his hat, went to the door, turned and looked at me again, but he did not speak or make any sign. next morning his place was vacant, and i asked one of the boys if he had seen the young man. the boy said: "he ain't a-coming to school no more, i calkilate. he was buried this morning before school hours." that year, ' was a dismal year in joliet. mr. rogers, one of the school managers, came and sat on a bench near the door. he was a new englander, a carpenter, round-shouldered, tall and bony. he said: "i called in to tell you that i can't vote for appinting you to this school next term. fact is the ladies are dead against you; don't see you at meeting on the sabbath; say you go to the catholic church with the irish and dutch. i a'n't a word to say agen you myself. this is a free country; every man can go, for aught i care, whichever way he darn chooses--to heaven, or hell, or any other place. but i want to be peaceable, and i can't get no peace about voting for you next term, so i thought i'd let you know, that you mightn't be disappointed." in that way mr. rogers washed his hands of me. i said i was sorry i did not please the ladies, but i liked to hear a man who spoke his mind freely. soon afterwards the germans brought me word that the yankees were calling a meeting about me. i was aware by this time that when a special gathering of citizens takes place to discuss the demerits of any individual, it is advisable for that individual to be absent if possible; but curiosity was strong within me; hitherto i had never been honoured with any public notice whatever, and i attended the meeting uninvited. the yankees are excellent orators; they are born without bashfulness; they are taught to speak pieces in school from their childhood; they pronounce each word distinctly; they use correctly the rising inflection and the falling inflection. moreover, they are always in deadly earnest; there is another miserable world awaiting their arrival. their humorists are the most unhappy of men. you may smile when you read their jokes, but when you see the jokers you are more inclined to weep. with pain and sorrow they grind, like samson, at the jokers' mill all the days of their lives. the meeting was held in the new two-storey school-house. deacon beaumont took the chair--my chair--and mr curtis was appointed secretary. i began to hate deacon beaumont, as also mr. curtis, who was the only other teacher present; it was evident they were going to put him in my place. each speaker on rising put his left hand in the side pocket of his pants. i was not mentioned by name, but nevertheless i was given clearly to understand that i had been reared in a land whose people are under the dominion of a tyrannical monarch and a bloated aristocracy; that therefore i had never breathed the pure air of freedom, and was unfitted to teach the children of the great republic. mr. tucker, an influential citizen, moved finally that the school managers be instructed to engage a mr. sellars, of dresden, as teacher at the west joliet school. he said mr. sellars was a young man from new england who had been teaching for a term at dresden, and had given great satisfaction. he had the best testimony to the character and ability of the young man from his own daughter, miss priscilla tucker, who had been school marm in the same school, and was now home on a visit. she could give, from her own personal knowledge, any information the managers might require. mr. tucker's motion was seconded. there was no amendment proposed, and all in favour of the motion were requested by deacon beaumont to stand up. the yankees all rose to their feet, the others sat still, all but old gorges, a prussian, who, with his two sons, had come to vote for me. but the old man did not understand english. his son john pulled him down, but deacon beaumont had counted his vote, and the motion was carried by a majority of one. so i was, in fact, put out of the school by my best friend, old gorges. i went away in a dudgeon and marked off a cellar on my real estate, feet by feet, on the top of the bluff, near the edge of the western prairie. the ground was a mixture of stiff clay and limestone rock, and i dug at it all through the month of september. curious people came along and made various remarks; some said nothing, but went away whistling. one day mr. jackson and paul duffendorff were passing by, and i wanted them to pass, but they stopped like the rest. mr. jackson was reckoned one of the smartest men in will county. he had a large farm, well stocked, but he was never known to do any work except with his brains. he was one of those men who increased the income of the state of illinois by ability. duffendorf was a huge dutchman, nearly seven feet in height. he was a great friend of mine, great every way, but very stupid; he had no sense of refinement. he said: "ve gates, schoolmeister? py golly! here, mr. shackson, is our schoolmeister a vurkin mit spade and bick. how vas you like dat kind of vurk, mr. shackson?" "never could be such a darned fool; sooner steal," answered jackson. duffendorf laughed until he nearly fell into the cellar. now this talk was very offensive. i knew mr. jackson was defendant in a case then pending. he had been charged with conspiring to defraud; with having stolen three horses; with illegally detaining seventy-five dollars; and on other counts which i cannot remember just now. the thing was originally very simple, even duffendorff could understand it. mr. jackson was in want of some ready money, so he directed his hired man to steal three of his horses in the dead of night, take them to chicago, sell them to the highest bidder, find out where the highest bidder lived, and then return with the cash to joliet. the hired man did his part of the business faithfully, returned and reported to his employer. then mr. jackson set out in search of his stolen horses, found them, and brought them home. the man expected to receive half the profits of the enterprise. the boss demurred, and only offered one-third, and said if that was not satisfactory he would bring a charge of horse-stealing. the case went into court, and under the treatment of learned counsel grew very complicated. it was remarkable as being the only one on record in will county in which a man had made money by stealing his own horses. it is, i fancy, still 'sub judice'. both the old school and the new school remained closed even after the cholera ceased to thin out the citizens, but i felt no further interest in the education of youth. when winter came i tramped three miles into the forest, and began to fell trees and split rails in order to fence in my suburban estate. for some time i carried a rifle, and besides various small game i shot two deer, but neither of them would wait for me to come up with them even after i had shot them; they took my two bullets away with them, and left me only a few drops of blood on the snow; then i left the rifle at home. for about four months the ground was covered with snow, and the cold was intense, but i continued splitting until the snakes came out to bask in the sun and warm themselves. i saw near a dead log eight coiled together, and i killed them all. the juice of the sugar maples began to run. i cut notches in the bark in the shape of a broad arrow, bored a hole at the point, inserted a short spout of bark, and on sunny mornings the juice flowed in a regular stream, clear and sparkling; on cloudy days it only dropped. one evening as i was plodding my weary way homeward, i looked up and saw in the distance a man inspecting my cellar. i said, "here's another disgusting fool who ain't seen it before." it certainly was a peculiar cellar, but not worth looking at so much. i hated the sight of it. it had no building over it, never was roofed in, and was sometimes full of snow. the other fool proved to be mr. curtis, the teacher who had written the resolution of the meeting which voted me out of the school. he held out his hand, and i took it, but reluctantly, and under secret protest. i thought to myself, "this mine enemy has an axe to grind, or he would not be here. i'll be on my guard." "i have been waiting for you some time," said mr. curtis. "i was told you were splitting rails in the forest, and would be home about sundown. i wanted to see you about opening school again. mr. rogers won't have anything to say to it, but the other two managers, mr. strong and mr. demmond, want to engage you and me, one to teach in the upper storey of the school, the other down below, and i came up to ask you to see them about it." "how does it happen that mr. sellars has not come over from dresden?" i said. "joliet is about the last place on this earth that mr. sellars will come to. didn't you hear about him and priscilla?" asked mr. curtis. "no, i heard nothing since that meeting; only saw the school doors were closed every time i passed that way." "well, i am surprised. i thought everybody knew by this time, though we did not like to say much about it." i began to feel interested. mr. curtis had something pleasant to tell me about the misfortunes of my enemies, so i listened attentively. it was a tale of western love, and its course was no smoother in illinois than in any less enlightened country of old europe. miss priscilla reckoned she could hoe her own row. she and mr. sellars conducted the common school at dresden with great success and harmony. all went merry as a marriage bell, and the marriage was to come off by-and-by--so hoped miss priscilla. during the recess she took the teacher's arm, and they walked to and fro lovingly. all dresden said it was to be a match, but at the end of the term miss priscilla returned to joliet--the match was not yet made. it was at this time that the dissatisfaction with the new british teacher became extreme; miss priscilla fanned the flame of discontent. she did not "let concealment like a worm i' th' bud feed on her damask cheek," but boldly proposed that mr. sellars--a true-born native of new england, a good young man, always seen at meetings on the sabbath--should be requested to take charge of the west joliet school. so the meeting was held: i was voted out, mr. sellars was voted in, and the daughters of the puritans triumphed. miss priscilla wrote to dresden, announcing to her beloved the success of her diplomacy, requesting him to come to joliet without delay, and assume direction of the new school. this letter fell into the hands of another lady who had just arrived at dresden from new england in search of her husband, who happened to be mr. sellars. the letter which that other lady wrote to miss priscilla i did not see, but it was said to be a masterpiece of composition, and it emptied two schools. mr. tucker went over to dresden and looked around for mr. sellars, but that gentleman had gone out west, and was never heard of again. the west was a very wide unfenced space, without railways. "the fact is," said mr. curtis, "we were all kinder shamed the way things turned out, and we just let 'em rip. but people are now stirring about the school being closed so long, so mr. strong and mr. demmond have concluded to engage you and me to conduct the school." we were engaged that night, and i went rail-splitting no more. but i fenced my estate; and while running the line on the western boundary i found the grave of highland mary. it was in the middle of a grove of oak and hickory saplings, and was nearly hidden by hazel bushes. the tombstone was a slab about two feet high, roughly hewn. her epitaph was, "mary campbell, aged . ." that was all. poor little mary. the common schools of illinois were maintained principally from the revenue derived from grants of land. when the country was first surveyed, one section of acres in each township of six miles square was reserved for school purposes. there was a state law on education, but the management was entirely local, and was in the hands of a treasurer and three directors, elected biennally by the citizens of each school district. the revenue derived from the school section was sometimes not sufficient to defray the salary of the teacher, and then the deficiency was supplied by the parents of the children who had attended at the school; those citizens whose children did not attend were not taxed by the state for the common schools; they did not pay for that which they did not receive. in some instances only one school was maintained by the revenue of two school sections. when the attendance in the school was numerous, a young lady, called the "school-marm," assisted in the teaching. sometimes, as in the case of miss priscilla, she fell into trouble. the books were provided by the enterprise of private citizens, and an occasional change of "readers" was agreeable both to teachers and scholars. the best of old stories grow tiresome when repeated too often. one day a traveller from cincinnati brought me samples of a new series of "readers," offering on my approval, to substitute next day a new volume for every old one produced. i approved, and he presented each scholar with copies of the new series for nothing. the teaching was secular, but certain virtues were inculcated either directly or indirectly. truth and patriotism were recommended by the example of george washington, who never told a lie, and who won with his sword the freedom of his country. there were lessons on history, in which the tyranny of the english government was denounced; kings, lords and bishops, especially bishop laud, were held up to eternal abhorrence; as was also england's greed of gain, her intolerance, bigotry, taxation; her penal and navigation laws. the glorious war of independence was related at length. the children of the puritans, of the irish and the germans, did not in those days imbibe much prejudice in favour of england or her institutions, and the english teacher desirous of arriving at the truth, had the advantage of having heard both sides of many historical questions; of listening, as it were, to the scream of the american eagle, as well as to the roar of the british lion. mr. curtis was a good teacher, systematic, patient, persevering, and ingenious. i ceased to hate him; miss priscilla's downfall cemented our friendship. we kept order in the school by moral suasion, but the task was sometimes difficult. my private feelings were in favour of the occasional use of the hickory stick, the american substitute for the rod of solomon, and the birch of england. the geography we taught was principally that of the united states and her territories, spacious maps of which were suspended round the school, continually reminding the scholars of their glorious inheritance. it was then full of vacant lots, over which roamed the indian and the buffalo, species of animals now nearly extinct. we did not pay much attention to the rest of the world. elocution was inculcated assiduously, and at regular intervals each boy and girl had to come forth and "speak a piece" in the presence of the scholars, teachers, and visitors. mental arithmetic and the use of fractions were taught daily. the use of the decimal in the american coinage is of great advantage; it is easier and more intelligible to children than the clumsy old system of pounds, shillings, pence, and farthings. it is a system which would no doubt have been long ago adopted by england, if it had not been humiliating to our national pride to take even a good thing from rebellious yankees, and inferior latin races. we cling fondly to absurdities because they are our own. in australia wild rabbits are vermin, in england they are private property; and if one of the three millions of her miserable paupers is found with a rabbit in each of his coat pockets, he is fined s. or sent to gaol. pope gregory xiii. demonstrated the error of the calendar then in use, and all catholic nations adopted his correction. but when the adoption of the calendar was proposed in parliament, john bull put his big foot down at once; he would receive no truth, not even a mathematical one, from the pope of rome, and it was only after the lapse of nearly years, when the memory of gregory and his calendar had almost faded away from the sensitive mind of protestantism, that an act was passed, "equalising the style in great britain and ireland with that used in other countries of europe." a fugitive slave with his wife and daughter came to joliet. one day he was seized by three slave-hunters, who took him towards the canal. a number of abolitionists assembled to rescue the slave, but the three men drew their revolvers, and no abolitionist had the courage to fire the first shot. the slave was put in a canal boat and went south; his wife remained in joliet and earned her bread by weaving drugget; the daughter came to my school; she was of pure negro blood, but was taught with the white girls. the abolitionists were increasing in number, and during the war with the south the slaves were freed. they are now like israel in egypt, they increase too rapidly. if father abraham had sent them back to africa when they were only four millions, he would have earned the gratitude of his country. now they number more than eight millions; the sunny south agrees with their constitution; they work as little and steal as much as possible. in the days of their bondage they were addicted to petty larceny; now they have votes, and when they achieve place and power they are addicted to grand larceny, and they loot the public treasury as unblushingly as the white politicians. the nigger question has doubled in magnitude during the last thirty years, and there will have to be another abolition campaign of some kind. the blacks are incapable of ruling the whites; no time was given to educate them for their new duties, if teaching them was possible; the declaration of independence was in their case a mockery from the beginning. when all the old abolitionists and slave-holders are dead, another generation of men grown wiser by the failure of the policy of their forefathers may solve the black problem. complaint is made that the american education of to-day is in a chaotic condition, due to the want of any definite idea of what education is aiming at. there is evidence that the ancients of new england used to birch their boys, but after independence had been fought for and won, higher aims prevailed. the puritan then believed that his children were born to a destiny far grander than that of any other children on the face of the earth; the treatment accorded to them was therefore to be different. the fundamental idea of american life was to be "freedom," and the definition of "freedom" by a learned american is, "the power which necessarily belongs to the self-conscious being of determining his actions in view of the highest, the universal good, and thereby of gradually realising in himself the eternal divine perfection." the definition seems a little hazy, but the workings of great minds are often unintelligible to common people. "the american citizen must be morally autonomous, regarding all institutions as servants, not as masters. so far man has been for the most part a thrall. the true american must worship the inner god recognised as his own deepest and eternal self, not an outer god regarded as something different from himself." lucifer is said to have entertained a similar idea. he would not be a thrall, and the result as described by the republican milton was truly disastrous: "him the almighty power hurl'd headlong down to bottomless perdition region of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace and rest can never dwell." the manner in which the american citizen is to be made "morally autonomous, and placed beyond the control of current opinion," will require much money; his parents must therefore be rich; they must already have inherited wealth, or have obtained it by ability or labour. the course of training to be given to youth includes travelling for six years in foreign countries under private tutors, studying human history, ethnic, social, political, industrial, æsthetic, religious; gems of poetry; the elements of geometry; mechanics; art, plastic, and graphic; reading confucius, sakya-muni, themistocles, socrates, julius caesar, paul, mahommed, charlemagne, alfred, gregory vii., st. bernard, st. francis, savonarola, luther, queen elizabeth, columbus, washington, lincoln, homer, virgil, dante, tennyson, and lowell. the boys on the prairies had to earn their bread; they could not spend six years travelling around and studying all the writers above mentioned, making themselves morally autonomous, and worshipping their own deepest and eternal selves. the best men america has produced were reared at home, and did chores out of school hours. when i was expelled from school by the yankees, mr. mcevoy, the leading irish politician, called me aside and said: "whisper, you just hang round until next election, and we'll turn out the yankee managers, and put you in the school again." the germans were slow in acquiring political knowledge as well as in learning the english language; but language, politics, and law itself are the birthright of the irish. by force of circumstances, and through the otherwise deplorable failure of miss priscilla, i resumed work in the school before the election, but mr. mcevoy, true to his promise, organised the opposition--it is always the opposition--and ejected the yankee managers, but in the fall of i resigned, and went a long way south. when i returned, joliet was a city, and mr. rendel, one of my german night scholars, was city marshal. i met him walking the streets, and carrying his staff of office with great dignity. i took up my abode in an upper apartment of the gaol, then in charge of sheriff cunningham, who had a farm in west joliet, near a plank road, leading on to the prairie. i had known the sheriff two years before, but did not see much of him at this time, though i was in daily communication with his son, silas, the deputy sheriff. it was under these favourable circumstancesthat i was enabled to witness a general gaol delivery of all the prisoners in joliet. one, charged with killing his third man, was out on bail. i saw him in matheson's boarding-house making love to one of the hired girls, and she seemed quite pleased with his polite attentions. matheson was elected governor of the state of illinois, and became a millionaire by dealing in railways. he was a native of missouri, and a man of ability; in ' i saw him at work in a machine shop. the prisoners did not regain their freedom all at once, but in the space of three weeks they trickled out one by one. the deputy sheriff, silas, had been one of my pupils; he was now about seventeen years of age, and a model son of the prairies. his features were exceedingly thin, his eyes keen, his speech and movements slow, his mind cool and calculating. he never injured his constitution by any violent exertion; in fact, he seemed to have taken leave of active life and all its worries, and to have settled down to an existence of ease and contemplation. if he had any anxiety about the safe custody of his prisoners he never showed it. he had finished his education, so i did not attempt to control him by moral suasion, or by anything else, but by degrees i succeeded in eliciting from him all the particulars he could impart about the criminals under his care. there was no fence around the gaol, and silas kept two of them always locked in. he "calkilated they wer kinder unsafe." they belonged to a society of horse thieves whose members were distributed at regular intervals along the prairies, and who forwarded their stolen animals by night to chicago. the two gentlemen in gaol were of an untrustworthy character, and would be likely to slip away. about a week after my arrival i met silas coming out of the gaol, and he said: "they're gone, be gosh." silas never wasted words. "who is gone?" i inquired. "why, them two horse thieves. just look here." we went round to the east side of the gaol, and there was a hole about two feet deep, and just wide enough to let a man through. the ground underneath the wall was rocky, but the two prisoners had been industrious, had picked a hole under the wall and had gone through. "where's the sheriff?" i asked. "won't mr. cunningham go after the men?" "he's away at bourbonnais' grove, about suthin' or other, among the bluenoses; can't say when he'll be back; it don't matter anyhow. he might just as well try to go to hell backwards as catch them two horse thieves now." silas had still two other prisoners under his care, and he let them go outside as usual to enjoy the fresh air. they had both been committed for murder, but their crime was reckoned a respectable one compared to the mean one of horse stealing, so silas gave them honourable treatment. one of the prisoners was a widow lady who had killed another lady with an axe, at a hut near the canal on the road to lockport. she seemed crazy, and when outside the gaol walked here and there in a helpless kind of way, muttering to herself; but sometimes an idea seemed to strike her that she had something to do lockport way, and she started in that direction, forgetting very likely that she had done it already; but whenever silas called her back, she returned without giving any trouble. one day, however, when silas was asleep she went clean out of sight, and i did not see her any more. the sheriff was still absent among the bluenoses. the fourth prisoner was an englishman named wilkins who owned a farm on the prairie, in the direction of bourbonnais' grove. a few weeks before, returning home from joliet with his waggon and team of horses, he halted for a short time at a distillery, situated at the foot of the low bluff which bounded the bottom, through which ran the aux plaines river. it was a place at which the farmers often called to discuss politics, the prices of produce, and other matters, and also, if so disposed, to take in a supply of liquor. the corn whisky of illinois was an article of commerce which found its way to many markets. although it was sold at a low price at home, it became much more valuable after it had been exported to england or france, and had undergone scientific treatment by men of ability. the corn used in its manufacture was exceedingly cheap, as may be imagined when corn-fed pork was, in the winter of ' , offered for sale in joliet at one cent per pound. after the poison of the prairies had been exported to europe, a new flavour was imparted to it, and it became cognac, or the best irish or scotch whisky. wilkins halted his team and went into the whisky-mill, where the owner, robinson, was throwing charcoal into the furnace under his boiler with a long-handled shovel. he was an enterprising englishman who was wooing the smiles of fortune with better prospects of success than the slow, hard-working farmer. i had seen him first in west joliet in ' , when he was travelling around buying corn for his distillery. he was a handsome man, about thirty years of age, five feet ten inches in height, had been well educated, was quite able to hold his own among the men of the west, and accommodated himself to their manners and habits. there were three other farmers present, and their talk drifted from one thing to another until it at last settled on the question of the relative advantages of life in england and the states. robinson took the part of england, wilkins stuck to the states; he said: "a poor man has no chance at home; he is kept down by landlords, and can never get a farm of his own. in illinois i am a free man, and have no one to lord it over me. if i had lived and slaved in england for a hundred years i should never have been any better off, and now i have a farm as good as any in will county, and am just as good a man as e'er another in it." now wilkins was only a small man, shorter by four inches than robinson, who towered above him, and at once resented the claim to equality. he said: "you as good as any other man, are you? why there ain't a more miserable little skunk within twenty miles round joliet." robinson was forgetting the etiquette of the west. no man--except, perhaps, in speaking to a nigger--ever assumed a tone of insolent superiority to any other man; if he did so, it was at the risk of sudden death; even a hired man was habitually treated with civility. the titles of colonel, judge, major, captain, and squire were in constant use both in public and private; there was plenty of humorous "chaff," but not insult. colonels, judges, majors, captains, and squires were civil, both to each other and to the rest of the citizens. robinson, in speaking to his fellow countryman, forgot for a moment that he was not in dear old england, where he could settle a little difference with his fists. but little wilkins did not forget, and he was not the kind of man to be pounded with impunity. he had in his pocket a hunting knife, with which he could kill a hog--or a man. when robinson called him a skunk he felt in his pocket for the knife, and put his thumb on the spring at the back of the buckhorn handle, playing with it gently. it was not a british brummagem article, made for the foreign or colonial market, but a genuine weapon that could be relied on at a pinch. "oh, i dare say you were a great man at home, weren't you?" he said. "a lord maybe, or a landlord. but we don't have sich great men here, and i am as good a man as you any day, skunk though i be." robinson had just thrown another shovelful of charcoal into the furnace under his boiler, and he held up his shovel as if ready to strike williams, but it was never known whether he really intended to strike or not. the three other men standing near were quite amused with the dispute of the two englishmen, and were smiling pleasantly at their foolishness. but little wilkins did not smile, nor did he wait for the shovel to come down on his head; he darted under it with his open knife in the same manner as the roman soldier went underneath the dense spears of the pyrrhic phalanx, and set to work. robinson tried to parry the blows with the handle of the shovel, but he made only a poor fight; the knife was driven to the hilt into his body seven times, then he threw down his shovel, and tried to save himself behind the boiler, but it was too late; the dispute about england and the states was settled. wilkins took his team home, then returned to joliet and gave himself into the custody of the squire, hoosier smith. at the inquest he was committed to take his trial for murder, and did not get bail. his wife left the farm, and with her two little boys lived in an old log hut near the gaol. she brought with her two cows, which wilkins milked each morning as soon as silas let him out of prison. i could see him every day from the window of my room, and i often passed by the hut when he was doing chores, chopping wood, or fetching water, but i never spoke to him. he did not look happy or sociable, and i could not think of anything pleasant to say by way of making his acquaintance. after much observation and thought i came to the conclusion that sheriff cunningham wanted his prisoner to go away; he would not like to hang the man; the citizens would not take wilkins off his hands; if two fools chose to get up a little difficulty and one was killed, it was their own look-out; and anyway they were only foreigners. the fact was wilkins was waiting for someone to purchase his farm. the court-house for will county was within view of the gaol, at the other side of the street, and one day i went over to look at it. the judge was hearing a civil case, and i sat down to listen to the proceedings. a learned counsel was addressing the jury. he talked at great length in a nasal tone, slowly and deliberately; he had one foot on a form, one hand in a pocket of his pants, and the other hand rested gracefully on a volume of the statutes of the state of illinois. he had much to say about various horses running on the prairie, and particularly about one animal which he called the "skemelhorne horse." i tried to follow his argument, but the "skemelhorne horse" was so mixed up with the other horses that i could not spot him. semicircular seats of unpainted pine for the accommodation of the public rose tier above tier, but most of them were empty. there were present several gentlemen of the legal profession, but they kept silence, and never interrupted the counsel's address. nor did the judge utter a word; he sat at his desk sideways, with his boots resting on a chair. he wore neither wig nor gown, and had not even put on his sunday go-to-meeting clothes. neither had the lawyers. if there was a court crier or constable present he was indistinguishable from the rest of the audience. near the judge's desk there was a bucket of water and three tumblers on a small table. it was a hot day. the counsel paused in his speech, went to the table, and took a drink; a juryman left the box and drank. the judge also came down from his seat, dipped a tumbler in the bucket and quenched his thirst; one spectator after another went to the bucket. there was equality and fraternity in the court of law; the speech about the skemelhorne horse went on with the utmost gravity and decorum, until the nasal drawl of the learned counsel put me to sleep. on awakening, i went into another hall, in which dealings in real estate were registered. shelves fixed against the walls held huge volumes lettered on the back. one of these volumes was on a table in the centre of the hall, and in it the registrar was copying a deed. before him lay a pile of deeds with a lead weight on the top. a farmer came in with a paper, on which the registrar endorsed a number and placed at the bottom of the pile. there was no parchment used; each document was a half-sheet foolscap size, party printed and partly written. another farmer came in, took up the pile and examined the numbers to see how soon his deed was likely to be copied, and if it was in its proper place according to the number endorsed. the registrar was not fenced off from the public by a wide counter; he was the servant of the citizens, and had to satisfy those who paid him for his labours. his pay was a fixed number of cents per folio, not dollars, nor pounds. when i went back to gaol i found it deserted. wilkins had sold his farm and disappeared. his wife remained in the hut. sheriff cunningham was still away among the bluenoses, and silas was 'functus officio', having accomplished a general gaol delivery. he did not pine away on account of the loss of his prisoners, nor grow any thinner--that was impossible. i remained four days longer, expecting something would happen; but nothing did happen, then i left the gaol. i wrote out two notices informing the public that i was willing to sell my real estate; one of these i pasted up at the post office, the other on the bridge over the aux plaines river. next day a german from chicago agreed to pay the price asked, and we called on colonel smith, the squire. the colonel filled in a brief form of transfer, witnessed the payment of the money--which was in twenty-dollar gold pieces, and he charged one dollar as his fee. the german would have to pay about cents for its registration. if the deed was lost or stolen, he would insert in a local journal a notice of his intention to apply for a copy, which would make the original of as little value to anybody as a provincial and suburban bank note. in illinois, transfers of land were registered in each county town. to buy or sell a farm was as easy as horse-stealing, and safer. usually, no legal help was necessary for either transaction. by this time california had a rival; gold had been found in australia. i was fond of gold; i jingled the twenty dollar gold pieces in my pocket, and resolved to look for more at the fountainhead, by way of my native land. a railway from chicago had just reached joliet, and had been opened three days before. it was an invitation to start, and i accepted it. nobody ever loved his native land better than i do when i am away from it. i can call to mind its innumerable beauties, and in fancy saunter once more through the summer woods, among the bracken, the bluebells, and the foxglove. i can wander by the banks of the brock, where the sullen trout hide in the clear depths of the pools. i can walk along the path--the path to paradise--still lined with the blue-eyed speedwell and red campion; i know where the copse is carpeted with the bluebell and ragged robin, where grow the alders, and the hazels rich with brown nuts, the beeches and the oaks; where the flower of the yellow broom blazes like gold in the noontide sun; where the stockdove coos overhead in the ivy; where the kingfisher darts past like a shaft of sapphire, and the water ouzel flies up stream; where the pheasant glides out from his home in the wood to feed on the headland of the wheat field; where the partridge broods in the dust with her young; where the green lane is bordered by the guelder-rose or wayfaring tree, the raspberry, strawberry, and cherry, the wild garlic of starlike flowers, the woodruff, fragrant as new-mown hay; the yellow pimpernel on the hedge side. i see in the fields and meadows the bird's foot trefoil, the oxeye daisy, the lady smocks, sweet hemlock, butterbur, the stitchwort, and the orchis, the "long purpled" of shakespeare. by the margin of the pond the yellow iris hangs out its golden banners over which the dragon fly skims. the hedgerows are gay with the full-blown dog-roses, the bells of the bilberries droop down along the wood-side, and the red-hipped bumble bees hum over them. out of the woodland and up snaperake lane i rise to the moorland, and then the sea coast comes in sight, and the longing to know what lies beyond it. i have been twice to see what lies beyond it, and when i return once more my own land does not know me. there is another sea coast in sight now, and when i sail away from it i hope to land on some one of the isles of the blest. i called on my oldest living love; she looked, i thought, even younger than when we last parted. she was sitting before the fire alone, pale and calm, but she gave me no greeting; she had forgotten me. i took a chair, sat down beside her, and waited. a strange lass with a fair face and strong bare arms came in and stared at me steadily for a minute or two, but went away without saying a word. i looked around the old house room that i knew so well, with its floor of flags from buckley delph, scoured white with sandstone. there stood, large and solid, the mealark of black oak, with the date, , carved just below the heavy lid, more than years old, and as sound as ever. the sloping mirror over the chest of drawers was still supported by the four seasons, one at each corner. above it was queen caroline, with the crown on her head, and the sceptre in her hand, seated in a magnificent roman chariot, drawn by the lion and the unicorn. that team had tortured my young soul for years. i could never understand why that savage lion had not long ago devoured both the queen and the unicorn. my old love was looking at me, and at last she put one hand on my knee, and said: "it's george." "yes," i said, "it's george." she gazed a while into the fire and said: "alice is dead." "yes, alice is dead." "and jenny is dead." "yes, and jenny. they are at the bottom of the sea." in that way she counted a long list of the dead, which she closed by saying: "they are all gone but joe." she had been a widow more than twenty-five years. she was a young woman, tall and strong, before bonaparte, wellington, the united states, or australia, had ever been heard of in lancashire, and from the top of a stile she had counted every windmill and chimney in preston before it was covered with the black pall of smoke from the cotton-mills. among the diggers in . i. i lost a summer in , and had two winters instead, one in england, the other in australia. it was cold in the month of may as we neared bendigo. we were a mixed party of english, irish, and scotch, twelve in number, and accompanied by three horse-teams, carrying tubs, tents, and provisions. we also had plenty of arms wherewith to fight the bush-rangers, but i did not carry any myself; i left the fighting department to my mate, philip, and to the others who were fond of war. philip was by nature and training as gentle and amiable as a lamb, but he was a young irelander, and therefore a fighter on principle. o'connell had tried moral suasion on the english government long enough, and to no purpose, so philip and his fiery young friends were prepared to have recourse to arms. the arms he was now carrying consisted of a gleaming bowie knife, and two pistols stuck in his belt. the pistols were good ones; philip had tried them on a friend in the phoenix park the morning after a ball at the rotunda, and had pinked his man--shot him in the arm. it is needless to say that there was a young lady in the case; i don't know what became of her, but during the rest of her life she could boast of having been the fair demoiselle on whose account the very last duel was fought in ireland. then the age of chivalry went out. the bowie knife was the british article bought in liverpool. it would neither kill a man nor cut a beef-steak, as was proved by experience. we met parties of men from bendigo--unlucky diggers, who offered to sell their thirty-shilling licenses. by this time my cash was low; my twenty-dollar gold pieces were all consumed. while voyaging to the new ophir, where gold was growing underfoot, i could not see any sound sense in being niggardly. but when i saw a regular stream of disappointed men with empty pockets offering their monthly licenses for five shillings each within sight of the goldfield, i had misgivings, and i bought a license that had three weeks to run from william matthews. ten other men bought licenses, but william patterson, a canny scotchman, said he would chance it. it was about midday when we halted near bendigo creek, opposite a refreshment tent. standing in front of it was a man who had passed us on the road, and lit his pipe at our fire. when he stooped to pick up a firestick i saw the barrel of a revolver under his coat. he was accompanied by a lady on horseback, wearing a black riding habit. our teamsters called him captain sullivan. he was even then a man well known to the convicts and the police, and was supposed to be doing a thriving business as keeper of a sly grog shop, but in course of time it was discovered that his main source of profit was murder and robbery. he was afterwards known as "the new zealand murderer," who turned queen's evidence, sent his mates to the gallows, but himself died unhanged. while we stood in the track, gazing hopelessly over the endless heaps of clay and gravel covering the flat, a little man came up and spoke to philip, in whom he recognised a fellow countryman. he said: "you want a place to camp on, don't you?" "yes," replied philip, "we have only just come up from melbourne." "well, come along with me," said the stranger. he was a civil fellow, and said his name was jack moore. we went with him in the direction of the first white hill, but before reaching it we turned to the left up a low bluff, and halted in a gully where many men were at work puddling clay in tubs. after we had put up our tent, philip went down the gully to study the art of gold digging. he watched the men at work; some were digging holes, some were dissolving clay in tubs of water by stirring it rapidly with spades, and a few were stooping at the edge of water-holes, washing off the sand mixed with the gold in milk pans. philip tried to enter into conversation with the diggers. he stopped near one man, and said: "good day, mate. how are you getting along?" the man gazed at him steadily, and replied "go you to hell," so philip moved on. the next man he addressed sent him in the same direction, adding a few blessings; the third man was panning off, and there was a little gold visible in his pan. he was gray, grim, and hairy. philip said: "not very lucky to-day, mate?" the hairy man stood up, straightened his back, and looked at philip from head to foot. "lucky be blowed. i wish i'd never seen this blasted place. here have i been sinking holes and puddling for five months, and hav'n't made enough to pay my tucker and the government license, thirty bob a month. i am a mason, and i threw up twenty-eight bob a day to come to this miserable hole. wherever you come from, young man, i advise you to go back there again. there's twenty thousand men on bendigo, and i don't believe nineteen thousand of 'em are earning their grub." "i can't well go back fifteen thousand miles, even if i had money to take me back," answered philip. "well, you might walk as far as melbourne," said the hairy man, "and then you could get fourteen bob a day as a hodman; or you might take a job at stone breaking; the government are giving s. d. a yard for road metal. ain't you got any trade to work at?" "no, i never learned a trade, i am only a gentleman." he felt mean enough to cry. "well, that's bad. if you are a scholar, you might keep school, but i don't believe there's half-a-dozen kids on the diggin's. they'd be of no mortal use except to tumble down shafts. fact is, if you are really hard up, you can be a peeler. up at the camp they'll take on any useless loafer wot's able to carry a carbine, and they'll give you tucker, and you can keep your shirt clean. but, mind, if you do join the joeys, i hope you'll be shot. i'd shoot the hull blessed lot of 'em if i had my way. they are nothin' but a pack of robbers." the hairy man knew something of current history and statistics, but he had not a pleasant way of imparting his knowledge. picaninny gully ended in a flat, thinly timbered, where there were only a few diggers. turning to the left, philip found two men near a waterhole hard at work puddling. when he bade them good-day, they did not swear at him, which was some comfort. they were brothers, and were willing to talk, but they did not stop work for a minute. they had a large pile of dirt, and were making hay while the sun shone--that is, washing their dirt as fast as they could while the water lasted. during the preceding summer they had carted their wash-dirt from the gully until rain came and filled the waterhole. they said they had not found any rich ground, but they could now make at least a pound a day each by constant work. philip thought they were making more, as they seemed inclined to sing small; in those days to brag of your good luck might be the death of you. while philip was away interviewing the diggers, jack showed me where he had worked his first claim, and had made pounds in a few days. "you might mark off a claim here and try it," he said. "i think i took out the best gold, but there may be a little left still hereabout." i pegged off two claims, one for philip, and one for myself, and stuck a pick in the centre of each. then we sat down on a log. six men came up the gully carrying their swags, one of them was unusually tall. jack said: "do you see that big fellow there? his name is mckean. he comes from my part of ireland. he is a lawyer; the last time i saw him he was in a court defending a prisoner, and now the whole six feet seven of him is nothing but a dirty digger." "what made you leave ireland, jack?" i asked. "i left it, i guess, same as you did, because i couldn't live in it. my father was a fisherman, and he was drowned. mother was left with eight children, and we were as poor as church mice. i was the oldest, so i went to belfast and got a billet on board ship as cabin boy. i made three voyages from liverpool to america, and was boxed about pretty badly, but i learned to handle the ropes. my last port there was boston, and i ran away and lived with a yankee farmer named small. he was a nigger driver, he was, working the soul out of him early and late. he had a boat, and i used to take farm produce in it across the bay to boston, where the old man's eldest son kept a boarding-house. there was a daughter at home, a regular high-flier. she used to talk to me as if i was a nigger. one day when we were having dinner, she was asking me questions about ireland, and about my mother, sisters, and brothers. then i got mad, thinking how poor they were, and i could not help them. 'miss small,' i said, 'my mother is forty years old, and she has eight children, and she looks younger than you do, and has not lost a tooth.' "miss small, although quite young, was nearly toothless, so she was mad enough to kill me; but her brother jonathan was at table, and he took my part, saying, 'sarves you right, sue;' why can't you leave jack alone?' "but sue made things most unpleasant, and i told jonathan i couldn't stay on the farm, and would rather go to sea again. jonathan said he, too, was tired of farming, and he would go with me. he could manage a boat across boston harbour, but he had never been to sea. next time there was farm stuff to go to boston he went with me; we left the boat with his brother, and shipped in a whaler bound for the south seas. i used to show him how to handle the ropes, to knot and splice, and he soon became a pretty good hand, though he was not smart aloft when reefing. his name was small, but he was not a small man; he was six feet two, and the strongest man on board, and he didn't allow any man to thrash me, because i was little. after eighteen months' whaling he persuaded me to run away from the ship at hobarton; he said he was tired of the greasy old tub; so one night we bundled up our swags, dropped into a boat, and took the road to launceston, where we expected to find a vessel going to melbourne. when we were half-way across the island, we called just before sundown at a farmhouse to see if we could get something to eat, and lodging for the night. we found two women cooking supper in the kitchen, and jonathan said to the younger one, 'is the old man at home?' she replied quite pertly: "'captain massey is at home, if that's what you mean by 'old man.' "'well, my dear,' said jonathan, 'will you just tell him that we are two seamen on our way to launceston, and we'd like to have a word with him.' "'i am not your dear,' she replied, tossing her head, and went out. after a while she returned, and said: 'captain massey wanted to speak to the little man first.' that was me. "i went into the house, and was shown into the parlour, where the captain was standing behind a table. there was a gun close to his hand in a corner, two horse pistols on a shelf, and a sword hanging over them. he said: 'who are you, where from, and whither bound?' to which i replied: "'my name is john moore; me and my mate have left our ship, a whaler, at hobarton, and we are bound for launceston.' "'oh, you are a runaway foremast hand are you? then you know something about work on board ship.' he then put questions to me about the work of a seaman, making sail, and reefing, about masts, yards, and rigging, and finished by telling me to box a compass. i passed my examination pretty well, and he told me to send in the other fellow. he put jonathan through his sea-catechism in the same way, and then said we could have supper and a shake-down for the night. "after supper the young lady sat near the kitchen fire sewing, and jonathan took a chair near her and began a conversation. he said: "i must beg pardon for having ventured to address you as 'my dear,' on so short an acquaintance, but i hope you will forgive my boldness. fact is, i felt quite attached to you at first sight.' and so on. if there was one thing that jonathan could do better than another it was talking. the lady was at first very prim and reserved; but she soon began to listen, smiled, and even tittered. a little boy about two years old came in and stood near the fire. having nothing else to do, i took him on my knee, and set him prattling until we were very good friends. then an idea came into my head. i said: "'i guess, jonathan, this little kid is about the same age as your youngest boy in boston, ain't he?' "of course, jonathan had no boy and was not married, but the sudden change that came over that young lady was remarkable. she gave jonathan a look of fury, jumped up from her seat, snatched up her sewing, and bounced out of the kitchen. the old man came in, and told us to come along, and he would show us our bunks. we thought he was a little queer, but he seemed uncommonly kind and anxious to make us comfortable for the night. he took us to a hut very strongly built with heavy slabs, left us a lighted candle, and bade us good-night. after he closed the door we heard him put a padlock on it; he was a kindly old chap, and did not want anybody to disturb us during the night, and we soon fell fast asleep. next morning he came early and called us to breakfast. he stayed with us all the time, and when we had eaten, said: "'well, have you had a good breakfast?' "jonathan spoke: "'yes, old man, we have. you are a gentleman; you have done yourself proud, and we are thankful, ain't we, jack? you are the best and kindest old man we've met since we sailed from boston. and now i think it's time we made tracks for launceston. by-bye, captain. come along, jack.' "'no you won't, my fine coves,' replied the captain. 'you'll go back to hobarton, and join your ship if you have one, which i don't believe. you can't humbug an old salt like me. you are a pair of runaway convicts, and i'll give you in charge as sich. here, constables, put the darbies on 'em, and take 'em back to hobarton.' "two men who had been awaiting orders outside the door now entered, armed with carbines, produced each a pair of handcuffs, and came towards us. but jonathan drew back a step or two, clenched his big fists, and said: "'no, you don't. if this is your little game, captain, all i have to say is, you are the darndest double-faced old cuss on this side of perdition. you can shoot me if you like, but neither you nor the four best men in van diemen's land can put them irons on me. i am a free citizen of the great united states, and a free man i'll be or die. i'll walk back to hobarton, if you like, with these men, for i guess that greasy old whaler has gone to sea again by this time, and we'll get another ship there as well as at launceston.' "captain massey did not like to venture on shooting us off-hand, so at last he told the constables to put up their handcuffs and start with us for hobarton. "after we had travelled awhile jonathan cooled down and began to talk to the constables. he asked them how they liked the island, how long they had been in it, if it was a good country for farming, how they were getting along, and what pay they got for being constables. one of them said: 'the island is pretty good in parts, but it's too mountaynyus; we ain't getting along at all, and we won't have much chance to do any good until our time is out.' "'what on airth do you mean by saying "until you time is out?" ain't your time your own?' asked jonathan. "'no, indeed. i see you don't understand. we are government men, and we ain't done our time. we were sent out from england.' "'oh! you were sent out, were you? now, i see, that means you are penitentiary men, and ought to be in gaol. jack, look here. this kind of thing will never do. you and me are two honest citizens of the united states, and here we are, piloted through van diemen's land by two convicts, and britishers at that. this team has got to be changed right away.' "he seized both carbines and handed them to me; then he handcuffed the constables, who were so taken aback they never said a word. then jonathan said, 'this is training day. now, march.' "the constables walked in front, me and jonathan behind, shouldering the guns. in this way we marched until we sighted hobarton, but the two convicts were terribly afraid to enter the city as prisoners; they said they were sure to be punished, would most likely be sent into a chain gang, and would soon be strangled in the barracks at night for having been policemen. we could see they were really afraid, so we took off the handcuffs and gave them back the carbines. "before entering the city we found that the whaler had left the harbour, and felt sure we would not be detained long, as nothing could be proved against us. when we were brought before the beak jonathan told our story, and showed several letters he had received from boston, so he was discharged. but i had nothing to show; they knew i was an irishman, and the police asked for a remand to prove that i was a runaway convict. i was kept three weeks in gaol, and every time i was brought to court jonathan was there. he said he would not go away without me. the police could find out nothing against me, so, at last, they let me go. we went aboard the first vessel bound for melbourne, and, when sail was made, i went up to the cross-trees and cursed van diemen's land as long as i could see it. jonathan took ship for the states, but i went shepherding, and grew so lazy that if my stick dropped to the ground i wouldn't bend my back to pick it up. but when i heard of the diggings, i woke up, humped my swag, and ran away--i was always man enough for that-- and i don't intend to shepherd again." when philip returned from his excursion down the gully, he gave me a detailed report of the results and said, "gold mining is remarkable for two things, one certain, the other uncertain. the certain thing is labour, the uncertain thing is gold." this information staggered me, so i replied, "those two things will have to wait till morning. let us boil the billy." our spirits were not very high when we began work next day. we slept under our small calico tent, and our cooking had to be done outside. sometimes it rained, and then we had to kindle a fire with stringy bark under an umbrella the umbrella was mine--the only one i ever saw on the diggings. some men who thought they were witty made observations about it, but i stuck to it all the same. no man could ever laugh me out of a valuable property. we lived principally on beef steak, tea, and damper. philip cut his bread and beef with his bowie knife as long as it lasted. every man passing by could see that we were formidable, and ready to defend our gold to the death--when we got it. but the bowie was soon useless; it got a kink in the middle, and a curl at the point, and had no edge anywhere. it was good for nothing but trade. a number of our shipmates had put up tents in the neighbourhood, and at night we all gathered round the camp fire to talk and smoke away our misery. one, whose name i forget, was a journalist, correspondent for the 'nonconformist'. scott was an artist, harrison a mechanical engineer. doran a commercial traveller, moran an ex-policeman, beswick a tailor, bernie a clogger. the first lucky digger we saw, after picaninny jack, came among us one dark night; he came suddenly, head foremost, into our fire, and plunged his hands into the embers. we pulled him out, and then two other men came up. they apologised for the abrupt entry of their mate. they said he was a lucky digger, and they were his friends and fellow-countrymen. a lucky digger could find friends anywhere, from any country, without looking for them, especially if he was drunk, as was this stranger. they said he had travelled from melbourne with a pack horse, and, near mount alexander, he saw a woman picking up something or other on the side of a hill. she might be gathering flowers, but he could not see any. he stopped and watched her for a while and then went nearer. she did not take any notice of him, so he thought the poor thing had been lost in the bush, and had gone cranky. he pitied her, and said: "my good woman, have you lost anything? could i help you to look for it?" "i am not your good woman, and i have not lost anything; so i don't want anybody to help me to look for it." he was now quite sure she was cranky. she stooped and picked up something, but he could not see what it was. he began to look on the ground, and presently he found a bright little nugget of gold. then he knew what kind of flowers the woman was gathering. without a word he took his horse to the foot of the hill, hobbled it, and took off his swag. he went up the hill again, filled his pan with earth, and washed it off at the nearest waterhole. he had struck it rich; the hill-side was sprinkled with gold, either on the surface or just below it. for two weeks there were only two parties at work on that hill, parties of one, but they did not form a partnership. the woman came every day, picking and scratching like an old hen, and went away at sundown. when the man went away he took with him more than a hundredweight of gold. he was worth looking at, so we put more wood on the fire, and made a good blaze. yes, he was a lucky digger, and he was enjoying his luck. he was blazing drunk, was in evening dress, wore a black bell-topper, and kid gloves. the gloves had saved his hands from being burned when he thrust them into the fire. there could be no doubt that he was enjoying himself. he came suddenly out of the black night, and staggered away into it again with his two friends. one forenoon, about ten o'clock, while we were busy, peacefully digging and puddling, we heard a sound like the rumbling of distant thunder from the direction of bendigo flat. the thunder grew louder until it became like the bellowing of ten thousand bulls. it was the welcome accorded by the diggers to our "trusty and well-beloved" government when it came forth on a digger hunt. it was swelled by the roars, and cooeys, and curses of every man above ground and below, in the shafts and drives on the flats, and in the tunnels of the white hills, from golden gully and sheep's head, to job's gully and eaglehawk, until the warning that "joey's out" had reached to the utmost bounds of the goldfield. there was a strong feeling amongst the diggers that the license fee of thirty shillings per month was excessive, and this feeling was intensified by the report that it was the intention of the government to double the amount. as a matter of fact, by far the larger number of claims yielded no gold at all, or not enough to pay the fee. the hatred of the hunted diggers made it quite unsafe to send out a small number of police and soldiers, so there came forth at irregular intervals a formidable body of horse and foot, armed with carbines, swords, and pistols. this morning they marched rapidly along the track towards the white hills, but wheeling to the left up the bluff they suddenly appeared at the head of picaninny gully. mounted men rode down each side of the gully as fast as the nature of the ground would permit, for it was then honeycombed with holes, and encumbered with the trunks and stumps of trees, especially on the eastern side. they thus managed to hem us in like prisoners of war, and they also overtook some stragglers hurrying away to right and left. some of these had licenses in their pockets, and refused to stop or show them until they were actually arrested. it was a ruse of war. they ran away as far as possible among the holes and logs, in order to draw off the cavalry, make them break their ranks, and thus to give a chance to the unlicensed to escape or to hide themselves. the police on foot, armed with carbines and accompanied by officers, next came down the centre of the gully, and every digger was asked to show his license. i showed that of william matthews. it was not that the policy of william patterson was tried and found wanting. he was at work on his claim a little below mine, and knowing he had no license, i looked at him to see how he would behave in the face of the enemy. he had stopped working, and was walking in the direction of his tent, with head bowed down as ifin search of something he had lost. he disappeared in his tent, which was a large one, and had, near the opening, a chimney built up with ironstone boulders and clay. but the police had seen him; he was followed, found hiding in the corner of his chimney, arrested, and placed among the prisoners who were then halted near my tub. immediately behind patterson, and carrying a carbine on his shoulder, stood a well-known shipmate named joynt, whom poverty had compelled to join the enemy. he would willingly have allowed his friend and prisoner to escape, but no chance of doing so occurred, and long after dark patterson approached our camp fire, a free man, but hungry, tired, and full of bitterness. he had been forced to march along the whole day like a convicted felon, with an ever-increasing crowd of prisoners, had been taken to the camp at nightfall and made to pay pounds s.--viz., a fine of pounds and pound s. for a license. the feelings of william patterson, and of thousands of other diggers, were outraged, and they burned for revenge. a roll-up was called, and three public meetings were held on three successive saturday afternoons, on a slight eminence near the government camp. the speakers addressed the diggers from a wagon. some advocated armed resistance. it was well known that many men, french, german, and even english, were on the diggings who had taken part in the revolutionary outbreak of ' , and that they were eager to have recourse to arms once more in the cause of liberty. but the majority advocated the trial of a policy of peace, at least to begin with. a final resolution was passed by acclamation that a fee of ten shillings a month should be offered, and if not accepted, no fee whatever was to be paid. it was argued that if the diggers stood firm, it would be impossible for the few hundreds of soldiers and police to arrest and keep in custody nearly twenty thousand men. if an attempt was made to take us all to gaol, digger-hunting would have to be suspended, the revenue would dwindle to nothing, and government would be starved out. it was, in fact, no government at all; it was a mere assemblage of armed men sent to rob us, not to protect us; each digger had to do that for himself. next day, sunday, i walked through the diggings, and observed the words "no license here" pinned or pasted outside every tent, and during the next month only about three hundred licenses were taken out, instead of the fourteen or fifteen thousand previously issued, the digger-hunting was stopped, and a license-fee of forty shillings for three months was substituted for that of thirty shillings per month. ii. as no man who had a good claim would be willing to run the risk of losing it, the number of licenses taken out after the last meeting would probably represent the number of really lucky diggers then at work on bendigo, viz., three hundred more or less, and of the three hundred i don't think our gully could boast of one. all were finding a little gold, but even the most fortunate were not making more than "tucker." by puddling eight tubs of washdirt i found that we could obtain about one pound's worth of gold each per day; but this was hardly enough to keep hope alive. the golden hours flew over us, but they did not send down any golden showers. i put the little that fell to my share into a wooden match-box, which i carried in my pocket. i knew it would hold twelve ounces--if i could get so much --and looked into it daily and shook the gold about to see if i were growing rich. it was impossible to feel jolly, and i could see that philip was discontented. he had never been accustomed to manual labour; he did not like being exposed to the cold winds, to the frost or rain, with no shelter except that afforded by our small tent. while at work we were always dirty, and often wet; and after we had passed a miserable night, daylight found us shivering, until warmth came with hard work. one morning philip lost his temper; his only hat was soaked with rain, and his trousers, shirt, and boots were stiff with clay. he put a woollen comforter on his head in lieu of the hat. the comforter was of gaudy colours, and soon attracted public attention. a man down the gully said: "i obsarved yesterday we had young ireland puddling up here, and i persave this morning we have an italian bandit or a sallee rover at work among us." every digger looked at philip, and he fell into a sudden fury; you might have heard him at the first white hill. "yesterday i heard a donkey braying down the gully, and this morning he is braying again." "oh! i see," replied the donkey. "we are in a bad temper this morning." father backhaus was often seen walking with long strides among the holes and hillocks on bendigo flat or up and down the gullies, on a visit to some dying digger, for death would not wait until we had all made our pile. his messengers were going around all the time; dysentery, scurvy, or fever; and the priest hurried after them. sometimes he was too late; death had entered the tent before him. he celebrated mass every sunday in a tent made of drugget, and covered with a calico fly. his presbytery, sacristy, confessional, and school were all of similar materials, and of small dimensions. there was not room in the church for more than thirty or forty persons; there were no pews, benches, or chairs. part of the congregation consisted of soldiers from the camp, who had come up from melbourne to shoot us if occasion required. six days of the week we hated them and called "joey" after them, but on the seventh day we merely glared at them, and let them pass in silence. they were sleek and clean, and we were gaunt as wolves, with scarcely a clean shirt among us. philip, especially hated them as enemies of his country, and the more so because they were his countrymen, all but one, who was a black man. the people in and around the church were not all catholics. i saw a man kneeling near me reading the book of common prayer of the church of england; there was also a strict presbyterian, to whom i spoke after mass. he said the priest did not preach with as much energy as the ministers in scotland. and yet i thought father backhaus' sermon had that day been "powerful," as the yankees would say. he preached from the top of a packing case in front of the tent. the audience was very numerous, standing in close order to the distance of twenty-five or thirty yards under a large gum tree. the preacher spoke with a german accent, but his meaning was plain. he said: "my dear brethren' 'beatus ille qui post aurum non abiit'. blessed is the man who has not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money or treasures. you will never earn that blessing, my dear brethren. why are you here? you have come from every corner of the world to look for gold. you think it is a blessing, but when you get it, it is often a curse. you go what you call 'on the spree'; you find the 'sly grog'; you get drunk and are robbed of your gold; sometimes you are murdered; or you fall into a hole and are killed, and you go to hell dead drunk. patrick doyle was here at mass last sunday; he was then a poor digger. next day he found gold, 'struck it rich,' as you say; then he found the grog also and brought it to his tent. yesterday he was found dead at the bottom of his golden shaft, and he was buried in the graveyard over there near the government camp." my conscience was quite easy when the sermon was finished. it would be time enough for me to take warning from the fate of paddy doyle when i had made my pile. let the lucky diggers beware! i was not one of them. after we had been at work a few weeks, father backhaus, before stepping down from the packing-case, said: "i want someone to teach in a school; if there is anyone here willing to do so, i should like to see him after mass." i was looking round for philip among the crowd when he came up, eager and excited. "i am thinking of going in to speak to the priest about that school," he said. "would you have any objection? you know we are doing no good in the gully, but i won't leave itif you think i had better not." philip was honourable; he would not dissolve our short partnership, and leave me alone unless i was quite willing to let him go. "have you ever kept school before?" "no, never. but i don't think the teaching will give me much trouble. there can't be many children around here, and i can surely teach them a b c and the catechism." although i thought he had not given fortune a fair chance to bless us, he looked so wistful and anxious that i had not the heart to say no. philip went into the tent, spoke to the priest, and became a schoolmaster. i was then a solitary "hatter." next day a man came up the gully with a sack on his back with something in it which he had found in a shaft. he thought the shaft had not been dug down to the bedrock, and he would bottom it. he bottomed on a corpse. the claim had been worked during the previous summer by two men. one morning there was only one man on it; he said his mate had gone to melbourne, but he had in fact killed him during the night, and dropped him down the hole. the police never hunted out that murderer; they were too busy hunting us. i was not long alone. a beggarly looking young man came a few days later, and said: "i hear you have lost your mate philip, and my mates have all gone away and taken the tent with them; so i want to ask you to let me stay in your tent until i can look round a bit." this young man's name was david beswick, but he was known simply as "bez." he was a harmonious tailor from manchester; he played the violoncello, also the violin; had a good tenor voice, and a talent for the drama. he, and a man named santley from liverpool, had taken leading parts in our plays and concerts on shipboard. scott, the artist, admired bez; he said he had the head, the features, and the talent of a shakespeare. he had a sketch of bez in his portfolio, which he was filling with crooked trees, common diggers, and ugly blackamoors. i could see no shakespeare in bez; he was nothing but a dissipated tailor who had come out in the steerage, while i had voyaged in the house on deck. i was, therefore, a superior person, and looked down on the young man, who was seated on a log near the fire, one leg crossed over the other, and slowly stroking his elizabethan beard. i said: "yes, philip has left me, but i don't want any partner. i understand you are a tailor by trade, and i don't think much of a tailor." "well," replied bez, "i don't think much of him myself, so i have dropped the business. i am now a sailor. you know yourself i sailed from liverpool to melbourne, and, anyhow, there's only the difference of a letter between a tailor and a sailor." there was a flaw somewhere in the argument, but i only said, "'valeat quantum valere potest.'" bez looked solemn; a little latin goes a long way with some people. he was an object of charity, and i made him feel it. "in the first place this tent is teetotal. no grog is to come inside it. there is to be no mining partnership. you can keep all the gold you get, and i shall do the same. you must keep all trade secrets, and never confess you are a tailor. i could never hold up my head among the diggers if they should discover that my mate was only the ninth part of a man. you must carry to the tent a quantity of clay and rocks sufficient to build a chimney, of which i shall be the architect. you will also pay for your own tucker, chop wood, make the fire, fetch water, and boil the billy." bez promised solemnly to abide by these conditions, and then i allowed him to deposit his swag in the tent. the chimney was built in three days, and we could then defy the weather, and dispense with the umbrella. bez performed his part of the contract well. he adopted a rolling gait and the frown of a pirate; he swore naval oaths strong enough to still a hurricane. among his digging outfit was a huge pick; it was a two-man pick, and he carried it on his shoulder to suggest his enormous strength. he threw tailordom to the winds; when a rent appeared in his trousers he closed it with pins, disdaining the use of the needle, until he became so ragged that i ordered him into dock for repairs. one day in passing philip's school i peeped in at the flap of the tent. he had already acquired the awe-inspiring look of the schoolmaster. he was teaching a class of little boys, whose wandering eyes were soon fixed on my face, and then philip saw me. he smiled and blushed, and came outside. he said he was getting along capitally, and did not want to try digging any more. he had obtained a small treatise called "the twelve virtues of a good master," and he was studying it daily in order to qualify himself for his new calling. he had undertaken to demonstrate one of euclid's propositions every night by way of exercising his reasoning faculties. he was also making new acquaintances amongst men who were not diggers--doctors, storekeepers, and the useful blacksmiths who pointed our picks with steel. he had also two or three friends at the governmnt camp, and i felt inclined to look upon him as a traitor to the diggers' cause but although he had been a member of the party of young irelanders, he was the most innocent traitor and the poorest conspirator i ever heard of. he could keep nothing from me. if he had been a member of some secret society, he would have burst up the secret, or the secret would have burst him. he had some friends among the diggers. the big gum tree in front of the church tent soon became a kind of trysting place on sundays, at which men could meet with old acquaintances and shipmates, and convicts could find old pals. amongst the crowd one sunday were five men belonging to a party of six from nyalong; the sixth man was at home guarding the tent. four of the six were irish catholics, and they came regularly to mass every sunday; the other two were englishmen, both convicts, of no particular religion, but they had married catholic immigrants, and sometimes went to church, but more out of pastime than piety. one of these men, known as john barton-- he had another name in the indents--stood under the gum tree, but not praying; i don't think he ever thought of praying except the need of it was extreme. he was of medium height, had a broad face, snub nose, stood erect like a soldier, and was strongly built. his small ferrety eyes were glancing quickly among the faces around him until they were arrested by another pair of eyes at a short distance. the owner of the second pair of eyes nudged two other men standing by, and then three pairs of eyes were fixed on barton. he was not a coward, but something in the expression of the three men cowed him completely. he turned his head and lowered it, and began to push his way among the crowd to hide himself. after mass, philip found him in his tent, and suspecting that he was a thief put his hand on a medium-sized colt's revolver, which he had exchanged for his duelling pistols, and said: "well, my friend, and what are you doing here?" "for god's sake speak low," whispered barton. "i came in here to hide. there are three men outside who want to kill me." "three men who want to kill you, eh? do you expect me to believe that anybody among the crowd there would murder you in broad daylight? my impression is, my friend, that you are a sneaking thief, and that you came here to look for gold. i'll send a man to the police to come and fetch you, and if you stir a step i'll shoot you." "for goodness' sake, mate, keep quiet. i am not a burglar, not now at any rate. i'll tell you the truth. i was a government flagellator, a flogger, you know, on the sydney side, and i flogged those three men. couldn't help it, it was my business to do it. i know they are looking for me, and they will follow me and take the first chance to murder me. they are most desperate characters. one of them was insubordinate when he was assigned servant to a squatter, and the squatter, who was on horseback, gave him a cut with his stockwhip. then this man jumped at his master, pulled him off his horse, dragged him to the wood-heap, held his head on the block, seized the axe, and was just going to chop his master's head off, when another man stopped him. that is what i had to flog him for, and then he was sent back to sydney. so you can just think what a man like that would do. when my time was up i went as a trooper to the nyalong district under captain foster, the commissioner, and after a while i settled down and married an immigrant woman from tipperary, a catholic. that's the way i happened to be here at mass with my mates, who are catholics; but i'll never do it again; it's as much as my life is worth. i daresay there are lots of men about bendigo whom i flogged while i was in the business, and every single man-jack of them would kill me if he got the chance. and so for goodness' sake let me stay here till dark. i suppose you are an honest man; you look like it anyway, and you would not want to see me murdered, now, would you?" barton was, in fact, as great a liar and rogue as you would meet with anywhere, but in extreme cases he would tell the truth, and the present case was an extreme one. philip was merciful; he allowed barton to remain in his tent all day, and gave him his dinner. when darkness came he escorted him to the tent of the men from nyalong, and was introduced to them by his new friend. their names were gleeson, poynton, lyons, and two brothers mccarthy. one of these men was brother-in-law to barton, and had been a fellow-trooper with him under captain foster. barton had entered into family relations as an honest man; he could give himself any character he chose until he was found out. he was too frightened to stay another night on bendigo, and he began at once to bundle up his swag. gleeson and poynton accompanied him for some distance beyond the pillar of white quartz on specimen hill, and then he left the track and struck into the bush. fear winged his feet' he arrived safely at nyalong, and never went to another rush. the other five then stayed on bendigo for several weeks longer, and when they returned home their gold was sufficient for a dividend of pounds for each man. four of them bought farms, one kept a store, and barton rented some land. philip met them again when he was promoted to the school at nyalong, and they were his firm friends as long as he lived there. i went to various rushes to improve my circumstances. once i was nearly shot. a bullet whizzed past my head, and lodged in the trunk of a stringy bark a little further on. that was the only time in my life i was under fire, and i got from under it as quickly as possible. once i went to a rush of maoris, near job's gully, and scott came along with his portfolio, a small pick, pan, and shovel. he did not dig any, but got the ugliest maori he could find to sit on a pile of dirt while he took his portrait and sketched the tattoos. that spoiled the rush; every man, black and white, crowded around scott while he was at work with his pencil, and then every single savage shook hands with him, and made signs to have his tattoos taken, they were so proud of their ugliness. they were all naked to the waist. near the head of sheep's head gully, jack moore and i found the cap of a quartz reef with visible gold in it. we broke up some of it, but could not make it pay, having no quartz-crushing machinery. golden gully was already nearly worked out, but i got a little gold in it which was flaky, and sticking on edge in the pipeclay bottom. i found some gold also in sheep's head, and then we heard of a rush on the goulburn river. next day we offered our spare mining plant for sale on the roadside opposite specimen hill, placing the tubs, cradles, picks and spades all in a row. bez was the auctioneer. he called out aloud, and soon gathered a crowd, which he fascinated by his eloquence. the bidding was spirited, and every article was sold, even bez's own two-man pick, which would break the heart of a samson to wield it. when we left bendigo, bez, birnie, dan, scott, and moses were of the party, and a one-horse cart carried our baggage. when we came to a swamp we carried the baggage over it on our backs, and then helped the horse to draw the empty cart along. our party increased in number by the way, especially after we met with a dray carrying kegs of rum. before reaching the new rush, afterwards known as waranga, we prospected some country about twenty miles from the goulburn river. here scott left us. before starting he called me aside, and told me he was going to the melbourne hospital to undergo an operation. he had a tumour on one leg above the knee, for which he had been treated in dublin, and had been advised to come to australia, in the hope that a change of climate and occupation might be of benefit, but he had already walked once from bendigo to melbourne, and now he was obliged to go again. he did not like to start without letting someone know his reason for leaving us. i felt full of pity for scott, for i thought he was going to his death alone in the bush, and i asked him if he felt sure that he could find his way. he showed me his pocket compass and a map, and said he could make a straight course for melbourne. he had always lived and worked alone, but whenever we moved he accompanied us not wishing to be quite lost amongst strangers. he arrived at the hospital, but he never came out of it alive. dan gave me his money to take care of while he and bez were living on rum from the dray, and i gave out as little cash as possible in order to promote peace and sobriety. one night dan set fire to my tent in order to rouse his banker. i dragged bez outside the tent and extinguished the fire. there was bloodshed afterwards--from dan's nose--and his account was closed. after a while some policemen in plain clothes came along and examined the dray. they found fourteen kegs of rum in it, which they seized, together with four horses and the dray. i worked for seven months in various parts of the ovens district until i had acquired the value in gold of my vanished twenty-dollar pieces; that was all my luck. during this time some of us paid the £ license fee for three months. we were not hunted by the military. four or five troopers and officials rode slowly about the diggings and the cry of "joey" was never raised, while a single unarmed constable on foot went amongst the claims to inspect licenses. he stayed with us awhile, talking about digging matters. he said the police were not allowed to carry carbines now, because a digger had been accidentally shot. he was a very civil fellow, and his price, if i remember rightly was half-a-crown. yet the digger hunting was continued at ballarat until it ended in the massacre of december rd . at that time i was at colac, and while dr. ignatius was absent, i had the charge of his household, which consisted of one old convict known as "specs," who acted in the capacity of generally useless, received orders most respectfully, but forgot them as much as possible. he was a man of education who had gone astray in london, and had fallen on evil days in queensland and sydney. when alone in the kitchen he consoled himself with curses. i could hear his voice from the other side of the slabs. he cursed me, he cursed the doctor, he cursed the horses, the cat, the dog, and the whole world and everything in it. it was impossible to feel anything but pity for the man, for his life was ruined, and he had ruined it himself. i had also under my care a vegetable garden, a paddock of cape barley, two horses, some guinea fowls, and a potato patch. one night the potatoes had been bandicooted. to all the early settlers in the bush the bandicoot is well known. it is a marsupial quadruped which lives on bulbs, and ravages potato patches. it is about eighteen inches in length from the origin of its tail to the point of its nose. it has the habits of a pickpocket. it inserts its delicate fore paws under the stalks of the potato, and pulls out the tubers. that morning i had endeavoured to dig some potatoes; the stalks were there, but the potatoes were gone. i stopped to think, and examined the ground. i soon discovered tracks of the bandicoot, but they had taken the shape of a small human foot. we had no small human feet about our premises, but at the other side of the fence there was a bark hut full of them. i turned toward the hut suspiciously, and saw the bandicoot sitting on a top-rail, watching me, and dangling her feet to and fro. she wore towzled red hair, a short print frock, and a look of defiance. i went nearer to inspect her bandicoot feet. then she openly defied me, and said: "you need not look so fierce, mister. i have as much right to sit on this rail as you have." "lilias," i replied, "you won't sit there long. you bandicooted my potatoes last night, and you've left the marks of your dirty feet on the ground. the police are coming to measure your feet, and then they will take you to the lock-up." i gazed across the barley paddock for the police, and lilias looked as well. there was a strange man approaching rapidly, and the bandicoot's courage collapsed. she slid from the fence, took to flight, and disappeared among the tussocks near the creek. the stranger did not go to the garden gate, but stood looking over the fence. he said: "is dr. ignatius at home?" "no, he is away somewhere about fiery creek, and i don't think he'll return until saturday." the stranger hung down his head and was silent. he was a young man of small frame, well dressed for those days, but he had o luggage. he looked so miserable that i pitied him. he was like a hunted animal. i said: "are you a friend of dr. ignatius?" "yes, he knows me well. my name is carr; i have come from ballarat." "i knew various men had left ballarat. one had arrived in geelong on december th, and had consulted dr. walshe about a bullet between his knuckles, another was hiding in a house at chilwell.* he had lost one arm, and the government were offering pounds for him, so he took outdoor exercise only by night, disguised in an inverness cape. "there was a chance for me to hear exciting news from the lips of a warrior fresh from the field of battle, so i said: "if you would like to stay here until the doctor returns you will be welcome." *[footnote] peter lalor. he was my guest for four days. he said that he went out with the military on the morning of december rd, and was the first surgeon who entered the eureka stockade after the fight was over. he found twelve men dead in it, and twelve more mortally wounded. this was about all the information he vouchsafed to give me. i was anxious for particulars. i wanted to know what arms he carried to the fray, whether he touched up his sword on the grind-stone before sallying forth, how many men or women he had called upon to stand in the name of her gracious majesty queen victoria, how many skulls he had cloven, how many diggers he had "slewed," and how many peaceful prisoners he had brought back to the government camp. on all these points he was silent, and during his stay with me he spoke as little as possible, neither reading, writing, nor walking about. but there was something to be learned from the papers. he had been a witness at the inquest on scobie, killed by bentley and two others, and principally on his evidence bentley was discharged, but was afterwards re-arrested and condemned to three years' imprisonment. dr. carr was regarded as a "colluding associate" with bentley and dewes, the magistrate, and the official condemnation of dewes confirmed the popular denunciation of them. at a dinner given to mr. tarleton, the american consul, dr. otway, the chairman said: "while i and my fellow-colonists are thoroughly loyal to our sovereign lady, the queen, we do not, and will not, respect her men servants, her maid servants, her oxen, or her asses." a commission was coming to ballarat to report on wrong doings there, and they were looking for witnesses. on friday, december th, the camp surgeon and dr. carr had a narrow escape from being shot. while the former gentleman was entering the hospital he was fired at by one of the sentries. the ball passed close to the shoulder of dr. carr, who was reading inside, went through the lid of the open medicine chest, and some splinters struck him on the side. there were in the hospital at that time seven diggers seriously wounded and six soldiers, including the drummer boy. troubles were coming in crowds, and the bullet, the splinters, and the commission put the little doctor to flight. he left the seven diggers, the five soldiers, and the drummer boy in the hospital, and made straight for colac. fear dogged his footsteps wherever he went, and the mere sight of him had sent the impudent thief lilias to hide behind the tussocks. i always hate a man who won't talk to me and tell me things, and the doctor was so silent and unsociable, that, by way of revenge, i left him to the care and curses of old "specs." after four days he departed, and he appeared again at ballarat on january th, giving evidence at an inquest on one hardy, killed by a gunshot wound. in the meantime a total change had taken place among the occupants of the government camp. commissioner rede had retired, dr. williams, the coroner, and the district surgeons had received notice to quit in twenty-four hours, and they left behind them twenty-four patients in and around the camp hospital. dr. carr left the colony, and the next report about him was from manchester, where he made a wild and incoherent speech to the crowd at the exchange. his last public appearance was in a police-court on a charge of lunacy. he was taken away by his friends, and what became of him afterwards is not recorded. doctors, when there is a dearth of patients, sometimes take to war, and thus succeed in creating a "practice." occasionally they meet with disaster, of which we can easily call to mind instances, both ancient and modern. iii. diggers do not often turn their eyes heavenwards; their treasure does not lie in that direction. but one night i saw bez star-gazing. "do you know the names of any of the stars in this part of the roof?" i asked. "i can't make out many of the manchester stars," he replied. "i knew a few when i was a boy, but there was a good deal of fog and smoke, and latterly i have not looked up that way much; but i can spot a few of them yet, i think." bez was a rather prosy poet, and his eye was not in a fine frenzy rolling. "let me see," he said; "that's the north; charles' wain and the north pole ought to be there, but they have gone down somewhere. there are the seven stars--i never could make 'em seven; if there ever were that number one of 'em has dropped out. and there's orion; he has somehow slipped up to the north, and is standing on his head, heels uppermost. there are the two stars in his heels, two on his shoulders, three in his belt, and three in his sword. there is the southern cross; we could never see that in our part of england, nor those two silvery clouds, nor the two black holes. they look curious, don't they? i suppose the two clouds are the gates of heaven, and the two black spots the gates of hell, the doors of eternity. which way shall we go? that's the question." the old adage is still quite true--'coelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt'. when a young gentleman in england takes to idleness and grog, and disgraces his family, he is provided with a passage to australia, in order that he may become a reformed prodigal; but the change of climate does not effect a reform; it requires something else. dan in glasgow and bez in manchester had both been given to drink too much. they came to victoria to acquire the virtue of temperance, and they were sober enough when they had no money. dan told me that when he awoke after his first week at sea, he sat every day on the topgallant forecastle thinking over his past wickedness, watching the foam go by, and continually tempted to plunge into it. after the rum, the dray, and the four horses were seized by the police. dan and bez grew sober, and went to reid's creek, passing me at work on spring creek. they came back as separate items. dan called at my tent, and i gave him a meal of damper, tea, and jam. he ate the whole of the jam, which cost me s. d. per pound. he then humped his swag and started for melbourne. on his way through the township, since named beechworth, he took a drink of liquor which disabled him, and he lay down by the roadside using an ant-hill for a pillow. he awoke at daylight covered with ants, which were stinging and eating him alive. some days later bez came along, passed my tent for a mile, and then came back. he said he was ashamed of himself. i gave him also a feed of damper, tea, and jam limited. dan had made me cautious in the matter of lavish hospitality. the earl of lonsdale lately spent fifty thousand pounds in entertaining the emperor of germany, but it was money thrown away. the next time the kaiser comes to westmoreland he will have to pay for his board and buy his preserves. bez made a start for melbourne, met an old convict, and with him took a job at foot-rotting sheep on a station owned by a widow lady. here he passed as an engraver in reduced circumstances. he told lies so well, that the convict was filled with admiration, and said, "i'm sure, mate, you're a flash covey wot's done his time in the island." the two chums foot-rotted until they had earned thirty shillings each, then they went away and got drunk at a roadside shanty; at least, bez did, and when the convict picked his pockets, he kindly put back three shillings and sixpence, saying, "that will give him another start on the wallaby track." bez at last arrived at flagstaff hill, which was then bare, with a sand-hole on one side of it. he had had nothing to eat for twenty-four hours, and had only one shilling and sixpence in his pocket, which he was loath to spend for fear of arriving in melbourne a complete beggar. he lay down famishing and weary on the top of the hill near flagstaff, and surveyed the city, the bay, and the shipping. he had hoped by this time to have been ready to take a passage in one of those ships to liverpool, and to return home a lucky digger. but he had only eighteen pence, so he said, "i am afraid, bez, you will never see manchester again." there was at that time a small frame building at the west end of flinders street, with a hill behind it, on which goats were browsing; the railway viaduct runs now over the exact spot. many parties of hopeful diggers from england and california had slept there on the floor the night before they started for ballarat, mount alexander, or bendigo. we called it a house of refuge, and bez now looked for refuge in it. there he met dan and moran, who had both found employment in the city, and they fed the hungry bez. dan was labouring at his trade in the building business, and he set bez to work roofing houses with corrugated iron. they soon earned more money than they had ever earned by digging for gold, but on saturday nights and sundays they took their pleasure in the old style, and so they went to the dogs. i don't know how dan's life ended (his real name was donald fraser), but bez died suddenly in the bar of a public-house, and he was honoured with an inquest and a short paragraph in the papers. moran had saved a hundred pounds by digging in picaninny gully, and he was soon afterwards admitted to serve her majesty again in the police department. on the sunday after price was murdered by the convicts at williamstown i met moran after mass in the middle of lonsdale street. i reproached him for his baseness in deserting to the enemy--her majesty, no less--and in self-defence he nearly argued my head off. at last i threatened to denounce him as a "joey" --he was in plain clothes--and have him killed by the crowd in the street. nothing but death could silence moran. the rest of his history is engraved on a monument in the melbourne cemetery; he, his wife, and all his children died many years ago.--r.i.p. he was really a good man, with only one defect--most of us have many--he was always trying to divide a hair 'twixt west and south-west side. i met santley after thirty years, sitting on a bench in front of the "travellers' rest" at alberton, in gippsland. he had a wrinkled old face, and did not recognise my beautiful countenance until he heard my name. he had half-a-dozen little boys and girls around him--his grandchildren, i believe--and was as happy as a king teaching them to sing hymns. i don't think santley had grown rich, but he always carried a fortune about with him wherever he went, viz., a kind heart and a cheerful disposition. nobody could ever think of quarrelling with santlay any more than with george coppin, or with that benevolent bandmaster, herr plock. he told me that he was now related to the highest family in the world, his daughter having married the chinese giant, whose brothers and sisters were all of the race of anak. my mate, philip, was so successful with his little school in the tent that he was promoted to another at the rocky waterholes, and then he went to the township at lake nyalong. philip had never travelled as far as lake nyalong, but picaninny jack told him that he had once been there, and that it was a beautiful country. he tried to find it at another time, but got bushed on the wrong side of the lake; now he believed there was a regular track that way if philip could only find it. the settlers and other inhabitants ought to be well off; if not, it was their own fault, for they had the best land in the whole of australia. philip felt sure that he would find at least one friend at nyalong-- viz., mr. barton, whom he had harboured in his tent at bendigo, and had sheltered from the pursuit of the three bloodthirsty convicts. some people might be too proud to look forward to the friendship of a flagellator, but in those days we could not pick and choose our chums; barton might not be clubable, but he might be useful, and the social ladder requires a first step. thanks to such men as dan and bez, in melbourne, and to other enterprising builders in various places, habitable dwellings of wood, brick, and bluestone began to be used, instead of the handy but uncomfortable tent, and, at the rocky waterholes, philip had for some time been lodging in a weatherboard house with the respectable mrs. martin. before going to look for nyalong he introduced his successor to her, and also to the scholars. her name was miss edgeworth. the first virtue of a good master is gravity, and philip had begun at the beginning. he was now graver even than usual while he briefly addressed his youthful auditors. "my dear children," he said, "i am going away, and have to leave you in the care of this young lady, miss edgeworth. i am sure you will find her to be a better teacher than myself, because she has been trained in the schools of the great city of dublin, and i, unfortunately, had no training at all; she is highly educated, and will be, i doubt not, a perfect blessing to the rising generation of the rocky waterholes. i hope you will be diligent, obedient, and respectful to her. good-bye, and god bless you all." these words were spoken in the tone of a judge passing sentence of death on a criminal, and miss edgeworth was in doubt whether it would be becoming under the circumstances to laugh or to cry, so she made no speech in reply. she said afterwards to mrs. martin, "mr. philip must have been a most severe master; i can see sternness on his brow." moreover, she was secretly aware that she did not deserve his compliments, and that her learning was limited, especially in arithmetic; she had often to blame the figures for not adding up correctly. for this reason she had a horror of examinations, and every time the inspector came round she was in a state of mortal fear. his name was bonwick. he was a little man, but he was so learned that the teachers looked forward to his visits with awe. a happy idea came into miss edgeworth's mind. she was, it is true, not very learned, nor was she perfect in the practice of the twelve virtues, but she had some instinctive knowledge of the weakness of the male man. mr. bonwick was an author, a learned author who had written books--among others a school treatise on geography. miss edgeworth bought two copies of this work, and took care to place them on her table in the school every morning with the name of the author in full view. on his next visit mr. bonwick's searching eyes soon detected the presence of his little treatise, and he took it up with a pleased smile. this was miss edgeworth's opportunity; she said, in her opinion, the work was a must excellent one, and extremely well adapted for the use of schools. the inspector was more than satisfied; a young lady of so much judgment and discrimination was a peerless teacher, and miss edgeworth's work was henceforward beyond all question. there were no coaches running to nyalong, and, as philip's poverty did not permit him to purchase a horse, and he had scruples about stealing one, he packed up his swag and set out on foot. it may be mentioned as bearing on nothing in particular that, after philip had taken leave of miss edgeworth, she stood at a window, flattened her little nose against one of the panes, and watched him trudging away as long as he was in sight. then she said to mrs. martin: "ain't it a pity that so respectable a young man should be tramping through the bush like a pedlar with a pack?" "no, indeed, miss, not a bit of it," replied mrs. martin; "nearly every man in the country has had to travel with his swag one time or another. we are all used to it; and it ain't no use of your looking after him that way, for most likely you'll never see him again." but she did. about two miles from the waterholes philip overtook another swagman, a man of middle age, who was going to nyalong to look for work. he had tried the diggings, and left them for want of luck, and philip, having himself been an unlucky digger, had a fellow feeling for the stranger. he was an old soldier named summers. "i am three and fifty years old," he said, "and i 'listed when i was twenty. i was in all the wars in india for nineteen years, and never was hit but once, and that was on the top of my head. look here," he took off his hat and pointed to a ridge made by the track of a bullet, "if i had been an inch taller i shouldn't be here now. and maybe it would have been all the better. i have been too long at the fighting to learn another trade now. when i 'listed i was told my pay would be a shilling a day and everything found. a shilling a day is seven shillings a week, and i thought i should live like a fighting cock, plenty to eat and a shilling a day for drink or sport. but i found out the difference when it was too late. they kept a strict account against every man; it was full of what they called deductions, and we had to pay for so many things out of that shilling that sometimes for months together i hadn't the price of a pint o' threepenny with a trop o' porter through it." "what was the biggest battle you ever were in?" enquired philip. "well, i had some close shaves, but the worst was when we took a stockade from the burmans. my regiment was the th, and one company of ours, sixty-five, rank and file, and two companies from other regiments were ordered to attack it. our officers were all shot down before we reached the stockade, but we got in, and went at the burmans with the bayonet. but such a crowd came at us from the rear of the stockade that we had to go out again, and we ran down the hill. our ranks were broken, and we had no time to rally before a lot of horsemen were among us. my bayonet was broken, and i had nothing but my empty musket to fight with. i warded off the sabre cuts with it right and left, so, dodging among the horses, and i was not once wounded. it was all over in a hot minute or two, but, when the supports came up, and we were afterwards mustered, only five men of our company answered the roll-call. of course i was one of them, and the barrel of my musket was notched like a saw by all the strokes i had parried with it." the last time philip saw summers he was hammering bluestone by the roadside. the pomp and circumstance of glorious war had left him in hisold age little better than a beggar. philip found nyalong without much trouble, and renewed the acquaintance begun at bendigo with mr. barton and the other diggers. to all appearance his promotion was not worth much; he might as well have stayed at the waterholes. mr. mccarthy acted as school director --an honorary office--and he showed philip the school. he said: "it is not of much account, i must acknowledge; we were short of funds, and had to put it up cheap. most of the wall, you see, is only half a brick thick, and, during the sudden gusts that come across the lake, the north side bulges inward a good deal; so, when you hear the wind coming you had better send the children outside until the gale is over. that is what mr. foy, the last teacher did. and, i must tell you also this school has gone to the dogs; there are some very bad boys here--the boyles and the blakes. when they saw mr. foy was going to use his cane on them they would dart out of the school, the master after them. then there was a regular steeplechase across the paddocks, and every boy and girl came outside to watch it, screaming and yelling. it was great fun, but it was not school-teaching. i am afraid you will never manage the boyles and the blakes. mr. mclaggan, the minister, once found six of them sitting at the foot of a gum tree, drinking a bottle of rum. he spoke to them, told them that they were young reprobates, and were going straight to hell. hugh boyle held out the bottle, and said, 'here, mr. mclaggan, wouldn't you like a nip yourself?' the minister was on horseback, and always carried a whip with a heavy lash, and it was a beautiful sight the way he laid the lash on those boyles and blakes. i really think you had better turn them out of the school, mr. philip, or else they will turn you out." mr. philip's lips closed with a snap. he said, "it is my duty to educate them; turning them out of school is not education. we will see what can be done." as everyone knows, the twelve virtues of a good master are gravity, silence, humility, prudence, wisdom, patience, discretion, meekness, zeal, vigilance, piety, and generosity. i don't suppose any teacher was ever quite perfect in the practice of them, but a sincere endeavour is often useful. on reflection, philip thought it best to add two other virtues to the catalogue--viz., firmness, and a strap of sole-leather. there was a full attendance of scholars the first morning, and when all the names had been entered on the roll, philip observed that the boyles and the blakes were all there; they were expecting some new kind of fun with the new master. in order that the fun might be inside the school and not all over the paddocks, philip placed his chair near the door, and locked it. then education began; the scholars were all repeating their lessons, talking to one another aloud and quarrelling. "please, sir, josh blake's a-pinching me." "please, sir, hugh boyle is a-scroodgin." "please, sir, nancy toomey is making faces at me." it was a pandemonium of little devils, to be changed, if possible, into little angels. the master rose from the chair, put up one hand, and said: "silence!" every eye was on him, every tongue was silent, and every ear was listening, "joseph blake and hugh boyle, come this way." they did so. "no one here is to shout or talk, or read in a loud voice. if any of you want to speak to me you must hold up your hand, so. when i nod you can come to me. if you don't do everything i tell you, you will be slapped on the hand, or somewhere else, with this strap." he held it up to view. it was eighteen inches long, three inches broad, heavy, and pliant. the sight of it made tommy traddles and many other little boys and girls good all at once; but joseph and hugh went back to their seats grinning at one another. mr. foy had often talked that way, but it always came to nothing. hugh was the hero of the school, or rather the leading villain. in about two minutes he called out, "please, sir, josh blake is a-shoving me with his elbow." "hugh boyle, come this way." he came. "now, hugh, i told you that there must be no speaking or reading aloud. of course you forgot what i said; you should have put up your hand." in the course of the day hugh received two slaps, then three, then four. he began to fear the strap as well as to feel it. that was the beginning of wisdom. nancy toomey was naughty, and was sent into a corner. she was sulky and rebellious when told to return to her seat. she said, in the hearing of tommy traddles, "the master is a carroty-headed crawler." it is as well to remark that philip's hair was red; a man with red hair is apt to be of a hasty temper, and, as a matter of fact, i had seen philip's fist fly out very rapidly on several occasions before he began to practise the twelve virtues. tommy put up his hand, and, at a nod, went up to the master. "well, tommy, what is the matter?" "please, sir, nancy toomey has been calling you a carroty-headed crawler." tommy's eyebrows were raised, his eyes and mouth wide open. philip looked over his head at nancy, whose face was on fire. he slowly repeated: "nancy toomey has been calling me a carroty-headed crawler, has she?" "yes, sir. that's what she called you. i heard her." "well, tommy, go to your seat like a good boy. nancy won't call names any more." in a little more than a week perfect discipline and good order prevailed in the school. a bush hermit. it is not good for man to be alone, but philip became a hermit. half a mile from the school and the main road there was an empty slab hut roofed with shingles. it was on the top of a long sloping hill, which afforded a beautiful view over the lake and the distant hills. half an acre of garden ground was fenced in with the hut, and it was part of the farm of a man from hampshire, england, who lived with his wife near the main road. a man from hampshire is an englishman, and should speak english; but, when philip tried to make a bargain about the hut, he could not understand the hampshire language, and the farmer's wife had to interpret. and that farmer lived to the age of eighty years, and never learned to speak english. he was not a fool by any means; knew all about farming; worked twelve or fourteen hours a day all the year round, having never heard of the eight hours system; but he talked, and prayed, and swore all his life in the hampshire dialect. whenever he spoke to the neighbours a look of pain and misery came over them. sometimes he went to meetings, and made a speech, but he was told to go and fetch a chinaman to interpret. philip entered into possession of the hut. it had two rooms, and the furniture did not cost much. at adams' store he bought a camp oven, an earthenware stew-pot, a milk pan, a billy, two pannikins, two spoons, a whittle, and a fork. the extra pannikin and spoon were for the use of visitors, for philip's idea was that a hermit, if not holy, should be at least hospitable. with an axe and saw he made his own furniture--viz., two hardwood stools, one of which would seat two men; for a table he sawed off the butt end of a messmate, rolled it inside the hut, and nailed on the top of it a piece of a pine packing case. his bedstead was a frame of saplings, with strong canvas nailed over it, and his mattress was a sheet of stringy bark, which soon curled up at the sides and fitted him like a coffin. his pillow was a linen bag filled with spare shirts and socks, and under it he placed his revolver, in case he might want it for unwelcome visitors. patrick duggan's wife did the laundry work, and refused to take payment in cash. but she made a curious bargain about it. a priest visited nyalong only once a month; he lived fifty miles away; when mrs. duggan was in her last sickness he might be unable to administer to her the rites of the church. so her bargain was, that in case the priest should be absent, the schoolmaster, as next best man, was to read prayers over her grave. philip thought there was something strange, perhaps simoniacal, about the bargain. twice mrs. duggan, thinking she was on the point of death, sent a messenger to remind him of his duty; and when at last she did die, he was present at the funeral, and read the prayers for the dead over her grave. avarice is a vice so base that i never heard of any man who would confess that he had ever been guilty of it. philip was my best friend, and i was always loath to think unkindly of him, but at this time i really think he began to be rather penurious--not avaricious, certainly not. but he was not a hermit of the holiest kind. he began to save money and acquire stock. he had not been long on the hill before he owned a horse, two dogs, a cat, a native bear, a magpie, and a parrot, and he paid nothing for any of them except the horse. one day he met mr. mccarthy talking to bob atkins, a station hand, who had a horse to sell--a filly, rising three. mccarthy was a good judge of horses, and after inspecting the filly, he said: "she will just suit you, mr. philip, you ought to buy her." so the bargain was made; the price was ten pounds, bob giving in the saddle, bridle, a pair of hobbles, and a tether rope. he was proud of his deal. two years afterwards, when philip was riding through the bush, bob rode up alongside, and after a while said: "well, mister, how do you like that filly i sold you?" "very well indeed. she is a capital roadster and stockhorse." "does she ever throw you?" "never. what makes you ask?" "well, that's queer. the fact is i sold her to you because i could not ride her. every time i mounted, she slung me a buster." "i see, bob, you meant well, didn't you? but she never yet slung me a buster; she is quieter than a lamb, and she will come to me whenever i whistle, and follow me like a dog." philip's first dog was named sam. he was half collie and half bull dog, and was therefore both brave and full of sagacity. he guarded the hut and the other domestics during school hours, and when he saw philip coming up the hill, he ran to meet him, smiling and wagging his tail, and reported all well. the other dog was only a small pup, a skye terrier, like a bunch of tow, a present from tommy traddles. pup's early days were made very miserable by maggie, the magpie. that wicked bird used to strut around philip while he was digging in the garden, and after filling her crop with worms and grubs, she flapped away on one wing and went round the hut looking for amusement. she jumped on pup's back, scratched him with her claws, pecked at his skull, and pulled locks of wool out of it, the poor innocent all the while yelping and howling for mercy. sam never helped pup, or drove maggie away; he was actually afraid of her, and believed she was a dangerous witch. sometimes she pecked at his tail, and he dared not say a word, but sneaked away, looking sideways at her, hanging down his ears, and afraid to say his tail was his own. joey, the parrot, watched all that was going on from his cage, which was hung on a hook outside the hut door. philip tried to teach joey to whistle a tune: "there is na luck aboot the hoose, there is na luck at a'," but the parrot had so many things to attend to that he never had time to finish the tune. he was, indeed, very vain and flighty, sidling along his perch and saying: "sweet pretty joey, who are you, who are you? ha! ha! ha!" wanting everybody to take notice and admire him. when maggie first attacked poor pup, scratched his back, pecked at his head, and tore locks of wool out of him, and pup screamed pitifully to all the world for help, joey poked his head between the wires of his cage, turned one eye downwards, listened to the language, and watched the new performance with silent ecstacy. he had never heard or seen anything like it in the whole course of his life. philip used to drive maggie away, take up poor pup and stroke him, while maggie, the villain, hopped around, flapping her wings and giving the greatest impudence. it really gave philip a great deal of trouble to keep order among his domestics. one day, while hoeing in the garden, he heard the pup screaming miserably. he said, "there's that villain, maggie, at him again," and he ran up to the hut to drive her away. but when he reached it there was neither pup nor maggie to be seen, only joey in his cage, and he was bobbing his head up and down, yelping exactly like the pup, and then he began laughing at philip ready to burst, "ha! ha! ha! who are you? who are you? there is no luck aboot the hoose, there is na luck at a'." the native bear resided in a packing case, nailed on the top of a stump nearly opposite the hut door. he had a strap round his waist, and was fastened to the stump by a piece of clothes line. the boys called him a monkey-bear, but though his face was like that of a bear he was neither a monkey nor a bear. he was in fact a sloth; his legs were not made for walking, but for climbing, and although he had strong claws and a very muscular forearm, he was always slow in his movements. he was very silent and unsociable, never joined in the amusements of the other domestics, and when philip brought him a bunch of tender young gum-tree shoots for his breakfast in the morning, he did not even say "thanks" or smile, or show the least gratitude. he never spoke except at dead of night, when he was exchanging compliments with some other bear up a gum tree in the forty-acre paddock. and such compliments! their voices were frightful, something between a roar and a groan, and although philip was a great linguist he was never quite sure what they were saying. but the bear was always scheming to get away; he was like the boers, and could not abide british rule. philip would not have kept him at all, but as he had taken him into the family circle when a cub he did not like to be cruel and turn him out along in a heartless world. twice bruin managed to untie the clothes line and started for the forty-acre. he crawled along very slowly, and when he saw philip coming after him, he stopped, looked behind him, and said, "hoo," showing his disgust. then philip took hold of the end of the clothes line and brought him back, scolding all the time. "you miserable bruin, you don't know what's good for you; you can't tell a light-wood from a gum-tree, and you'll die of starvation, or else the boys will find you, and they will kill you, thinking you are a wild bush bear, for you don't show any signs of good education, after all the trouble i have taken to teach you manners. i am afraid you will come to a bad end." and so he did. the third time bruin loosed the clothes line he had a six hours' start before he was missed, and sure enough he hid himself in a lightwood for want of sense, and that very night the boys saw him by the light of the moon, and hugh boyle climbed up the tree and knocked him down with a waddy. pussy, philip's sixth domestic, had attained her majority; she had never gone after snakes in her youth, and had always avoided bad company. she did her duty in the house as a good mouser, and when mice grew scarce she went hunting for game; she had a hole under the eaves near the chimney, through which she could enter the hut at any time of the night or day. while philip was musing after tea on the "pons asinorum" by the light of a tallow candle, pussy was out poaching for quail, and as soon as she caught one she brought it home, dropped it on the floor, rubbed her side against philip's boot, and said, "i have brought a little game for breakfast." then philip stroked her along the back, after which she lay down before the fire, tucked in her paws and fell asleep, with a good conscience. but many bush cats come to an unhappy and untimely end by giving way to the vice of curiosity. when dinah, the vain kitten, takes her first walk abroad in spring time, she observes something smooth and shiny gliding gently along. she pricks up her ears, and gazes at the interesting stranger; then she goes a little nearer, softly lifting first one paw and then another. the stranger is more intelligent than dinah. he says to himself, "i know her sort well, the silly thing. saw her ages ago in the garden. she wants mice and frogs and such things--takes the bread out of my mouth. native industry must be protected." so the stranger brings his head round under the grass and waits for dinah, who is watching his tail. the tail moves a little and then a little more. dinah says, "it will be gone if i don't mind," and she jumps for it. at that instant the snake strikes her on the nose with his fangs. dinah's fur rises on end with sudden fright, she shakes her head, and the snake drops off. she turns away, and says, "this is frightful; what a deceitful world! life is not worth living." her head feels queer, and being sleepy she lies down, and is soon a dead cat. that summer was very hot at nyalong, one hundred and ten degrees in the shade. philip began to find his bed of stringy bark very hard, and as it grew older it curled together so much that he could scarcely turn in it from one side to the other. so he made a mattress which he stuffed with straw, and he found it much softer than the stringy bark. but after a while the mattress grew flat, and the stuffing lumpy. sometimes on hot days he took out his bed, and after shaking it, he laid it down on the grass; his blankets he hung on the fence for many reasons which he wanted to get rid of. the water in the forty-acre to the south was all dried up. an old black snake with a streak of orange along his ribs grew thirsty. his last meal was a mouse, and he said, "that was a dry mouthful, and wants something to wash it down." he knew his way to the water-hole at the end of the garden, but he had to pass the hut, which when he travelled that way the summer before was unoccupied. after creeping under the bottom rail of the fence, he raised his head a little, and looked round. he said, "i see there's another tenant here"--bruin was then alive and was sitting on the top of his stump eating gum leaves--"i never saw that fellow so low down in the world before; i wonder what he is doing here; been lagged, i suppose for something or other. he is a stupid, anyway, and won't take any notice even if he sees me." sam and puss were both blinking their eyes in the shade of the lightwood, and whisking the flies from their ears. maggie was walking about with beak open, showing her parched tongue; the heat made her low-spirited. the snake had crept as far as philip's mattress, which was lying on the grass, when maggie saw him. she instantly gave the alarm, "a snake, a snake!" for she knew he was a bad character. sam and puss jumped up and began to bark; joey said, "there is na luck aboot the hoose." bruin was too stupid to say anything. the snake said, "here is a terrible row all at once, i must make for a hole." he had a keen eye for a hole, and he soon saw one. it was a small one, in philip's mattress, almost hidden by the seam, and had been made most likely by a splinter or a nail. the snake put his head in it, saying, "any port in a storm," then drew in his whole length, and settled himself comfortably among the straw. beasts and birds have instincts, and a certain amount of will and understanding, but no memory worth mentioning. for that reason the domestics never told philip about the snake in his mattress, they had forgotten all about it. if sam had buried a bone, he would have remembered it a week afterwards, if he was hungry; but as for snakes, it was, "out of sight, out of mind." philip took in his mattress and blanket before sundown and made his bed. the snake was still in the straw; he had been badly scared, and thought it would be best to keep quiet until he saw a chance to creep out, and continue his journey down the garden. but it was awfully dark inside the mattress, and although he went round and round amongst the straw he could not find any way out of it, so at last he said: "i must wait till morning," and went to sleep. when philip went to bed the snake was disturbed, and woke up. there was so heavy a weight on him that he could scarcely move, and he was almost suffocated. he said: "this is dreadful; i have been in many a tight place in my time, but never in one so tight as this. whatever am i to do? i shall be squeezed to death if i don't get away from this horrid monster on top of me." philip fell asleep as usual, and by-and-by the snake began to flatten his ribs, and draw himself from under the load, until at last he was clear of it; then, heaving a deep sigh of relief he lay quiet for awhile to recover his breath. he knew there was a hole somewhere if he could only find it and he kept poking his nose here and there against the mattress. after sleeping an hour or two, philip turned on his other side, and the snake had to move out of the way in a hurry for fear of being squeezed to death. there was a noise as of something rustling in the straw, and after listening awhile, philip said: "i suppose it's a mouse," and soon fell fast asleep again, because he was not afraid of mice even when they ran across his nose. in the morning he took his blankets out again, and hung them on the fence, shook up his mattress and pillow, and then spread the sheets over them, tucking them in all round, and then he got ready his breakfast. the whole of that day was spent by the snake in trying to find a way out. the sheets being tucked in he was still in the dark, and he kept going round and round, feeling for the hole with his nose until he went completely out of his mind, just as a man does when he is lost in the bush. so the day wore on, night and bedtime came again, and philip lay down to rest once more right over the imprisoned snake. then that snake went raving mad, lost all control of himself, and rolled about recklessly. philip sat up in bed, and a cold sweat began to trickle down his face, and his hair stood on end. he whispered to himself as if afraid the snake might hear him. "the lord preserve us, that's no mouse; it's a snake right under me. what shall i do?" the first thing to do was to strike a light; the matches and candle were on a box at his bedside, and he slowly put out his hand to reach them, expecting every moment to feel the fangs in his wrist. but he found the match-box, struck a light, carefully examined the floor as far as he could see it, jumped out of bed at one bound, and took refuge in the other room. there he looked in every corner, and along every rafter for the other snake, for he knew that at this season snakes are often found in pairs, but he could not see the mate of the one he had left in bed. there was no sleep for philip that night, and, by the light of the candle, he sat waiting for the coming day, and planning dire vengeance. at sunrise he examined closely every hole, and crevice, and corner, and crack in both rooms, floor and floor, slabs, rafters, and shingles. he said, at last: "i think there is only one snake, and he is in the bed." then he went outside, and cut a stick about five feet long, one end of which he pointed with his knife. returning to the bedroom, he lifted up with the point of his stick the sheets, blankets, and pillows, took them outside, and hung them on the fence. next he turned over the mattress slowly, but there was nothing to be seen under it. he poked the mattress with the blunt end of his stick here and there, and he soon saw that something was moving inside. "ah!" he said, "there you are, my friend." the thought of having slept two nights on a live snake made him shudder a little, but he was bent on vengeance. he took hold of one end of the mattress with one hand, and holding the stick in the other, he carried it outside and laid it on the grass. looking carefully at every side of the mattress he discovered the hole through which the snake had entered. it was so small that he could scarcely believe that a snake had gone through it, but no other hole was anywhere visible. philip said, "if the beast comes out it shall be through fire," so he picked up a few pieces of bark which he placed over the hole, and set on fire. the straw inside was soon in a blaze, and the snake was lively. his situation was desperate, and his movements could be traced by the rising and falling of the ticking. philip said, "my friend, you are looking for a hole, but when you find it it will be a hot one." the snake at last made a dash for life through the fire, and actually came out into the open air. but he was dazed and blinded, and his skin was wet and shining with oil, or perspiration, or something. philip gave him a finishing stroke with his stick, and tossed him back into the fire. of course a new mattress was necessary, and a keen eye for snakes ever afterwards. the teaching in the school went on with regularity and success. there was, however, an occasional interruption. once a furious squall came over the lake, and shook the frail building so much that philip threw open the door and sent out all the children, the little ones and girls first, and then the boys, remaining himself to the last like the captain of a sinking ship; but he was not so much of a fool to stay inside and brave destruction; he went out to a safe distance until the squall was over. sometimes a visitor interfered with the work of the school, and philip for that reason hated visitors; but it was his duty to be civil and patient. two inspectors called on two different occasions to examine the scholars. one of them was scarcely sober, and he behaved in a manner so eccentric that the master had a strong temptation to kick him out. however, he at last succeeded in seeing the inspector outside the door peaceably, and soon afterwards the department dispensed with that gentleman's services. he had obtained his office by favour of a minister at home for services rendered at an election. his salary was pounds per annum. the next inspector received the same salary. he was brother or brother-in-law to a bishop, and had many ancestors and relatives of high degree. philip foolishly showed him a few nuggets which he had picked up in picaninny gully, and the inspector showed philip the letter by which he had obtained his appointment and pounds a year. it was only a couple of lines written and signed by a certain lord in london, but it was equivalent to an order for a billet on the government of victoria. then the inspector said he would feel extremely obliged to philip if he would give him one of his little nuggets that he might send it to my lord as a present, and philip at once handed over his biggest nugget. little amenities of this kind make life so pleasant. my lord would be pleased to receive the nugget, the inspector was pleased to send it, and philip said "it cannot be bribery and corruption, but this inspector being a gentleman will be friendly. when he mentions me and my school in his report he cannot possibly forget the nugget." barney, the boozer, one day visited the school. he opened the door and stood on the threshold. his eyes seemed close together, and there was a long red scar on his bare neck, where he had on a former occasion cut his throat. all the scholars were afraid of barney, and the girls climbed up on the benches and began to scream. philip went up to the boozer and said: "well, my friend, what do you want here?" "the devil knows," replied barney. "very likely, but he is not here, he has gone down the road." then taking barney by the arm he turned him round and guided him to the road. barney went about twenty yards until he came to a pool of water. he stepped on to the fence and sat on the top rail gazing into the pool. at last he threw his hat into it, then his boots, coat, shirt, and trousers. when he was quite naked, he stamped on his clothes until they were thoroughly soaked and buried in mud. barney then resumed his search for the devil, swinging his arms to and fro in a free and defiant manner. the school was also visited by a bishop, a priest, a squatter, and a judge. the dress and demeanour of the judge were very impressive at so great a distance from any centre of civilization, for he wore a tall beaver hat, a suit of black broadcloth, and a white necktie. philip received him with reverence, thinking he could not be anything less than a lord spiritual, such is the power of broadcloth and fine linen. nosey, the shepherd, was then living at nyalong, having murdered the other shepherd, baldy, about six months before, and this judge sent nosey to the gallows seventeen years afterwards; but neither nosey nor the judge knew what was to happen after seventeen years. this is the story of nosey and baldy. the two shepherds. by the men on the run they were known as nosey and baldy, but in a former stage of their existence, in the days of the emperor augustus cæsar, they were known as naso and balbus. they were then rivals in love and song, and accused each other of doing things that were mean. and now, after undergoing for their sins various transmigrations into the forms of inferior animals, during two thousand years, as soon as shepherds are required in australia felix, they appear once more following their flocks and herds. but they are entirely forgetful of all greek and roman civilization; their morals have not improved, and their quarrels are more bitter than ever. in the old times they tootled on the tuneful reed, and sang in purest latin the sweetest ditties ever heard, in praise of galatea and amyntas, delia and iolla. but they never tootle now, and never sing, and when they speak, their tongue is that of the unmusical barbarians. in their pagan days they stained their rustic altars with the blood of a kid, a sacrifice to jupiter, and poured out libations of generous wine; but they offer up neither prayer nor sacrifice now, and they pour libations of gin down their throats. the italian rustic is yet musical, and the roman citizen has not lost the genius of his race. he is still unrivalled in sculpture and architecture, in painting, in poetry, and philosophy; and in every handicraft his fingers are as deft as ever. but empire has slipped from his grasp, and empire once lost, like time, never returns. who can rebuild ninevah or babylon, put new life into the mummies of the pharoahs, and recrown them; raise armies from the dust of the warriors of sesostris, and send them forth once more to victory and slaughter? julian the apostate tried to rebuild the holy city and temple of israel, to make prophecy void--apparently a small enterprise for a roman emperor--but all his labours were vain. modern julians have been trying to resuscitate old rome, and to found for her a new empire, and have only made italy another ireland, with a starving people and a bankrupt government. 'nos patriæ fines, nos dulcia linquimus arva'. the italians are emigrating year after year to avoid starvation in the garden of europe. in every city of the great empire on which the sun never sets they wander through the streets, clad in faded garments of olive green--the toga long since discarded and forgotten--making sweet music from the harp and violin, their melancholy eyes wandering after the passing crowd, hoping for the pitiful penny that is so seldom given. the two shepherds were employed on a station north of lake nyalong. it is a country full of dead volcanoes, whose craters have been turned into salt lakes, and their rolling floods of lava have been stiffened into barriers of black rocks; where the ashes belched forth in fiery blasts from the deep furnaces of a burning world have covered the hills and plains with perennial fertility. baldy had been entrusted with a fattening flock, and nosey had in his care a lambing flock. from time to time the sheep were counted, and it was found that the fattening flock was decreasing in numbers. the squatter wanted to know what had become of his missing sheep, but baldy could give no account of them. his suspicions, however, soon fell on nosey. the latter was his nearest neighbour, and although he had only the same wages--viz., thirty pounds a year and rations-- he seemed to be unaccountably prosperous, and was the owner of a wife and two horses. he had been transported for larceny when he was only fifteen years of age, and at twenty-eight he was suspected of being still a thief. girls of the same age were sent from great britain to botany bay and van diemen's land for stealing one bit of finery, worth a shilling, and became the consorts of criminals of the deepest dye. you may read their names in the indents to this day, together with their height, age, complexion, birthplace, and other important particulars. baldy went over to nosey's hut one evening when the blue smoke was curling over the chimney, and the long shadows of the wombat hills were creeping over the stoney rises. julia was boiling the billy for tea, and her husband was chopping firewood outside. "good evening, julia," said baldy; "fine evening." "same to you, baldy. any news to-day?" asked julia. "well, there is," said baldy, "and it's bad news for me; there's ten more of my fatteners missing" (nosey stopped chopping and listened) "and the master says i'll have to hump my swag if i can't find out what has become of them. i say, nosey, you don't happen to have seen any dingoes or blacks about here lately?" "i ain't seen e'er a one, neither dingo nor blackfellow. but, you know, if they were after mischief they'd take care not to make a show. there might be stacks of them about and we never to see one of them." nosey was proud of his cunning. "well," said baldy, "i can hear of nobody having seen any strangers about the rises, nor dingoes, nor black fellows. and the dingoes, anyhow, would have left some of the carcases behind; but the thieves, whoever they are, have not left me as much as a lock of the wool of my sheep. i have been talking about 'em with old sharp; he is the longest here of any shepherd in the country, and knows all the blacks, and he says it's his opinion the man who took the sheep is not far away from the flock now. what do you think about it, nosey?" "what the----should i know about your sheep?" said nosey. "do you mean to insinivate that i took 'em? i'll tell you what it is, baldy; it'll be just as well for you to keep your blasted tongue quiet about your sheep, for if i hear any more about 'em, i'll see you for it; do you hear?" "oh, yes, i hear. all right, nosey, we'll see about it," said baldy. there would have been a fight perhaps, but baldy was a smaller man than the other and was growing old, while nosey was in the prime of life. baldy went to nyalong next day. his rations did not include gin, and he wanted some badly, the more so because he was in trouble about his lost sheep. gin, known then as "old tom," was his favourite remedy for all ailments, both of mind and body. if he could not find out what had become of his sheep, his master might dismiss him without a character. there was not much good character running to waste on the stations, but still no squatter would like to entrust a flock to a shepherd who was suspected of having stolen and sold his last master's sheep. baldy walked to nyalong along the banks of the lake. the country was then all open, unfenced, except the paddocks at the home stations. the boundary between two of the runs was merely marked by a ploughed furrow, not very straight, which started near the lake, and went eastward along the plains. in the rises no plough could make a line through the rocks, and the boundaries there were imaginary. stray cattle were roaming over the country, eating the grass, and the main resource of the squatters was the pounds act. hay was then sold at pounds per ton at bendigo; a draft of fat bullocks was worth a mine of gold at ballarat, and, therefore, grass was everywhere precious. no wonder if the hardy bullock-driver became a cattle lifter after his team had been impounded by the station stockman when found only four hundred yards from the bush track. money, in the shape of fat stock, was running loose, as it were, on every run, and why should not the sagacious nosey do a little business when baldy's fat sheep were tempting him, and a market for mutton could be found no farther away than the nyalong butcher's shop. baldy left the township happier than usual, carrying under his arm two bottles of old tom. he was seen by a man who knew him entering the rises, and going away in the direction of nosey's hut, and then for fifteen years he was a lost shepherd. in course of time it was ascertained that he had called at nosey's hut on his way home. he had the lost sheep on his mind, and he could not resist the impulse to have another word or two with nosey about them. he put down the two bottles of gin outside the door of the hut, near an axe whose handle leaned against the wall. nosey and his wife, julia, were inside, and he bade them good evening. then he took a piece of tobacco out of his pocket, and began cutting it with his knife. he always carried his knife tied to his belt by a string which went through a hole bored in the handle. it was a generally useful knife, and with it he foot-rotted sheep, stirred the tea in his billy, and cut beef and damper, sticks, and tobacco. "i have been to nyalong," he said, "and i heern something about my sheep; they went to the township all right, strayed away, you know, followed one another's tails, and never came back, the o. k. bullocks go just the same way. curious, isn't it?" nosey listened with keen interest. "well, baldy," he said, "and what did you hear? did you find out who took 'em?" "oh, yes," said baldy; "i know pretty well all about 'em now, both sheep and bullocks. old sharp was right about the sheep, anyway. the thief is not far from the flock, and it's not me." baldy was brewing mischief for himself, but he did not know how much. "did you tell the police about 'em?" asked nosey. "oh, no, not to-day!" answered baldy. "time enough yet. i ain't in no hurry to be an informer." nosey eyed him with unusual savagery, and said: "now didn't i tell you to say no more about your blasted sheep, or i'd see you for it? and here you are again, and you can't leave 'em alone. you are no better than a fool." "maybe i am a fool, nosey. just wait till i get a light, and i'll leave your hut and trouble you no more." he was standing in the middle of the floor cutting his tobacco, and rubbing it between the palms of his hands, shaking his head, and eyeing the floor with a look of great sagacity. nosey went outside, and began walking to and fro, thinking and whispering to himself. it was a habit he had acquired while slowly sauntering after his sheep. he seemed to have another self, an invisible companion with whom he discussed whatever was uppermost in his mind. if he had then consulted his other self, julia, he might have saved himself a world of trouble; but he did not think of her. he said to himself: "now, nosey, if you don't mind, you are going to be in a hole. that old fool inside has found out something or other about the sheep, and the peelers will have you, if you don't look out, and they'll give you another seven years and maybe ten. you've done your time once, nosey, and how would you like to do it again? why couldn't you leave the cursed sheep alone and keep out of mischief just when you were settling down in life comfortable, and might have a chance to do better. baldy will be telling the peelers to-morrow all he knows about the sheep you stole, and then they'll fetch you, sure. there's only one thing to stop the old fool's jaw, and you are not game to do it, nosey; you never done a man yet, and you are not game to do it now, and you'll be damned if you do it, and the devil will have you, and you'll be hanged first maybe. and if you don't do him you'll be lagged again for the sheep, and in my opinion, nosey, you are not game. yes, by the powers, you are, nosey, damned if you ain't. who's afeered? and you'll do it quick --do it quick. now or never's your time." while talking thus to himself, nosey was pacing to and fro, and he glanced at the axe every time he passed the door. the weapon was ready to his hand, and seemed to be inviting him to use it. "baldy is going to light his pipe, and while he is stooping to get a firestick, i'll do him with the axe." when baldy turned towards the fire, nosey grasped the axe and held it behind him. he waited a moment, and then entered the hut; but baldy either heard his step, or had some suspicion of danger, for he looked around before takingup a firestick. at that instant the blow, intended for the back of the head, struck him on the jaw, and he fell forward among the embers. for one brief moment of horror he must have realised that he was being murdered, and then another blow behind the head left him senseless. nosey dragged the body out of the fireplace into the middle of the floor, intending, while he was doing a man, to do him well. he raised the axe to finish his work with a third blow, but julia gave a scream so piercing that his attention was diverted to her. "oh, nosey," she said, "what are you doing to poor baldy? you are murdering him." nosey turned to his wife with upraised axe. "hold your jaw, woman, and keep quiet, or i'll do as much for you." she said no more. she was tall and stout, had small, sharp, roving eyes; and nosey was a thick-set man, with a thin, prominent nose, sunken eyes, and overhanging brows. he never had a prepossessing appearance, and now his look and attitude were so ugly and fierce that the big woman was completely cowed. the pair stood still for some time, watching the last convulsive movements of the murdered baldy. nosey could now pride himself on having been "game to do his man," but he could not feel much glory in his work just yet. he had done it without sufficient forethought, and his mind was soon full of trouble. murder was worse than sheep stealing, and the consequences of his new venture in crime began to crowd on his mind with frightful rapidity. he had not even thought of any plan for hiding away the corpse. he had no grave ready, and could not dig one anywhere in the neighbourhood. the whole of the country round his hut was rocky-- little hills of bare bluestone boulders, and grassy hollows covered with only a few inches of soil--rocks everywhere, above ground and below. he could burn the body, but it would take a long time to do it well; somebody might come while he was at the work, and even the ashes might betray his secret. there were shallow lakes and swamps, but he could not put the corpse into any of them with safety: search would be made wherever there was water, on the supposition that baldy had been drowned after drinking too freely of the gin he had brought from nyalong, and if the body was found, the appearance of the skull would show that death had been caused, not by drowning, but by the blows of that cursed axe. nosey began to lay all the blame on the axe, and said, "if it had not stood up so handy near the door, i wouldn't have killed the man." it was the axe that tempted him. excuses of that sort are of a very ancient date. luckily nosey owned two horses, one of which was old and quiet. he told julia to fasten the door, and to open it on no account whatever, while he went for the horse, which was feeding in the rises hobbled, and with a bell tied round his neck. when he returned he saddled the animal, and julia held the bridle while he went into the hut for the body. he observed baldy's pipe on the floor near the fire-place, and he replaced it in the pocket in which it had been usually kept, as it might not be safe to leave anything in the hut belonging to the murdered man. there was a little blood on the floor, but he would scrape that off by daylight, and he would then also look at the axe and put away the two bottles of gin somewhere; he could do all that next morning before baldy was missed. but the corpse must be taken away at once, for he felt that every minute of delay might endanger his neck. he dragged the body outside, and with julia's help lifted it up and placed it across the saddle. then he tried to steady his load with his right hand, and to guide the horse by the bridle with his left, but he soon found that a dead man was a bad rider; baldy kept slipping towards the near side or the off side with every stride of the horse, and soon fell to the ground. nosey was in a furious hurry, he was anxious to get away; he cursed baldy for giving him so much trouble; he could have killed him over again for being so awkward and stubborn, and he begun to feel that the old shepherd was more dangerous dead than alive. at last he mounted his horse, and called to julia to come and help him. "here, julia, lift him up till i catch hold of his collar, and i'll pull him up in front of me on the saddle, and hold him that way." julia, with many stifled moans, raised the body from the ground, nosey reached down and grasped the shirt collar, and thus the two managed to place the swag across the saddle. then nosey made a second start, carefully balancing the body, and keeping it from falling with his right hand, while he held the bridle with his left. the funeral procession slowly wound its way in a westerly direction among the black rocks over the softest and smoothest ground to avoid making any noise. there was no telling what stockman or cattle-stealer the devil might send at any moment to meet the murderer among the lonely rises, and even in the darkness his horrible burden would betray him. nosey was disturbed by the very echo of his horse's steps; it seemed as if somebody was following him at a little distance; perhaps julia, full of woman's curiosity; and he kept peering round and looking back into the darkness. in this way he travelled about a mile and a half, and then dismounting, lowered the body to the ground, and began to look for some suitable hiding place. he chose one among a confused heap of rocks, and by lifting some of them aside he made a shallow grave, to which he dragged the body, and covered it by piling boulders over and around it. he struck several matches to enable him to examine his work carefully, and closed up every crevice through which his buried treasure might be visible. the next morning nosey was astir early. he had an important part to act, and he was anxious to do it well. he first examined the axe and cleaned it well, carefully burning a few of baldy's grey hairs which he found on it. then he searched the floor for drops of blood, which he carefully scraped with a knife, and washed until no red spot was visible. then he walked to baldy's and pretended to himself that he was surprised to find it empty. what had happened the previous night was only a dream, an ugly dream. he met an acquaintance and told him that baldy was neither in his hut nor with his sheep. the two men called at old sharp's hut to make enquiries. the latter said, "i seen baldy's sheep yesterday going about in mobs, and nobody to look after them." then the three men went to the deserted hut. everything in it seemed undisturbed. the dog was watching at the door, and they told him to seek baldy. he pricked up his ears, wagged his tail, and looked wistfully in the direction of nosey's hut, evidently expecting his master to come in sight that way. the men went to the nearest magistrate and informed him that the shepherd was missing. a messenger went to the head station. enquiries were made at the township, and it was found that baldy had been to nyalong the previous day, and had left in the evening carrying two bottles of gin. this circumstance seemed to account for his absence; he had taken too much of the liquor, was lying asleep somewhere, and would reappear in the course of the day. men both on foot and on horseback roamed through the rises, examining the hollows and the flats, the margins of the shallow lakes, and peering into every wombat hole as they passed. they never thought of turning over any of the boulders; a drunken man would never make his bed and blanket of rocks; he would be found lying on the top if he had stumbled amongst them. one by one as night approached the searchers returned to the hut. they had discovered nothing, and the only conclusion they could come to was, that baldy was taking a very long sleep somewhere--which was true enough. next day every man from the neighbouring stations, and some from nyalong, joined in the search. the chief constable was there, and as became a professed detector of crime, he examined everything minutely inside and outside the two huts, but he could not find anything suspicious about either of them. he entered into conversation with julia, but the eye of her husband was on her, and she had little to say. nosey, on the contrary, was full of suggestions as to what might have happened to baldy, and he helped to look for him eagerly and actively in every direction but the right one. for many days the rises were peopled with prospectors, but one by one they dropped away. the chief constable was loath to leave the riddle unsolved; he had the instinct of the sleuth-hound on the scent of blood. he had been a pursuer of bad works amongst the convicts for a long time, both in van diemen's land and in victoria, and had helped to bring many men to the gallows or the chain-gang. he had once been shot in the back by a horse thief who lay concealed behind the door of a shepherd's hut, but he secured the horse thief. he was a man without nerves, of medium height, strongly built, had a broad face, massive ears, wide, firm mouth, and strong jaws. one night after the searchers had departed to their various homes, the chief remained alone in the rises, and leaving his horse hobbled at a distance, cautiously approached nosey's hut. he placed his ear to the outside of the weatherboards, and listened for some time to the conversation of nosey and his wife, expecting to obtain by chance some information about the disappearance of the other shepherd. nosey was in a bad temper, swearing and finding fault with everything. julia was prudent and said little; it was best not to say too much to a man who was so handy with the family axe. but at last she made use of one expression which seemed to mean something. she said, "oh, nosey, you murdering villain, you know you ought to be hanged." there was a prophetic ring in these words which delighted the chief constable, and he glued his great ear to the weatherboards, eagerly listening for more; but the wrangling pair were very disappointing; they would not keep to the point. at last he walked round the hut, suddenly opened the door, and entered. nosey was struck dumb at once. his first thought was that his plan had been sprung, and that the murder was out. the chief addressed julia in a tone of authority, imitating the counsel for the crown when examining a prevaricating witness. "now, missus, remember you will be put on your oath. you said just now, 'oh, nosey, you murdering villain, you know you ought to be hanged.' those were your very words. now what did you mean? on your oath, mind; out with it at once." but julia was not to be caught so easily. she replied: "oh, bad luck to him, he is always angry. i don't know what to do with him. i did not mean anything." "you did not mean anything about baldy, i suppose, did you, now?" queried the constable, shamefully leading the witness, and looking hard at nosey. julia parried the question by heaving a deep sigh, and saying: "hi, ho, harry, if i were a maid, i never would marry;" and then she began singing a silly old song. the constable was disgusted, and said: "my good woman, you'll find there will be nothing to laugh at in this job, when i see you again." as he left the hut, he turned at the door and gave one more look at nosey, who had stood all the time rivetted to the ground, expecting every moment that the constable would produce the handcuffs. soon afterwards julia went outside, walked round the hut, and stayed awhile, listening and looking in every direction. when she returned, nosey said, in a hoarse whisper: "is he gan yet?" "i think," replied julia, "he won't be coming again to-night. he has thrown away his trouble this time, anyhow; but ye must hould your tongue, nosey, if ye want to save your neck; he means to have you if he can." nosey stayed on the run some weeks longer, following his sheep. it would not be advisable to go away suddenly, and, moreover, he recollected that what the eye could not see might some time be discovered by another of the senses. so he waited patiently, standing guard as it were over the dead, until his curiosity induced him to pay a farewell visit by daylight to the place where baldy was buried. there had been hot weather since the body had been deposited in the shallow grave, and the crevices among the piles of bluestones had been filled by the wind with the yellow stalks of decayed grass. nosey walked round his own particular pile, and inspected it closely. he was pleased to find that it showed no signs of having been touched since he raised it. it was just like any of the other heaps of rocks around it. he had, at any rate, given baldy as good a funeral as circumstances would permit, better than that of many a man who had perished of hunger, heat, and thirst, in the shelterless wastes of the never-never land, "beyond moneygrub's farthest run." nosey and the weather had done their work so well that for the next fifteen years no shepherd, stockman, or squatter ever gave a second look at that unknown grave. the black snake coiled itself beneath the decaying skeleton, and spent the winter in secure repose. the native cat tore away bits of baldy's clothing, and with them and the yellow grass made, year after year, a nest for its young among the whitening bones. everything, so far, had turned out quite as satisfactorily as any murderer could expect. nosey had been game to do his man, and he had done him well. julia was prudent enough to hold her tongue for her own sake; it was unlikely that any further search would be made for the lost shepherd; he had been safely put out of sight, and not even julia knew where he was buried. nosey began to have a better opinion of himself than ever. neither the police nor the law could touch him. he would never be called to account for putting away his brother shepherd, in this world at any rate; and as for the next, why it was a long way off, and there was time enough to think about it. the day of reckoning was distant, but it came at last, as it always does to every sinner of us all. nosey resigned his billet, and went to nyalong. he lived in a hut in the eastern part of the township, not far from the lake, and near the corner of the road coming down from the bald hill. here had been laid the foundation of a great inland city by a bush publican, two storekeepers, a wheelwright, and a blacksmith. another city had been started at the western side of wandong creek, but its existence was ignored by the eastern pioneers. the shepherd soon began to forget or despise the advice of his wife, julia; his tongue grew loose again, and at the bar of the inn of the crossroads his voice was often heard loud and abusive. he felt that he had become a person of importance, as the possessor of a secret which nobody could discover. what he said and what he did was discussed about the township, and the chief constable listened to every report, expecting that some valuable information would accidentally leak out. one day a man wearing a blue jumper and an old hat came down the road, stepped on to the verandah of the inn, and threw down his swag. nosey was there, holding forth to bill the butcher, dick smalley, frank barton, bob atkins, charley goodall, and george brown the liar. a dispute occurred, in which the presumptuous stranger joined, and nosey promptly knocked him off the verandah into the gutter. a valid claim to satisfaction was thus established, and the swagman showed a disposition to enforce it. he did not attempt to regain his position on the boards, but took his stand on the broad stone of honour in the middle of the road. he threw up his hat into the air, and began walking rapidly to and fro, clenched his fists, stiffened his sinews, and at every turn in his walk said: "you'll find me as good a man as ever you met in your life." this man's action promised real sport, and true britons as we all were we were delighted to see him. nosey stood on the verandah for a minute or two, watching the motions of the swagman; he did not seem to recollect all at once what the code of honour required, until bill the butcher remarked, "he wants you, nosey," then nosey went. the two men met in the middle of the road, and put up their hands. they appeared well-matched in size and weight. the swagman said: "you'll find me as good a man as ever you met in your life." nosey began the battle by striking out with his right and left, but his blows did not seem to reach home, or to have much effect. the swagman dodged and parried, and soon put in a swinging blow on the left temple. nosey fell to the ground, and the stranger resumed his walk as before, uttering his war cry: "you'll find me as good a man as ever you met in your life." there were no seconds, but the rules of chivalry were strictly observed; the stranger was a true gentleman, and did not use his boots. in the second round nosey showed more caution, but the result was the same, and it was brought about by another hard blow on the temple. the third round finished the fight. nosey lay on the ground so long that bill, the butcher, went over to look at him, and then he threw up the sponge--metaphorically--as there was no sponge, nor any need of one. the defeated nosey staggered towards his hut, and his temper was afterwards so bad that julia declined to stay with him any longer; she loosed the marriage bonds without recourse to law, and disappeared. her husband went away westward, but he did not stay long. he returned to nyalong and lived awhile alone in his hut there, but he was restless and dissatisfied. everybody looked at him so curiously. even the women and children stood still as he passed by them, and began whispering to one another, and he guessed well enough why they were looking at him and what they were saying--"that's nosey the murderer; he killed baldy and hid him away somewhere; his wife said he ought to be hanged, and she has run away and left him." when the hungry hawk comes circling over the grove of crookedy gum in which two magpies are feeding their callow young, the bush is soon filled with cries of alarm. the plump quail hides himself in the depths of a thick tussock; the bronze-winged pigeon dives into the shelter of the nearest scrub, while all the noisiest scolds of the air gather round the intruder. every magpie, minah, and wattle-bird within a mile joins in the clamour. they dart at the hawk as he flies from tree to tree. when he alights on a limb they give him no peace; they flap their wings in his face, and call him the worst of names. even the derwent jackass, the hypocrite with the shining black coat and piercing whistle, joins in the public outcry, and his character is worse than that of the hawk himself, for he has been caught in the act of kidnapping and devouring the unfledged young of his nearest neighbour. the distracted hawk has at length to retreat dinnerless to the swampy margin of the river where the tallest tea-trees wave their feathery tops in the wind. in like manner the human hawk was driven from the township. he descended in the scale of crime, stole a horse, and departed by night. bill, the butcher, said next day: "nosey has gone for good this time. he will ride that horse to death and then steal another." at this time i rode through the rises and called at the two huts; i found them occupied by two shepherds not unlike the former tenants, who knew little and cared less what had become of their predecessors. time empties thrones and huts impartially, and the king feels no pride in his monument of marble, nor the shepherd any shame beneath the shapeless cairn which hides his bones. at this time the old races both of men and animals were dying out around lake nyalong, and others were taking their places. the last black child ever seen in the township was brought by its mother to the hut of a white woman. it was naked and very dirty, and she laid it down on the clay floor. the white woman's heart was moved with pity at the sight of the miserable little bairn. she took it up, washed it with warm water and soap, wrapped it in flannel, and gave it back to the mother. but the lubra was loath to receive it. she said, "black picaninny all die. no good; white picaninny live." the kangaroo, wombat, and dingo were fast dying out, as well a the blackfellow. we could all see well enough how the change was brought about. millions of years ago, new species may have been evolved out of the old species, but nothing of the kind happens now. the white men of australia were not evolved out of the black men. there are no family ties, and never will be, between the kangaroo, the wombat and wallaby, and their successors, the cattle, the sheep, and the goats. we can kill species, but we can't create any. the rabbit, destined to bring nosey to the gallows, was a favoured animal on austin's station at the barwon. it was a privilege to shoot him--in small quantities--he was so precious. but he soon became, as the grammar says, a noun of multitude. he swarmed on the plains, hopped over the hills, burrowed among the rocks in the rises, and nursed his multitudinous progeny in every hollow log of the forest. neither mountain, lake, or river ever barred his passage. he ate up all the grass and starved the pedigree cattle, the well-born dukes and duchesses, and on tens of thousands of fertile acres left no food to keep the nibbling sheep alive. every hole and crevice of the rocks was full of him. an uninvited guest, he dropped down the funnel-shaped entrance to the den of the wombat, and made himself at home with the wild cat and snake. he clothed the hills with a creeping robe of fur, and turned the garden of the west into a wilderness. science may find a theory to account for the beginning of all things, but among all her triumphs she has been unable to put an end to the rabbit. war has been made upon them by fire, dynamite, phosphorus, and all deadly poisons; by dogs, cats, weasels, foxes, and ferrets, but he still marches over the land triumphantly. for fifteen years nosey roamed from station to station under various names, between queensland and the murray, but wherever he went, the memory of his crime never left him. he had been taught in his boyhood that murder was one of the four sins crying to heaven for vengeance, and he knew that sooner or later the cry would be heard. sometimes he longed to unburden his mind to a priest, but he seldom saw or heard of one. the men with whom he worked and wandered were all like himself--lost souls who had taken the wrong turn in the beginning of their days, the failures of all trades and professions; thieves, drunkards, and gamblers; criminals who had fled from justice; men of pleasure and, therefore, of misery; youths of good family exported from england, ireland, and scotland to mend their morals, to study wool, and become rich squatters. all these men get colonial experience, but it does not make them saintly or rich. here and there, all over the endless plains, they at last lie down and die, the dingoes hold inquests over them, and, literally, they go to the dogs, because they took the wrong turn in life and would not come back. in nosey and his two mates were approaching a station on the lachlan. since sunrise they had travelled ten miles without breakfast, and were both hungry and weary. they put down their swags in the shade of a small grove of timber within sight of the station buildings. bob castles said: "i was shearing in them sheds in ' when old shenty owned the run. he was a rum old miser, he was, would skin two devils for one hide; believe he has gone to hell; hope so, at any rate. he couldn't read nor write much, but he could make money better'n any man i ever heard of. bought two runs on the murray, and paid , pounds for 'em in one cheque. he kept a lame schoolmaster to write his cheques and teach his children, gave him pounds a year, the same as a shepherd. lived mostly on mutton all the year round; never killed no beef for the station, but now and then an old bullock past work, salted him down in the round swamp for a change o' grub. never grew no cabbage or wegetables, only a paddock of potatoes. didn't want no visitors, 'cos he was afraid they'd want to select some of his run. wanted everything to look as poor and miserable as possible. he put on a clean shirt once a week, on sabbath to keep it holy, and by way of being religious. kept no fine furniture in the house, only a big hardwood table, some stools, and candle boxes. after supper old mother shenty scraped the potato skins off the table into her apron --she always boiled the potatoes in their jackets--and then shenty lay down on it and smoked his pipe till bedtime, thinking of the best way to keep down expenses. a parson came along one day lifting a subscription for a church, or school, or something. he didn't get anything out of old shenty, only a pannikin of tea and some damper and mutton. the old cove said: 'church nor school never gave me nothing, nor do me no good, and i could buy up a heap o' parsons and schoolmasters if i wanted to, and they were worth buying. us squatters is the harrystockrisy out here. the lords at home sends out their good-for-nothing sons to us, to get rich and be out of the way, and much good they does. why don't you parsons make money by your eddication if it's any good, instead of goin' round beggin'? you are all after the filthy lucre, wantin' to live on other folks.' i was holdin' the parson's horse, and when he got into the saddle, he turns to old shenty, and says: 'from rottenness you sprung, and to rottenness you'll go. your money will drag you down to hell; you'll want to throw it away, but it will burn into your soul for all eternity.' "i am mortal hungry," continued bob, "and they don't give no rations until about sundown, and we'll have to wait six hours. it's hard lines. i see there's an orchard there now, and most likely a wegtable garden--and cabbages. i'd like some boiled beef and cabbage. it wouldn't be no harm to try and get somethin' to eat, anyhow. what do you say, ned? you was a swell cove once, and knows how to talk to the quality. go and try 'em." ned went and talked to the "quality" so well that he brought back rations for three. towards the end of the year nosey arrived at piney station, about forty miles from the murray, and obtained employment. baldy's bones had been lying under the rocks for nearly fifteen years. it was absurd to suppose they could ever be discovered now, or if they were, that any evidence could be got out of them. nosey felt sure that all danger for himself was passed, but still the murder was frequently in his mind. the squatter was often lonely, and his new man was garrulous, and one day nosey, while at work, began to relate many particulars of life in the old country, in van diemen's land, and in the other colonies, and he could not refrain from mentioning the greatest of his exploits. "i once done a man in victoria," he said, "when i was shepherding; he found me out taking his fat sheep, and was going to inform on me, so i done him with an axe, and put him away so as nobody could ever find him." the squatter thought that nosey's story was mostly blowing, especially that part of it referring to the murder. no man who had really done such a deed, would be so foolish as to confess it to a stranger. another man was engaged to work at the station. as soon as he saw nosey he exclaimed, "hello, nosey, is that you?" "my name is not nosey." "all right; a name is nothing. we are old chums, anyway." that night the two men had a long talk about old times. they had both served their time in the island, and were, moreover, "townies," natives of the same town at home. nosey began the conversation by saying to his old friend, "i've been a bad boy since i saw you last --i done a man in victoria"; and then he gave the full particulars of his crime, as already related. but the old chum could not believe the narrative, any more than did the squatter. "well, nosey," he said, "you can tell that tale to the marines." in the meantime the runs around lake nyalong had been surveyed by the government and sold. in the rises the land was being subdivided and fenced with stone walls, and there was a chance that baldy's grave might be discovered if one of the surveyed lines ran near it, for the stonewallers picked up the rocks as near as possible to the wall they were building, and usually to about the distance of one chain on each side of it. a man who had a contract for the erection of one of these walls took with him his stepson to assist in the work. in the month of august, , they were on their way to their work accompanied by a dog which chased a rabbit into a pile of rocks. the boy began to remove the rocks in order to find the rabbit, and in doing so uncovered part of a human skeleton. he beckoned to his stepfather, who was rather deaf, to come and look at what he had found. the man came, took up the skull, and examined it. "i'll be bound this skull once belonged to baldy," he said. "there is a hole here behind; and, yes, one jaw has been broken. that's nosey's work for sure' i wonder where he is now." no work was done at the wall that day, but information was given to the police. mounted constable kerry came over to the rises. the skeleton was found to be nearly entire; one jaw-bone was broken, and there was a hole in the back of the skull. the feet were still encased in a pair of boots laced high above the ankles. there were portions of a blue-striped shirt, and of a black silk necktie with reddish stripes. there was also the brim of an oiled sou'wester' hat, a pipe, and a knife. the chin was very prominent, and the first molar teeth on the lower jaw were missing. the remains were carefully taken up and conveyed to nyalong; they were identified as those of baldy; an inquest was held, and a verdict of wilful murder was returned against nosey and his wife. after the inquest mounted constable kerry packed up the skeleton in a parcel with every small article found with it, placed it in a sack, put it under his bed, slept over it every night, and patiently waited for some tidings of the murderer. in those days news travelled slowly, and the constable guarded his ghastly treasure for eighteen months. nemesis was all the time on her way to piney station, but her steps were slow, and she did not arrive until the seventeenth anniversary of the disapppearance of baldy. on that day she came under the guise of constable, who produced a warrant, and said: "cornelius naso, alias nosey, alias pye, i arrest you under this warrant, charging you with having murdered a shepherd, named thomas balbus, alias baldy, at nyalong, in the colony of victoria, on the th day of february, . you need not say anything unless you like, but if you do say anything i shall take it down in writing, and it will be used as evidence against you at your trial." nosey had nothing to say, except, "i deny the charge"; he had said too much already. he was handcuffed and taken to the police station at albury. in one of his pockets a letter was found purporting to be written by julia, and disclosing her place of residence. soon afterwards nosey and his wife met in captivity after their long separation, but their meeting was not a happy one; they had no word of welcome for each other. the preliminary examination was held in the court house at nyalong, and there was a large gathering of spectators when the proceedings commenced. on a form below the witness box there was something covered with a white sheet. men craned their necks and looked at it over one another's shoulders. the two prisoners eyed it intently. it was guarded by constable kerry, who allowed no one to approach it, but with an authoritative wave of the hand kept back all impertinent intruders. that day was the proudest in all his professional career. he had prepared his evidence and his exhibits with the utmost care. at the proper moment he carefully removed the white sheet, and the skeleton was exposed to view, with everything replaced in the position in which it had been found under the rocks in the rises. nosey's face grew livid as he eyed the evidence of his handiwork; julia threw up both hands, and exclaimed: "oh! there's poor baldy that you murdered!" nosey felt that this uncalled-for statement would damage his chance of escape, so, turning to the bench, he said: "don't mind what the woman says, your lordship; she is not in her right senses, and always was weak-minded." the constable being sworn, related how, on information received, he had gone to the stoney rises, and had uncovered a skeleton which was lying on a broad flat stone. the bones of the legs from the knees downward were covered with stones. the boots were attached to the feet, and were pointing in such a direction as to show that the body must have rested on the right side. large stones, but such as one man could lift, had been placed over the feet and the legs. the other bones were together, but had been disturbed. with them he found the brim of an oiled sou'-westr' hat, a clay tobacco pipe, a rusty clasp-knife with a hole bored through the handle, fragments of a blue shirt; also pieces of a striped silk neckerchief, marked d. s. over ; the marks had been sewn in with a needle. there was a hole in the back of the skull, and the left jaw was broken. just at this time a funeral procession, with a few attendants, passed the court-house on its way to the cemetery. julia's father was going to his grave. he had come over the sea lately to spend the rest of his days in peace and comfort in the home of his daughter, and he found her in gaol under the charge of murder. there was nothing more to live for, so he went out and died. the two prisoners were committed, but they remained in gaol for more than seven months longer, on account of the difficulty of securing the attendance of witnesses from new south wales. but when the evidence was given it was overwhelming. every man who had known baldy seemed to have been kept alive on purpose to give evidence against the murderer. every scrap of clothing which the wild cats had left was identified, together with the knife, the pipe, the hat brim, and the boots; and the prisoner's own confession was repeated. julia also took the side of the prosecution. when asked if she had any questions to put, she said, "my husband killed the man, and forced me to help him to put the body on his horse." the jury retired to consider their verdict, and spent two hours over it. in the meantime the two prisoners sat in the dock as far apart as possible. they had never spoken to each other during the trial, and nosey now said in a low voice: "you had no call, julia, to turn on me the way you did. what good could it do you? sure you might at least have said nothing against me." the pent-up bitterness of seventeen years burst forth. the constable standing near tried to stop the torrent, but he might as well have tried to turn back a south-east gale with a feather. "i was to say nothing, indeed, was i? and what call had i to say nothing? is that what you ask? was i to stand here all day and say never a word for myself until they were ready to hang me? tell me now, did i murder poor baldy or did you? was it not you who struck him down with the axe without saying as much as 'by your leave,' either to me or to him? did you say a word to me until you finished your bloody work? and then you threatened to cut me down, too, with the axe, if i didn't hold my tongue, and help you to lift the man on to your horse. it is this day you should have remembered before you began that night's work. sorrow's the day i ever met you at all, with the miserable life you led me; and you know i was always the good wife to you until you gave yourself entirely to the devil with your wicked ways. wasn't i always on the watch for you every evening looking for you, and the chop on the fire, and the hot tea, and everything comfortable? and is it to hang me now you want to pay me back for the trouble i took for you and all the misery i suffered these long years? and the death of my poor father, who found me in gaol, is at your door too, for he would have been alive and well this day but for the deed you done, which broke his poor old heart; the lord have mercy on him. and who is to blame but your own self for being in this place at all? you not only done the man to death, but you must go about the bush bragging of it to strangers, and twisting the halter for your own neck like a born idiot; and that's what you are, in spite of your roguery and cunning." and so on for two hours of hell until the jury came back. they acquitted julia and found her husband guilty. she left the court without once looking back, and he faced the jury alone. judge pohlman had never before sent a man to the gallows. he made the usual little moral speech, and bewailed his own misfortune in having to perform so disagreeable a duty. then he put on the black cap and passed sentence. at the concluding words, "may the lord have mercy on your soul," the condemned man responded with a fervent "amen," adding, "and that's the last of poor nosey." he seemed greatly relieved when the ceremony was over, but it was not quite the last, there was another to follow. for ten days he remained in his cell, and no one visited him except the priest. his examination of conscience was not difficult, for he had often rehearsed it, and much of it had been done for him in public. he made his last journey between two priests, joining fervently in their prayers for the dying. his step was firm, and he showed neither fear nor bravado. the hangman quickly drew down the cap, but he seemed more flurried than his victim. the sheriff, without speaking, motioned him to place the knot in the correct position under the ear. then the bolt was drawn and the story of "the two shepherds" was finished. the man whom philip met at bendigo had farms in the country thinly timbered. north, south, east, and west the land was held under squatting licenses; with the exception of the home paddocks it was unfenced, and the stock was looked after by boundary riders and shepherds. to the south, between nyalong and the sea--a distance of fifty or sixty miles--the country was not occupied by either the white or the black men. it consisted of ranges of hills heavily timbered, furrowed by deep valleys, through which flowed innumerable streams, winding their way to the river of the plains. sometimes the solitary bushman or prospector, looking across a deep valley, saw, nestled amongst the opposite hills, a beautiful meadow of grass. but when he had crossed the intervening creek and scrubby valley, and continued his journey to the up-land, he found that the deceitful meadow was only a barren plain, covered, not with grass, but with the useless grass-tree. there is a little saccharine matter in the roots of the grass-tree, and a hopeful man from corio once built a sugar-mill near the stream, and took possession of the plain as a sugar plantation. there was much labour, but very little sugar. in the dense forest, cattle had run wild, and were sometimes seen feeding in the thinly-timbered grass land outside; but whenever a horseman approached they dashed headlong into the scrub where no horseman could follow them. wild boars and their progeny also rooted among the tall tussocks in the marshes by the banks of the river, where it emerged from the ranges into the plains. blackfish and eels were plentiful in the river, but they were of a perverse disposition, and would not bite in the day-time. the bend nearest to nyalong was twelve miles distant, and philip once spent a night there with gleeson and mccarthy. a fire was kindled and some fish were caught, but philip took none home. gleeson and mccarthy reserved their catches for their wives and families, and philip's fish were all cooked on the fire at sunrise, and eaten for breakfast. fishing was sport, certainly, but it was not profitable, nor exciting, except to the temper. sometimes an eel took the bait, and then twisted himself round the limb of a tree at the bottom of the river. he then pulled all he was able until either the line or the hook was broken, or his jaw was torn into strips. after midnight philip was drowsy, and leaned his back against a tree to woo sweet sleep. but there were mosquitos in millions, bandicoots hopping close to the fire, and monkey-bears, night hawks, owls, 'possums and dingoes, holding a corroboree hideous enough to break the sleep of the dead. after breakfast the horses were saddled for home. philip carried his revolver in his belt, and gleeson had a shot-gun. a kangaroo was seen feeding about a hundred yards distant, and gleeson dismounted and shot at it, but it hopped away unharmed. a few minutes afterwards, as the men were riding along at an easy walk, three other horsemen suddenly came past them at a gallop, wheeled about, and faced the fishermen. one was burridge, a station manager, the other two were his stockmen. the six men looked at one another for a few moments without speaking. both gleeson and mccarthy had the tipperary temper, and it did not remain idle long. "well," asked gleeson, "is anything the matter?" "i dinna ken yet," said burridge. "did na ye hear a gunshot just now?" "yes, i fired at a kangaroo." "a kangaroo, eh? are you sure it was a kangaroo?" "yes, it was a kangaroo. what of that? oh, i see, you think we are after shooting your cattle. is that it? speak out like a man." "sometimes a beast is shot about here, and i'd like to find out who does it." "oh, indeed! you'd like to know who does it, would you? i can tell you, anyway, who is the biggest cattle duffer round here, if you'd like to know!" gleeson touched one flank of his horse with his heel, and rode close up to burridge with the gun in his right hand. "his name is burridge, and that's yourself. everybody knows you, you old scotch hound. you have as many cattle on the run with your brand on them as your master has. there is not a bigger cattle thief than old burridge within a hundred miles, and you'll be taken off the run in irons yet. get out of my way, or i'll be tempted to send you to blazes before your time." burridge did not go off the run in irons; he left it honourably for another run which he took up, and stocked with cattle bearing no brand but his own. evil tongues might tattle, but no man could prove that burridge ever broke the law. one fishing excursion to the bend was enough for philip, but a pig hunt was organised, and he joined it. the party consisted of gleeson, mccarthy, bill the butcher, bob atkins, and george brown the liar, who brought a rope-net and a cart in which all the game caught was to be carried home. five dogs accompanied the party, viz., lion and tiger, crossbred bull and mastiffs, experienced pig fighters, sam as a reserve, and three mongrels as light skirmishers. the first animal met with was a huge old boar, the hero of a hundred fights, the great-grandfather of pigs. he stood at bay among the tussocks, the dogs barking furiously around him. bill the butcher said, "keep back, you men, or he'll rip the guts out of your horses. i know him well. he has only one tusk, but it's a boomer. look out sharp till the dogs tackle him, he might make a rush at some of us." the boar was a frightful-looking beast, long, tall, and slab-sided, in perfect condition for fight, all bone, muscle, and bristles, with not an ounce of lard in his lean body. he stood still and stiff as a rock watching the dogs, his one white tusk, long and keen sticking out above his upper lip. the loss of the other tusk left him at a disadvantage, as he could only strike effectively on one side. lion and tiger had fought him before, and he had earned their respect. they were wary and cautious, and with good reason. their best hold was by the ears, and these had been chewed away in former wars, till nothing was left of them but the ragged roots. bill the butcher dismounted, dropped his bridle, and cheered on the dogs at a prudent distance, "good dogs; seek him lion; hold him tiger." the dogs went nearer and nearer, jumping away whenever the boar made an attack. at last they seized him by the roots of his ears, one on each side, and held on. bob atkins and bill approached the combatants, carrying some strong cord, of new zealand flax. a running noose was secured round the hind legs of the boar; he was then thrown on his side, and his forelegs were tied together. lion and tiger stood near panting, with blood dripping from their open jaws. philip could not imagine why bill did not butcher the beast at once; it seemed impossible that a leathery old savage like that could ever be transformed into tender pork. for the present he was left prone on the field of battle, and the pig hunt proceeded. there was soon much squealing of pigs, and barking of dogs among the tussocks. gleenson's dog pinned a young boar, and after its legs were tied philip agreed to stand by and guard it, while gleeson fetched the cart. but the boar soon slipped the cord from his legs, and at once attacked his nearest enemy, rushing at philip and trying to rip open his boots. philip's first impulse was to take out his revolver, and shoot; but he was always conscientious, and it occurred to him that he would be committing a breach of trust, as he had undertaken to guard the game alive until gleeson came back with the cart. so he tried to fight the pig with his boots, kicking him on the jaws right and left. but the pig proved a stubborn fighter, and kept coming up to the scratch again and again, until philip felt he had got into a serious difficulty. he began to think as well as to kick quickly. "if i could only throw the animal to the ground i could hold him down." the dogs had shown him that the proper mode of seizing a hog was by the ears, so at the next round he seized both ears and held them. there was a pause in the fight, and philip took advantage of it to address his enemy after the manner of the greeks and trojans. "i have got you at last, my friend, and the curse of cromwell on you, i'd like to murder you without mercy; and if gleeson don't come soon he'll find here nothing but dead pig. i must try to throw you somehow." after examining the pig narrowly he continued, "it will be done by the hind legs." he let go one ear and seized a hind leg instead, taking the enemy, as it were, both in front and rear. for some time there was much kicking and squealing, until one scientific kick and a sudden twist of the hind quarters brought the quarry to earth. philip knelt on the ribs of his foe, still holding one ear and one hind leg. then he proceeded with his speech, gasping for breath: "and this is what happens to a poor man in australia! here have i been fighting a wild beast of a pig for half an hour, just to keep him alive, and all to oblige a cockatoo farmer, and small thanks to me for that same. may all the curses--the lord preserve us and give us patience; i am forgetting the twelve virtues entirely." gleeson came at last with the cart and george brown the liar; the pig's legs were again tied together, he was lifted into the cart and covered with the rope net. four other pigs were caught, and then the hunters and dogs returned to the place in which the old boar had been left. but he had broken or slipped his bonds, and had gone away. he was tracked to the river, which was narrow but deep, so he had saved his bacon for another day. at the division of the game philip declined to take any share. he said: "thanks, i have had pig enough for the present." so there were exactly five pigs for the other five men. having been satiated with the pleasures of fishing and pig-hunting, philip was next invited to try the pursuit of the kangaroo. the first meet of men and hounds took place at gleeson's farm. mccarthy brought his dogs, and philip brought sam, his revolver, and a club. barton was too proud to join in the sport; he despised inferior game. it might amuse new chums, but it was below the notice of the old trooper, whose business had been for many years to hunt and shoot bushrangers and black-fellows, not to mention his regular duty as flagellator. gleeson that morning was cutting up his pumpkin plants with an axe. "good morning, mr. gleeson," said philip. "is anything the matter? is it a snake you are killing?" gleeson began to laugh, a little ashamed of himself, and said, "look at these cursed pumpkins. i think they are bewitched. every morning i come to see if the fruit is growing, but this is what they do. as soon as they get as big as a small potato, they begin to wither and turn yellow, and not a bit more will they grow. so i'm cutting the blessed things to pieces." philip saw that about half the runners had been already destroyed. he said, "don't chop any more, gleeson, and i'll show you how to make pumpkins grow." he picked up a feather in the fowl-yard, and went inside the garden. "now look at these flowers closely; they are not all alike. this flower will never turn into a pumpkin, but this one will if it gets a little of the dust from the first flower. the bees or other insects usually take the dust from one flower to the other, but i suppose there are no bees about here just now?" philip then dusted every flower that was open and said: "now, my friend, put away the axe, and you will have fruit here yet." and the pumpkins grew and ripened. the two men then went towards the house, and philip observed the fragments of a clock scattered about the ground in front of the verandah. "what happened to the clock?" said philip. "why," replied gleeson, "the thing wasn't going right at all, so i took it to pieces just to examine it, and to oil the wheels, and when i tried to put it together again, the fingers were all awry, and the pins wouldn't fit in their places, and the pendulum swung crooked, and the whole thing bothered me so that i just laid it on the floor of the verandah, and gave it one big kick that sent it to smithereens. but don't mind me or the clock at all, master; just come inside, and we'll have a bit o' dinner before we start." gleeson was the kindest man in the world; all he wanted was a little patience. the kangaroo gave better sport than either the fish or the pig, and philip enjoyed it. his mare proved swift, but sometimes shied at the start, when the kangaroos were in full view. she seemed to think that there was a kangaroo behind every tree, so she jumped aside from the trunks. that was to kill philip at last, but he had not the least idea what was to happen, and was as happy as hermits usually are, and they have their troubles and accidents just like other people. the kangaroos when disturbed made for the thick timber, and the half-grown ones, called "flying joeys," always escaped; they were so swift, and they could jump to such a distance that i won't mention it, as some ignorant people might call me a liar. those killed were mostly does with young, or old men. any horse of good speed could round up a heavy old man, and then he made for the nearest gum tree, and stood at bay with his back to it. it was dangerous for man or dog to attack him in front, for with his long hind claws he could cut like a knife. philip's family began to desert him. bruin, as already stated, sneaked away and was killed by hugh boyle. joey opened his cage-door, and flew up a gum tree. when philip came home from the school, and saw the empty cage, he called aloud, "joey, joey, sweet pretty joey," and whistled. the bird descended as far as the lightwood, but would not be coaxed to come any nearer. he actually mocked his master, and said, "ha, ha, ha! who are you? who are you? there is na luck aboot the hoose," which soon proved true, for the next bird pussy brought into the house was joey himself. pup led a miserable life, and died early. the coroner suspected that he had been murdered by maggie, but there was no absolute proof. maggie had really no conscience. she began to gad about the bush. in her girlish days she wore short frocks, as it were, having had her wings clipped, but the next spring she went into society, was a debutante, wore a dress of black and white satin which shone in the sun, and she grew so vain and flighty, and strutted about so, that it was really ridiculous to watch her. she began also to stay out late in the evening, which was very improper, and before going to bed philip would go under the lightwood with a lighted candle, and look for her amongst the leaves, saying, "maggie, are you there?" she was generally fast asleep, and all she could do was to blink her eyes, and say, "peet, peet," and fall asleep again. but one night she never answered at all. she was absent all next day, and many a day after that. october came, when all the scrub, the lightwood, and wattle were in full bloom, and the air everywhere was full of sweetness. philip was digging his first boiling of new potatoes, when all at once maggie swooped down into the garden, and began strutting about, and picking up the worms and grubs from the soil newly turned up. "oh, you impudent hussy!" he said. "where have you been all this time?" he stooped, and tried to stroke her head as usual with his forefinger, but maggie stuck her bill in the ground, turned a complete somersault, and caught the finger with both claws, which were very sharp. she held on for a short time, then dropped nimbly to her feet, and said, "there, now, that will teach you to behave yourself." "why, maggie," said philip, "what on earth is the matter with you?" "oh, there's nothing the matter with me, i assure you. i suppose you didn't hear the news, you are such an old stick-in-the-mud. it was in the papers, though--no cards--and all the best society ladies knew it of course." "why, maggie, you don't mean to say you have got a mate?" "of course i have, you horrid man, you are so vulgar. we were married ages ago. i didn't invite you of course, because i knew you would make yourself disagreeable--forbid the banns, or something, and scare away all the ladies and gentlemen, for you are a most awful fright, with your red hair and freckles, so i thought it best to say nothing about the engagement until the ceremony was over. it was performed by the rev. sinister cornix, and it was a very select affair, i assure you, and the dresses were so lovely. there were six bridesmaids--the misses mudlark. the mudlarks, you know, have a good pedigree, they are come of the younger branch of our family. we were united in the bonds under a cherry tree. oh! it was a lovely time, it was indeed, i assure you." "and where are you living now, maggie?" "oh, i am not going to tell you; you are too inquisitive. but our mansion is on the top of a gum tree. it is among the leaves at the end of a slender branch. if hugh boyle tries to kidnap my babies, the branch will snap, and he will fall and break his neck, the wretch. oh, i assure you we thought of everything beforehand; for i know you keep a lot of boys bad enough to steal anything." "and what sort of a mate--husband, i mean--have you got?" "oh, he is a perfect gentleman, and so attentive to me. latterly he has been a little crusty, i must admit; but you must not say a word against him. if you do, i'll peck your eyes out. a family, you know, is so troublesome, and it takes all your time to feed them. there are two of them, the duckiest little fluffy darlings you ever saw. they were very hungry this morning, so when i saw you digging i knew you wouldn't begrudge them a breakfast, and i just flew down here for it. but bless my soul, the little darlings will be screaming their hearts out with hunger while i am talking to you, and himself will be swearing like a derviner. so, by-by." philip found maggie's mansion easily enough; for, in spite of all her chatter, she had no depth of mind. the tallest gum-tree was on barlow's farm which adjoined the forty-acre on the east. barlow had been a stockman for several years on calvert's run, and had saved money. he invested his money in the bank of love, and the bank broke. it happened in this way. a new shepherd from the other side was living with his wife and daughter near the rises, and one day when barlow was riding over the run, he heard some strange sounds, and stopped his horse to listen. there was nobody in sight in any direction, and barlow said, "there's something the matter at the new shepherd's hut," and he rode swiftly towards it. as he approached the hut, he heard the screams of women and the voice of a blackfellow, who was hammering on the door with his waddy. he was a tame blackfellow who had been educated at the missionary station. he could write english, say prayers, sing hymns, read the bible, and was therefore named parson bedford by the derviners, after the tasmanian missionary. he could box and wrestle so well that few white men could throw him. he could also drink rum; so whenever he got any white money he knew how to spend it. he was the best thief and the worst bully of all the blacks about nyalong, because he had been so well educated. i knew him well, and attended his funeral, walking in the procession with the doctor and twenty blackfellows. he had a white man's funeral, but there was no live parson present, so king coco quine made an oration, waving his hands over the coffin, "all same as whitefellow parson," then we all threw clods on the lid. so much noise was made by the women screaming and the parson hammering, that the stockman was able to launch one crack of his stock-whip on the parson's back before his arrival was observed. the parson sprang up into the air like a shot deer, and then took to his heels. he did not run towards the open plains, but made a straight line for the nearest part of the rises. as he ran, frank followed at an easy canter, and over and over again he landed his lash with a crack like a pistol on the behind of the black, who sprang among the rough rocks which the horse could not cross, and where the lash could not reach him. [illustration .] then there was a parley. the parson was smarting and furious. he had learned the colonial art of blowing along with the language. he threw down his waddy and said: "you stockman, frank, come off that horse, drop your whip, and i'll fight you fair, same as whitefellow. i am as good a man as you any day." "do you take me for a blooming fool, parson? no fear. if ever i see you at that hut again, or anywhere on the run, i'll cut the shirt off your back. i shall tell mr. calvert what you have been after, and you'll soon find yourself in chokey with a rope round your neck." the parson left nyalong, and when he returned he was dying of rum and rheumatism. frank rode back to the hut. the mother and daughter had stood at the door watching him flog the parson. he was in their eyes a hero; he had scourged their savage enemy, and had driven him to the rocks. they were weeping beauties--at least the daughter was a beauty in frank's eyes--but now they wiped away their tears, smoothed their hair, and thanked their gallant knight over and over again. two at a time they repeated their story, how they saw the blackfellow coming, how they bolted the door, and how he battered it with his club, threatening to kill them if they did not open it. frank had never before been so much praised and flattered, at least not since his mother weaned him; but he pretended not to care. he said: "tut, tut, it's not worth mentioning. say no more about it. i would of course have done as much for anybody." of course he could not leave the ladies again to the mercy of the parson, so he waited until the shepherd returned with his flock. then frank rode away with a new sensation, a something as near akin to love as a rough stockman could be expected to feel. neddy, the shepherd, asked mr. calvert for the loan of arms, and he taught his wife and daughter the use of old tower muskets. he said, "if ever that parson comes to the hut again, put a couple of bullets through him." after that frank called at the hut nearly every day, enquiring if the parson had been seen anywhere abroad. "no," said cecily, "we haven't seen him any more;" and she smiled so sweetly, and lowered her eyes, and spoke low, with a bewitching tasmanian accent. frank was in the mud, and sinking daily deeper and deeper. at last he resolved to turn farmer and leave the run, so he rented the land adjoining philip's garden and the forty-acre. there was on it a four-roomed, weather-board house and outbuildings, quite a bush palace. farming was then profitable. frank ploughed a large paddock and sowed it with wheat and oats. then while the grain was ripening he resolved to ask cecily a very important question. one sunday he rode to the hut with a spare horse and side saddle. both horses were well groomed, the side saddle was new, the bits, buckles, and stirrup-irons were like burnished silver. cecily could ride well even without a saddle, but had never owned one. she yielded to temptation, but with becoming coyness and modesty. frank put one hand on his knee, holding the bridle with the other; then cicely raised one of her little feet, was lifted lightly on to the saddle, and the happy pair cantered gaily over the plain to their future home. frank showed his bride-elect the land and the crops, the cows and the horses, the garden and the house. cecily looked at everything, but said next to nothing. "she is shy," frank thought, "and i must treat her gently." but the opportunity must not be thrown away, and on their way over the plains frank told his tale of love. i don't know precisely what he said or how he said it, not having been present, but he did not hook his fish that day, and he took home with him the bait, the horse, and the empty side-saddle. but he persevered with his suit, and before the wheat was ripe, cecily consented to be his bride. he was so overjoyed with his success that instead of waiting for the happy day when he had to say "with this ring i thee wed, with all my worldly goods i thee endow," he gave cecily the worldly goods beforehand--the horse, with the beautiful new side saddle and bridle--and nearly all his cash, reserving only sufficient to purchase the magic ring and a few other necessaries. the evening before the happy day the pair were seen walking together before sundown on a vacant lot in the township, discussing, it was supposed, the arrangements for the morrow. it was the time of the harvest, and philip had been engaged to measure the work of the reapers on a number of farms. i am aware that he asked and received pound for each paddock, irrespective of area. on the bridal morn he walked over frank's farm with his chain and began the measurement, the reapers, most of them broken down diggers, following him and watching him. old jimmy gillon took one end of the chain; he said he had been a chainman when the railway mania first broke out in scotland, so he knew all about land surveying. frank was absent, but he returned while philip was calculating the wages payable to each reaper, and he said: "here's the money, master; pay the men what's coming to 'em and send 'em away." frank looked very sulky, and philip was puzzled. he knew the blissful ceremony was to take place that day, but there was no sign of it, nor of any bliss whatever; no wedding garments, no parson, no bride. the bare matter of fact was, the bride had eloped during the night. "for young lochinvar had come out of the west, and an underbred, fine-spoken fellow was he." he was a bullock-driver of superior manners and attractive personality, and was the only man in australia who waxed and curled his moustaches. cecily had for some time been listening to lochinvar, who was known to have been endeavouring to "cut out" frank. she was staying in the township with her mother preparing for matrimony, and her horse was in the stable at howell's hotel. when frank rode away to his farm on that fateful evening, lochinvar was watching him. he saw cecily going home to her mother for the last night, and while he was looking after her wistfully, and the pangs of despairing love were in his heart, bill the butcher came up and said: "well, lock, what are you going to do?" "why, what can i do? she is going to marry frank in the morning." "i don't believe it: not if you are half the man you ought to be." "but how can i help it?" "help it? just go and take her. saddle your horse and her own, take 'em up to the cottage, and ask her just to come outside for a minute. and if you don't persuade her in five minutes to ride away with you to ballarat, i'll eat my head off. i know she don't want to marry frank; all she wants is an excuse not to, and it will be excuse enough when she has married you." these two worthy men went to the hotel and talked the matter over with howell. the jolly landlord slapped his knee and laughed. he said: "you are right, bill. she'll go, i'll bet a fiver, and here it is, lock; you take it to help you along." this base conspiracy was successful, and that was the reason frank was so sulky on that harvest morning. he was meditating vengeance. love and hate, matrimony and murder, are sometimes not far asunder, but frank was not by nature vengeful; he had that "foolish hanging of the nether lip which shows a lack of decision." i would not advise any man to seek in a law court a sovereign remedy for the wounds inflicted by the shafts of cupid; but frank tried it. during his examination in chief his mien was gloomy and his answers brief. then mr. aspinall rose and said: "i appear for the defendant, your honour, but from press of other engagements i have been unable to give that attention to the legal aspects of this case which its importance demands, and i have to request that your honour will be good enough to adjourn the court for a quarter of an hour." the court was adjourned for half an hour, and mr. aspinall and his solicitor retired to a room for a legal consultation. it began thus: "i say, lane, fetch me a nobbler of brandy; a stiffener, mind." lane fetched the stiffener in a soda-water bottle, and it cleared the legal atmosphere. when the court resumed business, frank took his stand in the witness box, and a voice said: "now, mr. barlow, look at me." frank had been called many names in his time, but never "mr. barlow" before now. he looked and saw the figure of a little man with a large head, whose voice came through a full-grown nose like the blast of a trumpet. "you say you gave cecily some money, a horse, saddle, and bridle?" "i did." "and you bought a wedding ring?" "i've got it in my pocket." "i see. your honour will be glad to hear that the ring, at any rate, is not lost. it will be ready for another cecily, won't it, mr. barlow?" barlow, looking down on the floor of the court and shaking his head slowly from side to side, said: "no, it won't no fear. there 'ull be no more cecilies for me." there was laughter in the court, and when frank raised his eyes, and saw a broad grin on every face, he, too, burst into a fit of laughter. i saw mr. aspinall and dr. macadam walking together arm-in-arm from the court. the long doctor and the little lawyer were a strange pair. everybody knew that they were sliding down the easy slope to their tragic end, but they seemed never to think of it. frank returned to nyalong, happier than either. he related the particulars of the trial to his friends with the utmost cheerfulness. whether he recovered all the worldly goods with which he had endowed cecily is doubtful, but he faithfully kept his promise that "there 'ull be no more cecilies for me." there was a demon of mischief at work on philip's hill at both sides of the dividing fence. sam was poisoned by a villainous butcher; bruin had been killed by hugh boyle; maggie had eloped with a wild native to a gum-tree; joey had been eaten by pussy; barlow had been crossed in love, and then the crowning misfortune befell the hermit. mrs. chisholm was a lady who gave early tokens of her vocation. at the age of seven she began to form benevolent plans for the colonies of great britain. she built ships of broad beans, filled them with poor families of couchwood, sent them to sea in a wash-basin, landed them in a bed-quilt, and started them growing wheat. then she loaded her fleet with a return cargo for the british pauper, one grain of wheat in each ship, and navigated it safely to old england. she made many prosperous voyages, but once a storm arose which sent all her ships to the bottom of the sea. she sent a wesleyan minister and a catholic priest to botany bay in the same cabin, strictly enjoining them not to quarrel during the voyage. at the age of twenty she married captain chisholm, and went with him to madras. there she established a school of industry for girls, and her husband seconded her in all her good works. mr. chamier, the secretary, took a great interest in her school; sir frederick adams subscribed pounds, and officers and gentlemen in madras contributed in five days , rupees. the school became an extensive orphanage. mrs. and captain chisholm came to australia in for the benefit of his health, and they landed at sydney. they saw highland immigrants who could not speak english, and they gave them tools and wheelbarrows wherewith to cut and sell firewood. captain chisholm returned to india in , but the health of her young family required mrs. chisholm to remain in sydney. female immigrants arriving in sydney were regularly hired on board ship, and lured into a vicious course of life. mrs. chisholm went on board each ship, and made it her business to protect and advise them, and begged the captain and agent to act with humanity. some place of residence was required in which the new arrivals could be sheltered, until respectable situations could be found for them, and in january, , she applied to lady gipps for help. a committee of ladies was formed, and mrs. chisholm at length obtained a personal audience from the governor, sir george gipps. he believed she was labouring under an amiable delusion. he wrote to a friend: "i expected to have seen an old lady in a white cap and spectacles, who would have talked to me about my soul. i was amazed when my aide introduced a handsome, stately young woman, who proceeded to reason the question as if she thought her reason, and experience too, worth as much as mine." sir george at last consented to allow her the use of a government building, a low wooden one. her room was seven feet by seven feet. rats ran about in it in all directions, and then alighted on her shoulders. but she outgeneraled the rats. she gave them bread and water the first night, lit two candles, and sat up in bed reading "abercrombie." there came never less than seven nor more than thirteen rats eating at the same time. the next night she gave them another feast seasoned with arsenic. the home for the immigrants given her by sir george had four rooms, and in it at one time she kept ninety girls who had no other shelter. about six hundred females were then wandering about sydney unprovided for. some slept in the recesses of the rocks on the government domain. she received from the ships in the harbour sixty-four girls, and all the money they had was fourteen shillings and three half-pence. she took them to the country, travelling with a covered cart to sleep in. she left married families at different stations, and then sent out decent lasses who should be married. in those days the dead bodies of the poor were taken to the cemetery in a common rubbish-cart. by speeches and letters both public and private, and by interviews with influential men, mrs. chisholm sought help for the emigrants both in sydney and england, where she opened an office in . in the year major chisholm took a house at nyalong, near philip's school. two of the best scholars were john and david. when david lost his place in the class he burst into tears, and the blakes and the boyles laughed. the major spoke to the boys and girls whenever he met them. he asked john to tell him how many weatherboards he would have to buy to cover the walls of his house, which contained six rooms and a lean-to, and was built of slabs. john measured the walls and solved the problem promptly. the major then sent his three young children to the school, and made the acquaintance of the master. mrs. chisholm never went to nyalong, but the major must have given her much information about it, for one day he read a portion of one of her letters which completely destroyed philip's peace of mind. it was to the effect that he was to open a school for boarders at nyalong, and, as a preliminary, marry a wife. the major said that if philip had no suitable young lady in view, mrs. chisholm, he was sure, would undertake to produce one at a very short notice. she had the whole matter already planned, and was actually canvassing for pupils among the wealthiest families in the colony. the major smiled benevolently, and said it was of no use for philip to think of resisting mrs. chisholm; when she had once made up her mind, everybody had to give way, and the thing was settled. philip, too, smiled faintly, and tried to look pleased, dissembling his outraged feelings, but he went away in a state of indignation. he actually made an attack on the twelve virtues, which seemed all at once to have conspired against his happiness. he said: "if i had not kept school so conscientiously, this thing would never have happened. i don't want boarders, and i don't want anybody to send me a wife to nyalong. i am not, thank god, one of the royal family, and not even queen victoria shall order me a wife." in that way the lonely hermit put his foot down and began a countermine, working as silently as possible. during the christmas holidays, after his neighbour frank had been jilted by cecily, he rode away, and returned after a week's absence. the major informed him that mrs. chisholm had met with an accident and would be unable to visit nyalong for some time. philip was secretly pleased to hear the news, outwardly he expressed sorrow and sympathy, and nobody but himself suspected how mean and deceitful he was. at easter he rode away again and returned in less than a week. next day he called at mccarthy's farm and dined with the family. he said he had been married the previous morning before he had started for nyalong, and had left his wife at the waterholes. mccarthy began to suspect that philip was a little wrong in his head; it was a kind of action that contradicted all previous experience. he could remember various lovers running away together before marriage, but he could not call to mind a single instance in which they ran away from one another immediately after marriage. but he said to himself, "it will all be explained by-and-by," and he refrained from asking any impertinent questions merely to gratify curiosity. after dinner gleeson, philip, and mccarthy rode into the bush with the hounds. a large and heavy "old man" was sighted; and the dogs stuck him up with his back to a tree. while they were growling and barking around the tree gleeson dismounted, and, going behind the tree, seized the "old man" by the tail. the kangaroo kept springing upwards and at the dogs, dragging gleeson after him, who was jerking the tail this way and that to bring his game to the ground, for the "old man" was so tall that the dogs could not reach his throat while he stood upright. philip gave his horse to mccarthy and approached the "old man" with his club. "shoot him with your revolver," said gleeson. "if i let go his tail, he'll be ripping you with his toe." "i might shoot you instead," said philip; "better to club him. hold on another moment." philip's first blow was dodged by the kangaroo, but the second fell fairly on the skull; he fell down, and ossian, a big and powerful hound, seized him instantly by the throat and held on. the three men mounted their horses and rode away, but philip's mare was, as usual, shying at every tree. as he came near one which had a large branch, growing horizontally from the trunk, his mare spring aside, carried him under the limb, which struck his head, and threw him to the ground. he never spoke again. after the funeral, mccarthy rode over to the rocky waterholes to make some enquiries. he called at mrs. martin's residence, and he said: "mr. philip told us he was married the day before the accident, but it seemed so strange, we could not believe it; so i thought i would just ride over and enquire about it, for, of course, if he had a wife, she will be entitled to whatever little property he left behind him." "yes, it's quite true," said mrs. martin. "they were married sure enough. he called here at christmas, and said he would like to see miss edgeworth; but she was away on a visit to some friends. i asked him if he had any message to leave for her, but he said, 'oh, no; only i thought i should like to see how she is getting along. that's all, thank you. i might call again at easter.' so he went away. on last easter monday he came again. of course i had told miss edgeworth, about his calling at christmas and enquiring about her, and it made me rather suspicious when he came again. as you may suppose, i could not help taking notice; but for two days, nor, in fact, for the whole week, was there the slightest sign of anything like lovemaking between them. no private conversation, no walking out together, nothing but commonplace talk and solemn looks. i said to myself, 'if there is anything between them, they keep it mighty close to be sure.' on the tuesday evening, however, he spoke to me. he said: "'i hope you won't mention it, mrs. martin, but i would like to have a little advice from you, if you would be so kind as to give it. miss edgeworth has been living with you for some time, and you must be well acquainted with her. i am thinking of making a proposal, but our intercourse has been so slight, that i should be pleased first to have your opinion on the matter.' "'mr. philip,' i said, 'you really must not ask me to say anything one way or the other, for or against. i have my own sentiments, of course; but nobody shall ever say that i either made a match or marred one.' "nothing happened until the next day. in the afternoon miss edgeworth was alone in this room, when i heard mr. philip walking down the passage, and stopping at the door, which was half open. i peeped out, and then put off my slippers, and stepped a little nearer, until through the little opening between the door and the door-post, i could both see and hear them. he was sitting on the table, dangling his boots to and fro just above the floor, and she was sitting on a low rocking-chair about six feet distant. he did not beat about the bush, as the saying is; did not say, 'my dear,' or 'by your leave, miss,' or 'excuse me,' or anything nice, as one would expect from a gentleman on a delicate occasion of the kind, but he said, quite abruptly: "'how would you like to live at nyalong, miss edgeworth?' "she was looking on the floor, and her fingers were playing with a bit of ribbon, and she was so nice and winsome, and well dressed, you couldn't have helped giving her a kiss. she never raised her eyes to his face, but i think she just looked as high as his boots, which were stained and dusty. the silly man was waiting for her to say something; but she hung down her head, and said nothing. at last he said: "'i suppose you know what i mean, miss edgeworth?' "'yes,' she said, in a low voice. 'i know what you mean, thank you.' "then there was silence for i don't know how long; it was really dreadful, and i couldn't think how it was going to end. at last he heaved a big sigh, and said: "'well, miss edgeworth, there is no need to hurry; take time to think about it. i am going to ride out, and perhaps you will be good enough to let me know your mind when i come back.' "then he just shook her hand, and i hurried away from the door. it was rather mean of me to be listening to them, but i took as much interest in miss edgeworth as if she were my own daughter. "'there is no need to hurry,' he had said, but in my opinion there was too much hurry, for they were married on the saturday, and he rode away the same morning having to open school again on monday. "of course, miss edgeworth was a good deal put about when we heard what had happened, through the papers, but i comforted her as much as possible. i said, 'as for myself, i had never liked the look of the poor man with his red hair and freckles. i am sure he had a bad temper at bottom, for red-haired men are always hasty; and then he had a high, thin nose, and men of that kind are always close and stingy, and the stingiest man i ever knew was a dublin man. then his manners, you must remember, were anything but nice; he didn't wasteany compliments on you before you married him, so you may just fancy what kind of compliments you would have had to put up with afterwards. and perhaps you have forgotten what you said yourself about him at bendigo. you were sure he was a severe master, you could see sternness on his brow. and however you could have consented to go to the altar with such a man i cannot understand to this day. i am sure it was a very bad match, and by-and-by you will thank your stars that you are well out of it.' "i must acknowledge that miss edgeworth did not take what i said to comfort her very kindly, and she 'gave me fits,' as the saying is; but bless your soul, she'll soon get over it, and will do better next time." soon after the death of philip, major chisholm and his family left nyalong, and i was appointed clerk to the justices at colac. i sat under them for twelve years, and during that time i wrote a great quantity of criminal literature. when a convict of good conduct in pentridge was entitled to a ticket-of-leave, he usually chose the western district as the scene of his future labours, so that the country was peopled with old jack bartons and young ones. some of the young ones had been philip's scholars--viz., the boyles and the blakes. they were friends of the bartons, and old john, the ex-flogger, trained them in the art of cattle-lifting. his teaching was far more successful than that of philip's, and when in course of time hugh boyle appeared in the dock on a charge of horse-stealing, i was pained but not surprised. barton, to whose farm the stolen horse had been brought by hugh, was summoned as witness for the crown, but he organised the evidence for the defence so well that the prisoner was discharged. on the next occasion both hugh and his brother james were charged with stealing a team of bullocks, but this time the assistance of barton was not available. the evidence against the young men was overwhelming, and we committed them for trial. i could not help pitying them for having gone astray so early in life. they were both tall and strong, intelligent and alert, good stockmen, and quite able to earn an honest living in the bush. they had been taught their duty well by philip, but bad example and bad company out of school had led them astray. the owner of the bullocks, an honest young boor named cowderoy, was sworn and gave his evidence clearly. hugh and james knew him well. they had no lawyer to defend them, and when the crown prosecutor sat down, there seemed no loophole left for the escape of the accused, and i mentally sentenced them to seven years on the roads, the invariable penalty for their offence. but now the advantages of a good moral education were brilliantly exemplified. "have you any questions to put to this witness?" asked the judge of the prisoners. "yes, your honour," said hugh. then turning to cowderoy, he said: "do you know the nature of an oath?" the witness looked helplessly at hugh, then at the judge and crown prosecutor; stood first on one leg, then on the other; leaned down with his elbows on the edge of the witness-box apparently staggering under the weight of his own ignorance. "why don't you answer the question?" asked the judge sharply. "do you know the nature of an oath?" silence. mr. armstrong saw his case was in danger of collapse, so he said: "i beg to submit, your honour, that this question comes too late and should have been put to the witness before he was sworn. he has already taken the oath and given his evidence." "the question is a perfectly fair one, mr. armstrong," said the judge: and turning to the witness he repeated: "do you know the nature of an oath?" "no," said cowderoy. the prisoners were discharged, thanks to their good education. a valiant police-sergeant. sergeant hyde came to my office and asked me to accompany him as far as murray street. he said there was a most extraordinary dispute between a white woman and a black lubra about the ownership of a girl, and he had some doubts whether it was a case within the jurisdiction of a police-court, but thought we might issue a summons for illegal detention of property. he wanted me to advise him, and give my opinion on the matter, and as by this time my vast experience of justices' law entitled me to give an opinion on any imaginable subject, i very naturally complied with his request. he was, moreover, a man so remarkable that a request by him for advice was of itself an honour. in his youth he had been complimented on the possession of a nose exactly resembling that of the great duke of wellington, and ever since that time he had made the great man the guiding star of his voyage over the ocean of life, the only saint in his calendar; and he had, as far as human infirmity would permit, modelled his conduct and demeanour in imitation of those of the immortal hero. he spoke briefly, and in a tone of decision. the expression of his face was fierce and defiant, his bearing erect, his stride measured with soldierly regularity. he was not a large man, weighing probably about nine stone; but that only enhanced his dignity, as it is a great historical fact that the most famous generals have been nearly all small men. when he came into my office, he always brought with him an odour of peppermint, which experience had taught me to associate with the proximity of brandy or whisky. i have never heard or read that the iron duke took pepperment lozenges in the morning, but still it might have been his custom to do so. the sergeant was a londoner, and knew more about the private habits of his grace than i did. if he had been honoured with the command of a numerous army, he would, no doubt, have led it onward, or sent it forward to victory. his forces, unfortunately, consisted of only one trooper, but the way in which he ordered and manoeuvred that single horseman proved what glory he would have won if he had been placed over many squadrons. by a general order he made him parade outside the gate of the station every morning at ten o'clock. he then marched from the front door with a majestic mien and inspected the horse, the rider, and accoutrements. he walked slowly round, examining with eagle eye the saddle, the bridle, the bits, the girth, the sword, pistols, spurs, and buckles. if he could find no fault with anything, he gave in brief the word of command, "patrol the forest road," or any other road on which an enemy might be likely to appear. i never saw the sergeant himself on horseback. he might have been a gay cavalier in the days of his fiery youth, but he was not one now. as we passed the "crook and plaid hotel," on our return to the court-house, after investigating the dispute in murray street, i observed a stranger standing near the door, who said: "hello, hyde! is that you?" he was evidently addressing the sergeant, but the latter merely gave him a slight glance, and went away with his noble nose in the air. the stranger looked after him and laughed. he said: "that policeman was once a shepherd of mine up in riverina, but i see he don't know me now--has grown too big for his boots. cuts me dead, don't he? ha! ha! ha! well i never!" the stranger's name was robinson; he had been selling some cattle to a neighbouring squatter, and was now on his way home. he explained how he had, just before the discovery of gold, hired hyde as a shepherd, and had given him charge of a flock of sheep. there were still a few native blacks about the run, but by this time they were harmless enough: never killed shepherds, or took mutton without leave. they were somewhat addicted to petty larceny, but felony had been frightened out of their souls long ago. they knew all the station hands, and the station hands knew them. they soon spotted a new chum, and found out the soft side of him; and were generally able to coax or frighten him to give them tobacco, some piece of clothing, or white money. when the new shepherd had been following his flock for a few days, mr. robinson, while looking out from the verandah of his house over the plains, observed a strange object approaching at some distance. he said to himself, "that is not a horseman, nor an emu, nor a native companion, nor a swagman, nor a kangaroo." he could not make it out; so he fetched his binocular, and then perceived that it was a human being, stark naked. his first impression was that some unfortunate traveller had lost his way in the wide wilderness, or a station hand had gone mad with drink, or that a sundowner had become insane with hunger, thirst, and despair. he took a blanket and went to meet the man, in order that he might cover him decently before he arrived too near the house. it was hyde, the new shepherd, who said he had been stripped by the blacks. from information afterwards elicited by robinson it appeared that the blacks had approached hyde in silence while his back was turned to them. the sight of them gave a sudden shock to his system. he was totally unprepared for such an emergency. if he had had time to recall to memory some historical examples, he might have summoned up his sinking courage, and have done a deed worthy of record. there was david, the youthful shepherd of israel, who slew a lion and a bear, and killed goliath, the gigantic champion of the philistines. there were the shepherd kings, who ruled the land of egypt. there was one-eyed polyphemus, moving among his flocks on the mountain tops of sicily; a monster, dreadful, vast, and hideous; able to roast and eat these three blackfellows at one meal. and nearer our own time was the youth whose immortal speech begins, "my name is norval; on the grampian hills my father fed his flocks." our shepherd had a stick in his hand and a collie dog at his command. now was the time for him to display "london assurance" to some purpose; and now was the time for the example of the ever-victorious duke to work a miracle of valour. but the crisis had come on too quickly, and there was no time to pump up bravery from the deep well of history. the unearthly ugliness of the savages, their thick lips, prominent cheek bones, scowling and overhanging brows, broad snub noses, matted black hair, and above all the keen, steady, and ferocious scrutiny of their deep-set eyes, extinguished the last spark of courage in the heart of hyde. he did not look fierce and defiant any more. he felt inclined to be very civil, so he smiled a sickly smile and tried to say something, but his chin wobbled, and his tongue would not move. the blacks came nearer, and one of them said, "gib fig tobacker, mate?" here was a gleam of hope, a chance of postponing his final doom. when a foe cannot be conquered, it is lawful to pay him to be merciful; to give him an indemnity for his trouble in not kicking you. the shepherd instantly pulled out his tobacco, his pipe, his tobacco-knife, and matches, and handed them over. a second blackfellow, seeing him so ready to give, took the loan of his tin billy, with some tea and sugar in it, and some boiled mutton and damper. these children of the plains now saw that they had come upon a mine of wealth, and they worked it down to the bed rock. one after another, and with the willing help of the owner, they took possession of his hat, coat, shirt, boots, socks, trousers, and drawers, until the hyde was completely bare, as naked, and, it is to be hoped, as innocent, as a new-born babe. his vanity, which was the major part of his personality, had vanished with his garments, and the remnant left of body and soul was very insignificant. having now delivered up everything but his life, he had some hope that his enemies might at least spare him that. they were jabbering to one another at a great rate, trying on, putting off, and exchanging first one article and then another of the spoils they had won. they did not appear to think that the new chum was worth looking after any longer. so he began slinking away slowly towards his flock of sheep, trying to look as if nothing in particular was the matter; but he soon turned in the direction of the home station. he tried to run, and for a short time fear winged his feet; but the ground was hard and rough, and his feet were tender; and though he believed that death and three devils were behind him, he could go but slowly. a solitary eaglehawk sat on the top branch of a dead gum-tree, watching him with evil eyes; a chorus of laughing jackasses cackled after him in derision from a grove of young timber; a magpie, the joy of the morning, and most mirthful of birds, whistled for him sweet notes of hope and good cheer; then a number of carrion crows beheld him, and approached with their long-drawn, ill-omened "croank, croank," the most dismal note ever uttered by any living thing. they murder sick sheep, and pick out the eyes of stray lambs. they made short straggling flights, alighting on the ground in front of the miserable man, inspecting his condition, and calculating how soon he would be ready to be eaten. they are impatient gluttons, and often begin tearing their prey before it is dead. mr. robinson clothed the naked, and then mounted his horse and went for the blacks. in a short time he returned with them to the station, and made them disgorge the stolen property, all but the tea, sugar, mutton, and damper, which were not returnable. he gave them some stirring advice with his stockwhip, and ordered them to start for a warmer climate. he then directed hyde to return to his sheep, and not let those blank blacks humbug him out of clothes any more. but nothing would induce the shepherd to remain another day; he forswore pastoral pursuits for the rest of his life. his courage had been tried and found wanting; he had been covered--or, rather, uncovered--with disgrace; and his dignity--at least in riverina --was gone for ever. in other scenes, and under happier auspices, he might recover it, but on robinson's station he would be subjected to the derision of the station hands as long as he stayed. how he lived for some time afterwards is unknown; but in he was a policeman at bendigo diggings. at that time any man able to carry a carbine was admitted into the force without question. it was then the refuge of the penniless, of broken-down vagabonds, and unlucky diggers. lords and lags were equally welcomed without characters or references from their former employers, the masters' and servants' act having become a dead letter. hyde entered the government service, and had the good sense to stay there. his military bearing and noble mien proclaimed him fit to be a leader of men, and soon secured his promotion. he was made a sergeant, and in a few years was transferred to the western district, far away, as he thought, from the scene of his early adventure. he lived for several years after meeting with and cutting his old employer, robinson, and died at last of dyspepsia and peppermints, the disease and the remedy combined. white slaves. many men who had been prisoners of the crown, or seamen, lived on the islands in bass' straits, as well as on islands in the pacific ocean, fishing, sealing, or hunting, and sometimes cultivating patches of ground. the freedom of this kind of life was pleasing to those who had spent years under restraint in ships, in gaols, in chain-gangs, or as slaves to settlers in the bush, for the lot of the assigned servant was often worse than that of a slave, as he had to give his labour for nothing but food and clothing, and was liable to be flogged on any charge of disobedience, insolence, or insubordination which his master might choose to bring against him. moreover, the black slave might be sold for cash, for five hundred to a thousand dollars, according to the quality of the article and the state of the market, so that it was for the enlightened self-interest of the owner to keep him in saleable condition. but the white slave was unsaleable, and his life of no account. when he died another could be obtained for nothing from the cargo of the next convict ship. some masters treated their men well according to their deserts; but with regard to others, the exercise of despotic authority drew forth all the evil passions of their souls, and made them callous to the sufferings of their servants. the daily fear of the lash produced in the prisoners a peculiar expression of countenance, and a cowed and slinking gait, which i have never seen in any other men, white or black. and that gait and expression, like that of a dog crouching at the heels of a cruel master in fear of the whip, remained still after the prisoners had served the time of their sentences, and had recovered their freedom. they never smiled, and could never regain the feelings and bearing of free men; they appeared to feel on their faces the brand of cain, by which they were known to all men, and the scars left on their backs by the cruel lash could never be smoothed away. whenever they met, even on a lonely bush track, a man who, by his appearance might be a magistrate or a government officer, they raised a hand to the forehead in a humble salute by mere force of habit. there were some, it is true, whose spirits were never completely broken--who fought against fate to the last, and became bushrangers or murderers; but sooner or later they were shot, or they were arrested and hanged. the gallows-tree on the virgin soil of australia flourished and bore fruit in abundance. the trial of a convict charged with disobedience or insubordination was of summary jurisdiction. joe kermode, a teamster, chanced to be present at one of these trials. it was about ten o'clock in the morning when he saw near a house on the roadside a little knot of men at an open window. he halted his team to see what was the matter, and found that a police magistrate, sitting inside a room, was holding a court of petty sessions at the window. it was an open court, to which the public were admitted according to law; a very open court, the roof of which was blue--the blue sky of a summer's morning. a witness was giving evidence against an assigned servant, charged with some offence against his master. his majesty, the magistrate, yawned--this kind of thing was tiresome. presently a lady came into the room, walked to the open window, clasped her hands together, and laid them affectionately on the shoulder of the court. after listening for a few moments to the evidence she became impatient, and said, "oh, william, give him three dozen and come to breakfast." so william gave the man three dozen and went to breakfast--with a good conscience; having performed the ordinary duty of the day extraordinarily well, he was on the high road to perfection. the sentence of the court was carried out by a scourger, sometimes called flagellator, or flogger. the office of scourger was usually held by a convict; it meant promotion in the government service, and although there was some danger connected with it, there was always a sufficient number of candidates to fill vacancies. in new south wales the number of officers in the cat-o'-nine tails department was about thirty. the danger attached to the office consisted in the certainty of the scourger being murdered by the scourgee, if ever the opportunity was given. joe kermode had once been a hutkeeper on a station. the hut was erected about forty yards from the stockyard, to which the sheep were brought every evening, to protect them from attack by dingoes or blackfellows. if the dingoes and blackfellows had been content with one sheep at a time to allay the pangs of hunger, they could not have been blamed very much; but after killing one they went on killing as many more as they could, and thus wasted much mutton to gratify their thirst for blood. joe and the shepherd were each provided with a musket and bayonet for self-defence. the hut was built of slabs, and was divided by a partition into two rooms, and joe always kept his musket ready loaded, night and day, just inside the doorway of the inner room. two or three blacks would sometimes call, and ask for flour, sugar, tobacco, or a firestick. if they attempted to come inside the hut, joe ordered them off, backing at the same time towards the inner door, and he always kept a sharp look-out for any movement they made; for they were very treacherous, and he knew they would take any chance they could get to kill him, for the sake of stealing the flour, sugar, and tobacco. two of them once came inside the hut and refused to go out, until joe seized his musket, and tickled them in the rear with his bayonet, under the "move on" clause in the police offences statute. early one morning there was a noise as of some disturbance in the stockyard, and joe, on opening the door of his hut, saw several blacks spearing the sheep. he seized his musket and shouted, warning them to go away. one of them, who was sitting on the top rail with his back towards the hut, seemed to think that he was out of range of the musket, for he made most unseemly gestures, and yelled back at joe in a defiant and contemptuous manner. joe's gun was charged with shot, and he fired and hit his mark, for the blackfellow dropped suddenly from the top rail, and ran away, putting his hands behind him, and trying to pick out the pellets. one day a white stockman came galloping on his horse up to the door of the hut, his face, hands, shirt and trousers being smeared and saturated with blood. joe took him inside the hut, and found that he had two severe wounds on the left shoulder. after the bleeding had been stanched and the wounds bandaged, the stranger related that as he was riding he met a blackfellow carrying a fire-stick. he thought it was a good opportunity of lighting his pipe, lucifer matches being then unknown in the bush; so he dismounted, took out his knife, and began cutting tobacco. the blackfellow asked for a fig of tobacco, and, after filling his pipe, the stockman gave him the remainder of the fig he had been cutting, and held out his hand for the firestick. the blackfellow seemed disappointed; very likely expecting to receive a whole fig of tobacco--and, instead of handing him the firestick he threw it on the ground. at the first moment the stockman did not suspect any treachery, as he had seen no weapon in possession of the blackfellow. he stooped to pick up the firestick; but just as he was touching it, he saw the black man's feet moving nearer, and becoming suddenly suspicious, he quickly moved his head to one side and stood upright. at the same instant he received a blow from a tomahawk on his left shoulder. this blow, intended for his head, was followed by another, which inflicted a second wound; but the stockman succeeded in grasping the wrist of his enemy. then began a wrestling match between the two men, the stakes two lives, no umpire, no timekeeper, no backers, and no bets. the only spectator was the horse, whose bridle was hanging on the ground. but he seemed to take no interest in the struggle, and continued nibbling the grass until it was over. the black man, who had now dropped his rug, was as agile and nimble as a beast of prey, and exerted all his skill and strength to free his hand. but the white man felt that to loose his hold would be to lose his life, and he held on to his grip of the blackfellow's wrist with desperate resolution. the tomahawk fell to the ground, but just then neither of the men could spare a hand to pick it up. at length, by superior strength, the stockman brought his enemy to the ground. he then grasped the thick, matted hair with one hand, and thus holding the black's head close to the ground, he reached with the other hand for the tomahawk, and with one fierce blow buried the blade in the savage's brain. even then he did not feel quite sure of his safety. he had an idea that it was very difficult to kill blackfellows outright, that theywere like american 'possums, and were apt to come to life again after they had been killed, and ought to be dead. so to finish his work well, he hacked at the neck with the tomahawk until he had severed the head completely from the body; then taking the head by the hair, he threw it as far as he could to the other side of the track. by this time he began to feel faint from loss of blood, so he mounted his horse and galloped to joe kermode's hut. when joe had performed his duties of a good samaritan to the stranger he mounted his horse, and rode to the field of battle. he found the headless body of the black man, the head at the other side of the track, the tomahawk, the piece of tobacco, the rug, and the firestick. joe and the shepherd buried the body; the white man survived. the government stroke. "the government stroke" is a term often used in the colonies, and indicates a lazy and inefficient manner of performing any kind of labour. it originated with the convicts. when a man is forced to work through fear of the lash, and receives no wages, it is quite natural and reasonable that he should exert himself as little as possible. if you were to reason with him, and urge him to work harder at, for instance, breaking road metal, in order that the public might have good roads to travel on, and show him what a great satisfaction it should be to know that his labours would confer a lasting benefit on his fellow creatures; that, though it might appear a little hard on him individually, he should raise his thoughts to a higher level, and labour for the good of humanity in general, he would very likely say, "do you take me for a fool?" but if you gave him three dozen lashes for his laziness he will see, or at least feel, that your argument has some force in it. as a matter of fact men work for some present or future benefit for themselves. the saint who sells all he has to give to the poor, does so with the hope of obtaining a reward exceedingly great in the life to come. and even if there were no life to come, his present life is happier far than that of the man who grabs at all the wealth he can get until he drops into the grave. the man who works "all for love and nothing for reward" is a being incomprehensible to us ordinary mortals; he is an angel, and if ever he was a candidate for a seat in parliament he was not elected. even love--"which rules the court, the camp, the grove"--is given only with the hope of a return of love; for hopeless love is nothing but hopeless misery. i once hired an old convict as gardener at five shillings a day. he began to work in the morning with a great show of diligence while i was looking on. but on my return home in the evening it was wonderful to find how little work he had contrived to get through during the day; so i began to watch him. his systematic way of doing nothing would have been very amusing if it cost nothing. he pressed his spade into the ground with his boot as slowly as possible, lifted the sod very gently, and turned it over. then he straightened his back, looked at the ground to the right, then to the left, then in front of him, and then cast his eyes along the garden fence. having satisfied himself that nothing particular was happening anywhere within view, he gazed awhile at the sod he had turned over, and then shaved the top off with his spade. having straightened his back once more, he began a survey of the superficial area of the next sod, and at length proceeded to cut it in the same deliberate manner, performing the same succeeding ceremonies. if he saw me, or heard me approaching, he became at once very alert and diligent until i spoke to him, then he stopped work at once. it was quite impossible for him both to labour and to listen; nobody can do two things well at the same time. but his greatest relief was in talking; he would talk with anybody all day long if possible, and do nothing else; his wages, of course, still running on. there is very little talk worth paying for. i would rather give some of my best friends a fee to be silent, than pay for anything they have to tell me. my gardener was a most unprofitable servant; the only good i got out of him was a clear knowledge of what the government stroke meant, and the knowledge was not worth the expense. he was in other respects harmless and useless, and, although he had been transported for stealing, i could never find that he stole anything from me. the disease of larceny seemed somehow to have been worked out of his system; though he used to describe with great pleasure how his misfortunes began by stealing wall-fruit when he was a boy; and although it was to him like the fruit "of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste brought death into the world, and all our woe." it was so sweet that, while telling me about it sixty years afterwards, he smiled and smacked his lips, renewing as it were the delight of its delicious taste. he always avoided, as much as possible, the danger of dying of hard work, so he is living yet, and is eighty-six years old. whenever i see him he gives me his blessing, and says he never worked for any man he liked so well. a great philosopher says, in order to be happy it is necessary to be beloved, but in order to be beloved we must know how to please, and we can only please by ministering to the happiness of others. i ministered to the old convict's happiness by letting him work so lazily, and so i was beloved and happy. he had formerly been an assigned servant to mr. gellibrand, attorney-general of tasmania, before that gentleman went with mr. hesse on that voyage to australia felix from which he never returned. some portions of a skeleton were found on the banks of a river, which were supposed to belong to the lost explorer, and that river, and mount gellibrand, on which he and hesse parted company, were named after him. there was a blackfellow living for many years afterwards in the colac district who was said to have killed and eaten the lost white man; the first settlers therefore call him gellibrand, as they considered he had made out a good claim to the name by devouring the flesh. this blackfellow's face was made up of hollows and protuberances ugly beyond all aboriginal ugliness. i was present at an interview between him and senior-constable hooley, who nearly rivalled the savage in lack of beauty. hooley had been a soldier in the fifth fusiliers, and had been convicted of the crime of manslaughter, having killed a coloured man near port louis, in the mauritius. he was sentenced to penal servitude for the offence, and had passed two years of his time in tasmania. this incident had produced in his mind an interest in blackfellows generally, and on seeing gellibrand outside the colac courthouse, he walked up to him, and looked him steadily in the face, without saying a word or moving a muscle of his countenance. i never saw a more lovely pair. the black fellow returned the gaze unflinchingly, his deep-set eyes fixed fiercely on those of the irishman, his nostrils dilated, and his frowning forehead wrinkled and hard, as if cast in iron. the two men looked like two wild beasts preparing for a deadly fight. at length, hooley moved his face nearer to that of the savage, until their noses almost met, and between his teeth he slowly ejaculated: "you eat white man? you eat me? eh?" then the deep frown on gellibrand's face began slowly to relax, his thick lips parted by degrees, and displayed, ready for business, his sharp and shining teeth, white as snow and hard as steel. a smile, which might be likened to that of a humorous tiger, spread over his spacious features, and so the interview ended without a fight. i was very much disappointed, as i hoped the two man-slayers were going to eat each other for the public good, and i was ready to back both of them without fear, favour, or affection. there is no doubt that the blacks ate human flesh, not as an article of regular diet, but occasionally, when the fortune of war, or accident, favoured them with a supply. when mr. hugh murray set out from geelong to look for country to the westward, he took with him several natives belonging to the barrabool tribe. when they arrived near lake colac they found the banks of the barongarook creek covered with scrub, and on approaching the spot where the bridge now spans the watercourse, they saw a blackfellow with his lubra and a little boy, running towards the scrub. the barrabool blacks gave chase, and the little boy was caught by one of them before he could find shelter, and was instantly killed with a club. that night the picaninny was roasted at the camp fire, and eaten. and yet these blacks had human feelings and affections. i once saw a tribe travelling from one part of the district to another in search of food, as was their custom. one of the men was dying of consumption, and was too weak to follow the rest. he looked like a living skeleton, but he was not left behind to die. he was sitting on the shoulders of his brother, his hands grasping for support the hair on the head, and his wasted legs dangling in front of the other's ribs. these people were sometimes hunted as if they were wolves, but two brother wolves would not have been so kind to each other. before the white men came the blacks never buried their dead; they had no spades and could not dig graves. sometimes their dead were dropped into the hollow trunks of trees, and sometimes they were burned. there was once a knoll on the banks of the barongarook creek, below the court-house, the soil of which looked black and rich. when i was trenching the ground near my house for vines and fruit trees, making another garden of paradise in lieu of the one i had lost, i obtained cart loads of bones from the slaughter yards and other places, and placed them in trenches; and in order to fertilize one corner of the garden, i spread over it several loads of the rich-looking black loam taken from the knoll near the creek. after a few years the vines and trees yielded great quantities of grapes and fruit, and i made wine from my vineyard. but the land on which i had spread the black loam was almost barren, and yet i had seen fragments of bones mixed with it, and amongst them a lower jaw with perfect teeth, most likely the jaw of a young lubra. on mentioning the circumstance to one of the early settlers, he said my loam had been taken from the spot on which the blacks used to burn their dead. soon after he arrived at colac he saw there a solitary blackfellow crouching before a fire in which bones were visible. so, pointing to them, he asked what was in the fire, and the blackfellow replied with one word "lubra." he was consuming the remains of his dead wife, and large tears were coursing down his cheeks. day and night he sat there until the bones had been nearly all burned and covered with ashes. this accounted for the fragments of bones in my black loam; why it was not fertile, i know, but i don't know how to express the reason well. while the trenching of my vineyard was going on, billy nicholls looked over the fence, and gave his opinion about it. he held his pipe between his thumb and forefinger, and stopped smoking in stupid astonishment. he said--"that ground is ruined, never will grow nothing no more; all the good soil is buried; nothing but gravel and stuff on top; born fool." old billy was a bullock driver, my neighbour and enemy, and lived, with his numerous progeny, in a hut in the paddock next to mine. in the rainy seasons the water flowed through my ground on to his, and he had dug a drain which led the water past his hut, instead of allowing it to go by the natural fall across his paddock. the floods washed his drain into a deep gully near his hut, which was sometimes nearly surrounded with the roaring waters. he then tried to dam the water back on to my ground, but i made a gap in his dam with a long-handled shovel, and let the flood go through. nature and the shovel were too much for billy. he came out of his hut, and stood watching the torrent, holding his dirty old pipe a few inches from his mouth, and uttered a loud soliloquy:--"here i am--on a miserable island--fenced in with water--going to be washed away --by that lord donahoo, son of a barber's clerk--wants to drown me and my kids--don't he--i'll break his head wi' a paling--blowed if i don't." he then put his pipe in his mouth, and gazed in silence on the rushing waters. i planted my ground with vines of fourteen different varieties, but, in a few years, finding that the climate was unsuitable for most of them, i reduced the number to about five. these yielded an unfailing abundance of grapes every year, and as there was no profitable market, i made wine. i pruned and disbudded the vines myself, and also crushed and pressed the grapes. the digging and hoeing of the ground cost about pounds each year. when the wine had been in the casks about twelve months i bottled it; in two years more it was fit for consumption, and i was very proud of the article. but i cannot boast that i ever made much profit out of it--that is, in cash-- as i found that the public taste for wine required to be educated, and it took so long to do it that i had to drink most of the wine myself. the best testimony to its excellence is the fact that i am still alive. the colonial taste for good liquor was spoiled from the very beginning, first by black strap and rum, condensed from the steam of hell, then by old tom and british brandy, fortified with tobacco-- this liquor was the nectar with which the ambrosial station hands were lambed down by the publicans--and in these latter days by colonial beer, the washiest drink a nation was ever drenched with. the origin of bad beer dates from the repeal of the sugar duty in england; before that time beer was brewed from malt and hops, and that we had "jolly good ale and old," and sour pie. a great festival was impending at colac, to consist of a regatta on the lake, the first we ever celebrated, and a picnic on its banks. all the people far and near invited themselves to the feast, from the most extensive of squatters to the oldest of old hands. the blackfellows were there, too--what was left of them. billy leura walked all the way from camperdown, and on the day before the regatta came to my house with a couple of black ducks in his hand. sissy, six years old, was present; she inspected the blackfellow and the ducks, and listened. leura said he wanted to sell me the ducks, but not for money; he would take old clothes for them. he was wearing nothing but a shirt and trousers, both badly out of repair, and was anxious to adorn his person with gay attire on the morrow. so i traded off a pair of old cords and took the ducks. next day we had two guests, a miss sheppard, from geelong, and another lady, and as my house was near the lake, we did our picnicking inside. we put on as much style as possible to suit the occasion, including, of course, my best native wine, and the two ducks roasted. sissy sat at the table next to miss sheppard, and felt it her duty to lead the conversation in the best society style. she said: "you see dose two ducks, miss sheppard?" "yes, dear; very fine ones." "well, papa bought 'em from a black man yesterday. de man said dey was black ducks, but dey was'nt black, dey was brown. de fedders are in de yard, and dey are brown fedders." "yes, i know, dear; they call them black ducks, but they are brown-- dark brown." "well, you see, de blackfellow want to sell de ducks to papa, but papa has no money, so he went into de house and bring out a pair of his old lowsers, and de blackfellow give him de ducks for de lowsers, and dems de ducks you see." "yes, dear; i see," said miss sheppard, blushing terribly. we all blushed. "you naughty girl," said mamma; "hold your tongue, or i'll send you to the kitchen." "but mamma, you know its quite true," said sissy. "didn't i show you de black man just now, miss sheppard, when he was going to de lake? i said dere's de blackfellow, and he's got papa's lowsers on, didn't i now?" the times seemed prosperous with us, but it was only a deceptive gleam of sunshine before the coming storm of adversity. i built an addition to my dwelling; and when it was completed i employed a paperhanger from london named taylor, to beautify the old rooms. he was of a talkative disposition; when he had nobody else to listen he talked to himself, and when he was tired of that he began singing. the weather was hot, and the heat, together with his talking and singing, made him thirsty; so one day he complained to me that his work was very dry. i saw at once an opportunity of obtaining an independent and reliable judgment on the quality of my wine; so i went for a bottle, drew the cork, and offered him a tumblerful, telling him it was wine which i had made from my own grapes. as taylor was a native of london, the greatest city in the world, he must have had a wide experience in many things, was certain to know the difference between good and bad liquor, and i was anxious to obtain a favourable verdict on my australian product. he held up the glass to the light, and eyed the contents critically; then he tasted a small quantity, and paused awhile to feel the effect. he then took another taste, and remarked, "it's sourish." he put the tumbler to his mouth a third time, and emptied it quickly. then he placed one hand on his stomach, said "oh, my," and ran away to the water tap outside to rinse his mouth and get rid of the unpleasant flavour. his verdict was adverse, and very unflattering. next day, while i was inspecting his work, he gave me to understand that he felt dry again. i asked him what he would like, a drink of water or a cup of tea? he said, "well, i think i'll just try another glass of that wine of yours." he seemed very irrational in the matter of drink, but i fetched another bottle. this time he emptied the first tumbler without hesitation, regardless of consequences. he puckered his lips and curled his nose, and said it was rather sourish; but in hot weather it was not so bad as cold water, and was safer for the stomach. he then drew the back of his hand across his mouth, looked at the paper which he had been putting on the wall, and said, "i don't like that pattern a bit; too many crosses on it." "indeed," i said, "i never observed the crosses before, but i don't see any harm in them. why don't you like them?" "oh, it looks too like the catholics, don't you see? too popish. i hate them crosses." "really," i replied. "i am sorry to hear that. i am a catholic myself." "oh, lor! are you, indeed? i always thought you were a scotchman." taylor finished that bottle of wine during the afternoon, and next day he wanted another. he wanted more every day, until he rose to be a three-bottle man. he became reconciled to the crosses on the wall-paper, forgave me for not being a scotchman, and i believe the run of my cellar would have made him a sincere convert to popery-- as long as the wine lasted. soon after this memorable incident, the minister and secretary made an official pleasure excursion through the western district. they visited the court and inspected it, and me, and the books, and the furniture. they found everything correct, and were afterwards so sociable that i expected they would, on returning to melbourne, speedily promote me, probably to the bench. but they forgot me, and promoted themselves instead. i have seen them since sitting nearly as high as haman in those expensive law courts in lonsdale street, while i was a despicable jury-man serving the crown for ten shillings a day. that is the way of this world; the wicked are well-paid and exalted, while the virtuous are ill-paid and trodden down. at a week's notice i was ordered to leave my garden of eden, and i let it to a tenant, the very child of the evil one. he pruned the vines with goats and fed his cattle on the fruit trees. then he wrote to inquire why the vines bore no grapes and the fruit trees no fruit, and wanted me to lower the rent, to repair the vineyard and the house, and to move the front gate to the corner of the fence. that man deserved nothing but death, and he died. in the summer of , the last survivor of the barrabool tribe came to colac, and joined the remnant of the colac blacks, but one night he was killed by them at their camp, near the site of the present hospital. a shallow hole was dug about forty or fifty yards from the south-east corner of the allotment on which the presbyterian manse was built, and the colac tribe buried his body there, and stuck branches of trees around his grave. about six months afterwards a government officer, the head of a department, arrived at colac, and i rode with him about the township and neighbouring country showing him the antiquities and the monuments, among others the mausoleum of the last of the barrabools. the leaves had by this time fallen from the dead branches around the sepulchre, and the small twigs on them were decaying. the cattle and goats would soon tread them down and scatter them, and the very site of the grave would soon be unknown. the officer was a man of culture and of scientific tendencies, and he asked me to dig up the skull of the murdered blackfellow, and sent it to his address in melbourne. he was desirous of exercising his culture on it, and wished to ascertain whether the skull was bracchy-cephalous, dolichophalous, or polycephalous. i think that was the way he expressed it. i said there was very likely a hole in it, and it would be spoiled; but he said the hole would make no difference. i would do almost anything for science and money, but he did not offer me any, and i did not think a six months' mummy was old enough to steal; it was too fresh. if that scientist would borrow a spade and dig up the corpse himself, i would go away to a sufficient distance and close my eyes and nose until he had deposited the relic in his carpet bag. but i was too conscientious to be accessory to the crime of body-snatching, and he had not courage enough to do the foul deed. that land is now fenced in, and people dwell there. the bones of the last of the barrabools still rest under somebody's house, or fertilise a few feet of a garden plot. on the ninety-mile. a home by a remoter sea. the ninety-mile, washed by the pacific, is the sea shore of gippsland. it has been formed by the mills of two oceans, which for countless ages have been slowly grinding into meal the rocks on the southern coast of australia; and every swirling tide and howling gale has helped to build up the beach. the hot winds of summer scorch the dry sand, and spin it into smooth, conical hills. amongst these, low shrubs with grey-green leaves take root, and thrive and flourish under the salt sea spray where other trees would die. strange plants, with pulpy leaves and brilliant flowers, send forth long green lines, having no visible beginning or end, which cling to the sand and weave over it a network of vegetation, binding together the billowy dunes. the beach is broken in places by narrow channels, through which the tide rushes, and wanders in many currents among low mudbanks studded with shellfish--the feeding grounds of ducks, and gulls, and swans; and around a thousand islands whose soil has been woven together by the roots of the spiky mangrove, or stunted tea-tree. upon the muddy flats, scarcely above the level of the water, the black swans build their great circular nests, with long grass and roots compacted with slime. salt marshes and swamps, dotted with bunches of rough grass, stretch away behind the hummocks. here, towards the end of the summer, the blacks used to reap their harvest of fat eels, which they drew forth from the soft mud under the roots of the tussocks. the country between the sea and the mountains was the happy-hunting-ground of the natives before the arrival of the ill-omened white-fellow. the inlets teemed with flathead, mullet, perch, schnapper, oysters, and sharks, and also with innumerable water-fowl. the rivers yielded eels and blackfish. the sandy shores of the islands were honey-combed with the holes in which millions of mutton-birds deposited their eggs in the last days of november in each year. along many tracks in the scrub the black wallabiesand paddy-melons hopped low. in the open glades among the great gum-trees marched the stately emu, and tall kangaroos, seven feet high, stood erect on their monstrous hind-legs, their little fore-paws hanging in front, and their small faces looking as innocent as sheep. every hollow gum-tree harboured two or more fat opossums, which, when roasted, made a rich and savoury meal. parrots of the most brilliant plumage, like winged flowers, flew in flocks from tree to tree, so tame that you could kill them with a stick, and so beautiful that it seemed a sin to destroy them. black cockatoos, screaming harshly the while, tore long strips of bark from the messmate, searching for the savoury grub. bronzed-winged pigeons, gleaming in the sun, rose from the scrub, and flocks of white cockatoos, perched high on the bare limbs of the dead trees, seemed to have made them burst into miraculous bloom like aaron's rod. the great white pelican stood on one leg on a sand-bank, gazing along its huge beak at the receding tide, hour after hour, solemn and solitary, meditating on the mysteries of nature. but on the mountains both birds and beasts were scarce, as many a famishing white man has found to his sorrow. in the heat of summer the sea-breeze grows faint, and dies before it reaches the ranges. long ropes of bark, curled with the hot sun, hang motionless from the black-butts and blue gums; a few birds may be seen sitting on the limbs of the trees, with their wings extended, their beaks open, panting for breath, unable to utter a sound from their parched throats. "when all food fails then welcome haws" is a saying that does not apply to australia, which yields no haws or fruit of any kind that can long sustain life. a starving man may try to allay the pangs of hunger with the wild raspberries, or with the cherries which wear their seeds outside, but the longer he eats them, the more hungry he grows. one resource of the lost white man, if he has a gun and ammunition, is the native bear, sometimes called monkey bear. its flesh is strong and muscular, and its eucalyptic odour is stronger still. a dog will eat opossum with pleasure, but he must be very hungry before he will eat bear; and how lost to all delicacy of taste, and sense of refinement, must the epicure be who will make the attempt! the last quadruped on which a meal can be made is the dingo, and the last winged creature is the owl, whose scanty flesh is viler even than that of the hawk or carrion crow, and yet a white man has partaken of all these and survived. some men have tried roasted snake, but i never heard of anyone who could keep it on his stomach. the blacks, with their keen scent, knew when a snake was near by the odour it emitted, but they avoided the reptile whether alive or dead. before any white man had made his abode in gippsland, a schooner sailed from sydney chartered by a new settler who had taken up a station in the port phillip district. his wife and family were on board, and he had shipped a large quantity of stores, suitable for commencing life in a new land. it was afterwards remembered that the deck of the vessel was encumbered with cargo of various kinds, including a bullock dray, and that the deck hamper would unfit her to encounter bad weather. as she did not arrive at port phillip within a reasonable time, a cutter was sent along the coast in search of her; and her long boat was found ashore near the lakes entrance, but nothing else belonging to her was ever seen. when the report arose in that a white woman had been seen with the blacks, it was supposed that she was one of the passengers of the missing schooner, and parties of horsemen went out to search for her among the natives, but the only white woman ever found was a wooden one--the figure-head of a ship. some time afterwards, when gippsland had been settled by white men, a tree was discovered on woodside station near the beach, in the bark of which letters had been cut, and it was said they would correspond with the initials of the names of some of the passengers and crew of the lost schooner, and by their appearance they must have been carved many years previously. this tree was cut down, and the part of the trunk containing the letters was sawn off and sent to melbourne. there is little doubt that the letters on the tree had been cut by one of the survivors of that ill-fated schooner, who had landed in the long boat near the lakes, and had made their way along the ninety-mile beach to woodside. they were far from the usual track of coasting vessels, and had little chance of attracting attention by signals or fires. even if they had plenty of food, it was impossible for them to travel in safety through that unknown country to port phillip, crossing the inlets, creeks, and swamps, in daily danger of losing their lives by the spears of the wild natives. they must have wandered along the ninety-mile as far as they could go, and then, weary and worn out for want of food, reluctant to die the death of the unhonoured dead, one of them had carved the letters on the tree, as a last despairing message to their friends, before they were killed by the savages, or succumbed to starvation. "for who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey, this pleasing, anxious being e'er resigned, left the warm precincts of the cheerful day, nor cast one longing, lingering look behind?" gippsland pioneers. at the old port. most of them were highlanders, and the news of the discovery of gippsland must often have been imparted in gaelic, for many of the children of the mist could speak no english when they landed. year after year settlers had advanced farther from sydney along the coastal ranges, until stations were occupied to the westward of twofold bay. in that rugged country, where no wheeled vehicle could travel, bullocks were trained to carry produce to the bay, and to bring back stores imported from sydney. each train was in charge of a white man, with several native drivers. but rumours of better lands towards the south were rife, and captain macalister, of the border police, equipped a party of men under mcmillan to go in search of them. armed and provisioned, they journeyed over the mountains, under the guidance of the faithful native friday, and at length from the top of a new mount pisgah beheld a fair land, watered throughout as the paradise of the lord. descending into the plains, mcmillan selected a site for a station, left some of his men to build huts and stockyards, and returned to report his discovery to macalister. slabs were split with which walls were erected, but before a roof was put on them the blacks suddenly appeared and began to throw their spears at the intruders; one spear of seasoned hardwood actually penetrated through a slab. the men, all but one, who shall be nameless, seized their guns and fired at the blacks, who soon disappeared. the white men also disappeared over the mountains; the rout was mutual. but the country was too good to be occupied solely by savages, and when mcmillan returned with reinforcements he made some arrangements, the exact particulars of which he would never disclose. he brought cattle to his run, and they quickly grew fat; but civilised man does not live by fat cattle alone, and a market had to be sought. twofold bay was too far away, and young melbourne was somewhere beyond impassable mountains. mcmillan built a small boat, which he launched on the river, and pulled down to the lakes in search of an outlet. he found it, but the current was so strong that it carried him out to sea. he had to land on the outer beach, and to drag his boat back over the sands to the inner waters. he next rode westward with his man friday to look for a port at corner inlet, and he blazed a track to the albert river. friday was an inland black. he gazed at the river, which was flowing towards the mountains, and said: "what for stupid yallock* yan along a bulga**?" [* footnote: *yallock, river. **bulga, mountain.] mcmillan tried to explain the theory of the tides. "one big yallock down there push him along, come back by-and-by." and friday saw the water come back by-and-by. they reached the mouth of the river on february st, , saw a broad expense of salt water, and mcmillan concluded that he had found a port for gippsland. ten months afterwards jack shay arrived at the port. he had first come to twofold bay from van diemen's land, and nothing was known about his former life. "that's nothing to nobody," he said. he was a bushman, rough and weather-beaten, with only one peculiarity. the quart pot which he slung to his belt would hold half a gallon of tea, while other pots only held a quart, and that was the reason why he was known all the way from monaroo to adelaide as "jack of the quart pot." he had arrived rather late on the previous evening, and this morning, as he sat on a log contemplating the scenery, his first conclusion was that the port was not flourishing. there was not a ship within sight. the mouth of the albert river was visible on his right, and the inlet was spread out before him shining in the morning sun. about a mile away on the western shore was one tree hill. towards the south were mud banks and mangrove islands, through which the channel zigzagged like a figure of eight, and then the view was closed by the scrub on sunday island. there was a boat at anchor in the channel about a mile distant, in which two men were fishing for their breakfast, for there was famine in the settlement, and the few pioneers left in it were kept alive on a diet of roast flathead. on the beach three boats were drawn up out of reach of the tide, and looking behind him jack counted twelve huts and one store of wattle-and-dab. the store had been built to hold the goods of the port albert company. it was in charge of john campbell, and contained a quantity of axes, tomahawks, saddles and bridles, a grindstone, some shot and powder, two double-barrelled guns, nails and hammers, and a few other articles, but there was nothing eatable to be seen in it. if there was any flour, tea, or sugar left, it was carefully concealed from any of the famishing settlers who might by chance peep in at the door. outside the hut was a nine-pounder gun on wheels, which had been landed by the company for use in time of war; but until this day there had been no hostilities between the natives and the settlers. from time to time numbers of black faces had been seen among the scrub, but so far no spear had been thrown nor hostile gun fired. the members of the company were turnbull, mcleod, rankin, brodribb, hornden, and orr. soon after they landed they cleared a semi-circular piece of ground behind their tents, to prevent the blacks from sneaking up to them unseen. near the beach stood two she-oak trees, marked, one with the letters m. m., feb., , the other mar., , and the initials of the members of the port albert company. behind the huts three hobbled horses were feeding, two of which had been brought by jack shay. a gaunt deerhound, with a shaggy coat, lame and lean, was lying in the sun. there was also an old cart in front of one of the huts, out of which two boys came and began to gather wood and to kindle a fire. they were ragged and hungry, and looked shyly at jack shay. one was bill clancy, and the other had been printer's devil to hardy, of the 'gazette', and was therefore known as dick the devil. they had been picked up in melbourne by captain davy, who had brought them to port albert in his whaleboat. their ambition had been for "a life on the ocean wave, and a home on the rolling deep," as heroic young pirates; but at present they lived on shore, and their home was george scutt's old cart. a man emerged from one of the huts carrying a candle-box, which he laid on the ground before the fire. jack observed that the box was full of eggs, on the top of which lay two teaspoons. the man was captain david, usually known as davy. he said: "i am going to ask you to breakfast, jack; but you have been a long time coming, and provisions are scarce in these parts." "don't you make no trouble whatsomever about me," said jack. "many's the time i've hadshort rations, and i can take pot-luck with any man." "you'll find pot-luck here is but poor luck," replied davy. "i've got neither grub nor grog, no meat, no flour, no tea, no sugar-- nothing but eggs; but, thank god, i've got plenty of them. there are five more boxes full of them in my hut, so we may as well set to at once." davy drew some hot ashes from the fire, and thrust the eggs into them, one by one. when they were sufficiently cooked, he handed one and a teaspoon to jack and took another himself, saying, "we shall have to eat them just as they are; there is plenty of salt water, but i haven't even a pinch of salt." "why, davy, there's plenty of salt right before your face. did you never try ashes? mix a spoonful with your egg this way, and you'll find you don't want no better salt." "right you are, jack; it goes down grand," said davy, after seasoning and eating one egg. then to the boys, "here you kids, take some eggs and roast 'em and salt 'em with ashes, and then take your sticks and try if you can knock down a few parrots or wattle birds for dinner. but don't you go far from the camp, and keep a sharp look-out for the blacks; for you can never trust 'em, and they might poke their spears through you." "but, davy," asked jack, "where is the port and the shipping, and where are all the settlers? there don't seem to be many people stirring about here this morning." "port and shipping be blessed," said davy; "and as for the settlers, there are only about half-a-dozen left, with these two boys and my wife, and hannah scutt. we don't keep no regular watch, and meal-times is of little use unless there's something to eat. i landed here from that whale-boat on the th of last may, and i have been waiting for you ever since. in a few weeks we had about a hundred and fifty people camped here. they came mostly in cutters from melbourne, looking for work or looking for runs. they said men were working for half-a-crown a day without rations on the road between liardet's beach and the town. but there was no work for them here; and, as their provisions soon ran short, they had to go away or starve. i stopped here, and have been starving most of the time. some went back in the cutters and some overland. "brodribb and hobson came here over the mountains with four port phillip blacks, and they decided to look for a better way by the coast. i landed them and their four blacks at the head of corner inlet. they were attacked by the western port blacks near the river tarwin, but they frightened them away by firing their guns. the four port phillip blacks who were carrying the ammunition and provisions ran away too; and the two white men had nothing to eat for two or three days until they made massey and anderson's station on the bass, where they found their runaway blacks. "william pearson and his party were the next who left the port. they took the road over the mountains, and lived on monkey bears until they reached massey and anderson's. "mcclure, scott, montgomery, and several other men started next. they had very little of their provisions left when i landed them one morning at one tree hill there over the water. they were fourteen days tramping over the mountains, and were so starved that they ate their own dogs. they came back in a schooner, but i think some of them will never get over that journey. i tell you, jack, it's hard to make a start in a new country with no money, no food, and no live stock, except scott's old horse and that lame deerhound. poor ossian was a good dog, and used to run down an old man kangaroo for us, until one of them gave him a terrible rip with his claw, and he has been lame ever since. for eight weeks we were living on roast flat-head, and i grew tired of it, so on the th of last month i started down the inlet in my whaleboat, and went to lady bay to take in some firewood. i knew the mutton-birds would be coming to the islands on the rd or th, but i landed on one of them on the th, four or five days too soon, and began to look for something to eat. there were some pig-faces, but they were only in flower, no fruit on 'em. i could find nothing but penguin's eggs and i put some of those in a pot over the fire. but they would never get hard if i boiled them all day. there is something oily inside of them, and how it gets there i never could tell. you might as well try to live on rancid butter and nothing else. however, on november rd the mutton-birds began to come in thousands, and then i was soon living in clover. i had any quantity of hard-boiled eggs and roast fowl, for i could knock down the birds with a stick. "but, jack, what have you been doing since i met you the year before last? you had a train of pack bullocks and a mob of cattle, looking for a run about mount buninyong. did you start a station there for imlay?" "no, i didn't. i found a piece of good country, but pettit and the coghills hunted me out of it, so imlay sold the cattle, and went back to twofold bay. then charles lynot offered me a job. he was taking a mob of cattle to adelaide, but he heard there was no price for them there, so he took up a station at the pyrenees, seventeen miles beyond parson irvine's run at the amphitheatre. i was there about twelve months. my hut was not far from a deep waterhole, and the milking yard was about two hundred yards from the hut. the wild blacks were very troublesome; they killed three white men at murdering creek, and me and francis, clarke's manager, hunted them off the station two or three times. the blacks were more afraid of francis than of anybody else, as besides his gun he always carried pistols, and they never could tell how many he had in his pockets. cockatoo bill's tribe drove away a lot of parson irvine's sheep, and broke a leg of each sheep to keep them from going back. the parson and francis went after them, and one of our stockmen named walker, and another, a big fellow whose name i forget. they shot some of the blacks, but the sheep were spoiled. "there was a tame blackfellow we called alick, and two gins, living about our station, and he had a daughter we called picaninny charlotte, ten or eleven years old, who was very quick and smart, and spoke english very well. one morning, when i was in the milking yard, she came to me and said, 'you look out. cockatoo bill got your axe under his rug--sitting among a lot of lubras. chop you down when you bring up milk in buckets.' "i had no gun with me, so i crept out of the yard, and sneaked through the scrub to get into the hut through the back door, keeping out of sight of bill and the lubras, who were all sitting on the ground in front of the hut. we had plenty of arms, and i always kept my double-barrelled gun loaded, and hanging over the fireplace. i crept inside the hut, reached down for the gun, and peeped out of the front door, looking for bill. the lubras began yabbering, and in an instant bill dropped his rug and the axe, leaped over the heads of the women, and was off like a deer. i took a flying shot at him with both barrels. his lubra went about afterwards among the stations complaining that jack quart pot shot cockatoo bill, and parker (the government protector) made enquiries about him. i saw him coming towards my hut, and i said to piccaninny charlotte, 'no talk, no english, no nothing;' and when parker asked her if she knew anything about cockatoo bill she shammed stupid, and he couldn't get a word out of her. who is that cove with the spyglass?" "that's john campbell, the company's storeman. he is looking for a schooner every day. he would have gone long ago like the rest, but he does not like to leave the stores behind. here, mr. campbell, wouldn't you like to take a roast egg or two for breakfast? there's plenty for the whole camp." "i will, davy, and thank you. who are the men in the boat down the channel?" "they are george scutt and pately jim fishing for their breakfast. they were hungry, i reckon, and went away before i brought out the eggs, or they might have had a feed." while the men were roasting their eggs, their eyes wandered over everything within view, far and near. on land and sea their lives had often depended on their watchfulness. the sun was growing warm, and there was a quivering haze over the waters. while glancing down the channel, davy observed some dark objects appearing near a mangrove island. he pointed them out to campbell, and said: "what kind of birds are they? do you think they are swans?" "i can't think what else they can be," said campbell; "but they have not got the shape of birds, and they don't swim smoothly like swans, but go jerking along like big coots. take a look through the glass, davy, and see if you can make them out." davy took a long and steady look, and said: "i am blowed if they ain't blackfellows in their canoes. they are poleing them along towards the channel, one, two, three--there's a dozen of 'em or more. i can see their long spears sticking out, and they are after some mischief. the tide is on the ebb, and they are going to drop down with it, and spear those two men in the boat; and they are both landlubbers, and haven't even got a gun with them. we must bear a hand and help them. get your guns and we'll launch the whaleboat." john campbell steered, and shay and davy pulled as hard as they could towards the canoes, which were already drifting down with the current. the two fishermen were busy with their lines, every now and then pulling out a fish and baiting their hooks with a fresh piece of shark. they never looked up the channel, nor guessed the danger that was every moment coming nearer, for the blacks as yet had not made the least noise. at last campbell saw several of them seizing their spears and making ready to throw them, so he fired one of his barrels; and davy stood up in the boat and gave a cooee that might have been heard at sunday island, for when anything excited him on the water he could be heard shouting and swearing at an incredible distance. he yelled at the fishermen, "boat ahoy! up anchor, you lubbers, and scatter. don't you see the blacks after you?" the natives began paddling away as fast as they could towards the nearest land, and davy and shay pulled after them; but the blacks soon reached the shore, and, taking their spears, ran into the nearest scrub. when the whaleboat grounded, there was not one of them to be seen. davy said: "they are watching us not far off. you two keep a sharp look-out, and if you see a black face fire at it. i am going to cut out the fleet." he rolled up his trousers, took a fishing line, waded out to the canoes, and tied them together, one behind another, leaving a little slack line between each of them. he then fastened one end of the line to the whaleboat, shoved off, and sprang inside. the blacks came out of the scrub, yelling and brandishing their spears, a few of which they threw at the boat, but it was soon out of their reach. thus a great naval victory had been gained, and the whole of the enemy's fleet captured without the loss of a man. nothing like it had been achieved since the days of the great gulliver. the two fishermen had taken no part in the naval operations, and when the whaleboat returned with its train of canoes like the tail of a kite, davy administered a sharp reprimand. "why didn't you two lubbers keep your eyes skinned. i suppose you were asleep, eh? you ought to have up anchor and pulled away, and then the devils could never got near you. look here!" holding up a piece of bark, "that's all they've got to paddle with in deep water, and in the shallows they can only pole along with sticks." pately jim had been a prize runner in yorkshire, and trifles never took away his breath. he replied calmly: "yo're o'reet, davy. we wor a bit sleepy, but we're quite wakken noo. keep yor shirt on, and we'll do better next time." when the canoes, which were built entirely with sheets of bark, were drawn up on the beach, nothing was found in them but a few sticks, bark paddles, and a gown--a lilac cotton gown. "that goon," said campbell, "has belonged to some white woman thae deevils have murdered. there is no settler nearer than jamieson, and they maun ha brocht the goon a' the way frae the bass." but campbell was mistaken. there had been another white woman in gippsland. the isle of blasted hopes. there is a large island where the ninety-mile beach ends in a wilderness of roaring breakers. it is the isle of blasted hopes. its enchanting landscape has allured many a landsman to his ruin, and its beacon, seen through the haze of a south-east gale, has guided many a watchful mariner to shipwreck and death. after the discovery of gippsland, pearson and black first occupied the island under a grazing license, and they put eleven thousand sheep on it, with some horses, bullocks, and pigs. the sheep began to die, so they sold them to captain cole at ten shillings a head, giving in the other stock. they were of the opinion that they had made an excellent bargain, but when the muster was made nine thousand six hundred of the sheep were missing. the pigs ran wild, but multiplied. when the last sheep had perished, cole sold his license to a man named thomas, who put on more sheep, and afterwards exchanged as many as he could find with john king for cattle and horses. morrison next occupied the island until he was starved out. then another man named thomas took the fatal grazing license, but he did not live on the land. he placed his brother in charge of it, to be out of the way of temptation, as he was too fond of liquor. the brother was not allowed the use of a boat; he, with his wife and family, was virtually a prisoner, condemned to sobriety. but by this time a lighthouse had been erected, and watts the keeper of it had a boat, and was, moreover, fond of liquor. the two men soon became firm friends, and often found it necessary to make voyages to port albert for flour, or tea, or sugar. the last time they sailed together the barometer was low, and a gale was brewing. when they left the wharf they had taken on board all the stores they required, and more; they were happy and glorious. next day the masthead of their boat was seen sticking out of the water near sunday island. the pilot schooner went down and hauled the boat to the surface, but nothing was found in her except the sand-ballast and a bottle of rum. her sheet was made fast, and when the squall struck her she had gone down like a stone. the isle of blasted hopes was useless even as an asylum for inebriates. the 'ecliptic' was carrying coals from newcastle. the time was midnight, the sky was misty, and the gale was from the south-east, when the watch reported a light ahead. the cabin boy was standing on deck near the captain, when he held a consultation with his mate, who was also his son. father and son agreed; they said the light ahead was the one on kent's group, and then the vessel grounded amongst the breakers. the seamen stripped off their heavy clothing, and went overboard; the captain and his son plunged in together and swam out of sight. there were nine men in the water, while the cabin boy stood shivering on deck. he, too, had thrown away his clothes, all but the wrist-bands of his shirt, which in his flurry he could not unbutton. he could not make up his mind to jump overboard. he heard the men in the water shouting to one another, "make for the light." that course led them away from the nearest land, which they could not see. at length a great sea swept the boy among the breakers, but his good angel pushed a piece of timber within reach, and he held on to it until he could feel the ground with his feet; he then let the timber go, and scrambled out of reach of the angry surge; but when he came to the dry sand he fainted and fell down. when he recovered his senses he began to look for shelter; there was a signal station not far off, but he could not see it. he went away from the pitiless sea through an opening between low conical hills, covered with dark scrub, over a pathway composed of drift sand and broken shells. he found an old hut without a door. there was no one in it; he went inside, and lay down shivering. at daybreak a boy, the son of ratcliff, the signal man, started out to look for his goats, and as they sometimes passed the night in the old fowlhouse, he looked in for them. but instead of the goats, he saw the naked cabin boy. "who are you?" he said, "and what are you doing here, and where did you come from?" "i have been shipwrecked," replied the cabin boy; and then he sat up and began to cry. young ratcliff ran off to tell his father what he had found; and the boy was brought to the cottage, put to bed, and supplied with food and drink. the signal for a wreck was hoisted at the flagstaff, but when the signallman went to look for a wreck he could not find one. he searched along the shore and found the dead body of the captain, and a piece of splintered spar seven or eight feet long, on which the cabin boy had come ashore. the 'ecliptic', with her cargo and crew, had completely disappeared, while the signalman, near at hand, slept peacefully, undisturbed by her crashing timbers, or the shouts of the drowning seamen. ratcliff was not a seer, and had no mystical lore. he was a runaway sailor, who had, in the forties, travelled daily over the egerton run, unconscious of the tons of gold beneath his feet. there was a fair wind and a smooth sea when the 'clonmel' went ashore at three o'clock in the morning of the second day of january, . eighteen hours before she had taken a fresh departure from ram's head to wilson's promontory. the anchors were let go, she swung to wind, and at the fall of the tide she bedded herself securely in the sand, her hull, machinery, and cargo uninjured. the seventy-five passengers and crew were safely landed; sails, lumber, and provisions were taken ashore in the whaleboats and quarter-boats; tents were erected; the food supplies were stowed away under a capsized boat, and a guard set over them by captain tollervey. next morning seven volunteers launched one of the whaleboats, boarded the steamer, took in provisions, made a lug out of a piece of canvas, hoisted the union jack to the mainmast upside down, and pulled safely away from the 'clonmel' against a head wind. they hoisted the lug and ran for one of the seal islands, where they found a snug little cove, ate a hearty meal, and rested for three hours. they then pulled for the mainland, and reached sealer's cove about midnight, where they landed, cooked supper, and passed the rest of the night in the boat for fear of the blacks. next morning three men went ashore for water and filled the breaker, when they saw three blacks coming down towards them; so they hurried on board, and the anchor was hauled up. as the wind was coming from the east, they had to pull for four hours before they weathered the southern point of the cove; they then hoisted sail and ran for wilson's promentory, which they rounded at ten o'clock a.m. at eight o'clock in the evening they brought up in a small bay at the eastern extremity of western port, glad to get ashore and stretch their weary limbs. after a night's refreshing repose on the sandy beach, they started at break of day, sailing along very fast with a strong and steady breeze from the east, although they were in danger of being swamped, as the sea broke over the boat repeatedly. at two o'clock p.m. they were abreast of port philip heads; but they found a strong ebb tide, with such a ripple and broken water that they did not consider it prudent to run over it. they therefore put the boat's head to windward and waited for four hours, when they saw a cutter bearing down on them, which proved to be 'the sisters', captain mulholland, who took the boat in tow and landed them at williamstown at eleven o'clock p.m., sixty-three hours from the time they left the 'clonmel'. captain lewis, the harbour master, went to rescue the crew and passengers and brought them all to melbourne, together with the mails, which had been landed on the island since known by the name of the 'clonmel'. for fifty-two years the black boilers of the 'clonmel' have lain half buried in the sandspit, and they may still be seen among the breakers from the deck of every vessel sailing up the channel to port albert. the 'clonmel', with her valuable cargo, was sold in sydney, and the purchaser, mr. grose, set about the business of making his fortune out of her. he sent a party of wreckers who pitched their camps on snake island, where they had plenty of grass, scrub, and timber. the work of taking out the cargo was continued under various captains for six years, and then mr. grose lost a schooner and was himself landed in the court of insolvency. while the pioneers at the old port were on the verge of starvation, the 'clonmel' men were living in luxury. they had all the blessings both of land and sea--corned beef, salt pork, potatoes, plum-duff, tea, sugar, coffee, wine, beer, spirits, and tobacco from the cargo of the 'clonmel', and oysters without end from a neighbouring lagoon. they constructed a large square punt, which they filled with cargo daily, wind and weather permitting; at other times they rested from their labours, or roamed about the island shooting birds or hunting kangaroo. they saw no other inhabitants, and believed that no black lucifer had as yet entered their island garden; but, though unseen, he was watching them and all their works. one morning the wreckers had gone to the wreck; a man named kennedy was left in charge of the camp; sambo, the black cook, was attending to his duties at the fire; and mrs. kennedy, the only lady of the party, was at the water hole washing clothes. her husband had left the camp with his gun in the hope of shooting some wattle birds, which were then fat with feeding on the sweet blossoms of the honeysuckle. he was sitting on a log near the water-hole talking to his wife, who had just laid out to dry on the bushes three coloured shirts and a lilac dress. she stood with her hands on her hips, pensively contemplating the garments. she had her troubles, and was turning them over in her mind, while her husband was thinking of something else quite different. it is, i believe, a thing that often happens. "i am thinking, flora," he said, "that this would be a grand island to live on--far better than skye, because it has no rocks on it. i would like to haf it for a station. i could put sheep and cattle on it, and they could not go away nor be lifted, because there is deep water all round it; and we would haf plenty of beef, and mutton, and wool, and game, and fish, and oysters. we could make a garden and haf plenty of kail, and potatoes, and apples." "it's all ferry well, donald," she replied, "for you to be talking about sheep, and cattle, and apples; but i'd like to know wherefer we would be getting the money to buy the sheep and cattle? and who would like to live here for efer a thousand miles from decent neebors? and that's my best goon, and it's getting fery shabby; and wherefer i'm to get another goon in a country like this i'm thinking i don't know." donald thought his wife was troubling herself about mere trifles, but before he had time to say so, a blackfellow snatched his gun from across his knees, another hit him on the head with a waddy, and a third did the same to flora and the unfortunate couple lay senseless on the ground. their hopes and troubles had come to a sudden end. this onslaught had been made by four blacks, who now made a bundle of the clothes, and carried them and the gun away, going towards the camp in search of more plunder. the tents occupied by the wreckers had been enclosed in a thick hedge of scrub to protect them from the drifting sand. there was only one opening in the hedge, through which the blacks could see sambo cooking the wreckers' dinner before a fire. his head was bare, and he was enjoying the genial heat of early summer, singing snatches of the melodies of old virginny. the hearing of the australian aboriginal is acute, and his talent for mimicry astonishing; he can imitate the notes of every bird and the call of every animal with perfect accuracy. sambo's senseless song enchanted the four blacks. it was first heard with tremendous applause in new orleans, it was received with enthusiasm by every audience in the great republic, and it had been the delight of every theatre in the british empire. it may be said that "jim crow" buried the legitimate drama and danced on its grave. it really seemed to justify the severe judgment passed on us by the sage of chelsea, that we were "sixteen millions, mostly fools." no air was ever at the same time so silly and so successful as "jim crow." but there was life in it, and it certainly prolonged that of sambo, for as the four savages crouched behind the hedge listening to the "turn about and wheel about, and do just so, and ebery time i turn about i jump jim crow," they forgot their murderous errand. at last there was an echo of the closing words which seemed to come from a large gum tree beyond the tents, against which a ladder had been reared to the forks, used for the purpose of a look-out by captain leebrace. sambo paused, looked up to the gum tree, and said, "by golly, who's dere?" the echo was repeated, and then he wheeled about in real earnest, transfixed with horror, unable to move a limb. the blacks were close to him now, but even their colour could not restore his courage. they were cannibals, and were preparing to kill and eat him. but first they examined their game critically, poking their fingers about him, pinching him in various parts of the body, stroking his broad nose and ample lips with evident admiration, and trying to pull out the curls on his woolly head. sambo was usually proud of his personal appearance, but just now fear prevented him from enjoying the applause of the strangers. at length he recovered his presence of mind sufficiently to make an effort to avert his impending doom. if the blacks could be induced to eat the dinner he was cooking their attention to himself might be diverted, and their appetites appeased, so he pointed towards the pots, saying, "plenty beef, pork, plum duff." the blacks seemed to understand his meaning, and they began to inspect the dinner; so instead of taking the food like sensible men, they upset all the pots with their waddies, and scattered the beef, pork, plum duff and potatoes, so that they were covered with sand and completely spoiled. two of the blacks next peered into the nearest tent, and seeing some knives and forks, took possession of them. but there was a sound of voices from the waterhole, and they quickly gathered together their stolen goods and disappeared. in a few minutes captain leebrace and the wreckers arrived at the camp, bringing with them kennedy and his wife, who had recovered their senses, and were able to tell what had happened. "black debbils been heah, cappen, done spoil all de dinner, and run away wid de knives and forks," sambo said. captain leebrace soon resolved on a course of reprisals. he went up the ladder to the forks of the gum tree with his telescope, and soon obtained a view of the retreating thieves, appearing occasionally and disappearing among the long grass and timber; and after observing the course they were taking he came down the ladder. he selected two of his most trustworthy men, and armed them and himself with double-barrelled guns, one barrel being smooth bore and the other rifled, weapons suitable for game both large and small. during the pursuit the captain every now and then, from behind a tree, searched for the enemy with his telescope, until at last he could see that they had halted, and had joined a number of their tribe. he judged that the blacks, if they suspected that the white men would follow them, would direct their looks principally towards the tents, so he made a wide circuit to the left. then he and his men crept slowly along the ground until they arrived within short range of the natives. three of the blacks were wearing the stolen shirts, a fourth had put on the lilac dress, and they were strutting around to display their brave apparel just like white folks. the savage man retains all finery for his own personal adornment, and never wastes any of it on his despicable wife, but still captain leebrace had some doubt in the matter. he whispered to his men, "i don't like to shoot at a gown; there may be a lubra in it, but i'll take the middle fellow in the shirt, and you take the other two, one to the right, the other to the left; when i say one, two, three, fire." the order was obeyed and when the smoke cleared away the print dress was gone, but all the rest of the plunder was recovered on the spot. the shirts were stripped off the bodies of the blacks; and after they had been rinsed in a water-hole, they were found to have been not much damaged, each shirt having only a small bullet hole in it. it was in this way that the lilac dress escaped, and was found in the canoe at the old port; the blackfellow who wore it had taken it off and put it under his knees in the bottom of his canoe, and when the white men's boat came after him, he was in so great a hurry to hide himself in the scrub that he left the dress behind. next day there was a sudden alarm in the camp at the old port. clancy and dick the devil came running toward the beach, full of fear and excitement, screaming, "the blacks, the blacks, they are coming, hundreds of them, and they are all naked, and daubed over white, and they have long spears." the men who had guns--campbell, shay, and davy--fetched them out of their huts and stood ready to receive the enemy; even mcclure, although very weak, left his bed and came outside to assist in the fight. the fringe of the scrub was dotted with the piebald bodies of the blacks, dancing about, brandishing their spears, and shouting defiance at the white men. they were not in hundreds, as the boys imagined, their number apparently not exceeding forty; but it was evident that they were threatening death and destruction to the invaders of their territory. none, however, but the very bravest ventured far into the cleared space, and they showed no disposition to make a rush or anything like a concerted attack. campbell, after watching the enemy's movements for some time, said, "i think it will be better to give them a taste of the nine-pounder. keep a look-out while i load her." he went into his store to get the charge ready. he tied some powder tightly in a piece of calico and rammed it home. on this he put a nine-pound shot; but, reflecting that the aim at the dancing savages would be uncertain, he put in a double charge, consisting of some broken glass and a handful of nails. he then thrust a wooden skewer down the touch-hole into the powder bag below, primed and directed the piece towards the scrub, giving it, as he judged, sufficient elevation to send the charge among the thickest of the foe. as this was the first time the gun had been brought into action, and there was no telling for certain which way it would act, campbell thought it best to be cautious; so he ordered all his men to take shelter behind the store. he then selected a long piece of bark, which he lighted at the fire, and, standing behind an angle of the building, he applied the light to the touch-hole. every man was watching the scrub to see the effect of the discharge. there was a fearful explosion, succeeded by shrieks of horror and fear from the blacks, as the ball and nails and broken glass went whistling over their heads through the trees. then there was a moment of complete silence. campbell, like a skilful general, ordered his men to pursue at once the flying foe, in order to reap to the full the fruits of victory, and they ran across the open ground to deliver a volley; but on arriving at the scrub no foe was to be seen, either dead or alive. the elevation of the artillery had been too great, and the missiles had passed overhead; but the result was all that could be hoped for, for two months afterwards not a single native was visible. two victories had been gained by the pioneers, and it was felt that they deserved some commemoration. at night there was a feast around the camp fire; it was of necessity a frugal one, but each member of the small community contributed to it as much as he was able. campbell produced flour enough for a large damper, a luxury unseen for the last eight weeks; mcclure gave tea and sugar; davy brought out a box full of eggs and a dozen mutton birds; scutt and pateley furnished a course of roast flathead; clancy and dick the devil, the poor pirates, gave all the game they had that day killed, viz., two parrots and a wattle bird. the twelve canoes, the spoils of victory, were of little value; they were placed on the camp fire one after another, and reduced to ashes. the warriors sat around on logs and boxes enjoying the good things provided and talking cheerfully, but they made no set speeches. dinner oratory is full of emptiness and they had plenty of that every day. they dipped pannikins of tea out of the iron pot. when burke and wills were starving at cooper's creek on a diet of nardoo, the latter recorded in his diary that what the food wanted was sugar; he believed that nardoo and sugar would keep him alive. the pioneers at the old port were convinced that their great want was fat; with that their supper would have been perfect. mcclure was dying of consumption as everybody knew but himself; he could not believe that he had come so far from home only to die, and he joined the revellers at the camp fire. he said to kindly enquirers that he felt quite well, and would soon regain his strength. before that terrible journey over the mountains he had been the life and soul of the port. he could play on the violin, on the bagpipes--both scotch and irish--and he was always so pleasant and cheerful, looking as innocent as a child, that no one could be long dispirited in his company, and the most impatient growler became ashamed of himself. mcclure was persuaded to bring out his violin once more--it had been long silent--and he began playing the liveliest of tunes, strathspeys, jigs, and reels, until some of the men could hardly keep their heels still, but it is hard to dance on loose sand, and they had to be contented with expressing their feelings in song. davy sang "ye mariners of england," and other songs of the sea; and pateley jim gave the "angel's whisper," followed by an old ballad of the days of robin hood called "the wedding of aythur o'braidley," the violin accompanying the airs and putting the very soul of music into every song. but by degrees the musician grew weary, and began to play odds and ends of old tunes, sacred and profane. he dwelt some time on an ancient "kyrie eleeson," and at last glided, unconsciously as it were, into the "land o' the leal." i'm wearin' away, jean, like snaw wreaths in thaw, jean, i'm wearin' awa, jean, to the land o' the leal. there's nae sorrow there, jean, there's nae caul or care, jean, the days aye fair, jean, i' the land of the leal. at last mcclure rose from his seat, and said, "i'll pit awa the fiddle, and bid ye a good nicht. i think i'll be going hame to my mither the morn." he went into his tent. it was high tide, and there was a gentle swish of long low waves lapping the sandy beach. the night wind sighed a soothing lullaby through the spines of the she-oak, and his spirit passed peacefully away with the ebb. he was the first man who died at the old port, and he was buried on the bank of the river where friday first saw its waters flowing towards the mountain. thirty years afterwards i saw two old men, campbell and montgomery, pulling up the long grass which had covered his neglected grave. glengarry in gippsland. jack shay was not sorry to leave the old port. the nocturnal feast made to celebrate the repulse of the blackfellows could not conceal the state of famine which prevailed, and he was pleased to remember that he had brought plenty of flour, tea, and sugar as far as the thomson river. davy had no saddle, but john campbell lent him one for the journey, and also sold him shot and powder on credit. so early in the morning the two men took a "tightener" of roast eggs, and commenced their journey on mcmillan's track, each man carrying his double-barrelled gun, ready loaded, in his hand. by this time the sight of a gun was a sufficient warning to the blackfellows to keep at a safe distance; the discharge of the nine-pounder had proved to them that the white man possessed mysterious powers of mischief, and it was a long time before they could recover courage enough to approach within view of the camp at the old port. on the second day of their journey davy and shay arrived at the thomson, and found the mob of cattle and the men all safe. they built a hut, erected a stockyard, and roughly fixed the boundaries of the station by blazed trees, the bank of the river, and other natural marks. there were three brothers imlay in the twofold bay district--john, alexander, and george--the latter residing at the bay, where he received stores from sydney, and shipped return cargoes of station produce and fat cattle for hobarton. two stations on the mountains were managed by the other two brothers, and their brand was iii., usually called "the bible brand." when the station on the thomson was put in working order, the imlays exchanged it for one owned by p. p. king, which was situated between their two stations in the monaro district. the gippsland station was named fulham, and was managed by john king. jack shay returned to the mountains, and davy to the old port. soon afterwards the steamer 'corsair' arrived from melbourne, bringing many passengers, one of whom was john reeve, who took up a station at snake ridge, and purchased the block of land known as reeve's survey. the new settlers also brought a number of horses, and norman mcleod had twenty bullocks on board. the steamer could not reach the port, and brought-to abreast of the midge channel. the cattle and horses were slung and put into the water, four at a time, and swam to land, but all the bullocks disappeared soon afterwards and fled to the mountains. next the brig 'bruthen' arrived from sydney, chartered by the highland chief macdonnell, of glengarry. in the days of king william iii. a sum of , pounds was voted for the purpose of purchasing the allegiance of the glengarry of that day, and of that of several other powerful chiefs. on taking the oath of loyalty to the new dynasty, they were to receive not more than , pounds each; or, if they preferred dignity to cash, they could have any title of nobility they pleased below that of earl. most of them took the oath and the cash. it is not recorded that any chief preferred a title, but the macdonnell of was lord glengarry to all the new settlers in gippsland. his father, colonel alexander ronaldson macdonnell, was the last genuine specimen of a highland chief, and he was the fergus mcivor of walter scott's "waverley." he always wore the dress of his ancestors, and kept sentinels posted at his doors. he perished in the year , while attempting to escape from a steamer which had gone ashore. his estate was heavily encumbered, and his son was compelled to sell it to the marquis of huntly. in it was sold to the earl of dudley for , pounds, and in to edward ellice for , pounds. the landless young chief resolved to transfer his broken fortunes to australia. he brought with him a number of men and women, chiefly highlanders, who were landed by davy in his whaleboat. for this service glengarry gave a cheque on a sydney bank for five pounds, which was entrusted to captain gaunson of the schooner 'coquette' to purchase groceries. on arriving in sydney the gaunsons went on a pleasure excursion about the harbour, the 'coquette' was capsized in a squall, one or two of the family perished, and davy's cheque went down with the vessel. but when the schooner was raised and the water pumped out, the cheque was found, and the groceries on the next voyage arrived safely at the old port. glengarry's head man and manager of the enterprise was a poor gentleman from tipperary named dancer, and his chief stockman was sandy fraser. by the regulations then in force in new south wales, glengarry was entitled, for a fee of pounds per annum, to hold under a depasturing license an area of twenty square miles, on which he might place head of cattle or , sheep. he selected a site for his head station and residence on the banks of the tarra. the house was built, huts and stockyards were erected, dairy cows were bought at pounds each, and the business of dairy farming commenced. but the young chief and his men were unused to the management of a station in the new country; they had everything to learn, and at a ruinous cost. a number of young men bailed up the cows each morning, and put on the leg ropes; then they sat on the top rails of the stockyard fence and waited while the maids drew the milk. dancer superintended the labours of the men and the milkmaids. he sat in his office in a corner of the stockyard, entering in his books the number of cattle milked, and examining the state of their brands, which were daubed on the hides with paint and brush. some cheese was made, but it was not of much account, and all the milk and butter were consumed on the station. at this time the blacks had quite recovered from the fright occasioned by the discharge of the nine-pounder gun, and were again often seen from the huts at the old port. donald macalister was sent by his uncle, lachlan macalister, of nuntin, to make arrangements for shipping some cattle and sheep. the day before their arrival donald saw some blacks at a distance in the scrub, and without any provocation fired at them with an old tower musket, charged with shot. the next day the drovers and shepherds arrived with the stock, and drove them over glengarry's bridge to a place between the tarra and albert rivers, called the coal hole, afterwards occupied by parson bean. there was no yard there, and the animals would require watching at night; so donald decided to send them back to glengarry's yards. then he and the drovers and shepherds would have a pleasant time; there would be songs and whisky, the piper would play, and the men and maids would dance. the arrangement suited everybody. the drovers started back with the cattle, donald helped the shepherds to gather the sheep, and put them on the way, and then he rode after the cattle. the track led him past a grove of dense ti-tree, on the land now known as the brewery paddock, and about a hundred yards ahead a single blackfellow came out of the grove, and began capering about and waving a waddy. donald pulled up his horse and looked at the black. he had a pair of pistols in the holsters of his saddle, but he did not draw them: there was no danger from a blackfellow a hundred yards off. but there was another behind him and much nearer, who came silently out of the ti-tree and thrust a spear through donald's neck. the horse galloped away towards glengarry's bridge. when the drovers saw the riderless horse, they supposed that macalister had been accidentally thrown, and they sent friday to look for him. he found him dead. the blacks had done their work quickly. they had stripped donald of everything but his trousers and boots, had mutilated him in their usual fashion, and had disappeared. a messenger was sent to old macalister, and the young man was buried on the bank of the river near mcclure's grave. the new cemetery now contained three graves, the second being that of tinker ned, who shot himself accidentally when pulling out his gun from beneath a tarpaulin. lachlan macalister had had a long experience in dealing with blackfellows and bushrangers; he had been a captain in the army, and an officer of the border police. the murder of his nephew gave him both a professional and a family interest in chastising the criminals, and he soon organised a party to look for them. it was, of course, impossible to identify any blackfellow concerned in the outrage, and therefore atonement must be made by the tribe. the blacks were found encamped near a waterhole at gammon creek, and those who were shot were thrown into it, to the number, it was said, of about sixty, men, women, and children; but this was probably an exaggeration. at any rate, the black who capered about to attract young macalister's attention escaped, and he often afterwards described and imitated the part he took in what he evidently considered a glorious act of revenge. the gun used by old macalister was a double-barrelled purdy, a beautiful and reliable weapon, which in its time had done great execution. the dairy business at greenmount was carried on at a continual loss, and glengarry resolved to return to scotland. he sold his cows and their increase to thacker and mason, of sydney, for twenty-seven shillings and sixpence per head; his house was bought by john campbell. on the eve of his departure for sydney in the schooner 'coquette' (captain gaunson), a farewell dinner was given by the highlanders at the old port, and long mason, who had come from sydney to take delivery of the cows on behalf of thacker and mason, was one of the guests. but there was more of gloom than of gaiety around the festive board. all wished well to the young chief, but the very best of his friends could think of nothing cheerful to say to him. his enterprise had been a complete failure; the family tree of clanranald the dauntless had refused to take root in a strange land the glory had gone from it for ever, and there was nothing to celebrate in song or story. other men from the highlands failed to win the smiles of fortune in gippsland. at home, notwithstanding their tribal feuds, they held their own for two thousand years against the roman and saxon, the dane and the norman. only one hundred and fifty years ago (it seems now almost incredible) they nearly scared the hanoverian dynasty from the throne of england, and even yet, though scattered throughout the british empire, they are neither a fallen nor a falling race. glengarry returned to his tent early, and then the buying and selling of the five hundred cows became the subject of conversation; the whisky circulated, and long mason observed that unfriendly looks began to be directed towards himself. he was an englishman, a southron, and it was a foul shame and dishonour that such as he should pay a highland chief only twenty-seven shillings and sixpence for beasts that had cost ten pounds each. that was not the way in the good old days when the hardy men of the north descended from the mountains with broadsword and shield, lifted the cattle of the saxon, and drove them to their homes in the glens. the fervid temper of the gael grew hotter at the thought of the rank injustice which had been done, and it was decided that long mason should be drowned in the inlet. he protested against the decision with vigour, and apparently with reason. he said: "i did not buy the cattle at all. glengarry sold them to thacker and my brother in sydney, and i only came over to take delivery of them. what wrong have i done?" but the reasoning of the prosaic englishman was thrown to the winds: "ye've done everything wrong. ye should hae gin ten pund sterling apiece for the coos, and not twenty-sen and saxpence. it's a pity yer brither, and thacker, and macfarlane are no here the nicht, and we'd droon them, too." four strong men, shouting in gaelic the war-cry of sheriffmuir, "revenge, revenge, revenge to-day, mourning to-morrow!" seized the long limbs of the unfortunate mason, and in spite of his struggles bore him towards the beach. the water near the margin was shallow, so they waded in until it was deep enough for their purpose. there was a piercing cry, "help! murder! murder!" john campbell heard it, but it was not safe for a campbell to stand between a macdonnell and his revenge. however, captain davy and pateley jim came out of their huts to see what was the matter, and they waded after the highlanders. each seized a man by the collar and downhauled. there was a sudden whirlpool, a splashing and a spluttering, as all the five men went under and drank the brine. "i think," said pateley, "that will cool 'em a bit," and it did. long mason was a university man, educated for the church, but before his ordination to the priesthood he had many other adventures and misfortunes. after being nearly drowned by the highlanders he was placed in charge of woodside station by his elder brother; he tried to mitigate the miseries of solitude with drink, but he did so too much and was turned adrift. he then made his way to new zealand, and fought as a common soldier through the heki war. captain patterson, of the schooner 'eagle', met him at a new zealand port. he was wearing a long, ragged old coat, such as soldiers wore, was out of employment, and in a state of starvation. the captain took pity on him, brought him back to port albert, and he became a shepherd on a station near bairnsdale. while he was fighting the maoris his brother had gone home, and had sent to sydney money to pay his passage to england. but he could not be found, and the money was returned to london. at length captain bentley found out where he was, took him to sydney, gave him an outfit, and paid his passage to england. long mason, honest man that he was, sent back the passage money, was ordained priest, obtained a living near london, and roamed no more. he had a younger brother named leonard mason, who lived with coady buckley at prospect, near the ninety-mile, and became a good bushman. in leonard took up a station in north gippsland adjoining the mcleod's run, but the highlanders tried to drive him away by taking his cattle a long distance to a pound which had been established at stratford. the mcleods and their men were too many for leonard. he went to melbourne to try if the law or the government would give him any redress, but he could obtain no satisfaction. the continued impounding of his cattle meant ruin to him, and when he returned to gippsland he found his hut burned down and his cattle gone on the way to the pound. he took a double-barrelled gun and went after them. he found them at providence ponds, which was a stopping place for drovers. next morning he rose early, went to the stockyard with his gun, and waited till mcdougall, who was manager for the mcleods, came out with his stockmen. when they approached the yard he said: "i shall shoot the first man who touches those rails to take my cattle out." mcdougall laughed, and ordered one of his men to take down the slip-rails, but the man hesitated; he did not like the looks of mason. then mcdougall dismounted from his horse and went to the slip-rails, but as soon as he touched them mason shot him. coady buckley spared neither trouble nor expense in obtaining the best counsel for mason's defence at the trial in melbourne. he was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to nine years' imprisonment, but after a time was released on the condition of leaving victoria, and when last heard of was a drover beyond the murray. after the departure of glengarry, dancer could find no profitable employment in gippsland, and lived in a state of indigence. at last he borrowed sufficient money on a promissory note to pay his passage to ireland. in tipperary he became a baronet and a sheriff, and lived to a good old age. wanted, a cattle market. it seemed incredible to the first settlers in north gippsland that their new punjaub, the land of the five rivers, which emptied their waters into immense lakes, should communicate with the sea by no channel suitable for ships, and an expedition was organised to endeavour to find an outlet. mcmillan had two boats at his station at bushy park, but he had no sails, so he engaged davy as sailmaker and chief navigator on the intended voyage. the two men rode together from the old port up the track over tom's cap, and shot two pigeons by the way, which was fortunate, for when they arrived at kilmany park william pearson was absent, and his men were found to be living under a discipline so strict that his stock-keeper, jimmy rentoul, had no meat, and dared not kill any without orders; so mcmillan and davy fried the pigeons, and ate one each for supper. next morning they shot some ducks for breakfast, and then proceeded on their journey. they called at mewburn park, arrived at bushy park (mcmillan's own station), and davy began making the sails the same evening. next morning he crossed the river in a canoe, made out of a hollow log, to boisdale, lachlan macalister's station, and went to the milking yard. the management was similar to that of dancer at greenmount. eleven men and women were milking about one hundred and fifty cows, superintended by nine highlanders, who were sitting on the toprails discoursing in gaelic. one of them was jock macdonald, who was over eighteen stone in weight, too heavy for any ordinary horse to carry; the rest were macalisters, gillies, and thomsons. the stockmen were convicts, and they lived with the highlanders in a big building like the barracks for soldiers. every man seemed to do just what he liked, to kill what he liked, and to eat what he liked, and it was astonishing to see so little discipline on a station owned by a gentleman who had seen service both in the army and in the border police. the blacks were at this time very troublesome about the new stations. they began to be fond of beef, and in order to get it they drove fat cattle into the morasses and speared them. this proceeding produced strained relations between the two races, and the only effectual remedy was the gun. but many of the settlers had scruples about shooting blackfellows except in self-defence, and it could hardly be called self-defence to shoot one or more of the natives because a beast had been speared by some person or persons unknown. john campbell, at glencoe, tried a dog, a savage deerhound, which he trained to chase the human game. this dog acquired great skill in seizing a blackfellow by the heel, throwing him, and worrying him until campbell came up on his horse. when the dog had thus expelled the natives from glencoe, campbell agreed to lend him to little curlewis for three months in order to clear holey plains station. curlewis paid ten heifers for the loan of the dog, and campbell himself went to give him a start in the hunt, as the animal would not own any other man as master. but the blacks soon learned that campbell and his dog had left glencoe unprotected, and the second night after his departure they boldly entered the potato patch near his hut, and bandicooted the whole of his potatoes. when the sails were made, the two boats were provisioned with tea, sugar, flour, and a keg of whisky; the meat was carried in the shape of two live sheep, to be killed when required. the party consisted of eight men, and each man was armed with a double-barrelled gun. mcmillan, mclennan, loughnan, and davy went in one boat, and in the other boat were william pearson, john reeve, captain orr, and sheridan, who was manager for raymond at stratford. sheridan was a musical man, and took his flute with him. when everything was ready they dropped down the river to lake wellington, and took note of the soundings during the whole of the voyage as they went along. wherever they approached either shore, they saw natives or found traces of them. every beach was strewn with the feathers of the ducks, swans, and other birds they had killed, and it was difficult to find sufficient dead wood near the water to make a fire, the blacks having used so much of it at their numerous camping places. the gins had an ingenious system of capturing the ducks. they moved along under water, leaving nothing but their nostrils visible above the surface, and they were thus able to approach the unsuspecting birds. as opportunity offered they seized them by the legs, drew them quickly under water, and held them until they were drowned. when they had secured as many as they could hold in one hand they returned to land. one of the explorers always kept guard while the others slept, the first watch of each night being assigned to davy, who baked the damper for the next day. one of the sheep was killed soon after the voyage commenced; and the duty of taking ashore, tethering, and guarding the other sheep at each landing place was taken in turn by pearson and loughnan. at the lower end of the lakes the water was found to be brackish, so they went ashore at several places to look for fresh water. they landed on a flat at reeve's river, and davy found an old well of the natives, but it required cleaning out, so he went back to the boat for a spade. it was loughnan's turn that day to tether the sheep on some grassy spot, and to look after it; the animal by this time had become quite a pet, and was called jimmy. on coming near the boats davy looked about for jimmy, but could not see him and asked loughnan where he was. "oh, he is all right," said loughnan, "i did not tether him, but he is over there eating the reeds." "then he's gone," replied davy. every man became seriously alarmed and ran down to the reeds, for jimmy carried their whole supply of meat. they found his tracks at the edge of the water, and followed them to the foot of a high bluff, which they ascended, calling as they went repeatedly for jimmy. they looked in every direction, scanning especially the tops of the reeds to see if jimmy was moving amongst them, but they could see no sign of the sheep that was lost. the view of land and river, mountain and sea, was very beautiful, but they were too full of sorrow for jimmy to enjoy it. on going away they agreed to call the bluff jimmy's point, but other voyagers came afterwards who knew nothing of jimmy, and they named it kalimna, the beautiful. near the shore a number of sandpipers were shot, and stewed for dinner in the large iron pot which was half full of mutton fat. then the party pulled down to the entrance of the lakes at reeve's river, went ashore, and camped for the night. next day they found an outlet to the ocean, and sounded it as they went along, finding six feet of water on the bar at low tide. but the channel proved afterwards to be a shifting one; the strong current round cape howe, and the southerly gales, often filled it with sand, and it was not until many years had passed, and much money had been expended, that a permanent entrance was formed. in the meantime all the trade of gippsland was carried on first through the old port, and then through the new port albert. for ten years all vessels were piloted without buoy or beacon; in one year one hundred and forty having been entered inwards and outwards. the party now started on the return voyage. in going up the lakes a number of blacks were observed on the port beach, and the boats were pulled towards the land until they grounded, and some of the men went ashore. the natives were standing behind a small sand hummock calling out to the visitors. one of them had lost an eye, and another looked somewhat like a white man browned with the sun and weather, but only the upper part of his body could be seen above the sand. one of the men on shore said, "look at that white-fellow." that was the origin of the rumour which was soon spread through the country that the blacks had a white woman living with them, the result being that for a long time the blackfellows were hunted and harassed continually by parties of armed men. when the natives behind the sand hummock saw that the white men had no arms, they began to approach them without their spears. sheridan took up his flute, and they ran back to the scrub, but after he had played a while they came nearer again and listened to the music. after pulling two or three miles, another party of natives was seen running along the sands, and the explorers went ashore again at a point of land where seven or eight men had appeared, but not one was now visible. davy climbed up a honeysuckle tree, and then he could see them hiding in the scrub. several of them were seized and held by the white men, who gave them some sugar and then let them go. the boats then sailed away with a nice easterly breeze, and in mclennan's straits hundreds of blackfellows were seen up in the trees shouting and shaking their spears; but the boats were kept away in mid-stream, out of reach of the weapons. that night the camp was made at boney point, near the mouth of the river avon; the name was given to it on account of the large quantity of human bones found there. no watch was kept, as it was believed that all the blacks had been left behind in mclennan's straits. there was still some whisky left in the keg; and, before going to sleep, orr, loughnan, and sheridan sang and drank alternately until the vessel was empty. at daylight they pulled up the avon and landed at clydebank, which was at that time one of macalister's stations, but afterwards belonged to thomson and cunningham. after breakfast they walked to raymond's station at stratford, and then to mcmillan's at bushy park. the cattle brought over the mountains into gippsland soon grew fat, and the first settlers sold some of them to other men who came to search for runs; but the local demand was soon supplied. in two years and a half all the best land was occupied. an intending settler, who had driven a herd of cattle seven hundred miles, had some bitter complaints to make about the country in june, . he said: "the whole length of gippsland, from the bore of the mountains in which the road comes, is miles, and the breadth about fifteen miles, the whole area square miles, one-third of which is useless through scrub and morass, which leaves only , square miles come-at-able at all, and nearly a third of this is useless. on this , square miles of land there are , sheep, , cattle, and horses. other herds of cattle and about , sheep are expected daily. the blacks are continuing their outrages, robbing huts and gardens and slaughtering cattle wholesale, messrs. pearson and cunningham being the latest sufferers by the cannibals. sheep shearing is nearly completed, after paying a most exorbitant price to the shearers.* the wool is much lighter than in any other part of the colony, and the skins much thicker than in hotter climates;" and lastly, "a collection has been made for the support of a minister." but the minister was not supported long, and he had to shake the dust of gippsland off his feet. from dan to beersheba--from the bore in the mountains to the shores of corner inlet, all was barren to this disappointed drover. [footnote] *in the season of the average price per for sheep-shearing was s.; the highest price asked, s. d. and the squatters, in order to keep a foothold in the country, had to seek markets for their stock over the sea. the first to export cattle was james mcfarlane of heyfield. he chartered the schooner 'waterwitch' for pounds a month for six months, and found her in everything. she arrived on march nd, , but could not come up to the port being too sharp in the bottom, and drawing (when loaded with cattle) thirteen feet six inches, so she lay down at the oyster beds. mcfarlane borrowed the square punt from the 'clonmel' wreckers, a weak stockyard of tea tree was erected, and the punt was moored alongside. a block was made fast to the bottom of the punt, and a rope rove through it to a bullock's head, and the men hauled on the rope. sometimes a beast would not jump, and had to be levered and bundled into the punt neck and crop. then the men got into a boat, and reached over to make the rope fast from the head of the bullock to one of the eyebolts which were fixed round the punt, and even then the bullock would sometimes go overboard. it took a week to load twenty fat bullocks and twenty cows with their calves. the schooner set sail for new zealand on april nd, , and at port nicholson the bullocks were sold for fifteen and the cows for twelve pounds each, cash. the 'waterwitch' returned to port albert on april th, and took in another cargo of breeding cattle, which had to be sold on bills, the cash at port nicholson being exhausted. mcfarlane next sought for a market at hobarton, which was then supplied with beef from twofold bay. forty bullocks were put on board the 'waterwitch' in five days, and in forty-eight hours they were offered for sale in hobarton, and fetched fourteen pounds ten shillings a head--all but one, a snail-horned brute, which was very wild. when he landed, a number of soldiers were at drill in the paddock, and he charged the redcoats at once. they prepared to receive cavalry, but he broke through the ranks, scattered the citizens the whole length of liverpool street, and reached the open country. guisden, the auctioneer, sold the chance of him for eleven pounds. at this time, nobody in hobarton had heard of such a place as gippsland; but the fat cattle, which were far superior to those imported from twofold bay, soon made the new territory well known, and many enterprising men of various characters found their way to it from the island. mcfarlane sent over another cargo of forty bullocks, thirty-seven of which averaged fourteen pounds; one was lost, and two belonging to macalister, heavy weights, were sold for forty pounds ten shillings. mcmillan took over the 'waterwitch' for the next trip, and also chartered the schooners 'industry' and 'scotia', which were the first vessels brought up to the shipping place at port albert on august, rd, . each of these vessels took two cargoes to hobarton, which sold well, and then macalister chartered the brig 'pateena', which would hold sixty bullocks. the 'clonmel' punt was now dispensed with; the cattle were roped, put in the water, and made to swim between the vessel and a boat. a piece of small ratline was fixed to the slings, with the handlead made fast to it so that it would sink. the mate had the slings, and a man in the boat held the other end of the line, and with it he hauled the slings under the bullocks, which were then made fast, and the animal was hoisted up. in this way forty bullocks were shipped in three hours. oysters were obtained in great abundance at clonmel, snake island, and in other parts of the inlets, and the cattle vessels, after receiving their loading, took bags of oysters on board for sale at hobarton. in june, , the cutter 'lucy' took dozen to melbourne, and in july another dozen. in august the 'mary jane' took dozen, and the cutter 'domain' dozen. the oyster beds were soon destroyed, and when in course of a few years i was appointed inspector of fisheries at port albert i could never find a single dozen oysters to inspect, although i was informed that a certain reverend poacher near the caledonian canal could obtain a bucket full of them when so disposed. gippsland enjoyed one year of prosperity, followed by seven years of adversity. the price of stock declined so rapidly that in april, , the very best beasts only realized pounds per head, and soon afterwards it was estimated that there were in new south wales , fat bullocks which nobody would buy. moreover, the government was grievously in want of money, and in addition to the fees for depasturing licenses, exacted half-yearly assessments on the unsaleable flocks and herds. but the law exacted payment on live cattle only, so the squatters in their dire distress resolved to kill their stock and boil them, the hides and the resulting tallow being of some value. the hentys, in the portland district, commenced boiling their sheep in january, , and on every station in new south wales the paddocks still called the "boiling down" were devoted to the destruction of sheep and cattle and to the production of tallow. it was found that one hundred average sheep would yield one ton of tallow, and ten average bullocks also one ton, the price in london ranging from pounds to pounds per ton. by this device of boiling-down some of the pioneers were enabled to retain their runs until the discovery of gold. the squatters were assisted in their endeavours to diminish the numbers of their live stock by their neighbours, both black and white. it is absurd to blame the aborigines for killing sheep and cattle. you might as well say it is immoral for a cat to catch mice. hunting was their living; the land and every animal thereon was theirs; and after we had conferred on them, as usual, the names of savages and cannibals, they were still human beings; they were our neighbours, to be treated with mercy; and to seize their lands by force and to kill them was robbery and murder. the state is a mere abstraction, has neither body nor soul, and an abstraction cannot be sent either to heaven or hell. but each individual man will be rewarded according to his works, which will follow him. because the state erected a flag on a bluff overlooking the sea, sandy mcbean was not justified in shooting every blackfellow or gin he met with on his run, as i know he did on the testimony of an eye-witness. this is the age of whitewash. there is scarcely a villain of note on whose character a new coat has not been laboriously daubed by somebody, and then we are asked to take a new view of it. it does not matter very much now, but i should prefer to whitewash the aboriginals. j. p. fawkner wrote: "the military were not long here before the melbourne district was stained with the blood of the aborigines, yet i can safely say that in the year in which there was neither governor, magistrate, soldier, nor policemen, not one black was shot or killed in the melbourne district, except amongst or by the blacks themselves. can as much be said of any year since? i think not." in the year mr. latrobe was required to send to the council in sydney a return of all blacks and whites killed in the port phillip district since its first settlement. he said forty whites had been killed by the blacks, and one hundred and thirteen blacks had been reported as killed by the whites; but he added, "the return must not be looked upon as correct with respect to the number of aborigines killed." the reason is plain. when a white man murdered a few blacks it was not likely that he would put his neck into the hangman's noose by making a formal report of his exploit to mr. latrobe. all the surviving blackfellow could say was: "quamby dead --long time--white-fellow--plenty--shoot 'em." he related in eight words the decline and fall of his race more truly than the white man could do it in eight volumes. it is not so easy a task to justify the white men who assisted the squatters to diminish the numbers of their stock. they were principally convicts who had served their sentences, or part of them, in the island, and had come over to gippsland in cattle vessels. some of them lived honestly, about one hundred of them disappeared when the commissioner of crown lands arrived with his black and white police, and a few of the most enterprising spirits adopted the calling of cattle stealers, for which business they found special facilities in the two special surveys. ------------------------------------- two special surveys. a notice dated march th, , was gazetted in sydney to the following effect: "any holder of a land receipt to the extent of not less than five thousand one hundred and twenty acres may, if he think fit, demand a special survey of any land not hereinafter excepted, within the district of port philip, whether such land receipt be obtained in the manner pointed out in the 'government gazette' of the st january last, or granted by the land and emigration commissioners in london. "not more than one mile of frontage to any river, watercourse, or lake to be allowed to every four square miles of area; the other boundaries to be straight lines running north and south, east and west. "no land to be taken up within five miles of the towns of melbourne, geelong, williamstown, or portland. "the right of opening roads through any part of the land to be reserved for the crown, but no other reservation whatever to be inserted in the deeds of grant." the port albert company took up land, under the above conditions, between the albert and tarra rivers. it was in orr's name, and is still known as orr's special survey. a surveyor was appointed to mark and plan the boundaries; he delegated the work to another surveyor. next a re-survey was made, then a sub-divisional survey, and then other surveys went on for fifty years, with ever-varying results. it is now a well-established fact that orr's special survey is subject to an alternate expansion and contraction of area, which from time to time vitiates the labour of every surveyor, and has caused much professional animosity. old men with one foot in the grave, in this year , are still accusing each other of embezzling acres of it; the devil of discord, and mercury the god of thieves, encamped upon it; the port albert company fell into its slough of despond, which in the court of equity was known as "kemmis v. orr," and there all the members perished. mr. john reeve had a land receipt, and wanted land. after he had taken up the station known as snake ridge he looked about for a good special survey. he engaged davy and his whaleboat for a cruise in port albert waters and mcmillan, sheridan, and loughnan were of the party. they went up the narrow channel called the caledonian canal, examined the bluffs, shores, and islands of shallow inlet, and at night encamped on st. margaret's island. when shelter was required, davy usually put up the mainsail of his boat for a tent; but that night was so fine and warm that it was decided to avoid the trouble of bringing the sail ashore and putting it up. after supper the men lay around the fire, and one by one fell asleep; but about midnight heavy rain began to fall, the sail was brought ashore, and they all crept under it to keep themselves as dry as possible. the next morning was fair. on leaving the port it had been the intention of the party to return the same evening, and the boat was victualled for one day only. there was now nothing for breakfast but a little tea and sugar and a piece of damper: no flesh, fish, or fowl. davy was anxious to entertain his passengers to the best of his ability, especially mr. reeve, who, though not of delicate health, was a gentleman of refined tastes, and liked to have his meals prepared and served in the best style. fresh water was of the first necessity, and, after so much rain, should have been plentiful, but not a spoonful could anywhere be found: the soil of the island was sandy, and all the rain had soaked into it and disappeared. the damper having been exposed to the weather was saturated with water. there was in the boat a large three-legged iron pot, half filled with fat, a hard and compact dainty not liable to be spilled or wasted, and in it had been stewed many a savoury meal of sandpipers, parrots, rats, and quail. this pot had been fortunately left upright and uncoveredduring the night, and the abundant rain had filled it with fresh water. davy, with the intuition of artistic genius, at once saw the means of producing a repast fit for the gods. he poured the water which covered the fat from the iron pot into the kettle, which he placed on the fire for the purpose of making tea. he cut the sodden damper into substantial slices, put them into the pot, and cooked them in the fat over the fire. when well done they tasted like fried bread, and gave entire satisfaction; mr. reeve observing, when the feast was finished, that he had never in all his life eaten a better breakfast. a start was made for the port, but the wind came dead ahead, and the men had to pull the whole way across the inlet, through the caledonian canal, and as far as long point. there they went ashore for a rest, and mr. reeve asked davy if he could find the mouth of the tarra river. davy said he had never been there, but he had no doubt that he could find it, as he had seen the river when he was duck-shooting. it was then high water, and the wind still blowing strongly from the west, so a reef was taken in the lug, and the boat ran right into the tarra as far as the site of the present court-house. there the party landed, and after looking at the country mr. reeve decided to take up his special survey there. it was partly open forest, but it contained, also, a considerable area of rich flats covered with luxuriant tea tree and myrtle scrub, which in course of time became mingled with imported blackberry bushes, whins, sweetbriar, and thistles. any quantity of labour might be spent on it with advantage to the owner, so the following advertisement appeared in the public journals: to capitalists and the industrious labouring class. gippsland--port albert. an accurate plan of mr. reeve's special survey of tarra vale having been completed, notice is hereby given that farms of various sizes are now open for sale or lease. the proprietor chiefly desires the establishment of a respectable tenantry, and will let these farms at the moderate rent of one bushel of wheat per acre. the estate consists of , acres of rich alluvial flats; no part of the estate is more than two miles from the freshwater stream of tarra. many families already occupy purchased allotments in the immediate vicinity of the landing place and tarra ville. there is a licensed hotel, good stores and various tradesmen, likewise dray roads from maneroo and port philip. apply to f. taylor, tarra ville, or john brown, melbourne. there were several doubtful statements in this notice, but, as the law says, "buyer, beware." joshua dayton was not a capitalist, but he belonged to the industrious labouring class, and he offered himself, and was accepted as a respectable tenant, at the rental of a bushel of wheat to the acre. he was a thief on principle, but simple mr. taylor, of tarraville, put his trust in him, because it would be necessary to fence and improve the land in order to produce the bushel of wheat. the fee simple, at any rate, would be safe with mr. reeve; but we live and learn--learn that there are men ingenious enough to steal even the fee simple, and transmit it by will to their innocent children. the farm comprised a beautiful and rich bend of the tarra, forming a spacious peninsula. joshua erected a fence across the isthmus, leaving the rest of his land open to the trespass of cattle, which were, therefore, liable to be driven away. but he did not drive them away; he impounded them within his bend, and at his leisure selected the fattest for slaughter, thus living literally on the fat of the land. he formed his boiling-down establishment in a retired glade, surrounded with tea-tree, tall and dense, far from the prying eyes and busy haunts of men. his hut stood on a gentle rise above the highest flood mark, and in close proximity to the slip rails, which were jealously guarded by his cerberus, neddy, a needy immigrant of a plastic nature, whose mind succumbed under the strong logic of his employer. neddy had so far led an honest life, and did not fall into habits of thievery without some feelings of compunction. when joshua first drove cattle into the bend, he did not tell neddy that he had stolen them. oh, no! he said: "here are a few beasts i have had running about for some time, and i think i'll kill one or two of the fattest and make tallow of them. beef is worth next to nothing, and we must make a living somehow. and i know you would like a little fresh beef, neddy; a change of diet is good for the health." but neddy was not so much of a fool as to be able to shut his eyes to the nature of the boiling-down business. the brands were too various, and joshua claimed them all. neddy said one night: "don't you think, joshua, this game of yours is rather dangerous? why, it's nothing better than cattle stealing; and i've heern folks say at one time it was a hanging matter. you may be found out some day by an unlucky chance, and then what will you do?" "you mustn't call it cattle stealing, neddy; that doesn't sound well," said joshua. "i call it back pay for work and labour done. i have good reasons for it. i was sent out for stealing a horse, which i never did steal; i only bought it cheap for a couple of pounds. they sent me to the island, and i worked seven years for a settler for nothing. now i put it to you, neddy, as an honest and sensible man, am i to get no pay for that seven years' work? and how am i to get it if i don't take it myself? the government will give me no pay; they'd give me another seven years if they could. but you see, there are no peelers here, no beaks, and no blooming courts, so i intend to make hay while the sun shines, which means tallow in these times. all these settlers gets as much work out of government men as they can get for nothing, and if you says two words to 'em they'll have you flogged. so while i does my seven years i says nothing, but i thinks, and i makes up my mind to have it out of 'em when my time comes. and i say it's fair and honest to get your back wages the best way you can. these settlers are all tarred with the same brush; they make poor coves like us work for 'em, and flog us like bullocks, and then they pretend they are honest men. i say be blowed to such honesty." "but if you are caught, joshua, what then?" "well, we must be careful. i don't think they'll catch me in a hurry. you see, i does my business quick: cuts out the brand and burns it first thing, and always turns out beasts i don't want directly." other men followed the example of joshua, so that between troubles with the black men, troubles with the white men, and the want of a market for his stock, the settler's days were full of anxiety and misery. and, in addition, the government in sydney was threatening him with a roaming taxgatherer under the name of a commissioner of crown lands, to whom was entrusted the power of increasing or diminishing assessments at his own will and pleasure. the settler therefore bowed down before the lordly tax-gatherer, and entertained him in his hut with all available hospitality, with welcome on his lips, smiles on his face, and hatred in his heart. the fees and fines collected by the commissioners all over new south wales had fallen off in one year to the extent of sixty-five per cent; more revenue was therefore required, and was it not just that those who occupied crown lands should support the dignity of the crown? then the blacks had to be protected, or otherwise dealt with. they could not pay taxes, as the crown had already appropriated all they were worth, viz., their country. but they were made amenable to british law; and in that celebrated case, "regina v. jacky jacky," it was solemnly decided by the judge that the aborigines were subjects of the queen, and that judge went to church on the sabbath and said his prayers in his robes of office, wig and all. jacky jacky was charged with aiding and abetting long bill to murder little tommy. he said: "another one blackfellow killed him, baal me shoot him." the court received his statement as equivalent to a plea of "not guilty." witness billy, an aboriginal, said: "i was born about twenty miles from sydney. if i don't tell stories, i shall go to heaven; if i do, i shall go down below. i don't say any prayers. it is the best place to go up to heaven. i learnt about heaven and hell about three years ago at yass plains when driving a team there. can't say what's in that book; can't read. if i go below, i shall be burned with fire." billy was sworn, and said: "i knew jacky jacky and cosgrove, the bullock driver. i know fyans ford. i know manifolds. i went from fyans ford with cosgrove, a drove of cattle, and a dray for manifolds. i knew little tommy at port fairy. he is dead. i saw him dying. when driving the team, i fell in with a lot of blacks. they asked me what black boy tommy was; told them my brother. they kept following us two miles and a half. jacky jacky said; 'billy, i must kill that black boy in spite of you.'" jacky jacky said sharply, "borack." "jacky jacky, who was the king, got on the dray, and little tommy got down; a blackfellow threw a spear at him, and hit him in the side; the king also threw a spear, and wounded him; a lot of blacks also speared him. long bill came up and shot him with a ball. jacky jacky said to cosgrove: 'plenty gammon; i must kill that black boy.' little tommy belonged to the port fairy tribe, which had always been fighting with jacky jacky's tribe." "it's all gammon," said jacky jacky, "borack me, its another blackfellow." "jacky jacky, when with the dray, spoke his own language which i did not understand. i was not a friend of little tommy. i was not afraid of the port fairy tribe. i am sometimes friend with jacky jacky's tribe. if i met him at yass i can't say whether i should spear him or not; they would kill him at the goulburn river if he went there. blackfellow not let man live who committed murder." are the aboriginals amenable to british law? question argued by learned counsel, messrs. stawell and barry. his honor the resident judge said: "the aboriginals are amenable to british law, and it is a mercy to them to be under that control, instead of being left to seek vengeance in the death of each other; it is a mercy to them to be under the protection of british law, instead of slaughtering each other." jacky jacky was found guilty of "aiding and abetting." the principals in the murder were not prosecuted, probably could not be found. before leaving the court, he turned to the judge and said, "you hang me this time?" he only knew two maxims of british law applicable to his race, and these he had learned by experience. one maxim was "shoot 'em" and the other was "hang him." there is abundant evidence to prove that an aboriginal legal maxim was, "the stranger is an enemy, kill him." it was for that reason jacky jacky killed little tommy, who was a stranger, belonging to the hostile port fairy tribe. joshua and neddy carried on the boiling down business successfully for some time, regularly shipping tallow to melbourne in casks, until some busybody began to insinuate that their tallow was contraband. then joshua took to carrying goods up the country, and neddy took to drink. he died at the first party given by mother murden at her celebrated hostelry. there were at this time about two hundred men, women, and children scattered about the neighbourhood of new leith (afterwards called port albert), the old port, the new alberton and tarra vale. alberton, by the way, was gazetted as a township before the "village" of st. kilda was founded. there were no licenses issued for the various houses of entertainment, vulgarly called "sly grog shops." there was no church, no school, no minister, and no music, until mother murden imported some. it was hidden in the recesses of a barrel organ; and, in order to introduce the new instrument to the notice of her patrons and friends, mother murden posted on her premises a manuscript invitation to a grand ball. she was anxious that everything should be carried out in the best style, and that the festive time should commence at least without intoxication. she therefore had one drunken man carried into the "dead room," another to an outside shed. neddy, the third, had become one of her best customers, and therefore she treated him kindly. he was unsteady on his legs, and she piloted him with her own hands to the front door, expecting that he would find a place for himself somewhere or other. she gave him a gentle shove, said "good night, neddy," and closed the door. she then cleared a space for the dancers in her largest room, placed the barrel-organ on a small table in one corner, and made her toilet. the guests began to arrive, and mother murden received them in her best gown at the front door. neddy was lying across the threshold. "it's only neddy," she said apologetically; "he has been taking a little nobbler, and it always runs to his head. he'll be all right by-and-by. come in my dears, and take your things off. you'll find a looking-glass in the room behind the bar." the gentlemen stepped over neddy, politely gave their hands to the ladies, and helped them over the human obstacle. when everything was ready, mother murden sat down by the barrel-organ, took hold of the handle, and addressed her guests: "now boys, choose your girls." [illustration ] the biggest bully, a "conditional pardon" man of the year , acted as master of the ceremonies, and called out the figures. he also appropriated the belle of the ball as his partner. the dancing began with great spirit, but as the night wore on the music grew monotonous. there were only six tunes in the organ, and not all the skill and energy of mother murden could grind one more out of it. neddy lay across the doorway, and was never disturbed. he did not wake in time to take any part in the festive scene, being dead. now and then a few of the dancers stepped over him, and remarked, "neddy is having a good rest." in the cool night air they walked to and fro, then, returning to the ball-room, they took a little refreshment, and danced to the same old tunes, until they were tired. mother murden's first ball was a grand success for all but neddy. "no sleep till morn when youth and pleasure meet, to chase the glowing hours with flying feet." but morn reveals unsuspected truths, and wrinkled invisible in the light of tallow candles. the first rays of the rising sun fell on neddy's ghastly face, and the "conditional pardon" man said, "why, he's dead and cold." mother murden came to the door with a tumbler in her hand, containing a morning nip for neddy, "to kill the worm," as the latins say; but the worm was dead already. the merry-makers stood around; the men looked serious and the ladies shivered. they said the air felt chilly, so they bade one another good morning and hurried home. it is hard to say why one sinner is taken and the other left. joshua's time did not arrive until many years afterwards, when we had acquitted him at the general sessions; but that is another story. how government came to gippsland. at this time there was no visible government in gippsland. the authorities in sydney and melbourne must have heard of the existence of the country and of its settlement, but they were content for a time with the receipt of the money paid into the treasury for depasturing licenses and for assessments on stock. in the land fund received in new south wales amounted to , pounds; in it was only , pounds; and in sir george gipps, in his address to the council severely reprimanded the colonists for the reckless spirit of speculation and overtrading in which they had indulged during the two preceding years. this general reprimand had a more particular application to mr. benjamin boyd, the champion boomer of those days. labourers out of employment were numerous, and contractors were informed by 'gazette' notice that the services of one hundred prisoners were available for purposes of public utility, such as making roads, dams, breakwaters, harbours, bridges, watchhouses, and police buildings. assignees of convicts were warned that if they wished to return them to the custody of the government, they must pay the expense of their conveyance to sydney, otherwise all their servants would be withdrawn, and they would become ineligible as assignees of prisoners in future. between the first of july, , and the first of november, , , bounty immigrants had been received in sydney. the bounty orders were suspended in the autumn of the latter year, but in lord stanley was of opinion that the colony could beneficially receive ten thousand more immigrants during the current year. many married labourers could find no work in sydney, and in november, , the government requested persons sending wool-drays to the city to take families to inland districts gratis. a regular stream of half-pay officers also poured into the colony, and made sir george's life a burden. they all wanted billets, and if he made the mistake of appointing a civilian to some office, captain smith, with war in his eye and fury in his heart, demanded an interview at once. he said: "i see by this morning's 'gazette' that some fellow of the name of jones has been made a police superintendent, and here am i, an imperial officer, used to command and discipline, left out in the cold, while that counter-jumper steps over my head. i can't understand your policy, sir george. what will my friends of the club in london say, when they hear of it, but that the service is going to the dogs?" so captain smith obtained his appointment as superintendent of police, and with a free sergeant and six convict constables, taken, as it were, out of bond, was turned loose in the bush. he had been for twenty years in the preventive service, but had never captured a prize more valuable than a bottle of whisky. he knew nothing whatever about horses, and rode like a beer barrel, but he nevertheless lectured his troopers about their horses and accoutrements. the sergeant was an old stockrider, and he one day so far forgot the rules of discipline as to indulge in a mutinous smile, and say: "well, captain, you may know something about a ship, but i'll be blowed if you know anything about a horse." that observation was not entered in any report, but the sergeant was fined pounds for "insolence and insubordination." the sum of , pounds was voted for police services in , and captain smith was paid out of it. all the revenue went to sydney, and very little of it found its way to melbourne, so that mr. latrobe's government was sometimes deprived of the necessaries of life. alberton was gazetted as a place for holding courts of petty sessions, and messrs. john reeve and john king were appointed justices of the peace for the new district. then michael shannon met james reading on the port albert road, robbed him of two orders for money and a certificate of freedom, and made his way to melbourne. there he was arrested, and remanded by the bench to the new court at alberton. but there was no court there, no lock-up, and no police; and mr. latrobe, with tears in his eyes, said he had no cash whatever to spend on michael shannon. the public journals denounced gippsland, and said it was full of irregularities. therefore, on september th, , charles j. tyers was appointed commissioner of crown lands for the district. he endeavoured to make his way overland to the scene of his future labours, but the mountains were discharging the accumulated waters of the winter and spring rainfall, every watercourse was full, and the marshes were impassable. the commissioner waited, and then made a fresh start with six men and four baggage horses. midway between dandenong and the bunyip he passed the hut of big mat, a new settler from melbourne, and obtained from him some information about the best route to follow. it began to rain heavily, and it was difficult to ford the swollen creeks before arriving at the big hill. at shady creek there was nothing for the horses to eat, and beyond it the ground became treacherous and full of crabholes. at the moe the backwater was found to be fully a quarter of a mile wide, encumbered with dead logs and scrub, and no safe place for crossing the creek could be found. during the night the famishing horses tore open with their teeth the packages containing the provisions, and before morning all that was left of the flour, tea, and sugar was trodden into the muddy soil and hopelessly lost; not an ounce of food could be collected. there was no game to be seen; every bird and beast seemed to have fled from the desolate ranges. mr. tyers had been for many years a naval instructor on board a man-of-war, understood navigation and surveying, and, it is to be presumed, knew the distance he had travelled and the course to be followed in returning to port philip; but there were valleys filled with impenetrable scrub, creeks often too deep to ford, and boundless morasses, so that the journey was made crooked with continual deviations. if a black boy like mcmillan's friday had accompanied the expedition, his native instinct would, at such a time, have been worth all the science in the world. the seven men, breakfastless, turned their backs to gippsland. the horses were already weak and nearly useless, so they and all the tents and camp equipage were abandoned. each man carried nothing but his gun and ammunition. all day long they plodded wearily through the bush--wading the streams, climbing over the logs, and pushing their way through the scrub. only two or three small birds were shot, which did not give, when roasted, a mouthful to each man. at night a large fire was made, and the hungry travellers lay around it. next morning they renewed their journey, mr. tyers keeping the men from straggling as much as he could, and cheering them with the hope of soon arriving at some station. no game was shot all that day; no man had a morsel of food; the guns and ammunition seemed heavy and useless, and one by one they were dropped. it rained at intervals, the clothing became soaked and heavy, and some of the men threw away their coats. a large fire was again made at night, but no one could sleep, shivering with cold and hunger. next morning one man refused to go any further, saying he might as well die where he was. he was a convict accustomed to life in the bush, and mr. tyers was surprised that he should be the first man to give way to despair, and partly by force and partly by persuasion he was induced to proceed. about midday smoke was seen in the distance, and the hope of soon obtaining food put new life into the wayfarers. but they soon made a long straggling line of march; the strongest in the front, the weakest in the rear. the smoke issued from the chimney of the hut occupied by big mat. he was away looking after his cattle, but his wife norah was inside, busy with her household duties, while the baby was asleep in the corner. there was a small garden planted with vegetables in front of the hut, and norah, happening to look out of the window during the afternoon, saw a strange man pulling off the pea pods and devouring them. the strange man was mr. tyers. some other men were also coming near. "they are bushrangers," she said running to the door and bolting it, "and they'll rob the hut and maybe they'll murder me and the baby." that last thought made her fierce. she seized an old tower musket, which was always kept loaded ready for use, and watched the men through the window. they came into the garden one after another, and at once began snatching the peas and eating them. there was something fearfully wild and strange in the demeanour of the men, but norah observed that they appeared to have no firearms and very little clothing. they never spoke, and seemed to take no notice of anything but the peas. "the lord preserve us," said norah, "i wish mat would come." her prayer was heard, for mat came riding up to the garden fence with two cattle dogs, which began barking at the strangers. mat said: "hello, you coves, is it robbing my garden ye are?" mr. tyers looked towards mat and spoke, but his voice was weak, his mouth full of peas, and mat could not tell what he was saying. he dismounted, hung the bridle on to a post, and came into the garden. he looked at the men, and soon guessed what was the matter with them; he had often seen their complaint in ireland. "poor craythurs," he said, "it's hungry ye are, and hunger's a killing disorder. stop ating they pays to wonst, or they'll kill ye, and come into the house, and we'll give ye something better." the men muttered, but kept snatching off the peas. norah had unbolted the door, and was standing with the musket in her hand. "take away the gun, norah, and put the big billy on the fire, and we'll give 'em something warm. the craythurs are starving. i suppose they are runaway prisoners, and small blame to 'em for that same, but we can't let 'em die of hunger." the strangers had become quite idiotic, and wou'd not leave the peas, until mat lost all patience, bundled them one by one by main force into his hut, and shut the door. he had taken the pledge from father mathew before he left ireland, and had kept it faithfully; but he was not strait-laced. he had a gallon of rum in the hut, to be used in case of snake-bite and in other emergencies, and he now gave each man a little rum and water, and a small piece of damper. rum was a curse to the convicts, immigrants, and natives. its average price was then about s. d. per gallon. the daily ration of a soldier consisted of one pound of bread, one pound of fresh meat, and one-seventh of a quart of rum. but on this day, to mr. tyers and his men, the liquor was a perfect blessing. he was sitting on the floor with his back to the slabs. "you don't know me, mat?" "know ye, is it? sure i never clapped eyes on ye before, that i know of. are ye runaway government men? tell the truth, now, for i am not the man to turn informer agin misfortunate craythurs like yourselves." "my name is tyers. i passed this way, you may remember, not very long ago." "what! mr. tyers, the commissioner? sure i didn't know you from adam. so ye never went to gippsland at all?" "our horses got at the provisions and spoiled them; so we had to come back, and we have had nothing to eat for three days. there is one man somewhere behind yet; i am afraid he will lie down and die. do you think you could find him?" "for the love of mercy, i'll try, anyway. norah, dear, take care of the poor fellows while i go and look for the other man; and mind, only to give 'em a little food and drink at a time, or they'll kill their wake stomachs with greediness; and see you all do just as norah tells you while i'm away, for you are no better than childer." mat galloped away to look for the last man, while his wife watched over the welfare of her guests. she said: "the lord save us, and be betune us and harm, but when i seen you in the garden i thought ye were bushrangers, and i took up the ould gun to shoot ye." mat soon found the last man, put him on his horse, and brought him to the hut. next morning he yoked his bullocks, put all his guests into the dray, and started for dandenong. on december rd, , mr. tyers and his men arrived in melbourne, and he reported to mr. latrobe the failure of his second attempt to reach gippsland. while the commissioner and his men were vainly endeavouring to reach the new country, seven other men were suffering famine and extreme hardships to get away from it. they had arrived at the old port by sea, having been engaged to strip bark by mr. p. w. walsh, usually known in melbourne as paddy walsh. he had been chief constable in launceston. many years before batman or fawkner landed in port philip, parties of whalers were sent each year to strip wattle bark at western port. griffiths and co. had found the business profitable, and paddy walsh came to the conclusion that there was money to be made out of bark in gippsland. he therefore engaged seven men and shipped them by schooner, writing to a storekeeper at the old port to receive the bark, ship it to melbourne, and supply the strippers with the requisite stores. the seven men landed at the old port and talked to the pioneers. they listened to their dismal accounts of starvation on roast flathead and mutton-birds' eggs, of the ferocity of the blacks, of the murder of macalister, of the misfortunes of glengarry. the nine-pounder gun still stood at the corner of the company's store, pointed towards the scrub, a silent warning to the new men of the dangers in store for them. they took their guns and went about the bush looking for wattle trees, but they could not find in any place a sufficient quantity to make the business profitable. there was no regular employment to be had, but fortunately the schooner 'scotia', chartered by john king, went ashore in a gale, and four of the barkers, all irishmen obtained a few days' work in taking out her mud ballast. but no permanent livelihood could be expected from shipwrecks, and the seven strippers resolved, if possible, to return to melbourne. they wanted to see paddy walsh once more, but they had no money, and the storekeeper refused to pay their fare by sea. after much negotiation, they obtained a week's rations, and gave all the tools they had brought with them to captain davy in payment for his trouble in landing them at one tree hill. they were informed that brodribb and hobson had made western port in four days on foot, and of course they could do the same. four of the men were named crow, sparrow, fox, and macnamara; of the other three two were englishmen, smith and brown; the third, a native of london, named spiller, installed himself in the office of captain on account of his superior knowledge. he guaranteed to lead the party in a straight line to western port. he said he could box the compass; he had not one about him, but that made no difference. he would lay out their course every morning; they had to travel westward; the sun rose in the east, everybody knew as much as that; so all he had to do was to turn his back to the rising sun, and march straight on to western port which was situated in the west. the men agreed that spiller's theory was a very good one; they could not think of any objection to it. each man carried his blanket and rations, his gun and ammunition. every morning spiller pointed out the course to be taken and led the way. from time to time, with a look of extreme wisdom, he took observations of the position of the sun, and studied the direction of his own shadow on the ground. for five days the men followed him with great confidence, and then they found that their rations were all consumed, and there was no sign of western port or any settlement. they began to grumble, and to mistrust their captain; they said he must have been leading them astray, otherwise they would have seen some sign of the country being inhabited, and they formed a plan for putting spiller's knowledge of inland navigation to the test. a start was made next morning, the cockney as usual, taking the lead. one man followed him, but kept losing ground purposely, merely keeping the leader in sight; the others did the same. before the last man had lost sight of the camp, he could see spiller in the distance walking towards it. he then uttered a long coo-ee, which was answered by every man of the party. they thought some valuable discovery had been made. one by one they followed the call and were soon assembled at the still burning embers they had lately left. "a nice navigator you are, ain't you, spiller? do you know where you are now?" asked brown. "well, i must say there seems to be some mistake," said spiller. "i came along when i heard the coo-ee, and found myself here. it is most unaccountable. here is where we camped last night, sure enough. it is most surprising." "yes, it is surprising," said smith. "you know the compass, don't you, you conceited little beggar. you can box it and make a bee-line for western port, can't you? here you have been circussing us round the country, nobody knows where, until we have not a morsel of food left; but if i am to be starved to death through you, you miserable little hound, i am not going to leave you alive. what do you say, mates? let us kill him and eat him. i'll do the job myself if nobody else likes it. i say nothing could be fairer." sparrow, one of the irishmen, spoke. he was a spare man, six feet high, had a long thin face, a prominent nose, sloping shoulders, mild blue eyes, and a most gentle voice. i knew him after he returned to gippsland and settled there. he was averse to quarrelling and fighting; and, to enable him to lead a peaceable life, he carried a short riding whip with a hammer handle, and kept the lash twisted round his hand. he was a conscientious man too, and had a strong moral objection to the proposal of killing and eating spiller; but he did not want to offend the company, and he made his refusal as mild as possible. "it's a think i wouldn't like to quarrel about with no man," he said, "and the lord knows i am as hungry as any of you; and if we die through this misleading little chap i couldn't say but he would be guilty of murdering us, and we might be justified in making use of what little there is of him. but for my part i couldn't take my share of the meat--not to-day at any rate, because you may disremember it's friday, and it's agen the laws of the church to ate meat this day. so i'd propose that we wait till to-morrow, and if we grow very wake with the hunger, we can make use of the dog to stay our stomachs a little while longer, and something better may turn up in the meantime." "is it to cook my dog watch you mean?" asked crow. (here watch went to his master, and lay down at his feet, looking up in his face and patting the ground with his tail.) "i tell you what it is, sparrow, you are not going to ate my dog. what has the poor fellow done to you, i'd like to know? you may cook spiller if you like, to-day or to-morrow, it's all the same to me--and i grant he well deserves it --but if you meddle with watch you'll have to deal with me." "it's no use going on this way, mates," said brown. "we might as well be moving while we have strength enough to do so. come along." the men began to rise to their feet. macnamara suddenly snatched spiller's gun, and fired off both barrels; he then said, "now hand over your shot and powder." spiller, half scared to death, handed them over. "now," said macnamara, "you are my prisoner. i am going to take care of you until you are wanted; and if i see you so much as wink the wrong way i'll blow your brains out, if you have any. here's your empty gun. now march." all the men followed. the country was full of scrub, and they walked through it in indian file. not a bird or beast was killed that day or the next. a consultation was held at night, and it was agreed to kill watch in the morning if nothing else turned up, crow by this time being too hungry to say another word in favour of his dog. but at daylight an eaglehawk was watching them from a tree, and brown shot it. it was soon put in the ashes, and when cooked was divided among the seven. on the eighth day macnamara said, "i can smell the ocean." his name means "sons of the sea," and he was born and reared on the shore of the atlantic. sand hummocks were soon seen, and the roar of the breakers beyond could be heard. two redbills were shot and eaten, and spiller and watch were kept for future use. on the ninth day they shot a native bear, which afforded a sumptuous repast, and gave them strength to travel two days longer. when they camped at night a tribe of blacks made a huge fire within a short distance, howling their war songs, and brandishing their weapons. it was impossible to sleep or to pass a peaceful night with such neighbours, so they crawled nearer to the savages and fired a volley at them. then there was silence, which lasted all night. next morning they found a number of spears and other weapons which the blacks had left on the ground; these they threw into the fire, and then resumed their miserable journey. on this day cattle tracks were visible, and at last, completely worn out, they arrived at chisholm's station, eleven days after leaving one tree hill. they still carried their guns, and had no trouble in obtaining food during the rest of their journey to melbourne. at the same time that mr. tyers reported his failure to reach gippsland, the seven men reported to walsh their return from it. the particulars of these interviews may be imagined, but they were never printed, mr. john fawkner, with unusual brevity, remarking that "gippsland appears to be sinking into obscurity." some time afterwards it was stated that "a warrant had been issued for mr p. walsh, formerly one of our leading merchants, on a charge of fraud committed in . warrant returned 'non est inventus'; but whether he has left the colony, or is merely rusticating, does not appear. being an uncertificated bankrupt, it would be a rather dangerous experiment, punishable by law with transportation for fifteen years." but mr. tyers could not afford to allow gippsland to sink into obscurity; his official life and salary depended on his finding it. a detachment of border and native police had arrived from sydney by the 'shamrock', and some of them were intended as a reinforcement for gippsland, "to strengthen the hands of the commissioner in putting down irregularities that at present exist there." dr. holmes was sending a mob of cattle over the mountains, and mr. tyers ordered his troopers to travel with them, arranging to meet them at the head of the glengarry river. he avoided this time all the obstacles he had formerly encountered by making a sea voyage, and he landed at port albert on the th day of january, . gippsland under the law. as soon as it was known at the old port that a commissioner of crown lands had arrived, davy, the pilot, hoisted a flag on his signal staff, and welcomed the representative of law and order with one discharge from the nine-pounder. he wanted to be patriotic, as became a free-born briton. but he was very sorry afterwards; he said he had made a mistake. the proper course would have been to hoist the flag at half-mast, and to fire minute guns, in token of the grief of the pioneers for the death of freedom. mr. tyers rode away with a guide, found his troopers at the head of the glengarry, and returned with them over tom's cap. he camped on the tarra, near the present brewery bridge, and his black men at night caught a number of blackfish, which were found to be most excellent. next day the commissioner entered on his official duties, and began to put down irregularities. he rode to the old port, and halted his men in front of the company's store. all the inhabitants soon gathered around him. he said to the storekeeper: "my name is tyers. i am the commissioner of crown lands. i want to see your license for this store." "this store belongs to the port albert company," replied john campbell. "we have no license, and never knew one was required in such a place as this." "you are, then, in illegal occupation of crown lands, and unless you pay me twenty pounds for a license i am sorry to say it will be my duty to destroy your store," said mr. tyers. there were two other stores, and a similar demand was made at each of them for the pounds license fee, which was paid after some demur, and the licenses were signed and handed to the storekeepers. davy's hut was the next visited. "who owns this building?" asked mr. tyers. "i do," said davy. "i put it up myself." "have you a license?" "no, i have not. never was asked for one since i came here, and i don't see why i should be asked for one now." "well, i ask you now. you are in illegal occupation of crown lands, and you must pay me twenty pounds, or i shall have to destroy your hut." "i hav'nt got the twenty pounds," davy said: "never had as much money in my life; and i wouldn't pay it to you if i had it. i would like to know what right the government, or anybody else, has to ask me for twenty pounds for putting up a hut on this sandbank? i have been here with my family pretty nigh on to three years; sometimes nearly starved to death, living a good deal of the time on birds, and 'possums, and roast flathead; and what right, in the name of common sense, has the government to send you here to make me pay twenty pounds? what has the government done for me or anybody else in gippsland? they have already taken every penny they could get out of the settlers, and, as far as i know, have not spent one farthing on this side of the mountains. they did not even know there was such a country till mcmillan found it. it belonged to the blacks. there was nobody else here when we came, and if we pay anybody it should be the blackfellows. besides, if i had had stock, and money enough to take up a run, i could have had the pick of gippsland, twenty square miles, for ten pounds; and because i am a poor man you want me to pay twenty pounds for occupying a few yards of sand. where is the sense of that, i'd like to know? if you are an honest englishman, you ought to be ashamed of yourself for coming here with your troopers and carbines and pistols on such a business, sticking up a poor man for twenty pounds in the name of the government. why, no bushrangers could do worse than that." "you are insolent, my man. if you don't pay the money at once i'll give you just ten minutes to clear out, and then i shall order my men to burn down your hut. you will find that you can't defy the government with impunity." "burn away, if you like, and much good may it do you." pointing to his whaleboat on the beach, "there's the ship i came here in from melbourne, and that's the ship i shall go back in, and you daren't hinder me." mr. reeve was present, watching the proceedings and listening. he had influential friends in sydney, had a station at snake ridge, a special survey on the tarra, and he felt that it would be advisable to pour oil on the troubled waters. he said: "i must beg of you, mr. tyers, to excuse davy. he is our pilot, and there is no man in gippsland better qualified for that post, nor one whose services have been so useful to the settlers both here and at the lakes. we have already requested the government to appoint him pilot at the port; we are expecting a reply shortly, and it will be only reasonable that he should be allowed a site for his hut." "you see, mr. reeve, i must do my duty," said mr. tyers, "and treat all alike. i cannot allow one man to remain in illegal occupation, while i expel the others." "the settlers cannot afford to lose their pilot, and i will give you my cheque for the twenty pounds," said mr. reeve. "twelve months afterwards the cheque was sent back from sydney, and mr. reeve made a present of it to davy. "at this time the public journals used very strong language in their comments on the action of governors and government officials, and complaint was made in the house of commons that the colonial press was accustomed to use "a coarseness of vituperation and harshness of expression towards all who were placed in authority." but gentlemen were still civil to one another, except on rare occasions, and then their language was a strong as that of the journals, e.g.: "i, arthur huffington, surgeon, residing at the station of mr. w. bowman, on the ovens river, do hereby publicly proclaim george faithful, settler on the king river, to be a malicious liar and a coward. "ovens river, march th, . "you will find a copy of the above posted at every public-house between the ovens and melbourne, and at the corner of every street in the town." this defiance could not escape the notice of the lawyers, and they soon got the matter into their own hands. huffington brought an action of trespass on the case for libel against faithful, damages , pounds. it was all about branding a female calf; "duffing it" was the vulgar term, and to call a settler "duffer" was more offensive than if you called him a murderer. mr. stawell opened the pleadings, brushing up the fur of the two tiger cats thus: "here you have mr. faithful--the son of his father--the pink of superintendents--the champion of crown lands commissioners--the fighting man of the plains of goulburn--the fastidious beau brummel of the ovens river,"--and so on. arthur and george were soon sorry they had not taken a shot at each other in a paddock. the calf was a very valuable animal--to the learned counsel. on january th, , davy became himself an officer of the government he had denounced so fiercely, being appointed pilot at port albert by sir george gipps, who graciously allowed him to continue the receipt of the fee already charged, viz., three pounds for each vessel inwards and outwards. there were eight other huts on the sandbank, but as not one of the occupants was able to pay twenty pounds, their names are not worth mentioning. after making a formal demand for the money, and giving the trespassers ten minutes to take their goods away, mr. tyers ordered his men to set the buildings on fire, and in a short time they were reduced to ashes. the commissioner then rode back to his camp with the eighty pounds, and wrote a report to the government of the successful inauguration of law and order within his jurisdiction, and of the energetic manner in which he had commenced to put down the irregularities prevalent in gippsland. the next duty undertaken by the commissioner was to settle disputes about the boundaries of runs, and he commenced with those of captain macalister, who complained of encroachments. to survey each run with precision would take up much time and labour, so a new mode of settlement was adopted. by the regulations in force no single station was to consist of more than twenty square miles of area, unless the commissioner certified that more was required for stock possessed by applicant. this regulation virtually left everything to the goodwill and pleasure of the commissioner, who first decided what number of square miles he would allot to a settler, then mounted his horse, to whose paces he was accustomed, and taking his compass with him, he was able to calculate distances by the rate of speed of his horse almost as accurately as if he had measured them with a chain. these distances he committed to paper, and he gave to every squatter whose run he thus surveyed a description of his boundaries, together with a tracing from a chart of the district, which he began to make. he allotted to captain macalister all the country which he claimed, and a dispute between mr. william pearson and mr. john king was decided in favour of the latter. it was reported in sydney that mr. tyers was rather difficult of access, but it was believed he had given satisfaction to all and everyone with whom he had come in contact, except those expelled from the old port, and a few squatters who did not get as much land as they wanted. there were also about a hundred escaped prisoners in the country, but these never complained that the commissioner was difficult of access. the blacks were still troublesome, and i heard mr. tyers relate the measures taken by himself and his native police to suppress their irregularities. he was informed that some cattle had been speared, and he rode away with his force to investigate the complaint. he inspected the cattle killed or wounded, and then directed his black troopers to search for tracks, and this they did willingly and well. traces of natives were soon discovered, and their probable hiding-place in the scrub was pointed out to mr. tyers. he therefore dismounted, and directing two of his black troopers armed with carbines to accompany him, he held a pistol in each hand and walked cautiously into the scrub. the two black troopers discharged their carbines. the commissioner had seen nothing to shoot at, but his blacks soon showed him two of the natives a few yards in front, both mortally wounded. mr. tyers sent a report of the affair to the government, and that was the end of it. this manner of dealing with the native difficulty was adopted in the early days, and is still used under the name of "punitive expeditions." that judge who prayed to heaven in his wig and robes of office, said that the aborigines were subjects of the queen, and that it was a mercy to them to be under her protection. the mercy accorded to them was less than jedburgh justice: they were shot first, and not even tried afterwards. the settlers expelled from the sandbank at the old port required some spot on which they could put up their huts without giving offence to the superior powers. the port albert company excised a township from their special survey, and called it victoria; mr. robert turnbull bought acres, the present port albert, at pound per acre, and offered sites for huts to the homeless at the rate of pound per annum, on the condition that they carried on no business. the stores were removed from the old port to the new one, and the first settlement in gippsland was soon again overgrown with scrub and ferns. mr. reeve offered farms to the industrious at the rental of one bushel of wheat to the acre. for some time the township of tarraville was a favourite place of residence, because the swamps which surrounded port albert were impassable for drays during the winter months; the roads to maneroo and melbourne mentioned in mr. reeve's advertisement were as yet in the clouds. captain moore came from sydney in the revenue cutter 'prince george' to look for smugglers, but he did not find any. he was afterwards appointed collector for gippsland, and he came down again from sydney with a boat's crew of six prisoners, a free coxswain, and a portable house, in which he sate for the receipt of customs. for a time the commissioner resided at tarraville, and then he went to the lakes and surveyed a township at flooding creek, now called sale. his black troopers were in some cases useful, in others they were troublesome; they indulged in irregularities; there was no doubt that they drank rum procured in some inexplicable manner. they could not be confined in barracks, or remain continually under the eye of their chief, and it was not always possible to discover in what manner they spent their leisure hours. but occasionally some evidence of their exploits came to light, and mr. tyers became aware that his black police considered themselves as living among hostile tribes, in respect of whom they had a double duty to perform, viz., to track cattle spearers at the order of their chief, and on their own account to shoot as many of their enemies as they could conveniently approach. there were now ladies as well as gentlemen in gippsland, and one day the commissioner sailed away in his boat with a select party. after enjoying the scenery and the summer breezes for a few hours, he cast his eyes along the shore in search of some romantic spot on which to land. dead wood and dry sticks were extremely scarce, as the blacks used all they could find at their numerous camps. he was at length so fortunate as to observe a brown pile of decayed branches, and he said, "i think we had better land over there; that deadwood will make a good fire"; and the boat was steered towards it. but when it neared the land the air was filled with a stench so horrible that mr. tyers at once put the boat about, and went away in another direction. next day he visited the spot with his police, and he found that the dead wood covered a large pile of corpses of the natives shot by his own black troopers, and he directed them to make it a holocaust. the white men brought with them three blessings for the natives-- rum, bullets, and blankets. the blankets were a free gift by the government, and proved to the eyes of all men that our rule was kind and charitable. the country was rightfully ours; that was decided by the supreme court; we were not obliged to pay anything for it, but out of pure benignity we gave the lubras old gowns, and the black men old coats and trousers; the government added an annual blanket, and thus we had good reason to feel virtuous. we also appointed a protector of the aborigines, mr. g. a. robinson, at a salary of pounds per annum. he took up his residence on the then sweet banks of the yarra, and made excursions in various directions, compiling a dictionary. he started on a tour in the month of april, , making alberton his first halting-place, and intending to reach twofold bay by way of omeo. but he found the country very difficult to travel; he had to swim his horse over many rivers, and finally he returned to melbourne by way of yass, having added no less than , words to his vocabulary of the native languages. but the public journals spoke of his labours and his dictionary with contempt and derision. they said, "pshaw! a few mounted police, well armed, would effect more good among the aborigines in one month than the whole preaching mob of protectors in ten years." when a race of men is exterminated somebody ought to bear the blame, and the easiest way is to lay the fault at the door of the dead; they never reply. when every blackfellow in south gippsland, except old darriman, was dead, mr. tyers explained his experience with the government blankets. they were now no longer required, as darriman could obtain plenty of old clothes from charitable white men. it had been the commissioner's duty to give one blanket annually to each live native, and thus that garment became to him the queen's livery, and an emblem of civilisation; it raised the savage in the scale of humanity and encouraged him to take the first step in the march of progress. his second step was into the grave. the result of the gift of blankets was that the natives who received them ceased to clothe themselves with the skins of the kangaroo, the bear or opossum. the rugs which they had been used to make for themselves would keep out the rain, and in them they could pass the wettest night or day in their mia-mias, warm and dry. but the blankets we kindly gave them by way of saving our souls were manufactured for the colonial market, and would no more resist the rain than an old clothes-basket. the consequence was that when the weather was cold and wet, the blackfellow and his blanket were also cold and wet, and he began to shiver; inflammation attacked his lungs, and rheumatism his limbs, and he soon went to that land where neither blankets nor rugs are required. mr. tyers was of opinion that more blacks were killed by the blankets than by rum and bullets. government in gippsland was advancing. there were two justices of the peace, the commissioner, black and white police, a collector of customs, a pilot, and last of all, a parson--parson bean--who quarrelled with his flock on the question of education. the sheep refused to feed the shepherd; he had to shake the dust off his feet, and the salvation of souls was, as usual, postponed to a more convenient season. at length mr. latrobe himself undertook to pay a visit to gippsland. he was a splendid horseman, had long limbs like king edward longshanks, and was in the habit of making dashing excursions with a couple of troopers to take cursory views of the country. he set out in the month of may, , and was introduced to the settlers in the following letter by "a brother squatter": "gentlemen, look out. the jackal of your oppressor has started on a tour. for what purpose? to see the isolated and miserable domiciles you occupy and the hard fare on which you subsist? no! but to see if the oppressor can further apply the screw with success and impunity. you have located yourselves upon lands at the risk of life and property, paying to the government in license and assessment fees for protection which you have never received, and your quiesence under such a system of robbery has stimulated your oppressor to levy on you a still greater amount of taxation, not to advance your interests, but to replenish his exhausted treasury. should you strain your impoverished exchequer to entertain your (in a family sense) worthy superintendent, depend upon it he will recommend a more severe application of the screw. give him, therefore, your ordinary fare, salt junk and damper, or scabby mutton, with a pot of jack the painter's tea, in a black pot stirred with a greasy knife." mr. latrobe and sir george bore all the weight of public abuse, and it was heavy. now it is divided among many ministers, each of whom carries his share with much patience, while our governor's days in the "sunny south" are "days of pleasantness, and all his paths are peace." no gentleman could accept hospitality like that suggested by "a brother squatter," and mr. latrobe sought refuge at the port albert hotel, glengarry's imported house. messrs. tyers, raymond, mcmillan, macalister, and reeve were pitching quoits at the rear of the building under the lee of the ti-tree scrub. davy, the pilot, was standing near on duty, looking for shipping with one eye and at the game with the other. the gentlemen paused to watch the approaching horsemen. mr. latrobe had the royal gift of remembering faces once seen; and he soon recognised all those present, even the pilot whom he had seen when he first arrived in melbourne. he shook hands with everyone, and enquired of davy how he was getting on with the piloting. he said: "now gentlemen, go on with your game. i like quoits myself and i should be sorry to interrupt you." then he went into the hotel and stayed there until morning. he no doubt obtained some information from mr. tyers and his friends, but he went no further into the country. next morning he started with his two troopers on his return to melbourne, and the other gentlemen mounted their horses to accompany him; but the "worthy superintendent" rode so fast that he left everyone behind and was soon out of sight, so his intended escort returned to port. mr. latrobe's view of gippsland was very cursory. rabbit island was stocked with rabbits in by captain wishart, the whaler. in he anchored his barque, the 'wallaby', in lady's bay, and lanced his last whale off horn point. a great, grey shark happened to be cruising about the whaling ground, the taste of blood was on the sea, and he followed the wounded whale; until, going round in her flurry, she ran her nose against wishart's boat and upset it. then the shark saw strange animals in the water which he had never seen before. he swam under them and sniffed at their tarry trousers, until they landed on the rocks: all but one, olav pedersen, a strong man but a slow swimmer. a fin arose above the water between olav and the shore. he knew what that meant, and his heart failed him. three times he called for help and wishart threw off his wet clothes and plunged into the sea. the shark was attracted to the naked captain, and he bit a piece out of one leg. both bodies were recovered; that of wishart was taken to hobarton, and olav was buried on the shore at the foot of a gum tree. his epitaph was painted on a board nailed to the tree, and was seen by one of the pioneers on his first voyage to the old port in . before gippsland was brought under the law, rabbit island was colonised by two whalers named page and yankee jim, and page's wife and baby. they built a bark hut, fenced in a garden with a rabbit-proof fence, and planted it with potatoes. their base of supplies for groceries was at the old port. they were monarchs of all they surveyed, from the centre all round to the sea. they paid no rent and no taxes. sometimes they fished, or went to the seal islands and brought back seal skins. in the time of the potato harvest, and when that of the mutton birds drew near, there were signs of trouble coming from the mainland. fires were visible on the shore at night, and smoke by day; and page suspected that the natives were preparing to invade the island. at length canoes appeared bobbing up and down on the waves, but a shot from the rifle sent them back to the shore. for three days and nights no fire or smoke was seen, and the two whalers ceased to keep watch. but early next morning voices were heard from the beach below the hut; the blacks were trying to launch the boat. page and jim shouted at them and went down the cliff; then the blacks ran away up the rocks, and were quickly out of sight. presently mrs. page came running out of the hut half dressed, and carrying her baby; she said she heard the blacks jabbering in the garden. in a short time the hut was in a blaze, and was soon burned to the ground. the two men then launched their boat and went to the port. davy shipped a crew of six men, and started in his whaleboat for the island; but the wind was blowing hard from the west, and they did not arrive at the island until next day. the blacks had then all disappeared; and, as the men wanted something to eat, davy told them to dig up some potatoes, while he went and shot six rabbits. when he returned with his game, the men said they could not find any potatoes. he said, "that's all nonsense," and went himself to the garden; but he could not find one potato. the blackfellows had shipped the whole crop in their canoes, so that there was nothing but rabbit for breakfast. in this manner the reign of the page dynasty came to an abrupt termination. the baby heir-apparent grew up to man's estate as a private citizen, and became a fisherman at williamstown. until the golden dawn. after mr. latrobe's short visit to port albert, gippsland was for many years ruled by mr. tyers with an authority almost royal. davy, after his first rebellious outburst at the burning of the huts, and his subsequent appointment as pilot, retired to the new port albert and avoided as much as possible the haunts of the commissioner. on the salt water he was almost as powerful and imperious as was his rival by land. he ruled over all ships and shipwrecks, and allowed no man to say him nay. long mason, the first overseer of woodside station, took over a cargo of fat cattle to hobarton for his brother. after receiving the cash for the cattle he proceeded to enjoy himself after the fashion of the day. the shepherd knocked down his cheque at the nearest groggery and then returned to his sheep full of misery. long mason had nearly pounds, and he acted the part of the prodigal brother. he soon made troops of friends, dear brethren and sisters, on whom he lavished his coin; he hired a band of wandering minstrels to play his favourite music, and invited the beauty an chivalry of the convict capital to join him in his revels. when his money was expended he was put on board a schooner bound for port albert, on which davis (of yarram) and his family were passengers. for two days he lay in his bunk sick and suffering. as the vessel approached the shore his misery was intense. he demanded drink, but no one would give him any. he began to search his pockets for coin, but of the pounds only one solitary sixpence was left. with this he tried to bribe the cabin boy to find for him one last taste of rum; but the boy said, "all the grog is locked up, and the captain would welt me if i gave you a single drop." so long mason landed at the port with his sixpence, was dismissed by his brother from woodside station, and became a wandering swagman. the next overseer for woodside voyaged to port albert in the brig 'isabella' in the month of june, . this vessel had been employed in taking prisoners to macquarie harbour and port arthur until the government built a barque called the 'lady franklin'; then captain taylor bought the brig for the cattle trade. on this voyage he was anxious to cross the bar for shelter from a south-east gale, and he did not wait for the pilot, although the vessel was deeply laden; there was not water enough for her on the old bar; she struck on it, and the heavy easterly sea threw her on the west bank. it was some time before the pilot and his two men could get aboard, as they had to fight their way through the breakers to leeward. there was too much sea for the boat to remain in safety near the ship, and davy asked the captain to lend him a hand to steer the boat back to sunday island. the second mate went in her, but she was capsized directly. the ship's boat was hanging on the weather davits, and it was no use letting her down to windward on account of the heavy sea. davy ran out to the end of the jibboom with a lead line. he could see the second mate hanging on to the keel of the capsized boat, and his two men in the water. the ebb sea kept washing them out, and the heavy sea threw them back again, and whenever they could get their heads above water they shouted for help. davy threw the lead towards them from the end of the jibboom, but they were too far away for the line to reach them. at length the ship's boat was launched to leeward, four men and the mate got into her, but by this time the two boatmen were drowned. while the ship's boat was running through the breakers past the pilot boat, the first mate grabbed the second mate by the collar, held on to him until they were in smooth water, and then hauled him in. it was too dangerous for the seamen to face the breakers again, so the pilot sang out to them to go to snake island. about two o'clock in the afternoon the vessel lay pretty quiet on the ebb tide; a fire was lighted in the galley, and all hands had something to eat. there was not much water in the cabin; but, as darkness set in, and the flood tide made, the seas began to come aboard. there was a heavy general cargo in the hold, six steerage passengers, four men and two women (one of whom had a baby), and one cabin passenger, who was going to manage woodside station in place of long mason, dismissed. the sea began to roll over the bulwarks, and the brig was fast filling with water. for some time the pumps were kept going, but the water gained on them, and all hands had to take to the rigging. the two women and the baby were first helped up to the foretop; then the pilot, counting the men, found one missing. "captain," he said, "what has become of the new manager?" "oh, he is lying in his bunk half-drunk." "then," replied davy, "he'll be drowned!" he descended into the cabin and found the man asleep, with the water already on a level with his berth. "why the blazes don't you get up and come out of this rat-hole?" he said. "don't you see you are going to be drowned?" the manager looked up and smiled. "please, don't be so unkind, my dear man," he replied. "let me sleep a little longer, and then i'll go on deck." davy standing with the water up to his belt, grew mad. "come out of that, you confounded fool," he said. he dragged him out of his bunk into the water, and hauled him up the companion ladder, and with the help of the men took him up the rigging, and lashed him there out of reach of the breakers. all the rest of the men went aloft, and remained there during the night. their clothing was soaked with water, and the weather was frosty and bitterly cold. just before daylight, when the tide had ebbed, and the sea had gone down, the two women and the baby were brought below from the foretop, and all hands descended to the deck. they wanted to make a fire, but everything was wet, and they had to cut up some of the standing rigging which had been out of reach of the surf before they could find anything that would burn. with that a fire was made in the galley, and the women and baby were put inside. at sunrise it was found that the sea had washed up a ridge of sand near the ship, and, not wishing to pass another tide on board, all the crew and passengers went over the side, and waded through the shallow water until they came to a dry sand-pit. they were eleven in number, including the women and baby, and they waited until the boat came over from snake island and took them to the port. a little of the cargo was taken out of the 'isabella', but in a few days she went to pieces. captain taylor went to hobarton, and bought from the insurers the schooner 'sylvanus' which had belonged to him, and having been wrecked was then lying ashore on the coast. he succeeded in floating her off without much damage, and he ran her in the cattle trade for some time. he then sold her to boys & hall, of hobarton, went to sydney, bought the schooner 'alert', and sailed her in the same trade until the discovery of gold. all the white seamen went off to the diggings, and he hired four kanakas to man his craft. on his last trip to port albert the pilot was on board, waiting for the tide. the pilot boat had been sent back to sunday island, the ship's boat was in the water, and was supposed to have been made fast astern by the crew. at break of day the pilot came on deck, and on taking a look round, he saw that the longboat had got away and was drifting towards rabbit island. he roared down the companion to captain taylor, "your longboat's got adrift, and is off to rabbit island." in another minute captain taylor was on deck. he gazed at his distant longboat and swore terribly. then he took a rope and went for his four kanakas; but they did not wait for him; they all plunged into the sea and deserted. the captain and pilot stood on deck watching them as they swam away, hand over hand, leaving foaming wakes behind like vessels in full sail. they were making straight for the longboat, and davy said, "they will go away in her and leave us here in the lurch." but the captain said, "i think not." he was right. the kanakas brought back the boat within hail of the schooner, and after being assured by the captain that he would not ropes-end them, they climbed aboard. on returning to hobarton captain taylor was seized with the gold fever. he laid up the 'alert', went with his four men to bendigo, and was a lucky digger. then he went to new zealand, bought a farm, and ploughed the waves no more. in january, , some buoys were sent to port albert and laid down in the channel. the account for the work was duly sent to the chief harbour master at williamstown, but he took no notice of it, nor made any reply to several letters requesting payment. there was something wrong at headquarters, and davy resolved to see for himself what it was. moreover, he had not seen melbourne for ten years, and he yearned for a change. so, without asking leave of anyone, he left port albert and its shipping "to the sweet little cherub that sits up aloft, and takes care of the life of poor jack," and went in his boat to yanakie landing. mrs. bennison lent him a pony, and told him to steer for two bald hills on the hoddle ranges; he could not see the hills for the fog, and kept too much to port, but at last he found a track. he camped out that night, and next morning had breakfast at hobson's station. he stayed one night at kilcunda, and another at lyle's station, near the bay. he then followed a track which septimus martin had cut through the tea-tree, and his pony became lame by treading on the sharp stumps, so that he had to push it or drag it along until he arrived at dandenong, where he left it at an inn kept by a man named hooks. he hired a horse from hooks at five shillings a day. the only house between dandenong and melbourne was once called the south yarra pound, kept by mrs. atkinson. it was near caulfield, on the melbourne side of "no-good-damper swamp." some blackfellows had been poisoned there by a settler who wanted to get rid of them. he gave them a damper with arsenic in it, and when dying they said, "no good, damper." davy landed in melbourne on june th, , put his horse in kirk's bazaar, and stayed at the queen's head in queen street, where sir william clarke's office is now. the landlady was mrs. coulson, a widow. next morning he was at the wharf before daylight, and went down the yarra in the first steamer for williamstown. he found that captain bunbury, the chief harbour-master, had gone away in the buoy-boat, a small schooner called the 'apollo', so he hired a whale-boat, and overtook the schooner off the red bluff. when he went on board he spoke to ruffles, master of the schooner, and said: "is the harbour-master aboard? i want to see him." "yes, but don't speak so loud, or you'll wake him up," replied ruffles. "he is asleep down below." davy roared out, "i want to wake him up. i have come two hundred miles on purpose to do it. i want to get a settlement about those buoys at port albert. i am tired of writing about them." this woke up bunbury, who sang out: "what's the matter, ruffles? what's all that noise about?" "it's the pilot from port albert. he wants to see you, sir, about the buoys." "tell him to come down below." davy went. bunbury was a one-armed naval lieutenant, the head of the harbour department, and drew the salary. he had subordinate officers. a clerk at williamstown did his clerical work, and old ruffles navigated the 'apollo' for him through the roaring waters of port philip bay, while he lay in his bunk meditating on something. he said: "oh, is that you, pilot? well, about those buoys, eh? that's all right. all you have to do is go to my office in williamstown, tell my clerk to fill in a form for you, take it to the treasury, and you will get your money." davy went back to the office at williamstown, had the form made out by the clerk, and took it to melbourne in the steamer, the last trip she made that day. by this time the treasury was closed. it was situated in william street, where the vast law courts are now; and davy was at the door when it was opened next morning, the first claimant for money. a clerk took his paper, looked over it, smiled, and said it was of no use whatever without bunbury's signature. davy started for williamstown again in the second boat, found that bunbury had gone away again in the 'apollo', followed him in a whale boat, overtook him off st. kilda, obtained his signature, and returned to the treasury. captain lonsdale was there, but he said it was too late to pay money that day, and also that the form should be signed by someone at the public works office. then davy's patience was gone, and he spoke the loud language of the sea. the frail building shook as with an earthquake. mr. latrobe was in a back room writing one of those gubernatorial despatches which are so painful to read. he had to suspend the pangs of composition, and he came into the front room to see what was the matter. davy told him what was the matter in very unofficial words. mr. latrobe listened patiently and then directed captain lonsdale to keep the treasury open until the account was paid. he also said the schooner 'agenoria' had been wrecked on the day that davy left port albert, and requested him to return to duty as soon as possible, lest other vessels might be wrecked for want of a pilot. "the sweet little cherub that sits up aloft" could not be depended on to pilot vessels over the bar. davy took his paper to the public works office in queen street. here he found another officer bursting with dignity, who said: "there is already one signature too many on this account." "can't you scratch it out, then?" said davy. "we don't keep hens to scratch in this office," replied the dignified one, who took a ruler, and having drawn a line through the superfluous name, signed his own. when davy went again to the treasury with his account, captain lonsdale said he had not cash on hand to pay it, and deducted twenty pounds, which he sent to port albert afterwards, when the government had recovered its solvency. his honour the superintendent might have assumed the classical motto, "custos sum pauperis horti." davy put the money in his pocket, went to the queen's head, and, as it was already dark, he hired a man for ten shillings to show him the road through the wet wilderness of caulfield and round no-good-damper swamp. it was half-past eleven when he arrived at hook's hotel, and, as his pony was still too lame to travel, he bought the horse he had hired, and set out with the sale mailman. at the moe he found angus mcmillan, william montgomery, and their stockmen, afraid to cross the creek on account of the flood, and they had eaten all their provisions. before dark a black gin came over in a canoe from the accommodation hut on the other side of the creek, having heard the travellers cooeying. they told her they wanted something to eat, but it was too dangerous for her to cross the water again that night. a good fire was kept burning but it was a wretched time. it rained heavily, a gale of wind was blowing, and trees kept falling down in all directions. scott, the hut-keeper, sent the gin over in the canoe next morning with a big damper, tea, sugar, and meat, which made a very welcome breakfast for the hungry travellers. they stayed there two days and two nights, and as the flood was still rising, they resolved to try to cross the creek at all risks, preferring to face the danger of death by drowning rather than to die slowly of starvation. each man took off his clothes, all but his flannel shirt and drawers, strapped them to the pommel of his saddle, threw the stirrup irons over the saddle, and stopped them with a string under the horse's belly to keep them from getting foul in the trees and scrub. in some places the horses had to climb over logs under water, sometimes they had to swim, but in the end they all arrived safely at the hut. they were very cold, and ravenously hungry; and while their clothes were drying before a blazing fire, they drank hot tea and ate up every scrap of food, so that scott was obliged to accompany them to the next station for rations. he left the gin behind, having no anxiety about her. while he was away she could feed sumptuously on grubs, crabs, and opossums. in march, , when everybody was seized with the gold fever, davy took it in the natural way. he again left port albert without a pilot and went to melbourne to resign his office. but mr. latrobe promised to give him a salary of pounds a year and a boat's crew of five men and a coxswain. the men were to have twelve-and-six a day and the coxswain fifteen shillings. by this time the gold fever had penetrated to the remotest parts of gippsland, and from every squatting station and every lonely hut on the plains and mountains men gathered in troops. they were leaving plenty of gold behind them at walhalla and other places. the first party davy met had a dray and bullocks. they were slowly cutting a road through the scrub, and their team was the first that made its way over the mountains from gippsland to melbourne. their captain was a lady of unbounded bravery and great strength--a model pioneeress, with a talent for governing the opposite sex.* when at home on her station she did the work of a man and a woman too. she was the one in a thousand so seldom found. she not only did the cooking and housework, but she also rode after stock, drove a team, killed fat beasts, chopped wood, stripped bark, and fenced. she did not hanker after woman's rights, nor rail against the male sex. she was not cultured, nor scientific, nor artistic, nor aesthetic. she despised all the ologies. all great men respected her, and if the little ones were insolent she boxed their ears and twisted their necks. she conquered all the blackfellows around her land with her own right arm. at first she had been kind to them, but they soon became troublesome, wanted too much flour, sugar, and beef, and refused to go away when she ordered them to do so. without another word she took down her stockwhip, went to the stable, and saddled her horse. then she rounded up the blackfellows like a mob of cattle and started them. if they tried to break away, or to hide themselves among the scrub, or behind tussocks, she cut pieces out of their hides with her whip. then she headed them for the ninety-mile beach, and landed them in the pacific without the loss of a man. in that way she settled the native difficulty. the neills, with a bullock team, the buckleys and moores, with horse teams, followed the track of the leading lady. the station-owners stayed at home and watched their fat stock, which soon became valuable, and was no longer boiled. [footnote] *mrs. buntine; died . on december st, , there were in tasmania twenty thousand and sixty-nine convicts. six months afterwards more than ten thousand had left the island, and in three years forty-five thousand eight hundred and eighty-four persons, principally men, had left for the diggings. it was evident that sir wm. denison would soon have nobody to govern but old women and children, a circumstance derogatory to his dignity, so he wrote to england for more convicts and immigrants, and he pathetically exclaimed, "to whom but convicts could colonists look to cultivate their lands, to tend their flocks, to reap their harvests?" in the month of may, , sir william wrote that "the discovery of gold had turned him topsy-turvy altogether," and he rejoiced that no gold had been discovered in his island. then the legislature perversely offered a reward of five thousand pounds to any man who would discover a gold field in tasmania, but, as a high-toned historian observes, "for many years they were so fortunate as not to find it." the convicts stole boats at launceston, and landed at various places about corner inlet. some were arrested by the police and sent back to tasmania. many called at yanakie station for free rations. mr. bennison applied for police protection, and old joe, armed with a carbine, was sent from alberton as a garrison. soon afterwards a cutter of about fifteen tons burden arrived at corner inlet manned by four convicts, who took the mainsail ashore and used it as a tent. they then allowed the cutter to drift on the rocks under mount singapore, and she went to pieces directly. while trying to find a road to melbourne, they came to yanakie station, and they found nobody at the house except joe, mrs. bennison, and an old hand. it was now joe's duty to overawe and arrest the men, but they, although unarmed, overawed and arrested joe. he became exceedingly civil, and after mrs. bennison had supplied them with provisions he showed them the road to melbourne. they were arrested a few days afterwards at dandenong and sent back to the island prison. a new rush. ---- "and there was gathering in hot haste." when gold was first discovered at stockyard creek, griffiths, one of the prospectors, came to me with the intention of registering the claim, under the impression that i was mining registrar. he showed me a very good sample of gold. as i had not then been appointed registrar, he had to travel sixty miles further before he could comply with the necessary legal formalities. then the rush began. old diggers came from all parts of victoria, new south wales, queensland, and new zealand; also men who had never dug before, and many who did not intend to dig--pickpockets, horse thieves, and jumpers. the prospectors' claim proved the richest, and the jumpers and the lawyers paid particular attention to it. the trail of the old serpent is over everything. the desire of the jumpers was to obtain possession of the rich claim, or of some part of it; and the lawyers longed for costs, and they got them. the prospectors paid, and it was a long time before they could extricate their claim from the clutches of the law. they found the goldfield, and they also soon found an unprofitable crop of lawsuits growing on it. they were called upon to show cause before the warden and the court of mines why they should not be deprived of the fruit of their labours. the fact of their having discovered gold, and of having pegged out and registered their claim, could not be denied; but then it was argued by counsel most learned in mining law that they had done something which they should have omitted to do, or had omitted to do something else which they should have done, frail human beings as they were, and therefore their claim should be declared to belong to some ballarat jumper. i had to sit and listen to such like legal logic until it made me sick, and ashamed of my species. of course, justice was never mentioned, that was out of the question; if law and justice don't agree, so much the worse for justice. gold was next found at turton's creek, which proved one of the richest little gullies ever worked by diggers. it was discovered by some prospectors who followed the tracks which mr. turton had cut over the scrubby mountains, and so they gratefully gave his name to the gully, but i never heard that they gave him any of the gold which they found in it. a narrow track from foster was cut between high walls of impenetrable scrub, and it soon became like a ditch full of mud, deep and dangerous. if the diggers had been assured that they would find heaven at the other end of it, they would never have tried to go, the prospect of eternal happiness having a much less attraction for them than the prospect of gold; but the sacred thirst made them tramp bravely through the slough. the sun and wind never dried the mud, because it was shut in and overshadowed by the dense growth of the bush. all tools and provisions were carried through it on the backs of horses, whose legs soon became caked with mud, and the hair was taken off them as clean as if they had been shaved with a razor. most of them had a short life and a hard one. the digging was quite shallow, and the gully was soon rifled of the gold. at this time there was a mining registrar at foster, as the new diggings at stockyard creek were named, and some men, after pegging out their claim at turton's creek, went back down the ditch to register them at foster. it was a great mistake. it was neither the time nor the place for legal forms or ceremony. time was of the essence of the contract, and they wasted the essence. other and wiser men stepped on to their ground while they were absent, commenced at once to work vigorously, and the original peggers, when they returned, were unable to dislodge them. peter wilson pegged out a claim, and then rode away to register it. he returned next day and found two men on it who had already nearly worked it out. "this claim is mine, mates," said peter; "i pegged it out yesterday, and i have registered it. you will have to come out." one of the men looked up at peter and said, "oh! your name is peter, isn't it? i hear you are a fighting man. well, you just come down off that bare-legged horse, and i'll kill you in a couple of minutes, while i take a spell." "it's no use your talking that way; you'll see i'll have the law on you, and you'll have to pay for it," replied peter. "you can go, peter, and fetch the law as soon as you like. i don't care a tinker's curse for you or the law; all i want is the profits, and i'm going to have them." this profane outlaw and his mate got the profits, cleared all the gold out of peter's claim, and took it away with them. it was reported in melbourne that there was no law or order at turton's creek; that the diggers were treating the mining statutes and regulations with contempt; that the gold went to the strong, and the weakest went to the wall. therefore, six of the biggest policemen in melbourne were selected, stretched out, and measured in russell street barracks, and were then ordered to proceed to turton's creek and vindicate the majesty of the law. they landed from the steamer on the wharf at port albert, and, being armed with carbines and revolvers, looked very formidable. they proceeded on their journey in the direction of foster, and it was afterwards reported that they arrived at turton's creek, and finding everybody quiet and peaceable, they came back again, bringing with them neither jumpers nor criminals. it was said, however, that they never went any further than the commencement of the ditch. they would naturally, on viewing it, turn aside and camp, to recruit their energies and discuss the situation. although they were big constables, it did not follow they were big fools. they said the government ought to have asphalted the ditch for them. it was unreasonable to expect men, each six foot four inches in height, carrying arms and accoutrements, which they were bound by the regulations to keep clean and in good order, to plunge into that river of mud, and to spoil all their clothes. turton's creek was soon worked out, and before any professional jumpers or lawyers could put their fingers in the pie, the plums were all gone. the gully was prospected from top to bottom, and the hills on both sides were tunnelled, but no more gold, and no reefs were found. there was much speculation by geologists, mining experts, and old duffers as to the manner in which the gold had contrived to get into the creek, and where it came from; where it went to, the diggers who carried it away in their pockets knew well enough. the diggers dispersed; some went to melbourne to enjoy their wealth; some stayed at foster to try to get more; some died from the extreme enjoyment of riches suddenly acquired, and a few went mad. one of the latter was brought to palmerston, and remained there a day or two on his way to the yarra bend lunatic asylum. having an inborn thirst for facts, i conversed with him from the wooden platform which overlooks the gaol yard. he was walking to and fro, and talking very cheerfully to himself, and to the world in general. he spoke well, and had evidently been well educated, but his ideas were all in pieces as it were, and lacked connection. he spoke very disrespectfully of men in high places, both in england and the colonies; and remarked that members of parliament were the greatest rascals on the face of the earth. no man of sound mind would ever use such language as that. some years afterwards, while i was collector of customs at port albert, i received a letter from melbourne to the following purport: "yarra bend asylum, ---------- -- "strictly private and confidential "sir,--you are hereby ordered to take possession of and detain every vessel arriving at port albert. you will immediately proceed on board each of them, and place the broad arrow abaft the foremast six feet above the deck. you will thus cut off all communication with the british empire. i may state that i am the lawful heir to the title and estates of a scottish dukedom, and am deprived of the possession and enjoyment of my rightful station and wealth by the machinations of a band of conspirators, who have found means to detain me in this prison in order to enjoy my patrimony. you will particularly observe that you are to hold no communication whatever with the governor of this colony, as he is the paid agent of the conspirators, and will endeavour to frustrate all efforts to obtain my rights. you will also be most careful to withhold all information from the duke of dunsinane, who is a member of the junior branch of my family, and at the head of the conspiracy. you will proceed as soon as possible to enrol a body of men for the purpose of effecting my deliverance by force of arms. as these men will require payment for their services, you will enter the bank of victoria at port albert, and seize all the money you will find there, the amount of which i estimate at ten thousand pounds, which will be sufficient for preliminary expenses. you will give, in my name, to the manager of the bank, a guarantee in writing for repayment of the money, with current rate of interest added, when i recover the dukedom and estates. be careful to explain to him that you take the money only as a loan, and that will prevent the bank from laying any criminal charge against you. should anything of the kind be in contemplation, you will be good enough to report progress to me as soon as possible, and i will give you all necessary instructions as to your future proceedings. "i may mention that in seeking to obtain my title and estates, i am influenced by no mean or mercenary considerations; my sole desire is to benefit the human race. i have been employing all my leisure hours during the last nine years in perfecting a system of philosophy entirely new, and applicable to all times, to all nations, and to all individuals. i have discovered the true foundation for it, which, like all great inventions, is so simple that it will surprise the world it was never thought of before. it is this: "posito impossibili sequitur quidlibet." my philosophy is founded on the firm basis of the impossible; on that you can build anything and everything. my great work is methodical, divided into sections and chapters, perfect in style, and so lucid in argument that he who runs may read and be enlightened. i have counted the words, and they number so far seven hundred and two thousand five hundred and seventy-eight ( , ). five years more will be required to complete the work; i shall then cause it to be translated into every language of the world, and shipped at the lowest rate of tonnage for universal distribution gratis. this will ensure its acceptance and its own beauty and intrinsic merits will secure its adoption by all nations, and the result will be human happiness. it will supersede all the baseless theories of science, religion, and morality which have hitherto confounded the human intellect. "extract from my magnum opus. "we may reasonably suppose that matter is primordially self-existent, and that it imbued itself with the potentiality of life. it therefore produced germs. a pair of germs coalesced, and formed a somewhat discordant combination, the movements in which tended towards divergence. they attracted and enclosed other atoms, and, progressing through sleep and wakefulness, at last arrived at complete satisfaction, or perfect harmonic combination. this harmonic combination is death. we may say then, in brief, that growth is simply discordant currents progressing towards harmony. one question may be briefly noticed. it has been asked, when did life first appear on the earth? we shall understand now that the question is unnecessary. life first appeared on the earth when the earth first appeared as an unsatisfied atom seeking combination. the question is rather, when did the inanimate first appear? it appeared when the first harmonic combination was effected. the earth is indeed to be considered as having grown up through the life that is inherent in it. man is the most concentrated and differentiated outgrowth of that life. mankind is, so to speak, the brain of the earth, and is progressing towards the conscious guidance of all its processes." "dunsinane." it was not clear on what ground this noble duke based his authority over me; but i had been so long accustomed to fulfil the behests of lunatics of low degree that i was able to receive those of an afflicted lord with perfect equanimity. but as i could not see that my obedience would be rewarded with anything except death or pentridge, i refrained from action. i did not place the broad arrow abaft of anything or anybody, nor did i make a levy on the cash in the bank of victoria. gippsland after thirty years. "a pleasing land of drowsihed it was, and dreams that wave before the half-shut eye." for twelve years i did the government stroke in her majesty's court at colac, then i was ordered to make my way to gippsland. the sun of wisdom shone on a new ministry. they observed that many of their officers were destitute of energy, and they resolved to infuse new life into the service, by moving its members continually from place to place. but officials live long, and the most robust ministry dies early, and the wisdom of one cabinet is foolishness to the next. i took root so deeply in the soil of gippsland that i became immoveable. twice the government tried to uproot me, but i remained there to the end of my official days. little reliable information about the country or its inhabitants was to be had, so i fondly imagined that in such a land, secured from contamination by the wicked world outside, i should find a people of primeval innocence and simplicity, and the long-forgotten lines returned to my memory: "beatus ille qui procul negotils, ut prisca gens mortalium." it was summer time, and the weather was serene and beautiful, when in the grey dusk of the evening we sailed through the rip at port philip heads. then began the troubles of the heaving ocean, and the log of the voyage was cut short. it ran thus: "the ship went up, and the ship went down; and then we fell down, and then we was sick; and then we fell asleep; and then we was at port albert; and that's all i knows about it." i walked along the one street past the custom house, the post-office, and the bank, about three hundred yards and saw nothing beyond but tea-tree and swamps, through which ran a roughly-metalled road, leading apparently to the distant mountains. there was nothing but stagnation; it was the deadest seaport ever seen or heard of. there were some old stores, empty and falling to pieces, which the owners had not been enterprising enough to burn for the insurance money; the ribs of a wrecked schooner were sticking out of the mud near the channel; a stockyard, once used for shipping cattle, was rotting slowly away, and a fisherman's net was hanging from the top rails to dry. three or four drays filled with pigs were drawn up near the wharf; these animals were to form part of the steamer's return cargo, one half of her deck space being allotted to pigs, and the other half to passengers. in case of foul weather, the deck hamper, pigs and passengers, was impartially washed overboard. an old man in a dirty buggy was coming along the road, and all the inhabitants and dogs turned out to look and bark at him, just as they do in a small village in england, when the man with the donkey-cart comes in sight. to allay my astonishment on observing so much agitation and excitement, the principal inhabitant introduced himself, and informed me that it was a busy day at the port, a kind of market day, on account of the arrival of the steamer. i began sorrowfully to examine my official conscience to discover for which of my unatoned-for sins i had been exiled to this dreary land. many a time in after years did i see a stranger leave the steamer, walk, as i had done, to the utmost extremity of the seaport, and stand at the corner of the butcher's shop, gazing on the swamps, the tea-tree, and the far-away wooded hills, the strelezcki ranges. the dismal look of hopeless misery thatstole over his countenance was pitiful to behold. after recovering the power of speech, his first question was, "how is it possible that any man could ever consent to live in a hole like this?" here the principal inhabitant intervened, and poured balm on the wounded spirit of the stranger. he gently reminded him that first impressions are not always to be relied on; and assured him that if he would condescend to take up his abode with us for two or three years, he would never want to live anywhere else. the climate was delicious, the best in the world; it induced a feeling of repose, and bliss, and sweet contentment. we had no ice or snow, or piercing blasts in winter; and the heat of summer was tempered by the cool breezes of the pacific ocean, which gently lapped our lovely shores. the land, when cleared, was as rich and fertile as the farmer's heart could wish, yielding abundant pasturage both in summer and winter. the mountains sent down to us unfailing supplies of the purest water; we wanted no schemes of irrigation, for "green are our fields and fair our flowers, our fountains never drumlie." we had no plagues of locust, no animal or insect pests to destroy our crops or herbage. rabbits had been introduced and turned loose at various times, but, instead of multiplying until they had become as numerous as the sand on the seashore, as had been the case in other parts of australia, in gippsland they invariably died; and it had been abundantly proved that rabbits had no more chance of living there than snakes in ireland. and with regard to the salubrity of the climate, the first settlers lived so long that they were absolutely tired of life. let him look at the cemetery, if he could find it. after thirty years of settlement it was almost uninhabited --neglected and overgrown with tussocks and scrub for want of use. it will be gathered from this statement of the principal inhabitant that gippsland had really been discovered and settled about thirty years before; but mountains and sea divided it from the outside world, and, on account of the intense drowsiness and inactivity which the delicious air and even temperature of the climate produced, the land and its inhabitants had been forgotten and unnoticed until it had been rediscovered, and its praises sung by the enterprising minister of the crown before mentioned. following the example of the cautious cat when introduced into a strange house, i investigated every corner of the district as far as the nature of the country would permit; and i found that it contained three principal corners or villages about three miles apart, at each of which the police magistrate and clerk had to attend on certain days, business or no business, generally the latter. it was, of course, beneath the dignity of a court to walk officially so far through the scrub; so the police magistrate was allowed sixty pounds per annum in addition to his salary, and the clerk whom i relieved fifty pounds, to defray the expense of keeping their horses. "away went gilpin, and away went gilpin's hat and wig." i bought a waggonette, and then began to look for a horse to draw it. as soon as my want became known it was pleasing to find so many of my neighbours willing to supply it. cox, the gaoler, said he knew of a horse that would just suit me. it belonged to binns, an ex-constable, who was spending a month in gaol on account of a little trouble that had come upon him. cox invited me into his office, and brought binns out of his cell. "yes," said binns "i have a horse, and there's not another like him on the island," (these men always meant van diemen's land when they said "the island," forgetting occasionally that they had crossed the straits, and were in a land of freedom) "as good a goer as ever carried a saddle, or wore a collar. i wouldn't sell him on no account, only you see i'm hard up just now." "what is his age?" i enquired. "well, he's just rising ten. he has been used a bit hard, but you won't overwork him, and he'll do all the law business you want as easy as winking. he's the best trotter on the island, and has won many a stake for me. when i took johnny-come-lately to gaol in melbourne for stealing him, he brought me back in less time than any horse ever did the distance before or since. and you can have him dirt cheap. i'll take ten pounds for him, and he's worth twenty pounds of any man's money." lovers' vows and horsedealers' oaths are never literally true; it is safer to receive them as lies. i thought it would be prudent to try this trotter before buying him, so binns signed an order, in a very shaky hand, to the man in charge of his farm, to let me have the horse on trial. when i harnessed and put him in between the shafts he was very quiet indeed. i took a whip, not for the purpose of using it, but merely for show; a horse that had won so many races would, of course, go without the lash. when i was seated and requested him to start, he began walking very slowly, as if he had a load of two tons weight behind him, and i never weighed so much as that. i had to use the whip, and at last after a good deal of reflection he began to trot, but not with any speed; he did not want to win anything that day. i remarked that his ears looked dead; no sound or sight of any kind disturbed the peace of his mind. he evidently knew this world well and despised it; nothing in it could excite his feelings any more. halfway up the water road i met bill mills, a carrier. he stopped his team and looked at mine. "have you bought that horse, mister?" he said. "not yet; i am only trying him," i replied. "do you know him?" "know him? i should think i did. that's old punch. i broke him into harness when he was three off. he nearly killed me; ran away with me and my dog-cart among the scrub at the racecourse swamp, and smashed it against a honeysuckle." "is that long ago?" i enquired. "long ago? let me see. that horse is twenty year old if he's a day. he'll not run away with you now; no fear; he's quite safe. good-day, mister. come on, star;" and bill touched his leader with his whip. when i arrived at the court-house, i made a search in the cause list book, and found that johnny-come-lately had been sent to gaol just sixteen years before for stealing old punch, so i restored that venerable trotter to its owner. i had soon more horses offered to me for trial, every old screw within twenty miles being brought to me for inspection. the next animal i harnessed belonged to andrew jackson, and was brought by andrew jackson, junior, who said his father could let me have it for a month on trial. jackson, junior, was anxious to go away without the horse, but i told him to wait a bit while i put on the harness. the animal was of a mouse colour, very tall, something like a giraffe; and by the time i got him between the shafts, i could see that he was possessed by a devil of some kind. it might be a winged one who would fly away with me; so, in order to have a clear course, i led him through the gateway into the middle of the road, and while jackson, junior, held his head, i mounted carefully into the trap. i held the lines ready for a start, and after some hesitation the giraffe did start, but he went tail foremost. i tried to reverse the engine, but it would only work in one direction. he backed me into the ditch, and then across it on to the side path, then against the fence, bucking at it, and trying to go through and put me in the tarra. i told andrew, junior, to take the giraffe home to his parent, and relate what he had seen. my next horse was a black one from sale, and he also was possessed of a devil, but one of a different species. he was named gilpin, and the very name ought to have been a warning to me if i had had sense enough to profit by it. just as i sat down, and took the reins, and was going to observe what he would do, he suddenly went away at full gallop. i tried to pull him in, but he put his chin against his chest, and the harder i pulled the faster he flew. the road was full of ruts, and i was bumped up and down very badly. my hat went away, but, for the present, my head kept its place. i managed to steer safely as far as the bridge across the tarra but, in going over it, the horse's hoofs and whirling wheels sounded like thunder, and brought out the whole population of tarraville to look at me. it was on a sunday afternoon; some good people were singing hymns in the local chapel, and as i passed the turn of the road, they left the anxious benches, came outside in a body, and gazed at me, a bare-headed and miserable sabbath-breaker going swiftly to perdition. i also was on a very anxious bench. but now there was a long stretch of good road before me, and i made good use of it. instead of pulling the horse in, i let him go, and encouraged him with the whip to go faster, being determined to let him gallop until either he or the sun went down. then the despicable wretch slackened his pace, and wanted to come to terms. so i wheeled him round and whipped him without mercy, making him gallop all the way home again. i did not buy him. but the next horse i tried was comparatively blameless, so i bought him, and at the end of the first month sent in a claim to the law department for the usual allowance. i was curtly informed that the amount had been reduced from fifty pounds to ten pounds for my horse, although sixty pounds was still allowed to the other horse for travelling the same distance, the calculation evidently being based on the supposition that the police magistrate's horse would eat six times as much as mine. remonstrance was vain, and i found i had burdened myself with an animal, possessing no social or political influence whatever. i knew already that the world was governed without wisdom, and i now felt that it was also ruled with extreme meanness. and even after my horse was condemned to starve on ten pounds per annum, the cost of justice was still extravagant. without reckoning the expense incurred in erecting and maintaining three court houses, and three police stations, and paying three policemen for doing next to nothing, i ascertained from the cause lists that it cost the government fourteen pounds sterling every time we fined terry, the cobbler, five shillings for being drunk; and terry did not always pay the fines. what ails british law is dignity, and the insufferable expense attending it. the disease will never be cured until a strong-minded chief justice shall be found, who has sense enough to sit on the bench in his native hair, and to take off his coat when the thermometer rises to eighty degrees. it was in that manner judge winstanley kept court at waterloo in illinois, and we had there quicker justice, cheaper laws, and better manners than those which this southern hemisphere yet exhibits. as to the lawyers, if we did not like them, we could lynch them, so they were sociable and civil. moreover, prairie de long was discovered and settled nearly twenty years before australia felix was heard of. the three villages had a life-long feud with, and a consuming jealousy of, each other. until my arrival i was not aware that there were three such places as palmerston, alberton, and tarraville, claiming separate and rival existences. i had a notion that they were merely straggling suburbs of the great city and seaport, port albert. but it was a grievous mistake. i asked a tall young lady at the hotel, who brought in some very salt fish that took the skin off the roof of my mouth, if she could recommend the society of these villages, and if she would favour me with her opinion as to which would be the best place to select as a residence, and she said, "the people there are an 'orrid lot." this was very discouraging; but, on making further enquiries, i found she only expressed the opinion which the inhabitants of these centres of population held of each other; and it was evident that i should have to demean myself with prudence, and show no particular affection for one place more than for another, or trouble would ensue. therefore, as soon as occasion offered, i took a house and paddock within easy distance of all the three corners, so that when the government allowance had reduced my horse to a skeleton, i might give him a spell on grass, and travel to the courts on foot. the house was on a gentle rise, overlooking a rich river flat. it had been built by a retainer of lord glengarry, who had declined to follow any further the fortunes of his chief when he had closed his dairying operations at greenmount. a tragedy had been enacted in it some years before, and a ghost had often since been seen flitting about the house and grounds on moonlight nights. this gave an aristocratic distinction to the property, which was very pleasing, as it is well known that ghosts never haunted any mansions or castles except such as have belonged to ancient families of noble race. i bought the estate on very reasonable terms, no special charge being made for the ghost. the paddock had been without a tenant for some time, but i found it was not unoccupied. a friendly neighbour had introduced his flock of sheep into it, and he was fattening them cheaply. i said, "tityre, tu patulae recubans sub tegmine fayi, be good enough to round up your sheep and travel." tityrus said that would be all right; he would take them away as soon as they were ready for the butcher. it would be no inconvenience to me, as my horse would not be able to eat all the grass. the idea of paying anything did not occur to him; he was doing me a favour. he was one of the simple natives. as i did not like to take favours from an entire stranger, the sheep and the shepherd sought other pastures beyond the winding tarra. the dense tea-tree which bordered the banks of the river was the home of wild hogs, which spent the nights in rooting up the soil and destroying the grass. i therefore armed myself with a gun charged with buckshot, and went to meet the animals by moonlight. i lay in ambush among the tussocks. one shot was enough for each hog; after receiving it he retired hastily into the tea-tree and never came out again. after i had cleared my land from sheep and pigs, the grass began to grow in abundance; and passing travellers, looking pensively over the fence, were full of pity for me because i had not stock enough to eat the grass. one man had a team of bullocks which he was willing to put in; another had six calves ready to be weaned; and a third friend had a horse which he could spare for a spell. all these were willing to put in their stock, and they would not charge me anything. they were three more of the simple natives. i would rather buy forty cows than one horse, because, even allowing for the cow's horns, the horse has so many more points. i wanted a good cow, a quiet milker, and a farmer named ruffy offered to sell me one. he was very rough indeed, both in words and work. he showed me the cow, and put her in the bail with a big stick; said she was as quiet as a lamb, and would stand to be milked anywhere without a leg-rope. "here tom," he roared to his son, "bring a bucket, and come and milk daisy without the rope, and show the gentleman what a quiet beast she is." tom brought a bucket, placed the stool near the cow, sat down, and grasped one of the teats. daisy did not give any milk, but she gave instead three rapid kicks, which scattered tom, the bucket, and the stool all over the stockyard. i could not think of anything that it would be safe to say under the circumstances, so i went away while the farmer was picking up the fragments. government officers in the bush. "satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do." although i had to attend at three courts on three days of each week, my duties were very light, and quite insufficient to keep me out of mischief; it was therefore a matter of very great importance for me to find something else to do. in bush townships the art of killing time was attained in various ways. mr. a. went on the street with a handball, and coaxed some stray idler to join him in a game. he was a young man of exceptional innocence, and died early, beloved of the gods. mr. b. kept a pair of sticks under his desk in the court house, and made a fencing school of the space allotted to the public. some of the police had been soldiers, and were quite pleased to prove their skill in arms, and show how fields were won. as a result there were more breaches of the peace inside the court than outside. mr. c. tried to while away his lonely hours by learning to play on a violin, which he kept concealed in a corner between a press and the wall of his office. he executed music, and doubled the terrors of the law. intending litigants stood transfixed with horror when they approached the open door of his office, and listened to the wails and long-drawn screeches which filled the interior of the building; and every passing dog sat down on its tail, and howled in sympathetic agony with the maddening sounds. but the majority of the officials condemned to live in the dreary townships tried to alleviate their misery by drinking and gambling. the police magistrate, the surveyor, the solicitor, the receiver of revenue, the police inspector, and the clerk of courts, together with one or two settlers, formed a little society for the promotion of poker, euchre, and other little games, interspersed with whiskies. it is sad to recall to mind the untimely end at which most of them arrived. mr. d. was found dead on the main road; mr. e. shot himself through the head; mr. f. fell asleep in the bush and never woke; and mr. g. was drowned in a waterhole. one officer was not quite so unfortunate as some of his friends. his score at the crook and plaid became so long that he began to pass that hotel without calling. polly, the venerable landlady, took offence at such conduct, and was daily on the watch for him. when she saw him passing, which he always did at a rapid pace, she hobbled to the door, and called after him, "hey, hey!" then the gentleman twirled his cane, whistled a lively tune, looked up, first to the sky, and then to the right and left, but never stopped, or looked back to polly behind him. at last his creditors became so troublesome, and his accounts so inexplicable, that he deserted the public service, and took refuge across the murray. mr. h. fell into the habit of borrowing his collections to pay his gambling debts. he was allowed a certain number of days at the beginning of each month to complete his returns, and send in his cash. so he made use of the money collected during the days of grace to repay any sums he had borrowed from the public cash during the preceding month. but the cards were against him. one morning an inspector of accounts from melbourne appeared unexpectedly in his office. in those days there were no railways and no telegraphs. their introduction was an offensive nuisance to us. the good old times will never come again, when we could regulate our own hours of attendance, take unlimited leave of absence, and relieve distress by having recourse to the government cash. when grimes was auditor-general every officer was a gentleman and a man of honour. in the bush no bank account was kept, as there was no bank within fifty or a hundred miles; and it was an implied insult to expect a gentleman to produce his cash balance out of his pocket. as a matter of courtesy he expected to be informed by letter two or three weeks beforehand when it was intended to make an official inspection of his books, in order that he might not be absent, nor taken unawares. when the inspector appeared, mr. h. did not lose his presence of mind, or show any signs of embarrassment. he said he was glad to see him (which was a lie), hoped he had had a pleasant journey through the bush; asked how things were going on in melbourne, and made enquiries about old friends there. but all the while he was calculating chances. he had acquired the valuable habit of the gambler and speculator, of talking about one thing while he was thinking about another. his thoughts ran on in this style: "this fellow (he could not think of him as a gentleman) wants to see my cash; haven't got any; must be near five hundred pounds short by this time; can't borrow it' no time to go round' couldn't get it if i did' deuced awkward; shall be given in charge; charged with larceny or embezzlement or something; can't help it' better quit till i think about it." so apologising for his absence for a few minutes on urgent business, he went out, mounted his horse, and rode away to the mountains. the inspector waited five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes. he made enquiries, and finding that mr. h. had gone away, he examined the books and vouchers, and concluded that there should be a cash balance of more than four hundred pounds payable to revenue. he looked about the office for the cash, but did not find any. then the police began to look for mr. h., but week after week passed by, and mr. h. was neither seen nor heard of. there were only two ways of leaving south gippsland that could be considered safe; one was by sea from port albert, the other by the road over the mountains. if anyone ventured to desert the beaten track, and tried to escape unseen through the forest, he was likely to be lost, and to be starved to death. the only man ever known to escape was an eccentric farmer, a "wandering outlaw of his own dark mind," as byron so darkly expressed it. he deserted his wife one morning in a most systematic manner, taking with him his horse and cart, a supply of provisions, and all the money he was worth. a warrant for his arrest was issued, and the police were on the look-out for him at all the stations from port albert to melbourne, but they never found him. many weeks passed by without any tidings of the man or his team, when one day he drove up to his own gate, unhitched his horse, and went to work as usual. on enquiry it was found that he had gone all the way to sydney overland, on a visit to an old friend living not far from that city. it was supposed that he had some reason for his visit when he started, but if so, he lost it by the way, for when he arrived he had nothing particular to say. after a few days' rest he commenced his return journey to south gippsland, and travelled the whole distance without being observed by the watchful police. when asked about his travels, his only remark was, "splendid horse; there he is between the shafts; walked twelve hundred miles; never turned a hair; splendid horse; there he is." but mr. h. lacked the intellect or the courage to perform a similar fool's errand successfully. he rode up to the police station at alberton, and finding from the officer in charge that he was wanted on a warrant, he supplied that want. he stated that he had been on a visit, for the benefit of his health, to a friend in the mountains, a rail-splitter, who had given him accommodation in his hut on reasonable terms. he had lived in strict retirement. for a time he was in daily and nightly fear of the appearance of the police coming to arrest him; every sound disturbed him. in about ten days he began to feel lonely and disappointed because the police did not come; neither they or anybody else seemed to be looking for him, or to care anything about him. heroic self-denial was not his virtue, and he felt no call to live the life of a hermit. he was treated with undeserved neglect, and at the end of four weeks he resolved that, as the police would not come to him, he would go to the police. he unburdened his mind, and made a confession to the officer who had him in charge. he explained how he had taken the money, how he had lost it, and who had won it. it relieved his mind, and the policeman kept the secret of confession until after the trial. then he broke the seal, and related to me confidentially the story of his penitent, showing that he was quite as unfit for the sacerdotal office as myself. mr. h. on his trial was found not guilty, but the department did not feel inclined to entrust him with the collection or custody of any more cash. in succeeding years he again served the government as state school teacher, having received his appointment from a minister of merciful principles. a reclaimed poacher makes an excellent gamekeeper, and a repentant thief may be a better teacher of youth than a sanctimonious hypocrite. seal islands and sealers. "am i my brother's keeper?" the islands in bass' straits, hogan's group, kent's group, the answers, the judgment rocks, and others, are visited at certain seasons of the year by seals of three different kinds--viz., the hair seals, which are not of much value except for their oil; the grey seals, whose skins are valuable; and the black seals, whose furs always command the highest price. when these animals have not been disturbed in their resorts for some years they are comparatively tame, and it is not difficult to approach them. great numbers of the young ones are sometimes found on the rocks, and if pushed into the water they will presently come out again, scramble back on to the rocks, and begin crying for their dams. but the old seals, when frequently disturbed, become shy, and, on the first alarm, take to the water. the flesh of the young seals is good to eat, and seamen who have been cast away on the islands have been sometimes saved from starvation by eating it. i once made the acquaintance of an old sealer. he had formerly been very sensitive on the point of honour; would resent an insult as promptly as any knight-errant; but by making an idol of his honour his life had been a grievous burden to him. and he was not even a gentleman, and never had been one. he was known only as "jack." it was in the year , when i had been cast ashore in corio bay by a gale of hostile fortune, and had taken refuge for a while at the buck's head hotel, then kept by a man named mckenzie. one evening after tea i was talking to a carpenter at the back door, who was lamenting his want of timber. he had not brought a sufficient supply from geelong to complete his contract, which was to construct some benches for a presbyterian church. jack was standing near listening to the conversation. "what kind of timber do you want?" he said. "there is a lot of planks down there in the yard, and if you'll be outside about eleven o'clock, i'll chuck over as many as you want." the contractor hesitated. "whose planks are they?" he asked. "i don't know whose they are, and i don't care," replied jack. "say the word, and you can have them, if you like." the contractor made no reply, at least in words, to this generous offer. it is not every man that has a friend like jack; many men will steal from you, but very few will steal for you, and when such a one is found he deserves his reward. we adjourned to the bar parlour, and jack had a glass of brandy, for which he did not pay. there was among the company a man from adelaide, a learned mineralogist, who commenced a dissertation on the origin of gold. he was most insufferable; would talk about nothing but science. darwin wrote a book about "the origin of species," and it has been observed that the origin of species is precisely what is not in the book. so we argued about the origin of gold, but we could get nowhere near it. when the rest of the company had retired, jack observed to me: "you put down that adelaide chap gradely; he had not a leg to stand on." i was pleased to find that jack knew a good argument when he heard it, so i rewarded his intelligence with another glass of brandy, and asked him if he had been long in the colonies. he said: "my name's not jack; that's what they call me, but it doesn't matter what my name is. i was brought up in liverpool, but i wasn't born there; that doesn't matter either. i used to work at the docks, was living quite respectable, was married and had a little son about five years old. one night after i had had supper and washed myself, i said to th' missus, 'there's a peep-show i' tithebarn street, and if you'll wash bobby's face i'll tek him there; its nobbut a penny.' you know it was one o' them shows where they hev pictures behind a piece o' calico, paul pry with his umbrella, daniel i' th' lions' den, ducks swimming across a river, a giantess who was a man shaved and dressed in women's clothes, a dog wi' five legs, and a stuffed mermaid--just what little lads would like. there was a man, besides, who played on a flute, and another singing funny songs. when i went outside into the street there was little billy yates, as used to play with bobby, so i says, 'come along, billy, and i'll tek thee to the show.' when we got there we set down on a bench, and, just as they began to show th' pictures, three black-fellows came in and set down on th' bench before us. they thowt they were big swells, and had on black coats, white shirts, stiff collars up to their ears, red and green neck-handkerchers, and bell-topper hats; so i just touched one of em on th' showder and said: 'would you please tek your hats off to let th' lads see th' pictures?' well, the nigger just turned his head half-round, and looked at me impudent like, but he kept his hat on. so i asked him again quite civil, and he called me a low fellow, towld me to mind my own business, and the other two niggers grinned. well, you know, i could not stand that. i knew well enough what they were. they were stewards on the liners running between new york and liverpool, and they were going round trying to pass for swells in a penny peep-show. i didn't want to make a row just then and spoil the show, so i said to th' lads, we mun go hooum, and i took 'em hooum, and then come back to th' show and waited at th' door. when the niggers come out i pitched into th' one as had given me cheek; but we couldn't have it out for th' crowd, and we were all shoved into th' street. i went away a bit, thinking no more about it, and met a man i knew and we went into a public house and had a quart o' fourpenny. we were in a room by ourselves, when the varra same three niggers come in and stood a bit inside the door. so i took my tumbler and threw it at th' head of th' man i wanted, and then went at him. but i couldn't lick him gradely because th' landlord come in and stopped us; so after a while i went hooum. next morning i was going along dale street towards the docks to work, when who should i see but that varra same blackfellow: it looked as if th' devil was in it. he was by hisself this time, coming along at th' other side of th' street. so i crossed over and met him, and went close up to him and said, 'well, what have you to say for yoursel' now?' and i gav him a lick under th' ear. he fell down on th' kerbstone and wouldn't get up-- turned sulky like. there was soon a crowd about, and they tried to wakken him up; but he wouldn't help hisself a bit--just sulked and wouldn't stir. i don't believe he'd ha' died but for that, because i nobbut give him but one hit. i thowt i'd better make mysel' scarce for a while, so i left liverpool and went to preston. were you ever in preston?" i said i was. "well then, you'll remember melling, the fish-monger, a varra big, fat man. i worked for him for about six months, and then come back to liverpool, thinking there'd be no more bother about the blackfellow. but they took me up, and gev me fourteen year for it; and if it had been a white man i wouldn't ha' got more than twelve months, and i was sent out to van diemen's land and ruined for ever, just for nowt else but giving a chance lick to a blackfellow. and now i hear they're going to war wi' russia, and-- england, scotland, ireland, and wales--i hope they'll all get blooming well licked. it don't mend a man much to transport him, nor a woman either for that matter: they all grow worse than ever. when i got my ticket i sometimes went working in th' bush, sometimes whaling and sealing, and sometimes stripping bark at western port and portland bay, before there was such a place as melbourne. i was in a whaler for two years about wilson's promontory, until the whales were all killed or driven away. i never saved any money until nine years back; we always went on th' spree and spent every penny directly we were paid off. at that time i went with a man from port albert to the seal islands in a boat. i knew of a place where there was a cave, a big hollow under the rocks, where th' seals used to go to sleep, and a blow hole coming out of it to th' top of the island. we hired a boat and went there, and made a kind of a door which we could drop down with a rope to shut up the mouth of th' cave and catch the seals inside. we killed so many that we couldn't take th' skins away all at once in the boat to port albert; we had to come back again. i thowt to myself i'd be richer than ever i was in my life; th' skins were worth hundreds of pounds. i had agreed to go halves with th' port albert man, but, you see, he'd ha' never gotten a penny but for me, because he knew nothing whatever about sealing. it didn't look quite fair to give him half; and then i thowt what a lucky thing it would be for me if he were drowned; and he was drowned, but mind you, i didn't do it. it was this way. when we got back to th' blow-hole th' weather was bad. one o' them sou'east gales set in, and th' big waves dashed agen the rocks, roaring and sending spray right across th' island. we had packed away all th' seal-skins snug in th' boat and pulled th' door up from th' bottom of th' chimney before th' gale started. when we were taking down the rope and tackle and th' shears, th' water began to come boiling up th' blow hole and sinking down again. there was a big rush of wind, first up and then down sucking you in like. it was a ticklish time, and just as we were going to lower th' shears, th' port albert man made a kind of slip, and was sucked in with the wind, and went head first into the boiling water and out of sight. i took hold of the slack of a rope, thinking i'd throw it to him; he might get hold of it, and then i could pull him out. in about half a minute he was thrown up again by th' next wave right to the top of th' chimney. i could see his face within four feet of me. he threw up his hands for something to catch at and looked at me, and then gave a fearful scream. i didn't throw him the rope; something stopped me. he might not have got hold of it, you know, anyhow. he went down again among th' white water, and i never saw him no more--only when i am dreaming. i always dream about him. i can see his face come up above the boiling water, and when he screams i wake up. i can never get clear of him out of my head; and yet, mind you, i didn't drown him; he fell in of his self, and i just missed throwing him th' rope, that's all; and i wasn't bound to do it, was i? "as for the money i got for the seal skins, i could have lived comfortably on it all my life, but it never did me no good. i started drinking, trying to forget that port albert man, but it was no use. every shilling was soon gone, and eversince i've been doing odd jobs and loafing about the publics. i've never done no good and never shall. let's have just another nobbler afore we turn in." a happy convict. "thrice did i receive forty stripes, save one." it was court day at palmerston, and there was an unusual amount of business that morning. a constable brought in a prisoner, and charged him with being a vagrant--having no lawful visible means of support. i entered the charge in the cause list, "police v. john smithers, vagrancy," and then looked at the vagrant. he was growing aged, was dressed in old clothes, faded, dirty, and ill-fitting; he had not been measured for them. his face was very dark, and his hair and beard were long and rough, showing that he had not been in gaol lately. his eyes wandered about the court in a helpless and vacant manner. two boys about eight or nine years old entered the court, and, with colonial presumption, sat in the jury box. there were no other spectators, so i left them there to represent the public. they stared at the prisoner, whispered to each other, and smiled. the prisoner could not see anything to laugh at, and frowned at them. then the magistrate came in, rubbing one of his hands over the other, glanced at the prisoner as he passed, and withered him with a look of virtuous severity. he was our black wednesday magistrate, and was death on criminals. when he had taken his seat on the bench, i opened the court, and called the first and only case. it was not often we had a man to sit on, and we sat heavily on this one. i put on my sternest look, and said "john smithers"--here the prisoner instantly put one hand to his forehead and stood at "attention"-- "you are charged by the police with vagrancy, having no lawful visible means of support. what have you to say to that charge?" "i am a blacksmith looking for work," said the prisoner; "i ain't done nothing, your worship, and i don't want nothing." "but you should do something," replied the magistrate; "we don't want idle vagabonds like you wandering about the country. you will be sent to gaol for three months." i stood up and reminded the justice respectfully that there was as yet no evidence against the prisoner, so, as a matter of form, he condescended to hear the constable, who went into the witness-box and proved his case to the hilt. he had found the man at nightfall sitting under the shelter of some tea-tree sticks before a fire; asked him what he was doing there; said he was camping out; had come from melbourne looking for work; was a blacksmith; took him in charge as a vagrant, and locked him up; all his property was the clothes he wore, an old blanket, a tin billy, a clasp knife, a few crusts of bread, and old pipe, and half a fig of tobacco; could find no money about him. that last fact settled the matter. a man travelling about the bush without money is a deep-dyed criminal. i had done it myself, and so was able to measure the extent of such wickedness. i never felt really virtuous unless i had some money in my pocket. "you are sentenced to imprisonment for three months in melbourne gaol," said the magistrate; "and mind you don't come here again." "i ain't done nothing, your worship," replied the prisoner; "and i don't want nothing." "take him away, constable." seven years afterwards, as i was riding home about sundown through tarraville, i observed a solitary swagman sitting before a fire, among the ruins of an old public house, like marius meditating among the ruins of carthage. there was a crumbling chimney built of bricks not worth carting away--the early bricks in south gippsland were very bad, and the mortar had no visible lime in it--the ground was strewn with brick-bats, bottles, sardine tins, hoop iron, and other articles, the usual refuse of a bush shanty. it had been, in the early times, a place reeking with crime and debauchery. men had gone out of it mad with drinking the poisonous liquor, had stumbled down the steep bank, and had ended their lives and crimes in the black tarra river below. here the rising generation had taken their first lessons in vice from the old hands who made the house their favourite resort. here was planned the murder of jimmy the snob by prettyboy and his mates, whose hut was near the end of the bridge across the river, and for which murder prettyboy was hanged in melbourne. in the dusk i mistook the swagman for a stray aboriginal who had survived the destruction of his tribe, but on approaching nearer, i found that he was, or at least once had been, a white man. he had gathered a few sticks, which he was breaking and putting on the fire. i did not recognise him, did not think i had ever seen him before, and i rode away. during the next twenty-four hours he had advanced about half-a-mile on his journey, and in the evening was making his fire in the church paddock, near a small water-hole opposite my house. i could see him from the verandah, and i sent jim to offer him shelter in an outbuilding. jim was one of the two boys who had represented the public in the jury box at the palmerston court seven years before. he came back, and said the man declined the offer of shelter; never slept under a roof winter or summer, if he could help it; had lived in the open air for twelve years, and never stayed a night in any building, except for three months, when he was in melbourne gaol. he had been arrested by a constable near palmerston seven years before, although he had done nothing, and a fool of a beak, with a long grey beard, had given him three months, while two puppies of boys were sitting in the jury box laughing at him. he also gave some paternal advice to the youth, which, like a great deal of other paternal advice, was rejected as of no value. "never you go to melbourne, young man," he said, "and if you do, never stop in any boarding-house, or public. they are full of vermin, brought in by bad characters, mostly government officers and bank clerks, who have been in pentridge. don't you never go near 'em." this advice did not sound very respectful; however, i overlooked it for the present, as it was not unlikely i might have the advantage of seeing him again in custody, and i sent to him across the road some hot tea, bread, butter, and beef. this softened the heart and loosed the tongue of the old swagman. it appeared from his account of himself that he was not much of a blacksmith. he was ostensibly going about the colony looking for work, but as long as he could get food for nothing he did not want any work, and he always avoided a blacksmith's shop; as soon as he found himself near one he ceased to be a blacksmith. when asked about his former life, he said a gentleman had once advised him to write the particulars of it, and had promised him half-a-crown if he would do so. he had written some of them, but had never seen the gentleman again, so he did not get the half-crown; and now he would take sixpence for the copyright of his work. i gave him sixpence, and he drew out a manuscript from an inside pocket of his coat, and handed it to me. it was composed of small sheets of whitey-brown wrapping paper sewn together. he had ruled lines on it, and had written his biography with lead pencil. on looking over it i observed that, although he was deficient in some of the inferior qualifications of a great historian, such as spelling, grammar, and a command of words of seven syllables, yet he had the true instincts of a faithful chronicler. he had carefully recorded the names of all the eminent bad men he had met, of the constable who had first arrested him, of the magistrate who had committed him for trial, of the judge who had sentenced him, of the gaolers and warders who had kept him in prison, of the captain, doctor, and officers of the ship which conveyed him to sydney, of the squatters who had forced him to work for them, and of the scourgers who had scourged him for not working enough. the names of all these celebrated men, together with the wicked deeds for which they were admired, were given in detail, after the true historic method. we all take a great interestin reading every particular relating to the lives of notorious tyrants and great sinners; we like to know what clothes they wore, and how they swore. but the lives of great and good men and women are very uninteresting; some young ladies even, when travelling by train, prefer, as i observe, french novels inspired by cloacina to the "lives of the saints." some people in the colonies are said to have had no grandfathers; but john smithers was even more deficient in pedigree, for he had neither father nor mother, as far as he could recollect. he commenced life as a stable boy and general drudge in england, at a village inn owned and conducted by a widow named cobbledick. this widow had a daughter named jemima. the mischief wrought in this world by women, from eve to jemima downwards, is incalculable, and smithers averred that it was this female, jemima, who brought on his sorrow, grief, and woe. she was very advanced in wordly science, as young ladies are apt to be when they are educated in the retail liquor trade. when smithers had been several years at the inn, and jemima was already in her teens, she thought the world went slowly; she had no lover, there was nobody coming to marry her, nobody coming to woo. but at length she was determined to find a remedy for this state of things. she had never read the history of the loves of the great catherine of russia, nor of those of our own virgin queen elizabeth, but by an inborn royal instinct she was impelled to follow their high example. if lovers did not offer their adoration to her charms spontaneously, there was at any rate one whose homage she could command. one sunday afternoon, while her mother was absent, she went to the stable and ordered smithers to come and take a walk with her, directing him first to polish his shoes and put on his best clothes. she brought out a bottle of scented oil to sweeten him, and told him to rub it well into his hair, and stroke his head with his hands until it was sleek and shiny. she had put on her sunday dress and best bonnet; she had four ringlets at each side of her face; and to crown her charms, had ventured to borrow her mother's gold watch and chain. being now a perfect princess in stateliness and beauty, she took jack by the arm--she called him jack--and made him march away with her. he was rather abashed at the new duty imposed upon him, but he had been so well kicked and cuffed all his life that he never thought of disobeying orders. love fooled the gods, and it gave him little trouble to fool so sorry a pair as jack and his jemima. they walked along perkins' lane where many of the neighbours were likely to see them, for jemima was anxious that all the other girls, her dearest friends, should be filled with spite and envy at her good fortune in having secured a lover. when the happy youth and maid were returning with wandering steps and slow, jemima saw her mother pass the end of the lane on her way homewards, much sooner than she had expected. the golden hours on angel wings had flown away too quickly for the lovers. miss cobbledick was filled with sudden alarm, and her brief day of glory was clouded. it was now impossible to reach home in time to avoid trouble. her mother would be certain to miss the watch, and what was she to do with it? what with jack, and what with herself? self-preservation being the first law of nature, jemima resolved to sacrifice jack in order to shield herself from her mother's rage. he was not of much account in any respect; so she gave him the watch and chain, telling him to keep them safely till she asked for them, and to hurry round by the yard gate into the stable. this gave great relief to her conscience, and enabled her to meet her mother with a face of untroubled innocence. jack had not a lively imagination; but during the night he had a clear and blissful vision of his future destiny, the only dream of fortune his life was ever blessed with. he was to be the landlord of the hotel, when mrs. cobbledick had gone to bliss, and jemima was to be his bride, and the landlady. but early next morning there was trouble in the house. the watch was missing, and nobody knew anything about it. jemima helped her mother to look for it, and could not find it. a constable was sent for, and he questioned everyone in and about the house, and searched everywhere without result. last of all jack was asked if he knew anything of the missing watch. he was faithful and true. how could he betray jemima, his future partner in life? he said he "had never seen no watch, and didn't know nothing whatsomever about no watch," and the next instant the constable pulled the watch out of jack's pocket. at his trial he was asked what he had to say in his defence, and then he told the truth, and said jemima gave him the watch to keep until she should ask for it. but there is a time for all things; and jack could never learn the proper time for telling the truth, or for telling a lie; he was always in the wrong. the judge, in passing sentence, said he had aggravated his crime by endeavouring to implicate an innocent young lady in his villany, and gave him seven years. he was taken on board a hulk, where he found two or three hundred other boys imprisoned. on the evening of his arrival a report was circulated among them that they were all to be sent to another ship, which was bound for botany bay, and that they would never see england again. they would have to work and sleep in chains; they would be yoked together, and whipped like bullocks; and if they escaped into the bush the blacks would kill and eat them. as this dismal tale went round, some of the boys, who were quite young and small, began to cry, and to call for their mothers to come and help them; and then the others began to scream and should and yell. the warders came below and tried to silence them, but the more they tried the louder grew the uproar, and it continued for many hours during the night. "britons rarely swerve from law, however stern, which tends their strength to serve." discipline must be maintained; so next morning the poor little beggars were brought up on deck in batches, stripped, triced up, and severely flogged. jack, and a number of other boys, said they had not cried at all, but the officer in charge thought it was better that a few of the innocent should suffer rather than that one of the guilty should escape, so they were all flogged alike, and soon after they were shipped for new south wales. on his arrival n sydney, jack was assigned as a servant to a squatter, and taken into the bush a long way to the west. the weather had been very hot for a long time, all the grass had withered to dust, and the cattle were starving. the first work which he was ordered to do was to climb trees and cut off the branches, in order that the cattle might keep themselves alive by eating the leaves and twigs. jack had never been used to handle an axe or tomahawk, so he found the labour of chopping very hard. he did his best, but that was not good enough for the squatter, who took him to a magistrate, and had him flogged by the official scourger. while serving his sentence of seven years he was flogged four times; three of the times he said he had "done nothing," and for the fourth flogging he confessed to me that he had "done something," but he did not say what the "something" was. in those days it seems that "doing nothing" and "doing something" were crimes equally meriting the lash. and now after a long life of labour the old convict had achieved independence at last. i don't think i ever met a richer man; he was richer than the whole family of the rothschilds; he wanted scarcely anything. food and clothing he obtained for the asking for them, and he was not particular as to their quality of the quantity was sufficient. property to him was something despicable; he did not want any, and would not live inside of a house if he had one; he preferred the outside. he was free from family cares--never had father or mother, sister or brother, wife or children. no poor relatives ever claimed his hospitality; no intimate friends wanted to borrow half-a-crown; no one ever asked him to buy suburban lots, or to take shares in a limited liability company. he was perfectly indifferent to all danger from bush-rangers, burglars, pickpockets, or cattle stealers; he did not even own a dog, so the dogman never asked him for the dog tax. he never enquired about the state of the money market, nor bothered himself about the prices of land or cattle, wood, wine, or wheat. every bank, and brewery, and building society in the world might go into liquidation at once for aught he cared. he had retired from the government service, had superannuated himself on a pension of nothing per annum, and to draw it he required no voucher. and yet, notwithstanding all these advantages, i don't think there are many men who would voluntarily choose his lot. i watched him from the end of the verandah, and began speculating about him. what was he thinking about during his solitary watches in the night or while he tramped alone through the bush year after year in heat and cold, wind and rain? did he ever think of anything--of his past life, or of his future lot? did he believe in or hope for a heaven? or had he any fear of hell and eternal punishment? surely he had been punished enough; in this life he had endured evil things in plenty, and might at least hope for eternal rest in the next. he was sitting with his back against a gum tree, and his feet towards the fire. from time to time he threw a few more sticks on the embers, and a fitful blaze lit up his dark weatherbeaten face. then to my surprise he began to sing, and to sing well. his voice was strong, clear, and mellow, and its tones rose and fell in the silent night air with a pathetic and wonderful sweetness. the burden of his song was "we may be happy yet." "oh, smile as thou wert wont to smile, before a weight of care had crushed thine heart, and yet awhile left only sorrow there; we may be happy yet." he sang three stanzas, and was silent. then someone said: "poor old fellow; i hope he may be happy yet." next morning he was sitting with his back against the gum tree. his fire had gone out, and he seemed to be late in awaking, and in no hurry to resume his journey. but his travels were finished; he never awoke. his body was quite cold, and he must have died soon after he had sung the last note of his song. he had only sixpence in his pocket--the sixpence i had given him for his biography. the police took him in charge once more and put him in his last prison, where he will remain until we shall all be called together by the dread blast of the archangel's trumpet on the judgment day. produced from scans of public domain works at the national library of australia.) +-------------------------------------------------+ |transcriber's note: | | | |obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | | | +-------------------------------------------------+ george robertson & co. booksellers, publishers, and commercial stationers. [illustration: decoration] account book manufacturers. [illustration: decoration] _bookbinders_ _letterpress printers._ _paper rulers_ _engravers_ _lithographers_ _die sinkers_ _embossers._ [illustration: decoration] melbourne-- - little collins street. sydney-- - george street. adelaide-- freeman street. brisbane-- elizabeth street. and london-- warwick square. paternoster row, e.c. [illustration: dunlop tyres] and dunlop-welch rims [illustration: decoration] were used by murif on his _transcontinental ride from adelaide to port darwin_. murif knew only too well that he must have tyres and rims that would prove speedy and reliable if he was to accomplish his pioneer undertaking--hence his choice. and the result showed that his confidence was not misplaced--as his tyres and rims came through the ordeal splendidly. the dunlop pneumatic tyre co., ltd., swanston street, melbourne. also at . . . kent street, sydney. franklin st., adelaide. king street, perth. and christchurch, n.z. from ocean to ocean across a continent on a bicycle. an account of a solitary ride from adelaide to port darwin by jerome j. murif. george robertson & co., melbourne, sydney, adelaide, brisbane and london. . george robertson and co. printers melbourne, sydney, adelaide, brisbane and london from ocean to ocean. a vague longing to do _something_ first flattered, then irritated, then oppressed me. in vain i tried to argumentatively brush it aside, to pooh-pooh it, to laugh it out of countenance. my arsenal of trite well-worn sayings (so commonly the accompaniment of a weak argument) was ransacked for ammunition to once and for all lay out this absurd restlessness. for instance, i resolutely endeavored to persuade myself that of course the maxim was true that "there is nothing new under the sun." i argued that that was as absolutely convincing in my case as a maxim is in some others. then i went to sleep, dreamily reflecting that _that_ was settled, anyway. in the morning, i was witness that one saying, at any rate, was true: i had convinced myself against my will, and was in reality still longing for that formless _something_. so i made a bargain with myself to strive to give my longing a local habitation and a name--to set about discovering something to be done that no man had yet even dared. in my quest of a world to conquer, i bought a book of "human records" (which is not to be confounded with "a human document") so i might know what spheres had been already vanquished. there inscribed were the names of the heroes who had sucked the most eggs, eaten the most dumplings, drunk the most liquor, chopped the biggest tree, drawn the most teeth, vaulted the most horses. i passed these dizzy heights with a sigh. they were far above me. besides, _cui bono_? and then, my mind revolving many things, speeding from one to the other, passing as the bicycle-scorcher passes the mile posts on the road-side-- of course! why, what else could it be? to cross australia on a bicycle, piercing the very heart of a continent, facing dangers, some known and more unknown--it was the very thing. now, looking back upon the task accomplished, i confess, with becoming humility, that it was not from a splendid devotion to science; it was neither to observe an eclipse of the sun or the moon nor to scour unknown country for the elusive diprotodon; not even in the interests of british commerce (as represented by jones's factory or brown's warehouse), but simply to gratify this craving to do _something_ before considerate people dropped me out of sight and out of mind--it was simply for this that i resolved there and then to pedal from ocean to ocean on a bicycle. and when, a month after my task was completed, the jubilee honors were announced i did not search the list in the expectation of finding myself down for even a peerage. * * * * the _something_ had at any rate taken shape at last; in the first blush of delight the accomplishment seemed a trifling matter of detail. to do, and to be the first to attempt the doing of it, was my object. if that object was to be attained easily, all well. if, on the other hand, there were many dangers and they were safely overcome, then better still. all i now lay claim to having done was the little all i had the desire to do: to travel a bicycle over every inch of the ground between glenelg, on a gulf of the southern ocean, and port darwin, on the arafura sea, a portion of the indian ocean--and to be the first to do it. in no sense of the word has my machine been conveyed for me; neither has any conveyance other than the bicycle with which i set out borne me at any time over any part of the journey. nevertheless in the fulfilment of my purpose i availed myself of whatever other aids offered. thus i took full advantage of the hotels _en route_; and when, later on, the region of hotels being passed--and these benevolent institutions are pitched marvellously far out--i did not ride off into the scrub whenever i suspected that people were ahead of me on the track. not even the thought that those persons might invite me to a meal daunted me. the proffer of a blanket at night had no terrors for me. and if in the morning my new-made friends could give me some fresh directions, checking my own and serving as a safeguard, i thought none the worse of them. but we are not on the track yet. not even in the dressing-room. * * * * as the first few to whom i in part confided my intention pooh-poohed the notion, i consulted further with no one; and as i was not in a position to pick up much information concerning the country to be traversed without disclosing plans which were never mentioned but to be laughed at or declared impracticable, i decided to go quietly at the first opportunity, and to be my own "guide, philosopher, and friend." still, i was not angry with those who chided me. in common, i fancy, with the majority of australians, i knew but little of the northern part of the continent; and i honestly believed that the journey was one which it would be difficult to complete. they said impossible, i said difficult--that was all the difference. men who knew the country led me in fancy into the centre of the continent, broke my machine upon any one of the thousand unexpected dangers of the open, trackless desert--and asked me to consider my helplessness. yes; the journey was formidable. it had no attractions for me if it was otherwise. i thanked my friends, began earnestly to regard the excursion in a serious light, and held my tongue. i smile benevolently now as i look back upon myself of those days. the thing is done, it then remained to be done. * * * * before this time, i had thought of securing a companion to share the venture; and i wasted a good deal of time and money seeking such a one. the number of people who had the expedition in mind surprised me--i met them constantly. "ah, yes, great idea! d'ye know i've been thinking about tackling it for some time?" "well, co'on." then there was an awkward pause. generally i had to see them about it in the morning. in the morning--"sorry, old fellow, awfully sorry, but can't manage to get away just now. great idea, though, isn't it?" one whom i came to know intimately (we were, and continue, excellent friends) was at first all eagerness to join. but he too gradually cooled off and reluctantly and half abashed, but finally, backed out. and in his case, why? not because of the expense, nor through reading or hearing of treacherous blacks, of venomous snakes, of alligators and other interesting things we had so eagerly looked forward to throwing stones at. not because of the certain hardships and probable perils to be encountered; the likelihood of being stricken with fever; the danger of getting bushed, and experiencing the terrors of thirst as well as the horrors of hunger (for we knew we could carry precious little of either water or food). no; just this, half apologetically said, and then only with an effort that did him credit--"the general impression seems to be that the thing, you know, isn't to be done. when they hear of our starting out to try it, what will the fellows say?" and what talks we had had about our adventures in prospective! a rousing change, too, was admittedly just the very thing he stood in need of. he could well afford both the time and the money. an "adventure" he was the one to thoroughly enjoy. but--the smile of the fellows left behind, their laugh and jest in case of failure; it was more than a sensitive man could bear to think of. and so he stayed at home. two could travel in safety where one might perish. if one machine broke down, the other at least might bear food and water to the derelict rider. but if the derelict rider were alone, stricken ill, fallen a victim to accident far from any settlement-- not a pleasant track--let us seek another. there was the continent. no bicycle had crossed it. that was my _something_, resolved upon long ago. and if it had to be done alone--it might be misfortune. who knows--it might also be the other thing! * * * * it was, then, to be a solitary ride. but that the _bona fides_ of it could not very well be disputed, i had printed a many-paged book, ruled vertically. the headings to the spaces were:--"distance," "date," "time," "presence vouched for at," "by," "address," "departure," with a blank page opposite for "mems _re_ road." being well aware that many people would certainly be averse to hurriedly entering their names in the book of an entire stranger--a stranger, too, who must resolutely decline to state his business, his object, or his destination--i determined to call on and make known my intention to two or three "leading men," foreseeing that, could i but obtain their signatures to begin with, others would be only too pleased, or at least would not refuse, to add theirs to the list. luckily the first of the notabilities i waited on took kindly to the idea, and at once very courteously obliged me. to him my thanks are once more repeated; and neither of the other two gentlemen next seen demurred. yet even this task was not accomplished without the customary kindly-intentioned warnings. thus one of the three said:--"do you know you face death in seriously attempting to do this journey?" what answer could be more common-place than mine--"one has to die _some_ time, sir?" "death"!--the word, spoken generally with much unction, and i were grown familiar. had the gentleman said--"pooh! it's easy. you ought to do it without hurting yourself, in so many weeks time,"--had he said that, i should have been sadly disheartened. * * * * when in adelaide previously i had sounded a cycle-agent as to the reward he would be prepared to offer a man for undertaking the trip. like the others he ridiculed the notion--termed it preposterous, spoke of crocodiles, and of the rider having to carry a spare set of tyres, bags of flour, tanks of water, perhaps an extra machine. nevertheless he proposed that the hare-brained unknown one be got to purchase a bicycle (on the sale of which i, of course, would be allowed a small commission), "and should he get through," remarked the agent, with a wink, "i would not mind returning him the purchase money." "but, stay," he added, as an afterthought, climbing down yet lower, "it's bound to be a failure, and failure does nobody any good, you know; so i'd rather not have my name or one of my machines mixed up with the thing at all." as this might be the prevailing feeling among cycle-agents (and i have good reasons now for believing that it was) i determined on acting independently of them also. than this resolution nothing in connection with the undertaking has since given me greater satisfaction; nor was anything more comforting during the ride than the feeling of complete independence which flowed from it. * * * * i knew a little about bicycles, and did not pick one at random in the first, second, or any other agency i entered. besides being on the look-out for a good mount, i was also seeking a firm which i could, if occasion arose, recommend others to deal with. at last my choice was made. i paid the money, said nothing of my plans, and no embarrassing questions were asked. being now resolved to take upon my own shoulders all the consequences of failure--if i should fail--i erased the maker's name and substituted my own favorite word "diamond" in its place. if i broke down--well, a moral might be pointed on the evil results of riding an unknown make of bicycle. if there came success--well, again, i should have no objection to making my acknowledgment to civil people. * * * * the machine i chose and purchased came nearly up to my ideal for this present purpose. let us look at it. a roadster; two in. wheels; weight, lbs; gear, ½; handy interlocking arrangement; dust-proof caps over pedal bearings; bearings not of complicated construction; tangent spokes; the sprocket and back gear-wheels well set on their shafts. i could not find fault with any part of the machine. its general appearance pleased me. the new saddle came off, and an old and comfortable one, with an appropriate tool bag, took its place. this tool bag was circular, and my drinking vessel (a "pannikin," not to put too fine a point upon it) fitted closely over its end. an old, tried, and trusty inflator was added to this part of the equipment. then i ordered a more than ordinarily thick tandem tyre to be fitted on the hind wheel in place of the one of the regular roadster pattern, and an endless rubber strip to be solutioned on over the tread of the front wheel. as for the rest i did not look for gear case or cyclometer. if the country to be traversed came up to expectations in point of roughness, the former would be torn away--an objection which applied also to the cyclometer, as the only reliable make i knew of when in use protruded from the outside of one of the front forks. neither was missed; and i was glad i did not burden myself with them. the brake was allowed to remain, and a bell was added. both of these i intended to throw away when the beaten roads were left behind. the equipment was completed with a spare air tube, chain-link and rivets, copper wire, file, spanners and plyers, solution and patching rubber, a long length of strong cord, tooth brush, compass, and small bottle of matches. a pair of luggage-carriers were fitted to the handle bars; on these was strapped a roll of light waterproof sheeting, ½ feet by feet, containing a change of linen, pair of socks, handkerchief, soap, towel, a small mirror--my extravagance!--a comb, and three small waterproof bags in which to stow papers, etc., in the event of heavy rain falling. a leather satchel slung over one shoulder, and so fastened that it could not slip down, proved a handy receptacle for odds and ends. a rug and other things of which i may have occasion to make mention later on were forwarded to hergott. i had intended carrying front and back wheel duplicate shafts, but did not. a tin to hold one quart of water was strapped against the stays, between the top of the rear wheel and the saddle. a day was spent in riding through the hills near adelaide with the object of testing the new machine, and that i might adjust its chain and bearings to my liking, learning the while what i could of its peculiarities, if it had any disagreeable ones--in fact, to break it in. * * * * on the evening of my fourth day in adelaide, my very few arrangements being nearly complete, i rode down to glenelg, obtained the local post-master's promise of a signature, and spent the night at the pier hotel. next morning the p.m. walked down with me and stood on the pier--smiling, i observed--while i cycled down the firm sandy beach into the ocean; then, having turned about, found myself dramatically waving my hat to the water. that was the baptism of diamond in the southern ocean. the obliging officer entered a short statement in my voucher book to the effect that he had been witness to the incomprehensible ceremony. (the statement served as a preface, and so was written on the first blank page inside the cover.) and now northwards through a continent. * * * * still having a little private business to transact in adelaide, i remained there for another night and well into the following forenoon. then the bicycle, loaded now for the expedition, was lifted downstairs; i shook hands with the landlady (who "couldn't make me out nohow," i dare say, good soul), told her i might not be back for tea and not to keep it waiting, and quietly pedalled away on my glistening diamond, without a single person being by to see me off or wish me luck. but there was the glorious sense of having resolutely acted an independent part. a glad feeling of being alive, untrammelled, free. and so we gaily sped along. it was a very dance on wheels. we are on the track at last! * * * * kapunda, miles from adelaide, gives us shelter for the night. to gawler is half the distance. the road is good only to four miles from adelaide, thence bumpy macadam, with clay stretches, to within five miles of gawler. to the right, the flinders ranges; flat country showing to the left. agriculture everywhere. beyond gawler, i was advised to take the middle one of three roads, known as the freeling; but after trying it, cut off to the right and got on to the greenock road. here was splendid running--down grades, too. metalled with ironstone--some grand patches. so good that i passed the words "post office" at she-oak log without dismounting to ask someone to sign for me. about and after she-oak log was undulating country, with the ranges showing now and again to the right. at a little place named daveyston, i halted to pick up a signature and a long drink. a resident put down the one, i the other. arrived at greenock. visited madam the gracious post-mistress, and obtained her signature. prized, because it is the first in a lady's hand in the book. then on to kapunda. undulating country, with good riding all the way. arrived about o'clock--hungry. * * * * this afternoon i met a cyclist seated in a spring dray, steadying his machine with one hand and himself with the other. they were noisily approaching at a jig-jog. we stopped. "good-day!" "good-day!" "accident?" i asked. "no--only this is less like graft. and where are you bound for?" "head of the line if all goes well!" "oodnadatta?" "um." "mean it--on business?" "oh no, merely out for a ride." but my new mount had betrayed me to this wheeling sherlock holmes. "ah, you'll get over that sort of thing by-an'-bye. just after i'd learned to stick on, i was like you-- the stiffest breeze was never too stiff, nor the highest hill too high. ha, ha! not bad, is it? but as i was saying, i got over it. the bloom is off the rye'-din. ha, ha!" "oh, come now," i expostulated meekly. "never mind, no 'fence, you know. bye-bye." then to the driver--"s'pose we see if we can't knock a sprint out of the old quad., eh? ha, ha!" and he laughed along the greenock road. * * * * from kapunda next morning. the road excellent, built up of ironstone, broken small. gentle inclines, and longish down-grades. undulating country, fertile and farmed. before one quite reaches waterloo, a cemetery is seen away to the left, remindful of a battle field. the track continues hilly and ironstony to black springs; soon after that, at stony hut, a rivulet of brackish water crosses the road. then one gets amongst the highest rises yet encountered. through these, known as the black hills, winds the road, keeping fairly level for eight or nine miles, and so into the burra. rather a pleasant ride those last few miles, gums and peppermint or box trees picturesquely dotting the landscape, until at the burra the ruins of once famous copper-mining works displease the eye. from the burra to mount bryan an excellent level metalled road keeps close beside the railway line; but a couple of miles beyond hallett, the cyclist will come on unmade roads, so that he will have only fair riding to yarcowie and terowie. tyre troubles cause a delay between yarcowie and terowie. ahead are cross-roads innumerable, and it being already sundown i reluctantly decide to stay at terowie the night. miles from adelaide. * * * * a drought lay heavily upon the land, giving the township in the eyes of the skurrying passer-by an atmosphere of even greater somnolence than usual. a church, a store (often also the post-office), a blacksmith's shop, a hotel, a school-house, with half-a-dozen suburban tenements, constitute a township. it is affirmed that there are inhabitants, that on sundays they go to church punctiliously, and that on one other given day in the week the farmers come in from round about with their butter and their eggs to the store, and then the township is "busy." of the other five days there is no record. * * * * an early start was made from terowie on an absurdly round-about road to petersburg--unmade, too, but level, yet only middling for travelling on head winds, besides. breakfasted, and steered for orroroo; this township appearing to be right in the path of anyone making northwards. much crossing and re-crossing of the railway. at half-way, blackrock is passed. a hard, smooth road, running through the fertile blackrock plains, now withered and parched; high ranges showing afar off on either hand--and so to orroroo. thence it is only a few miles to walloway, where another rivulet is come upon. to eurelia the road is not good, but it improves as one journeys towards carrieton. * * * * in a blinding dust-storm blowing against us, a spring cart passed, whose driver invited diamond and me on board. this was the first offer of the kind we had received, and it was thankfully declined. my voucher-book was being signed readily. only twice so far had it been presented without result. one poor human agricultural implement looked cunningly at me. a book canvasser had "had" him once, he said, and added "i ain't a fool." disaster is a merciless mocker; it deceives its victims into believing that it has sharpened their wits, whereas in general it has sadly dulled them. here was a case in point. in the other case a pot boy, the only "inhabitant" on hand, was so impertinently inquisitive that i did without his help. perhaps another case. * * * * the evening at carrieton was more or less profitably occupied in listening to a tap-room discussion of social, political and domestic economy as represented by seed-wheat. no matter into what by-ways the debate drifted, it came back inevitably to seed-wheat. there was infinite pathos in the tales of helplessness of these drought-harried men. * * * * there are abundant proofs as we steer out of carrieton towards cradock that we are already on the outskirts of the kingdom of the bicycle. the horses--bony apparitions mostly--have for the machine none of that contempt which tells of its familiarity to the city horse. so the bell is handy. not so much to warn the equestrian as to soothe the bicyclist's conscience. you ring your bell and by that simple act throw on to other shoulders the full responsibility for all the frightened horse may do. * * * * to cradock from carrieton next forenoon. thirty miles. strong head winds. near yangarrie, cross a gum-lined creek of shallow running water. travelling stock and mail route all the way. * * * * and on this stage a slight mishap, and an incident. before creeping into a dam for a drink, i hung my satchel upon the fence. having drunk, a horse took my notice: it stood listlessly against the fence, on the outside, in a paddock entirely destitute of feed--a sun-baked waste. but for the support of the fence it must have fallen. i remembered having somewhere seen such another animal described as a barrel-hooped skeleton, held together by raw-hide. in vain i tried to shift it. it quite frivolously whisked its tail--its only token of animation. no persuasions, no beguilements could move it. i was interested--in the cause of science, and of sport. i had inflated my tyres a little, and now desired to ascertain whether a strong blast from the air-pump would throw it _hors de combat_. visions rose before me. i should, if i could but succeed, tell a breathless people, ever intent upon the amiable pursuit of killing one another and other more harmless things, that when in the desert i had slaughtered every one of a mob of horses with the help of a new and deadly air-gun. to discover something so deadly--here was a companionship of the bath at the least! thus murderously inclined, i approached with the weapon. the animal raised its head, cast upon me a look of mingled sorrow and reproach, lazily lifted its upper lip on seeing the threatening inflator, and--tried to eat it! of such stuff are the dreams of the bush. thus moralising i rode off without my satchel. had to race back four miles. and there still leaning against the fence, apparently unmoved in so much as a limb, stood the animal, a pitiful monument to the appalling severity of the drought of ' - . * * * * after you leave cradock the ranges appear to be closing in in front. but they are escaped somehow; and hawker, miles from the last township, is reached. of hawker i have two memories: one of a barber; the other of a "specially prepared" (_i.e._ warmed-up) dinner. neither, i suspect, of absorbing public interest. in the evening, a strong head-wind having calmed down, rode to hookina ( miles); thence, being disappointed there in the matter of "accommodation," to a place known as "the white well," seven miles ahead. was it to be the first camp out? darkness had fallen, and lone travellers who can give no rational account of themselves must ever labor under dark suspicion also. but, at a roadside cottage, the rare bicycle served me as a talisman, and secured me a supper, bed, and breakfast. for the day, miles. * * * * the road to hookina goes through the ranges, and for four miles there are rough and very stony hills to traverse. i took to the railway-line and rode alongside the rails; but the "metal" was destructively sharp-cornered, and the riding unsafe, because of the steep embankments and the frequency of culverts. there was also a tyre-tearing levelling-peg protruding at every chain or so between the lines. from hookina the track winds through soft but fair riding and level ground, with the high arkaby ranges keeping well away to the east. mount alice shows up most prominently. * * * * on examining diamond by lamp-light--i made a practice of looking it over every night--i was unpleasantly surprised to observe innumerable burrs sticking in both tyres. the back one, being of more than ordinary thickness, had successfully resisted their endeavors to get through into the air tube, and the strip on the front tyre, being new, had also dissuaded the attacking thorns from intruding too far. these burrs, common to many of the agricultural districts of south australia, and especially prolific where the ground is sandy, are known as "three cornered jacks." no matter how they lie upon the ground, one hard and sharp spear points upwards. they are very plentiful in their season from hookina up so far as parachilna. * * * * the breeze next morning, though light, was favorable. but the day was sunday. i debated with myself, in bed, which would be the greater sin--to not avail oneself of an inviting breeze, or to continue cycle-touring on the sabbath. being unable to answer the question quite satisfactorily, i compromised, and made a late start. to parachilna ( odd miles): bad, bumpy road, stony and soft, or hard and guttery. dined here. to beltana ( miles): alongside the railway line--on which trains travel occasionally, and even then for the most part only to hergott. some stretches of good track, but most of it heavy travelling. much walking. some very stony miles traversed over; country broken into low hills. by way of change, there was fresh-looking high saltbush in the vicinity of blackfellow's creek--and also numbers of diamond sparrows. blackfellow's creek, a wider stream than had been expected. * * * * i met the first aborigines when close to beltana. there were four of them, all females, fully dressed. they were walking towards me; and by way of entertaining them i rang my bell and cavalierly doffed my cap. for my entertainment doubtless they smiled, as only one of their kind can, and made grimaces. so we parted the best of friends. "it may not always be so," i thought; "the painful necessity may arise presently to shoot some of your male distant relations." bush country is here fairly entered upon; the wheat-producing areas ending about hawker. the rainfall is too certainly uncertain further north. to the south it certainly is uncertain also. the everlasting hills yet last, to east and west. the night at beltana; miles for the day; miles from adelaide. in good fettle and with a healthy appetite. the rough track had been very trying to my diamond. but all was well. sunday cycling, too; yet no accidents! resolved to cycle on the sabbath in future. * * * * from beltana monday morning. hilly to puttapa pass. the latter the most picturesque spot yet passed. through a jutting rocky point, a railway cutting runs at the base of a steep and rugged hill, and at the cutting's end a lofty iron bridge of many spans runs out across a wide and very stony creek, through whose bed for a mile or so the track winds sinuously; then climbs the northern bank, and so on to country far from good for cycling over. saw the first mob of kangaroos--a small one. much creek-crossing; also much walking--tiring and very slow. still, i was in such good condition that i frequently caught myself going at a "chinaman's trot" where i could not do any riding. in flat country now. the track (over marshy alkaline-strewn ground) faces towards several low flat-topped hillocks, and passes close to some remarkable metalliferous-seeming ironstone mounds. then to leigh's creek, at about miles. here are a railway siding and a coal mine, adelaide owned, but the prospects are not bright. * * * * in front of a cottage somewhere about here i caught sight of--my first snake. a small one, brown, about feet long. a frocked child was standing in the doorway keeping tight hold of a cotton-reel. to the unrolled length of cotton was attached a crooked pin, baited with a piece of bread. this precocious infant was fishing--when i chanced to come along and frighten away his eel. on my thoughtlessly telling the mother (who, it transpired, had been having forty winks in a back room) she exclaimed, "drat the boy!" informed me that "the kid was always getting 'imself into some mischief--could never let things be," boxed the innocent little fisherman's ears, and took from him his tackle. "i wondered what he was awanting the bread for," she remarked by and bye; and when the child, who had gone to a corner to have his cry out, walked over to bury his face in her lap--"lord bless his dirty little angel face," she said, as, spitting on one corner of her apron, she wiped the little angel face clean. * * * * from leigh's creek to lyndhurst is very heavy road--now soft, now very stony, so travelling is hard work. thus it was right through to farina, miles from beltana, where diamond and i pulled up about o'clock in the afternoon. an enthusiastic and almost intemperately hospitable wheelman, the only one in the place, made me welcome; advised me of an excellent stretch of road up to hergott, miles on; closed and locked his store door to mark the occasion of a stranger-cyclist's arrival, and accompanied me for two or three miles along the track. presently some railway-workmen's cottages are reached, and here kind people provided an evening meal. and as i started somebody remarked--"look out for a bit of a rut when you get about miles on." one rut in four miles! yet, _mirabile dictu_, the road to hergott came right up to expectations. * * * * railway workmen up here console themselves for their miserable portion by giving their residences high-sounding titles. somewhere up from hawker, a row of tents occupy the site of an old camp. a square tent standing at the top corner of the row is dubbed "no. , transcontinental terrace." a round one further along, "euchre-ville." here as everywhere is also a "belle vue house;" and likewise "the shamrock"--_in memoriam_ doubtless. one with the name large-written over the entrance in painfully sprawling capitals is "marine view cottage!" a strapping workman was at the door. "which way lies the marine scenery, mister?" "eh?" he questioned in return, not comprehending for a moment. i pointed to the sign and repeated the question. "where's the marine scenery, is it!" "if you please." "oh, everywhere within a rajus," sweeping his arm across the refuse-littered waste. "marines for yez, but"--with infinite sadness--"all dead." * * * * at hergott, miles from adelaide. bleak and uninviting. treeless, save for some government date palms; healthy looking plants, fringing an artesian bore. the hotel people kindness personified. "spelled" the greater part of next day and overhauled the machine; cleaned the chain, and located one or two puncturettes. found awaiting me here some wearables, a rug and other likely-to-be-useful articles; but hearing of depots still ahead, i re-addressed the parcel, minus the wearables, back to whence it came. although the nights were likely to be cold, the days are very warm; and the bulk of the rug made it "impossible" in bad country. at night time, for a while at any rate, when camping out i would try how sleeping between two or half-a-dozen fires suits me. * * * * oil was to be had at the telegraph stations. (neatsfoot--i fancy for this hot climate an oil of about the right consistency; sperm oil, such as is used for sewing-machines, being to my mind too thin altogether, while castor is, on the other hand, of course too thick.) as i had so far used hardly a single feeder-full, i merely replenished my oil-feeder and left the "reserve tin" behind. i had oiled each morning regularly, perhaps using another drop or two on the main bearings during the day, and had dropped a little on the chain after roughly cleaning it occasionally. some machines call for frequent re-oiling; others do well with very little. diamond luckily was among the latter. * * * * the consensus of opinion at hergott was adverse to the success of my project--for my intentions could no longer be completely hidden. so, rather than endure possibly irritating remarks on the subject, i moved on in the afternoon. several people southwards had told me of a cyclist who was coming presently with the object of attempting to ride right through. (it had got into the newspapers somehow--how i do not to this day know.) i was so lightly loaded that few, if any, of them suspected that i was the individual, "misguided," "rash" and many other things. wherefore to me they laughed more derisively about the coming visitor than they might otherwise have done. at one place, after obliging with his signature, a postmaster opened his heart to me. (that "somewhere about the terminus of the railway" was my destination i had permitted him to infer.) i ought to wait, he said, till the expectantly-looked-for other fellow turned up. "he is bound to come along this way," remarked the p.m., "and--unless you'd rather not, of course--it would be company for both of you." this officer added, cheering me on my way, that he knew the country northwards well, and he ridiculed the idea of a bicycle being ridden through it. ah! well, we shall see whether one cannot be pushed through in that case, i thought; and so moved on. * * * * the road from hergott was far from pleasant and there raged that disheartening drawback to cycling, a head wind. all flat country; soft, sandy loam, covered with loose stones of varying sizes, known as "gibbers." we shall know them better presently. travelled only miles, and camped at canterbury waterhole. here was a callanna sheep-station boundary rider's tent--a temporary shelter until the water evaporated; and i was made welcome to tea, salt mutton and--my first damper. before arriving at this waterhole i had to walk through a very soft, marshy salt-lake; sometimes having to shoulder the bicycle, and frequently sinking almost knee-deep into the mire. the subsequent sleep beside that camp fire was a re-creation to remember. * * * * at a deserted hut a dozen or so miles from hergott i met a "hard case" of the bush who had been camped there for three days, and intended remaining there for four or five more. he was "spelling," he told me. i suggested that it was a strange place to recuperate. "well, 's this way," he said, in an access of confidence. "i heard ole so-an'-so had sold 'is mine to a swindicate and was goin' to stand a blow-out at the pub at hergit. i might's well be in thet, i ses; but i found i was a week ahead of it, and now i'm just waitin' here for that----drunk. my oath, it _wus_ hard when i larnt i was to be a----week out en them drinks; my throat's peelin'. you don't happen to have----" i cut in that i didn't happen to have---- "then d'ye happen to have a squib?"--(squib=revolver). i looked at my friend. he observed the glance. "now, now, nuthin' like that about _me_," he said. "fact is"--in another burst of confidence--"i'm perishin' fer a bit of meat. there ain't no harm in _thet_, i hope." we chatted (confidentially still) about this strange life of his. "and how do you get meat?" i asked in my simplicity. "why, y' know," he answered with a wink, "if we see a sheep we can't stand quiet and let it bite us, now, can we? it wouldn't be human natur'." and he chuckled at his joke. * * * * a late start was made the following morning. an entry presently made in my note book has it thus: "plugging away, barely moving, against a viciously strong wind, over bleak, soft, treeless, and nearly flat country, strewed with loose stones, and with a sand-hill now and again by way of change, or the marshy bed of a salt lagoon to wade through"--an experience to be forgotten as soon as possible. again: "there is no avoiding the badnesses. the railway line is near at hand. tried riding alongside the rails--useless, too soft. between the rails--too rough." as the wind beat wildly into my face i heard it warningly cry "go back! go back!" and in the lulls it droned and muttered chidingly--i knew not why--"obstinate, foolish fellow." whereupon, as i wasn't taking any warnings, i stooped, and in a short-lived sprint exerted all the strength i had to bore a hole through the blast. this sort of thing lasted to bopuchie, where are some workmen's huts. here i was treated to bread and butter and tea by a couple of kindly-dispositioned expatriated women, whose husbands were working further up the line. i was also generously presented with a good clean handkerchief, as i had been heard to deeply mourn the recent loss of my own: the wind had whisked it out of my pocket. the same night diamond and i reached lake eyre cottages, where were the husbands and others, a "flying-gang" of navvies on the (some-day-to-be) transcontinental line. only miles from hergott. heartbreaking work. yet fed ravenously. * * * * after leaving bopuchie, caught myself doing a cautious "look out for the train," glancing warily up and down the line. then i recollected that a train came along only once in three weeks, and was reassured. * * * * did you ever, travelling alone, make unexpected acquaintance with a bush grave? the lonely land has been clothed as usual in "weird melancholy." you are weary, and, perhaps, a little dispirited. and then, just behind a mulga tree, you come upon a mound--and it is the length of a man. if you are very weary you will sit upon it, and take off your hat, and think; perhaps in a minute or two shudder a little. whereupon you will rub your eyes to try and satisfy yourself that you have been foolishly dreaming. but you will not sit again; you will move on, faster than you have been doing. between hergott and oodnadatta there are several rows of mounds. they are the vouchers for part of the cost of the at present useless railway line. for typhoid and dysentery played sad havoc in the navvies' camps. * * * * leaving lake eyre cottages the track passes very close to the southernmost end of the lake itself: within, say, half a mile. the bed is feet below sea level, and occupies an area of over square miles. i would certainly have ridden across and cycled on it had i not been told by the cottagers that the glaring, eye-paining, glistening sheet of salt, stretching away to the horizon north and east, was merely a frosted-over bog--all around near its barren, low, and stony banks, at any rate. but when the creeks have ceased to flow it soon becomes dry, firm under foot, and smooth--solid and ice-like in many respects. what a skating-rink 'twould make! * * * * stony table lands, wide expanses of level country, support lake eyre on either side. sand, stones, mirage, and sun--these are the "dominant notes" here. i had been told some stories of the cattle of the region: how, for instance, an odd one had been known to chase a railway tricyclist along the line for miles. hunting after swagmen, so it was said, was a pastime in which at every opportunity they freely indulged. i was now to have personal experiences. when a traveller comes within near sight of a quietly grazing mob, the scattered units mass together; then nine times out of ten the amazed animals race towards him in order to get out of his way. about this proportion of times they decided to cross in front of my bicycle; and the more i endeavored to prevent them doing so, by quickening pace, the more wildly they rushed to succeed. the ringing of the bell had a more startling and discomfiting effect on them than the firing of a revolver shot. not far from stuart's creek i came upon a bull lying dead, with his horns deeply imbedded in a mound which his shoulders also nearly touched, his head being underneath between his front legs. i had been on the look-out for this interesting spectacle, of which an explanation had already been tendered. a "sundowner" was tramping along one afternoon when the bull sighted him and gave chase. the country was level almost as a billiard table, with the single exception of this couple-of-feet-high mound. towards this the pair hurried. the chase was exciting. the bull gained rapidly, and was within a few yards of the swagman by the time he reached the mound. then were some moments of supreme anxiety, till with an extra effort the man stumbled over just as, head down, the bull came charging along, on elevating thoughts intent. but not being in the habit of calculating upon the occurrence of hills, the bull collided with the mound, and broke his neck! each district has its own pet class of perjury. in the richer of agricultural districts they lie about the size of pumpkins; in the poorer ditto, about snakes; in the sheep country, about rabbits; here the best liars devote themselves to wild cattle. they all do pretty well. * * * * occupied an hour as i rode along working out the (? musical) note educed by a tyre flicking aside loose stones. found it to be high d. ("pung" in cycling notation.) when the stone is not flicked aside, but the machine passes over it, a low d is emitted--by the rider. * * * * road middling to the blanche cup and cluster of mound springs. these remarkable features lie about two miles off the main track, to the left. i cycled over--not cutting across at right angles, but gradually edging away from the track on sighting them. there are eight or ten of the cone-shaped, flat-topped rises, all within a radius of half a mile. roughly, i should say their average vertical height is twenty feet. the summits of most of them are merely small swamps decorated with rushes and bogged cattle in various stages of decomposition. little driblets of water trickle down the sides. two of them are well worth journeying far to see. the blanche itself is an elevated circular pond of good drinkable water. on one side a lip has been worn through the impounding rock, and by this passage the cup gently overflows. the water so escaping streams down the sloping side, and forms into a shallow swampy creek. the other is locally known as the boiling spring. flowing much stronger than the blanche, it boils or bubbles at the centre, not from heat, but because of the force with which the water is driven to the surface. the temperature of the water is about ° fahrenheit. a circle of sedimentary sand, three feet in diameter, is kept in constant motion around the bubbling centre, and around this again spreads a wide circle of perfectly clear water. rushes fringe the water's edge, and the whole is surrounded by a rim of whitish rock three feet wide. about once in every half-hour the quickly settling sand so accumulates at the centre as to choke back the ascending stream. then to the observer a big thing in bubbles heaves in sight; a low rumble is heard; a periodical clearance has been effected, and the boiling spring boils bubblingly as before. the surrounding country is bleak and desolate--dreary in the extreme. the average annual rainfall is about in. per annum. * * * * if one is not on the look-out, these mounds, in general appearance so much alike, are apt to tantalise one. for my own part, moralising upon nature's marvellous scheme of compensation, i found myself adrift. yet, pshaw! bushed so soon--and a rail-track within three miles at most? it was monstrous. refused to consult my compass; and paid for my folly by some few hours of hard labor. a boggy little lake of salt water, its supply kept constant by one of the mound springs, first intruded itself; and on rounding its northern end i was amongst sandy undulations past which i could not see. then a wide but not gum-lined creek, the nearer bank low, and one point occupied by half-a-dozen blacks' wurlies, like so many boats on end. the further bank was high and steep; and climbing over this i marked a course, which i judged would be due east, towards some bush-like objects in the distance. but these objects proved to be a small mob of wild-mannered cattle, which soon, racing towards me, pranced gaily around with uplifted tails. it is not fair to ask a man to persist in a due east course in such circumstances. i grew fretful; looked at the time, the sun, and the shadows, but could only make a guess at the east. the guess, however, happened to be correct, and by evening i was in coward, a township which consists chiefly of a public-house and--an anomaly indeed!--an interesting bore. the bore at the coward is situated in the heart of the little township, between the railway fences. the water wells up to the height of a dozen or more feet above the surface, and, wide-spreading over the end of a six-inch conducting pipe, feeds a tiny sparkling rivulet. this stream runs for several chains, and finally gives back the water to the desert ground. * * * * all these artesian waters are drinkable, but more or less brackish. there, as at most of the other bores, blind fish come up out of the artesian reservoirs--fish beyond a doubt, two or three inches long, but exhibiting not even rudimentary eyes. this total absence of eyes is a curious fact in natural history; in the great dark caves of america the crayfish have eyes, though they are sightless. so also elsewhere. but "eyes would be no use to them in the blackness down under," the local cicerone says. yet wherefore? should they not rather be provided with unusually good eyes? (happy thought: when all else fails i will come hither and inaugurate the great centralian sardine industry.) to the blanche springs and the coward (a trifle over miles) should be an interesting holiday cycle-journey for adelaideans. they could time themselves to rail it back. * * * * procured a fly-veil here. should have had one before this; my eyes are already sore from the persistent attentions of swarming, irritating flies. dinner; and then still northwards. the coward track, speaking generally, proved bad. sand, loose stones; very rough, and ill defined. terribly trying on the bicycle; but diamond is staunch. we are fast friends already; and in the oppressive silence i find myself familiarly addressing the steel-ribbed skeleton with words of comfort and encouragement. by the time i arrived at some cottages (the beresford or strangways springs) it wanted only a couple of hours or so to sundown. beyond loomed up sandhills, continuing, according to local accounts, in "an unbroken chain for fully five miles." as william creek was my proposed destination for the day--or, rather, night--i went on, after having enjoyed the proverbial hospitality of another "travelling gang" of navvies. when the railway cuttings were being put through these rolling hills, it was prophesied that in a very short time the loose sand would blow in again, and that its removal would be a constant source of expense. but by fencing off three chains or so on either side, cattle and horses were prevented from cutting up the surface; herbage grew, and the sand now shifts but little. * * * * here snakes breed unmolested. i saw several as i dragged myself and diamond along. on coming to a particularly steep hill, i resolved to keep on the railway metal, rather than go up. to my pleased surprise the ballast was of the gravelly sort for a few hundred yards, and i was able to mount and ride through the cutting between the rails. outside the cutting began a steep embankment, with a culvert so close to me that i was just about to dismount and lead the machine across, when a dark streak, stretching at right angles to the front wheel, filled my eye. it seemed to me in the shadow (the sun was low down in the horizon, and out of sight behind the sandhills) that a rabbit had from the centre kicked the loose pebbly material over the rails on either side; and not till i was within a foot of the thing did i make it out to be what it really was--a long snake. i was too close to sprint. of course i dared not stop. i had time only to mechanically lift on high both feet before i was on and over it. the next moment diamond's front wheel struck one of the rails, and i was toppling down the embankment. i was scratched and bruised, my clothes were torn, and i felt (as no doubt i was) pale. but on raising myself my first thought was for the bicycle. it had remained behind. there it was, lying contentedly on the side, with only the saddle and handle-bars showing over the embankment. another yard further, and we should both have been precipitated over the culvert. with what anxiety, with what eagerness, did i examine my companion! and what blessings were poured upon it when it proved staunch still--save that the handle-bars had turned a little in the socket. not until i had taken all this in did it occur to me that i could only limp myself. pitch dark now, and no hope of moving on. a little faint, too; yet with no drop to drink. the need to camp; yet no shelter. but i was callously weary, and without difficulty persuaded myself that i really didn't much care: the morrow would see me somewhere else. at present i judged we were somewhere about irrappatana. * * * * we moved on at daybreak and reached william creek before that depot was astir. depot! alas, there was no bread here and no flour, and no corn in william creek! but at the "accommodation house" some dough was standing to rise; it would not be baked, though, till mid-day. my supplications prevailed, however; some of the dough was mixed up into an inedible batter, and cooked with some chops. without delay we detoured to anna creek, a sheep station, which was reached before noon. the proprietor's invitation to dinner was accepted; for wherefore had i come to anna creek? i was ravenous. and the tea! strong, rich, milk-toned tea! a feast, a feast for the gods! such cups i had never seen. cups which, once having been drunk from by a famishing cyclist, would ever after figure in his happiest dreams. "not so very large," protested my liberal host, deprecatingly; "they each hold only a quart." yet i remember being asked "try a little more tea?" as the meal progressed, and--fancy having answered "ah, thanks!" * * * * at the anna creek homestead interesting experiments in irrigation are being carried out. water is pumped by a windmill into tanks fixed on an elevated platform over a well, and thence circulated through convenient iron piping all round the dwelling house, and into the garden. fruit trees, grapes, melons, &c., are grown luxuriantly. an oasis in the desert. a fore-runner, it may be, of great things. the track was fairly good for a few miles, as it had also been on the other side of warrina; but soon it became bad again, and so continued all the way to mount dutton. the wind, as usual, was also unfavorable. * * * * towards warrina ( miles from adelaide) there are some picturesque spots along the creek, going northwards. then the track again becomes terribly stony--so demoniacally vile that, although i riskingly "cantered" over much of it, saying fervently in my bitterness "get thee behind me," i nevertheless failed to reach warrina that night. diamond was now little less than animate, and there really seemed need of excuses to it for my rough manner of proceeding. it might be best for both of us, in the long run, if it was severely tested before we left the vicinity of our cheery friends, the iron rails, i remarked propitiatingly; then fondly fed its bearings (of me and my fortunes also, i reflected) with an extra drop of soothing neatsfoot oil. we camped at some deserted huts, foodless, yet contented--thanks to anna creek. and at . next morning the voucher book was signed at warrina. after leaving warrina the track keeps close by the railway line; and a ganger, who was starting out on his tricycle, obligingly offered to give the bicycle and me a lift for a mile or two. this was my second and last chance to avail myself of such a suggestion. of course, in view of my fixed determination, i again gratefully declined to act upon it. at algebuckina i said good-bye to the last of the "travelling gangs"; and a quarter of a mile on led diamond over the high and otherwise remarkable bridge which spans neale's river--a bridge said to be the longest in south australia. built of iron, ft. from end to end, in nineteen spans of one hundred feet each. please don't write to say that the murray bridge is longer: it may be. at mount dutton railway siding is a most excellently-finished ground tank of fresh water. the road also from here to wondellina is excellent. (to this latter homestead i had been advised to now shape a course.) here at wondellina are several natural springs of water, fresh as the memory of the station manager's welcome; bountiful as his splendid hospitality. my intentions were well known now; and in view of that, and because of the handsome treatment which i had latterly received on the strength of the enterprise in which i was engaged, i felt that, no matter what happened, i could not turn back now. so reflecting i rode to oodnadatta, tormented by the flies that by this time had almost blinded me. so it was "spell-oh!" for four or five days to court recovery. * * * * oodnadatta, the (some-day-to-be) transcontinental railway terminus, is distant miles from adelaide. the township becomes visible, as a speck on a vast plain, long before the traveller arrives at it. it contains, besides a few dwelling houses, a fairly commodious hotel, two general stores, a smithy, and a butcher's shop. the water from the artesian bore, about half a mile out, is quite drinkable, and is said to possess curative properties. a small creek is formed by the overflow, wherein, as the water reaches the surface at a very high temperature, a resident or visitor may indulge in a hot, tepid or cold bath at his pleasure. some people have termed oodnadatta "a howling wilderness." but to-day the wilderness is hidden beneath a carpet of upspringing green. camels and afghans are amongst its distinguishing features. most of the whites are horsey or camely men. i heard some swearing. blackfellows are numerous; some of them are employed to perform menial duties at the houses in the township. lubras make at the most two garments (one covering the upper, the other the lower parts of the body) suffice for a complete costume. there are always several wurlies and camps of blacks in the vicinity. the employed blacks share their wages, tobacco, old clothes, and tucker with the unemployed; the latter also providing further for themselves as best they can. * * * * caterpillars were plentiful. the blacks gather up tins full, and, roasting them, evolve a very succulent dish. a small nut-like root, found wherever grass was growing, was also greatly sought after. as they walk along the lubras are continually stooping, or darting ahead or aside to pick up something--lizards, caterpillars, seeds, roots, eatables of various kinds, which they secrete or stow away in pouches, pockets, or tin cans. the male nigger prefers to stay at home and keep the fire alight. from oodnadatta northwards niggers are to be seen wherever white men are, as well as at intermediate places. the clothes worn by them become fewer by degrees if not beautifully less the farther inland one proceeds. i am told that the subject of their conversation, and that which causes most of the laughter so common among them, is generally of a filthy character and with an immoral tendency. one would fancy the poor animals could find but little to laugh about in their miserable nomadic lives; but they are so easily made to giggle that one is driven to the conclusion that their natural humour is of the most elementary type. * * * * a council of the dusky ones called here to adjudicate upon my chances of getting through to darwin arrived at the following decision:--"wild blackfellow big one frightened. him think it debble-debble an' run away all right. one time 'nother one think it (the bicycle) debble-debble, and throw it spear." i had a look at some spears later on, and perceived how easily one of them might be so driven in as to puncture a fellow's tyre. * * * * most of the inhabitants seemed to rather pity my case. they were of opinion i might, if determined succeed in reaching alice springs, in the macdonnell ranges--and there find myself cornered. the district doctor (a gentleman well spoken of and respected by all) rather seriously advised me: "be careful. think well before you venture beyond 'the alice.'" but the time for thinking had passed; and i left oodnadatta, though not in the best of spirits, with my eyes still weak, and with very hazy notions indeed of what there might be awaiting me in the country beyond. * * * * to macumba the track, with the exception of a few miles of sand to finish up with, is fair for cycling on--low stony tablelands and a few small hills. the channel of the alberga river is wide, sandy, and lined with healthy-looking gum trees. water is generally to be found in the stevenson river--another large gum-lined creek, on the northernmost bank of which macumba store is situated. this place is only miles from oodnadatta, but i remained here an afternoon and night, as there was prospect of gathering information as to the route. an obliging teamster who knew the country well worked out and presented me with a very useful map. from here up everyone knows everybody else for hundreds of miles around; and no one has a large circle of acquaintance, even then. * * * * in the neighbourhood of macumba snakes and snake-tracks are much in evidence. between the strangways sandhills and alice springs i rode over at the very least half a dozen reptiles. each one acted in a way peculiar to its species or its mood, so that the traveller, not knowing in any case what may happen next, has the spice of excitement added to his journeyings. yet no doubt one might pass through, and see no snakes at all. for many months of the year they are in hiding. the weather and the season must be propitious else they do not appear. on leaving macumba, continuing along by the stevenson, sandy flats and low sandhills were encountered as far as the government well (the willow), miles on. so also to the next well, oolaballana ( miles). then very rough stony tablelands again. * * * * after getting out of the sand at a point where a branch track turns off to dalhousie, i came upon one of that station's horse-teams. a midday meal was being prepared. there were two strapping blackfellows and a white boy whom i took to be or years of age. a wheat sack had been laid upon the ground, and on it had been placed a damper, corned beef, jam, knife and fork, and a pannikin. saying "good-day" to the juvenile, i sat myself beside him. the niggers, gaping open-mouthed at the machine, were squatting in the shade of an adjacent tree. three quart pots were standing pressed in against the burning wood of a newly lighted fire. "where's the boss?" i inquired after a few words. the youth smiled. "i am the boss," he said, reaching an arm out towards a small linen tea bag, then standing up to throw half a handful into each quart pot. cutting off a few slices from the damper, and sorting out "black's favorite" pieces of meat, he gave a low short whistle--and up marched the two sable attendants. to these he handed each his dole of "tucker"; they received it in sober silence. "you wantem more, you sing out," he added as, taking with them two of the quart pots, they returned to their proper distance. this custom of handing the blacks their allowance of food, or laying it on the ground and whistling for them to come and take it, prevails all through the country. i admired this manly child's way exceedingly. in "bossing" them he spoke very civilly to the niggers, in a quiet, cool, masterful manner. he offered to load me up with bread and meat, but as i had resolved to break myself in to going on short commons i would accept nothing more than a couple of apples. the dray, i believe, had been down to oodnadatta. * * * * "it's rough to blood's creek. i don't think you'll get there to-night," were the youth's parting words. and he was right. it was a sweltering hot afternoon. progress was slow; and at about miles having to hurriedly dismount (for the hundredth time), my left foot came on one of the large loose stones, and turned under me. the jar so nearly put out the ankle joint that i was compelled to camp right where the mishap occurred. stretching out my sheet of waterproofing i made myself as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. millions of flies; myriads of venomous mosquitoes. hungry as usual, and feeling that if i had only one good long drink of water, hot, cold or lukewarm, i could die joyfully. waterproof sheeting is not conducive to good health especially if the night be cold. because of the heat from one's body condensation sets in, with the result that the under side of the sheeting becomes a sheet of water. this discovery i made for myself on arising next morning; turning the waterproof over quickly, i greedily licked up, cat-like, all i could of the precious dew. * * * * to blood's creek government bore ( miles from last camping place), sand ridges and very rough "gibber" country has to be cycled or walked over; but on nearing the creek the track greatly improves. thus far, gidea and mulga have been the trees most often met with, though the creeks have almost invariably been thickly lined with box and gum. * * * * camped with the contractors for the bore, and overhauled the bicycle, though all the overhauling called for was the cleaning of the bearings. this i did by squirting kerosene through the lubricating holes, tilting the machine at a sharp angle, and revolving the wheels until the searching fluid had completed its cleansing work. when the wheels are nicely adjusted, and the chain is at just the proper tension, and everything is running smoothly, it is a mistake to undo the parts. a good chain properly adjusted should ask for but very few attentions. i used to not take mine off, and only washed it occasionally with soap and warm water--leaning the bicycle well over so that the grease should not fall on the tyres. it worked best after a little greasy residue had collected around the sprocket. i tore apart and re-made the joint in the air tube of the tyre, as it had started to leak slightly. because of the hot sand and the heat generally, the solution in the tube joints rots away, providing a source of much annoyance, as such a leak is difficult to stop. * * * * it is miles from blood's creek to goyder's well. the "going" is good to charlotte waters; thence along the telegraph line for miles through heavy sand, next miles of stony hills, followed by miles of good track over boggy flat, and, lastly, miles of small sand-hills. there is a better road to the west from the charlotte, they say. the adminga is reached half-way between blood's creek and charlotte waters. hard by the crossing there is a beautiful little pond of clear, cool rain-water--a deep, round hole sunk in the solid rock, with one large leafy tree leaning out over it, and sheltering it from lapping winds and sun alike. * * * * we are into the northern territory at last. the charlotte waters telegraph station on the transcontinental line (a large galvanized iron structure, close by which stand many small sheds and outhouses) is situated six miles across the border, on a slight elevation on the north boundary of the stony tablelands. from there horsemen coming from the south can be seen, with the aid of a telescope, while yet they are at a distance of seven miles. it is no uncommon thing here for the thermometer to register as high as deg. in the shade for several days together. the annual rainfall averages about five inches. many iron tanks, connected and standing at one end of the building, are filled from the waterholes of an adjacent creek in the rare times of plenty. the voucher book was signed, and at once a start was made. and then a rather unpleasant experience befel. i intended making for goyder waters; a track, it had been said, could be easily followed, and so i made but few inquiries. there was a cattle station miles beyond the goyder--perhaps i could reach even that. it was a mistake, though, to keep alongside the telegraph line--a sad mistake. for five or six miles i struggled with my burden over loose sand-hills. surely this was not the passable track travellers had spoken of! the macumba teamster's sketch was consulted--why, i had not been on the track at any time since leaving charlotte waters! how far the sand stretched i did not know--as far as could be seen, at any rate. a fierce sun tormented me from above and blistering sand from beneath. the track must be found. i fought through the yielding sand, now pushing and again shouldering and here and there riding my bicycle, in a grim earnestness rarely experienced before. in those first half-dozen miles i had been prodigal of a precious quart of water. now i was becoming parched beyond endurance. fourteen miles had been struggled over. the telegraph line had been long since lost. was even this the track? and goyder waters! what did i know of goyder waters? it dawned upon me now that i did not know whether to look for a rock-hole, a soakage, or a creek. now rough, hilly country interposes. it is still hard work, and the night is nearing. my thighs ache, and my tongue cleaves to my mouth. yet on, doggedly on--it is the only hope. a well! how we race towards it. no--a maddening mockery; it is a fenced-in grave! did he die?-- but it is dangerous to think. on, on! at length, in the deepening haze of the twilight, the real well is seen. at such a moment one forgets the teachings of experience. i threw myself down, and drank, and drank. * * * * and so, though saved, made another stinging lash for my aching back. for i drank and drank until i found myself seized with the most dreadful cramps i have ever had the satisfaction of getting the better of. on trying to rise i was, somewhat to my amusement, unable to do so, as during the tussle one of my bootlaces had become entangled with the hooks of the other, and the recurring cramps would not allow me to reach down to undo it. so i had willy-nilly to lay quiet where i had fallen, ignominiously hobbled and _hors de combat_. it would not be particularly difficult for one who does not know the country to perish hereabouts. just take the wrong turning, or meet with a disabling accident, or lose the indistinct track, and in one single hot day the business may be done. solitary graves are plentiful. when a man gets the bad taste in his mouth, and fancies he hears water flowing ripplingly over gravelly beds, he realizes how very simple a matter the perishing may be. towards the end a cyclist would leave his bicycle (now become a burden to him) while he staggered over to search what, from the distance, seemed a likely-looking place for water; and on coming back he would be lucky indeed if he could find again his silent steed. this second search would not be prosecuted coolly: madness would then quickly overtake the distracted seeker; he might drink from and bathe in imaginary streams, throw off his clothes to let the surging waters touch and cool his parched skin, but ever uppermost in his distorted fancies would be some form of his elusive bicycle. * * * * crown point, miles from the goyder; much sand, but a well-defined track. the last five miles fair for cycling on; but for nearly a mile along the bed of the finke river (approaching crown point cattle station) is a terribly heavy white sand bed. after my previous day's experiences in the sand i succeeded in crawling thus far before the next sundown, and remained for the whole of another day before proceeding onwards. at the crown point station i fed, i fear, like a wolf. how soon the drooping spirits revive! i set out for horseshoe bend hopefully, even gaily. crown point station is so named because of its propinquity to a hill about feet high, of sugar-loaf shape, surmounted by something not unlike a crown. west of this crowned point is a long, low, stony and unused saddle; then again a hill of about the same height as the crown and of similar strata--white and brown desert sandstone. apparently the formations were one in times long past. the finke channel passes to the east of both crown hill and station. the river here is thickly fringed with giant gums, which grow for some hundreds of feet in from the bank proper. swamp gums, box trees, and acacias are plentiful also further out. in width it varies from a quarter to three-quarters of a mile. in times of drought famished horses have been known to paw down and down into the loose sand in the bed, searching for soakage water, until they have made graves for themselves. around crown point the cyclist need not look for thorns. he will find them without a search. a marsupial mole (which some of the blacks named for me "el-comita," others "qu-monpita") may also be found here. the species is unique. it puts in an appearance after rain; at other times it burrows in the sand, and vanishes. * * * * down from the cattle ranche by the river's bed, there are generally gathered a large number of natives, of the larapinta or arunto tribe. in the main camp many small tires burn, around which humble hearths the various families find already fashioned their unostentatious and separate homes. they sleep huddled up with the family dogs, close by the fires, but without a vestige of covering or shelter except their scanty every-day attire. they appear to be quite happy, and are presented with cancerous bullocks now and then from travelling mobs, and others. nightly one hears the sound of their laughter, mingled with weird cries, monotonous chantings, and beating of tom-toms, or sticks upon the ground. they think themselves very clever if they succeed in working up an echo. when ferreted out, the discoverer claims it as his very own, and the others listen in admiring silence whilst he works the "wondrous vocal gift" for much more than 'tis worth. i was surprised to notice that the niggers' hands and feet were not particularly large. the heels, though, are roughened, hardened, and split like battered and blackened pieces of corrugated iron. the soles are apparently made out of rhinoceros hide. "three cornered jacks" only tickle them--even when they happen to sit down on the spiky abominations. * * * * one black, an "old hand" at the station, but transported from somewhere afar off, inveighed in good, angular whitechapel english, pidgin-ised, against the fool blackfeller who sit down alonga here! wherefore was it, if he had such a very poor opinion of them, that he remained among them? he withered me with the contempt that was in his answer. "no can make it rain!" in his country--a majestic wave of the hand indicated where that was--if the porter at heaven's flood-gates went to sleep or forgot to open them within a reasonable time, certain old men jumped up and walked alonga blackfellows' camp, where they called in the aid of eagle-hawk's feathers, paint stripes, many fires and a good deal of fuss. and then--a big thing in corroborees: big one, plenty shout out. after the corroboree the "old men" and the other participators in it shifted their spears and boomerangs to high ground, built mia-mias, and waited. and when they had waited long enough the rain fell. "sometimes piccaninny rain--one night corroboree. big fellow corroboree? my word! b-i-g pfeller rain." should no rain fall the explanation was not far to seek. "nudder" (opposition shop) "blackfeller hold it corroboree. too much big pfeller noise make it, and frighten _him_ away." what wouldn't some perturbed whitefellers give for so simple a philosophy! * * * * horseshoe bend, miles from crown point. mostly sand; very little riding. here is a depôt and accommodation (meal-providing) house. the depôt is picturesquely situated in a sharp bend of the finke river. rugged hills show up on all sides. in front, by the river's side, a well; and in the sandy bed itself, many nearly permanent soakages delight the casual traveller. * * * * here it was that one of the encamped blacks on spying me rushed helter-skelter to the storekeeper to breathlessly inform him that whitefellow come along ridin' big one mosquito. previously blackfellows had described the bicycle as a "piccaninny engine." "big pfeller engine come alonga bime-bye, i suppose?" questioned the blackfellow, having in mind a transcontinental railway doubtless. "one-side buggy" had also been a native's not inapt description of the novel vehicle. * * * * the blacks (always camped near-by wherever white men linger) are of great help to the whites in dealing with horses and cattle. their cleverness at tracking is well known. an illustration, out of the way. at one of the very few houses between oodnadatta and alice springs the proprietor brought three cats--three of about a like size--into the back room; told me the various names by which they were called to breakfast, and then requested me to drop one of them--any one of them i chose--through the window. i did so to humour him, and off scampered pussy to a brush-shed over the way. going outside, after shutting the window and locking the room door, the "boss" called loudly for "billy." from the further side of the stock-yard's fence came a blackfellow. "what name that fellow cat make it tracks?" the "boss" said, pointing to the very faintest marks. a moment's scrutiny, and the blackfellow replied "that one nelly me think it." and he was right. * * * * at the horseshoe bend depôt i purchased a water-bag (and a good one it was--lasted me all the way through) and a small billy-can, which served my purposes until i reached alice springs. so far the sparse, low scrub on the sand flats and rises was chiefly acacia, of many varieties, while clumps of mulga marked the firmer soil. spinifex (not of such coarse growth. i fancy, as what in other places is known as "porcupine") was everywhere. the track through the sand gets so badly cut up that when walking one keeps well in to where a thin crust may be left, and finds oneself steering a very erratic course. beyond the bend we reach the first desert oak--a very good shade tree, with from to feet of straight stem. the wood is very hard and heavy; one can hardly drive a nail into it. at oodnadatta we left the regularly fenced country. apparently one may here take up for grazing purposes a hundred acres, and use a hundred thousand. no sheep beyond oodnadatta either. beef and goat's flesh is the vogue. the goat's flesh is called "mutton." * * * * to depot well, miles from horseshoe bend; no riding--heavy sandhills. stopped at a camel camp. fifteen miles is not much of a distance certainly; but on a hot day (as all days up in this part appear to be) to not lead, but get behind and push, the bicycle through, with the surety of more to-morrow, and for days to come--diamond and i agreed that it was a "fair thing." these drift sand-hills--red, loose, and sometimes very steep indeed--make travelling, no matter how one may creep, very wearisome and laborious. when you have struggled to the summit of one of them you take a view of the surroundings. as far as the eye can see (and, alas! very much further) an unbroken stretch of the same formation. you wade ankle deep on descending; and when pushing a bicycle up you have to "tack," planting each foot sideways in the sand to get the necessary grip. i was glad i had provided myself with boots instead of shoes. broom-brush, spinifex, and desert oaks (these at long intervals) alone break the burdensome monotony. * * * * only soon after a heavy rainfall could much riding be done in those sandy districts. two-inch tyres should be used; inch and three-quarters are too narrow. mine, as well as being one and three-quarter inches only, were "tandem"--altogether too heavy (or "dead") for cycling over sand. i deflated them slightly, so that a wider surface might be availed of. * * * * picked up a bush culinary wrinkle here. an afghan, whom i watched kneading up flour preparatory to shaping out a camp-oven damper, made a sodden centre, the curse of many a "bush cake," impossible by the simple expedient of pressing the middle part down until scarcely any centre remained--nothing more than a thin layer, which must necessarily result in a central crust. * * * * it is a twenty mile stage from the depot well to alice well, through much sand. the hugh river crosses the track in half-a-dozen places. in the afternoon, when within a few miles of this well, i came unexpectedly upon a loaded waggon stuck in one of the last crossings of the hugh. a very steep bank rose at the farther side, up which the horses had been unable to pull their load. the harness was lying on the ground, piled up; but there was no sign, except tracks, of the horses or their drivers. i coo-eed and mounted on top of the load to look around--and then, in the midst of this desert, from the interior of a coverless box, embedded between two flour bags, smiled up at me seductively a dozen or more beautiful, although quite rotten and shrivelled, apples! i lifted one out, and to ease my conscience, remembering having heard that there was a blacks' mission station to the east, stood, and, naturally assuming that the loading was missionaries' property, put down a shilling in the apple's place. but tasting one only was worse than not having any at all; so, coward-like, i sprang from the waggon, mounted diamond, and hurried away before the temptation to appropriate a down-south shilling's-worth of the luscious (because so rotten) fruit became irresistible. at the alice is another "accommodation house," which, however, i did not need to visit; for the horse drivers, from whose waggon i had been tempted to take the shilling's-worth of apples, were here giving the horses a "spell." they fed me liberally; but i said nothing to them about the apple. the hugh is a very large, sandy-bedded creek. the banks are heavily timbered with massive gum trees. good camel and horse feed grows in this part of the country--a species of acacia, and a succulent sage-bush-like herb. * * * * to francis well, the next miles, is mostly through sand. here are some niggers who keep the troughs full of water on the chance of passing teamsters supplying them with tobacco or small lots of flour. the mail passes every three weeks, once going down to oodnadatta, the next time returning to alice springs; and the mail horses for the change are running here. the well, sunk at the junction of the francis creek and the hugh, contains beautiful fresh water. black cockatoos flutter among the branches of giant gums which mark the meeting of the waters--flutter and squawk incessantly. and now and again, too, one catches sight of the gaudier galah or the gay ring-necked parrot. at one of these wells the bucket was too heavy for me to land unaided from the deep bottom. here was another annoyance, if nothing worse. i was desperately thirsty. the water glittered tantalizingly in sight. ha! an empty bucket at the surface. i half-filled it with stones, and it obligingly went down and gave me all the assistance i wanted in weighing its companion up. afterwards, at shallower wells, i tied the cord i carried to my billy-can, and so supplied my modest wants. * * * * by climbing the higher of the hills which are to be seen after you pass francis well, the remarkable column known as chambers' pillar rises afar off in the midst of sandhills to the west. it looks like a mighty furnace-stack built upon a hill top: the hill about feet high, the pillar another hundred. but the soft desert sandstone of which it is composed is fast wearing away. this still majestic landmark, a solitary sentinel guarding the heart of a continent--its days are numbered in the book of time. * * * * camels do nearly all the carrying in this country; and at francis well a caravan was camped. a white man was in charge. i do not know how the stranger fares at the hands of an afghan, but the few white men i met along the road at halting places between oodnadatta and alice springs were without exception most generously hospitable and most kindly-dispositioned. all did what they could--by more or less clear directions anent the route; by supplying me with food and inviting me to "spell" with them if they were "spelling"--to make my journey a partly enjoyable as well as a successful one. i gratefully admit how largely i am indebted to one and all of them. from hergott to alice springs the population is grouped under three generic headings--"whites," "afghans," and "blackfellows." the loftier afghan sometimes scornfully denies that he is of our color. i have heard it asked of a jemadar--"what name fellow drive so-and-so's camels along to birdsville? whitefellow?" and i have heard him answer: "no, _not whitefellow_. afghan-man _boss_ go las' time." beyond the macdonnell ranges the afghan and his camel disappear, and are neither seen nor heard of more. there is a no-man's land; then, further northward, the vacant place is filled by chinamen. it is both interesting and amusing to listen while afghans and blacks or blackfellows and chinamen converse. not that they make a practice of so indulging; there are entirely too many vernacular difficulties in their way. one such attempt at conversation was suggestive to me of two blind men who, getting drunk together, led one another up wrong turnings, until, after a final and protracted endeavour to get back to anywhere near the starting point, they found themselves both hopelessly lost. each has a way peculiar to his class of directing that luckless traveller who may be so ignorant as to make enquiries of him. you ask an afghan how many miles it is to a certain place. he slyly leads you on to make a guess for yourself--and at once cheerfully agrees. "yes, ten mile," or whatever it may be the other has suggested. the blackfellow tells you vaguely that the certain place is "l-aw-ong way," "ova that a way," or "byen bye you catch 'em all right." the chinaman listens very politely to all the questions you put to him, and then remarks with his most guileless smile, "no savee." still some white men's directions are not very lucid. one, for example, will say, "when you come to there look out for a small stony hill _to the right_," waving, as he says, the left hand from him. also east is spoken of when west is similarly indicated. others, again, expect a fellow to perform mental gymnastics. one will clear and level a small space upon the ground to serve as a blackboard. he begins, "now, we'll put it, here's north--" and draws a line pointing due south. * * * * mount breadin dam is another miles from francis well. the track is fair for cycling over. camped somewhere in the scrub. dry sand makes a fairly comfortable blanket. desert oaks had for the last few days been frequently met with, growing singly or in groves. the wind soughs through the foliage--like the music of rushing, seething water in some distant creek. water, always water! thitherward one's thoughts here ever fly; upon memories of it one lingers with the utmost fondness. as i struggle on and on, deeper and deeper into the toils of the desert, there grows upon me a morbid dread of running short of water. to have it was my greatest craving; to have plenty of it my chief aim. the wind is mostly in my teeth, but that is of small consequence now that i am content to creep over these interminable wastes. * * * * everybody carries a bottle of eye-water. sore eyes are very prevalent in this sandy country. the flies had it pretty well all their own way with me down by the goyder; so now i also have had to procure a small bottle. a depôt would not be a depôt without a stock of it. * * * * by noon diamond had borne me to the deep well and its "accommodation house." having obtained some provisions, we pushed on and camped that night some miles ahead. deep well is in flat sandy country, in a valley of the james range. as it is about feet deep, the water is drawn by bullocks attached to a "whip." the surrounding country is lightly stocked with cattle and goats. the well itself is rented from the government, and a small charge is made for the water. between here and alice springs another well is badly wanted. another well--or, better, two. this absence of, or long distance between, waters is a well-founded matter for complaint with the teamsters or team owners, and must impose great hardships on anyone whom business--or "eccentricity"--may prevail on to travel hither. at the very best the life of the teamsters on these far-inland tracks is full of misery and hardship. that anyone should voluntarily go overlanding they cannot comprehend. here i am asked in astonished curiosity what i am going through the continent for. it must be for a bet! i can only answer that i am going with much the same object in view as a hen is said to have when she walks across a road--just to reach the other side. * * * * the flies refrained from tackling a couple of very highly-greased aboriginals whom i spoke to at the deep well. they had burnished themselves with a thick oil, derived from animal fat, no doubt. each on-coming fly, when within six inches of the glossy surface, shot off at a right angle, as though it had run its head into an invisible stone wall. now and again one could be seen to drop slightly, as if stunned. i do not think the oil-skin they wore was of good quality. this couple were disposed to approach too unpleasantly close whilst i was re-inflating one of the tyres. suddenly undoing the pump, i vigorously squirted fresh air at them. the blast pierced the special atmosphere in which they had so long moved; the fresh air came as a shock to them, and they were careful not to venture within range of so deadly a weapon any more. the flies, i think, trouble the blackfellows more than the whites. a blackfellow's hand is constantly passing across his face to drive the pestering things away; or they protect themselves by starting a small fire and sitting at the smoky side of it. * * * * from the deep well, sandhills and sandflats extend northwards for about miles. then a large range is encountered, through which the cyclist may ride until he reaches a steep incline well known as the pinch. here the track goes over a high ridge by way of a narrow cutting through the rock. granite hills now hem us in, but soon we enter a narrow pass between two long and wall-like rock formations. this is hell's gate. we hurry through. the track now passes over well-grassed sandy flats, which make good riding. at about eight miles a big hill rises to the right. opposite a pad branches off to the left. a welcome break, guiding the thirsty or curious follower to the rockhole, the ooriminna. right into the heart of a range this pad takes one. very soon the cyclist will find either leading or pushing his machine to be out of the question. however others may manage (for the bicycle will be everywhere in time), i stooped and shouldered mine. and how its bright parts sparkled with ill-contained inward joy, i persuaded myself, whenever it was thus borne along the tedious way! now, with it held aloft, i walked or scrambled and climbed over the last and rougher part of the two miles to the water. * * * * very weird is this ooriminna. it is a citadel of desolation strongly guarded; and how the hole was first discovered must for ever be to us a mystery. judging from the surroundings, horses or men could hardly have thought to find water here. and but for water what man or beast would pierce these solitudes? the hole is formed in an extremely rocky gorge of the range. huge boulders heaped up in strange fantastic shapes, the counterpart in miniature of castles, fortresses, and towers, stand gaunt and frowning, or threatening to fall precipitately, above, below, and on the more open side. the hole itself is almost a circle; it is probably feet in depth and feet across. above it, at the back, always in deepest shadow, are several small caves, wherein are native drawings--rude as the scribblings of a schoolboy in his snatched moments--of snakes and hands and things beyond this pen's power to name. from over these caves the water falls when the rains come. the rocks are an unkindly-looking grey, spotted mixtures of granite, quartz, and sandstone. still higher up the quickly-rising gorge is a second rockhole, a smaller one. approaching from the southern entrance i first came on this one--inaccessible to horses and camels--and only saw the larger rockhole as i descended, with bicycle still shouldered, trudging on to strike the road which leads to alice springs, from which this ooriminna pad loops out and back again. * * * * after getting clear of the ooriminna rocks there are four or five miles of sand, low lying between the ranges; and now, at last, the cyclist finds awaiting him a splendidly smooth and hard clay flat, stretching right away for over miles to the already faintly outlined macdonnell ranges. the track soon enters and winds through densely packed and tropically-foliaged scrub, with here and there a small clear space suddenly opening out in front. at the moment of entering each of these recurring spaces one may discern the fast uprising and darkening blue of distant mountains--and again the obscuring scrub envelopes bicycle and rider. after the stories he will have been told, the cyclist, should he be a stranger and alone, will surely throw a glance to one side and to the other--ahead, too, as he turns each of the numerous sharp angles--in half-timid and half-hopeful expectation of seeing start out or up to intercept him a score or two of spear-brandishing and yelling bogie men. and he will almost certainly be disappointed. * * * * one who comes upon this mountain wall from the long plains of the south cannot with a single sweep of the eye take in its mightiness. to right and left it holds its course until its purple outlines are bathed in haze, become a mere faint streak, and finally are blotted out. but far behind that gaudily-tinted curtain of sky, which forms the strange horizon of these inlands, this range extends, a steep, austere wall of rock, rising almost perpendicularly from the plain four hundred miles from east to west. a gap in this mighty wall of rock becomes clearly defined by the time one reaches the bank of a wide creek, with a bed of white sand, which takes its course in the heart of the ranges, and is well known as the todd. following up this watercourse for a few miles, the gap through which it comes, the heavitree, is reached. the distance through the heavitree is about yards. the creek's sand-bed spreads right across between the high, bare, sharply-cut mountain sides. the road crosses the todd at the same time as both pass through the heavitree gap; then runs along by its eastern flat bank among the ranges, until three miles onward the buildings at alice springs township come into view. * * * * a sheltered, peaceful, cosy-looking place, this isolated alice springs. on a flat, with large gums scattered through and all around it, and mountains towering up a very little distance off on every side. there are two clusters of houses. one comprises the hotel-cum-brewery, a smithy, and a general store; the other can boast of two stores, a harness-maker's, an often-vacant butcher's shop, and a private dwelling-house. both clusters are snugly ensconced, hidden among the very numerous gum trees with which the whole flat is dotted; between them some particularly high and shady trees give shelter to the township stock. cattle are ever to be seen reposefully cud-chewing during the hotter portions of the semi-tropical days. all shade and silence and tranquility! it seemed as i came upon it to be the veritable "sleepy hollow" of romance, with appropriate catskill-y surroundings, too. the supplies for arltunga goldfields, the mica fields, neighboring horse-station and cattle ranches, and the telegraph stations up north, all pass through here. it is a terminus of townships; beyond it lies the undeveloped. * * * * arltunga is only in its earliest infancy, and is sadly handicapped. but then one is assured "there's any scotch quantity of reefs about," and "the country hasn't been half prospected yet." country, by the way, never is, it seems. the mica field, on the other hand, arrived some time back at a working age. it has, as it were, bought its shovel and done a little towards paying for it. some mica of good quality, and in exceptionally large sheets, too, is to be had. i know little or nothing about the value of a mica claim; do not even know whither when raised the shiny transparency goes. much is, i know, used for insulating purposes on electrical machines, but in such cases only small washers are required as a rule. as to the larger blocks, so attractive to the eye when prepared for exhibition, ignorance possesses me. if one has the inclination one may, however, learn a great deal about it, if one likes to run up to alice springs. in search of information (and no policeman being handy), i approached a prospector. he was an encylopædia on the subject. within five minutes i knew that lawyers now-a-days wrote out their wills and other people's on mica because it will not burn, and that lanterns for enclosing electric arc lights are fitted with the same material in place of glass, the heat (sometimes reaching as high as or horse-power) emanating from the electric light being altogether too fierce for combustible glass to withstand! if i had stayed another day in alice springs, i should have written a treatise on "mica and its uses." * * * * the telegraph station is a mile and a half beyond the alice township, and with its substantial roomy stone buildings and outhouses makes up another little township of itself. near the station there is in the todd a very large waterhole, which contains a sufficient permanent and unlimited supply of fresh water to deserve the name of spring. there are also a couple of wells on a bank of the creek; the water of one of them is used for gardening purposes, the other's, i was told, is almost salt. the flat around the station is, like nearly all the flats within the ranges, covered with saltbush and other stock-fattening growth. grasses of many valuable kinds flourish thickly in the hills and gullies--in fact, no better limited tracts of pastoral country could one wish to see than are to be found within and in the neighborhood of these macdonnell ranges. the climate, too, is nearly all that could be desired throughout the greater part of each year. the days are warm, the nights cool--a little too much warmth sometimes, at others a little too much cold. white people seem to live there as much for the purpose of making strangers welcome as to amass money in a leisurely fashion, and black people are more plentiful than gooseberries. physically the natives to be seen about are very good samples of aboriginalty. as at oodnadatta, the female blacks do most of the washing and general domestic work for the townspeople, and of course the male blackfellows are invaluable to those of the score of settlers who do much dealing in horses or cattle. in this quaint spot, and amongst this hospitable community, i remained for several days. there were many "gaps," sheltered waterholes, and other interesting spots to be visited, and every man in the place came forward with hearty offers to be my cicerone. having been so long unused to opportunities for gormandizing--unused, too, to sleeping between sheets on flock mattresses--the hotel and those good things which it contained exercised strong magnetic attractions. inquiries about the road ahead were pursued diligently, and an operator at the telegraph station (obliging and considerate, as they all were) sketched out for me an artistic and lucid plan of the route so far as barrow creek. armed with this plan, and loaded with provisions, the "condition" i had put on during my few days' stay, a water-bag, a quart pot, tools, and various other things, including a light parcel of meat extract, diamond and i one fine forenoon started out over the mountains, thence on to the exterior desert, with the enticing prospect of i-didn't-know-what before me. having come so far without hurt worth speaking of, and with the kindest words of encouragement from the people here, i felt sanguine of being able to make a fair show at the business thus far only half transacted. * * * * the township was out to say good-bye! of the number was the telegraph master, a genial officer who, in addition to controlling this most important repeating station on that transcontinental line which links australia and europe, has acquired during a long residence a profound knowledge of the aborigines of central australia, their languages, their customs, and their folk-lore. he had with him his camera; and later on, when (myself all unconscious of it) "murif's ride across australia" headed many a paragraph and sketch, there appeared in one of the adelaide papers, beneath a drawing, this brief account, reproduced here as showing how others on the scene viewed the enterprise at this stage, after the capabilities of the machine had been in part demonstrated. it is described as the expression of "our alice springs correspondent":-- "the above snapshot was taken on monday morning, april , just as murif was about to begin the second half of his great undertaking. up to that date he had travelled over , miles, the latter part of the journey being anything but pleasant from a cyclist's point of view. there were many obstacles to overcome in the shape of miles of rough stony road, especially the 'gibbers,' near charlotte waters. three-cornered jacks are another enemy to the cyclist; also miles of sand, which affords splendid exercise and gave murif a chance to develop the muscles of his arms by pushing his machine, it being impossible to pedal over the sand. "murif's greatest piece of luck was noticed by me whilst out riding some forty miles from here. i was looking down at murif's track, and saw where he had left the road to escape a stump and ran across a piece of brandy case with three large nails standing point upwards. his tyre missed these by half an inch. after passing an obstacle of that description, his luck must carry him over the remaining thousand odd miles safely. "there are still many dangers he will have to steer clear of whilst travelling north of here. stumps overgrown by grass will be one of his greatest enemies. a hard collision with one of these would mean serious damage to his machine, and the distance between the telegraph stations--the only place where he could repair a bad break--being some miles, a mishap would prove serious to him. in places above barrow's creek, and _en route_, he will find the spear-grass very troublesome, and a cuirass would prove very beneficial to him while travelling through it to keep the seeds, which are long and very sharp, from penetrating his body. "both murif and his machine were looking in the best of trim. on leaving here he was carrying a fair amount of dunnage, including waterbag, &c. the quartpot strapped underneath the saddle whilst travelling does duty as a storage-room for his tea and sugar. on his back he carries a small knapsack full of provisions. on his belt he has a small pouch for pipe, tobacco, and matches. he smokes very little during the day, and when short of water dispenses with the pipe until such times as he can afford to indulge freely. he converts his lampstand into a rack for his revolver, which article all travellers north of here carry, although it is some years since the natives attacked a white man on the road. however, prevention is better than cure. "murif, unlike most cyclists, prefers to travel in loose pyjamas, using clips, rather than the knickers, the former being cool and comfortable for this semi-tropical climate." * * * * myself, writing from alice springs, begged for assistance "to give expression to my deep feeling of gratification for the many kindnesses i had been the recipient of on the road. they are thorough white men up this way--the most generous-hearted, the kindliest, the bravest i believe any country in the world could produce. knowing them, one realises of what noble stuff our pioneers are made." now i call at the telegraph station to try and express my thanks to the last of the men--the men out back who know and show what brotherhood is; wheel thoughtfully through the ranges miles, and---- * * * * as diamond and i passed into the heart of the land we picked up a great deal of information regarding the most suitable equipment for the journey. pretty well everyone had something to suggest. "ha! yes," said one, "the thing is to keep up your strength, and for that there's nothing like good sleep." so i should have carried an inflatable mattress and pillow--a simple affair, planned on the pneumatic principle, to be pumped in every night at bedtime. a shot gun or a rifle--"never can tell, you know." a kodak--"that would have kept your mind occupied." a tent--"something light, of course, and easily rigged." a sextant, quadrant, or theodolite--the suggestors weren't quite sure of the differences between these things; all sounded impressive enough. a pocket telegraph instrument. cyclist's cape and riding suit, with long woollen stockings--for grass-seeds to hold on to, no doubt. aluminium water canteen, flint and steel and touch-paper, a medicine chest (the larger the better), snake poison antidotes and brandy (doubtless to make me see 'em), the bible or a few works of my favorite author, a small "handy" spirit-lamp, a field-glass, much woollen underclothing, rice, oatmeal, cream of tartar, dried this and pressed that; stock, taps and small die-plate; bombs for scattering obnoxious niggers, a recently-invented apparatus for extracting water from damp earth by evaporation and condensation, sponge for gathering up the dew from the tree leaves, a hammock, mosquito curtain. and many other articles which i cannot bring to mind just now. the reader is entitled to suggest as many more as he pleases. but it was too late to start collecting _all_ these things at alice springs, so i considered, and contented myself with the purchase of--an ounce of quinine, a box of cockle's pills, and a quart pot. * * * * during the time i remained at alice springs i bothered my head very little indeed about what there might be in store for me in the country beyond. i had previously been led to cogitate over so very many evil possibilities that i had long resolved not to lay myself out particularly to guard against any at all. had i devoted my thoughts and actions to making certain of all being safe to the end, then very plainly my wisest plan would have been to turn and cycle back. when advised to arrange against this or that misfortune i returned grateful thanks for the advice, but all the same trusted rather to precautionary measures inventing themselves, or being invented by other than such a powerless atom as myself. i placed implicit trust on three things--good health, good luck, and a good bicycle. if any of these went wrong, no preparation which i was in a position to make would go far towards the prevention of very nasty happenings. * * * * on resuming, after the welcome interval at alice springs, a -mile cycle walk through the macdonnell ranges was the first act billed on the day's programme. the track winds its toilsome way over the lowest rises and through gullies squeezed between the higher of the rough granite and sandstone hills. much bigger ones--each duly catalogued and named by somebody at sometime, i have no doubt--loomed up in every direction. many of the gullies are well grassed. saltbush and mulga are met with occasionally; and everywhere spring up low bushes of the kinds that are fattening and well-beloved of flocks and herds. rideable stretches of a mile or so may be passed over as hardly worth noticing. the hills end rather abruptly; and a thickly timbered plain outstretches itself, extending as far eye can reach. riding on to it one finds everywhere abundance of grass as well as salt and blue bush. there are some open places, but for the greater part of the way to burt well ( miles from the range) the traveller advances within avenues cut through densely-packed and far-extending mulga scrub. the riding is very fair--a light loamy soil--but a sharp look-out has to be kept for stumps on the roughly-cleared chain-wide track along the telegraph line. innumerable small spire-like formations and mounds, the hills of white ants, dot the track, and cumber its sides. none, curiously enough, are known to exist south of the macdonnell ranges. yet what impressed me most during the day's ride was that instead of having entered a desert, i was pursuing a course through country of the best description for stock--only lacking in water. * * * * arriving at a lovely waterhole overhung with gum trees on the burt creek (a pad branching from the main track leads to it), i stopped to have a bath and enjoy the cool of the heavy shadow. it is a law of the overland that a waterhole, unless it be very large or there be others close by, must not be used for soapy-washing. one dips up water with a billycan or pannikin, and, stepping back, should he not have a wash-dish, he washes with one hand. it isn't satisfying, but it has to do. my waterproof served as a basin. a hole, begun with the boot-heel and finished off by hand, was scooped out in the easily-shifted soil, the waterproof spread out over and then pressed down into it, and--there it was. by the time i had had my refresher and a smoke i found it very easy to persuade myself that the place was quite secluded and comfortable enough to remain the night at, and i acted accordingly; stocked a supply of firewood in reserve against the chilliness of coming wee small hours; pulled up by their roots (which i then shook free of earth) a quantity of the plentiful in.-high dry grass, and arranged my (low-) downy couch in systematic x and side-banked fashion in the lee of the sheltering bush to which i had close-tethered diamond. i hung up the lining of my wash basin to dry, lit a fire and brewed a quartpot of tea; but not being very hungry did not broach my precious cargo of bush bread and goat's mutton. i had with me a piece of old newspaper, and i read it. there was a little writing to be done, and i did it. a torn garment called, through the rent, for thread, and i gave it some. then i overhauled the bicycle, and, finding everything as it should be, broke short a piece of stick and discordantly accompanied myself in an "impromptu"--"across the continent in pyjamas"--by thrumming on the front wheel spokes. smoked. stood up and looked around at the scrub; sat down and scribbled a little more--and felt lonely as i could wish till bed time. * * * * before sundown i had watched awhile the diamond sparrows flocking for their evening drink in clustering clouds of dear little twittering atoms. and note, i had begun to tell myself in meditative strain--note how considerate nature provides for these, even these smallest of her trusting creatures. but a couple of hawks came along, and, swooping low down, pounced greedily upon the thirsting little creatures. i saw no good reason why i should interfere. i gave nature credit for knowing its business, and guessed the hawks were peckish. yet, against my reasoning instincts, i threw a lump of wood at one of the murderous, darting birds of prey. the whizzing missile frightened him away alright--and killed about a dozen sparrows. how very like many great human schemes and systems! * * * * but now bedtime. the sun was down, and the stillness was intense. a dim sense of unreality pervaded everything, including even thought-consciousness, the _ego_. perhaps it was only through sharp contrast with the past few nights spent talkatively with new acquaintances in alice springs; but the solitude made itself felt more oppressively than i can recall it ever to have done o' nights the other side of that reposeful _ultima thule_. all which trifling details of how i spent one afternoon and fixed my camp i give now, to save, to some extent, vain repetition later on. so far as "tucker" was concerned, before my own good stock had quite run out i was so lucky as to come upon a traveller (whose business was his own), with his two black-boys, somewhere between the burt and tea-tree well. he re-loaded me with all the eatables i desired, and made me welcome to them with the magnificent generosity of the bush. * * * * flat, almost level country extends to a government well--connor's--about miles northward from the burt watercourse. covering this well, as also those others to be seen still further north, very fine-meshed nettings are hinged to one side, preventing wild dogs, iguanas, and birds from falling in. it is, as all the others are, walled round substantially with upright hardwood posts, sunk touching one another; and it is of course, equipped with windlass, buckets, and a line of troughs. the water is as good as anybody could desire. * * * * the feelings of surprise engendered by the sight of such good grazing country, the interest and curiosity excited by the ever-present countless ant-hills, the mild astonishment as i looked through the straight and level avenues lined sharply through the mulga (avenues extending so far that their turning points were lost in the haze of distance)--these were the deeper impressions. but after the first day out from the ranges these feelings in part gave place to intermittently-recurring sensations of a kind entirely new to me. the high hills behind had, as it seemed, shut me off from the whole world of animation. up to the macdonnell, if one doesn't get bushed, one expects to meet with people every other day or so; but here, amid the myriads of ant hills and the thick, impenetrable scrub, it is as if one had strayed into a wonderland whose every inhabitant had died and had had erected to him or her a lasting monument. and i was cycling through the silent burial-ground! a ghostly suggestiveness, a little creeping of the flesh, an uneasy expectation of meeting with--one seldom questions at such moments what--urged me quickly on a little way, or, again, would prompt me suddenly to stop, dismount, lean over on the bicycle, and with craned neck peer into the gloomy scrub and rather hoarsely invite what might be therein to "come out." then, recollecting it to be rather early for that sort of "business" yet awhile, i'd laugh shamefacedly, then philosophise a little, as, sitting beneath a shady bush or mulga tree, if not short of water, i'd smoke a quiet pipe. for i was in no hurry, and by no means did i dislike these new sensations. * * * * hann's range is miles from connor's well. soon after leaving the well dreary open country is met with--nothing to be seen for many miles but spinifex. bad riding ground; for where there is much spinifex there almost always will be found very loose or sandy soil or ranges. i look longingly for signs of a mulga thicket, as there i knew the ground will be much firmer. as it approaches hann's range the road improves to very good, and once again the mulga scrub shows up. the range is but a very low one, and is soon left behind. after a run of miles, over fair quartz-pebbly track, another well (ryan's). after ryan's another fair stretch of miles, leading into a gap known as prowse's, where it passes through a low hill of granite--mount boothby. the sand thence becomes heavier, and so lasts to a watercourse--the woodforde. here are camping places--soakages and waterholes--and at one of these (a crossing of the creek) i spend a night. a very large burr has put in an appearance; and after it come burrs of all sizes and of several different varieties. * * * * much of the cycling hereabout is equivalent to cross-country riding. wherever the ground is soft the loose sand blows in and fills up the two narrow parallel riding spaces which are sole indications of wheeled vehicles having travelled this way at some time long gone by. between these clearly defined pads a ridge is formed on which grows spinifex or a tussocky grass; so no choice is left to the cyclist but to sheer off to the side. as spare horses are brought along when once a year supplies are carted up to the telegraph stations on the transcontinental, the sides for some distance out from the track are very badly cut about. one then perforce must ride as best he may, or walk, through scrub and spinifex and over fallen timber. from time to time, since leaving connor's well, many kangaroos had been seen in the occasional open spaces. at ryan's well, and from there northwards, there grows a small pale-green leaved plant, bearing a ripe and tasty berry, in appearance not unlike the gooseberries of down south gardens. i tested one, and liked its flavour well. then i experimented with a couple, then four; and as there were no signs of ill effects, i fell upon them tooth and nail. their taste recalled rock-melons. the more i ate of them the more i relished their peculiar "twang." * * * * beyond hann's range tracks of naked feet had frequently been observed. where the ground is hard the cyclist may not heed these footprints much; but in the slowing sand one feels so very powerless to "manoeuvre," that, for a little while at least, the sense of being alone is rather agreeable. near a turn in the track a black head and shoulder disappeared behind a bush. surely, i thought, the time for an adventure has come; so, dismounting, i walked back to the turning point and, completely hidden, peeped along the track. there was a curious sight. half-a-dozen natives, now in full view, were making a minute examination of the wheel marks. all were gesticulating wildly. no "animal" like this had they ever seen before. i would have given--what _could_ i have given them?--for their thoughts. again and again they ran along the track for a few yards--they who had been tracking all manner of walking and crawling things all their lives. next they appeared to be comparing notes of the strange "beast" itself--so i judged from the movements of their arms and bodies. and thus they were still engaged when i turned diamond once again, and wheeled northward. * * * * from the woodforde to the tea-tree well the track was fair--a light loam. the mulga scrub in places is extraordinarily dense. a matter of wonderment to me was how the explorers could have forced a passage for themselves and their animals through those miles upon miles of closely packed trees and undergrowth. one ceases to marvel at the creeping progress they made. you need to be in some such place as this (about the tea-tree well) before you realise how brave and venturesome and determined the first explorers were--how terribly hard and dangerous their work. now the track is plain enough to barrow's creek; anyone may follow it--a fact with which, needless to say, i was not acquainted until i had passed over it. but as the stumps have never been grubbed, and as the ants' dwelling-places, if ever interfered with, have been rebuilt or are in various stages of re-construction--what with one threatening wheel-smasher and the other--the visiting cyclist may easily fancy himself touring in a skittle alley studded with ninety-nine thousand pins. * * * * the ant hills, ever prominent features in the landscape right through palmerston, are formed of hard dry clay, or of sand mixed with a cementing solution secreted by the insect. it calls for a very forcible kick to knock the top off even a small one. when broken into, the structure is seen to be cellular, and the dirty-white inhabitants are discovered moving hurriedly over the particles of dry grass or wood which every cell contains. the cyclist must exercise much caution amongst those pinnacled hillocks and mulga remnants; but on good patches the sensation of sweeping around and in and out through the many obstacles is rather enjoyable. you have some of the delights of cycling and of skating into the bargain. * * * * the tea-tree well is about yards away from the bank of a pretty wide but not deep creek, on the bank of which flourish the inevitable giant gum-trees. out from that side of the watercourse farthest from the well, and into the bed of it, grows the bushy nigger-harboring scrub from which the well derives its name. blacks might be in there by the dozen, and a person camping near this well be never a whit the wiser. the general aspect of the place and its surrounding are wild and likely-looking enough for anything in the way of adventure. although it was early in the afternoon i felt drowsy, and planned a sleep at this celebrated spot. first a reconnoitre: tracks of naked feet in plenty; but, then, you can find them almost anywhere. so i comforted myself, and (to my disgust afterwards, of course) argued with myself that there was need of courage; then drew a bucket of the excellent water from the well, and made my "camp." * * * * the burrs had, for the last two days, been very troublesome; wherefore i improvised a burr-dissuader, which proved a very successful affair. finding an old tin matchbox near the well, i prized off the top and bottom pieces, and, with a pair of small folding scissors, shaped one end of each to correspond with the convex outside of the tyres. these pieces of tin i fastened on the bicycle between the forks with the small studs which at one time had held in place the front and back wheel mud-guards. each piece was so adjusted as to nearly touch the tyre. a cover with central bead would need a corresponding cut in the tin. a prickle seldom punctures at once; a few revolutions of the wheel must be made before the thorn gets through into the air tube. the object, then, was to remove the thing before those revolutions were made. when experimenting with the puncture preventative i found that the part of the tyre immediately over the valve bulged out further from the rim than any other portion of it, and so touched the tin. this was remedied by deflating the air tube, loosening the valve and shoving it well in and back from the rim; then properly bedding the outer cover and inflating slightly before again screwing the valve up. a final tightening was given when the tyre had been fully inflated, and i had the cover an equal distance all around from the thenceforward ever-ready and effective appliance. then, having tested it on the burrs about the "camp," i debated whether it was an ejector or a dissuader, an interceptor or an arrester, a burr-catcher or a burr-guard--and, so debating, to sleep. * * * * but not for long--soon i had company. dingoes--the howling nuisances of the bush--began their unearthly wailings in the scrub. a revolver-shot scatters or quietens them for a while; but soon they collect again, and emphasize their piteous, dismal cries. an early start from the tea-tree; and soon central mount stuart is sighted, rising slowly into distinctness, until, at about miles on, the track is within about miles of it. a gum creek, the hanson, runs between the track and the mountain, and between the creek and the track is a belt of mulga. the mount itself rises out of the heart of a vast stretch of level country. for myself, with memories of printed and spoken descriptions, i expected to see a solitary peak; instead there is a short range, consisting of three or four hills, the highest of which--this central mount stuart--rises ft. above sea level. its formation is among its peculiarities, but its layers of red and bluish rock give little foothold for vegetation. and, above all, it is affirmed that it is only ½ miles out from the exact centre of the continent of australia. but on this point there is room for doubt. central mount _stuart_, too? yet i remember to have read in one of stuart's diaries:-- "there is a high mount about two miles and a half, which i hoped would have been in the centre; but on it to-morrow i will raise a cairn of stones and plant the flag there, and will name it mount sturt, after my excellent and esteemed commander of the expedition in and ' , captain sturt, as a mark of gratitude for the great kindness i received from him during that journey." the hill must always be an object of surpassing interest to each fresh observer. one cannot but feel saddened by the crowding thoughts of hardships undergone by those intrepid ones who first penetrated here. * * * * but it was an exceedingly warm forenoon; and, although mount stuart is a sight well worth travelling many a mile to see, i notice the short philistinish sentence in my note book--"would have preferred a brewery." some day there may be a central mount stuart hotel. * * * * the road from the tea-tree had been fair and level, and so it continued to the hanson well--a total of miles. at the hanson a blackfellow was bending over and drinking from the troughs. he was somewhat startled on turning and seeing me dismount; but, though he had with him a few implements of the chase and an iguana, he did not look particularly wild. my waterbag was empty. leaning the bicycle against something, i stepped over towards the well and began--"here, 'hanson,' lend a hand to----" but he had very civilly started walking after me to lend the hand before i had asked it of him. the bucket was soon landed, and not another word was spoken until i had drunk deeply of the sparkling liquor. then i found that the naked one was capable of "yabbering" fairly well. "'nother white pfella walk longa track?" he said, inquisitively. "no more--which way blackpfella sit down?" "by and bye more blackfellow come." then, indicating a direction by a hand-wave he added vaguely--"longa scrub." then i went to the machine. lighting my pipe, i overhauled the parts, spinning wheels and performing other simple operations. "hanson" had approached cautiously; but at length his curiosity got the better of him, and he came near. he sat down on his haunches and eyed it quizzically, and for several minutes in silence. at length-- "my word, good pfella nanto that one!" ("nanto"=horse.) i jumped into the saddle and exhibited my nanto's paces. then laid it down. he quizzed it again. "him no wantit feed? no walk-about?" "ah, wait," i said; and took out the air pump, and set to work. "hanson" rose from his haunches and bent over the inflating tube. "my word," he cried, slapping his legs in prodigious glee--"my word, him grow fat all right, _my_ word!" i gave him half a stick of tobacco. never yet have i heard a blackfellow say "thank you." "hanson" received the tobacco in silence, and just as if he didn't know he was on the point of asking for it. yet he may have been thinking of something else because, as i handed it to him, he said-- "white pfella him big one clevah. what him think, him do?" i thought i had heard the same thing somewhere before. "yes," i coincided, and felt for the moment that it devolved upon me to say or do something towards proving myself worthy of a share in the flattering opinion. "awfully clevah. i-er have known--" i was about to speak of a scientific american's flying machine; but the bicycle was quite far enough in that direction. "have known-er eccentric bodies of them stand bolt upright on their heads. say 'nansen'--i mean 'hanson'--" as the thought struck me--"did _you_ ever have a try at standing on your head?" but "hanson" didn't savee. he giggled; repeated to himself vacantly a few times "head? head?" and finally put a poser to me. "which way?" it was but a christian duty that i should instruct and edify the poor benighted heathen. no one besides us two were near to witness the good deed; so as he sat on his haunches and continued gazing up into my face expectantly, i slung my satchel on the handle-bars, emptied into it a few things from my pockets, levelled off a little sandy space on the ground, and showed "hanson" by a single object lesson how the "clevah" thing was done. the benighted one took very kindly to my humble christian endeavour. "well, 'hanson,'" said i, taking up my satchel and replacing the articles, "do you think you could manage it? tell you what; suppose you stand alonga upside down, then this other fat--one stick of tobacco i give it. savee?" "hanson" saveed. "me do it all right, i think," he said, scrambling from his squat, and valorously stepping over to the small clear space. there he went down on all fours, and jambing his head on the ground sought to invert himself. he was far from succeeding the first time he tried, or the second, but needed not the slightest word of encouragement from me to try and try and try again. "here 'hanson,'" said i at last, compassionately, "knock off. you'll be suffocating yourself. besides, i want to ask you which way track go." but he had taken it very much to heart, this feat of standing on his head, and was bent on its achievement. "which way track go?" i said again. "me do it this time all right, i think;" and was "this time" just as near success as before. "don't you hear?" i called out. "i want to ask you about the road." but _he_ only wanted to stand on his confounded head. i rather regretted having put him up to the wrinkle; the track from the well might be in any direction. "me give it you that fellow stick of tobacco all the same you stand up," i said. again he only muttered a choking "me do it all right," and again another try. but it was all of no avail. he couldn't stand on his head and i couldn't stop him from trying. his face might long since have grown purple; but i was unable to see. his ulster would hang downwards and get in the way. "what infernal nonsense," i said impatiently to myself. here was i, in the heart of a continent, miles from any other white man, my sole companion an unknown black, myself ignorant of the track, and paying for the freak of a moment in this absurd way. "hanson" was still struggling. i gave him up as hopeless, got into the saddle, and wheeled away. i wonder if "hanson" has done it yet, and if upon the strength of it he's been raised in rank in his tribe! * * * * those aborigines are a perverse lot. bushmen and those who have long lived at the telegraph stations or at port darwin agree that you can never rely upon astonishing them. take a tribesman from the inlands, as the native police have sometimes had occasion to do, show him the "mighty ocean," and he regards it stolidly; and so with many of the marvels of civilisation. but do some fantastic trick or show him some simple, gaudy thing, and he is transported. but their laughter is mostly a giggle, especially in the presence of white men. i never heard from any of them a boisterous outburst, nor ever heard one with a bass voice--unless he also had a bad cold. my "hanson" was not wholly uncivilised. he wore, as i said, an "ulster." now, a blackfellow's full dress away from settlements consists of an "ulster"--not universally so called--and a waist band, which are worn low down in front. the "ulster" measures about inches by , and is suspended from the band. of course where white men are stationed and the blacks are permitted to congregate, the "nager," or clothes-line, is drawn lower down and higher up on the part of the females, and those of the males who can procure them wear bifurcated garments. * * * * eight miles from the hanson well, and we are at the stirling horse-breeding station. fair road for most of the spin, though there are three sandhills near the end of it. and in the short spin, too, we say good-bye to that salt bush--here a strongly-growing patch--which has been for so many miles, so many hundred miles, our sole companion. a wide, fertile and picturesque creek-flat, studded with gums, was ridden over before the stirling creek itself, and afterwards the station, came into view. following up the watercourse i had arrived within a couple of hundred yards of a not imposing little row of buildings (for all that, there was a pleasure in sighting them) without being able to detect a soul, when suddenly out of the creek started up, as if by magic, about fifty of the best specimens of australia's hirsute savages i have ever had the opportunity of picking up broken pieces of volapuk from--a handsome, murderous-looking set of able-bodied cut-throats, who came racing towards me. "hello, my beauties," i said, and pressed as quickly as convenient to an open door. resting the bicycle against a verandah post, i looked inside and asked hungrily "anybody home?" but there came no reply. wheeling sharply and addressing the crowd of sable ungarmented savages, now volubly "yabbering" and deeply interested in a discussion of the bicycle--"which way boss walk, sit, run, tumble down, or jump up?" i enquired anxiously. one only, so far as i could make out, laid claim to be a linguist. "him go after bullock. not long him come back. you wait?" this was a re-assuring start, anyhow. wait? rather! though i badly wanted to push on to barrow's creek i would have waited a week, could it have been so arranged, to see this man--for the bare sake of having one good look at him, for the possibility of a hand shake from him. for i had heard of him, though never previous to my passing oodnadatta. and i had heard of his lion courage from those who must themselves be brave men. i knew of the spear marks he bore, and how it was he came to bear them; yet fearlessly as ever remaining here by himself for months at a stretch, a kindly master to a horde of athletic treacherous savages, with not the slightest chance of anybody coming to his assistance should he ever be in need of aid! when, after a couple of hours "wait," i saw him riding up, i felt no pang of disappointment; he looked in full the hero i had pictured him. i managed an indifferent-sounding "good day--a bit hot?" and looked away over to where stood his horse; but i watched him with a leaping, boyish happiness through the corners of my eyes, and there came again and again to my mind the expressive deliberate words of more than one quiet-spoken old bushman--"ah! but it is _he_ who is the grand man!" there was no doubt that i was outside the pale of civilization now; he had heard nothing of a cyclist being on the road. there was no occasion to tell him i was hungry. a welcome feast was soon prepared, and i ate--no, i fear, i gorged. and what a mine of information is this man himself! what would he not be worth to the interviewer? but he talks with more than the modesty of the bushman, and that is saying much. the natives now-a-days along the overland track are not, in his view, quite so black as they are painted in the imagination of some residing south of alice springs. articles might be pilfered from a camp left without anyone in charge, but otherwise the natives near the wells and on the road might generally be looked upon by the passer-by as harmless, if properly handled. to east and west, however, are several places in which the natives are "cheeky." "and," added my host, "some 'bad' fellows now and again find their way into the bonney"--a fresh water well to which i had not yet come. * * * * from stirling to barrow's creek is miles. the first eight or nine of these takes the traveller along the stirling valley, over well grassed and timbered reek flat sand plains. here are many healthy specimens of the celebrated stuart's bean tree. this is one of the most beautiful of shade trees. the few i had noted particularly had grown to a height of from ft. to ft. the pods when ripe split open, and, the bright scarlet beans within being exposed, a very pretty picture indeed is presented. the beans are very hard, and about three-eighths of an inch long. dusky damsels gather them, bore a hole through each one, and string them into necklaces. even lying about on the ground those bright-coloured little ornaments served to add another charm to the romantic scenery of stirling vale. although not given to collecting curios, i took one with me over the foster range (five miles of barren mountain-top and very stony track, the descent on the north side being particularly steep) and along the further eight miles of stony creeks, cutting through flats between other ranges, which led to barrow's creek. * * * * at the crossing the creek is wide, and heavily timbered with gums. the telegraph station lies the other side, and is very prettily situated at the foot of a steep hill which marks one side of a gorge in a range bearing away to the east. the buildings are of stone, and everything about the place bears evidence of a very attentive supervision. the whites "in camp" at the time were the station master, two or three assistants a cook and a police trooper. a well-kept and prolific garden is close by, and a low stone wall and headstone mark the burial place of those who were killed when the natives made their oft-told-of attack. that was in ' , when as yet the natives were unaccustomed to the new institution of the overland, and when their favorite recreation was the cutting of the wire. they watched a line repairing party file out, northward; and having waited, with their native cunning, until those men were beyond the possibility of recall, on a sunday evening, when the eight inhabitants of the station were talking together outside the stone wall, they suddenly sprang from ambush and poured in a shower of spears. and yonder are the graves of the station-master and a linesman, who paid for the natives' treachery with their lives, while others paid for it with months of agony from spear wounds and thrusts. * * * * there is no place of call in the miles between barrow's and tennant's creeks, and it was certain i would be very hungry before that distance had been travelled, however short a time it might occupy. here was a stage in which a sporting rifle or a shot gun would very probably come in handy. but then a gun is of no avail without powder and shot, and the carrying of these, to say nothing of a kangaroo leg or turkey (buzzard), loomed up an altogether swamping difficulty. still i knew i could do comfortably for a fair time without food, provided i had plenty of water this latter was promised me in the several wells ahead. the "going" was said to be fair; so, after looking into the matter, i saw no reason why the distance could not be covered without weighting myself with bulky provisions; and i finally resolved on trying to make the run with water only by me. so before breakfast time on the morning fixed for the departure i gave notice of my intention not to take anything; and, happening to have in my hand at the moment the only article in my possession which i could very well do without--the dwt. bean--i handed it over to the resident trooper, who had made out a road plan for me. "why not keep it? you know there are thousands to be got about here?" the officer asked wonderingly. "then throw it away," i answered; "it's altogether too much of an unnecessary weight for me." "three pennyweights!" the trooper ejaculated in his surprise. but i was not allowed to keep intact my resolution; and out of the multitude of good things pressed upon me. i chose a small piece of cake, rolled it in paper, and hung it to the lamp bracket. * * * * within the first half-mile i overtook a small mob of sheep, with two or three black boys in charge; and, rather than scatter the little flock, rode to one side, in through the scrub, until they had been left behind. before another mile had been covered, i noticed that my cake had disappeared. it could not have been long gone; and, as the thought had just entered my mind to eat it up and so be finished with it, i stopped, leaned the bicycle carelessly against a bush, and walked back; but the tracking through the scrub was slow, whereupon i gave up the search and returned. the bicycle had been blown over by a gust of wind, and was lying on the ground. worse still a thousand times, the stopper had been jerked out of the neck of the waterbag, and the precious water had drained out. however, it was only miles to a soakage; my spirits were high after my recent good living: so, with a few cursory remarks to the wind and to diamond, i remounted and rode on. * * * * before many miles had been covered, against a head wind and under a sweltering sun, a sharp thirst reminded me that i had eaten a salt-meat breakfast; and that thirst became sharper still before taylor creek was reached. the track, too, was a bit heavy--over flats of light loamy soil and sandy plains for the greater part of the miles. on coming opposite the bend, where the taylor creek is nearest on the track's eastern side, i rode across to refill the waterbag; but all the soakage water had dried up. holes had been sunk in the gravel about two feet deep, but only a white gritty clay showed at the bottom of each one. it was a weary search along that creek's bed; up and down i tramped anxiously, burrowing and scratching, but unavailingly; and after an hour spent in this way, it was a sadder man who returned to pursue an onward course. six miles is not far; but it counts for very much when a man has done twenty before it on a hot day, and that is topped up with an anxious search, a sandy road, and a disappointment. that six miles took me to a well sunk in the taylor, at a point where the creek passes through a range. a bucketful of water was soon hauled up, and, pushing in one of the two stop-bolts which were provided at the sides for that purpose, thus leaving the bucket suspended on top of the well, i leaned over and had gulped down three or four mouthfuls before i made a shocking discovery. the horrid stuff was almost salt! i spat out what i could; but what i had swallowed had far from given me relief. yet how it glistened! was it mockery? i laughed a little, and knew the laugh was forced. yes, this was thirst. would the tantalising stuff be better boiled? i made the experiment; it failed. i tried it with some meat extract (a few capsules of which i had); but--it was salter than ever. with tea? perhaps, but i had no tea. a smoke for consolation--no, i dare not. i bathed my face and hands, and was a little relieved. then, filling the waterbag, on the off chance of later on feeling more disposed towards poisoning myself, made all the haste i could for the wycliffe. * * * * an old turn-off track beyond the taylor well leads out in an easterly direction to the frew river and el kedra--both abandoned stations. the country about there had been stocked at one time, but the natives were uncontrollable and very troublesome, spearing and slaughtering many of the cattle; and the lessees deemed abandonment advisable. from those places, and from another lower down and to the west--anna's reservoir--the natives count upon having frightened away the white men, the would-be settlers, and are inclined to "fancy" themselves accordingly. in other words, they are said to be "bad" about those places, and, as somebody significantly expressed it, are "spoiling for a hidin'." it was dreary "going"; and the thoughts associated with the country were not cheering. it was flounder, flounder through the heavy sand, with the lips parched and the throat dry--and growing drier and drier. i turn back now to my note-book and find the single entry--"this five-mile 'plug' is the killing gait." yet no creek showed itself. my legs were beginning to send up signals of distress--and all the time that water "flopped" in the bag and tormented me. the night came on swiftly. diamond, we must make a dash for it! on, on! an ant-hill or a stump overlooked as i tried to make out the timbers of a creek in the far distance, now wrapped in the evening haze, and i was sprawling on the ground, and diamond had been thrown heavily as well. i limped over, and tried to mount--tried again and again, but each time a numbed knee refused to answer to the call. i sat down to ponder things. that knee-cap--the swelling startled me for a moment. i might crawl, no more--crawl, and leave diamond behind. but whither? that could not be thought of. no sleep that night. and water--! the bag--! no; it were better not. i tried to sleep. yet, that water--was it so _very_ bad? i wasn't so thirsty back at the well; it would be palatable enough now. i reached for it, and drank it greedily. "fool!" the reflection came instantly. "now look out!" how hot it was--stifling. my brain was converted into a busy telephone exchange, and every subscriber was ringing up viciously. "hello? hello?" that was from the leg; a cramp. i attended to it. again a vicious ring. the swollen knee called for sympathy--anything else i couldn't give it. a violent call. the tongue this time. poor member, poor badly-treated member. but be still. yet somehow, try as it would, it couldn't get back to its proper place. then, in a quiet moment, the brain set to work on its own account. diamond--was diamond safe? what were the faithful one's injuries? but another interrupting call: those muscles again. a mosquito! ha, sing away, fasten your sucker where you please--you are but a mere circumstance to-night! hot moisture! on my forehead! now, what mysterious well within me held yet a drop of water? (was that a rustle? niggers, perhaps. ah, well--) ants? very well; what matter? but--but keep off that knee! and, oh, for one long deep drink of water! dives, has that monster lazarus relented and begged for you a drop of water yet? * * * * it is wearisome to write how _i_ felt and what _i_ said and did--more wearisome perhaps than it is to read. but these unpleasant incidents seem to be regarded as the "most prominent features" of the journey; and they are here set out, not because there is any gratification to be got from the operation, but because by pointing out the pitfalls, they may serve to make easier the path of those who shall follow me. * * * * the dawn, if it brought no assuagement of the thirst, brought at any rate more hope; and still stiff and sore and aching, i limped, leading diamond, towards the wycliffe, which i knew could not be far away. it was an hour's drag through sand and scrub before the turn-off pad was reached; then a mile down the pad, the waterhole itself. the wycliffe is a wide watercourse which, after rain, stretches out unrestrained at many places in its course into a series of shallow swamps and clay-banked waterholes. one of these was filled to overflowing with "the nectar of the gods;" and, literally, rushing to its edge, i drank with rapturous delight. the cravings of an abnormal thirst having been satisfied, i placed the polluted water-bag to soak, made a pot of tea, further refreshed myself with a wash, and had hardly touched the earth when i fell asleep. * * * * it may have been reality, or it may have been fancy; certainly i heard a rustle, and sat up quickly. three blackfellows were walking towards where i lay. at the instant of seeing them they were scarcely half a dozen yards off. i did not move--where was i to move, and why? "what name you wantem?" i asked. as none of them had on anything more than what looked like a piece of old clothes line with the frayed ends knotted together in front, with boomerangs thrust through it at the sides, and as each carried a woomera, or throwing stick, and a spear, they appeared to be quite respectable wild savages. it is at such moments that a self-respecting person should, in a twinkling, live his life over again--he should look down through the corridors of his years, and renounce all his wickednesses. also the armed and treacherous natives; these denizens of the wildest tract of the australian continent, descendants of those (or maybe the men themselves) who have murdered settler and traveller in cold blood--these formidable fellows, i say, should have raised a whoop, and casting their spears at my prostrate form, should then have robbed me of the few trinkets i possessed, and my revolver, and have left another carcase to tell silently of the infamy of the black people. but things go wrong. for my own part, instead of looking back through any corridors, i observed that the feet of my visitors were much larger than were those of the natives south of the alice. and, instead of a war-whoop and a deadly lunge, one of the three stretched out a hand and whined the single word "baccy?" and this is the romance of our dark continent! these undraped fellows, carrying spears and boomerangs, roaming about an unfenced wilderness, romantic enough in contour and general setting, capable enough, one would judge, of eating uncooked rattlesnakes for choice--whining "baccy?" it was exasperating. besides, i wasn't going through the country loaded up with tobacco for free distribution among blackfellow-strangers. it, at the instant, occurred to me that those three strapping fellows might, if they chose, possess themselves of all the tobacco i had, and the bicycle into the bargain, i was certainly too weak to-- then it flashed through my mind--"what would the fearless fellow back at the stirling do?" i made up my mind for him at once. "you fellows, get!" then i turned over, as if dead certain they would "get!" and after "yabbering" to or about the bicycle they disappeared--whither i did not know. by the generality of those white men with whom i conversed on such matters before reaching alice springs, it is--or was--an accepted belief that, from that place onward, natives are nearly always about at watering places along the overland track, although the traveller may not catch sight of even one. they are ever so much more sharp of sight and hearing than the whites, and, being treacherous themselves, they are very suspicious of strangers, and so they hide if they do not clear out on learning of a strangers coming. some of them believe or pretend to believe the whites have robbed them of their choicest hunting grounds, and, naturally, these work themselves up into revengeful passions when dwelling on their wrongs. it is always best, or so i heard, when the traveller is alone, or there are only two together, to keep moving--not to linger long at one spot. and i must say that i have noted a spicy and suggestive _soupçon_ of restlessness at night-time in the manners of those few travellers with whom i camped beyond the alice. the revolver was invariably seen to before turning in. and, on principle, a revolver should be carried. if whites ceased to carry the weapon, then the natives, observing its absence would grow braggishly bold and presuming. * * * * seventeen miles of bad travelling ground--red loam and sand plains--brings the traveller to the devonport ranges. a couple of miles before passing through them, a creek, the sutherland, was crossed. the white sand in the channel was piled up in strange formations. how terrific and eddying the current of water must be which at wide intervals comes tearing down! as it stood, the bed suggested a reproduction, in the solid, of a narrow strip of wild-surging tempestuous ocean--a series of waves and billows, small mountains high. through the range though, it is good riding. a mile or two beyond the sutherland, on a flat among the low hills, huge, smooth boulder-like masses of granite threaten to block the way; but the track winds in among them, and out again. the boulders lie thickly around in every direction, singly or piled one upon another. they are of all shapes--round and oval predominating--and run from scores to hundreds of tons in weight. some are so perched as almost to tempt the passer-by to bring a crowbar with him next time he comes and tip them over. these are "the devil's marbles," and a very novel and rather fantastic appearance they present. the solitary traveller may easily conjure up images of giant hobgoblins coming along in play hours to practice the game of "catch"--surely, by the way, the devil's own favorite game. i was about to sit in the shade of a large boulder, when from the further side of it came out an animal uncanny and weird as its surroundings. in form it resembled an iguana, but was five or six times larger than any one of that species i could remember to have seen, and, while i stood and looked in mild astonishment, it rose on its two long hind feet, and so walked a short distance; then as suddenly "flopped" down again, and disappeared. the miles from the wycliffe to the bonney creek is nearly all bad country for cycling over. i was riding at the moment of first sighting the creek, and a little while afterwards was able to discern the well away out from the farther bank. to the left of the crossing and not far from it, a small column of smoke was rising; and by the fire--two standing, the others sitting or lying down--were half-a-dozen bandicoot-hunters. i had reached the creek's bank before observing the blackfellows, and had been on the point of dismounting; but their unexpected presence (i had noticed no fresh tracks), induced me to keep going, and i spurred diamond cruelly on to make him cross the pebbly bed, past which there promised to be a stretch of good hard level road on which i could--well, manoeuvre, should the occasion for doing so arise; although it would have taken much forcible persuasion to induce me leave the water once i reached it. but diamond was very weakly and out of condition that afternoon and stuck its rider up right in the middle of the gravelly passage. i came off with a right-pedal dismount and faced over the skeleton barricade only just in time to see the backs of two fast-running niggers before they disappeared into the scrub. i pushed diamond up the bonney's bank and over to the well. one hesitates to perpetrate an obvious joke about this bonney water. but i had eaten nothing, with the exception of the "gooseberries" already mentioned, since leaving barrow's creek, so now made the quart-pot full of thick soup, and devoured it, before carting in a stock of firewood, for we must camp this night at bonney well, notwithstanding its rather evil reputation. firewood was scarce, and the coming night gave promise of being chilly; but, a sufficient stock collected, i strolled down to the blackfellows' camping ground. they had left no weapons, but had generously allowed to remain for my inspection (or it was hospitably intended?), one iguana (on the still smouldering embers, and over-done now), six inches intact, and several small pieces of frizzled snake, and one half-picked bone--which last may have been part of a picaninny's arm, so evil did it smell. the flies had taken possession of everything eatable, and there appeared no good and sufficient reason for disturbing them. * * * * "better not light a fire," i had been warned, wherever unfriendly blacks are said to visit, especially when camping alone. but when the chilly early morning comes and the marrow in one's bones gets frozen, a fellow having insufficient covering is certain to start a thawing blaze, and take his chances with the waddying niggers. last night had been warm, but this was a season of sharp changes--with the day time only there invariably came great heat. as i lay stretched on my sheet of waterproof, i ruminated on many things--on the many narrow escapes from dire disaster of this and other days. how often had i straightened out those pedal cross-bars, which luckily ever seemed to receive, give to, and so dull the hidden timber's sharp upsetting blow! fortunate to be sure was i in having chosen this priceless treasure of a bicycle frame. again and again my eyes opened wide in astonishment, when, after some unavoidable stump's onslaught, a tumble, or other mishap, its every part was found to be perfect. so with my head shoved into the widest part of a pair of pyjama mosquito-curtains, i made certain that my revolver was close at hand, and, being hungry enough to make me feel miserable, was yet quite happy and contented in the knowledge that i was to some extent experiencing the reality of those indefinite possibilities of which i had been forewarned. * * * * a mosquito-curtain is grateful and comforting; but after a hot day's toil one feels little inclined to erect a frame-work about one's couch, fix up the netting, and cut pegs to keep it down all around. for pegging would be necessary; if it were left anyway loose, the average able-bodied, athletic mosquito of these parts would just lift the thing up and get to work. therefore i contented myself with shoving my head into whatever most bag-like spare wearable i happened to possess--pyjamas, for instance--thus lessening the effectiveness or length of the insects' sting by the thickness of the sheltering material. it is further south that the story is told of the mosquitoes and the boiler-maker. a man was engaged re-riveting a faulty boiler-plate. the mosquitoes were very troublesome; but, after showing fight awhile, this rivetter devised a plan of revenge, and resolutely worked on until the job in hand was finished. then, smiling through his swollen lips and eyelids, he climbed in through the man-hole, clapped on the cover, and laughed in wild derision as those on the outside stamped on the plates, frantic and enraged at thus losing their prey. then came a silence. then a strange humming was heard; next a boring noise; and then, to the hidden one's dismay, an intruding sting appeared, and yet another, and still countless more, all feeling around to grip and fasten on to him. but the boiler-maker was a man of resource; and as the stings projected, or injected, with mighty blows he clinched them tight, chuckling the while, until those outside, making discovery of what was being done to them, took fright, and, spreading their wings flew upwards--and nothing whatever has been seen of that man or that boiler since. * * * * from the bonney well i started, after breakfasting on a pipe-full of tobacco, with the intention of making tennant creek ( miles) that same night. but several unforeseen events altered those plans. gilbert creek is miles ahead. and here (i smile disdainfully now) i made myself uncomfortable. i picked up a pad that led into the creek; then having dined on meat extract and smoke, carelessly led the bicycle across the creek. but no pad in this direction was to be seen, and i heedlessly wandered on until what appeared to be another creek was crossed. then a bend; this was crossed also--the bicycle having to be led much of the time. now this was getting monotonous; still no pad leading onwards. there was nothing for it but to go back on my tracks. but my tracks--where were they? we had been passing lately over a hard gum flat, covered with leaves, and no mark showed to my inexperienced eye. i remember at this moment, that i paused, ran my finger through my hair, and felt as lonely as that other unfortunate man who lost his shadow. i had come from the east; going by compass, i rode on--to a creek. this i followed back, pushing the machine over the uneven surface, and not at all sure, after all, whether this was the right creek. but--a furrow! i put the water-bag to my lips, and, i think, almost drained it. all was plain sailing back to the waterhole now, and there the existence of the several creeks was explained away--the water was in a billabong, or a short creek-arm, which had been mistaken by me for a separate watercourse. but the last hour or so had taken more out of me than a day's hard work could do. * * * * three parts of a mile up the pad, a dozen dingoes were scampering over a short patch of heavy sand through which i had walked when coming down. i stopped short to observe them. they were as confounded as those niggers were whom i had before watched examining the tracks of the machine. a man had passed over that patch; of that those dingoes certainly had no doubt. but whence had he come, and whither gone? they scented up and down on either side in vain. the trail of the bicycle they disregarded--that was no man's marks. and there they were excitedly scampering up and down when a revolver shot led them to slink into the scrub, each taking a way of his own. * * * * nearly the whole of the miles and the next mile (kelly's) is bad red sand, unrideable in places, the pads being filled in with loose drift stuff; while tussocks of grass and porcupine, low scrub and fallen jagged timber, await one at the sides. riding over telegraph poles is a feat which the cyclist here is called on frequently to perform. in many places the track runs alongside the old line of wooden telegraph poles; in other places, again, the modern galvanised-iron rods stand just where stood those wooden poles of older days. in each case the old poles, in various stages of decomposition, lie often right across the track; and the rider cannot always see them until after he has felt the bump. against the continued use of the wooden poles there had been many grave objections. four of the most pregnant sources of trouble were white ants, lightning, bush fires, and the rapidity with which that part of the wood below ground rotted away. * * * * formerly line-repairers were nearly always at work. now most of the repairing is done but once a year, before or after the line has had its annual end-to-end inspection. in the changed circumstances the overland telegraph stations are no longer chiefly depots for the use of those whose chief business it is to keep the line in efficient working order, but are mainly for the occupation of those whose duty it is to re-transmit messages from one repeating station to another, up or down. from palmerston a "wire" is sent to daly waters, repeated there, and received at alice springs; thence on to hergott, and so to adelaide. or it may be re-transmitted first at powell's creek, next at barrow's creek, then at charlotte waters, and so on to adelaide. one sequence of repeating stations operate through the night, the other throughout the day. at some--alice springs, for instance, the work goes on continuously. the working of the line from palmerston down to attack creek (between powell's and tennant's creeks) is superintended from the north; the lower part, from alice springs. * * * * half way between the gilbert and kelly's well the track runs as a main street through the heart of a thickly populated city of spires, known as little edinboro'--a multitudinous array of ant hills, stretching out east and west far beyond the range of vision, and extending also some miles along the track. there were fresh horse tracks near the well; and at the well itself, two white men, with their two or three black-boys, were camped, "spelling." an offer of hospitality was at once extended to me; and, as i had been three days and two nights without eating "white man's tucker," there was no hesitancy about the acceptance. and it did not require much persuasion to induce me to camp here; for he who eats not, neither shall he feel much inclined to work. "you'll not think i'm a beast, will you?" i said apologetically. "the fact is, i've eaten nothing for three days." but there is no need to apologise on the overland. * * * * an army of ants marched up and promenaded on the table-cloth; but provided one is reasonably cautious and brushes the insects off before taking into his mouth any of the pieces of meat to which some may have fastened themselves, their presence at one's dining table is of no great consequence when one is very hungry. ants are very numerous everywhere through the continent; and, in a journey through, one comes across communities of them, representing, i believe, every known kind and species. the traveller is not much interfered with by the white ants found north of the macdonnell ranges--those favor a harder diet than that which man provides--but the ordinary meat, sugar and bread-devouring varieties, muster up in myriads wherever one camps. at many of the camping grounds alongside wells, soakages and water-holes, are oblong × spaces enclosed by sloping, little banks or walls of scooped-up sand, six inches high or so. as the troublesome and evil-smelling insects climb up these walls, the loose sand gives way, and they topple back again. within such ingeniously-fashioned ramparts the traveller is secure--from one pest, at any rate. nor are flies less universal than ants. they are always, everywhere. they attack one's eyes shamefully; but the slightest scratch anywhere calls for immediate protection against their poisoning attentions. a plaster of wetted clay is not a particularly cleanly covering; but it acts very well for protective purposes, and i believe it also possesses curative properties. at meal times a piece of meat lifted from hand or ground to the mouth becomes so thickly covered with the pests that the diner finds it imperative to flourish it around him and cry "shoo!" blow hard upon it, or make one or two feints at biting before taking the stuff in. but they are philosophers, these men of the bush, and so declare that the flies purify the atmosphere, demolish poisonous matters in the air, prevent the spread of devastating disease--and so on. some people, tho', if snakes were so numerous that folks couldn't travel the country without wearing a snake-proof suit, would certainly discover how very essential the reptiles were to--perhaps the armour-maker's existence. * * * * up north--or was it down south--a talkative gentleman with a glass eye (named--the man's i mean--blank), keeps a store. one day, _ipse dixit_, he was shoeing a restive horse. the flies were very bad. his glass eye suddenly pained him; and when he made effort to take it out of its socket, to his horror, he found he couldn't. the flies had bunged it! that is the man's story, not mine. i can only vouch for their infinite capacity to bung eyes not made of glass--and to imperil souls. * * * * none of the eye-protecting fixings seem to be satisfactory for use by a cyclist in country where careful steering is called for. those which will keep out the flies are objectionable, for various reasons. the principal being that they also obscure the vision. at oodnadatta, a fly-guard made of very fine meshed wire was given to me, and i carried it right through to palmerston. it was made as a very large pair of spectacles, and when folded occupied but very little space. because of a few faults, i did not often wear it. it darkened the ground, got uncomfortably hot at times, and when a fly did get underneath, the little wretch invariably wagged its tail with joy at having a whole eye to itself, and "wired in" so avariciously, that hunting it out became an instant necessity. and then outsiders, dozens of them, would hang on to the wires and search for a wide opening, shoving their stings through now and again in the hope of reaching something. nevertheless, if one of these wire-meshed guards could be had to fit close all round the eyes, it would be as good as, if not better, than most of the others. goggles with colourless glass were not to be had. the netting of the ordinary hat-veil is too open; a cyclist when riding does not shake his head about so the flies soon enter through. cheese or mosquito nettings are hot, sticky and uncomfortable; and dangling corks are too ornamental. * * * * there were several of the ant-repulsing citadels at kelly's well, and in one of them, close by a bush to which i could fasten diamond, i spread my sheet of waterproof. but my camp companions pressed upon me some of their own blankets--generosity of a prince was that encountered from first to last. well-fed, and kicking about under warm blanketing, with a sense of safety, and with food and water at one's hands--yes, certainly these things have their advantages. * * * * the dingoes gathered round and howled; but to their noises i paid little heed--until someone moved. then, looking out, i saw one of my hosts kneeling on his bed clothes, and in the act of pointing a rifle towards where a loud-voiced member of the serenading party sat. the blackboys' sleeping quarters were near the fireplace; and just after i had become fully conscious of what was going on and expected to hear a shot fired, one of the "boys," rising on his elbow, suddenly exclaimed pleadingly, "no shoot that one dingo, mitta! him my fadder, i thinkit." at which interruption the one spoken to muttered--was that a curse?--i laughed, and the dingo vanished. it was not the first time that thus the white man had been robbed of his prey. for to hold the hand in such circumstances is only prudent. in the morning the hat of the aboriginal who had saved his father's second-life was missing; but after a short search it was recovered some little distance from the camp--or its remains were discovered, in two parts. the brim was torn from the crown, and a strip of about an inch between them had been bitten out all round. i reckoned nothing would come amiss to that species of wild animal which would chew up a nigger's hat-band, and for ever after was at night time more or less uneasy about my bicycle's tyres. the natives of these parts hold pretty generally to this doctrine of metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls: your father, dying, may "jump up whitefellow," or be changed into a kangaroo, an emu, an eagle, or a dingo--mayhap even an ant. one of the natives was named the equivalent for kangaroo, with something tacked to it. wherefore he must never taste kangaroo flesh. it has been written somewhere:--"australian natives are treacherous. you should never in the bush let one walk behind you. keep him always in front." a bushman told me that was altogether wrong advice. "if you have any cause to be suspicious of a nigger's intentions," he said, "keep him behind you, and well out of sight at that--even if you have to hit him on the head with a waddy to make him stay there." this authority was rather violently disposed towards the natives, whom, _inter alia_, he charged with the atrocious crime of having once kidnapped a dog of his. "if anyone of them starts giving you back answers," said he, "to shoot is about the only way to make quite sure about that one. it's fine," and he laughed, "to see the beggar's jump." he assured me he had, on occasion, known 'em to jump as high as seven feet. * * * * from kelly's well the miles to tennant's creek provided the best stretch of cycling ground for many a day. the soil was of a firm loamy nature, covered in places with gravelly quartz and ironstone. the first part was over level ground timbered with mulga and box, and with not a hill in sight anywhere to east or west; but at about miles some low flat-topped scattered rises appear, and then, at miles, the mcdonnell ranges. here ironstone and quartz veins outcrop, and colors of gold are found in many of the gullies. an excellent track continues on and over the range (which is not a high one) and then level country again spreads out. * * * * i had eaten breakfast at kelly's well; but one meal, or a second does not long suffice, for a man who has been for days hungry. tissues get eaten away, and it takes days--nay, perhaps weeks--of substantial feeding before the loss can be made up and the used tissues replaced or replenished. at tennant's creek, during the many days i remained at the telegraph station, i could eat almost continuously. my happiest thoughts were centered around the dinner table, and there was a savage delight in the partaking of every meal. at many of those stations i was ashamed of my appetite. everywhere i was apologising (needlessly of course) because of this unnatural-seeming craving for food which for days possessed me. and it appeared so extraordinary to see people sit down to a viand-loaded table and eat only a little. and that, too, without much apparent enjoyment! when a fellow finds he has eaten much more than two others together, at the same table, he is apt to be backward in asking for more; and, perhaps, therefore it was that often when the time had arrived to get up from a meal i felt reluctant to leave without taking what remained of the joint with me. * * * * the telegraph station at tennant's creek is, in outward appearance, like a substantial stone farmhouse, and is situated out on the plains or miles past the foot of the mcdonnell range. there is a main building, three-roomed. one of these is used as a harness room; there are several small cottages and sheds; and a large stockyard is at no great distance away. in the creek, about a quarter of a mile from the station there are some nearly permanent waterholes, and a freshwater well is sunk on its nearer bank. close by this well is a bath-house, and a vegetable garden--adjuncts, these latter, of all the telegraph stations. as at the other stations also, cattle and sheep, horses and milch cows are kept and attended to or shepherded by blackfellows. located here was, in addition to the officer in charge (whom i had often heard spoken of, always in terms of high praise and respect, down alice springs way), an assistant (operator), a white man cook, and one other white employee, this last generally useful hand. * * * * as i have already stated, i had very often straightened out the rat-trap pedal cross-bars of the bicycle. the unavoidable stumps, small ant-hills and prostrate telegraph-pole ends, _et hoc_, had bent them inwards frequently; and as one of the four exhibited signs of the very rough usage to which it had by this time been subjected, the handy man obliged me by taking it out altogether and replacing it with an exact counterpart of one of the less marked ones--a substitution effected as neatly as if one of the most expert of cycle-repairing shop hands had been the craftsman. of this trifling alteration, which was in no way necessary, i have paused to write, for the triple purpose of giving acknowledgment to the ability of the workman, and of remarking that after all the rough usage to which it had been subjected, the bicycle still continued to look almost as if just from the shop window (in reality it was better than new, since it had been tested and proven), and, thirdly, of making for myself opportunity to say that, notwithstanding the many haul knocks it received after leaving tennant's creek, it yet kept in that excellent condition which was my pride to the very last moment i had use for it. * * * * having no wish for a recurrence of those hungering qualms which had been felt before arriving there, i departed from tennant's creek loaded up with all the provisions i could conveniently or otherwise stow away inside and out, and proceeded for miles over ground which in places was fair, but which for its greater part was rather sandy for cycling over, to water and a camp, at one of the hayward creek branches, of which there were three to be crossed. the route was waterless between tennant's and this creek, although phillip's creek was met with at miles, and the gibson at ; also several low hill-ranges were passed through. an excellent sketch plan of the route had been made out for me at the telegraph station by the exceedingly obliging officer in charge there and his assistant; nevertheless, there were so many creeks to be crossed and, as it seemed to me re-crossed, that almost before the first day was over i continually doubted which of them was the particular one i was next coming to or had last left behind. this doubt, however, did not exist on arriving the following day at attack creek, some miles on from the hayward, because of the beautiful sheet of clear fresh water which existed in it. this attack creek is deep, and its sides are fringed with giant gum trees. it is not wide; but the nearly permanent sheet of water when i passed there, was fully a quarter of a mile in length between the banks. there is a solitary grave away up from the crossing; and, again, after passing the morphett ( miles on), is the last resting place of a traveller who, a couple of years back, when dying of thirst, attempted unsuccessfully to so damage the telegraph line as to attract to the spot a repairing party. not every man can climb a telegraph pole; and one cannot cut or undo stout and firmly fastened wires with one's teeth. near the morphett creek a narrow pad branches off to the west of the telegraph line, loops out to the headquarters of a very seldom heard of cattle station, and proceeding thence, rejoins the line track at about miles south of powell's creek. one may keep nearer to the telegraph line and travel _via_ kuerschner ponds; but against going that way i had been advised. the track was said to be very rough. nevertheless the straight-ahead road might be the better for cycling. the good people of these parts do not regard tracks or the cyclist's eyes. it has often been recommended to me to turn off at certain places from "hard gritty rises" on to where the track runs over "nice soft flats." of course the flats were found in such places to be well grassed and suitable for travelling mobs of cattle, whereas the gritty rises (some, good cycling) invariably were barren or spinifex-covered. right up almost from tennant's creek to the re-junction spoken of, the miles stretch of country is of a very unkindly nature, for the stranger, anyway. the supplies which are annually sent to the various telegraph stations are forwarded only as far as tennant's creek from the south; down as far as powell's, they come from palmerston. the intervening distance (from tennant's to powell's, miles), does not therefore bear those evidences of traffic which are distinguishable between most of the other stations. * * * * this lack of clear guiding marks is most troublesome about the stony creeks, whether there be water in them or not. when a waterhole has been reached it is not always easy to pick up the track on the other side. in many cases there is no pad at all visible to the unaccustomed eye, as cattle and horses spread out on approaching water, wander aimlessly awhile after drinking, and destroy all traces of a particularly beaten path, as not until long after leaving do they "string" again. at waterholes, too, (and these remarks apply to many watering places higher up the road) the track is so "freaky." from one hole full or dry, you must pass straight on; from another, the track may take a sudden bend to the east or the west; at still another, the pad does not pass the water, but, after leading to it, forms with the pad going out, more or less of a v; while at a fourth, you have to double back for some distance on the pad by which you entered. when the grass is high and the track not clear, or where many paths lead out from, where one finds oneself, as it were, "cornered," and when one does not know whether the follow-on section of his road runs northerly, easterly, or westerly, one is liable to feel--well, uncomfortable. as cattle had been lately running in some parts of the country in this stage, between tennant's and powell's creeks, the main pad, if there be one at all, was cut into in places by better beaten ones, and in other places there were such puzzling branches that the non-bushman traveller might be just as likely to follow up the wrong one as the right. how it may be with the expert bushman, i do not know. before reaching the cattle station (known as bankabanka, i believe; there was no one at home except a few blackfellows and lubras, who greatly enjoyed the sight of a so ragged a whitefeller and the bicycle, but who were a very inoffensive lot of people), i was so fortunate as to come upon a couple of horsemen; and in their company i was glad to "spell" awhile. valuable directions also were obtained about those pads ahead which led out and in again to the telegraph line, and i had word, too, of a mob of sheep in charge of a white man, who, by this time, was expected to be camped somewhere between the station and the line. after a day's travelling away from the cattle station, first over an expansive, luxuriantly-grassed plain on which not a tree was to be seen for many miles, and then into and through rough, rugged ranges, i reached the waterhole on which the sheep were camped, and spent there a happy night, eating and thinking of the fresh mutton, cake, and other acceptable novelties with which the gentlemanly drover-boss plied and supplied me. referring to my note-book, i make out the following random jottings:--"the mulga has disappeared. the prevailing trees appear to me to be dwarfed, stunted gums; whether in truth they are properly gums or box, or peppermint, or what--i cannot tell; but they are clearly of the eucalyptus family. nearly all white-stemmed, and averaging from to feet in height. the yellow blossoms of a wattle bush relieve the lower but never thickly growing scrub. extensive belts of spinifex; and, on less sandy soil, and about the creeks, many flats covered with long spear grass. this grass is over six feet high--a continual source of annoyance, as now is the time to catch the falling seeds; sharp pointed things these, which wriggle and twist about in one's clothes, until they enter so far that a fellow has to stop and pull them out of the various parts of him. further north, the people tell me, this spear grass grows to a height of feet (and over that; but feet is tall enough for me), with worrying seeds of proportionate size. have torn my handkerchief in two and wrapped a half around the extremity of each pyjama leg to prevent the obnoxious things accumulating around my ankles. "much walking--sand. riding northerly; the cross shadows before and after midday add to the already many risks. and the pads are so narrow; branches of trees and bushes hit the face; often an eye-lash from an eye. find myself at morning time or evening dismounting hurriedly to lead the bicycle over the shadow of a branch which i mistook for substance, and a minute after, running full tilt into a log which i had mistaken for a harmless shadow." "stony hills, small creeks, and grassed flats" was the order of the day on which i again struck the telegraph line; and along by that the track was both distinct and fair "going" passing between low hills to renner springs. glazed pebbles and agates (of no value except as curios) were thickly scattered on the hill-tops and at the foot of the various rises for some distance. * * * * where the pad led on to the line-track two natives were walking on ahead. on turning and seeing me they only backed a little from the twelve inches of highway, and looked astonished. i pulled up to interview them--or it may be i trembled so much with terror that i was unable to continue riding. two very good specimens, these. well set up and picturesquely ornamented with many cicatrices rising across the breasts and arms. one was able to speak comprehensibly; the other wore feathers in his hair, and looked from head to foot an unsophisticated savage, reminiscent of a fenimore cooper's injun fresh starting on the war trail and bent fixedly on acquiring somebody's "skelp" for his wigwam. as it was, i daresay he was out on a hunt after bandicoots for his dinner. after inquiring the distance to renner springs--which i knew to be about miles--and getting the usually precise information "long way," from the one, i asked politely of the other what his name might perchance be. but he did not answer; and the spokesman, in explanation of this silence, probably, told me, "him german blackfellow." ha! here was a discovery. the "made in germany" grievance had invaded the north-central australian tribes! "sprecken sie deutch, herr blackfellow?" he condescended to give me the disrespectful-sounding monosyllable "yah!" now this was a serious quandary. i had used up all my german that seemed suitable for the occasion. i struggled with memory for a few moments. ah, yes! "hast die das schloss?" he shook his head, and said, "er," in disgust. beyond this i could not go. it was, perhaps, just as well. later on i knew what "german blackfellow" meant. when a white man can't make himself understood the 'bout camp black (who knows _he_ speaks pure english) says, disdainfully:--"what 'im pfeller talk? 'im german, me tink it." so it comes about that the "german blackfellow," is the blackfellow who no speak it inglis--the "myall," the wild-fellow. * * * * having cycled what i counted on as being the miles, and while yet looking ahead expecting at any moment to catch sight of the renner springs station buildings, i was surprised to hear much shouting and many strange cries. a ridge chain ran parallel with the track, a quarter of a mile off, on my left-hand side; and in the bushes a little way out from this a dozen or more wurlies had been erected. from the vicinity of these wurlies scores of natives were now pouring, laughing, screaming, and yelling to each other to hurry up and see the circus. they had observed me before i had sighted them and were running towards a bend in the road ahead of me. i slowed down; and as they were so considerate as to hoot back their yelping dogs, and as the pedalling operation appeared to divert them hugely (i believe they had never witnessed anything half so funny in their lives before), i stopped when part way along the line they formed to give them a better chance of satisfying to its full their very patent curiosity. those who had collected were of all sizes and ages, and most of them had left home so very hurriedly that they had quite forgotten to put on their "ulsters." but there were no females in the assembly. here (and likewise back at the stirling) i notice the lubras come but a very short distance from their wurlies, near which they remained standing--screaming during the first few minutes of the excitement with delight, and, i think, calling the dogs back. not from anyone of the crowd, for whose edification i spun the wheels round, could i get a word of white-fellow lingo; and all i have by which to remember my futile attempts at a conversation is a note written on the spot to the effect that they, in common with other of the natives whom i had met "laughed in fairly good english." * * * * the first beholding of adult blackfellows and blackfellowesses naked, may be slightly shocking to sensitive nerves. an uncomfortable, uneasy feeling will probably be induced. but this creepiness soon passes, and one comes to either look upon or pass unnoticed the ungarbed blackfellow (and later on the average lubra), as he might the apes and monkeys in a zoological gardens. some of the habits of those animals are theirs, too; when collected and watched awhile it will for evermore "go without saying" to the observer that they are natural-born hunters. they have no thought for the things of the morrow, but they consider the birds of the air and how they shall catch them. the youths are adepts in the art of stone throwing; lubras, though, are by far the better hands. they ask not for money as wages--only "tucka," "toombacca," or "bacca," and "ole clo." one of them in a quiet confidential chat gave it as his opinion--"white fella big one fool; him _work_ all the time!" i explained how it might be: the whitefellow worked to save up money with which to purchase leisure in his old age--"all the same sleep all day _then_," i explained. after ruminating--"why not him sleep all day along-a _now_?" he asked puzzled. and so puzzled me. * * * * sometimes there is a charm in the simplicity of their "english." "that one big fool hoss," remarked a blackboy, referring to an animal which, instead of remaining near and feeding, had a tiresome habit of travelling afar off when hobbled out of an evening--"every day him walk about all night." this boy had seen a kangaroo close by the camp, and made an observation to that effect to his employer,--thinking probably the latter would like to have a shot at it. "what sort of kangaroo; big fellow?" "n-o," came the answer slowly, "not big pella." "little fellow, then?" by way of suggestion. "n-o," still the reply, "not little pella." "well what size was it?" impatiently. "lee-tle bit big pella." it is fellow, fella, pfellow, pfeller, pfella, pella according to the pliancy of the talker's tongue. renner springs is the name of a cattle station situated on the edge of a wide belt of table lands (and downs country as it is called), which stretches away eastward with hardly a break to queensland. it is about miles south of powell's creek. one white man only resided there. a chinaman cook is employed, and blacks do all the station work. although not good for cycling over, most of the land between tennants creek and here seemed to me to be well suited for pastoral purposes. near the small homestead are several springs--circular ponds of clear drinkable water, occurring out on the flat; but along the line of an adjacent quartzite and--sandstone ridge, one overflows, is fenced in, and serves to irrigate a garden by means of the trenches in which the water is continually running. on leaving the garden what remains unabsorbed of the water (which on coming to the surface has a temperature of °), is soon lost again in the sand. at renner's there was the usual cordial invitation to eat, and the equally usual "thanks--many thanks, yes." the blacks, the manager said, had during the past few days been gathering from all quarters for the purpose of holding a big corroboree, and the number in camp was being added to hourly. the first part of the twenty miles or thereabouts to powell's creek consisted of sandy flats between the usual low hills; and for the rest the track kept on fairly hard ground between and over the hills of various small ranges. natives must have been about in great numbers, yet i saw none for some time after leaving renner springs. stopping to make a note of something, and looking back, i was surprised to see a thin column of smoke ascending from a hillock which i had passed within the last quarter of a mile. stopping again, further on, i observed the same thing had "again" occurred, and wondered if there was any truth in the smoke-signalling theory, and, if so, what did these present signals convey. i missed a turn-off track at about miles from renner springs, and, keeping close to the telegraph line, did some very rough hill-climbing. an hour or two's slow travelling, however, brought me first to powell's creek itself, and then, all safe but more clothes-torn, out through a gap in the ranges, immediately behind the telegraph station. * * * * the main buildings at powell's creek are of stone, with galvanized iron roofing; and, when taken together, form two sides of a square. the operating room, with two other rooms (officer's dwelling) are under the one roof; a wide verandah, bedecked with potted flowering-shrubs and faced with lattice-work, overgrown with evergreen climbing plants, runs along the front and at each end. at a right-angle, but separated from the more imposing structure by a distance of about one chain is a row of stone-walled cottages--stores and sleeping apartments, and other necessary offices; and a vegetable garden. with the exception of the gums which grow thickly in the rich ground on the banks of the creek, there are no neighbouring trees of any great height. the telegraph station itself is in a fork of the creek. in the stone walls of one of the cottages are several portholes--reminders of other days, when the natives were troublesome. to-day the blacks would be almost as likely to wage war on the citizens of adelaide as to attack the inmates of one of those telegraph stations. an enthusiastic cyclist (but minus a bicycle) was stationed, as assistant, at powell's creek. an amateur photographer also in same person, equipped, too with a camera; and during the several days i remained, several excellent photos of the bicycle were taken--some with a lubra or a blackboy "up." my boots were mended with copper wire; and my cleaner pair of pyjamas (kept in reserve and put on in any sheltering clump of bushes or behind a hid-tree, immediately on sighting telegraph or other station buildings) were minus half a leg. further, i gave them here, as i did people everywhere, to understand i was a nobody--one of whom they probably never again would hear anything more. yet i was received as courteously, and welcomed as cordially, as if i had been an influential politician or a titled governor's son. * * * * from powell's creek it is but miles to newcastle waters homestead. the road from the telegraph station to lawson's creek ( miles) runs mostly either alongside or over low spurs and branches of the ashburton range, with occasional stretches of sand and clay flats. when cycling through range country i have nearly always found the track, where track there was, fair for riding on; and there is ever a bright novelty in the panoramic changes. any sort of surface, in fact, in preference to sand. * * * * before reaching the lawson (where i camped for a night) i obtained a splendid view of an extensive sheet of water, lying away from the track, about three miles to the west. so very small was my knowledge of the country that i had not the remotest idea of this vast reservoir's existence. yet lake woods is a permanent fresh-water lake, with a circumference of between and miles. it is fed from the north by the newcastle river, and by the annually-flooded flats which drain into that, at times, noble stream. the lake is bordered to the water's edge with heavy timber, and the country everywhere in its vicinity grows abundance of the best stock grasses--mitchell and flinders chiefly. the timber is mostly box; but among the lower trees are a pea-bearing plant and other bushes which cattle dearly love. native companions, ducks and wild fowl of many varieties gather, too, in uncountable numbers in the bays and long-reaching arms of this magnificent lake. * * * * from lawson's creek up to newcastle waters station ( miles) and thence for miles beyond, is some grand grazing country, carrying mobs of the sleek and most healthy-looking cattle that ever delighted an owner's eyes. but i cannot speak in like terms of praise about the roads. here is a note from my directions for this stage: "from the lawson to sandy creek is miles. mostly rough. rough also to the bend in the line about three miles on. kept along the line from lawson's to the bend. about a mile north of sandy creek water can be had by going across to the newcastle creek (running north and south)--about ¾ or mile westward. the bend to pole camp shackle, about miles. water might be to the left, perhaps a mile; follow pad or tracks into it. the shackle to newcastle station miles." * * * * in this stretch ( miles), i had the first experience worth noticing, of that "bay of biscay" formation of which much had been heard. and what there was of it was rough on bike and rider. undeniably so. where "bay of biscay" ground occurs, the soil is generally a blue-black clay--a pug-mixture of silt and decomposed vegetable matter--which the roots of a thick and wiry blue-grass hold firmly lumped together. either that, or the loose stuff between lumps of stone-hard pug is periodically washed away, and in the process holes are formed of varying depths. anyway, the surface is rough as the bay of biscay--which is the explanation of the term, i suppose. where it is met with, the country is flat and subject to heavy floodings; and so it follows that in the rainy seasons those bay of biscay plains are converted into shallow, muddy lagoons or impassable lakes. after the water has evaporated or drained off, and until a pad has been worn through, the journeying over these wretched tracts is so unavoidably jolting and chin-choppy that (so 'tis said) horsemen dismount or stop and loll in their saddles, every hundred yards or so, to rest until their aching jaws and bones re-set and the kinks straighten out of their spinal columns. walking or cycling over it is as pleasant as walking or cycling up and down a stairway, with the stairs of unequal height and width, blindfolded or in the dark. * * * * the lawson creek rises in the ranges east of the track, and, cutting the road at right angles, flows into lake woods just below the mouth of the newcastle. this latter creek then, coming from the north, is seen at intervals away to the west; and--a strongly running river for months in some rainy seasons--contained, when i passed along, a chain of wide lagoons and lengthy waterholes between its thickly timbered banks. the water is quite white; not thick, but milky in appearance, a minute quantity of clay or silt being held in suspension. nevertheless one could hardly wish for more palatable drinking water. but with its peculiar color it is wasted here. a dairyman, now, would go into raptures over it. indeed, the country about here, what with the excellent pasturage and the abundance of water, was strongly suggestive of overflowing milk pails. the road crosses the newcastle creek before the cattle station, a couple of chains up from the north-westerly bank, is reached; and a very large waterhole (from which, with a well to fall back upon, the station gets its supply) is close by the crossing place. i had seen many smokes since leaving powell's creek, but had not caught sight of any of the natives. to this waterhole, however, had just come in some ten or a dozen weedy ones; but interest in their kind was on the wane, and i gave them scant attention. * * * * a chinaman--for we are entering the land of the chinaman now--was in charge at the newcastle. a "colonial experience" gentleman was there, but he was on the sick list. three or four valuable dogs were chained to box kennels around the homestead. in case the blacks showed signs of becoming troublesome, all the person in charge had to do was to unloose one of those dogs, and no blackfellow could come within two miles of the place. possibly no other fellow either. the two managers, brothers, were absent; but i had had full permission to "make myself at home at newcastle waters" from one of them--i had met him travelling southwards between tennant's and powell's creeks, and, as i said, had been generously treated by him. the buildings, of which there are perhaps half-a-dozen--store, kitchen, men's sleeping room, manager's dwelling and others, as well as sheds--had all been designed and erected with an eye to use rather than to ornament. a garden close by is tendered to by a very civil chinaman, i noticed only one blackfellow about the place. here i spent two happy days, eating, sleeping, writing and reading; taking no account of the time, absolutely unconscious of day or date, nor troubling about such inconsequential matters; i was right, the bike was right, so all was right as right could be. leaving the station, the creek must be re-crossed to get to the track which runs northwards to daly waters ( miles). to this track the thoughtful chinaman ordered the station blackfellow to lead me--thoughtful, because the maze of tracks and pads _was_ slightly bewildering. here for once was the yellow man superior over the black. but, ordinarily, there is no love lost between them. each views the other with a magnificent contempt. to one of the blackboys in the service of a traveller, i said at nighttime, pointing to a place where someone, camping, had made a comfortable bed of dry grass, (the blackboy was peering around for a sleeping place.) "why you not sleep over there johnny?" "no fea," he replied; "him chinaman make it that one." or he may have only meant that it was too luxurious. * * * * from newcastle to newcastle north (a waterhole in the "river,") is or miles; a very good and level road. from the waterhole the road continues for six miles through scrub, swamp, and box trees; and this was chiefly a stretch of silky clay, kneaded, when wet, by travelling cattle, and ruined for the cyclist's purpose. bright green-leaved guttapercha trees are numerous along this portion of the route. the tree, or more properly bush, grows to a height of or feet; when a branch is broken, a thick milky substance exudes. scratches made on one's hands or face by its thorny projections become very painful and take a long time to heal. * * * * at the end of the miles from newcastle station one suddenly finds oneself clear of the scrub, and, as it were, precipitated into sturt's bay of biscay plains. this arm of plain is miles across; enough to make a cyclist feel sea-sick before getting half-way through. towards the middle of the dry season a fairly level pad is beaten; and then the ride across could be done expeditiously and without much risk to man or mount. but that pad, although traceable, had not as yet been fashioned when i chanced to get there, and as much careful navigation was called for as is needed to steer a ship through the bay of biscay itself when in its most cantankerous mood. having launched this frail barque upon this tempestuous sea (this is merely by way of variation), the voyager loses sight of land. billows and blue grass everywhere, and not a drop to drink. one false step, and a broken neck or leg might follow. the look-out must be kept alert. to save the barque--or perhaps we had better come back to the continent and call it a bike--i had been doing a good deal of walking; and when or miles had been covered i sat down to rest and make a short note of the fact that neither a tree or a shrub was within range of vision, "although afar off, to the east, what is either a low range of hills (the ashburton?) or a line of dense scrub can be traced." the note lengthened out, and it rambles on:--"i feel it more than ever to be almost an indictable offence (against its maker) to press a respectable bicycle into negotiating such an outrageous track. where's the telegraph line? as usual, i dunno. but no matter. this is the road right enough. cut the telegraph wire? as soon think of cutting---- "what a sheet of water must be here when this plain is covered! besides being 'biscay'--lumped clay--this ground is fissured--long slits and crevices, from an inch to four or five inches wide.... sky overcast.... "been thinking what a mess i'd be in if a downpour of rain comes on before i could get out of this. in a few minutes all the ground would be impassable-- miles or so of black stickphast. bad for d (diamond); bad for me." the note was unfinished. i stowed the book, picked up my ever-sparkling diamond (for i had spent many a half hour in brightening it), and vaulted into the saddle as the hind wheel was going to bump. there was a moment's strain and doubt as to whether the bicycle could be upright as the wheel endeavoured to climb out of the abyss, then we were off bump, bump, bump, kangaroo-fashion. there was a reason for this unusual haste--a heavy black mass away back on the southerly horizon. the clouds overhead, too, were moving up fast from that direction; and as these ominous signs to me betokened the quick occurrence of that dreaded rain-- on, diamond, on! * * * * the clouds held back, and i was industriously persuading myself that they were only smoke, when out of the treacherous 'biscay' we passed unharmed, diamond and i, through a narrow opening in an apparently never-ending and sharply-defined wall of thickly-packed tropical vegetation, of glistening leafy trees and trailing plants, bright flowers and rank undergrowth. fifteen anxious miles of bumpy, desolate, barren wretchedness, and now, all suddenly, a cyclist's paradise, dense foliage and deep shade, with a winding track, hard and level and strewn with ironstone gravel. a fairy land; and fairy fingers pulled hard upon the wheels and stopped them. then, as in some delightful dream, i led diamond to a hedgewood tree, and stood stock still to drink in the melody--silent melody; for there was no sound to woo the eyes from the feast of tropic beauty. and, drinking, i tingled with delight, and gloated on this prodigal glory in form and color as a miser might in secret upon his piled-up hoards of gold. o marvellous nature, supreme master-artist, what human brain could conceive so glorious a transformation scene--so swift, so entrancing, so unexpected! but the wheels spin again, yet slowly; for the change may come at any moment, and i dawdled to stretch the sweetness out. * * * * bluegrass and open space appeared too soon. but the fit of depression was a thing of a moment; for around the little flat were large box-trees thickly clustered; and, on the further side, majestic leafy coolabahs fringed a reservoir carved by the hand of nature in the rock and clay, and capable of holding three or four million gallons of water; fairly open on the side from which i approached, but on the other sides walled in by a tangled growth of well-nigh impenetrable scrub and brush and forest tree. the coolabahs threw deep shadows on the carpet of soft grass spread upon the open side; and in this romantic spot--were six or eight confounded chinamen! * * * * occasional parties of celestials, equipped with guns, horses, and provisions, make across from about here to queensland, to evade the poll tax. along by many cattle stations to camooweal, a border-town, is the favored route. as camooweal is far away from anywhere else, the expense of carting the chinamen back to whence they came would be too great; and if imprisoned for a short term, when they first arrive--well, they have arrived anyhow. a party of chinamen are considered to have done well if half of those who set out for camooweal ever see it. the blacks knock over a lot; several always drop by the way, and nobody troubles much about them or their misfortunes. the present gathering had with them three horses. these they did not ride, but loaded them with provisions and necessaries, and, walking beside them, led them along. deciding to camp at frew's ironstone ponds (the reservoir is miles from newcastle), i chose a place among the coolabahs, and walked over to the chinamen. "good day." it was a feeler. "no savee." taking out a florin (the only silver coin i had), i said to him, whose smile was blandest, "you got it flour?" pointing to a small bag of it. "you bake it johnny cake, so big," i drew a small circle on the ground and laid the two-shilling-piece within the circle. the yellow man's smile broadened at sight of the white money. he knew something of english. he said, "welly goo." so, happy in the certainty of having fresh baked bread for supper, i, leaving them, proceeded to make my primitive wash-basin preparations, and had a bath. before sundown, the chinamen had shot a great number of the ducks with which the surface of the waterhole (in common with most of the others along the track, by the way) was swarming. and one of them, at supper time, came over and presented me with an only three-parts empty tin of jam--a small tin. may he have escaped both niggers and imprisonment? * * * * often o' nights, as here at this romantic camping place, there came to me the clear realization of what would be the consequence of a disabling accident. there were no means that i could see of getting out from places in this country for months if my machine smashed up. i was a nobody--had neither wealth nor influence at my back, and would be powerless to do anything or get people to do anything for me. and suppose i did get to a telegraph or other station. is it a couple of riding and pack horses, with saddles, packs, and provisions all on, and a black boy, you would throw at the head of a stranger cyclist who had been warned against coming your way, yet who arrives--only to break down at your door? i would be a nuisance to myself and everyone else around the place i reached, and to all who had associated their names in any way with mine. ugh? the situation would be unbearably horrible. and the prospect! when the time came, and i was given the chance to go north or south, what a prospect loomed either way before me! if the bike broke down, i would have made but very little exertion indeed to get out into the world at either end. why should i, even if an opportunity of doing so soon presented itself--out into where the crooked finger of derisive "i told him so" would evermore be mockingly bent towards me? why should i, when i could lie down and remain, quite comfortably, and in peace, at the side of the first waterhole i should come upon! when a fellow gets into the habit of lying awake o' nights out in the open, gazing upwards at the starlit sky, and thinking dreamily of what lies beyond, he is--at least some of him are--liable to become more or less desirous of satisfying the curiosity such ruminations excites. the stars twinkle as if they were all quite happy. if one could only be quite sure.--but i'd rather chance that than face the other certainty. i would cut no telegraph wire; would trouble no station people or anyone else. and so i comforted myself, and slept well. * * * * on leaving frew's beautiful pond early in the morning, the road leading to daly waters ( miles) was assured by the chinamen's tracks. remarkable tracks these--left by flat oblong pieces of wood with which each traveller was sandal-shod. the road from the pond, still strewn with ironstone-gravel, immediately entered the forest, where of the sky little was to be seen except a narrow strip overhead. a short strip this, too, for the road wound now to the west, now away to the east, or, again, ran northwards. and so light-heartedly i wheeled through the morning's shadows, between two walls of forest trees, and over or around logs and branches of fallen ones, for miles. then came three miles of dangerous "bay of biscay" ground; then five miles of still treacherous track, on which were many patches of "biscay holes" and lengths of fallen timber; and then again the jungle, and so to daly waters. besides the higher trees, a heavy undergrowth, and many kinds of grass flanked either side. the trees were in great variety--bloodwood, ironwood, lancewood, coolabah, bauhinia, hedgewood, whipcord tree and quinine tree. added to these, a bush known as the water wattle, a native orange, and a turpentine bush; and, for aught i know, a dozen others. i passed through an extensive belt of tall, and remarkably straight trees, growing very close together. the trunks were branchless for a long way up, feet of clear stem being not uncommon. to this very respectable forest tree there had been given the name of mulga, a misnomer truly, judged by the standards of the south. but of them all the most to be admired had a stem, straight and slender, feet or more in height, leafless; but bearing on every branch large numbers of a bright red flower, in shape, resembling very much the fuchsia! and of flowers there are not many on the overland. from the macdonnell ranges, right up to powell's creek, my only "button hole," was a large bell-shaped, blue flower, growing on a bush about feet in height; but, diamond, i bedecked with yellow wattle blossom wherever it could be got. beyond daly waters, a little round flower, like a "billy-button"--white, blood-red or variegated--replaced the larger, and more quickly, withering blue-bell. * * * * this day, like every other day up there, was "blazing" hot. parts of the road, too, were unsafe; and my waterbag, from being knocked about, and worn thin in places, allowed the water to evaporate quickly (truth to tell, i had soon drunk it all rather than have this occur), and a stretch of miles had to be cycled over before more was got. yet, notwithstanding these things, the ride from frew's to daly waters, all through dense forest, lingers in my memory as making one of the most enjoyable day's cycling i ever had. * * * * the feeling of loneliness had to a great extent worn off. i had, it may be, become inured to it. still, the change of scene and country was so marked and impressive that often throughout the ride, in the lasting gloom and shadow of countless solemn giant trees, encompassed by a penetrating solitude, i experienced again those indescribable sensations to which i had not been for many a day susceptible--mystic sensations of a hushed expectant awe as in the presence of a something living, breathing, but unseen, intangible. as i passed by i glanced into an opening, or looked far back between the trunks where trees were scattered--and it seemed to me so very strange that nothing should be moving there! yet this sense of being alone with throbbing nature--the hidden influence--was not by any means unhappy. it was a restful feeling--a feeling of peacefulness, as though one had awakened from a long, long sleep, to find oneself in a calm and weird existence somewhere beyond the state of life: a borderland arrived at after death. and the toil and turmoil of existence in the world which had been left behind, viewed from the distance, appeared now to be so very purposeless; its work-a-day prosaic rounds and its confinement so very galling; its dead-sea-apple pleasures so few and short-lived; its miseries, so many and enduring; the worth of it all so very little that the consciousness of having to again return to it was as a jarring note. and in the vast immensity of towering forest the thought of quiet death was no unwelcome one. i realised so clearly what an insignificant atom this was which moved through it, as an ant might--so insignificant that, had the certain prospect of the atom's end appeared, for anyone to fuss or mourn over such a trivial incident as that death would be, seemed extravagant, as absurd as to mourn the withering of a blade of grass or the falling of a leaf. in this land of forest, and quiet, and vastness, the silence, if it be given a thought, is so profound, so unnatural, that memories of some night in childhood come back to mind--some dark, still night through whose long hours the child waited alone in a roomy house, hushed with bated breath, and "fancied things." * * * * about mid-day i arrived at water--probably the burt; a shallow, clayey creek. after drinking, and whilst the quart-pot boiled, i put in the time carving my name on the trunk of a gum-tree overhanging the waterhole. i was not sure about the date, but cut one in. high grass grew on that bank of the creek on which i stopped--grass high enough to cover and shade the bicycle which, when i pushed it in, stood nearly upright against the finger-thick blades. a smoke was rising down the creek; and when my opposition cloud was raised an inquisitive black female hove in sight. when first observed, she was on the far side of the watercourse, peeping from behind some bushes; but a minute afterwards she came out into full view. my first impulse was to call her over. then i wondered how she would act if i remained silent. so i pretended not to be aware of her presence, and went on with the letter-forming. the lubra stood still for a moment, irresolute; then she advanced slowly, keeping a little way out from the creek, and passed me before she crossed. to keep her in sight i had need to turn but very slightly. on seeing her step down into the creek's bed i took pains to keep my back to her. presumably she was unable to satisfactorily explain away the mien of deep preoccupation so ostentatiously displayed. at any rate she came very close, looked on from behind as i worked, and once coughed, or "hem'd" aboriginally. and still i obstinately continued deaf. she had a becomingly dirty bone stuck horizontally through her broad nose, and for the rest was fashionably dressed in a dog's-tooth necklace. at last she touched me on the shoulder. at this i faced sharply around and stared with a look intended to convey blank astonishment. she giggled; but there was a tinge of uneasiness or uncertainty about the giggle; then said "which way nanto?" having gone so far with no idea of saying or doing anything in particular to the young woman, i now acted on the prompting of the moment--rushed from her suddenly into the long grass, collared the nanto, and rushed out with it. she screamed at my reappearance--or rather at the appearance of the prancing bicycle. then turned and ran; and i ran the nanto after her. but shoving the bicycle handicapped me, and she out-distanced us easily. i stopped and called out to her to come back, but she wouldn't. i cried almost tearfully, "angelina," but 'twas no use. i reckoned women were a class of people no fellow could understand, and walked sadly back to my lonely dinner--hour--for dinner i had little. from this waterhole i felt not the slightest of inclinations to go on. had i brought with me from newcastle sufficient food to last me out i might have camped there for a week. finishing off my name plate leisurely (this was the only place at which i had so occupied myself), i ate what i had to eat, and smoked. and, smoking, i pondered deeply over the notion of making for the blacks' camp and trying to strike a bargain with the chief or elders of the tribe--that they should keep me well supplied with tucker for a week or so, and show me the lions in return for which i'd teach 'em to ride the bicycle at, say, two snakes a lesson, lubras half price. but i had been learning to ride myself one time and knew how strangely learner's legs get tangled up in spokes and other parts, a cyclist cannot cycle without. so i decided to go on. having so decided, i yawned, called out despairingly for angelina to come forth and see me off, waved my hand in the direction she would most likely be observing from, and made wheel tracks for daly waters. * * * * those tracks were formed but very slowly; for it had entered my mind that the end of my journey was approaching, and i knew not whether to be glad or sorry. i almost concluded to my own satisfaction that life would be almost worth living if at the end of it a fellow having arrived all alone at a weird undesecrated old forest like this should then mysteriously disappear. if he were to get away far back, and tread lightly in going, people might search for months and never find him; and there would be no ghosts of ghoulish undertakers or neighboring unsympathetic corpses to trouble his last sleep. but for myself i had no justifiable excuse for doing anything of that sort--so long as the bicycle didn't break down. meditating thus, i came to still another large waterhole, surrounded on all sides by massive boulders of the now common brown and friable iron ore. a pretty spot indeed. forest trees grew thickly around, except at one side, and there they were more scattered, and high grass and bushes lined that bank. the follow-on track was most uncertain, and half an hour was occupied in making sure of it. having at length traced out the right pad, which went off again from the waterhole at a sharp angle, i strolled down to the water's edge and had a drink; then cracked up several pieces of the iron ore, but as they didn't look "kindly," gave up prospecting; next cooeed to try if there was an echo, but found there wasn't; had another drink, stretched myself out in a shady place, and, without having the slightest intention of doing so, fell asleep. on waking i looked at my watch. "the deuce!" i darted for the bicycle. now where was the bicycle? the soil was hard white clay, yielding no foot-prints for a guide. think fixedly as i might, i could not bring to mind where i had "planted" it. true, i could not think very fixedly. too many disagreeable thoughts came crowding up. what a pretty ending to my journey this! my bicycle, it would almost seem, had carried into execution the little poetical thing in the way of existence-endings i had contemplated vaguely a while back--had wheeled itself out into the undesecrated old forest, and vanished from mortal ken. i found it--of course somewhere, and within half an hour. * * * * the watercourse this hole or pond was in, came into view occasionally until daly waters telegraph station was reached. _ergo_ it must have been the daly creek. it, like all the watercourses beyond the burt, has its fall towards the north to join the coastal rivers. _ergo_, again, the country running northward from the burt must have its fall towards the coast. the buildings at daly waters are on the south bank of the winding creek, and, being erected on piles, stand two feet or more above the ground--not, because of floods, though, for this bank is well above the plains but to mitigate the white ant evil. all the way up from the macdonnell ranges, ant-hills had ever figured more or less prominently. oftentimes fantastically-shaped groupings of them had been mistaken for men or animals. they had been gradually increasing in average size, until here at daly waters, or a few miles on, they rose as high as the sag in the telegraph wire. it had already been told me that between pine creek ( miles from daly waters) and palmerston ( miles still further on) the railway line in many places deviated to save the cost and labour of cutting through the ant-hills, so large and of such very tough material were they fashioned there. i was always very grateful for scraps of information like this. daly waters seemed nearly as good as the end of the journey; for at the katherine river (only miles on) there was a hotel, and this meant civilization and perhaps a township. at the telegraph station two or three days were spent. residing there, besides the stationmaster, were an assistant, and a chinaman cook. many natives were camped in the neighborhood, and they, or occasionally a handy chinaman, got the "odd jobs" of the station to do. here, as at every other place of call, the tinkling of the meal bell fell on my ears sweetly as heavenly music. music with words, too, learned from a blackfellow, who thus pithily interpreted the ringing--"chow-chow, quick fella, come on now." * * * * the natives, of whom some were about the station have a faith in the professing medicine man, which, unless a limb be missing, often goes far towards making the patient whole. the "doctor" of a tribe will examine the afflicted one, diagnose the case, and find out where the pain is. there's bound to be something of a pain somewhere. having made his arrangements preparatory to operating, he applies his mouth to the part--swelling or wound, or whatever it may be--makes a big show of sucking, tangles himself up somewhat in the practice of his profession--and draws out a lump of wood, or a stone, thus exhibiting tangible proof of the efficacy of his method of treatment. they put a little fire (live coals and a few pieces of dry wood, with the fired end towards the wind) at their heads of nights, so fearful are they of an evil spirit--a bogey man, of whom their grandmothers warned them when they were children. * * * * a native at one of the telegraph stations kindly pointed out to me two remarkable constellations, hitherto, doubtless, unheard of by our own astronomers. he interpreted them to be, one, a representation of the emu, the other, of course, of the kangaroo. and, why not? the natives should have their familiar animal groups of stars just as properly as had the ancients on other continents their bears and fishes. and both of those to which i have referred are "all there," safe enough--up in the heavens somewhere. * * * * this astronomer had been working steadily about the station for a matter of three or four months at a stretch, during which period he had shifted his residence a few dozen times, and had now taken it into his head that he would be all the better for a bit of holiday-making (from which, by the way, the natives generally return in a very lanky condition) away out among the smokes. he counted on being absent until the middle of the next following month, and informed the station master of that fact in these terms:--"this one moon tumble down. by-'n'-bye new pella moon jump up. fust time picaninny. lee-tle bit ole man--then come back." the expert understands this "yabber" instantly. * * * * there is a law of the overland--an unwritten law, of course--regarding the camping of blacks at wells by which white men are gathered. at sundown one of the whites says to the blacks, "clear out, go to your camp," and indicates a locality for them to "clear out" to. or one of them comes up and asks, "which way we camp to-night?" if they venture to put in an appearance again before sunrise--well, then, it is understood they can be up to no good, and, as trespassers, are duly "dealt with." * * * * the officer in charge at daly waters showed me many kindnesses; and as his business took him up the track i rode on and camped with him at some iron tanks near a dried-up waterhole known as the ironstone, about miles beyond the station. between those tanks and the elsey cattle station-- miles--there are on the road two wells (from one of which, by the way, a man walked out to look up some horses about a year ago and has never been heard of since); and as the cattle station is approached several billy-bongs in or near the elsey creek are met with. the country from the daly to elsey station is nearly all low-lying and subjected to annual heavy floodings. the dangerous "bay of biscay" is come upon within a mile or two of the telegraph station, and extends northwards through stewart's swamp for about miles. thence the riding varies. there is a good deal of sand, with many long and short stretches of harder "crab-hole" ground, "gilguy," and "devil-devil." this last name is applied to clay, pure and simple, or silty soil similar to "biscay," but with this difference, that in contracting after rains, in the quick-drying rays of fierce tropical suns it cracks, while the "biscay" becomes distressingly bumpy. these cracks are as so many ever-set traps lying in wait for wheeled vehicles. the jaws of many of them would easily admit a waggon wheel. they run in all directions across the track and with it. to go slow is the cyclist's sure way of getting through without accident. "gilguy" denotes small patches of mixed "biscay" and "devil-devil" ground--possibly dried up clay pans. and "crab-holes" are roundish openings, like rabbit barrows, but going straight down in the soil. these "crab-holes" are the more dangerous ones for horsemen. here and there one is warned to sheer off the pad by an uprising roughly-trimmed branch of tree or length of dry wood which some traveller has shoved in to mark a bad spot. the vegetation along the track is distinctly tropical. so also is the climate. and so both continue all the way to palmerston. but i confess to disappointment with the arrangements in the forestry department. from elsey upwards there were altogether too many trees of the eucalyptus family. from daly waters to the katherine ( miles) are many and fine specimens of ironwood, ebony, bloodwood and currajong; but the prevailing tree--the one, at least, which from the track the passer-by will see most of--is the familiar gum. * * * * the homestead buildings at elsey cattle station ( miles from daly waters) were, i thought, the most prettily situated group i had seen anywhere since--oh, years ago. the elsey river winds its billabonged way in front and between the homestead. this is a garden in which anything that might be planted should be proud to grow. a beautiful reach of fresh water is a permanency in the river at this point, with the sweetly scented flowers of many water lilies ever floating gracefully upon its surface--a surface ruffled, as i at calm evening time gazed with admiration on the fair picture, by sharp splash and undulating widening circle, as a fish jumped now close to one bank now over at the other; or, again, where one had risen high up to a fly, or for amusement, in the centre. little forests of pandannus palms overtopped by stately paperbarks or gum trees line the sides; and massive climber-laden trunks, or towering branches of giant tree growths, meet the eye wherever it be turned. here also, along the chain of ponds and billabongs up and down the elsey, is some of the most delightful scenery one could desire to look upon. here, too, cotton grows naturally, making a brave show--bunches of pure white dotting the landscape, and touching off the vivid green of tropic bush, or thickly grouping in some wide space by themselves. the paper-bark at once attracts the eye. a very large tree this. on the wettest day one has but to prize off a piece of the trunk's soft outer covering, and there is to his hand compressed--laminated, as mica--a hundred sheets of dry and easily-lighted coarse straw paper. the mimosa tree and the cabbage tree, as well as many other palms, likewise flourish in the favoured neighbourhood of the elsey. in fact, elsey, as it appeared to me, was a vast botanical garden; and at supper time, such a feast of sweet potatoes and other dainties were spread that sleep but tardily drove out the thoughts of them. a chinaman cook had been speared here, in the manager's absence, about a fortnight before, and i thought the chinaman who had replaced him, and who was now in charge (the manager being again absent) must be a fairly lucky man--for a chinaman. and, above all, he cooked the sweet potatoes deliciously, and baked--oh! lovely cake. * * * * from the elsey a stretch of miles of sand (the timber is mostly gum trees) runs northwards; but this is to be avoided by taking the "new road," which bears in a more easterly direction. the track for part of the way to the katherine was freshly marked, as a party of black trackers and a police trooper, having in charge two or three prisoners--natives, who had speared the chinaman--had left the vicinity of the station only the day before my arrival there. from the excellent road-plan made out for me by the courteous officer at daly waters (he had, i think, every inch of the road in his mind's eye) i was able to make unhesitatingly into the various watering places. nevertheless, there are one or two places on the roper river and at the esther well which might puzzle one not so blest as i was. i overtook the police party after i had camped one night on the stirling, at a waterhole in one of that creek's bends, about miles from the elsey; but after a very brief stoppage, proceeded on towards the katherine. of the prisoners i know nothing, and never heard of them again; but i was told they would be imprisoned, then quickly released, enrolled among the native police, and for evermore hold their heads high. "there is always an opening for men of spirit in the native police force," said one who ought to know. give a nigger a rifle or revolver and he will shoot his fellow niggers--go out hunting after them if permitted--with the greatest of glee, readiness, and cheerful animosity. "you see wild blackfellow along track," more than one "civilised" philanthropist asked me. "sometimes, i think," i have answered. at once has come an expectant, pleased expression to the questioner's face. "you shoot him all right?" has been asked in amusingly hopeful tone. * * * * the presence of a trooper with black trackers probably accounted for the scarcity of blackfellows along the road, but just after leaving the esther well, which is only miles from the katherine, i ran across two. they seemed though rather inclined to clear among the trees. dismounting, i endeavoured to get some information from them about a turn off of which i was still doubtful; but they were too much interested in the bicycle to make what they would tell me very clear. each carried a spear. one was headed with three wires--no. gauge--fastened close together, and looked quite bad or good enough to permanently damage a chinaman with. the effective end of the other one, a long bamboo, was fashioned out of one side of a square gin bottle. (gin, by the way, is a favorite n.t. drink.) a very business-like weapon this was too. a slight scratch from it should be capable of inducing _delirium tremens_ in the veins of the staunchest teetotaler. * * * * from daly waters, and at many places still farther south, the grass was for miles at a stretch so high that, mounted on the bicycle, i often could not see over the top of it. in front, at such times, was only a faint streak or hollow, where the top of the bending grass at either side of the narrow pad met. the pad itself, the ground on which i cycled, was not at such times visible--except when i dismounted and crept down into the strange narrow tunnel to have a reassuring look for or at it. when riding, a passage through was forced, or as it were, was ploughed open, which when the machine had passed closed up again as water would. it felt like being engulphed in ocean. i often fancied i was on the point of drowning, and sat bolt upright to take in a breath of the upper air. that was fancy; what i now say is not. at every few hundred yards, the thinner, shorter, wiry undergrowth of "blades" wound round and round the rear hub, until the roll becoming wide and high and tightly coiled, it acted as a brake twixt wheel and forks. they became entwined among the chain's links, and fastened themselves between the teeth on both the sprocket wheels, and so frequent stoppages were a necessity. this state of things lasts only to the end of may or june. the long, rank, useless grass, being an impediment to the progress of man and beast, is, as it dries, fired by passing travellers, and the second growth which then springs up, is short and sweet. the natives, too, set fire to it, as when it grows, they cannot see or track the game or animals they hunt for. many patches had already been burned off, and the minute particles of black ash which overspread the ground, rose at the slightest touch, floated in the air, and begrimed the passer-by. two very extensive fires faced me after parting from the natives at esther well. i had grown used to riding among smouldering embers, and with the grass or dry trees burning right and left; but the second of these fires was the biggest thing i had witnessed. after passing out of the first, and leaving one black, sky-obscuring wall behind, a mile or two's stretch of untouched grass and tropic bush and stunted gums was ridden on to. at the end of this arose a mighty pall of jet-black smoke, stretched out i knew not how far, with flame-jets glancing through. the whole country seemed ablaze. the land was overcast, the sky shrouded as if a fearful thunder storm was imminent. the smoke ascended and remained suspended, as might dark, heavy, threatening banks of cloud, and the fire at intervals leaped up and gleamed on this side or on that--a passable equivalent for lightning. it was a grandly impressive spectacle. but there were other considerations than the spectacular. i looked, a little uneasily, for an unlighted opening along the fast advancing line; and seeing such a gap between two trees where there was little else but sand, i hurried over--walking--and so passed through. a dozen steps in i stopped to look behind. the flames had already closed in! in front, far on as i could see, the stems or branches of dry standing trees were burning; and on the ink-black ground were smouldering heaps of tindery bush, or still-blazing fallen limbs. thick strewn everywhere were the hot, and quickly blackening ashes of that tall grass which had been waving majestically in each breath of wind a few short moments since. shouldering the bicycle i walked cautiously to where the pad showed still a narrow streak, yet offering a clear, narrow running space. as i walked--i speak without exaggeration--i now and again heard sweat drops, hiss and fizzle, as they fell on a burning log or some little grass-root heap. * * * * for five miles at a stretch this fresh-burnt ground continued. tress stood out like torches all the way; and on the pad were many live coals of fallen timber. i dare not hurry, and often had to dismount and lift the bicycle over, because if my tyres blazed up i hadn't water to spare with which to put the ixionic fire out. nevertheless i did that five miles scorching. * * * * out of the fire and into a frying-pan of hot sand ten miles long and unridable. towards the end of the ten miles so many large boulders and long flat slabs of granite cropped up in the track that there was a danger of getting dizzy from rounding them; and these senseless outcroppings at the last became so numerous that a bye-track made a seven mile detour towards the katherine. at that beautiful river i arrived, after a hard days "graft" at sundown. miles from palmerston. a hotel at last. those "terrors" of the overland which were to bring certain destruction had been left behind. the buildings consist of the hotel and store, telegraph and police stations. they are on the south side of the river, which to the westward joins the daly. the sloping banks of the katherine rise or more feet from the gravelly bed, and are thickly timbered with giant trees of many varieties. here and in the country round about are, as well as thickets, jungles and beauty spots innumerable, the stately paperbark and leichhardt pine, pandanus palms, white cedar, woollybutt, bloodwood, ironwood, banyan, and other trees; and splendid couch and buffalo grasses. when in flood the stream is about a quarter of a mile wide. boats are kept at both the hotel and the telegraph station. alligators are known to exist in several places, in deep holes and long reaches, but only a small species of crocodile is often seen about the crossing place. a fine specimen of one of these latter was on view at the hotel. * * * * it was at this telegraph station that i received a message from a fabulously wealthy company of cycle-part makers. my journey, as i have said, was practically at an end. those "perils" that were so great that failure was, i was told, certain, had been surmounted. yet, only now, seated at a hotel, i read a curt and, as it seemed to me, impertinent and "catchy" telegram, endeavoring, as i took it, to ferret out of me--unwealthy me--a most valuable advertisement _gratis_. up to this moment, when success had been practically achieved, nothing had been heard from that quarter. i regarded it as mean, and answered accordingly. the company took further action then; but, in view of later developments, it would be meanness on my part now to speak further of a matter which would not deserve mention at all but that it has been made to some extent public property. only this further: _my answer to the telegram has never yet been published_! without any promise of recompense i gladly did all i could for another firm whose manager had treated me civilly, and who did not wait until danger had been passed before identifying itself with the fortunes of the trip. * * * * at the katherine, where only one night was spent, i refitted myself with wearables from the stock of the widely known hotel and storekeeper; had a swim in the river; then tied boots and other things on diamond, shouldered the lot and walked across. the country is flat for ten or twelve miles. travelling only middling--rather soft. but before the morning was far gone, rough hills were entered and they continued most of the way to pine creek ( miles). * * * * it was hazardous to hurry the bicycle over those rocky hills, but diamond stood the rough experience more than manfully, and jumped the miniature precipices encountered on the down-hill sides without ever loosening a spoke. at one time, in the very early part of the journey, i favored the notion of entering palmerston, with the bicycle in a fearfully battered condition--a revolving bundle of splints and copper wires. but how could i? and i found myself proudly exhibiting it everywhere, and finally in a palmerston shop window as being "better than new." in my mind, now, was the fixed idea that nothing could break that machine. i knew i couldn't. and it had been called on to undergo some rough usage. towards the end, such confidence had i come to repose in its excellence, in its unbreakableness, that on hearing sticks and things rattle among the spokes i used only to laugh, say "sool it, diamond!" and let them fight the battle out. * * * * the hilly country alternates with stretches of sand, blue-grass, swamps, and rough patches of white clay or pug, with here and there a stunted gum. i find at this stage this memorandum written for myself--"horrid, swampy, inexpressibly bleak and unattractive, miserably stunted timber--a result, p'raps, of centuries of bush fires. a mile-span unfit for anything--except those strips close by the creeks and watercourses." these latter were the redeeming features. the water in some was deep, notably in the driffield, fergusson, edith and cullen creeks, which are rivers for a month or two in the rainy season. in one of them--the edith, i think--a little way down from one, nearly waist-deep crossing, was an inviting reach of calm, deep water, with many picturesque pandanus palms and woolly butts caressing it; and as a family of aboriginals--two old men, many picaninnies and some females--were bathing by the roadway. to this i wheeled the bicycle. the bottom was gravelly, and in the deepest place there was only four feet or so of water. the stream, or rather hole, was narrow; and while paddling about in it the thought struck me that it would be just as well to cross now and here as to cross at any other time and place. and, besides, an opportunity for experimenting presented itself. to bundle up the clothes and the few odds and ends i had with me was the work of but a couple of minutes; those things i was able to walk across with. on returning i laid the bicycle on its side close by the water's edge, made fast the interlocking gear, and fastened securely to its handlebars one end of the strong string i always had carried. to the free end of the string i attached a stone. this i threw to the opposite bank and swam over after it. i would have swam that stream though my knees had got the gravelrash in the transaction! laying hold now of the string i pulled gently on the bicycle until it moved; then pulled it quickly whilst in the water; and so landed it where i was standing. undoing the string i allowed my silently weeping comrade to remain out in the sun, where its doleful tears quick turned into smiling rainbows while i resumed my clothes. then gave it five minutes attention. this wetting, i might here remark, did no more harm to the bicycle than a smart shower of rain would have done, but at palmerston, where i totally immersed it in the sea, i found the salt water quickly formed rust on the various nickeled parts around the nuts and where the spokes entered the rim and perhaps within the tubes themselves for aught i know, as there, alas! monetary considerations forced me to part with it. * * * * i caught some fish in the waterholes, along the track. they bite at dough or flesh of any sort; or the first one captured will do as bait for catching more with. from the hayward creek up to daly waters ( miles), the fish are small, averaging about inches; but higher up, as at the elsey, and in more lasting holes to east and west, much larger ones are to be had. some will rise to a fly; others take meat. the best bait one can use is a section of widgery (or "witchery," a grub three or four inches in length, found at the roots of gum trees, and tasting, when slightly roasted, not unlike a hen's egg.) a packing or any other needle, heated to take the temper out, and bent into shape, makes a sufficiently good hook. but i had been provided with the regulation pattern steel article by a trooper, at one of the telegraph stations. * * * * at the little cullen creek, seven miles from the palmerston railway terminus, a genuine diamond has been found within the last couple of years; and several small heaps of tailings near the crossing place were accounted for by a native who told me "whitefellow bin on track of nudder one; but no catch im." on from the cullen are groups of shallow holes, now half tilled in, where alluvial gold has been sought; and various reefing properties, notably the cosmopolitan, came into view on nearing pine creek. pine creek (where i spent but a night) is not itself a large place, but it is the centre of an extensive gold-mining district. on one side of the main street is the railway station yard; on the other a first-class hotel, a store, blacksmith's, wheelwright's, and butcher's shops, besides several more business and dwelling houses. most of the asiatics connected with the mines, occupy a portion of the town away back from the main street. owing to the surrounding wooded hills and neighbouring gum creek the general aspect of the place is prepossessing. of the wandi goldfields, about miles to the east, it is said that several valuable properties exist there. but the climate is trying, and properties in the district need to be very valuable indeed before europeans will infuse energy into their developement. * * * * this line from pine creek to palmerston is spoken of as "the northern section of the transcontinental." i do not pose as one who can say with authority whether it is advisable or not to complete the railway through the continent. that is not my "line" at any rate. nevertheless i have formed opinions. without any concessions at all from a leave-granting government, with barely the permission given them to construct a railway, and with even a squaring donation to the exchequer of a million pounds or so, a band of reasonably, business-like, experienced, company-promoters, i'm very sure, could make large fortunes in english or french money out of the undertaking--for themselves. * * * * i had expected to find a well-beaten track, perhaps a macadamised road from pine creek to palmerston. but--a road where there was already a railway! what for? on to union town. there is a store here, kept by a welcoming european. so far miles of good, although hilly road. at the store i was advised to look out for tracks leading off to the chinamen's mines, of which there were several, away back in the hills from the railway. this advice i conscientiously acted on--"looked out" and followed one for miles until i came to the mine and the chinaman. but in among the hills there was only "no savee," and a noisy quartz crushing plant; so i retraced my wandering wheelmarks, kept close to the railway line, and arrived at burrundie ( miles from palmerston) sometime in the afternoon. burrundie is the last--or first, whichever you please--of the overland telegraph stations. here there was hospitable entertainment at the hands of the station master; then on to the howley cottages, miles from palmerston. as the unpremeditated visit into the regions of chinese no-saveedom had interfered with the day's progress, at the howley cottages i was made comfortable for the night. my voucher book was now again constantly in use. i had tried hard when in at the chinamen's mine to possess myself of a celestial's signature, as a curio, but had not succeeded. was it possible that the book-fiend had been there too? next day, from the howley, i made fairly good time, passed the adelaide river (the half-way refreshment-house on the railway, miles from palmerston), and rum jungle ( miles from palmerston) and got in as far as the mile cottages, where on the warm invitation of the resident ganger, i camped until morning. * * * * from about burrundie the cyclist is given the choice of occasional lengths of old pads (white clay soil mostly), alongside the railway line, and of the ballast or embankments, between or close by the rails. i chose a little of each. hilly country extends from pine creek to about the adelaide river. the various rivers are thickly lined with screw palms and thickets of stout bamboos, and the country generally is substantially timbered. the only white resident at rum jungle (a railway camp, on a small watercourse, tributary to the finniss, where the jungle is remarkably dense; the prefix may be reminiscent of railway-construction days), said there was plenty of time yet to find alligators in the darwin river, between the jungle and palmerston, although the water was getting low. but why should i go hunting for them when i bore away hence as trophies, still preserved, two alligator teeth? and, speaking of alligators, it has recently been printed--"there are no snakes in the northern territory." there are, in their proper season. you may see them even without drinking heavily. i cycled over two and left them behind, on a narrow pad by the eastern side of the railway line, within a few hours of leaving the howley cottages. the size of one was larger than i would care to say. it remained quite motionless after the bicycle had passed over it; so i dismounted and threw a stick to ascertain whether the docile-seeming reptile was alive. it was. first rising aloft its head swiftly to bite at the passing piece of timber, it then immediately turned and commenced wriggling towards myself. i never mounted a bicycle more quickly in my life, nor did a quarter mile in faster time. the ganger at the mile cottages and the guard of the passenger train running between palmerston and pine creek, as well as the writer, have cause to know that in the matter of snakes, as of some few other things, the northern territory isn't ireland. from the th mile i kept entirely to the railway line (a blackfellow at one of the cottages dubbed the bicycle "kangaroo engine") and before midday i was within ten miles of palmerston. there was a fairly-good road, its surface covered with fine brown ironstone rubble, for the remainder of the distance. very high trees and a profuse wealth of tropical vegetation lined the track; but "cyclone" was writ large and in unmistakable characters everywhere--in uprooted trees and other features. at two and a half-miles from palmerston are the railway workshops and several suburban dwelling houses. * * * * on arriving opposite the first of these buildings i dismounted to take off my hat and wipe a little of the dampness from my forehead; and a sentence picked up somewhere came back to mind. i looked fondly upon the bicycle which had served me so well, pressed gently one of its handles, and whispered:-- "thanks, diamond, '_es ist vollbracht._'" with a sigh of relief the pen is laid down and the scissors are picked up. the few next following paragraphs are from _the northern territory times_:-- "mr. murif, the gentleman who undertook to ride across the continent on a bicycle, arrived in palmerston on friday afternoon, accompanied by several of the local cyclists, who picked him up at the ½ mile. after riding round the town the party proceeded to the point below fort hill, where the overlander's bicycle was dipped in the sea, and the point christened 'bicycle point' in commemoration of the event. "on saturday evening mr. murif was entertained by the athletic club at a smoke social in the town hall. the government resident presided over a large gathering. murif was heartily welcomed. "_he declared that he could have accomplished the trip in less time, but if good time was made nobody would follow him._ he would like another man to try the journey. "he was sorry, he said that he could not say as much as he would like in thanking the residents of the territory for the kindness they had shown him since his arrival amongst them. he had also to thank the athletic association, who were treating him in a right royal manner, and also those gentlemen who had so kindly come out to meet him on friday afternoon. in fact, ever since he had started upon his trip, that one word 'thanks!' had ever been upon his tongue. he had had to say thanks for kindnesses received at the very commencement of his journey; all along the route he had had occasion to use the word, and now when his task was completed and all his troubles over, all that he could say, in return for the hearty welcome they had tendered him, was that one little word--thanks. down south he had always heard much of the hospitality of port darwinites, but he had not the remotest idea of its munificence until he came among them." * * * * again:--"when seen by _the advertiser_ correspondent on saturday morning murif was busy cleaning his machine after the sea bath. on being congratulated on his safe arrival he replied, 'yes, both of us,' pointing to the bicycle, 'are safe and strong as ever.' the cycle, indeed, looked in perfect condition, the wheels running as true as when they left the workshop. murif was well and in the pink of condition." and among other things, in reply to an interviewer:--"i wish you would do me a favor. i want to thank all those whom i met on the road for the most hospitable manner in which they treated me. never have i met a better class of men. i was treated like a prince whilst _en route_, and never once was i refused anything i asked. information re the track ahead was readily tendered, and it was with regret that i had to leave my new friends who had been so kind to me. i had heard that the territorians were the essence of hospitality, and now i fully believe it." * * * * these palmerstonians, who treated me so handsomely, are a laughter-loving and generously hospitable people. the european residents, being very largely civil servants are as such prohibited from entering the field of politics. this disability hangs heavily on them, and is ruinously enervating and mischievous in its effects. peacefully, contentedly, unprogressively as the calm and happy dead are they. earnest consideration and study of the wants and welfare of the land in which they live are neglected and the action to which such grave study ever prompts men is wanting. their lives are rounds of light gaieties and small pleasures. a picnic, dance, a sports day or a concert is ever an absorbing topic. these are not right lives for white men, such as they are, to live; but the embargo forces them to live it. nothing so retards a country's progress, nothing perhaps is so great a hindrance to the development of its resources, as a non-political feeling among the inhabitants. here politics are taboo. the real business of life, the stirring cry of "advance australia!" is awfully lacking. remove the disability, take away the restraint, make an exception in favour of those civil servants who live so far up north in south australia, unmuzzle those who have it in them to speak, and the people of the territory--the territory itself--will soon be heard of. so long as they are not heard from, so long must the territory continue as a heavy weight. * * * * chinese, who are ready and willing to work night or day and seven days a week, have ousted europeans from many branches of trade. hairdressing, tailoring and bootmaking are all done by them or japanese. paper kite flying seems to be those people's most favoured form of recreation. of a breezy evening the main street of chinatown, running parallel with and distant but a couple of hundred yards from palmerston's principal street, is indicated by half a dozen or more kites rising up into or stationary in mid-air. the ends of the retaining strings are either fastened to shop verandah posts or proudly held by their yellow owners. these kites, built on scientific principles, are made very large and of fantastic shapes. hollow "musical" reeds are attached; and when kite flying is "on" the loud monotonous humming of these wind instruments pervades every nook and cranny in palmerston. every visitor gets a crick in his neck from looking skywards. * * * * many blacks hang about the town. the roads are unmetalled. the loose soil is dark brown, and consists of sand mixed with particles of friable ironstone. the three varieties of tracks which show prominently everywhere are suggestive--a few of booted whites, many of sandalled chinamen, and over and under all those of unshod natives. * * * * the thermometer does not register very high. but here there is a stuffy, suffocating, sweat-producing latent heat the whole year round, with very few weeks' cool to brace the enervated up. one misses the heavenly blue of southern climes. the sky has ever in it a hazy dull metallic grey. the town is on a table-land, and is well laid out. the drainage is good; hence malarial fever, once pretty prevalent, is now less common. * * * * the chefs are invariably chinamen; this applies to most of the northern territory. hence one hears the word "chow, chow" used commonly by the whites to denote meals or meal time--"chow's ready," "come to chow," "there goes the chow bell," and such like expressions. a nobbler is disposed of with one indefinite "chin, chin." freely translated it means something between a _votre sante_ and "another coffin nail." and, over and above all, is a splendid, almost prodigal hospitality. * * * * one last look back over the journey and the track. however it may have been with myself (whether i met with the adventures i had been hopefully looking forward to and whether the exciting episodes or interesting incidents and objects came up to expectations or not) of this i still feel assured: for two or three good humoured cyclists, with whom considerations of time would be of but secondary importance who would start in the proper season (that is march or april), and who would need not to be niggardly in their expenditure, no more promising fields can there be in all the world for a cycle-trip, at once interesting and sufficiently adventurous, than along this same route--in the crossing of australia from south to north. although anyone undertaking to do the journey in fast time will be called upon to endure privations and run grave risks of coming to grief, yet a person who had been once overland, or one of the telegraph station employees--a cyclist in short, who beforehand knew how the tracks ran and where exactly the watering places lay--should find the task neither very difficult nor demanding a great expenditure of days. now that the country and what to expect has become a little better known; now that it has been seen and spoken of from a cyclist's view, now that the wheelman may therefore prepare himself, it remains open for any down-town or up-country sprinter, with the three good things of which i have made previous mention, viz., good health, good luck and a good bicycle, to double up the writer's so called "feat" into very small compass indeed, and incontinently knock it out of sight into the obscuring depths of an oblivious cocked hat. it was one of my objects to leave it so open. nevertheless i will not take upon myself the responsibility of advising anyone to bother about having a try at the "record-smashing" business unless it be well worth his while to do so. to be prepared counts for very much. the cyclist who is sure of his road can never imagine the weakening effect which uncertainties on that most vital point can produce. such doubts evolve sickening, depressing, unhappy sensations which make themselves felt more acutely than do the mere bodily disablements associated with hunger and thirst. i knew next to nothing of the country, and made it a point to make but very few enquiries about it before i travelled up to have a look. i knew nobody in it, and from the day of my leaving adelaide to the day i arrived at sydney, i met no one with whom i had been in any way previously acquainted. * * * * i have in no case named those with whom i had the pleasure of becoming acquainted on the track for the reason that had those names been written it would as frequently have devolved upon the writer to expatiate on matters by right concerning only the men themselves, and besides i but seldom indeed questioned anyone about his business. i have no material, therefore, out of which to "work up" on the weakness of slight acquaintanceships, the usual traveller's series of semi-biographical impertinences, even were i so minded. but the following-named gentlemen are well-known, and i feel especially grateful to them for they all in one way or another befriended me:--mr. mat connor, mr. harry gipp, mr. james cummins, the messrs. louis brothers, mr. coulthead, mr. gunter, mr. heilbraun, mr. wallis, mr. campbell, and police officers bennett and kingston. from what i have already written it will go without further emphasizing that to the ever-courteous and obliging assistants and officers in charge at the various inland telegraph stations i have cause to be and am grateful also. * * * * the only wheeled vehicles i knew, or now know of, as being in the country, besides the bicycle, after leaving alice springs, were those under cover at the telegraph and cattle stations, and a buggy at the sheep camp, between tennant's and powell's creeks. there are no camels north of alice springs, except when a caravan travels from the latter place to barrow's or tennant's creek with the yearly supplies. * * * * yet, in this land where the bicycle is but imperfectly known one may pick up some bright knowledgeable notions in "improved bike" building. an "additional strengthener" suggestion came from a man who had been inspecting my mount as it stood against a wall with the interlocking gear closed, and thus of course kept perfectly straight. he said to me--"see how strong the back part of the machine is compared with the front," and his "notion," soon forthcoming, was that it would be an improvement if two more tubes were added: these to run, one at each side, from barrel bracket forward to the front fork extremities, back stay style. as i had no desire to make enemies i admitted the front-fork-to-crank-shaft-bracket stay would undoubtedly be, as the inventive person remarked, "a strengthener." "but," said i hesitatingly, "as the most agile brains in all the world have been at work for the last ten years or so intent upon thinking out improvements in bicycle construction, i fear there must be some and (although to us perhaps unapparent) objection to the innovation." at another place i had casually remarked upon the fact of the bicycle's handlebars having turned in the steering socket when i fell somewhere (thus, by the way, saving other, more vital parts, the sharp shock.) that this movement should have occurred appeared to a listener, as it will to many people, to indicate a grave fault, if not danger. "why," he exclaimed suddenly, but after much cogitation, "to provide against that happening would be the simplest thing in the world"--by drilling a hole through the front tube where the maker's name and trade mark were (in my case, where they were not, because i had scratched both off) and then driving a strong pin in! i told him i didn't want the fault rectified. it surprised me to find how extraordinarily anxious people were about punctures. it was "what would you do if you got a puncture?" until i came to hate the word. very few had much thought of the consequences of a broken crank, fork, tube, shaft, or rim. but i believe nearly every one who hasn't a bicycle lives in constant terror of that dreadful bogy puncture. i was made re-acquainted with descriptions of many of those wonderful leverage-chains, improved brakes, and puncture-proofing devices which work so emphatically well in print. one invention very much in favor was an inner-tubular arrangement--"quite a simple thing--made up of a hundred or so sections or distinct chambers, like an endless string of stumpy sausages." it was so obvious that when one sausage had lost all of its stuffing and collapsed, the other ninety-nine would yet remain for the utilisation of the wheelman! of such were the humors of the trip. if the blacks i met with were not quite so wild-mannered as i could have feared or hoped for, it was through no fault of mine. neither was it for me to rouse them up with a stick, or go hunting for some others less mild-mannered. as i have said, if i heard of a white traveller anywhere, i did not try to dodge him. if one will but consider how i spent time and money in searching for a companion before starting (it was only because i was forced to, that i started alone), one may perhaps find excuse for me when i confess to feeling rather glad whenever i met or heard of there being a white man on the track. * * * * and why was the journey made? as was said long ago, i wanted to do _something_ before i was put out of sight and mind. had i merely wanted to dig out a few sovereigns for the pockets of cycle or cycle-part makers i should have adopted other methods. but i sincerely desired to do something for australia, and it seemed to me that this would be the most effective means in my power of making the inlands better known, and of arousing some interest in our heritage in the north. two or three knew of the desire; and no sooner was the task accomplished than on a day in june i wrote this letter to one of them:-- "sir,--now that the matter has passed very nearly out of my hands and risen beyond me, i wish to formally assure you ("formally," for hitherto i have spoken the words, as it may have appeared, but lightly) that everything i have done in connection with my recent bicycle trip has been mainly with a view to advertising the northern territory--a country which it is my hope to see, in the near future, looked upon and referred to no longer as a costly, cumbrous and unremunerative "white elephant," but rather as a strong and healthy, though over-sleepy youth, whom, on awakening, something had aroused to manhood. "i have allowed to slip by opportunities of making fair money (of which, sir, i thoroughly appreciate the value) which i might have earned by accomplishing the journey in hard-to-be-improved on time; but i preferred this rather than do aught to defeat the end i primarily had in view. "a declaration in public to that effect in the past would, perhaps, have savored of boastfulness or presumption; it may, indeed, perhaps so savor now. so certainly also, a few months ago, would any announcement of my intention to cycle alone across the continent. hence my silence, lest my own ambitious purpose should be frustrated. that purpose is now being well worked out. "it will make the territory known: that, sir, you know, was the ground upon which i sought from you and the hon. the ---- the favor of those highly-prized signatures in my voucher book, which you both granted me. and that, as it was the ground on which i approached you, was the main prompting to do the thing i have done. "i thank you once more for having obliged me, and remain, sir, your most obedient servant, "jerome j. murif." advertisement it was an "electra" no. (price £ s.) which carried mr. jerome j. murif successfully and without any single mishap of any kind through his memorable trip from adelaide to port darwin. on arrival of mr. murif at port darwin this bicycle was examined, and we append below the reports furnished to mr. murif: to mr. murif. port darwin, th may, . sir--the general condition of your "electra" from a mechanical point of view is of such a nature that, as a practical man, i would not credit the statement that it had been used for the purpose of crossing the australian continent had it not been for the authentic records which you carry with you. it is undoubtedly a high-class machine. thos. n. messenger, foreman locomotive works, port darwin. condition of mr. j. murif's bicycle, electra, no. , . port darwin, n.t., th may, . wheels.--steering and driving, both in. "dia." in true track and line. running central between forks (front and back) freely, and without movement to either side when revolving. coming to the full stop only after many lessening pendulum-like vibrations. rims.--undinged, and if re-enamelled, would appear as new. spokes.--everyone taut, bright, and alike, not a bend or sign of strain in any. cranks.--at right angles to shaft in main bracket. no signs of ever being bent, injured, tampered with, or disconnected since coming from the shop. shafts.--unbent, as indicated by true running of wheels. front forks.--undinged as new. back forks & stays.--same as front forks. frame.--rigid. not a hair breadth out. top, bottom, diagonal, and steering socket tubes being all in true lines. chain & gear wheels.--show little or no signs of wear. all gearing running without jar, and every bearing working as smoothly as could be desired by the most fastidious critic. weight of machine.--without mudguards, brake, or tools, lbs. gear.-- teeth on sprocket, cogs at hub. we, the undersigned, have made a careful inspection of mr. murif's bicycle, and we can vouch that above certificate is quite correct. his honor justice dashwood, patron n.t. athletic association. w. v. brown, president. chas. e. herbert, vice-pres. percy g. bryant, hon. sec. & treas. +it was an "electra" likewise which mr. b. james used on his trip from mt. magnet (western australia) to melbourne; distance, , miles.+ electra cycle depot, collins street, melbourne. production notes: --words in italics have been capitalised. -- illustrations appeared in the original text, published in . they have not been reproduced in this etext. (see below for list) --a html version of this etext is available from project gutenberg which includes many of the illustrations spinifex and sand by david w carnegie ( - ) a narrative of five years' pioneering and exploration in western australia to my mother introduction "an honest tale speeds best, being plainly told." the following pages profess to be no more than a faithful narrative of five years spent on the goldfields and in the far interior of western australia. any one looking for stirring adventures, hairbreadth escapes from wild animals and men, will be disappointed. in the australian bush the traveller has only nature to war against--over him hangs always the chance of death from thirst, and sometimes from the attacks of hostile aboriginals; he has no spice of adventure, no record heads of rare game, no exciting escapades with dangerous beasts, to spur him on; no beautiful scenery, broad lakes, or winding rivers to make life pleasant for him. the unbroken monotony of an arid, uninteresting country has to be faced. nature everywhere demands his toil. unless he has within him impulses that give him courage to go on, he will soon return; for he will find nothing in his surroundings to act as an incentive to tempt him further. i trust my readers will be able to glean a little knowledge of the hardships and dangers that beset the paths of australian pioneers, and will learn something of the trials and difficulties encountered by a prospector, recognising that he is often inspired by some higher feeling than the mere "lust of gold." wherever possible, i have endeavoured to add interest to my own experiences by recounting those of other travellers; and, by studying the few books that touch upon such matters to explain any points in connection with the aboriginals that from my own knowledge i am unable to do. i owe several interesting details to the "report on the work of the horn scientific expedition to central australia," and to "ethnological studies among the north-west central queensland aboriginals," by walter e. roth. for the identification of the few geological specimens brought in by me, i am indebted to the government geologist of the mines department, perth, w.a., and to mr. w. botting hemsley, through the courtesy of the director of the royal gardens, kew, for the identification of the plants. i also owe many thanks to my friend mr. j. f. cornish, who has taken so much trouble in correcting the proofs of my mss. contents part i early days in coolgardie chapter i early days in the colony chapter ii "hard up" chapter iii a miner on bayley's part ii first prospecting expedition chapter i the rush to kurnalpi--we reach queen victoria spring chapter ii in unknown country chapter iii from mount shenton to mount margaret part iii second prospecting expedition chapter i the joys of portable condensers chapter ii granite rocks, "namma holes," and "soaks" chapter iii a fresh start chapter iv a camel fight chapter v gold at lake darlot chatter vi alone in the bush chapter vii sale of mine part iv mining chapter i quartz reefing and dry-blowing part v the outward journey chapter i previous explorers in the interior of western australia chapter ii members and equipment of expedition chapter iii the journey begins chapter iv we enter the desert chapter v water at last chapter vi woodhouse lagoon chapter vii the great undulating desert of gravel chapter viii a desert tribe chapter ix dr. leichardt's lost expedition chapter x the desert of parallel sand-ridges chapter xi from family well to helena spring chapter xii helena spring chapter xiii from helena spring to the southesk tablelands. chapter xiv death of stansmore chapter xv wells exploring expedition chapter xvi kimberley chapter xvii aboriginals at hall's creek chapter xviii preparations for the return journey appendix to part v some native weapons and ceremonial implements part vi the journey home chapter i return journey begins chapter ii sturt creek and "gregory's salt sea" chapter iii our camp on the "salt sea" chapter iv desert once more chapter v stansmore range to lake macdonald chapter vi lake macdonald to the deep rock-holes chapter vii the last of the ridges of drift sand chapter viii woodhouse lagoon revisited chapter ix across lake wells to lake darlot chapter x the end of the expedition appendix list of illustrations ( illustrations appeared in the original text, published in . they have not been reproduced in this etext.) hon. d. w. carnegie jarrah forest, west australia general store and post-office, coolgardie, the first hotel at coolgardie the "gold escort" grass trees, near perth death of "tommy" fresh meat at last bayley street, coolgardie, condensing water on a salt lake fever-stricken and alone miner's right typical sandstone gorge crossing a salt lake entrance to empress spring at work in the cave, empress spring alexander spring woodhouse lagoon a buck and his gins in camp at family well cresting a sand-ridge helena spring the only specimen of desert architecture the mad buck southesk tablelands a native hunting party plan of sand-ridges exaggerated section of the sand-ridges charles w. stansmore native preparing for the emu dance spears tomahawks boomerangs clubs and throwing-sticks shields quartz knife ceremonial sticks rain-making boards message sticks group of explorers just in time a wild escort of nearly one hundred men establishing friendly relations the tail-end of a miserable caravan a karri timber train a pearl shell station, broome, n.w. australia * * * * * * * * * * part i early days in coolgardie chapter i early days in the colony in the month of september, , lord percy douglas (now lord douglas of hawick) and i, found ourselves steaming into king george's sound--that magnificent harbour on the south-west coast of western australia--building castles in the air, discussing our prospects, and making rapid and vast imaginary fortunes in the gold-mines of that newly-discovered land of ophir. coolgardie, a district then unnamed, had been discovered, and arthur bayley, a persevering and lucky prospector, had returned to civilised parts from the "bush," his packhorses loaded with golden specimens from the famous mine which bears his name. i suppose the fortunate find of bayley and his mate, ford, has turned the course of events in the lives of many tens of thousands of people, and yet, as he jogged along the track from gnarlbine rock to southern cross, i daresay his thoughts reverted to his own life, and the good time before him, rather than to moralising on the probable effect of his discovery on others. we spent as little time as possible at albany, or, i should say, made our stay as short as was permitted, for in those days the convenience of the passenger was thought little of, in comparison with the encouragement of local industries, so that mails and travellers alike were forced to remain at least one night in albany by the arrangement of the train service, greatly to the benefit of the hotel-keepers. we were somewhat surprised to see the landlord's daughters waiting at table. they were such tremendously smart and icy young ladies that at first we were likely to mistake them for guests; and even when sure of their identity we were too nervous to ask for anything so vulgar as a pot of beer, or to expect them to change our plates. between albany and perth the country is not at all interesting being for the most part flat, scrubby, and sandy, though here and there are rich farming and agricultural districts. arrived at perth we found ourselves a source of great interest to the inhabitants, inasmuch as we announced our intention of making our way to the goldfields, while we had neither the means nor apparently the capability of getting there. though treated with great hospitality, we found it almost impossible to get any information or assistance, all our inquiries being answered by some scoffing remark, such as, "oh, you'll never get there!" we attended a rather remarkable dinner--given in honour of the boot, shoe, harness, and leather trade, at the invitation of a fellow-countryman in the trade, and enjoyed ourselves immensely; speech-making and toast-drinking being carried out in the extensive style so customary in the west. picture our surprise on receiving a bill for s. d. next morning! our friend of the dinner, kindly put at our disposal a hansom cab which he owned, but this luxury we declined with thanks, fearing a repetition of his "bill-by-invitation." owing to the extreme kindness of mr. robert smith we were at last enabled to get under way for the scene of the "rush." disregarding the many offers of men willing to guide us along a self-evident track, we started with one riding and one packhorse each. these and the contents of the pack-bags represented all our worldly possessions, but in this we might count ourselves lucky, for many hundreds had to carry their belongings on their backs--"humping their bluey," as the expression is. our road lay through northam, and the several small farms and settlements which extend some distance eastward. very few used this track, the more popular and direct route being through york, and thence along the telegraph line to southern cross; and indeed we did pass through york, which thriving little town we left at dusk, and, carrying out our directions, rode along the telegraph line. unfortunately we had not been told that the line split up, one branch going to northam and the other to southern cross; as often happens in such cases, we took the wrong branch and travelled well into the night before finding any habitation at which we could get food and water. the owner of the house where we finally stopped did not look upon our visit with pleasure, as we had literally to break into the house before we could attract any attention. finding we were not burglars, and having relieved himself by most vigorous and pictorial language (in the use of which the teamsters and small farmers are almost without rivals) the owner showed us his well, and did what he could to make us comfortable. i shall never forget the great hospitality here along this road, though no doubt as time went on the settlers could not afford to house hungry travellers free of cost, and probably made a fair amount of money by selling provisions and horse-feed to the hundreds of gold-fever patients who were continually passing. southern cross, which came into existence about the year ' , was a pretty busy place, being the last outpost of civilisation at the time of our first acquaintance with it. the now familiar corrugated-iron-built town, with its streets inches deep in dust under a blazing sun, its incessant swarms of flies, the clashing of the "stamps" on the mines, and the general "never-never" appearance of the place, impressed us with feelings the reverse of pleasant. the building that struck me most was the bank--a small iron shanty with a hession partition dividing it into office and living room, the latter a hopeless chaos of cards, candle ends, whiskey bottles, blankets, safe keys, gold specimens, and cooking utensils. the bank manager had evidently been entertaining a little party of friends the previous night, and though its hours had passed, and a new day had dawned, the party still continued. since that time it has been my lot to witness more than one such evening of festivity! on leaving southern cross we travelled with another company of adventurers, one of whom, mr. davies, an old queensland squatter, was our partner in several subsequent undertakings. the monotony of the flat timber-clad country was occasionally relieved by the occurrence of large isolated hills of bare granite. but for these the road, except for camels, could never have been kept open; for they represented our sources of water supply. on the surface of the rocks numerous holes and indentations are found, which after rain, hold water, and besides these, around the foot of the outcrops, "soaks," or shallow wells, are to be found. what scenes of bitter quarrels these watering-places have witnessed! the selfish striving, each to help himself, the awful sufferings of man and beast, horses and camels mad with thirst, and men cursing the country and themselves, for wasting their lives and strength in it; but they have witnessed many an act of kindness and self-denial too. where the now prosperous and busy town of coolgardie stands, with its stone and brick buildings, banks, hotels, and streets of shops, offices, and dwelling-houses, with a population of some , , at the time of which i write there stood an open forest of eucalyptus dotted here and there with the white tents and camps of diggers. a part of the timber had already been cleared to admit of "dry-blowing" operations--a process adopted for the separation of gold from alluvial soil in the waterless parts of australia. desperate hard work this, with the thermometer at degrees in the shade, with the "dishes" so hot that they had often to be put aside to cool, with clouds of choking dust, a burning throat, and water at a shilling to half a crown a gallon! right enough for the lucky ones "on gold," and for them not a life of ease! the poor devil with neither money nor luck, who looked into each dishful of dirt for the wherewithal to live, and found it not, was indeed scarcely to be envied. water at this time was carted by horse-teams in waggons with large tanks on board, or by camel caravans, from a distance of thirty-six miles, drawn from a well near a large granite rock. the supply was daily failing, and washing was out of the question; enough to drink was all one thought of; two lines of eager men on either side of the track could daily be seen waiting for these water-carts. what a wild rush ensued when they were sighted! in a moment they were surrounded and taken by storm, men swarming on to them like an army of ants. as a rule, eager as we were for water, a sort of order prevailed, and every man got his gallon water-bag filled until the supply was exhausted. and generally the owner of the water received due payment. about christmas-time the water-famine was at its height. notices were posted by order of the warden, proclaiming that the road to or from coolgardie would soon be closed, as all wells were failing, and advising men to go down in small parties, and not to rush the waters in a great crowd. this advice was not taken, and daily scores of men left the "field," and many were hard put to it to reach southern cross. it was a cruel sight in those thirsty days to see the poor horses wandering about, mere walking skeletons, deserted by their owners, for strangers were both unable to give them water, and afraid to put them out of their misery lest damages should be claimed against them. how long our own supplies would last was eagerly discussed, as we gathered round the butcher's shop, the great meeting-place, to which, in the evenings, most of the camp would come to talk over the affairs of the day. postmaster, as well as butcher and storekeeper, was mr. benstead, a kind-hearted, hard-working man, and a good friend to us in our early struggles. what a wonderful post-office it was too! a proper match for the so-called coach that brought the mails. a very dilapidated buckboard-buggy drawn by equally dilapidated horses, used to do the journey from the southern cross to the new fields very nearly as quickly as a loaded waggon with eight or ten horses! the mail-coach used to carry not only letters, papers, and gold on the return journey, but passengers, who served the useful purposes of dragging the carriage through the sand and dust when the horses collapsed, of hunting up the team in the mornings, and of lightening the load by walking. for this exceedingly comfortable journey they had the pleasure of paying at least five pounds. it was no uncommon sight at some tank or rock on the road, to see the mail-coach standing alone in its glory, deserted by driver and passengers alike. of these some would be horse-hunting, and the rest tramping ahead in hope of being caught up by the coach. there would often be on board many hundred pounds' worth of gold, sent down by the diggers to be banked, or forwarded to their families; yet no instance of robbing the mail occurred. the sort of gentry from whom bushrangers and thieves are made, had not yet found their way to the rush. many banks were failing at that time, and men anxiously awaited the arrival of news. the teamsters, with their heavy drays, would be eagerly questioned as to where they had passed her majesty's mail, and as to the probability of its arrival within the next week or so! the distribution of letters did not follow this happy event with great rapidity. volunteers had to be called in to sort the delivery, the papers were thrown into a heap in the road, and all anxious for news were politely requested to help themselves. several illustrated periodicals were regularly sent me from home, as i learnt afterwards, but i never had the luck to drop across my own paper! on mail day, the date of which was most uncertain as the coach journeys soon overlapped, there was always a lengthy, well-attended "roll-up" at the store. here we first made acquaintance with messrs. browne and lyon, then negotiating for the purchase of bayley's fabulous mine of gold. no account of the richness of this claim at that time could be too extravagant to be true; for surely such a solid mass of gold was never seen before, as met the eye in the surface workings. messrs. browne and lyon had at their camp a small black-boy whom they tried in vain to tame. he stood a good deal of misplaced kindness, and even wore clothes without complaint; but he could not bear having his hair cut, and so ran away to the bush. he belonged to the wandering tribe that daily visited the camp--a tribe of wretched famine-stricken "blacks," whose natural hideousness and filthy appearance were intensified by the dirty rags with which they made shift to cover their bodies. i should never have conceived it possible that such living skeletons could exist. without begging from the diggers i fail to see how they could have lived, for not a living thing was to be found in the bush, save an occasional iguana and "bardies,*" and, as i have said, all known waters within available distance of coolgardie were dry, or nearly so. [* "bardies" are large white grubs--three or four inches long--which the natives dig out from the roots of a certain shrub. when baked on wood-ashes they are said to be excellent eating. the natives, however, prefer them raw, and, having twisted off the heads, eat them with evident relish.] benstead had managed to bring up a few sheep from the coast, which the "gins," or women, used to tend. the native camp was near the slaughter-yard, and it used to be an interesting and charming sight to see these wild children of the wilderness, fighting with their mongrel dogs for the possession of the offal thrown away by the butcher. if successful in gaining this prize they were not long in disposing of it, cooking evidently being considered a waste of time. a famished "black-fellow" after a heavy meal used to remind me of pictures of the boa-constrictor who has swallowed an ox, and is resting in satisfied peace to gorge. the appeal of "gib it damper" or "gib it gabbi" (water), was seldom made in vain, and hardly a day passed but what one was visited by these silent, starving shadows. in appreciation no doubt of the kindness shown them, some of the tribe volunteered to find "gabbi" for the white-fellow in the roots of a certain gum-tree. their offer was accepted, and soon a band of unhappy-looking miners was seen returning. in their hands they carried short pieces of the root, which they sucked vigorously; some got a little moisture, and some did not, but however unequal their success in this respect they were all alike in another, for every man vomited freely. this means of obtaining a water supply never became popular. no doubt a little moisture can be coaxed from the roots of certain gums, but it would seem that it needs the stomach of a black-fellow to derive any benefit from it. though i cannot say that i studied the manners and customs of the aboriginals at that time, the description, none the worse for being old, given to savages of another land would fit them admirably--"manners none, customs beastly." chapter ii "hard up" during that drought-stricken christmas-time my mate was down at the "cross," trying to carry through some business by which our coffers might be replenished; for work how we would on alluvial or quartz reefs, no gold could we find. that we worked with a will, the remark made to me by an old fossicker will go to show. after watching me "belting away" at a solid mass of quartz for some time without speaking, "which," said he, "is the hammer-headed end of your pick?" then shaking his head, "ah! i could guess you were a scotchman--brute force and blind ignorance!" he then proceeded to show me how to do twice the amount of work at half the expenditure of labour. i never remember a real digger who was not ready to help one, both with advice and in practice, and i never experienced that "greening" of new chums which is a prominent feature of most novels that deal with australian life. in the absence of lord douglas, an old horse-artilleryman, richardson by name, was my usual comrade. a splendid fellow he was too, and one of the few to be rewarded for his dogged perseverance and work. in a pitiable state the poor man was when first we met, half dead from dysentery, camped all alone under a sheet of coarse calico. emaciated from sickness, he was unable to follow his horses, which had wandered in search of food and water, though they constituted his only earthly possession. how he, and many another i could mention, survived, i cannot think. but if a man declines to die, and fights for life, he is hard to kill! amongst the prospectors it was customary for one mate to look after the horses, and pack water to the others who worked. these men, of course, knew several sources unknown to the general public. it was from one of them that we learnt of the existence of a small soak some thirteen miles from coolgardie. seeing no hope of rain, and no prospect of being able to stop longer at coolgardie, mr. davies, who camped near us, and i, decided to make our way to this soak, and wait for better or worse times. taking the only horse which remained to us, and what few provisions we had, we changed our residence from the dust-swept flats of coolgardie to the silent bush, where we set up a little hut of boughs, and awaited the course of events. sheltered from the sun's burning rays by our house, so low that it could only be entered on hands and knees, for we had neither time nor strength to build a spacious structure, and buoyed up by the entrancement of reading "the adventures of a lady's maid," kindly lent by a fellow-digger, we did our best to spend a "happy christmas." somehow, the climate and surroundings seemed singularly inappropriate; dust could not be transformed, even in imagination, into snow, nor heat into frost, any more easily than we could turn dried apples into roast beef and plum-pudding. excellent food as dried fruit is, yet it is apt to become monotonous when it must do duty for breakfast, dinner, and tea! such was our scanty fare; nevertheless we managed to keen up the appearance of being quite festive and happy. having spread the table--that is, swept the floor clear of ants and other homely insects--and laid out the feast, i rose to my knees and proposed the health of my old friend and comrade mr. davies, wished him the compliments of the season, and expressed a hope that we should never spend a worse christmas. the toast was received with cheers and honoured in weak tea, brewed from the re-dried leaves of our last night's meal. he suitably replied, and cordially endorsed my last sentiment. after duly honouring the toasts of "the ladies," "absent friends," and others befitting the occasion, we fell to on the frugal feast. for the benefit of thrifty housewives, as well as those whom poverty has stricken, i respectfully recommend the following recipe. for dried apples: take a handful, chew slightly, swallow, fill up with warm water and wait. before long a feeling both grateful and comforting, as having dined not wisely but too heavily, will steal over you. repeat the dose for luncheon and tea. one or two other men were camped near us, and i have no doubt would have willingly added to our slender store had they known to what short commons we were reduced. our discomforts were soon over, however, for lord douglas hearing that i was in a starving condition, hastened from the "cross," not heeding the terrible accounts of the track, bringing with him a supply of the staple food of the country, "tinned dog"--as canned provisions are designated. wandering on from our little rock of refuge, we landed at the twenty-five mile, where lately a rich reef had been found. we pegged out a claim on which we worked, camped under the shade of a "kurrajong" tree, close above a large granite rock on which we depended for our water; and here we spent several months busy on our reef, during which time lord douglas went home to england, with financial schemes in his head, leaving mr. davies and myself to hold the property and work as well as we could manage and i fancy that for a couple of amateurs we did a considerable amount of development. here we lived almost alone, with the exception of another small party working the adjoining mine, occasionally visited by a prospector with horses to water. though glad of their company, it was not with unmixed feelings that we viewed their arrival, for it took us all our time to get sufficient water for ourselves. i well remember one occasion on which, after a slight shower of rain, we, having no tank, scooped up the water we could from the shallow holes, even using a sponge, such was our eagerness not to waste a single drop; the water thus collected was emptied into a large rock-hole, which we covered with flat stones. we then went to our daily work on the reef, congratulating ourselves on the nice little "plant" of water. imagine our disgust, on returning in the evening, at finding a mob of thirsty packhorses being watered from our precious supply! there was nothing to be done but to pretend we liked it. the water being on the rock was of course free to all. how i used to envy those horsemen, and longed for the time when i could afford horses or camels of my own, to go away back into the bush and just see what was there. many a day i spent poring over the map of the colony, longing and longing to push out into the vast blank spaces of the unknown. even at that time i planned out the expedition which at last i was enabled to undertake, though all was very visionary, and i could hardly conceive how i should ever manage to find the necessary ways and means. nearly every week i would ride into coolgardie for stores, and walk out again leading the loaded packhorse, our faithful little chestnut "brumby," i.e., half-wild pony, of which there are large herds running in the bush near the settled parts of the coast. a splendid little fellow this, a true type of his breed, fit for any amount of work and hardship. as often as not he would do his journey into coolgardie (twenty-five miles), be tied up all night without a feed or drink--or as long as i had to spend there on business--and return again loaded next morning. chaff and oats were then almost unprocurable, and however kind-hearted he might be, a poor man could hardly afford a shilling a gallon to water his horse. on these occasions i made my quarters at bayley's mine, where a good solid meal and the pleasant company of messrs. browne and lyon always awaited me. several times in their generosity these good fellows spared a gallon or two of precious water for the old pony. they have a funny custom in the west of naming horses after their owners--thus the chestnut is known to this day as "little carnegie." sometimes they are named after the men from whom they are bought. this practice, when coach-horses are concerned, has its laughable side, and passengers unacquainted with the custom may be astonished to hear all sorts of oaths and curses, or words of entreaty and encouragement, addressed to some well-known name--and they might be excused for thinking the driver's mind was a little unhinged, or that in his troubles and vexations he was calling on some prominent citizen, in the same way that knights of old invoked their saints. thus, our peaceful life at the "twenty-five" passed on, relieved sometimes by the arrival of horsemen and others in search of water. amongst our occasional visitors was a well-known gentleman, bearing the proud title of "the biggest liar in australia." how far he deserved the distinction i should hesitate to say, for men prone to exaggerate are not uncommon in the bush. sometimes, however, they must have the melancholy satisfaction of knowing that they are disbelieved, when they really do happen to tell the truth. a story of my friend's, which was received with incredulous laughter, will exemplify this. this was one of his experiences in central australia. he was perishing from thirst, and, at the last gasp, he came to a clay-pan which, to his despair, was quite dry and baked hard by the sun. he gave up all hope; not so his black-boy, who, after examining the surface of the hard clay, started to dig vigorously, shouting, "no more tumble down, plenty water here!" struggling to the side of his boy, he found that he had unearthed a large frog blown out with water, with which they relieved their thirst. subsequent digging disclosed more frogs, from all of which so great a supply of water was squeezed that not only he and his boy, but the horses also were saved from a terrible death! this story was received with laughter and jeers, and cries of "next please!" but to show that it had foundations of truth i may quote an extract from "the horn scientific expedition to central australia" (part i. p. ), in which we read the following:-- ". . . the most interesting animal is the burrowing or waterholding frog, (chiroleptes platycephalus). as the pools dry up it fills itself out with water, which in some way passes through the walls of the alimentary canal, filling up the body cavity, and swelling the animal out until it looks like a small orange. in this condition it occupies a cavity just big enough for the body, and simply goes to sleep. when, with the aid of a native, we cut it out of its hiding-place, the animal at first remained perfectly still, with its lower eyelids completely drawn over the eyes, giving it the appearance of being blind, which indeed the black assured us that it was. . . ." most travellers cannot fail to have noticed how clay-pans recently filled by rain, even after a prolonged drought, swarm with tadpoles and full-grown frogs and numberless water insects, the presence of which must only be explained by the ability of the frog to store his supply in his own body, and the fact that the eggs of the insects require moisture before they can hatch out. many a laugh we had round the camp-fire at night, and many are the yarns that were spun. few, however, were of sufficient interest to live in my memory, and i fear that most of them would lose their points in becoming fit for publication. "gold," naturally, was the chief topic of conversation, especially amongst the older diggers, who love to tell one in detail how many ounces they got in one place and how many in another, until one feels that surely they must be either millionaires or liars. new rushes, and supposed new rushes, were eagerly discussed; men were often passing and repassing our rock, looking for somebody who was "on gold"--for the majority of prospectors seldom push out for themselves, but prefer following up some man or party supposed to have "struck it rich." the rumours of a new find so long bandied about at length came true. billy frost had found a thousand! two thousand!! three thousand ounces!!!--who knew or cared?--on the margin of a large salt lake some ninety miles north of coolgardie. frost has since told me that about twelve ounces of gold was all he found, and, after all, there is not much difference between twelve and three thousand--that is on a mining field. before long the solitude of our camp was disturbed by the constant passing of travellers to and from this newly discovered "ninety mile"--so named from its distance from coolgardie. as a fact, this mining camp (now known as the town of goongarr) is only sixty odd miles from the capital, measured by survey, but in early days, distances were reckoned by rate of travel, and roads and tracks twisted and turned in a most distressing manner, sometimes deviating for water, but more often because the first maker of the track had been riding along carelessly, every now and then turning sharp back to his proper course. subsequent horse or camel men, having only a vague knowledge of the direction of their destination, would be bound to follow the first tracks; after these would come light buggies, spring-carts, drays, and heavy waggons, until finally a deeply rutted and well-worn serpentine road through the forest or scrub was formed, to be straightened in course of time, as observant travellers cut off corners, and later by government surveyors and road-makers. prospectors were gradually "poking out," gold being found in all directions in greater or less degree; but it was not until june, , that any find was made of more than passing interest. curiously, this great goldfield of hannan's (now called kalgoorlie) was found by the veriest chance. patrick hannan, like many others, had joined in a wild-goose chase to locate a supposed rush at mount yule--a mountain the height and importance of which may be judged from the fact that no one was able to find it! on going out one morning to hunt up his horses, he chanced on a nugget of gold. in the course of five years this little nugget has transformed the silent bush into a populous town of , inhabitants, with its churches, clubs, hotels, and streets of offices and shops, surrounded by rich mines, and reminded of the cause of its existence by the ceaseless crashing of mills and stamps, grinding out gold at the rate of nearly , oz. per mouth. arriving one sunday morning from our camp at the "twenty-five," i was astonished to find coolgardie almost deserted, not even the usual "sunday school" going on. now i am sorry to disappoint my readers who are not conversant with miners' slang, but they must not picture rows of good little children sitting in the shade of the gum-trees, to whom some kind-hearted digger is expounding the scriptures. no indeed! the miners' school is neither more nor less than a largely attended game of pitch-and-toss, at which sometimes hundreds of pounds in gold or notes change hands. i remember one old man who had only one shilling between him and the grave, so he told me. he could not decide whether to invest his last coin in a gallon of water or in the "heading-school." he chose the latter and lost . . . subsequently i saw him lying peacefully drunk under a tree! i doubt if his intention had been suicide, but had it been he could hardly have chosen a more deadly weapon than the whiskey of those days. the "rush to hannan's" had depopulated coolgardie and the next day saw davies and myself amongst an eager train of travellers bound for the new site of fortune. "little carnegie" was harnessed to a small cart, which carried our provisions and tools. the commissariat department was easily attended to, as nothing was obtainable but biscuits and tinned soup. it was now mid-winter, and nights were often bitterly cold. without tent or fly, and with hardly a blanket between us, we used to lie shivering at night. a slight rain had fallen, insufficient to leave much water about, and yet enough to so moisten the soil as to make dry-blowing impossible in the ordinary way. fires had to be built and kept going all night, piled up on heaps of alluvial soil dug out during the day. in the morning these heaps would be dry enough to treat, and ashes and earth were dry-blown together--the pleasures of the ordinary process being intensified by the addition of clouds of ashes. a strange appearance these fires had, dotted through the brush, lighting up now a tent, now a water-cart, now a camp of fortunate ones lying cosily under their canvas roof, now a set of poor devils with hardly a rag to their backs. oh glorious uncertainty of mining! one of these very poor devils that i have in my mind has now a considerable fortune, with rooms in a fashionable quarter of london, and in frock-coat and tall hat "swells" it with the best! how quickly men change to be sure! a man who at one time would "steal the shirt off a dead black-fellow," in a few short months is complaining of the taste of his wine or the fit of his patent-leather boots. dame fortune was good to some, but to us, like many others, she turned a deaf ear, and after many weeks' toil we had to give up the battle, for neither food, money, nor gold had we. all i possessed was the pony, and from that old friend i could not part. the fruits of our labours, or i should say my share in them, i sent home in a letter, and the few pin's-heads of gold so sent did not necessitate any extra postage. weary and toil-worn we returned to coolgardie, and the partners of some rather remarkable experiences split company, and went each his own way. it is several years since i have seen mr. davies; but i believe fortune's wheel turned round for him at length, and that now he enjoys the rest that his years and toils entitle him to. i have many kindly recollections of our camping days together, and of the numerous yarns my mate used to spin of his palmy days as a queensland squatter. chapter iii a miner on bayley's returned from the rush, i made my way to bayley's to seek employment for my pony and his master. nor did i seek in vain, for i was duly entered on the pay-sheet as "surface hand" at pounds shillings per week, with water at the rate of one gallon per day. here i first made the acquaintance of godfrey massie, a cousin of the brownes, who, like me, had been forced by want of luck to work for wages, and who, by the way, had carried his "swag" on his back from york to the goldfields, a distance of nearly miles. he and i were the first amateurs to get a job on the great reward claim, though subsequently it became a regular harbour of refuge for young men crowded out from the banks and offices of sydney and melbourne. nothing but a fabulously rich mine could have stood the tinkering of so many unprofessional miners. it speaks well for the kindness of heart of those at the head of the management of the mine that they were willing to trust the unearthing of so much treasure to the hands of boys unused to manual work, or to work of any kind in a great many cases. how rich the mine was, may be judged from the fact that for the first few months the enormous production of gold from it was due to the labours of three of the shareholders, assisted by only two other men. the following letter from mr. everard browne to lord douglas gives some idea of what the yield was at the time that i went there to work:-- "i am just taking , oz, over to melbourne from our reef (bayley's). this makes , oz. we have brought down from our reef without a battery, or machinery equal to treating lbs. of stone per day; that is a bit of a record for you! we have got water in our shaft at feet, enough to run a battery, and we shall have one on the ground in three months' time or under, egan dollied out , oz, in a little over two months, before i came down, from his reef; and cashman dollied oz. out of his in about three weeks and had one stone lbs. weight with lbs. of gold in it, so we are not the only successful reefers since you left. i hope you will soon be with us again. "if you are speaking about this , oz. we have taken out of our reef in six months, remember that bayley and ford dollied out , oz. for themselves before they handed it over to us on february th last, so that actually , oz. have been taken out of the claim, without a battery, in under nine months. the shoot of gold is now proved over feet long on the course of the reef, and we were down feet in our shaft on the reef, with as good gold as ever at the bottom. the other shaft, which we have got water in, is in the country (a downright shaft). we expect to meet the reef in it at feet." besides massie, myself, and tom cue, there were not then many employed, and really we used to have rather an enjoyable time than otherwise. working regular hours, eight hours on and sixteen off, sometimes on the surface, sometimes below, with hammer and drill, or pick and shovel, always amongst glittering gold, was by no means unpleasant. it would certainly have been better still had we been able to keep what we found, but the next best thing to being successful is to see those one is fond of, pile up their banking account; and i have had few better friends than the resident shareholders on bayley's reward. what good fellows, too, were the professional miners, always ready to help one and make the time pass pleasantly. big jim breen was my mate for some time, and many a pleasant talk and smoke (smoke, o! is a recognised rest from work at intervals during a miner's shift) we have had at the bottom of a shaft, thirty to fifty feet from the surface! i really think that having to get out of a nice warm bed or tent for night shift, viz., from midnight to a.m., was the most unpleasant part of my life as a miner. as recreation we used to play occasional games of cricket on a very hard and uneven pitch, and for social entertainments had frequent sing-songs and "buck dances"--that is, dances in which there were no ladies to take part--at faahan's club hotel in the town, some one and a half miles distant. "hotel" was rather too high-class a name, for it was by no means an imposing structure, hessian and corrugated iron taking the place of the bricks and slates of a more civilised building. the addition of a weather-board front, which was subsequently erected, greatly enhanced its attractions. mr. faahan can boast of having had the first two-storeyed house in the town; though the too critical might hold that the upper one, being merely a sham, could not be counted as dwelling-room. there was no sham, however, about the festive character of those evening entertainments. thus time went on, the only change in my circumstances resulting from my promotion to engine-driver--for now the reward claim boasted a small crushing plant--and spring came, and with it in november the disastrous rush to "siberia." this name, like most others on the goldfields, may be traced to the wit of some disappointed digger. the rush was a failure or "frost," and so great a one that "siberia" was the only word adequately to express the chagrin of the men who hoped so much from its discovery. being one of these myself, i can cordially endorse the appropriateness of the name. what a motley crowd of eager faces throngs the streets and camp on the first news of a new rush--every one anxious to be off and be the first to make his fortune--every man questioning his neighbour, who knows no more than himself, about distances and direction, where the nearest water may be, and all manner of similar queries. once clear of the town, what a strange collection of baggage animals, horses, camels, and donkeys! what a mass of carts, drays, buggies, wheelbarrows, handbarrows, and many queer makeshifts for carrying goods--the strangest of all a large barrel set on an axle, and dragged or shoved by means of two long handles, the proud possessor's belongings turning round and round inside until they must surely be churned into a most confusing jumble. then we see the "swagman" with his load on his back, perhaps fifty pounds of provisions rolled up in his blankets, with a pick and shovel strapped on them, and in either hand a gallon bag of water. no light work this with the thermometer standing at degrees in the shade, and the track inches deep in fine, powdery dust; and yet men start off with a light heart, with perhaps, a two hundred mile journey before them, replenishing their bundles as they pass through camps on their road. "siberia" was said to be seventy miles of a dry stage, and yet off we all started, as happy as kings at the chance of mending our fortunes. poor crossman (since dead), mcculloch, and i were mates, and we were well off, for we had not only "little carnegie," and who, like his master, had been earning his living at bayley's, but a camel, "bungo" by name, kindly lent by gordon lyon. thus we were able to carry water as well as provisions, and helped to relieve the sufferings of many a poor wretch who had only his feet to serve him. the story of siberia may be soon told. hundreds "rushed" over this dry stage, at the end of which a small and doubtful water supply was obtainable. when this supply gave out fresh arrivals had to do their best without it, the rush perforce had to set back again, privations, disaster, and suffering being the only result. much was said and written at the time about the scores of dead and dying men and horses who lined the roads--roads because there were two routes to the new field. there may have been deaths on the other track, but i know that we saw none on ours. men in sore straits, with swollen tongues and bleeding feet, we saw, and, happily, were able to relieve; and i am sure that many would have died but for the prompt aid rendered by the government water supply department, which despatched drays loaded with tanks of water to succour the suffering miners. so the fortunes, to be made at siberia, had again to be postponed. shortly after our return to coolgardie a "gold escort" left bayley's for the coast, and as a guardian of the precious freight i travelled down to perth. there was no government escort at that time, and any lucky possessor of gold had to carry it to the capital as best he could. with four spanking horses, gordon lyon as driver, three men with him on the express-waggon, an outrider behind and in front, all armed with repeating rifles, we rattled down the road, perhaps secretly wishing that someone would be venturesome enough to attempt to "stick us up." no such stirring event occurred, however, and we reached the head of the then partially constructed line, and there took train for perth, where i eagerly awaited the arrival of my old friend and companion, percy douglas. he meanwhile had had his battles to fight in the financial world, and had come out to all appearances on top, having been instrumental in forming an important mining company from which we expected great things. part ii first prospecting expedition chapter i the rush to kurnalpi--we reach queen victoria spring shortly after lord douglas's return, i took the train to york, where "little carnegie," who had formed one of the team to draw the gold-laden express waggon from bayley's to the head of the railway line, was running in one of mr. monger's paddocks. the mongers are the kings of york, an agricultural town, and own much property thereabouts. york and its surroundings in the winter-time might, except for the corrugated-iron roofs, easily be in england. many of the houses are built of stone, and enclosed in vineyards and fruit gardens. the mongers' house was quite after the english style, so also was their hospitality. from york i rode along the old track to southern cross, and a lonely ride i had, for the train had superseded the old methods of travel, much to the disgust of some of the "cockies," or small farmers, who expressed the opinion that the country was going to the dogs, "them blooming railways were spoiling everything"; the reason for their complaint being, that formerly, all the carrying had been in the teamsters' hands, as well as a considerable amount of passenger traffic. i had one or two "sells" on the road, for former stopping-places were now deserted, and wells had been neglected, making it impossible, from their depth, for me to get any water. i was fortunate in falling in with a teamster and his waggon--a typical one of his class; on first sight they are the most uncouth and foul-tongued men that it is possible to imagine. but on further acquaintance one finds that the language is as superficial as the dirt with which they cannot fail to be covered, since they are always walking in a cloud of dust. my friend on this occasion was apostrophising his horses with oaths that made my flesh creep, to help them up a steep hill. the top reached, he petted and soothed his team in most quaint language. at the bottom of the slope he was a demon of cruelty, at its summit a kind-hearted human being! i lunched with him, sitting under his waggon for shade, and found him most entertaining--nor was the old pony neglected, for he was given a fine feed of chaff and oats. in due time i reached coolgardie, where lord douglas and our new partner, mr. driffield (since drowned in a boating accident on the swan river), joined me. they had engaged the services of one luck and his camels, and had ridden up from the cross. the rush to kurnalpi had just broken out, so driffield, luck, and i joined the crowd of fortune-hunters; and a queer-looking crowd they were too, for every third or fourth swagman carried on his shoulder a small portable condenser, the boiler hanging behind him and the cooler in front; every party, whether with horses, carts, or camels, carried condensers of one shape or another; for the month was january, no surface water existed on the track, and only salt water could be obtained, by digging in the salt lakes which the road passed. the nearest water to the scene of the rush was a salt lake seven miles distant, and this at night presented a strange appearance. condensers of every size and capacity fringed the two shores of a narrow channel; under each was a fire, and round each all night long could be seen figures, stoking the burning wood or drawing water, and in the distance the sound of the axe could be heard, for at whatever time a party arrived they had forthwith to set about "cooking water." the clattering and hammering the incessant talking, and the figures flitting about in the glare, reminded one of a crowded open-air market with flaring lamps and frequent coffee stalls. kurnalpi was known at first as "billy-billy," or as "the tinker's rush"--the first name was supposed by some to be of native origin, by others to indicate the amount of tin used in the condensing plants--"billy," translated for those to whom the bush is unfamiliar, meaning a tin pot for boiling tea in, and other such uses. certainly there was plenty of tin at kurnalpi, and plenty of alluvial gold as well for the lucky ones--amongst which we were not numbered. poor driffield was much disgusted; he had looked upon gold-finding as the simplest thing in the world--and so it is if you happen to look in the right place! and when you do so it's a hundred to one that you think your own cleverness and knowledge guided you to it! chance? oh dear, no! from that time forth your reputation is made as "a shrewd fellow who knows a thing or two"; and if your find was made in a mine, you are an "expert" at once, and can command a price for your report on other mines commensurate with the richness of your own! as the gold would not come to us, and my partner disliked the labour of seeking it, we returned to coolgardie, and set about looking after the mines we already had. financial schemes or business never had any charms for me; when therefore i heard that the company had cabled out that a prospecting party should be despatched at once, i eagerly availed myself of the chance of work so much to my taste. as speed was an object, and neither camels nor men procurable owing to the rush, we did not waste any time in trying to form a large expedition, such as the soul of the london director loveth, but contented ourselves with the camels already to hand. on march , , we started; luck, myself, and three camels--omerod, shimsha, and jenny by name--with rations for three months, and instructions to prospect the hampton plains as far as the supply of surface water permitted; failing a long stay in that region i could go where i thought best. to the east and north-east of coolgardie lie what are known as the hampton plains--so named by captain hunt, who in led an expedition past york, eastward, into the interior. beyond the hampton plains he was forced back by the desert, and returned to york with but a sorry tale of the country he had seen. "an endless sea of scrub," was his apt description of the greater part of the country. compared to the rest, the hampton plains were splendid pastoral lands. curiously enough, hunt passed and repassed close to what is now coolgardie, and, though reporting quartz and ironstone, failed to hit upon any gold. nor was he the only one; coolgardie had several narrow squeaks of being found out. giles and forrest both traversed districts since found to be gold-bearing, and though, like hunt, reporting, and even bringing back specimens of quartz and ironstone, had the bad luck to miss finding even a "colour." alexander forrest, goddard, and lindsay all passed within appreciable distance of coolgardie without unearthing its treasures, though in lindsay's journal the geologist to the expedition pronounced the country auriferous. when we come to consider how many prospectors pass over gold, it is not so wonderful that explorers, whose business is to see as much country as they can, in as short a time as possible, should have failed to drop on the hidden wealth. bayley and ford, its first discoverers, were by no means the first prospectors to camp at coolgardie. in anstey and party actually found colours of gold, and pegged out a claim, whose corner posts were standing at the time of the first rush; but nobody heeded them, for the quartz was not rich enough. in after years george withers sunk a hole and "dry blew" the wash not very far from bayley's, yet he discovered no gold. macpherson, too, poked out beyond coolgardie, and nearly lost his life in returning, and, indeed, was saved by his black-boy, who held him on the only remaining horse. other instances could be given, all of which show that nature will not be bustled, and will only divulge her secrets when the ordained time has arrived. it has been argued that since giles, for example, passed the coolgardie district without finding gold, therefore there is every probability of the rest of the country through which he passed being auriferous. it fails to occur to those holding this view, that a man may recognise possible gold-bearing country without finding gold, or to read the journals of these early travellers, in which they would see that the desert is plainly demarcated, and the change in the nature of the country, the occurrence of quartz, and so forth, always recorded. these folk who so narrowly missed the gold were not the only unfortunate ones; those responsible for the choosing for their company of the blocks of land on the hampton mains were remarkably near securing all the plums. bayley's is one and a half miles from their boundary, kalgoorlie twelve miles, kurnalpi seven miles, and a number of other places lie just on the wrong side of the survey line to please the shareholders, though had all these rich districts been found on their land, i fancy there would have been a pretty outcry from the general public. at the time of which i am writing this land was considered likely to be as rich as ophir. luck and i were expected to trip up over nuggets, and come back simply impregnated with gold. unfortunately we not only found no gold, but formed a very poor idea of that part of the property which we were able to traverse, though, given a good supply of water, it should prove valuable stock country. before we had been very long started on our journey we met numerous parties returning from that region, though legally they had no right to prospect there; each told us the same story--every water was dry; and since every one we had been to was all but dry, we concluded that they were speaking the truth; so when we arrived at yindi, a large granite rock with a cavity capable of holding some twenty thousand gallons of water, and found yindi dry, we decided to leave the hampton plains and push out into new country. queen victoria spring, reported permanent by giles, lay some seventy miles to the eastward, and attracted our attention; for lindsay had reported quartz country near the ponton, not far from the spring, and the country directly between the spring and kurnalpi was unknown. on april th we left yindi, having seen the last water twenty-six miles back near gundockerta, and passed mount quinn, entering a dense thicket of mulga, which lasted for the next twenty miles. it was most awkward country to steer through, and i often overheard luck muttering to himself that i was going all wrong, for he was a first-rate bushman and i a novice. i had bought a little brumby from a man we met on the plains, an excellent pony, and most handy in winding his way through the scrub. luck rode jenny and led the other two camels. hereabouts we noticed a large number of old brush fences--curiously i have never once seen a new one--which the natives had set up for catching wallabies. the fences run out in long wings, which meet in a point where a hole is dug. neither wallabies nor natives were to be seen, though occasionally we noticed where "bardies" had been dug out, and a little further on a native grave, a hole about three feet square by three feet deep, lined at the bottom with gum leaves and strips of bark, evidently ready to receive the deceased. luck, who knew a good deal about native customs, told me that the grave, though apparently only large enough for a child, was really destined for a grown man. when a man dies his first finger is cut off, because he must not fight in the next world, nor need he throw a spear to slay animals, as game is supplied. the body is then bent double until the knees touch the chin--this to represent a baby before birth; and in this cramped position the late warrior is crammed into his grave, until, according to a semi-civilised boy that i knew, he is called to the happy hunting grounds, where he changes colour! "black fella tumble down, jump up white fella." a clear proof that this benighted people have some conception of a better state hereafter. once through the scrub, we came again into gum-timbered country, and when fifty miles east of kurnalpi crossed a narrow belt of auriferous country, but, failing to find water, were unable to stop. in a few miles we were in desert country--undulations of sand and spinifex, with frequent clumps of dense mallee, a species of eucalyptus, with several straggling stems growing from one root, and little foliage except at the ends of the branches, an untidy and melancholy-looking tree. there was no change in the country till after noon on the th, when we noticed some grass-trees, or black-boys, smaller than those seen near the coast, and presently struck the outskirts of a little oasis, and immediately after an old camel pad (lindsay's in , formed by a caravan of over fifty animals), which we followed for a few minutes, until the welcome sight of queen victoria spring met our eyes. a most remarkable spot, and one that cannot be better described than by quoting the words of its discoverer, ernest giles, in , who, with a party of five companions, fifteen pack, and seven riding camels, happened on this spring just when they most needed water. giles says of it:-- "it is the most singularly placed water i have ever seen, lying in a small hollow in the centre of a little grassy flat and surrounded by clumps of funereal pines. . . . the water is no doubt permanent, for it is supplied by the drainage of the sandhills which surround it and it rests on a substratum of impervious clay. it lies exposed to view in a small, open basin, the water being about only one hundred and fifty yards in circumference and from two to three feet deep. further up the slopes at much higher levels native wells had been sunk in all directions--in each and all of these there was water. beyond the immediate precincts of this open space the scrubs abound. . . . before i leave this spot i had perhaps better remark that it might prove a very difficult, perhaps dangerous, place to any other traveller to attempt to find, because although there are many white sandhills in the neighbourhood, the open space on which the water lies is so small in area and so closely surrounded by scrubs, that it cannot be seen from any conspicuous one, nor can any conspicuous sandhill, distinguishable at any distance, be seen from it. on the top of the banks above the wells was a beaten corroboree path, where the denizens of the desert have often held their feasts and dances. some grass-trees grew in the vicinity of this spring to a height of over twenty feet. . . ." a charming spot indeed! but we found it to be hardly so cheerful as this description would lead one to expect. for at first sight the spring was dry. the pool of water was now a dry clay-pan; the numerous native wells were there, but all were dry. the prospect was sufficiently gloomy, for our water was all but done, and poor tommy, the pony, in spite of an allowance of a billy-full per night, was in a very bad way, for we had travelled nearly one hundred miles from the last water, and if this was dry we knew no other that we could reach. however, we were not going to cry before we were hurt and set to work to dig out the soak, and in a short time were rewarded by the sight of water trickling in on all sides, and, by roughly timbering the sides, soon had a most serviceable well--a state of affairs greatly appreciated by tommy and the camels. this spring or soakage, whichever it may be, is in black sand, though the sand outside the little basin is yellowish white. from what i have heard and read of them it must be something of the nature of what are called "black soil springs." giles was right in his description of its remarkable surroundings--unless we had marched right into the oasis, we should perhaps have missed it altogether, for it was unlikely that lindsay's camel tracks would be visible except where sheltered from the wind by the trees; and our only instruments for navigation were a prismatic and pocket compass, and a watch for rating our travel. i was greatly pleased at such successful steering for a first attempt of any distance, and luck was as pleased as i was, for to him i owed many useful hints. yet i was not blind to the fact that it was a wonderful piece of luck to strike exactly a small spot of no more than fifty acres in extent, hidden in the valleys of the sandhills, from whose summits nothing could be seen but similar mounds of white sand. amongst the white gum trees we found one marked with lindsay's initials with date. under this i nailed on a piece of tin, on which i had stamped our names and date. probably the blacks have long since taken this down and used it as an ornament. another tree, a pine, was marked w. blake; who he was i do not know, unless one of lindsay's party. not far off was a grave, more like that of a white man than of a native; about its history, too, i am ignorant. numerous old native camps surrounded the water, and many weapons, spears, waddies, and coolimans were lying about. the camps had not been occupied for some long time. in the scrub we came on a cleared space, some eighty yards long and ten to twelve feet wide. at each end were heaps of ashes, and down the middle ran a well-beaten path, and a similar one on either side not unlike an old dray track. evidently a corroboree ground of some kind. from luck i learnt that north of eucla, where he had been with a survey party, the natives used such grounds in their initiation ceremonies. a youth on arriving at a certain age may become a warrior, and is then allowed to carry a shield and spear. before he can attain this honour he must submit to some very horrible rites--which are best left undescribed. seizing each an arm of the victim, two stalwart "bucks" (as the men are called) run him up and down the cleared space until they are out of breath; then two more take places, and up and down they go until at last the boy is exhausted. this is the aboriginal method of applying anaesthetics. during the operations that follow, the men dance and yell round the fires but the women may not be witnesses of the ceremony. tribes from all neighbouring districts meet at such times and hold high revel. evidently queen victoria spring is a favourite meeting-place. i regret that i never had the chance of being present at such a gathering--few white men have. for except in thickly populated districts the ceremonies are rare; the natives are very ready to resent any prying into their mysteries, and luck only managed it at some risk to himself. whilst camped at the spring we made one or two short excursions to the southward, but met with little encouragement. on turning our attention to the opposite direction we found that nearly two hundred miles due north a tract of auriferous country was marked on the map of the elder expedition. between us and that point, the country was unmapped and untrodden except by black-fellows, and it seemed reasonable to suppose that since the belts of country run more or less north and south we had a fair chance of finding gold-bearing country extending southward. we should be getting a long way from coolgardie, but if a rich company could not afford to open up the country, who could? to the east we knew that desert existed, to the south the country was known, and to return the way we had come would be only a waste of time. so we decided on the northern course, and chose mount shenton, near which a soakage was marked, as our objective point. we were not well equipped for a long march in new country, since we had few camels and scanty facilities for carrying water. by setting to work with the needle we soon had two canvas water-bags made; luck, who had served in the french navy, like all sailors, was a very handy man in a camp, and could of course sew well, and gave me useful lessons in the handling of a sail-needle. chapter ii in unknown country on april nd we left the spring, steering due north--carrying in all thirty-five gallons of water, though this supply was very perceptibly reduced by evening, owing to the canvas being new; loss by evaporation was lessened by covering the bags with a fly (a sheet of coarse calico). the class of country we encountered the first and second day can stand for the rest of the march. spinifex plains, undulating sand-plains, rolling sandhills, steep sand-ridges, mallee scrubs, desert-gum forests, and dense thickets of mulga. the last were most unpleasant to travel through; for as we wound our way, one walking ahead to break down the branches, the other leading the camels, and tommy following behind, every now and again the water-camel banged his precious load against a tree; and we walked with the constant risk of a dead branch ripping the canvas and letting out the water. on the second evening, in passing through a mallee scrub, we came on a small tract of "kopi country" (powdered gypsum). here were numerous old native tracks, and we could see where the mallee roots had been dragged up, broken into short pieces, presumably sucked or allowed to drain into some vessel, and stacked in little heaps. though we knew that the blacks do get water from the mallee roots, and though we were in a spot where it was clear they had done so perhaps a month before, yet our attempts at water-finding were futile. this kopi is peculiar soil to walk over; on the surface there is a hard crust--once through this, one sinks nearly to the knee; the camels of course, from their weight, go much lower. on the night of the rd, we gave tommy two gallons of water--not much of a drink, but enough to make him tackle the mulga, and spinifex-tops, the only available feed; none but west australian brumbies could live on such fare, and they will eat anything, like donkeys or goats. on the th there was no change, a few quondongs affording a meal for the camels. the next day we crossed more old native tracks and followed them for some time without any sign of water being near. more tracks the following day, fresher this time; but though doubtless there was water at the end of them, for several reasons we did not follow them far: first, they were leading south-west and we wished to go north; second, the quantity of mallee root heaps, suggested the possibility that the natives could obtain from them sufficient moisture to live upon. i think now that this is most unlikely, and that roots are only resorted to when travelling or in time of great need. however, at that time we were inclined to think it probable, and though we might have sucked roots in place of a drink of tea or water, such a source of supply was absolutely valueless to the camels and pony. on the th we sighted a hill dead ahead, which i named mount luck, and on the southern side a nice little plain of saltbush and grass--a pleasant and welcome change. mount luck is sheer on its south and east sides and slopes gradually to the north-west; it is of desert sandstone, and from its summit, nearly due east, can be seen an imposing flat-topped hill, which i named mount douglas, after my old friend and companion, to the north of this hill two quaint little pinnacles stand up above the scrub to a considerable height. poor tommy was now getting very weak and had to be dragged by the last camel. i had not ridden him since the second day from the spring; he was famished and worn to a skeleton. his allowance of two gallons a night had continued, which made a considerable hole in our supply, further diminished by the necessity of giving him damper to eat. poor little pony! it was a cruel sight to see him wandering from pack to pack in camp, poking his nose into every possible opening, and even butting us with his head as if to call attention to his dreadful state, which was only too apparent. "while there's life there's hope," and every day took us nearer to water--that is if we were to get any at all! so long as we could do so, we must take tommy with us, who might yet be saved. this, however, was not to be, for on the th we again encountered sand-ridges, running at right angles to our course, and these proved too hard for the poor brave brumby. about midday he at last gave in, and with glazed eyes and stiff limbs he fell to the ground. taking off the saddle he carried, i knelt by his head for a few minutes and could see there was no hope. poor, faithful friend! i felt like a murderer in doing it, but i knew it was the kindest thing--and finished his sufferings with a bullet. there on the ridge, his bones will lie for many a long day. brave tommy, whose rough and unkempt exterior covered a heart that any warhorse might have envied, had covered miles, without feed worth mentioning, and with only eleven gallons of water during that distance, a stage of nearly seven days' duration of very hard travelling indeed, with the weather pretty sultry, though the nights were cool. his death, however, was in favour of our water supply, which was not too abundant. so much had been lost by the bags knocking about on the saddle, by their own pressure against the side of the saddle, and by evaporation, that we had to content ourselves with a quart-potful between us morning and evening--by no means a handsome allowance. on the th, after travelling eight hours through scrubs, we were just about to camp when the shrill "coo-oo" of a black-fellow met our ears; and on looking round we were startled to see some half-dozen natives gazing at us. jenny chose at that moment to give forth the howl that only cow-camels can produce; this was too great a shock for the blacks, who stampeded pell-mell, leaving their spears and throwing-sticks behind them. we gave chase, and, after a spirited run, luck managed to stop a man. a stark-naked savage this, and devoid of all adornment excepting a waist-belt of plaited grass and a "sporran" of similar material. he was in great dread of the camels and not too sure of us. i gave him something to eat, and, by eating some of it myself, put him more at ease. after various futile attempts at conversation, in which luck displayed great knowledge of the black's tongue, as spoken a few hundred miles away near eucla, but which unfortunately was quite lost on this native, we at last succeeded in making our wants understood. "ingup," "ingup," he kept repeating, pointing with his chin to the north and again to the west. evidently "ingup" stood for water; for he presently took us to a small granite rock and pointed out a soak or rock-hole, we could not say which. whilst we stooped to examine the water-hole, our guide escaped into the scrub and was soon lost to view. near the rock we found his camp. a few branches leaning against a bush formed his house. in front a fire was burning, and near it a plucked bird lay ready for cooking. darkness overtook us before we could get to work on the rock-hole, so we turned into the blankets with a more satisfied feeling than we had done for some days past. during the night the blacks came round us. the camels, very tired, had lain down close by, and, quietly creeping to jenny, i slapped her nose, which awoke her with the desired result, viz., a loud roar. the sound of rapidly retreating feet was heard, and their owners troubled us no more. so sure were we of the supply in the granite that we gave the camels the few gallons that were left in our bags, and were much disgusted to find the next day that, far from being a soakage, the water was merely contained in a rock-hole, which had been filled in with sand and sticks. april th and may st were occupied in digging out the sand and collecting what water we could, a matter of five or six gallons. so bad was this water that the camels would not touch it; however, it made excellent bread, and passable tea. man, recognising necessity, is less fastidious than animals who look to their masters to supply them with the best, and cannot realise that in such cases "whatever is, is best." from a broken granite rock north-west of the rock-hole, we sighted numerous peaks to the north, and knew that mount shenton could not now be far away. to the east of the rock-hole is a very prominent bluff some fifteen miles distant; this i named mount fleming, after colonel fleming, then commandant of the west australian forces. may nd we reached the hills and rejoiced to find ourselves once more in decent country. numerous small, dry watercourses ran down from the hills, fringed with grass and bushes. in the open mulga, kangaroos' tracks were numerous, and in the hills we saw several small red kangaroos, dingoes, and emus. at first we found great difficulty in identifying any of the hills; but after much consultation and reference to the map we at last picked out mount shenton, and on reaching the hill knew that we were right, for we found wells' cairn of stones and the marks of his camp and camels. the next difficulty was in finding the soakage, as from a bad reproduction of wells' map it was impossible to determine whether the soak was at the foot of mount shenton or near another hill three miles away. it only remained to search both localities. our trouble was rewarded by the finding of an excellent little soakage, near the foot of a granite rock, visible due east, from the top of mount shenton, some two miles distant. here we had an abundant supply, and not before it was wanted. the camels had had no water with the exception of a mouthful apiece from the night of april st until the night of may rd, a period of twelve days, during which we had travelled nearly two hundred miles over very trying ground. the cool nights were greatly in their favour, and yet it was a good performance, more especially that at the end of it they were in pretty fair fettle. what a joy that water was to us! what a luxury a wash was! and clean clothes! really it's worth while being half famished and wholly filthy for a few days, that one may so thoroughly enjoy such delights afterwards! i know few feelings of satisfaction that approach those which one experiences on such occasions. our cup of joy was not yet full, for as we sat mending our torn clothes, two over-inquisitive emus approached. luckily a winchester was close to hand, and as they were starting to run i managed to bowl one over. wounded in the thigh he could yet go a great pace, but before long we caught up with him and despatched him with a blow on the head. what a feed we had! i suppose there is hardly a part of that bird, barring bones, feathers, and beak that did not find its way into our mouths during the next day or two! tinned meat is good, sometimes excellent; but when you find that a cunning storekeeper has palmed off all his minced mutton on you, you are apt to fancy tinned fare monotonous! such was our case; and no matter what the label, the contents were always the same--though we tried to differentiate in imagination, as we used to call it venison, beef, veal, or salmon, for variety's sake! "well, old chap, what shall we have for tea--calf's head? grouse? pheasant?" "hum! what about a little er--minced mutton--we've not had any for some time, i think." in this way we added relish to our meal. amongst the hills we saw numerous kangaroos, but could never get a shot. this must be a fine camp for natives. near the soak was a camp of quite a dozen blacks, but recently deserted. in fact we must have scared them away, for their fires were still smouldering. we spent three days in exploring the hills, but failed to see any auriferous indications, excepting in the immediate neighbourhood of mount shenton. we had therefore had our long tramp for nothing, and had to be content with knowing that we had tried our best and had at least proved the useless character of a large stretch of country. for this, however, one gets no thanks. on the th we moved to a rock-hole near mount grant, in the same range as mount shenton, and spent another day tramping the hills with no result. here again we were in luck, for a mob of thirteen emus came to drink whilst i was in the rock-hole. having seen them early that morning and knowing that they had had no drink, i felt sure they would return, and so had patiently waited, crouched in the rock hole, waist deep in water. this, perhaps, did not improve its flavour, but emu meat was worth procuring at the small cost of tainting the water with the taste of clothes. presently i heard the drumming of the approaching birds, and, cautiously looking up, found them attentively examining the bucket and pannikin, i had left on the rock. they made such a quaint, pretty picture that unless we had really wanted meat, i should not have disturbed them. had i been so inclined i could have shot several as they were bunched together within a few feet of me; one, however, was sufficient, and as he fell the rest streamed away up the slope with tremendous speed. this bird we cut into strips of meat which we dried in the sun. to celebrate this addition to our larder, we held a concert that night, and took it in turns to be the audience. luck had rather a good voice, and treated me to french songs; his favourite started, "j'ai souvent parcouru le monde, les forets et les grandes savannes----" this was always loudly applauded. my songs were not a great success--in fact an audience of one is all i can manage, that is if i am stronger, or fleeter of foot than he is. luck was polite enough to say he enjoyed my rendering of "the scottish cavalier." then we used to read aloud to each other by the light of the camp-fire. i did most of the reading, for my mate's english was not as clear as it might have been. athletic sports, too, we used to indulge in, feats of strength, and so forth, in most of which luck was too good for me, but i always beat him at cock-fighting, which was rather a sore point. in fact, considering that we were alone and had been so for many weeks, and were a long way into the interior, "outside the tracks" by a good many score of miles, we managed to be fairly cheerful on the whole. i do not like writing about my companion's crotchets, because it seems unfair, since one's own shortcomings never find the light unless the other man writes a book too. by freely conceding that sometimes i must have been a horrible nuisance to him, i feel absolved in this matter. when luck used to get sulky fits, he really was most trying; for two or three days he wouldn't speak, and for want of company i used to talk to the camels; at the end of that time, when i saw signs of recovery, i used to address him thus, "well, bismarck, what's it all about?" then he would tell me how i had agreed to bake a damper, and had gone off and done something else, leaving him to do it, or some such trivial complaint. after telling me about it, he would regain his usual cheerfulness. "bismarck" was a sure draw, and made him so angry that he had to laugh as the only way out of it without fighting someone. luck, you see, was from alsace, and did not care about the germans. chapter iii from mount shenton to mount margaret but to continue our journey. we left mount grant on may th, travelling south-west, and once away from the hills came again into sand and spinifex. from absence of feed we tied the camels down two nights running. the second night we had a visit from a native gentleman, and by his tracks in the morning we saw that he had been quite close to our heads at one time. on the th a great change occurred in the country, and on passing through a thicket, we found a great wall of rock (decomposed granite) barring further progress. following along the wall we came upon a gap, and, entering, reached a nice little plain of saltbush, surrounded by rocks and cliffs. this remarkable gap in the apparently extensive wall of rock we christened the "desert's gate," for we hourly expected to see better country. the next day we cut some recent horse tracks, the first signs of prospectors we had seen since april th, and following them back, hoping for water, came to an empty rock-hole amongst some rough hills of black slate, and in places, blows of quartz. no colours of gold could be found, nor signs of water, to induce us to stay longer prospecting. on the th we crossed a narrow salt lake and bade adieu to the sand and spinifex. to commemorate this longed-for day, we afterwards composed numerous poems(?) illustrating our daily life in the desert. the one considered by us the best, i beg to submit to the indulgent reader. spinifex and sand. i will sing you a lay of w.a. of a wanderer, travelled and tanned by the sun's fierce ray, through the livelong day in the spinifex and sand. at the day's first dawn, in earliest morn, as a soldier obeys a command, from his blanket he's torn, still weary and worn, by the spinifex and sand. unrested still, he must put on the billy, and eat of the meat that is canned, he must take his full fill, he must face willy-nilly the spinifex and the sand. then he gets on the tracks and sights the arched backs of his camels of true south aus. brand, and with saddle and sack he must hasten to pack for the spinifex and sand. from the start until night, till he's sick of the sight, there seem to dance hand in hand a lady so bright, and a green-armoured knight, the spinifex and the sand. he turns to his mate with "it gets a bit late," his mate, he just answers offhand-- "it's the same soon or late, we'll camp 't any rate in the spinifex and sand." as the night drags along, a weird-looking throng fills his dreams of a far-off land, and a voice loud and strong chants the same ceaseless song, of the spinifex and the sand. since this is one of the few attempts at rhyming that i have been guilty of, i hope i may be excused for wishing to see it in print, for at the time i was exceedingly proud of the composition. ah! well, it served to pass the time and afforded some amusement. soon we had other matters to think about, for on the th we found ourselves on the outskirts of auriferous country and were lucky in reaching plenty of water. being lightly loaded we had made good marches, covering miles from the last water on may th, an average of twenty and a half miles per day. from the th to the st we camped surrounded by hills, any one of which might contain gold if only we could find it. unremitting labours resulted in nothing but a few colours here and there. we were now thirty miles to the north-west of mount margaret (discovered and named by forrest in , who on that journey reached a point some sixty miles further east than that hill), and though we were the first, so far as i know, to prospect this particular part of the district, it was reserved for subsequent fossickers to find anything worth having. wandering about, pick in hand, one day i put up several turkeys from the grass surrounding some granite rocks, and shortly after found their watering-place, a nice little pool. the next day whilst luck prospected i returned to the pool with a gun, and, building a hide of bushes, waited all day. towards evening two fine emus came stalking along, and i shot one. by the time i had him skinned and the legs cut off it was dark. a most deceptive bird is an emu, for in reality he has but little meat on his body. the legs, that is the thighs, are the only parts worth taking, so shouldering these i started for camp a couple of miles off. it was pretty late when i got back, and found luck ringing a camel-bell violently and frequently. he had been a bit anxious at my long absence, and had taken a bell off one of the camels to guide me in case i was "bushed." a party of two is too small for a journey that takes them far from settlements for if anything happens to one, the other has little chance by himself. the man left in camp does not know what to do--if he goes far from home, there is the danger of the camp being robbed by natives, therefore he hesitates to go in search of his mate, who possibly is in sore need of help from an accident, or bushed, or speared--so many things might happen. if one broke a limb, as he easily might, what could his mate do? nothing. if in waterless country he would have to leave him, or kill him, or die with him. though luck and i were spared any catastrophes, we often thought of such things, and therefore felt anxious when either was away for long. on the nd we were surprised at cutting a freshly made dray-track, along which it was clear that many had passed--and the next day arrived at the red flag, an alluvial rush that had "set in" during our sojourn in the sand. this came as a great surprise, as we had no idea that gold had been found so far afield. this camp, some twelve miles north-east of mount margaret, consisted then of only forty or fifty men, though others were daily arriving. these were the first white men we had seen for seven weeks, and they were greatly astonished to see us, when they learnt what direction we had come from. here were gathered together men from coolgardie and murchison, attracted by the tales of wealth brought by the first prospectors of the new rush. some of them had been longer away from civilisation than we had, and many arguments were held as to the correct date. of course i knew, because i kept a diary; but the queen's birthday was celebrated by us on the wrong day after all, for i had given april thirty-one days! we heard that hundreds had started for the rush, but this camp represented all who had persevered, the rest being scared at the distance. this reads funnily now when mount margaret is as civilised as coolgardie was then, and is connected by telegraph, and possibly will be soon boasting of a railway. the blacks had been very troublesome, "sticking up" swagmen, robbing camps, spearing horses, and the like. it is popularly supposed that every case of violence on the part of the natives, may be traced to the brutal white man's interference in their family arrangements. no doubt it does happen that by coming between man and wife a white man stirs up the tribe, and violence results, but in the majority of cases that i know of, the poor black-fellow has recklessly speared, wounding and killing, prospectors' horses, because he wanted food or amusement. a man does not travel his packhorses into the bush for the philanthropic purpose of feeding the aboriginals, and naturally resents his losses and prevents their recurrence in a practical way. as a matter of fact, the black population was so small, that even had every individual of it been shot, the total would not have reached by a long way the indiscriminate slaughter that was supposed to go on in the bush. the people who used to hold their hands up in horror--righteous horror had the tales been true--at the awful cruelties perpetrated by the prospectors, based their opinions on the foolish "gassing" of a certain style of man who thinks to make himself a hero by recounting dark deeds of blood, wholly imaginary. i remember reading a letter to a friend from his mother, in which she begged him to take no part in the "nigger hunting excursions" that she had heard went on in western australia. poor lady! she need not have disturbed herself, for such things never existed, nor had her boy ever seen a black-fellow, except round the slaughter-yards of coolgardie! no luck attended our search in the mount margaret district, and we shared the opinion of everybody there that it was a "duffer," and after events had proved what that opinion was worth. travelling and prospecting as we went, we at last succeeded in finding a reef which we thought was worth having. may th. we made camp amongst some auriferous hills in what is now known as the niagara district, and within a few miles of a spot where, subsequently, a rich find of gold was made. since the natives were known to be troublesome in this locality, we adopted the plan of one stopping in camp whilst the other prospected. formerly we had considered it safe for the one at home to be within reasonable distance of camp, but now, when semi-civilised natives were prowling about, it was unwise to leave the camp at all. luck found gold first, but in so small a vein of quartz that we did not consider it worth working. the next day, however, we "got colours" in a fine big reef, and, moving our belongings to its vicinity, started prospecting the outcrop. everywhere we tried we found gold sprinkled through the stone like pepper, and by "dollying" obtained good results. satisfied with the prospect, the next thing to be done was to cross-cut the reef to ascertain its thickness and character below the surface. fortunately water was close to hand, that is to say three miles away, in a creek since named "dingo creek." from there we packed water back to camp, as often as we required it. our luck in securing game had now deserted us, and we had again to fall back on our nearly diminished stock of mince. after a week's hard work we found that with our limited supply of tools, without drills and dynamite, it was impossible to do any farther sinking; besides which the low tide in our provisions necessitated a return to civilisation before many days. i pegged out, therefore, an area of four hundred yards by four hundred yards, as a "protection area"; that is to say, that the fact of four corner-pegs and a notice having been put up in some prominent place protects the ground from being taken by any one else for a period of thirty days. after that time has elapsed the area must be applied for at the nearest warden's office, where, unless disputed, it is registered under the name of the applicant, who must at once commence work upon it. when such work proves the existence of "payable gold" the area must be again applied for as a lease, to hold which the sum of pound per acre, per annum, must be paid to the government. there are other conditions with which it is necessary to conform, and which need not be enumerated here. since we had ample time to go and return from coolgardie within the prescribed period, we decided that in place of travelling direct homewards, we would make a detour and visit the locality of mount ida, where we had heard gold had been found. by rapid travelling our "tucker" could be made to last out the time. winter was now coming on, and the nights were bitterly cold. our blankets in the morning were soaked with dew and frost, and when the days were cloudy and sometimes drizzly we had no chance of drying them until we built a fire at night. one is so used to reading of the terrible heat in australia that it may come as a surprise to many to hear that in the short winter in the interior--which, by the way, is , feet above sea level--the thermometer sometimes sinks for a brief period of time to degrees f. this low temperature is reached about an hour before daylight, as you know to your cost, if you are ill-provided with blankets. at that time in the morning your head is drawn into the possum rug, and you lie stiff and shivering until you hear the indescribable something--that heralds the coming of the sun. it may be a camel moving, as he shakes the frost from his woolly coat, it may be a bird, or a grasshopper, but always there is some little noise that would tell even a blind man that the night is over. often you know by the stars how long it will be before daylight, and stir up the fire, put on the billy, and get the saddles and packs in order. sometimes you fix on the wrong star, and are thanked accordingly by your mate when, with his feet in his cold, clammy boots, he discovers that his watch reads a.m. sometimes you have the satisfaction of growling at him, and occasionally, if you feel in very nasty humour, you may lie "dog-oh" and watch his early rising, knowing full well the right time; laughter, however, gives you away, and you are justly rewarded by having the blankets torn off you. such simple pranks as these make bearable a life that would otherwise suffocate you with its monotony. and yet there is a charm about the bush--the perfect peace in the "free air of god"--that so takes hold of some men that they can never be happy anywhere else. civilisation is a fine thing in its way, but the petty worries and annoyances, the bustle and excitement, the crowds of people, the "you can't do this," and "you must do that," the necessity for dressing in most uncomfortable garments to be like other people, and a thousand other such matters, so distress a bushman, who, like a caged beast in a menagerie, wanders from corner to corner and cannot find where to rest, that he longs for the day that he will again be on the track, with all his worldly goods with him and the wide world before him. such a man in the bush and in the town is as different as a fish in and out of water. some of the finest fellows "outside the tracks" are the least respectable in civilised places, where before long they can find no better occupation than drinking, which, owing to months of teetotalism in the bush, they are less able to stand than the ordinary individual who takes his beer or spirits daily. and thus it is that bushmen very often get the name of being loafers and drunkards, though on the aggregate they consume far less liquor than our most respected citizens in the towns. the sudden change in surroundings, good food, and the number of fellow-creatures, the noise of traffic, and want of exercise--all these combined are apt to affect a man's head, even when unaided by the constant flow of liquor with which a popular bushman is deluged--a deluge hard to resist in a country where to refuse a drink amounts to an insult. a plan recommended by some is to "please 'em all by one jolly good spree, and then knock off and drink with nobody." a man only gives offence who discriminates in his entertainers. i fear i have wandered far from the subject of our journey, for luck and i had some time yet before us until the joys and troubles of civilised life should be ours. the daily routine of travel was varied occasionally by incidents of no great moment; for instance, when riding through the scrub, omerod, a rather clumsy old camel, tripped and fell, pinning me beneath him, without injury to either of us; for a water bag acted as a buffer between my leg and the saddle, and by the time all the water was squeezed out of it, luck had the saddle off, and i was extricated. certainly some camels are hard to put out or fluster; such a one was omerod, who lay without a kick until relieved of his saddle, when he rose and at once proceeded to feed on the scrub. later, we had another instance of his stolidity; that was when crossing a salt lake. jenny was light and escaped bogging; not so omerod, who sank as far as his legs would allow, and there waited calmly until we had unpacked the loads, carried them across the lake, and returned to help shimsha, who struggled violently in the sticky clay. when he was safely taken across to an island on which we sought refuge, omerod was attended to. there he lay, half buried in salt mud, chewing his cud unconcernedly; either he had perfect confidence in us, or was indifferent as to his fate--he looked rather as if he were saying "kismet." we had some trouble in digging him out, during which operation luck fared as i had done before; he was pinned beneath the camel, waist deep in clay, and in that position had to emulate the stolid patience of omerod until i could dig him out. at last they were both free, and after considerable labour we landed on the island, camels, baggage, and all, just as night fell. we were cold too, clothes and arms and faces covered with moist salt clay, and nothing with which to make a fire but sprigs of dead samphire. a cold night means an early start--so we were up betimes and found that the camels, not tied, since we thought them safe on an island, had in search of feed hobbled across the lake, and were standing disconsolate on this sea of mud, afraid to move now that in daylight they could see their surroundings. a repetition of the preceding day's performance, landed us beyond the treacherous lake-bed, and the following day we were fortunate in finding a fine rock-hole of water, which enabled us to reappear as white men. mirages are nearly always to be seen on these lakes of the interior, and from their occurrence it is impossible to determine the extent of the flat expanse of mud. on this occasion i witnessed the finest i have ever seen. the hot sun playing upon the damp breeze rising from the lake, transformed this desolate sea of salt and clay, into a charming picture. the horizon and the sky were joined by a mirage of beautiful clear water, from which islands and hills seemed to rise; even their shadows and those of the trees with which they were clothed were reflected in the unruffled surface of the lake. the long stretch of sand between, gave the picture the appearance of a peaceful, natural harbour, which the tide was about to fill. we were unable to pay more than a flying visit to mount ida, but sufficiently long to assure us of the auriferous character of its neighbourhood. it is quite an imposing hill, rough, dark, and rugged, and formed as if layers of black slate had been thrown violently against each other. it rises some five hundred feet above the surrounding country. we needed all our time to reach siberia, before our provisions gave out. there we arrived in due course, passing close, on our way, to the hills near which menzies afterwards made his great "find." at siberia a government survey party, under messrs. newman and brazier, was camped, preparatory to running a line to connect coolgardie and the murchison. bidding them adieu, we took the road to coolgardie, and arrived there on june nd after an absence of exactly ninety days, having travelled miles. the result of the journey to ourselves was nil, for the company considered that the reef we had found was too far off, and took no further steps to develop it. it was afterwards under offer for , pounds in cash and shares, though whether the deal came off or not, or what the mine was worth, i am not aware. the company's representative in coolgardie welcomed us with great hospitality, and invited us to tea at his camp. here he produced whisky, and what he told us he considered the very best of tinned meats. "so help me never, it's minced mutton!" shouted poor luck, as the tin was opened--a little joke that has never been forgotten. it is a rather novel sensation to find that you are dead; and this was our experience, for the papers had killed us some time since--our bones had been seen bleaching in the sun, and all that sort of thing. unfortunately our death was not certain enough to warrant any obituary notices, which might have been interesting reading. on our return to perth, the manager of the company for which we had worked, who had arrived in our absence, far from thanking us for having tried our best, asked why we went into a d----d desert to look for gold! this we considered a little mean, seeing that a great part of the country we had traversed had been hitherto unexplored. however, one doesn't look for thanks from a mining company. so our journey was finished--a journey that i shall never look back upon with regret, but with pleasure, for luck was a fine fellow and the best of mates; and at least we had the satisfaction of knowing that if we had been unsuccessful, it was not for the want of trying. part iii second prospecting expedition chapter i the joys of portable condensers november , , was a red-letter day in the history of coolgardie, for on that date the foundation-stone of the first brick building was laid by mr. james shaw, the mayor. under the stone was deposited a specimen of each coin of the realm, and these, by the way, were purloined in the night. this great day was made the occasion for feasting and jubilation, the feasting taking the not uncommon form of a gigantic "champagne spree," to which the whole town was invited. when once a wave of inebriety swept over the settlement, something a little out of the ordinary was likely to occur. fights and rows would be started with the most bloodthirsty intentions, only to end in peace and harmony after the swearing of eternal friendships. a good fight in coolgardie in those days would attract as much attention as a cab accident in the streets of london. the well-known cry of "a fight! a fight!" would bring the greater part of the population from their dwellings--from stores, banks, offices, bars, an excited and rushing crowd would hurry to the scene of the fray, all eager to witness a good row; they were not, as a rule, disappointed, for, as one fight usually breeds several, a fair afternoon's or morning's entertainment could be safely counted on. a mining community must have excitement; even a dog-fight would command a considerable amount of interest. on the celebrated night of the laying of the foundation stone i had the pleasure of witnessing a rough-and-tumble fight between two of the most powerful men in coolgardie. the excitement was intense as one seized his antagonist, and, using him as a flail, proceeded to clear the room with him; he retaliated by overpowering the other man, and finally breaking his leg as they fell heavily together out through the door on to the hard street beyond. how much ill-feeling this little incident engendered may be judged from the fact that the maimed man was employed by his late adversary as clerk until his limb mended, and subsequently held the billet for many months. it was my misfortune to be engaged in organising a prospecting expedition at this time--misfortune, because of the impossibility of getting any one to attend to business. camels had to be bought, and provisions and equipment attended to. a syndicate had engaged my services and those of my two companions whom i had chosen in perth: jim conley, a fine, sturdy american from kentucky, the one; and paddy egan, an irish-victorian, the other. both had been some time on the fields, and conley had had previous experience in south africa and on the yukon, where he had negotiated the now famous chilcoot pass without realising that it was the tremendous feat that present-day travellers represent it to be. there are few men more entertaining than diggers, when one can get them to talk; there is hardly a corner of the habitable globe to which they have not penetrated. round a camp-fire one will hear tales of africa, new guinea, new zealand, australia, america from alaska to the horn, madagascar, and other strange countries that would be a mine of information to a writer of books of adventure--tales told in the main with truth and accuracy, and in the quiet, unostentatious manner of the habitual digger to whom poverty, riches, and hardships come all in their turn as a matter of course. having chosen my mates, the next thing to be done was to procure beasts of burden. of numerous camels submitted for inspection i took three, which were subsequently christened "czar," "satan," and "misery" respectively; the first from his noble and king-like mien, the second from his wild and exceedingly unpleasant habit of kicking and striking--habits due not to vice but to the nervousness of youth--and the third from his plaintive remonstrances and sad-eyed looks of reproach as his saddle and load were placed on his back. the price of a good pack-camel then varied from pounds to pounds--and such prices as pounds to pounds were given for first-class riding-camels. for south australian-bred camels, the descendants of stock originally imported from india by sir thomas elder some thirty years ago, a higher price was asked than for those brought into the colony direct from kurrachi; and rightly, for there can be no doubt but that in size, strength, and endurance, the camel of australian birth is far ahead of his old-world cousin. not only are indian camels smaller and less fitted for the heavy work of the interior, but their liability, until acclimatised, to mange and other diseases makes them most undesirable acquisitions. the near approach of midsummer, and the known scarcity of water, had induced me to include in my equipment a portable condenser, by means of which we should convert the brine of the salt lakes into water fit to drink. it seemed an excellent plan and so simple, for lakes abound--on the maps; and wherever a lake is, there, by digging, will water be found, and thus we should be independent of rock-holes and other precarious sources of supply. plans so simple on paper do not always "pan out" as confidently expected and a more odious job, or one which entailed more hard work, than prospecting with condensers i have not had to undertake. "prospecting" is generally taken to mean searching for gold. in western australia in the hot weather it resolves itself into a continual battle for water, with the very unlikely contingency that, in the hunt for a drink, one may fall up against a nugget of gold or a gold-bearing quartz reef. on november th we made a start from coolgardie, and, travelling along the twenty-five mile road for some fifteen miles, we branched off in an easterly direction, to try some country where i had previously found "colours" of gold, when journeying from kurnalpi to the twenty-five mile. finding that in the meantime others had been there and pegged out leases and claims, we passed on and set up our condensers on the "wind and water" lake, and began to get an inkling that our job was not to be of the pleasantest. more than one hole six to fifteen feet deep had to be sunk before we struck any water. to lessen the labour we at first dug our shafts near the margin of the lake; this proving unsuccessful we were forced further and further out, until our efforts were rewarded by a plentiful supply, but alas! some three hundred yards from the shore. this necessitated the carrying of wood from the margin of the lake to the condensers. the boilers required constant attention day and night, the fires had to be stoked, and the water stored as it slowly trickled from the cooling tray. thus the duties of the twenty-four hours consisted in chopping and carrying wood, watching the condensers, attending to the camels, occasionally sleeping and eating, and prospecting for gold in spare time. i think my readers will readily understand that it was hard indeed to find much time to devote to the proper object of the expedition, however willing we were to do so. there were one or two others engaged on the same job at that lake, and from one party czar sneaked a cheap drink by thrusting his head through the opening in the lid of a large two-hundred-gallon tank. his peculiar position was specially adapted to the administration of a sound beating, nor did the infuriated owner of the water fail to take advantage of the situation. with our tanks filled and our camels watered, we set forth from the lake on november st, having prospected what country there was in its immediate neighbourhood. the heat was intense, and walking, out of training as we were, was dry work; our iron casks being new, gave a most unpleasant zinc taste to the water, which made us all feel sick. unpleasant as this was, yet it served the useful purpose of checking the consumption of water. our route lay past the "broad arrow" to a hill that i took to be mount yule, and from there almost due east to giles' pinnacles. our camels were most troublesome; young, nervous, and unused to us or to each other, they would wander miles during the night, and give two of us a walk of three or four miles in the morning; before the day's work began. two were not content with merely wandering, but persisted in going in one direction, the third in another. one morning conley and egan were following their tracks each in a different quarter. i meanwhile climbed a neighbouring hill to spy out the land ahead, hoping to see the white glitter of a salt lake, for we were in likely country, ironstone blows, quartz, and diorite giving evidence of its probable auriferous nature; we were therefore anxious to find water to enable us to test it. on return to camp, after an absence of not more than half an hour, i was astonished to see it surrounded by the tracks of numerous "black-fellows." i guessed they had paid us a visit for no good purpose, and was hardly surprised when i found that they had not only stolen all our flour, but added insult to injury by scattering it about the ground. not daring to leave the camp, lest in my absence they should return and take all our provisions, i was unable to follow the thieves, and had to wait in patience the return of the camels. so far had they wandered in their hobbles, that by the time we were ready to start the blacks must have gained too great an advantage in distance to make it worth our while to follow them; nor, since they started off in the direction from which we had come, was it any use tracking them with the hope of getting water. so we pushed on eastwards, through open forest of gums, scrubs, and thickets, broken by occasional small plains of saltbush, seeing no signs of water or lake, when presently we entered a belt of sandy desert--rolling sandhills, spinifex-clad, with occasional thickets of mulga and mallee. monotonous work it was, dragging the wretched camels for eight to ten hours at a stretch, inciting them to fresh exertions by curses and beatings, kindness and caresses, in turn. in some respects a camel resembles a bullock; not only does he chew his cud, but he loves to be sworn at; no self-respecting ox will do an ounce of work until his driver has flung over him a cloud of the most lurid and hair-raising language. now, a camel draws the line at blasphemy, but rejoices in the ordinary oaths and swear-words of every-day life in much the same way as a retriever. there is no animal more susceptible to kindness than a camel; but in a sandy sea of scrub with the blazing sun almost boiling the water, milk-like from zinc, in the tanks, loads dragged this way and that, boilers and pipes of condensers rolling, now forward, now back, eventually to slip clattering down, bearing camel and all to the ground--with these and other trials kindness was not in us. soon after sunset on the th, from the branches of a high gum tree we sighted the pinnacles almost dead on our course; and late that night we reached the lake, and found to our joy a condenser already established, by means of which two men earned a precarious livelihood by selling water to travellers--for these lakes were on the direct track from kurnalpi to the mount margaret district. thus enabled to assuage the seven days' thirst of the camels forthwith, at the cost of a shilling per gallon, we lost no time in setting up our own plant, and were fortunate in finding water and wood easy of access. the next four days were spent in prospecting the surrounding country, but no gold rewarded our efforts, though numerous reefs and blows of quartz were to be seen in the hills which the lake nearly surrounds. whilst camped here, i took the opportunity of breaking in satan as a riding-camel, and found him at first a most untameable customer, trying all sorts of dodges to get the better of me. twisting round his neck he would grab at my leg; then, rolling, he would unseat and endeavour to roll on me; finally tiring of these tricks he would gallop off at full speed, and run my leg against a tree, or do his best to sweep me off by an overhanging branch, until i felt satisfied that he had been rightly named. at last he realised that i was master, and after that i hardly remember one occasion on which he gave any trouble; for the three years that i afterwards possessed him, we were the best of friends, and he the most gentle and biddable of beasts. alas! that i should have had to end his days with a bullet, and leave his bones to be picked by the dingoes of the great sandy desert. failing to find any gold, and being in need of flour, we made south to kurnalpi, through country flat and uninteresting, and arrived at that camp just in time to secure the last two bags of flour. the town was almost deserted, and had none of the lively and busy appearance that it presented when i had last seen it. all who saw us praised our equipment and forethought in having portable condensers. i am not quite sure that we agreed with them. hearing that some promising country existed near lake roe, i decided to make for that place, and more particularly for a small rock-hole named beri, at the west end of the lake. very rough, stony hills covered with dense scrub surround kurnalpi on the south; once across these, flat, open country of saltbush and samphire, rapidly changing into salt-swamp, made travelling easy; passing over another low range of diorite, from which we got an extensive view of lake lapage to the west and lake roe to the east, we reached beri, hitting off the rock with so much accuracy that even paddy egan was surprised into praise of the compass. for some bushmen, be it known, can neither understand nor appreciate the use of a compass, and, being quite capable of finding their way back, are content to wander forth into the bush with no guide but the sun, taking no notes of the country, no record of their day's march, and making no observations to help either themselves or anybody else; unable to say where they have been, how they got there, or how they got home again. some men have a natural instinct for direction, and i know some who could start, say from coolgardie, to ride seventy miles east and return, then perhaps sixty to the north, and from that point ride across to their seventy-mile point with great ease and certainty, having no notion of the distance or point of the compass. a good many prospectors, depending on their black-boys almost entirely, wander from one range of hills to another, dodge here and there for water, keep no count or reckoning, and only return by the help of their guide when the "tucker-bags" are empty; others make a practice of standing two sticks in the ground on camping at night, to remind them of the course they have travelled during the day and must resume in the morning. to such men as these a map or compass is useless and therefore of no value; and yet they are often spoken of by the ignorant as "best bushmen in australia." in my time i have seen and mixed with most prospectors in the west, and as far as my experience goes the best bushmen not only use the compass, but keep a reckoning, rough though it may be, of their day's travel. such a man is billy frost, to quote a well-known name on the goldfields, a man who has had no chance to learn any of the rudiments of surveying, and who started life as a boundary rider on a cattle station. he has shown me a note-book in which he has jotted down directions and distances from water. in mountainous country where landmarks are numerous the traveller may manage it; but no man could travel for any length of time without keeping some sort of reckoning, in a flat country like the interior of western australia, where for days together one sees no hill or rise, without before long becoming hopelessly lost. paddy egan had been content to travel in this haphazard way, and it was long before he would acknowledge the benefits of a compass and map. that he could travel straight there was no gainsaying, for if, as i sometimes did, i pointed out our line and sent him ahead, he would go as straight as a die, with now and then a glance at the sun, and a slight alteration in his course to allow for its altered position, and require but little correction. indeed, even when using a compass, one instinctively pays as much and more attention to the sun or the stars, as the case may be. the rock-hole at beri was dry, so we pushed on for lake roe, and, though we worked sinking holes until past midnight, and nearly the whole of the next day, we were unable to find water. it was only salt water we expected, but a stiff pipeclay, continuing to a depth too great for our limited means of sinking, baffled all our efforts. i followed the lake some six miles to the eastward, carrying a shovel and digging trial holes at intervals, but this pipeclay foiled me everywhere. i do not know how far this lake runs east, and fancy its limits have never been laid down on the map; not that there is anything sufficiently inviting in its appearance--the usual flat expanse of mud, with banks of sand fringed with low straggling mallee and spinifex--to warrant further investigation. lake roe having failed us, we turned on our tracks for the nearest point of lake lapage, some nine miles distant. here we were more fortunate, and obtained a splendid supply of salt water at a depth of only three feet. timber was not easily got--that would have been too much joy! it had to be carried nearly half a mile on our shoulders, for the camels, having travelled all day, deserved a rest. the condensers worked well, now that we had had some experience, and produced water at the rate of four gallons an hour. with our casks replenished and our camels filled, leaving the condenser standing, we turned south to some hills that were visible; we intended to be absent for four days, at the end of which the camels would again require water, as the weather was exceedingly hot. nothing of interest was met with until we came upon a huge wall-like reef, standing some fifteen or twenty feet above the ground, from ten to twenty feet wide, and running almost due north and south for nearly five miles, without a break of appreciable extent, as we subsequently found. breaking the quartz at intervals, hoping at each blow of the pick to see the longed-for colours, we followed this curious natural wall, and finally camped, sheltered by it from the wind. a violent storm of dust, wind, thunder, and lightning swept over us that night, tearing the "fly" we had pitched, in the vain expectation of rain, into ribbons. leaving the others to continue prospecting, i turned my steps, or rather those of satan, whom i was riding, towards cowarna, a large granite rock, some fourteen miles distant, and due south from our camp, if i had reckoned our position on the map correctly. twelve miles of open forest, alternating with scrubby thickets, brought me to the edge of a fine little plain of saltbush and grass, from the centre of which a bare rock of granite stood out. arrived at the rock, i hunted long and diligently for water. numerous rock-holes were to be seen, but all were dry, and my hopes of making this our base from which to prospect in various directions were at first short-lived; but before long i was overjoyed to hear the twittering of a little flock of diamond sparrows--a nearly certain sign that water must be handy; and sure enough i found their supply at the bottom of a narrow, round hole, down which i could just stretch my arm. chapter ii granite rocks, "namma holes," and "soaks" at this point it may not be amiss to give a short description of these peculiar outcrops of granite, without which the track from york to coolgardie could never have been kept open, nor the place discovered, nor could its early inhabitants have supported life before the condensing plant came into general use. the interior of the colony, between the coast and a point some hundred miles east of coolgardie, is traversed by parallel belts of granite, running in a general direction of north-north-west and south-south-east. this granite crops out above the surface, at intervals of from ten to twenty or thirty miles, sometimes in the form of an isolated barren rock, and sometimes as low ranges and hills several miles in extent. from them small creeks, and sometimes larger watercourses, run down, to find their way into the stony and gravelly debris which usually surrounds the rocks. much of what little rain does fall is absorbed by the trees and scrub, and much is taken by the sun's heat, so that a very small proportion can sink below the surface soil, and only when there is some underground basin in the rock beneath will water be found by sinking, except immediately after rain. round the granite base a belt of grass of no great extent may be found, for the most part dry and yellow, but in places green and fresh. it is in such spots as these that one may hope to tap an underground reservoir in the rock. to these shallow wells has been given the name of "soaks." they seldom exceed fifteen feet in depth, though similar subterranean basins have been tapped by a well perhaps a hundred feet deep, sunk some distance from the foot of the outcrop. a good soak will stand a heavy drain for perhaps months, but not having its origin in a spring the supply ultimately ceases. the soil, being alluvial, is in most cases easy to dig, and when the bed rock is reached it becomes an open question whether to go deeper into the decomposed rock or to be content with what supply has been struck. many a good soak has been ruined by a too ambitious worker, who, after infinite toil, may see his priceless fluid disappear down some hidden crack beneath. native soaks dug out with sticks and wooden "coolimans"--small troughs used as spades or as a means of carrying seeds, water, or game--are by no means uncommon, and, when holding water, are easily made more serviceable by throwing out a few shovelsful of sticks, stones, and sand, with which they are generally choked. often the weary traveller has no such lucky help, and must set to work to dig a soak for himself and his thirsty beasts--against time, too, in a blazing sun, without the comforting knowledge that there is any certainty of finding water. i do not know of any case when a party has actually perished at the mouth of a waterless soak, but in many instances water has been struck when all hope had been given up. the skeletons and carcasses of camels and horses tell a tale of suffering that no man who has travelled can look at unmoved, and go to show that many a beast of burden has been less fortunate than his masters. with what eager anxiety the shovelsful are watched, when the expected "bottom" is nearly reached, by man and beast alike, who, utterly weary and absolutely parched, know that they are soon to learn their fate. the horses snort and plunge in eager and impatient expectation, whilst the patient camel contents himself with grunts and moans, though, as his knees are probably strapped beneath him, he cannot protest more forcibly. at length, perhaps, all are rewarded by the welcome sight of a tiny trickle in one corner, or perhaps the hole turns out a "duffer," and the weary, weary work must be commenced again in a fresh spot. in many cases these granite rocks have been utilised as a catchment area for tanks, into which the water is led by drains, which encircle the foot of the outcrop. before the railway was built, such tanks, sunk by government along the southern cross-coolgardie track, enabled teamsters to bring their horses through with safety, which would otherwise have been impossible at some seasons of the year. i append a table showing cost and contents of government tanks excavated at the base of granite rocks between southern cross and coolgardie:-- name of reservoir. cost (pounds). contents in cost per million gallons. gallons (pounds). reen's soak , , , kararawalgee , , , , boorabbin , , , woolgangee , , , bullabulling , , , , coolgardie (no, ) , , , coolgardie (no. ) , , , , halgoorlie (half-way) , , , kalgoorlie... , , , twenty-five mile tank , , , forty mile tank , , , colreavy's tank , , , the above table will give some idea of the enormous expense entailed by the opening up of the interior. in addition to these, wells and bores were put down, many of which failed to strike water. ever-thoughtful nature has provided, on the surface of the "granites," small reservoirs which, after rain, may, in some cases, hold many hundred gallons of water. the rock--or namma-holes (i presume "namma" is a native name, but of this i am uncertain) are usually more or less conical in shape, and vary in depth from a few inches to twenty feet, and in diameter from half a foot to several. their sides are smooth, and slope down to a rounded bottom, where stones are often found which would suggest that they have had something to do with the formation of these peculiar holes. beneath a hard surface layer the rock becomes decomposed and comparatively soft; and doubtless the rain of countless ages collecting round the stones, once on the surface and now found at the bottom of the holes, has at length weathered away the rock, and so by slow degrees the stone has ground out an ever-increasing hollow. i am neither geologist nor dentist, but i have often likened in my mind the formation of the namma-holes to the gradual hollow formed by decay in a tooth. whatever their history, their use is unquestionable--not so the flavour of their contents; for every bird or beast coming to water will leave some traces behind, and the natives, to prevent evaporation, throw in sticks, stones, and grass. such a collection of rubbish and filth might naturally be supposed to render the water unhealthy, but apparently this is not the case, for we have often been forced to drink water, which, in civilisation would be thought only fit to be used as manure for the garden, without any injury to health or digestion. patient search over the whole surface of the rock is the usual method for finding rock-holes, though sometimes the pads of wallabies, kangaroos, or emus, may serve as a guide to them, but game is so scarce that a man must usually trust to his own observation. sometimes their existence may be detected from a distance by the patch of rock round the mouth showing white, owing to its being worn by the feet of birds and animals. a typical rock was the high, barren "cowarna," and one that after rain would store in its depressions a plentiful supply of the life-giving water. thankful for small mercies, i made the best of a bad job, and, having no dish or bucket from which to give satan a drink, i was obliged to make him lie down close to the narrow hole, whilst into his willing throat i poured the water which at arm's length i scooped up with my quart pot. this tedious process finished, i still had a potful at my disposal, so, taking a long drink myself, i stripped off my clothes and indulged in a shower bath, not a luxurious bathe certainly, and a larger supply would have been acceptable, but every little helps, and even a few drops of fresh water have a pleasant effect on one's body made sticky by the salt of the water from the lakes, and serve to remind the traveller that he has once been clean. leaving the rock at sundown i travelled well into the night, for progress was slow through the scrub and trees in the darkness, but little relieved by the light of a waning moon. feeling sure that i had gone far enough, i was preparing to rest awhile and find our camp in the morning, when the welcome glow of a fire shot up through the branches. jim and paddy, with characteristic thought and resource, had climbed to the top of two tall and dead gum trees and there built fires, fanned by the fierce draught through the hollow trunks, knowing well at what a short distance a fire on the ground is visible in this flat country. during my absence they had found no gold, but, as they liked the look of the country, we decided to return to our condensers for a fresh supply of water. having obtained this, egan and i revisited our previous prospecting ground, leaving jim behind to "cook" water against our return; and a more uninteresting occupation i cannot well picture. camped alone on a spit of sand, surrounded by a flat expanse of mud, broiled by the sun, half blinded by the glare of the salt, with no shade but a blanket thrown over a rough screen of branches, and nothing to do but to stoke up the fires, change the water in the cooling-trough, and blow off the salt from the bottom of the boilers, he was hardly to be envied. yet jim cheerfully undertook the job and greeted us on our return, after four days, with the smiling remark that his work had been varied by the necessity of plugging up the bottom of one of the boilers which had burned through, with a compound (a patent of his own) formed from strips of his shirt soaked in a stiff paste of flour. that night we were astonished by the passage of a flight of ducks over our heads, which egan saw, and i and conley heard distinctly. a detailed account of our wanderings would be as wearying to the reader as they were to ourselves, a mere monotonous repetition of cooking water and hunting for "colours" which we never found. christmas eve, , saw us in the vicinity of mount monger, where a few men were working on an alluvial patch and getting a little gold. a lucky storm had filled a deep clay-hole on the flat running north-west from the hills, and here we were at last enabled to give the camels a cheap drink; for over six weeks we had not seen a drop of fresh water beyond what, with infinite labour, we had condensed, with the one exception of the small rock-hole i found at cowarna. my entry in my journal for christmas day is short and sweet: "xmas day, . wash clothes. write diary. plot course." we had no christmas fare to make our hearts glad and but for the fortunate arrival of my old friend david wilson, who gave us a couple of packets of cornflour, would have had a scanty feast indeed. even in the remote little mining camp santa claus did not forget us, and spread his presents, in the form of a deluge of rain, on all alike. what a pleasant change to get thoroughly wet through! the storm hardly lasted twenty minutes, but such was its violence that every little creek and watercourse was soon running, and water for weeks to come was secured and plentiful in all directions; but so local is a summer storm that five miles from the camp, no water or signs of rain were to be seen. our provisions being finished, nothing remained but to make all speed for coolgardie, some fifty miles distant by road. unencumbered by the condensers, which were abandoned as useless since the bottom of both boilers had burned through, we made fair time, reaching a good camping-ground two miles from the town on the evening of the second day, the th of december. chapter iii a fresh start four days sufficed to make preparations for another trip, to hear and read the news, and write letters. my first, of course, was to my syndicate, to report our past movements and future plans, and how i intended making northward, hoping that change of direction would change our luck. january th we set out with the same three camels, and rations for three months. my plan was first to revisit some known good country to the south of hannan's, and, if unsuccessful, to travel from that point in a more or less north-north-west direction, and so follow, instead of crossing, the trend of the various formations; for in travelling from east to west, or vice versa, one crosses a succession of parallel belts, first a sand-plain, then a ridge of granite, next a timbered flat, then a stretch of auriferous country, with possibly a belt of flat salt-lake country on either side. since these parallel belts run nearly north-north-west, it seemed to the mind of the untrained geologist that by starting in a known auriferous zone, and travelling along it in a north-north-west direction, the chances of being all the time in auriferous country would be increased, and the plan worth trying. passing the homestead of the hampton plains land company, where i was given valuable information and a map by the courteous and kind manager, mr. anderson (now alas! dead, a victim to the typhoid scourge), we continued on the lake lefroy road as far as the fourteen mile rock-hole. this contained water, but so foul that the camels would not look at it. nor were we more successful in our next water-hole, for it contained a dead horse. leading to this namma-hole, which was prettily situated on a low rock at the foot of a rough, broken ridge of granite, surrounded by green and shady kurrajongs, we found a curious little avenue of stones. these were piled up into heaps laid in two parallel rows, and at intervals between the heaps would be a large boulder; evidently this was the work of aboriginals, but what meaning to attach to it we could not think. the beginning of our journey promised well for water, for we were again favoured by a local thunderstorm which, in clay-pans and swamps, left a plentiful supply. mr. anderson had told me of some hills in which he had found gold in small quantities, and sure enough wherever we tried a "dish of dirt," colours were sure to result. a pleasant camp was this, plenty of water, numberless quartz reefs, every prospect of finding payable gold, and feed of the best kind in profusion--a welcome change for our beasts. they were shedding the last of their winter coats, and, as the weather was hot, i hastened the transformation by pulling off great flakes of wool with which egan stuffed one of the saddles. poor misery had an uncomfortable experience here in consequence of catching the rings of his hobble-chain in the broken stump of a bush, so that he was held captive all night. the advance of civilisation was marked by the appearance of a small herd of bullocks, evidently stragglers from "hannan's," and had we been further from that place i do not doubt that our desire for fresh beef might have overcome our conscientious scruples. virtue, however, was rewarded, for on awakening one morning i saw advancing towards our camp, with slow and solemn curiosity, two emus, peering now this way, now that, examining our packs and other gear with interest and delight. choosing the younger bird, i took aim with my winchester, and dropped him; the report of the rifle startled my companions from their sleep with the thought that we were perhaps attacked by the blacks, for emus are even less numerous than they. but their surprise was not greater than that of the surviving bird, as he gazed spellbound at his dead mate, whom we found most excellent eating. great as the temptation was to have a shot at the remaining bird, i resisted it, as from the one we could get sufficient meat for our requirements, and it seemed a shame to take the life, for mere pleasure, of the only wild creature we had seen for many weeks. tiring at length of prospecting reefs, blows, and alluvial with no better result than an occasional pin's-head of gold, we turned our faces to the north, passing again the herd of cattle wallowing in the swamps and pans of rain water. clay-pans usually occur in the neighbourhood of salt lakes, and are merely shallow depressions with smooth clay bottoms. though as a rule not more than a few inches to a foot in depth, i have seen them in places holding four to five feet of water. immediately after rain all clay-pans are fresh, before long some will turn salt; those containing drinkable water are often distinguishable by the growth of cane grass which covers the bed, a coarse, rush-like grass of no value as food for stock. dry for three-quarters of the year, these pans, with their impervious bottoms, hold the rain, when it fills them, for a considerable period. salt-water pans are pellucid and clear, as the inexperienced may find at his cost. one thirsty day, having tramped many miles horse-hunting, deceived by a crystal-clear sheet of water, i plunged in my head and hands, and, before i realised my mistake, took a deep draught with most unpleasant results. i have been more careful since that catastrophe. an effective method of clearing muddy clay-pan water is by dropping into it a sort of powdery gypsum, called "kopi" by the natives, which is usually to be found round the margin of the salt lakes--a wonderful provision of nature, without which the water after a short time would be useless, becoming as it does red and thick, and of the consistency of strong cocoa. amongst the many industries started on the goldfields is the novel occupation of clearing clay-water for salt. the process was carried out by means of a series of settling tanks, into which the water was led by drains, and into the last tank the kopi was thrown; the cleared water was then bailed into vessels or casks, and carted up to whatever mining camp was being thus supplied. whilst on the subject of industries, i may mention that of obtaining solder from meat-tins by piling them into large heaps and lighting a fire over them. the melted lumps of solder thus formed were collected by the ordinary process of dry-blowing, and sold to tinsmiths and others engaged in the manufacture of condensers. certainly the scarcity of water was not an unmixed curse, for it gave employment to many who would otherwise have been hard put to it to gain a living. dam-makers, well-sinkers, water-carters, tinsmiths, condenser-fitters, wood-cutters, employees on condensing plants, water-bag makers, caretakers at government wells, dams, and soaks, engineers, and many more, all found employment either directly or indirectly in connection with water supply. by sinking in the bed of dry clay-pans water can usually be obtained, but unfortunately it is almost sure to be salt. the difference between clay-pans before and after rain is most marked. first we have the dry, hard bed of red clay, blistered and cracked into all manner of patterns by the sun's heat; around us the stillness of death, nothing astir unless it be the constant shimmering haze of heat which strikes our faces like the blast from a furnace. rain falls, and within a few hours the air will be filled with the croaking of frogs and the cackling of ducks.* to my mind it is one of the most incomprehensible things in nature that wildfowl (for not only ducks, but sometimes swans and geese are seen) know when and where rain has fallen. [* sir john forrest, in his exploration of , found ducks, geese, and swans on lake augusta--a salt lake in the arid interior, five hundred miles from the coast.] but, stranger still, how do they know it is going to fall? that they would seem to do so the following will go to show. whilst we were condensing on lake lapage, one moonlight night we saw a flight of ducks fly over us to the northward. no surface water then existed anywhere near us. this was on december th. no rain fell in the district until december th, but i ascertained afterwards that rain fell at lake carey, one hundred miles north of lake lapage about the same date that we had seen the ducks. the exact date i am not sure of, but in any case the ducks either foresaw the rain or knew that rain had fallen at least two hundred miles away; for they must have come from water (and at that season there was no surface water within one hundred miles of us) and probably from the coast. in either case, i think it is an extremely interesting fact, and however they arrive the ducks are a welcome addition to the prospector's "tucker-bags." chapter iv a camel fight leaving hannan's on our left, we continued our northerly course, over flat country timbered with the usual gum-forest, until we reached the auriferous country in which our camp had been robbed by the blacks; nothing of interest occurring until january th, when we found ourselves without water. knowing that we must soon strike the road from broad arrow to mount margaret, this gave us no anxiety, and, beyond the necessity of travelling without having had a drink for eighteen hours, but little discomfort. we struck the road as expected, and, following it some five miles, came to a small, dry creek running down from a broken range of granite. sinking in its bed, we got a plentiful supply. mosquitoes are very rarely found in the interior, but on this little creek they swarmed, and could only be kept away by fires of sticks and grass, in the smoke of which we slept. from the granite hills a fine view to the eastward was obtained, across a rich little plain of saltbush and grass, and dotted here and there over it was a native peach tree, or "quondong," a species of sandalwood. we had now left the timber behind us, its place being taken by a low, straggling scrub of acacia, generally known as "mulga," which continues in almost unbroken monotony for nearly two hundred miles; the only change in the landscape is where low cliffs of sandstone and ranges of granite, slate, or diorite, crop up, from which creeks and watercourses find their way into salt swamps and lakes; and occasional stretches of plain country. through these thickets we held on our course, passing various watering-places and rocks on the several roads leading to the then popular field of mount margaret. all such rocks bear names given to them by travellers and diggers, though one can seldom trace the origin or author of the name, "black gin soak," "george withers' hole," "the dead horse rocks," and the "donkey rocks," are fair samples. it was at the last named that we had a slight entertainment in the shape of a camel-fight. on arrival we found another camel-man (i.e., a man who prospects with camels instead of horses, not necessarily a camel-driver) in whose train was a large white bull. misery, with his usual precocity, at once began to show fight. the owner of the white camel, a gentleman much given to "blowing," warned me that his bull was the "strongest in the ---- country," and advised me to keep my camels away. anxious to see how misery would shape in a genuine bout, i paid no heed, but took the precaution to remove his hobbles, thus placing him on equal terms with his older and stronger adversary. before very long they were at it hammer and tongs, roaring and grunting to the music of the bells on their necks; wrestling and struggling, using their great long necks as flails, now one down on his knees and almost turned over, and now the other, taking every opportunity of doing what damage they could with their powerful jaws, they formed a strange picture. misery was nearly exhausted, and the white bull's master in triumph shouted, "take 'em off, beat 'em off; your ---- camel'll be chewed up!" but no! with a last expiring effort, brave little misery dived his long neck under the body of his enemy, and grabbed his hind leg by the fetlock, when a powerful twist turned him over as neatly as could be. it was now time for us to interfere before the white bull's head was crushed by his conqueror's knees and breast-bone. with sticks and stones we drove him off, and the white bull retired abashed--but not more so than his master. leaving the rocks in possession of our late adversary we once more plunged into the scrub, altering our course to the west with the object of revisiting the country around mount ida, where luck and i had found colours. our way lay between salt lakes on our left, and a low terrace or tableland of what is locally known as "conglomerate" on our right. at the head of a gully running from this we were fortunate in finding water, sufficient to fill our casks, and give each camel a drink. this was on the morning of january th, and until the st about noon we saw no further signs of water. every likely place was dry. where luck and i had found water before, not a drop of moisture could be seen; the holes contained nothing but the feathers and skeletons of disappointed birds. unable to stop at mount ida without packing water twenty-five miles, which the prospects of the country did not warrant, we turned northwards across much broken granite country, which we vainly searched for namma-holes or soaks. far ahead of us we could see sharp pinnacles, standing up high and solitary above the scrub. these turned out to be huge blows of white quartz, and were no doubt connected underground, for we traced them a distance of nearly thirty miles. interesting as these were, our thoughts were turned to water-hunting, for the weather--the season being midsummer--was scorching; the poor camels, sore-footed from the stony granite, parched with thirst, and forced to carry their loads, eight to twelve hours a day, showed signs of distress. weary and footsore ourselves, tramping at full speed all day over the burning rocks, one with the camels, the others on either hand, scouting, our casks all but empty, our position was not enviable. the night of the th our water was finished. the nearest known to us was thirty-five miles off, and a a salt lake was between--a sufficient bar to our hopes in that direction. matters were by no means desperate, however, for thirty miles north we were bound to cut the cue-mount margaret road, and having done so it would be merely a question of time, with a certainty of arriving at a watering place eventually, if we and our camels could hold out. a dry stage, however long, with the certainty of relief at the end of it, gives little cause for anxiety when compared with one on which neither the position nor even the existence of water can be known. next morning we followed up a small creek, and on crossing saw the tracks of several kangaroos and emus making towards two peaks of quartz. here was our chance. it was my place of course to go, but i yielded to the persuasion of paddy and jim, who insisted that i had denied myself water to eke out our scanty supply (though i doubt if i had done so more than they), and must rest. so, putting the camels down in the welcome shade of a kurrajong, i lay down beside them and was presently relieved by the sound of a revolver-shot, our signal that water was found. what a beautiful sight it was! nestling in the hollow between two great white blows of quartz, this little pool of crystal-clear water, filled evidently by a little gully falling over a steep ledge of quartz beyond, presented no doubt a pretty picture after the rains. a soakage it must be, for no open rock-hole could hold water in such terrible heat; and its clearness would suggest the possibility of an underlying spring. a popular drinking-place this, frequented by birds of all kinds, crows, hawks, pigeons, galahs, wee-jugglers, and the ubiquitous diamond-sparrows. during the night we could hear wallabies hopping along, but were too worn out to sit up to shoot them. though our sufferings had not been great, we had had a "bit of a doing." one day's rest, occupied in various mendings of clothes, boots, and saddles, and we were off again to the north, cutting the track as expected, and presently found ourselves at the newly established mining camp of lawlers, prettily situated on the banks of a gum-creek, with a copious supply of water in wells sunk in its bed. a great advantage that the northern fields have over those further south is the occurrence of numerous creeks, sometimes traceable for over thirty miles, in all of which an abundance of fresh water can be obtained by sinking at depths varying from fifteen to fifty feet. towards the end of their course the well-defined channels, with banks sometimes ten feet high, disappear, giving place to a grassy avenue through the scrub, lightly timbered with cork-bark, and other small trees. it is on such flats as these that the wells are sunk. all creeks find their way into the lakes, though seldom by a discernible channel, breaking and making, as the expression is, until a narrow arm of the lake stretches to meet them. at the most these creeks run "a banker" three times during the year, the water flowing for perhaps three days; after which pools of various sizes remain, to be in their turn dried up by evaporation and soakage. in the dry weather the creeks afford a weird spectacle. stately white gums (the only timber of any size in these districts), with their silvery bark hanging in dishevelled shreds around the branchless stems, bend ghost-like over an undulating bed of gravel; gravel made up of ironstone pebbles, quartz fragments, and other water-worn debris washed down from the hills at the head of the creeks. what a marvellous transformation the winter rains cause! it is then that the expert, or journalist, takes his walks abroad; it is then that we read such glowing accounts of rich grass lands, watered by countless creeks, only awaiting the coming of an agriculturist to be turned into smiling farms and fertile fields. numerous parties were camped at lawlers, with some two hundred horses turned out in the bush, waiting until rain should fall. though with no better feed than grass, dry and withered, the freedom from work had made them skittish. what a pretty sight it is to see a mob of horses trooping in for water at night; the young colts kicking up their heels with delight; the solemn old packhorse looking with scorn on the gambols of his juvenile brethren, with a shake of his hardy old head, as much as to say, "ah! wait till you've done the dry stages that i have; wait till you make your evening feed off mulga scrub and bark--that'll take the buck out of you! why can't you have your drink soberly, instead of dancing about all over the place?" then bringing up the rear, far behind, just emerging from the scrub, are seen those who, from their wandering habits, must wear the bracelets, hurrying and shuffling along with a rattle of chains, tripping up in their eagerness to be even with their mates in the scramble for water: presently they pause to look about and neigh--a delay resented by those behind by a friendly bite, answered by a kick; which starts them all off at full gallop, in the approved rocking-horse style, with a tremendous clatter of hobbles and bells. suddenly they halt, snorting, and as suddenly start aside, wheel round, and dash away, as they catch sight of our long-necked beasts. they have seen them often enough, and know them well, but they must keep up an appearance of panic, if only to please their masters, who never cease to jeer at the ungainly shape of the camel, until they possess one themselves. these unemotional animals watch the horses' play with lips turned up in derision, and hardly deign to move their heads from the bush or branch on which they are feeding. many of the prospectors, though openly sneering at the camels as slow and unmanageable beasts, secretly envied us our ability to travel in hot weather, whilst they had nothing to do but to kick their heels and be thankful they had feed and water for their ponies. and they envied us all the more on account of the vague rumour that rich gold had been found in the neighbourhood of lake darlot, towards which some had pushed out only to be driven back by thirst. seeing our evident advantage, should the rumour prove correct, in being able to get there before the crowd, i decided to steer for the lake, with the hope of picking up the tracks of the supposed lucky diggers. a large creek, the erlistoun, was given on the chart as running into the lake, and on it was marked by the discoverer mr. wells, of the elder exploring expedition, , a permanent pool. to cut this creek was my object, and, by following its course, to find the pool, and there make a base from which to investigate the truth of the rumour. leaving lawlers february th we struck an arm of the lake on the th the country traversed being mostly sand plain, timbered with desert-gum. to reach the creek it was necessary to cross the lake; and what a job we had, twisting and turning to avoid one arm, only to be checked by another; carrying packs and saddles across what we supposed to be the main lake, only to find ourselves on an island. all things have an end, even the ramifications of a salt lake, and eventually we and our mud-plastered camels found ourselves on the northern shore; and travelling east, expected confidently to cut the erlistoun creek. by its position on the map we should have already crossed it but to make sure we went on five miles more, when our passage was barred by another salt lake not marked on the chart. it was clear that the creek did not reach lake darlot. where could it be? was it worth while to look for it further? it was evident how it came to be so shown on the map. mr. wells had cut the creek near its source and seeing only one lake to the south, naturally supposed that it was joined by the creek, and so had marked its probable course by a dotted line. his work, copied on to other maps had been carelessly drawn, and the creek shown running in a defined channel into lake darlot. that this was the case i found afterwards on studying his original chart. now to decide our best course! again our supply was all but done, but we knew of no water save lawlers, sixty miles away, and to attempt to return to that, recrossing the lake was manifestly absurd. to the south-west we could see some hills which might or might not be granite. we were inclined to think that they were, as in the setting sun of a few nights before they had taken a ruddy glow. these rocks appeared to be our only chance. it has always seemed to me better in such cases to make people follow one's own wishes by seeming to consult theirs, rather than by a direct order. acting on this plan, though with my own mind made up, i consulted with my two mates. i felt sure that jim would agree with me, from a remark he had made to a mutual friend to the effect that "he would follow me to h--l." of paddy i was not so sure; nor was i mistaken. he strongly advised turning back, but, having agreed to abide by the majority, said no more, and so to the hills we turned our steps. our hopes that the two lakes were separate were soon shattered, for before us lay a narrow neck connecting the two. there was nothing for it but to go straight ahead. the lightest-packed camel crossed without mischance, but not so the other two; down they went, too weak to struggle, and again the toil of digging them out, and driving and hauling them foot by foot, had to be gone through. then the packs had to be carried piece by piece, for we sank too deep in the sticky mud with a heavy load, and our weary legs had to be dragged step after step from the bog. hungry and thirsty, blistered by the glare of the salt in the pitiless sun, we struggled on, with a wondering thought of what the end would be. think of us, picture us, ye city magnates, toiling and struggling that your capacious pockets may be filled by the fruits of our labour: think of us, i say, and remember that our experiences are but as those of many more, and that hardly a mine, out of which you have made all the profit, has been found without similar hardships and battles for life! not a penny would you have made from the wealth of west australia but for us prospectors--and what do we get for our pains? a share in the bare sale of the mine if lucky; if not, god help us! for nothing but curses and complaints will be our portion. the natural rejoinder to this is, "why, then, do you go?" to which i can only answer that one must make a living somehow, and that some like to make money hard, and some to make it easily. perhaps i belong to the former class. whatever the reason, the fact remains that in the heat of the summer we were ploughing our way through salt-bogs, without water or any immediate prospect of getting any, and realised, not for the first time, that the prospector's life in west australia is not "all beer and skittles." the lake negotiated, we decided to rest under the scanty shade of a mulga tree, and regaled ourselves on oatmeal washed down with a mouthful of water, the last, hot from the iron casks. at a time when water is plentiful it can be carried and kept cool in canvas bags; but it owes this coolness to evaporation, and consequent waste of water. during the hot weather, when water is scarce, i never allowed canvas bags to be used, and so saved water, not only by avoiding evaporation, but from the fact that water carried in galvanised-iron casks becomes so hot and unpalatable that one is not tempted to take a big draught, and thus the supply is eked out. that night we camped in the thick mulga, and from one of the larger trees i could see the hills, dead on our course, and not more than two miles off. but we were too tired to go further that night, and in any case could have done but little good in the dark. the poor camels were too dry to eat the mulga we cut for them, too dry even to chew the cud; and lay silent, tied down beside us--the stillness of the night being unbroken by the rhythmical "crunch" of their jaws. before sunrise we were packed and away, and shortly reached the hills which we found to be, as we had hoped, bare granite rocks. leaving the camels, we spread out, and searched every hole and corner without success. every rock-hole was dry. one native soak we found, from which we scraped about half gallon of water none too clear, and the less tempting from the close proximity of the dead body of a gin, a young native woman, fortunately not long dead. the ashes of a native camp but lately deserted, could be seen close by; no doubt they had moved off as the supply of water was so nearly done. whether they had left the body to become a skeleton, before making a bundle of the bones (a practice common to some australian tribes), or whether it is their usual custom to leave the dead where they die, i do not know. i know, however, that this body was subsequently moved, not by the blacks, but by those snarling scavengers, the dingoes. this finding of a corpse at the mouth of the only soak we had seen was hardly encouraging; but still there was a large extent of rocks that we had not yet visited. shortly before sunset, as i stood on the summit of the highest rock, i was astonished by the sight of some horses grazing in a little valley beneath. i could hardly believe that i saw aright; it seemed incredible that horsemen should have reached this drought-begirt spot. little time was wasted in idle speculation, and the appearance of our camels soon proved the horses to be flesh and blood, and not mere phantoms of the brain, unless indeed phantoms can snort and plunge! the owner of the horses soon made his appearance, and, with reluctant resignation, showed us the soak from which his horses were watered. he and his mates, he said, were sinking for water in a likely spot some half-mile away; in the meantime they used the soak, though it was evident it would not last much longer. we must have water for our camels, and must use the soak, i said, until their thirst was somewhat relieved, then in our turn we would dig for soaks round the rocks. in the hottest time of the year our poor patient beasts had been eight days without food, except of the driest description, and eight days without water, struggling and kicking in the salt-bogs. it was indeed a delight to quench their thirst at last. all that night we worked without a minute's rest, digging, scraping, and bailing, and secured enough to keep the camels going. for the next two days we were engaged in sinking trial holes for soakages; no water, however, rewarded our labours until the night of the second day, when we struck a splendid supply, and for the time being our troubles were over. pitching a "fly" to keep off the sun's rays in the daytime, we were content to do nothing but rest for the whole of the next day. here again i was fortunate in shooting an emu, a welcome addition to our provisions. mcilwraith and his mates (the owners of the horses) had also struck a good supply. from them we got the news which we already suspected that a new find of gold had been made not five miles from the rocks. an apparently rich find too! how strangely things turn out. our ill-fortune in failing to find the erlistoun had forced us into a most unpleasant experience, and yet that ill-fortune was turning into good. for here we were on the scene of newly-discovered reefs and nuggets, at the new rush, the existence of which we had gravely doubted. we were the third party on the field, and from messrs. rogers and friends i heard the history of its discovery. chapter v gold at lake darlot about the month of october, , rogers and party, with their camels, were camped at cutmore's (or doyle's) well, and, on studying the map of the elder exploring expedition, they saw that mr. wells had marked the country north of lake darlot as "probably auriferous." this they determined to visit, and, more fortunate than ourselves, were not caught in the intricacies of the salt lake. returning in disgust, having found no signs of gold, they passed the granites, where they got water, and camped on a promising piece of country, where they soon found gold in the the reefs. here they worked for some time with but little encouragement, until after christmas, when alluvial gold was found on the surface by a member of another party who came upon the original discoverers in a somewhat startling manner. cable, janet, and pickering had pushed out also from cutmore's well, and by finding water on a granite between the two, had reached the rocks near lake darlot. here they found camped a tribe of aboriginals, to whom they showed kindness--too much kindness it appears, for the treacherous thieves, having tasted the white man's food, conceived the bold idea of raiding the camp, killing its occupants, and annexing their provisions. at midnight the prospectors were attacked, cable and janet being speared as they lay in their blankets, cable through the stomach and janet in the arm, pickering escaping, for he had laid down his blanket under a tree, away from the packs, to get shade from the moon. he is, too, a man of exceptionally small stature, and so eluded the quick sight of the black-fellow. in spite of the disadvantage under which they were placed by the sudden attack and wounds, the white men overpowered and dispersed their treacherous foes. in what a terrible position they were now placed, fifty-five miles from cutmore's well, the nearest certain water, for the chances that the water found between would be dried up, were great! only one man unwounded and one suffering the most awful tortures of pain; and nobody with the smallest medical skill, within god knows how many miles! death seemed certain, but while life remained they were not the men to give in, and they thought of a plan whereby the life of their mate might be saved if only their horses held out. they travelled five miles, then camped, and the available man returned to the rocks to water the horses at the risk of being again attacked by the niggers. and thus dot and go one, they hoped to reach cutmore's. so much endurance could not remain unrewarded and the two wounded men were overjoyed by the report of a shot (a dynamite shot as it afterwards transpired, fired by rogers, parks, and lockhart as they worked on their reef), and as soon as the horses returned, the little band set forth in the direction from which the welcome sound had come, and before long saw the camp of the lucky prospectors. fortunately mr. parks had some knowledge of surgery, picked up in the african bush, where he had been a trader, and so could doctor the wounded men. here they camped until one morning, janet, recovered of his hurt, picked up a nugget of gold, strangely enough, close to the track from roger's camp to the reef he was working. this nugget was the first-fruit of a plentiful harvest, and presently they went down to the coast where poor cable could be properly attended to in hospital. pickering and janet returned as soon as possible, but not before some inkling of their find had leaked out; consequently when they returned, just at the time of our arrival on the scene, their tracks were followed, and a "rush" set in. we were not long in making our camp at the new diggings, or in getting to work to hunt for gold. being out for a syndicate, who naturally wanted something big in the way of a reef, we were precluded from the alluring search for alluvial, "specking," as it is termed. it seems the simplest thing in the world to find a good mine--that is, as i said before, after you have found it! on sunday, february th, paddy and i took a walk, and stepped right on to an outcrop of quartz showing beautiful gold. quite simple! any fool can prospect; all he wants is a little luck, and the strange inner urgings that make him examine a certain quartz reef or blow that others have passed, perhaps dozens of times, without happening to look in the right place! roughly marking out an area, to establish our prior claim to the ground amongst those already on the field, we returned to camp and gave jim, who had been packing water from the granites, the joyful news. on monday before daylight we were out, and soon had eighteen acres marked off by a post at each corner, and our notices posted on a conspicuous tree, which we had been unable to do the day before, sunday-pegging being illegal. fresh parties were now arriving daily, and the consequent demand for water made it necessary for jim to camp at the rocks, and bring us a supply whenever he was able. this was not accomplished without some trouble, for not only were the soaks we had dug with so much labour, made use of by the new-comers, which we did not object to, but our right to the water was often disputed by some who, with small regard for the truth, said that it was they who had sunk the wells! jim, however, was not the man to be bluffed, and, in spite of lameness from sciatica in the loins and hip, managed to keep us well supplied. short-handed already, we were further handicapped by paddy smashing his thumb, and thus, for a time, i was the only sound workman of the party. chatter vi alone in the bush by march th we were satisfied that the appearance of the mine was good enough to warrant our applying for a lease of the area already marked out. so leaving czar behind, to enable paddy and jim to pack water, i, riding satan and leading misery, loaded with specimens from the reef, set forth for coolgardie, to apply for the lease, and get a fresh supply of provisions, of which we were sadly in need. my departure for coolgardie was taken advantage of by several who wished to bank their gold, and thus i became an escort. coolgardie lay almost due south, miles on the chart, but nearly miles by the track, which deviated from water to water. speed being an object, i decided to strike through the bush to george withers' hole. here, by the way, poor alec kellis had just been murdered by the blacks--not the pleasantest of news to hear, as i started on my solitary journey. i followed a horse pad for fifty-five miles, mostly through thick scrub, to cutmore's well, where several parties were camped, who eagerly questioned me as to the richness of the new field. leaving cutmore's, i struck through the bush, and before long the sickness i had had on me for some time past, developed into a raging fever. every bone in my body ached and shot with pain. i could neither ride nor walk for more than a few minutes at a stretch; i was unable to eat, nor cared to drink the hot water in my canteen. i struggled on, now riding, now walking, and now resting under a bush, travelling in this fashion as long as daylight lasted, from five in the morning until six at night. afraid to let the camels go at night lest they should wander too far, or, while i was following them in the morning, my packs should be raided by the blacks, i tied them down, one on either side of my blankets; and thus i had not only a protection against the wind, but the pleasure of their companionship--no slight blessing in that solitude. how lonely i felt, in that vast uninhabited bush! racked by pain, i tossed from side to side, until sheer weariness kept me still; so still that the silence of death seemed to have fallen upon us; there was not a sound in all that sea of scrub, save the occasional sleepy grunt of one of the camels, until the quiet night re-echoed with the hoarse call of the "mopoke," which seemed to be vainly trying to imitate the cheerful notes of the cuckoo. how could any note be true in such a spot! or how could a dry-throated bird he anything but hoarse! at last morning came, heralded by the restless shuffling of the camels, and another day's journey began. tying the camels down at nights necessitated the cutting of scrub and bushes for them to feed upon, and i doubt they got little enough to eat. before long i was too weak to lift the saddles off, and could only with difficulty load and unload the bags of quartz, and, weakened as i was by illness, my labours were not light. yet further trouble was in store for me, for presently a salt lake barred my way. then i began to understand the meaning of the word despair. neither kindness or cruelty would induce my camels to cross; i was therefore forced to follow the banks of the lake, hoping to get round it, as i could see what i supposed was its end. here i was again baffled by a narrow channel not ten yards wide. it might as well have been half a mile, for all the chance i had of crossing it. the trend of the lake was north-west by south-east, and i was now at the north-west end, but stopped, as i say, by a narrow channel connecting evidently with another lake further to the north-west. there was nothing for it but to retrace my steps, and follow along the margin of the lake to the south-east, and eventually i got round, having been forced some ten miles out of my course. i was fortunate in finding water without difficulty, in a small rock-hole amongst some granite hills in which "granite creek" takes its rise. from these i had still eighty miles to travel before i could reach a settlement, coongarrie (the mile) being the nearest point. could i do it? i had to succeed or perish miserably, and a man fights hard for his life. so i struggled on day and night, stopping at frequent intervals from sheer exhaustion, cursing the pitiless sun, and praying for it to sink below the horizon. some twenty miles from coongarrie i was relieved by striking a track, which did away with the necessity of thinking where i was going. a few miles more, and--joy unspeakable--i found a condenser and a camp. the hospitable proprietor, whose name i never learned, did all he could to make me comfortable, and i felt inclined to stay, but despatch was imperative, for not only must the lease be applied for forthwith, but conley and egan must be provisioned. at coongarrie i gave a swagman a lift, and he helped me with the camels and loads, until at last coolgardie was reached. giving my camels in charge of the first man i could find willing to look after them, an afghan, neel bas by name, i finished my business at the warden's office. then, yielding to the persuasion of my friends in asken and nicolson's store, i retired to the hospital, for indeed i could fight against my sickness no longer. here i remained some three weeks under the kind care of miss o'brien (now mrs. castieau) and miss millar, the pioneer nurses on the goldfields. no words can express the admiration i, and all of us, felt for the pluck and goodness of these two gently nurtured ladies, who had braved the discomforts and hardships of the road from york to coolgardie--discomforts that many of the so-called stronger sex had found too much for them--to set up their hospital tent, and soothe the sufferings of poor fever-stricken fellows. the services of these kind ladies, and of many that subsequently followed their example, were badly needed, for the typhoid fiend was rampant--carrying off the young, and apparently strong, men at a rate too tremendous to be credible. funerals were too common to call for even passing notice. "unwept, unhonoured, and unsung," they went to a nameless grave. my chief anxiety was for my mates. how could i send them relief, incapacitated as i was? fortunately, my friend david wilson offered to go for me, in consideration of a certain interest in the mine we had found. this was a great help, and now i could rest contented; not altogether though, for neel bas had some hesitation in giving up the camels, and had a violent row with dave wilson, all of which he would insist on explaining to me in broken english, as he sat cross-legs on the floor of my tent. the doctor happily arrived and kicked him out, and i was left in peace. in less than three weeks i was able to go by coach to southern cross, and thence by train to perth, where, under the kind roof of colonel fleming, the commandant, i soon regained my health. when i mention that my syndicate never even offered to defray the cost of my illness, my readers will understand that my statements as to the ingratitude of those who benefit by the prospectors' toil are not unfounded. unfortunately for me, my old mate, lord douglas, was absent in england, and, in consequence, much misunderstanding resulted between the syndicate and myself. chapter vii sale of mine during my convalescence in perth, i occupied my time by drawing in the government offices, a map, compiled from the various notes and journals i had kept during the prospecting expeditions in which i had been engaged. i also took the opportunity of getting some knowledge of astronomical subjects, likely to be of service in the more extended expedition i had in my mind. my thanks are due to mr. barlee, chief draughtsman, and mr. higgins, of the mines department, for the kindness they showed in helping me in this work. it was not very long before i felt it was necessary to return to my duties at lake darlot. timing my arrival in coolgardie to coincide with that of mr. wilson from the mine, we met; and from him i was pleased to hear how well the claim was turning out. since it was not necessary for both of us to be on the spot, i took one of the camels, of which we now had five, and made all speed to a reported "new rush" near lake lefroy, that was causing much excitement. knots of men could be seen in every corner of the town eagerly discussing the news; gold, to the tune of , ounces, was being brought in; was in the town; was actually in one of the banks! many had seen it (or said so). where was this eldorado? every man knew; every man had directions how to get there, from quite unimpeachable sources. it was actually in the local papers; indeed, there could be no doubt about it. i knew of course that all this must be discounted, but the matter was worth looking into, and i was fortunate to get the very latest information from one who was an old mate of the supposed lucky digger. i found my travelling companion had equally well authenticated information. on comparing notes we soon discovered that our directions were entirely at variance. to make a long story short, we at length found that, like hundreds of others, we had been fooled, and that the whole thing was bogus. the diggers' indignation was righteously intense, the office of the offending newspaper was attacked, and much damage narrowly averted. one unfortunate man, on whom fell the wrath of the crowd, returning from the supposed rush, lied profusely when "in drink," said that he had found the spot, that hundreds of men were gleaning rich gold in fabulous quantities, that the world had never seen so wonderful a find, that gold would soon be as cheap as lead in the market--in fact told a thousand and one similar fairy tales, engendered by whisky and excitement. when sober he foolishly stuck to what he had said; and, in consequence, was sent by the diggers, under escort, to point out the spot, which of course he could not find. his reception in coolgardie may be imagined! doubtless on the western goldfields of america, "lynching" would have been his portion. even in order-loving australia he might have had an unpleasant time, had not mr. finnerty, the popular warden, quelled the turmoil, and placed the offender under police protection. for want of the real article, a well-attended procession burnt this idiot's effigy, and thus the great rush ended. it was supposed by some, if i remember rightly, that the fire which gutted nearly half the town had its origin in this effigy-burning. what a blaze that was to be sure! tents, shanties, houses of hessian, shops of corrugated iron and wood, offices, hotels, and banks, consumed in one sheet of flame in a matter of half an hour or so, the blaze accompanied by explosions of dynamite caps, kerosene, and cartridges. nothing could be done to stay its fury. to save the town, houses were demolished, to form wide gaps across which the flames could not reach. it was the general impression that corrugated iron was more or less fireproof. however, it burnt like cardboard. ruinous to some as the early fires were, they benefited the general community, as more substantial buildings were erected, and hessian shanties forbidden. after a good deal of unpleasant business over the mine at lake darlot, which the syndicate wished to abandon, for reasons best known to themselves, i was at length on the road for that district, with the agreeable news that our mine was for sale, and would soon be off our hands. i had a rather more enjoyable journey than my previous one, for not only was i free from fever, and the mine in a fair way to being sold, but winter had changed the face of the bush from dull dead yellow to bright smiling green, dotted here and there with patches of white and pink everlastings. one could hardly believe it was the same country. instead of the intense heat a bright warm sun dissipated the keen and frosty air of early morning, while the hoar-frost at night made one glad of a good possum rug to coil oneself up in. i did not envy the cyclists, for sometimes, failing to hit off a camp on the road, they had perforce to make the best of a fire as a substitute for a blanket, and to be content with a hungry stomach, in place of having a meal. before the erection of telegraph wires, which now connect all the more important mining towns, cyclists made good money by carrying special messages from coolgardie to the outlying districts. except where the sand was deep they had a good track, well-beaten by the flat pads of camels, and could do their hundred miles a day at a push. travelling at express rate, they were unable to carry blankets or provisions except of the scantiest description, and took their chance of hitting off the camp of some wayfarer, who would always be ready to show what hospitality he could, to messengers of so much importance. to have to part with one of your blankets on a cold night for the benefit of another traveller, is one of the severest exercises of self denial. these little kindly services are always rendered, for a man in the bush who would not show courtesy and hospitality to a fellow-wayfarer is rightly considered a cur. no matter what time one strikes a man's camp, his first thought, whether for stranger or friend, is to put on the "billy" and make a pot of tea. arrived at lake darlot, i found work being carried on well and with energy, as could not fail to be the case where dave wilson was concerned. poor jim and paddy had had hard times, before wilson arrived, to make the provisions last out. nevertheless they had worked away on the reef without complaint, while others around them were waxing rich on the alluvial. the population had increased to some two thousand men during my absence: two thousand men working and living in order and peace, with no police or officials of any kind within two hundred miles--a state of affairs of which we may justly be proud. evil-doing, however, was not entirely absent, and occasional cases of robbery of gold, or pilfering of tents occurred; the offenders in such cases were usually caught and summarily dealt with. a "roll up" would be called, and those who cared to put themselves forward, would form judge, jury, police, and all. the general verdict was notice to quit within so many hours--an order that few would dare to neglect. a case in which this did happen occurred at kurnalpi when a man was caught passing bad notes in the "sunday school." he refused to budge, and, seeing that he was a great giant with the reputation of being the roughest and hardest fighter in the country, the question arose who should "bell the cat." the man who had been swindled was a stranger, and unwilling to fight his own battle; who, therefore, would volunteer to get a sound hammering from one of the toughest blackguards in australia. the "roll up" slowly dispersed, every man muttering that it was not his business, and that, after all, passing a "stiff 'un" on to a new chum was no great crime as compared to stealing gold or robbing a camp. in this i think they showed sound judgment. the prize-fighting gent, however, became too bumptious, and was eventually hustled out of the place. our camp at lake darlot was rather pleasantly situated on rising ground by the side of the blow; behind us, sheer cliffs of conglomerate, worn and weathered into queer little caves, the floors of which were covered inches deep by the droppings of bats and small wallabies; and, stretching away to the south, an open plain enclosed in an endless sea of scrub. every morning we witnessed the strange phenomenon of a lake appearing in the sky to the south, miles away, above the scrub, a lake surrounded by steep white cliffs. this mirage would last perhaps half an hour, and was, i suppose, a reflection of lake darlot, which lay at the back of us, some five miles distant to the north. our camp consisted of the usual tents and bough-shades and for the first, and probably the only, time in our lives we cooked our pots on a golden fireplace. to protect the fire from the wind, so that a good pile of ashes should collect for baking purposes, we had made a semicircular wall of stones. the nearest available stones, quartz boulders from the blow, were used, and so it came about that we had a gold-studded fireplace! we used to have a curious visitor from the caves--a small black cat, which was tame enough to wander between our legs as we sat round the fire, but too wary to be caught. i can hardly imagine a prospector carrying a cat as companion, and yet how else did it get there? its shyness inclined us to think it had strayed from civilisation. jim tried to catch it one evening, and not only got scratched and bitten for his trouble, but so startled the beast that it never returned. our party was now increased to five; for an extra hand, alfred morris, had been engaged. between us the duties of the day's work were divided. our daily labours included hunting up the camels, lest they strayed or were stolen, cutting timber for mining or firewood, packing water from the rocks five miles away, and working on the mine. i had occasion to make a journey to lawlers, where a warden, mr. clifton, had lately been established, and i mention here an illustration of one of the many intelligent traits in the character of camels. not wishing to follow the road in its many turns from water to water, i cut through the bush for some fifty miles. the first part was over hard, stony ground, then came sand, then more stones, and then i struck the road again about two miles from lawlers. i stayed there two or three days, intending to return on my tracks. wishing to test the intelligence of my camel satan i allowed him a free rein, either to keep on the track or turn off for a short cut. as soon as we came to the spot where we had first struck the road, he turned into the bush without hesitation with his nose for home. after some eight miles of stones, on which i could distinguish no trail, we came to the sand, and at once i could see our former tracks right ahead, which little satan had followed with the precision of a black-fellow. in repasssing old camping-places on the road, camels will often stop, and look surprised if made to go further. they have, too, an excellent idea of time, and know very well when the day's march should come to an end. with what sad reproof they look at one with their great, brown eyes, that say, as plainly as eyes can speak, "what! going on? i am so tired." i fancy the reason that camels are so often described as stupid and vicious, and so forth, is that they are seen, as a rule, in large mobs under the care of indian or other black drivers, whose carelessness and cruelty (so far as my experience goes) are unspeakable. for that reason i never have had an afghan driver in my employ, nor can i see any advantage in employing one, unless it be on the score of cheapness. camels are infinitely better managed and treated by white men--of course, i speak within my own knowledge of australia--and in consequence their characters develop, and they are properly appreciated. in due course the expected inspecting engineer came to see our mine, and, as he had several reports to make, we had the pleasure of his company at our camp, and very glad we were to do what we could for such a fine specimen of an expert and gentleman as mr. edward hooper. he was satisfied with what he saw--indeed, he could hardly have been otherwise at that period of the mine's existence; and on our arrival in cue, wither we had travelled part of the way together, a bargain was struck, and before many days jim and i returned with the glad tidings that the mine was sold, and would be taken over forthwith. the road from cue was as uninteresting as all others on the goldfields-- miles of flat, sandy soil covered with dense scrub, an occasional open plain of grass and saltbush round the foot of the breakaways, and cliffs that are pretty frequently met with. travellers on this road had been kept lively by a band of marauding black-fellows, most of whom had "done time" at rotnest jail for cattle-spearing, probably, on the coast stations. having learnt the value of white-fellows' food, they took to the road, and were continually bailing up lonely swagmen, who were forced to give up their provisions or be knocked on the head, since hardly any carried firearms. the finest prize that they captured was a loaded camel, which in some extraordinary way had got adrift from the end of a large caravan, and wandered into the scrub. the afghans, when they had perceived their loss, tracked up the camel, only to find it dying in agony, with its knees chopped nearly two. this was jacky-jacky's way of putting the poor beast down to be unloaded. happily, after a warden was appointed at lawlers, a trooper was sent out, who broke up the gang and captured most of them, at the expense of the life of one black tracker. one of these thieves paid our camp a visit, but the sight of a rifle, combined with a smart blow on the shins with a stick, quite satisfied him that he had come to the wrong place. returned to lake darlot, we impatiently awaited the arrival of those who were to take over the mine from us. at last they came, and it only remained to pack up our traps, take the road to coolgardie, and finish up all business connected with the syndicate. there we parted, conley and egan leaving with their shares; and with regret on both sides i think, that our ways no longer lay together: for months of close companionship in the bush, facing hardships and sometimes mutual dangers, make a close tie of friendship between men, that is not easily broken. wishing to pay a visit to the old country, and yet not caring to part with the camels which had been my property for some months past, and of which i was very fond, we formed a syndicate, composed of dave wilson, charles stansmore, and alfred morris, who found the money, and myself, who found the camels, the profits of the venture, if any arose, to be divided in a proportion agreed upon. i could depart, therefore, with the satisfactory feeling of knowing that my faithful animal-friends would be well cared for. shares were rising, the mine was sold, and the work done, and it was with a light heart that i booked passage for london in october, . part iv mining chapter i quartz reefing and dry-blowing i would not, even if i had the requisite knowledge, wish to bore the reader by giving a scientific account of gold-mining, but western australia presents so many appearances differing from those in other gold-producing countries, and so varied are some of the methods of obtaining gold, that i hope a short account of the usual ways of winning the precious metal, purely from a prospector's point of view, will be of interest. the area over which the goldfields extend, may be described as very gently undulating country, from which rise, at intervals, low ranges or isolated hills.* these ranges, in reality seldom over feet above the plain, have in the distance a far more important appearance. it is a common experience to steer for a range, sighted from perhaps a distance of fifteen miles, and find on closer inspection that it is no more than a low line of rocks. it is equally common for a hill to appear as quite a respectable mountain when seen from one point, but entirely to disappear from view when seen from the opposite direction, so gentle is the slope. [* mount burgess, the highest hill around coolgardie, is about feet above surrounding country.] these ranges, such as they are, occur at intervals of a few miles up to thirty or more, and between them scrub-covered plains, sand-plains, or flat stretches of open forest are found. in the deeper undulations, long chains of dry salt-lakes and samphire-flats are met with, occupying a narrow belt, perhaps one hundred miles in length. doubtless were the rainfall greater, these lakes would be connected, and take the place of rivers, which would eventually find their way into the australian bight. unfortunately for the comfort of travellers, this is not the case, and their water supply must depend upon one or other of the various sources already described. the first aim of a party of western australian prospectors is to find not gold, but water. having found this they make camp, and from it start short excursions in all directions towards any hill that may be in sight. arrived at the hills, which, though bare of undergrowth, are usually covered with low scrub, they can soon determine from the nature the rock whether further search is likely to have good results. should they see hills of ironstone and diorite, or blows and outcrops of quartz, they will certainly revisit the locality. in what manner, will depend upon the distance from water. they may be able to form camp in the desired spot, with water close at hand; or the party may have to divide, some camping in the likely country, engaged in prospecting solely, while the others "tail" the horses or camels at the watering-place and pack water to their mates. in cases where "good gold is getting," water has sometimes been packed distances of twenty to forty miles; or it may happen that good country must be passed over, from the want of water within reasonable distance. from his limited appliances and means, a prospector's object is to find a vein or reef of gold-bearing ore, not by sinking, but from surface indications. veins or reefs may be described as layers, which have been deposited in fissures and cracks in the rock surrounding them. the enclosing rock is known as the "country rock." "lodes" are veins composed of a mixture of quartz, ironstone, and other material, and usually exceed in width the "reefs," which sometimes, as at southern cross, attain thirty feet, but are rarely more than one to four feet in thickness. the part of a reef showing above the surface is the "outcrop," which may appear either as a mass or "blow" of quartz, sometimes sixty feet in height, or as a solid wall or dyke which can be followed for perhaps five miles without a break; the direction in which it runs is known as its "strike." reefs may go down vertically, or on a sloping "dip" or "underlay." the country rock lying immediately above the reef is the "hanging wall," and that immediately below, the "foot wall." in prospecting a reef, a miner walks along the strike of the outcrop, "napping" as he goes, i.e., breaking off with a hammer or pick, pieces of the quartz or ironstone outcrop. each fragment is carefully examined for the presence of gold, which is nearly always found, if on the surface, in a free state, that is to say, uncombined with any other mineral. if any gold is present, it may occur in small specks as fine as flour, or in large solid lumps as big as one's fist, as in bayley's reward claim, londonderry, and one or two other mines. in the latter case the rich find would immediately be pegged out as a claim, or lease, and work commenced, the coarse gold being won by the simple process of "dollying" the ore; or pounding it in an iron mortar with an iron pestle, and passing it when crushed, through a series of sieves in which the gold, too large to fall through, is held. to estimate roughly the worth of a reef in which only fine gold is visible it is necessary to take several samples along the outcrop, "dolly" them, and wash the powdered quartz by means of two iron dishes, from which the light material is floated off, leaving the gold behind. from a series of experiments an idea can be formed as to whether the reef is worth further work. it will be found on napping a reef, that the gold occurs at more or less regular intervals. this deposit of gold in the surface outcrop is the top of a "shoot" of gold, which may be followed down on the underlay for many feet. and this peculiarity in the distribution of the metal has been the cause of much disappointment and misunderstanding. having determined that your reef is good enough on the surface, the next thing to be done is to ascertain, by means of cuts and shafts, its nature below the surface. this may be done either by an underlay shaft, which follows the reef down from the surface, or by a vertical shaft, sunk some distance away from the outcrop, to cut the reef perhaps one hundred feet below. by a series of shafts with drives, or galleries, connecting them when they cut the vein, a more accurate estimate of the value of the reef can be made. now in the case of a reef which has rich shoots a prospector, naturally anxious to make his "show" as alluring as possible to any possible buyer, sinks his trial shaft, on the underlay, through the shoots. and so it might happen, that by carefully selecting the sites of his shafts, he might have a dazzling show of gold in each one, and merely blank quartz between them. a mining expert, usually only too ready to give a glowing report, makes his estimates on the assumption that the quartz intervening between the shafts is as rich as that visible in them, and the purchase price increases accordingly. not only do shoots occur to puzzle the expert, gladden the heart of the prospector, and madden the shareholder, but the eccentricity of gold is further exemplified by the way in which it has been been deposited in "pockets." no better example of this could be given than the londonderry mine, where gold to the value of many thousand pounds was won from quite a small hole in the outcrop. at the bottom of this hole lumps of solid gold could be seen, and inasmuch as other pockets, equally rich, had been found, it was assumed by nearly all concerned that the reef was a solid mass of gold, and the whole community was mad with excitement. however, when the purchasers started work, it was soon discovered that the golden floor to the golden hole only continued golden to the depth of three or four inches, to the despair of the promoters and unlucky shareholders, as well as of the numberless adjoining leaseholders, through whose property this rich reef had been traced. it seems incredible that a vein should run in more than one direction, and yet it is made to do so, and to go north, east, south, or west, or to any intermediate point of the compass, at the discretion of those responsible for the prospectus! an unmistakable surface outcrop is not popular amongst experts (it leaves no scope for the exercise of an elastic imagination), whereas they cannot be expected to see under ground, and can then make their reef run in the most suitable direction. i do not think the much-abused expert is any more dishonest than other folk, though he has more temptation. his bread and butter depends on his fee, his fee depends, not on the accuracy of his report, but on the fact, whether or no that report suits his employers. if, as often is the case, he has to report on a "lease" whose only value is derived from its close proximity to a rich show, and if that rich show only appears above the surface in an isolated mass, and its direction of strike can only be guessed at, and, above all, if he knows that his fee or future employment depends on guessing that direction into the property under report, i think he has been led into temptations from which most of us are exempt, and which a good many would find it hard to resist. the term "expert" refers only to the numerous army of "captains" and "mining experts" of mushroom growth, for which the soil of the goldfields is so suitable, and is not applied to the mining engineer of high standing, whose honourable and straight dealing is unimpeachable. having brought the mine to such a state that it is ready to be purchased, in which unsatisfactory position it sometimes remains for many long months, i will now leave it, and will not touch upon "mills" and "batteries," which are the same, or nearly so, in all countries, and are outside the province of a prospector, who, from his limited capital, is unable to erect the costly machinery necessary for the extraction of gold from quartz on a large scale. therefore the prospector parts with his mine as soon as he can find a purchaser, usually an agent, who sells at a profit to some company, which in its turn sells at a greater profit to the british or australian public. the humbler prospector confines his attention to alluvial gold, that is to say the gold which has been shed from the outcrop of the reef, by weathering and disintegration. the present small rainfall, and the evidence from the non-existence of river-beds, that the past rainfall was no greater, go to show that this weathering is due to the sudden change in temperature between night and day, the extreme dryness of the atmosphere, and strong winds. without any rush of water it is not possible for any great depth of alluvial soil to have been formed, nor can the gold have been carried far from the reef, or reefs, in which it has its origin. for this reason, though exceptionally rich in places, the alluvial diggings have never been either of great extent, or depth, or of general richness. in many places the alluvial soil is not more than a few inches in depth. it is in such places that "specking" may be carried on, which consists in walking slowly about with eyes to the ground, and picking up any nuggets that may be seen. many thousand ounces of gold have been found in this simple manner. where, however, the alluvium is deeper, a considerable amount of labour must be expended before gold can be won. in countries blessed with abundant rainfall the nuggets can be separated from the dirt by a comparatively simple arrangement of sluices and cradles. in the drought-stricken west of australia other means must be adopted, which i will endeavour to describe. having picked and dug out a certain amount of the alluvial ground which, it is hoped, contains nuggets of various sizes, the digger then breaks up any lumps of clay or earth by means of a heavy billet of wood, or like implement, and this prepared dirt, as it is called, he treats in one of the following ways:-- . by means of two iron dishes, in diameter to inches, and in depth to inches. one dish is placed empty on the ground, the other, filled with the prepared dirt, is held up at arm's length above the head, with the mouth of the dish turned to the wind; the earth is then allowed to fall gradually into the dish beneath, all light particles and dust being blown away by the wind. exchange of dishes having been made, the same process is repeated again and again. when there is only a small amount of dust left, the full dish is held in both hands, and given a circular movement, which causes the larger stones or pebbles to come to the surface; these are cleared away with the left hand, and a sharp look out is kept for nuggets or quartz specimens. this is repeated until nothing is left in the dish but a small quantity of dust, ironstone-gravel, and possibly fine gold, or small nuggets. the dish is then held up at an angle, and shaken from side to side until a compact little heap remains, to the bottom of which the gold will have sunk. the next and final operation is to hold the dish up to the mouth nearly horizontally, and blow the little heap across the dish. any fine gold will then be seen lying on the bottom just under the nose of the operator. given a good hot summer's day, flies as numerous as the supply of water is scanty, clouds of dust, little or no breeze, and the same quantity of gold, and a few score of men working within an area of nine or ten acres, one is sometimes tempted to think that gold may be bought too dear. but the very lowest depths of despair, cannot compare with the heights of satisfaction, attained after a successful day's "dry-blowing." . by means of two dishes, and a tripod stand and pulley. a tripod, twelve or fifteen feet high, is set up over a hard and smooth piece of ground. by a rope and pulley the full dish is hauled up as far as required; the rope is then made fast and a string, fixed to the edge of the dish, is pulled, and the dish tipped up allowing the dirt to fall on to the prepared surface below, where it is swept up and treated as in the first method described. with a fair breeze this is a very effectual way of getting rid of the fine dirt. by means of a sieve. this method is only suitable when the soil is wet and sticky, or where the nuggets are fairly large and not too rare. on the first rush to kurnalpi, where more alluvial gold was found in a short time than on any other field, sieves were almost the only implements used. a sieve is very useful for prospecting the surface soil, being more portable and more rapidly worked than the dishes. a combination of these three methods is found in the dry blowing machine. it has always been a hotly debated question, whether what is known as the "cement" comes under the heading of "reefs" or "alluvial." this cement is composed of angular quartz-fragments, broken from the reefs or veins, and fragments of diorite and hornblende schists, cemented together by lime; it is very hard and solid and, in places, continues to a depth of over twenty feet. the gold is extracted from these depths by crushing and dry-blowing. i have mentioned this peculiar composition last, as i am not at all clear to which class of formation it belongs. at first this cement, which the shallow alluvial ground overlies, was supposed to be "bottom," that is to say, that there was considered no likelihood of gold being found at a greater depth. later developments, however, have proved this theory to be wrong, and with regard to this i cannot do better than quote extracts from a report made by mr. e. p. pittman, government geologist of new south wales, in which he says:-- "he had considered the question of deep-leads of alluvial, and after visiting coolgardie, kalgoorlie, and kanowna, he thought it probable that there would shortly be a large output of alluvial gold from this source. in coolgardie the dry-blowing had been confined to a very shallow depth, and yet close to coolgardie--in rollo's bore--there was evidence of the existence of a very deep valley. he produced a specimen, taken by him from an alluvial working near the boulder mine, showing what the dry-blowers had all through regarded as the natural floor of the alluvial. below this floor they had never penetrated until the enterprising prospector at kanowna recently did so, and followed the lead down to fifty feet. " . . . he was satisfied that the alluvial went down to a depth at kalgoorlie just as it did at kanowna. all the conditions were favourable to deep-leads of alluvial. " . . . rollo's bore at coolgardie had proved the existence of alluvial gold at great depths. " . . . so far the alluvial men had been working on a false bottom." at the time of writing, some two thousand men have found profitable employment in working this newly discovered deposit; and doubtless conditions similar to those found at coolgardie, kalgoorlie, and kanowna, will be proved to hold on other alluvial fields, formerly supposed to be worked out. how hotly debated this "cement question" has been may be judged from the fact that, at the time of writing, riots are reported from kalgoorlie, during which the premier was hooted and stoned. this cowardly act could hardly be the work of genuine diggers, and could doubtless be traced to the army of blackguards and riffraff who have, of late years, found their way to the goldfields. it would be idle to discuss here the questions of "who is right" and "who is wrong." a great deal can be said on both sides. let us hope the controversy will be settled to the satisfaction of both parties; that the diggers will not be turned off what is justly theirs, to benefit leaseholding companies, nor leaseholders deprived of their rights. part v the outward journey chapter i previous explorers in the interior of western australia i had not been enjoying the comforts of civilised life for long before i had a letter from dave wilson telling me how he and our mates had pegged out, and applied for, a lease which gave every promise of doing well. in april, , i returned to australia, and made speed to our new property, which i found to be in every respect as satisfactory as wilson had told me. to be in the possession of a good mine, and to find someone anxious to change places on terms mutually agreeable, are two very different things. we were fortunate, however, in finding a purchaser, but not fortunate enough to bring him up to the scratch with any promptitude. i had hoped to have had all preparations for the projected expedition complete by the beginning of may, in order that by the time the hot weather came on we should be well on our way, if not at the end of our journey. the fates ordered things differently, and it was not until the middle of june that i was free to turn my attention to the thousand and one details connected with the composition and equipment of my party. with what keenness i entered into the preparations may be well imagined, for now at last i was in a position to undertake the expedition i had so long in my mind. in order to explain what my object was, and what my plan of procedure was to be, it will be necessary to give a short sketch of the history of exploration and advance of settlement in western australia. the colony, occupying one third of the continent, has an extreme length of , miles and a breadth of one thousand miles. the length of coast-line exceeds three thousand miles. a most noticeable feature of the coast-line on the south is the entire absence of rivers--for nearly seven hundred miles no rivers or even watercourses are met with. along the western coast rivers are fairly frequent, the largest being the swan, murchison, gascoyne, ashburton, the fortescue, and de grey. the swan, on which the capital is situated, is the most important--the rivers north of this are not always running, the seasons in the country where they rise being very unreliable. further north again, where warburton's desert abuts on the sea, we find an inhospitable sandy beach (the eighty-mile beach), along which no river mouths are seen. in the far north, the kimberley division, the coast-line is considerably indented by bays, gulfs, and the mouths of rivers of fair size, which run for the greater part of the year; of these the most important are the fitzroy, lennard, prince regent, and ord. the colony can boast of no great mountain ranges, the highest, the darling range, being something over , feet. the leopold range in the north is of about the same altitude. no mountain chain breaks the monotony of the central portions of the colony. in the interior hills are called mountains, and a line of hills, ranges, for want of a better name. the first settlement was formed on the swan river in , and gradually spread to the south and north, until to-day we find the occupied portion of the colony extending along the western seaboard for about , miles, with an average breadth of perhaps two hundred miles. in the north the occupied country is confined to the watersheds of the two main rivers, the fitzroy and the ord. to the eastward of perth the populous mining towns and many scattered mining camps and settlements extend some five hundred miles towards the interior. in spite of the discovery of gold and the advance of the colony in every way, there still remains more than half the province unoccupied. how scattered the population of the settled country is may be judged from the fact that the average population is one individual to every six square miles. the vast, almost unknown, interior well merits its designation of "desert," and i suppose that in few parts of the world have travellers had greater difficulties to overcome than in the arid, sun-dried wilderness of interior australia. the many attempts to penetrate beyond the head-waters of the coastal rivers date from the earliest days of the swan river settlement. but in every case travellers, bold and enduring, were forced back by the impassable nature of the sandy deserts--impassable to all except camels. roe, hunt, austin, and the gregorys made more than one effort to solve the mysteries of the interior. numerous attempts were made to cross the colony from west to east or vice versa, with the double object of ascertaining whether the nature of the country rendered it suitable for settlement, and of establishing some means of communication with the sister colonies to the east. the first who succeeded in travelling overland from south to west australia was eyre, afterwards made governor of jamaica. he started in , and his route hugged the coast-line along the shores of the great australian bight, and is now closely followed by the telegraph line. in spite of almost insurmountable obstacles in the form of waterless regions, almost bare of vegetation, in spite of mutiny in the camp, and the murder of his white companion by one of the black-boys, the loss of his horses, in spite of starvation and thirst, this gallant man battled his way across, finishing his journey on foot with one companion only, a faithful black-boy. lucky it was that this district is blessed with a plentiful dew in the cool weather, otherwise eyre's horses could never have lasted as long as they did. this journey was successfully accomplished again in by forrest (now sir john forrest, premier of west australia) who, keeping somewhat to the north of eyre's track, had comparatively little difficulty in finding water. some miles to the northward, the colony was traversed from east to west by giles in , who found it to be a flat, sandy wilderness of scrub, alternating with open limestone plains, covered with saltbush and grass.* [* these plains, first crossed by giles, have every appearance of being splendid pasture-lands. unfortunately no surface water can be obtained. the formation is limestone, in which are found "blowholes"--that is to say, circular holes two to four feet in diameter, which go down vertically to a depth never yet ascertained. they derive their name from the curious booming noise which they emit, probably caused by the wind. judging from the growth of saltbush and other herbage it would seem likely that the rainfall on these elevated plains is considerable, and apparently runs to waste down blow-holes and cracks in the limestone. no doubt when other parts of the colony become occupied and civilisation advances, settlers will turn their attention to this part, and possibly, by means of bores, find a plentiful supply of water, as on the nullarbor plains across the border. it seems likely that a most undesirable class of colonists will forestall the "back blockers" from the west, for to the northward of eucla rabbits have been seen slowly advancing to the westward. the government fortunately realises the importance of checking the incursion. to my mind the safest plan would be to run a fence, at whatever cost, north from eucla, for some miles, until the desert was reached, and so force the rabbits into a part of the country where, supposing they could live (which is doubtful), they could do no harm, and might come as a welcome addition to the diet of the wandering blacks, or might serve to break the monotony of "tinned dog" for the weary prospector.] without camels as transport this expedition could not have been carried out, which will be readily understood when we find that a waterless stage of three hundred miles was negotiated. it is of course likely that giles passed by waters unknowingly, for owing to the number of camels he had (twenty-two) and the supply of water he was enabled to carry, he was able to push on without turning to the right hand or to the left. in the following year giles again crossed the colony from west to east, some miles north of his first route, and encountered considerably worse country, spinifex desert covered with light gravel. between giles's two tracks, forrest, in , made a remarkable journey from west to east, connecting his traverse with that of gosse, who from the east had penetrated some miles into the western colony, and finally reached the adelaide-port darwin telegraph line. this journey was accomplished with horses, and forrest, like stuart in central australia, happened to strike a belt of country intersected by low ranges and hills in which he found water. on his left hand was the undulating hill-less desert crossed by giles, on his right a wilderness of rolling sandhills. not only was forrest a surveyor but a bushman as well, and accompanied by good men and black-boys, who let not the slightest indications of the existence of water escape them. one has only to notice the numerous twists and turns in his route to understand that no pains were spared to find water, and thus from rock-hole to rock-hole he wound his way across. it seems certain that forrest must have had an exceptional season, judging from the difficulties that have beset subsequent travellers, even though they had camels, over the same route. mills, hubbe, carr-boyd, macpherson, and frost have in late years traversed the same country, not following exactly in forrest's footsteps, but visiting several waters yielding a plentiful supply when found by him, but which were dry when seen by them. nevertheless if ever an overland route for stock is found from central australia to the coolgardie fields, i feel confident it will closely approximate to forrest's route of for a considerable distance. between giles's northern track and that of the next explorer, warburton, there is a gap of some four hundred miles. colonel warburton, with a party of four white men, two afghans, and one black-boy, left central australia, in to cross to the western coast. this he succeeded in doing after fearful hardships and sufferings, entailing the death of sixteen out of seventeen camels, the temporary failure of his eyesight, and the permanent loss of one eye. one of his party lost his reason, which he never properly recovered, and sufferings untold were experienced by the whole expedition, the members of which narrowly escaped with their lives. indeed they would not have done so but for the faithful courage and endurance of samuel lewis, who alone pushed on to the coastal settlements for aid, and, returning, was just in time to rescue the other survivors. so bad was the account given by these travellers of the interior that it was only by the gradual extension of settlement, rather than by the efforts of any one individual, that any part of it became better known. but for the finding of gold it is certain that the interior would have long remained an unknown region of dangers, so boldly faced by the early explorers. the existence of gold was known to the dutch as far back as or thereabouts, and what is now known as the nor'-west (including pilbarra and the ashburton) was called by them "terra aurifera." in spite of vague rumours of the existence of gold, and the report of austin in , who passed close to what is now the town of cue and noticed auriferous indications, it was not until that an authenticated find of gold was made--at mallina, in the nor'-west. since that date the precious metal has been found now in one place, now in another, until to-day we see on the map goldfields extending in a comparatively unbroken line from esperance bay on the south, along the western seaboard to kimberley in the north. whilst prospectors were at work, explorers were not idle, and in a large expedition, equipped by that public-spirited colonist, sir thomas elder--now alas! dead--was fitted out and put under the leadership of david lindsay. sir thomas was determined to finish what he had so well begun, viz., the investigation of the interior, for by him not only had giles and warburton been equipped, but several other travellers in south and central australia. this expedition, however, though provided with a large caravan of fifty-four camels, accomplished less than its predecessors. leaving forrest's route at mount squires, lindsay marched his caravan across the queen victoria desert to queen victoria spring, a distance of some miles, without finding water except in small quantities in rock-holes on the low sandstone cliffs he occasionally met with. from queen victoria spring, he made down to esperance bay, and thence by the hampton plains, through settled country to the murchison. here lindsay left the expedition and returned to adelaide; wells, surveyor to the party, meanwhile making a flying trip to the eastward as far as the centre of the colony and then back again. during this trip he accomplished much useful work, discovering considerable extents of auriferous country now dotted with mining camps and towns. on reaching the coast, he found orders to return to adelaide, as the expedition had come to an end. why, it was never generally known. thus there still remained a vast unknown expanse right in the heart of the interior covering , square miles, bounded on the north by warburton's great sandy desert, on the south by giles's desert of gravel (gibson's desert), on the west by the strip of well-watered country between the coast and the highland in which the rivers rise, on the east by nothing but the imaginary boundary-line between west and south australia, and beyond by the adelaide to port darwin telegraph line. to penetrate into this great unknown it would be necessary first to pass over the inhospitable regions described by wells, forrest, and giles, and the unmapped expanses between their several routes--crossing their tracks almost at right angles, and deriving no benefit from their experiences except a comparison in positions on the chart, should the point of intersection occur at any recognisable feature, such as a noticeable hill or lake. should the unexplored part between giles's and warburton's routes be successfully crossed, there still would remain an unexplored tract miles broad by long before the settlements in kimberley could be reached, , miles in a bee-line from coolgardie. this was the expedition i had mapped out for my undertaking, and now after four years' hard struggle i had at length amassed sufficient means to carry it through. i do not wish to pose as a hero who risked the perils and dangers of the desert in the cause of science, any more than i would wish it to be thought that i had no more noble idea than the finding of gold. indeed, one cannot tell one's own motives sometimes; in my case, however, i believe an insatiable curiosity to "know what was there," joined to a desire to be doing something useful to my fellow-men, was my chief incentive. i had an idea that a mountain range similar to, but of course of less extent, than the mcdonnell ranges in central australia might be found--an idea based on the fact that the vast swamps or salt-lakes, lake amadeus and lake macdonald, which apparently have no creeks to feed them from the east, must necessarily be filled from somewhere. since it was not from the east, why not from the west? tietkens, giles's first officer in nearly all his journeys, who led an expedition from alice springs in central australia to determine the extent of lake amadeus, cut off a considerable portion of that lake's supposed area, and to the north-west of it discovered lake macdonald, which he encircled. to the west of this lake he found samphire swamps and clay-pans, which are so often seen at the end of creeks that seldom join the lakes in a definite channel. he might, therefore, have crossed the tail-end of a creek without being aware of it. should such a range exist it might be holding undiscovered rich minerals or pasture-lands in its valleys. anything seemed possible in , square miles. then again it seemed to me possible that between kimberley in the north and coolgardie in the south auriferous connection might exist. a broken connection with wide intervals perhaps, but possibly belts of "mixed" country, now desert, now lake, now gold-bearing. such mixed country one finds towards the eastern confines of the goldfields. no better example of what i mean could be given than lake darlot, of which one might make an almost complete circuit and be in a desert country all the time. should we find auriferous country in the "far back," it was not my intention to stop on it (and, indeed, our limited supplies would have made that difficult), but to push on to hall's creek, kimberley, investigating the remaining portion of unknown on the way; then to refit and increase the means of transport, and so return to the auriferous country in a condition to remain there and properly prospect. these were the ideas that possessed me before our journey commenced. i do not wish to institute comparisons, but it is often said that a prospector, or pioneer, who explores with the hope of gain to himself, cannot be deserving in an equal degree of the credit due to those who have risked their lives in the cause of science. i may point out that these latter have not only been at no expense themselves, but have been paid salaries for their services, and have, in addition, been rewarded by grants of money and land--and deservedly so. yet a man willing to take the same risks, and venture the fruits of perhaps years of hard work, in equipping and bearing all the expenses of an expedition, is credited with no nobler incentive than the "lust of gold"--because he hopes, with a vague chance of his hope being realised, to be repaid by compelling nature to part with some of her hidden treasures. the prospector in his humble way slowly but surely opens up the country, making horse or camel-pads, here, there, and everywhere, from water to water, tracks of the greatest service to the government road-maker and surveyor who follow after. he toils and labours, suffers, and does heroic deeds, all unknown except to the few. he digs soaks and wells many feet in depth, makes little dams in creeks, protects open water from contamination by animals, and scores of other services, primarily for his own benefit, it is true, but also for the use of those who come after. very few recognise the immense value of the work carried out by prospectors who are not actuated only by the greed for gold, as i, who know them, can assert. some wish to satisfy a longing to determine the nature of new country, to penetrate where others have never been; others work for love of adventure and of the free bush life; while many are anxious to win what distinction may fall to the lot of successful travellers, though reward or distinction are seldom accorded to prospectors. but beyond all this, there is the glorious feeling of independence which attracts a prospector. everything he has is his own, and he has everything that is his own with him; he is doing the honest work of a man who wins every penny he may possess by the toil of his body and the sweat of his brow. he calls no man master, professes no religion, though he believes in god, as he cannot fail to do, who has taken the chances of death in the uphill battle of life "outside the tracks," though he would perhaps be annoyed if you told him so; and it is only by intimate acquaintance with him that you can know that his god is the same as other men's, though called by another name. for the rest, he lives an honourable life, does many acts of kindness to those in need, never leaves his mate in the lurch, and goes "straight" to the best of his ability. for him, indeed, "two things stand like stone: kindness in another's trouble, courage in his own." as to his work, the results remain, even though he keeps no record. should he find good country or gold, the land is soon occupied--sooner than if some officially recognised expedition had reported it. for in the one case the man is known and trusted by his fellow-prospectors, while in the other there is not only the bushman's dislike of anything official to be overcome, but the curious conviction, which most of them possess, that any one in the position of a geologist, or other scientific calling, must necessarily be an ass! in the same way, if the country met with is useless, the fact soon becomes known amongst the prospectors, who avoid it accordingly--though a few from curiosity may give it a further trial. slowly but surely the unaided and individual efforts of the prospector, bring nearer to civilisation the unknown parts of australia. many are the unrecorded journeys of bushmen, which for pluck and endurance would rank with any of those of recognised explorers. the distances accomplished by their journeys are certainly of no great length, as, indeed, they hardly could be, seeing their scanty means and inadequate equipment; and yet in the aggregate they do as great an amount of useful work as a man who by a single journey leaves his name on the map of australia. it has always seemed a shame to me, how little prospectors are encouraged. no inducement is offered them to give information to the government; they may do so if they like, but they cannot hope to get anything for it in return. my old mate, luck, not only surveyed, roughly but accurately, a track between southern cross and menzies, a distance of nearly miles, but actually cut the scrub for a part of the way, to allow his camels to pass; shortly after a government road was to be cut between the two towns, and luck sent in his map, at the suggestion of the then head official of the water supply, with an application for monetary reward for his work. his request was refused, his map never returned, and strangely enough the new road followed his traverse from water to water with startling exactitude. who was to blame i cannot say; but someone must be in fault when a man, both able and willing to do such useful work is not only neglected, but to all intents and purposes robbed. this is not the only instance of the apathy of the government in such matters, but is a sufficient example of the lack of encouragement with which prospectors meet. chapter ii members and equipment of expedition the most important question in the organisation of an expedition of long duration is the choice of one's companions. many men are excellent fellows in civilisation and exactly the reverse in the bush, and, similarly, some of the best men for bush work are quite unfitted for civilised life. i was therefore grievously disappointed when i heard the decision of my late partners not to accompany me. dave wilson thought it unwise to come because his health was poor and his blood completely out of order, as evinced by the painful sores due to what is termed "the barcoo rot." this disease is very common in the bush, where no vegetables or change of food can be obtained, and must be something akin to scurvy. it is usually accompanied by retching and vomiting following every attempt to eat. the sufferer invariably has a voracious appetite, but what he eats is of little benefit to him. the skin becomes very tender and soft, and the slightest knock or scratch, even a touch sometimes, causes a wound which gradually spreads in all directions. the back of the hand is the usual spot to be first affected, then the arms, and in a bad case the legs also, which become puffy at the joints, and before long the wretched victim will be covered with sores and abrasions. no external application of ointment or anything of that nature seems to do any good, though the wounds are deep and leave but little scar. after a month or two in the bush one is pretty sure to develop this complaint, which in the dusty, hot weather is further aggravated by the swarms of flies, whose poisonous nature is made evident to any one who has killed them. in my own case i have found fine white wood-ashes, preferably of the mulga, to have a healing and drying effect. ashes are used by the natives for healing wounds, and i found them very efficacious in cases of sore backs amongst camels. nothing but an entire change of diet and way of living can cure the "barcoo"; constant washing, an impossibility "out-back," being essential. dave, having had his sickness for some long time, was physically unable to form one of the party, to my sorrow, for he was a man in whom i had the greatest confidence, and one whose pluck and endurance were unquestionable. alfred morris joined his brother in a reef the latter had found, and charlie stansmore was not at all well. thus i was for the time stranded. there was no difficulty in getting men--of a sort! but just the right kind of man was not easily found. my old friend benstead added one more to the many good turns he has done me by recommending joe breaden, who had just finished a prospecting journey with mr. carr-boyd and was looking out for a job. benstead had known him from boyhood, in central australia, and gave him the highest character--not higher than he merited, though, as i hope these pages will make clear. most of us have, i think, an instinct that tells us at once whether to trust another or the reverse. one can say on sight, "i have perfect confidence in that man." as soon as i saw breaden i felt a voice within me saying, "that's just the man you were looking for." i told him my plans and the salary i could afford to give him; he, in his silent way, turned me and my project over in his mind for some few minutes before he said the one word "right," which to him was as binding as any agreement. a fine specimen of greater britain was joe breaden, weighing fifteen stone and standing over six feet, strong and hard, about thirty-five years of age, though, like most back-blockers, prematurely grey, with the keen eye of the hunter or bushman. his father had been through the maori war, and then settled in south australia; breaden was born and bred in the bush, and had lived his life away up in central australia hundreds of miles from a civilised town. and yet a finer gentleman, in the true sense of the word, i have never met with. such men as he make the backbone of the country, and of them australia may well be proud. breaden had with him his black-boy "warri," an aboriginal from the mcdonnell ranges of central australia, a fine, smart-looking lad of about sixteen years, whom breaden had trained, from the age of six, to ride and track and do the usual odd jobs required of black-boys on cattle stations. i had intended getting a discharged prisoner from the native jail at rotnest. these make excellent boys very often, though prison-life is apt to develop all their native cunning and treachery. warri, therefore, was a distinct acquisition. having made so successful a start in the choice of mates, i turned my attention to the purchase of camels. my idea had been to have twelve, for it seemed to me that a big number of camels was more a handicap than an advantage in country where the chances of finding a large supply of water were so small. another excellent reason for cutting down the caravan was the question of expense. eventually i decided on nine as being the least we could do with. nine of the very best they must be, so i spared no pains in the choosing of them. mr. stoddart, the manager of a large carrying company, from whom i bought them, said that he had never come across any one so hard to please! however, i meant to have none but the best, and i got them--five splendid south australian bulls, three of mature years and two youngsters--all a proper match for my old train of four. the best camels, unfortunately, are not the cheapest! the average value of our caravan was pounds shillings--a tremendous amount when compared with their cost in other countries. in somaliland, for instance, for the price i paid for my nine, i could get one hundred and sixty-three camels! but the somali camel from all accounts is a very poor performer, compared to his kinsman in the antipodes, his load being about lbs. against the australian's to cwt. the new camels were christened kruger, prepeh, mahatma billy (always known as billy), redleap, and stoddy. these, together with my old friends czar, satan, and shiddi, i put under breaden's charge; and he and warri camped with them a few miles from the town whilst i completed preparations. rain was falling at the time, the wet weather lasting nearly a fortnight; the whole country around coolgardie was transformed from a sea of dust into a "slough of despond," and, seeing that five out of the nine camels were bulling, breaden had anything but a pleasant time. amongst camels, it is the male which comes on season, when, for a period of about six weeks annually, he is mad and unmanageable, and in some cases dangerous. once, however, a camel knows you as his friend, in whatever state of mind he may be, he will not harm you, though a stranger would run considerable risk. the duration of this bulling depends entirely on what work they are doing; camels running in the bush without work will remain perhaps three months on season, and a horrible nuisance they are too, for they fight anything they come across, and will soon turn a peaceful camp of unoffending camels into a pandemonium. when in this state they will neither eat, drink, nor sleep, and unless tied down or carefully watched will wander far away, and sometimes start off full gallop, in the shortest of hobbles, and not stop under five or six miles. the "scotch hobble" prevents this, for by having a chain from a hobble-strap on the foreleg to another on the hind, the least attempt at galloping will bring the beast down on to his knees. i used this arrangement on satan, but found that the fixing of the chain on the hind leg was a matter of some danger, which could only be accomplished at the expense of being sent flying by a kick in the stomach at least once; for a camel hates anything touching his hind legs, and any attempt to handle them soon affords ample evidence that he can let out with great vigour with any leg in any direction. you have only to watch one flicking flies off his nose with his toe to be convinced of that little point of natural history. before many weeks "on season" a bull becomes so thin and miserable, that it is hardly credible that he can carry a burden of nearly twice the usual weight; nevertheless it is a fact. i remember a caravan of "season camels" arriving at lake darlot, carrying an average load of nine hundred pounds, exclusive of the saddle. the extra load that they carry hardly compensates for the trouble of looking after them, for when in that state they fight like tigers, especially if they have not been long together. once, however, the bulls become friendly, they only fight in a more or less half-hearted way amongst themselves; but woe betide any alien who finds himself near them--they will then band themselves together and fall upon that stranger until even his master would not recognise him. there is no fun attached to travelling along a much-frequented track, on which mobs of twenty to fifty camels may be met with; and there is no sleep to be got at night, for if, following the practice of most white men, a man ties down his camels at night, he may be certain that they will be attacked, and from their defenceless position, perhaps seriously injured or killed by the loose camels of some afghan, who has neither the energy nor sense of fair-play to restrain the bulls under his charge. in this troublesome state were our camels, and poor breaden, being a stranger to them, was treated with neither politeness nor respect; kruger, especially, being so exceedingly ill-behaved as not only to knock breaden down, but to attempt to kneel on his chest and crush him. this disaster was narrowly averted by the prompt action of warri, who first dragged his master out of danger, and then chastised kruger with a heavy stick, across the head and neck. kruger was equally rough to his fellows, for as in a pioneering party, so in a mob of bull camels, there must be only one boss. this knotty point was fought out with bitter vehemence, czar, shiddi, and misery being vanquished in turn by the redoubtable kruger. the others knew their places without fighting; for old billy, the only one of them not too young to compete, was far too good-tempered and easy-going to dispute anything (except the passage of a salt-lake, as we afterwards discovered). i was naturally sorry to see misery deposed; but for his age he fought a good fight, and it was gratifying to possess the champion who could beat him. what a magnificent fellow was kruger--a very tower of strength, and (excepting of course when in the state above described) with a nature like that of an old pet sheep. in the meantime i was under the sheltering roof of my old foster-mother "bayley's reward claim"--the guest of tom and gerald browne. gerald had as his henchman a small boy whom he had taken from a tribe away out to the eastward of lake darlot--a smart little chap, and very intelligent, kept neat and clean by his master, whose pride in his "boy" knew no bounds. he was wonderfully quick in picking up english and could count up to twelve. no doubt by this time he is still more learned. it is rather strange that so much intelligence and aptitude for learning should be found in these children of the wilderness, who in their wild and wandering habits are not far removed from animals--for neither "wynyeri," the boy in question, nor any of his tribe, could by any possibility have seen a white man before . and yet this little chap in a few months is as spruce and clever as any white boy of the same size, and, far from showing any fear or respect, evinces a distinct inclination to boss any white children with whom he comes in contact. the australian aboriginal is indeed a puzzle: he lives like a beast of the field, using neither clothes nor house, and to the casual observer is a savage of the lowest type, without brains, or any senses other than those possessed by animals; yet he has his peculiar laws and customs--laws of which the mosaic rule of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" is the foundation. in some districts, and probably all over the continent, were inquiry made, marriage laws of the most intricate kind are strictly adhered to; and though his ceremonies and rites are unique in their barbarity, yet when properly handled he is capable of becoming a useful and intelligent member of the community. great tact is necessary in the education of the aboriginals. neglect turns them into lazy, besotted brutes who are of no use to anybody; too kind treatment makes them insolent and cunning; too harsh treatment makes them treacherous; and yet without a certain amount of bullying they lose all respect for their master, and when they deserve a beating and do not get it, misconstrue tender-heartedness into fear. the "happy medium" is the great thing; the most useful, contented, and best-behaved boys that i have seen are those that receive treatment similar to that a highly valued sporting dog gets from a just master; "to pet" stands for "to spoil." like most black races, the native soon develops a love for liquor; but fortunately there exists a stringent law which prohibits the giving of drink to a black-fellow, except at the request of his master. it is marvellous how soon a tame boy comes to despise his own people, when he far outstrips any white man in his contemptuous manner of speaking about a "---- black fella." one visitor to bayley's reward claim, brought with him from victoria, a highly educated aboriginal who had been born in civilisation, and who afterwards married his master's parlourmaid. jim was a tremendously smart boy, could ride, shoot, box, bowl, or keep wicket against most white men, and any reference to his colour or family was deeply resented. on his first appearance the cook at bayley's (the wife of one of the miners) proceeded to converse with him in the sort of pigeon-english commonly used, and handed him a plate of scraps for his dinner, calling out, "hi, jacky-jacky, this one your tucker," to which jim replied with stern dignity, "who the h--- are you calling jacky-jacky? do you think i'm a ---- black-fellow?" the cook, a quiet and ladylike little woman, who had been a schoolmistress "at home" was not less astounded by the excellent english, than by the delicate way in which his disapprobation was expressed. this story of jim reminds me of one about his master. he was a man who liked to have everything about him smart and showy, and was quite willing that every one should look upon him as a tremendous swell with the purse of a croesus. i heard some diggers discussing him: one said he had come to buy up all the mines in the place and must be a man of importance. "oh," said his mate, "any one could see 'e was a toff--i seed him black 'is boots and brush his teeth." "yes, and 'e wears a ---- collar too." thus was exemplified the old adage "fine feathers make fine birds." camped near bayley's was godfrey massie, a cousin of brownes and brother of the once famous cricketer. he had taken a contract to sink a shaft on the adjoining lease, but, owing to the death of one of his mates and his own incapacity to work, due to a "jarred" hand, he was forced to throw up the job, and quickly agreed to my proposal that he should form one of my party. people get to a very casual way of doing things on the goldfields. there was no formality about my arrangements; godfrey helping me pack at a store, and during our work i said without preface, "you'd better come too;" "right," said he, and the matter was settled. godfrey, a son of one of the leading sydney families, had started life in an insurance office, but soon finding that he was not cut out for city life, went on to a queensland cattle-station, where he gained as varied a knowledge of bush life as any could wish for; tiring of breeding and fattening cattle for somebody else's benefit, he joined the rush to the tasmanian silver-fields and there he had the usual ups and downs--now a man of wealth, and now carrying his load of bacon and oatmeal through the jungle on the steep tasmanian mountains. while a field continues to boom, the up-and-down business does not so much signify, but when the "slump" comes it is distinctly awkward to be in a state of "down." it is then that the average speculator bemoans his hard fate, can't think how he is to live; and yet manages to do so by borrowing from any more fortunate fellow, and almost invariably omitting to pay him back. a most lively and entertaining class of men when shares are up, but a miserable, chicken-hearted lot when the luck turns. some, however, of these wandering speculators, who follow from "boom" to "boom," are of very different mettle and face their luck like men. such a one was godfrey, who, when he found himself "broke" in tasmania, set to work and burned charcoal until he had saved enough money to pay his passage to perth; and from there he "humped his bluey" to coolgardie, and took a job as a miner on his uncle's mine until brighter times should come. the australian can set us a good example in some matters, and i must confess with sorrow that nine out of every ten young englishmen on the goldfields, of the same class, would not only be too haughty to work, but would more readily take to billiards, cards, and borrowing when they found themselves in low water--and no man sinks lower than an english "gentlemen" who has gone to the bad, and no one despises him more than an australian miner, or is more ready to help him when he shows signs of trying to help himself by honest work. i had known godfrey long enough to be sure that, in the bush, he was as good a man as i could get, hard as nails, and willing to work for other people, as energetically as he would for himself, so long as they treated him fairly. my party was now complete, and included a little fox terrier, "val" by name, whose parents belong to tom and gerald browne, and come of the best stock in australia. i had intended to take another man, but, since i could not get one of the right sort, i had no idea of handicapping the party with one of the wrong. at the last minute, however, charlie stansmore changed his mind, greatly to my delight, for i knew him to be as sterling a fellow as one could hope to find. charlie, too, had knocked about from queensland to west australia, now on a station, now a miner, and now engine-driver. his people were amongst the earliest settlers on the swan river, and could well remember the great massacre of whites by the blacks; subsequently they moved to victoria, where they have farming land at the present time. a very quiet, reserved man was charlie, who took a great interest in mechanical work and astronomy, a strong man physically and mentally. thus at last we were ready to tackle whatever the "great unknown" had in store for us. with hearty wishes for success from the few friends who knew where we were bound for, we shook the mud of coolgardie from our feet and took the northern road to menzies on july , . breaden, stansmore, massie, warri, nine heavily laden camels, and a dog made a fine show, and i confess i was near bursting from pride as i watched them. who could foresee that one of us was destined never to return? acting on the principle of making mention of matters which i have noticed excite an amount of interest in "home" people, though to us, who are used to them, their importance hardly seems to warrant it, i subjoin a list of the articles and provisions with which we started:-- pack-camels. bulls. south australian bred. of ages varying from five to fifteen years. riding-camel. bull. s.a. bred. age five years. average value of camels; pounds shillings each. pack saddles of afghan make. riding saddle, made to order by hardwick, coolgardie, specially light, and stuffed with chaff. a very excellent saddle. camel brand. d.w.c. doz. nose pegs. coils of clothes line. coils of wallaby line (like window-blind cord) for nose lines. hanks of twine. long iron needles for saddle mending (also used as cleaning-rod for guns). iron packers for arranging stuffing of saddle. spare canvas. spare calico. spare collar-check. spare leather, for hobbles and neck-straps. spare buckles for same. spare bells. spare hobble-chains. lbs. of sulphur. gallons kerosene, to check vermin in camels. gallons tar and oil, for mange in camels. galvanised-iron water casks ( gallons each). galvanised-iron water casks ( gallons each), made with bung on top side, without taps, for these are easily broken off. india-rubber pipe for drawing water from tanks. funnel, three-gallon buckets. tin canteen ( gallons). canvas water tanks, to be erected on poles to hold water baled from soak, &c. canvas water-bags ( gallons each.) canvas water-bags ( / gallons each) slung on camels' necks. ballarat picks and handles. shovels. axe ( lbs.). hammer ( lbs.). engineer's hammer. tomahawks. saw. small flat iron anvil. small pair of bellows. iron windlass-handle and fittings. -inch chisel. brace and bits. / inch auger bit. emery stone. iron dishes. sieve-dish. iron dolly. soldering iron for mending water casks. sticks solder for mending water casks. bottle spirits of salts for mending water casks. case of tools. screwdriver, small saw, hammer, chisel, file, gimlet, leather-punch, wire nipper, screw wrench, large scissors, &c. case of tools for canvas work (sewing needles, &c.). lbs. of copper rivets. screws. bolts. box copper wire. strong thread. / lbs. -inch nails. lb. -inch nails. feet of rope. duck tent, ft. x ft. flies, ft. x ft., for covering packs. mosquito nets. saucepans. quart pots. pannikins. plates, enamelled tin. knives, forks, and spoons. stewpan. frying pan, small medicine case (in tabloid form). lbs. epsom salts. bottles of elliman's embrocation. bottles of carbolic oil. bottles of eye lotion. bottles of eucalyptus oil. galvanised-iron concertina-made boxes for perishable goods, e.g., ammunition, journals, &c. twelve-bore shot-guns. colt revolvers, . calibre. winchester repeaters, . calibre. twelve-bore cartridges. winchester do. revolver do. bicycle lamp (for night observations). -inch theodolite and tripod. prismatic compasses. steering compasses (gregory's pattern). telescope. pair field-glasses. map case. drawing-board. drawing materials, note-books, &c. binocular camera, with films. (n.b. not good in hot climate.) tape measure. -lb. bags of flour ( lbs.). doz. -lb. tins of meat ( lbs.). doz. -lb. tins of fish ( lbs.). (n.b.--not fit for consumption--thrown away.) lbs. rice. lbs. oatmeal. doz. tins of milk (condensed). doz. tins baking powder. doz. -lb tins of jam. lbs. sugar, lbs. salt (for salting down meat--kangaroo, &c.). lbs. tea. doz. tinned fruit. doz. tinned vegetables. lbs. currants. lbs. raisins lbs. dried apricots. doz. -lb. tins butter. doz. liebig's extract. / doz. pepper ( / -lb. tins). / doz. curry-powder ( / -lb. tins). packets sunlight soap. box of candles. lbs. cornflour. doz. matches. lbs. tobacco. lbs. preserved potatoes. bottles good brandy. bottle good rum. hair clipper. blankets, boots, flannel shirts, trousers (dungaree and moleskin); &c. the stores were calculated to last six months with care and longer should we encounter good country where game could be shot. everything that could be was packed in large leather bags, made to order. other expeditions have carried wooden brass-bound boxes; i do not approve of these--first on account of their own weight and bulk; second, when empty they are equally bulky and awkward; third, unless articles are of certain shapes and dimensions they cannot be packed in the boxes, which do not "give" like bags. wooden water casks are generally used--my objections to them are that they weigh more than the iron ones, are harder to mend, and when empty are liable to spring or warp from the hot sun. it will be seen that a great part of our load consisted of tools which, though weighty, were necessary, should we come on auriferous country, or be forced to sink to any depth for water: a great many of these tools were left in the desert. the average load with which each camel started, counting the water casks (the four large ones) full, was lbs., exclusive of saddle. kruger and shiddi carried over lbs. including top loading and saddle. these loads, though excessive had the season been summer, were not too great to start with in the cooler weather; and every day made some difference in their weight. the brandy was for medicinal purposes only. even had we been able to afford the room i should not have carried more; for i am convinced that in the bush a man can keep his health better, and do more work, when he leaves liquor entirely alone. chapter iii the journey begins the week's rain had made the roads in a terrible state, where dust had been there was now a foot or so of soft mud, and the ground, which had been hard and clayey, was now so sticky and slippery, that it was not easy travelling for the camels. we passed several camps of afghans, squatting miserably under huge tarpaulins, waiting for the roads to dry before starting their caravans, loaded with stores for some distant district. there are one or two things that camels are quite unable to do, according to an asiatic driver; one is to travel in wet weather. however, europeans manage to work camels, wet or fine; the wily afghan says, "camel no do this," "camel no do that," because it doesn't suit his book that camel should do so--and a great many people think that he must know and is indispensable in the driving of camels; which seems to me to be no more sensible than to say that a chow-dog can only be managed by a chinaman. there is, perhaps, a small amount of risk in travelling in wet weather, for when a camel does slip he does so with a vengeance; each foot seems to take a different direction and thus, spread-eagled under a heavy load, he might suffer a severe strain or even break a bone. redleap fell once, but, happily, neither hurt himself nor the load. the winter had caused a transformation in the appearance of the bush; everywhere little patches of green grass or saltbush could be seen, and wherever a teamster had stopped to bait his horses, a miniature field of oats had sprung into life. how we hoped that the rainfall had extended towards the interior! if only we could have started sooner, we should have benefited by the cool weather for a great part of the journey. but though the days were warm enough, there was no doubt about the coldness of the nights. our blankets were white with frost in the mornings, and our canvas water-bags frozen into a solid mass. my thermometer registered degrees f. just before dawn on the coldest night. unhobbling the camels and loading them was freezing work, during which our fingers were quite numbed. shivering, we walked along until the sun was above the trees, then in a little its rays warmed to their work, and we would peal off now a coat, now a jersey or shirt, until in the middle of the day the heat was too great to be pleasant. poor little val hated the cold nights, and, as i always sleep away from a fire, she used to crawl into my blankets and lie up against my back, which was quite pleasant for both of us. most men like to sleep alongside a roaring fire in the winter, but i have always found that after the fire burns out and the night becomes colder, the change of temperature becomes unbearable. if the fire burned all night it would be a different matter; but to do so it must be replenished, and this entails leaving warm blankets to carry wood. it is amusing to see two men camped by a fire which has burned low, both lying awake, and watching to see if the other will get up and attend to it. the best recipe for avoiding cold is to sleep soundly; and to sleep soundly one must be tired. as a rule night found us in this state, for we all discovered walking rather trying at first, none of us having done any for some time. we were all pleased, i think, when our stage of seven or eight hours was finished--especially breaden, who had given himself a nasty strain in loading the camels, and who had a deal more weight to carry than we thin people. australian bushmen do not, as a rule, make good walkers--their home has been the saddle. it was the more necessary, therefore, that we should start on foot at once and carry out a system of training, in which i am a great believer; thus we never ate or drank between breakfast at daylight and tea at night--from nine to eleven hours afterwards. stopping in the middle of the day wastes time, and entails the unloading of the camels or putting them down with their burdens on, a very bad plan; the time so spent at midday is far more valuable in the evening, when the camels can employ it by feeding. then again, a meal, really unnecessary, during the day soon makes an appreciable difference in the amount of provisions used. breaden and godfrey consoled themselves with tobacco, but charlie and i were not smokers. i used to be, but gave up the practice because it made me so dry--an effect that it does not have on every one, some finding that a smoke relieves not only hunger but thirst. i have only one objection to a smoker as a travelling companion, and that is, that if by some horrible mishap he runs out of tobacco, he becomes quite unbearable. the same holds with an excessive tea-drinker. i was specially careful, therefore, to have a sufficient supply of these articles. a large amount of tea was not required, since godfrey was the only confirmed tea-drinker. on july th we reached menzies, having followed the telegraph line to that point. and a very badly constructed line this is, the poles being timber and not sunk sufficiently deep into the ground--a contract job. the iron poles which are now used in the government-constructed lines are a vast improvement. menzies was the last town we called at, and was not so specially inviting that we regretted leaving it. niagara, the next city, we avoided, and turned up the old lake darlot road, some fifteen miles to the west of it. between menzies and sandy creek, close to where we turned, the open, saltbush plain which fringes the salt lake, lake prinsep, was looking quite charming, dotted all over with patches of splendid green and yellow herbage, plants like our clover and dandelion, and thousands of pink and white everlastings. there can be no doubt that with a better rainfall or with some means of irrigation, could artesian water be found, a great part of the goldfields would be excellent pastoral land. as it is, however, a few weeks suffice to again alter the face of the country to useless aridity. we camped a day on sandy creek, to allow our beasts to enjoy, while they could, the luscious green feed; i embraced the opportunity of taking theodolite observations for practice. the pool, some eighty yards long, and twenty wide, fringed with overhanging bushes and weeping willow with its orange-red berries, made a pretty picture; turkeys evidently came there to water, but we had not the luck to shoot any. the northern track from sandy creek deviated so much on account of watering-places, thick scrub, and broken rocks, that we left it and cut through the bush to some clay-pans south of cutmore's well; and successfully negotiated on our way the lake that had given me so much trouble when i and the fever were travelling together. all through the scrub every open spot was covered with grass, that horrible spear-grass (aristidi), the seeds of which are so troublesome to sheep and horses. i have seen sores in a horse's mouth into which one could put two fingers, the flesh eaten away by these vicious little seeds. when turned out on this kind of grass, horses' mouths should be cleaned every day. camels do not suffer, as they seldom eat grass unless long, young, and specially succulent. we, however, were rather annoyed by the persistent way in which the seeds worked through our clothes and blankets; and before much walking, our trousers were fringed with a mass of yellow seeds, like those of a carter who has wound wisps of straw round his ankles. truly rain is a marvellous transformer; not only vegetable but animal life is affected by it; the bush is enlivened by the twittering of small birds, which come from nobody knows where, build their nests, hatch out their young, and disappear! almost every bush held a nest, usually occupied by a diamond-sparrow. her nest is round, like a wren's, with one small entrance and is built roughly of grass, lined with soft, small feathers. the eggs, numbering four to five in the few nests we disturbed, are white and of the size and shape of our hedge-sparrow's. i am pretty sure that the nesting season depends entirely on the rain. after rain, the birds nest, however irregular the seasons. as well as small birds, teal had found their way to the clay-pans, and gave us both sport and food. these water-holes are the tail-end of wilson's creek, on which is sunk cutmore's well, where splendid water was struck at a depth of about eighty feet. flood-waters from the creek spread out over these flats, and eventually reach the lake already mentioned, to the south. the caretaker at the well occupied his spare time by growing vegetables, and our last meal, with white men near us, for many months to come, was accompanied by pumpkins and turnips. camped here, too, was a mob of cattle, about head. the stockmen told us they had started from the head of the gascoyne river with , sheep and bullock's. leaving the station, some four hundred miles to the n.n.w. of cutmore's, they travelled by lake way, where a fair-sized mining community was then established, and lawlers, where the advance of civilisation was marked by numerous "pubs." their stock had not suffered from want of food or water--in fact, a very general rain seemed to have spread from coolgardie to the nor'-west. the cattle and our camels seemed quite friendly; the latter were settling down to work, and could now be allowed to go in their hobbles at night, in place of being tied down. only an occasional fight disturbed our sleep; but at the the clay-pans two strangers, wild and savage, caused a deal of trouble, necessitating one or other of us being up all night. however, we would soon be beyond such annoyances. at this point our journey might be said to begin, for here we left the last outpost of civilisation, and saw the last white face for some time to come. chapter iv we enter the desert our position was in lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes, and from this point i started to map the country as we went. we left here on july rd steering a general n.e. by e. course, my intention being to strike mount allott and mount worsnop, on forrest's route of --two very noticeable hills, miles distant. i chose these for the double reason that by hitting them off correctly, as i hoped to do, i should not only give confidence to my companions, but have the opportunity of comparing my amateur work with that of a trained surveyor. our course would clear the southern end of lake wells with which i had no desire to become entangled; and by so avoiding it i should cross a piece of country hitherto untraversed. our way lay across a rough range of bare diorite hills, whose stony slopes and steep gullies were not appreciated by the camels. beyond the hills flat mulga-clad country extended for several days' march, only broken by the occurrence of low cliffs or terraces of sandstone. these are of peculiar formation, running sometimes for five or six miles without a break; abrupt, on one side, and perhaps fifty feet high, with broken boulders strewn about the foot of the cliff from which jut out occasional buttresses. it takes some time to find a break in the cliffs, or a gully, up which one can pass. once on the top, trouble is over, for the summit is flat though often covered with dense scrub; from it a gradual slope takes one presently down to the same level as the foot of the cliffs. occasional pines find a footing on the face of the rocks--how they manage to grow or get moisture is hard to tell--showing up fresh and green against the dull grey background of rock. round the foot of the cliffs a small plain of saltbush is usually found, through which numerous small creeks and watercourses wind their way into the scrub beyond. in any one of these, as we saw them, water could be obtained by sinking in the gravelly bed. from the summit of the cliffs, which is often perforated by caves and holes opening on to the sheer face, square bluffs and walls can be seen, standing up above the sea of scrub, each exactly like its neighbour, and itself when again seen from another point. doubtless the numberless creeks join and form one larger creek probably running south, as the general trend of the country is in that direction. we were getting well into the swing of things now, for at first there is always some trouble in the distribution of the loads and in loading up and unloading. on camping at night the camels were always put down in a circle, as near as might be. all top-loading was taken off and placed near the centre; the side loads placed one on either side of the camel, and the saddle by his tail. thus everything, instead of being scattered about in a long line, was handy, and easily reloaded the next morning. at this time, when the packs were heavy, it took us thirty minutes from the time breaden and warri brought the camels in to the time we were ready to start; breaden, charlie, warri, and i loading, whilst godfrey, who acted as cook, got his pots and pans together and packed the "tucker-bags." there is little of interest in this scrub; an occasional plant perhaps attracts one's attention. here and there a vine-like creeper (an asclepiad) trails upon the ground. with the fruits of this, commonly called cotton-pods, the black-fellows vary their diet of grubs and the very rare emu or kangaroo. the skin, the edible part, is soft, thick, and juicy, and has quite a nice sweet taste. the blacks eat them raw or roasted in wood-ashes. the seeds are of a golden yellow, and are joined on to a silky fibrous core. when bruised the pod exudes a white, milky juice. numerous large spiders inhabit the scrubs and build their webs from tree to tree; wonderfully strong they are too, and so frequent as to become a nuisance to whoever is walking first. it is quite unpleasant when one's eyes are fixed on the compass, to find, on looking up, that one's hat has swept off a great web, whose owner runs over one, furious at unprovoked assault. though i got the full benefit of these insects, i was never bitten; they may or may not be poisonous, but look deadly enough, being from one to four inches from toe to toe. the scrubs for the most part are thick and without a break for many miles. sometimes open country is met with--not always a welcome change. july th the thickets became more and more open until we came across a narrow salt-lake; by leading each camel separately we reached the other side without mishap, and congratulated ourselves on our good fortune, until the next morning when we found that our camp had been on an island; and the lake stretched north and south as far as the eye could reach, until lake and sky became one in a shimmering mirage. i think it probable that this lake joins the eastern portion of lake darlot, which lies to the n.n.w., and connects with the narrow lake seen by luck and myself in , to the s.s.e. whatever its extent there was no doubt about its nature; from . until . we were occupied in hauling, digging out, and dragging our camels, and in humping on our backs some , lbs. weight of packs, across a channel not half a mile wide. camels vary very much in their ability to cross bogs. those which take small steps succeed best; the majority take steps of ordinary length and, in consequence, their hind feet slide into the hole left by the fore, and in an instant they are pinned by the hind leg up to the haunch. kruger was splendid, and simply went through by main force, though he eventually sank close to the shore. i had carried over some of the loading, amongst it my camera, and was just in time to take a snapshot as he was sinking. shiddi, the cunning old rogue, could not be persuaded across; he would try the ground with one foot and then draw back like a timid bather. we left him roaring to his mates and yet afraid to join them, until we were ready to start again. as soon as he saw the caravan disappear over the sandhill which abutted on the lake, he took a desperate plunge and came through with ease. the shores of the lake, as usual, were covered with samphire, having something the appearance of heather. at this season the plant is soft and juicy, and, though salt, makes capital feed for camels. in the summer it withers up to dry sticks and has no moisture. once out of sight of the lake we were disgusted at coming into a belt of flat spinifex country, and were afraid that already we had reached the confines of the desert, more especially since in i had placed its edge in that longitude. however, we were agreeably disappointed, for after a few miles the spinifex ceased, and on penetrating a dense thicket we debouched on a fine grassy flat. in the centre ran a line of large white gums (creek gums, eucalyptus rostrata), the sure sign of a creek. we were not mistaken, for down the avenue a watercourse wound its way. the gravelly bed was quite dry. climbing a tree, from which to follow with my glasses the course of the creek, i could see some hills to the northward; in them the creek evidently rose. whilst i was climbing, breaden amused himself by breaking off pieces of the small roots of the gums which the creek had washed here. by breaking these quite an appreciable amount of moisture could be got, enough to save a man's life. but i fancy that these roots only hold water after rain, and that when they are water-bearing, pools also are to be found in the creeks. numerous emu and turkey tracks led up the watercourse, but, though seeing several emu, we were unable to get a shot. following the creek upwards, for near the head one is likely to find rocky pools, we soon came on a nice waterhole and made camp. i traced the creek to its source in the evening and found the hills to be granite, and discovered one deep pool in the solid rock under a steep step in the creek bed. along the banks herbage and green stuff were growing in profusion. our beasts were content to feed amicably together, and with the exception of a sly bite no longer showed signs of ill-feeling. we were thankful indeed to see them "off season." here we gave them a good drink and filled our casks and neckbags, carrying in all sixty-two gallons. we had been so well off for water up to this point, that we had hopes that the rain had penetrated inland. leaving the creek on july th we again entered the scrub, finding it lower and more open, the ground covered with occasional patches of grass and a little squashy plant straggling along the ground--"pigweed" is the local name; it belongs, i believe, to the "portulacaceae." it is eaten by the blacks, and would make excellent feed for stock were it higher from the ground. this day we saw the last auriferous country we were to meet with until kimberley was reached. these hills, of diorite, with occasional blows of ironstone, i take to be a continuation the neckersgat range (wells, ). many traces of prospectors were visible here--the last to be seen for many a day--shallow dry-blowing holes and little heaps of sieved dirt, and the tracks of camels and horses. this was a piece of country worth trying, had we not had other objects in view. two rather curious ironstone dykes, standing square and wall-like above the ground, occur in these hills, some seven miles apart, running nearly north and south and parallel; between them a deep but narrow creek, a saltbush flat, and a ridge of diorite. standing out prominently to the south of the first dyke are two sugar-loaf hills, and, beyond them, distant ranges are visible. leaving the range the country to the east underwent a distinct change for the worse; and midday of july st found us on the borders of an unmistakable desert, the north-west corner of the great victoria desert. we had so far travelled miles from cutmore's well, only some in a direct line from coolgardie and were already in the desert! wilderness perhaps would be a better name for this part; for the sand now flat, now blown into dunes, is not bare, but overgrown by the hateful spinifex and timbered pretty thickly with desert gums (eucalyptus eudesmoides) and low acacia bushes. i am told that the term "spinifex," though generally employed by those who have the pleasure of the acquaintance of the plant, is wrongly used. i do not know its right name, and have seen it described as "spinifex," "porcupine grass," "triodia," "triodia pungens," and "festuca irritans." why such a wretched, useless plant should have so many names i cannot say. so often am i bound to refer to it that i might vary the monotony by using each in turn. however, i will stick to the term i have always heard used. "spinifex" grows in round, isolated hummocks, one to three feet high; these hummocks are a dense mass of needle-like prickles, and from them grow tall blades of very coarse grass to a height of sometimes six feet. occasionally the hummocks are not round or isolated, but grow in crescent form or almost complete rings, sometimes there is no top growth--however it grows it is most accursed vegetation to walk through, both for men and camels. whatever form it takes it seems to be so arranged that it cannot be stepped over or circumvented--one must in consequence walk through it and be pricked, unpleasantly. camels and horses suffer rather severely sometimes, the constant pricking causing sores on their legs. so long, however, as a camel does not drag his hind legs he will be no worse treated than by having all the hair worn off his shins. the side of the foot is an easily affected spot, and a raw there, gives them great pain and is hard to cure. there are two varieties of spinifex known to bushmen--"spinifex" and "buck" (or "old man") spinifex. the latter is stronger in the prickle and practically impossible to get through, though it may be avoided by twists and turns. there are a few uses for this horrible plant; for example, it forms a shelter and its roots make food for the kangaroo, or spinifex, rat, from its spikes the natives (in the northern districts) make a very serviceable gum, it burns freely, serves in a measure to bind the sand and protect it from being moved by the wind, and makes a good mattress when dug up and turned over. i should advise no one to try and sleep on the plant as it grows, for "he who sitteth on a thistle riseth up quickly." but the thistle has one advantage, viz., that it does not leave its points in its victim's flesh. in northern australia spinifex is in seed for three weeks, and when in this state, forms most excellent feed for horses, and fattens almost as quickly as oats; for the rest of the year it is useless. i can imagine any one, on being suddenly placed on rising ground with a vast plain of waving spinifex spreading before him--a plain relieved occasionally by the stately desert oak, solemn, white, and mysterious--saying, "ah! what a charming view--how beautiful that rolling plain of grass! its level surface broken by that bold sandhill, fiery-red in the blaze of sun!" but when day after day, week after week, and month after month must be passed always surrounded by the hateful plant, one's sense of the picturesque becomes sadly blunted. this was our first introduction to the desert and, though a little monotonous, it seemed quite pleasant, and indeed was so, when compared to the heartrending country met with later in our journey. the sand has been formed (blown, i suppose) into irregular ridges, running more or less parallel, but in no one fixed direction. from the edge of the desert to mount worsnop, a distance of nearly two hundred miles in a straight line, the country presented the same appearance. first a belt, eight to ten miles wide, of sand-ridges from thirty to fifty feet high, with a general direction of e. by s. and w. by n.; then a broad sand-flat of equal breadth, either timbered with desert gums, or open and covered with spinifex breast-high, looking in the distance like a field of ripe corn; next another series of ridges with a s.e. and n.w. direction; then, with startling suddenness, a small oasis, enclosed or nearly surrounded by sheer broken cliffs of desert sandstone, from which little creeks run out into the sand, winding their way for a mile or two between the ridges. dry watercourses these, except immediately after rain; in their beds are found native wells five to ten feet in depth, sometimes holding water; on their banks, round the foot of the cliffs, and on the flat where the creeks merge into the sand, grows long grass--kangaroo-grass--and, in the winter magnificent herbage. next we find a dense thicket, and, this passed, we come again to open plains. and thus sand-ridges now e. and w., now s.e. and n.w., now s.w. and n.e. (as in the vicinity of empress spring), and now sandhills heaped up without regularity, alternate with mulga thickets, open plains of spinifex, and flat, timbered country. the most noticeable vegetation is of course spinifex; as well as that, however, are several shrubs which form good camel feed, such as acacia salicina, with its pretty, scented flower like a little golden powder-puff; the quondong (fusanus acuminatus), or "native peach tree," a graceful little black-stemmed tree, against whose fresh, green leaves the fruit, about the size of a cherry and of a brilliant red, shows out with appetising clearness. alas! it is a fraud and delusion, for the stone forms more than three-quarters of the fruit, leaving only a rather tasteless thick skin, which is invariably perforated by small worms. dotted over the open plains the native poplar (codonocarpus) stands sentry, its head, top-heavy from the mass of seeds, drooping gracefully to the setting sun; the prevalent wind at the present day would seem to be from the e.n.e. here, too, an occasional grass tree or "black-boy" may be seen, and at intervals little clumps of what is locally termed "mustard bush," so named from the strong flavour of the leaf; camels eat this with voracity, of which fact one becomes very sensible when they chew their cuds. this description hardly suits a "desert"; yet, in spite of the trees and shrubs, it is one to all intent. all is sand, and throughout the region no water is to be found, unless immediately after rain in the little creeks, or in some hidden rock-hole. even a heavy storm of rain would leave no signs in such country; half an hour after the fall no water would be seen, except on the rocky ground, which only occurs at very long intervals. the greedy sand soaks up every drop of water, and from the sand the trees derive their moisture. the winter rain causes such a growth of herbage around the cliffs and on the sandhills--to die, alas! in a few weeks' time--that one is inclined to wonder if by means of bores this wilderness will be made of use to man. what artesian bores have done for parts of queensland and algeria they may in the distant future do for this, at present useless, interior, where all is still, and the desert silence unbroken by any animal life, excepting always the ubiquitous spinifex rat. a pretty little fellow this, as he hops along on his long hind legs, bounding over the prickly stools like an animated football with a tail. as he jumps, he hangs one forepaw by his side, while the other is stretched out with the little hand dangling as if the wrist were broken. everything must be spoken of comparatively in this country; thus the ubiquitous rat may be seen, at the most, a dozen times in a day's march; an oasis may measure no more than thirty yards across; a creek is dry, and may be only half a mile long and a few feet broad; a high range may stand three to four hundred feet above the surrounding country, seldom more; and "good feed" may mean that the camels find something to eat instead of being tied down without a bite. for instance, to continue our journey, on august st we have "...the same miserable country until the evening, when a sudden change brings us into a little oasis enclosed by cliffs, a small creek running through it. here we made camp, the camels enjoying a great patch of feed--could find no water--saw several small quails--a number of grasshoppers and little bees--flies of course in abundance. lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes. cloudy night." the next day we sighted a big range to the east across a deep valley, and a broken table-top range to the north. following down the little creek we came on a shallow native well, quite dry; crossing the grassy flat in which it was dug, winding through a thicket, we again reached open sand. here we saw for the first time since leaving coolgardie the tracks of wild aboriginals, and the first tracks of blacks, either wild or tame, since leaving cutmore's well. evidently this part of the world is not overpopulated. since everything pointed to the rain having been general, since the tracks were leading in a direction nearly opposite to our own, and since at the time we had water enough, we did not waste time in following them up. that night we were forced to camp on a barren spot, and tied the camels down foodless; one night without feed does them no harm--less harm than if they wandered miles in their hobbles looking for it. the weather was now distinctly hot, unpleasant and stuffy, as if about to thunder; but the nights were still cold. at midday we saw two fine quondong trees; how the camels devoured them, leaves, fruit, stones and all! emus swallow the stones without inconvenience; apparently a camel has an equally convenient interior, but he brings them up again in his cud and drops them out of his mouth as his jaws move from side to side. amongst some broken rocks this day, breaden found a dingo camped in a cave with a litter of pups. had we been returning instead of only just starting on our travels, i should certainly have secured one--not, i expect, without some trouble, for the mother showed signs of fierce hostility when breaden looked into her lair. there were no traces of water anywhere near, and i have no doubt that the mother, having found a suitable spot for her expected family, would think nothing of travelling many miles for her daily drink. near the rocks i noticed a little blue-flowered plant with the leaf and scent of the geranium. the appearance of the country now soon began to get less fresh, and drier, and all the next two days we were crossing sandhills, the only variety being afforded by valerie. she had lately made it evident that she would soon follow the example of the lady dingo. though i had frequently tried to make her ride on one of the packs, she preferred to trot along at the heels of czar, receiving from him occasional kicks if by chance she touched him, which did not tend to improve the pups so soon to see the light. tying her on was no better; she only struggled and nearly hanged herself. she had therefore to walk as she desired. having made camp, and unrolled our blankets ready to turn into them when the time came, breaden and i experimented on numerous mallee-roots which we dug up, but in every case failed to find any appreciable moisture, on returning to camp we found our party had been increased by one--a large pup which val had deposited in her master's blankets. it was dead, which was fortunate, as we could hardly have kept it, and would not have liked to destroy the little animal, born in such unusual surroundings. no change occurred in the country the next day, but the march was saved from its usual monotony by warri finding two mallee-hens' nests. unluckily they had no eggs, though the birds' tracks were fresh and numerous. these nests are hollowed out in the sand, to a depth of perhaps two and a half feet, conical shaped, with a mouth some three feet in diameter; the sand from the centre is scraped up into a ring round the mouth. several birds help in this operation, and when finished lay their eggs on a layer of leaves at the bottom; they then fill in the hole to the surface with small twigs and more leaves. presumably the eggs are hatched by spontaneous heat, the green twigs and leaves producing a slightly moist warmth, similar to that of the bird's feathers. i have seen numbers of these nests, never with eggs in, but often with the shells from recently hatched birds lying about. how the little ones force their way through the sticks i do not understand, but warri and many others who have found the eggs assure me that they do so. towards evening we neared a prominent bluff that we had sighted the day before, and got a further insight into the habits of the wild dog. a dingo--a female, and possibly our friend with the pups--had followed us persistently all day. godfrey, who was walking behind the camels, opened the acquaintance by practising his revolver-shooting upon her. his poor aim seemed to give her confidence, and before long she started to play with val. by nightfall we had petted and fed her out of our hands, and given her a small drop of water from our fast diminishing supply--this at the earnest request of godfrey, who offered to give her some of his share; and indeed it seemed rather cruel to refuse a poor famished beast that had come to us in her distress. we all agreed how nice it was to have won the affections of a real wild dog. by daybreak our feelings of love had somewhat abated, as our friend prowled about all night, poking her nose into pots and pans, chewing saddles, pack-bags, straps, and even our blankets as we lay in them, and cared no more for blows than for the violent oaths that were wasted upon her. this strange creature accompanied us for two more days, trotting along ahead of the camels, with an occasional look behind to see if she was on the right course, and then falling at full length in the shade of some bush with her head on her paws, waiting for us to pass. eventually my irritability got the better of my indulgence, and a shrewd whack over the nose put an end to our acquaintanceship. near the bluff were many low, stony hills, with the usual small watercourses; in them we hunted high and low for water until darkness overtook us. to the north other similar hills could be seen, by my reckoning a part of the ernest giles range (wells, ). no doubt from the distance these hills would look more imposing. our camp was in lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes. august th. on august th we continued to search the hills, but had to leave them without finding water. we had now been since july th without seeing any, and in consequence of the ease with which we had, up to that date, found water had not husbanded our supply as carefully as we might have done, and now had to put ourselves on a very short allowance indeed. the further we advanced the worse the country became, and the greater the increase in temperature. shortly after leaving the hills we came again on to sandhills. about midday my hopes were high, as i cut the fresh tracks of two black-fellows. warri, after a short examination, said, "yesterday track water that way," pointing in the direction in which they were travelling; not that he could possibly tell which way the water lay, and for all we knew they might have just left it. however, we decided that better success would probably attend us if we followed them forward. soon several equally fresh tracks joined the first ones, and not one of us doubted but that our present discomforts would shortly be over. "there must be water at the end of them," was the general opinion, and so on we went gaily; warri leading, and charlie, who was an almost equally good tracker, backing him up. after much twisting and turning, crossing and recrossing of our own tracks, the footprints at last took a definite direction, and a pad, beaten by perhaps a dozen feet, led away north-west for two miles and never deviated. any doubts as to warri's correct interpretation were now dispelled, and on we hurried, looking forward to at least water for ourselves, and perhaps a drink for the camels. at full speed through mulga scrub, over sand and stones, on which the tracks were hardly visible, we came suddenly to an open patch of rock on the side of a low ridge, and there in the centre of the flat rock lay before us a fair-sized rock-hole--dry as a bone!--and all our visions of luxury for our beasts and ourselves were ended. not only were we baulked of our water, but nothing but dead scrub surrounded the rock, affording no feed for the camels, who had therefore to be tied down. leaving the rest to dig out the hole on the chance of getting a drop, though it was evident that the natives had cleaned it out nearly to the bottom, warri and i started off to follow the tracks yet further. taking a handful of dried peaches to chew, which give a little moisture, for we were very dry, we walked until darkness overtook us. the tracks (a man, two women, and a child) led us back towards the west; we could see their camps, one close to the namma-hole, another four miles away, with crushed seed lying about, and a few roots pulled up. warri said they were "tired fella" from the way they walked. all this made us doubtful if they knew where the next water was. in any case we could make no further search that night, and made our best way back through the scrub, to the camp. godfrey had unsuccessfully explored the neighbouring hills, while breaden and charlie cleaned out the rockhole with like result. a very hot, cloudy night did not make things any more pleasant; we were all a bit done, and poor charlie was seized with a violent and painful vomiting--a not unusual accompaniment to want of food and water. it seemed useless to follow the tracks any more, since they led us in exactly the wrong direction; and as we loaded the camels in the morning two turkeys (bustards) flew over us to the north-east. we would have given something to have their knowledge! we started, therefore, in this direction, and soon came on other tracks, which after some time we concluded were only those of natives who had been hunting from the rock-hole before the water was finished. i called a halt, and, sitting on the sand, expounded my views as to the situation. "we had determined on getting through this country--that was the main point. turning back, even if wise, was not to be considered. the tracks had fooled us once, and though doubtless by following them we would eventually get some water, where would we be at the end of it? no further forward. therefore, since we had still a drop or two to go on with, let us continue on our course. none of us have any idea where water is, and by travelling north, east, south, or west, we stood an equally good chance of getting it. we would therefore go on in our proper direction, and trust to god, providence, fate, or chance, as each might think. i should feel more satisfied if i knew their opinions agreed with mine, for, whatever the outcome, the responsibility rested on me." breaden answered quietly, "it's a matter of indifference to me; go where you think best." godfrey's reply was characteristic, "don't care a d--n; if we are going to peg out we will, whichever way we turn." charlie was inclined at first to question the wisdom of going on, but soon cheerfully agreed to do as the rest. so on i went, much relieved in mind that i was leading no one against his will. possibly i could not--so far as i know, no occasion arose. the day was sweltering, the night worse; in any other country one could with safety have backed heavily the fall of a thunderstorm. we had to be content, where we were, with about three drops of rain; and even this, in spite of tents, flys, and mackintosh-sheets spread for the purpose, we were unable to collect! towards dawn the thermometer went down to degrees f. this sudden change was greatly to our advantage, though the sun soon after rising showed his power. the ridges were now running almost parallel to our course, about north-east, and gave us in consequence little trouble. up to this point i had walked all day, partly because one can steer better on foot and i wished to do all the steering, until we picked up the point on forrest's route, and so give my companions confidence; and partly because i looked upon it as the leader's duty to set an example. to-day i took my turn with the rest, each riding for an hour--a great relief. sand is weary walking and spinifex unpleasant until one's legs get callous to its spines. we had not gone far before our hopes were again raised, and again dashed, by coming on rocky ground and presently on another rockhole--quite dry! we began to think that there could be no water anywhere; this hole was well protected and should hold water for months. thinking did little good, nor served to decrease the horrid sticky feeling of lips and mouth. "better luck next time," we said, with rather forced cheerfulness, and once more turned our faces to the north-east. chapter v water at last presently a single track caught my eye, fresh apparently, and unmistakably that of a "buck." we all crowded round to examine it, and as we stooped caught sight of the owner not a hundred yards ahead, engrossed in unearthing an iguana and entirely ignorant of our presence. a hasty consultation; "catch him," said someone, breaden i think, and off we started--i first, and godfrey near behind. he saw us now and fled, so, shouting to breaden to stay with the camels, and to charlie, who was mounted, to cut him off in front, i put my best leg foremost. a hummock of spinifex brought me down, and, exhausted from short rations, i lay, unable to run further. not so godfrey, who held on manfully for another fifty yards and grabbed the black-fellow as he turned to avoid charlie on the camel. the poor chap was shaking with fear, but, after relieving his feelings by making a violent though abortive attack on godfrey, he soon calmed down and examined us with interest. whatever the buck thought of us, close observation could find nothing very remarkable about him. a man of about feet inches, thin but muscular, with very large feet and small hands, very black, very dirty, his only garment consisted of a band of string round his forehead, holding his hair back in a ragged, mop-like mass. on his chest, raised sears; through his nose, a hole ready to hold a bone or stick--such was this child of the wilderness. by signs we made him understand our wants, and the strange procession started, the "buck" (the general term for a male aboriginal) leading the way at a pace too fast for us or our camels. guarded on one side by breaden, i on the other, we plied our new friend with salt beef, both to cement our friendship, and promote thirst, in order that for his own sake he should not play us false. for five hours we held on our way, curiously enough almost on our proper course, having often to stop awhile to allow the caravan to overtake us. buoyed up by the certainty of water so long as we had the buck with us we pushed on, until just after sunset the country changed from sand to stony rises and we felt sure a rock-hole was not far off. a little further, and, by the uncertain light, we could see a fair-sized hole with water in it. i ran ahead, and was the first to realise that the native had deceived us; the hole was dry! and must have been so for months. no sooner did the buck see that i had found him out than he made a sudden bolt and attempt at escape--very neatly done, but not quick enough to pass breaden. this was indeed a disappointment! i had thought it probable that our guide would lead us anywhere into the sand and try to escape, but i never guessed that he would tantalise us as he had done. in any case, so long as he was with us, we must some time get water--and we had no intention of letting him escape. with a rope we secured him and watched in turn all through the night. never were jailers more vigilant, for that black-fellow meant our lives. he tried all means of escape, and never slept the whole night through. he would lie still with closed eyes for a time, and then make a sudden struggle to wrench the rope away from his captor; then stealthily with his foot he tried to push the rope into the fire; then he started rubbing it on the rock on which we lay; and last of all his teeth were brought into use. when my turn came to watch, i pretended to sleep, to see what he would do, and so discovered all his tricks. i confess that i saw with delight the evident feelings of thirst that before long overcame him--the salt beef had done its duty; he had had no water of course, for we had none to give him, and i felt sure that he would be only too eager in the morning. nor was i mistaken; long before daylight he showed signs of distress, and anxiety to go on, standing up and stretching out his long, thin arm--"gabbi" (water), he said, pointing in three different directions, putting his head back and pointing with his chin, making a noise something between a grunt and a puff. to the east, to the north-east, and to the south-west from where we had come, he made it clear that water existed. evidently we had not been far from his camp when we caught him, and we could hardly blame him for leading us away from his own supply, which he rightly judged we and our camels would exhaust. standing by the dry rock-hole we could see for many miles, the country to the north-east being considerably lower than where we were; not a cheerful view--sand-ridges always! not a hill or range to be seen, and yet people have doubted if this really is a desert! it may happen that in days to come some other party may be stranded in this region and therefore i will leave out no description that could assist them in finding the water that king billy (for so had we named the buck) eventually took us to. the dry rock-hole (mulundella) is situated on a surface outcrop of desert sandstone, about fifty yards across surrounded by thick mulga scrub, enclosed between two sand-ridges running north-east and south-west. on the north and east side of the outcrop the ground suddenly drops, forming what appears from the distance as a line of sheer cliffs. down this steep slope, which is covered with scrub, we discovered a passage, and, at the foot, found ourselves in an open spinifex plain with a sand-ridge on either hand. we were steering n.e. by n., and in consequence had now and again to cross a ridge, since they ran due north-east. after three miles low outcrops of limestone appeared at intervals, the scrub in the trough of the ridges became more open with an undergrowth of coarse grass, buck-bush or "roly-poly" (salsola kali) and low acacia. hugging the ridge on our left, we followed along this belt for another one and a half miles; when, close to the foot of a sandhill, our guide, secured to my belt by a rope round his waist, stopped and excitedly pointed out what seemed on first sight to be three rock-holes, in a small, bare patch of limestone not more than thirty feet across. twenty yards to the right or left and we would never have seen it; and to this spot king billy had brought us full speed, only stopping once to examine some rocks at the foot of one ridge, as if to make sure that we were in the right valley. on further investigation the three holes turned out to be entrances, of which two were large enough for a man to pass through, leading perpendicularly to a cave beneath. with the help of a rope charlie and i descended twenty-five feet to the floor of the chamber, which we found to be covered with sand to a depth of two feet. in the sand we dug holes but did not succeed in getting even moisture. plunged as we were so suddenly into darkness, our eyes could distinguish no passage leading from the chamber, and it seemed as if we had been tricked again. further exploration by the light of candles revealed two passages, one leading west and upwards, the other east and downwards. charlie chose the latter; before long i came to the end of mine, having failed to find anything but bats, bones of birds and dingoes, and old native camp-fires. following charlie, i found him crawling on hands and knees down a steep slope--progress was slow, as the floor was rough and the ceiling jagged; presently the passage dropped again, and at the end, below us, we could see our candles reflected, and knew that at last we had water! who, except those who have had similar experiences, can picture one's feelings of relief! "thank god! thank god!" is all one can reiterate in one's mind over and over again. the visible supply of water was small, and we had grave doubts as to any soakage existing! not wasting valuable time in discussion, we crawled back with all speed to the cave, shouted up the joyful news, and called for buckets and billies to bale with. the king was now allowed to descend, but not unguarded, as we must first ascertain the value of our supply. we could understand now why he had insisted on carrying with him from our last camp a burning branch (a "fire-stick"); for he proceeded to make a fire on the floor of the cave from some dead leaves and branches, and others along the passage, to light him; after some hesitation he took a candle instead, and bolted down the passage like a rat. he must have been very dry, judging from the time he stayed below and from his distended appearance on re-ascending. he drank a great deal more than any of us and yet had been a comparatively short time without water, whilst we had been walking and working on starvation rations for a good number of days. breaden and i set to work to unload the camels while the others started preparations for water-getting. by p.m. we were ready. king billy at the bottom, baling water with a meat tin into a bucket, which he handed to warri, who passed it to charlie; thence via godfrey it reached breaden, who on the floor of the cave hitched it on to a rope, and i from above hauled it through the entrance to the surface. useful as he was below, i soon had to call warri up to keep off the poor famished camels, who, in their eagerness, nearly jostled me into the hole. first i filled our tanks, doubtful what supply the cave would yield; but when word was passed that "she was good enough, and making as fast as we baled," i no longer hesitated to give the poor thirsty beasts as much as ever they could drink. what a labour of love that was, and what satisfaction to see them "visibly swelling" before my eyes! till after sunset we laboured unceasingly, and i fancy none of us felt too strong. the thundery weather still continued; the heat was suffocating--so much so that i took off my hat and shirt, to the evident delight of the flies, whose onslaughts would have driven me mad had i not been too busily engaged to notice them. before night all the camels were watered; they drank on an average seventeen gallons apiece, and lay gorged upon the ground too tired or too full of liquid to eat. we had a very different camp that night, and king billy shared our good spirits. now that he had his liberty he showed no signs of wishing to leave us, evidently enjoying our food and full of pride in his newly acquired garment, a jersey, which added greatly to his striking appearance. he took great interest in all our belongings, but seemed to value highest the little round piece of metal that is fixed on the inside of a meat-tin! this, hung on a string, made a handsome ornament for him. that night, in reviewing our affairs, i came to the conclusion that this dry stage at the beginning of our journey had been a good thing for all. we had had a bad time, but had come out of it all right. although these things always appear worse, when written or read, yet it is no light task to trudge day after day over such horrible country with an empty stomach and dry throat, and with no idea of when the next water will be found, or if any will be found; and through it all to be cheerful and good-tempered, and work away as usual, as if all were right. it had inspired us with complete confidence in the staying powers of the camels, who, in spite of a thirteen and a half days' drought, had shown no signs of giving in. it had afforded each of us an insight into the characters of his companions that otherwise he never would have had. it had given me absolute confidence in breaden, godfrey, and charlie, and i trust had imbued them with a similar faith in me. august th to th we rested at the cave, occupying ourselves in the numerous odd jobs that are always to be found, happy in the knowledge that we had an unfailing supply of water beneath us. i have little doubt but that this water is permanent, and do not hesitate to call it a spring. i know well that previous travellers have called places "springs" which in after years have been found dry; but i feel sure that this supply so far, nearly sixty feet, below the surface, must be derived from a permanent source, and even in the hottest season is too well protected to be in any way decreased by evaporation. as a humble tribute to the world-wide rejoicings over the long reign of our gracious majesty queen victoria, i have honoured this hidden well of water by the name of "the empress spring." a more appropriate name it could not have, for is it not in the great victoria desert? and was it not in that region that another party was saved by the happy finding of queen victoria spring? the "empress spring" would be a hard spot to find. what landmarks there are i will now describe. my position for the spring is lat. degrees minutes seconds s., long. degrees minutes e. its probable native name (i say probable because one can never be sure of words taken from a wild aboriginal, who, though pointing out a water, may, instead of repeating its name, be perhaps describing its size or shape) is "murcoolia ayah teenyah." the entrance is in a low outcrop of magnesian limestone, surrounded by buckbush, a few low quondongs and a low, broom-like shrub; beyond this, mulga scrub. immediately to the north of the outcrop runs a high sand-ridge, covered sparsely with acacia and spinifex. on the top of the ridge are three conspicuously tall dead mulga trees. from the ridge looking west, north, north-east, and east nothing is visible but parallel sand-ridges running n.e. to the south-west can be seen the high ground on which is the rock-hole (mulundella). to the south-east, across a mulga-covered flat, is a high ridge one mile distant, with the crests of others visible beyond it; above them, about twelve miles distant, a prominent bluff (breaden bluff), the north end of a red tableland. from the mulga trees the bluff bears degrees. one and a half miles n.e. by n. from the cave is a valley of open spinifex, breaking through the ridges in a west and southerly direction, on which are clumps of cork-bark trees; these would incline one to think that water cannot be far below the surface in this spot. close to the entrance to the cave is erected a mulga pole, on which we carved our initials and the date. there are also some native signs or ornaments in the form of three small pyramids of stones and grass, about eight feet apart, in a line pointing s.w. several old native camps were dotted about in the scrub; old fires and very primitive shelters formed of a few branches. amongst the ashes many bones could be seen, particularly the lower maxillary of some species of rat-kangaroo. to descend to the cave beneath, the natives had made a rough ladder by leaning mulga poles against the edge of the entrance from the floor. all down the passage to the water little heaps of ashes could be seen where their fires had been placed to light them in their work. warri found some strange carved planks hidden away in the bushes, which unfortunately we were unable to carry. king billy saw them with evident awe; he had become very useful, carrying wood and so forth with the greatest pleasure. the morning we left this camp, however, he sneaked away before any of us were up. i fancy that his impressions of a white man's character will be favourable; for never in his life before had he been able to gorge himself without having had the trouble of hunting his food. from him i made out the following words, which i consider reliable: english. aboriginal. smoke, fire. warru or wallu. wood. taalpa. arm. menia. hand. murra. hair. kuttya. nose. wula or ula. water. gabbi. dog. pappa.* [* this word "pappa" we found to be used by all natives encountered by us in the interior. warri uses it, and breaden tells me that in central australia it is universal.] august th we again watered the camels, who were none the worse for their dry stage. breaden was suffering some pain from his strain, and on descending to the cave was unable to climb up again; we had some difficulty in hauling him through the small entrance. chapter vi woodhouse lagoon but for the flies, which never ceased to annoy us, we had enjoyed a real good rest, and were ready to march on the morning of the th, no change occurring in the character of the country until the evening of the th, when we sighted a low tableland five miles to the north, and to the west of it a table-topped detached hill. between us and the hills one or two native smokes were rising, which showed us that water must be somewhere in the neighbourhood. from a high sandhill the next morning, we got a better view, and could see behind the table-top another and similar hill. i had no longer any doubt as to their being mounts worsnop and allott (forrest, ), the points for which i had been steering, though at first they appeared so insignificant that i hesitated to believe that these were the right ones. from the west, from which direction forrest saw them first, they appear much higher, and are visible some twenty miles off. from the north they are not visible a greater distance than three miles, while from the east one can see them a distance of eight miles. i altered our course, therefore, towards the hills, and we shortly crossed the narrow arm of a salt-lake; on the far side several tracks of emus and natives caught my eye, and i sent charlie on satan to scout. before long he reported a fine sheet of water just ahead. this, as may be imagined, came as a surprise to us; for a more unlikely thing to find, considering the dry state of the rock-holes we had come upon, could not have been suggested. however, there it was; and very glad we were to see it, and lost no time in making camp and hobbling the camels. what a glorious sight in this parched land!--so resting to the eye after days of sand! how the camels wallowed in the fresh water! how they drank! and what a grand feed they had on the herbage (trichinium alopecuroideum) on the banks of the lagoon! charlie and i spent the afternoon in further exploring our surroundings, and on return to camp found our mates busily engaged in plucking some teal and waterhen which they had shot. the latter were numerous, and godfrey at one shot bagged nine. they are almost identical in size and appearance with our british waterhen, though they seem to have less power of flight, thus enabling us to drive them from one gun to the other, and so secure a fine lot for the pot. i doubt if in civilisation they would be considered good eating, but after tinned horrors they were a perfect delicacy. the teal were as numerous; but though there were several emu tracks we saw none of those queer birds. our bag for three days was seventeen teal, twelve waterhen, one pigeon. the natives whose smoke we had seen, disappeared shortly after our arrival. godfrey, whilst shooting, came across their camp; the occupants, a man, woman, and child, fled as soon as they caught sight of him, leaving a shield behind them, and did not appear again. this small oasis deserves particular attention, for it is bound to play an important part in any scheme of a stock route from the cattle-stations of central australia to the murchison or coolgardie goldfields. there are three lagoons (or deep clay-pans) connected by a shallow, sandy channel. they are entirely surrounded by sandhills, excepting at one spot, where a narrow creek breaks through the sand-ridge. of the three the largest and most south-westerly one is nearly circular, and has a diameter of yards with a depth varying from ft. in. to ft. in. it is capable of holding considerably more water than we saw in it. the bottom is of rock, a sort of cement in which ironstone is visible in the middle, and of clay near the edges. from the n.w. a narrow channel enters, traceable for a distance of two miles to a cane-grass swamp; into this, small watercourses, and the tail end of a larger creek lead. following up this flat, it will be found to develop into a defined channel running through a grassy flat timbered with bloodwoods (a kind of eucalyptus). this creek rises in the sandstone tablelands to the n. of mount allott, and in it at its head, is situated alexander spring (forrest. ). round the foot of these hills, extending to the lagoon, is a fine little plain of grass, saltbush, and numerous low shrubs, all excellent feed for stock. mounts allott and worsnop are certainly remarkable hills, perhaps feet above the surrounding country, quite flat on the top, which is covered with scrub. from the latter the lagoon is visible, one mile distant on bearing degrees. our camp at the lagoon was in lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes. this reckoning placed alexander spring in a position agreeing very closely with that given it by forrest, which was very gratifying to me. this water was marked by forrest as "permanent." he says in his journal: "july th . . . fine water at this place. i have no doubt water is always here. i named it alexander spring after my brother, who discovered it. abundance of water also in rock-holes." this was in . since that date this spot has been revisited, first and not long after forrest, by w. w. mills, who was commissioned to bring over a mob of camels from south australia. he followed forrest's track from water to water, at first with no difficulty; depending on alexander spring, he made a longish dry stage, reached the spring only to find it dry, and had a bad time in consequence. the second party to follow forrest's route was that of carr-boyd in , whom breaden accompanied, and who was prospecting for an adelaide syndicate. they passed by this spot, but having plenty of water, as it was raining at the time, did not visit the spring. from mount worsnop, woodhouse, one of the party, sighted the lagoon; but neither he nor any of the party had troubled to see whether it was salt or fresh, or of what extent it was. i have named it after woodhouse, who first saw it. breaden had told me of the fact of his having seen it, but i had supposed that, as rain was falling, woodhouse was only looking on a shallow pool that could by no possibility hold water for long. shortly after carr-boyd, there followed hubbe's party. he was sent out by the south australian government to follow forrest's route, to ascertain its suitability or otherwise for a stock route. hubbe found the spring dry, or practically so, and was much disappointed. he did not happen to find the lagoon, and had a long stage before he found water. his party arrived at menzies shortly before we started. i was unable to get any information from him beyond the opinion that the country was worthless and a stock route impracticable. i put more faith, however, in breaden, whose life has been spent amongst stock and travelling cattle. when with carr-boyd he came to the conclusion that as far as the warburton range cattle could be taken without much trouble; and indeed in , so i have read, gosse drove some bullocks as far as that point, which was the furthest west he penetrated when attempting to cross the colony. from the warburton range to lake wells the awkward part came in, but now this lagoon and the empress spring go far to bridge it over. i have no doubt that a fortnight's work at both these places would be sufficient to make splendid wells, supposing that the lagoon was found dry and the spring too hard to get at. at the expenditure of no great amount i feel confident that a serviceable stock route could be formed, easily negotiated in the winter months and kept open by wells during the rest of the year. the country through which the route would pass is excellent as far as the border. from there it would be necessary to hit off the small oases which are met with near mount squires, warburton ranges, blyth creek, and alexander spring. from this point the route could be taken to empress spring, thence to lake wells (or direct to lake wells) and the bonython creek, and from there to lake darlot there would be no difficulty. the only really bad bit of the route would be between woodhouse lagoon and lake wells, and this is no great distance. whether the scheme would be worth the expenditure necessary to equip a really serviceable well-sinking party i am unable to judge; but it seems to me that it would be a tremendous advantage to central australian cattle owners to be able to drive their bullocks direct to the west australian goldfields, even though they could only do so in the winter, at which season alone it is probable that the feed would be sufficiently good. the fact that forrest with his horses traversed this route is evidence enough that at some seasons certain surface waters exist at no great distances apart--in some cases large supplies. for cattle to follow the route that we had come so far would be manifestly absurd, and these remarks, especially where the country between woodhouse lagoon and lake wells, and between that lake and lake darlot is discussed, are made with the further knowledge of these regions that our return journey gave us. it seems a remarkable fact that while a spring should be found dry, not five miles from it a fresh-water lagoon with millions of gallons in it should exist. in the first place alexander spring is no spring; sir john forrest told me himself that at the time of naming it he was very doubtful. hubbe dug it out to bedrock and proved it to be merely a local soakage in the gravelly bed of a narrow gully. now a heavy downpour sufficient to run the creek and fill the lagoon must certainly first fill the spring and neighbouring pools. but the water in the spring would soon evaporate, whilst the depth and area of the lagoon would save its contents from diminishing from this cause, for a much longer period. so that after all it is easily understandable that we should find the lagoon full and the so-called spring dry. near the foot of mount allott we found hubbe's camp, and in it several straps and hobble-chains; two tin-lined packing cases had been left behind, and from them we took the lids, not quite knowing to what use we could put them, but yet feeling they might be serviceable; and indeed they were. on the summit of the hill forrest had raised a cairn of stones; this had been pulled down by the natives and subsequently replaced by hubbe. the blacks had again started to take it to pieces; i rebuilt what they had removed and placed on the cairn a board on which i wrote directions to the lagoon, in case any other traveller should pass. by the side of the little creek to the north-west of the hill a bloodwood tree has been marked on one side with the number of mills's camp, and on the other with a record of the objects of hubbe's expedition, s.r. standing presumably for "stock route." the flat on which these trees are growing is, in my opinion, a very likely spot for finding water by sinking. chapter vii the great undulating desert of gravel on august nd we left this kindly little oasis and directed our course to the north. we were now nearly in the centre of the colony, and had made enough easting, a general northerly course being necessary to take us through the heart of the great unknown. it was my intention to steer due north for as long a period as possible, only deviating from it when forced by the exigencies of water-hunting, and when it became necessary, to bear somewhat to the eastward so as to hit off the vicinity of hall's creek. unless absolutely forced to do so, i did not propose to make any deviation to the westward--for from our small caravan it was incumbent upon us to waste no time, unless we could do so in country where game was procurable. so far, although our actual line of march had been through unmapped country, we had traversed a region already crossed by another party, whose route ran parallel to ours and some forty miles to the north. not that that was of the least benefit to us any more than if we had been at sea; but it gave us the feeling that we were not in an absolutely terra incognita. from the lagoon, however, our route lay through country untrodden by any white man, with the exception of ernest giles, whose track we should cross at right angles, about one hundred miles north of alexander spring. but unless we sighted the alfred and marie range, named by him, we should have no guide, excepting our position on the chart, to show us where we crossed the path of a caravan which marched through the wilderness twenty years before. to give a description of the country that we now encountered, from day to day, would be so deadly monotonous that the kindest reader would hardly forgive me; and even if it could serve any useful purpose i should hesitate to recount the daily scene of solitude. a general account of this country, followed by any incidents or personal adventures worthy of notice, will suffice to give an idea of this dreary region. from lat. degrees s. to lat. degrees minutes there stretches a vast desert of rolling sand, not formed in ridges like those already described, nor heaped up with the regularity of those met with further north. "downs" i think is the only term that describes properly the configuration of the country. "the great undulating desert of gravel" would meet all requirements should it be thought worthy of a name. in this cheerless and waterless region we marched from august nd until september th seeing no lakes, nor creeks, nor mountains; no hills even prominent enough to deserve a name, excepting on three occasions. day after day over open, treeless expanses covered only by the never-ending spinifex and strewn everywhere with pebbles and stones of ferruginous sandstone, as if some mighty giant had sown the ground with seed in the hope of raising a rich crop of hills. the spinifex here cannot grow its coarse, tall blades of grass--the top growth is absent and only round stools of spines remain; well was it named porcupine grass! occasional clumps of mulga break the even line of the horizon, and, in the valleys, thickets or belts of bloodwood are seen. in these hollows one may hope to find feed for the camels, for here may grow a few quondongs, acacia, and fern-tree shrubs, and in rare cases some herbage. the beefwood tree, the leaves of which camels, when hard pressed, will eat, alone commands the summit of the undulations. as for animal life--well, one forgets that life exists, until occasionally reminded of the fact by a bounding spinifex rat, frightened from his nest. day after day one or other of us used to walk away from the caravan carrying a gun on the chance of getting a shot; never once did we succeed; the rats invariably got up out of range, and after a time we voted it unnecessary labour. had they been easily shot their small numbers would hardly have made it worth while to burden one's self with a gun; to see a dozen in a day was counted out of the common. birds were nowhere numerous--an occasional eagle-hawk, or crow, and once or twice a little flock of long-tailed parrots whose species was unknown to any of us. unfortunately i was unable to procure a specimen. at any waters pigeons, sparrows, crows, and hawks might be seen in fair quantities; and very rarely a turkey. from the nd to the th we saw no signs of natives. on the latter day several smokes rose during the march. so far, we had no certain knowledge of the meaning of these smokes. they might be native signals, or from fires for the purpose of burning off the old spinifex to allow young feed to grow and so attract the rats to a known locality; or it might be that the blacks were burning the country to hunt out the rats and lizards. on the th a sudden change took place, and we found ourselves in a small, open thicket with a coarse undergrowth of grass, and scattered about were a few boulders of decomposed granite and occasional low outcrops of rock. several old native camps put us on the alert, and presently we found a well--a shallow hole, feet deep, and feet inches in diameter, entirely surrounded by high spinifex. why there should ever be water there, or how the blacks got to know of it, was a problem we could only guess at. everything looked so dry and parched that we were in no way surprised at finding the well waterless. prempeh had been very unwell lately, refusing to take what little feed there was to be got. a dose of sulphur and butter was administered, poured warm down his throat by me as breaden held open his month, grasped firmly by either lip. i believe sulphur is an excellent thing for camels, and used often to treat them to the mixture, some--satan, for example--being very partial to it. the position of this well i found to be lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes; from the edge of the mulga, one hundred yards or so to the north of it, a range of rough looking hills is visible. this i named the browne range, after my old friends at bayley's reward, and the two conspicuous points i christened mount gordon, after mr. gordon lyon, and mount everard, after mr. everard browne, respectively. mount gordon is flat-topped; and mount everard a double hill, a peak rising from a flat top, bears degrees from the well. this range stood out boldly from the open country and promised well for hilly country ahead. nor were we disappointed, for after two hours' travel we sighted an imposing-looking range, and altered our course to the highest point, a queer dome-shaped peak, which we called charlie's knob, since he had first seen the hills. on nearer approach the hills lost much of their grandeur. by camping-time we were close to their foot amongst rocky rises, very rough to the feet of our animals. they were rewarded for their discomforts by a small patch of herbage which they quickly demolished. that night we heard the dismal howling of two dingoes, who might either be giving expression to their satisfaction at finding water or to their disappointment at not having done so. three miles more of rugged ground the next morning brought us to charlie's knob, and beyond it the range, which on close examination was not imposing, being a series of detached sandstone hills, their summits flat and slightly sloping to the south, capped with a hard reddish-brown rock (baked shale). on the cap, loose fragments of shale and thick scrub; forming its sides sheer cliffs, at most fifteen feet high, perforated by holes and caves, above rough, stony banks. the whole covered with tufts of spinifex, barren, wretched, and uninviting. on charlie's knob a queer little natural pinnacle of rock stands half-way up the side, and from a hill close by, an excellent view of the browne range was obtained, mount gordon bearing degrees. with the help of my field-glasses i could make out the character of this range to be similar to that of the young range on which i was standing. it is of course necessary to name these hills for future reference, and this range got its name from somebody's remark that it was hardly full grown. from the knob the hills run in a crescent, a line joining the two horns being north-east. in the bend of the crescent i could see some very green-looking bloodwoods and made sure we should find a creek. first we hunted the neighbouring hills without success, and then crossed on to the bloodwood flat which had appeared like a creek. here for the only time our patience in carrying the gun was rewarded, and charlie shot two fine turkeys. this welcome occurrence, added to godfrey's having seen a kangaroo in the hills and the dingoes heard the night before, made us confident that water was not far off. that night godfrey and i took it in turns to baste the turkeys, as they were baking between two prospecting dishes. godfrey was an excellent cook, and most particular that everything should be done cleanly and properly. i was quite under his orders in the kitchen, for the cook's art is one that i have not the patience to learn, and cordially hate. cold turkey and tea for breakfast, and then i divided the party into two, breaden with the camels being directed to a prominent hill at the end of the range there to await the arrival of godfrey and myself, who went off to the hills to make further search for water. all day we hunted in different directions and everywhere found the same barren rocks. we had fixed upon a certain gully as a rendezvous; each gully was exactly like its neighbour. towards the evening i returned to the gully, which i was sure was the one agreed upon, and there awaited godfrey. he did the same, only chose another gully, equally sure that he was right. and there we sat, each impatiently blaming the other. at last, to pass the time, i fired some shots at an ant-hill; these had the effect of bringing godfrey over the rise, and we had a good laugh at each other when we discovered that for nearly half an hour we had sat not two hundred yards apart--and each remained firmly convinced that he was right! godfrey had shot a kangaroo and carried part of the meat and the tail; he had tracked it a long way, but could see no signs of water. still following the hills, we made our way towards the point where the camels should be, and presently cut a deep, rocky gorge, which we followed down. the camels had crossed this; and, as it was getting late, i sent godfrey along their tracks to rejoin the others, telling him that i should continue down the creek, and return to wherever they made camp; to guide me to it they were to light a fire. i followed the creek, or storm channel as i should rather call it, for some four miles; climbing a tree i could see it apparently continuing for some miles, so, feeling that i had already had a fair tramp, i noted the direction of the smoke from the camp and returned to it. as luck would have it, it was the wrong smoke; breaden on arriving at the end hill had made a fire, and this the evening breeze had rekindled; and the camp-fire happened to die down at the very time it was most needed. in due course i arrived at the hill, named mount colin, after poor colin gibson, a coolgardie friend who had lately died from typhoid. from the summit a noticeable flat-topped hill, mount cox, named after ernest cox, also of coolgardie, bears degrees about fifteen miles distant, at the end of a fair-sized range running s.s.w. between this range and that from which i was observing, i noticed several belts of bloodwoods, which might be creeks, but probably are only flats similar to that crossed by us. picking up the tracks of the main party, i followed them to camp, not sorry to have a rest; for it was ten hours since godfrey and i had had anything to eat or drink, and the rocks were rough and the spinifex dense. i mention this, not as illustrating our hardships, but to show what training will do; any one of us would have been quite ready to do the day's tramp over again had any necessity arisen. that night as i was shooting the stars, by which i found we were in lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes (dead reckoning), i noticed several bronzewing pigeons flying down the creek which i had followed, and on which we were camped. in the morning others observed them flying up the watercourse. as a bronzewing drinks just after dark, or just before daylight, this was pretty good evidence that water existed in the direction in which the creek ran--and probably an open pool would be found. no such luck! for we followed the channel until it no longer was one, that is to say its banks became further apart, and lower, until its wash was spread out in all directions over a flat whose limits were defined by bloodwoods and grass. here we found an old blacks' camp and spent some time examining its neighbourhood. little heaps of the yellow seed of a low plant, swept together on clear spaces on the ground, and the non-existence of any well, led us to suppose that this was merely a travelling camp of some buck who had been sent to collect seed. it was rather aggravating to be morally certain that water existed and yet be unable to find it; we still had hopes of the creek making again, and so followed the direction of its previous course. before long the tracks of a buck and a gin crossed our path, and we at once turned to follow them through all their deviations. we saw where the woman had dug out bardies from the roots of a wattle, where the buck had unearthed a rat,* and where together they had chased a lizard. finally we reached their camp. several implements lay about, including two bark coolimans. these, the simplest form of cooliman, are made by peeling the bark off the projecting lumps so common on the stems of bloodwoods. the bark so obtained forms a little trough. in some regions they are gouged out of a solid piece of wood, but this requires a knowledge of carpentry, and probably tools, not possessed by the desert black. another kind more simple than the first mentioned, is made by bending the two sides of a strip of bark together, so as to form the half of a pipe; then, by stuffing up the two ends with clay and grass, a serviceable little trough is made. in those we saw the clay was moist, and we knew that this was no mere travelling camp. however, search as we would we could find no water, until a flock of diamond-sparrows rose in front of warri, and he discovered a little well hidden in the spinifex--so perfectly hidden that our own tracks had passed half an hour before its discovery within a few paces of it! [* the rat mentioned here was probably a "bandicoot," "boody," or "bilby," the scientific name of which i do not know; i have never seen one, only their burrows, and these have always shown every appearance of being unoccupied. most of the burrows that i have seen have been in a low mound, perhaps feet across, of white powdery soil, like gypsum. the only living things i have seen emerge being a cat (near lake prinsep) and snakes or lizards. there is a smaller rat, which the natives in the goldfields districts get in rather an ingenious way. this rat makes a single burrow, with a nest at the end of it close beneath the surface. when it is inside the hole it fills in the entrance and retires to its nest. this is ventilated by a little hole to the surface, the mouth of this hole being hidden with small stones and sticks. the rat, however, with all his cunning has only built a mark by which his home may be discovered by the native. i had often noticed these little heaps of stones in the scrub, and until a tame boy explained it had no notion of their meaning.] what chance has one of finding water, except by the most diligent search and by making use of every sign and indication written on the surface of the ground? this well was similar to the one already described, excepting in one important respect. this one had water. turning the camels out we started work, and by sundown had the well in order. tying the others down we proceeded to water each camel in turn. picture our surprise and joy when each turned from the bucket without drinking more than two gallons. billy rolled up like a great balloon, and one would have sworn that he had just had a long drink. what was this miracle? here were camels, after an eight days' drought, travelling eight to ten hours daily in hot weather, over rough stones and gravel, actually turning away from water! the answer to this riddle was "parakeelia." this is a local, presumably native, name in central australia for a most wonderful and useful plant. a specimen brought back by me from this locality was identified at kew as calandrinia balonensis. this plant grows close to the ground in little bunches; in place of leaves it has long, fleshy projections, like fingers, of a yellowish-green colour. from the centre grows a pretty little lilac flower at the end of a single thin stalk. the fingers are full of watery juice and by no means unpalatable. we tried them raw, and also fried in butter, when they were quite good eating. the plant is greedily devoured by stock of all kinds, and in dry tracts in central australia has been the means of saving many head of cattle. as we found it, it was not easily got hold of, for invariably it grew right in the centre of a hummock of spinifex. at first the camels, not knowing its properties, would not risk pricking themselves, but after we had shown them, by clearing away the spinifex, how nice it was, they did not hesitate to plunge their soft noses into the spiny mass, with what good effect i have already described. indeed, this plant is a wonderful provision of nature, and compensates a little for the hideous sterility of the country. i am not wide of the mark when i say that given "parakeelia" every second night or so a camel would never want to drink at all, though it is not really as serviceable as water--not having the same lasting effect. a similar plant, also found in central australia, is "munyeru." in the centre of this a little bag of black seeds grows; these seeds are crushed and eaten by the natives. munyeru, breaden tells me, is quite a good vegetable for human consumption. why the locality of this well, "warri well," should be specially favoured by the growth of parakeelia i cannot guess. the well itself was sufficiently remarkable. our work took us some twelve feet from the surface, and in the well we had nearly five feet of water and the probability of a deal more, as we had not reached "bottom." the question that presented itself to my mind was whether the natives had sunk the well on a likely looking spot and been fortunate in finding a supply, or whether, from tradition, they knew that this well, possibly only a rock-hole covered by surface soil, existed. the depression in which the well is situated must after rain receive the drainage, not only from the channel we followed, but from the stony rise to the north of it. after a heavy storm--and from the way in which this creek has been torn through the sand, scouring a channel down to bedrock, it is clear that occasionally violent storms visit this region--a large volume of water would collect in this depression. some of it would be sucked up by the trees and shrubs, some would evaporate, but the greater part would soak into the ground where, so long as the bed-rock (which in this particular case is a hard sandstone and iron conglomerate) is impervious, it would remain. i should think it likely, therefore, that on this and similar flats, not far from hills or tablelands, water by sinking could be obtained at no great depth. a good guide to this well is a bare patch of rock on mount colin, which bears degrees three miles distant. this hill is visible from ten miles due north of the well, from which point it shows up prominently. continuing a northerly march from that point we found that the gravel and stones for the next few miles became much rougher, and made walking tiring work. occasionally mulga thickets free from stones had to be passed through; in these there often occurred very shallow depressions overgrown with grass and floored with clay. from the floors rose high, pinnacled ant-heaps, built by the white ant; these hills, grouped into little colonies, sometimes attained a height of eleven feet, and had in the distance a weird appearance, reminding me in shape, at least, of the picture of lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt. around these clay flats large white gum-trees were growing, a different species from the desert gum, having a quite smooth bark. on september st we sighted the alfred and marie range due east of us. i had expected to find this almost on our course; however, my reckoning differs from giles's by eight miles, my position for the range being to the east of his. as we approached the range the country improved greatly, and had every appearance of having experienced recent rains, for green herbage [haloragis, and trichinium alopecuroideum.] was in places abundant--that is to say, little patches of it, perhaps twenty paces across. these we saw were feeding-grounds for kangaroos and wallabies. turkey tracks were fairly numerous; of the latter we saw six, and shot one. they are very wary birds and not easily stalked. a very good plan for shooting them is for one man to hide in a bush or behind a tree whilst the other circles round a good way off, and very slowly advances, and so drives the turkey past the hidden sportsman. he, if he is wise, will let the turkey rise before firing, as their wings are easily broken, whilst the thick breast-feathers readily turn shot. we made camp one mile from the foot of the hills, and charlie and i walked over to see what was to be seen. this range is of sandstone, and made up of a series of flat-topped hills of peculiar shapes, standing on the usual rough, stony slopes. the hills are traceable in a broken line for a considerable distance, perhaps twenty miles, in a north-easterly direction. no doubt some good water-hole exists amongst these hills, judging from the tracks of kangaroos, turkeys, and dingoes. i fancy that animals and birds follow up rain-storms from place to place to take advantage of the good feed which springs into life, and it is most probable that for ten months in the year these hills are undisturbed by animal or bird life. certainly giles found that to be the case when he crossed them in ; so disgusted was he with their appearance that he did not trouble to investigate them at all. indeed, he could have no other than sad remembrances of this range, for he first sighted it from the east, when attempting to cross the interior from east to west--an attempt that failed, owing to the impossibility of traversing this desert of rolling sand and gravel with horses only as a means of transport. baffled, he was forced to return, leaving behind him, lost for ever, his companion gibson. after him this desert is named, and how he lost his life is related in giles's journals. in giles, tietkens, gibson, and andrews, with twenty-four horses, left the overland central australian telegraph line, to push out to the west as far as possible. keeping to the south of the already discovered lake amadeus, they found the rawlinson and neighbouring ranges just within the colony of west australia. water was plentiful, and a depot camp was formed, giles and gibson making a flying trip ahead to the westward. the furthest point was reached on april , , from which the alfred and marie was visible some twenty-five miles distant. at this point gibson's horse "knocked up," and shortly afterwards died. giles thereupon gave up his own horse, the fair maid of perth, and sent his companion back to the depot for relief; for it was clear that only one could ride the horse, and he who did so, by hurrying on, could return and save his companion. with a wave of his hat, he shouted goodbye to his generous leader and rode off. "this was the last ever seen of gibson." it appears that the poor fellow failed to follow back the outgoing tracks, got lost in the night, became hopelessly "bushed," and perished, alone in the desert. giles meanwhile struggled on and on, every hour expecting relief, which of course never came. at last he staggered into camp, nearly dead. no time was lost in saddling fresh horses, and tietkens and his exhausted companion set out in search of the missing man. picking up the fair maid's tracks, they followed them until they were four days out from camp, and it became clear that to go further meant sacrificing not only their own lives but that of their mate left behind at the depot, as well as that of all the horses. gibson's tracks when last seen were leading in a direction exactly opposite to that of the camp. luckily the cold weather (april) stood their horses in good stead; but in spite of this and of the water they packed for them, the horses only managed to crawl into camp. it was manifestly impossible to make further search, for seventy miles of desert intervened between the depot-camp and the tracks when last seen; and the mare was evidently still untired. so, sorrowfully they retraced their steps to the east, and the place of gibson's death remains a secret still. i have heard that months after giles's return, gibson's mare came back to her home, thin and miserable, and showing on her belly and back the marks of a saddle and girth, which as she wasted away had become slack and so turned over. her tracks were followed back for some distance without result. poor thing! she had a long journey, and giles must have spoken truly when he said, "the fair maid was the gamest horse i ever rode." giles's account of this desert shows that the last twenty years have done little to improve it! he says "the flies were still about us in persecuting myriads; . . . the country was, quite open, rolling along in ceaseless undulations of sand, the only vegetation besides the ever-abounding spinifex was a few bloodwood trees. the region is so desolate that it is horrifying even to describe. the eye of god looking down on the solitary caravan as it presents the only living object around must have contemplated its appearance with pitying admiration, as it forced its way continually onwards without pausing over this vast sandy region, avoiding death only by motion and distance, until some oasis can be found." not a cheerful description certainly! every day's northing, however, would take us further in or out of this region, as the case might be, and fervently we hoped for the latter. whatever country was before us we were firmly determined to push on, and by the grace of god to overcome its difficulties. again referring to giles's journal i find that during this part of his journey--viz., near the range where we were now camped--the change of temperature during night and day was very excessive. at night the thermometer registered degrees f., whilst the heat in the daytime was most oppressive. this, in a less degree, was our experience, for the month being september the days were hotter and the nights less cold. no doubt this extreme change in temperature, combined with the dry atmosphere and the tremendous heat of the sun, has caused the hills to be weathered away in the remarkable shapes of which mcpherson's pillar is a good example. the pillar is formed of a huge square block of red rock, planted on the top of a conical mound, perhaps fifty feet in height, whose slopes are covered with broken slabs and boulders. this remarkable landmark, which, from the north, is visible from twenty-four miles distant, i named after mr. mcpherson, a well-known and respected prospector, who, though leaving no record of his journey, crossed the colony from west to east, visiting the hills and waters on forrest's route as far east as the parker ranges, and thence striking giles's route at the alfred and marie, and so via the rawlinson into alice springs, on the overland telegraph line. though little of his journey was through new country, yet it had the valuable result of proving the non-existence of auriferous country in the belt traversed. due west of the pillar, distant two and a half miles, situated in a scrub-covered rocky gorge, is a fair-sized rockhole. breaden and godfrey managed to get about two gallons of filth from it; i have swallowed all kinds of water, but this was really too powerful. had we been hard pressed it would undoubtedly have been used, but since we had not long left water, we discarded this mixture, after trying it on czar, whose indignation was great. in the branches of the mulga round the rock-hole i noticed what i have seen in several other places, viz., stones wedged in the forks--dozens of stones of all sizes and shapes. i have no knowledge of their true significance. it may be, and this is merely a guess, that they indicate the presence of poison in the rock-hole; for by means of a certain plant which is bruised and thrown into the hole, the water is given a not actually poisonous but stupefying property. thus birds or beasts coming to drink fall senseless and an easy prey to the ambushed native. this is a common plan in many parts of australia, and was described to me by a tame boy from the murchison. here, too, were more little pyramids, similar to those at empress spring. some quaint black-fellows' custom, but what it signifies even warri cannot explain. breaden has a theory that they point to the next water-hole. this may be, but, unless for a stranger's benefit, quite unnecessary, as every black knows his waters; and if for a stranger it is equally peculiar, for his welcome is usually a bang on the head! it may be that messengers or those who, wishing to trade from tribe to tribe, get the free passage of the district, are thus guided on their way. the number of pyramids may represent so many days' march. there must have been some open water besides this dirty rock-hole, but having sufficient for present requirements we did not waste time in further search, and on september nd turned again to the north. on this course we continued until september th, the country showing no change whatever, which constrained me to say of it, so i find in my diary, "surely the most god-forsaken on the face of the earth"; and yet we had worse to follow! our rate of travel over the gravel was a small fraction more than two miles per hour. this i carefully reckoned by timing, taking into account every halt of ever so small a duration in our march in a due north line between two latitudes. in lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes, there rose before us, visible for several miles, high banks of stones, such as one sees on either side of the old bed of a river which has altered its course. the slopes were covered with spinifex and on the top red and weeping mulga--the latter a graceful little tree, whose bowed head adds little to the gaiety of one's surroundings. i cannot offer any explanation of these curious banks, except that, from the appearance of one or two large flat boulders on the summit, it may be that they were formed by the entire disintegration of a sandstone cliff, to which decay has come sooner than to its neighbours further south. future experience showed us that further north the gravel becomes small and smaller until it disappears, the rolling sandhills giving place to regular ridges. if this is the case viz., that the hills and ranges are gradually rotting away until they disappear, leaving only gravel behind, which, in its turn, decays and decays until only sand remains, then in the course of ages the whole of this region will be covered with ridge upon ridge of sand formed by the wind, whose powers so far have been checked by the weight of the gravel. for the sake of future generations i hope my reasoning is incorrect. as i stood on the stony bank, i could see several native smokes to the eastward. determined to take advantage of any help extended to us by nature, to spare no pains in the all-important matter of finding water, to let nothing pass that might assist us on our way, so that if it was our fate to go under in the struggle i should not be assailed by the thought that i had neglected opportunities, determined, in fact, always to act for the best, so far as i could see it, i decided to make use of this sign of the presence of natives, and altered our course in consequence. we started due east and held on that course for eight miles, godfrey and charlie lighting the spinifex at intervals. some men have a theory that the blacks signal by smokes, the appearance of which they vary by using different grasses, branches, or leaves. that may be the case in some parts; here, anyway, they are no more than hunting-fires, as we later proved. if the desert blacks do go in for smoke-telegraphy they must on this occasion have thought that the operator at our end of the wire was mad! perhaps unknowingly we sent up smokes which appeared to them to be rational messages! if such was the case our signals could not have meant "please stay at home," for when eventually we did find their camp they had left. taking the bearing of the most northerly smoke we travelled for the rest of the day in its direction. the next morning, though the smoke had long since died down, we continued on our course and in a few miles reached a large area of still smouldering spinifex. around this we searched for fresh tracks, and, having discovered some, made camp. and now i have to chronicle the only occasion on which any one disputed my orders. and this goes far to show that all i have said in praise of the loyalty and untiring energy of my companions, is not meant in empty compliment, but falls short of what they merit. it was necessary for one to stay in camp and watch our belongings and the camels, while the rest were engaged in tracking the natives. our zeal was so great that the camels were hardly, unloaded and hobbled before each one had set out, and it followed that one must be sent back. for no particular reason i fixed on godfrey, who, instead of hailing with joy the prospective rest, was most mutinous! the mutiny, however, was short-lived, and ended in laughter when i pointed out how ridiculous his objection was. charlie and i went in one direction, whilst breaden and warri took another. before long, so complicated were the tracks, we separated. a more annoying job it is hard to imagine: round and round one goes following a track in all its eccentric windings, running off at right angles or turning back when its owner had chased a rat or a lizard; at length there is a long stretch of straight walking and one thinks, "now, at last, he's done hunting and is making for home"; another disappointment follows as one wheels round and finds one's self close to the starting-point. such was the experience this day of breaden, charlie, and myself, and disgusted we returned to camp at sundown. warri was so late that i began to think he must have come upon the natives themselves, who had given him too warm a welcome. presently he appeared, slouching along with an expressionless face, save for a twinkle in his eye (literally eye, for one was wall-eyed). my supposition was more or less correct; he had been fortunate in getting on the home-going tracks of some gins; following these for several miles he came on their camp--so suddenly that they nearly saw him. luckily, he beat a hasty retreat, doubtful of his reception, and hurried home. chapter viii a desert tribe the next morning we were up betimes and ready to start as soon as ever the tracks were visible; presently a smoke, their first hunting-smoke of the day, rose close to us. despatching charlie on satan, and godfrey on foot, with instructions to catch a native if possible, i hastened along the tracks followed by the rest of the party. we reached their camp just in time to see the late inmates disappear into a thicket of mulga close by. neither charlie nor godfrey was able to come up with the lighters of the fire unseen, and these, too, fled into the scrub, where chase was almost impossible. their camp deserves description, as it was the first (excepting travelling camps) we had seen of the desert black-fellow. facing the belt of mulga, was a low wall of uprooted tussocks of spinifex built in a half circle and some two feet high. on the leeward side of this breakwind, inside the semi-circle, half a dozen little hollows were scraped out in the sand. between each of these nests lay a little heap of ashes, the remains of a fire which burns all night, replenished from time to time from a bundle of sticks kept handy for the purpose. the nest in the sand is the bed, a double one, and not only double but treble, and more; for in it, coiled up snugly, may lie several of the tribe, higgledy-piggledy, like pups in a basket. the fire takes the place of nightshirt, pyjamas, or blanket--a poor substitute on a cold night! scattered about were several utensils, two wooden coolimans full of water and grass--this showing that the owners contemplated a journey, for the grass floating on the surface is used to prevent the water from spilling. two more coolimans were filled with seed--a fine yellow seed from a plant like groundsel. close by these were the flat stones (of granite, evidently traded from tribe to tribe) used for grinding the seed. in the spinifex wall were stuck numerous spears, varying from eight to ten feet in length, straight, thin, and light, hardened by fire, fined down and scraped to a sharp point. near these was a gin's yam-stick--a stout stick with a sharp, flat point on one end and charred at the other, used for digging up roots, stirring the fire, or chastising a dog or child. they serve, too, as a weapon of defence. quaintest of all these articles were the native "portmanteaus," that is to say, bundles of treasures rolled up in bark, wound round and round with string--string made from human hair or from that of dingoes and opossums. in these "portmanteaus" are found carved sticks, pieces of quartz, red ochre, feathers, and a number of odds and ends. of several that were in this camp i took two--my curiosity and desire to further knowledge of human beings, so unknown and so interesting, overcame my honesty, and since the owners had retired so rudely i could not barter with them. without doubt the meat-tins and odds and ends that we left behind us have more than repaid them. one of these portmanteaus may be seen in the british museum, the other i have still, unopened. between the camp and the well, which we easily found, there ran a well-beaten foot-pad, showing that this had been a favoured spot for some time past. the well itself was situated in a belt of mulga-scrub, and surrounded by a little patch of grass; growing near by, a few good camel bushes, such as acacia and fern-tree (quondongs, by the way, were not seen by us north of alexander spring, with the exception of one near mcpherson's pillar); enclosing the scrub two parallel banks of sand and stones, with the well in the valley between. above the well, to the, north, high anthills and tussocks of coarse grass appeared. the whole oasis covered no more than three acres. the well itself resembled those already described, and appeared to have a good supply, so much so that we started at once to water the camels, which had had no drink since august st, a period of seventeen days, with the exception of two gallons apiece at warri well, where the parakeelia grew. by midnight all but three--satan, redleap, and misery--had drunk as much as they could hold. these three had to be content with a small amount, for we could not get more without digging out the well, and this we proceeded to do. the night was hot and cloudy, and constant puffs of wind made work by the light of candles so impossible that we had perforce to bear the extra heat of a blazing fire. the native well, as we found it, had been scooped out with hand and cooliman, just large enough to allow one to descend to a depth of fifteen feet, and the sides of the hole plastered back with mud, which had baked hard. to follow this hole further was not feasible, for going down on a slope as it did, any further deepening would cause the sand to fall in; we had therefore to start a new vertical shaft from the surface. after a considerable amount of digging we reached water level, and were preparing to bail the water, when with a thud the whole thing caved in, and our labour had to be recommenced. at the time the wedge of ground fell in godfrey was working below and narrowly escaped being buried. a timely rope fortunately saved him. i never saw a man come quicker out of a hole! now we were a bit puzzled. our position was this: six camels were watered, three were not, our tanks were empty (my fault, for i should have first filled them and then the camels; but yet if we had water and the camels had none, would we have been better off?); our well, containing x, an unknown quantity of water, had fallen in. query, whether to recommence digging, or to pack up and follow the blacks? now, the well might contain a good supply, or yield no more than a gallon or two; and the blacks might or might not have gone on to a good water. it was a puzzle. finally we compromised, and i sent breaden and warri to hunt up the tracks, whilst we started work again. on one side of the well was rock, and by strengthening the other by timber we hoped for success. luckily plenty of good mulga trees were handy, and we soon had the timber ready for use. this was the second night without rest or food, and no more than a mouthful of water each, for on arrival we had given what our tanks contained to the thirsty camels. by putting in crosspieces from side to side of the hole, which we soon discovered to be an underground rock-hole, and by backing these with twigs and grass, we managed to make the walls of sand secure, and at last reached water level, and lost no time, as may well be imagined, in raising a billyful and having the very best drink we had encountered for a long time. at the moment almost breaden and warri returned, having done their job admirably. they had followed the tracks to the next camp, away to the north--a dry camp this--and, noticing the direction the blacks had taken, returned home. after a feed and a rest we again set to work, and again the well fell in, but with less danger this time. it was clear that we could go no further without some sort of caisson to hold back the fine sand. charlie, with his usual ingenuity, constructed a rough but serviceable one out of the wooden guards on the faces of our water-casks and the tin-lined box lids that we had taken from hubbe's camp at mount allott. instinct had told us right--they were of use! by this means we reached a depth of thirty feet, first sinking the caisson, then bailing the water, then continuing the timber and backing. the hole so narrowed at the bottom that the water could only be obtained by stretching out a stick at arm's length, on which was lashed a small saucepan. it soon became clear that, labour as we would, the hole would yield but little, so, leaving the rest to work, i took warri, and continued the search for the natives from the point where breaden had left their tracks. after a long, tedious day of tracking, we found ourselves back at our own camp. the natives--two bucks, two gins, and three picaninnies--travelled north to a dry well, and there split, the men going one way and the rest another. we chose the bucks to follow, and presently the rest joined in, and the whole family swung round until close to our camp. we could, by their tracks, see where they had herded together in fear under a beefwood tree not one hundred yards from us. just before sunset we again set forth, taking czar and satan as riding-camels, and were lucky in picking up tracks going in a fresh direction before night fell. we camped on the tracks, and ran them in the morning, noticing two interesting things on the way: the first, several wooden sticks on which were skewered dried fruits, not unlike gooseberries; these were hidden in a bush, and are remarkable, for they not only show that the natives have some forethought, but that they trade in edible goods as well as in weapons and ornaments. these fruits are from the solanum sodomeum, and were only seen by us near the sturt creek (three hundred miles away). the second, little heaps of the roots of a tree (known to me only as pine-mulga [probably a "hakea."]) stacked together, which had been sucked for water; we tried some, but without result, and the tree the natives had made use of did not seem to be different from others of its kind. this showed us, too, that they must be dry, and probably had had no water since our arrival at their well. about midday we rode right on to their camp without warning. again the scrub befriended them, but in spite of this i could have got ahead of them on satan had his nose-line not snapped. determined not to be baulked, i jumped down and gave chase, old czar lumbering along behind, and warri shouting with glee and excitement, "chase 'em--we catch em," as if we were going through all this trouble for pleasure. happy warri! he never seemed to see gravity in anything. it is almost incredible how quickly and completely a black-fellow can disappear; as if in a moment the whole family was out of sight. one black spot remained visible, and on it i centred my energies. quickly overhauling, i overtook it, and found it to be an old and hideous gin, who, poor thing! had stopped behind to pick up some dingo puppies. sorry as i was to be rude to a lady, i had to make her prisoner, but not without a deal of trouble. "dah, dah, dah!" she shouted, scratching, biting, spitting, and tearing me with her horrid long nails, and using, i feel sure, the worst language that her tongue could command. i had to carry this unsavoury object back to her camp, she clutching at every bush we passed, when her hands were not engaged in clawing and scratching me. after her anger had somewhat abated she pointed out a rock-hole from which they had got their water. securing the woman with a light rope, i put her in warri's charge, who kept watch above, lest the natives should return and surprise us, whilst i descended the rock-hole to see what supply was there. a little water was visible, which i quickly baled into the canvas bags we had brought for the purpose. the bottom of the hole was filled in with dead sticks, leaves, the rotting bodies of birds and lizards, bones of rats and dingoes. into this ghastly mass of filth i sunk up to my middle, and never shall i forget the awful odour that arose as my feet stirred up the mess. nevertheless water was there, and thankful i was to find it, even to drink it as it was. after half an hour's work in this stinking pit, sick from the combination of smells--distinguishable above every other being the all-pervading perfume of aboriginals--i was rewarded by some twelve gallons of water, or, more properly speaking, liquid. i decided to take the gin back with us, as it had been clear to me for some time past that without the aid of natives we could not hope to find water. with our small caravan it was impossible to push on and trust to chance, or hope to reach the settled country still nearly five hundred miles ahead in a bee-line. even supposing the camels could do this enormous stage, it was beyond our power to carry sufficient water for ourselves. the country might improve or might get worse; in such weather as we now experienced no camel could go for more than a few days without water. i felt myself justified, therefore, in unceremoniously making captives from what wandering tribes we might fall in with. and in light of after events i say unhesitatingly that, without having done so, and without having to a small extent used rough treatment to some natives so caught, we could not by any possibility have succeeded in crossing the desert, and should not only have lost our own lives, but possibly those of others who would have made search for us after. "a man arms himself where his armour is weakest," so i have read; that, however, is not my case. i am not justifying myself to myself, or defending a line of action not yet assailed. i write this in answer to some who have unfavourably criticised my methods, and to those i would say, "put yourselves in our position, and when sitting in a comfortable armchair at home, in the centre of civilisation, do not, you who have never known want or suffered hardship, be so ready to judge others who, hundreds of miles from their fellow-men, threatened every day with possible death from thirst, were doing their best to lay bare the hidden secrets of an unknown region, as arid and desolate as any the world can show." on starting back for camp the gin refused to walk or move in any way, so we had to pack her on czar, making her as comfortable as possible on warri's blankets, with disastrous results thereto. arrived at camp, i found that the rock-hole was bottomed, and now quite dry. straining the putrid water brought by me through a flannel shirt, boiling it, adding ashes and epsom salts, we concocted a serviceable beverage. this, blended with the few gallons of muddy water from the well, formed our supply, which we looked to augment under the guidance of the gin. after completing our work the well presented the appearance of a large rock-hole, thirty feet deep, conical in shape, of which one-half the contents had been dug out. this confirmed my opinion that the native wells of these regions are nothing more than holes in the bed-rock, which have been covered over and in by the general deposit of sand. i had no time to observe for latitude at this spot, the position of which is fixed merely by dead reckoning. the rock-hole lies eight miles from it to the s.e. by e., and has no guide whatever to its situation. i christened the well "patience well," and i think it was well named. from september th, a.m., until september th, . a.m., we had worked almost continuously, only taking in turn what sleep we could snatch when one could be spared; and the result, gallons as sum total, inclusive of mud and other matter. we left patience well on the th, at a.m., taking the woman with us. breaden was the only one in whose charge she would consent to be at all calm; to him therefore was allotted the duty of looking after her. at eleven we reached the dry well to which warri and i had tracked the natives. the water we were forced to use was so uninviting that i decided to make another effort to find a supply in this locality. the gin was of no use whatever, and would only repeat whatever we said to her--"gabbi," which king billy had understood, was wasted on her. "gabbi, gabbi," she repeated, waving her arm all round the horizon. leaving the rest to bottom the dry well, which might have water lower down, warri and i again started off on the tracks of a buck, and these we followed due north on foot for four and a half hours, hoping every moment to come on a well. soon after starting an apparently old track joined the other, and together they marched still north. presently the old tracks changed into fresh ones, and close by i found two rough sandals made of strips of bark. one i kept, the other was too nearly worn out. there was no change in the dreary appearance of the country; through scrubs, over stones and sand we held our way, until warri, who was now a little way behind, called, "no good, no more walk!" i could see the poor boy was knocked up, and felt little better myself; to go on did not guarantee water, and might end in disaster, so after a short rest we retraced our steps. the night was now dark and oppressive, so hatless and shirtless we floundered through the spinifex, nearly exhausted from the walk, following so close on the last few days' work. i believe that but for warri i should have been "bushed"; my head was muddled, and the stars not too clear. what a joyful sight met our eyes as we crested a rise of sand--a sight almost as reviving as the food and water we so anxiously looked forward to. tongues of flame shot up in the air, a fire lit by our mates, but showing that, in spite of warri's instinct, we had not been walking in quite the right direction. no welcome news greeted our arrival--the well was dry, and the native obdurate. we all agreed she was useless, and since she refused all forms of nutriment i feared she would die on our hands, so she regained her liberty, and fled away with a rapidity not expected in one of her years. my companions had felt some anxiety at our continued absence, and again i had evidence of the cordial friendship existing between us. with reference to the bark sandals, the use of which is not so far known, i append an extract from "the horn scientific expedition," part iv., where we read the following: "sandals. "arunta tribe. "kurdaitcha shoes.--when a native for some reason desired to kill a member of another camp or tribe, he consulted the medicine man of his camp, and arrangements were made for a 'kurdaitcha luma.' . . . both medicine man and kurdaitcha wore remarkable shoes. these had the form of a long pad made of human hair, with numberless emu feathers intertwined, and with a certain amount of human blood to act as a cementing substance. " . . . both ends of the shoes were rounded off, and were exactly similar to one another, which has given rise to the erroneous idea that their object was to prevent the wearer being tracked . . ." but no other explanation is offered. breaden says tracks of a man wearing these emu-feather shoes are very indistinct, but has no certain knowledge of their use. warri, looking at the bark sandals, said, "black-fella wear 'em 'long a hot sand." questioned about the emu-feather shoes, he gave the usual answer, "i dunno," and then added, probably to please me, as i had suggested the explanation, "black-fella no more see 'em track, i think." it was clear that no good results were likely to follow further search in this locality, for the tracks were so numerous, and crossed and recrossed so often, that nothing could be made out of them. the country to the north being so uninviting, i altered our course to north-east, and again to north, when we sighted a smoke, and, following tracks, camped on them. "mud and oatmeal for breakfast," september th; truly the sage spoke who remarked, "what does not fatten will fill." such was our fare, and the only doubt we had was lest the compound should be turned into brick by the sun's heat! however, it was sustaining enough to last us all day, occupied in tracking. two dry wells, connected by a well-trodden pad half a mile long, rewarded our labours; and here we had the conviction forced upon us that the blacks themselves were hard pressed: we could see where dust and dirt had been recently removed from the bottom of the wells, both of which were over fifteen feet in depth, and one over twenty. were the natives hard pressed for water, or had they heard of our coming, and were by smokes guiding us to empty wells? unpleasant speculation, when one's tanks contain nothing but a nasty brown liquid, and the country looks as if it had not known rain for years! september th. another smoke to the north-east; again we steer for it, as if following a will-o'-the-wisp. the continued semi-starvation, hard work, and heat was beginning to leave its mark. none of our friends or relatives would have recognised us now! clothed in filthy rags, with unkempt hair and beards, begrimed with mud, and burnt black by the sun wherever its rays could penetrate our armour of dirt, we were indeed a pretty lot. that night we tied the camels down--there was no feed for them; besides, i wished them handy in the morning, for we could not be far from natives now unless the smoke had deceived us. the next day the desolation of the country was increased by vast areas of burnt ground, from which rose clouds of dust and ashes--no gravel was here to arrest the onslaught of the wind upon the sand. towards evening we were doomed to experience fresh discouragement, for in front of us, seen from rising ground, there stretched ridge upon ridge of barren sand, black from the charred remains of spinifex. to tackle those ridges in our then plight meant grave risks to be run, and that night the responsibility of my position weighed heavily upon my thoughts. i prayed for strength and determination--for to each one of us must have come the thought of what our fate might be. i feel sure that all were ready to face boldly whatever was in store, and were resolved to do their utmost--and what more can man do? to go forward was our only course, since we meant to get through. before sunrise, black and weary we started, having fed on tinned vegetables, the only article amongst our provisions possessing any moisture. before long we were amongst the ridges. what a desolate scene! ridge upon ridge of sand, black from the ashes of burnt spinifex. not a sound or sign of life, except the grunts of the camels as they strained up the sandy slopes. presently we sighted a newly lighted hunting smoke, not a mile from us; with my field-glasses i could see the flames of the fiercely burning spinifex lapping the crest of a high sand-ridge. leaving the tracks i was following i rejoined the main party, and, calling to charlie to accompany me, and to the others to follow us as fast as they could, i set off for the fire. having anticipated reaching the scene of the smoke early this morning, we had divided up czar's load amongst the remainder of the caravan, and for the time transformed him into a riding-camel, and so two of us were mounted. on nearer approach we pulled up to give our steeds a blow, and, unseen ourselves, we watched the natives hunting, all unsuspicious of the near presence of beings and animals so strange in colour and form. advancing slowly from opposite directions, we were able to get within a hundred yards of them before our silent approach was noticed. no words can describe the look of terror and amazement on the faces of those wild savages. spellbound they crouched in the black and smouldering ashes of the spinifex, mouths open and eyes staring, and then with one terrific yell away they ran, dodging and doubling until a somewhat bushy beefwood tree seemed to offer them means of escape. how many there had been i do not know, but the tree harboured three, the man, woman, and child, that we had first singled out. all kept up a ceaseless screaming and gesticulating, reminding me of the monkey-house at the "zoo"; but above the others could be distinguished the voice of the old gin who, with frantic haste, tried to screen the man with branches broken from their tree of refuge, and who in the intervals between this occupation and that of shaking a stick at us, set a light to the surrounding spinifex either as a signal or with the hope of keeping us at a distance; for with all her fear she had not let drop her firestick. thinking that they would be completely overawed by the appearance of the rest of the caravan, and so make no further attempt to escape, we sat sentinel on our camels and awaited the arrival of the main party. presently they appeared, and the trembling fear of the natives was painful to witness--never by any possibility could they have seen camels or white men, though considering the extent to which articles are passed from tribe to tribe, it is probable they had heard of the "white-fella." even to european eyes a camel is not the canniest of beasts, and since these people had never seen an animal larger than a dingo, and, indeed, no animal save this and the spinifex rat, their surprise may well be imagined on seeing a thing as large as their whole camp marching solemnly along. putting down the caravan we approached them, and from a mad, incoherent yelling their protestations gradually died down to an occasional gulp like that of a naughty child. making soothing sounds and patting their breasts and our own in turn, in sign of friendship, we had plenty of time to inspect them. an old lady, with grizzled hair, toothless and distorted in countenance, with legs and arms mere bones, and skin shrunken and parched; a girl-child, perhaps six years old, by no means an ugly little thing, and a youngish man made up the trio; all stark-naked, and unadorned by artificial means, unless one excepts a powerfully scented mixture of grease and ashes, with which their bodies were smeared. the buck--poor fellow!--was suffering from some horrible skin disease, which spread over his chest and back. he seemed to have but little power in his arms, and a pitiful object he was, as we uncovered him from his screen of branches. having apparently satisfied them that it was not our intention to eat them, by signs we showed them our pressing need for water--these they readily understood--doubtless because their own daily experience is one constant hunt for food or water. evidently we had the former with us in the shape of camels, therefore we could only want the latter. the little child very soon showed great confidence, and, taking my hand, led us over a neighbouring sand-ridge. the old lady took a great fancy to godfrey, and convinced us that flirting is by no means confined to civilisation. leading us obliquely across the ridges we had just passed over, some two miles from the scene of their hunting, they halted at their well. to the north of it an almost barren ridge of sand rising to a height of perhaps sixty feet, and running away east and west for possibly ten miles without a break, from the crest of which we could see a limitless sea of ridges as far as the eye could reach to the northward (a cheerful prospect!), to the south the undulating treeless desert of gravel we had just crossed. between the foot of the ridge and a stony slope the well was situated--the usual little round hole in the sand--a small patch of roly-poly grass making a slight difference in the appearance of the country immediately surrounding the hole. as well as this roly-poly, we were delighted to see a few scattered plants of parakeelia, and lost no time in unloading and hobbling the camels, who in their turn made all haste to devour this life-giving vegetation. camp made, we set to work on the well, sinking our boxes as before, our black friends watching us with evident interest. presently we heard a shrill call, and, looking up, saw the rest of the family hesitating between curiosity and fear. the old gin reassured them and they approached--a man, a young mother with a baby at the breast, and two more children. there were evidently more not far off who were too timid to come on, as we heard calls from beyond the ridge. this buck was a fine, upstanding fellow, very lithe and strong, though thin and small of bone. dressed in the fashionable desert costume of nothing at all, excepting a band of string round his forehead, and a similar belt round his waist, from which hung all round him the spoils of the chase, with a spear in one hand and throwing-sticks in the other he looked a queer figure in the setting sun--iguanas and lizards dangling head down from his hair and his waist-string--indeed a novel way of carrying game. his lady followed him with a cooliman under her arm, with a further supply of reptiles and rats. the whole family established themselves close to us. their camp had been near the crest of the ridge, but, apparently liking our company, they shifted their household goods, and, starting a fire within twenty yards of us, were soon engaged in cooking and eating their supper. the process of preparing a meal is simple in the extreme. the rats are plucked (for they do not skin the animal, but pluck the hair as we do feathers from a chicken), and thrown on to a pile of hot wood-ashes with no further preparation, and are greedily devoured red and bloody, and but barely warm. a lizard or iguana calls for a further exercise of culinary knowledge. first, a crooked twig is forced down the throat and the inside pulled out, which dainty is thrown to any dog or child that happens to be near; the reptile is then placed on hot coals until distended to the utmost limit that the skin will bear without bursting, then it is placed on ashes less hot, and covered with the same, and after a few minutes is pronounced cooked and ready for the table. the old lady did the cooking, and kept up an incessant chattering and swearing the while. we noticed how kind they were to the poor diseased buck, giving him little tit-bits of half-raw rat's flesh, which he greatly preferred to any food we fed him. they were strange, primitive people, and yet kind and grateful. we anointed the sick man's wounds with tar and oil (a mixture used for mange in camels), and were well rewarded for our unsavoury task by his dog-like looks of satisfaction and thanks. we had ample opportunity to watch them at night, as our well-sinking operations kept us up. they seemed afraid to sleep or lie down, and remained crouching together in their little hollows in the sand until morning. to break the force of the wind, which blew rather chilly, they had set up the usual spinifex fence, and between each little hollow a small fire burnt. the stillness of the night was only broken by the occasional cry of the baby, and this was immediately suppressed by the mother in a novel manner, viz., by biting the infant's ear--a remedy followed by almost immediate success. i beg to recommend this exceedingly effective plan to any of my lady readers whose night's rest is troubled by a teething child--doubtless the husband's bite would have an equally good effect, but the poor baby's ears might suffer from a combination of a strong jaw and a ruffled temper. what a strange sound--that little picaninny's cry; surrounded as we were by a boundless sea of sand, it made one think how small a speck our party was on the face of the earth; it somehow took one's thoughts back to civilisation and crowded cities, and one felt that it was not just very certain if one would see such things again; and how little it would take to wipe us out, like gnats squashed on a vast window-pane! in the morning we sent the able-bodied man away to hunt, but his interest in us soon overcame his desire for game, and he returned, and presently made himself useful by carrying roots of bushes for our fire, for wood was hard to get, and the nearest tree hardly in sight. i presented the buck with an old pyjama jacket, and a great swell he thought himself too, strutting about and showing himself off to the others. in exchange for numerous articles they gave us, we attached coins round their necks, and on a small round plate, which i cut out of a meat-tin, i stamped my initial and the date, c. . this i fixed on a light nickel chain and hung round the neck of the good-looking young gin, to her intense gratification. it will be interesting to know if ever this ornament is seen again. i only hope some envious tribesman will not be tempted to knock the poor thing on the head to possess himself of this shining necklace. amongst their treasures which they carried, wrapped up in bundles of bark and hair, one of the most curious was a pearl oyster-shell, which was worn by the buck as a sporran. now this shell (which i have in my possession) could only have come from the coast, a distance of nearly five hundred miles, and must have been passed from hand to hand, and from tribe to tribe. other articles they had which i suppose were similarly traded for, viz., an old iron tent-peg, the lid of a tin matchbox, and a part of the ironwork of a saddle on which the stirrup-leathers hang. this piece of iron was stamped a ; this, i fear, is hardly a sufficient clue from which to trace its origin. their weapons consisted of spears, barbed and plain, brought to a sharp or broad point; woommeras, throwing-sticks, and boomerangs of several shapes, also a bundle of fire-making implements, consisting of two sticks about two feet long, the one hard and pointed, the other softer, and near one end a round hollow, into which the hard point fits. by giving a rapid rotary movement to the hard stick held upright between the palms of the hands, a spark will before long be generated in the hole in the other stick, which is kept in place on the ground by the feet. by blowing on the spark, a little piece of dried grass, stuck in a nick in the edge of the hollow, will be set alight and the fire obtained. as a matter of fact this method is not often used, since, when travelling from camp to camp, a firestick or burning brand is carried and replaced when nearly consumed. the gins sometimes carry two of these, one in front and one behind, the flames pointing inwards; and with a baby sitting straddle-legs over their neck and a cooliman under their arms make quite a pretty picture. amongst the ornaments and decorations were several sporrans of curious manufacture. some were made up of tassels formed of the tufts of boody's tails; other tassels were made from narrow strips of dog's skin (with the hair left on) wound round short sticks; others were made in a similar way, of what we conjectured to be bullock's hair. all the tassels were hung on string of opossum or human hair, and two neat articles were fashioned by stringing together red beans [beans of the erythrina] set in spinifex gum, and other seeds from trees growing in a more northerly latitude. this again shows their trading habits. here, too, were portmanteaus, holding carved sticks of various shapes and patterns, emu-plumes, nose-bones and nose-sticks, plaited bands of hair string, and numerous other odds and ends. in the evening we watered the camels, and lucky it was that the parakeelia existed, and so satisfied them with its watery juice that they were contented with very little, satan and misery not swallowing more than two gallons each. lucky indeed, because even with another night's work we were only just able to get a sufficient supply to carry us on for a few days, and but for the parakeelia either we or the camels would have had to go short. we did not completely exhaust the water in the well--not, i fear, because we studied the convenience of the natives, but because our makeshift appliances did not enable us to sink deeper. so we bade adieu to our simple black friends, and set our faces to the sand-ridges. on leaving camp in the morning i found a piece of candle lying on the ground. i threw it to the buck, and he, evidently thinking it good to eat, put it in his mouth, holding the wick in his fingers, and, drawing off the tallow with his teeth, swallowed it with evident relish. chapter ix dr. leichardt's lost expedition at this point i must ask pardon of the courteous reader for a seeming digression, and interpolate a short account of dr. leichardt's lost expedition--as to the fate of which nothing is known; and although no apparent connection exists between it and this narrative, it may be that in our journey we have happened on traces, and that the pieces of iron mentioned in the last chapter may serve as some clue to its fate. on arrival in civilisation i sent these iron relics, with some native curios, to mr. panton, police magistrate, of melbourne, victoria, a gentleman whose knowledge, and ability to speak with authority on matters concerning australian exploration is recognised as the highest. when, therefore, mr. panton expresses the opinion that the tent-peg was the property of dr. leichardt, one may be sure that he has good grounds for his supposition. whether leichardt lost his life in the heart of this wilderness or not, the complete mystery hiding his fate makes his history sufficiently remarkable; and though i consider that there is little to show that he ever reached a point so far across the continent, there is no reason that he should not have done so, and i leave it for my readers to form their own opinion. ludwig leichardt, after carrying out successfully several journeys in queensland and the northern territory, undertook the gigantic task of crossing australia from east to west, viz., from moreton bay to the swan river settlements. towards the end of , accompanied by eight white men, two black-boys, and provisions to last two years, he started, taking with him one hundred and eighty sheep, two hundred and seventy goats, forty bullocks, fifteen horses, and thirty mules. after travelling with little or no progress for seven months, during which time the whole stock of cattle and sheep were lost, the party returned. not discouraged by this disastrous termination to his scheme, leichardt resolved on another expedition with the same object in view. before many months he, with the same number of companions but with fewer animals, set out again. on the rd of april, , he wrote from fitzroy downs, expressing hope and confidence as to the ultimate success of the expedition. since that date, neither tidings nor traces have been found of the lost explorer, nor of any of his men or belongings. several search-parties were organised and a large reward offered, but all in vain--and the scene of his disaster remains undiscovered to this day. many and various are the theories propounded with regard to his fate. it is held by some that the whole party were caught in the floods of the cooper. this creek is now known to spread out, after heavy rains at its source, to a width of between forty and fifty miles. so heavy and sudden is the rain in semi-tropical australia, that a traveller may be surrounded by flood-waters, while not a drop of local rain may fall. leichardt, in those early days, would labour under the disadvantage of knowing neither the seasons, nor the rainfall, and in all likelihood would choose the valley of a creek to travel along, since it would afford feed for his stock. it seems reasonable to suppose that a flood alone could make so clean a sweep of men, cattle, and equipment that even keen-eyed aboriginals have failed (so far as is known) to discover any relics. another theory, and that held by mr. panton, is that the deserts of central and western australia hold the secret of his death. this theory is based, i believe, on the fact that gregory, in the fifties, found on the elsey creek (north australia) what he supposed to be the camp of a white man. this in conjunction with some vague reports by natives would point to leichardt having travelled for the first part of his journey considerably further north than was his original intention, with a view to making use of the northern rivers. supposing that his was the camp seen on the elsey, a tributary of the victoria river, it would have been necessary for him to alter his course to nearly due south-west to enable him to reach the swan river. this course would have taken him through the heart of the desert, through the very country we now were in. for my part i think that trade from tribe to tribe sufficiently accounts for the presence of such articles as tent-pegs and pieces of iron, though strangely enough an iron tent-peg is not commonly used nowadays, stakes of wood being as serviceable, and none but a large expedition would be burdened with the unnecessary weight of iron pegs. chapter x the desert of parallel sand-ridges my position for family well is lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes. the well, as already stated, is situated at the foot of the southern slope of a high sand-ridge. this ridge is the first of a series of parallel banks of sand which extend, with occasional breaks, from lat. degrees minutes to degrees minutes--a distance of nearly miles in a straight line. from september th to november th we were never out of sight of a sand ridge, and during that time travelled miles, taking into account all deviations consequent upon steering for smokes and tracking up natives, giving an average of not quite seven miles a day, including stoppages. this ghastly desert is somewhat broken in its northern portion by the occurrence of sandstone tablelands, the southesk tablelands; the southern part, however, viz., from lat. degrees minutes to lat. degrees minutes presents nothing to the eye but ridge upon ridge of sand, running with the regularity of the drills in a ploughed field. a vast, howling wilderness of high, spinifex-clad ridges of red sand, so close together that in a day's march we crossed from sixty to eighty ridges, so steep that often the camels had to crest them on their knees, and so barren and destitute of vegetation (saving spinifex) that one marvels how even camels could pick up a living. i estimate their average vertical height from trough to crest at fifty to sixty feet. some were mere rises, whilst others reached a height of considerably over one hundred feet. sometimes the ridges would be a quarter of a mile apart, and sometimes ridge succeeded ridge like the waves of the sea. on october rd, for instance, i find that we were crossing them at a rate of ten in forty minutes. this gives a result of ridges to be negotiated in a day's march of seven hours. riding was almost impossible in such country as this, for all our energies were required to urge on the poor camels. all through, we adhered to the same plan as before, viz., doing our day's march without a halt (excepting of course the numerous stoppages entailed by broken nose-lines, the disarrangement of a pack, or the collapse of a camel), having no food or water from daylight until camping-time. this, without our previous training, would have been an almost impossible task, for each ridge had to be climbed--there was no going round them or picking out a low place, no tacking up the slope--straight ahead, up one side, near the top a wrench and a snap, down goes a camel, away go the nose-lines, a blow for the first and a knot for the second, over the crest and down, then a few paces of flat going, then up again and down again, and so on day after day. the heat was excessive--practically there was no shade. the difficulties of our journey were increased by the necessity of crossing the ridges almost at right angles. with almost heart-breaking regularity they kept their general trend of e. by n. and w. by s., causing us from our northerly course to travel day after day against the grain of the country. an easterly or westerly course would have been infinitely less laborious, as in that case we could have travelled along the bottom of the trough between two ridges for a great distance before having to cross over any. the troughs and waves seem to be corrugations in the surface of greater undulations; for during a day's march or so, on reaching the top of one ridge, our view forwards was limited to the next ridge, until a certain point was reached, from which we could see in either direction; and from this point onwards the ridges sank before us for a nearly equal distance, and then again they rose, each ridge higher than the last. words can give no conception of the ghastly desolation and hopeless dreariness of the scene which meets one's eyes from the crest of a high ridge. the barren appearance of the sand is only intensified by the few sickly and shrunken gums that are dotted over it. in the troughs occasional clumps of shrubs, or scrubs, [e.g., mulga (acacia anaeura), grevillea, hakea, ti-tree (melaleuca) and in the northern portion desert oaks (casuarina descaineana)] or small trees are met with, and everywhere are scattered tussocks of spinifex. true it is, though, that even this poverty-stricken plant has its uses, for it serves to bind the sand and keep the ridges, for the most part, compact. where spinifex does not grow, for instance on the tops of the ridges, one realises how impossible a task it would be to travel for long over banks of loose sand. i find that my estimate for the average height of the sand-ridges is considerably lower than that of colonel warburton. it is interesting, therefore, to compare his account of these ridges, though it must be remembered that colonel warburton was travelling on a westerly course, and we from our northerly direction only traversed country previously seen by him, for the short distance that our sight would command, at the point of intersection of our two tracks. in an editorial note in his book we read:-- "they varied considerably both in their size and in their distance from each other, but eighty feet may be regarded as an average in the former respect and three hundred yards in the latter. "they ran parallel to each other in an east and west direction, so that while pursuing either of these courses the travellers kept in the valleys, formed by two of them, and got along without much exertion. it was when it became necessary to cross them at a great angle that the strain on the camels proved severe, for on the slopes their feet sank deeply into the sand, and their labours were most distressing to witness." chapter xi from family well to helena spring on leaving family well it was suggested by charlie and godfrey that we should take one of our native friends with us. no doubt this would have been the most sensible plan, and would have saved us much trouble. however, i did not care to take either of the females, the sick man was evidently of no use to us, and it was pretty evident that the sound buck was the chief hunter, and that without him, the little tribe would be hard pressed to find food. as we were not in absolute need of water for a few days to come, i decided to leave the family in quiet enjoyment of their accustomed surroundings. i had now given up all hope of finding any other than desert country ahead of us, and had no longer any other purpose than that of traversing the region that lay between us and "white settlements" with as little harm to ourselves and our camels as care and caution could command. our course was now north-east, as it was necessary to make more easting to bring us near the longitude of hall's creek. we continued for three days on this course, the ridges running due east and west. the usual vegetation was to be seen, relieved by occasional patches of a low, white plant having the scent of lavender. this little plant grew chiefly on the southern slope of the ridges, and was seen by us in no other locality. a specimen brought home by me was identified at kew gardens as a new variety of dicrastylis, and has been named dicrastylis carnegiei. large tracts of burnt country had to be crossed from which clouds of dust and ashes were continually rising, blown up by "willy-willies" (spiral winds). these were most deceptive, it being very hard to distinguish between them and hunting-smokes. after one or two disappointments we were able to determine, from a distance, the nature of these clouds of black dust. on the nd we turned due east towards some smokes and what appeared to be a range of hills beyond them. the smokes, however, turned out to be dust-storms, and the range to be immense sandhills. here we saw the first desert oak, standing solitary sentinel on the crest of a ridge. around the burnt ground several old tracks were visible, some of which we followed, but with no better result than two dry rock-holes and a dry native well one mile from them. near the latter was an old native camp, in which we found several small, pointed sticks, so planed as to leave a bunch of shavings on the end. i have seen similar sticks stuck up on native graves near coolgardie, but have no idea of their proper significance. probably they are merely ornaments. a line of cliffs next met our view, and to them we turned. these were higher rocks or hills than we had seen for some time, and presented rather a remarkable appearance. formed of a conglomerate of sandstone and round ironstone pebbles, they stood up like a wall on the top of a long slope of easy grade, covered with gravel and loose pebbles. at the foot lay boulders great and small, in detached heaps like so many pieces broken from a giant plum-pudding. in the face of the cliffs were numerous holes and caves, the floors of which gave ample evidence of the presence of bats and wallabies. of these latter we saw several, but could not get a shot; careful exploration of these caves, on hands and knees, led to the finding of a fair-sized rock-hole, unfortunately quite dry. i have no doubt that these wallabies, like the spinifex rats, are so constituted that water is not to them a necessity, and that the spinifex roots afford sufficient moisture to keep them alive. we saw no traces of spinifex rats at any of the wells we found, nor did we see any water which they could reach or from which, having reached it, they could climb up again to the surface. from the top of the cliffs an extensive view to the south and north was obtained. but such a view! with powerful field-glasses nothing could be seen but ridge succeeding ridge, as if the whole country had been combed with a mammoth comb. from these points of the compass the cliffs must be visible for a considerable distance. their rather remarkable appearance made me think them worth naming, so they were christened "wilson's cliffs," after my old friend and partner. the entry in my diary for the th would stand for many other days. it runs: "most wretched sand-ridge country, ridges east and west, and timbered with very occasional stunted gums--extensive patches of bare, burnt country with clouds of dust. absolutely no feed for camels--or for any other animal for that matter." such miserable country beggars description. nothing is more heartrending than to be forced to camp night after night with the knowledge that one's poor animals are wandering vainly in search of feed. to tie them down would have given them some rest, but at the same time it entailed their certain starvation; whilst, wandering about, they stood some chance of picking up a mouthful or two. how anxiously each ridge was scanned when camping-time drew near--no feed--on again another ridge or two, no feed--just one more ridge, and, alas! "no feed" is again the cry. so we camped perforce without it, and often the famished camels would wander two or three miles in the night in search of it, and this meant an extra walk to recover them in the morning. on the morning of the th warri brought in all the camels but one, with a message from breaden that misery was dying. small wonder if all had been in the same state, for we were now eight days from the last water, and tough as camels are they cannot go waterless and foodless for very many days in such trying country as this. poor old misery! this was sad news indeed, but all that could be done to save him should be done. this morning a smoke rose due west of us. we had seen so few signs of natives lately that we could not afford to neglect this, even though it was so far from our proper course. by the time we had loaded the camels and distributed his load amongst the rest, breaden brought misery into camp, and when we started, followed with him behind us, coaxing him along as best he could. eight miles brought us into the region of the burning spinifex and fresh tracks; despatching charlie on satan, and godfrey and warri on foot, to track up and catch a native if possible, i unloaded the camels and awaited breaden's arrival. presently he came alone, saying that poor misery was done for and could move no further, so he had left him. i felt sure that that was the case, since breaden would not have come without him if there had been any possibility of getting him further. nevertheless, i could not bear to leave my faithful and favourite camel to die by slow degrees, and returned on breaden's tracks. i took with me a brandy-bottle full of epsom salts and water, for from breaden's account of his way of going on i felt sure that poor misery had eaten some poisonous plant. four miles back i found him lying apparently dead in the shade of a tree, or where the shade would have been had there been any foliage; he knew me and looked up when i spoke to and patted him, and rested his head in my lap as i sat down beside him; but no amount of coaxing could get him on his legs. having administered the salts, which he evidently enjoyed, i proceeded to bleed him by slitting his ear; my knife, however, was not sharp enough, (for everything becomes dulled in this sand) to do the job properly, and he bled but little. i could do nothing but wait, so taking a diminutive edition of thackeray from my pocket, for i had foreseen this long wait, i read a chapter from "vanity fair." presently i got him on his legs and he walked for about thirty yards, then down he went in a heap on the ground; another wait, and more "vanity fair." then on again, and down again, and so on hour after hour. soon nothing but brutal treatment would make him stir, so i hardened my heart and used a stick without mercy. what a brute i felt as he turned his great eyes reproachfully upon me! "never mind, misery, old chap, it must be done to save your life!" at last i reached a ridge within one hundred yards of the camp, and here breaden met me, bringing with him four gallons of water and the welcome news that the others had captured two bucks who had shown a well three miles north. this water saved misery's life, and was just in time. we reached camp as the camels were reloaded and ready to start for the well under the guidance of the two bucks. both of these were fair-sized men, and one stood six feet at least, though from the method of doing the hair in a bunch at the top of the head they appear taller than they really are. godfrey and warri had tracked them right into their camp and surprised a family of numerous gins, young and old, several picaninnies, and three bucks, one of whom was stone blind. they were preparing their evening meal, and amongst the spoils of the chase there were opossums, whose tracks on one of two large gum-trees not far off we afterwards saw. i had always associated opossums with good country; however, here they were. of the natives, some fled as soon as godfrey and warri approached, whilst the men were uncommonly anxious to dispute this unceremonious visit to their camp. they were on the point of active hostilities when charlie rode up on satan, and they then thought better of it. even so they were not persuaded to accompany the white men back to camp without considerable difficulty. the smaller man managed to escape; the other we afterwards christened sir john, because he was so anxious to make us dig out old dry wells, so that presumably they should be ready for the next rain. there seemed to us to exist a certain similarity between his views and those of the government, which is ever ready to make use of the pioneer's labours where it might be justly expected to expend its own. this fellow was most entertaining, and took a great interest in all our belongings. i, coming last, seemed to excite keen delight, though he was naturally a little shy of his captors; he patted me on the chest, felt my shirt and arms, and was greatly taken by a tattoo on one of them. grinning like any two cheshire cats, he showed his approval by "clicking" his tongue with a side shake of the head, at the same time snapping his thumb and finger. breaden, too, came in for sir john's approval, and was similarly patted and pulled about. godfrey had taken a rather handy-looking tomahawk from the buck, made from the half of a horseshoe, one point of which was ground to a pretty sharp edge--a primitive weapon, but distinctly serviceable. unlike our friend at family well, this man had not even a shell to wear, and beyond an unpleasantly scented mixture of fat and ashes, with which he was smeared, was hampered by no sort of clothing whatever. as usual, he was scarred on the chest and forehead, and wore his hair in a mop, held back by a band of string. his teeth were a picture, not only clean and white, which is usual, but uncommonly small and sharp, as one of us found! leaving him to the main party to take on to the well, i and warri remained behind to bring misery on--and a nice job we had too. i thought of waiting and packing water back to him, but in that case he would have fallen an easy victim to the natives, who were bound to be prowling about, nor could one of us be spared to watch him. so he had to be beaten and hauled and dragged, by stages of twenty yards at a time, over the ridges. after darkness fell we had to follow the tracks with a firestick until we had the fire at camp to guide us. this we reached about . p.m., fairly tired out, but satisfied that the poor, patient sufferer's life was saved. the others had already started work on the well, but knocked off when i got back, and we had a good feed and a short rest. sir john was much distressed at his party having taken away all their food when they retreated, and was hardly consoled by what we gave him. tethered to a ti-tree, with a little fire to cheer him, he was apparently happy enough. the rest of the night we worked at the well in shifts, and charlie and i, the first shift, started off soon after daybreak with the buck to find more water, for it was evident that our present supply was insufficient. we felt pretty certain from the way the tribe had left that another well existed close by; the question was, would our captive show it? he started in great glee and at a great pace, carrying behind him, like a "back-board," a light stick. this will be found to open the lungs and make a long walk less fatiguing, except for the strain on the arms. occasionally he would stop and bind strips of bark round his ankles and below the knee. "gabbi" was just over the next ridge, he assured us by signs--it was always "the next ridge"--until when nearly ten miles from camp we saw a smoke rise ahead of us, but so far away that we could do no good by going on. however, we had gained something by locating a fresh camp, so started homewards, the buck becoming most obstreperous when he saw our change of plan, for he made it clear by signs that the gins (indicating their breasts by covering his own with his hands) and the blind man (pointing to his own closed eyes and making a crooked track in the sand) and the rest, had circled round and gone to the camp from which we could see the smoke rising. however, he could not escape and soon gave in, and followed reluctantly behind, dragging at the rope. walking was bad enough, but this extra exertion was rather too much. besides, we were sadly in need of sleep; so, taking advantage of what little shade we could find by following round the shadow of a gum tree as the sun moved, charlie slept whilst i watched our black friend, and then i did the same. on arrival at camp we found that our companions had been so successful in "soak-sucking," i.e., baling and scraping up the miserable trickle of water as it soaks into the "caisson," that by sunset we were able to give the camels eight gallons each, and two gallons extra to misery, who was showing signs of a rapid recovery. luckily there was a little patch of dry herbage not far from the well, and a few acacias over the ridge. all the next day we were occupied in "soak-sucking," and warri went back for misery's saddle, which had been thrown off. i took the opportunity of writing up my diary--anything but a pleasant job, for shade there was none, except in a reclining position under our solitary ti-tree bush. the native's close proximity and the swarm of flies, made the task quite hateful, for under the most favourable conditions there are few things i dislike more than writing. on september th i chronicled a most remarkable fact, viz., that the two camels satan and redleap had had no more than thirteen gallons of water in the preceding thirty-eight days--a wonderful exhibition of endurance and pluck in this burning weather and barren country. it came about in this way:-- august nd. at woodhouse lagoon they had a full drink in the morning. august th. at warri well, where the parakeelia grew, two gallons in the evening. september th. at patience well they were the last to be watered, eight gallons in the evening. september th. at family well, parakeelia again, three gallons at night. september th. half a drink. therefore between the nd of august and the th of september they had no more than thirteen gallons. satan had more travelling, though carrying a less load, than any of the rest, being used for scouting and finding natives. on the evening of the th i left my work down the well to take some observations; unluckily i was just too late for the stars i wanted, and had to wait up for some long time. we had divided the night into five shifts for baling; when my turn came my companions did not wake me, but did my shift for me. i am sure i appreciated their kindly thought, and felt thankful indeed, and not for the first time, that i had managed to choose such excellent mates--for i had long realised that without peace and unanimity in such a party, our chances of getting through the desert would be greatly minimised. i found our position to be lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes. by morning we had given the camels another five gallons apiece and had some to go on with in our tanks, having, by working for two days and three nights, scraped together gallons in all. on the th we travelled again westwards, though making some northerly progress towards the smoke which charlie and i had located. we had a long talk about our methods of travelling, and charlie thought that i was inclined to spare the camels at the expense of ourselves. we travelled all day without a break so that they should have the longer to look for feed at night, then we always hunted for tracks and water on foot, and when we found water, gave it to the camels before looking after our own wants, and he thought we might do longer stages straight ahead so long as we had a native. i held, and i think the outcome of the journey proved me correct, that our own well-being was a secondary consideration to that of our animals, for without them we should be lost. "slow but sure" was my motto. though anxious to make as much northing as possible i did not feel justified in passing by almost certain water for the sake of a few hours. i felt always that we might come into an even more waterless region ahead, and perhaps be unable to find any natives. some twelve miles brought us to the well--the smoke had been beyond it--and a more wretched spot i never saw. absolutely barren, even of spinifex, were the high ridges of sand between which was the well--merely a small, round hole, with no signs of moisture or plant life about it, not a tree "within cooee." we had to go far to collect enough wood for a fire, and cut two sticks with which to rig up a fly to shade us from the sun--a purely imaginary shade, for light duck is of little use against the power of such a burning sun; but even the shadow cast by the fly gave an appearance of comfort. at this camp we made two new caissons, as our old tin-lined boxes were no longer strong enough. amongst our gear were two galvanised-iron boxes, made to order, with lids which completely covered the boxes and were held on by straps. "concertina-made boxes" they were called by the tinsmith--a name which gave rise to a curious misstatement in a perth paper which published a letter i wrote to sir john forrest. the letter read: ". . . we made boxes out of concertinas"! i fear any who read this must have thought me fairly good at "romancing." i had them made that shape so that they might be filled to nearly double the capacity of the boxes and still have serviceable lids. i had hoped to have filled them with specimens of plants and birds. unfortunately we had neither the time to, nor the opportunity of making any such collection, though we might easily have filled them with specimens of the desert house-fly which swarm at every well! by sawing off the ends of these lids we had two useful boxes, with neither top nor bottom, and by screwing them on to a framework of wood we manufactured a most useful caisson, feet deep by / long and foot wide. by forcing this into the sand in the well and digging out the sand contained in it, and then patiently waiting with a pannikin for the small trickle of water creeping in from between the outside of the caisson and the sides of the rock-hole, then again forcing the box lower, and clearing out the sand above, now drained of its moisture, and repeating the baling process, we were enabled to drain the well of almost every drop it contained. on first acquaintance with these wells a novice's impulse would be to dig out the sand until the bottom was reached; but as the sand holds the water he would find himself with a nicely cleared hole, but cleared of sand and water alike. therefore, without some such makeshift as that already described one would be in the most unsatisfactory position of knowing that water existed, and yet of being unable to obtain any but a very small supply. the natives use comparatively little water, since it is only for drinking purposes, washing being unknown, and as the water sinks in the well the sand is scooped out gradually and carefully and plastered round the sides of the hole, so preventing the inrush of sand. very often when they require a drink they bend down and suck up the water through a bunch of grass, which prevents the sand from getting into the mouth. the water from the wells was always bad, and on first being brought to the surface was hardly fit to use; the camels would not, unless really dry, drink it until it had been exposed in our canvas troughs to the air for some time. lying stagnant perhaps for a year or more, protected by the sand, it is not to be wondered at that its flavour is not of the best. digging in the sand discloses all sorts of odds and ends that could not fail to contaminate the water. it contains also--derived, i suppose, from the sandstone--a certain amount of iron, which i believe to have acted as a sort of tonic to us. a many-tinted, bluish scum always floated on the surface and tea made with it turned as black as ink--nevertheless it was quite good drinking. october st and nd we spent at the well, working as above described, whilst warri tended the camels a couple of miles away on a patch of weeds he discovered. this weed which i have mentioned is the only available feed in this region--without it the camels must have starved long since. the plant somewhat resembles a thistle, but has a small blue flower, and when fresh forms the best feed. so far, however, we had only seen it dry and shrivelled. it is known to science as trichodesma zeylanicum. this camp was the scene of a vicious onslaught on charlie, made by the buck, whilst away looking for the plant from which to make a chewing-ball. taking charlie unawares he nearly accomplished his escape. charlie, as it happened, was the very worst to try such tricks on, for he was the strongest of the party, and a very powerful man. during the struggle the black-fellow grabbed charlie's revolver pouch, and somehow the revolver exploded, the bullet narrowly missing them both. it had the useful effect of attracting our attention, and we were in time to save charlie some nasty wounds, as the buck was using his powerful jaws to great advantage. of course we could not blame him for trying to escape--that was only natural--but it made us more cautious in the future. excepting the inconvenience of being unable to get away, he had nothing to complain of, and had the advantage of plenty to eat and drink without the trouble of looking for it. the manufacture of the "quid" mentioned above is interesting. cleaning and smoothing a place in the sand, a small branch from a silvery-leafed ti-tree (a grevillea, i think), is set alight and held up; from it as it burns a light, white, very fine ash falls on to the prepared ground. now the stems of a small plant already chewed are mixed with the ashes. the compound so formed is squeezed and pressed and kneaded into a small, oval-shaped ball, of sticky and stringy consistency. the ball when in use is chewed and sucked but not swallowed, and is passed round from mouth to mouth; when not in use it is placed behind the ear, where it is carried. nearly every tribe we saw had such "quids." no doubt they derive some sustenance from them. sir john preferred his "chew" to any food we gave him; though he did not care about tobacco. for the next two days the sand-ridges seemed to vie with each other in their height and steepness, between them there was hardly any flat ground at all; mile after mile we travelled, up one and down and over the next without ceasing. first came the native and his guard, then in a long, broken line the string of camels. what a labour it was! often each camel had to be urged in turn over the ridge whilst those behind were continually breaking their nose-lines to lie down or hurry off to the nearest shade, however scanty, and there await the blows and exhortations of their driver; those which remained in their places were continually lifting their feet, for they could not stay still on the burning sand; then their packs were always being jolted about and thrown out of place, necessitating reloading, and when at last we had them again in line the whole performance had to be repeated a few ridges further on. sometimes our caravan would cover half a mile or more, the guide and guardian waiting far in advance whilst the broken line was rejoined and the stragglers brought in, and away far behind the last camel would appear alone, with his nose-line dangling and tripping him up. usually billy brought up the rear--nothing would induce him to follow close behind; a jerk of his head and away went the nose-line, and billy was left behind to follow when so inclined. the heat was really tremendous. it can be fairly sultry around coolgardie, but never before have i experienced such scorching heat; the sun rose like a ball of fire, and in two hours' time had as great power as at any period during the day. how one prayed for it to set, and how thankful one was when in due course it did so, sinking below the horizon as suddenly as it had risen! i am not sure which felt the heat most, poor little val or the buck. he, curiously enough, seemed more affected by it than we were. at night he drank more than we did, and then was not satisfied. sometimes when waiting on ahead he used to squat down and scoop out a hole in the ground to reach the cool sand beneath; with this he would anoint himself. sometimes he would make a mixture of sand and urine, with which he would smear his head or body. poor val was in a pitiable state; the soles of her paws were worn off by the hot sand; it was worse or as bad for her to be knocked about on the top of one of the loads, and although by careful judgment she could often trot along in the shade of one of the camels, she was as near going mad as i imagine it possible for a dog to go. poor little thing! she used to yell and howl most agonisingly, with her eyes staring and tongue hanging. we had, of course, to pack her on a camel when her feet gave out, and by applying vaseline alleviated her pain. our guide took us to two dry wells and watched our disgust with evident satisfaction, and i had to resort to the unfailing argument of allowing him no water at all. he pleaded hard by sounds and gesture and no doubt suffered to some extent, but all was treated as if unnoticed by us. thirst is a terrible thing; it is also a great quickener of the wits, and the result of this harsh treatment, which reduced the poor buck to tears (a most uncommon thing amongst natives), was that before very long we were enabled to unload and make camp in one of the most charming little spots i have ever seen. a veritable oasis, though diminutive in size; but not so in importance, for without its life-giving aid it is hard to say how things would have gone with us. the weather, as i have said, was scorching, the country destitute of feed, almost waterless, most toilsome to cross, and our camels were worn to skeletons from starvation and incessant work, and had they not been fine specimens of an exceptionally fine breed must have long since succumbed. surely this is one of the noblest of creatures and most marvellous works of the creator! brave, dumb heroes, with what patience and undaunted courage do they struggle on with their heavy loads, carrying what no other animal could carry in country where no other could live, never complaining or giving in until they drop from sheer exhaustion! i think there are few animals endowed with more good qualities than the much-abused camel--abused not only by the ignorant, which is excusable, but by travellers and writers who should know better. patience, perseverance, intelligence, docility, and good temper under the most trying conditions, stand out pre-eminently amongst his virtues. not that all camels are perfect--some are vicious and bad tempered; so far as my experience goes these are the exceptions. some few are vicious naturally, but the majority of bad-tempered camels are made so by ill-treatment. if a camel is constantly bullied, he will patiently wait his chance and take his revenge--and pick the right man too. "vice or bad temper," says the indignant victim; "intelligence," say i. in matters of loading and saddling, ignorance causes great suffering to camels. i can imagine few things more uncomfortable than having to carry pounds on one side of the saddle and perhaps pounds on the other, and yet if the poor beast lies down and complains, in nine cases out of ten his intelligent master will beat him unmercifully as a useless brute! nearly every sore back amongst a mob of camels is the result of carelessness. it is hard to avoid, i am well aware, but it can be done; and i speak as an authority, for during our journey to kimberley and the journey back again, over such country as i have endeavoured faithfully to describe, there were only two cases of camels with sore backs--one was billy, who had an improperly healed wound when we started, which, however, we soon cured; the other stoddy, on the return journey. this state of affairs was not brought about except by bestowing great care and attention on the saddles, which we were continually altering, as they were worn out of shape, or as the camels became thinner--and thin they were, poor things, tucked up like greyhounds! a few days' rest and feed, fortunately soon puts a camel right, and such they could have at the little oasis we had reached on october th. in the centre of it lay a splendid little spring, in many ways the most remarkable feature we had encountered, and therefore i christened it after one whose love and helpful sympathy in all my work, has given me strength and courage--my sister helena. chapter xii helena spring "my native valley hath a thousand springs, but not to one of them shall i attach hereafter, such precious recollections as to this solitary fount, which bestows its liquid treasures where they are not only delightful, but nearly indispensable." so spake sir kenneth of scotland in "the talisman." surely the christian knight, dragging his way across the sands of palestine, was not more pleased to reach the "diamond of the desert" than we were to light upon this charming little oasis, hidden away in the dreary solitude of the surrounding sandhills; the one spot of green on which one's eyes may rest with pleasure in all this naked wilderness. at the bottom of a hollow enclosed between two sand-ridges is a small surface outcrop of limestone of similar character to that in which empress spring is situated. in this is a little basin, nearly circular, about feet inches in diameter and feet deep, with a capacity of about seventy gallons. this is the spring, fed at the bottom of the basin from some subterranean source by a narrow tunnel in the rock, a natural drain, not six inches in diameter. through this passage, from the west, the water rises, filling the rocky basin, and evidently at some seasons bubbling over and filling the clay-pan which abuts on it on the western side. on the east side of the spring is an open space of sand; surrounding it and the clay-pan is a luxuriant growth of pig-face--a finger-like plant, soft, squashy, and full of moisture, but salt; it is commonly seen on the margin of salt-lakes. beyond the pig-face, tussocks of grass and buck-bush, beyond that again a mass of ti-tree scrub extending to the foot of the sandhills. on the inner slopes of these can be seen the crowning glory of the spot viz., an abundance of splendid green thistle (trichodesma zeylanicum), tall and juicy, growing amongst acacia and other bushes. outside this, beyond this area of perhaps four hundred yards in diameter, stretching away to the horizon, ridge upon ridge of desolate sand, black and begrimed by the ashes of recently burnt spinifex, from which the charred stumps of occasional gum trees point branchless to the sky. what chance of finding such a place without the help of those natives to whom alone its existence was known? the winds and storms of past years had filled in the basin with sand and leaves, and except for the extraordinary freshness and abundance of vegetation around it, its peculiar situation, and the absence of the usual accompaniments to rock-holes, such as heaps of sticks and stones which, having served their purpose of protecting the water from evaporation, have been removed and thrown aside by the natives, there was nothing at first sight to lead one to suppose that any further supply existed than was visible in this natural reservoir. this small amount soon vanished down the throats of the thirsty camels; it was then that, having cleared out the sand and leaves, we discovered the small passage through which the spring rises. by continual baling until all the camels were satisfied (and of this splendid spring water they drank a more than ordinary amount) we kept the water back to the mouth of the passage. within an hour or so of the watering of the last camel, the hole was again full to the brim, of the most crystal-clear water. how we revelled in it! what baths we had--the first since we left woodhouse lagoon over seven weeks back! what a joy this was, those only can understand who, like us, have been for weeks with no better wash than a mouthful of water squirted into the hands and so rubbed over the face. whenever possible godfrey, who made our damper (bread), washed his hands in the corner of a dish, which was used by each in turn afterwards--and at our work in the wells, a certain amount of dirt was washed off. but to splash about with an unlimited number of buckets of water ready to hand, to be got by the simple dipping of a billy-can--this was joy indeed! this luxury we enjoyed from october th to october th, and every day the camels were brought to water, and with this and the green feed visibly fattened before our eyes. so soon as we had proved the supply of our new watering-place, i had intended giving our guide his liberty. however, he forestalled this by cleverly making his escape. for want of a tree, his chain had been secured to the iron ring of a heavy pack-bag. his food and water were given him in empty meat-tins. with the sharp edge of one of these he had worked so industriously during the night that by morning he had a neat little circle of leather cut out of the bag round the ring. with a blanket on which he had been lying, he covered his cunning trick and awaited his opportunity. it soon came; when our attention was fixed on the building of a shade, and, in broad daylight, he sneaked away from us without a sign or sound, taking with him some three feet of light chain on his ankle. what a hero he must be thought by his fellow-tribesmen! and doubtless that chain, which he could easily break on a stone with an iron tomahawk, will be treasured for many years to come. had he not been in such a hurry he would have returned to his family laden with presents, for we had set aside several articles designed for him. our camp was specially built to protect us from the flies, and consisted of a framework of ti-tree poles and branches, roofed with grass and pig-face; under this we slung our mosquito-nets and enjoyed perfect peace. a few days in camp are by no means idle ones, for numerous are the jobs to be done--washing and mending clothes, patching up boots and hats, hair cutting, diary writing, plotting our course, arranging photograph plates (the majority of which were, alas! spoilt by the heat), mending a camera cracked by the sun, making hobble-straps, mending and stuffing saddles, rearranging packs cleaning firearms, and other like occupations. the heat was extreme; too great for my little thermometer which registered up to (degrees) f., and intensified by hot winds and "willy-willies" (sometimes of great violence), which greatly endangered our camp. godfrey excelled himself in the cooking department, and our usual diet of "tinned dog" was agreeably varied by small pigeons, which came in numbers to drink--pretty little slate-grey birds with tufts on their heads, common enough in australia. of these we shot over fifty, and, as well, a few of the larger bronzewing pigeons. the tufted birds come to water just after daylight and just before sundown, and so are more easily shot than the bronzewing. throughout the day, galahs, wee-jugglers, parakeets, diamond-sparrows, and an occasional hawk or crow, came to the spring, evidently a favourite resort. curiously enough, but few native camps were to be seen, nor is this the first time that i have noticed that the best waters are least used. the australian aboriginal is not usually credited with much thought for the morrow. these desert people, however, have some provident habits, for first the small native wells are used, and only when these are exhausted are the more permanent waters resorted to. as an instance of their powers of following a "spoor," it may be mentioned that on several occasions our captive suddenly darted off at a tangent with eyes to ground, and then started digging his heel in the sand to find where a lizard or iguana was that he had tracked to his hole. warri, amongst his other accomplishments, was most useful as a retriever of any wounded pigeon; he would hunt about until he spotted a fresh track, and before long had captured the bird. any one who has noticed the number of hen-tracks in a poultry yard will appreciate this delicate performance. warri, i am sure, would have been invaluable to sherlock holmes. pleasant as our camp was we could not stay too long, for we still had a considerable tract of unknown country before us. as the result of numerous observations i make the position of helena spring to be lat. degrees, minutes seconds south, and (by dead reckoning) long. degrees minutes east. from the native i extracted the following words, which i consider reliable: english. aboriginal. eagle hawk gunderu gum tree waaldi sand nuah spinifex godadyuda, * fire or smoke warru * water gabbi * dog pappa [* the same as used by natives at empress spring.] chapter xiii from helena spring to the southesk tablelands. on october th we reluctantly left the "diamond of the desert" behind us, travelling in a n.e. by n. direction over the interminable sand-ridges, crossing a greater extent of burnt country than we had yet seen, and finally camping on the top of a high ridge so as to catch any breeze that the night might favour us with. we made a long march that day of eighteen miles a very creditable stage in such peculiarly configurated country. the camels had so benefited by their rest and feed that it made little difference to them that they had nothing to eat that night; they were well content to lie round the camp all night and chew the cud. i have often noticed how much camels like society; under favourable conditions--that is to say when travelling in good camel-country like the southern goldfields--they will feed for an hour or so before dark, then slowly make their way with clattering hobble-chains and clanging bells back to the camp-fire, and there, with many grunts of satisfaction, lie peacefully until just before daylight, when they go off for another feed. on moonlight nights they like to roam about and pick choice morsels of bush on and off until daylight. in this waste corner of the earth where now we battled our way, the poor brutes wandered aimlessly about, now trying a mouthful of sharp spinifex and now the leaves of a eucalyptus; turning from these in disgust, a little patch of weed might be discovered by one lucky camel; no sooner would he hurry towards it than the others would notice it, and then a great scramble ensued and the weakest went without--though i have seen the strong help the weak, as in the case of czar, who, with his powerful jaws, would break down branches for misery, then quite young and without the requisite teeth. how fine they look with their long necks stretched upwards with the heads thrown back and the sensitive lips extended to catch some extra fresh bunch of leaves! how cunningly they go to work to break a branch that is out of reach; first the lowest leaf is gently taken in the lips and pulled down until the mouth can catch hold of some hanging twig--along this it is worked, and so from twig to branch, a greater strain being exerted as the branches increase in size, until finally the main limb of the branch is seized, and bent and twisted until broken. often they try for one branch time after time, for having set their minds on a particular morsel, nothing will satisfy them until they have it. no such scene could be watched from our camp on the ridge. but still we had something out of the common to look upon in the shape of hills ahead, and my hopes were high that we should soon see the last of the desert. away to the north high points and bold headlands stood out black and clear above the sea of sand, tablelands and square-edged hills with some high peaks rising from them--the most imposing hills we had seen since passing mount burgess, near coolgardie. from this point little could be determined as to their character even with glasses, for they were, as we afterwards found, over thirty miles distant. between them and our camp numerous low detached, table-top hills and conical mounds could be seen--none of any size, but remarkable in shape and appearance. these i named the forebank hills, after a hill near my home. these hills gave promise of better country, and, choosing a prominent headland, i altered our course towards it the following morning. we had not been travelling long before a smoke rose quite close to us, and we had another opportunity of seeing native hunting operations without being seen ourselves. a fine upstanding buck was dodging about amongst the blazing spinifex and was too engrossed to notice us; presently his occupation led him over the ridge and we saw him no more. from the earliness of the hour--for the smokes as a rule do not rise before a.m.--it was clear that he could not have come far, so, picking up his tracks, we followed them back to his camp. though we were not in great want of water, i considered it always advisable to let no chance of getting some slip by, since one never can tell how long the next may be in coming. the tracks led us along the foot of one ridge; along the next, some three hundred yards distant, the ladies of the tribe could be seen marching along, laughing and chattering, and occasionally giving forth the peculiar shrill yell which only the gins can produce. it is impossible to describe a noise in writing, but the sound is not unlike a rather shrill siren, and the word shouted is a long-drawn "yu-u-u." there is no mistaking the women's voices, the men's cry is somewhat deeper. both are rather weird sounds, more especially when heard in thick scrub where one can see no natives, though one hears them all round. in the spinifex they were easily seen, and to their cry an answering yell came over the ridge and other women and children appeared. presently they saw our caravan, and the "yu-u-u" became fainter and fainter as the group scattered in all directions, and was lost to view. at the end of the tracks we found a camp, and in it the only attempt at a roofed shelter that we saw in the desert, and this merely a few branches leant against a small tree. the camp-fire had spread and burnt the spinifex close by, which gave the spot anything but an inviting appearance. under the shelter were huddled together, asleep, two gins and a young man. i have never seen more intense astonishment expressed in any one's face than that shown by these three when we roused them. all in their way were peculiar and deserving of description. the young gin was by no means uncomely; well-shaped and healthy-looking, with a skin black and shining as a well smoked meerschaum, with beautiful teeth which were shown off to advantage by an extensive smile, when she found that we had no murderous intentions. the other gin was the most repulsive object i have ever seen--like a hideous toad with wrinkled, baggy skin, with legs and arms so thin as to be no more than skin stretched tight over very meagre shinbones; and the face of this wretched being was a mass of festering wounds, on which no one could look without pity and horror. the man, too, was remarkable; an exceedingly smart young buck with an air of irresponsibility about him that suggested madness--a suspicion amply confirmed by his subsequent behaviour. his decorations added to his queer appearance; scarred by deep gashes on chest and arms, his body was daubed with red ochre, and his ribs picked out with white; on his head a kind of chignon formed of grass, hair, and string held his matted locks in place, like a bird's nest on his crown; he had neither beard nor whiskers, and was not blessed with any article of clothing whatever. he showed us their well, which was nearly dry, and then volunteered to lead us to others; and away he went, swaggering along and clicking his tongue in great glee, occasionally breaking out into shrieks of laughter. when we arrived at one dry rock-hole and then another, it dawned upon me what the secret joke had been that so amused our friend; and i determined that he should be of some use to us before we parted company. of these dry rock-holes, one would, after rain, hold a fair amount of water, and is situated on the shoulder between two low table-tops. to the south, about two miles distant, are three conspicuous conical hills, close together, and about the same distance to the north-west a hill that at once calls to mind an old fort or castle. on camping, our native friend became a most intolerable nuisance, and proved himself a cunning wrestler, suddenly bending down and diving between breaden's legs, which he seized at the ankle, nearly succeeding in throwing him to the ground. with a chain formed of spare hobbles held together by wire, we tethered him to a tree, scraped out a nest in the sand for him to sleep in, and lit a fire to cheer him. there he lay quiet until, on making signs that he was thirsty, one of us went to give him his food and water, when he darted at his benefactor and fought most viciously. after that, all through the night, at intervals, he was yelling and dancing, now upright and now on hands and knees circling his tree and barking like a dog, now tearing his headgear and stamping it in the sand, threatening us with hands raised, and finally subsiding into his sandy nest, crying and whining most piteously. it was an act of some danger to unloose him in the morning, but before long he was laughing away as heartily as before. there is no doubt he was as mad as could be. during the day's march he was up to all kinds of pranks, going through all sorts of antics, idiotic, sorrowful, angry, and vulgar in turn. the space between the ridges was greater now, and on them were numerous pointed ant-hills some two or three feet high. one favourite trick of this lunatic was to rush towards one of these, and sit perched on the top with his knees up and feet resting on the side of the heap, a most uncomfortable position. another dodge he tried with indifferent success was that of throwing himself under a camel as he passed, with the object, i suppose, of diving out on the other side. the camel, however, did not understand the game and kicked him severely. he was a most extraordinary person, and indeed i can understand any one going mad in this dreary region; and to think that these black folk have never known anything different! i could enumerate a score of strange tricks that our friend exhibited. what surprised me most was to see him make use, in unmistakable pantomime, of a vulgar expression that i thought was only known to english schoolboys! between the forebank hills and the tablelands we were now approaching is an open plain of spinifex some ten miles wide, bounded on north and south by sand-ridges. from these in the morning the long line of broken tablelands could be seen ahead of us, and running for a considerable distance to the eastward. the highest point of those more immediately to our front i named mount fothringham, after my cousin. the headland for which we were steering was too far off to be reached that night, so we camped on a ridge, and during the night noticed a small fire in the hills ahead. it could only be a camp-fire of some natives, so, noting its direction, and being unable to see anything further, we retired to rest. the next morning, with the help of the glasses, we could see several black figures moving about on the sloping foot of the cliffs, and therefore steered in their direction. our mad friend had to be accommodated on the top of a camel, as he refused to walk or move, and i wished to leave him with friends, or at any rate with fellow-countrymen, though we no longer required his services as guide, in which capacity he had been singularly useless. five miles brought us to the hills, and close on to the natives' camp whose fire we had seen, before they discovered us; when they did so they fled, seven or eight of them, and hid in caves in the sandstone. we had now been only four days since the last water, but the weather was so hot, feed so scarce, and so much ground burnt and dusty, that it was time we gave the camels another drink if we wished to keep them in any sort of condition. from the native camp a few tracks led round a corner of rock; these i followed, with the camels coming behind, and soon saw two small native wells sunk in the sand and debris, held in a cleft in the rock. nothing but bare rock rose all round, and on this we made camp, turning the camels out at the foot of the cliffs where a few bushes grew. godfrey and warri meanwhile had followed the blacks into the caves, and now returned with two of the finest men i have seen in the interior. one, a boy, apparently about eighteen years old, splendidly formed and strongly built, standing nearly six feet high; the other a man of mature years, not so tall but very broad and well-made. the boy had no hair on his face, the man a short beard and moustaches, and both had a far better cast of features than any i have seen further south. their skin, too, instead of being black, was a shining reddish-brown colour; this was perhaps produced by red ochre and grease rubbed in, but in any case it gave them a finer appearance. both were quite without clothing or ornament, nor did i notice any of the usual scars upon their bodies; their well-fed frames made us hope that a change in the country was close at hand. these natives showed no fear or surprise when once in the camp, and, examining our packs and saddles, sat "jabbering" away quite contented, until breaden struck a match to light his pipe. this so alarmed them that they bolted. we did not attempt to stop the boy, but detained the man, as i wished for further information about waters, and was also anxious to study his habits. he had evidently been in touch with blacks from settled parts, for he knew the words, "white-fella" and "womany," and had certainly heard of a rifle, for on my picking one up and holding it towards him he trembled with fear, and it was some time before his confidence in us was restored. he really was a most intelligent man, both amusing and interesting, and by signs and pantomime, repeated over and over again until he saw that we guessed his meaning, he told us many things. plenty of women, old and young, were camped in one direction, and were specially worth a visit; he knew of several watering-places, in one of which we could bathe and stand waist-deep. so i made a compact that as soon as he showed us this wonderful "yowie" (his word for water) he should go free. he seemed perfectly to understand this. our mad friend he hardly deigned to notice, and pointed at him in a most contemptuous way. now that he, the lunatic, was free to go where he liked, nothing would induce him to leave us--he would start to go, and after a few paces return and take up a crouching position close to the mouth of the well where we were working, and as each bucketful of mud or moist sand was hauled to the surface he eagerly watched it being emptied, and then proceeded to cover himself with its contents, until at last he was hardly distinguishable from a pyramid of mud--and a stranger object i never saw! towards dusk he slunk off and sat on a rock below the cliffs, where he ate the food we had given him; and for all i know he may be there yet. work was carried on all night, which was divided as usual into shifts, and this i have no doubt saved us from attack. before sunset we had seen several bucks sneaking about the rocks, and during the night they came round us and held a whispered conversation with their fellow in our camp. between them a sort of telegraphy seemed to be going on by tapping stones on the rocks. they may have been merely showing their position in the darkness, or it is possible that they have a "morse code" of their own. i was on shift when they came, and as the well wanted baling only every twenty minutes, i was lying awake and watching the whole performance, and could now and then see a shadowy figure in the darkness. as soon as i rose to work, our buck lay down and snored heavily, and his friends of course were silent. i awoke breaden on my way, as it would have been far too much in their favour should the blacks have attacked us and found me down the well and the rest of the party asleep. they were quite right in wishing to rescue their friend, since they could not tell what his fate was to be, but we could not risk a wounded companion or possibly worse, and lay watching for the remainder of the night. evidently they were inclined to take no risks either, for they left us in peace. the wells, situated as they are in the bed of a rocky gully, would after rain hold plenty of water, though we extracted no more than thirty-five gallons. their position is lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes. from the rocks above the wells the tablelands to the east have quite a grand appearance, running in a curve with an abrupt cliff on the western side, and many conical and peaked hills rising from their summit. these tablelands, which in a broken line were seen by us to extend northwards for over forty miles, and certainly extend eastwards for twenty miles and possibly a great deal further, are of sandstone. looking westwards, a few detached blocks may be seen, but we seemed to have struck the western limit of these hills. i have named them the southesk tablelands, after my father. between the curved line of cliffs and the wells are several isolated blocks. seven and a half miles to the westward a remarkable headland (point massie) can be seen at the northern end of a detached tableland. again to the west, one mile, at the head of a deep little rocky gorge, whose entrance is guarded by a large fig tree, is a very fine rock-hole. this was the promised water, and our native friend was free to return to his family; he was greatly pleased at the bargain being carried out, and had evidently not expected it. possibly what he has heard of the white-fella is not much to his credit! the fig tree afforded a splendid shade from the burning sun, and in a recess in the rock close by we could sit in comparative coolness. here the native artist had been at work, his favourite subject being snakes and concentric rings. a steep gorge, not very easy for camels to pass along, led up to the rock-hole, which lies under a sheltering projection of rock. from the rock above a good view is obtained; sand-ridges to the west, to the north and east tablelands. most noticeable are mounts elgin, romilly, and stewart, bearing from here degrees, degrees, degrees respectively. these hills are named after three of my brothers-in-law. they are of the usual form--that is to say, flat-topped with steep sides--mount elgin especially appearing like an enormous squared block above the horizon. to the south-east of mount stewart are two smaller table-tops close together. as i walked over the rocks i noticed numerous wallabies, of which godfrey shot several later; they were excellent eating, not unlike rabbit. leaving the rock-hole, we steered for mount romilly, first following down the little creek from the gorge until it ran out into the sand in a clump of bloodwoods. then crossing a plain where some grass grew as well as spinifex, we came again into sand-ridges, then another plain, then a large, dry clay-pan west of mount stewart, then more ridges up to the foot of mount romilly. it was here that we must have crossed the route of colonel warburton in , though at the time i could not quite make out the relative positions of our two routes on the map. colonel warburton, travelling from east to west, would be more or less always between two ridges of sand, and his view would therefore be very limited, and this would account for his not having marked hills on his chart, which are as large as any in the far interior of the colony. in his journal, under date of september nd, we read: ". . . there are hills in sight; those towards the north look high and hopeful, but they are quite out of our course. other detached, broken hills lie to the west, so our intention is to go towards them." then, on september rd: "n.w. by w. to a sandstone hill" (probably mount romilly). "north of us there is a rather good-looking range running east and west with a hopeful bluff at its western end" (probably twin head). from the top of mount romilly a very prominent headland can be seen bearing degrees, and beyond it two others so exactly similar in shape and size that we called them the twins. for these we steered over the usual sand-ridges and small plains, on which a tree (ventilago viminalis) new to us was noticed; here, too, was growing the hibiscus sturtii, whose pretty flowers reminded us that there were some things in the country nice to look upon. near the foot of the second headland we made camp. leaving charlie behind, the rest of us set out in different directions to explore the hills. there are four distinct headlands jutting out from the tableland, which extends for many miles to the eastward and in a broken line to the southward, the face of the cliffs on the western shore, so to speak, being indented with many bays and gulfs, and, to complete the simile, the waves of sand break upon the cliffs, while in the bays and gulfs there is smooth water--that is to say, flat sand. grass and other herbage and bushes grow in a narrow belt around the foot of the cliffs, but everywhere else is spinifex. the hills present a most desolate appearance, though somewhat remarkable; sheer cliffs stand on steep slopes of broken slabs and boulders of sandstone, reminding one of a quarry dump; from the flat summit of the cliffs rise conical peaks and round hills of most peculiar shape. the whole is covered with spinifex, a plant which seems to thrive in any kind of soil; this rock-spinifex, i noticed, contains much more resinous matter than the sand-spinifex, every spine being covered with a sticky juice. from our camp i walked up the valley between the first and second head, and, ascending the latter, which is crowned with cliffs some thirty feet high, sat down and examined the hills with my glasses. two black objects moving about caught my eye, and as they approached i saw them to be two fine bucks decked out in most extravagant manner. from my point of vantage some three hundred feet above them, i could watch them, myself unseen. each carried a sheaf of spears, woommera, and shield, and in their girdle of string a number of short throwing-sticks. round their waists were hanging sporrans formed from tufts of hair, probably similar to those we found at family well that were made from the tufts from the ends of bandicoots' tails; their bodies were painted in fantastic patterns with white. their hair was arranged in a bunch on the top of their heads, and in it were stuck bunches of emu feathers. seen in those barren, dull-red hills, they looked strange and almost fiendish. they were evidently going to pay a visit to some neighbours either to hold festival or to fight--probably the latter. when almost directly below they looked up and saw me; i remained quite still, watching all the time through the glasses. after the first surprise they held a hurried consultation and then fled; then another consultation, and back they came again, this time very warlike. with shouts and grunts they danced round in a circle, shaking their spears at me, and digging them into the ground, as much as to say, "that is what we would do to you if we could!" i rose from my hiding place and started to go down towards them, when they again retired, dancing and spear-waving at intervals. at the end of the valley, that is the third valley, there is a sheer cliff to a plateau running back to the foot of some round hills; across this plateau they ran until, on coming to some thick bushes, they hid, hoping, i have no doubt, to take me unawares. however, i was not their prospective victim, for no sooner had they planted themselves than i saw godfrey, all unconscious, sauntering along towards them. the whole scene was so clear to me from my lofty position that its laughable side could not help striking me, but this did not prevent my forestalling the blacks' murderous designs by a shot from my rifle, which was sufficiently well aimed to scare the bucks and attract godfrey's attention. as soon as possible i joined him and explained my seemingly strange action. we tracked up the natives, and found they had been following a regular pad, which before long led us to a fine big rock-hole in the bed of a deep and rocky gully. a great flight of crows circling about a little distance off, made us sure that another pool existed; following down the first gully and turning to the left up another, deeper and broader, we found our surmise had been correct. before us, at the foot of an overhanging rock, was a beautiful clear pool. what a glorious sight! we wasted no time in admiring it from a distance, and each in turn plunged into the cool water, whilst the other kept watch on the rocks above. sheltered as it was from the sun, except for a short time during the day, this pool was as ice compared to the blazing, broiling heat overhead, and was indeed a luxury. by the side of the pool, under the overhanging rock, some natives had been camped, probably our friends the warriors; the ashes were still hot, and scattered about were the remains of a meal, feathers and bones of hawks and crows. above the overhanging rock, in the middle of the gully, is a small rock-hole with most perfectly smooth sides, so situated that rain water running down the gully would first fill the rock-hole, and, overflowing, would fall some twenty feet into the pool below. the rock is of soft, yellowish-white sandstone. close to the water edge i carved c and godfrey scratched the initials of all of us. the pool, which when full would hold some forty thousand gallons, i named "godfrey's tank," as he was the first white man to set eyes upon it. having finished our bathe, we set about looking for a path by which to bring the camels for a drink; the gorge was too rocky and full of huge boulders to make its passage practicable, and it seemed as if we should have to make a detour of a good many miles before reaching the water. fortunately this was unnecessary, for on meeting breaden he told us he had found a small pool at the head of the first valley which was easy of access. this was good news, so we returned to camp, and, as it was now dark, did not move that night. and what a night it was!--so hot and oppressive that sleep was impossible. it was unpleasant enough to be roasted by day, but to be afterwards baked by night was still more so! a fierce fire, round which perhaps the warriors were dancing, lit up the rocks away beyond the headlands, the glow showing all the more brilliantly from the blackness of the sky. the next morning we packed up and moved camp to the pool, passing up the first valley--breaden valley--with the first promontory on our left. at the mouth of the valley, on the south side, are three very noticeable points, the centre one being conical with a chimney-like block on one side, and flanking it on either hand table-topped hills. down the valley runs a deep but narrow creek which eventually finds its way round the foot of the headlands into a ti-tree-encircled red lagoon enclosed by sand-ridges. near the head of the valley the creek splits; near the head of the left-hand branch is godfrey's tank; in the other, just before it emerges from the cliffs, is the small pool found by breaden. several kinds of trees new to me were growing in the valleys, one, a very pretty crimson-blossomed tree, not unlike a kurrajong in size, shape, and character of the wood, but with this difference, in leaf, that its leaves were divided into two points, whilst the kurrajong has three. one of these trees had been recently chopped down with a blunt implement, probably a stone tomahawk, and a half-finished piece of work--i think a shield--was lying close by. the wood is soft, and must be easily shaped. it is rather curious that the natives, of whom, judging from the smoke seen in all directions, there must be a fair number, should not have been camped at such a splendid water as godfrey's tank, the reason of their absence being, i suppose, that camping in the barren hills would entail a longish walk every day to any hunting grounds. to the native "enough is as good as a feast," and a wretched little well as serviceable as a large pool. the nights were so cloudy that i was unable to see any stars, but by dead reckoning only the position of the pool is lat. degrees minutes long. degrees minutes. from the top of the highest headland, which is divided into two nipple-like peaks, an extensive view can be obtained. to the south and the south-east, the southesk tablelands; to the east, broken tablelands and sandhills; to the north, the same; to the north-west, nothing but hopeless ridge upon ridge of sand as far as the horizon. to the west, some ten miles distant, a line of cliffs running north and south, with sand-ridges beyond, and a plain of spinifex between; to the north of the cliffs an isolated table-top hill, showing out prominently--this i named mount cornish, after my old friend and tutor in days gone by. leaving the hills on the st, we soon reached a little colony of detached hills of queer shapes, one, as breaden said, looking "like a clown's cap." from the top of the highest, which i named mount ernest, after my brother-in-law, a dismal scene stretched before us, nothing but the interminable sand-ridges, the horizon as level as that of the ocean. what heartbreaking country, monotonous, lifeless, without interest, without excitement save when the stern necessity of finding water forced us to seek out the natives in their primitive camps! every day, however, might bring forth some change, and, dismal as the country is, one was buoyed up by the thought of difficulties overcome, and that each day's march disclosed so much more of the nature of a region hitherto untraversed. it would have been preferable to have found good country, for not only would that have been of some practical benefit to the world at large, but would have been more pleasant to travel through. so far we had had nothing but hard work, and as the only result the clear proof that a howling wilderness of sand occupies the greater area of the colony's interior by going due east from mount ernest i could have cut the sturt creek in less than one hundred miles' travel, which would have simplified our journey. but taking into consideration that an equal distance would probably take us beyond the northern boundary of the desert, i determined to continue on a northerly course, as by doing so we should be still traversing unknown country, until we reached the margaret river or some tributary of it; whereas by cutting and then following up the sturt, we should merely be going over ground already covered by gregory's and subsequent parties. careful scanning of the horizon from mount ernest resulted in sighting some hills or rocks to the north-east. excepting that higher ground existed, nothing could be seen as to its nature, for it was ever moving this way and that in the shimmering haze of heat and glare of the sun, which, intensified by powerful field-glasses, made one's eyes ache. i find it hard indeed to render this narrative interesting, for every page of my diary shows an entry no less monotonous than the following: "same miserable country--roasting sun--no feed for camels--camp on crest of high ridge in hopes of getting a breath of air--thousands of small ants worry us at night--have to shift blankets half a dozen times. val's feet getting better--she can again walk a little." the high ground seen from mount ernest turned out to be bare rocks of black ironstone, from which we sighted a very large smoke rising to the eastward--miles of country must have been burning, a greater extent than we had yet seen actually alight. probably the hot weather accounted for the spread of the flames. though apparently at no great distance, it took us all that day and six hours of the next to reach the scene of the fire, where spinifex and trees were still smouldering and occasionally breaking into flames, whirlwinds of dust and ashes rising in every direction. having camped we set out as usual to find tracks, breaden and warri being successful in finding a pad of some dozen blacks going in the same direction. this they followed for a few miles, and returned long after dark, guided by a blazing bank of spinifex; very worn and thirsty they were too, for tramping about in sand and ashes is a most droughty job. having kept the camels in camp, since there was not a scrap of feed, we were able to be well on our way before sunrise. luckily the tracks led us between two ridges, and we had only one to cross, which was fortunate, for our beasts were famished from hunger, having had no food or water for five days. at every halt, however short, if whoever was leading them stopped, even to pull out a piece of spinifex which had found its way through some hole in his boot, they would take advantage of it and "plump" down on the sand; and whilst one was being goaded up, down would go the rest. poor prempeh had to be unloaded and dragged behind. less than a mile beyond where breaden had turned back we came on the biggest camp of natives we had seen--quite a village! perhaps a dozen little "wurlies" or branch-shelters were dotted about the foot of a sandhill. camped under them we found one buck, several gins, and numerous picaninnies; it was clear that more were not far off. the first thing that struck us about the man was his complete assurance, and secondly his pronounced jewish cast of features. with an ulster and a few tall hats on his head he would have made a perfect "old clo'" man. an oldish man this, with grizzled beard brought to a point, and in the end a tuft of a rat's tall was twisted, others similarly adorning the ends of his moustache. his hair was done in a round lump at the back, held in place by a sort of net of string. his hair in front had been either pulled out or shaved off, giving him a very fine forehead. his nose and lips were jewish to a degree. his womenfolk showed no such characteristics, most of them being remarkably plain, with the exception of one pretty little gin, who, poor thing, was suffering from a similar disease to the man we saw at family well. we dressed her wounds with tar and oil, and i think relieved her sufferings somewhat. our next patient was a small boy, who, from his swollen appearance, had evidently enjoyed a hearty breakfast. he had sore eyes, literally eaten away at the inner corners into deep holes, prevented from healing by the myriads of flies that hung in clouds round his head. i made an application of some eye-lotion, at which he shrieked horribly, poor boy. i had never used that particular brand before, and did not know its strength. he was quite a small chap, and the old jew held him in his arms whilst i doctored him, and nodded his head in approval. they showed us their well close by, the usual sort, just at the foot of the sandhill, and we set to work in the customary style, the buck watching us with interest. feeling that there must be more natives about, and not liking a treacherous look in the old jew's eyes, we brought a couple of rifles to the mouth of the well. before long we heard the "yu-u-u" of approaching black-fellows, and in a minute fifteen naked savages came bounding down the sandhill towards us. fortunately for them we saw they had no weapons; even so, it was a dangerous proceeding on their part, for some white men would have shot first and inquired about their weapons afterwards! they were all big men--the finest we saw anywhere excepting the two near point massie, and most of them had a marked jewish look. [this peculiarity has been remarked amongst the natives of the mcdonnell ranges, central australia--but nowhere else.] they were very friendly--too much so--for they crowded round us, patting us, and jabbering so that our work on the well was much hindered. presently more women came on the scene, and with many cries of "white-fella," "womany," their men made it clear that we might take the whole lot with us if we so desired! this was hospitality, indeed; but underlying it, i fear, were treacherous designs, for the game of samson and delilah has been played with success more than once by the wily aboriginal. we took but little notice of the natives, as obtaining water was of greater interest at that moment than the prosecution of ethnological studies. charlie worked away down the well with perfect unconcern, while the rest of us were occupied in hauling up the sand from below and keeping the blacks at a distance. wonderfully cunning fellows they were! i was standing close by a winchester which lay on the ground; one man came up, patting me all over and grinning in the most friendly way, and all the time he worked away with his foot to move the rifle to his mate beside me. however, he did not succeed, nor another who tried the same trick on godfrey, and after a time they all retired, for reasons best known to themselves, leaving only the old man and the children behind. godfrey pressed the old man into our service and made him cut bushes for a shade; it seemed to me that an axe was not just the best thing for a man who would probably sooner have used it against us than not, so he was deposed from his office as woodcutter. as soon as the well was ready for baling i walked off to see if anything of interest could be found, or if another camp was anywhere near. the instant the old jew saw me sling a rifle over my shoulder he ran like a hare, yelling as he went. he was answered by similar calls not far off. as he ran he picked up his spears from a bush, and i could see the marks of the weapons of the rest of the tribe, which had been planted just over the rise of sand. they evidently knew all about a rifle, yet we were still over a hundred miles in a bee-line from hall's creek. i saw their fleeing figures scattering in all directions, and followed up some tracks for some distance without finding anything of interest. i noticed a considerable change in the country to the east, over which there spread a forest of desert oak, and near the sandhills thickets of ti-tree. the well seems to be at the head of an ill-defined watercourse, which, lower down, runs between an avenue of bloodwoods. close to the well are several large ant-heaps, and from the sandhill above it little can be seen; but north of the well one mile distant is a high ridge of sand, from which is visible a prominent square hill, bearing degrees distant eighteen miles; this stands at the eastern end of a tableland, and is named mount bannerman, after my sister-in-law. the well had an abundant supply, though a little hard to get at, as it was enclosed by two rocks very close together, necessitating a most cramped position when baling with a saucepan on the end of a stick. by daylight we had watered all the camels and were glad to rest under the shade we had made with boughs. our rest lasted three days to allow prempeh, who was very poorly, to recover. the flies, as usual, worried us unmercifully, but i was so thankful to regain once more my sense of hearing that i rather enjoyed their buzzing. i had for some weeks been so deaf that unless i had my attention fixed on something, i could not hear at all. i must have been a great bore to my companions very often, for frequently they talked for a long time to me, only to find that i had not heard a word! we were greatly entertained by two small boys, the sole representatives of the tribe, who showed intense delight and interest in all our doings, and were soon tremendous chums with warri. one was quite a child, very sharp and clever; the other a young warrior, very proud of his spear and shield--a well-built youngster whose appearance was somewhat spoiled by a severe squint in one eye. they showed no fear whatever of us, or of the camels, and were soon on quite friendly terms with the latter, patting and stroking their noses; they lost confidence before long, when the small boy inadvertently patted the wrong end of a camel and was kicked violently. the position of the jew well is lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes; from it we steered to mount bannerman, over the usual ridges of sand, now further apart and lower. on some of the flats between we found splendid little patches of feed [amongst it goodenia ramelii], where the spinifex had been burnt and was just sprouting up again. one plant, new to us, was growing in profusion and resembled nothing so much as bunches of grapes with the fruit pulled off. we camped early, as such feed was not to be passed by. the next morning, we found that our axe had been left behind at the well; so, as it was a most useful article, i sent warri back for it, whilst godfrey and i put in the day by following the young warrior, who volunteered to show us a very large water--a ten-mile walk with nothing at the end of it was not at all satisfactory, nor did we feel very kindly disposed to our small friend. i suppose he wanted to find his tribe again, for when we stopped we could see a smoke in the distance. we saw quite a number of spinifex rats, and though godfrey carried a gun one way and i carried it coming home, we never bagged one, and only had one shot, which missed. every rat got up quite yards off in the most annoying way. we started burning a patch of spinifex, but since we were not pressed for food we concluded that the weather was quite hot enough without making fires! i fancy that only by taking a leaf out of the blackfellows' book could one have any success in spinifex-rat hunting. i have read in giles's book, and sir john forrest has told me, that when he was in the bush the rats were easily secured. possibly they were more numerous in the better country that he passed through, or larger and not so quick. all our efforts were unavailing, the only occasion on which we slaughtered a rat being when val caught a young one; the full-grown ones were far too fast for her and too quick in turning round the hummocks of spinifex. warri returned with the axe in the evening and reported that no natives had visited the well since our departure. the next day as we approached the hills the two boys, sitting aloft on the top of the loaded camels, were much excited and made many signs that water was not far off. the hills we found to be the usual barren, rocky tablelands, scoured into gullies and gorges, which, forming small creeks, disappear before many miles amongst the sandhills. mount bannerman stands at the eastern end of the hills; a little to the west is a deep and narrow gorge, the bed of which is strewn with great boulders and slabs of rock. the hill is capped with a conglomerate of quartz, sandstone and ironstone pebbles, some of the quartz fragments being as large as hen's eggs and polished quite smooth. from its summit an apparently high range can be seen to the north; to the east and south nothing but sand-ridges; to the south-west a prominent square hill, the highest point in a broken table-range, bears degrees. this hill i named mount erskine, after the kennedy-erskines of dun. travelling west from mount bannerman, we had five miles of very rough and jagged rocks to cross, worn away into a regular network of deep little glens, very awkward to get over. the rocks were burning hot, and the walking was not at all to the liking of our small guide. the young warrior led the way, but was continually turning round for instructions to the little chap riding behind, who directed him with a wave of the hand in a most lordly manner. it is a most noticeable thing how much the natives seem to feel the heat, and i am inclined to think that in the hot weather they hunt only in the morning and evening, and camp during the day. i was walking with the youth, and whenever we stopped to allow the camels to catch us up he would crouch right up against me to get the benefit of my shadow; and he was so fearfully thirsty that i took pity on him and got him some water, though we had all walked since sunrise without a mouthful. in crossing these small ravines, i noticed again how much easier it is for camels to step down a steep rock than up--in stepping up they hang their front foot out, and paw about for a place to put it down upon in a most silly way. in the main channel of a number of conjoining glens we came on a nice little pool under a step in the rocky bed. a few gums shaded the pool, growing in the sand by its edge. on arrival we found a large eagle-hawk with a broken wing flapping about; this our two boys soon despatched with sticks, and i looked forward to getting a handsome bird skin. however, the youngsters had it plucked and on a heap of burning sticks before we had done looking for a way, down which to lead the camels. we made camp just above the pool, and were lucky in finding a patch of camel feed within a couple of miles across the rocks, for around all was barren excepting a few stunted gums. the next morning i went with breaden for the camels, and noticed what i had suspected before, viz., that breaden had lately become very thin and weak. this morning he collapsed, and i was thankful i had seen it; for he is a man who would never complain, but just go on until he dropped. he could not conceal his sickness now, and in a very short time was suffering from severe dysentery. luckily we had plenty of water close at hand, for he could not possibly travel. for three days he lay in the recess of a sheltering rock near the pool, and we nursed him as best we could. condensed milk and brandy, thin cornflour and chlorodyne, i doctored him with; he was a very obedient patient, whose pangs of hunger were aggravated by watching us feeding daily on bronzewings, wallabies, and galahs. this pool was a favourite resort for hundreds of birds--crows, hawks, galahs, parakeets, pigeons and sparrows--and numerous dingoes. of the bronzewings, which at sundown and before sunrise lined the rocks literally in hundreds, we shot as many as we wanted. how thick they were can be judged from the result of one barrel, which killed fourteen. it was a pretty sight to watch the birds drinking, as we sat in breaden's sick-room, the cave. by keeping quite still we could watch them all. all day long the sparrows, diamond and black, are fluttering about the water, chirping and twittering, until the shadow of a hawk circling above scatters them in all directions. then morning and evening flocks of little budgerigars, or lovebirds, fly round and round, and at last take a dive through the air and hang in a cloud close over the water; then, spreading out their wings, they drink, floating on the surface. the galahs make the most fuss of any, chattering away on the trees, and sneaking down one by one, as if they hoped by their noise to cover the advance of their mate. the prettiest of all the birds is a little plump, quail-like rock-pigeon or spinifex-pigeon, a dear little shiny, brown fellow with a tuft on his head. they arrive at the water suddenly and unexpectedly from behind rocks and trees, and stand about considering; then one, more venturesome than the rest, runs quickly down to drink, and is followed by a string of others; then they run up again ever so fast, and strut about cooing and spreading their crests--one seldom sees them fly; when they do they rise straight up, and then dart away close to the ground and drop suddenly within a few yards. of all birds the crow has most sound common sense; there is no dawdling in his methods; down he swoops with beautifully polished feathers glistening in the sun, to the water's edge, stands for a second to look calmly from side to side; then a long drink and away he goes, thoroughly satisfied to mind his own business and nobody else's. the two boys were splendid marksmen with short sticks, which they threw into the flights of love-birds and sparrows as they passed. whenever they killed one they squatted down and heated it on the ashes, and ate it straight away; and so small bird after small bird went down their throats all day long, and they never thought to keep them until they had sufficient for a good square meal. no doubt in their family circle they have to take what they can get, and only make sure of keeping what they have, by eating it at once. wandering about the hills i saw an emu, the first i had seen since leaving the coolgardie districts, though we had found their tracks at woodhouse lagoon. he was too shy for me, and i failed to get a shot after a lengthy stalk. godfrey returned late that night with several wallabies, and many bruises and abrasions, for he had had a nasty fall in the dark down one of the many ravines. the next morning was a sad one, for it disclosed the death from poison-plant of poor old shiddi, one of the best and noblest of camels--a fine black, handsome old bull. i declare it was like losing an old friend, as indeed he was. where one camel is poisoned all the rest may be, and since, from breaden's dysentery, we could not travel, we must find another camp not far off. so we marched south-west down the creek and found another pool. here we saw the first signs of white men for many a long day, in the shape of old horse-tracks and a marked tree, on which was carved (f.h. . . ). this i found afterwards stood for frank hann, who penetrated thus far into the desert from hall's creek and returned. on another tree i carved a large c. breaden was slowly getting better when poor charlie went sick, and we had two in hospital. a most unenviable condition, where no sort of comforts can be got. by digging into the bank of the creek we made a sort of couch, and rigged flies over it for a shade. bad as the days were, the nights were worse; for myriads of ants followed swarms of flies, and black, stifling clouds followed a blazing sun--all of which is bearable to, and passes after a time unnoticed by a man in good health. but poor fellows, worn to skeletons by unending work and the poorest of food, unable to move from sickness, are worried almost past endurance by the insects and heat. every night we experienced terrific thunderstorms, but alas! unaccompanied by rain. at sunset the clouds banked up black and threatening, the heat was suffocating, making sleep impossible, lightning would rend the sky, and then after all this hope-inspiring prelude, several large drops of rain would fall and no more, the sky would clear and the performance be over, only to be repeated the following evening. our change of camp made no difference in the feed, for on the th another camel was found dead in the morning--poor redleap, who had never once shown a sign of giving in, killed in a matter of a few minutes. we examined his body, swollen to a tremendous degree, the usual indication of poison-plant--evidently very virulent and painful, for we could see how, in his death agony, he had torn up the ground with his teeth, and turned and bitten himself most cruelly. it was clear we must move again. as we prepared to load up, stoddy was suddenly seized with the poison sickness, and careered at full speed round the camp in circles, falling down and rolling in agony at intervals. after a lot of trouble we stopped him, threw him, and roped him down; administered a gallon of very strong epsom salts and water, then a dose of soapsuds, and bled him by slitting both ears. this unquestionably saved his life, for the first two remedies take too long to act. this scene had a curious effect on the other camels, and for days after stoddy was avoided, nor would any bear being tied on behind him without snapping their nose-lines or breaking their nose-pegs to get away. further down the creek, some six and a half miles from the hills, is a fine flat of grass and herbage surrounded by large white gums--this is practically the end of the creek, and to this spot we shifted camp, packing water from the pool. on the th prempeh died--another victim to the poison--and i began to dread the morning. fortunately our new camp was free from poison, and no more deaths occurred. it was sad to think of our camels dying thus after so many hundred miles of desert bravely traversed--yesterday a picture of strength and life, to-day food for those scavengers of the bush, the dingoes. what satisfied howls they gave forth all night long; for, like crows or vultures, they seem to collect from far and wide round the body of any dead thing. from our camp mount erskine was visible, but not of sufficiently inviting appearance to make a visit worth while. on the th all were off the sick list and ready to march. i felt sorrowful indeed at the loss of the camels, but thankful that no more had died, and more thankful still that we had been able to camp whilst poor breaden and charlie regained their health. such a sickness in the heart of the desert could have had but one ending. our way lay over spinifex plains until just north of the hills a sand-ridge was crossed, remarkable from its regular shape and wonderfully straight course, as if it had been built to most careful measurements and alignment. the th of november was a red-letter day, for on it we crossed the last sand-ridge--in lat. degrees minutes--leaving the desert behind us. a feeling of satisfaction filled us that we had conquered its difficulties not by chance, but by unremitting toil and patience. i am sure that each in his heart thanked his god that he had been pleased to bring us through safely. once across the range we had seen from mount bannerman--a range of quartzite hills which i named cummins range, after the warden at hall's creek--and we had reached the watershed of the tributaries of the margaret and fitzroy rivers. from cummins range onward until we struck the margaret, we had very rough hills and rocks to cross--this hard travelling after the yielding sand was most painful to the camels, and their feet were soon sore and cut by the sharp edges of rock. the country may be roughly described as slate bedded on edge, in such a way as to leave sharp corners and points of rock sticking up in all directions. through the slate run veins of quartz, often rising above the surface in huge blows, hills, and even small ranges. innumerable gullies crossed our path, and occasionally fair-sized creeks. such a one is christmas creek, which, where we saw it, is made up of three creeks from fifty to eighty yards across, running almost parallel and not more than half a mile apart. these soon meet and form a fine creek which joins the fitzroy many miles to the westward. these creeks are fringed with gums, bauhinia, and leichardt trees, all affording splendid shade--and following the banks on either side is a belt of high grass and shrubs, from which occasional kangaroos and wallabies bounded, alarmed by the sound of our advancing caravan. on the north side of christmas creek we crossed the first auriferous country we had seen since leaving the neckersgat range, close to lake darlot. standing on a high peak of white, sandy-looking quartz, a hill which i named mount hawick after my first mate in west australia, lord douglas of hawick, innumerable jagged ranges rose before me in all directions. to the south could be seen the cummins range, bounding the desert; to the north the black, solid outline of the mueller range. and now we were in surveyed country, and without much difficulty i could identify such points as mount dockrell, the lubbock range, mcclintock range, and others, and was pleased to find that after all our wanderings we had come out where i had intended, and in a general way had followed the line i had pencilled on the chart before starting. mount hawick's approximate position is lat. degrees minutes long. degrees minutes; five miles from it, in a n.w. direction, we found a splendid pool in a deep gorge, whose precipitous sides made it hard to find a passage down which the camels could reach the water. for fear of a sudden downpour and consequent flood in the creek, we camped on the flat rock above the pool. fish, small and bony, but of excellent flavour, abounded in the water, and we were soon at work with needles, bent when redhot into hooks, baited with pieces of cockatoo flesh, and pulled out scores of the fish; godfrey, whose skill in such matters is very great, accounting for over a hundred in a very short time. these were very welcome, for we had run out of meat for some days past, nor had we been able to shoot any birds or beasts. pigeons and other birds came in small quantities to drink, and kangaroo tracks were numerous; in spite, however, of braving the mosquitoes near the water by sitting up all night, we did not even get a shot. charlie set some snares with equal ill-success, but the following day godfrey got a fine kangaroo, and a carpet-snake over nine feet in length. what we did not eat of the former at the first sitting, was dried in strips in the sun and kept for future use. here we also made acquaintance with the native bee, and would certainly have been counted mad by any stranger who could have seen us sitting in the smoke of a fire in the broiling sun! this was the only way to escape them; not that they sting, on the contrary they are quite harmless, and content themselves by slowly crawling all over one, up one's sleeve, down one's neck, and everywhere in hundreds, sucking up what moisture they may--what an excellent flavour their honey must have! on a gum-tree near the pool some initials were carved, and near them a neatly executed kangaroo. the second name i recognised as that of billy janet, the first to find alluvial gold at lake darlot. he was one of the kimberley prospectors in the old days of the ' rush. keeping north from the janet creek we crossed stony tablelands timbered with gums, and numerous ravines and small creeks, until, on following down a nicely grassed gorge with a creek running through it, we struck the dry bed of the mary river on november th. henceforth our path lay through pleasant places; shady trees, long grass, and frequent pools of water in the shingly beds of the creeks made a welcome change after the awful desolation of the desert. indications of white men were now constantly met with--marked trees, old camps, and horse-tracks. striking north from the mary, over plains of spinifex and grass, passing many queer, fort-like hills, we reached the margaret river, a noble creek, even when dry as we saw it. nice grass plains extend along its banks, and the timber and bush is alive with the sounds of birds, whose bright plumage was indeed good to look upon. cockatoos and parrots of the most gorgeous colouring darted here and there amongst the trees, and every now and then a swamp-pheasant would fly shrieking from the branches above. chapter xiv death of stansmore where the margaret river forces its way through the ramsay range, a fine pool enclosed between two steep rocks has been formed. this is a permanent pool, and abounds in fish of various kinds. above and below it the river was merely a dry expanse of gravel and shingle; a month later it was a roaring torrent, in places twenty feet deep. close to the pool we noticed an old dray road, the old road to mount dockrell. i asked warri where he supposed it led to, and he answered "coolgardie!" curious that one impossible to bush in a short distance should be so ludicrously out of his reckoning. time now being no object, since the numerous ducks and fish supplied us with food, we camped for two days at the pool, enjoying its luxuries to the full. our larder contained a bucketful of cold boiled ducks, a turkey, and numerous catfish and bream--rather a change from the sand-ridges! as to bathing, we felt inclined to sit all day in the water. i think we enjoyed ourselves more at that pool than any of us could remember having done for a long time. the desert was forgotten, and only looked back upon as a hard task finished. all were as happy and cheerful as could be, speculating as to what sort of place hall's creek was, and in what way our sudden appearance would affect the inhabitants. charlie was sure that they would receive us with open arms and banquet us, the lord mayor and the city band would meet us, and a lot more chaff of the kind. only eight miles, i reckoned, lay between us and the telegraph line and the derby-to-hall's-creek road; and we made bets in fun whether we should reach the line before or after a certain hour; as we started our march on the th there was no happier little band in the wide world. charlie followed one side of the river, carrying the gun, as we meant to celebrate the arrival at the telegraph line with a pot of kangaroo-tail soup. to pass the ridge of rock, the end of the ramsay range, it was necessary for us with the camels to keep wide of the river bank and descend a steep little gorge. as we started to go down we saw some kangaroos jumping off towards charlie, and presently heard a shot. a shout from us elicited no reply, so we concluded he had missed, and continued on our march. when we reached the river bank again, i looked out for charlie, but somebody said he was across the river-bed in the long grass. after about an hour's travel it struck me that he should have rejoined us, or else that he had shot the kangaroo and was delayed by skinning or carrying it. no thought of any mishap entered my head, for a prolonged absence of one or other of us was of common occurrence. however, after another half-hour a nervous feeling came over me, and, stopping the camels, i sent warri back to see what charlie was about. before very long warri returned, hardly able to speak from fear mixed with sorrow. "what on earth's come over the boy?" i said. then he blurted out, "charlie dead, i think." "good god! are you sure?--did you speak to him, or touch him?" i asked, as we ran back together, the rest with the camels following behind. "him dead, lie 'long a rock--quite still," warri answered, and he had not spoken or touched him. panting and anxious--though even then i thought of nothing worse than a sprained ankle, and a faint in consequence--we arrived at the foot of the rocks where charlie had last been seen, and whence the sound of the gunshot had come. right above us, caught by a ledge on the face of the rock, fifty feet from the ground, i saw charlie lying, and clambering up somehow at full speed, reached his side. good god! warri had spoken a true word. there was no spark of life in the poor old fellow. what a blow! what an awful shock! what a calamity! i sat dazed, unable to realise what had happened, until roused by a shout from below: "is he hurt?--badly?--not dead!" "as a stone," i answered; and that was what we felt in our hearts, a dull weight, pressing all sense or strength from us. how to describe that sad scene? poor old charlie! one of the best and truest men that god ever blessed with life; such a fine manly character; so honest and generous--a man whose life might stand as an example for any in the land to follow; from whose mouth i never heard an oath or coarse word, and yet one whose life was spent amongst all classes, in all corners of australia; such a true mate, and faithful, loyal companion--here his body lay, the figure of strength and power, he who had been most cheerful of us all. it seemed so hard, to die thus, the journey done, his share in the labour so nobly borne and patiently executed; the desert crossed, and now to be cut off on the edge of the land of promise! ah well, it was better so than a lingering death in the desert, a swift and sudden call instead of perhaps slow tortures of thirst and starvation! poor charlie! the call of death is one that none of us may fail to heed; i only pray that when i am summoned to the "great unknown" i may be as fit to meet my maker as you were. it was easy to see how the accident had happened; the marks on the rock and the gun were soon deciphered. he was carrying the gun by the muzzle balanced on his shoulder, the stock to the rear; on climbing down a steep place, his heels--his boots had iron heel plates--slipped, he fell with his back to the rock; at the same time the gun was canted forward, fell right over, striking the hammer of one barrel on the rock at his feet--the cartridge exploded, and the charge entered his body just below the heart. death must have been instantaneous and painless, for on his face was a peaceful smile, and he had never moved, for no blood was showing except near the wound. an accident that might have happened to any one, not through carelessness, for the gun was half-cock, but because his time had come. we buried him between the rocks and the river at the foot of a large gum tree. no fine tombstone marked his grave, only a rough cross, and above him i carved his initials on the tree, c. w. s. . . . there we laid him to rest in silence, for who was i that i should read holy words over him? "goodbye, charlie, old man, god bless you!" we said, as in sorrow we turned away. the tragedy had been so swift, so unexpected, that we were all unmanned; tears would come, and we wept as only men can weep. a few months past i heard that a brass plate sent by charlie's brothers had arrived, and had been placed on the tree by warden cummins, as he had promised me. in due course we reached the telegraph line, without enthusiasm or interest, and turned along the road to hall's creek with hardly a word. stony hills and grass plains and numerous small creeks followed one another as our march proceeded, and that night, the first in december, we experienced a kimberley storm. the rain started about a.m., and in twenty minutes the country was a sea of water; our camp was flooded, and blankets and packs soaked through and through. the next morning every creek was running a banker and every plain was a bog. however, the camels behaved well and forded the streams without any fuss. that day we met some half-civilised natives, who gave us much useful information about hall's creek. with them we bartered a plug of tobacco for a kangaroo tail, for we wanted meat and they a smoke. they had just killed the animal, and were roasting it whole, holus-bolus, unskinned and undressed. we saw several mobs of grey kangaroos feeding in the timber--queer, uncanny beasts, pretty enough when they jump along, but very quaint when feeding, as they tuck their great hind legs up to try and make them match the fore. on december th we arrived at hall's creek; the first man we met was sergeant brophy, of the police--the first white face we had seen since july st. at hall's creek at last, after a somewhat prolonged journey of , miles, counting all deviations. chapter xv wells exploring expedition the first news that we heard was of the disaster that the expedition under mr. l. a. wells had met with. two of his party were missing, and it was feared that they had met with some serious mishap. fortunately hall's creek can boast of telegraphic communication with derby and wyndham on the coast, and from thence to perth; so that i lost no time in letting wells know of our arrival, that we had seen no traces of the lost men, and that we were ready to do whatever he, who knew all particulars of the matter, should think best. when i told breaden that i had put my camels and party at wells' disposal, he said at once that he was ready to go, but that in his opinion the camels were not fit to do another week's journey; godfrey, too, was as ready. indeed it would have been strange if we, who had so lately come through the desert, and knew its dangers, had not been eager to help the poor fellows in distress, although from the first we were morally certain there could be no hope for them; the only theory compatible with their being still alive, was that they were camped at some water easy of access, and were waiting for relief, keeping themselves from starvation by eating camel-flesh. for many reasons, that need not be gone into, it was thought best by the promoters of the expedition in adelaide that we should remain where we were; and, thanking me very heartily for our proffered assistance, they assured me they would be very glad to avail themselves of it should the search-parties already in the field meet with no success. had we felt any hope whatever of the men being alive we should certainly have started off then and there; since, however, the chances of finding any but dead men were so very infinitesimal, i agreed to wait and to put myself at their command for a given time. it will be as well to give here a short account, as gathered from letters from wells and others to the newspapers, of the unfortunate expedition. this expedition, fitted out partly by the royal geographical society, south australia, and partly by a mr. calvert, was under command of l. a. wells, who was surveyor to the elder expedition ( - ). the party, besides the leader, consisted of his cousin, c. f. wells, g. a. keartland, g. l. jones, another white man as cook, two afghans, and one black-boy, with twenty-five camels. the objects of this expedition were much the same as those of my own, viz., to ascertain the nature of the country still unexplored in the central portions of west australia, "hopes being entertained of the possibility of opening up a valuable stock route from the northern territory to the west australian goldfields, and of discovering much auriferous country" (vide adelaide observer, june , ). a collection of the flora and fauna was to be made, as well as a map of the country passed through. the expedition started from cue, murchison district, left civilisation at lake way, and travelled in a north-easterly direction from there to lake augusta, thence in a northerly direction past joanna springs to the fitzroy river. thus their course was almost parallel to our upgoing journey, and some to miles to the westward, nearer the coast. the class of country encountered was similar to that already described by me--that is sand, undulating and in ridges. a well, since called "separation well," was found in long. degrees minutes, lat. degrees minutes. at this point the expedition split up: charles wells and g. l. jones, with three camels, were to make a flying trip ninety miles to the westward; then, turning north-east, were to cut the tracks of the main party, who were to travel nearly due north. the rendezvous was fixed at or near joanna springs--which place, however, the leader failed to find (until some months afterwards, when he proved them to have been placed on the chart some eighteen miles too far west by colonel warburton in , who in his diary doubts the accuracy of the position assigned to the spring by himself, and remarks, "what matter in such country as this?"). when the latitude of the spring was reached, about a day and a half was spent in searching to the east and west without result. a native smoke was seen to the eastward, but the leader failed to reach it. the camels were on the brink of collapse, many had already collapsed, and the leader considered that by further search for the spring he would be bringing almost certain death on the whole party. therefore, abandoning all collections, and in fact everything except just enough to keep him and his companions alive, he pushed on for the fitzroy river--travelling by night and camping in the day--a distance of miles. they arrived at the fitzroy river after the greatest difficulties, with one bucket of water left, and only two camels fit to carry even the lightest packs. the flying party were daily expected, for the arrangement had been that, failing a meeting at joanna springs, both parties were to push on to the fitzroy. days passed, however, and no flying party appeared. before long fears as to their safety began to grow, and mr. wells made numerous attempts to return on his tracks. the heat, however, was too much for his camels, and he was unable to penetrate to any distance. mr. rudall in the meantime, who had been surveying in the nor'-west, was despatched by the western australia government to make a search from the west. he had a good base in the oakover river, and pushed out as far as separation well. nothing, however, came of his gallant efforts, for he was misled, not only by lying natives, but by the tracks of camels and men, which subsequently turned out to be those of prospectors. his journey, however, had many useful results, for he discovered a new creek running out into the desert (rudall river), and the existence of auriferous country north of the ophthalmia range, besides confirming gregory's account of the country east of the oakover. it was not until april, , that mr. wells found the bodies of his cousin, charles wells, and george jones. from their diaries (so much of them at least as was published) the dreadful tale of suffering can be traced. it appears that on leaving the main party they travelled westward as directed, and started to turn north-east to cut the tracks of the others. before many miles on the fresh course, however, they for some reason changed their minds and retraced their steps to separation well. from this point they started to follow the main party, but before long they seem to have become sick and exhausted, and the camels to show signs of collapse. later we read that, exhausted from heat, hardship, and thirst, they lay down, each in the scanty shade of a gum tree; that the camels wandered away too far for them to follow; efforts to recover the stragglers only ended in their falling faint to the ground, and so, deserted by their means of transport, without water, without hope, these two poor fellows laid down to die, and added their names to the long roll of brave but unfortunate men whose lives have been claimed by the wild bush of australia. what a death! alone in that vast sea of sand--hundreds of miles from family or friends--alone absolutely! not a sign of life around them--no bird or beast to tell them that life existed for any--no sound to break the stillness of that ghastly wilderness--no green grass or trees to relieve the monotony of the sand--nothing but the eternal spinifex and a few shrunken stems of trees that have been--no shade from the burning sun--above them the clear sky only clouded by death! slow, cruel death, and yet in their stout hearts love and courage! poor fellows! they died like men, with a message written by dying fingers for those they left to mourn them--a message full of affection, expressing no fear of death, but perfect faith in god. so might all mothers be content to see their sons die--when their time comes. they had died, it appears, too soon for any aid to have reached them. even had mr. wells been able to turn back on his tracks at once on arrival at the fitzroy, it is doubtful if he could have been in time to give any help to his suffering comrades. the bodies were taken to adelaide, where the whole country joined in doing honour to the dead. chapter xvi kimberley since we were not to retackle the sand forthwith, we laid ourselves out to rest and do nothing to the very best of our ability. this resolve was made easy of execution, for no sooner had the warden, mr. cummins, heard of our arrival, than he invited us to his house, where we remained during our stay in hall's creek, and met with so much kindness and hospitality that we felt more than ever pleased that we had arrived at this out-of-the-way spot by a rather novel route. since kimberley (excepting the south african district) must be an unknown name to the majority of english readers, and since it is one of the most valuable portions of west australia, it deserves more than passing mention. hall's creek, named after the first prospector who found payable gold in the district, is the official centre of the once populous kimberley goldfields, and the seat of justice, law, and order for the east kimberley division. attention was first drawn to this part of the colony by the report of alexander forrest, who discovered the fitzroy, margaret, and other rivers; but it was not the pastoral land described by him that caused any influx of population. gold was the lure. the existence of gold was discovered by mr. hardman, geologist, attached to a government survey-party under mr. johnston (now surveyor-general), and, though he found no more than colours, it is a remarkable fact that gold has since been discovered in few places that were not mentioned by him. numerous "overlanders" and prospectors soon followed; indeed some preceded this expedition, for mr. johnston has told me that he found marked trees in more than one place. who marked them was never ascertained, but it was supposed that a party of overlanders from queensland, who were known to have perished, were responsible for them. in payable gold was found, and during that and the following year one of the largest and most unprofitable "rushes" known in australia set in for the newly discovered alluvial field. the sinking being shallow, what ground there was, was soon worked out, and before long the rush set back again as rapidly as it had come, the goldfield was condemned as a duffer, and left to the few faithful fossickers who have made a living there to this day. the alluvial gold was the great bait; of this but little was found, and to reefing no attention to speak of was given, so that at the present time miles upon miles of quartz reefs, blows, leaders, and veins are untouched and untested as they were before the rush of . no one can say what systematic prospecting might disclose in this neglected corner of the colony. there are many countries less favoured for cheap mining; kimberley is blessed with an abundant rainfall, and the district contains some of the finest pasture-lands in australia. a scarcity of good mining timber, the remoteness of the district from settled parts, and the bad name that has been bestowed upon it, are the disadvantages under which the goldfield labours. nevertheless two batteries are working at the present day, and a good find by some old fossicker is not so rare. setting aside the question of gold-discoveries, which may or may not be made, this district has a great future before it to be derived from the raising of stock, cattle, sheep, and horses. so far only a limited area of country has been taken up--that is to say, the country in the valleys of the ord, margaret, and fitzroy rivers and their tributaries. there still remains, however, a large tract lying between those rivers and the most northerly point of the colony as yet unoccupied, and some of it even unexplored. one or two prospectors have passed through a portion of it, and they speak well of its pastoral and, possibly, auriferous value. cut off, as it is, by the desert, the district has the disadvantage of none but sea communication with the rest of the colony. this necessitates the double shipment of live stock, once at either port, derby or wyndham, after they have been driven so far from the stations, and once again at fremantle. a coastal stock route is debarred by the poverty of the country between derby and the de grey river, and a direct stock route through the desert is manifestly impracticable. it seems to me that too little attention has been given to horse-breeding, and that a remunerative trade might be carried on between kimberley and india, to which this district is nearer than any other part of australia. what horses are bred, though otherwise excellent, are small--a defect that should easily be remedied. the cattle, too, are rather on the small side, and this again, by more careful attention to breeding, could be improved upon. hall's creek is by no means a large town; in fact, it consists of exactly nine buildings--post and telegraph office and warden's office and court, warden's house, hospital, gaol, police-station, sergeant's house, butcher's shop and house, store, and hotel. besides these there are several nomadic dwellings, such as tents, bush humpies, and drays. a house is a luxury, and some of the oldest residents have never built one. "here to-day and gone to-morrow, what's the good of a house?" was the answer i got from one who had only been there for ten years! mud-brick walls and corrugated-iron roofs is the style of architecture in general vogue. the inhabitants are not many, as may be supposed, but those there are simply overflow with hospitality and good spirits. one and all were as pleased to see us, and have us live amongst them, as if we had been old friends. the population is very variable; the surrounding district contains some fifty or sixty fossickers, who come into town at intervals to get fresh supplies of flour and salt beef--the one and only diet of the bushmen in these parts, who, though very rarely seeing vegetables, are for the most part strong and healthy. sometimes cases of scurvy, or a kindred disease, occur; one poor chap was brought in whilst we were there, very ill indeed. i happened to be up at the hospital, and asked the orderly (there was no doctor) what he would do for him in the way of nourishing food. "well," said he, looking very wise, "i think a little salt beef will meet the case." and such would indeed have been his diet if i had not luckily had some liebig's extract; for the town was in a state verging on famine, dependent as it is on the whims of "packers" and teamsters, who bring provisions from the coast, nearly three hundred miles, by road. twice a year waggons arrive; for the rest everything is brought per horseback, and when the rains are on, and the rivers running, their load is as often as not considerably damaged by immersion in the water. a monthly mail, however, and the telegraph line places the community much nearer civilised parts than its geographical position would lead one to suppose. the arrival of the mail, or of the packers, is a great event, more especially since no one knows what they may bring. thus a train of pack-horses arrived at a time when flour was badly needed, but each load consisted of either sugar or lager-beer--both excellent articles but hardly adaptable to bread-making. the climate, situation, surroundings, and want of means of recreation all combine to make the publican's business a lucrative one. when, as sometimes happens, a fossicker comes in with a "shammy" full of gold, and lays himself out to make himself and every one else happy, then indeed the hotel-keeper's harvest is a rich one. and since nobody cares much whether he buys his liquor, or makes it of red-pepper, kerosene, tobacco, methylated spirits, and what not, the publican's outlay in "only the best brands" need not be excessive. christmas and new year's day were, of course, great days of revel; athletic sports were held, and horse-races. the latter were not quite a success; the entries were very few, and the meeting was nearly resolving itself into a prize-fight when one owner lodged a complaint against the winner. as a rule the race-meetings are better attended; every bush township has its meetings throughout the continent, and, in remote districts, there are men who entirely "live on the game." that is to say, they travel from place to place with a mob of pack-horses, amongst which, more or less disguised by their packs, are some fast ones, with which they surprise the community. these men, though great scoundrels, are considered to be earning a legitimate living, since no man need gamble with them unless he likes; if he is taken in by them he has himself to thank. christmas eve is celebrated by a performance known as "tin-kettling," in which all join. each arms himself with a dish, or empty tin, which he beats violently with a stick. to the tune of this lovely music the party marches from house to house, and at each demands drink of some kind, which is always forthcoming. thus the old institution of christmas-waits is supported, even in this far corner of the world. chapter xvii aboriginals at hall's creek it may not at first be very clear what the gaol and police force are used for, since the white population numbers so few. however, the aboriginals are pretty numerous throughout kimberley, and are a constant source of vexation and annoyance to the squatters, whose cattle are frequently killed and driven wild by native depredators. a squatter, far from being allowed to take the law into his own hands, even when he catches the blacks in the act of slaying his cattle--not only for food but as often as not for mere devilment--has to ride into hall's creek and report to the police, and so gives time for the offenders to disappear. the troopers, when they do make a capture of the culprits, bring them in on chains, to the police quarters. by the warden, through a tame boy as interpreter, they are tried, and either acquitted and sent back to their country or sentenced to a turn of imprisonment and handed over to the gaoler. in gaol they have a remarkably good time, fed upon beef, bread, jam, and water, and made to do useful work, such as drawing and carrying water, making roads, &c. they work in small chain-gangs--a necessary precaution since there is only one gaoler to perhaps fifteen prisoners--are clothed in felt hats and short canvas kilts, and except that they are deprived of their freedom have probably as comfortable a time as they ever had during their lives. from time to time there have been grave accusations of cruelty made by well-meaning busybodies against the squatters of the north and north-west. occasional cases have been proved beyond all question, cases of the most revolting brutality. but from these exceptional instances it is hardly fair to class the whole squatting population as savage. ruffians. since i have had the opportunity of seeing what treatment is meted out i feel it is a duty to give every prominence to what has come under my notice. first of all, let us take it for granted that the white men's civilisation must advance; that, i suppose, most will admit. this being the case, what becomes of the aboriginal? he is driven from his hunting-grounds and retaliates by slaughtering the invading cattle. what steps is the white pioneer, who may have no more than one companion, to take to protect his own? if he quietly submits his herd will be wiped out, and he and his mate afterwards. by inspiring fear alone is he able to hold his position. he must therefore either use his rifle and say nothing about it, or send perhaps miles for the troopers. after a time, during which he carries his life in his hands--for a couple of hundred natives, savage and treacherous, are not the pleasantest neighbours--he succeeds in convincing the natives that he intends to stop where he is. what then do they do? do they move to fresh hunting-grounds? they might, for there is ample room. no, they prefer to live round about the station, a source of constant anxiety and annoyance. consequently we find to-day a large number of natives permanently camped round every homestead, living on the squatter's bounty. too lazy to hunt, too idle and useless to work, they loaf about the place, living on the meat that is given them on killing-days, and on figs and seeds, when in season, between times. thus, though the squatter takes their country he feeds them for ever after. a smart boy may be trained and partially educated, and becomes useful amongst the horses and so forth, and some few are always employed about the station--the rest just lie about and gorge themselves at the slaughter-yards, and then wait until they can again do so. it has been suggested that reserves should be set apart for the dispossessed natives. this would, in the opinion of those best able to express one, never succeed, for once the white man is established the blacks will collect round him, and though, as i have mentioned, there remains more than half the kimberley division untouched by whites, forming a reserve ready to hand, yet the natives prefer to live a hand-to-mouth existence where food can be obtained without trouble, rather than retreat into another region where game abounds, and there continue their existence as wandering savages. round hall's creek there is always a camp of blacks, varying from twenty to fifty or one hundred, who live as best they can without hunting. on christmas day a hundred or so rolled up to receive the aboriginal board's liberal bounty--a board fortunately now reconstructed, for it was continually the cause of much friction between the squatters, the government, and itself, in the days when it was not controlled by the government, as it now is. six pounds sterling was set aside for the warden to provide food and raiment for the natives under his jurisdiction. six pounds per annum per two thousand aboriginals--for such is their reputed number--seems hardly adequate. perhaps if the gentlemen responsible for this state of affairs had concerned themselves more about the aboriginals, and less about the supposed barbaric cruelty of the squatters, the objects of their mission would have been better served. however, whilst the black-fellow must remain content with his scanty allowance, it is found expedient to send an inexperienced youth, fresh from england, from place to place to make a report on the treatment of the aboriginals, at a salary of pounds a year. and a fine collection of yarns he produced--for naturally no one could resist "pulling his leg" to the last degree! however, this question has at last been put into the hands of those best calculated to know something about it; for though the government is neither perfect nor infallible, yet the colonists are likely to understand a purely local matter better than a board of gentlemen lately from home. they were a merry lot of people, the blacks round hall's creek, and appeared to see the best sides of a deadly dull existence. their ways and habits are now so mingled with ideas gathered from the whites that they are not worth much attention. dancing is their great amusement, and though on christmas day we made them compete in running, jumping, and spear-throwing, they take but little interest in such recreations. though known to australian readers, a description of such a dance may prove of interest to some in the old country. "a corroboree," or native dance. the entertainment begins after sundown, and on special occasions may be kept up for two or three days and nights in succession. a moonlit night is nearly always made the occasion for a corroboree, to which no significance is attached, and which may be simply held for the amusement the actual performance affords. descriptions of the great dances attendant on the initiation of a boy into manhood, and its accompanying brutal rites, find a more suitable place in scientific works than in a book intended for the general reader. i will therefore merely describe some of the dances which are performed for entertainment. the word corroboree is applied equally to the dance, the whole festival, or the actual chant which accompanies the dancing. men and women, the men especially, deck themselves out with tufts of emu feathers, fastened in the hair or tied round the arm, or stuck in the waist-belt of plaited hair; paint their bodies with a white paint or wash made from "kopi" (gypsum similar to that found by the shores of salt lakes), with an occasional dab of red ochre (paint made from a sandstone impregnated with iron), and fix up their hair into a sort of mop bound back by bands of string. thus bedecked and painted, and carrying their spears and boomerangs, they present a rather weird appearance. a flat, clear space being chosen, the audience seat themselves, men and women, who, unless the moon is bright, light fires, which they replenish from time to time. the dancers are all men, young warriors and older men, but no greybeards. the orchestra consists of some half-dozen men, who clap together two sticks or boomerangs; in time to this "music" a wailing dirge is chanted over and over again, now rising in spasmodic jerks and yelled forth with fierce vehemence, now falling to a prolonged mumbled plaint. keeping time to the sticks, the women smack their thighs with great energy. the monotonous chant may have little or no sense, and may be merely the repetition of one sentence, such as "good fella, white fella, sit down 'longa hall's creek," or something with an equally silly meaning. the dancers in the meantime go through all sorts of queer movements and pantomimes. first, we may have the kangaroo corroboree, in which a man hops towards the musicians and back again, to be followed in turn by every other dancer and finally by the whole lot, who advance hopping together, ending up with a wild yell, in which all join. then we may have the emu-corroboree, where each in his turn stalks solemnly around with the right arm raised, with elbow bent, wrist and hand horizontal and poked backwards and forwards, to represent the emu's neck and head. the left hand held behind the back, like that of a shy official expecting a tip, stands for the emu's tail. thus they advance slowly and jerkily with back bent and arm pointing now this way, now that, like an inquisitive emu who is not sure of his ground. next the mallee-hen builds her nest, and each dancer comes forward at a mincing trot, in his hands a few twigs and leaves, which he deposits in front of the "orchestra," and, having built his nest, retires. and so they go on mimicking with laughable accuracy the more common beasts and birds. the most comical dance in which they all joined--that is all the dancers--was one in which they stood on tiptoe, with knees bent and shaking together as if with fear, then giving forth a sort of hissing noise, through fiercely clenched teeth, they quickly advanced in three or four lines and retired trotting backwards. this ended with a prolonged howl and shrieks of laughter. the energy with which they dance is extraordinary--shaking their spears and grunting, they advance with knees raised, like high-stepping horses, until the thigh is almost horizontal, now one leg now the other, with a will, and then one, two, down come the feet together with a thud, the dancers striking their spears in the ground, growling out savagely a sound that i can only express as "woomph, woomph"--with what a smack their flat feet meet the ground, and what a shrieking yell goes up from all throats as they stop! to enliven the performance they use flat carved sticks, some eight inches long, and of a pointed oval shape. through a hole in one point they thread a string, with which the stick is rapidly swung round, making a booming noise--"bull-roarers" is the general white-fellows' name for them. amongst some native prisoners brought in from the sturt i saw a primitive wooden horn, on which a sort of blast could be blown. no doubt this, too, has its place in their performances. i am told they keep up these corroborees as long as three days and nights, though certainly not dancing all the time. probably the stick clapping is kept up by relays of performers. i have heard the chant go on all one night and well into the next day, with hardly a break. hall's creek is a great place for corroborees, for there are gathered together boys from all parts of central australia, northern territory, and queensland, brought by coastal overlanders. these boys all know different chants and dances, and are consequently in great request at the local black-fellows' evening parties. warri told me he had learnt several new songs; however, they appeared to my evidently untrained ear to be all exactly alike. we were to have had a very swell festival at christmas, but it somehow fell through. i fancy the blacks were not given sufficient notice. the blacks, in addition to these simple festive gatherings, have solemn dances for the purpose of promoting the growth of edible seeds and roots, of increasing the rainfall, or the numbers of the animals and reptiles on which they feed. but more important still are those connected with their barbarous, but sacred, rites and ceremonials. chapter xviii preparations for the return journey had i known how long our stay in the north was to be, i should have taken the opportunity of further studying the natives and their habits, and should certainly have visited them in their wild homes in the unknown portion of kimberley. as it was i daily expected a message asking me to start in search of the missing men, and held myself in readiness accordingly. our small caravan, now further reduced by the death of czar--a sad loss, for he was one of my old friends, and one of the staunchest camels i have known (together we had seen many a tough bit of work); he fell down a steep gully at night, poor old beast, and so injured himself that he died almost immediately--was increased by the purchase of three horses, with which i intended to carry out my plan of search; since, however, it was never instituted, i need not explain its nature. it sufficiently accounts for the presence of horses in the caravan with which the return journey was made. as time dragged on it became clear that the missing men could no longer be living, and since there were two search parties already in the field, i felt that i was only wasting time by staying longer in idleness. we were too far off to make any search except by a protracted expedition, and, since i was morally sure of the men's death, i did not feel called upon to expose my party to the risks of the desert when no useful object could be accomplished. had the intervening country been unknown i should have been quite ready to start forth, for in that case, whatever the result of the search, i should have felt rewarded for any losses incurred, by the knowledge that we had been the means of opening up a further tract of an unexplored region. as it was we should only have followed a route previously traversed by warburton, from which, unless we achieved the melancholy satisfaction of finding the scene of the disaster, no useful results could follow. i determined, therefore, to leave the search to those who could best afford the time and expense, and set about planning our return to coolgardie. we had four routes open to us--either the road to derby and thence by steamer: the road to derby and thence along the coastal telegraph line: the way we had come: and an entirely new route, taking our chances of the desert. the first was dismissed as feeble, the second as useless, and the third as idiotic. therefore the fourth remained, and though it was natural enough for me to wish to win distinction in the world of travel (and i daresay this was the motive that inspired me), surely it speaks well for them indeed, that breaden and massie were willing to accompany me. without the slightest hesitation, though knowing full well what lay before us, that we might even encounter worse difficulties than before, without any thought of prospective gain--for their salary was no fortune--they signified their readiness to return by whatever route i proposed. this is a point that i should like to make clear to all who may read this, for it is indicative of a trait often lost sight of by those accustomed to having, in novels and so forth, the more mercenary side of the australian's character pointed out to them. a common subject of speculation is whether or no australians would make good soldiers; as to that my belief is, that once they felt confidence in their officers none could make more loyal or willing troops; without that confidence they would be ill to manage, for the australian is not the man to obey another, merely because he is in authority--first he must prove himself fit to have that authority. if, therefore, we are deserving of any credit for again tackling the sand, let it be remembered that my companions are more worthy of it than their leader--for they had nothing to gain, whilst i had at least the distinction of leaving my name upon the map--and though i made plans, without good and true men i could not have carried them out. there seemed to me to be a slight chance of finding better country to the eastward of our first route, and, besides the geographical interest, there would result the proof of the practicability or otherwise of a stock route to the southern goldfields--a route which would be such a boon to the kimberley squatters. i may as well state at once that such a route is quite out of the question, and that i would hesitate to undertake the journey with a mob of more than twenty camels, let alone cattle. fortunately i was able to purchase three more camels, the property of the south australian government, which mr. buchanan had brought from the northern territory for the purpose of looking for a stock route. however, a day or two beyond the end of sturt creek satisfied him as to the impracticability of the scheme, and he returned to flora valley, a cattle station close to hall's creek, that is to say, twenty-five miles away. at the time of our arrival mr. buchanan was out with mr. wells, and did most valuable service in the search for the missing men. after his return he was very glad to get the camels, which he neither liked nor understood, off his hands. with eight camels and three horses our caravan was brought up to strength. in the matter of provisioning, equipment, and way of travelling, i made some alteration. everything was considered with a view to lightness, therefore only absolute necessaries were carried. all tools, except those used in "soak-sucking," and so forth, were discarded; the provisions consisted of salt beef (tinned meat being unprocurable), flour, tea, sugar, and a few tins of condensed milk (damaged and unfit for use in the ordinary way). all possible room was given to water-carrying appliances, so that we could carry in all about one hundred gallons. had it not been for my former plans i should not have taken horses; but they are animals easier to buy than to sell, and would certainly be most useful if only we could find food and water to keep them alive. with sorrow and regret i had to part with val, for only a few days before our departure she gave birth to a litter of pups, and had of course to be left behind. however, the warden, to whom i gave her, promised to be kind to her, as indeed i am sure he has been--nevertheless it was a sad wrench. in her place i took a small mongrel which belonged to the warden, an "italian greyhound," as some one suggested, though i never saw a like breed! he rejoiced in the name of "devil-devil," because, i suppose, he was quite black. i made no attempt to replace poor charlie stansmore, since there were no men willing to come whom i should have cared to take. i cannot say enough in gratitude for the hospitality that we met with at hall's creek, from the warden, whose guests we were the whole time, and every member of the small community. i shall look back with pleasure to our stay in that faraway spot. appendix to part v some native weapons and ceremonial implements [refer to list of illustrations at the beginning of the text, (illustrations not included in text). letters (a to o) refer to the illustrations] . spears.--a. of desert native; b. of kimberley native; c. method of throwing. a. the spear of the desert man is either sharp pointed, spatulate pointed, or barbed. they vary in length from feet to feet, and in diameter, at the head (the thickest portion), from / inch to inch. as a rule, a man carries a sheaf of half a dozen or more. b. in the kimberley district the spears are of superior manufacture and much more deadly. the heads are made of quartz, or glass, or insulators from the telegraph line. before the advent of the white man quartz only was used, and from it most delicately shaped spear-heads were made, the stone being either chipped or pressed. i fancy the former method is the one employed--so i have been told, though i never saw any spear-heads in process of manufacture. since the white man has settled a portion of kimberley, glass bottles have come into great request amongst the natives, and most deadly weapons are made--spears that, i am told, will penetrate right through a cattle-beast, and which are themselves unimpaired unless they strike on a bone. when first the telegraph line from derby to hall's creek and thence to wyndham was constructed, constant damage used to be done to it by the natives who climbed the poles and smashed the insulators for spear-head making. so great a nuisance did this become that the warden actually recommended the government to place heaps of broken bottles at the foot of each pole, hoping by this means to save the insulators by supplying the natives with glass! the stone or glass heads are firmly fixed in a lump of spinifex gum, and this is held firm on the shaft by kangaroo tail sinews. the shaft is of cane for half its length, the upper part being of bamboo, which is found on the banks of the northern rivers. up to a distance of eighty to one hundred yards the spears can be thrown with fair accuracy and great velocity. the length of these spears varies from feet to feet. the one shown in sketch is of glass, and is one-half actual size. in the nor'-west (that is, the country lying between the gascoyne and oakover rivers), wooden spear-heads with enormous barbs are used. sometimes the barbs are placed back to back, so that on entering a body they can be pulled neither forward nor back. c. the woomera (or wommera)--the throwing-board--held in the hand as in sketch. the spears rest on the board, and are kept in place by the first finger and thumb and by the bone point a, which fits into a little hollow on the end of the shaft. the action of throwing resembles that of slinging a stone from a handkerchief. as the hand moves forward the spear is released by uplifting the forefinger, and the woomera remains in the hand. these boards vary in size and shape considerably; that shown in the sketch is from the northern portion of the desert. in the central portion the weapons are more crude and unfinished. in the handle end of the woomera a sharp flint is often set, forming a sort of chisel. in kimberley the long spears are thrown with narrow and light boards varying from feet inches to feet inches in length. i believe that the method of holding the spear varies somewhat, some natives placing the handle of the woomera between the first and remaining fingers. . tomahawks.--d. iron-headed; e. stone-headed. d. pieces of iron, such as horseshoes, fragments of the tyres of wheels, and so forth, are traded from tribe to tribe for many hundreds of miles. those shown in sketch were found about lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes. e. stone tomahawk--from sturt creek--given to me by mr. stretch. the head is of a very dark and hard green stone, ground to a fine edge, and is set between the two arms of the handle and held in place with spinifex gum. the handle is formed by bending round (probably by means of fire) a single strip of wood. the two arms of the handle are sometimes held together by a band of hair-string. the iron tomahawks are similarly made. . boomerangs.--these weapons are now so well known that a description of the ordinary pattern would be superfluous. however, near dwarf well we found one of uncommon shape; and until reading a book on a queensland tribe i was unaware of its use, nor could i find any one who had seen one of like shape. the weapon in question is the beaked or hooked boomerang (f). mr. w. roth, in his "ethnological studies among the north-west central queensland aborigines," says:-- "it appears that when warding off a blow from a boomerang of any description the defence consists in holding forwards and vertically any stick or shield that comes to hand, and moving it more or less outwards, right or left as the case may be, thus causing the missile on contact to glance to one or the other side. the hook is intended to counteract the movement of defence by catching on the defending stick around which it swings and, with the increased impetus so produced, making sure of striking the one attacked." . clubs and throwing-sticks (g). . the uses of these are sufficiently obvious to make a description unnecessary. . the throwing-sticks are used chiefly in hunting, and for guarding a blow from a boomerang. most that i have seen were made of mulga (acacia) hardened by fire. . shields.--h. of hard wood (mulga); i. of soft wood (cork bark). h. the hard-wood shields are carved from a solid piece of mulga, are grooved to turn spears, and slightly curved for the same purpose. the handles stand out from the back. these were found as far north as lat. degrees s. i. the soft-wood shields found north of lat. degrees are of about the same size, but are not grooved. their faces are rounded; the handles are gouged out. it is interesting to notice how in each example the most serviceable shield has been made in the easiest way. the mulga splits into boards, and so cannot be obtained of any thickness, so flat shields are made; whereas the cork wood is a soft and very readily worked tree and can be carved and hacked into shape with the rudest implements, such as that shown in sketch (j). . quartz knife (k). with this exceedingly rough implement self-inflicted gashes on the chest and arms (presumably for ornamentation) are made. the rites of circumcision, and other initiatory operations, for the proper performance of which one would suppose the skill of a trained surgeon necessary, are carried out by means of this crude blade. . ceremonial sticks (l). in almost every camp flat sticks of various sizes, shapes, and carvings, similar to those shown above, were found. they were always carefully wrapped up in bark secured by hair-string. they are said to be used by the blacks in their several initiation ceremonies, but what their use or significance is, is not known. no tame boy (i.e., native who can speak english) will divulge their mysterious meaning. i have repeatedly asked about them, but have never succeeded in getting any answer beyond "i dunno, gin (or lubra) no more see 'em; gin see 'em, she tumble down quick fella." there must be some very queer superstition connected with them, since the ladies die on seeing them. indeed, the black fellow has a somewhat arbitrary method of dealing with his gins, and should they be ill-advised enough to attempt to argue with him, does not wait to produce a flat stick, but silences them with a club. . rain-making boards. m. three of similar pattern found at alexander spring. n. found at empress spring hidden away with two similar to m. with reference to these queer and rudely carved boards i received a letter from mr. w. h. cusack, of roebourne, north-west australia, in which he says: ". . .the implement you allude to is used by the "mopongullera," or rain-doctor, at their ceremony which they hold annually when they are making the rain. they are very rare, as there is only one every two hundred miles or so in the country. they are generally left at the rain ground, where you found yours, or placed in a cave, where the only one i have seen in twenty-five years was found. they are the most sacred implements they possess. . ." it would seem from the foregoing that we were specially lucky in seeing so many of these boards--viz., six within a distance of fifty miles--though it is possible that of the three found at alexander spring (on the occasion of our second visit) two might be identical with two of the three found at empress spring. between our two visits to alexander spring there had evidently been a considerable gathering of blacks, and, considering the droughty appearance of the country, it seems feasible that on this occasion every available rain-making board was brought into use. we were unfortunately unable to carry the empress spring boards, owing to their bulk and unwieldy shape. from the other spot, however, seeing that we were nearing our journey's end, i brought one board--the only one unbroken--into civilisation. this i gave to sir john forrest, who in his journey across the colony in found a similar board at the same place. in his journal he writes: ". . .i named it alexander spring, after my brother. . . . we also found about a dozen pieces of wood, some feet long and to inches wide, and carved and trimmed up. all around were stones put up in forked trees. i believe it is the place where the right of circumcision is performed." mr. cusack's statement as to their extreme rarity in the nor'-west, taken in conjunction with sir john's experience and ours, would point to the strong reliance the natives must place on their rain-doctor's abilities, for where the rainfall is comparatively great these boards are rare, while in the almost waterless interior, at a spot almost exactly in the centre of the colony, nearly a dozen have been found. i would respectfully point out to the black-fellows how little their efforts have been successful, and would suggest the importation of several gross of boards, for the climate at present falls a long way short of perfection! in the mcdonnell ranges (central australia) performers in the rain-dance wear on their heads a "long, erect, and ornamented structure of wood" ("horn scientific expedition," part iv.). this structure is not carved, but picked out with down made to adhere by blood, and is apparently some to feet long. from the length of the boards we found (one being feet), i should say that some other method of using them must be in vogue amongst the desert tribes. . message sticks (o). these little sticks, rounded, carved, and painted with grease and red ochre, are known as either letter sticks or message sticks, and are common all over the continent. the carvings are supposed by some to represent the actual words of the message; by others it is held--and to this view i am inclined--that the sticks are tokens carried by a messenger to show that his words are authentic, and each stick belongs to one tribe or individual whose identity is shown by the carvings. they vary in length from / to inches. the sketch (o) shows the same stick turned three times. part vi the journey home chapter i return journey begins we left hall's creek, on our return journey, on march , . taking the road to flora valley we passed brockman--where, by the way, lives a famous person, known by the unique title of "mother deadfinish." this good lady is the most curious of her sex that i have ever seen; now a little dried-up, wizened old woman of heaven knows what age, she was in her younger days a lady of wonderful energy. she came overland from queensland, accompanying her husband who, in the early days of the rush, sought to turn an honest penny by the sale of "sly grog." however, he died on the road, so his mourning widow carried through the job without him, and successfully withstood the trials of the journey, including heat, fever, and blacks. the latter were very numerous, and gave great trouble to the early diggers, spearing their horses and very often the men themselves. many skirmishes ensued, and, so it is said, "mother deadfinish" handled her winchester with the best of them! eventually she arrived at the diggings, and has been there ever since, making a living by the sale of goat's milk, fowls, eggs, and a few vegetables. she is quite a character and worth talking to, but not always worth listening to; for her language is notorious; indeed, it is a recognised form of amusement for the diggers to bring into their conversation certain topics, such as the warden, or the police, who are so especially distasteful to her that ordinary language cannot express her feelings. in the same way that a boy delights to stir up a monkey and hear him chatter, the fossicker bent on recreation rouses the old lady to feats of swearing far beyond the scope of most people. no man has yet been found who could withstand her onslaught. i saw her angry once! she positively alarmed me; the three witches in macbeth thrown into one would be of no account in comparison. had she lived a century or two ago she would infallibly have been burnt. a few miles past the brockman the auriferous country is cut off by what is locally known as the "sandstone"--a sheer, wall-like range named the albert edward. just below the gorge where the elvire river (a tributary of the ord river) breaks through the range is situated flora valley cattle station, the property of the brothers gordon. a charming little place, after the rains; the homestead stands on a high bank above the river, here fringed with high, shady trees. beyond the homestead and the yards, a fine plain of grass stretches out, surrounded by rough and rocky hills. as charming as their little place were the owners, the most kind-hearted and hospitable folk it is possible to imagine. here we stayed a few days to get some meat salted for our journey; nothing would satisfy the two brothers but that they must find the finest bullock on their run, kill it, and give it to us. flora valley is a great place for the blacks, who live there in scores, camped by the river, and fed by the kind-hearted squatters. leaving the station and travelling south-east, our route lay through a few low hills, and then we came out upon the denison downs, most magnificent plains of grass. the first few days of a journey are most unsettled, saddles do not fit, packs will not ride, the animals will not agree, and dozens of like annoyances. our three new camels, bluey, hughie, and wattie, were almost unmanageable; for not only had they been running loose for some time, but had never been well behaved or well looked after. bluey was a dreadfully wild brute, and all but brought warri, who was riding him, to grief; after bucking and plunging and trying all manner of tricks, he stampeded at his fullest speed, with his head towards some overhanging branches, under which he might have passed with impunity, but they must have crushed warri en route. luckily i was just in time to get highlander between the tree and the camel, and so saved a nasty accident. besides these small troubles, breaden and godfrey were suffering agonies from "sandy blight," a sort of ophthalmia, which is made almost unbearable by the clouds of flies, the heat, the glare, and the dust. breaden luckily was able to rest in a dark room at flora valley and recovered, or at least sufficiently so to be able to travel; godfrey was very bad indeed, quite blind and helpless. at night we pitched his mosquito-net for him--for these insects are simply ravenous, and would eat one alive or send one mad in this part of the country--and made him as comfortable as possible; in the morning, until i had bathed his eyes with warm water he was blinded by the matter running from them: then during the day he sat blindfolded on the monk, one of the horses--a most unpleasant condition for travelling. fortunately it was not for long, for soon we cut the sturt creek, and, following it, reached the denison downs homestead--the last settlement to the southward, and i should say the most out-of-the-way habitation in australia of to-day. the nearest neighbours are nearly one hundred miles by road, at flora valley; in every other direction there is a blank, hundreds of miles in extent. a solitary enough spot in all conscience! yet for the last ten years two men have lived here, taking their chances of sickness, drought, floods, and natives; raising cattle in peace and contentment. terribly rough, uncouth chaps, of course? not a bit of it!--two men, gentlemen by birth and education, one the brother of a bishop, the other a man who started life as an artist in paris. a rough life does not necessarily make a rough man, and here we have the proof, for messrs. stretch and weekes are as fine a pair of gentlemen as need be. how they came to migrate to such a spot is soon told; they brought cattle over during the rush, hoping to make a large fortune; however, the rush "petered out," half their cattle died, and with the remainder they formed their station, and have remained there ever since, year by year increasing their herd, now numbering some four thousand head, and looking forward to the time when they hope to be well repaid for their labours. a large, single-roomed iron shed, on the bank of a fine big pool, is their home, and there with their flocks and herds they live, like the patriarchs of old, happy and contented. in fact, the only people i have ever come across, who seemed really satisfied with life are some of these far-away squatters. numerous natives were collected round the station, and about them mr. stretch told me many interesting things. their marriage laws were expounded to me over and over again, but without pencil and paper nothing can be learned, so confusing are they. it was not until my return that i worked out the following relationships, but i feel confident of their accuracy:-- marriage laws. the aboriginals of northern and central australia are governed in their social life by marriage laws and class systems of the most intricate kind. it is generally supposed that these laws have for their object prevention of consanguinity and incest. the laws are strictly adhered to, any offender against them being punished by death. i owe the information on this subject to mr. stretch, who took great pains to make clear to me the fundamental principles, from which i have worked out the various combinations. i have tried to arrange these laws and the relationships resulting from them in an intelligible form, and have been greatly aided by a paper by mr. gillen, published in the "horn scientific expedition," on the mcdonnell range tribes. i was unable to get the tribal names, but this, for the purposes of explanation only, is unnecessary. the aboriginals in question belong to the eastern district of kimberley generally, and more particularly to the sturt creek. these natives are descended from eight original couples, who have given their names to the eight classes into which the tribe is now divided. for simplicity's sake i will assume that in place of eight there were four original classes. this will illustrate the principle equally well, and be far less involved. let a, b, c, and d represent the names of the four classes--to one of which every native belongs. . the first law is that--natives belonging to class a may only intermarry with class b, and natives belonging to c may only intermarry with class d. . the progeny of a man and woman of intermarrying classes is of a different class from either father or mother. thus a man of class b marries a woman of class a, but their offspring (male or female) is of class d. let am represent a male of class a. let af represent a female of class a, and similarly bm, bf, &c. let ap represent progeny who belong to class a, and similarly bp, cp, dp. law may now be set down as under-- af + bm am + bf cf + dm cm + df ------- ------- ------- ------- dp cp bp ap . the first law holds good with the progeny of these combinations, i.e., dp can only marry one of class c--though neither the father nor mother of dp could marry into class c; similarly for cp, &c. . dp recognises as father or mother all members of classes a and b; similarly cp, &c. this explains the seeming absurdity of the answer one receives from natives to questions concerning their relationships to others. an old man, for instance, may point out a young girl and say, "that one my mother," for the girl belongs to the same class as his actual father or mother. . all the progeny of classes a and b are brothers and sisters; similarly c and d. thus taking dp to represent the progeny of an ap and a bp af + bm ap + bp --------- ------- dp dp all of class dp recognise class dp (though of another generation) as brothers and sisters. for this reason there is no absurdity in a small boy pointing out a very aged woman as his sister. . a man may have as many wives as he can get, so long as these laws are adhered to. let us now see what degrees of kindred are prohibited by these laws. let us take the case of a man of class a. he can only marry a woman of class b, whose parents must therefore have belonged to classes c and d her mother being a c and her father a d. therefore his wife's mother and father belong to classes with which he may not intermarry. therefore a man may not marry-- . his mother-in-law. . the sister of his wife's mother. . the sister of his wife's father. . nor the sister of any one of the three. . nor can he marry his sister. but he may marry-- his wife's sisters (sisters by blood or tribal class). and as far as i can see, no law prevents a man from marrying his grandmother should he so desire. chapter ii sturt creek and "gregory's salt sea" the sturt creek presents many points of interest. it rises in the northern territory, runs for nearly three hundred miles in a south-westerly direction, and comes to an end in a large salt-lake, across the border, in the desert. it runs throughout its entire length once in every three or four years, though each yearly rainy season floods it in certain parts. in the dry season one might in many places ride right across its course without being aware of it. in the wet season such parts of it are swamps and marshes, over which its waters spread to a width of five and six miles. permanent pools are numerous, and occur wherever a ridge of sandstone rock runs across the course of the creek. on either side of the creek fine grass-plains spread east and west. the further south the creek goes, the less good is the country on the east side; presently there is no grass country except on the west side. not far below the station the creek is joined by the wolf, which, like all kimberley creeks, is fringed with gums, bauhinia, and leichardt-trees. from the confluence downwards a war between the grass-lands and the desert is waged for the supremacy of the river-banks. for miles the sandy channel, cut out like a large drain through the country, less than one chain wide in places, is hemmed in on either side by desert gums and spinifex, and once out of sight of the creek the surrounding land receives no benefit from the water. but lower down again, about the latitude of mount mueller, the grass plains gain the day; and a very pretty bit of country they form too, especially when the creek is running, as it was when we were there. in many places its waters had overflowed the banks, expanding into clay-pans and lagoons of beautiful clear water where teal and whistling duck disported themselves. the wolf rises on the opposite slope of the watershed to christmas creek and the mary river, and floods twice or thrice a year. below its junction with the sturt the combined creek takes on itself the character of the wolf, and at the point of confluence the sturt may be said to end. seeing how seldom the sturt runs its entire length and how small its channel is at this point, smaller than that of the wolf, i think that it is to the latter that the lakes (gregory's "salt sea") chiefly owe their existence. however that may be, the combined waters fill but an insignificant channel and one can hardly credit that this creek has a length of nearly three hundred miles. on nearing the lakes the creek assumes so dismal an appearance, and so funereal is the aspect of the dead scrub and dark tops of the "boree" (a kind of mulga), that one wonders that gregory did not choose the name of "dead" instead of merely "salt sea." a curious point about this lower part of the creek is, that stretches of fresh and salt water alternate. the stream, as we saw it, was only just running in the lower reaches; in places it ran under the sandy bed, and in this part the salt pools occurred. first we passed a stretch of clear, brackish water, then a nearly dry reach of sand, then a trickle of fresh water lasting for a hundred yards or so; this would again disappear, and be seen lower down as another salt pool. the creek enters the first lake in a broad estuary; this lake is some four miles long by two miles wide, lying north and south. at the southern end a narrow channel, yards wide, winds its way into the large lake beyond, a fine sheet of water, eight miles in diameter. a narrow belt of open country, overgrown with succulent herbage, fringes the margin of the lake; beyond it is dense scrub, with occasional patches of grass; beyond that, sand, sandhills, and spinifex. in the distance can be seen flat-topped hills and bluffs, and rising ground which encloses the hollow of the lake. the lake has no outlet; of this gregory satisfied himself by making a complete circuit of it. at the time of his discovery the lakes were dry, or nearly so, and doubtless had the appearance of being shallow depressions, such as the salt lakes in the southern part of the colony; so that having followed the sturt for so many miles--a creek which showed every appearance of occasionally flooding to a width of five or six miles--he must have been somewhat uncertain as to what happened to so great a volume of water. however, the lake is nearly thirty feet deep in the middle, and, from its area, is capable of holding a vast amount of water. the creek, below its confluence with the wolf, is continually losing its waters, throwing off arms and billabongs, especially to the west, which form swamps, clay-pans, and lagoons. so much water is wasted in this manner that near the entrance into the lake the creek is of a most insignificant size. the fall, too, is so gradual that the water runs sluggishly and has time to soak away into the enclosing sand. mr. stretch tells me that it takes eight days for the water from rain falling at the head of the sturt to pass his homestead, which gives it a rate of one mile per hour. heavy rains had fallen at its source about a month before our arrival, and the water was still flowing. we therefore saw the lakes as full as they are ever likely to be, except in abnormal seasons. north of the lake are numerous large clay-pans which had not been flooded, and the lakes could evidently hold more water, and had done so in time past, so that it is pretty clear that the lakes are large enough for ordinary flood waters, and, with the outlying clay-pans, can accommodate the waters of an extraordinary flood. i feel confident, therefore, that no outlet exists, and that beyond doubt the sturt ends at the salt sea, and does not "make" again further south, as some have suggested. standing on any of the hills which surround the lake, some distance (ten miles or so) from it, one can look down upon the water, certainly five hundred feet below the level of the hills, which rise no more than eighty feet above the surrounding plain. it seems most improbable, therefore, that a creek should break its way through country of so much greater altitude without being seen by colonel warburton or myself, or that any connection should exist between the salt sea and warburton's salt lakes to the south-east. had, however, the intervening country been of the same level as the lake, and flat instead of formed into high sand ridges and hills, there might have been a possibility of crossing a connecting creek of the same character as the sturt without noticing it. this question has been much discussed by gentlemen interested in the geography of interior australia, and therefore i have dealt with it at some length. chapter iii our camp on the "salt sea" april nd to th we were the guests of mr. stretch, and whilst resting here godfrey's eyes soon became well enough to allow him to travel. on the th, therefore, we set forth on our journey and bade adieu to the last outpost of civilisation in the north. our party was further increased by a sturt creek boy, tiger by name--a very smart and intelligent fellow of whom mr. stretch was very glad to see the last, for smart boys are nearly always the most mischievous amongst the cattle. warri and tiger were great friends, and the new boy's presence put warri on his mettle, and no amount of work was too hard for him whilst he had tiger to show off to. after i had cut his hair and shampooed his head with kerosene and soap, dressed him in trousers, shirt, and cap, he looked a most presentable youth. mr. stretch accompanied us down the creek for the first few days, during which we passed some of his cattle and horses. the flies and mosquitoes worry the poor beasts terribly, and all day long the horses stand in the water in pairs, or in a line, with head to tail, each one flicking the flies from his neighbour's face with his tail. this habit of standing up to the girth in water has given rise to a horse sickness known as "swamp-cancer." the skin under the belly becomes so soft that at last a raw place is formed, and this, aggravated by the flies, spreads until it becomes a serious disease. another horse-sickness common in the north is called the "puffs." a horse suffering from this pants and blows after the least exertion, and in the hot weather his skin becomes puffy, and any violent exercise would be fatal. the monk, one of our horses, suffered from this slightly; as soon, however, as we had left the kimberley district and entered the desert he recovered entirely. numerous small families of natives were camped along the creek, all accompanied by dogs, which gave us some annoyance at night; for salt meat, at first, should be hung out during the night to get the benefit of the fresh air, and this roused their hungry instincts. a few miles below the wolf, mr. stretch left us, and we parted from our kind host with regret--he to return to his cattle, and we to the task of laying bare the richness (we hoped) or the nakedness (we expected) of the untrodden land before us. at first we did very small stages, for the joy of travelling alongside running water was too great to be quickly passed over. the camels and horses became good chums very soon, and played about together without any signs of fear or surprise on the part of the horses, although they had never seen camels before--a different state of affairs from that in coolgardie, where horses as a rule snort and plunge with terror on first acquaintance with an "emu-brother," as the black-fellow calls the camel. as we neared the lakes we had some difficulty in finding water fit to drink, and camped about nine miles above the lakes, whilst godfrey and i scouted ahead to see if fresh water could be found lower down. we surprised two camps of natives, most of whom ran into the scrub as we approached--several gins and a boy remaining. one of the women had a most remarkable baby, quite a small thing, but with a tremendous growth of black hair, shiny and straight, altogether different from the ordinary coarse hair of the aboriginal. they came with us, walking beside us as we rode, jabbering and gesticulating in their usual excited manner, and inviting us to their camp, pointing to the rising smoke. water, however, was our requirement, so we continued on our way down the creek, the boy coming with us. we shot a few ducks which our young friend retrieved, and having found a reach of fresh water just above the first and smaller lake, returned campwards, surprising a hunting-party on our way; they retired quickly, the boy following them, taking with him the ducks which we had been at such pains to stalk! the next day we moved camp to the fresh-water reach, and had not been travelling long before a small tribe of blacks came round us, quickly followed by our friends of the day before, and presently by more, until we were marching along with a wild escort of nearly a hundred, mostly men; they were fearfully excited, though quite friendly, and with yells and shouts danced alongside, waving their spears and other weapons. i never heard such a babel, or saw such frantic excitement about nothing, or at least nothing that we could understand. their wildness was tempered with some fear of the camels, though with the horses they were quite familiar, even going so far as to hit poor old highlander, that i was riding, on the rump with their spears, a proceeding that he did not approve of. "womany," "womany," "white-fella," "womany," "white-fella," they kept on shouting; if they meant to call our attention to the beauties of their gins they might well have spared themselves the trouble, for a more hideous lot of females i never set eyes on. presently another wild yell heralded the approach of a large band of "womany" who waded breast deep across the creek, followed by their dogs swimming behind. these were no improvement on the first lot; all the old and ugly ladies of the neighbouring tribes must have been gathered together. their dogs however, were worthy of notice, for they were manx-dogs, if such a word may be coined! closer inspection showed that they were not as nature made them. for the tails of the dingoes the government pays five shillings apiece; as their destructive habits amongst sheep make them better liked dead than alive. a black fellow's dog is much the same as a dingo--in fact must have descended from the wild dog--and has the same value in his owner's eyes with or without a tail. a stick of tobacco is fair payment for a dog's tail. thus all parties are satisfied except the dog; and the government is content to pay, not dreaming that "dog-stiffeners" (i.e., men who make a living by poisoning dingoes) carry on so base a trade as bartering tobacco for live dogs' tails! our cavalcade still further increased by women and dogs, we proceeded on our way, until choosing a high sandy bank overlooking the estuary of the small lake on the south, the creek to the north-west, and a backwater to the north, we halted and prepared to make camp. this was attended by some difficulty, for our native friends, now in considerable numbers, evidently wished to look upon it as their camp too. they soon became so tiresome that i had to tell them through tiger, as interpreter, that unless they retired forthwith and kept to the other side of the creek, we should take strong measures to remove them. before long they had all done as they were bid, and made their camp about a mile away across the water--and the bulk of them we did not see again. small parties were continually visiting us, and we were the best of friends. our camp was in lat. degrees minutes long. degrees minutes, and here we stayed five days to give our stock a final rest, and regale on luscious food and abundant water, before tackling the dreary country that we knew to be before us. for our own sakes we were by no means keen on leaving this delightful spot; the very thought of those sand-ridges seemed to make one's heart sink to one's boots! our camp consisted of a bough-shade, and mosquito-nets, of course. barring the constant torment of flies and the extreme heat, we had a most enjoyable time. the lakes and creek abounded in wild-fowl of all kinds, and fish by the hundred could be caught below our camp. seen from our camp the estuary had so much the appearance of a low-lying arm of the sea, with the tide out, that we could easily understand why gregory called it a "sea" rather than a lake. numerous sandspits stand out in the middle, on which, in early morning, so dense was the crowd of shags, pelicans, snipe, small gulls, whistling duck, teal, and other birds, that to say that there was acre upon acre of wild-fowl would not be wide of the mark; but in spite of their abundance they were not easily shot; for not only did their numbers insure the watchfulness of some of the flocks, but after the first shot the whole lot rose in a cloud and settled away out in the middle of the lake, beyond reach. our larder was well filled here, and the natives took great interest in our shooting and fishing. i used to take tiger as retriever when i went duck shooting, and an excellent boy he was too, simply loving the water, and able to swim like any duck; to see him after a wounded bird was most exciting; as soon as he reached it, it would dive until he would be almost exhausted. at last he hit upon a similar plan, and, diving, came up beneath the duck, seized it by the leg and brought it to shore, grinning with delight. a shot-gun would indeed be a treasure to these natives, who manage to kill pelicans and ducks only after hours of waiting, hidden in a hide of bushes until a bird comes near enough to be killed by a throwing-stick. in some parts of australia the natives swim out to ducks, concealing themselves under a bunch of rushes and moving very slowly; the ducks are not scared by the rushes, and fall a comparatively easy prey. from what tiger told me the sturt natives seem to rely solely upon waiting and stalking. they catch fish in a rather ingenious way, only practicable when the fish are in shallow water; from this they sweep them with a sort of dredge of branches, which they drag through the pools on to the banks; the water runs back through the sticks, leaving the fish high and dry on the sand. the pelican is considered a great delicacy amongst the natives, and every day deputations waited upon us, asking us to shoot the "coyas" for them, which of course we were very glad to do. they did not repay our kindness very nicely, for they tried to inveigle warri into their camp for the purpose of killing him, as a stranger meets with no great hospitality! i had sent warri and tiger out with a gun to stalk some ducks when a number of blacks tried to get possession of the gun, first by telling tiger that they wanted to shoot an old man who had annoyed them, then by tempting him with descriptions of the beauties of their wives; but warri was proof against all these blandishments--nor could they get the gun by force. i think master warri was quite glad to come quickly home, for he stood in some awe of the kimberley natives; "sulky fella," he called them. one day a fresh mob of blacks came in; amongst them we recognised our old friends from jew's well. they as soon recognised us, and appeared tremendously pleased. the old jew patted me, and grinned, and squirmed in a most ludicrous way; i discovered that he was thanking me for having cured his son's eyes--so the lotion had done its work well. as he and his friends sat round i made a sketch of the old man and gave it to him; it was evidently a good likeness, for his friends went into shrieks of laughter and delight. he was equally pleased, and more so still when i let him know that he could keep it. shortly afterwards several men came up with great mystery and secrecy, and many looks behind them to see that they were not watched, and a greybeard amongst them presented me with a flat stick carved all over into rough patterns; this was carefully wrapped between two sheets of bark, and was evidently highly treasured, and given as a mark of respect or gratitude for curing the boy's eyes. they also gave me throwing sticks, balls of hair string, a shield and tomahawk; and received numerous costly presents from us--one or two old shirts, strips of coloured handkerchief to make sporrans of, a knife or two, and so forth, and were perfectly satisfied. a curious thing about the old jew was that he had no name. i questioned him most closely through tiger--but no! he had never had a name. he was promptly christened "jacob," which he repeated over and over again, and seemed pleased with his new acquisition. godfrey soon had some of the tribe trained in the art of fishing, and this amused them immensely; the man to whom we gave the line and hooks, which we got in hall's creek, will be much envied by his mates. there were quantities of mussels in the creek, which the blacks devour greedily; we thought them most disgusting in taste. larger fish were reported in the big lake, but we did not trouble them. the water of the big lake was far too salt for use, though the natives were camped near it and drink it. it makes them sick, but they use it all the same, so we were told. what happens to all the natives when the lake dries i cannot say; no doubt they scatter far and wide, and meet when the floods come down, for ceremonies, corroborees, and such-like amusements. i collected a few words which i look upon as reliable. nothing would be easier than to make a whole dictionary, for the natives are always ready to talk, but i have only taken words which i got from one and tested with others with good results. english. aboriginal. gregory's "salt sea." burro. fresh water. nappa or yui. salt water. murraba.* creek. gilli. fire. warru or wallu.** fish. yagu. mussel. bimbirri. pelican. coya. whistling duck. chibilu.*** moon. yungun. star. gigi. southern cross. wun-num. * hunt's slate well, near lake lefroy, coolgardie goldfield, which is sometimes salt, is called by the natives murrabi. ** same as at empress spring and throughout desert. *** in imitation of the bird's cry. chapter iv desert once more april th we left our camp on the lake, steering due east to cut a creek which enters on the north-east corner; the creek was dry, and the nature of its shingly bed inclined me to think that it has its rise in auriferous country. close by the creek we found a shallow clay-pan, and as the next day would probably see us in the desert i had every available water-carrying vessel filled. tiger worked well, but a friend of his, who had come with us so far, watched the proceedings with suspicion. on being questioned as to waters to the south-east, he was most positive as to their non-existence, and evidently frightened tiger so much by his dreadful account of the country that he decided on returning home--for the next morning both he and his friend had disappeared. i was very sorry, for he was a smart lad, and now we were a bit short-handed. pursuit was of course useless, for he had too great a start, and would soon be lost amongst his tribesmen. he had worked so well that i never suspected him of wishing to go. i fear he will spear mr. stretch's cattle after all! fully loaded with water, we left the lakes, steering towards mount wilson (gregory); the heat was great, and the flies worse than we had before experienced. riding ahead steering was most unpleasant; one hand for the compass, one for the bridle, left nothing with which to frighten the flies from the corners of my eyes, which became quite raw in consequence. certainly riding is a great improvement on walking, and i prayed that the horses would long be spared to us. once through the dense scrub surrounding the lake, and our old friends sand and spinifex lay before us. crossing an open plain, we reached mount wilson, from which the lake was plainly visible, at a greatly lower level. this hill is the highest in a little broken range of barren sandstone hills, peaks, knobs, and cliffs of all manner of shapes and sizes. to the eastward stony tablelands can be seen, running from which i noticed what i took to be a creek. at this point it is interesting to see what gregory's impressions were of the country ahead. this was the furthest point he reached in , having landed an expedition on the northern coast and travelled up the victoria river on to the head-waters of the sturt creek, and down that creek to its end. he says: "from the summit of the hill (mount wilson) nothing was visible but one unbounded waste of sandy ridges and low, rocky hills, which lay to the south-east of the hill. all was one impenetrable desert; . . . the vegetation on this part of the country was reduced to a few stunted gums, hakea bushes, and triodia (spinifex), the whole extremely barren in appearance. . . the remaining portion of the horizon was one even, straight line: not a hill or break of any kind, and except the narrow line of the creek, was barren and worthless in the extreme, the red soil of the level portions of the surface being partially clothed with triodia and a few small trees, or rather bushes, rendering the long, straight ridges of fiery-red, drifting sand more conspicuous." so gregory retraced his tracks up the sturt creek, and when one remembers that he had horses, one can only say, "and a good judge too." leaving mount wilson we steered east and cut the creek that i had seen, and were glad to find feed near it for both horses and camels. i walked it up to its head, and found a little rocky pool of water, returning after dark. breaden and warri had been out too, but found nothing. having watered the animals, next morning, the nd, i steered a course to take us through a piece of country previously traversed by warburton, with lake white (a dry salt-lake) as our goal, for round it i hoped to find creeks and clay-pans. i depended on none of warburton's waters, though he had some marked on his chart, since i knew that doubts existed as to the accuracy of his positions, and i preferred to rely upon our own methods of finding water rather than to waste time in hunting for wells that we might not find. for the next few days we were crossing spinifex plains and passing distant hills and tablelands of sandstone. the days were very hot, but since rising from the hollow of the lake the nights had become very much cooler. we had come so suddenly into desert country that the animals gave us great trouble, being unable, poor things, to find any food. late starts were the order of the day, camels having wandered miles in one direction followed by breaden and warri, and the horses in another followed by me. on the rd we found ourselves again amongst the sand ridges, high, red, and steep; we were now in lat. degrees minutes, and from that date and point this awful country continued almost without a break, ridge succeeding ridge with perfect regularity and running, as before, dead across our route, until we reached lat. degrees minutes on june nd--a period of forty one days, during which we travelled miles. thus it will be seen that in the far eastern portion of the colony the ridges of drift-sand extend over a greater length of country than in the centre; and consequently our return journey was accomplished with greater difficulties before us, and with an almost total lack of feed for our stock--less even than on the first trip but to balance these drawbacks we had cool nights, lighter equipment, and the advantage of previous experience--and the incentive of knowing that our rations would not last out unless we made all speed. on the th we crossed a range of barren hills, which i named the gordon hills, after our friends of flora valley. in the neighbourhood godfrey picked up a perfectly white egg, somewhat resembling that of an emu, which lay upon a hummock of spinifex; presumably it had been bleached by the sun. from the hills to the s.s.w., across high ridges of sand, can be seen a range apparently of some altitude, distant some twenty-five miles; this i named the stretch range, after our kind host of denison downs station. from the gordon hills we continued on our course for a smoke we had sighted the day before, and before long picked up two fresh tracks, which we followed. from some stony rises a large, prominent hill came into view, as if formed of three great steps of bare rock. this i named mount elphinstone, after my cousin, and towards it we shaped our course, still on the tracks. that night we were again forced to camp on a barren spot, and again our animals wandered far afield. unless absolutely necessary, i have a great objection to tying them up at nights, for then they are sure beyond question of getting nothing to eat; whereas wandering they may find a patch of herbage or bushes. that night we saw the fire of a native camp and heard distant screams. in the morning a mob of blacks passed our camp all unaware of our presence; breaden and warri were hunting the camels and i the horses. as soon as i brought them in we followed and stopped some of the natives, and they returned with us to camp and presently decoyed others who were passing. there was nothing remarkable about these savages except that they were tall and well-made and fairly friendly. one had the skin disease from which we had noticed others suffering. an old man, and a young, rather handsome, buck came with us and went ahead as guides. their camp had been, as is the rule, on the top of a sand-ridge--chosen, no doubt, as a position suitable for watching the approach of others. a four-mile stage brought us to a nice little oasis--a small area of grass, surrounded by ti-trees, enclosed by two sand-ridges. in the centre of the grass three good soaks, in black, sandy soil, yielded sufficient for all our needs at the expenditure of but little labour. the horses appreciated the change, and unless we had given them water in instalments would have assuredly burst themselves. they drank in all sixteen gallons apiece! seeing that they had never been in anything but good country all their lives, and that now we had suddenly come out of it into the howling waste, they showed satisfactory endurance, having been eighty hours with only six gallons of water each during that time. what english thoroughbred could have done this? the next day breaden and i rode up to mount elphinstone, which we found to be formed of three great rocky shoulders of sandstone capped with quartzite, almost bare, and stony on the top, with sheer faces one hundred feet high on the west side and a gradual slope to the east, where high sand-ridges run right up to the foot. from the summit a high tableland [probably musgrave range (warburton)] and range can be seen to the north, to the east a bluff-ended tableland, [probably philipson range (warburton)] but the horizon from south-east to south-west was a dead level. one mile due west of the highest point we found a native well in a sandy gutter, and about yards from it, to the east, a high wall of bare rock as regular as if it had been built. this wall, seen edge-on from the north-west, from which point breaden sighted it when after the camels, appears like a chimney-stack. as the soaks at which we were camped have the appearance of being more permanent than the usual native well, it may be useful to give directions for finding them from mount elphinstone. leave hill on bearing degrees, cross one sand-ridge close to hills, then spinifex plain, then another sand-ridge running east and west, from the crest of which can be seen three gaps in the next one--steer for most westerly gap, and seven miles from the hill the soaks will be found. having no time for further investigation, we returned to camp, and to ensure an early start tied the camels down for the night, since they had been feeding all day. bluey again proved to be a vicious brute, and kicked me in the chest, knocking me down; but the other new camels daily improved in their manners. we had great trouble in cleaning off from their backs the clay with which they were smeared, having rolled in some shallow clay-pans near the lakes. it was most necessary to scrape it off somehow, as otherwise sore backs would have resulted; and, indeed, stoddy's sore back started in this way by the friction of the saddle and the caked mud. the country ahead looked so bad that i decided to take the two bucks with us for as long as they knew the waters, so secured the one to the other by the neck, with plenty of spare chain between. they marched with us apparently perfectly happy, and even anxious to point out the directions of various native wells. my object was to make as much southing as possible whilst we could; so having two natives and one hundred gallons of water (of which the horses were given three gallons each nightly), we steered due south from the soaks, and had a long day of tremendously steep sand-ridges, up the north side of which the camels climbed with difficulty. riding the camels was out of the question, so we took the horses in turn, breaden and i steering hour about. though crossing fresh tracks and though the bucks were most anxious to follow them, we did not turn from our course, for we had only left water the day before, and as our rations were calculated to just, and only just, last out, no time could be wasted. for the same reason we were travelling longer hours. our camp of the th was in lat. degrees minutes long. degrees minutes, and ahead of us to the south-west three miles distant was a range of barren sandstone hills, for which we steered; the old man, though contradicted by the young one, promising "gilli nappa," or creek water. however, he fooled us, and after much climbing we reached a small, dry well in a narrow gorge, quite inaccessible for camels. it was now the young man's turn, who, seeing that we were not best pleased with his mate's efforts, by every sort of sign assured us that water existed in another range to the east. so turning in that direction over monstrous high ridges, crossing them obliquely, in five miles we cut a small watercourse, and following it up to its head found ourselves on the top of a range of barren sandstone hills, over which were dotted white-stemmed stunted gums--a most desolate place. the travelling was very trying to the camels, who were continually missing their footing on loose boulders and stones, in the bed of the creek. sheer steps in the rock on either hand precluded us from marching over the hills, excepting up the watercourse. from the summit, other similar hills could be seen to the east--hills of quite a respectable height, all bare and rocky. numerous small gorges and glens head from the east watershed; without any hesitation our guides started down one, and before long we came to a little pool in the rocky bed. here we watered our animals and replenished our tanks and bags; and a nice job we had to make some of the camels approach the pool; on either side were steep cliffs, and to reach the water numerous cracks and gaps in the bed-rock had to be crossed, not wide or deep, but sufficiently so to scare bluey and some of the others. the open desert life seems to make camels, and horses too, very nervous when anything the least unusual has to be faced. the echoes amongst the rocks, and the rather gloomy gorges, seemed to make them "jumpy"; a stone rattling down behind them would be sufficient to cause a panic. leaving the pool, we followed the gorge until it ran out as a deep, sandy channel down the valley formed by the horseshoe of the ranges. the ranges i named the erica ranges, after one of my sisters. all along the banks of the creek splendid green acacia and grass was growing, and a most inviting-looking plant standing some six feet high, with greenish-grey stems and leaves, and a flower not unlike wallflower. such a place at once suggested camping, and we were proceeding to unload when godfrey remarked that this pretty plant was very like a most deadly queensland poison plant; he was not sure; i had never seen it before, nor had breaden. the risk, however, was too great; it might be poison; i could see the camels eyeing its fresh charms, and it grew in such profusion that all would be devouring it in a few minutes. so we packed up again and moved further on, much to the disgust of the blacks and the animals, for all were very tired. i collected some specimens of this plant; if godfrey had never been in queensland we should have been in a tight corner, for the government botanist, perth, says, "the plant in question is very poisonous. it is scientifically known as gastrolobium grandiflorum, occurs throughout the dry, tropical portion of australia, and is commonly known as 'desert poison,' 'australian poison,' and 'wallflower poison bush.'" near mount bannerman, where our camels were poisoned on the upgoing journey, this plant was not growing. the suspected plants i collected, but unfortunately the specimens were mislaid or lost. in such country as this one has one's whole mind and energies concentrated on how best to cover the ground; and what with well-digging, writing up field-books, observing, and so forth, one's time is fully occupied; i was therefore unable to collect more than a few plants worthy of notice, since they formed feed for camels, or caused their death. my companions were of course equally occupied. besides the map i was able to make of the country, i set great store by my photographs. of these i took over two hundred; owing, however, to defective plates, or rather films, many were failures, and nearly all that could be printed and reproduced are to be seen in this book. on the th we followed down the creek until it bore too much to the west, and so far as we could see shortly ran out into the sand. from a high sandhill the next morning we got an extensive view. to the east, the main body of a long salt-lake extending as far as the eye can see to the s.s.e. bounding the lake on the east is a high sandstone tableland, with abrupt cliffs facing the lake. some eight miles to the north-east appears to be the extreme point of the lake, but of course from a distance it is impossible to say for certain. except where the cliffs occur, the lake is enclosed by high red sandhills, through which it winds its way like a strip of sparkling white tinsel. having no desire to court difficulties, i turned from this smooth-faced but treacherous bog, and, looking west, spied a fine bold range, a rugged-looking affair with peaks, bluffs, and pinnacles, suggesting gorges and water. i have no doubt that this lake is lake white, of warburton's, though my position for it is seventeen miles east of that assigned to it by him. it is in the same latitude, and agrees with warburton's description as to the cliffs and sandhills. after sighting this lake we turned west to the ranges, therefore had two lakes existed in this latitude we must have crossed the second, which we did not do. many things go to prove that warburton's positions are incorrect; i think i can show how, by moving his route bodily on the chart about eighteen miles to the east, a more accurate map will result. my own experience alone would not be conclusive, except that my work fits in with that of forrest, gregory, and tietkens, where my route crosses theirs; but taken in conjunction with others it proves of value. in crossing the colony, warburton failed to connect with gregory's traverse at the end of the sturt as he intended, and on approaching his destination (the oakover river) expressed surprise that he had not reached it a day or two before. therefore he was not confident of the accuracy of his reckoning. two parties, one led by mr. buchanan, a noted bushman, another by mr. smith, set out from the end of the sturt to cross the desert, made several unsuccessful attempts to locate some waters of warburton's, though no distance away, and returned satisfied that nothing could be gained by further travelling. mr. smith told me that he had located "bishop's dell," but placed it due south of the salt sea instead of s.s.w, as shown by warburton. mr. wells eventually found joanna spring twenty miles east of warburton's position. this correction is of greater value than any, since mr. wells is considered one of the best surveyors in the south australian service. a combination of the above experiences shows, i think conclusively, that colonel warburton's route, at least on the west australian side of the boundary, should be shifted bodily eighteen or twenty miles to the eastward. considering the hard trials that colonel warburton and his party went through, there is small wonder that he found great difficulty in keeping any sort of reckoning. from the journal of this traveller i take the following description of the country round the lake: "we found good feed for the camels here, but the sandhills appear to be increasing in number and size. we have got amongst the half-dried salt lagoons, so our further progress north-west is cut off. . . we are quite amongst the salt-lakes, a large one lies to the west of us, sending out its arms to every point. we must round the eastern end of them, as camels and salt-bogs don't agree at all. . . we tried to cross but had to turn back. . . country very bad, dense spinifex, high, steep sand-ridges with timber in flats. any man attempting to cross this country with horses must perish. . . a strong easterly wind prevailed, blowing up clouds of sand and ashes from the burnt ground. truly this is a desert!" this was written when i was two and a half years old. the writer little thought that an infant was growing up who would have no more sense than to revisit this ghastly region; nor as far as i remember was the infant thinking much about sand! dear me! how easy it was to get a drink in those days--merely by yelling for it--but the strongest lungs in the world cannot dig out a native well. chapter v stansmore range to lake macdonald shaping our course from the lake (lake white) towards the highest point in the range, which i named stansmore range after poor charlie, we had the novel and pleasant experience of travelling with, instead of across, the ridges--if only we could have turned the country round at right angles, or changed the north point of the compass, how nice it would have been! as it was, south we must go to get home, and take the ridges as they came; our westerly course was only temporary. for twenty-seven miles we steered w.b.s., keeping along the trough of two ridges the whole time, seeing nothing on either hand but a high bank of sand covered with the usual vegetation. the trough was flat at the bottom, and about yards wide. for ten miles we travelled between the same two parallel ridges, then in front the butt-end of another appeared, as the trough widened out. deviating slightly to the south from our former course, we were again between two ridges, one of which was the same that we had followed along before. then, again, in a few miles another ridge would start, and altering our course again, this time a little to the north, continued our march between two fresh ridges, and so on. thus it will be seen that the ridges, though apparently parallel, are not accurately so, and that one may be continuous for more than ten miles or so, when it ends and another takes its place. on our march our captives cleverly caught a spinifex rat and a snake (one of the very few that we saw); they greedily devoured both, and were much pleased when godfrey refused to partake of a piece of half-raw snake which they politely offered him. we discovered that they had a great liking for our beef-water--that is, the water in which our salt beef had been cooked--and made no bones about swallowing a couple of gallons of this brine-like soup. it had one good effect, for it made them most anxious to take us to water the next morning! the hills we found to be of the usual character, barren sandstone, from which numerous rocky creeks have torn their way through the sand. following up a little glen, terribly rough and steep for the camels, we came at length to a fine pool, hemmed in by almost sheer cliffs sixty feet high. climbing to the top of these, i could see that the same rough country extended for a considerable distance to the westward, and that further travel up the glen was impossible; so we retraced our steps down the creek, on the banks of which we found grass and bushes in profusion, and poison plant. this drove us away into the sandhills beyond all harm, and, unfortunately, beyond all feed as well, nor had we time before night set in to cut and carry any bushes for the camels, as we might otherwise have done. that night our camp was in lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes. the following morning i ascended the highest point in the range, whilst breaden and warri took our animals for a final drink up the glen. the lake was just visible, lit up by the rising sun, but i doubt if during the day it could be seen. from the range numerous creeks, nine in all, run eastwards, one of which, i think, reaches the lake, as with field-glass i could follow a serpentine line of gum trees. the rest run out a few miles from their head on to grass-flats timbered with large gums. the hills are of sandstone in layers, dipping to the west; these seem to have been forced up into three-cornered blocks, the faces of which have weathered away on the east side, forming steep slopes of stones and boulders. between the hills low ridges of sandstone running north and south outcrop only a few feet above the surface, and are separated by strips of white sand timbered with stunted gum trees. the whole scene has a most strange and desolate appearance. returned to camp, i liberated the two guides, for i did not wish to inconvenience them by taking them beyond their own country. they were quite unwilling to go, and indeed waited until we were ready to start, and were most anxious for us to go to the east again. "gilli nappa," they assured us, was to be found, making their meaning clear by tracing in the sand a winding line to represent a creek; and when at the end i drew a lake, they were highly pleased, and grunted and snapped their fingers in approval. however, when i showed them that we were going due south their faces assumed so dismal an expression, and so vehement were their exhortations to go in the other direction, that we concluded we had no picnic before us. had they had any intentions of coming further our change of course decided them, and they made tracks for the glen, bearing with them many rich gifts. an empty meat tin and a few nails does not sound a very great reward for their enforced services, and yet they would have been far less pleased with a handful of sovereigns; they could put these to no use whatever, whereas the tins will make small "coolimans," and the nails, set in spinifex-gum on the end of a waddy, will find their way into a neighbour's head. we had really terrible country that day, during which we made no more than nine miles. at first travelling was easy, as a flat belt of sand came between the range and the sandhills; later on, however, we were forced to climb up and down, now mountainous sandhills over one hundred feet in height, now jagged hills and breakaways of sandstone; dodging down little steep gullies, with the camels' packs almost touching each side, up steep rocks, or along their faces, until the horses and camels alike were quite exhausted. fortunately we were rewarded by a fair camp for feed, close by a noticeable bluff. we crossed nine deep creeks, in any of which, at their heads, pools may exist. climbing the bluff next morning, i could see that the range curved round to the south-east for some miles, possibly a great many. to continue following round the foot would advance us but little; i therefore decided to cross the range somehow. it was evident that any great extent of this rocky country would soon place the camels hors de combat, as every step cut their feet, and every few minutes they ran the risk of a sprained or broken limb; mules would be more suitable for such country. the further we advanced the rougher became the ground, the narrower the little glens, and the steeper the rocks. however, one final and tremendous scramble landed us all safely above the hills, and to our joy we found that a flat plain of spinifex spread before us. on it were clumps of mulga. now we hoped we had done with the ridges. but no! more yet, in spite of hopes and prayers, and for the next two days we were crossing them at the rate of eighty-eight per eight hours. it really was most trying, and had a very bad effect on one's temper. i fancy my companions had the same difficulty, but i found it nearly impossible to restrain myself from breaking out into blind rages about nothing in particular. but the cursed sand-ridges made one half silly and inclined to shake one's fist in impotent rage at the howling desolation. often i used to go away from camp in the evening, and sit silent and alone, and battle with the devil of evil temper within me. breaden has told me that he had the same trouble, and godfrey had fearful pains in his head to bear. the combination of heat, flies, sand, solitude, the sight of famished horses, spinifex, and everlasting ridges, and the knowledge that the next day would be a repetition of the day before, was enough to try the sweetest temper; and i, for one, never professed to have such a thing. added to this we had the feeling that our work and energies could have but a negative result--that is, the proof that the country was barren and useless; and yet its very uselessness made it harder to travel through. but with all this we never had a complaint or growl from any in the camp. about this time i again became deaf, which did not tend to make me any more patient. another stretch of plain country, a mile or two in width, again raised our hopes and again dashed them, as more ridges confronted us on the other side. a change of any kind is welcome, therefore the gloomy desert oaks were greeted with joy; for though their sombre appearance is eminently appropriate to a funeral procession, they give some shade and relieve the eye. in due course we reached the burnt country for which we had steered, and, after hours of tracking, singled out some footsteps going straight away as if to camp. warri and i were leading, riding highlander in turn; on cresting a high ridge we saw before us a little clump of mulga and grass, amongst it a camp of some dozen or more natives. as soon as we advanced they all ran, except two men, who stood their ground for a short space, then, throwing a stick and boomerang in a most warlike way, they followed their tribe. it was imperative that we should have a fresh guide, so i followed on highlander, and succeeded in stopping the last man simply by wearing him out. he was a most diminutive man, almost a dwarf, absolutely without ornament, not even a girdle of string, with a most repulsive face, and wall-eyes like a welsh sheepdog. he was by no means afraid, and before long became friendly and returned with me to their camp. the tribe had left behind them a number of treasures--bundles of firemaking sticks, bean-and-gum ornaments, and the usual bark "portmanteaus" [note at end of paragraph.] containing hair-string, feathers, red ochre, and other knick-knacks. amongst their weapons was a curiously shaped boomerang; on one of the woommeras was a rough carving of either a spider or crab. as soon as the camels arrived we unloaded and set to work on the well, "soak-sucking" in our old style. by morning we had watered the camels and horses. the former were of course pretty fit, but the poor ponies had done a fair stage, especially so since they had had no feed except the rank dry tops of the spinifex. may rd sunrise, to may th sunrise, they had travelled on what water we could afford them from our own supply, viz., three gallons apiece nightly, and six gallons the first night. the grass around the well, though dry, was of great benefit to them. for the camels we had to cut down the mulga trees, the branches of which grew too high from the ground to permit them to browse off the leaves. a number of dingoes serenaded us as we worked at night; what they live upon is not quite clear, unless it be spinifex rats. there were other small rats in the locality, two of which the dwarf had for supper--plucked, warmed upon the ashes, torn in pieces by his long nails and eaten; an unpleasant meal to witness, and the partaker of it badly needed a finger-bowl, for his hands and beard were smeared with blood. he did not take kindly to salt beef, for his teeth were not fit for hard work, as he pointed out to us; and salt beef is not by any means easy to masticate. as a rule the blacks have such splendid teeth that the dwarf's case is remarkable, seeing that he was not at all an old man. [* note: a native bark "portmanteau," brought back from this locality, was opened at newstead abbey and found to contain-- . plumes of hawks' and crows' feathers. . neck-bands of opossum wool. . string bracelets. . fragments of quartz, suitable for spear and chisel heads. . fragments of sandstone, for making red paint. . message-stick. . a stick inches long, wrapped in downy feathers and greasy string; on this was wound a great length of human-hair string, forming a bobbin-shaped article, the use of which i do not know. i have now three portmanteaus still unopened.] the dwarf well had a better supply than any we had seen, and it is possible that there is some soakage into it from the surrounding country. it lies nearly five miles south of a low range of hills, the highest point of which bears degree from it; to the north a sand-ridge, to the south a spinifex plain, six miles wide, then more ridges. i make its position to be lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes. on the plain to the south are one or two small outcrops of ironstone and quartz, sticking up out of the sand, as if some hills other than sandstone had existed, and become buried by the all-spreading sand. i carved c on a tall mulga-tree close to the well. may th we left the well on a southerly course, and were soon amongst the ridges, which continued for the next two days. the night of the th, having skirted a line of rough cliffs, we camped about three miles north of a very prominent single hill, which i named mount webb, after w. f. webb, esq., of newstead abbey, nottinghamshire. as the sun rose that morning the mirage of a lake of apparently great size was visible for degrees of the horizon--that is, from east round to south. neither from the cliffs that we skirted, nor from mount webb, was any lake visible, but it is more than probable that a large salt lake exists in this locality, possibly connecting, in a broken line, lake white and lake macdonald. a mirage sometimes appears in exactly the opposite direction from that in which the lake lies, but i noticed when standing on the stansmore range that as the sun rose lake white was clearly visible, whilst when the sun had risen a few degrees above the horizon the lake disappeared. i am of opinion, therefore, that large lakes will some day be found to lie to the north-east of mount webb. had we not been so pressed for time i should have made a flying trip in this direction. mount webb is flat-topped, isolated, rocky-sided, innocent of all vegetation, of sandstone capped with quartzite, standing out with imposing clearness some five hundred feet above a plain of spinifex and mulga scrubs. from its summit numerous hills and bluffs can be seen; to the south spinifex plains and ridges; to the south-east a tabletop between two bluffs; to the west a low line of stony hills, beyond them a limitless sea of sandhills; to the north-west a broken range of peaks, and, far distant, a large hill swaying in the haze of heat. from the foot of the hill a hunting-fire was seen close by. "gabbi, gabbi," said the dwarf, greatly excited; and when we turned towards it "yo-yo-yo" in approval. as we silently approached we saw two old hags flitting about, as nimbly as their aged limbs would allow, in the blazing spinifex--now picking up a dead lizard, and now poking about with their yam-sticks as if in search of some rat which had been roasted in his burrow. it is impossible to describe the look of terrific awe on the faces of these quaint savages. let us imagine our own feelings on being, without warning, confronted by a caravan of strange prehistoric monsters; imagine an easter holiday tripper surrounded by the fearful beasts at the crystal palace suddenly brought to life! what piercing shrieks they gave forth, as, leaving their hunting implements, they raced away, to drop, all at once, behind a low bush, where, like the ostrich, they hid their heads, and so hoped to escape detection. it was almost impossible to gain the confidence of the gins: old ladies seem so very suspicious. the dwarf somewhat reassured them, and after much difficulty one was persuaded to show their camp--and such a camp!--perched up in the rocks on a little plot of sand, close by a miniature watercourse, and in this a small native well, so rock-bound as to preclude further opening out. and yet for this miserable affair we were glad to offer up thanks, for the sake of the ponies. what labour for a few gallons of water, not so much as we use in our baths every morning in civilised countries! but no man could stand idly by and watch the mute longing of his faithful horses. so freeing the dwarf and the old gin, a fit pair, we set to work. all that afternoon and all through the night we dug and hauled and scraped, and by morning had the horses watered and twenty gallons to boot. there had been eight or nine blacks at this camp, who, on their return from hunting in the evening, watched our proceedings with intense annoyance. they stopped about one hundred yards away, and, yelling and shrieking, brandished their spears in a most warlike manner. that night they camped not far off, and, as on every other occasion on which we invaded their homes, i consider we owed our immunity from attack to the fact that work on the well entailed one or other of the party being up all through the night, thus acting as a watch. had they known their power they might have made things most unpleasant by spearing our camels. fortunately it is only those natives who have come within the civilising influence of the white man, that learn such little acts of courtesy. it is noticeable that amongst the treasures in this camp were a great quantity of "letter-sticks," which is evidence that the carvings on letter-sticks cannot be written messages, unless this camp was a desert post-office! if, however, the sticks are tokens, as i suppose, then one of this tribe may be a craftsman who carves distinctive symbols on each stick to order, and who had lately received a number of commissions for such sticks. it seems likely that one man or tribe should have a special aptitude for manufacturing message-sticks, whilst others perhaps make a speciality of hair-string or spears. or again it may be that the number of sticks, certainly two dozen, denote orders from far-off tribes, who wish to barter such articles as pearl-shells for perhaps spinifex-gum of a superfine quality. (i have noticed that the spinifex growing on the sandstone hills, particularly on the stansmore range, exudes a great deal more resin than that growing on the sand.) this bartering of goods is very remarkable, and here we found pearl oyster-shells which must have passed from tribe to tribe for at least five hundred miles; pieces of glass, carefully protected by covers of woven feathers and opossum-string; the red beans which are found in kimberley, and, as warri tells me, in the macdonnell ranges of central australia; a stone tomahawk-head, a dark green stone (serpentine); and besides, numerous sporrans of rats' tails, feathers, nose bones, red ochre, and a piece of the top part of a human skull polished and slung on a string. certainly for its size this was the best appointed tribe we had seen. the position of this well, a very poor one, is lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes--one mile west of mount webb. some good grass grows in the mulga scrubs which are dotted over the plain surrounding the hill. nine miles south of the mount, sand-ridges, east and west as usual, are again met with; from the crest of one we saw the last of mount webb, twenty-two miles distant. we now hourly expected to get a view of lake macdonald, a large dry salt lake discovered by tietkens in . tietkens was giles's right-hand man in all, or nearly all, his journeys--a man whose great services to his country have never been acknowledged, because, i suppose, as second in command his name seldom appeared in the accounts of his leader's travels, and yet he shared his dangers and troubles, stood by him in many tight corners, helped him no doubt with counsel and advice; and though by his work--for tietkens was an eminent surveyor--many hundreds of miles of previously unknown regions have been mapped, a grateful country has nothing to give in return! we all know, though, how generous governments are in such matters. did not ernest giles die, only the other day, in poverty and neglect? i know he had a government billet at pounds shillings a week, noble and generous reward for the best years of his life spent in toiling over the howling wilderness of the interior! doubtless all debts will be considered paid by the erection of a statue, and nine people out of ten will not have any notion of who the man was or what he has done! tietkens in led an expedition to determine the true extent of lake amadeus, the confines of which were marked as "probable." his work resulted in greatly decreasing the area of the lake, which now lies entirely in south australia. however, this side of the border he found the lake already mentioned, and, encircling it, returned to the point on the adelaide-port-darwin telegraph line from which he had started. the lake is surrounded, at a distance, by numerous sandstone ranges and hills, the drainage from them no doubt forming it. tietkens experienced rains in this region; no such luck fell our way, and everything was parched and drought-stricken. i was able to identify the winnecke hills, and one or two others, but, having only a small map of this part of the country, could not locate many points. close to the winnecke hills we again surprised two gins hunting, and, amongst their spoils of the chase, were astonished to see a common domestic black cat, evidently just killed. it must have wandered far from home! one of the women took us to their camp and small well, which was in so awkward a situation that i decided not to do any work upon it. its position was in a very steep, narrow gorge in the sandstone, along which the camels could pass with difficulty. there was no feed for our animals, except at the mouth of the gorge a mile distant, and then there was but little. it would take three to work the well, leaving only one to look after the camp, and "tail" the horses and camels. since the supply was problematical, the well almost inaccessible, and waste of time the only likely result, we passed on--the one and only occasion on which we left a well untried. numerous natives must have been in this camp, for i found no less than thirteen bark "portmanteaus." as the gin had shown us the well without demur, i left all these untouched. it was a struggle between honesty and curiosity; but it seemed too mean to take things, however interesting, when they had been left so confidently unprotected. and yet birds' nests are robbed without any such scruples! i had no hesitation, though, in taking the gin with us, in spite of her unwillingness, for famished horses must be relieved. once across the hills the sand-ridges became less high, were dotted with oaks, and even had some herbage growing on them. chapter vi lake macdonald to the deep rock-holes on the th we had breakfast by moonlight, and were well on our way before daylight. from a ridge higher than the others we got the only glimpse of the lake that was permitted us by the sandhills. about two o'clock, the gin, who had been making towards the davenport hills (tietkens), suddenly turned off and brought us to a little well in the trough of two ridges--the usual wretched concern, yielding no more than three bucketsful. we worked far into the night. having to observe for latitude i stayed up last, and baled the well before going to rest, leaving about two gallons in the bottom to allow it to settle before morning. at daylight we heard loud howls and snarls coming apparently from the centre of the earth. further investigation disclosed a lean and fierce-looking dingo down our well, which, in its frantic struggles to get out, had covered up our little pool of water and made a horrible mess of things. i never saw so savage-looking a brute, and, not feeling called upon to assist it, i ended its troubles with a bullet--a kindly act, which doubtless, on their return, gave a welcome supply of cheap meat to the tribe who had only lately retired from the well, and also added to our small store of dingo-tails, which (at shillings each), so far as we could see, would be our only means of deriving any profit from our labours. i think we only got five, and they were lost! our position there was lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes. the gin on showing us the well had been at once liberated, a step which i now rather regretted--but one cannot be unkind to ladies, even though they are black, naked savages, little better than beasts! remembering that she had pointed towards the hills ahead, i steered on that course, and before long we came on the tracks of a man, woman, and child, walking in the same direction. here i saw a pure white spinifex rat, leaping the tussocks in front of me, but of course had no means of stopping it. all that day we followed the tracks, over sandhills, samphire-flats, through clumps of desert oak, past dry wells, from sunrise until sunset. warri and i were ahead for in tracking it is better to be well in advance--riding and walking in turn until highlander knocked up and had to be led. breaden and godfrey had awful work behind to get the camels along. at almost every sandhill one or other of them, usually bluey, would drop and refuse to budge an inch until forced by blows. how the poor brutes strain, and strain again, up the steep, sandy slopes; painful sight, heart-breaking work--but work done! we crossed the davenport hills shortly before sunset and waited on the other side for the main party, in case in the bad light and on the hard rocks our tracks should be missed. as they came up, we heard a distant call--a gin's--and presently the smoke from a fire was visible. the monk had done the least work that day, and was the staunchest horse, indeed the only one capable of more than walking, so i despatched godfrey to surprise the camp, whilst we followed. he rode right on to the tribe, and was accorded a warmish welcome, one buck casting his spear with great promptitude. luckily his aim was poor and the spear passed by godfrey's head. when we arrived on the scene i found godfrey standing sentinel beneath a tree, in the branches of which stood at bay a savage of fine proportions. he had a magnificent beard, dark brown piercing eyes, splendid teeth, a distinctly jewish profile, and no decorations or scars on his chest or body. i shall not forget the colour of his eyes nor their fierce glitter, for i climbed the tree after him, he trying to prevent my ascent by blows from a short, heavy stick which i wrested from him, and then with broken branches of dead mulga, with which he struck my head and hands unmercifully, alternately beating me and prodding me in the face, narrowly missing my eyes. if he suffered any inconvenience by being kept captive afterwards, he well repaid himself beforehand by the unpleasant time he gave me. and if it was high-handed treatment to capture unoffending aboriginals, we did not do so without a certain amount of risk to ourselves; personally i would far sooner lie down all night chained by the ankle to a tree, than have my head and knuckles laid bare by blows from dead branches! after a time i succeeded in securing one end of the chain round the wild man's ankle, and the other round a lower branch. then i came down and left him, whilst we unloaded and had something to eat. we had had a long day of over ten hours continuous travel, and as the sun had long set we decided to take no steps for water-getting until morning. being sure of soon getting a fresh supply, we gave what water we had to the horses, on whom the desert was rapidly leaving its mark. as we sat on the packs round the tree, eating our salt beef, our black friend, with evident wonder at our want of watchfulness, took the opportunity of coming quickly to the ground, only to find that he was tethered to the tree. his anger had now subsided, and, though refusing to make friends, he seemed grateful when i bound up a place on his arm, where he had been hurt in his descent from the tree. the spears of his tribe were of better manufacture than those of the ordinary desert man, having bone barbs lashed on with sinews. the next morning we moved camp, as, from our position in a hollow, we should have been at a great disadvantage had the tribe returned to rescue their mate. we found their well, a deep rock-hole, half filled in with sand, on the southern slope of a stony sandhill, situated in a small patch of grass and buck-bush. from the hill above the rock-hole, a prominent bare range of red rock can be seen to the south bearing degrees to the highest point (these are probably the warman rocks of tietkens). we were now within seven miles of the imaginary line forming the boundary between west and south australia, the nearest point to that colony our journeyings took us. at first we hoped the hole would prove to be a soakage, but in this we were disappointed, and had to resort to our old methods of box-sinking and clearing out the sand. our work at first was comparatively easy, but as soon as water-level was reached a great wedge of sand fell in, and nothing remained but to clear out the whole of the cavity, scraping up the water as we went lower. from . a.m. on the th, until a.m. on the th, then again from . a.m. until . p.m. on the same day, we slaved away with no more than one and a half hours' interval. after digging out the sand and hauling it in buckets to the surface we had a rock-hole nearly conical in shape, twenty-five feet deep, twenty feet by fifteen at the mouth, narrowing in on all sides to three feet in diameter at the bottom. the first day and night we laboured until we literally could no longer move, from sheer exhaustion. breaden was so cramped and cold, from a long spell in the wet sand below, that we had to haul him out, put him in his blankets, and pile them upon him, though the night was warm. the result of all this toil--not quite ninety gallons of far from pure water! what a country! one ceaseless battle for water, which at whatever cost one is only too thankful to get! of the ninety gallons, sixty were distributed amongst the horses and camels, the remainder we kept for our own use and that of the horses when we continued our journey. eight miles of sandhills on the th took us, under the native's guidance, to another rock-hole--full to the brim--its water protected from the sun by an overhanging ledge of rock. here we soon had the thirsty animals satisfied, and had time to consider the rather comical aspect of affairs from the black-fellow's point of view. how he must have laughed to himself as he watched us toiling away, coaxing out water drop by drop the days before, when all the time a plentiful supply was close at hand! excellent grass surrounds the rock-hole, enclosed by mulga thickets, so we rested here a day, shooting a few pigeons and enjoying the first proper wash since april th, when we last camped at a good water. whilst travelling, of course no water for washing could be afforded, as every pint was of some service to the horses. this rock-hole is in lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes. on may nd we continued our journey, marching south over irregular sandhills, forcing our way through scrubs, until, on the evening of the rd, we were in the latitude of the centre of lake amadeus, as it was formerly marked by giles. i was anxious to see if tietkens had perhaps passed between two lakes, leaving an unnoticed lake on his left. we now altered our course to the west, sighting a large bare hill some forty miles distant, which i take to be mount skene (giles). this hill is close to the high ranges, the petermann and others, and it would have simplified our journey to have turned to them, where good waters are known to exist, but i desired to see what secrets unknown country might hold, even though it might be only sandhills. this proved to be the case, and during the next six days we crossed the most barren wilderness it had been our lot to see, not a bite of food for camels or horses, who, poor brutes, turned in despair to the spinifex and munched its prickly spines--not a living thing, no sign of life, except on two occasions. the first when, at the beginning of the stage, we captured a young gin, whom i soon released for several reasons, not the least important of which, was that warri was inclined to fall a victim to her charms, for she was by no means ill-looking. the second living thing we saw was a snake, which we killed; how it came to inhabit so dry a region i cannot say. now that our course was westerly, we had expected to run between the ridges, but no such luck attended us. true, we marched between the sand-ridges, but every now and again a ridge of rock running exactly across our course had to be negotiated. yet further, and sandhills thrown up in any irregular order impeded us, then loose sand; everywhere spinifex, without even its accustomed top-growth, drought, and desolation! native tracks were very scarce, even old ones; some of these we followed, only to find dry rock-holes and wells at the end of them. we were all walking again now, ploughing our way through the sand, men and camels alike exhausted, and the poor ponies bringing up the rear, the tail-end of a miserable caravan. and they, following behind, were a useless burden; we could not ride them, and yet for their sakes our supply of water became less and less; we denied ourselves beef (which meant at least a bucketful of water to boil out the salt) to keep them alive; poor faithful things, none but curs could desert them while life to move was left in their bodies. on the night of the th, for our own safety, i could allow them no water, for so great had been the drain that our tanks had but a few gallons left. the next was a day of disappointments. all day we followed the same two tracks, from rock-hole to rock-hole--all were dry as the sandstone in which nature had placed them. we could see where the blacks had scraped out the sand at the bottom--if they could not find water, what chance had we? but every step took us closer--that is the great consolation in such cases. first, have perfect faith that water will eventually be found, then each forward move becomes easy, for you know that you are so much nearer relief. every dry hole gives a greater chance that the next will be full. near one hole we came on a ceremonial or dancing ground--that is, a cleared space in the mulga scrub, circular in shape, with a cleanly swept floor, trodden down by many feet. in the centre stood a sort of altar of branches and twigs. it was evident that the blacks had danced round and round this, though for what purpose i cannot say. as the sun set our faith was rewarded; before us in an outcrop surrounded by mulga lay two fine rock-holes with an ample supply. what a blessed relief! in a few minutes the horses were gorged, and hard at work on the rough grass near the holes. hardy horses, indeed! eight days from drink to drink (not counting what we gave them), and hardly a scrap of feed. we took a two days' rest for the sake of the grass, and varied our daily fare of salt beef with small, tufted pigeons, which came in large numbers to drink. we shot nearly one hundred of them, and ate boiled pigeon three times a day with the voracity of black-fellows. nor was devil-devil forgotten in the feast; he had become an expert rider, and had a far better time than poor val. the curious fact of some rock-holes being full, whilst others a few miles off are empty, again exemplifies the very local character of such rain as visits these parts. the "deep rock-holes," as we called them (in lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes), are peculiar, for one is perfectly cylindrical, two feet six inches in diameter going down vertically to a depth of twenty feet; the other goes down straight for six feet, and then shelves away under the rock to a depth of at least twelve feet. it will be seen from our last few days' experience, and from that of the few days soon to follow, that in this region rock-holes are numerous. they are invariably situated on low surface outcrops of 'desert sandstone, surrounded by mulga and grass; beyond that, sand. i take it that they have been formed in the same way as the granite rock-holes in the south of the colony--that is, by decay; that the whole country has been covered by a deposit of sand, borne by the winds, filling in former valleys and hollows, leaving only occasional patches of rock still visible. their frequent occurrence would then be accounted for by the fact that the deposit of sand is shallower here than elsewhere. that it is so is pretty evident, for here the sand-ridges are much lower than further north, and still further south they disappear. low cliffs are seen, and when the latitude of forrest's route is reached, sandstone hills are numerous and rock-holes abundant. in the course of ages perhaps the sand will again be shifted until such reservoirs as the "deep rock-holes" are filled in and hidden, or partially covered and converted by the natives into wells. supposing a layer of sand to a depth of five or six feet could be thrown over the valley in which the deep rock-holes are situated, the holes would at once be transformed into "native wells," the term "well" being a misnomer, and apt to suggest a copious supply to any unacquainted with the interior. i suppose that to the uninitiated no map is so misleading as that of west australia, where lakes are salt-bogs without surface water, springs seldom run, and native "wells" are merely tiny holes in the rock, yielding from to gallons! from our position at the rock-holes, by skirting, possibly without sighting, the end of the rawlinson range and steering nearly due south-west, we should hit off woodhouse lagoon of our upgoing journey. for simplicity in steering i chose a due south-west course, which should take us a few miles to the east of the lagoon, two hundred miles distant in a bee-line. i was anxious to see what water it held, and check my work by re-crossing our track of the previous year; and besides this, the lagoon lay on our most direct course for the nearest settlements, still miles away on the chart. whilst resting at the rock-holes i took the opportunity of giving bluey a lesson in manners, much to the entertainment of my companions. bluey was a brute of a camel, and used to give an immensity of trouble in the mornings, galloping off at full speed when he should have quietly waited to have his nose-line adjusted. added to this, he would kick and strike with his fore-legs, so much so that none of us cared about catching him. one morning whilst breaden was after the horses, i was helping warri collect the camels, and tried my hand with bluey. at the moment that i was putting the loop of his line on to the nose-peg, he reared up and struck me on the chest, his hobble-chain adding power to the blow, which sent me spinning on to my back. for this and other assaults i meant to punish him, so shortening his hobbles until his fore-legs were fastened with no more than an inch or two between, i armed myself with a stout stick. as i had expected, as soon as i started to put on his nose-line, off he went as hard as he could, jumping like a kangaroo, and i after him beating him the while. round and round we went, the pace getting slower and slower, until, amidst shrieks of laughter and shouts of "the leader wins!" "bluey wins!" "stick to it!" and so forth, from want of breath we came to a stop, and gazed at each other, unable to go further. it was a tough run, and, like a schoolmaster caning a small boy, i felt inclined to say, "remember, my dear bluey, it pains me as much as it does you." the lesson had a most salutary effect, and never again did he gallop away when being caught in the morning, though he was not a well-behaved beast, and always the first to give in in the sandhills, even though carrying the lightest load. his good looks, however, were so much in his favour that subsequently a wily afghan paid me a big price for him (comparatively), and winked to some fellow-countrymen as if he had got the best of "eengleeshman." if he was satisfied, i am sure that i was. chapter vii the last of the ridges of drift sand on june st we left the rock-holes on a south-west course, crossing irregular sandhills with the usual vegetation. on june nd we crossed the last sand-ridge of the great northern desert, and before us spread the rolling gravel-covered undulations of sand, treeless except for an occasional beefwood or small clump of mulga, rolling away before us like a swelling ocean. what a blessed relief it was after the awful toil of crossing heaven knows how many sand-ridges day after day! taking into account the country north of lat. degrees minutes only--for though we had a long spell of sand-ridges between the edge of the desert and woodhouse lagoon, and again between that point and lake wells, yet these were comparatively low and less steep than those further north, and therefore their extent is not included in this reckoning--we traversed miles on the upgoing journey, and miles on the return journey--that is, miles of actual travelling over a desert of sand blown by the wind into parallel ridges of the height and frequency already described. it will be readily understood, therefore, that we were not sorry to see the last of them! working our way step by step, we had so husbanded the marvellous powers of endurance of our camels that, in spite of the most terrible privations and difficulties, these noble animals had silently carried their loads day by day, up and down, over the burning sand, maddened by flies, their legs worn bare by spinifex--carried them not without great sufferings and narrow escapes from death, but yet without one of their number succumbing to the horrors of the region. accident and poison had carried off four. and now, alas! another was to meet the same fate. poor satan, my faithful companion in good times and bad, whose soft velvet nose had so often rubbed my cheek in friendship, was laid low by the deadly wallflower. in spite of all we could do for him, in spite of coaxing him yard by yard, warri and i--as we had done to misery before--for a day's march of over fifteen miles, we were forced to leave him to die. we could not afford to wait a day, always onward must it be until another water is found, so, with a bullet through his head, i left him to find his way to the happy hunting-grounds where there are no native wells nor spinifex, only flowing rivers and groves of quondongs! all this about a camel--"a devil and an ostrich and an orphan child in one," as we have been told--but remember that often in the solitary bush one's animals are one's only companions, that on them one's life depends. how, then, could one fail to love them as friends and comrades? shortly after the scene of satan's death the mulga clumps became greater in extent, until for half the day, and more, we wound our way through dense thickets. the further south we went the thicker they became, until all day long we marched through scrub, seeing no more than forty yards ahead, with packs, saddles, and clothes torn to pieces by dead and broken branches. we saw no smokes, no spinifex rats, no natives, no tracks but old ones, and these led us only to dry rock-holes. time after time we followed recent tracks from hole to hole, and met with no success; sometimes we were just in time to be too late, and to see that the last drops had been scraped up by the natives! on june th we followed a fresh track, and found a hole containing thirty gallons. june th and th, dense scrub. june th, open country, lake country, gum tree flats, and magnificent green feed, the first we had seen since leaving sturt creek. on our right high sandhills, whose butt-ends in the distance had the appearance of a range of hills; on our left thickets of mulga, and beyond, a sandstone range. kangaroo tracks were numerous, but none very fresh; these and the number of birds gave us hopes of water. we must find some soon, or not one horse could survive. poor ponies! they were as thin as rakes, famished and hollow-eyed, their ribs standing out like a skeleton's, a hat would almost hang on their hip-joints--a sorry spectacle! all day we searched in vain, the animals benefiting at least by the green herbage. ours was a dismal camp now at nights. what little water we could spare to the horses was but as a drop in the ocean. all night long they shuffled about the camp, poking their noses into every pack, overturning dishes and buckets, and, finding nothing, stood with sinking heads as if in despair. our water-casks had to be guarded, for in their extremity the horses could smell the water, and even went so far as to pull out the wooden bung, with their teeth! warden, the small pony, was a special offender in this respect. it is quite startling to wake suddenly in the night and find a gaunt, ghost-like horse standing over one, slowly shaking his head from side to side, mournfully clanging his bell as if tolling for his own death. then at other times one heard the three bells sounding further and further off. this meant a hasty putting on of boots and wakening a mate to stir up the fire and make it blaze; then, following the sound through the darkness, one came up with the deserters, shuffling along in single file, with heads to the ground, turning neither to right or left, just travelling straight away in any direction as fast as their hobbles allowed. heaven knows how far they might go in a night unless stopped in time and dragged back to camp. indeed blankets do not mean sleep, with dry horses in the camp! on the th the monk, our best horse, fell, and was dead in a minute--run down like a clock. the other two followed slowly behind. presently. a salt-lake [this i named lake breaden], enclosed by sandhills, barred our way--a cheerful sight indeed! hung up in its treacherous bogs, with nearly empty tanks, dying horses and tired camels, what chance had we? speculation of this kind must not be indulged in; time enough to cry out when the troubles come. providence was with us as guide, and across the lake we dodged from sand-spit to sand-spit until we had beaten it, and not one animal was bogged. the night of the th our supply was down to three gallons. none could be spared for the horses now, none could be spared for beef-boiling, only a little for bread, and a drop each to drink. every rock-hole we had seen--but one--was dry. alexander spring would be dry. we should have to make for the empress spring, fifty miles beyond. every thing pointed to the probability of this sequence of events, therefore the greatest care must be exercised. the horses would die within a few miles, but the camels were still staunch in spite of the weakening effect of the sand-ridges, so there was no need for anxiety. yet we could not help feeling anxious; one's nerves get shaky from constant wear and tear, from want of food and rest. we had been in infinitely worse positions than this; in fact, with health and strength and fresh camels no thought of danger would have been entertained, but it is a very different matter after months of constant strain on body and mind. faith--that is the great thing, to possess--faith that all is for the best, and that all will "pan out" right in the end. the days were closing in now, the nights were cold, so we were away before sunrise, and, leaving the rolling sand, came again into mulga thickets, with here and there a grassy flat, timbered with bloodwoods--the tail end of a creek no doubt rising in the sandstone cliffs we had seen ahead of us. shortly after one o'clock a sight, that brought more joy to us than to any robinson crusoe, met our eyes--a track, a fresh footprint of a gin. whether to follow it forward or back? that was the question. on this might hang more than the lives of the horses. in nine cases out of ten it is safer to follow them forward--this was the tenth! "which way?" said godfrey, who was steering. "back," said i, for what reason i cannot say. so back we followed the lady to see where she had camped, twisting and turning, now losing her tracks, and, casting, finding them again, until we were ready to stamp with impatience and shout d--n the woman! why couldn't she walk straight? two hours brought us our reward, when an opening in the scrub disclosed a deep-banked creek, fringed with white-stemmed gums, and, beyond, a fire and natives camped. they all ran, nor did we care, for water must be there. glorious sight! a small and green-scummed puddle, nestling beneath the bank, enclosed by a bar of rock and the bed of shingle. before many minutes we had the shovels at work, and, clearing away the shingle and sand, found a plentiful supply. all had ended well, and just in time to save the horses. considering the want of feed, and the hardships they had already suffered, they had done a remarkable stage. a stage of eleven days (from the evening of may st to the evening of june th)--a distance of miles on the map, and a good many more allowing for deviations, during which they had but little water. we had brought them through safely, but at the cost of how much trouble to ourselves may be judged from previous pages and the following figures. we left the deep rock-holes with exactly gallons of water; decrease by breaking through the scrub must have been considerable, as we had nearly thirty gallons of this amount in canvas bags. added to this must be the gallons we got from the small rock-hole--that is, gallons in all. of this supply the horses had gallons each the first night, gallons each subsequently until the day the monk died and their ration was stopped. from , we take (the horses' share). this leaves gallons for four men and a dog (which drinks as much as a man) for eleven days; this supply was used for washing (an item hardly appreciable), bread-making, drinking, and beef-boiling, the last the most ruinous item; for dry-salted beef is very salt indeed, and unless boiled thoroughly (it should be boiled in two waters) makes one fearfully thirsty. what would otherwise have been an easy task was made difficult and uncomfortable by the presence of the horses, but we were well rewarded by the satisfaction of seeing them alive at the finish. chapter viii woodhouse lagoon revisited june th, th, th, we rested at the welcome creek and had time to examine our surroundings. i made the position of our camp to be in lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes, and marked a gum tree near it with c . therefore i concluded that this was the blythe creek, of forrest; everything pointed to my conclusion being correct, excepting the failure to find forrest's marked tree, and to locate his sutherland range. however, the bark might have grown over the marking on the tree--and several trees showed places where bark had been cut out by the natives for coolimans, and subsequently closed again--or the tree might have been burned, or blown down. as to the second, i am convinced that forrest mistook the butt-ends of the sand-ridges cut off by lake breaden for a range of hills, for he only saw them from a distance. the creek heads in a broken sandstone range of tabletops and cliffs; from its head i sighted a peculiar peak, about nine miles distant, which i took to be forrest's "remarkable peak," marked on his map. from the sketch that i made, sir john recognised the peak at once. from the cliffs the sandhills round lake breaden look exactly like a range of hills "covered," as forrest said, "with spinifex." another proof of the non-existence of, at all events, the northern portion of the sutherland range, is afforded by breaden's experience. as i have already stated, he accompanied mr. carr-boyd on a prospecting trip along this part of forrest's route. from his diary i see that they passed about three miles north of forrest's peak, which breaden identified, though by mr. carr-boyd's reckoning they should have been twenty miles from it. travelling due west across the creek on which we were camped, they found a large clay-pan, and were then hourly expecting to cross the sutherland range. however, no range was seen, only high sandhills. that breaden's reckoning was correct was soon proved, for he and i walked from our camp and six miles west found the big clay-pan and their camel tracks. the lagoon was dry, though they had found it full of water. it is clear, therefore, that the range exists only as sandhills, north of lat. degrees minutes. numerous other creeks rise in the broken range, and no doubt their waters, after rain, find their way into lake breaden. our camp was on the longest of them, though others that i followed down were broader. above our camp, that is to the south-east, a ledge of rock crossed the creek forming a deep little pool which would hold plenty of water. i much regretted being unable to find forrest's tree--but a tree unless close to some landmark is not easily come upon--as at its foot he buried a bottle holding letters and his position for that camp. we saw no more of the natives who had been camped on the creek, but left some articles that should be of great use to them. everything of weight that was not absolutely necessary was left here, and this included a number of horseshoes. on, the th we were ready to start, and marched on a west-south-west course until we should sight mount worsnop, and turn west to the woodhouse lagoon. a mile and a half from our camp we crossed another creek, and on its banks a tree marked g.h.s., and narroo cut in the bark. evidently the prospectors had been pushing out in our absence, or else it was another overland party from south australia, for forrest's route has become quite a fashionable track, some half-dozen parties having crossed the colony in this latitude. on the next day we sighted mount worsnop from eight miles (from the east it is more prominent than from the south). this was a day of miracles! it rained--actually rained! the first rain we had seen in the interior--not a hard rain, but an all-day drizzle. how cold it made us, and how wet!--not that we minded that. but the winter was approaching, we were daily getting further south, and with our blood thin and poor, our clothes of the lightest and most ragged, accustomed to scorching heat, we felt the cold rain very much indeed. our teeth chattered, and our hands were so numbed that at night we could hardly undo the straps and ropes of our loads. a cold night, accompanied by a heavy dew, followed the rain; and for the first time on either journey we pitched a tent. during this, devil-devil, wet and shivering, sneaked into my blankets for warmth, for, as a rule, he slept outside, in a little nest i made for him in one of the camel saddles. such sudden changes in temperature made any "barcoo" sores most painful; but fortunately we had suffered comparatively little from this unpleasant disease. a beautiful sun dried and warmed us in the morning, and crossing a narrow salt-lake (probably a continuation of lake breaden), we reached our old friend woodhouse lagoon on june th, nearly a year having elapsed since our first visit, august th, in . we were disappointed, but not surprised, to find the lagoon nearly dry, holding no more than six inches of water in the deepest place. but curiously enough alexander spring, found dry before, was now brimful, evidently filled by the recent rain, which had not been heavy enough to fill the lagoon. here we camped for two days, which we could ill afford, as already we had to cut down our rations, and before long our meals would dwindle to one instead of two a day. godfrey's sickness necessitated a delay--he suffered from such fearful pains in his head, poor fellow! often after a day's march he would collapse, and lie prone with his head nearly bursting from pain. a drink of strong tea would relieve him, but when water was scarce he had just to suffer. i had a splendid chance of replenishing our larder, and, fool that i was, i missed it. i was riding the warden to the spring, when a kangaroo popped up on his hind legs, and sat looking at me. the warden would not keep still; the surprised kangaroo actually waited for me to dismount and aim my rifle, but just as i fired the warden jerked my arm and i missed, and away bounded many a good meal--and with it the pony! so i continued my way on foot, and was rewarded by finding some interesting things. a big camp of natives had been here in our absence; near the spring in the scrub was a cleared corroboree ground, twenty feet by fifty yards, cleaned of all stones and enclosed by a fallen brush-fence (this older than the other work, showing this is a favourite meeting-place). at one end was a sort of altar of bushes, and hidden beneath them a long, carved board. this i took, and afterwards gave to sir john forrest. in every tree surrounding the clearing a stone was lodged in the forked branches. the pile of stones on mount allott had not been touched, nor had my board been removed. on it i found an addition to my directions to the lagoon--an addition made by two prospectors, swincer and haden, who had been in this locality two months after our first visit. i did not meet either mr. swincer or mr. haden, but i heard that my board had been of great service to them, for without it they would not have known of the lagoon, where they camped some time. g.h.s. carved on a tree near the blythe creek was also due to them; i believe that was about their furthest point reached, from which they returned to lake darlot. on their return they depended on a water which failed them, and they had in consequence a narrow squeak for their lives. on nearing camp i met breaden and warri, who had started to track me up, for warden's return with an empty saddle had caused a little anxiety. i observed for latitude that night, and was pleased to find that my two positions for the lagoon agreed almost exactly, both in latitude and longitude--a very satisfactory result considering the distance we had travelled. on the th we started again, steering a course a little south of west, my intention being to round the north end of lake wells, and cut the bonython creek, with the object of seeing if another oasis, on our suggested stock route from south australia, could be found. it need hardly be said that any idea of a stock route from hall's creek is absolutely impracticable. between woodhouse lagoon and lake wells the country consists of low sand-ridges, on which grows an abundance of acacia bushes and others suitable for camels, alternating with open spinifex plains, mulga scrubs in which good grass grows, and nearer the lagoon one or two small grass plains. all through cliffs and bluffs are met with, from which small creeks ending in a grassy avenue run; and, as lake wells is approached, table-topped hills and low ranges occur, and occasional flats of salt-bush country. we had no longer any difficulty with regard to water, the rain having left frequent puddles where any rocky or clayey ground was crossed. in the sand no water could be seen; indeed we had a sharp shower one morning, water was running down the slopes of sand, but half an hour afterwards no sign of it could be seen on the surface. on the rd we sighted, and steered for, a very prominent headland in a gap in a long range of cliffs. sandhills abut right on to them, and dense scrub surrounds their foot. the headland, which i named point robert, after my brother, is of sandstone, and stands squarely and steep-cliffed above a stony slope of what resembles nothing so much as a huge heap of broken crockery. we camped at the head of a little gorge that night, having found a rocky pool; the rain cleared off, out came the stars, and a sharp frost followed, the first of the year. the character of the country was extraordinarily patchy; after crossing ridges of sand, and then an open, stony plain, on the th we camped on a little flat of salt-bush and grass. our position was lat. degrees minutes, long. degrees minutes, and seven miles to the north-west a flat-topped hill, at the end of a range, stood out noticeably above the horizon of scrub; this i named mount lancelot, after another brother. the next day it rained again, making the ground soft and slippery. in the evening, to our surprise and disgust, further passage that day was cut off by a salt swamp. not wishing to get fixed in a lake during rain, we camped early, pitched our tent and hoped for the rain to stop--an unholy wish in this country, but salt-lakes are bad enough without rain! the next two days were spent in trying to find a crossing, for we found ourselves confronted by a series of swamps, samphire flats, and lake channels running away to the north as far as could be seen by field-glasses--a chain of lakes, hemmed in by sandhills, an unmarked arm of lake wells. if we could not cross here we might have to go seventy miles out of our way, round the south of lake wells, and then back to the bonython. chapter ix across lake wells to lake darlot four attempted crossings ended in the hopeless bogging of horses and camels, entailing the carrying of loads and saddles. at last we could not get them to face the task at all; and small wonder, for floundering about in soft, sticky mud is at least unpleasant! i am pretty confident that we could have managed to get the camels through somehow, but the horses were far too weak to struggle. poor old highlander sank to his belly, struggled for a minute just long enough to get further engulfed, and then threw up the sponge and lay panting until we came to his rescue. we had a job to get him to the shore, and only succeeded by digging out two legs on one side, putting a rope round them, then the same on the other, and by violent efforts dragged him on to his side. then, one at his head and the rest on his legs, we turned him over and over until we came on firmer ground, when we put the ropes on his legs again and by main force hauled him on his flank to the margin of the lake, where he lay half dead. the others fared but little better; it was evident that a crossing could not be effected except at the cost of the horses. from a sandhill near our camp numerous hills could be seen, the more prominent of which i named. to the west-north-west a table-top hill (mount courtenay, after my brother-in-law) standing in front of a prominent tableland; to the northward mount lancelot; to the east-south-east a line of cliffs standing above stony rises, at the southern end a bluff point (point katharine, after my sister); and eight miles to the south-south-west, two flat-topped hills, close together--these i named mount dora and mount elisabeth after two of my sisters. little did i think that i was never to see again the dear face of one of them! as a last hope, i and breaden went across the lake to these hills to look for a break in the swamps. from mount elisabeth an extensive view can be obtained, but no signs of the lake coming to an end. from mount elisabeth, which, by the way, is of quartzite, i took the following bearings: mount courtenay degrees, mount lancelot degrees, point katharine, degrees. to the west numerous broken tablelands can be seen, and the same to the south. clearly there was no chance of crossing this lake or rounding it on the north, for the white streak of salt could be seen for miles and miles in that direction. there was nothing to be done but to skirt the edge of the lake, and if connected with lake wells to skirt that too, until a crossing could be found. so we loaded up and steered east and then south-east to round the swamps. due west of point katharine, four miles distant, we found a large freshwater lagoon surrounded by stony banks and ridges. it contained only a few inches of water, but is capable of holding it to a depth of six feet. beyond it is a stony cotton-bush flat, and on it numerous white clay-holes of water, almost hidden by the herbage. water-hens were so numerous that we could not pass by so good an opportunity, and camped early in consequence, spending the rest of the day in shooting these birds. the rest was a good thing for breaden, too, who had been hurt by kruger as he struggled in the salt-bog. the next morning we struck south, and by night found the lake again in our way. from a high bank of rocks and stones we could see the arm that had first blocked us, running round the foot of the hills and joining a larger lake which spread before us to the south. across it some high, broken tablelands could be seen. there was no doubt from our position that this was lake wells, but i had expected to find a tableland (the van treuer of wells) fringing the northern shore. however, the van treuer does not run nearly so far east as wells supposed when he sighted it from the south. no crossing could be effected yet, so the next day we continued along the margin of the lake, along a narrow strip of salt-bush country hemmed in between the lake and sandhills. on july nd we found the narrow place where wells had crossed in ; the tracks of his camels were still visible in the soft ground. the crossing being narrow, and the bog shallow--no more than a few inches above a hard bed of rock--we had no trouble whatever. we now followed the same course as wells had done, passing lyell-brown bluff--from which mount elisabeth bears degrees--and parson's bluff, eventually striking the bonython creek. this, as described by wells, is a flat, shallow, and, in places, but ill-defined watercourse. in it are one or two good deep pools, of which one is probably permanent. fringing the banks is a narrow strip of salt-bush and grass; beyond that mulga and coarse grass. this narrow belt of good country continues down to the lake, and as we saw it just after the rain looked fresh and green. there is no extent, but sufficient to form a good resting-place for travelling stock. some cattle-tracks of recent date were visible, a small wild herd of stragglers probably from the gascoyne. turkeys were seen in fair numbers, but they were the shyest birds i have ever come across--so much so that we never got a shot. the late rain had left so many pools and puddles that we had no chance of waiting for them at their watering-place. one of the wild cattle beasts, amongst which must be a bull, for we saw tracks of quite young calves, would have been very acceptable, for our meat had come to an end. in consequence we wasted no time in further examining the bonython, but made tracks for lake darlot. the days were getting so short now that, in order to accomplish a good stage, we had to rise long before daylight and collect the camels and horses, following their tracks by means of a fire-stick. in this way we were enabled to get a start at sunrise, having breakfasted--in imagination! several parties of prospectors have been to lake wells, and at first we followed a regular pad; however, it did not seem to be going very direct, so we left it. between lake wells and lake darlot--a distance of about miles--the country consists of open mulga thickets with a coarse undergrowth of grass, alternating with spinifex desert and sand. occasional low cliffs and ridges occur, and nearer lake darlot numerous ranges, from which the erlistoun creek takes its rise. amongst these hills we saw the first auriferous country since leaving the vicinity of hall's creek, and in the erlistoun the first permanent water (probably) since leaving the sturt creek, a distance of about miles. a narrow belt of grass and salt-bush fringes the erlistoun, and in the winter looks healthy and succulent; however, a few months soon alters that, and in the summer all is parched and yellow. how pleasant it was to see such country, after the dreary desert! tracks and roads were now numerous as we approached civilisation. the same lake lay between us and the settlement that had caused conley, egan, and myself so much trouble in former days. choosing the same narrow channel where i had formerly crossed, we managed very fairly well. most of the camels bogged, but some did not, nor did the horses, and our loads now consisted of little else but the saddles, and were therefore no great weight to carry. the weather was lovely now, bright warm days and frosty nights; unfortunately this tends to sharpen the appetite, which we had small means of satisfying. for the last ten days we had had nothing but damper, and not much of that, on which we spread tinned milk which had previously been discarded as unfit for use, being dark brown instead of white, and almost solid. nevertheless it was better than nothing; a ten hours' march, begun on an empty stomach, and finished on a slice of bread, cannot be indulged in for many days before it leaves its mark. we were not sorry, therefore, to reach lake darlot township on july th, and, choosing a nice spot, made camp. this day we saw the first white face since april th, and our journey was practically over. the excellent feed growing all over the flats near lake darlot gave us a good opportunity of recruiting our animals' strength. for nearly a month we moved slowly about between lake darlot and lawlers prospecting in a desultory sort of way. our departure from the former place was deeply regretted--by the butcher, whose trade had increased by leaps and bounds during our stay. "i never see'd coves as could stack mutton like you chaps," he said, in satisfied wonder; "why, a whole blooming sheep don't seem to last you a day; can't ye stop until i get some bullocks up the track?" certainly that was the best fresh mutton i have ever tasted, and no doubt we did do our duty by it. by degrees the camels fattened and fattened, until the combination of flesh and the hard muscles their work had formed, made it difficult to believe how great the trials were they had been through. the horses were also getting less like skeletons, though they take far longer than camels to regain their strength; as a rule, if they have been through great hardships they never do regain it and are, practically, useless afterwards. stoddy, whose back had been bad, was also recovering--this the only sore back amongst them after so many miles of country well calculated to knock both packs and backs to pieces. chapter x the end of the expedition by easy stages and frequent halts we eventually reached coolgardie, after an absence of thirteen months. of these, ten and a half months were occupied in travelling, during which we traversed a little over three thousand miles. of this, miles was traversed by roads and tracks, whilst the remainder was through country beyond the limits of any settlements. sources of water supply. found on upgoing and return journeys between the limits of settlement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- holding nearly quite water. dry. dry. springs helena, empress, and alexander. (forrest). creeks * including christmas, janet, mary, margaret, and sturt in kimberley; blyth,+ bonython,+ erlistoun. clay-pans rocky pools in gorges ** rock-holes of these were completely drained, and left with water. native wells of these were completely drained, and left with water. * numerous small dry watercourses were seen. ** numerous dry pools in rocky gorges were seen. + the only two in the desert area. table showing character and extent of country traversed. -------------------------------------------------------- upgoing return total in journey. journey. miles. -------------------------- from edge of desert to woodhouse lagoon mixed country including from woodhouse lagoon low sandhills, spinifex to edge of desert plain. desert gum flats from end of sturt creek with occasional scrubs to gordon hills and patches of grass ---- from woodhouse lagoon undulating desert of to family well spinifex, stones, and from deep rock-holes gravel, with occasional to woodhouse lagoon scrubs. ---- from family well to mount bannerman sand-ridges. desert of from gordon hills sand blown into to deep rock-holes parallel ridges running ---- on an average course of east and west, varying in height from - feet. from cutmore's well to edge of desert. country other than from mount bannerman desert, including open to hall's creek scrubs with grass, open from hall's creek grass plains, belts of to end of sturt creek grass fringing river from edge of desert banks, small oases, to lake darlot and hilly country. oases (helena spring, woodhouse lagoon, lake wells, &c.) ---- ----- , * by roads and tracks. ----- , ** ----- * of which , were through country unmapped except where routes of previous explorers were crossed. ** total mileage in round numbers, taking into account all deviations. from the above table it will be seen that the greater part of the interior of the colony seen by us is absolutely useless to man or beast. it is possible that between the lake darlot goldfield and the th parallel of latitude isolated areas of auriferous country may be found, though nothing that we saw proves this to be likely; and i base my opinion only on the facts that quartz and ironstone are known to occur in the vicinity of lake augusta and the warburton range. it is also possible (and this i have already discussed) that a travelling route for stock may be formed from south australia along the th parallel as far as mounts allott and worsnop, and thence via lake wells and the bonython creek. to the erlistoun creek and lake darlot. failing either the finding of gold, or the formation of a stock route from oasis to oasis, i can see no use whatever to which this part of the interior can be put. north of the th parallel the country is absolutely useless until the confines of the kimberley district (about lat. degrees) are reached. that a stock route through the desert is quite impracticable we have clearly demonstrated. even supposing that there was any water supply, there is no feed; nothing but spinifex grows in more than wee patches at very long intervals. as any one who has followed me through this book can see, our water supply was most precarious, depending as we did upon rock-holes and native wells (which at any time may be found dry), and these yielded an only just sufficient quantity to keep no more than nine camels from dying for want of a drink--every well that we found, with the exception of one or two, was drained and left empty. indeed on our two journeys there are only two watering-places on which i should care to depend, viz., the empress spring and helena spring. throughout our journey we never once found water by chance--though chance took us to more than one dry hole--but found it only by systematic and patient work, involving many scores of miles of tracking, the capture of the wild aboriginals, and endless hours of manual labour. without having resorted to these expedients i have no hesitation in saying that neither we nor the camels would be living today, for though without having done so, other parties have crossed as great an extent of arid country, it must be remembered that our journey was accomplished through infinitely worse country, and with a party exactly half as large as the smallest of the previous expeditions across the interior. where, with a large number of camels, it would be possible to carry a great quantity of water and do long stages, using the water for camels as well as men, with a small number such tactics as going straight ahead, and trusting to luck, could only end in disaster. it has been my fate, in all my exploration work, to find none but useless country, though when merely prospecting on the goldfields i have been more fortunate. so far, therefore, as being of benefit to mankind, my work has had no better result than to demonstrate to others, that part of the interior that may best be avoided. no mountain ranges, no rivers, no lakes, no pastoral lands, nor mineral districts has it brought to light; where the country was previously unknown it has proved only its nakedness; nevertheless i do not regret one penny of the cost or one minute of the troubles and labours entailed by it. nor, i am confident, do my companions repine because they wasted so many months of their lives in such a howling wilderness. may good fortune attend them wherever they go; for they were brave and true men, and to them i once more express my feelings of thanks and gratitude for their untiring energy and help through all our journeyings. i verily believe that so large an extent of country, good or bad, has never been travelled through by a more cheerful party, or by one, the members of which were more in accord; and to the unanimity, and ready co-operation that prevailed throughout the camp, the successful issue of the expedition must in a large degree be ascribed. before leaving coolgardie i had to perform the melancholy task of selling off my camels and all belongings. i have seldom felt anything so deeply as the breaking up of our little band, and the sale of my faithful animals. however, it was a matter of necessity, for much as i wished to pension off my favourites i was not in a position to do so, and eventually made my exit from the colony in much the same state as that in which i arrived. before leaving for home i spent some time in perth, where the surveyor-general, mr. johnston, did all in his power to assist me in the preparation of plans and maps. these, together with all information i had gathered, i placed at the disposal of the government, for which they were pleased to express many thanks. at a gathering in the perth town hall, at which i was present on the day of my departure, sir john forrest, the premier, proposed the toast of the guest and said many kind things, to which i replied: ". . . i regret that i am only able to give such a bad report of the far interior of this colony; but even so, and even though it has not been our fortune to discover any country useful either to the pastoralist or miner, yet i hope we have done good service in proving the nature of a large tract of country previously unknown. our late journey will, i think, give an answer to the oft-repeated question, "does the gold-belt extend in a direct line from coolgardie to kimberley?" and the answer is in the negative. at least we have demonstrated the uselessness of any persons wasting their time and money in farther investigation of that desolate region. such an expedition might be undertaken for pleasure, but this i should not recommend, for few countries present such difficulties of travel or such monotony of scenery or occupation. although i am leaving this country, probably for good, i would not wish it to be thought that i have no faith in it, for the late developments and marvellous returns from the goldfields should convert the most sceptical. nor have the other sources of wealth to the colony failed to impress their importance on me. . . every one is glad to return to his home, and i am no exception; but however happy i am at the prospect of again seeing my native land, yet i cannot say goodbye to the numerous friends i have been fortunate in making in this colony without sincere feelings of regret. every day the old country, which we are all proud to call home, and the new are learning to understand each other better, and the bond of friendship between them is ever strengthening. if i have been able to promote these feelings in however small a degree, and have been able to show that the home-born is still able, and willing, to take his share in the pioneer work of this continent of australia, as his fathers were before him, then i have not worked in vain." appendix the foregoing pages would, i fear, give the reader a very bad impression of the colony of west australia, until it was fully understood that my experiences relate solely to the interior and to that part of the interior the borders of which can only be reached by a journey of some four hundred miles by train from the coast--that part of the colony, in fact, which lies to the east of longitude degrees. now west australia is so large that, despite the desert nature of so much of it, there still remain many thousand square miles of country suitable for settlement and rich in mineral wealth. the settled portions show a picture the reverse of that i have been compelled to exhibit in the course of my travels. the colony altogether covers no less an area than , square miles, a little over eight times the area of great britain and ireland. it occupies the whole of the continent west of the he th east meridian. in a party of soldiers and convicts formed the first settlement at king george's sound. three years later a settlement was established on the banks of the swan river. from this modest beginning the progress of the settlement, which at first was slow in the extreme, came with a rush on the discovery of gold. the population of the colony now exceeds , souls, and there can be no doubt that this population will be substantially added to annually, when the advantages which the country possesses, over and beyond its auriferous districts, come to be more generally known and recognised. the progress of prosperity and civilisation undoubtedly runs parallel with railway progress, and since the government of the colony became autonomous that progress has been rapid. seven years ago the total mileage was . there is now, as i write, a total length of , miles, , of which have been constructed during the past six years. of these , miles, belong to the state and the balance to a private company, whose line runs from perth, along the coast northward, to the port of geraldton. but though lines have been laid from perth to coolgardie, kalgoorlie, and cue, settlers are breaking ground farther afield, and further extensions both in the direction of the agricultural districts and of the goldfields are contemplated. the state railways, which may be looked upon as completely efficient, have paid, according to a statement in the west australia year-book, a dividend of / per cent. although i have elsewhere described the primitive nature of the postal arrangements on the goldfields, it must be borne in mind that this relates to early days; now, the number of letters passing through the offices reaches , , ; of newspapers, , , ; while parcels to the extent of , , , and over a quarter of a million of postcards, and , , telegrams were dispatched in one year, although the postal department all over the colony is shockingly managed. there are no less than , miles of telegraph line open. the rapid increase displayed in these figures is the outcome, undoubtedly, of the gold discovery. the first official record of gold production was in , when the yield for the six months ending that year was oz., valued at , pounds. the yield for was over , oz., representing rather more than / millions sterling. owing to the "sporadic and pockety" nature of the finds it was at first supposed that gold would only be found in superficial deposits. this supposition has now been completely upset by the result of sinking operations at kalgoorlie and elsewhere. the richness of the western australian goldfields is established beyond the possibility of a doubt, and though over-capitalisation and want of proper management have had their customary ill-effects upon the industry, yet the undoubted and immense value of the auriferous yield should make the ultimate prosperity of the colony a matter of certainty. but the colony does not rely alone upon its gold for prosperity. it has other and substantial sources of revenue in lead, copper, tin, coal, and timber, to say nothing of the excellence of the agricultural outlook. the mineral district of northampton, connected with the port of geraldton by railway, is rich in lead and copper. tin has been found in great quantity at greenbushes in the south-west. thirty years ago these districts were worked for their ores, but a great scarcity of labour, combined with a sudden fall in the prices of the metals, led to the abandonment of the mines. since, however, the discovery of telluride ores at kalgoorlie the abandoned lead and copper mines have recovered their old value, and many mining leases have quite recently been taken out in the northampton district for the purpose of working them, and after the preliminary work of emptying the old shafts of the water which has accumulated, has been accomplished, there is every probability that smelting operations will yield a handsome profit. coal has been found on the collie river district and, tested by the government, has been proved to be of good quality and to exist in seams varying from two to four feet in thickness. the government, by way of trial, raised , tons of coal at a cost of about shillings per ton. the field is open to private enterprise, and as the land may be leased on the lowest possible terms there seems to be a good opening for the capitalist. in considering other sources of revenue in the colony i should be inclined to put that of the timber industry at the head, and this the more so that steps have been taken by the west australian government for the proper conservation, systematic working, and efficient replanting of the forest-lands. hitherto in young colonies the disafforesting of districts has been for agricultural and other purposes recklessly proceeded with. warned by example, the west australian government have taken steps for the preservation and utilisation of their valuable forest-lands. in mr. j. ednie-brown was engaged by the bureau of agriculture to make a tour of inspection in the colony. this gentleman having had experience as conservator of forests both in south australia and new south wales, was eminently fitted for his position as conservator in west australia. having made his tour in he issued his report. it is to this report i am indebted for the information contained in this brief notice. the principal commercial forests lie in the south-western districts of the colony. mr. ednie-brown gives a list of thirty-five varieties of indigenous forest-trees, but as only a certain number of them are known to be of real commercial value, i shall confine my remarks to the better known and more widely used species. these are: jarrah (eucalyptus marginata), karri (eucalyptus diversicolor), tuart (eucalyptus gomphocephala). sandalwood (santalum cygnorum). in addition to these are many important but secondary forest-trees, as the wattle (acacia saligna), raspberry jam (acacia acuminata), badjong (acacia microbotrya), peppermint tree (agonis fleenosa), banksias of all sorts--the sheoaks (casuarina fraseriana, glauca and decaisneana), the red gum (eucalyptus calophylla), wandoo (eucalyptus redunea), mallee (eucalyptus oleosa). there are many other trees of some value, but the foregoing represent the chief. the total area of the principal forest regions of western australia covers no less than , , acres, made up of:-- jarrah , , acres. karri , , tuart , wandoo , , york gum, yate sandalwood, and jam , , ---------- , , jarrah is, without doubt, the principal forest-tree of western australia. this tree is dark grey in colour, with the bark strongly marked in deeply indented furrows. it grows on an average to a height of to feet, with stems feet to feet in diameter, running to feet to the first branch. there are, of course, very many larger individual specimens. the wood is red in colour, polishes well and works easily, and weighs when seasoned about lbs. to the cubic foot. it is extensively used for wood-paving, piles, jetties, bridges, boat-building, furniture, and railway sleepers. it makes splendid charcoal, and when cut at the proper season exhibits remarkable durability both in the ground as fence-posts and in water. karri is the giant tree of west australia. it is extremely graceful in appearance, with a yellowish-white smooth bark, which flakes off each year like that of our planes. the trees grow to a height of feet, with a diameter of feet at a height of or feet from the ground, and the first branch generally occurs at a height of to feet from the base. this tree does not occur in such numbers as the jarrah, its field of growth being limited. its timber resembles that of the jarrah, but cannot be wrought so easily, though for purposes of street-paving it is superior. it is this wood which is so extensively used in london. it is also of value for bridge planking, shafts, spokes, felloes, waggon work, and beams. tuart is also comparatively limited in extent. it attains to a height of to feet, having a diameter of to feet at the base and about feet to the first branch. its timber is extraordinarily hard and tough and difficult to split. it is of great value as bridge supports, dock gates, stern posts, engine supports, &c., and it is also extensively used in the making of railway wagons and wheelwright's work generally. sandalwood, which is more of a bush than a tree, runs small as a rule. it is fairly distributed over the colony. formerly there was a greater trade in sandalwood than now; but the overstocked chinese markets being sold out, the west australia trade is rapidly reviving. raspberry jam is a handsomely shaped rounded acacia, and gets its name from the scent of its wood, which is exactly that of the raspberry. an oil is extracted from the wood, which is highly perfumed. the wood is impervious to the attacks of the white ant. in addition to these the red gum, the wandoo, and york gum are timber trees of value. the total output of the saw-mills for was , loads, representing a gross value of , pounds. it will thus be seen that the forests of the colony form no inconsiderable portion of its wealth, and afford employment to large numbers of workers both in the forests themselves and in the saw-mills and wharves. the culture of the vine and various fruits is carried on in the south-western districts to a great extent--the soil, the climate, and the elevation all tending to give the best results. the chief fruits grown are apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, apricots, quinces, oranges, and lemons. viticulture forms a marked industry, though as yet largely undeveloped. there are , acres under cultivation, and this area is rapidly increasing. the slopes of the coastal ranges are admirably adapted for the culture of the vine, and the chief varieties grown are those most suitable for wine-making and for the table. chasselas doradillo, white rice, black alicante, and muscat of alexandria are largely cultivated. there is, i conjecture, a good field open for the capitalist in the direction of the wine manufacture. pastoral and agricultural pursuits are carried on with success in many districts; agriculture is chiefly confined to the south-west corner of the colony. cattle, sheep, and horses are raised all along the coast-line from albany to the de grey, and in the far north, the kimberley district. the nor'-west, however, labours under the disadvantage of drought on the one hand and floods on the other. there are several regulations governing land tenure, and when the emigrant has made a selection of the land suitable for his purpose (and in this he should exercise great care), he can get his land either as a free grant, or on lease, or by conditional purchase. on these points emigrants will be fully informed at the office of the agent-general (sir malcolm fraser, k.c.m.g.), victoria street, westminster, s.w. there is no doubt that the soil of the s.w. district is fertile to a degree, and capable of supporting a large pastoral and agricultural population; and, as prices rule high, doubtless an emigrant suitable for either pursuit would find good remuneration for his capital and labour. in addition to the foregoing industries, there is another of almost equal importance--that of the pearl and pearl-oyster fishery. reports have been issued by piscicultural experts, proving the suitability of the coasts for the culture of the fish, and the matter has "come into official consideration"; and it is to be hoped that government will take steps to foster this lucrative pursuit, the centres of which are at shark's bay, about two hundred miles north of geraldton, and at broome, yet further north. in , twenty-one tons of mother-o'-pearl were exported at a net profit of about pounds per ton. however, there is every reason to suppose that, properly and scientifically nurtured, pearl fishing should prove well worthy of attention. though i have come to the conclusion that, unless spinifex and sand can be conjured into valuable marketable products, the far interior of the colony is worthless for any purpose, yet i have also shown that beyond the borders of the desert nature smiles her brightest; and, given population, west australia may well vie in wealth and usefulness with any of her sister colonies. transcriber's note: italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=. obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been corrected. illustration: _photo: stirling, melbourne._ on the warpath in australia, - . _the wanderings of a spiritualist_ by sir arthur conan doyle author of "the new revelation," "the vital message," etc. "aggressive fighting for the right is the noblest sport the world affords." _theodore roosevelt._ hodder and stoughton limited london _by sir arthur conan doyle_ the new revelation ninth edition. cloth, /. net.. paper, / net. "this book is sir arthur conan doyle's confession of faith, very frank, very courageous and very resolute ... the courage and large-mindedness of this book deserve cordial recognition."--daily chronicle. "it is a book that demands our respect and commands our interest.... much more likely to influence the opinion of the general public than 'raymond' or the long reports of the society for psychical research."--daily news. the vital message tenth thousand. cloth, /. "sir arthur conan doyle's 'the new revelation' was his confession of faith. 'the vital message' seeks to show our future relations with the unseen world."--daily chronicle. "... it is a clear, earnest presentation of the case, and will serve as a useful introduction to the subject to anyone anxious to learn what the new spiritualists claim for their researches and their faith.... sir arthur writes with evident sincerity, and, within the limits of his system, with much broad-mindedness and toleration."--daily telegraph. "a splendid propaganda book, written in the author's telling and racy style, and one that will add to his prestige and renown."--two worlds. spiritualism and rationalism with a drastic examination of mr. joseph m'cabe sir arthur conan doyle's trenchant reply to the criticisms of spiritualism as formulated by mr. joseph m'cabe. paper, /. net. _hodder & stoughton, ltd., london, e.c. _ contents page chapter i the inception of the enterprise.--the merthyr séance.--experience of british lectures.--call from australia.--the holborn luncheon.--remarkable testimony to communication.--is individual proof necessary?--excursion to exeter.--can spiritualists continue to be christians?--their views on atonement.--the party on the "naldera." chapter ii gibraltar.--spanish right versus british might.--relics of barbary rovers, and of german militarists.--ichabod!--senegal infantry.--no peace for the world.--religion on a liner.--differences of vibration.--the bishop of kwang-si.--religion in china.--whisky in excelsis.--france's masterpiece.--british errors.--a procession of giants.--the invasion of egypt.--tropical weather.--the russian horror.--an indian experiment.--aden.--bombay.--the lambeth encyclical. a great novelist.--the mango trick.--snakes.--the catamarans.--the robber castles of ceylon.--doctrine of reincarnation.--whales and whalers.--perth.--the bight. chapter iii mr. hughes' letter of welcome.--challenges.--mr. carlyle smythe.--the adelaide press.--the great drought.--the wine industry.--clairvoyance.--meeting with bellchambers.--the first lecture.--the effect.--the religious lecture.--the illustrated lecture.--premonitions.--the spot light.--mr. thomas' account of the incident.--correspondence.--adelaide doctors.--a day in the bush,--the mallee fowl.--sussex in australia.--farewell to adelaide. chapter iv speculations on paul and his master.--arrival at melbourne.--attack in the argus.--partial press boycott.--strength of the movement.--the prince of wales.--victorian football. rescue circle in melbourne.--burke and wills' statue.--success of the lectures.--reception at the auditorium.--luncheon of the british empire league.--mr. ryan's experience.--the federal government.--mr. hughes' personality.--the mediumship of charles bailey.--his alleged exposure.--his remarkable record.--a test sitting.--the indian nest.--a remarkable lecture.--arrival of lord forster.--the future of the empire.--kindness of australians.--prohibition. --horse-racing.--roman catholic policy. chapter v more english than the english.--a day in the bush.--immigration.--a case of spirit return.--a séance.--geelong.--the lava plain.--good-nature of general ryrie.--bendigo.--down a gold mine.--prohibition v. continuance.--mrs. knight maclellan. --nerrin.--a wild drive.--electric shearing.--rich sheep stations. --cockatoo farmers.--spinnifex and mallee.--rabbits.--the great marsh. chapter vi the melbourne cup.--psychic healing.--m. j. bloomfield.--my own experience.--direct healing.--chaos and ritual.--government house ball.--the rescue circle again.--sitting with mrs. harris.--a good test case.--australian botany.--the land of myrtles.--english cricket team.--great final meeting in melbourne. chapter vii great reception at sydney.--importance of sydney.--journalistic luncheon.--a psychic epidemic.--gregory.--barracking.--town hall reception.--regulation of spiritualism.--an ether apport.--surfing at manly.--a challenge.--bigoted opponents.--a disgruntled photographer.--outing in the harbour.--dr. mildred creed.--leon gellert.--norman lindsay.--bishop leadbeater.--our relations with theosophy.--incongruities of h.p.b.--of d.d. home. chapter viii dangerous fog.--the six photographers.--comic advertisements.--beauties of auckland.--a christian clergyman.--shadows in our american relations.--the gallipoli stone.--stevenson and the germans.--position of de rougemont.--mr. clement wragge.--atlantean theories.--a strange psychic.--wellington the windy.--a literary oasis.--a maori séance.--presentation. chapter ix the anglican colony.--psychic dangers.--the learned dog.--absurd newspaper controversy.--a backward community.--the maori tongue.--their origin.--their treatment by the empire.--a fiasco.--the pa of kaiopoi.--dr. thacker.--sir joseph kinsey.--a generous collector.--scott and amundsen.--dunedin.--a genuine medium.--evidence.--the shipping strike.--sir oliver.--farewell. chapter x christian origins.--mithraism.--astronomy.--exercising boats.--bad news from home.--futile strikes.--labour party.--the blue wilderness.--journey to brisbane.--warm reception.--friends and foes.--psychic experience of dr. doyle.--birds.--criticism on melbourne--spiritualist church.--ceremony.--sir matthew nathan.--alleged repudiation of queensland.--billy tea.--the bee farm.--domestic service in australia.--hon. john fihilly.--curious photograph by the state photographer.--the "orsova." chapter xi medlow bath.--jenolan caves.--giant skeleton.--mrs. foster turner's mediumship.--a wonderful prophecy.--final results.--third sitting with bailey.--failure of state control.--retrospection.--melbourne presentation.--crooks.--lecture at perth.--west australia.--rabbits, sparrows and sharks. chapter xii pleasing letters.--visit to candy.--snake and flying fox.--buddha's shrine.--the malaya.--naval digression.--indian trader. --elephanta.--sea snakes.--chained to a tombstone.--berlin's escape. --lord chetwynd.--lecture in the red sea.--marseilles. chapter xiii the institut metaphysique.--lecture in french.--wonderful musical improviser.--camille flammarion.--test of materialised hand.--last ditch of materialism.--sitting with mrs. bisson's medium, eva.--round the aisne battlefields.--a tragic intermezzo. --anglo-french rugby match.--madame blifaud's clairvoyance. list of illustrations on the war-path in australia, - _frontispiece_ _facing page_ how this book was written the god-speed luncheon in london. on this occasion out of guests rose as testimony that they were in personal touch with their dead the wanderers, - bellchambers and the mallee fowl. "get along with you, do" melbourne, november, a typical australian back-country scene by h. j. johnstone, a great painter who died unknown. painting in adelaide national gallery at melbourne town hall, november th, the people of turi's canoe, after a voyage of great hardship, at last sight the shores of new zealand. from a painting by c. f. goldie and l. g. a. steele laying foundation stone of spiritualist church at brisbane curious photographic effect referred to in text. taken by the official photographer, brisbane. "absolutely mystifying" is his description our party _en route_ to the jenolan caves, january th, . in front of old court house in which bushrangers were tried denis with a black snake at medlow bath to my wife. this memorial of a journey which her help and presence changed from a duty to a pleasure. a. c. d. _july / ._ illustration: how this book was written. chapter i the inception of the enterprise.--the merthyr séance.--experience of british lectures.--call from australia.--the holborn luncheon.--remarkable testimony to communication.--is individual proof necessary?--excursion to exeter.--can spiritualists continue to be christians?--their views on atonement.--the party on the "naldera." this is an account of the wanderings of a spiritualist, geographical and speculative. should the reader have no interest in psychic things--if indeed any human being can be so foolish as not to be interested in his own nature and fate,--then this is the place to put the book down. it were better also to end the matter now if you have no patience with a go-as-you-please style of narrative, which founds itself upon the conviction that thought may be as interesting as action, and which is bound by its very nature to be intensely personal. i write a record of what absorbs my mind which may be very different from that which appeals to yours. but if you are content to come with me upon these terms then let us start with my apologies in advance for the pages which may bore you, and with my hopes that some may compensate you by pleasure or by profit. i write these lines with a pad upon my knee, heaving upon the long roll of the indian ocean, running large and grey under a grey streaked sky, with the rain-swept hills of ceylon, just one shade greyer, lining the eastern skyline. so under many difficulties it will be carried on, which may explain if it does not excuse any slurring of a style, which is at its best but plain english. there was one memorable night when i walked forth with my head throbbing and my whole frame quivering from the villa of mr. southey at merthyr. behind me the brazen glare of dowlais iron-works lit up the sky, and in front twinkled the many lights of the welsh town. for two hours my wife and i had sat within listening to the whispering voices of the dead, voices which are so full of earnest life, and of desperate endeavours to pierce the barrier of our dull senses. they had quivered and wavered around us, giving us pet names, sweet sacred things, the intimate talk of the olden time. graceful lights, signs of spirit power had hovered over us in the darkness. it was a different and a wonderful world. now with those voices still haunting our memories we had slipped out into the material world--a world of glaring iron works and of twinkling cottage windows. as i looked down on it all i grasped my wife's hand in the darkness and i cried aloud, "my god, if they only knew--if they could only know!" perhaps in that cry, wrung from my very soul, lay the inception of my voyage to the other side of the world. the wish to serve was strong upon us both. god had given us wonderful signs, and they were surely not for ourselves alone. i had already done the little i might. from the moment that i had understood the overwhelming importance of this subject, and realised how utterly it must change and chasten the whole thought of the world when it is whole-heartedly accepted, i felt it good to work in the matter and understood that all other work which i had ever done, or could ever do, was as nothing compared to this. therefore from the time that i had finished the history of the great war on which i was engaged, i was ready to turn all my remaining energies of voice or hand to the one great end. at first i had little of my own to narrate, and my task was simply to expound the spiritual philosophy as worked out by the thoughts and experiences of others, showing folk so far as i was able, that the superficial and ignorant view taken of it in the ordinary newspapers did not touch the heart of the matter. my own experiences were limited and inconclusive, so that it was the evidence of others which i quoted. but as i went forward signs were given in profusion to me also, such signs as were far above all error or deception, so that i was able to speak with that more vibrant note which comes not from belief or faith, but from personal experience and knowledge. i had found that the wonderful literature of spiritualism did not reach the people, and that the press was so full of would-be jocosities and shallow difficulties that the public were utterly misled. only one way was left, which was to speak to the people face to face. this was the task upon which i set forth, and it had led me to nearly every considerable city of great britain from aberdeen to torquay. everywhere i found interest, though it varied from the heavier spirit of the sleepy cathedral towns to the brisk reality of centres of life and work like glasgow or wolverhampton. many a time my halls were packed, and there were as many outside as inside the building. i have no eloquence and make profession of none, but i am audible and i say no more than i mean and can prove, so that my audiences felt that it was indeed truth so far as i could see it, which i conveyed. their earnestness and receptiveness were my great help and reward in my venture. those who had no knowledge of what my views were assembled often outside my halls, waving banners and distributing tracts, but never once in the course of addressing , people, did i have disturbance in my hall. i tried, while never flinching from truth, to put my views in such a way as to hurt no one's feelings, and although i have had clergymen of many denominations as my chairmen, i have had thanks from them and no remonstrance. my enemies used to follow and address meetings, as they had every right to do, in the same towns. it is curious that the most persistent of these enemies were jesuits on the one side and evangelical sects of the plymouth brethren type upon the other. i suppose the literal interpretation of the old testament was the common bond. however this is digression, and when the digressions are taken out of this book there will not be much left. i get back to the fact that the overwhelming effect of the merthyr séance and of others like it, made my wife and myself feel that when we had done what we could in britain we must go forth to further fields. then came the direct invitation from spiritual bodies in australia. i had spent some never-to-be-forgotten days with australian troops at the very crisis of the war. my heart was much with them. if my message could indeed bring consolation to bruised hearts and to bewildered minds--and i had boxes full of letters to show that it did--then to whom should i carry it rather than to those who had fought so splendidly and lost so heavily in the common cause? i was a little weary also after three years of incessant controversy, speaking often five times a week, and continually endeavouring to uphold the cause in the press. the long voyage presented attractions, even if there was hard work at the end of it. there were difficulties in the way. three children, boys of eleven and nine, with a girl of seven, all devotedly attached to their home and their parents, could not easily be left behind. if they came a maid was also necessary. the pressure upon me of correspondence and interviews would be so great that my old friend and secretary, major wood, would be also needed. seven of us in all therefore, and a cheque of sixteen hundred pounds drawn for our return tickets, apart from outfit, before a penny could be entered on the credit side. however, mr. carlyle smythe, the best agent in australia, had taken the matter up, and i felt that we were in good hands. the lectures would be numerous, controversies severe, the weather at its hottest, and my own age over sixty. but there are compensating forces, and i was constantly aware of their presence. i may count our adventures as actually beginning from the luncheon which was given us in farewell a week or so before our sailing by the spiritualists of england. harry engholm, most unselfish of men, and a born organiser among our most unorganised crowd, had the matter in hand, so it was bound to be a success. there was sitting room at the holborn restaurant for people, and it was all taken up three weeks before the event. the secretary said that he could have filled the albert hall. it was an impressive example of the solidity of the movement showing itself for the moment round us, but really round the cause. there were peers, doctors, clergymen, officers of both services, and, above all, those splendid lower middle class folk, if one talks in our material earth terms, who are the spiritual peers of the nation. many professional mediums were there also, and i was honoured by their presence, for as i said in my remarks, i consider that in these days of doubt and sorrow, a genuine professional medium is the most useful member of the whole community. alas! how few they are! four photographic mediums do i know in all britain, with about twelve physical phenomena mediums and as many really reliable clairvoyants. what are these among so many? but there are many amateur mediums of various degrees, and the number tends to increase. perhaps there will at last be an angel to every church as in the days of john. i see dimly the time when two congregations, the living and those who have passed on, shall move forward together with the medium angel as the bridge between them. it was a wonderful gathering, and i only wish i could think that my own remarks rose to the height of the occasion. however, i did my best and spoke from my heart. i told how the australian visit had arisen, and i claimed that the message that i would carry was the most important that the mind of man could conceive, implying as it did the practical abolition of death, and the reinforcement of our present religious views by the actual experience of those who have made the change from the natural to the spiritual bodies. speaking of our own experiences, i mentioned that my wife and i had actually spoken face to face beyond all question or doubt with eleven friends or relatives who had passed over, their direct voices being in each case audible, and their conversation characteristic and evidential--in some cases marvellously so. then with a sudden impulse i called upon those in the audience who were prepared to swear that they had had a similar experience to stand up and testify. it seemed for a moment as if the whole audience were on their feet. _the times_ next day said out of and i am prepared to accept that estimate. men and women, of all professions and social ranks--i do not think that i exaggerated when i said that it was the most remarkable demonstration that i had ever seen and that nothing like it had ever occurred in the city of london. it was vain for those journals who tried to minimise it to urge that in a baptist or a unitarian assembly all would have stood up to testify to their own faith. no doubt they would, but this was not a case of faith, it was a case of bearing witness to fact. there were people of all creeds, church, dissent, unitarian and ex-materialists. they were testifying to an actual objective experience as they might have testified to having seen the lions in trafalgar square. if such a public agreement of evidence does not establish a fact then it is indeed impossible, as professor challis remarked long ago, to prove a thing by any human testimony whatever. i confess that i was amazed. when i remember how many years it was before i myself got any final personal proofs i should have thought that the vast majority of spiritualists were going rather upon the evidence of others than upon their own. and yet out of had actually joined hands across the border. i had no idea that the direct proof was so widely spread. i have always held that people insist too much upon direct proof. what direct proof have we of most of the great facts of science? we simply take the word of those who have examined. how many of us have, for example, seen the rings of saturn? we are assured that they are there, and we accept the assurance. strong telescopes are rare, and so we do not all expect to see the rings with our own eyes. in the same way strong mediums are rare, and we cannot all expect to experience the higher psychic results. but if the assurance of those who have carefully experimented, of the barretts, the hares, the crookes, the wallaces, the lodges and the lombrosos, is not enough, then it is manifest that we are dealing with this matter on different terms to those which we apply to all the other affairs of science. it would of course be different if there were a school of patient investigators who had gone equally deeply into the matter and come to opposite conclusions. then we should certainly have to find the path of truth by individual effort. but such a school does not exist. only the ignorant and inexperienced are in total opposition, and the humblest witness who has really sought the evidence has more weight than they. illustration: the god-speed luncheon in london. on this occasion out of guests rose as testimony that they were in personal touch with their dead. after the luncheon my wife made the final preparations--and only ladies can tell what it means to fit out six people with tropical and semi-tropical outfits which will enable them for eight months to stand inspection in public. i employed the time by running down to devonshire to give addresses at exeter and torquay, with admirable audiences at both. good evan powell had come down to give me a last séance, and i had the joy of a few last words with my arisen son, who blessed me on my mission and assured me that i would indeed bring solace to bruised hearts. the words he uttered were a quotation from my london speech at which powell had not been present, nor had the verbatim account of it appeared anywhere at that time. it was one more sign of how closely our words and actions are noted from the other side. powell was tired, having given a sitting the night before, so the proceedings were short, a few floating lights, my son and my sister's son to me, one or two greetings to other sitters, and it was over. whilst in exeter i had a discussion with those who would break away from christianity. they are a strong body within the movement, and how can christians be surprised at it when they remember that for seventy years they have had nothing but contempt and abuse for the true light-bearers of the world? is there at the present moment one single bishop, or one head of a free church, who has the first idea of psychic truth? dr. parker had, in his day, so too archdeacons wilberforce and colley, mr. haweis and a few others. general booth has also testified to spiritual communion with the dead. but what have spiritualists had in the main save misrepresentation and persecution? hence the movement has admittedly, so far as it is an organised religion--and it has already churches and , building funds--taken a purely unitarian turn. this involves no disrespect towards him whom they look upon as the greatest spirit who ever trod the earth, but only a deep desire to communicate direct without intermediary with that tremendous centre of force from and to whom all things radiate or return. they are very earnest and good men, these organised religious spiritualists, and for the most part, so far as my experience goes, are converts from materialism who, having in their materialistic days said very properly that they would believe nothing which could not be proved to them, are ready now with thomas to be absolutely wholehearted when the proof of survival and spirit communion has actually reached them. there, however, the proof ends, nor will they go further than the proof extends, as otherwise their original principles would be gone. therefore they are unitarians with a breadth of vision which includes christ, krishna, buddha and all the other great spirits whom god has sent to direct different lines of spiritual evolution which correspond to the different needs of the various races of mankind. our information from the beyond is that this evolution is continued beyond the grave, and very far on until all details being gradually merged, they become one as children of god. with a deep reverence for christ it is undeniable that the organised spiritualist does not accept vicarious atonement nor original sin, and believes that a man reaps as he sows with no one but himself to pull out the weeds. it seems to me the more virile and manly doctrine, and as to the texts which seem to say otherwise, we cannot deny that the new testament has been doctored again and again in order to square the record of the scriptures with the practice of the church. professor nestle, in the preface to a work on theology (i write far from books of reference), remarks that there were actually officials named "correctores," who were appointed at the time of the council of nicæa for this purpose, and st. jerome, when he constructed the vulgate, complains to pope damasus that it is practically a new book that he is making, putting any sin arising upon the pope's head. in the face of such facts we can only accept the spirit of the new testament fortified with common sense, and using such interpretation as brings most spiritual strength to each of us. personally, i accept the view of the organised spiritual religion, for it removes difficulties which formerly stood between me and the whole christian system, but i would not say or do anything which would abash those others who are getting real spiritual help from any sort of christian belief. the gaining of spirituality and widening of the personality are the aims of life, and how it is done is the business of the individual. every creed has produced its saints and has to that extent justified its existence. i like the unitarian position of the main spiritual body, however, because it links the movement up with the other great creeds of the world and makes it more accessible to the jew, the mohammedan or the buddhist. it is far too big to be confined within the palings of christianity. here is a little bit of authentic teaching from the other side which bears upon the question. i take it from the remarkable record of mr. miller of belfast, whose dialogues with his son after the death of the latter seem to me to be as certainly true as any case which has come to my notice. on asking the young soldier some question about the exact position of christ in religion he modestly protested that such a subject was above his head, and asked leave to bring his higher guide to answer the question. using a fresh voice and in a new and more weighty manner the medium then said:-- "i wish to answer your question. jesus the christ is the proper designation. jesus was perfect humanity. christ was the god idea in him. jesus, on account of his purity, manifested in the highest degree the psychic powers which resulted in his miracles. jesus never preached the blood of the lamb. the disciples after his ascension forgot the message in admiration of the man. the christ is in every human being, and so are the psychic forces which were used by jesus. if the same attention were given to spiritual development which you give to the comfort and growth of your material bodies your progress in spiritual life would be rapid and would be characterised by the same works as were performed by jesus. the one essential thing for all on earth to strive after is a fuller knowledge and growth in spiritual living." i think that the phrase, "in their admiration of the man they forgot his message," is as pregnant a one as i ever heard. to come back then to the discussion at exeter, what i said then and feel now is that every spiritualist is free to find his own path, and that as a matter of fact his typical path is a unitarian one, but that this in no way obscures the fact that our greatest leaders, lodge, barrett, ellis powell, tweedale, are devoted sons of the church, that our literature is full of christian aspiration, and that our greatest prophet, vale owen, is a priest of a particularly sacerdotal turn of mind. we are in a transition stage, and have not yet found any common theological position, or any common position at all, save that the dead carry on, that they do not change, that they can under proper physical conditions communicate with us, and that there are many physical signs by which they make their presence known to us. that is our common ground, and all beyond that is matter of individual observation and inference. therefore, we are not in a position to take on any anti-christian agitation, for it would be against the conscience of the greater part of our own people. well, it is clear that if i do not begin my book i shall finish it before i have begun, so let me end this chapter by saying that in despite of all superstition we started for australia in the good ship "naldera" (capt. lewellin, r.n.r.), on friday, august th, . as we carried two bishops in addition to our ominous dates we were foredoomed by every nautical tradition. our party were my dear, splendid wife, who has shared both my evidence and my convictions. she it is who, by breaking up her household, leaving her beloved home, breaking the schooling of her children, and venturing out upon a sea voyage, which of all things she hates, has made the real sacrifice for the cause. as to me, i am fond of change and adventure, and heartily agree with president roosevelt when he said that the grandest sport upon earth is to champion an unpopular cause which you know to be true. with us were denis, malcolm and baby, concerning whom i wrote the "three of them" sketches some years ago. in their train was jakeman, most faithful of maids, and in mine major wood, who has been mixed up in my life ever since as young men we played both cricket and football in the same team. such was the little party who set forth to try and blow that smouldering glow of truth which already existed in australia, into a more lively flame. chapter ii gibraltar.--spanish right versus british might.--relics of barbary rovers, and of german militarists.--ichabod! senegal infantry.--no peace for the world.--religion on a liner.--differences of vibration.--the bishop of kwang-si.--religion in china.--whisky in excelsis.--france's masterpiece.--british errors.--a procession of giants.--the invasion of egypt.--tropical weather.--the russian horror.--an indian experiment.--aden.--bombay.--the lambeth encyclical.--a great novelist.--the mango trick.--snakes.--the catamarans.--the robber castles of ceylon.--doctrine of reincarnation.--whales and whalers.--perth.--the bight. we had a favourable journey across the bay and came without adventure to gibraltar, that strange crag, arabic by name, african in type, spanish by right, and british by might. i trust that my whole record has shown me to be a loyal son of the empire, and i recognise that we must have a secure line of communications with the east, but if any change could give us ceuta, on the opposite african coast, instead of this outlying corner of proud old spain, it would be good policy as well as good morality to make the change. i wonder how we should like it if the french held a garrison at mount st. michael in cornwall, which would be a very similar situation. is it worth having a latent enemy who at any time might become an active one, or is it wiser to hold them to us by the memory of a great voluntary act of justice? they would pay, of course, for all quays, breakwaters and improvements, which would give us the money to turn ceuta into a worthy substitute, which could be held without offending the pride of a great nation, as old and proud as ourselves. the whole lesson of this great war is that no nation can do what is unjust with impunity, and that sooner or later one's sin will find one out. how successful seemed all the scheming of frederick of prussia! but what of silesia and of poland now? only on justice can you build with a permanent foundation, and there is no justice in our tenure of gibraltar. we had only an hour ashore, a great joy to the children, and carried away a vague impression of grey-shirted tommies, swarthy loungers, one long, cobblestoned street, scarlet blossoms, and a fine governor's house, in which i picture that brave old warrior, smith-dorrien, writing a book which will set all the critics talking, and the military clubs buzzing a year or two from now. i do not know if he was really forced to fight at le cateau, though our sympathies must always go to the man who fights, but i do feel that if he had had his way and straightened the salient of ypres, there would have been a mighty saving of blood and tears. there were sentimental reasons against it, but i can think of no material ones--certainly none which were worth all the casualties of the salient. i had only one look at the place, and that by night, but never shall i forget the murderous loop, outlined by star shells, nor the horrible noises which rose up from that place of wrath and misery. on august th we were running up the eastern spanish coast, a most desolate country of high bare cliffs and barren uplands, studded with aged towers which told of pirate raids of old. these mediterranean shore dwellers must have had a hellish life, when the barbary rover was afloat, and they might be wakened any night by the moslem yell. truly, if the object of human life was chastening by suffering, then we have given it to each other in full measure. if this were the only life i do not know how the hypothesis of the goodness of god could be sustained, since our history has been one hardly broken record of recurring miseries, war, famine, and disease, from the ice to the equator. i should still be a materialist, as i was of yore, if it were not for the comfort and teaching from beyond, which tells me that this is the worst--far the worst--and that by its standard everything else becomes most gloriously better, so long as we help to make it so. "if the boys knew what it was like over here," said a dead soldier, "they would just jump for it." he added however, "if they did that they would surely miss it." we cannot bluff providence, or short-circuit things to our liking. we got ashore once more at marseilles. i saw converted german merchant ships, with names like "burgomeister müller," in the harbour, and railway trucks with "mainz-cöln" still marked upon their flanks--part of the captured loot. germany, that name of terror, how short is the time since we watched you well-nigh all-powerful, mighty on land, dangerous on the sea, conquering the world with your commerce and threatening it with your arms! you had everything, numbers, discipline, knowledge, industry, bravery, organisation, all in the highest--such an engine as the world has never seen. and now--ichabod! ichabod! your warships lie under the waves, your liners fly the flags of your enemies, your mother rhine on either bank hears the bugles of your invaders. what was wanting in you to bring you to such a pass? was it not spirituality? had not your churches become as much a department of state as the post office, where every priest and pastor was in state pay, and said that which the state ordained? all other life was at its highest, but spiritual life was dead, and because it was dead all the rest had taken on evil activities which could only lead to dissolution and corruption. had germany obeyed the moral law would she not now be great and flourishing, instead of the ruin which we see? was ever such an object lesson in sin and its consequence placed before the world? but let us look to it, for we also have our lesson to learn, and our punishment is surely waiting if we do not learn it. if now after such years we sink back into old ruts and do not make an earnest effort for real religion and real active morality, then we cumber the ground, and it is time that we were swept away, for no greater chance of reform can ever come to us. i saw some of the senegal troops in the streets of marseilles--a whole battalion of them marching down for re-embarkation. they are fierce, hard soldiers, by the look of them, for the negro is a natural fighter, as the prize ring shows, and these have long service training upon the top of this racial pugnacity. they look pure savages, with the tribal cuts still upon their faces, and i do not wonder that the germans objected to them, though we cannot doubt that the germans would themselves have used their askaris in europe as well as in africa if they could have done so. the men who had as allies the murderers of the armenians would not stick at trifles. i said during the war, and i can clearly see now, that the way in which the war was fought will prove hardly second to the war itself as a misfortune to the human race. a clean war could end in a clean peace. but how can we ever forget the poison gas, the zeppelin bombardments of helpless cities, the submarine murders, the scattering of disease germs, and all the other atrocities of germany? no water of oblivion can ever wash her clean. she had one chance, and only one. it was to at once admit it all herself and to set to work purging her national guilt by punishing guilty individuals. perhaps she may even now save herself and clear the moral atmosphere of the world by doing this. but time passes and the signs are against it. there can be no real peace in the world until voluntary reparation has been made. forced reparation can only make things worse, for it cannot satisfy us, and it must embitter them. i long for real peace, and should love to see our spiritualist bodies lead the van. but the time is not yet and it is realities we need, not phrases. old travellers say that they never remember the mediterranean so hot. we went down it with a following breeze which just neutralised our own head wind, the result being a quivering tropical heat. with the red sea before us it was no joke to start our trials so soon, and already the children began to wilt. however, major wood kept them at work for the forenoons and discipline still flourished. on the third day out we were south of crete, and saw an island lying there which is surely the same in the lee of which paul's galley took refuge when euroclydon was behaving so badly. i had been asked to address the first-class passengers upon psychic religion that evening, and it was strange indeed to speak in those waters, for i knew well that however ill my little pip-squeak might compare with that mighty voice, yet it was still the same battle of the unseen against the material, raging now as it did , years ago. some of the passengers, with the bishop of kwang-si, turned up, and a better audience one could not wish, though the acoustic properties of the saloon were abominable. however, i got it across, though i was as wet as if i had fallen overboard when i had finished. i was pleased to learn afterwards that among the most keen of my audience were every colored man and woman on the ship, parsees, hindoos, japanese and mohammedans. "do you believe it is true?" they were asked next day. "we _know_ that it is true," was the answer, and it came from a lady with a red caste-mark like a wafer upon her forehead. so far as i could learn she spoke for all the eastern folk. and the others? at least i set them talking and thinking. i heard next morning of a queue of six waiting at the barber's all deep in theological discussion, with the barber himself, razor in hand, joining warmly in. "there has never been so much religion talked on a p. & o. ship since the line was started," said one old traveller. it was all good-humoured and could do no harm. before we had reached port said all my books on the subject were lent out to eager readers, and i was being led aside into remote corners and cross-questioned all day. i have a number of good psychic photographs with me, some of them of my own taking, and all of them guaranteed, and i find these valuable as making folk realise that my words do in truth represent realities. i have the famous fairy photos also, which will appear in england in the christmas number of the _strand_. i feel as if it were a delay-action mine which i had left behind me. i can imagine the cry of "fake!" which will arise. but they will stand investigation. it has of course nothing to do with spiritualism proper, but everything which can shake the mind out of narrow, material grooves, and make it realise that endless worlds surround us, separated only by difference of vibration, must work in the general direction of truth. "difference of vibration"--i have been trying lately to get behind mere words and to realise more clearly what this may mean. it is a fascinating and fruitful line of thought. it begins with my electric fan whizzing over my head. as it starts with slow vibration i see the little propellers. soon they become a dim mist, and finally i can see them no more. but they are there. at any moment, by slowing the movement, i can bring them back to my vision. why do i not see it all the time? because the impression is so fast that my retina has not time to register it. can we not imagine then that some objects may emit the usual light waves, long enough and slow enough to leave a picture, but that other objects may send waves which are short and steep, and therefore make so swift an impression that it is not recorded? that, so far as i can follow it, is what we mean by an object with a higher rate of vibration. it is but a feeling out into the dark, but it is a hypothesis which may serve us to carry on with, though the clairvoyant seems to be not a person with a better developed physical retina, but rather one who has the power to use that which corresponds with the retina in their own etheric bodies which are in harmony with etheric waves from outside. when a man can walk round a room and examine the pictures with the back of his head, as tom tyrrell has done, it is clear that it is not his physical retina which is working. in countless cases inquirers into magnetic phenomena have caused their subjects to read with various parts of their bodies. it is the other body, the etheric body, the "spiritual" body of paul, which lies behind all such phenomena--that body which is loose with all of us in sleep, but only exceptionally in waking hours. once we fully understand the existence of that deathless etheric body, merged in our own but occasionally detachable, we have mastered many a problem and solved many a ghost story. however, i must get back to my cretan lecture. the bishop was interested, and i lent him one of the rev. charles tweedale's pamphlets next day, which shows how sadly christianity has wandered away from its early faith of spiritual gifts and communion of saints. both have now become words instead of things, save among our ranks. the bishop is a good fellow, red and rough like a boer farmer, but healthy, breezy, and apostolic. "do mention his kind grey eyes," says my wife. he may die a martyr yet in that inland diocese of china--and he would not shrink from it. meanwhile, apart from his dogma, which must be desperately difficult to explain to an educated chinaman, he must always be a centre of civilisation and social effort. a splendid fellow--but he suffers from what all bishops and all cardinals and all popes suffer from, and that is superannuation. a physiologist has said that few men can ever entertain a new idea after fifty. how then can any church progress when all its leaders are over that age? this is why christianity has stagnated and degenerated. if here and there one had a new idea, how could it survive the pressure of the others? it is hopeless. in this particular question of psychic religion the whole order is an inversion, for the people are ahead of the clergy and the clergy of the bishops. but when the laymen lead strongly enough the others will follow unless they wish to see the whole church organisation dissolve. he was very interesting upon the state of christianity in china. protestantism, thanks to the joint british and american missions, is gaining upon roman catholicism, and has now far outstripped it, but the roman catholic organisations are very wealthy on account of ancient valuable concessions and well-invested funds. in case of a bolshevist movement that may be a source of danger, as it gives a reason for attack. the bishop made the very striking remark that if the whites cleared right out of china all the christian churches of divers creeds would within a generation merge into one creed. "what have we to do," they say, "with these old historical quarrels which are hardly intelligible to us? we are all followers of christ, and that is enough." truly, the converted seem far ahead of those who converted them. it is the priesthoods, the organisations, the funds and the vested interests which prevent the churches from being united. in the meanwhile ninety per cent. of our population shows what it thinks by never entering into a church at all. personally, i can never remember since i reached manhood feeling myself the better for having gone into one. and yet i have been an earnest seeker for truth. verily, there is something deep down which is rotten. it is want of fact, want of reality, words instead of things. only last sunday i shuddered as i listened to the hymns, and it amazed me to look around and see the composed faces of those who were singing them. do they think what they are saying, or does faith atrophy some part of the brain? we are "born through water and blood into the true church." we drink precious blood. "he hath broken the teeth in their jaw." can such phrases really mean anything to any thoughtful man? if not, why continue them? you will have your churches empty while you do. people will not argue about it--they will, and do, simply stay away. and the clergy go on stating and restating incredible unproved things, while neglecting and railing at those which could be proved and believed. on our lines those nine out of ten could be forced back to a reconsideration of their position, even though that position would not square with all the doctrines of present-day christianity, which would, i think, have offended the early christians as much as it does the earnest thinkers of to-day. port said came at last, and we entered the suez canal. it is a shocking thing that the entrance to this, one of the most magnificent of the works of man, are flanked by great sky advertisements of various brands of whisky. the sale of whisky may or may not be a tolerable thing, but its flaunting advertisements, dewar, johnny walker, and the rest, have surely long been intolerable. if anything would make me a total prohibitionist those would. they are shameless. i do not know if some middle way could be found by which light alcoholic drinks could remain--so light that drunkenness would be hardly possible--but if this cannot be done, then let us follow the noble example of america. it is indeed shameful to see at the very point of the world where some noble sentiment might best be expressed these huge reminders of that which has led to so much misery and crime. to a frenchman it must seem even worse than to us, while what the abstemious mohammedan can think is beyond my imagination. in that direction at least the religion of mohammed has done better than that of christ. if all those esquimaux, south sea islanders and others who have been converted to christianity and then debauched by drink, had followed the prophet instead, it cannot be denied that their development would have been a happier and a higher one, though the cast-iron doctrines and dogmas of the moslem have dangers of their own. has france ever had the credit she deserves for the splendid faith with which she followed that great beneficent genius lesseps in his wonderful work? it is beautiful from end to end, french in its neatness, its order, its exquisite finish. truly the opposition of our people, both experts and public, was a disgrace to us, though it sinks into insignificance when compared with our colossal national stupidity over the channel tunnel. when our descendants compute the sums spent in shipping and transhipping in the great war, the waste of merchant ships and convoys, the sufferings of the wounded, the delay in reinforcements, the dependence upon the weather, they will agree that our sin had found us out and that we have paid a fitting price for our stupidity. unhappily, it was not our blind guides who paid it, but it was the soldier and sailor and taxpayer, for the nation always pays collectively for the individual blunder. would a hundred million pounds cover the cost of that one? well can i remember how a year before war was declared, seeing clearly what was coming, i sent three memoranda to the naval and military authorities and to the imperial council of defence pointing out exactly what the situation would be, and especially the danger to our transports. it is admitted now that it was only the strange inaction of the german light forces, and especially their want of comprehension of the possibilities of the submarine, which enabled our expeditionary force to get across at all, so that we might have lost the war within the first month. but as to my poor memoranda, which proved so terribly correct, i might as well have dropped them into my own wastepaper basket instead of theirs, and so saved the postage. my only convert was captain, now general, swinton, part inventor of the tanks, who acted as secretary to the imperial defence committee, and who told me at the time that my paper had set him thinking furiously. which leads my thoughts to the question of the torpedoing of merchant vessels by submarines. so sure was i that the germans would do this, that after knocking at official doors in vain, i published a sketch called "danger," which was written a year before the war, and depicted all that afterwards occurred, even down to such small details as the ships zig-zagging up channel to escape, and the submarines using their guns to save torpedoes. i felt as if, like solomon eagle, i could have marched down fleet street with a brazier on my head if i could only call people's attention to the coming danger. i saw naval officers on the point, but they were strangely blind, as is shown by the comments printed at the end of "danger," which give the opinions of several admirals pooh-poohing my fears. among others i saw captain beatty, as he then was, and found him alive to the possible danger, though he did not suggest a remedy. his quiet, brisk personality impressed me, and i felt that our national brain-errors might perhaps be made good in the end by the grit that is in us. but how hard were our tasks from our want of foresight. admiral von capelle did me the honour to say during the war, in the german reichstag, that i was the only man who had prophesied the conditions of the great naval war. as a matter of fact, both fisher and scott had done so, though they had not given it to the public in the same detail--but nothing had been done. we know now that there was not a single harbour proof against submarines on our whole east coast. truly the hand of the lord was over england. nothing less could have saved her. we tied up to the bank soon after entering the canal, and lay there most of the night while a procession of great ships moving northwards swept silently past us in the ring of vivid light cast by their searchlights and our own. i stayed on deck most of the night to watch them. the silence was impressive--those huge structures sweeping past with only the slow beat of their propellers and the wash of their bow wave on either side. no sooner had one of these great shapes slid past than, looking down the canal, one saw the brilliant head light of another in the distance. they are only allowed to go at the slowest pace, so that their wash may not wear away the banks. finally, the last had passed, and we were ourselves able to cast off our warps and push southwards. i remained on deck seeing the sun rise over the eastern desert, and then a wonderful slow-moving panorama of egypt as the bank slid slowly past us. first desert, then green oases, then the long line of rude fortifications from kantara downwards, with the camp fires smoking, groups of early busy tommies and endless dumps of stores. here and to the south was the point where the turks with their german leaders attempted the invasion of egypt, carrying flat-bottomed boats to ford the canal. how they were ever allowed to get so far is barely comprehensible, but how they were ever permitted to get back again across one hundred miles of desert in the face of our cavalry and camelry is altogether beyond me. even their guns got back untaken. they dropped a number of mines in the canal, but with true turkish slovenliness they left on the banks at each point the long bamboos on which they had carried them across the desert, which considerably lessened the work of those who had to sweep them up. the sympathies of the egyptians seems to have been against us, and yet they have no desire to pass again under the rule of the turk. our dominion has had the effect of turning a very poor country into a very rich one, and of securing some sort of justice for the fellah or peasant, but since we get no gratitude and have no trade preference it is a little difficult to see how we are the better for all our labours. so long as the canal is secure--and it is no one's interest to injure it--we should be better if the country governed itself. we have too many commitments, and if we have to take new ones, such as mesopotamia, it would be well to get rid of some of the others where our task is reasonably complete. "we never let the youngsters grow up," said a friendly critic. there is, however, i admit, another side to the question, and the idea of permitting a healthy moral place like port said to relapse into the hotbed of gambling and syphilis which it used to be, is repugnant to the mind. which is better--that a race be free, immoral and incompetent, or that it be forced into morality and prosperity? that question meets us at every turn. the children have been delighted by the fish on the surface of the canal. their idea seems to be that the one aim and object of our excursion is to see sharks in the sea and snakes in australia. we did actually see a shark half ashore upon a sandbank in one of the lower lakes near suez. it was lashing about with a frantic tail, and so got itself off into deep water. to the west all day we see the very wild and barren country through which our ancestors used to drive upon the overland route when they travelled by land from cairo to suez. the smoke of a tiny mail-train marks the general line of that most desolate road. in the evening we were through the canal and marked the rugged shore upon our left down which the israelites pursued their way in the direction of sinai. one wonders how much truth there is in the narrative. on the one hand it is impossible to doubt that something of the sort did occur. on the other, the impossibility of so huge a crowd living on the rare wells of the desert is manifest. but numbers are not the strong point of an oriental historian. perhaps a thousand or two may have followed their great leader upon that perilous journey. i have heard that moses either on his own or through his wife was in touch with babylonian habits. this would explain those tablets of stone, or of inscribed clay burned into brick, which we receive as the ten commandments, and which only differ from the moral precepts of other races in the strange limitations and omissions. at least ten new ones have long been needed to include drunkenness, gluttony, pride, envy, bigotry, lying and the rest. the weather grows hotter and hotter, so that one aged steward who has done voyages declares it to be unique. one passenger has died. several stewards have collapsed. the wind still keeps behind us. in the midst of all this i had an extensively signed petition from the second class passengers that i should address them. i did so, and spoke on deck for forty minutes to a very attentive audience which included many of the officers of the ship. i hope i got my points across to them. i was a sad example of sweated labour when i had finished. my wife tells me that the people were impressed. as i am never aware of the presence of any individual when i am speaking on this subject i rely upon my wife's very quick and accurate feminine impressions. she sits always beside me, notes everything, gives me her sympathetic atmosphere which is of such psychic importance, and finally reports the result. if any point of mine seems to her to miss its mark i unhesitatingly take it out. it interests me to hear her tell of the half-concealed sneer with which men listen to me, and how it turns into interest, bewilderment and finally something like reverence and awe as the brain gradually realises the proved truth of what i am saying, which upsets the whole philosophy on which their lives are built. there are several australian officers on board who are coming from the russian front full of dreadful stories of bolshevist atrocities, seen with their own eyes. the executioners were letts and chinese, and the instigators renegade jews, so that the russians proper seem to have been the more or less innocent dupes. they had dreadful photographs of tortured and mutilated men as corroboration. surely hell, the place of punishment and purgatorial expiation, is actually upon this earth in such cases. one leader seems to have been a sadic madman, for after torturing his victims till even the chinese executioners struck, he would sit playing a violin very exquisitely while he gloated over their agonies. all these australian boys agree that the matter will burn itself out, and that it will end in an immense massacre of jews which may involve the whole seven millions now in russia. god forbid, but the outlook is ominous! i remember a prophecy which i read early in the war that a great figure would arise in the north and have power for six years. if lenin was the great figure then he has, according to the prophet, about two years more to run. but prophecy is fitful, dangerous work. the way in which the founders of the christian faith all foretold the imminent end of the world is an example. what they dimly saw was no doubt the destruction of jerusalem, which seems to have been equally clear to ezekiel years before, for his picture of cannibalism and dispersion is very exact. it is wonderful what chances of gaining direct information one has aboard a ship of this sort, with its mixed crowd of passengers, many of them famous in their own lines. i have already alluded to the officers returning from russia with their prophecies of evil. but there are many other folk with tales of deep interest. there is a mr. covell, a solid practical briton, who may prove to be a great pioneer, for he has made farming pay handsomely in the very heart of the indian plains. within a hundred miles of lucknow he has founded the townlet of covellpore, where he handles , acres of wheat and cotton with the aid of about the same number of natives. this is the most practical step i have ever heard of for forming a real indigenous white population in india. his son was with him, going out to carry on the work. mr. covell holds that the irrigation of the north west of india is one of the greatest wonders of the world, and jacob the engineer responsible. i had never heard of him, nor, i am ashamed to say, had i heard of sir leonard rogers, who is one of those great men like sir ronald ross, whom the indian medical service throws up. rogers has reduced the mortality of cholera by intravenous injections of hypertonic saline until it is only per cent. general maude, i am informed, would almost certainly have been saved, had it not been that some false departmental economy had withheld the necessary apparatus. leprosy also seems in a fair way to yielding to rogers' genius for investigation. it is sad to hear that this same indian medical service which has produced such giants as fayrer, ross, and rogers is in a fair way to absolute ruin, because the conditions are such that good white candidates will no longer enter it. white doctors do not mind working with, or even under, natives who have passed the same british examinations as themselves, but they bar the native doctor who has got through a native college in india, and is on a far lower educational level than themselves. to serve under such a man is an impossible inversion. this is appreciated by the medical authorities at home, the word is given to the students, and the best men avoid the service. so unless a change is made, the end is in sight of the grand old service which has given so much to humanity. aden is remarkable only for the huge water tanks cut to catch rain, and carved out of solid rock. a whole captive people must have been set to work on so colossal a task, and one wonders where the poor wretches got water themselves the while. their work is as fresh and efficient as when they left it. no doubt it was for the watering, not of the population, but of the egyptian and other galleys on their way to punt and king solomon's mines. it must be a weary life for our garrison in such a place. there is strange fishing, sea snakes, parrot fish and the like. it is their only relaxation, for it is desert all round. monsoon and swell and drifting rain in the indian ocean. we heard that "thresh of the deep sea rain," of which kipling sings. then at last in the early morning the long quay of bombay, and the wonderful crowd of men of every race who await an incoming steamer. here at least half our passengers were disgorged, young subalterns, grey colonels, grave administrators, yellow-faced planters, all the fuel which is grown in britain and consumed in the roaring furnace of india. so devoted to their work, so unthanked and uncomprehended by those for whom they work! they are indeed a splendid set of men, and if they withdrew i wonder how long it would be before the wild men of the frontier would be in calcutta and bombay, as the picts and scots flowed over britain when the roman legions were withdrawn. what view will the coming labour governments of britain take of our imperial commitments? upon that will depend the future history of great tracts of the globe which might very easily relapse into barbarism. the ship seemed lonely when our indian friends were gone, for indeed, the pick of the company went with them. several pleased me by assuring me as they left that their views of life had been changed since they came on board the "naldera." to many i gave reading lists that they might look further into the matter for themselves. a little leaven in the great lump, but how can we help leavening it all when we know that, unlike other creeds, no true spiritualist can ever revert, so that while we continually gain, we never lose. one hears of the converts to various sects, but one does not hear of those who are driven out by their narrow, intolerant doctrines. you can change your mind about faiths, but not about facts, and hence our certain conquest. one cannot spend even a single long day in india without carrying away a wonderful impression of the gentle dignity of the indian people. our motor drivers were extraordinarily intelligent and polite, and all we met gave the same impression. india may be held by the sword, but it is certainly kept very carefully in the scabbard, for we hardly saw a soldier in the streets of this, its greatest city. i observed some splendid types of manhood, however, among the native police. we lunched at the taj mahal hotel, and got back tired and full of mixed impressions. verily the ingenuity of children is wonderful. they have turned their active minds upon the problem of paper currency with fearsome results. baby writes cheques in quaint ways upon odd bits of paper and brings them to me to be cashed. malcolm, once known as dimples, has made a series of pound and five pound notes of his own. the bank they call the money shop. i can trace every sort of atavism, the arboreal, the cave dweller, the adventurous raider, and the tribal instinct in the child, but this development seems a little premature. sunday once more, and the good bishop preaching. i wonder more and more what an educated chinaman would make of such doctrines. to take an example, he has quoted to-day with great approval, the action of peter in discarding the rite of circumcision as a proof of election. that marked, according to the bishop, the broad comprehensive mind which could not confine the mercies of god to any limited class. and yet when i take up the oecumenical pronouncement from the congress of anglican bishops which he has just attended, i find that baptism is made the test, even as the jews made circumcision. have the bishops not learned that there are millions who revere the memory of christ, whether they look upon him as god or man, but who think that baptism is a senseless survival of heathendom, like so many of our religious observances? the idea that the being who made the milky way can be either placated or incensed by pouring a splash of water over child or adult is an offence to reason, and a slur upon the divinity. two weary days upon the sea with drifting rain showers and wonderful scarlet and green sunsets. have beguiled the time with w. b. maxwell's "lamp and the mirror." i have long thought that maxwell was the greatest of british novelists, and this book confirms me in my opinion. who else could have drawn such fine detail and yet so broad and philosophic a picture? there may have been single books which were better than maxwell's best--the "garden of allah," with its gorgeous oriental colour would, for example, make a bid for first place, but which of us has so splendid a list of first class serious works as "mrs. thompson," "the rest cure," "vivian," "in cotton wool," above all, "the guarded flame"--classics, every one. our order of merit will come out very differently in a generation or so to what it stands now, and i shall expect to find my nominee at the top. but after all, what's the odds? you do your work as well as you can. you pass. you find other work to do. how the old work compares with the other fellow's work can be a matter of small concern. in colombo harbour lay h.m.s. "highflyer," which we looked upon with the reverence which everybody and everything which did well in the war deserve from us--a saucy, rakish, speedy craft. several other steamers were flying the yellow quarantine flag, but our captain confided to me that it was a recognised way of saying "no visitors," and did not necessarily bear any pathological meaning. as we had nearly two days before we resumed our voyage i was able to give all our party a long stretch on shore, finally staying with my wife for the night at the galle face hotel, a place where the preposterous charges are partly compensated for by the glorious rollers which break upon the beach outside. i was interested in the afternoon by a native conjurer giving us what was practically a private performance of the mango-tree trick. he did it so admirably that i can well understand those who think that it is an occult process. i watched the man narrowly, and believe that i solved the little mystery, though even now i cannot be sure. in doing it he began by laying several objects out in a casual way while hunting in his bag for his mango seed. these were small odds and ends including a little rag doll, very rudely fashioned, about six or eight inches long. one got accustomed to the presence of these things and ceased to remark them. he showed the seed and passed it for examination, a sort of large brazil nut. he then laid it among some loose earth, poured some water on it, covered it with a handkerchief, and crooned over it. in about a minute he exhibited the same, or another seed, the capsule burst, and a light green leaf protruding. i took it in my hands, and it was certainly a real bursting mango seed, but clearly it had been palmed and substituted for the other. he then buried it again and kept raising the handkerchief upon his own side, and scrabbling about with his long brown fingers underneath its cover. then he suddenly whisked off the handkerchief and there was the plant, a foot or so high, with thick foliage and blossoms, its root well planted in the earth. it was certainly very startling. my explanation is that by a miracle of packing the whole of the plant had been compressed into the rag doll, or little cloth cylinder already mentioned. the scrabbling of the hands under the cloth was to smooth out the leaves after it was freed from this covering. i observed that the leaves were still rather crumpled, and that there were dark specks of fungi which would not be there if the plant were straight from nature's manufactory. but it was wonderfully done when you consider that the man was squatting in our midst, we standing in a semi-circle around him, with no adventitious aid whatever. i do not believe that the famous mr. maskeleyne or any of those other wise conjurers who are good enough occasionally to put lodge, crookes and lombroso in their places, could have wrought a better illusion. the fellow had a cobra with him which he challenged me to pick up. i did so and gazed into its strange eyes, which some devilry of man's had turned to a lapis lazuli blue. the juggler said it was the result of its skin-sloughing, but i have my doubts. the poison bag had, i suppose, been extracted, but the man seemed nervous and slipped his brown hand between my own and the swaying venomous head with its peculiar flattened hood. it is a fearsome beast, and i can realise what was told me by a lover of animals that the snake was the one creature from which he could get no return of affection. i remember that i once had three in my employ when the "speckled band" was produced in london, fine, lively rock pythons, and yet in spite of this profusion of realism i had the experience of reading a review which, after duly slating the play, wound up with the scathing sentence, "the performance ended with the production of a palpably artificial serpent." such is the reward of virtue. afterwards when the necessities of several travelling companies compelled us to use dummy snakes we produced a much more realistic effect. the real article either hung down like a pudgy yellow bell rope, or else when his tail was pinched, endeavoured to squirm back and get level with the stage carpenter, who pinched him, which was not in the plot. the latter individual had no doubts at all as to the dummy being an improvement upon the real. never, save on the west coast of africa, have i seen "the league-long roller thundering on the shore," as here, where the indian ocean with its thousand leagues of momentum hits the western coast of ceylon. it looks smooth out at sea, and then you are surprised to observe that a good-sized boat has suddenly vanished. then it scoops upwards once more on the smooth arch of the billow, disappearing on the further slope. the native catamarans are almost invisible, so that you see a row of standing figures from time to time on the crest of the waves. i cannot think that any craft in the world would come through rough water as these catamarans with their long outriggers can do. man has made few more simple and more effective inventions, and if i were a younger man i would endeavour to introduce them to brighton beach, as once i introduced ski to switzerland, or auto-wheels to the british roads. i have other work to do now, but why does not some sportsman take the model, have it made in england, and then give an exhibition in a gale of wind on the south coast. it would teach our fishermen some possibilities of which they are ignorant. as i stood in a sandy cove one of them came flying in, a group of natives rushing out and pulling it up on the beach. the craft consists only of two planks edgewise and lengthwise. in the nine-inch slit between them lay a number of great twelve-pound fish, like cod, and tied to the side of the boat was a ten-foot sword fish. to catch that creature while standing on a couple of floating planks must have been sport indeed, and yet the craft is so ingenious that to a man who can at a pinch swim for it, there is very small element of danger. the really great men of our race, the inventor of the wheel, the inventor of the lever, the inventor of the catamaran are all lost in the mists of the past, but ethnologists have found that the cubic capacity of the neolithic brain is as great as our own. there are two robbers' castles, as the unhappy visitor calls them, facing the glorious sea, the one the galle face, the other the mount lavinia hotel. they are connected by an eight-mile road, which has all the colour and life and variety of the east for every inch of the way. in that glorious sun, under the blue arch of such a sky, and with the tropical trees and flowers around, the poverty of these people is very different from the poverty of a london slum. is there in all god's world such a life as that, and can it really be god's world while we suffer it to exist! surely, it is a palpable truth that no one has a right to luxuries until every one has been provided with necessities, and among such necessities a decent environment is the first. if we had spent money to fight slumland as we spent it to fight germany, what a different england it would be. the world moves all the same, and we have eternity before us. but some folk need it. a doctor came up to me in the hotel and told me that he was practising there, and had come recently from england. he had lost his son in the war, and had himself become unsettled. being a spiritualist he went to mrs. brittain, the medium, who told him that his boy had a message for him which was that he would do very well in colombo. he had himself thought of ceylon, but mrs. b. had no means of knowing that. he had obeyed the advice thus given, and was glad that he had done so. how much people may miss by cutting themselves away from these ministers of grace! in all this opposition to spiritualism the punishment continually fits the crime. once again we shed passengers and proceeded in chastened mood with empty decks where once it was hard to move. among others, good bishop banister of kwang-si had gone. i care little for his sacramental and vicarious doctrines, but i am very sure that wherever his robust, kindly, sincere personality may dwell is bound to be a centre of the true missionary effort--the effort which makes for the real original teaching of his master, submission to god and goodwill to our fellow men. now we are on the last lap with nothing but a clear stretch of salt water between our prow and west australia. our mission from being a sort of dream takes concrete form and involves definite plans. meanwhile we plough our way through a deep blue sea with the wind continually against us. i have not seen really calm water since we left the canal. we carry on with the usual routine of ship sports, which include an england and australia cricket match, in which i have the honour of captaining england, a proper ending for a long if mediocre career as a cricketer. we lost by one run, which was not bad considering our limited numbers. posers of all sorts are brought to me by thoughtful inquirers, which i answer when i can. often i can't. one which is a most reasonable objection has given me a day's thought. if, as is certain, we can remember in our next life the more important incidents of this one, why is it that in this one we can remember nothing of that previous spiritual career, which must have existed since nothing can be born in time for eternity? our friends on the other side cannot help us there, nor can even such extended spiritual visions as those of vale owen clear it up. on the whole we must admit that our theosophical friends, with whom we quarrel for their absence of evidence, have the best attempt at an explanation. i imagine that man's soul has a cycle which is complete in itself, and all of which is continuous and self conscious. this begins with earth life. then at last a point is reached, it may be a reincarnation, and a new cycle is commenced, the old one being closed to our memory until we have reached some lofty height in our further journey. pure speculation, i admit, but it would cover what we know and give us a working hypothesis. i can never excite myself much about the reincarnation idea, for if it be so, it occurs seldom, and at long intervals, with ten years spent in the other spheres for one spent here, so that even admitting all that is said by its supporters it is not of such great importance. at the present rate of change this world will be as strange as another sphere by the time we are due to tread the old stage once more. it is only fair to say that though many spiritualists oppose it, there is a strong body, including the whole french allan kardec school, who support it. those who have passed over may well be divided upon the subject since it concerns their far future and is a matter of speculation to them as to us. thrasher whales and sperm whales were seen which aroused the old whaling thrill in my heart. it was the more valuable greenland whale which i helped to catch, while these creatures are those which dear old frank bullen, a childlike sailor to the last, described in his "cruise of the cachelot." how is it that sailors write such perfect english. there are bullen and conrad, both of whom served before the mast--the two purest stylists of their generation. so was loti in france. there are some essays of bullen's, especially a description of a calm in the tropics, and again of "sunrise seen from the crow's nest," which have not been matched in our time for perfection of imagery and diction. they are both in his "idyls of the sea." if there is compensation in the beyond--and i know that there is--then frank bullen is in great peace, for his whole earthly life was one succession of troubles. when i think of his cruel stepmother, his dreadful childhood, his life on a yankee blood ship, his struggles as a tradesman, his bankruptcy, his sordid worries, and finally, his prolonged ill-health, i marvel at the unequal distribution of such burdens. he was the best singer of a chanty that i have ever heard, and i can hear him now with his rich baritone voice trolling out "sally brown" or "stormalong." may i hear him once again! our dear ones tell us that there is no great gap between what pleases us here and that which will please us in the beyond. our own brains, had we ever used them in the matter, should have instructed us that all evolution, spiritual as well as material, must be gradual. indeed, once one knows psychic truth, one can, reasoning backwards, perceive that we should unaided have come to the same conclusions, but since we have all been deliberately trained not to use our reason in religious matters, it is no wonder that we have made rather a hash of it. surely it is clear enough that in the case of an artist the artistic nature is part of the man himself. therefore, if he survives it must survive. but if it survives it must have means of expression, or it is a senseless thing. but means of expression implies appreciation from others and a life on the general lines of this one. so also of the drama, music, science and literature, if we carry on they carry on, and they cannot carry on without actual expression and a public to be served. to the east of us and just beyond the horizon lie the cocos islands, where ross established his strange little kingdom, and where the _emden_ met its end--a glorious one, as every fair minded man must admit. i have seen her stern post since then in the hall of the federal parliament at melbourne, like some fossil monster, once a terror and now for children to gaze at. as to the cocos islands, the highest point is, i understand, about twenty feet, and tidal waves are not unknown upon the pacific, so that the community holds its tenure at very short and sudden notice to quit. on the morning of september th a low coast line appeared upon the port bow--australia at last. it was the edge of the west australian state. the evening before a wireless had reached me from the spiritualists of perth saying that they welcomed us and our message. it was a kind thought and a helpful one. we were hardly moored in the port of fremantle, which is about ten miles from the capital, when a deputation of these good, kind people was aboard, bearing great bunches of wild flowers, most of which were new to us. their faces fell when they learned that i must go on in the ship and that there was very little chance of my being able to address them. they are only connected with the other states by one long thin railway line, , miles long, with scanty trains which were already engaged, so that unless we stuck to the ship we should have to pass ten days or so before we could resume our journey. this argument was unanswerable, and so the idea of a meeting was given up. these kind people had two motors in attendance, which must, i fear, have been a strain upon their resources, for as in the old days the true believers and practical workers are drawn from the poor and humble. however, they certainly treated us royally, and even the children were packed into the motors. we skirted the swan river, passed through the very beautiful public park, and, finally, lunched at the busy town, where bone's store would cut a respectable figure in london, with its many departments and its roof restaurant. it was surprising after our memories of england to note how good and abundant was the food. it is a charming little town, and it was strange, after viewing its settled order, to see the mill where the early settlers not so very long ago had to fight for their lives with the black fellows. those poor black fellows! their fate is a dark stain upon australia. and yet it must in justice to our settlers be admitted that the question was a very difficult one. was colonisation to be abandoned, or were these brave savages to be overcome? that was really the issue. when they speared the cattle of the settlers what were the settlers to do? of course, if a reservation could have been opened up, as in the case of the maoris, that would have been ideal. but the noble maori is a man with whom one could treat on equal terms and he belonged to a solid race. the aborigines of australia were broken wandering tribes, each at war with its neighbours. in a single reservation they would have exterminated each other. it was a piteous tragedy, and yet, even now in retrospect, how difficult it is to point out what could have been done. the spiritualists of perth seem to be a small body, but as earnest as their fellows elsewhere. a masterful looking lady, mrs. mcilwraith, rules them, and seems fit for the part. they have several mediums developing, but i had no chance of testing their powers. altogether our encounter with them cheered us on our way. we had the first taste of australian labour conditions at fremantle, for the men knocked off at the given hour, refusing to work overtime, with the result that we carried a consignment of tea, meant for their own tea-pots, another thousand miles to adelaide, and so back by train which must have been paid for out of their own pockets and those of their fellow citizens. verily, you cannot get past the golden rule, and any breach of it brings its own punishment somehow, somewhere, be the sinner a master or a man. and now we had to cross the dreaded bight, where the great waves from the southern ice come rolling up, but our luck was still in, and we went through it without a qualm. up to albany one sees the barren irregular coast, and then there were two days of blue water, which brought us at last to adelaide, our port of debarkation. the hour and the place at last! chapter iii mr. hughes' letter of welcome.--challenges.--mr. carlyle smythe.--the adelaide press.--the great drought.--the wine industry.--clairvoyance.--meeting with bellchambers.--the first lecture.--the effect.--the religious lecture.--the illustrated lecture.--premonitions.--the spot light.--mr. thomas' account of the incident.--correspondence.--adelaide doctors.--a day in the bush.--the mallee fowl.--sussex in australia.--farewell to adelaide. i was welcomed to australia by a hospitable letter from the premier, mr. hughes, who assured me that he would do what he could to make our visit a pleasant one, and added, "i hope you will see australia as it is, for i want you to tell the world about us. we are a very young country, we have a very big and very rich heritage, and the great war has made us realise that we are australians, proud to belong to the empire, but proud too of our own country." apart from mr. hughes's kind message, my chief welcome to the new land came from sydney, and took the queer form of two independant challenges to public debate, one from the christian evidence society, and the other from the local leader of the materialists. as the two positions are mutually destructive, one felt inclined to tell them to fight it out between themselves and that i would fight the winner. the christian evidence society, is, of course, out of the question, since they regard a text as an argument, which i can only accept with many qualifications, so that there is no common basis. the materialist is a more worthy antagonist, for though he is often as bigotted and inaccessible to reason as the worst type of christian, there is always a leaven of honest, open-minded doubters on whom a debate might make an impression. a debate with them, as i experienced when i met mr. maccabe, can only follow one line, they quoting all the real or alleged scandals which have ever been connected with the lowest forms of mediumship, and claiming that the whole cult is comprised therein, to which you counter with your own personal experiences, and with the evidence of the cloud of witnesses who have found the deepest comfort and enlarged knowledge. it is like two boxers each hitting the air, and both returning to their respective corners amid the plaudits of their backers, while the general public is none the better. three correspondents headed me off on the ship, and as i gave each of them a long separate interview, i was a tired man before i got ashore. mr. carlyle smythe, my impresario, had also arrived, a small alert competent gentleman, with whom i at once got on pleasant terms, which were never once clouded during our long travels together upon our tour. i was fortunate indeed to have so useful and so entertaining a companion, a musician, a scholar, and a man of many varied experiences. with his help we soon got our stuff through the customs, and made the short train journey which separates the port of adelaide from the charming city of that name. by one o'clock we were safely housed in the grand central hotel, with windows in place of port holes, and the roar of the trams to take the place of the murmurs of the great ocean. the good genius of adelaide was a figure, already almost legendary, one colonel light, who played the part of romulus and remus to the infant city. somewhere in the thirties of last century he chose the site, against strong opposition, and laid out the plan with such skill that in all british and american lands i have seen few such cities, so pretty, so orderly and so self-sufficing. when one sees all the amenities of the place, botanical gardens, zoological gardens, art gallery, museum, university, public library and the rest, it is hard to realise that the whole population is still under three hundred thousand. i do not know whether the press sets the tone to the community or the community to the press, but in any case adelaide is greatly blessed in this respect, for its two chief papers the _register_ and the _advertiser_, under sir william sowden and sir langdon bonython respectively, are really excellent, with a worldwide metropolitan tone. their articles upon the subject in which i am particularly interested, though by no means one-sided, were at least informed with knowledge and breadth of mind. in adelaide i appreciated, for the first time, the crisis which australia has been passing through in the shape of a two-years drought, only recently broken. it seems to have involved all the states and to have caused great losses, amounting to millions of sheep and cattle. the result was that the price of those cattle which survived has risen enormously, and at the time of our visit an absolute record had been established, a bullock having been sold for £ . the normal price would be about £ . sheep were about £ each, the normal being fifteen shillings. this had, of course, sent the price of meat soaring with the usual popular unrest and agitation as a result. it was clear, however, that with the heavy rains the prices would fall. these australian droughts are really terrible things, especially when they come upon newly-opened country and in the hotter regions of queensland and the north. one lady told us that she had endured a drought in queensland which lasted so long that children of five had never seen a drop of rain. you could travel a hundred miles and find the brown earth the whole way, with no sign of green anywhere, the sheep eating twigs or gnawing bark until they died. her brother sold his surviving sheep for one shilling each, and when the drought broke had to restock at s. a head. this is a common experience, and all but the man with savings have to take to some subordinate work, ruined men. no doubt, with afforestation, artesian wells, irrigation and water storage things may be modified, but all these things need capital, and capital in these days is hard to seek, nor can it be expected that capitalists will pour their money into states which have wild politicians who talk lightly of past obligations. you cannot tell the investor that he is a bloated incubus one moment, and go hat in hand for further incubation the next. i fear that this grand country as a whole may suffer from the wild ideas of some of its representatives. but under it all lies the solid self-respecting british stuff, which will never repudiate a just debt, however heavily it may press. australians may groan under the burden, but they should remember that for every pound of taxation they carry the home briton carries nearly three. but to return for a moment to the droughts; has any writer of fiction invented or described a more long-drawn agony than that of the man, his nerves the more tired and sensitive from the constant unbroken heat, waiting day after day for the cloud that never comes, while under the glaring sun from the unchanging blue above him, his sheep, which represent all his life's work and his hopes, perish before his eyes? a revolver shot has often ended the long vigil and the pioneer has joined his vanished flocks. i have just come in contact with a case where two young returned soldiers, demobilised from the war and planted on the land had forty-two cattle given them by the state to stock their little farm. not a drop of water fell for over a year, the feed failed, and these two warriors of palestine and flanders wept at their own helplessness while their little herd died before their eyes. such are the trials which the australian farmer has to bear. while waiting for my first lecture i do what i can to understand the country and its problems. to this end i visited the vineyards and wine plant of a local firm which possesses every factor for success, save the capacity to answer letters. the originator started grape culture as a private hobby about years ago, and now such an industry has risen that this firm alone has £ , sunk in the business, and yet it is only one of several. the product can be most excellent, but little or any ever reaches europe, for it cannot overtake the local demand. the quality was good and purer than the corresponding wines in europe--especially the champagnes, which seem to be devoid of that poison, whatever it may be, which has for a symptom a dry tongue with internal acidity, driving elderly gentlemen to whisky and soda. the australian product, taken in moderate doses, seems to have no poisonous quality, and is without that lime-like dryness which appears to be the cause of it. if temperance reform takes the sane course of insisting upon a lowering of the alcohol in our drinks, so that one may be surfeited before one could be drunken, then this question of good mild wines will bulk very largely in the future, and australia may supply one of the answers. with all my sympathy for the reformers i feel that wine is so useful a social agent that we should not abolish it until we are certain that there is no _via media_. the most pregnant argument upon the subject was the cartoon which showed the husband saying "my dear, it is the anniversary of our wedding. let us have a second bottle of ginger beer." we went over the vineyards, ourselves mildly interested in the vines, and the children wildly excited over the possibility of concealed snakes. then we did the vats and the cellars with their countless bottles. we were taught the secrets of fermentation, how the wonderful pasteur had discovered that the best and quickest was produced not by the grape itself, as of old, but by the scraped bloom of the grape inserted in the bottle. after viewing the number of times a bottle must be turned, a hundred at least, and the complex processes which lead up to the finished article, i will pay my wine bills in future with a better grace. the place was all polished wood and shining brass, like the fittings of a man-of-war, and a great impression of cleanliness and efficiency was left upon our minds. we only know the australian wines at present by the rough article sold in flasks, but when the supply has increased the world will learn that this country has some very different stuff in its cellars, and will try to transport it to their tables. we had a small meeting of spiritualists in our hotel sitting-room, under the direction of mr. victor cromer, a local student of the occult, who seems to have considerable psychic power. he has a small circle for psychic development which is on new lines, for the neophytes who are learning clairvoyance sit around in a circle in silence, while mr. cromer endeavours by mental effort to build up the thought form of some object, say a tree, in the centre of the room. after a time he asks each of the circle what he or she can see, and has many correct answers. with colours in the same way he can convey impressions to his pupils. it is clear that telepathy is not excluded as an explanation, but the actual effect upon the participants is according to their own account, visual rather than mental. we had an interesting sitting with a number of these developing mediums present, and much information was given, but little of it could be said to be truly evidential. after seeing such clairvoyance as that of mr. tom tyrell or others at home, when a dozen names and addresses will be given together with the descriptions of those who once owned them, one is spoiled for any lesser display. there was one man whom i had particularly determined to meet when i came to australia. this was mr. t. p. bellchambers, about whom i had read an article in some magazine which showed that he was a sort of humble jeffries or thoreau, more lonely than the former, less learned than the latter, who lived among the wild creatures in the back country, and was on such terms with our humble brothers as few men are ever privileged to attain. i had read how the eagle with the broken wing had come to him for succour, and how little birds would sit on the edge of his pannikin while he drank. him at all cost would we see. like the proverbial prophet, no one i met had ever heard of him, but on the third day of our residence there came a journalist bearing with him a rudely dressed, tangle-haired man, collarless and unkempt, with kind, irregular features and clear blue eyes--the eyes of a child. it was the man himself. "he brought me," said he, nodding towards the journalist. "he had to, for i always get bushed in a town." this rude figure fingering his frayed cap was clearly out of his true picture, and we should have to visit him in his own little clearing to see him as he really was. meanwhile i wondered whether one who was so near nature might know something of nature's more occult secrets. the dialogue ran like this: "you who are so near nature must have psychic experiences." "what's psychic? i live so much in the wild that i don't know much." "i expect you know plenty we don't know. but i meant spiritual." "supernatural?" "well, we think it is natural, but little understood." "you mean fairies and things?" "yes, and the dead." "well, i guess our fairies would be black fairies." "why not?" "well, i never saw any." "i hoped you might." "no, but i know one thing. the night my mother died i woke to find her hand upon my brow. oh, there's no doubt. her hand was heavy on my brow." "at the time?" "yes, at the very hour." "well, that was good." "animals know more about such things." "yes." "they see something. my dog gets terrified when i see nothing, and there's a place in the bush where my horse shies and sweats, he does, but there's nothing to see." "something evil has been done there. i've known many cases." "i expect that's it." so ran our dialogue. at the end of it he took a cigar, lighted it at the wrong end, and took himself with his strong simple backwoods atmosphere out of the room. assuredly i must follow him to the wilds. now came the night of my first lecture. it was in the city hall, and every seat was occupied. it was a really magnificent audience of two thousand people, the most representative of the town. i am an embarrassed and an interested witness, so let me for this occasion quote the sympathetic, not to say flattering account of the _register_. "there could not have been a more impressive set of circumstances than those which attended the first australian lecture by sir arthur conan doyle at the adelaide town hall on saturday night, september th. the audience, large, representative and thoughtful, was in its calibre and proportions a fitting compliment to a world celebrity and his mission. many of the intellectual leaders of the city were present--university professors, pulpit personalities, men eminent in business, legislators, every section of the community contributed a quota. it cannot be doubted, of course, that the brilliant literary fame of the lecturer was an attraction added to that strange subject which explored the 'unknown drama of the soul.' over all sir arthur dominated by his big arresting presence. his face has a rugged, kindly strength, tense and earnest in its grave moments, and full of winning animation when the sun of his rich humour plays on the powerful features." "it is not altogether a sombre journey he makes among the shadows, but apparently one of happy, as well as tender experiences, so that laughter is not necessarily excluded from the exposition. do not let that be misunderstood. there was no intrusion of the slightest flippancy--sir arthur, the whole time, exhibited that attitude of reverence and humility demanded of one traversing a domain on the borderland of the tremendous. nothing approaching a theatrical presentation of the case for spiritualism marred the discourse. it was for the most part a plain statement. first things had to be said, and the explanatory groundwork laid for future development. it was a lucid, illuminating introduction." "sir arthur had a budget of notes, but after he had turned over a few pages he sallied forth with fluent independence under the inspiration of a vast mental store of material. a finger jutted out now and again with a thrust of passionate emphasis, or his big glasses twirled during moments of descriptive ease, and occasionally both hands were held forward as though delivering settled points to the audience for its examination. a clear, well-disciplined voice, excellent diction, and conspicuous sincerity of manner marked the lecture, and no one could have found fault with the way in which sir arthur presented his case." "the lecturer approached the audience in no spirit of impatient dogmatism, but in the capacity of an understanding mind seeking to illumine the darkness of doubt in those who had not shared his great experiences. he did not dictate, but reasoned and pleaded, taking the people into his confidence with strong conviction and a consoling faith. 'i want to speak to you to-night on a subject which concerns the destiny of every man and woman in this room,' began sir arthur, bringing everybody at once into an intimate personal circle. 'no doubt the almighty, by putting an angel in king william street, could convert every one of you to spiritualism, but the almighty law is that we must use our own brains, and find out our own salvation, and it is not made too easy for us.'" it is awkward to include this kindly picture, and yet i do not know how else to give an idea of how the matter seemed to a friendly observer. i had chosen for my theme the scientific aspect of the matter, and i marshalled my witnesses and showed how professor mayo corroborated professor hare, and professor challis professor mayo, and sir william crookes all his predecessors, while russell wallace and lombroso and zollner and barrett, and lodge, and many more had all after long study assented, and i read the very words of these great men, and showed how bravely they had risked their reputations and careers for what they knew to be the truth. i then showed how the opposition who dared to contradict them were men with no practical experience of it at all. it was wonderful to hear the shout of assent when i said that what struck me most in such a position was its colossal impertinence. that shout told me that my cause was won, and from then onwards the deep silence was only broken by the occasional deep murmur of heart-felt agreement. i told them the evidence that had been granted to me, the coming of my son, the coming of my brother, and their message. "plough! plough! others will cast the seed." it is hard to talk of such intimate matters, but they were not given to me for my private comfort alone, but for that of humanity. nothing could have gone better than this first evening, and though i had no chairman and spoke for ninety minutes without a pause, i was so upheld--there is no other word for the sensation--that i was stronger at the end than when i began. a leading materialist was among my audience. "i am profoundly impressed," said he to mr. smythe, as he passed him in the corridor. that stood out among many kind messages which reached me that night. illustration: _photo: stirling, melbourne._ the wanderers, - . my second lecture, two nights later, was on the religious aspect of the matter. i had shown that the phenomena were nothing, mere material signals to arrest the attention of a material world. i had shown also that the personal benefit, the conquest of death, the communion of saints, was a high, but not the highest boon. the real full flower of spiritualism was what the wisdom of the dead could tell us about their own conditions, their present experiences, their outlook upon the secret of the universe, and the testing of religious truth from the viewpoint of two worlds instead of one. the audience was more silent than before, but the silence was that of suspense, not of dissent, as i showed them from message after message what it was exactly which awaited them in the beyond. even i, who am oblivious as a rule to my audience, became aware that they were tense with feeling and throbbing with emotion. i showed how there was no conflict with religion, in spite of the misunderstanding of the churches, and that the revelation had come to extend and explain the old, even as the christ had said that he had much more to tell but could not do it now. "entirely new ground was traversed," says my kindly chronicler, "and the audience listened throughout with rapt attention. they were obviously impressed by the earnestness of the speaker and his masterly presentation of the theme." i cannot answer for the latter but at least i can for the former, since i speak not of what i think but of what i know. how can a man fail to be earnest then? a few days later i followed up the lectures by two exhibitions of psychic pictures and photographs upon a screen. it was certainly an amazing experience for those who imagined that the whole subject was dreamland, and they freely admitted that it staggered them. they might well be surprised, for such a series has never been seen, i believe, before, including as it does choice samples from the very best collections. i showed them the record of miracle after miracle, some of them done under my very eyes, one guaranteed by russell wallace, three by sir william crookes, one of the geley series from paris, two of dr. crawford's medium with the ecto-plasm pouring from her, four illustrating the absolutely final lydia haig case on the island of rothesay, several of mr. jeffrey's collection and several also of our own society for the study of supernormal pictures, with the fine photograph of the face within a crystal. no wonder that the audience sat spellbound, while the local press declared that no such exhibition had ever been seen before in australia. it is almost too overwhelming for immediate propaganda purposes. it has a stunning, dazing effect upon the spectators. only afterwards, i think, when they come to turn it all over in their minds, do they see that the final proof has been laid before them, which no one with the least sense for evidence could reject. but the sense for evidence is not, alas, a universal human quality. i am continually aware of direct spirit intervention in my own life. i have put it on record in my "new revelation" that i was able to say that the turn of the great war would come upon the piave months before that river was on the italian war map. this was recorded at the time, before the fulfilment which occurred more than a year later--so it does not depend upon my assertion. again, i dreamed the name of the ship which was to take us to australia, rising in the middle of the night and writing it down in pencil on my cheque-book. i wrote _nadera_, but it was actually _naldera_. i had never heard that such a ship existed until i visited the p. & o. office, when they told me we should go by the _osterley_, while i, seeing the _naldera_ upon the list, thought "no, that will be our ship!" so it proved, through no action of our own, and thereby we were saved from quarantine and all manner of annoyance. never before have i experienced such direct visible intervention as occurred during my first photographic lecture at adelaide. i had shown a slide the effect of which depended upon a single spirit face appearing amid a crowd of others. the slide was damp, and as photos under these circumstances always clear from the edges when placed in the lantern, the whole centre was so thickly fogged that i was compelled to admit that i could not myself see the spirit face. suddenly, as i turned away, rather abashed by my failure, i heard cries of "there it is," and looking up again i saw this single face shining out from the general darkness with so bright and vivid an effect that i never doubted for a moment that the operator was throwing a spot light upon it, my wife sharing my impression. i thought how extraordinarily clever it was that he should pick it out so accurately at the distance. so the matter passed, but next morning mr. thomas, the operator, who is not a spiritualist, came in great excitement to say that a palpable miracle had been wrought, and that in his great experience of thirty years he had never known a photo dry from the centre, nor, as i understood him, become illuminated in such a fashion. both my wife and i were surprised to learn that he had thrown no ray upon it. mr. thomas told us that several experts among the audience had commented upon the strangeness of the incident. i, therefore, asked mr. thomas if he would give me a note as to his own impression, so as to furnish an independant account. this is what he wrote:-- _"hindmarsh square, adelaide._ "_in adelaide, on september th, i projected a lantern slide containing a group of ladies and gentlemen, and in the centre of the picture, when the slide was reversed, appeared a human face. on the appearance of the picture showing the group the fog incidental to a damp or new slide gradually appeared covering the whole slide, and only after some minutes cleared, and then quite contrary to usual practice did so from a central point just over the face that appeared in the centre, and refused even after that to clear right off to the edge. the general experience is for a slide to clear from the outside edges to a common centre. your slide cleared only sufficiently in the centre to show the face, and did not, while the slide was on view, clear any more than sufficient to show that face. thinking that perhaps there might be a scientific explanation to this phenomenon, i hesitated before writing you, and in the meantime i have made several experiments but have not in any one particular experiment obtained the same result. i am very much interested--as are hundreds of others who personally witnessed the phenomenon._" mr. thomas, in his account, has missed the self-illuminated appearance of the face, but otherwise he brings out the points. i never gave occasion for the repetition of the phenomenon, for in every case i was careful that the slides were carefully dried beforehand. so much for the lectures at adelaide, which were five in all, and left, as i heard from all sides, a deep impression upon the town. of course, the usual abusive messages poured in, including one which wound up with the hearty words: "may you be struck dead before you leave this commonwealth." from melbourne i had news that before our arrival in australia at a public prayer meeting at the assembly hall, collins street, a presbyterian prayed that we might never reach australia's shores. as we were on the high seas at the time this was clearly a murderous petition, nor could i have believed it if a friend of mine had not actually been present and heard it. on the other hand, we received many letters of sympathy and thanks, which amply atoned. "i feel sure that many mothers, who have lost their sons in the war, will, wherever you go, bless you, as i do, for the help you have given." as this was the object of our journey it could not be denied that we had attained our end. when i say "we," i mean that such letters with inquiries came continually to my wife as well as myself, though she answered them with far greater fullness and clearness than i had time to do. hotel life began to tell upon the children, who are like horses with a profusion of oats and no exercise. on the whole they were wonderfully good. when some domestic crisis was passed the small voice of malcolm, once "dimples," was heard from the darkness of his bed, saying, "well, if i am to be good i must have a proper start. please mammie, say one, two, three, and away!" when this ceremony had been performed a still smaller voice of baby asked the same favour, so once more there was a formal start. the result was intermittent, and it is as well. i don't believe in angelic children. the adelaide doctors entertained me to dinner, and i was pleased to meet more than one who had been of my time at edinburgh. they seemed to be a very prosperous body of men. there was much interesting conversation, especially from one elderly professor named watson, who had known bully hayes and other south sea celebrities in the semi-piratical, black-birding days. he told me one pretty story. they landed upon some outlying island in carpentaria, peopled by real primitive blacks, who were rounded up by the ships crew on one of the peninsulas which formed the end of the island. these creatures, the lowest of the human race, huddled together in consternation while the white men trained a large camera upon them. suddenly three males advanced and made a speech in their own tongue which, when interpreted, proved to be an offer that those three should die in exchange for the lives of the tribe. what could the very highest do more than this, and yet it came from the lowest savages. truly, we all have something of the divine, and it is the very part which will grow and spread until it has burned out all the rest. "be a christ!" said brave old stead. at the end of countless æons we may all reach that point which not only stead but st. paul also has foreshadowed. i refreshed myself between lectures by going out to nature and to bellchambers. as it was twenty-five miles out in the bush, inaccessible by rail, and only to be approached by motor roads which were in parts like the bed of a torrent, i could not take my wife, though the boys, after the nature of boys, enjoy a journey the more for its roughness. it was a day to remember. i saw lovely south australia in the full beauty of the spring, the budding girlhood of the year, with all her winsome growing graces upon her. the brilliant yellow wattle was just fading upon the trees, but the sward was covered with star-shaped purple flowers of the knot-grass, and with familiar home flowers, each subtly altered by their transportation. it was wild bush for part of the way, but mostly of the second growth on account of forest fires as much as the woodman's axe. bellchambers came in to guide us, for there is no one to ask upon these desolate tracks, and it is easy to get bushed. mr. waite, the very capable zoologist of the museum, joined the party, and with two such men the conversation soon got to that high nature talk which represents the really permanent things of material life--more lasting than thrones and dynasties. i learned of the strange storks, the "native companions" who meet, at a time, for their stately balls, where in the hush of the bush they advance, retreat, and pirouette in their dignified minuets. i heard of the bower birds, who decorate their homes with devices of glass and pebbles. there was talk, too, of the little red beetles who have such cunning ways that they can fertilise the insectivorous plants without being eaten, and of the great ants who get through galvanised iron by the aid of some acid-squirting insect which they bring with them to the scene of their assault. i heard also of the shark's egg which mr. waite had raped from sixty feet deep in sydney harbour, descending for the purpose in a diver's suit, for which i raised my hat to him. deep things came also from bellchambers' store of knowledge and little glimpses of beautiful humanity from this true gentleman. "yes," he said, "i am mostly vegetarian. you see, i know the beasts too well to bring myself to pick their bones. yes, i'm friends with most of them. birds have more sense than animals to my mind. they understand you like. they know what you mean. snakes have least of any. they don't get friendly-like in the same way. but nature helps the snakes in queer ways. some of them hatch their own eggs, and when they do nature raises the temperature of their bodies. that's queer." illustration: _photo: w. g. smith, adelaide._ bellchambers and the mallee fowl. "get along with you, do!" i carried away a mixed memory of the things i had seen. a blue-headed wren, an eagle soaring in the distance; a hideous lizard with a huge open mouth; a laughing jackass which refused to laugh; many more or less tame wallabies and kangaroos; a dear little 'possum which got under the back of my coat, and would not come out; noisy mynah birds which fly ahead and warn the game against the hunter. good little noisy mynah! all my sympathies are with you! i would do the same if i could. this senseless lust for killing is a disgrace to the race. we, of england, cannot preach, for a pheasant battue is about the worst example of it. but do let the creatures alone unless they are surely noxious! when mr. bellchambers told us how he had trained two ibises--the old religious variety--and how both had been picked off by some unknown local "sportsman" it made one sad. we had a touch of comedy, however, when mr. bellchambers attempted to expose the egg of the mallee fowl, which is covered a foot deep in mould. he scraped into the mound with his hands. the cock watched him with an expression which clearly said: "confound the fellow! what is he up to now?" he then got on the mound, and as quickly as bellchambers shovelled the earth out he kicked it back again, bellchambers in his good-humoured way crying "get along with you, do!" a good husband is the mallee cock, and looks after the family interests. but what we humans would think if we were born deep underground and had to begin our career by digging our way to the surface, is beyond imagination. there are quite a clan of bellchambers living in or near the little pioneer's hut built in a clearing of the bush. mrs. bellchambers is of sussex, as is her husband, and when they heard that we were fresh from sussex also it was wonderful to see the eager look that came upon their faces, while the bush-born children could scarce understand what it was that shook the solid old folk to their marrow. on the walls were old prints of the devil's dyke and firle beacon. how strange that old sussex should be wearing out its very life in its care for the fauna of young australia. this remarkable man is unpaid with only his scanty holding upon which to depend, and many dumb mouths dependent upon him. i shall rejoice if my efforts in the local press serve to put his affairs upon a more worthy foundation, and to make south australia realise what a valuable instrument lies to her hand. before i left adelaide i learned many pleasing things about the lectures, which did away with any shadow cast by those numerous correspondents who seemed to think that we were still living under the mosaic dispensation, and who were so absent-minded that they usually forgot to sign their names. it is a curious difference between the christian letters of abuse and those of materialists, that the former are usually anonymous and the latter signed. i heard of one man, a lame stockman, who had come miles from the other side of streaky bay to attend the whole course, and who declared that he could listen all night. another seized my hand and cried, "you will never know the good you have done in this town." well, i hope it was so, but i only regard myself as the plough. others must follow with the seed. knowledge, perseverance, sanity, judgment, courage--we ask some qualities from our disciples if they are to do real good. talking of moral courage i would say that the governor of south australia, sir archibald weigall with lady weigall, had no hesitation in coming to support me with their presence. by the end of september this most successful mission in adelaide was accomplished, and early in october we were on our way to melbourne, which meant a long night in the train and a few hours of the next morning during which we saw the surface diggings of ballarat on every side of the railway line, the sandy soil pitted in every direction with the shallow claims of the miners. chapter iv speculations on paul and his master.--arrival at melbourne.--attack in the argus.--partial press boycott.--strength of the movement.--the prince of wales.--victorian football.--rescue circle in melbourne.--burke and wills' statue.--success of the lectures.--reception at the auditorium.--luncheon of the british empire league.--mr. ryan's experience.--the federal government.--mr. hughes' personality.--the mediumship of charles bailey.--his alleged exposure.--his remarkable record.--a second sitting.--the indian nest.--a remarkable lecture.--arrival of lord forster.--the future of the empire.--kindness of australians.--prohibition.--horse-racing.--roman catholic policy. one cannot help speculating about those great ones who first carried to the world the christian revelation. what were their domestic ties! there is little said about them, but we should never have known that peter had a wife were it not for a chance allusion to his mother-in-law, just as another chance allusion shows us that jesus was one of a numerous family. one thing can safely be said of paul, that he was either a bachelor or else was a domestic bully with a very submissive wife, or he would never have dared to express his well known views about women. as to his preaching, he had a genius for making a clear thing obscure, even as jesus had a genius for making an obscure thing clear. read the sermon on the mount and then a chapter of paul as a contrast in styles. apart from his style one can reconstruct him as a preacher to the extent that he had a powerful voice--no one without one could speak from the historic rocky pulpit on the hill of mars at athens, as i ascertained for myself. the slope is downwards, sound ascends, and the whole conditions are abominable. he was certainly long-winded and probably monotonous in his diction, or he could hardly have reduced one of his audience to such a deep sleep that he fell out of the window. we may add that he was a man of brisk courage in an emergency, that he was subject to such sudden trances that he was occasionally unaware himself whether he was normal or not, and that he was probably short-sighted, as he mistook the person who addressed him, and had his letters usually written for him. at least three languages were at his command, he had an intimate and practical knowledge of the occult, and was an authority upon jewish law--a good array of accomplishments for one man. there are some points about paul's august master which also help in a reconstruction of himself and his surroundings. that his mother was opposed to his mission is, i think, very probable. women are dubious about spiritual novelties, and one can well believe that her heart ached to see her noble elder son turn from the sure competence of his father's business at nazareth to the precarious existence of a wandering preacher. this domestic opposition clouded him as one can see in the somewhat cold, harsh words which he used to her, and his mode of address which began simply as "woman." his assertion to the disciples that one who followed his path had to give up his family points to the same thing. no doubt mary remained with the younger branches at nazareth while jesus pursued his ministry, though she came, as any mother would, to be near him at the end. of his own personality we know extraordinarily little, considering the supreme part that he played in the world. that he was a highly trained psychic, or as we should say, medium, is obvious to anyone who studies the miracles, and it is certainly not derogatory to say that they were done along the line of god's law rather than that they were inversions of it. i cannot doubt also that he chose his apostles for their psychic powers--if not, on what possible principle were they selected, since they were neither staunch nor learned? it is clear that peter and james and john were the inner circle of psychics, since they were assembled both at the transfiguration and at the raising of jairus' daughter. it is from unlearned open-air men who are near nature that the highest psychic powers are obtained. it has been argued that the christ was an essene, but this seems hard to believe, as the essenes were not only secluded from the world, but were certainly vegetarians and total abstainers, while jesus was neither. on the other hand baptism was not a jewish rite, and his undergoing it--if he did, indeed, undergo it--marks him as belonging to some dissenting sect. i say "if he did" because it is perfectly certain that there were forgeries and interpolations introduced into the gospels in order to square their teaching with the practice of the church some centuries later. one would look for those forgeries not in the ordinary narrative, which in the adult years bears every mark of truth, but in the passages which support ceremonial or tributes to the church--such as the allusions to baptism, "unless a man be born again," to the sacrament, "this is my body, etc.," and the whole story of ananias and sapphira, the moral of which is that it is dangerous to hold anything back from the church. physically i picture the christ as an extremely powerful man. i have known several famous healers and they were all men who looked as if they had redundant health and strength to give to others. his words to the sick woman, "who has touched me? much power" (_dunamis_ is the word in the original greek) "has gone out of me," show that his system depended upon his losing what he gave to others. therefore he was a very strong man. the mere feat of carrying a wooden cross strong enough to bear a man from jerusalem to calvary, up a hill, is no light one. it is the details which convince me that the gospel narrative is correct and really represents an actual event. take the incident during that sad journey of simon of cyrene having helped for a time with the cross. why should anyone invent such a thing, putting an actual name to the person? it is touches of this kind which place the narrative beyond all suspicion of being a pure invention. again and again in the new testament one is confronted with incidents which a writer of fiction recognises as being beyond the reach of invention, because the inventor does not put in things which have no direct bearing upon the matter in hand. take as an example how the maid, seeing peter outside the door after his escape from prison, ran back to the guests and said that it was his angel (or etheric body) which was outside. such an episode could only have been recorded because it actually occurred. but these be deep waters. let me get back to my own humble experiences, these interpolated thoughts being but things which have been found upon the wayside of our journey. on reaching melbourne we were greeted at the station by a few devoted souls who had waited for two trains before they found us. covered with the flowers which they had brought we drove to menzies hotel, whence we moved a few days later to a flat in the grand, where we were destined to spend five eventful weeks. we found the atmosphere and general psychic conditions of melbourne by no means as pleasant or receptive as those of adelaide, but this of course was very welcome as the greater the darkness the more need of the light. if spiritualism had been a popular cult in australia there would have been no object in my visit. i was welcome enough as an individual, but by no means so as an emissary, and both the churches and the materialists, in most unnatural combination, had done their best to make the soil stony for me. their chief agent had been the _argus_, a solid, stodgy paper, which amply fulfilled the material needs of the public, but was not given to spiritual vision. this paper before my arrival had a very violent and abusive leader which attracted much attention, full of such terms as "black magic," "shamanism," "witchcraft," "freak religion," "cranky faith," "cruelty," "black evil," "poison," finishing up with the assertion that i represented "a force which we believe to be purely evil." this was from a paper which whole-heartedly supports the liquor interest, and has endless columns of betting and racing news, nor did its principles cause it to refuse substantial sums for the advertising of my lectures. still, however arrogant or illogical, i hold that a paper has a perfect right to publish and uphold its own view, nor would i say that the subsequent refusal of the _argus_ to print any answer to its tirade was a real breach of the ethics of journalism. where its conduct became outrageous, however, and where it put itself beyond the pale of all literary decency, was when it reported my first lecture by describing my wife's dress, my own voice, the colour of my spectacles, and not a word of what i said. it capped this by publishing so-called answers to me by canon hughes, and by bishop phelan--critics whose knowledge of the subject seemed to begin and end with the witch of endor--while omitting the statements to which these answers applied. never in any british town have i found such reactionary intolerance as in this great city, for though the _argus_ was the chief offender, the other papers were as timid as rabbits in the matter. my psychic photographs which, as i have said, are the most wonderful collection ever shown in the world, were received in absolute silence by the whole press, though it is notorious that if i had come there with a comic opera or bedroom comedy instead of with the evidence of a series of miracles, i should have had a column. this seems to have been really due to moral cowardice, and not to ignorance, for i saw a private letter afterwards in which a sub-editor remarked that he and the chief leader-writer had both seen the photographs and that they could see no possible answer to them. there was another and more pleasing side to the local conditions, and that lay in the numbers who had already mastered the principles of spiritualism, the richer classes as individuals, the poorer as organised churches. they were so numerous that when we received an address of welcome in the auditorium to which only spiritualists were invited by ticket, the hall, which holds two thousand, was easily filled. this would mean on the same scale that the spiritualists of london could fill the albert hall several times over--as no doubt they could. their numbers were in a sense an embarrassment, as i always had the fear that i was addressing the faithful instead of those whom i had come so far to instruct. on the whole their quality and organisation were disappointing. they had a splendid spiritual paper in their midst, the _harbinger of light_, which has run for fifty years, and is most ably edited by mr. britton harvey. when i think of david gow, ernest oaten, john lewis and britton harvey i feel that our cause is indeed well represented by its press. they have also some splendid local workers, like bloomfield and tozer, whole-hearted and apostolic. but elsewhere there is the usual tendency to divide and to run into vulgarities and extravagances in which the spiritual has small share. discipline is needed, which involves central powers, and that in turn means command of the purse. it would be far better to have no spiritual churches than some i have seen. however, i seem to have got to some of my final conclusions at melbourne before i have begun our actual experience there. we found the place still full of rumours and talk about the recent visit of the prince of wales, who seems to have a perfect genius for making himself popular and beloved. may he remain unspoiled and retain the fresh kindliness of his youth. his success is due not to any ordered rule of conduct but to a perfectly natural courtesy which is his essential self and needs no effort. our waiter at the hotel who had waited upon him remarked: "god never made anything nearer to nature than that boy. he spoke to me as he might have spoken to the governor." it was a fine tribute, and characteristic of the humbler classes in this country, who have a vigour of speech and an independence of view which is very refreshing. once as i passed a public house, a broken old fellow who had been leaning against the wall with a short pipe in his mouth, stepped forward to me and said: "i am all for civil and religious liberty. there is plenty of room for your cult here, sir, and i wish you well against the bigots." i wonder from what heights that old fellow had fallen before he brought up against the public house wall? one of my first afternoons in melbourne was spent in seeing the final tie of the victorian football cup. i have played both rugby and soccer, and i have seen the american game at its best, but i consider that the victorian system has some points which make it the best of all--certainly from the spectacular point of view. there is no off-side, and you get a free kick if you catch the ball. otherwise you can run as in ordinary rugby, though there is a law about bouncing the ball as you run, which might, as it seemed to me, be cut out without harming the game. this bouncing rule was put in by mr. harrison who drew up the original rules, for the chivalrous reason that he was himself the fastest runner in the colony, and he did not wish to give himself any advantage. there is not so much man-handling in the victorian game, and to that extent it is less dramatic, but it is extraordinarily open and fast, with none of the packed scrums which become so wearisome, and with linesmen who throw in the ball the instant it goes out. there were several points in which the players seemed better than our best--one was the accurate passing by low drop kicking, very much quicker and faster than a pass by hand. another was the great accuracy of the place kicking and of the screw kicking when a runner would kick at right angles to his course. there were four long quarters, and yet the men were in such condition that they were going hard at the end. they are all, i understand, semi-professionals. altogether it was a very fine display, and the crowd was much excited. it was suggestive that the instant the last whistle blew a troop of mounted police cantered over the ground and escorted the referees to the safety of the pavilion. i began at once to endeavour to find out the conditions of local spiritualism, and had a long conversation with mr. tozer, the chairman of the movement, a slow-talking, steady-eyed man, of the type that gets a grip and does not easily let go. after explaining the general situation, which needs some explanation as it is full of currents and cross-currents caused by individual schisms and secessions, he told me in his gentle, earnest way some of his own experiences in his home circle which corroborate much which i have heard elsewhere. he has run a rescue circle for the instruction of the lower spirits who are so material that they can be reached more easily by humanity than by the higher angels. the details he gave me were almost the same as those given by mr. macfarlane of southsea who had a similar circle of which mr. tozer had certainly never heard. a wise spirit control dominates the proceedings. the medium goes into trance. the spirit control then explains what it is about to do, and who the spirit is who is about to be reformed. the next scene is often very violent, the medium having to be held down and using rough language. this comes from some low spirit who has suddenly found this means of expressing himself. at other times the language is not violent but only melancholy, the spirit declaring that he is abandoned and has not a friend in the universe. some do not realise that they are dead, but only that they wander all alone, under conditions they could not understand, in a cloud of darkness. then comes the work of regeneration. they are reasoned with and consoled. gradually they become more gentle. finally, they accept the fact that they are spirits, that their condition is their own making, and that by aspiration and repentance they can win their way to the light. when one has found the path and has returned thanks for it, another case is treated. as a rule these errant souls are unknown to fame. often they are clergymen whose bigotry has hindered development. occasionally some great sinner of the past may come into view. i have before me a written lament professing to come from alva, the bigoted governor of the lowlands. it is gruesome enough. "picture to yourself the hell i was in. blood, blood everywhere, corpses on all sides, gashed, maimed, mutilated, quivering with agony and bleeding at every pore! at the same time thousands of voices were raised in bitter reproaches, in curses and execrations! imagine the appalling spectacle of this multitude of the dead and dying, fresh from the flames, from the sword, the rack, the torture chambers and the gibbet; and the pandemonium of voices shrieking out the most terrible maledictions! imagine never being able to get away from these sights and sounds, and then tell me, was i not in hell?--a hell of greater torment than that to which i believed all heretics were consigned. such was the hell of the 'bloody alva,' from which i have been rescued by what seems to me a great merciful dispensation of almighty god." sometimes in mr. tozer's circle the souls of ancient clerics who have slumbered long show their first signs of resuscitation, still bearing their old-world intolerance with them. the spirit control purports to be a well-educated chinaman, whose presence and air of authority annoy the ecclesiastics greatly. the petrified mind leads to a long period of insensibility which means loss of ground and of time in the journey towards happiness. i was present at the return of one alleged anglican bishop of the eighteenth century, who spoke with great intolerance. when asked if he had seen the christ he answered that he had not and that he could not understand it. when asked if he still considered the christ to be god he threw up his hand and shouted violently, "stop! that is blasphemy!" the chinese control said, "he stupid man. let him wait. he learn better"--and removed him. he was succeeded by a very noisy and bigoted puritan divine who declared that no one but devils would come to a séance. on being asked whether that meant that he was himself a devil he became so abusive that the chinaman once more had to intervene. i quote all this as a curious sidelight into some developments of the subject which are familiar enough to students, but not to the general public. it is easy at a distance to sneer at such things and to ask for their evidential value, but they are very impressive to those who view them at closer quarters. as to evidence, i am informed that several of the unfortunates have been identified in this world through the information which they gave of their own careers. melbourne is a remarkable city, far more solid and old-established than the european visitor would expect. we spent some days in exploring it. there are few cities which have the same natural advantages, for it is near the sea, with many charming watering places close at hand, while inland it has some beautiful hills for the week-end villas of the citizens. edinburgh is the nearest analogy which i can recall. parks and gardens are beautiful, but, as in most british cities, the public statues are more solid than impressive. the best of them, that to burke and wills, the heroic explorers, has no name upon it to signify who the two figures are, so that they mean nothing at all to the casual observer, in spite of some excellent bas-reliefs, round the base, which show the triumphant start and the terrible end of that tragic but successful journey, which first penetrated the continent from south to north. before our departure i appealed in the press to have this omission rectified and it was, i believe, done. illustration: _photo: stirling, melbourne._ melbourne, november, . mr. smythe, my agent, had been unfortunate in being unable to secure one of the very few large halls in melbourne, so we had to confine ourselves to the playhouse which has only seating for about , . here i opened on october th, following my lectures up in the same order as in adelaide. the press was very shy, but nothing could have exceeded the warmth and receptivity of my hearers. yet on account of the inadequate reports of the press, with occasional total suppression, no one who was not present could have imagined how packed was the house, or how unanimous the audience. on october th the spiritualists filled the auditorium and had a special service of welcome for ourselves. when i went down to it in the tram, the conductor, unaware of my identity, said, when i asked to be put down at the auditorium, "it's no use, sir; it's jam full an hour ago." "the pilgrims," as they called us, were in special seats, the seven of us all in a line upon the right of the chair. many kind things were said, and i replied as best i might. the children will carry the remembrance of that warm-hearted reception through their lives, and they are not likely to forget how they staggered home, laden with the flowers which were literally heaped upon them. the british empire league also entertained my wife and myself to lunch, a very select company assembling who packed the room. sir joseph cook, federal chancellor of the exchequer, made a pleasant speech, recalling our adventures upon the somme, when he had his baptism of fire. in my reply i pulled the leg of my audience with some success, for i wound up by saying, very solemnly, that i was something greater than governments and the master of cabinet ministers. by the time i had finished my tremendous claims i am convinced that they expected some extravagant occult pretension, whereas i actually wound up with the words, "for i am the man in the street." there was a good deal of amusement caused. mr. thomas ryan, a very genial and capable member of the state legislature, took the chair at this function. he had no particular psychic knowledge, but he was deeply impressed by an experience in london in the presence of that remarkable little lady, miss scatcherd. mr. ryan had said that he wanted some evidence before he could accept psychic philosophy, upon which miss scatcherd said: "there is a spirit beside you now. he conveys to me that his name is roberts. he says he is worried in his mind because the home which you prepared for his widow has not been legally made over to her." all this applied to a matter in adelaide. in that city, according to mr. ryan, a séance was held that night, mr. victor cromer being the medium, at which a message came through from roberts saying that he was now easy in his mind as he had managed to convey his trouble to mr. ryan who could set it right. when these psychic laws are understood the dead as well as the living will be relieved from a load of unnecessary care; but how can these laws be ignored or pooh-poohed in the face of such instances as this which i have quoted? they are so numerous now that it is hardly an exaggeration to say that every circle of human beings which meets can supply one. mr. hughes was good enough to ask me to meet the members of the federal government at lunch, and the experience was an interesting one, for here round one small table were those who were shaping the course of this young giant among the nations. they struck me as a practical hard-worked rough-and-ready lot of men. mr. hughes dominated the conversation, which necessarily becomes one-sided as he is very deaf, though his opponents say that he has an extraordinary knack of hearing what he is not meant to hear. he told us a series of anecdotes of his stormy political youth with a great deal of vivacity, the whole company listening in silence. he is a hard, wiry man, with a high-nosed red indian face, and a good deal of healthy devilry in his composition--a great force for good during the war. after lunch he conducted me through the library, and coming to a portrait of clemenceau he cried: "that's the man i learned to admire in europe." then, turning to one of wilson, he added, "and that's the man i learned to dislike." he added a number of instances of wilson's ignorance of actual conditions, and of his ungenial coldness of heart. "if he had not been so wrapped in himself, and if he had taken lodge or some other republican with him, all could have easily been arranged." i feel that i am not indiscreet in repeating this, for hughes is not a man who conceals his opinions from the world. i have been interested in the medium bailey, who was said to have been exposed in france in . the curious will find the alleged exposure in "annals of psychical science," vol. ix. bailey is an apport medium--that is to say, that among his phenomena is the bringing of objects which are said to come from a distance, passing through the walls and being precipitated down upon the table. these objects are of the strangest description--assyrian tablets (real or forged), tortoises, live birds, snakes, precious stones, &c. in this case, after being searched by the committee, he was able to produce two live birds in the séance room. at the next sitting the committee proposed an obscene and absurd examination of the medium, which he very rightly resented and refused. they then confidently declared that on the first occasion the two live birds were in his intestines, a theory so absurd that it shakes one's confidence in their judgment. they had, however, some more solid grounds for a charge against him, for they produced a married couple who swore that they had sold three such birds with a cage to bailey some days before. this bailey denied, pointing out that he could neither speak french, nor had he ever had any french money, which professor reichel, who brought him from australia, corroborated. however, the committee considered the evidence to be final, and the séances came to an end, though colonel de rochas, the leading member, wound up the incident by writing: "are we to conclude from the fraud that we have witnessed that all bailey's apports may have been fraudulent? i do not think so, and this is also the opinion of the members of the committee, who have had much experience with mediums and are conversant with the literature of the subject." reading the alleged exposure, one is struck, as so often in such cases, with its unsatisfactory nature. there is the difficulty of the language and the money. there is the disappearance of the third bird and the cage. above all, how did the birds get into the carefully-guarded seance room, especially as bailey was put in a bag during the proceedings? the committee say the bag may not have been efficient, but they also state that bailey desired the control to be made more effective. altogether it is a puzzling case. on my applying to bailey himself for information, he declared roundly that he had been the victim of a theological plot with suborned evidence. the only slight support which i can find for that view is that there was a rev. doctor among his accusers. i was told independently that professor reichel, before his death in , came also to the conclusion that there had been a plot. but in any case most of us will agree with mr. stanford, bailey's australian patron, that the committee would have been wise to say nothing, continue the sittings, and use their knowledge to get at some more complete conclusion. with such a record one had to be on one's guard with mr. bailey. i had a sitting in my room at the hotel to which i invited ten guests, but the results were not impressive. we saw so-called spirit hands, which were faintly luminous, but i was not allowed to grasp them, and they were never further from the medium than he could have reached. all this was suspicious but not conclusive. on the other hand, there was an attempt at a materialisation of a head, which took the form of a luminous patch, and seemed to some of the sitters to be further from the cabinet than could be reached. we had an address purporting to come from the control, dr. whitcombe, and we also had a message written in bad italian. on the whole it was one of those baffling sittings which leave a vague unpleasant impression, and there was a disturbing suggestion of cuffs about those luminous hands. i have been reading bailey's record, however, and i cannot doubt that he has been a great apport medium. the results were far above all possible fraud, both in the conditions and in the articles brought into the room by spirit power. for example, i have a detailed account published by dr. c. w. mccarthy, of sydney, under the title, "rigid tests of the occult." during these tests bailey was sealed up in a bag, and in one case was inside a cage of mosquito curtain. the door and windows were secured and the fire-place blocked. the sitters were all personal friends, but they mutually searched each other. the medium was stripped naked before the séance. under these stringent conditions during a series of six sittings articles were brought into the room, which included eighty-seven ancient coins (mostly of ptolemy), eight live birds, eighteen precious stones of modest value and varied character, two live turtles, seven inscribed babylonian tablets, one egyptian scarabæus, an arabic newspaper, a leopard skin, four nests and many other things. it seems to me perfect nonsense to talk about these things being the results of trickery. i may add that at a previous test meeting they had a young live shark about - / feet long, which was tangled with wet seaweed and flopped about on the table. dr. mccarthy gives a photograph of the creature. my second sitting with bailey was more successful than the first. on his arrival i and others searched him and satisfied ourselves he carried nothing upon him. i then suddenly switched out all the lights, for it seemed to me that the luminous hands of the first sitting might be the result of phosphorised oil put on before the meeting and only visible in complete darkness, so that it could defy all search. i was wrong, however, for there was no luminosity at all. we then placed mr. bailey in the corner of the room, lowered the lights without turning them out, and waited. almost at once he breathed very heavily, as one in trance, and soon said something in a foreign tongue which was unintelligible to me. one of our friends, mr. cochrane, recognised it as indian, and at once answered, a few sentences being interchanged. in english the voice then said that he was a hindoo control who was used to bring apports for the medium, and that he would, he hoped, be able to bring one for us. "here it is," he said a moment later, and the medium's hand was extended with something in it. the light was turned full on and we found it was a very perfect bird's nest, beautifully constructed of some very fine fibre mixed with moss. it stood about two inches high and had no sign of any flattening which would have come with concealment. the size would be nearly three inches across. in it lay a small egg, white, with tiny brown speckles. the medium, or rather the hindoo control acting through the medium, placed the egg on his palm and broke it, some fine albumen squirting out. there was no trace of yolk. "we are not allowed to interfere with life," said he. "if it had been fertilised we could not have taken it." these words were said before he broke it, so that he was aware of the condition of the egg, which certainly seems remarkable. "where did it come from?" i asked. "from india." "what bird is it?" "they call it the jungle sparrow." the nest remained in my possession, and i spent a morning with mr. chubb, of the local museum, to ascertain if it was really the nest of such a bird. it seemed too small for an indian sparrow, and yet we could not match either nest or egg among the australian types. some of mr. bailey's other nests and eggs have been actually identified. surely it is a fair argument that while it is conceivable that such birds might be imported and purchased here, it is really an insult to one's reason to suppose that nests with fresh eggs in them could also be in the market. therefore i can only support the far more extended experience and elaborate tests of dr. mccarthy of sydney, and affirm that i believe mr. charles bailey to be upon occasion a true medium, with a very remarkable gift for apports. it is only right to state that when i returned to london i took one of bailey's assyrian tablets to the british museum and that it was pronounced to be a forgery. upon further inquiry it proved that these forgeries are made by certain jews in a suburb of bagdad--and, so far as is known, only there. therefore the matter is not much further advanced. to the transporting agency it is at least possible that the forgery, steeped in recent human magnetism, is more capable of being handled than the original taken from a mound. bailey has produced at least a hundred of these things, and no custom house officer has deposed how they could have entered the country. on the other hand, bailey told me clearly that the tablets had been passed by the british museum, so that i fear that i cannot acquit him of tampering with truth--and just there lies the great difficulty of deciding upon his case. but one has always to remember that physical mediumship has no connection one way or the other with personal character, any more than the gift of poetry. to return to this particular séance, it was unequal. we had luminous hands, but they were again within reach of the cabinet in which the medium was seated. we had also a long address from dr. whitcombe, the learned control, in which he discoursed like an absolute master upon assyrian and roman antiquities and psychic science. it was really an amazing address, and if bailey were the author of it i should hail him as a master mind. he chatted about the kings of babylon as if he had known them all, remarked that the bible was wrong in calling belthazar king as he was only crown prince, and put in all those easy side allusions which a man uses when he is absolutely full of his subject. upon his asking for questions, i said: "please give me some light as to the dematerialisation and subsequent reassembly of an object such as a bird's nest." "it involves," he answered, "some factors which are beyond your human science and which could not be made clear to you. at the same time you may take as a rough analogy the case of water which is turned into steam, and then this steam which is invisible, is conducted elsewhere to be reassembled as visible water." i thought this explanation was exceedingly apt, though of course i agree that it is only a rough analogy. on my asking if there were libraries and facilities for special study in the next world, he said that there certainly were, but that instead of studying books they usually studied the actual objects themselves. all he said was full of dignity and wisdom. it was curious to notice that, learned as he was, dr. whitcombe always referred back with reverence to dr. robinson, another control not present at the moment, as being the real expert. i am told that some of dr. robinson's addresses have fairly amazed the specialists. i notice that col. de rochas in his report was equally impressed by bailey's controls. i fear that my psychic experiences are pushing my travels into the background, but i warned the reader that it might be so when first we joined hands. to get back to the earth, let me say that i saw the procession when the new governor-general, lord forster, with his charming wife, made their ceremonial entry into melbourne, with many workman-like commonwealth troops before and behind their carriage. i knew lord forster of old, for we both served upon a committee over the olympic games, so that he gave quite a start of surprised recognition when his quick eye fell upon my face in the line of spectators. he is a man who cannot fail to be popular here, for he has the physical as well as the mental qualities. our stay in melbourne was afterwards made more pleasant by the gracious courtesy of government house for, apart from attending several functions, we were invited to a special dinner, after which i exhibited upon a screen my fairy portraits and a few of my other very wonderful psychic photographs. it was not an occasion when i could preach, but no quick intelligence could be brought in contact with such phenomena without asking itself very seriously what lay behind them. when that question is earnestly asked the battle is won. one asks oneself what will be the end of this system of little viceroys in each state and a big viceroy in the capital--however capable and excellent in themselves such viceroys may be. the smaller courts are, i understand, already doomed, and rightly so, since there is no need for them and nothing like them elsewhere. there is no possible purpose that they serve save to impose a nominal check, which is never used, upon the legislation. the governor-generalship will last no doubt until australia cuts the painter, or we let go our end of it, whichever may come first. personally, i have no fear of britain's power being weakened by a separation of her dominions. close allies which were independent might be a greater source of moral strength than actual dependencies. when the sons leave the father's house and rule their own homes, becoming fathers in turn, the old man is not weakened thereby. certainly i desire no such change, but if it came i would bear it with philosophy. i hope that the era of great military crises is for ever past, but, if it should recur, i am sure that the point of view would be the same, and that the starry union jack of the great australian nation would still fly beside the old flag which was its model. if one took a machiavelian view of british interests one would say that to retain a colony the surest way is not to remove any danger which may threaten her. we conquered canada from the french, removing in successive campaigns the danger from the north and from the west which threatened our american colonies. when we had expended our blood and money to that end, so that the colonies had nothing to fear, they took the first opportunity to force an unnecessary quarrel and to leave us. so i have fears for south africa now that the german menace has been removed. australia is, i think, loyal to the core, and yet self-interest is with every nation the basis of all policy, and so long as the british fleet can guard the shores of the great empty northern territories, a region as big as britain, germany, france and austria put together, they have need of us. there can be no doubt that if they were alone in the world in the face of the teeming millions of the east, they might, like the siberian travellers, have to throw a good deal to the wolves in order to save the remainder. brave and capable as they are, neither their numbers nor their resources could carry them through a long struggle if the enemy held the sea. they are natural shots and soldiers, so that they might be wiser to spend their money in a strategic railway right across their northern coast, rather than in direct military preparations. to concentrate rapidly before the enemy was firmly established might under some circumstances be a very vital need. but so long as the british empire lasts australia is safe, and in twenty years' time her own enlarged population will probably make her safe without help from anyone. but her empty places are a danger. history abhors a vacuum and finds some one to fill it up. i have never yet understood why the commonwealth has not made a serious effort to attract to the northern territories those italians who are flooding the argentine. it is great blood and no race is the poorer for it--the blood of ancient rome. they are used to semitropical heat and to hard work in bad conditions if there be only hope ahead. perhaps the policy of the future may turn in that direction. if that one weak spot be guarded then it seems to me that in the whole world there is no community, save only the united states, which is so safe from outside attack as australia. internal division is another matter, but there australia is in some ways stronger than the states. she has no negro question, and the strife between capital and labour is not likely to be so formidable. i wonder, by the way, how many people in the united states realise that this small community lost as many men as america did in the great war. we were struck also by the dignified resignation with which this fact was faced, and by the sense of proportion which was shown in estimating the sacrifices of various nations. we like the people here very much more than we had expected to, for one hears in england exaggerated stories of their democratic bearing. when democracy takes the form of equality one can get along with it, but when it becomes rude and aggressive one would avoid it. here one finds a very pleasing good fellowship which no one would object to. again and again we have met with little acts of kindness from people in shops or in the street, which were not personal to ourselves, but part of their normal good manners. if you ask the way or any other information, strangers will take trouble to put you right. they are kindly, domestic and straight in speech and in dealings. materialism and want of vision in the broader affairs of life seem to be the national weakness, but that may be only a passing phase, for when a nation has such a gigantic material proposition as this continent to handle it is natural that their thoughts should run on the wool and the wheat and the gold by which it can be accomplished. i am bound to say, however, that i think every patriotic australian should vote, if not for prohibition, at least for the solution which is most dear to myself, and that is the lowering of the legal standard of alcohol in any drink. we have been shocked and astonished by the number of young men of decent exterior whom we have seen staggering down the street, often quite early in the day. the biblical test for drunkenness, that it was not yet the third hour, would not apply to them. i hear that bad as it is in the big towns it is worse in the small ones, and worst of all in the northern territories and other waste places where work is particularly needed. it must greatly decrease the national efficiency. a recent vote upon the question in victoria only carried total abstinence in four districts out of about , but a two-third majority was needed to do it. on the other hand a trial of strength in queensland, generally supposed to be rather a rowdy state, has shown that the temperance men all combined can out-vote the others. therefore it is certain that reform will not be long delayed. the other curse of the country, which is a real drag upon its progress, is the eternal horse-racing. it goes on all the year round, though it has its more virulent bouts, as for example during our visit to this town when the derby, the melbourne cup, and oaks succeeded each other. they call it sport, but i fear that in that case i am no sportsman. i would as soon call the roulette-table a sport. the whole population is unsettled and bent upon winning easy money, which dissatisfies them with the money that has to be worked for. every shop is closed when the cup is run, and you have lift-boys, waiters and maids all backing their fancies, not with half-crowns but with substantial sums. the danger to honesty is obvious, and it came under our own notice that it is not imaginary. of course we are by no means blameless in england, but it only attacks a limited class, while here it seems to the stranger to be almost universal. in fact it is so bad that it is sure to get better, for i cannot conceive that any sane nation will allow it to continue. the book-makers, however, are a powerful guild, and will fight tooth and nail. the catholic church, i am sorry to say, uses its considerable influence to prevent drink reform by legislation, and i fear that it will not support the anti-gamblers either. i wonder from what hidden spring, from what ignorant italian camarilla, this venerable and in some ways admirable church gets its secular policy, which must have central direction, since it is so consistent! when i remember the recent sequence of world events and the part played by that church, the attack upon the innocent dreyfus, the refusal to support reform in the congo, and finally the obvious leaning towards the central powers who were clearly doomed to lose, one would think that it was ruled by a council of lunatics. these matters bear no relation to faith or dogma, so that one wonders that the sane catholics have not risen in protest. no doubt the better class laymen are ahead of the clergy in this as in other religious organisations. i cannot forget how the duke of norfolk sent me a cheque for the congo reform movement at the very time when we could not get the catholic church to line up with the other sects at a reform demonstration at the albert hall. in this country also there were many brave and loyal catholics who took their own line against cardinal mannix upon the question of conscription, when that cardinal did all that one man could do to bring about the defeat of the free nations in the great war. how he could face an american audience afterwards, or how such an audience could tolerate him, is hard to understand. chapter v more english than the english.--a day in the bush.--immigration.--a case of spirit return.--a séance.--geelong.--the lava plain.--good-nature of general ryrie.--bendigo.--down a gold mine.--prohibition v. continuance.--mrs. knight maclellan.--nerrin.--a wild drive.--electric shearing.--rich sheep stations.--cockatoo farmers.--spinnifex and mallee.--rabbits.--the great marsh. in some ways the australians are more english than the english. we have been imperceptibly americanised, while our brethren over the sea have kept the old type. the australian is less ready to show emotion, cooler in his bearing, more restrained in applause, more devoted to personal liberty, keener on sport, and quieter in expression (as witness the absence of scare lines in the papers) than our people are. indeed, they remind me more of the scotch than the english, and melbourne on a sunday, without posts, or sunday papers, or any amenity whatever, is like the edinburgh of my boyhood. sydney is more advanced. there are curious anomalies in both towns. their telephone systems are so bad that they can only be balanced against each other, for they are in a class by themselves. one smiles when one recollects that one used to grumble at the london lines. on the other hand the tramway services in both towns are wonderful, and so continuous that one never hastens one's step to catch a tram since another comes within a minute. the melbourne trams have open bogey cars in front, which make a drive a real pleasure. one of our pleasant recollections in the early days of our melbourne visit was a day in the bush with mr. henry stead and his wife. my intense admiration for the moral courage and energy of the father made it easy for me to form a friendship with his son, who has shown the family qualities by the able way in which he has founded and conducted an excellent journal, _stead's monthly_. australia was lucky ever to get such an immigrant as that, for surely an honest, fearless and clear-headed publicist is the most valuable man that a young country, whose future is one long problem play, could import. we spent our day in the dandenong hills, twenty miles from melbourne, in a little hostel built in a bush clearing and run by one lucas, of good english cricket stock, his father having played for sussex. on the way we passed madame melba's place at lilydale, and the wonderful woods with their strange tree-ferns seemed fit cover for such a singing bird. coming back in stead's light american car we tried a short cut down roads which proved to be almost impossible. a rather heavier car ahead of us, with two youths in it, got embedded in the mud, and we all dismounted to heave it out. there suddenly appeared on the lonely road an enormous coloured man; he looked like a cross between negro and black fellow. he must have lived in some hut in the woods, but the way his huge form suddenly rose beside us was quite surprising. he stood in gloomy majesty surveying our efforts, and repeating a series of sentences which reminded one of german exercises. "i have no jack. i had a jack. some one has taken my jack. this is called a road. it is not a road. there is no road." we finally levered out the australian car, for which, by the way, neither occupant said a word of thanks, and then gave the black giant a shilling, which he received as a keeper takes his toll. on looking back i am not sure that this slough of despond is not carefully prepared by this negro, who makes a modest income by the tips which he gets from the unfortunates who get bogged in it. no keeper ever darted out to a trap quicker than he did when the car got stuck. stead agreed with me that the australians do not take a big enough view of their own destiny. they--or the labour party, to be more exact--are inclined to buy the ease of the moment at the cost of the greatness of their continental future. they fear immigration lest it induce competition and pull down prices. it is a natural attitude. and yet that little fringe of people on the edge of that huge island can never adequately handle it. it is like an enormous machine with a six horsepower engine to drive it. i have a great sympathy with their desire to keep the british stock as pure as possible. but the land needs the men, and somewhere they must be found. i cannot doubt that they would become loyal subjects of the empire which had adopted them. i have wondered sometimes whether in lower california and the warmer states of the union there may not be human material for australia. canada has received no more valuable stock than from the american states, so it might be that another portion of the union would find the very stamp of man that queensland and the north require. the american likes a big gamble and a broad life with plenty of elbow-room. let him bring his cotton seeds over to semi-tropical australia and see what he can make of it there. to pass suddenly to other-worldly things, which are my mission. people never seem to realise the plain fact that one positive result must always outweigh a hundred negative ones. it only needs one single case of spirit return to be established, and there is no more to be said. incidentally, how absurd is the position of those wiseacres who say "nine-tenths of the phenomena are fraud." can they not see that if they grant us one-tenth, they grant us our whole contention? these remarks are elicited by a case which occurred in in melbourne, and which should have converted the city as surely as if an angel had walked down collins street. yet nearly forty years later i find it as stagnant and material as any city i have ever visited. the facts are these, well substantiated by documentary and official evidence. mr. junor browne, a well-known citizen, whose daughter afterwards married mr. alfred deakin, subsequently premier, had two sons, frank and hugh. together with a seaman named murray they went out into the bay in their yacht the "iolanthe," and they never returned. the father was fortunately a spiritualist and upon the second day of their absence, after making all normal inquiries, he asked a sensitive, mr. george spriggs, formerly of cardiff, if he would trace them. mr. spriggs collected some of the young men's belongings, so as to get their atmosphere, and then he was able by psychometry to give an account of their movements, the last which he could see of them being that they were in trouble upon the yacht and that confusion seemed to reign aboard her. two days later, as no further news was brought in, the browne family held a séance, mr. spriggs being the medium. he fell into trance and the two lads, who had been trained in spiritual knowledge and knew the possibilities, at once came through. they expressed their contrition to their mother, who had desired them not to go, and they then gave a clear account of the capsizing of the yacht, and how they had met their death, adding that they had found themselves after death in the exact physical conditions of happiness and brightness which their father's teaching had led them to expect. they brought with them the seaman murray, who also said a few words. finally hugh, speaking through the medium, informed mr. browne that frank's arm and part of his clothing had been torn off by a fish. "a shark?" asked mr. browne. "well, it was not like any shark i have seen." mark the sequel. some weeks later a large shark of a rare deep-sea species, unknown to the fishermen, and quite unlike the ordinary blue shark with which the brownes were familiar, was taken at frankston, about twenty-seven miles from melbourne. inside it was found the bone of a human arm, and also a watch, some coins, and other articles which had belonged to frank browne. these facts were all brought out in the papers at the time, and mr. browne put much of it on record in print before the shark was taken, or any word of the missing men had come by normal means. the facts are all set forth in a little book by mr. browne himself, called "a rational faith." what have fraudulent mediums and all the other decoys to do with such a case as that, and is it not perfectly convincing to any man who is not perverse? personally, i value it not so much for the evidence of survival, since we have that so complete already, but for the detailed account given by the young men of their new conditions, so completely corroborating what so many young officers, cut off suddenly in the war, have said of their experience. "mother, if you could see how happy we are, and the beautiful home we are in, you would not weep except for joy. i feel so light in my spiritual body and have no pain, i would not exchange this life for earth life even it were in my power. poor spirits without number are waiting anxiously to communicate with their friends when an opportunity is offered." the young brownes had the enormous advantage of the education they had received from their father, so that they instantly understood and appreciated the new conditions. on october th we had a séance with mrs. hunter, a pleasant middle-aged woman, with a soft south of england accent. like so many of our mediums she had little sign of education in her talk. it does not matter in spiritual things, though it is a stumbling block to some inquirers. after all, how much education had the apostles? i have no doubt they were very vulgar provincial people from the average roman point of view. but they shook the world none the less. most of our educated people have got their heads so crammed with things that don't matter that they have no room for the things that do matter. there was no particular success at our sitting, but i have heard that the medium is capable of better things. on october th i had my first experience of a small town, for i went to geelong and lectured there. it was an attentive and cultured audience, but the hall was small and the receipts could hardly have covered the expenses. however, it is the press report and the local discussion which really matter. i had little time to inspect geelong, which is a prosperous port with , inhabitants. what interested me more was the huge plain of lava which stretches around it and connects it with melbourne. this plain is a good hundred miles across, and as it is of great depth one can only imagine that there must be monstrous cavities inside the earth to correspond with the huge amount extruded. here and there one sees stunted green cones which are the remains of the volcanoes which spewed up all this stuff. the lava has disintegrated on the surface to the extent of making good arable soil, but the harder bits remain unbroken, so that the surface is covered with rocks, which are used to build up walls for the fields after the irish fashion. every here and there a peak of granite has remained as an island amid the lava, to show what was there before the great outflow. eruptions appear to be caused by water pouring in through some crack and reaching the heated inside of the earth where the water is turned to steam, expands, and so gains the force to spread destruction. if this process went on it is clear that the whole sea might continue to pour down the crack until the heat had been all absorbed by the water. i have wondered whether the lava may not be a clever healing process of nature, by which this soft plastic material is sent oozing out in every direction with the idea that it may find the crack and then set hard and stop it up. wild speculation no doubt, but the guess must always precede the proof. the australians are really a very good-natured people. it runs through the whole race, high and low. a very exalted person, the minister of war, shares our flat in the hotel, his bedroom being imbedded among our rooms. this is general sir granville ryrie, a famous hero of palestine, covered with wounds and medals--a man, too, of great dignity of bearing. as i was dressing one morning i heard some rather monotonous whistling and, forgetting the very existence of the general, and taking it for granted that it was my eldest boy denis, i put my head out and said, "look here, old chap, consider other people's nerves and give up that rotten habit of whistling before breakfast." imagine my feelings when the deep voice of the general answered, "all right, sir arthur, i will!" we laughed together over the incident afterwards, and i told him that he had furnished me with one more example of australian good humour for my notes. on october th i was at the prosperous , population town of bendigo, which every one, except the people on the spot, believes to have been named after the famous boxer. this must surely be a world record, for so far as my memory serves, neither a grecian olympic athletic, nor a roman gladiator, nor a byzantine charioteer, has ever had a city for a monument. borrow, who looked upon a good honest pugilist as the pick of humanity, must have rejoiced in it. is not valour the basis of all character, and where shall we find greater valour than theirs? alas, that most of them began and ended there! it is when the sage and the saint build on the basis of the fighter that you have the highest to which humanity can attain. i had a full hall at bendigo, and it was packed, i am told, by real old-time miners, for, of course, bendigo is still the centre of the gold mining industry. mr. smythe told me that it was quite a sight to see those rows of deeply-lined, bearded faces listening so intently to what i said of that destiny which is theirs as well as mine. i never had a better audience, and it was their sympathy which helped me through, for i was very weary that night. but however weary you may be, when you climb upon the platform to talk about this subject, you may be certain that you will be less weary when you come off. that is my settled conviction after a hundred trials. on the morning after my lecture i found myself half a mile nearer to dear old england, for i descended the unity mine, and they say that the workings extend to that depth. perhaps i was not at the lowest level, but certainly it was a long journey in the cage, and reminded me of my friend bang's description of the new york elevator, when he said that the distance to his suburban villa and his town flat was the same, but the one was horizontal and the other perpendicular. it was a weird experience that peep into the profound depths of the great gold mine. time was when the quartz veins were on the surface for the poor adventurer to handle. now they have been followed underground, and only great companies and costly machinery can win it. always it is the same white quartz vein with the little yellow specks and threads running through it. we were rattled down in pitch darkness until we came to a stop at the end of a long passage dimly lit by an occasional guttering candle. carrying our own candles, and clad in miner's costume we crept along with bent heads until we came suddenly out into a huge circular hall which might have sprung from doré's imagination. the place was draped with heavy black shadows, but every here and there was a dim light. each light showed where a man was squatting toad-like, a heap of broken debris in front of him, turning it over, and throwing aside the pieces with clear traces of gold. these were kept for special treatment, while the rest of the quartz was passed in ordinary course through the mill. these scattered heaps represented the broken stuff after a charge of dynamite had been exploded in the quartz vein. it was strange indeed to see these squatting figures deep in the bowels of the earth, their candles shining upon their earnest faces and piercing eyes, and to reflect that they were striving that the great exchanges of london and new york might be able to balance with bullion their output of paper. this dim troglodyte industry was in truth the centre and mainspring of all industries, without which trade would stop. many of the men were from cornwall, the troll among the nations, where the tools of the miner are still, as for two thousand years, the natural heritage of the man. dr. stillwell, the geologist of the company, and i had a long discussion as to where the gold came from, but the only possible conclusion was that nobody knew. we know now that the old alchemists were perfectly right and that one metal may change into another. is it possible that under some conditions a mineral may change into a metal? why should quartz always be the matrix? some geological darwin will come along some day and we shall get a great awakening, for at present we are only disguising our own ignorance in this department of knowledge. i had always understood that quartz was one of the old igneous primeval rocks, and yet here i saw it in thin bands, sandwiched in between clays and slates and other water-borne deposits. the books and the strata don't agree. these smaller towns, like the metropolis itself, are convulsed with the great controversy between prohibition and continuance, no reasonable compromise between the two being suggested. every wall displays posters, on one side those very prosperous-looking children who demand that some restraint be placed upon their daddy, and on the other hair-raising statements as to the financial results of restricting the publicans. to the great disgust of every decent man they have run the prince into it, and some remark of his after his return to england has been used by the liquor party. it is dangerous for royalty to be jocose in these days, but this was a particularly cruel example of the exploitation of a harmless little joke. if others felt as i did i expect it cost the liquor interest many a vote. we had another séance, this time with mrs. knight maclellan, after my return from bendigo. she is a lady who has grown grey in the service of the cult, and who made a name in london when she was still a child by her mediumistic powers. we had nothing of an evidential character that evening save that one lady who had recently lost her son had his description and an apposite message given. it was the first of several tests which we were able to give this lady, and before we left melbourne she assured us that she was a changed woman and her sorrow for ever gone. on october th began a very delightful experience, for my wife and i, leaving our party safe in melbourne, travelled up country to be the guests of the hon. agar wynne and his charming wife at their station of nerrin-nerrin in western victoria. it is about miles from melbourne, and as the trains are very slow, the journey was not a pleasant one. but that was soon compensated for in the warmth of the welcome which awaited us. mr. agar wynne was postmaster-general of the federal government, and author of several improvements, one of which, the power of sending long letter-telegrams at low rates during certain hours was a triumph of common sense. for a shilling one could send quite a long communication to the other end of the continent, but it must go through at the time when the telegraph clerk had nothing else to do. it was interesting to us to find ourselves upon an old-established station, typical of the real life of australia, for cities are much the same the world over. nerrin had been a sheep station for eighty years, but the comfortable verandahed bungalow house, with every convenience within it, was comparatively modern. what charmed us most, apart from the kindness of our hosts, was a huge marsh or lagoon which extended for many miles immediately behind the house, and which was a bird sanctuary, so that it was crowded with ibises, wild black swans, geese, ducks, herons and all sorts of fowl. we crept out of our bedroom in the dead of the night and stood under the cloud-swept moon listening to the chorus of screams, hoots, croaks and whistles coming out of the vast expanse of reeds. it would make a most wonderful hunting ground for a naturalist who was content to observe and not to slay. the great morass of nerrin will ever stand out in our memories. next day we were driven round the borders of this wonderful marsh, mr. wynne, after the australian fashion, taking no note of roads, and going right across country with alarming results to anyone not used to it. finally, the swaying and rolling became so terrific that he was himself thrown off the box seat and fell down between the buggy and the front wheel, narrowly escaping a very serious accident. he was able to show us the nests and eggs which filled the reed-beds, and even offered to drive us out into the morass to inspect them, a proposal which was rejected by the unanimous vote of a full buggy. i never knew an answer more decidedly in the negative. as we drove home we passed a great gum tree, and half-way up the trunk was a deep incision where the bark had been stripped in an oval shape some four foot by two. it was where some savage in days of old had cut his shield. such a mark outside a modern house with every amenity of cultured life is an object lesson of how two systems have over-lapped, and how short a time it is since this great continent was washed by a receding wave, ere the great anglo-saxon tide came creeping forward. apart from the constant charm of the wild life of the marsh there did not seem to be much for the naturalist around nerrin. opossums bounded upon the roof at night and snakes were not uncommon. a dangerous tiger-snake was killed on the day of our arrival. i was amazed also at the size of the australian eels. a returned soldier had taken up fishing as a trade, renting a water for a certain time and putting the contents, so far as he could realise them, upon the market. it struck me that after this wily digger had passed that way there would not be much for the sportsman who followed him. but the eels were enormous. he took a dozen at a time from his cunning eel-pots, and not one under six pounds. i should have said that they were certainly congers had i seen them in england. i wonder whether all this part of the country has not been swept by a tidal wave at some not very remote period. it is a low coastline with this great lava plain as a hinterland, and i can see nothing to prevent a big wave even now from sweeping the civilisation of victoria off the planet, should there be any really great disturbance under the pacific. at any rate, it is my impression that it has actually occurred once already, for i cannot otherwise understand the existence of great shallow lakes of salt water in these inland parts. are they not the pools left behind by that terrible tide? there are great banks of sand, too, here and there on the top of the lava which i can in no way account for unless they were swept here in some tremendous world-shaking catastrophe which took the beach from st. kilda and threw it up at nerrin. god save australia from such a night as that must have been if my reading of the signs be correct. illustration: a typical australian back-country scene. by h. j. johnstone, a great painter who died unknown. (painting in adelaide national gallery.) one of the sights of nerrin is the shearing of the sheep by electric machinery. these sheep are merinos, which have been bred as wool-producers to such an extent that they can hardly see, and the wool grows thick right down to their hoofs. the large stately creature is a poor little shadow when his wonderful fleece has been taken from him. the electric clips with which the operation is performed, are, i am told, the invention of a brother of garnet wolseley, who worked away at the idea, earning the name of being a half-crazy crank, until at last the invention materialised and did away with the whole slow and clumsy process of the hand-shearer. it is not, however, a pleasant process to watch even for a man, far less a sensitive woman, for the poor creatures get cut about a good deal in the process. the shearer seizes a sheep, fixes him head up between his knees, and then plunges the swiftly-moving clippers into the thick wool which covers the stomach. with wonderful speed he runs it along and the creature is turned out of its covering, and left as bare as a turkey in a poulterer's window, but, alas, its white and tender skin is too often gashed and ripped with vivid lines of crimson by the haste and clumsiness of the shearer. it was worse, they say, in the days of the hand-shearer. i am bound to say, however, that the creature makes no fuss about it, remains perfectly still, and does not appear to suffer any pain. nature is often kinder than we know, even to her most humble children, and some soothing and healing process seems to be at work. the shearers appear to be a rough set of men, and spend their whole time moving in gangs from station to station, beginning up in the far north and winding up on the plains of south australia. they are complete masters of the situation, having a powerful union at their back. they not only demand and receive some two pounds a day in wages, but they work or not by vote, the majority being able to grant a complete holiday. it is impossible to clip a wet sheep, so that after rain there is an interval of forced idleness, which may be prolonged by the vote of the men. they work very rapidly, however, when they are actually at it, and the man who tallies most fleeces, called "the ringer," receives a substantial bonus. when the great shed is in full activity it is a splendid sight with the row of stooping figures, each embracing his sheep, the buzz of the shears, the rush of the messengers who carry the clip to the table, the swift movements of the sorters who separate the perfect from the imperfect wool, and the levering and straining of the packers who compress it all into square bundles as hard as iron with pounds in each. with fine wool at the present price of ninety-six pence a pound it is clear that each of these cubes stands for nearly a hundred pounds. they are rich men these sheep owners--and i am speaking here of my general inquiry and not at all of nerrin. on a rough average, with many local exceptions, one may say that an estate bears one sheep to an acre, and that the sheep may show a clear profit of one pound in the year. thus, after the first initial expense is passed, and when the flock has reached its full, one may easily make an assessment of the owner's income. estates of , acres are common, and they run up to , and , acres. they can be run so cheaply that the greater part of income is clear profit, for when the land is barb-wired into great enclosures no shepherds are needed, and only a boundary rider or two to see that all is in order. these, with a few hands at lambing time, and two or three odd-job men at the central station, make up the whole staff. it is certainly the short cut to a fortune if one can only get the plant running. can a man with a moderate capital get a share of these good things? certainly he can if he have grit and a reasonable share of that luck which must always be a factor in nature's processes. droughts, floods, cyclones, etc., are like the zero at monte carlo, which always may turn up to defeat the struggling gamester. i followed several cases where small men had managed to make good. it is reckoned that the man who gets a holding of from to acres is able on an average in three years to pay off all his initial expenses and to have laid the foundations of a career which may lead to fortune. one case was a london baker who knew nothing of the work. he had acres and had laid it out in wheat, cows, sheep and mixed farming. he worked from morning to night, his wife was up at four, and his child of ten was picking up stones behind the furrow. but he was already making his £ a year. the personal equation was everything. one demobilised soldier was doing well. another had come to smash. very often a deal is made between the small man and the large holder, by which the latter lets the former a corner of his estate, taking a share, say one-third, of his profits as rent. that is a plan which suits everyone, and the landlord can gradually be bought out by the "cockatoo farmer," as he is styled. there is a great wool-clip this year, and prices in london are at record figures, so that australia, which only retains per cent. of her own wool, should have a very large sum to her credit. but she needs it. when one considers that the debt of this small community is heavier now than that of great britain before the war, one wonders how she can ever win through. but how can anyone win through? i don't think we have fairly realised the financial problem yet, and i believe that within a very few years there will be an international council which will be compelled to adopt some such scheme as the one put forward by my friend, mr. stilwell, under the name of "the great plan." this excellent idea was that every nation should reduce its warlike expenditure to an absolute minimum, that the difference between this minimum and the pre-war standard should be paid every year to a central fund, and that international bonds be now drawn upon the security of that fund, anticipating not its present amount but what it will represent in fifty years' time. it is, in fact, making the future help the present, exactly as an estate which has some sudden great call upon it might reasonably anticipate or mortgage its own development. i believe that the salvation of the world may depend upon some such plan, and that the council of the league of nations is the agency by which it could be made operative. australia has had two plants which have been a perfect curse to her as covering the land and offering every impediment to agriculture. they are the spinnifex in the west and the mallee scrub in the east. the latter was considered a hopeless proposition, and the only good which could be extracted from it was that the root made an ideal fire, smouldering long and retaining heat. suddenly, however, a genius named lascelles discovered that this hopeless mallee land was simply unrivalled for wheat, and his schemes have now brought seven million acres under the plough. this could hardly have been done if another genius, unnamed, had not invented a peculiar and ingenious plough, the "stump-jump plough," which can get round obstacles without breaking itself. it is not generally known that australia really heads the world for the ingenuity and efficiency of her agricultural machinery. there is an inventor and manufacturer, mackay, of sunshine, who represents the last word in automatic reapers, etc. he exports them, a shipload at a time, to the united states, which, if one considers the tariff which they have to surmount, is proof in itself of the supremacy of the article. with this wealth of machinery the real power of australia in the world is greater than her population would indicate, for a five-million nation, which, by artificial aid, does the work normally done by ten million people, becomes a ten-million nation so far as economic and financial strength is concerned. on the other hand, australia has her hindrances as well as her helps. certainly the rabbits have done her no good, though the evil is for the moment under control. an efficient rabbiter gets a pound a day, and he is a wise insurance upon any estate, for the creatures, if they get the upper-hand, can do thousands of pounds' worth of damage. this damage takes two shapes. first, they eat on all the grass and leave nothing at all for the sheep. secondly, they burrow under walls, etc., and leave the whole place an untidy ruin. little did the man who introduced the creature into australia dream how the imprecations of a continent would descend upon him. alas! that we could not linger at nerrin; but duty was calling at melbourne. besides, the days of the melbourne cup were at hand, and not only was mr. wynne a great pillar of the turf, but mr. osborne, owner of one of the most likely horses in the race, was one of the house-party. to melbourne therefore we went. we shall always, however, be able in our dreams to revisit that broad verandah, the low hospitable façade, the lovely lawn with its profusion of scented shrubs, the grove of towering gum trees, where the opossums lurked, and above all the great marsh where with dark clouds drifting across the moon we had stolen out at night to hear the crying of innumerable birds. that to us will always be the real australia. chapter vi the melbourne cup.--psychic healing.--m. j. bloomfield.--my own experience.--direct healing.--chaos and ritual.--government house ball.--the rescue circle again.--sitting with mrs. harris.--a good test case.--australian botany.--the land of myrtles.--english cricket team.--great final meeting in melbourne. it was the week of weeks in melbourne when we returned from nerrin, and everything connected with my mission was out of the question. when the whole world is living vividly here and now there is no room for the hereafter. personally, i fear i was out of sympathy with it all, though we went to the derby, where the whole male and a good part of the female population of melbourne seemed to be assembled, reinforced by contingents from every state in the federation. a fine handsome body of people they are when you see them _en masse_, strong, solid and capable, if perhaps a little lacking in those finer and more spiritual graces which come with a more matured society. the great supply of animal food must have its effect upon the mind as well as the body of a nation. lord forster appeared at the races, and probably, as an all round sportsman, took a genuine interest, but the fate of the governor who did not take an interest would be a rather weary one--like that kind-hearted roman emperor, claudius, if i remember right, who had to attend the gladiatorial shows, but did his business there so as to distract his attention from the arena. we managed to get out of attending the famous melbourne cup, and thereby found the st. kilda beach deserted for once, and i was able to spend a quiet day with my wife watching the children bathe and preparing for the more strenuous times ahead. one psychic subject which has puzzled me more than any other, is that of magnetic healing. all my instincts as a doctor, and all the traditional teaching of the profession, cry out against unexplained effects, and the opening which their acceptance must give to the quack. the man who has paid a thousand pounds for his special knowledge has a natural distaste when he sees a man who does not know the subclavian artery from the pineal gland, effecting or claiming to effect cures on some quite unconventional line. and yet ... and yet! the ancients knew a great deal which we have forgotten, especially about the relation of one body to another. what did hippocrates mean when he said, "the affections suffered by the body the soul sees with shut eyes?" i will show you exactly what he means. my friend, m. j. bloomfield, as unselfish a worker for truth as the world can show, tried for nearly two years to develop the medical powers of a clairvoyant. suddenly the result was attained, without warning. he was walking with a friend in collins street laughing over some joke. in an instant the laugh was struck from his lips. a man and woman were walking in front, their backs towards bloomfield. to his amazement he saw the woman's inner anatomy mapped out before him, and especially marked a rounded mass near the liver which he felt intuitively should not be there. his companion rallied him on his sudden gravity, and still more upon the cause of it, when it was explained. bloomfield was so certain, however, that the vision was for a purpose, that he accosted the couple, and learned that the woman was actually about to be operated on for cancer. he reassured them, saying that the object seemed clearly defined and not to have widespread roots as a cancer might have. he was asked to be present at the operation, pointed out the exact place where he had seen the growth, and saw it extracted. it was, as he had said, innocuous. with this example in one's mind the words of hippocrates begin to assume a very definite meaning. i believe that the surgeon was so struck by the incident that he was most anxious that bloomfield should aid him permanently in his diagnoses. i will now give my own experience with mr. bloomfield. denis had been suffering from certain pains, so i took him round as a test case. bloomfield, without asking the boy any questions, gazed at him for a couple of minutes. he then said that the pains were in the stomach and head, pointing out the exact places. the cause, he said, was some slight stricture in the intestine and he proceeded to tell me several facts of denis's early history which were quite correct, and entirely beyond his normal knowledge. i have never in all my experience of medicine known so accurate a diagnosis. another lady, whom i knew, consulted him for what she called a "medical reading." without examining her in any way he said: "what a peculiar throat you have! it is all pouched inside." she admitted that this was so, and that doctors in london had commented upon it. by his clairvoyant gift he could see as much as they with their laryngoscopes. mr. bloomfield has never accepted any fees for his remarkable gifts. last year he gave , consultations. i have heard of mediums with similar powers in england, but i had never before been in actual contact with one. with all my professional prejudices i am bound to admit that they have powers, just as braid and esdaile, the pioneers of hypnotism, had powers, which must sooner or later be acknowledged. there are, as i understand it, at least two quite different forms of psychic healing. in such cases as those quoted the result may be due only to subtle powers of the human organism which some have developed and others have not. the clairvoyance and the instinctive knowledge may both belong to the individual. in the other cases, however, there are the direct action and advice of a wise spirit control, a deceased physician usually, who has added to his worldly stock of knowledge. he can, of course, only act through a medium--and just there, alas, is the dangerous opening for fraud and quackery. but if anyone wishes to study the operation at its best let him read a tiny book called "one thing i know," which records the cure of the writer, the sister of an anglican canon, when she had practically been given up by doctors of this world after fifteen years of bed, but was rescued by the ministrations of dr. beale, a physician on the other side. dr. beale received promotion to a higher sphere in the course of the treatment, which was completed by his assistant and successor. it is a very interesting and convincing narrative. we were invited to another spiritual meeting at the auditorium. individuality runs riot sometimes in our movement. on this occasion a concert had been mixed up with a religious service and the effect was not good, though the musical part of the proceedings disclosed one young violinist, master hames, who should, i think, make a name in the world. i have always been against ritual, and yet now that i see the effect of being without it i begin to understand that some form of it, however elastic, is necessary. the clairvoyance was good, if genuine, but it offends me to see it turned off and on like a turn at a music hall. it is either nonsense or the holy of holies and mystery of mysteries. perhaps it was just this conflict between the priest with his ritual and the medium without any, which split the early christian church, and ended in the complete victory of the ritual, which meant the extinction not only of the medium but of the living, visible, spiritual forces which he represented. flowers, music, incense, architecture, all tried to fill the gap, but the soul of the thing had gone out of it. it must, i suppose, have been about the end of the third century that the process was completed, and the living thing had set into a petrifaction. that would be the time no doubt when, as already mentioned, special correctors were appointed to make the gospel texts square with the elaborate machinery of the church. only now does the central fire begin to glow once more through the ashes which have been heaped above it. we attended the great annual ball at the government house, where the governor-general and his wife were supported by the governors of the various states, the vice-regal party performing their own stately quadrille with a dense hedge of spectators around them. there were few chaperons, and nearly every one ended by dancing, so that it was a cheerful and festive scene. my friend major wood had played with the governor-general in the same hampshire eleven, and it was singular to think that after many years they should meet again like this. social gaieties are somewhat out of key with my present train of thought, and i was more in my element next evening at a meeting of the rescue circle under mr. tozer. mr. love was the medium and it was certainly a very remarkable and consistent performance. even those who might imagine that the different characters depicted were in fact various strands of mr. love's subconscious self, each dramatising its own peculiarities, must admit that it was a very absorbing exhibition. the circle sits round with prayer and hymns while mr. love falls into a trance state. he is then controlled by the chinaman quong, who is a person of such standing and wisdom in the other world, that other lower spirits have to obey him. the light is dim, but even so the characteristics of this chinaman get across very clearly, the rolling head, the sidelong, humorous glance the sly smile, the hands crossed and buried in what should be the voluminous folds of a mandarin's gown. he greets the company in somewhat laboured english and says he has many who would be the better for our ministrations. "send them along, please!" says mr. tozer. the medium suddenly sits straight and his whole face changes into an austere harshness. "what is this ribald nonsense?" he cries. "who are you, friend?" says tozer. "my name is mathew barret. i testified in my life to the lamb and to him crucified. i ask again: what is this ribald nonsense?" "it is not nonsense, friend. we are here to help you and to teach you that you are held down and punished for your narrow ideas, and that you cannot progress until they are more charitable." "what i preached in life i still believe." "tell us, friend, did you find it on the other side as you had preached?" "what do you mean?" "well, did you, for example, see christ?" there was an embarrassed silence. "no, i did not." "have you seen the devil?" "no, i have not." "then, bethink you, friend, that there may be truth in what we teach." "it is against all that i have preached." a moment later the chinaman was back with his rolling head and his wise smile. "he good man--stupid man. he learn in time. plenty time before him." we had a wonderful succession of "revenants." one was a very dignified anglican, who always referred to the control as "this yellow person." another was an australian soldier. "i never thought i'd take my orders from a 'chink,'" said he, "but he says 'hist!' and by gum you've got to 'hist' and no bloomin' error." yet another said he had gone down in the _monmouth_. "can you tell me anything of the action?" i asked. "we never had a chance. it was just hell." there was a world of feeling in his voice. he was greatly amused at their "sky-pilot," as he called the chaplain, and at his confusion when he found the other world quite different to what he had depicted. a terrifying ghurkha came along, who still thought he was in action and charged about the circle, upsetting the medium's chair, and only yielding to a mixture of force and persuasion. there were many others, most of whom returned thanks for the benefit derived from previous meetings. "you've helped us quite a lot," they said. between each the old chinese sage made comments upon the various cases, a kindly, wise old soul, with just a touch of mischievous humour running through him. we had an exhibition of the useless apostolic gift of tongues during the evening, for two of the ladies present broke out into what i was informed was the maori language, keeping up a long and loud conversation. i was not able to check it, but it was certainly a coherent language of some sort. in all this there was nothing which one could take hold of and quote as absolutely and finally evidential, and yet the total effect was most convincing. i have been in touch with some rescue circles, however, where the identity of the "patients," as we may call them, was absolutely traced. as i am on the subject of psychic experiences i may as well carry on, so that the reader who is out of sympathy may make a single skip of the lot. mrs. susanna harris, the american voice-medium, who is well known in london, had arrived here shortly after ourselves, and gave us a sitting. mrs. harris's powers have been much discussed, for while on the one hand she passed a most difficult test in london, where, with her mouth full of coloured water, she produced the same voice effects as on other occasions, she had no success in norway when she was examined by their psychic research committee; but i know how often these intellectuals ruin their own effects by their mental attitude, which acts like those anti-ferments which prevent a chemical effervescence. we must always get back to the principle, however, that one positive result is more important than a hundred negative ones--just as one successful demonstration in chemistry makes up for any number of failures. we cannot command spirit action, and we can only commiserate with, not blame, the medium who does not receive it when it is most desired. personally i have sat four times with mrs. harris and i have not the faintest doubt that on each of these occasions i got true psychic results, though i cannot answer for what happens in norway or elsewhere. illustration: at melbourne town hall, november th, . shortly after her arrival in melbourne she gave us a séance in our private room at the hotel, no one being present save at my invitation. there were about twelve guests, some of whom had no psychic experience, and i do not think there was one of them who did not depart convinced that they had been in touch with preternatural forces. there were two controls, harmony, with a high girlish treble voice, and a male control with a strong decisive bass. i sat next to mrs. harris, holding her hand in mine, and i can swear to it that again and again she spoke to me while the other voices were conversing with the audience. harmony is a charming little creature, witty, friendly and innocent. i am quite ready to consider the opinion expressed by the theosophists that such controls as harmony with mrs. harris, bella with mrs. brittain, feda with mrs. leonard, and others are in reality nature-spirits who have never lived in the flesh but take an intelligent interest in our affairs and are anxious to help us. the male control, however, who always broke in with some final clinching remark in a deep voice, seemed altogether human. whilst these two controls formed, and were the chorus of the play, the real drama rested with the spirit voices, the same here as i have heard them under mrs. wriedt, mrs. johnson or mr. powell in england, intense, low, vibrating with emotion and with anxiety to get through. nearly everyone in the circle had communications which satisfied them. one lady who had mourned her husband very deeply had the inexpressible satisfaction of hearing his voice thanking her for putting flowers before his photograph, a fact which no one else could know. a voice claiming to be "moore-usborne moore," came in front of me. i said, "well, admiral, we never met, but we corresponded in life." he said, "yes, and we disagreed," which was true. then there came a voice which claimed to be mr. j. morse, the eminent pioneer of spiritualism. i said, "mr. morse, if that is you, you can tell me where we met last." he answered, "was it not in '_light_' office in london?" i said, "no, surely it was when you took the chair for me at that great meeting at sheffield." he answered, "well, we lose some of our memory in passing." as a matter of fact he was perfectly right, for after the sitting both my wife and i remembered that i had exchanged a word or two with him as i was coming out of _light_ office at least a year after the sheffield meeting. this was a good test as telepathy was excluded. general sir alfred turner also came and said that he remembered our conversations on earth. when i asked him whether he had found the conditions beyond the grave as happy as he expected he answered, "infinitely more so." altogether i should think that not less than twenty spirits manifested during this remarkable séance. the result may have been the better because mrs. harris had been laid up in bed for a week beforehand, and so we had her full force. i fancy that like most mediums, she habitually overworks her wonderful powers. such séances have been going on now for seventy years, with innumerable witnesses of credit who will testify, as i have done here, that all fraud or mistake was out of the question. and still the men of no experience shake their heads. i wonder how long they will succeed in standing between the world and the consolation which god has sent us. there is one thing very clear about mediumship and that is that it bears no relation to physical form. mrs. harris is a very large lady, tall and junoesque, a figure which would catch the eye in any assembly. she has, i believe, a dash of the mystic red indian blood in her, which may be connected with her powers. bailey, on the other hand, is a little, ginger-coloured man, while campbell of sydney, who is said to have apport powers which equal bailey, is a stout man, rather like the late corney grain. every shape and every quality of vessel may hold the psychic essence. i spend such spare time as i have in the melbourne botanical gardens, which is, i think, absolutely the most beautiful place that i have ever seen. i do not know what genius laid them out, but the effect is a succession of the most lovely vistas, where flowers, shrubs, large trees and stretches of water, are combined in an extraordinary harmony. green swards slope down to many tinted groves, and they in turn droop over still ponds mottled with lovely water plants. it is an instructive as well as a beautiful place, for every tree has its visiting card attached and one soon comes to know them. australia is preeminently the land of the myrtles, for a large proportion of its vegetation comes under this one order, which includes the gum trees, of which there are varieties. they all shed their bark instead of their leaves, and have a generally untidy, not to say indecent appearance, as they stand with their covering in tatters and their white underbark shining through the rents. there is not the same variety of species in australia as in england, and it greatly helps a superficial botanist like myself, for when you have learned the ti-tree, the wild fig tree and the gum trees, you will be on terms with nature wherever you go. new zealand however offers quite a fresh lot of problems. the melbourne cricket club has made me an honorary member, so denis and i went down there, where we met the giant bowler, hugh trumble, who left so redoubtable a name in england. as the chela may look at the yogi so did denis, with adoring eyes, gaze upon trumble, which so touched his kind heart that he produced a cricket ball, used in some famous match, which he gave to the boy--a treasure which will be reverently brought back to england. i fancy denis slept with it that night, as he certainly did in his pads and gloves the first time that he owned them. we saw the english team play victoria, and it was pleasant to see the well-known faces once more. the luck was all one way, for armstrong was on the sick list, and armstrong is the mainstay of victorian cricket. rain came at a critical moment also, and gave woolley and rhodes a wicket which was impossible for a batsman. however, it was all good practice for the more exacting games of the future. it should be a fine eleven which contains a genius like hobbs, backed by such men as the bustling bulldog, hendren, a great out-field as well as a grand bat, or the wily, dangerous hearne, or douglas, cricketer, boxer, above all warrior, a worthy leader of englishmen. hearne i remember as little more than a boy, when he promised to carry on the glories of that remarkable family, of which george and alec were my own playmates. he has ended by proving himself the greatest of them all. my long interval of enforced rest came at last to an end, when the race fever had spent itself, and i was able to have my last great meeting at the town hall. it really was a great meeting, as the photograph of it will show. i spoke for over two hours, ending up by showing a selection of the photographs. i dealt faithfully with the treatment given to me by the _argus_. i take the extract from the published account. "on this, the last time in my life that i shall address a melbourne audience, i wish to thank the people for the courtesy with which we have been received. it would, however, be hypocritical upon my part if i were to thank the press. a week before i entered melbourne the _argus_ declared that i was an emissary of the devil (laughter). i care nothing for that. i am out for a fight and can take any knocks that come. but the _argus_ refused to publish a word i said. i came , miles to give you a message of hope and comfort, and i appeal to you to say whether three or four gentlemen sitting in a board-room have a right to say to the people of melbourne, 'you shall not listen to that man nor read one word of what he has to say.' (cries of 'shame!') you, i am sure, resent being spoon-fed in such a manner." the audience showed in the most hearty fashion that they did resent it, and they cheered loudly when i pointed out that my remarks did not arise, as anyone could see by looking round, from any feeling on my part that my mission had failed to gain popular support. it was a great evening, and i have never addressed a more sympathetic audience. the difficulty always is for my wife and myself to escape from our kind well-wishers, and it is touching and heartening to hear the sincere "god bless you!" which they shower upon us as we pass. this then was the climax of our mission in melbourne. it was marred by the long but unavoidable delay in the middle, but it began well and ended splendidly. on november th we left the beautiful town behind us, and embarked upon what we felt would be a much more adventurous period at sydney, for all we had heard showed that both our friends and our enemies were more active in the great seaport of new south wales. chapter vii great reception at sydney.--importance of sydney.--journalistic luncheon.--a psychic epidemic.--gregory.--barracking.--town hall reception.--regulation of spiritualism.--an ether apport.--surfing at manly.--a challenge.--bigoted opponents.--a disgruntled photographer.--outing in the harbour.--dr. mildred creed.--leon gellert.--norman lindsay.--bishop leadbeater.--our relations with theosophy.--incongruities of h.p.b.--of d.d. home. we had a wonderful reception at sydney. i have a great shrinking from such deputations as they catch you at the moment when you are exhausted and unkempt after a long journey, and when you need all your energies to collect your baggage and belongings so as to make your way to your hotel. but on this occasion it was so hearty, and the crowd of faces beamed such good wishes upon us that it was quite a pick-me-up to all of us. "god bless you!" and "thank god you have come!" reached us from all sides. my wife, covered with flowers, was hustled off in one direction, while i was borne away in another, and each of the children was the centre of a separate group. major wood had gone off to see to the luggage, and jakeman was herself embedded somewhere in the crowd, so at last i had to shout, "where's that little girl? where's that little boy?" until we reassembled and were able, laden with bouquets, to reach our carriage. the evening paper spread itself over the scene. "when sir conan doyle, his wife and their three children arrived from melbourne by the express this morning, an assembly of spiritualists accorded them a splendid greeting. men swung their hats high and cheered, women danced in their excitement, and many of their number rushed the party with rare bouquets. the excitement was at its highest, and sir conan being literally carried along the platform by the pressing crowds, when a digger arrived on the outskirts. 'who's that?' he asked of nobody in particular. almost immediately an urchin replied, 'the bloke that wrote "sherlock holmes."' when asked if the latter gentleman was really and irretrievably dead the author of his being remarked, 'well, you can say that a coroner has never sat upon him.'" it was a grand start, and we felt at once in a larger and more vigorous world, where, if we had fiercer foes, we at least had warm and well-organised friends. better friends than those of melbourne do not exist, but there was a method and cohesion about sydney which impressed us from the first day to the last. there seemed, also, to be fewer of those schisms which are the bane of our movement. if wells' dictum that organisation is death has truth in it, then we are very much alive. we had rooms in petty's hotel, which is an old-world hostel with a very quiet, soothing atmosphere. there i was at once engaged with the usual succession of journalists with a long list of questions which ranged from the destiny of the human soul to the chances of the test match. what with the constant visitors, the unpacking of our trunks, and the settling down of the children, we were a very weary band before evening. i had no idea that sydney was so great a place. the population is now very nearly a million, which represents more than one-sixth of the whole vast continent. it seems a weak point of the australian system that per cent. of the whole population dwell in the six capital cities. the vital statistics of sydney are extraordinarily good, for the death rate is now only twelve per thousand per annum. our standard in such matters is continually rising, for i can remember the days when twenty per thousand was reckoned to be a very good result. in every civic amenity sydney stands very high. her botanical gardens are not so supremely good as those of melbourne, but her zoo is among the very best in the world. the animals seem to be confined by trenches rather than by bars, so that they have the appearance of being at large. it was only after jakeman had done a level hundred with a child under each arm that she realised that a bear, which she saw approaching, was not really in a state of freedom. as to the natural situation of sydney, especially its harbour, it is so world-renowned that it is hardly necessary to allude to it. i can well imagine that a sydney man would grow homesick elsewhere, for he could never find the same surroundings. the splendid landlocked bay with its numerous side estuaries and its narrow entrance is a grand playground for a sea-loving race. on a saturday it is covered with every kind of craft, from canoe to hundred-tonner. the fact that the water swarms with sharks seems to present no fears to these strong-nerved people, and i have found myself horrified as i watched little craft, manned by boys, heeling over in a fresh breeze until the water was up to their gunwales. at very long intervals some one gets eaten, but the fun goes on all the same. the people of sydney have their residences (bungalows with verandahs) all round this beautiful bay, forming dozens of little townlets. the system of ferry steamers becomes as important as the trams, and is extraordinarily cheap and convenient. to manly, for example, which lies some eight miles out, and is a favourite watering place, the fare is fivepence for adults and twopence for children. so frequent are the boats that you never worry about catching them, for if one is gone another will presently start. thus, the whole life of sydney seems to converge into the circular quay, from which as many as half a dozen of these busy little steamers may be seen casting off simultaneously for one or another of the oversea suburbs. now and then, in a real cyclone, the service gets suspended, but it is a rare event, and there is a supplementary, but roundabout, service of trams. the journalists of new south wales gave a lunch to my wife and myself, which was a very pleasant function. one leading journalist announced, amid laughter, that he had actually consulted me professionally in my doctoring days, and had lived to tell the tale, which contradicts the base insinuation of some orator who remarked once that though i was known to have practised, no _living_ patient of mine had ever yet been seen. nothing could have been more successful than my first lecture, which filled the town hall. there were evidently a few people who had come with intent to make a scene, but i had my audience so entirely with me, that it was impossible to cause real trouble. one fanatic near the door cried out, "anti-christ!" several times, and was then bundled out. another, when i described how my son had come back to me, cried out that it was the devil, but on my saying with a laugh that such a remark showed the queer workings of some people's minds, the people cheered loudly in assent. altogether it was a great success, which was repeated in the second, and culminated in the third, when, with a hot summer day, and the english cricketers making their debut, i still broke the record for a town hall matinée. the rush was more than the officials could cope with, and i had to stand for ten long minutes looking at the audience before it was settled enough for me to begin. some spiritualists in the audience struck up "lead, kindly light!" which gave the right note to the assemblage. mr. smythe, with all his experience, was amazed at our results. "this is no longer a mere success," he cried. "it is a triumph. it is an epidemic!" surely, it will leave some permanent good behind it and turn the public mind from religious shadows to realities. we spent one restful day seeing our cricketers play new south wales. after a promising start they were beaten owing to a phenomenal first-wicket stand in the second innings by macartney and collins, both batsmen topping the hundred. gregory seemed a dangerous bowler, making the ball rise shoulder high even on that bulli wicket, where midstump is as much as an ordinary bowler can attain. he is a tiger of a man, putting every ounce of his strength and inch of his great height into every ball, with none of the artistic finesse of a spofforth, but very effective all the same. we have no one of the same class; and that will win australia the rubber unless i am--as i hope i am--a false prophet. i was not much impressed either by the manners or by the knowledge of the game shown by the barrackers. every now and then, out of the mass of people who darken the grass slopes round the ground, you hear a raucous voice giving advice to the captain, or, perhaps, conjuring a fast bowler to bowl at the wicket when the man is keeping a perfect length outside the off stump and trying to serve his three slips. when mailey went on, because he was slow and seemed easy, they began to jeer, and, yet, you had only to watch the batsman to see that the ball was doing a lot and kept him guessing. one wonders why the neighbours of these bawlers tolerate it. in england such men would soon be made to feel that they were ill-mannered nuisances, i am bound to testify, however, that they seem quite impartial, and that the english team had no special cause for complaint. i may also add that, apart from this cricketing peculiarity, which is common to all the states, the sydney crowd is said to be one of the most good-humoured and orderly in the world. my own observation confirms this, and i should say that there was a good deal less drunkenness than in melbourne, but, perhaps the races gave me an exaggerated impression of the latter. on sunday, th, the spiritualists gave the pilgrims (as they called us) a reception at the town hall. there was not a seat vacant, and the sight of these , well-dressed, intelligent people must have taught the press that the movement is not to be despised. there are at least , professed spiritualists in sydney, and even as a political force they demand consideration. the seven of us were placed in the front of the platform, and the service was very dignified and impressive. when the great audience sang, "god hold you safely till we meet once more," it was almost overpowering, for it is a beautiful tune, and was sung with real feeling. in my remarks i covered a good deal of ground, but very particularly i warned them against all worldly use of this great knowledge, whether it be fortune telling, prophecies about races and stocks, or any other prostitution of our subject. i also exhorted them when they found fraud to expose it at once, as their british brethren do, and never to trifle with truth. when i had finished, the whole , people stood up, and everyone waved a handkerchief, producing a really wonderful scene. we can never forget it. once more i must take refuge behind the local observer. "the scene as sir arthur rose will be long remembered by those who were privileged to witness it. a sea of waving handkerchiefs confronted the speaker, acclaiming silently and reverently the deep esteem in which he was held by all present. never has sir arthur's earnestness in his mission been more apparent than on this occasion as he proceeded with a heart to heart talk with the spiritualists present, offering friendly criticisms, sound advice, and encouragement to the adherents of the great movement. "'he had got,' he said, 'so much into the habit of lecturing that he was going to lecture the spiritualists.' with a flash of humour sir arthur added: 'it does none of us any harm to be lectured occasionally. i am a married man myself' (laughter). 'i would say to the spiritualists', "for heaven's sake keep this thing high and unspotted. don't let it drop into the regions of fortune telling and other things which leave such an ugly impression on the public mind, and which we find it so difficult to justify. keep it in its most religious and purest aspect." at the same time, i expressed my view that there was no reason at all why a medium should not receive moderate payment for work done, since it is impossible, otherwise, that he can live. every solid spiritualist would, i am sure, agree with me that our whole subject needs regulating, and is in an unsatisfactory condition. we cannot approve of the sensation mongers who run from medium to medium (or possibly pretended medium) with no object but excitement or curiosity. the trouble is that you have to recognise a thing before you can regulate it, and the public has not properly recognised us. let them frankly do so, and take us into counsel, and then we shall get things on a solid basis. personally, i would be ready to go so far as to agree that an inquirer should take out a formal permit to consult a medium, showing that it was done for some definite object, if in return we could get state recognition for those mediums who were recommended as genuine by valid spiritual authorities. my friends will think this a reactionary proposition, but none the less i feel the need of regulation almost as much as i do that of recognition. one event which occurred to me at sydney i shall always regard as an instance of that fostering care of which i have been conscious ever since we set forth upon our journey. i had been over-tired, had slept badly and had a large meeting in the evening, so that it was imperative that i should have a nap in the afternoon. my brain was racing, however, and i could get no rest or prospect of any. the second floor window was slightly open behind me, and outside was a broad open space, shimmering in the heat of a summer day. suddenly, as i lay there, i was aware of a very distinct pungent smell of ether, coming in waves from outside. with each fresh wave i felt my over-excited nerves calming down as the sea does when oil is poured upon it. within a few minutes i was in a deep sleep, and woke all ready for my evening's work. i looked out of the window and tried to picture where the ether could have come from; then i returned thanks for one more benefit received. i do not suppose that i am alone in such interpositions, but i think that our minds are so centred on this tiny mud patch, that we are deaf and blind to all that impinges on us from beyond. having finished in sydney, and my new zealand date having not yet arrived, we shifted our quarters to manly, upon the sea coast, about eight miles from the town. here we all devoted ourselves to surf-bathing, spending a good deal of our day in the water, as is the custom of the place. it is a real romp with nature, for the great pacific rollers come sweeping in and break over you, rolling you over on the sand if they catch you unawares. it was a golden patch in our restless lives. there were surf boards, and i am told that there were men competent to ride them, but i saw none of jack london's sun gods riding in erect upon the crest of the great rollers. alas, poor jack london! what right had such a man to die, he who had more vim and passion, and knowledge of varied life than the very best of us? apart from all his splendid exuberance and exaggeration he had very real roots of grand literature within him. i remember, particularly, the little episodes of bygone days in "the jacket." the man who wrote those could do anything. those whom the american public love die young. frank norris, harold frederic, stephen crane, the author of "david harum," and now jack london--but the greatest of these was jack london. there is a grand beach at manly, and the thundering rollers carry in some flotsam from the great ocean. one morning the place was covered with beautiful blue jelly-fish, like little roman lamps with tendrils hanging down. i picked up one of these pretty things, and was just marvelling at its complete construction when i discovered that it was even more complete than i supposed, for it gave me a violent sting. for a day or two i had reason to remember my little blue castaway, with his up-to-date fittings for keeping the stranger at a distance. i was baited at sydney by a person of the name of simpson, representing christianity, though i was never clear what particular branch of religion he represented, and he was disowned by some leaders of christian thought. i believe he was president of the christian evidence society. his opposition, though vigorous, and occasionally personal, was perfectly legitimate, but his well-advertised meeting at the town hall (though no charge was made for admission) was not a success. his constant demand was that i should meet him in debate, which was, of course, out of the question, since no debate is possible between a man who considers a text to be final, and one who cannot take this view. my whole energies, so much needed for my obvious work, would have been frittered away in barren controversies had i allowed my hand to be forced. i had learned my lesson, however, at the m'cabe debate in london, when i saw clearly that nothing could come from such proceedings. on the other hand, i conceived the idea of what would be a real test, and i issued it as a challenge in the public press. "it is clear," i said, "that one single case of spirit return proves our whole contention. therefore, let the question be concentrated upon one, or, if necessary, upon three cases. these i would undertake to prove, producing my witnesses in the usual way. my opponent would act the part of hostile counsel, cross-examining and criticising my facts. the case would be decided by a majority vote of a jury of twelve, chosen from men of standing, who pledged themselves as open-minded on the question. such a test could obviously only take place in a room of limited dimensions, so that no money would be involved and truth only be at stake. that is all that i seek. if such a test can be arranged i am ready for it, either before i leave, or after i return from new zealand." this challenge was not taken up by my opponents. mr. simpson had a long tirade in the sydney papers about the evil religious effects of my mission, which caused me to write a reply in which i defined our position in a way which may be instructive to others. i said:-- "the tenets which we spiritualists preach and which i uphold upon the platform are that any man who is deriving spirituality from his creed, be that creed what it may, is learning the lesson of life. for this reason we would not attack your creed, however repulsive it might seem to us, so long as you and your colleagues might be getting any benefit from it. we desire to go our own way, saying what we know to be true, and claiming from others the same liberty of conscience and of expression which we freely grant to them. "you, on the other hand, go out of your way to attack us, to call us evil names, and to pretend that those loved ones who return to us are in truth devils, and that our phenomena, though they are obviously of the same sort as those which are associated with early christianity, are diabolical in their nature. this absurd view is put forward without a shadow of proof, and entirely upon the supposed meaning of certain ancient texts which refer in reality to a very different matter, but which are strained and twisted to suit your purpose. "it is men like you and your colleagues who, by your parody of christianity and your constant exhibition of those very qualities which christ denounced in the pharisees, have driven many reasonable people away from religion and left the churches half empty. your predecessors, who took the same narrow view of the literal interpretation of the bible, were guilty of the murder of many thousands of defenceless old women who were burned in deference to the text, 'suffer no witch to live.' undeterred by this terrible result of the literal reading, you still advocate it, although you must be well aware that polygamy, slavery and murder can all be justified by such a course. "in conclusion, let me give you the advice to reconsider your position, to be more charitable to your neighbours, and to devote your redundant energies to combating the utter materialism which is all round you, instead of railing so bitterly at those who are proving immortality and the need for good living in a way which meets their spiritual wants, even though it is foreign to yours." a photographer, named mark blow, also caused me annoyance by announcing that my photographs were fakes, and that he was prepared to give £ to any charity if he could not reproduce them. i at once offered the same sum if he could do so, and i met him by appointment at the office of the evening paper, the editor being present to see fair play. i placed my money on the table, but mr. blow did not cover it. i then produced a packet of plates from my pocket and suggested that we go straight across to mr. blow's studio and produce the photographs. he replied by asking me a long string of questions as to the conditions under which the crewe photographs were produced, noting down all my answers. i then renewed my proposition. he answered that it was absurd to expect him to produce a spirit photograph since he did not believe in such foolish things. i answered that i did not ask him to produce a spirit photograph, but to fulfil his promise which was to produce a similar result upon the plate under similar conditions. he held out that they should be his own conditions. i pointed out that any school boy could make a half-exposed impression upon a plate, and that the whole test lay in the conditions. as he refused to submit to test conditions the matter fell through, as all such foolish challenges fall through. it was equally foolish on my part to have taken any notice of it. i had a conversation with mr. maskell, the capable secretary of the sydney spiritualists, in which he described how he came out originally from leicester to australia. he had at that time developed some power of clairvoyance, but it was very intermittent. he had hesitated in his mind whether he should emigrate to australia, and sat one night debating it within himself, while his little son sat at the table cutting patterns out of paper. maskell said to his spirit guides, mentally, "if it is good that i go abroad give me the vision of a star. if not, let it be a circle." he waited for half an hour or so, but no vision came, and he was rising in disappointment when the little boy turned round and said, "daddy, here is a star for you," handing over one which he had just cut. he has had no reason to regret the subsequent decision. we had a very quiet, comfortable, and healthy ten days at the pacific hotel at manly, which was broken only by an excursion which the sydney spiritualists had organised for us in a special steamer, with the intention of showing us the glories of the harbour. our party assembled on manly pier, and the steamer was still far away when we saw the fluttering handkerchiefs which announced that they had sighted us. it was a long programme, including a picnic lunch, but it all went off with great success and good feeling. it was fairly rough within the harbour, and some of the party were sea sick, but the general good spirits rose above such trifles, and we spent the day in goodly fellowship. on sunday i was asked to speak to his congregation by mr. sanders, a very intelligent young congregational minister of manly, far above the level of australasian or, indeed, british clerics. it was a novel experience for me to be in a nonconformist pulpit, but i found an excellent audience, and i hope that they in turn found something comforting and new. one of the most interesting men whom i met in australia was dr. creed, of the new south wales parliament, an elderly medical man who has held high posts in the government. he is blessed with that supreme gift, a mind which takes a keen interest in everything which he meets in life. his researches vary from the cure of diabetes and of alcoholism (both of which he thinks that he has attained) down to the study of australian aborigines and of the palæontology of his country. i was interested to find the very high opinion which he has of the brains of the black fellows, and he asserts that their results at the school which is devoted to their education are as high as with the white australians. they train into excellent telegraphic operators and other employments needing quick intelligence. the increasing brain power of the human race seems to be in the direction of originating rather than of merely accomplishing. many can do the latter, but only the very highest can do the former. dr. creed is clear upon the fact that no very ancient remains of any sort are to be found anywhere in australia, which would seem to be against the view of a lemurian civilisation, unless the main seat of it lay to the north where the scattered islands represent the mountain tops of the ancient continent. dr. creed was one of the very few public men who had the intelligence or the courage to admit the strength of the spiritual position, and he assured me that he would help in any way. another man whom i was fortunate to meet was leon gellert, a very young poet, who promises to be the rising man in australia in this, the supreme branch of literature. he served in the war, and his verses from the front attain a very high level. his volume of war poems represents the most notable literary achievement of recent years, and its value is enhanced by being illustrated by norman lindsay, whom i look upon as one of the greatest artists of our time. i have seen three pictures of his, "the goths," "who comes?" and "the crucifixion of venus," each of which, in widely different ways, seemed very remarkable. indeed, it is the versatility of the man that is his charm, and now that he is turning more and more from the material to the spiritual it is impossible to say how high a level he may attain. another australian whose works i have greatly admired is henry lawson, whose sketches of bush life in "joe wilson" and other of his studies, remind one of a subdued bret harte. he is a considerable poet also, and his war poem, "england yet," could hardly be matched. yet another interesting figure whom i met in sydney was bishop leadbeater, formerly a close colleague of mrs. besant in the theosophical movement, and now a prelate of the so-called liberal catholic church, which aims at preserving the traditions and forms of the old roman church, but supplementing them with all modern spiritual knowledge. i fear i am utterly out of sympathy with elaborate forms, which always in the end seem to me to take the place of facts, and to become a husk without a kernel, but none the less i can see a definite mission for such a church as appealing to a certain class of mind. leadbeater, who has suffered from unjust aspersion in the past, is a venerable and striking figure. his claims to clairvoyant and other occult powers are very definite, and so far as i had the opportunity of observing him, he certainly lives the ascetic life, which the maintenance of such power demands. his books, especially the little one upon the astral plane, seem to me among the best of the sort. but the whole subject of theosophy is to me a perpetual puzzle. i asked for proofs and spiritualism has given them to me. but why should i abandon one faith in order to embrace another one? i have done with faith. it is a golden mist in which human beings wander in devious tracks with many a collision. i need the white clear light of knowledge. for that we build from below, brick upon brick, never getting beyond the provable fact. there is the building which will last. but these others seem to build from above downwards, beginning by the assumption that there is supreme human wisdom at the apex. it may be so. but it is a dangerous habit of thought which has led the race astray before, and may again. yet, i am struck by the fact that this ancient wisdom does describe the etheric body, the astral world, and the general scheme which we have proved for ourselves. but when the high priestess of the cult wrote of this she said so much that was against all our own spiritual experience, that we feel she was in touch with something very different from our angels of light. her followers appreciate that now, and are more charitable than she, but what is the worth of her occult knowledge if she so completely misread that which lies nearest to us, and how can we hope that she is more correct when she speaks of that which is at a distance? i was deeply attracted by the subject once, but madame blavatsky's personality and record repelled me. i have read the defence, and yet hodgson and the coulombs seem to me to hold the field. could any conspiracy be so broad that it included numerous forged letters, trap doors cut in floors, and actually corroborative accounts in the books of a flower seller in the bazaar? on the other hand, there is ample evidence of real psychic powers, and of the permanent esteem of men like sinnett and olcott, whom none could fail to respect. it is the attitude of these honourable men which commends and upholds her, but sometimes it seems hard to justify it. as an example, in the latter years of her life she wrote a book, "the caves and jungles of hindustan," in which she describes the fearsome adventures which she and olcott had in certain expeditions, falling down precipices and other such escapes. olcott, like the honest gentleman he was, writes in his diary that there is not a word of truth in this, and that it is pure fiction. and yet, after this very damaging admission, in the same page he winds up, "ah, if the world ever comes to know who was the mighty entity, who laboured sixty years under that quivering mask of flesh, it will repent its cruel treatment of h. p. b., and be amazed at the depth of its ignorance." these are the things which make it so difficult to understand either her or the cult with which she was associated. had she never lived these men and women would, as it seems to me, have been the natural leaders of the spiritualist movement, and instead of living in the intellectual enjoyment of far-off systems they would have concentrated upon the all-important work of teaching poor suffering humanity what is the meaning of the dark shadow which looms upon their path. even now i see no reason why they should not come back to those who need them, and help them forward upon their rocky road. of course, we spiritualists are ourselves vulnerable upon the subject of the lives of some of our mediums, but we carefully dissociate those lives from the powers which use the physical frame of the medium for their own purposes, just as the religious and inspired poetry of a verlaine may be held separate from his dissipated life. whilst upon this subject i may say that whilst in australia i had some interesting letters from a solicitor named rymer. all students of spiritualism will remember that when daniel home first came to england in the early fifties he received great kindness from the rymer family, who then lived at ealing. old rymer treated him entirely as one of the family. this bendigo rymer was the grandson of home's benefactor, and he had no love for the great medium because he considered that he had acted with ingratitude towards his people. the actual letters of his father, which he permitted me to read, bore out this statement, and i put it on record because i have said much in praise of home, and the balance should be held true. these letters, dating from about ' , show that one of the sons of old rymer was sent to travel upon the continent to study art, and that home was his companion. they were as close as brothers, but when they reached florence, and home became a personage in society there, he drifted away from rymer, whose letters are those of a splendid young man. home's health was already indifferent, and while he was laid up in his hotel he seems to have been fairly kidnapped by a strong-minded society lady of title, an englishwoman living apart from her husband. for weeks he lived at her villa, though the state of his health would suggest that it was rather as patient than lover. what was more culpable was that he answered the letters of his comrade very rudely and showed no sense of gratitude for all that the family had done for him. i have read the actual letters and confess that i was chilled and disappointed. home was an artist as well as a medium, the most unstable combination possible, full of emotions, flying quickly to extremes, capable of heroisms and self-denials, but also of vanities and ill-humour. on this occasion the latter side of his character was too apparent. to counteract the effect produced upon one's mind one should read in home's life the letter of the bavarian captain whom he rescued upon the field of battle, or of the many unfortunates whom he aided with unobtrusive charity. it cannot, however, be too often repeated--since it is never grasped by our critics--that the actual character of a man is as much separate from his mediumistic powers, as it would be from his musical powers. both are inborn gifts beyond the control of their possessor. the medium is the telegraph instrument and the telegraph boy united in one, but the real power is that which transmits the message, which he only receives and delivers. the remark applies to the fox sisters as much as it does to home. talking about home, it is astonishing how the adverse judgment of the vice-chancellor gifford, a materialist, absolutely ignorant of psychic matters, has influenced the minds of men. the very materialists who quote it, would not attach the slightest importance to the opinion of an orthodox judge upon the views of hume, payne, or any free-thinker. it is like quoting a roman tribune against a christian. the real facts of the case are perfectly clear to anyone who reads the documents with care. the best proof of how blameless home was in the matter is that of all the men of honour with whom he was on intimate terms--men like robert chambers, carter hall, lord seaton, lord adare and others--not one relaxed in their friendship after the trial. this was in , but in we find these young noblemen on christian-name terms with the man who would have been outside the pale of society had the accusations of his enemies been true. whilst we were in sydney, a peculiar ship, now called the "marella," was brought into the harbour as part of the german ship surrender. it is commonly reported that this vessel, of very grandiose construction, was built to conduct the kaiser upon a triumphal progress round the world after he had won his war. it is, however, only of , tons, and, personally, i cannot believe that this would have had room for his swollen head, had he indeed been the victor. all the fittings, even to the carpet holders, are of german silver. the saloon is of pure marble, eighty by fifty, with beautiful hand-painted landscapes. the smoke-room is the reproduction of one in potsdam palace. there is a great swimming bath which can be warmed. altogether a very notable ship, and an index, not only of the danger escaped, but of the danger to come, in the form of the super-excellence of german design and manufacture. our post-bag is very full, and it takes major wood and myself all our time to keep up with the letters. many of them are so wonderful that i wish i had preserved them all, but it would have meant adding another trunk to our baggage. there are a few samples which have been rescued. many people seemed to think that i was myself a wandering medium, and i got this sort of missive: "dear sir,--_i am very anxious to ask you a question, trusting you will answer me. what i wish to know i have been corresponding with a gentleman for nearly three years. from this letter can you tell me if i will marry him. i want you to answer this as i am keeping it strictly private and would dearly love you to answer this message if possible, and if i will do quite right if i marry him. trusting to hear from you soon. yours faithfully----._ _p.s.--i thoroughly believe in spirit-ualism._" here is another. "honored sir,--_just a few lines in limited time to ask you if you tell the future. if so, what is your charges? please excuse no stamped and ad. envelope--out of stamps and in haste to catch mail. please excuse._" on the other hand, i had many which were splendidly instructive and helpful. i was particularly struck by one series of spirit messages which were received in automatic writing by a man living in the bush in north queensland and thrown upon his own resources. they were descriptive of life in the beyond, and were in parts extremely corroborative of the vale owen messages, though they had been taken long prior to that date. some of the points of resemblance were so marked and so unusual that they seem clearly to come from a common inspiration. as an example, this script spoke of the creative power of thought in the beyond, but added the detail that when the object to be created was large and important a band of thinkers was required, just as a band of workers would be here. this exactly corresponds to the teaching of vale owen's guide. chapter viii dangerous fog.--the six photographers.--comic advertisements.--beauties of auckland.--a christian clergyman.--shadows in our american relations.--the gallipoli stone.--stevenson and the germans.--position of de rougemont.--mr. clement wragge.--atlantean theories.--a strange psychic.--wellington the windy.--a literary oasis.--a maori séance.--presentation. my voyage to new zealand in the _maheno_ was pleasant and uneventful, giving me four days in which to arrange my papers and look over the many manuscripts which mediums, or, more often, would-be mediums, had discharged at me as i passed. dr. bean, my theosophic friend, who had been somewhat perturbed by my view that his people were really the officers of our movement who had deserted their army, formed an officers' corps, and so taken the money and brains and leadership away from the struggling masses, was waiting on the sydney quay, and gave me twelve books upon his subject to mend my wicked ways, so that i was equipped for a voyage round the world. i needed something, since i had left my wife and family behind me in manly, feeling that the rapid journey through new zealand would be too severe for them. in mr. carlyle smythe, however, i had an admirable "cobber," to use the pal phrase of the australian soldier. mr. smythe had only one defect as a comrade, and that was his conversation in a fog. it was of a distinctly depressing character, as i had occasion to learn when we ran into very thick weather among the rocky islands which make navigation so difficult to the north of auckland. between the screams of the siren i would hear a still small voice in the bunk above me. "we are now somewhere near the three kings. it is an isolated group of rocks celebrated for the wreck of the _elingamite_, which went ashore on just such a morning as this." (whoo-ee! remarked the foghorn). "they were nearly starved, but kept themselves alive by fish which were caught by improvised lines made from the ladies' stay-laces. many of them died." i lay digesting this and staring at the fog which crawled all round the port hole. presently he was off again. "you can't anchor here, and there is no use stopping her, for the currents run hard and she would drift on to one of the ledges which would rip the side out of her." (whoo-ee! repeated the foghorn). "the islands are perpendicular with deep water up to the rocks, so you never know they are there until you hit them, and then, of course, there is no reef to hold you up." (whoo-ee!) "close by here is the place where the _wairarapa_ went down with all hands a few years ago. it was just such a day as this when she struck the great barrier----" it was about this time that i decided to go on deck. captain brown had made me free of the bridge, so i climbed up and joined him there, peering out into the slow-drifting scud. i spent the morning there, and learned something of the anxieties of a sailor's life. captain brown had in his keeping, not only his own career and reputation, but what was far more to him, the lives of more than three hundred people. we had lost all our bearings, for we had drifted in the fog during those hours when it was too thick to move. now the scud was coming in clouds, the horizon lifting to a couple of miles, and then sinking to a few hundred yards. on each side of us and ahead were known to be rocky islands or promontories. yet we must push on to our destination. it was fine to see this typical british sailor working his ship as a huntsman might take his horse over difficult country, now speeding ahead when he saw an opening, now waiting for a fogbank to get ahead, now pushing in between two clouds. for hours we worked along with the circle of oily lead-coloured sea around us, and then the grey veil, rising and falling, drifting and waving, with danger lurking always in its shadow. there are strange results when one stares intently over such a sea, for after a time one feels that it all slopes upwards, and that one is standing deep in a saucer with the rim far above one. once in the rifts we saw a great ship feeling her way southwards, in the same difficulties as ourselves. she was the _niagara_, from vancouver to auckland. then, as suddenly as the raising of a drop-curtain, up came the fog, and there ahead of us was the narrow path which led to safety. the _niagara_ was into it first, which seemed to matter little, but really mattered a good deal, for her big business occupied the port authorities all the evening, while our little business was not even allowed to come alongside until such an hour that we could not get ashore, to the disappointment of all, and very especially of me, for i knew that some of our faithful had been waiting for twelve hours upon the quay to give me a welcoming hand. it was breakfast time on the very morning that i was advertised to lecture before we at last reached our hotel. here i received that counter-demonstration which always helped to keep my head within the limits of my hat. this was a peremptory demand from six gentlemen, who modestly described themselves as the leading photographers of the city, to see the negatives of the photographs which i was to throw upon the screen. i was assured at the same time by other photographers that they had no sympathy with such a demand, and that the others were self-advertising busybodies who had no mandate at all for such a request. my experience at sydney had shown me that such challenges came from people who had no knowledge of psychic conditions, and who did not realise that it is the circumstances under which a photograph is taken, and the witnesses who guarantee such circumstances, which are the real factors that matter, and not the negative which may be so easily misunderstood by those who have not studied the processes by which such things are produced. i therefore refused to allow my photographs to pass into ignorant hands, explaining at the same time that i had no negatives, since the photographs in most cases were not mine at all, so that the negatives would, naturally, be with dr. crawford, dr. geley, lady glenconnor, the representatives of sir william crookes, or whoever else had originally taken the photograph. their challenge thereupon appeared in the press with a long tirade of abuse attached to it, founded upon the absurd theory that all the photos had been taken by me, and that there was no proof of their truth save in my word. one gets used to being indirectly called a liar, and i can answer arguments with self-restraint which once i would have met with the toe of my boot. however, a little breeze of this sort does no harm, but rather puts ginger into one's work, and my audience were very soon convinced of the absurdity of the position of the six dissenting photographers who had judged that which they had not seen. auckland is the port of call of the american steamers, and had some of that air of activity and progress which america brings with her. the spirit of enterprise, however, took curious shapes, as in the case of one man who was a local miller, and pushed his trade by long advertisements at the head of the newspapers, which began with abuse of me and my ways, and ended by a recommendation to eat dessicated corn, or whatever his particular commodity may have been. the result was a comic jumble which was too funny to be offensive, though auckland should discourage such pleasantries, as they naturally mar the beautiful impression which her fair city and surroundings make upon the visitor. i hope i was the only victim, and that every stranger within her gates is not held up to ridicule for the purpose of calling attention to mr. blank's dessicated corn. i seemed destined to have strange people mixed up with my affairs in auckland, for there was a conjuror in the town, who, after the fashion of that rather blatant fraternity, was offering £ , that he could do anything i could do. as i could do nothing, it seemed easy money. in any case, the argument that because you can imitate a thing therefore the thing does not exist, is one which it takes the ingenuity of mr. maskelyne to explain. there was also an ex-spiritualist medium (so-called) who covered the papers with his advertisements, so that my little announcement was quite overshadowed. he was to lecture the night after me in the town hall, with most terrifying revelations. i was fascinated by his paragraphs, and should have liked greatly to be present, but that was the date of my exodus. among other remarkable advertisements was one "what has become of 'pelorus jack'? was he a lost soul?" now, "pelorus jack" was a white dolphin, who at one time used to pilot vessels into a new zealand harbour, gambolling under the bows, so that the question really did raise curiosity. however, i learned afterwards that my successor did not reap the harvest which his ingenuity deserved, and that the audience was scanty and derisive. what the real psychic meaning of "pelorus jack" may have been was not recorded by the press. from the hour i landed upon the quay at auckland until i waved my last farewell my visit was made pleasant, and every wish anticipated by the rev. jasper calder, a clergyman who has a future before him, though whether it will be in the church of england or not, time and the bishop will decide. whatever he may do, he will remain to me and to many more the nearest approach we are likely to see to the ideal christian--much as he will dislike my saying so. after all, if enemies are given full play, why should not friends redress the balance? i will always carry away the remembrance of him, alert as a boy, rushing about to serve anyone, mixing on equal terms with scallywags on the pier, reclaiming criminals whom he called his brothers, winning a prize for breaking-in a buckjumper, which he did in order that he might gain the respect of the stockmen; a fiery man of god in the pulpit, but with a mind too broad for special dispensations, he was like one of those wonderfully virile creatures of charles reade. the clergy of australasia are stagnant and narrow, but on the other hand, i have found men like the dean of sydney, strong of melbourne, sanders of manly, calder of auckland, and others whom it is worth crossing this world to meet. of my psychic work at auckland there is little to be said, save that i began my new zealand tour under the most splendid auspices. even sydney had not furnished greater or more sympathetic audiences than those which crowded the great town hall upon two successive nights. i could not possibly have had a better reception, or got my message across more successfully. all the newspaper ragging and offensive advertisements had produced (as is natural among a generous people) a more kindly feeling for the stranger, and i had a reception i can never forget. this town is very wonderfully situated, and i have never seen a more magnificent view than that from mount eden, an extinct volcano about feet high, at the back of it. the only one which i could class with it is that from arthur's seat, also an extinct volcano about feet high, as one looks on edinburgh and its environs. edinburgh, however, is for ever shrouded in smoke, while here the air is crystal clear, and i could clearly see great barrier island, which is a good eighty miles to the north. below lay the most marvellous medley of light blue water and light green land mottled with darker foliage. we could see not only the whole vista of the wonderful winding harbour, and the seas upon the east of the island, but we could look across and see the firths which connected with the seas of the west. only a seven-mile canal is needed to link the two up, and to save at least two hundred miles of dangerous navigation amid those rock-strewn waters from which we had so happily emerged. of course it will be done, and when it is done it should easily pay its way, for what ship coming from australia--or going to it--but would gladly pay the fees? the real difficulty lies not in cutting the canal, but in dredging the western opening, where shifting sandbanks and ocean currents combine to make a dangerous approach. i see in my mind's eye two great breakwaters, stretching like nippers into the pacific at that point, while, between the points of the nippers, the dredgers will for ever be at work. it will be difficult, but it is needed and it will be done. the australian davis cup quartette--norman brooks, patterson, o'hara wood and another--had come across in the _maheno_ with us and were now at the grand hotel. there also was the american team, including the formidable tilden, now world's champion. the general feeling of australasia is not as cordial as one would wish to the united states for the moment. i have met several men back from that country who rather bitterly resent the anti-british agitation which plays such a prominent part in the american press. this continual nagging is, i am sorry to say, wearing down the stolid patience of the britisher more than i can ever remember, and it is a subject on which i have always been sensitive as i have been a life-long advocate of anglo-american friendship, leading in the fullness of time to some loose form of anglo-american union. at present it almost looks as if these racial traitors who make the artificial dissensions were succeeding for a time in their work of driving a wedge between the two great sections of the english-speaking peoples. my fear is that when some world crisis comes, and everything depends upon us all pulling together, the english-speakers may neutralise each other. there lies the deadly danger. it is for us on both sides to endeavour to avoid it. everyone who is in touch with the sentiment of the british officers in flanders knows that they found men of their own heart in the brave, unassuming american officers who were their comrades, and often their pupils. it is some of the stay-at-home americans who appear to have such a false perspective, and who fail to realise that even british dominions, such as canada and australia, lost nearly as many men as the united states in the war, while britain herself laid down ten lives for every one spent by america. this is not america's fault, but when we see apparent forgetfulness of it on the part of a section of the american people when our wounds are still fresh, it cannot be wondered at that we feel sore. we do not advertise, and as a result there are few who know that we lost more men and made larger captures during the last two years of the war than our gallant ally of france. when we hear that others won the war we smile--but it is a bitter smile. strange, indeed, are some of the episodes of psychic experience. there came to me at my hotel in auckland two middle-aged hard-working women, who had come down a hundred miles from the back country to my lecture. one had lost her boy at gallipoli. she gave me a long post-mortem account from him as to the circumstances of his own death, including the military operations which led up to it. i read it afterwards, and it was certainly a very coherent account of the events both before and after the shell struck him. having handed me the pamphlet the country woman then, with quivering fingers, produced from her bosom a little silver box. out of this she took an object, wrapped in white silk. it was a small cube of what looked to me like sandstone, about an inch each way. she told me it was an apport, that it had been thrown down on her table while she and her family, including, as i understood, the friend then present, were holding a séance. a message came with it to say that it was from the boy's grave at gallipoli. what are we to say to that? was it fraud? then why were they playing tricks upon themselves? if it was, indeed, an apport, it is surely one of the most remarkable for distance and for purpose recorded of any private circle. a gentleman named moors was staying at the same hotel in auckland, and we formed an acquaintance. i find that he was closely connected with stevenson, and had actually written a very excellent book upon his comradeship with him at samoa. stevenson dabbled in the politics of samoa, and always with the best motives and on the right side, but he was of so frank and impetuous a nature that he was not trusted with any inside knowledge. of the german rule mr. moors says that for the first twelve years dr. solf was as good as he could be, and did fair justice to all. then he went on a visit to berlin, and returned "bitten by the military bug," with his whole nature changed, and began to "imponieren" in true prussian fashion. it is surely extraordinary how all the scattered atoms of a race can share the diseases of the central organism from which they sprang. i verily believe that if a german had been alone on a desert island in he would have begun to dance and brandish a club. how many cases are on record of the strange changes and wild deeds of individuals? mr. moors told me that he dropped into a developing circle of spiritualists at sydney, none of whom could have known him. one of them said, "above your head i see a man, an artist, long hair, brown eyes, and i get the name of stephens." if he was indeed unknown, this would seem fairly evidential. i was struck by one remark of mr. moors, which was that he had not only seen the natives ride turtles in the south sea lagoons, but that he had actually done so himself, and that it was by no means difficult. this was the feat which was supposed to be so absurd when de rougemont claimed to have done it. there are, of course, some gross errors which are probably pure misuse of words in that writer's narrative, but he places the critic in a dilemma which has never been fairly faced. either he is a liar, in which case he is, beyond all doubt, the most realistic writer of adventure since defoe, or else he speaks the truth, in which case he is a great explorer. i see no possible avoidance of this dilemma, so that which ever way you look at it the man deserves credit which he has never received. we set off, four of us, to visit mr. clement wragge, who is the most remarkable personality in auckland--dreamer, mystic, and yet very practical adviser on all matters of ocean and of air. on arriving at the charming bungalow, buried among all sorts of broad-leaved shrubs and trees, i was confronted by a tall, thin figure, clad in black, with a face like a sadder and thinner bernard shaw, dim, dreamy eyes, heavily pouched, with a blue turban surmounting all. on repeating my desire he led me apart into his study. i had been warned that with his active brain and copious knowledge i would never be able to hold him to the point, so, in the dialogue which followed, i perpetually headed him off as he turned down bye paths, until the conversation almost took the form of a game. "mr. wragge, you are, i know, one of the greatest authorities upon winds and currents." "well, that is one of my pursuits. when i was young i ran the ben nevis observatory in scotland and----" "it was only a small matter i wished to ask you. you'll excuse my directness as i have so little time." "certainly. what is it?" "if the maoris came, originally, from hawaii, what prevailing winds would their canoes meet in the , miles which they crossed to reach new zealand?" the dim eyes lit up with the joy of the problem, and the nervous fingers unrolled a chart of the pacific. he flourished a pair of compasses. "here is hawaii. they would start with a north-westerly trade wind. that would be a fair wind. i may say that the whole affair took place far further back than is usually supposed. we have to get back to astronomy for our fixed date. don't imagine that the obliquity of the ecliptic was always degrees." "the maoris had a fair wind then?" the compasses stabbed at the map. "only down to this point. then they would come on the doldrums--the calm patch of the equator. they could paddle their canoes across that. of course, the remains at easter island prove----" "but they could not paddle all the way." "no; they would run into the south-easterly trades. then they made their way to rarotonga in tahiti. it was from here that they made for new zealand." "but how could they know new zealand was there?" "ah, yes, how did they know?" "had they compasses?" "they steered by the stars. we have a poem of theirs which numbers the star-gazer as one of the crew. we have a chart, also, cut in the rocks at hawaii, which seems to be the plot of a voyage. here is a slide of it." he fished out a photo of lines and scratches upon a rock. "of course," said he, "the root of the matter is that missionaries from atlantis permeated the pacific, coming across central america, and left their traces everywhere." ah, atlantis! i am a bit of an atlantean myself, so off we went at scratch and both enjoyed ourselves greatly until time had come to rejoin the party and meet mr. wragge's wife, a charming brahmin lady from india, who was one of the most gracious personalities i have met in my wanderings. the blue-turbaned, eager man, half western science, half eastern mystic, and his dark-eyed wife amid their profusion of flowers will linger in my memory. mrs. wragge was eager that i go and lecture in india. well, who knows? i was so busy listening to mr. wragge's atlantean theories that i had no chance of laying before him my own contribution to the subject, which is, i think, both original and valid. if the huge bulk of atlantis sank beneath the ocean, then, assuredly, it raised such a tidal wave as has never been known in the world's history. this tidal wave, since all sea water connects, would be felt equally all over the world, as the wave of krakatoa was in felt in europe. the wave must have rushed over all flat coasts and drowned every living thing, as narrated in the biblical narrative. therefore, since this catastrophe was, according to plato's account, not very much more than , years ago there should exist ample evidence of a wholesale destruction of life, especially in the flatter lands of the globe. is there such evidence? think of darwin's account of how the pampas of south america are in places one huge grave-yard. think, also, of the mammoth remains which strew the tundras of siberia, and which are so numerous that some of the arctic islands are really covered with bones. there is ample evidence of some great flood which would exactly correspond with the effect produced by the sinking of atlantis. the tragedy broadens as one thinks of it. everyone everywhere must have been drowned save only the hill-dwellers. the object of the catastrophe was, according to some occult information, to remove the atlantean race and make room for the aryan, even as the lemurian had been removed to make room for the atlantean. how long has the aryan race to run? the answer may depend upon themselves. the great war is a warning bell perhaps. i had a talk with a curious type of psychic while i was in auckland. he claimed to be a psychologist who did not need to be put _en rapport_ with his object by any material starting point. a piece of clothing is, as a rule, to a psychometrist what it would be to a bloodhound, the starting point of a chase which runs down the victim. thus van bourg, when he discovered by crystal gazing the body of mr. foxhall (i quote the name from memory) floating in the thames, began by covering the table with the missing man's garments. this is the usual procedure which will become more familiar as the public learn the full utility of a psychic. this gentlemen, mr. pearman, was a builder by trade, a heavy, rather uneducated man with the misty eye of a seer. he told me that if he desired to turn his powers upon anything he had only to sit in a dim room and concentrate his thought upon the matter, without any material nexus. for example, a murder had been done in western australia. the police asked his help. using his power, he saw the man, a stranger, and yet he _knew_ that it was the man, descending the swan river in a boat. he saw him mix with the dockmen of fremantle. then he saw him return to perth. finally, he saw him take train on the transcontinental railway. the police at once acted, and intercepted the man, who was duly convicted and hanged. this was one of several cases which this man told me, and his stories carried conviction with them. all this, although psychic, has, of course, nothing to do with spiritualism, but is an extension of the normal, though undefined, powers of the human mind and soul. the reader will be relieved to hear that i did not visit rotorua. an itinerant lecturer upon an unpopular cause has enough hot water without seeking out a geyser. my travels would make but an indifferent guide book, but i am bound to put it upon record that wellington is a very singular city plastered upon the side of a very steep hill. it is said that the plan of the city was entirely drawn up in england under the impression that the site was a flat one, and that it was duly carried out on the perpendicular instead of the horizontal. it is a town of fine buildings, however, in a splendid winding estuary ringed with hills. it is, of course, the capital, and the centre of all officialdom in new zealand, but auckland, in the north, is already the greater city. i had the opportunity of spending the day after my arrival with dr. morrice, who married the daughter of the late premier, sir r. seddon, whom i had known in years gone by. their summer house was down the bay, and so i had a long drive which gave me an admirable chance of seeing the wonderful panorama. it was blowing a full gale, and the road is so exposed that even motors are sometimes upset by the force of the wind. on this occasion nothing more serious befell us than the loss of mr. smythe's hat, which disappeared with such velocity that no one was able to say what had become of it. it simply was, and then it was not. the yellow of the foreshore, the green of the shallows, the blue mottled with purple of the deep, all fretted with lines of foam, made an exhilarating sight. the whole excursion was a brief but very pleasant break in our round of work. another pleasant experience was that i met dr. purdey, who had once played cricket with me, when we were very young, at edinburgh university. _eheu fugaces!_ i had also the pleasure of meeting mr. massey, the premier, a bluff, strong, downright man who impresses one with his force and sincerity. i had the privilege when i was at wellington of seeing the first edition of "robinson crusoe," which came out originally in three volumes. i had no idea that the three-decker dated back to . it had a delightful map of the island which would charm any boy, and must have been drawn up under the personal guidance of defoe himself. i wonder that map has not been taken as an integral part of the book, and reproduced in every edition, for it is a fascinating and a helpful document. i saw this rare book in the turnbull library, which, under the loving care of mr. anderson (himself no mean poet), is a fine little collection of books got together by a wellington man of business. in a raw young land such a literary oasis is like a gothic cathedral in the midst of a suburb of modern villas. anyone can come in to consult the books, and if i were a wellingtonian i would certainly spend a good deal of time there. i handled with fitting reverence a first edition of "lyrical ballads," where, in , coleridge and wordsworth made their entry hand in hand into poetical literature. i saw an original hakluyt, the book which has sent so many brave hearts a-roving. there, too, was a precious kelmscott "chaucer," a plutarch and montaigne, out of which shakespeare might have done his cribbing; capt. cook's manuscript "diary," written in the stiff hand of a very methodical man; a copy of swinburne's "poems and ballads," which is one of twenty from a recalled edition, and many other very rare and worthy volumes carefully housed and clad. i spent a mellow hour among them. i have been looking up all the old books upon the maoris which i could find, with the special intent of clearing up their history, but while doing so i found in one rather rare volume "old new zealand," an account of a maori séance, which seems to have been in the early forties, and, therefore, older than the hydesville knockings. i only wish every honest materialist could read it and compare it with the experiences which we have, ourselves, independently reported. surely they cannot persist in holding that such identical results are obtained by coincidence, or that fraud would work in exactly the same fashion in two different hemispheres. a popular young chief had been killed in battle. the white man was invited to join the solemn circle who hoped to regain touch with him. the séance was in the dark of a large hut, lit only by the ruddy glow of a low fire. the white man, a complete unbeliever, gives his evidence in grudging fashion, but cannot get past the facts. the voice came, a strange melancholy sound, like the wind blowing into a hollow vessel. "salutation! salutation to you all! to you, my tribe! family, i salute you! friends, i salute you!" when the power waned the voice cried, "speak to me, the family! speak to me!" in the published dialogue between dr. hodgson after his death and professor hyslop, hodgson cries, "speak, hyslop!" when the power seemed to wane. for some reason it would appear either by vibrations or by concentrating attention to help the communicator. "it is well with me," said the chief. "this place is a good place." he was with the dead of the tribe and described them, and offered to take messages to them. the incredulous white man asked where a book had been concealed which only the dead man knew about. the place was named and the book found. the white man himself did not know, so there was no telepathy. finally, with a "farewell!" which came from high in the air, the spirit passed back to immaterial conditions. this is, i think, a very remarkable narrative. if you take it as literally true, which i most certainly do, since our experience corroborates it, it gives us some points for reflection. one is that the process is one known in all the ages, as our biblical reading has already told us. a second is that a young barbarian chief with no advantages of religion finds the next world a very pleasant place, just as our dead do, and that they love to come back and salute those whom they have left, showing a keen memory of their earth life. finally, we must face the conclusion that the mere power of communication has no elevating effect in itself, otherwise these tribes could not have continued to be ferocious savages. it has to be united with the christ message from beyond before it will really help us upon the upward path. before i left wellington the spiritualists made me a graceful presentation of a travelling rug, and i was able to assure them that if they found the rug i would find the travelling. it is made of the beautiful woollen material in which new zealand is supreme. the presentation was made by mrs. stables, the president of the new zealand association, an energetic lady to whom the cause owes much. a greenstone penholder was given to me for my wife, and a little charm for my small daughter, the whole proceedings being marked with great cordiality and good feeling. the faithful are strong in wellington, but are much divided among themselves, which, i hope, may be alleviated as a consequence of my visit. nothing could have been more successful than my two meetings. the press was splendidly sympathetic, and i left by a night boat in high heart for my campaign in the south island. chapter ix the anglican colony.--psychic dangers.--the learned dog.--absurd newspaper controversy.--a backward community.--the maori tongue.--their origin.--their treatment by the empire.--a fiasco.--the pa of kaiopoi.--dr. thacker.--sir joseph kinsey.--a generous collector.--scott and amundsen.--dunedin.--a genuine medium.--evidence.--the shipping strike.--sir oliver.--farewell. i am afraid that the average britisher looks upon new zealand as one solid island. if he had to cross cook's strait to get from the northern to the southern half, he would never forget his lesson in geography, for it can be as nasty a bit of water as is to be found in the world, with ocean waves, mountain winds and marine currents all combining into a horrible chaos. twelve good hours separate wellington in the north from lyttelton, which is the port of christchurch in the south. a very short railway joins the two latter places. my luck held good, and i had an excellent passage, dining in wellington and breakfasting in christchurch. it is a fine city, the centre of the famous canterbury grazing country. four shiploads of people calling themselves the canterbury pilgrims arrived here in , built a cathedral, were practically ruled over by bishop selwyn, and tried the successful experiment of establishing a community which should be as anglican as new england is nonconformist. the distinctive character has now largely disappeared, but a splendid and very english city remains as a memorial of their efforts. when you are on the green, sloping banks of the river avon, with the low, artistic bridges, it would not be hard to imagine that you were in the backs at cambridge. at christchurch i came across one of those little bits of psychic evidence which may be taken as certainly true, and which can be regarded, therefore, as pieces which have to be fitted into the jig-saw puzzle in order to make the completed whole, at that far off date when a completed whole is within the reach of man's brain. it concerns mr. michie, a local spiritualist of wide experience. on one occasion some years ago, he practised a short cut to psychic power, acquired through a certain method of breathing and of action, which amounts, in my opinion, to something in the nature of self-hypnotisation. i will not give details, as i think all such exercises are dangerous save for very experienced students of these matters, who know the risk and are prepared to take it. the result upon mr. michie, through some disregard upon his part of the conditions which he was directed to observe, was disastrous. he fell into an insidious illness with certain psychic symptoms, and within a few months was reduced to skin and bone. mr. michie's wife is mediumistic and liable to be controlled. one day an entity came to her and spoke through her to her husband, claiming to be the spirit of one, gordon stanley. he said: "i can sympathise with your case, because my own death was brought about in exactly the same way. i will help you, however, to fight against it and to recover." the spirit then gave an account of his own life, described himself as a clerk in cole's book arcade in melbourne, and said that his widow was living at an address in melbourne, which was duly given. mr. michie at once wrote to this address and received this reply, the original of which i have seen: _"park street, "melbourne._ "dear sir,--_i have just received your strange--i must say, your very strange letter. yes, i am mrs. stanley. my husband did die two years ago from consumption. he was a clerk in cole's arcade. i must say your letter gave me a great shock. but i cannot doubt after what you have said, for i know you are a complete stranger to me._" shortly afterwards mr. stanley returned again through the medium, said that his widow was going to marry again, and that it was with his full approbation. the incident may be taken by our enemies as illustrating the danger of psychic research, and we admit that there are forms of it which should be approached with caution, but i do not think that mankind will ever be warned off by putting a danger label upon it, so long as they think there is real knowledge to be gained. how could the motor-car or the aeroplane have been developed if hundreds had not been ready to give their lives to pay the price? here the price has been far less, and the goal far higher, but if in gaining it a man were assured that he would lose his health, his reason, or his life, it is none the less his duty to go forward if he clearly sees that there is something to be won. to meet death in conquering death is to die in victory--the ideal death. whilst i was at auckland mr. poynton, a stipendiary magistrate there, told me of a dog in christchurch which had a power of thought comparable, not merely to a human being, but even, as i understood him, to a clairvoyant, as it would bark out the number of coins in your pocket and other such questions. the alternative to clairvoyance was that he was a very quick and accurate thought-reader, but in some cases the power seemed to go beyond this. mr. poynton, who had studied the subject, mentioned four learned beasts in history: a marvellous horse in shakespeare's time, which was burned with its master in florence; the boston skipper's dog; hans, the russian horse, and darkie of christchurch. he investigated the latter himself, as one of a committee of three. on the first occasion they got no results. on the second, ninety per cent. of the questions were right, and they included sums of addition, subtraction, etc. "it was uncanny," he wrote. i called, therefore, upon mrs. mcgibbon, the owner, who allowed me to see the dog. he was a dark, vivacious fox terrier, sixteen years old, blind and deaf, which obviously impaired his powers. in spite of his blindness he dashed at me the moment he was allowed into the room, pawing at me and trembling all over with excitement. he was, in fact so excited that he was of little use for demonstration, as when once he began to bark he could not be induced to stop. occasionally he steadied down, and gave us a touch of his true quality. when a half-crown was placed before him and he was asked how many sixpences were in it, he gave five barks, and four for a florin, but when a shilling was substituted he gave twelve, which looked as if he had pennies in his mind. on the whole the performance was a failure, but as he had raised by exhibiting his gifts, £ for war charities, i took my hat off to him all the same. i will not imitate those psychic researchers who imagine that because they do not get a result, therefore, every one else who has reported it is a cheat or a fool. on the contrary, i have no doubt that the dog had these powers, though age and excitement have now impaired them. the creature's powers were first discovered when the son of the house remarked one day: "i will give you a biscuit if you bark three times." he at once did it. "now, six times." he did so. "now, take three off." he barked three times once again. since then they have hardly found any problem he could not tackle. when asked how many males in the room he always included himself in the number, but omitted himself when asked how many human beings. one wonders how many other dogs have human brains without the humans being clever enough to detect it. i had an amusing controversy in christchurch with one of the local papers, _the press_, which represents the clerical interest, and, also, the clerical intolerance of a cathedral city. it issued an article upon me and my beliefs, severe, but quite within the limits of legitimate criticism, quoting against me professor hyslop, "who," it said, "is professor of logic at columbia, etc." to this i made the mild and obvious retort in the course of my lecture that as professor hyslop was dead, _the press_ went even further than i in saying that he "_is_ professor at columbia." instead of accepting this correction, _the press_ made the tactical error of standing by their assertion, and aggravated it by head-lines which challenged me, and quoted my statement as "typical of the inaccuracy of a spiritualist." as i rather pride myself on my accuracy, which has seldom been challenged, i answered shortly but politely, as follows: "sir,--_i am surprised that the news of the death of professor hyslop has not reached new zealand, and even more surprised that it could be imagined that i would make such a statement on a matter so intimately connected with the subject upon which i lecture without being sure of my fact. i am reported as saying 'some years,' but, if so, it was a slip of the tongue for 'some time.' the professor died either late last year or early in the present one._" i should have thought that my answer was conclusive, and would have elicited some sort of apology; but instead of this, _the press_ called loudly upon me in a leading article to apologise, though for what i know not, save that they asserted i had said "some years," whereas i claim that i actually said "some time." this drew the following rather more severe letter from me: "sir,--_i am collecting new zealand curiosities, so i will take your leading article home with me. to get the full humour of it one has to remember the sequence of events. in a leading article you remarked that professor hyslop is professor of logic. i answered with mild irony that he certainly is not, as he had been dead 'some years' or 'some time'--which of the two is perfectly immaterial, since i presume that in either case you would agree that he has ceased to be professor of logic. to this you were rash enough to reply with a challenging article with large head-lines, declaring that i had blundered, and that this was typical of the inaccuracy of spiritualists. i wrote a gentle remonstrance to show that i had not blundered, and that my assertion was essentially true, since the man was dead. this you now tacitly admit, but instead of expressing regret you ask for an apology from me. i have engaged in much newspaper controversy, but i can truly say that i can recall no such instance of effrontery as this._" this led to another leader and considerable abuse. the controversy was, however, by no means one-sided, in spite of the shadow of the cathedral. mr. peter trolove is a man of wit as well as knowledge, and wields a pretty pen. a strong man, also, is dr. john guthrie, whose letter contains words so kindly that i must quote them: "_sir arthur conan doyle stands above it all, not only as a courteous gentleman, but as a fair controversialist throughout. he is, anyhow, a chivalrous and magnanimous personality, whether or not his beliefs have any truth. fancy quoting authorities against a man who has spent great part of his life studying the subject, and who knows the authorities better than all his opponents put together--a man who has deliberately used his great gifts in an honest attempt to get at truth. i do think that christchurch has some need to apologise for its controversialists--much more need than our distinguished visitor has to apologise for what we all know to be his honest convictions._" i have never met dr. john guthrie in the flesh, but i would thank him here, should this ever meet his eye, for this kindly protest. it will be gathered that i succeeded at christchurch in performing the feat of waking up a cathedral city, and all the ex-sleepers were protesting loudly against such a disturbing inrush from the outer world. glancing at the head-lines i see that bishop brodie declared it to be "a blasphemy nurtured in fraud," the dean of christchurch writes it down as "spiritism, the abrogation of reason," the rev. john patterson calls it "an ancient delusion," the rev. mr. north says it is "a foolish paganism," and the rev. mr. ready opines that it is "a gospel of uncertainty and conjecture." such are the clerical leaders of thought in christchurch in the year . i think of what the wise old chinese control said of similar types at the melbourne rescue circle. "he good man but foolish man. he learn better. never rise till he learn better. plenty time yet." who loses except themselves? the enormous number of letters which i get upon psychic subjects--which i do my best to answer--give me some curious sidelights, but they are often confidential, and would not bear publication. some of them are from devout, but narrow christians, who narrate psychic and prophetic gifts which they possess, and at the same time almost resent them on the ground that they are condemned by the bible. as if the whole bible was not psychic and prophetic! one very long letter detailed a whole succession of previsions of the most exact character, and wound up by the conviction that we were on the edge of some great discovery. this was illustrated by a simile which seemed very happy. "have you noticed a tree covered in spider webs during a fog? well, it was only through the law of the fog that we saw them. they were there all the time, but only when the moisture came could we see them." it was a good illustration. many amazing experiences are detailed to me in every town i visit, and though i have no time to verify them and go into details, none the less they fit so accurately with the various types of psychic cases with which i am familiar that i cannot doubt that such occurrences are really very common. it is the injudicious levity with which they are met which prevents their being published by those who experience them. as an amateur philologist of a superficial type, i am greatly interested in studying the maori language, and trying to learn whence these wonderful savages came before their twenty-two terrible canoes came down upon the unhappy land which would have been safer had as many shiploads of tigers been discharged upon its beach. the world is very old, and these folk have wandered from afar, and by many devious paths. surely there are celtic traces both in their appearance, their character and their language. an old maori woman smoking her pipe is the very image of an old celtic woman occupied the same way. their word for water is _wei_, and england is full of wye and way river names, dating from the days before the germans arrived. strangest of all is their name for the supreme god. a name never mentioned and taboo among them, is io. "j" is, of course, interchangeable with "i," so that we get the first two letters of jove and an approximation of jehovah. papa is parent. altogether there is good evidence that they are from the same root as some european races, preferably the celts. but on the top of this comes a whole series of japanese combinations of letters, rangi, muru, tiki, and so forth, so that many of the place names seem pure japanese. what are we to make of such a mixture? is it possible that one celtic branch, far away in the mists of time, wandered east while their racial brethren wandered west, so that part reached far corea while the others reached ireland? then, after getting a tincture of japanese terms and word endings, they continued their migration, taking to the seas, and finally subduing the darker races who inhabited the polynesian islands, so making their way to new zealand. this wild imagining would at least cover the observed facts. it is impossible to look at some of the maori faces without realising that they are of european stock. i must interpolate a paragraph here to say that i was pleased, after writing the above, to find that in my blind gropings i had come upon the main conclusions which have been put forward with very full knowledge by the well-known authority, dr. mcmillan brown. he has worked out the very fact which i surmised, that the maoris are practically of the same stock as europeans, that they had wandered japan-wards, and had finally taken to the sea. there are two points of interest which show the date of their exodus was a very ancient one. the first is that they have not the use of the bow. the second is that they have no knowledge of metals. such knowledge once possessed would never have been lost, so it is safe to say that they left asia a thousand years (as a minimum) before christ, for at that date the use of bronze, at any rate, was widespread. what adventures and vicissitudes this remarkable race, so ignorant in some directions and so advanced in others, must have endured during those long centuries. if you look at the wonderful ornaments of their old war canoes, which carry a hundred men, and can traverse the whole pacific, it seems almost incredible that human patience and ingenuity could construct the whole fabric with instruments of stone. they valued them greatly when once they were made, and the actual names of the twenty-two original invading canoes are still recorded. illustration: the people of turi's canoe, after a voyage of great hardship, at last sight the shores of new zealand. from a painting in the auckland art gallery by c. f. goldie and l. j. steele. in the public gallery of auckland they have a duplicate of one of these enormous canoes. it is feet in length and the thwarts are broad enough to hold three or four men. when it was filled with its hundred warriors, with the chief standing in the centre to give time to the rowers, it must, as it dashed through the waves, have been a truly terrific object. i should think that it represented the supreme achievement of neolithic man. there are a series of wonderful pictures of maori life in the same gallery by goldie and steele. of these i reproduce, by permission, one which represents the starving crew of one canoe sighting the distant shore. the engraving only gives a faint indication of the effect of the vividly-coloured original. reference has been made to the patient industry of the maori race. a supreme example of this is that every man had his tikki, or image of a little idol made of greenstone, which was hung round his neck. now, this new zealand greenstone is one of the hardest objects in nature, and yet it is worn down without metals into these quaint figures. on an average it took ten years to make one, and it was rubbed down from a chunk of stone into an image by the constant friction of a woman's foot. it is said that the tahungas, or priests, have much hereditary knowledge of an occult sort. their oracles were famous, and i have already quoted an example of their séances. a student of maori lore told me the following interesting story. he was a student of maori words, and on one occasion a maori chief let slip an unusual word, let us say "buru," and then seemed confused and refused to answer when the englishman asked the meaning. the latter took it to a friend, a tohunga, who seemed much surprised and disturbed, and said it was a word of which a paheka or white man should know nothing. not to be beaten, my informant took it to an old and wise chief who owed him a return for some favours. this chief was also much exercised in mind when he heard the word, and walked up and down in agitation. finally he said, "friend, we are both christians. you remember the chapter in the bible where jacob wrestled with an angel. well, this word 'buru' represents that for which they were wrestling." he would say no more and there it had perforce to be left. the british empire may be proud of their treatment of the maoris. like the jews, they object to a census, but their number cannot be more than , in a population of over a million. there is no question, therefore, of our being constrained to treat them well. yet they own vast tracts of the best land in the country, and so unquestioned are their rights that when they forbade a railway to pass down the centre of the north island, the traffic had to go by sea from auckland until, at last, after many years, it was shown to the chiefs that their financial interests would be greatly aided by letting the railway through. these financial interests are very large, and many maoris are wealthy men, buying expensive motor cars and other luxuries. some of the more educated take part in legislative work, and are distinguished for their eloquence. the half-castes make a particularly fine breed, especially in their youth, for they tend as they grow older to revert to the pure maori type. new zealand has no national sin upon its conscience as regards the natives, which is more, i fear, than can be said whole-heartedly for australia, and even less for tasmania. our people never descended to the level of the old congo, but they have something on their conscience none the less. on december th there was some arrangement by which i should meet the maoris and see the historic pa of kaiopoi. the affair, however, was, i am sorry to say, a fiasco. as we approached the building, which was the village school room, there emerged an old lady--a very old lady--who uttered a series of shrill cries, which i was told meant welcome, though they sounded more like the other thing. i can only trust that my informants were right. inside was a very fine assemblage of atmospheric air, and of nothing else. the explanation was that there had been a wedding the night before, and that the whole community had been--well, tired. presently a large man in tweeds of the reach-me-down variety appeared upon the scene, and several furtive figures, including a row of children, materialised in corners of the big empty room. the visitors, who were more numerous than the visited, sat on a long bench and waited developments which refused to develop. my dreams of the dignified and befeathered savage were drifting away. finally, the large man, with his hands in his pockets, and looking hard at a corner of the rafters, made a speech of welcome, punctuated by long stops and gaps. he then, at our request, repeated it in maori, and the children were asked to give a maori shout, which they sternly refused to do. i then made a few feeble bleats, uncertain whether to address my remarks to the level of the large man or to that of the row of children. i ended by handing over some books for their library, and we then escaped from this rather depressing scene. but it was a very different matter with the pa. i found it intensely interesting. you could still trace quite clearly the main lines of the battle which destroyed it. it lay on about five acres of ground, with deep swamp all round save for one frontage of some hundreds of yards. that was all which really needed defence. the north island natives, who were of a sterner breed than those of the south, came down under the famous rauparaha (these maori names are sad snags in a story) and besieged the place. one can see the saps and follow his tactics, which ended by piling brushwood against the palings--please observe the root "pa" in palings--with the result that he carried the place. massacre hill stands close by, and so many of the defenders were eaten that their gnawed bones covered the ground within the memory of living men. such things may have been done by the father of the elderly gentleman who passes you in his motor car with his race glasses slung across his chest. the siege of kaiopoi was about . even on a fine sunlit day i was conscious of that heavy atmosphere within the enclosure which impresses itself upon me when i am on the scene of ancient violence. so frightful an episode within so limited a space, where for months the garrison saw its horrible fate drawing nearer day by day, must surely have left some etheric record even to our blunt senses. i was indebted to dr. thacker, the mayor, for much kind attention whilst in christchurch. he is a giant man, but a crippled giant, alas, for he still bears the traces of an injury received in a historic football match, which left his and my old university of edinburgh at the top of the tree in scotland. he showed me some curious, if ghastly, relics of his practice. one of these was a tumour of the exact size and shape of a boxing glove, thumb and all, which he cut out of the back of a boxer who had lost a glove fight and taken it greatly to heart. always on many converging lines we come back to the influence of mind over matter. another most pleasant friendship which i made in christchurch was with sir joseph kinsey, who has acted as father to several successive british arctic expeditions. scott and shackleton have both owed much to him, their constant agent, adviser and friend. scott's dying hand traced a letter to him, so unselfish and so noble that it alone would put scott high in the gallery of british worthies. of all modern men of action scott seems to me the most lofty. to me he was only an acquaintance, but kinsey, who knew him well as a friend, and lady kinsey, who had all arctic exploration at her finger ends, were of the same opinion. sir joseph discussed the action of amundsen in making for the pole. when it was known that amundsen was heading south instead of pursuing his advertised intentions, kinsey smelled danger and warned scott, who, speaking from his own noble loyalty, said, "he would never do so dishonourable a thing. my plans are published and are known to all the world." however, when he reached the ice, and when pennell located the "fram," he had to write and admit that kinsey was right. it was a sad blow, that forestalling, though he took it like the man that he was. none the less, it must have preyed upon the spirits of all his party and weakened their resistance in that cruel return journey. on the other hand amundsen's expedition, which was conducted on rather less than a sixth of the cost of the british, was a triumph of organisation, and he had the good luck or deep wisdom to strike a route which was clear of those great blizzards which overwhelmed scott. the scurvy was surely a slur upon our medical preparations. according to stefansson, who knows more of the matter than any living man, lime juice is useless, vegetables are of secondary importance, but fresh animal food, be it seal, penguin, or what you will, is the final preventive. sir joseph is a passionate and discriminating collector, and has but one fault in collecting, which is a wide generosity. you have but to visit him often enough and express sufficient interest to absorb all his treasures. perhaps my protests were half-hearted, but i emerged from his house with a didrachm of alexander, a tetradrachm of some armenian monarch, a sheet of rare arctic stamps for denis, a lump of native greenstone, and a small nugget of gold. no wonder when i signed some books for him i entered the date as that of "the sacking of woomeroo," that being the name of his dwelling. the mayor, in the same spirit of hospitality, pressed upon me a huge bone of the extinct moa, but as i had never failed to impress upon my wife the extreme importance of cutting down our luggage, i could not face the scandal of appearing with this monstrous impedimentum. leaving christchurch in the journalistic uproar to which allusion has been made, our engagements took us on to dunedin, which is reached by rail in a rather tiring day's journey. a new zealand train is excellent while it is running, but it has a way of starting with an epileptic leap, and stopping with a bang, which becomes wearisome after a while. on the other hand this particular journey is beguiled by the fact that the line runs high for two hours round the curve of the hills with the pacific below, so that a succession of marvellous views opens out before you as you round each spur. there can be few more beautiful lines. dunedin was founded in by a group of scotsmen, and it is modelled so closely upon edinburgh that the familiar street names all reappear, and even portobello has its duplicate outside the town. the climate, also, i should judge to be about the same. the prevailing tone of the community is still scottish, which should mean that they are sympathetic with my mission, for nowhere is spiritualism more firmly established now than in scotland, especially in glasgow, where a succession of great mediums and of earnest workers have built up a considerable organisation. i soon found that it was so, for nowhere had i more private assurances of support, nor a better public reception, the theatre being filled at each lecture. in the intervals kind friends put their motors at my disposal and i had some splendid drives over the hills, which look down upon the winding estuary at the head of which the town is situated. at the house of mr. reynolds, of dunedin, i met one of the most powerful clairvoyants and trance mediums whom i have tested. her name is mrs. roberts, and though her worldly circumstances are modest, she has never accepted any money for her wonderful psychic gifts. for this i honour her, but, as i told her, we all sell the gifts which god has given us, and i cannot see why, and within reason, psychic gifts should not also be placed within the reach of the public, instead of being confined to a favoured few. how can the bulk of the people ever get into touch with a good medium if they are debarred from doing so in the ordinary way of business? mrs. roberts is a stout, kindly woman, with a motherly manner, and a sensitive, expressive face. when in touch with my conditions she at once gave the names of several relatives and friends who have passed over, without any slurring or mistakes. she then cried, "i see an elderly lady here--she is a beautifully high spirit--her name is selina." this rather unusual name belonged to my wife's mother, who died nearly two years ago. then, suddenly, becoming slightly convulsed, as a medium does when her mechanism is controlled by another, she cried with an indescribable intensity of feeling, "thank god! thank god to get in touch again! jean! jean! give my dear love to jean!" both names, therefore, had been got correctly, that of the mother and the daughter. is it not an affront to reason to explain away such results by wild theories of telepathy, or by anything save the perfectly plain and obvious fact that spirit communion is indeed true, and that i was really in touch with that dead lady who was, even upon earth, a beautifully high and unselfish spirit. i had a number of other communications through mrs. roberts that night, and at a second interview two days later, not one of which erred so far as names were concerned. among others was one who professed to be dr. russell wallace. i should be honoured, indeed, to think that it was so, but i was unable to hit on anything which would be evidential. i asked him if his further experience had taught him anything more about reincarnation, which he disputed in his lifetime. he answered that he now accepted it, though i am not clear whether he meant for all cases. i thanked him for any spiritual help i had from him. his answer was "me! don't thank me! you would be surprised if you knew who your real helpers are." he added, "by your work i rise. we are co-workers!" i pray that it be so, for few men have lived for whom i have greater respect; wise and brave, and mellow and good. his biography was a favourite book of mine long before i understood the full significance of spiritualism, which was to him an evolution of the spirit on parallel lines to that evolution of the body which he did so much to establish. now that my work in new zealand was drawing to a close a very grave problem presented itself to mr. smythe and myself, and that was how we were to get back to our families in australia. a strike had broken out, which at first seemed a small matter, but it was accentuated by the approach of christmas and the fact that many of the men were rather looking for an excuse for a holiday. every day things became blacker. once before mr. smythe had been held up for four months by a similar cause, and, indeed, it has become a very serious consideration for all who visit new zealand. we made a forced march for the north amid constant rumours that far from reaching australia we could not even get to the north island, as the twelve-hour ferry boats were involved in the strike. i had every trust in my luck, or, as i should prefer to say, in my helpers, and we got the _maori_ on the last ferry trip which she was sure to take. up to the last moment the firemen wavered, and we had no stewards on board, but none the less, to our inexpressible relief we got off. there was no food on the ship and no one to serve it, so we went into a small hostel at lyttleton before we started, to see what we could pick up. there was a man seated opposite to me who assumed the air of laboured courtesy and extreme dignity, which is one phase of alcoholism. "'scuse me, sir!" said he, looking at me with a glassy stare, "but you bear most 'straordinary resemblance olver lodge." i said something amiable. "yes, sir--'straordinary! have you ever seen olver lodge, sir?" "yes, i have." "well, did you perceive resemblance?" "sir oliver, as i remember him, was a tall man with a grey beard." he shook his head at me sadly. "no, sir--i heard him at wellington last week. no beard. a moustache, sir, same as your own." "you're sure it was sir oliver?" a slow smile came over his face. "blesh my soul--conan doyle--that's the name. yes, sir, you bear truly remarkable resemblance conan doyle." i did not say anything further so i daresay he has not discovered yet the true cause of the resemblance. all the nerve-wracking fears of being held up which we endured at lyttleton were repeated at wellington, where we had taken our passages in the little steamer _paloona_. in any case we had to wait for a day, which i spent in clearing up my new zealand affairs while mr. smythe interviewed the authorities and paid no less than £ war tax upon the receipts of our lectures--a heavy impost upon a fortnight's work. next morning, with our affairs and papers all in order, we boarded our little craft. up to the last moment we had no certainty of starting. not only was the strike in the air, but it was christmas eve, and it was natural enough that the men should prefer their own homes to the stokehole of the _paloona_. agents with offers of increased pay were scouring the docks. finally our complement was completed, and it was a glad moment when the hawsers were thrown off, and after the usual uncomfortable preliminaries we found ourselves steaming in a sharp wind down the very turbulent waters of cook's strait. the place is full of cook's memory. everywhere the great man has left his traces. we passed cook's island where the _endeavour_ actually struck and had to be careened and patched. what a nerve the fellow had! so coolly and deliberately did he do his work that even now his charting holds good, i understand, in many long stretches of coast. tacking and wearing, he poked and pried into every estuary, naming capes, defining bays, plotting out positions, and yet all the while at the mercy of the winds, with a possible lee shore always before him, with no comrade within hail, and with swarms of cannibals eyeing his little ship from the beach. after i have seen his work i shall feel full of reverence every time i pass that fine statue which adorns the mall side of the great admiralty building. and now we are out in the open sea, with melbourne, sydney and love in front of our prow. behind the sun sets in a slur of scarlet above the olive green hills, while the heavy night fog, crawling up the valleys, turns each of them into a glacier. a bright star twinkles above. below a light shines out from the gloom. farewell, new zealand! i shall never see you again, but perhaps some memory of my visit may remain--or not, as god pleases. anyhow, my own memory will remain. every man looks on his own country as god's own country if it be a free land, but the new zealander has more reason than most. it is a lovely place, and contains within its moderate limits the agricultural plains of england, the lakes and hills of scotland, the glaciers of switzerland, and the fiords of norway, with a fine hearty people, who do not treat the british newcomer with ignorant contempt or hostility. there are so many interests and so many openings that it is hard to think that a man will not find a career in new zealand. canada, australia and south africa seem to me to be closely balanced so far as their attractions for the emigrant goes, but when one considers that new zealand has neither the winter of canada, the droughts of australia, nor the racial problems of africa, it does surely stand supreme, though it demands, as all of them do, both labour and capital from the newcomer. chapter x christian origins.--mithraism.--astronomy.--exercising boats.--bad news from home.--futile strikes.--labour party.--the blue wilderness.--journey to brisbane.--warm reception.--friends and foes.--psychic experience of dr. doyle.--birds.--criticism on melbourne.--spiritualist church.--ceremony.--sir matthew nathan.--alleged repudiation of queensland.--billy tea.--the bee farm.--domestic service in australia.--hon. john fihilly.--curious photograph by the state photographer.--the "orsova." the voyage back from new zealand to melbourne was pleasant and uneventful, though the boat was small and there was a sea rough enough to upset many of the passengers. we were fortunate in our captain, doorby, who, i found, was a literary confrère with two books to his credit, one of them a record of the relief ship _morning_, in which he had served at the time of scott's first expedition, the other a little book, "the handmaiden of the navy," which gave some of his adventures and experiences in the merchant service during the great war. he had been torpedoed once, and had lost, on another occasion, nearly all his crew with plague, so that he had much that was interesting to talk about. mr. blake, of the _strand magazine_, was also on board. a unitarian minister, mr. hale, was also a valuable companion, and we had much discussion over the origins of christianity, which was the more interesting to me as i had taken advantage of the voyage to re-read the acts and paul's epistles. there are no documents which can be read so often and yet reveal something new, the more so when you have that occult clue which is needful before paul can be understood. it is necessary also to know something of mythra worship and the other philosophies which paul had learned, and woven into his christianity. i have stated elsewhere my belief that all expressions about redemption by blood, the blood of the lamb, etc., are founded upon the parallel of the blood of the bull which was shed by the mythra-worshippers, and in which they were actually baptised. enlarging upon this, mr. hale pointed out on the authority, if i remember right, of pfleiderer's "christian origins," that in the mythra service something is placed over the candidate, a hide probably, which is called "putting on mythra," and corresponds with paul's expression about "putting on christ." paul, with his tremendous energy and earnestness, fixed christianity upon the world, but i wonder what peter and those who had actually heard christ's words thought about it all. we have had paul's views about christ, but we do not know christ's views about paul. he had been, as we are told by himself, a jewish pharisee of the strictest type in his youth at jerusalem, but was a roman citizen, had lived long at tarsus, which was a centre of mithraism, and was clearly famous for his learning, since festus twitted him with it. the simple tenets of the carpenter and the fishermen would take strange involved forms in such a brain as that. his epistles are presumably older than the gospels, which may, in their simplicity, represent a protest against his confused theology. it was an enjoyable voyage in the little _paloona_, and rested me after the whirlwind campaign of new zealand. in large liners one loses in romance what one gains in comfort. on a small ship one feels nearer to nature, to the water and even to the stars. on clear nights we had magnificent displays of the southern heaven. i profited by the astronomical knowledge of mr. smythe. here first i was introduced to alpha centauri, which is the nearest fixed star, and, therefore, the cobber to the sun. it is true that it is distant - / years of light travel, and light travels at about , miles a second, but when one considers that it takes centuries for average starlight to reach us, we may consider alpha as snuggling close up to us for companionship in the lonely wastes of space. the diamond belt of orion looks homely enough with the bright solitaire sirius sparkling beside it, but there are the magellanic clouds, the scattered wisps torn from the milky way, and there is the strange black space called the coalsack, where one seems to look right past all created things into a bottomless void. what would not galileo and all the old untravelled astronomers have given to have one glimpse of this wondrous southern display? captain doorby, finding that he had time in hand, ran the ship into a small deserted bay upon the coast, and, after anchoring, ordered out all the boats for the sake of practice. it was very well done, and yet what i saw convinced me that it should be a board of trade regulation, if it is not one already, that once, at least, near the beginning of every long voyage, this should be compulsory. it is only when you come to launch them that you really realise which of the davits is rusted up, and which block is tangled, or which boat is without a plug. i was much impressed by this idea as i watched the difficulties which were encountered even in that secluded anchorage. the end of my journey was uneventful, but my joy at being reunited with my family was clouded by the news of the death of my mother. she was eighty-three years of age, and had for some years been almost totally blind, so that her change was altogether a release, but it was sad to think that we should never see the kind face and gracious presence again in its old material form. denis summed up our feelings when he cried, "what a reception grannie must have had!" there was never any one who had so broad and sympathetic a heart, a world-mother mourning over everything which was weak or oppressed, and thinking nothing of her own time and comfort in her efforts to help the sufferers. even when blind and infirm she would plot and plan for the benefit of others, thinking out their needs, and bringing about surprising results by her intervention. for my own psychic work she had, i fear, neither sympathy nor understanding, but she had an innate faith and spirituality which were so natural to her that she could not conceive the needs of others in that direction. she understands now. whilst in the blue mountains i was forced to reconsider my plans on account of the strike which has paralysed all coastal trade. if i should be able to reach tasmania i might be unable to return, and it would, indeed, be a tragic situation if my family were ready to start for england in the _naldera_, and i was unable to join them. i felt, therefore, that i was not justified in going to tasmania, even if i were able, which is very doubtful. it was sad, as it spoiled the absolute completeness of my tour, but on the other hand i felt sure that i should find plenty of work to do on the mainland, without taking so serious a risk. it is a terrible thing to see this young country, which needs every hour of time and every ounce of energy for its speedy development frittering itself away in these absurd conflicts, which never give any result to compare with the loss. one feels that in the stern contests of nations one will arise which has economic discipline, and that none other could stand against it. if the training of reorganised germany should take this shape she will conquer and she will deserve to conquer. it is a monstrous abuse that compulsory arbitration courts should be established, as is the case in australia, and that unions should either strike against their decisions, or should anticipate their decisions, as in the case of these stewards, by forcing a strike. in such a case i hold that the secretary and every other official of the union should be prosecuted and heavily fined, if not imprisoned. it is the only way by which the community can be saved from a tyranny which is quite as real as that of any autocrat. what would be said, for example, of a king who cut off the islands of tasmania and new zealand from communication with the outer world, deranging the whole christmas arrangements of countless families who had hoped to reunite? yet this is what has been done by a handful of stewards with some trivial grievance. a fireman who objects to the cooking can hold up a great vessel. there is nothing but chaos in front of a nation unless it insists upon being master in its own house, and forbids either employed or employer to do that which is for the common scathe. the time seems to be coming when britons, the world over, will have to fight for liberty against licence just as hard as ever they fought for her against tyranny. this i say with full sympathy for the labour party, which i have often been tempted to join, but have always been repelled by their attempt to bully the rest of the state instead of using those means which would certainly ensure their legitimate success, even if it took some years to accomplish. there are many anomalies and injustices, and it is only a people's party which can set them right. hereditary honours are an injustice, lands owned by feudal or royal gift are an injustice, increased private wealth through the growth of towns is an injustice, coal royalties are an injustice, the expense of the law is a glaring injustice, the support of any single religion by the state is an injustice, our divorce laws are an injustice--with such a list a real honest labour party would be a sure winner if it could persuade us all that it would not commit injustices itself, and bolster up labour artificially at the expense of every one else. it is not organised labour which moves me, for it can take care of itself, but it is the indigent governesses with thirty pounds a year, the broken people, the people with tiny pensions, the struggling widows with children--when i think of all these and then of the man who owns a county i feel that there is something deeply, deeply wrong which nothing but some great strong new force can set right. one finds in the blue mountains that opportunity of getting alone with real nature, which is so healing and soothing a thing. the wild scrub flows up the hillsides to the very grounds of the hotels, and in a very few minutes one may find oneself in the wilderness of ferns and gum trees unchanged from immemorial ages. it is a very real danger to the young or to those who have no sense of direction, for many people have wandered off and never come back alive--in fact, there is a specially enrolled body of searchers who hunt for the missing visitor. i have never in all my travels seen anything more spacious and wonderful than the view from the different sandstone bluffs, looking down into the huge gullies beneath, a thousand feet deep, where the great gum trees look like rows of cabbages. i suppose that in water lies the force which, in the course of ages, has worn down the soft, sandy rock and formed these colossal clefts, but the effects are so enormous that one is inclined to think some great earth convulsion must also have been concerned in their production. some of the cliffs have a sheer drop of over one thousand feet, which is said to be unequalled in the world. these mountains are so precipitous and tortuous, presenting such a maze to the explorer, that for many years they were a formidable barrier to the extension of the young colony. there were only about forty miles of arable land from the coast to the great hawkesbury river, which winds round the base of the mountains. then came this rocky labyrinth. at last, in , four brave and persevering men--blaxland, evans, wentworth and lawson--took the matter in hand, and after many adventures, blazed a trail across, by which all the splendid hinterland was opened up, including the gold fields, which found their centre in the new town of bathurst. when one reflects that all the gold had to be brought across this wilderness, with unexplored woodlands fringing the road, it is no wonder that a race of bushrangers sprang into existence, and the marvel is that the police should ever have been able to hunt them down. so fresh is all this very vital history in the development of a nation, that one can still see upon the trees the marks of the explorers' axes, as they endeavoured to find a straight trail among the countless winding gullies. at mount york, the highest view-point, a monument has been erected to them, at the place from which they got the first glimpse of the promised land beyond. we had been told that in the tropical weather now prevailing, it was quite vain for us to go to queensland, for no one would come to listen to lectures. my own belief was, however, that this subject has stirred people very deeply, and that they will suffer any inconvenience to learn about it. mr. smythe was of opinion, at first, that my audiences were drawn from those who came from curiosity because they had read my writings, but when he found that the second and the third meetings were as full as the first, he was forced to admit that the credit of success lay with the matter rather than with the man. in any case i reflected that my presence in brisbane would certainly bring about the usual press controversy, with a free ventilation of the subject, so we determined to go. mr. smythe, for once, did not accompany us, but the very capable lady who assists him, miss sternberg, looked after all arrangements. it was a very wearisome train journey of twenty-eight hours; tropically hot, rather dusty, with a change in the middle, and the usual stuffiness of a sleeper, which was superior to the ordinary american one, but below the british standard. how the americans, with their nice sense of decency, can stand the awful accommodation their railway companies give them, or at any rate, used to give them, is incomprehensible, but public opinion in all matters asserts itself far less directly in america than in britain. australia is half-way between, and, certainly, i have seen abuses there in the management of trains, posts, telegrams and telephones, which would have evoked loud protests at home. i think that there is more initiative at home. for example, when the railway strike threatened to throttle the country, the public rose to the occasion and improvised methods which met the difficulty. i have not heard of anything of the kind in the numerous strikes with which this community is harassed. any individual action arouses attention. i remember the amusement of the hon. agar wynne when, on arriving late at melbourne, in the absence of porters, i got a trolley, placed my own luggage on it, and wheeled it to a cab. yet we thought nothing of that when labour was short in london. the country north of sydney is exactly like the blue mountains, on a lesser scale--riven ranges of sandstone covered with gum trees. i cannot understand those who say there is nothing worth seeing in australia, for i know no big city which has glorious scenery so near it as sydney. after crossing the queensland border, one comes to the darling downs, unsurpassed for cattle and wheat. our first impressions of the new state were that it was the most naturally rich of any australian colony, and the longer we were in it, the more did we realise that this was indeed so. it is so enormous, however, that it is certain, sooner or later, to be divided into a south, middle, and north, each of which will be a large and flourishing community. we observed from the railway all sorts of new vegetable life, and i was especially interested to notice that our english yellow mullein was lining the track, making its way gradually up country. even sydney did not provide a warmer and more personal welcome than that which we both received when we at last reached brisbane. at toowoomba, and other stations on the way, small deputations of spiritualists had met the train, but at brisbane the platform was crowded. my wife was covered with flowers, and we were soon made to realise that we had been misinformed in the south, when we were told that the movement was confined to a small circle. we were tired, but my wife rose splendidly to the occasion. the local paper says: "carefully concealing all feelings of fatigue and tiredness after the long and wearisome train journey from sydney, lady doyle charmed the large gathering of spiritualists assembled at the central railway station on saturday night, to meet her and her husband. in vivacious fashion, lady doyle responded to the many enthusiastic greetings, and she was obviously delighted with the floral gifts presented to her on her arrival. to a press representative, lady doyle expressed her admiration of the australian scenery, and she referred enthusiastically to the darling downs district and to the toowoomba range. during her husband's absence in new zealand, lady doyle and her children spent a holiday in the blue mountains (new south wales), and were delighted with the innumerable gorgeous beauty spots there." after a short experience, when we were far from comfortable, we found our way to the bellevue hotel, where a kindly old irish proprietress, mrs. finegan, gave us greater attention and luxury than we had found anywhere up to then on the australian continent. the usual press discussion was in full swing. the more bigoted clergy in brisbane, as elsewhere, were very vituperative, but so unreasonable and behind their own congregations in knowledge and intelligence, that they must have alienated many who heard them. father lane, for example, preaching in the cathedral, declared that the whole subject was "an abomination to the lord." he does not seem to have asked himself why the lord gave us these powers if they are an abomination. he also declared that we denied our moral responsibility to god in this life, a responsibility which must have weighed rather lightly upon father lane when he made so false a statement. the rev. l. h. jaggers, not to be outdone in absurdity by father lane, described all our fellow-mortals of india, china and japan as "demoniacal races." dr. cosh put forward the presbyterian sentiment that i was anti-christ, and a serious menace to the spiritual life of australia. really, when i see the want of all truth and charity shown by these gentlemen, it does begin to convince me of the reality of diabolical interference in the affairs of mankind, for i cannot understand why, otherwise, such efforts should be made to obscure, by falsehood and abuse, the great revelation and comfort which god has sent us. the opposition culminated in an open letter from dr. cosh in the _mail_, demanding that i should define my exact views as to the trinity, the atonement, and other such mysteries. i answered by pointing out that all the religious troubles of the past had come from the attempt to give exact definitions of things which were entirely beyond the human power of thought, and that i refused to be led along so dangerous a path. one baptist clergyman, named rowe, had the courage to say that he was on my side, but with that exception i fear that i had a solid phalanx against me. on the other hand, the general public were amazingly friendly. it was the more wonderful as it was tropical weather, even for brisbane. in that awful heat the great theatre could not hold the people, and they stood in the upper galleries, packed tightly, for an hour and a half without a movement or a murmur. it was a really wonderful sight. twice the house was packed this way, so (as the tasmanian venture was now hopeless, owing to the shipping strike) i determined to remain in our very comfortable quarters at the bellevue hotel, and give one more lecture, covering fresh ground. the subject opens up so that i am sure i could lecture for a week without repeating myself. on this occasion the house was crowded once more. the theatrical manager said, "well, if it was comic opera in the season, it could not have succeeded better!" i was rather exhausted at the end, for i spoke, as usual, with no chairman, and gave them a full ninety minutes, but it was nearing the end of my work, and the prospect of the quiet time ahead of us helped me on. i met a kinsman, dr. a. a. doyle, who is a distinguished skin specialist, in brisbane. he knew little of psychic matters, but he had met with a remarkable experience. his son, a splendid young fellow, died at the front. at that moment his father woke to find the young soldier stooping over him, his face quite close. he at once woke his wife and told her that their son, he feared, was dead. but here comes a fine point. he said to the wife, "eric has had a return of the acne of the face, for which i treated him years ago. i saw the spots." the next post brought a letter, written before eric's death, asking that some special ointment should be sent, as his acne had returned. this is a very instructive case, as showing that even an abnormal thing is reproduced at first upon the etheric body. but what has a materialist to say to the whole story? he can only evade it, or fall back upon his usual theory, that every one who reports such occurrences is either a fool or a liar. we had a pleasant sunday among the birds of queensland. mr. chisholm, an enthusiastic bird-lover, took us round to see two very large aviaries, since the haunt of the wild birds was beyond our reach. birds in captivity have always saddened me, but here i found them housed in such great structures, with every comfort included, and every natural enemy excluded, that really one could not pity them. one golden pheasant amused us, for he is a very conceited bird when all is well with him, and likes to occupy the very centre of the stage, with the spot light upon him, and a chorus of drab hens admiring him from the rear. we had caught him, however, when he was moulting, and he was so conscious of his bedraggled glories that he dodged about behind a barrel, and scuttled under cover every time we tried to put him out. a fearful thing happened one day, for a careless maid left the door ajar, and in the morning seventy of the inmates were gone. it must have been a cruel blow to mr. baldwin, who is devoted to his collection. however, he very wisely left the door open, after securing the remaining birds, and no less than thirty-four of the refugees returned. the fate of the others was probably tragic, for they were far from the mountains which are their home. mr. farmer whyte, the very progressive editor of the _daily mail_, who is miles ahead of most journalists in psychic knowledge, took us for an interesting drive through the dense woods of one tree hill. here we were courteously met by two of the original owners, one of them an iguana, a great, heavy lizard, which bolted up a tree, and the other a kangaroo, who stood among the brushwood, his ears rotating with emotion, while he gazed upon our halted car. from the summit of the hill one has a wonderful view of the ranges stretching away to the horizon in all directions, while at one's feet lies the very wide spread city. as nearly every dwelling house is a bungalow, with its own little ground, the australian cities take up great space, which is nullified by their very excellent tram services. a beautiful river, the brisbane, rather wider than the thames, winds through the town, and has sufficient depth to allow ocean steamers to come within cab-drive of the hotels. about this time i had the usual experience which every visitor to the states or to the dominions is liable to, in that his own utterances in his letters home get into print, and boomerang back upon him. my own feelings, both to the australian people and their country, have been so uniformly whole-hearted that i should have thought no mischief could be made, but at the same time, i have always written freely that which i was prepared to stand by. in this case, the extract, from a private letter, removed from all modifying context, came through as follows: "sir conan doyle, quoted in the _international psychic gazette_, in referring to his 'ups and downs' in australia, says: 'amid the "downs" is the press boycott, caused partly by ignorance and want of proportion, partly by moral cowardice and fear of finding out later that they had backed the wrong horse, or had given the wrong horse fair play. they are very backward, and far behind countries like iceland and denmark in the knowledge of what has been done in spiritualism. they are dear folk, these australians, but, lord, they want spirituality, and dynamiting out of their grooves! the presbyterians actually prayed that i might not reach the country. this is rather near murder, if they thought their rotten prayers would avail. the result was an excellent voyage, but it is the spiritual deadness of this place which gets on my nerves.'" this was copied into every paper in australia, but it was soon recognised that "this place" was not australia, but melbourne, from which the letter was dated. i have already recorded how i was treated by the leading paper in that city, and my general experience there was faithfully reflected in my remarks. therefore, i had nothing to withdraw. my more extended experience taught me that the general level of intelligence and of spirituality in the australasian towns is as high as in the average towns of great britain, though none are so far advanced as towns like manchester or glasgow, nor are there the same number of professional and educated men who have come forward and given testimony. the thirst for information was great, however, and that proved an open mind, which must now lead to a considerable extension of knowledge within the churches as well as without. my remarks had been caused by the action of the _argus_, but the _age_, the other leading melbourne paper, seemed to think that its honour was also touched, and had a very severe leading article upon my delinquencies, and my alleged views, which was, as usual, a wild travesty of my real ones. it began this article by the assertion that, apparently, i still thought that australia was inhabited by the aborigines, before i ventured to bring forward such theories. such a remark, applied to a subject which has won the assent in varying degrees of every one who has seriously examined it, and which has its foundation resting upon the labours of some of the greatest minds in the world, did not help me to recover my respect for the mentality and breadth of view of the journals of melbourne. i answered, pointing out that david syme, the very distinguished founder of the paper, by no means shared this contempt to spiritualism, as is shown by two long letters included in his published life. this attitude, and that of so many other objectors, is absolutely unintelligible to me. they must know that this cult is spreading and that many capable minds have examined and endorsed it. they must know, also, that the views we proclaim, the continuance of happy life and the practical abolition of death are, if true, the grandest advance that the human race has ever made. and yet, so often, instead of saying, "well, here is some one who is supposed to know something about the matter. let us see if this grand claim can possibly be established by evidence and argument," they break into insults and revilings as if something offensive had been laid before them. this attitude can only arise from the sluggish conservatism of the human brain, which runs easily in certain well-worn grooves, and is horrified by the idea that something may come to cause mental exertion and readjustment. illustration: laying foundation stone of spiritualist church at brisbane. i am bound to add that the general public went out of their way to show that their press did not represent their views. the following passage is typical of many: "the criticism which you have so justly resented is, i am sure, not in keeping with the views of the majority of the australian people. in my own small sphere many of my friends have been stirred deeply by your theories, and the inspiration in some cases has been so marked that the fact should afford you satisfaction. we are not all spiritually defunct. many are quite satisfied that you are giving your best for humanity, and believe that there is a tremendous revelation coming to this weary old world." the spiritualists of brisbane, greatly daring, have planned out a church which is to cost £ , , trusting to those who work with us on the other side to see the enterprise through. the possible fallacy lies in the chance that those on the other side do not desire to see this immense movement become a separate sect, but are in favour of the peaceful penetration of all creeds by our new knowledge. it is on record that early in the movement senator talmadge asked two different spirit controls, in different states of the union, what the ultimate goal of this spiritual outburst might be, and received exactly the same answer from each, namely, that it was to prove immortality and to unify the churches. the first half has been done, so far as survival implies immortality, and the second may well come to pass, by giving such a large common platform to each church that they will learn to disregard the smaller differences. be this as it may, one could not but admire the faith and energy of mr. reinhold and the others who were determined to have a temple of their own. i laid the foundation stone at three in the afternoon under so tropical a sun that i felt as if the ceremony was going to have its immemorial accompaniment of a human sacrifice and even of a whole-burned offering. the crowd made matters worse, but a friendly bystander with an umbrella saved me from heat apoplexy. i felt the occasion was a solemn one, for it was certainly the first spiritual church in the whole of queensland, and i doubt if we have many anywhere in australia, for among our apostolic gifts poverty is conspicuous. it has always amazed me how theosophists and christian scientists get their fine halls and libraries, while we, with our zeal and our knowledge, have some bare schoolroom or worse as our only meeting place. it reflects little credit upon the rich people who accept the comforts we bring, but share none of the burdens we bear. there is a kink in their souls. i spoke at some length, and the people listened with patience in spite of the great heat. it was an occasion when i could, with propriety, lay emphasis upon the restraint and charity with which such a church should be run. the brisbane paper reports me as follows: "i would emphasise three things. mind your own business; go on quietly in your own way; you know the truth, and do not need to quarrel with other people. there are many roads to salvation. the second point i would urge is that you should live up to your knowledge. we know for certain that we live on after death, that everything we do in this world influences what comes after; therefore, we can afford to be unselfish and friendly to other religions. some spiritualists run down the bible, whereas it is from cover to cover a spiritual book. i would like to see the bible read in every spiritualistic church with particular attention paid to the passages dealing with occultism. the third point i would emphasise is that you should have nothing to do with fortune-telling or anything of that kind. all fortune-telling is really a feeling out in the dark. if good things are going to happen to you be content to wait for them, and if evil is to come nothing is to be gained by attempting to anticipate it. my sympathies are with the police in their attitude to fortune-tellers, whose black magic is far removed from the services of our mediums in striving to bring comfort to those whose loved ones have gone before. if these three things are lived up to, this church will be a source of great brightness and happiness." our work was pleasantly broken by an invitation to lunch with sir matthew nathan, at government house. sir matthew impresses one as a man of character, and as he is a financial authority he is in a position to help by his advice in restoring the credit of queensland. the matter in dispute, which has been called repudiation, does not, as it seems to me, deserve so harsh a term, as it is one of those cases where there are two sides to the question, so equally balanced that it is difficult for an outsider to pronounce a judgment. on the one hand the great squatters who hold millions of acres in the state had received the land on considerable leases which charged them with a very low rent--almost a nominal one--on condition of their taking up and developing the country. on the other hand, the government say these leases were granted under very different circumstances, the lessees have already done very well out of them, the war has made it imperative that the state raise funds, and the assets upon which the funds can be raised are all in the hands of these lessees, who should consent to a revision of their agreements. so stands the quarrel, so far as i could understand it, and the state has actually imposed the increased rates. hence the cry that they have repudiated their own contract. the result of the squatters' grievance was that mr. theodore, the premier, was unable to raise money in the london market, and returned home with the alternative of getting a voluntary loan in the colony, or of raising a compulsory loan from those who had the money. the latter has an ugly sound, and yet the need is great, and if some may be compelled to serve with their bodies i do not see why some may not also be compelled to serve with their purses. the assets of the colony compare very favourably, i believe, with others, for while these others have sold their lands, the government of queensland has still the ownership of the main tracts of the gloriously fertile country. therefore, with an issue at - / per cent., without tax, one would think that they should have no difficulty in getting any reasonable sum. i was cinemaed in the act of applying for a small share in the issue, but i think the advertisement would have been of more value to the loan, had they captured some one of greater financial stability. the more one examines this alleged "repudiation" the less reason appears in the charge, and as it has assuredly injured queensland's credit, it is well that an impartial traveller should touch upon it. the squatters are the richer folk and in a position to influence the public opinion of the world, and in their anxiety to exploit their own grievance they seem to have had little regard for the reputation of their country. it is like a man burning down his house in the hope of roasting some other inmate of whom he disapproves. a conservative paper (the _producer's review_, january th, ), says: "no living man can say how much queensland has been damaged by the foolish partisan statements that have been uttered and published." the article proceeds to show in very convincing style, with chapter and verse, that the government has always been well within its rights, and that a conservative government on a previous occasion did the same thing, framing a bill on identical lines. on january th my kinsman, dr. doyle, with his charming wife, took us out into the bush for a billy tea--that is, to drink tea which is prepared as the bushmen prepare it in their tin cans. it was certainly excellent, and we enjoyed the drive and the whole experience, though uninvited guests of the mosquito tribe made things rather lively for us. i prayed that my face would be spared, as i did not wish to turn up at my lecture as if i had been having a round with dr. cosh, and i react in a most whole-hearted way to any attentions from an insect. the result was certainly remarkable, be it coincidence or not, for though my hands were like boxing-gloves, and my neck all swollen, there was not a mark upon my face. i fancy that the hardened inhabitants hardly realise what new chums endure after they are bitten by these pests. it means to me not only disfigurement, but often a sleepless night. my wife and the children seem to escape more lightly. i found many objects of interest in the bush--among others a spider's web so strong that full-sized dragon flies were enmeshed in it. i could not see the creature itself, but it must have been as big as a tarantula. our host was a large landowner as well as a specialist, and he talked seriously of leaving the country, so embittered was he by the land-policy of the government. at the same time, the fact that he could sell his estate at a fair price seemed to imply that others took a less grave view of the situation. many of the richer classes think that labour is adopting a policy of deliberate petty irritation in order to drive them out of the country, but perhaps they are over-sensitive. so full was our life in brisbane that there was hardly a day that we had not some memorable experience, even when i had to lecture in the evening. often we were going fourteen and fifteen hours a day, and a tropical day at that. on january th we were taken to see the largest bee-farm in australia, run by mr. h. l. jones. ever since i consigned mr. sherlock holmes to a bee farm for his old age, i have been supposed to know something of the subject, but really i am so ignorant that when a woman wrote to me and said she would be a suitable housekeeper to the retired detective because she could "segregate the queen," i did not know what she meant. on this occasion i saw the operation and many other wonderful things which make me appreciate maeterlinck's prose-poem upon the subject. there is little poetry about mr. jones however, and he is severely practical. he has numbers of little boxes with a store of bee-food compressed into one end of them. into each he thrusts a queen with eight attendants to look after her. the food is enough to last two months, so he simply puts on a postage stamp and sends it off to any one in california or south africa who is starting an apiary. several hives were opened for our inspection with the precaution of blowing in some smoke to pacify the bees. we were told that this sudden inrush of smoke gives the bees the idea that some great cataclysm has occurred, and their first action is to lay in a store of honey, each of them, as a man might seize provisions in an earthquake so as to be ready for whatever the future might bring. he showed us that the queen, fed with some special food by the workers, can lay twice her own weight of eggs in a day, and that if we could find something similar for hens we could hope for an unbroken stream of eggs. clever as the bee is it is clearly an instinctive hereditary cleverness, for man has been able to make many improvements in its methods, making artificial comb which is better than the original, in that it has cells for more workers and fewer drones. altogether it was a wonderful demonstration, which could be viewed with comfort under a veil with one's hands in one's pockets, for though we were assured they would not sting if they knew we would not hurt them, a misunderstanding was possible. one lady spectator seemed to have a sudden ambition to break the standing jump record, and we found that she had received two stings, but mr. jones and his assistants covered their hands with the creatures and were quite immune. a half-wild wallaby appeared during our visit, and after some coyness yielded to the fascination which my wife exercises over all animals, and fed out of her hand. we were assured that this had never before occurred in the case of any visitor. we found in brisbane, as in every other town, that the question of domestic service, the most important of all questions to a householder, was very acute. ladies who occupied leading positions in the town assured us that it was impossible to keep maids, and that they were compelled now to give it up in despair, and to do all their own house work with such casual daily assistance as they could get. a pound a week is a common wage for very inefficient service. it is a serious matter and no solution is in sight. english maids are, i am sorry to say, looked upon as the worst of all, for to all the other faults they add constant criticism of their employers, whom they pronounce to be "no ladies" because they are forced to do many things which are not done at home. inefficiency plus snobbishness is a dreadful mixture. altogether the lot of the australian lady is not an easy one, and we admired the brave spirit with which they rose above their troubles. this servant question bears very directly upon the imperial puzzle of the northern territory. a white man may live and even work there, but a white woman cannot possibly run a household unless domestic labour is plentiful. in that climate it simply means absolute breakdown in a year. therefore it is a mad policy which at present excludes so rigorously the chinese, indians or others who alone can make white households possible. white labour assumes a dog in the manger policy, for it will not, or cannot, do the work itself, and yet it shuts out those who could do it. it is an impossible position and must be changed. how severe and unreasonable are the coloured immigrant laws is shown by the fact that the experienced and popular commander of the _naldera_, captain lewellin, was fined at sydney a large sum of money because three goa indians deserted from his ship. there is a great demand for indian camel drivers in the north, and this no doubt was the reason for the desertion, but what a _reductio ad absurdum_ of the law which comes between the demand and the supply, besides punishing an innocent victim. as usual a large number of psychic confidences reached us, some of which were very interesting. one lady is a clairaudient, and on the occasion of her mother falling ill she heard the words "wednesday--the fifteenth." death seemed a matter of hours, and the date far distant, but the patient, to the surprise of the doctors, still lingered. then came the audible message "she will tell you where she is going." the mother had lain for two days helpless and comatose. suddenly she opened her eyes and said in a clear strong voice, "i have seen the mansions in my father's house. my husband and children await me there. i could not have imagined anything so exquisitely lovely." then she breathed her last, the date being the th. we were entertained to dinner on the last evening by the hon. john fihilly, acting premier of the colony, and his wife. he is an irish labour leader with a remarkable resemblance to dan o'connell in his younger days. i was pleased to see that the toast of the king was given though it was not called for at a private dinner. fihilly is a member of the government, and i tackled him upon the question of british emigrants being enticed out by specious promises on the part of colonial agents in london, only to find that no work awaited them. some deplorable cases had come within my own observation, one, an old lancashire fusilier, having walked the streets for six months. he assured me that the arrangements were now in perfect order, and that emigrants were held back in the old country until they could be sure that there was a place for them. there are so many out of work in australia that one feels some sympathy with those labour men who are against fresh arrivals. and there lies the great problem which we have not, with all our experience, managed to master. on the one side illimitable land calling for work. on the other innumerable workers calling for land. and yet the two cannot be joined. i remember how it jarred me when i saw edmonton, in western canada, filled with out-of-workers while the great land lay uninhabited. the same strange paradox meets one here. it is just the connecting link that is missing, and that link lies in wise prevision. the helpless newcomer can do nothing if he and his family are dumped down upon a hundred acres of gum trees. put yourself in their position. how can they hope with their feeble hands to clear the ground? all this early work must be done for them by the state, the owner repaying after he has made good. let the emigrant move straight on to a cleared farm, with a shack-house already prepared, and clear instructions as to the best crops, and how to get them. then it seems to me that emigration would bring no want of employment in its train. but the state must blaze the trail and the public follow after. such arrangements may even now exist, but if so they need expansion and improvement, for they do not seem to work. before leaving brisbane my attention was drawn to the fact that the state photographer, when he took the scene of the opening of the loan, had produced to all appearance a psychic effect. the brisbane papers recorded it as follows: -- "'it is a remarkable result, and i cannot offer any opinion as to what caused it. it is absolutely mystifying.' such was the declaration made yesterday by the government photographer, mr. w. mobsby, in regard to the unique effect associated with a photograph he took on thursday last of sir a. conan doyle. mr. mobsby, who has been connected with photography since boyhood, explained that he was instructed to take an official photograph of the function at which sir a. conan doyle handed over his subscription to the state loan organiser. when he arrived, the entrance to the building was thronged by a large crowd, and he had to mount a stepladder, which was being used by the _daily mail_ photographer, in order to get a good view of the proceedings. mr. mobsby took only one picture, just at the moment sir a. conan doyle was mounting the steps at the government tourist bureau to meet the acting premier, mr. j. fihilly. mr. mobsby developed the film himself, and was amazed to find that while all the other figures in the picture were distinct the form of sir a. conan doyle appeared enveloped in mist and could only be dimly seen. the photograph was taken on an ordinary film with a no. a kodak, and careful examination does not in any way indicate the cause of the sensational result." i have had so many personal proofs of the intervention of supernormal agencies during the time that i have been engaged upon this task that i am prepared to accept the appearance of this aura as being an assurance of the presence of those great forces for whom i act as a humble interpreter. at the same time, the sceptic is very welcome to explain it as a flawed film and a coincidence. illustration: curious photographic effect referred to in the text. taken by the official photographer, brisbane, "absolutely mystifying" is his description. we returned from brisbane to sydney in the orient liner "orsova," which is a delightful alternative to the stuffy train. the sea has always been a nursing mother to me, and i suppose i have spent a clear two years of my life upon the waves. we had a restful sunday aboard the boat, disturbed only by the sunday service, which left its usual effect upon my mind. the psalms were set to some unhappy tune, very different from the grand gregorian rhythm, so that with its sudden rise to a higher level it sounded more like the neighing of horses than the singing of mortals. the words must surely offend anyone who considers what it is that he is saying--a mixture of most unmanly wailing and spiteful threats. how such literature has been perpetuated three thousand years, and how it can ever have been sacred, is very strange. altogether from first to last there was nothing, save only the lord's prayer, which could have any spiritual effect. these old observances are like an iron ball tied to the leg of humanity, for ever hampering spiritual progress. if now, after the warning of the great war, we have not the mental energy and the moral courage to get back to realities, we shall deserve what is coming to us. on january th we were back, tired but contented, in the medlow bath hotel in the heart of the blue mountains--an establishment which i can heartily recommend to any who desire a change from the summer heats of sydney. chapter xi medlow bath.--jenolan caves.--giant skeleton.--mrs. foster turner's mediumship.--a wonderful prophecy.--final results.--third sitting with bailey.--failure of state control.--retrospection.--melbourne presentation.--crooks.--lecture at perth.--west australia.--rabbits, sparrows and sharks. we recuperated after our brisbane tour by spending the next week at medlow bath, that little earthly paradise, which is the most restful spot we have found in our wanderings. it was built originally by mr. mark foy, a successful draper of sydney, and he is certainly a man of taste, for he has adorned it with a collection of prints and of paintings--hundreds of each--which would attract attention in any city, but which on a mountain top amid the wildest scenery give one the idea of an arabian nights palace. there was a passage some hundreds of yards long, which one has to traverse on the way to each meal, and there was a certain series of french prints, representing events of byzantine history, which i found it difficult to pass, so that i was often a late comer. a very fair library is among the other attractions of this remarkable place. before leaving we spent one long day at the famous jenolan caves, which are distant about forty-five miles. as the said miles are very up-and-down, and as the cave exploration involves several hours of climbing, it makes a fairly hard day's work. we started all seven in a motor, as depicted by the wayside photographers, but baby got sick and had to be left with jakeman at the half-way house, where we picked her up, quite recovered, on our return. it was as well, for the walk would have been quite beyond her, and yet having once started there is no return, so we should have ended by carrying her through all the subterranean labyrinths. the road is a remarkably good one, and represents a considerable engineering feat. it passes at last through an enormous archway of rock which marks the entrance to the cave formations. these caves are hollowed out of what was once a coral reef in a tropical sea, but is now sixty miles inland with a mountain upon the top of it--such changes this old world has seen. if the world were formed only that man might play his drama upon it, then mankind must be in the very earliest days of his history, for who would build so elaborate a stage if the play were to be so short and insignificant? illustration: our party en route to the jenolan caves, january th, , in front of old court house in which bushrangers were tried. the caves are truly prodigious. they were discovered first in the pursuit of some poor devil of a bushranger who must have been hard put to it before he took up his residence in this damp and dreary retreat. a brave man, wilson, did most of the actual exploring, lowering himself by a thin rope into noisome abysses of unknown depth and charting out the whole of this devil's warren. it is so vast that many weeks would be needed to go through it, and it is usual at one visit to take only a single sample. on this occasion it was the river cave, so named because after many wanderings you come on a river about twenty feet across and forty-five feet deep which has to be navigated for some distance in a punt. the stalactite effects, though very wonderful, are not, i think, superior to those which i have seen in derbyshire, and the caves have none of that historical glamour which is needed in order to link some large natural object to our own comprehension. i can remember in derbyshire how my imagination and sympathy were stirred by a roman lady's brooch which had been found among the rubble. either a wild beast or a bandit knew best how it got there. jenolan has few visible links with the past, but one of them is a tremendous one. it is the complete, though fractured, skeleton of a very large man--seven foot four said the guide, but he may have put it on a little--who was found partly imbedded in the lime. many ages ago he seems to have fallen through the roof of the cavern, and the bones of a wallaby hard by give some indication that he was hunting at the time, and that his quarry shared his fate. he was of the black fellow type, with a low-class cranium. it is remarkable the proportion of very tall men who are dug up in ancient tombs. again and again the bogs of ireland have yielded skeletons of seven and eight feet. some years ago a scythian chief was dug up on the southern steppes of russia who was eight feet six. what a figure of a man with his winged helmet and his battle axe! all over the world one comes upon these giants of old, and one wonders whether they represented some race, further back still, who were all gigantic. the babylonian tradition in our bible says: "and there were giants in those days." the big primeval kangaroo has grown down to the smaller modern one, the wombat, which was an animal as big as a tapir, is now as small as a badger, the great saurians have become little lizards, and so it would seem not unreasonable to suppose that man may have run to great size at some unexplored period in his evolution. we all emerged rather exhausted from the bowels of the earth, dazed with the endless succession of strange gypsum formations which we had seen, minarets, thrones, shawls, coronets, some of them so made that one could imagine that the old kobolds had employed their leisure hours in fashioning their freakish outlines. it was a memorable drive home in the evening. once as a bird flew above my head, the slanting ray of the declining sun struck it and turned it suddenly to a vivid scarlet and green. it was the first of many parrots. once also a couple of kangaroos bounded across the road, amid wild cries of delight from the children. once, too, a long snake writhed across and was caught by one of the wheels of the motor. rabbits, i am sorry to say, abounded. if they would confine themselves to these primeval woods, australia would be content. this was the last of our pleasant australian excursions, and we left medlow bath refreshed not only by its charming atmosphere, but by feeling that we had gained new friends. we made our way on january th to sydney, where all business had to be settled up and preparations made for our homeward voyage. whilst in sydney i had an opportunity of examining several phases of mediumship which will be of interest to the psychic reader. i called upon mrs. foster turner, who is perhaps the greatest all-round medium with the highest general level of any sensitive in australia. i found a middle-aged lady of commanding and pleasing appearance with a dignified manner and a beautifully modulated voice, which must be invaluable to her in platform work. her gifts are so many that it must have been difficult for her to know which to cultivate, but she finally settled upon medical diagnosis, in which she has, i understand, done good work. her practice is considerable, and her help is not despised by some of the leading practitioners. this gift is, as i have explained previously in the case of mr. bloomfield, a form of clairvoyance, and mrs. foster turner enjoys all the other phases of that wonderful power, including psychometry, with its application to detective work, the discerning of spirits, and to a very marked degree the gift of prophecy, which she has carried upon certain occasions to a length which i have never known equalled in any reliable record of the past. here is an example for which, i am told, a hundred witnesses could be cited. at a meeting at the little theatre, castlereagh street, sydney, on a sunday evening of february, , mrs. turner addressed the audience under an inspiration which claimed to be w. t. stead. he ended his address by saying that in order to prove that he spoke with a power beyond mortal, he would, on the next sunday, give a prophecy as to the future of the world. next sunday some people assembled, when mrs. turner, once more under control, spoke as follows. i quote from notes taken at the time. "now, although there is not at present a whisper of a great european war at hand, yet i want to warn you that before this year, , has run its course, europe will be deluged in blood. great britain, our beloved nation, will be drawn into the most awful war the world has ever known. germany will be the great antagonist, and will draw other nations in her train. austria will totter to its ruin. kings and kingdoms will fall. millions of precious lives will be slaughtered, but britain will finally triumph and emerge victorious. during the year, also, the pope of rome will pass away, and a bomb will be placed in st. paul's church, but will be discovered in time and removed before damage is done." can any prophecy be more accurate or better authenticated than that? the only equally exact prophecy on public events which i can recall is when emma hardinge britten, having been refused permission in to deliver a lecture on spiritualism in the town hall of atlanta, declared that, before many years had passed, that very town hall would be choked up with the dead and the dying, drawn from the state which persecuted her. this came literally true in the civil war a few years later, when sherman's army passed that way. mrs. foster turner's gift of psychometry is one which will be freely used by the community when we become more civilised and less ignorant. as an example of how it works, some years ago a melbourne man named cutler disappeared, and there was a considerable debate as to his fate. his wife, without giving a name, brought cutler's boot to mrs. turner. she placed it near her forehead and at once got _en rapport_ with the missing man. she described how he left his home, how he kissed his wife good-bye, all the succession of his movements during that morning, and finally how he had fallen or jumped over a bridge into the river, where he had been caught under some snag. a search at the place named revealed the dead body. if this case be compared with that of mr. foxhall, already quoted, one can clearly see that the same law underlies each. but what an ally for our c.i.d.! there was one pleasant incident in connection with my visit to mrs. foster turner. upon my asking her whether she had any psychic impression when she saw me lecturing, she said that i was accompanied on the platform by a man in spirit life, about years of age, grey-bearded, with rugged eyebrows. she searched her mind for a name, and then said, "alfred russell wallace." doctor abbott, who was present, confirmed that she had given that name at the time. it will be remembered that mrs. roberts, of dunedin, had also given the name of the great spiritualistic scientist as being my coadjutor. there was no possible connection between mrs. turner and mrs. roberts. indeed, the intervention of the strike had made it almost impossible for them to communicate, even if they had known each other--which they did not. it was very helpful to me to think that so great a soul was at my side in the endeavour to stimulate the attention of the world. two days before our departure we attended the ordinary sunday service of the spiritualists at stanmore road, which appeared to be most reverently and beautifully conducted. it is indeed pleasant to be present at a religious service which in no way offends one's taste or one's reason--which cannot always be said, even of spiritualistic ones. at the end i was presented with a beautifully illuminated address from the faithful of sydney, thanking me for what they were pleased to call "the splendidly successful mission on behalf of spiritualism in sydney." "you are a specially chosen leader," it went on, "endowed with power to command attention from obdurate minds. we rejoice that you are ready to consecrate your life to the spread of our glorious gospel, which contains more proof of the eternal love of god than any other truth yet revealed to man." so ran this kindly document. it was decorated with australian emblems, and as there was a laughing jackass in the corner, i was able to raise a smile by suggesting that they had adorned it with the picture of a type of opponent with whom we were very familiar, the more so as some choice specimens had been observed in sydney. there are some gentle souls in our ranks who refrain from all retort--and morally, they are no doubt the higher--but personally, when i am moved by the malevolence and ignorance of our opponents, i cannot help hitting back at them. it was mark twain, i think, who said that, instead of turning the other cheek, he returned the other's cheek. that is my unregenerate instinct. i was able, for the first time, to give a bird's-eye view of my tour and its final results. i had, in all, addressed twenty-five meetings, averaging , people in each, or , people in all. i read aloud a letter from mr. carlyle smythe, who, with his father, had managed the tours of every lecturer of repute who had come to australia during the past thirty years. mr. smythe knew what success and failure were, and he said: "for an equal number of lectures, yours has proved the most prosperous tour in my experience. no previous tour has won such consistent success. from the push-off at adelaide to the great boom in new zealand and brisbane, it has been a great dynamic progression of enthusiasm. i have known in my career nothing parallel to it." the enemies of our cause were longing for my failure, and had, indeed, in some cases most unscrupulously announced it, so it was necessary that i should give precise details as to this great success, and to the proof which it afforded that the public mind was open to the new revelation. but, after all, the money test was the acid one. i had taken a party of seven people at a time when all expenses were doubled or trebled by the unnatural costs of travel and of living, which could not be made up for by increasing the price of admission. it would seem a miracle that i could clear this great bill of expenses in a country like australia, where the large towns are few. and yet i was able to show that i had not only done so, after paying large sums in taxation, but that i actually had seven hundred pounds over. this i divided among spiritual funds in australia, the bulk of it, five hundred pounds, being devoted to a guarantee of expenses for the next lecturer who should follow me. it seemed to me that such a lecturer, if well chosen, and properly guaranteed against loss, might devote a longer time than i, and visit the smaller towns, from which i had often the most touching appeals. if he were successful, he need not touch the guarantee fund, and so it would remain as a perpetual source of active propaganda. such was the scheme which i outlined that night, and which was eventually adopted by the spiritualists of both australia and new zealand. illustration: denis with a black snake at medlow bath. on my last evening at sydney, i attended a third séance with charles bailey, the apport medium. it was not under test conditions, so that it can claim no strict scientific value, and yet the results are worth recording. it had struck me that a critic might claim that there was phosphorescent matter inside the spectacle case, which seemed to be the only object which bailey took inside the cabinet, so i insisted on examining it, but found it quite innocent. the usual inconclusive shadowy appearance of luminous vapour was evident almost at once, but never, so far as i could judge, out of reach of the cabinet, which was simply a blanket drawn across the corner of the room. the hindoo control then announced that an apport would be brought, and asked that water be placed in a tin basin. he (that is, bailey himself, under alleged control) then emerged, the lights being half up, carrying the basin over his head. on putting it down, we all saw two strange little young tortoises swimming about in it. i say "strange," because i have seen none like them. they were about the size of a half-crown, and the head, instead of being close to the shell, was at the end of a thin neck half as long as the body. there were a dozen australians present, and they all said they had never seen any similar ones. the control claimed that he had just brought them from a tank in benares. the basin was left on the table, and while the lights were down, the creatures disappeared. it is only fair to say that they could have been removed by hand in the dark, but on examining the table, i was unable to see any of those sloppings of water which might be expected to follow such an operation. shortly afterwards there was a great crash in the dark, and a number of coins fell on to the table, and were handed to me by the presiding control as a parting present. they did not, i fear, help me much with my hotel bill, for they were fifty-six turkish copper pennies, taken "from a well," according to our informant. these two apports were all the phenomena, and the medium, who has been working very hard of late, showed every sign of physical collapse at the close. apart from the actual production in the séance room, which may be disputed, i should like to confront the honest sceptic with the extraordinary nature of the objects which bailey produces on these occasions. they cannot be disputed, for hundreds have handled them, collections of them have been photographed, there are cases full at the stanford university at california, and i am bringing a few samples back to england with me. if the whole transaction is normal, then where does he get them? i had an indian nest. does anyone import indian nests? does anyone import queer little tortoises with long, thin necks? is there a depot for turkish copper coins in australia? on the previous sitting, he got chinese ones. those might be explained, since the chinaman is not uncommon in sydney, but surely he exports coins, rather than imports them. then what about babylonian tablets, with legible inscriptions in assyrian, some of them cylindrical, with long histories upon them? granting that they are jewish forgeries, how do they get into the country? bailey's house was searched once by the police, but nothing was found. arabic papers, chinese schoolbooks, mandarins' buttons, tropical birds--all sorts of odd things arrive. if they are not genuine, where do they come from? the matter is ventilated in papers, and no one comes forward to damn bailey for ever by proving that he supplied them. it is no use passing the question by. it calls for an answer. if these articles can be got in any normal way, then what is the way? if not, then bailey has been a most ill-used man, and miracles are of daily occurrence in australia. this man should be under the strict, but patient and sympathetic, control of the greatest scientific observers in the world, instead of being allowed to wear himself out by promiscuous séances, given in order to earn a living. imagine our scientists expending themselves in the examination of shells, or the classification of worms, when such a subject as this awaits them. and it cannot await them long. the man dies, and then where are these experiments? but if such scientific investigation be made, it must be thorough and prolonged, directed by those who have real experience of occult matters, otherwise it will wreck itself upon some theological or other snag, as did colonel de rochas' attempt at grenoble. the longer one remains in australia, the more one is struck by the failure of state control. whenever you test it, in the telephones, the telegraphs and the post, it stands for inefficiency, with no possibility that i can see of remedy. the train service is better, but still far from good. as to the state ventures in steamboat lines and in banking, i have not enough information to guide me. on the face of it, it is evident that in each case there is no direct responsible master, and that there is no real means of enforcing discipline. i have talked to the heads of large institutions, who have assured me that the conduct of business is becoming almost impossible. when they send an urgent telegram, with a letter confirming it, it is no unusual thing for the letter to arrive first. no complaint produces any redress. the maximum compensation for sums lost in the post is, i am told, two pounds, so that the banks, whose registered letters continually disappear, suffer heavy losses. on the other hand, if they send a messenger with the money, there is a law by which all bullion carried by train has to be declared, and has to pay a commission. yet the public generally, having no standard of comparison, are so satisfied with the wretched public services, that there is a continued agitation to extend public control, and so ruin the well conducted private concerns. the particular instance which came under my notice was the ferry service of sydney harbour, which is admirably and cheaply conducted, and yet there is a clamour that it also should be dragged into this morass of slovenly inefficiency. i hope, however, that the tide will soon set the other way. i fear, from what i have seen of the actual working, that it is only under exceptional conditions, and with very rigorous and high-principled direction, that the state control of industries can be carried out. i cannot see that it is a political question, or that the democracy has any interest, save to have the public work done as well and as economically as possible. when the capitalist has a monopoly, and is exacting an undue return, it is another matter. as i look back at australia my prayers--if deep good wishes form a prayer--go out to it. save for that great vacuum upon the north, which a wise government would strive hard to fill, i see no other external danger which can threaten her people. but internally i am shadowed by the feeling that trouble may be hanging over them, though i am assured that the cool stability of their race will at last pull them through it. there are some dangerous factors there which make their position more precarious than our own, and behind a surface of civilisation there lie possible forces which might make for disruption. as a people they are rather less disciplined than a european nation. there is no large middle or leisured class who would represent moderation. labour has tried a labour government, and finding that politics will not really alter economic facts is now seeking some fresh solution. the land is held in many cases by large proprietors who work great tracts with few hands, so there is not the conservative element which makes the strength of the united states with its six million farmers, each with his stake in the land. above all, there is no standing military force, and nothing but a small, though very efficient, police force to stand between organised government and some wild attempt of the extremists. there are plenty of soldiers, it is true, and they have been treated with extreme generosity by the state, but they have been reabsorbed into the civil population. if they stand for law and order then all is well. on the other hand, there are the irish, who are fairly numerous, well organised and disaffected. there is no imperial question, so far as i can see, save with the irish, but there is this disquieting internal situation which, with the coming drop of wages, may suddenly become acute. an australian should be a sober-minded man for he has his difficulties before him. we of the old country should never forget that these difficulties have been partly caused by his splendid participation in the great war, and so strain every nerve to help, both by an enlightened sympathy and by such material means as are possible. personally, i have every sympathy with all reasonable and practical efforts to uphold the standard of living in the working classes. at present there is an almost universal opinion among thoughtful and patriotic australians that the progress of the country is woefully hampered by the constant strikes, which are declared in defiance of all agreements and all arbitration courts. the existence of labour governments, or the state control of industries, does not seem to alleviate these evil conditions, but may rather increase them, for in some cases such pressure has been put upon the government that they have been forced to subsidise the strikers--or at least those sufferers who have come out in sympathy with the original strikers. such tactics must demoralise a country and encourage labour to make claims upon capital which the latter cannot possibly grant, since in many cases the margin of profit is so small and precarious that it would be better for the capitalist to withdraw his money and invest it with no anxieties. it is clear that the tendency is to destroy the very means by which the worker earns his bread, and that the position will become intolerable unless the older, more level-headed men gain control of the unions and keep the ignorant hot-heads in order. it is the young unmarried men without responsibilities who create the situations, and it is the married men with their women and children who suffer. a table of strikes prepared recently by the _manchester guardian_ shows that more hours were lost in australia with her five or six million inhabitants than in the united kingdom with nearly fifty million. surely this must make the labour leaders reconsider their tactics. as i write the stewards' strike, which caused such extended misery, has collapsed, the sole result being a loss of nearly a million pounds in wages to the working classes, and great inconvenience to the public. the shipowners seem now in no hurry to resume the services, and if their delay will make the strikers more thoughtful it is surely to be defended. on february st we started from sydney in our good old "naldera" upon our homeward voyage, but the work was not yet finished. on reaching melbourne, where the ship was delayed two days, we found that a town hall demonstration had been arranged to give us an address from the victorian spiritualists, and wish us farewell. it was very short notice and there was a tram strike which prevented people from getting about, so the hall was not more than half full. none the less, we had a fine chance of getting in touch with our friends, and the proceedings were very hearty. the inscription was encased in australian wood with a silver kangaroo outside and beautiful illuminations within. it ran as follows: "we desire to place on permanent record our intense appreciation of your zealous and self-sacrificing efforts, and our deep gratitude for the great help you have given to the cause to which you have consecrated your life. the over-flowing meetings addressed by you bear evidence of the unqualified success of your mission, and many thousands bless the day when you determined to enter this great crusade beneath the southern cross.... in all these sentiments we desire to include your loyal and most devoted partner, lady doyle, whose self-sacrifice equals or exceeds your own." personally, i have never been conscious of any self-sacrifice, but the words about my wife were in no way an over-statement. i spoke in reply for about forty minutes, and gave a synopsis of the state of the faith in other centres, for each australian state is curiously self-centred and realises very little beyond its own borders. it was good for melbourne to know that sydney, brisbane, adelaide and new zealand were quite as alive and zealous as themselves. at the end of the function i gave an account of the financial results of my tour and handed over £ as a guarantee fund for future british lecturers, and £ to mr. britton harvey to assist his admirable paper, _the harbinger of light_. i had already expended about £ upon spiritual causes, so that my whole balance came to £ , which is all now invested in the cause and should bring some good spiritual interest in time to come. we badly need money in order to be able to lay our case more fully before the world. i have already given the written evidence of mr. smythe that my tour was the most successful ever conducted in his time in australia. to this i may add the financial result recorded above. in view of this it is worth recording that _life_, a paper entirely under clerical management, said: "the one thing clear is that sir conan doyle's mission to australia was a mournful and complete failure, and it has left him in a very exasperated state of mind." this is typical of the perverse and unscrupulous opposition which we have continually to face, which hesitates at no lie in order to try and discredit the movement. one small incident broke the monotony of the voyage between adelaide and fremantle, across the dreaded bight. there have been considerable depredations in the coastal passenger trade of australia, and since the state boats were all laid up by the strike it was to be expected that the crooks would appear upon the big liners. a band of them came on board the _naldera_ at adelaide, but their methods were crude, and they were up against a discipline and an organisation against which they were helpless. one ruffian entered a number of cabins and got away with some booty, but was very gallantly arrested by captain lewellin himself, after a short hand-to-hand struggle. this fellow was recognised by the detectives at fremantle and was pronounced to be an old hand. in the general vigilance and search for accomplices which followed, another passenger was judged to be suspicious and he was also carried away by the detectives on a charge of previous forgery. altogether the crooks came out very badly in their encounter with the _naldera_, whose officers deserve some special recognition from the company for the able way in which the matter was handled. although my formal tour was now over, i had quite determined to speak at perth if it were humanly possible, for i could not consider my work as complete if the capital of one state had been untouched. i therefore sent the message ahead that i would fit in with any arrangements which they might make, be it by day or night, but that the ship would only be in port for a few hours. as matters turned out the _naldera_ arrived in the early morning and was announced to sail again at p.m., so that the hours were awkward. they took the great theatre, however, for p.m., which alarmed me as i reflected that my audience must either be starving or else in a state of repletion. everything went splendidly, however. the house was full, and i have never had a more delightfully keen set of people in front of me. of all my experiences there was none which was more entirely and completely satisfactory, and i hope that it brought a very substantial sum into the local spiritual treasury. there was quite a scene in the street afterwards, and the motor could not start for the crowds who surrounded it and stretched their kind hands and eager faces towards us. it was a wonderful last impression to bear away from australia. it is worth recording that upon a clairvoyante being asked upon this occasion whether she saw any one beside me on the platform she at once answered "an elderly man with very tufted eyebrows." this was the marked characteristic of the face of russell wallace. i was told before i left england that wallace was my guide. i have already shown that mrs. roberts, of dunedin, gave me a message direct from him to the same effect. mrs. foster turner, in sydney, said she saw him, described him and gave the name. three others have described him. each of these has been quite independent of the others. i think that the most sceptical person must admit that the evidence is rather strong. it is naturally more strong to me since i am personally conscious of his intervention and assistance. apart from my spiritual mission, i was very sorry that i could not devote some time to exploring west australia, which is in some ways the most interesting, as it is the least developed, of the states in the federation. one or two points which i gathered about it are worth recording, especially its relation to the rabbits and to the sparrows, the only hostile invaders which it has known. long may they remain so! the battle between the west australians and the rabbits was historical and wonderful. after the creatures had become a perfect pest in the east it was hoped that the great central desert would prevent them from ever reaching the west. there was no water for a thousand miles. none the less, the rabbits got across. it was a notable day when the west australian outrider, loping from west to east, met the pioneer rabbit loping from east to west. then west australia made a great effort. she built a rabbit-proof wire screen from north to south for hundreds of miles from sea to sea, with such thoroughness that the northern end projected over a rock which fringed deep water. with such thoroughness, too, did the rabbits reconnoitre this obstacle that their droppings were seen upon the far side of that very rock. there came another day of doom when two rabbits were seen on the wrong side of the wire. two dragons of the slime would not have alarmed the farmer more. a second line was built, but this also was, as i understand, carried by the attack, which is now consolidating, upon the ground it has won. however, the whole situation has been changed by the discovery elsewhere that the rabbit can be made a paying proposition, so all may end well in this curious story. a similar fight, with more success, has been made by west australia against the sparrow, which has proved an unmitigated nuisance elsewhere. the birds are slowly advancing down the line of the continental railway and their forward scouts are continually cut off. captain white, the distinguished ornithologist, has the matter in hand, and received, as i am told, a wire a few weeks ago, he being in melbourne, to the effect that two sparrows had been observed a thousand miles west of where they had any rights. he set off, or sent off, instantly to this way-side desert station in the hope of destroying them, with what luck i know not. i should be inclined to back the sparrows. this captain white is a man of energy and brains, whose name comes up always when one enquires into any question of bird or beast. he has made a remarkable expedition lately to those lonely everard ranges, which lie some distance to the north of the desolate nularbor plain, through which the continental railway passes. it must form one of the most dreadful wastes in the world, for there are a thousand miles of coast line, without one single stream emerging. afforestation may alter all that. in the everard ranges captain white found untouched savages of the stone age, who had never seen a white man before, and who treated him with absolute courtesy and hospitality. they were a fine race physically, though they lived under such conditions that there was little solid food save slugs, lizards and the like. one can but pray that the australian government will take steps to save these poor people from the sad fate which usually follows the contact between the higher and the lower. from what i heard, west australian immigrants are better looked after than in the other states. i was told in perth that nine hundred ex-service men with their families had arrived, and that all had been fitted into places, permanent or temporary, within a fortnight. this is not due to government, but to the exertions of a peculiar local society, with the strange title of "the ugly men." "handsome is as handsome does," and they seem to be great citizens. west australia calls itself the cinderella state, for, although it covers a third of the continent, it is isolated from the great centres of population. it has a very individual life of its own, however, with its gold fields, its shark fisheries, its pearlers, and the great stock-raising plain in the north. among other remarkable achievements is its great water pipe, which extends for four hundred miles across the desert, and supplies the pressure for the electric machinery at kalgurli. by a coincidence, the _narkunda_, which is the sister ship of the _naldera_, lay alongside the same quay at fremantle, and it was an impressive sight to see these two great shuttles of empire lying for a few hours at rest. in their vastness and majesty they made me think of a daring saying of my mother's, when she exclaimed that if some works of man, such as an ocean-going steamer, were compared with some works of god, such as a hill, man could sustain the comparison. it is the divine spark within us which gives us the creative power, and what may we not be when that is fully developed! the children were fishing for sharks, with a line warranted to hold eighteen pounds, with the result that malcolm's bait, lead, and everything else was carried away. but they were amply repaid by actually seeing the shark, which played about for some time in the turbid water, a brown, ugly, varminty creature, with fine lines of speed in its tapering body. "it was in adelaide, daddy, not fremantle," they protest in chorus, and no doubt they are right. chapter xii pleasing letters.--visit to candy.--snake and flying fox.--buddha's shrine.--the malaya.--naval digression.--indian trader.--elephanta.--sea snakes.--chained to a tombstone.--berlin's escape.--lord chetwynd.--lecture in the red sea.--marseilles. it was on friday, february th, that we drew away from the fremantle wharf, and started forth upon our long, lonely trek for colombo--a huge stretch of sea, in which it is unusual to see a single sail. as night fell i saw the last twinkling lights of australia fade away upon our starboard quarter. well, my job is done. i have nothing to add, nor have i said anything which i would wish withdrawn. my furrow gapes across two young continents. i feel, deep in my soul, that the seed will fall in due season, and that the reaping will follow the seed. only the work concerns ourselves--the results lie with those whose instruments we are. of the many kindly letters which bade us farewell, and which assured us that our work was not in vain, none was more eloquent and thoughtful than that of mr. thomas ryan, a member of the federal legislature. "long after you leave us your message will linger. this great truth, which we had long thought of as the plaything of the charlatan and crank, into this you breathed the breath of life, and, as of old, we were forced to say, 'we shall think of this again. we shall examine it more fully.' give us time--for the present only this, we are sure that this thing was not done in a corner. let me say in the few moments i am able to snatch from an over-crowded life, that we realise throughout the land how deep and far-reaching were the things of which you spoke to us. we want time, and even more time, to make them part of ourselves. we are glad you have come and raised our thoughts from the market-place to the altar." bishop leadbeater, of sydney, one of the most venerable and picturesque figures whom i met in my travels, wrote, "now that you are leaving our shores, let me express my conviction that your visit has done great good in stirring up the thought of the people, and, i hope, in convincing many of them of the reality of the other life." among very many other letters there was none i valued more than one from the rev. jasper calder, of auckland. "rest assured, sir arthur, the plough has gone deep, and the daylight will now reach the soil that has so long been in the darkness of ignorance. i somehow feel as if this is the beginning of new things for us all." it is a long and weary stretch from australia to ceylon, but it was saved from absolute monotony by the weather, which was unusually boisterous for so genial a region. two days before crossing the line we ran into a north-western monsoon, a rather rare experience, so that the doldrums became quite a lively place. even our high decks were wet with spindrift and the edge of an occasional comber, and some of the cabins were washed out. a smaller ship would have been taking heavy seas. in all that great stretch of ocean we never saw a sail or a fish, and very few birds. the loneliness of the surface of the sea is surely a very strange fact in nature. one would imagine, if the sea is really so populous as we imagine, that the surface, which is the only fixed point in very deep water, would be the gathering ground and trysting place for all life. save for the flying fish, there was not a trace in all those thousands of miles. i suppose that on such a voyage one should rest and do nothing, but how difficult it is to do nothing, and can it be restful to do what is difficult? to me it is almost impossible. i was helped through a weary time by many charming companions on board, particularly the rev. henry howard, reputed to be the best preacher in australia. some of his sermons which i read are, indeed, splendid, depending for their effect upon real thought and knowledge, without any theological emotion. he is ignorant of psychic philosophy, though, like so many men who profess themselves hostile to spiritualism, he is full of good stories which conclusively prove the very thing he denies. however, he has reached full spirituality, which is more important than spiritualism, and he must be a great influence for good wherever he goes. the rest he will learn later, either upon this side, or the other. at colombo i was interested to receive a _westminster gazette_, which contained an article by their special commissioner upon the yorkshire fairies. some correspondent has given the full name of the people concerned, with their address, which means that their little village will be crammed with chars-à-banc, and the peace of their life ruined. it was a rotten thing to do. for the rest, the _westminster_ inquiries seem to have confirmed gardner and me in every particular, and brought out the further fact that the girls had never before taken a photo in their life. one of them had, it seems, been for a short time in the employ of a photographer, but as she was only a child, and her duties consisted in running on errands, the fact would hardly qualify her, as _truth_ suggests, for making faked negatives which could deceive the greatest experts in london. there may be some loophole in the direction of thought forms, but otherwise the case is as complete as possible. we have just returned from a dream journey to candy. the old capital is in the very centre of the island, and seventy-two miles from colombo, but, finding that we had one clear night, we all crammed ourselves (my wife, the children and self) into a motor car, and made for it, while major wood and jakeman did the same by train. it was a wonderful experience, a hundred and forty miles of the most lovely coloured cinema reel that god ever released. i carry away the confused but beautiful impression of a good broad red-tinted road, winding amid all shades of green, from the dark foliage of overhanging trees, to the light stretches of the half-grown rice fields. tea groves, rubber plantations, banana gardens, and everywhere the coconut palms, with their graceful, drooping fronds. along this great road streamed the people, and their houses lined the way, so that it was seldom that one was out of sight of human life. they were of all types and colours, from the light brown of the real singalese to the negroid black of the tamils, but all shared the love of bright tints, and we were delighted by the succession of mauves, purples, crimsons, ambers and greens. water buffaloes, with the resigned and half-comic air of the london landlady who has seen better days, looked up at us from their mudholes, and jackal-like dogs lay thick on the path, hardly moving to let our motor pass. once, my lord the elephant came round a corner, with his soft, easy-going stride, and surveyed us with inscrutable little eyes. it was the unchanged east, even as it had always been, save for the neat little police stations and their smart occupants, who represented the gentle, but very efficient, british raj. it may have been the merit of that raj, or it may have been the inherent virtue of the people, but in all that journey we were never conscious of an unhappy or of a wicked face. they were very sensitive, speaking faces, too, and it was not hard to read the thoughts within. as we approached candy, our road ran through the wonderful botanical gardens, unmatched for beauty in the world, though i still give melbourne pride of place for charm. as we sped down one avenue an elderly keeper in front of us raised his gun and fired into the thick foliage of a high tree. an instant later something fell heavily to the ground. a swarm of crows had risen, so that we had imagined it was one of these, but when we stopped the car a boy came running up with the victim, which was a great bat, or flying fox, with a two-foot span of leathery wing. it had the appealing face of a mouse, and two black, round eyes, as bright as polished shoe buttons. it was wounded, so the boy struck it hard upon the ground, and held it up once more, the dark eyes glazed, and the graceful head bubbling blood from either nostril. "horrible! horrible!" cried poor denis, and we all echoed it in our hearts. this intrusion of tragedy into that paradise of a garden reminded us of the shadows of life. there is something very intimately moving in the evil fate of the animals. i have seen a man's hand blown off in warfare, and have not been conscious of the same haunting horror which the pains of animals have caused me. and here i may give another incident from our candy excursion. the boys are wild over snakes, and i, since i sat in the front of the motor, was implored to keep a look-out. we were passing through a village, where a large lump of concrete, or stone, was lying by the road. a stick, about five feet long, was resting against it. as we flew past, i saw, to my amazement, the top of the stick bend back a little. i shouted to the driver, and we first halted, and then ran back to the spot. sure enough, it was a long, yellow snake, basking in this peculiar position. the village was alarmed, and peasants came running, while the boys, wildly excited, tumbled out of the motor. "kill it!" they cried. "no, no!" cried the chauffeur. "there is the voice of the buddhist," i thought, so i cried, "no! no!" also. the snake, meanwhile, squirmed over the stone, and we saw it lashing about among the bushes. perhaps we were wrong to spare it, for i fear it was full of venom. however, the villagers remained round the spot, and they had sticks, so perhaps the story was not ended. candy, the old capital, is indeed a dream city, and we spent a long, wonderful evening beside the lovely lake, where the lazy tortoises paddled about, and the fireflies gleamed upon the margin. we visited also the old buddhist temple, where, as in all those places, the atmosphere is ruined by the perpetual demand for small coins. the few mosques which i have visited were not desecrated in this fashion, and it seems to be an unenviable peculiarity of the buddhists, whose yellow-robed shaven priests have a keen eye for money. beside the temple, but in ruins, lay the old palace of the native kings. i wish we could have seen the temple under better conditions, for it is really the chief shrine of the most numerous religion upon earth, serving the buddhist as the kaaba serves the moslem, or st. peter's the catholic. it is strange how the mind of man drags high things down to its own wretched level, the priests in each creed being the chief culprits. buddha under his boh tree was a beautiful example of sweet, unselfish benevolence and spirituality. and the upshot, after two thousand years, is that his followers come to adore a horse's tooth (proclaimed to be buddha's, and three inches long), at candy, and to crawl up adam's peak, in order to worship at a hole in the ground which is supposed to be his yard-long footstep. it is not more senseless than some christian observances, but that does not make it less deplorable. i was very anxious to visit one of the buried cities further inland, and especially to see the ancient boh tree, which must surely be the doyen of the whole vegetable kingdom, since it is undoubtedly a slip taken from buddha's original boh tree, transplanted into ceylon about two hundred years before christ. its history is certain and unbroken. now, i understand, it is a very doddering old trunk, with withered limbs which are supported by crutches, but may yet hang on for some centuries to come. on the whole, we employed our time very well, but ceylon will always remain to each of us as an earthly paradise, and i could imagine no greater pleasure than to have a clear month to wander over its beauties. monsieur clemenceau was clearly of the same opinion, for he was doing it very thoroughly whilst we were there. from colombo to bombay was a dream of blue skies and blue seas. half way up the malabar coast, we saw the old portuguese settlement of goa, glimmering white on a distant hillside. even more interesting to us was a squat battleship making its way up the coast. as we came abreast of it we recognised the _malaya_, one of that famous little squadron of evan thomas', which staved off the annihilation of beatty's cruisers upon that day of doom on the jutland coast. we gazed upon it with the reverence that it deserved. we had, in my opinion, a mighty close shave upon that occasion. if jellicoe had gambled with the british fleet he might have won a shattering victory, but surely he was wise to play safety with such tremendous interests at stake. there is an account of the action, given by a german officer, at the end of freeman's book "with the _hercules_ to kiel," which shows clearly that the enemy desired jellicoe to close with them, as giving them their only chance for that torpedo barrage which they had thoroughly practised, and on which they relied to cripple a number of our vessels. in every form of foresight and preparation, the brains seem to have been with them--but that was not the fault of the fighting seamen. surely an amateur could have foreseen that, in a night action, a star shell is better than a searchlight, that a dropping shell at a high trajectory is far more likely to hit the deck than the side, and that the powder magazine should be cut off from the turret, as, otherwise, a shell crushing the one will explode the other. this last error in construction seems to have been the cause of half our losses, and the _lion_ herself would have been a victim, but for the self-sacrifice of brave major harvey of the marines. all's well that ends well, but it was stout hearts, and not clear heads, which pulled us through. it is all very well to say let bygones be bygones, but we have no guarantee that the old faults are corrected, and certainly no one has been censured. it looks as if the younger officers had no means of bringing their views before those in authority, while the seniors were so occupied with actual administration that they had no time for thinking outside their routine. take the really monstrous fact that, at the outset of a war of torpedoes and mines, when ships might be expected to sink like kettles with a hole in them, no least provision had been made for saving the crew! boats were discarded before action, nothing wooden or inflammable was permitted, and the consideration that life-saving apparatus might be non-inflammable does not seem to have presented itself. when i wrote to the press, pointing this out with all the emphasis of which i was capable--i was ready to face the charge of hysteria in such a cause--i was gravely rebuked by a leading naval authority, and cautioned not to meddle with mysteries of which i knew nothing. none the less, within a week there was a rush order for swimming collars of india rubber. _post hoc non propter_, perhaps, but at least it verified the view of the layman. that was in the days when not one harbour had been boomed and netted, though surely a shark in a bathing pool would be innocuous compared to a submarine in an anchorage. the swimmers could get out, but the ships could not. but all this comes of seeing the white _malaya_, steaming slowly upon deep blue summer seas, with the olive-green coast of malabar on the horizon behind her. i had an interesting conversation on psychic matters with lady dyer, whose husband was killed in the war. it has been urged that it is singular and unnatural that our friends from the other side so seldom allude to the former occasions on which they have manifested. there is, i think, force in the objection. lady dyer had an excellent case to the contrary--and, indeed, they are not rare when one makes inquiry. she was most anxious to clear up some point which was left open between her husband and herself, and for this purpose consulted three mediums in london, mr. vout peters, mrs. brittain, and another. in each case she had some success. finally, she consulted mrs. leonard, and her husband, speaking through feda, under control, began a long conversation by saying, "i have already spoken to you through three mediums, two women and a man." lady dyer had not given her name upon any occasion, so there was no question of passing on information. i may add that the intimate point at issue was entirely cleared up by the husband, who rejoiced greatly that he had the chance to do so. bombay is not an interesting place for the casual visitor, and was in a state of uproar and decoration on account of the visit of the duke of connaught. my wife and i did a little shopping, which gave us a glimpse of the patient pertinacity of the oriental. the sum being rupees, i asked the indian's leave to pay by cheque, as money was running low. he consented. when we reached the ship by steam-launch, we found that he, in some strange way, had got there already, and was squatting with the goods outside our cabin door. he looked askance at lloyd's bank, of which he had never heard, but none the less he took the cheque under protest. next evening he was back at our cabin door, squatting as before, with a sweat-stained cheque in his hand which, he declared, that he was unable to cash. this time i paid in english pound notes, but he looked upon them with considerable suspicion. as our ship was lying a good three miles from the shore, the poor chap had certainly earned his money, for his goods, in the first instance, were both good and cheap. we have seen the island of elephanta, and may the curse of ernulphus, which comprises all other curses, be upon that old portuguese governor who desecrated it, and turned his guns upon the wonderful stone carvings. it reminds me of abou simbel in nubia, and the whole place has an egyptian flavour. in a vast hollow in the hill, a series of very elaborate bas reliefs have been carved, showing brahma, vishnu and siva, the old hindoo trinity, with all those strange satellites, the bulls, the kites, the dwarfs, the elephant-headed giants with which hindoo mythology has so grotesquely endowed them. surely a visitor from some wiser planet, examining our traces, would judge that the human race, though sane in all else, was mad the moment that it touched religion, whether he judged it by such examples as these, or by the wearisome iteration of expressionless buddhas, the sacred crocodiles and hawk-headed gods of egypt, the monstrosities of central america, or the lambs and doves which adorn our own churches. it is only in the mohammedan faith that such an observer would find nothing which could offend, since all mortal symbolism is there forbidden. and yet if these strange conceptions did indeed help these poor people through their journey of life--and even now they come from far with their offerings--then we should morally be as the portuguese governor, if we were to say or do that which might leave them prostrate and mutilated in their minds. it was a pleasant break to our long voyage, and we were grateful to our commander, who made everything easy for us. he takes the humane view that a passenger is not merely an article of cargo, to be conveyed from port to port, but that his recreation should, in reason, be considered as well. elephanta was a little bit of the old india, but the men who conveyed us there from the launch to the shore in their ancient dhows were of a far greater antiquity. these were kolis, small, dark men, who held the country before the original aryan invasion, and may still be plying their boats when india has become turanian or slavonic, or whatever its next avatar may be. they seem to have the art of commerce well developed, for they held us up cleverly until they had extracted a rupee each, counting us over and over with great care and assiduity. at bombay we took over more travellers. we had expected that the new-comers, who were mostly anglo-indians whose leave had been long overdue, would show signs of strain and climate, but we were agreeably surprised to find that they were a remarkably healthy and alert set of people. this may be due to the fact that it is now the end of the cold weather. our new companions included many native gentlemen, one of whom, the rajah of kapurthala, brought with him his spanish wife, a regal-looking lady, whose position must be a difficult one. hearne and murrell, the cricketers, old playmates and friends, were also among the new-comers. all of them seemed perturbed as to the unrest in india, though some were inclined to think that the worst was past, and that the situation was well in hand. when we think how splendidly india helped us in the war, it would indeed be sad if a serious rift came between us now. one thing i am very sure of, that if great britain should ever be forced to separate from india, it is india, and not britain, which will be the chief sufferer. we passed over hundreds of miles of absolute calm in the indian ocean. there is a wonderful passage in frank bullen's "sea idylls," in which he describes how, after a long-continued tropical calm, all manner of noxious scum and vague evil shapes come flickering to the surface. coleridge has done the same idea, for all time, in "the ancient mariner," when "the very sea did rot." in our case we saw nothing so dramatic, but the ship passed through one area where there was a great number of what appeared to be sea-snakes, creatures of various hues, from two to ten feet long, festooned or slowly writhing some feet below the surface. i cannot recollect seeing anything of the kind in any museum. these, and a couple of arab dhows, furnished our only break in a thousand miles. certainly, as an entertainment the ocean needs cutting. in the extreme south, like a cloud upon the water, we caught a glimpse of the island of socotra, one of the least visited places upon earth, though so near to the main line of commerce. what a base for submarines, should it fall into wrong hands! it has a comic-opera sultan of its own, with , subjects, and a subsidy from the british government of dollars a year, which has been increased lately to , presumably on account of the higher cost of living. it is a curious fact that, though it is a great place of hill and plain, seventy miles by eighteen, there is only one wild animal known, namely the civet cat. a traveller, mr. jacob, who examined the place, put forward the theory that one of alexander the great's ships was wrecked there, the crew remaining, for he found certain greek vestiges, but what they were i have been unable to find out. as we approached aden, we met the _china_ on her way out. her misadventure some years ago at the island of perim, has become one of the legends of the sea. in those days, the discipline aboard p. & o. ships was less firm than at present, and on the occasion of the birthday of one of the leading passengers, the officers of the ship had been invited to the festivity. the result was that, in the middle of dinner, the ship crashed, no great distance from the lighthouse, and, it is said, though this is probably an exaggeration, that the revellers were able to get ashore over the bows without wetting their dress shoes. no harm was done, save that one unlucky rock projected, like a huge spike, through the ship's bottom, and it cost the company a good half-million before they were able to get her afloat and in service once more. however, there she was, doing her fifteen knots, and looking so saucy and new that no one would credit such an unsavoury incident in her past. early in february i gave a lantern lecture upon psychic phenomena to passengers of both classes. the red sea has become quite a favourite stamping ground of mine, but it was much more tolerable now than on that terrible night in august when i discharged arguments and perspiration to a sweltering audience. on this occasion it was a wonderful gathering, a microcosm of the world, with an english peer, an indian maharajah, many native gentlemen, whites of every type from four great countries, and a fringe of stewards, stewardesses, and nondescripts of all sorts, including the ship's barber, who is one of the most active men on the ship in an intellectual sense. all went well, and if they were not convinced they were deeply interested, which is the first stage. somewhere there are great forces which are going to carry on this work, and i never address an audience without the feeling that among them there may be some latent paul or luther whom my words may call into activity. i heard an anecdote yesterday which is worth recording. we have a boatswain who is a fine, burly specimen of a british seaman. in one of his short holidays while in mufti, in norfolk, he had an argument with a norfolk farmer, a stranger to him, who wound up the discussion by saying: "my lad, what you need is a little travel to broaden your mind." the boatswain does his , miles a year. it reminded me of the doctor who advised his patient to take a brisk walk every morning before breakfast, and then found out that he was talking to the village postman. a gentleman connected with the cinema trade told me a curious story within his own experience. last year a psychic cinema story was shown in australia, and to advertise it a man was hired who would consent to be chained to a tombstone all night. this was done in melbourne and sydney without the person concerned suffering in any way. it was very different in launceston. the man was found to be nearly mad from terror in the morning, though he was a stout fellow of the dock labourer type. his story was that in the middle of the night he had heard to his horror the sound of dripping water approaching him. on looking up he saw an evil-looking shape with water streaming from him, who stood before him and abused him a long time, frightening him almost to death. the man was so shaken that the cinema company had to send him for a voyage. of course, it was an unfair test for any one's nerves, and imagination may have played its part, but it is noticeable that a neighbouring grave contained a man who had been drowned in the esk many years before. in any case, it makes a true and interesting story, whatever the explanation. i have said that there was an english peer on board. this was lord chetwynd, a man who did much towards winning the war. now that the storm is over the public knows nothing, and apparently cares little, about the men who brought the ship of state through in safety. some day we shall get a more exact sense of proportion, but it is all out of focus at present. lord chetwynd, in the year , discovered by his own personal experiments how to make an explosive far more effective than the one we were using, which was very unreliable. this he effected by a particular combination and treatment of t.n.t. and ammonia nitrate. having convinced the authorities by actual demonstration, he was given a free hand, which he used to such effect that within a year he was furnishing the main shell supply of the army. his own installation was at chilwell, near nottingham, and it turned out , , shells, while six other establishments were erected elsewhere on the same system. within his own works lord chetwynd was so complete an autocrat that it was generally believed that he shot three spies with his own hand. thinking the rumour a useful one, he encouraged it by creating three dummy graves, which may, perhaps, be visited to this day by pious pro-germans. it should be added that lord chetwynd's explosive was not only stronger, but cheaper, than that in previous use, so that his labours saved the country some millions of pounds. it was at chilwell that the huge bombs were filled which were destined for berlin. there were of them to be carried in twenty-five handley page machines. each bomb was capable of excavating tons at the spot where it fell, and in a trial trip one which was dropped in the central courtyard of a large square building left not a stone standing around it. berlin was saved by a miracle, which she hardly deserved after the irresponsible glee with which she had hailed the devilish work of her own zeppelins. the original hundred bombs sent to be charged had the tails removed before being sent, and when they were returned it was found to be such a job finding the right tail for the right bomb, the permutations being endless, that it was quicker and easier to charge another hundred bombs with tails attached. this and other fortuitous matters consumed several weeks. finally, the bombs were ready and were actually on the machines in england, whence the start was to be made, when the armistice was declared. possibly a knowledge of this increased the extreme haste of the german delegates. personally, i am glad it was so, for we have enough cause for hatred in the world without adding the death of , german civilians. there is some weight, however, in the contention of those who complain that germans have devastated belgium and france, but have never been allowed to experience in their own persons what the horrors of war really are. still, if christianity and religion are to be more than mere words, we must be content that berlin was not laid in ruins at a time when the issue of the war was already decided. here we are at suez once again. it would take loti or robert hichens to describe the wonderful shades peculiar to the outskirts of egypt. deep blue sea turns to dark green, which in turn becomes the very purest, clearest emerald as it shallows into a snow-white frill of foam. thence extends the golden desert with deep honey-coloured shadows, stretching away until it slopes upwards into melon-tinted hills, dry and bare and wrinkled. at one point a few white dwellings with a group of acacias mark the spot which they call moses well. they say that a jew can pick up a living in any country, but when one surveys these terrible wastes one can only imagine that the climate has greatly changed since a whole nomad people were able to cross them. in the mediterranean we had a snap of real cold which laid many of us out, myself included. i recall the lancastrian who complained that he had swallowed a dog fight. the level of our lives had been disturbed for an instant by a feud between the children and one of the passengers who had, probably quite justly, given one of them a box on the ear. in return, they had fixed an abusive document in his cabin which they had ended by the words, "with our warmest despisings," all signing their names to it. the passenger was sportsman enough to show this document around, or we should not have known of its existence. strange little souls with their vivid hopes and fears, a parody of our own. i gave baby a daily task and had ordered her to do a map of australia. i found her weeping in the evening. "i did the map," she cried, between her sobs, "but they all said it was a pig!" she was shaken to the soul at the slight upon her handiwork. it was indeed wonderful to find ourselves at marseilles once more, and, after the usual unpleasant _douane_ formalities, which are greatly ameliorated in france as compared to our own free trade country, to be at temporary rest at the hôtel du louvre. a great funeral, that of frederic chevillon and his brother, was occupying the attention of the town. both were public officials and both were killed in the war, their bodies being now exhumed for local honour. a great crowd filed past with many banners, due decorum being observed save that some of the mourners were smoking cigarettes, which "was not handsome," as mr. pepys would observe. there was no sign of any religious symbol anywhere. it was a sunday and yet the people in the procession seemed very badly dressed and generally down-at-heel and slovenly. i think we should have done the thing better in england. the simplicity of the flag-wrapped coffins was however dignified and pleasing. the inscriptions, too, were full of simple patriotism. i never take a stroll through a french town without appreciating the gulf which lies between us and them. they have the old roman civilisation, with its ripe mellow traits, which have never touched the anglo-saxon, who, on the other hand, has his raw northern virtues which make life angular but effective. i watched a scene to-day inconceivable under our rule. four very smart officers, captains or majors, were seated outside a café. the place was crowded, but there was room for four more at this table on the sidewalk, so presently that number of negro privates came along and occupied the vacant seats. the officers smiled most good humouredly, and remarks were exchanged between the two parties, which ended in the high falsetto laugh of a negro. these black troops seemed perfectly self-respecting, and i never saw a drunken man, soldier or civilian, during two days. i have received english letters which announce that i am to repeat my australian lectures at the queen's hall, from april th onwards. i seem to be returning with shotted guns and going straight into action. they say that the most dangerous course is to switch suddenly off when you have been working hard. i am little likely to suffer from that. chapter xiii the institut metaphysique.--lecture in french.--wonderful musical improviser.--camille flammarion.--test of materialised hand.--last ditch of materialism.--sitting with mrs. bisson's medium, eva.--round the aisne battlefields.--a tragic intermezzo.--anglo-french rugby match.--madame blifaud's clairvoyance. one long stride took us to paris, where, under the friendly and comfortable roof of the hôtel du louvre, we were able at last to unpack our trunks and to steady down after this incessant movement. the first visit which i paid in paris was to dr. geley, head of the institut metaphysique, at , avenue niel. now that poor crawford has gone, leaving an imperishable name behind him, geley promises to be the greatest male practical psychic researcher, and he has advantages of which crawford could never boast, since the liberality of monsieur jean meyer has placed him at the head of a splendid establishment with laboratory, photographic room, lecture room, séance room and library, all done in the most splendid style. unless some british patron has the generosity and intelligence to do the same, this installation, with a man like geley to run it, will take the supremacy in psychic advance from britain, where it now lies, and transfer it to france. our nearest approach to something similar depends at present upon the splendid private efforts of mr. and mrs. hewat mackenzie, in the psychic college at , holland park, which deserve the support of everyone who realises the importance of the subject. i made a _faux pas_ with the geleys, for i volunteered to give an exhibition of my australian slides, and they invited a distinguished audience of men of science to see them. imagine my horror when i found that my box of slides was in the luggage which major wood had taken on with him in the "naldera" to england. they were rushed over by aeroplane, however, in response to my telegram, and so the situation was saved. the lecture was a private one and was attended by mr. charles richet, mr. gabrielle delanne, and a number of other men of science. nothing could have gone better, though i fear that my french, which is execrable, must have been a sore trial to my audience. i gave them warning at the beginning by quoting a remark which bernard shaw made to me once, that when he spoke french he did not say what he wanted to say, but what he could say. richet told me afterwards that he was deeply interested by the photographs, and when i noted the wonder and awe with which he treated them--he, the best known physiologist in the world--and compared it with the attitude of the ordinary lay press, it seemed a good example of the humility of wisdom and the arrogance of ignorance. after my lecture, which covered an hour and a quarter, we were favoured by an extraordinary exhibition from a medium named aubert. this gentleman has had no musical education whatever, but he sits down in a state of semi-trance and he handles a piano as i, for one, have never heard one handled before. it is a most amazing performance. he sits with his eyes closed while some one calls the alphabet, striking one note when the right letter sounds. in this way he spells out the name of the particular composer whom he will represent. he then dashes off, with tremendous verve and execution, upon a piece which is not a known composition of that author, but is an improvisation after his manner. we had grieg, mendelssohn, berlioz and others in quick succession, each of them masterly and characteristic. his technique seemed to my wife and me to be not inferior to that of paderewski. needles can be driven through him as he plays, and sums can be set before him which he will work out without ceasing the wonderful music which appears to flow through him, but quite independently of his own powers or volition. he would certainly cause a sensation in london. i had the honour next day of meeting camille flammarion, the famous astronomer, who is deeply engaged in psychic study, and was so interested in the photos which i snowed him that i was compelled to leave them in his hands that he might get copies done. flammarion is a dear, cordial, homely old gentleman with a beautiful bearded head which would delight a sculptor. he entertained us with psychic stories all lunch time. madame bisson was there and amused me with her opinion upon psychic researchers, their density, their arrogance, their preposterous theories to account for obvious effects. if she had not been a great pioneer in science, she might have been a remarkable actress, for it was wonderful how her face took off the various types. certainly, as described by her, their far-fetched precautions, which irritate the medium and ruin the harmony of the conditions, do appear very ridiculous, and the parrot cry of "fraud!" and "fake!" has been sadly overdone. all are agreed here that spiritualism has a far greater chance in england than in france, because the french temperament is essentially a mocking one, and also because the catholic church is in absolute opposition. three of their bishops, beauvais, lisieux and coutances, helped to burn a great medium, joan of arc, six hundred years ago, asserting at the trial the very accusations of necromancy which are asserted to-day. now they have had to canonise her. one would have hoped that they had learned something from the incident. dr. geley has recently been experimenting with mr. franek kluski, a polish amateur of weak health, but with great mediumistic powers. these took the form of materialisations. dr. geley had prepared a bucket of warm paraffin, and upon the appearance of the materialised figure, which was that of a smallish man, the request was made that the apparition should plunge its hand into the bucket and then withdraw it, so that when it dematerialised a cast of the hand would be left, like a glove of solidified paraffin, so narrow at the wrist that the hands could not have been withdrawn by any possible normal means without breaking the moulds. these hands i was able to inspect, and also the plaster cast which had been taken from the inside of one of them. the latter showed a small hand, not larger than a boy's, but presenting the characteristics of age, for the skin was loose and formed transverse folds. the materialised figure had also, unasked, left an impression of its own mouth and chin, which was, i think, done for evidential purposes, for a curious wart hung from the lower lip, which would mark the owner among a million. so far as i could learn, however, no identification had actually been effected. the mouth itself was thick-lipped and coarse, and also gave an impression of age. to show the thoroughness of dr. geley's work, he had foreseen that the only answer which any critic, however exacting, could make to the evidence, was that the paraffin hand had been brought in the medium's pocket. therefore he had treated with cholesterin the paraffin in his bucket, and this same cholesterin reappeared in the resulting glove. what can any sceptic have to say to an experiment like that save to ignore it, and drag us back with wearisome iteration to some real or imaginary scandal of the past? the fact is that the position of the materialists could only be sustained so long as there was a general agreement among all the newspapers to regard this subject as a comic proposition. now that there is a growing tendency towards recognising its overwhelming gravity, the evidence is getting slowly across to the public, and the old attitude of negation and derision has become puerile. i can clearly see, however, that the materialists will fall back upon their second line of trenches, which will be to admit the phenomena, but to put them down to material causes in the unexplored realms of nature with no real connection with human survival. this change of front is now due, but it will fare no better than the old one. before quitting the subject i should have added that these conclusions of dr. geley concerning the paraffin moulds taken from kluski's materialisation are shared by charles richet and count de gramont of the institute of france, who took part in the experiments. how absurd are the efforts of those who were not present to contradict the experiences of men like these. i was disappointed to hear from dr. geley that the experiments in england with the medium eva had been largely negative, though once or twice the ectoplasmic flow was, as i understand, observed. dr. geley put this comparative failure down to the fantastic precautions taken by the committee, which had produced a strained and unnatural atmosphere. it seems to me that if a medium is searched, and has all her clothes changed before entering the seance room, that is ample, but when in addition to this you put her head in a net-bag and restrict her in other ways, you are producing an abnormal self-conscious state of mind which stops that passive mood of receptivity which is essential. professor hyslop has left it on record that after a long series of rigid tests with mrs. piper he tried one sitting under purely natural conditions, and received more convincing and evidential results than in all the others put together. surely this should suggest freer methods in our research. i have just had a sitting with eva, whom i cannot even say that i have seen, for she was under her cloth cabinet when i arrived and still under it when i left, being in trance the whole time. professor jules courtier of the sorbonne and a few other men of science were present. madame bisson experiments now in the full light of the afternoon. only the medium is in darkness, but her two hands protrude through the cloth and are controlled by the sitters. there is a flap in the cloth which can be opened to show anything which forms beneath. after sitting about an hour this flap was opened, and madame bisson pointed out to me a streak of ectoplasm upon the outside of the medium's bodice. it was about six inches long and as thick as a finger. i was allowed to touch it, and felt it shrink and contract under my hand. it is this substance which can, under good conditions, be poured out in great quantities and can be built up into forms and shapes, first flat and finally rounded, by powers which are beyond our science. we sometimes call it psychoplasm in england, richet named it ectoplasm, geley calls it ideoplasm; but call it what you will, crawford has shown for all time that it is the substance which is at the base of psychic physical phenomena. madame bisson, whose experience after twelve years' work is unique, has an interesting theory. she disagrees entirely with dr. geley's view, that the shapes are thought forms, and she resents the name ideoplasm, since it represents that view. her conclusion is that eva acts the part which a "detector" plays, when it turns the hertzian waves, which are too short for our observation, into slower ones which can become audible. thus eva breaks up certain currents and renders them visible. according to her, what we see is never the thing itself but always the reflection of the thing which exists in another plane and is made visible in ours by eva's strange material organisation. it was for this reason that the word miroir appeared in one of the photographs, and excited much adverse criticism. one dimly sees a new explanation of mediumship. the light seems a colourless thing until it passes through a prism and suddenly reveals every colour in the world. a picture of madame bisson's father hung upon the wall, and i at once recognised him as the phantom which appears in the photographs of her famous book, and which formed the culminating point of eva's mediumship. he has a long and rather striking face which was clearly indicated in the ectoplasmic image. only on one occasion was this image so developed that it could speak, and then only one word. the word was "esperez." we have just returned, my wife, denis and i, from a round of the aisne battlefields, paying our respects incidentally to bossuet at meaux, fenelon at château thierry, and racine at la ferté millon. it is indeed a frightful cicatrix which lies across the brow of france--a scar which still gapes in many places as an open wound. i could not have believed that the ruins were still so untouched. the land is mostly under cultivation, but the houses are mere shells, and i cannot think where the cultivators live. when you drive for sixty miles and see nothing but ruin on either side of the road, and when you know that the same thing extends from the sea to the alps, and that in places it is thirty miles broad, it helps one to realise the debt that germany owes to her victims. if it had been in the versailles terms that all her members of parliament and journalists should be personally conducted, as we have been, through a sample section, their tone would be more reasonable. it has been a wonderful panorama. we followed the route of the thousand taxi-cabs which helped to save europe up to the place where gallieni's men dismounted and walked straight up against klück's rearguard. we saw belleau wood, where the nd and th american divisions made their fine debut and showed ludendorff that they were not the useless soldiers he had so vainly imagined. thence we passed all round that great heavy sack of germans which had formed in june, , with its tip at dormans and château thierry. we noted bligny, sacred to the sacrifices of carter campbell's st highlanders, and braithwaite's nd yorkshire division, who lost between them seven thousand men in these woods. these british episodes seem quite unknown to the french, while the americans have very properly laid out fine graveyards with their flag flying, and placed engraved tablets of granite where they played their part, so that in time i really think that the average frenchman will hardly remember that we were in the war at all, while if you were to tell him that in the critical year we took about as many prisoners and guns as all the other nations put together, he would stare at you with amazement. well, what matter! with a man or a nation it is the duty done for its own sake and the sake of its own conscience and self-respect that really counts. all the rest is swank. we slept at rheims. we had stayed at the chief hotel, the golden lion, in , when we were en route to take part in the anglo-german motor-car competition, organised by prince henry. we searched round, but not one stone of the hotel was standing. out of , houses in the town, only twenty had entirely escaped. as to the cathedral, either a miracle has been wrought or the german gunners have been extraordinary masters of their craft, for there are acres of absolute ruin up to its very walls, and yet it stands erect with no very vital damage. the same applies to the venerable church of st. remy. on the whole i am prepared to think that save in one fit of temper upon september th, , the guns were never purposely turned upon this venerable building. hitting the proverbial haystack would be a difficult feat compared to getting home on to this monstrous pile which dominates the town. it is against reason to suppose that both here and at soissons they could not have left the cathedrals as they left the buildings around them. next day, we passed down the vesle and aisne, seeing the spot where french fought his brave but barren action on september th, , and finally we reached the chemin des dames--a good name had the war been fought in the knightly spirit of old, but horribly out of place amid the ferocities with which germany took all chivalry from warfare. the huge barren countryside, swept with rainstorms and curtained in clouds, looked like some evil landscape out of vale owen's revelations. it was sown from end to end with shattered trenches, huge coils of wire and rusted weapons, including thousands of bombs which are still capable of exploding should you tread upon them too heavily. denis ran wildly about, like a terrier in a barn, and returned loaded with all sorts of trophies, most of which had to be discarded as overweight. he succeeded, however, in bringing away a prussian helmet and a few other of the more portable of his treasures. we returned by soissons, which interested me greatly, as i had seen it under war conditions in . finally we reached paris after a really wonderful two days in which, owing to mr. cook's organisation and his guide, we saw more and understood more, than in a week if left to ourselves. they run similar excursions to verdun and other points. i only wish we had the time to avail ourselves of them. a tragic intermezzo here occurred in our paris experience. i suddenly heard that my brother-in-law, e. w. hornung, the author of "raffles" and many another splendid story, was dying at st. jean de luz in the pyrenees. i started off at once, but was only in time to be present at his funeral. our little family group has been thinned down these last two years until we feel like a company under hot fire with half on the ground. we can but close our ranks the tighter. hornung lies within three paces of george gissing, an author for whom both of us had an affection. it is good to think that one of his own race and calling keeps him company in his pyrennean grave. hornung, apart from his literary powers, was one of the wits of our time. i could brighten this dull chronicle if i could insert a page of his sayings. like charles lamb, he could find humour in his own physical disabilities--disabilities which did not prevent him, when over fifty, from volunteering for such service as he could do in flanders. when pressed to have a medical examination, his answer was, "my body is like a sausage. the less i know of its interior, the easier will be my mind." it was a characteristic mixture of wit and courage. during our stay in paris we went to see the anglo-french rugby match at coulombes. the french have not quite got the sporting spirit, and there was some tendency to hoot whenever a decision was given for the english, but the play of their team was most excellent, and england only won by the narrow margin of to . i can remember the time when french rugby was the joke of the sporting world. they are certainly a most adaptive people. the tactics of the game have changed considerably since the days when i was more familiar with it, and it has become less dramatic, since ground is gained more frequently by kicking into touch than by the individual run, or even by the combined movement. but it is still the king of games. it was like the old lists, where the pick of these two knightly nations bore themselves so bravely of old, and it was an object lesson to see clement, the french back, playing on manfully, with the blood pouring from a gash in the head. marshal foch was there, and i have no doubt that he noted the incident with approval. i had a good look at the famous soldier, who was close behind me. he looks very worn, and sadly in need of a rest. his face and head are larger than his pictures indicate, but it is not a face with any marked feature or character. his eyes, however, are grey, and inexorable. his kepi was drawn down, and i could not see the upper part of the head, but just there lay the ruin of germany. it must be a very fine brain, for in political, as well as in military matters, his judgment has always been justified. there is an excellent clairvoyante in paris, madame blifaud, and i look forward, at some later date, to a personal proof of her powers, though if it fails i shall not be so absurd as to imagine that that disproves them. the particular case which came immediately under my notice was that of a mother whose son had been killed from an aeroplane, in the war. she had no details of his death. on asking madame b., the latter replied, "yes, he is here, and gives me a vision of his fall. as a proof that it is really he, he depicts the scene, which was amid songs, flags and music." as this corresponded with no episode of the war, the mother was discouraged and incredulous. within a short time, however, she received a message from a young officer who had been with her son when the accident occurred. it was on the armistice day, at salonica. the young fellow had flown just above the flags, one of the flags got entangled with his rudder, and the end was disaster. but bands, songs and flags all justified the clairvoyante. now, at last, our long journey drew to its close. greatly guarded by the high forces which have, by the goodness of providence, been deputed to help us, we are back in dear old london once more. when we look back at the , miles which we have traversed, at the complete absence of illness which spared any one of seven a single day in bed, the excellence of our long voyages, the freedom from all accidents, the undisturbed and entirely successful series of lectures, the financial success won for the cause, the double escape from shipping strikes, and, finally, the several inexplicable instances of supernormal, personal happenings, together with the three-fold revelation of the name of our immediate guide, we should be stocks and stones if we did not realise that we have been the direct instruments of god in a cause upon which he has set his visible seal. there let it rest. if he be with us, who is against us? to give religion a foundation of rock instead of quicksand, to remove the legitimate doubts of earnest minds, to make the invisible forces, with their moral sanctions, a real thing, instead of mere words upon our lips, and, incidentally, to reassure the human race as to the future which awaits it, and to broaden its appreciation of the possibilities of the present life, surely no more glorious message was ever heralded to mankind. and it begins visibly to hearken. the human race is on the very eve of a tremendous revolution of thought, marking a final revulsion from materialism, and it is part of our glorious and assured philosophy, that, though we may not be here to see the final triumph of our labours, we shall, none the less, be as much engaged in the struggle and the victory from the day when we join those who are our comrades in battle upon the further side. _printed in great britain by wyman & sons ltd., london, reading and fakenham_ "sir arthur conan doyle has given us a classic."--sir w. robertson nicoll * * * * * _the first volume of sir arthur conan doyle's history of the war_ =the british campaign in france and flanders = =with maps, plans and diagrams. fourth edition= "after reading every word of this most fascinating book, the writer of this notice ventures, as a professional soldier, to endorse the author's claim, and even to suggest that sir arthur conan doyle has understated the value of a book which will be of enormous help to the student of this wondrous war as a reliable framework for his further investigations."--colonel a. m. murray, c.b., in the _observer_. "a book which should appeal to every briton and should shame those who wish to make of none effect the deeds and sacrifices recounted in its pages."--professor a. f. pollard in the _daily chronicle_ * * * * * _the second volume of sir arthur conan doyle's history of the war_ =the british campaign in france and flanders = =with maps, plans and diagrams. second edition= "if any student of the war is in search of a plain statement, accurate and chronological, of what took place in these dynamic sequences of onslaughts which have strewn the plain of ypres with unnumbered dead, and which won for the canadians, the indians, and our own territorial divisions immortal fame, let him go to this volume. he will find in it few dramatic episodes, no unbridled panegyric, no purple patches. but he will own himself a much enlightened man, and, with greater knowledge, will be filled with much greater pride and much surer confidence."--_daily telegraph_ * * * * * _the third volume of sir arthur conan doyle's history of the war_ =the british campaign in france and flanders = =with maps, plans and diagrams= "we gave praise, and it was high, to the first and second volumes of 'the british campaign in france and flanders.' we can give the same to the third, and more, too. for the whole of this volume is devoted to the preliminaries and the full grapple of the battle of the somme--a theme far surpassing everything that went before in magnitude and dreadfulness, but also in inspiration for our own race and in profound human import of every kind."--_observer_ _the fourth volume of sir arthur conan doyle's history of the war_ =the british campaign in france and flanders = =with maps, plans and diagrams= "if sir arthur can complete the remaining two volumes with the same zest and truth as is exhibited here, it will indeed be a work which every student who fought in france in the great war will be proud to possess on his shelves."--_sunday times_ "it will find with others of the series a permanent place in all military libraries as a reliable work of reference for future students of the war."--_observer_ * * * * * _the fifth volume of sir arthur conan doyle's history of the war_ =the british campaign in france and flanders january to july, = =with maps, plans and diagrams= "the history shows no abatement in vigour and readableness, but rather the opposite, and a final volume describing the great counter-attack of the allies, leading to their final victory, will bring to a close a series which, on its own lines, is unsurpassable."--_scotsman_ "sir arthur conan doyle has stuck to his great work with admirable assiduity.... he has produced an accurate and concise record of a campaign the most glorious and the most deadly in all the history of the british race, and a record well qualified to live among the notable books of the language."--_edinburgh evening dispatch_ * * * * * _the sixth volume of sir arthur conan doyle's history of the war_ =the british campaign in france and flanders july to november, = =with maps, plans and diagrams= "sir arthur conan doyle's concluding volume of the interim history of the british campaign on the west front is as good as any of its predecessors."--_morning post_ "sir arthur conan doyle's 'history of the british campaign in france and flanders' is an authoritative work, which is destined for immortality.... with full confidence in the historian, with congratulations on a noble task accomplished, we open the sixth and final volume."--_british weekly_ hodder & stoughton ltd., warwick square, london, e.c. successful exploration through the interior of australia, from melbourne to the gulf of carpentaria. from the journals and letters of william john wills. edited by his father, william wills. london: richard bentley, new burlington street, publisher in ordinary to her majesty. . dedicated, by permission, to his grace the duke of newcastle, k.g., etc., etc., etc. by his grace's faithful servant, william wills. january, . preface. a life terminating before it had reached its meridian, can scarcely be expected to furnish materials for an extended biography. but the important position held by my late son, as second in command in what is now so well-known as the burke and wills exploring expedition across the island continent of australia; the complicated duties he undertook as astronomer, topographer, journalist, and surveyor; the persevering skill with which he discharged them, suggesting and regulating the march of the party through a waste of eighteen hundred miles, previously untrodden by european feet; his courage, patience, and heroic death; his self-denial in desiring to be left alone in the desert with scarcely a hope of rescue, that his companions might find a chance for themselves;--these claims on public attention demand that his name should be handed down to posterity in something more than a mere obituary record, or an official acknowledgment of services. a truthful, though brief, memoir of my son's short career, may furnish a stimulating example, by showing how much can be accomplished in a few years, when habits of prudence and industry have been acquired in early youth. he fell a victim to errors not originating with himself; but he resigned his life without a murmur, having devoted it to science and his country. his death, with the circumstances attending it, furnishes an application of the lines of a favourite poet, which he often quoted with admiration: lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime, and departing leave behind us footsteps on the sands of time; footprints that perhaps another, sailing o'er life's solemn main, a forlorn and shipwreck'd brother, seeing, shall take heart again. the following pages are the only tribute a fond and mourning father can offer to the memory of one who, while living, merited and reciprocated his warmest affections. william wills. london, january, . contents. chapter . biographical sketch. birth.--infancy.--boyhood and early education.--youthful traits of character. chapter . my two sons leave england for australia.--incidents of the voyage. --extracts from journal.--arrival at port phillip.--melbourne. --employed as shepherds in the interior.--mode of life.--melbourne in .--advice to immigrants.--descriptive letters from the bush. chapter . i arrive in australia.--join my two sons at their sheep-station. --return to melbourne and remove to ballaarat.--visit to mr. skene. --my son studies surveying.--his rapid proficiency.--appointed to take charge of a party.--letters on various subjects to his mother and brother at home. chapter . my son is appointed to the magnetic observatory at melbourne, under professor neumayer.--his rapid advance in the study of magnetism and mineralogy.--letters to his relatives at home, descriptive of his pursuits, wishes, and sentiments.--first suggestions of his probable employment on the exploring expedition. chapter . postponement of the exploring expedition projected at the beginning of .--my son's letter to his sister on going into society.--mr. birnie's opinion of him, and extract from his lecture.--letter from william to his mother on religious views and definitions of faith. --his last communications to his family at home, before the departure of the expedition. chapter . the expedition. how the expedition originated.--appointment of the leader, officers, and party.--mr. robert o'hara burke, mr. g.j. landells, mr. w.j. wills, dr. herman beckler, dr. ludwig becker, etc.--the expedition starts from melbourne on the th of august, . --progress to swan hill.--discharge of mr. ferguson, the foreman. --advance to menindie.--resignation of mr. landells and dr. herman beckler.--mr. wills promoted to second in command, and mr. wright to third. chapter . from menindie on the darling to torowoto.--mr. burke's despatch, and mr. wills's report from torowoto.--mr. wright's unaccountable delay at menindie.--the expedition proceeds onwards to cooper's creek.--exploring trips in that neighbourhood.--loss of three camels.--mr. wills's letter to his sister, december th and th. --incorrectness of mcdonough's statements. chapter . mr. wills's survey of the line of country pursued by the expedition, from torowoto swamp to cooper's creek. chapter . departure from cooper's creek for the gulf of carpentaria. --arrangements for the continuance of the depot at cooper's creek. --mr. brahe left in charge.--determination of route.--progress and incidents.--mr. wills's field books, from the th of december, , to the th of january, , to .--shores of carpentaria. chapter . return from carpentaria to cooper's creek.--mr. wills's journals from february th to april st, .--illness and death of gray. --the survivors arrive at cooper's creek depot and find it deserted.--a small stock of provisions left.--conduct of brahe. --report of the royal commission. chapter . proceedings in melbourne.--meeting of the exploration committee. --tardy resolutions.--departure of mr. howitt.--patriotic effort of mr. orkney.--south australian expedition under mr. mckinlay.--news of white men and camels having been seen by natives in the interior.--certain intelligence of the fate of the explorers reaches melbourne. chapter . the attempt to reach south australia and adelaide by mount hopeless.--mistake of selecting that route.--mr. wills's journals from the rd of april to the th of june, .--adventures with the natives.--discovery of nardoo as a substitute for food.--mr. burke and king go in search of natives for assistance.--mr. wills left alone in the desert.--the last entry in his journal. chapter . king's narrative.--mr. burke and king again go in search of the natives, as a last resource.--death of mr. burke.--king returns and finds mr. wills dead in the gunyah.--he falls in with the natives and wanders about with them until delivered by mr. howitt's party. --extract from mr. howitt's diary.--extract from mr. mckinlay's diary.--my son's last letter to me, dated june th, .--strong attachment between mr. burke and my son.--king delivers the letter and watch intrusted to him.--with some difficulty i recover the pistol.--king's reception in melbourne.--sir h. barkly's letter to sir roderick murchison.--summary of events and their causes. chapter . letters of sympathy and condolence; from sir henry barkly; major egerton warburton; a.j. baker, esquire; p.a. jennings, esquire; dr. mueller; the council of ballaarat east; robert watson, esquire; john lavington evans, esquire--meeting at totnes.--resolution to erect a monument to mr. wills.--proceedings in the royal geographical society of london.--letter from sir roderick murchison to dr. wills.--dr. wills's reply.--'the lost explorers,' a poetical tribute.--concluding observations. appendices. illustrations: . the last hours of mr. wills. painted by scott. melbourne. london: richard bentley, . engraved by j. saddle. . william j. wills. painted by scott. melbourne. engraved by j. brown. biographical sketch. chapter . birth. infancy. boyhood and early education. youthful traits of character. william john wills was born at totnes, in devonshire, on the th of january, . he had, therefore, attained the full age of twenty-seven at the time of his death. even in infancy, his countenance was interesting and expressive. he began to speak and walk alone before he had completed his first year. his lively disposition gave ample employment to his nurses, though i cannot remember that he ever worried one, through peevishness or a fractious temper. as soon as he could talk distinctly, he evinced an aptitude to name things after his own fancy; and i may fairly say, that he was never a child in the common acceptation of the term, as he gave early indications of diligence and discretion scarcely compatible with the helplessness and simplicity of such tender years. about the time of his completing his third year, mr. benthall, a friend and near neighbour, asked permission to take him for a walk in his garden. the boy was then in the habit of attending a school for little children, close by, kept by an old lady. in less than an hour, mr. benthall returned to ask if he had come home. no one had seen him, and we began to be alarmed lest he might have fallen into a well in the garden; but this apprehension was speedily ascertained to be groundless. still he returned not, and our alarm increased, until his mother thought of the school, and there he was found, book in hand, intent on his lesson. he knew it was the school hour, and while mr. benthall was speaking to the gardener, had managed to give him the slip, passing our own door and proceeding alone to the school, on the opposite side of the square. mr. benthall, who can have seen or heard very little of him since, was one of the first, on hearing of his recent fate, to send a subscription to his monument, about to be erected at totnes. perhaps he remembered the incident. another anecdote of the child bears upon a leading characteristic in the after life of the man. my late lamented brother, w.t. wills, who has since died at belleville, in upper canada, was on a visit at my house from abroad. he had occasion to go to plymouth and devonport, and i engaged to drive him over in a gig. a petition was made to his mother, that little willy might accompany us. it was granted, and we put up for the night at the royal hotel, at devonport, where he became quite a lion. the landlady and servants were much taken by their juvenile visitor. the next morning, my brother and i had arranged to breakfast at ten, each having early business of his own to attend to, in different directions. when we returned at the appointed time, the boy was missing. none of the household had seen him for an hour. each supposed that someone else had taken charge of him. after a twenty minutes' search in all directions by the whole establishment, he was discovered at the window of a nautical instrument maker's shop, eight or ten doors below the inn, on the same side of the street, within the recess of the door-way, gazing in riveted attention on the attractive display before him. the owner told me that he had noticed him for more than an hour in the same place, examining the instruments with the eye of a connoisseur, as if he understood them. his thirst for knowledge had superseded his appetite for breakfast. about twelve months subsequent to this date, we had nearly lost him for ever, in a severe attack of remittent fever. at the end of a fortnight, the danger passed away and he was restored to us. as he lay in complete prostration from the consequent weakness, our old and faithful servant, anne winter, who seldom left him, became fearful that his intellects might be affected; and i shall never forget her heartfelt delight and thankfulness when she saw him notice and laugh at the ludicrous incident of a neighbour's tame magpie hopping upon his bed. the effect of this fever was to alter the contour of his features permanently, to a longer shape, giving him a more striking resemblance to his mother's family than to mine. his utterance, also, which had been voluble, became slow and slightly hesitating. for some time after this he resided at home, under my own tuition. our intercourse, even at this early age, was that of friendly companionship. instructing him was no task; his natural diligence relieved me from all trouble in fixing his attention. we were both fond of history. from what i recollect, he took more interest in that of rome than of greece or england. virgil and pope were his favourite poets. he was very earnest with his mother in studying the principles of the christian religion. more than once my wife remarked, "that boy astonishes me by the shrewdness with which he puts questions on different points of doctrine." in his readings with me he was never satisfied with bare statements unaccompanied by reasons. he was always for arguing the matter before taking either side. one question, when very young, he would again and again recur to, as a matter on which the truth should be elicited. this was a saying of our old servant, above named, when she broke either glass or earthenware: that "it was good for trade." his ideas of political economy would not permit him to allow that this axiom was a sound one for the benefit of the state; and on this point, i think, adam smith and malthus would scarcely disagree. the pleasure i enjoyed in my son's society when a boy, was greater than that which intercourse with many grown men contributed; for i may strictly repeat, as i have already said, that he was never a child in intellect although juvenile enough in habits and manners. he never made foolish remarks, although not in the slightest degree uncomfortably precocious or pragmatical. i had no fear of trusting him with anything, and was often reproved for allowing so young a child to handle a gun, which he was accustomed to do as early as eleven years of age. his first practice was on some young rooks which he brought down with unerring aim, from a rookery on the grounds at our country residence. he was so particular in his general demeanour that i designated him gentleman john, and my royal boy. his brothers, all younger than himself, styled him, old jack, and gentleman jack. he had a wonderful power of attaching animals of all kinds. nothing moved him to anger so readily as seeing one ill-used. beating a horse savagely would excite his disgust, as well as his dislike to the person who did it. not having a dog, he used to take a fine cat we had, which would accompany him to any distance in the fields, and hunt the hedges and hedgerows for him. never feeling that i could have too much of his company, i frequently made him my companion in long country walks, during which he incessantly asked for information. for the science of astronomy he evinced an early taste. when a very little boy, i began to teach him the names and positions of the principal constellations, the revolutions of the earth on its axis, and the fixity of the polar star. i believe we were the first to notice a comet in , which was only a short time visible here, having a south declination, and which we afterwards knew to have been a fine object in the southern hemisphere. at the age of eleven he went to school at ashburton. although the distance was not more than six miles from the cottage of ipplepen, my then general place of residence, it was with much reluctance that i consented to the separation. several friends urged on me that i was not doing him justice by keeping him at home; that a public seminary where he could mix with other boys was an advantage, even though he might not learn more. it also happened that, at this time, a gentleman with whom i had been long acquainted, and of whose talents i held a high opinion, was elected to the head-mastership of that school, which held its chief endowments from gifford, the satiric poet, and dr. ireland, the late dean of westminster. i remember how i returned in gloomy spirits after leaving him there. as i had four other children, it may be said that i showed undue partiality for this one, but my conscience clears me from the charge. i deeply felt the loss of his companionship. he was so suggestive that he set me thinking; and whilst i was endeavouring to teach, i acquired more knowledge than i imparted. there was nothing remarkable in his progress at school. i experienced no disappointment because he did not return home at the end of every half-year with the head prize. he merely brought his six months' bill, and a letter commending his steady diligence and uniform propriety of conduct. in viva voce examinations he had scarcely an equal chance with one of inferior intellect who might be quicker in expression; for besides the trifling hesitation of speech i have already noticed, he would have been ashamed to give a wrong answer from eagerness. a remark of mr. page, his tutor, confirmed me in my own previous impression on this point. "it vexes me," he said, "that john does not take a top prize, for i see by his countenance that he understands as much, if not more, than any boy in my school; yet from want of readiness in answering he allows very inferior lads to win the tickets from him." on the whole, i think he derived much benefit from ashburton; for besides his scholastic improvement he became an adept at the usual games, and a social favourite out of school hours. at the age of sixteen he left the grammar-school, and i find the th of may, , to be the date of his articles to me as surgeon. i had at that time taken a partner, henry manly, esquire, now resident at ipplepen, with a view of introducing and resigning to him my ipplepen practice. being in a country place, five miles from totnes, where there was no chemist or dispensary, my son readily acquired his duties, which were to distribute the medicines and appliances directed for our patients by my partner and myself. in all cases his caution was extreme and we had no fear of his making mistakes. the ordinary operations of extracting a tooth or breathing a vein when a bumpkin presented himself as a patient, he speedily mastered. the absurd practice of going to be bled on any occasion that might strike the fancy of the party, without the advice of the doctor, was not at that time so completely obsolete as in this advanced age i hope it is, and ought to be. i remember, during the time of my own articles, that i frequently performed venesection five or six times in a day on persons who requested and fancied they required it; and i seldom indulged in the liberty of asking, wherefore. in , i took my son to london to show him the great exhibition. his chief attractions there, were the instruments and mechanical inventions. if, after a day or two, i chanced to deviate from the leading thoroughfares and missed my way, he would set me right in a moment. this was rather mortifying to one who fancied himself well acquainted with london from frequent visits, but he smiled when he saw i was not a true guide. i asked him how he acquired this apt knowledge. "on the second day," he replied, "when you were out, i took the map and studied it for two hours, so that now i am well versed in it." my subsequent experience made me think he had some instinctive power in matters like these, such as horses and carrier-pigeons possess, for the darkest night never baulked him. on a visit to windsor, being told that it was considered a feat to climb the statue of king george the third at the end of the long walk, he accomplished it in a very short time. at hampton court he unravelled the mystery of the maze in ten minutes and grew quite familiar with all its ins and outs. in the following spring, , i took him again to london, at the opening of the session for medical students. as there was no anatomical class he studied that branch of science by visiting the museum at guy's. having myself been a student at that school, i introduced him to my late respected teacher, charles aston king, esquire, through whom he obtained permission to attend. surgical operations he witnessed at the theatres of any hospital on the regular days. the only class he entered was that of practical chemistry, under dr. john stenhouse, ll.d., at bartholomew's. when the course had nearly terminated, i saw dr. stenhouse, and inquired whether my son evinced any particular talent in that line. dr. stenhouse came from the lecture-room, and walked with me through newgate-street into cheapside, earnestly requesting me not to take from him one of the most promising pupils he had ever had. "i venture an assurance," he said, "that in two years, in practical chemistry, he will be second to few in england." dr. stenhouse at that time was engaged in analyzing the different articles of food sold in the shops, and found my son useful and suggestive. his testimonial ran thus:-- i have much pleasure in certifying that mr. w.j. wills attended a course of practical chemistry at this medical school during the summer season of . he obtained considerable proficiency, and invariably distinguished himself by great propriety of conduct. (signed) john stenhouse ll.d., lecturer to the medical school of st. bartholomew's hospital, september st, . at the house where he lodged, kept by an old couple and their servant, he was as one of themselves, and amused them greatly by the discoveries he made of the tricks practised by vendors of goods in the street; tricks they had no idea of, although they had lived in london all their lives. they used to say he would be a great genius in the detective department of the police. chapter . my two sons leave england for australia. incidents of the voyage. extracts from journal. arrival at port phillip. melbourne. employed as shepherds in the interior. mode of life. melbourne in . advice to immigrants. descriptive letters from the bush. during the summer of , i formed the intention of joining the exodus, then pouring out from england to australia. i had been in treaty with the "melbourne gold mining company," recently started, in which promising speculation, on paper, i held some shares. the late earl of devon was chairman. i was to go in the sarah sands, in my professional capacity. my two sons, william john, and his younger brother, were to accompany me; but on further investigation of the modus operandi, i gave up all idea of attaching myself to the scheme, sold my shares at a slight discount, and engaged as medical attendant on the passengers, taking my two sons with me, in a fine new ship, the ballaarat, on her first voyage. this arrangement i considered final. but a few days after william returned home, he came to me when i was sitting alone, engaged in writing, and with that expression in his countenance so peculiarly his own, said; "my dear father, i have a favour to ask of you." "my dear boy," i replied, "there is nothing you would venture to ask that i could possibly refuse." "then," continued he, "it is this. i see my mother is grieving, although she says nothing, at our all leaving her together. let tom and i go alone: i will pledge myself to take care of him." after a consultation with my wife this new plan was agreed upon. i released myself from my engagement with messrs. simpkin and marshall for the ballaarat, and secured two berths for the boys in one of mr. w.s. lindsay's ships, which at that time were conveying living freights to melbourne, their channel port of departure being dartmouth. by the advice of mr. lindsay himself i took steerage passages for them. he shrewdly remarked, "they will be there as soon and as safely as the cabin-passengers, and their money will be saved." this sounded so like an axiom in practical economy that my dear boy never attempted to argue the question. having obtained permission to knock two cabins into one, my sons considerably diminished their expenses, and had quite as agreeable a voyage as if they had paid sixty guineas each; for i have lately learned by experience, in a homeward passage, that you have to put up with companions in the cabin, as objectionable as can be imagined in almost any situation of life. at dartmouth, a day or two before the ship started, i found that william had expended some money on a quantity of stuff rolled up like balls of black ropeyarn. i exclaimed with astonishment, "in the name of goodness, are you going to chew or smoke all the way to australia?" for the commodity was the good old pig-tail tobacco. he said, smiling, "this is to make friends with the sailors: i intend to learn something about a ship by the time we reach our destination." i dare say the worthy skipper of the good ship janet mitchell, should he be still alive, has some recollection of him. his mode of proceeding, as he told me, was first to secure the good graces of the crew through the persuasive medium of the pig-tail; then, to learn the name and use of every rope, and of every part of the ship's tackle from stem to stern. he soon acquired the art of splicing and reefing, and was amongst the first to go aloft in a storm, and to lend a hand in taking in topsails. when i arrived in melbourne at a later period, several of his fellow-passengers spoke to me with praise and wonder, referring to his activity, and readiness to leave an unfinished meal, on the slightest indication of danger or difficulty. his journal of this voyage, is now before me, from which i extract a few remarks:-- . october st.--left dartmouth--slightly sick for the first few days--my brother much more so, but got right again--foretopmast carried away by a squall, just at the crosstrees, bringing down with it the main top-gallant mast--'we look a precious wreck! '--remember the honourable michael de courcy, brother of lord kingsale, saying to me on the quay at dartmouth, the day before we sailed, that the first gale would carry away the fore-top-gallant mast--i believe the janet mitchell is quite a new ship, on her first voyage--the remark speaks well for the judgment of a young officer. th.--sailors prigged some spirits in the hold and got very drunk--a passenger so drunk that he became mad, and was put in irons. th.--sailors not yet recovered from their drunkenness--a naval captain, passenger on board, insulted by one of them; struck him with his fist and cut his face open. nd.--fine weather--getting hot--latitude north , longitude west --the great bear getting low--sunsets and risings very fine, particularly the former. november st.--shark taken, of which i had a large share and rather enjoyed the novelty of the feed. th.--crossed the line--sailors shaved and ducked a good many--tom and i got off very well. (query--effects of the pig-tail?) th.--stormy weather--obtained some books on navigation and studied trigonometry. th and st.--passed tristan da cunha, inaccessible and nightingale islands, about south latitude, longitude west. --saw a great many whales, mostly sperm, thousands of birds, albatross, cape pigeon, and many others, the names of which i am ignorant of. rd.--a shoal of porpoises passed us. a sailor struck one with a harpoon, but it got off again. they are of a salmon colour, no more like pigs than horses, just the shape of salmon, only much larger. in swimming they turn on their sides. december st.--smart breeze this morning which soon increased to a gale--assisted in furling top-gallant sail--sailors only half dressed--after breakfast, had to double reef top-sails and main-sail. i like reefing very much. nd.--waves not so high as i expected. it is amusing to see how the birds ride them. th.--saw an eclipse of the moon last night, which lasted three hours; little more than three quarters were eclipsed--some of the passengers discontented with the provisions--wonder that some of them ever thought of leaving home. . january st.--saw land this morning--reached cape otway in the afternoon; much the appearance of berry head, with a slight haze on it--coast to the west very like that about dartmouth--cliffs, high; could fancy i saw rock vale. [footnote: the residence of a gentleman, near dartmouth, with whom he had been on a visit a short time before his departure.] rd.--dropped anchor--captain and doctor going ashore will post my journal and our letters. . . . his own was short:-- port phillip, january rd, . my dear father, we have this morning dropped anchor, just off williamstown. there are a fine set of ships here: amongst them are the great britain, cleopatra, ballaarat, aberfoil, and an immense number of others, great and small. the great britain leaves early to-morrow, so i cannot finish my letter. we have been ninety-five days on our passage. the cleopatra has only arrived two days. there are a great many vessels coming in. the day before yesterday we overtook and passed the jane, and truth, of london, which left plymouth a fortnight before we sailed from dartmouth. i hear already that things are very dear in melbourne. our pilot says he gives pounds a year for a small four-roomed cottage, two miles from the town. . . . to show how well prepared the young adventurer was for life in australia,--notwithstanding letters of introduction and means of obtaining money if required--after remaining only a few days in melbourne, and disbursing but a small modicum of the limited supply of cash he had taken with him, anxious to see the interior of the island continent, he obtained employment for himself and brother, a lad only fifteen years of age, at a large sheep station two hundred miles up the country. the following letter, dated february th, , describes their proceedings to that date:-- my dear father, we are at deniliquin. and where in the world is that? you will say. well; it is about two hundred miles north from melbourne, on the edward river, in the new south wales district, and nearly five hundred miles from sydney. the station belongs to the royal bank company. we have engaged as shepherds at pounds per annum each, and rations. we are very comfortable, in a hut by ourselves, about four miles from the station. we have between thirteen and fourteen hundred rams, by far the smallest and easiest flock, under our charge. we take the hut-keeping and shepherding in turns. the hut is a very nice one, built of split wood, and roofed with bark. it is close beside a pleasant creek or river, where there are plenty of fish and ducks. i assure you we make ourselves quite snug here. one of us rises almost as soon as it is light, gets some breakfast, and starts off with the sheep; lets them feed about until ten o'clock, then brings them slowly home, where they lie down until four; after that, they go out again until sunset. the other stays within to clean up the hut and prepare the meals. we can kill a sheep when we like. [footnote: not the rams. there were a few others kept for the purpose. i stayed a few days with them, when i went out myself, at the end of the year.] the worst part serves for the dogs, of which we have three--a sheep dog, and two kangaroo dogs. [footnote: they had a horse when i visited them, but not, i conclude, at the time when this letter was written.] the latter are good, and keep off the native curs at night. the sheep dog was the only one the former owner had last year, to watch a flock of five thousand sheep. but you will want to hear something of melbourne and how we came here. the first discovery we made after we got into port was, that we had to take ourselves and things ashore at our own expense. there was a good deal of fuss made about it to no purpose. it was four shillings each by steamer to melbourne, and thirty shillings per ton for goods. it cost us about pounds altogether. at melbourne we found everything very dear; no lodgings to be had, every place full. at length we were offered lodgings at sixty shillings a week, to be paid in advance, and twenty-five persons sleeping in the same room; but we preferred the immigrant's home, a government affair, just fitted up for the accommodation of new-comers, where you pay one shilling a night, and find yourself. you must not stay more than ten days. we got there on friday and remained until the saturday week following. we then obtained this situation, and started on the same afternoon. twenty-three of us came up together. drays were provided to carry our luggage, but we ourselves had to walk. we were three weeks on the journey, through the bush, sleeping, of course, in the open air. . . . he then proceeds to describe melbourne, as it then was:-- melbourne is situated, as you know, on the yarra yarra, [footnote: a native term, which means "always running."], which has not nearly so large a bed as the dart, although more navigable. it is narrow but very deep, and so far resembles a canal rather than a river. the town, or city, as they call it, is situated low, but laid out on a good scale. the streets are very wide, and i think when filled with houses it will be a fine place; but what spoils the appearance now is, the number of wooden buildings they are throwing up, as they cannot get workmen for others. when we were there, butter was from two shillings and fourpence to three shillings per pound, bread fourpence, milk eightpence per pint, vegetables enormous, butcher's meat and sugar, as at home. fruit very dear; a shilling would not purchase as much as a penny in england. beer and porter, one shilling per pint in melbourne, but from two shillings to two and sixpence here. the town of melbourne is all on one side of the river, but on the opposite bank is canvas town, connected with melbourne by a good bridge of one arch. canvas town takes its name from being entirely composed of tents, except a few wooden erections, such as a public-house, and the immigrant's home, where we had lodged. i do not like melbourne in its present state. you are not safe out after sundown, and in a short time you will not be safe during the day. there were some men taken out of the river drowned, suspected to have been murdered, and several attempts at robbery, while we were there. i sold my box of chemicals, after taking out what i wanted, for pounds, and the soda-water apparatus for pounds shillings. i also sold some books that we could not carry, but got nothing for them. scientific works do not take. the people who buy everything here are the gold-diggers, and they want story books. a person i know brought out pounds worth of more serious reading, and sold the lot for pounds. we started from melbourne on a saturday, with the drays, eight bullocks to each, laden entirely with the luggage of the party, twenty-three in number. we made only five or six miles that afternoon, and slept under some gum trees. our clothes were nearly saturated with dew; but as we advanced farther inland, the dews decreased, and in a night or two there was no sign of them. the land for a few miles is dry and sandy, but improves as you proceed. the woods extensive, sometimes without interval for two or three days' march. there was no scarcity of water, except for the first fifteen miles, after leaving melbourne. we enjoyed the journey much, and shot many birds, which constituted our principal food. ducks abound in the creeks, [footnote: watercourses, running in flood time, but partially dry in dry seasons.] and up this way there are fine white cockatoos, which are good eating, and about the size of a small fowl. there is also a bird very plentiful here which they call a magpie. it is somewhat the colour of our magpie, but larger, and without the long tail; easily shot and eatable, and feeds, i believe, much like our wood-pigeons. [footnote: it feeds more on insects.] the pigeon here is a beautiful bird, of a delicate bronze colour, tinged with pink about the neck, and the wings marked with green and purple. they are tame, and nicer eating than those at home. where we are, we have abundance of food; plenty of mutton, and we can get a duck, pigeon, or cockatoo whenever we like, almost without going out of sight of our hut, besides a good supply of fish in the river; murray cod, which in the murray are said sometimes to weigh eighty pounds, but in our creeks generally run from two to twelve; also a kind of mussel, and a fish like a lobster, not quite so large, but good eating. [footnote: crawfish; the river lobster.] everyone who comes out does a very foolish thing in bringing such a quantity of clothes that he never wants. all you require, even in melbourne, is a blue shirt, a pair of duck trousers, a straw hat or wide-awake, and what they call a jumper here. it is a kind of outside shirt, made of plaid, or anything you please, reaching just below the hips, and fastened round the waist with a belt. it would be a very nice dress for charley. [footnote: his youngest brother, at home.] i should wear it myself if i were in england. it ought to be made with a good-sized collar, and open at the breast, like a waistcoat, only to button at the neck, if required. we brought out the wrong sort of straw hat, as they are only fit for summer, but we sold all but two. one i made six shillings of, but the cabbage-tree hat is worth a pound. no one should bring out more than he can carry on his back, except it be to sell. boots and shoes are at a great price, but they should be thick and strong. wages are very high for butchers, carpenters, and bakers. a butcher's boy can get pounds a week, with board and lodging. bullock-drivers get the same. innkeepers are making fortunes. i know a public-house, not larger than the two mile oak, [footnote: a small public-house between totnes and newton.] that cleared pounds in three months, so it was reported. sydney, i hear, is as cheap to live in as london. as to the diggings, i cannot say much about them. i have seen many who have made money there, and many who have lost it again. it is generally spent as fast as it is got. i hope we shall send you some specimens of gold dust soon. please to give my love to my mother and all at home. from your affectionate and dutiful son, w.j. wills. . . . his subsequent letters were of the same kind, descriptive of his management in his shepherd's life in the bush. he tells how he converted legs of mutton into excellent hams by pickling and smoking them; and how he also obtained preserves of melons, by sowing seeds which produced abundantly. the flies and ants were their greatest torment, particularly the former. the heat was not great, as there was a constant breeze from one quarter or another. deniliquin is in between and degrees south latitude. the trees are almost exclusively gum trees, but they differ in appearance and leaves, according to age and locality. this gives the appearance of variety, when, in fact, there is none. the wood is hard and splits easily. the bark is tough and thick, and can be converted into canoes by closing the ends of a piece taken from half the circumference of a tree, and tying a cord round the centre to keep it from spreading. the colour is of a beautiful red. a moisture sometimes exudes from the leaves in such abundance as to convey the idea of an animal having been slain under the branches. it has the smell of carraways and is agreeably sweet. "how it would delight bessy and hannah," (his young sisters, then quite children), he says, "to go into the woods, picking up comfits under the trees!" he then speaks of the blacks in that district; of their habits and ideas; but expresses a low opinion of their intellectual powers, and thinks little can be done with them. in may, he wrote to his mother and myself conjointly, fearing his former communications might not have reached us, and briefly recapitulating their purport. i afterwards heard at deniliquin that he had successfully performed a surgical operation. a shearer had run the point of his shears into the neck of a sheep, and opened the carotid artery. my son having a small pocket case of instruments, secured the vessel and saved the animal. i remember when it was considered a triumph in practice to effect this on a human subject. the letter i am now alluding to concludes by hoping that we were all as comfortable at home as he and his brother were in the bush. he never tired of expatiating on the beauties of australia and its climate. his next, in august, gave a more extended account of local peculiarities and features. deniliquin is at this time ( ) a place of considerable importance, with a thriving population. the island on which my sons shepherded their rams is formed by two branches of the edward river, which is itself a branch of the murray. chapter . i arrive in australia. join my two sons at their sheep-station. return to melbourne and remove to ballaarat. visit to mr. skene. my son studies surveying. his rapid proficiency. appointed to take charge of a party. letters on various subjects to his mother and brother at home. in the month of august, , i reached melbourne, after a good voyage, having obtained an appointment as superintending surgeon of a government emigrant ship, commanded by captain young, a perfect sailor, and a gentleman i shall always remember with pleasurable feelings. more than two months elapsed before i could discover where my sons were. having, at length, ascertained their locality, i purchased a horse and performed the journey in four days, resting one day on the road, at the station of mr. jefferies, on the campaspe. i started at daylight, and made my fifty miles before halting, as i generally did about two p.m. i arrived at the shepherds' hut at five o'clock on a beautiful summer's evening, having remained two hours at the hotel at deniliquin to refresh. robberies on the road--stickings up as they are called--were rife at this period. thefts also were common at the resting-houses. a gentleman who arrived at this hotel, not long before i was there, took the saddle off his horse, and placed it under the verandah: when he returned, after leading his animal to a paddock hard by, he missed the saddle, which he supposed had been removed by some person belonging to the house, and threw down his bridle on the same place. after taking something to drink with the landlord he said, "you have got my saddle."--"no." "i left it under the verandah, where i have just placed my bridle." on going out to show the spot, the bridle also had disappeared: both stolen. a good saddle and bridle at that time would fetch twenty pounds readily. at the station i took a native black for my guide. he brought me to a place where my horse had nearly to swim across the creek, pointed to a dry path, exclaimed, "there," then turned his own animal and rode off. i followed the track for about three miles, and found myself in front of the hut. my sons were both at home. tom called the attention of his brother to my approach. they appeared as much astonished as he describes the blacks near the gulf of carpentaria to have been at sight of himself and companions. presently came the recognition, a shout of joy, and a greeting such as may readily be imagined, on the part of two boys on seeing the father they had not long before supposed to be separated from them by some sixteen thousand miles. a few days after, we all left deniliquin, each mounted on a horse, my sons having first disinterred their money, buried at the foot of a gum tree on a hillock which they considered as a safe bank of deposit. it was their intention to have made a present of the greatest part, pounds, to their mother, on the first eligible opportunity of forwarding it. on our way back we paid a visit to the bendigo diggings. william here evinced his skill as an explorer by leading us, with the aid of his compass, through a trackless bush, by which we saved a circuit of several miles. at matthison's hotel, on the campaspe river, where we halted for the night, an amusing conversation occurred. in the evening there was a great gathering of all nations in the parlour. i undertook to tell the different parties of english, by their dialect, from what particular quarter they came. a person present, who articulated with much difficulty from having nearly lost the roof of his mouth, declared that he would defy any one to identify him by his speech. we all agreed that it exceeded our powers, when he informed us with a great effort that he was "a kashman," meaning scotchman. on our return to melbourne, we made preparations for a removal to ballaarat. william remained with me at the latter place for twelve months, attending to any patient that might come in my absence. he also opened a gold office adjoining my tent and did very well. here he perfected a plan of his own for weighing specimens containing quartz and gold, in water, so as to find the quantity of each component. but he was ever pining for the bush. the "busy haunts of men" had no attraction for him. he preferred the society of a few to that of many, but the study of nature was his passion. his love was fixed on animals, plants, and the starry firmament. with regard to medicine, he used to say that it was not clear and defined in practice. he wanted to measure the scope of a disease, and to supply the remedies by mathematical rule. he saw, too, that medical men were less valued for their real worth than for their tact in winning confidence through the credulity of the public. this was particularly exemplified in a gold-field, where the greatest impostors obtained credit for a time. his thoughts and conversation also constantly reverted to the interior, and to the hope that he would one day undertake the journey to the gulf of carpentaria. he was anxiously looking out for a movement in that direction, then often talked of. about this period he made a pedestrian excursion to the wannon, to sojourn for a short time with a mr. skene, a most worthy gentleman, now no more. he was actively employed at that place, and wrote to me frequently, describing the family, to which he was much attached, the whimsicalities of his landlord--a thorough old scotian, who amused himself by waking the echoes of the wilderness with the bagpipes,--the noble fern trees and the fine black cockatoos. he also continued his practice in surgery, but i believe he made no charge, as, not being duly licensed, he considered he had no right to do so. he returned to ballaarat in consequence of a communication through me, from an american gentleman named catherwood. on receipt of my letter he lost not an hour, shouldered his swag (blankets, kit, etc.), took leave of mr. skene and family, and walked to ballaarat, sleeping one night in the bush, by the way. on the nd of april, , he wrote thus to his mother: my dear mother, i had the pleasure of receiving a letter from you a fortnight since. i was at moora moora then, as you will see by a letter i wrote just before i came down here, in the hope of joining a party that is spoken of as about to explore the interior of the country, which you appear to have such a dread of. it seems uncertain whether they will go at all. as to what you say about people being starved to death in the bush, no doubt it would be rather disagreeable. but when you talk of being killed in battle, i am almost ashamed to read it. if every one had such ideas we should have no one going to sea for fear of being drowned; no travellers by railway for fear the engine should burst; and all would live in the open air for fear of the houses falling in. i wish you would read coombe's constitution of man. as regards some remarks of yours on people's religious opinions, it is a subject on which so many differ, that i am inclined to pope's conclusion who says:-- for modes of faith let graceless zealots fight; his can't be wrong whose life is in the right; and i think we cannot have a better guide to our actions than 'to do unto others as we would be done by.' ever your affectionate son, w.j. wills. p.s. if i go, i will write again before starting. . . . the expedition he here speaks of turned out a mere venture to obtain cash, and nothing came of it. he remained but a short time at ballaarat, and never idle. in a month he completed a wooden addition to my residence, building the sides, and shingling the roof in a most workmanlike manner. it was perfectly weatherproof, and stood good for some years, being only taken down when an alteration in the line of the street rendered its removal necessary. he now wished to study surveying. my acquaintance with mr. taylor, district surveyor at ballaarat, obtained for him an admission as an amateur into his office. he there set to work with his characteristic industry to perfect himself in trigonometry and euclid; drawing and mapping in the office by day, and working hard in his own room by night. on rising from bed in the morning, i have found him sitting as i had left him, working out his point, for he never deserted anything he had once taken up until he mastered it. at the expiration of a few months, mr. taylor promised me to introduce him to a gentleman in the survey department named byerly, with a view to reciprocal services. on the th of august, , he speaks for himself in a letter to his mother from glendaruel: my dear mother, i have at length found time to write to you. you will no doubt expect a long letter after so much delay, but i am afraid you will be disappointed, as long letters are not my forte. in your last, you asked me to send bessy any information i could. i can assure you i shall be most happy to do so, and to encourage her taste for knowledge as much as lies in my power. i send her bonwick's geography of australia, which is a very useful little book, and in most instances correct. you must not look upon it as infallible. for instance, he says lake burrambeet is in the pyrenees, whereas it is more than twenty miles from those mountains. but this may be a misprint. i would recommend you to let the children learn drawing. i do not mean merely sketching, but perspective drawing, with scale and compasses. it is a very nice amusement, and may some day be found extremely useful. there is another thing would do them much good, if they should happen to have a taste for it: this is euclid. not to learn by heart, but to read so as to understand it. mathematics generally, and euclid, and algebra in particular, are the best studies young people can undertake, for they are the only things we can depend on as true, (of course i leave the bible out of the question). christian and heathen, mahometan and mormon, no matter what their religious faith may be, agree in mathematics, if in nothing else. but i must now tell you something of your undutiful son. i am learning surveying under mr. f. byerly, a very superior man indeed. in fact i could not have had a better master had he been made to order, for he is a first-rate surveyor, and we are exactly suited to each other in our general ideas; and this, to tell the truth, is a rare chance for me. i am getting pounds per annum, and rations, but i hope in twelve months to have a party of my own. it is just the sort of life for me, nearly always in the bush marking out land for sale, or laying down unknown parts. it is quite a different thing from surveying in england. glendaruel is fifteen miles from ballaarat. i saw the doctor and tom a few days since. they were quite well; i hope you are so also. love to all. your affectionate son, w.j. wills. . . . he was appointed to the charge of a field party before the time he expected. i was anxious to give him a set of surveying instruments, and requested him to send me a list and an order to the best london maker for such as he wanted. he transmitted the following letter, which marks the progress of his knowledge, to be forwarded to messrs. troughton and sims, fleet street. i obtained it very recently from that house. march th, . sirs, i shall be much obliged by your executing the following order as quickly as possible, and at your most reasonable prices. . one four-inch theodolite, best construction: pounds. . one of troughton's best reflecting circles, eight-inch radius, divided on silver: pounds. . one prismatic compass, three and a-half inch, with silver ring: pounds shillings. . one six-inch semicircular protractor, with vernier: pounds shillings. . one glass plane artificial horizon, ordnance pattern: pounds shillings. . one brass rolling parallel ruler, two feet long; must not weigh less than five pounds. . one twelve-inch brass sector: pound. . one set of six-inch ivory plotting-scales, with offset scales complete: pounds. . two steel straight-edges, three feet each. . four sixty feet land chains. . one small compact case of good sector-jointed, drawing instruments with ivory parallel ruler: pounds shillings. . one very small achromatic telescope of the strongest make, not to exceed six inches in length, when closed: pound. . a small chemical blowpipe with ivory mouthpiece, and two platina tips; also some platina foil and wire. . two nautical almanacs, and . leather cases and straps for theodolite, circle, and prismatic compass. a catalogue of instruments with prices. n.b. i should wish the theodolite and circles to be packed very differently from the usual way, as many instruments are seriously injured by the box warping either inwards or outwards; in the one case pressing too much on the instruments, and in the other, which is worse, leaving them too much space, so that they shake about whenever the box is carried. the consequence is that the screws loosen, the glasses fall out of the telescopes, and the instruments become unfit for use just when they are most wanted. i think these evils may be avoided by having the parts of the box which touch any instrument well padded with the most elastic materials, and for it to be supported entirely on steel springs, strong enough to keep it firmly in its place, and with sufficient play to allow the box to warp without injury to any of the contents. i also wish an improvement in the stand of the theodolite, which ought not to be smaller than that of the five-inch one, and the joints made of the metals least likely to sustain damage from friction. the cap-piece should be nearly twice the depth, vertically, and cut out of one solid piece of metal. i subjoin a sketch of it, with the dimensions. it may be made of whatever metal you think proper. there is no harm in having iron about it, because we seldom require to use the needle. my reason for wanting this improvement is, that the legs get loose so quickly from the wearing away of brass, and that the many small surfaces in contact are too disproportionate to their length. strength and durability are of far more consequence than lightness, as we have not the facilities for getting things repaired here that you have in england. the figures i have placed opposite to the instruments described are not supposed to be the exact prices, but merely suggested as guides. i hope you will do the best you can with the improvements mentioned, especially in the mode of packing the larger articles. please also to insure them to the full value. i have the honour to be, gentlemen, your obedient servant, w.j. wills. . . . he then in a postscript makes some suggestions as to the graduation of the scales. the instruments were sent out in the shortest possible time and gave great satisfaction. on departing for his last fatal expedition, he requested me, should he not return, to give all his remaining instruments to his friend mr. byerly, for whom his high estimation never abated. this injunction i fulfilled as far as in my power. any person who may happen to be in charge of some that i had not, will i trust deliver them to their lawful owner, frederick byerly, esquire, surveyor, melbourne. about the time i am now referring to, i was often congratulated by gentlemen of the surveying department, who were acquainted with my son, on his rapid progress in the difficult branches of the science. one, in particular, said: "i consider it wonderful that your son should have mastered this business almost by his own exertions, whilst i have cost my father nearly a thousand pounds in england, under first-rate teachers, and am glad to go to him for information on many points." mr. byerly too, who is not given to flatter, when i thanked him for having so ably instructed and brought my son forward in so short a time, replied: "don't thank me; i really believe he has taught me quite as much as i have taught him." in my own experience, his queries and suggestions led me to investigate many things, which i had slightly considered, without thoroughly understanding them. he had a rare gift of ascertaining in a very short time the use of any instrument put into his hands, and could detect at a glance its defects, if such existed. in the early part of , a gentleman who had made errors in his surveys asked him to look over some of his instruments. william, on taking one into his hand, said at once, with a smile: "if you work with this, you will find many errors." "that is why i asked you," replied the owner. "i have been surveying with it, and have committed nothing but mistakes." so much were people in the habit of praising him, that it carried my thoughts back to my latin grammar, and the quotation from terence:-- omnes omnia bona dicere et laudare fortunas meas, qui gnatum haberem tali ingenio praeditum. for himself, he was perpetually lamenting to me that at school he had not received more mathematical instruction; that the time spent in classics exclusively, was, for many, time thrown away. but i must do his late master the justice of saying, that when he first received him under his tuition, he showed little fondness for mathematics in general, although he had a taste for algebra. the two following letters, to his brother and mother, bearing the same date, in the spring of , were despatched from the out-station where he was engaged in a survey. st. arnaud, april th, . dear charley, i do not think you have written a letter to me since we have been out here. it gave me much pleasure to see yours to the doctor. i wish you could be here, instead of working for or pounds a year at home, out of which you can save very little. here you might be getting at least pounds, and nothing to find yourself but clothes. but it will not do for you to come until the doctor goes home. i want you to write and tell me if you have any taste for any particular profession, and if you have been making good use of your spare time, in reading useful works. you should remember never to waste a minute; always be doing something. try and find out what things you have most taste for, as they are what you should study most; but get a general knowledge of all the sciences. whatever else you learn, don't forget mathematics and the sciences more immediately deduced from them, (at the head of which stands astronomy,) if you have any love of truth--and if you have not, you have none of your mother's blood in you. mathematics are the foundation of all truth as regards practical science in this world; they are the only things that can be demonstrably proved; no one can dispute them. in geology, chemistry, and even in astronomy, there is more or less of mere matter of opinion. for instance, in astronomy we do not know for certain what the sun or stars are made of, or what the spots are on the sun, and a few details of that kind; but the main mathematical principles cannot be disputed. the distance and size of the sun or of any of the planets can be proved; the length of their days and years, and even the weight of the matter of which they are composed. such things will probably appear to you impossible, if you have read nothing of them; especially when you hear that the sun is ninety-five millions of miles off, and that the planet neptune, which is the farthest known planet from the sun, is at such a distance that the light of the sun takes about five hours to reach it; that is, the sun is actually five hours above the horizon before the people there see it rise. its distance is millions of miles, and the sun as seen by them is not larger than venus appears to us when an evening star. and although this planet is so distant that it can only be seen with large telescopes, they can not only compute its distance and size, but also the mass of matter of which it is composed. but you will find all this thrown into the shade by the way in which it was discovered. as i may be telling you what you know already, i will merely state, that from observed perturbations in the course of the planet uranus, it was supposed that another planet was in existence beyond it; and two competitors set to work to calculate its size, situation, etc. the result was, the discovery of this other planet within a few minutes of the place pointed out by them, and its size, etc., not very different from what they estimated it at. but besides this, astronomy includes matters more intimately mixed up with our everyday affairs. in the nautical almanacs, which are constructed for several years in advance, the situations and nearly everything connected with the different planets are calculated for every day in the year, and can be found, if required, for any minute in any day you please, for , years to come. also the eclipses of the sun or moon, with the exact moment at which they will commence or end, at any spot on the earth; the exact portion eclipsed, or, in fact, anything about it you like to mention for any given number of years in advance. not only this, but you can find the eclipses of jupiter's moons with the same precision. now is there anything to be compared with this? but if astronomy led to no other end than the mere gaining of knowledge, or the assistance of commerce, it would take a far lower stand than it is really entitled to. as the great object of the science is the correction of error and the investigation of truth, it necessarily leads all those that feel an interest in it to a higher appreciation and desire for truth; and you will easily perceive that a man having a knowledge of all these vast worlds, so much more extensive than our own, must be capable of forming a far higher estimate of that almighty being who created all these wonders, than one who knows nothing more than the comparatively trifling things that surround us on earth. i send you pounds, with which you are to get the following books for yourself and the girls: dr. lardner's museum of science and art, in six double volumes: pound shilling. chambers' mathematics, parts and , and chambers' mathematical tables, each: shillings pence. a nautical almanac for next year: shillings pence. the art of reasoning, or the principles of logic, by samuel niel: shillings pence. twelve planispheres, forming a guide to the stars for every night in the year, with an introduction: shillings pence. lardner's museum of science and art is one of the best books that has ever been written. it includes a general knowledge of nearly everything you can think of; and will be as useful to bessy and hannah as to you. chambers' mathematics, contain all that you are likely to require in that branch, with the exception of euclid and algebra, both of which you must get, unless you have them. you will need some one to assist you and explain points in the mathematics and algebra, otherwise your progress will be very slow. but remember that whenever you have puzzled over a problem for some time, and cannot understand it, do not give it up altogether, but leave it for a few days or weeks and then try it again. it will then, very likely, appear quite simple, and you will be astonished that you did not make it out before. you will find the nautical almanac very useful, not only in giving you an idea of astronomical problems, but also for ascertaining the particulars of any strange stars you may see, or where to look for the different planets, etc. with the help of the twelve maps you will soon be acquainted with all the principal fixed stars. you should carefully study the art of reasoning, as it is what most people are very deficient in, and i know few things more disagreeable than to argue, or even converse with a man who has no idea of inductive and deductive philosophy. after getting the books i have mentioned, you may spend the balance in any others you please, but remember, they must be scientific ones. if you write to walton and maberley, ivy lane, paternoster row, they will send you a catalogue of books published by them, in which you will find descriptions of nearly all that i have mentioned and plenty of others. you can order those you want direct from them, or get them through a local stationer. i expect you to acquire some practice at printing, and ornamental writing, in the bank. if you have a steady hand, you should exercise yourself at it as much as possible, and learn mechanical drawing at the same time. draftsmen get well paid out here, and are greatly in demand. being able to print neatly and evenly is the main point: all the rest is easily learned. my hand is very unsteady, as you may see by my writing; i do not think i shall ever be able to write a decent hand. one other piece of advice i must give you before i shut up; that is, never try to show off your knowledge, especially in scientific matters. it is a sin that certain persons we know have been guilty of. the first step is to learn your own ignorance, and if ever you feel inclined to make a display, you may be sure that you have as yet learned nothing. i think i must write to mamma next time. give my love to her, the girls, old anne, aunt m., miss r., etc., and when you write, tell me what has become of farwell, and any others of our schoolmates you may know about. your affectionate brother, william j. wills. . . . st. arnaud, april th, . my dear mother, it is all very well to say write about anything, but it is easier said than done. you will find that i have written charley a long letter, and i had no idea of doing so when i began, as you see i commenced on note paper. but what would be the use of my writing to you on such subjects, and all others are soon disposed of? (you would not think i was a surveyor, to look at the parallelism of these lines.) you tell me in one of your letters to write about myself. that is a very poor subject, and one that a mother should not recommend to a son. my father sent me a letter of yours a few weeks ago, and i cannot say whether it most amused or pained me to see the extraordinary way in which you rush to conclusions. your argument appears to be this: j. is acquainted with a mr. t. another mr. t. has taken out some miss g. g.'s, about whom there are scandalous reports (which are as likely to be false as true): therefore j. is sure to fall in love with one of the miss g. g.'s. as it happens, j. has not had the pleasure of meeting any of the miss g. g.'s, and it is quite probable that he never may, as australia is not a little place like totnes; and i do not think he would have any wish to connect himself with the g. family, or with any family in marriage, at present. there is another thing, my dear mother, in that letter. you talk about high and low people; i presume you use the words in a very different sense from that in which i understand them. i consider nothing low but ignorance, vice, and meanness, characteristics generally found where the animal propensities predominate over the higher sentiments. i have yet to learn that there is anything high about the t.'s. mr. t. is a jolly little man, and lives more like a gentleman than most of the people about the bush; but he has rather a tendency to the animal development than otherwise, which makes it probable that there may be some truth in the reports alluded to. from what i can judge of this dear son of yours he is not likely, i think, to do anything very rashly; and as for getting married, he will not be in a position to think of that for several years; and if ever he does, i hope it will be to some one at least equal to himself in education. give my love to bessy and hannah. i do not think it would do them any harm to write a letter sometimes. i expect bessy was tired long ago of the algebra you were talking so much about. does it ever enter your head that it would be a good thing for all of you to come out here in a few years, when the girls have finished their education? this country is undergoing great changes for the better. now the rush to the diggings is over, people are beginning to live like civilized human beings. in a few years everything will be as settled as in england, and we shall be able to live much cheaper. believe me ever, my dear mother, your affectionate son, william j. wills. . . . from a letter to myself of the th of june, which was rather a long one, i give only the following extracts:-- "what you say about this world i do not quite agree with; i think it a very good world, and only requires a person to be reasonable in his expectations, and not to trust too much to others. it appears to be almost equally divided into three principal classes--honest fools, foolish rogues, and honest rational beings. some may add another class, but there are so few belonging to it--scarcely one in ten thousand--that i think it should be ranked amongst the phenomena of nature. i mean, the successful rogues--men who do things neatly, and escape being found out. the first and second are often useful to each other; the third benefit by the first and second, inasmuch as they learn by their experience, without paying for it themselves." he then cautions me against certain money speculations. another paragraph says: "i find i am likely to change my station, but have no instructions as yet. i do not care if they keep me here another month. i have first-rate neighbours, a mr. and mrs. m., who live just across the creek; very nice people, and no humbug. mr. m. resembles you in many ways." he then mentions a colt he had reared, called nelly; says she goes in and out of the tent as if she had been born in it, shakes hands with any one as soon as asked, and carries mr. m.'s little boy willie on her back with perfect gentleness. on his way back to melbourne, he taught a colt of mine, in two or three days, to be equally docile, until it became the pet of the community. it was reared by hand, and i fear i lost it through the kindly-meant attention of one of my neighbours. in the summer of he went down to melbourne in consequence of a disagreement between mr. byerly and the chief commissioner of land and works at that time, mr. duffy. he was not then employed in the regular survey, but took occasional contracts, under mr. hodgkinson, deputy surveyor general, who always expressed his admiration of his character. a letter to his mother at this date says:-- melbourne, august th, . my dear mother, i have again to plead guilty of the sin of omitting to write. it is many months since i have heard from you, and as for charley and the girls, they do not write at all. i have just left the bush and am living, for the present, in town. the change is pleasant, after being so long in the bush. melbourne is wonderfully altered since i last saw it. there are some very fair buildings in it now, and things are a little cheaper than they used to be. i am, of course, living in lodgings, and am fortunate in getting into a comfortable house; a private family with no other lodgers, and mrs. h. takes almost as much care of me as you would. it is quite strange, and at the same time amusing to me, to see her anxiety about my eating, drinking, catching cold, and all that sort of thing, as i have been so long unaccustomed to these little attentions. i am sure if some of you who have never been away from home were to see how we live in the bush, you would not expect us to survive more than a few weeks, and yet it does us no harm whatever. i passed through ballaarat on my way down, and spent a few days with my father. he was looking better than he used to be, very healthy, and not so stout. it is astonishing how little he eats, and yet is always complaining of having eaten too much. i expect it will be the same with me. i have as good an appetite as ever, but i can live on much less food than other people can. i hope charley has the books i told him to get. i send you with this a victoria news letter, which will save me the trouble of writing what i suppose you will care little to hear, so i have no more news to tell you; and with best love to--etc. etc., believe me, my dear mother, your affectionate son, william j. wills. . . . as i shall have occasion to allude to this letter in a subsequent portion of my narrative, i wish the latter part of it, with regard to eating, may be borne in mind. chapter . my son is appointed to the magnetic observatory at melbourne, under professor neumayer. his rapid advance in the study of magnetism and mineralogy. letters to his relatives at home, descriptive of his pursuits, wishes, and sentiments. first suggestions of his probable employment on the exploring expedition. in november, , my son received an appointment in the magnetic observatory at melbourne, then recently established under professor neumayer, on the recommendation of mr. ligar, the surveyor-general. this gentleman had his eye on him, as he told me himself, to succeed the professor, in the event of his returning to his native country, germany; and also with the view of his being employed, on attaining a thorough knowledge of magnetic science, in the geodetic survey of the colony. such was the progress he made, that mr. ellery, superintendent of the astronomical observatory at williamstown, tried to dissuade him from engaging in the exploratory expedition, when formed. but notwithstanding the prospect of double pay and less danger, he yielded to his long-cherished desire of being one of the first to reach the gulf of carpentaria overland by a direct route, north from melbourne; and therefore resolved to "set his life upon a cast, and stand the hazard of the die." i now give a series of extracts from his letters to his mother, sisters, and brother, written during his residence at the observatory. they indicate his character, sentiments, and occupations more distinctly than i could do by rendering them in my own words. he and his chief boarded together; a great advantage, as it gave him the opportunity, even at table, of conversing on his favourite subjects, astronomy and magnetism. at times, he feared that he should lose this position. one cause of apprehension was, that the local parliament would discontinue the grant for the observatory; another, that superior interest might wrest it from him, as he had not been regularly appointed to the staff by government, but by mr. ligar himself, who had seen, by intercourse with him during the survey, that he was putting "the right man in the right place." in a letter to me, december, , he says: "i hope i shall not have to go into the bush again, i like melbourne and my present occupation so much. but everything must be uncertain until after christmas, as all depends on parliament voting money for the observatory. should they not allow the necessary sum, i must return to surveying once more." . . . magnetic observatory, melbourne, march th, . my dear mother, it gave me much pleasure to receive a letter from you by the last mail; but i can assure you that i am always so busy, and the time passes so quickly, that i had almost forgotten to write to you until it was too late, as the mail closes early to-morrow morning. i am now living at the observatory, professor neumayer having kindly given me a room here, which is a great advantage in many ways. i hope that charley will take every opportunity of learning the things i mentioned in a letter to him some time ago, more especially mathematical drawing: and that i shall see in the next letter i receive from him that he has changed his mind as regards the profession he said he had a taste for. i wish he would find out for me whether there is a translation into english of colonel savage's practical astronomy. it is a russian work, and the place to inquire is of some of the booksellers in london who confine themselves to foreign publications. i like my present employment more and more every day. my only trouble is the want of time. i hope you all find your time pass as easily as i do; if the girls do not, they may as well kill some of it by writing letters. i have so much to do that i must conclude, with love to all. ever, my dear mother, your affectionate son, william j. wills. . . . magnetic observatory, june th, . my dear mother, it was my intention to have sent you a stereoscopic photograph of your dear son by this mail; but owing to pressure of business i have been unable to get it done in time. i must therefore leave it until next month. i received a letter from ballaarat a day or two ago, containing one from you to my father; you say something in it about not hearing from me. i do not understand how that is, as i have been wonderfully regular lately, and have sent a letter every month to one of you. i am sorry to hear that the winter has been so mild, for i fear that may cause much damage from frost in the spring. we have had a considerable quantity of rain here already, which is a great benefit to the country generally, but makes it rather unpleasant in melbourne. wonderful improvements have been made in our public library lately. it is now really a splendid one; in fact there are very few better anywhere. i enclose a news letter, which is a great convenience to lazy fellows, or to those who have too much work. give my love to all, and believe me, my dear mother, your affectionate son, william j. wills. . . . magnetic observatory, melbourne, june th, . my dear bessy, i must write a few lines to you, more especially as i wrote to hannah by the last mail; but mind, i must have a long answer by return of post. i want to know whether charles got the maps of the stars that i told him to get some time ago. if so, he should begin at once to keep a register of meteors. in the first place, let him get a book--a good copybook would do--and rule it according to the following form, to which i have attached an example:-- column : number (name) of meteor. column : day of month. column : hour of day. column : altitude. at commencement. column : altitude. at end. column : azimuth. at commencement. column : azimuth. at end. column : description of its situation with respect to certain stars. at commencement. column : description of its situation with respect to certain stars. at end. : june : p.m. : degrees : degrees : north-east : east by south : or degrees below spice. : to anthers. column : size of meteor. column : length of tail. column : colour of meteor. column : duration of meteor. column : duration of tail. column : remarks. column : observer. may : degrees : yellow : second : seconds : small, but very bright. : west. the time should be very carefully noted. if there is anything in the form that he does not understand he must ask me about it when he writes. the altitude and azimuths will only be approximate, but the main thing is to see how the shooting stars are situated with reference to the fixed stars. it is of great importance to note these meteors, even the small ones, as very little is yet known of them; and every observation, if carefully made, will some day help to show what they are. the object in noting the stars they pass by is this: that if two or more observers see the same meteor from places several miles from one another, the comparison of their observations will generally give a means of ascertaining the distance of the meteor from the earth. but it is getting late, and i will write to charley more about it by next mail; only tell him to make himself well acquainted with the stars. give my love to him and hannah, your aunt m., and old anne; and tell me in your next how the latter is getting on: and do not forget to let me know all about charley and how he spends his time. i am afraid that you little girls take him out walking too much, and make him read pretty stories instead of the books he ought to be studying. your affectionate brother, william j. wills. . . . magnetic observatory, melbourne, july th, . my dear mother, the news by the last mail has put us all in a state of excitement about our defenses, in the event of england being involved in the continental war. melbourne is badly situated in case of an invasion. there is at present not the least protection; and unless the home government sends us out two or three good war steamers, we shall most certainly get a good thrashing some day. the french have possession of the island of new caledonia, which is not very far from here, and is a convenient place of rendezvous for them. i see by your letter to my father that you are rather afraid the french may invade england. for my part i believe they have more sense. it is the most hopeless thing they can attempt. i send you two or three photographs; they are very poor, and not stereoscopic as i intended. the artist made a failure of the matter and gave me these. he is going to try it again some day with a better camera; but as that would be too late for the mail i must send you these now, and you may expect better next time. i find that the mail is to close this afternoon instead of monday morning, but if a supplementary bag should be made up on monday i will write again. i hope that in future you will direct my letters to melbourne instead of ballaarat, for i seldom get them until the return mail is about to start. we have had some rather cold weather lately; that is, the thermometer has been below thirty-two degrees once or twice, which is cold for us. i am glad to hear that charley has been appointed to the bank, as it is a good thing for all parties at present. i fear that i shall be unable to send you a news letter this time. i wish you would tell me whether you find anything of interest in them; also whether you would like to have the argus sometimes. adieu for the present, my dear mother, your affectionate son, william j. wills. . . . august th, . my dear mother, you see i have sent you the news letter for this month, with a long account of an unfortunate shipwreck that happened on the coast last month. it is a wonder how those passengers that were saved managed to exist so long without food. the only reasonable explanation that has been offered is, that as they were continually wet, from the sea breaking over them, a large quantity of moisture must have been absorbed by the skin, otherwise they could never have lived so long without fresh water. it must have been an awkward situation to be in. i fancy i would rather have been drowned at once; but it is not easy to judge how we should feel under the circumstances, unless we had tried it. as pope says, 'hope springs eternal in the human breast; man never is,' etc. (of course you know the rest). it strikes me that the height of happiness is, to hope everything and expect nothing, because you have all the satisfaction of hope, and if you get nothing you are not disappointed; but if you obtain what you want, you are agreeably surprised. your affectionate son, william j. wills. . . . flagstaff observatory, melbourne, august th, . my dear mother, i am glad to be able to acknowledge the receipt by this mail of the first letter that you have sent to me direct since i have been in melbourne. it is satisfactory to know that you are pleased with the news letters; i must endeavour to send them regularly. i had a letter from my father to-day. he has received yours, which we feared was lost, as he saw nothing of it for some days after the mail was in; but he found it at bath's hotel. one must make some little allowance for a mother's partiality in your account of b. and h.; i hope your prejudice against novels does not prevent their reading those of thackeray and dickens, every one of whose works, especially the former, should be read by them, for they contain some of the best things, both in a moral and literary point of view, that we have in the english language. i shall be more careful in future about the postage; and now, my dear mother, with love to yourself and all, i remain, your affectionate son, william j. wills. . . . flagstaff observatory, melbourne, september th, . my dear mother, i was rather disappointed at not receiving a letter from any one by the last mail. i have not heard from my father since it arrived. i conclude he has not sent me your letters to him, thinking that i have received some myself. i suppose you are all glad that the war has ended so unexpectedly. it is to be hoped that the peace will be a permanent one, although people here generally appear to think that it will not prove so. the election of members for our lower house will soon terminate. judging from the results already known, we are likely to have a curious parliament this time. our winter is nearly over. last night there was a festival held in honour of alexander von humboldt. it was unfortunately a very wet evening, which prevented a great many from attending who would otherwise have been there. i hope you are all in good health. it would have pleased you much to have seen the two splendid auroras, of which i have sent charley a description. at one time it was light enough to read a newspaper out of doors, after the moon went down. i must now say adieu. with much love to all, believe me, my dear mother, your affectionate son, william j. wills. . . . melbourne, september th, . my dear charley, i send you by this mail two accounts of auroras, which we have had the pleasure of observing here, one on the th ultimo, and the other on the nd instant. i would recommend you to take care of these papers, as you may find it very interesting to refer to them at some future period. you will perhaps be so good as to let me know by return of post whether anything of the kind was observed in england about the same time; and be careful to state the dates and hours, etc., as exactly as possible. you will find much, in the reports i have sent you, to object to, in the manner of expression and the words used; but you must make due allowance for their having been written by a german (professor neumayer). i have corrected some of the most prominent errors in the second. i wish you would look out for every description of auroras that may appear in the newspapers, as well as for the phenomena themselves. you might always cut out the paragraphs, and put them in a letter; and in the event of your seeing one yourself, you might write a description, being particular to note the time of the different phases as nearly as you can. by just taking this small amount of trouble you will be rendering a much greater service to the science of magnetism than you imagine; for one of the most important points is to establish or prove the existence of a simultaneity in the northern and southern lights. if you have yet obtained those books that i told you some time ago to get, you will find some elementary information on the subject in them, particularly in lardner's museum of science and art. i suppose i shall hear by the next mail whether you have been able to obtain for me savage's practical astronomy. i want to trouble you with another commission of the same kind, namely, to find out whether there is a translation from the german into english of professor carl kreil's introduction to magnetic observations, nd edition, vienna, . i fear you will have some trouble in getting this book for me, but it is of great importance that i should have it if possible. it may not be translated yet, but it certainly will be before long. whenever you get any catalogues of scientific books from the publishers in london, you might send them to me in a letter; or if they are too bulky, you have only to put a strip of paper round, and send it as a book, without letter or writing. the postage is sixpence for four ounces, and threepence for every two ounces more, up to three pounds, which is the greatest weight that may be sent in one parcel; its dimensions must not exceed two feet in any direction. they have just succeeded in raising the two thousand pounds here, by subscription, that was wanted towards an exploration fund, for fitting out an expedition, that will probably start for the interior of our continent next march. camels have been sent for, to be used in places where horses cannot go. you would be astonished at the number of applications that are being made by people anxious to join the expedition. nine-tenths of them would wish themselves home again before they had been out three months. give my love to the two girls, and believe me, my dear charley, your affectionate brother, william j. wills. . . . flagstaff observatory, melbourne, november th, . my dear mother, the homeward mail closes in about half an hour, so that i have very little time to write. the mail did not arrive here until a few days ago, being more than a week after time. i was glad to receive your short letter. we have had a very pleasant spring this year; not so many hot winds as usual. i have mentioned in my letter to b--that it is probable i shall be going up the country again in a few months, but that need not make any difference in the address of my letters, as professor neumayer will have the best opportunities of forwarding them to me. we have lately had a visit from dr. hochstelter, a german professor, who came out in the novara, an austrian frigate, sent by the austrian government to make a scientific tour round the world. dr. hochstelter is a geologist, and has made a geological survey of new zealand. he exhibited a few evenings ago at our philosophical institute a great number of maps which he has compiled during the short time he remained on the island, and stated many very interesting facts connected with them. from what he says, there is no place in the world, except iceland, where boiling springs and geysers are so large and plentiful. the doctor goes home by this mail, and i suppose there will soon be a good work published by him, giving a description of all he has seen. i hope to visit new zealand as soon as i return from the interior of this country. ever your affectionate son, william j. wills. . . . it will be perceived by the foregoing letters how diligently and anxiously he corresponded with his mother, sisters, and brother in england, and how anxiously he desired the mental improvement of the latter. in his next communications he prepares them for the probability of his being one of the exploring party. yet he wrote on the subject as he had done to me, with reserve, until the matter should be finally settled. he knew the anxiety it would occasion, and in the event of his not obtaining the appointment he so earnestly sought for, he wished to avoid creating that anxiety unnecessarily. the same mail which bore his letter of the th of november to his mother, carried also the following to his sister: my dear bessy, i do not mean to bother you with such a long letter this time as i did last month, and which i hope reached you. i rather expected to have received the photograph i wrote to you for by the last mail. i wish you would indite some good long letters by return of post, as it will probably be the last, or very nearly so, that i shall get from you for many months. it seems very likely that i shall be leaving melbourne in march, to accompany the expedition for the exploration of the interior of this continent. it is calculated that we shall be away for about three years. it may be more, but it is not likely to be much less. it is not yet certain that i shall go. in fact, nothing is decided, not even who will be the leader; but i thought it would be as well to mention it to you now, as your answer to this cannot reach me until march. but remember that my going away need not prevent your writing frequently; for it is likely there will be occasional means of communication with melbourne for the first six months, and professor neumayer will take every opportunity of forwarding my letters. it is quite possible that i may not go, but it is more likely that i shall, as professor n. is very anxious that i should, to make magnetic and meteorological observations, and he is on the exploration committee. if you have not been able to get the books i wrote for, for myself, you may as well leave them for the present. i have been indulging greatly in operas lately. i can understand that sort of music better than high-flown oratorios. the operatic company at the theatre royal is not first-rate, but as good as we can expect to have in a new colony like this. the pieces they have given are il trovatore, lucia di lammermoor, lucrezia borgia, and la sonnambula; the latter is a delightful one, but they cannot manage it satisfactorily, some of the songs are so difficult of execution. please to give my love, etc., etc. your affectionate brother, william j. wills. . . . the following reply to his mother alludes to the circumstance, which she had mentioned, of an aurora borealis, having appeared in england. this completes his letters for . flagstaff observatory, december th, . my dear mother, your letter of the th of october arrived here by the columbian only three or four days after time, which is a wonderful piece of punctuality for that miserable old tub. i am glad that you were so much pleased with the sketch of the observatory that i sent you. i now forward a photograph made by a friend of mine, which will convey a better idea than the other of the appearance of our habitation, etc. you will find an explanation of the various parts of the picture written in pencil on the back of each respectively. you had better have it mounted on a piece of cardboard by some one who is accustomed to mounting photographs; when nicely done it looks twice as well. it was intended that we should all have been taken in this picture, but owing to some mismanagement, no notice was given, so no one was outside at the time. your remarks about the aurora borealis of the th of october were very interesting and valuable. we knew that there was an aurora there, but of course could not tell where it was visible. you little thought that while you were looking at the vibrations of those beautiful streamers of red and white light, i was watching sympathetic oscillations of little steel magnets, which we suspended by silk threads, in the underground magnetic house that you see the top of in the foreground of the picture. the magnets were sometimes moving about so rapidly that i could scarcely read them; and although the aurora was with you nearly at an end probably about ten o'clock, yet the magnets did not resume their normal position for nearly twenty-four hours after. you will see from this the advantage to be derived from noting all particulars with regard to these phenomena, whenever one has an opportunity of seeing them; for we must always consider the possibility of their not being visible at places where there are observatories, on account of clouds and other causes. one great point that has yet to be satisfactorily determined is, whether the effect on a magnet at one end of the world is simultaneous with the auroral discharge at the other; or whether a certain time is required for the effect to be communicated through the earth. i had a letter from my father yesterday, enclosing the one you sent him. by-the-by, this day week is christmas-day; and, if i am not mistaken, your birthday as well as hannah's is near about this time. she must be thirteen or fourteen; but, upon my honour, i do not certainly know my own age. was i born in january or ? i wish you all may have a merry christmas and many returns of the same. please to give my love as usual, and believe me, my dear mother, your affectionate son, william j. wills. chapter . postponement of the exploring expedition projected at the beginning of . my son's letter to his sister on going into society. mr. birnie's opinion of him, and extract from his lecture. letter from william to his mother on religious views and definitions of faith. his last communications to his family at home, before the departure of the expedition. i omit my son's letters of january and february, , as they contain nothing on scientific matters, or on the subject of australia, although interesting in other respects. they mark the habitual tone of his feelings and principles, his constant habit of self-examination, his study of his fellow-men, and how strongly he was impressed with the truth of pope's grand conclusion, that "virtue alone is happiness below." "you will be glad to learn," he says, writing to his mother on the th of march, "that the exploring expedition is postponed for six months, for want of a suitable leader, as none of the candidates who offered their services were thought qualified in a scientific point of view. [footnote: oddly enough, mr. burke, who was afterwards chosen, with many requisites of a high order, was deficient in this, which, indeed, he never for a moment pretended to possess.] you need not work yourself up to such a state of excitement at the bare idea of my going, but should rather rejoice that the opportunity presents itself. the actual danger is nothing, and the positive advantages very great. besides, my dear mother, what avails your faith if you terrify yourself about such trifles? were we born, think you, to be locked up in comfortable rooms, and never to incur the hazard of a mishap? if things were at the worst, i trust i could meet death with as much resignation as others, even if it came to-night. i am often disgusted at hearing young people i know, declare that they are afraid of doing this or that, because they might be killed. were i in some of their shoes i should be glad to hail the chance of departing this life fairly in the execution of an honourable duty." the following selections from his numerous letters at this time are little more than extracts, and form but a small portion of the whole. all speak his admiration of a great and beneficent creator, derived from the study of his works. he had a great distaste for sectarianism, and for a too slavish devotion to forms and conventionalities, whether in religious or social practice, fearing lest these extremes might savour of untruthfulness or hypocrisy. magnetic observatory, melbourne, april th, . my dear bessy, the mail was to have closed to-morrow, but the emeu has met with an accident which will delay it for another week, so that i hope to treat you to a long letter. i was much disappointed at receiving nothing from you this month. it would be a first-rate plan to do what a friend of mine was recommending to me only this evening, namely to commence an epistle at the beginning of each month, and add a little daily, adopting as your motto the latin proverb, "nulla dies sine linea," which means, no day without a line. you might at least favour me with a few monthly. it would be as much for your own benefit as for my pleasure. pray don't send a poor excuse again about waiting for an answer to a former letter. i must now return to the subject of my last. i hope you have carefully considered the remarks contained therein; and i wish to draw your attention to other matters not so immediately connected with religion, but which may seriously affect your prosperity and happiness in this world. i fear that mamma is too much inclined to discourage your going into society. if so, with all due deference to my dear mother's experience and judgment, she has adopted a mistaken view. you will perhaps say, you do not care for society. so much the worse; that proves the evil of seclusion. i had the same ideas once, and greatly to my disadvantage in a general sense, although in one point they may have been beneficial, by making me devote more time to my studies. but i am doubtful even about that. at any rate, girls are differently situated. having no need of deep scientific knowledge, their education is confined more to the ordinary things of the world, the study of the fine arts, and of the manners and dispositions of people. it is often asserted that women are much sharper than men in estimating character. whether that be the case or not, is more than i can say, but i think it ought to be, because women have better opportunities and more leisure than we have for noticing little peculiarities and the natural expression of the features. now, my advice would be, to go as much as you can into quiet, good society, and moderately into gay; not to make it the business of life, as some do, who care for little beyond frivolous amusements, and that merely for the sake of killing time. but go to these places, even if you do not like them, as a duty you owe to yourself and others, even as you used to go to school, when you would rather have remained at home. you should cultivate, as much as possible, the acquaintance of ladies from other parts of the country, especially of those who have travelled much. this is the best way of rubbing off provincialisms, etc. perhaps you think you have none; nevertheless i shall be prepared for some whenever i have the felicity of seeing you. you cannot think how disagreeable the sound of the devonshire drawl is to me now, and all people of the county that i meet have it more or less. you will, no doubt, wonder how i have become so changed, and what has induced me to adopt social views so different from those i formerly held. the fact is, that since i have been here, i have been thrown into every variety of companionship, from the highest to the lowest, from the educated gentleman and scholar to the uncultivated boor. the first effect was, a disposition to admire the freedom and bluntness of the uncivilized; but more personal experience showed me the dark as well as the bright side, and brought out in their due prominence the advantages of the conventionalities of good society. while in the bush, this conviction only impressed itself partially, but a return to town extended and confirmed it. when we are in daily contact and intercourse with an immense number of persons, some of whom we like, while we dislike or feel indifferent about many others, we find a difficulty in avoiding one man's acquaintance without offending him, or of keeping another at a distance without an insult. it is not easy to treat your superiors with respect void of sycophancy, or to be friendly with those you prefer, and at the same time to steer clear of undue familiarity, adapting yourself to circumstances and persons, and, in fact, doing always the right thing at the proper time and in the best possible manner. i used to be rather proud of saying that it was necessary for strangers to know me for some time before they liked me. i am almost ashamed now not to have had sense enough to see that this arose from sheer awkwardness and stupidity on my part; from the absence of address, and a careless disregard of the rules of society, which necessarily induce a want of self-confidence, a bashful reserve, annoying to sensible people and certainly not compensated for by the possession of substantial acquirements, hidden, but not developed, and unavailable when wanted. i find now that i can get into the good graces of any one with whom i associate better in half an hour than i could have done in a week two years ago. i know no one who puts these matters in a better light than lord chesterfield in his letters to his son, which you most probably have read. since i wrote to you last, i have received some light on the subject of faith, which i was not at that time aware of. in a discussion with a gentleman on religious matters, some remarks were made upon faith and charity, which led to an analysis of the original greek word used to express the former by st. paul, which has been translated "faith," and is generally accepted in the ordinary sense we attach to that word in english; namely, an implicit trust in what you are told, without question or doubt. but this friend of mine, who is a splendid greek scholar, called my attention to the fact that the greek word, for which we have no exact equivalent, means an openness to conviction, or a willingness to receive after proper proof; not a determination to believe without investigation. he also pointed out to me what i was less prepared to hear, that the charity spoken of does not mean, as i supposed it to express, conscientiousness, but love and good fellowship, in action and speech; in fact, more in accordance with the sense in which the word is commonly understood. this will show you the evil of coming to conclusions on insufficient data. depend upon it, you must always hear both sides of a story before you can get at the truth. i am going out to dinner this evening expressly to meet two of the finest girls in melbourne. some of my cautious friends say that i am running a great risk, and that i shall never recover from the effects. i cannot say that i feel much frightened. if anything serious should happen, and the consequences are not immediately fatal, i shall add a few lines to-morrow. look sharp about photographs. i begin to suspect you are ashamed to show your faces in this remote region. give my love to h., c., etc., and accept the same from your ever affectionate brother, william j. wills. p.s. th.--the elements interposed to save me from the danger i wilfully determined not to avoid. it rained so heavily last evening that the syrens stayed at home. . . . in the month of may , i went to melbourne for a few days, and spent many pleasant hours with my son. i found him contented and happy. his appointment to the exploring expedition, so long the yearning desire of his heart, he appeared to consider as a fait accompli. he was in comfortable lodgings, and had established an intimacy with a gentleman of superior literary acquirements, personally acquainted with many london celebrities of our day. i remember the delight with which he came to my hotel and said: "you must dine with me to-day; i want to introduce you to a person you will much like. his greatest fault is one you possess yourself, a turn for satire, which sometimes makes him enemies." on the same morning he had announced to his friend with beaming eyes, "my father is here;" and when the next day that same friend wished to engage him to an evening party, he replied: "you forget that i have a wild young father to take care of." alluding again to this, in a letter to his mother, on the th of may, he says: "you must excuse a brief epistle this time. the doctor has been in town for a few days lately, and of course seduced me into all sorts of wild habits. he is looking well, in good condition, but not so fat as he was two years ago." at that time i had been living very frequently on little more than one hard egg per day. milk and coffee in the morning, and half a pound of meat twice a week. in another letter to his mother, shortly after the above date, he says: "i have not heard from my father for the last fortnight. i am in very good lodgings, at a boarding-house, not working hard, and have time to cultivate some agreeable society. the landlady is all that can be desired and more than could be expected--the company far above the average. there is mr. b., a barrister and cambridge man, first rate; and a nice old lady, mrs. f., very intelligent and good-natured. we three are great friends. taking it altogether, the house is so comfortable, that i did not go to the theatre once last month." the mutual good opinion may be estimated by the following introduction from the gentleman alluded to above, to the colonial secretary at perth, in the event of his explorations leading my son to western australia: "i pray your hospitality for mr. w. j. wills, for whom i have a very high esteem and friendship. he makes me happy beyond flattery by permitting me to think that i add something to his life. you cannot fail to like him. he is a thorough englishman, self-relying and self-contained; a well-bred gentleman without a jot of effeminacy. plucky as a mastiff, high-blooded as a racer, enterprising but reflective, cool, keen, and as composed as daring. few men talk less; few by manner and conduct suggest more. one fault you will pardon, a tendency to overrate the writer of this letter." this gentleman, mr. birnie, is a son of the late sir richard birnie, so long an eminent police magistrate in london. at the close of a lecture which he gave at ballaarat on the th of may, , subsequent to the disastrous intelligence of my son's death, he introduced the following remarks, as reported in a colonial paper:-- if amusement and gravity might be held compatible, they would bear with him in pronouncing the name of william john wills. (cheers.) the lecturer, when first in melbourne, lived at a boarding-house, and there he met wills. their friendship soon grew and strengthened, in spite of the difference of their ages. of the man as a public explorer, everybody knew as well as he did. professor neumayer said that wills's passion for astronomy was astonishing, and that his nights were consumed in the study. yet his days also were spent in enlarging his literary attainments. but with all this labour, wills never disregarded the commoner duties and virtues of life. even at the breakfast-table he was as neat and clean as a woman. at the ball, of which he was as fond as a child, he was scrupulously temperate, and in speech pure as a lady. wills read sharon turner, hazlitt, pope, wordsworth, tennyson, and commented on all. of tennyson's in memoriam he said it was wonderful for its frequent bordering on faults without ever reaching them. he was a student of literature as well as of astronomy and science. much intercourse they had had, and when the lecturer heard of his death he felt glad that nothing existed for recrimination or self condemnation. wills was a great admirer of shakespeare, and his remarks on that author were original and striking. this tribute the lecturer would lay upon his friend's bust, and humble though the offering was he felt it would be accepted. the lecturer with much feeling concluded a peroration of eloquent eulogy upon his deceased friend, amid the loud and prolonged applause of the audience, who had cheered him at frequent intervals throughout the whole of his discourse. mr. mcdowall moved a vote of thanks to the lecturer, seconded by mr. dimant, both gentlemen highly complimenting mr. birnie for his kindness in giving his services on the occasion. the vote was carried by acclamation, and mr. birnie, in acknowledging it, implored the audience not to let the movement die away. the proposed monument could not be too good for the fame of the heroic explorers, and particularly as commemorating the patient, pious, unselfish manliness of wills to the latest moment of his life. (cheers.) the proceedings then closed. . . . in his ordinary letters to me, and in his journals of the expedition, which he knew were likely to become public documents, my son seldom or never touched upon the all-important subject of religion. this has given rise to an opinion broadly hinted in australia by some, and of course believed by more, that he was either a sceptic or a downright infidel. nothing could be further from the truth. his mother's love had instructed him early and zealously in the doctrines of christianity, and prepared his mind for a conviction of their divine truth when he reached an age which would enable him to exercise his own judgment. as i have already mentioned, even in childhood he had an inquiring mind and a disposition to take nothing for granted without investigation. hence the questions which sometimes surprised and puzzled his instructress. the tendency grew with his growth, and displayed itself in his mode of dealing with every branch of knowledge comprised in his education. if a new fact in science or an improvement in a mathematical or surgical instrument came under his observation, he closely examined their bearing and use before he adopted them or subscribed to their truth or utility. those who question before they believe are not unfrequently pronounced unbelievers because they question; an inverted mode of reasoning equally uncharitable and illogical. my son had an undisguised dislike to any ostentatious display of religious sentiment and phraseology, particularly on the part of those who were not teachers by calling. he sometimes suspected more cant than sincerity in the practice, and thought these matters better suited for inward communication between man and his maker than for public exhibition on common occasions. with my wife's permission i insert the following letter, now for the first time placed in my hands:-- flagstaff observatory, melbourne, june th, . my dear mother, the mail arrived here only two or three days ago, being nearly a fortnight behind time. i have received your letter of the th of april, and one from bessy. your endeavours to show that my remarks on religion were wrong, have tended to convince me more clearly that i was right, and that you, partially at least, misunderstood what i said. i did not charge you with being openly uncharitable or of plainly condemning any one; nor do i blame you for believing you are right. we all think we are right, or we should not believe as we do. but i do blame those who pronounce everybody wrong but themselves; for as far as we can judge, one may be as near the truth as another. how often we hear very religious people, compassionately remarking upon a neighbour's death: "ah, poor dear fellow, he was such a good sort of man! i hope and trust he died in the faith!" meaning, of course, their own peculiar tenets, and obliquely implying that, in spite of all his estimable qualities, they have great doubts of his salvation. for my part, i consider this as bad as the outspoken uncharitableness of bigots and persecutors in the olden days. the inference may be true, but it is not we who have a right to think, much less to utter it. but i must now come to the more precise point on which we differ--the meaning of a single expression, which i think i have named in a former letter. i allude to the word faith, which, as i was always taught to interpret it, appeared to my apprehension analogous to credulity, or a blind belief without question;--an explanation which went against my conscience and conviction whenever it occurred to me from time to time. as i grew older i felt it to be wrong, although i was not sufficiently informed to explain it differently. what perplexed me was that st. paul should advocate such a servile submission of the intellectual faculties which god has bestowed upon man; such an apparent degradation of the human mind to the level of the lower creation as to call upon us to lay aside our peculiar attributes of reason, common sense, and reflection, and to receive without inquiry any doctrine that may be offered to us. on this principle, we should be as likely to believe in the impostor as in the true saint, and having yielded up our birthright of judgment, become incapable of distinguishing between them. i have thought much on the subject with the assistance of better authorities and scholars than myself, and will now endeavour to explain what i consider st. paul meant by faith, or rather by the greek word piotis, which has been so translated. after you have read my explanation, and carefully examined your own mind, will it be too much to expect an admission that of the three great elements of christianity, faith, hope, and charity, you have hitherto had more of hope than of the other two? the greek word used by st. paul signifies something more than faith, or implicit belief, as many render it. it means a self-reliant confidence arising from conviction after investigation and study--the faith that paley advocates when he says, "he that never doubted never half believed." it implies, in the first place, an unprejudiced mind, an openness to conviction, and a readiness to receive instruction; and then a desire to judge for ourselves. this must be followed by a patient investigation of evidence pro and con, an impartial summing up, and a conclusion fairly and confidently deduced. if we are thus convinced, then we have acquired faith--a real, unshakeable faith, for we have carefully examined the title deeds and know that they are sound. you will surely see that faith in this sense, and credulity, a belief without inquiry, are the very reverse of each other, and how much superior is the former to the latter. credulity is a mere feather, liable to be blown about with every veering wind of doctrine. faith, as st. paul means it, is as firm as a castle on a rock, where the foundations have been carefully examined and tested, before the building was proceeded with. in collateral evidence of what i have just said, i may instance the often-repeated injunction to accept things as little children; which cannot mean with the ignorance and helpless submission of infancy, but with minds free from bigotry, bias, or prejudice, like those of little children, and with an inclination, like them, to receive instruction. at what period of life do any of us learn so rapidly and eagerly as in childhood? we acquire new ideas every time we open our eyes; we are ever attracted by something we have not observed before; every moment adds to our knowledge. if you give a child something to eat it has not been accustomed to, does it swallow it at once without examination? does it not rather look at, smell, feel, and then taste it? and if disagreeable, will it eat merely because the new food was given to it for that purpose? on the contrary, it is more inclined to reject the gift until influenced by your eating some yourself, or by other modes of persuasion. let us then, in like manner, examine all that is offered to our belief, and test it by the faculties with which the great god has endowed us. these rare senses and powers of reasoning were given to be used freely, but not audaciously, to discover, not to pervert the truth. why were so many things presented as through a veil, unless to stimulate our efforts to clear away the veil, and penetrate to the light? i think it is plain that st. paul, while he calls upon us to believe, never intended that we should be passively credulous. [footnote: my son might have further enforced his view by a passage from st. paul, thessalonians, chapter verse , had it occurred to him: "prove all things; hold fast that which is good." by this the apostle implies, according to archbishop secker's commentary, all things which may be right or wrong according to conscience. and by "proving them" he means, not that we should try them by experience, which would be an absurd and pernicious direction, but that we should examine them by our faculty of judgment, which is a wise and useful exhortation.] credulity was one of the most prominent engines of the romish church, but there was a trace of sense in their application of it. they taught that the ignorant and uneducated should have faith in the doctrines introduced to them by their betters, and those who had found time to investigate the matter; but some, in the present day, support the monstrous delusion that enlightened and well-trained intellects, the most glorious of all the earthly gifts of god, should bow to canting and illiterate fanaticism. . . adieu for the present, my dear mother, and believe me ever your affectionate, and i hope unbigoted son, w.j. wills. . . . this letter was the last but two he ever addressed to his mother, and i have not transcribed the whole. it is long and discursive, considering how much he had on his hands at that time, and how completely he was occupied with the pending expedition. in his next he refers to some apprehensions expressed by maternal solicitude that his religious convictions might be altered by a friend who entertained extremely different views. "i intended, my dear mother," he says, "to have replied at length to one of the remarks in your last, but i fear i must be very brief. your idea that i am influenced by--'s notions of religion is amusingly erroneous. i never imagined that i could have written anything to warrant such an impression; but it shows how careful we should be to make clear statements so as to avoid being misunderstood. mr.--'s religion is to my mind supremely ridiculous; i can only find two points in its favour, namely, its charity and moral principles. but these, although admirable in themselves, do not go far towards proving the truth of the theological notions entertained by its adherents. i can assure you that such ideas of religion are quite as far removed from mine as yours can be." his final letter announces the certainty of his being about to start on the enterprise so long projected. he had hitherto withheld the fact, from a wish not to distress his mother unnecessarily while there was a chance that any unforeseen obstacle might create further delay. flagstaff observatory, melbourne, july th, . my dear mother, i am glad to be able to inform you of a matter that you perhaps will not much like, although i do not know why you should object to it. it is that we expect to start on this exploration trip in a few weeks. you will find some particulars on the subject in the argus that i have sent to charles. i fancy we shall not be away so long as was at first intended; probably not more than twelve or eighteen months. i anticipate being able to send you a letter sometimes, as well as to receive yours to me, as they propose keeping up a communication with cooper's creek. professor neumayer will probably accompany us as far as the darling river, taking an opportunity, at the same time, to prosecute the magnetic survey. this will make matters very pleasant, as well as being of great advantage to me in many respects. we shall be travelling through the country in the most favourable and pleasant season, when there is plenty of water, and everything fresh and green. it will take us about two months to get to cooper's creek. i do not give up my position in the observatory, having obtained leave of absence for the time during which we may be engaged in the exploration. i am sorry i cannot give you more particulars respecting our projected tour, but you will hear enough about it by-and-by. i received a letter from my father a day or two since, in which he speaks of coming down before i start. i do not expect to have time to go to ballaarat before we leave. i sent you by the last mail one or two small photographs of myself, and a locket for bessy, which she asked me for some time ago. i hope they arrived safely. there was also a photograph of my father on paper. i have to thank some one, name unknown, for the totnes papers that i received by the last mail. they appear to be well edited, and are decidedly a credit to the town. i had heard of the paper before, but did not expect to find it so good as it is. i suppose you have had a favourable view of the comet that has made its appearance lately. it was visible here for about a week: at first it was of a good size, but being so low down in the west, at sunset it could only be seen for a short time, and then it was comparatively dim, owing to the twilight. since then it has rapidly disappeared, moving in an east-south-easterly direction. with you it was probably very fine. with kind love, etc., etc., believe me, my dear mother, your affectionate son, william j. wills. chapter . the expedition. how the expedition originated. appointment of the leader, officers, and party. mr. robert o'hara burke, mr. g.j. landells, mr. w.j. wills, dr. herman beckler, dr. ludwig becker, etc. the expedition starts from melbourne on the th of august, . progress to swan hill. discharge of mr. ferguson, the foreman. advance to menindie. resignation of mr. landells and dr. herman beckler. mr. wills promoted to second in command, and mr. wright to third. the exploring expedition of originated thus. a gentleman, whose name is still concealed, offered one thousand pounds as an inducement to the government and other parties to come forward and raise funds for an exploration of the island continent, now known as australia, but formerly as new holland; the vast interior of which had been supposed to be a desert, an inland sea, or anything that a poetical imagination might suggest. attempts had been made, but always with insufficient means, and on too contracted a scale, to solve the problem. it was now for victoria to take up the question in earnest. the pounds of the unknown contributor, increased to pounds by private subscriptions, with pounds voted by the colonial legislature, supplied in all a sum of above pounds for the prosecution of this great national enterprise. let victoria, then, receive the honour so justly her due, for an undertaking only on a par with her characteristic spirit of advancement. any stranger who visits melbourne, a place but of yesterday, must be struck by the magnificent scale and number of the public buildings. let him look at the churches, library, house of parliament, university and museum, railways and parks, banks, hotels, theatres, botanical gardens, [footnote: under the charge of that noble father of industry, dr. mueller.] etc., and then call to mind that all this is the growth of less than a quarter of a century, and that the existence of the colony dates from a period subsequent to the accession of our beloved queen. the arrangements for the expedition were in progress from to , under mr. o'shannassy, a man far above the common order, who now fills the superior office of chief colonial secretary. he entered into the object with his own peculiar zeal. on his personal responsibility, mr. landells, who figures in this narrative, as also in a preceding one, with little credit, was despatched to india to procure camels, those ships of the desert, whose aid in traversing the unknown interior was expected to prove invaluable. "the camels are come!" was the cry when these new and interesting immigrants made their first appearance in melbourne. all the people were en the qui vive. "what was to be done next? who was to be the leader? when would the party start?" mr. nicholson had by this time taken the place of mr. o'shannassy, and he hit on the unfortunate expedient of delegating to the royal society of melbourne the direction of this important expedition. i say unfortunate, because, by this arrangement, the opinions to be consulted were too numerous to expect unanimity. it is true they elected a special committee, which included some who were well qualified for the duty, and others who were less so; but, good or bad, the old adage of "too many cooks" was verified in this instance. had they all been excellent judges, the course was still objectionable, as divided responsibility falls on no one. the first point to be settled was the choice of a leader. meeting after meeting was held, and i must do them the justice to say that, on the whole, no thoroughly unexceptionable candidate offered himself. the necessary combination of physical and scientific requisites was not readily found. the question therefore fell into abeyance for a time on that account. but at length, and after a considerable delay, robert o'hara burke, esquire, police inspector at the beechworth district, and afterwards at castlemaine, was appointed to the post. he was in his fortieth year, experienced, active, and well-connected, of one of the old galway families, and had held a commission as lieutenant in the austrian army; on quitting which service, he procured an appointment in the irish constabulary. there he was so beloved by his men, that several resigned when he left for australia and accompanied him, in the hope of still serving under their favourite commander. he was a brave and true man, covetous of honour, but careless of profit; one who would have sought reputation "even in the cannon's mouth." with his name that of my poor son is indelibly conjoined. from all i have since collected from king, their only surviving companion, mr. burke loved my son as a brother; and william, writing of him, says: "the more i see of mr. burke the more i like him;" and he wrote with caution, adopted no hasty opinions, and seldom changed them when once formed. mr. burke's appointment called forth discussions and strong comments in the melbourne papers. gentlemen who considered their own qualifications as superior to his, and their friends who thought with them, expressed their opinions with more ardour than justice or delicacy in their respective organs. the committee of management, selected originally from the "royal society of melbourne," now became united to another body called "the exploration fund committee." the board comprised the following members:--chairman, the honourable sir william stawell, one of the justices of victoria; vice-chairman, the honourable john hodgson, m.l.c.; treasurer, the honourable dr. wilkie; secretary, the honourable dr. macadam; dr. embling;--ligar, esquire, surveyor general; james smith, esquire; professor mccoy; dr. mckenna; professor neumayer; sizar elliott, esquire; dr. mueller; dr. iffla; captain cadell; angus mcmillan, esquire; a. selwyn, esquire; john watson, esquire; reverend mr. blensdale; dr. eades; dr. gilbee, deputy-surveyor; and--hodgkinson, esquire the commander being appointed, the next step was to name the second. this choice, by a sad mistake, fell on mr. g.j. landells, who owed his preferment to the circumstance of his having been employed to bring the camels from india. his services, therefore, were considered indispensable for their management in australia. having convinced the committee of this, he demanded a salary considerably exceeding that of the leader, or refused to go. when mr. burke found that this point was to be discussed at the next meeting, he, with his usual high and liberal spirit, requested that no obstacle might be raised on that account. we shall presently see how mr. landells repaid his leader, and proved himself worthy of this disinterestedness. my son tendered his services as astronomer and guide, not at the moment thinking of or desiring any distinct post of command, his object being exclusively scientific. he had been for some time assistant to professor neumayer at the magnetic observatory, was a seasoned bushman, with great powers of endurance, and felt that he could discharge the duties he wished to undertake. he was not aware, until i informed him on his going into the society's room to sign the contract, that any command had been allotted to him, neither did he stipulate for salary; but in consequence of dr. ludwig becker demanding an advance of pay, on the sum first fixed, my son's was raised from to pounds per annum. the next appointments were dr. ludwig becker, as naturalist and artist, and dr. herman beckler as botanist and medical adviser to the expedition. these were scarcely more fortunate than that of mr. landells. the first named of these gentlemen was physically deficient, advanced in years, and his mode of life in melbourne had not been such as to make up for his want of youth. i do not mean to imply by this that he indulged in irregular or dissipated habits. he possessed a happy gift of delineating natural objects with the pencil, but died before passing the boundaries of civilization, from causes unconnected with want or fatigue. dr. herman beckler, who has since returned to his native country, was neither a man of courage, energy, nor of medical experience. he resigned when mr. landells did, and, as will be seen, for a very poor reason. his place should have been immediately supplied; for had any one worth a straw been sent, by his position he must have been third in command instead of wright, a more ignorant being than whom could not have been extracted from the bush. he was scarcely able to write his name. the following is a copy of the memorandum of agreement, to which all the members of the exploration party attached their signatures: -- memorandum of agreement, made the eighteenth day of august, in the year of our lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty, between the honourable david elliott wilkie, as treasurer of the exploration committee of the royal society, melbourne, of the one part, and the several other persons whose names are hereto subscribed, of the other part. the said persons forming an expedition about to explore the interior of australia under robert o'hara burke, hereby agree with the said david elliott wilkie faithfully to discharge the special duties described opposite to their respective names, and also generally to perform whatever in the opinion of the said robert o'hara burke, as leader, or in the event of his death, in the opinion of the leader for the time being, may be necessary to promote the success of the expedition: and they hereby further agree to place themselves unreservedly under the orders of the leader, recognising george james landells as second; and william john wills as third; and their right of succession in the order thus stated. in consideration of the above services being efficiently discharged, the said david elliott wilkie, as treasurer, and on behalf of the said committee, hereby agrees to pay the said persons the salaries, at the respective rates set opposite their names; such salaries to be paid by monthly instalments, not exceeding one-half the amount then due, on a certificate from the leader that the services have been efficiently performed up to the date; and the remainder on and rateably up to the day of the return of the expedition to melbourne, and no more. and each of the said persons hereby lastly agrees, on failure on his part fully to perform this agreement, that his salary shall be forfeited, and that he shall abide all consequences, the power of discharge vesting with the leader, and the power of dismissal and forfeiture of salary resting on the recommendation of the leader with the said david elliott wilkie, acting with the consent of the said committee. in witness whereof the said parties have hereunto set their hands the day and year above written. george james landells--in charge of camels, second in command. william john wills--as surveyor and astronomical observer, third in command. herman beckler--medical officer and botanist. ludwig becker--artist, naturalist, and geologist. charles j. ferguson--foreman. thomas f. mcdonagh--assistant. william paton--assistant. patrick langan--assistant. owen cowan--assistant. william brake--assistant. robert fletcher--assistant. john king--assistant. henry creher--assistant. john dickford--assistant. and three sepoys. signed by all the above in the presence of john macadam, m.d. robert dickson. monday, the th of august, , will be a memorable day in the annals of melbourne, as recording the commencement of the expedition. it was not a false start but a bona-fide departure. nearly the whole population suspended ordinary business and turned out to witness the imposing spectacle. the camels were a great attraction. the melbourne herald of the st gave the annexed description of the proceedings:-- tom campbell, in a tender moment, sang a sweet hymn to a "name unknown," and many an ardent youth in and since his time, has borrowed inspiration from the dulcet numbers of the familiar bard, and allowed his imagination to run riot in "castle-building" upon this simple theme. had we the poet's gift, our enthusiasm might, doubtless, prompt us to extol in more lofty strain the praises of the "great unknown"--the donor of the handsome instalment of one thousand pounds towards the organization of an expedition to explore the terra incognita of interior australia. but in the absence of the favour of the muses, dull prose must serve the purpose we have in view. if the "unknown" were present yesterday in the royal park, his heart must have leaped for very joy, as did with one accord the hearts of the "ten thousand" or more of our good citizens, who there assembled to witness the departure of the exploring expedition. never have we seen such a manifestation of heartfelt interest in any public undertaking of the kind as on this occasion. the oldest dwellers in australia have experienced nothing to equal it. at an early hour crowds of eager holiday folks, pedestrian and equestrian, were to be seen hieing along the dusty ways to the pleasant glades and umbrageous shade (a warm breeze; the first of the season, was blowing from the north-east) of the royal park. a busy scene was there presented. men, horses, camels, drays, and goods, were scattered here and there amongst the tents, in the sheds, and on the greensward, in picturesque confusion;--everything premised a departure--the caravansery was to be deserted. hour after hour passed in the preparations for starting. by-and-by, however, the drays were loaded--though not before a burden of three hundred-weight for each camel at starting was objected to, and extra vehicles had to be procured--the horses and the camels were securely packed, and their loads properly adjusted. artists, reporters, and favoured visitors were all the time hurrying and scurrying hither and thither to sketch this, to take a note of that, and to ask a question concerning t'other. it is needless to say, that occasionally ludicrous replies were given to serious questions, and in the bustle of hurried arrangements, some very amusing contretemps occurred. one of the most laughable was the breaking loose of a cantankerous camel, and the startling and upsetting in the "scatter" of a popular limb of the law. the gentleman referred to is of large mould, and until we saw his tumbling feat yesterday, we had no idea that he was such a sprightly gymnast. his down-going and up-rising were greeted with shouts of laughter, in which he good-naturedly joined. the erring camel went helter-skelter through the crowd, and was not secured until he showed to admiration how speedily can go "the ship of the desert." it was exactly a quarter to four o'clock when the expedition got into marching order. a lane was opened through the crowd, and in this the line was formed; mr. burke on his pretty little grey at the head. the exploration committee of the royal society, together with a distinguished circle of visitors, amongst whom were several of our most respectable colonists and their families, took up a position in front. the mayor of melbourne then mounted one of the drays, and said: mr. burke--i am fully aware that the grand assemblage, this day, while it has impeded your movements in starting, is at the same time a source of much gratification to you. it assures you of the most sincere sympathy of the citizens. (hear, hear.) i will not detain you; but for this great crowd, and on behalf of the colony at large, i say--god speed, you! (cheers.) his worship then called for "three cheers for mr. burke," "three cheers for mr. landells," and "three cheers for the party itself," which, it is needless to say, were responded to with all the energy and enthusiasm that are the characteristics of popular assemblages. he then concluded with again saying, "god speed and bless you!" mr. burke (uncovered) said, in a clear earnest voice that was heard all over the crowd: mr. mayor,--on behalf of myself and the expedition i beg to return you my most sincere thanks. no expedition has ever started under such favourable circumstances as this. the people, the government, the committee--all have done heartily what they could do. it is now our turn; and we shall never do well till we justify what you have done in showing what we can do. (cheers.) the party at once got into motion. following the leader were several pack horses, led by some of the assistants on foot. then came mr. landells, on a camel, next dr. becker, similarly mounted, and these were succeeded by two european assistants, riding on camels--one leading the ambulance camel, and the other leading two animals loaded with provisions. sepoys on foot led the remainder of the camels, four and five in hand, variously loaded, and the caravan was closed by one mounted sepoy. altogether twenty-seven camels go with the expedition. two new waggons, heavily loaded, followed at a good distance. these were built expressly for the expedition, and one of them is so constructed, that at a very short notice it can be taken off the wheels, and put to all the uses of a river punt, carrying an immense load high and dry on the water. if it be necessary to swim the camels, air bags are provided to be lashed under their jowls, so as to keep their heads clear when crossing deep streams. two or three hired waggons and one of the new ones, were detained in the park till nearly dusk, in charge of the astronomer, mr. w.j. wills, and the foreman, who had to look to the careful packing of instruments, specimen cases, etc. the hired waggons will proceed as far as swan hill only. issuing from the south gate of the park, the party went down behind the manure depot, and thence on to the sydney road, and the whole camped last night near the village of essendon. . . . the first day's march scarcely exceeded seven miles, the camping ground for the night being on an open space of greensward near the church at essendon. here i saw my son for the last time. it was with a feeling of great misgiving that i took leave of him. on shaking hands with mr. burke, i said frankly, "if it were in my power, i would even now prevent his going." i then added, "if he knew what i am about to say, he would not, i think, be well pleased; but if you ever happen to want my son's advice or opinion, you must ask it, for he will not offer it unasked. no matter what course you may adopt, he will follow without remonstrance or murmur." mr. burke shook me warmly by the hand in return, and replied: "there is nothing you can say will raise him higher in my estimation than he stands at present; i will do as you desire." there were some photographers present to take likenesses. my son refused to be taken. "should it ever be worth while," he said, "my father has an excellent one, which you can copy from." alas! it has been copied very often since. the progress of the party was slow through the enclosed districts, until they reached swan hill on the murray, which, properly speaking, is the northern boundary of the colony of victoria. my son's first letter was dated august th. my dear father, we are now at the mia-mia, lying between mcivor and castlemaine (a roadside public-house). we are all right enough, except as regards cleanliness, and everything has gone well, barring the necessary break-downs, and wet weather. we have to travel slowly, on account of the camels. i suppose professor neumayer will overtake us in a day or two. i have been agreeably disappointed in my idea of the camels. they are far from unpleasant to ride; in fact, it is much less fatiguing than riding on horseback, and even with the little practice i have yet had, i find it shakes me less. i shall write to you from swan hill, if not before. your affectionate son, william j. wills. . . . from terrick terrick, he writes, on the st of august, to his friend mr. byerly: "riding on camels is a much more pleasant process than i anticipated, and for my work i find it much better than riding on horseback. the saddles, as you are aware, are double, so i sit on the back portion behind the hump, and pack my instruments in front, i can thus ride on, keeping my journal and making calculations; and need only stop the camel when i want to take any bearings carefully; but the barometers can be read and registered without halting. the animals are very quiet, and easily managed, much more so than horses." his next letter to me is dated from swan hill, september th:-- my dear father, we arrived here on saturday last, early in the afternoon. i had not time to write by the last post, which closed on the same evening. we are all in good health and spirits. the road we are about to take is not that which i had anticipated, namely, down the side of the lower darling, as we hear there is literally nothing for the horses to eat; so that we are going right across the country to the darling, passing the murray at this place. we leave swan hill about the middle of next week, and shall then be out of the colony of victoria. we are expecting professor neumayer up shortly,--a scrap of paper to-day by the postman says to-morrow. i am rather disappointed at not having yet an assistant surveyor, but i hope he will arrive shortly. letters in future had better be directed to the care of dr. macadam, the secretary, as they will have to go by sea. . . . on the th of september he writes to his mother:-- balranald, september th, . my dear mother, as i have an opportunity of sending a few lines by this mail, i have determined to take advantage of the chance, because i know how glad you will be to receive them; but i have not time sufficient to give you any account of our journey. we are now at the last township at which we shall touch on our way towards the interior of the continent. it is an out-of-the-way place, situated on the lower part of the murrumbidgee river. our journey so far has been very satisfactory: we are most fortunate as regards the season, for there has been more rain this winter than has been known for the last four or five years. in fact, it seems probable that we shall finish our work in a much shorter period than was anticipated; very likely in ten or twelve months. the country up here is beautiful; everything green and pleasant; and if you saw it now, you would not believe that in two months' time it could have such a parched and barren appearance as it will then assume. i hope to be able, either from the darling or from cooper's creek, to send you some details of our proceedings. please to remember me to all, and believe me, ever your affectionate son, william j. wills. . . . at balranald, beyond the murray, mr. burke found it impossible to get on further with his foreman, ferguson, and discharged him in consequence. it required no deep penetration to discover that this would occur. before they left the royal park, i made a remark to one of the committee on ferguson's appearance and general demeanour: the gentleman i addressed replied, "i have just told burke he will have to shoot him yet." when ferguson returned to melbourne, he published his own account of the affair; and after the melancholy catastrophe of the expedition became known, he brought his action against the committee, and obtained a verdict for a considerable sum on the ground of unjust dismissal, proving his own statement in the absence of counter-evidence. those who could or might have refuted it were dead. mr. burke had no sooner rid himself of his troublesome foreman, than his second began to exhibit insubordination in an unmistakable manner. this reached a crisis by the time they had proceeded as far as menindie, on the darling. whatever mr. landells' merits may have been as a manager of camels, his post of second in command had evidently affected the equilibrium of his intellects. he mistook his position, as also the character of his superior. his conduct was so manifestly unjustifiable that no one took his part, or defended him in the slightest degree. what his real motive was, whether to escape from danger when danger was likely to commence, or to obtain the leadership of the expedition himself, is difficult to determine. he had been sowing dissension in the camp from an early period. my son was so much engaged in his scientific avocations that he knew little of what was going on; but when mr. landells was ill-judged enough to talk plain sedition to him, he saw at once, and clearly, the state of affairs. mr. burke was of a generous and unsuspecting nature; he trusted every one until practical experience opened his eyes, and then he naturally became angry, almost to violence. the following correspondence, which was published at the time, explains the affair exactly as it happened. mr. selwyn laid before the committee the letter from professor neumayer, enclosing my son's to him. the professor had been lost in the bush, and had to cut his way through the scrub for a distance of six miles. youngera, november . my dear sir, bad news from the expedition since i left them at mcpherson's. i really do not know what to think of it. i send you herewith a letter from mr. wills, descriptive of the whole affair, and give you authority to do with it according to your views. i am right in the bush, and have just met with captain cadell, who is so kind as to take this to you, in order that you might have a chance of hearing both sides of the question. landells i spoke to last night; and, according to his statement, of course he is in the right. i shall be in town in three or four weeks. excuse my writing. sincerely yours, neumayer. alfred selwyn, esquire, government geologist. . . . menindie, october , . my dear professor, i suppose you are by this time safe in town again. great things have occurred since you left; in fact, i have so much to tell you that i do not know where to begin. that mr. landells has resigned, and gives over his things to-morrow, is news at which you will not be much surprised; but that dr. beckler has been foolish enough to follow his example, for no better reason than that he did not like the way in which mr. burke spoke to mr. landells, will i think rather astonish you. i shall now give you a full account of the whole matter, so that you may be in a position to make any statement that you may deem necessary in explanation of the proceedings. it will be necessary for me to remind you that when you left kornpany, mr. landells was there with the camels, for the purpose of bringing on some of the heavy goods to lighten the waggons. this he did, and reached the camp at bilbarka on tuesday, the nd instant, with about three tons, whilst mr. burke went round by the lower road with the waggons and horses; he was obliged to take the latter with him, greatly to their disadvantage, because mr. landells would not assume the responsibility of bringing them with the camels. in bringing the things from kornpany, one of coppin's camels fell, having at the time on his back a load of upwards of hundred-weight. the result of this fall was, according to mr. landells' report, a dislocation of the shoulder, for which he said nothing could be done, so that the camel has been left behind a perfect cripple. i have dashed the above words because i myself do not believe it to be a dislocation, but only a strain; but that's merely my idea; mr. l. ought to know best. certain it is that the poor brute hobbled nearly twenty miles after us on thursday last, and i think that is rather a good pull for one with a dislocation of the shoulder joint. on thursday, the th instant, our own two waggons came up to mcpherson's, and in the evening mr. landells and i went down to the station to post some letters. on the way, mr. l. made many remarks about mr. burke and his arrangements that were quite uncalled for. he told me, amongst other things, that mr. b. had no right to interfere about the camels; that he had agreements with the committee of which he believed mr. b. was ignorant; that everything was mismanaged; and, in fact, that if mr. burke had his way everything would go to the devil. on friday the other waggons came up, and it was intended that some of the camels should fetch up what things we required, and that the remainder should be stored at mcpherson's; but the camels were not to be found until late at night. on saturday morning mr. landells and the doctor went down with seventeen camels to the station, a distance of five miles, and, greatly to mr. burke's disgust, did not return until after dark. in the meantime the nine remaining camels had travelled off, and could not be found anywhere. on sunday morning, mcpherson sent a note to mr. burke, requesting him to come down, as all the shearers were drunk on some of the camels' rum, which they had obtained from the waggons. mr. burke hereupon expressed his determination, which he had previously mentioned to me, that he would leave the rum behind. mr. landells objected to this, and insisted on the necessity of taking it on, and told mr. burke, who was firm in his resolve, that he would not be responsible for the camels. mr. b. said he should do as he pleased, and left the camp; and as soon as he was gone, mr. l. called me to take delivery of the government things in charge, as he intended to leave for melbourne at once. he said that mr. b. was mad, and he was frightened to stay in the tent with him. he then went off, telling me that he should deliver over the camels as soon as he could find them. it appears that he went down to the station, and on meeting the waggon-drivers on the road, told them that he was about to leave, so that every one in the camp knew it in a very short time. i should mention that everything was being got ready for a start; and on my mentioning to mr. burke what had passed, he said that he should take no notice of it until it was brought officially before him. when mr. landells returned, he asked mr. burke in my presence to dismiss him, which mr. b. refused to do, but said that he would forward his resignation if he wished it, with a recommendation that he should receive his pay up to that time. this did not exactly satisfy mr. l., who wished to appear before the public as the injured individual. he, nevertheless, expressed to me several times his fixed determination to stay no longer. he took an opportunity in the evening, in his tent, to give expression to opinions of his, which would not tend, if listened to, to raise a leader in the estimation of his officers. he said that mr. b. was a rash, mad man; that he did not know what he was doing; that he would make a mess of the whole thing, and ruin all of us; that he was frightened at him; that he did not consider himself safe in the tent with him, and many other things. some of this was said in the presence of the doctor and mr. becker; but the most severe remarks were to me alone after they were gone. on monday, mr. landells asked hodgkinson to write out for him his resignation, and then in a private conversation, told hodgkinson several things, which the latter thought it best to make a note of at once. hodgkinson's statement is this--that mr. landells having asked him whether he could keep a secret, told him, after extracting a sort of promise about holding his tongue, that mr. burke wanted an excuse for discharging him, and that he had sent him with the camels with an order to him (mr. landells) to find fault with him for that purpose. on hearing this, hodgkinson wanted to go to mr. burke and speak to him about it at once; but landells prevented this by reminding him of his promise. this all came out owing to some remarks that hodgkinson had made to me, and which i considered myself in duty bound to tell mr. burke. on monday evening mr. landells was speaking to me about the best and quickest way of getting to town, when i suggested to him that he might be placing himself in a disagreeable position by leaving in such a hurry without giving any notice. he replied that he did not care, but that he meant to propose certain terms to mr. burke, which he read to me from his pocket-book, and on these terms only he would go:--"that mr. burke should give him a written agreement that he, mr. l., should have full and unqualified charge of the camels, and that from that time mr. b. should not interfere with them in any way; that they should travel no further nor faster than mr. l. chose, and that he should be allowed to carry provisions for them to the amount of four camels' burthen." just after this, mr. b. came up and called mr. l. aside, and, as the former told me, read to him a letter that he had written to accompany the resignation. the contents of this letter had a considerable effect on mr. l., who said that it was a pity they should have had any quarrel, and so acted on mr. b.'s feelings, that he allowed him to withdraw his resignation. i believe that the information which had arrived about a steamer being on its way up the river had had a great influence in making mr. landells desirous to withdraw his resignation; but the chief reason was, no doubt, that he feared, from the concluding sentence of mr. burke's letter, that the committee would refuse him his pay. after this, everything appeared to be healed for a day or two; but on wednesday, from various matters that had occurred, i considered it my duty to mention to mr. burke about hodgkinson and some things that mr. landells had said to me; whereupon it came out that mr. l. had been playing a fine game, trying to set us all together by the ears. to mr. burke he has been abusing and finding fault with all of us; so much so, that mr. b. tells me that landells positively hates me. we have, apparently, been the best of friends. to me, he has been abusing mr. burke, and has always spoken as if he hated the doctor and mr. becker; whereas with them he has been all milk and honey. there is scarcely a man in the party whom he has not urged mr. burke to dismiss. mr. burke went ahead with the horses from bilbarka, partly because he wanted to be here sooner than the rest, and partly in order to avoid a collision with mr. landells. he asked dr. beckler to accompany him, for we both expected that mr. landells would be tampering with him, as we found he had been with others; but the doctor said that he preferred going with the camels, so that after the first day, when we found that dr. beckler would not go on with the horses, mr. burke took mr. becker and myself with him. we crossed the horses at a very good crossing at kinchica, six miles below menindie. mr. burke sent me up from there in the steamer, whilst he took the horses up. on our arrival, we found that mr. landells had ridden up also, having left the camels at kinchica; he objected to making them swim the river, and wanted the steamer's barge to cross them over. this mr. burke refused, because the captain and every one else said that it would be a very dangerous experiment, from the difficulty of getting them on or off, which is no easy matter to do safely, even on a punt arranged for the purpose; and as for the barge, it can scarcely be brought within six feet of the bank; so mr. burke insisted on their swimming the river at kinchica. after dinner we went down to assist in crossing them, but mr. landells said it was too late, and that he would cross them at ten o'clock next morning. on his remarking that there was no rope here, i mentioned that we had just brought one across with us, when he wanted to know what business i had to say anything. altogether he made a great fool of himself before several of the men; and a mr. wright, the manager of the kinchica station. for this mr. burke gave him an overhauling, and told him that if his officers misconducted themselves, he (mr. b.) was the person to blow them up. mr. burke then told me, before mr. landells, that he wished me to be present at the crossing of the camels, at ten o'clock to-morrow. mr. landells then jumped up in a rage, asking mr. burke whether he intended that i should superintend him, and what he meant by desiring me to be present. mr. burke answered him that if he knew his place he would not ask such a question; that he had no right to ask it, and that he (mr. b.) should give what orders he thought proper to his officers without considering himself responsible to mr. l.; that mr. landells' conduct was insolent and improper, and that he would have no more of it. this was on monday. on tuesday morning mr. l. sent in his resignation, and in the course of the day, dr. beckler followed his example, giving as his reason that he did not like the manner in which mr. burke spoke to mr. landells, and that he did not consider that the party was safe without mr. landells to manage the camels. now there is no mistake, dr. beckler is an honest little fellow, and well-intentioned enough, but he is nothing of a bushman, although he has had so much travelling. landells has taken advantage of his diffidence for his own purposes; and at the same time that he hates him, he has put on such a smooth exterior, that he has humbugged and hoodwinked him into the belief that no one can manage the camels but himself. . . . the upshot was that the committee accepted the resignations of mr. landells and dr. beckler, and expressed their entire approbation of the conduct of mr. burke. the following extract from the melbourne leading journal, the "argus,"--and with the view therein expressed all the other newspapers coincided--shows pretty clearly the state of public opinion on the question:-- whatever may be the interest attached to the communications respecting the victorian exploring expedition, as read before the committee of the royal society, there can be little doubt but that the judgment pronounced on mr. landells remains unaltered. he deserted his leader on the eve of the fight; and such an act, so subversive of all discipline, and so far from the thoughts of the smallest drummer-boy, renders all explanations contemptible. in the present instance, mr. landells' explanations make his act the more inexcusable. he is still of opinion that the camels are indispensable to the safety of the party, and that he is indispensable to the safety of the camels. the inference is, therefore, that he knowingly left the party to perish. indeed, we should not at all enter into an examination of mr. landells' letter, but that it may enable us to form some opinion as to the prospects of the expedition itself, and as to the suitability of mr. burke for its leadership. the charges brought against mr. burke by his late lieutenant, comprise almost everything that a commander should not be guilty of. his acts of commission and omission comprehend everything that a bad general could possibly commit or omit, and mr. landells winds up his bad qualities by asserting that he "cultivates the spy system," and treats his men like a parcel of "convicts." not only is he "ungentlemanly" to his officers and "interfering with the best interests of the party"--not only has he "displayed such a want of judgment, candour, and decision;" but he has also shown, in addition to these and many other shortcomings, "such an entire absence of any and every quality which should characterize him as its leader, as has led to the conviction in my own mind that under his leadership the expedition will be attended by the most disastrous results." but in this matter we are not left to decide between mr. landells' account and mr. burke's account. mr. wills, the third officer, may be taken as an impartial observer, and his statement, a private communication to the head of the department to which he lately belonged, professor neumayer, is free from any suspicion of toadyism. from it we may find abundant reason for the conduct which mr. landells calls "strange." if mr. burke was restless at nights, hasty in the day, and apparently undecided what course to pursue, we have from this account of the matter only to wonder that he managed to bear with mr. landells so long as he did. here the rage is all on mr. landells' side. "mr. landells then jumped up in a rage, asking mr. burke whether he intended that i should superintend him?" to talk, touch, or mention anything about his favourites, the camels, was sure to bring on "a scene." "on his remarking that there was no rope here, i mentioned that we had just brought one across with us, when he wanted to know what business i had to say anything. altogether, he made a great fool of himself before several of the men, and a mr. wright, the manager of the kinchica station." these camels, under mr. landells' spoiling, appear to have become the plague of the expedition. they were to have rum--solely, as it now appears, because mr. landells "knew of an officer who took two camels through a two years' campaign in cabul, the punjab, and scinde, by allowing them arrack." they were to carry more stores for themselves than they were worth. they were not to make long journeys, nor to travel in bad weather, nor to be subject to any one's direction, or opinion, or advice. in fine, the chief difficulty of exploring australia seemed to consist in humouring the camels. we may imagine the feelings of a leader with such a drag as this encumbering him. mr. pickwick could never have viewed with such disgust the horse which he was obliged to lead about as mr. burke must have regarded his camels. when to this it is added that the leader observed various intrigues carried on, we cannot wonder that he determined to come to an open rupture before mr. landells and the camels had completely disorganized the expedition. "whereupon it came out," writes mr. wills, "that mr. landells has been playing a fine game, trying to set us all together by the ears. there is scarcely a man in the party whom he has not urged mr. burke to dismiss." under such a state of things, the leader of the expedition must have been painfully aware that his party was in no fit state of organization to enter on a most perilous undertaking, and that while such continued, both he and his men were going to inevitable destruction. if his conduct appeared to mr. landells restless and uncertain, we may wonder how, under the circumstances, it could be otherwise. we find it impossible to believe that the exploring committee of the royal society could have secretly informed mr. landells that he held independent command, for such a thing would be a burlesque on discipline. he claims the sole management of the camels; and perhaps the committee may have defined his duty as such. but so also has a private soldier the sole management of his musket, but it is under the directions of his officer. profound as may be mr. landells' knowledge of camels, it would be worse than useless unless subject to the direction of his commanding officer. . . . mr. burke, on the resignation of mr. landells, immediately promoted my son to the post he had vacated, which appointment the committee confirmed. here there was perfect union and reciprocal understanding. neither had petty jealousies or reserved views. the success of the expedition was their object, and personal glory their aim. the leader had every confidence in his second, and the second was proud of his leader. but mr. burke committed an error in the selection of mr. wright for the third position in command, without any previous knowledge or experience of his capabilities. in this he acted from his impulsive nature, and the consequences bore heavily on his own and my son's fate. to the misconduct of mr. wright, in the words of the report of the committee of inquiry, "are mainly attributable the whole of the disasters of the expedition, with the exception of the death of gray." in appearance and acquirements, there was nothing to recommend him. the gentleman suggested by mr. burke as a substitute for dr. beckler, most unjustly, according to general opinion, desired to supplant my son. this the majority of the committee refused to accede to, and mr. nicholson, the chief secretary, agreed with their decision. others, including myself, offered to go; and a dispute, or rather a discussion arose on the matter, which produced delay, so that no one was sent at all. another fatal mistake. it will be a source of sorrow and strong regret to me as long as i exist, that i did not, of my own will, push on to menindie, where i might have been instrumental in saving one for whom i would willingly have risked my life. but no one then foresaw or expected the errors which caused the surviving travelers to perish on their return. but the actual cause of what might appear to be neglect on the part of the committee, in procrastinating the medical appointment, or other matters that were delayed, arose from the want of funds. the sum subscribed had been expended, and when mr. hodgkinson arrived at melbourne, with wright's despatch (written, however, by hodgkinson), asking for cash, and a confirmation of his appointment as third in command, the committee had no balance at their disposal. his excellency, sir henry barkly, to prevent any misfortune on that ground, came forward on his personal guarantee, and became responsible until parliament should again meet. the funds asked for by wright, and even more, were granted; but i believe it would puzzle the committee, to this day, to find what became of them. one of the avowed objects was to purchase sheep; this, at least, was neglected. hodgkinson fulfilled his mission zealously, and returned to wright within as short a time as possible. but wright lingered inactively at menindie, allowed the proper time for following out the track of mr. burke to glide away and disgracefully broke faith with one who had too generously trusted him. one word more with respect to mr. landells. his assertion, believed by no rational person at the time, and emphatically denounced by mr. burke in his despatch as "false," that he had private instructions from the committee, rendering him in some respects independent of his leader, was utterly disproved by the evidence of dr. macadam, honorary secretary, related before the royal commission, who said in reply to question : "we gave mr. landells no private instructions whatever; that has been answered over and over again." chapter . from menindie on the darling to torowoto. mr. burke's despatch, and mr. wills's report from torowoto. mr. wright's unaccountable delay at menindie. the expedition proceeds onwards to cooper's creek. exploring trips in that neighbourhood. loss of three camels. mr. wills's letter to his sister, december th and th. incorrectness of mcdonough's statements. the incapables being happily disposed of, mr. burke and his party left menindie on the th of october. the committee having decided on cooper's creek as the basis of his operations, he pushed on in that direction, and reached torowoto on the th of the same month. from the latter encampment he forwarded the following despatch, including my son's surveying report. torowoto, october , . sir, i have the honour to report, that i left menindie on the th instant with the following party:-- messrs. burke, wills, brahe, patten, mcdonough, king, gray, dost mahomet, fifteen horses and sixteen camels, and mr. wright, who had kindly volunteered to show me a practical route towards cooper's creek, for a distance of a hundred miles from the darling; and he has more than fulfilled his promise, for we have now travelled for upwards of miles, generally through a fine sheep-grazing country; and we have not had any difficulty about water, as we found creeks, or waterholes, many of them having every appearance of permanent water, at distances never exceeding twenty miles. mr. wills's report, herewith forwarded, gives all the necessary details. although travelling at the rate of twenty miles a day, the horses and camels have all improved in condition, and the country improves as we go on. yesterday, from wanominta to paldrumata creek, we travelled over a splendid grazing country, and to-day, we are encamped on a creek or swamp, the banks of which are very well grassed, and good feed all the way from our last camp ( ), except for two miles, where the ground was barren and swampy. of course it is impossible for me to say what effect an unusually dry summer would produce throughout this country, or whether we are now travelling in an unusually favourable season or not. i describe things as i find them. mr. wright returns from here to menindie. i informed him that i should consider him third officer of the expedition, subject to the approval of the committee, from the day of our departure from menindie, and i hope that they will confirm the appointment. in the mean time i have instructed him to follow me up with the remainder of the camels to cooper's creek, to take steps to procure a supply of jerked meat, and i have written to the doctor to inform him that i have accepted his resignation, as, although i was anxious to await the decision of the committee, the circumstances will not admit of delay, and he has positively refused to leave the settled districts. i am willing to admit that he did his best until his fears for the safety of the party overcame him; but these fears, i think, clearly show how unfit he is for his post. if mr. wright is allowed to follow out the instructions i have given him, i am confident that the result will be satisfactory; and if the committee think proper to make inquiries with regard to him they will find that he is well qualified for the post, and that he bears the very highest character. i shall proceed on from here to cooper's creek. i may, or may not, be able to send back from there until we are followed up. perhaps it would not be prudent to divide the party; the natives here have told mr. wright that we shall meet with opposition on our way there. perhaps i might find it advisable to leave a depot at cooper's creek, and to go on with a small party to examine the country beyond it. under any circumstances it is desirable that we should soon be followed up. i consider myself very fortunate in having mr. wills as my second in command. he is a capital officer, zealous and untiring in the performance of his duties, and i trust that he will remain my second as long as i am in charge of the expedition. the men all conduct themselves admirably, and they are all most anxious to go on; but the committee may rely upon it that i shall go on steadily and carefully, and that i shall endeavour not to lose a chance or to run any unnecessary risk. i have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant, r. o'hara burke, leader., p.s.--the two blacks and four horses go back with mr. wright. the following is a list of the camps from menindie to this place:-- october . totoynya, a waterhole on the plains. . .camp . october . kokriega, well in the scope ranges. . .camp . october . bilpa creek, do. . .camp . october . botoja clay-pans. . .camp . october . langawirra gully; mount doubeny range. . .camp . october . bengora creek, mount doubeny range. . .camp . october . naudtherungee creek. . .camp . october . teltawongee creek. . .camp . october . wonominta creek. . .camp . october . a clay-pan on the plains. . .camp . october . torowoto swamp...camp . latitude, degrees minute seconds south; longitude, degrees minutes east. . . . october , . forwarded. r. o'hara burke, leader. dr. macadam, secretary, exploring expedition. . . . from mr. wills, second in command, astronomer and surveyor of theparty. surveyor's report. the country, bilbarka and tolarno, in the immediate vicinity of the eastern bank of the river darling, presents the most barren and miserable appearance of any land that we have yet met with. it consists chiefly of mud flats, covered with polygonum bushes, box timber, and a few salsolaceous plants, of inferior quality. above tolarno there is a slight improvement, and between kinchica and menindie there is some fair grazing country. all agree in saying that there is fine grazing land back from the river; but the want of water will probably prevent its being occupied, except in a very partial manner, for many years; and i fear that the high sand ridges, twenty to forty feet, and in some cases more than sixty feet above the level of the river banks, will form almost insuperable barriers in the way of any one who may attempt to conduct water from the river by means of canals. it appears to me, from the information that i have been able to obtain, that the difficulties with which settlers have here to contend arise not so much from the absorbent nature of the soil as from the want of anything to absorb. this last season is said to have been the most rainy that they have had for several years; yet everything looked so parched up that i should have imagined it had been an exceedingly dry one. gales.--i noticed that the forests for about miles below menindie had been subjected to severe gales from west-north-west. this was so striking, that i at first thought it was the effect of a hurricane; but i could find no indications of a whirling force, all the trees and branches lying in the same direction; besides which, they seemed to have been torn down at various times, from the different stages of decay in which they were found; and mr. wright has subsequently informed me that almost every spring they have a gale from west-north-west, which lasts but a short time, but carries everything before it. it is this same strip of country which is said to be more favoured with rain than that lower down. sand drifting.--one can perceive everywhere in the neighbourhood of menindie, the effect of the winds in shifting the sand, by the numerous logs in various stages of inhumation. the darling pea.--it appears to be a disputed question, even on the river, as to the effect of the darling pea on horses, some asserting that they become cranky simply from eating that herb, and others that it is starvation that makes them mad. i could get no satisfactory information even as to the symptoms, which seem to vary considerably; but this i had from a reliable source, that horses will eat the pea in large quantities without being injuriously affected, provided they can obtain other food as well; but that when they are on portions of the river where they can get nothing else to eat, then they soon get an attack of madness. menindie to scrope ranges.--the country between menindie and kokriega, in the scrope ranges, a distance of thirty-six miles in a northerly direction, is a fine open tract of country, well grassed, but having no permanent water. at kokriega there is a well which may be relied on for a small supply, but would be of no use in watering cattle in large numbers. the ranges are composed of ferruginous sandstone and quartz conglomerate, and as to vegetation are of a very uninviting aspect. the plain to the south is covered with quartz and sandstone pebbles. about five miles to the north-east of the kokriega is a spot where the schist rock crops out from under the sandstone, and the rises here have somewhat of an auriferous character. north of the scrope range.--to the north of the scrope range the country has much the same appearance, except that there are more trees, and no stones until one reaches the mount doubeny ranges, a distance of nearly forty miles. at a spot half way, named botoga, there are some flats well calculated for collecting and retaining rain water. mount doubeny range.--in this range there are, no doubt, many places where permanent water may be found in considerable quantities. two places i may mention where the water is certainly permanent--mutwongee, a gully midway between camps and ; and bengora creek, the latter camp. country north of mount doubeny.--from these ranges up to our present position we have passed over as good grazing country as one would wish to see; salt bushes of every kind, grass in abundance, and plenty of water. amongst the ranges we found kangaroo grass as high as our shoulders, and on the plains the spear grass up to our knees. naudtherungee creek.--at this creek, which takes its rise near mount lyell, and probably flows into the mcfarlane's creek of sturt, we found a small shallow pond of water, in the sandy bed of the creek. this did not look very promising, but on digging i found that the whole bed of the creek was a mass of loose sand, through which the water freely permeated, and that the waterhole we found was only a spot where, the level of the surface of the sand being below that of the water, the latter oozed through. i am informed by mr. wright, who was here in january last, that the creek contained much more water then than now. country north of naudtherungee creek.--for a few miles to the north of this creek the ground is very sandy, and timbered with pines, acacias, and several descriptions of trees with which i am unacquainted. there are two very handsome trees that i have never seen in any other part of the country--the leopard tree (called so from its spotted bark), and a tree which in general appearance much resembles the poplar. on these sandhills the grass is very coarse, but in the flats there is good feed. beyond the sand rises the country becomes more open again; and at about twelve or thirteen miles one comes to quartz rises, from which there is a fine view to the east, north, and west. two creeks are distinctly visible by the lines of gum timber; they take their rise near some hills to the eastward, and passing around towards the north, join at a point about three miles north-west, from whence the resulting creek continues in a west-north-westerly direction, as far as the eye can reach. the hills are composed of an argillaceous schist. on several of the lower rises, quartz reefs crop out, and some of the quartz which i examined had every appearance of being auriferous, except the main one--the colour of the gold. there are some fine waterholes in the first creek (teltawongee), but i cannot say for certain that the water is permanent. the whole of the country from here to our next camp, a distance of twenty six miles, is the finest i have seen for collecting and retaining water; and the only question as to a permanent supply of that essential liquid is, whether this part of the country is subject to long-continued droughts; for the waterholes that we have met with are not large enough to last for any great length of time, in the event of the country being stocked. at ten miles from teltawongee, we came to the wonominta--a creek having all the characteristics of water-courses that take their rise in hills of schistoze formation. at first, the numberless small waterholes, without the trace of a creek connecting them, then the deep-cut narrow channel, with every here and there a fine waterhole. the banks of the creek are clothed with high grass and marshmallows. the latter grow to an immense size on nearly all the creeks out here. the wonominta ranges are high, bare-looking hills, lying to the eastward of the creek; the highest peaks must be between two and three thousand feet above the sea. the blacks say that there is no water in them--an assertion that i can scarcely credit. they say, however, that there is a fine creek, with permanent water, to the east of the ranges, flowing northwards. at the point of the wonominta creek where we camped there is a continuous waterhole of more than a mile long, which, they say, is never dry. it is from fifteen to twenty feet broad, and averages about five feet in depth, as near as i could ascertain. from this point, camp , the creek turns to the north-west and around to north, where it enters a swamp, named wannoggin; it must be the same that sturt crossed in coming across from evelyn plains. in going over to wannoggin, a distance of fourteen miles, i found the plains everywhere intersected by small creeks, most of them containing water, which was sheltered from the sun by the overhanging branches of drooping shrubs, tall marshmallows, and luxuriant salt bushes; and at some of them were hundreds of ducks and waterhens. when crossing some flats of light-coloured clay soil, near wannoggin, and which were covered with box timber, one might almost fancy himself in another planet, they were so arid and barren. the wannoggin swamp is at present dry, but i believe it is generally a fine place for water. birds are very numerous about there, and i noticed that by far the greater portion of the muslka trees (a species of acacia) contained nests, either old or new. at about twenty miles from wonominta, in a north-north-easterly direction, there is a fine creek, with a waterhole about a mile long, which we passed; and mr. wright tells me there is a larger one further up the creek. the land in the neighbourhood of the torowoto swamp is very fine for pastoral purposes. it is rather low and swampy, and therefore better for cattle than for sheep. there appears to be a gradual fall in the land from totoynya to this place, amounting to about feet. this swamp can scarcely be more than feet above the sea, if so much. the highest ground over which we have passed has been in the mount doubeny ranges, from langawirra to bengora, and that appears to be about feet above the sea. mount bengora is, by barometrical observation, about feet above the camp at bengora, but it is not the highest peak in the range by perhaps fifty or sixty feet; and i think we may assume that the highest peak does not exceed , feet above the sea. meteorogical.--we have been very fortunate up to the present time as regards the weather, both in having had plenty of water and moderate temperatures. the thermometer has never risen above . degrees in the shade, and has seldom been below degrees, the average daily range having been from to degrees. during our stay on the darling, the temperature of the water varied very slightly, being always between and degrees. the winds have generally been light, frequently going all round the compass in the course of the day; but in any case it has almost invariably fallen calm after sunset. cirri and cirrostratus clouds have been very prevalent during the day, and cumulostratus during the night. wells and creeks.--the temperature of the water in the well at kokriega, at ten a.m. october , was . degrees, being exactly the same as the temperature of the air. that of the water between the rocks, at bilpa, at five p.m. on the same day, was degrees, the temperature of air being degrees. the temperature of the water in the sand at naudtherungee, at seven a.m. on the th, was . degrees, that of the air being degrees. at five a.m. october , the temperature of the water in wonominta creek was . degrees, that of the air being degrees. note.--the temperature of the water is always taken within six inches of the surface. . . . the royal commission of inquiry censured mr. burke for the appointment of mr. wright, without personal knowledge of him; and, judging by the lamentable results, a grave mistake it was. but mr. burke was placed in great difficulty by the resignation of mr. landells and dr. beckler, and acted to the best of his judgment under the circumstances, with the means at his disposal. his confidence, too hastily bestowed, was repaid by ingratitude and contumely. wright never spoke of his commander without using terms of disparagement, and dwelling on his incapacity. "he was gone to destruction," he said, "and would lose all who were with him." he repeated these words to me, and others even stronger, both in melbourne and in adelaide. mcdonough, in his evidence before the royal commission, was asked, "what did you say as to mr. wright's desponding?" he answered ( ): "he always gave mr. burke up as lost; said he was neither gone to queensland nor anywhere else; the man has rushed madly on, depending upon surface water, and is lost in the desert. he never gave us any hope for him; in fact, so much so, that i offered to make a bet that he would be found at queensland, or turn up somewhere." it has been seen by mr. burke's despatch of the th of october, that he gave orders to mr. wright to follow him up to cooper's creek with the remainder of the camels and supplies, without unnecessary delay. mcdonough states (answer ) that mr. burke said to him, on the th of december, "i expect mr. wright up in a few days--a fortnight at farthest. i left him positive instructions to follow me." king states (answer ) "that on the th of december, mr. burke told the party 'he then expected mr. wright daily.'" wright himself states in his evidence (answer ), "i gave mr. burke my word that i would take the remainder of the party out, as soon as i returned to menindie." a circumstance happened about this time, (december ), which delayed him, but not even that necessarily. information reached melbourne that mr. stuart had nearly penetrated to the gulf of carpentaria, more to the westward; that he had been driven back by the natives, but would start again immediately. the committee thought it advisable to forward the intelligence to mr. burke. this was done by a despatch to swan hill, where mr. foster was superintendent of police. he accordingly sent on a trooper named lyons, who followed in the track of the party, and arrived at menindie just as wright returned with his two natives, after escorting the expedition to torowoto. lyons refused to give up the despatch, as he had been ordered to place it in mr. burke's own hands. here was a plausible excuse for wright, no doubt, so he sent mcpherson, a saddler by trade, who had been engaged en route by mr. burke, accompanied by dick, a native, to assist lyons in his pursuit of the leader. had he put himself and the whole party in motion at once, the subsequent misfortunes would have been averted. lyons and mcpherson lost their way, being quite unable to overtake mr. burke, who had eight days' start, travelling at the rate of twenty miles a day. neither had they ingenuity enough to find mr. burke's tracks, although accompanied by a native, which is inexplicable, if they trusted to dick, who had both intelligence and energy of purpose. he found his way back to wright, however, and was thus the means of saving the lives of the trooper and mcpherson. hodgkinson, we have seen, was despatched by wright to melbourne, from menindie, on the th of december, with letters assuming to be written by himself, but, in fact, by hodgkinson. whether the committee knew this does not appear: if they did not, here was one reason for confirming wright's appointment. hodgkinson reached melbourne on the morning of the th, riding nearly four hundred miles in eleven days. a meeting of the committee was called on monday, the st, at which his excellency attended, and hodgkinson started on his return the same evening. this certainly was business. nearly double the sum that he had asked was allowed to wright, in cash. from the th of november, he lingered at menindie, until the th of december, doing nothing. he says he was waiting for an answer to a letter he had previously sent. dr. macadam, the secretary, denies that he ever received such a letter. wright is here unworthy of credit, for he could not write. this was extracted from himself, after considerable fencing, in his examination before the commission on the th of december, :-- mr. wm. wright further examined. question . there is evidently some discrepancy between the statement that you wrote yourself on the th of november, when you came back, and the statement of dr. macadam that no such letter was ever received. this letter of yours of the th of december, is it written by yourself?--the one i sent myself? . the one of the th of december, is it in your own handwriting?--the one that is missing? . no; this one [handing a paper to the witness]?--no, it is not; hodgkinson did all the writing. . did he write the one that is stated to be missing?--no, he did not. . you wrote that one?--i wrote that with my own hand. i just wrote a few words. . could your memory serve you sufficiently to write the purport of that letter that is missing?--it would not. . nothing approaching to it?--i never thought for a moment of keeping a copy of it, or of giving it to hodgkinson to keep a copy. . have you no recollection of the general purport of it?--i just mentioned that mr. burke had appointed me to take the party out and take the command; that is about the heads of it. . have you any objection to write a letter similar to that one, as nearly as you can remember it?--no. i write a very indifferent hand. . which was the reason, it is to be presumed, why you got some one to write the letter of the th?--yes. hodgkinson arrived at menindie on the th of january, , and immediately placed in wright's hands the following letter:-- melbourne, december st. sir, your despatch of the th instant, forwarded per mr. hodgkinson, was laid before a meeting of the members of the exploration committee held this day, when the following resolutions were carried unanimously: . that a letter be forwarded to mr. wright, informing him that his appointment as third in command of the victorian expedition, by mr. burke, has been approved of and confirmed by this committee. . that mr. wright, third officer of the victorian expedition, be empowered to procure a number of horses (not more than ten), and the necessary accoutrements; and also one hundred and fifty (say ) sheep, and be authorized to draw on the treasurer, the honourable david e. wilkie, m.d., m.l.c., for an amount not exceeding four hundred (say ) pounds sterling, for their purchase, and other necessary incidental expenses. i have further to inform you that mr. hodgkinson, who returns as the bearer of this despatch, will hand you an order from mr. superintendent foster, of swan hill, to obtain from trooper lyons the despatches for the leader, now in the possession of that officer, and which it is desired you should hand to mr. burke. it is hoped by the committee, that trooper lyons and saddler macpherson have safely returned to the camp, and you will kindly report as to the manner in which the former has endeavoured to carry out the duty committed to his charge. the medal for dick, the aboriginal guide, bearing a suitable inscription, is forwarded with this despatch, and the committee leave in your hands the bestowal of such additional reward as you may deem proper--not exceeding five guineas (say pounds shillings.) captain cadell informed the committee to-day that his store at menindie would be at your service for depositing any articles you may find it inconvenient to remove to cooper's creek at present. you will endeavour to secure, if possible, twelve pommel pack-saddles, now arrived, it is believed, on the darling. these were forwarded via adelaide, and will no doubt be of great use to the main party. the committee desire that on your meeting with mr. burke, you will show him, and deposit with him, this despatch, as also a copy of yours of the th instant, together with copies of all despatches you may forward to the committee during mr. burke's absence; and the committee expect that you will communicate under such circumstances as frequently as possible. mr. hodgkinson bears letters for the leader and mr. wills. in conclusion, it is hoped that your endeavours to remove the stores from your present depot to cooper's creek will be early and successfully accomplished. i have the honour to be, sir, your obedient servant, (signed) john macadam, m.d., secretary. to mr. wright, third in command, temporary depot, plurarmora creek, darling river, new south wales. . . . nothing can be clearer than the instructions herein conveyed; yet in the face of them, wright made no start until the th of january. his answers to the royal commission were full of contradictions, but to the main question of his delay he gave no answer at all. from my own inquiries i never could make out that any one at menindie thought him fit for the post, or undertook to recommend him. captain cadell did to the committee, but with mr. burke, captain cadell was not on speaking terms. mr. burke and my son proceeded onwards, accompanied by the reduced party, consisting of brahe, king, gray, patten, mcdonough, and dost mahomet, fifteen horses and sixteen camels, on the th of september, , and reached cooper's creek on the th of november, a distance of about miles. here my son went out occasionally, taking a man with him, to explore the country, far and near. his great desire was to reach carpentaria by the shortest practicable cut, and he inclined to a direct northern course, or to the eastward of north. the committee represented afterwards, as prominently as they could put it, that mr. burke was left unshackled on this point, but still suggestions were offered, which a leader naturally considers he is expected to listen to. one of these was, that on leaving cooper's creek they should proceed towards eyre's creek and sturt's farthest (september, ); for which i refer the reader to the map. my son could not see the wisdom of this, as sturt had declared that beyond that point he saw nothing but an impenetrable desert. mcdouall stuart's return to adelaide was also reported, and that he was about to start again: it therefore became a rival race as to who should reach the goal first. with reference to my son's exploration trips during the halt at cooper's creek, mr. brahe, on his examination before the royal commission, gave the following particulars:-- we travelled down the creek; our first camp on cooper's creek was camp ; from some of the first camps mr. wills went out exploring the creek. question . how long did you remain at the first camp?--one night; at the second camp, two days; and at the third camp, two days; and from each camp mr. wills went down tracing the creek. . and you remained two days at each camp for three camps down the creek?--yes. . was the third camp the final camp formed on the creek?--no, at the rd camp the first depot was formed. we remained there a fortnight. . at the rd camp?--yes, that would be the fifth or sixth camp on the creek. . what were you doing that fortnight?--mr. wills was exploring the country to the north; mr. burke was out with him once; mr. burke was out with me first, and we could not go far enough with horses, not finding any water away from the camp. . how far did you go?--about twenty-five miles straight; the weather being very hot we could not go further: we had to return the second day to the camp. . then mr. wills went out by himself?--he went ninety miles; he took mcdonough with him and three camels. . and he lost one of his camels, did he not?--he lost the three and returned on foot. . was he much weakened by that journey?--not mr. wills. . but mcdonough was?--rather. . did they suffer from want of food as well as want of water? --no, only from want of water. . how long did you remain after that before there was a final start again?--i believe we started two or three days after that. mr. wills went out a second time from that camp with king and only two camels to bring down those things that he had left where he lost the camels. . how far was that from the creek?--ninety miles. . and he went out with king and two camels for the things that he had left behind when he lost his camels and brought them back? --yes; and on the same day, or the day after, when mr. wills went out on that second journey, mr. burke removed the depot to the lower place. . did those camels lost by mr. wills ever turn up?--i believe two of them have been found near adelaide. . in the meantime you went down to the last depot?--yes. . how long did you remain there?--mr. burke started from there about five or six days after mr. wills returned from that second journey. . . . my son gives his own account of the exploration when the camels were lost, in the following letter to his sister:-- cooper's creek, december th, . latitude degrees minutes, longitude degrees seconds. my dear bessy, you must excuse my writing with a pencil; ink dries so rapidly that it is a nuisance to use it. we have been here now about three weeks, and shall, i expect, make a start northwards in about a fortnight. our journey to this point has been interesting, but not in any particular that you will care much about. our party here consists of eight men, sixteen camels, and fourteen horses. we expect the rest of the men and camels up in a few weeks. everything has been very comfortable so far; in fact, more like a picnic party than a serious exploration: but i suppose we shall have some little difficulties to contend with soon. i had an intimation of something of the kind a few days ago, having been out reconnoitring the country to the north for three days, with one man and three camels, and had found no water, so that the animals were very thirsty, and on the third night managed to get away from us, leaving us about eighty miles from the main camp, without hay or water, except what remained of that which we had brought with us; so here was nothing for it, but to walk home as soon as we could, carrying as much water as possible, to be drunk on the way. after searching about in order to be sure that the camels had gone home, we started at about half-past seven, and were lucky enough to find a creek with some water in it about ten miles on, where we remained until evening; for it is dry work travelling in the middle of the day, with the thermometer varying from to degrees in the shade, and about degrees in the sun. well, we started again in the evening and walked until between nine and ten p.m.; and again at three a.m. and pushed on until midday. we then went on from five p.m., as before, until nine p.m.; and then from two a.m., and reached the camp at nine a.m., having walked more than eighty miles in rather less than fifty hours, including sleeping, feeding, and all stoppages. we found no water all the way, except what i have mentioned above, so that, as you may imagine, we ran rather short towards the end of our journey, having not quite half a pint left between us. when we stopped to rest the second night, it had been blowing a hot wind all day, with the thermometer at degrees in the shade. this made us require more water than usual. i can assure you there is nothing like a walk of this sort to make one appreciate the value of a drink of cold water. we feel no inclination for anything else, and smack our lips over a drop such as you would not think of tasting, with as much relish as ever any one did over the best sherry or champagne. i have enjoyed myself so far. it is now nearly four months since we left melbourne, and you will see by the map that we are about half-way across the continent. i hope by the time that this reaches you we shall not only have been entirely across, but back here again, and possibly on our way to melbourne. there is no probability of the expedition lasting two or three years. i expect to be in town again within twelve months from the time of starting. i enclose a few chrysanthemums from the australian desert. i know you will highly prize them. to give you an idea of cooper's creek, fancy extensive flat, sandy plains, covered with herbs dried like hay, and imagine a creek or river, somewhat similar in appearance and size to the dart above the weir, winding its way through these flats, having its banks densely clothed with gum trees and other evergreens:--so far there appears to be a considerable resemblance, but now for the difference. the water of cooper's creek is the colour of flood-water in the dart; the latter is a continuous running stream; cooper's creek is only a number of waterholes. in some places it entirely disappears, the water in flood-time spreading all over the flats and forming no regular channel. the flies are very numerous, so that one can do nothing without having a veil on; and whilst eating the only plan is to wear goggles. . . . his next letter is written with ink:-- december th. dear bessy, since scribbling the above, i have been up to the place from whence i had the walk i mentioned. the camels did not get away this time. we have shifted our quarters to a better place, about twenty miles down the creek. to-morrow we start for eyre's creek, about two hundred miles towards the una. there have been heavy thunderstorms towards the north, and i hope we shall find plenty of water. if so, i shall soon be able to send you a good long letter without resorting to the use of a pencil. i wish i could send mamma a few lines, but she must read yours and fancy it written to her: i have not even time to send a line to my father. tell mamma that i am getting into that robust state of health that i always enjoy when in the bush; a tremendous appetite, and can eat anything. one of our chief articles of consumption is horseflesh: it is very nice; you would scarcely know it from beef. give my love to all, and believe me, ever your affectionate brother, william j. wills. . . . here we find my son, between the st and th of december, travelling about five hundred miles, and walking from eighty to ninety. mcdonough, in his examination, gave altogether a falsified account respecting the loss of the camels, as he also made a bombastic statement of his great intimacy with mr. burke. the real truth is, that mcdonough was the least trustworthy of the party. he would not have been taken by my son, but in the morning mr. burke had volunteered to accompany him, so that mcdonough would not have been left alone; but after travelling a short distance, mr. burke did not feel well, and returned. at the place mentioned by my son as having dismounted, he told mcdonough that he wished to make some observations, and was going to a rising ground at a distance; that the camels should feed, but he was not to lose sight of them for an instant. instead of attending to his instructions, mcdonough set to work to light a fire and boil his pannikin. perhaps he went to sleep; for he pointed out some stunted bushes in the distance and said they were the camels. my son then sent him to search for them, but they could not be found. king, the only survivor of the party, on his examination, said:-- mr. wills told me that the camels were lost through mcdonough's neglect during the time he was writing and taking observations. question . mcdonough never disputed that, did he?--mcdonough told me that it was while they were at supper in the evening; but i do not see how that could be, because they generally took supper, and ourselves, about six o'clock; and it was so dark that they could not see the camels, so that they were most likely lost when mr. wills was taking observations. . . . mr. burke, in his report from cooper's creek, dated december the th, says:--"mr. wills, upon one occasion, travelled ninety miles to the north, without finding water, when his camels escaped, and he and the man who accompanied him were obliged to return on foot, which they accomplished in forty-eight hours. fortunately, upon their return they found a pool of water. the three camels have not yet been recovered. . .mr. wills co-operates cordially with me. he is a most zealous and efficient officer." king, in the course of his evidence stated as follows:-- question . what did you do when you got to cooper's creek; did you go on any of these expeditions with mr. burke or mr. wills? --yes; when mr. burke made our first depot at the creek, mr. burke, mr. wills, and mcdonough started one morning to try and find water some distance to the north. mr. burke seemed not to be well, and returned after going a mile or so, and so mcdonough and mr. wills continued, and were away some few days; i do not know the exact number of days; they lost the camels (three in number) and had to return to the depot on foot. . after a few days?--yes; after a few days. . did you go out yourself on that expedition?--not then; a few days after, mr. burke, mr. wills, and myself went to a distance of about seventy miles north; we could not find water; mr. wills found water when he and mcdonough went before. . did you go the same track as they did?--yes; but i do not know how mr. wills could not find it; he seemed not to recognize the place. . did you lose any horses or camels then?--none; we just rested, and mr. wills and myself went the third time, and found the water at a distance of about ninety miles to the north, and we also had to bring the camel saddles, and riding saddles, which mr. burke intended to take with him across the continent. chapter . mr. wills's survey of the line of country pursued by the expedition, from torowoto swamp to cooper's creek. the following reports, which were duly forwarded and published, contain interesting particulars of the country traversed, and the observations made between torowoto and cooper's creek. they were accompanied by a tracing, which is shown on the map. camp , depot, cooper's creek, december th, . sir, i have had the honour to place in the hands of our leader, for transmission to the committee, my third report, and a tracing, showing the country traversed since my last was written. i regret that i have been unable to devote as much attention to either as i could have desired; but i have no doubt the committee will make due allowance for my want of time, and the inconveniences attending the execution of such work in our present position. i have, etc. william j. wills, surveyor and assistant observer. the honorary secretary of the exploration committee. (forwarded). depot, december , . as mr. wills's report, with which i fully concur, contains all the necessary details with regard to the state of the country through which we passed, i have not referred to the subject in mine. r. o'hara burke, leader. the honorary secretary of the exploration committee. the accompanying tracing will show the course taken by the expedition party from the torowoto swamp, in latitude degrees minute seconds south, longitude degrees minutes east, to the depot on cooper's creek, camp , latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degrees minutes east. water supply between torowoto and wright's creek.--the country traversed to the north of the torowoto swamp, and lying between that place and wright's creek, is neither so well grassed nor watered as that to the south of the swamp; the land falls considerably as far as cangapundy, and a great extent of it is subject to inundation. nearly all the water met with was thick and muddy: it was met with in small clay pans, most of which would probably be dry in three weeks. this applies to all the places at which we found water, with the exception of cannilta, cangapundy, --and the four waterholes to the south of wright's creek. cannilta.--cannilta is a waterhole of good clear water in a small rocky creek which runs out on the low mud flats and swampy ground lying between altoka and tangowoko: it is situated in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degrees minutes east, by account, nearly a mile from the north-westernmost point of the swampy ground. this point may be distinguished by the growth of a coarse kind of reedy grass, which does not make its appearance on the southern portion of the swamp or lake. the water in the hole was only two or three feet deep, but is well shaded by box trees, and will probably last two or three months. the temperature of the surface of the water at seven a.m., nd of november, was . degrees; that of the air being at the same time degrees. the cangapundy swamp.--the cangapundy swamp is an extensive tract of low clay land, which bears the appearance, as regards the vegetation of its banks, of having a tolerably permanent supply of water; but, unless some portions of the swamp are much deeper than where we passed, the water could not last throughout a dry season. the banks of the swamp are densely clothed with grasses, marshmallows, polygonum bushes, and shrubs, which shelter numerous kinds of waterfowl and snakes. character of land.--it will be seen by the tracing that a large proportion of the land between torowoto and wright's creek is composed of low mud plains and clay flats, subject to inundation. most of these are devoid of vegetation of any kind, and others carry some stunted salt bushes and coarse grasses, which appear to be struggling between life and death. bounding the mud-flats are generally some stony rises well grassed and sometimes lightly timbered. the more elevated plains are sandy, and support a fine supply of healthy salt bushes, as well as here and there a few grasses. on the rises to the south-south-east of cannilta may be seen great quantities of quartz rock, forming dykes in the schist rises: the latter in some places adjoin, and run into hills of loose stone, having the appearance of indurated clay. from cangapundy to wright's creek the ground is light-coloured, and of a clayey nature: it forms a series of dry clay-pans, separated from one another by low sandy banks, on which the vegetation was fresh and green. at about seventeen miles from the former place are three large holes with water from two to three feet deep in the deepest part, and at six miles further another large one which might almost be termed a lake, being nearly links square. about these there were some lines of sandhills running about north-east and south-west; and in one of the flats between the sandhills i found several pieces of satin spar in lumps of the size of one's hand, partially buried in the ground, and all of them with the plane of cleavage nearly perpendicular with the surface to the ground. balloo, or wright's creek.--the lower portion of wright's creek, called by the natives "balloo," is situated in latitude degrees minutes south, and longitude degrees minutes east by account. at this point, the creek, after breaking into several small channels, runs out on a grassy plain, the water running in a southerly direction, probably until it meets that from the torrens and other creeks at the cangapundy swamp. there was plenty of water in this part of the creek when we passed, but i cannot speak to its permanence. the banks are well lined with box timber, as well as with marshmallows and wild spinach: the land on either side consists of well-grassed sandy rises. at four or five miles above this, the creek is a narrow, dry, sandy watercourse, winding through a grassy valley, which everywhere presents indications of the most violent floods. beyond this is an extensive grassy plain; and for three or four miles scarcely a trace of the creek could be seen. we then came to a clump of trees, amongst which were two large waterholes surrounded by polygonum bushes, and containing great numbers of small fish. these holes appear to be permanent. we found about sixty blacks camped here. above these waterholes, which are together about half a mile long, the creek again disappears on the plain. the land for the next ten or twelve miles in a north-north-easterly direction is very fine for pastoral purposes, being alternately grassy plains and ridges. at twelve or thirteen miles we crossed the creek where it has cut for itself a deep narrow channel, the banks of which are densely timbered and well grassed, but the waterholes are small, and contained very little water. for a distance of six miles the creek is of a very insignificant character. it appears to be divided into several branches, which traverse clay flats badly grassed. here and there are some lines of low sandy rises, with plenty of feed on them. all the watercourses are distinctly marked by lines of box timber. at about nine miles from where we crossed the creek, and after traversing some loose polygonum ground, which was covered with mussel shells and a shell resembling a periwinkle, we came to a branch of the creek containing a splendid waterhole links broad and about half a mile long. a little above this the creek again disappears for a short distance, and then there is a long narrow channel of undoubtedly permanent water, being nearly four feet deep in the shallowest places; it is only on an average about fifty links broad, and well sheltered by overhanging box trees. the temperature of the water on the morning of the th november, at six o'clock, was degrees; the temperature of the air at the same time being . degrees. our camp at this place is indicated by a box tree marked b over lii in square, the geographical position of which is by account degrees minutes seconds south latitude, and longitude degrees minutes east. in proceeding from here in a north-north-easterly direction up the course of the creek, or rather of the water, for the creek is again lost on the plains for five or six miles, we passed the southernmost point of a prominent sandstone range, the nearest portion of which lay about a mile and a half to the westward. at about nine miles we again touched the creek, where it is about three chains broad. the banks are firm and shelving, from ten to twelve feet above the water, and lined with box, acacias, some large gums, gigantic marshmallows, polygonum, etc. in the creek there is abundance of fish, and the ducks and other waterfowl on it are numberless. from what we have seen of the blacks, i should say the population cannot be far short of , and it might be considerably more. from here we proceeded in an east-north-easterly direction along the west bank of this fine waterhole, and at two and a half miles found it begin rapidly to decrease in breadth, and a little further on there was nothing but a few small stony watercourses traversing a dense box forest: at this point there is a level bed of sandstone pebbles, close to and over a part of which the creek flows. the blacks have here gone to the trouble of making paths for themselves, along which we turned off from the creek on a north-north-easterly course, and at about three miles, coming on earthy plains, with no signs of water ahead, we again turned in to the creek and camped at a small waterhole. from here the line of river timber continues in a north-easterly direction. to the west and north-north-west is a line of sandstone ranges running off in the same direction. the land in the immediate vicinity of the creek on the west side is very poorly grassed all the way up from where we crossed it: that on the east side appeared to be better. i think there can scarcely be a doubt but that this creek is the lower portion of the warrego river, although i believe that its main supply of water is obtained from the adjoining ranges, which send down innumerable creeks into the flats through which it flows. some latitude observations at camp , (the furthest point to which we traced the creek) placed us in degrees minutes seconds south; our latitude, by account, being degrees minutes seconds, and longitude, degrees minutes east. on thursday, november th, we left wright's creek with the intention of crossing the ranges to cooper's creek. we found the land as we approached the hills well grassed, and in some places densely timbered: it is intersected by numerous watercourses with deep sandy channels, in most of which there seemed little chance of finding water. we camped at a waterhole in mcdonagh's creek; the spot is indicated by a gum tree marked b over liv within square. de rinsy's tracks.--near here we found the tracks of drays; there were four distinct tracks, two of which appeared to be those of heavy horse drays, the other two might have been made by light ones or ring carts; we were unable to make out the tracks of the horses or cattle. i cannot imagine what tracks these are, unless they may be those of de rinsy, who, i believe, had some drays with him, and reported that he had been somewhere in this direction. from camp to camp we were obliged to take a very circuitous route on account of the rugged and stony nature of the ranges, which were more extensive than we had anticipated. they stretch away far to the north and north-north-west, and although we kept well out to the north-west we were unable to avoid the low stony rises which adjoin them. on the north-west side of the hills we crossed two dry creeks which flow in a north-north-easterly direction; their banks are thinly lined with box trees, and the holes in them were quite dry. from this we took a west-north-westerly course, across an undulating country covered with sandstone, quartz, and (magnetic) ironstone pebbles, so densely and firmly set together in some places as to have the appearance of an old-fashioned pavement. at about three miles, we had to change our course to north-west, to avoid a spur of the high range on our left. at two miles further we came to a grassy flat through which ran a fine-looking creek, but the bed was sandy and quite dry; there were, however, a good many small birds about here, which would indicate that there must be water in the neighbourhood. we here again changed our course to west-north-west, and at six miles camped at a dry stony creek, having travelled about eight-and-twenty miles over the worst ground that we had yet met with. on the morning of the th we continued on a west-north-westerly course, across stony ground of the same nature as that passed during the previous day; but at a distance of five miles we turned to west quarter south, as the ranges appeared to be as low in that direction as in the other; and as they ran nearly north-north-west there seemed a chance of sooner getting out of them, which we did at a distance of about eight miles more. from the point at which we emerged from these ranges the view was as follows:--from south-west nearly up to north-west were extensive plains, as far as the eye could reach, intersected by numerous lines of timber, the general direction of which was about north-north-west. several columns of smoke were visible along these lines, some of which had the appearance of camp and others of bush fires. from north-west to north were lines of ranges running in a north-westerly direction, and in the valley between us and the first spur was a fine line of timber, indicating the course of what appeared to be a large creek, probably the recipient of all the small creeks that we had crossed during the morning; in every other direction there was nothing to be seen but timbered sandstone ranges. at noon we crossed a small creek running nearly north: the grass had been burnt on its banks. about half a mile beyond it was another creek of a more promising appearance, and as we approached it we saw several crows, as well as other birds, in the trees. we here found a small hole with the water fast drying up; it contained a lot of young fish about half an inch long, and just sufficient water to replenish our water bags and give the horses a drink; below it the creek took a north-north-westerly course, and was dry and sandy for a distance of two miles and a half, at which point we found some large but shallow holes of milky-looking water. on the plains near these holes we found large flocks of pigeons. the grass was very coarse and dry, and the water would probably not last more than a few weeks. horse tracks.--on the plains to the east of the creek were the tracks of a single horse, which had evidently crossed when the ground was very soft, and gone in a south-westerly direction. position of water.--the waterholes are situated in latitude degrees south, longitude degrees minutes east, by account from camp . from here a course of west half south took us in a distance of about twenty miles to cooper's creek, which we first struck in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east. the land through which we passed on the th was so low and wooded as to prevent me from seeing the direction of the ranges; the first five or six miles was tolerably open. we then came to a box forest, where the soil was loose and earthy, similar to polygonum ground; there were in every direction signs of heavy floods and frequent inundations. we crossed several small watercourses, in one of which there was a hole of rather creamy water, at which we halted for an hour. from the waterhole we quite unexpectedly obtained a rather fine fish, about eight inches long, of the same description as the young ones we had found in brahe's creek. cooper's creek.--at the point at which we first struck cooper's creek it was rocky, sandy, and dry; but about half a mile further down we came to some good waterholes, where the bed of the creek was very boggy, and the banks richly grassed with kangaroo and other grasses. the general course is a little north of west, but it winds about very much between high sand hills. the waterholes are not large, but deep, and well shaded, both by the steep banks and the numerous box trees surrounding them. the logs and bushes high upon the forks of the trees, tell of the destructive floods to which this part of the country has been subjected, and that at no very distant period, as may be seen by the flood marks on trees of not more than five or six years' growth. from camp we traced the creek in a west-north-westerly direction about six miles. it then runs out among the sand hills, the water flowing by various small channels in a south-westerly direction. the main channel, however, continues nearly south until it is lost on an extensive earthy plain covered with marshmallows and chrysanthemums. creek.--in one of the valleys between the sand hills, at a distance of about ten miles in a south-westerly direction, we found a shallow waterhole where a creek is formed for a short distance, and is then lost again on the earthy plain beyond. west by north and west from here, about twelve miles, there are some splendid sheets of water, in some places two and three chains broad; the banks well timbered, but the land in the neighbourhood so loose and rotten that one can scarcely ride over it. i expect this is the reason why we saw no blacks about here, for it must be worse for them to walk over than the stony ground. from camp the general course of the creek is north-west, but it frequently disappears on the earthy plains for several miles, and then forms into waterholes again finer than before. at our first depot, camp , in latitude degrees minutes seconds south, longitude degrees minutes east, there is a fine hole about a mile long, and on an average one chain and a half broad. it exceeds five feet in depth everywhere that i tried it, except within three or four feet of the bank. two or three miles above this camp we saw the first melaburus growing around the waterholes, some of them as large as a moderate size gum tree. earthy flat.--the feed in the vicinity of camp is unexceptionable, both for horses and camels but the herbage on the creek generally down to this point is of a very inferior quality; the grasses are very coarse, and bear a very small proportion to the other plants. by far the chief portion of the herbage consists of chrysanthemums and marshmallows; the former, to judge from their dried-up powdery state, can contain very little nourishment, although some of the horses and camels eat them with great relish; the latter, i need hardly mention, are at this time of the year merely withered sticks. a few small salsolaceous plants are to be found on some of the flats, but they are scarcely worth mentioning. in some places where the bed of the creek is shallow and dry, there is an abundance of good grass and rushes of several kinds. the polygonum bushes are also fresh and good, in such places. stony rises.--the stony rises are generally bare and barren; but some of those on the north side of the creek carry a fair crop of light grass. sand hills.--wherever there are sand banks or ridges the feed is almost invariably good; the salt bush is healthy and abundant, and there are a variety of plants on which cattle would do well. for camels, these hills are particularly well adapted, for there is scarcely a plant grows on them that they will not eat, with the exception of porcupine grass; but there is very little of that until one gets many miles back from the creek. character of ground.--i have mentioned three distinct kinds of ground--the earthy plains, the stony rises, and the sand ridges. the latter, which is by far the most agreeable whether for travelling on, for feed, or in respect to the freedom from flies, ants, musquitoes, and rats, is simply a series of hills composed of blown sand of a red colour, very fine, and so compactly set that the foot does not sink in it much. in some places the ridges have a uniform direction, in others the hills are scattered about without any regularity; the average direction of the ridges is north-north-east and south-south-west. in the valleys between the hills, are shallow clay plains, in which the water rapidly collects, even after slight showers; but when full they seldom exceed five or six inches in depth, so that in summer they are soon dry again. stony rises.--the stony ground, in contradistinction to the sandstone ranges, appears to have been formed from the detritus of the latter, deposited in undulating beds of vast extent. the greater portion of this ground appears almost level when one is on it, but when viewed from a distance the undulations are very distinct; the stones are chiefly water-worn pebbles of sandstone, quartz, and iron-stone; in some places the rises approach more nearly to the nature of the sandstone ranges, and here the stones are less water-worn, and are mixed with large blocks of rock. i found the magnetic polarity to be very distinct in some of the ironstone pebbles on these rises. earthy plains.--the earthy plains which are such an important geological feature in this part of the country, will, i fear, greatly interfere with its future occupation. when dry they are so intersected by chasms and cracks that it is in some places dangerous for animals to cross them, and when wet they would be quite impassable. cattle would, perhaps, do well on them for some time after an inundation, and the ground might improve after having been stocked. the boggy nature of the banks of the creeks passing through this ground would be another impediment to settlers, from the losses of cattle that it would sometimes entail. to furnish an idea of the danger in that respect, i may mention that there are places where, for a distance of two or three miles, neither a bullock nor a horse could get to the water with safety, and it was with difficulty that we could approach it ourselves; the safest spots are at the lower end of the waterhole, where the creeks run out on the plains. a peculiar geological feature that i have never seen so strongly exhibited elsewhere is, that the watercourses on these plains have a strong tendency to work away to the south and south-west; the fall of the ground, as shown by the flow of the flood water, being to the west and north-west. i found that at almost every place where a portion of the creek ran out, the small branches into which it split before disappearing, struck off at nearly right angles to the creek, and that the flow of the water on the level plain was invariably in a west or north-westerly direction; whereas the creeks generally had a course considerably to the south and west, more especially before running out. the branch creeks and waterholes are always lined with box trees and polygonum bushes; they are generally situated between or near sandhills, and have doubtless been formed by the rush of water consequent on the interference of these hills by the general flow. in some places the direction of the sand ridges was the course of the creeks, trending to the southward; but i allude to the tendency as exhibited on the open plain, with no sand ridges near the creek. country to the north of camp ,--cooper's.--during our stay at camp , from which spot we found it necessary to remove for several reasons, but chiefly because the rats attacked our stores in such numbers that we could keep nothing from them, unless by suspending it in the trees, four excursions were made to the north of that place in search of a practicable route to the gulf. the first attempt was made with horses, which were soon knocked up from the strong nature of the ground and the want of water; the others we made with camels, by the help of which the country was well examined to a distance of nearly ninety miles. water was found at two places at distances of about seventy and seventy-three miles north of the creek, but it was fast drying up, and would not last beyond christmas. no blacks were seen, but a column of smoke was observed to the north-north-east, at a distance of about fifteen miles, as ascertained by some bearings, from the point at which we turned back. the chief portion of the land traversed consists of land-dunes and flats of the same nature, the latter clothed with porcupine grass, the former with salt bushes, grasses, and a variety of shrubs, sometimes intermixed with mesembryanthemums and porcupine grass. the sandy ground is bounded on either side by sandstone ranges, from which numerous small creeks flow east and west until they are lost in small flats and clay pans amongst the sand hills. their course is marked by an acacia, which is somewhat analogous in its general characteristics to the common wattle; a few are favoured with some box trees, but we only found water in one. the whole country has a most deplorably arid appearance; birds are very scarce, native dogs numerous. the paths of the blacks on the strong ground look as if they had been used many years. anthills and beds are to be found everywhere in great numbers and of considerable size; the paths to and from them are better marked and more worn than any i have ever seen before; but nearly all of them are deserted, and those that are inhabited contain a small and weakly population that seems to be fast dying away. neither about the flats nor the ranges did we see any signs of the heavy floods that have left such distinct marks in other parts, and the appearance of the whole country gave me the idea of a place that had been subjected to a long-continued drought. at the northernmost end of the eastern line of ranges, and on the west side of them, in latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east, is a low detached line of range about seven miles from north to south. on passing inside this range at its southern extremity, one enters a flat bounded to the south by high red sand hills to the west and north by the low range, and running up to the north-north-east, until it reaches the main range. on the lower part of the flat there is no creek, but on proceeding up it, at a mile and a half there are three waterholes with a few bushes growing around them; the water was fast drying up when we were there. there were some ducks, snipe, and pigeons about them: the former always returned to the holes after having been disturbed, so i imagine there is not much more water in the vicinity. in continuing up the flat, the main creek appears to be that along which the box timber grows, but the bed is sandy and quite dry. by keeping off a little to the left, at a mile above the waterholes, one comes on the bed of another creek, with only here and there a gum tree and a few bushes. up this creek at a distance of three miles nearly north from the three holes, and where the creek emerges from the ranges, is a large hole well shaded by heavy box trees; it contained only a small quantity of water when we passed, but i fancy that in ordinary seasons the water would be permanent. this creek has been much frequented by blacks at one time, but not lately. hundreds of hawks and a good many crows and magpies were in the trees near the waterhole. geographical position.--the geographical position of the three waterholes is by account from cooper's creek latitude degrees minutes south, longitude degrees minutes east. meteorological remarks.--it would be rather premature for me to offer any opinion on the climate of cooper's creek on so short a stay, and my other duties have prevented me from making any observations that would be worth forwarding in detail. i may mention, however, that neither on the creek, nor during the journey up, have we experienced any extreme temperatures: the heat, although considerably greater here than in melbourne, as shown by a thermometer, is not felt more severely by us. the maximum daily temperatures since our arrival on cooper's creek have generally exceeded degrees; the highest of all was registered on november th at camp , when the thermometer stood at degrees in the shade. there was at that time a strong wind from the north, which felt rather warm, but had not the peculiar characteristics of a hot wind. one of the most noticeable features in the weather has been the well-marked regularity in the course of the wind, which almost invariably blew lightly from the east or south-east soon after sunrise, went gradually round to north by two o'clock, sometimes blowing fresh from that quarter, followed the sun to west by sunset, and then died away or blew gently from the south throughout the night. a sudden change took place yesterday, december th; the day had been unusually hot, temperature of air at one p.m. degrees, at which time cirrocumulus clouds began to cross the sky from north-west, and at two p.m. the wind sprang up in the south-west, blowing with great violence (force ); it soon shifted to south, increasing in force to ( ) and sometimes ( ); it continued to blow from the same quarter all night, and has not yet much abated. once during the night it lulled for about an hour, and then commenced again; it is now (four p.m.) blowing with a force of ( ) from south by east, with a clear sky. before the wind had sprung up the sky had become overcast, and we were threatened with a thunderstorm; rain was evidently falling in the west and north-west, but the sky partially cleared in the evening without our receiving any. flashes of distant lightning were visible towards the north. during the night, the thunderstorm from the north approached sufficiently near for thunder to be distinctly heard; the flashes of lightning were painfully brilliant, although so far away. the storm passed to the south-east without reaching us; the sky remained overcast until between eight and nine a.m., since when it has been quite clear; the temperature of air, which at sunrise was as low as degrees, has reached a maximum of degrees: it is at present degrees, and that of the surface of the water in the creek degrees. two other thunderstorms have passed over since we have been on the creek, from only one of which we have received any rain worth mentioning. mr. brahe, who remains here in charge of the depot, and from whom i have received great assistance both in making meteorological observations and in the filling in of feature surveys, will keep a regular meteorological register. i have handed over to him for that purpose an aneroid barometer, number , , and four thermometers, two for dry and wet bulb observations, and the others for temperature of water, etc. with regard to hot winds, the direction of the sand-ridges would seem to indicate a prevalence of east and west winds here rather than of northerly. william j. wills, surveyor and astronomical observer. cooper's creek, th december, . . . . this concludes my son's third report; the first, as far as i can ascertain, was never published. this last was accompanied by many observations taken with the sextant and other instruments, requiring long experience to understand and handle correctly. brahe, a german, had been instructed by my son in their use, and had made some progress. notwithstanding his fatal error in leaving the depot contrary to orders, he had, in some respects, superior requisites to either of the others left with him. he was a good traveller, and a better bushman than wright. had he been associated with a single companion of nerve and energy, the consequent misfortunes might have been surmounted. chapter . departure from cooper's creek for the gulf of carpentaria. arrangements for the continuance of the depot at cooper's creek. mr. brahe left in charge. determination of route. progress and incidents. mr. wills's field books, from the th of december, , to the th of january, , to . shores of carpentaria. during the halt at cooper's creek, it was reported through an adelaide paper that mr. mcdouall stuart had returned from his attempt to explore in a north-western direction, and was preparing to start again with government aid, and no longer confined entirely to the private resources and enterprise of mr. james chambers. the gulf of carpentaria was not so much the immediate object of stuart's efforts, as the opening of a commercial avenue with a view to future trade, in a direction more toward the north-west coast, and as far north as the or degrees of southern latitude. this line of exploration appeared preferable to the strong practical mind of mr. chambers, who had in view the quid pro quo. stuart's object was therefore plain business, and the immediate advantage of the colony with which he was connected; whilst the victorian expedition included scientific discoveries, and the settlement of a great geographical problem. stuart is again out, since august, , and doubts are entertained for his safety. mr. chambers has died in the interim, and cannot know the result of the work he set afloat with so much spirit. thus it is in all ages of discovery, that few of the early pioneers live to travel on the roads they open with so much difficulty and endurance. mr. burke and my son, impatient of wright's delay, and seeing the time slip by that could never return, determined to make a dash for the gulf while the opportunity still remained to them. i was not aware, until after a communication with mr. brahe, on his first visit to melbourne, subsequent to his desertion of his post at the depot, that my son had strongly advocated a direct course northward; but mr. burke hesitated to adopt this, unless he could feel confident in a supply of water; the committee having included something in his instructions as to proceeding north-west towards eyre's creek and sturt's furthest. in his excursions round the camp and the district of cooper's creek, with the all-important question of water in view, my son must have gone over little short of a thousand miles. when he lost his camels he had seen smoke in the direction of north by east, which he believed to be a native fire, but the disaster frustrated his attempts to ascertain the fact. unable thoroughly to assure his leader on the point of water, the more western course was adopted at the commencement of the journey, for a day or two, after which they turned to the east, and scarcely deviated throughout from the st degree of eastern longitude. the party left cooper's creek on the morning of the th of december, . it consisted of mr. burke, mr. wills, king, and gray, (or charley as my son calls him in his journal); one horse, and six camels. it appears strange to me that they did not take more horses. as they had been living on horseflesh so much they would have increased their available food, in addition to the facility of carrying burthens. mr. brahe remained at cooper's creek depot with patten, mcdonough, dost mahomet, an indian, six camels, and twelve horses. he was left in charge until the arrival of mr. wright or some other person duly appointed by the committee to take command of the remainder of the expedition at menindie. a surveyor also was expected to assist my son, and plenty of work was laid out for all, until mr. burke's return, had the authorities known how to employ the proper people and employed them in time. there can be no doubt that brahe received most positive orders to remain at cooper's creek until the return of the exploring party from the gulf of carpentaria. three and four months were named as the possible time of absence. brahe did remain over four months; but even then it was in his power to have waited much longer, and he ought to have done so. but the man was over-weighted; the position was too much for him, and he gave way when a stronger mind might have stood firm. the worst point about him appears to be his want of consistency and miserable prevarication; but this may have been weakness rather than absolute absence of principle, or of any due sense of right or wrong. he was unfit to direct, but he might have been directed. mr. burke has been blamed for trusting brahe; but he was the best of those who remained behind, and there were not many to choose from. king has since told me that it was by my son's advice brahe was appointed, and that the arrival of the party from menindie was considered so certain, that the appointment was looked upon only as a temporary affair. it has been also said that king might have been left behind in charge, and brahe taken on. this arrangement, eligible in some respects, was open to objection in others. brahe could travel by compass and observation, which king could not; and one so qualified might be wanted for a journey to menindie. the details of the journey are given as follows, in my son's field books, numbered from to consecutively, transcribed by dr. mueller, mr. smith, and mr. cooper. i was associated with them as a matter of personal delicacy to the memory of the deceased explorer. mr. wills's journal. field book . cooper's creek to carpentaria. [the omissions in this diary are supplied by the information contained in the maps, with the exception of the last two days on the shore of the gulf.] sunday, th december, .--the horse having been shod and our reports finished, we started at . a.m. for eyre's creek, the party consisting of mr. burke, myself, king, and charley, having with us six camels, one horse, and three months' provisions. we followed down the creek to the point where the sandstone ranges cross the creek, and were accompanied to that place by brahe, who would return to take charge of the depot. down to this point the banks of the creek are very rugged and stony, but there is a tolerable supply of grass and salt bush in the vicinity. a large tribe of blacks came pestering us to go to their camp and have a dance, which we declined. they were very troublesome, and nothing but the threat to shoot them will keep them away. they are, however, easily frightened; and, although fine-looking men, decidedly not of a warlike disposition. they show the greatest inclination to take whatever they can, but will run no unnecessary risk in so doing. they seldom carry any weapon, except a shield and a large kind of boomerang, which i believe they use for killing rats, etc. sometimes, but very seldom, they have a large spear; reed spears seem to be quite unknown to them. they are undoubtedly a finer and better-looking race of men than the blacks on the murray and darling, and more peaceful; but in other respects i believe they will not compare favourably with them, for from the little we have seen of them, they appear to be mean-spirited and contemptible in every respect. monday, th december, .--we continued to follow down the creek. found its course very crooked, and the channel frequently dry for a considerable distance, and then forming into magnificent waterholes, abounding in water fowl of all kinds. the country on each side is more open than on the upper part of the creek. the soil on the plains is of a light earthy nature, supporting abundance of salt bush and grass. most of the plains are lightly timbered, and the ground is finer and not cracked up as at the head of the creek. left camp at ten minutes to six a.m., having breakfasted before leaving. we followed the creek along from point to point, at first in a direction west-north-west for about twelve miles, then about north-west. at about noon we passed the last water, a short distance beyond which the creek runs out on a polygonum flat [footnote: polygonum cunninghami.]; but the timber was so large and dense that it deceived us into the belief that there was a continuation of the channel. on crossing the polygonum ground to where we expected to find the creek we became aware of our mistake. not thinking it advisable to chance the existence of water ahead, we camped at the end of a large but shallow sheet of water in the sandy bed of the creek. the hole was about links broad, and * [footnote: blank in original.] feet deep in most places. in many places the temperature of the water was almost incredibly high, which induced me to try it at several points. the mean of two on the shady side of the creek gave / degrees. as may be imagined this water tasted disagreeably warm, but we soon cooled some in water bags, and thinking that it would be interesting to know what we might call cool, i placed the thermometer in a pannikin containing some that appeared delightfully so, almost cold in fact; its temperature was, to our astonishment, degrees. at half-past six, when a strong wind was blowing from south, and temperature of air had fallen to degrees, the lowest temperature of water in the hose, that had been exposed to the full effect of evaporation for several hours was degrees. this water for drinking appeared positively cold, and is too low a temperature to be pleasant under the circumstances. a remarkable southerly squall came on between five and six p.m., with every appearance of rain. the sky however soon cleared, but the wind continued to blow in a squally and irregular manner from the same quarter at evening. wednesday, th december, .--started at a quarter-past eight a. m., leaving what seemed to be the end of cooper's creek. we took a course a little to the north of west, intending to try and obtain water in some of the creeks that sturt mentioned that he had crossed, and at the same time to see whether they were connected with cooper's creek, as appeared most probable from the direction in which we found the latter running, and from the manner in which it had been breaking up into small channels, flowing across the plains in a north and north-north-west direction. we left on our right the flooded flats on which this branch of the creek runs out, and soon came to a series of sand ridges, the directions of which were between north half-west and north-north-west. the country is well grassed and supports plenty of salt bush. many of the valleys are liable to be inundated by the overflow of the main creek. they have watercourses and polygonum flats bordered with box trees, but we met with no holes fit to hold a supply of water. at about ten miles we crossed a large earthy flat lightly timbered with box and gum. the ground was very bad for travelling on, being much cracked up and intersected by innumerable channels, which continually carried off the water of a large creek. some of the valleys beyond this were very pretty, the ground being sound and covered with fresh plants, which made them look beautifully green. at fifteen miles we halted, where two large plains joined. our attention had been attracted by some red-breasted cockatoos, pigeons, a crow, and several other birds, whose presence made us feel sure that there was water not far off; but our hopes were soon destroyed by finding a claypan just drying up. it contained just sufficient liquid to make the clay boggy. at ten minutes to seven p.m., we moved on, steering straight for eyre's creek, north-west by north, intending to make a good night's journey and avoid the heat of the day; but at a mile and a half we came to a creek which looked so well that we followed it for a short distance, and finding two or three waterholes of good milky water we camped for the night. this enabled me to secure an observation of the eclipse of jupiter's (i) satellite, as well as some latitude observations. the night was so calm that i used the water as an horizon; but i find it much more satisfactory to take the mercury for several reasons. thursday, th december.--we did not leave this camp until half-past eight, having delayed to refill the water-bags with the milky water, which all of us found to be a great treat again. it is certainly more pleasant to drink than the clear water, and at the same time more satisfying. our course from here, north-west by north, took us through some pretty country, lightly timbered and well grassed. we could see the line of creek timber winding through the valley on our left. at a distance of five miles there was a bush fire on its banks, and beyond it the creek made a considerable bend to the south-west. at two miles farther we came in sight of a large lagoon bearing north by west, and at three miles more we camped on what would seem the same creek as last night, near where it enters the lagoon. the latter is of great extent and contains a large quantity of water, which swarms with wild fowl of every description. it is very shallow, but is surrounded by the most pleasing woodland scenery, and everything in the vicinity looks fresh and green. the creek near its junction with the lagoon contains some good waterholes five to six feet deep. they are found in a sandy alluvium which is very boggy when wet. there was a large camp of not less than forty or fifty blacks near where we stopped. they brought us presents of fish, for which we gave them some beads and matches. these fish we found to be a most valuable addition to our rations. they were of the same kind as we had found elsewhere, but finer, being from nine to ten inches long, and two to three inches deep, and in such good condition that they might have been fried in their own fat. it is a remarkable fact, that these were the first blacks who have offered us any fish since we reached cooper's creek. friday, st december.--we left camp at half-past five a.m., and tried to induce one or two of the blacks to go with us, but it was of no use. keeping our former course we were pulled up at three miles by a fine lagoon, and then by the creek that flows into it; the latter being full of water, we were obliged to trace it a mile up before we could cross. i observed on its banks two wild plants of the gourd or melon tribe, one much resembling a stunted cucumber: the other, both in leaf and appearance of fruit, was very similar to a small model of a water melon. [footnote: probably muckia micrantha.--f.m.] the latter plant i also found at camp . on tasting the pulp of the newly-found fruit, which was about the size of a large pea, i found it to be so acrid that it was with difficulty that i removed the taste from my mouth. at eight or nine miles from where we crossed the creek we passed another large lagoon, leaving it two miles on our left, and shortly afterwards we saw one nearly as far on our right. this last we should have availed ourselves of, but that we expected to find water in a creek which we could see, by the timber lining its banks, flowed from the lagoon on our left and crossed our course a few miles ahead. we reached it at a distance of four or five miles farther, and found a splendid waterhole at which we camped. the creek at the point flows in a northerly direction through a large lightly timbered flat, on which it partially runs out. the ground is, however, sound and well clothed with grass and salsolaceous plants. up to this point the country through which we have passed has been of the finest description for pastoral purposes. the grass and saltbush are everywhere abundant, and water is plentiful with every appearance of permanence. we met with porcupine grass, [footnote: triodia pungens.--br.] and only two sand ridges before reaching camp . field book . camp to . latitude to / degrees s.l. saturday, nd december.--at five minutes to five a.m. we left one of the most delightful camps we have had in the journey, and proceeded on the same course as before, north-west by north, across some high ridges of loose sand, many of which were partially clothed with porcupine grass. we found the ground much worse to travel over than any we have yet met with, as the ridges were exceedingly abrupt and steep on their eastern side, and although sloping gradually towards the west, were so honeycombed in some places by the burrows of rats, that the camels were continually in danger of falling. at a distance of about six miles, we descended from these ridges to undulating country of open box forest, where everything was green and fresh. there is an abundance of grass and salt bushes, and lots of birds of all descriptions. several flocks of pigeons passed over our heads, making for a point a little to our right, where there is no doubt plenty of water, but we did not go off our course to look for it. beyond the box forest, which keeps away to the right, we again entered the sand ridges, and at a distance of six miles, passed close to a dry salt lagoon, the ridges in the vicinity of which are less regular in their form and direction, and contain nodules of limestone. the ground in the flats and claypans near, has that encrusted surface that cracks under the pressure of the foot, and is a sure indication of saline deposits. at a distance of eight miles from the lagoon, we camped at the foot of a sand ridge, jutting out on the stony desert. i was rather disappointed, but not altogether surprised, to find the latter nothing more nor less than the stony rises that we had before met with, only on a larger scale and not quite as undulating. during the afternoon several crows came to feed on the plain. they came from an east-north-east direction, no doubt from a portion of the creek that flows through the forest that we left on our right. in the morning, as we were loading, a duck passed over, but it was too dark to see which way it went. sunday, rd december.--at five a.m. we struck out across the desert in a west-north-west direction. at four and a-half miles we crossed a sand ridge, and then returned to our north-west by north course. we found the ground not nearly as bad for travelling on as that between bulloo and cooper's creek. in fact i do not know whether it arose from our exaggerated anticipation of horrors or not, but we thought it far from bad travelling ground, and as to pasture it is only the actually stony ground that is bare, and many a sheep run is in fact worse grazing ground than that. at fifteen miles we crossed another sand ridge, for several miles round which there is plenty of grass and fine salt bush. after crossing this ridge we descended to an earthy plain, where the ground was rather heavy, being in some places like pieces of slaked lime, and intersected by small watercourses; flocks of pigeons rose from amongst the salt bushes and polygonum; but all the creeks were dry, although marked by lines of box timber. several gunyahs of the blacks were situated near a waterhole that had apparently contained water very lately, and heaps of grass were lying about the plains, from which they had beaten the seeds. we pushed on, hoping to find the creeks assuming an improved appearance, but they did not, and at one o'clock we halted, intending to travel through part of the night. about sunset, three flocks of pigeons passed over us, all going in the same direction, due north by compass, and passing over a ridge of sand in that direction. not to have taken notice of such an occurrence would have been little short of a sin, so we determined to go eight or ten miles in that direction. starting at seven o'clock p.m., we, at six miles, crossed the ridge over which the birds had flown, and came on a flat, subject to inundation. the ground was at first hard and even like the bottom of a claypan, but at a mile or so, we came on cracked earthy ground, intersected by numberless small channels running in all directions. at nine miles we reached the bed of a creek running from east to west: it was only bordered by polygonum bushes, but as there was no timber visible on the plains, we thought it safer to halt until daylight, for fear we should miss the water. at daylight, when we had saddled, a small quantity of timber could be seen at the point of a sand ridge about a mile and a half or two miles to the west of us, and on going there we found a fine creek, with a splendid sheet of water more than a mile long, and averaging nearly three chains broad: it is, however, only two or three feet deep in most parts. monday, th december, .--we took a day of rest on gray's creek to celebrate christmas. this was doubly pleasant, as we had never, in our most sanguine moments, anticipated finding such a delightful oasis in the desert. our camp was really an agreeable place, for we had all the advantages of food and water, attending a position of a large creek or river, and were at the same time free from the annoyance of the numberless ants, flies, and mosquitoes that are invariably met with amongst timber or heavy scrub. tuesday, th december, .--we left gray's creek at half-past four a.m. and proceeded to cross the earthy rotten plains in the direction of eyre's creek. at a distance of about nine miles we reached some lines of trees and bushes which were visible from the top of the sand ridge at gray's creek. we found them growing on the banks of several small creeks which trend to the north and north-north-west; at a mile and a half further we crossed a small creek north-north-east, and joining the ones above mentioned. this creek contained abundance of water in small detached holes from fifty to a hundred links long, well shaded by steep banks and overhanging bushes. the water had a suspiciously transparent colour and a slight trace of brackishness, but the latter was scarcely perceptible. near where the creek joined the holes is a sandhill and a dense mass of fine timber. the smoke of a fire indicated the presence of blacks, who soon made their appearance and followed us for some distance, beckoning us away to the north-east. we however continued our course north-west by north, but at a distance of one mile and a half found that the creek did not come round as we expected, and that the fall of the water was in a direction nearly opposite to our course, or about west to east. we struck off north half west for a high sand ridge, from which we anticipated seeing whether it were worth while for us to follow the course of the creeks we had crossed. we were surprised to find all the watercourses on the plains trending rather to the south of east, and at a distance of three miles, after changing our course, and when we approached the sandhills towards which we had been steering, we were agreeably pulled up by a magnificent creek coming from the north-north-west, and running in the direction of the fire we had seen. we had now no choice but to change our course again, for we could not have crossed even if we had desired to do so. on following up the south bank of the creek we found it soon keeping a more northerly course than it had where we first struck it. this fact, together with its magnitude and general appearance, lessened the probability of its being eyre's creek, as seemed at first very likely from their relative positions and directions. the day being very hot and the camels tired from travelling over the earthy plains, which by-the-by are not nearly so bad as those at the head of cooper's creek, we camped at one p.m., having traced the creek up about five miles, not counting the bends. for the whole of this distance we found not a break or interruption of water, which appears to be very deep; the banks are from twenty to thirty feet above the water, and very steep; they are clothed near the water's edge with mint and other weeds, and on the top of each side there is a belt of box trees and various shrubs. the lower part of the creek is bounded towards the north by a high red sand ridge, and on the south side is an extensive plain, intersected by numerous watercourses, which drain off the water in flood-time. the greater portion of the plain is at present very bare, but the stalks of dry grass show that after rain or floods there will be a good crop on the harder and well drained portion; but i believe the loose earthy portion supports no vegetation at any time. the inclination of the ground from the edge of the creek-bank towards the plain is in many places very considerable; this i should take to indicate that the flooding is or has been at one time both frequent and regular. wednesday, th december, .--we started at five a.m., following up the creek from point to point of the bends. its general course was at first north-by-west, but at about six miles, the sand ridge on the west closed in on it, and at this point it takes a turn to the north-north-east for half a mile, and then comes around suddenly north-west. up to this point it had been rather improving in appearance than otherwise, but in the bend to the north-west the channel is very broad. its bed being limestone rock and indurated clay, is for a space of five or six chains quite dry; then commences another waterhole, the creek keeping a little more towards north. we crossed the creek here and struck across the plain in a due north course, for we could see the line of timber coming up to the sand ridges in that direction. for from seven to eight miles we did not touch the creek, and the eastern sand ridge seceded to a distance, in some places of nearly three miles, from our line, leaving an immense extent of grassy plain between it and the creek. the distinctly marked feature on the lower part of this creek is that whenever the main creek is on one side of a plain, there is always a fine billibong on the opposite side, each of them almost invariably sticking close to the respective sand ridges. before coming to the next bend of the creek a view from the top of a sandhill showed me that the creek received a large tributary from the north-west at about two miles above where we had crossed it. a fine line of timber, running up to the north-west, joined an extensive tract of box forest, and the branch we were following was lost to view in a similar forest towards the north. the sand ridge was so abrupt when we came to the creek, that it was necessary to descend into its bed through one of the small ravines adjoining it. we found it partially run out, the bed being sand and strewed with nodules of lime, some of which were from one half to two feet long: they had apparently been formed in the sanddowns by infiltration. field book . camps to .* latitude south / to / degrees. [* footnote: this field book was mostly occupied by notes of astronomical observations, and surveyor's notes for mapping.] sunday, th december, .--finding that the creek was trending considerably towards the east without much likelihood of altering its course, we struck off from it, taking a ten days' supply of water, as there were ranges visible to the north, which had the appearance of being stony. a north-east by north course was first taken for about seven miles in order to avoid them. the whole of this distance was over alluvial earthy plains, the soil of which was firm, but the vegetation scanty. field book . camps to . latitude / to / degrees. (fine country, tropics.) saturday, th january, .--on leaving camp , we found slight but distinct indications of rain in the groves, and a few blades of grass and small weeds in the little depressions on the plain: these indications were, however, so slight, that, but for the fact of our having found surface-water in two holes near our camp, we should hardly have noticed them. at a distance of about two miles in a north-north-easterly direction, we came to a creek with a long broad shallow waterhole. the well-worn paths, the recent tracks of natives, and the heaps of shells, on the contents of which the latter had feasted, showed at once that this creek must be connected with some creek of considerable importance. the camels and horses being greatly in need of rest, we only moved up about half a mile, and camped for the day. sunday, th january, .--started at twenty minutes to six o'clock, intending to make an easy day's stage along the creek. as we proceeded up in a northerly direction, we found the waterhole to diminish in size very much, and at about two and a half miles the creek ran out in a lot of small watercourses. at the upper end of the creek we found in its bed what appeared to be an arrangement for catching fish: it consisted of a small oval mud paddock about twelve feet by eight feet, the sides of which were about nine inches above the bottom of the hole, and the top of the fence covered with long grass, so arranged that the ends of the blades overhung scantily by several inches the sides of the hole. as there was no sign of timber to the north, we struck off to north-west by north for a fine line that came up from south-west, and seemed to run parallel with the creek we were about to leave. at a distance of about three miles, we reached the bank of a fine creek containing a sheet of water two chains broad, and at least fifteen feet deep in the middle. the banks are shelving, sandy, and lightly clothed with box trees and various shrubs. on starting to cross the plains towards this creek we were surprised at the bright green appearance of strips of land, which look in the distance like swamps. on approaching some of them, we found that there had been a considerable fall of rain in some places, which had raised a fine crop of grass and portulac [footnote: portulaca oleracea. l.] wherever the soil was of a sandy and light nature; but the amount of moisture had been insufficient to affect the hard clayey ground which constitutes the main portion of the plain. the sight of two native companions feeding here, added greatly to the encouraging prospects; they are the only specimens of that bird that i remember to have seen on that side of the darling. th january, .--we started at half-past four a.m. without water, thinking that we might safely rely on this creek for one day's journey. we, however, found the line of timber soon began to look small; at three miles the channel contained only a few pools of surface water. we continued across the plains on a due north course, frequently crossing small watercourses, which had been filled by the rain, but were fast drying up. here and there, as we proceeded, dense lines of timber on our right showed that the creek came from the east of north; at a distance of thirteen miles we turned to the north-north-east towards a fine line of timber. we found a creek of considerable dimensions, that had only two or three small water-holes, but as there was more than sufficient for us, and very little feed for the beasts anywhere else, we camped. i should have liked this camp to have been in a more prominent and easily recognizable position, as it happens to be almost exactly on the tropic of capricorn. the tremendous gale of wind that we had in the evening and night prevented me from taking a latitude observation, whereas i had some good ones at the last camp and at camp . my reckoning cannot be far out. i found, on taking out my instruments, that one of the spare thermometers was broken, and the glass of my aneroid barometer cracked; the latter i believe not otherwise injured. this was done by the camel having taken it into his head to roll while the pack was on his back. tuesday, th january, .--started at a quarter past five a.m. with a load of water, determined to be independent of all creeks and watercourses. at a mile and a half, found surface water in a small creek, and at a mile farther, water in two or three places on the open plains. the country we crossed for the first ten miles consists of fine open plains of firm argillaceous soils, too stiff and hard to be affected by the small quantity of rain that has fallen as yet. they are subject to inundations from the overflow of a number of small creeks, which intersect them in a direction east-north-east to west-south-west. nearly all the creeks are lined with box trees and shrubs in a tolerably healthy state; of the remains of dead trees there is only a fair proportion to the living ones. after traversing a plain of greater extent than the rest, we, at ten miles, reached the creek, proportionately large and important looking. the channel, however, at the point where we struck it, was deep, level, and dry; but i believe there is water in it not far off, for there were some red-breasted cockatoos in the trees, and native parrots on each side. on the north side there is a part bearing off to the north-north-west. the mirage on the plain to the south of the creek was stronger than i have before seen it. there appear to be sheets of water within a few yards of one, and it looks sufficiently smooth and glassy to be used for an artificial horizon. to the westward of the plains, some fine sandhills were visible, nearly in the direction in which the creek flowed. to the north of the creek the country undergoes a great change. at first there is a little earthy land subject to inundation. the soil then becomes more sandy, with stony pans in which water collects after rain; the whole country is slightly undulating, lightly timbered, and splendidly grassed. a number of small disconnected creeks are scattered about, many of which contained water protected from the sun and wind by luxuriant growth of fine grasses and small bushes. we passed one or two little rises of sand and pebbles, on which were growing some trees quite new to me; but for the seed pods i should have taken them for a species of casuarina, although the leaf-stalks have not the jointed peculiarities of those plants. the trunks and branches are like the she oak, the leaves like those of a pine; they droop like a willow, and the seed is small, flat, in a large flat pod, about six inches by three-quarters of an inch. as we proceeded, the country improved at every step. flocks of pigeons rose and flew off to the eastward, and fresh plants met our view on every rise; everything green and luxuriant. the horse licked his lips, and tried all he could to break his nose-string in order to get at the food. we camped at the foot of a sandy rise, where there was a large stony pan with plenty of water, and where the feed was equal in quality, and superior as to variety, to any that i have seen in australia, excepting perhaps on some soils of volcanic origin. wednesday, th january, .--started at five minutes past five, without water, trusting to get a supply of water from the rain that fell during the thunderstorm. traversed six miles of undulating plains covered with vegetation richer than ever. several ducks rose from the little creeks as we passed, and flocks of pigeons were flying in all directions. the richness of the vegetation is evidently not suddenly arising from chance thunderstorms, for the trees and bushes on the open plain are everywhere healthy and fresh looking; very few dead ones are to be seen; besides which, the quantity of dead and rotten grass which at present almost overpowers in some places the young blades shows that this is not the first crop of the kind. the grasses are numerous and many of them unknown to me, but they only constitute a moderate portion of the herbage. several kinds of spurious vetches and portulac, as well as salsolaceae, add to the luxuriance of the vegetation. at seven miles we found ourselves in an open forest country, where the feed was good, but not equal to what we had passed, neither had it been visited by yesterday's rain. we soon emerged again on open plains, but the soil being of a more clayish nature, they were not nearly so much advanced in vegetation as the others. we found surface water in several places, and at one spot disturbed a fine bustard which was feeding in the long grass; we did not see him until he flew up. i should have mentioned that one flew over our camp last evening in a northerly direction; this speaks well for the country and climate. at noon we came to a large creek the course of which was from east-north-east to west-south-west; the sight of the white gum trees in the distance had raised hopes, which were not at all damped on a close inspection of the channel. at the point where we struck it there was certainly no great quantity of water; the bed was broad and sandy, but its whole appearance was that of an important watercourse, and the large gums which line its banks, together with the improved appearance of the soil, and the abundance of feed in the vicinity, satisfied us as to the permanency of the water and the value of the discovery. although it was so early in the day, and we were anxious to make a good march, yet we camped here, as it seemed to be almost a sin to leave such good quarters. the bed of the creek is loose sand, through which the water freely permeates; it is, however, sufficiently coarse not to be boggy, and animals can approach the water without any difficulty. thursday, th january, .--at twenty minutes past five a.m., we left our camp with a full supply of water, determined to risk no reverses, and to make a good march. i should mention that last evening we had been nearly deafened by the noise of the cicadariae, and but for our large fires should have been kept awake all night by the mosquitoes. a walk of two miles across a well grassed plain brought us to a belt of timber, and we soon afterwards found ourselves pulled up by a large creek in which the water was broad and deep; we had to follow up the bank of the creek in a north-easterly direction for nearly a mile before we could cross, when to our joy we found that it was flowing; not a muddy stream from the effects of recent floods, but a small rivulet of pure water as clear as crystal. the bed of the river at this place is deep and rather narrow; the water flows over sand and pebbles, winding its way between clumps of melalema, and gum saplings. after leaving the river, we kept our old course due north, crossing, at a distance of one mile, three creeks with gum trees on their banks. the soil of the flats through which they flow is a red loam of fair quality and well grassed. beyond the third creek is a large plain, parts of which are very stony, and this is bounded towards the east by a low stony rise, partly composed of decayed and honeycombed quartz rock in situ, and partly of waterworn pebbles and other alluvial deposits. at about two miles across this plain, we reached the first of a series of small creeks with deep waterholes: these creeks and holes have the characteristics peculiar to watercourses which are found in flats formed from the alluvial deposits of schistose rocks. the banks are on a level with the surrounding ground, and are irregularly marked by small trees, or only by tufts of long grass which overhang the channel and frequently hide it from one's view, even when within a few yards. at about five miles from where we crossed the river, we came to the main creek in these flats, patten's creek; it flows along at the foot of a stony range, and we had to trace it up nearly a mile in a north-north-easterly direction before we could cross it; as it happened, we might almost as well have followed its course up the flat, for at a little more than two miles we came to it again. we re-crossed it at a stony place just below a very large waterhole, and then continued our course over extensive plains, not so well grassed as those we had passed before, and very stony in some places. at eight miles from patten's creek, we came to another, running from south-west to south-east: there was plenty of water in it, but it was evidently the result of recent local rains. on the banks was an abundance of good feed but very little timber. friday, th january, .--we started at five a.m., and in the excitement of exploring fine well-watered country, forgot all about the eclipse of the sun until the reduced temperature and peculiarly gloomy appearance of the sky drew our attention to the matter; it was then too late to remedy the deficiency, so we made a good day's journey, the moderation of the midday heat, which was only about degrees, greatly assisting us. the country traversed has the most verdant and cheerful aspect; abundance of feed and water everywhere. all the creeks seen to-day have a course more or less to the east by south. the land improves in appearance at every mile. a quantity of rain has fallen here and to the south, and some of the flats are suitable for cultivation, if the regularity of the seasons will admit. field book . camps to . latitude / to / degrees. (standish ranges.) saturday, th january, .--we started at five a.m., and, keeping as nearly as possible a due north course, traversed for about eight miles a splendid flat, through which flow several fine well-watered creeks, lined with white gum trees. we then entered a series of slaty, low, sandstone ranges, amongst which were some well-grassed flats, and plenty of water in the main gullies. the more stony portions are, however, covered with porcupine grass, and here and there with mallee; large ant-hills are very numerous; they vary in height from two and a half to four feet. there was a continuous rise perceptible all the way in crossing the ranges, and from the highest portion, which we reached at a distance of about seven miles, we had a pretty good view of the country towards the north. as far as we could see in the distance, and bearing due north, was a large range, having somewhat the outline of a granite mountain. the east end of this range just comes up to the magnetic north; on the left of this, and bearing north-north-west, is a single conical peak, the top of which only is visible. further to the west there were some broken ranges, apparently sandstone; to the east of north the tops of very distant and apparently higher ranges were seen, the outline of which was so indistinct that i can form no idea as to their character; the intermediate country below us appeared alternations of fine valleys and stony ranges, such as we had just been crossing. from here a descent of two miles brought us to a creek having a northern course, but on tracing it down for about a mile, we found it to turn to the south-east and join another from the north. we crossed over to the latter on a north-by-west course, and camped on the west bank. it has a broad sandy channel; the waterholes are large, but not deep; the banks are bordered with fine white gums, and are in some places very scrubby. there is abundance of rich green feed everywhere in the vicinity. we found here numerous indications of blacks having been here, but saw nothing of them. it seems remarkable that where their tracks are so plentiful, we should have seen none since we left king's creek. i observed that the natives here climb trees as those on the murray do, in search of some animal corresponding in habits to the opossum, which they get out of the hollow branches in a similar manner. i have not yet been able to ascertain what the animal is. sunday, th january, .--we did not leave camp this morning until half-past seven, having delayed for the purpose of getting the camels' shoes on--a matter in which we were eminently unsuccessful. we took our breakfast before starting, for almost the first time since leaving the depot. having crossed the creek, our course was due north as before, until, at about six miles, we came in sight of the range ahead, when we took a north-half-east direction for the purpose of clearing the eastern front of it. we found the ground more sandy than what we had before crossed, and a great deal of it even more richly grassed. camp is situate at the junction of three sandy creeks, in which there is abundance of water. the sand is loose, and the water permeates freely, so that the latter may be obtained delightfully cool and clear by sinking anywhere in the beds of the creeks. field book . camps to . latitude / to / degrees. (upper part of cloncurry.) saturday, th january, .--started from camp at . a.m., and passing to the north-west of mount forbes, across a fine and well-grassed plain, kept at first a north-by-east direction. at a distance of three miles, the plain became everywhere stony, being scattered over with quartz pebbles; and a little further on we came to low quartz ranges, the higher portions of which are covered with porcupine grass, but the valleys are well clothed with a variety of coarse and rank herbage. at about five miles we crossed a creek with a sandy bed, which has been named green's creek; there were blacks not far above where we crossed, but we did not disturb them. after crossing the creek, we took a due north course over very rugged quartz ranges of an auriferous character. pieces of iron ore, very rich, were scattered in great numbers over some of the hills. on our being about to cross one of the branch creeks in the low range, we surprised some blacks--a man who, with a young fellow apparently his son, was upon a tree, cutting out something; and a lubra with a piccaninny. the two former did not see me until i was nearly close to them, and then they were dreadfully frightened; jumping down from the trees, they started off, shouting what sounded to us very like "joe, joe." thus disturbed, the lubra, who was at some distance from them, just then caught sight of the camels and the remainder of the party as they came over the hill into the creek, and this tended to hasten their flight over the stones and porcupine grass. crossing the range at the head of this creek, we came on a gully running north, down which we proceeded, and soon found it open out into a creek, at two or three points in which we found water. on this creek we found the first specimen of an eucalyptus, which has a very different appearance from the members of the gum-tree race. it grows as high as a good-sized gum tree, but with the branches less spreading: in shape it much resembles the elm; the foliage is dark, like that of the light wood; the trunk and branches are covered with a grey bark resembling in outward appearance that of the box tree. finding that the creek was trending too much to the eastward, we struck off to the north again, and at a short distance came on a fine creek running about south-south-east. as it was now nearly time to camp, we travelled it up for about one and a-half mile, and came to a fine waterhole in a rocky basin, at which there were lots of birds. field book . camps to . latitude / to / degrees. (middle part of cloncurry.) sunday, th january, .--started from camp at five minutes past two in the morning. we followed along the bends of the creek by moonlight, and found the creek wind about very much, taking on the whole a north-east course. at about five miles it changed somewhat its features; from a broad and sandy channel, winding about through gum-tree flats, it assumes the unpropitious appearance of a straight, narrow creek, running in a north-north-east direction between high, perpendicular, earthy banks. after running between three or four miles in this manner, it took a turn to the west, at which point there is a fine waterhole, and then assumed its original character. below this we found water at several places, but it all seemed to be either from surface drainage or from springs in the sand. the land in the vicinity of the creek appears to have received plenty of rain, the vegetation everywhere green and fresh; but there is no appearance of the creek having flowed in this part of the channel for a considerable period. palm trees are numerous, and some bear an abundance of small, round dates (nuts) just ripening. these palms give a most picturesque and pleasant appearance to the creek. wednesday, th january, .--started at half-past seven a.m., after several unsuccessful attempts at getting golah out of the bed of the creek. it was determined to try bringing him down until we could find a place for him to get out at; but after going in this way two or three miles it was found necessary to leave him behind, as it was almost impossible to get him through some of the waterholes, and had separated king from the party, which became a matter for very serious consideration when we found blacks hiding in the box trees close to us. . . . having reached the point indicated by the last date and passage in" field book ," mr. burke and my son determined to leave gray and king there in charge of the camels, and to proceed onwards to the shores of carpentaria, themselves on foot and leading the horse. the river or creek down which they passed is named in the journal the cloncurry. the channel making a sudden turn, my son remarked that it might be a new river. "if it should prove so," said mr. burke, "we will call it after my old friend lord cloncurry." with reference to this locality, marked in the map as camp , king was asked in his examination before the royal commissioners: question . was the water salt?--quite salt. . who first made the discovery of reaching the sea, or did you all come upon it together; that is, reaching the salt water where the tide was?--mr. wills knew it; he had told us two or three days before we reached the salt water that we were in the country that had been discovered by mr. gregory and other previous explorers. . some days before you got upon it he told you that?--yes, and showed us on the chart the supposed place where mr. gregory crossed this small creek. it will be seen by these answers of king, that mr. burke assumed no topographical knowledge of the position. the melbourne argus stated and repeated that he had mistaken the flinders for the albert. now the river in question was never mentioned as either, and the mistake, if made, was mr. wills's and not mr. burke's. this portion of the map was said to have been lost on the morning of its arrival in melbourne; and this i can readily believe, as also that more might have met with the same fate had i not fortunately been there. . . . field book . camps to . south latitude / to degrees minutes. lower part of cloncurry. . . . field book . returning from carpentaria to cooper's creek. sunday, february, .--finding the ground in such a state from the heavy falls of rain, that camels could scarcely be got along, it was decided to leave them at camp , and for mr. burke and i to proceed towards the sea on foot. after breakfast we accordingly started, taking with us the horse and three days' provisions. our first difficulty was in crossing billy's creek, which we had to do where it enters the river, a few hundred yards below the camp. in getting the horse in here, he got bogged in a quicksand bank so deeply as to be unable to stir, and we only succeeded in extricating him by undermining him on the creek's side, and then lugging him into the water. having got all the things in safety, we continued down the river bank, which bent about from east to west, but kept a general north course. a great deal of the land was so soft and rotten that the horse, with only a saddle and about twenty-five pounds on his back, could scarcely walk over it. at a distance of about five miles we again had him bogged in crossing a small creek, after which he seemed so weak that we had great doubts about getting him on. we, however, found some better ground close to the water's edge, where the sandstone rock crops out, and we stuck to it as far as possible. finding that the river was bending about so much that we were making very little progress in a northerly direction, we struck off due north and soon came on some table-land, where the soil is shallow and gravelly, and clothed with box and swamp gums. patches of the land were very boggy, but the main portion was sound enough; beyond this we came on an open plain, covered with water up to one's ankles. the soil here was a stiff clay, and the surface very uneven, so that between the tufts of grass one was frequently knee deep in water. the bottom, however, was sound and no fear of bogging. after floundering through this for several miles, we came to a path formed by the blacks, and there were distinct signs of a recent migration in a southerly direction. by making use of this path we got on much better, for the ground was well trodden and hard. at rather more than a mile, the path entered a forest through which flowed a nice watercourse, and we had not gone far before we found places where the blacks had been camping. the forest was intersected by little pebbly rises, on which they had made their fires, and in the sandy ground adjoining some of the former had been digging yams, which seemed to be so numerous that they could afford to leave lots of them about, probably having only selected the very best. we were not so particular, but ate many of those that they had rejected, and found them very good. about half a mile further, we came close on a black fellow, who was coiling up by a camp fire, whilst his gin and piccaninny were yabbering alongside. we stopped for a short time to take out some of the pistols that were on the horse, and that they might see us before we were so near as to frighten them. just after we stopped, the black got up to stretch his limbs, and after a few seconds looked in our direction. it was very amusing to see the way in which he stared, standing for some time as if he thought he must be dreaming, and then, having signalled to the others, they dropped on their haunches, and shuffled off in the quietest manner possible. near their fire was a fine hut, the best i have ever seen, built on the same principle as those at cooper's creek, but much larger and more complete: i should say a dozen blacks might comfortably coil in it together. it is situated at the end of the forest towards the north, and looks out on an extensive marsh, which is at times flooded by the sea water. hundreds of wild geese, plover and pelicans, were enjoying themselves in the watercourses on the marsh, all the water on which was too brackish to be drinkable, except some holes that are filled by the stream that flows through the forest. the neighbourhood of this encampment is one of the prettiest we have seen during the journey. proceeding on our course across the marsh, we came to a channel through which the sea water enters. here we passed three blacks, who, as is universally their custom, pointed out to us, unasked, the best part down. this assisted us greatly, for the ground we were taking was very boggy. we moved slowly down about three miles and then camped for the night; the horse billy being completely baked. next morning we started at daybreak, leaving the horse short hobbled. memo.--verbally transcribed from the field books of the late mr. wills. very few words, casually omitted in the author's manuscripts, have been added in brackets. a few botanical explanations have been appended. a few separate general remarks referring to this portion of the diary will be published, together with the meteorological notes to which they are contiguous. no other notes in reference to this portion of the journey are extant. / / ferd. mueller. . . . it will be observed in following these field books that there are occasional intervals and omissions, which i account for thus: --my son's first entries, in pencil, are more in the form of notes, with observations, and figures to guide him in mapping; because, when his maps are accurate and attended to, his journal is imperfect, and vice versa. besides, there can be no doubt that mr. burke kept a journal, though perhaps not a complete one, and of which a very small portion has come to hand. in it he mentions a difficult pass they went through on the route to carpentaria, of which my son does not speak. king confirms mr. burke's statement, and says my son knew he had written it, which was the reason why he did not himself repeat the same passage. the royal commissioners in their report said: "it does not appear that mr. burke kept any regular journal, or that he gave written instructions to his officers. had he performed these essential portions of the duties of a leader, many of the calamities of the expedition might have been averted, and little or no room would have been left for doubt in judging the conduct of those subordinates who pleaded unsatisfactory and contradictory verbal orders and statements." with all due submission and humility, i think this opinion too conclusive, and formed on unsatisfactory evidence, as any statement must be considered, proceeding from one who destroyed his own credit by self-contradiction to the extent that mr. brahe did. he admitted, on his examination, that he had burnt some of mr. burke's papers at mr. burke's own request. how then is it possible to determine what he may otherwise have burnt or placed out of the way? in fact, what written instructions, if any, he did or not receive, and what he did with them? chapter . return from carpentaria to cooper's creek. mr. wills's journals from february th to april st, . illness and death of gray. the survivors arrive at cooper's creek depot and find it deserted. a small stock of provisions left. conduct of brahe. report of the royal commission. mr. burke and mr. wills having accomplished the grand object of the expedition by reaching the gulf of carpentaria, rejoined gray and king at camp , where they had left them with the camels. on the th of february the party turned their faces to the south, and commenced their long and toilsome march in return. the entries in my son's journals were transcribed as follows:-- tuesday, th february, .--boocha's camp. wednesday, th february, .--pleasant camp; r. thursday, st february, .--recovery camp; r. between four and five o'clock a heavy thunderstorm broke over us, having given very little warning of its approach. there had been lightning and thunder towards south-east and south ever since noon yesterday. the rain was incessant and very heavy for an hour and a half, which made the ground so boggy that the animals could scarcely walk over it; we nevertheless started at ten minutes to seven a.m., and after floundering along for half an hour halted for breakfast. we then moved on again, but soon found that the travelling was too heavy for the camels, so camped for the remainder of the day. in the afternoon the sky cleared a little, and the sun soon dried the ground, considering. shot a pheasant, and much disappointed at finding him all feathers and claws. this bird nearly resembles a cock pheasant in plumage, but in other respects it bears more the character of the magpie or crow; the feathers are remarkably wiry and coarse. friday, nd february, .--camp r. a fearful thunderstorm in the evening, about eight p.m., from east-south-east, moving gradually round to south. the flashes of lightning were so vivid and incessant as to keep up a continual light for short intervals, overpowering the moonlight. heavy rain and strong squalls continued for more than an hour, when the storm moved off west-north-west. the sky remained more or less overcast for the rest of the night, and the following morning was both sultry and oppressive, with the ground so boggy as to be almost impassable. saturday, rd february, .--camp r. in spite of the difficulties thrown in our way by last night's storm, we crossed the creek, but were shortly afterwards compelled to halt for the day on a small patch of comparatively dry ground, near the river. the day turned out very fine, so that the soil dried rapidly, and we started in the evening to try a trip by moonlight. we were very fortunate in finding sound ground along a billibong, which permitted of our travelling for about five miles up the creek, when we camped for the night. the evening was most oppressively hot and sultry, so much so that the slightest exertion made one feel as if he were in a state of suffocation. the dampness of the atmosphere prevented any evaporation, and gave one a helpless feeling of lassitude that i have never before experienced to such an extent. all the party complained of the same symptoms, and the horses showed distinctly the effect of the evening trip, short as it was. we had scarcely turned in half an hour when it began to rain, some heavy clouds having come up from the eastward in place of the layer of small cirrocumulus that before ornamented the greater portion of the sky. these clouds soon moved on, and we were relieved from the dread of additional mud. after the sky cleared, the atmosphere became rather cooler and less sultry, so that, with the assistance of a little smoke to keep the mosquitoes off, we managed to pass a tolerable night. sunday, th february, .--camp r. comparatively little rain has fallen above the branch creek with the running water. the vegetation, although tolerably fresh, is not so rank as that we have left; the water in the creek is muddy, but good, and has been derived merely from the surface drainage of the adjoining plains. the melaleneus continues on this branch creek, which creeps along at the foot of the ranges. monday, th february, .--camp r. there has been very little rain on this portion of the creek since we passed down; there was, however, no water at all then at the pans. at the tea-tree spring, a short distance up the creek, we found plenty of water in the sand, but it had a disagreeable taste, from the decomposition of leaves and the presence of mineral matter, probably iron. there seems to have been a fair share of rain along here, everything is so very fresh and green, and there is water in many of the channels we have crossed. tuesday, th february, .--apple-tree camp; r. thursday, th february, .--reedy gully camp; r. came into the reedy gully camp about midnight on tuesday, the th; remained there throughout the day on wednesday; starting at two a.m. on thursday. friday, st march, .--camp of the three crows; r. saturday, nd march, .--salt-bush camp; r. found golah. he looks thin and miserable; seems to have fretted a great deal, probably at finding himself left behind, and he has been walking up and down our tracks till he has made a regular pathway; could find no sign of his having been far off, although there is a splendid feed to which he could have gone. he began to eat as soon as he saw the other camels. sunday, rd march, .--eureka camp; r. in crossing a creek by moonlight, charley rode over a large snake; he did not touch him, and we thought that it was a log until he struck it with the stirrup iron; we then saw that it was an immense snake, larger than any i have ever before seen in a wild state. it measured eight feet four inches in length and seven inches in girth round the belly; it was nearly the same thickness from the head to within twenty inches of the tail; it then tapered rapidly. the weight was / pounds. from the tip of the nose to five inches back, the neck was black, both above and below; throughout the rest of the body, the under part was yellow, and the sides and back had irregular brown transverse bars on a yellowish brown ground. i could detect no poisonous fangs, but there were two distinct rows of teeth in each jaw, and two small claws of nails, about three-eighths of an inch long, one on each side of the vent. monday, th march, .--feasting camp; r. shortly after arriving at camp we could frequently hear distant thunder towards the east, from which quarter the wind was blowing. during the afternoon there were frequent heavy showers, and towards evening it set in to rain steadily but lightly; this lasted till about eight p.m., when the rain ceased and the wind got round to west; the sky, however, remained overcast until late in the night, and then cleared for a short time; the clouds were soon succeeded by a dense fog or mist, which continued until morning. the vapour having then risen, occupied the upper air in the form of light cirrostratus and cumulus clouds. tuesday, th march, .--camp r. started at two a.m. on a south-south-westerly course, but had soon to turn in on the creek, as mr. burke felt very unwell, having been attacked by dysentery since eating the snake; he now felt giddy and unable to keep his seat. at six a.m., mr. burke feeling better, we started again, following along the creek, in which there was considerably more water than when we passed down. we camped, at . p.m., at a part of the creek where the date trees [footnote: probably livistonas.] were very numerous, and found the fruit nearly ripe and very much improved on what it was when we were here before. wednesday, th march, .--camp r. arrived at our former camp, and found the feed richer than ever, and the ants just as troublesome. mr. burke is a little better, and charley looks comparatively well. the dryness of the atmosphere seems to have a beneficial effect on all. we found yesterday, that it was a hopeless matter about golah, and we were obliged to leave him behind, as he seemed to be completely done up and could not come on, even when the pack and saddle were taken off. thursday, th march, .--fig-tree camp; r; palm-tree camp, , and degrees latitude, by observation, coming down, degrees minutes seconds. there is less water here than there was when we passed down, although there is evidence of the creek having been visited by considerable floods during the interval. feed is abundant, and the vegetation more fresh than before. mr. burke almost recovered, but charley is again very unwell and unfit to do anything; he caught cold last night through carelessness in covering himself. friday, th march, .--camp r. followed the creek more closely coming up than going down. found more water in it generally. saturday, th march, .--camp r. reached our former camp at . p.m. found the herbage much dried up, but still plenty of feed for the camels. sunday, th march, .--camp r. camped at the junction of a small creek from the westward, a short distance below our former camp, there being plenty of good water here, whereas the supply at specimen camp is very doubtful. monday, th march, .--camp r. halted for breakfast at the specimen camp at . a.m., found more water and feed there than before; then proceeded up the creek and got safely over the most dangerous part of our journey. camped near the head of the gap in a flat, about two miles below our former camp at the gap. tuesday, th march, .--camp r. wednesday, th march, .--camp r. rain all day, so heavily that i was obliged to put my watch and field book in the pack to keep them dry. in the afternoon the rain increased, and all the creeks became flooded. we took shelter under some fallen rocks, near which was some feed for the camels; but the latter was of no value, for we had soon to remove them up amongst the rocks, out of the way of the flood, which fortunately did not rise high enough to drive us out of the cave; but we were obliged to shift our packs to the upper part. in the evening the water fell as rapidly as it had risen, leaving everything in a very boggy state. there were frequent light showers during the night. thursday, th march, .--camp r; sandstone cave. the water in the creek having fallen sufficiently low, we crossed over from the cave and proceeded down the creek. our progress was slow, as it was necessary to keep on the stony ridge instead of following the flats, the latter being very boggy after the rain. thinking that this creek must join scratchley's, near our old camp, we followed it a long way, until finding it trend altogether too much eastward, we tried to shape across for the other creek, but were unable to do so, from the boggy nature of the intervening plain. friday, th march, .--camp r. saturday, th march, .--camp r. scratchley's creek. sunday, th march, .--camp r. monday, th march, .--camp r. tuesday, th march, .--camp r. wednesday, th march, .--camp r. feasting camp. last evening the sky was clouded about nine p.m., and a shower came down from the north. at ten o'clock it became so dark that we camped on the bank of the creek, in which was a nice current of clear water. to-day we halted, intending to try a night journey. the packs we overhauled and left nearly pounds weight of things behind. they were all suspended in a pack from the branches of a shrub close to the creek. we started at a quarter to six, but were continually pulled up by billibongs and branch creeks, and soon had to camp for the night. at the junction of the two creeks just above are the three cones, which are three remarkably small hills to the eastward. thursday, st march, .--humid camp, r.--unable to proceed on account of the slippery and boggy state of the ground. the rain has fallen very heavily here to-day, and every little depression in the ground is either full of water or covered with slimy mud. another heavy storm passed over during the night, almost extinguishing the miserable fire we were able to get up with our very limited quantity of waterlogged and green wood. having been so unfortunate last night, we took an early breakfast this morning at camp , which i had named the humid camp, from the state of dampness in which we found everything there; and crossing to the east bank of the main creek, proceeded in a southerly direction nearly parallel with the creek. some of the flats near the creek contain the richest alluvial soil, and are clothed with luxuriant vegetation. there is an immense extent of plain, back, of the finest character for pastoral purposes, and the country bears every appearance of being permanently well watered. we halted on a large billibong at noon, and were favoured during dinner by a thunderstorm, the heavier portion of which missed us, some passing north and some south, which was fortunate, as it would otherwise have spoiled our baking process, a matter of some importance just now. we started again at seven o'clock, but the effects of the heavy rain prevented our making a good journey. friday, nd march, .--muddy camp, r.--had an early breakfast this morning, and started before sunrise. found that the wet swampy ground that checked our progress last night was only a narrow strip, and that had we gone a little further we might have made a fine journey. the country consisted of open, well-grassed, pebbly plains, intersected by numerous small channels, all containing water. abundance of fine rich portulac was just bursting into flower along all these channels, as well as on the greater portion of the plain. the creek that we camped on last night ran nearly parallel with us throughout this stage. we should have crossed it, to avoid the stony plains, but were prevented by the flood from so doing. saturday, rd march, .--mosquito camp, r.--started at a quarter to six and followed down the creek, which has much of the characteristic appearance of the river burke, where we crossed it on our up journey. the land in the vicinity greatly improves as one goes down, becoming less stony and better grassed. at eleven o'clock we crossed a small tributary from the eastward, and there was a distant range of considerable extent visible in that direction. halted for the afternoon in a bend where there was tolerable feed, but the banks are everywhere more or less scrubby. sunday, th march, .--three-hour camp, r. monday, th march, .--native-dog camp, r.--started at half-past five, looking for a good place to halt for the day. this we found at a short distance down the creek, and immediately discovered that it was close to camp of our up journey. had not expected that we were so much to the westward. after breakfast, took some time-altitudes, and was about to go back to last camp for some things that had been left, when i found gray behind a tree eating skilligolee. he explained that he was suffering from dysentery, and had taken the flour without leave. sent him to report himself to mr. burke, and went on. he, having got king to tell mr. burke for him, was called up, and received a good thrashing. there is no knowing to what extent he has been robbing us. many things have been found to run unaccountably short. started at seven o'clock, the camels in first-rate spirits. we followed our old course back (south). the first portion of the plains had much the same appearance as when we came up, but that near camp , which then looked so fresh and green, is now very much dried up; and we saw no signs of water anywhere. in fact, there seems to have been little or no rain about here since we passed. soon after three o'clock we struck the first of several small creeks or billibongs, which must be portions of the creek with the deep channel that we crossed on going up, we being now rather to the westward of our former course. from here, after traversing about two miles of the barest clay plain, devoid of all vegetation, we reached a small watercourse, most of the holes in which contained some water of a milky or creamy description. fine salt bush and portulac being abundant in the vicinity, we camped here at . a.m. when we started in the evening, a strong breeze had already sprung up in the south, which conveyed much of the characteristic feeling of a hot wind. it increased gradually to a force of five and six, but by eleven o'clock had become decidedly cool, and was so chilly towards morning that we found it necessary to throw on our ponchos. a few cirrocumulus clouds were coming up from the east when we started, but we left them behind, and nothing was visible during the night but a thin hazy veil. the gale continued throughout the th, becoming warmer as the day advanced. in the afternoon it blew furiously, raising a good deal of dust. the temperature of air at four p.m. was degrees in the shade. wind trees all day. . . . this last entry contains an unpleasant record of poor gray's delinquency. he appears to have been hitherto rather a favourite with my son. king, on his examination before the royal commission, finding that mr. burke was censured for chastising gray, at first denied it strongly. my son only relates in his diary what mr. burke had told him; "i have given gray a good thrashing, and well he deserved it." king blamed my son for mentioning this, but admitted that mr. burke gave gray several slaps on the head; afterwards, seeing that mr. burke was found fault with for not keeping a journal, king was made to appear to say that mr. wills's journal was written in conjunction with and under the supervision of mr. burke; and thus accounted for the absence of one by mr. burke. i was present at king's examination, and can bear witness that he said nothing of the kind. his answers, as given in the royal commission report, were framed to suit the questions of the interrogator, which appeared to astonish king, and he made no reply. king's statements, as far as he understood what he was asked, i believe to have been generally very truthful, and honestly given. after march th, an interval of three days occurs, in which nothing is noted. gray's illness, attending to the maps, with extra labour, may account for this omission. . . . march .--camels' last feast; fine green feed at this camp: plenty of vines and young polygonums on the small billibongs. march .--boocha's rest.--poor boocha was killed; employed all day in cutting up and jerking him: the day turned out as favourable for us as we could have wished, and a considerable portion of the meat was completely jerked before sunset. march .--mia mia camp.--plenty of good dry feed; various shrubs; salt bushes, including cotton bush and some coarse kangaroo grass; water in the hollows on the stony pavement. the neighbouring country chiefly composed of stony rises and sand ridges. april --oil camp.--earthy and clayey plains, generally sound and tolerably grassed, but in other places bare salt bush, and withered. april and .--earthy flats, cut into innumerable water courses, succeeded by fine open plains, generally very bare, but having in some places patches of fine salt bush. the dead stalks of portulac and mallows show that those plants are very plentiful in some seasons. towards noon came upon earthy plains and numerous billibongs. the next day the water and feed much dried up, and nearly all the water has a slightly brackish taste of a peculiar kind, somewhat resembling in flavour potassio-tartrate of soda (cream of tartar). on the th, poor gray, suffering under the bad odour of his peculations, was thought to be pretending illness, because he could not walk, and my son, when he was himself ill, much regretted their suspicions on this point; but it appears from king's evidence, that gray's excuse for using the provisions surreptitiously, that he was attacked by dysentery, was without foundation. monday, april .--camp r.--camped a short distance above camp . the creek here contains more water, and there is a considerable quantity of green grass in its bed, but it is much dried up since we passed before. halted fifteen minutes to send back for gray, who pretended that he could not walk. some good showers must have fallen lately, as we have passed surface water on the plains every day. in the latter portion of to-day's journey, the young grass and portulac are springing freshly in the flats, and on the sides of the sand ridges. tuesday, april .--camp r.--camped on the bank of the creek, where there is a regular field of salt bush, as well as some grass in its bed, very acceptable to the horse, who has not had a proper feed for the last week until last night, and is, consequently, nearly knocked up. wednesday, april .--camp r.--remained at camp r all day, to cut up and jerk the meat of the horse billy, who was so reduced and knocked up for want of food that there appeared little chance of his reaching the other side of the desert; and as we were running short of food of every description ourselves, we thought it best to secure his flesh at once. we found it healthy and tender, but without the slightest trace of fat in any portion of the body. . . . in the journal to the fifteenth, there is nothing worthy of note; there were watercourses daily, the character of the country the same; the plants chiefly chrysanthemums and salt bush. on the latter day it rained heavily, commenced at five in the morning, and continued pretty steadily throughout the day. the camel, linda, got knocked up owing to the wet, and having to cross numerous sand ridges; and at four o'clock they had to halt at a clay-pan among the sandhills. on wednesday, the th, my son notes the death of poor gray: "he had not spoken a word distinctly since his first attack, which was just about as we were going to start." here king mentions that they remained one day to bury gray. they were so weak, he said, that it was with difficulty they could dig a grave sufficiently deep to inter him in. this is not in the journal, but in king's narrative. . . . on the th, camped again without water, on the sandy bed of the creek, having been followed by a lot of natives who were desirous of our company; but as we preferred camping alone, we were compelled to move on until rather late, in order to get away from them. the night was very cold. a strong breeze was blowing from the south, which made the fire so irregular that, as on the two previous nights, it was impossible to keep up a fair temperature. our general course throughout the day had been south-south-east. . . . on sunday, april , the survivors, mr. burke, my son, king, and two camels, reached cooper's creek at the exact place where the depot party had been left under brahe. there was no one there! during the last few days every exertion had been made, every nerve strained to reach the goal of their arduous labours--the spot where they expected to find rest, clothing, and provisions in abundance. king describes in vivid language the exertions of that last ride of thirty miles; and burke's delight when he thought he saw the depot camp; "there they are!" he exclaimed; "i see them!" the wish was "father to the thought." lost and bewildered in amazement, he appeared like one stupefied when the appalling truth burst on him. king has often described to me the scene. "mr. wills looked about him in all directions. presently he said, 'king, they are gone;' pointing a short way off to a spot, 'there are the things they have left.' then he and i set to work to dig them up, which we did in a short time. mr. burke at first was quite overwhelmed, and flung himself on the ground." but soon recovering, they all three set to work to cook some victuals. when thus refreshed, my son made the following entry in his journal: sunday, april .--arrived at the depot this evening, just in time to find it deserted. a note left in the plant by brahe communicates the pleasing information that they have started today for the darling; their camels and horses all well and in good condition. we and our camels being just done up, and scarcely able to reach the depot, have very little chance of overtaking them. brahe has fortunately left us ample provisions to take us to the bounds of civilization namely:--flour, pounds; rice, pounds; oatmeal, pounds; sugar, pounds; and dried meat, pounds. these provisions, together with a few horse-shoes and nails, and some odds and ends, constitute all the articles left, and place us in a very awkward position in respect to clothing. our disappointment at finding the depot deserted may easily be imagined;--returning in an exhausted state, after four months of the severest travelling and privation, our legs almost paralyzed, so that each of us found it a most trying task only to walk a few yards. such a leg-bound feeling i never before experienced, and hope i never shall again. the exertion required to get up a slight piece of rising ground, even without any load, induces an indescribable sensation of pain and helplessness, and the general lassitude makes one unfit for anything. poor gray must have suffered very much many times when we thought him shamming. it is most fortunate for us that these symptoms, which so early affected him, did not come on us until we were reduced to an exclusively animal diet of such an inferior description as that offered by the flesh of a worn-out and exhausted horse. we were not long in getting out the grub that brahe had left, and we made a good supper off some oatmeal porridge and sugar. this, together with the excitement of finding ourselves in such a peculiar and most unexpected position, had a wonderful effect in removing the stiffness from our legs. whether it is possible that the vegetables can have so affected us, i know not; but both mr. burke and i remarked a most decided relief and a strength in the legs greater than we had had for several days. i am inclined to think that but for the abundance of portulac that we obtained on the journey, we should scarcely have returned to cooper's creek at all. . . . i asked king how my son behaved. his answer was, that he never once showed the slightest anger or loss of self-command. from under a tree on which had been marked, "dig, st april, ," a box was extracted containing the provisions, and a bottle with the following note:-- depot, cooper's creek, april , . the depot party of the v.e.e. leaves this camp to-day to return to the darling. i intend to go south-east from camp to get into our old track near bulloo. two of my companions and myself are quite well; the third, patten, has been unable to walk for the last eighteen days, as his leg has been severely hurt when thrown by one of the horses. no one has been up here from the darling. we have six camels and twelve horses in good working condition. william brahe. . . . brahe has been blamed for not having left a true statement of his condition, and that of those with him; but it was truth when he wrote it. he believed patten's to have been a sprain. it was afterwards that he contradicted himself, in his journal written in melbourne, and in his evidence before the royal commission. brahe had no journal when he came down the first time with a message from wright, and was requested, or ordered, by the committee to produce one, which he subsequently did. in this journal, brahe enters, on the th april: patten is getting worse. i and mcdonough begin to feel alarming symptoms of the same disease (namely, a sprain). april .--there is no probability of mr. burke returning this way. patten is in a deplorable state, and desirous of returning to the darling to obtain medical assistance; and our provisions will soon be reduced to a quantity insufficient to take us back to the darling if the trip should turn out difficult and tedious. being also sure that i and mcdonough would not much longer escape scurvy, i, after most seriously considering all circumstances, made up my mind to start for the darling on sunday next, the st. . . . that day he abandoned the depot at ten a.m. leaving pounds of flour, taking with him pounds; leaving pounds of oatmeal, taking about pounds; leaving pounds of sugar, taking pounds; leaving rice pounds, taking one bag. he left neither tea nor biscuits, and took all the clothes, being the property of mr. wills. the latter, he said before the royal commissioners, were only shirts, omitting the word flannel, and added that they were badly off themselves. he was asked:-- question : had you any clothes of any description at cooper's creek that might have been left?--yes, i had a parcel of clothes that were left with me by mr. wills; these were all that i know of, and we ourselves were very badly off. question . by dr. wills (through the chairman)--i wish to know whether a portmanteau was left with you, belonging to mr. wills, my son? yes, a bag, a calico bag containing clothes. .--you were aware it was his own property?--i was. .--what made you take those clothes back to menindie, and not leave them in the cache?--mr. wills was better supplied than any other member of the party, and i certainly did not think he would be in want of clothes. . . . with a somewhat unaccountable disposition to sympathize with brahe, on the part of the committee and the royal commission, the latter summed up their impression of his conduct thus: the conduct of mr. brahe in retiring from his position at the depot before he was rejoined by his commander, or relieved from the darling, may be deserving of considerable censure; but we are of opinion that a responsibility far beyond his expectations devolved upon him; and it must be borne in mind that, with the assurance of his leader, and his own conviction that he might each day expect to be relieved by mr. wright, he still held his post for four months and five days; and that only when pressed by the appeals of a comrade sickening even to death, as was subsequently proved, his powers of endurance gave way, and he retired from the position which could alone afford succour to the weary explorers should they return by that route. his decision was most unfortunate; but we believe he acted from a conscientious desire to discharge his duty, and we are confident that the painful reflection that twenty-four hours' further perseverance would have made him the rescuer of the explorers, and gained for himself the praise and approbation of all, must be of itself an agonizing thought, without the addition of censure he might feel himself undeserving of. chapter . proceedings in melbourne. meeting of the exploration committee. tardy resolutions. departure of mr. howitt. patriotic effort of mr. orkney. south australian expedition under mr. mckinlay. news of white men and camels having been seen by natives in the interior. certain intelligence of the fate of the explorers reaches melbourne. in march, , i began, in the absence of all intelligence, to feel some apprehension for my son's safety, and the result of the expedition. on the th, professor neumayer, in reply to a letter from me, said: "you have asked me about the exploring expedition, and it is really a difficult matter to give a definite answer to the question. i think that by this time the party must have reached the gulf of carpentaria, supposing them to have proceeded in that direction. in fact, i think they may have recrossed already a great part of the desert country, if everything went on smoothly after leaving cooper's creek. i have a thorough confidence in mr. wills's character and energy, and i am sure they will never fail. i cannot help regretting that the committee should not have understood the force of my arguments, when i advised them to send the expedition towards the north-west. this would very likely have forwarded the task considerably. my feeling is not very strong as to the results we may expect from the present attempt. indeed, as far as science and practical advantages are concerned, i look upon the whole as a mistake. mr. wills is entirely alone; he has no one to assist him in his zeal, and take a part of his onerous duties from him. had he been put in a position to make valuable magnetic observations, he would have earned the thanks of the scientific world. but, under existing circumstances, he can do nothing at all for the advancement of this particular branch. however, i hope future expeditions will afford him an opportunity to fill up that deficiency, if he should now be successful. the affair with landells was nothing more nor less than what i expected and was quite prepared to hear. the man was not more qualified for the task he undertook than he would have been for any scientific position in the expedition. i am confident mr. wills is all right, and that mr. burke and he will agree well together." all this was complimentary and gratifying to a father's feelings. still, as time passed on, forebodings came upon me that this great expedition, starting with so much display from melbourne, with a steady, declared, and scientific object, would dwindle down into a flying light corps, making a sudden dash across the continent and back again with no permanent results. discharges and resignations had taken place, and no efforts were made by the committee to fill up the vacancies. no assistant surveyor had been sent to my son, no successor appointed to dr. beckler. the last-named gentleman brought back many of the scientific instruments intrusted to his charge, alleging that if he had not done so, mr. burke, who was unscientific and impatient of the time lost in making and registering observations, threatened to throw them into the next creek. the supineness of the committee was justly, not too severely commented on in the report of the royal commission: "the exploration committee, in overlooking the importance of the contents of mr. burke's despatch from torowoto, and in not urging mr. wright's departure from the darling, committed errors of a serious nature. a means of knowledge of the delay of the party at menindie was in possession of the committee, not indeed by direct communication to that effect, but through the receipt of letters from drs. becker and beckler, at various dates up to the end of november;--without, however, awakening the committee to a sense of the vital importance of mr. burke's request in that despatch that he should 'be soon followed up;'--or to a consideration of the disastrous consequences which would be likely to result, and did unfortunately result, from the fatal inactivity and idling of mr. wright and his party on the darling." during the month of march, the argus newspaper called attention to the matter, and a letter, signed lockhart moreton, expressed itself thus "what has become of the expedition? surely the committee are not alive to the necessity of sending some one up? burke has by this time crossed the continent, or is lost. what has become of wright? what is he doing?" then came a letter from menindie, expressing strong opinions on the state of affairs, but flattering to my son. it was evident to me that these gentlemen knew or thought more than they felt disposed to state directly in words. i have already mentioned that mr. burke, while within the districts where newspapers could reach him, had been harassed, from the time of his appointment, by remarks in the public prints, evidently proceeding from parties and their friends who thought the honour of leading this grand procession more properly belonged to themselves. being a gentleman of sensitive feelings, these observations touched him to the quick. when he was no longer within reach, they still continued, but he found defenders in the all-powerful argus. i am sorry to say, for the sake of human nature, that there were some who went so far as to wish no successful result to his enterprise. believing and trusting that these remarks of mr. moreton and others, would stir up the committee to take some steps to ascertain if mr. wright was moving in his duty, i contented myself with writing to the magnetic observatory, to learn from professor neumayer what was going on. he being absent on scientific tours, i received answers from his locum tenens, to the effect that within a month certain information was expected. the committee i did not trouble, as their honorary secretary had deigned no reply to letters i had previously sent. in the month of june, unable to bear longer suspense, with a small pack on my shoulders and a stick in my hand, i walked from ballaarat to melbourne, a distance of seventy-five miles, stopping for a couple of nights on the way at the house of a kind and hospitable friend, dugald mcpherson, esquire, j.p., at bungel-tap. this gentleman has built a substantial mansion there, in the elizabethan style, likely, from its solidity, to last for centuries. i arrived at melbourne on saturday, the th of june. on monday, the th, i called on the honourable david wilkie, honorary treasurer to the committee. i found him issuing circulars for a meeting to consider what was to be done. my heart sank within me when i found that no measures whatever had yet been taken. i called on those i knew amongst the committee to entreat their attendance. i hastened to professor neumayer, with reference to mr. lockhart's letter, to ask if it had been arranged with mr. burke that a vessel should be despatched round the coast to the gulf to meet him there. his answer was that a conversation on that point had taken place between mr. burke, my son, and himself, but that mr. burke had enjoined him (the professor) not to move in it, for that, if so disposed, he would himself apply to the committee by letter. a meeting took place on the evening of the th. the opinions were as numerous as the members in attendance. quot homines tot sententiae. one talked of financial affairs, another of science, a third of geography, a fourth of astronomy, and so on. a chapter in the circumlocution office painfully unfolded itself. mr. ligar rather rudely asked me what i was in such alarm about; observed that "there was plenty of time; no news was good news; and i had better go home and mind my own business." i felt hurt, naturally enough, some of my readers may suppose, and replied that had i not been convinced something was doing, i should scarcely have remained quiet at ballaarat for three months. a gentleman, with whom i had no previous acquaintance, seeing my anxiety, and feeling that the emergency called for immediate action, appealed to them warmly, and the result was a decision, nemine contradicente, that it was time to move, if active and trustworthy agents could be found. i offered my services for one, but the meeting adjourned without coming to any decision, and was followed by other indefinite meetings and adjournments de die in diem. on the following day, dr. macadam, honorary secretary, attended (the press of the morning had incited movement) and announced the welcome intelligence that mr. a. howitt was in melbourne; that he had seen him; that he was ready to go on the shortest notice. so far all was good. but now i saw the full misery and imbecility of leaving a large body to decide what should have been delegated to a quorum of three at the most. the meetings took place regularly, but the same members seldom attended twice. new illusions and conceits suggested themselves as often as different committee-men found it convenient to deliver their opinions and vouchsafe their presence. let me here specially except ferdinand mueller, m.d. and f.r.s., of london, who though a foreigner, a dane by birth, i believe, has won by his talents that honourable distinction. his energy in all he undertakes is untiring and unsurpassable. on this occasion he was ever active and unremitting, while his sympathy and kindness to myself have never varied from the first day of our acquaintance. the honourable david wilkie, at whose private house we met nightly, deserves the highest credit for expediting the business, which ended in the despatch of the party under mr. howitt. mr. heales also, then chief secretary for the colony, promised assistance in money, and the use of the victoria steamer, under captain norman, to be sent round to the gulf of carpentaria as soon as she could be got ready. the melbourne argus, of june th, contained the following leading article:-- the public will be glad to learn that the exploration committee of the royal society have at length resolved to set about partly doing what in april last we urged upon them. a small party is to be despatched to cooper's creek with means to supply necessaries to the exploring expedition, and to make all possible efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of mr. burke. it is well this should be done, and that quickly, for we some eight months since learned that mr. burke had provisions calculated to last his party for five months only. but this is not all that should be done. when referring to this subject two months ago, basing our calculations on the knowledge we then had--and it has since received no increase--we reckoned that mr. burke, who left menindie on the th of october last, would reach cooper's creek by the beginning of november, and that if he determined upon making for the gulf of carpentaria, he might be expected to reach the north coast by about the middle of march last. if his provisions enabled him to do this, it is unlikely they would suffice him for a return journey southwards, or an expedition westward. we cannot think, then, that a party sent to cooper's creek should be regarded as sufficient. why should not the victoria be utilized? were she sent round the west coast to the point mr. burke might be expected to strike--if, instead of bearing north, after reaching the centre, he has turned westward, as we anticipated he might do--he would possibly be heard of there. if not, the victoria would be still so far on her way to the gulf of carpentaria--the only other goal he is likely to aim at reaching. two expeditions, therefore, should at once be despatched--the party to cooper's creek, and the colonial steamer round the coast. let it not be said to our disgrace that anything has been neglected which money or energy could have done to insure the safety of the men who have devoted themselves to a work in which the whole civilized world is interested, and of which, if now carried on with success, this colony will reap all the glory. it is a work which all men must have at heart, whether as lovers of their fellow-men, of science, or of their country. let it not be marred by aught of niggardliness or supineness. the work must be well and quickly done. the progress of mr. stuart and of mr. burke is now watched with the warmest interest and sympathy by men of science in europe. mr. stuart is well and generously cared for by the south australian government and people. what will be said if victoria alone, by parsimony or apathy, allowed her exploring expedition to fail or her public servants to suffer unnecessary hardships, or even death? as to the men to whom the inland expedition is to be intrusted, some conversation took place at the recent meeting of the exploration committee. dr. wills, of ballaarat, father of mr. wills, second in command with mr. burke, was present, and offered to accompany the party. professor neumayer suggested a gentleman named walsh, from his own office, as suitable for the enterprise; and dr. embling, it is rumoured, supports mr. landells as a fit person for the post of leader. we have nothing to say for or against the two former suggestions, but this last demands notice. we consider that mr. landells has already shown himself singularly unfitted to fill a post of this kind. . . . mr. howitt's offer did away with the necessity for my pressing to go. although i felt tolerably confident in my own physical powers, i should have much regretted had they failed on experiment, and thereby retarded rather than aided the object in view. mr. walsh went, but was of no service, as he lost the sight of one eye in the first observation he attempted to make; but mr. howitt proved equal to the emergency and did the work. [footnote: a strange incident connected with mr. walsh's misfortune was reported abroad, but i do not vouch for its truth. when under surgical treatment for his impaired vision, it was said that the operators in consultation decided on an experiment to test the powers of the retina to receive light, and in so doing blinded the other eye. mr. walsh went to england, having had a sum granted to him by the victoria government. whether he has recovered his sight i know not.] mr. howitt being equipped and despatched, i returned to ballaarat, somewhat relieved, after my fortnight's anxious labours with the committee; but on the evening of friday, the th of july, i was startled by reading the following statement in the melbourne weekly age:-- the news from the exploring expedition. the unexpected news of mr. burke's expedition of discovery, which we publish this morning, is positively disastrous. the entire company of explorers has been dissipated out of being, like dewdrops before the sun. some are dead, some are on their way back, one has come to melbourne, and another has made his way to adelaide, whilst only four of the whole party have gone forward from the depot at cooper's creek upon the main journey of the expedition to explore the remote interior. the four consist of the two chief officers and two men; namely, mr. burke, the leader, and mr. wills, the surveyor and second in command of the party, together with the men king and gray. this devoted little band left cooper's creek for the far interior on the th of december last, more than six months ago, taking with them six camels and one horse, and only twelve weeks' provisions. from mr. burke's despatch we learn that he meant to proceed in the first place to eyre's creek; and from that place he would make an effort to explore the country northward in the direction of the gulf of carpentaria. he states also that he meant to return to cooper's creek within three months at the farthest; that is, about the middle of march. before starting on this route he had already tried a passage northward between gregory's and stuart's tracks; but he found this passage impracticable, from want of water. he does not state anything that would enable us to form an opinion of what his intentions might be after leaving eyre's creek, beyond his saying that he meant to push northwards towards the gulf. neither does it appear that he left any instructions or directions upon the matter with mr. brahe. he merely informed the latter that he meant to run no risks, and that he would be back within a brief stated period, and that mr. brahe was not to wait for him at the depot beyond three months. mr. brahe's statement, in fact, throws very little light upon the probabilities of mr. burke's future course, after leaving the depot at cooper's creek. he accompanied him one day's journey, some twenty miles or so, on his way towards the north. but he seems to know very little of what mr. burke's ultimate intentions were. perhaps, indeed, mr. burke himself had no very definite scheme sketched out in his own mind, as to any settled purpose for the future, beyond his trying to make the best of his way in the direction of the gulf of carpentaria. he probably never entertained the idea of its being necessary to plan out various different alternatives to adopt, in case of the failure of any one particular course of proceeding. the facility and despatch with which he had got over the ground to cooper's creek may have produced too confident a state of mind as to the future. and his having learned that stuart had, with only two or three companions, advanced within a couple of days' journey of the northern coast, would tend greatly to increase that too confident tone of mind. both circumstances were likely to produce a feeling, especially in a sanguine temperament like burke's, that there was no need of his arranging beforehand, and leaving behind him, with mr. brahe, plans of intended procedure on his part, the knowledge of which would subsequently give a clue to his fate, in case of his continued absence. he seems not to have formed any anticipation of a vessel being sent round to meet him on the north coast, according to mr. brahe's account. what then did he propose to do, and what is likely to have become of him? the fear forces itself upon us, that, acting under the influence of excessive confidence, arising from the causes already referred to, mr. burke and his little band of three companions went forth towards the north in a state of mind unprepared to meet insurmountable obstacles; that difficulties, arising chiefly from want of water, sprung up in his path, and assumed greater magnitude than the previous experience of the expedition could have led them to anticipate; and that if the little party has not succumbed to these difficulties before now, they are to be sought for either on the northern coast, by a vessel to be sent there for that purpose, or in the country towards the gulf of carpentaria, by an overland party despatched in that direction. indeed, both attempts should be made simultaneously, and with the least possible delay. the present period of the year is most propitious for the inland journey, both on account of the abundance of water and the moderate temperature incident to the winter season. there should not be a moment lost, then, in forwarding this portion of the search; and the coasting portion of it should be commenced as soon after as possible. the sufferings to which the unhappy men are exposed will be understood from mr. wright's report of what befell the party under his charge. they were prostrated by scurvy, as well as being additionally enfeebled by the irregular supply of water. and at length four of their number, worn out by their sufferings, perished by a wretched, lingering death in the wilderness. there is something deeply melancholy in such a fact. poor becker! he had scarcely the physique for encountering the toils of such an expedition. however, regrets over the past are vain. what is of importance now is to save the remainder of the party, if possible. and perhaps the best way of opening up the search inland would be for the committee to avail themselves of mr. howitt's offer to proceed at once, with an enlarged party, including mr. brahe, to cooper's creek, and thence to eyre's creek, and northwards towards the coast, should they not previously have encountered mr. burke and his companions on their return. it is somewhat disheartening to find that when mr. wright returned for the last time to the cooper's creek depot, namely, so recently as the first week in may--that is, five months after burke set out on his final excursion--he did not think it necessary to make any examination of the country, as far at least as eyre's creek. it might naturally be supposed that on finding, by examining the concealed stores, that mr. burke had not revisited the depot, mr. wright would endeavour to make some search for him, to the extent of a few days' journey at all events. before turning their back finally upon the solitude where their companions were wandering, one last search might have well been made. but perhaps the disabled condition of the men, horses, and camels may be taken to account for this seeming neglect. it may not be too late even now, however, to make amends for this strange oversight, by hastening on mr. howitt's party. the whole expedition appears to have been one prolonged blunder throughout; and it is to be hoped that the rescuing party may not be mismanaged and retarded in the same way as the unfortunate original expedition was. the savans have made a sad mess of the whole affair; let them, if possible, retrieve themselves in this its last sad phase. . . . i returned immediately to melbourne, and found the committee in earnest at last, the government aiding them in every possible way. mr. heales offered all the assistance he could give. the victoria, which i thought had been made ready, was now put under immediate repair. proceedings were reported in the herald as follows:-- the adjourned meeting of the exploration committee was held yesterday afternoon, in the hall of the royal society, victoria street. dr. mueller occupied the chair, in the unavoidable absence of sir william stawell. the minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. the chairman said the honorary treasurer would lay before the committee the result of the interview the deputation had the honour to hold with the chief secretary that day. unfortunately they had not had the advantage of dr. macadam's assistance, but he was glad that gentleman was now present, and that they had one member of the government. the honourable dr. wilkie, m.l.c., said that dr. mueller, himself, and dr. wills, father of mr. wills, a member of the expedition, waited on the chief secretary and communicated to him the resolution passed by the exploration committee, strongly recommending the government to give the victoria steamer for the purpose of proceeding to the gulf of carpentaria in aid of mr. burke's party. he might state that the deputation entered fully into the whole question, and that the chief secretary very cordially promised that the victoria should be given, and that at the same time he (the chief secretary) said it was the desire of the government to promote the wishes of the exploration committee, as far as possible, in rendering assistance to mr. burke. further discussion took place with reference to other matters, which would immediately come under the consideration of the committee;--as to the sending a land party from rockhampton; and the government had promised every possible assistance that they could render. . . . mr. howitt, who returned the next day, was soon despatched again with increased means, to follow up his work in aid. a communication was immediately opened with the queensland government on the north-east to get up an expedition under some competent person, but at the charge of victoria; and mr. walker, who had already acquired note as a leader of a party of native police, was proposed for the command. captain norman with the victoria steamer was to start as soon as possible, coasting round to the gulf, taking with him a small tender; whilst walker, or whoever might be appointed in queensland, should proceed north, overland. nothing further could be done in melbourne by the committee or government; but i have now to narrate a noble act on the part of a private individual. james orkney, esquire, m.l.a. for west melbourne, had a small steamer of sixteen tons, built by himself from a model of the great eastern, which was quite ready for sea; and having also a captain willing to embark in her, he undertook to send her round to the gulf of carpentaria at his own charge. the adventurous gentleman who offered his services was no less a personage than wyse, the skipper of lord dufferin's yacht on his celebrated voyage to the north seas, which his lordship has commemorated in his delightful little book entitled, letters from high latitudes. the sir charles hotham, for so the little craft was called, was intended to precede captain norman, as the victoria would take at least a fortnight in equipping. she was expected, from her light draught of water, to render much aid in exploring the rivers and steaming against currents. she left on the th of july, towed out of hudson's bay by the sydney steamer. the weather became stormy, and the steamer was compelled to cut her adrift during the night. left to herself and her gallant captain, with a crew of two men only, she made her way to sydney. during this time the coast was visited by severe gales, and much anxiety was felt for the sir charles hotham. the agents of the sydney steamer regretted that they had not heard of the proposed arrangement a few hours earlier, as they would readily have taken her on deck. but they did all that was in their power. mr. orkney soon received the pleasing intelligence that his little craft was safe in sydney harbour, but requiring some repairs. these were completed with as much speed as possible, mr. orkney bearing every expense, including that of the telegrams, which was considerable. again the miniature steamer proceeded from sydney, northward; but after some progress, wyse, steering her into shallow water, near shore, to anchor for the night, ran her on the peak of the anchor, which made a hole in her bottom, and quite incapacitated her from further service. thus mr. orkney lost the hope he entertained and the satisfaction he would have enjoyed, of being serviceable to the lost explorers; but the credit due to him is far from being diminished by his want of success, and the patriotic effort deserves to be recorded to his eternal honour. through this incident i made his acquaintance, and ever since we have been, and i hope shall continue to be, sincere friends. my anxiety for my son's safety interfered with my attention to ordinary professional avocations. i accordingly left ballaarat for a time, and continued in melbourne, casting about to see how i could render myself useful in the great object of my thoughts. at first i inclined to go round to the gulf with captain norman, and obtained permission to do so, when an announcement reached melbourne by telegram to the effect that the south australian government had decided on sending an expedition from that quarter, and asking for the loan of some camels, with the use of the two that had strayed in that direction, and had been brought down to adelaide from dr. brown's station. these turned out to be two of the three that my son had lost when out on an excursion from cooper's creek, the circumstances of which have been already mentioned. mr. mckinlay was at that time in melbourne. he immediately started by the havelock steamer to offer his services as leader of the party. i sent a letter to sir richard mcdonnel, the governor, by him, proposing to accompany them as surgeon, and to assist as guide. i received a reply by telegram asking if i would put myself under mr. mckinlay, and also requesting from the government some additional camels. i obtained permission from mr. heales to have those that might be useful, and in three days started in the oscar (since lost) with the camels. on arriving in adelaide, i found that the south australian expedition was instructed to proceed, in the first instance, to cooper's creek, whither mr. howitt had already gone. this i thought a mistaken direction, as howitt would be there before us, and the north and east search being amply provided for, it appeared profitless. the government also proposed a surveying tour on their own account, in conjunction with the search for the missing explorers. these plans not exactly falling in with my view of the business, i gave up my intention of forming one of the party. mr. mckinlay was a fine fellow, well adapted to the work; his companions strong and lively, and of a proper age, neither too old nor too young. having seen him off, i determined to remain for a time in adelaide, a delightful place, where i found some of the kindest and most agreeable acquaintances i have ever had the good fortune to meet with. the south australian register, of the th of august, , gave the following summary of the measures in progress:-- our readers will perhaps be surprised to learn that a new exploring expedition has just been sent to the northern interior. to explore is clearly one of the missions of south australia; but this time the object is less one of curiosity than humanity. with mr. stuart and his party still engaged in the work of opening a route to the north-west coast, no one would have thought it desirable, under ordinary circumstances, to undertake fresh explorations. but the whole colony has been moved by the dreadful doubt which hangs over the fate of mr. burke, the victorian explorer, who, with three men, left cooper's creek at the beginning of the year; having only a few months' provisions with him. they have not been heard of since, and there is not much hope entertained of their safety. but all that can be done to assist them or to ascertain their fate is being done. the three adjacent provinces have sent in search of the lost explorers, and this colony has also despatched its expedition for the same good purpose. mr. mckinlay, an experienced bushman, has left adelaide upon this chivalric task, taking with him six men, twenty-four horses, and four camels. his first duty is to seek for burke, and in the next place to obtain a knowledge of unexplored country in the north. . . . after general instructions, mr. mckinlay's duties were more specifically defined:-- you will in all matters keep the following objects in full view:-- firstly. the relief of the expedition under the command of mr. burke, or the acquiring a knowledge of its fate. this is the great object of the expedition under your command. when you may have accomplished the foregoing, or may have deemed it necessary to abandon the search for mr. burke, then, secondly. the acquiring a knowledge of the country between eyre's creek and central mount stuart. thirdly. the acquiring a knowledge of the western shores of lake eyre. a separate letter of instructions is given to you and the particular matters to which you will direct your attention in this locality. . . . i had been in adelaide nearly a month when i was startled by the following note, from major egerton warburton:-- september th. my dear sir, would you kindly call in at my office? i have important news which must interest you. yours very truly, j. egerton warburton. . . . i hastened to him, and asked, almost breathlessly, "what news--good or bad?" he replied, "not so bad;" and then gave me the information which was made known in the house of assembly that night, and embodied in the adelaide advertiser, the next day, to the following effect:-- on thursday morning, considerable interest was excited in adelaide by a rumour to the effect that intelligence from the interior had been received of burke's party. we lost no time in instituting inquiry, and found that the report was certainly not unfounded. it was stated that a police trooper in the north had sent down information, derived through a black, that at a long distance beyond the settled districts some white men were living, and that the black had obtained a portion of their hair. the white men were described as being entirely naked, and as living upon a raft on a lake, supporting themselves by catching fish: that they had no firearms nor horses, but some great animals, which, from the description given by the native, were evidently camels. there could, therefore, be but little doubt as to this being burke's party, or a portion of it; and as soon as it was ascertained that the rumour had some tangible kind of foundation, public curiosity for fuller and more authentic details speedily rose very high. on the assembling of parliament, the commissioner of crown lands, desirous of allaying the anxiety of the public, read from his place the letter brought by the native, of which the following is a copy: -- wirrilpa, september , , sir, i have the honour to forward the following particulars gathered from the blacks, seeming to refer to mr. burke and party. a black fellow called sambo, who has lately come in from lake hope, brought with him the hair of two white men, which he showed to the cook and stockman at tooncatchin. he says it was given to him by other blacks, who told him that there were white men living much farther out than where he had been. frank james, one of mr. butler's stockmen, saw sambo again on the th instant, and tried to get the hair from him. he had unfortunately given it away to other blacks. james promised him tobacco for it, and he has promised to get it again. sambo says that the white men are naked, have no firearms or horses, but animals which from his description are evidently camels; that they sleep on a raft, which they build on the water. they live on fish which they catch with nets made with grass. sambo says that the other blacks had told him that the white men arrived there this winter. according to sambo, the people are twenty sleeps from tooncatchin, by way of lake hope creek. i do not think that these sleeps on the average exceed ten miles, so it is probable that they are on or near cooper's creek. sambo is quite willing to go out all the way with a party of white men. he also says that the blacks on lake hope creek are afraid of these white men. i received the above information from mr. h. butler, frank james, and cleland, on my arrival at blanche on the th instant. knowing that mr. mckinlay and party were on their way, i accordingly left blanche on the th, and i met mr. mckinlay and party to-day on bandnoota plain, miles south of blanche, when i put that gentleman in possession of the above particulars. i have etc. james howe, police trooper. to george hamilton, esquire, j.p., inspector of police. the surveyor-general (mr. goyder) says that from the general tenor of the letter he inclines to the opinion that the white men are on some of the newly-discovered waters between cooper's creek and eyre's creek; and if so, this is precisely in the direction that mr. mckinlay would, according to his instructions, have taken. but the most gratifying portion of the whole statement is that which assures us of mr. mckinlay being placed in possession of the whole of the circumstances of the case; and considering the date when the information was given him, there is little doubt but that mr. mckinlay, as the reader's eye rests on these words, is on the spot indicated by the black; and should this prove to be correct, and the party be saved, south australia will have, in the cause of humanity, reason to rejoice that the parliament took such prompt and vigorous measures to send out the relief expedition. the commissioner of crown lands telegraphed to melbourne, without delay, the substance of the trooper's letter; but it is not likely that any practical use could be made of it there, though it would revive the hopes of many of the friends of burke and his party. if the white men spoken of in the letter are where mr. goyder imagines them to be, it is not very likely that mr. howitt's relief party would find them; so that it may, after all, be the destiny of south australia not only to find men to cross the australian continent, but to relieve and restore other explorers who have failed in that hazardous attempt. mr. burke's party consists of himself as leader, mr. wills, astronomer and surveyor, and who is second in command,--two men, six camels, and one horse. dr. wills, who is now in adelaide, having come round from melbourne with the additional camels, says that the two camels which a short time since made their way into this colony overland, and were brought to town from truro, were two out of the three that belonged to his son, and that they were allowed to stray, by a man left in charge of them whilst mr. wills was engaged in some astronomical pursuits. the man left the camels to make some tea, and, on his return, the animals had disappeared. two of them, as already stated, have been recovered, but no tidings have been received of the third, unless it be the one recently said to have arrived at fort bourke. we hope we shall soon have further information, not only respecting burke and his party, but also of stuart, the time of whose anticipated return now draws on rapidly. ***we had scarcely written the above lines when we received a private telegram, informing us that mr. stuart was on his way to adelaide. this intelligence raised my sinking hopes to a high pitch. i felt convinced that this was the missing party. the black fellow had described the animals, which the natives called "gobble gobble," from the noise they made in their throats. mr. mckinlay put little faith in the story; and i was vexed to hear by the next report from him that he was not hastening to the rescue. but it would then have been too late. the white men alluded to were, unquestionably, burke, my son, and king, with exaggeration as to their being without clothes, and living on a raft. shortly after this i returned to melbourne, and in another week the sad catastrophe became public beyond all further doubt. the intelligence had reached melbourne on a saturday night. i was staying at that time at the house of my kind friend mr. orkney. he had gone to the opera with mrs. orkney and another lady, and came home about half-past ten. i was surprised at their early return, and thought something unpleasant must have happened. a servant came to say that he wished to speak with me privately, and then i received the terrible communication which had been announced at the theatre during an interval between the acts. as soon as i had sufficiently recovered the shock, we proceeded in a car to the residence of dr. wilkie, the treasurer of the committee. he had heard a report, but was rather incredulous, as nothing official had reached the committee. at this moment, dr. macadam, the honorary secretary, came in. he was perfectly bewildered, believed nothing, and had received no telegram. "but," said i, "when were you at your own house last?" "at seven o'clock," was the reply. "good god!" i exclaimed, "jump into the car." we proceeded to his house, and there indeed was the telegram, which had been waiting for him some hours. the next morning, sunday, november the rd, brahe arrived at an early hour at the spencer-street station, having been sent in by mr. howitt with the journals and letters dug up in the cache at cooper's creek. i was anxiously waiting his arrival. dr. macadam was also there, and appeared confused, as if he had been up all night. he insisted on dragging me on to the governor's house, four miles from melbourne, heaven only knows with what object. with some difficulty i obtained from him possession of the bundle of papers, and deposited them for safety in the hands of dr. wilkie. i have nothing more to say of dr. macadam, except that i sincerely trust it may never be my fortune to come in contact with him again, in any official business whatever. he is a man of unbounded confidence in his own powers, ready to undertake many things at the same time; and would not, i suspect, shrink from including the honorary governorship of the colony, if the wisdom of superior authority were to place it at his disposal. chapter . the attempt to reach south australia and adelaide by mount hopeless. mistake of selecting that route. mr. wills's journals from the rd of april to the th of june, . adventures with the natives. discovery of nardoo as a substitute for food. mr. burke and king go in search of natives as a last resource. mr. wills left alone in the desert. the last entry in his journal. on the morning of thursday, the rd of april, , mr. burke, my son, and king, being refreshed and strengthened by the provisions they found at cooper's creek, again resumed their journey homewards. it was an unfortunate resolve of burke's, to select the route to the adelaide district by mount hopeless, instead of returning by the darling. king says, "mr. wills and i were of opinion that to follow brahe was the best mode of proceeding; but mr. burke had heard it stated positively at the meeting of the royal society, that there were south australian settlers within one hundred miles of cooper's creek in the direction he proposed to take;" and by this very questionable assertion, without evidence, his mind was biassed. there was, in fact, nothing to recommend the route by mount hopeless, while everything was in favour of that by the darling. blanche water, the nearest police-station on the adelaide line, was distant between four and five hundred miles. the one road they knew nothing of, the other was familiar to them. the camels, too, would have plucked up spirit on returning after the others on the old track. it is true that brahe's false statement of the condition of his party held out no encouragement that they might be able to overtake him; but there was a chance that a new party might even then be coming up, or that the laggard wright would be on the advance at last, as proved to be the fact. a melbourne paper, commenting on these points, had the following remarks, which were as just as they were doubly painful, being delivered after the event:-- wills and king it appears were desirous of following their track out from menindie, which would unquestionably have been the wiser course; but mr. burke preferred striking for the south australian stations, some of which, he had been informed by the royal committee of exploration, were only one hundred and fifty miles from cooper's creek. it was a most unfortunate and fatal matter for mr. burke that these royal people had anything whatever to do with his movements. he made two attempts to strike in the direction in which they had assured him he would easily reach a settled district, and twice was he driven back for want of water. it was a fatal mistake on his part to follow the suggestion of these ready advisers. the practical impressions of wills or king were worth a world of theoretical conjectures and philosophic presumption. but it seems to have been decreed that burke should have favoured the former instead of the latter; the consequences of which were that himself and poor wills were to perish miserably. . . . much as i approve of and admire my son's steady obedience to his leader, i cannot but regret and wonder that in this particular instance he was not more resolute in remonstrance. it bears out what i said to mr. burke on taking leave of him: "if you ask his advice, take it; but he will never offer it; and should he see you going to destruction, he will follow you without a murmur." the party, before they left cooper's creek, buried my son's journals in the cache, with the subjoined note from mr. burke, which were dug out and brought up by brahe. depot , cooper's creek camp . the return party from carpentaria, consisting of myself, wills, and king (gray dead), arrived here last night and found that the depot party had only started on the same day. we proceed on, to-morrow, slowly down the creek towards adelaide by mount hopeless, and shall endeavour to follow gregory's track; but we are very weak. the two camels are done up, and we shall not be able to travel faster than four or five miles a day. gray died on the road, from exhaustion and fatigue. we have all suffered much from hunger. the provisions left here will, i think, restore our strength. we have discovered a practicable route to carpentaria, the chief position of which lies in the degrees of east longitude. there is some good country between this and the stony desert. from thence to the tropics the land is dry and stony. between the carpentaria a considerable portion is rangy, but well watered and richly grassed. we reached the shores of carpentaria on the th of february, . greatly disappointed at finding the party here gone. (signed) robert o'hara burke, leader. april , . p.s. the camels cannot travel, and we cannot walk, or we should follow the other party. we shall move very slowly down the creek. . . . my son's journal is now written in a more complete and consecutive form. he had no instruments for observation or mapping, so that his time and mind were concentrated on the one employment. april, .--journal of trip from cooper's creek towards adelaide. the advance party of the v.e.e., consisting of burke, wills, and king (gray being dead), having returned from carpentaria, on the st april, , in an exhausted and weak state, and finding that the depot party left at cooper's creek had started for the darling with their horses and camels fresh and in good condition, deemed it useless to attempt to overtake them, having only two camels, both done up, and being so weak themselves as to be unable to walk more than four or five miles a day. finding also that the provisions left at the depot for them would scarcely take them to menindie, they started down cooper's creek for adelaide, via mount hopeless, on the morning of rd april, , intending to follow as nearly as possible, the route taken by gregory. by so doing they hoped to be able to recruit themselves and the camels whilst sauntering slowly down the creek, and to have sufficient provisions left to take them comfortably, or at least without risk, to some station in south australia. their equipment consists of the following articles:--flour, pounds; sugar, pounds; rice, pounds; oatmeal, pounds; jerked meat, pounds; ginger, pounds; salt, pound.--[then follow some native words with their meanings.] from depot. tuesday, rd april, .--having collected together all the odds and ends that seemed likely to be of use to us, in addition to provisions left in the plant, we started at . a.m., keeping down the southern bank of the creek; we only went about five miles, and camped at . on a billibong, where the feed was pretty good. we find the change of diet already making a great improvement in our spirits and strength. the weather is delightful, days agreeably warm, but the nights very chilly. the latter is more noticeable from our deficiency in clothing, the depot party having taken all the reserve things back with them to the darling.--to camp . from camp . wednesday, th april, .--as we were about to start this morning, some blacks came by, from whom we were fortunate enough to get about twelve pounds of fish for a few pieces of straps and some matches, etc. this is a great treat for us, as well as a valuable addition to our rations. we started at . p.m., on our way down the creek, the blacks going in the opposite direction, little thinking that in a few miles they might be able to get lots of pieces for nothing, better than those they had obtained from us. --to camp . from camp . thursday, th april, .--awoke at five o'clock after a most refreshing night's rest--the sky was beautifully clear, and the air rather chilly--the terrestrial radiation seems to have been considerable, and a slight dew had fallen. we had scarcely finished breakfast, when our friends the blacks, from whom we obtained the fish, made their appearance with a few more, and seemed inclined to go with us and keep up the supply. we gave them some sugar, with which they were greatly pleased--they are by far the most well-behaved blacks we have seen on cooper's creek. we did not get away from the camp until . a.m., continuing our course down the most southern branch of the creek which keeps a general south-west course. we passed across the stony point which abuts on one of the largest waterholes in the creek, and camped at . about a mile below the most dangerous part of the rocky path. at this latter place we had an accident that might have resulted badly for us: one of the camels fell while crossing the worst part, but we fortunately got him out with only a few cuts and bruises. to camp .--the waterhole at this camp is a very fine one, being several miles long, and on an average about--chains broad. the water-fowl are numerous, but rather shy, not nearly so much so, however, as those on the creeks between here and carpentaria; and i am convinced that the shyness of the latter, which was also remarked by sturt on his trip to eyre's creek, arises entirely from the scarcity of animals, both human and otherwise, and not from any peculiar mode of catching them that the blacks may have. from camp . friday, th april, .--last night was beautifully calm and comparatively warm, although the sky was very clear. we loaded the camels by moonlight this morning, and started at a quarter to six: striking off to the south of the creek, we soon got on a native path which leaves the creek just below the stony ground and takes a course nearly west across a piece of open country, bounded on the south by sand ridges and on the north by the scrub by ground which flanks the bank of the creek at this part of its course. leaving the path on our right at a distance of three miles, we turned up a small creek, which passes down between some sandhills, and finding a nice patch of feed for the camels at a waterhole, we halted at . for breakfast. we started again at . a.m., continuing our westerly course along the path: we crossed to the south of the watercourse above the water, and proceeded over the most splendid salt-bush country that one could wish to see, bounded on the left by sandhills, whilst to the right the peculiar-looking flat-topped sandstone ranges form an extensive amphitheatre, through the far side of the arena of which may be traced the dark line of creek timber. at twelve o'clock we camped in the bed of the creek at camp--, our last camp on the road down from the gulf, having taken four days to do what we then did in one. this comparative rest and the change in diet have also worked wonders, however; the leg-tied feeling is now entirely gone, and i believe that in less than a week we shall be fit to undergo any fatigue whatever. the camels are improving, and seem capable of doing all that we are likely to require of them.--to camp . from camp . saturday, th april, .--first part of night clear, with a light breeze from south. temperature at midnight degrees (reaumur). towards morning there were a few cirrocumulus clouds passing over north-east to south-west, but these disappeared before daylight. at five a.m. the temperature was . degrees (reaumur). we started at six o'clock, and following the native path, which at about a mile from our camp takes a southerly direction, we soon came to the high sandy alluvial deposit which separates the creek at this point from the stony rises. here we struck off from the path, keeping well to the south of the creek, in order that we might mess in a branch of it that took a southerly direction. at . we came in on the creek again where it runs due south, and halted for breakfast at a fine waterhole with fine fresh feed for the camels. here we remained until noon, when we moved on again, and camped at one o'clock on a general course, having been throughout the morning south-west eight miles. the weather is most agreeable and pleasant; nothing could be more favourable for us up to the present time. the temperature in the shade at . a.m. was . degrees (reaumur), with a light breeze from south and a few small cirrocumulus clouds towards the north. i greatly feel the want of more instruments, the only things i have left being my watch, prism compass, pocket compass, and one thermometer (reaumur).--to camp . from camp . sunday, th april, .--morning fine and calm, but rather chilly. started at . a.m., following down the bed of a creek in a westerly direction by moonlight. our stage was, however, very short for about a mile--one of the camels (landa) got bogged by the side of a waterhole, and although we tried every means in our power, we found it impossible to get him out. all the ground beneath the surface was a bottomless quicksand, through which the beast sank too rapidly for us to get bushes of timber fairly beneath him; and being of a very sluggish stupid nature he could never be got to make sufficiently strenuous efforts towards extricating himself. in the evening, as a last chance, we let the water in from the creek, so as to buoy him up and at the same time soften the ground about his legs; but it was of no avail. the brute lay quietly in it, as if he quite enjoyed his position.--to camp . camp . monday, th april, .--finding landa still in the hole, we made a few attempts at extricating him, and then shot him, and after breakfast commenced cutting off what flesh we could get at for jerking. tuesday, th april, .--remained here to-day for the purpose of drying the meat, for which process the weather is not very favourable. [meteorological note follows.] from camp . wednesday, st may, .--started at . , having loaded our only camel, rajah, with the most necessary and useful articles, and packed up a small swag each, of bedding and clothing for our own shoulders. we kept on the right bank of the creek for about a mile, and then crossed over at a native camp to the left, where we got on a path running due west, the creek having turned to the north. following the path we crossed an open plain, and then some sand ridges, whence we saw the creek straight ahead of us running nearly south again: the path took us to the southernmost point of the bend in a distance of about two and a-half miles from where we had crossed the creek, thereby saving us from three to four miles, as it cannot be less than six miles round by the creek.--to camp . from camp . thursday, nd may, .--breakfasted by moonlight and started at . . following down the left bank of the creek in a westerly direction, we came at a distance of six miles on a lot of natives who were camped on the bed of a creek. they seemed to have just breakfasted, and were most liberal in their presentations of fish and cake. we could only return the compliment by some fishhooks and sugar. about a mile further on we came to a separation of the creek, where what looked like the main branch, turned towards the south. this channel we followed, not however without some misgivings as to its character, which were soon increased by the small and unfavourable appearance that the creek assumed. on our continuing along it a little further it began to improve and widened out with fine waterholes of considerable depth. the banks were very steep, and a belt of scrub lined it on either side. this made it very inconvenient for travelling, especially as the bed of the creek was full of water for a considerable distance. at eleven a.m., we halted, until . p.m., and then moved on again taking a south-south-westerly course for about two miles, when at the end of a very long waterhole it breaks into billibongs, which continue splitting into sandy channels until they are all lost in the earthy soil of a box forest. seeing little chance of water ahead, we turned back to the end of the long waterhole and camped for the night. on our way back, rajah showed signs of being done up. he had been trembling greatly all the morning. on this account his load was further lightened to the amount of a few pounds by the doing away with the sugar, ginger, tea, cocoa, and two or three tin plates.--to camp . from camp . friday, rd may, .--started at seven a.m., striking off in a northerly direction for the main creek. at a mile and a-half came to a branch which--[left unfinished].--to camp . junction.--from camp . saturday, th may, .--night and morning very cold. sky clear, almost calm, occasionally a light breath of air from south. rajah appears to feel the cold very much. he was so stiff this morning as to be scarcely able to get up with his load. started to return down the creek at . , and halted for breakfast at a.m., at the same spot as we breakfasted at yesterday. proceeding from there down the creek we soon found a repetition of the features that were exhibited by the creek examined on thursday. at a mile and a-half we came to the last waterhole, and below that the channel became more sandy and shallow, and continued to send off billibongs to the south and west, slightly changing its course each time until it disappeared altogether in a north-westerly direction. leaving king with the camel, we went on a mile or two to see if we could find water; and being unsuccessful we were obliged to return to where we had breakfasted as being the best place for feed and water.--to camp . sunday, th may, .--started by myself, to reconnoitre the country in a southerly direction, leaving mr. burke and king with the camel at camp . travelled south-west by south for two hours, following the course of the most southerly billibongs; found the earthy soil becoming more loose and cracked up, and the box track gradually disappearing. changed course to west for a high sand ridge, which i reached in one hour and a half, and continuing in the same direction to one still higher, obtained from it a good view of the surrounding country. to the north were the extensive box forests bounding the creek on either side. to the east earthy plains intersected by watercourses and lines of timber, and bounded in the distance by sand ridges. to the south the projection of the sand ridge partially intercepted the view; the rest was composed of earthy plains, apparently clothed with chrysanthemums. to the westward another but smaller plain was bounded also by high sand ridges running nearly parallel with the one on which i was standing. this dreary prospect offering no encouragement to proceed, i returned to camp by a more direct and better route than i had come, passing over some good salt-bush land which borders on the billibongs to the westward.--[here follow some meteorological notes.] from camp back to . monday, th may, .--moved up the creek again to camp , at the junction, to breakfast, and remained the day there. the present state of things is not calculated to raise our spirits much; the rations are rapidly diminishing; our clothing, especially the boots, are all going to pieces, and we have not the materials for repairing them properly; the camel is completely done up and can scarcely get along, although he has the best of feed and is resting half his time. i suppose this will end in our having to live like the blacks for a few months. from camp . tuesday, th may, .--breakfasted at daylight; but when about to start, found that the camel would not rise even without any load on his back. after making every attempt to get him up, we were obliged to leave him to himself. mr. burke and i started down the creek to reconnoitre; at about eleven miles we came to some blacks fishing; they gave us some half-a-dozen fish each, for luncheon, and intimated that if we would go to their camp we should have some more and some bread. i tore in two a piece of macintosh stuff that i had, and mr. burke gave one piece and i the other. we then went on to their camp about three miles further. they had caught a considerable quantity of fish, but most of them were small. i noticed three different kinds; a small one that they call cupi, from five to six inches long, and not broader than an eel; the common one, with large coarse scales, termed peru; and a delicious fish, some of which run from a pound to two pounds weight; the natives call them cawilchi. on our arrival at the camp they led us to a spot to camp on, and soon afterwards brought a lot of fish, and a kind of bread which they call nardoo. the lighting a fire with matches delights them, but they do not care about having them. in the evening various members of the tribe came down with lumps of nardoo and handfuls of fish, until we were positively unable to eat any more. they also gave us some stuff they call bedgery or pedgery; it has a highly intoxicating effect when chewed even in small quantities. it appears to be the dried stems and leaves of some shrub. wednesday, th may, .--left the blacks' camp at . , mr. burke returning to the junction, whilst i proceeded to trace down the creek. this i found a shorter task than i had expected, for it soon showed signs of running out, and at the same time kept considerably to the north of west. there were several fine waterholes within about four miles of the camp i had left, but not a drop all the way beyond that, a distance of seven miles. finding that the creek turned greatly towards the north, i returned to the blacks' encampment, and as i was about to pass they invited me to stay;--i did so, and was even more hospitably entertained than before, being, on this occasion, offered a share of a gunyah, and supplied with plenty of fish and nardoo, as well as a couple of nice fat rats--the latter found most delicious; they were baked in their skins. last night was clear and calm, but unusually warm. we slept by a fire just in front of the blacks' camp; they were very attentive in bringing us firewood and keeping the fire up during the night. thursday, th may, .--parted from my friends, the blacks, at . , and started for camp . from camp . friday, th may, .--mr. burke and king employed in jerking the camel's flesh, whilst i went out to look for the nardoo seed for making bread: in this i was unsuccessful, not being able to find a single tree of it in the neighbourhood of the camp. i, however, tried boiling the large kind of bean which the blacks call padlu; they boil easily, and when shelled are very sweet, much resembling in taste the french chestnut; they are to be found in large quantities nearly everywhere. saturday, th may, .--to-day mr. burke and king started down the creek to the blacks' camp, determined to ascertain all particulars about the nardoo. i have now my turn at the meat jerking, and must devise some means for trapping the birds and rats, which is a pleasant prospect after our dashing trip to carpentaria, having to hang about cooper's creek, living like the blacks. sunday, th may, .--mr. burke and king returned this morning, having been unsuccessful in their search for the blacks, who it seems have moved over to the other branch of the creek. decided on moving out on the main creek tomorrow, and then trying to find the natives of the creek. monday, th may, .--shifted some of the things, and brought them back again, mr. burke thinking it better for one to remain here with them for a few days, so as to eat the remains of the fresh meat, whilst the others went in search of the blacks and nardoo. tuesday, th may, .--mr. burke and king gone up the creek to look for blacks with four days' provisions. self employed in preparing for a final start on their return. this evening mr. burke and king returned, having been some considerable distance up the creek and found no blacks. it is now settled that we plant the things, and all start together the day after to-morrow. the weather continues very fine; the nights calm, clear and cold, and the days clear, with a breeze generally from south, but to-day from east, for a change; this makes the first part of the day rather cold. when clouds appear they invariably move from west to east. wednesday, th, .--planting the things and preparing to leave the creek for mount hopeless. thursday, th, .--having completed our planting, etc., started up the creek for the second blacks' camp, a distance of about eight miles: finding our loads rather too heavy we made a small plant here of such articles as could best be spared.--[here follow a few meteorological notes.] nardoo, friday, th may, .--started this morning on a blacks' path, leaving the creek on our left, our intention being to keep a south-easterly direction until we should cut some likely looking creek, and then to follow it down. on approaching the foot of the first sandhill, king caught sight in the flat of some nardoo seeds, and we soon found that the flat was covered with them. this discovery caused somewhat of a revolution in our feelings, for we considered that with the knowledge of this plant we were in a position to support ourselves, even if we were destined to remain on the creek and wait for assistance from town. crossing some sand ridges, running north and south, we struck into a creek which runs out of cooper's creek, and followed it down; at about five miles we came to a large waterhole, beyond which the watercourse runs out on extensive flats and earthy plains. calm night; sky cleared towards morning, and it became very cold. a slight easterly breeze sprung up at sunrise but soon died away again. the sky again became overcast and remained so throughout the day. there was occasionally a light breeze from south, but during the greater portion of the day it was quite calm. fine halo around the sun in the afternoon. camp . saturday, th may, .--[no entry except the following meteorological entry on an opposite page, which may probably refer to this date.] calm night; sky sometimes clear and sometimes partially overcast with veil clouds. sunday, th may, .--[no entry beyond this citation of date.] monday, th may, .--[no entry beyond this citation of date.] tuesday, st may.--creek.--[no entry beyond this citation of date.] wednesday, nd may, .--cooper's creek.--[no entry beyond this citation of date.] thursday, rd may, .--[no entry beyond this citation of date.] friday, th may, .--started with king to celebrate the queen's birthday by fetching from nardoo creek what is now to us the staff of life; returned at a little after two p.m. with a fair supply, but find the collecting of the seed a slower and more troublesome process than could be desired. whilst picking the seed, about eleven a.m., both of us heard distinctly the noise of an explosion, as if of a gun, at some considerable distance. we supposed it to have been a shot fired by mr. burke, but on returning to the camp found that he had not fired, nor had heard the noise. the sky was partially overcast with high cumulostratus clouds, and a light breeze blew from the east, but nothing to indicate a thunderstorm in any direction. saturday, th may, .--[no entry beyond this.] sunday, th may.--[no entry beyond this.] monday, th may, .--started up the creek this morning for the depot, in order to deposit journals and a record of the state of affairs here. on reaching the sandhills below where landa was bogged, i passed some blacks on a flat collecting nardoo seed. never saw such an abundance of the seed before. the ground in some parts was quite black with it. there were only two or three gins and children, and they directed me on, as if to their camp, in the direction i was before going; but i had not gone far over the first sandhill when i was overtaken by about twenty blacks, bent on taking me back to their camp, and promising any quantity of nardoo and fish. on my going with them, one carried the shovel, and another insisted on taking my swag in such a friendly manner that i could not refuse them. they were greatly amused with the various little things i had with me. in the evening they supplied me with abundance of nardoo and fish, and one of the old men, poko tinnamira, shared his gunyah with me. . .the night was very cold, but by the help of several fires--[the entry suddenly stops here; but in the margin of the opposite page is written the names of several natives, and certain native words with their meanings in english.] tuesday, th may, :--left the blacks' camp, and proceeded up the creek; obtained some mussels near where landa died, and halted for breakfast. still feel very unwell from the effects of constipation of the bowels. after breakfast travelled on to our third camp coming down. wednesday, th.--started at seven a.m. and went on to the duck-holes, where we breakfasted coming down. halted there at . a.m. for a feed, and then moved on. at the stones saw a lot of crows quarrelling about something near the water; found it to be a large fish, of which they had eaten a considerable portion. as it was quite fresh and good, i decided the quarrel by taking it with me. . .it proved a most valuable addition to my otherwise scanty supper of nardoo porridge. this evening i camped very comfortably in a mia-mia, about eleven miles from the depot. the night was very cold, although not entirely cloudless. a brisk easterly breeze sprang up in the morning, and blew freshly all day. in the evening the sky clouded in, and there were one or two slight showers, but nothing to wet the ground. thursday, th may, .--reached the depot this morning at eleven a.m.; no traces of any one except blacks having been here since we left. deposited some journals and a notice of our present condition. started back in the afternoon, and camped at the first waterhole. last night, being cloudy, was unusually warm and pleasant. [footnote: the notice left in the cache ran as follows:-- depot camp, may th. we have been unable to leave the creek. both camels are dead, and our provisions are exhausted. mr. burke and king are down the lower part of the creek. i am about to return to them, when we shall probably come up this way. we are trying to live the best way we can, like the blacks, but find it hard work. our clothes are going to pieces fast. send provisions and clothes as soon as possible. w.j. wills. the depot party having left, contrary to instructions, has put us in this fix. i have deposited some of my journals here for fear of accident. w.j.w.] friday, st may, .--decamped at . a.m., having first breakfasted; passed between the sandhills at nine a.m., and reached the blanket mia-mias at . a.m.; from there proceeded on to the rocks, where i arrived at . p.m., having delayed about half-an-hour on the road in gathering some portulac. it had been a fine morning, but the sky now became overcast, and threatened to set in for steady rain; and as i felt very weak and tired, i only moved on about a mile further, and camped in a sheltered gully under some bushes. night clear and very cold; no wind; towards morning, sky became slightly overcast with cirrostratus clouds. saturday, st june, .--started at . a.m.; passed the duck-holes at ten a.m. and my second camp up, at two p.m., having rested in the meantime about forty-five minutes. thought to have reached the blacks' camp, or at least where landa was bogged, but found myself altogether too weak and exhausted; in fact, had extreme difficulty in getting across the numerous little gullies, and was at last obliged to camp from sheer fatigue. night ultimately both clear and cloudy, with occasional showers. sunday, nd june, .--started at half-past six, thinking to breakfast at the blacks' camp below landa's grave. found myself very much fagged, and did not arrive at their camp until ten a.m., and then found myself disappointed as to a good breakfast, the camp being deserted. having rested awhile and eaten a few fish-bones, i moved down the creek, hoping by a late march to be able to reach our own camp; but i soon found, from my extreme weakness, that that would be out of the question. a certain amount of good luck, however, still stuck to me, for on going along by a large waterhole i was so fortunate as to find a large fish, about a pound and a half in weight, which was just being choked by another which it had tried to swallow, but which had stuck in its throat. i soon had a fire lit, and both of the fish cooked and eaten: the large one was in good condition. moving on again after my late breakfast, i passed camp of the journey to carpentaria, and camped for the night under some polygonum bushes. monday, rd june, .--started at seven o'clock, and keeping on the south bank of the creek was rather encouraged at about three miles by the sound of numerous crows ahead; presently fancied i could see smoke, and was shortly afterwards set at my ease by hearing a cooey from pitchery, who stood on the opposite bank, and directed me round the lower end of the waterhole, continually repeating his assurance of abundance of fish and bread. having with some considerable difficulty managed to ascend the sandy path that led to the camp, i was conducted by the chief to a fire where a large pile of fish were just being cooked in the most approved style. these i imagined to be for the general consumption of the half-dozen natives gathered around, but it turned out that they had already had their breakfast. i was expected to dispose of this lot--a task which, to my own astonishment, i soon accomplished, keeping two or three blacks pretty steadily at work extracting the bones for me. the fish being disposed of, next came a supply of nardoo cake and water until i was so full as to be unable to eat any more; when pitchery, allowing me a short time to recover myself, fetched a large bowl of the raw nardoo flour mixed to a thin paste, a most insinuating article, and one that they appear to esteem a great delicacy. i was then invited to stop the night there, but this i declined, and proceeded on my way home. tuesday, th june, .--started for the blacks' camp intending to test the practicability of living with them, and to see what i could learn as to their ways and manners. wednesday, th june, .--remained with the blacks. light rain during the greater part of the night, and more or less throughout the day in showers. wind blowing in squalls from south. thursday, th june, .--returned to our own camp: found that mr. burke and king had been well supplied with fish by the blacks. made preparation for shifting our camp nearer theirs on the morrow. . . . during my son's absence, which lasted for eleven days, in which he travelled altogether above seventy miles, king mentions in his narrative that mr. burke, whilst frying some fish set fire to the mia-mia (a shelter made by the blacks with bushes of trees, so thickly laid that it serves to exclude the sun and a great deal of rain); thus destroying every remnant of clothing. king told me that nothing was saved but a gun, although his narrative says a pistol also; but mr. burke's pistol was burnt. the incidents of the journal from the th of may to the th of june, show how well my son had established himself in the good graces of the natives. had it been his fortune to have survived, we should probably have had an interesting account of these simple aborigines and their doings. . . . friday, th june, .--started in the afternoon for the blacks' camp with such things as we could take; found ourselves all very weak in spite of the abundant supply of fish that we have lately had. i, myself, could scarcely get along, although carrying the lightest swag, only about thirty pounds. found that the blacks had decamped, so determined on proceeding to-morrow up to the next camp, near the nardoo field. saturday, th june, .--with the greatest fatigue and difficulty we reached the nardoo camp. no blacks, greatly to our disappointment; took possession of their best mia-mia and rested for the remainder of the day. sunday, th june, .--king and i proceeded to collect nardoo, leaving mr. burke at home. monday, th june, .--mr. burke and king collecting nardoo; self at home too weak to go out; was fortunate enough to shoot a crow.--[here follow some meteorological notes which appear to relate to another period.] tuesday, th june, .--king out for nardoo; mr. burke up the creek to look for the blacks. wednesday, th june, .--king out collecting nardoo; mr. burke and i at home pounding and cleaning. i still feel myself, if anything, weaker in the legs, although the nardoo appears to be more thoroughly digested. thursday, th june, .--last night the sky was pretty clear, and the air rather cold, but nearly calm, a few cirrostratus hung about the north-east horizon during the first part of the night. mr. burke and king out for nardoo; self weaker than ever; scarcely able to go to the waterhole for water. towards afternoon, cirrocumulus and cirrostratus began to appear moving northward. scarcely any wind all day. friday, th june, .--night alternately clear and cloudy; cirrocumulus and cumulostratus moving northwards; no wind; beautifully mild for the time of year; in the morning some heavy clouds on the horizon. king out for nardoo; brought in a good supply. mr. burke and i at home, pounding and cleaning seed. i feel weaker than ever, and both mr. b. and king are beginning to feel very unsteady in the legs. saturday, th june, .--night clear, calm, and cold; morning very fine, with a light breath of air from north-east. king out for nardoo; brought in a fine supply. mr. burke and i pounding and cleaning; he finds himself getting very weak, and i am not a bit stronger. i have determined on beginning to chew tobacco and eat less nardoo, in hopes that it may induce some change in the system. i have never yet recovered from the constipation, the effect of which continues to be exceedingly painful. sunday, th june, .--wind shifted to north; clouds moving from west to east; thunder audible two or three times to the southward: sky becoming densely overcast, with an occasional shower about nine a.m. we finished up the remains of the camel rajah yesterday, for dinner; king was fortunate enough to shoot a crow this morning. the rain kept all hands in, pounding and cleaning seed during the morning. the weather cleared up towards the middle of the day, and a brisk breeze sprang up in the south, lasting till near sunset, but rather irregular in its force. distant thunder was audible to westward and southward frequently during the afternoon. monday, th june, .--night very boisterous and stormy; northerly wind blowing in squalls, and heavy showers of rain, with thunder in the north and west; heavy clouds moving rapidly from north to south; gradually clearing up during the morning; the wind continuing squally during the day from west and north-west. king out in the afternoon for nardoo. tuesday, th june, .--exceedingly cold night; sky clear, slight breeze, very chilly and changeable; very heavy dew. after sunrise, cirrostratus clouds began to pass over from west to east, gradually becoming more dense, and assuming the form of cumulostratus. the sky cleared, and it became warmer towards noon. wednesday, th june, .--night calm; sky during first part overcast with cirrocumulus clouds, most of which cleared away towards morning, leaving the air much colder; but the sky remained more or less hazy all night, and it was not nearly as cold as last night. about eight o'clock a strong southerly wind sprung up, which enabled king to blow the dust out of our nardoo seed, but made me too weak to render him any assistance. thursday, th june, .--night and morning very cold, sky clear. i am completely reduced by the effects of the cold and starvation. king gone out for nardoo; mr. burke at home pounding seed; he finds himself getting very weak in the legs. king holds out by far the best; the food seems to agree with him pretty well. finding the sun come out pretty warm towards noon, i took a sponging all over; but it seemed to do little good beyond the cleaning effects, for my weakness is so great that i could not do it with proper expedition. i cannot understand this nardoo at all--it certainly will not agree with me in any form; we are now reduced to it alone, and we manage to consume from four to five pounds per day between us; it appears to be quite indigestible, and cannot possibly be sufficiently nutritious to sustain life by itself. friday, st june, .--last night was cold and clear, winding up with a strong wind from north-east in the morning. i feel much weaker than ever and can scarcely crawl out of the mia-mia. unless relief comes in some form or other, i cannot possibly last more than a fortnight. it is a great consolation, at least, in this position of ours, to know that we have done all we could, and that our deaths will rather be the result of the mismanagement of others than of any rash acts of our own. had we come to grief elsewhere, we could only have blamed ourselves; but here we are returned to cooper's creek, where we had every reason to look for provisions and clothing; and yet we have to die of starvation, in spite of the explicit instructions given by mr. burke--"that the depot party should await our return;" and the strong recommendation to the committee "that we should be followed up by a party from menindie." about noon a change of wind took place, and it blew almost as hard from the west as it did previously from the north-east. a few cirrocumulus continued to pass over towards east. saturday, nd june, .--night cloudy and warm; every appearance of rain; thunder once or twice during the night; clouds moving in an easterly direction; lower atmosphere perfectly calm. there were a few drops of rain during the night, and in the morning, about nine a.m., there was every prospect of more rain until towards noon, when the sky cleared up for a time. mr. burke and king out for nardoo; the former returned much fatigued. i am so weak to-day as to be unable to get on my feet. sunday, rd june, .--all hands at home. i am so weak as to be incapable of crawling out of the mia-mia. king holds out well, but mr. burke finds himself weaker every day. monday, th june, .--a fearful night. at about an hour before sunset, a southerly gale sprung up and continued throughout the greater portion of the night; the cold was intense, and it seemed as if one would be shrivelled up. towards morning it fortunately lulled a little, but a strong cold breeze continued till near sunset, after which it became perfectly calm. king went out for nardoo in spite of the wind, and came in with a good load; but he himself terribly cut up. he says that he can no longer keep up the work, and as he and mr. burke are both getting rapidly weaker, we have but a slight chance of anything but starvation, unless we can get hold of some blacks. tuesday, th june, .--night calm, clear and intensely cold, especially towards morning. near daybreak, king reported seeing a moon in the east, with a haze of light stretching up from it; he declared it to be quite as large as the moon, and not dim at the edges. i am so weak that any attempt to get a sight of it was out of the question; but i think it must have been venus in the zodiacal light that he saw, with a corona around her. th.--mr. burke and king remain at home cleaning and pounding seed; they are both getting weaker every day; the cold plays the deuce with us, from the small amount of clothing we have: my wardrobe consists of a wide-awake, a merino shirt, a regatta shirt without sleeves, the remains of a pair of flannel trousers, two pairs of socks in rags, and a waistcoat, of which i have managed to keep the pockets together. the others are no better off. besides these, we have between us, for bedding, two small camel pads, some horse-hair, two or three little bits of rag, and pieces of oil-cloth saved from the fire. the day turned out nice and warm. wednesday, th june, .--calm night; sky overcast with hazy cumulostratus clouds; an easterly breeze sprung up towards morning, making the air much colder. after sunrise there were indications of a clearing up of the sky, but it soon clouded in again, the upper current continuing to move in an easterly direction, whilst a breeze from the north and north-east blew pretty regularly throughout the day. mr. burke and king are preparing to go up the creek in search of the blacks; they will leave me some nardoo, wood, and water, with which i must do the best i can until they return. i think this is almost our only chance. i feel myself, if anything, rather better, but i cannot say stronger: the nardoo is beginning to agree better with me; but without some change i see little chance for any of us. they have both shown great hesitation and reluctance with regard to leaving me, and have repeatedly desired my candid opinion in the matter. i could only repeat, however, that i considered it our only chance, for i could not last long on the nardoo, even if a supply could be kept up. thursday, th june, .--cloudy, calm, and comparatively warm night, clouds almost stationary; in the morning a gentle breeze from east. sky partially cleared up during the day, making it pleasantly warm and bright; it remained clear during the afternoon and evening, offering every prospect of a clear cold night. friday, th june, .--clear cold night, slight breeze from the east, day beautifully warm and pleasant. mr. burke suffers greatly from the cold and is getting extremely weak; he and king start to-morrow up the creek to look for the blacks; it is the only chance we have of being saved from starvation. i am weaker than ever, although i have a good appetite and relish the nardoo much; but it seems to give us no nutriment, and the birds here are so shy as not to be got at. even if we got a good supply of fish, i doubt whether we could do much work on them and the nardoo alone. nothing now but the greatest good luck can save any of us; and as for myself i may live four or five days if the weather continues warm. my pulse is at forty-eight, and very weak, and my legs and arms are nearly skin and bone. i can only look out, like mr. micawber, 'for something to turn up;' starvation on nardoo is by no means very unpleasant, but for the weakness one feels, and the utter inability to move one's self; for as far as appetite is concerned, it gives the greatest satisfaction. certainly fat and sugar would be more to one's taste; in fact those seem to me to be the great stand-by for one in this extraordinary continent: not that i mean to depreciate the farinaceous food; but the want of sugar and fat in all substances obtainable here is so great that they become almost valueless to us as articles of food, without the addition of something else. (signed) w.j. wills. chapter . king's narrative. mr. burke and king go in search of the natives, as a last resource. death of mr. burke. king returns and finds mr. wills dead in the gunyah. he falls in with the natives and wanders about with them until delivered by mr. howitt's party. extract from mr. howitt's diary. extract from mr. mckinlay's diary. my son's last letter to me, dated june th, . strong attachment between mr. burke and my son. king delivers the letter and watch intrusted to him. with some difficulty i recover the pistol. king's reception in melbourne. sir h. barkly's letter to sir roderick murchison. summary of events and their causes. the latter portion of my poor son's journal was transcribed by mr. archer, registrar-general of victoria. we may believe that after writing the last paragraph to which he subscribed his name, he did not survive for many hours. the sequel, as far as any of its details can ever be made known to us, is best told in the unaffected language of john king's narrative, as delivered to the royal commission. mr. burke, mr. wills, and i, reached the depot at cooper's creek, on april st, about half-past seven in the evening, with two camels; all that remained of the six mr. burke took with him. all the provisions we then had consisted of one-and-a-half pound of dried meat. we found the party had gone the same day; and looking about for any mark they might have left, found the tree with 'dig, ap. .' mr. wills said the party had left for the darling. we dug and found the plant of stores. mr. burke took the papers out of the bottle, and then asked each of us whether we were able to proceed up the creek in pursuit of the party; we said not, and he then said that he thought it his duty to ask us, but that he himself was unable to do so, but that he had decided upon trying to make mount hopeless, as he had been assured by the committee in melbourne, that there was a cattle station within miles of cooper's creek. mr. wills was not inclined to follow this plan, and wished to go down our old track; but at last gave in to mr. burke's wishes. i also wished to go down by our old track. we remained four or five days to recruit, making preparations to go down the creek by stages of four or five miles a day, and mr. burke placed a paper in the plant stating what were our plans. travelling down the creek, we got some fish from the natives; and some distance down, one of the camels (landa) got bogged, and although we remained there that day and part of the next, trying to dig him out, we found our strength insufficient to do so. the evening of the second day we shot him as he lay, and having cut off as much meat as we could, we lived on it while we stayed to dry the remainder. throwing all the least necessary things away, we made one load for the remaining camel (rajah), and each of us carried a swag of about twenty-five pounds. we were then tracing down the branches of the creek running south, and found that they ran out into earthy plains. we had understood that the creek along gregory's track was continuous; and finding that all these creeks ran out into plains, mr. burke returned, our camel being completely knocked up. we then intended to give the camel a spell for a few days, and to make a new attempt to push on forty or fifty miles to the south, in the hope of striking the creek. during the time that the camel was being rested, mr. burke and mr. wills went in search of the natives, to endeavour to find out how the nardoo grew. having found their camp, they obtained as much nardoo cake and fish as they could eat, but could not explain that they wished to be shown how to find the seed themselves: they returned on the third day bringing some fish and nardoo cake with them. on the following day the camel rajah seemed very ill, and i told mr. burke i thought he could not linger out more than four days, and as on the same evening the poor brute was on the point of dying, mr. burke ordered him to be shot; i did so, and we cut him up with two broken knives and a lancet: we cured the meat and planted it, and mr. burke then made another attempt to find the nardoo, taking me with him: we went down the creek expecting to find the natives at the camp where they had been last seen, but found that they had left; and not knowing whether they had gone up or down the creek, we slept in their gunyahs that night, and on the following morning returned to mr. wills. the next day, mr. burke and i started up the creek, but could see nothing of them, and were three days away, when we returned and remained three days in our camp with mr. wills. we then made a plant of all the articles we could not carry with us, leaving five pounds of rice and a quantity of meat, and then followed up the creek to where there were some good native huts. we remained at that place a few days; and finding that our provisions were beginning to run short, mr. burke said, that we ought to do something, and that if we did not find the nardoo, we should starve, and that he intended to save a little dried meat and rice to carry us to mount hopeless. the three of us then came to the conclusion that it would be better to make a second attempt to reach mount hopeless, as we were then as strong as we were likely to be, our daily allowance being then reduced. mr. burke asked each of us whether we were willing to make another attempt to reach the south australian settlements, and we decided on going; we took with us what remained of the provisions we had planted--two-and-a-half pounds of oatmeal, a small quantity of flour, and the dried meat: this, with powder and shot, and other small articles, made up our swags to thirty pounds each, and mr. burke carried one billy of water; and i another. we had not gone far before we came on a flat, where i saw a plant growing which i took to be clover, and on looking closer saw the seed, and called out that i had found the nardoo; they were very glad when i found it. we travelled three days, and struck a watercourse coming south from cooper's creek; we traced this as it branched out and re-formed in the plains, until we at last lost it in flat country; sandhills were in front of us, for which we made, and travelled all day but found no water. we were all greatly fatigued, as our rations now consisted of only one small johnny cake and three sticks of dried meat daily. we camped that evening about four o'clock, intending to push next day until two o'clock p.m., and then, should we not find water, to return. we travelled and found no water, and the three of us sat down and rested for one hour, and then turned back. we all felt satisfied that had there been a few days' rain we could have got through: we were then, according to mr. wills's calculation, forty-five miles from the creek. we travelled, on the day we turned back, very late, and the following evening reached the nearest water at the creek. we gathered some nardoo and boiled the seeds, as we were unable to pound them. the following day we reached the main creek; and knowing where there was a fine waterhole and native gunyahs, we went there intending to save what remained of our flour and dried meat for the purpose of making another attempt to reach mount hopeless. on the following day mr. wills and i went out to gather nardoo, of which we obtained a supply sufficient for three days, and finding a pounding stone at the gunyahs, mr. burke and i pounded the seed, which was such slow work that we were compelled to use half flour and half nardoo. mr. burke and mr. wills then went down the creek for the remainder of the dried meat which we had planted; and we had now all our things with us, gathering nardoo and living the best way we could. mr. burke requested mr. wills to go up the creek as far as the depot, and to place a note in the plant there, stating that we were then living on the creek, the former note having stated that we were on our road to south australia. he also was to bury there the field-books of the journey to the gulf. before starting he got three pounds of flour and four pounds of pounded nardoo, and about a pound of meat, as he expected to be absent about eight days. during his absence i gathered nardoo and pounded it, as mr. burke wished to lay in a supply in case of rain. a few days after mr. wills left, some natives came down the creek to fish at some waterholes near our camp. they were very civil to us at first and offered us some fish. on the second day they came again to fish, and mr. burke took down two bags, which they filled for him. on the third day they gave us one bag of fish, and afterwards all came to our camp. we used to keep our ammunition and other articles in one gunyah, and all three of us lived together in another. one of the natives took an oilcloth out of this gunyah, and mr. burke seeing him run away with it followed him with his revolver and fired over his head, and upon this the native dropt the oilcloth; while he was away, the other blacks invited me away to a waterhole to eat fish, but i declined to do so as mr. burke was absent, and a number of natives were about who would have taken all our things. when i refused, one took his boomerang and laid it over my shoulder, and then told me by signs that if i called out for mr. burke (as i was doing) that he would strike me; upon this i got them all in front of the gunyah and fired a revolver over their heads, but they did not seem at all afraid until i got out the gun, when they all ran away. mr. burke hearing the report came back, and we saw no more of them until late that night, when they came with some cooked fish and called out "white fellow." mr. burke then went out with his revolver, and found a whole tribe coming down, all painted, and with fish in small nets carried by two men. mr. burke went to meet them, and they wished to surround him; but he knocked as many of the nets of fish out of their hands as he could, and shouted out to me to fire. i did so, and they ran off. we collected five small nets of cooked fish. the reason he would not accept the fish from them was, that he was afraid of being too friendly lest they should be always at our camp. we then lived on fish until mr. wills returned. he told us that he had met the natives soon after leaving us, and that they were very kind to him, and had given him plenty to eat both on going up and returning. he seemed to consider that he should have very little difficulty in living with them, and as their camp was close to ours he returned to them the same day and found them very hospitable and friendly, keeping him with them two days. they then made signs to him to be off: he came to us and narrated what had happened, but went back to them the following day, when they gave him his breakfast, but made signs for him to go away; he pretended not to understand them, and would not go, upon which they made signs that they were going up the creek, and that he had better go down: they packed up and left the camp, giving mr. wills a little nardoo to take to us. during his absence, while mr. burke was cooking some fish during a strong wind, the flames caught the gunyah and burned so rapidly that we were unable not only to put it out but to save any of our things, excepting one revolver and a gun. mr. wills having returned, it was decided to go up the creek and live with the natives if possible, as mr. wills thought we should have but little difficulty in obtaining provisions from them if we camped on the opposite side of the creek to them. he said he knew where they were gone, so we packed up and started. coming to the gunyahs where we expected to have found them, we were disappointed, and seeing a nardoo field close by halted, intending to make it our camp. for some time we were employed gathering nardoo, and laying up a supply. mr. wills and i used to collect and carry home a bag each day, and mr. burke generally pounded sufficient for our dinner during our absence; but mr. wills found himself getting very weak, and was shortly unable to go out to gather nardoo as before, or even strong enough to pound it, so that in a few days he became almost helpless. i still continued gathering, and mr. burke now also began to feel very weak, and said he could be of very little use in pounding; i had now to gather and pound for all three of us. i continued to do this for a few days; but finding my strength rapidly failing, my legs being very weak and painful, i was unable to go out for several days, and we were compelled to consume six days' stock which we had laid by. mr. burke now proposed that i should gather as much as possible in three days, and that with this supply we should go in search of the natives--a plan which had been urged upon us by mr. wills as the only chance of saving him and ourselves as well, as he clearly saw that i was no longer able to collect sufficient for our wants. having collected the seed as proposed, and having pounded sufficient to last mr. wills for eight days, and two days for ourselves, we placed water and firewood within his reach and started; before leaving him, however, mr. burke asked him whether he still wished it, as under no other circumstance would he leave him, and mr. wills again said that he looked on it as our only chance. he then gave mr. burke a letter and his watch for his father, and we buried the remainder of the field-books near the gunyah. mr. wills said that, in case of my surviving mr. burke, he hoped that i would carry out his last wishes, in giving the watch and letter to his father. in travelling the first day, mr. burke seemed very weak, and complained of great pain in his legs and back. on the second day he seemed to be better, and said that he thought he was getting stronger, but on starting, did not go two miles before he said he could go no further. i persisted in his trying to go on, and managed to get him along several times, until i saw that he was almost knocked up, when he said he could not carry his swag, and threw all he had away. i also reduced mine, taking nothing but a gun and some powder and shot, and a small pouch and some matches. in starting again, we did not go far before mr. burke said we should halt for the night; but as the place was close to a large sheet of water, and exposed to the wind, i prevailed on him to go a little further, to the next reach of water, where we camped. we searched about and found a few small patches of nardoo, which i collected and pounded, and with a crow, which i shot, made a good evening's meal. from the time we halted mr. burke seemed to be getting worse, although he ate his supper; he said he felt convinced he could not last many hours, and gave me his watch, which he said belonged to the committee, and a pocket-book to give to sir william stawell, and in which he wrote some notes. he then said to me, "i hope you will remain with me here till i am quite dead--it is a comfort to know that some one is by; but, when i am dying, it is my wish that you should place the pistol in my right hand, and that you leave me unburied as i lie." that night he spoke very little, and the following morning i found him speechless, or nearly so, and about eight o'clock he expired. i remained a few hours there, but as i saw there was no use remaining longer i went up the creek in search of the natives. i felt very lonely, and at night usually slept in deserted wurleys belonging to the natives. two days after leaving the spot where mr. burke died, i found some gunyahs where the natives had deposited a bag of nardoo, sufficient to last me a fortnight, and three bundles containing various articles. i also shot a crow that evening; but was in great dread that the natives would come and deprive me of the nardoo. i remained there two days to recover my strength, and then returned to mr. wills. i took back three crows; but found him lying dead in his gunyah, and the natives had been there and had taken away some of his clothes. i buried the corpse with sand, and remained there some days, but finding that my stock of nardoo was running short, and as i was unable to gather it, i tracked the natives who had been to the camp by their footprints in the sand, and went some distance down the creek shooting crows and hawks on the road. the natives, hearing the report of the gun, came to meet me, and took me with them to their camp, giving me nardoo and fish: they took the birds i had shot and cooked them for me, and afterwards showed me a gunyah where i was to sleep with three of the single men. the following morning they commenced talking to me, and putting one finger on the ground and covering it with sand, at the same time pointing up the creek saying "white fellow," which i understood to mean that one white man was dead. from this i knew that they were the tribe who had taken mr. wills's clothes. they then asked me where the third white man was, and i also made the sign of putting two fingers on the ground and covering them with sand, at the same time pointing up the creek. they appeared to feel great compassion for me when they understood that i was alone on the creek, and gave me plenty to eat. after being four days with them, i saw that they were becoming tired of me, and they made signs that they were going up the creek and that i had better go downwards; but i pretended not to understand them. the same day they shifted camp, and i followed them, and on reaching their camp i shot some crows, which pleased them so much that they made me a breakwind in the centre of their camp, and came and sat round me until such time as the crows were cooked, when they assisted me to eat them. the same day one of the women, to whom i had given part of a crow, came and gave me a ball of nardoo, saying that she would give me more only she had such a sore arm that she was unable to pound. she showed me a sore on her arm, and the thought struck me that i would boil some water in the billy and wash her arm with a sponge. during the operation, the whole tribe sat round and were muttering one to another. her husband sat down by her side, and she was crying all the time. after i had washed it, i touched it with some nitrate of silver, when she began to yell, and ran off, crying out "mokow! mokow!" (fire! fire!). from this time, she and her husband used to give me a small quantity of nardoo both night and morning, and whenever the tribe was about going on a fishing excursion he used to give me notice to go with them. they also used to assist me in making a wurley or breakwind whenever they shifted camp. i generally shot a crow or a hawk, and gave it to them in return for these little services. every four or five days the tribe would surround me and ask whether i intended going up or down the creek; at last i made them understand that if they went up i should go up the creek, and if they went down i should also go down; and from this time they seemed to look upon me as one of themselves, and supplied me with fish and nardoo regularly: they were very anxious, however, to know where mr. burke lay, and one day when we were fishing in the waterholes close by, i took them to the spot. on seeing his remains, the whole party wept bitterly, and covered them with bushes. after this, they were much kinder to me than before, and i always told them that the white men would be here before two moons; and in the evening when they came with nardoo and fish they used to talk about the "white-fellows" coming, at the same time pointing to the moon. i also told them they would receive many presents, and they constantly asked me for tomahawks, called by them "bomay ko." from this time to when the relief party arrived, a period of about a month, they treated me with uniform kindness, and looked upon me as one of themselves. the day on which i was released, one of the tribe who had been fishing came and told me that the "white fellows," were coming, and the whole of the tribe who were then in camp sallied out in every direction to meet the party, while the man who had brought the news took me over the creek, where i shortly saw the party coming down. . . . brahe having quitted cooper's creek, as we have seen, on the st of april, retraced his steps, towards the darling. on the th or th (there is a doubt about the exact date), he fell in with wright's party at bulloo, and placed himself under his orders. on the th, dr. becker died. on the st of may they left bulloo, on their return to menindie. on the rd, wright makes the following entry in his diary:-- friday, koorliatto.--as i was anxious to ascertain, before finally leaving the country, whether mr. burke had visited the old depot at cooper's creek, between the present date and that on which he left on his advance northward, or whether the stores cached there had been disturbed by the natives, i started with mr. brahe and three horses for cooper's creek and reached the head waters of that creek on sunday, the th may, in about seventy miles, steering about west-north-west. i did not find any water throughout the distance, but crossed several fine large gum creeks, and saw an immense number of native dogs. thursday, may th.--this morning i reached cooper's creek depot, and found no sign of mr. burke having visited the creek, or of the natives having disturbed the stores. i therefore retraced my steps to the depot that remained at koorliatto. . . . on the examination of wright and brahe before the royal commission, it came out that they did not remain more than a quarter of an hour at cooper's creek depot, casting only a hurried glance around; and believing that no one had been there, never thought of opening the cache to identify the fact. had they done so, they would have found the papers and letters deposited by mr. burke, and all would yet have been well. it is much to be regretted, and may excite some surprise, that burke and my son, after opening and closing up the cache, affixed no external token of their having been there. but the apathy, stupidity, and carelessness of wright and brahe are really beyond comprehension. the effect of their miserably evasive and contradictory evidence, when under examination, can never be forgotten by those who were present. they, too, left no indications of their useless visit. it will be remembered that twenty-two days after, on the th of may, my son returned to cooper's creek for the last time, and deposited his journals and letters in the cache. the following extracts from mr. howitt's diary relate the discovery of king, with the finding and interment of the remains of mr. burke and my son. september th, .--latitude, degrees minutes; longitude degrees minutes.--camped on a large waterhole, about a quarter of a mile below mr. burke's first camp, after leaving the depot at cooper's creek. we could see where the camels had been tied up, but found no marked tree. to-day i noticed in two or three places old camel-droppings and tracks, where mr. brahe informed me he was certain their camels had never been, as they were watched every day near the depot and tied up at night. mr. burke's camels were led on the way down. it looked very much as if stray camels had been about during the last four months. the tracks seemed to me to be going up the creek, but the ground was too strong to be able to make sure. september th.--camp .--latitude, degrees minuts; longitude, degrees minutes.--on leaving this morning i went ahead with sandy, to try and pick up mr. burke's track. at the lower end of a large waterhole, from which one or two horses had been feeding for some months, the tracks ran in all directions to and from the water, and even as recent as a week. at the same place i found the handle of a clasp-knife. from here struck out south for a short distance from the creek, and found a distinct camel's track and droppings on a native path: the footprint was about four months old and going east. i then sent the black boy to follow the creek, and struck across some sandy country in a bend on the north side. no tracks here; and coming on a native path leading my way, i followed it, as the most likely place to see any signs. in about four miles this led me to the lower end of a very large reach of water, and on the opposite side were numbers of native wurleys. i crossed at a neck of sand, and at a little distance again came on the track of a camel going up the creek; at the same time i found a native, who began to gesticulate in a very excited manner, and to point down the creek, bawling out, "gow, gow!" as loud as he could. when i went towards him he ran away, and finding it impossible to get him to come to me, i turned back to follow a camel track, and to look after my party. the track was visible in sandy places, and was evidently the same i had seen for the last two days. i also found horse traces in places, but very old. crossing the creek, i cut our track, and rode after the party. in doing so i came upon three pounds of tobacco, which had lain where i saw it for some time. this, together with a knife-handle, fresh horse tracks, and the camel track going eastward, puzzled me extremely, and led me into a hundred conjectures. at the lower end of the large reach of water before mentioned, i met sandy and frank looking for me, with the intelligence that king, the only survivor of mr. burke's party, had been found. a little further on i found the party halted, and immediately went across to the blacks' wurleys, where i found king sitting in a hut which the natives had made for him. he presented a melancholy appearance--wasted to a shadow, and hardly to be distinguished as a civilized being but by the remnants of clothes upon him. he seemed exceedingly weak, and i found it occasionally difficult to follow what he said. the natives were all gathered round, seated on the ground, looking with a most gratified and delighted expression. september th.--left camp this morning with messrs. brahe, welsh, wheeler, and king, to perform a melancholy duty, which has weighed on my mind ever since we have encamped here, and which i have only put off until king should be well enough to accompany us. we proceeded down the creek for seven miles, crossing a branch running to the southward, and followed a native track leading to that part of the creek where mr. burke, mr. wills, and king encamped after their unsuccessful attempt to reach mount hopeless and the northern settlements of south australia, and where poor wills died. we found the two gunyahs situated on a sand-bank between two waterholes and about a mile from the flat where they procured nardoo seed, on which they managed to exist so long. poor wills's remains we found lying in the wurley in which he died, and where king, after his return from seeking for the natives, had buried him with sand and rushes. we carefully collected the remains and interred them where they lay; and, not having a prayer-book, i read chapter of corinthians, that we might at least feel a melancholy satisfaction in having shown the last respect to his remains. we heaped sand over the grave, and laid branches upon it, that the natives might understand by their own tokens not to disturb the last repose of a fellow-being. i cut the following inscription on a tree close by, to mark the spot:-- w.j.wills, xlv. yds. w.n.w. a.h. (w. j. wills, yards, west-north-west. a.h.) the field-books, a note-book belonging to mr. burke, various small articles lying about, of no value in themselves, but now invested with a deep interest, from the circumstances connected with them, and some of the nardoo seed on which they had subsisted, with the small wooden trough in which it had been cleaned, i have now in my possession. september st.--finding that it would not be prudent for king to go out for two or three days, i could no longer defer making a search for the spot where mr. burke died, and with such directions as king could give, i went up to the creek this morning with messrs. brahe, welsh, wheeler, and aitkin. we searched the creek upwards for eight miles, and at length, strange to say, found the remains of mr. burke lying among tall plants under a clump of box-trees, within two hundred yards of our last camp, and not thirty paces from our track. it was still more extraordinary that three or four of the party and the two black boys had been close to the spot without noticing it. the bones were entire, with the exception of the hands and feet; and the body had been removed from the spot where it first lay, and where the natives had placed branches over it, to about five paces' distance. i found the revolver which mr. burke held in his hand when he expired partly covered with leaves and earth, and corroded with rust. it was loaded and capped. we dug a grave close to the spot, and interred the remains wrapped in the union jack--the most fitting covering in which the bones of a brave but unfortunate man could take their last rest. on a box-tree, at the head of the grave, the following inscription is cut in a similar manner to the above:-- r.o'h.b. / / a.h. september rd.--went down the creek to-day in search of the natives . . .i could not think of leaving without showing them that we could appreciate and reward the kindness they had shown to burke's party and particularly to king. . .passed the first feeder of strleczki's creek, going to the southward, and at a large reach of water below, found the natives camped. they made a great commotion when we rode up, but seemed very friendly. i unpacked my blanket, and took out specimens of the things i intended giving them,--a tomahawk, a knife, beads, a looking-glass, comb, and flour and sugar. the tomahawk was the great object of attraction, after that the knife, but i think the looking-glass surprised them most. on seeing their faces reflected, some seemed dazzled, others opened their eyes like saucers, and made a rattling noise with their tongues expressive of wonder. we had quite a friendly palaver, and my watch amused them immensely. i made them understand that they were to bring the whole tribe up next morning to our camp to receive their presents, and we parted the best of friends. september th.--this morning, about ten o'clock, our black friends appeared in a long procession, men, women, and children, or, as they here also call them, piccaninnies; and at a mile distance they commenced bawling at the top of their voices as usual. when collected altogether on a little flat, just below our camp, they must have numbered between thirty and forty, and the uproar was deafening. with the aid of king, i at last got them all seated before me, and distributed the presents--tomahawks, knives, necklaces, looking-glasses, combs--amongst them. i think no people were ever so happy before, and it was very interesting to see how they pointed out one or another whom they thought might be overlooked. the piccaninnies were brought forward by their parents to have red ribbon tied round their dirty little heads. an old woman, carrawaw, who had been particularly kind to king, was loaded with things. i then divided fifty pounds of sugar between them, each one taking his share in a union-jack pocket-handkerchief, which they were very proud of. the sugar soon found its way into their mouths; the flour, fifty pounds of which i gave them, they at once called "white-fellow nardoo," and explained that they understood that these things were given to them for having fed king. some old clothes were then put on some of the men and women, and the affair ended in several of our party and several of the black fellows having an impromptu "corroboree," to the intense delight of the natives, and i must say, very much to our amusement. they left, making signs expressive of friendship, carrying their presents with them. the men all wore a net girdle; and of the women some wore one of leaves, others of feathers. i feel confident that we have left the best impression behind us, and that the "white fellows," as they have already learned to call us, will be looked on henceforth as friends, and that, in case of emergency, any one will receive the kindest treatment at their hands. . . . the south australian register, of the th of november, , published at adelaide, contained the following statement, which excited universal attention:-- the government have just received from mr. mckinlay, leader of the expedition sent from this colony in search of burke, a diary of his proceedings up to the th of october last. this document contains a most singular narrative, being nothing less than an account of mckinlay's discovery of what he believes to be the remains of burke's party, who he considers were some time since not only murdered, but partly eaten by the natives in the neighbourhood of cooper's creek. he, of course, had heard nothing of the result of mr. howitt's expedition, or of mr. king having been found alive by that expedition. when, therefore, he came to a spot where there were graves containing the bones of white men, and where there were indications of a conflict having taken place with the natives, some of whom spoke of those white men having been killed and partly eaten, he came to the conclusion that he had ascertained all that was possible of mr. burke and his companions. he accordingly buried a letter, containing a statement to this effect, at a place near where the remains were found, and then after forwarding to adelaide the despatch which has now reached us, proceeded westward upon some other business intrusted to him by the government. it seems fated that every chapter of the unfortunate burke exploration shall be marked with unusual interest. the failures at the beginning of the enterprise, the tragedy of the explorers' deaths, and the remarkable rescue of the survivor king, are now followed by a subject of interest altogether new and mysterious. certain as it is that mckinlay cannot have discovered the remains of burke's party, as he so firmly believed he had, it is equally clear that some other white men must have met their deaths at the spot reached by him, and that those deaths were, to all appearance, the result of foul play. that the remains found by mckinlay cannot have been those of burke and wills, disinterred, removed, and mangled after death, may be inferred from a number of circumstances detailed by him in the extracts which we have given from his diary. it will be seen that marks of violence were found on the remains, that there were indications of white men having camped in the neighbourhood (which was far distant from any camp of burke's), that one of the natives bore marks of having been engaged in a conflict where pistols were used, and that, lastly, the natives themselves said the bones were those of white men who had been murdered and eaten. all this would probably appear conclusive to mr. mckinlay that he had ascertained the fate of the explorers whom he had been in search of. he was prepared for such a result, and there were many circumstances favourable to its probability. he saw even, as he believed, positive indications of camels having been at the place where he found the graves; and yet, it will be seen, he speaks of appearances indicating that the remains were buried a long time ago, and states that some of the human hair discovered was in a state of decay. this certainly would not accord with the supposition of the remains being those of burke. but it is useless to seek an explanation of this strange matter from the facts at present before us. it is a mystery which will have further to be inquired into, and which mr. mckinlay himself will perhaps be able to throw some light upon when he reviews all the particulars of the discovery, with the knowledge before him that burke and his companions were not killed by the natives, but died from starvation, and were buried at places far distant from the spot where these new remains were discovered. . . . the following extract from mckinlay's diary details the incidents here spoken of more minutely. october st.--up in good time. before starting for the grave went round the lake, taking mr. hodgkinson with me, to see if natives were really on the lake, as i did not intend saddling the camels to-day if there were no natives here, intending to leave our camp unprotected--rather unwise, but being so short of hands could not help it, the grave being much out of sight. found no natives round the lake, nor any very recent traces, saving that some of the trees were still burning that they (when here last) had lighted. we started at once for the grave, taking a canteen of water with us and all the arms. on arrival removed the ground carefully, and close to the top of the earth found the body of a european enveloped in a flannel shirt with short sleeves--a piece of the breast of which i have taken--the flesh, i may say, completely cleared from the bones, and very little hair but what must have been decomposed; what little there was, i have taken. description of body: skull marked with slight sabre cuts, apparently two in number--one immediately over the left eye, the other on the right temple, inclining over right ear, more deep than the left; decayed teeth existed in both sides of lower jaw and right of upper; the other teeth were entire and sound. in the lower jaw were two teeth--one on each side (four between in front) rather projecting, as is sometimes called in the upper jaw "back teeth." i have measured the bones of the thigh and leg as well as the arm with a cord, not having any other method of doing it; gathered all the bones together and buried them again, cutting a lot of boughs and other wood and putting over top of the earth. body lies head south, feet north, lying on face, head severed from body. on a small tree immediately south we marked "mk, st oct., ." immediately this was over we questioned the native further on the subject of his death. he says he was killed by a stroke from what the natives call a sword (an instrument of semicircular form, five to eight feet long, and very formidable). he showed us where the whites had been attacked when encamped. we saw lots of fish-bones, but no evidence there on the trees to suppose whites had been there. they had certainly chosen a very bad camp, in the centre of a box scrub, with native huts within to yards of them. on further examination we found the dung of camels and horse or horses evidently tied up a long time ago. between that and the grave we found another grave, evidently dug with a spade or shovel, and a lot of human hair of two colours, that had become decomposed in the skin of the skull and fallen off in flakes, some of which i have also taken. i fancy they must all have been murdered here. dug out the new-found grave with a stick, the only instrument we had, but found no remains of bodies, save one little bone. the black accounted for this in this manner--he says they had eaten them. found in an old fireplace immediately adjoining what appeared to be bones very well burnt, but not in any quantity. in and about the last grave named, a piece of light blue tweed and fragments of paper, and small pieces of a nautical almanac were found, and an exploded eley's cartridge; no appearance on any of the trees of bullet marks as if a struggle had taken place. on a further examination of the blacks' camp where the pint pot was found, there was also found a tin canteen similar to what is used for keeping naphtha in, or some such stuff, both of which we keep. the natives say that any memos the whites had are back on the last camp we were at on the lake with the natives, as well as the iron-work of saddles, etc., which on our return we mean to endeavour to recover, if the blacks can be found. it may be rash, but there is necessity for it. intend before returning to have a further search. . . . the next day they dug up a quantity of baked horsehair, which had apparently been used for saddle stuffing. the hostility displayed by the blacks compelled mr. mckinlay and his party to fire upon them. the mystery attached to the remains here spoken of has yet to be cleared up. the idea at first entertained that they were those of gray is not tenable. a glance at the map will show that gray died and was buried far away to the north-east of mckinlay's track. on the day of king's arrival in melbourne, my son's watch, a gold chronometer, which he had used to calculate the longitudes by, was duly delivered to me in presence of the governor; also his last letter, distinctly traced in a firm hand on a ruled page torn from some book. it was not sealed, but neatly wrapped in a loose cover. the relic is invaluable. mr. wills's last letter to his father. brought down by king. cooper's creek, june, . my dear father, these are probably the last lines you will ever get from me. we are on the point of starvation, not so much from absolute want of food, but from the want of nutriment in what we can get. our position, although more provoking, is probably not near so disagreeable as that of poor harry* and his companions. [* footnote: harry, his cousin, lieutenant le vescompte, who perished with sir john franklin.] we have had very good luck, and made a most successful trip to carpentaria, and back to where we had every right to consider ourselves safe, having left a depot here consisting of four men, twelve horses, and six camels. they had provisions enough to have lasted them twelve months with proper economy, and we had also every right to expect that we should have been immediately followed up from menindie by another party with additional provisions and every necessary for forming a permanent depot at cooper's creek. the party we left here had special instructions not to leave until our return, unless from absolute necessity. we left the creek with nominally three months' supply, but they were reckoned at little over the rate of half rations. we calculated on having to eat some of the camels. by the greatest good luck, at every turn, we crossed to the gulf, through a good deal of fine country, almost in a straight line from here. on the other side the camels suffered considerably from wet; we had to kill and jerk one soon after starting back. we had now been out a little more than two months, and found it necessary to reduce the rations considerably; and this began to tell on all hands, but i felt it by far less than any of the others. the great scarcity and shyness of game, and our forced marches, prevented our supplying the deficiency from external sources to any great extent; but we never could have held out but for the crows and hawks, and the portulac. the latter is an excellent vegetable, and i believe secured our return to this place. we got back here in four months and four days, and found the party had left the creek the same day, and we were not in a fit state to follow them. i find i must close this, that it may be planted; but i will write some more, although it has not so good a chance of reaching you as this. you have great claims on the committee for their neglect. i leave you in sole charge of what is coming to me. the whole of my money i desire to leave to my sisters; other matters i pass over for the present. adieu, my dear father. love to tom. [footnote: tom, his brother in melbourne.] w.j. wills. i think to live about four or five days. my spirits are excellent. . . . the remark that i had great claims on the committee was inserted in the letter, as king informed me, in consequence of mr. burke observing, "wills, be sure to say something to that effect." the letter was read to burke and king by my son, as soon as he had concluded it. on king's examination, he was questioned as follows, on this point: question . do you see that letter--[pointing to the letter written by mr. wills to his father]?--that is the letter mr. wills read. . did he read it out for the purpose of being corrected if there was any statement in it that was not quite correct?--i believe the reason was, in case the letter should be found, that he should not say anything to our disadvantage, mine or mr. burke's; he thought that we would see it was the truth and nothing but the truth.--[watch produced]--that is the watch mr. wills desired the survivor to give to his father, which i have done. . there was a pocket-book, was there not?--yes, which mr. burke gave me on the evening before his death, requesting me to deliver it to sir william stawell, but under any circumstances i was not to deliver it to any other gentleman of the committee. i delivered it to sir william stawell this morning. . did you know anything of the nature of the contents of it? --no, except what mr. burke read to me affecting myself, and which sir william stawell has read to me this morning. the same book i showed to mr. howitt, telling him that it was mr. burke's desire that i should deliver it to sir william stawell himself. mr. burke also gave me his watch, and told me it was the property of the committee; the same i delivered to mr. howitt. . you kept possession of the book?--yes, and gave it over to sir william stawell this morning. . how did you preserve all those things while with the blacks? --i had a small canvas pouch, which i always carried about with me on my person. . did they ever covet anything?--yes, they used often to make me show them the contents of it. . . . the letter and watch being handed to mr. burke, my son then lent him his pistol, the only defence he could have retained against hostile attack, and lying on the bare ground, resigned to his fate, urgently requested them to leave him. imagination, with all the aid of poetical fancy, can conceive no position to exceed this in utter desolation. it has been said, and many may think, they ought not to have separated. no consideration, or argument, should have induced his two companions to abandon him. it was indeed a trying alternative, but falling in with the blacks appeared to be the only chance of rescue for the whole party; and had this fortunately happened before the sudden and total prostration of burke, there can be no doubt they would have hastened immediately to bring the same succour to my son. king informed me that mr. burke was dreadfully distressed, and that he had great difficulty in persuading him to go on. at times he would stop and exclaim, "how can i leave him, that dear, good fellow?" he was usually in the habit of addressing him as "my dear boy," for although twenty-seven, and wearing a beard, he had such a youthful appearance that few would have taken him for more than twenty when he left melbourne. during the whole journey, and through all their trials, king said that not an approach to altercation, or a word of difference, ever took place between my poor boy and his leader. when i claimed the pistol above alluded to, it was considered of too much consequence to be surrendered without minute investigation. to my first application i received the following diplomatic reply: exploration committee, royal society of victoria, victoria street, melbourne, january th, . sir, i have the honour to inform you that, at a committee meeting held th instant, the honourable dr. wilkie in the chair, the subject of delivering the "burke" pistol to you, which you claim as your late son's property, was discussed. the report of the assistant-secretary was to the effect that, as the tradesmen who supplied the fire-arms did not register the numbers, the identity of this particular pistol could not be traced as one supplied to the expedition; but that as there were several "colt's" revolvers furnished, there is room for doubt as to whether this may not be one of them. as the committee merely wishes to be fully satisfied of the validity of your claim before parting with such a melancholy and interesting relic, instructions have been given to apply to mr. king for any information he may be able to supply, to guide the committee to a right decision. i have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant, john macadam, m.d., hon. secretary. w. wills, esq. m.d. . . . finally, and with much trouble, after i know not how many meetings, and what amount of discussion, the pistol was handed over to me, and is now in my possession. so much for my claims on the committee, who are the only parties acquainted with the merits of my poor son from whom i have received anything like coldness or offence. on the day of king's arrival, as the mail was leaving for england, i was anxious to obtain at once the letter which i knew was in his possession. my earnestness interrupted an arrangement they had made for receiving him, and my unseasonable importunity, as it was considered, drew on me something bearing a close resemblance to a vote of censure. king, who although only a common soldier, has a heart and feelings which would do no dishonour to a gentleman of education, would have preferred coming into melbourne, after the loss of his officers, at least unostentatiously, if not in sackcloth and ashes. but he was greeted with a howling and shouting more suitable to the reception of some notorious bush-ranger recently captured. many, in common with myself, considered the ovation out of place and character; while others, and apparently the more numerous party, were of a different opinion. perhaps it was well meant, and chacun a son gout. public enthusiasm is not always gaugeable by the standard of reason or good taste. the following account was printed:-- from about five o'clock, groups of persons anxious to welcome back the first who had crossed and re-crossed the australian continent began to pour into the station, and its vicinity was so crowded with cars and spectators that it was impossible to reach the entrance. the arrival of the train was hailed with vociferous cheering. the carriage in which king was a passenger was at once recognized by its being decorated with flags. such was the "rush" to see king that it was some time before the porters could reach the carriage door, and when they had reached it they experienced considerable difficulty in getting the door opened. dr. gilbee, who was accompanied by dr. macadam, was in attendance with his private carriage to convey king as quietly as possible to the royal institute, where the exploration committee and a numerous assemblage of ladies and gentlemen were in waiting to see him. those gentlemen, however, were unable to reach the carriage; and dr. wills, who was fortunately opposite the door, seeing that it was impossible for the arrangements to be carried out, immediately conveyed king to an open car and drove off. dr. gillbee and dr. macadam, with king's sister, immediately followed. the cars were then rushed; and cars, buggies, horses, and pedestrians raced along collins street to william street, and thence to government house. a great many were, of course, disappointed by this alteration, as it was generally expected that king would be received by his excellency and the committee at the royal institute, and therefore drove along the streets that were likely to facilitate their reaching the institution before king's arrival. on reaching government house, king was assisted up stairs, for though he looked very healthy and robust; he was scarcely able to stand. he was taken into the room adjoining the chief secretary's office, where he was shortly afterwards joined by his sister. their meeting was, of course, strictly private. in a few minutes the approaches to government house, the lobbies, stairs, and landing were impassably crowded, so that it was necessary for the police to clear a passage for his excellency from his own office to that of the chief secretary. his excellency, accompanied by captain timins, entered the chief secretary's office, and after a short conversation with welch, who accompanied king to town, went into the anteroom; accompanied by captain timins, and followed by dr. wills, welch, and brahe. when his excellency entered the room, king and his sister respectfully stood up, but his excellency requested them to be seated, as king was evidently unable to stand on his feet. the excitement was almost too much for the poor fellow, and it was thought advisable to get him away as speedily and as privately as possible to st. kilda, where his sister resides. a few days afterwards, at a meeting of the exploration committee, a series of questions, more or less pertinent to the circumstances under which he appeared before them, were personally put to him by members of the committee, and which he answered calmly, displaying considerable intelligence and precision of mind in his replies to the rather discursive examination he was subjected to. the herald, in reference to the interview, had the following observations: --john king was an object of great and curious interest. having come out of such great tribulation--having fasted for so many days in the desert--having been wasted by privations till he became so near death that for death to have overcome him would have been no triumph--he was regarded with feelings similar to those which made the people say of dante, "there goes the man who has been in hades." though only a subordinate, he is a man possessing, we should say--or, indeed, as we know--good leading qualities, the attributes of a hero; and though his intellectual powers have not been highly cultivated, he evidently possesses no small share of intelligence. a man who would mind his own business, and not given to ask very many questions, which as things have turned out is to be regretted; but with a memory capable of retaining everything that came within his knowledge. his coolness rather took aback those members of the committee, yesterday, who seemed to have come loaded to the muzzle with questions, which they proceeded to fire off indiscriminately. he seemed to know better than those inquisitors the way in which his examination should be conducted; that the inquiry had a more important object than gratifying sheer curiosity; and when he goes before the royal commission next thursday they will find him a very good witness. the deepest sympathy was expressed by the meeting, and it will be most sincerely felt by every soul to whom his extraordinary history will become known. the exploration committee held a private meeting on the th, at which king was present. he there stated that the tide rose and fell six inches at the part of the river where he was left by messrs. burke and wills when they proceeded on foot with the object of discovering the sea. the gallantry of king is amply testified to by some memoranda in the handwriting of poor burke--the last he ever wrote. the documents were contained in a pocket-book which the dying explorer committed to the care of the survivor, charging him to deliver it into the hands of sir william stawell. this last desire of his unfortunate commander was most scrupulously observed by king. the manuscript ran as follows:-- i hope that we shall be done justice to. we have fulfilled our task, but we have been abandoned. we have not been followed up as we expected, and the depot party abandoned their post. r. o'hara burke. cooper's creek, june th. king has behaved nobly. i hope that he will be properly cared for. he comes up the creek in accordance with my request. r. o'hara burke. cooper's creek, june th. again, the next entry says:-- king has behaved nobly. he has stayed with me to the last, and placed the pistol in my hand, leaving me lying on the surface as i wished. r. o'h. burke. cooper's creek, june th. . . . the following sketch of the journey across the continent of australia, by messrs. burke and wills, in a letter from the governor of victoria, sir henry barclay, to sir roderick murchison, was read before the royal geographical society in london on the th of january, , and was ordered to be printed in their proceedings. the letter also appeared in the times of the th of january:-- my dear sir roderick, knowing the interest you have ever taken in the exploration of the interior of australia, and that you still occupy the post of vice-president of the royal geographical society, it was my intention to address you fully by the present mail-steamer respecting the victorian expedition under burke and wills, which you will learn has achieved the honour of first crossing from sea to sea, by a route far distant and utterly distinct from that of mcdouall stuart, from whose great fame as an explorer i have not the least desire to detract. i wished, indeed, as the expedition had cost the gallant leaders of it their lives, to narrate in a connected form its design and history from the very commencement, in order that it might serve the geographical society as a record, and prevent any misconception of the causes which have marred its triumphant result. i find, however, that the pressure of other business will prevent my carrying out this design, and i must content myself therefore with forwarding the newspapers which contain the best report of what has recently come to light, together with the diaries of burke and wills, as published in a pamphlet form, and lastly with a map of australia, on which our surveyor-general has added to other recent explorations, a reduced tracing of the track of the expedition, from the depot on cooper's creek to the gulf of carpentaria, where it struck, as would appear, the flinders river, and not the albert, as the explorers supposed. i would refer you, at the same time, for precise details of the whole enterprise to my several despatches of st of august, ; th of july, and th of november, ; which i am confident the duke of newcastle will put at your disposal for the information of the geographical society, if applied to. on one account i am not sorry to be obliged to postpone a detailed communication on the subject, for it would be difficult to tell the sad story of the sufferings and death of the brave men who returned to the spot where they expected to find friends and ample store of provisions and clothing, only to find the depot abandoned, and to perish miserably in default of assistance, without at least implying blame in some quarter or other; and, as a good deal is still enveloped in mystery, and i have appointed a commission of inquiry to take evidence and report thereupon, it would obviously be improper in me to anticipate their conclusion. the sole survivor of the party who crossed the continent, john king, once, i believe, a soldier in india, is expected to reach melbourne to-night; and with the aid of his recollections of the journey, the surveyor-general hopes to be enabled to add to the chart on a large scale, which he is constructing from mr. wills's field books, fuller particulars as to the nature of the country; as well as to supply some blanks which were evidently left to be filled in afterwards, especially in regard to the route back, which, from the determination at our observatory of one of his earlier camps, from an observation of one of the planets which is recorded, seems to have been considerably to the eastward of the course pursued in going, though this is not expressly so stated. i need hardly add that as soon as mr. ligar finishes this chart i will send you copies of it, as also the report of the commission of inquiry. the country towards carpentaria or burke's land--as i hope it will be called--seems so good that there can be little doubt of the formation, at no distant date, of a colony on the shores of that estuary;--a project which you have long, i know, had at heart; and before we recall the several parties sent out for the relief of the missing expedition, i trust we shall be able so far to complete the task as to connect the settled country, by mr. howitt's aid, with burke's land by the best possible route; and, by means of the party sent by sea in the victoria steamer, to add greatly to our knowledge of the gulf, and of the embouchures of the different rivers falling into it. believe me ever, my dear sir roderick, yours very truly, henry barkly. government offices, melbourne, th november, . p.s.--after i had finished my letter, i received a memorandum from the surveyor-general respecting mr. wills's astronomical observations, which is of so much importance that i enclose it for your information, not having time to get a copy made. h.b. . . . it has been remarked, with some disposition to draw uncharitable conclusions therefrom, that no religious expressions, or any specific references to that all-important subject, are to be found in the field-books and journals that have been given to the public. on this point, king said, in reply to question , "i wish to state, with regard to there being no particular tokens of religion recorded in any part of the diaries, that we each had our bible and prayer-book, and occasionally read them going and coming back; and also the evening before the death of mr. burke, i am happy to say, he prayed to god for forgiveness for the past, and died happy, a sincere christian." the curtain drops here on the history of the great victorian exploring expedition, and little more remains to be told of its results or shortcomings. the continent was crossed, the gulf reached, and the road indicated by the hardy pioneers, which their successors will find it comparatively easy to level and macadamize. already the stimulant of the burke and wills catastrophe has called into active exercise the successive expeditions and discoveries of howitt, norman, walker, landsborough, and mckinlay. others will rapidly follow, with the characteristic energy and perseverance of the saxon race. now that time has, to a certain extent, allayed the poignant grief of those who are most nearly and dearly interested in the fate of the original explorers; when first impulses have cooled down, and the excitement of personal feelings has given way before unquestionable evidence, we may safely ascribe, as far as human agencies are concerned, the comparative failure of the enterprise to the following specific causes:-- . the double mistake on the part of the leader, of dividing and subdividing his forces at menindie and cooper's creek; . the utter unfitness of wright for the position in which he was placed; . the abandonment by brahe of the depot at cooper's creek; . the resolve of the surviving explorers to attempt the route by mount hopeless, on their homeward journey; and lastly, to the dilatory inefficiency of the committee, in not hurrying forward reliefs without a moment's delay, as the state of circumstances became gradually known to them. it is not so easy to estimate the relative quantity of blame which ought justly to attach to all who are implicated. each will endeavour to convince himself that his own share is light, and that the weight of the burden should fall on the shoulders of some one else. meanwhile, there remain for the heroic men who died in harness without a murmur in the unflinching exercise of their duty, an undying name, a public funeral, and a national monument; the unavailing sympathy and respect which rear an obelisk instead of bestowing a ribbon or a pension; recorded honours to the unconscious dead, in place of encouraging rewards to the triumphant living. a reverse of the picture, had it been permitted, might have been more agreeable; but the lesson intended to be conveyed, and the advantages to be derived from studying it, would have been far less salutary and profitable. chapter . letters of sympathy and condolence; from sir henry barkly; major egerton warburton; a.j. baker, esquire; p.a. jennings, esquire; dr. mueller; the council of ballaarat east; robert watson, esquire; john lavington evans, esquire meeting at totnes. resolution to erect a monument to mr. wills. proceedings in the royal geographical society of london. letter from sir roderick murchison to dr. wills. dr. wills's reply. the lost explorers, a poetical tribute. concluding observations. as soon as my son's death became publicly known, and there could no longer be a doubt on the subject, letters of condolence and sympathy poured in upon me from many quarters. from these i select a few as indicating the general impression produced by his untimely fate, and the estimation in which he was held by those who were personally acquainted with him. the afflicting event was communicated to his mother in totnes, devon, by a telegram a fortnight before the regular mail, accompanied by the following letter from sir henry barkly, governor of victoria:-- government office, melbourne, november th, . dear madam, though you will hear of the bereavement which has befallen you inthe loss of your gallant son from those that are near and dear both to you and to himself, i cannot refrain, in the position i have the honour to hold, from adding my assurance of the sympathy of the entire community with your grief, and the universal admiration of his abilities as displayed throughout the expedition, and which his noble and heroic conduct to the last hour of his life have inspired. you may rely upon it that the name of william john wills will go down to posterity, both at home and in this colony, amongst the brightest of those who have sacrificed their lives for the advancement of scientific knowledge and the good of their fellow-creatures. believe me, dear madam, yours very respectfully, (signed) henry barkly, governor of victoria. mrs. wills, totnes, devon. . . . sir henry also moved in the committee and the motion was carried nemine contradicente, that from the important part mr. wills had taken, the expedition should be called, "the burke and wills exploring expedition." some spiteful remarks by opposite partisans were made in the melbourne argus on this very natural and complimentary resolution. an advocate on one side said, "if the expedition had failed would it have been called the burke and wills expedition?--we opine not." to which another replied the following day, in the same columns, "would the expedition have succeeded if wills had not been there?--we opine not." none would have regretted these invidious observations more than the generous, free-hearted burke, and my gallant son, had they lived to see them. they had no petty jealousies. each knew his position, and they acted throughout with unswerving confidence as friends as well as associated explorers. it was asserted by burke's enemies that he was violent, and not having sufficient command over himself, was therefore unfitted to command others. this conclusion, sound enough in the abstract, is more easily made than proved, and in the present instance receives direct contradiction from the undeviating cordiality between the leader and his second. in the cases of landells and dr. beckler, universal opinion pronounced burke to be in the right. . . . from major egerton warburton. adelaide. my dear dr. wills, vain as must be any consolation that can be offered to you under the circumstances of almost unparalleled distress attending the loss of your son, i cannot but avail myself of our acquaintanceship to express my most humble and hearty sympathy in the terrible catastrophe. anger and horror combine to drive us away from the contemplation of the causes of this tragic termination of a feat of heroism and endurance such as has been rarely before achieved; and we turn with deep sorrow and admiration to dwell upon that noble display of faithful, patient courage which calmly awaited an early and unbefriended grave on the spot where the foot-prints of triumph were reasonably to have been expected. we all share in your grief; and would fain hope that this may somewhat lessen its bitterness to you; but it must be a source of pride and comfort to you to remember that your son died having done his duty to his country and his companions. more than this no man can do, live he ever so long, and few there are who do so much. permit me to subscribe myself a deep sympathiser with you in your affliction, j. egerton warburton. the major had been a candidate for the office of leader, but his conditions as to his second were objected to. the next letter is from a gentleman who had accompanied major warburton as second on some explorations from adelaide. at totnes i knew him when a boy. . . . dorset terrace, adelaide. my dear sir, i truly sympathize with you in the loss you have met with in so heroic and superb a fellow as your son. i cannot read his journals without wishing that i had been with him, for his qualities as an explorer were perfect in my humble opinion. the news of his sad death has been a great blow to all of us, and we sincerely feel for you in your affliction. but though dead in the flesh, the brave spirit of your son will stand emblazoned on the pages of our country's history as one of those heroes who have died for the cause in which he was engaged, in the flush of victory, cheerfully fulfilling his duties to the last. i cannot believe that wright and brahe ever returned to cooper's creek. if they had done so a stockman so well experienced in tracking as wright must be, would have detected the presence of signs that might escape the eye of one less practised; for it is ascertained now that the stores had been removed about the time that brahe left, and before, as they say, they returned in company. i also believe that, had burke taken his companions' advice, and followed down brahe's tracks, they would have been saved, for it is well known to all travellers that animals will feel cheered in following the footsteps of their late associates; but to attempt to force his party to explore new country when a well-known route was open to him was little short of madness. i have not patience to criticize wright and brahe's conduct. if brahe had even left more stores, clothing especially, we should have had the pleasure of welcoming the explorers home. but god's wise providence knows what is best, and in saying, his will be done, i pray that he may comfort you and yours in this great bereavement. mrs. b. and my daughter unite with me in kindest regards, and believe me to be as ever, my dear sir, your sincere friend, arthur john baker. . . . from p.a. jennings, esquire, st. arnaud, victoria. st. arnaud, december th, . my dear sir, i did not like to intrude upon your sorrow before; but i feel desirous of now testifying the sympathy of myself and friends at st. arnaud with you under your heavy affliction. i had the pleasure of forming an intimacy with your lamented and gallant son during his stay here; an intimacy which soon ripened into a true friendship. it was in the year , from march to july, that your son stopped in this vicinity, as the promoter of the survey of this town. i was thrown much into his company, and soon learned to appreciate his amiable and noble disposition. my mother and sisters, who also found pleasure in his society, had the deepest regard and admiration for him; and the expedition in which he was engaged therefore possessed an unusual interest for us. i assure you i can hardly find words to express our feelings, at the thought of his fate, and the base desertion of burke and himself by those who should have endeavoured to sustain them. i had the most profound confidence in your son's ability as an explorer, knowing well the varied nature of his scientific attainments, his great practical knowledge of bush life, and the clear common sense which was his leading characteristic. many a time we have talked about him; and every time we mentioned his name the same feeling of assurance in his safe return was always expressed, even to the last. such was our confidence in him. a week before the sad tidings of his death reached melbourne, i had a conversation with mr. byerly, whom i then met accidentally, and who had just returned from queensland. our conversation reverted to your son, and mr. byerly coincided with me in my faith in him, but remarked that all his exertions could be of little avail if not properly supported. mr. byerly had at first expressed a fear that the party had been allowed to perish through the remissness of those whose duty it should have been to use every possible means to rescue them in the proper time. his words were, unfortunately, prophetic. i know, my dear sir, that almost anything like consolation for you now must come from other than man, but i could not help saying these few words to you; and i know that no persons unconnected by blood with your family, and enjoying such brief personal acquaintance with your son as myself; and mother and sisters, can be more sincerely or deeply moved at the harrowing record of his untimely fate. indeed, it has cast a gloom over every one; and the hardest heart could not but be affected by such a noble spectacle as the last days of his glorious life present. it is proposed here to erect an obelisk to his memory, and i am about to get one of the streets named after him. i cannot commit myself to write further on the subject, but will conclude by subscribing myself, yours, ever faithfully, p.a. jennings. w. wills, esquire, m.d. . . . from dr. mueller. december th, . my dear doctor, his excellency informed me by note last night that mr. heales thinks to leave the consideration of everything connected with the great and glorious enterprise of your son and mr. burke, to the commission, which mr. heales will probably have installed before leaving office. his excellency adds, that every thought shall be given, that the family who immortalized their name by the work of your lamented son shall not be forgotten. i hope to be in town to-morrow, and will do myself the pleasure of calling on you. very regardfully yours, ferd. mueller. . . . the melbourne advertiser, of december the th, , contained the following leading paragraph: it is the intention of mr. o'shanassy to place a sum of pounds on the estimates towards the erection of a national monument to burke and wills, and it is believed a like amount will be raised by public subscription in various parts of the colony; so that the aggregate amount will enable us to raise a memorial worthy of victoria, and worthy of the heroes whom we design to honour. this is as it should be. burke and wills achieved a splendid exploit: their lives were the forfeit of their daring; and we owe it to their reputation, as well as to our own character, to preserve a durable record of their great achievement, and to signalize to after-ages our admiration of its simple grandeur, and our gratitude to the brave men who accomplished it. a time will come when a belt of settlements will connect the shores of port phillip with those of the gulf of carpentaria; when, on the banks of the albert or of the flinders, a populous city will arise, and will constitute the entrepot of our commerce with the indies; and when beaten roads will traverse the interior, and a line of electric telegraph will bisect the continent. the happy valley of prince rasselas was not more verdant or more fertile than much of the country passed through by the explorers, whose loss we deplore; and it is certain that these beautiful solitudes will be rapidly occupied by the flocks and herds of the squatter. agricultural settlements will follow; towns and villages will be established, gold-fields probably discovered, and waves of population will overflow and will fertilize vast tracts of country which we have hitherto concluded to be a sterile desert. these events will owe their initiation to the adventurous pioneers who first crossed the continent from sea to sea. theirs was the arduous effort; theirs the courage, endurance, and sustaining hope; theirs the conflict with danger and the great triumph over difficulties; theirs the agony of a lingering death, and theirs the mournful glory of a martyr's crown. defrauded, as it were, of the honours which would have rewarded them had they lived to receive the congratulations they had earned, it becomes the melancholy duty of their fellow-citizens to perpetuate the memory of burke and wills by a monument which shall testify to their worth and our munificence. . . . from dr. mueller. melbourne, december st, . my very dear doctor, i need not assure you that i shall be but too happy to render you any services within my power, and especially such as are connected with doing justice to your poor and great son. having been duly authorized by you to secure the pistol of your late son, i will take an early opportunity to claim it for you and bring it to your son thomas. i will also very gladly do what i can in restoring to you any other property i may hear of as belonging to your lamented son william. as soon as professor neumayer returns, we can learn with exactness what instruments were your son's. i will also inquire about the telescope. i believe i forgot mentioning to you, that it would be a source of the highest gratification to me to call some new plant by the name of the family, who claim as their own, one of now imperishable fame. but i will not be unmindful that, in offering an additional tribute, humble as it is, to your son's memory, it will be necessary to select, for the willsia, a plant as noble in the australian flora as the young savant himself who sacrificed his life in accomplishing a great national and never-to-be-forgotten enterprise. trusting, my dear and highly valued friend, that the greatness of the deed will, to a certain extent, alleviate your grief and sorrow for an irreparable loss, and that providence may spare you long in health and happiness, for your family. i remain, your faithfully attached, ferd. mueller. w. wills, esquire, m.d. . . . melbourne botanical gardens, january th, . my dear dr. wills, it affords me a melancholy satisfaction that the humble tribute which i wish to pay to the memory of your lamented son, in attaching his name to the enclosed plant, elicited such kind recognition from yourself. i need not assure you that i shall continue to maintain, as i have done on all previous occasions, that only by the skilful guidance and scientific talents of your unfortunate son, the great geographic success is achieved, which he sealed with his heroic death. we can only now deeply deplore the loss of such a man, and award that honour to his memory which his great exploit for ever merits. with the deepest sympathy for you, ever dear and respected friend, yours, ferd. mueller. the plant is thus registered in the fragmenta phytographiae australiae:-- eremophila willsii: speciem eremophilae goodwinii (f. m. report on the plants of babble's expedition, page ) propinquam tesqua australiae centralis ornantem, elegi ut botanicis recordarem gloriam nunquam obliviscendam intrepidi et ingeniosi sed infelicissimi gulielmi wills, qui primo terram australiae continentalem a litore ad litus peragravit, sua morte praecocissima in tacito eremo triumphum aeternum agens. [footnote: i have chosen a species of eremophila resembling goodwin's, which adorns the deserts of central australia, to record by botany the glory never to be forgotten of the intrepid and talented, but most unfortunate, william wills, who was the first to traverse the continent of australia from shore to shore, winning for himself, by his too early death in the silent wilderness, an eternal triumph.] from dr. mueller. june th, . dear dr. wills, once more i wish you a most cordial goodbye, and trust that in the circle of your family you will feel some consolation for the dreadful bereavement which has befallen you in the loss of your son. may it alleviate your affliction to some small extent, to remember that your son has gained by the sacrifice of his precious life a world-wide fame, and an appreciation which will remain unobliterated throughout all ages. with the deepest solicitude for your health and happiness, i remain, my very dear dr. wills, your attached friend, ferd. mueller. . . . at an earlier period, the municipal council of ballaarat east paid me the compliment of the subjoined address:-- to w. wills, esquire, m.d. council chamber, ballaarat east, november th, . sir, the municipal council of ballaarat east, for itself and on behalf of the native community of this district, with feelings of the deepest sorrow and commiseration, beg leave to sympathize with you in the most severe and irreparable bereavement which you are so unfortunately called upon to bear in the loss of your worthy and devoted son, mr. william john wills. it would however hope that all possible consolation will be yours in the knowledge of his having nobly and successfully accomplished his mission, the benefits of which cannot be too highly appreciated by the whole of the inhabitants of the australian colonies; and which must secure to his future memory, under the unfortunate circumstances by which he was sacrificed, not only honour and fame, but the sympathy, love, and respect of his fellow-men in all parts of her majesty's dominions, and in every civilized country throughout the world. these considerations the council trusts you will endeavour to bring to your aid in overcoming the intense grief with which you must be afflicted. i am, sir, in the most heartfelt sorrow, yours very truly, w.b. rodier, town clerk. . . . a proclamation in a supplement to one of the melbourne gazettes, towards the end of november, announced that the governor, with the advice of the executive council, had directed that the portions of main-street, ballaarat east, lying between the yarrowee river and princess street, shall hereafter be designated wills street, in memory of the companion of burke. the two following letters, written by devonians settled in victoria, appeared in the totnes weekly times:-- batesford, geelong, th november, . dear sir, i have sent you by this mail the sad history of poor burke and wills, which i am sure will be read with painful interest by all your fellow-townsmen. the melbourne papers have been very severe on the exploration committee, and it was my intention to have sent you copies of the argus, from th to th november, but they cannot now be procured at any price. my brother will lend you his, if you desire it. nothing that has occurred here for many years has thrown such a gloom over the whole of the australian colonies. we are generally, perhaps, a cold, unfeeling people, but there are few whose hearts have not been touched by this sad event. it is scarcely possible that you, accustomed as you are to the green pastures, the shady lanes, and crystal springs of dear old devon, can realize to the full extent the sickening hardships they had to endure, or the cruel disappointment under which even they at last gave way. i cannot conceive a situation more heartrending than theirs must have been on their return to cooper's creek, to find the depot abandoned. they had succeeded in accomplishing the glorious feat which so many brave men had tried in vain to accomplish; they had endured hardships which might make the stoutest heart quail; they had returned alive, but footsore, worn out and in rags, to where they might have hoped for help and succour; they were on their way to where honour and glory, well and nobly earned, awaited them; and now they must lie down in the dreary wilds of an almost unknown country, and die that most horrible of all deaths, starvation, they must have felt, too, that, worse than even this death itself, the fruits of their labours would, in all probability, perish with them, their fate remain unknown, and the glorious page of the world's history which they would have written would be buried in oblivion, and all this--all this because 'some one had blundered.' it has been decided that the remains are to be brought to melbourne and have a public funeral. monuments are also to be erected to the memory of the brave fellows:-- "these come too late, and almost mock whom they are intended to honour." poor wills! you will remember him as a boy. it has occurred to me that totnes may wish in some way to perpetuate the memory of one who perished so young and with such honour in a noble cause. should it be so, i have asked my brother to be there with something from me. every good man must deeply regret his loss, and sincerely sympathize with his relatives and friends. your hero has passed to no ignoble grave; he died not ere a deathless fame was won; and earth must count amongst her true and brave, the brave and patient wills, devonia's son. i am, dear sir, yours truly, robt. watson. to the editor of the totnes times. . . . to the editor of the totnes weekly times. melbourne, november , . by this mail, i have sent you the public journals of this city, containing detailed accounts of the exploring expedition, despatched hence on the th august last, to find its way to and return from the gulf of carpentaria. only one of the party has succeeded in accomplishing this unparalleled undertaking, three having fallen victims to hunger and disease. r. o'hara burke was the leader of the expedition, and w.j. wills, a native of totnes, and son of a physician from your locality, was the second in command, observer and astronomer. the expedition had visited the gulf, and had returned to cooper's creek, where a depot had been formed, but unfortunately broken up only six hours before the return of the weary travellers. their disappointment at finding such to be the case, you must gather from wills's journal, which was the best kept of the party, and is replete with information of the country through which they passed. to mr. wills, senior, the loss of his favourite son is a sad blow, under such distressing circumstances; yet, amid all, young wills was full of spirit to the last, and his final entry in his journal must have been made just six hours before he breathed his last. for him and for them, the colonists in australia have shed tears of sorrow, and the government have given instructions that their remains are to be brought to the city, and interred with all the pomp and solemnity befitting such an occasion. a sum of money is voted by parliament to mark specially the event by erecting an obelisk in some conspicuous part of the city, most probably in face of one of our parliament houses. a number of devonians, however, have resolved to subscribe, and with the consent of the municipal authorities, wish to mark the event more especially in his native town; and it is thought the plains, at totnes, is a suitable place for the erection of such a monument. to that end, subscription lists will be opened in our principal towns, and by next mail i hope to report that satisfactory progress is being made. the school where he was educated (ashburton), conducted, too, by a totnes man, mr. paige, has not been forgotten; and as there are schoolfellows of wills's in this colony, they also intend bearing testimony to his worth by placing a tablet, with the consent of the trustees, in the grammar school of st. andrew's. none more worthy exists in that ancient hall of learning. in conclusion, i would just remark that the continent has been traversed from north to south, but there is yet the important feat of crossing from east to west. for whom is this wreath reserved? is it to be won by a totnes or an ashburton man, or one from this country? time will decide. i remain, yours truly, john lavington evans. . . . a correspondent to the bendigo advertiser concluded a long letter with the subjoined paragraph:-- poor wills, the martyr, whose history of the journey is all that is left to us, is deserving of a nation's tears: his youth--his enduring patience--his evenness of temper, which must have been sorely tried--his lively disposition even in extremities--his devotion to his leader--all tend to stamp him as the real master-mind of the expedition, and as such let victoria be justly proud of him--let no false delicacy keep the memory of the noble youth from the pinnacle it is so justly entitled to. . . . the mayor of totnes, j. derry, esquire, in compliance with a requisition from many of the principal inhabitants, convened a meeting at the guildhall on the st of january, , which was most numerously attended. eloquent speeches were made, extracts from the letters of mr. watson, and mr. lavington evans, were read, and the following resolutions were unanimously passed: . that this meeting is of opinion that a memorial should be erected in totnes to the late mr. william john wills, who perished at cooper's creek on his homeward journey, after, with three others, having for the first time successfully crossed the great island continent of australia. perhaps when the subscriptions were received they would be able to decide what form the memorial should assume. it had been suggested that a tablet should be placed in the church, but he, mr. cuming, the mover, rather demurred to this: the church would not be a conspicuous place for it; and as many would subscribe who did not attend the parish church, he thought the plains, or some other public site, should be chosen, but it would be well to leave this matter for the present an open question. . that a committee be now formed to solicit subscriptions for the purpose of carrying into effect the last resolution, and that such committee consist of the following gentlemen:--the mayor, messrs. bentall, kellock, cuming, presswell, heath, windeatt, watson, michelmore, condy, clarke, ough, endle; with power to add to their number. . that as soon as the subscription list is completed, and the devonshire men resident in the colony have communicated their wishes and intentions to the committee, according to the intimations expressed by them, the committee be requested to call a meeting of the subscribers to decide on the character of the memorial to be erected. the subscriptions at totnes have been very liberal, and are still open. mr. watson and his family contributed most liberally. the duke of somerset gave ten pounds. each of the members, admiral mitchell, and various others five pounds; but the character of the monument has not yet been decided on. at ashburton grammar school a memorial has been erected, mr. lavington evans and his brother contributing ten pounds from australia. at the annual meeting of the royal geographical society of london, held on the th of may, , lord ashburton awarded the founder's gold medal to the representative of the late robert o'hara burke, and a gold watch to king. these were handed to his grace the duke of newcastle, who attended in his public capacity as secretary of state for the colonies, and undertook to deliver them to the respective parties, with many justly eulogistic observations. lord ashburton read a paper on the progress of geographical science, and sir r. murchison, in the course of a notice on australia, suggested that that portion which had been explored by mr. burke should be hereafter called burke's land. but it so happened that my son's name was neither mentioned nor alluded to in the published proceedings. at the first meeting of the society for the present season, held on the th november, , and at which i was present, sir roderick murchison introduced the subject of australian exploration in his address, in a manner quite unexpected by me. the next day i received the following official communication, which embodied the substance of what he had said, and nearly in the same words. to dr. wills. , whitehall place, th november, . sir, at the first meeting of the council of this society, during this session, i brought under the consideration of my associates, a statement of the distinguished botanist, dr. mueller, of victoria, to the effect that the friends of your deceased son were dissatisfied on finding that mr. burke, the leader of the late expedition to the gulf of carpentaria, had received a gold medal, and that mr. king had received a watch, whilst no testimonial of the services of mr. wills had been presented on the part of the royal geographical society. permit me to assure you that when the award of the gold medal was made, every member of the council, as well as myself, who proposed it, felt that to your son alone was due the determination of all the geographical points, by his astronomical observations, and that therefore the honour should be shared between the leader and himself. continuing to entertain the same sentiments, and regretting that the rule of the society prevented them from granting more than one gold medal for an expedition, the council have authorized me to offer this explanation to you, in order that it may be preserved as a memorial. as nothing less than a medal could have been adjudicated to so good a geographer as your lamented son, so i trust that this explanation, and the words, which fell from me last evening at the general meeting, in eulogizing his valuable services, may prove satisfactory. rely upon it, that his merits will never be forgotten by my associates and myself. i have the honour to be, sir, your very faithful servant, (signed) roderick murchison, president of the royal geographical society. p.s. this letter shall be printed in the proceedings of the society. . . . i replied thus:-- to sir roderick murchison, president of the royal geographical society. arundel street, strand, th november, . sir, it was with much satisfaction that i received your letter of the th instant, acknowledging the appreciation by yourself and the council of the royal geographical society, of the merits of my lamented son in the burke and wills exploring expedition in australia. that he, and he alone, was the only one who had the least pretension to the title of geographer, is manifest; --therefore it is not strange that dr. mueller and my friends in australia should feel somewhat annoyed in the matter of the medal. i am not surprised that it should have so happened under the circumstances. the motto 'sic vos non vobis', would be appropriate for him in memoriam. the clothes, for the want of which he died, so amply provided by himself, were worn by others; the land discovered has been called exclusively by another name;--the gold medal should follow. still i am grateful for your well-expressed remarks at the meeting of the th instant, and for this written testimonial of the th, from yourself and the council. i have the honour to be, sir roderick, your obedient and humble servant, william wills, father of the late explorer. . . . several poetical tributes in honour of the adventurous dead were published in victoria. i select one which appeared in the melbourne herald, on the st of december, . the lost explorers. 'tis but a little lapse of time since they passed from out our sight; their hearts with hope were buoyant, and each face with gladness bright; and many were the fervent prayers that in safety they might go, through a hidden land to the distant strand where ocean billows flow. theirs was no gay adventure in some softly pleasant place: they left home's quiet sanctitude to meet a hostile race; to carve a passage through the land, that down its channels wide, with a joyous start might flow a part of the restless human tide. across bleak stony deserts, through dense scrub and tangled brier, they passed with hearts undaunted, and with steps that would not tire; through morass and flooding waters, undismayed by toil and fears, at their chief's command, with salient hand, fought on the pioneers. battled with cold and famine, battled with fiery heat, battled o'er rocks till a trail of blood was left by their wounded feet; battled when death with his icy hand struck down the body of gray;-- 'onward!' they said, as they buried the dead, and went on their gloomy way. now gather round your household hearths, your children by your knee; 'tis well that they should understand this tale of misery. 'tis well that they should know the names of those whose toil is o'er; whose coming feet, we shall run to meet with a welcome never more. tell how these modern martyrs, in the strength and pride of men, went out into the wilderness and came not back again; how they battled bravely onward, for a nobler prize than thrones, and how they lay, in the glaring day, with the sun to bleach their bones. tell how their poor hearts held them up till victory was won; how with fainting steps they journeyed back, the great achievement done. but of their anguish who may know, save god, who heard each groan, when they saw no face at the trysting place, and found themselves alone! left alone with gaunt starvation, and its sickly brood of ills, stood burke the sanguine, hopeful king, and the hero-hearted wills; sad and weary stood the pioneers, with no hand to give relief, and so each day winged on its way as a dark embodied grief. who can guess the depth of agony-- that no mortal tongue may tell-- which each felt when slowly dying at the brink of hope's dry well! deserted, famished garmentless, no voice of friendship nigh, with loving care, to breathe a prayer when they settled down to die. yet god be praised, that one dear life was held within his hand, and saved, the only rescued one of that devoted band who went into the wilderness, in the strength and pride of men: the goal was won and their task was done, but they came not back again. we cannot break their calm, grand sleep, by fond endearing cries; we cannot smile them back again, however bright our eyes; but we may lowly bend the head, though not asham'd of the tears we sadly shed, for the lowly dead, cut down in their bloom of years. and laurel garlands, greener than war's heroes ever bought with the blood of slaughtered thousands, shall by loving hands be brought; and sanctified by many prayers, laid gently in their grave, that the coming race may know the place where sleep our martyr'd brave. --f.m. hughan. . . . concluding observations. the narrative i have felt called upon to give to the public, founded on an unexaggerated statement of facts, with many of which no other person could have been so well acquainted, is now concluded,--with the natural anguish of a father for the loss of a son of whom he was justly proud, and who fell a victim to incapacity and negligence not his own. still, i have no desire to claim merit for him to which he is not entitled, or to abstract an iota from what is justly due to others. the report of the royal commission is to be found at full in the appendix; unaccompanied necessarily by the mass of conflicting evidence, trustworthy, contradictory, misinterpreted or misunderstood, on which it was based. the members who composed that court were honourable gentlemen, who investigated patiently, and i have no doubt conscientiously. but there were many present, with myself, who witnessed the examinations, and wondered at some points of the verdict. we find the judgment most severe on the leader who sacrificed his life, and whose mistakes would have been less serious and fatal had his orders been obeyed. there is also a disposition to deal leniently with the far heavier errors and omissions of the exploration committee; and an unaccountable tendency to feel sympathy for brahe, whose evidence left it difficult to decide whether stupidity, selfishness, or utter disregard of truth was his leading deficiency. it now only remains to sum up a brief retrospect of the active spirit of discovery set astir, and not likely to die away, as a sequel to the great burke and wills expedition, for by that name it will continue to be known. we have already seen that the victoria steamer, under commander norman, was sent round to the gulf of carpentaria to search for the missing explorers, had they reached that part of the coast; and to expedite and assist land parties in advancing, southwards, to their aid. captain norman suffered some delay by the unfortunate wreck of the firefly, a trader, laden with horses, coals, and straw; and having on board mr. landsborough and party, who were to start from the albert river, or thereabouts. this wreck occurred on the th september, , on one of the group of islands to the north, called sir charles hardy's islands. on the th, they were found by commander norman, and through his great personal exertions, ably seconded by his officers and crew, he got the ship off, with the greater part of the horses and coals, and nearly all the stores. on the st of october, they reached the mouth of the albert. on the th of the same month, landsborough started for the head of that river, as far as it was navigable, in the firefly, under the command of lieutenant woods of the victoria; and on the th they were landed about twelve miles up the stream. it was past the middle of november before mr. landsborough resumed his onward course; and as his explorations had little to do with an endeavour to discover the tracks of the victorian expedition, although he gained much credit by his exertions, it is unnecessary to detail them more minutely here. i shall merely say that he followed a course south by east, skirting the country rather more to the westward than the track followed by previous explorers, and eventually reached victoria. mr. walker, despatched overland from queensland, reached the gulf on the th of december, ; and reported that he had, on the th of november, found well-defined traces of three or four camels and one horse, undoubtedly belonging to the victorian expedition, and making their way down the flinders. with his usual characteristic, he started again on the th of december. mr. walker, with his party, consisting chiefly of natives, did good service in his progress through queensland; for when the report reached melbourne, through captain norman, that he had discovered the tracks of the camels so near the sea, it furnished satisfactory evidence of the correctness of my son's journals, although the fatal news of his death and that of his commander had been long received. there were not wanting ungenerous cavillers to insinuate doubts that he and burke had been at the gulf. this inference they sought to establish from an expression in one of the few of burke's notes preserved, to this effect: " th march.--at the conclusion of report, it would be well to say that we reached the sea, but we could not obtain a view of the open ocean, although we made every effort to do so." at the extreme point they reached, about fifteen miles down the flinders, the tide ebbed and flowed regularly, and the water was quite salt. the very simplicity of mr. burke's remark shows that it was made by a man not given to lying or deceit. mr. walker followed the return tracks for some distance, but lost them at about degrees of south latitude, and then struck off direct east for the queensland district, to inquire, and get further supplies for a new start. at rockhampton he received the fatal intelligence which had been sent round by sea from melbourne; and also the news of the discovery of king by the gallant howitt, to whom all honour is due for his labours in the cause. but mr. mckinlay, leader of the south australian expedition, of whom i have already spoken more than once, has performed the most extraordinary exploit of all, and has traversed by far the greatest quantity of new ground, but not in the direction originally intended by the government that sent him. failing in finding the traces of burke and his expedition, mckinlay took more to the north and north-west between the and degrees of eastern longitude. yet from some floodings which my son, it will be remembered, pointed out in his journal as occurring from indications on trees, mckinlay changed his course to north and by east until he reached the gulf of carpentaria, and then to south and by east, and crossed to queensland, returning from rockhampton to adelaide by water. a glance at the map will show the courses of these respective explorers sufficiently for general purposes. thus queensland, by some mysterious influences in its favour, has reaped the whole benefit of these explorations at the least apparent cost. the land discovered by the burke and wills expedition, now named burke's land, has been handed over to queensland by the home government, up to cape york, on the extreme north, in torres straits. this vast continent, west of degrees, in which the south australian, and west australian governments have so much interest, is, with the exception of stuart's line, quite unexplored. it has been a subject of congratulation by some, that the misadventures, or more properly speaking, the gross errors connected with the victorian expedition, have led to results that amply compensate for the loss sustained. it is truly painful to hear, and not very easy for those who are deeply interested, to believe this; and i think the majority of all readers will consider that these losses might have been easily avoided. the relatives of the sacrificed explorers have to mourn their fate, and the colony of victoria has spent large sums of money, not for her own benefit, immediate or indirect, present or prospective. she, too, may exclaim "sic vos non vobis." lucky queensland derives the benefit; her boundaries are extended to degrees of east longitude. a great part of this country, formerly supposed to be of a doubtful nature, is now known to be the finest land in the australias, capable of producing cereals, wines, and tropical fruits; also a vast extent of ground fitted for the growth of cotton. a source of unbounded wealth is thus opened to that fortunate young colony: coals had previously been discovered there. she is also better supplied with timber and forests than the more southern districts. victoria, with her capital, melbourne, will have to wait for the extension of railways, marking her position as the centre of commerce, and will in time reap her well-merited reward. melbourne will always represent the metropolis of the various colonies of australia. south australia, so happy in her abundant produce of corn, wine, and mineral ores of copper and iron, is a most desirable colony, but a great portion of her interior being yet unexplored, her full capabilities cannot at present be estimated. there is no man more likely than john mckinlay, with his robust frame, his energy and activity, to carry out this great object, if the opportunity is supplied to him. the australias altogether comprise a country capable of conferring happiness upon countless thousands of the saxon race. everything is to be found, if the right people only are selected. let them comprise youth, vigorous health, temperate habits, persevering industry, and morals based on sound christianity, and their success and advancement in life is as certain as anything can be pronounced in this world of uncertainty. while these pages are going through the press, the last mail from melbourne informs us that mr. howitt was expected to arrive in that capital towards the middle of december, , with the remains of messrs. burke and wills. arrangements are being made for a public interment of the most imposing character. if numbers can add to the effect, they are not likely to be wanting. circulars have been officially addressed to nearly public bodies and societies throughout the colony, inviting the different members to join in the ceremony. replies have been received from by far the greater portion, stating their willingness and desire to join in this last testimony of respect for the lamented explorers. the monument, for which pounds has been voted by government, is to be erected in the reserve surrounding the parliament house. appendices. appendix a. instructions to leader. exploration committee, royal society of victoria, melbourne, th august, . sir, i am directed by the committee to convey to you the instructions and views which have been adopted in connection with the duties which devolve upon you as leader of the party now organized to explore the interior of australia. the committee having decided on cooper's creek, of sturt's, as the basis of your operations, request that you will proceed thither, form a depot of provisions and stores, and make arrangements for keeping open a communication in your rear to the darling, if in your opinion advisable; and thence to melbourne, so that you may be enabled to keep the committee informed of your movements, and receive in return the assistance in stores and advice of which you may stand in need. should you find that a better communication can be made by way of the south australian police station, near mount serle, you will avail yourself of that means of writing to the committee. in your route to cooper's creek, you will avail yourself of any opportunity that may present itself for examining and reporting on the character of the country east and west of the darling. you will make arrangements for carrying the stores to a point opposite mount mcpherson, which seems to the committee to be the best point of departure from this river for cooper's creek; and while the main body of the party is proceeding to that point you may have further opportunities of examining the country on either side of your route. in your further progress from mount mcpherson towards cooper's creek, the committee also desires that you should make further detours to the right and left with the same object. the object of the committee in directing you to cooper's creek, is, that you should explore the country intervening between it and leichhardt's track, south of the gulf of carpentaria, avoiding, as far as practicable, sturt's route on the west, and gregory's, down the victoria, on the east. to this object the committee wishes you to devote your energies in the first instance; but should you determine the impracticability of this route you are desired to turn westward into the country recently discovered by stuart, and connect his farthest point northward with gregory's farthest southern exploration in (mount wilson). in proceeding from cooper's creek to stuart's country, you may find the salt marshes an obstacle to the progress of the camels; if so, it is supposed you will be able to avoid these marshes by turning to the northward as far as eyre's creek, where there is permanent water, and going then westward to stuart's farthest. should you, however, fail in connecting the two points of stuart's and gregory's farthest, or should you ascertain that this space has been already traversed, you are requested if possible to connect your explorations with those of the younger gregory, in the vicinity of mount gould, and thence you might proceed to sharks' bay, or down the river murchison, to the settlements in western australia. this country would afford the means of recruiting the strength of your party, and you might, after a delay of five or six months, be enabled, with the knowledge of the country you shall have previously acquired, to return by a more direct route through south australia to melbourne. if you should, however, have been successful in connecting stuart's with gregory's farthest point in (mount wilson), and your party should be equal to the task, you would probably find it possible from thence to reach the country discovered by the younger gregory. the committee is fully aware of the difficulty of the country you are called on to traverse; and in giving you these instructions has placed these routes before you more as an indication of what it has been deemed desirable to have accomplished than as indicating any exact course for you to pursue. the committee considers you will find a better and a safer guide in the natural features of the country through which you will have to pass. for all useful and practical purposes it will be better for you and the object of future settlement that you should follow the watercourses and the country yielding herbage, than pursue any route which the committee might be able to sketch out from an imperfect map of australia. the committee intrusts you with the largest discretion as regards the forming of depots, and your movements generally, but request that you will mark your routes as permanently as possible, by leaving records, sowing seeds, building cairns, and marking trees at as many points as possible, consistently with your various other duties. with reference to financial subjects, you will be furnished with a letter of authority to give orders on the treasurer for the payment of any stores or their transport, cattle, sheep, or horses you may require; and you will not fail to furnish the treasurer from time to time with detailed accounts of the articles for which you have given such orders in payment. each person of the party will be allowed to give authority for half of his salary being paid into any bank, or to any person he may appoint to receive the same; provided a certificate is forwarded from you to the effect that he has efficiently discharged his duty. the committee requests that you will make arrangements for an exact account being taken of the stores and their expenditure by the person you place in charge of them. the committee also requests that you would address all your communications on subjects connected with the exploration to the honorary secretary; and that all persons acting with you should forward their communications on the same subject through you. you will cause full reports to be furnished by your officers on any subject of interest, and forward them to melbourne as often as may be practicable without retarding the progress of the expedition. the committee has caused the inclosed set of instructions to be drawn up, having relation to each department of science; and you are requested to hand each of the gentlemen a copy of the part more particularly relating to his department. i have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant, (signed) john macadam, m.d., honorary secretary, e.c., r.s.v. robert o'hara burke, esquire. leader, victorian exploring expedition. . . . appendix b. victoria: by the grace of god, of the united kingdom of great britain and ireland queen, defender of the faith. to our trusty and well-beloved the honourable sir thomas simson pratt, k.c.b., the honourable sir francis murphy, speaker of our legislative assembly, the honourable matthew hervey, m.p., the honourable james forester sullivan, m.p., and evelyn pitfield shirley sturt, esquire, all of melbourne, in the colony of victoria, greeting. whereas the governor of our colony of victoria, with the advice of the executive council thereof, has deemed it expedient that a commission should forthwith issue for the purpose of inquiring into all the circumstances connected with the sufferings and death of robert o'hara burke and william john wills, the victorian explorers: and whereas it is desirable to ascertain the true causes of this lamentable result of the expedition to the said robert o'hara burke and his companions; and especially to investigate the circumstances under which the depot at cooper's creek was abandoned by william brahe and his party on the twenty-first day of april last; and to determine upon whom rests the grave responsibility of there not having been a sufficient supply of provisions and clothing secured for the recruiting of the explorers on their return, and for their support until they could reach the settlements; and generally to inquire into the organization and conduct of the expedition: also, with regard to the claims upon the colony of the surviving members thereof, and of the relatives (if any) of the deceased members: now know ye that we, reposing great trust and confidence in your integrity, knowledge, and ability, have authorized and appointed, and by these presents do authorize and appoint you, sir thomas simson pratt, sir francis murphy, matthew hervey, james forester sullivan, and evelyn pitfield shirley sturt, to be commissioners for the purpose aforesaid: and for the better effecting the purpose of this commission, we do give and grant you power and authority to call before you such persons as you shall judge likely to afford you any information upon the subject of this commission: and to inquire of and concerning the premises by all other lawful means and ways whatsoever: and this commission shall continue in full force and virtue; and you the said commissioners may, from time to time, and at every place or places, proceed in the execution thereof, and of every matter or thing therein contained, although the inquiry be not regularly continued from time to time by adjournment: and lastly, that you do report, as occasion may require, for the information of our governor of our said colony, under your hands and seals, all matters and things elicited by you during the inquiry under this commission. seal of the colony of victoria. witness our trusty and well-beloved sir henry barkly, knight commander of the most noble order of the bath, captain-general, and governor-in-chief of our colony of victoria, and vice-admiral of the same, at melbourne, this twelfth day of november, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and in the twenty-fifth year of our reign. henry barkly. by his excellency's command, (signed) r. heales. . . . appendix c. to his excellency sir henry barkly, knight commander of the most honourable order of the bath, captain-general and governor-in-chief of the colony of victoria, and vice-admiral of the same, etc., etc. may it please your excellency:-- in conformity with the terms of her majesty's commission, we have made inquiry into the circumstances connected with the sufferings and death of robert o'hara burke and william john wills, the victorian explorers. we have endeavoured to ascertain the true causes of this lamentable result of the expedition, and have investigated the circumstances under which the depot at cooper's creek was abandoned by mr. william brahe. we have sought to determine upon whom rests the grave responsibility of there not having been a sufficient supply of provisions and clothing secured for the recruiting of the explorers on their return, and for their support until they could reach the settlements; and we have generally inquired into the organization and conduct of the expedition. our investigations have been confined to the above matters, the government having already taken into consideration the claims on the colony of the surviving members of the expedition, etc. we have examined all persons willing to give evidence who professed, or whom we supposed to possess, knowledge upon the various subjects of our inquiries: and we now, after mature consideration, submit to your excellency the following report:-- the expedition, having been provided and equipped in the most ample and liberal manner, and having reached menindie, on the darling, without experiencing any difficulties, was most injudiciously divided at that point by mr. burke. it was an error of judgment on the part of mr. burke to appoint mr. wright to an important command in the expedition, without a previous personal knowledge of him; although, doubtless, a pressing urgency had arisen for the appointment, from the sudden resignations of mr. landells and dr. beckler. mr. burke evinced a far greater amount of zeal than prudence in finally departing from cooper's creek before the depot party had arrived from menindie, and without having secured communication with the settled districts as he had been instructed to do; and, in undertaking so extended a journey with an insufficient supply of provisions, mr. burke was forced into the necessity of over-taxing the powers of his party, whose continuous and unremitting exertions resulted in the destruction of his animals, and the prostration of himself and his companions from fatigue and severe privation. the conduct of mr. wright appears to have been reprehensible in the highest degree. it is clear that mr. burke, on parting with him at torowoto, relied on receiving his immediate and zealous support; and it seems extremely improbable that mr. wright could have misconstrued the intentions of his leader so far, as to suppose that he ever calculated for a moment on his remaining for any length of time on the darling. mr. wright has failed to give any satisfactory explanation of the causes of his delay; and to that delay are mainly attributable the whole of the disasters of the expedition, with the exception of the death of gray. the grave responsibility of not having left a larger supply of provisions, together with some clothing, in the cache, at cooper's creek, rests with mr. wright. even had he been unable to convey stores to cooper's creek, he might have left them elsewhere, leaving notice at the depot of his having done so. the exploration committee, in overlooking the importance of the contents of mr. burke's despatch from torowoto, and in not urging mr. wright's departure from the darling, committed errors of a serious nature. a means of knowledge of the delay of the party at menindie was in the possession of the committee, not indeed by direct communication to that effect, but through the receipt of letters from drs. becker and beckler at various dates up to the end of november,--without, however, awakening the committee to a sense of the vital importance of mr. burke's request in that despatch that he should "be soon followed up,"--or to a consideration of the disastrous consequences which would be likely to result, and did unfortunately result, from the fatal inactivity and idling of mr. wright and his party on the darling. the conduct of mr. brahe in retiring from his position at the depot before he was rejoined by his commander, or relieved from the darling, may be deserving of considerable censure; but we are of opinion that a responsibility far beyond his expectations devolved upon him; and it must be borne in mind that, with the assurance of his leader, and his own conviction, he might each day expect to be relieved by mr. wright, he still held his post for four months and five days, and that only when pressed by the appeals of a comrade sickening even to death, as was subsequently proved, his powers of endurance gave way, and he retired from the position which could alone afford succour to the weary explorers should they return by that route. his decision was most unfortunate; but we believe he acted from a conscientious desire to discharge his duty, and we are confident that the painful reflection that twenty-four hours' further perseverance, would have made him the rescuer of the explorers, and gained for himself the praise and approbation of all, must be of itself an agonizing thought, without the addition of censure he might feel himself undeserving of. it does not appear that mr. burke kept any regular journal, or that he gave written instructions to his officers. had he performed these essential portions of the duties of a leader, many of the calamities of the expedition might have been averted, and little or no room would have been left for doubt in judging the conduct of those subordinates who pleaded unsatisfactory and contradictory verbal orders and statements. we cannot too deeply deplore the lamentable result of an expedition, undertaken at so great a cost to the colony; but, while we regret the absence of a systematic plan of operations on the part of the leader, we desire to express our admiration of his gallantry and daring, as well as of the fidelity of his brave coadjutor, mr. wills, and their more fortunate and enduring associate, mr. king; and we would record our feelings of deep sympathy with the deplorable sufferings and untimely deaths of mr. burke and his fallen comrades. t.s. pratt, chairman, matthew hervey, e.p.s. sturt, francis murphy, j.f. sullivan. the end. whitespace; small checks; poetry; italics; dashes; gut; a narrative of the expedition to botany bay by watkin tench introduction in offering this little tract to the public, it is equally the writer's wish to conduce to their amusement and information. the expedition on which he is engaged has excited much curiosity, and given birth to many speculations, respecting the consequences to arise from it. while men continue to think freely, they will judge variously. some have been sanguine enough to foresee the most beneficial effects to the parent state, from the colony we are endeavouring to establish; and some have not been wanting to pronounce the scheme big with folly, impolicy, and ruin. which of these predictions will be completed, i leave to the decision of the public. i cannot, however, dismiss the subject without expressing a hope, that the candid and liberal of each opinion, induced by the humane and benevolent intention in which it originated, will unite in waiting the result of a fair trial to an experiment, no less new in its design, than difficult in its execution. as this publication enters the world with the name of the author, candour will, he trusts, induce its readers to believe, that no consideration could weigh with him in an endeavour to mislead them. facts are related simply as they happened, and when opinions are hazarded, they are such as, he hopes, patient inquiry, and deliberate decision, will be found to have authorised. for the most part he has spoken from actual observation; and in those places where the relations of others have been unavoidably adopted. he has been careful to search for the truth, and repress that spirit of exaggeration which is almost ever the effect of novelty on ignorance. the nautical part of the work is comprized in as few pages as possible. by the professional part of my readers this will be deemed judicious; and the rest will not, i believe, be dissatisfied at its brevity. i beg leave, however, to say of the astronomical calculations, that they may be depended on with the greatest degree of security, as they were communicated by an officer, who was furnished with instruments, and commissioned by the board of longitude, to make observations during the voyage, and in the southern hemisphere. an unpractised writer is generally anxious to bespeak public attention, and to solicit public indulgence. except on professional subjects, military men are, perhaps, too fearful of critical censure. for the present narrative no other apology is attempted, than the intentions of its author, who has endeavoured not only to satisfy present curiosity, but to point out to future adventurers, the favourable, as well as adverse circumstances which will attend their settling here. the candid, it is hoped, will overlook the inaccuracies of this imperfect sketch, drawn amidst the complicated duties of the service in which the author is engaged, and make due allowance for the want of opportunity of gaining more extensive information. watkin tench, capt. of the marines. sydney cove, port jackson, new south wales, july, . chapter i from the embarkation of the convicts, to the departure of the ships from england. the marines and convicts having been previously embarked in the river, at portsmouth, and plymouth, the whole fleet destined for the expedition rendezvoused at the mother bank, on the th of march , and remained there until the th of may following. in this period, excepting a slight appearance of contagion in one of the transports, the ships were universally healthy, and the prisoners in high spirits. few complaints or lamentations were to be heard among them, and an ardent wish for the hour of departure seemed generally to prevail. as the reputation, equally with the safety of the officers and soldiers appointed to guard the convicts, consisted in maintaining due subordination, an opportunity was taken, immediately on their being embarked, to convince them, in the most pointed terms, that any attempt on their side, either to contest the command, or to force their escape, should be punished with instant death; orders to this effect were given to the centinels in their presence; happily, however, for all parties, there occurred not any instance in which there was occasion to have recourse to so desperate a measure; the behavior of the convicts being in general humble, submissive, and regular: indeed i should feel myself wanting in justice to those unfortunate men, were i not to bear this public testimony of the sobriety and decency of their conduct. unpleasant as a state of inactivity and delay for many weeks appeared to us, it was not without its advantages; for by means of it we were enabled to establish necessary regulations among the convicts, and to adopt such a system of defence, as left us little to apprehend for our own security, in case a spirit of madness and desperation had hurried them on to attempt our destruction. among many other troublesome parts of duty which the service we were engaged on required, the inspection of all letters brought to, or sent from the ships, was not one of the least tiresome and disagreeable. the number and contents of those in the vessel i was embarked in, frequently surprised me very much; they varied according to the dispositions of the writers: but their constant language was, an apprehension of the impracticability of returning home, the dread of a sickly passage, and the fearful prospect of a distant and barbarous country. but this apparent despondency proceeded in few instances from sentiment. with too many it was, doubtless, an artifice to awaken compassion, and call forth relief; the correspondence invariably ending in a petition for money and tobacco. perhaps a want of the latter, which is considered a great luxury by its admirers among the lower classes of life, might be the more severely felt, from their being debarred in all cases whatever, sickness excepted, the use of spirituous liquors. it may be thought proper for me to mention, that during our stay at the mother bank, the soldiers and convicts were indiscriminately served with fresh beef. the former, in addition, had the usual quantity of beer allowed in the navy, and were at what is called full allowance of all species of provisions; the latter, at two thirds only. chapter ii. from the departure, to the arrival of the fleet at teneriffe. governor phillip having at length reached portsmouth, and all things deemed necessary for the expedition being put on board, at daylight on the morning of the th, the signal to weigh anchor was made in the commanding officer's ship the sirius. before six o'clock the whole fleet were under sail; and, the weather being fine and wind easterly, proceeded through the needles with a fresh leading breeze. in addition to our little armament, the hyena frigate was ordered to accompany us a certain distance to the westward, by which means our number was increased to twelve sail: his majesty's ships 'sirius', 'hyena', and 'supply', three victuallers with two years stores and provisions on board for the settlement, and six transports, with troops and convicts. in the transports were embarked four captains, twelve subalterns, twenty-four serjeants and corporals, eight drummers, and one hundred and sixty private marines, making the whole of the military force, including the major commandant and staff on board the sirius, to consist of two hundred and twelve persons, of whom two hundred and ten were volunteers. the number of convicts was five hundred and sixty-five men, one hundred and ninety-two women, and eighteen children; the major part of the prisoners were mechanics and husbandmen, selected on purpose by order of government. by ten o'clock we had got clear of the isle of wight, at which time, having very little pleasure in conversing with my own thoughts, i strolled down among the convicts, to observe their sentiments at this juncture. a very few excepted, their countenances indicated a high degree of satisfaction, though in some, the pang of being severed, perhaps for ever, from their native land, could not be wholly suppressed; in general, marks of distress were more perceptible among the men than the women; for i recollect to have seen but one of those affected on the occasion, "some natural tears she dropp'd, but wip'd them soon." after this the accent of sorrow was no longer heard; more genial skies and change of scene banished repining and discontent, and introduced in their stead cheerfulness and acquiescence in a lot, now not to be altered. to add to the good disposition which was beginning to manifest itself, on the morning of the th, in consequence of some favorable representations made by the officers commanding detachments, they were hailed and told from the sirius, that in those cases where they judged it proper, they were at liberty to release the convicts from the fetters in which they had been hitherto confined. in complying with these directions, i had great pleasure in being able to extend this humane order to the whole of those under my charge, without a single exception. it is hardly necessary for me to say, that the precaution of ironing the convicts at any time reached to the men only. in the evening of the same day, the hyena left us for england, which afforded an early opportunity of writing to our friends, and easing their apprehensions by a communication of the favourable accounts it was in our power to send them. from this time to the day of our making the land, little occurred worthy of remark. i cannot, however, help noticing the propriety of employing the marines on a service which requires activity and exertion at sea, in preference to other troops. had a regiment recruited since the war been sent out, sea-sickness would have incapacitated half the men from performing the duties immediately and indispensably necessary; whereas the marines, from being accustomed to serve on board ship, accommodated themselves with ease to every exigency, and surmounted every difficulty. at daybreak, on the morning of the th of may we saw the rocks named the deserters, which lie off the south-east end of madeira; and found the south-east extremity of the most southerly of them, to be in the latitude of deg min north, longitude deg / min west of greenwich. the following day we saw the salvages, a cluster of rocks which are placed between the madeiras and canary islands, and determined the latitude of the middle of the great salvage to be deg min north, and the longitude of its eastern side to be deg min west. it is no less extraordinary than unpardonable, that in some very modern charts of the atlantic, published in london, the salvages are totally omitted. we made the island of teneriffe on the d of june, and in the evening anchored in the road of santa cruz, after an excellent passage of three weeks from the day we left england. chapter iii. from the fleet's arrival at teneriffe, to its departure for rio de janeiro, in the brazils. there is little to please a traveller at teneriffe. he has heard wonders of its celebrated peak, but he may remain for weeks together at the town of santa cruz without having a glimpse of it, and when its cloud-topped head emerges, the chance is, that he feels disappointed, for, from the point of view in which he sees it, the neighbouring mountains lessen its effect very considerably. excepting the peak, the eye receives little pleasure from the general face of the country, which is sterile and uninviting to the last degree. the town, however, from its cheerful white appearance, contrasted with the dreary brownness of the back ground, makes not an unpleasing coup d'oeil. it is neither irregular in its plan, nor despicable in its style of building; and the churches and religious houses are numerous, sumptuous, and highly ornamented. the morning of our arrival, as many officers as could be spared from the different ships were introduced to the marquis de brancifort, governor of the canary islands, whose reception was highly flattering and polite. his excellency is a sicilian by birth, and is most deservedly popular in his government. he prefers residing at teneriffe, for the conveniency of frequent communication with europe, to the grand canary, which is properly the seat of power; and though not long fixed here, has already found means to establish a manufactory in cotton, silk, and thread, under excellent regulations, which employs more than sixty persons, and is of infinite service to the common people. during our short stay we had every day some fresh proof of his excellency's esteem and attention, and had the honour of dining with him, in a style of equal elegance and splendor. at this entertainment the profusion of ices which appeared in the desert was surprising, considering that we were enjoying them under a sun nearly vertical. but it seems the caverns of the peak, very far below its summit, afford, at all seasons, ice in abundance. the restless importunity of the beggars, and the immodesty of the lowest class of women, are highly disgusting. from the number of his countrymen to be found, an englishman is at no loss for society. in the mercantile houses established here, it is from gentlemen of this description that any information is derived, for the taciturnity of the spaniards is not to be overcome in a short acquaintance, especially by englishmen, whose reserve falls little short of their own. the inland country is described as fertile, and highly romantic; and the environs of the small town of laguza mentioned as particularly pleasant. some of our officers who made an excursion to it confirmed the account amply. it should seem that the power of the church, which has been so long on the decline in europe, is at length beginning to be shaken in the colonies of the catholic powers: some recent instances which have taken place at teneriffe, evince it very fully. were not a stranger, however, to be apprized of this, he would hardly draw the conclusion from his own observations. the bishop of these islands, which conjunctively form a see, resides on the grand canary. he is represented as a man in years, and of a character as amiable as exalted, extremely beloved both by foreigners and those of his own church. the bishopric is valued at ten thousand pounds per annum; the government at somewhat less than two. in spite of every precaution, while we lay at anchor in the road, a convict had the address, one night, to secrete himself on the deck, when the rest were turned below; and after remaining quiet for some hours, let himself down over the bow of the ship, and floated to a boat that lay astern, into which he got, and cutting her adrift, suffered himself to be carried away by the current, until at a sufficient distance to be out of hearing, when he rowed off. this elopement was not discovered till some hours after, when a search being made, and boats sent to the different parts of the island, he was discovered in a small cove, to which he had fled for refuge. on being questioned, it appeared he had endeavoured to get himself received on board a dutch east indiaman in the road; but being rejected there, he resolved on crossing over to the grand canary, which is at the distance of ten leagues, and when detected, was recruiting his strength in order to make the attempt. at the same time that the boats of the fleet were sent on this pursuit, information was given to the spanish governor of what had happened, who immediately detached parties every way in order to apprehend the delinquent. having remained a week at teneriffe, and in that time completed our stock of water, and taken on board wine, &c. early on the morning of the th of june we weighed anchor, and stood out to sea with a light easterly breeze. the shortness of our stay, and the consequent hurry, prevented our increasing much any previous knowledge we might have had of the place. for the information of those who may follow us on this service, it may not, however, be amiss to state the little that will be found of use to them. the markets afford fresh meat, though it is neither plentiful nor good. fish is scarce; but poultry may be procured in almost any quantity, at as cheap a rate as in the english sea-ports. vegetables do not abound, except pumpkins and onions, of which i advise all ships to lay in a large stock. milch goats are bought for a trifle, and easily procured. grapes cannot be scarce in their season; but when we were here, except figs and excellent mulberries, no fruit was to be procured. dry wines, as the merchants term them, are sold from ten to fifteen pounds a pipe; for the latter price, the very best, called the london particular, may be bought: sweet wines are considerably dearer. brandy is also a cheap article. i would not advise the voyager to depend on this place for either his hogs or sheep. and he will do well to supply himself with dollars before he quits england, to expend in the different ports he may happen to touch at. should he, however, have neglected this precaution, let him remember when he discounts bills, or exchanges english money here, not to receive his returns in quarter dollars, which will be tendered to him, but altogether in whole ones, as he will find the latter turn to better account than the former, both at rio de janeiro and the cape of good hope. the latitude of the town of santa cruz is deg / min north, the longitude deg / min west of greenwich. chapter iv. the passage from teneriffe to rio de janeiro, in the brazils. in sailing from teneriffe to the south-east, the various and picturesque appearances of the peak are beautiful to the highest degree. the stupendous height, which before was lost on the traveller, now strikes him with awe and admiration, the whole island appearing one vast mountain with a pyramidal top. as we proceeded with light winds, at an easy rate, we saw it distinctly for three days after our departure, and should have continued to see it longer, had not the haziness of the atmosphere interrupted our view. the good people of santa cruz tell some stories of the wonderful extent of space to be seen from the summit of it, that would not disgrace the memoirs of the ever-memorable baron munchausen. on the th of june we saw the most northerly of the cape de verd islands, at which time the commodore gave the fleet to understand, by signal, that his intention was to touch at some of them. the following day we made st. jago, and stood in to gain an anchorage in port praya bay. but the baffling winds and lee current rendering it a matter of doubt whether or not the ships would be able to fetch, the signal for anchoring was hauled down, and the fleet bore up before the wind. in passing along them we were enabled to ascertain the south end of the isle of sal to be in deg min north latitude, and deg min west longitude. the south end of bonavista to be in deg min north, deg min west. the south end of the isle of may in deg min north, deg min west; and the longitude of the fort, in the town of port praya, to be deg / min west of greenwich. by this time the weather, from the sun being so far advanced in the northern tropic, was become intolerably hot, which, joined to the heavy rains that soon after came on, made us very apprehensive for the health of the fleet. contrary, however, to expectation, the number of sick in the ship i was embarked on was surprisingly small, and the rest of the fleet were nearly as healthy. frequent explosions of gunpowder, lighting fires between decks, and a liberal use of that admirable antiseptic, oil of tar, were the preventives we made use of against impure air; and above all things we were careful to keep the men's bedding and wearing apparel dry. as we advanced towards the line, the weather grew gradually better and more pleasant. on the th of july we passed the equator, at which time the atmosphere was as serene, and the temperature of the air not hotter than in a bright summer day in england. from this period, until our arrival on the american coast, the heats, the calms, and the rains by which we had been so much incommoded, were succeeded by a series of weather as delightful as it was unlooked for. at three o'clock in the afternoon of the nd of august, the 'supply', which had been previously sent a-head on purpose, made the signal for seeing the land, which was visible to the whole fleet before sunset, and proved to be cape frio, in latitude deg min south, longitude deg / min west. owing to light airs we did not get a-breast of the city of st. sebastian, in the harbour of rio de janeiro, until the th of the month, when we anchored about three quarters of a mile from the shore. chapter v. from the arrival of the fleet at rio de janeiro, till its departure for the cape of good hope; with some remarks on the brazils. brazil is a country very imperfectly known in europe. the portugueze, from political motives, have been sparing in their accounts of it. whence our descriptions of it, in the geographical publications in england, are drawn, i know not: that they are miserably erroneous and defective, is certain. the city of st. sebastian stands on the west side of the harbour, in a low unhealthy situation, surrounded on all sides by hills, which stop the free circulation of air, and subject its inhabitants to intermittents and putrid diseases. it is of considerable extent: mr. cook makes it as large as liverpool; but liverpool, in , when mr. cook wrote, was not two-thirds of its present size. perhaps it equals chester, or exeter, in the share of ground it occupies, and is infinitely more populous than either of them. the streets intersect each other at right angles, are tolerably well built, and excellently paved, abounding with shops of every kind, in which the wants of a stranger, if money is not one of them, can hardly remain unsatisfied. about the centre of the city, and at a little distance from the beach, the palace of the viceroy stands, a long, low building, no wise remarkable in its exterior appearance; though within are some spacious and handsome apartments. the churches and convents are numerous, and richly decorated; hardly a night passes without some of the latter being illuminated in honour of their patron saints, which has a very brilliant effect when viewed from the water, and was at first mistaken by us for public rejoicings. at the corner of almost every street stands a little image of the virgin, stuck round with lights in an evening, before which passengers frequently stop to pray and sing very loudly. indeed, the height to which religious zeal is carried in this place, cannot fail of creating astonishment in a stranger. the greatest part of the inhabitants seem to have no other occupation, than that of paying visits and going to church, at which times you see them sally forth richly dressed, en chapeau bras, with the appendages of a bag for the hair, and a small sword: even boys of six years old are seen parading about, furnished with these indispensable requisites. except when at their devotions, it is not easy to get a sight of the women, and when obtained, the comparisons drawn by a traveller, lately arrived from england, are little flattering to portugueze beauty. in justice, however, to the ladies of st. sebastian, i must observe, that the custom of throwing nosegays at strangers, for the purpose of bringing on an assignation, which doctor solander, and another gentleman of mr. cook's ship, met with when here, was never seen by any of us in a single instance. we were so deplorably unfortunate as to walk every evening before their windows and balconies, without being honoured with a single bouquet, though nymphs and flowers were in equal and great abundance. among other public buildings, i had almost forgot to mention an observatory, which stands near the middle of the town, and is tolerably well furnished with astronomical instruments. during our stay here, some spanish and portuguese mathematicians were endeavouring to determine the boundaries of the territories belonging to their respective crowns. unhappily, however, for the cause of science, these gentleman have not hitherto been able to coincide in their accounts, so that very little information on this head, to be depended upon, could be gained. how far political motives may have caused this disagreement, i do not presume to decide; though it deserves notice, that the portuguese accuse the abbee de la caille, who observed here by order of the king of france, of having laid down the longitude of this place forty-five miles too much to the eastward. until the year , all the flour in the settlement was brought from europe; but since that time the inhabitants have made so rapid a progress in raising grain, as to be able to supply themselves with it abundantly. the principal corn country lies around rio grande, in the latitude of deg south, where wheat flourishes so luxuriantly, as to yield from seventy to eighty bushels for one. coffee also, which they formerly received from portugal, now grows in such plenty as to enable them to export considerable quantities of it. but the staple commodity of the country is sugar. that they have not, however, learnt the art of making palatable rum, the english troops in new south wales can bear testimony; a large quantity, very ill flavoured, having been bought and shipped here for the use of the garrison of port jackson. it was in that st. salvador, which had for more than a century been the capital of brazil, ceased to be so; and that the seat of government was removed to st. sebastian. the change took place on account of the colonial war, at that time carried on by the courts of lisbon and madrid. and, indeed, were the object of security alone to determine the seat of government, i know but few places better situated in that respect than the one i am describing; the natural strength of the country, joined to the difficulties which would attend an attack on the fortifications, being such as to render it very formidable. it may be presumed that the portuguese government is well apprized of this circumstance and of the little risque they run in being deprived of so important a possession, else it will not be easy to penetrate the reasons which induce them to treat the troops who compose the garrison with such cruel negligence. their regiments were ordered out with a promise of being relieved, and sent back to europe at the end of three years, in conformity to which they settled all their domestic arrangements. but the faith of government has been broken, and at the expiration of twenty years, all that is left to the remnant of these unfortunate men, is to suffer in submissive silence. i was one evening walking with a portuguese officer, when this subject was started, and on my telling him, that such a breach of public honour to english troops would become a subject of parliamentary enquiry, he seized my hand with great eagerness, "ah, sir!" exclaimed he, "yours is a free country--we"!----his emotions spoke what his tongue refused. as i am mentioning the army, i cannot help observing, that i saw nothing here to confirm the remark of mr. cook, that the inhabitants of the place, whenever they meet an officer of the garrison, bow to him with the greatest obsequiousness; and by omitting such a ceremony, would subject themselves to be knocked down, though the other seldom deigns to return the compliment. the interchange of civilities is general between them, and seems by no means extorted. the people who could submit to such insolent superiority, would, indeed, deserve to be treated as slaves. the police of the city is very good. soldiers patrole the streets frequently, and riots are seldom heard of. the dreadful custom of stabbing, from motives of private resentment, is nearly at an end, since the church has ceased to afford an asylum to murderers. in other respects, the progress of improvement appears slow, and fettered by obstacles almost insurmountable, whose baneful influence will continue, until a more enlightened system of policy shall be adopted. from morning to night the ears of a stranger are greeted by the tinkling of the convent bells, and his eyes saluted by processions of devotees, whose adoration and levity seem to keep equal pace, and succeed each other in turns. "do you want to make your son sick of soldiering? shew him the trainbands of london on a field-day." let him who would wish to give his son a distaste to popery, point out to him the sloth, the ignorance, and the bigotry of this place. being nearly ready to depart by the st of september, as many officers as possible went on that day to the palace to take leave of his excellency, the viceroy of the brazils, to whom we had been previously introduced; who on this, and every other occasion, was pleased to honour us with the most distinguished marks of regard and attention. some part, indeed, of the numerous indulgencies we experienced during our stay here, must doubtless be attributed to the high respect in which the portuguese held governor phillip, who was for many years a captain in their navy, and commanded a ship of war on this station: in consequence of which, many privileges were extended to us, very unusual to be granted to strangers. we were allowed the liberty of making short excursions into the country, and on these occasions, as well as when walking in the city, the mortifying custom of having an officer of the garrison attending us was dispensed with on our leaving our names and ranks, at the time of landing, with the adjutant of orders at the palace. it happened, however, sometimes, that the presence of a military man was necessary to prevent imposition in the shopkeepers, who frequently made a practice of asking more for their goods than the worth of them. in which case an officer, when applied to, always told us the usual price of the commodity with the greatest readiness, and adjusted the terms of the purchase. on the morning of the fourth of september we left rio de janeiro, amply furnished with the good things which its happy soil and clime so abundantly produce. the future voyager may with security depend on this place for laying in many parts of his stock. among these may be enumerated sugar, coffee, rum, port wine, rice, tapioca, and tobacco, besides very beautiful wood for the purposes of household furniture. poultry is not remarkably cheap, but may be procured in any quantity; as may hops at a low rate. the markets are well supplied with butcher's meat, and vegetables of every sort are to be procured at a price next to nothing; the yams are particularly excellent. oranges abound so much, as to be sold for sixpence a hundred; and limes are to be had on terms equally moderate. bananas, cocoa nuts, and guavas, are common; but the few pineapples brought to market are not remarkable either for flavour, or cheapness. besides the inducements to lay out money already mentioned, the naturalist may add to his collection by an almost endless variety of beautiful birds and curious insects, which are to be bought at a reasonable price, well preserved, and neatly assorted. i shall close my account of this place by informing strangers, who may come here, that the portuguese reckon their money in rees, an imaginary coin, twenty of which make a small copper piece called a 'vintin', and sixteen of these last a 'petack'. every piece is marked with the number of rees it is worth, so that a mistake can hardly happen. english silver coin has lost its reputation here, and dollars will be found preferable to any other money. chapter vi. the passage from the brazils to the cape of good hope; with an account of the transactions of the fleet there. our passage from rio de janeiro to the cape of good hope was equally prosperous with that which had preceded it. we steered away to the south-east, and lost sight of the american coast the day after our departure. from this time until the th of october, when we made the cape, nothing remarkable occurred, except the loss of a convict in the ship i was on board, who unfortunately fell into the sea, and perished in spite of our efforts to save him, by cutting adrift a life buoy and hoisting out a boat. during the passage, a slight dysentery prevailed in some of the ships, but was in no instance mortal. we were at first inclined to impute it to the water we took on board at the brazils, but as the effect was very partial, some other cause was more probably the occasion of it. at seven o'clock in the evening of the th of october, we cast anchor in table bay, and found many ships of different nations in the harbour. little can be added to the many accounts already published of the cape of good hope, though, if an opinion on the subject might be risqued, the descriptions they contain are too flattering. when contrasted with rio de janeiro, it certainly suffers in the comparison. indeed we arrived at a time equally unfavourable for judging of the produce of the soil and the temper of its cultivators, who had suffered considerably from a dearth that had happened the preceding season, and created a general scarcity. nor was the chagrin of these deprivations lessened by the news daily arriving of the convulsions that shook the republic, which could not fail to make an impression even on batavian phlegm. as a considerable quantity of flour, and the principal part of the live stock, which was to store our intended settlement, were meant to be procured here, governor phillip lost no time in waiting on mynheer van graaffe, the dutch governor, to request permission (according to the custom of the place) to purchase all that we stood in need of. how far the demand extended, i know not, nor mynheer van graaffe's reasons for complying with it in part only. to this gentleman's political sentiments i confess myself a stranger; though i should do his politeness and liberality at his own table an injustice, were i not to take this public opportunity of acknowledging them; nor can i resist the opportunity which presents itself, to inform my readers, in honor of m. van graaffe's humanity, that he has made repeated efforts to recover the unfortunate remains of the crew of the grosvenor indiaman, which was wrecked about five years ago on the coast of caffraria. this information was given me by colonel gordon, commandant of the dutch troops at the cape, whose knowledge of the interior parts of this country surpasses that of any other man. and i am sorry to say that the colonel added, these unhappy people were irrecoverably lost to the world and their friends, by being detained among the caffres, the most savage set of brutes on earth. his excellency resides at the government house, in the east india company's garden. this last is of considerable extent, and is planted chiefly with vegetables for the dutch indiamen which may happen to touch at the port. some of the walks are extremely pleasant from the shade they afford, and the whole garden is very neatly kept. the regular lines intersecting each other at right angles, in which it is laid out, will, nevertheless, afford but little gratification to an englishman, who has been used to contemplate the natural style which distinguishes the pleasure grounds of his own country. at the head of the centre walks stands a menagerie, on which, as well as the garden, many pompous eulogiums have been passed, though in my own judgment, considering the local advantages possessed by the company, it is poorly furnished both with animals and birds; a tyger, a zebra, some fine ostriches, a cassowary, and the lovely crown-fowl, are among the most remarkable. the table land, which stands at the back of the town, is a black dreary looking mountain, apparently flat at top, and of more than eleven hundred yards in height. the gusts of wind which blow from it are violent to an excess, and have a very unpleasant effect, by raising the dust in such clouds, as to render stirring out of doors next to impossible. nor can any precaution prevent the inhabitants from being annoyed by it, as much within doors as without. at length the wished-for day, on which the next effort for reaching the place of our destination was to be made, appeared. the morning was calm, but the land wind getting up about noon, on the th of november we weighed anchor, and soon left far behind every scene of civilization and humanized manners, to explore a remote and barbarous land; and plant in it those happy arts, which alone constitute the pre-eminence and dignity of other countries. the live animals we took on board on the public account from the cape, for stocking our projected colony, were, two bulls, three cows, three horses, forty-four sheep, and thirty-two hogs, besides goats, and a very large quantity of poultry of every kind. a considerable addition to this was made by the private stocks of the officers, who were, however, under a necessity of circumscribing their original intentions on this head very much, from the excessive dearness of many of the articles. it will readily be believed, that few of the military found it convenient to purchase sheep, when hay to feed them costs sixteen shillings a hundred weight. the boarding-houses on shore, to which strangers have recourse, are more reasonable than might be expected. for a dollar and a half per day we were well lodged, and partook of a table tolerably supplied in the french style. should a traveller's stock of tea run short, it is a thousand chances to one that he will be able to replenish it here at a cheaper rate than in england. he may procure plenty of arrack and white wine; also raisins, and dried fruits of other sorts. if he dislikes to live at a boarding-house, he will find the markets well stored, and the price of butcher's meat and vegetables far from excessive. just before the signal for weighing was made, a ship, under american colours, entered the road, bound from boston, from whence she had sailed one hundred and forty days, on a trading voyage to the east indies. in her route, she had been lucky enough to pick up several of the inferior officers and crew of the harcourt east-indiaman, which ship had been wrecked on one of the cape de verd islands. the master, who appeared to be a man of some information, on being told the destination of our fleet, gave it as his opinion, that if a reception could be secured, emigrations would take place to new south wales, not only from the old continent, but the new one, where the spirit of adventure and thirst for novelty were excessive. chapter vii. the passage from the cape of good hope to botany bay. we had hardly cleared the land when a south-east wind set in, and, except at short intervals, continued to blow until the th of the month; when we were in the latitude of deg min south, and by the time-keeper, in longitude deg min east, so that our distance from botany bay had increased nearly an hundred leagues since leaving the cape. as no appearance of a change in our favour seemed likely to take place, governor phillip at this time signified his intention of shifting his pennant from the sirius to the 'supply', and proceeding on his voyage without waiting for the rest of the fleet, which was formed in two divisions. the first consisting of three transports, known to be the best sailors, was put under the command of a lieutenant of the navy; and the remaining three, with the victuallers, left in charge of captain hunter, of his majesty's ship sirius. in the last division was the vessel, in which the author of this narrative served. various causes prevented the separation from taking place until the th, when several sawyers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and other mechanics, were shifted from different ships into the 'supply', in order to facilitate his excellency's intention of forwarding the necessary buildings to be erected at botany bay, by the time the rest of the fleet might be expected to arrive. lieutenant governor ross, and the staff of the marine battalion, also removed from the sirius into the scarborough transport, one of the ships of the first division, in order to afford every assistance which the public service might receive, by their being early on the spot on which our future operations were to be conducted. from this time a succession of fair winds and pleasant weather corresponded to our eager desires, and on the th of january, , the long wished for shore of van diemen gratified our sight. we made the land at two o'clock in the afternoon, the very hour we expected to see it from the lunar observations of captain hunter, whose accuracy, as an astronomer, and conduct as an officer, had inspired us with equal gratitude and admiration. after so long a confinement, on a service so peculiarly disgusting and troublesome, it cannot be matter of surprise that we were overjoyed at the near prospect of a change of scene. by sunset we had passed between the rocks, which captain furneaux named the mewstone and swilly. the former bears a very close resemblance to the little island near plymouth, whence it took its name: its latitude is deg min south, longitude deg min east of greenwich. in running along shore, we cast many an anxious eye towards the land, on which so much of our future destiny depended. our distance, joined to the haziness of the atmosphere, prevented us, however, from being able to discover much. with our best glasses we could see nothing but hills of a moderate height, cloathed with trees, to which some little patches of white sandstone gave the appearance of being covered with snow. many fires were observed on the hills in the evening. as no person in the ship i was on board had been on this coast before, we consulted a little chart, published by steele, of the minories, london, and found it, in general, very correct; it would be more so, were not the mewstone laid down at too great a distance from the land, and one object made of the eddystone and swilly, when, in fact, they are distinct. between the two last is an entire bed of impassable rocks, many of them above water. the latitude of the eddystone is deg / min, longitude deg min; that of swilly deg min south, longitude deg min east of greenwich. in the night the westerly wind, which had so long befriended us, died away, and was succeeded by one from the north-east. when day appeared we had lost sight of the land, and did not regain it until the th, at only the distance of leagues from our desired port. the wind was now fair, the sky serene, though a little hazy, and the temperature of the air delightfully pleasant: joy sparkled in every countenance, and congratulations issued from every mouth. ithaca itself was scarcely more longed for by ulysses, than botany bay by the adventurers who had traversed so many thousand miles to take possession of it. "heavily in clouds came on the day" which ushered in our arrival. to us it was "a great, an important day," though i hope the foundation, not the fall, of an empire will be dated from it. on the morning of the th, by ten o'clock, the whole of the fleet had cast anchor in botany bay, where, to our mutual satisfaction, we found the governor, and the first division of transports. on inquiry, we heard, that the 'supply' had arrived on the th, and the transports only the preceding day. thus, after a passage of exactly thirty-six weeks from portsmouth, we happily effected our arduous undertaking, with such a train of unexampled blessings as hardly ever attended a fleet in a like predicament. of two hundred and twelve marines we lost only one; and of seven hundred and seventy-five convicts, put on board in england, but twenty-four perished in our route. to what cause are we to attribute this unhoped for success? i wish i could answer to the liberal manner in which government supplied the expedition. but when the reader is told, that some of the necessary articles allowed to ships on a common passage to west indies, were withheld from us; that portable soup, wheat, and pickled vegetables were not allowed; and that an inadequate quantity of essence of malt was the only antiscorbutic supplied, his surprise will redouble at the result of the voyage. for it must be remembered, that the people thus sent out were not a ship's company starting with every advantage of health and good living, which a state of freedom produces; but the major part a miserable set of convicts, emaciated from confinement, and in want of cloaths, and almost every convenience to render so long a passage tolerable. i beg leave, however, to say, that the provisions served on board were good, and of a much superior quality to those usually supplied by contract: they were furnished by mr. richards, junior, of walworth, surrey. chapter viii. from the fleet's arrival at botany bay to the evacuation of it; and taking possession of port jackson. interviews with the natives; and an account of the country about botany bay. we had scarcely bid each other welcome on our arrival, when an expedition up the bay was undertaken by the governor and lieutenant-governor, in order to explore the nature of the country, and fix on a spot to begin our operations upon. none, however, which could be deemed very eligible, being discovered, his excellency proceeded in a boat to examine the opening, to which mr. cook had given the name of port jackson, on an idea that a shelter for shipping within it might be found. the boat returned on the evening of the rd, with such an account of the harbour and advantages attending the place, that it was determined the evacuation of botany bay should commence the next morning. in consequence of this decision, the few seamen and marines who had been landed from the squadron, were instantly reimbarked, and every preparation made to bid adieu to a port which had so long been the subject of our conversation; which but three days before we had entered with so many sentiments of satisfaction; and in which, as we had believed, so many of our future hours were to be passed. the thoughts of removal banished sleep, so that i rose at the first dawn of the morning. but judge of my surprize on hearing from a serjeant, who ran down almost breathless to the cabin where i was dressing, that a ship was seen off the harbour's mouth. at first i only laughed, but knowing the man who spoke to me to be of great veracity, and hearing him repeat his information, i flew upon deck, on which i had barely set my foot, when the cry of "another sail" struck on my astonished ear. confounded by a thousand ideas which arose in my mind in an instant, i sprang upon the barricado and plainly descried two ships of considerable size, standing in for the mouth of the bay. by this time the alarm had become general, and every one appeared lost in conjecture. now they were dutchmen sent to dispossess us, and the moment after storeships from england, with supplies for the settlement. the improbabilities which attended both these conclusions, were sunk in the agitation of the moment. it was by governor phillip, that this mystery was at length unravelled, and the cause of the alarm pronounced to be two french ships, which, it was now recollected, were on a voyage of discovery in the southern hemisphere. thus were our doubts cleared up, and our apprehensions banished; it was, however, judged expedient to postpone our removal to port jackson, until a complete confirmation of our conjectures could be procured. had the sea breeze set in, the strange ships would have been at anchor in the bay by eight o'clock in the morning, but the wind blowing out, they were driven by a strong lee current to the southward of the port. on the following day they re-appeared in their former situation, and a boat was sent to them, with a lieutenant of the navy in her, to offer assistance, and point out the necessary marks for entering the harbour. in the course of the day the officer returned, and brought intelligence that the ships were the boussole and astrolabe, sent out by order of the king of france, and under the command of monsieur de perrouse. the astonishment of the french at seeing us, had not equalled that we had experienced, for it appeared, that in the course of their voyage they had touched at kamschatka, and by that means learnt that our expedition was in contemplation. they dropped anchor the next morning, just as we had got under weigh to work out of the bay, so that for the present nothing more than salutations could pass between us. before i quit botany bay, i shall relate the observations we were enabled to make during our short stay there; as well as those which our subsequent visits to it from port jackson enabled us to complete. the bay is very open, and greatly exposed to the fury of the s.e. winds, which, when they blow, cause a heavy and dangerous swell. it is of prodigious extent, the principal arm, which takes a s.w. direction, being not less, including its windings, than twenty four miles from the capes which form the entrance, according to the report of the french officers, who took uncommon pains to survey it. at the distance of a league from the harbour's mouth is a bar, on which at low water, not more than fifteen feet are to be found. within this bar, for many miles up the s.w. arm, is a haven, equal in every respect to any hitherto known, and in which any number of ships might anchor, secured from all winds. the country around far exceeds in richness of soil that about cape banks and point solander, though unfortunately they resemble each other in one respect, a scarcity of fresh water. we found the natives tolerably numerous as we advanced up the river, and even at the harbour's mouth we had reason to conclude the country more populous than mr. cook thought it. for on the supply's arrival in the bay on the th of the month, they were assembled on the beach of the south shore, to the number of not less than forty persons, shouting and making many uncouth signs and gestures. this appearance whetted curiosity to its utmost, but as prudence forbade a few people to venture wantonly among so great a number, and a party of only six men was observed on the north shore, the governor immediately proceeded to land on that side, in order to take possession of his new territory, and bring about an intercourse between its old and new masters. the boat in which his excellency was, rowed up the harbour, close to the land, for some distance; the indians keeping pace with her on the beach. at last an officer in the boat made signs of a want of water, which it was judged would indicate his wish of landing. the natives directly comprehended what he wanted, and pointed to a spot where water could be procured; on which the boat was immediately pushed in, and a landing took place. as on the event of this meeting might depend so much of our future tranquillity, every delicacy on our side was requisite. the indians, though timorous, shewed no signs of resentment at the governor's going on shore; an interview commenced, in which the conduct of both parties pleased each other so much, that the strangers returned to their ships with a much better opinion of the natives than they had landed with; and the latter seemed highly entertained with their new acquaintance, from whom they condescended to accept of a looking glass, some beads, and other toys. owing to the lateness of our arrival, it was not my good fortune to go on shore until three days after this had happened, when i went with a party to the south side of the harbour, and had scarcely landed five minutes, when we were met by a dozen indians, naked as at the moment of their birth, walking along the beach. eager to come to a conference, and yet afraid of giving offence, we advanced with caution towards them, nor would they, at first approach nearer to us than the distance of some paces. both parties were armed; yet an attack seemed as unlikely on their part, as we knew it to be on our own. i had at this time a little boy, of not more than seven years of age, in my hand. the child seemed to attract their attention very much, for they frequently pointed to him and spoke to each other; and as he was not frightened, i advanced with him towards them, at the same time baring his bosom and, shewing the whiteness of the skin. on the cloaths being removed, they gave a loud exclamation, and one of the party, an old man, with a long beard, hideously ugly, came close to us. i bade my little charge not to be afraid, and introduced him to the acquaintance of this uncouth personage. the indian, with great gentleness, laid his hand on the child's hat, and afterwards felt his cloaths, muttering to himself all the while. i found it necessary, however, by this time to send away the child, as such a close connection rather alarmed him; and in this, as the conclusion verified, i gave no offence to the old gentleman. indeed it was but putting ourselves on a par with them, as i had observed from the first, that some youths of their own, though considerably older than the one with us, were, kept back by the grown people. several more now came up, to whom, we made various presents, but our toys seemed not to be regarded as very valuable; nor would they for a long time make any returns to them, though before we parted, a large club, with a head almost sufficient to fell an ox, was obtained in exchange for a looking-glass. these people seemed at a loss to know (probably from our want of beards) of what sex we were, which having understood, they burst into the most immoderate fits of laughter, talking to each other at the same time with such rapidity and vociferation as i had never before heard. after nearly an hour's conversation by signs and gestures, they repeated several times the word whurra, which signifies, begone, and walked away from us to the head of the bay. the natives being departed, we set out to observe the country, which, on inspection, rather disappointed our hopes, being invariably sandy and unpromising for the purposes of cultivation, though the trees and grass flourish in great luxuriancy. close to us was the spring at which mr. cook watered, but we did not think the water very excellent, nor did it run freely. in the evening we returned on board, not greatly pleased with the latter part of our discoveries, as it indicated an increase of those difficulties, which before seemed sufficiently numerous. between this and our departure we had several more interviews with the natives, which ended in so friendly a manner, that we began to entertain strong hopes of bringing about a connection with them. our first object was to win their affections, and our next to convince them of the superiority we possessed: for without the latter, the former we knew would be of little importance. an officer one day prevailed on one of them to place a target, made of bark, against a tree, which he fired at with a pistol, at the distance of some paces. the indians, though terrified at the report, did not run away, but their astonishment exceeded their alarm, on looking at the shield which the ball had perforated. as this produced a little shyness, the officer, to dissipate their fears and remove their jealousy, whistled the air of malbrooke, which they appeared highly charmed with, and imitated him with equal pleasure and readiness. i cannot help remarking here, what i was afterwards told by monsieur de perrouse, that the natives of california, and throughout all the islands of the pacific ocean, and in short wherever he had been, seemed equally touched and delighted with this little plaintive air. chapter ix. the taking possession of port jackson, with the disembarkation of the marines and convicts. our passage to port jackson took up but few hours, and those were spent far from unpleasantly. the evening was bright, and the prospect before us such as might justify sanguine expectation. having passed between the capes which form its entrance, we found ourselves in a port superior, in extent and excellency, to all we had seen before. we continued to run up the harbour about four miles, in a westerly direction, enjoying the luxuriant prospect of its shores, covered with trees to the water's edge, among which many of the indians were frequently seen, till we arrived at a small snug cove on the southern side, on whose banks the plan of our operations was destined to commence. the landing of a part of the marines and convicts took place the next day, and on the following, the remainder was disembarked. business now sat on every brow, and the scene, to an indifferent spectator, at leisure to contemplate it, would have been highly picturesque and amusing. in one place, a party cutting down the woods; a second, setting up a blacksmith's forge; a third, dragging along a load of stones or provisions; here an officer pitching his marquee, with a detachment of troops parading on one side of him, and a cook's fire blazing up on the other. through the unwearied diligence of those at the head of the different departments, regularity was, however, soon introduced, and, as far as the unsettled state of matters would allow, confusion gave place to system. into the head of the cove, on which our establishment is fixed, runs a small stream of fresh water, which serves to divide the adjacent country to a little distance, in the direction of north and south. on the eastern side of this rivulet the governor fixed his place of residence, with a large body of convicts encamped near him; and on the western side was disposed the remaining part of these people, near the marine encampment. from this last two guards, consisting of two subalterns, as many serjeants, four corporals, two drummers, and forty-two private men, under the orders of a captain of the day, to whom all reports were made, daily mounted for the public security, with such directions to use force, in case of necessity, as left no room for those who were the object of the order, but to remain peaceable, or perish by the bayonet. as the straggling of the convicts was not only a desertion from the public labour, but might be attended with ill consequences to the settlement, in case of their meeting the natives, every care was taken to prevent it. the provost martial with his men was ordered to patrole the country around, and the convicts informed, that the severest punishment would be inflicted on transgressors. in spite, however, of all our precautions, they soon found the road to botany bay, in visits to the french, who would gladly have dispensed with their company. but as severity alone was known to be inadequate at once to chastize and reform, no opportunity was omitted to assure the convicts, that by their good behaviour and submissive deportment, every claim to present distinction and future favour was to be earned. that this caution was not attended with all the good effects which were hoped from it, i have only to lament; that it operated in some cases is indisputable; nor will a candid and humane mind fail to consider and allow for the situation these unfortunate beings so peculiarly stood in. while they were on board ship, the two sexes had been kept most rigorously apart; but, when landed, their separation became impracticable, and would have been, perhaps, wrong. licentiousness was the unavoidable consequence, and their old habits of depravity were beginning to recur. what was to be attempted? to prevent their intercourse was impossible; and to palliate its evils only remained. marriage was recommended, and such advantages held out to those who aimed at reformation, as have greatly contributed to the tranquillity of the settlement. on the sunday after our landing divine service was performed under a great tree, by the rev. mr. johnson, chaplain of the settlement, in the presence of the troops and convicts, whose behaviour on the occasion was equally regular and attentive. in the course of our passage this had been repeated every sunday, while the ships were in port; and in addition to it, mr. johnson had furnished them with books, at once tending to promote instruction and piety. the indians for a little while after our arrival paid us frequent visits, but in a few days they were observed to be more shy of our company. from what cause their distaste: arose we never could trace, as we had made it our study, on these occasions, to treat them with kindness, and load them with presents. no quarrel had happened, and we had flattered ourselves, from governor phillip's first reception among them, that such a connection might be established as would tend to the interest of both parties. it seems, that on that occasion, they not only received our people with great cordiality, but so far acknowledged their authority as to submit, that a boundary, during their first interview, might be drawn on the sand, which they attempted not to infringe, and appeared to be satisfied with. chapter x. the reading of the commissions, and taking possession of the settlement, in form. with an account of the courts of law, and mode of administering public justice in this country. owing to the multiplicity of pressing business necessary to be performed immediately after landing, it was found impossible to read the public commissions and take possession of the colony in form, until the th of february. on that day all the officers of guard took post in the marine battalion, which was drawn up, and marched off the parade with music playing, and colours flying, to an adjoining ground, which had been cleared for the occasion, whereon the convicts were assembled to hear his majesty's commission read, appointing his excellency arthur phillip, esq. governor and captain general in and over the territory of new south wales, and its dependencies; together with the act of parliament for establishing trials by law within the same; and the patents under the great seal of great britain, for holding the civil and criminal courts of judicature, by which all cases of life and death, as well as matters of property, were to be decided. when the judge advocate had finished reading, his excellency addressed himself to the convicts in a pointed and judicious speech, informing them of his future intentions, which were, invariably to cherish and render happy those who shewed a disposition to amendment; and to let the rigour of the law take its course against such as might dare to transgress the bounds prescribed. at the close three vollies were fired in honour of the occasion, and the battalion marched back to their parade, where they were reviewed by the governor, who was received with all the honours due to his rank. his excellency was afterwards pleased to thank them, in public orders, for their behaviour from the time of their embarkation; and to ask the officers to partake of a cold collation at which it is scarce necessary to observe, that many loyal and public toasts were drank in commemoration of the day. in the governor's commission, the extent of this authority is defined to reach from the latitude of deg min south, to the latitude of deg min south, being the northern and southern extremities of the continent of new holland. it commences again at th degree of longitude east of greenwich, and, proceeding in an easterly direction, includes all islands within the limits of the above specified latitudes in the pacific ocean. by this partition it may be fairly presumed, that every source of future litigation between the dutch and us will be for ever cut off, as the discoveries of english navigators alone are comprized in this territory. nor have government been more backward in arming mr. phillip with plenitude of power, than extent of dominion. no mention is made of a council to be appointed, so that he is left to act entirely from his own judgment. and as no stated time of assembling the courts of justice is pointed out, similar to the assizes and gaol deliveries of england, the duration of imprisonment is altogether in his hands. the power of summoning general courts martial to meet he is also invested with, but the insertion in the marine mutiny act, of a smaller number of officers than thirteen being able to compose such a tribunal, has been neglected: so that a military court, should detachments be made from headquarters, or sickness prevail, may not always be found practicable to be obtained, unless the number of officers, at present in the settlement, shall be increased. should the governor see cause, he is enabled to grant pardons to offenders convicted, "in all cases whatever, treason and wilful murder excepted," and even in these, has authority to stay the execution of the law, until the king's pleasure shall be signified. in case of the governor's death, the lieutenant governor takes his place; and on his demise, the senior officer on the spot is authorised to assume the reins of power. notwithstanding the promises made on one side, and the forbearance shewn on the other, joined to the impending rod of justice, it was with infinite regret that every one saw, in four clays afterwards, the necessity of assembling a criminal court, which was accordingly convened by warrant from the governor, and consisted of the judge advocate, who presided, three naval, and three marine officers. as the constitution of this court is altogether new in the british annals, i hope my reader will not think me prolix in the description i am about to give of it. the number of members, including the judge advocate, is limited, by act of parliament, to seven, who are expressly ordered to be officers, either of his majesty's sea or land forces. the court being met, completely arrayed and armed as at a military tribunal, the judge advocate proceeds to administer the usual oaths taken by jurymen in england to each member; one of whom afterwards swears him in a like manner. this ceremony being adjusted, the crime laid to the prisoner's charge is read to him, and the question of guilty, or not guilty, put. no law officer on the side of the crown being appointed, (for i presume the head of the court ought hardly to consider himself in that light, notwithstanding the title he bears) to prosecute the criminal is left entirely to the party, at whose suit he is tried. all the witnesses are examined on oath, and the decision is directed to be given according to the laws of england, "or as nearly as may be, allowing for the circumstances and situation of the settlement," by a majority of votes, beginning with the youngest member, and ending with the president of the court. in cases, however, of a capital nature, no verdict can be given, unless five, at least, of the seven members present concur therein. the evidence on both sides being finished, and the prisoner's defence heard, the court is cleared, and, on the judgement being settled, is thrown open again, and sentence pronounced. during the time the court sits, the place in which it is assembled is directed to be surrounded by a guard under arms, and admission to every one who may choose to enter it, granted. of late, however, our colonists are supposed to be in such a train of subordination, as to make the presence of so large a military force unnecessary; and two centinels, in addition to the provost martial, are considered as sufficient. it would be as needless, as impertinent, to anticipate the reflections which will arise in reading the above account, wherein a regard to accuracy only has been consulted. by comparing it with the mode of administering justice in the english courts of law, it will be found to differ in many points very essentially. and if we turn our eyes to the usage of military tribunals, it no less departs from the customs observed in them. let not the novelty of it, however, prejudice any one so far as to dispute its efficacy, and the necessity of the case which gave it birth. the court, whose meeting is already spoken of, proceeded to the trial of three convicts, one of whom was convicted of having struck a marine with a cooper's adze, and otherwise behaving in a very riotous and scandalous manner, for which he was sentenced to receive one hundred and fifty lashes, being a smaller punishment than a soldier in a like case would have suffered from the judgement of a court martial. a second, for having committed a petty theft, was sent to a small barren island, and kept there on bread and water only, for a week. and the third was sentenced to receive fifty lashes, but was recommended by the court to the governor, and forgiven. hitherto, however, (february) nothing of a very atrocious nature had appeared. but the day was at hand, on which the violation of public security could no longer be restrained, by the infliction of temporary punishment. a set of desperate and hardened villains leagued themselves for the purposes of depredation, and, as it generally happens, had art enough to persuade some others, less deeply versed in iniquity, to be the instruments for carrying it on. fortunately the progress of these miscreants was not of long duration. they were detected in stealing a large quantity of provisions at the time of issuing them. and on being apprehended, one of the tools of the superiors impeached the rest, and disclosed the scheme. the trial came on the th of the month, and of four who were arraigned for the offence, three were condemned to die, and the fourth to receive a very severe corporal punishment. in hopes that his lenity would not be abused, his excellency was, however, pleased to order one only for execution, which took place a little before sun-set the same day. the name of the unhappy wretch was thomas barret, an old and desperate offender, who died with that hardy spirit, which too often is found in the worst and most abandoned class of men. during the execution the battalion of marines was under arms, and the whole of the convicts obliged to be present. the two associates of the sufferer were ordered to be kept close prisoners, until an eligible place to banish them to could be fixed on; as were also two more, who on the following day were condemned to die for a similar offence. besides the criminal court, there is an inferior one composed of the judge advocate, and one or more justices of the peace, for the trial of small misdemeanours. this court is likewise empowered to decide all law suits, and its verdict is final, except where the sum in dispute amounts to more than three hundred pounds, in which case an appeal to england can be made from its decree. should necessity warrant it, an admiralty court, of which lieutenant governor ross is judge, can also be summoned, for the trial of offences committed on the high seas. from being unwilling to break the thread of my narrative, i omitted to note in its proper place the sailing of the 'supply', lieut. ball, on the th of the month, for norfolk island, which the governor had instructions from the ministry to take possession of. lieut. king of the sirius was sent as superintendent and commandant of this place, and carried with him a surgeon, a midshipman, a sawyer, a weaver, two marines, and sixteen convicts, of whom six were women. he was also supplied with a certain number of live animals to stock the island, besides garden seeds, grain, and other requisites. chapter xi a description of the natives of new south wales, and our transactions with them. i doubt not my readers will be as glad as i feel myself, to conclude the dull detail of the last chapter. if they please, they may turn from the subtle intricacies of the law, to contemplate the simple, undisguised workings of nature, in her most artless colouring. i have already said, we had been but very few days at port jackson, when an alteration in the behaviour of the natives was perceptible; and i wish i could add, that a longer residence in their neighbourhood had introduced a greater degree of cordiality and intermixture between the old, and new, lords of the soil, than at the day on which this publication is dated subsists. from their easy reception of us in the beginning, many were induced to call in question the accounts which mr. cook had given of this people. that celebrated navigator, we were willing believe, had somehow by his conduct offended them, which prevented the intercourse that would otherwise have taken place. the result, however, of our repeated endeavours to induce them to come among us has been such as to confirm me in an opinion, that they either fear or despise us too much, to be anxious for a closer connection. and i beg leave at once, to apprize the reader, that all i can here, or in any future part of this work, relate with fidelity of the natives of new south wales, must be made up of detached observations, taken at different times, and not from a regular series of knowledge of the customs and manners of a people, with whom opportunities of communication are so scarce, as to have been seldom obtained. in their persons, they are far from being a stout race of men, though nimble, sprightly, and vigorous. the deficiency of one of the fore teeth of the upper jaw, mentioned by dampier, we have seen in almost the whole of the men; but their organs of sight so far from being defective, as that author mentions those of the inhabitants of the western side of the continent to be, are remarkably quick and piercing. their colour, mr. cook is inclined to think rather a deep chocolate, than an absolute black, though he confesses, they have the appearance of the latter, which he attributes to the greasy filth their skins are loaded with. of their want of cleanliness we have had sufficient proofs, but i am of opinion, all the washing in the world would not render them two degrees less black than an african negro. at some of our first interviews, we had several droll instances of their mistaking the africans we brought with us for their own countrymen. notwithstanding the disregard they have invariably shewn for all the finery we could deck them with, they are fond of adorning themselves with scars, which increase their natural hideousness. it is hardly possible to see any thing in human shape more ugly, than one of these savages thus scarified, and farther ornamented with a fish bone struck through the gristle of the nose. the custom of daubing themselves with white earth is also frequent among both sexes: but, unlike the inhabitants of the islands in the pacific ocean, they reject the beautiful feathers which the birds of their country afford. exclusive of their weapons of offence, and a few stone hatchets very rudely fashioned, their ingenuity is confined to manufacturing small nets, in which they put the fish they catch, and to fish-hooks made of bone, neither of which are unskilfully executed. on many of the rocks are also to be found delineations of the figures of men and birds, very poorly cut. of the use or benefit of cloathing, these people appear to have no comprehension, though their sufferings from the climate they live in, strongly point out the necessity of a covering from the rigour of the seasons. both sexes, and those of all ages, are invariably found naked. but it must not be inferred from this, that custom so inures them to the changes of the elements, as to make them bear with indifference the extremes of heat and cold; for we have had visible and repeated proofs, that the latter affects them severely, when they are seen shivering, and huddling themselves up in heaps in their huts, or the caverns of the rocks, until a fire can be kindled. than these huts nothing more rude in construction, or deficient in conveniency, can be imagined. they consist only of pieces of bark laid together in the form of an oven, open at one end, and very low, though long enough for a man to lie at full length. there is reason, however, to believe, that they depend less on them for shelter, than on the caverns with which the rocks abound. to cultivation of the ground they are utter strangers, and wholly depend for food on the few fruits they gather; the roots they dig up in the swamps; and the fish they pick up along shore, or contrive to strike from their canoes with spears. fishing, indeed, seems to engross nearly the whole of their time, probably from its forming the chief part of a subsistence, which, observation has convinced us, nothing short of the most painful labour, and unwearied assiduity, can procure. when fish are scarce, which frequently happens, they often watch the moment of our hauling the seine, and have more than once been known to plunder its contents, in spite of the opposition of those on the spot to guard it: and this even after having received a part of what had been caught. the only resource at these times is to shew a musquet, and if the bare sight is not sufficient, to fire it over their heads, which has seldom failed of dispersing them hitherto, but how long the terror which it excites may continue is doubtful. the canoes in which they fish are as despicable as their huts, being nothing more than a large piece of bark tied up at both ends with vines. their dexterous management of them, added to the swiftness with which they paddle, and the boldness that leads them several miles in the open sea, are, nevertheless, highly deserving of admiration. a canoe is seldom seen without a fire in it, to dress the fish by, as soon as caught: fire they procure by attrition. from their manner of disposing of those who die, which will be mentioned hereafter, as well as from every other observation, there seems no reason to suppose these people cannibals; nor do they ever eat animal substances in a raw state, unless pressed by extreme hunger, but indiscriminately broil them, and their vegetables, on a fire, which renders these last an innocent food, though in their raw state many of them are of a poisonous quality: as a poor convict who unguardedly eat of them experienced, by falling a sacrifice in twenty-four hours afterwards. if bread be given to the indians, they chew and spit it out again, seldom choosing to swallow it. salt beef and pork they like rather better, but spirits they never could be brought to taste a second time. the only domestic animal they have is the dog, which in their language is called dingo, and a good deal resembles the fox dog of england. these animals are equally shy of us, and attached to the natives. one of them is now in the possession of the governor, and tolerably well reconciled to his new master. as the indians see the dislike of the dogs to us, they are sometimes mischievous enough to set them on single persons whom they chance to meet in the woods. a surly fellow was one day out shooting, when the natives attempted to divert themselves in this manner at his expense. the man bore the teazing and gnawing of the dog at his heels for some time, but apprehending at length, that his patience might embolden them to use still farther liberties, he turned round and shot poor dingo dead on the spot: the owners of him set off with the utmost expedition. there is no part of the behaviour of these people, that has puzzled us more, than that which relates to their women. comparatively speaking we have seen but few of them, and those have been sometimes kept back with every symptom of jealous sensibility; and sometimes offered with every appearance of courteous familiarity. cautious, however, of alarming the feelings of the men on so tender a point, we have constantly made a rule of treating the females with that distance and reserve, which we judged most likely to remove any impression they might have received of our intending aught, which could give offence on so delicate a subject. and so successful have our endeavours been, that a quarrel on this head has in no instance, that i know of, happened. the tone of voice of the women, which is pleasingly soft and feminine, forms a striking contrast to the rough guttural pronunciation of the men. of the other charms of the ladies i shall be silent, though justice obliges me to mention, that, in the opinion of some amongst us, they shew a degree of timidity and bashfulness, which are, perhaps, inseparable from the female character in its rudest state. it is not a little singular, that the custom of cutting off the two lower joints of the little finger of the left hand, observed in the society islands, is found here among the women, who have for the most part undergone this amputation. hitherto we have not been able to trace out the cause of this usage. at first we supposed it to be peculiar to the married women, or those who had borne children; but this conclusion must have been erroneous, as we have no right to believe that celibacy prevails in any instance, and some of the oldest of the women are without this distinction; and girls of a very tender age are marked by it. on first setting foot in the country, we were inclined to hold the spears of the natives very cheap. fatal experience has, however, convinced us, that the wound inflicted by this weapon is not a trivial one; and that the skill of the indians in throwing it, is far from despicable. besides more than a dozen convicts who have unaccountably disappeared, we know that two, who were employed as rush cutters up the harbour, were (from what cause we are yet ignorant) most dreadfully mangled and butchered by the natives. a spear had passed entirely through the thickest part of the body of one of them, though a very robust man, and the skull of the other was beaten in. their tools were taken away, but some provisions which they had with them at the time of the murder, and their cloaths, were left untouched. in addition to this misfortune, two more convicts, who were peaceably engaged in picking of greens, on a spot very remote from that where their comrades suffered, were unawares attacked by a party of indians, and before they could effect their escape, one of them was pierced by a spear in the hip, after which they knocked him down, and plundered his cloaths. the poor wretch, though dreadfully wounded, made shift to crawl off, but his companion was carried away by these barbarians, and his fate doubtful, until a soldier, a few days afterwards, picked up his jacket and hat in a native's hut, the latter pierced through by a spear. we have found that these spears are not made invariably alike, some of them being barbed like a fish gig, and others simply pointed. in repairing them they are no less dexterous than in throwing them. a broken one being given by a gentleman to an indian, he instantly snatched up an oyster-shell, and converted it with his teeth into a tool with which he presently fashioned the spear, and rendered it fit for use: in performing this operation, the sole of his foot served him as a work-board. nor are their weapons of offence confined to the spear only, for they have besides long wooden swords, shaped like a sabre, capable of inflicting a mortal wound, and clubs of an immense size. small targets, made of the bark of trees, are likewise now and then to be seen among them. from circumstances which have been observed, we have sometimes been inclined to believe these people at war with each other. they have more than once been seen assembled, as if bent on an expedition. an officer one day met fourteen of them marching along in a regular indian file through the woods, each man armed with a spear in his right hand, and a large stone in his left: at their head appeared a chief, who was distinguished by being painted. though in the proportion of five to one of our people they passed peaceably on. that their skill in throwing the spear sometimes enables them to kill the kangaroo we have no right to doubt, as a long splinter of this weapon was taken out of the thigh of one of these animals, over which the flesh had completely closed; but we have never discovered that they have any method of ensnaring them, or that they know any other beasts but the kangaroo and dog. whatever animal is shewn them, a dog excepted, they call kangaroo: a strong presumption that the wild animals of the country are very few. soon after our arrival at port jackson, i was walking out near a place where i observed a party of indians, busily employed in looking at some sheep in an inclosure, and repeatedly crying out, 'kangaroo, kangaroo!' as this seemed to afford them pleasure, i was willing to increase it by pointing out the horses and cows, which were at no great distance. but unluckily, at the moment, some female convicts, employed near the place, made their appearance, and all my endeavours to divert their attention from the ladies became fruitless. they attempted not, however, to offer them the least degree of violence or injury, but stood at the distance of several paces, expressing very significantly the manner they were attracted. it would be trespassing on the reader's indulgence were i to impose on him an account of any civil regulations, or ordinances, which may possibly exist among this people. i declare to him, that i know not of any, and that excepting a little tributary respect which the younger part appear to pay those more advanced in years, i never could observe any degrees of subordination among them. to their religious rites and opinions i am equally a stranger. had an opportunity offered of seeing the ceremonies observed at disposing of the dead, perhaps, some insight might have been gained; but all that we at present know with certainty is, that they burn the corpse, and afterwards heap up the earth around it, somewhat in the manner of the small tumuli, found in many counties of england. i have already hinted, that the country is more populous than it was generally believed to be in europe at the time of our sailing. but this remark is not meant to be extended to the interior parts of the continent, which there is every reason to conclude from our researches, as well as from the manner of living practised by the natives, to be uninhabited. it appears as if some of the indian families confine their society and connections within their own pale: but that this cannot always be the case we know; for on the north-west arm of botany bay stands a village, which contains more than a dozen houses, and perhaps five times that number of people; being the most considerable establishment that we are acquainted with in the country. as a striking proof, besides, of the numerousness of the natives, i beg leave to state, that governor phillip, when on an excursion between the head of this harbour and that of botany bay, once fell in with a party which consisted of more than three hundred persons, two hundred and twelve of whom were men: this happened only on the day following the murder of the two convict rush cutters, before noticed, and his excellency was at the very time in search of the murderers, on whom, could they have been found, he intended to inflict a memorable and exemplary punishment. the meeting was unexpected to both parties, and considering the critical situation of affairs, perhaps not very pleasing to our side, which consisted but of twelve persons, until the peaceable disposition of the indians was manifest. after the strictest search the governor was obliged to return without having gained any information. the laudable perseverance of his excellency to throw every light on this unhappy and mysterious business did not, however stop here, for he instituted the most rigorous inquiry to find out, if possible, whether the convicts had at any time ill treated or killed any of the natives; and farther, issued a proclamation, offering the most tempting of all rewards, a state of freedom, to him who should point out the murderer, in case such an one existed. i have thus impartially stated the situation of matters, as they stand, while i write, between the natives and us; that greater progress in attaching them to us has not been made, i have only to regret; but that all ranks of men have tried to effect it, by every reasonable effort from which success might have been expected, i can testify; nor can i omit saying, that in the higher stations this has been eminently conspicuous. the public orders of governor phillip have invariably tended to promote such a behaviour on our side, as was most likely to produce this much wished-for event. to what cause then are we to attribute the distance which the accomplishment of it appears at? i answer, to the fickle, jealous, wavering disposition of the people we have to deal with, who, like all other savages, are either too indolent, too indifferent, or too fearful to form an attachment on easy terms, with those who differ in habits and manners so widely from themselves. before i close the subject, i cannot, however, omit to relate the following ludicrous adventure, which possibly may be of greater use in effecting what we have so much at heart, than all our endeavours. some young gentlemen belonging to the sirius one day met a native, an old man, in the woods; he had a beard of considerable length, which his new acquaintance gave him to understand, by signals, they would rid him of, if he pleased; stroaking their chins, and shewing him the smoothness of them at the same time; at length the old indian consented, and one of the youngsters taking a penknife from his pocket, and making use of the best substitute for lather he could find, performed the operation with great success, and, as it proved, much to the liking of the old man, who in a few days after reposed a confidence in us, of which we had hitherto known no example, by paddling along-side the sirius in his canoe, and pointing to his beard. various arts were ineffectually tried to induce him to enter the ship; but as he continued to decline the invitation, a barber was sent down into the boat along-side the canoe, from whence, leaning over the gunnel, he complied with the wish of the old beau, to his infinite satisfaction. in addition to the consequences which our sanguine hopes led us to expect from this dawning of cordiality, it affords proof, that the beard is considered by this people more as an incumbrance than a mark of dignity. chapter xii. the departure of the french from botany bay; and the return of the 'supply' from norfolk island; with a discovery made by lieutenant ball on his passage to it. about the middle of the month our good friends the french departed from botany bay, in prosecution of their voyage. during their stay in that port, the officers of the two nations had frequent opportunities of testifying their mutual regard by visits, and every interchange of friendship and esteem. these ships sailed from france, by order of the king, on the st of august, , under the command of monsieur de perrouse, an officer whose eminent qualifications, we had reason to think, entitle him to fill the highest stations. in england, particularly, he ought long to be remembered with admiration and gratitude, for the humanity which marked his conduct, when ordered to destroy our settlement at hudson's bay, in the last war. his second in command was the chevalier clonard, an officer also of distinguished merit. in the course of the voyage these ships had been so unfortunate as to lose a boat, with many men and officers in her, off the west of california; and afterwards met with an accident still more to be regretted, at an island in the pacific ocean, discovered by monsieur bougainville, in the latitude of deg min south, longitude deg min sec east of paris. here they had the misfortune to have no less than thirteen of their crews, among whom was the officer at that time second in command, cut off by the natives, and many more desperately wounded. to what cause this cruel event was to be attributed, they knew not, as they were about to quit the island after having lived with the indians in the greatest harmony for several weeks; and exchanged, during the time, their european commodities for the produce of the place, which they describe as filled with a race of people remarkable for beauty and comeliness; and abounding in refreshments of all kinds. it was no less gratifying to an english ear, than honourable to monsieur de perrouse, to witness the feeling manner in which he always mentioned the name and talents of captain cook. that illustrious circumnavigator had, he said, left nothing to those who might follow in his track to describe, or fill up. as i found, in the course of conversation, that the french ships had touched at the sandwich islands, i asked m. de perrouse what reception he had met with there. his answer deserves to be known: "during the whole of our voyage in the south seas, the people of the sandwich islands were the only indians who never gave us cause of complaint. they furnished us liberally with provisions, and administered cheerfully to all our wants." it may not be improper to remark, that owhyee was not one of the islands visited by this gentleman. in the short stay made by these ships at botany bay, an abbe, one of the naturalists on board, died, and was buried on the north shore. the french had hardly departed, when the natives pulled down a small board, which had been placed over the spot where the corpse was interred, and defaced everything around. on being informed of it, the governor sent a party over with orders to affix a plate of copper on a tree near the place, with the following inscription on it, which is a copy of what was written on the board: hic jacet l. receveur, e.f.f. minnibus galliae, sacerdos, physicus, in circumnavigatione mundi, duce de la perrouse. obiit die februarii, anno . this mark of respectful attention was more particularly due, from m. de perrouse having, when at kamschatka, paid a similar tribute of gratitude to the memory of captain clarke, whose tomb was found in nearly as ruinous a state as that of the abbe. like ourselves, the french found it necessary, more than once, to chastise a spirit of rapine and intrusion which prevailed among the indians around the bay. the menace of pointing a musquet to them was frequently used; and in one or two instances it was fired off, though without being attended with fatal consequences. indeed the french commandant, both from a regard to the orders of his court as well as to our quiet and security, shewed a moderation and forbearance on this head highly becoming. on the th of march, the 'supply' arrived from norfolk island, after having safely landed lieutenant king and his little garrison. the pine-trees growing there are described to be of a growth and height superior, perhaps, to any in the world. but the difficulty of bringing them away will not be easily surmounted, from the badness and danger of the landing place. after the most exact search not a single plant of the new zealand flax could be found, though we had been taught to believe it abounded there. lieutenant ball, in returning to port jackson, touched at a small island in latitude deg min south, longitude deg min east of greenwich, which he had been fortunate enough to discover on his passage to norfolk, and to which he gave the name of lord howe's island. it is entirely without inhabitants, or any traces of any having ever been there. but it happily abounds in what will be infinitely more important to the settlers on new south wales: green turtle of the finest kind frequent it in the summer season. of this mr. ball gave us some very handsome and acceptable specimens on his return. besides turtle, the island is well stocked with birds, many of them so tame as to be knocked down by the seamen with sticks. at the distance of four leagues from lord howe island, and in latitude deg min south, longitude deg min east, stands a remarkable rock, of considerable height, to which mr. ball gave the name of ball's pyramid, from the shape it bears. while the 'supply' was absent, governor phillip made an excursion to broken bay, a few leagues to the northward of port jackson, in order to explore it. as a harbour it almost equals the latter, but the adjacent country was found so rocky and bare, as to preclude all possibility of turning it to account. some rivulets of fresh water fall into the head of the bay, forming a very picturesque scene. the indians who live on its banks are numerous, and behaved attentively in a variety of instances while our people remained among them. chapter xiii. transactions at port jackson in the months of april and may. as winter was fast approaching, it became necessary to secure ourselves in quarters, which might shield us from the cold we were taught to expect in this hemisphere, though in so low a latitude. the erection of barracks for the soldiers was projected, and the private men of each company undertook to build for themselves two wooden houses, of sixty-eight feet in length, and twenty-three in breadth. to forward the design, several saw-pits were immediately set to work, and four ship carpenters attached to the battalion, for the purpose of directing and completing this necessary undertaking. in prosecuting it, however, so many difficulties occurred, that we were fain to circumscribe our original intention; and, instead of eight houses, content ourselves with four. and even these, from the badness of the timber, the scarcity of artificers, and other impediments, are, at the day on which i write, so little advanced, that it will be well, if at the close of the year , we shall be established in them. in the meanwhile the married people, by proceeding on a more contracted scale, were soon under comfortable shelter. nor were the convicts forgotten; and as leisure was frequently afforded them for the purpose, little edifices quickly multiplied on the ground allotted them to build upon. but as these habitations were intended by governor phillip to answer only the exigency of the moment, the plan of the town was drawn, and the ground on which it is hereafter to stand surveyed, and marked out. to proceed on a narrow, confined scale, in a country of the extensive limits we possess, would be unpardonable: extent of empire demands grandeur of design. that this has been our view will be readily believed, when i tell the reader, that the principal street in our projected city will be, when completed, agreeable to the plan laid down, two hundred feet in breadth, and all the rest of a corresponding proportion. how far this will be accompanied with adequate dispatch, is another question, as the incredulous among us are sometimes hardy enough to declare, that ten times our strength would not be able to finish it in as many years. invariably intent on exploring a country, from which curiosity promises so many gratifications, his excellency about this time undertook an expedition into the interior parts of the continent. his party consisted of eleven persons, who, after being conveyed by water to the head of the harbour, proceeded in a westerly direction, to reach a chain of mountains, which in clear weather are discernible, though at an immense distance, from some heights near our encampment. with unwearied industry they continued to penetrate the country for four days; but at the end of that time, finding the base of the mountain to be yet at the distance of more than twenty miles, and provisions growing scarce, it was judged prudent to return, without having accomplished the end for which the expedition had been undertaken. to reward their toils, our adventurers had, however, the pleasure of discovering and traversing an extensive tract of ground, which they had reason to believe, from the observations they were enabled to make, capable of producing every thing, which a happy soil and genial climate can bring forth. in addition to this flattering appearance, the face of the country is such, as to promise success whenever it shall be cultivated, the trees being at a considerable distance from each other, and the intermediate space filled, not with underwood, but a thick rich grass, growing in the utmost luxuriancy. i must not, however, conceal, that in this long march, our gentlemen found not a single rivulet, but were under a necessity of supplying themselves with water from standing pools, which they met with in the vallies, supposed to be formed by the rains that fall at particular seasons of the year. nor had they the good fortune to see any quadrupeds worth notice, except a few kangaroos. to their great surprize, they observed indisputable tracks of the natives having been lately there, though in their whole route none of them were to be seen; nor any means to be traced, by which they could procure subsistence so far from the sea shore. on the th of may the 'supply' sailed for lord howe island, to take on board turtle for the settlement; but after waiting there several days was obliged to return without having seen one, owing we apprehended to the advanced season of the year. three of the transports also, which were engaged by the east india company to proceed to china, to take on board a lading of tea, sailed about this time for canton. the unsuccessful return of the 'supply' cast a general damp on our spirits, for by this time fresh provisions were become scarcer than in a blockaded town. the little live stock, which with so heavy an expense, and through so many difficulties, we had brought on shore, prudence forbade us to use; and fish, which on our arrival, and for a short time after had been tolerable plenty, were become so scarce, as to be rarely seen at the tables of the first among us. had it not been for a stray kangaroo, which fortune now and then threw in our way, we should have been utter strangers to the taste of fresh food. thus situated, the scurvy began its usual ravages, and extended its baneful influence, more or less, through all descriptions of persons. unfortunately the esculent vegetable productions of the country are neither plentiful, nor tend very effectually to remove this disease. and, the ground we had turned up and planted with garden seeds, either from the nature of the soil, or, which is more probable, the lateness of the season, yielded but a scanty and insufficient supply of what we stood so greatly in need of. during the period i am describing, few enormous offences were perpetrated by the convicts. a petty theft was now and then heard of, and a spirit of refractory sullenness broke out at times in some individuals: one execution only, however, took place. the sufferer, who was a very young man, was convicted of a burglary, and met his fate with a hardiness and insensibility, which the grossest ignorance, and most deplorable want of feeling, alone could supply. chapter xiv. from the beginning of june, to the departure of the ships for europe. hours of festivity, which under happier skies pass away unregarded, and are soon consigned to oblivion, acquire in this forlorn and distant circle a superior degree of acceptable importance. on the anniversary of the king's birthday all the officers not on duty, both of the garrison and his majesty's ships, dined with the governor. on so joyful an occasion, the first too ever celebrated in our new settlement, it were needless to say, that loyal conviviality dictated every sentiment, and inspired every guest. among other public toasts drank, was, prosperity to sydney cove, in cumberland county, now named so by authority. at day-light in the morning the ships of war had fired twenty-one guns each, which was repeated at noon, and answered by three vollies from the battalion of marines. nor were the officers alone partakers of the general relaxation. the four unhappy wretches labouring under sentence of banishment were freed from their fetters, to rejoin their former society; and three days given as holidays to every convict in the colony. hospitality too, which ever acquires a double relish by being extended, was not forgotten on the th of june, when each prisoner, male and female, received an allowance of grog; and every non-commissioned officer and private soldier had the honor of drinking prosperity to his royal master, in a pint of porter, served out at the flag staff, in addition to the customary allowance of spirits. bonfires concluded the evening, and i am happy to say, that excepting a single instance which shall be taken notice of hereafter, no bad consequence, or unpleasant remembrance, flowed from an indulgence so amply bestowed. about this time (june) an accident happened, which i record with much regret. the whole of our black cattle, consisting of five cows and a bull, either from not being properly secured, or from the negligence of those appointed to take care of them, strayed into the woods, and in spite of all the search we have been able to make, are not yet found. as a convict of the name of corbet, who was accused of a theft, eloped nearly at the same time, it was at first believed, that he had taken the desperate measure of driving off the cattle, in order to subsist on them as long as possible; or perhaps to deliver them to the natives. in this uncertainty, parties to search were sent out in different directions; and the fugitive declared an outlaw, in case of not returning by a fixed day. after much anxiety and fatigue, those who had undertaken the task returned without finding the cattle. but on the st of the month, corbet made his appearance near a farm belonging to the governor, and entreated a convict, who happened to be on the spot, to give him some food, as he was perishing for hunger. the man applied to, under pretence of fetching what he asked for, went away and immediately gave the necessary information, in consequence of which a party under arms was sent out and apprehended him. when the poor wretch was brought in, he was greatly emaciated and almost famished. but on proper restoratives being administered, he was so far recovered by the th, as to be able to stand his trial, when he pleaded guilty to the robbery with which he stood charged, and received sentence of death. in the course of repeated examinations it plainly appeared, he was an utter stranger to the place where the cattle might be, and was in no shape concerned in having driven them off. samuel peyton, convict, for having on the evening of the king's birth-day broke open an officer's marquee, with an intent to commit robbery, of which he was fully convicted, had sentence of death passed on him at the same time as corbet; and on the following day they were both executed, confessing the justness of their fate, and imploring the forgiveness of those whom they had injured. peyton, at the time of his suffering, was but twenty years of age, the greatest part of which had been invariably passed in the commission of crimes, that at length terminated in his ignominious end. the following letter, written by a fellow convict to the sufferer's unhappy mother, i shall make no apology for presenting to the reader; it affords a melancholy proof, that not the ignorant and untaught only have provoked the justice of their country to banish them to this remote region. sydney cove, port jackson, new south wales, th june, . "my dear and honoured mother! "with a heart oppressed by the keenest sense of anguish, and too much agitated by the idea of my very melancholy condition, to express my own sentiments, i have prevailed on the goodness of a commiserating friend, to do me the last sad office of acquainting you with the dreadful fate that awaits me. "my dear mother! with what agony of soul do i dedicate the few last moments of my life, to bid you an eternal adieu! my doom being irrevocably fixed, and ere this hour to-morrow i shall have quitted this vale of wretchedness, to enter into an unknown and endless eternity. i will not distress your tender maternal feelings by any long comment on the cause of my present misfortune. let it therefore suffice to say, that impelled by that strong propensity to evil, which neither the virtuous precepts nor example of the best of parents could eradicate, i have at length fallen an unhappy, though just, victim to my own follies. "too late i regret my inattention to your admonitions, and feel myself sensibly affected by the remembrance of the many anxious moments you have passed on my account. for these, and all my other transgressions, however great, i supplicate the divine forgiveness; and encouraged by the promises of that saviour who died for us all, i trust to receive that mercy in the world to come, which my offences have deprived me of all hope, or expectation of, in this. the affliction which this will cost you, i hope the almighty will enable you to bear. banish from your memory all my former indiscretions, and let the cheering hope of a happy meeting hereafter, console you for my loss. sincerely penitent for my sins; sensible of the justice of my conviction and sentence, and firmly relying on the merits of a blessed redeemer, i am at perfect peace with all mankind, and trust i shall yet experience that peace, which this world cannot give. commend my soul to the divine mercy. i bid you an eternal farewell. "your unhappy dying son, "samuel peyton." after this nothing occurred with which i think it necessary to trouble the reader. the contents of the following chapters could not, i conceive, be so properly interwoven in the body of the work; i have, therefore, assigned them a place by themselves, with a view that the conclusions adopted in them may be more strongly enforced on the minds of those, to whom they are more particularly addressed. chapter xv. the face of the country; its productions, climate, &c. to the geographical knowledge of this country, supplied by captain cook, and captain furneaux, we are able to add nothing. the latter explored the coast from van diemen's land to the latitude of deg south; and cook from point hicks, which lies in deg min, to endeavour streights. the intermediate space between the end of furneaux's discovery and point hicks, is, therefore, the only part of the south-east coast unknown, and it so happened on our passage thither, owing to the weather, which forbade any part of the ships engaging with the shore, that we are unable to pronounce whether, or not, a streight intersects the continent hereabouts: though i beg leave to say, that i have been informed by a naval friend, that when the fleet was off this part of the coast, a strong set-off shore was plainly felt. at the distance of miles inland, a prodigious chain of lofty mountains runs nearly in a north and south direction, further than the eye can trace them. should nothing intervene to prevent it, the governor intends, shortly, to explore their summits: and, i think there can be little doubt, that his curiosity will not go unrewarded. if large rivers do exist in the country, which some of us are almost sceptical enough to doubt, their sources must arise amidst these hills; and the direction they run in, for a considerable distance, must be either due north, or due south. for it is strikingly singular that three such noble harbours as botany bay, port jackson, and broken bay, alike end in shallows and swamps, filled with mangroves. the general face of the country is certainly pleasing, being diversified with gentle ascents, and little winding vallies, covered for the most part with large spreading trees, which afford a succession of leaves in all seasons. in those places where trees are scarce, a variety of flowering shrubs abound, most of them entirely new to an european, and surpassing in beauty, fragrance, and number, all i ever saw in an uncultivated state: among these, a tall shrub, bearing an elegant white flower, which smells like english may, is particularly delightful, and perfumes the air around to a great distance. the species of trees are few, and, i am concerned to add, the wood universally of so bad a grain, as almost to preclude a possibility of using it: the increase of labour occasioned by this in our buildings has been such, as nearly to exceed belief. these trees yield a profusion of thick red gum (not unlike the 'sanguis draconis') which is found serviceable in medicine, particularly in dysenteric complaints, where it has sometimes succeeded, when all other preparations have failed. to blunt its acrid qualities, it is usual to combine it with opiates. the nature of the soil is various. that immediately round sydney cove is sandy, with here and there a stratum of clay. from the sand we have yet been able to draw very little; but there seems no reason to doubt, that many large tracts of land around us will bring to perfection whatever shall be sown in them. to give this matter a fair trial, some practical farmers capable of such an undertaking should be sent out; for the spots we have chosen for experiments in agriculture, in which we can scarce be supposed adepts, have hitherto but ill repaid our toil, which may be imputable to our having chosen such as are unfavourable for our purpose. except from the size of the trees, the difficulties of clearing the land are not numerous, underwood being rarely found, though the country is not absolutely without it. of the natural meadows which mr. cook mentions near botany bay, we can give no account; none such exist about port jackson. grass, however, grows in every place but the swamps with the greatest vigour and luxuriancy, though it is not of the finest quality, and is found to agree better with horses and cows than sheep. a few wild fruits are sometimes procured, among which is the small purple apple mentioned by cook, and a fruit which has the appearance of a grape, though in taste more like a green gooseberry, being excessively sour: probably were it meliorated by cultivation, it would become more palatable. fresh water, as i have said before, is found but in inconsiderable quantities. for the common purposes of life there is generally enough; but we know of no stream in the country capable of turning a mill: and the remark made by mr. anderson, of the dryness of the country round adventure bay, extends without exception to every part of it which we have penetrated. previous to leaving england i remember to have frequently heard it asserted, that the discovery of mines was one of the secondary objects of the expedition. perhaps there are mines; but as no person competent to form a decision is to be found among us, i wish no one to adopt an idea, that i mean to impress him with such a belief, when i state, that individuals, whose judgements are not despicable, are willing to think favourably of this conjecture, from specimens of ore seen in many of the stones picked up here. i cannot quit this subject without regretting, that some one capable of throwing a better light on it, is not in the colony. nor can i help being equally concerned, that an experienced botanist was not sent out, for the purpose of collecting and describing the rare and beautiful plants with which the country abounds. indeed, we flattered ourselves, when at the cape of good hope, that mason, the king's botanical gardener, who was employed there in collecting for the royal nursery at kew, would have joined us, but it seems his orders and engagements prevented him from quitting that beaten track, to enter on this scene of novelty and variety. to the naturalist this country holds out many invitations. birds, though not remarkably numerous, are in great variety, and of the most exquisite beauty of plumage, among which are the cockatoo, lory, and parroquet; but the bird which principally claims attention is, a species of ostrich, approaching nearer to the emu of south america than any other we know of. one of them was shot, at a considerable distance, with a single ball, by a convict employed for that purpose by the governor; its weight, when complete, was seventy pounds, and its length from the end of the toe to the tip of the beak, seven feet two inches, though there was reason to believe it had not attained its full growth. on dissection many anatomical singularities were observed: the gall-bladder was remarkably large, the liver not bigger than that of a barn-door fowl, and after the strictest search no gizzard could be found; the legs, which were of a vast length, were covered with thick, strong scales, plainly indicating the animal to be formed for living amidst deserts; and the foot differed from an ostrich's by forming a triangle, instead of being cloven. goldsmith, whose account of the emu is the only one i can refer to, says, "that it is covered from the back and rump with long feathers, which fall backward, and cover the anus; these feathers are grey on the back, and white on the belly." the wings are so small as hardly to deserve the name, and are unfurnished with those beautiful ornaments which adorn the wings of the ostrich: all the feathers are extremely coarse, but the construction of them deserves notice--they grow in pairs from a single shaft, a singularity which the author i have quoted has omitted to remark. it may be presumed, that these birds are not very scarce, as several have been seen, some of them immensely large, but they are so wild, as to make shooting them a matter of great difficulty. though incapable of flying, they run with such swiftness, that our fleetest greyhounds are left far behind in every attempt to catch them. the flesh was eaten, and tasted like beef. besides the emu, many birds of prodigious size have been seen, which promise to increase the number of those described by naturalists, whenever we shall be fortunate enough to obtain them; but among these the bat of the endeavour river is not to be found. in the woods are various little songsters, whose notes are equally sweet and plaintive. of quadrupeds, except the kangaroo, i have little to say. the few met with are almost invariably of the opossum tribe, but even these do not abound. to beasts of prey we are utter strangers, nor have we yet any cause to believe that they exist in the country. and happy it is for us that they do not, as their presence would deprive us of the only fresh meals the settlement affords, the flesh of the kangaroo. this singular animal is already known in europe by the drawing and description of mr. cook. to the drawing nothing can be objected but the position of the claws of the hinder leg, which are mixed together like those of a dog, whereas no such indistinctness is to be found in the animal i am describing. it was the chevalier de perrouse who pointed out this to me, while we were comparing a kangaroo with the plate, which, as he justly observed, is correct enough to give the world in general a good idea of the animal, but not sufficiently accurate for the man of science. of the natural history of the kangaroo we are still very ignorant. we may, however, venture to pronounce this animal, a new species of opossum, the female being furnished with a bag, in which the young is contained; and in which the teats are found. these last are only two in number, a strong presumptive proof, had we no other evidence, that the kangaroo brings forth rarely more than one at a birth. but this is settled beyond a doubt, from more than a dozen females having been killed, which had invariably but one formed in the pouch. notwithstanding this, the animal may be looked on as prolific, from the early age it begins to breed at, kangaroos with young having been taken of not more than thirty pounds weight; and there is room to believe that when at their utmost growth, they weigh not less than one hundred and fifty pounds. a male of one hundred and thirty pounds weight has been killed, whose dimensions were as follows: ------------------------------------------------------------------ feet. inches. extreme length ditt of the tail / ditto of the hinder legs ditto of the fore paws / circumference of the tail of the root ------------------------------------------------------------------ after this perhaps i shall hardly be credited, when i affirm that the kangaroo on being brought forth is not larger than an english mouse. it is, however, in my power to speak positively on this head, as i have seen more than one instance of it. in running, this animal confines himself entirely to his hinder, legs, which are possessed with an extraordinary muscular power. their speed is very great, though not in general quite equal to that of a greyhound; but when the greyhounds are so fortunate as to seize them, they are incapable of retaining their hold, from the amazing struggles of the animal. the bound of the kangaroo, when not hard pressed, has been measured, and found to exceed twenty feet. at what time of the year they copulate, and in what manner, we know not: the testicles of the male are placed contrary to the usual order of nature. when young the kangaroo eats tender and well flavoured, tasting like veal, but the old ones are more tough and stringy than bullbeef. they are not carnivorous, and subsist altogether on particular flowers and grass. their bleat is mournful, and very different from that of any other animal: it is, however, seldom heard but in the young ones. fish, which our sanguine hopes led us to expect in great quantities, do not abound. in summer they are tolerably plentiful, but for some months past very few have been taken. botany bay in this respect exceeds port jackson. the french once caught near two thousand fish in one day, of a species of grouper, to which, from the form of a bone in the head resembling a helmet, we have given the name of light horseman. to this may be added bass, mullets, skait, soles, leather-jackets, and many other species, all so good in their kind, as to double our regret at their not being more numerous. sharks of an enormous size are found here. one of these was caught by the people on board the sirius, which measured at the shoulders six feet and a half in circumference. his liver yielded twenty-four gallons of oil; and in his stomach was found the head of a shark, which had been thrown overboard from the same ship. the indians, probably from having felt the effects of their voracious fury, testify the utmost horror on seeing these terrible fish. venomous animals and reptiles are rarely seen. large snakes beautifully variegated have been killed, but of the effect of their bites we are happily ignorant. insects, though numerous, are by no means, even in summer, so troublesome as i have found them in america, the west indies, and other countries. the climate is undoubtedly very desirable to live in. in summer the heats are usually moderated by the sea breeze, which sets in early; and in winter the degree of cold is so slight as to occasion no inconvenience; once or twice we have had hoar frosts and hail, but no appearance of snow. the thermometer has never risen beyond , nor fallen lower than , in general it stood in the beginning of february at between and at noon. nor is the temperature of the air less healthy than pleasant. those dreadful putrid fevers by which new countries are so often ravaged, are unknown to us: and excepting a slight diarrhoea, which prevailed soon after we had landed, and was fatal in very few instances, we are strangers to epidemic diseases. on the whole, (thunder storms in the hot months excepted) i know not any climate equal to this i write in. ere we had been a fortnight on shore we experienced some storms of thunder accompanied with rain, than which nothing can be conceived more violent and tremendous, and their repetition for several days, joined to the damage they did, by killing several of our sheep, led us to draw presages of an unpleasant nature. happily, however, for many months we have escaped any similar visitations. chapter xvi. the progress made in the settlement; and the situation of affairs at the time of the ship, which conveys this account, sailing for england. for the purpose of expediting the public work, the male convicts have been divided into gangs, over each of which a person, selected from among themselves, is placed. it is to be regretted that government did not take this matter into consideration before we left england, and appoint proper persons with reasonable salaries to execute the office of overseers; as the consequence of our present imperfect plan is such, as to defeat in a great measure the purposes for which the prisoners were sent out. the female convicts have hitherto lived in a state of total idleness; except a few who are kept at work in making pegs for tiles, and picking up shells for burning into lime. for the last time i repeat, that the behaviour of all classes of these people since our arrival in the settlement has been better than could, i think, have been expected from them. temporary wooden storehouses covered with thatch or shingles, in which the cargoes of all the ships have been lodged, are completed; and an hospital is erected. barracks for the military are considerably advanced; and little huts to serve, until something more permanent can be finished, have been raised on all sides. notwithstanding this the encampments of the marines and convicts are still kept up; and to secure their owners from the coldness of the nights, are covered in with bushes, and thatched over. the plan of a town i have already said is marked out. and as freestone of an excellent quality abounds, one requisite towards the completion of it is attained. only two houses of stone are yet begun, which are intended for the governor and lieutenant governor. one of the greatest impediments we meet with is a want of limestone, of which no signs appear. clay for making bricks is in plenty, and a considerable quantity of them burned and ready for use. in enumerating the public buildings i find i have been so remiss as to omit an observatory, which is erected at a small distance from the encampments. it is nearly completed, and when fitted up with the telescopes and other astronomical instruments sent out by the board of longitude, will afford a desirable retreat from the listlessness of a camp evening at port jackson. one of the principal reasons which induced the board to grant this apparatus was, for the purpose of enabling lieutenant dawes, of the marines, (to whose care it is intrusted) to make observations on a comet which is shortly expected to appear in the southern hemisphere. the latitude of the observatory, from the result of more than three hundred observations, is fixed at deg min sec south, and the longitude at deg min sec east of greenwich. the latitude of the south head which forms the entrance of the harbour, deg min, and that of the north head opposite to it at deg min sec south. since landing here our military force has suffered a diminution of only three persons, a serjeant and two privates. of the convicts fifty-four have perished, including the executions. amidst the causes of this mortality, excessive toil and a scarcity of food are not to be numbered, as the reader will easily conceive, when informed, that they have the same allowance of provisions as every officer and soldier in the garrison; and are indulged by being exempted from labour every saturday afternoon and sunday. on the latter of those days they are expected to attend divine service, which is performed either within one of the storehouses, or under a great tree in the open air, until a church can be built. amidst our public labours, that no fortified post, or place of security, is yet begun, may be a matter of surprise. were an emergency in the night to happen, it is not easy to say what might not take place before troops, scattered about in an extensive encampment, could be formed, so as to act. an event that happened a few evenings since may, perhaps, be the means of forwarding this necessary work. in the dead of night the centinels on the eastern side of the cove were alarmed by the voices of the indians, talking near their posts. the soldiers on this occasion acted with their usual firmness, and without creating a disturbance, acquainted the officer of the guard with the circumstance, who immediately took every precaution to prevent an attack, and at the same time gave orders that no molestation, while they continued peaceable, should be offered them. from the darkness of the night, and the distance they kept at, it was not easy to ascertain their number, but from the sound of the voices and other circumstances, it was calculated at near thirty. to their intentions in honouring us with this visit (the only one we have had from them in the last five months) we are strangers, though most probably it was either with a view to pilfer, or to ascertain in what security we slept, and the precautions we used in the night. when the bells of the ships in the harbour struck the hour of the night, and the centinels called out on their posts "all's well," they observed a dead silence, and continued it for some minutes, though talking with the greatest earnestness and vociferation but the moment before. after having remained a considerable time they departed without interchanging a syllable with our people. chapter xvii. some thoughts on the advantages which may arise to the mother country from forming the colony. the author of these sheets would subject himself to the charge of presumption, were he to aim at developing the intentions of government in forming this settlement. but without giving offence, or incurring reproach, he hopes his opinion on the probability of advantage to be drawn from hence by great britain, may be fairly made known. if only a receptacle for convicts be intended, this place stands unequalled from the situation, extent, and nature of the country. when viewed in a commercial light, i fear its insignificance will appear very striking. the new zealand hemp, of which so many sanguine expectations were formed, is not a native of the soil; and norfolk island, where we made sure to find this article, is also without it. so that the scheme of being able to assist the east indies with naval stores, in case of a war, must fall to the ground, both from this deficiency, and the quality of the timber growing here. were it indeed possible to transport that of norfolk island, its value would be found very great, but the difficulty, from the surf, i am well informed, is so insuperable as to forbid the attempt. lord howe island, discovered by lieut. ball, though an inestimable acquisition to our colony, produces little else than the mountain cabbage tree. should a sufficient military force be sent out to those employed in cultivating the ground, i see no room to doubt, that in the course of a few years, the country will be able to yield grain enough for the support of its new possessors. but to effect this, our present limits must be greatly extended, which will require detachments of troops not to be spared from the present establishment. and admitting the position, the parent country will still have to supply us for a much longer time with every other necessary of life. for after what we have seen, the idea of being soon able to breed cattle sufficient for our consumption, must appear chimerical and absurd. from all which it is evident, that should great britain neglect to send out regular supplies, the most fatal consequences will ensue. speculators who may feel inclined to try their fortunes here, will do well to weigh what i have said. if golden dreams of commerce and wealth flatter their imaginations, disappointment will follow: the remoteness of situation, productions of the country, and want of connection with other parts of the world, justify me in the assertion. but to men of small property, unambitious of trade, and wishing for retirement, i think the continent of new south wales not without inducements. one of this description, with letters of recommendation, and a sufficient capital (after having provided for his passage hither) to furnish him with an assortment of tools for clearing land, agricultural and domestic purposes; possessed also of a few household utensils, a cow, a few sheep and breeding sows, would, i am of opinion, with proper protection and encouragement, succeed in obtaining a comfortable livelihood, were he well assured before he quitted his native country, that a provision for him until he might be settled, should be secured; and that a grant of land on his arrival would be allotted him. that this adventurer, if of a persevering character and competent knowledge, might in the course of ten years bring matters into such a train as to render himself comfortable and independent, i think highly probable. the superfluities of his farm would enable him to purchase european commodities from the masters of ships, which will arrive on government account, sufficient to supply his wants. but beyond this he ought not to reckon, for admitting that he might meet with success in raising tobacco, rice, indigo, or vineyards (for which last i think the soil and climate admirably adapted), the distance of a mart to vend them at, would make the expense of transportation so excessive, as to cut off all hopes of a reasonable profit; nor can there be consumers enough here to take them off his hands, for so great a length of time to come, as i shall not be at the trouble of computing. should then any one, induced by this account, emigrate hither, let him, before he quits england, provide all his wearing apparel for himself, family, and servants; his furniture, tools of every kind, and implements of husbandry (among which a plough need not be included, as we make use of the hoe), for he will touch at no place where they can be purchased to advantage. if his sheep and hogs are english also, it will be better. for wines, spirits, tobacco, sugar, coffee, tea, rice, poultry, and many other articles, he may venture to rely on at teneriffe or madeira, the brazils and cape of good hope. it will not be his interest to draw bills on his voyage out, as the exchange of money will be found invariably against him, and a large discount also deducted. drafts on the place he is to touch at, or cash (dollars if possible) will best answer his end. to men of desperate fortune and the lowest classes of the people, unless they can procure a passage as indented servants, similar to the custom practised of emigrating to america, this part of the world offers no temptation: for it can hardly be supposed, that government will be fond of maintaining them here until they can be settled, and without such support they must starve. of the governor's instructions and intentions relative to the disposal of the convicts, when the term of their transportation shall be expired, i am ignorant. they will then be free men, and at liberty, i apprehend, either to settle in the country, or to return to europe. the former will be attended with some public expense; and the latter, except in particular cases, will be difficult to accomplish, from the numberless causes which prevent a frequent communication between england and this continent. postscript sydney cove, port jackson, new south wales. october st, . little material has occurred in this colony since the departure of the ships for england, on the th july last. on the th of that month his majesty's ship supply, captain ball, sailed for norfolk island, and returned on the th august. our accounts from thence are more favourable than were expected. the soil proves admirably adapted to produce all kinds of grain, and european vegetables. but the discovery which constitutes its value is the new zealand flax, plants of which are found growing in every part of the island in the utmost luxuriancy and abundance. this will, beyond doubt, appear strange to the reader after what has been related in the former part of my work: and in future, let the credit of the testimony be as high as it may, i shall never without diffidence and hesitation presume to contradict the narrations of mr. cook. the truth is, that those sent to settle and explore the island knew not the form in which the plant grows, and were unfurnished with every particular which could lead to a knowledge of it. unaccountable as this may sound, it is, nevertheless, incontestably true. captain ball brought away with him several specimens for inspection, and, on trial, by some flax-dressers among us, the threads produced from them, though coarse, are pronounced to be stronger, more likely to be durable, and fitter for every purpose of manufacturing cordage, than any they ever before dressed. every research has been made by those on the island to find a landing-place, whence it might be practicable to ship off the timber growing there, but hitherto none has been discovered. a plan, however, for making one has been laid before the governor, and is at present under consideration, though (in the opinion of many here) it is not such an one as will be found to answer the end proposed. lieut. king and his little garrison were well when the 'supply' left them: but i am sorry to add, that, from casualties, their number is already five less than it originally was. a ship from hence is ready to sail with an increase of force, besides many convicts for the purpose of sawing up timber, and turning the flax-plant to advantage. so much for norfolk. in port jackson all is quiet and stupid as could be wished. we generally hear the lie of the day as soon as the beating of the reveille announces the return of it; find it contradicted by breakfast time; and pursue a second through all its varieties, until night, welcome as to a lover, gives us to sleep and dream ourselves transported to happier climes. let me not, however, neglect telling you the little news which presents itself. all descriptions of men enjoy the highest state of health; and the convicts continue to behave extremely well. a gang of one hundred of them, guarded by a captain, two subalterns and marines, is about to be sent up to the head of the harbour, at the distance of leagues, in a westerly direction, from sydney cove, for the purpose of establishing a settlement there. the convicts are to be employed in putting the land around into cultivation, as it appears to be of a more promising nature than that near the encampment. indeed this last hitherto succeeds but very indifferently, though i do not yet despair, that when good seeds can be procured, our toil will be better rewarded. but as this is an event at a distance, and in itself very precarious, governor phillip has determined on procuring a supply of flour and other necessaries from the cape of good hope, as our stock on hand is found to be, on examination, not quite so ample as had been reckoned upon. to execute this purpose his excellency has ordered the sirius to prepare for the voyage; by which conveyance the opportunity of writing to you is afforded me. it was at first intended to dispatch the sirius to some of the neighbouring islands (the friendly or society) in the pacific ocean, to procure stock there, but the uselessness of the scheme, joined to the situation of matters here, has, happily for us, prevented its being put into execution.